The Dark Spiral

Hobbies

Quests

click pics to enlarge

From the Down Twisting Paths event.

The following notes are provided as a courtesy until I can research a full write-up.

Text: Lord Marsan's Log Book (17.9N - 68.1W, near the Strathelar standard)
Dungeon: The Dark Spiral - 15.9N, 68.7W (Levels 126+)
Text: Lore of the Drak Spiral

From Tlosk of HG:
In the Dark Spiral, which is very very mazey, to get to the jump where the
Lore of the Dark Spiral Book is located, from the drop continue down until
you come to a three way intersection leading NE, N, and NW. Take the middle
hall leading north, then at the following intersections turn right, then
left, then right.

http://www.acmaps.com/map.php?id=00CF

A report from Angeni, Aralcarin, Chatlin and Ninavie of HG!

Visited Forth Tethana, found Lieutenant Durgan inside the tavern.

Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "Greetings, friend. Though we do not claim independence...yet...we still must look after our own concerns, since Elysa Strathelar won't. At times, we look to outsiders for aid. Are you willing to be that aid we seek?"
The lieutenant shrugs his shoulders.
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "I am Commander Margyle's intelligence chief, and I have a very vexing problem. It seems that Elysa sent her army in our direction, no doubt to put us directly under her heel again. A Viamontian force also made passage from Marae Lassel, and all projections indicated that they would fight each other north of here, near the coast."
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "No matter who won, we would have gained an advantage. But what I find odd is this..."
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "There was also word of a Renegade Tumerok band mobilizing to engage the other two forces. The three armies apparently encamped and parlayed, but there is no word from any of the forces after that. No army can keep themselves so hidden, especially not on our territory."
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "I want to know what happened to those three armies, and I will reward you to tell me. If you are truly helpful, I may discuss what the future holds for beloved Tethana.

Run due north til you get to a huge black scorched area filled with shadows and drudges, looks like a lot are dressed in yellow and red cov armor.
Running around and you will find lots of traces of the viamontian, the tumerok and the strathelar army.

Text: Lord Marsan's Log Book (17.9N - 68.1W, near the Strathelar standard)

Portal at the top of the "hill" in the middle of the area.
Lvl 126+ called The Dark Spiral. Lots of shadows and mukkir inside. We ran around alot, with the thought of Down is good, up is bad, til we came to a jump down with a big spawn including a black breath on lvl 648. And there we all died :D More info to come later'.

Details from Q Manguy of MT:

Ok Maggie. I was unable to complete this quest on my first attempt! But here’s what I got! Town criers say that Lieutenant Allandal on Plateau Village needs volunteers, and mentions NOT Lord Marson and previously. If you go to Plateau Village the small army group is now GONE!! Only Lt. Allandal is present. Here is what she says:

Lieutenant Allandal tells you, "Peace be with you in these dark times. I serve Queen Elysa Strathelar in an information gathering role, but currently those of us who gather information for Her Majesty are baffled by a strange occurance."
Lieutenant Allandal tells you, "We recently sent an army to the Fort Tethana region, a move that was matched by the Viamontian loyalists. We have heard nothing about either force since a report that they had sat down to parlay, except for a rumor of Tumerok activity in the area."
Lieutenant Allandal tells you, "The Queen would like you to explore the area, and return with any information you find."
Lieutenant Allandal tells you, "I have heard that others are in search of information about what happened to the forces. Although Her Majesty would prefer that people aid her, in this matter she believes that something which transcends this war has occurred. As such, if you choose to aid the Viamontians, there will be no negative ramifications from our side."
Lieutenant Allandal tells you, "Also, if you have ventured to the fortifications between here and Fort Tethana, I will accept any Viamontian banners you may have retrieved."

So I ran out to Fort Teth. I found a new NPC in Teth’s bar as well! Lieutenant Durgan! He says he is an independent party in this. He does not side with Queen Elysa or King Varicci.

Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "Greetings, friend. Though we do not claim independence...yet...we still must look after our own concerns, since Elysa Strathelar won't. At times, we look to outsiders for aid. Are you willing to be that aid we seek?"
The lieutenant shrugs his shoulders.
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "I am Commander Margyle's intelligence chief, and I have a very vexing problem. It seems that Elysa sent her army in our direction, no doubt to put us directly under her heel again. A Viamontian force also made passage from Marae Lassel, and all projections indicated that they would fight each other north of here, near the coast."
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "No matter who won, we would have gained an advantage. But what I find odd is this..."
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "There was also word of a Renegade Tumerok band mobilizing to engage the other two forces. The three armies apparently encamped and parlayed, but there is no word from any of the forces after that. No army can keep themselves so hidden, especially not on our territory."
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "I want to know what happened to those three armies, and I will reward you to tell me. If you are truly helpful, I may discuss what the future holds for beloved Tethana."

Durgan said that Viamontian and Queen Elysa’s soldiers were going to parley on the North coast north of Fort Teth. So I ran north. Near the coast I found a large black area with LOTS of shadow. It’s basically a crater with a plateau in the middle of it. In the crater I found new Shadow types. It appears that Strathelar’s soldiers, and Viamontian soldiers have been turned into Shadow! They are still weak to Fire! If you look around you’ll also find penants laying on the ground and dead bodies. Looks like Shadow destroyed everyone on both sides, plus the Tumerok forces that tried to ambush them. There are L125-135 Shadow Wraiths in the crater. LOTS of them so take friends with you, as they cast War and Life Drains, as well as melee damage.

On top of the plateau I found a portal called “The Dark Spiral” (16.1N 68.9W). It is restricted to L126+, is NOT recallable or tie-able. Once you get inside the drop point IS SAFE for rebuffing as my group had to. Our group was 3 mages, L156, L167, L174. They didn’t name this place a spiral for nothing. The dungeon seems to be a maze almost. If you go straight down the spiral you encounter L161 Twisted Shadow. Normal versions, Viamontian, and Strathelar versions. All weak to fire. I also later ran into Barbaric Mukkir which are L180. They were also weak to fire. Note: They do melee and War, and seem prone to cold attacks. After taking a L7 Cold debuff I was hit for 157 by a Mukkir.

We found our way to a 3 way split. We decided to go straight. Later we found a 2 way split. We went right. It just kept going down until we eventually found ourselves going up again. I thought we were lost. We came to more splits again, and I think we kept going left. Eventually we found ourselves going down again until we found a pit. Lots of orange dots below us. I found 2-3 The Black Breaths, L648. Several L161 Shadow, and at least 2 of the Barbaric Mukkir (which resist a lot). When I hit my [ ] keys I was able to target something called the “Lore of the Black Spiral” down below us somewhere. We tried to shoot everything in the pit before we jumped but found it very difficult because everything kept moving. When we thinned it out we finally jump. But shortly there after things began to spawn again! I also noted throughout our journey 2 other people had died in the dungeon ahead of us…. Eeek.

One of my fellows got cornered and was killed. At this point realizing things were spawning again I ran circles around the small square pit. I could NOT see any exits. Perhaps because it was all dark and black, and there was smoke/fog in the room. Or perhaps I was scared. I did note however that before we jumped into the pit, monsters could run beneath us as if maybe there is actually a false wall. I couldn’t find it before a Mukkir killed me, and then instantly killed the 3rd party member as well. A L200 melee allegiance member of mine was also solo’ing the dungeon as we died. She died about 5 minutes after we did. THIS IS DEFINITELY A GROUP QUEST DUNGEON.

That’s all I have for right now. I’ve attached a few screenshots for you. I’m not sure who to talk to if you wish to side with Viamontian on this quest yet…

Q Manguy (Morningthaw)

Ok Maggie. Couple more bits of detail for you. Hehe, I took 2 fellows of people with me into the dungeon this time. We faired well but 1 person died because he was impatient and ran off away from the group.

Attached are Pictures of TWO of the possible rewards.

The Lore of the Dark Spiral (it’s a book) spawns on the floor against the WEST wall in the pit at the bottom of the dungeon. No idea how we got there, took over an hour. All I can say is, once you get REAL directions, people had better follow them or they WILL run in circles!!

If you turn in the book to Lieutenant Allandal you get the Shield of the Strathelar Elite! AL 300, buffable, and has Moderate Impregnability on it. Wield req of 126+… plus 28.4mil xp

If you turn the book into Lt. Durgan in Fort Teth, you get… tada! Heh… ‘Tethana Manifesto’ You can turn it back in for more xp but I didn’t do that. You get 28.4mil xp for handing in the book. The Manifesto, if hooked to your house will cast “Will of the People” on you which is a Stackable Self buff. HOWEVER, it WILL NOT stack with Major Willpower. Yeah, so for most upper level folks it’s probably a waste. ;-)

Q Manguy (Morningthaw)

Picture of shield modeled by Vejda of Morningthaw J

You give Lieutenant Durgan Lord Marsan's Log Book.
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "There is a hint of conspiracy here. You say you found this in Lord Marsan's camp? He is a fool. Was a fool, I suppose. Still, normally he would aggrandize himself, not reveal his true cowardly nature in his writings. Unfortunately, his ramblings do nothing to help us assess the true nature of this foe - simply inspire a certain level of skepticism and make me wonder if this is a ploy by Elysa or the Viamontians. Nothing could be so great as he describes."
You've earned 6,674,042 experience.

You give Lieutenant Durgan Lore of the Dark Spiral.
After reading the tattered pages, Lieutenant Durgan looks pale and shaken. He rapidly regains his composure.
You've earned 28,477,192 experience.
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "I see that you have succeeded. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that such things were afoot so near to us. I will recommend to Commander Margyle that we begin to prepare to repel whatever dark dreams these shadows and their allies have in store."
Lieutenant Durgan gives you Tethana Manifesto.
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "And you have served Tethana well. May I interest you in this document? It concisely details what we, the citizens and soldiers of Tethana, would have of any who would claim sovereignity over us. Perhaps reading it will bolster your will as well, and you will be inspired to stand against tyranny? If it does not inspire you, return it to me for a further reward."

You give Lieutenant Durgan Tethana Manifesto.
Lieutenant Durgan tells you, "Although I am disappointed that you do not wish to keep that manifesto, I understand. We must all make our way in the world. Take care that you do not allow yourself to be blind to the follies of your leaders, however."
You've earned 12,204,511 experience.

From Ovak of LC:
Hi Maggie, wonderful site. Just finished dark spiral quest. Some additional notes provided. Talk to NPC in tavern in teth to start. Tells you to go north to an area near 14.8 N, 68.8W. Looks like caulcano with a mountain in the middle of it. Lots of Shadows... remnants of the armies defeated there. There is a journal (already mentioned) near a standard on the ground opposite to the entrance on the far side of the entrance. No need to run through to get it. Follow ridge around to the right. It can be turned in in teth for xp later. It does not flag you for dungeon. Portal to dungeon on the mountain in the middle of what is called "shadow march"... make your way to the top to the portal. I dont remember the way down it was confusing but some ways lead you in circles. I know that at one point you have a 3 way split. take middle one... next split take left. Don't quote me on that. Eventually you get to a jump that has about 30ish creatures... twisted shadows, barbaric mukkir, 4 or so black breaths... have mages and archers clear what they can first otherwise suicide!... Once mostly clear jump down... clear it. There is a book on about a 30 second spawn on the ground. Pick it up. Back to teth... then you get a hookable note "Tethana Manifesto" that casts Moderate Willpower... it does not stack with cantrips and is surpassed by Major Willpower. I was joined by Spiritoak, Depracitos, Vierna Millithor, Maximum death, Valirea, and Captain Schmidt. Both items you get can be turned in for experience. It is a percentage of your level because we all got different xp (I am 199 and got about 27.5 mill for second book, not sure how much for first) Hope this helps.

Hi Maggie,

In case this hasn't been submitted yet, the 3rd reward for completing the Dark Spiral quest is available from Lieutenant Dialossa; located upstairs in the NE area of the Palace of Sanamar.

Prior to completing the quest he gives the following response.

Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "Let me be honest. Your allegiance, whether for or against His Majesty, doesn't matter for the particular matter I am dealing with. Frankly, it seems like a threat against all Isparians."
Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "The two warring sides were on the brink of battle, at long last, near the northern coast of the Direlands. But Count D'Orza has not sent a report back to King Varicci. Neither have the Bloodless sent a report back to their leader. There was a detachment of Tumeroks in the area as well, and they also have not been heard from since."
Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "Something awful has happened, I fear. Please gather what information you can and return, and I will do what I can to help you."

When turning in the books he replies as below

You give Lieutenant Dialossa Lord Marsan's Log Book.
Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "The log of the Bloodless who led the enemy forces? And it seems that a great force swooped in and destroyed them all."
Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "I am skeptical of this report, and yet there is no other obvious explanation. I shall accept it as written, then."
You've earned 6,674,042 experience.

You give Lieutenant Dialossa Lore of the Dark Spiral.
The Viamontian spy wipes his forehead nervously.
Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "I've heard stories of the Hopeslayer. Will the world be shattered under the weight of a power? I must warn the king."
Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "Here is your reward. Fly it proudly."
You've earned 28,477,192 experience.
Lieutenant Dialossa gives you Viamontian Pennant of Loyalty.

Viamontian Pennant of Loyalty cast Honor of the Bull on you

The Viamontian Pennant of Loyalty is a housing item, Honor of the Bull being a 30 min mod loyalty buff

After completing the quest for any of the factions when a char speaks to Lieutenant Dialossa he gives the following response

Lieutenant Dialossa tells you, "Your deed precede you. I've heard you are one of the few to dare tread in the Shadow March. If you have found information there, I'll gladly see it. Do not feel like you are betraying any trusts...based on what I've seen, this threat affects all of us."

Thanks for your fantastic site
Demorted (LC)