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ANCIENT KNOWLEDGE
Blessed Salve of the Earthmother
I make my way to the Red Tree in the Immil Vale. I add both the Blighted Leaves and the Bark Cinders to the Pure Sanctuary Water in order to create the Anointing Solution. I anoint myself with the solution, and then click on the tree and make a prayer to Chauntea. What I get in return is 1500xp and the Blessed Salve of the Earthmother, which can be used to get rid of the blight afflicting the Ashenwood.
*Evil* Toxic Plantbane of the Beastlord
Zarathos does the exact opposite. He instead mixes the Bark Cinders and the Blighted Leaves into the Legendary Blood, and then petitions Malar for the Toxic Plantbane of the Beastlord.
Left to Rot
Now I head back to the Ashenwood, near where Gnarlthorn lies dying. I inform him of my success in obtaining what is needed from Chauntea. Gnarlthorn urges me to use it on the forest itself instead of him, a dialogue which earns +15 influence with Okku.
It's a simple matter to drop the Blessed Salve of the Earthmother in the waters near Gnarlthorn. This causes a few Blightspawned Treants to attack, but they're easy enough to kill.
*Evil* Left to Rot
The evil party of course plants the Toxic Plantbane of Malar in the river to poison and kill off what remains of the grove. The party then kills several Blighted Treants in close-quarter combat.
I then inform Gnarlthorn, choosing the cruelest possible dialogue options, and scoring some influence with One of Many along the way. This provokes Gnarlthorn into attacking me. Gnarlthorn has a lot of hit points, and hits very hard, but I outlast him in physical combat, at least with Gann recuperating Zarathos with a Heal spell.
As a side note, there is a Gnarlthorn's Essence that theoretically could be dropped by Gnarlthorn once he dies. Gnarlthorn's Essence can be combined with some Rags to produce the Gnarlthorn Bow (Longbow +4, Improved Critical (Longbow), unlimited ammo - Nature's Rage). The Nature's Rage arrows inflict +4 piercing damage, +3d6 damage vs. outsiders, +3d6 damage vs. planetouched, +3d6 damage vs. elementals). Problem is, most of the available spirit eating powers won't work on Gnarlthorn. The only possibility I can think of is to wait until you acquire the Ravenous Incarnation power from Myrkul later on, and then use the form's attacks as a spirit energy draining death blow on Gnarlthorn. Keep in mind that I actually haven't tested that. The reason being that I'm not hung up on acquiring the bow in any event. Time to move on.
Kaelyn's 26th Level
Kaelyn now has enough to advance to her 26th level. She selects the Great Cleave feat. This may trigger occasionally, depending on whether offensive spells have softened up the monsters beforehand or if Kaelyn manages to score triple-damage critical hits with her Warhammer.
Uprising
I return to the Garrison and speak with Nadaj. She leaves me with two choices, join in an uprising against Dalenka or refuse.
I went with the latter choice. Nadaj herself immediately orders all of the Berserkers to attack me. I have little trouble cutting them down. Nadaj herself will slip into the Ashenwood. One of the Berserkers will leave behind a Hide Armor +5, a Greatsword +5, as well as the Amulet of Protected Dalliances (immunity to mind-affecting spells, +5 armor class vs. fey, +3 Charisma). The Amulet itself can have its Charisma bonus raised, and then have a fourth enchantment added to it.
Dalenka will show up afterwards. You can either attack her, or make a Bluff or Diplomacy check on her to convince her to join you as a temporary ally. Should you fail the Bluff of Diplomacy check, she'll attack as well.
Furthermore, should you be able to keep Dalenka alive until the end of the quest that marks the end of the Ashenwood's troubles, Sheva Whitefeather in Mulsantir will reward you with a unique amulet called the Hilaiyreen (more on this later).
*Evil* Uprising
Zarathos instead chooses to aid Nadaj against Dalenka. Nadaj wants him to convince as many Berserkers as he can to turn against Dalenka. All of them besides Kozlov (who refuses no matter what) can be persuaded to join the uprising with a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidation check. There's a 1000xp for convincing everyone besides Kozlov to join.
Zarathos then goes inside Dalenka's quarters and convinces her to come out. It's easy to kill both her and Kozlov, more so because Dalenka is already within hand's reach once the fight starts. Once she dies, she'll leave behind:
How you play the Uprising quest is inconsequential to the extent that the Berserkers will all end up dead and Nadaj will flee into the Ashenwood. What does turn on your choices is whether Dalenka lives or dies, and this fundamentally means making choices about which items you want, the Ring of Leeched Abjuration, and/or an Amulet of Natural Armor +5, or the Hilaiyreen amulet.
*Evil* The Brute
If you gain 25+ influence with One of Many, then he can change into the Brute and his class becomes Barbarian. That will mean you always have the option to change the One of Many into either the Child with Rogue abilities, or the Brute with Barbarian abilities, whenever you want.
This video shows that eventuality. I could have gotten 25+ influence much faster had I kept Kaelyn the Dove alive, since I could then have had dialogues with her whereby I said with One of Many against her. But I had used Devour Soul on Kaelyn previously for reasons I have already explained.
Since Kaelyn is no longer alive, I had to be a little patient about things. The first part of the video is where I welcome One of Many back into the party. There are then two other points where I add +6 influence each time with One of Many, but those are shown in other videos in this walkthrough. One point is where I taunt Gnalthorn with having killed the younger saplings in the Ashenwood with the Toxic Plantbane of the Beastlord. The other point is where Zarathos makes an Intimidation check against Goryen in the Lake of Tears Garrison as part of the uprising against Dalenka.
After the uprising, I have Zarathos speaks to One of Many. Zarathos gains another +6 influence by suggesting that One of Many address Zarathos as "Master of Evil." That effectively puts Zarathos' influence with One of Many at 29. Zarathos speaks to One of Many again, and that's when One of Many announces that he's willing to let the Brute gain temporary control over the Many.
Genius Loci
The party returns to the large tree in the middle of the Ashenwood. Just ahead are Yurkov, who lies dead and can be looted for the Fatecarver Greataxe, and Nadaj, who has a strange light emanating from her head. Valeria casts an Extended Haste on the party beforehand.
Nadaj and the Ashenwood itself have become possessed by a Genius Loci, an evil spirit that animates an entire landscape. One thing is inevitable, combat. The Genius Loci itself consists of the large tree, plus four smaller trees that surround it. Each of the Genius Loci trees can summon Blightspawned Treants, Shambling Mounds, and Earth Elementals. Nadaj will attack as well.
Valeria casts an Extended Greater Invisibility on herself. Kaelyn activates a Divine Shield. Gann casts Storm Avatar on himself. Okku brings down Nadaj first and foremost. It is afterwards simply a matter of having Valeria run around from tree to tree, taking them out one at a time, while she lets her companions take care of the monsters that are summoned by the Genius Loci. Persistent Haste makes things so much easier. She then finishes off the trunk of the large central tree to complete the defeat of the Genius Loci.
Incidentally, Okku also automatically advanced to his 29th level during the battle.
Wood Man - Bestow Life
Valeria begins the dialogue by bowing before the Wood Man, which increases her influence with Okku. She then speaks at length with the Wood Man, fully exploring all dialogue options. It is possible to use Devour Spirit on the Wood Man, which would cause a huge surge in Craving. It would also cause both Okku and Dalenka (if she were still alive) to attack Valeria. Dalenka will also summon several Telthor spirits to her side.
Instead, I choose the dialogue options that involve restoring the Wood Man. This leads to Valeria learning the Bestow Life Force ability, which expends spirit energy in exchange for healing its target but also reduces Craving at the same time. A +25 increase influence with Okku is another plus.
Incidentally, as previously described, the now dead Yurkov leaves behind Fatecarver (Greataxe +7, +6 deflection bonus to armor class vs. outsiders, +5 divine resistance).
*Evil* Wood Man - Spirit Gorge
For Zarathos, the choice is an easy one, to devour the Wood Man. He now gets the Spirit Gorge ability, which allows him to feed on the spirit energy of multiple beings at once. Its area of effect is similar to that of a Fireball.
This gains approval with One of Many, enough to put the approval rating past 50. When Zarathos speaks with One of Many, One of Many confers the Negative Aura feat. That means both Zarathos and One of Many gain +1 to Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence. Zarathos also gains the Fast Healing feat, +6 to Intimidate, -6 to Diplomacy, and +10% to Spirit Gorge.
Bear King's Enduring Spirit
Valeria begins by speaking with Okku about his nature and some of his history. The dialogue also presents another two opportunities to earn influence with Okku. The first is by suggesting that Okku should kill Valeria if her succumbing to the spirit hunger appears inevitable. The second is by apologizing for the devouring of Nakata.
My approval with Okku is now above 50, so I speak to him again to obtain the Bear King's Enduring Spirit feat. The feat means +4 to will saves and immunity to fear for Okku. Valeria also gets her own version of the feat, which means +2 to Will saves, +1 to Constitution, and 10% bonus to energy replenished by using Suppress.
Dreamer's Eye
Now I fully explore all dialogue possibilities with Gann. Increasing my influence with him will require that I make either a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Taunt check with him during a dialogue tree that begins with asking him to say something about himself. I then get the increases by sharing the fact that I was orphaned and raised by a foster father, and saying "Good riddance to them" when he relates that he knows little about his own parents.
I speak with Gann again, and now that influence with Gann has reached at least 50 both Gann and Valeria get the Dreamer's Eye feat. For Gann the feat means a +2 bonus to Charisma. For Valeria the feat means a +1 bonus to Charisma and a +5% bonus to the use of Devour Spirit.
*Evil* Negative Aura
As for Zarathos, his approval with One of Many now exceeds 50. When Zarathos speaks with One of Many, One of Many confers the Negative Aura feat. That means both Zarathos and One of Many gain +1 to Strength and Dexterity. One of Many also gains +1 Constitution and Intelligence. Zarathos also gains the Fast Healing feat, +6 to Intimidate, -6 to Diplomacy, and +10% to Spirit Gorge.
It is now time to pay a visit to the Ice Troll Lodge in Mulsantir.
