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ICE TROLL LODGE
Ancient Knowledge
The next time the party speaks with the Wychlaran in Mulsantir will mean 4,000xp, and truly mark the end of the quest called "Ancient Knowledge". The xp bonus is also enough to advance Okku and Kaelyn another level. Beyond that, one of three things can happen depending on how the quest in the Ashenwood was concluded.
If I had restored the Wood Man, but ended up killing Dalenka as part of the Uprising, the Wychlaran sisters would have given me an Amulet of Natural Armor +5 as a reward.
I show in the video what happened in my playthrough. I have restored the Wood Man and saved Dalenka by siding with her against the mutiny, so the Wychlaran thank me and give me a unique magical amulet called Hilaiyreen (+4 natural bonus to armor class, +2 saving throws, +20 hit points, Heal (11) 1 / day) as a reward. It replaces Shandra's Pendant and becomes Valeria's amulet for the rest of the game. It offers benefits, some of which are similar to Shandra's pendant, bonus hit points and a +4 natural bonus to armor class. However, it also offers a unique ability in allowing Valeria to use it once a day to cast Heal on herself. Valeria loses the spell resistance from Shandra's Pendant, but she will get a hefty boost to spell resistance from Gann fairly soon. Her high saving throws and Evasion ability will also see her through till then.
There is also a third possible outcome.
*Evil* Ancient Knowledge
Zarathos has devoured the Wood Man. The Wychlaran sisters curse at him and withdraw their support for him. That in turn means Katya and Mother Feodorra will no longer be willing to act as merchants. They will close their wares off to Zarathos.
Alexsei and Yagor
I now travel downhill and make for the Ice Troll Berserker Lodge. Near the entrance is a Telthor Badger spirit that goes 'grrrrr ....' at me a lot. More on him later.
Once I step in, Alexsei and Yagor are near the front entrance having a game of darts. Valeria makes a Spellcraft check to point out to Yagor that Alexsei is cheating with magical darts. Yagor rewards me with 10 Arrows of Petrification.
Shaman's Boon
At the far end of the Lodge is an old Spirit Shaman named Nak'kai, along with his two Telthor panther pets.
I can learn some info from the curse about him. At some point during the conversation he offers to empower Okku in exchange for three Brilliant Spirit Essences, which I happily provide him. There's a common myth that absolutely no improvement is made to Okku as a result of completing the quest. The benefits are actually:
Joining the Berserker Lodge
I don't include any video for this, because I usually don't bother with either my good characters or evil characters. But if you're interested in gaining membership with the Lodge, and all the benefits involved, here's what's required:
Ice Troll Berserkers
Valeria leads the party near the leader of the lodge, Jurak, and has the party buff up beforehand (Premonitions, Stone Body, Extended Greater Invisibility, Empowered Mirror Image). She next speaks to Jurak and issues a challenge to all of the Berserkers. Don't worry, there's no in game consequence for this (at least after I've gotten the Shaman's Boon). Nobody else in Mulsantir, the Wychlaran sisters included, will seem to mind or even be aware that I will have wiped out the whole lodge.
Valeria wipes out several of the Berserkers instantly with a Vampiric Feast spell. Any that survive either get stunned by Storms of Vengeance from both Ganna and Kaelyn. Victory is assured after all three spells come off. Even so, there's still room for a little tactical finesse. Yulia is a spellcaster, has protected herself with a Premonition spell, and stood outside the range of my spell barrage. I therefore send Okku after her, since his physical attacks have adamantine properties and can therefore penetrate her damage reduction. But now ...
Angry Badger
Now the real challenge begins. The Telthor Badger outside comes in and becomes an enormous uber-Telthor Badger. It has a LOT of hit points, regenerates very rapidly, and scores truly hideous damage when it connects, which is pretty much every time it attacks. All things being equal, it is all but invincible.
But I have a trump card. Note how Valeria and Kaelyn had memorized multiple instances of the 9th-level Energy Drain spell beforehand. Okku holds up the Telthor temporarily. He is at risk of taking a real beating from the Telthor Badger, or even getting killed. Valeria and Kaelyn now each hit the Telthor with a pair of Energy Drain spells. The cumulative effect of the spells is not quite enough to kill the Telthor outright, but they are enough to reduce most of its levels and thus drastically reduce its ability to connect with its physical attacks. I am thus able to bring down the now severely weakened monster in physical combat.
The Angry Badger leaves behind arguably the most powerful ring in the game, called the Heart of Rashemen (+5 regeneration, Haste on wearer, Freedom of Movement on wearer, Improved Evasion on wearer, light), which Okku wears for the rest of the game.
*Evil* Ice Troll Berserker Lodge
Things shake out a bit differently with the evil party. Nak'kai accepts the Brilliant Spirit Essences from Zarathos, but with the intention of empowering himself so that he can destroy One of Many. Everyone in the Lodge attacks as well. Here I show a certain tactic. Gann hits as many oncoming enemies as he can with Mass Drown, which leaves some of them ripe for a fatal use of spirit-eating powers. Zarathos immediately hits those same enemies with Spirit Gorge, leading to an easy replenishment of his spirit energy. The rest of the battle becomes that much easier after Gann and Zarathos each throw in a Storm of Vengeance, plus a Vampiric Feast from Safiya.
The battle against the Angry Badger pretty much falls out the same way as it did for the good party. Gann dons the The Heart of Rashemen afterwards.
Looting the Lodge
Now I go around looting the dead bodies. There's also plenty of loot, as follows:
I return to the Lower Level of the Death God's Vault. I hunt for Death Lords until I get the 3 Pristine Power Essences I need. I place the Amulet of Natural Armor +5 into the Enchanter's Satchel, along with three Pristine Power Essences. Casting a Superior Resistance spell on the Satchel adds a +7 saving throw bonus to the Amulet. I then place four Brilliant Spirit Essences into the Satchel, and have Valeria use her Mold Spirit power on the Satchel. That adds +6 Wisdom to the Amulet. Kaelyn now has her amulet for the rest of the game, and it will be enchanted further yet.
I conclude by hunting for more Death Lords until I get another 3 Pristine Power Essences. I will soon find another amulet in the next part of the game, and I want to add a saving throw enchantment to that one too.
My next quest involves a search for the Slumbering Coven. The starting point of that search is the Lakeshore.
