Deepscrave
Bridge Nation
Navigating The Area: I don't think there is a single person who disagrees with me that the second region of Gundabad is the worst one to explore out of them all. Not only are there seven tiers, but there are also multiple expansions leading out in all directions. Some of these will lead to dead-ends, closed doors, broken bridges, or broken stairwells. The overhead map doesn't help when it comes to where the main road is or where the bridges connect. However, I am here to say that the quests will tell you where to go. Although the Epic will include these notations within the quest objective, the regional quests do not. Consider this zone a litmus test on whether you are capable of reading the instructions contained in each quest. There are far too many phrases too list them all here, but to name a few: "half of 'em are above Aslif on the upper tier, and half below" for lighting lanterns, "I've sent Muta to scout Gazat-fark... lowest level of Deepscrave, in the south-east" when exploring an orc camp, and "west of Vatug-ronk at the bottom of Deepscrave" when meeting your guide.
"The Grid. A digital frontier." - Tron Legacy
Locations: Meeting with Nain the Slakeless is rather straight-forward when you are going west from Imrekh-Guthlu (Western Mattugard). There will be some dwarves there to help guide you along the Berg-Beam, or the "Pillar of the Mountain" as mentioned by Durin in the Epic. This central beam connects with all of the other areas, except when it comes to the broken bridge that connects to the stairs leading down to Vatug-ronk, The Groaning Pit (that area at the bottom with a ton of orcs, trolls, and goblin-riders patrolling on top of black platforms). When it comes to finding a lot of these locations, make sure you look into the distance from the main dwarf camp. If you see a goblin gate to the northwest, you'll find Durshulot. You'll meet up with a familiar dwarf at Gabil-memag right in front of the waterfalls. Dalugronk is the orc camp directly north of the lift on the bottom level. If you don't feel like taking the stairs around the central pillar, you can use the black lift that you can see going from the bottom floor to the top around the barricade behind the stable-master.
"Can't say it was easy finding my way up and down the main staircases circling Abad-nuhbu through all that darkness." - Thruthug
Bounty Hunter: Unlike the bounty boards in the first region, you encounter a mischievous dwarf that names his prey after people he knows. This leads you to a very humorous hunt around the area. First you kill Kauper, the "cold-drake [named] after a former friend with a very cold personality." The second target is Sumri, the enormous bat named after his old teacher since he always hovered over his shoulder. This also leads you to discovering that the orc camp on the ground floor is being ravaged by a pack of worms. Their poor blades just can't handle their thick hide. He appropriately names the large one Bothin, "named after an old hunting partner of mine who was lazy to the bone."
"If we wait any longer, my beard will become whiter than it already is!" - Elta
Chapter 6: The sixth
chapter of the Epic has quite a lot of information that foreshadows the
events later on. You get sent on a mission to look for the Zabad'ibin
gems in Chapter 6.2. Durin hints on something magical that might have been preserving the structures of Gundabad. These hints will continue throughout your journey as you feel strange sensations running through important events. Then you find out Trausti loses his favorite axe along with Eskil. It takes a goblin by the name of Vorhosh inside
his secret hideaway to point you in the direction of his capture in
Chapter 6.4. The entire private instance encounter is hilarious. Do pay
attention when the weary orc chats with you, because he
says "we should have killed that goblin of his when we had the chance"
when referencing the one that set the rules and stole the axe - Glurkub. The entire conclusion of the chapter when reading over the contract is also pretty good. There are a few things funny things listed, including the third responsibility
how meals must be prepared "no earlier than eight in the morning for
breakfast and no later than six of the clock for dinner... Sculptor does
not like berries of any kind on his plate, but he is partial to honey
and any products made from it, such as mead." Eventually Stali the Hewer decides to take on Eskil's sister Fastrith as a substitute apprentice in search for the Zabad'ibin in Chapter 6.6.
"I
have become quite fond of the lad, after all. But now that you mention
it, the meals he made were always undercooked, and he never cleaned the
corners of my workshop as thoroughly as he should have..." - Stali The
Hewer
Hunting for Gorgar:
Unlike Mattugard where you have a series of little quests from various
and somewhat curious dwarves, most of the quests in this region will
continue a story regarding Nain's search for Gorgar the Ruthless. It all
starts when Muta is sent out to find some missing supplies. He
encounters a feeble orc by the name of Shúkurz. With the help of Feli, you interrogate him on the whereabouts of their leader. "He's at Dhúrstrok with his generals." At one time, Nain pulls out his Black Mattock
ready to strike the orc. But his advisor, Feli, continues to warn him
of "being too hasty." Shukurz reveals what he knows by stating that
"Gorgar emptied Gundabad, like his father before him" and that their
missing dwarves are located Gazat-fark (the huge
orc camp far to the south on the ground level). Eventually, the orc
comes up with a ruse to release his two orc and two goblin buddies out
of the cages and have Brukshar (the leader of the orcs inside the cavern) give you a map to where Gorgar's generals are.
"Let
their allies among the man-folk inflict nine poxes upon them, and a
tenth should the first batch go unnoticed!" - Kurizg from "Litany of
Complaints" letter in Chapter 6.3
Dhúrstrok: Upon receiving the map in "Meeting the Quartermaster" from the leader, Shúkurz says, "We got a map to Dhurstrok! Wow, it's all the way up in the catwalks. Bet the old lifts could take us there." Yep, that is exactly where you need to go to discover the 3-man instance. Unfortunately after giving the orc's friends some supplies, it is revealed that Nain went on ahead and was captured. Shukurz then informs you of what is inside the instance: "Nain's trapped behind a door with two locks. The goblin Mozruk holds one key, and a troll named Gadh-and-Shum holds the other... Watch out when you're dealing with Mozruk. He's one of those bat-riders -- got an arsenal of explosives he creates himself... Gadh-and-Shum is a mystery, but there are rumours of him dealing with magic. Even his own kind thinks there's something... unnatural with him... Take the lift in the north-east all the way up to the catwalks." If you wish to go in solo, you can summon Muta to gain 50% additional bonuses. The instance is really nice as the decor still resembles what the area would look like before all the decay. There are many dwarf paintings, gems, etchings, and golden statues all around. The floor is so polished that it reflects everything. If you look closer to the central area of the map, the stonework is arranged like the face of a dwarf with the locked gate being its mouth. Although you do make it in time to rescue Nain, both his beard and his pride was cut. His Black Mattock is gone too. At least he still has his life.
"Stick around!" - Mozruk
Hideaway: After you finish the instance, there is one more quest to do once you finish rescuing Nain. The dwarf asks you to apologize to the orc at his secret hideaway down by the end of the river. Shukurz is surprised and wonders what him and his pals will do now that they are no longer part of the war. There you can spot all five of them doing their own thing at the guard and keep of the dwarves. No foe is going to get through that door with a giant ballista pointing directly at it!
"I can't tell. Is that water or a bottomless pit?" - Rinri
Treasure Caches:
For those looking for the treasure caches, I've made it a little
easier. Down below is a list of where each one is located. The vast
majority are found on the ground level.
1. 51.5S, 117.2W (Top Level, Big Bridge going east and then hang a right when you get to the end)
2. 52.2S, 119.4W (Ground Level, by waterfall/end of river)
3. 47.2S, 117.4W (Buzra, underneath the wooden stairs going to crack)
4. 49.4S, 116.2W (Ground Level, Behind a giant Pillar)
5. 51.2S, 115.3W (Durbangth on Ground Level, all the way up the stairs where the forges are)
6. 48.5S, 117.8W (Ground Level, NW Bridge showing on map)
7. 49.5S, 117.6W (Ground Level, on a little island in river)
8. 50.3S, 117.8W (Ground Level, under bridge wreckage)
1. 49.1S 118.2W
2. 50.0S 118.5W (Ground Floor, Broken Black Wreckage)
3. 48.7S 115.8W (End of the Wide Brown Tron Bridge)
4. 51.0S 115.9W (Durbangth on Ground Level, all the way up the stairs where the forges are)
2021-11-25