Cape of Umbar

 Cape of Umbar

Jax Phanâl: After exploring all of King's Gondor and Shield Isles, you finally reach the docks to the Cape of Umbar. This little area is highly maintained by Zebulo the magistrate. Tasks are assigned to Girgish, the emissary of Kholtekh the dwarf, and Stukha, the emissary of Rothog the gladiator. One will want you to introduce yourself to everyone and learn of what happened to the local messengers. The other wants you to get hurt and pound things. I'll leave it to you to figure out which one offers what. In the meantime, there is a man who is constantly in the need of crab meat from his booming business.

"There are times when swords and axes must deliver messages for us." - Girgish

Allegiances: At this point, you'll start gaining Ur (or Uri when plural) coins from quests throughout the region that will contribute to your allegiance to The Ledger-keepers and The Order of the Eagle. These people know the history of Umbar through their previous connections and transactions. The Allegiance system was pretty sparse at launch since there were only three guided quests up to level 15 and the missions that were specifically designed to provide you with additional tokens weren't added until a month later on December 6th. This was also when they increased the rank from 10 to 20. They didn't increase the rank from 20 to 30 with additional rewards until two months later on January 10th. However, the system is nice enough to warrant some attention.

"The watcher on the wing returned, my friend. Please come see me." - Harthabor

Rakhatâb: At the far southwestern corner of the cape is a place where there is a band of workers for the Kindred of the Coin. They are tasked to gather materials out of the Jid Phêsi mine. Unfortunately, the overseer is a woman who adheres to the old ways of Castamir. All the workers are suffering from being taxed, overworked, starved, and sometimes outright killed. That is what happens to Ayaluk's brother Zufan when he was caught shaving down the coins. You help Ayluk discover that Ulanor has never compensated the families and assist the foreman in sending her to the pits (which you can encounter in the Arena instance). Nurat is then assigned the new overseer by the Kindred of the Coin.

"Are you going to grease the wheels with goat fat or work the bellow, Fred?" - Resolina

Khûtra: While the Epic quickly glances over the troubles of this fishing village, the expansion has an extensive questline about taking care of a wide-spread pathogen. The infliction is hitting everything including the townsfolk, fish, goats, and pigs. Heshra the herbalist is trying his best to come up with a solution to the problem. Unfortunately, he seems too dumb to figure out that the walking dead at the nearby ruins might be the cause. So you'll be tasked to gather all sorts of ingredients, experiment with a number of salves, and check the shore for signs of pollution. Miritah would ask you to retrieve a family heirloom (which you will later find out the consequences of her actions in The Way it Catches the Light under Umbar; not to be confused with the eerily similar one in An Heirloom Lost). After you close up the gaps in the stone and apply the cure, the people will gather together for a brief feast before you head out.

"I've asked them not to throw me anymore fish, but I suspect they do it for sport at this point." - Roshat

Upper Ward: Before you head south, there's a couple of interesting quests regarding slapping some bags of rice, serving customers, and wiping clean the memorial of those who were murdered by the Church of the All-Seeing. Though, you might be distracted by any of the curious market-goers talking about Ezoti and his fearsome creatures. There is a crowd circling around him as he shows off Razor of Belfalas. A woman leaning against a pole gets your attention and confirms your suspicion that the legendary sea turtle is merely painted over and dressed in seaweed. She creates a plan for you to become his assistant in order to free all the creatures in his care. Your first task is to put up posters to which you maliciously comply by putting up a few in odd places and burning the rest. Since Itho never collected that roc egg, your second task is to retrieve a nice rock and make it look like a legendary egg. This allows you entry to his abode where you examine the poor conditions of the animals. Your friend Gûshida asks you to get some ingredients that can be made into a tincture and wipe away their lethargy. After breaking them out of their pen, the turtle seems completely transformed (developers use a completely different turtle asset) and warms up to a fellow animal activist.

 

"He seems rather taken with me, and I confess I am quite fond of the old fellow too." - Nekhama

Tor-Gardens: To the very northern district at The Pot and Quill, there is a number of scholars who have an interest at the nearby ruins of the church of the All-Seeing. You'll be tasked to gather some remnants of dye and books that might still be intact. One man discovers why the land was so cheap with all the spirits that still inhabit the rubble. You'll encounter a girl who wants you to gather vines to make a circlet for her favorite athlete and a boy who fell asleep after drinking all the wine out of a broken bottle.

"I can finally finish reading this story!" - Listless Patient

Sail-Haven: You'll be redirected by a guard at the western gate to a man by the name of Eshmun who oversees events at the Harbour-warden's Tower. He grows ever restless that the Heirsworn loyalists that have their ships along the port are causing mischief for the people of Umbar. While the ship builders in the sailor's guild don't seem to have any issues with them on the northern side, you'll find the foreman Ramax murdered on the southern side. As captain of the Haven, he sends you to slay the survivors of the Mutiny. In the meantime, there's a few interested parties who would love for you to gather waterlogged crates and clean up some messes. After a long day, Eshmun will meet you at the Bloody Eagle for some drinks and a tale from Akalam about the spear hanging over his tavern. While his story of how he struck down and killed the bane of Umbar is a glorious one,  Khôltekh the Cunning eludes to how he was referring to Thorongil (aka Aragorn).

"That was quite the tale, wasn't it?" - Khôltekh the Cunning

The Gut: The Lower Ward is filled with a bunch of nefarious pirates that cause mayhem for the locals in the neighborhood. There were numerous revisions to the area in front of Swain's Guild-hall to accommodate characters who might be of lower levels trying to get in for the special guild quests that released with Update 38.1.1. Keteph will show up there with "Infusion from the North" quests after he makes enough money selling crabs for 11 days (completion of the deeds). Plenty of people want these "rats" gone and are more than eager to recruit you for the job. There's even a little boy who was swindled into their club that needs rescuing. 

"Slave?! Mom was right! I'm going to be the Corsair King, you'll see!" - Kina

 

Hunter Camp: This entire area with 28 quests set at level 149 was not made available until Update 38.1 a month after the expansion released. Listening to these guys speak about how important certain animal parts are important to the community will make you feel as if you are back in school. When it really boils down to it, everything in the area needed to be slain. The bird nests north of Umbar were of particular interest with the amount of stored baubles and knick-knacks the camp could turn a profit from.

"Any who find this creature and collect a trophy from it will be met with great accolades." - Tevurin