A Bitter Rival

A Bitter Rival is a quest in .

Synopsis
"The gnome sorcerer Tartuccio — our leader's rival for the baron's coronet — is wandering somewhere in the Stolen Lands. He is cunning, dangerous, and definitely preparing something nasty for us. One way or another, we must defeat him!"

Meet with Tartuccio in the Stolen Lands

 * ''Our daring {name} and the insidious sorcerer Tartuccio received a special task from Jamandi Aldori — a chance to claim their own barony! But only one of them may prevail. We must seek Tartuccio out in the Stolen Lands and find out what our rival is busy with.

Examine the ancient tomb

 * ''Tartuccio, our leader's ignoble rival, is searching a nearby tomb for a certain ominous artifact. Let's go there and intervene!

Follow Tartuccio's trail

 * ''He won't fool us so easily! We'll follow the trail and find their leader!

If the player loses the trail

 * ''While we were chasing the bandits, Tartuccio surely had time to escape from the tomb! Will we be able to find anything there?
 * ''The old house of the Stag Lord revealed many mysteries. But who knows what our insidious rival has managed to do in the meanwhile?
 * ''We've lost too much time examining the Stag Lord's former dwelling. Wherever the trail leads us, Tartuccio may have had enough time to escape, or prepare for the encounter.
 * ''While we fought the bloodthirsty beasts at the Temple of the Elk, Tartuccio might have found his artifact, or done something else insidious!

Wait until Tartuccio shows up again

 * ''We lost the trail, but Tartuccio can't escape so easily! Sooner or later we'll meet him again — or someone who can help us find him. And then he'll know the meaning of pursuit!

Explore the vicinity of the Old Sycamore

 * ''Tartuccio, now in the guise of a kobold, has disappeared. All we know is that he's searching for a certain artifact or relic, in the vicinity of the Old Sycamore. That means our road leads there too!

Deliver Tartuccio to Kesten, dead or alive

 * ''As it turns out, our rival isn't quite so simple. And by that I mean, he's even more insidious than expected! Kesten Garess, Jamandi Aldori's envoy, informs us that Tartuccio is in fact a spy from the kingdom of Pitax. We need to find him immediately and deliver him to Kesten, dead or alive!

Tell Kesten of Tartuccio's fate

 * ''Alas, Tartuccio preferred to fall in battle rather than to surrender. Kesten Garess and the swordlords must learn of his fate.

Decide the fate of the relics

 * With Tartuccio's death, both sacred branches of the Old Sycamore came into our possession. These priceless relics were the whole reason the mites and the kobolds clashed in their cruel war. We must deal with these treasures wisely — for the dungeon dwellers, as well as for our own sakes.
 * The player can opt to deliver the relics to either side, forge peace between the mites and the kobolds, or slaughter both and keep the relic for themselves.

Outcome
"Tartuccio, the scoundrel, turned out to be a Pitax spy! He faced our glorious leader in a battle, was roundly defeated, and met his end."

Meet with Tartuccio in the Stolen Lands
''Our daring {name} and the insidious sorcerer Tartuccio received a special task from Jamandi Aldori — a chance to claim their own barony! But only one of them may prevail. We must seek Tartuccio out in the Stolen Lands and find out what our rival is busy with.''


 * Traveling southeast from Oleg's Trading Post towards the yet-to-be-discovered Ancient Tomb, the player will be met with another 'random' encounter, this time with a seemingly insane or senile old man by the name of Remus. Remus will incessantly refer to the supernatural fog surrounding the area until the player attempts to dismiss him, at which point he will make cryptic reference to Tartuccio and an ancient tomb. For listening to his ramblings the player will gain experience and have the Ancient Tomb revealed on the travel map.
 * While traveling to the Ancient Tomb, the player will likely come across a location signified by a green 3D object on the map called the Blackberry Meadow. This location cannot be interacted with at the moment, but once the player has formed their barony this location and others like it in any regions owned by the player may be claimed as a kingdom resource for a small fee.

Examine the ancient tomb
''Tartuccio, our leader's ignoble rival, is searching a nearby tomb for a certain ominous artifact. Let's go there and intervene!''


 * Upon entering the Ancient Tomb the party will almost immediately encounter Tartuccio and his goons- and your companions that decided to go with him! Neither of the two companions will seem pleased with their decision to follow Tartuccio, and a [ Diplomacy 10] check may be made to convince either companion, but only one of them, to rejoin the player's party, after which Tartuccio will flee with the other and a battle will ensue with the mercenaries who have been left behind. This battle can be deceptively difficult given the party's level, and since there is a skill challenge in the conversation before hand it would be best to save and apply whichever meager buffs the party has access to at this point. One of the mercenaries has a Scorched Fragment of a Necklace, which is likely to be the player's first acquisition in the 'Notable' tab of the inventory. While the fragment will sell for a hefty amount of gold, it is best to hold on to any curios assigned to the Notable tab until the player encounters the Storyteller, who will purchase many of these artifacts for much more gold than they can be sold for. Some artifacts can even be reforged into usable items once enough pieces have been gathered, with a short story about the item's previous owner to boot.
 * After dispatching Tartuccio's mercenaries, crossing to the southwestern hallway will prompt a [ Perception 12] check and a [Perception 17] check. Succeeding will reveal a switch to a hidden room and a hidden pedestal with an Ancient Cyclops Coin respectively. The room has a [Perception 17] [ Trickery 17] trap to disarm before collecting the loot therein.

Follow Tartuccio's trail
''He won't fool us so easily! We'll follow the trail and find their l eader!''


 * Continuing on with the transition point to the southwest will start up another illustrated book episode. There are a variety of outcomes based on the success of the party's roles a nd the player's choices. Here is the recommended path:
 * Follow Tartuccio (Lore [Nature 11]) check.
 * Imagine who left the claw marks (Lore [Nature 14]) check.
 * Follow the footprints down into the gully.
 * Climb the root [Mobility 11] check.
 * Exploring all of the other options of this illustrated book episode as well as following the directions laid out above leads to the Pine Patch and fleshes out the idea that Tartuccio has successfully infiltrated a local clan of kobolds under the guise of a shaman with knowledge of a relic which will help the kobolds wipe out their enemies the mites.
 * The reason for the split laid out in the illustrated book episode is that while Tartuccio went one way with some of his kobold followers, another group of kobolds took your remaining companion captive! Following the path along the gully but not in the gully will instead lead to a combat encounter with some kobolds, which in turn causes the player to lose Tartuccio's trail, forcing them to search for more clues regarding Tartuccio's whereabouts. Alternatively, if the player explores directly south of Oleg's Trading post they will eventually stumble across Old Sycamore, the location of their quarry.
 * While exploring the Pine Patch, be sure to check the southwestern corner of the map for a [Perception 6] and [Perception 7] check to find an Ancient Rostlandic Coin and several bottles of Port respectively.
 * At this point it is recommended that the player return to where they left off in the Stolen Land walkthrough, picking up with the journey to Thorn Ford. There are some time based aspects of this quest however, so the player may wish to continue with the quest immediately. Be warned that some parts of the quest may be more difficult moving forward without taking the time to level and acquire loot from other quests and areas first.

Explore the vicinity of the Old Sycamore
''Tartuccio, now in the guise of a kobold, has disappeared. All we know is that he's searching for a certain artifact or relic, in the vicinity of the Old Sycamore. That means our road leads there too!''


 * Regardless of when the player chooses to resume their pursuit of Tartuccio, they'll want to head due south from Oleg's Trading Post or southeast from Pine Patch towards Old Sycamore.
 * Upon arriving at Old Sycamore, the player will be greeted by Kesten Garess and a few of his remaining compatriots. Suffice it to say that Jamandi Aldori has been convinced of Tartuccio's treacherous nature due to her own investigations, and Kesten had been sent to capture Tartuccio himself before the mist rolled in around the Outskirts. Kesten will return to Oleg's Trading Post to lick his wounds, leaving the player to deal with Tartuccio themselves.

Deliver Tartuccio to Kesten, dead or alive
''As it turns out, our rival isn't quite so simple. And by that I mean, he's even more insidious than expected! Kesten Garess, Jamandi Aldori's envoy, informs us that Tartuccio is in fact a spy from the kingdom of Pitax. We need to find him immediately and deliver him to Kesten, dead or alive!''


 * Moving north from where you met Kesten, the player will encounter the first of many skirmishes between the mites led by Warrior Queen Bdaah and the kobolds led by Chief Sootscale. At this point the player has several options:
 * Attack the both mites and kobolds then and there.
 * Side with the mites and attack the kobolds.
 * Side with the kobolds and attack the mites.
 * Take the neutral path and declare that you will investigate both parties.
 * As both races are evil there is no true 'good' path, and the player will be committing genocide against one or both tribes no matter what. There are advantages and disadvantages to all of the paths listed above. Regardless if which, if any, side is chosen, the mites and kobolds will continue to slaughter each other as the player explores Old Sycamore. The mites will have an advantage over the kobolds thanks to their DR 2/cold iron.
 * Directly to the west of the first encounter is a [Perception 19] check to notice an overgrown passage, which itself has an [Athletics 23] check to traverse without taking damage. Going down the passage leads to a few mites conspiring to hide a chest of loot from their Warrior Queen. Pass a [Trickery 20] check to open the chest.
 * The player can head either north, or back east from here; east is recommended so that the player may pick up Death to the Worgs! before heading north.
 * Another, larger scale battle between the mites and kobolds is taking place to the east. There is a hill that can be climbed with an [Mobility 21] check, leading to an encounter which will be mentioned after the party heads north. Failing the check will deal a good amount of damage to the party, so save before taking the path if you choose to.
 * Dispatch or walk past the warring kobolds and mites, and the party will run into a couple of Tatzlwyrms. Behind the tatzlwyrms is a corpse with a Scorched Fragment of a Necklace, an Ancient Rostlandic Coin, and a Restovic Ranger's Broken Arrow.
 * Hooking around to the southwest of the corpse is a small peninsula with several neutral mites and kobolds; these former enemies gave given up on fighting and banded together, and will give the quest Death to the Worgs!. Further to the west past the camp are a [Perception 12] check to notice some lootable brambles, and a [Perception 14] check to notice a chest requiring a [Trickery 10] check to open.
 * Heading back east and to the south the player will come across a fallen tree which can be climbed with a [Mobility 21] check, which will lead to a couple of corpses and chests, one requiring [Trickery 15] to unlock, the other [Trickery 22] to unlock.
 * Returning to the northeast path leads to the kobold entrance of the Old Sycamore Caves; the kobold section must be cleared or the Mites' Relic otherwise collected from Chief Sootscale before the player can enter the chamber Tartuccio is hiding in, so it may be worth clearing this area while the party is already there. The kobold section can be reached from the mite section of Old Sycamore Caves by way of the Old Sycamore Depths however, so it is not required.
 * Continuing past the kobolds will lead to an overgrown passage with an [Athletics 20] check to take a shortcut to the northern plateau; getting back down the passage is slightly trickier and requires an [Athletics 22] check to succeed without taking damage.
 * To the east of the overgrown passage are several traps [Perception 18] [Trickery 18], and four bandits who will be falling asleep as the player arrives; party members should be moved in close proximity to the bandits before attacking so that the bandits can all be attacked at the same time and take attacks of opportunity as they try to stand up.
 * Returning to the starting point of the area, take the northern path around or through the fighting mites and kobolds.
 * Continuing straight north will reveal several corpses around a camp; a [Lore (Nature) 19] check will reveal that the corpses appear to be terrified and have burns all over their bodies. One of the corpses has an Ancient Rostlandic Coin. There is a satchel requiring a [Trickery 15] check to unlock.
 * Interacting with the campfire will allow the player to rest without expending supplies, but doing so will will summon Viscount Smoulderburn, a powerful Will-o'-wisp enemy that will likely be too much for the party to fight until Chapter II. If the party has a divine caster, a Resist Energy (Lightning) and/or Protection from Energy (Lightning) spell will be extraordinarily helpful in preventing the unavoidable damage that the Viscount will inflict.
 * East of the camp is another battle between the mites and kobolds. The ramp to the north leads to some rubble requiring a [Perception 19] check to notice.
 * The ramp leads to the mite section of the Old Sycamore Caves, and there are several [Perception 18] [Trickery 18] traps; approaching the traps will spawn several Giant Centipedes. On a small ledge below the entrance to the caves is a Satchel requiring a [Trickery 14] check to unlock, as well as some brambles with a Token of the Dryad. There is a hill that can be climbed down with a [Mobility 21] check.
 * Climbing down the hill or traveling back along the path and continuing east, the player will come across a fallen branch with an Ancient Rostlandic Coin. Just beyond that is a pack of elk and a Megaloceros with a hidden stump requiring a [Perception 13] check to notice.
 * North of the elk is a pack of wolves and Grarrukh, a worg and the objective of Death to the Worgs!. Along the way is a hidden branch requiring a [Perception 13] check to notice. Killing Grarrukh will reward the player with an Amulet of Mighty Fists +1, which will be a boon to a monk, or any characters who may have picked up a natural attack.
 * Visiting the central plateau, either by the ramp from the north or the skill check from the south, the player can find several inebriated kobolds to the east around the moon radish patch needed for Moon Radishes for Bokken, or a Lonely Shambling Mound to the west. The shambling mound will be a difficult opponent due to its high attack bonus and ability to grapple targets that it damages, dealing a large amount of damage. Near the eastern side of the ramp is a [Perception 13] check to notice some loot in a tree stump.
 * With the topside of Old Sycamore fully explored, it's time to move on to the Old Sycamore Caves. This is also an opportune time to return to Oleg's Trading Post to offload some loot in the event that your party encumbrance is getting a little too heavy. This walkthrough will be covering the kobold section of the caves first.


 * As soon as the player enters the kobold half of the Old Sycamore Caves they will be attacked by kobolds if they are hostile. Otherwise the player may continue to the next section without incident.
 * Past the entrance there are a series of [Perception 18] [Trickery 18] traps lining the hallway up to an ominous looking 'bridge'. A kobold stands across the way on the other side of the bridge, and warns the party not to advance:
 * If the player passes a [Trickery 14] check then they can jam the doors of the bridge and cross safely.
 * If the player chooses not to heed the kobold's warning and runs across the bridge anyhow then the doors will open and the party will drop down to the Old Sycamore Depths, suffering damage in the process.
 * The player can ignore the bride entirely by using the Old Sycamore Depths to enter the kobold half of the Old Sycamore Caves.
 * Past the bridge are several more [Perception 18] [Trickery 18] traps to navigate around, as well as several giant spiders. Some rubble containing an Ancient Rostlandic Coin is hidden with a [Perception 6] check.
 * Continuing east up the ramp leads to more giant spiders and yet more [Perception 18] [Trickery 18] traps. At the end of the tunnel is a jammed mining cart, which the party will come back for later after picking up the Miner's Lever, and some rubble with a Taldan Warrior's Dog Tag hidden with a [Perception 17] check.
 * When the player returns with the Miner's Lever, the mining cart can be pushed into a wooden barricade, breaking into a room with a Scorched Fragment of a Necklace and some other minor loot.
 * If the player is allied with the mites and completed the quest Mandible Jewelry for Gatekeeper Quoggy, then they will have the Bridge Hoist Part needed to lower the bridge from the mite half of the Old Sycamore Caves.
 * Returning east there are a few Giant Centipedes in a short northern passage, but continuing past that passage are even more [Perception 18] [Trickery 18] traps and giant spiders.
 * Beyond the spiders is a rather large camp of kobolds. Fortunately, the kobolds are spread into several packs so they won't be able to gang up on the party. Flame shamans and alchemists will be the larger nuisance, so try to take them out first.
 * Further down the eastern tunnel past the kobold encampment are more giant spiders, and a path that hooks north to a few kobold guards and the gate leading to Chief Sootscale.
 * The encounter with Chief Sootscale could be easy, or a bit tricky depending on how he is engaged:
 * If the player is already hostile with the kobolds, this encounter may be a bit more difficult due to the choke point of the gate. Archers will have the high ground an be able to engage immediately, the alchemist and bone shaman can use concoctions and debuff spells without being threatened, and the sentinels can block off the choke point, preventing the party from accessing the back line of the kobolds.
 * If the player is not hostile with the kobolds yet and chooses to attack, the party may be split up to engage or threaten the trouble enemies; being able to pre-place melee next to the archers and casters to provoke attacks of opportunity, a tank on Chief Sootscale helps quell the chaos that comes from an upfront assault.
 * If the player is not hostile with the kobolds yet and chooses to work with Chief Sootscale they will receive the quest Death to Queen Bdaah!, and must retrieve the Kobolds' Relic from Warrior Queen Bdaah.


 * After the battle is finished, roam the camp to locate several hidden lootable objects, including two sacks with [Perception 12] checks, and a crate with a [Perception 10] check. Chief Sootscale has the Mites' Relic and a Belt of Incredible Dexterity +2, and be sure to check the rubble near the archers for a Taldan Warrior's Dog Tag.
 * Be sure to head to the cages north of where Chief Sootscale is to speak with and recruit whichever companion the player didn't pick up in the Ancient Tomb. If the player is still neutral with the kobolds they must convince Chief Sootscale to release the companion. This companion will not be able to join the player's party until Chapter II, and will head off to Oleg's Trading Post on their own.
 * With the kobold section of the Old Sycamore Caves finished, or waiting for the player to return with the Kobolds' Relic, it's time to visit the mite section of the caves.
 * Take the transition to the Old Sycamore Depths located near the gate to Chief Sootscale's camp.


 * Immediately to the south of the transition point is a chest containing the Miner's Lever, which is needed to interact with the jammed mining cart back in the western section of the kobolds' half of Old Sycamore Caves.
 * There is an interactable ledge which can safely be skipped for now, as the same area will be reached later.
 * Continue along the passage south, fighting giant spiders along the way. The passage will terminate in a chamber with a larger than normal Giant Spider. There is a [Perception 18] [Trickery 18] trap located in the center of the chamber, so the player may want to hang back when the first spider is spotted to lure the pack into the tunnel, allowing them to disarm the trap before engaging the larger spider. One of the corpses behind the spiders has a Restovic Swordlord's Empty Sheath.
 * Follow the new path west, fighting giant spiders along the way. There is a small chamber with a corpse about midway through the tunnel, but otherwise the player should continue until they reach the western corner of the map; there will be a [Perception 20] [Trickery 20] trap just before there spiders there.
 * The path will terminate in an exit back up to the Old Sycamore Caves, right next to the jammed mining cart, which makes this an opportune time to use the Miner's Lever. There will be a new path north, leading directly into a pack of Skeletons and Skeletal Champions. There is a [Perception 20] [Trickery 20] trap next to the statue of Shelyn, and two check [Perception 14] and [Perception 17] to reveal a hidden chest and pile of rubble respectively. The rubble has a Taldan Warrior's Dog Tag.
 * Continue north past the statue, and keep left at both upcoming forks. This will take the party through several encounters with giant centipedes and spitting giant centipedes, and will terminate in a dead end.
 * Getting closer to the conspicuously man-made wall will reveal a hidden switch on a [Perception 8] check. Pressing the switch isn't enough on its own however, two party members, preferably ranged fighters or casters, must be standing on the two stone tiles on the floor in front of the wall. A text box will appear above the tile confirming that it is depressed. Place all of your melee characters next to the wall, preferably with a tank in the lead, and hit the switch; doing so will drop a section of the wall, revealing three tougher than average skeletal champions. Buffing before this fight is highly recommended. There is a Taldan Warrior's Dog Tag in the room where the skeletons came from.
 * Return to the first fork, just past the statue of Shelyn, and head down the southern passage, using the interactable ledge to jump down.
 * After jumping off the ledge, turn right at the fork in the passage. A [Perception 1] check will reveal an interactable boulder which leads to the room the party would fall into if they had walked over the bridge in the kobold section of the caves above without fixing it. A [Perception 10] check will reveal a sack of loot, and a pile of rubble in this room has an Ancient Rostlandic Coin.
 * Turn back north and make your way into the empty chamber ahead; while the room only appears to have a few giant centipedes at first, after a few moments of combat several more will come crawling from the fog of war, including a Tremendous Centipede. While the run-of-the-mill centipede should be a joke for the party, the tremendous centipede boasts a large pool of hit points and stands a good chance of hitting even a heavily armored character.
 * When the tremendous centipede is dead, be sure to explore the tunnel it came from to collect a Restovic Paladin's Crumpled Helmet and an Agile Light Pick +1.
 * Following the passage north will eventually split into a fork continuing north, or breaking off to the east. Take the passage north to fight some giant frogs and giant poisonous frogs. The poisonous variety is a bit tougher than the standard giant frog, and its venom can be particularly annoying. For your efforts, find a Golden Toad in the chest in this room; being able to place items in the chest would normally indicate some kind of interaction, but none have been documented to this date.
 * Return to the fork and take the path to the east, killing any centipedes that you run across.
 * Further east, the passage will split again, in three ways this time: north, east, and south.
 * Following the northern passage will reveal a transition area back up to the mite half of the Old Sycamore Caves.
 * Heading east will bring the party to a chamber with a small lake. There are several 'Notable' items to be looted here, a Jeweled Rice (recipe), a Scorched Fragment of a Necklace, and the Mandibles of a Huge Spider.
 * Returning to the southern tunnel will take the party to a chamber with the taproot of Old Sycamore. The room with the fronds has a [Perception 6] check to locate some rubble with a Token of the Dryad.
 * East of the taproot is a small chamber with a [Perception 1] check to notice a hidden tunnel, and a pile of rubble with an Ancient Rostlandic Coin. The hidden tunnel contains a chest with a Headband of Inspired Wisdom +2.
 * Returning to the taproot chamber and continuing to the south will bring the party to a room full of more giant centipedes, as well as a pile of rubble with an Ancient Rostlandic Coin. Taking the eastern passage from here will lead to the interactable ledge that was initially skipped when the party entered from the eastern part of the kobold half of the Old Sycamore Caves.
 * The Old Sycamore Depths are nearly completely explored now: return to the fork next the the statue of Shelyn to finish the final leg.
 * Taking the tunnel to the north will reveal a hidden passage with a [Perception 1] check. Inside is a Mite Hermit, who, while displeased by the party's presence, will not attack immediately. Interacting with him three times however will initiate combat.
 * With the mite hermit out of the way, return to the tunnel and keep heading north to find a transition point back to the Old Sycamore Caves.


 * Taking the aforementioned transition point will place the party in combat immediately if the mites are already hostile to them.
 * To the south of the tunnel the party emerged from is a group of mites; be wary of mites with class levels, which are more prevalent here in the caves. Mite Priests can be particularly troublesome with their penchant for casting Hold Person. The pile of garbage in the middle of the room has a hidden crate that can be detected with a [Perception 12] check.
 * To the east of the garbage pile are a secondary garbage pile to the north, and a tunnel south.
 * There are a few giant centipedes in the garbage pile to the north, as well as a [Perception 12] check to reveal a hidden crate in the pile. Some rubble in the garbage pile contains an Ancient Rostlandic Coin.
 * The southern passage leads to a chamber with a couple pens, and several mites taking potshots at a lone kobold. The player has several alignment based conversation options with the mites here:
 * (Neutral Good) Allows the player to convince the mites to free the kobold.
 * (Lawful Neutral) Allows the player to grant the kobold a swift death.
 * (Chaotic Evil) [Dexterity 10] Allows the player to join in and kill the kobold, which will earn the player a Gold Ring in the process.
 * And finally the player can attack the mites outright, which will turn all of the mites in the cave hostile.
 * The kobold will flee once the mites are dead if the player is hostile to the kobolds already. Oddly enough, the kobold's statistics are the same as a standard mite, but with a kobold model and equipment.
 * To the south of the mite pens is a bridge which can only be lowered with the Bridge Hoist Part from Gatekeeper Quoggy. This is the same area accessed by using the Miner's Lever on the jammed minecart on the kobold half of the Old Sycamore Caves.
 * Return to the Old Sycamore Depths exit that the party arrived from, and take the northern tunnel this time, following the northeastern path once the tunnel forks.
 * The northeastern path hooks around to the southeast immediately, leading the player to another chamber that splits to the southwest and northeast. The southeastern corner of the cavern has an Ancient Rostlandic Coin hiding in some rubble.
 * Follow the path southwest to a foul banquet hall of sorts full of mites. There is a hidden sack on one of the tables requiring a [Perception 12] check to notice. Check the western corner of this chamber for some rubble with a Token of the Dryad.
 * To the east of the banquet hall is a sort of barracks with some mites and giant centipedes, but no notable loot.
 * Return to the tunnel to the northeast. Following a short ramp will lead the party to Warrior Queen Bdaah, who will have many of the same speech options as Chief Sootscale if she is still neutral:
 * If the player is already hostile with the mites, this encounter can be made a bit easier if the player is able to bait the guards outside of Sycamore Hall away before engaging the queen. There is a Mite Priest with high ground who will cast Hold Person on the party; while annoying enough on its own, if they player doesn't manage to bait the guards away then Seneschal Vaggik may join the fray and double the number of Hold Person spells going out.
 * If the player is not hostile with the kobolds yet and chooses to attack, the party may be split up to engage or threaten the trouble enemies like they could have with the kobolds; pre-placing melee next to the Seneschal and priest to make attacks of opportunity when they cast can help, and having a tank next to the Queen is advisable since she has a respectable attack bonus herself. The rest of the mites aren't much of a threat unless a character fails their save against Hold Person, in which case the nearby Mite Butcher and Mite Scout can make sneak attacks with impunity.
 * If the player is not hostile with the mites yet and chooses to work with Warrior Queen Bdaah they will receive the quest Death to Chief Sootscale!, and must retrieve the Mites' Relic from Chief Sootscale. This is the most bloodless path possible since Chief Sootscale can be convinced to give up the relic when you speak with him, though it is just as easy to kill him and return to Sycamore Hall with the relic.
 * Regardless of how the encounter with Warrior Queen Bdaah goes, if they have dealt with Chief Sootscale at this point then the player should now be able to proceed into Sycamore Hall unimpeded, with the mites' blessing or otherwise. Buff up with any spells left in the tank: Tartuccio awaits in the next chamber.
 * Tartuccio has been busy acquiring the artifact beneath Old Sycamore while the player has been dallying with other business if they dealt with Stolen Land before confronting him. Accompanied by a bunch of his kobold lackies Tartuccio will engage the player in a short conversation before combat begins. Expendable as ever, Tartuccio will quickly roast his followers with a fireball as they rush the nearest characters. If possible, it would be best to send a character with a high Reflex save forward by themselves to engage Tartuccio in melee, causing him to blast his minions while hopefully doing as little damage as possible to the party. In the absence of that, be prepared for a large amount of area damage on the whole party.
 * Even when Tartuccio is dead the party still has a little way to go before this quest is all wrapped up. Make sure to pick up the Token of the Dryad in the rubble in the southern corner of the chamber while you loot.

Decide the fate of the relics

 * With Tartuccio's death, both sacred branches of the Old Sycamore came into our possession. These priceless relics were the whole reason the mites and the kobolds clashed in their cruel war. We must deal with these treasures wisely — for the dungeon dwellers, as well as for our own sakes.


 * If Warrior Queen Bdaah still lives by the time the party exits Sycamore Hall, she will come to collect the Mites' Relic. An honorable player would return the relic and be on their way, but for those who can't get enough combat - or want the Queen's admittedly nice loot - they can refuse to return the relic, causing combat to ensue. At this point all of the previously non-hostile mites will be hostile to the player's party, which can be a bit of a slog if resources and spells were running low when they engaged Tartuccio.
 * The Kobolds' Relic may also be returned to Chief Sootscale if he still lives, putting an end to the hostilities between the mites and the kobolds. As above though, this could be the perfect opportunity to make sure that both factions have been wiped off the face of Golarion. Both relics are worth quite a bit of gold after all, and kobolds and mites are both evil nuisances to civilization after all.

Tell Kesten of Tartuccio's fate

 * Alas, Tartuccio preferred to fall in battle rather than to surrender. Kesten Garess and the swordlords must learn of his fate.


 * Regardless of the player choice, return to the bend just north of the Old Sycamore Depths transition point that the party arrived by, then travel up the tunnel to the northwest.
 * The final stretch of the Old Sycamore Caves pits the party against Gatekeeper Quoggy and his giant centipedes. There is a hidden crate near where he stands requiring a [Perception 12] check to notice. An ally of the mites should have already met the Gatekeeper and received the quest Mandible Jewelry, while an ally of the kobolds or enemy of both may be meeting him for the first time now. Quoggy is a bit tougher than the other mites, but shouldn't stand in the way of the party for too long. Make sure to get all of the giant centipedes crawling around his chamber, the like to lurk in the corners.
 * Unfortunately for the player, Tartuccio's story doesn't end here. As the party exists the Old Sycamore Caves, the player is treated to a cutscene of a mysterious ethereal figure resurrecting Tartuccio, the gnome-turned-kobold skulking off into the shadows as the cutscene ends.


 * With all of the areas of Old Sycamore cleared, it's finally time to head back to Oleg's Trading Post to report Tartuccio's demies to Kesten Garess. Give your party a well deserved rest, this is one of the longest questing sequences in the game believe it or not. When it's time, head back north to the trading post to turn in this quest and sell off the spoils of your conquest.
 * Once the player arrives at the trading post, the Guardian of the Bloom will appear to tell them that the fogs have lifted and it's time to confront the Stag Lord. Kesten will be waiting inside the inn next to the bar, and once you turn this quest in it's time to return to Stolen Land and the fight against the Stag Lord.