Sorrowflow (quest)

Synopsis
"Interesting things are happening. - Kaessi, a tiefling from Qadira, came to us asking for help in finding an artifact in an ancient treasury! It seems like a normal errand... so why do I feel it's more complicated than it sounds?"

Find Kaessi in the capital

 * Kaessi is going to settle in the capital, and asked the baron{ess} to visit her - to discuss the details of a future expedition to seek an artifact! Her house can be found near the capital square, to the right.

Travel to the Taldan Ruins

 * The mysterious tiefling will be waiting for the baroness at a place called Sorrowflow.

Climb up the cliff and look around

 * The ruins of a tower on the cliff are all that's left of a Taldan settlement, destroyed long ago by a flood. It's very sad! But what treasures could the tower be hiding?

Deal with the gargoyle and recover the Disk of the Eclipse!

 * There! The treasures from the tower = and even the artifact our tiefling friend seeks = were stolen by a horrible gargoyle! We need to think of a way to recover the Disk of the Eclipse and the other valuables!

Outcome
"Another adventure is over! We didn't get the artifact, but we do have a new member in our party. Something tells me we won't be getting bored with her around!"

Find Kaessi in the capital

 * Kaessi is going to settle in the capital, and asked the baron{ess} to visit her - to discuss the details of a future expedition to seek an artifact! Her house can be found near the capital square, to the right.


 * Kaessi will approach the player during A Noble Welcome and ask that they meet with her later in the capital at a house she is renting. The player may visit the house at any point, but Kaessi will be the same level as the player's party at this point, so it may be worth adding her to the roster of companions immediately.
 * After speaking with Kaessi at her house, the truth of her dual nature as both Kalikke and Kanerah is revealed. The player will then be asked to help retrieve an artifact known as the Disk of the Eclipse, which will allow the twins to control when they swap at will.

Travel to the Taldan Ruins

 * The mysterious tiefling will be waiting for the baroness at a place called Sorrowflow.


 * Getting to Sorrowflow will be a bit tricky the first time since it is located in a region that the player will not have had any reason to explore yet. Take the path southeast from Nettle's Crossing until a path opens up to the east. Follow the eastern path until crossing the Shrike River, which should then give the player a path to the northwest, directly towards Sorrowflow.
 * It may be a good idea to prepare the player's character with as many healing and buff potions as are available at this point, because they will have to dismiss all other companions and travel with Kalikke alone in the upcoming location.

Climb up the cliff and look around

 * The ruins of a tower on the cliff are all that's left of a Taldan settlement, destroyed long ago by a flood. It's very sad! But what treasures could the tower be hiding?


 * If the player has any extra equipment such as a Ring of Protection, Cloak of Resistance, or Amulet of Natural Armor, this would be a good time to share with Kalikke, as she starts with barely any equipment.
 * Rounding the corner of the path leading down are several Ferocious Slurks standing around a trio of water elementals seemingly trapped in an arcane fire circle. Use Kalikke's water blast ability on each of the pyres surrounding the water elementals; note that the pyres do not display any targeting reticle, but clicking on them with water blast selected will cast on them. Putting out the fires will free the water elementals, which will warn Kalikke of danger ahead, and promise to help if given the signal.
 * Approaching the cliff north of the trapped elementals will give the player an [ Athletics 18] check to climb the cliff safely, or an [Athletics 12] check if the player has a rope.
 * To the east of the clifftop is a small cave with several giant centipedes, including a few tremendous centipedes. At the end of the cave some rubble is blocking the path which requires an [Athletics 24] check to clear; failure will fatigue the party, but the player may try again. This path does not need to be cleared as it leads right back outside, but it does offer a bit of experience for the skill check.
 * Head southwest towards the tower to face some gargoyles, and Kalikke will be distraught to find that the tower has been destroyed. She will walk towards the edge of the cliff and spot the Disk of the Eclipse being guarded by a Gargoyle-like Treant, but just before the player can make any comments Kalikke will be swapped for Kanerah, the latter attempting to awkwardly pass her appearance off with some small talk.

Deal with the gargoyle and recover the Disk of the Eclipse!

 * There! The treasures from the tower = and even the artifact our tiefling friend seeks = were stolen by a horrible gargoyle! We need to think of a way to recover the Disk of the Eclipse and the other valuables!


 * At this point the player has a few options for how to confront the treant:
 * Confront the treant head on.
 * Try to sneak around to the Disk of the Eclipse.
 * Summon the water elementals if they were freed. The player may make a (Lawful Evil) choice to let the elementals fight the treant themselves to soften it up, or a (Chaotic Good) choice to help them out. The elementals have no interactions with the player if they survive the encounter.
 * Once the treant lies dead, interact with the Disk. If the player is a class that can use detect magic, they will be able to detect that the Disk itself isn't all that powerful, but some being with a strong aura was recently around the Disk and did something to it. The player can then give the Disk to Kanerah, or hold onto it themselves for now; giving the Disk to Kanerah will allow her and Kalikke to swap back and forth at will, while withholding the Disk can be framed either as a (Chaotic Good) action or a (Neutral Evil) action depending on the player's response, but Kanerah will leave the party if the Disk isn't given to her, making her and Kalikke unavailable as a companion for the rest of the game.
 * Once the Disk is given to Kanerah she will bond with the artifact and swamp back to Kalikke. The two will now be able to swap back and forth freely at will. You may want to swap to Kanerah to get back up the cliff face due to its [Mobility 17] check, then back to Kalikke to get back down the other side with an [Athletics 16] check.
 * Returning to the world map will restore your party to the one that Sorrowflow was approached with, so traveling to your next location won't be as dangerous as just having Kanerah/Kalikke and the player's character.