Following the Trail to the Native Village

Following the Trail to the Native Village

When you talk to Steelbeard he asks if you are ready to go, and of course you are!  Saying yes (actually what you say is "You Lead, I'll Follow") flags the quest "To the Natives" and causes Steelbeard to run off along the trail while Patty rejoins the party.  Simply chase after and follow Steelbeard and you will find yourself  quickly reaching a juncture where the Captain stops, turns to you for a mini-CS, so ask the question you think is best for you -- if you pick the first option he will run through the nearby cave and, when he reaches the other side, turn for another mini-CS in which he declares that he recognizes the path (you flag and complete the quest Farther Inland for some modest Glory) and he tells you that the shortest path is ahead as well as the safest, and you need to make a  decision.

Asking what is along the other way reveals that there are lots of monsters that way -- and that causes him to choose to take the safe route, and flags the quest Over the Pass.   Continue to follow the Captain until he runs up a slope to the top, where he will turn to chat with you again for a mini-CS and offer you three dialogue choices.  The first two irritate him, the third causes him to fill you in on the area information.  Stand still and wait a moment and Steelbeard and Patty enter into one of their elongated arguments -- go ahead and let that play out as it is amusing and sets the mood.  This also causes the sub-quest The Cave at the Pass to flag, in which you are encouraged to take a closer look into the cave at the pass.  This is a good spot to save your game, right?

Clearing the Cave means combat and riches - gold nuggets!

-- The Cave at the Pass --

Inside there is a gold nugget in the basket -- light a Torch and carefully advance and you will encounter a pair of Natives and a Pirate from Crow's crew -- this also flags the sub-quest Hidden Lookouts!  Basically you need to defeat them to complete the sub-quest, and an easy way to do that is to strategically retreat back through the cave and out of its entrance which will cause Patty and the Captain to help you with the fight but there is something you should be aware of -- you only get full Glory credit for the ones upon whom you deliver the killing blow, not the ones that Patty or the Captain kill.  So to maximize the Glory you acquire in addition to the 100 Glory you get for the sub-quest, you will want to be the one who delivers the killing blow on each of the three enemy, right?

With the Pirate and his Native buds dead, loot their bodies / grab their dropped weapons, and then go back into the cave and look around the area where you encountered them and you will find some raw meat, a statuette, a Level 30 Chest, and a book called Diary of a Pirate.  There is a bottle of wine and mushroom here to be collected as well, and you can use the Campfire to cook the meat.  If your Lockpicking is just 20 you will need to improve it to open this chest -- you do that by increasing Cunning, but chances are you do not have the required amount of Glory at the moment to advance it twice, so just make a mental note that the chest is here and move on.

You can sleep in the bed here if you need to rest, and you should read the Diary to flag the Legendary Item Quest "The Voodoo Needle" (and you should flag that so it is added).  Sleeping in the bed until the next morning will recover your health without you having to use Provisions so it is highly recommended that you make use of beds when you can safely do so in order to heal your character.

On your way out of the cave notice the Ore VEin on the left as you exit -- mine that to gain x5 Gold Nuggets!  Well done!

When you emerge Patty and her dad are standing outside drinking rum and insulting each other.  Speak to the Captain and he asks what you discovered -- tell him.  After you report the Captain heads onward and you flag the quest "Down into the Valley."

When you reach the next CS you complete the Down the Valley sub-quest and the Captain gives you advice on how to deal with the Tough Blue Claw Monkeys he is sensing are present in the area -- basically he wants you to find them and lure them back to the clearing where you can all take them out as a group!  Patty leaves the group, and you can now go and lure the group of Blue and White Monkeys here -- but if like me you did some pre-quest exploration and took out the group of monkeys prior to advancing the story, well then they are already dead!  So you can simply report to the Captain "The Blueclaws are dead!"

The Captain is impressed with you - and them - Patty rejoins the group, and you flag the quest "Just a Little Farther" after the CS ends.  Following the Captain will complete that quest just like the previous sub-quests in the chain.  At the next CS you complete that sub-quest and Steelbeard points out that the village is just the other side of the river -- which flags the sub-quest "Across the River."

Following Steelbeard across the river completes the sub-quest and initiates a CS and dialogue in which you are basically assigned the task of visiting the Native Village while Steelbeard heads off to get drunk on some Pirate Rum.  Patty parts company with you here as well -- oddly the dialogue that she uses presupposes a quest direction we are not actually taking, but what can you do?

Bearing in mind that you have essentially completed the journey from the Pirate Tower, which is where we started this section from, to the Native Village, which was the destinations that we desired, that nicely wraps up this section!  Well done mates!  Good on ya!

A Journey to the Native Village in which Much is Revealed...

So to recap, you have learned that Captain Crow is active on the Sword Coast but that his ship has not been seen.  His men have somehow ingratiated themselves with the Natives, and you understand that it is in your best interest to learn how it is that they managed to do so?   Starting at the Pirate Tower after landing on the beach on the Sword Coast, you made your way with Patty and Captain Steelbeard's assistance through the jungle, over the Pass, and along the Valley to the outskirts of the Native Village.

While you are still able to exercise moderate skills as a warrior with edged weapons, the primary offensive skill that is associated with the Natives is Voodoo, of which you will soon be learning more.

A by-product of your adventuring and the battles you have fought between the beach and the village should include having acquired the following resources as well as treasures (if you missed some of the major elements now is the time to backtrack and get them but look out for alligators!):

== Resources ==
-- Black Oleander
-- Bloodroot
-- Choking Vine
-- Golden Clover
-- Golden Nuggets (x7)
-- Jade (x2)
-- Powdered Poppy Seeds
-- Skullflower
-- Spirit Lily
-- Swordthorn (Rare Potion Ingredient - Retain)

In addition to the above resources you should also have acquired a fair bit of loot in the form of weapons and kit taken off of the bodies of the enemy who you have slain.  That is all good since you will eventually be selling off the bits you do not want or cannot use to the merchants in the Village...