Act II, Kaedwen Part IV -- Crossing the Mist

Act II, Kaedwen Part IV -- Crossing the Mist

As you exit the upper camp you run into Zoltan, who wants to go with you when you cross through the mist into Vergen.  You explain the magic of the talisman to him, and how it should part the mist to allow you to pass, and he affirms that he wants to accompany you.  Hey!  We will not be going alone on this mission, how cool is that?

A few things to bear in mind while on your way through the mist to the city -- fighting the Wraiths is rather pointless because you do not gain XP in battling them, so really running past them is the way to go.  The lower of the two paths seems to be the easier, so you may want to choose that since they both eventually go to the same place.  You will encounter a group of elves but the truce flag should keep them from killing you.

After you arrive at the city and pass through the gates you will be approached by a pair of guards -- talking to them will add information and advance some of the quests -- if you get confused on your route use your Medallion and it will spawn a guide ball for you to follow.  Once you cross over to the other side of the mist follow the path up the hills (head towards the marker) and you will encounter the elves, who Zoltan will talk to.  They agree to allow you to pass to the town gates.

As you enter through the gates a CS plays out in which you are greeted by the guards -- while it is true that you are in a hurry, be polite and do not insist on being passed on, let them talk and tell their stories -- once you have worked through the chat options ask after the Dun Banner; they mark the location for you where they buried the flag.  Next you tell them that you have to see Saskia -- they are not real wild about that...

Zoltan solves the issue by enlisting, and they will take you to see Saskia now, but go ahead and ask about Triss...  Ask about Iorveth, and then with all of the chat options now taken, you can prompt them to move on, and they mark an escape route out on your map for you.

Switch your active quest to Death Symbolized and follow the path up the stairs and through the tunnels to the forest, cross the river and follow the path to the marker, having the odd battle or three along the way.  When you reach the crypts you will have to work your way through, killing Wraiths as you blow down the walls to search each of the areas inside.

Eventually you will find a copy of a Wild Hunt Investigator's Notes -- read those -- at some point you will unlock the Achievement "The Butcher of Blaviken" (30 G) Kill 500 Foes.  Even if you were only doing the kills you needed to do as you progress this should pop here.

Winning a dead man's quiz to obtain the banner 

When you blow down one of the walls you will get a CS in which you interact with the specter of the Standard Barer of the Dun Banner -- you have a choice here, either kill him or let him quiz you!  I went for the quiz:

Question 1: He is misleading you; tell him he is wrong.  The Tamerians were in the center of the attack not off to one side.

Question 2: Menno Coehoorn is the correct answer.

Question 3: Ceohoorn is dead and you should tell him so.

Question 4: Vandergrift and Setkirk are he correct answer.

Question 5: The priest lead us out of the battle.

Successfully answering the questions earns you the banner and a sword -- pick up the items and leave the Beaver Skin Cap in their place, and that completes the quest.

-- Hatred Symbolized --

Now change your active quest to the Symbol of Hatred one and backtrack all the way to the town and head to the marker, meeting Zoltan in the tunnels.  To get to them you will need to leave town and go past the even encampment then follow the left-hand path through the narrow gorge and through a large arch.  These are really more like mines than tunnels, and they are dark inside, so you may want to drink a Cat Potion...

Expect to be attacked by monsters inside the mines as you work your way to the meeting place -- the mines are a confusing warren but you should be able to find him OK.  Try to avoid the Troll in the mines if you are doing the not killing Trolls Achievement -- Saskia is with Zoltan -- and she is willing to give you the sword to help remove the mist.  You try to convince her to retreat into a more defensible position to protect her people from Henselt but she refuses.

She asks why you are helping the evil King Henselt, and you tell her the truth -- that you are trying to recover your memory -- and she invites you to join her side.  It would be great if we could, but no, we have to go back and lift the mist...

You learn from Saskia that Iorveth lost the Spear to a bloke named Skalen -- so now you know who you have to get it from, and this flags the quest Spear of Destiny!  Well done mates!


-- Spear of Destiny Quest --

Return to the surface using the quick travel option after you complete your talk with Saskia and bid Zoltan farewell, and head back to Vergen.  The bloke you are looking for happens to be just inside the gates -- you may want to save your game by the way -- so head over to him and on the left by the stairs and chat him up.

Here is the deal - he will play Dice Poker with you - if you win you get the Spear, so basically you have to win.  The important thing you need to understand is that this is not a one-off deal.  You can lose as many times as you do, as long as you win once.  This is a standard game of Dice Poker, which you should be pretty good at by now, so just play as you usually do and you should win easily :)

I ended up drawing three Squares on my first roll and he gave up, so it was an easy win -- and once you have the Spear, you advance the Blood Curse quest and complete The Spear of Destiny quest, so good on ya mates!

Did you notice that the conversation included the observation that the bloke may have other items you could win from him?  Beat him again at Dice Poker and he pays you with the Sword of the Warrior Princess Xenthia (OK wow, I thought I was the only fan of Xena Warrior Princess, sweet homage!).

The next win gets you the Wool Coat of a Corporal of the Dun Banner, which he claims is a highly collectible and valuable item.  Unfortunately he does not like losing much, and he tells you he will play no more.  I guess we can live with that -- besides it is time to go!

-- Crossing Back through the Mist --

When you reach the other side you find Roche and his men tending some of their comrades who have been badly mauled.  Roche explains the course of events, and the betrayal that they suffered, and tells you about the woman who came through and the small statue that he could swear looked like Triss...

You tell him you must go into the camp and he vows to accompany you -- when you enter the camp and make your way towards the marker in the upper camp area you exit on that side of the camp only to find a ship sailing away from the shore, and it is clear that you are too late.  You ask Roche if the boat is ready to sail, and you learn that it is but that does not matter -- Henselt has no intention of letting you go until you break the curse!  Roche calms you down by pointing out the basic facts, and you are resigned to resuming the path that you have been following.