Editing AC2:Announcements - 2002/12 - Emergence (section)

== Episode Quest Guide ==
{{AC2 Article
 |  Link = microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Articles/ep1_guide.htm?nc=1
 | Title = Emergence Strategy Guide
 |  Text = 

Our December episode, "Emergence," began with renewed attacks by the Drudge Nemesis. To help reclaim the land from these foul Drudges, players can undertake a linked sequence of quests. These quests take players across the entire first continent, introduce them to friendly allies, and pit their resolve against the Drudge army!
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If you would like to complete the "Emergence" quests, but need a hint on where to begin and what needs to be done, we have composed the following strategy guide.


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'''Warning! The following contains spoiler information! If you DO NOT want specific location and quest information, DO NOT read ahead!'''

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'''Index:'''

* Rescue the Shelter Hold
* Find the Explorer, Obelisk Search
* Find the Arwic Mines Overseer, Arwic Mines and Crafting
* Find the Miller, Kehan Windmill
* Find the Esper Reaches Warder, Drudge Outcast Camp
* Find the Warder of Osteth, Old Cragstone Excavation
* Find the Warder Corporal, Isle of Tears Drudge Fort
* Find the Warder Scout, The Warder Scout's Notebook
* Seek the Warder Captain, Drudge Potion Raid
* Seek Dantry, The Illuminated Manuscript
* Seek the Drudge Heretics
* The Slavetaker's Head

'''Rescue the Shelter Hold'''
<br>Danger begins as early as the Shelter Holds. Enter the game, and you'll be met with immediate challenge: Drudge Diggers have broken into the Shelters and must be repelled at all costs! First, talk to the Shelter Guard, who will direct you to the Teaching Stones. When you're ready, find the Shelter Sentry. He'll assign you your very first quest: Defeat a Drudge Digger, and bring its tools to the Shelter Scout.
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The Scout will reward you with experience points and potions, and advance you against the stronger Drudge Sentinels. Defeat one of the Sentinels, and use its Menhir Glyph to enter the Menhir Shard Room.
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'''''Note:''' Glyphs generally provide access to Vault Campaign dungeons, and will be found through further quests. These Vaults are separate from the "Emergence" quests, but should be visited when you are ready. Vaults present unique challenges of their own, and relate valuable lore—including much on the Drudge Nemesis. They also provide experience to advance your character, which may be necessary to meet the level requirements of quests.''
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Talk to the Advance Shelter Scout to receive your next set of instructions. He'll direct you to the Menhir Shard, which will give you your first taste of lore: a brief review of the early history of the races. After viewing this lore, you'll leave the Shelters and enter the world itself!
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'''"You are now ready to reclaim our ancestors' world from our enemies. Put the Shelters behind you and reclaim your rightful home."'''
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'''''Note:''' Each quest below generally has two parts. The first part requires you to find an NPC somewhere in the world. The NPC then gives you the second part: to perform some required action against the Drudge Nemesis.''
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'''Find the Explorer'''
<br>'''Obelisk Search'''
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The Advance Shelter Scout will advise you to meet one of three Explorers. These Explorers may be found for Humans at Arwic (45.6 N, 7.8 W), for Tumeroks at Lost Wish (43.9 N, 11.3E), and for Lugians at Esper (45.5 N, 14.6 W).
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Each Explorer will impress upon you the need to learn the world you wish to reclaim. Follow their instructions to travel through the Ringway Portals and locate the hidden obelisks. When finished, return to the Explorer, who will reward you with beneficial spells and send you on to the Arwic Mines Overseer.
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'''Find the Arwic Mines Overseer'''
<br>'''Arwic Mines and Crafting'''

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'''Sidebar: Arwic'''
<br>An ancient, prosperous town, Arwic has met with more than its fair share of disaster. The town was destroyed once before, in the war against the Shadows. What little remained, the Devastation wiped clean from the face of all maps. Miraculously, some structures have already been rebuilt, including a forge and hints of its former mines. Though it's anyone's guess how long this inception of the town will last in the face of the Nemesis armies…

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The time has come to take the fight to the Drudges! To receive your next quest, talk to the Arwic Mines Overseer (44.0 N, 6.1 W).
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An important source of material to help rebuild the town, the New Arwic Mines have fallen to Drudge Outcasts. The Overseer will send you to the mines east of town (45.6 N, 2.6 W) to help win them back.
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Kill the Drudges in the mines, and keep checking their bodies for loot. There is a random chance any Drudge will have one of the miners' fallen hammer. Keep slaying them until you find one, then return it to the Overseer. He'll reward you for your efforts with the hammer itself (useful in crafting), the recipe for a new short sword (which you'll need to craft and give to him to advance the quest), and a Glyph to the Arwic Vault (35.3 N, 4.3 E). The Overseer will also point your way to the next mission, in Kehan.
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'''Find the Miller'''
<br>'''Kehan Windmill'''
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Find the Miller of Kehan (42.5 N, 11.2 E), and she'll tell you her woes: Drudges have broken her windmill. Repairing it will help the Miller and prove your commitment to the reclamation effort. So pitch in!
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The Miller will first ask you to locate three raw materials from nearby sources: iron (41.1 N, 14.1 E), stone (38.3 N, 12.7 E), and wood (40.1 N, 13.7 E). Give these to the Miller, who will hand you a Massive Gear in return. Use it to repair the family Windmill north of town (47.0 N, 11.5 E). Once it's repaired, the Miller will give you her thanks and recommend you to the Warders—veteran heroes pitted against the Drudge Nemesis.
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'''Find the Esper Reaches Warder'''
<br>'''Drudge Outcast Camp'''

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'''Sidebar: Cragstone'''
<br>Once located on the tip of a rocky peninsula, Cragstone continues its tradition as an active trading center. The town was named after Thorsten Cragstone, who freed his people from the bonds of slavery at the cost of his life.

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Think you're ready to face the Drudges in their own territory? Then talk to the Esper Reaches Warder (37.5 N, 19.9 W). He'll tell you how to lend a hand. First, you'll want to craft some better weapons. Fortunately, the Warder will teach you recipes for Cadre Slayer arms, which inflict additional damage against the Drudge Outcast Cadre.
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You'll need the extra muscle as the Warder then tests your resolve, sending you on a direct assault against the Drudge Outcast Camp (33.4 N, 18.6 W). Defeat a Drudge Outcast Cadre member, and return with its bone. The Esper Reaches Warder will then compensate you with a solid personal reference with the Warder of Osteth.
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'''Find the Warder of Osteth'''
<br>'''Old Cragstone Excavation'''
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Find the Warder of Osteth in Cragstone (32.8 N, 12.8 W). She will send you on your most dangerous quest yet. The Drudges have hindered plans to excavate the town of Old Cragstone, going so far as to steal the blueprints. These must be recovered!
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To begin, head east to Old Cragstone (32.2 N, 7.1 W). There, you'll need to find three trophy items held by three types of Drudges. Use these to reconstruct the Cragstone Library Seal, which will grant you access to this hallowed location. Inside, you'll discover the stolen blueprints. But be warned—the library has a powerful guardian.
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Return the blueprints to the Warder, and she'll refer you on to the Warder Corporal.
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'''Find the Warder Corporal'''
<br>'''Isle of Tears Drudge Fort'''
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The Warder Corporal has been in the field so long, you'll need to track him down before he gives you your orders (22.6 N, 1.4 E).
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Once found, the Warder Corporal offers you a reconnaissance mission. Investigate the nearby Isle of Tears, and bring back whatever you learn. The Corporal also recommends you don't go this one alone. Form a Fellowship and investigate more safely as a group. Some nearby characters may be mustering a Fellowship for this quest, so ask around!
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Once you cross to the Isle of Tears, you'll reach the Drudge Fort (26.6 N, 0.6 E). Make your way to the center, and you should find a document under the bleary gaze of a drunken sentry.
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The document, a richly detailed battle map, reveals several key pieces of information. Sent to the Profound Drudge Mystics by the Illuminated Drudge, it hints at an assault on Cragstone. The map also reveals a previous unknown network of tunnels. To prevent this assault, you'll need to enter these tunnels and make your way to their end. There, defeat the Profound Drudge Mystics, and then return to the Warder Corporal.
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'''Find the Warder Scout'''
<br>'''The Warder Scout's Notebook'''
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Now that the Drudges' war plans have been discovered, more information needs to be gathered. First, find the Warder Scout (25.0 N, 3.8 E). Unfortunately, the Warder Scout has lost his notebook, which tracks the Drudge presence in Osteth. You must recover it from the Drudge Slinker Bandit (28.0 N, 4.0 E). Return the notebook to the Warder Scout, and he'll reward you, naturally, with your next quest.
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'''Seek the Warder Captain'''
<br>'''Drudge Potion Raid'''
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Helping the Warders, you're working your way up their chain of command. By now you're looking for the Warder Captain, who can be found in their secret hideout (20.6N, 14.0 E).
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From what the Warder Captain knows, the Drudges have been receiving aid from an unknown source in the form of fortifying potions. (Who knows what one brews to give a Drudge strength…?) To help break this supply line, you'll need to raid the Drudge fort at 19.5 N, 21.0 E. Defeat the guards, take the key, and bring back a potion from inside the war coffers.
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Return to the Warder Captain. She'll reward you with possession of the Drudge Potion. This is a foul but potent brew that increases your Health and Vigor. She'll also grant you access to the Warder Cache, which contains chests you can open if you've found the right keys along the way (an Emblem of Order or Asheron's Sigil). Finally, the Captain will bump you up to the highest-ranking Warder you'll meet: Dantry, the founder of the Warders.
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'''Seek Dantry'''
<br>'''The Illuminated Manuscript'''
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At this point, your help in the reclamation effort is undisputable; but there's still more to be done. First, Dantry (7.4 N, 15.4 E) has a new quest for you: Gather intelligence on the Drudges' religious beliefs by visiting their cave at 4.0 N, 16.8 E. There, the Illuminated Drudge (mentioned in the Isle of Tears battle map) has compiled a manuscript detailing their religious beliefs. Defeat the Illuminated Drudge, and bring the manuscript back to Dantry.
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'''Seek the Drudge Heretics'''
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Following the religious trail, Dantry will send you to meet with the Drudge Heretics (0.6 N, 18.6 E). This is a diplomatic mission, not a combat raid. Just speak with the Heretics, and hear what they have to say.
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Investigation of the Drudges' religion proves fruitful—it leads to their masters, the Burun Nemesis. As the Drudge Heretics confirm, ''"The Burun slime… They fooled our people into worshipping them as gods. But they aren't and we'll prove it! They can be killed just as anyone else!"'' Of course, it will be up to you to prove this point, and the heretics will send you on your next quest—this time, against the Burun!
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'''The Slavetaker's Head'''
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This is the final quest in the Drudge Insurgence series. It ultimately leads to the next Nemesis race you'll encounter after the Drudge: the Burun. For the reclamation to succeed, they must be opposed, with even the rebellious Drudge Heretics lending aid.
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For now, strike the first blow against the Drudges' masters: Go to the King Toad Idol (2.5 N, 17.9 E), and defeat a Burun Slavetaker. Return its head to the Heretics and they'll reward you with Toadfang Earrings crafted from the Slavetaker's own teeth!
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''"Aiie! Now our people will see the Burun are mortal!"''
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