Q: Assault on Spllinterskull 7,8

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Posted January 22nd, 2007 by Darkgolem

Quest Guide: Assault on Splinterskull

Quests 7 and 8: Doom of the Witch Doctor; The Way of Zulkash and Zulkash, Herald of Woe

By Darkgolem

These two quests lead to the death of the great witch doctor of the Splinterskull tribe, Zulkash. In the first quest, the heroes simply must reach the inner fortress, fighting their way past hobgoblins and spiders. The second quest is slightly more involved. They must fight their way past many hobgoblin slayers, infiltrators and witch doctors, solve a (moderately easy) puzzle, and defeat Zulkash and his minions.

During the first quest, the heroes meet more of the spawn of Whisperdoom, otherwise nothing is changed from previous quests. The second has a interesting optional quest involving a lot of swimming, mostly underwater, and some rather dangerous earth elementals.

Starting Npc:	Chief Ungurz
Quest Zone:	Outer Splinterskull Fortress
Related Zones:	Tangleroot Gorge; House Phiarlan
Level:	6 (both)
Monsters:	Brown Spider Prince, Black Widow, Hobgoblin Infiltrator, Hobgoblin Cleric, Hobgoblin Slayer, Darkfang spider, Night Scorpion, Worg, Grey Ooze, Hobgoblin Witch Doctor, Glass Spider, Baby Glass Spider Soldier, Dread Zombie, Large Earth Elemental
Named Bosses	Zulkash
Bonus Objectives:	Slay 9 Glass Spiders (The Way of Zulkash) Find the way to the elemental's cave (Zulkash, Herald of Woe) Slay large earth elemental (Zulkash, Herald of Woe)
Possible Reward Items:	3 Chests (The Way of Zulkash) 2 Chests (Zulkash, Herald of Woe)
Walk-Through:	Quest 7: The Way of Zulkash The outer fortress of Splinterskull is not noteworthy compared to previous quests, the three chests and enemies from "The Deadly Package" are the same, with one exception. There are now 9 glass spiders found throughout the fortress. The spiders are both less and more dangerous than other types. They are hard to see, being clear, and will surprise those with poor observation skills. Furthermore, the glass spiders lay eggs about half the time before attacking. These eggs are poisonous if damaged, so they are best dispatched from range. Furthermore, these eggs will hatch baby glass spider soldiers, which, while not dangerous, can overwhelm heroes who don't pay attention. When exiting the great hall and entering the circular hall (the cave portion) you will meet your first glass spiders. The other glass spiders are found in side caves along the outside of the ring, along with normal spiders (brown princes and black widows), and in one odd grouping, with a few worgs. After killing the spiders (if you should so choose to do so, it being optional) simply enter the inner fortress. Note there are more glass spiders in the hallway beyond the gate, leading into the inner fortress. Quest 8: Zulkash, Herald of Woe Upon entering the inner fortress. you should immediately prepare fire protections.. in the future you will be meeting hobgoblin witch doctors. who love to use scorching ray, along with other spells such as ray of enfeeblement. Directly ahead is the drawbridge seen in the "Agent of the Darghull", now down. You will meet hobgoblin slayers, infiltrators and witch doctors here. Beyond the bridge you will find a short hallway leading to a doorway, beyond which, directly ahead, are further hobgoblins, and further more to your east, a short distance away (so be careful of attacks from your flanks). Head east into the room where you previously saw the flesh render. This room will be reoccupied by worgs and some hobgoblins. Continuing past this room, you enter a long hallway, shaped like a rectangle, with large colored wheels in each corner. There are hobgoblin patrols made up of infiltrators, slayers and witch doctors near each wheel. The eastern side of this hall has a shrine and a entrance to a larger chamber, the entrance blocked by a force wall. To remove the wall, you must turn the wheels at the corners of the hallway to the matching symbols found on markers next to the force wall. The pink wheel must match the pink markers symbol, and so on. Once the wheels all match the appropriate symbol, simply rest in the shrine, and prepare resistance to fire, and enter the large chamber. This room contains the Zulkash, two dread zombies (essentially touch zombies who can explode for acid damage), several hobgoblin slayers, and two hobgoblin witch doctors (out of easy reach on platforms in the sides of the room). The best way to win this combat is to draw your opponents out of the room, then re enter the room to dispatch the witch doctors and any who did not follow. Upon defeating Zulkash you will note a key and two water breathing potions on the floor. You will need these to complete the optional quest mentioned later. This chamber has a large dais in the center, with a totem and a chest at it's apex. Simply hack the totem to pieces, and, assuming Zulkash is dead, you will have completed the quest. Zulkash has a further chest in the complex, which can now be reached with skillful swimming and the key you have found. Back at the bridge inside the entrance to the inner fortress, on the east side of the entrance, in the underground river, is a gate. The key found upon Zulkash's body unlocks this gate. The river leads past the gate, through a long underwater passage, to a large water filled cavern pockmarked with small islands. Note that the underwater passage is very long, and should only be attempted by adventurers who are very good at swimming or have the ability to breath water. The water filled cavern has a large central island of stone, with a chest. The chest is locked, but if picked and opened, will yield a fair treasure (for the quests level). However, upon opening the chest, three large earth elementals will rise from the ground of the island and attack. Upon defeating them you will have completed this side quest.