Gulgrethor Fortress #4: Taking Heads

Strong is Weak

The Headless Heralds

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by
Ralsu

December 17, 2007

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Quest Details

Minimum Level: 16

Quest Givers:

• Agent Nuraga
  
• Agent Jargo
  

Completed By:

• Agent Nuraga
• Agent Jargo

Rewards:

• coin, XP, helmet
  

Fortress Quests

• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=823">Overview
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=826">Vengeance
  Will Be Yours (Jargo 1)
  
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=826">Remnants
  of the Soulless (Nuraga 1)
  
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=826">Objects
  of Unknown Power (Zyrax 1)
  
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=829">Knowledge
  from the Grave (Nuraga 2)
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=829">Got
  My Eye on Something (Zyrax 2)
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=842">Strong
  is Weak (Nuraga 3)
  
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=842">The
  Headless Heralds (Jargo 2)
  
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=854">The
  Tower of Power (Nuraga 4)
• href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=854">Deathlord
  Vilonis (Warchief Zowb)

Taking Heads

You've completed href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=826">the
starting quests and href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=829">unraveled
the mystery inside Gulgrethor
Fortress. You now know enough about how Deathlord Vilonis is
redirecting souls destined for the afterlife to bodies in his army to
take steps to weaken his power. The next two quests will greatly weaken
the magic wielded by Vilonis so that someone will have a chance to stop
him.
These quests are still appropriate for a full group at level 16, but
the completion of the other quests will probably have most of your crew
up to level 18 by now. If not, it couldn't hurt to get there first
anyway; the dangers that await you now are more powerful than any
you've encountered.

Strong is Weak asks you to pollute the altars used by the Gulgrethor
generals to boost the power of Deathlord Vilonis. The major problem
with that is that the generals will be standing right next to them and
will not approve of your plan. That fits perfectly into your objectives
for The Headless Heralds, as you are to bring back the heads of each of
those generals anyway.

Logging the Quests

Refer to the href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=823">Gulgrethor
Fortress Overview for information on getting to the quest
NPCs
and the fortress. The
pictures below show you the NPCs and
their dialog. Click on these images to view larger versions:

cellpadding="2" cellspacing="2">
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;"> href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album73&id=AgentNuraga&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album73/AgentNuraga.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; height: 250px;">
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;"> href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album73&amp;id=AgentJargo&amp;op=modload&amp;name=Gallery&amp;file=index&amp;include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album73/AgentJargo.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; height: 250px;">
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;">Agent
Nuraga
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;">Agent
Jargo
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;">
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;"> href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album75&id=NuragaText&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album75/NuragaText.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; height: 250px;">
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;"> href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album75&id=JargoText&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt=""
src="http://media.tentonhammer.com/vanguard/gallery/albums/album75/JargoText.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; height: 250px;">
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;">Strong
is Weak
style="vertical-align: top; text-align: center; width: 215px;">Got
My Eye on Something

Agent Naraga has ground the soul shards you brought her into a fine
powder that will weaken the power of the generals if sprinkled onto
their magical alters. Agent Jargo knows the four lords are actually the
harbingers of infernal beings that must be destroyed before their dark
masters can be unleashed. He wants you to bring him the heads of the
four harbingers so that he can know Clan Martuk is safe.

The Mobs and Altars

Each harbinger is suspended high above the massive caldera at the
center of the fortress. You'll have a pretty good fight to get to them,
too. The mobs will be tougher now, and there are a couple of named who
could be roaming the area.



Using the maps I made, this is how you get to the harbingers. First, on
href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album73&id=GF1&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php">map
#1, go right from the platform with the quest NPCs and go
down into
the "courtyard" when the path curves down. Recall that you'll have to
fight some Gulgrethor Watchers, Shinak agents, and Gulgrethor soldiers
on the way. These are all level 16 3dot. Any Torgazu you encounter will
be level 18 4dot. Clear a path to the entrance of the fortress. Be
aware that you will be facing 3-4 mobs at once the moment you enter.
After clearing the entry chamber, head straight until you are staring
out over the edge of the caldera. Turn right (look out for a roaming
Torgazu) and head to the corner, where a Gulgrethor and a Shinak wizard
wait to greet you.



You have to turn left here. Beware any Coil Seekers that might be
roaming close to this side. They are level 16 3dot. They debuff you,
but they pose no extra threat. Take the immediate right and you'll pass
through a short tunnel out into the yard again. This is the place I
sent you to kill the Raised Okami for the Objects of Unknown Power
quest. When you exit the tunnel look for a Shinak to your left up
against the ramp that leads to map #2. The bottom of the ramp in
guarded by a pair of Gulgrethor, and roamers both come down the ramp
and walk the yard in fornt of the ramp. Be sure to make your move for
the ramp when you will have to face as few mobs as possible. Now it is
time to head up the ramp to map #2, shown below:

Be sure to pause at the top of the ramp. The first of the named, href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album75&id=SoulSeeker&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php">Soul
Seeker, roams this area. I killed Soul Seeker 3 times during
my
adventures in Gulgrethor Fortress. I got a rare each time--the same one
twice--and included the info on the rares in the picture. You
essentially have to fight your way to each corner of this map and go up
the rap to the platform above, where the Harbinger awaits. It doesn't
matter which way you go first, so I will walk you through the same way
I went. Turn right.



You'll notice pairs of Gulgrethor along the path. They will be level 18
3dot, and they are hard to pull separately. You'll also bump into some
Shinak near any barrels or piles of bags. I didn't draw it in on my
map, but each corner of the walkway closest to the center of the pit
has a small area with tents and mobs. Here you'll find a mix of
Gulgrethor, Shinak, and Okami. As you reach the path at the outer edge
of the map, watch out for the roaming Torgazu who come down from ramps.
Turn right and defeat the Gulgrethor guarding the ramp to map #2A,
shown below:

Each of the platforms is essentially the same. To one side is a little
area with supply barrels and stacks of bags guarded by Shinak, Okami,
and Gulgrethor. To the other side is a ramp leading up to the platform
with the harbinger. You can completely ignore the former; your mission
here is to get to the harbinger and its altar. Notice that each
platform housing a harbinger has a wal on the sides and behind it.
You're going to use this to your advantage so that you don't have to
fight the harbinger and 5-7 other mobs at the same time.



Creep to your left from the ramp, wathing out for the roaming
Gulgrethor (marked by the arrows), and slide behind the wall. Walk all
the way around to the back until you find an opening in the wall. Now,
I know it looks as though it'd be quicker to get there by going to the
right form the ramp, but you'll find the outer edge of the platform
crumbled just to the right of the ramp--making that path inaccessible.



The hole in the wall has you staring at a Shinak and his Okami. Try to
pull them with the roaming Gulgrethor is far away. Then wait for the
roamer to come back and kill him. Now hug the wall and move left, where
you will get to kill two more Gulgrethor. You've cleared the entire
side of the platform. All that remains is to defeat the harbinger and
his two guards (1 Gulgrethor and 1 Shinak wizard). When you pull, the
wizard will die quickly if everyone concentrates on it. Then kill the
Gulgrethor so that you face the harbinger alone.

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