The Lost Relic | Pathfinder Kingmaker Wiki

The Lost Relic is a Quest in Pathfinder: Kingmaker. 

Important NPCs

•  Dugath
•  Wilas Gunderson

Objectives

1. ??
2. ??

Walkthrough

•  You will first receive this quest during The Varnhold Vanishing, shortly after entering Kellid Barbarian Camp. For the first part of the quest, you must complete Along the Cold Trail, and speak to Dugath afterwards. Dugath will tell you where to go next - the Valley of the Dead. Make sure you bring plenty of divine casters with you, as you will want lots of healing and restoration spells.
  
  
•  To get to the Valley of the Dead, head west from Kellid Barbarian camp, and then south twice, then South-West, and finally south again. After entering, run around to the east to find some Herbs, and then find a bag next to the eastern post for some other minor loot. Interact with the gate, and choose the first option to study the gate. Do so, and you can attempt the two Knowledge (World) for the chance at some extra xp, and then back out. Read through the other options if you wish, but then choose the option to light the incense burners, which will open the gate for you. Grab the loot on the eastern side of the opening behind the gate, and then travel through to the next area, which brings you back to the map screen. Now travel south, and then south again, along a long route through the mountains. Enter the new location, Vordakai's Tomb, and you will find yourself inside of a dark, misty ruins. As you move forwards, you are greeted by a Raven once again, who beckons you further in once again. This also acts as a final reminder - ensure now that you are definitely ready for a long trek, that your party is rested and fully restored, and that you have a good team configuration with a decent set of Saving Throws, because once you venture past the next door, you won't be able to leave until you complete the quest.  
  
  
•  Once you are sure that you are ready to proceed, activate the stone on the ground, and 4 Dread Zombie Cyclops will spawn and the room will begin to fill with Cloudkill, which isn't all too dangerous to your characters at this point, but you should be cautious of it anyway - with the long, long dungeon ahead, the last thing you want is ability point damage from the very beginning, so be sure to move your party into the corridor to the north-east (though not too far back, as there is a trap laid where the corridor bends), and turn their AI off to prevent them from running back into the room. From there, pick off your enemies from range or carefully manage your melee characters, and when the fight is done move further down the corridor (after disabling the trap). There are several more traps scattered along the hallway, so be sure to take it slow. You can tell where the first two are placed by the skeletons lying on the floor. The third of these is located where the corridor turns, and as you send your rogue of choice to disable it, they will be spotted by another 3 Dread Zombie Cyclops. These should pretty much be business as usual by now, so kill these off, and move onwards.
  
  
•  The corridors will now open up to a cave-like area. Follow past some Edible Moss, and you will see two Poisonous Hydra ahead. There is also a third one hiding just behind them. These can be tricky, because their poison can drain your character's strength, so deal with them the best way you can, and then continue southwards, where an Athletics check awaits. Use it to find yourself back in some more corridors. Move forwards and take the nearby loot. An easily-missed door is embedded on the dark side of the wall, facing away from your view. mouse over, and you should see the lock icon for it. Just south along the same wall is a switch that you need to activate to open it, so mouse over that direction and you shall see the hand icon. Once the door is open, move through yet more corridors, and you will come across another Raven. It will postulate as per usual, but will also ask you to name a companion you fear disappointing most. Name one of your non-casting characters, if possible. This is because refusing to name one will cause one of your party members to speak up at random, and later on the named character will have to fight an enemy one-on-one - naming a front-liner instead of a caster will enable your caster to use support spells on your fighters, and would probably be more frail during the fight anyway. After the Raven flies away again, deal with four new zombies, and beware the trap in the centre of the room.
  
  
•  After wrapping up the fight, loot the room bare and then activate the switch on the floor to open the door leading north. Head down the stairs and around the corner into a large open room, and be sure to loot the nearby container for its 1000+ gold. Make a save, and activate the new switch by the door in order to activate a book event. There's only the one event, and it's best to check either the trickery or perception check. Doing so allows you to move onwards, but failing the checks will lead to another zombie fight. Assuming you made it past, move forward cautiously, and be sure to disarm the upcoming trap. Loot the containers for goodies, and then backtrack and activate the node to bring you back. You will now be in a slightly different place, and there's another fight with 5 zombies in store for you. After the fight, you can also inspect the pillar behind where you had entered the room from with another Knowledge (Arcana) for some xp and lore about the villain's magic item, the Oculus of Abbadon. Regardless, head back to the door that started the book event, and prepare to head forwards.
  
  
•  Move down another set of corridors, and notice that around one corner you will be able to see a Dread Zombie Cyclops Priest. Bumrush it down, and face it down, along with 4 other zombies. Take the loot in the north-west corner, and head near the eastern wall to find a hidden corridor that leads to a room with some more loot and a pillar to read. Head back to the previous room, and then move near the Raven for yet another chat with the fellow. Our friend here is more honest about their intent this time, so pick which character you are most comfortable with running away during combat. Afterwards, move onwards, and loot the room. There are two switches on the floor, and you should begin by activating the western switch. As you move through the room, you will meet an Astradaemon. It's highly suggested that you pick the "vordakai summoned me. I am here at his request" option, as this will let you skip past a decently difficult fight. Either way, loot the containers behind the daemon, and march onwards. Once down the stairs, activate the button and head into the new room. There's some hidden loot along the northern room, and three barbarians in the room, one of which you can speak to. You can free them if you would like to, which would net you some xp, but beware that the Astradaemon will fight you for this if it is still alive, so it is up to you whether you would like to risk an extra fight. Alternatively, you can also make a Chaotic Evil choice to kill them yourself. They fight back surprisingly well for half-starved people supposedly chained to walls, though.
  
  
•  Move back to the room that had two switches, move most of your party close to the door, and it's now time to activate the second one. The room you are standing in will now be continuously barraged with negative energy, so run your party through to safety and heal up. Continue on, and activate the Mobility check to head down to the corridor below. You will probably spot the litany of traps - 12 in total, just after heading down, so get your rogue to work. When they're done, collect up some loot to the north. advance forward a bit more, and there will be two branching paths. First veer to the south-west - loot the container and examine the pillar, and then head back into the previous room. Activate the switch on the floor to open the door forwards through the next door. Move into the next room, and face down two Greater Dread Zombie Cyclops, two Dread Zombie Cyclops Priests, and a regular Dread Zombie Cyclops. A bit tougher than usual, but cut them down and beware going too much further forwards yet. Loot the nearby container and defeated enemies, and then move around to the south-west, where a doorway will be waiting for you. Proceed carefully, and be sure to disarm the traps as you go. Loot the two containers in the room, and read another pillar in the north-eastern corner, and head to the end of room to discover another hidden room. This hidden room is quite different from most, and if you have Tristian with you in the party, he will stop the party to open dialogue. Play along, and you will get some alignment choices. Beyond that, though, there isn't anything else important. Examine the pillar in the center of the room for another Knowledge (arcana) check, and another inscription to the north for some extra flavour, and then turn back to the previous room.
  
  
•  Once back in the previous room, make a save and carry forwards to start another encounter with some Ferocious Soul Eaters. This is the fight that your party's names were being collected for, and the soul eaters will only fight your PC and the two characters chosen in your conversations with the Raven. Bare in mind that casters cannot use area-of-effect spells on the Soul Eaters either, so their best bet would be to cast support spells during the fight. Additionally, any ally that is fighting their respected Soul Eater cannot aid the other fighting party members. When the three Ferocious Soul Eaters are dead, 4 other Ancient Soul Eaters will spawn, and now the main Ancient Soul Eater that had opened dialogue with you will join the fight. This time, your whole party can join in frey. Try your best to have characters with a high Fortitude save tank as many of the Soul Eaters as possible, as their ability drain debuffs can stack up to nasty proportions. Assuming you pass the fight, heal up, including any ability damage, and venture past the previously-guarded door. This will lead you to another cave opening, and after walking far enough, you will reach another area transition.
  
  
• When you load in, the first thing you will probably notice is a trail of bodies. Don't rush forwards too quickly, and make a save. Up ahead you will notice a character named Cephal Lorentus, Maegar Varn's court wizard. In the upcoming battle, your characters will be slow to move, and you will face a powerful wizard surrounded by many, many undead zombies (you can only see 2 for now, but more will spawn!). You will be hugely benefited here by focusing Cephal down first, and in that sense you will want to focus your ranged firepower on him, and if possible get a frontline fighter to reach him with the aid of spells and abilities like Dimensional Hop, Agile Feet, and Freedom of Movement. Keep in mind that Cephal also utilises Dimensional Hop himself, and will move around time to time to escape such attacks. Slog through the fight, and then heal your party back up to full health. Move onwards and open the door that the cave leads you to. Two more Dread Zombie Cyclops stand on the other side waiting for you, but this should be nothing to you at this point. Loot the room and head south-west. Just after the next doorframe is a trap, so be sure to disable it. Activate the switch at the bottom of the stairs to encounter another Greater Dread Zombie Cyclops. You will now find yourself at the entrance of a maze.
  
  
•  Follow the path and deactivate the trap when you spot it. At the first fork, turn southward and deactivate the second trap. Activate the switch, and then head back to the fork and take the northern path. Follow the path around again until the next fork, and take the North-western of the two pathways. This leads you to the door that you had opened with the previously-mentioned switch. Keep on going, and Tristian will make another comment if he is in the party. Head up the stairs and ignore the first left for now. Further ahead there will be a hidden compartment to loot along the left wall. Furthermore, there is also another of the greater undead cyclops, so chop it down to size. Activate the switch that it guarded to find a room similar to the one that had concerned Tristian earlier. Loot the single container, and then return to the room you had ignored earlier. When you enter the room be careful of the trap that surrounds the button in the centre, collect your loot, and activate the button. Afterwards, take the new passage to the north and fight your way through another three zombies and one of their greater variants. Heading further on, you will reach a new room with another container to loot along with another hidden stash on one of the walls. Remember this room, as you will be returning here shortly, and then head back to the second fork in the maze, and this time take the currently unexplored route. Follow the route around and keep an eye out for another trap. After disarming it, continue onwards and activate the switch near to the dead end. This opens a new door for you in front of you, so venture through it. As you round the bend, you should spot both a hidden wall and another hidden stash in the wall. Loot the stash and open the hidden wall and take the loot behind it. back on the path, head down to a new fork and you will be confronted by the ghost of Willas Gunderson, who will run to the north-west.
  
  
• Chase after him, and fight your way through another gaggle of zombies, looting while you go. At the end of the trail you will find Wilas again, this time as a hostile enemy. Be aware that he can inflict negative levels. Inflict enough damage on him, and he will surrender. You can chat with him about what had happened here, and when finished, more zombies will show up in droves. repell them, as usual. As you make your way back out, you will also find the hallways littered with more spectres and zombies, so be sure to prepare for a real trudge back. When you reach the fork where you had began to chase Wilas, take the unexplored route and activate the switch to open the door. What you will find on the other side is some non-hostile zombies wondering around a banquet hall for the dead. Place your ranged characters in a secure corner and place your melee characters in front. make a save, and get your ranged characters to start an attack against the neutral zombies. This will activate a fight against 15ish zombies that was going to trigger at some point anyway. As the fight goes on, more and more zombies will get dragged in, but if you have any area-of-effect damage spells to spare, now is a good time to use them, as they will alow you to make relatively quick work of the horde. You may well find this a difficult fight, but once you have finished welcoming the zombies to the meat grinder, heal up, loot anything you may want, and prepare to move forwards. Head to the north side of the room, and find where the stairs begin. Between both sets of stairs is a button. Be wary of the trap surrounding it, and then activate the button. Head up the stairs and look around for some loot. You may wish to stop just where the upstairs path begins to narrow, and turn back around to the room you were advised to keep in mind during the previous paragraph. Doing so will now show the previously closed door open, and on the other side you will find two Iron Golems and a Golden Golem. This can be a tough fight, especially for parties without an Adamantine weapon, due to the golem's high DR, but if you decide the fight is worth it, you can score two pieces of potentially powerful loot; Royal Gift and Bladeguard.
  
  
•  If had gone back to fight the Golems, now return to the corridor you had previously left, and press onwards regardless. Head down the hallways for a while, and beware another pair of traps on the floor. If you brought him with you, Tristian will pipe up again. He seems somewhat spooked, and if you play along with the dialogue options, will even ask what you would choose to say to him as his last words. After finishing the conversation, activate the button to open the nearby door, and inch into the next room.You're definitely nearing the last boss now, and depending on how rested your party is, you may want to buff up in preparation for the next fight, which will take place against two Ancient Water Elements, which will spawn another duplicate each after their first death. They have an ability that can inflict Freezing on your party members, and have a decent AC and DR, so they likely won't be easy. Fight your way through them, and when you're done, go to the north-east corner of the room to loot a container. Assess whether you will now want to rest, which is recommended if you are missing most of your spells and abilities, and do so if necessary - the next fight will be against the final boss.
  
  
• When you're ready, activate the switch to open the nearby door, and inch into the next room. Make a save, and put every buff in your arsenal on your heroes, so that they are as ready as possible for the fight against Vordakai and his pet helper, Horagnamon. Expect to face a lot of CC here, as well as Finger of Death, which could instantly knock out a party member with less than 130hp. Spells like Remove Fear, Remove Curse, Remove Paralysis, And Death Ward will be useful, if you have them. Once you're as prepared as possible, move forwards, and face down the boss before you. After some postulating, the fight will begin. Be sure to focus down Horagnamon first, as he will keep Vordakai healed up. Get your way through the first half of the fight, and then a cutscene will play. If Tristian wasn't brought along, he will teleport into the tomb anyway, and regardless, he will now curse at Vordakai, and steal his oculus. Under the right conditions, you may receive an option to persuade Tristian to smash it. In any case, Tristian will then teleport back out, and the fight will resume, much to your disadvantage. If Tristian was in your party, you are now a man down. When the fight resumes, your melee characters will be further away from him again, your short-timed buffs will disappear, as it seems the cuscene counts as real time, and Vordakai essentially gets to fire off another spell before you have the chance to start fighting back. This is, most definitely, the most difficult portion of the fight. Get through it, and take some time to finish a good chat with Vordakai.
  
  
• When you are done, you will have two options to wrap up the post-battle conversation. An Evil character can choose to spare Vordakai, letting him place his soul into Maegar's body, and he will pledge himself as one of your advisors. If you're not Evil, or don't find the offer tempting, pick the option to free Maegar, who will be too confused to speak to you right now. Collect your celebratory loot, and head west of the dias, which might have just looked like the corner of the room before, to find a thin pathway. Activate the switch and step into the room to find hundreds of soul-filled bottles. Head further in to activate a book event. This event gives you two options - a Neutral Good option to free the trapped citizens, or a Neutral Evil option to sell their souls off in secret. Freeing the citizens will give you the most xp and will give you some nice kingdom bonuses once you get home, whereas choosing to sell their souls will require you to put an advisor on a whole 90 day project, and won't really give you enough BP to be worth it. After the book event closes, assuming you chose to free the souls, follow the trail of people running out of the tomb, and Maegar - or Vordakai, if you made the appropriate choice - will open dialogue with you. You will be notified of how many new kingdom stats you have gained, which depends on the choices you had made throughout the dungeon, Maegar, if you freed him, will now pledge his loyalty to you.

Tips & Tricks

•  It is worth noting that you may face a random encounter along the road in which you will be confronted by a Raven once again. Beyond just taunting the PC, the Raven will explain a bit more about the threat you are up against, and will further beckon you to visit the Valley of the Dead. During this event, Tristian will also pipe up, and suggest that you bring him along for the adventure.