Blacktide Den

Tahlkora insists that she overheard Varesh and General Kahyet plotting to weaken Istan. You infiltrate the corsairs to investigate these claims and make your way through the bogs to rendezvous with Kahyet and prevent a deal from going ahead.

Requirements

 * Tahlkora is in your party

Objectives
Find General Kahyet. Prevent her from striking a deal with Ironfist, the corsair captain.
 * ADDED: Eliminate Ironfist's envoy and crew.
 * ADDED: Steal the corsair garb.
 * ADDED: Pass through the Kournan check point.
 * ADDED: Follow Captain Besuz to the meeting with Kahyet.
 * ADDED: Kill Kahyet.
 * *BONUS* Clear Lahtenda Bog of rinkhal monitors.
 * You have [5...0] of 5 rinkhal monitors remaining.

Reward
The reward for this mission depends on how many Rinkhal Monitors you find and kill.

Walkthrough
The bog is a maze, constructed of blocked entrances and circular paths; if you wish to pursue the bonus, keep an eye on your map to avoid becoming lost.

From your starting location, go through the first entrance you come across (to the right) to find the Ironfist's Envoy and his cohorts; kill them and take their clothes (you play most of the remainder of the mission looking like a corsair). Take the closest opening and walk to the south-east until you find Captain Besuz. Talk to him so that he will lead you to the rendezvous point to meet Kahyet &mdash; a generally unpleasant boss, who will nag at you until you remove your disguise near the mission's end. Follow him through groups of Skale. When you near a particular choke point, watch out for a stampede of Skale (you will have some warning to get out of the way). As you get near one of the ruins (near the south-west), you will encounter a group of Harpies; some find this to be one of the harder groups to take down.

Once you reach the rendezvous, General Kahyet will arrive and you will listen to a brief conversation between her and her associates; kill her to complete the mission.

Bonus
To complete the bonus at Master level, you have to find and kill 5 Rinkhal Monitors, a simple but time consuming task. The first rinkhal is to the south of the envoy. Two are to the north of where you meet up with Captain Besuz &mdash; from his initial position, go south and take the first left; from there, take the path that leads north. Besuz will wait for you until you are ready to proceed. After killing those two, return to Besuz and follow him until you reach the first point where the path narrows and you meet with 3 corsair NPCs (see the notes section below regarding them). When Besuz goes left, take the right instead and hug the wall, to find the last of the monitors. Backtrack to rejoin Besuz to continue the mission.

Skill recommendations

 * Take condition-removal skills; your party will be diseased much of the time.
 * For example: Extinguish, Martyr with Plague Sending, or Tainted Flesh.
 * With henchmen in hard mode, consider Sogolon, who has Cautery Signet.
 * Party-wide speed boosts, e.g. "Charge!" and "Fall Back!", are convenient in reducing the time spent walking.
 * Area of effect damage is primarily useful during the skale stampede; most of the remaining mobs do not clump together.

Allies
Humans (Corsairs)
 * 17 (20) Congu the Red
 * 15 (20) One-Eyed Rugger
 * 15 (20) Corsair Raider
 * 15 (20) Ironhook Hube
 * 14 (20) Corsair Wizard
 * 15 (20) Captain Besuz
 * 16 (20) Corsair Commandant
 * 15 (20) Corsair Berserker

Foes
Beasts Demons (Torment creatures) Humans (Corsairs) Skales Skree harpies
 * 13 (24) Rinkhal Monitor
 * 12 (20) Grasp of Chaos
 * 15 (25) Corsair Raider
 * 15 (25) Corsair Bosun
 * 15 (25) Corsair Blackhand
 * 15 (20) Captain Besuz
 * 16 (25) Corsair Cook
 * 16 (25) Ironfist's Envoy
 * 13 (24) Ridgeback Skale
 * 4, 13 (24) Skale Blighter
 * 14 (24) Frigid Skale
 * 2, 15 (22, 24) Skale Lasher
 * 12 (24) Skree Talon
 * 11 (24) Skree Hunter
 * 14 (24) Skree Griffon
 * 13 (24) Skree Warbler

Bosses
Humans (Corsairs) Skales
 * 18 (24) General Kahyet
 * 17 (28) Boklon Blackwater
 * 17 (28) Glug Klugg

Initial cinematic

 * Tahlkora: "Lyssa protect me!"
 * : "What's the matter?"
 * Tahlkora: "It's all... muddy!"
 * : "Do you want to turn back?
 * Tahlkora: "No, no! I'm sure I can manage. Kayet came this way!"
 * : "What are Kournan troops doing here?"
 * Kournan Captain: "Keep an eye out. The general does not wish to be disturbed. Kill any trespassers on sight."
 * Tahlkora: "See! I told you she came this way!"
 * : "Congratulations can come later. At the moment, we have a real problem."

Intermediate dialogue
Ironfist's Envoy
 * "Where in damnation are we? Look at the map again! Ironfist is going to have our heads if we're late to meet the Kournans."
 * "Sunspears!?!? Take them down!"

Captain Besuz
 * "You're to come with me. Hurry up! I want to get out of this god accursed bog as quickly as possible."
 * "I was instructed to guide you, not fight for you. You're on your own."
 * "You're late, you know. If my soldiers were as undisciplined as you, they'd hang. Now move it!"
 * "Clear out these creatures. A true soldier's talents aren't meant for hunting vermin."
 * "I thought Ironfist was supposed to be with you. No matter. I have orders to follow. Come with me."
 * "Hurry up and kill these creatures. I've no interest in standing in this filthy place any longer than necessary."

Whenever your party stops following Captain Besuz:
 * "Where are you going? You need to follow me. Get moving."

One-Eyed Rugger
 * "Care fer a drink, friend? It'll lighten yer load, put a bounce in yer step, and make all the ugly ones pretty again. Har!"

Captain Besuz
 * "This next part's a little tricky. Fortunately for you rabble, I've been stuck in this place for weeks, so I know my way around."
 * "Stop wasting time and follow me. The general won't tolerate being made to wait."
 * "Haven't given up yet, have you? Come on then."
 * "You can't go a hundred paces around here without running into something that wants to eat you. Take care of them, will you?"
 * "I can see you enjoy killing. I expect you've sown quite a bit of chaos here in Istan."
 * "Don't be shy. Go on, give those monsters what for."
 * "You're better fighters than I expected. I'm beginning to understand why we hired you."
 * "I'll be right here. Let me know when the path is safe."
 * "It's just a thought, but those outfits of yours are so concealing, I imagine we could dress up some Kournan soldiers that way and cause some real damage. Who's to know who you really are when you're dressed like that, right?"
 * "We don't have a harpy problem back home, but my time here has taught me not to ignore these vicious creatures."
 * "It's not far now. I should warn you: the general holds some unusual religious beliefs. Don't let that concern you. You're here to serve her gold, not her god."
 * "This is the old Sunspear Crypt. The rendezvous is just around the bend."
 * "Looks like trouble. You know what to do."
 * "Come on. General Kahyet is just ahead."


 * General Kahyet: "Who are these people, Besuz? Ironfist himself was to come to discuss our master strategy against the Sunspears. I am not here to merely hand out gold to his lackeys."


 * Tahlkora: "Who are you calling a lackey? We're not even corsairs, you old fool. So tell me, how does admitting your treachery to disguised Sunspears fit into your big "master strategy?""

End cinematic

 * : "The other Kournans went back to Gandara. Why did General Kahyet stay?"
 * Tahlkora: "Hey, she's still alive!"
 * General Kahyet: "Fools. You are all doomed."
 * : "Why are you here? What do you want?"
 * General Kahyet: "Abaddon will eat your eyes."
 * General Kahyet: "You cannot stop it! You will all perish! Nightfall comes!"
 * Tahlkora: "We won, right? She was the villain, and we killed her. It's all over, right?"
 * : "It all depends on who else was involved in this."
 * Tahlkora: "Warmarshal Varesh."
 * : "Varesh Ossa? Is she a part of this?"
 * Tahlkora: "I heard the two of them talking about Abaddon earlier."
 * : "Then it's not all over. We have much more work to do."

Trivia

 * For a brief period during alpha testing, this mission was known as Bayou.
 * The 13 November 2008 update added sunspear points to the mission reward.