Ice Caves of Sorrow

Having ascended, and with the truth behind the White Mantle and their Mursaat masters revealed, it's time to strike back. The leaders of the Shining Blade, Evennia and Saidra have been condemned to death. Break them free of their cell and escape to a boat prepared by your Deldrimor allies.

Objectives
Rescue Evennia.


 * Find a way into the holding area.
 * Break Evennia out of her cell.
 * Escape with Evennia to the awaiting ice ship.
 * *BONUS* Return news of Rornak to Hamdor Grandaxe.

Walkthrough
Upon entering the mission, there will be Ice Imps and Pinesouls scattered around which shouldn't prove very difficult to defeat. Much more dangerous is the patrol of Mursaat Elementalists that patrol the area. If you have not fought Mursaat (or their Jade constructs) before, their monster skill, Spectral Agony, can cause massive damage to anyone without infused armor (which is most likely the case the first time through this mission). Avoid heading straight north to avoid the catapult fire, instead, head northeast through the Stone Summit group (containing a boss) towards the icy river. Don't cross the bridge just yet, as it is under heavy fire from catapults. Go down the ramp next to the bridge and defeat the Stone Summit group and the Stone Summit engineer. After defeating the engineer, pull the firing lever and then head north to find the second engineer. After pulling the second lever, a cut scene will trigger showing how the shot incites a Dolyak stampede, crushing the ballista operators that were bombarding the bridge.

Head back to the bridge and up the hill. There will be a few groups of White Mantle patrolling the area. Proceed all the way to the northeast and to the closed door, similar to previous missions in the Northern Shiverpeaks. Head west of the door to the Dwarven Powder Keg Station and pick up a keg, then drop it in front of the door to open the way into the cave. Continue through the cave but beware of the Mursaat and Jade constructs that linger on the west side of the cave. If not attempting the bonus, avoid the Mursaat and Jade constructs and head southeast to exit the cave. Mursaat Elementalists patrol the center, so the easiest way to get to the prison cells is through the small cave to the east. If choosing to engage the White Mantle in the area beware of patrolling Mursaat. The cell holding Evennia and Saidra is found to the south. Collect a powder keg from the nearby station and destroy the cage door. Saidra will sacrifice herself during the cutscene to allow the party to escape with Evennia. Evennia must survive the rest of the mission.

Collect another powder keg and destroy the gate next to the cage. The short cave opens to an icy sea with a narrow path leading north and a group of Mursaat Elementalists to the south. As soon as you approach the crossroads, the Mursaat will begin to move down the path.

You can either try to outrun the Mursaat or let them pass. If you try to outrun them, you will have to fight most of the foes ahead, as Evennia tends to stop to fight them herself. If you get caught by the Mursaat, your group may be faced with a difficult fight. The easier method is to approach the crossroads until the Mursaat start to move, then pull back into the cave and wait for the Mursaat to pass. Follow a distance behind, allowing them to clear out the Stone Summit and White Mantle they encounter. Eventually, they will be killed by catapult fire. Regardless of which method you choose, simply follow the path until you reach the Deldrimor Dwarves and their ice ship. The mission is complete as soon as Evennia approaches the ship.

Skill recommendations

 * If your armor is not infused and you plan on fighting Mursaat, necromancer minions and Ritualist spirits can help soak up some of the deadly Spectral Agony they use.

Bonus
The bonus is easier to complete if everyone has infused armor. Unless your party is composed primarily of heroes (who are infused by design) or otherwise sufficiently strong, you might want to take care of that before starting the bonus (or the mission). You will also need up to three more powder kegs to complete the bonus.

After blasting open the first door to the ice cave, retrieve another powder keg (or two) and continue down the cave until you reach the second branch in the path (the first branch leads to a door which cannot be destroyed). As you reach the next door, take care of the constructs and mursaat. If uninfused, heroes, minions, or spirits can handle the brunt of your opponents' Spectral Agony attacks.

Break down the door before you engage the Mantle on the other side, otherwise there is a chance that your goal (Rornak Stonesledge) could end up dead, a victim of AoE damage. After the human foes die, speak to the Dwarf, who is held captive in one of the cells. Talk to him to initiate the bonus (you might be able to do so without using a keg to break the cell door).

Return into the cave and continue south east. After you free Evennia, the party will arrive at a crossroads where a large group of Mursaat can be seen to the south; allow them to walk past so that you can safely head south to Hamdor Grandaxe, which completes the bonus.

There are two alternatives to this method:
 * You can speak to Hamdor first and then to Rornak.
 * You can decide to tackle the Mursaat instead of ignoring them.

In either case, free Evennia after completing the bonus; if she dies, the mission will end prematurely, preventing you from gaining credit for the bonus.

Hard Mode
The White Mantle patrolling the mining quarry area may become a problem in hard mode if you have to face two or more groups simultaneously. Proceed carefully to avoid overaggroing, especially with a minion master. It is advisable to blast the gate leading to the last part of the mission before you release Saidra and Evennia, since the cave it blocks provides a safe place to park your henchmen and heroes.

In hard mode, some of the Mursaat Elementalists will not be killed by siege fire. They will stop a short distance before the boat you have to reach and remain patrolling. Part of this area is, nevertheless, still under siege attack, and if you wait long enough most the group will eventually be killed. When two or three enemies remain, lure carefully with a bow (due to uninfused henchmen) and take them down.

Allies
Dwarves (Deldrimor) Human (Shining Blade)
 * 10 (20) Captain
 * 10 (20) Rornak Stonesledge
 * 10 (20) Hamdor Grandaxe
 * 10 (20) Dwarven Soldier
 * 10 (20) Dwarven Scout
 * ? (20) Dwarf Ice Ship Captain
 * ? (20) Dwarf Ice Ship Mate
 * 20 (20) Saidra
 * 20 (20) Evennia

Foes
Dwarves (Stone Summit) Humans (White Mantle) Imps Mursaat Plants
 * 24 (26) Stone Summit Carver
 * 13 (24) Summit Beastmaster
 * 24 (26) Summit Giant Herder
 * 24 (26) Stone Summit Ranger
 * 24 (26) Dolyak Master
 * 24 (26) Stone Summit Gnasher
 * 24 (26) Stone Summit Heretic
 * 24 (26)Stone Summit Engineer
 * 20 (26) White Mantle Engineer
 * 16 (24) White Mantle Knight
 * 20 (26) White Mantle Zealot
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Seeker
 * 20 (26) White Mantle Priest
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Sycophant
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Savant
 * 24 (26) Ice Imp
 * 24 (26) Jade Armor
 * 24 (26) Mursaat Monk
 * 24 (26) Mursaat Necromancer
 * 24 (26) Mursaat Elementalist
 * 24 (26) Pinesoul

Bosses
Dwarves (Stone Summit) Elementals
 * 28 (30) Arlak Stoneleaf &rarr; Cleave
 * 28 (30) Virag Bladestone &rarr; Cleave
 * 28 (30) Darda Goldenchief &rarr; Mark of Protection
 * 28 (30) Hormak Ironcurse &rarr; Offering of Blood
 * 28 (30) Jonar Stonebender &rarr; Crippling Anguish
 * 28 (30) Berg Frozenfist &rarr; Water Trident

Dialogue

 * Rornak Stonesledge
 * "I've managed to get myself captured again. I was looking for a secret passage, a way to sneak up on these demons, but it didn't work."
 * "Hamdor Grandaxe should be leading a party to rescue me. Let him know where I am, and he'll take care of the rest."


 * Evennia
 * Help! Help! We're over here!

Intermediate cinematic

 * Saidra: We're caught.
 * Saidra: Take Evennia to the east. The Deldrimor Dwarves use the frozen lakes and rivers there for transport.
 * Saidra: If you're lucky you'll find one of their ice ships.
 * Saidra: I'll hold off the Mursaat as long as I can.
 * Saidra: Take my bow. I won't be needing it where I'm going.
 * Saidra: To the end of us all!
 * Evennia: Quickly. Don't let Saidra's sacrifice be wasted.


 * Hamdor Grandaxe
 * "Thank the Great Dwarf you've found him!"
 * "As soon as things calm down, we'll sneak in and get him out."

End cinematic

 * Evennia: I can't believe Saidra is gone.
 * Evennia: If the old gods still exist, then hear me now.
 * Evennia: Saidra should not have died. It wasn't her time.
 * Evennia: But she gave her life so that the rest of us could live on.
 * Evennia: Now I put you on warning, you gods who abandoned Tyria so long.
 * Evennia: When my time comes, and I arrive in the Mists, I'd best not find that she's been mistreated.
 * Evennia: Or as Balthazar as my witness, I will make all of you pay.
 * Evennia: To the end of us all.
 * Evennia: Now we settle our account with the Mursaat. For every drop of our blood they have spilled, we will take two from them.