Audience in the Throne Room¶
This quest becomes available at the beginning of chapter 2. Initially, the journal states that you have 42 days before any action can be taken. In the meantime, you should meet with Jhod and Tristian to learn more about the threat. To do this, you’ll need to visit the Throne Room and manage your kingdom affairs. Jhod and Tristian will request an audience, during which all you need do at this stage is acknowledge the threat.
Event: Eight-Legged Plague¶
When 14 of the initial 42 days remain, the quest will update. A plague of spiders has flooded the barony! You must issue an urgent decree to protect the land. Despite the implication, this doesn’t exclusively involve the assignment of advisors to deal with the threat. You also need to gather your party and travel to the nearby Bald Hilltop, located northwest of Tuskdale, and defeat some of the plague in person.
Before venturing out, be sure to assign one of your advisors to the Eight-Legged Plague problem while managing your kingdom affairs from the throne room. As the event takes only one day to resolve, it’s recommended that you make a hard save at this point. You can then skip time to see the outcome of the event and, if you should fail, it’ll be a quick process to save-scum your way to triumph.
To find the Bald Hilltop, take the following route from Tuskdale on the region map:
- North
- West
The location of the Bald Hilltop in relation to Tuskdale.
Bald Hilltop¶
Upon arrival at the Bald Hilltop, head northeast from the starting point at the southeast. Be sure to assemble your party in a formation with your squishy characters behind, and any tank-types in front. You might also find it useful to cast Summon Monster at this stage, just before the fight ahead. When you reach the stone pillar atop the hill to your right, you’ll be ambushed by 6 Giant Spiders.
These spiders aren’t much different from any other Giant Spiders that you’ve encountered previously. However, this is likely the first time you’ve encountered so many at once. Depending on your class setup, you may find the tanking a little difficult without at least two tanks. If you’re struggling with all 6 spiders, try casting Web, aiming for the spider located nearest to the stone pillar to your right. This should ensnare at least two spiders, and with any luck a third to the north east.
Apply any buffs such as Inspire Courage and Inspire Competence, alongside buffs to tanks such as Heroism and Barkskin. Don’t worry if these aren’t available, the goal here is to reduce any incoming damage and increase your own. Any skill which aids in this will prove useful. If instead you’ve invested in crowd control spells, try using Daze as the spiders run toward you, and Color Spray when they’re within range. If all else fails and you must fight 6 spiders at once, make use of area of effect healing spells such as Channel Positive Energy.
With all that said, if you’ve reached a point where you’ve invested in decent equipment for most of your party, these spiders shouldn’t prove much of an issue on the easier combat difficulties. After taking out a few of the spiders two more mobs will appear: a sorcerer named Silky and a Doomspider. The Doomspider has significantly tougher defences compared with the other Giant Spiders, but is easily defeated when all party members collectively clobber it. Silky is more of a glass cannon, though she seems to focus on crowd control over damage, with Hold Person apparently being her favourite spell.
After you’ve defeated all the spiders and Silky you’ll have an opportunity to loot. Most of the good stuff can be found from Silky, with a Ring of Protection +1 and Wyvern Skin Cloak being the highlights. With each collected, all there is left to do is leave the area from the way you entered. Before heading back to Tuskdale, however, be sure to claim the resource of Fertile Land to the northeast if you haven’t done so already. To find it, navigate from the Bald Hilltop to:
- East
- North
- West
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