Soul of a Forgotten Prince
This walkthrough includes chapter requirements, objectives, and rewards. Dialogue is hidden under expandable spoiler sections.
For the Preservation of Knowledge
Section titled “For the Preservation of Knowledge”Visitor: Mara Briarthorn, Surveyor of Shiny Things. Edition: Base Edition.
Unlock requirements
- Archaeology level 10.
| Objective | Details |
|---|---|
| Reach Mining level 25 | Current skill level |
| Complete 1,000 × Copper Vein (Mining, level 1) | Guaranteed discovery: Clear the copper vein halting survey progress |
Rewards: 750 gold
500 Mining XP
1 × Drakescale Greaves
Dialogue (spoilers)
While passing by some old ruins, you hear rustling of rocks, glass, and shuffling of feet. You hesitate getting closer and prepare a small dagger at your waist just in case. But before you can peek around the corner, you hear a audible "Oi! You there!"
Turning around, you expect to see a rogue bandit ambushing you, but instead you see a one-eyed orc. They’re dressed in scholarly robes and hold themselves up with a crude, hand-carved staff. A single eye peers at you non-threateningly, and you feel at ease holstering the dagger.
"Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you. But you were about to interrupt very important work. You see, my team and I have been surveying these ruins for a few days now. The land of which we stand upon now once carried the East End library, one of the largest libraries in all of Destonia prior to the Frostfall plague." They pull a booklet out and scan through the pages. "They seemed to have burned the majority of books and scrolls to survive, but we have evidence some may survive."
"Ah, where are my manners? My name is Mara Briarthorn, and I am the chief surveyor of this small team. Please be kind and do not disturb them." Mara pockets their book and bows. "In fact, you could help us. For coin, of course. The copper vein here is quite expansive and is impeding the team’s progress. Clear it out for us, and you can keep any crude ore you gather for yourself. I do ask, however, that if any artifacts present themselves, you would donate them to us for analyzing."
Mara bows again, and continues to delegate the team of surveyors. They chip away at the tough rock littered with copper.
Active
Section titled “Active”Their eyes beam as you accept the request, almost like an impossible weight has been lifted from Maya’s shoulders. It’s clear they didn’t have any backup plan if they couldn’t get past the rock. "So you’ll help us? Thank you! I’ll inform the team right away."
"Do let me know when the area is cleared. Many blessings to you."
Completion
Section titled “Completion”Mara is holding a magnifying glass close to a parchment when you approach. Exhausted, you drop the pickaxe at the corner of their tent which makes them raise their head. "Ah! Good news, I hope? The rock is cleared? Perfect timing, as I was just reviewing these notes. There may be an entire civilization buried under these ruins. It sounds hard to believe, but the East End was a front for the war between humans and the draken. The idea of there being underground refuge or tunnels makes sense. Thanks to you, we can continue our survey. You have my warmest gratitude."
The Missing Village
Section titled “The Missing Village”Visitor: Mara Briarthorn, Surveyor of Shiny Things. Edition: Base Edition.
Unlock requirements
- Complete For the Preservation of Knowledge and wait 24 h.
- Archaeology level 30.
- Discovery: Clear the copper vein halting survey progress.
| Objective | Details |
|---|---|
| Complete 3,600 × Dustworn Survey (Archaeology, level 1) | Guaranteed discovery: Reconstruct the erased village record |
| Hold 5 × Broken Pottery | Not consumed |
Rewards: 1,500 gold
1,000 Archaeology XP
1 × Drakescale Ward
Dialogue (spoilers)
Mara approaches your camp, as silent as the day you met. "Oi, traveler."
You look up and see Mara in a state of exhaustion, dirty robes, and cuts and scrapes across their skin. "I’m glad I caught up with you. I was hoping you’d give me an extra moment of your time. That copper vein you cleared proved more than just a normal patch of ore. There were… how do I say… unnatural carvings in the rock further in. Man made! Are you understanding me?" Mara is disheveled, but clearly is passionate about their discovery.
"Spare me a momemt more. As I mentioned before, The fort we work currently was a previous housing for troops in East End, and they held back the armies of the Grand Duchy. A ravenous group of draken who worked to keep the humans from invading their lands. At no fault of the humans, of course, since the impeding frost from the Frostfall plague spread across their lands. You see, the humans just wanted to survive, but the draken wanted to keep their land. A rather unfortunate predicament."
Mara pauses and says, "Ah, but I ramble. We could use your expertise. In short, your strength. My team is full of scholars, bards, tavern volunteers. Help us clear the archeology site and I’ll make it worth your while in gold."
Active
Section titled “Active”You relunctantly agree. Mara’s eyes light up through the dirt that smudges their face. "You’re an adventurer like myself, I knew you couldn’t say no. It’s the old Dustworn Survey site. The man-made carvings we found depicted a draken hordes invading a grand village that seems to be gone from the map in that very spot. I believe if we focus efforts there, we can uncover some sort of clue as to where the village went."
Mara turns to take their leave before saying, "Of course, any archeological finds please donate them to our cause. But the rest is yours."
Completion
Section titled “Completion”"It’s… incredible. Look at these columns, these broken artifacts, look at the structural integrity of the homes." Mara stands proudly at the base of the survey site, which thanks to your help has uncovered a significant underground village, preserved in time. The village is in ruins and has been turned into a quarry thanks to Mara and their team. Mara sees you eyeing the rubble and says, "I’m assuming this is the work of the Draken. They must have fought back once the humans got a little too close for comfort."
Mara hands you an unbroken ceramic pot, decorated with paint like a snapshop. "We believe this individual depicted on the side here to be their leader. See how he commands the smaller drakes? But it’s curious… he doesn’t appear draken himself. Could there have been a human defector? And why would they let a human lead them? It’s all fascinating…"
They catch themselves before saying, "This will take time to process, of course. We have so many ruins to skim through. Please - stay close. I do believe we may uncover something that requires your expertise. I, once again, thank you. You’ve done the survey team a great service here."
A Standing Order
Section titled “A Standing Order”Visitor: Mara Briarthorn, Surveyor of Shiny Things. Edition: Base Edition.
Unlock requirements
- Complete The Missing Village and wait 24 h.
- Discovery: Reconstruct the erased village record.
| Objective | Details |
|---|---|
| Complete 7,200 × Candle Cultist (Combat, level 42) | Guaranteed discovery: Recover the sealed letter |
Rewards: 1,500 gold
2,500 Combat XP
1 × Drakescale Helm
Dialogue (spoilers)
You decide to check on Mara and the survey team to assess their progress, and you’re interrupted by a courier on the road. They hand you a sealed parchment before departing with a smile. The parchment reads: "Traveler. I would have greeted you in person, but our discovery seems to have been compromised so I must use discretion. Not only have we been seeing threatening scouts camped around the hills, but they’ve since grown bold enough to hit the survey site directly. Members of my team have gone missing, as well as artifacts from the storage crates."
The writing gets more frantic, but it continues. "We’ve also uncovered a clue to a location of an important letter written by the human general himself during the draken war. I’m certain this must be related to the leader of the Grand Duchy that appeared human himself. We need to get this letter before any bandits do. Or rather, whoever is trying to halt our progress… I’m supplying you the location of this letter, but it doesn’t look very safe. There’ve been reports of cultists set up in that area. They must have the letter. Please, Traveler. Find the Cultist camp, and retrieve the artifact for us."
"If you manage to do this task, return to the survey site. Signed, Mara."
Active
Section titled “Active”The Cultists are a familiar bunch, but you’re confident in tracking down this mystery. You give a silent nod to the parchment as you put it away and set off to the location Mara mentions.
Completion
Section titled “Completion”You fight through the last wave of cultists and throw your weapon to the ground. The camp is finally empty. Sifting through the spoils, you take whatever can fit in your pockets from food to materials. In the main tent, you spot a padlocked chest that you make quick work of with the hilt of your blade. The lock snaps at the hinge as you strike it. Inside, a stack of documents lay flat along with some rolled up scrolls. One particular envelope catches your eye, and you notice an unfamiliar seal of a soldier’s helmet. This must be the letter Mara had mentioned.
It takes a short while, but you reach Mara’s survey camp. It looks deserted. "They’ve left. They’ve all left. I tried to calm them with hopes of your return, but the constant raids from bandits and other robbers were too much. I don’t blame them, truly."
You pull the sealed letter from your bag and hand it to them. "Even in this dark time, you’ve come with a ray of hope. All this work will not be for nothing. I may have lost my team, but the significance of this discovery will more than make up for it, even if I have to finish the entirety of the survey myself! Please, give me a moment to analyze the contents of the letter, and we may discovery what happened here all those years ago."
Tales of a Lost Drake
Section titled “Tales of a Lost Drake”Visitor: Mara Briarthorn, Surveyor of Shiny Things. Edition: Base Edition.
Unlock requirements
- Complete A Standing Order and wait 24 h.
- Discovery: Recover the sealed letter.
| Objective | Details |
|---|---|
| Complete 10,000 × Dragonfall Expanse (Archaeology, level 68) | Guaranteed discovery: Recover the sealed letter |
Rewards: 4,000 gold
2,000 Archaeology XP
1 × Drakescale Hauberk
Dialogue (spoilers)
Despite their entire team abandoning the survey, Mara is as excited as ever. "Traveler… I’ve done it. This language is ancient and was hard to decypher, but it’s all so clear now. Quick - give me some room."
Mara throws everything from a table to the floor, disregarding any sort of care as if the letter is the only valuable thing in the world right now. "The letter you found is everything we were looking for. And more. Scholars had barely any writings of the draken, until now. It’s from a human general, Berial Rhonin. He commanded the wall that separated the East End humans with the Grand Duchy drakes. It seems he was trying to broker peace, and this letter was to the prince of the drakes. You’re probably wondering why the prince and not the king. It was a behind the scenes kind of thing… you see these symbols here? ‘Heed warning of disclosure, footmen at the ready, meet me at the fields of your brothers.’
There’s a brief silence as Mara takes a breath, then says, "They were meeting in secret, it must be. Footmen, or the soliders, were prepped to fight but the general wanted to speak with the prince first. It goes on to say his father, or the Draken King, was not listening to any negotiations and this bloodshed was pointless. The fields of your brothers… it’s the Dragonfall Expanse! It must be! There’s an old place of dragon history that has records of draken envoys. If they were to meet, it must be there. Quickly, Traveler, you must survey the Dragonfall Expanse, find anything of importance. I’m coming with you."
Active
Section titled “Active”"We will finally uncover the mystery of the draken and what befelled them. Let us not waste time."
Completion
Section titled “Completion”Mara falls exhausted. "It’s pointless, Traveler. I’m not seeing anything related to the prince, or of any use for that matter. This survey site has been picked clean. But I–"
"I won’t give up. Let me analyze the letter once more. There’s something I’m not seeing…"
A Prince Trapped in Time
Section titled “A Prince Trapped in Time”Visitor: Mara Briarthorn, Surveyor of Shiny Things. Edition: Base Edition.
Unlock requirements
- Complete Tales of a Lost Drake and wait 24 h.
- Discovery: Recover the sealed letter.
| Objective | Details |
|---|---|
| Complete 1 × Young Drake (Combat, level 82) | Guaranteed discovery: Defeat the Prince |
Rewards: 7,500 gold
2,500 Archaeology XP
1,000 Mining XP
1,000 Combat XP
1 × Drakefang Blade
Dialogue (spoilers)
"Traveler, I don’t know what to say. It’s been looked over twice, we’ve combed through this survey three times over, I’ve studied every speck of dust that coats the ruins. There just doesn’t seem to be any connection to the prince. I hate to say it, but we may have hit a dead end. I suppose we have to travel back to the original survey site to see if I–"
As Mara prepares their things to be packed up, a glint of something shiny pierces their eye. It’s small, but an exposed surface of a stone, barely noticiable, peeks from under an exposed root. A giant Elderwood Tree towers over the Dragonfall Expanse, and most of it has lived underground, expect for one root protecting one unfamiliar stone. Mara drops their belongings, and crawls frantically towards the source of the light. You reach out to stop them, but before you could, Mara touches the smooth surface. A blinding flash of light permeates the air, causing you to squint and shield your eyes. After the white flash dissipates, you open your eyes to see Mara, floating a foot from the ground. Their eye is closed, and their arms stretched out from side to side.
"Free, free from this prison… Curse the human traitor… Where is… Rhonin…." You look for a voice but realize it’s coming from Mara. Whatever was trapped in the stone has now possessed them, and using them as a puppet. Mara opens their eye and it’s painted black. Their neck cranes to look directly at you. "I see. You’ve come to finish the job and destroy my proud people once and for all… This is our land…"
You realize you have no choice. You must stand your ground.
Active
Section titled “Active”The entity possessing Mara is just staring. The tension is thick. Suddenly, the puppet begins to charge you.
Completion
Section titled “Completion”Mara’s weak scholarly body was no match for your strength. You did what you had to do. As Mara falls to the floor, the ghost of the young draken prince thrashes in the sky before a piercing scream echoes from it. The edges of its form dissolve, and the ghost fades away.
"Traveler…" Mara coughs up blood as they reach for you. "I understand now. The drakes were betrayed… It wasn’t a negotiation, it was an ambush… I felt its pain. It’s grudge." You apply what medicinal resources you have available. "Thank you, Traveler. For everything. I’ll be okay, do not worry. I suppose I must… relay this information to the scholar’s guild."
"Or perhaps the prince needs to rest in peace. What the humans did to their kind is unthinkable. Let him rest… I’ll take any tangible findings to the guild, but we must never speak of what happened here. Thank you again, hero. I’ll never forget what you’ve done for us."