Quest: Miscarcand

Sunday Sunday Sunday: It's Mayhem in Miscarcand!

One of the last pieces that Martin needs to open the gate to Oblivion to retrieve the Amulet of Kings is a Great Welkynd Stone. You've probably found plenty of normal Welkynd stones during your trips into Ayleid ruins, but there's only one Great Welkynd Stone rumored to still exist, in the ruins of Miscarcand. You'll have to travel there, find the stone, and return it to Martin.

Head to Miscarcand, which is indeed quite sizable. Follow the green arrow until you find the entrance, then head inside. It appears that there's been some kind of undead/Goblin war going on in here, so don't be surprised if you run across both kinds of critters as you proceed. The exit from the first level is locked away behind a gate; to open it, you'll have to drop down into the large room nearby, find the stairs leading up, then press a button inset into the wall near a pair of Goblins and their treasure chests.

On the second level, Sel Vanua, help the goblins defeat the skeletons, or vice versa, then finish off any remainders before hitting the switch on the wall to obtain the Varla Stone. Heading down the stairs will lead you to another large room, where more goblins and skeletons are duking it out. Watch them from above as you wend your way across the walkway. Taking the steps at the terminal of the walkway will lead you to a little passage from which you can access the room; there's also a small switch in this passage's wall that will open the passage leading to the third level, the Morimath.

The Great Welkynd Stone

In Morimath, head down the first set of steps, then start clearing out the level's zombie population, or whatever happens to be present in your case. Be sure the level is cleared of enemies (and that you're at full health) before grabbing the Great Welkynd Stone, as things start to happen afterwards...

By "things", we're referring to the appearance of the King of Miscarcand behind you, and a couple of undead on the floor beneath the area. The King is a fearsome spellcaster that's highly resistant to damage and magical effects, so when you grab the Stone, drop down to the floor first and take out his undead helpers, then turn your eye on the King himself.

Try hitting the King with fire magical or fire-enchanted weapons for maximum damage.

The King will pursue you if you attempt to run away from him, but only until you get into line of sight, and at that point he'll attempt to zap you with spells, usually resorting to lightning and fire damage. He's a Lich, so obviously he's going to be handy with the spells, but he can resist quite a bit of your effects, as well; we've noticed him being capable of resisting Draining poison and frost damage, although he doesn't appear quite as able to resist fire damage, so that may be a key to help killing him. Alternately, you might want to try hitting him with a Silence poison and closing to melee range before taking him out. He doesn't have an obscene amount of health, so if you can take him on one on one and dodge his spells, then you should be able to end him relatively quickly.

Grab the key and the staff from the King's body and head into the portal from which he came to exit the level; the entrances you came from have been locked with five-tumbler gates. The whole little path available through the gate that the key unlocks will wind up seeing you exit near the entrance to the entire facility, so you'll be able to quickly make your escape and return to Martin.