Stonekeep (Quest)

Stonekeep is the first part of the second main quest of. Following Ria's advice, it is required to do a favor for Queen Blubamka, and retrieve a parchment for the Rihad Palace to decipher the Elder Scrolls, to find the Fang Lair. Stonekeep is the first of several locations that the Eternal Champion visited in Arena, on the journey to rebuild the Staff of Chaos.

Journal
, in the year 3E 389 The ruler of Rihad has marked Stonekeep on your map of the province of Hammerfell...

Story
The first part of the second quest of Arena. Following the escape from the Imperial City's dungeons, the Eternal Champion is given a quest from Rihad's Queen, Blubamka: to recover a stolen parchment (which can be used to decipher part of the Elder Scrolls) from Stonekeep, which will reveal the location of the Fang Lair, in turn the location of the first piece of the Staff of Chaos. The Champion is also to assassinate Golthog the Dark and his gang of Goblins.

Objectives

 * Receive Ria Silmane's dream bridge.
 * Travel to the city-state of Rihad.
 * Enter the palace, and receive the task from Queen Blubamka.
 * Retrieve the parchment from Stonekeep.
 * Return to Blubamka to discover the the Fang Lair's location.

Dream Bridge
After gaining, Ria Silmane approaches the Eternal Champion in their dreams to tell them about the Staff of Chaos, the Fang Lair, and the Dwarves of Kragen.

A pause incurs, for the game to load the rest of its assets for the dream bridge.

After Ria delivers her message, the Champion is encouraged to talk to pedestrians, mages and priests to learn the Fang lair's location. The Champion is then told that, and is encouraged to go to a random city and ask the civilians there the rumors of Hammerfell and about the Fang Lair. The Champion is directed to the city of Rihad, where they are to meet Queen Blubamka in the Rihad Palace.

''Welcome to Rihad, [player name]. I am Queen Blubamka, and I agree to tell you about Fang Lair, for a favor. You see, not too long ago a band of goblins, led by Golthog the Dark attacked this stronghold. They carried away with them much treasure, including a parchment which held within its writings clues to decipher the part of the Elder Scrolls which spoke of the location of the legendary Fang Lair. Golthog and his goblins fled to an ancient and ruined fortress called Stonekeep, outside the city. I fear that a large band of mercenaries or soldiers will be unable to find them. A single person however, would be much more successful. Perhaps your arrival is fortuitous. If you would agree to try and recover this parchment, I will inscribe the location of the Stonekeep onto your map. If you are successful and return with the parchment, I will be able to decipher the location of Fang Lair. I promise to give you that location as reward for your help. Do you agree?''

It is recommended that when the Champion reaches Hammerfell, they stock up on supplies at the various guilds: shops for weapons and armor (brown huts dedicated with a sign of a black sword), and the Mages Guild for healing potions and cure disease potions (as Rats and Ghouls tend to give the player Disease).

Stolen Parchment
Stonekeep is located north of Rihad. The dungeon isn't small, however the parchment is luckily near the entrance and can be reached quite easily. After the Champion enters Stonekeep, they should go to the second door on the east side.

They will likely be greeted by a couple Goblins, Rats and even Wolves. After they dispose of the creatures, the Champion should then proceed to go to the last room on the right where they will find a blue platform along with a hole in the wall. They can choose whether to sleep or keep going.

The Eternal Champion must leap into the hole to access the room where the parchment is held. After they have reached the platform, there is a group of up to ten Skeletons that the Champion can kill for quite a bit of experience. Skeletons, however, are very tough opponents at a low level and low quality armor/weapons, and should be fought with caution. After this, the Champion should then proceed to swim their way to the central island where the parchment resides.

Caution should be taken as the parchment is guarded by a number of Ghouls. Ghouls can kill a low-leveled opponent in very few hits. It's also recommended to kill all the enemies in the perimeter of the island to avoid later complications.

The Eternal Champion should then go to the center section on the island where there is some treasure chests with some decent loot (some may need to be lockpicked to open), and the parchment that Blubamka requires. After they acquire the parchment, they can proceed to leave Stonekeep and return to Rihad, about a three-day journey.

The Champion can also choose to stay in Stonekeep, and earn vary valuable and worthwhile loot and levels. The top level of Stonekeep is relatively easy for a level 2-3 or higher as there are only goblins, Orcs, and sometimes even Lizard Men in the main sections.

There is an iron key on the middle island near the entrance that can be used to open several locked doors. If they choose to go farther into Stonekeep, caution is advised as there are Ghouls, Skeletons, and large groups of Spiders. The Champion should eventually find their way out and will head back to Rihad, where Blubamka will celebrate and reveal the Fang Lair's location.

Trivia

 * This is the first quest in which the Eternal Champion may encounter scripted deaths.
 * This death includes being paralyzed in water after being hit by a Spider. The Champion drowns subsequently afterwards.
 * The Champion may also die on the three-day journey back to Rihad if they're Diseased (as that causes constant damage, even through traveling), and may be greeted by Ria Silmane in the afterlife instead of arriving at the city-state.
 * While Golthog the Dark does not appear in Stonekeep, Queen Blubamka still celebrates his death upon returning the parchment.
 * It is possible that one of the generic goblins the Champion kills could be Golthog.