Online:Enemies at the Gate

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Help the Barkbite Wood Orcs with their "curse" and bandit problems. Zone: Grahtwood Objective: Reman's Bluff — Protect Barkbite Stronghold from bandit attacks. Quest Giver: Wear Them Down (note) or Sharnag gro-Barkbite Location(s): Reman's Bluff, Barkbite Stronghold Next Quest: The Enemy Within Reward: 308 Gold XP Gain: Standard XP

The Orcs of the Barkbite Stronghold are in trouble

I met the Wood Orcs of Barkbite Stronghold in Reman's Bluff. They have come under attack from raiders and gradually weakened by an unknown source. I should work with Shaman Bogham to track down the source. [if taken from Barkbite]
<or>
I found bandit orders detailing a plan to attack Barkbite Stronghold in Reman's Bluff. I should do what I can to stop the bandit attacks. [if the note is found]

Quick Walkthrough

1. Talk to Sharnag gro-Barkbite.
2. Talk to Shaman Bogham inside the longhouse.
3. Gather samples of food, water, and clothes.
4. Collect a venom sac from a Broodmother.
5. Fight off the invading bandits.
6. Return to Shaman Bogham.

Detailed Walkthrough

Entering the Stronghold

While approaching the east side of the Reman's Bluff marker, you may encounter a note that tells you to storm Barkbite Stronghold; collecting this note will start the quest. Head south and follow the road path westwards; the path will end at an open gate with three Orcs, the central one being Sharnag gro-Barkbite. He'll comment while you approach the gate, so talk to him:

"Watch where you step. Bandit corpses get a little mushy."

What happened here?

"Bandits, running themselves onto our swords. Drove them off for now.
Thing is, there are far more bandits than we have swords. With so many afflicted by the curse, we can't hunt them down and kill them in their beds."

A curse? What kind of curse?

"Magical sickness. Shaman Bogham handles all that. Me, I guard the gate.
Know anything about stopping curses? Head inside. Shaman said he needs another set of hands."

I'll speak with Shaman Bogham.

Head inside the Stronghold and walk straight; the Chief's Longhouse is the westernmost building, and is hard to miss. When you enter, Shaman Bogham will be in the west room, standing there:

"Yes, I'll have the poultice ready in a moment.
Wait, who are you?"

I've heard you need help with a curse.

"Curse? No, no. My bloodkin are loyal to the last, but at times they're thicker than troll dung.
It's clearly poison, though how it affected so many is indeed curious. Why do you ask?"

Sharnag said you needed help.

"Then here, take this list. Everyone who fell ill had three similarities. They ate food cooked in the same pot, drank water from the same well, and wore clothes washed in the same stream.
Bring a sample from each. We'll find the source of the poison."

Sourcing the Poison

You can talk to Shaman Bogham further about his suspicions of poisoning, and he will tell you that he's experienced similar effects before— you may insinuate that it could be the bandits' doing, but he would rather not jump to conclusions. Head outside the Longhouse to gather what you were asked for. The Village Well is in the center of the Stronghold, directly east of the Longboat; The Meat is southeast of the Well, lying on the table in a small camp on the inner-right of the stronghold gate; and The Clothing Chest is directly north of the campsite, on the inner-left side of the stronghold gate. After you've collected all the samples, return to Shaman Bogham:

"Have you collected everything on the list?"

Here are the samples.

"Good. This should only take a few moments."

Wait for him to test the samples. He suspects nothing unusual from the clothes or the meat, but found something wrong with the well water. Speak to him again:

"The poison was in the well water. Even better, I know exactly what kind it is."

What is it?

"Spider venom. Enough to incapacitate, but not kill.
Odd. Mingling with water in such a fashion would require a variety of alchemical compounds to dilute the venom."

Are you saying this wasn't an accident?

"I'm saying it's odd, that's all.
What's important now is the antidote. This venom is common to the spiders infesting our tin mine, but I'll need a concentrated amount."

I can get the venom for you.

"Look for broodmothers. Their venom sacs are potent, and durable enough not to pop when you smash the filthy creatures. They hate the light, so you'll need to search the deepest parts of the mine."

On the Defense

Head out of the Longhouse and go east into the open cave there. Take the right fork and meet the Broodmother at the very end of the path. Kill it and make your way out of the cavern— when you are near the entrance, an Orc will approach you, visibly injured:

"Bandits rushed the gates and scaled the walls. There's not enough of us to drive them back!"

Are you all right?

"Broken arm, it's nothing.
Stand with us. Drive these bandits into the mud!"

Leave the cave entrance and head north to the broken wall: outside of it, Red Sun Bandits attack the guarding Orcs. As you kill them, waves of more bandits will rush towards the Orcs; defend against the attack, and return to Shaman Bogham in the Longhouse once you're done:

"I don't hear the sounds of battle. Are the bandits driven off?"

I thinned them out. Here's the venom sac you wanted.

"Then I'll distill an antidote immediately. With so many poisoned, we couldn't have repelled the bandits without your help."

This completes the quest, and you can immediately go into the next quest.

Notes

• Despite being a glowing note that you physically pick up, the note "Wear Them Down" cannot be read in your quest items, although it appears there.
  • The note can later be read after completing the quest, where after it is placed on a table inside the longhouse.
• The clothing chest won't exist in the stronghold before starting the quest or reaching the related objective.
• Namoroth won't exist in the stronghold before starting the quest or reaching the related objective.
• The wall will already appear breached before Namoroth states that the bandits have breached the stronghold.

Quest Stages

Enemies at the Gate
Finishes Quest	Journal Entry
	I should go to Barkbite Stronghold and see if they need any help. Objective: Go to Barkbite Stronghold
	I found Barkbite Stronghold. It seems there was a recent battle near the main gate. Perhaps one of the guards can tell me what's going on. I should speak with Sharnag. Objective: Talk to Sharnag
	Sharnag thinks Barkbite Stronghold has been cursed. I should speak with Shaman Bogham to see if I can lend a hand. Objective: Talk to Shaman Bogham
	Shaman Bogham suspects the "curse" looming over Barkbite Stronghold is actually poison. I should seek out some items for him to test for traces of poison. Objective: Take Well Water from the Village Well Objective: Take Chunk of Meat from Table Objective: Take Clothing from the Clothing Chest
	I've found the items for Shaman Bogham. I should give them to him and see if any of them are the source of the poison. Objective: Give the Items to Shaman Bogham
	I've given the items for [sic] Shaman Bogham. He said it would take only moments to determine if any of these objects are the source of the poison. Objective: Wait for Shaman Bogham to Complete his Testing
	Shaman Bogham appears to have finished his evaluation of the items. I should ask him what he's found. Objective: Talk to Shaman Bogham
	The well water was poisoned with spider venom. I need to collect a venom sac from a broodmother spider in the nearby mine so Shaman Bogham can create an antidote. Objective: Collect Venom Sac from Broodmother
	I've collected the Venom Sac for Shaman Bogham. I should give it to him. Objective: Return to Reman's Bluff
	Barkbite Stronghold is under attack. Namoroth appears to be injured. I should see if he needs help. Objective: Talk to Namoroth
	Barkbite Stronghold is under attack. I should help fight off the raiding party. Objective: Kill the Red Sun Bandits
Finishes quest	The raiders have broken and are falling back. I still need to give the Venom Sac to Shaman Bogham, so he can begin making an antidote for the poisoned Orcs. Objective: Give the Venom Sac to Shaman Bogham

Notes

* Any text displayed in angle brackets (e.g., <Alias=LocationHold>) is dynamically set by the game and will be filled in with the appropriate word(s) when seen in game.

• Not all Journal Entries may appear in your journal; which entries appear and which entries do not depends on the manner in which the quest is done.
• Stages are not always in order of progress. This is usually the case with quests that have multiple possible outcomes or quests where certain tasks may be done in any order. Some stages may therefore repeat objectives seen in other stages.