Ashenwood/Immil Vale

In order to head to Ashenwood, you need to speak to Vaszil, a boatman at the harbor. If Okku is in your party, he’ll lend you his boat for free; otherwise he’ll charge you 10,000 gold for the priveledge.

Quest: Ancient Knowledge

When you arrive in Ashenwood, help the two barbarians here to destroy the elementals that are attacking them, then speak to Nadaj. She’ll refer you to Dalenka, the witch in charge of the outpost. You have no choice but to head inside and speak to her, but Dalenka will rudely dismiss you. Speaking to Nadaj again will reveal a number of problems that you can help with. There’s a blight spreading in the forest that appears to be killing a good amount of the vegetation, as well as a large fire to the south. Lastly, a telthor sanctuary has been overrun by intruders. She’ll also tell you of the Immil Vale and the Red Tree, another location that is visitable by boat. Phew!

Quest: Re-Exile

Head out into the woods and fight your way to the large tree in the middle of the forest. There’s a telthor berserker nearby who’ll give you this quest. Apparently, the spirit of a druid once protected his dwelling place, but it was removed by your spirit-eating predecessor. If you want to help the berserker out, you’ll need to find a way to get the frost giants across the river to leave the grove, then find a new spirit to put into the lake there.

Indeed.

You have some options when dealing with the frost giants. You can kill them, sure, but you can also challenge the jarl and attempt to take his crown. Doing so will cause you to partake in a sequence of battles with the frost giants; the crown will be placed on the ground, and they’ll come at you in groups of one or two giants in an attempt to pick it up and place it on their heads. Striking at the giants as they grab the crown will let you repel their challenges until the real jarl comes. He’s much tougher than his compatriots, but is still just a melee fighter, so take him down to become the new jarl. That will let you instantly kick all of the frost giants out of your own clan and thus clear the grove. Be sure to demand tribute first; you’ll get the Thicketfavors gauntlet which will be perfect for Gann.

With that done, examine the nearby Sacred Pool. There’s a bottle of Pure Sanctuary Water inside that will come in handy in a bit. Take it, then place a single volatile Spirit Essence into the pool.

Quest: Hunting Party

You’ll find the remains of a hunting party a bit to the south of the green tree here. You can find the Ceremonies of the Hunt book on one of the men, which will describe a ritual that you can partake in to gain the favor of the forest.

Your goal here is to find surviving members of the party, though. To the southeast, in the Blighted Trees portion of the forest, you’ll find a hunting dog. Click on him to advance the quest a bit. With that done, return to the corpses that you found earlier and tear off a piece of cloth from one of them, then return to the dog and show it to him. Okku will be able to question him and finish off the quest.

Quest: Left To Rot

If you head to the southeast, you’ll find the Blighted Trees. Kill all of the treants here, then speak to Gnarlthorn. He’ll tell you that the blight is the result of a curse laid upon him by the previous spirit-eater. In order to lift the curse, you’ll need the Pure Sanctuary Water that you obtained via the Re-Exile quest, as well as two more ingredients, including some leaves that Gnarlthorn gives to you.

Head to the south to the Burning Grove, which you’ll need to reach through a map transition. You’ll find two items there: a Large Charred Branch, and a set of Bark Cinders. The Cinders are the other item that you need to invoke the gods in support of Gnarlthorn.

There are plenty of enemies in the woods, so be mindful of their presence.

Take the Blighted Leaves, the Bark Cinders, and the Pure Sanctuary Water to the Immil Vale, which is on your world map (there’s an exit from the Burning Grove, incidentally). (If you have the Legendary Blood from the Predator Cave, nab that as well.) You’ll encounter Imsha and Tamlith before you’re able to proceed to the Red Tree; their attitude towards you will likely depend on your level of spirit craving. They won’t attack you, though; instead, they’ll give you plenty of information, should you request it.

Now, when you manage to make it to the Red Tree, you have two options: you can use the Bark Cinders and the Blighted Leaves on the Pure Sanctuary Water or on the Legendary Blood (simply right-click on the former in your inventory and apply them to the latter). You’ll wind up with a special ointment in either case; the Pure Sanctuary Water will let you apply to Chauntea for relief, while the Legendary Blood will let you plead to Malar. Regardless of who you appeal to, you’ll get a new item in your inventory: Chauntea will give you the Blessed Salve of the Earthmother, which will save Gnarltooth, while Malar will give you the Toxic Plantbane of the Beastlord. Performing the former ritual will shift you towards Good, while performing the latter will shift you towards Evil.

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