Iron Mines of Moladune (mission)

Objectives
Kill Markis and his Jade Armor guards.
 * Find the Seer.
 * ADDED Kill the Eidolon.
 * ADDED Deliver the Spectral Essence to the Seer to infuse your armor.
 * BONUS Defeat The Inquisitor before he leaves with the information about the Shining Blade.

Primary
The primary mission objective is to kill Markis, the treacherous Shining Blade council member who has foiled all previous attempts to build resistance to the White Mantle. Dealing with Markis is easy enough, however the route to the traitor is guarded by Mursaat whose Spectral Agony will quickly wipe out those without infused armor. Reaching the Seer (who provides the first opportunity to add this shielding) is the tougher part of the mission. See below if you choose to run to the Seer (Point A).

As you leave the outpost, you can run past the battling Stone Summit and Mantle. At the bottom of the hill, turn right to take the icy path towards the Seer. Most of the enemy on the route will be Tundra Giants, Mountain Trolls, Blessed Griffons, and Azure Shadows; they should be fairly easy to take out, as they appear in groups of 3-4. Midway, you will come across a bridge defended by Mantle siege weapons. Turn left at the fork on the bridge and follow the path until you reach the Seer.

After a cutscene, the Seer will direct you to kill an Eidolon for its Spectral Essence, to be used to magically shield your armor. The Seer will infuse equipped armor one time for each player who speaks with him; any henchman will also be infused. (See the main article for additional details.)

You have two options: (X) the shorter path is north from the seer (through point B) or (Y) head back to the besieged bridge (E2), and take a right turn into the White Mantle and engage them. Cross the bridge to the northeast. Head north until you reach a fortress-like structure (point D) and you should see Markis running into it. Carefully take down the Mantle and Mursaat guarded the entrance without aggroing Markis.

Once Markis is engaged, a number of Jade Armors will spawn from the statues around him. As a Ranger, Markis himself has high elemental damage resistance and Troll Unguent, so you might want to take out the Jade first and leave him for last.

Bonus
The bonus objective is to kill the The Inquisitor

The Bonus activates after speaking with Shining Blade Scout Ryder (point 2). You may hear Ryder scream for help from you as you pass by on your way to the Seer, be careful not to get to close to Ryder while enemies are engaged, as they will kill Ryder and prevent the mission from activating.

To reach her, you should infuse your armor first (as the path to her is littered with Mursaat). After infusion you can take route (X) or (Y) (above) towards E2 and then further south to Ryder. The Inquisitor spawns at E3, accompanied by three Mursaat Mesmers and, again, it is usually best to take out the guards first and leave the boss for last.

If The Inquisitor tries to run away, try slowing or crippling him to prevent his escape; if he makes it to the portal at E7 before he dies, you will fail the bonus.

Infusion run
This mission provides a good running opportunity to infuse armor; once anyone reaches the Seer (point A), the cutscene triggers and everyone in the party will be transported to him. To run, you will need anti-knockdown skills to counter the Azure Shadows' Signet of Judgment and the Tundra Giants' Giant Stomp. You can also get your Henchmen or Heroes to assist, if they have skills like "Charge!" that increase your speed.

As with all runs, the party should stay close together or those being run should stay put until the runner speaks to the Seer. You should be able to run past the battle between the White Mantle and Stone Summit, as they will concentrate on killing each other unless engaged. You will suffer knockdowns from Giant Stomps, but they should not slow you down too badly. At E2, gather the group back together and flag Heroes and Henchmen ahead of you to draw knockdowns from the Azure Shadows. Finally, the mobs between the Seer and the Eidolon should not present much of a problem. Remember to remind party members to equip the armor they want infused before speaking to the Seer.

Hard mode
White Mantle and Stone Summit are still hostile to each other, but will sometimes break off to attack you if you try to run past while they fight each other. Wait for them to mostly kill each other off before attacking.

White mantle have been bumped up to level 25 or 26, so it is now important to pull and kill only one group at a time. This requires careful pulling near the first ballista, as well as at a few points on the bonus route.

Spread out your group a bit when starting the bonus. If your group bunches up, the three Mursaat Mesmers will immediately tag your group with Energy Surge, doing a total of 360 armor-ignoring AoE damage. Their subsequent attacks and the The Inquisitor there as an elementalist boss to try to finish you off can be trouble.

The mobs at the end out in front of Markis are not linked to him or each other, so you can pull and kill a couple at a time, or blast them through the walls with skills that ignore line of sight. Clear enough that those that remain won't be a problem when you try to run through. Getting Markis plus several other mobs all at once can be trouble.

NPCs

 * Human
 * 15 (20) Shining Blade Scout Ryder
 * Seer
 * 30 Seer
 * Animal
 * 5 Black Bear

Monsters

 * Dwarf
 * 24 (26) Stone Summit Carver
 * 24 (26) Summit Giant Herder
 * Giant
 * 24 (26) Tundra Giant
 * Golem
 * 24 (26) Siege Ice Golem
 * Griffon
 * 24 (26) Blessed Griffon
 * Human
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Knight
 * 20 (26) White Mantle Zealot
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Seeker
 * 20 (26) White Mantle Priest
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Ritualist
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Engineer
 * Jade
 * 24 (26) Jade Armor
 * 24 (26) Jade Bow
 * Mursaat
 * 24 (26) Mursaat Monk
 * 24 (26) Mursaat Necromancer
 * 24 (26) Mursaat Mesmer
 * 24 (26) Mursaat Elementalist
 * Nightmare
 * 22 (26) Azure Shadow
 * Phantom
 * 24 (26) Eidolon
 * Troll
 * 24 (26) Mountain Troll

Bosses - elite skill captures

 * Human
 * 22 (29) Markis - Barrage **
 * Jade
 * 28 (30) Martigris the Stalwart - Devastating Hammer
 * 28 (30) Hilios the Dutiful - Oath Shot
 * Mursaat
 * 28 (30) Feodor the Baneful - Life Transfer
 * 28 (30) Balasi the Arcane - Energy Surge
 * 28 (30) Kratos the Foul - Thunderclap
 * 28 (30) The Inquisitor - Thunderclap (bonus only)
 * Nightmare
 * 28 (30) Balt Duskstrider - Signet of Judgment
 * 28 (30) Ceru Gloomrunner - Spiteful Spirit
 * 28 (30) Digo Murkstalker - Illusionary Weaponry
 * Phantom
 * 28 (30) Eidolon - Mist Form
 * Stone Summit
 * 28 (30) Marika Granitehand - Cleave
 * 28 (30) Slonak Copperbark - Dwarven Battle Stance
 * 28 (30) Lokar Icemender - Mark of Protection

Dialogues
Briefing from Evennia.

Inside the mission
Bonus objective:

Shining Blade Scout Ryder: ''HELP! Please help me! I'm trapped here! There are corpses everywhere! When I got caught, a Mursaat called The Inquisitor interrogated me. He just took my thoughts from my head. I...I...He found out we were heading to Thunderhead Keep to help the Dwarves. Please catch him!''

Finishing the bonus:

The Inquisitor: ''I see you there, but you'll never catch me. I'm too fast for you. Is that the best you can do? I thought you might at least provide me with a challenge.''

Markis: ''So you finally figured it out, eh? Now you've come to extract vengence? [sic] I should have killed you in the Maguuma Jungle. I'm going to enjoy killing you almost as much as I enjoyed watching Saidra die. Frankly, I expected you to put up a better fight.''

Intermediate cutscene
Seer: ''Yes, yes. You are the Ascended ones the dragon Glint has spoken of. Come in. Come in. I have been expecting you.''



Seer: ''I have traveled far and waited many long years to help you fulfill the Flameseeker Prophecies. What matters is that I am here to help you.''



Seer: By now you have realized that the Mursaat cannot be defeated with the tools you now posses.

Go on.''

Seer: ''For centuries my kind has fought the Mursaat. I know the rituals that can give you at least some protection from their agonizing touch.''



Seer: Yes.

Why help us?''

Seer: ''Because if the prophecies are to be believed, you will do what my entire race could not. You are going to destroy the Mursaat.''



Seer: ''In a cave to the east lives a bestial creature made from malice and shade. This creature has a natural defense against the magics of the Mursaat. Bring me the spectral essence of this beast, and I will infuse its protections into your armor.''

Ending cutscene
Evennia: ''May the deaths of all whom you betrayed weigh heavy on you in the afterlife. Death is too good for you, Markis. May your tortured soul never find peace.''

Brechnar Ironhammer: ''Brother, the portcullis has been breached. The first and second regiments have fallen, and the Stone Summit has raised their flag over Thunderhead Keep. My king, the fortress is taken.''

King Jalis Ironhammer: ''Sound the horn of retreat, Brechnar. We will cut our losses and regroup.''

Brechnar Ironhammer: ''Get yourself to safety, brother. Deldrimor cannot afford to lose its capital and its king in the same day.''

King Jalis Ironhammer: ''Guards, with me. We are leaving.''

Follow-up

 * Upon completion of the mission players will find themselves in: Thunderhead Keep.
 * To continue the story line players must complete: Thunderhead Keep: Mission