Ice Caves of Sorrow (mission)

Mission Objectives
Rescue Evennia
 * Find a way into the holding area.
 * Break Evennia out of her cell.
 * Escape with Evennia to the awaiting ice ship.
 * BONUS Return news of Rornak Stonesledge to Hamdor Grandaxe.

Background
The truth about the White Mantle has been revealed. They are a cult worshipping strange beings known as the Mursaat. Having achieved Ascension, you are now (supposedly) ready to return to save the Shining Blade and stop the White Mantle. While you were away, the White Mantle have cornered the Shining Blade into the Shiverpeak Mountains and have captured both Evennia and Saidra, and now plan to sacrifice them on the Shiverpeak Bloodstone.

Primary
You begin the mission facing a group of Pinesouls and Ice Imps. Beware, because near them there will be a group of Mursaat Elementalists. They are the floating beings with golden outfits and black tentacles coming out of their backs. Avoid them at all cost. All Mursaat (this includes spell casters as well as Jade Armors and Jade Bows) have a power called Spectral Agony. For now, this power will wipe out your entire party in a matter of seconds. It will massively drain away your health. (Though it may be possible to survive limited, brief encounters if you have a couple of healers and use the Heroes that were introduced in the Nightfall campaign.)

Sneak around the Mursaat and head left. You will come across an area being pounded by siege weapons and several groups of Stone Summit. Kill them and pass the siege area. You will see a bridge and a way down onto an icy path (where the Stone Summit have set up their siege weapons). Go onto the ice and destroy the group protecting the first siege weapon and then the second. Fire the second weapon (point A) and you will see a cut scene where a herd of Yaks rampages through the White Mantle encampment and helps destroy the siege weapons and forces for you.

Now, go back up and cross the bridge into the White Mantle camp (PLEASE NOTE siege attacks will wipe entire party very quickly right after bridge, proceed with caution). Immediately up the hill will be a gate guarded by Jade Armors. Avoid them. If you continue to the left of that gate, you will find a path around to another door guarded by the less imposing White Mantle. Kill the patrols, grab a keg from the nearby powder station (point B) and blow the door away.

You will enter an ice cave. If you keep to the left side of the cave, you will be able to go around all the Mursaat groups (facing a few White Mantle groups) and out into an area that has a circular path with a pit in the middle. Evennia and Saidra are opposite to you on this circle (point C). You can go either left or right around the pit, but there is one patrol of Mursaat to avoid, which is easier if you go left. Then there is a patrol of White Mantle Savants and Sycophants, which you can take out. There you will find a cave that will take you around the left side of the circle to very near the cell. There is another patrol of Mursaat to dodge here. Get a keg from the nearby powder station (point D) and blow the cell door.

A cut scene will show you that Saidra sacrificed herself for you. Now you will need to blow a gate, then run Evennia to the ship. Follow the red path on the map to the ice ship (point E).

Bonus
The bonus in this mission is rather straightforward, but requires that you fight at least two groups of Mursaat. However at this point, you probably do not have infused armor (this happens next mission normally) and as such you cannot stand up to the Mursaat and their Spectral Agony skill. It is possible, although time consuming, to infuse your armor before this mission by travelling all the way up to Mineral Springs to find the seer who can perform an infusion. (alternatively, you can travel to the Iron Mines of Moladune and do that mission first (out of sequence) as most consider this to be the easiest method of infusion)

Bring two powder kegs into the cave.

The bonus itself is to rescue an imprisoned dwarf. There are two parts to this:


 * 1) The prisoner, Rornak Stonesledge, is located in a cell that is inside the ice cave you took to get to the circular path. Before exiting the cave, you will see a path in the cave to the right (green path on map). This path is guarded by Jade Armors. Fight them, and then fight the Mursaat spell-casters after them. You will then get to a locked door (point 2); blow it open with a powder keg (powder stations at point B and point D). This door leads to a snowy path guarded by White Mantle; at the end you will find a small cell with Rornak inside (you'll need to blow it up to speak to him).
 * 2) There is a second dwarf, Hamdor Grandaxe, who is looking for the prisoner. He can be found after rescuing Evennia. After you blow the gate to flee, you will enter a short ice cave. After you come out, you will see a path and a large number of Mursaat coming from your right. Evennia will ask you to run; ignore her advice and wait at the exit from the caves. The group of Mursaat will pass from the right to the left. Now go where they came from and you should see Hamdor there (point 3).

Now you can actually go about doing this bonus in either order:
 * Free Rornak and he'll ask you to speak to Hamdor.
 * Speak to Hamdor; he'll ask you to look for Rornak. Go back and free Rornak and he'll thank you and you'll get the bonus.

Either way, you will notice that when you come out of the cave to speak to Hamdor, the large host of Mursaat will appear and will be ahead of you on your way to the boat. This is not as bleak as it seems. You can just follow them slowly, and the catapults of the Summit will take them out before they get to the boat. If you don't want to follow the Mursaat, but want to talk to Hamdor, you might let them lead your group until they get to point 4, where they will engage some Stone Summit. You can quickly take the other route (the green one) to get ahead of them.

Note: Either way you do the bonus you need 2 Dwarven Kegs to blast through the doors. If you are in a group of people, make sure two people take them. If you are with henchmen, because the mission is easily done with them, be warned, there is a lot a to-and-froing so for bonus you may be better off taking at least a couple of human players.

Note: A rare bug may cause Rornak not to appear. It is not known whether he simply doesn't spawn or is killed before you reach him.

Warning: If the White Mantle Zealots who patrol near Rornak's cell get too close to him while you fight them, he will sometimes leave the cell (even though the door is closed) and start firing his bow at the enemies. This allows them to possibly kill him, thereby failing the bonus. Try to take out the Mantle close to the locked door to avoid this bug.

Briefing
Briefing from Blade Scout Shelby.

Bosses and Skills
The following bosses can be encountered during the Ice Caves of Sorrow mission:
 * Arlak Stoneleaf: Cleave
 * Virag Bladestone: Cleave
 * Berg Frozenfist: Water Trident
 * Jonar Stonebender: Crippling Anguish
 * Hormak Ironcurse: Offering of Blood
 * Darda Goldenchief: Mark of Protection

Additional Notes
The players will be in Iron Mines of Moladune at the completion of this mission.

Glitches

 * It is possible to save Saidra at the cut scene. Just stay close enough to her and Evennia will use Heal Area and Heal Other to bring Saidra back to full health. Then run in and kill the Mursaat Elementalists and Jade Armor in the group. Saidra will then run ahead of you into the tunnel that Evennia urges you to enter, but stop half way through and stand there forever -- probably because her AI is not designed to handle this case. Evennia still laments Saidra's untimely death in the ending cut scene, though.
 * Sometimes some of the Mursaat Elementalists will not attack all of the Stone Summit groups, or will not die from the catapaults, making it necessary to fight them in order to reach the boat and complete the mission.
 * Saidra and Evennia sometimes appear as level 255 once you are about to rescue them, but this is fixed as soon as the gate is blown.

Known Scams
Since Evennia follows the first person to talk to her until that person talks to her again, it is possible for someone to essentially hold her hostage. By staying away from the boat at the end, the person Evennia follows can demand money to let the group finish the mission, or even just lead her back into the siege fire to be spiteful.