Unspeakable, Unknowable

Overview
Summary
 * 1) Return to the ancient ruins of the Great Destroyer.
 * 2) Destroy the Hierophant Morlog before he learns the true name of the Great Destroyer.
 * 3) Return the Tome of Rubicon to the ancient ruins. Drop it where High Priest Alkar awaits.
 * 4) Collect 4 shards of Balthazate crystal and place them near High Priest Alkar. You have 4...0 shards remaining. Be sure to protect the High Priest from enemy patrols.
 * 5) See High Priest Alkar for your reward.

Obtained from
 * High Priest Alkar in Sorrow's Furnace

Requirements
 * You must lead High Priest Alkar to Sorrow's Furnace as part of To Sorrow's Furnace

Reward
 * 8,000 XP

Preliminary Dialogue
 * High Priest Alkar: "Come, I need to get back to my temple as soon as possible."

Dialogue
 * "The Stone Summit are dangerously close to uncovering the Tome of the Rubicon. Inside is the true name of the Great Destroyer, the bane of the living and nemesis of the Great Dwarf himself. If the seals that bind that book are dispelled and the true name spoken... well, let's just say there is no worse thing that could happen in this world.


 * I could use yer help gaining entry to Sorrow's Furnace and stopping the Summit from getting their hands on the Tome. Will you help me?"


 * Accept: "Yeah, I think that's a pretty good cause."
 * Reject: "You Dwarves and your dramatic stories. Sorry, I can't help."

Intermediate Dialogue 1
 * High Priest Alkar: "Long ago, the Great Destroyer took from his greatest foe the one thing that gave him his power... he took from him his name, sealing it away until the time of their final battle."

Intermediate Dialogue 2
 * High Priest Alkar: "To ensure the name was unspeakable to all but the Great Dwarf, the name was sealed within the Rubicon. There are few left with the knowledge and power to open this tome."

Intermediate Dialogue 3
 * High Priest Alkar: "The day will come when the Great Dwarf and the Great Destroyer will do battle. But the time is not yet right for such a meeting."

Intermediate Dialogue 4
 * High Priest Alkar: "If the true name of either is spoken aloud, it would mean the end of the world as we know it. We must not allow that which is unknown to again become knows. Not now."

Intermediate Dialogue 5
 * High Priest Alkar: "The Great Destroyer is reputed to be everything the Great Dwarf is not... evil, malicious, and greedy to the core."
 * High Priest Alkar: "If that Hierophant reads the Great Destroyer's true name, he will summon upon this world the most malignant creature ever seen by mortal eyes."
 * High Priest Alkar: "We must hurry. That Hierophant will not take long to dispel the enchantments protecting the Tome."

Intermediate Dialogue 6
 * High Priest Alkar: "We must bury the Great Destroyer's true name. The best way to do that is to consecrate the old temple and bring it down atop the Tome. Some of you should stay behind, just in case."
 * High Priest Alkar: "Balthazate crystals are highly explosive. If you find enough of them, I can destroy the Temple. They're mined by an unruly lot known as the Dredge Blastrock. Kill them and collect the Balthazate they drop."
 * High Priest Alkar: "This ritual will likely attract us some unwanted attention, so at least one of you should stay here with me. I won't be safe here all on my own, and if they kill me, they will get the Tome. When you find a crystal, bring it back immediately and drop it here."

Intermediate Dialogue 7
 * High Priest Alkar: "Great Dwarf, I invoke thee. Lend me your strength."
 * High Priest Alkar: "Release from the deep the power of these crystals."
 * High Priest Alkar: "Bring down the walls so that we may protect the world from the evil of the Great Destroyer."

Reward Dialogue
 * "The Tome of the Rubicon is once again safe. Maybe one day, when the Great Dwarf returns from his eternal slumber, the world will be ready to uncover what we have buried here today."

Walkthrough
Warning: High Priest Alkar must survive! If he dies, the mission fails and the whole party is sent back to the Deldrimor War Camp.

Follow Alkar through the Furnace and watch not to lure too many groups at once. He will turn right then head down a flight of stairs and stop at the base of the stairs. He will ask that you stop Hierophant Morlog from reading the true name of the Great Destroyer. You must do this quickly, because if you are not he will rush into a swarm of Summit Taskmasters (mesmers) by himself and get himself killed.

While attacking a group of 9 mesmers can be intimidating, the safest way to do this is to keep your healers in the back such that they are in range to heal you but they are not in the aggro circle of the Taskmasters. Also, try and lure a few of them while he is talking to make them less intimidating. In addition, Spell Breaker works wonders, since they have no way to remove the enchantment.

Tip: If you destroy all nearby enemies, but do not kill Morlog, you can leave him and Alkar alone for some time, without Alkar dying. While somewhat risky (watch Alkar's HP and return to heal him if necessary; or just leave one monk with him), this allows you to run ahead and clear the paths to the Dredge Blastrock (who won't spawn yet) of Stone Summit dwarves. This makes the later fighting considerably easier. Also, if you head back to the earlier temple-like structure after killing a few enemies, you may see some patrols approaching. These are the same ones that would normally threaten Alkar, however since he is still battling Morlog he is not here to be attacked! Take out these small patrols and continue eliminating groups of Stone Summit. Once you have cleared them all out, then return to Morlog and kill him. This will cause the quest to update, spawning the Dredge Blastrock groups. You can now proceed as normal, but the quest will be easier since you have already taken out many enemies. This does work with an all-hench party as well: the healers will heal Alkar if you get near enough, so just run back if needed. But be careful not to let the henchmen kill Morlog before you're ready.

After defeating Morlog, Alkar will return to the base of the stairs. You should pick up the Tome of Rubicon that drops from Morlog and place it on the square area where Alkar is standing. Alkar will now ask your party to go fetch him four Balthazate crystals so that he can destroy the ruins on top of the Tome. He will also ask that a few remain to guard him. One group will need to stay and defend him, while the other group will need to find and bring back the crystals to complete the quest. For this reason, it is difficult to finish this quest with only henchmen.

Each crystal is in the hands of a group of Dredge. Specifically, they are in the hands of the Dredge Blastrock (a boss-like mesmer). Slaying him right away will not be easy. It is important to take out the Dredge Spirit Keepers first as they are healers and revivers. It's also important to notice that sometimes the Blastrock (and other Spirit units) can revive the Keeper with Resurrection Signet! If you pull a Dredge group far enough, they might even resurrect the Hierophant, as his corpse will stay around.

Once all four crystals have been retrieved and placed around Alkar, he will start his ritual, a short cutscene will play and then you can claim your reward from him.

Henchmen only approach
If using only henchmen, pull the group of enemies with the Dredge Blastrock as far as you can; you want to get as close to the priest as possible so you can quickly return to defend him from a patrol. Attack -and kill if possible- 1 monster in the group and immediately return to the priest to fight off a patrol. Return and kill the other members of the group and kill the Dredge Blastrock last. When the Blastrock drops it's crystal, do not pick it up as this will only slow you down as you need to immediately return to Alkar to defend him from an attacking patrol. Once the patrol is dead, return to pick up the crystal.

Another, slightly easier way to do the quest with henchmen is to lay 5 or 6 lines of traps on the stairs in front of High Priest Alkar. This will work well a few times, but when the traps become used, then renewing them can take too long and not be ready for the next wave.


 * Hero/Henchmen is doable by using 1 Minion Master, 1 Searing Flames Elementalist, and a Mesmer with interrupt spells. For Henchmen, add 2 Warriors, 1 Elementalist,1 Healer. When at stairs, leave Heroes with Alkar, and go and kill groups of Dredges. You might be forced just once to go back and deal with patrols. The MM and SF Ele should deal with patrols with Alkar to heal them.

Party split in two approach
The key to completing this quest successfully is recognizing the pattern of patrols. If the party were to divide into two groups, a Priest Group of two party members and a Crystal group comprised of the other six:
 * The first time the Crystal Group assaults enemies on its way to fetch a crystal shard, enemies will attack Alkar. They will be three enemies exactly, an Enslaved Ettin, a Priest of Sorrows and a Summit Dark Binder.
 * As soon as a Blastrock is slain, a larger group (containing three Summit Deep Knights) will spawn and head for Alkar. These are devastating as they knock him down, so he cannot heal himself. It is imperative that the Crystal Group rush back to him as soon as they have a shard. All the crystal shards are within range of sprinting back before his defenders are overrun.

Solo defender approach
Defending Alkar can be accomplished with a single well-prepared Warrior. Alkar will provide ample healing as long as the warrior stays in range. The warrior can help by bringing a few defensive stances and an AoE spell from his secondary profession. A Ranger specializing in traps is an even better choice for staying with the priest. Only the group spawning after the death of the very last crystal Blastrock will pose any troubles.