Riverside Province (mission)

Objectives
Steal the Scepter of Orr.
 * Avoid detection on your way to the temple.
 * Talk to Dinas to get the scepter.
 * Escape to the bridge to the northeast.
 * BONUS Take out the Watchman at each tower, so Saidra can get the weapons through.

Primary
You can complete this mission and kill almost no White Mantle. Simply keep hugging the left wall. With a compact group and correct timing (waiting where necessary), the White Mantle will not see you. At each tower, hug the left and you should be past (and through the gate where appropriate) before the White Mantle spread out and block the path. Since the White Mantle are in large groups, this can be a much easier way through the mission. The red path shown on the map is the shortest, but there are many others.

After collecting the scepter at point A on the map, pass through the gate and again keep hugging the left wall. Eventually, you get to a pair of towers that are teeming with White Mantle. Look carefully and you will see a boss and a narrow bridge between the towers (B on the map). Pass quickly through the White Mantle, kill the boss, and pass along the bridge to complete the mission.

Tip: If you are rushing between those two towers to the boss, make sure the boss is not blocking the path through to the bridge. If he is, fall back (pulling him from where he is) and rush again.

Bonus
You can receive the bonus objective by talking to Saidra (2 on the map) after killing the first White Mantle Seeker in a tower (1 on the map). There are nine watchtowers that each have a Watchtower Guard and a seeker. Killing all nine of the seekers grants you the bonus; you do not need to kill the watchtower guards (although the text suggests otherwise). The mission text is also unclear: you will get credit for the mission even if you clear the map of White Mantle before speaking with Dinas.

In addition to the pair of enemies at the top, each Watchtower is guarded by another pair that stand at its base; another dozen or so wander around the tower in several groups. As you approach each tower, the guard will call the surrounding troops, and all the nearby White Mantle will come rushing to the base of the tower, allowing you to pull a couple towards your waiting party. If you pull more enemy than you intend to, you should be able to run away because the maximum distance that mobs will chase is not very far. Consider avoiding the use of minions and pets, as they can be overzealous about chasing mobs and end up attracting more than you want.

The mobs up in the tower can be hard to hit and the guards below do not like to wander far from the base. So, tackle the patrols first, then the base guards, and finally those in the tower. The Guards can be a pain to kill, as they have Troll Unguent, but the Seekers are much easier pickings, as they cannot heal. If the two White Mantle up in a tower are above the door, melee characters can attack them by standing at the door and attacking. If the soldiers move up the tower, they will become out of reach of melee characters; indirect area of effect spells will take them out very quickly if that happens.

The tower near Saidra opens only after you speak with her. She will just stand there and not help either side, if you pull some of the White Mantle from this tower to her vicinity. The fourth tower has a boss and an extra helping of White Mantle. The sixth is often easier to clear if you pull and clear most of the mobs from the north, but then loop back around to actually assault the tower from the west.

If you wish to do both the mission and the bonus, do the bonus before picking up the Scepter of Orr.

Make sure to disable skills such as Consume Corpse on your heroes because it is possible for them to get stuck on top of guard towers.

Hard mode
Hard mode in this mission actually plays out very similarly to normal mode. Even running away when you pull too many isn't much of a problem, as in spite of the hard mode speed boost that mobs get, they still won't run very far from their tower.

Due to both the ease of running away to escape a bad pull and the probable necessity of doing so a few times, it can help for the party to coordinate exactly when to run away if grouping with other players, so that the entire party all makes the same decision. For example, it can work to set a standard rule of, if more than four mobs come, everyone runs away.

NPCs

 * Human
 * 20 Dinas
 * 10 Grimnalt
 * 10 Jonas
 * 10 Saidra
 * 20 Evennia (cutscene only)

Monsters

 * Giant
 * 20 (26) Hill Giant
 * Human
 * 18 (25) White Mantle Justiciar
 * 20 (26) White Mantle Zealot
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Seeker
 * 20 (26) Watchtower Guard
 * 18 (25) White Mantle Abbot
 * 20 White Mantle Priest
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Ritualist
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Sycophant
 * 16 (25) White Mantle Savant
 * Nightmare
 * 20 Fog Nightmare
 * Undead
 * 11 (24) Grasping Ghoul
 * 16 (25) Hellhound
 * 18 Executioner
 * 13 (24) Skeleton Ranger
 * 17 Skeleton Bowmaster
 * 18 (25) Bone Dragon
 * 17 (25) Damned Cleric
 * 18 (25) Necrid Horseman
 * 13 Skeleton Mesmer
 * 17 Wraith
 * 17 Smoke Phantom

Bosses - skill captures

 * Undead:
 * (29) Essam Festerskull - Warrior's Cunning (unavailable before Marhan's Grotto)
 * Ruinwing - Primal Echoes (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)
 * Dracul Cadava - Draw Conditions (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)
 * Damis the Malignant - Animate Bone Fiend (unavailable before The Forgotten Ones at Destiny's Gorge)
 * Barbs (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * Desecrate Enchantments (unavailable before Marhan's Grotto)
 * Gaiza Deadeye - Mantra of Inscriptions (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * Signet of Weariness (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * (29) Zeki Lament - Conjure Lightning (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * White Mantle:
 * (29) Cyrus the Unflattering
 * Darwym the Spiteful - Dryder's Defenses (unavailable before Marhan's Grotto)
 * Corbin the Upright - Convert Hexes (unavailable before Camp Rankor)
 * Divine Intervention (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)
 * Bearn the Implacable - Order of Pain (unavailable before Port Sledge)
 * Well of the Profane (unavailable before The Misplaced Sword at Heroes' Audience)
 * (29) Bairn the Sinless - Guilt (unavailable before The Misplaced Sword at Heroes' Audience)
 * Braima the Callous - Glyph of Elemental Power (unavailable before Port Sledge)
 * Searing Heat (unavailable before Copperhammer Mines)

Dialogues
Briefing from Blade Warrior Derikk.

Inside the mission
Watchtower Guard: ''Alarm! Alarm!''

Watchtower Guard: ''Guards! To the tower!''

Watchtower Guard: We have an intruder!

Watchtower Guard: White Mantle, to the fore!

White Mantle: Did you hear something?

White Mantle: Do you see them?

White Mantle: What's going on?

White Mantle: Who goes there?

Watchtower Guard: Fan out and search for enemies.

Watchtower Guard: ''Find the interlopers. I want their heads.''

Watchtower Guard: If there's someone out there, I want them found.

Watchtower Guard: ''Search the grounds. Leave no stone unturned.''

White Mantle: Maybe it's those rebels.

White Mantle: The Unseen Ones warned us of intruders.

White Mantle: There's something out there.

White Mantle: You know the drill, boys.

Watchtower Guard: Back to your posts.

Watchtower Guard: ''Never mind. It must have been a lynx.''

Watchtower Guard: Stand down, men.

Watchtower Guard: ''You can all relax. It was a false alarm.''

White Mantle: I heard Confessor Dorian himself is coming to inspect the temple.

White Mantle: ''That's just a rumor. Why would Dorian come here?''

White Mantle: ''I don't know. Maybe he wants to see the Scepter of Orr.''

White Mantle: ''You idiot. He's already seen it.''

White Mantle: Do you think these undead are here because of the Scepter?

White Mantle: What else could it be?

White Mantle: ''I don't know. Maybe they're just hungry.''

White Mantle: ''Oh, that's a good one. The hungry undead. What a moron.''

White Mantle: ''Okay, listen up. There is talk of raiders on the prowl near the temple. If you encounter intruders, they are to be terminated on sight.''

White Mantle: The Unseen Ones have been awfully quiet lately.

White Mantle: When have they ever been noisy?

White Mantle: You know what I mean.

White Mantle: ''Yeah, I suppose you're right. I wonder what's going on.''

White Mantle: Last night I saw a bone dragon.

White Mantle: ''Really? A bone dragon? Where?''

White Mantle: ''Down in the swamp. A couple of ghouls were leading it around on a leash.''

White Mantle: Dang.

White Mantle: The prophecies of the Unseen Ones talk about the coming of the undead.

White Mantle: Do you really believe that stuff?

White Mantle: Yeah man, and so should you!

White Mantle: ''All right. All right. Don't blow your top.''

Bonus objective:

Saidra: ''My friends. It is me, Saidra, in disguise. On the other side of this gate there is a cart of weapons waiting to be smuggled to the Blade. But I can't get them past the watchtowers without being searched. If you take out all the towers between here and the docks, I'll be able to sneak through.''

Jonas: What's all this talk about a scepter?

Grimnalt: I don't know, but it's got the White Mantle all in a huff.

Jonas: You don't think it could be the famed Scepter of Orr, do you?

Grimnalt: ''Bah, don't be silly. That's just a legend, nothing but an old wives' tale.''

Jonas: Well, there was such a place as Orr, I visited there when I was a little boy.

Grimnalt: I wasn't saying there wasn't a place called Orr.

Jonas: Then what were you sayin'?

Grimnalt: I was sayin' their ain't no magical scepter, that's all.

Jonas: And I says there is a magical scepter.

Grimnalt: Well, then you'd be as dumb as an ox then wouldn't ya be?

Jonas: ''Me? Dumb as an ox?''

Grimnalt: That's what I said.

Jonas: Buffoon.

Grimnalt: Idiot.

Intermediate cutscene
Dinas: ''My friends, it is good to see you again. I didn't think when we met off the D'Alessio Seaboard that I would be giving you the Scepter of Orr. Come, you must not linger here. The Zealots will be back soon. I will show you the quickest escape route. To the east is a bridge that will take you over the Ullen River to safety. Stay off the beaten path, and whatever you do, avoid the watchtowers! Many men have died for this. Guard it with your life.''

White Mantle Knight: ''The Scepter of Orr. It's been stolen. The thieves are heading east, toward the Ullen River.''

White Mantle Justiciar: ''They won't get far. There are two watchtowers between here and the river. If they try to go past, they will be caught. If they stop to ponder a way around, we will catch them. No one who steals from the White Mantle lives long enough to enjoy the spoils.''

Ending cutscene
Evennia: ''Ah, the Scepter of Orr. The time for retribution against our oppressors has finally arrived.''

How are we going to use it?''

Evennia: ''We can't, but Vizier Khilbron can. I negotiated a treaty with the former advisor to the King of Orr. In exchange for the Scepter, the good vizier has agreed to aid us in our fight against the Mantle.''

What can one man do for us that we can't do for ourselves?''

Evennia: ''The Vizier is a very powerful mage. He can show us the path that will lead to our victory. Come now. The sun will be rising soon, and we must prepare for our journey to meet the vizier.''

Saidra: What news of Markis?

Why would we have news of him?''

Saidra: He didn't meet you outside the Temple?



Saidra: ''Hmm. Maybe he'll catch up with us at the docks. Let's go. Even the Mantle are smart enough to find their way across that river. We'd best not be here when they do.''

Follow-up

 * Upon completion of the mission players will find themselves in: Sanctum Cay.
 * To continue the storyline players must complete: Sanctum Cay: Mission