Ruins of Surmia (mission)



For information on the quest Ruins of Surmia, see Ruins of Surmia (Quest).

Mission Objectives
Rescue the soldiers taken prisoner by the Charr.
 * Safeguard Prince Rurik's life.
 * Free all the Ascalon captives.
 * Get to the Obelisks inside the ruined academy.
 * ADDED Cross the ravine and open the drawbridge for Prince Rurik and Erol.
 * BONUS Extinguish the Flame Temple by defeating the Flame Keepers.

Primary
Prince Rurik will follow the party leader. Take it as slow as possible, since he has a tendency to rush off and aggro too many enemies. This is particularly troublesome when fighting the Charr, but other groups can become overwhelming also. Eventually, after looping over the river, you will find three prison cages alongside the river (point A on the map). Each cage is guarded by a group with a boss. Make sure to clear out these groups first, as Rurik will head for the prison to open it the moment he is near it. The last prison is guarded by Devourers, so it's not as safe as it looks. Upon freeing the last group, the cut-scene is played.

A short journey later, you arrive at the drawbridge, where Rurik decides to wait with the recently-released Erol (point B on the map). To cross, you need to loop south and east, north, back west along the river under the drawbridge and then round to the right. Pull the lever to bring the bridge down.

''Note: Before approaching the lever you must go through an archway. If instead you turn right you can run up along the top of the wall that arch goes through, kill the one Charr there, and then shoot down onto the Charr on the side with the lever. From this position you can take all of them out with spells without any of them being able to target you. It might take a long time, but is fairly foolproof. If you run the mission with henchmen be sure to go all the way to the far end of the wall before shooting off your spells or the henchmen will try to run around to the other side and then bring the Charr over to you pinning you in.''

After opening the drawbridge, follow Rurik to the mages. (If you choose to do the bonus, there is a shortcut from the bonus location to the lever.)

If you close the door using the two levers after entering the final area (point D on the map), you may save some trouble. Basically, the mobs come at you in groups of 3 or 4, one group at a time. If you keep a single enemy from a group alive for a while, it will delay the arrival of the next group and allow time to heal up a bit. Finally, a group with a boss will arrive. Kill him to complete the mission. Despite the fact that Knock is supposedly Rurik's doorknob, killing every charr attacking the Academy is the only way to finish this mission.

Prince Rurik must survive.

We fight once more, the battle lines are drawn Now join the men who live to guard us all Go and defend atop the Northern Wall Fear not the cost, whether in blood or gold Mourn not the lost, though they will not grow old If here they fall, we know they shall live on, When e'er you call or cry, "For Ascalon!" For Ascalon!

Bonus
Just after leaving Prince Rurik at the bridge, and heading south and then east, you arrive at Breena Stavinson (point 1 on the map) who has been held prisoner in the middle of nowhere for ten years. She gives you the bonus after you free her by killing the charr boss near her. At this time, a group of Ember Bearers appears just south of you. Do not kill them yet. Follow them, taking care to stay out of aggro range, until a gate opens for them to pass through (2 on the map). Once the gate opens you can kill them. The Temple keepers are at the top of the hill inside the gate and cast Fire Storm. Kill them to complete the bonus (point 3 on the map). They can be picked off one at a time if you move to only let one into aggro. Despite their close together formation, none of them will move, even whichever you chose to fight. At the bottom of the hill, there is a second gate that leads to a shortcut to the other side of the drawbridge (point 4 on the map).

Note: If you kill the Ember Bearers too soon, all paths (View below) leading to the temple will be locked. Also, the floating "Ember" may glitch and become stuck on the terrain, leaving the temple locked as well.

In addition, if you do have to kill the Ember Bearers, you CAN actually complete the bonus. If a necro goes in with a corpse using and teleporting to skill(ie, Necrotic Traversal), you can lure the Charr at point 4 and kill them. However, this character will then be stuck there for the rest of the mission.

Also, the Char boss near Breena Stavinson can kill her before you get to her, so make sure that you don't take too long.

Briefing
Briefing from Captain Miken.

Cutscene Dialogs
After finishing the mission:
 * Prince Rurik: "Quickly, this way."
 * Party leader: "That was close!"
 * Prince Rurik: "Yes, closer than I'd hoped. This portal will take us to the Academy at Nolani. From there we can make it to the Wall and cross over to Rin. We should hurry though, the magical wards will hold back the Charr, but not for long."
 * Erol: "Wait, my lord. Come, look at what I have found."
 * Prince Rurik: "Is that...?"
 * Erol: "Yes, my prince. I believe it is the mouthpiece for the fabled horn, Stormcaller! With this weapon we could destroy the Charr once and for all. Ascalon could be saved."
 * Prince Rurik: "I have heard the stories of the horn's magic, but let us not be too hasty. If this is what you say it is, then we must get it to Rin. We'll see for ourselves how much power this Stormcaller has. Come. We'll take this to my father, King Adelbern. Surely he will know if discovering this weapon is our salvation...or simply too late. Either way, staying here will surely be the death of us. Quickly, through the portal!"

Skill Capture

 * Shield Stance from Puugh the Slasher (not available before Dropping Eaves quest at Ettin's Back).

Bosses
The following bosses can be encountered during the Ruins of Surmia mission:

Charr Boss(es) Devourer Boss(es)
 * Puugh the Slasher
 * Fling Bloodpelt
 * Scarr Sternclaw
 * Burr Mankiller
 * Scint the Malign
 * Slaug Firehide
 * Gnash Underfoot
 * Hurl Foulspine
 * Fester Fang

Additional Notes
Before doing this mission, pick up the Cities of Ascalon quest from Symon the Scribe in Ascalon City. One of the "historical monuments" for the quest is located two-thirds of the way into this mission, just before opening the drawbridge (C on the map). The Cities of Ascalon quest is worth 1000 XP. After completing it, you can receive the Symon's History of Ascalon quest from Witness Rastin, an easy quest worth 2000 XP.

The players will be in Nolani Academy at the completion of this mission.