Tihark Orchard (mission)

Mission Objective and Rewards
You must be the only person in your party to enter this mission.

Tip: since you must enter this mission solo (without henchmen or heroes), bring some form of self healing in order to survive the fights against level 24 harpies

Objectives
Convince the three Princes of Vabbi to join the fight against Varesh. Defend the garden and its guests by slaying the harpies.
 * Recruit Prince Mehtu the Wise for your war against Varesh.
 * Persuade Prince Bokka the Magnificent to join the Sunspears in the struggle against Warmarshal Varesh.
 * Coerce Prince Ahmtur the Mighty to ally against Warmarshal Varesh.
 * Prince Ahmtur the Mighty wishes to speak with you again. Find out what he has to say.


 *  *BONUS*  Participate in the Festival of Lyss.
 * You have participated in # of 5 festivities.

Primary
Most of this mission you will spend interacting with the various NPCs. Your goal is to obtain an audience with the three Princes, located at the western end of the lower level, but they will snub you until you do something to impress them.


 * Prince Ahmtur will speak with you after you defeat "Palawa Joko" in a reenactment duel, or when you win a drinking contest against Zilo the Drunkard (bonus objectives 1 and 2).
 * Prince Bokka will speak with you when you present him with a worthy gift (bonus objective 3).
 * Prince Mehtu will speak with you after you teach his niece or nephew to dance, or after you defeat Lumo the Mime in a miming contest (bonus objectives 4 and 5).

Unfortunately, no matter what you do, all three princes will refuse to join your cause.

After you have spoken with all three princes, Prince Ahmtur will ask to speak with you again. When you do, a cutscene will play during which a band of harpies descends on the Festival. You will have to defeat these harpies with the help of 4 Vabbian Guards and whatever other NPCs stick around (most will run away). There will be 4 pairs of harpies, two to the north and two to the south, consisting of Skree Raiders, Skree Trackers, and Skree Singers. Note they all use physical attacks, two types can interrupt, and the third can remove a stance. Bring skills to prepare for this as well as a means to self heal. Killing all 8 harpies will trigger the final cutscene.

Tip: Usually, the three pairs of harpies on the lower level can be defeated quite easily because guards engage them at the beginning of the fight, or they can be pulled close enough for guards to notice them. The last pair upstairs is, however, much more difficult since by the time other harpies have been defeated, the remaining pair has killed every NPC in their vicinity. They are reluctant to follow you all the way down to the remaining guards on the floor and fighting an uphill battle on the stairs puts you to a significant disadvantage. If you want to play it safe, you can take the stairs opposite to those leading to the harpies and walk around the edge to the other side of the orchard where you started the mission. The guards that were initially blocking your access to that passage will let you past this time, and you can pull the remaining harpies to the nearest stairs up where two guards still remain. Thus, you get two allies and the advantage of elevation and it shouldn't be too difficult to dispatch the last pair.

Another method is that of running past through the last batch of harpies, until the 4 guards in your group manage to arrive up to top of the stairs and engage the harpies themselves. Then turn round and assist in casting.

Bonus
There are five festivities to take part in:


 * 1) Speak to Duel Master Lumbo to take the part of Turai Ossa in a reenactment of his victory over Palawa Joko.
 * 2) * "Palawa Joko" is a level 20 Necromancer who only uses Blood of the Aggressor, Life Siphon, and Dark Pact; he's quite the pushover.
 * 3) * If you're having trouble winning on your own, you can activate the duel, then leave while Lumbo is talking and before "Palawa Joko" turns hostile. You can defeat him during the harpy invasion (when you will be assisted by four allied guards plus the nearby NPCs), and you will still receive credit for the bonus.
 * 4) * You can also just slowly back up to aggro the other NPCs near such as Vabbian Nobles, Vabbian Guards, and Royal Servants.
 * 5) Win a drinking contest against Zilo the Drunkard.
 * 6) * You must nab 12 drinks off of the NPCs in the area (Royal Servants, Vabbi Children, and Vabbi Guards don't have drinks). Click on someone, then on the response in the dialog that pops up.  Your response will become more slurred and unintelligible as you quaff more drinks.
 * 7) ** If you nab The Great Zehtuka's drink, he will become hostile and begin attacking people at random until he is subdued. If he attacks the drink servants they will drop the tray which you can pick up then run around to all the nobles giving them drinks.
 * 8) * The drunkenness incurred during this festivity does not count toward the Drunkard title and will wear off immediately when the contest is over.
 * 9) Obtain a Rare Antique Elonian Vase from Jejumba as a gift for Prince Bokka the Magnificent.
 * 10) * You can pay 4 platinum to buy the vase, or you can trade a Golden Phoenix Feather for it, or you can simply kill Jejumba and take the vase.
 * 11) **To obtain a Golden Phoenix Feather you must defeat the Royal Guard Captain towards the east end of the garden in a 1-on-1 duel. Although this is an option, killing Jejumba is a much easier task. (She is only level 10, and very easy to kill)
 * 12) * Present the vase to Royal Finance Minister Oloda to gain an audience with Prince Bokka. You will not receive credit for this festivity until you have talked to the finance minister.
 * 13) Teach the little boy, Dende, or the little girl, Mina, to dance.
 * 14) * All you have to do is speak to the boy (with a female character) or the girl (with a male character), then /dance quickly. They will thank you, then run to join the rest of the Vabbian dancers. If you do not start dancing within about 5 seconds they will cancel the dance and you have to talk to them again.
 * 15) Defeat Lumo the Mime in a mime duel.
 * 16) * Lumo mimes emotes, which you have to recognize and mirror. You need to match 10 emotes in a row to win the contest (the dialogue says you must match 15 emotes, but this is incorrect).
 * 17) * You have about 3-4 seconds to match each emote. It does not matter if you use the wrong emote as long as you also use the correct emote within the allotted time. If the time expires, you lose the contest and must start over. Simply talk with Lumo again to retry as often as necessary to defeat him.
 * 18) * Lumo has the same emote animations as a male ranger, and he is known to use the following emotes in the mime duel:
 * /beg (He falls to his knees.)
 * /boo (He raises both hands abruptly and thrusts his head and arms forward, towards the player.)
 * /bored (He shrugs his shoulders forward with arms at side.)
 * /breath and /catchbreath (He bows forward, breathing heavily.)
 * /cheer (He stretches both arms in the air.)
 * /dance (He does the male ranger "breakdance".)
 * /doubletake (He thrusts his head towards the player twice.)
 * /drum /flute /guitar /violin (He plays the respective "air" instrument. In case of the flute he stands on one leg.)
 * /excited (He claps his hands.)
 * /flex (He does a classic greek pose with one arm towards the ground and one behind his head.)
 * /goteam (He puts his hand towards you and bows and stands.)
 * /laugh (You can see his chest shaking.)
 * /pickme (He points towards himself with both arms.)
 * /point (He points towards the player with one arm.)
 * /ponder (He puts his hand towards his chin.)
 * /roar (He stretches one fist in the air.)
 * /shoo (He waves both hands in front of his chest, towards the player.)
 * /taunt (He waves both hands beside his face and shakes his head.)
 * /wave (He waves with his left arm.)

NPCs

 * 2 Dende
 * 2 Mina
 * 2 Vabbi Child
 * 10 Duel Master Lumbo
 * 10 Horticulturist Hinon
 * 10 Jejumba
 * 10 Jekunda
 * 10 Kurideh the Mad
 * 10 Lumo the Mime
 * 10 Master of Ceremonies
 * 10 Musician
 * 10 Royal Finance Minister Oloda
 * 10 Royal Food Taster Rendu
 * 10 Royal Servant
 * 10 Vabbi Noble
 * 10 Vabbi Peasant
 * 10 Vabbian Priest
 * 10 Vaughn the Venerable
 * 10 Zilo the Drunkard
 * 12 Tahlkora
 * 18 Goren
 * 18 Norgu
 * 20 General Morgahn
 * 20 Kehanni
 * 20 Lieutenant Murunda
 * 20 "Palawa Joko"
 * 20 Prince Ahmtur the Mighty
 * 20 Prince Bokka the Magnificent
 * 20 Prince Mehtu the Wise
 * 20 Royal Guard Bunda
 * 20 Royal Guard Zendeh
 * 20 Vabbi Guard
 * 20 The Great Zehtuka

Allies

 * 20 Palace Guard
 * 20 Vabbi Guard Captain

Monsters
Harpies
 * 24 Skree Raider
 * 24 Skree Tracker
 * 24 Skree Singer

Cinematic Dialogue
Prince Ahmtur the Mighty: The flaw in Palawa Joko's invasion of Vabbi was that he outran his supply lines. Once Turai Ossa flanked him Palawa's forces were doomed.

Prince Ahmtur the Mighty: What's that?

Goren: Sounds like harpies. Skree Harpies!

Prince Bokka the Magnificent: Don't be a fool, Goren. There are no harpies anywhere near here!

Norgu: Of course, you have been wrong before.

Prince Mehtu the Wise: Everyone move to the exists in an orderly fashion! There is only one of them! This is not the time to panic!

Prince Mehtu the Wise: Very well! This is now the time to panic!

Tahlkora: This way, Father. I'll protect you.

Prince Bokka the Magnificent: What a mess!

Prince Ahmtur the Mighty: Yes, but the question is- why would the Skree Harpies attack here?

Prince Mehtu the Wise: All i can say is- thank the gods for Warmarshal Varesh!

Character: WHAT?!

Prince Mehtu the Wise: Of the harpies are raiding, we'll need all the troops she can spare!

Prince Ahmtur the Mighty: True. Excuse me. O meed to check in with my forces.

Prince Mehtu the Wise: Yes, I had best get back as well. Will you be joining me, Daughter?

Tahlkora: I have made my own arrangements, Father.

Prince Mehtu the Wise: I see that you have. We will speak of this, later.

Prince Bokka the Magnificent: And I had best get back home as well. The new theatre season is about to start! Goren! Fetch my sedan chair!

Character: Those idiots!

Kehanni: Let them go. You've broken the ice. I have some leads that we should follow up on.

Follow-up

 * Upon completion of the mission players will find themselves in: The Kodash Bazaar
 * To continue the storyline, take on the following Primary Quest: All's Well That Ends Well

Trivia

 * One of the random comments that partygoers will make is "Was it a dream where you see yourself standing in sort of sun-god robes on a pyramid, with a thousand naked women screaming and throwing little pickles at you?" This is a reference to the movie Real Genius. Also, one of Acolyte Sousuke's random quotes while in Kourna is "This place reminds me of my nightmares. The ones inspired by those little pickles."
 * If you talk with The Great Zehtuka he will tell you that he is going on a hunting safari into Desolation to get one of the wurms that live there. Later in the game if you go to the northeastern most part of Desolation you can find his Pack, Bow, his Great Horn and his Jug just laying on the ground. Presumably he ran into some trouble.
 * One of the musicians grumbles about drunken partygoers requesting the song "Freemoabird". This is likely a reference to the American rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd's hit song Free Bird.
 * After beating Zilo the Drunkard, you and he each say, "I love you, man!". This is probably a reference to a series of beer commercials from the 90s and is also one of the random comments your character will say when normally drunk.
 * One of the random comments goes 'Looks like I picked the wrong weekend to quit drinking'. This is a reference to captain Steve McCroskeys recurring oneliner 'Looks I picked the wrong weekend to quit drinking / amphetamin / sniffing glue etc.' in the spoofmovie Airplane! (1980)