Exposing the fake monks is a optional quest in chapter 3 of the game.
Quick Walkthrough[]
- Get Albion to admit that Dragon's Eye, level 4 is not what it seems.
Walkthrough[]
The game's main story requires you to travel through the "Eldathyn retreat" in level 4 of Dragon's Eye. Doing so unavoidably leads to almost everyone on this level turning hostile (see Dragon's Eye, level 4#Hostilities).
This side-quest allows you to start the hostilies by exposing Albion, the head of the retreat, through dialog.
(Initiating the hostilities in any other way forfeits this quest and nets you no experience reward.)
Before continuing, make sure that you have taken advantage of the Eldathyn's services that you are interested in, because these become unavailable once hostilities break out:
- Geelo the Librarian's spell scrolls
- Sharra the Healer's healing/rest services
In order to successfully complete this quest, you must expose Albion using one of these five methods:
| Method | Required speaking party member |
|---|---|
| 1: Detect his evil aura | Paladin |
| 2: Catch him in a lie | non-Paladin with INT 16+ |
| 3: Confront him about the exotic carpet | non-Paladin |
| 4: Confront him about the evil books | non-Paladin, non-Lawful, with INT 13+ (or using exploit) |
| 5: Confront him about the smell of death | non-Paladin |
They are detailed below.
No matter which of these five methods you use, you are rewarded with 24,000 exp and the hostilities break out.
Method 1: Detect his evil aura[]
If you talk to Albion using[1] a paladin party member (Blackguard doesn't count), then your only available dialog option is to immediately call out Albion's "black aura", thereby exposing him.
| Dialog path |
|---|
So, holy warrior, you can see through our visage! Good. Your sickening aura was already causing me considerable discomfort. You will die for exposing us! Have you ever been afraid of snakes, little one? Have you ever trembled at the sound of his hiss? You are afraid because you recognize a master race. Long before your kind danced on these lands, my people ruled on high! It shall be that way again, humanoid! All shall bask in the glory of Sseth! None shall stand against Yxunomei, his princess! Ah ha ha ha ha! |
Method 2: Catch him in a lie[]
In the initial conversation with Albion, asking him about the Heartstone Gem leads nowhere. But when you re-initiate conversation with him and and press the matter, you can catch him in a lie – provided that your speaking party member has an Intelligence score of at least 16.
| Dialog path |
|---|
Yes, I'm quite certain. I've heard legends about its powers, of course, but I don't know who stole it from the Temple of the Forgotten God.
Oh... well, it's a local legend, you know. I heard it from one of the natives.
Ah. Arundel, Arundel. Why did that tree-loving fool have to get involved with this? He will hang by his entrails on his precious tree once we are finished with him. As for you, my friend... your inquisitive tongue will soon be ripped from your fat head. You will not stand in the way of my clan's return to power. *None* will oppose us!
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Method 3: Confront him about the exotic carpet[]
If you enter the Eldathyn compound though the gate next to Albion, and follow the right wall around the corner, you come across a large red carpet on the floor. Walk into the middle of the carpet using any party member, until a description appears:
| “ | This rug is of extremely high quality and appears to be of foreign design. The recurring symbol in the pattern is that of a golden carp. | ” |
Now you can return to Albion, and use this information to expose him.
| Dialog path |
|---|
Oh dear! What sorts of things?
They symbolize rising strength, a return to power. They mark the ascension of my clan to primacy in this world. It has taken us thousands of years to reach this position. Now that you have your answer, meddling buffoon, my kin and I will have to annihilate you.
Have you ever been afraid of snakes, little one? Have you ever trembled at the sound of his hiss? You are afraid because you recognize a master race. Long before your kind danced on these lands, my people ruled on high! It shall be that way again, humanoid! All shall bask in the glory of Sseth! None shall stand against Yxunomei, his princess! Ah ha ha ha ha!
|
Method 4: Confront him about the evil books[]
To do this, you need to get a look inside the "forbidden room" of the retreat's library (which is left of the compound's entrance gate). But simply unlocking its locked door would trigger the hostilities and fail the quest.
If you talk to Geelo the Librarian in the library using a party member with non-lawful alignment and 13+ INT, you can trick him into leaving the library by telling him that Albion wants something from him. Wait until Geelo has walked to Albion (and then wait a few more seconds to be safe[2]), and then unlock the locked door, enter the room, and click the non-lootable bookshelf at (550, 950) to make a description appear:
| “ | This bookshelf contains a number of strange books with odd titles, ranging from "How To Serve Man" to "Ophidian Necromancy." | ” |
Alternatively, you can enter the compound through the gate next to Albion, and walk around the library to behind the wall of the forbidden room. Thanks to glitches in the fog of war, you can see the bookshelf through the wall and click on it to bring up the aforementioned description.
In either case, you can now return to Albion and use this information to expose him.
| Dialog path |
|---|
Oh dear! What sorts of things?
No, no. Not in Eldathyn monasteries. However, they are quite common in hidden yuan-ti temples to Sseth.
Have you ever been afraid of snakes, little one? Have you ever trembled at the sound of his hiss? You are afraid because you recognize a master race. Long before your kind danced on these lands, my people ruled on high! It shall be that way again, humanoid! All shall bask in the glory of Sseth! None shall stand against Yxunomei, his princess! Ah ha ha ha ha!
|
Method 5: Confront him about the smell of death[]
If you enter the Eldathyn compound though the gate next to Albion, and follow the corridors north, you come across a room that has a round wall and a locked door at (1650, 550). This is where Marchon of Waterdeep and his crew are locked up.
Unlike the other locked doors in this compound, you can safely unlock it without triggering the hostilities. Doing so should make a description appear:
| “ | A blast of fetid air, heavy with the scent of dead flesh, pours out of this room as you open the door. | ” |
If unlocking doesn't suffice[TODO: Needs checking on different game editions], you can bring up the message by actually opening the door – but this also makes Marchon of Waterdeep initiate conversation, and that leads to the hostilities breaking out. A way around this is to open the door with a stealthed character, and run out of Marchon's line of sight before becoming visible again.
Then you can return to Albion and use this information to expose him.
| Dialog path |
|---|
Oh dear! What sorts of things?
Someone did die in there. Many, many people died in there. Now that you have chosen to poke your head into our affairs, you will be the next humanoid to have the honor of dying in that room.
Have you ever been afraid of snakes, little one? Have you ever trembled at the sound of his hiss? You are afraid because you recognize a master race. Long before your kind danced on these lands, my people ruled on high! It shall be that way again, humanoid! All shall bask in the glory of Sseth! None shall stand against Yxunomei, his princess! Ah ha ha ha ha!
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Footnotes[]
- ↑ Note that when Albion first sees your party, he initiates conversation with the party member in slot 1, regardless of where they are standing.
- ↑ A quest variable is set when Geelo has completed his walk to Albion, but it can glitch out and not set right away. The door's script checks this quest variable.