| abstract | - 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.
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