Help Omeluum Investigate the Parasite

Help Omeluum investigate the parasite is a sub-quest of Chapter One's main quest, Remove the Parasite. It can be initiated by speaking with Blurg and Omeluum at Ebonlake Grotto (the Myconid Colony), and informing them of the parasite.

Objectives

• Let Omeluum examine the parasite.
  • We mentioned the parasite to Blurg, a hobgoblin. His colleague, a mind flayer named Omeluum, offered to examine it. Perhaps it can cure us?

• Ask Omeluum how to negate the tadpole's magic.
  • The mind flayer couldn't extract the parasite, but offered us a way to negate the magic protecting it.

• Find the mushrooms Omeluum requested.
  • To help us, Omeluum requires a Tongue of Madness mushroom and some Timmask Spores. We can find both at the mysterious tower nearby.

• Drink the potion Omeluum made for us.
  • Before Omeluum can start the procedure, we'll need to drink the potion it made from the mushrooms we found.
• Get the Ring of Mind Shielding from Omeluum.
  • The potion Omeluum gave us didn't work - it made the parasite even stronger. To calm it down, Omeluum is willing to trade us a ring of mind shielding.

Walkthrough

To complete this quest, the player will have to travel to the Arcane Tower per Omeluum's instructions to obtain the items they need. This guide will contain information for the full exploration of the tower. Strictly speaking the player does not need to explore most of the tower to complete this quest.

Dealing with the Defenses

An active Arcane Cannon.

The tower is guarded by automated Arcane Cannons. They are automatically hostile and will shoot at your characters whenever they're in sight-line and in range - there is a targeting indicator that will tell you this. Anything that breaks this line of sight indicator - i.e. solid obstacles, will effectively stop the attacks.

As of the Early Access, automated defenses do not trigger a Turnbased combat encounter - rather, they will shoot and attack in real-time exploration mode as well. It is recommended that you consider turning on Turnbase Mode to make movement and controlling your party more manageable.

In general, there are a few approaches to dealing with these the Arcane Cannons:

• Brute force - the cannons can be directly damaged and rendered inoperable. Take note of its resistances and Lightning vulnerability.
• Override - the cannons can be shut down once the player gains access to the basement and restores power.
• Running by/Stealth - this is best done in Turnbase Mode as it'll allow the player to move cover-to-cover between turns.
• Anti-Magic - as the Arcane Cannons are magical constructs, being within the vicinity of the Anti-Magic effect of the Sussur Bloom will shut them down temporarily.
  • Sussur Blooms can be found in the garden at the bottom of the Arcane Tower, or at the Sussur Tree in Dread Hollow.
  • Attacking a Cannon while it's shut-down by the Anti-Magic field will destroy it, as opposed to "knocking it out".

Destroying the turrets will net you more experience overall - as each defeated tower nets 40 XP as of Patch 9 of the Early Access.

Note, cannons that have previously been rendered inoperable (by brute force) but not destroyed can actually be revived by the Anti-Magic aura, by walking into and then out of its range. You'll see the circuitry on the cannon re-ignite when this happens. This is something to take note of and to be careful of if you're combining the brute force approach with the Anti-magic approach afterwards.

Navigating the Tower

In general, there are two formal/obvious ways to navigate the tower:

• Platforming on the fungus growing on the South side of the tower (can access the 1st floor, basement exterior).
• Restoring power and using the elevator (all floors).

If the player have access to flight (such as the Fly spell, or the Circle of the Moon Druid's Dire Raven form), they can completely bypass the need to restore the tower's power. However, this means they'll give up on 25 Experience and potentially Inspiration Points for the Guild Artisan background.

To successfully finish the quest, the player only needs to visit 1st Floor (Greenhouse), which contains some Tongue of Madness mushroom and Timmask Spores. Once they have these, they can return to Omeluum to finish the quest. Everything else is strictly optional:

Arcane Tower Layout

Level	How to Access	Notable Elements
4th Floor (Roof)	Can be reached by the elevator and/or flight.	This level contains Bernard, and the Guiding Light ring which is one method to visit the sub basement.
3rd Floor (Bedroom)	Can be reached by the elevator and/or flight.	Contains key elements that allows the player to converse with Bernard and other constructs peacefully.
2nd Floor (Main Entrance)	Can be accessed by the Main Door. Or flight and elevator if approaching from another level.	Contains the Chest of Mundane and 2x Arcane Cannons.
1st Floor (Greenhouse)	Can be reached by the elevator, flight, or by jumping or teleporting on the mushrooms on the tower exterior.	Contains the quest related items (Tongue of Madness, Timmask Spores). If the player does not wish to explore the rest of the tower, they only have to visit this one floor.
Basement (Generator)	The exterior Garden can be access by flight, jumping or teleporting on outside the tower. The locked basement itself can be accessed by the Back Door or a Hole on the wall.	Contains the generator that allows you to restore power to the tower.
Sub Basement (Secret Room)	Can reach through elevator with the Guiding Light ring equipped, or by flying through a gap from the basement level.	Contains treasures - including the Staff of Arcane Blessing, the Sparkswall, and another set of the quest items (Tongue of Madness, Timmask Spores).

The Basement (Generator) and Activating the Tower

To fully explore the tower, the player's goal would be to enter the locked basement level of the tower - as the generator used to restore power to the tower is located there. To access the basement, the player must first get to the bottom of the tower.

Without a working elevator, the player will have to use the fungus platforms growing on the Southern wall of the tower to jump their way down. It is a good idea to cast Feather Fall to prevent unnecessary fall damage. Alternatively, Flying or teleporting (via Misty Step) will also get the player down without issues.

The basement is locked and one of the few areas that is not accessible directly by flight. There are two options to get in:

• Through the Ornate Door in the back, which can be unlocked with a DC15 Sleight of Hand check, or by breaking it down (24 Hit Points, Lesser Toughness).
• By accessing a small hole on the South wall. The player will need to first pass a Perception check, and then crawl through as a small creature (i.e. the Druid's Cat Wildshape or a character shrunk by the Reduce spell).

To restore power to the tower - which will activate the elevator and deactivate the automated defenses - the player will need to bring Sussur Blooms to the Power Generator in the basement. Sussur Blooms can be found at the Garden just outside the basement door, or from the tree at Dread Hollow.

Interact with the Power Generator to bring up the crafting menu and use it to combine the machine with the Bloom. A cutscene should play where the tower comes to life, and you will gain 25 Experience and an Inspiration Point for the Guild Artisan background. With the power restore, you can now navigate up and down the tower via the central elevator.

The 1st Floor (Greenhouse)

This floor can only be accessed by the restored elevator, by flying, or by platforming on the exterior fungus on the south side of the tower. This is a level that contains all the mushrooms required for the quest. The other notable items on this floor is the Threadbare Book containing the following phrase:

• "How can I trust? How should I know? How can I show myself, my darkest me?"

This can provides additional options to interact with Bernard later on the roof.

The 2nd Floor (Main Entrance)

The main floor can be access directly through the front door of the tower. Exploring this floor is completely optional as the player can go straight to the 1st floor to complete the quest, or the basement to restore power.

The primary benefit of exploring the main floor prior to restoring the power would be additional XP from the two still-active Arcane Cannons, and getting access to Mystra's Grace earlier. The latter can provide the party an additional casting of Feather Fall which can help them avoid some damage trying to access the basement. As the elevator inside is inactive, they will ultimately need to still find an alternative way to the lower levels.

Opening the Main Door requires succeeding on a Difficulty Class 15 Sleight of Hand Check. Alternatively, the main door can also be broken down - it has Medium Toughness and 36 Hit Points. Opening this door prior to the restoration of power will lead to a confrontation with two Arcane Cannons. Once they've been dealt with, you are free to roam and explore the main level of the Arcane Tower.

• The Southern balcony doesn't contain any notable items, but lets you access the exterior fungus platforms to the lower levels.

• The Northern balcony has the Chest of the Mundane.
  • Approaching it will trigger an Arcana Check. If your character passes, they'll identify that the chest is in-fact magical, despite its name and mundane looking loot. Taking the items out from it will reveal they are two level 1 magical scrolls (randomized), and Mystra's Grace. Approaching the chest with the Sussur Bloom's Anti-Magic aura will also dispel the illusion and show the true loot inside the chest.

The 3rd Floor (Bedroom)

This floor can only be accessed by the restored elevator or by flying. (To be added).

The 4th Floor (The Roof)

This floor can only be accessed by the restored elevator or by flying. Upon arriving onto the floor, a dialogue will trigger with Bernard, who is standing guard by the elevator.

Bernard speaks strictly in poetry, with the scattered lines found throughout the Arcane Tower serving as various command phrases for him. In the first meeting, if the player has read The Roads of Darkness on the 3rd floor, they will have the option to respond in kind with "Or art though friend, a rescue from my lonely wake?". Responding in any other way will cause Bernard to immediately become hostile and attack.

Afterwards, the player will have several options/commands they can use with Bernard, depending on what they've read.

Line	Action	Required Book
"Or art though friend, a rescue from my lonely wake?"	Bernard does not turn hostile during the first conversation.	The Roads of Darkness (3rd Floor)
"How can I trust? How will I ever know? / How can I show myself, my darkest me?"	Bernard will place Guiding Light on a table.	Threadbare Book (1st Floor)
"These empty sheets are all that's left on you. / The last of all the thoughtless gifts you gave."	Bernard will give the player a Potion of Greater Healing.	Patched Parchment (table next to Bernard, 4th Floor)
"There is a light in every living thing. / It's crawling t'wards the surface to survive."	Bernard and the nearby Animated Armours become hostile and attack.	Dusty Book (2nd Floor)
"The silence stretches on - I'm all alone. / Please, can I hold your hands, for just a while?"	Bernard will hug the player and reassure them. It speaks as if the player is Lenore.	Torn-out paper (3rd Floor)

Secret Sub-Basement

This floor can only be accessed by the restored elevator or by flying. (To be added).

Returning to Omeluum

Once the player returns to Omeluum, he will brew the potion as promised and attempts to extract the tadpole from the player. (To be added).