Whisperlings Quest - Shadeweavers Thicket

[Shadowpaw]

Good info.

That's good info. I'm really curious as to what spawns in the place of the blacksmith/shop owner. You'd have to have good faction with the Shak Dratha to buy from him, though.

[cattywumpus]

You can use sneak to buy from them if you're non-KoS(or very brave). I checked out their stock when I was a young kitty and exploring for the first time.

If you approach from behind with sneak working you can buy from any merchant in the game as if you had indifferent faction.

[Morani]

Early on in the quest, there is a hint that there are a LOT of whisperlings in existence. If you look to the origin of the Vah Shir from the Keren (SP?) it mentions that the spirits in the moon speak differently from the ones on the planet; hinting that there are things at least SIMILAR to whisperlings on the planet. The thing that stands out visually about the place where you can talk to this particular whisperling is that it is a lit spot with no recognizable source of light. I KNOW there other places in other zones that have this phenomenon and it makes me wonder if there is either a tie to this quest elsewhere or other quests that have not been discovered/finished...

[Railina]

Scorpialis/Tailfang is the onlt other whisperling mentioned up to this point in the quest. I think our best bet is to do some IDing on items, several items have been found in hollowsahde that have item lore saying they are spirit anchors.

[rrimgeaper2]

the two main leads from allakhazam (had a better version of this post but accidentally clicked the wrong button so it poofed) are as follows:

just noticed something... the Centi in ME are the black aliens. they drop akheva and shak dratha hits when killed.. they ALSO drop shaded Shield.. connection?? hmmm something to think about.. ill go buy one of those cheap shields today and see if Ragnar takes it

I might also mention that killing these also gives positive faction to Whisperling. This seems more likely to be something for later in the quest though given the level of the Centi MOBs

I came across a Shak Dratha Guard (titled, like a named mob- lvl 14/15-ish) at the gor taku stone camp near the trader cave, and when i killed it, it dropped some type of shield, which wasn't visible on the actual creature.

At the time I didn't bother with it, since I had no idea what it was for, but seeing this quest makes me think it may have been the Xakra shield people have been looking for.

The Guard seems rare, though... I've only seen it twice in 4 months at the camp. Of course, I could be wrong about the drop, but may be worth checking out for anyone trying to solve the quest.

It's worth noting that the Guard seems to be on different faction than the other shak dratha, since I was scowling to him, but am dubious to all others (including the casters in the caverns). Just another possible indicator that he may be the key to the missing shield.

This seems more likely than the other one. I was going to try camping to find this MOB, but decided i didn't have the stamina.

[Morani]

Some interesting things I’ve learned that might apply to this quest:

Here is a list of the Mobs that you can kill to RAISE Whisperling faction and some info about them. It seems to me that they would be a good start to finding connections.
A Centi Atulus
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: A Shak Dratha

A Centi Dator
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: A Shak Dratha

A Massive Stone Guardian
zone: The Umbral Plains
Is/looks like: An Earth Elemental (shows under sense summoned)

A Umbrous Toiler
zone: The Maiden's Eye
Is/looks like: A Shak Dratha

A Young Centi
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: A Shak Dratha

An Akhevan Lifetaker
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: A pale tall, pale skinned, Dark Elf w/ 4 arms

Rumblecrush
zone: The Umbral Plains
Is/looks like: An Earth Elemental (shows under sense summoned)

Rygan Anisher
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: Undead

Shrouded Anisher
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: A Shak Dratha

The Protector
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: Undead
Drops pieces for the Shaded Armor (tailoring) but is a level 50 + mob

Transient Patroller
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: A Shak Dratha

Xi Vius
zone: The Maiden's Eye
Is/looks like: Undead
Drops swirling shadows & pieces for the Shaded Armor (tailoring) but is a level 50 + mob

Xi Xaui
zone: Akheva Ruins
Is/looks like: Undead

Xin Thall Centien
zone: The Maiden's Eye
Is/looks like: A pale tall, pale skinned, Dark Elf w/ 4 arms

Interestingly, all the above mobs are on the same factions: Shak Dratha & Akheva (I.E. killing them will result in + faction with the Whisperlings and – faction with the others)

The Gor Taku are enemies with the Shak Dratha but the look nearly identical. The Gor Taku Blacksmith factors in quite heavily in the speculations about the Whisperling Shield Quest…

Killing a particular shade in the quest for the Loyalist Shield of Honor gives you positive faction with Shak Dratha and Akheva (though the Akheva seem to dislike “spirits” in general; Shades, Whisperlings, and Rakshasa)

It also seems that high faction with the Whisperlings is necessary for a VERY nice necklace; the Talisman of Vah Kerrath. Basically, it’s the old Vex Thal key quest that you complete and kill a VERY high level mob to get 2 items that are turned into a mob called “Remains of Vah Kerrath”. “Vah Kerrath” is the one you need the faction with.

Interestingly enough, there is lore out there about Vah Kerrath. Talking to the King of the Vah Shir, he tells you that Vah Kerrath was the first king and founder of Shir Val. If you look to the book that came with the Luclin expansion, it should contain a story called “Prophecy of Vah: A History of the Vah Shir”. Vah Kerrath, son of Kejaan Kerrath, is the individual who is responsible for the founding of Shir Val and the name of the people: Vah Shir. The Vah Shir are a direct offshoot of (and probably genetically compatible with) the Kerran. An interesting thing to note from the story is that the Kerran had a gift that allowed them to talk to the spirits on Norrath and were on very amiable terms with them. When the trip to Luclin was made, it was stated that on Luclin; “the voices of the spirits could not speak their tongue.” I’m thinking that the Whisperlings are the spirits that could not speak their tongue. If that’s true, there SHOULD be clues to this quest hidden in the lore surrounding Luclin and the Vah Shir.

I have a copy of the story that I can post if people are interested, alternately do a google search for the title and you should be able to find it easily.

I have some leads on finding more info on the Akheva that I need to check on. I’ll post more when I’ve gotten the research done but anything people can tell me about them would be appreciated.

[luvless??]

more thoughts..

i think this is the quest i'm going to obsess over with this toon.. ie: whenever i'm bored and doing nothing.. try something new..

anyway.. some thoughts that i had that may or may not be relevant..

start here:
http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/q...tml?quest=2254
the Shak Dratha(darkies).. apparently regard the Var Shir as enemies.. whereas the Gor Taku(lighties) do not..

http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/q...tml?quest=1530
although the Gor Taku are assisting the Loda Kai.. who are openly slaughtering Vah Shir all over..

we know about spirit anchors.. although we don't necessarily know of all of them.. nor do we necessarily know of all the things that have been/can be anchored to..

we know that the var shir speak with the spirits.. and the Shak Dratha have a fairly close tie to the spirit world being able to weave Xakra..

something i'm confused about.. the unable to communicate bit.. would like to see the text on that.. but it brings up an interesting point about the gor taku and the shak dratha.. when you catch agro off either one.. they speak is nonsense.. although the gor taku phrases tend to make a bit of sense(to me anyway).. whereas the shak dratha do not..

something i'd like to know.. is it a reasonable assumption to assume a chunk of condensed shadow.. could have been fabricated from shade silk by the Shak Dratha?? meaning is there a shield recipie that uses a chunk of condensed shadow??

another thing that i'm kinda puzzled by.. is the relation of Shak Dratha to Akheva.. versus whisperlings.. (this bit seems to *poof* previous theory)

personally i'm thinking that the 3 best leads are:
the shak dratha merchant (if one spawns when it's nighttime and the gor taku merchant is killed)..
the guardsman who is said to drop a shield..
and a tradeskill combine of some sort.. likely involving Shade Silk, or Condensed Shadows.. (i'm favoring the shade silk.. as it is referred to in the NPC text)

anyway.. mebbye something there sparks the imagination and we can move ahead..

truely.. ever since i first started playing this blasted game.. i've been entranced by this quest.. because it just grabbed me.. i'd really hate to see this quest go unsolved

[luvless??]

notes:

took my shammy up toshadeweavers.. and slayed a ton of Gor Taku to get shak dratha faction up.. i'm dub now..

tried handing the shield in to all the Shak dratha in the blacksmith area.. all returned with 'no need for this'.. will try again after i have factioned more..

next step if the same fails at max ally.. i assume would be slaughtering Shak Dratha for years until a Xakra Dat shield drops..

i somehow don't think that will work though.. seeing as i've already tried giving the frostweavers shield back to everyone in the quest so far.. and all have said they have no use for it and returned it.. unlike the earlier shar vahl quests where if multiple things are required.. they will keep the thing you gave them..

could be that you find the Xakra Dat shield.. and hand it by itself to Ragnar.. and he then hands it back and you do a smithing combine of some sort.. just seems kinda odd..

have killed a couple shak dratha guardsmen on another toon.. no invisible shield dropped.. but it's way too early to speculate.. seeing as that toon is lowbee and barely has 5 kills on shak dratha yet..

so the plan remains.. toon1 will max ally withshak dratha and see what they say about the shield (didn't see the shadeweaver so far.. and got 1/2 the zone stuck in GT form).. then after i've tried giving the shield to every shak dratha.. i'll start slaughtering them mercilessly until they drop my Xak Dratha Shield.. heh

toon2.. meanwhile will be leveling up a bit.. because farming blue cons.. well that's kinda hard to do.. heh