Pillars of Eternity: A Mother¡¯s Plea, Lord of a Barren Land, Ferry Flotsam
Our Pillars of Eternity walkthrough continue with a guide to finishing off the rest of the side quests sprinkled throughout Act 1 of the game.
The Lord of a Barren Land quest leads on from A Mother's Plea, but be aware that it may not trigger if you haven't also completed either the Against the Grain task or The Smith's Shipment quest. Make sure you do those before completing A Mother's Plea if possible.
It's also a rather difficult quest, and you may want to return to it after the second Act of the game, when you have completed the quests in Defiance Bay.
A Mother's Plea
In Gilded Vale, walk east from the hanging tree and enter Aufra's House, just to the north of the Black Hound Inn. Speak with Aufra and then offer to help her. Leave Gilded Vale from the south exit, then go to Magran's Fork on the World Map. Travel south along the road and then west to find the exit to the map. From here, travel to Anslog's Compass.
From the entrance, move directly south to the very bottom of the map. It will be difficult to avoid fighting some Xaurips along the way, but do kill them as they help complete the quest.
To your east you'll find a merchant and Ranga. Speak with Ranga, but you may need to find more Xuarips in order to complete the character's quest. Wander around to the north to find more of them if needed, then speak with Ranga once more.
When you're done, head to the Sea Cave that's just north of your current location. You'll have to fight two Sporlings and a Dank Spore to get there. When they're dead, take the spores, return them to Ranga and receive the potion.
Finally, head back to Aufra's House in Gilded Vale and give Aufra the potion. You can tell her it's real or a placebo. At this point, you can also return to Ranga in Anslog's Compass for an additional reward.
Lord of a Barren Land
After you leave Aufra's House in Gilded Vale you should be approached by Kolsc. This will commence the Lord of a Barren Land quest. Exit Gilded Vale to the east and travel to Esternwood, before heading east along the road.
Exit to the World Map and travel to Raedric's Hold. Walk along the road and speak to the guards at the drawbridge. You can fight your way through, but there are lots of guards ahead so it'll be tricky. You can also travel through the dungeons by heading around to the east of the outside wall, and using a prybar or a character with strong Might. The third option is to climb the vines you find on the wall by heading north-west around the outer wall. You'll need either a grappling hook or Athletics at level three. For this walkthrough, we used the vines.
Go east and head through the door along the way, fighting several guards as well as a priest. Make sure you take care of the priest first, as he'll use magic spells that can turn the tide of the battle against you if you're not fast.
Once in the storage area of Raedric's Sanctuary, collect the Berathian Priests robes from the chests and put them on. Now you can move around without having to battle the guards. Head north-east, then south-east along the corridor and enter the chapel at the end.
Use the secret switch on the altar and speak to Nedmar in the room that you're now able to access to the north. To save Giacco, return to the chapel and take the stairs in the east of the room towards the dungeons.
Use the switch on the wall and then head towards the holding cell in the middle of the map. You can use your Mechanic skill or lockpicks to free Giacco. Go back up the stairs to the chapel and then return to Nedmar who'll give you a key. Use the secret passageway that the key unlocks to the west of Nedmar's location.
You'll arrive in a room to the west of the throne room. Enter the throne room itself, then speak with Raedric. You can either fight him, or side with him and fight Kolsc, who you'll find at the ruined tower in the north-east section of Magran's Fork.
We chose to fight Raedric. When doing so, it's important to focus all of your efforts on getting rid of the Archmage first, before turning to Raedric himself. When you leave the throne room, Kolsc will approach and speak with you to end the quest.
Ferry Flotsam
This is a short quest that you can get at Madhmr Bridge, and is practical to take on at the end of Act 1, before heading to Defiance Bay. Note that you cannot enter Defiance Bay directly from Madhmr Bridge map.
You can enter Madhmr Bridge from Black Meadow to the north though. Speak to Peregund in the centre of the map, then head south and zig-zag through the pathway towards the shipwreck. Speak with Hanwen when you get there.
You can fight or side with Hanwen and the survivors. We chose to side with Hanwen. Next, return to Peregund and speak with her. Make sure you lie to protect Hanwen.
- The next part of our Pillars of Eternity walkthrough covers the first set of Act 2 side quests.
- Return to the index page for more sections of our Pillars of Eternity guide.