The Role-Player's Guide to the Fiery Avenger

Introduction

This guide is intended to document the story behind the Fiery Avenger. It's not necessarily the fastest way to achieve the sword, and it includes lots of optional material not strictly required. Full details on why this guide is written and the meaning of the colors used can be found here.

Table of Contents

Overview

The Fiery Avenger is by far the most disjointed of the paladin sword quests. Its start and its end are both the same, and rather obscure. Technically, the quest originates with Inte Akera in the Plane of Sky. When you chat with him, he will ask for items that represent nobility and sacrifice, then later ask for the head and robe of Miragul. This leads you to a series of lesser quests to assemble these four items. Once you have collected them all, you go through a series of hand-ins to obtain your Fiery Avenger.

In this guide, I will not address the difficulty of obtaining the quest items. In addition, I will present this quest as it appears via game lore. This means that it will appear in reverse order, compared to the way most people would attempt to complete it. (Most would obtain the dragon-dropped books first, then visit the Oracle, then Miragul, then Inte Akera. This guide presents these in reverse to follow the storyline.)

Not that until the release of the Planes of Power expansion, the old-world Plane of Sky was called the Plane of Air. It was renamed to avoid confusion with the elemental Plane of Air in PoP. For this guide, I will refer to the old-world plane as Sky.

Inte Akera

Getting Inte Akera to Spawn

Find a wizard to port you to the Plane of Sky. Remember that all buffs will be wiped upon entering the zone. Hand a friend at least 500pp 1cp.  Have your friend buy a Veeshan's Key from the Keymaster on the first island.  Your friend must then head to the north teleportation dish on that island, hold the Key on his cursor, and click the dish to enter the quest room. Have your friend chat with Dason Goldblade.

You say, 'Hail, Dason Goldblade.'

Dason Goldblade says 'Greetings, <Your Name>. Are you pure of heart and soul?'

You say, 'I am pure of heart and soul'

Dason Goldblade says 'Then choose. Do you wish your purity to be tested by Gregori or Dirkog?'

You say, 'I wish to be tested by Dirkog'

Dason Goldblade says 'Dirkog is a gruff one, but his faith is what all paladins should strive to equal. Read this book and return it to me. After you have done so, I shall summon Dirkog to test you.'

You receive a book named Walk with Evil. Read it if you wish; the text is:
 

The Fall From Grace

I be tellin' ye that I know the way me mate fell from the grace of his god there. He be fightin' and bashin' out in front of Butcher. The gobbies were movin' in makin' their presence known, and the King 'imself was there fightin. We got 'em back, pushin' and pushin' till they ain't fightin' any more but he went on a fightin'.

They were screamin' and hollerin', beggin' fer their measly little lives and he warn't listenin'. Ye see, he was caught up in the ol' battle rage and was a fightin' like there was no tomorrow. The gods don't be lookin' kindly on this and he be a warrior now, plain and simple. I guess he likes it that way, but he be whinin' all the time how he doesn't hear Brell singin' in his ear no more. Aye, 'twas a sad day, one that I be takin' to me grave.

When you're done, hand it back to Dason. Dason despawns and Dirkog appears.

Dason Goldblade says 'Farewell.'

Dirkog Steelhand says 'May faith guide you always.'

Dason Goldblade says 'Farewell.'

You say, 'Hail, Dirkog Steelhand'

Dirkog Steelhand says 'Leave me be, ye orc kissin' son o' Innoruuk!'

You say, 'I am not a son of Innoruuk' (Despite the fancy wording, the key words here are "not" and "Innoruuk". You can also say, "I do not worship Innoruuk" or something similar.)

Dirkog Steelhand says 'Eh? Ye say that ye ain't one o' the cursed dark elf dogs? Well then, laddie, are ye ready to get started or are ye here fer somethin' else??'

You say, 'I am here for holy swords' (This line has me boggled. The key word here is "sword" or "swords". I've seen some other guides in which the player asks about "a sword of flame" and gets the response. And yet, nothing I can find ANYWHERE even hints at why you should say this key word to Dirkog. What's the missing link? How did people know to ask Dirkog about this in the first place? I was not able to get Dirkog to respond to prompts about "something" or "something else".)

Dirkog Steelhand says 'Eh, lad? What was that? Ye wish to hear o' holy swords? Well, lad, I ain't the one ye be needin' t' talk to!'

You say, 'Who do I need to talk to?'

Dirkog Steelhand says 'A follower o' the water god he be, an' one o' the most powerful holy knights e'er to walk Norrath. His name be Inte Akera, an' he kin tell ye what ye be wantin' t' know.'

You say, 'Where is Inte Akera?'

Dirkog Steelhand says 'Ah, I see ye wish t' speak with him! Why didn't ye say that earlier, laddie? It would've saved ye some trouble! If ye wish to speak with him, ye must donate some spare change t' me ale.. er, t' me holy crusade fund! Well, lad, what d' ye say?'

You say, 'How much should I donate?'

Dirkog Steelhand says 'Eh? Oh, 500 platinum will be plenty, laddie!'

Hand him 500pp.

Dirkog Steelhand says 'Thank ye, laddie! He's awaitin ya up top!'

Once you hand in the platinum, Inte Akera spawns immediately on the fourth isle (commonly called the Horse or Pegasus or Griffon Isle). He will remain there for about five minutes before despawning, if no one is hailing him. The common way to deal with this situation is to have a friend do the hand-ins with Dason and Dirkog, as described above, while you wait in the windmill on the fourth isle. Inte spawns just inside the windmill.

Receiving the Quest

Presumably, you are on the fourth isle when a friend hands in the platinum to Dirkog.  Find Inte inside the windmill and chat with him.

You say, 'Hail, Inte Akera'

Inte Akera says 'Greetings, <Your Name>. I am Inte Akera. I have retired to the Plane of Sky after a long life toiling on Norrath's soil. Have you retreated here as well, or are you merely visiting?'

You say, 'What toil?'

Inte Akera says 'Long ago, before I came to this plane, I fought in the name of Prexus against all the evils that plagued Norrath. In that time, I have done everything one can do. I have fought for the causes of good. I gained the esteem of kings and lords. The sword I hold is but one example of the treasures I have sought and won. I have accomplished all that I can, have all that I desire. My toil is done and now I sit among the clouds in peace, occasionally blessing those who seek it and are found worthy.'

You say, 'I seek your blessing'

Inte Akera says 'Many come seeking my blessings. No matter how minor the blessing they ask, all must prove that they embody the qualities of a paladin before I bless them.'

You say, 'How can I prove myself?'

When I asked this question, Inte repeated his hail text, and I was unable to get him to continue. The rest of this text comes from guides I found on the Web.

You say, 'How may I prove myself'

Inte Akera says 'I believe the two most important qualities of a paladin are nobility and sacrifice. Hand me an item of yours that proves you understand what nobility and sacrifice are. Be warned however, if I do not think as you do, I will simply accept the item as a gift, and give you no blessing.'

More text from guides. There's a missing prompt here somewhere. One guide mentioned that a player's random comment got a response from Inte. The player said, "some quests you just need the items and not the faction.. just need to know what the items are" and Inte responded with this next line. I believe there is another response missing, before you get to this next line.

Inte Akera says 'No.. I was unable to kill my most hated foe, Miragul. The head of this wretched, foul necromancer is forever out of the reach of justice. It would be worth restoring him to his former state for the chance to take his head as a trophy.'

You say, 'Why were you unable to kill Miragul?' (I suspect the key word here is just "Miragul".)

Inte Akera says 'You think you can succeed where I cannot? Perhaps you can noble one.. Bring me the head of Miragul, his robe and hand me back the two blessings I gave you, and in return I shall bequeath to you this sword I carry. Good luck my friend.'

Quest Item Discussion

OK, so now you have your quest. You need four items. The two blessings of Inte come, rather obviously, from Inte himself. Getting the items for them, of course, is another story.

At this point, it appears you have to take a blind leap of faith. There are no further clues in the game (that I could find) telling you what items are needed. We know that Inte is a paladin, and we know that for paladins, their most cherished possessions are their holy swords. Up until this point in the game, the paladin's two holy swords have been SoulFire and Ghoulbane. Arguably, both represent both nobility (it takes a holy and blessed warrior to achieve both) and sacrifice (you have to give up a lot of time, energy, and effort to obtain them).

Miragul's head and robe are a bit trickier. There is a ton of lore in the game about Miragul, much of it not relevant to this quest. For example, there's a few pages' worth of information on Miragul in the EverQuest Encyclopedia, which used to be posted on the EverQuest Live site. It's apparently been removed now; here's a copy at Everquest Stratics.

So, it then appears that Miragul is no longer alive. As such, it would be very hard to get his head and robe. Yet, if you wander Everfrost and cast Sense the Dead on occasion, you will notice that sometimes, you pick up a mob called Lich of Miragul. It turns out there's a hole in the frozen-over river where you can dive down (be sure to have Enduring Breath or something similar!) and swim under the ice. Swim to the north end of the northwest branch of the river, and you'll find a tunnel. This leads to the so-called "ice caves" or "lich's caves" -- if you've done your Divine Might quest, you'll recognize this place. (If you haven't done it yet, read up on it, and pick up the piece you need as you deal with Miragul. =)

The Lich of Miragul

Wander around these caves, often not far from where you swim in, and you will find the Lich of Miragul (along with his pet) running around.

Well, you've now found the remains of Miragul. If you kill him, he drops nothing. How precisely should you get him back alive? Any good fantasy gamer knows that the soul of a lich is stored in a phylactery, and you can revive a lich to mortal form by combining the phylactery with the body of the lich. So, you have to find Miragul's Phylactery.

Sadly, there are no clues as to what you should do. (At least, none that have been confirmed. There is some speculation based on a combination of fan-fiction and disavowed lore from the days of EQ beta, but nothing in the live game has been found as of yet to link this step.) It's possible that you were just supposed to stumble across this connection without an actual clue.

Meet the Oracle

At any rate, the next person you need to talk to is the Oracle of K'Arnon in the Ocean of Tears. He's one island south from the Sisterhood of Erollisi, directly south from the docks.

You say, 'Hail, Oracle of K`Arnon'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'Greetings, <Your Name>, I am the Oracle of K'Arnon. Do you quest for [knowledge] yourself, or do you offer that which I [seek]?

You say, 'What knowledge?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'I have lived long and have insight into many matters, yet I despise charity. To learn from me, you must first bring me that which I [seek].

You say, 'What do you seek?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'I seek knowledge, which is superior to all things. And no knowledge is greater than that which is contained within the [Tome of Ages].

You say, 'What is the Tome of Ages?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'The Tome of Ages has been compiled over the millennia by the Scribes of [Dal]. It was divided into seven distinct books by the scribes to keep the knowledge from one such as me. That said, with aid, I shall unite these books and the Tome of Ages shall be mine.

You say, 'Who are the Dal?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'They were elves once, but now are Teir'Dal, and as evil as they are wise. Many tomes have they written, but none greater than the Tome of Ages.

You say, 'What are the books?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'The seven Books that make up the Tome of Ages are those of Enlightenment, Scale, Turmoil, Monuments, Elders, Blood, and the Lost Book. Each of these great books is an important chapter in the history of Norrath. If ever you find one of these books, bring it to me.

You say, 'What about the Book of Enlightenment?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'I do not seek the Book of Enlightenment at this time, but I might have need of it in the future.

You say, 'What about the Book of Scale?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'Ah, the Book of Scale.. It would be wondrous indeed if you could recover the Book of Scale for me. If you do manage to procure the Book of Scale, I will gladly part with an artifact of my own that may be of interest to you.' (This is the line that is of interest to us. He doesn't respond to the key word "artifact". I don't know if anyone has actually gotten any further info from him at this point, but I've never seen it in any guide.)

You say, 'What about the Book of Turmoil?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'Ah, yes! The Book of Turmoil. I seek this book, and should you find it and return it to me, I will reward you with secret knowledge.

You say, 'What about the Book of Monuments?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'I do not seek the Book of Monuments at this time, but I might have need of it in the future.

You say, 'What about the Book of Elders?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'I do not seek the Book of Elders at this time, but I might have need of it in the future.

You say, 'What about the Book of Blood?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'I do not seek the Book of Blood at this time, but I might have need of it in the future.

You say, 'What about the Lost Book?'

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'I do not seek the Lost Book at this time, but I might have need of it in the future.

As you can probably tell, it appears much of this over-arching Tome of Ages quest was never put into the game. The Book of Turmoil quest can be done to raise your faction with the Oracle if you killed him previously for his robe and lowered your faction with him. See the Appendix to my Phylactery quest guide for more info on how to repair your faction.

The Book of Scale

OK, so now we know you need the Book of Scale. There are two ways to get a book. In both cases, you have to find a scribe. Both options are presented here, but note that you only need to do one of these two paths.

Option 1: The Scribes of Dal

The original version worked off the Oracle's hints that you have to find a Scribe of Dal -- that is, a Tier'Dal or dark elf. It required you to enter Neriak and find a secret Scribe of Dal -- which unfortunately required raising your faction with Dark Elves first. This process of discovery is a side quest called the Book of Turmoil quest. During this quest, you will get a note from Rysva To`Biath which reads, in part, "If you need any other of these books restored, I will do so for 1000 platinum." This is referring to the Book of Scale.

Thankfully, the developers of EQ quickly realized how un-paladin-like this quest was, so they put in an alternative that doesn't require you to go to such extremes.

Option 2: Rineval Talyas

If you wander around the world a lot, you meet some strange NPC's. One such is Kanthurn, a human who is just standing around in Lake Rathetear.

You say, 'Hail, Kanthurn'

Kanthurn says 'Hello, <Your Name>. Have you heard of [Rineval] Talyas?''

You say, 'Who is Rineval?'

Kanthurn says 'Rineval is a strange, but special young lady. I've been told that she can read and write in ways that only a few in Norrath can. She usually does not speak of this, however I am a dear friend of hers. Say that you are in need of a scribe. If she asks you who told you this mention my name.''

Rineval is standing just outside Qeynos, to the east of the city gate. She is alone by some wood boxes.

You say, 'Hail, Rineval Talyas'

Rineval Talyas says 'Hello, <Your Name>.''

You say, 'I need a scribe.'

Rineval Talyas looks at <Your Name> strangely. 'Who told you this?'

You say, 'Kanthurn told me of you.' (You can also say "Inte Akera told me", "Fippy Darkpaw told me", or even "Santa Claus told me", because the key word is probably "told" or "told me", regardless of the name you give. =)

Rineval Talyas says 'I see. If a scribe is what you seek, then bring me the torn books of fire and ice. A donation of 1000 platinum is needed as well. The donation will be offered as a blessing to the gods.''

Time to Slay the Dragons!

Whichever option you select, you will need the "Torn, burnt book" and the "Torn, Frost covered book".

The Burnt book, which identifies as "Right half of the book of scale", has been confirmed to drop off Lord Nagafen in Nagafen's Lair (also called Sol B), Talendor in Skyfire Mountains, and Severilous in the Emerald Jungle. It also used to drop off Melalafen in Western Wastes, before he was removed from the game.

The Frost book (which identifies as "Left half of the book of scale") drops off Lady Vox in Permafrost and Gorenaire in the Dreadlands. It's also rumored to drop off Faydedar in Timorous Deep; however, since almost no-one kills the normal version of Faydedar (the version you can spawn for the druid epic will only drop the item for the druid epic, not the normal dragon loot), this is not confirmed.

This is by far the most onerous requirement to complete this sword and, eventually, the paladin epic. Vox and Nagafen can only be fought by characters of level 52 or less. If someone level 53 or higher engages them, that person will immediately be teleported outside the zone. Gorenaire, Talendor, and Severilous are usually killed within hours, if not minutes, of when they spawn. In addition, the book is a rare drop off all the dragons; it's not uncommon to have to kill each dragon several times before the appropriate book drops. (It should be noted, though, that it's possible for multiples of the book to drop on a single kill.)

Getting the Book of Scale

Depending on whether you chose to go with Rineval Talyas or the Rysva To`Biath, the Scribe of Dal, do the needed hand-in.

Hand-in with Rysva To`Biath

After you have obtained the two halves of the Book of Scale, hand them both in to Rysva along with 1000pp and she will hand you back the Book of Scale.

Dialog needed for the final hand-in.

Hand-in with Rineval Talyas

After obtaining the two halves of the Book of Scale, return to Rineval. Hand her the two books and 1000pp.

Rineval Talyas says 'Take this book quickly and tell no one about this.'

 

Whichever scribe you chose, you receive the Book of Scale.

The Phylactery and Miragul

Once you have obtained the Book of Scale, return to the Oracle in the Ocean of Tears and hand him the Book. 

Oracle of K`Arnon says 'Unbelievable! The legendary Book of Scale is mine! Please, take this as a small token of my thanks. I warn you however, if you ever manage to join the corporeal body to the evil that resides within, you will rue the day.'

Your faction standing with Oracle Of Karnon got better.
Your faction standing with Oracle Of Marud got worse.
You gain experience!!

 

You receive Miragul's Phylactery.

Make your way to Everfrost and find the Lich of Miragul again.  The Lich is KOS to everyone; if you simply hand him the Phylactery, he will destroy it:

(insert text here of lich destroying phylactery)

What you must do is charm the Lich first.  Bring an enchanter or necromancer friend, along with a few other.  Have your friend charm the Lich.  If this is successful, the Lich will now con indifferent to you.

You say, 'Hail, Lich of Miragul'

(The Lich doesn't reply to hails. Con him again to make sure he's still charmed (he'll con indifferent), then hand him the Phylactery.)

Lich of Miragul whispers, 'Ahhh, finally...' and vanishes.

(Miragul appears.)

You say, 'Hail, Miragul'

Miragul says 'Leave me be, worm! I have important matters to attend to!'

(Attack him.)

Miragul says 'Foolish mortal, you dare attack me?! Die!!'

 

Loot Miragul's Head and Miragul's Robe off his corpse.
Miragul

 

Completing the Quest

Return to the Plane of Sky and find Inte Akera again. Hand him your SoulFire.

Inte Akera says 'You have chosen wisely, my friend. Take this note as a token of my blessing upon you.'

Your faction standing with Deepwater Knights got better.
Your faction standing with High Council of Erudin got better.
Your faction standing with Heretics got worse.
You gain party experience!!

 

Receive "Inte's First Blessing". This is commonly referred to as the blessing of nobility, and it reads:
 

Nobility sets a Paladin apart from all other warriors. You have shown yourself as one that follows the path of nobility like no other. You have my blessing upon you.

Inte Akera
High Paladin of Prexus

Text still needs to be confirmed to make sure it hasn't changed since this (apparently very old) screenshot; it's not in Lucy yet.

Now hand Inte your Ghoulbane.

Inte Akera says 'You have chosen wisely, my friend. Take this note as a token of my blessing upon you.'

Your faction standing with Deepwater Knights got better.
Your faction standing with High Council of Erudin got better.
Your faction standing with Heretics got worse.
You gain party experience!!

 

Receive "Inte's Second Blessing". This is commonly referred to as the blessing of sacrifice, and it reads:
 

The sacrifices a paladin makes while on his path are many. This sacrifice has shown me that you truly follow the path of a paladin. Take my blessing with pride, you deserve it.

Inte Akera
High Paladin of Prexus.

Text still needs to be confirmed to make sure it hasn't changed since this (apparently very old) screenshot; it's not in Lucy yet.

Now hand in both blessings, plus the head and robe of Miragul, all together.

Inte Akera says 'Long have I awaited this moment. You have done what even I thought impossible. Take this sword, the Fiery Avenger. You have earned both it and my deepest respect.'

Your faction standing with Deepwater Knights got better.
Your faction standing with High Council of Erudin got better.
Your faction standing with Heretics got worse.
You gain party experience!!

 

Congratulations on your new Fiery Avenger!

Sources

http://www.tokyo2001.com/game/eq/quest/pos/pos_pal03.html

http://www.geocities.co.jp/SiliconValley-PaloAlto/4029/fa.html

http://www.tokyo2001.com/game/eq/quest/oot/oot05.html

http://www1.bbiq.jp/aensland/eq/epic%20get%20episode.html

http://www.red3.com/twc/Quest/QFA.htm