The King's Spear
From a chance meeting
Possible rewards: Old Kingdom Sunspear
7 scenes. Choices with a requirement only appear when you meet it.
The Fired Archivist
Right away1A hired skiff pulls up alongside your hull. On board is Ilse Maran, a former Academy archivist with the badge cut off her robe, holding a heavy brass gun cradle.
"I was fired on Tuesday for asking too many questions," she says. "This cradle is one-third of a pre-Charter beam weapon called the King's Spear. I know where the other two parts are hidden, and the Academy wants me silenced."
"I was fired on Tuesday for asking too many questions," she says. "This cradle is one-third of a pre-Charter beam weapon called the King's Spear. I know where the other two parts are hidden, and the Academy wants me silenced."
- Take her aboard.She stows the brass cradle under her bunk and immediately sets to work organizing your ship's supply records. "The gun barrel is locked in a sealed archive tower on the tenth tier. I know the exact shelf."New crewmate: Quartermaster
- Buy the brass cradle and her notes, and leave her behind. (25 silver)Costs 25 silverShe counts the silver twice—enough to cover her rent—and hands over the cradle and her notes. They list a sealed archive tower on the tenth tier, the exact shelf number, and the guard's shift schedule.
- Turn her in to the next Crown inspector for a reward.The inspector pays you for the tip and hauls her away in chains. In his haste, he forgets to search the hired skiff she arrived in.+40 silver+1 The Crown standing−1 heat
- Wish her luck and continue on your course.The skiff drops away down the mountain terraces toward the poorer districts.The questline ends here.
One Third of a Gun
Right away2The ancient brass cradle sits on your chart table, built with sockets for a barrel and a firing core. Ilse Maran's notes lie beside it, listing the tenth-tier archive shelf and the guard's schedule. One warning is underlined twice: "Visitors with an official reader's pass are not searched at the gate."
A reader's pass at the Academy gate is not cheap.
A reader's pass at the Academy gate is not cheap.
- Buy an official reader's pass at the Academy gate. (20 silver)Costs 20 silverThe gate clerk takes your coin without looking up and stamps a one-day visitor's pass. It grants entry past the guards into the archive towers.
- Have Ilse Maran draw a floor plan of the archive tower.In ten minutes she sketches all four floors from memory—marking the cargo door, the roof vent, the guard's post, and the Excise patrol station two terraces below.Reveal 3 waypoints
- Go as you are.You pack the notes into the cradle and stow them away, setting course directly for the tenth tier.
The Poacher's Skiff
Right away3The skiff's boatman grabs your rail with one hand and clutches the brass gun cradle to his chest with the other.
"Your archivist never paid her fare," he says. "She left this cradle and a notebook under her seat. It points to a sealed archive on the tenth tier. Pay her fare and it's yours—otherwise I sell it back to the Academy."
"Your archivist never paid her fare," he says. "She left this cradle and a notebook under her seat. It points to a sealed archive on the tenth tier. Pay her fare and it's yours—otherwise I sell it back to the Academy."
- Pay her fare and take the cradle and notes. (15 silver)Costs 15 silverHe tests the coin, hands over the brass cradle and notebook, and pushes off from your hull. "She tipped well when she had coin," he says, and steers away.
- Seize the cradle and notes from him by force.Your crew wrench the cradle out of his arms. He doesn't fight back, but as he drops away he shouts your ship's name to every patrol post down three terraces.+1 heat
- [Quartermaster] Have crewmate pay his fare out of the inspector's bounty.Crew: Quartermastercrewmate pays the exact fare from your reward money and demands a signed receipt. Pleased by the proper dealing, the boatman also hands over a pouch of mana crystals Ilse left behind.−15 silver+5 crystal
The Sealed Archive
Sail to The Sealed Archive (2–4 passages away)4 Retrieve the barrel of the King's Spear from the sealed archive on the tenth tier.
The archive is a windowless tower on an isolated rock spur, officially closed for eleven years. A single guard keeps watch inside, while an Excise patrol post sits two terraces below.
The Keeper of Archives is waiting outside the door—someone tipped him off. "I would rather recover that gun cradle quietly than deal with a scandal," he says. "The Academy rewards captains who return its property."
The Keeper of Archives is waiting outside the door—someone tipped him off. "I would rather recover that gun cradle quietly than deal with a scandal," he says. "The Academy rewards captains who return its property."
- Break in at night to steal the gun barrel.
- [Avian] Send crewmate in through the roof vent to steal the barrel.Crew: Aviancrewmate slips in through the roof vent, locates the shelf, and rigs a line to hoist the barrel onto your deck before the guard even turns a page. The shelf tag notes that the firing stone was sent to the front with the Admiralty.+1 heat
- Walk in openly during the day using the reader's pass.The Keeper cannot legally bar a pass-holder. Your crew sign the visitor book, locate the shelf, and lower the barrel out the cargo door while he is still drafting a complaint to the Provost. The shelf tag notes that the firing stone went to the front with the Admiralty.+1 heat
- Surrender the brass cradle to the Keeper for an Academy reward.True to his word, the Keeper hands over a fat purse of silver and an official casting permit under the Academy seal. The archive tower remains locked.Casting permit+30 silver+1 The Crown standing−2 heat
- Leave it for now.The Keeper watches your ship pull away. He will still be guarding the door tomorrow.
The Grounded Proving Barge
Sail to The Grounded Proving Barge in the next region5 Locate the Admiralty proving barge at the front and recover the Spear's firing stone.
The abandoned Admiralty test barge sits grounded on a rock in dead air. On her deck, the Spear's firing stone rests dark and lifeless in a test rig—the Admiralty tried to fire it without charging it first.
To the east, the sky bruises violet as a ley storm rolls in. Worse, the pale lantern of a Hollow ship is approaching inside the storm.
To the east, the sky bruises violet as a ley storm rolls in. Worse, the pale lantern of a Hollow ship is approaching inside the storm.
- Mount the stone on your deck, charge it in the storm, and fight the Hollow ship.As the ley storm breaks over the barge, the stone blazes white with power. Drawn by the energy surge, the Hollow warship emerges from the violet clouds and attacks!Battle: Hollowed ship · Long range, Ley stormIf you win:+6 crystal
- [Lookout 2] Catch the edge of the storm to charge the stone and slip away before the Hollow ship arrives.Lookout level 2+Your lookout times the approaching storm front to the minute. You catch the first lightning flare to awaken the stone and pull a mile clear before the Hollow warship reaches the empty barge.
- Have Ilse Maran use the archive instructions to charge the stone safely and escape.She recites the operating manual from memory: "Charged by ley lightning, never by hand—catch the first flare and pull clear." You wake the stone on the storm's leading edge and escape before the Hollow ship arrives.
- Pull the uncharged stone and sell all three weapon parts as scrap.Without a charge, the weapon is just three heavy antiques. A fleet quartermaster buys the brass and stone off you for a tidy sum.+110 silverThe questline ends here.
- Leave it for now.You pull back from the grounded barge and wait for another opportunity.
The Keeper's Second Offer
Right away6The Keeper of Archives walks you back to your gangway, clearly wanting more.
"The Academy will pay even better for the name of the person who told you about this tower," he says. "Or, if you prefer, I can grant your mage access to our restricted shelves tonight."
"The Academy will pay even better for the name of the person who told you about this tower," he says. "Or, if you prefer, I can grant your mage access to our restricted shelves tonight."
- Take his silver for keeping quiet, but give him no names.He bows politely and hands over the hush money. The tower stays sealed, and you keep your informant's name to yourself.+60 silverThe questline ends here.
- Warn him that Ilse Maran is now a member of your crew.He pauses. "Then the Academy has no quarrel with her—so long as she stays silent." He pays you a larger hush-money purse to ensure the matter never becomes public.+80 silverThe questline ends here.
- Sell out Ilse Maran's name for a larger reward.You give him her name, and he writes it down at once. He hands you a heavy purse stamped with the Academy seal.+110 silver+1 The Crown standingThe questline ends here.
- [Mage] Ask for a night in the restricted spell archives instead of coin.Crew: MageThe Keeper sizes up crewmate, then unlocks a private side door. crewmate spends the night studying forbidden texts and returns at dawn with an unlicensed spellbook.Learns a new spell+1 Casting skill XPThe questline ends here.
The King's Spear
Right away7 Decide what to do with the assembled King's Spear.
The cradle, barrel, and charged stone bolt together cleanly into the King's Spear—an ancient beam cannon that cuts a line of searing light through three ship rooms at once.
- Mount the King's Spear on your ship.Your crew bolt the weapon to the top deck. The first test shot slices cleanly through a floating boulder and the cloud bank behind it.Weapon: Old Kingdom SunspearThe questline ends here.
- Turn the completed weapon over to the Admiralty for a Battery upgrade and reward.An Admiralty commodore signs for the ancient weapon, pays you a handsome bounty, and orders fleet engineers to upgrade your Battery room.Upgrade: Battery Deck+90 silver+2 The Crown standingThe questline ends here.
- [Gnome] Have crewmate draft blueprints for the Compact before mounting the Spear on your ship.Crew: Gnomecrewmate records every measurement in a notebook before bolting the King's Spear to your deck. You sell a copy of the blueprints to a Compact coghold at the next port.The questline ends here.
Data from Magehold Fairwinds v1.9.26. Spotted something out of date? Discord