Main Walkthrough

Cyrus' second chapter takes place in the mining town of Quarrycrest, located in the west of Orsterra. To reach the town you'll need to leave Bolderfall and travel south to South Bolderfall Pass. The western exit here will bring you to South Quarrycrest Pass. Head north through the pass to find Quarrycrest. 

You need to come to Quarrycrest for Tressa's second chapter, so it's possible you've been here already. If not, it's worth looking around Quarrycrest a bit before Cyrus starts snooping around the mining town for leads:

  • There's a Townsperson right at the entrance who will tell you you're now in Quarrycrest. Inquire / Scrutinize him to learn Smarter Bartering for Quarrycrest.
  • East of the entrance of town is the Inn. Beside it is a chest containing a Pseudo Gold Ore.
  • Near the save point in the middle of town is a house with a chest outside containing a Dubious Gold Ore. The Laborer blocking the house has two Fool's Gold Ores to Steal / Purchase that are worth 4,000 leaves apiece. The Laborer himself is incredibly powerful if you Challenge / Provoke him, though if you can beat him and get inside the house you'll find an Elderly Woman from whom you can purchase a Forbidden Spear (for 69,000 leaves, but still).
  • Just north of the Provisioner on the west side of town is a Townsperson with a Fortifying Nut (M) that you can Steal / Purchase. Continue up the ramp to the right of her to find a house. Inside is a chest containing a Wind Soulstone (M).
  •  On the far west side of town is a bridge leading to the Road to Morlock's Manse. The Townsperson standing by the bridge has a Silver-filled Pouch, a Protective Ring, and a Critical Bracelet to Steal / Purchase. The Pouch sells for 8,000 leaves.
On the east side of town you'll find a path to the Quarrycrest Mines, which is a continuation of Quarrycrest.


Quarrycrest Mines

There's more stuff to find on this map, as well:

  • The Tavern is in the middle of this area. To the left of the Tavern is an Inquisitive Woman with a Crescent Knife that you can Steal / Purchase. If you Scrutinize / Inquire the Laborer inside the Tavern you'll earn a Discount at the Inn.
  • Across a bridge to the west of the Tavern is a wooden crane attended by a Laborer. Beside him is a chest containing an Herb of Valor.
  • Across a gangplank near the previous bridge you'll find two Laborers conversing. Near them is a chest containing a Healing Grape Bunch.
  • Climb the ramps in the north and you'll come to The Egg Man. You can Steal / Purchase a Pole Mace from him. He'll be part of a Side Story later on. Keep following the ramps and you'll come to a dead end with a chest containing a Fool's Ore Gold. The nearby Laborer has another Fool's Ore Gold and a Silent Bandana that you can Steal / Purchase. The Silent Bandana is especially good if you're looking for a boost to evasion.
That's all for Quarrycrest. Let's see what Cyrus is up to. If you turned down the opportunity to trigger Cyrus' story when you first entered the town you can go to the Tavern, speak to the Tavern Keeper, choose Hear a Tale, and proceed from there.


Cyrus' Chapter

Still on the trail of a tome called From the Far Reaches of Hell, Cyrus comes to Quarrycrest in search of Odette, one of his former colleagues. You'll regain control over the party after Cyrus ruminates over his good looks. 

Climb the ramps in the first section of Quarrycrest to the highest home to trigger the next cut scene. Cyrus will knock on the door, Odette will come out, Odette will go back in, Odette will come out again, and Cyrus will be ribbed for his naivete. Odette knows about the tome, though not much more than Cyrus. She'll help him out... though first she needs help with some people that have disappeared from Quarrycrest. She leaves the investigation to Cyrus.

Scrutinize Odette and you'll learn the Where the Incidents Happened info, which pinpoints the Inn. Go down to the town square and you'll find a Townsperson who will mention The Sewers, and another in front of the Inn will provide a bit of Witness Testimony. Cyrus will add it all together, then you'll need to respond to his questions with 'Near the inn', 'At all hours', and 'The sewers'. 

Time, then, to check out the Sewers. They're just behind the Inn. Gather your party and head inside.


The Sewers

Ahh, how pleasant. The Sewers will likely be a bit of a change of scenery from all the caves that dominate the early chapters, and they bring with them plenty of dangers:
  • Marionette Bones - Weak to Staff, Wind, and Light. Can use Horrific Claw to lock away Boosting, and otherwise can debuff your party. Pain in the butt, but easy to stun and defeat. 
  • Puppet Bones - Weak to Staff, Fire, and Light. About the same as the Marionette Bones, but can buff its party rather than debuffing yours.
  • Shadow Bat - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Bow, and Ice. Can put your team to sleep with Mass Slumberwave, making them a prime target for your first kill.
  • Thunder Wisp - Weak to Wind and Dark. Uses Lightning Skills to harm the party. The lack of weaknesses makes these things a pain, so hopefully you brought Tressa or Primrose along. (Though just bombarding them with any of Cyrus' spells will also do the trick.)
  • Wind Wisp - Weak to Lightning and Light. Same as Thunder Wisps, just with Light Skills. Cyrus can handle these well enough with Lightning Blast.
  • Sticky Slug - Weak to Dagger and Light. Hits hard against one or more targets and has few vulnerabilities. Worth targeting for their damage output alone.
  • Salamander - Weak to Dagger, Ice, and Light. Can blind everyone, but in general just hits hard. Target the weaknesses as ever.
Save at the entrance, then begin your trek through the aqueducts. There's a chest nearby containing n Inspiriting Plum Basket. Follow the path north until it leads you to a torch and a waterfall. If you check the wall to the left of the torch you'll find a hidden path that... well, it sort of loops around to where you would have gone anyway, so ignore it and go south. There's a purple chest in the far south that contains a Snipe Saber.

Take a left from the purple chest. Between two torches ahead is a chest containing a Fire Soulstone (M). In a room to the north and up some stairs you'll find an Energizing Pomegranate, and west of the room is a chest containing a Healing Grape Bunch. If you check the wall behind and to the left of this third chest you'll discover a hidden path leading to a Sprightly Ring.

Head west of the previous chest and you'll find a save point. Done already? Check the chest down the stairs and on the left for a Bottle of Befuddling Dust, then head towards the door that's beyond the save point. Something inside looks quite ominous, and before long you'll be face-to-face with the kidnapper.


Gideon

Weakness: Sword, Dagger, Axe, Light
Weakness (Dancing Bones): Axe, Staff, Fire, Light

What a creep. The hidden murderer of Quarrycrest, Gideon is as much of a necromancer as Odette suggested, and can use his Animate Bones Skill to bring two Dancing Bones into the battle to help him. While they're active the Dancing Bones prevent you from exploiting Gideon's weaknesses, and they can hit you hard with a variety of Skills, as well as potentially inflict terror and lock away your Boosting. Gideon acts as backup, either debuffing the party or hitting everyone with Hands of Darkness and potentially inflicting blindness. His hardest-hitting skill is Executioner, hitting one character for around 700 HP, though he doesn't use it too often.

As long as you keep some Boost levels in reserve this fight isn't too bad. Gideon only has seven defensive shields, and his weaknesses are common enough that putting together a team to quickly exploit them shouldn't be a problem. Wipe out his Dancing Bones - they do the majority of the damage in the fight - then stun Gideon. Hit him hard, but maintain enough Boost levels that you can quickly stun him again once he comes out of it. With a bit of luck Gideon won't be able to summon more Dancing Bones to lock away his weaknesses again, and you can just keep walloping him until he falls.

You'll earn two Energizing Pomegranates and Gideon's Dagger for defeating Gideon, and Cyrus will free the survivors from the deranged blood mage. Cyrus will then discover that someone commissioned Gideon to create the blood crystals in his little hidey-hole. Odette will help Cyrus with his research - though he seems to find the info he needs on his own. Cyrus' next destination: Stonegard. (And it appears someone plans to follow him there.)