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Avowedis filled with small and sometimes large decisions, but early on in the story, there is no bigger one than doing theSteel Resolve quest. This is one of the most important quests in the Emerald Stairs region of the story, so definitely pick this up to alter history.
While the overall outcome of the area doesn’t change as drastically as it’s made out to be, especially considering you are essentially done with the area when it happens, it definitely makes you feel like you’re making a difference in the Living Lands.
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Accepting the Quest
After entering Emerald Stairs, the first thing you’ll want to do is grab the Steel Resolve quest all the way to the northeast of the map. It is a short trek to get to from where you entered the region, and you’ll probably even want to enter Fior mes Iverno, but if you want to go straight to it, you may do so fairly early on.
Here, you will meet withRanger Aciernowho is arguing with her second hand. You learn that Acierno has lost two of her best rangers out in the wild and don’t know where they might be. Rangers essentially protect the people and the land from invaders such as Xaurips and other wildlife threats; they are some of the most well-trained soldiers in the region, so it’s a big deal when one of them goes missing.
Regardless, they will accept your aid in helping find them, and even point you in the direction of certain individuals, such as Dorso, who plays a key role in the entire thing. She is Monato’s best friend, so surely she would know a little more than you would.
Finding Monato
After talking with a couple of the Rangers in the region, it’s now up to you to find the two lost rangers. Both are located in fairly separate spots from one another, which begs the question of how they became so divided.
Entirely across the map from where you picked up the quest, in the northwest region, you will come across some of the sporelings who are guarding a cave. Inside this cave, with a fierce boss and orc namedUlrask. You don’t need to fight him, but he is sitting over the body of our poor Monato.
What you will need to do isread his journal that is located next to his body. If you don’t wish to fight Ulrask, you may simply sneak up behind him, quickly grab the journal and then leave with little resistance, outside Ulrask raising a small ruckus in the cave. This will reveal that Monato believed there was a traitor among the Rangers, and he was likely being stalked for this knowledge. Return to the captain and show her your findings, or go looking for Verano.
Finding Verano
While Monato was located all the way northwest, Verano is located all the way southwest on the map. This is located just west of Naku Tedek Grounds. You will come across an overgrown Homestead with a bounty taking Verano hostage.
If you picked up the bounty from the board in Fior mes Iverno, then you’ll know exactly where to go. From here, you can either take the key from the body near the home and enter through the back window, or go around the back and kill some of the highwaymen. If you continue further, you will come across the bounty,Big Wylie Tranton.
After slaying Big Wylie, go up the small cliffs to find a caged man. This is Verano, and fortunately he is alive. He went to the area to scout for bandits and unfortunately got caught by Big Wylie in the process. Most of his story checks out if you talk to his cowardice companion, Cassagrada. Before leaving, Verano will point you to a Root-Strangled Tree.
Confronting the Murderer
From where you find Verano, head northeast of the location, just across the river to the west of Fior mes Iverno. Up on top of the cliff with a handful of bears and their young, along with the Root-Strangled Tree Verano was talking about.Interact with the note on the backof it to find the rendezvous for the traitor.
From here head south to the Wildwoods, where you will meet no other than Dorso. Dorso admits to killing her best friend after a heated discussion regarding what she hoped for Emerald Stairs. The two shared very different opinions, Dorso thinking that the empire should step in and take control, while Monato believed that they needed to fix it themselves.
Unfortunately, Monato found out that Dorso was conspiring with the Steel Garrote to invade Fior mes Iverno, and because of that, Dorso killed him. Now comes the difficult part: what to do. After hearing all of this, there are two options.
Siding with Dorso and the Steel Garrote
If you side with Dorso, you may simply let her know that she is to prepare Fior for Aedyran rule. Unfortunately, this will upset Giatta if she is in your party. All you need to do is return to the captain and lie to end the quest.
The result is if you don’t complete this mission. At the end of the Ancient Soil main story quest, Fior mes Iverno will be burned to the ground with the remaining survivors heading to the northernmost abandoned village.
Siding with Fior mes Iverno
The other option is to side against the Aedyran. Considering this is who you’re an Envoy of, and who raised you, they won’t take your betrayal lightly and will need to look over your shoulder the entire playthrough.
You can kill Dorso on the spot or tell her to flee into the woods and never be seen again. Either way, when returning to the captain, she says she will give her a head start.
With this, though, you will need to take care of the Steel Garrote if you want to alter the ending of Ancient Soil. Dorso will reveal that the Steel Garrote is holed up in a cave underneath the waterfall just north of your location. Head up the cliff side to the east and find a small cave entrance (or simply drop from the top of the waterfall).
Here you will meet two Steel Garrote guards who give you a chance to look the other way. This is the last time you’ll get to back out of this path. If you don’t take their bribe, they will immediately attack, and you’ll need to clear out the entire cave. The result is that while Fior mes Iverno will still be attacked, the Steel Garrote will fail their invasion and the city will continue to stand.
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