Clîaban Rilag

 is a wilderness area and Engwithan ruin in.

Background

 * See also: inscriptions and reliefs

An ancient temple to Berath and home to some of the Engwithans' most advanced animancy machines and foundries, the valley has seen plenty of traffic in its history. It was one of the centers of Engwithan animat manufacture, capable of mass-producing the magical warriors to provide the limited population of Engwith (depopulated after the creation of the gods) with superior weapons to use against their enemies, especially those who have not yet accepted the true faith. The factory was fully equipped with an adra farm that cultivated white adra eggs - containers for souls harvested from those selected for conversion - and an elemental forge based on designs cultivated under Od Nua, manufacturing the bronze suits and weapons that would be animated. The assembly halls allowed selected candidates to be quickly cleansed, sacrificed, and their souls transferred to freshly forged bronze suits.

The facility was eventually abandoned by the Engwithans (or wiped out during Ondra's flooding of the world) and fell into disrepair. Although protected by Glanfathans, it saw a fair amount of traffic: The Pargrunen dwarves following Abydon's call were one of several salvaging parties to come through the area, and they made off with detailed studies of Engwithan soul machines and the automatons they created, leaving two of their own behind. In more recent times, the valley was the site of three brutal battles between the forces of Readceras and Dyrwood during the Saint's War. The last battle was a slaughter of routed Readceran forces that consumed many lives, including that of Eder's brother, Woden Teylecg.

More recently, the facility's soul relay has been activated by Leaden Key operatives in a bid to engineer the Waidwen's Legacy and support Thaos' plan to discredit animancy. The age of the machines means that they need to be periodically recharged with souls, otherwise the Hollowing will fail. In 2823 AI, another group of operatives was sent to Rilag, after a child was born with its soul near Dyrford. Unbeknownst to the Leaden Key, the Watcher was pursuing Thaos and reaching Rilag provided them with a key clue regarding the Key's goals and methods of achieving them.

Points of interest

 * Exterior
 * The entrance to Clîaban Rilag can be accessed north of Dyrford Crossing on the World map. You will only be able to travel here if you've had it unlocked on your map during the main story quest Through Death's Gate.
 * The Glanfathans under Sleafhota will attack if you attempt to enter the ruins.
 * There is a broken bridge to the northwest that serves as an alternate entrance to the ruins. Interacting with it begins a scripted interaction with the option to ignore it or jump over. If you decide to jump over, anyone with Athletics of 3 or less will gain the affliction Sprained Wrist, lowering deflection by 15. Keep in mind that while exiting the ruins, if you decide to jump over this broken bridge again, anyone with Athletics of 3 or less will gain the affliction Twisted Ankle, lowering reflex by 25. Anyone who has already received one injury from these jumps will not receive the other.
 * The camp by the bridge is where Fragments of a Scattered Faith conclude with Eder in the party.
 * Interior level 1
 * You begin in the western corner of the area, with the choice of entrance having a marginal effect on location. The chamber to the northwest, once you wade through the slimes and lurkers, has some minor loot and serves to connect with the areas deeper in the dungeon, eventually terminating at a collapsed bridge leading to the Engwithan machine at the heart of the dungeon.
 * The other way leads to a locked level 7 armory in the center of the map, guarded by a pair of adra animats. It contains the tiny animat pet and Sura's Supper Plate. Then it terminates at the bridge.
 * From the bridge you can follow the corridors to the entrance to the lower level, just past a room filled with the dankest of spores.
 * There are several pillars with Engwithan writing on them, vaguely outlining the reasoning behind the creation of the animats. Without the knowledge of the language, these will appear as just gibberish.
 * Level 2
 * You enter the lower level via a large, well-preserved Engwithan hall. This is where most animats were created, with well-preserved facilities dedicated to their creation surrounding a central chamber with the statues depicting the twin aspects of Berath.
 * The first chamber to the right contains adra growing from a central pillar and spilling down the steps. Luminous, egg-shaped stones are nested within the rippling adra, cultivated as containers for Engwithan souls to be transferred into animats. Past the next corridor leading to the central area lies an elemental forge, used by ancient Engwithans to manufacture bronze suits for use in animats.
 * The central chamber contains a statue of the twin aspects of Berath, carved meticulously out of adra. It connects the other two wings and contains an exit to the upper floor and the Engwithan machine that's the objective of the quest.
 * The other wing contains three rooms that are responsible for assembly. The central room contains a ritual cleansing pool for the Engwithans selected to be put in the animat bodies. The one to the southwest is where candidates selected for animat conversion were sacrificed by a simple dagger blow to the heart, with their souls harvested into white adra eggs. The chamber to the northeast contains the final assembly room, where the bronze armor manufactured in the forges was combined with the souls from the adra eggs to create animats.
 * As with level 1, understanding the glyphs requires the knowledge of the Engwithan language.
 * The exit door is to the northeast, with the Engwithan key needed to unlock it without Mechanics buried in the cleansing pool.
 * Level 1 revisited
 * This is where the quest concludes, as you interact with the machine and learn that the Leaden Key was dispatched to the facility to recharge the soul relay. You can exit the area by interacting with the opening to the northwest. During the scripted interaction, stop in the river tunnel and grab onto the edge; then send someone with Constitution 16 or Iverra's Diving Helmet to pick up the shiny thing. It is The Rose of Salthollow, a unique morning star. The encounter drops you in a natural cave on the north side of Level 1, from which (assuming you cleared the enemies out of here earlier) you can easily exit the ruins.

Characters

 * Sleafhota: A Glanfathan guarding the entrance to the ruins proper, along with several tribe members. They will attack if you attempt to enter the ruins.
 * Looters: A pair of looters that will attack you during Fragments of a Scattered Faith. They are not especially difficult.
 * Songsmith Roska: Found outside during Bounty: Songsmith Roska.

Notable loot

 * Readceran Standard Piece: Found in the mud near the camp during Fragments of a Scattered Faith.
 * Sura's Supper Plate and Tiny Animat: On the armor rack in the locked room (difficulty 7) on level 1.
 * The Rose of Salthollow: Can be obtained during a scripted interaction by the Engwithan soul machine. You will see a glint in the water, and a character with at least 16 constitution or Iverra's Diving Helmet must try and grab it while swimming.

Exterior

 * 2x Springberry
 * 2x St. Gyran's Horn

Ruins Level 1

 * 2x Burned Lady
 * 2x Settler's Arrow
 * 1x Skaenbone

Behind the scenes

 * This was the very first location created for, rendered by Hector Espinoza. It remained virtually unchanged for most of the development phase and only received its name late in the cycle. Until then, it was called the Valley of Hector, in recognition of his masterwork.