The Storms of Poko Kohara

 is a quest in.

Synopsis
A vein of luminous adra is rumored to lie among the uncharted ruins of Poko Kohara. Governor Lueva Alvari of the Vailian Trading Company has already sent one expedition to uncover this vein, but has received no report on their status.

She would like you to find proof of the vein's existence and determine what happened to the first expedition, if possible.

The first expedition planned to stop at the island of Tikawara, southeast of Neketaka, where they hoped the locals might direct them on to Poko Kohara. If you speak with the villagers there, perhaps they can provide me with the same information.

Walkthrough

 * This is a quest centering on Tikawara and Poko Kohara, determining the fate of luminous adra excavation efforts at the ruin as well as that of Tikawara. The quest can be received from the VTC Director or alternatively from Atsura, who's interested in undercutting his competition.
 * Tikawara is located southeast of Neketaka and is a small, remote Huana village blighted by storms originating from Poko Kohara. You can learn of the location of the ruins as well as receive the key to the ruins by talking to Ranga Ruānu and promising to help.
 * Vektor, the cook from the failed Vailian expedition, will explain that he believes the ranga is to blame and the Huana are working against him under suggestion from the conservative priests there.
 * At any rate, make your way to the Poko Kohara ruins and from there down to the Engwithan waystation. You need to reach the deepest level and the base of the adra pillar in order to resolve the quest. Once there, interact with it and open the portal to The Adra Realm. Enter it to start the final phase of the quest.
 * Approach the center area and watch as the sane souls come to the fore, divided between Anahāru and Beza. Anaharu will engage you in dialogue and explain - well, proclaim - that he is the cause of the storms that wreak havoc across the region. The adra pillar is cut off from the normal flow of souls. His plan is to dissuade the VTC from exploiting the adra on Poko Kohara and thus ensure the safety of Tikawara. Once he explains the plan, you can ask him if destroying the region saves Tikawara, use Beza's Pages to point out the VTC's ruthlessness, or History 4 to point out that Vailia will only be replaced by Rauatai. He will not relent - even when you point out that he's the one destroying Tikawara. Finally, your words will decide whom you'll be fighting against.
 * Convince Anahāru. You can promise to destroy the adra pillar to deny the Vailians a source of luminous adra. Anahāru will be convinced with either "You have my word. I'll destroy the adra." or "I'll consider it.". He will then disappear, leaving behind Beza and her team, who will attack you in anger.
 * Convince Beza. If you fail to convince Anahāru, Beza will cut in, asking you to let her team tag along and see if they can reunite with... what's left of their bodies. Dissuade her from it with "It doesn't work that way. You're already gone." or Metaphysics 4. Beza will give up and disappear, leaving behind Anahāru who's been dying to kill you.
 * Alternatively, you can just attack and kill them all. Failing to convince both of them will force you to this path.
 * After the battle, you arrive at the decision point, either destroying or restoring the pillar.
 * Restoring the pillar involves restoring the natural flow of the souls to the pillar, allowing it to be filled with souls and later be mined.
 * Destroying the pillar involves manipulating the corrupted essences within the soul-devoid adra and detonating it. The remaining essences will dissipate afterwards.
 * Regardless of your choice, flee through the portal and return to Tikawara. Once you return to the village, you will be met by the ranga and the priestess.
 * If you destroyed the pillar, the ranga will be angry at losing the possibility of making Tikawara a prosperous trading center, but the priestess will be glad that the VTC will no longer threaten their lands. See Nairi in the shrine for a reward, and the ability to rest at the shrine. If you return to Ranga Ruānu in his hut, you'll get a Major Negative reputation lost with Tikawara, and he refuses to talk to you any further.
 * If you restored the pillar, the ranga will be thrilled for the future of Tikawara as an economic center of luminous adra exports, but the priestess will be displeased that you opened up Tikawara to the threat of outsiders. See Ranga Ruānu for a further Major Positive reputation with Tikawara.
 * See Terms of Trade and Dim Prospects for further outcomes.

Post-quest outcomes

 * You can later give Beza's Pages either to:
 * Ranga Ruānu to prove that the VTC were up to no good. Note that you can only do this if you did not destroy the pillar. With Good reputation with Huana, the VTC or with Honest 3, he will trust you, though he doesn't understand why they would do such a thing - he promises to be cautious about the Vailians intents. Otherwise he refuses to believe you. If you ask for the papers back, he will be confrontational, but you can lie and say that you must return them to the company director.
 * The priestess, Nairi, who will give you 2x Potion of Moderate Healing and 2x Potion of the Resilient Body, if asked for a reward.
 * Vektor who will take it back to the VTC - for no reward.
 * Note that you can pickpocket Beza's Pages back from the ranga and the priestess.
 * Likewise you can also return the Ngati Idol to either of these characters. However, even if you identified the idol as cursed upon picking it up from Beza's body, the logic for this is slightly bugged - you will need to talk to Nairi (see below) to "re-learn" the connection between the idol and the curse.
 * Ranga Ruānu to prove that Nairi was the one responsible for the Vailian expedition's misfortune. Note that you can only do this if you destroyed the pillar. He grabs the idol from you and examines it, and tells you that he will deal with Nairi. This results in Nairi being banished from the tribe.
 * Vektor who will have some reactivity to the idol (after you tell him that you found the remains of his expedition). He tells you to return it to Ruānu (assuming he is alive), and that its probably best you keep out of it.
 * Nairi, after asking her if she's the priestess of the tribe you will notice that the statue of the shrine is identical to the form of the idol you picked up. Then you can accuse her of killing the Vailian explorers with the confusion idol (or back out and go to Ruānu or Vektor). She asks you to give it to her. Complying does not yield any reward, but not doing so causes her to become hostile.

Cut "item" outcomes
An alternate continuation of the ending for this quest was possible, but the logic for it is seemingly broken, or has changed to reduce the amount of "main" outcomes that the quest provides. In order to re-enable these endings, you must use and  prior to returning to Tikawara and approaching the crowd on the docks.

These would have been set upon picking up the associated items while in the Poko Kohara ruins. The actual result of these outcomes is not varied depending on whether you destroyed/restored the adra pillar, or even your dialogue options that follow, perhaps further cementing this as cut content.
 * You can then present the crowd with either Beza's Pages, to prove that the VTC wanted to conduct a dangerous experiment on the souls of the tribe and the Ngati Idol to prove that Nairi cursed the last expedition and is responsible for their deaths.

Ngati Idol
 * Ruanu rushes forward in rage and takes the idol from you, terrified at the possibility of the Vailians seeking revenge. If you restored the adra, Nairi suggests the tribe leave immediately. If you destroyed it, she says that it is good they won't come. You can say:
 * Nothing
 * To have mercy on Nairi (Benevolent)
 * Agree with Nairi, and that its better to stay out of the Vailians' crosshairs (Rational)
 * Condemn Nairi for murdering the Vailians and demand punishment (Passionate)
 * Suggest they instead go to the Vailians for forgiveness, and explain the truth (Honest)
 * Vektor, turned impromptu representative of the VTC, is forced to make a decision on how he should report back to his superiors. You can:
 * Again, say nothing.
 * Ask that he takes pity on the tribe (Benevolent)
 * Say that his comrades' families deserve closure, and he should return to the Vailians with the truth (Honest)
 * Tell him to make an example of the tribe as punishment for harboring a murderer (Cruel)
 * Regardless of what you pick, Vektor says he's only the cook, and that he won't tell the VTC anything. In addition, Nairi is cast from the tribe. These outcomes are identical should you destroy or restore the adra, perhaps further cementing the inconclusive

Beza's Pages
 * The ranga takes the pages from you and begins to "read" them.
 * Let them handle it - take a hands off approach and let the tribe decide what to make of the papers.
 * "Your people should know the truth." (Honest)
 * "This is about to get interesting." (Shady)
 * "I couldn't leave you without a warning." (Passionate)
 * Again, none of these dialogue options change anything. Ruaru concludes that the papers are nothing more than talk, and that he'll bring it up with the Vailians should they return.

Companion reactivity
Your companions have extended reactivity with some of the characters involved in this quest. See the associated NPC pages for more information.

Trivia

 * Once the quest is finished, there will no longer be dust storms outside in Poko Kohara ruins.

Behind the scenes

 * This quest was the core of the beta of . Instead of starting at Neketaka, though, the beta assumed you accepted the VTC assignment and deposited you straight at Tikawara.

Gallery
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