Side quest The Amber Temple Level 10

Something with a Lid

Exethanter, the forgetful lich of the Amber Temple, has lost his phylactery. He hid it very cleverly.

Walkthrough

Getting the quest

In the Amber Temple, take the library passage at the west end of the wardens' cells (north of the great hall) into The Amber Temple: the Library. Exethanter, the last warden, sits at his desk in the study at the back, a lich in a tea-coloured robe pinned all over with notes. Ask him Is there anything you need? He has lost "a thing with a lid", which is how he would come back if anything happened to this body, and he hid it so cleverly he can't find it. The quest starts (Asked).

loc amber temple library 1

Step by step

  1. Search his own study, high up. The jar on the top shelf (search DC 13) is labelled, in his shaky hand, NOT THE PHYLACTERY.
  2. Use the jar. Take it down to show Exethanter. moves the quest to Found. (Smash it.) ends the quest right there (see below).
  3. Go back to Exethanter and tell him We found a jar on your top shelf, labelled NOT THE PHYLACTERY. He asks, very politely, for it back. Choose:
    • Give it back to him. (Returned)
    • We'll keep it safe for you. For now. (Kept)
    • (Smash it on the floor.) (Smashed)
  4. If you returned it or kept it, ask him What do you make of Master Vosk? He finds a note in his cuff: THE JACKAL IN THE STACKS IS NOT A SCHOLAR. HIS NAME IS ASHKARRETH. That true name lets you bind Vosk in the sanctum (see The Amber Temple). Before then he only sighs that it's in his notes somewhere, and that he's distracted by something with a lid.

You don't have to be asked first. If you find the jar before he mentions it, the option to tell him about it still appears.

Choices and endings

  • Returned (success). He tucks the jar inside his robe and gives you the robe he sewed the stars on himself: a Robe of Stars. He also gives you the wardens' word, which quiets the colossus at the doors and opens the honey-glow doors in the vaults. He turns friendly. Wren +1, Kip +1, Liriel -1.
  • Kept (success). He understands exactly what you mean and becomes "cooperative": you get the wardens' word and, later, the jackal's name, but no robe.
  • Smashed (failure). A grey stone inside cracks in two. If you do it in front of him, he thanks you, quietly, and asks you to leave. Either way, in front of him or on the shelf, Liriel approves (+2) and so does Thistle (+1). Afterwards he sits sorting his notes and will still hand over the wardens' word, but he won't come down to the sanctum after Vosk is dealt with, so there is no sealing rite for the temple.

If you're stuck

  • He forgets you between visits. Pin a note to his sleeve ("These are friends") and he greets you as friends from then on (Wren +2, Godrick +1, Kip +1).
  • Don't attack him. Exethanter fights with two flameskulls (8,100 XP), and you lose the word, the name and the rite.
  • You need Vosk's name but smashed the jar. His wall of notes has it too: Investigation DC 15, one try.

Rewards

What your companions think

  • Wren Featherfoot: +1 you gave a forgetful lich his phylactery back; +1 you let Exethanter forget; +2 you pinned a note to the lich's sleeve so he'd know you were friends; -1 you attacked a harmless old lich
  • Kip Smudgewick: +1 you gave a forgetful lich his phylactery back; +1 you pinned a note to the lich's sleeve so he'd know you were friends; -1 you attacked a harmless old lich
  • Liriel Dawnsong: -1 you gave a forgetful lich his phylactery back; +2 you smashed Exethanter's phylactery and let him go; +1 you let Exethanter forget
  • Thistle: +1 you smashed Exethanter's phylactery and let him go; +1 you asked Exethanter to remember what he helped start
  • Godrick Pendlebrook: +1 you asked Exethanter to remember what he helped start; +1 you pinned a note to the lich's sleeve so he'd know you were friends; -1 you attacked a harmless old lich
  • Ratatouille: +2 you went through Exethanter's notes properly

Fights

Journal

Every journal entry and hint

Asked: Exethanter, the last warden of the Amber Temple, has lost 'a thing with a lid': his phylactery, without which he would not come back if destroyed. He hid it so cleverly that he can't find it. He thinks it's somewhere sensible.
Hint: Search Exethanter's own study, the Amber Temple's library; look high.

Found: On the top shelf of Exethanter's own study: a clay jar, sealed with wax, labelled in his hand NOT THE PHYLACTERY.
Hint: Decide what to do with the jar: give it back to Exethanter in the library, keep it, or smash it.

Returned (the end: success): We gave Exethanter his phylactery. He tucked it inside his robe, thanked us, and promised to remember why.

Kept (the end: success): We kept Exethanter's phylactery, 'for safekeeping'. He understood exactly what that meant, and has become very cooperative.

Smashed (the end: failure): We smashed Exethanter's phylactery. When this body fails, he will not come back. He thanked us, and asked us to leave him alone for a while.

Every skill check in its conversations
  • Insight DC 14: He's frightened of something, under all the chatter.
  • Investigation DC 15: Go through the notes for anything useful. (one try)