Stillwater – Arcanum

This guide will walk you through the Stillwater area of Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick Obscura.

1 – General Goods

2 – The Bleeding Rose Inn

If you’ve been following Brother Joachim’s paper trail, then you’ll find another message from him with the innkeeper here. The message will provide a little information about the Molochean Hand, and it will indicate that Brother Joachim will find you at some point. If you leave the message open for long enough, and if you have Virgil in your group, then once again Virgil will indicate he did something bad in his past, and might have to pay for it in the future.

3 – The Thirsty Soul

4 – The Falling Hammer

Ask Richard Leeks the blacksmith about Stillwater, then about the weapons he makes, and finally if he enchants weapons himself. He’ll tell you about a wizard named Cyrus, and then he’ll realize he hasn’t seen Cyrus in a while and ask you to check up on him. You’ll find Cyrus’ house to the northwest (#9). The house will be empty, but you’ll find blood in the doorway and footprints leading away to the north.

If you follow the footprints you’ll come to Drog Black Tooth’s cave, and you’ll find Cyrus locked in a cell in the back. When you approach the cell, Cyrus will ask you to rescue him, but don’t do it yet. About a minute after you finish talking with the wizard, Drog Black Tooth will return, and you’ll have to fight him. If Cyrus is loose from his cell, then he’ll join in and possibly get himself killed, thus botching the quest. So kill Drog Black Tooth first, then get the key from his corpse, and finally use the key to free Cyrus.

When Cyrus runs from the cave, he’ll disappear from the game, but you can still return to Leeks to receive a Stillwater Blade plus 6400 experience and some positive alignment.

Note: Richard Leeks is carrying a Tempered Shield, one of the best shields in the game. So this is a good place to use a fate point, if you have one available.

5 – Temple to Geshtianna

6 – Altar to Geshtianna

The altar is a part of the Ancient Gods quest. In front of the altar you can speak to Brigitte, a priestess of Geshtianna. If you’re polite to her she’ll mention that somebody recently stole the idol to Geshtianna, and she’ll ask you to look for it. The culprit is Marley (#10). If you’re persuasive, you can tell him that if he gives the idol back, the priestess will bless him, and then he’ll give you the key to the back room in his house, where you can find the idol. Otherwise, you’ll have to steal the key or kill Marley to get it.

When you carry the statue of the goddess Geshtianna in your inventory, you’ll gain -3 DX, +2 BE, and +1 CH. If you return the statue to Brigitte, you’ll receive a blessing worth +1 BE, plus 6400 experience (and perhaps other rewards). So some characters might want to keep the statue rather than turn it in.

7 – Passion Root

You’ll need the root for making an offering to Geshtianna. It’s just lying on the ground.

8 – Hermit’s House

When you enter the house you’ll see a “disfigured blind hermit — eyes cut out.” He’s really Adkin Chambers, the Dodge Master.

9 – Cyrus’ House

10 – Marley’s House

11 – Gildor Nightwalk’s House

Between Gildor and the book he gives you, you’ll learn about a haunted clearing and the ruby it guards. Gildor will then ask you to retrieve the ruby for him, and he’ll mark The Ruby Glade on your world map. However, the glade is on the other side of the Grey Mountains, so it’ll be a while before you can get to it.

Once you pick up the ruby and give it to Gildor, you’ll receive 4600 experience and 1500 gold. If you don’t feel like trekking all the way back to Stillwater, or if Gildor happens to be dead, you can sell the ruby to most shopkeepers and get about 1500 gold from them, too.

12 – Myrth’s House

Myrth is an elf and knows the location of Qintarra, but of course he won’t just tell you. To get the location, you’ll have to do two things: get Myrth to give you a straight answer, and perform a quest.

To get a straight answer, be patient and play along, and eventually tell Myrth that it’s urgent you find Qintarra. He’ll ask if you mind him asking why, and you can take the opportunity to give him a taste of his own medicine. So say that you don’t mind, and then wait twice. Finally, tell Myrth that you said you didn’t mind him asking, not that you’d tell him the answer. Myrth will enjoy that response, but he’ll still require for you to go on a quest.

The quest involves tracking down the Stillwater Giant, and returning its pelt to Myrth. Myrth will suggest you talk to Stanley Xavier Hippington (#13), the local expert on the subject. However, that sequence, while amusing, won’t ultimately lead you to the Stillwater Giant. Instead, your only option is to pick up the fake pelt from H.T. Parnell’s in Tarant. Then when you show the pelt to Myrth (he’ll enjoy the truth about how you acquired it), you’ll receive 9200 experience, and he’ll mark Qintarra on your world map, plus show you the location of Hardin’s Pass, which you can use to cross the mountains.

If you can’t or don’t want to deal with Myrth, there’s another way to learn the location of Qintarra. Myrth is wearing the Amulet of N’Tala. If you “acquire” the amulet from him and then give it to Gaylin in Shrouded Hills, Gaylin will tell you where Qintarra is. You might want to grab the amulet regardless, because it gives (+1) ST, (+1) CN, and (+100%) healing rate.

13 – Stanley Xavier Hippington’s House

Hippington is the local expert on the Stillwater Giant. He’ll tell you that the giant can change shapes, and that it uses the form of a small blue bunny when it is safe in its lair. Further, he’ll have a plan for catching it. All you’ll have to do is sneak up on the bunny and trap it in a cage. Hippington will even give you a trap to capture the bunny with, plus some Stillwater Giant scent so the bunny won’t smell you coming.

So go to the lair (#14), and put the trap in one of your hotkey slots. You don’t have to worry about using the scent. Once you see the bunny, use the trap on it to capture it, and then head back to Hippington. Hippington will tell you that you still need to “authenticate” the discovery, and he’ll direct you to Dr. Tristan Fenwick of the Tarant Zoological Society. However, Fenwick will think you’re playing a joke on him, and you won’t get anywhere with him. Then you just need to return to Hippington to complete the quest.

The above sequence is just a wild goose chase for Myrth’s quest (#12). If you complete that quest before talking to Hippington, then Hippington won’t give you his quest.

Note: After you go through Hippington’s quest and eventually give the fake Stillwater Giant pelt to Myrth, you might have a random encounter with a blue bunny that turns out to be the real Stillwater Giant. You’ll earn a fate point for killing the giant, and you can then sell its pelt to H.T. Parnell in Tarant for 2000 gold.

14 – Stillwater Giant Lair