A Knife in the Back

*DLC:  *The Soroboreans**

**A Knife in the Back** is a Quest in *Outward*. It is fifth in the series of main quests, and is the second quest of the Sorobor Academy quest-line.

## Quest Summary

In this quest, the player performs various tasks for deans Victor Berthelot and Gregory Turnbull. For Victor, we make our way to the Electric Lab in Abrassar to retrieve some replacement valves and "lightning grease". For Turnbull, we negotiate with some Immaculates.

## Walkthrough

### Starting Out

To begin the quest, speak to Victor Berthelot, Dean of the Military in the military district. He asks us to run another errand for him, this time to the city of Levant in the Abrassar desert. Artois lets slip that this is also related to the distilled Immaculate's blood we helped collect earlier.

### Electric Lab

To get to Levant, you can speak to the Soroborean Caravanner and ask to travel. If you're lucky he will offer to take you there directly, otherwise you can either sleep for 3 days and try again, or travel to another city and simply walk there.

Either way, make your way to Levant and find Engineer Orsten in the south-east area of the city. Orsten will ask you to retrieve some items for him from a nearby fortress, the Electric Lab. This laboratory can be found north of Levant, and is marked as "Fort" on the map.

Once in the Lab, head around the corner and take the elevator down to the next level. Head directly forward and then turn right down a narrow corridor. Interact with the wooden doors to reveal two secret rooms, one of which contains several Forge Golems, as well as many more broken ones. Three of these broken golems can be interacted with to obtain **Replacement Valves**. Collect these three valves and continue down through the dungeon.

Head back into the large room with the elevator and head down the big ramp. Turn right, and then right ahead, and you will see a large golden machine ahead. Interact with this machine to obtain the **Lightning Grease**.

From the machine, turn around and head downstairs, as low as you can go, until you come across an elevator. Looking at the elevator, turn right and go downstairs again, through the short tunnel with ankle-high water, then upstairs to the right into a room with two Mantis Shrimp. On your right as you enter the room, there is a Power Coil on a table.

You will see the crystal through the gate. Interact with the lever nearby to open the gate, then interact with the Crystal to retrieve a piece of it.

If you didn't take the Power Coil in the Mantis room, on the table, it can be found as spawns all throughout Electric Lab, found as loot from Sword Golems, or simply purchased from Orsten back in Levant.

Return to Orsten and speak to him, making sure to hand over all of the items and completing his dialogue.

### Corrupted Cave

Return to Harmattan via any Soroborean Caravanner, and speak to Victor. If you were successful with Orsten he will reward you with 50  and 1 Wolf Medic Armor.

After speaking to Victor, head to Gregory Turnbull, Dean of the Arcane at the Sorobor Library. However he is not at his usual location by the Ley Line, he is right by the entrance of the Academy, to the left of the recruiter when you walk in.

Speak to Turnbull and he asks you to join him in his secret lab, which you can access by interacting with the circle on the ground behind the statue Turnbull was standing by.

Enter the lab to find Desy here as well. Speak to Turnbull and we learn that he is planning an experiment which he hopes will cure the Immaculates of their incessant hatred for Elatt. He asks us to head to the Corrupted Cave in north-east Antique Plateau to negotiate with the Friendly Immaculates before The Wolfgang beat us there.

This section is likely timed, but it is not currently known what this timer is. Head to the Corrupted Cave in north-eastern Antique Plateau, inside you will find many Friendly Immaculates.

Head as far into this dungeon as you can to find one Immaculate wielding a large blade who you can speak to. Talk to him and begin negotiations.

The first two dialogue options do not matter, the negotiations begin when the Immaculate asks **why they should trust in you**. Choose these dialogue options to ally with the Immaculate:

* **1***: "Less humans will be killed by the Scourge. The end of this war benefits everyone."*
* **2***: "Sorobor has more resources and knowledge than anyone. We CAN make this work."*
* **3***: "I could ask the same. Will your kin use their freedom to betray us, or work with us?"*

If you want to fight the Immaculates instead, you can choose these options: (note, probably leads to worse rewards)

* **2, 1, 1**

Should you fail the negotiations you will begin combat with the Immaculate Raider. After defeating the Immaculate Raider you will be tasked with dealing with the guards outside by Desy. Be warned that combat starts immediately after leaving the cave.

Head outside the cave and defeat the two Wolfgang Mercenaries and the Wolfgang Veteran, then return to Turnbull in Harmattan. A temporary barrier will appear a short distance from the cave, confining the player to this area until the Wolfgang enemies are defeated. If you are defeated, just go to Harmattan afterwards, your backpack will be inside the nearby Mercenary Camp however.

**NOTE:** If you are defeated by the Wolfgang, you will receive a unique Defeat Scenario in which you are imprisoned by the Wolfgang, and Sekiguchi Meiko, Provost of Mercantile affairs will pay your ransom fee to be released. In return, you receive the small quest A Scholar's Ransom and must pay 1x Boozu's Hide to Sekiguchi in order to access the merchants in the Harmattan Market again.

Return to Turnbull in Harmattan in his secret lab and speak to him to complete the quest. You can now speak to the Immaculate in the lab as well.

## Outcomes

* The Wolfgang Mercenaries roaming the Antique Plateau exterior are now hostile to the player.

Success:

* 1x Gold Ingot, 1x Innocence Potion, and the recipe for Innocence Potion.

From Victor on success:

* 50  and 1 Wolf Medic Armor.

## Transcripts

This article is associated with the following Transcript pages:
* **Engineer Orsten Dialogue**
* **Gregory Turnbull Dialogue**
* **Runed Immaculate Dialogue**

## See Also

* Quests
* Factions