Vault of Withering

The **Vault of Thriving** is the sixth Vault the Apprentice enters in search of lost fragments of the Song of Myora. Located in Valley Province to the south of the town square, the island on which the Vault can be found is initially inaccessible until Builderkin is enlisted to build a bridge near the district's Nature Reserve. Similar to the Vault of Thriving, this vault has a hidden cave entrance which must be used for ingress, the normal vault entrance only leads to a dead-end that will eventually serve as a quick exit once the Apprentice has collected the song fragment.

While precise platforming challenges in this vault may not be as severe as previous vaults, the wooden platforms featured in the Vault of Thriving are also used extensively here too. Wary Apprentices are reminded that wooden floating platforms will not sink regardless of how long on which they are stood, so care should be taken when planning your route of progress.

The majority of this vault takes the form of a winding cave passage with occasional pools of standing water deep enough to drown, making the wooden platforms a must for keystone retrieval and general progress through the cave. While the cave occasionally loops back on itself across multiple levels and confound its visitors, photo mode can be leveraged by Apprentices in need of additional guidance.

Like all Vaults, time does not pass while inside the Vault, so the Apprentice can take their time solving its Puzzles.

## Walkthrough

"Kazumi! Not on the-- Awww, you're gonna break it again..."*This article is full of spoilers. We cannot guarantee all spoilers are hidden, so proceed with caution!*

**WALKTHROUGH (SPOILERS)**

After a night's rest, the bridge will be rebuilt and the Apprentice can safely cross to the island. Upon reaching the other side, the lefthand path will lead down to the Vault's grand entrance which unfortunately serves as little more than an impressive dead-end for the moment. Instead, the Apprentice should take the righthand path, falling into the bumbershooter (no jumps necessary!) and drifting across the broken bridge to a winding path below. Following this path up the hill will lead to the Cave of The Withering, the second entrance to the Vault.

Upon entering the cave, break through the wooden barriers and continue forward through the winding passageway until stopped by a cutscene showing the location of a green and yellow cubic keystone and their respective pedestals.

Drop to the lower level and collect the Green cubic Keystone, jumping back across the wooden platforms and past the Yellow keystone on your way to return the Green to its pedestal. Circle back and recover the yellow, returning it to its pedestal as well to open the stone door at the far side of the room.

For both keystones, the Apprentice may be able to reach their resting place by dropping or jumping down from a higher level, saving on the number of trips across the wooden platforms.

Pass along the broken stone bridge, jumping to the exposed pillar and across to the far side to enter a large rectangular room. Circling around the right side of the Wither vine, the Apprentice is presented with two paths blocked by wooden barricades. The right-hand barricade (opposite the passage you entered through) conceals a few floating wooden platforms that lead you to the Everkid hiding in this vault. The left-hand barricade opens to a room full of Withered insects and obstructing Wither vines. As with the Vault of Tricking, freeing all insects will cause the vines to retreat, opening up a drop to a new path forward.

*NOTE: Do not take the path exposed by the Wither vines until the Apprentice has collected the Everkid as there is no way to climb back up once descended.*

Upon dropping into the next larger chamber, another cutscene will play revealing the next two cubic keystones required to proceed. As before, grab the closest keystone along the path to the pedestals and return it before circling back for the second keystone. Upon returning both to their pedestals, another stone door unlocks, revealing a new winding passage full of broken columns and Withered insects. Free all insects and smash through the wooden barricade as the last blot of withered vines is cleared from the door at the far end of this upper level.

Pass through this larger cavernous passage and the last cutscene will play, showing the well-deserved Song Fragment and a method of exit behind it. Either jump to the grassy centre below or follow the winding ramp down, minding the small moat of water which is deep enough to drown in some areas. Ascend the dais and collect the Song Fragment of Abandoning, then use the stone ramp behind the dais to the left to ascend to the stone door at the far end of the room.

Open the door with the pressure pad and pass through to a narrower corridor, turning right at the stalagmites and bursting through wooden barricades until you drop to the interior of the Vault's grand entrance.

*NOTE: Do not drop to the Vault entrance interior until the Apprentice has collected the Song Fragment as there is no way to climb back up once descended.*

Exit through the grand entrance, successfully completing the Vault of Withering.

## Related Goals

* Locate Song Fragment (7)
* Return Song Fragment to the Treeheart Chamber (7)