Still needs a few pictures but almost all information is now included.

Exploration Trip One:

Using the Obsidian Rim Drop via the Western Dires portal reached from the Aelerlinthe Isle arrival location it was just a short run west then north to the newest Blackmire Temple at 51.4S 67.9W.  I like running west to 67.5W then south directly down the valley as it seems less of a problem then running around or thru all the mountains.  Approaching from the south it was just a leap down into the isolated valley.

It seems as if the temple would be reachable from the river area surrounding the Obsidian Rim Plateau.  However, it is a lot of that mountain in your way can not actually get there from here, back track and find a climbable mountain scenario.  Approaching from the south just seemed the easiest and fastest route, unless you know which area to cut south then west or south then east depending on your direction of approach from the river.

The outside of the temple was guarded by four or five Tormented Attendants.  I found one or two flame blasts quickly ended their torment.  NOTE: frost seems to work as well or better.

Once the area is secured you can examine the upper outside region of the temple.  Hopping around from corner to corner you will find, or SHOULD find, four slightly different plates. 

The descriptions will all be the same, but close inspection of their grahics reveals a very subtle difference.

Just grab one of each as the reason should become obvious after you leap down

and inspect the various pillars.

It seems three of the four plates are mounted in three of the pillars and the fourth pillar doesn't have a plate.

Inserting the missing plate into the empty pillar portals you.  Inserting the wrong plate into the pillar portals you to your Lifestone.

You give Pillar A Carved Plate.

You place the plate into the depression.
You give Pillar A Carved Plate.
You place the plate into the depression.
You give Pillar A Carved Plate.
You place the plate into the depression.
You give Pillar A Carved Plate.
You place the plate into the depression.

Guardian knocks you into next Morningthaw!
Guardian casts Soul Dissolution and drains 305 points of your health.

Placing a plate in the pillar makes it disappear.

So you best check your compass directions and each plate closely.

Unfortuantely a long ways into the dungeon there is a false floor and a lot of jumps to each of four 'eyes' and then to the device to portal you to the next section.  Unlike earlier Blackmires where only one person needed to turn the 'eyes' and be debuffed, in this temple each person must make the series of jumps and turn the 'eyes'.  Fail a jump and you fall thru phasing in/out floor pieces and have to run a guantlet maze of nasties to get back to the jump section.  and we know how jump impaired i am.

A Tale of Two Groups:

First group: each as they make the jumps goes on leaving folks alone to attempt jumps and re-running the maze.  The folks could not survive the maze alone and suprise those that rushed ahead weren't strong enough to finish.  In the end both sections of the split group failed.

Second group: as the good jumpers of the group turned all the 'eyes' they dropped below and took up stations along the maze part to help kill monsters so those failing the jumps weren't totally left alone.  Don't need to be a rocket scientist to realize this group make it completely thru the quest.

Which brings us today's party:

On a warm summer's eve in the hub bound for nowhere I meet up with four strangers - Falling Star, Bankken, Lorna II and their leader Wyntress I - we were gone to see who knew when to jump and when to stand still. Would this turn out to be a Tale of Two Gimps, or the Wyntress of our Discontent, only time would tell! NOTE: as this was mostly a pick-up party of people that weren't use to questing with me nor use to how a write-up quest or mine differs from normal so I couldn't be asking them every few minutes to slow down while I took photos for the special inset to the sunday edition.  Until I can re-run the quest a couple more times the graphic quality won't be up to the latest write up standards.

Buffed we hopped an Obs Rim LS portal and then ran to the sunken valley - once you jump down to the valley floor there is no climbing back out.

Clearing the temple guards we rushed up and grabbed a tile from the SE corner of the temple's outer edge.  There are four such tiles, but the SE corner is the one that correctly answers the puzzle below.  Drop below inside the temple and insert the tile on the southern statue, which portals you to the 'entrance area'.

Once re-grouped one person grabbed the four plates scattered around the floor and properly inserted them into the four pillars.  Then talking to the Guardian opened the door to the south be quick as the door doesn't stay open long and can slide shut on you.   Then we progressed over to the 'level appropriate' guardian, used him.

Down the corridor and dropin into the pit we followed the corridor around to a door with a large room of patriarchs to the next guardian. Using this guardian sent us to the next section - Well of Tears.

xxxxxxxxxxinsert pic of this guardianxxxxxxxx

We arrived on an elevated platform with four exits: N, S, E and W. Now everyone in the party needs to get an Ancient Enchanted Philter, fill it from the Well of Tears and then return it to the Guardian.

xxxxxxxxxxinsert pick of this guardianxxxxxxxxxx

Take the North route and soon you'll be in a room with the Philter on a table to the east.  NOTE: I didn't have time to plot out all the corridors but it seems as if they all eventually will lead to a second room similar to the arrival point without the raised platform.  Once in this room go east up the ramp and then follow the corridor south to the well.  But since we are part way there already no sense in returning to the start, continuing on to the west we employed right hand rule and were soon running down a ramp westward into that room.  So back up the ramp and head south to the well.

xxxinsert pic of well of tearsxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Filled we used right hand rule to re-trace our steps till we ran south and T-boned into a T-intersection with east and west corridors.  Taking the east corridor we were soon back at the guardian, which means one by one we were portaled to Jump Fest.

Playing Leap Frogger you move from platform to platform to access four level approrite 'eyes' (for us that mean the red ones, what was the color of the portal guardian you first used - yellow, green or red) turn them and then get back to the 'Strange Device' which after turning all the eyes will portal you to the next deadly section.  And yes it sounds much easier then it is, of course there were a few tricks that help. 

NOTE: 1 ALWAYS use a SHIFT-jump and 2 jump at the ledges while blinking in/out, some phase in/out, jumping while phased out should mean landing on it while it is in.  The unblinking ones aren't safe to 'jump' to.  Walking on them phased in/out doesn't seem to matter as long as you don't look down and get vertigo as you stand on thin air.  Turning the wrong eyes gets you sent back to the beginning.

Here Wyntress shined.  First explaining the jump, then jumping over to give us a target to jump at.  Despite this valiant effort on her part, two of the clumsier folks managed fall below.  In the center of the room are four pillars that shoot out war spells in the direction they are facing: N, S, E and W.  So if you fall advisable to quickly move to the center or otherwise get out of the line of fire to wait for any others to fall.

Then once all the leapers have turned, you can decide if some need to jump down and assist their fallen brethren getting thru the maze (it's not the maze that is the difficulty it's the Tormented Patriarchs) to attempt jumping again.

As there were two of us, all three dropped down to assist.  To the south is a pit that drops you to the center of the maze.  From there go east up the ramp and then south.  Take the first east corridor which leads you into a room, where you want to head west. There is a lever to open the door.  The corridor is a straight path to a second lever/button door right at the jumping arrival point. This lever/button will cause some health damage so stop and be well before using it.   If solo you could probably make the maze knowing the route, BUT if you were to stall a bit and get blocked by running you'd have brought some nasties with you and then been blocked by more in front.  At which point you'll want to check if your life insurance premium is paid up, get your back to a wall and hope your meleeD and magicD will help you survive.

On the second attempt of leading klutz 1 and 2 the unfortunate happened and someone lagged and fell at the start.  Since we had just cleared the path, Wyntress was able to drop below and quickly lead the strayed sheep back to our flock.

The muses seemed to smile upon us as klutz 1 and 2 were actually able to get flagged without further incident.  Oh sure one would occasionally take 3 or 4 practice leaps straight up into the air before actually committing to leaping across; but, nobody fell.  Well that was nobody actually jumping to get flagged.  Seems someone while in a fit of keyboard dancing hit the wrong key and landed below.  Once the four of us were flagged and assembled at the device, it was determined the skilled jumpers would drop and assist our typing impaired cohort.  NOTE: with the entire party I think we battled our way thru the maze in about 8 minutes (3 mages, bow and sword), with only 3 (two mages and either a sword or bow) it took them nearly 27 minutes.

But eventually we were all at the portal device and once buffed hit it, to arrive in the Sewer section.  A place filled with Burun Guruk Behemoths, Colossus, Gorefiends and Titans.  It is a symmetrical dungeon so either left hand or right hand rule will eventually get you to a NE or NW angled corridor that meet with a North option.  Right hand rule is a bit shorter a path so the one we took to the big room in the north.

Just as you enter the room on your left is a lever to the door/guardian - here it gets fuzzy on some details as I couldn't stop and inspect.  I didn't notice any door or doors, but Wyntress indicates you have to use the lever to get thru and that the death of Zixki will open a door, suggesting there are two doors in front of the guardian. 

The groupies once alerted to our presence would charge us, we were to kill them and then try and lure Zixki to the north where the door to the next guardian was located. To compound things some people get sent to prison cells positioned to the east and west of the room - cast by Zixki.   NOTE: I've heard rumors to the effect that inside the cells are lights if used open walls behind them to lead to a Tormented patriarch who has a key to unlock the cell door.  Trouble is the floor does damage so try and walk on the baseboards of the corridor.

The groupies went down quickly and then Zixki was targeted.  Without much fanfare he too was over powered by our onslaught of frost and flame attacks and we were soon rushing towards the final guardian.  Zixki's death opens a door, that we all need to rush thru, but if someone needs to access the lever on the south wall then you'll need to 'bug the door'.  I.E. have someone stand in the center of the door so when it closes folks trapped behind can run thru you.

Typical of the Black Mire dungeons the reward room is 'safe'.  Of course deciding which of the ten rewards (portal device, mace, xbow or any one of 7 fellowship protect spells) you want this trip can cause a brain freeze.  Also besure to check out the Sarcophagus for pieces of the Ancient Armor.

Ag Nar