Investigate Kagha

A conspiracy is afoot in the Grove.

Investigate Kagha is a sub-quest of the Emerald Grove's main quest,  Save the Refugees. It can be initiated by reading The Rite of Thorns, found in the Emerald Grove, or finding another clue hinting towards Kagha's scheme.

Objectives

Objectives and journal entries may vary pending story decisions and outcomes.

Search the Emerald Grove.

• The Rite of Thorns is dangerous magic. Why is Kagha so determined to do this? We should investigate.

Investigate the Swamp.

• We found a note addressed to Kagha that mentioned a meeting in the swamp. What is she up to?

Confront Kagha.

• We found a note proving that Kagha is in league with the Shadow Druids. This could explain why she wants the tieflings gone.
• A second note proved that Kagha is in league with the Shadow Druids. This could explain why she wants the tieflings gone.

Fight the Shadow Druids.

• (Kagha lives) We persuaded Kagha to turn against the Shadow Druids. It's time to end this.
• (Kagha hostile) Kagha refused to abandon her plans. It's time to end this.

Return to Zevlor.

• We defeated the Shadow Druids and stopped the ritual. We should report our success to Zevlor.

Quest Complete

• (Kagha lived) We exposed Kagha but were able to convince her to abandon the Shadow Druids. After fighting them, she stopped the ritual. The grove remains open.
• (Kagha died) We exposed Kagha and fought the Shadow Druids. Kagha is dead, and her ritual has been stopped. The grove remains open.
• The tieflings have been forced out of the grove, and the druids' ritual is complete. The grove is closed now - perhaps for good.
• We've interrupted the druids' ritual to close the grove, but now they are attacking the tieflings!
• The grove is besieged by goblins! The druids will want nothing more to do with us.
• We defeated the goblins. The refugees can safely leave the grove.

Walkthrough

Location of Kagha's chest.

This multi-staged quest can have several different outcomes, though it roughly follows the same path. Upon receiving this quest, the party is implored to search the Emerald Grove to investigate Kagha.

The first clue

The vital clue required to progress this quest lies in the Half-Torn Note in Kagha's chest at X: -484 Y: -7 in the Emerald Grove. Interacting with the chest is considered a crime, meaning the party must engage with it while out of sight, if they wish to avoid attitude lost. This can be done by hiding and entering turn-based mode, as the chest is tucked away in a dark corner behind a bookcase. The chest is locked and requires a DC 10 Sleight of Hand check to open. If the party cannot pass the Skill Check, they can alternatively destroy the chest.

Following the clue

The wooden crevice containing the Letter to Kagha.

Reading the note reveals that Kagha is corresponding with someone named Olodan, who asked her to meet alone at the "swamp". The "swamp" is located in the Putrid Bog at X: 97 Y: 224, in the southern part of the Overworld map.

The swamp is guarded by 2 wood woads and 4 ancient mud mephits who are hostile on sight. The wood woads can regenerate 10 Hit Points per turn, but are vulnerable to fire damage which breaks their regeneration. The ancient mud mephits are fragile, but will endlessly summon young mud mephits until they are killed. Furthermore, mud and tangling weeds predominate the battlefield, creating Difficult Terrain. On higher difficulty levels, achieving Surprise with invisibility or other means can buy enough time to whittle away the enemies before they respond.

Once the enemies are defeated, a successful DC 5 Perception check at the large tree in the center of the island at X: 86 Y: 220 reveals a wooden crevice that hides a Letter to Kagha. The letter reveals that Kagha has been scheming with the Shadow Druids to take over the Emerald Grove and install herself as First Druid.

Confronting the Shadow Druids

With Kagha's secret revealed, all that is required to finish this quest is to confront her. Confronting Kagha forces the Shadow Druids Olodan, Wren, and Pinta — who were  Wild Shaped as rats — to reveal themselves.

The Wild and Wellspring plaques in the Emerald Grove.

The party can try to persuade Kagha to repent and break her alliance with the Shadow Druids before the fight, turning her into an ally in the upcoming confrontation. To do so, they must pass a DC 15 Persuasion check (10 for a druid) to stop her from immediately entering combat.

The party must also succeed on another DC 10 Persuasion, or Religion check to convince her to join their side. If the party read the plaques in the Emerald Grove and learned of the Grove's history, they have an additional option to succeed on a DC 5 History check (Automatic success for a druid) to convince Kagha. Some races (e.g. wood elves) or classes (e.g. rangers) have an auto-success option.

Alternatively, if the party use  Detect Thoughts at the start instead of the  Persuasion check, they only need to pass a single DC 13 Intelligence check to convince Kagha.

After that, a fight breaks out against the three Shadow Druids, with Kagha either joining them or the party depending on the dialogue choices. The other occupants of the Emerald Grove, such as Rath and Silver, also join the party against the Shadow Druids.

After the battle, if Kagha survives and the player character is a druid, she bestows upon them the title of Faithwarden and awards them with the staff, Pale Oak. If Kagha perished during the battle, the party can loot the magical amulet Broodmother's Revenge off her body.

Quest rewards

• Broodmother's Revenge, looted from Kagha's body
• Hellrider's Pride, awarded by Zevlor
• Pale Oak, awarded to the player if they are a druid
• 15 Exp for confronting Kagha

Related quests

•  Kill Kagha

Companion approval

• If Kagha is convinced to stand down through reference to the frescoes and nature's teachings  -1  +1  +1  +5
• If Kagha is confronted and attacked  +1  +1  +1

Notes

• The letter to Kagha in the Putrid Bog is there even if the party haven't started this quest. With meta knowledge or thorough exploration of the Sunlit Wetlands, it is possible to "skip ahead" by finding it unprompted. The quest begins and the party can confront Kagha.
• The fight with the Shadow Druids can be avoided but may cause a bug. If shooting one of the rats just before the final conversation with Kagha, the rats will run away. The conversation with the Shadow Druids still occur, but when it is finished and if Kagha is convinced to aid the party in the fight, there will be no fight. However, the quest remains in the journal and the party cannot obtain Pale Oak if they were otherwise eligible for it.
• If the goblin leaders are killed or knocked out before the party confront Kagha, the quest resolves automatically without the party needing to return to Halsin as the quest log describes. Zevlor will not reward the party. The Shadow Druids will leave and no further interaction besides Kagha is available.