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Sacred Pool
“Do you hear them? The birds. They're beautiful. I've thought of nothing but goblins and tieflings for so long, I stopped listening.„
Overview[edit | edit source]
The Sacred Pool is the central part of the Emerald Grove. It connects to the Hollow, the Secluded Cove and the Inner Sanctum. It also has direct access to the grove ramparts.
The Sacred pool is located in the basin's lowest point, with a path running down to the river shore, and another one, ascending to the cliffs of the Secluded Cove. In the centre of it is a cromlech where a druidic ritual, the Rite of Thorns, is being processed with the 
Idol of Silvanus as its focus placed atop the centre stone.
Access[edit | edit source]
The main entry to the Sacred Pool is accessed by descending the staircase from The Hollow at X: 251 Y: 547. An alternate entry is through the elevator in the southern ramparts of the Emerald Grove at X: 242 Y: 480. However, this path is initially blocked by a sleeping bear.
Alternatively, it is possible to descend into the basin from a cliff approximately at X: 210 Y: 490 using means of spatial movement like 
, 
or 
.
Upon approaching the main entry for the first time, the party can see 
, 
and 
barring the tieflings from entering the Sacred Pool. In a show of force to ward them off, Maggran shapeshifts himself into a bear. After the tieflings are turned away from the entrance, the party can interact with 
and 
, to find out that the druids intend to (summarily) judge one of tiefling children, 
, for her attempt to steal the Idol of Silvanus; this initiates the quest 
.
Afterwards, the party can also speak to the trio of druid guards, who move to stop the party as well, but eventually relent, stating that the new First Druid 
wishes to speak with them.
Points of interest[edit | edit source]
Central basin[edit | edit source]
In the centre Sacred Pool, five druids stand around the cromlech: 
, 
, 
, 
and 
. They perform the Rite of Thorns using the Idol of Silvanus in the middle. The idol can be stolen by the party on 
request throughout the quest. Successful theft grants the following inspiration:
inspiration for characters with the 
background- inspiration for characters with the
background - inspiration for characters with the
background - only along with killing the grove druids[Needs Verification].
To the north, a man in colourful clothes by the name of 
interviews the bear 
. If speaking with Volo, he asks the party to describe the recent goblin attack to him. However, it becomes clear soon enough that the report Volo is writing has nothing common with the player character's words or the real events. If speaking to Bosk via 
, he seems to be disappointed with the results of the interview as well. Volo then declares his intent to investigate closer the new Cult of the Absolute spreading among the goblins, and disappears from the Sacred Pool after a long rest.
Telling a glamourized story to Volo grants the inspiration to characters with the 
background. Volo can also act as a trader, but his wares can only be accessed at this time using the "Trade" option in the lower-left corner within the dialogue cutscene.
Cliff overlook[edit | edit source]
A path starting from the Sacred pool basin at X: 275 Y: 523 forms a T-junction leading up and south and straight to north-west. The southern path eventually comes to an overlook where 
, a tiefling bard apprentice, can be encountered, struggling to create a new song in the memory of the recent tragic death of her mentor Lihala. Two squirrels, 
and , are painfully listening to her attempts. The player character can choose to discourage Alfira or help her. Helping her finish the song results in a beautiful cutscene where Alifra sings the the song while playing on her lute. This earns the inspiration for characters with the background.
Behind a stone column at X: 292 Y: 483 a locked gilded chest is hidden and requires a 
DC 10 Sleight of Hand check to be lockpicked. It contains the 
Cap of Curing, and looting it is not considered a crime.
The beginning of the path is one of the possible locations where 
may be encountered for the first time in the walkthrough.
The north-western path from the T-junction leads to the Secluded Cove location.
River shore[edit | edit source]
At the eastmost corner of the Sacred Pool, a sandy path runs down to the river shore. The bear
is catching fish on a small beach. An 
Amulet of Silvanus is hidden beneath a movable flat rock in this area at X: 262 Y: 481. Also, a series of jumps onto rocks beyond Ormn allows to reach a wooden chest at X: 288 Y: 449 containing gold and random alchemical ingredients.
Elevator to the ramparts[edit | edit source]
To the south from the cromlech is a wooden elevator, which leads up to the ramparts. However, the movable platform is blocked by the slumbering bear 
. To make her move aside, any party member can interact with her and throw a fish near the elevator.[1] Lured by the scent, Tuffet moves from the platform and falls asleep again nearby; afterwards, the elevator can be freely used in both directions.
To the west of the elevator a blue jay named 
tries to decorate his nest with several metallic trinkets; among these are a gold coin and a 
Shiny Key. Convincing him via that the pieces of metal are inappropriate makes the jay throw them out of nest, to be safely picked up.[2] The key opens the shiny chest atop a stone pillar to the north-west, at X: 222 Y: 497.
Using the 
dialogue option when speaking with Topaz to make him dispose of the coin and the key is considered an oathbreaking action for 
.
Inner Sanctum entrance[edit | edit source]
At X: 228 Y: 510 the druid 
tends to a small patch of herbs and flowers, where some alchemical ingredients can be cropped. Upon first approaching her, she is talking to the blue jay 
, sending her to search for "master". If spoken to, Apikusis turns out to be one of the few grove druids who do not agree or comply with attitude towards the refugees. However, she is aware of being outvoted and does what she can to return back the real leader of the grove, 
.
The bird Tingmiaq can be spoken to via before he departs. He can tell the party of some kinds of danger surrounding the grove.
The carved stone door at X: 223 Y: 525 leads to the cavernous part of the sacred ground, the Inner Sanctum.[3] There the party can progress or resolve several quests like , , , as well as some others.
Connected locations[edit | edit source]
Characters[edit | edit source]
Druids[edit | edit source]
Other[edit | edit source]
(trader, camp follower)
Animals[edit | edit source]
Loot[edit | edit source]
Notable items obtained in this location, whether looted, purchased, or obtained as a quest reward:
Related Literature[edit | edit source]
Related quests[edit | edit source]
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ The party member must choose a respective option within the dialogue with Tuffet; tossing camp supplies outside of the dialogue does nothing. Fresh fish can be found near Ormn's beach.
- ↑ The dialogue with Topaz is built around the coin only, but in case of success he eventually disposes of both items. There is also an option to shoo the bird away, which has the same result, but both coin and key become red-outlined, and taking them is still considered a theft.
- ↑ There is no such location on the in-game map. The area beyond the stone door is marked as Emerald Grove. "Inner Sanctum" is a term used by the wiki to help disambiguate.