One day, taking a break from hunting on Marae Lassel, I took a moment to stop by the tavern of Micon Stuvis in Redspire (40.8N, 83.3W). As I finished off my mug of cider and paid him, he leaned close as if he had some gossip to tell.

Micon Stuvis the Barkeep tells you, "Come back whenever you have the time, traveler. I'm always up for a bit of gossip. Why, even the other day Bachus Flufens came by and told me quite the tall tale about some Tumerok warrior and his "living" spear...I know I should have cut her off sooner, but you know...she probably doesn't have too many amusements over there on the western shore..."

Tumerok warrior? The hair on the back of my neck bristled. I hate Tumeroks. I was a child in Holtburg when they raided the city and killed everyone, the only reason I'm not dead is because Celcynd was able to portal out all the children. I'm told that the tailless "Aun" Tumeroks who live on the Marescent Plateau are friendly, but I think it's a trick.

At any rate, I decided I needed to hear this tall tale for my own. I got in touch with my patron, Robert Aluvsun, who met me in the city. Micon had mentioned that Bachus lived on the western shore, so we headed west.

We found her at (43.6N,85.4W), in a small cottage on the southwest coast. We invited ourselves in, and found her to be... somewhat long-winded.

Bachus Flufens tells you, "A visitor! I do not often get many visitors to my modest homestead. Did Micon or Lark tell you that I've been spending time with the Tumeroks? A most fanciful folk, I must say! Why, just the other day one of the Hea told me about a legendary spear they dismantled and enshrined in two separate parts of the island. It once belonged to a warrior from an opposite faction, I believe. He tried to persuade them back to traditional ways, but they would have none of it. Somehow they dispatched him but retained his spear...which is supposed to have some sort of magical, "living" properties to it. I'm not quite sure what to believe."

Bachus Flufens tells you, "Perhaps the answer could be found in the caverns to the northwest along the shore. Try the area around 44 North, 87 West--at least that's where I saw my new Tumerok acquaintences heading last. Beware, friend--it sounded as if they held this artifact in high esteem, and it's quite likely to be well guarded. I'd go myself, but I must catch up on my journal today. If you would like to read it, here are a few pages that I wrote the other day."

Bachus Flufens gives you Bachus Flufen's Journal.

Fanciful folk? Did I just hear this woman call those beasts "fanciful folk"? I choked back my rage and tossed her journal in my pack next to the beef rations. Let Ibn read it if he likes, I thought, I'd like to take this artifact away from them.

Robert and I made our way to the coordinates Bachus had described, and discovered a Tumerok Cavern at (43.9 N, 87.1 W). The portal was restricted to adventurers of levels 5 through 20 -- luckily, we were both near the high end of that limit. Making our way inside, we found that it had similar architecture to other Tumerok structures in Marae Lassel. The entryway was clear, but we could hear Tumeroks milling about nearby.

If you want to follow in our footsteps, I'd recommend the excellent map by Miyah of Leafcull found at ACMaps: If not, finding your way to the bottom is not particularly difficult. As long as you always go down you should be fine, it is not a particularly large cavern and it has few dead-ends.

What's surprising is the variety of beasts in the cavern! We weren't surprised by the groups of Hea Runners and Hunters, but the creatures they were guarding! A couple of Spikey and Stony Armoredillos, Carrion, Blood, and Hunter Shreths, Veteran Reedsharks, and four Jibrit Zefirs! What made this all the more unusual is that none of these creatures are found on Marae Lassel. Was this some sort of zoo? A breeding pen? Robert and I were at a loss -- it's hard to talk to a Tumerok when you're fighting it with blade and crossbow.

At the bottom of the cavern, clearly in charge, was a Hea Warrior. If we hadn't had powerful enchantments on us, courtesy of a mage in our allegiance, the fight could have been quite difficult. Two may be too few for this fight without the help of a powerful enchanter. But he fell to us after some time, and we found a key on his corpse. We assumed that the key unlocked a nearby vault.

The vault wasn't like anything we'd seen before, but we could see the spear clearly held fast within. Unlocking the vault caused its arms to swing wide, leaving the spear free for us to grab.

It was only a few moments before the Warrior and his allies respawned. We slew him again, allowing Robert to take a key as well.

I took a moment to examine the spear that we'd recovered. It was a decent weapon, I suppose, though any Derethian spear-fighter worth his salt would scoff at it. I decided to bring it back to Bachus Flufens.

You give Bachus Flufens Tumerok Spear.
Bachus Flufens examines the spear intensely.
Bachus Flufens tells you, "Ah, so there was something to their story after all...what an interesting find! But look here...don't these slots along this side suggest that it is missing a part? I wonder if it lies over in the caves directly to the east? For the past season I've been able to watch many Tumerok comings and goings here from my front porch. If you were to bring me back the object in its entirety, I'm sure I could reward you."
Bachus Flufens gives you Tumerok Spear.

More caves! More Tumeroks to kill though. An even deal, I suppose. Robert and I ran east to the Tumerok Cave at (41.7N, 82.5W). Now, be careful, it's very easy to accidentally run just a little bit too far and end up at the Abandoned Tumerok Site! If you find yourself fighting Olthoi instead of Tumeroks, you'll know you've made a mistake. The Cave is also restricted to levels 5 through 20.

The architecture was slightly different, but still obviously Tumerok. As for this place, I strongly recommend that you use Miyah's map on AC Maps. Otherwise it's easy to find yourself lost on the second level of the cave. We certainly did.

If you choose to go without the maps, you won't have any trouble on the first level. On the second level, you want to go east through the maze-like corridors, and then find a ramp down near the center of the eastern side of the maze. It's just to the east of an exit portal in a large room. In the meantime you'll fight the same sort of creatures you found in the Cavern -- Hea Runners and Hunters, Shreths, Armoredillos, Zephyrs and Reedsharks.

After you go down the ramp, you'll find yourself in a humid cavern, along with a few Tidal Siraluun. At the end of the cavern is a heavy steel door -- luckily unlocked. We went through and were immediately hit with war spells cast by the Hea Drumspeakers further along the cavern!

We rushed in and fought them, taking special care to take out their leader, a Hea Shaman. I'm not sure whether the best tactic is to take him out first, or to take out his friends first. It's up to you, I suppose. The Shaman, like the Warrior in the Cavern, carried a key which unlocked the nearby vault.

Inside this vault, we found the object that Bachus must have been referring to... a strange figurine.

While it looked like it would fit perfectly into the slot in the spear, I wasn't sure how I felt about reconstructing a Tumerok artifact. I decided to take it back to Bachus. After Robert got one for himself, we ran back to her hut on the coast and I gave her the artifact.

You give Bachus Flufens Wooden Tumerok Figurine.
Bachus squints carefully at the figurine.
Bachus Flufens tells you, "I have never seen an artifact such as this before...some sort of Tumerok figurine? Ah...but it seems as if it is not in its entirety? Perhaps it should be married to another piece? If you bring me back the completed artifact, I will surely reward you!"
Bachus Flufens gives you Wooden Tumerok Figurine.

Well, I've never been one to pass up a sure reward. I used the figurine on the spear... and woke it up. I swear, I'm not making this up.

Once I got past the sheer horror of having this thing looking at me, I took a look at the inscription. Believe it or not, I recognized the names Tanua and Shimauri from the lore that Ibn's taught me. Aun Tanua was a powerful warrior of the Aun tribe... those Tumeroks in the far north, the ones who'll help you make a Buadren are looking for him. Aun Shimauri lives on the southeast part of the island... he wrote a book and can help you make a Palenqual Living Weapon. It's like they're all one big happy family or something.

The spear itself is a nice weapon for a spear-fighter near my level at 4.2-12 Piercing, +3/+3 with SK II, Spear Mastery III and Rejuv III, and even if you're not a spear-fighter it's almost worth carrying around just for the rejuvenation, if you need stamina back and you're not in combat. But I didn't want it weighing me down, and Bachus had said something about a reward. So I handed it to her.

You give Bachus Flufens Aun Tanua's War Taiaha.
Bachus gingerly lifts the weapon from your grasp and weighs it in her hands.
Bachus Flufens tells you, "A Tumerok War Taiaha! One of the first examples of Tumerok war craft I have ever seen. I must send this on to Aliester--he will be delighted to further his research on Tumerok culture. I thank you!"
You have been awarded 10,000 experience.
Bachus Flufens gives you Peerless Healing Kit.
Bachus Flufens gives you 2 Copper Peas.

Honestly, if she really wanted an example of Tumerok war culture, I could've taken her to Dryreach. But I shouldn't complain, the copper peas I sold for nice profit and the experience of the quest was certainly worth the time and energy.

If it's the sort of thing you feel like doing over and over again, the quest can be repeated once a week.

DUNGEON NAME	MAP	RESTRICTIONS
Tumerok Cavern at (43.9 N, 87.1 W).		None
Tumerok Cave at (41.7N, 82.5W)		None
Disregard the fact that ACMaps haven't updated their maps, the level restrictions were removed along with the Marae Lassal updates.