The Rising Tide - main quest | Pillars of Eternity The White March Pillars of Eternity Guide

How to unlock: the quest will start automatically once you complete The Iron Flail.

The Rising Tide will start automatically as soon as you kill two Eyeless Hammers at the end of The Iron Flail. Your first objective is to reach The Abbey of the Fallen Moon (M8). However, this is not your final destination. You have to meet with High Abbot Kaoto, who can be found in Halls of Presence (M9,4).

Talk to Kaoto. If you mention Eyeless and Reliquary, he will attack you right away. In order to continue your quest, you have to pass the recitation ritual that involves answering Kaoto's questions. To unlock all the dialogue options, you will have to visit 3 locations first:

• Leave Halls of Presence, get back to The Abbey of the Fallen Moon and use Ondra's Corridors (M8,3). Watch relief, and you will learn a part of Ondra's story.
• Enter Halls of Presence and talk to Baesca in Halls of the Fallen Moon (M9,2). Don't attack him.
• The last location is the Library. You can find it in the east (M9,5). Search the shelves for The Giftbearer's Pilgrimage, and read it.

Once you collect all the required pieces of information, get back to Kaoto (M9,4), and begin the ritual.

• The answer to his first question is: "I am Saman - the Flood";
• The answer to his second question is: "I give myself, for a Giftbearer has no other tokens to offer";
• The answer to his third question is: "I have none, for all that belongs to Ondra is forgotten".

Once the ritual is over, Kaoto will let you enter Halls of Silence. You will also receive two keys: Steel-banded Key and High Abbot's Key. You can use the second one to access Kaoto's Quarters (M9,6), where you can find Kaoto's Journal. The Steel-banded Key will grant you access to The Vault of Forgotten Thoughts (M9,7). Here you will complete a personal quest for Maneha and obtain a very powerful weapon.

You can enter Halls of Silence. Don't worry about Guards (M10,1), they will not attack you. Head to Pool of the Anointed (M10,3). Not far from the gate in the west, there is a lever that you need to use. Nearby cells will open, and monks will come out. Moments later, they will attack you. You may find this battle challenging, so prepare yourself.

Activate the wall to start a paragraph sequence.

Head to The Rising Waterway (M10,5). You will have to solve a puzzle. Use the panels in the following order:

• City in flames;
• Tidal wave;
• Barren shore;
• Flourishing city.

Once you put all the pieces in the correct order, a magic passage will grant you access to the other side. Enter Chamber of Tears (M10,6) and use the lever. You will receive Ondra's Witness.

In order to obtain Ondra's Witness, use the lever. It doesn't matter which option you choose.

Once you activate the lever, the easiest and fastest way is to open the gates. Unfortunately, Ondra's believers will become hostile and you will have to fight your way back. Head to Halls of Presence and use stairs in the southwest part to access The Veil of Tears (M8,4) in The Abbey of the Fallen Moon. Prepare for a fight with Kaoto and several Ondra's believers. After the battle is over, approach the magic barrier. It will deactivate automatically. Use the stairs to get to the Reliquary (M8,5) and activate the skull in the middle. During the sequence pull the metal object. You are up for a long conversation with Ondra that will end this quest.

Your next quest will start automatically - Lair of the Eyeless, and Fragment of Abydon's Hammer will be added to your equipment.

Alternative decisions:

• You can skip all the smaller rooms in Halls of Presence. You might as well attack and kill all the characters from the very start.

If you want to finish the quest quickly, use the ledge that will lead you directly to Halls of Silence.

• You can use a different path to enter Halls of Silence (one that does not require exploring Halls of Presence). All you need to do, is to approach a ledge (M8,2) in Abbey of the Fallen Moon and use a Grappling Hook. Unfortunately, to do that you need a character with Dexterity at level 18 or higher. An additional entrance can be found somewhere in the middle of this location, but you won't be able to avoid combat.
• In Chamber of Tears (M10,6) you can also decide to sink the rooms. The only difference is that Ondra's believers will not attack you and you should visit Kaoto (M9,4) on your way to Reliquary (M8,5). As soon as you give him Ondra's Witness, he will ask you to meet him upstairs at The Veil of Tears (M8,4). Unfortunately, you will have to fight him anyway. The rest of the quest remains the same.