Sorrow in These Halls

Sorrow in These Halls

Year

1337 AE

Storyline

Janthir Wilds

Chapter

Sorrow in These Halls

Location

Lowland Shore
(Janthir)
The Wizard's Tower
(Horn of Maguuma)

Level

80

Preceded by

Against the Wall

API

724

Sorrow in These Halls is the tenth chapter of the Janthir Wilds story.

Objectives

Regroup with your allies in Harvest Den.

• Head to Stoic Alder's home in Harvest Den.
• Talk to Waiting Sorrow.
• (Optional) Check in with Your Companions
• 
• Take Waiting Sorrow's portal to the Wizard's Tower.

Join Waiting Sorrow as she confronts Isgarren.

• Speak with Waiting Sorrow.
• Apporach Isgarren in the War Room.
• Close the doors behind you.
• Justify your action to Isgarren.
• Join Dagda outside so Waiting Sorrow and Isgarren can discuss matters privately.
• Leave when you are ready.
• (Optional) Check in with Anise and Dagda.: x/2
• Complete!

Rewards

• Bag of Loot (3)
• Janthiri Gear Box
• Endless Bearkin Combat Tonic
• Sorrow's Claw
• Tale of Adventure

Walkthrough

Regroup with your allies in Harvest Den.

Enter the Lowland Shore instance located at the west of Harvest Den Waypoint. Walking into the house will trigger the dialogue, then talk to Waiting Sorrow to let her open a portal to The Wizard's Tower.

Join Waiting Sorrow as she confronts Isgarren.

Upon entering The Wizard's Tower, speak with Waiting Sorrow first, and walk into War Room. After a short dialogue, Isgarren will ask you to close the door behind, which will trigger another dialogue. When the dialogue ends, talk to Isgarren and he will ask you to explain the situation, choosing either of the three responses will led to the same dialogue. After finishing the dialogue, leave War Room and the chapter is completed.

Achievements

Sorrow in These Halls	Janthir Wilds: Act 2	1  1
Help break some news to Isgarren.Journal: Sorrow in These Halls Reward: Large Stash of Carved Lowland Pine Coins	Completed Sorrow in These Halls	1

• Complete the story mission.

Friendly Reflection	Janthir Wilds: Act 2	1
Speak with Anise and Dagda in the Wizard's Tower.Journal: Sorrow in These Halls	Spoke with Anise and Dagda in the Wizard's Tower	1

• At the story objective "Check in with Anise and Dagda", talk to both Anise and Dagda before leaving the instance.

Reflective Reading	Janthir Wilds: Act 2	1
Read all the literature in Stoic Alder's home and in the Wizard's Tower.Journal: Sorrow in These Halls Objectives: 3 objectives in total Letter from Lyhr Stoic Alder's Journal A Collective History, Volume 6	Read All Literature	1

• Stoic Alder's Journal can be found at the Lowland Shore instance, in the bedroom of the second floor of Stoic Alder's House.
• Letter from Lyhr and A Collective History, Volume 6 can be found at The Wizard's Tower instance, inside War Room.
  • Letter from Lyhr is on the table and behind Isgarren.
  • A Collective History, Volume 6 is on the left, in the inner bookshelf.

Where Do We Go from Here?	Janthir Wilds: Act 2	1
Check in with all of your allies in the aftermath of the battle.Journal: Sorrow in These Halls Objectives: 4 objectives in total Poised Arrow Stoic Alder Malice Caithe	Checked In with 4 Allies	1

• At the story objective "Check in with Your Companions", talk to everyone else before taking Waiting Sorrow's Astral Ward Rift.

NPCs

Allies

• Anise
• Caithe
• Dagda
• Isgarren
• Malice Swordshadow
• Poised Arrow
• Stoic Alder
• Waiting Sorrow

Dialogue

Stoic Alder's House, Lowland Shore

Caithe: I've spoken with Dagonet. He's informing the rest of the alliance; they're likely meet in the coming days.

Poised Arrow: We failed our hunt.

Malice Swordshadow: We could have also died, cub. Don't lunge into battles you're not prepared for.

Poised Arrow: Victory wasn't impossible...

Waiting Sorrow: Be kind to yourself, Poky. We know our enemy now. There is still some night before a calmer dawn, but it nears.

<Character name>: Showing your face in the village already? I thought you needed more time.

Stoic Alder: Fading Aurora has returned to us. Her path was lost, is all. While tracking the strangers.

Waiting Sorrow: I've asked Stoic Alder to keep my identity a secret a short while longer. I need to talk to Isgarren.

Stoic Alder: I take no joy in lying to my bearkin, but I'd rather they remain in the fog awhile longer.

Stoic Alder: There's too much going on. I don't want to rattle their trust.

(Optional) Talking to Caithe

<Character name>: That...didn't go as planned.

Caithe: Hardly the first time. We're plenty used to that, but I'm afraid the cub is taking it hard.

Waiting Sorrow: Losing gracefully comes with experience.

Caithe: At that age, you're beating down the door to the world, ready for whatever life dares to throw at you.

Caithe: Because you don't know yet how much life can throw. But you find out quickly.

Waiting Sorrow: Still can't help but worry about him sometimes.

Caithe: That's how it goes. One minute they're silly little things, toddling around, worrying you sick...

Caithe: The next, they're grown. Big and strong and off on their own...still worrying you sick...

Caithe: But that's when you have to remind yourself—you've done exactly what you were supposed to...

Caithe: Taught them to stand on their own. And then let them.

(Optional) Talking to Malice Swordshadow

<Character name>: Sorry we couldn't kill them.

Malice Swordshadow: I'm a strategist. Didn't see another way.

<Character name>:Doesn't mean you have to like it.

Malice Swordshadow: Oh, I don't.

Malice Swordshadow: Hey. We're fine. Made it out with our tails intact. Just a lot to untangle.

Malice Swordshadow: You want to know what I'm thinking? How different would things be if the titans hadn't mucked everything up?

Malice Swordshadow: If we didn't burn Ascalon.

Malice Swordshadow: Probably still eat people. (sighs) I'm spitting about blood that belongs on someone else's hands.

Malice Swordshadow: We weren't good, but we turned out okay. The charr. Well, better now that Bangar's in a cell.

Malice Swordshadow: But, how do we live with all of this? It just gets hard to weigh the guilt and the anger...

<Character name>: Someone has to look out for whoever comes next.

Malice Swordshadow: Yeah. (sighs) Yeah. We're alive. Sometimes that's enough. And I've worked too damn hard to make this place bearable.

(Optional) Talking to Poised Arrow

<Character name>: I understand you're frustrated. But you need to know when the risk just isn't worth the potential cost.

Poised Arrow: Then when will it be worth it? We've screwed it up twice—thrice counting your first go-round.

Poised Arrow: How many times do we let that happen before being cautious becomes the risk?

Waiting Sorrow: Little Claw. The scale of this is greater than any of us expected. Impulsivity isn't the answer.

Poised Arrow: Then what is? What if they're out there killing while we're just standing around?

Stoic Alder: Poised Arrow.

Poised Arrow: I'm just asking the questions everyone else should be...

(Optional) Talking to Stoic Alder

<Character name>: Do you regret helping us?

Stoic Alder: If I hadn't, we'd be burying our dead in the bog. The bearkin are resilient, but we must recognize our limitations.

Stoic Alder: It does not mean I'm not cautious. Of you or of Waiting Sorrow.

Stoic Alder: I will continue to remind myself that no matter how thick the fog is, it will eventually fade.

Stoic Alder: When it does, the path will be visible again. For now...I watch and listen.

Before leaving for the Wizard's Tower

Waiting Sorrow: When I left the Wizard's Tower, a wayfinder hadn't been named in years. They must trust you.

<Character name>: Not at first, but helping them keep Amnytas afloat and defeating Isgarren's nemesis didn't hurt.

Waiting Sorrow: Will you come with me? I could use that confidence of yours.

<Character name>: Of course. I'm not dead in a canyon. None of us are, thanks to you.

Waiting Sorrow: Whenever you're ready.

The Wizard's Tower

Waiting Sorrow: (breathes heavily) Ah...

<Character name>: How did you get past Amnytas's defenses so easily...?

Waiting Sorrow: I built these defenses.

<Character name>: So, how do you want to go about this?

Waiting Sorrow: I'll follow behind—let you mingle first. Might trigger a war if I walk through the door before his ego is properly fluffed.

Waiting Sorrow: Oh-wait. Wayfinder. Before we throw another log on the fire...

Waiting Sorrow: Thank you for not telling them.

<Character name>: It's not my story to tell. But you should.

Isgarren: "She informs us that there are not two, but three. All of which survived the encounter... Two are weak, the third...unsure."

Anise: Excellent timing, Commander. I take it you won't need an update, given your participation in recent events.

Dagda: Can you shut the door behind you, Wayfinder?

After closing the doors of War Room.

<Character name>: Who let you into the Wizard's Tower war room, Countess?

Anise: Isgarren, by suggestion of the alliance. I'm aiding in the Astral Ward's acclimation to modern Tyrian affairs.

Isgarren: So, they all live? I imagine that you didn't simply allow that to happen. What were the circumstances?

Dagda: What has your mood smelling like an elder's backside?

<Character name>: We almost had the two defeated, but a third intervened. She was strong...and a bit more cunning than the other two.

Isgarren: Disappointing, but rational. What of your second mission, Wayfinder?

<Character name>: The titans kept me occupied. I'm still working on it.

Isgarren: Fine. I suppose our clock bears too many hands.

Dagda: What second mission?

Cinematic

Isgarren: The titan imperatrix... A foe I did not expect.

Countess Anise: That threat should be conquerable, so long as we continue to get along...

Dagda: Tyria united... It still sounds like a fable.

Isgarren: Mostly united. But, it's true. And we need to nurture those bonds. They cannot fail.

(Door opens)

Isgarren: When a door is shut, you should leave it that way.

Dagda: Sorrow.

Waiting Sorrows: Ren.

After cinematic

Isgarren: You lied to me. That's new. Did she fill your mind with wild theories and hypocrisy?

Waiting Sorrow: Don't be dramatic, Ren. You know they're beyond simple manipulation. And I didn't come here for a fight.

Talking to Isgarren

Isgarren: Explain yourself, Wayfinder. Now.

You told me she was a threat. I don't see one.

Did you expect me to detain her myself? I brought her to you!

Whatever qualms you have about her are unrelated to me.

(All three responses led to the same dialogue)

Isgarren: I'll deal with you later. So...how did you get inside?

Waiting Sorrow: The tower's always liked me best; you know that.

Dagda: Waiting Sorrow... You're...

Waiting Sorrow: My dearest friend, I'm fine. And I have stories to tell you.

Isgarren: Stories? The cause of this whole titan incursion may fall at your feet, and you want to tell stories?

Waiting Sorrow: Your instinct to make everything an intellectual brawl has always been exhausting.

Isgarren: Then explain.

Dagda: So help me, Isgarren, I will open a gateway and lock you in Abaddon's cell for a century.

Waiting Sorrow: It's fine, Dagda. His alarm isn't unwarranted. I...left you all. I abandoned the Astral Ward. I didn't say why.

Waiting Sorrow: Jormag raged in the north, threatening the highland and lowland kodan. They needed me.

Waiting Sorrow: But when Jormag fell, the storms calmed. My mind was stilled. I couldn't return yet, though. I needed them... My people.

Waiting Sorrow: My presence during the titan attack was purely happenstance. I sought to remedy it, but then your wayfinder tracked me down.

Waiting Sorrow: All who knew my identity were asked to conceal it. But I always planned on coming here to settle affairs.

Waiting Sorrow: While I was not the cause... I have an inkling of what was. And I don't know how concerning it is.

<Character name>: Oh? You didn't even share this with me.

Waiting Sorrow: The business of wizards should remain in the court. Isgarren, where is Mabon?

Isgarren: Dead. A year ago. You could've mourned with us.

Waiting Sorrow: I felt it.

Isgarren: Dagda, escort the countess and wayfinder home. Waiting Sorrow and I need to speak. Alone.

After leaving War Room.

<Character name>: What next...?

(Optional) Talking to Anise

<Character name>: How did you get involved in all of... this?

Anise: It was Livia. A perk of having friends with their fingers in too many pies.

Anise: She introduced me to Mabon privately. He was scouting new recruits for his little guild of mesmers.

Anise: I joined, if only to keep tabs for the queen. We were an eccentric group—hosting lavish luncheons, investigating magic anomalies.

Anise: Mabon treats...treated the whole thing like a passion project or a beloved hobby. He was one of the founders, after all.

<Character name>: Sounds like the ideal place for him to...uh, "let his hair down."

Anise: You joke, but I saw what he looked like under that golden dome on numerous occasions.

<Character name>: And?

Anise: Nothing that bears repeating.

Anise: I happen to know you're friendly with a certain Mister Goldclaw, and I would not sully Mabon's memory so soon.

<Character name>: Fair enough. He would've been glad to see you here, with or without his helmet.

Anise: I wish I'd trusted him sooner; gods know he's earned that now.

(Optional) Talking to Dagda

<Character name>: Hey... You okay?

Dagda: I'm... Every day that passed since she left us, I thought she was dead.

Dagda: I thought that Jormag might've killed her. That she traveled into the Mists, no intention of returning. I thought...

Dagda: None of that matters. She lives. Waiting Sorrow lives.

Dagda: I don't know how you did it, Wayfinder. But you brought her back.

Dagda: Thank you.

My Story

“ Following the fight, I met with my allies back at Harvest Den. After all our research, all our struggle...nothing is dead. An airship could've crashed outside, and the mood would still be solemn. Caithe had already informed Dagonet and the alliance, and Poky was just about ready to kick down a wall in frustration as Malice talked him down. We're all disappointed, but we're alive. I was surprised to see Waiting Sorrow there, too. Stoic Alder explained that Fading Aurora had mysteriously turned back up—a small blessing on a sour day. Sorrow's identity was secure—at least for now. For the sake of the kodans' clarity of mind in trying times, holding her reveal until a calmer moment feels critical. Learning that their friendly healer from the Shiverpeaks is a millennia-old wizard might not be the existential realization they need...and Alder and Poky don't even know about whole "missing Voice" part yet, either. While everyone reflected on the battle, Waiting Sorrow asked me to accompany her back to the Wizard's Tower. With ambiguity looming on the horizon, keeping herself hidden from Isgarren any longer would only complicate things. I agreed, and she opened a portal for us to cross through. *** When we arrived in the familiar, crisp air of the Wizard's Tower, I asked how she managed to get past Isgarren's defenses. Very matter-of-factly, she told me that she cast those defenses herself. Waiting Sorrow is no threat to the Wizard's Tower. Before entering the War Room where Isgarren waited, Sorrow thanked me for not telling Stoic Alder and Poised Arrow about her darker history. It's simply not my story to tell, but she should, soon. Between Poised Arrow, Stoic Alder, and Isgarren... I don't envy her situation, but I do empathize. When I entered the War Room, I was surprised to see Anise fully at home, going over intel with Isgarren and Dagda. During every stage of this journey, I've both been surprised and completely accepting of the countess's involvement with the Wizard's Court. If anyone knew about them before the rest of the world, it'd be her. When Isgarren looked to me for news on Sorrow's status, I played ignorant, knowing all too well that his target would be walking through that door... And then she did. Dagda's jaw dropped to the floor as Sorrow entered the war room. Instead of launching himself at her, which would've been a fascinating battle to witness, Isgarren turned to me instead. Sorrow, exposed and vulnerable, posed no detectable threat to him, but Isgarren sought to assign blame. I let him be mad. I'm the one who brought her back, after all—I just didn't bother with chains or shackles. The rest was on the two of them. Thankfully, Dagda snarled Isgarren down. Her friend had returned, and she wasn't going to let the room come to blows. When Isgarren's temper finally calmed enough to have a mature conversation, Sorrow's tone dropped. She asked Isgarren if Mabon was dead, and while our ancient friend was gearing up for a guilt trip, Sorrow said that she "felt it." Her words had weight, and even I didn't know what that weight meant. Isgarren picked up on it immediately, though, and asked Dagda to usher the countess and me out of the room without another word. Titans... Missing wizards, now found. Mabon's memory, suddenly suspect. What's going on here? — My story

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Janthir Wilds storyline

Act 1	Prologue: The Tyrian Alliance → Unknown Territory → Diplomacy and Discovery → Home Sweet Home → Missing in Action → Strangers among Lands
Act 2	Storm Clouds over Janthir → Twice Stricken → Finding Balance → Against the Wall → Sorrow in These Halls
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