Finishing the Facility Hub
Sure, I finished it about 20 levels later than intended. But I did! The last level gate on the last quest location from the hub was level 45 after all. I’m now 66 (although I was 65 when I wrapped up the Hub). I sort of got myself a tad distracted working through other goals and self-improvement projects.
But I was close! Very close. When I broke away from the Facility hub last time, I only had three more quests to complete.
1) Dryreach — A town besieged by Hea Tumerok in training. Quest for this area bugged on the emulators currently. :( 
2) Collect the Iron Crown of Baron Nuvillus. 
3) Collect information on a new threat to the world – the Burun – and have it translated.
As noted in the caption — the quest for Dryreach was broken, it seemed. However even though I completely forgot to pick-up a key for the fortified gates before leaving, I discovered I can now jump right over the wall. Although only if I buff myself specifically with Jump Mastery V, I couldn’t quite make it otherwise.
Somewhere between another 20-30 points invested in the Jump skill (or the equivalent in Strength and Co-ordination) and I won’t need that extra cast to get over such walls any more.
In any case — after a little fun jumping in and out of the ostensibly fortified town, I headed back to the hub to see what was next.
I’m tasked with ripping the Crown of Bone off the now undead-monster from within this castle. Baron Nuvillus is his name. As you might be able to spot in the mini-map in the image though is that the place is aswarm with nasties.
In fact not much more than a few steps forward past where this screenshot was taken sends a number of undead hurtling toward me.
Of course, they don’t worry me! Bone Lords? Knights? Pfffttt. I’ve been to the Direlands, I’ll have you know. (I even managed to kill a level 160! Although I did have to run away and come back a few times. >.> … It was worth ~1.5mil XP for the kill though. So I’m not sure. Possibly the stress of killing those things is worth it? Anywho, this is a story for another day.)
Anywho, I knock down the animated bone sacks fairly quickly and work my way upwards until I finally come across… Baron Nuvillus. He has a flaming sword, not something I was prepared for the first time actually. I had buffed for all physical damage and acid, but whoever heard of the undead using fire? Tis cheating, really.
Anywho, I bravely jumped from castle walls (very different from retreating you see), buffed appropriately and came back with a highland charge. Nuvillus — baron or no — went down and I rather tentatively picked up the Crown in question. Tentatively because… Well, the description said it was made out of fingers. Eiw.
That just left one more place to do.
There is a lot of lore to be found here. Only it isn’t in Roulean — the common language your character understands — nor is it in Dericostian, Falatacot, Yalaini or any other language the translators of your people are used to working with.
Fortunately for you, after you’re done collecting about all the etched and stinky hides and tomes you desire, there is a Tumerok freed of the Virindi influence who can help.
I was actually somewhat interested as I never investigated the Burun story on what their coming foretold during the live game experience. They were in as a monster type before I left for good, if I recall rightly. But their story must have just been getting started.
I’m still piecing much of it together myself — but it sounds like the Bur homeworld was ravaged by firestorms (possibly meteors?) some time in the past. The Falatacot meddled as they were wont to do, thinking themselves above everyone and everything. I’m unclear yet whether the Burun learnt Blood Magic from the Falatacot, but it seems likely.
In any case, handing in one of Elysa’s gifts that I received in reward for getting even this much translated marked the end of my interaction with the ‘quest’ part of the Facility Hub. I’m now free to turn my access gem in to learn the permanent recall spell version if I so so wish.
But perhaps more interestingly, I now possess what is known as a ‘hub kit’, wherein the marker items that indicate completion of each step from level 10 through to 45 are in a bag on a mule that I can, if so desired, hand over to alts to gain a slew of XP (Around level 37-38ish doing this alone).
So far I have no particular plans for another alt — but one day, I may well wish to supplement my Archer with a Mage and/or Melee character. :)
