This is part of the Tears of Veeshan Crafting/Housing Preview for the expansion that will be released on November 12, 2013. This quest is unlocked by completing both the "Fond Memories" crafting quest in Cardin Ward (Obol Plains) and The Captain's Lament from the Isle of Mara. (The quest NPC will not even be visible until you meet the requirements.)

Rewards: in addition to the usual (xp, aa, coin), the officially listed rewards are 10 Far Seas Trading Company Tokens, one house item book "Far Seas Research: Draconic Influences, and a Sokokar Airstrider flying mount. Additionally, you will receive the ability to harvest eight different tree items, and the recipe for the Fish Oil Candle. Rather than slam you with a ton of images that I already have posted elsewhere, I'm going to refer you over to the ToV Crafting Quest Rewards page to take a look at all those items.

Required Materials:

• 1 iridium cluster
• 1 panther meat
• 2 plump haddock
• 2 cutthroat trout
• 5 effulgent candle

After you have finished the quest requirements listed in the top paragraph, you can find Steve Echgar in Cardin Ward (Obol Plains) at -299, 13, -15.

You say, "Hail, Steve Echgar"

Steve Echgar says to you, "Hail! You must be ____, Ethan mentioned your assistance. I have to say it's a bit frightening to be in Ethernere surrounded by the dead."

You say to Steve Echgar, "It is definitely an unsettling place. I see that you've been able to travel here safely, though, I'm glad the device worked. Where is Ethan?"

Steve Echgar says to you, "He said he wanted to talk to you again, but he just left here; said he overheard something unusual was happening at the druid ring and went to investigate."

You say to Steve Echgar, "Thanks, I'll take a look for him. Stay safe!"

STOP. If you have completed The Return of a Gathering Obsession for your pack pony, do not run off quite yet. You will want to keep talking to him to pick up A Gathering Obsession Beyond the Grave.

Ok, you may proceed to run about Cardin Ward now asking questions of three of the NPCs that you have already interacted with in this quest series, and one new one for good measure.

Catha Firebolt says to you, "Ahoy again! Back for more? I think we're going all right for now."

You say to Catha Firebolt, "Actually, I'm trying to find a tall, dark skinned human man in a tan colored Far Seas Trading Company tunic. Have you seen him?"

Catha Firebolt says to you, "Afraid not, but I'll let you know if I do!"

You say to Catha Firebolt, "Thanks."

You say, "Hail, Baelfang"

Baelfang says to you, "You look as if you're looking for something."

You say to Baelfang, "Someone, actually. I'm trying to find a tall, dark skinned human man in a tan colored Far Seas Trading Company tunic. Have you seen him?"

Baelfang says to you, "Hmm ... maybe a while ago, but not lately. Sorry!"

You say to Baelfang, "Thanks anyway."

You say, "Hail, Taldar D'Aryth"

Taldar D'Arythsays to you, "Innoruuk's blessings. How goes it?"

You say to Taldar D'Aryth, "Actually, I'm trying to find a tall, dark skinned human man in a tan colored Far Seas Trading Company tunic. Have you seen him?"

Taldar D'Aryth/a says to you, "Hmmm.... sounds vaguely familiar. I think I saw someone like that writing up some notes at the engraved desks a little while ago."

You say to Taldar D'Aryth, "Thanks, I'll check there."

You'll find Myrianna standing near the above-mentioned engraved desks.

You say, "Hail, Myrianna"

Myrianna says to you, "May I assist you?"

You say to Myrianna, "I'm looking for a tall, dark skinned human man in a tan colored Far Seas Trading Company tunic. Have you seen him?"

Myrianna says to you, "Yes, he was in here fairly recently using the desk over there. He rather rudely interrupted a conversation about the recent changes to the druid rings."

You say to Myrianna, "Something has changed?"

Myrianna says to you, "Yes, we recently detected a blast of magical energy and a shift in the teleport forces. It appears a new region of Ethernere has become accessible. They're calling it the Vesspyr Isles."

You say to Myrianna, "And the Far Seas man was interested in this news? Thank you for the information."

So, it looks like you should access a druid ring and head up to the Vesspyr Isles. (Far upper left of the world map.)

Once you have arrived at the druid ring in the Daarpsire area of the Vesspyr Isles, you will want to fly north to the Falinpol tower. (For information about crafter travel in the ToV expansion, you might want to check out ToV Travel for the Crafter) Once you have entered the tower, look for Roy. If you can't find him around the edges of the room, but can see his quest book, you will need to step into the center of the room to be teleported up.

You say, "Hail, Roy"

Roy says to you, "Nothing going on here, just uh.... doing some research on the Harrowing Horde. Before I go to meet my maker."

You say to Roy, "Hey, I know you're not dead, you're one of Ethan's crew, right? I'm _____."

Roy says to you, "Oh, right! I didn't think you looked dead. I'm trying to avoid notice. The living aren't supposed to be here. Fortunately, most of them seem too busy fighting off those Horde types to pay attention."

You say to Roy, "So why ARE you here, anyway? You can't sell things to the dead."

Roy says to you, "Maybe, but we can learn! Look at all these books! The knowledge of the dead is limitless. So many things the living have forgotten, or that went with its maker to the grave. There could be profit in these shelves!"

You say to Roy, "Of course, silly me. Anyway, I'm looking for Captain Ethan. Have you seen him?"

Roy says to you, "I think he went to the lower level. He's very interested in what can be learned about dragons."

You say to Roy, "Thank you."

Step into the center of the tower to be teleported to the lower level.

You say, "Hail, Claudia"

Claudia says to you, "Salutations. I am Claudia."

You say to Claudia, "Hello, I'm ____. I heard Captain Ethan was looking for me, have you seen him?"

Claudia says to you, "I've been studying exactly that, in fact. If you're going to head out there looking for the Captain anyway, perhaps you could help me out by gathering some information at the same time?"

You say to Claudia, "Sure, what do you need?"

Claudia says to you, "It seems the isles are being influenced by the spirit of the dragon that's on them. I'd like to understand how this happens. Bring me a plant from each of the main isles, so I can study it."

You say to Claudia, "Sounds simple enough, I can do that while looking for Ethan."

This next bit can be dangerous, so make note of the following before you run off ...

• You will be looking for a harvestable "Vesspyr Willow" or "Vesspyr Shrub", depending on the island
• These can be tracked using the track harvestable ability, and one of the best methods for a squishy to do so is to fly from island to island with track harvestables open so you can spot them more easily
• You will need 425 harvesting skill to harvest these trees and shrubs
• Ample harvest can kick in, and since Claudia only needs 1 of each, extras are yours.
• Don't bank/sell/place them until the later step in the quest when she claims her needed one of each from you, so that you make sure you have everything that you need for the quest update.
• These are "usually" near the edges of the islands, and, other than Daarspire, are likely pretty close to aggro, so proceed accordingly.
• You will continue to be able to harvest these trees and shrubs after the quest is completed, so please don't be too crazy greedy for house items in the first couple of days that the expansion is out, so other folks can get their quest updates. :)

So you're flying, and you're chopping trees, and you're flying, and you're chopping, and you're shaking off aggro, and you're tracking and flying and chopping. While they all will be named Vesspyr Willow or Vesspyr Shrub in tracking and targeting, the item that you get from each location will be different:

• Falinpol/Daarspire: Frosty Vesspyr Willow
• Aeterna Gardens**: Vesspyr Shrub
• Veeshenna Tol: Dark-veined Vesspyr Willow
• Sothshae: Russet Vesspyr Willow
• Blightscale: Dead Vesspyr Willow
• Droumlands: Indigo Vesspyr Willow
• Karak Peak: Lavender Vesspyr Willow
• Veiled Thessk: Golden Vesspyr Willow

(**Note that if you get too close to Wuoshi on Aeterna Gardens without doing a certain adventuring quest, you'll get pushed away and may end up in aggro, so approach from out in open air and edge around carefully if it is near him.

Once you have collected the trees and shrubs from the eight locations mentioned, you are ready to look for Ethan, who happens to be on Veiled Thessk (so you may as well save that island's tree for last!) He's pretty close to some aggro spiders, so aproach carefully.

Well, that doesn't look good, does it?

You say, "Hail, Captain Ethan"

Captain Ethan says to you, "___, thank goodness you're here! I need your help to rescue my faithful mount here from these horrible cobwebs!"

You say to Captain Ethan, "What can I do?"

Captain Ethan says to you, "I've been trying to cut them away, but they seem impervious to steel. I need you to fly back to my crew and ask Kate. She's got something that I think may work. "

You say to Captain Ethan, "I'll go find Kate right away."

You're going to get really tired of flying back and forth, aren't you? :D

You say, "Hail, Kate"

Kate says to you, "Hello dear, what can I do for you?"

You say to Kate, "Captain Ethan sent me. His flying mount got trapped in some cobwebs, and he thinks you'll know a way to free her?"

Kate says to you, "Yes indeed, I have just the thing. Never been able to abide spiders myself, so I invented a specially imbued candle that dissolves cobwebs safely and harmlessly. Ethan used to laugh at me for it. He'll have to bite his tongue now!"

You say to Kate, "I'm sure he'll be extremely grateful. May I have the candle for Ethan?"

Kate says to you, "I don't have any with me, but I'll give you my recipe. It should be easy enough for a crafter of your talents to make. It'll take a little while to work, but I guarantee it! Poor Ethan, he'll be frantic. That sokokar mount of his recently had a drakeling whelp she'll need to get back to."

You say to Kate, "Many thanks, Kate."

She'll hand you a recipe for her Fish Oil Candle, which can be crafted at the nearby alchemy table. This recipe will stay in your book after the quest is completed, so you can make some of this house item for yourself if you wish. Once you have finished crafting the candle, fly back to Veiled Thessk again.

You say, "Hail, Captain Ethan"

Captain Ethan says to you, "Were you able to find Kate?"

You say to Captain Ethan, "Yes, and she had me make this cobweb dissolving candle for you. She said it would take a little while to work, but she guarantees it."

Captain Ethan says to you, "Oh, blessings of Prexus. Thank you, Zatrisy, you're a lifesaver. I'm in your debt. Please tell the others I'll be back at the tower as soon as Judith here is free. Oh, and give these notes to Claudia for me, I'm sure she's impatiently waiting for them."

You say to Captain Ethan, "Will do. Take care, I hope to see you back at the tower soon."

Now you will fly back to Falinpol again and find Claudia, the lady who sent you out looking for plants (trees) earlier. This is the point where she takes the eight trees and shrubs from your inventory. (You DID keep them in inventory as I recommended above, right? :D)

You say, "Hail, Claudia"

Claudia says to you, "You have returned. Did you have any luck gathering some plants for me?"

You say to Claudia, "Yes, I have brought you plant samples, and also some notes from Ethan."

Claudia says to you, "Ah, this is excellent indeed, thank you ____! I hope that studying the tissues of these plants will reveal more about the dragons and their powers. And Ethan's notes too. Most valuable research."

You say to Claudia, "Good luck with your studies."

Claudia says to you, "Oh, wait a minute. He's also included a note that I should pay for your time. Oh, and he says Judith's drakeling is ready for a new home, and would you take care of it?"

You say to Claudia, "Er, I suppose so? I'll certainly do my best. Thank you."

Phew! That's a long one!

There is one more short quest, Construct Deconstruction, to this series, and then you're done, other than the dailies in Cardin Ward, and the weeklies in Falinpol.