Then and Now, Here and There

Overview

Summary

1. Travel to the ruins in the Diessa Lowlands.
2. Defeat the Charr guarding the ruins to free the prisoners. You have 4...0 groups remaining.
3. Reassure the Charr's prisoners.
4. Find Dahgar the Eye of Flame in Old Ascalon and destroy him.
5. Find Gwen's hidden treasure in the ruins of Ashford.
6. Bring news of the Charr's defeat to Duke Barradin in Piken Square.

Obtained from

Gwen in Hall of Monuments

Requirements

Tapestry Shred in inventory

Prophecies Character

The Missing Vanguard

Gwen is required in the party

Reward

• 15,000 XP
• Gwen's Flute (unique) (Not stated in quest log)

Dialogue (Gwen)

"Ah, <name>, how I treasured this little shred of tapestry as a child. I remember the day I gave it to you. For you to have held on to it for so many years... well, it warms my heart to know I was not forgotten. Please, allow me to hold it once more. I wish to keep it as a token of our friendship. So long as I hold this, I will know that there are some things in life that cannot be taken away from you.

There's something I would like to give you in return. I didn't think the day would come for me to say this, but we must return to my home... our home... to Ascalon. We must head to the Diessa Lowlands, where I was held prisoner for a time. I have something hidden there, that I want you to have. Will you accompany me?"

Accept: "Together again!"

Reject: "I don't have time for childish fancies."

Intermediate Dialogue 1

Gwen: "These ruins were once a great temple. I think that's why the Charr used it as a temporary prison. Every passing second, our presence was nothing but a reminder of a destroyed past and a denied future, built on top of a monument to our broken faith."

Gwen: "I have never known a creature more hateful than the Charr. Had I not escaped from them, I would be dead by now. Or worse, a prisoner."

Gwen: "Before the Ebon Vanguard found me, I was little more than a scavenger. Although I had an empty stomach, my mind was filled with thoughts of vengeance."

Gwen: "Now that I find myself here, these broken pillars do not seem as tall or frightening as once they did. Wait, do you hear that? There are people here! If the Charr are still using this place to hold prisoners, then we must free them!"

Intermediate Dialogue 2

Duke Barradin: "Hail! To whom do we owe our lives?"

Gwen: "We are from the Ebon Vanguard."

Duke Barradin: "The Ebon Vanguard! It has been long since we heard word from them. We thought you had all been lost."

Gwen: "Not destroyed, just beset on all sides by foes. I see the Charr still plague these lands..."

Farrah Cappo: "We have continued to fight those monsters since the Searing, and for a time we were gaining ground. But lately, the Charr have become fiercer, unlike those we have fought in the past. Every day, they push further into our lands."

Duke Barradin:"The Charr nearly sit outside of Ascalon City's walls. If we do not fight, then who will? Unfortunately we were overrun, which is how we came to find ourselves here... I will have the head of Dahgar the Eye of Flame yet."

Gwen:"Wait... you couldn't have... did you say Dahgar the Eye of Flame?"

Duke Barradin:"I did. He's the monster that has led these Charr into a renewed assault on our land. Does the name mean something to you, lass?"

Gwen:"Yes... yes, it means something. Do you have any idea where that demon is?"

Farrah Cappo:"When last we saw him, he was heading toward Old Ascalon. Our unit was not enough to stop him. If he has reached the walls, I fear for the safety of Ascalon City."

Gwen:"Then we must head to Old Ascalon at once!"

Intermediate Dialogue 3

Dahgar the Eye of Flame: "So predictable.... Threaten their holes, and all of the little mice scamper out."

Gwen: "Silence, you thrice-damned monster! I will have your heart in compensation for the one that you broke!"

Intermediate Dialogue 4

Gwen: "As a child, I found myself haunted by the sight of his remorseless eyes staring into my own... and then nothingness. When the world appeared to me again, I was seeing it for the first time as a prisoner. For all the horrors I have witnessed while under the captivity of the Charr, few compare to the murderous visage of the one who took me from everything that I knew. That was Dahgar."

Gwen: "You will torment me no longer, demon. As you have taken from me, I have taken from you. A life for a life."

Gwen: "But I must apologize.... I did not mean to drag you here for my own personal vendetta. There is something I mean to give you, but I had to see to the safety of my homeland first. Come, we go to the ruins of Ashford... to my old home."

Intermediate Dialogue 5

Gwen: "There was something that I buried here... I don't remember exactly where. Could you kneel down and help me search?"

Intermediate Dialogue 6

Gwen: "Do you remember this? It is the flute you gave me all those years ago. I lost the broken pieces of my first flute during the searing, and did not want to lose your gift."

Gwen: "I hid it here in the hopes it would not be lost to me after the Searing...."

Gwen: "As you have allowed me to keep this tapestry shred, allow me to return to you the flute, as a sign of our friendship. We have lost a great deal, but some things will endure. We will see this war through to its end. We will bring peace to these lands, and I will see them as beautiful as they once were."

Gwen: "There are many battles ahead, . [sic] We should see Duke Barradin in Piken Square, and deliver him the news of the Charr's defeat. After that, we should return to the north. The Ebon Vanguard... and the future we need to forge, are waiting for us!"

Reward Dialogue

"You say that Dahgar the Eye of Flame is dead? Perhaps defeating a monster so terrible as that one will break the will of the Charr that followed him. Ascalon will continue to do what she always has: fight to protect herself, and her own. Do not worry yourself with our affairs, <name>. I know that you have your own battles to fight. May Dwayna watch over you and illuminate the paths you walk upon."

Walkthrough

Take Gwen and other heroes and leave from Nolani Academy. This area will now be filled with level 20 Charr as they appear in the Charr Homelands, however they aren't as large in groups so you have a better chance. Follow the quest marker to the ruins and carefully begin to pick off the Charr groups from a distance. The ranger Charr boss is still the same level he always was so he's an easy morale boost if you need it. This shouldn't cause any major problems, even with a single healer, if you have someone who can attack at range, it will help greatly in taking out Charr from where they cannot get to you thanks to the map layout.

Upon defeating the Charr you'll free Duke Barradin and Farrah Cappo who will inform you of the new boss in Old Ascalon. Leave from Sardelac Sanitarium and go south, taking out the Charr carefully as you go (They are level 20 here too). The boss is lightly guarded and can be taken out without many problems. Once you do this, Gwen will take you to where Farmer Dirk kept his pigs in Ashford and ask you to kneel and search for something. Doing this gives you Gwen's Flute (unique) and a conversation with Gwen about her friendship with the character. To finish the quest, talk to the Duke in Piken Square.

Notes

• The flute she gives you is supposedly the same one the player gave to Gwen in Pre-Searing, only now it's become a mesmer focus.
• She will remove the Tapestry Shred from your inventory upon accepting this quest. Do not abandon this quest unless you are prepared to get another!
• This quest finally answers the popular question about the point of Gwen's quest items.
• Dahgar the Eye of Flame was Gwen's torturer in the Bonus Mission Pack's The Flight North. It could be possible that Gwen wanted personal revenge on Dahgar for all the years she had suffered.

Trivia

• This quest's title is very likely a reference to the anime series Now and Then, Here and There (original Japanese name: 今、そこにいる僕 Ima, Soko ni Iru Boku).