The fourth quest in the Dorgeshuun line, focusing on goblin history and religion.
Grubfoot, the assistant to Wartface and Bentnoze, the one who declared Zanik the Chosen Commander, has had another vision. He saw a goblins living on a peaceful swamp world, which he knew to be Yu'biusk, the plane the goblinoid races originated from. Grubfoot believes that it's Zanik's destiny as the Chosen Commander to lead the goblins back to peace in Yu'biusk.
You and Zanik investigate Yu'biusk at the secret goblin temple to the Big High War God, since the high priest probably knows about it. Zanik gets herself in a spot of bother over her athiest, pacifist ways and her lack of knowledge about goblin religion and has to teleport back to Dorgesh-Kaan, and you have to turn yourself into a goblin to gain entry.
If you can answer a quiz about goblin religion, then the High Priest will answer your questions. He can tell you the Big High War God's name (Bandos), and why only six out of the original twelve tribes have rooms in the temple (The other six have dissolved in the time between Bandos's exile and the present), but he isn't much help about Yu'biusk. He thinks his predecessor might know, but that guy's dead. Luckily, goblins use a special magic when interring their high priests so their successors can call them back for advice.
After sneaking into the burial chamber, you call upon the five high priests buried there (all the way back to Strongbones, the guy who invented the technique). Each successive goblin wears a more fancy headdress, is a better combatant, speaks better english, and knows more about Yu'Biusk. The final goblin priest, Strongbones, knows that it's another plane of existence, and if you can break planar boundaries, goblin blood will call out to Yu'biusk.
You, Zanik, and Oldak manage to use a fairy ring south of Dorgesh-Kaan to travel to Yu'biusk, and find...
...A blasted wasteland surrounded by toxic seas. There's no trace left of the beautiful, fertile place Grubfoot saw in his dream. That was Yu'biusk before Bandos got there, took the peaceful inhabitants as his soldiers, and generally had his way there for millennia. The only actual feature is a strange box, which you and Zanik open- only for Zanik to be sucked in!
You and Oldak have to escape quickly before his unstable portal closes, and he can't open it again. Whatever hazards Zanik might face on the goblins' homeworld, she'll have to face them on her own.
Tropes
- Cassandra Truth: After The Bird and the Beast, you have the option to tell the high priest that Bandos is dead. He won't believe you.
- Chaotic Stupid: Bandos's commandments are essentially 'Fight everyone that isn't already on your side, never retreat or show mercy, never doubt me, and never make your own plans'. When Bandos was still active on Gilenor, this made them the perfect army for him since they would never have issues with morale, question his orders, or screw with his plans by acting independently, but now that he's gone, this is the reason they're a disorganized rabble unable to get their act together long enough to do more than organize raids. Before he intervened at the battle of the Plain of Mud, the goblins turned to fighting each other just because they didn't have enough enemies.
- The Chosen One: This quest reveals more details of the Chosen Commander prophecy- after stopping the goblins from killing each other off at the Plain of Mud, he promised that even though he was denying them war now, someday he would send the Chosen Commander to lead the goblins into war with the rest of the world.
- Downer Ending: The Yu'biusk you were searching for doesn't exist any more, having been turned dark and inhospitable, and Zanik is teleported to Bandos-knows-where while exploring it and is trapped.
- My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Grubfoot is the only known pacifist surface goblin.
- Religion of Evil: Bandosian religion glorifies mindless, brutal war and discourages free thinking and cleverness. Anyone who doesn't follow the Commandments is to be summarily executed. The whole thing was basically designed to keep Bandosians in their role as cannon fodder for Bandos.
- Speak of the Devil: Goblins aren't allowed to say the Big High War God's name, except for priests on holy days. Other Bandosian races don't have this prohibition.
- Vestigial Empire: Well, not exactly an empire, but the earlier goblins seem to have been smarter, more well-informed, and better fighters, unlike the current generation of Cannon Fodder. It's hinted that they eventually degenerated into today's goblins because of Bandos's prohibition on thinking for themselves.
- You No Take Candle: Standard for goblins. Averted by the earlier High Priests, who speak grammatically perfect english and get more eloquent as you go back.
