At the End of Our Hope

“

Lord Artoirel seems loath to forgo any opportunity to locate the heretics' hiding place.

— In-game description

Steps

Whatever trail the heretics left is all but certain to be obliterated by the next snowfall, and with it, any hope of tracking the heretics to their refuge. Accordingly, Lord Artoirel assigns you the unenviable task of following the trail alone, while he delivers the wounded knight to Falcon's Nest and rallies reinforcements. Plainly, the young lord is either supremely confident of your abilities, or eager to be rid of you. Begin your search in the area north of Camp Riversmeet, where the knight said the ambush took place.

Within the secret lair hidden below Gorgagne Mills, you are reunited with an old foe: the Lady Iceheart. Before violence can erupt, however, Midgardsormr reveals himself to the heretic leader, who is shocked to see the ancient wyrm in your company. Momentarily sapped of her will to fight, she reveals that she too is blessed with the Echo, and that it allowed her to see the truth of the Dragonsong War through the eyes of Hraesvelgr, one of the first brood. As she shares this revelation, her voice swells with renewed conviction... but when you subsequently remind her of the indiscriminate slaughter committed by the Dravanians whom she helped to breach the wards, her doubts soon resurface. Though she will not forsake her cause, she swears to make things right. But how and when, she does not say...

Moments too late, Lord Artoirel arrives with reinforcements, and the knights set about searching the area. They find no sign of any remaining heretics, however, nor of the Lady Iceheart, whom you allowed to escape.

With the tiniest hint of respect, Lord Artoirel contemplates how difficult it must have been to establish an outpost in so remote a place. In any case, there is little reason to remain, and he seems eager to return to Falcon's Nest.

You will enter a solo duty upon examination of the set of footprints at (x:24.6, y:21.7, z:0.4).

The first enemies for you to fight -- two Wild-eyed Swordsman fighters and a Cane-waving Heretic healer -- will appear after examining the third set of footprints within the duty (x:24.1, y:15.7). Focus down the healer first, then quickly defeat the other two.
A Spineless Heretic lancer will soon join, having much more HP than the previous enemies. He will run away (to X:31 Y:11) after taking enough damage.
- It is recommended that you deal what damage you can during this time, but do not kill him, as he is the only clue to your next objective. It is possible to continue after killing him, but not preferable to following him.
- Enemies that spawn during this chase will stop following you after a short while. Ignore them and keep moving.
The Spineless Heretic will lead you to the basement of a lone building. Four more enemies will spawn here: two swordsmen, a healer, and a Spell-weaving Heretic arcanist. As before, focus down the healer first, then the two swordsmen. You can then take down the beefier arcanist and lancer without distraction.
Once all enemies in the basement are defeated, interact with the destination marker to complete the duty.