Our journey towards Solteris begins with Prime Researcher Elnot Waymun, found in the room where you port in from the guild hall. When you speak with him he reveals that the magic is failing and they don't know why. Follow the dialog (final key word "pursue") and you will get the first "City in Peril" task. Over the course of the progression you will get many tasks by that name, each sending you to the next rung in the ladder. The first City in Peril (CiP) sends you to chat with Associate Researcher Plik. Doing so completes the CiP and Plik sends you on the task Knowledge for Power to chat with the sphinx about the failing magic.

The sphinx inform you that the power is actually a coduit, and it is the powersource the conduit is tapping which is failing. Return to Elnot and he will give you the next CiP (keyword "travel"), to talk with Associate Researcher Maladoks. Maladoks suggsets you get an etching of an inscription from the Statue of Prexus in Thallasius and sends you on the mission Locating the Statue. When completed, you will get a rubbing of the inscription.

Speaking with Elnot yields another CiP, this time to deliver the copy to Head Mage Antius. Simply give the mage the rubbing and complete the task. The Avatar of Prexus will spawn and give a little speech. It seems that the conduit is powered by Solusek, and if it is failing the problem must be within Solteris itself, but we don't know how to reach it. However, the shissar might. Elnot will then give the next CiP (key word "shissar"), this one sending you to Tactician Sodut. You'll find Sodut just south of the entry room, with the tents.

Sodut will then send you on 3 consecutive missions into Zhisza; The Snakes are Hiding Something!, Counter-Attack!, and Confront Emperor Vaakiszh. With these 3 tasks behind you, we learn that the shissar are getting good with their teleport technology, which we might be able to use to enter Solteris. After killing their leaders we learn that Vaakiszh was a pawn, and the real leader is within Silyssar. Go back to Elnot, who sends you back to Sodut. Sodut gives you the next CiP (keyword "proceed") which sends you to Vizier Zio.

Zio is pretty pissed. It seems there is a schism within the shissar community, and the real emperor had Zhisza assassinated. He agrees to help us get an artifact to channel teleportation in exchange for defeating the real emperor. The first step is gaining entry to the pyramid, which is done with the mission Where There's a Will. Once we know how to get in, we scout the area with mission Slay the Serpent. In this mission we kill what we think is the emperess, but there is a ritual going on to ressurect her. In the final mission, Stop the Ritual, we end things once and for all. Loot a pendant off the corpse of the Empress and return to Elnot.

Elnot gives a final CiP (say "key") to turn in your signet ring and the pendant off the Empress. This gives the signet ring the focus required to work the teleportation into Solteris.