Quiet Before the Swarm

Quiet Before the Swarm is the first of the three Void Knight quests.

Starting
Speak to Sir Tiffy Cashien to start the quest. He will tell you that a Pest has escaped the Void Knights' Outpost. His job for you is to interview the residents on the island to find out how it could have escaped. Go to the Void Knight Outpost and speak to Commodore Matthias. He can be found in the north-eastern part of the island. He will tell you to speak to Captain Tyr, just south of the house he resides.

After talking to Captain Tyr, he will ask you to talk to many of the residents on the island. There are 9 people you must speak to (not necessarily in order) which are:
 * Knight Ami
 * Knight Bernard
 * Knight Diana
 * Knight Mikhal
 * Jessika
 * Mariah
 * Mrs Gord
 * Squire Sam
 * Terry Gord

To tell which of the people you have already spoken to, view your quest journal.

The accused
After you have spoken to them, return to Captain Tyr. Captain Tyr will then ask you to single out a person who you think has committed a crime. The person that committed the crime is Jessika, the researcher, and the only one who does not interact with the locals. Talk to Jessika and talk to her about the crimes she has committed. She will act suspicious and attempts to deny that you have proof.

Go back to Captain Tyr and he will tell you to return to Commodore Matthias. After talking to Commodore Matthias, he will call in for Jessika and you will be given a potion which will allow you to go into Jessika's mind.

Inside Jessika's mind
In Jessika's mind, you will have to solve a relatively easy slider puzzle. The trick is to put it together from top to bottom. It is easy to see what piece goes where, since when it is completely put together, it forms a square around the picture of the pest. This is made rather simple by the fact that there is an outside border on each tile - the empty space should be in the middle at the end.

Note: If you need to restart, exit through the portal and repeat the cutscene of confronting Jessika

Possible solutions
The puzzle is a picture of a random monster, always a 3x3 puzzle.

Arresting Jessika
After completing the puzzle, you learn Jessika really did release the Pest, and you inform the Void Knights about it. Jessika is arrested, and the Commodore calls a meeting of the highest ranked Knights. You are told to return to Sir Tiffy in Falador,

Sir Tiffy then returns with you to the Docks on Port Sarim. You find Commander Korasi in a stupor, and Sir Tiffy sends Savant to get Lady Table. Tiffy brings you back to Falador, and tells you you must bank all your items (including familiars) before entering the HQ to see Korasi; bank your items, and return to Sir Tiffy, who will teleport you to the HQ.

Bridge and the sword

 * This puzzle relates to the bridge and torch problem.

Note: Logging out during the following portion of the quest will result in you returning to Falador Park, in front of Sir Tiffy.

You find yourself inside a small room with Sir Tiffy and Commander Korasi. Talk to Commander Korasi and you will now find yourself inside a blue plane. You will need to complete a puzzle before you can advance.

The objective of the puzzle is to get all three knights, as well as yourself, across the bridge. However, there are a few hitches. First of all, only two people can go across at a time. The second problem is that the person crossing must have the sword. The third problem is that each person weighs a different amount. The bridge can only handle the weight of 15. Your player weighs 1, Bernard weighs 2, Ami weighs 5, and Diana weighs 8. Lastly, only the heaviest weight is counted when you go across. So if Ami went with Diana, the total weight would only be 8. Here is a possible solution:


 * 1) You cross with Bernard
 * 2) You cross back
 * 3) Ami and Diana cross
 * 4) You let Bernard cross from the other side to you
 * 5) You cross with Bernard

Doing it this way makes the equation for weight 2+1+8+2+2=15.

Ship positions
After completing the bridge puzzle, you will find yourself with the 5 knights who were on the ship: Commodore Matthias, Korasi, Diana, Bernard and Ami. Each of them holds a hint to where the other knights were, what they saw, and what they were thinking about. To complete this puzzle you must correctly match up each person with the hints given by the other knights.

You will know when you have completed the task, as when you fully complete the last NPC, the task will end.

The best way to solve such a riddle is to make a table, such as the example below. The answers vary per player, and will be reset if you log out.

The Pests' attack
After finishing the second puzzle, you go into a cut-scene. You are Korasi, in the hold of the ship. Upon seeing a Torcher, attack it and kill it. After you finish killing it, proceed up the ladder onto the main deck. There you see the other three knights and a squire fighting pests, who are unfortunately killed by them.

A Shifter stops you in the path, forcing you to kill it in order to continue. After killing it, your character automatically goes up the ladder to find Commodore Matthias fighting a Mysterious Figure. Using the last of his energy, he teleports Korasi to Port Sarim which is where you find her. Once the cut-scene is over, talk to Sir Tiffy Cashien. He will tell you to talk to Captain Tyr (Now Commodore Tyr) at the Void Outpost. Travel back to the Void Outpost and speak to him.

Congratulations! Quest complete!

Reward

 * 1 Quest point
 * 4,000 Experience
 * 4,900 Experience
 * Void seal

Music unlocked

 * Mindful - inside Jessika's mind
 * Void Knights' Theme - at the Temple Knights' HQ
 * Lortnoc Tsep - during Korasi's memory

Required for completing
Completion of Quiet Before the Swarm is required for the following:
 * A Void Dance

Trivia

 * On the day of release, the spoiler read: We're currently delving into the developer's mind to help her remember what the rewards are. Back in a jiffy, what?
 * Jessika mentions during the quest that a "Professor Melville" helped her with the Pest that she freed. It is later confirmed in The Void Stares Back that he is Grayzag.
 * When you lag during the last cutscene, you are free to move the screen.
 * The unlock hint of Lortnoc Tsep and Mindful used to say Calm Before The Swarm instead of Quiet Before the Swarm.
 * When Korasi escorts Jessika out of the room during the cutscene, you can still see Korasi's robe at the top of the screen.
 * Before accusing Jessika of letting a pest escape, you can also accuse Knight Ami of stealing money from her sister and Terry Gord of breaking the vase.
 * After completing this quest, your Adventurer's Log will read, Overcoming many challenges, I unlocked Korasi's memory and learned of the pest attack on the Void Knight ship.
 * After solving the puzzle and returning to Void knight headquarters, Jessika will say "I taught it, him, to remove himself from the hive mind." This is a reference to Star Trek: the Next Generation, and a Borg named Hugh.
 * The music during the ending cutscene of Korasi's memory is not an unlockable piece of music.
 * While in Jessika's mind, if one is holding a Faithful shield, the glowing particle effects will appear severely detached.
 * Bot-Nuke day caused a certain bug to take place inside Jessika's mind, due to this, the puzzle pieces are unable to be moved. **This has since been fixed.**