Suggested Level: 17

Harkhuf Held Hostage¶

There’s only one more sidequests in the Sais area, and to start it you need merely return to Harkhuf’s home, only to find the place has been ransacked. Jeska will inform you that Harkhuf is now enjoying Sefetu’s hospitality, the fruits of which she bears testament to on her skin to this day. Bayek resolves to rescue Harkhuf from Sefetu’s stronghold to the southeast, Fort Nikiou.

Ptolemy Statue¶

Head to Siwa’s southern end and follow the prominent road running south from Siwa - the one that runs between Camp Pyrrhos (to the east of the road) and Psenemphaia Hideout (to the west). Follow the road as it turns southeast, then east until you reach a four-way intersection, at which you’ll find a Ptolemy Statue you may as well destroy. You know, since it’s on the way and all.

Nikiou Fort¶

Finish your journey to Fort Nikiou and when you get close, scout the place out with Senu and… well, it’s the largest fortress you’ve encountered thus far. The place is huge, with respectable walls surrounded the exterior and a restricted zone that extends beyond the walls, themselves. On the ground around the walls you’ll find guards, as well as on the walls themselves, and of course within the confines of the actual fort. All in all there are over thirty soldiers, including two captains (level 17), a commander (level 18) and many lesser soldiers (levels 15-16).

There are two alarm braziers, one on the southeastern wall, and one on the interior of the fort, near the large central structure, on a watch tower. Also on the southeastern exterior of the fort is the watery passage through which Jeska crawled during her escape, and it’s a means of entering the fort without drawing attention. Once you’re inside, your position is less favorable however, and you’ll need to mind crocodiles along the way. All things considered, there’s not a great incentive to use the secret entrance.

There are a lot of soldiers in the fort, but given the sheer size of the place, their density usually isn’t high, especially on the walls. As with the Akra Garrison, you can usually sneak your way across the walls, picking off enemies opportunistically with your bow and, to a lesser extent, with the hidden dagger. Also like with the Akra Garrison there are a number of ballistae which you can grab and turn on the soldiers of the fort.

Scanning the area carefully with Senu will make infiltrating the fort much safer, as unexpected surprises can bring more trouble upon you than you can handle. Scaling the southeastern wall and clearing it of enemies isn’t terribly hard, after which you should work your way down the walls on either side of the fort to the northwest, then follow them over to the structure where Harkhuf is being held captive. Clear the building, but before you rescue Harkhuf, one enemy needs to be discussed.

There’s a captain (level 17) that stands near the caged civilians just outside (southeast of) the building where Harkhuf is being held captive. This massive mountain of a man fights with polearm, giving him great reach, and he also benefits from high damage and a quite a bit of Health. He’s the strongest foe you’ve likely faced so far unless you’ve had the misfortune (or morbid curiousity) to run into a Phylakes. Don’t expect a hidden blade assassination to take him out, much less a headshot, although slicing him up with a full Sickle Sword and a full Overpower bar might do the trick. Start out the fight right (with either a headshot or an assassination attempt), empty your Warrior Bow and Light Bow into him, and if he’s getting the upper hand, flee. Above all, make sure he doesn’t have any support, and don’t fight him in an enclosed space.

When everything in the southeastern half of the fort has been slain, enter the building where Harkhuf is being held captive and talk to him through the trapdoor to learn that Sefetu has the key required to get him out. Good. Would be a shame to leave him alive. The building Sefetu is in is to the northwest of the prison, it’s the largest building in the fort, and there’s bound to be a few guards on the ground around it, and in the bottom floor. Sefetu is fond of sitting on a throne he keeps outside, which makes him an easy target for archery, but if you can kill his guards you can simply climb up below him and assassinate him. However you do it, grab the Prison Key he drops, but don’t go back to Harkhuf yet. To facilitate your eventual escape, you’ll want the area to be as enemy-free as possible, and to that end, exterminate the rest of the enemies in the northwestern half of the fort. Get to that Alarm Brazier if you can just to take it off the table, and make sure you kill the guards beyond the wall, as well. When that’s taken care of, free Harkhuf, after which you’ll be expected to escort him safely out of the fort. Harkhuf isn’t waiting, and will quickly sneak through southwestern gate. The only thing that could go wrong now - besides negligence on your part - is if a patrol rides by, but there’s no use in worrying about things outside of your control. Follow Harkuf until he feels safe, then talk to him to finish the quest.

Before you leave Fork Nikou entirely, you might as well sniff out the treasure inside and, assuming you killed both captains and the commander, complete the location objectives. The treasures are found as follows:

Treasure #1 : This red chest can be found in the second (middle) floor of the prison building, in the eastern corner of the room.

Treasure #2 : The next two treasures can be found in the large central building - Sefetu’s stronghold. Loot the small box on a table on the bottom floor.

Treasure #3 : Also in the large central building in the middle of the fort (Sefetu’s stronghold), against the southwestern wall of the second floor (the same level on which Sefetu’s throne stands). From the last treasure, simply turn northeast, climb a ladder, then turn southwest to find this white chest.

Treasure #4 : Exit Sefetu’s stronghold (the large building in the center of the fort) via the northwestern exit and turn north to spot another building. This red chest is in the southern corner of bottom floor of this building.

Nikiou Post¶

Whew. Well, that was an ordeal, but Sefetu is dead, and his - and the Scarab’s - hold over Sais has been broken. You’re almost ready to move on to Letopolis to continue the main story, or rather, to some sidequests en route to and within Letopolis, but before any of that, note that there’s a small garrison south of Nikiou Fort - Nikiou Post. Now that the parent fort has been wasted, there’s no reason to leave this dependent post untouched, is there?

Head south from Nikiou Fort to Nikiou Post to find that it’s much, much simpler than the larger stronghold to the north, consisting of a captain (level 17), some lesser soldiers (levels 15-16) and a treasure you can loot which, along with the death of the captain will complete the location objectives for this point of interest. This camp is just begging to be destroyed, too, as a quick glance at it will affirm. The walls are laughable little barriers, there are numerous gates, and all around the camp is tall grass you can hide in. You merely need sneak around in the foliage and whistle enemies to their doom. There’s an alarm brazier in the center of the camp, but disabling it is probably more trouble than it’s worth. When the guards are dead, loot the chest in the central tent to complete the area.