The Halls of Silence

The Halls of Silence is a location in The White March - Part II.

Background[ | ]

The Halls of Silence are the final resting place of Giftbearers who joined the monastic Abbey. Within these Halls, memory itself fragments until it is no more, with the Halls granting them reprieve from a Giftbearer's burden. In the end, they take all memory, until nothing remains. Then, the Tidebringer comes to complete the ritual of Rising, drowning all in the Halls and granting them final peace. Then, the brothers of Low Tide, as they're called, are replaced by new hermits from the order of High Tide (tending to The Halls of Presence).

Points of interest[ | ]

As you enter, a group of Ondrite guards will address you. If you already talked to High Abbot Kaoto, you will be free to enter to start the ritual of Rising. The level is bisected by a main corridor connecting to the actual Halls. The table near the large door to the Pool of the Anointed contains the Wave Crested Key needed to open said door.
The southwestern section contains the storerooms, a chamber with Abydon's coppery hip bone, and the exit to the lower ramparts of the abbey.
The northeastern section is accessible by way of the rusted gate. Activating it will anger the nearby Low Tiders, meaning you'll have to wipe them out - though you can avoid doing so by keeping the group out of their sight radius and sending a single character to pull the lever, then running the character back to the group as quickly as possible. After a few moments, the screeching will stop and the monks will become passive again.
In the rooms beyond is Farentis in the room to the left (he gives you a key used to open the door behind him), and a shrine to Ondra in the room to the right. Entering the area beyond will cause the monks in the adjacent rooms to become hostile, so tread carefully and watch for the roaming NPCs if you wish to avoid combat!
Eventually, you come across The Rising Waterway and the puzzle that needs to be solved. If you paid attention to the mural outside, it's easy. Otherwise, the order is as follows: city in flames, tidal wave, barren shore, flourishing city, then perform the sign of the tide learned from Kaoto. The water will rise and grant access to the opposite side. Finally, you will find the chamber of tears and within, the aspergillium you're after. As you interact with it, you can choose either to flood the chambers or release the members of the Low Tide. Either way, you receive Ondra's Witness and distract the guards on the lower floor while turning those on the upper floor hostile.
The large cave in the east is where you enter the Halls if you decide to get in by way of the outcropping. It contains hundreds of bodies encased in ice, the remains of generations of monks of the Low Tide. You can interact with the soul hovering over it to learn of the fate that awaits the faithful of Ondra. A nearby skeleton contains the belt Arthek's Cord.