Arkaneos

There is a maximum number of 7 stone servants (if my memory serves me well) at any time. I found I could never see that light around the servant inhabited by Moref. So instead of targeting one servant, I brought them all close to destruction, and tried to destroy them all within one round. That meant making sure all characters had perfect health (because of the explosions of the servants) and the priest’s turn was taken with healing. So only the 3 others were actually attacking the servants. Haste, augmentation, shields, steel skin. And patience. Good luck and have fun.

No reason really. Except be prepared! Meaning powerful enough and able to sustain a lot of damage. Save your game and give it a try.

It happened to me too on the first play. It's one of the parts of the game I chose to replay. It seems this quest, like the scuttler's eyes quest, will behave that way, your characters won't pick up the necessary items (tails or eyes) because they don't know they should. This is different from a few others (a wight's head for Shanker if I remember correctly, which you can go back to pick up where it fell). So I see no other solution, unfortunately, if you want to do that quest, to go back to a previously saved version of the game. From that point on, I tried to get involved as little as possible in killing characters and creatures before I had found the region's main town and met everybody that matters.

To Drew : shift-click on the object, you will get a dialog box to enter the number of objects to take. Thanks to the poster who told this community that trick! (I don't remember who)

As Bughwuch explained, click on the tiny coin icon in the object's box. At some point, when you start accumulating interesting objects, you may be tempted to do a cleanup while in the 'sell objects' mode. It may not be a good idea, especially if you try to take an object to change its location, or give it to another character. If you inadvertently click on the coin icon, poof, it's gone. Also, you can choose any place in the game to keep objects you are not yet sure you should sell. Around the teleporter can be a good location. I like going back to Blackchasm outpost once in a while, in one of those closed rooms. Just to be tidy about it...

Well, I didn't explore the place as I usually do... The way Jeff is training us to do, I would add. The birdbaths it was! Thanks for the prompt reply, and many other postings of yours I read while figuring out the game.

When Melanchion is given the 3 quest objects, there is no message to confirm any gains for the characters, contrary to the boon in melee weapons received from the Trainer Shade. The 1st time they met Melanchion, they had all 3 objects, so they give them all right away. No gratitude. I replayed that encounter, and if the characters left the castle the only gain that happened was Resistance +1 at the 1st item given, for the only character that still had no Resistance (the others had some from equipped items) but still no message. Then, even going out of the region through the teleporter, there were no gains in Strength, Dexterity or Intelligence as the 2nd and 3rd items were given. Is it a bug? Is there some other action to perform (as if collecting these rarities and giving them away was not quite enough)? Does it take action later, at some other event? Is it a boon only for those characters that have 0 in special skills or are somewhat lacking in basic skills (like lack of Strength, i.e. encumbered, did not test that possibility yet)? Is it dragon greediness? ? Thanks to Synergy for his LIST: Avernum 5 Items (Who, What, and Where)