The Let's Play Archive

Beyond Divinity

by Stabbey_the_Clown

Part 36: Teleporter Hell





Chapter 31 - Teleporter Hell


Music - "Whispers from a Council Past"
Download (Thanks to Grawl)





Mort and D.K. were headed to the island of Serrick, the warlock, when an imp appeared to warn them.

You not go to teleporter island! Bad things happen there. Stay here with Xilinix.
What bad things happen there?
Master of Earth rules teleporter now. He bigshot. He got big brain from too much teleporting. … Normal Earth monsters not intelligent. But teleporters all screwy now, will fry your brain too! Veeeeeeerry dangerous…
More imp babbling, what else is new… *sigh*

The imp scampered off.




Hold it! No-one can go through this door… and I don't remember ever having seen your face before. So you'd better beat it now before my sword arm starts twitching, eh? Go on, get moving!
I've come about the temple quest.
Hmpf. No exercise for me an' my sword arm today. Get yerself inside before I change my mind. Hmpf.

The room was full of shelves, tables, documents, and students studying. One student in particular was notable.




It's not very polite to stare!
This must be the traitor the Raanaar in the camp spoke of!
You are a traitor to your people!
Oh, so you've been sent by that senile imbecile I once called *master* eh? … Well, what is his latest ruse to persuade me to change my decision?
You have to leave the Warlock!
That's not much of a convincing argument. But you're just following orders, right? … Don't let him fool you. I'm not doing anything wrong here. My new master truly understands my needs… which gives me the opportunity to grow, to experiment, much more than before!
Stop all this blathering, tell him about the magic problem!
Your former master is worried you're going to betray the magical secrets of the Raanaar.
What? I'm no traitor to the Raanaar way! Just because he couldn't teach me anything interesting anymore, doesn't mean that I would just spread our sacred knowledge amongst these humans! … If he doubts me so much, then I will swear a blood oath on my Raanaar blood…
Well, he seems to think that will mean something, so…
Go ahead.
I, Markanthar, solemnly swear on my Raanaar blood, that the Secrets and Crafts of our Magic will never be revealed by me to any and all who are not Raanaar.
Did that sound sincere enough to you?
I am sure, if my master has not forgotten the Raanaar ways himself, that he will recognize my sincerity in this matter at least. Now leave me while you still can.
Farewell, Markanthar.




Mort and D.K. went up the stairs to Serrick's private office.




Hmmm, who do we have here? How many times do I have to tell that stupid guard not to let my students into my private rooms. Out with you. Out!
I've come about the temple quest.
Uh? What? Ah yes, the billboard announcement! Finally, someone to help me out with my problem!... As you might have heard already, the teleporter on our island has malfunctioned. I want it to get working again, and I want you to find out how. Sounds easy? Well then, get moving. You'll be rewarded appropriately afterwards, of course.
I'll do it.
Of course you'll do it! I didn't expect you to walk in here and refuse to follow my orders! Hmmm. Well, good luck then.
Bye!

Mort and D.K. headed south, towards the island's teleporter.

I wonder what the problem is.

Without warning, they were suddenly sucked up by a teleporter…

DUNGEON VIDEO: Teleporter Hell (This update will be much easier to follow if you watch the video, screenshots do not convey it well at all.)




…and deposited somewhere equally featureless.

Ah…
This is certainly strange.
Do you have any idea where we are now?
Not a clue.



"About the Game" posted:


Watch the maze on video



Fuck this maze. It is truly a pain in the ass.




The southern part of the island - most of the island, in fact, has been broken into sections. Crossing into an affected section teleports you into a different section. There is no way to see where the boundaries between sections are until you cross one, although they get easier to spot with practice.

This is basically the final outdoors dungeon of the game, and the enemies (earth, air, water elementals) are dangerous and come in numbers. I died TWICE while doing this.We need to reach section K to solve the maze. Entering any part of one section teleports you to the same section each time.

Entering ? takes you to… --> ?
A --> D
B --> G
C --> E
D --> F
E --> H
F --> C
G --> I
H --> B
I --> K
J --> A
K --> J

Because you need to take a specific route to reach a specific destination, and because it can be hard figuring out where the boundaries are, never mind figuring out WHICH boundary you've found, it is so very easy to wander in circles. There are many possible routes, but this is the route I am taking:



Enter B --> G, G --> Enter H
Enter H --> B, B --> Enter E
Enter E --> H, H --> Enter G
Enter G --> I, I --> Enter H
Enter H --> B, B --> Enter E
Enter E --> H, H --> Enter I
Enter I --> K

Even planning my route with a walkthrough and map, I took a wrong turn once. Now imagine trying this with no fucking idea how this area even works. Watch the maze on video




Another surprise teleporter whisked them away.




And it deposited them in the middle of a group of elementals. With some fancy footwork and well-placed Traps, Mort and D.K. cleared some breathing room.






Another teleporter deposited Mort and D.K. near a group of Raanaar.

Are you the rebel patrol which was lost in this area?




Well, this is a surprise! We haven't seen your kind before, you must be from the other islands?
Yes, I am.
Maybe you can shed some new light on these accursed teleporters.
Yes, please help us, we've been stuck here for ages… *sniff*
We've tried almost everything. Any help would be appreciated.
Now that you're here, you have no means to return. Might as well help us out. What say you?
Okay, I'll help.
Good! You should start checking all of the teleporters carefully. There must be something we missed…
This isn't right! There must be a way to get these teleporters to work again!
We're never getting out of here. My honour will be tainted forever!






Another teleporter dumped Mort and D.K. in the midst of another large horde.






Here's the island's teleporter.
But look at that… there's a piece missing.
Is that why it's causing such a mess?


A short distance away was a large Earth Elemental.




A visitor? At last! Has this human come to scare away my loneliness? Finally? Welcome to my humble little place, human. Please stay a while, because I'm a creature who's been too long without the company of others.
You seem to be a very intelligent elemental?
What? Oh, that. Yes… I guess you could call me intelligent. Ever since I found this red gem here, it's like the clouds have lifted from my mind. I know it seems hard to believe, but I think I'm the loneliest creature in this world. There's no-one here to talk with, really. All the humans run away or try to kill me. Is there no cure for this loneliness.
I think the gem is the cause of your loneliness.
Do you mean that I'm so lonely because I'm really the only intelligent being of my kind around here? Could that me… yes, maybe you're right. Perhaps it is the weight of my newly formed intelligence that's making me so lonely. Maybe I was better off being dumb after all.

Here! You can have the gem… I don't think I want to be intelligent any longer.
Thank you!




No probl - hrpff? Huuuuman? Rraarrgh!




The poor creature attacked Mort and D.K.







Mort inserted the gem back into the pedestal, then tested it out.




There, working. While I'm here, I may as well pay a visit to the rebels.




Finally! Were you able to set the situation straight?
Yes, I was.
And in what way, may I inquire?
He swore an oath upon his Raanaar blood that he would not reveal any of the Raanaar's magical secrets.
That is a truly marvelous outcome! Why did I not think of that? Oh well, my mind must have been too clouded at the time. … Anyway your understanding of the Raanaar is much more profound that I presumed. My sincere thanks to you…
The Raanaar are so boringly predictable, it's no challenge at all to understand them.
Don't flatter us with words, flatter us with gold!
Hush!


Mort returned to find the trapped rebels.




Have you got the teleporters working again?
Yes, I have.
What a relief! At last we'll see our loved ones again! … Before we go, I must insist on rewarding you for your generous efforts. There is a small cave in the vicinity. I'll show you. I'm sure there is plenty of the treasure you humans value so highly within it. We're leaving now. Farewell, until we meet again, friend!




Mort and D.K. had a much easier time making their way around the island now.




The treasure wasn't spectacular, but decent. Mort and D.K. returned to Serrick's tower.




Did you tell my former master of my promise? I guess he will be very pleased with you, now that he has one less problem to worry about…
Bye…

Mort climbed the stairs up.

I've solved your problem with the teleporters. Everything is back to normal now.




Good! I knew there was some great potential in you. I'm sure that I can make a pretty good student out of you… yes, I believe I can teach you a little something. But anyway, here's your reward.
Bye!

About the Game posted:

The maze might have been the hardest side-quest, but it was also the most rewarding: For solving the problem, Serrick rewarded us with a whopping 5000 rank points, the most of any quest.


VIDEO: Meet Kiya


Well, well, well… Who do we have here? A colleague with a servant?
What do you mean a colleague?
Only witches can bind Death-Knights… so I presume you are one of us? My name is Kiya.
Drop dead, witch…
How rude… I can understand his thoughts very clearly… you haven't educated your servant very well! … But you know, I like that in a servant… How about passing this little firebrand over to me?
I doubt with our *special* situation that it's quite so easy…
No, you can't have him!
But I must have him… I think… yes, yes… I will challenge you for him!
Challenge me?
Oh, yes… it's common practice between witches… if I win the challenge, I will become the new mistress of this Death-Knight.
Forget it…
Not so fast… if you refuse, it's as if I'd won the challenge… and the bond will automatically pass to me! I would hate to win without a good fight!
Careful, human… she might be right. I think it's better to accept this challenge… if you refuse, it might happen as she says… And because you are soul-forged to me, you may also become a servant of this witch… a Death-Knight cannot resist the wishes of his mistress.
Bring it on, witch!
Very well. But be warned, as you're obviously new to this, a challenge ends with the death of one side, so be prepared to put your life on the line… In any case… I, as the challenge, have the choice of battlefield… and I choose my crypt. Enter it when you're ready. But don't wait too long…

She walked calmly back down the street.

I don't have a good feeling about this.
Neither do I, human. But this is how things are done around here.





Mort and D.K. checked the book of ranks. Mort was one place below Kiya. Mort and D.K. headed to the crypt.





Well… Here we go…





As soon as you reach second place, it causes Kiya to emerge to challenge you. The game should have given her a higher rank score, because in fact there are more than enough quests remaining to get you to rank 1. But you are required to deal with Kiya first. Maybe that's because the Bishop wants the matter resolved. Who knows.

I gave Mort and D.K. their third rank of Healing, so now they can heal 600 health per cast over a few seconds. I also increased Mort's skill with Insect traps all the way up to Rank 5.

The Map




The Seeing Stone Quest

A Raanaar asked us to disable a seeing stone near the Black Temple (just to the west, in fact).

VIDEO: The Seeing Stone.

The catch is that he has no idea how to do it, and neither will you unless you find a specific book, and that book is only randomly found from among a bunch in the act. This book:



Here's a translation (which you can't get until after it's too late to complete the quest):


Even if you find that book, and understand it, you still can't complete the quest without some exploration.



You need to find this grave in the northeastern temple cemetery, then dig it up…



And here's the mirror you need to disable the seeing stone. Just place it at one of the places seen from the stone, then go back and look at the stone again and it will break.

Your reward is a skill book of some not very interesting skills.


Battlefields Key 5



In the middle of Serrick's island is an area surrounded by impassable lava cracks. You can use Swap Places on a Tibar over there, or Flash to teleport there directly, or by simply tossing a teleporter stone over.



The 5th Battlefield Key is in the wine chest in the middle.




On the western part of the island is a locked chest. The key is hidden well - in the normal-looking tree on the same screen. It's got some useful stuff.


Memory Test:

1) If you recall, early in the act, a merchant wanted us to retrieve an amulet from Kiya's crypt. Unfortunately, he didn't count on the dead guy who owns it still being around. The dead guy wants to know who sent us for the amulet?
1a) His daughter.
1b) His sister.
1c) A merchant.
1d) His son.
1e) His mother.


Glazius posted:

Man, this whole "rank up!" thing is probably the most obnoxious excuse for sidequests I've ever seen.

It really, really is. It's such obvious padding, too. But this update was the last of the mandatory sidequesting, it's pretty much done now.

The Raanaar MIGHT be Dranei, but I'm pretty sure this game came before Frozen Throne, so it might be more accurate to say that the Dranei are Raanaar.