The Let's Play Archive

Divine Divinity

by Stabbey_the_Clown

Part 36: Vizziturs Wellkum




Chapter 27 - Vizziturs Wellkum

14 Sembten 1218

The next morning I woke up and went to see Homer.

Jeremiah? I was at the Blue Boar last night, and heard a couple of soldiers talking. Are you... are you the one that they say broke the orc siege and defeated an entire orc war camp single-handedly?!

I waved dismissively and said, "Lies. I used both hands." I grinned at Homer. "Word travels fast. After a war camp, a troll nest seems like light work. I could do without the pounding on the barn door at night, that's for sure. I think I can deal with a few trolls. I've yet to meet a troll that could draw a living breath after meeting me."




I once spotted what seemed to be the main troll lair when I was out fishing in the river. Cross the bridge to Aleroth and head straight southwest. Good luck, Jeremiah. I'll get Trisha to whip up a batch of butter leaf biscuits in hope of your return.

I laughed.

Now I know I'll be back. Thank you, Homer. I'm looking forward to it.
Be careful, Jeremiah.

I cast my shield spells and crossed the bridge.




The cave was simple enough to find. Once across the bridge, I could have found the lair blindfolded by simply following my nose. There was a board lying beside the cave. "Vizziturs Wellkum," was crudely painted on it, in what looked suspiciously like dried blood.




I heard deep growling as I entered the cave, but I couldn't see anyone. There was a fire burning in the cave, and suddenly, something stepped into the firelight.




Just one troll? That's it? This should be even easier than I thought.
Who are you?
"Who are you?" little short-arse say... HAH! ME big King of Trolls!
Never heard of you, 'Your Majesty'... Since when did the trolls develop a monarchial system, and why do you attack innocent passers-by, 'Sire'?
Piggy-wiggy humans took MY bridge! Now trolls cannot ask for free donation of coins anymore!
Really? You built that bridge?
Bridge is MINE by right of MIGHT!
So you didn't build the bridge, you were merely stopped from robbing travelers? My heart bleeds for you. Go find a better trade, ugly! You know very well that you had no right to take a bridge toll.
Hmmrrr... You stupid as mudfish! You not know MIGHT make RIGHT? Me MIGHTY one! Kill you now! Take coins from your chewed bones!
We shall see who is the mighty one...

The room filled with growls. To my horror, I realized that what I had mistaken for irregular walls was in fact a large number of trolls standing very still.

"About the Game" posted:

This area is on the Aleroth side of the river. If you were hugging the left side, you might even have found it before the bridge, and figuring it was safe enough, you went in. That is a BIG mistake if you aren't prepared.



The Troll King is level 19 and has almost 2000 HP. But that is not the worst part. The Troll King knows the Limbs of Lead spell. That spell can't be resisted and it completely cripples your movement speed, leaving you easy prey for the horde of trolls, you'll basically run in place while they wail on you. There are a couple other Troll Kings in the game, but this one is the most dangerous because of the confined space and ample reinforcements. He's also the only one who talks.

You have a few different dialogue options, but they all end up in combat. The top-tier "Die, Scum!" ends the conversation right away.




However, I was prepared for his and Faded from Sight before they could attack.

You cannot hide little piggy-wiggy! We will find you!

He sniffed the air and headed right for me. That was fine, I wasn't planning on hiding forever.




I surprised the troll king by casting Limbs of Lead on him.

You think slowing me will save you, little pig? You will get slow death!
As you wish. Your death will be fast.




I blasted the Troll King into rubble with Elemental Hail.




With the leader dead, it was simply a matter of playing hard-to-get on the wrong side of a Burning Wall.




I found a key by the corpse of the king.




The troll did indeed have a hoard of hoard of gold filling up some of the chests in the room.

"About the Game" posted:


There's also an spare key in another chest for the thiefy sort to sneak in and loot without needing to actually kill the Troll boss. The other chests contain random loot or nothing, only the gold is guaranteed.

Music - "The Song of the Wind"
Download (Thanks to Grawl)



I returned across the bridge and talked to Ferris and Jupiter.

Be at ease, my friends! I have destroyed the nest of trolls in yonder cave. They will trouble the farmers no more!
That's excellent news, Jeremiah! Thank the Gods for you!
Yes, this guard duty was terribly dull, now we'll be able to get back...

His face grew pale.

...get back to our regular duties...
...fighting against the orcish hordes... oh, no...

I shrugged. "Ummm... sorry?" I said gently, quickly making my escape back to Homer.

I hope you're doing well in your battle against the trolls. They are a great threat to us all.
You know that troll problem which you had in this area? I've dealt with it now; you and everyone else are now safe to go about your daily business.




It wasn't a problem at all, Homer. Being able to get an uninterrupted night's sleep in your barn is its own reward.
The trolls have caused us much trouble. Their destruction is easily worth this bag of coins - I only wish I had more to give you, but know that you will never lack a welcome on this homestead! By the Good Gods, Trisha will dance around the Moon when she hears that those beasts are dead. She lived in terror that she or I would be carried off one day. Come visit us this mid-winter, Jeremiah, and she'll cook you a feast such as will be remembered by folk a hundred years hence!
What's all the noise?
Trisha! Jeremiah here has killed all the trolls giving the farmlands much grief!
Really? I can hardly believe it!

I could show you if you need to see with your own eyes.
No need for that! It's such a good thing that all those filthy trolls are dead and peace can finally return to this area. I don't even mind getting up before dawn to do the milking now that I know I'm safe to cross to the barn on my own.

"About the Game" posted:

Often in the game you get the option of demanding a reward for your troubles. Sometimes you don't get the opportunity to ask for a reward, and in this case, you don't get the opportunity to NOT demand a reward!

You get +3 Reputation for completing this quest, by the way.

I continued on and passed Isolde the milkmaid.




"Oh, thank you very much!" Isolde exclaimed. I do so hope to see him again soon!

I decided to tell Reginald about the destruction of the trolls, for what little comfort it would be to him.

"About the Game" posted:

If you told Gareth that you weren't his personal messenger, you don't get the option to tell Isolde that he's doing fine. That's OK, you get no reward or XP anyway.




Good Reginald, your son's death is avenged. I've slain all the trolls.
Y-you've slain those foul creatures? I can't believe it. Th-thank you, my friend! What's your name?
Jeremiah.
I feel somehow... relieved! It's as if an invisible weight has been lifted from me. The knowledge that my loss cannot happen to another somehow gives me new strength. I'll do what my friends have exhorted me to do: start a new life... But for now, I must rest a little to gather new strength. Thank you again.
Are you feeling any better?
Maybe. It will take some time 'til I can laugh again. The painful memories are still there... but at least I have hope now.

I was heading for Verdistis to see about meeting Sir Dante. Hugh's house was on the way, so I decided to inform him about the poison.

Listen, Jeremiah, I'm currently very busy overseeing the fattening of an ox. Please state your business!
I found the bastard who poisoned the harvest. It was an orc living in a small cave over yonder.

I pointed the direction and told him it was in a cave in the woods just off of the farmlands road.

I left the barrels of poison there, you should send some guards to dispose of them properly.




You may be right. I found a key on the corpse of the orc that was poisoning the harvest. Do you recognize it?

Hugh took the key and studied it, then he shook his head and handed it back. "No I don't, but do try to find out what it opens!"

"Farewell," I said.

The road to the market was not far from Hugh's house. I saw three people talking near the entrance to what looked like a park.

Greetings to you! I am Otto, and these are my friends Gina and Barry.




I wasn't interested. At all.

No, I haven't heard about it, and I'm not interested in hearing about your damn cult!

Otto sighed sadly.

Another blind soul that needs our master's enlightenment! Here, let me give you this book, which tells of a wisdom beyond your short horizons.

He shoved a book into my hands.

No thank you, I'm definitely not interested in your beliefs...
Very well, freebooter, but maybe you could help us in spite of your disbelief... We cannot enter the Garden of Nericon to follow the bidding of our master. The garden is locked.




Yes, well, too bad.

I started to move on down the road, but Otto spoke loudly.

Yes, too bad indeed, freebooter, for it is said that there is much treasure and powerful magic inside.
Treasure I don't care about so much, but magic... I get the feeling that I'll need every advantage that I can.

I turned around.

Alright, I'm listening.
The key to the garden is in the possession of a merchant named Blake. Unfortunately he is unwilling to give it to us, thus blocking the worship of our master and-
Yes, yes, I get the idea. If I have time I'll see what I can do.

I continued down the road. It was a nice, sunny day, so I flipped through the book I still had in my hand.




"About the Game" posted:

Otto's two followers are not important at all, and only tell you to talk to him. Even if you tell him to screw off, he still hands you the book and gives you the quest. The reward for this quest is very useful.  A free skill point into Restoration, 1000+ gold, and a Frog Statuette. .




A fiery wreck at the side of the road was explained by the nearby tombstone.

I reached the Rivertown market and noted a sign saying "Apothecary" hanging outside a shop.




You seem to have a lot of potions on sale here. Who are you?
My name is Walker, an independent apothecary hailing from the south. It is well known that if Walker doesn't have it, it's not worth having.
My name is Jeremiah. You said any potion at all? Do you have one that will grant eternal youth? I'm an ambitious lad.
I have a drug that can permanently maintain life (if taken once a week), but it won't stop the aging process.

I thought about the logical result of that for a second.

But in two hundred years, I'd have aged into a being a living skeleton!
A senile living skeleton, yes. I don't get many takers on this potion.
How about a cure for hangovers?
No such thing (apart from another drink). But I do have a potion that can make you instantly sober.
Why would anyone want to become instantly sober?
Well, say you were at a tavern, but had to drive your ox-cart home. You could drink all you liked, but would still be able to drive.
I always travel on foot.
Ah, well. I suppose you don't fear being arrested by the watch for being drunk in charge of a pair of feet, do you?
He might be the one who can help Gareth.
If you have everything, you should have a Feign Death potion, right?
A Feign Death potion? ... I can't say that I've heard of it.
Surely you can't be serious. I can think of a hundred uses for such a potion, and you don't have one?
I don't think that kind of potion even exists. If it did, I'd have it.
Very well, I'll have to keep looking. I'd like something exceptionally rare, not a potion - that is, if you sell such things.




Very well. Let me see what potions you have?

I had used up a lot of my potions in all the fighting with the orcs, so I bought about a dozen small healing and magic potions.

I continued exploring and found the shop that Otto had mentioned.

"About the Game" posted:

I always laugh at that "A senile living skeleton, yes," line.

That instant sobriety potion will be making an appearance later on in the narrative.

For some reason, you can only ask about the eternal youth potion OR the cure for hangovers, but not both.

And while an apothecary might be the logical choice to find a Feign Death potion for Gareth, it's also the wrong choice. We'll have to keep looking.

The Golden Coin of transportation is just another piece of colourful background; it's not an in-game item.

There's stuff to steal in Walker's private quarters, but it's tricky to get at. You need to open the door, at which point he will come and lock it. Then you have to lockpick it and - this is important - toss a teleporter stone through the open door. If you walk through, you will get caught, even if you're invisible or transformed.

There's a mystery key in his quarters which doesn't open anything in the house, as far as I know. There's a Rank 4 locked chest which contains a unique Gold Amulet, though. I didn't take it, though.




Very commendable. But why are you donating money to the poor?
Listen friend, I know what it's like growing up in the gutter. I had to fight for food and a place out of the rain from the age of three-years-old. I saw my entire family dead of disease and starvation before I was ten. I was lucky. A kind blacksmith made me his apprentice when I was twelve. I made enough money to buy this place and now I make a reasonable turnover of gold. But I still see kids starving in the streets every day. So I try to make a difference, even if it leaves me short of money much of the time.
I wonder if he'll sell that key to the garden.
I'm looking for rare items. Do you sell anything... really special?
Well, maybe I've got something you'll be interested in. Did you ever hear the story about Nericon's garden? To the west lies a huge garden, which was built by the mighty wizard Nericon.
Go on.
Back during the Age of Deception, there was an evil despot who ruled Rivertown: the aforementioned Nericon. On one black morning, Nericon decided that Rivertown was to be the site of the most magnificent garden in Rivellon.
Aye? And then what happened?
Well, the trouble with building a garden in a town is that towns tend to hald folks living where you want to build. So, to create the least fuss for his rich supporters, Nericon had the palace guard drive all the people out of the poor section of town and set light to the houses and shacks there. You can always tell an evil ruler, because he picks on the poor folk.
So this Nericon burned down the people's houses to build a useless garden?
Oh yes. Thousands of slaves (mostly the dispossessed poor folk) laboured day and night to create the most beautiful garden Rivellon had ever seen. After the completion of this garden, Nericon stored all his most precious treasures in a vault hidden beneath its rolling trees, flowers and lawns. Clever, you see. He'd made the most pretty treasure vault in the world.
Very poignant. But what's Nericon's garden got to do with our rare items?
As if I don't know.
Believe it or not, I've got a copy of the key to Nericon's garden. One of my ancestors was a slave in the small shrubs squad and managed to steal the spare key.
I'm assuming that the lock is magical; otherwise someone would have opened it after all these years.
Yes, exactly. Without a key, it's impossible to enter the garden. The key has been handed down from generation to generation in my family, but none have dared risk using it. I'm no adventurer, and besides, there are dozens of kids out on the streets that'd starve if I let myself get killed. But lately I've been thinking that somebody else should use the key to good effect.
The garden is dangerous?
I'm not sure, honestly. Even though it's been many, many years, the wizard Nericon could have left many traps to protect it and his treasure. I don't want to take that chance.
So, how much do you want for it?
Well... I swore that I would only sell the key to a person who enjoys a good reputation. I don't want a wicked person to get access to the treasures of Nericon's garden, y'see? There's enough rich bastards in the world without adding to their number. I'm afraid, Jeremiah, from what I've heard of you, I can't trust you... just yet. Come back with a few more good deeds to your name and we'll see, Alright?
If you weren't going to sell it to me in the first place, then why'd you bring it up at all, you daft old fool?

I looked over his wares, but nothing interested me.

That's all I want for now. Farewell and good luck with your charitable works!

I left the store.

While I'm here, I should take a look at the magic shop.

"About the Game" posted:

This quest checks your reputation. It's pretty much the ONLY quest where your reputation is important. If it's not high enough, somewhere over 20, Blake won't sell you the key. It's only available through dialogue, so you can't steal it. However, there is an alternative way - if you get an invitation to Stormfist Castle, regardless of your reputation (I think) Blake considers you worthy enough to buy the key.

You can wander into the back of his store freely, but Blake has nothing worth stealing.

Blake said that he never entered the guarden because he was afraid of magical traps.  Refreshingly, there aren't any. Not a one. It's perfectly safe. 





Greetings, shopkeep. My name is Jeremiah. What can you tell me about your fine store?
My name is Kistandalius. I inherited the place from my late father, blessings upon his soul. In his day he was a powerful mage and a counsellor favoured by many important people in the land. At first I was unwilling to take on the burden of running a shop, but once my first day of trading passed, I found I enjoyed it thoroughly. You get to meet very interesting and often powerful people.

I rummaged in my pack and retrieved the cat statue - carefully.

I found this magical item, do you know what it is?
Ahhh... yes, it's a transformation statuette. It lets you disguise as a creature - and acquire all its abilities - for a short time. I sell some in the store, would you like to take a look?




What's the spider one do?
What else? It transforms you into a giant spider. It's useful for travelling through hostile woods. Almost nothing eats a giant spider. Just don't try using it around people, or you're likely to get swatted.

"About the Game" posted:

The Spider Statuette transforms you into a Giant Spider, which is usually an enemy. This means that whatever was hostile to you before will now be friendly, and whatever was friendly to you in human form is now hostile. You can theoretically use this to attack NPC's with no danger of losing reputation (because it's tracked separately in your different forms), but you don't have a lot of health or do a lot of damage, so it'll take a lot of hit and run, and you risk getting killed.

I bought this so I could grab three free spellbooks from the Rivertown Sewers without much hassle.

I retrieved the golden gem from a pocket in my case.



A YLIN stone! Where did you find one of such quality?
A what stone?
A Ylin stone is used to bestow magical enchantments into items. Here, read this.

Kistandalius opened a book on his counter to a specific page and turned it around for me to read.




"About the Game" posted:

Enchant Weapon
- This skill lets you apply 1 to 5 charms (also known as Ylin stones) to an item which has a Charm Quality. You can only apply as many charms as you have ranks in Enchant Weapon. Items have a charm quality from 0 to 5, the number of charms they can hold (0 obviously holds no charms). The size of the item does not matter, so you can put 5 charms onto a ring.

Charms are closest in nature to gems from Diablo 2. They're coloured spheres with runes on them which can give you huge bonuses, especially with late-game charms.
Charm slots are only found on magic items, including the most powerful items in the game. Unique items almost always spawn with a Charm quality of at least 1. There are 11 equipment slots, counting the shield. Each piece of equipment can have up to 5 charms, so you can theoretically have 55 charms on ALREADY incredibly powerful magical equipment.

The best quality (golden)attribute Charms give you +40 to X resistance, +10 to attribute X, or +100 straight to Health or Magic. Considering that each piece of your end-game gear will have multiple slots, you can give yourself insane boosts in pretty much every area.

The book really is on Kistandalius's counter.

Charms all have unique two-part names, but thoughtfully, you don't have to memorize them, the description of the charm gives you the effect and approximate strength of the enchantment.






So this is valuable?
I sell a variety of them, but I've never come across one this valuable before. I'm afraid I don't have enough gold to exchange, but I could-

Thank you, but I think I'll hang onto this for a while.

I left the store and spotted a woman who looked worried. She came up to me.




I am Jeremiah. No, I have seen no children in these parts. I would find him quickly if I were you. Caroline. There are fell creatures abroad...
Oh Gods! If he is nowhere about here, then he might have strayed towards the Dark Cave... Oh please Gods, no!
Dark Cave? I've never heard of it...
I've only heard rumors about it myself. It is a cave near the market - weird and terrible place. People say they have seen things lurking near there. Some people have gone and not returned. Oh, my poor little Marty!
Blast. I really should get moving to Verdistis, but... no, I can't just ignore this.
Calm yourself. I'll go take a look and bring your boy back if I can. Which way is the cave?
I- I don't know! Oh Gods, please help me!


Next Time: Blood Sacrifice





Behind the Scenes

The overall map...




And detail on the marketplace, showing Caroline's actual encounter location.





Alternate Dialogue with the Troll King #1:

Piggy-wiggy humans took MY bridge! Now trolls cannot ask for free donation of coins anymore!
Aha... You... you took gold from travellers? I see. You must be VERY rich then?
Yes! Troll King very mighty and very rich. Many coins here in chests. YOU pay now or I pick my teeth with your bones in hour from now!
"Many coins here in chests," eh? Ahem... I think I'll just have to relieve you of your ill-gotten gains...


Alternate Dialogue with the Troll King #2:

HUH! What we have here? You a stupid-head to enter MY realm little piggy human?
Ah ha... I am really sorry to disturb you er... sir. I... I was just leaving.
No, no! Do not leave! Stay for meal!... Me hungry and you look munchably crunchable!
We'll see...


If you ask Blake about Otto, he has some words on the subject, although this doesn't affect his disposition or willingness to sell the key.

Not far from here, I've met a philosopher and two of his followers. They need a certain...
You're talking about Otto? Better drop this subject, friend. I don't want to have anything to do with this madman. Barry worked for me, before he was persuaded by Otto to follow him... lazy people.


There's an additional talk option with Kistandalius which didn't fit in the narrative.

Why is the Ducal Army recruiting so many soldiers?
Alas, conflicts are suddenly erupting everywhere. We have those damned orcs gathering their armies at the borders and there's the racial tensions building between the elves and the dwarves. I fear a major war is on the wind.


What's fake in this update?