Part 21: Mouths to Feed

TLOD 7: Mouths to Feed



After a small landing, there is another forked path. I try east first.



When you click on this magic mouth again, it says "Seek my brothers, but beware their fangs." This is a hint about what this floor's gimmick will be. The east path is locked, so we'll need to go the other way first.



North of this are doors labeled I - III.



This one holds the first monster of this level, the gas spore. It has only 1 HP, so it can be killed by literally anything. However, it will explode when that happens, which causes significant damage to a party in melee range. They do actually have an attack. They very rarely land a hit and cause little to no damage if they do, but can also cause poison. Throw any item from a distance to take them out safely.



Door I is a dead end where a fireball will be launched at you. It can be dodged if you react quickly enough.



Door II is the way to progress, where another magic mouth can be found. If you click it afterwards, it says "When all my brothers sing their song, the way will open and you'll carry on!" It then follows up by "breathing the pain" i.e. spitting a fireball at you from point-blank range.



Soon after we meet the second monster of this floor, the flying snake. As you probably guessed, they can poison with their bites. Otherwise, they're another enemy in the "weak but numerous" category.



This door can only be opened by forcing it.



It has two packs of rotten food, one of which will be needed later. This tile also becomes a spawn point for flying snakes, and they'll start coming quite rapidly.





Another choice similar to the one at the end of the previous floor, between east and west doors.




Once again, the east door leads to your party being warped back near the entrance and damaged.



Either way, you get a bone key and the area will be closed off afterwards.



In a room to the north, past a door that can't be opened yet, a hidden button will remove this wall.



Past it is a pile of gear, including banded armor +2, a short sword +3, and a -2 cursed polearm called "Leech" which is in fact also something potentially useful. With that, it's time to take the east path.



This room in the northeast corner has four flying snakes and another pile of items. That has a composite bow with five +1 arrows, a Potion of Extra Healing, and a parchment:



This is a partial map of the next floor. I still can't cast True Seeing...



In a hall to the west, we find our first 6th-level spell scroll. That requires level 12 to cast after scribing, which won't be reached without a big grind. I teach it to San-Raal anyway since there's not much better to do with it.



Another hallway south of that seems to go on forever thanks to a good old invisible teleporter. It can be disabled by finding and pushing this brick.



Past that, there's a rotation tile. All of the classics are here. This leads to a couple rooms with flying snakes, plus another gas spore at the end. All this for... a Potion of Vitality.



Another short hallway further south has this room behind an illusory wall. Any items placed on this shelf will become rocks.



This happens further down that hallway. Let's completely ignore that advice.



Inquire:



Die with honor you say?



He's basically another temple greeter.



These items include plate mail +2, a healing potion, and three fire spheres. However, the door into here is permanently shut. Wall of Force can't be cast in doorways, but you can keep it open by luring a monster there. That will mess up the level's scripting until you go back down and return. It's a lot of effort for stuff I don't need in the first place. If you come back to him after leaving, he says "Leave me and continue forth. May you succeed where I did not." You can kill him without a fight then, but it will have the same result.

North of that is a hallway with eight shorter corridors branching off. Seven of them have magic mouths at the end which ask for items. All but one can be found on this floor.

This one wants five rocks. It's probably the most obtuse one if you didn't find the hidden shelf. After fulfilling its request it says, "You have done well. In return, I sing my song." A tone plays after each mouth is satisfied.

Give this one rotten food, and it says, " 'Tis such a delight to taste the ravages of time. Hear me sing!"

Any potion will do. "Refreshment you bring, so now I can sing!"

Any scroll or parchment works here. "Yum! Hear me hum!"

One of two cursed weapons. Either the long sword "Hunger" from near the start of the tower or the polearm "Leech" from this floor. "Revenge is the sweetest taste of all. Hear my call!"



This is in the corridor with the mouth we just fed. Attack that wall...



Both it and the one behind us will disappear, releasing flying snakes. It will also put either a scroll of Disintegrate or a two-handed sword +3 on the floor there. The item can be changed by reloading. Apparently if all mages are out of commission, swinging through the air at the same spot will make the spawns repeat. That can give an unlimited supply of scrolls and swords.

This one requires a red gem, which we don't have yet. It's behind the door we couldn't open earlier. How do we do that?

This is the only one to need an item that's not on this floor. Give it the mantis idol...



...and it will open that door. Even the most efficient possible route will necessitate at least some backtracking. Time to go back to the southwest portion...



...which will be no trouble at all.



This chamber spawns four gas spores the first time you step on either tile going into it.



After much slashing and Lightning Bolt spam, we get what we came here for. We feed it to the last mouth, which responds, "The pleasure is mine. For you I play something just as divine."



We now have a way up...



...but not before one last encounter.



The name Dran was mentioned a couple of times in the priests' quarters, now here he is in the flesh. He cycles through three different faces while giving this speech.



You'll find this to be true once he's done talking. However, this can also be prevented by luring a monster into the doorway beforehand.



Real original line, jackass.