Part 32: The Majesty of Elvandar, Part 1

Update 32: The Majesty of Elvandar, Part 1





With all the chapter 6 exclusive sidequests sorted, and with a minor bug preventing them from leaving a nice murdersword for Locklear later, Gorath and Owyn stride up to the Mac Mordain Cadal. Once again, non-canon since in the book they just cross a mountain pass. Joke's on them, though, because the MMC has exciting new things in it.




As soon as we're in, Naddur stops us like usual and has a few new keywords, in part to inform us that the path to Elvander is open again.

Hope we didn't startle you too badly. We were just looking around for a way to get to Elvandar. I think I'd heard once it was the other side of the Grey Towers.

You've found the way! These mines stretch all the way from one side o' the Grey Towers to the other. We had a collapse here, but we've broke through about an 'alf an 'our ago. I saw me brother McCannur for the first time in months! Oh, but there some tragic loss too. There was a falls in the caverns and the passages to it were terrible damaged. I don't know that we'll ever see it again. Terrible, terrible mess those Brak Nurr made.

But we can get through to Elvandar?

Aye! But I advise you to stick to the main passages as there's some windy bits that can cause some humans distress. As a common we wouldn't let you go alone as you'd get lost, but only the major passages 'ave been cleared. You'll do safe enow.

Before we go, could we ask you a few questions?

I don't see why not. Whadda ya need to know, laddie?

[ELVANDAR]

After we leave the Mac Mordain Cadal, which way will we take to Elvandar? I've never been there.

Ya don't think for a moment it's going to be as easy as that now do ya, lad? The elves don't exactly invite the rest o' the world in for pleasant tea parties and I think they'll take particular exception to your moredhel friend here.

Oh, he's not moredhel, he's...

An elf what doesn't know the way to Elvandar? I'm no fool and you'll be an even sorrier whelp if you try that one on one of Warleader Tomas' border rangers. They'll 'ave the both of you 'anging by your ankles from a tree in a sparrow's fall. If what I 'ear from me brother McCannur is true, they may even 'ave cause to shoot your friend on sight.

Why? What would they have against Gorath?

Not 'im personally, again the moredhel. I've not sure o' the details, but I've 'eard the moredhel are pressing the borders near Moraelin. I'm sure my brother McCannur ken tell ya more aboot it than I. If 'e's not still in the Cadal, he may be on the road to Caldara.

[GOODBYE]

It's time we should be going, I suppose. Gorath and I both have quite a bit to attend to.

Don't we all! But a happier day I've not long had. If ya wish to be going on through to Elvandar, just keep following yar nose west until ya see daylight.

How would you say 'thank you' in your native tongue?

I don't think ya could get your tongue around it, or I'd tell ya, but I appreciate it nonetheless. Good travelling to you.

Thank you, then. Gorath, why don't you lead the way?

The conversation is, like others, a bit silly because of how it only barely acknowledges the lore at places. It's pretty common knowledge in the books that elves and dark elves are not huge fans of each other, so Owyn being baffled that the Eledhel might have an issue with his Moredhel buddy is, mildly put, somewhat strange. Still, it's worth noting here that some Moredhel do live in the Green Heart where Elvandar also is and that they tend to be somewhat less warlike than the Northlands Moredhel, they've been persecuted by Delekhan and they generally play a smaller part of the larger plot, generally only stabbing humans when they travel through their territory and largely staying out of the way of Elvandar as well.

Also in the first Midkemia book the brave heroes lead Tsurani troops through Green Heart Moredhel refugee columns(they're evacuating to the Northlands to be out of the way of the Kingdom/Tsurani warfare) getting children and non-combatants caught up in the fighting. This is praised as genius tactics. Heroic war crimes!





The MMC has been updated with a couple of new human rogue encounters that are of no real interest, seeing as they have no mages or other non-melee enemies in them. I suppose if anything they're noteworthy for being the last rogues in the game, we've also seen our last Nighthawks and Black Slayers for the remainder of the game.





Past the pit where the kobolds hassled us last time is a section of the mine where we'd previously have been barred by a pop-up dialogue about mine collapses, but where we can now proceed into oddly empty tunnels. It's a mostly straight run west, but we want to take a side passage to the north, with a locked door that either takes a remarkable(for these two) 60 Lockpicking or a Guilder's Passkey, which they're currently carrying almost 20 of.




It leads to this chamber containing a tombstone and three trolls which, for once, Gorath actually gets stuck hacking up(they also take 1.5x damage from Evil Seek, not quite one-shot levels, but enough to make them a lot easier for Owyn to do damage to) since I tossed the tuning fork a while back to make space for supplies and sellable items. We're rapidly moving into the part of the game where supplies are more harshly limited, though, so you better hope you're well-stocked on most things. Some supply management gets easier thanks to improved gear, the better swords and armors generally take less damage from use(though there are a few exceptions, like the rapier, which breaks worryingly quickly), so you can phase out your armor hammers and whetstones to an extent.




Despite the ominous message, this gravestone just hides a rotting corpse, no Shade or trap. What's of more interest are the three chests in the room. One's a code chest.




BUTTON

It contains Gambit of the Eight, Black Nimbus, some spare change and three of the "make enemies run away"-potions.

A second chest is locked but of less interest since it just contains money and gemstones, plus it requires 85+ lockpicking which would mean finding three Amulets of the Upright Man for Gorath.

The third only requires 60 Lockpicking and I really want to get into it but, uh, Gorath has like 40 Lockpicking at this point, so I have to haul the party all the way back to Krondor to buy a couple of Amulets for him then back here. I'm not going to chronicle it, but it was pretty annoying to realize I'd made that oversight and that a key couldn't handle it.



Touch of Lims-Kragma is rare in that it's one of those spells that only appear in one place in the game. Outside of The Light Shall Lie and two other spells we've yet to pick up, I think this is the only one that's exclusively placed like that. We're going to test it out shortly.





We're practically in sight of the exit when we get ambushed by a Brak Nurr. Oh no, what are we going to do?



This hand of mine glows with an awesome power! It's loud roar tells me to defeat you! Take this! My love! My anger! And all of my sorrow!

We're going to test out Touch of Lims-Kragma, that's what we're going to do.



So what Touch of Lims-Kragma does is that it makes Owyn run up to an enemy, smack them so hard they go flying to the edge of the combat zone, and then they just die. Only Nighthawks and Rusalki are normal enemies immune to it, everything else just gets annihilated in one blow, which kind of rules. It's hugely inefficient in almost all cases, compared to spells that take out the entire battlefield at once(yeah we're going to have TWO of those before the chapter ends) or paralyze a target more-or-less permanently, but it's cool for making a point.







Welcome to the Green Heart, hope you didn't like being able to see shit. The sky is a uniform dark green, everything is a bit shadier and those fucking trees constantly obstruct your sightline and rob you of any chance to get ambush on most enemies since you have to manually spot and target them. Also the border police runs up to hassle us the moment we take a step forwards.



What kin o' yourn that come and 'elped us clear out the mess in the mine left as soon as word reached us that fires were approaching Elvandar.

Where did the Wyverns come from?

Whar else, lad? The Northlands! Some new bastard moredhel leader I hear harassing your kinfolk. I 'ope you 'aven t any kits in 'arms way.

No... What of the Moredhel?

A few as what 'ad the nerve to cross over from the Moraelin 'ave already got themselves skewered, though I know that the Prince Calin has been on the frontier looking for others. The biggest concern as yet is to put out the flames and get 'elp to those as got trapped behind it all.

[PRINCE CALIN]

Prince Calin leads? What of Warleader Tomas?

Poor news indeed. Three days ago, Tomas led a band o' elves to stem raiders what 'ad come from over the river near Moraelin. They beat the raiders back arights, but in the melee the Warlord took a thrust to 'is side with a tainted blade. They 'ad to carry 'im back to Elvandar, though I understand it wasn't without a struggle. Tomas wanted to stay, but word was carried back to Aglaranna of his condition and that was then end of that. Prince Calin assumed control of the patrols at that point and I ken 'e's still up near the north eastern fringe of the forest carving up moredhel.

Does the Warleader yet live?

That lad 'as ever been a fighter, and tenacious one at that. Sooner 'e'll let them cut a leg off than succumb to this poison. I wouldna worry. I think it took your kin for a turn though, seeing Tomas fall. I've never eard of it 'appening in the fifteen years 'e's been with your folk.

[CLEAR ROADS]

We are required in Elvandar quickly. You mentioned fires?

Extinguished now, though not without a fair portion o' foot stomping and bucket carrying! I thought for a while the whole forest might become all one ferocious blaze, but Tathar and the rest of Queen Aglarana's Spellweavers managed to put a 'alt to that business.

Then we should have no difficulty returning to Elvandar.

I don't know I would exactly say that. There's still a fair number of those Wyverns flappin' about the forest, though Tathar's been working night and day to bring the blighters down. Even taught Prince Calin a little bit of spellcraft what can bend the will of those cantankerous lizards, but I understand it still 'asn't put an 'alt to the raids.

What of the dwarves?

Oh we've volunteered a few men, but as you elves don't much like outsiders in your realm, we've respected your borders. King Dolgan did send a few volunteers to 'elp out the Elf Queen, but the lot o' them took a terrible weariness once they entered the forest and could go na further. They musta fell afoul of one o' your fabled sleeping glades.

[CALDARA]

If we may face Wyverns, it might be wise if we had our armor repaired. Are there any armorcrafters in Caldara?

Are there any leaves in Elvandar? You've gone daft! A course there are armorcrafters in Caldara! You don't 'ave to go all that way though. I can repair it for a few gold, and if ya watch cloose, you might even learn a bit about the craft of repairing armor. Does a hundred sovereigns suit you?

[YES]

Suits me just fine. What do we need to do?

Well, lad, I'd be much obliged if you'd remove any armor you might have on under that tunic of yours and if your elf friend will do the same, we will get to work. Now just watch what I do...

Someone told me once a few dents in the armor can actually be beneficial. Something about them catching blows that would ordinary scrape along the surface and into the chinks? Makes some sort of sense when you think about it, I suppose... Maybe it would be a good idea to make armor so that it already has bumps, facets! If it already had them built in, then the armor... You're already finished?

Aye, finished. You'll find your armor is in as good a condition as it can be lad, though I daresay you'd 'ave learned a great deal moore if you spent moore time listening and less time talking.

So, as I keep saying almost every update, this is totally not how it goes in the book and a bit non-canon as well, as dwarves would absolutely be able to tell the difference between an elf and a moredhel. In the book, Owyn and Gorath cross a freezing pass only to walk right into the arms of a patrol of dwarves who lead them to Caldara, where King Dolgan of the dwarves is hanging out. He recognizes Gorath as not a danger and invites the two of them to stay till the storm settles in a day or so, and ends up becoming friends with Gorath, swapping old war stories and the two of them talk about the differences between their peoples. Dolgan wondering why the Moredhel can't just have chill lives like theirs since, from what he's seen of Moredhel hill forts, they look much like dwarven villages. Gorath laments how miserable his people is, in particular that "we let our children play with swords so that they may cut themselves and learn early lessons," and the two of them end up parting on good terms.

Now, Caldara's just like five huts or so, but lets check 'em out, some of them have some funny dialogue.




If you back out at any time, you just cut your losses. I'm amused that it rewards you for going all-in and is in no way random. The remaining houses have simpler dialogues, either being empty, having a single surly occupant or a few left-behind goods.





As we approach the last dwelling in Caldara, a shop on the eastern end, we get a dialogue pop-up.


Hold for a moment, Owyn. I wish to speak to you.

Why? What is it?

I merely wished to prepare you for things that may transpire before we reach Elvandar. There are magics -- things ancient -- which have kept the moredhel from crossing into the forests of the eledhel, but I feel those things have been awakened. I may have some difficulty in completing our journey.

Difficulty. What do you mean?

It was not my intent to alarm you. Only to reassure you that no matter what may happen between here and Elvandar, I have come to consider you a friend.

Despite this dialogue, nothing actually happens to Gorath or weakens him here. Which I'm not sure whether's an oversight, a scrapped bit or actually supposed to be hinting at something that will happen later.




This is also the last shop in the game that Gorath and Owyn will ever come across. Nothing in the game ever warns you that this is the case, but take the chance to stock up on necessities. It contains all the basic consumables(rope, shovels, rations, whetstones, armor hammers, restoratives), elven quarrels, a special key that you should not buy, Clerical Oilcloths and Powder Bags. Oddly enough it doesn't contain any Dragon Plate armor or Greatswords, but it feels implausible you wouldn't have teched the party up to those by now, and while Greatswords are in short supply, Gorath almost certainly has a better Sword of Lims-Kragma by this point and plenty of enemies drop Dragon Plate both before and after this point.

In any case, I stock up a bit on rations and restoratives, and then it's time to fold out the big map of the Green Heart and plot out a course.



Getting to Elvandar is as simple as rolling up the brown main road or following the South Trail. There are no majorly difficult battles along the way. However, almost every corner of the Green Heart contains something unique and interesting, or something needed for getting to a thing that is unique and interesting, so that's not what we'll be doing. Instead we'll be moving first north up the East Trail, into the little dead end up there, then to the southwest, then to the northeast, and then finally to the center west.




If you know where you're going, it's often worth it to avoid the paths and road since that lets you dodge some encounters, too. Though there are a couple of locations that it's absolutely miserable to try and find without using said paths and roads, even if you've got an annotated map like I have I had a couple that it took me a while to spot.




The most common enemies in the woods are Wyverns which have ranged attacks for 20 to 40 damage, which can be nasty if they get init on you. Blue-bellied wyverns take double damage from fire-themed spells(primarily Flamecast) and yellow-bellied Wyverns take double damage from ice-themed spells(i.e. Fetters of Rime), which is nice to keep in mind since the double damage from Flamecast can be a one-shot-kill against them. With Fetters it matters a bit less since it also paralyzes them which is effectively a kill.





I also end up walking into a nasty ambush because the trees conceal most enemies until they're right on the line of getting in your grill. Thankfully neither of these Witch Hags have Grief or Despair, so it's just a scary battle, not a dangerous battle.




It would have been much worse if I didn't distract the warriors with Gorath and then wriggle Owyn loose to let fly with a couple of Evil Seek casts.





Several places in the woods there are also these super-easily-missed ropes leading up to elven treehouses. Good fucking luck finding even a couple of them without using a guide of some sort, plus a couple of them are actually nasty traps. Sadly, while I have dumps of the text, even the guide appears to have given up on detailing their contents or the traps' effects. The following is supposed to be one of the ones north of Caldara, but I couldn't find it.


Presumably that's like a 50 damage trap or something, not enough to kill anyone unless you walk around half-healed(which is a really bad idea), but enough to make you waste some supplies. Minor traps like that would be a lot scarier if the game's sense of urgency was reinforced by an actual soft or hard time cap of some sort and you thus couldn't take a week to camp out somewhere any time you felt like it.

Oh yeah and then the party walks into a magical trap.



I couldn't quite think my way out of this one, but I solved it anyway.



Transparent crystal knocks out the first zap pole, solid crystals block the two other zap poles and then I Black Nimbus the last pair so I can squeeze my way around to the right. I think the pro move would've been to just shift one of the solid crystals diagonally up and to the left so it's immediately above the first disabled zap pole and thus offers me enough space to squeeze past without needing to disable the rightmost pair.





Generic moredhel are the best enemies in the woods since their cloaks actually stand out. Witch hags and wyverns both tend to blend into the foliage and become almost completely invisible. Once I'm at the end of this little side path here, I'm right at the entrance to the northeasternmost valley "dead end."



Without a map, at least the overhead one, you might completely miss that there's even an entrance here. It, of course, also has a trap.



The wizard in here can really be trouble since he knows Grief, but thankfully he doesn't cast it.



Instead he whips an Unfortunate Flux at Owyn, and I, not having checked up on his stats beforehand, don't know that this knocks him so low it almost certainly prevents his AI from casting more spells.



Not wanting to spend time hacking through the Wyvern in front of him, I have Gorath circle around and eat the 30 damage from the Blaster to finish the mage right away. A smarter move might've been to have Owyn just spawn a couple of Beasthounds with a Horn there, but that might've also made them block off my ability to easily disable the trap, I don't know how summons act once all actual enemies are dead and just the trap remains.



Once the enemies are dead, the trap is easily disabled. Transparent crystal makes a blaster pop the nearest poles, solid crystal blocks the distant blaster.




It's a good thing the trap is there, too, because this little valley is absolutely the most tree-dense part of the Green Heart. Without the trap to draw your attention to it, you might simply give up and assume there's nothing worthwhile in there. Eventually, though, you'll stumble into the lower left corner...




I do not raid with my kin. Grant me passage, eledhel. I have come to look upon the face of the Shining Moon.

The old tongue... I think then your coming will be well received in Elvandar. Tell my mother and Warleader Tomas I am well and I will continue on toward Moraelin to meet the moredhel there. Perhaps we can yet put a halt to their raids.

What's the Shining Moon? Is it in Elvandar?

She, not it, young human friend. Your companion refers to our Queen Aglaranna. In your tongue it means something like Shining Moon.

Is the way to Elvandar passable?

The attacks directed by the moredhel have made travel a difficulty. Fires are burning all across Elvandar and the Spellweavers are hard pressed to attend to them all. Most roads are impassable, but the western path was clear last I heard of it.

[SURVIVAL]

I'm surprised you've been able to survive alone with the moredhel raiding over your borders. How have you escaped?

The moredhel can do little harm to the eledhel within Elvandar and they would be fools to try. It would take remarkable strength of will for a moredhel to enter the forest with any evil intent and even a more remarkable will for him to survive such an attempt. It is part of the magic that protects our home.

What about Gorath? He hasn't had any problems entering the forest.

You have not told the boy?

My returning is of no consequence to him. He has his own quest to fulfill.

Returning? You mean you've been here before?

You will understand certain things later should events unfold as I imagine. There is still the matter of your survival to deal with, however. Though our cousin Gorath moves with great grace, you are not so sure-footed. For your part in my rescue, I should like to teach you how to move the elven way.

What about Gorath?

It is not custom between our kin, but if you wish it...I will teach him what I know of using a crossbow... Come. We cannot be long at this.


[WYVERNS]

How have you been holding off the wyverns? I would have thought this many of them could have burned Elvandar to the ground.

Fortunately, the spells the moredhel have been using to control them aren't too strong or too complicated. Even with what little knowledge I have about magic, Tathar managed to teach me a cantrip that will turn them away.

Sounds like it might come in useful. If you have time, do you think you could teach it to me?

You can have the scroll I studied. I don't think I will need it any longer, though I warn you, you'll need to find one of those beast's eggs each time you cast the spell. Tathar tried to explain the principle to me, but I had trouble following the complexities of it.

[ELVANDAR]

What way will take us the most quickly to Elvandar?

If it were merely a matter of which way would take the least distance, I would suggest you take the northern bridge, but I understand from my scouts that wyverns have been alighting in heavy numbers near there. It would be far less dangerous to travel to the far western bridge and there cross through the sleeping glades, though you may have some difficulties dealing with them. From there, bear directly north until you reach Grey Horn. You will find an entrance to a subterranean, ancient ruin there. Once you emerge from it, you will be very near the heart of Elvandar itself.

[ANCIENT RUIN]

One nice thing about travelling underground, at least there is less chance of something dropping down on us from above. With all these wyverns flying about, I half expect one to come flapping out of nowhere any time I turn my head.

You may not find you are quite so enthusiastic about the ancient ruin once you pass through it. We do not use it much.

Please tell me it isn't infested with a Brak Nurr or something equally repulsive.

Infested? An interesting description, but not in the way you may think. None of the elven blood may easily walk its corridors without some measure of dread.

It is of the Valheru, then.

The Warleader assures us none of their ancient essence may touch us here, but the malevolence that permeates that place cannot be easily dismissed. We have not been so foolish, however, to leave it open to any that wish simply to enter it. There is too great a danger something there has been unfound that is beyond our control. Only a few of the elves have a key that will unlock its doors.

How are we going to get in, then?

I will give Gorath the key I carry. That is all that is required.

As simple as that?

There is nothing simple about it. The force of will it has taken for Gorath to have come even this close to Elvandar is monumental. Unless his reason for being here was of the utmost importance, he would have fled this forest long ago. I trust him.

[SLEEPING GLADES]

You said we might encounter some difficulty with the sleeping glades?

It is one of Elvandar's natural defenses. Those who enter them suddenly find themselves quite drowsy and will sleep for days on end. Many die in their sleep from lack of nourishment.

Effective, if non-selective. I assume there is a way they may be crossed.

It wouldn't be practical to live in a house for which there is no door. Though the sizes of the glades are variable, when you approach them, you'll experience a slight feeling of disorientation. There is, however, a little known path that can carry you safely through them. The glades run parallel to a mountain range Southwest of here, north of the river's fork. They are difficult to cross, but you may circumnavigate them. If you head to the fork of the river then stay close to the mountains to the north, you should be untroubled by the glades.

Phew, that was a lot of text for a non-canon encounter. Prince Calin is Aglaranna's son but not Tomas' son, he's the son of the late elf king and does in fact feature in the book! Just... not quite here. The mechanical impacts of the conversation are also nice. Owyn gets +10 Stealth and Gorath gets +10 Crossbows(shame we can't get him a Bessy Mauler, too.) and the party gets a Key of Lineages. It's, oddly enough, a key that can be bought in several places, but only used in one place, and even then, you need to talk to Prince Calin(which also gives you the key anyway) for it to function. Very odd.


Lastly he's the only place to learn Thy Master's Will, which would be much better if Owyn wasn't more or less guaranteed to have Flamecast and Fetters of Rime by this point or if the Wyverns were tougher to kill and thus an instakill spell for them would be nice. As it is, it's generally a waste of your inventory space to cart wyvern eggs around and there are better ways to tackle them, as just mentioned.

As we leave Calin, we head straight west since there's a code chest by the riverside.




Yeah that's real fucking easy to make out. Goddamn.



SPONGE

I was about to complain that this seemed like a very anachronistic tool for a medieval setting, but on googling it turns out that sponges(as in actual sea sponge sponges, after drying them out), were used for sponge-related purposes by the ancient Greeks and Romans. Apparently some of them are still soft after their being dried out and can thus be employed for those purposes. Now you know!

The chest just contains some valuables, a sword-boosting Killian's Root Oil and a useless Wyvern's Egg.




Next up, I head all the way down past the main road to the South Trail, and then I walk roughly halfway west along the trail towards the bridge before turning dead north and heading to the river. There are no clues anywhere in the game that this is a smart thing to do. Supposedly there's a text trigger that will point you towards the river, but I never hit it.





What we've found is a non-hostile Rusalki hanging out by the river. This is interesting enough to be worth walking over and seeing what's up with her.




How do you know such things about us?

I know many things. You are on a quest, are you not?

Yes, we are. Can you help us?

Not directly, no. Only if you would be willing to find the moredhel spellcaster who has been perverting the will's of my kin with a strange device, and retrieve from this man an item stolen from me. He holds an item named after my own person...Eliaem's heart. Return with it, and I will do what I may to assist you.

This is in fact the exact same type of Eliaem's Heart that I bought for Patrus near the end of Chapte 5, so if you hauled one down here from Dencamp's store earlier, you could complete the quest without really completing the quest, but Eliaem seems nice enough, so let's actually help her out. We'll be going that direction anyway. First, we're gonna head all the way to the southwesternmost area of the Green Heart...





Because there's of course another hidden chest here. Actually three, but the two just-locked ones we don't really care about. The third one, which has a 95-damage trap(but with 0 disarm difficulty...) is the one we care about, because it contains more war crimes.



Mad God's Rage is the third-last game Owyn will pick up in the game, and it's going to be funny to use. We'll be testing it out shortly. Now we head north from where we found these chests...





Hey you! In the piss-coloured cloak! Hand over the heart!
I don't think he's open to negotiating, Owyn.
I didn't figure he would be, but it's going to make me feel slightly better about what comes next.




So what Mad God's Rage does is that it rattles all enemies on the battlefield and then starts randomly striking them with lightning that usually does about 20 damage. It will do this until all of them are dead, but each bolt of lightning also takes three points of stamina/health off the caster, so it's effective for making sure everyone fucking dies, but against sufficiently numerous/beefy enemies, it can be dangerous to whip out. It also only works outdoors, rather like Skyfire.




For instance that pack of enemies, none of which were particularly beefy health-wise, drained about half of Owyn's total health pool(he started at at bit less than full because normal resting only gets characters up to 80%).



Now to get this thing back to Eliaem. I sure hope the game isn't jankily programmed and accidentally corrupts our reward when we turn it in.

(the game is jankily programmed and without appropriate precautions it will corrupt our reward when turned in)





So if you want to be on the safe side, no matter what patch you're using, ensure that you have at least 13 free slots in your inventory(not in either one of them, just in total) before turning in the poor lady's heart. Explanation to follow.