Part 36: The Beach Episode, Part 2
Update 36: The Beach Episode, Part 2BaK posted:
Owyn touched Dhatsavan's column.
Feeling the familiar presence stir within, he waited patiently for the entity to respond to his mental call.
You have returned with the Cup, the voice said calmly. That is well. The abandoned progeny of the Pantathians will now be denied access to the Hall. We can be assured they will never again hear from their Midkemian mistress, though their reestablished contact with their brethren holds dire consequences for the future of your world. But, for now, you have no need of concern. The cup's powers may now be subdued until the time it is needed again.
"Pug's welfare still remains," Owyn said firmly. "We have run to the limits of this island for you, now we wish to know where you have kept him."
He is safe within a structure constructed by the Panath Tiandn. The protective barrier that kept him within the structure will be removed once you locate him. He misapprehended the scope of the cup's powers. When he wakened its powers to seek the mind of his lost daughter, it overwhelmed him and reduced him to little more than a helpless child.
"You imprisoned him so you could protect him?" Owyn guessed. "To save his life?"
An amused quality lent itself to the god's mental reply, though Owyn felt certain such feelings were beyond a god. As an individual he is of little interest to us, but we saved his life in honor of a kindness done for the last survivor of our world's holocaust by one known as Macros. He knew of these events and asked that the one known as Pug be sheltered until you returned here with the cup. Already he has regained most of his identity and memory, but his abilities will yet be impaired for some months. You will also find that the way is open to a place that would have gained you your deaths if you had gone there, the ancient lands once occupied by the Valheru during their wars here. There are artifacts there that may be of help to you in your battles. You may now leave, but take the cup with you. With it you may teach Pug any of the spells you know.
I don't think I've talked much about Macros before, but if Midkemia really was all based on a TTRPG game, then Macros the Hack was absolutely the worst kind of GMPC. Immortal, time-travelling, always right, planned for everything, has the biggest and the baddest and the coolest magics all of the time, every time. Literally every aspect of the books would've been better without him and, frankly, on top of that, he's never really all that necessary. Like, mostly what he does is show up at pivotal moments and smugly declare: "ah, yes, you see, what you did only worked out because I was working behind the scenes to make it work out." thus cheapening the struggles and accomplishments of everyone else involved in the books.
A few other things about this conversation are made clearer in the book or make a bit more sense if you've read the books. The mentioned Hall, for instance, is a method of interplanetary/dimensional travel, and it's rather clear that the Panth Tiandn have been trying to use the magic locked inside the Cup to escape off the world despite its shortage of manna. They're described as less intelligent and magically capable than the Pantathians, but more skilled at crafting and unraveling magical items, and thus often having been used to do Alma-Lodka's magical grunt work. Dhatsavan is pleased both because getting the cup away from them interrupted their studies and set them back centuries, and because he can see the cup vanish along with the party once they leave, thus keeping the Panth Tiandn stuck forever rather than fucking up other places.
Now, let's go rescue Pug. I'm sure that he'll be a vast archmage that will trivialize all encounters from here on out.
BaK posted:
There was motion in the tent.
Pushing back the strangely woven doorflap of the tent, a short man stepped forward and squinted at them. Unassuming in most respects, he walked casually forward, as if it were not at all unexpected that he would find humans in the strange desert world.
He was unable to come and he sent us after you. He gave us the spell which you left to him...
Unable to come? Why? What has happened to him? He was injured during an attack on Elvandar by the moredhel. Queen Aglaranna assures us that he will be all right... I can't believe that Makala's plans would be served by sending you here, so for the moment I will have to trust your word... In looking at you, it occurs to me your face is familiar. Are you the magician boy who came into Krondor with Seigneur Locklear a few months ago? Yes, and you remember Gorath? His face has been hard for me to forget these last few nights. He was the first tool of Makala's in this grand scheme...
You accuse us of being liars and spies? I'm not implicating you were a willing participant, Gorath. You were as unknowing in your part as I must assume Delekhan is in his. When you said he had raised the war banners of Murmandamus over Sar-Sargoth, I became somewhat alarmed. Having seen Murmandamus' death with my own eyes, I had no reason to believe he still lived, but forces acting in his name caused the calamity at Sethanon and I thought it possible the Pantathians were once again responsible. After some investigation I found they were indeed interfering with affairs in the Kingdom, but were acting through a band of magical thieves searching for various magical items - trinkets - in no way directly responsible for what was happening in the Northlands or posing immediate threat to Midkemia... With the issue resolved, I believed then Delekhan was merely exploiting the reputation of his predecessor to gain power... So then what did Gorath tell you that was so important? It was only after Makala tricked me into coming here that Gorath's testimony to Prince Arutha took on any significance. In passing, he had mentioned Delekhan wearing a helm of black, shaped like a dragon. Murmandamus wore such a helm and had it with him when Prince Arutha cut him down... Whoever had given Delekhan Murmandamus' helm had to have had been inside the caverns beneath Sethanon. There are only four magicians I can think of who might have had the wiles to slip inside the first perimeter of defenses that have been placed there. One is Macros, but since he was instrumental in averting catastrophe there, I cannot believe he would be responsible. Another is a magician whom Macros once told me of, named Nakor the Isalani; but again, I have reason to believe the Northlands would hold little interest for him. The only others who would be capable are Elghar and Makala, but Elghar has been quite busy with his students at Stardock... Leaving your only suspect as Makala. But why is he doing all of this? Why would he be pushing Delekhan into a war with the Kingdom? If he was ingenious enough to get within the caverns, he would still need considerable help achieving his final objective - a chamber containing an artifact of unbelievable destructive power about which he has been indefatigably interested. I left behind a dragon to guard it, and even my powers would be sorely taxed in a single battle against a dragon her age, let alone one with the special capabilities of the one who sleeps under Sethanon. Once she is alarmed, she will no doubt summon help from a secret garrison of soldiers which King Lyam ordered to remain in the region of Sethanon, soldiers whom Makala surely would have detected on his first visit and intends to counter with Delekhan's moredhel troops... But that's why Prince Arutha sent us to find you! He's afraid that Delekhan is going to have magicians working at the siege at Northwarden! Maybe if we can stop them there... Unfortunately, I'm of no use to anyone at the moment, let alone Prince Arutha. In my blind haste to find Gamina, I used a magical artifact that would have best been left alone... We already know something about it. You said before that you were going to have to trust us, so you'll have to trust me now when I tell you I think I can help. I hope for all our sakes that I'm not wrong about this...BaK posted:
Pug shook as he lifted the jeweled Cup of Rlnn Skrr, feeling power flare within the jeweled artifact. In ever expanding circles, his consciousness stretched outward, touched on the minds of those with whom he travelled, finding awe, confusion, fear, pain, knowledge...
With jarring suddenness Owyn's mind was joined to Pug's, each dazed by the intimacy of the contact.
Concentrate on what you know of spellcraft, Pug thought. I shall do the same, though in my debilitated condition, I think I shall benefit more from this than you.
...
Owyn stirred and found that Gorath was standing over him, a look of concern on his face. "I was wondering about you two," he said.
"How long was...were we out?" Owyn asked, sitting upright.
"Two days," Gorath replied, smiling at Owyn's startled reaction. "It is a good thing you both had presence enough of mind to eat when I put the food into your hands."
So! The instant you meet Pug, the game automatically makes use of the Cup, which teaches Pug every spell in Owyn's repetoire. Subsequent uses of the Cup teaches both of them a random spell you don't already know with, I think, only Union and Strength Drain left out of the potential pool. Of course each time it also knocks the party out for a period and consumes rations, so over-use can end up starving you.
Speaking of meeting Pug, let's have a look at his loadout.
No armor, kind of bad at everything except CAST SPELL, he gets Gorath's Weed Walkers so he doesn't fuck everything up whenever we try to murder some snake people from ambush. The funny-shaped staff he has is THE STAFF OF MACROS, which can cast Flamecast for free a number of times and also gives a bonus to Spell Accuracy.
BaK posted:
The stave's appearance was deceptive. On first glance it appeared to have more in common with a simple walking stick than a staff of power, but its exceptional balance would make it a superior fighting stick. Whoever had made it had purposely concealed its magical properties.
The note he has is just another map of the island like the one we already found. His Ring of Prandur is unique in that it has 100 charges unlike the base 10 charges any other time you find or buy one. I also found a second Crystal Staff along the way and charged it fully, which I swap in for the one he starts with.
Once I finished that bit of swappery of stuff and try to leave, however...
We must find my daughter, Gamina! In my current state, I am unable to reach her mind. I know not of your travels, but I was not able to complete my search. Then we shall continue our random wanderings?! I have no desire for our search to be random. Assistance may lie to the north at the pillar of Dhatsavan, Lord of the Gates. While trapped, I found my mind focusing there... We know the pillar of which you speak. Then lead the way, my friend...Thankfully this is the last time we'll be heading back to Dhatsavan.
BaK posted:
Pug studied the column.
When he had visited the site at Karzeen previously, he had sensed the sentience that radiated from them, but had been unaware of the true nature of the beings who inhabited them. Stepping forward, he made a slight bow.
"Greetings, cousins of the Aal," he said. "I regret that I did not recognize you on my first visit. My apologies. It was only during the time I was in the tent that something the Oracle spoke of once occurred to me."
Apologies are unneeded for such as we, savani, but we accept your tribute. Your safety was greatly prized by Macros.
Pug nodded. "He has been a true friend to me, only as one other has ever been. It is an honor that he prized me so highly. I sometimes wonder that he will ever stop protecting me."
You have not come to us to waste thanks on us, one called Pug. What do you wish from the gods of Timirianya?
"I came here in search of my daughter, Gamina. A magician, a savani by your terms, brought her here against her will. It is important that I find her and return to my home to avert a possible catastrophe. Forces are gathering to tamper with the Lifestone."
For a moment there was silence, the only motion in the air made by the rasp of the sands moving in the deserts. Then, quite abruptly, Dhatsavan's voice returned.
Your daughter is caged by Panath-Tiandn. They believe her an omen that Alma-Lodka has heard their pleas and is preparing the way for her return.
"Is she in any danger?" Pug asked. "Is there something you may do for her?"
No, Dhatsavan replied. Such as my powers once were, they are limited, part of the price we paid for continued existence.
"You exhausted your essence when you crystalized the manna to drive off the Valheru. When their magical abilities seemingly began to wane, they assumed they had tapped the manna of the planet dry and moved on."
Your speculations are deft, savani. But the gods of Timirianya are not yet dead. We will abide until the time comes when we either sleep or until we can be reborn through these children of the holocaust. Perhaps once they have forgotten Alma-Lodka and the rest of the Valheru, they can mature in their own ways.
Pug accepted the information calmly and began to turn to leave, then halted. "Has Makala placed any special spells around her? I am very limited in my abilities at present..."
Seek the old hordes of the Valheru. There may be something there to assist you. Farewell, Pug. Dhatsavan shall speak no more.
Pug waited.
When at last it became clear that Dhatsavan was beyond reaching, he removed his hand from the crystalline pillar. "He is gone," Pug said. From now on, we must help ourselves."
Seek the old hordes of the Valheru? I do not understand... I gather you do understand how this place was not always as it is now. At some point, after Gamina is safe, please inquire further... As for now, it is enough to know that when the Valheru left this land they left behind something else as well. Whatever it is, it would be buried, like their ruins. For it to have remained intact for so many years, it must have been protected by some sort of magical defense...perhaps one produced by the Pillars. Gorath and I have never come across any such defenses here. In my search I was able to cover all but the southern end of the isle. We should start there... We have searched the southeast end of the isle, which leaves only... Prepare yourselves. We journey to the southwest.I hate it when people fuck up "hoard" and "horde." Pet peeve.
Though, once again, I like that the game is a bit nuanced by giving the Panth Tiandn a change for growth and maturation. This isn't in the book, where they're just scaly orcs for the team to hack down and move through. Now, off to the southwest! Nothing interesting happens on the way.
Now, I wouldn't blame anyone for getting stuck here because finding the old "Hoards of the Valheru" isn't easy. You might expect a chest, or a dungeon, or even a small hut they're stored in.
Nope, it's a brown bit of dirt on a slightly different shade of brown dirt.
There are also two of these, make sure you get both since you actually can't complete chapter 8 without them.
Both scrolls are Strength Drain, and the armor is Valheru Armor, the best type in the game.
BaK posted:
Lustrous as no armor should be, it was unthinkable the suit had ever been in battle. Impossibly light, the breastplate was forged of a material that seemed like white gold but was harder than any steel Gorath had ever encountered.
It's base 70% compared to Dragon Plate's base 55%, and also has a bonus for elves. This is found a bit later in the book, where Pug encourages Gorath to wear it since it would make him practically invincible, but Gorath refuses to wear it since he doesn't want any of the temptations of Valheru gear that so enchant the Moredhel. Assuming I understand the calculations right, this should mean that with "only" a type 1 bless, the advantages of Valheru Armor over type 3 bless Dragon Plate is minor, but I'm tossing a suit on Pug since he doesn't have anything else, and swapping the other in for Gorath anyway simply on principle because these boys deserve the best of the best.
We are now also, finally, completely without clues. Nothing remains that really points us in any specific direction.
However, if we return to the southeast section of the island and follow the edge of the central mountain from south to north...
There's a dungeon hidden away here.
It's small and has only a handful of encounters, not even any containers to loot. There's a forced combat right at entry, this pack of very quickly dead Panth Tiandn, and then there's one more fight that needs to be fought to complete the chapter, not long after.
Entering this chamber you might be able to vaguely make out something new and weird looming ahead.
BaK posted:
Their approach was undetected.
For a moment Pug froze, whispering, "Gamina!" Though the confrontation would be difficult, this was a moment he had long waited for.
"These bastard subservients of Makala must die," he thought as he advanced into battle.
The new friends joining the fray are Wind Elementals. In all other Midkemia books where they appear, they just need to be hit until they die, since contact with anything other than air hurts them and touching the ground outright destroys them. But here, they're special. They have no health/stamina scores and no-sell all direct attacks, instead, being Strength Drained to 0 Strength kills them instantly, but they also recover all Strength they've lost at the end of each round. Apparently as a sort of janky "did you bring Pug?"-check, one of them has enough Strength that it requires two Drain Strength casts in one round to kill it.
They also do practically no damage, but later I learned that it's actually strength drain damage, so in a bigger fight with mixed enemies they could actually be somewhat troublesome, not here, though, these space nerds go down like a sack of wet laundry.
What the fuck did they do to Owyn there? He looks like a shitty sprite or paperdoll from some early RPG.
BaK posted:
Pug took Gamina into his arms.
Eyes glistening with relieved tears, he hugged the girl tight to his chest and for a long moment he simply held her, his head resting in her silver-white mane of hair, while he mulled through recent events. At last he slipped a finger beneath her chin, gently lifted, and allowed his gaze to lock with hers as they initiated the special mind-speech that had been Gamina's gift since birth.
He was lying father, all that time, Gamina thought. Even when he brought me here. He was trying to get you away from Krondor!
I know, I know, Pug thought in return, pushing a stray wisp of her hair into place. I shall have to see you better guarded in the future. I had always supposed that your gifts would keep you safe from harm, but I see my pride in you sometimes borders on the dangerously arrogant. We must be more careful. Agreed?
Agreed.
Again she hugged herself to him. Feeling her faint nod, he released her and kissed her forehead, looked to where Owyn and Gorath stood at the cave mouth. Curiously, the squire was bent double, his face buried in his hands as he shook with violent coughs.
"I'm okay," Owyn wheezed, waving his hands, occasionally stealing glances at Gamina. "Really, I'll be fine."
Pug smiled. The boy's theatrics were poor, but it was manifestly obvious he wished an introduction before his lungs collapsed. "Gamina, this hacking young ruffian is Squire Owyn Beleforte of Tiburn. Both he and Gorath have been instrumental in helping find you. Perhaps we should have them down to Stardock for dinner someday."
"Stardock?" Owyn's performance faltered at the mention of Pug's Academy of Magic. Realizing his lapse, he coughed tentatively into his hand. "You mean, the Stardock?"
"None other." Pug frowned as he drew out a small multi-faceted stone from the folds of his robe. "This special pattern stone should take us there, but we have to drop off Gamina before we attend to our business."
"We will go to join Prince Arutha?" Gorath asked.
"No," Pug replied, clapping his hands overhead. "We go to Sethanon!"
So, this is VERY different in the book. Without any raw magic around to use for creating a Rift to bring them back to Midkemia, they spend a week or two on Timirianya, harvesting all the mana plants on the island and hoping it's enough to jump start a rift to bring them back. It obviously is, but according to Pug it was a very close thing. They stop off in Krondor first to drop off Gamina. Much of this is also happening while James, Locklear and Patrus are still at Northwarden.
Then they go to Sethanon where they arrive just as Patrus is preparing to destroy the Rift Machine, as he sacrifices himself to leap into it, they lend him the power needed to destroy the rift.
BaK posted:
Locklear's eyes hardened.
At some level he wanted to believe he'd seen something in the instant of the gate's collapse. It was irrational, no doubt a vision he had conjured for himself to soften the blow of Patrus' death. As a man who had stood against many armies, Locklear knew all too well about last second visions seen on the battlefield. There was absolutely no chance that Patrus could have survived the blast. None.
By some agency beyond his control, he turned back the melancholy that threatened to overtake him, rationality brooking his grief for the lost magician. There was still an army to contend with, still moredhel to slay, still a Kingdom to defend. There would be time for grieving when it was finished.
"Such a dumb way to die," Locklear said, biting off the words bitterly.
Seigneur James nodded. "He died a good death, Locky. I wouldn't have wished for him to go, but he died to save others."
"You say that all the time, James, but there's no good way to die. They're all bad."
James stared at his old friend and saw the coldness that glimmered in Locklear's gaze. He had come to know that look over the years, an expression that had first manifested itself at the Battle of Armengar years before when Locklear's girlfriend, Bronwynn, had been slain by a troll. A bit of Locky had died then and in that place had grown the seed that had bloomed into a deadly and superior knight. But in all that time, he had never forgiven himself for letting the girl die.
"You're not mad Patrus is dead," James said finally. "You're angry that you didn't die in his place."
Locklear's eyes flashed protest, but suddenly he reached for his sword as three flashes appeared in the woods...
"Spellweavers!" Locklear shouted.
Duke Pug! Never have I been half so relieved to see a friendly face. We were expecting moredhel magicians... Tsurani magicians, James, or rather magicians trained by a Tsurani. No moredhel witch would have the capability to make a rift machine nor would they chance going into battle with such poor odds of success. I still should like to know how exactly it was that Delekhan managed to make contact with Makala? I had hoped that the moredhel would be wary of another such attack following the defeat of Murmandamus ten years ago. Prince Arutha said they hope to find Murmandamus and free him. The moredhel are convinced we've been holding him captive all these long years. So Gorath has told me. Doubtless Makala exploited that belief to his advantage. That at least explains one wrinkle. The moredhel have never forgiven us for that loss. But why is Makala doing all of this? Obviously he isn't in this to rescue a dead moredhel leader. For the moment I believe I know, but I don't wish to say until I have taken a better look at something. This last problem I will have to unravel myself, with some assistance from Gorath and Owyn. From here I think we will be able to teleport into the caverns beneath Sethanon. It is there our objective lies. What of Locklear and myself? Once Prince Arutha arrives with his reinforcements, deliver my assurance that he will not face anything magical from the moredhel. If Makala indeed has assistants, they will be uninterested in the Prince. They will be waiting for me.After this exchange there's then a sharp cut to...
The caves under Sethanon. In the book, once again, there's a difference, as Pug also brings James and Locklear along on this trip.
But we're now at the last stretch, the last dungeon crawl of the game, and also the least wordy part of the game.
Next time: We finish the game.