Part 19: Little Mushrooms
Chapter 16 - Little Mushrooms
Music: "Magic Touch"
(Click here to download) (thanks to Grawl)
I guess we've found the cause of the mysterious illness…
Yes, it's the frogs. You're not as stupid as you look, human… you're right, the frogs are the cause… all the imps around here are suffering, except Altofilix, who hates their stench and covers his mouth and nose with a cloth…
How you doing? I've found the cause of the illness. The floogefrogs are the source of the sickness. What? Floogefrogs cause of imps being sick? Yes yes, makes sense… That's why only imps around floogefrog farm are ill! Yes, that's right. We must have cure, but only imp that can make cure is exiled by Shaman! He must be found! Who is he? He Alchemist of village, Shaman say he caused plague, father exiled him. Not know where he is now… We'd better start looking, then. An Alchemist, he'd want to be around a source of plants and things, right? Where are the best nearby areas for that? You could try Little Mushroom Forest, to northwest, or big Mushroom Forest to south. Imps also use spider parts for poison and other things, maybe Alchemist in Spider Forest to northeast. I guess I'll start with the smaller and safer areas first…"About the Game" posted:
This is the main plot of the Imp Village, finding the Alchemist. I'll visit some other areas first, unless people ask that I skip to the main plot to move the act further.
The Imp Chief's Son actually adds that an imp patrol met the Alchemist and he can show us on the map where that was, but I'm omitting that as an excuse to wander around.
Mort and D.K. headed into the Little Mushroom Forest.
Look, human! A treasure chest, right in the open. Come on, let's see what's in it! Well, alright, but be careful, it might be a traAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA!
ow…There was a noise from above, and more dirt trickled down from the hole high above.
Hello down there! You hear me? Very deep pit, no climbing out. Trapped are you? He-he-he. Trapped, yes… hehe. Little imp save you. Yes, save you me will. But want gold, yes. Little imp doesn't save for free. Freedom has price. 500 gold pieces is price for little imp saving you. … Throw gold up, if want to be saved. Yes, yes, throw gold up to me or trapped forever. 500 gold enough. What you do, huh? Hmmm… Don't trust him… he's an imp for Chaos' sake! He will trick us, I'm sure! What you decide? You want my gold? Yes, yes, give gold! Then come down here and get it yourself. Ahh, trapped you stay, he-he-he. Trapped, yes, yes. Trapped!The imp moved off.
I doubt that little devil would've helped us anyway. … So, what's your plan for getting us out of here, human? My plan? What's YOUR plan?
Suddenly, a strange imp teleported in.
Hello! What you doing down here? Not much, seems. You want out? Who the hell is this? Maybe this you want? A teleporter it is! A little pyramid… You want? Only way out of this place! Yes, please. Take! Here. Me not need anymore. Took it from somebody who didn't need it either… What *somebody* was that?
Those stones look like something that… HE once described to me. Could they be the same ones? Me come back later and get it from you… Take good care of it. Me gone now. … Oh, by the way… me not know where second pyramid is… so be careful when you try it. Bye.Mort twisted the top of the pyramid to the right, and he and D.K. were sucked away in an instant.
"About the Game" posted:
That imp is called "Imp Historian", who I guess is supposed to be "Zixzax the Almost-Wise" from Divine Divinity. We now have the teleporter stones from Divine Divinity, which let you teleport between them.
In Divine Divinity, they were really awesome. In this game… less so. That's not because how they work has changed, it's because of the way Beyond Divinity works. In Divine Divinity, they were useful to teleport between where you were when you became encumbered, and the place you stored things or a merchant to sell them. In Beyond Divinity, you have infinite storage via summoning dolls, and instant access to merchants at any time via the free teleport to the Battlefields. That makes the teleporter stones a bit less useful. They are still useful in the Battlefields for fast identifying of things you find in the dungeons, and for reaching some things we can't walk to on foot.
As the imp said, we don't keep them forever. We lose them off-screen between Acts 3 and 4 without ever seeing this imp again. This is so we don't break the hell out of a bajillion possible quests and/or scripted sequences in Act 4.
We now have new menu options for using the pyramids. We have no choice but to use them now to escape the pit.
They materialized surrounded by mutants, but Mort and D.K. were able to make short work of the pathetic monstrosities.
Well, we're out. … Now we just need to figure out where we are.Mort and D.K. wandered south and encountered a strange scene. An imp was fighting a mutant near a strange spotted mushroom.
Is that the mushroom the farmer wanted?
Stranger, I beg you, don't take away the mushrooms from this place. Nature was created to be loved and admired. It is us elves, who have taken it upon us to preserve this beauty for the children of the future. I think this little guy is a bit on the short side for an elf! That's the crazy imp the mushroom farmer mentioned, so I guess we're still nearby the imp village. Lucky us. I beg you, don't take what's left of nature's treasures away from this place. Please leave the mushrooms be, in the name of all elves… Are you sure you're an elf? Yes, of course I'm an elf! Have you never see one of my kind before? And as an elf, I am here to protect the rare mushrooms of this place. I saw some dwarves cutting down mushrooms over that way. What? Damn dwarves! Thank you for warning me, I must go there at once!The imp ran off. Once it was out of sight, Mort carefully dug up the mushroom with his knife, preserving the soil and roots, and put it into a spare sack.
They continued moving on, following the edge of the lava flow.
Nasty creature. I'll try luring it into a trap."About the game" posted:
It's guarding the third Battlefield Key, and it's pretty tough compared to the usual enemies around. Unfortunately, luring it into a trap was harder than it seems, because it's a magic user who fires air attacks and air curses at Mort, so it's hard to get it to follow you. Luckily, my traps didn't go to waste as a pair of mutants came by and stomped on them.
Once killed, the Winkor drops Cloudstinger, a bastard sword that does Air-elemental damage. It's not that great against anything which isn't deathly weak to air, and the damage is quickly outclassed by everything else even before the end of the act.
Mort and D.K. continued their circle until they came across a familiar spot.
You? What? How you come out of pit? Eh? Wanted save you, yes, yes! Wanted. But *magic* stopped me… not allow me. Couldn't. Wanted to save, yes. Don't hurt me! … Going now. Going, yes… not bother you again. He better run fast because I'm going to show him what happens to those imps who mess with Death Knights! You're damn right you're not going to bother me again! Or anyone else, for that matter! Die! Heeeeeelllllppp…The imp wasn't able to run fast enough before D.K. and Mort ended his life.
Finally, an imp gets what he deserves. How satisfying.Mort and D.K. continued through the forest, when they were accosted by a most unusual bandit.
Stop right there! This is a robbery. Err, I mean… put down all your gold or I'll release my deadly spores on you. Put it down, and fast! A… a *talking* mushroom? Are your spores really deadly? You won't talk yourself out of this, oh no! You won't trick this mushroom, no you won't! Will you put your gold down or not? No, I'm not giving gold to a mouthy fungus! Damn…Something which Mort and D.K. had taken to be part of the Mushroom ran off.
What's this? There's an imp hiding behind that mushroom! He tried to trick us… but fortunately… and surprisingly… you saw through this bluff, or this little devil would have taken us to the cleaners!The imp ran off past a large rock formation. Upon closer inspection, it was the entrance to a cave.
There were dead floogefrogs scattered around the entrance.
I smell something! What do you smell? There is a strong odor of frogs from down there. I doubt these big toads are entering this cave of their own free will…Mort and D.K. entered the cave and discovered a long vertical shaft, too dangerous to climb. They tied a rope to a stalagmite and lowered themselves down into a cavern.
The cavern was infested with baby spiders.
Where are they all coming from? Um… I think… that.
One floogefrog killer, toast. Too bad, if you ask me. I wasn't asking."About the Game" posted:
The pit trap imp always drops a Medium Earth Crystal when killed, which will be useful in the Large Mushroom Forest which is full of Earth Elementals. He wouldn't have helped you if you had paid him the 500 gold.
If you paid the "Deadly Spores" mushroom, you would have been able to find the imp next to the cave and convince him (threaten him) to return your money.
The Black Spider can Feign Death, then get back up a few seconds later, so watch out for that. But my trap killed it completely so it never had a chance.
What can you tell? Did you find the hunter of my floogefrogs? It's dead. You… you found *sniff, sniff*? How wonderful… So I guess, you want reward? Here it is…
Have you my mushroom yet? Yes, I have. My mushroom! A new breed, new mushroom! More colours, larger, more wonderful… my mushrooms are going to be best in village! Good work, very good.
The "Elf" Imp can teach you bow and crossbow skills.
Alternate Conversations
It's a complete mystery to me. Yes, it's a mystery how you've survived so long with such a small brain… It's the frogs, of course… all the imps around here are suffering, except Altofilix, who hates their stench and covers his mouth and nose with a cloth… I don't know… Amazing… are you walking around with your eyes and ears closed? It's the frogs… all the imps around here are suffering, except Altofilix, who hates their stench and covers his mouth and nose with a cloth… It must be the will of the gods! The gods? You sound like the Shaman, human. No, it's the frogs, of course… all the imps around here are suffering, except Altofilix, who hates their stench and covers his mouth and nose with a cloth… I think it's the mushrooms. Mushrooms? Nobody spoke about mushrooms, keep up, human! No, it's the frogs, of course… all the imps around here are suffering, except Altofilix, who hates their stench and covers his mouth and nose with a cloth…Reader Participation Requested
Where to next: Large Mushroom Forest, Spider Forest, or Just end the Act as fast as possible?