Part 27: Children of Chaos

Chapter 24 - Children of Chaos


Music: "Dark Wizard"
(Click here to download) (thanks to Grawl)



VIDEO: The Necromancer's Third Task


You're really very good at this… your success rate is remarkable!
What do you want with all these crystal fragments? I'm guessing it's not for the good of the innocent?
Do I look that foolish? The crystal was a powerful artifact before it shattered. If I have all the fragments, I can reassemble it.
How can you do that?
Enough talk… I'll teleport you near to a small village where I've located another fragment…


Music: "The Children of Chaos"
(Click here to download) (thanks to Grawl)





Mort and D.K. followed a road to a small village. At first it seemed like a peaceful, idyllic place. Children were playing in the streets.

Something… something here is wrong.
What are you talking about. It looks like a typical human village.




The adults… where are the adults?
Maybe they're inside, or working in the fields?
We passed many fields and orchards, they were all empty. And there's no smoke coming from any chimneys.
Hmmm… strange.




Cassandra: Look, look funny chicken… maybe it lays an egg later…
Who are you?
Cassandra: I am Cassandra
Where are your parents?
Cassandra: My parents? I don't know where they are… haven't seen them for a while…
So you play games all day?
Cassandra: It's far better then before… no parents tell us, not to play…

Kevin: I like catching the chicken… he runs funny.
Who are you?
Kevin: My name is Kevin… and I caught the chicken, all alone.
What happened to your parents?
Kevin: My parents? Woke up one morning, and they were gone…
What games do you play, Kevin?
Kevin: I'm the best at catch-the-chicken… 'cos I'm the faster…

Tim: Later we want to play hide-and-seek…
What is your name?
Tim: I'm… Tim… normally I shouldn't talk to strangers… but Mummy isn't around, so she can't shout at me…
Where are your mummy and daddy?
Tim: Daddy's dead and Mummy… she left, with all the others.. they left us alone…
What games do you play here?
Tim: I love to play hide-and-seek… I always hide… but I won't tell you where!

???: I'm not meant to talk to strangers…
What is your name?
???: Won't tell you…
Where have your parents gone?
???: Won't tell you…
What games do you play?
???: Won't tell you…

Clarissa: I hate Arnie and his stupid riddles…
Who are you?
Clarissa: I'm Clarissa, and I am already 9…
Where are your parents?
Clarissa: Mummy and Daddy are gone… they won't come back… ever…
Do you know any games?
Clarissa: Arnie always wants to play riddles… I don't know any good riddles…

Philippe: You're a grown-up? Will you also disappear?
Who are you?
Philippe: Philippe…
Do you play games with the other children?
Philippe: The others always make fun of me… I'm always losing…
Where have your parents gone?
Philippe: They went in the night with a flash, they all went down…
Where did they go?
Philippe: They went down and never came up again…
What does that mean?

Mort and D.K. saw another child, but as they moved towards him, he ran for the well and jumped in.




As if called by a bell only they could hear, the rest of the children also ran and jumped into the well.

Just a guess, but I think we should follow.





The children had seemingly vanished, but moving up aggressively was a mutant creature.




It wasn't harder to defeat than the others, and it dropped a crystal fragment.

Well, that was unexpectedly easy.
For once. Now all we have to do is wait for the necromancer to take us back. … Anytime, now…

Someone approached from the back of the cave.




Thank you for your help… removing the crystal actually reversed the effect of becoming younger… and killing the monster ended the pain…
So the children were actually adults?
What is your name?
My name is Arnie Mastersen… I'm the mayor of the village above our heads…
What do you know about the crystal?
One night we saw a flash coming from the well… We climbed down to see what had caused it and found the crystal… We were called down here by the crystal regularly… it was like a hypnotic order… Becoming younger and younger every time… at first, we weren't too worried about that… in fact, who wouldn't like to lose a few of their years? But then the monsters came… When the monsters realized we were helpless, they started to wait for us near the crystal… carrying us down to their lairs… paralyzing us and feeding from our blood… When the paralyzation was over, the monsters withdrew further down into their lair where we couldn't reach them… we could do nothing but go back up to our houses again… Until the next time the crystal called to us… we tried to leave the village, but the crystal kept calling us back again every time… it was horrible!
Are there other monsters?
Yes… please could you save the others down there, too? They should be adults again, but the monsters will still be sucking their blood… I think they must paralyze their victims somehow…
We'll try, but we might leave unexpectedly in the middle, so if we don't come back after a while, we won't be coming back at all.
I don't understand.
It's far too complicated to explain anyway.




Mort and D.K. descended into the depths of the cave.




There were still some demons active and putting up a fight, but Mort and D.K. were more than a match for them, so they could rescue the children from their cells.














That seems to be all of them.
That Necromancer is sure taking his time about this!
Well, let's go…




Cassandra: Thank you for your help… You let me breathe the sweet air of freedom.




She's still a child… I don't understand… we removed the crystal… why hasn't she changed?
Why haven't you changed back into an adult?
???: I haven't changed 'cos I've always been a child!
Oh. Bye.

When walking down the road away from the village, they felt the call of the Necromancer.


VIDEO: Act 2 Finale


You did it again… marvelous! ... Remember to keep your eyes open for more fragments on Nemesis…
Yeah, yeah…

Music: "Magic Touch"
(Click here to download) (thanks to Grawl)





They were returned to the Shaman's cellar. But something was dreadfully wrong… everyone - The Alchemist, the Sage, even the Imp Chieftain and his son… all of them were dead. The imp Taxlehix was standing in the middle of the room.




Ah, it's you 'uman… I thought you would show up here…
What happened? Ask him why everyone is dead!
The village had visitor… Samuel found them… I watched… could do nothing…
Samuel came here?!
He must have been looking for us…
Demon wants you badly… heard him shout for them to bring you out… poor brothers…
We still don't know where we can find this Temple of Raan…
Do you know the way to the Temple of Raan?
Temple of Raan? I can show you way… do you want to go now?
Yes, I do.
Let's go… I come back later…
To bury the dead?
… to search ruins for valuables…




Finally… It's about time. I was afraid I would have to wait forever…




The imp village was deadly silent. No voices or laughter filled the air. It was the silence of the grave. Taxlehix led mort and D.K. into the Large Mushroom forest.




There we are… I will show you passage... wait… somebody's coming… see you later…
Wait… damn that little coward!

Taxlehix ran off, and a strange human approached.




Greetings, I have the honour of inviting you to meet with the great Asmodheus!
Damn you, Asmodheus! What are you playing at?
Who is Asmodheus?
Be very careful now… Asmodheus is an Arch-Demon…
Like Samuel?
Asmodheus is not like Samuel… but they are equally powerful… I advise *extreme* caution…
What is this invitation about?
The great Asmodheus expects an answer from you… do you wish to accept the invitation?
Do you think it would be possible to run from this?
No.
It's not really much of a choice, then, is it?
Yes, I do.
Excellent…

Mort and D.K. were once again whisked away…


VIDEO: Act 2 Intermission



I loathe necromancers. Being summoned by that jumped-up corpse molester was one of the most unpleasant things to have happened to me. I only hope I meet him again under different circumstances. I knew however that searching for the crystal fragments would be the key to our escape.




It lifted my spirits somewhat to be closing in on the Raanaar. Given the carnage that the demons had caused among them, they had reason enough to be hostile towards strangers. Yet to us, they weren't. I was convinced we'd find a way to make them co-operate, and my companion was proving to be more resourceful than I had imagined.




Asmodheus's invitation troubled me somewhat. He was reputed to be a mean, sadistic and unreliable creature, but that was common of many demons.




Not that I had anything against that, I just didn't relish being the focus of his attention. I could only hope my companion would keep showing signs of intelligence.





Imp Village Massacre

Taxlehix had a really good idea about looting the village. You should do that before you ask him to take you to the Temple of Raan.

Not all the imps are dead, the guards to dangerous areas, and the ones listening to the Imp Hero's story are still there, as are some other quest NPC's. None have noticed the demon attack, though.




The imp merchants are all dead, and they dropped their entire inventory for you, just in case you needed more gold.

In one of the houses are two chests which are locked.



Hah, try to open chests... you never find keys... *sniff, sniff* ... Look everywhere... *sniff* ...you won't find anything!!!

I never tried to open them when the imp was alive, and when I came in, I found the two keys on the ground, and opened the chests. The designers never considered this possibility, apparently... The stuff inside is pretty worthwhile, too.



The Imp Hero's wife is still around, and here is where you find the terrible weapon that the Oracle thinks is powerful. It's not even impressive for late Act 1.


Oh, and if you refuse Asmodheus's invitation, you can try talking to Taxlehix again, but he just says someone else is coming. There's nothing to do but try and enter the imp village, after which you're interrupted by more messengers. If you refuse three times, the fourth messenger is possessed by Asmodheus, and he whisks you away without the chance to refuse.