Part 34: Zandalor
Chapter 29 - Zandalor
Music: "Dark Wizard"
(Click here to download) (thanks to Grawl)
Mort and D.K. headed out to explore another island, nicknamed "Ruins Island" by the temple inhabitants.
VIDEO: Kirill's Non-canon quest
They passed by a man in a campsite.
He looks like he could use some help.
Forget it. Yeah, I guess."About the Game" posted:
Kirill is a Bard, and a reference to composer Kirill Pokrovsky. He wants our help to kill a Fire Elemental to compose an epic poem. Meh. There's 500 rank points in it for us, but that's chicken feed compared to most other quests. Also, there's far more dialogue than I care to transcribe, far more than this tiny short quest needs, but as a special bonus:
Click Here to Watch this Quest on Video
I hear someone nearby casting spells. And you're running towards them *why*?"About the Game" posted:
The enemies in this place are the tough Crystal Gargoyles and annoying Flying Eyes which shoot Bone arrows. Every few steps you take alert a few more Flying Eyes, and when you go run up to kill them, there are more Flying Eyes, repeat. They're not hard to kill or threatening, it's just annoying with them shooting at you all the time.
VIDEO: Meet Zandalor
A wizard was battling some gargoyles when Mort and D.K. rushed up.
Unbelievable! You carry the sign of the Divine One, and you travel with a Death Knight as your companion? Strange things are going on here…
What is Lucian's lackey doing here? Zandalor, the great wizard? I've heard about him. What is he doing here? Can he bring us home to Rivellon? Of course I can, Mr. Death-Knight. But first, you must do something for me. It has to do with the reason why I'm here… You see the ruins over there? Yes, I see the ruins. Well, these ruins belong to the Raanaar. Nice people who lived here in peace, before the demons entered the world… They told me about an amulet, but unfortunately they haven't told me its exact location… If you can help me find it, I will bring us all back to Rivellon. Powerful wizard, eh? How come he can't find a simple amulet himself? Quite annoying manners, you have. But I guess this has to be expected from a Death Knight. Do you want to leave this place or not? Decide now, are you going to help me find this amulet or not? Yes, I'll help. Good, good. Go and look for the amulet in the ruins. I'll keep looking here. Meaning, you won't move? Wizards have their own methods!
There doesn't actually seem to be a way down. Are you sure that the *great wizard* knows what he's doing? Wait, look... there's something written on this pillars.Mort brushed the dirt off a carved area, and he heard words in his head.
Sparkling like your eyes, my beloved friend. Crystal? True!Mort repeated this for the other three pillars.
Shining like the sun, my greedy friend. Gold. True! Cold as your heart, my cruel friend. Stone. True. Food for the fire, my solid friend. Wood. True.
Stairs lowered into the ground, revealing a passage downwards.
Oh, wonderful.The door in front was unlocked, and led to three locked doors.
"About the Game" posted:
This is a puzzle dungeon. It's not hard though. It's a labyrinth. Each switch controls one door. This first floor has a series of rooms which the previous switches unlock. There is a locked room on either side. One has a monster, the other has the switches to unlock the next series of doors. It's simple.
The left door led to a monster. The middle door led to another room with three locked doors.
The right door led to another three switches.
I think I know how this works.Mort and D.K. proceeded through the puzzle fairly quickly.
"About the Game" posted:
This monster drops the 3rd Battlefield Key.
In the last side room before the end there's a treasure chest instead of a monster.
"They just DIDN'T CARE" posted:
Okay… I'd like to digress for a bit and explain how I first played Beyond Divinity. In 2009, Larian studios decided to patch up and remaster their 2003 release of Divine Divinity for digital release on GoG.com. You know, fix up a couple of bugs, rebalance a couple skills, that sort of thing.
I am playing the GoG version of Beyond Divinity. They did not do any remastering of the GoG version of Beyond Divinity. When I first saw this, it really cemented for me the unpolished nature of this game. So in honour of that, from now on (or until the gimmick wears out), every instance of the word "stairs" will henceforth be replaced by "OBJECT_10074".
Mort and D.K. descended the OBJECT_10074 to a lower level of the ruins. At the bottom they found a strange creature.
Stop there! Only the smart will be rewarded. The stupid will be destroyed. Face the challenge, or die a painful death. Go on… It is born from evil, and causes itself. It can be carried over time and help its violent cousins. It can mist the mind and strengthen the courage. Hmmm… I don't have any ideas human, so you'd better get this right! … It is hate. You surprise me. You're smart and should be rewarded. I have unlocked the door so that you may pass. Let's see if we can exchange some things for our mutual satisfaction."About the Game" posted:
Answer his riddle correctly, and he can trade with you, as well as teach you the Insect Swarm, Summoning, and Elemental Curse Trap skills.
There were two doors. One was locked, and there was a monster behind the other.
This isn't even a maze, it's just a matter of finding the only possible next switch you can reach.
Did something seem off about Zandalor to you? … Yeah… he didn't ask a lot of questions, he seemed to be a lot more concerned about this amulet thing. …And he just casually offered to give us what we want. We should be on our guard.
*More* OBJECT_10074? Come on, let's see what's at the bottom. 
This door has two wires leading to it - one going east, the other west. I guess there's a switch behind each door. These "puzzles" are far too easy. I think easy is a nice change of pace.
I guess this must be what Zandalor wants. I can't say that I've ever seen anything like it though. It doesn't seem to be magical, either. Let's go back.VIDEO: An imposter revealed
So, you found the amulet. Impressive! So, you're not Zandalor, I guess. Correct. It was so easy to read your thoughts. Unfortunately I can't bring you back home… I'm sorry I had to fool you, but I wanted the amulet very badly. You could have asked us… Why didn't you? Yes, I could have asked… But you could have said, 'no'…
With that, "Zandalor" started preparing a spell.
It was most satisfying seeing the old goat die… even if it wasn't really him. Where to now, human? Let's see if we can track down those Raanaar rebels and see if they can give us any more information about how we can restore Elder Anlokam. Taxlehix could have been mistaken… … or lying.
Completing Zandalor's quest actually gives you 500 Rank points for some reason. I'm not sure why, since there were no witnesses, and the dead guy isn't in a position to give a recommendation.