Part 20: Don't Call Him Lizard-Jockey

Chapter 16 - Don't Call Him Lizard-Jockey

Music - "A Perilous Path"
Download (Thanks to Grawl)





Video - Lightning Blast




I stepped into the trap on purpose because I was looking for a fight. Now I had one, all right.

The Orc drummer began pounding a war beat on the large drum strapped around his waist. I sensed magic from the drum - it wasn't just for orc morale, the drumming was actually healing them! The drummer became the bigger threat.





A stream of bright blue death poured from my hands, showering down on the green bastards. My mind was fully attuned to my senses, and I didn't need to look at the orcs to target them.




As each orc in turn fell, I was already targeting the next, without any pause or mercy.

My magic was exhausted, with more orcs closing in, but I was prepared. In one smooth motion I grabbed two white potions from my belt, one in each hand, popped off the corks with my thumbs and downed both of them at once.

The buzzing in my head faded, and I felt magic seeping in again. It took only a few seconds between running out of energy, and resuming the rain of lightning bolts until all the Orcs had collapsed to steaming piles.

I breathed heavily from the exertion. The entire fight, from start to finish had taken only 20 seconds.

But still my anger wasn't spent. I picked up one of the curved orc-blades and chopped off the head of the orc drummer. I picked it up to throw it.

_{Were these the orcs responsible for the death of your mother?}
I don't know... probably not.
_{Why did you kill them?}
So no one else would get killed by their trap.
_{No. You know the reason. Say it.}
I killed them because I hate orcs. I want to kill as many as I can. I want to keep killing them. Is that the truth you want me to say, Mysterious Voice?
_{Your heart was full of anger. But do you feel better now? Did that pointless act of violence satisfy you? Is the burden you bear any lighter than it was before?}
...no.
_{Than why do you think killing more orcs will bring you comfort and closure?}
I...

I didn't have an answer for that damn voice. My anger had dissipated.

That was bloody stupid of me, wasting time I could have been using to walk forward.

I headed southwest, towards the road. The early morning fog was just starting to thin out, but not before I wandered too far...





Oi! A bloody human in our camp!

The orcs looked at me in shock - no, not at me, at something in my hand. I looked down and realized that I was still carrying the head of the orc drummer.

I'm terribly sorry, I seem to be lost. I asked your colleague here for directions, but he doesn't seem in a talkative mood. Here, maybe you can loosen his tongue.

I tossed the head at the chief and ran.

Stand back lads, I'll kill him myself!
The road is this way, I take it?









I came in sight of the road.

Thanks for the directions, but I think I can take it from here.






I dumped magical hail on my unwelcome followers.




The Orcs had set up makeshift barricades on the road, from which they could snipe with some cover. No cover could hide from Lightning, however.

Finally, I was at the road and it was calm again. I passed the bodies of the soldiers and continued on down the road. If there were any orcs nearby, they weren't making their presence felt, which suited me just fine.




My first warning of trouble was a painful tingling sensation, sharp like thousands of shards of crystal embedded in my skin. There was a shockwave of dark energy somewhere to the south, nearby. From out of nowhere, dark clouds covered the sun. Icy rain, unseasonably cold, started to fall. It was a magical storm of some kind. I didn't have a good feeling about this..

The tingling of the strange tattoo on my wrist was the sharpest I'd ever felt it, like it was screaming at me.

_{Run! RUN WITH ALL YOUR SPEED!}


Video - Meet John (Voice Acting) - [IMPORTANT]






Nearby, Unfortunately...




Hey...

John sniffed the air..

... that smell...

John smelled the air again...

...could it be? If that's what I think it is, Mistress Fortune must be smiling upon me. Heh heh... I think I'm going to get home sooner than the others...





A hooded being riding a baby dragon suddenly swooped up. I sensed evil in it. I knew I was in deep trouble.

_RUN!!

I would have run if I had thought it would do any good. But the rider looked much faster than me.

As soon as I have an opening, I'll turn invisible, and then run.




Marked Who? What's he talking about?
You've mistaken me for somebody else. Who are these Marked Ones you are looking for, oh lizard-jockey?
Your aura betrays you, piggy human. There is no mistake: a Marked One you are, and for that _{and the 'lizard-jockey' remark} you are about to die!
Smooth move, idiot. Now your big mouth is about to get yourself killed.
Wait, damn you! What's this aura you are talking about?
What? You don't know? By the Chaos Lord, that's interesting. I wonder what it can mean.... Well, it is a consideration for later... Now, let's see if your impenetrable ignorance will stop me from gutting you!




I started to move far too late. The blast was incredibly painful. It cut straight though George's armor without even scratching it.

My broken body lay on the ground, I could feel my blood flowing away beneath me, but my body no longer responded to my commands. All I could do was shed a single tear.

"I'm sorry, Jenna... _{I'm sorry I failed you. I'm soruhhhh-}"






Next Time: ???



Behind the Scenes

The map:



The soldier corpses from the cutscene are by the bend in the road. There is zero chance you could have seen them from the Aleroth gate, but that's where they are. Nearby is a key.



It opens a chest over here.



There are lots of mystery keys that open hard-to-find chests, but generally how it works is that you'll give up and just lockpick the chests, and end up with a bunch of useless keys.

There are tons and tons of these little minor extras and decorations in every corner of the game, I couldn't possibly cover them all in the course of a narrative, and I don't think I'll manage to cover them all in the course of the LP.







Don't bother trying to skip the conversation by avoiding the road, the trigger stretches all the way across form the map edge to the river.

There's an alternate line you can choose in the lizard jockey conversation. Not that it makes a difference.

Well, well, well... if it isn't one of the Marked Ones, wandering around in the woods like a little lost lambkin...
I'm sorry, lizard-jockey. I'd love to chat, but as you can see, I've my hands full cutting up orc bandits. If you and your sulphur-smelling friend have got a minute, you might lend a hand...
HA! I see you have a sense of humor, oh Marked one. A shame it is that it won't wheedle you out of your doomed situation. Dark God! The stench of your aura is too much to bear! Stretch out your neck, and I'll try to make your death a matter of a single blow!


What's fake in this update?

 Normally, when you die, the pool of blood which appears comes out random. I altered a shot carefully to make it look better. At the time (months ago), I was really, really proud of the last shot. But that was before I made DOZENS of other photoshops for the LP. Something as simple as this is no longer all that impressive, even to me.