Part 63: Escape or Rescue?

Chapter 48 - Escape or Rescue?


Music - "Halls Beneath the Ground"
Download (Thanks to Grawl)



I searched my cell. I didn't expect to find anything useful, and I didn't. I angrily and futilely rattled the bars of the door.


Video - That's TWO we owe him now (Voice Acting)







I need to find a way out of here before that idiot drives me mad... I have to find Jenna.


Nearby





I couldn't see who, but someone cast a spell on the orc who had been taunting me. Then there was another spell, which polymorphed the second orc into a rabbit. The caster passed in front of the door and my face lit up as the face of rescue revealed itself to be a small white cat




Arhu! Thank the Gods!




Psst. Come closer..

I got up close to the door. Arhu passed the key through the bars.

Here's the key. Now get out of here!


Wasting no time, I unlocked the door and stepped out. Thankfully, once I passed the threshold, I could once again sense and use magic.




I followed the direction Arhu went. On the floor, I spotted something shiny.




It was a diamond ring. Jenna's ring. She'd had it for as long as she'd been in here, something to give her comfort. And now she didn't anymore. Was it taken from her, or did she drop it on purpose for me? There was an inscription on the inside: "Jenna - my love, my life, my everything."

I'm going to get you out of here, Jenna. I promise. I'm on my way. Just hold on a little bit longer.

I climbed the stairs. Arhu was waiting for me at the top. He indicated a door beside him.

Video - Jailbreak, Part 2 (Voice Acting)







Then he rushed past me, down a corridor, which presumably led outside. Unfortunately, the door was locked, although I could see a chest inside there. And even more unfortunately, my lockpicks were on the wrong side of the door.




I crept around carefully. Now that I was outside of the cells, I could cast spells, but without my armor and enchantments, I was very vulnerable.






This must be the key to the room where my belongings are stored. Well, I hope so, anyway.








I found a spellbook on the shelf in this room.





In a corner I discovered an odd fountain. At first glance, I thought it was blood, but the consistency was wrong. Daring to take a sniff, I recognized the familiar spiciness of a healing potion. In another corner nearby, I found a similar fountain which contained a blue liquid which smelled like a magic-restoring potion.

Praise to the Seven! I don't dare rest in this place, but with these, I might make it out of here without the need to sleep.

I heard the approaching clatter of skeletal feet, but it sounded more metallic than usual.





Perhaps they're plated in steel, or perhaps they're entirely artificial constructs.
Who cares, as long as I can zap them!

I headed off into the gloomy dungeon, although the passage soon broke up into multiple different directions.

Arhu? Arhu! Where are you?

There was no reply save the sounds of approaching skeletal feet, lured by my shout.

I guess I'll have to find my own way out.

There were a lot of skeletons, but they were all excellent conductors of electricity.






After the bones clattered away with a cheerful jingling sound, I found that this branch of the laryrinthine tunnels was a dead-end. On my way back, I stumbled in the dim lighting and had to catch myself against a wall.

That wall... it was solid, but... it didn't feel like stone.




I concentrated my mind, and found out that it was a magical wall.

Jenna? Are you in there? Can you hear me?

There was no reply, but I had to try and find a way in anyway. However, knowing a magical wall was around, and knowing how to open it was another matter entirely. The trigger could be a password, or an object carried to the wall, or any number of hidden switches.

Video - The Holy Sword







So given how many possibilities there were to open a door, I was pleased to discover the trigger nearby - a lit candle in a magic circle.

The wall vanished and I entered. The cave was full of glittering gemstones. I was somewhat disappointed. I continued on anyway and the gems vanished. I heard a malevolent voice in my head.




It didn't do anything to attack me; it seemed to just be an annoying message. I picked up the strange sword by the hilt, and the world began to distort and twist crazily. I dropped the sword and the effect vanished. I tried again, and I got the same dizziness. I picked the sword up carefully by the blade, and there wasn't any dizziness this time. The sword looked very, very old, but it was still in good condition. There was an inscription on it.

This ancient sword seems to emit a strange magical aura which prevents a person from using it. The inscription says: Three must come together before two must be sacrificed. At the loss you will retain one and win the Holy Power.
This might be useful, but I have no idea where. Zandalor might know about this... if I ever see him again.

As I left the room, the illusory gemstones rematerialized, I ignored them, and the peal of mocking laughter which followed me out.






A couple dozen skeletons and featureless corridors later, I stood at the foot of a staircase. I saw daylight and smelled fresh air. It was the way out. I turned away from freedom. My job wasn't done here until I'd found my sister.




Some of the skeletons were a lot tougher than normal.






I was running out of places to search, but the lever in the Guardian's cell opened another cell across the way.




It was mostly empty, save for a large stack of barrels in an alcove. I turned to leave, then I stopped.

That stack is somewhat suspicious.




I reached out with my mind using Wizard's Sight to see past the barrels.




That's a lot of spellbooks. I don't recognize some of those. ... I'm going to need all the power I can get my hands on.




It took several minutes to move the barrels aside, then I entered the passage. I had almost reached the room when a familiar and unpleasant sensation came across my body.




As the hidden teleportation field took my body, I saw that most of the spellbooks had in fact been an illusion.

No!!

I materialized in a strange house. My ability to cast spells was once again suppressed by an anti-casting field. A familiar disembodied voice once again mocked me.





Next Time: The House of Madness





Behind the Scenes

Looking at my Level 23 stats shot, you'll notice that my Intelligence is lower than it was in Stormfist. That's because the Stormfist one was done after I'd moved on. At this point, I was still reserving points in case I needed a lot into Constitution later on (I didn't).

Ironically for a mage, my strength is outstripping my Intelligence by a lot, but that will change in Act 4. I won't be increasing my strength beyond 70 - the minimum needed to wear the best armor in the game, and all the rest of my stat points will go into Intelligence. I get 5 attribute points per level up, and in the end-game, I'm level 50, so I can devote levels 25 through 50 to Intelligence (an additional 125 points).


What's fake in this update?

•  There wasn't a ring on the ground before the stairs. 
•  I merged the image of the sword with the image of the "Cave of Illusion" voice into one image. 
•  I don't remember if the lever in the room with the skeleton guardian opened the door to the barrel room. It could have, or it could have been for something else.