The Let's Play Archive

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga

by Stabbey_the_Clown

Part 69: A Dark Day in Aleroth




Chapter 51 – A Dark Day in Aleroth



Undead in the Streets (Important)
Streets of Aleroth
An Angry Mob
The Ministry (Important)
Adulation for the Dragon



I omit a lot of the talking to people from the screenshot portion, you’ll have to watch the videos if you want to hear that. Also, I suggest you watch the “Undead in the Streets” and “The Ministry” videos, those are important.


Music: Epiphany of Anguish


Video: Undead in the Streets (Important)


Excerpt from “Last of the Dragon Knights”, by Zixzax the Almost-Wise:
“As the zeppelin approached, the Dragon Knight could clearly see that Aleroth was burning. ”




Excerpt from “Last of the Dragon Knights”, by Zixzax the Almost-Wise:
“Things on the streets were even worse. ”

















Music: A Dark Day in Aleroth




(Zachariah) Good day, Dragon Slayer! Welcome to Aleroth! Don’t expect much good cheer here: Aleroth is a ghost town, literally. Twas Zandalor who caused it, and Deodatus too! Opened dark rifts they did, which will be the end of the city if nothing can be done! Most of Aleroth is off-limits now, infested and littered with undead, but the way to the Ministry still lies open. If you’re here to help, may the Divine bless you. If not, get away from here or die with the rest of us.




(Jolene) Dragon Slayer! Praise the Divine for your arrival! We can more than use your aid in this hour of peril! Isn’t that so, Captain Angharad?




(Angharad) Indeed! Such is the city’s state that she is on the brink of collapse! Still, a Champion never despairs and I have been organizing our defences with a famous member of your order. Slayer, meet…
(Rhode) Don’t bother, Captain. We are already well acquainted. But don’t be deceived by appearances. This abomination is not what you think it is.
I must admit I don’t quite follow. Please explain yourself, Commander!

Music: A Sense of Menace



The… thing you see before you is a Dragon Knight and as such must be executed this instant. It strayed from the Academy’s path to become one of those we hunt. A Betrayer has entered fair Aleroth and now her streets must be cleansed in blood!
Oh, great. Zandalor won’t be pleased if I have to kill EVERYBODY to save the city.
Commander! Please calm yourself! And you, Slayer, how do you respond to these charges?
They are quite true. I am a Dragon Knight, here at the request of honoured Zandalor to deliver Aleroth from evil.




May you choke on that twisted pride of yours! It admits it, Angharad! We have here a Dragon in league with that back-stabbing mage! Kill it! Let me kill it!
Enough! Frankly, Commander, I don’t give a damn who this is, be they Dragon or Slayer. Your adversary is here for the good of Aleroth and shall therefore receive free entry to the city.
(Talana) How refreshing, to find someone who has a jot of common sense.
No! I cannot stand idly by as you allow this monstrosity to pass unharmed. I swore an oath to slay all of its accursed race.
I warned you, Commander, and though I shall sorely miss your blade in battle, you leave me no choice. My Champions, arrest her!
You are making a grave mistake, Angharad. And as for you, disciple, rest assured we will meet again!
You know, prison shouldn’t be too hard. I’m sure the Champions will enjoy having you.
One day I will slowly cut that smile from your face!
I hope I made the right decision, Dragon Knight. Please do all in your power to save Aleroth. You can find our lord and master, General Augustus, in the upper city by the ministry. He’ll appreciate your help, of that I have no doubt.

Music: A Dark Day in Aleroth





Too bad it didn’t come to a fight. I can only hope Rhode will rot in her cell.

Welcome to Aleroth. It’s changed a lot from the tiny village of healers in Divinity 2 to the city it is 70 years later.

Aleroth is also the second most obvious place where the time/money constraints on Ego Draconis affected the game. First most obvious will be obvious when we get there. Aleroth is supposedly a large city, but the only thing we can do in it is follow a narrow corridor to the ministry, all the rest of the city is closed off.

Video: Streets of Aleroth


Beyond a barricade, Champions were keeping hordes of undead away.

(Bree) Look at those brave Champions fighting out there! There is the true spirit of Aleroth!
(Zachariah) The situation is dire, Slayer. All because of that Zandalor chap! Good for nothing wizard.
(Brodie) I still can’t believe this is happening. So much carnage, so much blood… Why?

Yara passed through an area where healers were performing triage on the wounded soldiers, and took a large elevator to the upper city.




Yara came to a place where a heavy bridge had been destroyed, and replaced with a temporary rope bridge.

(Garn) Good to see you, Slayer! There’s one hell of an angry crowd gathered in front of the Ministry, so mind your step. You’d think the entire population of the Healer City has gone mad, the way they rant and rage!


Video: An Angry Mob


(Curius) Never have I seen the citizens of Aleroth so angry and afraid. And with good reason: have you seen those horrible beings that flood the streets?




How could you Champions allow this to happen? People are dying, Aleroth is burning: you failed to protect her!
My parents have been slain, my husband! All because of that pair of lunatics in there! Do your job, General! Behead them before they can cause more trouble!
(General Augustus) Please calm down, citizens of Aleroth! The Champions are doing all they can to break the siege!
It is our own arch mage who is setting the city alight! And for what? For personal gain, no doubt! The riches of forgotten kingdoms in forgotten dimensions!
It’s all the fault of those crazy old wizards! Drag that Zandalor out of there, and Deodatus too so we can lynch them! They deserve no better!
Lord Deodatus is in the ministry, solving our problems as we speak. Soon peace and quiet will return to Aleroth’s streets.




(Aldo) Allow us to leave, we beseech you!
(Marino) Let us use the shrine! We will all be slaughtered by those monstrosities if you don’t!
(Palmer) Stand back! No one may operate the shrine. General Augustus’ orders!
(Sharina) With the chaos the rifts cause, there’s no telling where you might end up. Do you want to teleport right onto Damian’s lap, citizen?
(Agnes) No! Divine forbid! Come boys, let us try to find safety elsewhere!




(Augustus) At last I may greet you! I have awaited your arrival with great importance, Dragon Knight.
Well, word of the incident at the dock will reach here sooner or later, may as well get it over with now.
(-3600 XP) [+1 Attribute Point]
You know who I am?
Indeed I do. Lord Zandalor has discreetly informed me of your predicament and the noble crusade you are endeavouring to bring to fruitful conclusion. The citizens of this spirit-plague-stricken village are angry as you can see – rightly so, I may add – but they have no idea what is at stake here. I have kept the mob at bay and shall continue to do so until you have assisted the reverend wizards with the abating of this destructive tide that holds Aleroth in its chilling grip.
Why do you trust Zandalor when no one else will?
I have been around a while and I know well not to simply accept given truths. That Dragons were innocent victims of the Damned One’s schemes, I did not realize. But that Zandalor is held in disfavour for all the wrong reasons, I have known all along. It has always been simply inconceivable that the Divine’s best friend had anything but the good of Rivellon in mind. Sadly, I lost sight of him for half a century until suddenly he turned up here and told me you and he are close to defeating Damian, but that the city might suffer for it.
How can I enter the ministry?
The main door was barred. But you can use the teleporter there. Palmer! Stand aside for a minute, but keep that thing off limits to all others!
As you command, General!
Good luck, Dragon Knight! May the Divine guide your sword!
Goodbye, General.
I salute you, Dragon Knight.


There's some combat coming up, so I had to do some preparation.

Life Leech increased from 8 to 10

Thousand Strikes increased from 10 to 11

Death Blow increased from 3 to 4.


Music: Happening



Video: The Ministry (Important)








(Zandalor) By the Divine, am I glad to see your face! Deodatus and I can barely hold the city!
(Deodatus) It’s an honour to meet you, Dragon Knight, even under these dire circumstances.
It was Deodatus, Aleroth’s Archmage, who had the shield in his possession. He hid it in another dimension for safekeeping. As we recovered it, multiple rifts opened and hell followed in their wake! We can slay the foes that escape from them, but we can’t both fight and concentrate on closing the horrid dimensions. Please keep them at bay as I try to close the things. But ensure the fiends don’t reach me, for the spells involved are long and difficult and require utmost concentration to be effective.
(-3600 XP) We are close to our goal, but you can never be too strong. So here, take some of my powers. [+2 Skill Points]
Are you ready to engage the enemy, Dragon Knight?
Let’s show them the meaning of Dragon power!




Haha! So it begins! We shall start with the upstairs rifts: they have shown increasing activity and might grow beyond any of us soon.

Music: Battle Large


This is an interesting part. It’s somewhat like an escort quest, except that Zandalor and Deodatus can’t be killed. That’s good, but just letting Zandalor get hit once means he has to start the spell over.

You can’t mind-read Zandalor in the initial conversation, you have to end the conversation and talk to him a second time.



Upstairs near the first rift is a chest containing the Crystal Claws Dragon Armour




Deodatus automatically casts Battle Rage on you during the fight.

The first two rifts can be closed if you keep Zandalor from being hit for 15 seconds. However, if he does get hit, he’ll start recasting immediately, even before saying the “Blast it, I’ll have to start again!” voice clip.




That’s it! The first rift is closed.
Good word, Dragon Knight!
Are you ready to engage the enemy, Dragon Knight?
Ready when you are!




On the desk is a Dragon Skill book. And no, we can’t take any of that treasure. (And it’s not like we really need it anyway.)




Blasted beast! I have to speak the spell again!
Please, keep those things away from us, great Dragon!




Hahaaa! Another rift has been closed.
We’re not quite there yet, Deodatus! Keep up the pressure!




The upper floors have been secured! Now for the last rifts!
Ready when you are!
Good! Come, Deodatus, to the fray again!

The final phase is a LOT harder than the first two parts. There are three rifts open, and Zandalor is going to try to close them all at once. Not only will we have to face enemies coming from three directions, but the spell will take 60 seconds to complete.














This proud city suffered for it, but we have the shield! It is yours now.



Finally the shield is in my possession.
We are one step closer to the Hall of Echoes and the sealing of Damian’s fate! But we won’t rejoice just yet: Aleroth is still ablaze and crawling with rift-spawn. Furthermore it is wholly likely new rifts may open, for that which dwells in those dimensions favours the Damned One and can still feel his plague-like presence in this world. Only when he shall be dead at last can we be sure the threat to Rivellon has been averted.
What should I do now?
Concentrate on finding the Hall of Echoes. I can tell you no more. The shield is ours. So once you have the location, the spell to reveal it and the sigil to open it, nothing can stop you anymore. If only the Divine, my good friend Lucian, could have seen our valiant struggle, Dragon Knight!
Ha. Your struggle is foolish. Eradicate one, two, a dozen Flying Fortresses – it will make no difference.
Goodbye, Zandalor.
I will find you when Damian is dead and Rivellon has cast off his Demonic shackles.
“Come to no Harm” complete! Quest Reward: 8500XP, 1200 Gold. Bonuses Chosen: 4250 XP, 600 Gold.
A city almost perished to obtain the shield… But when we find the Hall of Echoes, this will all have been worth the sacrifice. To Broken Valley once more, Dragon Knight, where you must challenge the Black Ring again and claim the sigil! I know who we shall meet there, deep in the tenebrous mines. Ba’al himself shall feel the claw of the Dragon!




What a fight, Dragon Knight! We couldn’t have done it without you!
Tell me a bit about yourself.
I am Deodatus, the Archmage of Aleroth and direct follower of Mardaneus who ruled before me. I function as the city’s civil leader with General Augustus as my military counterpart. What occupies me most is medical research and the study of the magical properties of the Source, Aleroth’s famed fountainhead of healing. On any other day I’d have proudly given you a tour of my beloved city, but alas such pleasantries will have to wait.
Why did you hide the shield in a rift?
I felt the powers brimming beneath its surface the moment I held it. I knew no other than Maxos could have harnessed these and that for that exact reason Damian would come looking for it some day. That is why I hid it in a place so remote and terrible no one would ever find it again. Little did I know one day I would be asked to uncover it once more. We found it in the end as you can see, but what we feared became reality: the sheer powers involved opened other rifts and Aleroth became their plundering ground.
(-3600 XP) The items those fiends dropped will make for interesting research… or sales.
So how about you sell me some of the items left behind by our rift-friends?
Ha! You read my mind! Have a look.



You have to mind-read Deodatus after the fight to enable the trading option. This is important if you intend to complete the Aleroth Archmage set.











This is a reference to a quest in Divine Divinity where you try to convince a hot elven chick to make out with you. I didn’t consider that part canon in my LP because I hate that quest. The description says “forged” and that is literally – she asked us to go find an amulet owned by her grandmother and lost for centuries. The Divine took the drawing and had a copy made to trick her.




Deodatus mentions that he served directly under Mardaneus. However, Deodatus was never mentioned at all in Divine Divinity. He just suddenly appears in this game. I suppose he could have been away, there were empty houses he could have lived in, but it really feels like he was just added in from nowhere.

Back in Divine Divinity, there was no Aleroth military; no guards or defences save for a wall. However, events which happened to Aleroth in the course of Beyond Divinity might have suggested the need for such things.


Video: Adulation for the Dragon


Great news, good townsfolk! The rifts have been closed! And besides Lord Zandalor and Deodatus we have a Dragon Knight to thank for our salvation! Exercise a few more hours of patience and we will rid Aleroth of its Demons. It is almost over, friends. We will have prevailed once more!
Bless the Dragon for sheltering our home! A statue must be commissioned immediately in honour of this great event!
Praise be our saviours! All hail General Augustus and his Champions!
All hail the Dragon Knight! All hail the hero of Aleroth!
We were taught to fear the Damned One, the Black Ring, but we’ve seen none of them since the great war! But if those ill-fated Mages were hurt during the battle, at least a quantum of justice has been done, I say!
Three cheers for the Dragon Knight! May the Divine forgive his old enemy and embrace the saviour of Aleroth!




Well done! I’d offer you a senior officer position with the Champions if I didn’t know you infinitely surmount us mere humans.
Only in foolishness.
Will Aleroth recover?
Most certainly, but this entire episode will long leave a bitter taste. Right now our priority is to recapture the assaulted parts of the city and hope that the rifts don’t open again. After that is done we will rebuild, as we have done before. But don’t worry about us, Dragon Knight! Keep Damian in your mind, and Damian’s death!
Goodbye, General.
I salute you, Dragon Knight.






Undead in the Streets (Important)
Streets of Aleroth
An Angry Mob
The Ministry (Important)
Adulation for the Dragon




A Dark Day in Aleroth


Happening



The Maps



Aleroth is on an island. This is notably different from Divine Divinity, where it was in the woods a little ways from the nearest river. When the people of Rivellon say that the Great War between the Divine and Damian moved mountains, it was NOT hyperbole. When demigods take the gloves off, the gloves REALLY come off.









To the left of the teleporter to the Ministry is this alleyway. Note that there’s absolutely nothing in it right now. Don’t worry about it, but I will be referring back to this at a later point.


Yara’s Current Auras / Equipment Updates













You are making a grave mistake, Angharad. And as for you, disciple, rest assured we will meet again!
I truly hope that by that time you will have learned the truth about Dragons and that your hostility towards me will have dampened.
Never!



(Augustus) At last I may greet you! I have awaited your arrival with great importance, Dragon Knight.
You are mistaken, General. I am in fact a Dragon Slayer.
There is no need to wear that silver-eyed mask in front of me, my friend. Lord Zandalor has discreetly informed me of your predicament, and the noble crusade you are endeavouring to bring to fruitful conclusion.