The Let's Play Archive

Divinity II: The Dragon Knight Saga

by Stabbey_the_Clown

Part 35: Eternal Maze




Chapter 24 – Eternal Maze

Thanks to slowbeef for the title change!


Eternal Maze
Temple Library
Bonus: The Thin Line Between Life and Death


Yara’s Current Auras



Music: Bellegar’s Theme


Video: Eternal Maze


Excerpt from “The Last of the Dragon Knights”, by ZixZax the Almost-Wise:
“The Dragon Knight was surprised to see a living person awaiting them in the Eternal Maze. But after a second glance, the Dragon Knight realized that assumption was wrong...”


I suggest you watch this video, partly because of the lisp this character has, and partly because the music is once again “Festival of Immortals”.




(???) So, you search what’s ‘licitly Laiken’s, do you, Serpent Squire?
(-400 XP) They see only stone in the maze, even where there is no stone!
(Dragon Initiate Yara) And who are you? Or perhaps “what” is a better word.
(Sassan) He calls me Sassan because I resemble her. Pieced me together, he did, in her semblance. He is my supreme master, stronger than Maxos.
How exactly do you figure the Battle Tower is Laiken’s by right?
He schemed and slayed, struggled and slaughtered. It is his since he took it. Power ensures sovereignty!
Tell me about Laiken.
The necromancer, this is he! His is the tower, his is the sovereignty of death. No one can vanquish him! And I, Sassan, am his lover!



Okayyyyyyyy. Time to get out of my way, pretty.
Hahaha! Do you honestly think I came to restrain you? I just wanted to tease you before you perish! You shall never pass the last trial, silly little Slayer! May you suffer endlessly in the Eternal Maze!




Music: Festival of Immortals


Alas, this is the last time this music plays in the game.




The “Eternal Maze” isn’t really a maze at all. It’s four rooms joined by corridors. The exit is in plain sight, but it is locked.




Entering a room locks the door behind you and four Walking Armours spawn. If your pet was with you before entering, chances are he’s on the wrong side of the door. So I would wait to summon it until you’re in the room. It won’t help you with the other three rooms, though.

Entering a room the second time spawns in 4 Maxos Skeletons, which are identical to Walking Armours, except they give out 0 XP, so you can’t farm them. There also is no fancy door-closing and teleport animation, the doors stay open and the skeletons just appear from thin air.





In ED, one of the chests in this room was unopenable, it required a key which didn’t actually exist. That was fixed in DKS.




Sassan mentioned something about a stone not being a stone. That stone looks different.






Clever, but not nearly clever enough.






One of the bars locking the door has retracted. I should look for more of those hidden pressure plates.








The last notes of a poor soul that perished in this dungeon are scribbled on this message. The words “Eternal Maze” were hectically written, again and again, all over the sheet of paper. Either this fellow had a knack for minimalist poetry, or the maze really got to him.








(Talana) I’m glad to see that your eternity in this maze was as short-lived as mine.
Eternity? I know the meaning of that word far more than you do.




A staircase spiralled down the side of a shaft.




A key is sitting on top of a suspended light, but it’s tricky to reach. And it only opens a chest with random loot at the top, and it can be lockpicked open anyway.




(Maxos Book) You have made it down, but to no avail as you now dwell among the cursed. Amdusias the Proud I have bound here, Amdusias must fall. What is Dragon against my will must be human by yours. If not, this is where the path to Dragonhood ends.

Dragon No More
It seems that Amdusias somehow managed to become a Dragon. But unlike a true Dragon Knight, he’s stuck in that shape. Our new main quest is to restore Amdusias to human form. And then kill him.

Maxos Temple is easy enough to get into, but the final exams are killer.


Video: Temple Library


Music: Waltz of Woe





(Ialkarn) Unbelievable! We have been looking for that damn book for days now!
(Hatji) Ooh, Damian won’t be pleased…
(Ialkarn) I know that! No need to remind me! It has to be here, somewhere…




(The Librarian) Stop! Stop, you fools! Leave my library! Ah, they can’t even see me!
(Ialkarn) I need a break. Hatji, it’s your turn to…




(Hatji) Hey! Who’s there? Ooh, Damian won’t be pleased…
(Ialkarn) An intruder? Let’s kill her, and keep the body parts for our necromancers!
(Hatji) Ooh, Damian will be pleased!




The creature unleashes a fireball. This one missed everything, but if it had hit…



I likee.










(Librarian) Annoying creatures, messing with my books! But what have we here? An Initiate who successfully ran the trials! It has been ages, literally.
May have had more to do with the temple being locked rather than the difficulty of the tests.
Ah yes, Maxos’ impish take on crime and punishment. Most priests that served in this temple became disloyal, you see: started to worship Lovis or Amdusias. All were cursed: Lovis in his tower, Amdusias on the Blood Altar – and us, the followers, in between.
And whose ghost might you be?
I am the larian, er, librarian and the collection you see here is the greatest one on Dragon Lore in all of Rivellon. I seem to have misplaced one book, though: the first part of the infamous Orbis Arcesso. I haven’t seen it since Amdusias became a Dragon Knight. But should you come across it, I would reward you well!
(-800 XP) Such beauty that ancient alphabet has, such grace!
By reading the Librarian’s mind, you learn to understand a new alphabet, which may come in handy…
Tell me more about this Maxos curse.
To understand, you must know that Maxos, for all his powers, was surprisingly naïve in his assessment of human character. He figured all his Dragon Knights would naturally take on their role as fair but aloof rulers, not thinking of the ambitions men foster. Lord Lovis cared little for Maxos, but used his powers to live a life of luxury as he ruled with iron fist. Amdusias was consumed with rage when his master decided he would never become a Dragon and went out of his way to become one, whatever the cost. It is a cost we all pay now, for when Maxos learned the details of Lovis’ ways and Amdusias’ dealings, he cursed them and all who supported them. I was a loyal follower, but in his wrath Maxos did not spare me. I care little, though. As long as I have my library, eternity may live up to its definition as far as I’m concerned.
I am looking for a book written by Maxos that describes his research about the Hall of Echoes.
A most fascinating time, I’m sure, but I have never had the honour of reading it myself. If it was in the library, I would know. But unless Maxos had it on him when he disappeared, it should still be in the temple at least. Who knows where it may be hidden: who may have gotten his hands, or claws on it…
I must go now.
Fare thee well!

A Tale of Two Tomes
The Librarian wants to find the first part of the Orbis Arcesso. This is required for the main quest, but it has a quest reward of its own.


Mindread the Librarian, the new alphabet will immediately come in handy.




(Francis) What does time mean in this eternal vault? Am I still sane? I repent, Maxos, I repent! Release me, please release me!




This book looks important.
This strange tome is filled, you assume, with the secrets to many wondrous magics. Reading the librarian’s mind was a smart thing to do. You are engulfed in the knowledge detailed in these visionary pages and leave them behind wiser than you were before. [+2 Attribute Points]
Not wise enough.



Another teleporter shrine. This is very important because I am weighted down with stuff and because there’s no other way out right now. And you might not be able to tell, but that Ghost on the left has a quest exclamation mark over his head.




(Abalam) You must wish to die young, lingering here, mortal.
I did not come here for a brawl. A chat, rather.
A chat with the doomed? Go ahead, I suppose.
Why do you ghosts haunt these halls?
We were cursed by Maxos together with our old master, the Dragon Lord Lovis.
I met his spirit. He told me, in so many words, he was cursed because of his weakness for wine and women.
Ha! Wine and women are hardly vices, are they? His deeds were of a very different order! His inebriation he derived from torture, his ecstasy from slaughter.

Alternate choice, if you’re playing a bastard-type.

2. You’d think we were separated at birth!

The horrible tyrant!
Lovis was a tyrant and we his meek subjects. For our failure to stand up to him, Maxos deemed us equally responsible.
(-120 XP) Are we innocent? No, but is the tyrant’s lackey as guilty as the tyrant?
Lovis would have killed all who opposed him, I should imagine.
We admired, then feared him, yes. But perhaps we were also cowards.
Is there anything I can do to break this curse?
There is. Find Lord Lovis’ Soul Stone and smash it on the Altar of Blood. This will bind Lovis’ ghost to his tower until the end of days and release us from our torment.
…

In Cold Blood
This quest is to smash Lovis’ Soul Stone. This is in direct conflict with another quest. See “Reader Participation” for details.





Next Time: Amdusias


Eternal Maze
Temple Library
Bonus: The Thin Line Between Life and Death


The Map




Yara’s Current Auras







(Abalam) You must wish to die young, lingering here, mortal.
I have no such wish, I assure you.
Many have perished here, whether they wished it or not.
Why do you ghosts haunt these halls?
We were cursed by Maxos together with our old master, the Dragon Lord Lovis.
Why were you and your master cursed?
Because of the atrocities Lord Lovis committed. His inebriation he derived from torture, his ecstasy from slaughter.
You’d think we were separated at birth!
Your cruelty would quickly vanish should you suffer as we do.
Lovis was a tyrant and we his meek subjects. For our failure to stand up to him, Maxos deemed us equally responsible.
He was right to do so.
I think our punishment is very harsh, but in some way we perhaps deserve it.
Is there anything I can do to break this curse?
There is. Find Lord Lovis’ Soul Stone and smash it on the Altar of Blood. This will bind Lovis’ ghost to his tower until the end of days and release us from our torment.
And how would you reimburse me for my troubles?
A good deed is its own reward. Please take this opportunity.

1. You are right, spirit. I will help you!
2. I don’t do charity. Goodbye!


Bonus Video: The Fine Line between Victory and Death


The first part of the video shows how extremely fast you can die if you’re unlucky. These enemies are three levels below me, and I take 56, 85 and 152 damage (293 total) over the course of 0.9 seconds. I think this should help illuminate why I don’t put much stock in the value of higher armour ratings.

The second part of the video is me taking that exact same room apart in 9 seconds.


Reader Participation

We’ve got two mutually opposing quests: Bring the Soul Stone to Lovis, or smash it. Either way, someone’s getting damned for eternity. Lovis has promised us a reward ( a piece of Dragon armour giving +1 to Dragon Shield. I don’t really use that skill much. ), the ghost can offer us no reward ( Well, okay, we do get a Standard Quest reward) ). Also, this temple has ghosts of the followers of both Amdusias and Lovis. Smashing the stone will only free the followers of Lovis, the ghosts who follow Amdusias will still be screwed either way.


1. What shall our response be?

a) “Lord Lovis asked me to bring the Soul Stone to him, and I will.” (side with Lovis)
b) “Lord Lovis asked me to bring the Soul Stone to him, but I will reconsider.” (side with Lovis' followers)
c) “I will smash the Stone for you.” (Default) = 1 Vote. (vehemently side with Lovis' followers)
d) “I’m not going to go through all that trouble. Eternity can’t last that long.” (side with Lovis in an especially assholish way)