Part 75: Fortress of Keara
Chapter 57 – Fortress of Keara
Fortress Overview
Bonus: Fortress Overview – Ego Draconis
Ground Battle
Keara’s Maze
The Statues Clues
Music: Fortress of Stone
I eventually get tired of this and switch it over to “Battle Force” instead
Video: Fortress of Keara – Overview
The entrance to Keara’s Flying Fortress is near the Dragon Slayer camp and Champion Harbour.
I decided to switch to the Ulthring Set for funsies. It looks great and I’m 7 levels higher than these guys, so it’s probably safe to sacrifice 50 HP or so.
(Yara) Where is it?
(Talana) Look up, Dragon Knight. Oh… that’s, uh, large.
Keara’s Flying Fortress is one huge, tall island. It’s a pain to clear, just because of the sheer size of it. It hasn’t changed a huge amount from the Ego Draconis version.
Video: Fortress of Keara – Ground Combat
The Chest contained among its random loot the final upgrade for my Dragon head.Magic Missile
- 4 missiles / 45 damage each -> 4 missiles / 59 damage each
- Total Damage: 180 -> 236
Magic Blast
- 5 Hits / 39 damage each -> 5 Hits / 56 damage each
- Total Damage: 195 -> 280
That’s a pretty big damage increase.
Level 35. 
With bad guys giving out only about 122 XP per kill, and me needing 125,000 to reach the next level, I’m unlikely to reach Level 36 before the next act.
This is also the last time I’m increasing Vitality. All my skill points from now on are going to Intelligence, both for magic defence and in the hope that I’ll find some good +Magic Damage items.
Unarmed
Increased from Rank 12 to Rank 13
Damage Bonus: +142% -> + 146%
For most other skills, the cap can be raised to 15 once we reach Act IV, but because of a bug or oversight, this can’t be done for weapon specialization skills in the Dragon Knight Saga version of the game. Our cap is 13, but it shall suffice.
Thousand Strikes
Increased from rank 11 to rank 12
Mana Cost: 226 -> 238
Damage Multiplier: 1.6x -> 1.7x
Knockdown Chance: 60% -> 65%
Cooldown: 20s
On the top of the Fortress is a chest, this contains a set item.
Only one more piece to go, and we’ll be getting that before taking on Broken Valley. This one mostly raises Conditioned Body, but Strength-based warriors will naturally tend to reach the cap on their own, so this is only really good for Intelligence-based warriors. (One point in Strength = one point in Conditioned Body)
The peak of the Fortress has a Lightning Tower and a bunch of archers. The archers killed me the first time I transformed and dropped into the middle, which was annoying because the last auto-save was ten minutes back. SAVE OFTEN.This fortress seems to have a much higher proportion of female soldiers than the others. It could be because Keara is a woman (Spoilers!).
The teleporter to the boss is one platform below the peak.Video: Keara’s Maze
Music: Black Ring Dungeon
(General Keara) Hahaha! The Dragon comes to pay me a visit. But I will not grant you any attention until you figure out how to reach me. Oh, it’ll be so much fun observing your distress as you wander my maze. I’ll see you if you’re clever enough, or have your corpse removed if you die here of starvation.
(???) Damian be praised, she didn’t notice me! The one advantage of an incorporeal life. BOOO! Aaah! Good lord, you’d have given me a heart attack – if I had a heart! Who are you? (Velanir) I am Velanir: loyal servant of Damian and the husband of Keara, Black Ring General. Well, I was her husband anyway. We used to rule this Fortress together, until I played a game of truth of dare with a Demon. Turns out they do dare to slit a Black Ring General’s husband’s throat! Keara frantically tried to resurrect me, but she couldn’t, and after many weeks went quite mad and reanimated what was left of me: my skeleton. She has persuaded herself that I really am that mute heap of bones: she talks to it, caresses it and I don’t want to know what else. But I, I want to escape. Yes, escape! I’m sick of this place and sick of that crazy woman who treats a few pounds-worth of carcass as her husband. 
(-1200 XP) If ever I get out of here I mustn’t forget to bring my axe. But then I’ll have to break through that bloody ice wall first somehow. Only, in order to leave, I need to fuse my ghostly self with my skeleton. But I can’t get to it! A magical barrier protects the access to her rooms. Do you have any idea what this trial that was mentioned is? I do. It is a form of protection if you will: a little puzzle one has to solve before one may bypass the door that leads to the inner fortress. You have to talk to the five statues of the Damned One and name them, but it’s something I could never figure out. Why don’t you stick close to me and we’ll get you your body back! Really? Oh, brilliant! Let’s go!
Close to the BoneYou do have the option to say “If you’re expecting any help, think again. You’re Black Ring after all!” to Velanir. But then he’ll attack you, and then we kill him. There are more entertaining things we can do to him if we take him with us (see the vote at the end).
Velanir will now follow us around here. I’m not sure if we can actually leave, I never tried. He won’t help us in combat through.
And there’s a lot of combat in here. This is probably the biggest interior in a Flying Fortress, and the enemies here are annoying, plentiful and tough. They can’t really hurt me, but cleaning them out will take time.
There are five statues in this maze which look something like this. We’ll deal with them after the maze is cleared. The Teleporter takes you to the gate where you see if you solved the puzzle right.
Taking the right path from the entrance and a left at the first intersection leads you down to what I call the Green Room because of all the plants. Two statues are here.
Here’s the gate to Keara’s inner chambers. If you tell the gate the wrong solution to the puzzle, all the monsters in here respawn. And it really wasn’t that fun the first time through here.
This is the ice wall hiding Velanir’s axe. Hit the obvious switch (which eluded me the first time playing, if you can believe that, and…
I call this the Lava Room for obvious reasons. It has two statues.Video: The Statue’s Clues
Now comes the fun part! We need to use logic to solve this puzzle.
(Entrance Statue) You still have not guessed my identity. What clues can you offer me? 1. Mayhem is not in the same room as Havoc.
2. Devastation is in the same room as Chaos. I’m leaving. I’m certain we’ll meet again.
(Green Room Left Statue) You still have not guessed my identity. What clues can you offer me? 3. I am either Devastation or Chaos. 4. Waste is in the same room as Mayhem. I’m leaving. I’m certain we’ll meet again.
(Green Room Right Statue) You still have not guessed my identity. What clues can you offer me? 5. Mayhem is alone in his room. 6. Havoc is in this room. I’m leaving. I’m certain we’ll meet again.
(Lava Room Left Statue) You still have not guessed my identity. What clues can you offer me? 7. I am neither Chaos, nor Havoc. 8. Chaos is neither in my room, nor in Waste’s. I’m leaving. I’m certain we’ll meet again.
(Lava Room Right Statue) You still have not guessed my identity. What clues can you offer me? 9. I am in the same room as Waste. 10. I am neither Mayhem, nor Waste. I’m leaving. I’m certain we’ll meet again.
Fortress Overview
Bonus: Fortress Overview – Ego Draconis
Ground Battle
Keara’s Maze
The Statues Clues
The Map
The map for the exterior of the Flying Fortress, as you can guess, is just a vague outline and is completely useless.
Yara’s Current Auras / Equipment Updates
- Static Charge Aura – Enemies have an 28% chance of suffering 1 shock of 48 magic damage. (Ring 2)
- Poison Aura – 20% chance of 108 poison damage over 3 seconds. (Ring 1)
- Poison Aura – 13% chance of 72 poison damage over 3 seconds. (Earrings)
- Magic Damage Aura – 10% Chance of 1 shocks of 58 damage (Ring 1)
- Magic Damage Aura – 10% Chance of 1 shocks of 58 damage (Belt)
- Magic Damage Aura – 10% Chance of 1 shocks of 58 damage (Bracelet)
Current Scorpion Set Bonuses: (Updated!)
Necklace: +7 -> +8 Heightened Reflexes
Ring: +64 -> +66 Hitpoints
Belt: +0.44 -> +0.46 HP Regeneration
Helmet: +4 -> +5 Vitality
Cuirass: +9 -> +10 Melee Armour Rating
Leggings: +7 -> +8 Ranged Armour Rating
Bracelet: +10 -> +11 Strength
Earrings: +11 Conditioned Body (NEW!)
Reader Participation
1. The Ghost of Velanir wants Keara to free his body so his spirit can be reunited it. What should we tell Keara?
a) Velanir was gay and he was only using her to get close to Damian.
b) Velanir wants to be rejoined to his body and he’ll wait for her in the Hall of Echoes.
c) Velanir wants to be Soul-Forged to her so they can be together forever.
2. We need to solve the puzzle of Keara’s Statues.
Good Luck.
Clues (Click for video)
1. Mayhem is not in the same room as Havoc. (Entrance Statue)
2. Devastation is in the same room as Chaos. (Entrance Statue)
3. I am either Devastation or Chaos. (Green Room Left Statue)
4. Waste is in the same room as Mayhem. (Green Room Left Statue)
5. Mayhem is alone in his room. (Green Room Right Statue)
6. Havoc is in this room. (Green Room Right Statue)
7. I am neither Chaos, nor Havoc. (Lava Room Left Statue)
8. Chaos is neither in my room, nor in Waste’s. (Lava Room Left Statue)
9. I am in the same room as Waste. (Lava Room Right Statue)
10. I am neither Mayhem, nor Waste. (Lava Room Right Statue)
11. "Little does the Dragon know all the statues lie! Hahaha!" (Keara Mind-read)