Part 30: Supaburn

PART 30: SUPABURN


[Actually, finding a way out can wait. There are goodies to grab.

Back in the illusory Weisshaupt Fortress, where we fought the fake Duncan, there's another Willpower increasing Essence that we can use now we have the Spirit form.]



Where there's a Will, there's a way!



[That power-up is a bit of a dick move, as there is no other reason at all to return to the Fortress once you leave. You just have to remember the Essence is there for when you can access it.]



Hey, Niall! BOO! Eheheheheheh!



I never thought I'd die like this, in this cold, forsaken place. Alone.

You're not alone.

Right. some random stranger will be my sole companion for the rest of my short, pathetic life.

I'm trying to stay positive about being trapped in the hell dimension.

Looh... I'm sorry if I'm not bright and cheery. I failed the Circle and I'm going to die here and...

Let's just change the subject.

Fine by me. What do you know about the Litany of Adralla? Everyone keeps mentioning it.



Not much. I know that it stops blood mages from taking over your mind. I don't even know who, or what, Adralla is. You're better off asking someone more knowledgeable.

So are the blood mages responsible for all this trouble?

Uldred is the mastermind behind it all.

At Uldred's suggestion the Circle was about to ally itself with Loghain, when the teyrn's treachery was revealed.

Uldred made excuses but we were having none of it. He panicked then, tried to leave... Irving would not let him.

What did Irving plan to do?

I don't know. I don't believe we got to that part.

[A reminder: Irving is the First Enchanter, head of the Circle of Mages in Ferelden. Uldred is an important mage. Teyrn Loghain is the traitorous nobleman that betrayed the King at the Battle of Ostagar and seized the throne of Ferelden. Our friend Wynne, who was also at Ostagar, is the one who revealed Loghain's treachery to the Circle.]



I was barely paying attention. Such meetings are boring; the course of action usually decided before we even congregate.

When did the blood mages show up?

Uldred let loose a bolt of energy that flung us all against the far wall. That woke me up.

It might have been a signal. That was when a whole group of mages poured into the chamber.

And that was when I saw real blood magic in action, for the first time in my life. It was like they brought the wrath of the Maker Himself down upon our heads.

But the abominations, where did they come from?

I was just getting to that.

[Blood magic is always described as terrifying, powerful, much deadlier than normal magic. In actual gameplay though, blood mages fight the same as normal mages.]



Uldred must have also dabbled in demonology. when the fighting started he tried to summon something... or some things.

They overwhelmed him, and when his screaming stopped, Uldred was... gone.

Ouch. That doesn't sound pleasant.

I'm sure he wishes he were dead.

Uldred became an abomination. And when I saw it, I ran for my life.

You ran? But I thought you were trying to save the Circle?



I was in a panic. Once I calmed down, I thought about what would happen if... that thing... got out.

I gathered some of my fellows and we obtained the Litany from the stockroom. I thought if we disabled the others, we could throw everything we had at Uldred.

That was a very brave thing to do, Niall.

But... I saw my friends fall, one by one... and now it's my turn.

I'm not going to die here. There must be a way out.

I don't want it to end like this. Do you feel it? It's getting so cold...



I wonder what would cheer Niall up. Ooo, maybe a hammer?



[Opposite Niall is this ethereal door. We couldn't use it when we first came to the area, but now we have the Spirit form we can crack it open.]



[On the other side is Yerevan, a Desire Demon, and the boss of this area. She comes with two Wraith sidekicks.]



[She dies very, very quickly. The Spirit form comes with Crushing Prison, a top tier spell that immobilises and damages any enemy for about 30s. This is enough to kill pretty much anything you face in the Fade that isn't a boss, and it will seriously hurt the bosses too. Its one weakness is that it has a long cooldown period.

Fortunately, Old Bonesy also has Winter's Grasp, which is a superpowerful snowball that's cheap and quick to use. It also has a chance to freeze enemies in place for a time. Hitting a frozen enemy with Crushing Prison will instantly kill them, so all in all, Spirit Form is loaded to bear, magic-wise.]



Chill out, friend.



Take some time to... cool off.



[After defeating Yerevan, you can use the Willpower Essence in her area, and also investigate this... thing. It unlocks a Codex entry about the Black City. As always, see the end of the update for details.]



Better tell Niall the good news. He isn't going to die! For now, at least.



What did you do? I felt something, like the earth was shifting--except it probably wasn't the earth...

I killed one of the demons on the islands. One of the ones with a name, anyway. I've been killing cannon fodder demons since I got here.

You did? You managed to get to it? I... I didn't think it was possible.

Killing that demon must have opened something. Perhaps... perhaps the pieces are falling into place now.

Clear as mud, as usual.

I'm sorry my explanations of the magical dream realm isn't as logical as you'd like. Maybe if you shout at the sky everything will start making more sense.

I just might do that!



[Niall's half right. We do need to kill the boss demons to proceed, but we'll need to kill at least two before anything gets unlocked.

Before we leave, there's another upgrade to be found in the Raw Fade area.]



[Remember the scary door we had to run by in the last update? Now we can open it.]



I'm all at sea in this place!



The Maker was having an off day when he designed you guys.



[The prize is an Essence of Dexterity, +1 to Dex. Just the thing for a rogue!]



Seriously though, why is there a ship here?

Do I have a latent fear of water?

Do I yearn for the high seas?

Do I love big boats?






LEVEL 3: THE BURNING TOWER



Yep, this is a burning tower all right.





I'm sweating up a storm!

...Or I would be, if I had any skin.







[As in the Darkspawn Invasion area, fire barriers are instant death.]



Has noone around here heard of the campfire code?







[Winter's Grasp does amazing damage against Burning enemies.

As the Fade is non-linear, we could have come here without the Spirit form. It would have been much, much harder.]



I'll need to squeak my way through here.



You must DIE!





[With Spirit form, the mad templar and his rage demon pal are easy to beat.]



Erk.



The anger... fading... I am free.

Take Rhagos‘ power, use it and BURN him... burn them all. He guards Sloth, he bars the way.

Rhagos?



You must... destroy the door... Other dreamers, other powers... only way.





aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa



[The Burning Man! Our newest form! He is on fire! All the time!

He's immune to all fire damage, which means we can get through the fire barriers and also laugh at any fire-based attacks we get hit with. We can also cast two fire spells- Flaming Hands, which scorches everything in a 45° arc in front of us, and Fireball, which causes a MASSIVE EXPLOSION wherever we shoot it, with all the pros and cons associated with causing MASSIVE EXPLOSIONS.

The Burning Man can also run faster than our other forms. This has no combat benefit, but it is handy for getting around the areas more quickly.]



Is it hot in here, or is it just me?

I guess it's both! Eheheheheheh!



[Going through the spirit door near where we fought the fiery templar lets us pick up two further Essences: Cunning and Constitution.]



[Now we've unlocked the Burning Man, we can head to the next area of the Fade and get our final, most awesome form.]




NEXT TIME: BIANCA SMASH PUNY HALLUCINATION!

NEW CODEX CONTENT:
The Black City