Part 33: Update 029 – Patrick's Tower, Slith Fortification and the Crypt of Drath

Update 029 – Patrick's Tower, Slith Fortification and the Crypt of Drath



"Alright, training done. Can we do something about our equipment, as Rook 'suggests'?"

"We can swing by those islands on the way up to Draco. See if that hint plays out."

"About damned time."









"Row, row, row your boat!"









"Right here. Now we need to find our way north, through those shoals."



"Like that."



"This looks familiar. The land path is over there a few miles."



"These waters are treacherous. The only clear path is to the left."

"Port."

"Left is left, no matter what term you dress it as!"

"Rocks!"



"We can go no further. Best we land."



"What's that?"



"Oh great. WE COME IN PEACE!"

"They aren't listening!"

"Man, that mace of your really kicks them when they are down!"

"It has some uses, I must admit."



"What do we have here...?"



"YES! YES! BY ALL THAT'S MIGHTY YES!"



"Rook, sorry, but we need to go back to Patrick's tower with this. Now."

"... Actually, I can't argue with that. Healing that woman will allow us to tap Patrick's resources sooner. We can come back to Fort Draco later."









"There must be a faster method of travel than boating and walking everywhere."











"Here we are, Patrick's tower. Duncan, you ready for this?"

"Yes. Let's get to the tower though. Once I brew this stuff up, it's on a time limit for maximum potency."






"Here goes..."



"No! It didn't work!"

Did I ever mention that Alchemy can fail? Because it can. Many times. I eventually gave up fighting with the RNG and cheated in some Greymold Salve.

"Once more...."



"I AM THE GREATEST!"

"No, you aren't."

"I think it was an act of divine intervention that graced you, if your efforts were any indication."

"Who cares? Let's go!"






"You think anyone will notice if we just barged right in?"



"Duncan, your show."

"Please, let this work."



"Hello. You're going to be alright." He smiles.

"Patrick?"

"Waiting outside. Sleep now, you'll see him when you wake."

"Yes. COME WITH ME."







"I'll forgive you breaking into my personal quarters. This once."

"Of course, sir. Your wife's condition seems to be improving."

He smiles. "Hathwisa is indeed well. I cannot thank you enough. You have saved that which I value above anything, above this tower, above magic, above myself. If there's anything I can help you with, just ask about it."

"Two things, Master Magus. First is..." He explains about Grah-Hoth, about Linda's actions, Solbergs retreat, and the Tower.

"I see. You wish to know about the demon fort that I helped eradicate?"

"Yes."

"Ah. If you want to get into the fort, you will need the gold key, in the southwest corner of the Castle. You will need a password to get to it. It's in the back cover of a blue notebook, in a hidden bookshelf near my quarters."

"Thank you. The other thing?"

"Yes?"

He produces the blade and pommel of Demonslayer. "Do you know where we can find the tip?"

"Oh... my... Yes. Perhaps. When we fought Grah-hoth and his ilk, we spent time looking for that blade. Our scrying detected three locations."

"We recovered the pieces in the hands of the Nephil in the Eastern Gallery, and from the Slithzerikai north of their Castle."

"Yes, good, good. I think I know where you can find the last piece then. How much do you know of the history of this blade?"

"It's an Empire relic, sent down with the First Expedition in the hands of the leader of it, Krazoth – or something like that. It was lost when he was killed."

"Karzoth, actally. But yes. He was killed by a Haakai-Lord, and the blade was broken in fear of its power. The three groups that aided the demons in killing him each were given a piece as a trophy. The last... the last was given to a Lich-lord. I do not know its name. But I do know where it resides."

"Oh, that's not good."

"Go north from Fort Emerald, then head west. There is a large cavern full of scree – I think it was caused by a sheet of the roof falling in, but I have no evidence of that. Anyways, in that cavern is the Lich's lair. There, you should find what you seek."

"Thank you, Master Magus."

"Go. I will send word to others that I trust that you are moving, and to offer you aid. Some will respond. Others will not. I don't know which yet. But please, for all our sakes, do this."

"Yes. We will."






"Secret passage, huh? Let's see here..."



"Ah-ha!"





"One last barrier...."

"Did I tell them about the Basilisk?"



Um.... No. Reload!



"Oh gods, I feel like I should have died!"



"There. Damnit, Patrick, you could have told us about that!"

"Sorry? I've been very distracted with my wife."



"Blue notebook..."



"Straight and too the point. I would have thought a password would be something more complicated."

"They have to be memorized, so a mnemonic like that works."

"Next stop, this lair."











"North of Fort Emerald. Don't Sliths attack from this direction?"

"They should still be in some disarray after Sss-Thss died. Come on.”

“SIGN!”





“What is that?”

“I think that's supposed to be a fort.”



“This is an insult to fortifications everywhere.”




“I have to agree.”

“I think I see movement.”

“The North-East corner looks breachable.”





“SSSS!!!”



“Peregrine, you need to do this more often! It's fun!”



“DIE!”



“I admit to some visceral joy at simply killing my foes with magic, but such lowbrow pleasures detract from the glory of pure magic.”





This door is really hard to break through, but the gold on the other side isn't really worth it. You could try the secret passage to the south though, if you're really hard up for cash.



“That was just sad. The Sliths have no real knowledge on how to build fortifications, do they?”

“Ohhh... What are those?”

“Eyebeasts. Some less educated people call them Beholders, but that's a silly name.”

And they run away.



“I know this is East, but at least we know where some of this water comes out from.”



“But heading this direction meant I spotted this cavern.”



“Which comes out in that Scree cavern.”

“Hold on, I want to circle around to the west, see where this cavern meets up with the one leading back to Fort Emerald.”







“Alright.”

“Kill them!”



“Bandits, here?”

:blargh:








“Let's get you guys cleaned up.”

“SIGN!”



“Um, no clue what that's supposed to mean.”






“I think this is the wrong direction.”



“But there's something back here!”



“This is useless.”




“Oh, there we are.”

I'm pretty sure we've encountered Eye Beasts before, but if you think they acted like Beholders, you would be right. Just not as dangerous.



“I think this is it.”



“And there are plenty of undead as well. To arms!”

Welcome to the Crypt of Drath. The worst singular dungeon in the history of Exile, and you'll see why later. For now, know that lights don't work here.



“I sense this crypt goes deeper. We need to be careful.”




“This is old. Really old.”




“Let's be careful.”




“I... don't know this.”





“Maybe like that ghost we saw over in Slith territory? Where I got my axe?”

“Maybe.”



“Nothing here.”



“There's something.”



“Wait. I know this! Motrax! Where's that stone key we found that he told us about...?”

“Here!”

“Yes! This key came from this crypt, and we can use it to get... something?”

“We shall see when we reach that point.”



“A Vampire now?”



“This any valuable, Duncan?”

“No, not really. Rod of Healing, if I don't miss my guess.”



“And there's nothing back here. Ah well, guess it was a work in progress.”



“This just screams trap. Let's find something else.”

If you step on that, you get to take 25 damage each, and drop to the lower floor. I'll show you where later.



See?



“Much safer.”



“I knew it!”



“There is the chill of undeath here.”

“What was your first clue?”



“Everyone, careful.”



“Phew.”



“You had to say it.”

“I didn't say anything!”







“Will this end?”





“Golems that cast spells? What?”

“I do it better!”



“This seems odd. It controls that door over there, but it seems more designed to keep something in, rather than out.”



“And another vampire. When did they stop being a threat?”



“We must go deeper.”



“Many burial chambers. And other things.”

“I think we should take to the water first.”




“How considerate.”



“You know, I'm not in the mood for prying into sealed tombs.”



“At least there's a convenient boat here.”



“It looks like this section of the wall gives way, but the mechanism is elsewhere.”



“This looks promising.”



“Very much so.”




“Oh, I know this one!”



“That is some poor treasure. And not the Tip.”



“The map showed a secret passage here.”





“I wanna press it!”





“Alright, I'm lost.”



“Oh. Why am I not surprised by the presence of an evil altar here?”



“What is this?”

“These are stairs that lead back up.”

I failed to capture it properly, but this particular node sends you back to the empty room where I fought the Vampire earlier, with no way back down. When you fall down the pit, this is the only way back up. Very insidious.



“This looks almost promising.”



“Or not.”



“I really can't wait to get Demonslayer reforged.”



“I pressed the button!”



“I am honestly surprised these Living Statues can move like that.”

So was I.



“Hah! I was right! The passage is open.”




“Oh no.”



Here it is. The worst dungeon level in the game, bar none. No map. No light. And it's about to get worse.



“Everyone, be careful.”



“That water is really cold.”



“... We are close. I can feel it.”



“First a corridor of micro-shocks, not barriers? Give me a moment to dispel this.”

You can't. Not really. And even worse? There's a blank wall behind it. You can't go down this way!

Instead, you need to go back to the previous room, and find this secret passage:



“Can I tell Peregrine all his effort was for nothing?”



And now the worst part. We are now in a teleporter maze. In the dark. With no map. And randomly spawning enemies.




You REALLY do not want to know how long I spent wandering between these four rooms, trying to figure it out. It's hurtful, and its spiteful. Now, you may be thinking, why don't you drop something behind you to mark your path? Well, I did. And every time you use a teleporter, it resets the level. Meaning that you can't leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind you. When I (re)found this out, I RAGED.

And Jeff Vogel has gone on record as stating this is his favourite puzzle in the entire game.

So what are you to do? Easy, here's the answer: Go West three times, once you're in the teleporters, then go looking for a secret passage..



“That took way to long to find.”



This secret passage allows you to bypass a fight, if you find the secret passage in the secret passage.

I thought so.



“To arms!”



“It's the lich! Destroy it!”

“intruders destroy”





“I don't think I can break down this barrier. Let us leave it.”



“This Lich was really in love with its secret passages.”

“Anyone else think that was too easy?”

“Shush! Don't curse it!”



“That actually looks kind of nice.”



“Not. Surprised.”



“No...”



“Hamımızın Oh şirin mərhəmətli ana, mən bu hədiyyə qəbul edir. Mən günahsız zülm edənlər olmalıdır qarşısında duran bütün, siz onları qorumaq ki, bilik yaşayır edənlərə məhv gətirmişdir ki, bütün günahsız üzərinə and olsun. Dua edirəm Bu, mən and olsun.”

“We have all the pieces of Demonslayer. Now it must be reforged.”



“I think Boutell, in Fort Draco has the skill.”

“We go there next.”




I hate the Crypt. I really do. Also, Patrick doesn't tell you about this location. You have to find it on your own. I rushed through it in this LP as a result of my severe distaste of it. And Drath, the Lich, isn't even a boss battle! Ugh.

Anyways, here's everyone's stats at the start of the update, after training:








And here's the maps:





Taking images for the overworld maps gets more and more difficult. I'm working on reprocessing every map into one, but it's going slow. I swear, I'll get it done!

Next time, Demonslayer!



















“What happened here?”

“Intruders, Lord Drath. They took the Tip.”

“And of my false duplicate?”

“Destroyed.”

“There must be a reprisal then.”