Part 9: A-Hunting We Will Go

A-Hunting We Will Go

Back when we cleared the blockade in the Pentil Plains zone, before arriving in Pentil and speaking with Natley, we missed out on her quest to clear that blockade, and denied ourselves a fairly decent reward (a ring!). It wasn't important, but for anyone playing along, you may want to approach Pentil from the south instead of the west.








The whisper of alien minds raises pebbles on your skin. Vlish are among the strangest looking creations, like gas sacks that washed up from the sea. When properly yoked, vlish are fantastic scouts. Left to their own devices and gone rogue, they're horrific. Unlike fyoras and thahds, vlish can form complex plans based on abstract information, communicate with each other, and cooperate in large groups.

If you let them, these vlish will pin you and your creations down with debilitating attacks and finish you off. However, based on what Godwin said, the serviles have been able to fend them off -- which means these vlish are still disorganized. They haven't had time to form the hierarchy they need in order to take down a real fighting force. Otherwise, the vlish would have already penetrated Pentil.

You spot a vlish before it notices you. It must have sensed the thoughts of a Shaper and come to investigate. Placid saviour has the rogue half-dissolved before it can even flee.



The vlish appear singly as if to confirm your suspicions. Fortunately, destroying them is no challenge. They pop like soap bubbles before your combined might.



The only true danger you face, at least at first, is that of greed. Along a well-beaten logging trail, you find a path which leads to an abandoned building. Its original purpose is unclear, but the automatic door opens when you approach and reveals... a canister.


A lot of the in-game text doesn't recognize when you've already encountered something. We could have easily arrived in this area before doing Hills of Jars, so for some players, this room will be the first time they encounter these infernal mines. Personally, I like to imagine that these are a spicier variety of the edible, giant puffball fungus Langermannia gigantea, and nobody can tell me otherwise! After all, they don't poison you, they just blow you up.



Try as you may, you can't find a spore box to deactivate the mines. Many previous detonations have scarred and scorched the tiles, leaving little but bones and drying flakes of viscera behind. Someone really doesn't want that canister used. But in that case, why wouldn't they use the canister themselves? If you set the mines off by walking carelessly inside, you know you'll die. But you need that canister...

The decision isn't as hard as it should be. Berryjon walks innocently into the first row of mines, ignorant of the danger the puffballs represent. That changes after they detonate and send him reeling into a wall, bruised and bloody. You heal him up before sending him into the second line of mines, which are plumper and darker than the first. The thahd whines, but ultimately obeys. As soon as you're sure it's safe, you're at berryjon's side to heal its shredded flesh. New tissue closes over pale bone and berryjon hobbles away as quickly as you permit.

Sometimes, sacrifices must be made.

The canister imparts more improvements to the base artila design. You already see several ways you could have made placid saviour faster and stronger.

Creation stat gains from leveling are 50% compared to the stats it receives from being created at level x, so keeping a creation and leveling it up, even if you invest further essence into increasing its stats, is significantly less efficient overall than shaping replacements when you've increased the relevant shaping skill and/or specific creation skill. At this point, our two cute fyoras, GreatEvilKing and idhrendur, are falling behind the power curve. The levels they've gained naturally are just barely enough to keep their accuracy and damage competitive in the zones around Pentil. Pretty soon, they will no longer be able to meaningfully pull their weights...



More vlish are drawn in by the explosions, but these rogues are almost as fragile as the ones that greeted you earlier. You find their nests south of the canister chamber and quickly scatter them to deny the creatures any comfort. Vlish are sophisticated enough to find this somewhat demoralizing, and repairing the nests will at least temporarily prevent them from launching further attacks.





The Obeyers truly have extensively logged this place. If they're not more mindful, they will soon run out of useful timber. You doubt that the Shapers left much information behind on forestry, though. Piles of logs wait by the sides of the already cleared paths, rotting for want of processing. The tremendous waste offends you.



Here you find evidence that the serviles have grazed ornks in the cleared areas. Though you search carefully, you don't find the source of the sulfurous smell, or the creation who is clearly watching you...

A bugged script keeps a special foe, the fyora Sear, from ambushing Solution here. Unfortunately I don't have any levels in code debugging, so I can't fix the script and show you the fight. Instead, enjoy a rare action shot of placid saviour's green spit blob below.



You've noticed a few subtle varieties among the vlish that have been destroyed so far. The reddish coloration varies, from a rich wine red all the way to an almost black purple. The differences likely represent the abilities these varieties possess, but fortunately, your creations have slain the rogues before they could demonstrate those powers.





Your methodical sweep of Pentil Woods leads you past another small ruin, but you're forced to slay two rogues before you can unlock the door.




Someone has definitely placed a spawner behind that door, but why? They've left not one locked door, but two. You don't think this kind of door can be set to open freely from one side only. How did all these vlish get into the Pentil Woods?

Busting in before you've cleared the rest of the woods of rogue patrols strikes you as foolhardy. Lone vlish have proven fairly unthreatening, but if they manage to coordinate even as few as two attackers from the rear while you're assaulting the spawner, you fear that you will be in grave danger.

Plus, you haven't found anything to suggest that this is the only spawner in the area. While it's locked up in here, you're relatively safe to finish purging the woods.







Some eagle-eyed readers might note that we hit level 9 during yesterday's updates. I decided to present these areas out of order for reasons that made sense at the time, but might have actually been madness and nonsense.





Placid saviour continues its solo campaign of rogue destruction by eliminating three vlish before returning to the southern Pentil gates. One vlish, however, proves hardier than most of the others you've encountered so far. Though your creations' attacks leave it stunned and disoriented, the vlish endures several shots before idhrendur manages to pop its gas bladder.

Now that we've massacred almost all of the vlish in Pentil Woods, we can freely cross the zone. Note that we get free experience for clearing areas!





In the center of this glade you find a very large cabin once used by the serviles as a logging camp. You decide to circle around just in case this place turns out to have either another spawner or an ambush force lying in wait.





More vlish appear as you check the paths around the cabin, but your efforts here have ensured that they remain disorganized, isolated, and ineffective. Godwin was right that the main threat these rogues present is just numbers. There's evidence in the form of abandoned javelins that his woodsmen were actually capable of fending them off -- this place would have been long free of the vlish threat if not for the spawner.

The spawner isn't creating any vlish with sufficiently developed personalities for social behavior. The thoughts that have brushed your mind have been aggressive enough, but they lack focus. Without leadership and clarity, pure aggression isn't very threatening. Whoever filled this place with vlish didn't understand how to best put them to use.



You return to the cabin and are relieved to find that your caution was for nothing. This place is completely abandoned. You pick up a few steel javelins before you notice the ledge in the dormitory.


Your creations have been strong enough to keep the vlish from calling out for help. If you didn't have placid saviour with you, you suspect the situation might have been much different. Still, an effective vlish patrol would have matched them with more durable creations, or at least put the vlish in pairs or trios.





With the Pentil Woods free of rogue vlish and no other spawners readily apparent, you return to the locked ruin. Placid saviour squeals as soon as the automatic door slides down and spits on the spawner; between acid and fire, the immobile spawner quickly melts into vinegary goo.

Its vlish guardian manages to strike placid saviour, dealing enough damage that you are forced to use your healing magic in combat. While you work your spell, you notice that the artila is only semi-conscious. The vlish attacking you is one of the darker varieties. You suspect it has some extra power to slow or befuddle its prey.





Back in Pentil, you meet with Godwin. "I found the creature that was making the new vlish. It is no longer functioning."

The vast understatement seems to please the servile. His stoic expression doesn't change, but his body language shifts to be a bit more open. He uncrosses his arms as he speaks. "Well. I was always told that the Shapers would help their creations, but I never thought I would see the day. Thank you, Shaper. I had doubted the wisdom of the Obeyers, but I never will again.

"I would like to teach you something of what I have learned. I would never dare, but, from what I have heard, I think it might be useful. You have to be quick to hurt vlish. Here are some techniques I have learned ...” Godwin explains to you several techniques for lunging quickly and getting the drop on potential opponents. His advice is very useful. He doesn't comment on how you landed on this island with almost no training, but he has clearly realized it.

Our reward for clearing the Pentil Woods is two points of Quick Action. Skills are worth more than any coin. With this, our Quick Action score has risen to 3 points. That's worth at least 10 skill points for a Shaper, which would take us two character levels! This is a missable quest. If you kill the spawner in Pentil Woods before getting this quest from Godwin, you can't claim the reward.

"Do you expect your work to be easier now?" you ask, still digesting his advice.

"Now that the vlish are gone, we have to rebuild everything. Get serviles back out there. Deal with rogues wandering in from other areas. It's difficult, but could be worse," he says. You're able to get rid of rogues, but reversing all the damage they've caused is beyond your abilities.



The journey back to Vakkiri feels longer than you remember, even though you're no longer stumbling across rogue patrols with every passing mile. The birds are emboldened now that the rogues are gone, though, and their songs relieve any niggling boredom you might otherwise feel. Your creations seem to enjoy the peace as well.

Coale greets you when you return. As always, he's attentive to your mood, ready to sell you on anything you indicate an interest in.

"I met Pixley," you say. "She's eager to resume trade and thinks the route to Pentil is clear." You tell him about the blockade and, as an aside, mention that an awful lot of serviles seem to have been killed in Crag Valley, perhaps even before the great rogue influx.

If Coale draws any conclusions from that, he doesn't air them. "Excellent! I am honored that you could, with all your important Shaper business, remember to help one as humble as me. Here is a reward for you. We Awakened believe in giving fair payment for assistance." He hands you three living tools. "Genuine Shaper artifacts."

You thank him graciously. Three intact, well-fed tools are a good payment for something as trivial as carrying messages. Without intending it, you've been drawn into the pace the serviles have set, trading your services for their goods.

Next time: The Control Mind and You