Part 47: Not Burning Bridges Pt. 2

Not Burning Bridges Part 2





On your prior visits, you assiduously avoided this small building in the middle of the winding road. Now, however, you stop in to what is clearly the Sholai's camp in this area.

You have located the commander of this tiny garrison. He has the eerily large muscles and arrogant, slightly glazed expression which you are starting to recognize as the symptom of using a lot of the canisters.

He bows at the waist and says, in your tongue, "Hello. I am Treplev."

"How do I get to Trajkov from here?" you ask in lieu of introducing yourself.

Treplev starts to speak. in his own tongue. You don't know some of the words he is saying. "You go (Unknown) that way." He points north. "Then go east." He points east. "Watch out for (Unknown), though. Will kill you (Unknown)."

"Sorry, but I didn't get that. Watch out for what?"

"Sorry," Treplev says. "There are lots of (Unknown). Blow your (Unknown) right off you, and you don't want that. If you want to get by, have an (Unknown)." When he said that last bit, he pointed at the box on the floor next to the oven.

"Thank you. Have you been using lots of the canisters?" You glance around the guard house and notice an intact one by a pair of beds.

"Oh, yes. Shapers are wonderful. They make (Unknown) things. We are amazed. We want to make them ourselves, to make us (Unknown)."

You suspect that Treplev also uses any he comes across immediately, but you ask, "Do you have any that I can use?"

He looks nervous. He twitches a little. He obviously doesn't want to share. Before casting a nervous look to the north, he says, "None. None. None we can spare. We need all we have to (Unknown)."

Did he really think you wouldn't notice that canister?

You change the subject before Treplev concocts any plans to keep you away from his precious canisters. "Are there any threats in the area?"

"Be careful in the woods to the east. There are crazy (Unknown) in there. They (Unknown) and (Unknown) all day, every day, and it makes them (Unknown). Even we stay from there." He points to the southwest. "Down there, though are a few friendly I (Unknown). They trade."

"Traders? I'll be sure to visit them," you say. The tinker serviles seem to have kept you a secret after all. That's a relief.



Then you use the canister that was clearly left here for someone besides Treplev. Perhaps the intended recipient was part of one of the patrols you were forced to slay. Either way, you've gained a little more power to defend yourself in close quarters combat.

You also find another spore baton in the chest by the stove. You tuck it away, knowing it will prove useful in the not too distant future.

We really need a red spore baton, but honestly, I've forgotten where they can be found!



You find an interesting cloak in one of the cabinets; it's a piece of unusual Shaper work that bonds with its wearer and increases their ability to recover from wounds. The cloak might even be alive, though you can't say you understand enough about such equipment to make a determination either way.



In the north, you find a small store room hidden in the woods. You passed it when you hunted down the wounded battle beta, but it didn't open back then. On the off chance that it contains another augmentation canister, you decide to check it out. The lever is concealed beneath an old pile of leaves, but you're able to trick it into opening for you.

Inside, you find some more supplies, including a terror wand. Alas, there are no canisters here.





You retreat south across the river and head toward the western bridge this time. The bridge is located on a quiet stretch of verdant plains, a fine place for farming if you've ever seen one. The land doesn't even appear particularly contaminated.





Sholai march right past you, completely ignoring your presence. You return the favor and investigate the ruins of what must have been a small Shaper compound.



A pair of Guardian statues flank the approach to the bridge. They haven't been defaced, so the Takers must not have invested in this area before the Sholai arrived.



The spore mines here are active. Their antennae point directly at you when you approach. Your brown spore baton sets them off, so you very carefully clear a path towards the door at the far end. The Sholai must be protecting something here.



As you suspected, there's a canister here. It improves your terror spell in the process of Shaping you. It's been a long time since you looked in a mirror... You wonder how you appear to the beings around you now.



The following dialogue is actually glitchy and dumps both the no knowledge of Sholai language and the competent in the language options into the same box. I'm only altering it slightly!

You meet a Sholai guard. He says something to you. You don't understand it. You say something to him. He doesn't understand it. The conversation pretty much stops there.

You greet another Sholai guard. You know enough of his tongue to make very crude small talk with him. After asking "How are you?" and finding out that he is "Fine," there isn't much else to say.

Eventually, he says, "You should talk at Sofya. She on bridge."

You take the hint and approach the woman in blue wizard robes.

The band of Sholai guarding this bridge is commanded by this woman. She is massive and muscular, almost impossibly so. You suspect that she has been making heavy use of the canisters on this island.

When she sees your amulet she bows to you, points to herself, and says, "Sofya. Welcome."

"What are all of you doing here?" you ask.

She doesn't speak your tongue, and you have a hard time understanding her, but, by sticking to simple words, you are able to communicate. "We guard bridge," she says. "There one like you, but bad, we watch for."

"Who is it?" The Sholai don't need to know that you've already met Goettsch.

"Name is Goettsch. Like you, but bad. If see, we kill."

"Oh..." You pause as if taken aback. "Well, what is in this area?"

"Little. Just bridge. You far from good things. You far from Trajkov. Trajkov that way." She points to the northeast.

"Do you know anything useful about this area?"

"There are storage places near. They have mines, so beware. We can pass mines. You need (something) to pass mines."

You don't understand one of her words. "Sorry, I need what to pass the mines?"

You don't understand the word she uses. Instead, she pantomimes using something. You think she's trying to indicate that you need a wand of some sort. She must be talking about the spore batons.

The game is very cautiously written when it comes to warning players about hazards. Unfortunately, it doesn't track whether or not you've already used a baton, so the script doesn't change if you already know about the spore-baton interaction.



You cross the bridge and head into the Sholai barracks. Like their other encampments, the outsiders have cleaned the place up and done some basic repairs to shore up the walls and ceiling.



In the adjoining room, you find some enchanted sandals in a cabinet. This is probably Sofya's room, so you laugh as you rifle through her meager belongings. The sandals aren't of much interest, though, so you leave them behind.



Across the river are more ruins, including a still sealed barrel of waste tucked away by a pile of scree. This must have been another processing center.



The approach to the ruin is guarded by even more turrets. They face you as soon as you come within range. But neither they nor the mines protecting them can really resist your creations' advance.





And, just like before, you locate another canister. This one grants a welcome improvement to your ability to shape magic creations.

You feel like you could take on the entire garrison, but you restrain yourself. For now. The rush of the canister will pass, and you don't want to do anything that you'll regret later.





There's another small ruin nearby in the north. You smell the characteristic zing of an essence pool before you even cross the threshold.


There is a servile here. He seems strangely unconcerned about the threats in this area. He has a clean home and a nice garden and an almost eerily serene demeanor. He also doesn't seem in awe of you.

"Welcome to my home. I am Dig. Please feel free to use the restoration pools here, if you are in need."

"Do you maintain the pools?" you ask.

"Yes, I do. I have taken it as my purpose. We serviles feel best when we are doing a job. So I feed and care for these pools. They are useful to passers-by."

"Who else has used the pools?"

"Well, the Sholai visitors used them at times, when they passed by. But then they sort of stopped noticing that I was here. Their demeanor made me nervous," Dig admits.

It must be the canisters. "Aren't you afraid, living out here alone?"

"No, I am not. I have found that, if I am confident and serene enough, I am not noticed. Much has come from my beliefs. I have gained great strength from them."

How curious. "What do you believe?" you ask him.

"I once was a Taker. I lived in Kazg. I belonged to a cult there who believed that, with pure meditation and strength of purpose, they could develop powers. I did well there. I mastered their techniques. But I found their hate of your kind to be self-defeating. It was a kind of madness. So I left and came here, to pursue my meditations in peace and to explore my new awareness."

You're a little taken aback by this -- Dig is one of the strange cultists. But he isn't hostile to you. Even still, your skin crawls. You're in the presence of one of the magic-using serviles. "I'm glad it's working out for you," you say, almost as a question.

"It is. I am at peace. My explorations go well."

"You seem unusually calm and composed," you reply.

"Why should I not be?" Dig asks. "Should I collapse upon myself in awe, just because a Shaper has deigned to step inside my home?"

That is the usual way of things outside of Sucia Island. "I meant no offense."

"Oh, dear. My apologies, Shaper. Your presence has thrown my mind out of balance."

At least you're not the only one who's uncomfortable here. "Well... Can you teach me any of your methods?" In for one gold coin, in for a thousand, as they say.

"It is a path of many years to achieve true mastery, but you are a Shaper. You have already gone along the path I follow, at least partway. I can teach you how to focus. I can teach you to aim your mind, so that reality bends in pleasing ways around you. To do this, however, I need a donation. Your wealth will help me aid those of my kind who are in need. 500 coins per lesson will suffice."

This servile is really into The Secret.

"I'll buy a lesson." A few coins is hardly anything to you at this point, and buying lessons is a better deal than trading years of your life away as a servant...

There is a certain humiliation in getting instruction of any sort from a servile. Yet, Dig does know a lot.

The meditations Dig shows you are not entirely unfamiliar to you. You have done similar things in your Shaper training. He helps you to achieve a similar focus in any circumstances. This awareness will help you glide through life with less discomfort.

Solution buys several points of Luck from Dig. Luck is an odd stat; it's not clear if it influences drops from enemies, but it does trigger some events, such as getting items from the pylons we've investigated.

After many hours pass, you bid farewell to Dig. The meditation has helped you grapple with the lingering rush of augmentation. You think you might be able to use Dig's techniques to help keep that side of you under control, at least for the time being.






Unnerved, you decide to stay on the road. You are certain you're very close to South Workshop, where you slew Corata. But the feeling you have now is that some other intelligence waits here.



You met a Sholai patrol. They're clearly very unhappy about where they were posted.

They see your amulet and don't attack you. However, they're very confused about why you are here. One of them points northeast and says, "There! There! Trajkov there!"

Then they continue their unhappy patrol.



Past the patrol, you find a square described by more monoliths. Just south is a Shaper ruin.



This must be where that malevolent force is emanating from. You shiver. Reversing some of the evil done by your people here might require you to investigate the lab, but for now, you're grateful that Trajkov is a more pressing issue.





To the south are a number of rather pathetic Sholai camps. There's nothing else for you here.