Part 56: Early Escape
Early EscapeWelcome back! We're going to explore the first of several alternative endings today. This is what happens if you decide to just ditch the island and let the Shapers sort everything out. Goettsch and Trajkov are both alive, the Geneforge is intact, the working gloves are in Goettsch's possession, and all of the leaders of the 3 servile factions are also alive.
Everything starts as usual. One thing to note is that you are basically safe from wandering enemies until you pass the first two lines of landmines. Also, no mines are detonated by NPCs. (Some mines may be detonated by your own creations, but most are only triggered by your PC. The mines here are of the latter variety. They have a huge damage radius for some reason.)
One or two guards patrol the whole area, but they call reinforcements from these structures shortly after sighting you unless you manage to kill the alerted guard quickly. One of the patrolling guards actually drops a red spore baton, which is very useful if you take the southern path (which I'll show in this update).
There are a couple terror vlish up here! They have some useful consumables in their nest, though at this late stage, you shouldn't really need anything except maybe spore batons. And that's only if you've not been looting containers and poking around corners.
And there's another little vlish fight here just above the docks. There's a spore baton here, too.
We return to this northwestern structure. You don't need to visit this spot, but it offers some extra content.
The Sholai patrol does come through here, though, so make it snappy. The augmented Sholai are actually very strong. They will easily wreck you if you're not careful. It's not a bad idea to apply buffs after you clear the landmines. The regular Sholai warriors are stronger than their other appearances, but are mostly notable only for having higher HP. They don't have multitarget ranged attacks, unlike the wizards and augmented Sholai.
This place is just totally trashed.
So in our last update, you might have noticed that there was a lever that I didn't pull in the room with Vandrik's diary.
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The case contains jars and papers. The jars have been smashed and the goo which oozed out soaked into and destroyed the papers. It's a mess.
It looks like the jars were broken very recently, for what it is worth.
So between the absolute wreckage in the hall and the mines in the antechamber, you know someone's been behaving very badly.
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There is a servant mind hidden away in this small, dank room. It is in bad shape. It looks like some people have recently spent some time tormenting it with sticks and rocks.
It tried to heal itself, ran out of energy, and went into hibernation. Without food, it will die before too long.
If you have mind nutrients left, you can feed this servant mind. Chances are that you're short, though, because you either already collected all of the nutrients and fed all the minds (including one we've not yet dealt with) or you didn't manage to find all the nutrients and ran out anyway!
Feeding the servant mind yields this conversation:
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You open one of your jars of nutrients and slowly tip the goo into the creature's mouth. While it tries to regain its strength, you clean and tend to its wounds as best you can.
Eventually, it returns to consciousness. It is weak and in great pain, but it can speak. "Thank you, Shaper. Thank you for saving me. It is more than I deserve. I am Mind Strout, watcher of these docks."
"What is your purpose here?"
: "I was made to watch over these docks. To keep track of numbers and goods and such and to look after things until the Shapers returned. I spent much of my time in their absence sleeping."Then the Sholai came, and I woke back up."
"Tell me more.": "This was where they landed, at first, with their ships. I knew they were outsiders, and I had to kill them. But I was weak, and I was not given the capability to fight well. I sent our spies, tiny creations, to watch them, and I tried to develop strength and ways to fight them. But then they saw one of my spies.""One of them, called Varya, she came to me. She questioned me. She saw I would never help her. So she had her warriors beat me. She did not grant me death. She thought I might be useful later.
"So they tormented me and left me unconscious. And I would have died were it not for you, mighty Shaper."
"Varya is dead now."
"It does not sadden me to hear it." "I have another question."
Mind Strout looks up at you gratefully. "Yes, great Shaper? What now?" "Tell me about this area.": "It was a small dock. Supplies were landed here. This is where supplies destined for the research halls were taken. Then everything was Barred and closed."Now it is a ruin. There are guards, watching their boat. Very dangerous guards."
"What can you tell me about the research halls?": "Nothing, I am afraid. I did not need to know about them."You get this next option if you've killed all of the Sholai here.
"Not so dangerous. I've been killing a lot them." "I am glad." "That's all for now. Thanks." "Yes, Shaper. Thank you, Shaper. I will try to restore myself."
Now if you head south...
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There are even more mines blocking this pathway. They are even larger than the ones you saw earlier. These mines have red stripes on their sensors.
This path will let you enter the docks and circumvent the bulk of the patrols, but you'll need to sprint for your freedom. Don't even bother with this area if you don't have a red spore baton. These mines do a shit load of damage.
Someone hid a clawbug canister back here for later.
You can make a dash for the docks from here.
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At the end of the dock, you find a small, wooden sailboat. It has several pairs of oars. It is a small craft, only large enough for a few people, and the mast is not even erected.
Only a single loop of rope holds the boat to the dock. You could free it and be away from Sucia Island in but a moment. Now, finally, it you want, you can go home.
If you leave...
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You regretfully leave the boat alone. Your work here is not yet done.
But you know, I'm tired of Sucia Island. It's a silly place.
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You get onto the boat and release the rope. Then you grab the oar and push off from the dock.
It will be difficult to erect the mast and figure out how the sails work, but you are confident you will be up to the task.
There is no room on the small boat for any creations, so you depart alone. The products of your skills wait behind on the docks, watching you as you leave.
Soon, Sucia Island starts to recede in the distance. You have escaped. However, an uncertain future lies ahead of you...
Everything seems pretty much the same so far, right?
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The Shapers know that Sucia Island was Barred, and that you were there. Their reaction is immediate. They seize you and shackle you. Then they put you on a boat and take you to the Shaper council.
After a few weeks in a cell, the interrogation begins. They ask about, and you reveal, every one of your actions on Sucia Island. You tell them of the outsiders and of the secrets there. You try to warn them of the incredible danger.
They don't listen. The Shapers are complacent, dangerously so. When you tell them that the aliens, the outsiders, the Sholai are actually mastering their secrets, they laugh in your face.
Meanwhile, on the island, the Sholai Traikov continues his planning. One day, he unlocks Sucia Island's most powerful secrets.
Given that we left Goettsch with the gloves, Trajkov probably finally broke their deadlock somehow and took them. Or perhaps one of the Sholai researchers discovered a way to either mend the damaged gloves Trajkov had, or... Who knows?
The Protagonist posted:
When Trajkov and his forces arrive on the mainland, the Shapers are unprepared. Even after the true depth of the threat becomes apparent, they are still slow to react. They can not believe that an outsider could do so much.
The war is a long one, bloody and lethal. The outsiders are aided by many of the Shaper's creations, who rise up in rebellion and go rogue. The casualties are horrendous.
You never find out how the war ends. You are left in your cell. The Shaper council never comes to trust you. They're afraid that you are secretly working for Trajkov, or that you're tainted by the Barred island.
Then the Sholai and their horde of creations seizes the city. When a force of Taker serviles find you in your cell, exhausted and underfed, they take you before Trajkov.
He recognizes you as the Shaper he stranded on Sucia Island. He has you executed immediately.
Sucks for us!
The Awakened posted:
Back on Sucia Island, the various servile villages struggled to continue as best they could. When the histories of these turbulent times are written, they mention a few details about the minor players in this great drama:
In Vakkiri, Ellhrah saw his people's chance in the tumult caused by the Shaper wars. Your people were too distracted by the carnage to punish the upstart Awakened.
Ellhrah led his people to the mainland and out into the unsettled lands. There, the Awakened founded New Vakkiri and insisted on dealing with the Shapers as equals.
They had things to offer the Shapers in their war. Ellhrah's tinkers had learned well the Shaper arts, and their contributions were a pleasing help to the Shapers during their struggles.
The Awakened earned their independence through diplomacy, persistence, and hard work. Their life in the wilderness was a difficult one, but considering the alternative, they never looked back.
Not bad, Ellhrah!The Obeyers posted:
When the wars began, Rydell realized that he could wait no longer. Though he knew that his Obeyers were supposed to wait on Sucia Island, he also knew that his creators were in trouble and needed help.
With great difficulty and a painful period of trial and error, the Obeyers built boats. They returned to the mainland, where they found a Shaper colony, explained their situation, and offered to help.
The Shapers of the colony were thankful for the additional forces, and yet unnerved by the strangely independent nature of the forces. They didn't bother to inform anyone in authority of the arrival of the Obeyers.
Instead, they put Rydell's serviles to work, and, when they could, used them as front line fighters in battles against attacking creations.
By the time Rydell realized that his people were being ill-used, many of them had been sent away, and many more had been killed. It made him very unhappy, but he believed, deep in his heart, that the will of the Shaper was best.
Faith is rewarded with betrayal.
The Takers posted:
Trajkov was a man of his word. After he conquered the lands of the Shapers, he rewarded the Takers for their assistance.
Trajkov had power, but not numbers. He needed help with the administration of his new Empire. Serviles were made, in part, to be administrators. It was a natural match.
Gnorrel's people became powerful. They were trained, instructed, and sent out into the world. Nothing pleased them more than to be placed in a position of power over Shapers.
It would be nice to say that they learned to be forgiving and tolerant. They did not. They following years were ugly and unhappy ones indeed.
Lessons were learned, but the damage was irreversible.
This is a decidedly noncanonical ending considering the rest of the Geneforge series, but it is a plausible one.
Join me next time for even more Geneforge content. (This game is huge. Seriously huge. There's even something in the Docks that I'll show off later.)
Bonus Death!
As a goofy aside, this is what happened when Solution led off with a lie during the last conversation with Trajkov:
"I have read the book. You need to wear the special gloves and plunge your hands deep within the pool."
Trajkov nods. "I had thought that your kind could possibly assist me. Now I see I was wrong. Goettsch read the book. So did my lieutenants who can understand your tongue. You are lying."You are trying to kill me. This, I will not tolerate. I will kill you. Then I will kill Goettsch. Then I will continue on my own. I am sorry, Shaper. Come meet your death."
Solution explodes into stuff!
The end.