Part 58: Faction Quests

Faction Quests

We have a few loose ends and alternative faction quests that we skipped.

First, let's return to the friendly town of Kazg.



If you speak to Poola after joining the Takers, she says, "You are Taker now. You have key and run of Kazg. You can see all of it. You do not need my humble help."

If you speak with Gnorrel and say that you'd like to talk to her about events on the island, she will say, "No need. Your work is done. Go to the Sholai boat, which is docked not far to the northeast. At last, you can go to your people, and the great work can begin." And that's all for her!

Didn't the Takers ask us to take care of some pests? Let's see what we can do. But first, maybe it's time to see some other creations that we didn't test our during our adventure.



Meet our two ornk friends, Cronische and Glazius! Ornks move incredibly slowly and are super fragile. Their lack of levels isn't helped by the fact that we only get one joke ornk canister. Couldn't we at least have gotten the ornks that blow up?



Meet vdate and SIGSEGV! Pyroroamers sacrifice the roamer's ranged acid attack for a guaranteed explosion upon death. It's a terrible tradeoff, though you can make some clever tactical use of these guys if you want to play a weird challenge game.



And last but not least, wiegieman and rastilin! Searing artilas are a straight upgrade over the base artila, but cost a fair bit more essence. I like their pulsating blue models.

Don't mind the bloodstains. Our old creations are fine, I assure you.



First, we need to run a quick errand back at the servile warren.

You meet Control Three. It is alive and healthy. "Shaper, I am eager to serve you. What would you wish of me?"

"Your services are no longer needed. Deactivate yourself."

"But Shaper! Please do not punish me! I have a purpose to do, a sacred purpose, given to me by Corata! I have been so loyal. Please. Please do not end me."

"No. Your time is done. Terminate yourself."

"All right, Shaper. One last time, I will serve your kind. Thank you for what life I had." It closes its eyes, for the last time.

You check the corpse. Control Three is dead.

Yep. Still dead.



We return to update Kyazo on the Servile Warren situation.

"I have eliminated the source of the creatures in the warren."

"Thank you, Shaper. You have enabled us to honor those before us the way they should be honored. And to research as well."

She leaves for a minute, and returns with a shield. It is wrapped in cloth. You notice that she takes pains not to touch it directly. She hands it to you. "This burns us, but is good to you. Thank you again, fellow Taker."

It's a Shaped shield, which has a good armor bonus but isn't as good as most of the enchanted shields you can find.





The rebels are not immediately hostile. Approach Masha.

"I think you should know. Trajkov has used the Geneforge. I have helped him."

"No! Oh, no! How could you? He is mad! It will be war! It will be such great warfare! Shaper, he must be killed. Kill him! Otherwise, your people will face such terrible torment."

She thinks. "No. You cannot be trusted. Now, now we must begin war against Trajkov here."

Then all of the rebels hiding here turn hostile, excepting the turrets!





Oh no, our ornks!

Ornk fatalities aside, none of these rebels pose a challenge now. They held back on canister use, so they're not nearly as powerful as Trajkov's faction.



Didn't Masha forbid us from digging around in her stuff? And there was a locked door here, too...

First, let's make some new friends. Cryoas are a good upgrade over fyoras. Night10194 and Rockopolis can help us clear out the rest of the filthy rebel scum.




The key lets us open this door without spending a billion living tools.










There goes the neighborhood. Sorry, Narsu and Solyony. You were all right.



I don't know if the turrets are supposed to turn hostile and bugged out, or if this is merely an oversight.



We report back to Eko Blade about the fate of the rebels.

"I have done as you asked. The outsiders to the east are dead."

He leaves the room. After a few minutes, he returns with a belt. He hands it to you. "This is payment for your assistance. It burns serviles, but will help you."

"What else would you pay me to do?"

"You are wise to ask. I can pay you again for more help.

"Do this for me, and I will pay you well. Go west, to Pentil. Near Pentil is Thorny Wood. I send group of scouts there. They are trapped by filthy Obeyer serviles.

"Leader of rebels is Ezog. Kill guards and free him. When he free, I pay."

Oops. We killed Ezog during the Obeyer's side of the quest. If I leave Kazg now and return, all Takers turn hostile to me because they'll finally realize that Ezog is dead (at our hands, no less). This is a mutually exclusive quest, and the hostility is permanent. Even cheating with "pleaselikeme" won't reset Kazg back to friendly status.

You can only get the Taker quest to free Ezog if you complete Eko's quest to slay all of the rebels in the refugee caves. The Taker reward is a pair of Shaped gauntlets. There's no terribly interesting dialogue involved in this quest, so I opted not to replay most of the game to snag this one side mission.

Let's return to the plains north of Kazg.



We turned in all the other spies, so we might as well take care of this one, too. Spying is wrong!

"I have found the spy. It is Hew. She lives in a grove to the northeast."

"'I thought so! She cunning. She hide from me, but not the Shaper! An Obeyer, undone by Shaper! It is wonderful."

As some guards move to deal with Hew, Agat enters Kazg. A few minutes later, he emerges with a belt. "This Shaper artifact. No good to us. Hurts serviles who wear it. But it good symbol for what happens when you help Takers." He hands it to you.

"What sort of problems are you trying to solve?"

"Now we have spy you find, but spy is only beginning. In this time of great decision, disloyalty is everywhere. I find all disloyals, and we no have to fear being fought from inside."

One of the features of a revolution is a period called "the Terror," named for the same period during the French Revolution. Agat is well on his way to putting the requisite conditions in place for that type of systematic persecution. Good luck, Takers?



If you ask to join the Takers and can't bargain your way in through Leadership, you can take on a quest from Gnorrel to prove your intentions.

"We have heard what you have said to the other serviles. Rumors travel. We know what you think. We believe that you can help serviles to be free. Before we will trust you, though, you must prove yourself, with a deed."

"What task do I need to do?"

"To the west, near Vakkiri, you can find a servile named Ellhrah. He has mocked us one too many times. He has spied on us, killed our agent, converted our followers, and worked against us in many ways.

"We need for him to die. Do this, slay him, and we will take you into our number. Only this task lies between you and the rewards we offer you."





Let's hit up the Spiral Burrow while we're out and about. Ellhrah asked us to take care of something here a while ago.

Control Four looks at you alertly, rejuvenated by the nutrients you gave it. "I am eager to serve, Shaper."

"You have served long and well. Your labors are at an end. You should shut down now."

Control Four looks upset. It does not follow your order. Interesting. The many years of solitude seem to have turned it a little bit rogue too.

"Shaper, no! I have a programmed purpose, and it is far from completed! Please do not make me end. I can still serve you!"

"I am a Shaper, and I command you to shut down."

Control Four looks terrified. "Shaper, what have they done to you? Is it the rogues? Have they turned you against your kind? Do not be fooled! They are dangerous rogues! Secretly, they long for rebellion! Let me help defend your kind!"

"I will not tell you again. My command is final. Destroy yourself now. As a Shaper, I command it."

Nothing happens. Control Four doesn't move or speak. At first, you think it is ignoring you. Than you realize that the creature's already shallow breathing has stopped altogether.

"Control Four is dead."

(I really have no idea why that is in quotation marks. Perhaps we said it.)

Control Four does not respond to your queries. It is dead.



Let's return to Ellhrah's Keep. The servile himself awaits us.

"I have left the Awakened."

"So I have heard. I am sorry to hear it. You are still welcome here, and we will return peace with peace. But I am sorry that you have violated our trust and broken your oath."

"I have destroyed Control Four."

"Thank you, Shaper. You have performed a great kindness for us. You have saved many servile lives.

"I am convinced of your sincerity. I believe that you feel serviles are worthy of rights and dignity. If you wish, you may join the Awakened."

...Nah.



Ellhrah pops like a sack of rotten potatoes. Do those pop? They do now. You can easily kill him when you first get the assassination mission. Just steal that discipline wand in the back halls and force attack him with it equipped. The only problem for a starter character is fighting your way out. Swan is a strong opponent during the early game, but defeating him (use the rest of the discipline wand's charges!) will yield some good equipment.

From this point on, Vakkiri and Ellhrah's Keep are both hostile.



"I have slain Ellhrah. It is done."

She nods. "You have proven yourself. One who could commit such a bloody and dangerous deed is one we would like to have among us. You may ally with the Takers, if you wish."



"I have renounced the Obeyers, but I have changed my mind. I wish to ally with you once again."

"Once again, I am faced with the question of whether we should follow a Shaper about whom we have doubts. And, once again, I know that I can't take the risk of ignoring orders from a true Shaper.

"Once again, you are allied with us, Shaper. I beg you, please do not abandon us again."

Just a little extra Obeyer dialogue.

I did forget a little extra area content, so we will check that out to round off this update.



Last time we visited the Crossroads, we were on our way to meet Trajkov. I mentioned that this area has a rude little trap in store for players with the Taker amulet, and I showed how to get around that. This time we're going to explore the rest of the Crossroads and ram head-first into an ambush.





Mines everywhere.






This mummified corpse has some inconsequential loot.




Take it!


The belt is Bhargeth's Girdle, which is a +6 to damage. I don't know if that's a solid six points or if it's six levels of damage or what!



Once you clear these spectres out, a few more will ambush you outside.





A Sholai mage walks quickly up to you. When he gets close, his form starts to blur. Time speeds up. You feel lightheaded. He brushes close to you. Then he steps away.

"I am Gavrila," he says, as you struggle to clear your mind. "You are approaching the place of your enemy. You should turn back." He knows your language, and he speaks it well.

"What are you doing here?"

"I am an enemy of Trajkov. We want to deal with your kind in peace. He wants to bring you war. The things he offers you are nothing compared to the destruction it will bring."

"What did you do to me?"

"Nothing. I did nothing."

"How can I get to Trajkov from here?"

"I do not want to help you to reach Trajkov. He is your enemy, despite what he says."

"I will make you pay for questioning me!"

Gavrila turns and runs.

If you don't have the Taker amulet, Gavrila will teach you some of the Sholai tongue, and all the rebels in this area will be friendly.



Chasing after Gavrila leads you to this stone circle. Just north of it is a Sholai rebel camp. They all die like chumps.







Gavrila leads us into another ambush.





But we corner him.






Some hints about how to disarm spore mines!



Your final reward is a canister of "Create Glaahk." Well I'll be!

Next time, we plunge into other ending content.