Part 47: The Halls of Irdorath

- The Halls of Irdorath




The next morning, I headed over to the harbor district of Khorinis.



I was going to get myself a ship, and the rest of the paladins weren't going to stop me.



I continued along the cobblestone harbor, into the tunnel, and to the military harbor.



The ship, as well as my chosen crew, was now in sight.



I nodded to my friends as I passed by to speak to the two paladins that guarded the boat.

"Wait a moment!" One of the guards warned. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I wanted to-"

"Sorry. You can't go through here."

"I want to get aboard the ship."

"No one may enter the ship! I have my orders. I shall kill anyone who enters the ship without authorization. In the name of Innos, I shall defend the ship with my life."

"Do you not trust me, Knight?"

"No, I just follow my orders."

"Then you should know which of us has the higher rank." I told him.

"Yes, sir!"

"I hereby command you to grant me access to the ship."

"Understood, Sir, access will be granted."

The two guards stepped aside, and I returned to give the good news to Jorgen.



While I was negotiating with the two guards, another Paladin approached the group from behind. He waved me over.

"Hey! Can you tell me what you are doing here?" he asked.

"I need the ship. So I will take it."

"You cannot do that. The ore transport-"

"The ore in the Valley of Mines is not enough to satisfy the king. I was there. There's nothing more to be had there. Hagen's mission is a farce. The real threat has its roots on an offshore island not far from here. I shall sail there and put an end to it. Either you join me, or I'll have to do away with you. It's your choice."

"Mmh. It sounds as though I have no choice. Well, all right. I shall join you but only under one condition. When we have finished this business, you will turn the ship back over to me, understood?"

"I can live with that." I said.

"Then do what you must do. I shall wait here for you."



Girion got in line with the rest of the crew, and I informed Jorgen that all was ready.

"Are you ready to take me over to the island?" I asked.

"But certainly. Give me that chart." I handed the rolled up map to the sailor. "Great! Then hoist the sails, and we're out of here. You had better check your gear first. Once we're at sea, there will be no way back. When you've done that you should get some sleep. There's a bed made up for you in the captain's quarters. Good night."


(Click for video)

I gave a final check of my gear and retired to the captain's chambers. We set sail a short while later.



When I awoke several hours later, we were docked within a large cavern. We were here. The Halls of Irdorath were up ahead.

I spoke briefly to each crew member before venturing onward.



The first area was crawling with Orcs. I cut through them, making my way to the entrance.



I passed into smaller cave. More orcs inhabited the area, as well as a troll that appeared to be guarding the far entrance.

A second entrance was on the left side of the cave, a ramp leading up into a smaller chamber. I dispatched the few orcs and went into the left side room.



An Orcish colonel sat atop a platform, surrounding by a group of orcish elites. Surprised by my unexpected entry, they were slow to respond when I attacked.



The Orcish colonel was my first target. With him gone, the elite's grew angry and careless. I was able to take them out with relative ease, their old, blunt axes unable to break through my armor.

I looked about the room, but there appeared to be no way to proceed.



I returned to the main room and took on the cave troll. I went toe to toe with the gargantuan creature, dodging his heavy blows and responding with the Claw.



The troll's door led into a prison of sorts with one of the cells containing someone I'd been looking for.

The novice Pedro sat on a bench within his cell. "Traitor!" I shouted. "So I've found you at last. You needn't think I'll have mercy on you just because I am one of the paladins. I ought to just kill you on the spot."

"Stop. I beg you. They have put a spell on me. I would never have betrayed the Monastery of my own free will. You have no idea what I've been through in the last few days. They put this voice in my head. I couldn't defend myself against it. The Orcish Colonel questioned me for days. He beat me constantly. Spare me. I'm not guilty. You must believe me."

"Give me one reason why I should believe you."

"Let me live!" he pleaded. "I can also give you information that will help you to get out of here again. You have to listen to me."

"Tell me what you know, then."

"Yes, of course. I'll tell you everything you want to know. Under one condition. You have to get me off this accursed island, do you hear?"

"All right. Follow me, I'll take you to the ship."



With the novice trailing behind me, I made my way back to the ship. I heard the sounds of combat in the distance. The ship was under attack!



I rushed to the aid of my friends, expecting trouble.

However, it turned out that they didn't need any help. The orcs that made it onto the boat had been taken care of.



Now that the ship was once again secure, I turned to Pedro.

"Here we are." I said.

"An impressive ship you have there. You truly are a great general."

"Stop babbling. Just tell me what I want to know."

"Eh, of course. Where should I begin."

"What about the Orcish colonel?"

"He took away my last spark of hope of ever seeing my homeland again. Since I came here, he has been questioning me about the strategic placement of the paladins in Khorinis. Of course, I couldn't tell me much about that. How could I, dammit? I am a novice of the Fire."

"The Orcish colonel is dead."

"Dead?! Innos be praised! I shall never forget his hideous face."

"What other monsters are haunting the island?"

"During the day you often see lizard people walking towards the coast. The usually carry very large eggs with them. I didn't catch a lot of this in my cell, but I think they're getting ready to leave."

Lizardmen with eggs? Could they be breeding another generation or, even worse, caring for Dragon Eggs? There was no sense in worrying about it right now. I was sure I'd see it for myself soon enough. "How can I get to the interior of the island?"

"There is a secret passage in the Orcish colonel's throne room. They dragged me there every time he wanted to question me. I saw it there. One of the shamans started a mechanism by pulling on the torches that hang on the walls of the hall. Mmh. I think he first pulled on the left torch and then the right, but I can't remember it exactly."

"I've heard enough. Go find a place on my ship. I've still got a job to do."

"May the power of Innos go with you. I shall pray for you."



I returned to the Colonel's room and noticed that there were two unlit torches toward the back. Following Pedro's advice, I pulled on the left first and then the right. The sound of stone scraping stone filled the room as a slab of the wall lifted to reveal a passage.



I crept down the path, trying to stay away of anything that may ambush me. Unfortunately, I was not careful enough. A seeker ambushed me from around a corner, clouding my thoughts with his magic. Luckily I'd purchased more anti-possession potions before I departed.



The secret tunnel led to a dark cavern filled with Lizardmen.



I ran into the middle of the cave. The lizardmen took notice of my trespassing and every one inside the cave took notice of me. I was surrounded, but it didn't matter. I cut through them as if they were stalks of corn.



With the lizardmen dead, I was free to explore the chamber further. It quickly became evident as to why they were acting so aggressive. They were caring for dragon eggs. In total, I counted 12. I continued on through the cave and finally saw where they'd found the eggs.

A red dragon was ahead, looking quite angry at my presence. I put the Eye of Innos around my neck and approached.



"Stay, human. All of my senses tell me that the murderer of my own flesh and blood stands before me."

"Really? Who are you calling a murderer, you hell spawn?"

"You have my brother Feomathar on your conscience and you will pay for that."

"Stop making so much noise. Let's get down to business."

"You can come far, little human, but you will never leave these halls alive."



As with the dragons before him, I summoned my friend back from the depths of hell. While the red dragon was busy attacking the demon, I attacked from behind. The dragon, unable to maneuver well with two attackers pinning him against a wall, succumbed to our attacks.



Just past the dragon's den were two sets of towers across a small chasm. It looked as if there was meant to be a bridge.

While wandering around looking for a switch, a realization came to me. Back in the Orc Temple, there had been a similar situation. It required a bow.

I unstrapped my bow and took aim at a small, shiny object located on each tower. I took aim, and fired upon each one.

When both of the hidden switches were depressed, a hidden bridge extended across the chasm.



Further on, the large cave system continued. A mass of undead swordsmen momentarily blocked my way, but I cut through them.

A bit farther down was another structure built into the cave system, guarded by two seekers. I fought my way inside.



I was shocked to find that the rooms were decorated with all sorts of Paladin arms and armor. A Shadow Lord, a paladin that fell to Beliar's influence, sat in an adjacent room seemingly waiting for me to arrive.



In another room located close to the Shadow Lord's chamber, I found a recipe, an alchemist's bench, and an old diary. I opened the diary and skimmed through it. It seemed to imply that I'd be facing a series of puzzles ahead. I just wanted this over with, but I figured that it at least may give me a moment's rest from these constant skirmishes. I also took a moment to renew the Eye's energy with the dragon's heart.

Unfortunately I'd forgotten to look over the recipe. I later learned that it would have come in handy.



Using a key I'd gotten from the Shadow Lord, I unlocked a door to an adjacent room. Four undead orcs laid in wait, but they had since become a non-threat.



Past the Orcs I found the chamber that the diary referred to.

Four passages led away from the main room ( 1-4 ), with a large entrance ( 5 ) at the other end of the room, and two locked doors on the left and right ( g )

 3 5 2
\ | /
g-O-g
/ | \
4 E 1 

I first went to check out the room on the bottom left.




Someone had reanimated the corpse of a shadow beast and made it guard this chamber. Thankfully, the reanimation did not imbue any new strengths or abilities and I got past it quite handily.



The room was connected to yet another tunnel, though this one was blocked by an iron grate. I moved to examine it when a Seeker appeared before me.

The evil figure laughed. "You came in order to challenge me and my work? You are doomed to fail. No one has ever succeeded in getting past my crypt. Turn back, for you too shall never read the sacred halls of Irdorath.



Despite this seeker's fancy title, he went down just as easily as all the others. Hanging off his black robes I found a key, which I took.



It didn't seem to open up anything down here, but I returned to the main chamber and it unlocked the two doors on the left and right sides of the room. I went inside both to discover that they operated the grates. By pressing the switches, I could choose which grates were up and down but I could not have all sets down at any one time.



Turning both sets of gears once seemed to have unlocked the upper chambers (  2, 3 ). I went up into the top right room. The first area was a crypt filled with undead, but past the portcullis was a switch puzzle. Two Shadow lords materialized in the corners of the room but, like the Shadow Lord Archol, they did not stop me.

I tried the switches over and over until I stumbled upon the working combination. By pressing the left, right and center switch I caused the center of the room to open up.



And to reveal a fourth, different switch. I twisted the large stone and heard the scraping of sound in the distance.



The solution for the top left ( 3  room was similar, except mirrored. By pressing right, left, center I was able to bring about the large stone switch. As I did with the last one, I twisted it and heard a distant sound of scraping.



The bottom left was of no difficulty to figure out. After defeating some orcs that guarded the room, all I had to do was press the only switch available to reveal the stone.



Aside from some zombies, the bottom right room ( 1  was also easy to figure out. Like the top right chamber, the floor was opened after pressing left, right, center.



As each of the large stone switches were twisted to the side, a pillar would appear in the main chamber.



As I pressed the switch on each pillar, they retreated back into the ground and caused the large door to click slightly. When all four were pressed, a fifth pillar emerged.



With the final switch depressed, the door opened.



I was finally here. I felt darkness and evil pervading from every inch of the next room. I believe I was within the heart of the Halls of Irdorath.



Past the entry chamber, it opened up to reveal the temple itself. I must have fought a dozen seekers here.

At the end of the hall, I spied a figure in familiar robes. Was it Xardas?



It wasn't. It was simply another of Beliar's black mages.

"So, you slimy worm, you have indeed dared to come before the gate of the master."

"Are you the one pulling the strings here?"

"I am the Guardian of the Halls of Irdorath. The mightiest source of Beliar's power on earth. The divine strength of the master flows through my hands. Only one word from me and you will fall in eternal madness."

"I see. Guess I'll have to rid myself of another middleman." I'd long learned that mages who threatened to do horrible things to me rarely had the ability to actually to pull it off. "What's hidden behind that huge portal over there?"

The evil mage laughed. "My lord's chambers remain inaccessible to you. I shall give you no opportunity to open the gate."

"Just how many more of your kind will I have to kill?"

"We are many. You have no idea how numerous are those who await this time of freedom. Cries of lamentation will flood across the land when we go out into the world. To free the world of the barbarians who call themselves the Guardians of the Fire. Our gathering here in the temple will not last long."

"Who's your master?"

"He is a wanderer between the worlds. His divine wisdom enlightens us. He is the chosen of Beliar, who will free the kingdom from the wretched followers of Innos. He brings death to all who doubt his splendor.

"Sounds familiar." I yawned.

"Enough of this drivel! I shall destroy you!" the magician screamed. "Your sight will fade and your spirit will vanish into the darkness."

He didn't and It didn't. Despite his constant warnings, he was as fragile as any human mage would be. He shot off a ball of fire or two, but in the end he was killed. Killed by a blade of Beliar, at that.



On his body was a key, as well as what I could only assume were instructions to open the large door.



I forgot the chest the key belonged to in one of the adjacent torture rooms. Among his belongings I found a smooth, black stone that radiated dark power. I could only assume that this was the eye mentioned in his note.



I knelt before the large door. "KHADOSH! EMEM KADAR!" I chanted. The Eye of Power glowed as the door before me began to open. My path to the one that was behind all of this was now clear.



After walking up a long flight of stairs, I caught the first glimpse of Beliar's servant.

An undead dragon! I slid the Eye of Innos around my neck and neared the evil creature, praying that the Eye would have some power over him.

"So now you have managed to find me. I have waited all too long for your arrival."

"Come on. Stop pretending you planned it this way."

The bony dragon hissed in laughter. "What do you know of my intentions? Have I not sent you the Seekers to lure you onto my trail? Have I not left the signs of my existence so clearly that you absolutely could not miss me? Were not the converted paladins reason enough for you to seek after the secret driving force? As much as you twist and turn, you cannot dispute all of that. There is only one thing that was not predetermined! You have destroyed one of my servants! He was chosen to bear the claw. As I see, you now bear it. For this outrage, you will die!"

"On whose behalf are you leading your minions to war against humankind?"

""My master is the Lord of the Night. You know him. You can hear his call. My armies rise from the ground in his name and shroud the world in darkness."

"Who are you?"

It laughed again. "You still have to ask that? Search within yourself, you fool. You know who I am. I bear no name. Just as you bear no name. I am given the divine power from my creator. Just as you bear the power of your god in you. My fate is the destruction of the world. Just as your fate is determined by the integrity and virtue of a paladin. Do you not feel the bond that ties us together? Yes. You know who I am."

I shook my head in disbelief. Could it be? Could the Sleeper be back, reborn into the skeletal remains of a dragon? "No. That cannot be. Xardas always said-"

"Xardas is weak and no threat to me. You alone are worthy of facing me. So it is written. The time has come to accept your fate."

"Why are you here?"

"The divinity bestowed upon me will inspire me to drown the world in a river of violence. Only when the last fortress of the righteous has fallen shall I rest."

"Enough said!" I shouted, unsheathing The Claw. "I shall chase you back under the rock from whence you crept, you monster."

It laughed mockingly. "You are not yet ready to defeat me. Only one brief moment and I shall have reached my goal. Do you really believe you can injure me with the claw? Your bones will serve me to let the ill winds of death blow across the world."

Damned! He was right. There was no way that the Claw was going to hurt him. I tossed it to the ground and scrambled to take out the Wrath of Innos.



I opened up with the same strategy that I'd used for previous dragons. With a demon attracting his attention, I attacked his exposed flank.

But this plan didn't well well on the undead dragon. His breath was so hot, and his claws so sharp that he was able to

Instead, the whole battle devolved into a series of hit and runs. The undead dragon, far too large to navigate between the outer stone columns, could not keep track of me outside of the large chamber. While hidden, I used another scroll to summon a demon and the entire process repeated itself.


(video)

Eventually, the dark magic that kept the creature mobile weakened, and it fell to the ground. I crept up to it to deliver the killing blow and banish it from this world forever but something unexpected happened.



The evil was banished, or so I thought, and I made the long trek back to the exit.

Along the way, I found Milten.

"All right. That's it! The temple is now deprived of its power."

"How do you always pull it off, hm?"

"Damned if I know."

Milten laughed, his spirits lifted by the banishing of the evil. "Are we ever going to get any peace? We've certainly deserved it. Come on, my friend. I think the first thing you need is forty winks. You should go straight to the captain and tell him to weigh anchor."



Lester was standing by the stone bridge.

"It's like my headaches just blew away. How did you do that?"
"I've destroyed the enemy."

"It must have been something very powerful. So what was it, exactly?"

"An undead dragon."

"Hopefully nothing like that will ever happen again. There isn't as much swampweed in the world as I'd like to smoke right now."

I laughed, and continued back to the ship. I could have used some swampweed myself.



Lee was in the Orcish Colonel's room, examining the weapons of the fallen orcs."

"We can be on our way now," I told him, "The enemy's dead."

"Very good! Then tell the captain to weigh anchor. May our paths cross again some day after the adventure."



Gorn was standing sentry.

"You stayed with the ship?" I asked, impressed at his dedication.

"Sure I did. Just imagine what we'd do if it weren't there any more. There's nothing left here for us. Tell the captain to clear the ship."



Everyone was aboard the ship and it was time to leave this accursed place. I ordered Jorgen to set sail, and I retired to my room.


(End video)

I'd just begun sorting through my things when an unexpected visitor arrived.


(After credits)
It was time to go home.


Other: Game is over! Hooray! Sorry that I couldn't get better shots of the end boss, or my planned video. He suffered the same invisible dragon bug as all the others had so it wouldn't have made for good watching. If you liked anything about the game shown, I highly recommend you buy it for yourself. While this LP was fairly long, I most certainly did not show off even half of the game, just the main storyline. Oh, and if you're wondering I couldn't find Diego anywhere in the halls. His spawn must have bugged out or something.

End game stats:


Saves list and game time:


Bonus videos: When you sleep with a prostitute. They allow for kissing, apparently.

When you're an asshole and lower the castle gates in the Valley of Mines.

There might be some more bonus stuff later if I can find anything cool in my 15 gigs of screen shots, but this LP is done. Hooray!