Part 58: Looking for Yourself Out There

Chapter 11: Looking for Yourself Out There


Looks like I’ve got everything I need for the dispel potion. Man, that must have been the easiest time I ever had to build one.


It’s getting late now. Guess I should build a fire.

If the hero ever reaches the spot you clicked on, you automatically go to the local view, where (unlike in the first game) it is possible to sleep in the wild and not die for it. Still, there is a chance for a random encounter interrupting your sleep, a chance which goes down if you build a fire first. The way to do this is to go to the secondary menu while on the overhead map and select the sleep icon.


You are then given the option to build a fire, which you can then light with the tinderbox.


Flame Dart works too.


*You hear a strange noise approaching from the west.*



*This is the most unique individual you’ve met in a long time.*

With incredible reflex action, the earth pig narrowly avoids an almost certain death as he ducks the attack of a violet giraffe. Did you see the SIZE of that thing? Those purple giraffes sure get big around here.
Uh…what—who are you?
New around here, eh? Betcha never seen an earth pig before. Arne’s the name. Arne Saknoosen. Diggin’s the game. I’m a miner, you know. Yes, one of the world renowned Aardvark Miners. Remember our slogan, “We dig—Earth Pigs.” Catchy, ain’t it? So here I am, hunting giant ants to bring back to the mines. Do a lot of it, you know. Hunting, that is. I bet I’ve explored every inch of East Fricana. I know every anthole and termite mound there is from savanna to jungle.


*Chug*

I am Prince Nike von Slartibartfast. So you’re something of an explorer, then?
Something of one. Mostly a hunter, though.
Right. So what have you seen?
The savanna’s kinda peaceful at night, ‘cept for all those purple giraffes and green hippos. They get worse as it gets near to daytime. Think it has something to do with my drink. Yep, they’re attracted to it. I’d offer them some, but I’m afraid I’ll never get rid of them then. So anyway, the savanna…well, except for the Simbani village, Tarna, the magic pool, and the venomous vines, there’s not much to the savanna ‘cept grass and trees. And rocks, and monsters. And giant ants and termites. And purple giraffes and fluorescent green hippos. Funny how them purple giramathingies only come out at night, ain’t it? Wonder where they go in the daytime. Kinda hard to hide, particularly with the glowing pink spots giving them away.
That’s…interesting, but I’ve already been to those places. What do you know about Tarna, anyway?
We aardvarks come to Tarna once a year to trade off the worthless gold and gems for pots and pans and bottles and things. Aardvarks don’t need much, but we do like a few amenities. We aardvarks mine most anything that comes out of the ground: termites, diamonds, gold. ‘Course, gold and gems aren’t worth as much as a good termite, but you can’t tell a human that. They’d druther have the gold, can you imagine that? Oh, I suppose you could, being a human and all. Funny things, you humans.
How about the jungle? Done much exploring there?
Yep, it’s a jungle out there. Full of strange creatures and weird plants. Gotta really watch your step in the jungle. You never know if you’re about to step on something, or something’s about to step on you. Besides, all the jungle looks alike, except for the giant tree, and the waterfall, and the Leopardman village, and the Lost City.
You’ve been to the Leopardmen village? Where is it?
Well, this is just hearsay and speculation, but there’s supposed to be a tribe of shape-changing humans living out in the jungle. I never actually seen the village, though. I have seen the Leopardmen at times. I ignore them, and they usually ignore me. Lately, though, they’ve been a bit upset about something. They started taking pot shots at me with their magic. So mostly I avoid the jungle.
Hmm. Might it be that they’ve lost something to a thief and want it back?
Sounds like you know more about ‘em than I do.
Drat. Now what was this Lost City you had mentioned?
Out in the jungle, a ways east of the waterfall, lies the ruins of a lost civilization. There’s nothing much left there, except the buildings and some apemen living in them. Nowadays, I seen some really strange things there. Didn’t get close enough to make anything out, though. Couldn’t get across the waterfall. Earth pigs don’t have much to do with water. Gets our fur wet. Still, there may be some trouble brewing over there.
Trouble? What kind of trouble?
A couple of months ago—
Three months and two weeks ago, perhaps?
Could be. Haven’t been keeping track. Anyway, a couple of months ago, we earth pigs felt a tremor in the force. Magical force, that is. Aardvarks are real sensitive about tremors, you know. Comes of being close to the earth, and all. Anyhow, there was this magical disturbance, which means trouble to miners. Never know when a hole will collapse because of some danged disturbance. So the Aardvark Alliance sent someone to investigate. Who they gonna call? Arne, of course. Arne Saknoosen, world famous explorer. So I climb down from the mountains to see what I can see. Well, I didn’t see much happening until I got near to the old Lost City. Lotsa strange things going on, weird lights, ugly monsters sort of thing. Looks to be pretty much above ground, though. Not likely to affect the aardvark mines.
Monsters? Were they demons?
I ain’t never seen a demon before, so I wouldn’t know. Kind of an odd thing for you to focus on, but I suppose I should expect such from a human.


*Chug*

I guess that’s all I can expect from you. What is that stuff you’re drinking, anyway?
This? Well, I’d offer you some, but I don’t think you can handle it. You see, it’s distilled from giant ants. It’s a special recipe I know. I call it my formic formula, heh, heh. Formic, you know, formic acid? Ants? Don’t they teach you anything in school these days?
They do, it’s just a bad joke. And I have to sleep still, so if you don’t mind…
Oh, I get it. Set a nice, warm fire and then don’t let the aardvark sit nearby? Alright, human, I know when I’m not wanted.



What a strange evening. I wonder if I’m forgetting something, though?



Thankfully for the Sierra players who don’t enjoy heart attacks, dousing the fire is as simple as USE’ing the logs.

*One long, uneventful journey later*




Welcome, welcome. It’s so good to see you again. Wow, it seems like days since you were last here.
It has been. On the upside, I did manage to get everything you need for the dispel potion.
Really? Wow, man, you’re awesome. And check out the aura on this fruit! Out of sight. I can make up some truly strong potions with this stuff.
When will the potion be ready?
I got some serious studying to do first, so you better come back some other day if you want to buy the dispel potions.
Great. See you later, Salim.



Greetings, wizard. I can sense the presence of magical wood. You have done well.
Better than even I could have hoped for, Kreesha.
Good. Now is the time for you to create your magical staff. Stand beside the pentagram, and we shall begin. Upon my words, you will cast all of your spells save one upon the magical wood. Do not cast the Trigger spell, however, or you shall unleash all the magical energy within, and destroy everything around here.
Never cast Trigger, check.
Let us begin the ritual of the magical staff. Please place your magical wood in the middle of the pentagram.


Hear me, O Powers, and draw near. I call upon the pentacle.
From Thought to Wisdom.
From Wisdom to Strength.
From Strength to Love.
From Love to Will.
From Will to Wisdom.


I call upon the Circle—Contain the power within.


Now, O Wizard, ye shall bind thy powers into the wood. Cast your spells upon the staff.


Again, cast your spell!


By the Powers which bind all Magic—Bind the Power within this Staff—Bind this Staff to its Master. Wizard, draw upon thy Power and Summon thy Staff.



The Wizard has spoken.
The Staff has been made.
The Spell is complete.
Congratulations, Nike. You now have your own magic staff. Its power is great, and you must use it wisely.
In other words, Magic Staff is a disappointingly worthless spell. It doesn’t activate in combat, you can’t actually move while it’s out or it’ll get desummoned, and aside from a couple approaching mage duels, it’s just generally useless. On the other hand, the spells it casts don’t draw from your mana points, and they act as slightly more practiced spells, making them somewhat more useful than normal. I don’t remember if casting from the staff counts as Magic practice, but probably not. I’ll check soon.


There’s one last thing I need to do.


Temple of Tarna

*A deep, booming male voice sounds in your head.*

Releaser of Darkness has returned.

*The hoarse, low, female voice fills your head.*

Has the Doom of Tarna brought the gem of the Guardian?

The Opener of the World Gates does have the gem.

Then he shall be judged.


Hear me, your priestess, oh Sekhmet, Mother of Tarna. There stands before you one who shall be judged. His soul shall be weighed against the Feather of Truth, and the future shall be revealed! Drink now, soul that shall be weighed. May you balance the Feather of Truth.


Dear me, was that a hint of contriteness I heard in your tone? If I didn’t know any better, I might believe you were in awe of my importance. Either that, or uuhhhgggg_{whatwasinthiswine}



*You feel yourself floating bodiless in this strange place. A deep, strange voice speaks,*


Choose that which you were,


That which you are,


And that which you will be.

Have you ever taken one of those personality tests that asked, “Choose the symbol that best represents you?” This is another one of them. But what’s the fun of me doing it all by myself?

Here’s what’s going to happen. All three sets of symbols are the same for all four classes, and there is a “right” symbol to choose for each class; you need to get two of them right to get the points. What I want from you guys is to vote on which symbols I should pick for each class: one from the past set, one from the present set, and one from the future set, for four sets of three total. I should add that this is one of the places that distinguishes between paladins and fighters. Their “correct” sets are different.

Finally, I should add that each symbol has a vaguely-related morality question attached to it (different for each occurrence, though, so the key has a different question for the past and present appearances). As soon as the voting slows down, I’ll show the questions you selected, and you’ll get to vote on those, too. I should note that the questions also have “right” answers, though there may be more than one right answer per question.