Part 89: The Dark One’s Cave
Chapter 21: The Dark One’s Cave
QfG4 Manual posted:
The Monks were thrown into chaos. Without the Mad Monk himself to lead
them, they had no one to tell them what to do. Then did Barney comprehend
the magnitude of disaster looming over his brilliant schemes of land
development and urban renewal. Thus did Barney become High Priest of this
unnatural and unwholesome cult.
So came the accursed, atrocious, and acrimonious moment when Barney heard
the Call of Avoozl, and answered it! The sun did hide behind black,
foreboding clouds and the wind did wail with the caterwauling of cacophonous
cries the day the cult began the vile and hopelessly sinister summoning to
draw Avoozl into this world. Muttering unspeakably muffled shibboleths, the
insane and misguided monks approached Mount Malign, a tall promontory south
of town. Entering a small cave in the side of this mountain, they began the
horrid rituals to evoke Avoozl's arrival. Heedless of the potential disaster
and destruction of this world as we know it, the Monks prepared to do the
deed of dire doings. Avoozl waited... and the mountain top writhed in
anxious anticipation.
Then did the Mage Erana come, accompanied by the Paladin Piotyr and
righteous armies of the surrounding areas. Drawn by the maelstrom of
malevolent magic, summoned by the sound of sordid speeches, beckoned by the
baneful and brackish blackness that besmirched the sky, these daring and
undaunted do-gooders were determined to drive the Dark One back to its
distant abode.
Great. Just where I wanted to be. Back in here. Stupid destiny. I think I’m going to kill someone the next time I have to hear about prophecies.
Holy FUCK, you’re ugly. Wait, what’s that book? Is that thing seriously what’s left of the high priest? And you were trying to grab me when I crossed the rope the first time, weren’t you? That’s it, I’m murdering that…whatever it is.
Yet another puzzle with three solutions. The wizard (or paladin, if he’s feeling mystical) can use Calm to put the thing to sleep, then Levitate down to grab the book. As a thief, you come in and find it already asleep, so you just climb down with the grapnel and sneak over. As for the paladin, well…
High Priest Battle
You get to kill it. Toughest combat in the game, of course, but still not terribly hard. It just sort of flails around and spits acid.
Oh dear god it’s wearing a nipple ring. I’ve never noticed that before. I kind of wish I still didn’t know.
Sure hope this has the thing I need.
You pick up the book and read it. It is the diary of the last boyar. It seems the thing in the pit was the last Borgov. Being a servant of the Dark One didn’t do much for his looks or disposition. On the last page is the thing you have been searching for—the Ritual of Essence. Now you have all the rituals, and the summoning of the Dark One can begin. The book crumbles into dust in your hands moments after you memorize the final ritual.
You can’t see it in a screenshot, but the sphincter on the right is totally vibrating.
Ew. As good a reason to pick that door as any other, I guess.
Wasn’t this the one I came through first?
Yeah, that’s right, I nabbed my torch from the altar here. This was not a place I wanted to come back to.
I should probably put it back for this.
Maybe light the other one while I’m at it. Now what? I still can’t read the scroll. There are lines in the sand as if it has been used in the past to form pictures. There is no apparent pattern to the lines at the moment. So what pattern would they use? The Dark One? Maybe I can trace a symbol with the Sign. You press the Dark One Sign against the top of the altar. The sand swirls and shifts to form a mirror image of the sign on the altar surface. The Dark One Sign dissolves into the sand, its purpose fulfilled at last. Sure hope I don’t need that for anything else. Hey, I can read the ritual now! “Yah, Avoozl, Dark One, come! I stand among your massive bones. Let your skeleton once more be filled with your presence!” The rocks of the cave creak and groan around you as if forced to bear some massive weight. Er…“Yah, Avoozl! Take shape once more in this place that is your home. Stand again among us!” The “bones” near the altar start to sway and move as if a massive wind was blowing change through the cavern. Ew…“Yah, Avoozl, Dark One, come!” As you complete the ritual, the scroll turns to dust in your hands. Suddenly you realize that the nearest bones have formed into a cage and are closing around you!
Whoa! Not cool! How do I get out of this?Again, one in three ways. The thief is given enough time to backflip out of the trap, while the wizard can use the advice given way back in the adventurers’ guild: weaken the bones by casting Flame Dart and Frostbite until they become brittle and break. The paladin simply busts the things apart with his massive strength.
*Crack*
Damn it, I might have been trapped there! Wait, wouldn’t the cultist who was supposed to do this get caught too? Stupid evil cults with their stupid evil human sacrifice.
I’m keeping this torch.
Looks like the one on the left is wriggling now.
Where’s the red light coming from?
Hey, I don’t have to do anything this time. Looks like I can just get to reading the ritual. “Yah, Avoozl, Bringer of Blood! I bring fresh blood to fill your veins.” Oh, that’s my cue, isn’t it? I hope it only needs a couple drops, ‘cause I am not giving it any more than that. Following the scrolls’ instructions, you prick your finger and let a few drops of blood drip into the altar bowl. They seem to sizzle and roil within the black bowl. Freaky. “Yah, Avoozl! Let this chamber fill with your fiery blood once more.” Drops of thick, acid liquid begin to form and drip from the altar into the bowl. “Yah, Avoozl, Bringer of Blood!” The dark liquid oozes forth from openings throughout the chamber and begins to fill the channels below. The “blood” hisses and sizzles as it flows. The scroll falls from your hands into the altar bowl where it is instantly consumed by the acid.
A thick, putrescent liquid now oozes and flows through the cave. It looks highly corrosive and in general like something you’d best avoid. Heh, I’d like to see Katrina try to drink this blood. So much for that idea. I just hope I can find Erana and get her staff to her in time. Looks like I can climb back down if I’m careful.
Wait a second, I’m not that careful!
The paladin can get past the problem by jumping up here and blocking the flow with that giant stone.
I have no idea why it’s not spilling out somewhere else, but whatever. The wizard can freeze the blood with a few well-placed Frostbite spells, and the thief can ignore the whole thing by leaping and grappling around on the ledges along the top of the screen.
I wonder what’s next?
Hmm, looks calm enough.
Oh good, I can read this one now, too. “Yah, Avoozl of the Breath of Night! I shall come to draw forth your breath in the song of shadows. On the most right horn shall I begin thy song; the Shadows of Darkness gather. Yah, Avoozl! Then shall I play on the leftmost of five—
Three, sir. “—three, the wind will come forth among the Shadows. I shall bring breath again onto thy center, the wind of Darkness blows all before it! Yah, Avoozl of the Breath of Night! I shall sound the final note on high. The Shadows of Darkness shall rise again!” You sense an awakening and a waiting within the altar as if it is alive and expecting something more. Wait, it wants me to actually blow on these things? Ugh, fine, what did it say again? Right, left, center, high…guess it wants me to play on the low pipes here. I think I’ll guess “middle” on the high one since it didn’t say.
*Toot*
*Breathing out*
*Breathing in*
Hey, it worked! No wait, I shouldn’t be happy about that. Especially since I think I have to pass that wind to get out of here.
OH SHIT
*WHAM*
It takes a while to build up this much damage, so you have some time to figure out how to get out. The thief can just climb down across the
The paladin grabs a cilium and holds on for dear life…
Until he gets blown off to the side.
Seriously, at this point, fuck destiny.
Great, so what’s next?
You feel totally numb. You can’t see anything, feel anything, hear anything, taste anything, or even smell anything. (Is this totally senseless?) ……? ……! …!
Wait! You just felt something hard and round with some spiky bits sticking out. Your sense of touch has returned! …! …? …,……
Woof! Did something just die in here? Your sense of smell just returned with a vengeance. (You kind of wish it hadn’t!) …,…! …? …!
You hear a loud, almost explosive pounding and something like rushing water. After a moment you realize that you’re hearing the sounds of your own heartbeat and of the blood pulsing through your veins. GUESS IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE TO TALK TO MYSELF—OW, MY EARS! WHY AM I TALKING SO LOUD?! You stand still for a second until the sounds subside to a dull throb. You can hear again! Alright, that’s better. Still can’t see what I keep running into, though.
Blinding glare assaults your vision and you nearly fall from the path. It’s as if you’re staring directly into the sun. After a bit you still see stars, but now at last you can see the cave you’re in. Ahead of you lies the altar. Ack, damn it! …Alright, there it is. I’m three of six now, I can do this.
“Yah, Avoozl, Dark calls unto Darkness! Reach out thy tentacles to feel life again! Let the scents of this world permeate thy nose. Yah, Avoozl! The sounds of our world are loud in thine ears to do with what thou will. Let the light and shadow of this world enter thy sight. Let thine own Shadow of Darkness cover the world without the need of light. Yah, Avoozl, Dark calls unto Darkness!” As you complete the ritual, the scroll turns to dust in your hands. You hear a crackling noise and see flashes of lightning from the dendrites as the smell of ozone permeates the air.Getting back to the entrance poses a bit of a challenge. Specifically, an electrical challenge.
Yeah, that. The wizard can get past with Resistance and a few Lightning Balls to short out the nerves, and the thief can actively swing to the door using the horseshoe shape at the top (part of the ear mechanism) and the round branch just above the doorway. The paladin can also swing, but it’s not actually that hard to avoid the electric jolts if you time your run right. It does do more damage than the lung did, however.
So be careful.
What, no more doors? No more horrible rooms I have to get past? So what now? Is this thing in the middle here the heart, or what? And what’s it going to do? Pump so hard I smash through the wall? Suck up my own heart? Fuck. Let’s get this over with.
“Yah, Avoozl, Master of Darkness! Your servant stands now before your Heart of Darkness. Let your Heart pulsate again with power and life.” You feel a heavy throbbing sensation from your own heart as if some force is trying to rip it free from your chest. Oh, great. “Yah, Avoozl! Let the Heart of Darkness force the black blood through your veins.” Not that it was black, but whatever. The pressure on your chest relaxes as the stone heart begins to pulse and throb with unearthly energy. Thank god…or whatever else. “Yah, Avoozl, Master of Darkness!” There, that’s it. Come on, what’s next? What horrible thing do I have to survive this time?*Thunk*
…Hey, looks like a trap door opened above the heart. Huh.