Part 7
Advancing into the dungeon area of this sector we’ve got a few new enemies. On the left we have a Mudman, which has 12 HP and pretty much attacks by running into us. They give more than twice as much experience as the last enemies in the first area. We’ve also got a gecko popping out of the water on the right. They spit fire at you, have 10 hp, and you have to deplete it all before they hop back in the water or they’ll just restore all their hp.
For our troubles, we release a robin and grow some twigs on a tree. Fantastic.
A little bit further along the line we have our first upgraded enemy. Treants are kind of like plant men, but they can extend a branch to about three times their body length. Once it’s out you can’t hurt them, so you have to dodge and then attack once the branch comes back in. They’re relatively weak, but they give 12 experience each.
Mo mudmen, no problem.
“Wait, is that guy breathing fire?”
“Nah, I think that’s from a gecko or something. It was really quick.”
Coming back around to where those Treants were opens up the pathway to this pyramid. We’ll get to that in a second.
Mudmen lairs will pop out as many mudmen as they have in a non-stop stream, which makes it easy to get overwhelmed. On the other hand, you can also hit multiple enemies at once with each attack so you can wipe out a ton of them at once and stack on the experience.
With that many mudmen, it’s enough to pop us overt the next level and also releases…
“Ugh, first a bird and now a dog? What next? Another plant?” “A plant if we’re lucky…”
Continuing inside the pyramid, it’s a lot bigger on the inside than on the outside. It’s also full of little islands with various lairs on them. Speaking of…
“Another animal? Where the hell are the people in this town?”
“And who told you that all people are shaped like humans?” “…I have no answer to that.”
“Oh, I am starving… if someone can bring me something to eat I will exchange this powerful sword with them…” “SOLD! Wait, what do squirrels like?” “Nuts.” “…I’m not sure I want a new sword that much.”
It never ends… and with that much experience, I can’t complain. There’s about 55 experience on the screen right now.
The biggest danger inside the pyramid is that the avenues can get a bit congested. Trying to get past these Treants and the Gecko is one of the hardest fights so far, especially with only 5 HP left.
Our motivation is the chest behind this waterfall. We can’t walk under the waterfall, so we HAVE to go around the other side. Finally conquering the treants releases a bird. At this point we’re pretty exhausted, so it’s time to head back.
“You can’t have my nuts!” “…okay?”
“This is GreenWood. This land was developed by a dog named Turbo. He created this town so animals could come here and feel safe.” “That’s great. Really. Seriously, most humans are kind of assholes.”
“Oh Lord GodJesus, those ears! YES!”
“This island over there is a graveyard. My twin brother is the island guard.” “And just like that, I’m depressed again.” “This place used to be the Green Theater.”
“And now I’m thinking of tiny animals with tiny instruments. This place is kind of growing on me.” “Oh, one more thing… we animals communicate not only with our voices but also… If I step like this and wag my tail, it means ‘thank you.’” “Thanks for the tip, but I kind of know how dogs work.”
“Only one particular mole? Anything to set this mole apart from other moles?” “The way that it lets you see in the dark. You’ll know when you find it.”
“They’re trees. How would they stop you from eating the seeds anyway?”
“I’m a bird, not a flying dick. It makes them feel like they’re getting something out of the deal.”
“I am thankful for them because I can’t move from this spot. The birds tell me the Lostside Marsh has three shrines. One is called Water, another is Fire, and the third is Light.” “I think I know what you’re talking about. Hey, do you care if the stories they tell you are true or not?” “I can’t move to find out. They are all true to me.”
Going back to what we now recognize as the water shrine and continuing we’ve got this bunch of treants squatting over their lair. Trying to get them with a sword means walking down that narrow space where they’ll throw branches into your face and keep you from ever reaching them. The best option is to kill them with fire from across the way here. Destroying their lair removes the waterfall next to them and lets you get the chest from earlier, which has 150 gems.
Next around the corner we have our first instance of traps around this mudman lair. Spears stab up from the holes in a cycle around the square. We get a blue gem fairy to give us some experience, a medical herb from a chest, and…
“Are you the special see-in-the-dark mole?”
“I am the creature who brings light to darkness. I will help you upon your return.” “Not in a hurry, so just… do whatever moles do on a daily basis.”
Heading downstairs in the shrine we get a chance in decor. This is a treant lair, so screw going down that passage to fight them. Fire all the way!
That combined with a mudman lair to the north is enough to get us yet another level.
“It might be me, but one of these is a bit uglier than the others… and I feel like it’s watching me.” “I think they’re all equally hideous, but that’s just me.”
This is a lot more manageable, as well as good experience. It’s also on the way to…
What it does is make it so that you don’t lose your gems if you die. Not terribly useful, especially since you have to have it equipped. Maybe if you ran out of medical herbs this would be useful, but it’s not like we can’t leave just about any time.
“Wait, how does that even work? Doesn’t he eat all the other animals?” “Truly his ways are mysterious to us all.”
“Okay, I’m not going crazy… I swear that statue moved.” “Best smash it just to be safe.”Yes, the statues are actually enemies. We need the ability to see in the dark to ferret them out in the underground, but on the plus side they’re usually only one to a lair. Destroying this one frees a deer.
Moving on, we actually get to the northern part of the inside shrine area we were in before. It’s mudmen all the way down, but clearing them out gets us 50 gems and a pathway back through the shrine so that in the future we can skip the underground…. once we’ve gotten the mole to clear the place out. So, back we go!
“You’re a deer. You have HOOVES. How the hell do you play anything?”
“Obviously I’m the vocalist. My two sidekicks are still missing.” “I don’t think they’d appreciate being called sidekicks.
“Trust me, you’re far from the weirdest thing He has been responsible for.” “I light up the darkness. You cheer up everyone. Let’s work together to revive the world.” “Sounds great. So how does this…?”
“You will now be able to see monsters which you could not see without me.” “So I don’t have do anything special for this to work?” “No, I just squeeze in there with the other soul and we both work at the same time.” “It’s things like this make me so glad my job doesn’t require me to understand how most of this business actually works.”And last, the crocodile:
“…no?”
“You wimp!” “Fine, then yes! And what’re you going to do about it?” “You have some nerve! Okay, but don’t hurt me.” “Well, that went better than expected.Next update: The Fire Shrine! New equipment! And a new third of the Woodstin Trio!