Part 21

Now that we’ve cleared out the previous lairs, jt’s time to go back down the stairs and get to work.



Moving on we’ve got an entire group of Fangbots hanging around their lair. Clearing them out releases a plant, which is sensibly isolated from all of the cats in the lab.



Another group releases a cat. It’s official: Leo is a crazy cat guy.



A series of Inch Worm lairs expands the piping here and lets us move onward, as well as…

“Wait, how in GodJesus name did people get around here before there were monster lairs?”

“It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Leo was just a bit absentminded about things like making sure that everything linked up.”



Anyway, we get another level from clearing them out. Offense is way ahead at this point, but that’s not exactly a problem.



Next up, we get a new enemy. Speedbots originate from their lair and then race along a pre-determined path (possibly the entire length of the local area) before coming back and repeating the cycle. They’re far too fast to track down, so you have to lie in wait and swing at them when they pass by. Their lair is holding ANOTHER cat. We also release a door immediately afterward.



Another Helibot (did I cover these before? They’re basically helicopter robots who put their blades away and chase you down when they’re close enough) releases a very significant chest of drawers, who we’ll visit shortly.




After that it’s a network of pipes and weird floating platforms. The end goal is to release another cat.



“Aww, he’s dreaming. Wake up, kitty!”



Our next section actually has hollow pipes that we can climb into. This doesn’t do much, other than complicate when we can swing at enemies and make us a bit harder to see. We also release a mouse, who no doubt lives a life of terror due to being surrounded by all the cats.




After that we’ve got a series of Fangbots who do nothing but pad the area out.



Following the trail of breadcrumbs we get a Blue Jewel and a chance to head back and heal. At this point it’s not yet necessary, but having the option is nice.



Instead, we press on and open up the second floor of the house. A few of the creatures we’ve released live up there, but we haven’t touched on the most important items yet. Despite appearances, we’ve still got a long way to go on this area.



At this point it’s mostly a matter of seeing how far we can go on this small sliver of life. This lair releases another door, which appears to access more of the second floor.




The next couple of lairs let us move forward and eventually reach a portal, giving us a two way option to replenish health. It’s a lot easier to go back and forth this way, since this means we don’t have to leave the dungeon and backtrack through a bunch of areas to return to where we were. The last thing we do before going back is release a model of a town, which represents one of the final two parts of this area.



“Every cat I’ve ever seen seemed to enjoy the whole deal.”

“Only the part where we’ve caught them and get to play with them until they die.”

“So, hypothetically speaking…”

“Oh yes. If we were bigger than you, we’d do the same thing.”



“I’ll see what I can do, but there’s a reason that ‘like herding cats’ is an expression.”



“You know, if you didn’t talk it would be so much easier to forget about the key and just kick you down.”

“Barbarian! You’ll be lucky if I let you in even with the key!”

“Wait, that’s an option?”



Climbing the stairs we have to invade the sleeping kitty’s dream to get ahead. It’ll make sense… kind of. Oddly enough, the dream doesn’t involve the cat in any way.



“Are you going to allow him to make a deal with Deathtoll? King Magridd knows nothing about the value of human lives!”

“You might have missed this, but I’m an inventor and he’s the king. He kind of does whatever the hell he wants. But still…”



“If the trees in this world were cut in half, I don’t know what we could do. King Magridd makes all of the decisions for us.”

“Hey, it’s time to go.”



“It sure would be a pity if something were to happen to her while you were busy not doing what the king wanted. We will be waiting for you outside in the airship.”

“So that’s how it wa.. wait, airship? We have airships here?”



“But I can do nothing more. Oh, Master! Please help me.”

“Master? Why…?”

“Bit busy at the time, as you might remember. Anyway, I sent you didn’t I?”



“I was scared when he was taken away. I had been hiding under the table.”

“That’s pretty much expected of a cat.”

“Oh yes, I will give you this. Dr. Leo left this key.”

“That’s convenient. Anything else?”



And just like that, I’m reminded that even at his most sympathetic Dr. Leo was still a mad scientist.”



“It’s only just this once, you understand, since you were so threatening.”



“I’ll keep that in mind. In my day, furniture was a lot less chatty.”




Within the room, this bureau gives us our next armor upgrade. It’s not exactly clear, but what the mystic armor does is extend the period of mercy invincibility that you get after being hit. The bigger deal is the increase in our defense. Wait… defence? Were the translators British?




In addition to holding our next armor upgrade, the bureau is squatting right on top of another Master’s Emblem. This is another clear case of utilizing that unmentioned telekinesis ability from before, which is rendered a bit more acceptable by this being an optional item.

Next update: Big man in a small town.