Part 8

So this is going to be a relatively short update.

We return from our long vampire-killing ordeal, recieving more skill points as a prize. We also get a new type of quest available:



Intriguing! We take it, of course.



We start IDing the loot which we couldn't ID when we were in the dungeon. Of the five assorted weapons we took back, two are unenchanted, two are cursed -20 'worthless' weapons, and one is this:



Conan's sword? Yes, please!

We swap out the ring of muscle +4 we've been using since the start of the game - we've got plenty of muscle to go around! - for a ring of 'resist bewilderment' that we stashed a while ago. That confusion Tsi-Puff inflicted on us was very nearly lethal - I don't want to have to deal with that again!

We end up looking like this:





And off we go to find that vault.

We ascend quickly. The only thing worth mentioning before we reach level 31 is this guy:





But he's no challenge.

We make our way to level 31 without further encounters. Once there, though, we stumble into this guy:



Who promptly wrecks our shit.







Very literally. He took 40 points of AC off us at a stroke. That fucker!

He doesn't manage any more mischief before he dies, thanks to our +21 speed. But what a pain!

Looping around, we find a vault. What's inside? Could it be...



Artifact petticoats?



Finally, a third source of 'see invisible!' Now we can see the rare ultra-invisible monsters.

I'm not actually sure this is better than our +14 petticoats, especially given our recently impaired AC... but they're cool, so what the hell, I put them on anyway. (We're now at a base +15 speed.)

We stroll across the level. In the far bottom-left, we find... another vault?



For crying out loud.

If the game was doing this on purpose, it'd be pretty funny.

Heading east from the Vault of the Brass Lantern, we find another Selenite unique. Neat!





He's a little tougher than Tsi-Puff, but doesn't accomplish anything before dying.

After stumbling around almost the entire level, I think I've found the actual vault.



The clue is that it's surrounded by 'permanent walls', which are immune to tunneling and stone-to-dust. (As opposed to the earlier, 'lesser' vaults.) The problem is... it's surrounded by permanent walls, and despite our newly-raised search skill, we can't find any doors leading inside.



I spend a while tunneling around the outside looking for an entrance, but I can't find one. So, I'm asking advice from the thread. What now?

Inventory:



(We can always regen the level by ducking in and out, but that may well fail the quest.)