Summoner Part #15 - Wolong Walks

Part 15: Wolong Walks

We will now begin our climb to the caverns.

The game gives you the invisibility potions, but we shan't be needing them.

We have enough force to make corpses of them all. Though the initial part of the stairs is the most difficult with roughly 6 soldiers and 2 officers all at once.

Which is good, because normally, even if you know exactly where to go, the potions will run out before you reach the caverns proper.

Keep in mind this is all still within Wolong. Wolong is a huge zone.

This is a fun little spot, this must be where General Pijian is staying.

Let's leave him the equivalent of a flaming bag of dog shit.

This is a shortfall of the games AI, if they can't see you, they will not engage you. Even when damaged. This is more easily replicated when combined with the invisibility spell. Casting other spells while invisible does not break invisibility. I'll let your imaginations go with that.

I'm not quite sure what the point of meteor is, other than a totally Joseph thing to do.

I finish off the finely roasted guards with a couple of dinky fire arrows.

Flece handles the rest.

That small building down in the corner? That's the large one we roasted all those guards at.

These stairs are huge. Going to have enormous thighs.

Soundtrack - Wolong Caverns

We finally reach the caverns. This should be quick.

Maybe not. That tiny bit of ground way down there? We will go there. And that's only the halfway point.

The game continues to taunt us with yet another color swapped minotaur.

This is the platform that the villagers used to drop their sacrifices from, the dragon's mouth.

Shadows?

Caris the damned: Four of us there are. Brothers and sorcerers. Sacrificed to the dragon beneath the waves.

Sacrificed?

Caris the damned: Sacrificed, yes, but we refused to die. I am Caris the damned. Drazin, Azha, and Balis are my companions in this nether realm. Our memories have withered and died. All we cling to is darkness and cold.

Your brothers?

Caris the damned: Balis is Azha's slave and dog, for Balis has no will. He lives with his master in the very depths of these caverns. Azha calls himself the 'Archlich' for he rules as King of the Infinite Space. Azha is the Lord of Nothing, and you would be wise not to anger him. In his sorry godhood, Azha can neither live nor die. Drazin revels in dilemma, though he can never make up his mind. Only he of the four still yearns for life. Even pain offers greater solace than this oblivion.

Everything you can see in here you will go to. The caverns rival Wolong in size, maybe.

Or that might just be because of what happens after this next asshole.

Drazin the tormented: What will I lose if I go right? And in my indecision, have I chosen a worse fate?

Go right?

Drazin the tormented: Yes, right is the way to go! But why should you take my word for it? Why should you trust me? Perhaps I delight in the torment of others. Perhaps I only live to see you suffer.

Go left?

Drazin the tormented: Ah, a wise decision, perhaps? Neither is free of pain and misery. Neither is devoid of pleasure. Yet, which is the right choice? Left, I presume, or is it?

We have now reached the undead majority area of the caverns. And like Drazin said, there are two branching paths. Both of which have some downsides.

Namely, on the right path, the spike trap that will apply a slow that will stay on you for the remainder of the dungeon.

Or the left path, that has a gas trap that will apply a curse for the remainder of the dungeon.

I went through the right path and had to walk slowly through this huge ass maze of a dungeon.

Speaking of, here are some pictures from the designer that created the caverns, and some other maps. Here is a link to her website.

From the looks of the ruins, it's almost like people used to live down here, or at least held festivals or rituals down here.

We also find a new enemy, the ice witch.

Their death animation is very cool looking.

You just know somebody got stabbed on that thing.

We very slowly stumble upon a large storage room.

Inside which, we find evidence of the original ring daddy, Rhukha.

These goddamn caverns are endless, and we move so slowly! I made a terrible mistake!

Azha the archlich: How frail you are, you worms of blood! Healing? As if there were such a thing! You will find the waters you seek in the caverns beyond, if you survive.

Healing?

Azha the archlich: No magic can halt the serpents that devour us from within. The weak perish quickly, but the strong live on, beyond death. Nothing can harm Azha. Neither blade, cold, fire, nor lightning can strike me down.

Suvive what?

Azha the archlich: A maze of ice. A labyrinth of cold despair. I will not hinder you, nor will I help. Whether you live or die is of no concern to me.

In my slowness, I didn't even bother challenging him. There are three ways to kill him, and I will come back later to do so. Doing so now would have been helpful though because of this next thing.

Balis the demilich: Balis needs but one thing. A simple thing. Give Balis what he wants, and he will show you. Kill Azha. Kill Azha and bring me his bone. Kill Azha and Balis will show you.

Azha?

Balis the demilich: Yes, Azha the archlich of winter. Azha the invulnerable. Azha who cannot be destroyed. Kill him and Balis will show you.

Invulnerable?

Balis the demilich: Azha will not burn. Neither stone nor sword nor stick will make him weep. Cold will not hurt him. Nor will Azha die by lightning. But kill Azha and bring his bone and Balis will show you.

Instead I choose to stumble around very slowly in this hellish frozen maze.

We do eventually reach an area with rhokuls though, which means the plant, tail of the rhokul, should be nearby.

It isn't.

Not even close. The taunting is merciless.

Thankfully, all things must come to an end, and we find the plants.

We skip the middleman and eat this poison straight from the stem.

At last, our trip through the caverns has reached the end.

Ngaru's Ghost: Emperor Teos, who shall live in infamy as ruler of the Drowned City. Deep below the Khadim it now lies, a city of the dead. Its bells shall sound no more. Its gardens shall never see the sun. Its lords are naught but bone and gloom.

Why are you here?

Ngaru's Ghost: I am Ngaru, the last of my people. I have come to this place to return the ring. This is the home of the dragon of the lake. Here the ring belongs. These stones do not speak. They do not know jealousy, vanity, or rage. The ring belongs here, not in the hands of men.

But I need the ring.

Ngaru's Ghost: Then the ring is yours, but only a fool mistakes his desire for need.

The ring must not fall into the hands of mortal men.
But I neeeeed it!
Ok fine, whatever, destroy your whole civilization, I'm a ghost skeleton, I don't care.

Finally, we were feeling a little lonely without a WMD on my fing.... ohhhh.

But, that's what this pool is for. We should be fully armed and operational shortly. Oh, and the cutscene does not like Joseph's armored onesie and defaults to his peasant garb.

Wolong Caverns