Part 24: Quest Queue

It is time to clean up our sidequest queue. The first of which is one that I had previously thought I had completely botched, by forgetting to loot Murod's second form!



Gesualdo: My name is Gesualdo, and I have one of the pages you seek, the seventh of the eight missing from the tome. If you desire this scrap of parchment, you must pay me a mountain of gold.

A mountain a gold?

Gesualdo: 500,000 gold pieces to be precise, a paltry sum when compared to all that you stand to lose. Will you pay me?

Here is 500,000 gold.

Gesualdo: Here is the page. I pray you find it worth the price. The eight page lies in the possession of the sorcerer Mortankas, an ancient evil born in the last age of the gods.

Where do I find Mortankas?

Gesualdo: You are mistaken. Mortankas will find you. These pages belong to him, and now that you have seven of the eight, he will come for you. Be patient. The dead are not so quick as you or I.

It begins when you kill Murod Oni, and actually remember to loot him which I did not, there is a Nhuvasarim tome that drops.

Eight pages have been ripped from this tome, inscribed with the forgotten lore of the Nhuvasarim, evil
sorcerers who worshipped Laharah. The book describes the journey and torment of the Archmage Mortankas.

Upon returning to Medeva we have been steadily collecting these lost pages.



These pages have been torn from the Tome of the Nhuvasarim.
It tells of Mortankas's journey to 'An island watched by serpents of the sea.'
The narrative mentions Mortankas's visit to the 'Palace of Arum.'
Among the dense scrawls you can make out the phrase, 'Below the City of Gods.'
The writing describes a battle between Mortankas and the 'Mountain of the Wise.'
It mentions the 'City of the Sudani God.'
The text describe Mortankas's encounter with a minion of Laharah, in which he trades another man's soul for his own immortality.
The narrative tells an epic battle between Mortankas and a Sorcerer of the Light.

As Gesualdo stated, Mortankas will now find us. Meaning every random encounter will be the map filled with undead and Mortankas.

Soundtrack - Ice Theme



Mortankas is another 'invincible' lich.



Backstabs wont work.



Firewalls wont work.




Time to pull out the big guns.





Now that we have the final page, let's find out what these get us.



I have to try at least some token resistance to giving a stranger a complete tome of Nhuvasarim lore.

I will not give you the pages.

Gesualdo: So be it. You will possess a book with eight torn pages and nothing more. But if you desire the true power contained within that tome, you will have to trust me. No one else can help you.

I will give you the pages.

Gesualdo: Before we go any further, I must warn you. If you continue on this path, you will battle minions of Laharah. No other challenge you face will be greater.

I am ready.

*Gesualdo takes the tome and the eight pages. With a brief incantation, the book is whole again. From the tome he begins to read a torrent of strange words. The pages themselves appear to glow. Gesualdo holds the tome open before you. A blinding light radiates from the pages.*

Gesualdo: The book is a portal to where you must go. This is the point of no return. Turn back now, if you must, or enter the Tome of the Nhuvasarim.

Let us begin.



We are thrown right into a battle with all four horsemen.



It is hectic to say the least.





I pull out some more dragons, and combined with the full heals and significant area damage, are becoming more and more useful.



This fight is a straight up brawl. Just remember to keep Rosalind out of it, and everything should go fine.



One by one, the horsemen EXPLODE once again.



Almost feel for bad for the phoenix rider by the end of it.

The reward for our struggle is the second summon for the Ring of Darkness, the Spirit of Laharah. This is the only way to receive this second summon.



We find the King of Talas back in Saanavarh. And we get Jekhar's final armor as a reward.







Somewhere along the line, maybe one of the demons, we found this badass ring. Jekhar is now permanently roided!



Kiva the priestess: Sahugani, you have found the carvings! You shall be rewarded as I have promised.



Sigh, all these two handed swords. I'd consider them if they were one handed, but they just can't compete.



Ilaru the priestess: There may be invisible writing on this parchment! If only we had a mirror of the Dakhanim! A parchment held up to such a looking glass would reveal the secret writing in its reflection.



Well buddy, if we get that potion going you will be able to do just that! Maybe even get to freeze the entire world!



Athana of Sidaeh: I was born a noblewoman, the Lady Athana of Sidaeh. When Lenele fell to the Orenians, I clad myself in armor and drew the sword of vengeance.

Sword of vengeance?

Athana of Sidaeh: I hunted the traitors within the walls of the King's city. I fought at Tarhimun's side against the demons. Alone I battled the monsters that infest the wasteland of Medeva.

Why are you here?

Athana of Sidaeh: I am searching for a child named Luleva. She sees visions of the future, and I have been called by fate to protect her.

Called by fate?

Athana of Sidaeh: As I lay dying on the battlefield of Lenele, a winged messenger appeared before me. 'Athana,' she said unto me. 'You must find Luleva, for she is the child of fate.' She healed me so that I might fulfill this duty.

What will you do?

Athana of Sidaeh: When I find her, I will bring her here to Saanavarh, where she will be safe until the demons are no more. If you find Luleva before I do, help her find this refuge.



On our path to Lenele we run into a scrappy band of dudes. They do their part battling the oni now in the countryside.









We give the guys a hand, the least we could do after causing this whole thing.



Now that we are in Lenele, we can check out the final summon, Spirit of Laharah.



This bad boy is like a raging minotaur. Top of the line combat stats, good chunk of health, and fast.



Every basic attack can proc death or silence, death is pictured here.



There is another, uhh, side-effect of the spirit. It makes your team fucking insane. They ran around like blood crazed lunatics attacking anything and everything on the entire map.
We had to kill everything standing to get to this point because while the spirit was out everyone not directly being controlled sprinted towards anything alive even out of line of sight.
So, uhh, make sure to only pull out this guy when it's rampage time, not try and get in and out without being noticed time.



Sewer trip #6.



This is a bit of a creepy looking scene.



Luleva: No. Tell the one who is searching for me that she must find me here in the City of Gods. Only she can protect me from harm.

Only she can protect you?

Luleva: If I go with you, I will die, and you will fail your quest. Our paths must diverge, as fate has ordained. We do not share this journey.

Paths must diverge?

Luleva: I must live, and you must fulfill your destiny.

What is that destiny?

Luleva: When you are prepared to learn the truth, the Ulsadana will teach you. Concern yourself only with what must be done. The future does not yet belong to you, Sahugani.

Who are you?

Luleva: You will never know.

She is a sharp kid. Welp, time to go back to Athana and let her know. But that requires...



Sewer trip #7.



On the way back we make a very brief and final stop to Iona again for the mirror.



Athana of Sidaeh: Lenele? Why did you not bring her here?

She would not come. She waits for you.

She could smell Joseph's curse like animals smell fear.

Athana of Sidaeh: Then I will go to her. It will be as Luleva has ordained. I will find her in the ruins of Lenele.



*The Khosani holds the parchment before the mirror, and a strange green script appears on its reflection. The letters are delicate and ornate. The dialect is ancient.*

Ilaru the priestess: How strange! How remarkable! This is the knowledge we are seeking: How to craft Nutengov's potion! We will need the skull of the Lord of Winter, the heart of Udakar the Man-bull, and the gallbladder of a blue bacite.

Gallbladder?

Ilaru the priestess: Remove the gallbladder of the blue bacite, taking care not to spill the bile stored within.

Heart?

Ilaru the priestess: Seek the heart of Udakar, the Bull-man of the frozen wastes. The blood of Udakar is colder than the hearts of evil men.

Skull?

Ilaru the priestess: Find the skull of Huk Kinar, Lord of Winter, who in the Long Night haunts the Marches of Ghaela. That would be in the west, she explains.

Quite the shopping list of gourmet delights. I like how the potion is essentially, FIND REALLY COLD SHIT.



While on our little search, we end up in an ice map that is barren. Absolutely no foes anywhere. Then we start to look and it isn't entirely empty.
It is a little display of the people Joseph's quest has ruined.













Quite a sad parade. The Ghimaadi seems to be doing fine though, even a bit smug!




There was a sea of goddamn mooks between us and each ingredient. Though we did get a set of end game shields for everyone!







Ilaru the priestess: The Khosani will fear no longer the God of the Sea. We must now begin to master the secrets of Nutengov of the Dakhanim. May you find these gifts worthy of your triumph.



The final set of armor for Joseph. Let us check out our fully armed and operational demon slayers.








We are now ready to fulfill the shit out of this destiny.