Summoner Part #11 - The City of Saanavaaaauuuggghhhh

Part 11: The City of Saanavaaaauuuggghhhh

We return to Lenele for the extremely pressing matter of gargoyle blood delivery.

It looks like everything is finally working out for the trade and production portions of the city. It's just too late to matter.

And this guy is still holding out for his earring. Why his captain just hasn't taken off without him we may never know.

Headsman: I'll give you a crown, traitor!

Lord Geris: I am a loyal subject of his majesty and a victim of pernicious lies!

Headsman: Meet the lord of Surato, traitor to the crown. Tarhimun caught the kafug spying for the rennies.

Lord Geris: Lies and slander! Ask Lord Peridon! Ask Sir Mirandus! I was born a loyal subject of his majesty, and I shall die a loyal subject!

Good to see the blood flowing on the battlefield and in the capital. Speaking of blood.

These are quite ornate for just a dram of gargoyle blood.

I have six drams of gargoyle blood.

*Krys takes one of the drams of blood and places a drop in each of six small lanterns. He hides the other five drams in a pocket of his apron.*

Krys the lantern maker: That's one dram for your lanterns, and five drams for me. Compensation for time and materials. Gargoyle blood is hard to come by, as you well know.

That dude really knows how to work a team of adventurers.

I have the stonefire lanterns!

Master of revels: This is unfortunate news, indeed. Though I hoped you would fail, I gave you my word. I shall inform Torvel that I will give his players another chance to prove themselves. I pray he does not squander this opportunity.

2000xp and 5000 gold. Not bad considering some other 'great rewards' we have seen before. And thus we have completed a task of the utmost urgency and importance.

We find some kids playing in the marketplace. The second boy is funny. And...

"(FIGHT)"

We make our way to the area where the Khosani are supposed to live. We find nothing until a certain encounter.

Huh, so the Khosani are dwarves with katars.

Well, dwarves if they had no lips and shark teeth.

Khosani warrior: We know this dagger as the Blade of Tarun. If indeed you are emissaries of the King of Medeva, you must appear before the Guardian of the Stone Portal. Follow us.

The Khosani

The Khosani were children of Vadagar, god of the earth and lover of doomed Iona.

In Saanavarh, mountain of the wise, lived the last of their kind.

Their ancestors had survived the great flood brought by Amasido's vengeance.

Soundtrack - Khosani Stronghold

Check out Vadagar's 3 head thing. Just like his old dried up dead bones!

*You present the dagger that the heirophant of Urath had given you. The Guardian inspects it, frowning as he turns the blade over in his hands.*

Guardian of the Stone Portal: What fool the Khosani be that one might buy their love with trinkets and false promises! Have you traveled all this way to give us this blade? If so, you may be off. We have riches enough to buy your king and all his realm!

I seek the rings of summoning.

Guardian of the Stone Portal: Rings? You seek the rings of the Sahugani?

*The warriors guarding the portal begin to murmur excitedly.*

Guardian of the Stone Portal: Prove to us you are one of the chosen. Prove to us you are Sahugani.

*Whispers* Sahugani means 'Summoner' in the Khosani tongue. Show him the mark.

*You show the Guardian the mark on the back of your hand. A great cry erupts from the Khosani.*

Guardian of the Stone Portal: I will take you to the Ulsadana. But I warn you. If you deceive us, you will suffer a fate worse than death. Follow me and do not stray.

The Khosani are seriously ugly.

But they know how to build really cool shit, this platform is a big swirling maelstrom of water.

Ulsadana: The Guardian of the Stone Portal brings strange tidings: the Sahugani has come to the mountain of the wise. But I see he does not come alone. Who are your companions, Sahugani?

Sahugani?

Damnit Joseph, Rosalind just told you this!

Ulsadana: The Sahugani are called 'Summoners' in the Medevan tongue. A terrible thing to be born Sahugani. Your mark portends bloodshed and death to his people, and yet it is written the Sahugani shall redeem the wasteland and make the world anew.

Rings?

Ulsadana: We forged the rings in the fires below Saanavarh and hid them in the deepest shadows of creation. This has been told in the song of Rhukha. The Khosani can help you, if you prove yourself worthy.

Prove myself?

Ulsadana: You must submit to the Ordeal. The Guardian of the Stone Portal shall guide you to the labyrinth. But tell us before you go, Sahugani, who are your companions?

*Flece steps forward and bows with a flourish, as if imitating the lords of the royal court.*

O great Ulsadana, Flece of Lenele at your service.

Ulsadana: You are a liar and a thief. But such is the corruption of your people... A yearning for that which is not yours. I shall warn you once and only once: If you dare touch a single stone, justice will be swift and unerring.

*Laughs* Tancred once told me, 'The chambers of Saanavarh are filled with gold, but I'd rather die a pauper than face Khosani justice.'

Ulsadana: The your friend Tancred is a wise man.

I am Rosalind of Iona.

*The elders murmur to each other in low, threatening tones. With an impatient wave of her hand, the Ulsadana silences the elders.*

Ulsadana: We will settle the matter between our people before too long, Rosalind of Iona.

I understand your grievances against the Order of Iona. Though the Khosani are older than the stones of Saanavarh, Sir Carados and his knights--

*The Ulsadana pounds her staff on the dais.*

Ulsadana: Your Order desecrated hallowed ground! Beneath the stones of your sorcerers' towers lie the bones of our god! You are minions of the seductress who destroyed our cities!

No! Amasido-- *Rosalind stammers.*

Ulsadana: Silence! *Roars the Ulsadana. Rosalind steps back, trembling with rage.*

Damn, the Ulsadana shut down Rosalind. Impressive.

Ulsadana: What is your name, warrior?

I am Jekhar. I have come by order of his majesty, Bellias VI, King of Medeva and Prince of the Rhunari.

*The Ulsadana regards him thoughtfully.*

Ulsadana: You are a child of the Husofi clan, are you not?

Yes, I am Husofi. Though I am no child.

Ulsadana: *Nods* The Husofi are a people of honor. I was friend of the heroes you know only in song: Damatas, Galadorn, and Ursi. The Husofi rode chariots and carried spears of ash. At the battle of Odovarhi, the helms of the hawk children gleamed as bright as the sun. The Khosani welcome you to Saanavarh. You are a warrior among warriors.

*Bows* I am honored, Ulsadana.

That was awesome. You're cursed. Fuck you. Fuck you. You're cool, high five. Jekhar is growing on me.

What is the Ordeal?

Guardian of the Stone Portal: The Ordeal is a test of your will and strength. In the law of our people, warriors must pass the ordeal before they swear their oath to the Ulsadana.

What lies in the labyrinth?

Guardian of the Stone Portal: The infernal ones that lurk in the fires below the mountain, the Khosani who have betrayed their people. If you prevail, you shall be judged worthy, but heed my advice: Not all tests can be passed by blade and magic alone.

Puzzles...

We can't suit up before hand either. No one will deal with us.

So we make our way to the labyrinth.

Soundtrack - Khosani Labyrinth

This one is quite obvious. Don't cross the seal!

The second one is a little bit more involved.

You have to push the correct stones to open the path forward in the following room. Fail, and those doors in the corners open up and golems come and bop you.

But I didn't feel like the trouble so I just 1 shot this puzzle.

Once you stand on the center platform, the pits in the corners open up and 4 Khosani heretics bum rush you.

Sadly, they were immune to trip. But good old brute force and 'fake' backstabs won the day.

This one is simply a big pit of lava that we have to cross.

We do this by flipping these blocks which also flips the adjacent blocks.

These form the platforms that you use to cross over the lava pit in the next room.

The extra items here give Jekhar an upgrade in armor.

This final one requires you to remember the symbols on the ground in each of the previous rooms and clicking them in order.

When clicked they hover at different heights. Without remembering you could just do this in order of lowest to highest.

They give us a breather before the final test. This also allows us to save, which was disabled in the previous portions of the labyrinth.

A large chamber with lava at the bottom has a ton of fire imps. They go down quickly. Jekhar and Joseph are getting good with those clubs.

At the bottom is our goal, the ring, and the exit.

The Ordeal

On that stone, could that be the Ring of Fire?

Careful, looks like a trap.

I got it!

What's happening?!

Oh fuck! We're sorry we stole your Tio's tongue for potion materials!

A giant salamanka. *cracks knuckles*

The Khosani can't make us fight that thing, it's not fair.

Draw your weapons. The Ordeal isn't over yet.

Jekhar rules.

Soundtrack - Boss Salamanka

This fight is rather simple. Tuco will breath fireballs at us or try to smack us. Once enough damage is dealt, he plops into the lava and comes out at another location.

He only does this 2 times, for a total of 3 locations that he will not move from. Each time dropping a new item, nothing noteworthy though.

He will also use all 4 limbs to attack with, here he is kicking Flece while she positions for a backstab. One neat thing I discovered, when monsters are casting spells, they are opening themselves up to a 'true' backstab.

And thus, the Salamanka family is no more. With this we have the fourth and final ring, the Ring of Fire.

We can now summon the Red Minotaur.

He is a very capable fighter, fast movement speed, and can trip. All around badass and the dude featured on the boxart.

Of course Joseph is standing in the burning rubble of what was once a thriving village.

Soundtrack - Khosani Stronghold

Tell me about the rings.

Guardian of the Stone Portal: In the Chaos, we crafted the Rings of the Sahugani. With these rings, Rhukha vanquished the demons that ravaged creation.

Vanquished the demons?

Guardian of the Stone Portal: Demons of Fire, Stone, Light, and Darkness. Rhukha trapped them in the prison of the Rings and hid them so the demons would never return.

Josephs hand is full of concentrated demon at the moment. Wouldn't want to get punched by that!

This is just a merchant, but we know of a way to grow wheat on barren stone. SEEDS.

I have a delivery for you from ~~Ghost Wizard~~ Beelon.

Elarh the merchant: Ah, those would be the 'Seeds of Aahur' he promised me!

He said ~~nothing was at stake~~ you would pay me 2,000 gold.

Elarh the merchant: 2,000 gold?! You Sudani are devious to the last! I will pay no more than 500.

500 gold is not enough.

Elarh the merchant: Not enough? Will you empty the vaults of Saanavarh for a bag of seeds? Aye, but you have traveled far. Sahugani. We will give you 750 gold, but that is my final offer.

750 gold is not acceptable.

Elarh the merchant: 1,000 gold then, but you'll not get a sovereign more!

They're yours for 1,000 gold.

Elarh the merchant: ~~You lied to me Ghost Wizard!!~~ If I ever see Beelon again, I will have a word with him about his couriers.

You'd think for how rich they claim to be, that seeds that can grow even on rock would be super valuable. Especially now that WINTER IS COMING and the villages are all burning. But, no. They're 1,000 gold valuable to that guy.

Could we have traded the seeds for one of those?

The Chaos sounded like a really exciting and dynamic time to be alive. If only we could return to the Good Old Days.

A second flood?

Ilaru the priestess: Amasido is a vengeful god. If we leave Saanavarh, he may desire once again to destroy our people. We must find a deterrent.

A deterrent?

Ilaru the priestess: A weapon that would destroy the Munari, the people of Amasido, who live in their cities below the waves.

That's right. Of the 4 gods, I guess only Amasido is still running around doing things. Laharah killed Urath and is still trapped in the earth? We ran around inside of Vadagar.
Plus there were all those stories of people just washing up on Iona when they should have drowned, like the monk from far off distant somewhere and Rosalind herself.

Destroy the Munari?

Ilaru the priestess: This weapon would be used only if the god of the sea ever threatened the Khosani again. We do not seek retribution, only to return home in peace.

What kind of weapon?

Ilaru the priestess: There lived long ago a Sudani mage named Nutengov, who created a potion that could turn water into ice. A single drop of that potion fell into the Darhu, and for ten years it remained a solid block of ice. Had the entire vial been used, all the water of this world would have been frozen.

Yeah, this sounds like a good thing to give to weirdo shark mouthed dwarves.

All the water?

Ilaru the priestess: You see, if the Khosani could make a single vial of Nutengov's potion, we could destroy the cities of the Munari if Amasido flooded our lands again.

Nutengov?

Ilaru the priestess: Nutengov was one of the Dakhanim, the 'Shadow Scribes' of Prince Vodan. A master of skullduggery, Vodan was leader of the Aegosi clan. He formed the Dakhanim to carry out his devious schemes.

Dakhanim?

Ilaru the priestess: The Dakhanim mastered the secrets of invisible writing and magical parchment. They wrote codes and ciphers that could only be unraveled with powerful magic. This is why Nutengov's spells have never been found. To the untrained eye, the parchment upon which they were written would appear to be blank.

Appear to be blank?

Ilaru the priestess: Yes, not until the invisible words were revealed could the writing on the parchment be read.

Ok, so find an ancient scroll with invisible magic words on it, and make sure it's the one ancient scroll with invisible magic words on it with the right recipe for doomsday ice machine. Simple.

Here we see the mines where their vast wealth (1,000 gold) is generated.

These dwarves weren't always completely stereotypical dwarves.

Lore stone?

Keeper of Lore: Here the Keepers of Lore carve the history of our people. We have lost our god and our cities, but our memory shall live eternal.

Last age?

Keeper of Lore: We are the last guardians of creation, for our rituals hold the stones together. Our numbers dwindle from age to age, and soon the world will be no more.

Chaos?

Keeper of Lore: The chaos of ten thousand years, an era of war and corruption. Under the dark influence of demons, the khosani warred against each other. Rhukha is the one who ended the chaos.

Rhukha?

Keeper of Lore: We crafted the Rings of the Sahugani, enchanted with the secret words Vadagar had taught us. With these rings, Rhukha went forth from Saanavarh.

Rings?

Keeper of Lore: Rhukha fought the demons and captured them within the rings. Thus, the chaos came to end. The fate of Rhukha, however, remains a mystery.

The fate of Rhukha?

Keeper of Lore: Rhukha vanished after his victory over the demons. If on your travels you learn of his fate, our people will reward you.

Flood?

Keeper of Lore: Amasido destroyed our cities in the flood, and Vadagar disappeared below the island of Iona, where sorcerers and thieves now live. Centuries ago, her minions came to Saanavarh and robbed us of our scrolls. Inscribed on these parchments were the secrets Vadagar had revealed to us, written in the shifting glyphs of the gods.

Cities?

Keeper of Lore: Our gardens cascaded from the white walls of palaces. Water as blue as sapphire flowed through canals and under bridges. Hunger was a stranger in our land.

Interesting to hear the other perspectives of these things.