Part 39: Hindsight is 20/20

Part XXXIX: Hindsight is 20/20



Levir sent us to Ganezzar to get in touch with Glabrio and help the Aurelians topple Meru. The intro unfolds in the same way it did for the Imperial Guard run, so I'm skipping that.



Remember when Levir said Glabrio wouldn't give us any trouble?



Yeah, no. Nothing's easy in The Age of Decadence.





We don't have a choice. You can enter the city and fool around all you want, but eventually you need to accept Glabrio's offer.

: I'll stay. What do you want me to do?



: Whatever you say, boss.







No.

: So in other words, I'm doing all the work and getting paid only twenty points? We split it evenly, fifty-fifty.



Ugh, FINE.



: Something else got them?



Metal Gear?



: Alright, I'm ready to go.





Before we go anywhere, let's explore.



You can talk to this fence and buy stuff. Aaaaand that's it! Even though there are numerous NPCs down here, you can't interact with them in any way. Shame.



The tunnels are through here.





I know how to disarm a trap, nimrod.



I highly recommend walking, not running, down here, because there are a lot of traps. You also need at least a 7 in lockpicking to open any of the doors.



Let's squeeze through this crack. The chest inside has some blue steel ingots. Through the door...



oh fuck

This fight was not fun at all. I discovered the crossbow I'd been using for this playthrough was a big piece of shit. Even with a skill of 8, the scolopendra dodged my bolts more often then not, then closed in and shredded my ass in only a few attacks. The enemies in this game use thee crossbow like it's a sniper rifle, but it didn't work for me. I probably should've picked a different weapon at the beginning, but no going back now. Ultimately, I resorted to throwing bombs at the damn thing.

Death Count: 65



The chest has some sky metal, which is good if you somehow have 10 points in crafting. There's also a dead body with a key in the scolopendra room, something we need to pick up.



Here's the door that requires the key.



These lockboxes contain some nice loot, including alchemy ingredients and throwables.



Ditto for this chest.



Looks like another one of those strange power generators like the one under Inferiae.



When we cross the chamber, this message pops up, and then our health starts draining rapidly. Turns out there's a "magic" leak. Oh, and our HP is lowered permanently. Fun! 8 points in Lore are needed to fix the leak, but since I've neglected that skill we need to find another way.



On the opposite side of the area is another power room. No leak, but the bridge is destroyed.



Let's try the rope.



Yes, I have.

We've got 9 in DEX, so how hard could this be?



Fuck.

Death Count: 66

I reload and raise my throwing skill to 4.



please don't fall please don't fall please don't fall



Phew.



An elevator, but we can't use it.



There's the way up to the castle.

Somehow I failed to capture the next screen (fuck you software ) but we're given a choice to attack, craft a bomb, or return to Glabrio. I choose to craft a bomb.



Fuck you!

A few points into alchemy later...





Once again, the crossbow fails to live up to its potential. Even though I'm only a few feet away from the guard, I keep missing. Know why? Because the open door is blocking my shots. Seriously, what the fuck.

Death Count: 67



An acid flask and one bomb later, the guard dies. About time.



Back to Glabrio, and I expect a big fat thank you for this.



As always, I get grouchiness instead.

: I found a way into the castle.





Faelan again. He's like a cockroach.





If only you knew...



An extra option for characters with high INT. Let's try it.



If your charisma is high enough, you can overcome Faelan's power and fight him like a normal enemy. Unfortunately, we don't have that, so we'll do the nest best thing: Close our eyes!



Swinging wildly won't help us here.



Patience is key.



Attack!



A partial success. Opening our eyes is probably the wrong move, so let's stick to PER checks.



oh god oh god oh god oh god



Victory!



What a shitshow.



: About Faelan...





: Why me?



Don't flatter yourself, Glabrio.



Off to Legatus Hagnon.







The choice here is to simply lead the Aurelians through the tunnels, or negotiate with Hagnon and give Glabrio control of Lowtown. Thing is, siding with Glabrio actually lowers your reputation with the Forty Thieves, and Glabrio turns out to be such a shitty leader he loses control and the guild is forced to retreat underground. Besides, I wanna get back at that smug prick.

: Let's go.







Achievement gained for double-crossing Glabrio.

It's a seven-on-seven fight, but it's easier than it looks. I hung back and hurled bombs while the Aurelians did the heavy lifting. Bombs are super OP.





Eh, no real loss.





Levir rewards us by handing over Lowtown. Finally, we're moving up!



Sensing a pattern yet?

Next Time: The final quest