Part 12: Chapter 13

Costello: Well, there's Mangar's tower. How do we get in?

Warren: I believe Mangar had all the keys to the gates rounded up and destroyed some time ago. Last I heard, the Keymaster was imprisoned in the tower as well. However, there may be another way. From what you've told me, you may have been there before.

Kymas: I take it the key we received from Kylearan is not for the gates, then, but to this backdoor?

Warren: Correct. We must go down into the sewers.

Leif: Again? Dammit.

Skarn: At least that chickenhearted paladin from before isn't around to whine. What was his name again? Trotsalot?

Costello: Wow, I'd almost forgotten about him. It feels like years have passed since we first went down into the wine cellar. I'm willing to bet the monsters down there aren't going to be nearly as much of a challenge after all we've been through.

Flamesack: What're we waiting for? The sooner we get down there, the sooner we can come back up and blast Mangar to hell where he belongs.

Warren: Not quite, my friends. There remains one task. Follow me.

Costello: Uhh... whatever you say, Warren. Lead the way.



EVERYONE EXCEPT WARREN: WHAT THE #@%*?!

Warren: Let us wipe out Harkyn's army, and take their power for our own!

And so, the grind starts. At least an hour at a time of staring at a half-naked bearded man while holding down spacebar.



Variations of this...





Mopping up survivors...

All of that, and this is what happens to the Power Mangers. Behold!

























Costello: Woah, Warren, where'd you get all that extra experience from?

Warren: Storyline bonuses in the form of experience editing.

Costello: What?

Warren: What?

I decided to tweak a few things so that each character would stand out. Especially the magic users. I gave them each separate classes through an editor so they'd look unique.



Back to the Scarlet Bard tavern!



This is a random tidbit I missed on our first foray down into the depths.



There is a HOLE here.



This leads down into a portion of the sewers we have not yet explored.





Other than these two cryptic messages, there's not much to see here.



The stairs do, indeed, go a long way up...



Back up into the city.

The game is terrible about this part of entering Mangar's tower. We're currently in a 3x3 grid behind that gate from the first part of the update. If you go a couple of spaces north past this grid, you can go back into the city proper. But you can't go back the way you just came from again. Which means you have to slog through the sewers again if you want to get here without an item I'll get to later.



Dick move number two. The game pretends you don't have the onyx key unless you have someone equip it.



Skarn: Wizards and your towers and your damned stairs...



So yeah, Mangar's tower is very well decorated. First floor isn't too big a deal. A few hidden doorways, a trap or two...



Small armies of weak enemies...



This weird little rhyme warns us about an unusual elevator coming up.





I get the impression that Mangar is addicted to post-it notes. Fortunately, we can Apport Arcane right past the deathfield, so it isn't an issue.



Costello: Right. Uhh... thanks for the encouragement, giant talking mouth.



Basically, the game just warped the party to level 2 without any indication of such. So after a few turns in the hallway, suddenly everything is different.



Costello: A shape that's around? Simple.





This is the final silver item we'll need to face Mangar later.



A few newly-named enemies are around here. Too bad palette-swap hasn't been invented yet, huh.



Right, on to level three.







New enemy! Angry old man!



If my storm giant does this to Mangar, I'll laugh until I cry.

Here's a few more new beasties for your enjoyment.



Vampires! Scary evil annoying monsters! Kill them before they level drain you!



Body snatchers! They snatch bodies! Maybe. I blew them up before they could move.



Lesser demons! Wizard spells kick them around like dirt!



Basilisks! Possibly dangerous, but dead very quickly with the right tools.



Xorns! Not quite as sexy as the WTF D&D erotic art contest would lead you to believe!



Warren: Ah, so you're alive after all. You must be quite a bit more powerful than you look, locksmith.



I was sorely tempted, but we need that key.



With this, the gates in front of Mangar's and Kylearan's towers will no longer impede us. I wonder why they have the same key for the wizard of good and the wizard of evil?

Let me break down level 3 for you.



The stairs leading to the fourth and final level of Mangar's tower will not appear until you answer this riddle. It's actually got seven answer lines, one after another, and you have to answer each one correctly in sequence to make the staircase appear.

Just for fun, I'm going to give you guys all seven clues that are scattered around the floor and see if anyone can get it right without the help of online sources. Those of you who know the answer already, sit back and enjoy the ride.















The Magic Mouth is waiting for your answers, everyone. Find out the truth in what may be the final update, next time on Bard's Tale!