Part 45: Cleopatra Jones and the Attack on Treason Fort

Cleopatra Jones and the Attack on Treason Fort

Last time on Tyranny, we took the Aurora Spire and got the Azure Shield for ourselves, but also for Bleden Mark. Today we're going to have to make a major decision about the fate of an Archon!



We're getting ahead of ourselves.



It's been a long time since we discussed this, but back in Act 1 the Earthshakers refused to answer Ashe's call to come and deal with the Edict of Execution because they were off doing this.



When we arrive at Howling Rock, we're greeted by a cutscene of purple energy pouring from Cairn's corpse.



The other reason, which we've touched on briefly, is that the earthquakes hinder the human settlers and help the Stonestalkers stay relatively safe.

: He was our greatest ally before he turned his back on Kyros.





A side path leads to this unfortunate camp, which DOES have the Sigil of Bounding Bolts II.



This guy intercepts us when we want to enter the Treason Fort.



He's a jackass who won't let you through no matter what you say, and the Spire is, unfortunately for us, in Treason Fort. You have to take the fifth option to proceed with this quest - that is, threaten him with murder.



These guys are really full of themselves. Metaphorically speaking, they are cannibalizing their power source (Cairn, the Archon of Stone) to do all kinds of idiotic crap that's about to bite them in the ass.

Anyway, that's the only dialog option that unlocks the option to proceed.





You can't peek through the hole if you don't threaten to murder the nameless guy!



I don't know either.



Conveniently, these morons are talking about exactly what we've needed this whole time!

: No. Not even a missive, and they've yet to return. He sighs languidly. I doubt they're doing anything but taking their time, considering who's leading them.

: Aye, in his mind, I suppose there's nothing pressing about the ritual we're to commence.

: He'll be lucky if I don't wring his gangly neck upon their return with the lodestones. Master Radix only chose him because his staff is fitted with pure Azurelith. But the fool's as likely to lose it as anything. And what're we going to do if someone uses it to get into the compound?

: Who? A Beast? Or a Chorus chanter? Don't be ridiculous.




It's a very clumsy way of padding the quest. Oh well!



We have a random encounter along the way.



We are of course going to take the lore option, because that gives Cleopatra more power for her crazy spells.



I'm sure someone in the thread is going to tell me I missed an awesome unique item by doing this, but I've kind of soured on these encounters after the sex berry one.





We got a buff out of it. Hooray!



This guy has the reward for freeing the captive settlers.



: You may not like it, but they're here to stay. You'll have to learn to live with them.

: Grayson snorts derisively. No, I will not be happy until we don't have to deal with that filth anymore. They have been nothing but trouble and conditions won't improve until we get rid of them.

I just want to point out that the Stonestalkers generally keep their word and kept the settlers alive, while the villagers tortured poor Left-Claw until they decided to hang him.





I have no idea what the hell Grayson is talking about here, but he's obviously a rabid racist.

: We are done here.




Why is everyone in this town morally bankrupt racist garbage?





: Rumble? She scratches her ribs and yawns. Stonestalkers don't rumble. Stonestalkers slaughter.



Barik. Barik. Shut the fuck up! This is clearly supposed to be a reference to real-life social Darwinism theories, which usually fall apart when your opponents reach technological parity and stuff your complacent ass into a dumpster.



Quite frankly, I don't really care what Basilon has to say. These jerks abandoned us all to die at Vendrien's Well and flouted Ashe's orders.

: I've heard you wield a staff fitted with pure Azurelith. How do I put this delicately... Hand it over or die.

The Earthshakers are quite literally in open rebellion at this point.



They also share the overconfidence common to the Disfavored as a whole.

: [Attack] You misunderstand. It was neither a suggestion nor a choice.






I have to say, these focused rain spells really improve Tyranny's combat.



The only real notable thing about this fight is that Basilon rushes down the stairs and draws things out a bit longer than this fight deserves.



We kill the little Disfavored warband with no trouble and take this from their corpse. Back to the Howling Rock!



Ka-ching! In we go!



Lore remains the god stat of this game.





Get money!



Alas, the vault is disrupted by another earthquake preventing us from looting it.



That's...actually a fairly decent haul! The armor is heavy armor and thus vendor trash. Remember, the only companion who uses heavy armor is Barik, and he can only use the armor he's fused into with his shit and piss. Oh well!



Now that we have Basilon's magic rock, we can raise the bridge to get into Treason Fort.



This guy flips out and runs backwards. You would think he'd rally his team to attack, but...



This little squad of Earthshakers proceeds to wait kindly for you to buff your party and run across the bridge.



It goes about as well as you'd expect for them.



More idiots in the fort jump up to get beat down. Now, the thing about the Focused Rain spells is that they have fairly long cooldowns, so without the two extra spell slots from Lantry Cleopatra actually does have a bit of downtime where all her spells are on cooldown.



The end result is a long fucking slog where poor Killsy goes down until we can get our nukes off cooldown.



What's the ritual of Fallowing?



Let's go back a little bit. Why are we still doing this? The province surrendered, and...


Oh. It's just Kyros' forces fucking each other over again. The game provides countless examples of how Kyros' promises of peace and prosperity are a cynical lie used to maintain power. To get a leg up on the Scarlet Chorus, who Graven Ashe is fighting a technically illegal but Kyros-sanctioned civil war against, he's going to blight the land for generations to deny his enemy provisions. The Scarlet Chorus camp, Cacophony, is actually in the Stone Sea not too far away from Halfgate. If I remember correctly, the Disfavored path has you complete the ritual for this very reason. By this point you as the player should have realized that Kyros' laws are absolute bullshit.

: [Grab him by the throat.] So tell me. What'll happen?



See, this is the kind of evil that makes sense for the Fatebinder to do. You're asserting your power over this idiot, you need his information, and you don't have any more patience because you're at war with this faction and these idiots betrayed you.

: Really? This is how you want to play it?



Suddenly, now he wants to resist I guess.

: [Rattle him.]



Just a minute ago he was begging for mercy?

: [Rattle him harder.]



: Shatter the shiny crystal lodes, got it.



I guess he dies from vigorous shaking? Or by "rattle him" does it mean hit him a ton and beat him quickly? Usually I see it in regards to fear, so who knows.




We have a decision to make! Do we want to ruin the Earthshaker's earth-ruining ritual and kill Cairn, or do we just want to leave it alone?



I'm sorry, who are you?



Well, if that's really what you want...

: [Attack without warning.]



Oh, another one. We already killed one when we betrayed Erenyos and kicked her off the tower. Well then!




Here's the thing about Radix Ironcore. He's an important character on the rebel and Disfavored routes. Here?



He's a miniboss, and a not very interesting one. See this spell? It's the focused rain stone spell, and none of these Earthshakers know it. These guys have spent their entire lives studying stone magic, and we're hilariously able to come in and clown on them because our advanced magical theory let us pick up their secrets really easily. For bonus points we learned it directly from their Archon.



The other amusing thing is that these guys are quite literally deriving their power from a known traitor.


There's no way this ends well for them especially as they abandoned a priority order from the Overlord to go fuck around with Cairn the traitor Archon here.



The fight ends as all Tyranny fights do, but now we have a decision to make.



Decisions lie before us!

Do we disrupt the ritual and kill Cairn, or do we leave the ritual alone?

Choose wisely!