Part 4: Chapter 4

Hey everyone. Sorry it took such an incredibly long time to post the next chapter in the LP. I've had to do a research paper for one of my classes that has been wiping the floor with me. I hope I didn't lose too many of you good folks in the process. On with the show!

***



...That was inconvenient. Well, seems you're back just in time to see me progress with Willow's odd little journey to save the world from a bird-faced hag. Let's get moving.



As a sidenote, skulls are the best way to level up at this point in the game. They have predictable movement patterns, spawn fairly often near rest areas, and they give fair EXP.



Exhibit A. Starting to get pretty high in AGI there.

Oh, I don't think I've mentioned this yet, but AGI literally affects how quickly you swing your sword. Different weapons also have different weights, so while you could swing the Long Sword like a helicopter blade at this point, the Battle Sword is slightly slower. But, since new weapons usually have the progressive power of a wrecking ball, it's usually better to go with newer equipment. There are, however, notable exceptions. I'll get to them as we go.



What, no reward for actually saving your dad? Well, fine. My Healcane and I will take our business elsewhere.

Old man healing time.



Zuh?

- It's said that they're proof of the fight between an adventurer and a vicious dragon called Matanda. I use to be a blacksmith in this village. Just once I would like to make a magnificent sword with those scales. If you find them, please bring them to me.

Sounds like a sidequest. Well, if I ever go fight a giant-ass dragon, I'll be sure to collect the scales on my way out. By the way, who makes a sword out of scales?



But I already... I saved... Bogarda, he...

Leaving Dew. Now.



...the rock mountain. As you go further you will find the entrance to the cave. Sometimes you can hear a weird voice from inside.

Thanks, she-hulk.



Time to go west.



She said go west, so let's try it. Although, sheesh, mountains.



Cave.



Fortunately this cave only has one passageway. I just wanted to mention these guys, as I didn't have a shot of them before.

Giant bird-bats! They form from small little critters that will blink into existence in some cave passages. Getting hit by either the small or large variety will do damage to Willow, but you can take out the small fry in one hit. If two of them touch, then you get a big beasty that flies toward you incessantly until you kill it.



Treasure time!



- "It is a strong shield made of metal."



Small shield. Better than the wooden variety.



...Muahahaha. Come here you little squirt.



Backtracking to the earlier mountains, we go south to find... skeletons! alert.

Skeletons can be either very easy or unreasonably hard; the difference is not the skeleton type, but rather where you're standing when you encounter them. See, if you attack a skeleton head-on, they'll just block with their shield. In a wide open area like this, you can stand north of them and slightly to the left, and they won't turn toward you to block your sword. In this case, you can also fight them one at a time as they'll only approach you if you get close to them.

If you fight them from a southern direction, pray. They hurt when they hit you. Well, actually, there is one little trick, but it's much harder to pull off. When they take a stab at you with their sword, they can't change direction. So, smack their side after feinting them into attacking you.



Skulls! Blue ones! They fight just like their cousins, but they hurt a lot more and take more hits to kill. This will be a recurring theme with enemies.



Blue wasp freaks. See previous comment. Don't waste your time fighting them if you can help it.



Slimes, however, remain as weak and pathetic as they were in the rugged forest. They still make blob babies upon death, however.



You'll see this type of background a couple of times as you work your way south/southwest/northwest...



Do NOT, however, go anywhere near this screen. I mean it. Wasps in a narrow forest passage that simply loops around to nowhere is a death sentence.



What's this? A squirrel guarding a bridge?



- ...the forest near Lake Cheef. When we went to the village of Dew looking for food, Bogarda put up a strange spell on the bridge so we could not get out.

- Bogarda? I kicked his can a few hours ago. So...

- But thanks to you, it looks like we can finally return to our village. Thank you!

Violence. Are there any problems it doesn't solve?



Nothing good will come of this...



Ack! Bees!



Stop hiding on my stat window! Get down here!



I mean it! Get! Down! Here!



That's better. The battle sword handles like a ceiling fan now.



Blue skeletons! Argh! This is a terrible spot to fight them. The one on the bottom is no problem, but I want to go north. Sometimes you can luck out and they won't spawn here, but otherwise it's rough going.



Ah, this doesn't seem so bad...



FU-



...



- I hate trolls!

If you encounter these hairy miscreants (And thankfully they're fairly rare), you're almost guaranteed to get hit once by their flying tackle. If your swing speed is high enough and they're coming straight at you, you can stab them to death. But their sucky EXP and unreasonable agility make them an enemy you should just hope to never encounter.



Terrific.



I'm at a loss in naming these guys. One FAQ calls them "Hydra" but that doesn't seem right. They look kind of like ettins (Two-headed giants) but they throw fireballs for some reason.

Well, anyway. Big Red here is a pretty easy encounter. If you stand to one side of the passage and wait for his three fireballs, you can easily go around them and go to him. He'll rush you like the snake man, so use the same pattern; stab him twice and then retreat. You can repeat this until he dies. Not bad EXP, but try not to get hit.



Outstanding.



Fortunately this isn't anywhere near where I am, but I wanted to include a picture of the rare falling rocks encounter. They're usually fairly easy to dodge, so just go on your way.



Caaaaaaave! Nothing inside it, though. Just a passage to...



DEATH FOREST! Bring the kids!



Hello creepy little lizard things.


- Franjean: Who are you?
- Rool: Who are you?
- Franjean: You come to see the fairy Cherlindrea? Ha ha ha! Cherlindrea is the fairy of beautiful Lake Cheef.
- Rool: She is.
- Franjean: If you do what we say, we can tell you how to get to Lake Cheef.
- Rool: We can.
- Franjean: If you go north from here through Death Forest, there is a cave where a dragon called Matanda lives. Defeat Matanda and bring the crystal ball of life back to us. Ha ha ha!
- Rool: Ha ha ha!

- (Why does everyone keep laughing at me!?)

Sorry, there was no easy way to go through that dialogue. Trust me.

So, killing a dragon named Matanda, huh? Wonder if he has any scales I can use. I'd like to remind you that those two chromosomally challenged brownies are asking WILLOW to kill a DRAGON. Anyone else want me to do something impossible involving a dragon? Apparently everyone wants a piece of that bastard.



Slimes, huh? Okay. They're not any different than before.



Big Red strikes again. Nothing to worry about.



- This isn't so bad. I don't see what the fuss is all about.
- "Hey, kid...







- I'M GONNA EATCHA!

- WAHHHHHHH RUN AWAY!



- HAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAH!

- RUN A DIFFERENT WAY!



- Please don't eat me please don't eat me please eat me



- Oh. A silent old person who heals me when I step in the door. Okay. That's good.

- What is this? Storming into someone's home unannounced?

- What, someone finally gives a crap? Why'd you heal me then? Fine, I'll just lea-

- Wait! You're just in time. My darling pet has run off somewhere. Won't you please find him? His name is Po. He is really cute. You'll like him for sure.

- What are you implying? What have you heard about me?

Well, whatever. Let's go look for her pet and-

- Hold on, take these medicinal herbs in case he is hurt. "You have obtained the medicinal herbs." Take care.

- God damn, fine. Thanks for the herbs. I'll try not to smoke them. Can I leave now?

Well, let's go find "Po."

Next time, on Let's Play Willow!