Exile RPG

Part 1 of Exile: Escape from the Pit by berryjon
Exile: Escape from the Pit

by berryjon
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Part 1: Welcome to (Fort) Exile
Chapter 000: Welcome to (Fort) Exile
What happened?
Where am I?
"OW! FWCK! My Nowse!"

"Sorry about that. The first step is a doozy."
"Huh? And who are yow suppowsed to be?"
And this is the chat screen. On the upper left, you can see the picture of the
person you are talking too, then what you want to ask them, then below that you get
what they're saying in response to the question. (When you start a conversation, it
defaults to the answer to 'Look'.) The bottom right is the buttons to ask a
question, and finish the conversation (or you can just hit the enter button and
type "bye" respectively).
The lower left has the buy/sell buttons to shortcut merchants. Help should be
obvious, but "Save"?
Save is a lifesaver.
Save dumps the current response and amends it to a file called 'talksave.txt'.
That's right, the game comes with its own transcription service!
At the suggestion of one of you nice Goons, I'm going to be Bolding the relevant
keywords in a discussion. You can assume that in all conversations the first thing
I'll ask is 'Name' and 'Job'.
"I am Andrew. On behalf of King Micah, not to mention your thousands of fellow
inmates, I would like to welcome you to Exile."
"Ow. Gimme a second, please. Nose hurts."
"Take your time."
"Thanks. So, um, I'm Art. You said your name's Andrew? What do you do around here?"
"I wait for new arrivals, such as yourselves, and welcome them. I suppose you could
say that I'm more to ease the considerable shock of being cast into the Underwold
of course. So. Welcome to the underworld." He pauses to think. "Also, I'm here to
say where you can get information about Exile, and supplies."
"Exile?"
"Yes, Exile. That's what we call this place. We're all exiles here, after all. Sort
of makes sense." He smiles sadly.
"Alright then, change of tack here. Supplies? Cause they didn't exactly toss me
through the Portal with a pocket full of coin."
"Oh, weren't we all? You see, to prevent certain problems, new arrivals are sent to
Tor to get modest supplies to support themselves until they find work. He's in the
building to the south. We've found doing otherwise results in desperate, dangerous,
and violent new citizens."He paused to take a breath. "This way, you'll have a fair
chance. What you do with it when you leave here is your business.
"To the south then?"
"Yep, that building over there."
"Thanks."
Well, walking back through the Portal won't get me out of here. Maybe I should see
this Tor person.
This is the mini-map. It's a separate window from the main screen, and shows the
current known map of your location, be it indoors or outdoors. I'll avoid showing
this in the future unless it's the complete version of the area. The clear section
is what I've explored, the purple dot is the party. Enemies show up as red.
"Alright, here I am. I think this is the spot. Check the sign first. Always read
signs."
"Good. Hello? Mister Tor?"
Sitting behind the counter is a tall man, wearing bronze armor. Behind him is a
large rack of crude stone weapons. He says, in a deep voice, "I am Tor, weapons
handler of Fort Exile."
"Wait. Andrew back there," she tossed a thumb over her shoulder, "said you were in
charge of the supplies."
"Well, sometimes I maintain the weapons of the guards, sometimes I guard travellers
going to Silvar, but mostly I give supplies to newcomers."
"Uh, what supplies?"
"These." He tossed a bag of stuff at Art, who caught it deftly. Inside was some
food, some money, and some crude weapons.
"what"
He looked at the items in har hands with distain. "Pretty crude work, huh? Sure, we
give supplies to new people. But it's not enough to cause bandits to go after you,
nor is it enough to take up banditry yourself. Metal is rare down here, and the
tools to work them rarer still. And magic?" He snorts. "Good luck with that. Now
go."
"But...!"
"Bye!"
"Alright, I don't think I should be leaving just yet. Need to get my bearings
first." She looked to the north and saw someone kneeling over by what looked like a
pool of water up against the wall.
"Hello! I'm Art, and I'm new here. You are?"

"I'm Dunbar."
"Hello Dunbar. What do you do around here?"
"I'm the groundskeeper. And gardener. And fix-it man. I like gardening best, but I
do what they need."
"You're a gardener? That's so cool!"
"Yeah. We've bred some pretty weird plants down here. All sorts of mushrooms for
food and fodder. Those weird twisted trees for what little wood we have. And so on.
Mages make the plants, I grow 'em."
Her face dropped. "Mages?"
"Yeah. They live in a tower to the south or something. All the wizards go there.
They do all the standard weird stuff with demons and such, but they make plants
too. Without them, we'd all be dead."
"Thank you." She left Dunbar abruptly.
"Right. Mages. Fuck 'em all."

“No, I am not go and watch my language! I have enough problems as it is without you
commenting about that!”
“What does that have to do with anything, huh? Smartass.”
"Thank goodness for small favours. Well, seeing as how I'm on a self-guided tour,
let's keep going."
"Huh. Barracks. Let's see what's up with that.”
You see a powerfully built woman, wearing chain mail with a strange insignia on it.
Her reddish cheeks contrast strongly with the paleness of the rest of her skin.
“I can see that!” “Hello! I'm Art, and I'm new here.”
"I'm Acacia."
“Sooo... what do you do around here? I heard from Tor about there being bandits?”
"I'm the guard captain for the barracks here at Fort Exile. We got a bunch of good
men here, and when the Nephilim come for us, we'll give 'em a good run. We work
best on defense."
“Wait! Wait! What about the Nephilim?”
"Yeah. It's a tough job, but important. If the Nephilim take this fort, newly
arriving humans fall into their hands. And then..." She draws her thumb across her
neck, and makes a charming noise. "I have little hope for peace, I'm afraid."
“But I thought they went extinct, or had been civilized!”
“You'd best talk to Thairl about that.”
“I think I'd better. Where is he?”
“Along the west wall of the fort, small building right across from Tor's storage
shed.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Let's see here – West wall... Well, there's a sign over there. What does it say?”
“Excellent! Right place!”
“Holy Shit! Books!”

“Hello? Thairl? My name is Art, and apparently I'm supposed to talk to you?”
You see a slender, worried looking man, wearing impeccably pressed wizards robes.
He sits behind a book-laden desk.
“Are you really going to keep doing that?”
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Thairl. I am the sage for Fort Exile." The
corner of his mouth twitches slightly.
“So, what does that mean? Your job, I mean.”
He grimaces. "I'm here to help you."
“And Help means...?”
"Well, every day or so, our benevolent overlords above hurl a few more souls into
the hellish cesspit. Then they come to me, and I tell them just how bad things are
here." he chuckles dryly. "Normally, I'd be cheery, but today I'm just not in the
mood."
“Someone needs a vacation.”
"Anyway, I'm here to give information."
“Oh! Yes! I was looking for that. What do you know?”
“For example, on our lovely neighbours, the Nephilim and the Slithzerikai. Or on
nearby towns. Or on your chances for escape. Or on how you get supplies. Or on the
local politics."
“I know about the Kitties. But what are the Slithzerikai?”
He smiles. “Nice pronounciation. Most people trip up and call them Slitherizaki, or
just the Slith. Anyways they're lizards. Only live below ground. Intelligent,
powerful fighters, very magically talented. We've been at war with them for years,
and lately things have been at a stalemate. They live to the west."
“Well, I already picked up Supplies from Tor, so that makes the next question about
towns and politics.”
"Each town has a mayor. The mayors form a council. The council co-rules with King
Micah, lord of our homey little pit. Micah lives in The Great Cave. To get there,
go a ways south, and a ways west." He stopped to look Art up and down. "By the way,
the Council meets in the Castle. It's a place you should know about."
“Why?”
"It's our pride and joy. We built a real castle, of rocks, crude magic, and spit.
King Micah lives there, orchestrating our desperate defenses. You should see it.
It's reasonably impressive. It's in the Great Cave, to the southwest."
“So that just leaves esca....
Thairl cuts her off. "No chance. None whatsoever. We all stay down here until
monsters hunt us down like dogs."
“For once, I agree.” “Thank you for your time, sir. I'll be going now!”
“Don't come back soon!”
“Like I have anything better to do. Did you see this junk Tor gave me? Is this
obsidian?”
“And what are these? Throwing Darts?”
“Well, at least the armour is semi-decent, and has actual metal on the shield and
head.”
“Oh, there's that sign you told me about. Let's see what it says.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
“That many?”
“But Exile has only been used for, like, less than 20 years.”
“What?”
“But.... Why?”
“That's... that's sick! Children? They're innocent!”
“Oh, that's it! I'm going to get out of here, I'm going to give the Emperor and
piece of my mind, and then...! Then....! I'm going on vacation! To a beach
somewhere!”
“What do you mean, wait?”
“Uh...alright....”
“Now what? Who am I waiting for?”
- - - - -
Art needs help if she's going to get out of here. And that's where you Goons come
in. Exile has room for 6 people in the party, and I'd like for the rest of you to
submit characters to fill out our band of heroes.
Check out the post on Character Creation and design a PC. Remember that you have 60
skill points and unlimited funds. Write up a backstory or character description and
post it in the thread. Try not to come up with too many similar characters if you
please, although collaboration between you guys is quite acceptable.
I'll pick one of the submissions straight out to join the party, and then I'll
leave the other four slots open to voting.
Part #2
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by berryjon
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Part 2: Character Creation
Character Creation
Would I? While using pre-fab party would get me right into the game, there's no fun
in that. So let's click 'Create' and make our own. We eventually come to this:
This looks like a lot, so I'm going to start going down on the left side from the
top. The first field is the name of NPC we're training. All training through skill
points earned via level up also occur on a screen like this. However, seeing as how
this is a new NPC, we haven't had a chance to name him/her/it yet.
The purchasing of skills is done with two resources. The first is the amount of
skill points we have on the character (earned at level-up), and the amount of gold
we have in our party. The image is good enough, I won't recite the numbers later.
However at character creation, we have 60 SP to work with, and infinite gold to
spend. But what to spend it on?
Health is a flat measure of HP. It goes up based on a character's Strength at each

level-up, but can be increased directly. Every character starts with 6 Health that
cannot be reduced. The max is 99.
Spell Points power magic spells, and go up in level based on a character's

Intelligence. Obviously you can buy more directly. The max is 99.
Strength represents a character's soundness of body. The higher, the more HP a

character will have in addition to dealing more damage with physical attacks. All
characters start off with 1, but if they feel like taking any damage at all, should
start with at least 3. The max is 20.
Dexterity affects how ofter you hit or get hit in combat, as veterans of RPGs may
assume, but also affect the Actions Points of a character, which will be explained
when combat comes around. A high Dexterity will allow a person to do more per turn
of combat than others. All characters start with 1, but if they want to do well in
combat, should have at least three. The max is 20.
Intelligence affects Spell Points and Magic damage as Strength affects HP and
physical damage. It's a nice dichotomy. All characters start with 1, but if they
want to do anything with magic, should have at least 3. The max is 20.
Edged/Bashing/Pole/Thrown/Archery are all classes of weapons. Swords, Clubs,

Spears, Throwing Stars and Bows respectively. They represent specialization in
weapons, and the more you have, the better your ability to deal damage goes up.
Focusing on a weapon can give more benefits than just the general benefits from a
high Strength and Dex, so don't forget them. They all go to 20.
Defence is a general skill to defend yourself with; making shields better and in
general not getting hit, or even reducing damage. A good long-term investment. Goes
to 20.
Mage and Priest Spells represent the levels of spells available to the character.
Having levels in these also improve your SP upon levelling up! Spells will be
covered in more detail later, but at character creation, only spells up to level 3
are available. By the time we get to places with Level 4 spells available, we'll
have enough skill points to buy more ranks in this. They both go up to 7.
Mage Lore is a passive skill that is pooled across the party to determine if they
know about stuff for plot points or resolving quests. It goes to 20, and by the mid
game, we should have at least that many points in it across all our PC's.
Alchemy is important for brewing potions from ingredients gathered from across the
world, and they range from the 'why bother?' of thinks like Weak Poison Potions to
'absolutely vital' like Skill Potions. There is a core quest that requires this,
but that won't be until very far into the game. Goes to 20.
Item Lore allows us to identify items in our possession without spending money or
spell points on Identify spells. It's fairly passive, and useful at low amounts to
detect if an item is cursed or not.
Disarm Traps and Lockpicking are exactly what they say they are. Used for Traps and
Locks, the skills go up to 20, and can be used on things magic won't work on.
Dexterity provides a passive hidden bonus to these skills.
Assassination is an unusual skill. Characters with it have a chance of doing bonus

damage against any foe lower levelled than they are. This can help with cleaning
trash mobs, or even against boss fights if you're over levelled. I like to think of
this skill as the 'Win Harder' skill. Goes to 20, at which point you're dealing
massive damage to anything less powerful than you.
Poison is a skill that allows you to safely add poison to your weapons to try and
hit foes with. Can be useful with Thrown or Archery based weapons, but I find it's
just not worth the skill points in the long run. Goes to 20.
Luck costs no money to train, and it does the most dangerous and powerful thing of
all – it affects the RNG. Can go all the way to 20, if you dare.
Here is what I'm putting into my initial character. 4 extra points of Health, 5
baseline Spell points, 5 in each of the base statistics, 3 levels of Priest spells,
and the last two points into edged weapons, as knives and swords are common
weapons. In practice, this a build that buff themselves using Priest spells for a
round or two, then charges into melee. Casters and other ranged attacks can pick it
apart, so support will be needed in the long run.
This is the Character model selection. All PC's can have their own icons, and here
is where the fun really begins!
All PC images are bitmap images, 36x28, mirrored for when facing the other
direction. For this LP, I will accept custom images for submitted PC's! I know I'll
be working on one for my lead character myself!
But for now, I'm just going with the bottom of column two for no apparent reason.
Finally, we get to name our PC, and I've chosen Art. Because I can.
Submissions!
I'll be taking calls for FIVE additional Player Characters. What I want are names,
backgrounds and stats (or just guidelines). You can choose a PC picture yourself,
or make on for additional brownie points. Just keep in mind that over the course of
the game, we're going to be getting a lot of skill points to spend (upwards of 200
more during the course of the game), so you can have some flexibility in what you
want to do. If there are more than five characters submitted, I'll put it up to the
goons to weigh in on which ones they think are better. I will, of course, reserve
the final say for myself.
Now, on to the show!

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by berryjon
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Part 3: Meeting the Party
Part 001: Meeting the Party
"What am I waiting for?"
"What do you mean, just be patient? It's not like I have all day!"
"Oh shut up. Hey! Andrew!"
"Yes? You know, staring into the portal like that isn't best for your health.
"What time is it here anyways? I mean, it was morning when I got pushed through,
but there isn't exactly a sun in the sky."
"Oh, we base our time by the location of the Empire end of the Portal. Or at least,
the one in the Capital they use for the big exiles."
"That wasn't the one I used. So....?"
"It's about 3AM now."
"what"
"I don't feel like it's that time."
"It's natural, really. Here in the caves, we have constant illumination. People
tend to set their own schedules. If you heaver head to the Tower or the Castle, I'm
sure you can find someone who has made a study of it." He sighes, despondently.
"Would probably make them a Professor or the like if they could get it published in
the Empire. But such is not to be."
"You know, I may just do that."

The portal begins to swirl, increasing its activity.
"You might want to stand back. Someone's goming through." He readies himself for
the new arrival.
"Huh?"
"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" A crossbow bolt slipped through the portal behind the new
arrival, eventually embedding itself in the wall of Tor's shop. The new arrival
crashes into Art.
"AAAHH!!"
"What the hell! Get off me!"
"Oh man! That was fun! Gotta try that again some time!"
"Off!"
The black-haired woman pushed up, seeing that she had landed on another person.
"Hey! This is Exile, right?"
"Ahem."
"One second Andrew, sir. YES! NOW Get OFF ME!"
"YES! Got away from that bastard, I did!"
"Thank you!" She regains her feet. "Can you explain to me why someone was shooting
at you as you came through?"
looking around "So, wow! I mean, I'm glad to get away from those creeps and all,
and going into Exile seemed like the best idea at the time."
"You sure? Really?"
"Hey, what's your name? I'm Art."
"You can call me Ember, of course! Isn't it obvious?"
"No." she sighs "Look, I've got a job offer for you. Talk to Andrew over there, get
acquainted with the fort, get some supplies then come back and see me, alright?"
"A job?"
"Yes! Gods, is recruiting going to be this annoying for everyone?"
"I wasn't talking to you."
"Uh... who are you talking to?"
"NO ONE! GET SUPPLIES, COME BACK, GET JOB!"
"Uh... alright.... must be a magic thing."
"Oh gods, that could have gone better. I seriously need people for this? I mean..
right?"
"shut up"
"Did I hear you were hiring for a job?"
"GYYYYAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"You've got quite a set of lungs on you. Calm down and we can talk business."
"Oh gods. Yes! Yes. You just startled me like that. Um, I'm Art. And you are?"
he offers his hand, Art shakes it. "Rook. Recent arrival like yourself. Actually
came in while you were taking your tour." he gives her an appraising, if not
judging look "What kind of job would you be offering so soon after arriving, when
you have so little to your name."
"Escape."
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! That's a good one! I've heard rumors that not even the First
Expidition got out safely, what makes you think there's coin in that?"
"Because there's worse coin in not trying. He's a merc, great. I can use this, I
think. And you don't have more than me on you, I can guarentee that. Better to work
for someone with a goal in mind than to wander around for something that might not
come along.
"You saying one in the hand over two in the bush?"
"Pretty much."
"Heh. You'd got some spunk for that. You pulling together a team for this, right?"
"Yes... Why, you've experience?"
"Maybe. Why don't we start by comparing skills, see what we have and what we need?"
"A good start. Art. Let's see. I've got a little training in how to handle blades,
I'm well-rounded physically, and what magic I use tends to focus on buffing and
debuffing."
"I haven't heard of those terms before. Buff? Debuff?"
"Sorry. Guild slang for spells that augment your allies or debilitate your
enemies."
"Good. I'm an archer my trade, but pretty good with a blackjack or anything else
blunt and heavy. You won't see me touch any of that magic stuff. That's two. What
else do we have?"
"I burn things! Lucky for me, I also like to throw things at people when burning
isn't an option."
"I decided I want to wander around a bit, and three is better than two!"
"Ember, right? Care to tell us your real name?"
"No!"
"We'll need at least one more. Up to six people in total. After that, it becomes
hard to lead a unified group, and three people just aren't enough for more long-
term activities."
"You realize she just invited herself along without me telling her anything?"
"I know that kind of person. Besides, she's romani. She'll follow us whether want
her too or not. They're stubborn like that."
"I'm standing right here!"
"So what next?"
"We'll need at least one proper front-line fighter. Preferably two."
"I don't suppose you have any friends looking for a job?"
"Meat shields!"
"Shut up!"
"Now that you mention it..."
"..."
"No. Came here by myself."
"How about that guy?"
"Huh?"
"Do you address me, ma'am?"
"Did you just call me a whore?" a flicker of fire crossed her hands.
"No. I addressed you as ma'am. If I had intended to address you as a member of that
profession, I would have called you a madame, or something similar enough. It was
not my intent to distress you, and for that I apologize.”
“Wordy fellow.”
“Let me suss him out. Name's Rook Ironwill, 1st Exile Escape Committee.”
“Hey Art, what if someone else is using that name?”
“I don't know? We challenge them for the rights to the title?”
“Karmas Michaeli. Formerly of a certain Kingdom since... vassalized to a certain

Empire.”
“I like the way you think, girlfriend!”
“Ah, excellent. You see, the EEC is recruiting new arrivals to Exile to investigate
the possibility of, well, Escape. We are looking at people who have, quite
literally, stepped through the portal here and ask them to consider, as they are
the ones most likely to desire to return to the surface and not have plans to
settle down.”
“What makes you think I would agree to that?”
“Your Highness.”
“You are well educated.”
“I read the right books. You want in, or do you want to find your own way.”
“Your boldness intrigues me. Very well, I will assist you, for a time.”
“Thank you. Over here, we have Art, the head of our Committee, and the driving
force behind it.”
“Hello. Karmas, I presume?”
“Yes. I presume due to your attire that this is as much a personal endeavour as it
is a political one?”
“Something of the sort. The Castle and King Micah are focused, for the moment, on
internal affairs and infrastructure. Therefore, I've taken upon myself to
investigate more long-term solutions to certain problems.”
“whoa, way to lie there sister! And I'm Ember, I'm here to have fun and what not.
I've heard of Michaeli before, but I can't place it. Care to enlighten me?”
“Not at this moment. Is this all?”
“You know, if you're doing this, I'm going to head home. I don't need to be useless
here.”
“Bye Andrew! See you later!”
* grumble *
“So, that's four. What next?”
“Right now? I think we're almost set.”
“ALARM!”
“What?”
“Injured civilians incoming!”
“Ah hell.”
“Oooh! Maybe there's an attack!”
“Steady on there, girl. Let's see what's happening first.”
“Agreed. The local guards seem well equipped to deal with emergencies.”
“What if it's a Nephilim attack?”
“What? The Kitties?”

“There are hostile Nephilim down here?”
“I concur. Of what do you speak?”
“Oh, for the love of...! Look, not everyone down here is all lovey-dovey, alright?
There's a faction of the Nephilim that want to kill everyone, alright?”
“Fine by me!”
“Perhaps we should...?”
“YOU IDIOT! YOU SAID IT WAS SAFE!”
“Get inside! We'll handle this!”
“Last time I trust you!”
“It wasn't that bad, now, was it?”
“You bloody ingrate!”
“I'm a healer. Are either of you hurt?”
“Pride and damnation! No, woman! I'm not hurt. Physically, at least. I cannot say
much the same for this oaf!”
“There's no need to call me names! No, I'm not hurt. Not badly, at least. Duncan's
my name. Fun is my game! And your vision of loveliness is?”
“About to put this knife somewhere soft if you don't respect my personal space.”
“Go for it anyways!”
“While his manners leave everything to be desired, I suppose some introductions are
in order, as you did offer your assistance to us without recompense. I am Peregrine
the Fourth, expert thaumaturge at your service. This imbecile with the grace of a
Grue goes by the name of Duncan.”
“Art. Head of the 1st Exile Escape Committee.”
“Rook, head of human resources of the same.”
“Ember! I'm here for stuff.”
“Karmas Michaeli, independent citizen who wishes to assist in the goals of the
Committee.”
“Hello to you all! Listen, this here idiot here wanted to head to Silvar, the
nearest town. Only his sense of direction”
“YOURS!”
“... ours was a bit off. We went north towards Fort... Dunvo, I think it was? Well,
turns out there are some raids up there. And we had to come back this way in a
right hurry.”
“Art, a moment please.”

“Sure. Karmas, talk to these guys some more, will you? Find out what happened.”
“Of course.”
“This is an opportunity.”
“I see a couple. Which ones were you thinking of?”
“We could recruit them. Thaumaturge's are skilled at skilled at both types of
magic, and Duncan is a man who is skilled with his hands. I think we should recruit
them.”
“I thought about that too. But they are already not the best of friends.”
“Offer to escort them to Silvar. It's south-west of here, along a river. We can
figure things out from there.”
“This seems like a weak justification. What's your angle?”
“I don't want to stick around while recruiting. Fresh locations and fresh faces.
It'll also give you and me time to settle down just what the Committee is, and how
it works. Nice improv back there, by the way.”
“I've had practice. But for now, your plan is sound. Get it done.”
“On it.”
* * *
And that is our party. Normally, the party is directed to go north to do some
grinding and learning about the world, but for narrative purposes, I'll head them
to Silvar first and get into a fight along the way to explain how combat and
general exploration work. This post was too long as it is.
Also, here's a map of Fort Exile with all the people I've talked to so far. There
are a couple more NPCs that I haven't shown off talking too, but I think I'll take
care of that at the start of the next chapter.
As always, comments, suggestions and criticisms are welcome.
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by berryjon
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Part 4: Update 002 – Fort Exile and the Road to Silvar
Update 002 – Fort Exile and the Road to Silvar
"Thank you for waiting."
"It was nothing! I was having an enlightening discussion with these two gentlemen."
"I agree. It was quite nice, having the first intelligent conversation since I
arrived."
"What? I'm not good enough for 'ya?"
"No. Begone."
"If you two are still looking to head towards Silvar, the Committee will be headed
that way shortly in order to organize our immediate goals. You'd be welcome to join
us on the road."
"Having a base of operations in a city would be useful. And the journey would be
better with good company."
"What am I? Chopped liver?"
"I would never degenerate liver like that."
"Well, thank you for joining us. We'll meet up with Art and Ember over at the south
gate. Please make sure you've collected supplies from Tor if you haven't already."
"Already done."
"I shall do so forthwith. Thank you for the reminder."

"Hey Ember."
"Hey! I heard someone singing back here. Want to check it out?"
This NPC is located by the pool of water behind Tor's location on the map in the
previous update.
"Sure. I think we got a few minutes."
"HEEEELLLLOOOOOOOOOO!"
"Oh! Hello. You must be new arrivals."
"That obvious, huh?"
"Quite. Oh, where are my manners? I'm Diane!"
"Art. This is Ember. What is it that you do around here, Diane?"
"It's nice to see other women. I'm Tor's wife, by the way. But to answer your
question, well, I cook mostly."
You "cook?"
"Well, a couple times a week a cook meals for everyone here. I'm actually a very
good musician, but there's not much call for that around the fort. Oh well, we
won't be here forever."
"That is so neat! We heard you singing, so that's why we came over here."
"I'm not that good. Did you want to hear some more? I could always use an
audience."
"Yes please!"
"Ember, I'll wait for you at the gate there."
She sings a song which you've never heard before. It long and sad, about life in
caves and missing the sun above. She has a beautiful voice.
"That was nice! And awesome! Thank you! I got to catch up with Art and the others.
I'll come back later though! Bye!"
"Tor... Tor..."
The other skipped NPC is located in the room to the 'west' of Tor's office.
"Oh! Hello! You're in the wrong room. This is the storage for Tor's shop."
"Ah, my apologies ma'am. My name is Karmas Michaeli, and I am sorry to have

disturbed your work."
"No, that's alright. I'm Janice, dear. But only Thairl calls me that. Everyone else
uses Jan. New arrival, right? Tor is back that way. Just go around the corner,
first door down."
"Thank you. If you don't mind me asking, what is it that you do around here?"
"I'm in charge of supplies for the fort. The soldiers, they cook on their own, and
I'm the one they go to for the food. And weapons. And clothes. It's tedious work,
but it keeps me busy as long as Thairl is stationed out here."
"What of the soldiers? There seemed to be something of an incident earlier."
"Good lads, every one. Well, most every one anyway. Just between you and me, the
best get sent to the front."
"I'm sorry. The front?"
"To the north. Where all the Nephilim are."
"I've heard them mentioned a few times. But they are quite civilized on the
surface."
"Ah. The doom of all of us, if the Sliths don't get us first. Lots of them have
been sent down here, along with the humans. Many migrate to lower caverns, but many
more stay here, determined to take our land. A large tribe of them lives to the
north." she sighs "They don't arrive at Fort Exile, by the way. They teleport in
somewhere else."
Interesting. Multiple arrival points. That will be something to pass along to Art
and Rook. "Thank you for your time and directions, ma'am. I hope you have a
pleasant day."
"You too!"
"Well, is that everyone?"
"Yes."
Well, to Silvar it is then. There's a nice road we can just follow that. Is
everyone geared up? We know there's the likelihood of attacks on the road."
When you get supplies from Tor, he gives you 100 gold 60 food. He also gives every
party member a Stone Knife (the worst non-cursed weapon in the game) and a Leather
Baldric (The worst non-cursed armor in the game). The Party Leader (in this case,
Art) is also given 2 Bronze Helmets, two Bronze Shields and 3 sets of 12 Darts for
throwing.
It's a whole lot of nothing. But anyways, Karmas and Art get a Helmet, while Karmas
and Rook get a shield. This is because Karmas is our best melee fighter, and he'll
need the protection. Duncan, Peregrine and Ember all get Darts, though only Ember
has skill in them.
And before we leave town, I should explain the town interface. The upper left
section is the active window. It shows our party and everything within four
squares. You can see the outer wall of Fort Exile, as well as two guard NPCs. You
can use the arrow keys, or the number pad to move, as well as the mouse. You can
click on the edges of that sub-screen to pan the viewing area around a little bit,
but I tend not to, unless it's for long range combat.
The upper right is our status screen. It starts with an overview of all the
characters, an can be clicked to cycle through all their individual status screens
and inventories in order. At the end of the cycle are the key items, of which we
will collect a lot over the course of the game.
The lower right is the log. It records things, and lets you know what's happening.
Very simple.
The lower left is the button bar. From the left to the right, you have "Cast Mage
Spell", "Cast Priest Spell", "Look", "Talk", "Pick up", "Bash Door", "Alchemy",
"Pick Lock", "Map" and finally the Sword changes you to "Fight" mode.
I think it's pretty self-explanatory. On with the show!
"Wow. I mean it. Wow."
"I know. Caverns so large they have their own ecosystems. I saw rainclouds over
westerly ways. Large body of water unless I'm an idiot."
"Always an option."
"Oh, hey, Sign!"
The numbers are backwards. Dunvo is 20 miles north, while Silvar is 30 west. You
can tell by counting the spaces you have to move to get to each.
But the most important thing here is that we can use these numbers to get a sense
of scale. The 'world map' of Exile consists of a number of submaps that are
connected in a grid that's 7 across and 6 tall. Each 'grid' is 48x48 squares. It's
about 30 squares from Fort Exile to Silvar. Therefore, about 1 mile per square.
Let's do the math. On a North<-> South axis, the 'world is (6*48) Miles, or about
288 miles or about 463.5km. On the West<->East line, that's (7*48) or 336
miles/540.7km.
This brings the total 'area' of Exile to.... 96,768sq miles, or 250,614sq km. That
makes it larger than the United Kingdom (including territorial waters) and Guinea,
but smaller than Ecuador and New Zealand. This is also the smallest map in the
Exile trilogy.
Back to your regularly scheduled LP.
"Yeesh, that's a bit of a hike. Glad we got enough food."
"Can't argue. You take the lead, or shall I?"
"I will. Being the leader and all that."
"I would like to see what studies have been made of the local flora and fauna
though."
"Oh? To what end?"
"Agriculture, animal husbandry, all necessary stepping stones towards higher

technological and societal progress."
"Really?"
"I'm warning ya, you don't want him to get started."
"Oh, hush. At least this woman is endeavoring to expand her knowledge in a

civilized manner, before the pulpit of a good teacher."
"Tell me when you see one."
"Oi!"
"HOLD UP!"
"Problem?"
"Yep. Goblins."
"Karmas, up with me and Art! The rest of you fall back a little!"
And welcome to the combat screen. When you get into a random encounter outdoors,
you're taken to a mini-combat arena. When inside, the party disperses on the
town/dungeon map.
Here, as we are outside, the party forms up into a triangle with everyone ordered
by their position in the party. Art, being the party leader, is at the head,
followed by Karmas, Rook, Duncan, Peregrine and Ember.
You can see two goblins towards the top of the screen, while a third is out of
immediate sight.
I tried taking screen caps of the battle, but for some reason, it didn't work out
as well as I'd hoped as I couldn't catch any damage being done. I'll keep at it as
I go along.
The log sub-window is useful as it will allow you to keep track of what people are
doing, especially as I like to run combat as fast as possible.
The most important change though is the command bar at the bottom.
You can see there is a tile with "Art (ap:4)" in it. This means that the current PC
is Art and she has 4 AP or action points left in the turn. Once everyone has used
up all their AP, it's the enemies turn, and when they've used all theirs up, it's
yours, and visa-versa. Moving one square costs 1 AP in any direction. Other actions
cost more. It's important to note that you can perform any action as long as you
still have 1 AP remaining. So Art could move three tiles and cast a spell to end
her portion of the PC's turn.
Along the bottom, we have "Cast Mage Spell" (again). Casting one costs 6AP. Priest
Spells cost 5AP. "Look" costs nothing. "Defend" costs 4AP, and puts your character
into a defensive position, making them harder to hit, and taking less damage.
"Gather" works in two ways. If there are no enemies left, it picks up all the
spoils of battle and ends the active character’s turn. If there are enemies around,
it will only cause the character to pick up items adjacent to them. "Wait" moves on
to the next character if you don't feel like using the status window. The Arrow
triggers Archery (3AP) or Thrown weapons (2AP) if equipped. "End" ends combat if
you can (i.e, no enemies), while "Act" goes for the inventory (2AP).
Speaking of spells, time to show off how they are used.
Oh yea, spoilers for the names of future spells.
First up, we have the Mage Spells. Spells that are not available due to level, lack
of SP, or because it's the wrong situation are grayed out. This picture was taken
in town, so the only available Mage spell for Peregrine is "Light" (you can see his
name in the lower right). If I had Ember selected, she could have cast Unlock or
Long Light as well. Select caster. Select spell, Select target (the game will drop
you back to the main window if you need to aim at something outside the party), and
you're done!
Priest Spells, with Art selected. Same deal, different options.
Meanwhile, back in combat, I have Art simply cast Bless on herself. She's in a good
position right now with the trees and rocks preventing the goblins from getting
past her to anyone else. You can also see on the status screen that her SP has gone
down 2 points from 14 to 12, and that she now has the "Bless" status, which is the
two golden crosses and the 'B'. It's also Karmas' turn.
A little bit into the first turn. Karmas moved off behind the other tree to block
off that approach, while Rook and Duncan moved forward and tossed darts, only to
miss. In this picture, you should have seen Peregrine targeting the lone Goblin
with a 'Flame' spell, but it did't catch. He dealt 8 damage, killing it.
And here we have the end of our first combat! Ember got hit once (5HP) by a lucky
Goblin, but Art took care of it. You can see in the log that Ember tried to use a
"Flame" herself, but didn't deal enough damage to kill it. On the Goblin's turn, he
attacked Ember, then Art moved and killed it to finish of the fight. Karmas, being
next in line, gathered up all the loot. 43 Gold!
"OW! FUCK! THIS HURTS!"
"Oh, it's not that bad. Here, let me take care of that."
"Should have stayed behind the front line there, girl. Being off to one side like
that made you a target."
"I can still roast you."
"Done! Now, I think we can make it to Silvar now."
"I agree. No more Goblins on the way."
Experience is earned in combat, as well as through plot actions. It takes 100 XP to

level up, and the game goes to Level 50. You earn more XP for killing things higher
level than you, less for lower levels. At Level 1, a Goblin (Level 1) gives out 5XP
to the person that kills it. However, all other party members get 20% of the XP so
earned in order that they don't fall too far behind. Thus, at the end of the first
battle, Art has 7/100 XP, Peregrine has 11/100 (two kills, one 'assist', while
everyone else has 3/100 XP. I'll be updating you all on everyone's stats as we go
along.
"That must be Silvar! Excellent!"

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Part #3
Part #5
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by berryjon
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Part #4
Part #6
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Part 5: Silvar
UPDATE 003: Silvar
Sorry, the next few screenshots will show the side of the map window in them. It
was my fault as I was playing around with different options for the screen-capture,
and I missed this completely.
"Welcome to Silvar! Home of I-don't-know-what, and all sorts of fun and interesting
things, I'm sure."
"Thank you for your escort. I shall take my leave of you. Perhaps we may meet again
in the local Inn, or some such."
"I gotta say thanks as well. See ya'!"
"Hrm"
"What ails your thoughts, my friend?"
"Oh, just long term plans."
"Alright. Peregrine actually had an idea. Why don't we split up and do our own
things for a while then meet up at the inn."
"What for?"
"Ah, spread out and decompress. I understand. If you don't mind, I'll take my leave
then?"
"Of course. Hopefully there's not more than one inn. I mean, for a 'city', this
Silvar looks pretty small."
"I shall seek to acquire improved weapons and other sundry supplies. By your
leave."
"See ya Karmy!"
"..."
"You're not leaving?"
"Why? Besides, I'm still hurting here, and you're the only one with healing
powers."
"..."
"Look, it's not like I'm going to do something stupid. It's hard to keep up that
act."
"Tell me about it."
"Awww... We gonna swap stories now?"

"I should hope not. Let's just walk for now. Start by heading right."
"Well, this corner seems business-like."
"Boring."
"Agreed. We'll come back later when we can afford things."
"Ah, hello there Ma'am."

There is a middle-aged woman wearing a huge steel breastplate behind the counter.
"I'm Anastasia. Efram's wife."
"I'm offended ma'am! What about me would ever make you say such a thing?"
"Sorry. Had a weirdo in here earlier. Put me on edge."
"Quite understandable. I saw that your sign advertised Armors."
"I deal in armor, yes. You can buy some here, if you have the cash, or sell some,
if you don't."
"Forgive my impertinence then. I will have to confer with my colleagues as to the

disposition of our meagre funds."
"That's alright! Sorry to be snippy myself."
"Your apology is accepted, and I hope to return soon. What sort of armor would you
suggest?"
"You'll need it, if you plan to travel around down here. Don't count on getting any
iron or steel armor, though. Damn expensive. Hard to make down here. Leather's
cheap, though. Bronze is OK. And magic? Forget it."
"Magic armor? I would have thought that in lieu of advanced metallrgy, magical
enhancement would be an adequate substitute."
"The mages down here, such as they are, have a really tough time making magic
armor. Potions and scrolls, sure. But armor? Almost never."
"I think I can understand the efforts. There is a large difference between
permanent enhancement of items and consumables."
"Then you've got more brains on you than most."
"Once again, I must apologize. I shall return later with appropriate funds for your
wares."
"Goodbye! See you later!"

"I don't think we're ready for that yet."
"Always fun. We'll come back later."
"Agreed"
"Hello sir. My name is Rook Ironwill, and I am here to look at your merchandise."
"I'm Efram." He shifts his weight so his sword turns towards Rook, and smiles.
"Inventory?"
"You can buy or sell weapons here. Don't have much of a stock out here - hard to
get good metal. But we do our best."
Guess who forgot to screencap the purchase screen? I'll get it eventually.
"That's two Bronze Rapiers and a decent Club for me. Best to keep the front-liners
equipped at least semi-decently."
Anyways, I bought those two swords for Karmas and Art, with a Club for Rook. No
armor for now, I'll get some later.
"Look! COWS!"
"Huh. Well, let Peregrine know. But damn, don't those things looks thin."
"SIGN!"
"I guess I know what they use the cows for."
"EWWW."
"Oh, like you've never eaten a steak before. Actually, better head in to buy some
more food. We've been going through what supplies we have a bit too quickly for my
tastes."
"But... COWS!"
"Then stay outside!"

There is a pale woman working behind the counter. She has the jitters.
"Hey. You look nervous. I'm Art."
"I'm Carol, sort of." She smiles nervously.
"wow, that's not suspicious at all. "You sell field rations?"
"Well, you can buy rations. And I have some cows."
"Tell me about that. I've got a friend out there who loves them. The cows, I mean."
"Well, I try to take care of the poor dears. I'd love to sell you some milk." She
chuckles, for no apparent reason. "But whenever I try to take care of them, I hear
noises."
"Noises?"
"Yes, out behind my shop. Clunking and stuff. Makes me nervous."
"Well, maybe some business will calm you down."
Buying food. Food is kinda important. If you run out, you'll start to take damage
every so often, and you can't camp out without sufficient food. I buy 20 Gold
worth, which should hold me until after I've dealt with everything at Fort Dunvo,
including drops from enemies.
"Thank you!"
"you beast"
"Oh, like you're any better."
"Beast!"
"Oh, it's not that bad."
"Monster!" She runs away
"why me?"
"Oh, like you're any better."
"Fine"
"Oh. Hey. Sorry. Didn't mean to disturb you."

A man in nice, well-cut robes shuffles papers behind a desk. He seems pleased to
see you.
"Hello! I'm Mayor Jonathan Stellas. You can just call me Jonathan."
"Oh gods! I didn't meant to disturb you, your honour!"

"No! No! That's fine! I could use the distraction. New arrival?"
"That obvious, huh?"
"Skin tone. Don't worry. A few months and you'll fit right in."
"I don't plan on being here that long. So, um, what do you do around here, your
honour?"
"I am the mayor of this fine city, and a member of the Exile Council. Keeps me
busy."
"So, what does that mean, anyways? Being Mayor and all that."
"I settle the odd dispute. I order the troops. If and when we get attacked, I
marshal the defenses. And I take care of the records. It's a lot of work."
"Records, huh? Sounds like a tiring job, maintaining those."
"In the room to the west. Go help yourself. Not very interesting, true, but
necessary. I keep track of everybody who comes to Exile I can find. Someday, people
will want to know what happened down here, and when they do, our records will be
here."
"Wow."
"There's a man in there right now. New arrival like yourself."
"SO! MUCH! INFORMATION!"
"SO! MUCH! POWER!"
"Best not to disturb them, then. If you've got six copies of those new arrival
forms, I'll pass them amongst my group."
"Sure! And thank you!" He quickly gives a few sheets of parchmet to Art. "Thank
you."
"You mentioned something about a Council?"
"Yes. Exile has six large cities, and this is one of them. The mayors of each form
a council, which co-rules with King Micah. It works very well, actually, and I'm
proud to be a member."
"I think you're doing a wonderful job."

"Damn it Ember, where did you run off too?"
Sometimes you'll see white dots on the ground. These are optional event flags you
can stand on to trigger events. There are non optional ones that don't show up.
However, they aren't triggered when in combat mode. This can be abused.
Not that I would ever do that.
"What the hell? No one's here...."
"Except for the statues."
"Hello?" "Hello?"
"north-west corner?"
"So... Mime? What's your name?"
"No. Don't have one."
"What do you do?"
"I just stand here. Watch. Listen."
"What do you mean by that?"
"..."
"Oh, I'll remember you."
"Sign says it's a weapons shop, but the door's locked. Ah well, I'll come back
later."
Not pictured: Quite a few attempts to have Ember cast "Unlock" on this door. And
miserably failing. I'll come back later to get the loot therein.
"What do we have here?"
"Makes sense. Wouldn't have a large body of water without some sort of
transportation."
"Heelo? Name's Duncan. Anyone home?"
"Ah! Nice to see a new face. I'm Krantz. Pleased ta' meet ya'"
"Ta' same here! Ya goots yerself some bootes?"
"Aye! Whatcha be needin?"
"Makin' plans I am. Unsafe wahters?"
He spits. "Damnedable Sliths. Beed raid'n up an' down from Contra like. Least the
Kitties ain' outta dere hidy-holes."
"Iffen say I wanna fish, how much?"
"Fer a cousin? 350."
"I'll hold ye t' yer word."
"You too! Sun still shines?"
"Gleamin' like the edge o'a' scimitar."
"Ah, still lovely as ever, I see."
"I be back fer a boot. But not tod'y."
"Inn must be up here. Of course, it would be the last place I'd check."
"..."
"Where's Ember to tell me to read a sign?"
"Get a hold of yourself! You just met these people? Why are you missing them?"
"Anyways..."
"That's awfully convenient."
"Hey, Barkeep?"
The barkeep busily polishes the counter. He's tall, and has a very ambitious beard.
"Hello. I'm Gary."
"Hey, you seen a black haired girl come in? New arrival, like myself?"
"O'er there."
"What are the prices like?"
"I sell drinks. One gold. You can also get a room for the night. Five gold. We have
a nice room available." He polishes for a bit. "Oh! And for 10 gold, I can help you
with item storage."
"Storage?"
"Sure, I'll watch your extra stuff for you. Put it in the room down the hall, the
one with the crate in it. I'll guard it with my employee's lives." He grimaces.
"Make sure you leave the stuff inside the room, though. Anywhere else, and I can't
watch it!"
Storage is important. Vital even. The party members have limited inventory, so
you'll need places to drop items where the game won't remove them to keep the size
of the save file down. Here in Silvar is the first such location. As long as we're
in this room:
Anything we dump here won't vanish after a while. Nice, huh? I'll be using it a
bit, usually to store spare consumables.
Nor is this the only storage location. I'll cover the rest when we find them.
"Thanks. I think I might have to take you up on that." "Not on your life. 10 gold
for indefinite storage? Something's fishy."
"Ah! Art! Ember! Good to see you two!"
"Rookie! Art was being mean to me! She bought COW MEAT!"
"Come again?"
"More food supplies for longer journeys."
"A sensible precaution. But Cows?"
"Actually, I did some research on that. It seems that Cows are husbanded for the
dairy products. The primary source of meat are local lizards."
"So the Cows aren't horribly butchered?"
"No."
"What, did everyone wait until I arrived to come in?"
"Yes."
"You kill me, you know that. Alright. Someone order food, we'll grab a bench and
lay out our next.... Wait. Peregrine. Duncan."
"Yes?"
"I thought you two were done with us?"
"I thought that your future explorations as head of the Committee would provide a
wealth of information for me to use and exploit. Therefore, I have chosen to grace
you with my presence until such time as you are no longer needed."
"I'm bored."
"Hey! I know that one!"
"Alright. Food. Seat. Planning."
- - - - -
There are two more NPC's in the Inn that I couldn't narrate talking too. They are
both in the Inn. Here are there conversation trees: Assume these conversations
happened off screen if you must.
LOOK: This is a young, well built man. He is weighed down with two heavy duffel
bags.
NAME: "I'm Jay." He puts down one of the bags to shake your hands.
JOB: "None, now. I'm kind of a refugee."
REFUGEE: "Well, I was a farmhand at Fort Duvno. That's some 20 miles to the north.
But then the nephilim started coming south, and I decided to move to more
hospitable territory."
NEPHILIM:"Yeah, the cat-heads are starting trouble again. They're building sort of
a fort at the north end of this huge cave. It's small now, but nobody's doing
anything about it, and it'll be big soon. Then, watch out!"
"Hmm. You could find out a lot more about it at Fort Duvno. Go east to Fort Exile,
then north."
LOOK: A man in battered armor seems to be drinking himself into a stupor.

NAME: "I'm Chuck." His words are slurred, and vomit seems to be soon in coming.
JOB: "Mercenary."
MERCENARY: "Yeah. Fighting the cat-heads. Then the sliths. Then the cat heads. Then
the sliths. Hell, I've been beat up by everybody. I'm on vacation now. Go away."
And here is the current Map of Silvar.
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Part #4
Part #6
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by berryjon
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Part #7
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Part 6: Update 004 – Fort Duvno
Update 004 – Fort Duvno
"Everyone had got food? Sitting? Good, let's call this meeting to order."
"If you intend to use Robert's Rules of Order, I wouldn't. We are far too small for
such a thing."
"I have to agree. I doubt certain members of our group have the patience for such
things."
"HEY!"
"That's enough. Art's in charge."
"Thanks. I do have something weird to tell you guys about, but that can come later
as I don't think it's relevant to our long-term plans."
"Oh?"
"Talking statue."
"That, I would like to hear about. But I shall take the floor first." He clears his
throat. "I have done preliminary research through local records and it appears as
though the portal at Fort Exile is not the only such entrance location to the cave
system."
"We already knew that. The Nephilim have a similar entrance."
"Obviously. However, there is no indication of where it is. This is where the local
attacks on Fort Duvno... and my own unfortunate encounter... come into play."
"Not my fault!"
"Silence!"
"Children! Behave!"
"Peregrine, please continue."
"As I was trying to say, there is indications of a fortification being constructed

to the north by the Nephilim. It may be the location of their portal, or should
contain pertinent information regarding it."
"All well and good, but why?"
"I propose a raid of sorts. The portal at Fort Exile has been examined by...
competent minds from the Tower of the Magi to the south, and while I would
certainly like access to those records, earning that would involve gaining
information about the Nephil portal."
"You want a raid."
"Nothing so uncouth, but simply yes."

"I'm all for it!"
"You would be. So go look for information about another portal. Why would that
help? There's no way the Empire would seal off the Exile end of the one they used
for us and not do the same for the one they send bad kitties through."
"I have to agree with her logic."
"It has to do with the construction and maintenence of portals. By locating a

second independent connection, I can begin to formulate a theory that would allow
for back-linking a portal to the surface via Erika's Entropic Entanglement...."
"MY BRAIN HURTS!"
"Not MY fault!"
"Children! Is this going to be a thing?"
"yes"
"So, Peregrine wants us to go north-ish to find a portal and use it for... stuff.
While we think that over, what else is there to talk about?"
"I gathered some improved weapons for you and Karmas."
"Thank you. Not the best of blades, but I suppose what needs must."
"A bit heftier than this knife. I'll take it."
"Nothing for the rest of us?"
"Not at this point. We three are front-liners, while you three should stay in the
back."
"We should reserve some resources for better armor all around through."
"I agree."
"Less pain for me, thanks!"
"Anything else anyone wants to share?"
"No? Guess you all want to hear about the statue, huh?"
"I would. Sounds weird enough."
"Alright, so I was looking at that nice pool in the center of town; I'm sure you've
all seen it. While I was there, I heard some whistling but there was no one nearby.
Listenting around, I found one of the statues there talked. It said it was there
watching and listening, but wouldn't tell me more."
"That's weird."
"I have heard of golems being used in such a manner as spies. Usually they respond
to a certain password in order to reveal what they know."
"Question then becomes if the locals know about it or not. And do we tell anyone?"
"I'd say not. It's not like we're going to walk up to it and tell it to divulge
what it knows to us, now will it? We have our own goals; and unless we come across
what's up with these statues, then we should leave well enough alone. Of course, we
shouldn't forget about it either. Just in case."
"I'm not sold on that. If it's a spy...?"
"What if it's not? We just got here, we don't have enough information about things
to go jumping the gun."
"Karmas? Ember? Peregrine? What do you guys think?"
"This is not our nation, we should leave well enough alone."
"Boring!"
"While I would be interested in it from a technical aspect, I have far more

important issues to deal with. I must recommend against pursuing this issue for
now."
"I don't like it."
"Neither do I, but they've got legitimate reasons."
"Wait. Boredom is legitimate?"
"The men have legitimate reasons."
"booo....."
"Very well. I abide by your decision."
"We'll talk later."
"Anything else?"
"You're a horrible monster who wants to eat cows."
"We've been over that. Cows are for milk and cheese. Lizards are for meat."
"Yes, Art. You should know that."
"Argh! Alright. We'll head for Fort Duvno. It's north of Fort Exile and should be a
good staging ground for our future exploration. I've already rented a room for the
night, so we should get some sleep and head out in the morning."
"Night!"
"Yes?"
"Keep an eye out for any more of these talking statues."
"Right."
"Everyone awake?"
"No."
"Yes."
"It's not morning until the sun rises. Why the hell did I ever think coming down
here was a good idea?"
"It was better than the alternative?"
"Do you even know what that was?"
"No. But the fact that you thought coming to Exile was the, and I quote "good idea"
confounds me to no end."
"Don't try to understand her."
"Why? You want first dibs?"
"Shutting up now."
"I figure we can cut a little north of east to get to Duvno. It'll take us off the
beaten path, but there are farms out there."
"Good enough."
"Huh? That's a weird grove of trees."
"Something about that doesn't seem right. We shouldn't be makin' a mess of things,
I think."
"Still worth investigating."
"Says the guy who wanted to go straight for a vague goal."
"It behoves us to investigate all such things at this point; for example, this
grove could contain an advanced Nephilim party with information about the location
of the fort!"
"Quit waffling back and forth!"
"Hey! Look! Gremlins!"
"Oh, that's a lot of them."

"A whole lot."
"Perhaps I was a bit hasty?"
"Ya think?"
"I suggest we withdraw in good order before we gain their ire."
"Running away now!"
Here's an example of a static outdoor encounter. In this case, we're given three
options. At this point "approach" and "leave" do the same thing. We get out of a
potentially sticky situation because we haven't attained certain things yet.
However, if you choose to "attack", this is what happens:
Doesn't seem like much, does it? Well, guess what? You just lost all your food, and
everyone's HP dropped to 1. As you can see in this screenshot leading into Fort
Duvno. Don't worry, the actual events involve not doing the suicidal thing.
"Does anyone else feel like we dodged an arrow back there?"
"No. Sign says this is Fort Duvno. Let's head inside."
"Alright, the usual. Split up. Meet at the Inn."
"Huh. Farming supplies?"
A tall, peculiar looking man dressed in leather sits behind the counter. He has
long hair and a broad smile.
"Afternoon to 'ya, lad."
"I'm Jason. Pleased ta' meetcha'."
"Duncan's my name, business if my game. Tell me, is there really much use for
farming equipment out here?"
"Well, I used to sell farming supplies. When there were farms. Then, I
diversified."
"Farms?"
"We used to have a bit of them between here and Formello. But with the Kitties and
the bandits, they've all been moving away, closer to the protection of the cities."
"And so you diversified?

"Into supplies of a more esoteric nature."
"Now you have me intrigued. What do you mean by 'esoteric'?"
"Ask to purchase something, and you can see your yourself." He thinks. "Also, if
you want, you can sell me things you may have ... ummm ... obtained."
"Sure, I may be able to buy something."
This is the purchase screen. You have your active party member at the top, and a
list of items you can buy as well as their price. Very simple. You can also sell
items to certain people (this guy will buy anything, he's useful like that) through
a similar interface.
"Ah, good. About time someone had a decent archery set. Except we don't have any
money, damn it."
Shopkeepers can be very boring people. Here's the Fletcher shop owner's dialogue:
Look: A small, slender woman sits behind the counter, working on fletching an
arrow.
Name: "I'm J.R. Please don't ask me what it stands for."
Job: "I sell archery supplies. And a few darts. Let me know if you want to purchase
something. My stock is kind of low - most everything has been going to the
soldiers."
"What do we have here?"
"Peregrine!"
"Yes?"
"Sage. I figured you'd want to chat."
"Your thoughtfulness is commendable."
"Hello! I am Peregrine IV, and I bid you good day!"

The man behind the counter is short and heavy-set. He wears mages robes, not crisp
and clear, but ratty, as if he'd been travelling recently.
"I am Walner. Walner the mage. Acting as a sage, at the moment."
"Oh my. That sounds quite unfortunate. What, pray tell, would cause such a thing?"
"Well, I try to be a sage. But lately, I've been seeing a lot of action." He looks
down at his robes apologetically."
"What sort of Sage are you?"

"Well, my speciality is item lore. I can identify your items, if you like. But I've
also come across some interesting alchemy information. I know a recipe for poison,
that only uses toadstools."
Walner sells our first Alchemy recipe – Weak Poison – for 50 gold. We can collect
Toadstools from places around the world map, and with sufficient Alchemy skill (we
do), turn that into said poison.
But what he's vital for is his identification spell. For a small fee, he can
identify items in your possession. Although with sufficient item-lore, you can get
a general reading, this allows you the specifics. It's bloody useful, and I'll be
making a lot of trips back here, one way or another as the game goes by.
"Let's see what's...."
"hiss!"
"You know, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if you could really talk."
"hissss."
"really?"
"hiisss!"
"HISS!"
"hiss"
"Meh, it was a boring conversation anyways."
Yes, you can talk to this lizard. All it says is "hiss".
You see an old man sitting under a tree. He's fishing.
"Hello. I'm Art."
"I'm Scott," he says in a very low voice. "Be quiet. You'll spook the fish."
"Hello. Is this like, your job or something?"
"Well, not much. I used to be a farmer. Now I just do odd jobs. And fish."
"What happened? To your farm, I mean?"
His speaks loudly for the first time, in anger. "Those cat bastards, they burned my
farm. They wanted the land, so they took it. Johnson sent out a group to attack
their new fort, but they were never heard from. So I'm stuck here." He calms down
then, and goes back to fishing.
"Fishing any good?"
"You be surprised. The cave fish are pale and strange looking, but they make great
eatin'."
"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the word."
This is Grimmet. He's the blacksmith and can sell weapons like in Silvar. He'll
also buy weapons back off you. I just summarized his conversation tree.
"Hello!"
You see a tall, attractive woman with short dark hair. She studies you carefully.
"Hello. My name is Carol. Above ground, I was of the Hamer clan, but that hardly
matters now."
"Wow, usually I introduce myself first. I'm Art. Nothing fancy. Just Art. So, the
sign out front...?"
"I provide healing to the soldiers of this rather put-upon fort, as best I can.
It's a difficult, but necessary job."
"Fort Duvno doesn't seem to be in that bad of a bind."
"Well, yes. Between the bandit raids and the Nephilim, there is no end to the
wounds I must tend to. We're always looking for help against them. You could find
out more from Captain Johnson."
"I think I will. Thank you for your time, and I hope to never require your
services."
Carol can heal people, remove bad statuses, oh, and raise the dead. I really hope
to never require her services.
"Well, this is getting obvious."
"And the inn."
"Oh, pardon me. I thought you may have been someone else."
You see a small, worried man in traveller's clothes. A holy symbol hangs
prominently from his neck.
"Oh, no worries. Art."
"Greeting, my son. I am called Caius."
"Uh... last I checked, I was a woman."
"Gender non-specific masculine."

"Only usable for legal documents, not causal conversation. So you're the local
clergy?"
"Not here. I bring the word to the flock. I once did so in Formello, but now I am
moving to safer ground."
"Sorry, I'm new here. Formello?
"I was assistant priest there, but the raids got too much for me. I worked for
Mother Claudette, a good, fine woman. Plus, she had the ear of the mayor. If you're
ever there, mention my name to her. She'll help you get settled."
"Thanks."
"Caius, are you really worried that Mother Claudette will send people after you?"
"Um....?"
You see a slender, middle-aged woman, outfitted to travel.
"Greetings, m'lord. I am called Helena."
"Once again, female. Yeesh, do I have to start dressing like Ember to get that
recognized?"
"You're wearing a poncho that disguises your feminine features."
"You wound me. Really. You do. So, you and Caius are...?
"Travelling now. My lord, Caius, decided to leave Formello, and I was in no mood to
argue."
"And Caius is...?"
"He's a priest, and a good one, but he's more interested in preaching than
fighting, so we're going to the Great Cave, where things are calmer." She looks
worried for a moment. "Or, so we hear."
"Once again, new here. Formello?"

"It's a city to the north. They've had troubles, though not as bad as down here.
The worst thing that's happened is that some Nephilim spies stole the mayor's
necklace." She giggles. "Sounds trivial, I know, but it's supposed to be magic."
She moves to take a seat across from Caius. "Still, the attacks were starting to
increase. I'm glad we're going."
"I won't take up any more of your time then."
A little while later...
"I hope you two don't mind being over there."
"Nah."
"I shall alert you if you need to speak loudly."
Yes, I went into combat mode inside the inn just to set up this shot of everyone
sitting down. The things I do for my LP's...
"Can I start?"
"Go ahead."
"This place is boring. But there's apparently a cave between here and some place up
north called Formello that's full of vile and vicious creatures that need killing!"
"I do not know how that is applicable to our current situation, dear Ember."
"Well, I think it's interesting."
"We should talk with Captain Johnson, here in the fort. I was unable to see him
personally, but it was indicated that he was looking into hiring a group of..
mercenaries to perform special operations. If we go together, I and Art can talk to
him more about our goals."
"Seems prudent. Why don't we go now?"
"But I just got comfortable!"
"Such is life."
"No sense in wasting time."
"Back again with my posse.
"Go right in then. I already let the Captain know you were coming soon."
"Sign!"
"Oh! Hello there!"
You see an archer. He is wandering around, looking somewhat distracted.
"I'm Jake."
"Wow, second time in an hour. I'm Art. These are Rook, Ember, Peregrine"
"The Fourth"
"... Karmas and Duncan. Are you Captain Johnson?"
"What? No, Not Jake Johnson. Silly name, that. No, I'm a guard. Half the time, I
stay here and guard. The other half, I try to find someone who can play chess."
Chess? You've never heard of it.
"Chess"?
"Oh! You're interested! Well, it's this game..." He talks about something having to
do with kings and queens and mating. It seems interesting at first, but after
awhile, you realize it's just a game, and a strange one at that. Jake notices your
glazed look and sighs sadly. "I wish I could find someone who plays."
"I do!"
"As do I."
"Really! Great! You guys have time for a game or seven?"
"Alas, no. We have other concerns at this time, including your Captain Johnson."
"Darn it. Well, maybe next time."
"Captain Johnson, I presume?"
You see a large, bearded man in gleaming steel armor. An iron halberd is strapped
over his back. Fortunately, he looks glad to see you.
"That I am. I'm the boss around here."
"Protecting this fort from the bandits and Nephilim. It's my job to not rest until
all the vermin are dead. And I can use all the help I can get."
"You mean the Nephilim?"
His face twists in a very disturbing way. "Vicious vermin. I'd love to strangle
every one. They're building a new fort to the north, and I sent a small group to
check it out. They killed them all. We need to nail that fort while it's small." He
grins. "Of course, we're getting them back. We got two of them in the cells. Dying
slow."
"And these bandits?"
"I'm not too worried about them. They live in the fort to the west. They destroyed
several farms, but we're wearing them down. Good pickings for adventurers." He
winks at you.
"You have good soldiers, is it not within your power to remove these bandits from
their nest?"
"And I know it! Our soldiers are the best, but we can always use some mercenaries
too. The bandits are off balance now, and we can really use help against the
Nephilim." He practically spits out the last word. There is a weird gleam in his
eye.
"About this Nephilim fort..."
"No."
"Captain?"
"I can't let you know where that is to give you folks a crack at it. Not until
you've proven your worth to me. The Bandits are camped out in a sub-cavern a ways
west and north of here. You take them out – they have a mage with a certain wand,
bring that back as proof – and then I'll give you leave to go rip the Kitties a new
one."
"A moment."
"I say we should do it."
"Bandits of all stripes are a plague upon the earth."
"Sounds fun to me!"
"I'm in."
"His motives are sincere. And it seems like the Bandits will be a softer target
than the Nephil fort. Good practice."
"I am disinclined to diversions..."
"Stop waffling!"
"We'll be back with this wand, sir."
"Good! See you soon."
"SIGN!"
"Awwww"
- - - - -
Map of Fort Duvno:
((apologies for the misspelling))
Map of local area:

‹
Part #5
Part #7
›
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by berryjon
‹
Part #6
Part #8
›
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Part 7: Update 005 – Bandit Fort
Update 005 – Bandit Fort
"Morning!"
"mrgle"
"There's a lake over there. Someone dunk Ember to wake her up and we can be on our
way."
"Don't look at me like that. That's more in line with your pedigree Duncan."
"I could dunk you."
"That will not be necessary. We have a long walk ahead of us, and that should waken
anyone."
"Right. Let's go then."
"The directions we have indicate we need to go north-west from here, reach the
pillar then circle around the north end of it."
"Sounds simple enough."
"Oh gods, that's huge."
Remember what I said about one square is about one mile? Yep, this isn't the
outside wall of the cavern we're in.
"We have a pair of bandits coming up from behind us. I think they may be returning
to the fort."
Not shown: A fight against two thugs. Not even any loot!
"This looks like the path we need to take."
"I don't like the looks of this path. It's too defensible."
"No one ever goes in the front door! That's why we should do it!"
"Weird. No patrols, no nothing."
"It's almost like they're not expecting us."
"I must say, the condition of these fortifications leave much to be desired."
"Let's swing around north. There looks to be an intact building in that corner."
"Look at the size of that rat! I wonder what it fed on to grow to such a weight?"
"I may have to conduct experiments in the future."
"Eww."
"Let's check that door in the corner there."
"Looks like the Bandits have tried to get into the armoury storage space."
"How do you know that's the purpose of that room?"
"Sign."
"Hey! That's my line!"
"Check around the south. Even if there's no way in, we need to scour the place."
"I suspect there may be a hidden passage into there. Such a thing would be
reasonable, and if the bandits have located it, then it would make for a legitimate
redoubt."
"Then where would you suggest?"
"There, by the outer wall."
"Oh wow, nice call."
"Thank you."
"Fine. Let's go see if there's anything useful. I'll start over there."
"Your antics amuse me."
"Why don't ya come over here then, and help?"
"I'll go look in these boxes while you boys play over there."
"hehe"
"You needn’t degenerate them like that."

"When they stop acting like it, I'll stop treating them like it."
"Ah-ha! A nice solid iron mace! I'll take that, seeing as no one else uses these
sorts of weapons."
This little section teaches two important things to the player. First is that
secret passages exist. You find them by walking into walls. Second is that not
everything is going to be laying around on the ground, or found in special events.
You can also look into 'containers' to find things as well.
Also, the Iron Mace (although we haven't identified it as such yet – we'll need to
get back to Fort Duvno first) is the best weapon available for a while yet. Rook
Smash!
"And that's one scary void along the south."
Not shown: An encounter with a random spawn enemy. You can see the combat in the
log screen on the right.
"And the other side of this wall leads to a locked door."
"Got to invest in me some lock-picks."
"Later."
"I suspect that this fortification was built with this gap between it and the outer
wall as a defensive measure."
"Maybe. All that's left is to check the inside now."
"Oh holy hells, fall back!"
"Damn!"
"Where did they all come from?"
"I'm getting tired here!"
"To the redoubt!"

"Almost there!"
"Keep going!"
Not pictured: Me wondering where the flip all these guys came from! This never
happened in any of my previous games!
"There must be forty of them!"
"oh gods. Um. I'll just take a quick peek outside..."
"There's three out there, including two guys who look like casters."
"Let me try something...."
The "Detect Life" spell in action. There are 20 detected enemies on the map
currently. Those six at the bottom, in the little cul de sac are all random spawns.
Thankfully, as you saw two pictures above, the big threat – a Priest - was drawn
out of his starting position and is here now.
I still have no idea how this all went so bad so quickly.
I was so caught up in the intensity of the fight, I forgot to to take proper

recordings of it. For that, I apologize and I have plans to do better in the
future.
"We cannot stay here."
"Yes, but how do we get out?"
"Just run?"
"They would simply give chase."
"I think the leaders are right outside. Maybe we can simply kill them, escape, and
come back later?"
"I like that plan too!"

"Then we still have to deal with the rest of them."
"And even without immediate leadership, the rest would fall in line with the
remaining powerful people."
"So get the leaders, run, come back later and grab that wand?"
"Seems like a plan."
Let me explain what happens next. I have Art pumped up with a couple Blesses, same
as Rook and Karmas. I run out of the secret passage and make a bee-line right for
the priests. Art drops a brigand, the priest cursed Karmas, removing the Bless.
Rook goes to town on the other thug. Everyone else files out and starts to support
either by throwing darts, or throwing spells around.
Darts suck, by the way. Ember threw nearly two dozen of the damned things, and only
hit once. Maybe low stats are to blame?
The active combat makes the enemies pathfinding better, and they start to come in
to the little room there. Peregrine, Rook and Ember take the south side, while
Karmas, Art and Duncan hold the west. Then we come to this:
"Peregrine's down!"
"Hah! Now I'm the best mage in the party!"
So yea, a couple Brigands swarm around Rook, causing a few to also get close to
Peregrine. Not wanting a squishy wizard in combat, I withdraw him, provoking three
attacks of opportunity.
Oh, you thought DnD invented those?
This game is from 1995. D&D 3.0 was published five years later. Peregrine got
killed by it.
You, as the player, can set these up for yourself by 'standing ready', or waiting.
This will allow you to take AoO's on people up to the limit of your AP (remember, 4
per attack).
Now, back to your regularly scheduled clusterfrak.
"We'll get him to a cleric later! For now, we must survive this onslaught! Have AT
THEE!"
"ugh."
"Karmas' down! Damn it! DIE!"
Nothing fancy or stupid about that one. He just got hit and died in normal combat.
However, Art got back for him, and killed the soldier that got Karmas, finally
pushing her up to level 2! Her HP has gone up six pints from the previous
screenshot. She also gained 5 Skill points to be spent on training later.
The rest of the battle goes my way, thankfully. Art comes around and starts taking
guys apart from the other side of Rook. Rook levels up as well, gaining 4 more HP.
"Oh gods."
"I'm untouched!"
"Bloody hell! I need a bandage!"
"Stop being such a baby. Rook how about you?"
"I'm fine. That's the last of them. Let's go get that damned wand and get out of
here."
No, there's still the six guys trapped down south, but I'm going to ignore them for
my safety.
"Let's search that repaired building on the west side. It should be their
barracks."
"Nothing here."
"Oh, hey, this looks interesting."
"YES!"
"Good job. Best you or I hold onto that."
"Aw, you don't trust me?"
"No."
"Let's keep looking for now. They may have other valuables."
"Like this!"
"Oh dear."
"Phew."
If Duncan was down, I would never have bothered. Disarm Traps is damned useful.
"Gold, and what looks like a vial of poison."
"I'll hold onto that."
"That enough looting. Let's get back to Duvno and see about getting Karmas and
Peregrine back on their feet.
"Hey Carol, what's the going rate for these guys?"
"Didn't want to come back here, huh?"
"Shut up and hit me with the bill."
"Here's your damned wand."
"Thank you. This thing has put many good men down."
"We're down two of ours. But I don't think we have enough money to cover Carol's
costs."
"Hrm. You did do Exile a service. Normally I'd give you a reward for your effort,
but..." Captain Johnson stands up "I'll settle things with Carol, but you won't be
getting the reward, or keeping the wand. That'll make us even."
"Of course sir."
"And I'd recommend getting in some more practice before hitting the Nephil Fort.
You'll need it."
"Yes sir."
This was a bad start, but thankfully Exile comes with a character editor. I'm going
to load up the save here and make damn sure I'll be more careful in the future.
Note to self – show off the character editor in a future update.
This really was a botched mission. I've never had the acolyte come out like that.
Usually I've taken them in their barracks area where I can control the encounter
rate and flow. Being ambushed and swarmed like this doesn't usually happen until
later.
Before the next update, I'll do some off-screen grinding to try and get everyone up
to at least level 3.
‹
Part #6
Part #8
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #7
Part #9
›
Return to LP Index
Part 8: Nephil Fort
Raid on the Nephil Fort
Silvar
"Time to train!"
As I mentioned in the thread, I did some off-screen training to get everyone up to
at least level 3. And here's where we run into our first problem. The lack of
money. While one of the bandits in the fort dropped a Bronze Breastplate (put on
Karmas), our major source of weapons and gear is going to be stores. Compound the
necessity of buying food and paying for training, and you quickly run out of cash
in the early game.
I get some basic stat improvements here, mainly training up peoples HP and SP, as
well as a couple sundry skills. We're not to level five yet, which I consider to be
a good 'break point' for overt specialization. I didn't grab pictures of everyone’s
stats, as I have another round of training at the end of the update – I'll show off
everyone's stats then.
"Captain Johnson said to head north of the entrance to the Bandit Fort and then
west along the northern wall of the cave."
"I must say, I should hope this goes much better than our last... outing."
"You and me both, my friend."
"Oh, quit yer griping! I was careful during the entire fight."
"You hid behind Ember or Art for the most part."
"I wasn't useless! Art, dear, back me up here!"
"I couldn't tell you, I was busy fighting the people in front of me."
"HAH!"
"I'll have you know that not everything in this world can be solved through the use
of violence!"
"No, but some things must be, lest they rot and fester into something that will
harm more that if addressed directly."
"Lotta words for that."
"Guys, while I love to hear you blather all day, we're coming up on some farms.
"This is quiet."
"Too quiet. Where are the cows?"
"Ugh. At least there are no bodies."
"CooooWS!"
"Do not be so quick to come to such a conclusion, Art."
"I have to agree. Just because we see nothing does not mean nothing happened."
"I'm trying to take it easy, thank you."
"Look, how about we just keep going north? Put all this unpleasantness behind us?"
"Agreed."
"Of course."
This is actually a set of four encounters. Three of which are like that, but the
fourth, in the north-west corner of the set, actually contains a one-off encounter
with a group of bandits. I messed up catching the trigger window due to how I had
the new set-up working. It goes:
You see a homestead ahead of you by a small lake. Smoke is rising from within.
Leave / Approach?
You approach the farm and see that it is in ruin. What is more, it's been like this
for some time. The smoke comes from the ashes of a recent bonfire. You turn to
leave, but before you can get away, you see bandits approaching
This dumps you into a fight against some Thugs and a couple bandits. I wipe them
out without too much difficulty.
"That sucks. I mean, why attack these people?"
"Lookin' around, it seems like whoever lived here has long since gone away. I think
they were using this as a campsite away from the Fort."
"I have to agree. Though I hope that this particular group wasn't aware of our raid
on their fortification earlier. That could pose.. problems in the future."
"I hope so. Can we just go now?"

"Anyone else getting creeped out by the skull totems?"
"They are non-human, so that needn't be your worry."
"Still. I mean, heads on sticks? Who does that anymore?"
"Barbarians. Cultural groups who think such a display marks their territory with
the threat that all who oppose them will die and join those sorry few."
"What ever happened to a good ol' fashioned burning of everything in your path?"
"Efficiency. A little more effort now would result in less energy expended in the
future."
"Bwuh?"
"I think she's leading you on, Peregrine."
"Shhhhhhh! It doesn't work if you tell people!"
"I know!"
"Can I make an example of you?"
"EMBER! Quit toying with the boys! Rook's found the entrance and we're going in."
"Awwwww....."
"Quite dark."
The Nephilim Fort is the first 'dark' dungeon you'll typically encounter. That
means that unless you have a light source (torches are expendable items, or have
cast the Light/Long Light spells) you will only have this one square radius around
you that you can see. Some objects grant light, like the firepit we'll come up to
shortly.
The good news is that if we can't see the enemy, they can't see us either.
"Fa-woosh!"
"And for once, her pyromania comes in handy."
"You say that like you don't like me!"

"Ugh. Look, can we at least be quiet about this? Who knows how many are in here."
"Like those goblins?"
Nothing special here. I just wanted to show this shot off to demonstrate how the
game places PCs when combat starts. It can get... wonky at times. And won't place
PCs where the lead character can't see them in that moment. Which can result in Art
being in one square, and everyone else trapped in a single square until I can
spread them out.
"I hope we didn't raise too much of a ruckus. Perhaps we should stick to the side
passages for now?"
"Oh, that's not good."
Meet the Lizards. Bog standard creatures. Oh, they also have ~30 HP and dish out
three attacks in a single action. To the unprepared party, they are death
incarnate. At least until we meet enemy spell casters. I set myself up with
Blesses/Strengths and build a defensive line. Rook promptly Assassinates both of
them.
Seriously. Bless and Assassination are just that powerful. I can't wait for Art to
pick that skill up in a dozen or so levels.
"Ah, just like old times."
"Let's see if there's anything of value back here."
"Seriously? Even the Nephil didn't want to come here."
"I concur. Only animals would willingly come here."
"And the unwilling?"
"Come on, I found something."
"Oh my."
"I'll hold onto this. We may be able to return it to his family."
"Good call. Come on, let's get out of here."

"Hey, Karmas. I think that ring there is magical."
"Hrm. But that does not change my decision in that regard. In fact, it only
reinforces it. If it is valuable, it only behoves me to make its return more
important."
Duncan's Item Lore skill got lucky and identified the ring as a Silver Ring of
Protection, a decent magical defence booster. It's an event reward, so I knew what
it was, but seeing that happen was a nice break.
Items will always have their qualities, if you've identified them or not. And yes,
some items are cursed.
"More focus on the now, not the yet, if you please."
Two Goblins, a Nephil and a Nephil Archer. The normal kitty drops a bronze shield
that Duncan quickly identifies.
"And down this way we have...."
"Nope."
"I think we've reached the back of this cave. The rock's getting pretty hard. It
would take specialized equipment and a lot of time to expand back here further. You
can see the rubble where they've tried"
"And my light is starting to go out. Let me fix that."
Light sources do not instantly flick off in this game, unlike some others. Instead
they fade away, reducing the visible radius until it's back down to one square
again.
"Hush! Something’s coming up from the south!"
"SHIT!"
Random spawn Nephil and a pair of Nephil Archers. Normally, I wouldn't have
documented this, but they dropped something special.
A second Silver Ring of Protection. SCORE! Not to mention massively lucky. This one
goes on Art and will stay with her for most of the game due to her build.
As I head for the next section of the map, the west/left side, I encounter a few
more random spawns than I was expecting, so I left the fort and ran all the way
back to Duvno to use the inn and ID some of the stuff that Duncan missed.
"Alright that's that for that side. Let's go over to the west end. I think it looks
more developed than the east."
"Right behind you."
"Ember? Some light please?"
"Sure!"
"Allow me. I have greater reserves than you, and you did it last time. It is my
turn."
"You're being nice. You are you and what have you done with Peregrine?"
"While you two argue, how about we stab this Kitty?" * stab *
"Definitely artificial construction. But the place is no where near complete. If

the Nephil managed to fortify this properly, they would be very hard to dislodge."
"I concur. Best these beasts be eliminated now."

"North or south?"
"South. Less space to expand this way, so there will be less stuff to explore and
secure."
"Objections?"
"South it is."
"Dang it, the door won't open when I use my magic."
"We really need to buy me some lock picks so I can have a go at some of these
doors."
"Later."
"North now."
"This section seems to have been built first. It's a lot better constructed."
"Leader's quarters perhaps?"
"I hope so. I am beginning to dread the possibility that there will be no leads on
the Nephil Portal here."
"HOLY SHIT!"
"ARGH!"
Meet the Nephilim Shaman. A major step up in terms of casting power from the
Acolyte in the Brigand camp. More HP, and as you can see here, can cast 'Curse'.
Of course, it had to choose Peregrine for that, which was completely useless.
And then it promptly goes down in two hits from Karmas and Rook.
"You alright, Peregrine?"
"Ah! Yes. It simply cursed me. It'll wear off in a minute or two."
"It had this necklace on it."
"I can feel the magic coming off it. Duncan, do you know what it is?"
"No, my Lore fails me in this case. I'll hold onto it until we get back to Duvno
for proper identification."
"Let's see what's back here."
"Not a foul altar. Not yet at least."
"I agree. Looks like it has a private room over here."
"This dresser is empty. DAMNIT! Look around for a secret passage. There's no way
there's nothing here!"
"Oh, this is so trapped it's not even funny. Give me some time to take care of
this."
This trap can deal upwards of 30 damage to whoever is disarming it. I freely admit
to save-scumming here to avoid Duncan dying.
"And done! Now, let's see what we have here...."
"Oh, this looks interesting. Best keep it."
The Bronze Key here isn't an actual inventory item, but our first Key (pun not
intended) item in the game. We weren't told about it, nor do we know what it's used
for. But we have it because this game doesn't do stupid stuff like spawn in
important plot items only after we've been told about them by a quest giver.
"And this chest contains... Gold, a ceremonial stone weapon and what looks like
poison."
"I think that's enough. Let's get back to Captain Johnson and sort out what we want
to do next."
"DAMNATION! There's NOTHING HERE!"
"Calm down, Peregrine. We still have other possible leads."
"LIKE WHAT?"
"The Mage Tower. This also can't be the only place the Nephil have. There have to
be other locations we can search out. Hell, the Castle wants to hire professional
adventurers, and we can use that to get into places we wouldn't be able to
normally!"
"Peregrine. We need time to think. Let's go back to Duvno and report to Captain
Johnson. He may have another lead for us."
"FINE."
There's still more to the Nephil Fort, but I'm going to save that and the other
little bits I've missed in places for the next update. I'll also do some training
and update everyone as to people's stats next time.
I also apologize (rather belatedly) for the image sizes in this update. My new
method didn't work out so well, so I'm going to ditch it and go back to the old
method of manual screenshots for everything. Sorry for the inconvenience.
‹
Part #7
Part #9
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #8
Part #10
›
Return to LP Index
Part 9: Loose Ends and Stats (1)
To those reading the Archives, this update is going to be about finishing off the
last bits of the stuff I've missed over the past 6. There's little in the way of
narrative here, but I'll still have people talking over things rather than saying
"This and That" are "Here and There".
Enjoy!
"Come to papa!"
"You sure this is legit?"
"Of course I'm sure! I checked with some of the others, and it seems like this guy
up and left a while ago. Cleaned out and everything."
"So why are you trying to break and enter?"
"Practice."
"Oh, I wish Rook was here for this."
"What is he doing anyways?"
"He's over at the training hall with the others."
"Heh. Keeping them from killing each other?"
"You bet. How's it coming?"
"I thought you didn't want me to do this?"
"I don't. But if you're going to do it, then I want you to at least do it well."
"Interesting philosophy. Ah-ha!"
"You're right. It's dusty in here."
"Others have been in here before. Come on. The back wall is too far out to mesh
with the wall of the boat shop."
"Secret passage or hidey hole?"
"Now you're thinking!"
"Wouldn't it have been easier to simply, say, dig a hole under the floor?"
"Sometimes people ain't smart."
"Tight in here."
"You stand back. I see a tripwire ahead."
"Huh."
"Oh."
"Oh?"
"Ygh. Give me a moment. I'll cure this."
As you can see from the screen shot, Duncan failed disarming the trap, and poisoned
everyone in the party. What you don't see is me burning off a few SP to cure
everyone.
"Here, you take this. What with your crazy combat style."
"You sure it isn't cursed?"
"Hidden like this? I don't think so."
This is a Steel Short Sword. It's a better weapon than Rook's Iron Mace. It goes on
Art, and will stick with her until we get a second magic sword – the first is going
on Karmas.
"Pardon us ma'am. We've been authorized by the Mayor to investigate your concerns."
"Really? You'll take care of those noises?"
"Yes. Would you be so kind as to unlock this door for us?"

"Of course! Give me a moment to grab the key!"
Duncan picks the lock instead.
"What possible use could this passage have?"
"Loading or unloading the cows from boats straight into the pen without having to
walk them through town?"
"..."
"An answer I can find no immediate flaw with. I suppose even you can improve with
my presence."
"No, I asked the shopkeep!"
"I agree. Are you sure it's not you who has the benefit of her presence?"
"Huh. What's this?"
"TO ARMS!"
I am massively overpowered for this fight. Two Nephil and a Shaman aren't a
challenge at all; although they could be if you manage to get through that lock at
a lower level. Too bad they dropped no loot, and there's no change after beating
them. It's just a one-off event to show off that yes, the Nephil to raid cities as
well, rather than just being told about it.
"I think we should tell the Mayor about this...."
"Yes a very good idea."
"Damnation! I thought we were far enough back that they would focus on Duvno and
Exile first! Thank you. I'll step up the water patrols from now on."
And here is the complete map of Silvar with points of interest pointed out.
This encounter is along the south side of the spire/column that holds the Bandit
Fort.
Bronze Battle Axe. Less useful than Rook's current weapon.
The encounter changes to this if you come back after.
"I must confess some desire to see what lay behind this door."
This is the locked door in the Bandit Fort. There's another locked door leading
into the same building from the north side, but this side is faster to get at the
goodies.
"Oh my. Spirits unsent. Are they soldiers, or bandits?"
"How about we make them Twice-Dead?"
"A good idea. Sülh istirahət."
These Spirits are the first undead enemy in the game. They are a bit more powerful
than anything else in the Bandit Fort, but the party is overpowered for them as
well.
The only note-worth thing about this fight is if you look in the Logs. Peregrine
cast "Turn Undead", a Level 1 spell that did more damage than anything else he
could have cast. Hooray for specialized tools!
"It is done. Let us see what they guarded. Duncan, if you please?"
Gold and a minor poison. Nothing worth writing home about.
"Such a pity, they were bound to such things. Let us take our leave."
And here we have the final map of the Bandit Fort. We'll never come back here.
"Can someone tell me why we're back here?"
"Captain Johnson wanted us to check a couple things out. These locked doors for
one."
You see a man in tattered armour. He is clearly underfed, and has been beaten as
well.
"Oh thank the gods!"
"At ease soldier. You're safe now. We're the 1st EEC, and we've secured this fort.
What's your name?"
"I'm so glad to see you. I'm Daniel." He looks at the party "Secured? Just the six
of you? Where the rest of you?
"Just us! Cap'n Johnson thought a small elite group would do better than a large
overt assault. He was right!"
"What about you? How did you get to be here?"
"I was part of a group that raided these caves. We thought they didn't know we were
coming, but they must have seen us, 'cause they nailed us when we entered the main
cave. I don't know what happened to the others."
"Others?"
"There were about 20 of us. A bunch of them died in the ambush. Others hid in
tunnels. This place is riddled with hidden passages. Two of us were captured."
"Many of those bodies we found... Anyways, you're clear to go. We'll take you back
to Fort Duvno once we've finished clearing out the last corners. Stay here until we
come get you. If we're not back in an hour, try to escape on your own."
"Yes sir."
Actually, the tile with the door has a hidden 'NPC only' wall on it, much like
Secret Passages. Monsters and NPCs won't cross them, but the party can.
"Time for the other one."
"Ugh."
"He left a message."
"What are the Nephar?"

"No clue."
This little room is located along the north edge of the map. It's guarded by a
single Nephilim Warrior
"Last door."
"Blast!"
"Let me."
"Don't be jealous!"
"Loot!"
"yeesh, not much."
The Nephilim Fort. Undocumented in the centre Trash Pit is an encounter with an Asp
(can poison). Any section that seems disconnected from the rest of the map is
accessible by secret passage.
"Later."
"I remember people saying something about a cave up here!"
"Possibly recently used, by the looks of it. Did they mention what was in this
cave?"
"Bats!"
"Urgh! This is a tight passage!"

"Damn lucky I found those tracks!"
"Why are we doing this?"
"Check everything!"
* grumble *
50 food here. And it spawns in an encounter with some thugs. But because the party
is level 5ish, they all run away.
Interesting thing. The game discourages grinding by setting enemy encounters on the
world map to run away if you're too far above them. You'll see this occasionally in
the log where it will say "Combat: Monsters Fled"
"Well, what do you know. There is a cave up here."
"Woo!"
"Ember, you do not require guano to cast your Fireballs. That's a myth told by the
ignorant and uneducated."
"True, but it helps to have some."
"Is it just me, or is it warm in here?"
"Let's have a look."
I mentioned earlier how the game discourages grinding in the over-world? Well, it
does something different when dealing with encounters in a dungeon.
Art Assassinated this poor bat. Yet she doesn't have any of the skill! When the
level difference is high enough, the game will let this happen on occasion to help
make combat faster. It's a nice touch.
"This water is warm."
"What is that stench? Sulphur?"
"Yes. Hot springs nearby perhaps? Hot and humid would explain why there are so many
bats here."
"There's more heat coming through here. I don't know about you, but I could use a
good soak."
"You and me both."
I should note that there are three types of bats in this cave. Normal Bats for one.
Then Rabid Bats which can attack twice and cause poison. And a third type we'll see
in a couple moments. Oh, and you can't tell them apart by sight. You have to use
the 'look' command to differentiate between them at a distance.
"What."
"The."
"Fuck!"
"I honestly did not expect lava here."
Meet lava. Don't walk on it.
That happens.
"Bats that breathe fire? Curse you for bringing us all this way!"
Meet the third type of bat. The Fire spewing Lava Bat. We don't encounter them
often.
What's interesting to note is that if the party is hit by a magical attack, rather
than a physical one while out of combat mode, it can hit multiple people in the
party at once as you can see in the above picture.
Much Combat later....
"That was NOT worth the effort!"
"I don't know, there's that bridge over the lava to the south there. It seems to
lead into a cavern back there. The bridge looks constructed, not natural."
"huh."
"Yoink!"
"Seriously. Did you actually say that?"
"Yes! After fighting through all that, I deserve a little relief!"

Map of the Bat Cave. The altar with the loot is in the lower right. Expect a lot of
combat in this one, and only make your move after the Nephil Fort is cleared.
And here's the annotated map of the two sections of the map we've explored. Out of
42. The x.y notation is from the lower left corner. We're at the easternmost edge
of Exile, at the halfway point along the y (North-South) axis. Based on your votes,
Art and co will be going to 6.3 and 6.4 next.
Now, it's time for everyone's stats at long last!
Art is coming along nicely at this point. Her next few levels will be dedicated to
raising her Strength and Dex. She will also be needing more SP and levels in Priest
once we get past level 10.
Her equipment is decent. The Silver Ring and Silver Gauntlet (from the Bat Cave)
both raise her defence in lieu of a shield. Art's gimmick, so to speak, is that she
dual-wields swords. This build relies on massive offence from two strikes per
attack, and once blessed and hasted, becomes a whirlwind of death.
Oh, did I ever mention that dual wielding is only mentioned in the strategy guide
once, in the 'Wouldn't it be interesting?' section? Art is taking some accuracy
hits (when I get to Exile 2, where the exact percentages are shown, you'll see),
but that's what skill and buffing is for.
Karmas is much more protected. With a Helm and Shield he can take blows much better
than Art ever could. This game makes Shields very, very useful. The Fang Necklace
was pulled off the Nephil Shaman from the fort, and will occasionally Bless its
wearer.
Duncan has Traps and Lock-picking covered, so I'll spend a few skill points raising
Defence to make that Shield work better, and on Poison so he can start using that
better.
Rook is a ranged Karmas with Assassination in place of Poison. The Iron mace is the
most powerful weapon in our arsenal right now, with Art's Steel Short Sword coming
in a close second. The Bow was bought from Fort Duvno, while the arrows are there
for harassment.
I plan to drop a couple more points into Assassination over the next few levels
while keeping his combat stats up. Spare points go into Item Lore as it's a
communal pool there to ID items, rather than by person.
Peregrine, I'm sad to say, had money run out on him before I could finish levelling
him up. His equipment is bottom of the line, but then again, he should be throwing
spells, not darts (give those to Ember).
I need to dump a few points into Strength to start his natural HP gains going, as
well as keep increasing his SP. Mage lore isn't vital at the moment, but I will
want to get his basic spell levels up to 4 before we're done with Formello and the
Mage's Tower.
Duncan continues to be a utility player, his lock picking skill saving SP better
used for combat. His equipment is pure hand-me-downs, and will stay that way for a
while.
I'm going to eventually invest in Strength and Pole Arms for combat, but for now,
he can stay behind the lines. Traps also needs to be raised soon. Alchemy can wait.
Ember is pure magic offence. Her equipment is even more hand-me-down than Duncan's.
Her Int and SP need to be raised to match Peregrine's soon. After that, her Luck
will serve her in good stead, and I'll need to drop a point or two into Strength
for the HP gains.
‹
Part #8
Part #10
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #9
Part #11
›
Return to LP Index
Part 10: Update 008 – Cotra
Update 008 – Cotra
"Is everyone ready?"
"mrgl"
"I doubt she will ever be a 'morning' person."
"I've got my gear stowed, and provisions checked."
"I've got our path laid out for the most part. There's a road that leads along the
coast of the inland lake, and we'll reach Cotra where the next river flows into
it."
"I'm still amazed at the internal ecosystem that this cave has produced. I
wonder...?"
"Quick! Let's leave before he stops thinking and starts paying attention!"
"I am surprised there is no bridge here to bypass the inlet. It would shave many
miles off the journey."
"Where would they get the stone to reach over that? Most of Exile's building
materials are barely enough for their homes and cities, let alone having enough to
spare for a non-vital bridge."
"I see the logic in your statement, but it still galls me that such a project has
not yet been undertaken."
"You do realize that they barely have proper roads right? That all the 'roads'
we've been on so far are mostly just dirt paths with trees on the side. And we're
off the road."
"Still; it seems like I would like to talk with the high authority in this land
about their infrastructure issues."
"There may be extenuating circumstances. Like Nephilim attacks."
"Which we have curtailed for the time being. And improved civilian infrastructure
can be leveraged into greater strength for the nation as a whole."
"You realize you just recognized Exile as a legitimate nation, right?"
"Are they not one by default? The Empire has no claim down here, and we have seen
evidence of a larger political structure. Obviously they are organized with
internal divisions between military, civilian and magical lines. The people
recognize them as a legitimate authority and said authority does take action to
protect their charges. They meet all the basic criteria of government, and as such,
should be recognized as such."
"..."
"Did you want me to make it simpler for you?"
"Nah, they're just surprised that you know about such mundane things, that's all."
"And what would you have to say about such things, given your cultural background?"
"I would state that leaders can only be called leaders by the will of the people.
But the will, and the people, must be free. There must be the capacity for choice,
and there must be options to choose from. The notion of leadership can only extend
so far as those in whom are trusted that position can and have the ability to see
their choices through. You define government by its material examples; the
divisions and balance of powers between those who hold their positions by whatever
structure. I define it by the capacity to act. Leaders must lead, not be lead."
"Interesting. Please allow me some time to think of a properly structured counter-

argument."
"Kay!"
"Sign!"
"It must be longer than that due to the curves of the shoreline."
"Alright. Here we are. Contra."
"Cotra. There's no 'N' in there."
"What? Oh. Ok. Sorry. Cotra it is. As usual, we'll split up, look around, and meet
at the inn to compare notes."
"I have to say, the city is better fortified than the other places we've been.
Double walls, guard houses..."
"A more developed city, or at least more defended against outside attacks."
"..."
"Art?"
"As per the plan people. I think Art needs some alone time."
"..."
"..."
"Hello there, miss. Don't often get visitors over here."
An archer sits at the water's edge, looking out carefully. He's old and wrinkled,
but his eyes seem sharp.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there."
"Name's Elmer. And before you ask, I'm watching the water. The sliths occasionally
attack from the lake. It's dull, but I deserve a rest."
"You don't mind if I sit for a while?"
"Nope. You look like a girl with a lot on her mind, and that lot's gotta need
percolating."
"Thanks."
"Oh boy."
This is a statue of a bent old man. When you look at it closely, you see it is
looking back at you.
"I don't suppose you're the talking type?"
It just stares at Rook.
"I don't suppose you be telling me what you know?"
It smirks slightly. That is the only response you get.
"Right, note this down for Art when she's out of her funk."
"Makes sense, another place to buy boats. Man, I hope I don't have to fake that
accent this time."
* whistle *
"Hello there!"
You see a heavy man with a peg-leg. He wears an eyepatch, but you can't help but
notices he occasionally lifts it and looks at something with both eyes.
He makes a brief "Arr" noise. You aren't sure why. "Arr, matey I'm Eduardo. I'm the
master boatsmith here." He says "Arr" again.
"What is up with this guy? Um, boats?"
"I sell boats. Fine crafts, fit to sail the seas. Well, the lakes. I've got one
ready to purchase. You look tough enough to brave the danger, matey! And a bargain,
at 250 gold."
"Cheaper than the 350 in Silvar, that's for sure. Thank you, sir."
"And you are?"
You see a teenager. He's busy eagerly working on the boats.

It's annoying, seeing two guys exactly the same in close proximity to each other.
You never know who is who.
"I'm Andrew. I'm apprenticed to Eduardo."
"A good job."
"Just working on the boats. Spreading tar. Filling holes. Following Eduardo's
orders."
"How is it treating you?"
His eyes widen. "He's good to work for. Doesn't beat me, lets me sleep six hours a
night! Plus..." His voice lowers to a whisper. "I hear he was a pirate!"
"You may be right...."
"What's here...?"
"Hehehehe"
"Aww.. nothing."
"Hrm, I think we're good enough for now. But it won't hurt to check up on supplies
in case we need replacements."
You see a lethal looking woman in a leather baldric. Knives poke out from various
places on her anatomy.
"Greeting, shopkeep."
"I am Elspeth. Welcome to my humble shop." She grins in a reassuring, lamprey-like

way. "I deal in armor and weapons, and if you have any supplies you don't need, you
can sell them to me. What with the lizards around, business has been very, very
good."
"Ah, that's very convenient. I would hate to trudge all the way back to Duvno for
such things. If you don't mind, a question not related to your shop?"
"Sure."
"I am a new arrival, and I have heard much about these 'lizards', or 'sliths'. Yet
I have not heard much about them, if you understand my meaning?"
"The Slithzerikai. That's what they're called. They all live to the west, and
they've just started raiding and attacking. Like we didn't have enough trouble with
the Nephilim." She looks back at the wide variety of weapons on the walls. "Yes,
it's been a two front war. But we're holding them off pretty well. Better than
some."
"Yes, I have heard of the issues over at Duvno with the Brigands and Nephil. Ah,
speaking of, what is the difference between the Nephilim and Nepharim?
"Nephilim. And Nepharim. They're like Nephilim, but bigger, and sterile. Don't know
much about it, but that they're nasty. Captured a bunch of our people last week."
She sighs, then starts fingering a knife up her sleeve. "We'll pay them back. Mark
my words."
"I wish you well then. I must be off, and thank you once again for answering my
questions."
"No problem. We all got to stick together down here."
"Excellent. Pardon me?"
A wiry, nervous man sits behind the desk. He has long, frazzled hair and an
aggressive bald spot.
Future Exiles tend to have more NPC pictures, so you won't see duplication like
this in the future as much.
"I'm Paul. I'm the secretary to his lordship Mayor Steele. If you have some
business with him, you have to ask me. But he's pretty busy with this prisoner
business. You'd have better luck in the library."
"Ah, I was hoping you had a library. Where is it?"
"Door on your left. Not much there, mostly records." He chuckles. "But who knows.
There might be a magic scroll."
"I doubt that. You look like the kind of man to say such things to encourage the
unwary to read."
Here's a hint to remind people to search everything. Finding scrolls in shelves is

possible. Just not here in Cotra.
"Now, about the Mayor?
"Normally he loves to see people. But, the nepharim to the north are holding some
of our men prisoner. I'd only bother him if it's really, really important. He's
only been thinking about the prisoners."
"Thank you for your time."

A gray haired man hunches over a desk, muttering to himself. He wears impeccably
clean silk robes.
"Pardon me, Mayor Steele?"
"Huh?" He looks up at you briefly. "Why did Paul let you in here? Go away."
"Your honour, I am with the First..."
"What? Look, I'm very busy. Unless you have something important to say, please go
away."
"Why can't things ever be simple? You honor, about those prisoners?"
"Ah. You've heard. Yes. The Nepharim captured a half dozen of our troops in an
ambush last week and took them to their fort by the lake to the north. If someone
could rescue them and report back to me, I'd reward them generously."
"I think that will do nicely. By your leave."
"Deeds, not words!"
"You ready to talk now?"
"A little. Sorry for taking up your time like this."
"Don't worry, girl. I'm old, but I'm still sly. What's ailing you?"
"I'm new here. Should be obvious." She displays the still-pinkish tone to her arms.
"and now I'm lost. I mean. I know why I'm here. I know what I want to do. But it's
just... I'm trying something and I realized I'm in way over my head."
"Are you now? What are you trying?"
"Escape."
He scratches his chin, thinking. "That's quite audacious. Most folks take the
chance Exile gives them to create a new life for themselves."
"I can't stand that. What was done was wrong. Exile itself is wrong. I have to get
out!"
"I can see that. But that's a worthwhile goal, I'll tell you. What makes you think
you're alone in this?"
"I'm not! But I feel like I'm tricking those around me. Like I'm giving them some
sort of false hope, or a goal that's something they can never achieve."
"Are you lying to them?"

"No! Well, I mean, I'm not..."
"You ever lead people before?"
"No...?"
"Let an old soldier give you some advice then. If you'll listen."
"Sure."
"When people follow you, it's because they believe in you. It's because they've put
their trust in you. You may wind up lying to them, you may wind up hurting them.
But when they give themselves into your care, it's the trust they have in you and
your ideals, your goals. But you have to trust them in return. Those at your back,
you have to believe in them as much as they believe in you. They may not agree with
you in all things; that's impossible. But trust is the key.
"Oh, listen to an old man rambling. Sorry, but it's not often I get to talk like
that."
"No, it's alright. I think I've taken too much of your time already."
"Be that as it may, I wish you luck. But I'll tell you this. Even if you do find a
way out of Exile, not everyone will want to go. A great many people are happier now
than they were back on the surface. And me? Well, I'm too old for that sort of
thing. So if you're the kind of person who would like to do things for the good of
everyone, you need to know that sooner, rather than later."
"Thanks. Goodbye."
"Bye."
He also gives some advice about sticking to the side passages when attacking the
Nephil Fort with the Prisoners that I haven't gotten to yet, but I couldn't work
that into the narrative.
"Oh, damn. Didn't mean to wander this far. I'm so out of it. Need a good night's
sleep."
A young woman wanders around, preoccupied. She wear a bright green dress, and is in
quite a good mood.
"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there. Art."
"I'm Nance. Yes, it is short for Nancy. No, I don't like being called that."
"Hey Nance. So, what do you do around here?"
"Normally, I trade off days with Elspeth. We own the weapon shop together. This is
my day off."
"Nice. She your sister?"
Nance smiles shyly. "She's my, umm... my friend." She puts heavy inflection on the
word friend, then watches your reaction.
I was 13 in 1995, when this game was released.
"Friends are nice to have. Have you known each other long?"
"Yes. My very, very close friend. I don't know what the Empire's reason for sending
you into Exile was, but you're getting pretty close to mine." For a moment her
cheery mood breaks, and her eyes show a cold glint of fury.
I repeat: 1995. And this went so far over my head it took coming back to this LP to
make me see what was being advertised here. Kudos to Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb
Software for this.
"Ah. Ah! Well, have a nice day. Where's the inn anyways? I'm supposed to meet up
with my party there."
"There's the Darklake tavern over by the docks. Closest thing we got."
"Thanks!"
"This isn't a tavern."
There is a pregnant woman with long, blonde hair behind the counter.
"Oh, hey. Name's Art."
"My name is Jenny. Welcome to my store."
"Neat. I didn't see a sign out front. What do you sell here?"
"I brew a wide variety of different potions. I am an alchemist by trade."
"What do you specialize in?"
"For healing, for the curing of poison." She smiles down at her large stomach. "For
the easing of pain. Let me know if you want to buy something."
"Maybe later. Say, you wouldn’t happen to know any recipes? I know one of my guys
is looking into alchemy for research and things."
She smiles apologetically. "I'm afraid I don't sell my secrets. However, there is a
mage visiting who mentioned some having some skill in alchemy. He's been staying
around the bar. You might ask him."
"Thanks. I'll look for him."

"Boy or girl?"
"Don't know!"
"Well, I hope it's a good delivery. I know mine wasn't that easy."
"Thank you!"
Jenny's our first real potion shop, and as such, she's not that well stocked.
Healing restores HP, Curing cure poison, Strength acts like the "Strength" spell,
and blesses the drinker for a short time.
"Looks like I'm first."
"Don't mind me. There's just not a lot of seating. I'm Rook."
"I am called Konig."
"My name? Just call me Asp."
"Nice to meet you both. How's the ale?"
"Passable."
"Oh, sound's fun. Watered down that much?"
"Yep."
"Ouch. Well, might as well get something while I wait."
"So, news?"
"Much like the issue at Duvno, there appears to be a second Nephil fort to the
north. This one, however, has facilities for a more... active prisoner population.
I would propose mounting another raid on there as it seems to be a complete
fortification. Therefore is should have the information that the other facility
lacked."
"Huh, never thought you to be the type for that."

"There is also the issue that the Mayor has posted an open reward to whomever
releases the prisoners. I suspect we will need proper political backing for the
Committee at some point, and so this seems like a good start."
"Sounds good to me! Having a politician in your pocket is always a good thing."
"I wouldn't know. But I like the idea. Objections?"
"None from me. I did acquire more information about these ' Nepharim' that the dead
soldier's message was about. It seems that they are some sort of variant of the
normal Nephilim that is stronger and tougher, yet apparently sterile. Don't ask how
my source has that particular piece of information."
"Like a mule?"
"The analogy may be apt."
"So, another raid. Rescue prisoners, get political clout, use clout to forward our
goals?"
"Sounds like a plan. Everyone ready?"
And here's the map of Cotra!
‹
Part #9
Part #11
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #10
Part #12
›
Return to LP Index
Part 11: Update 009 – Nephar Fort
Update 009 – Nephar Fort
"I think I know where this is going, but is everyone ready?"
"rmglt"
"I suspect she does that deliberately."
"I suspect she is simply not a 'morning' person."
"Well, we follow the river north. And work from there."

"That's almost... picturesque."
"I have to agree. But now I wonder – does the water come from above, draining out
of some body of water on the surface, or is is raised from some underground aquifer
through geothermal convection."
"An astute question. If it's the former, it may be possible to force one’s way up
through the water. But such an undertaking would be quite resource intensive; not
to mention the possibility of the reservoir of water above us not being directly
connected to the surface."
"You walking about the Verne Explorations?"
"I thought they used dead volcanoes? And they came no where near these caves, that
some later expedition found them?"
"Maybe. The Verne Expedition did report large sections of underground ecology based
around large bodies of water."
"They also said they discovered flying lizards and giant mushrooms and everything
else. You know, I think they were just making stuff up to appease their sponsors."
"You doubt the validity of their statements? They were honoured professionals."
"Do you get any of this?"
"It keeps them from complaining about stupid things, and this is constructive
banter."
"There are NO DRAGONS!"
"I'm not saying that they were. Just because they used the terms does not discount
the possibility that they were in error, and what they saw at a distance appeared
to be flying lizards."
"I got to agree here. Dragons were hunted to extinction due to how dangerous they
were. One of the few policies of the Empire that everyone actually agreed with. If
the Verne Expedition had encountered such creatures and lived to tell the tale,
then the Empire would have mounted a proper army to kill the damned things. Hell,
Garzahd himself would have led it."
"Can you please not mention him? Freak makes me shiver, and not in a good way."
"Could be worse. I've actually seen Hawthrone face to face."
"Which one? Second or third?"
"Both actually."
"I don't believe you."
"What, you thought that crowd of his adoring populace was there because they wanted
to be?"
"Do I really want to know?"
"Your choice."
"Yet explain that doesn't explain the loss of the First Expedition!"
"They were sent in a time when the Empire was at peace! There was no context for
their actions!"
"But have you heard the rumours about what they brought down here with them?"
"They brought an army with them! You can't just hide that sort of deployment."
"So maybe they did find a Dragon!"
"Um, were we supposed to circle around here like this?"
"I hear something..."
"As do I."
"That humming?"
"You are our magic users. You tell us."
"There's something back here...."
"I find out who vandalized this, there will be BLOOD."
"AGREED."
"Hey, explanation for those of us without magic?"
"See those broken crystals?"
"Yes."
"Some idiot came here, broke them without knowing what was going on, and now this
entire place.... It isn't... isn't... It's.... come on, help me out here guys!"
"It is not whole."
"It's a festering wound, full of maggots and bile. We need to get out of here
before I get sick."
"A nexus of magical energy, enough to upset half our party through its damage?
Would it be possible to repair it?"
"Not without the pieces that have been broken off."

"You think finding them would be a good idea?"
"YES"
"And here we are. Remember people, apparently sneaking in the front door is bad. So
let's go look for side passages, OK?"
"And it's dark. Of course it would be dark. Why would the Nephil need bright
torches when they can apparently see in the dark?"
"That sounded almost sarcastic."
"Happy now?"
"You mean the part where everyone can see us coming?"
"All the better to aim with!"
"Secret side passages please?"
"Thank you."
"You know, it's actually very quiet back here. You think they're preparing to
spring a trap on us?"
"Probably. I mean, unless they knew it was you coming, in which case they may let
us have the honour."
* snerk *
"Give it a rest you two. Although I have to wonder – what's up with Nephil forts
and side passages? You'd think they'd seal them off or something."
"Fire escapes?"
"You really think that of all reasons we could have, the fire code is applicable?"
"Just throwing something out."
"What do you think our luck is like, that all the prisoners are in there?"
* knock * "Hey! Anyone in there?"
"SIGN!"
"Can anyone translate that? Duncan? Peregrine?"
"Nope."
"Something tells me we shouldn't open that."
"You mean that feeling of utter dread? I concur."
This door refused every attempt I made to open it. My notes don't go ahead far
enough at this time to indicate if this is a plot-door or not, so I'm just going to
leave it lay for now. If anyone in the thread cracked it open without a plot
device, just say so and I'll come back here during cleanup.
"Let's just leave it. If it's important, we know we can sneak our way back in."
"Back entrance. They do know about these caverns, but they have chosen not to
expand into them, or secure them or otherwise seal them off?"
"I'm thinking escape route now."
"I agree. We may be able to use this if we can sneak the Prisoners out the back
way."
"I agree with that."
"We may have to have a fighting retreat though. I doubt the kitties will be nice at
all."
"One problem guys."
"Yes?"
"Gate's closed."
"..."
"Once you've done realizing the obvious, how about we keep poking around to see of
there's another hidden entrance, or something."
"Hello?"
"Holy Gods, what the hells?"
"Calm down. We're human."
You see a thin man in ratty clothes. He lowers his sword when he gets a closer look
at you.
"No offence, but I think Peregrine could take you in a slap fight. What's your
name?"
"I'm Gordon. It's good to see you."
"While I would normally do something unspeakable to you for insinuating I would

ever get involved in a physical confrontation, I have to agree with the assessment
in general." He turned to look at Gordon. "You don't look like a soldier."
"I was a soldier in the Cotra militia. Then a bunch of us got captured. I got away,
and've been trying to figure out how to rescue the others before the kitties finish
them off."
"What have you learned in your plans for a rescue then?"
"The kitties won't keep them around for long. I know where they are, but there's
that stupid portcullis, and the guards too."
"We saw the portcullis."
"You did, huh? I thought you may have come up my side of the fort, not the far
side. Means you went past the crypt. Alright, the others are being held in the
building just across from the gate." He pauses to think. "Just get those gates
open, and we can make our escape."
"What about the guards?"
"Lots of 'em. Mostly around the front gate, a few in the big open area, not many
around the prisoners. The problem is getting to them. I found a hidden tunnel,
but..." He sighs. "They're always watching. It's near here, but they usually keep a
guard stationed near there, on the other side. It'd be great if there was another,
but if there is I haven't found it yet. Oh, be careful around that crypt."
"You've mentioned it before. You mean the place with the malachite writing on it?
That's the crypt?"
"Yeah. I don't know what's in there, but the kitties seem afraid of it. I get a bad
feeling about it, if you catch my drift."
"Understood. We'll see about making that rescue now."

"Let's finish off the survey of the caves around the fort before we try to get in."
"Agreed."
"Oh no you're not..."
"Why must we investigate every trash pit we come across?"
"You have no idea how much stuff of value gets thrown out, do you?"
"Like rats?"
Meet Vapour Rats. They breathe on you to curse you, but otherwise aren't that
dangerous. Except in packs. Then they'll do mean and nasty things to you.
"This appears to be that passage Gordon was talking about. Shall we?"
"No guards yet. Good start."
"Better check everything out. Don't want surprises leaping up at us."
"SHIT!"
Yet another example of hiding monsters behind a locked door. Thankfully, they don't
respawn. And I'm tough enough to handle them for the most part. And then I walk
around the corner into the main part of the Fort, and walk into THIS.
"Oh shit."
The Nephar fort is a major step up in difficulty, not only because of the quality
of the enemies, but also because of the quantity. If you look at the log carefully,
you'll see that Art has already killed one Shaman, but there are still two on the
screen. In addition, they are capable of casting Level four spells (Group Slow) and
other mean and nasty things.
They are also quite capable of friendly fire if it means dealing damage to the
party.
But while there are a great many foes, the real problem is the spawn rate. This
dungeon has an absurdly high rate of enemy spawns, and as will spawn anything up to
and including Shamans randomly. You can't let your guard down at all, ever.
"In here!"
"I don't see any more!"
"That was most unpleasant."
"Well, I think this is where the Shaman's came from. Let's see here...."
"I wonder....?"
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT TOUCH THIS. Taking that goblet summons forth a Haakai.
What's one of those, you ask? It's the name the game uses for top-tier, boss-scale
demonic enemies. I don't even want to think about taking one on by itself before
I'm level 30. A Haakai Lord? Level 40 at least.
I'm level 7/6 at this point.
So naturally, I touched it.
It then, before I had a chance to enter combat mode, Flame Striked twice, wiping
the party.
I had to go back to my last save. Back in Cotra at the start of the update.
Remember people – save often!
"Nah. I can feel the evil coming off this thing."
"Art! We will need you, there is a second wave massing to attack. I think this one
has the leader of the fort as well. If the size of the Nephar is any indication."
"Coming!"
Building a defending a choke point is a vital skill in this game. It will allow you
to control the flow of combat by limiting the number of enemies that can see you at
any time, as well as protecting the weaker members of your party.
In this screen shot, you see me in my setup dealing with about 15 more enemies. Art
and Karmas are beside the door – which cannot be seen through, preventing archers
and shamans from attacking through, and they can only come in one enemy at a time.
Art and Karmas are blessed - and hasted when they can, and set to make attacks of
opportunity for when someone walks through the door. Rook is a backup melee, but
he'll be shooting arrows into foes. Peregrine and Ember offer support spells and
direct damage against more powerful foes like this Nephar Chieftain. Duncan is
useless. He's been collecting Darts as they drop, but can't hit anything.
Eventually, the enemies stop pouring in and I can move on to actually freeing the
prisoners.
"You lot keep an eye out while I work my way down this trap-filled corridor."
Be careful. These traps are multi-hit, and affect the entire party. If you get a
bad result, several party members are dead.
"Doesn't look magical. Maybe ceremonial? But it's too big, so it may have been off
one of the soldiers? Keep it for now. Let's see what's in that chest."
"Not much. Scroll is nice. Give that to Peregrine. Poison I'll keep onto until we
get it properly identified."
"Clear. Not much in the way of a haul. Now, I thin we're pretty close to that back
gate. Perhaps we should see if there's a switch nearby?"
"This looks promising."
"I wanna pull it!"
"Go ahead."
* pull *
"I heard those gate open. As long as the Nephar don't reset the level, we should be
able to evacuate everyone."
"Then let us secure the prisoners."
"Gordon said they were being held in the building just across from the gate. I see
a door over there..."
"Never took these Kitties to be the kind to do paperwork."

"Damn! There's nothing in here!"
"Let's get those prisoners first. We can scour the Fort later."
"Duncan is correct. We must help the soldiers first, and can investigate at our
leisure later."
"Fine."
"SIGN!"
"Is she ever going to stop?"
"This looks like it. Duncan? Door."
"Done."
"We have a choice here."
"Yes?"
"We can either stay here and provide a distraction as Gordon and his fellows
escape, or we could follow them, and escort them back to the safety of Cotra.
"I think we should head back. Rest up, come back later. And avoid being caught in
the same trap that we inflicted on the kitties?"
"It is our moral obligation to make sure our rescuees stay rescued."
"Fine!"
Not shown: Wading through a small army of random spawns. I thought it would make
for an interesting narrative – having the party fight a desperate rear-action out
of the dungeon, but I just couldn't make it work. I'll make it work eventually!
In the meantime, have a map of the Nephar Fort.
"You rescued them!"
"You sound surprised."
"But there's only six of you! I never expected anything to come of it! Worse, that
I thought you would head off to your deaths!" He reaches into his desk and pulls
out a bag, which he tosses at Peregrine. "Here is your promised reward! I must go
attend to things personally for a while. Thank you again, you have the gratitude of
all Cotra!" He leaves.
"What's in here?"
"..."
"500 GOLD? That's IT? NOTHING OF VALUE?!?!"
"Our reward was more moral than material, I think."
"SHUT UP!"
"Hey, Pere? Before you light everything on fire, just remember that Mayor Steele
left you alone in his office. With all the books, and records and everything.
There's a difference between official and unofficial rewards, you know."
"..."
"Leave me. I will be... busy for some time."

‹
Part #10
Part #12
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #11
Part #13
›
Return to LP Index
Part 12: Update 010 – Fort Dranlon and Exploration
Update 10 – Fort Dranlon and Exploration
"BEER!"
"Don't be so quick to drink your sorrows away. We can fix it."
"At least Art didn't get the full brunt of it though. Her magic is more divine than
arcane."
“As a thamatagure, I was especially susceptible to the effects of the broken

crystals.”
“Barkeep! A double for my friend here!”
“Are you talking about the Crystal Cavern?”
“Yes. Been there?”
“I've been looking for it!”

“Don't. Some idiot broke it.”
“WHAT? But it's supposed to have healing properties by being a major Lux Line!”
“Some muggle went and broke some of them an took the crystal shards. It's broken.”
“what”
“Here, I'll tell you where it's at. Be mindful of the headaches. You'll see what
pieces are missing. You find any of them, tell us. We're going to be looking a bit
farther abroad.”
“Of course.”
“Hey guys, we're headed out. Apparently Duncan found some stuff that should help us
out, but we need to head north-west to another Fort. Dranlon, or something like
that.”
“Thank you for the information, I'll have a look as well. Do let me know if you
recover any of the missing pieces.”
“Of course.”
“I for one think this place would be good for acquiring alchemy reagents. A large
marsh like this would create all sorts of herbs.”
“Which would also require us walking through the marsh. I for one have no desire to
do that.”
“Oh, how bad can it be?”
:blarg:
“I hope these were worth it!”
This location gives the first refreshing encounter in the game. Namely, this is a
location were we can acquire alchemy ingredients, and the encounter will 'reset'
after a certain period of time.
Toadstools are used to make Minor Poisons, the recipe for which is found back at
Fort Duvno.
Also, welcome to Marshes! You're going to hate them with a passion by the time the
game is done. Walking through them comes with a high chance of getting poisoned,
which can be extremely aggravating for larger marshes. There are a couple items to
help alleviate that, one of which is a plot-level item.
Pay no attention to the log. Nothing to see there. Go about your normal LP
business!
“What are those?”
“Hostiles!”
Meet the Slithzerikai. Whose basic random encounter consists of general Slith's,
Slith Warriors and Slith priests. In multiples. They are a major step up from the
Nephilim I've been fighting so far, and even a random encounter like this can
strain my resources.
We'll learn more about them in the mid-game.
“Oh gods, they are tough. What sort of species are they?”
“Lizard Men. Quite strong. And their spellcasters are quite powerful as well.”
“So, these are the Sliths that people keep talking about?”
“I would say so. We need to be on our guard in this region then.”
And in response, the game also ups the size of encounters with the Nephil in this
region.
“We're a bit east of the Underground Fort, aren't we?”
“Indeed. I suspect that this was the battle that resulted in the captives we freed
earlier.”
“And there's nothing else left here. Let's move on.”
“I could use a drink!”
“I agree. A quick stop for supplies would be a good idea.”

Another fixed encounter.
This happens every so often – two sets of random encounters at the same time. In
this case, one of Sliths and one of Bandits.
“huh. Subcaves.”
“I was told that a lot of Exile is more like these; smaller ones only a mile or two
wide, or even smaller. Larger caves like the one behind us are the exception.”
“You're right about them being much smaller.”
“This camp is quite dead and cold. It could have been here months ago.”
“What about this one?”
“Far more recent.”
“To arms!”
This is a very tough battle. No mooks here, just Warriors, Priests and Mages. They
will cast Curse All, Slow All, Fireball... and honestly not an easy fight at all.
Oh wait, no. The fixed encounter was easy.
This is a random encounter that I didn't see coming due to the curves of the caves.
“SIGN!”
“I thought you said we were going North West, Duncan?”

“We are, but we can't go the direct route over-land.”
“This is still a massive lake. And it must have some sort of heat source under it.
You can see fog and clouds coming off it!”
“And more besides.”
“YOO-HOO!”
“They're quite some ways away. I doubt they can hear us. We were lucky to spot them
at all.”
“SI..!”
“Yes, yes, we know. Sign.”
“sign”
“That wasn't so bad now, was it?”
“Aside from the half-dozen life-or-death encounters? No. Not really.”
“What the heck? What's up with this Fort?”
“It looks like someone has been repairing the fort through the use of magic. The
effort required must have been immense!”
“I'm not a barrier kind of gal.”

“How do we get in?”
Just tell the truth.
“I'm Art. This is Rook, Duncan, Ember, Peregrine IV and Karmas. We're the First
Exile Escape Committee and we're in response to... Duncan, you had all the
information?”
“We are here to acquire resources and information in line with our mandate, and had
received word that Mairwen had commissioned a certain work in exchange for
assistance both materiel and magical.”
“Thank you.”
“Stick together. As a group, you won't be as suspicious. Sorry, but things are
tense as of late.”
“Of course.”
“This is a pure military installation. Of what help would they need from us?”
“Who knows? And how is this helping, Duncan?”
“I have my goals in mind. For now, let's go find Mairwen.”
“Excuse me?”
A heavy set woman with blue robes and a staff watches the river carefully. She has
a serious expression and short brown hair.
She whispers "Shh. I'm Sianonn. Be quiet. I have to listen."
“For what?”
“Watching for sliths. Be very quiet."
“I think there's a joke about a rabbit in there somewhere, but I'm not sure I want
to go there.”
"We have to keep the dock here to get supplies by boat. But the sliths approach
underwater. Usually I only hear the littlest noise before they come up. Shhh."
“We should let her be.”
“Hello there. The First Exile Escape Committee, I presume?”

“Oh gods, you've heard of us.”
A man in a heavy breastplate sits and nervously shuffles papers. “A little bit. I
heard about your raid on the two Kitty forts. Good job in releasing those
prisoners. Mayor Steele sent some messengers out to let other leaders know you were
trustworthy. Oh, where are my manners. Welcome to Fort Dranlon. I'm Captain Rosie.
I look after this fort. This is the front against the Slith menace, the first line
of defense."
“We encountered a few bands on our way here. Very tough fighters.”
"The Slithzerikai. Nasty warriors. Powerful mages. They batter the walls with
fireballs, trying to knock them down. Fortunately, we have a mage to repair them."
He grunts. "If only we knew what they were planning."
“Yes, we're looking for Mairwen the mage.”
"Good woman, Mairwen. She fills the holes with magic barriers. Weren't for her,
this fort would have fallen long ago. Her office is in the centre of town."
“What's this about knowing the Slith's plans?”
"We have spies, but they've done little good. If you ever find any evidence of what
the Slithzerikai are up to, bring it here. I'll reward you well."
“We'll add it to the list of things to do.”
“Thank you. I best not take up any more of your time. Reports to fill out, supplies
to requisition. That sort of thing.”
“Do... do... do we have a reputation now?”
“The start of one, I'm sure.”
“It will be useful in opening doors otherwise closed to us. Otherwise I would
object to all this.... adventuring.”
A young man in white armor with an ankh design on the chest greets you. He has a
fresh scar on his forehead.
"I'm Toddric." He smiles, then winces. Apparently, the scar still smarts.
“Art. You alright?”
"Well, I provide healing for the soldiers of the fort, and passers-by. I also
occasionally help in the fighting." He touches the scar gingerly. “I wasn't so
quick to help myself though.”
“Not that good at fighting?”
"I'm afraid so. I'm not too good at it. Not too long ago, a slith swung one of
those nasty two-prong spears at me, and I didn't duck quite fast enough. Tell the
truth, I'd rather be in a nice quiet chapel somewhere. Or travelling."
“Travel? To where?”
"I love to travel. I've even been to the north. There's a huge cave up there. It's
dangerous to go to, because of the spiders, but the sights are wonderful. My main
goal is to see the crystal cave."
“...”
"I've only heard of it. Around here there's supposed to be this really hard to find
cave, just filled with these humming quartz crystals. I've heard it's damaged, and
not what it once was, but it's still a sight."
“Thanks for your time.”
“This looks to be the place.”
You see a short woman with long, curly brown hair and a very broad smile.
"Hi there! I'm Mairwen the mage!" (pronounced Mire-wen) "Welcome to my little
home."
The pronunciation is actually part of the dialogue. I think it's supposed to be

Irish or Welsh in style, but I'm not sure. I'm sure a Goon will say something in
time for when I come back here.
“Hello.” He introduces the party. “Before we get down to business, can I ask what
you do around here?”
"Working with the army, I suppose. Getting to see lots of sliths, really close up."
“The Sliths? I would suspect you stay behind the front lines.”
""I lend them a fireball here, a haste spell there. At least that's what I do some
of the time. Most of the time, I put up magic barriers.” She switched track. “Yep.
They have really admirable mages. You know, I've heard a prisoner talk about an
amazing tome they own."
“Your barriers are well built.”
"Yeah. You see, the sliths have a lot of mages. They've been hitting the wall with
spells, trying to knock it down. I fill the holes with barriers. Then, when need
be, I dispel them."
“Dispel magic?” His eyes lit up like diamonds at the thought of such power at his
command.
"Us mages are supposed to teach Dispel Barrier to as few people as possible. Mage's
secret and all. But I want that slith magic tome - it would be a great help to know
their secrets. Bring it to me, and I will teach you the spell."
“Tell us more about the tome.”

“A prisoner told me, swore up and down, that their mages have this powerful tome in
their fort nearby, in the swamp. I wish I could meet someone who could steal it."
“I suppose I may know a thief who could possibly muddle his way through...”
: Fort Dranlon Map:
The rest of this cave:
VOTE TIME!
We're not going to go attacking the Slith Fort. That's suicide at this point, but
we will need to later as Dispel Barrier will be vital to our quests.. So, shall I
head North to help out Formello, or head south towards a new city and the Mage's
tower? We'll have to do both, but I should tell you that Tier Four Priest spells
are in Formello, while Tier 4 Mage spells are in the tower.
Vote goes on until Monday evening!

‹
Part #11
Part #13
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by berryjon
‹
Part #12
Part #14
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Part 13: Update 011 – To the Mage's Tower
Update 11 – To the Mage's Tower
As per the voting in the thread, we are going to be headed down to the Mage's Tower
this update.
A word to those of you playing at home. This is a mistake. The flow of the story
(and other things) intends for you to go north to Formello after dealing with
things in Cotra. But the thread has spoken, so it's south I go!
“You know, I don't think we actually read this sign. We just usually bypassed it.”
“Well, here is your chance.”

“Whew. A few hundred miles to get to the Castle, the centre of leadership in Exile?
Man, I hope that's not straight distance.”
“I have this suspicion that we will eventually go there.”
“Best that we get new shoes before then.”
“What about this Mertis? I haven't heard it mentioned before, and it seems pretty
close.”
“We will probably encounter it on our way to the Mage's Tower. Perhaps it is a sort
of travellers stop, based on distance?”
“Sounds reasonable.”
“Well, let's go.”
“Sign!”
“Is it just me, or is this cave getting cooler?”
“I suspect that since we are away from the water and the geo-thermal vents that
keep that ecosystem in motion, the more stagnant portions of Exile will have less
moisture and less ambient heat, creating the illusion of chill, even though the
local temperature hasn't dropped that much.”
“How the hell did you find the time to study underground weather patterns what with
everything else that's going on?”
“Unlike some, I am fully capable of multitasking. Such as thinking and walking at

the same time.”
“Karmas, betcha he didn't actually figure that out himself, but read it in one of
the books in Corta or Silvar.”
“While I would appreciate a good gamble, I suspect this is not the case. I will
have to decline.”
“Don't tell me you have some dice on you?”
“No, sadly. I'm more of a Cards man myself. More personal skill.”
“Honeycomb? There are bees down here?”
“I doubt it.”
“Honey would be quite the luxury, if available at all.”
“Now there's a thought! When we get out, we take the path and use it to import
luxury items.”
“That would be profitable. Though full of risk.”
“Can we save the smuggling plans for after we've gotten out?”
“I have to agree with Art. It would be premature to assume we would have full
control over our egress route.”
“By the curve of the cave, I think we have to go East now.”
“COW!”
“Farmland. Based around the lake. I suspect there is another lava vent underneath
the lake.”
“And I see what looks like a small town on the other side. Come, let us be off.”
“No walls. Must be a very secure location if they can afford not to have any.”
“A farming town, then. Walls would only interfere with business.” He looks around,
as though measuring the flow of the crowds. “Storehouses to the North West, I have
been in places like this before. I doubt we will find much in the way of resources
for us, save rations for the journey.”
“Still wouldn't hurt to look around.”
“Get to it people.”
“Any particular reason why we have to break into a storehouse?”
“To kill these rats?”
Giant Rats in a grain house. Typical. And pretty easy aside from the tight
quarters.
“At least this one has no vermin.”
“Oooh, food.”
“It's pretty crowded in here. Split up and talk to people!”
“Hey!”
You see a stout, striking woman sitting at the bar. She's carrying, amazingly
enough, a guitar. She looks at you as if you're nothing special.
"I'm Gypsy."
“What do you do around here?”
She doesn't say anything. She simply starts playing. A truly stunning torrent of
song pours forth from her guitar. Then she pats it lovingly and looks back up at
you.
“That's a beautiful guitar you have there. Where did you get it?”
She seems pleased you noticed. "I made it. Only instrument of its kind down here.
Took me a year. Would have been worth ten years. And now, I'm a minstrel."
“You realize you could make a lot of money selling those, right? I mean, more than
being a Minstral ever could.”
"Well, I travel from town to town. That's not so hard, as there aren't too many of
them. I'm on my way to play for Motrax now. That'll be a first."
“Motrax? Who is that? The King?”
“Micah? No. He's a dragon. Lives to the north, far to the north. And he likes
humans. I'm looking to see what he would give someone who showed him what human
music was like. Plus, I've never played for a dragon before. I bet nobody has. It
would be a first!"
“bwah?”
"You know, I hear a dragon lives in the honeycomb. But I prefer an audience I know
is friendly."
“That's not possible! The Dragons are all dead!”
She looks Ember up and down. “New arrival, huh? Well, the answer is no. Dragons
aren't extinct. They are rare though, I only know of Motrax. As I said, there may
be one over in the Honeycomb, but I wouldn't go in there by myself.”
“bwah?”
“AARRTTT! Help!”
“Good day to you.”
“Hello there.”
“Peregrine the Fourth. Freelance Thaumaturge.”
“A very big title. What do you want?”
“I'm a recent arrival here in Exile, and I was looking for the Mage's Tower for
research purposes. It is south of here, correct?”
“You're doing research too? What kind?”
“Teleportation and Portal creation. You?”
"Research. I'm going to the library at Formello, to learn how to make a special
sort of crystal."
“Crystals?”
"A piercing crystal, it's called. A long, thin blue crystal. You throw it at a
magic barrier, and it dispels the field! I'm going to try to make one. A crystal, I
mean, not a barrier."
“Are you sure that's such a good idea? The magic of Dispel Barrier is a proprietary
knowledge in the Tower from what I've been told. Crafting items able to replicate
that spell would make breaching barriers a more common event, and a major security
hassle.”
“It's not like I'm going to sell them! No, I need to do it in order to move up from
Apprentice to Journeyman. Or at least make the attempt and document it well.”
“Ah, a much more reasonable plan. You must be careful about the creation of
expendable or even refreshable items with spells in them. Healing isn't so much of
a problem but...”
“I understand, sir. I suppose I won't have too many marks deducted for even talking
about it?”
“I don't think you'll have to worry about me in that regard. Just be more careful
in the future and know who to trust.”
“i günah üçün məni bağışla"
"I am Esther. Welcome to this tiny island of peace."
You see a noble-looking woman in long, flowing robes. She wears a wooden ankh.
((I'm confused. I know I've mentioned this game was heavily inspired by Ultima, but
this mention of the Ankh continues to confound me, in addition to the other times
it shows up. Like every time we see a 'good' altar. It's an Egyptian symbol meaning
'Eternal Life' or thereabouts, so I'm wondering if this was a case of parallel
thoughts leading to the same symbol used in religious connotations without
offending people, or a deliberate shoutout? I'm interested in hearing your thoughts
on the matter.))
"I am Karmas. Forgive me, but it has been a while since I had a chance to pray
propery, even if it not in a place of my own faith."
"Of course, I understand completely. So few places to rest ones soul in this
endless exile we find ourselves in. Take what time you need."
"If you do not mind, may I ask what you are doing here? This town does not
seem...." He lets his question trail off.
"Serving this village as best I can. I provide much more healing than I should have
to. I have helped fight the undead on occasion as well. I wish I could rely on
goodness more and spells less."
"The undead?"
"They appear in the Grim Cavern, and come out to raise havoc. We really don't know
what makes them appear. They aren't a terrible threat anymore, but once they were a
horror to behold."
"Thank you."
"oh gods, gotta get away from the dragons"
You find a man hiding back here. He seems terrified to see you.
"Don't tell anyone I'm back here, please!"
"I won't. Why are you hiding back here anyways?"

""I'm supposed to go with a caravan back to the Great Cave. But the undead are too
much for me! They're horrible! The beady eyes and stuff! I'm staying here, where
it's safe! Now go away."
"Alright. I'll find somewhere else then."
"A farmer's market."
Supplies, basic armor and weapons. I pick up a bronze spear for Duncan. Polearms
deal a lot of damage, so in a few levels after I've trained up his combat stats,
he'll start hitting hard at the expense of defense.
"And what do we have here?"
"Nah."
"Auction house for farm animals. Well, if we ever decide to settle down, I think
this could be useful."
Map of Mertis. It's honestly not much of a town. Not even a statue to talk to.
"Everyone got their stuff?"
"Good to see successful farms.”
All three event points say the same thing, so don't worry about hitting up all of
them like I did.
“Which way?”
“Um... West?”
“Guess not.”
“Why are there NO MAPS!?!?!?”
“South some more.”
“Heat?”
“Um..... No?”
“Foul creatures!”
You'll find a lot of times you'll get ambushed in a fight in these tight caverns
when you reach a corner and a random encounter hits you. This one consisted of two
Ogres and a single Ogre Mage. The Mage loves the spam “Slow Group”, so Peregrine
and Ember were busy countering that while Karmas moved in for the kill and the
others took down the Ogres.
The Ogre Mage can also cast Flame Strike, a Fireball++. It's painful. I really
shouldn't be down here as a second Ogre Mage would have meant a TPK. But hey, nice
experience! Ember level up'd!
“There! That's the tower. Now, before we get in, there is a request I would like to
make.”
“Oh?”
“Please allow me to take the lead. I am most at home in a facility of such higher
learning and would be the best choice in getting the information we need from the
residents.”
“And I'm not?”
“You do not have the same formal educational background I do, so no.”
“Spoilsport.”
“I have no problem with that. Anybody else?”
“Better him than me.”
“No.”
“I concur. A legitimate plan.”
“Good. So, how do we get in?”
“This was far harder to find than it should have.”
I vaguely remember from my first playthrough of this game that I had an annoying
time getting into the Tower because you can't walk through rubble, and I hadn't
made the logical connection between hidden passages inside and hidden passages
outside. Finding this was a revelation.
And in the course of this LP, I couldn't remember where the damn thing was, so I
spent a few minutes looking.
“Alright, everyone ready?”
“Well, let's do this.”
The Tower of the Magi is different. The entire pallet of the town hasn't been seen
before. Until now, all we've seen are the blue-green ground, the dark purple cavern
walls and the colours of the terrain. The Tower has tiled floor everywhere and
burgundy walls. It's such a massive visual disconnect from the rest of Exile that
only enforces the fact that this place is different.
“A nice pool. Although the spot of lava in the middle is just gaudy. And there's no
one here, so we might as well go around and find people.”
“Where is everyone?”
“You know, if I was me, and I am, I think having a second outer wall to act as a
baffle in case some experiment got out of hand would be a good idea. And made sure
that people knew about it just in case.”
“I don't understand your logic some days. We are supposed to be responsible users
of our power.”
“Actually, she's right.” A young apprentice is staring into the pool. He looks very
nervous. "Welcome, visitors. I am Kelner." He is sizing you up, as if wondering
whether to trust you.
“Peregrine the Fourth, 1st Exile Escape Committee. Pleased to meet you. If you
don't mind me asking, what are you doing back here?”
"I am an apprentice. I come to this pool often, to contemplate."
“I suppose this pool is good to contemplate over, but what could assail you so?”
"I contemplate many things. My life. My lessons. And the things that are happening
in this tower. If you knew the name of the thing we have brought here, perhaps I
would share my contemplations with you..." He looks sideways at you.
“This is one of those things were simply rattling off random answers won't help
now, would it?”
“That's right.”
“Then I shall leave you to your contemplations. Good day.”
“Good day.”
“Well, that was a bust. Time to go in the opposite direction.”
“Ah, this brings back memories. I wonder if they have the same 1st Year initiation
rite?”
“What are you talking about?”
“See that apprentice over there?”
“Yes?”
“Try to talk to her.”
“Hello, miss.”
You see a homely young woman, maybe 16 or 17. She wears the robes of an apprentice.
“What's your name?”
She looks at you sadly.
“Can you speak at all?”
She gives you a look of fear.
“Peregrine!”
“It's a common thing. First year apprentices are magically silenced so that they
can't cast spells. It saves on the deaths. And means that people will listen and
pay attention more.”
“No! You don't derive like that! You have to root that, then alter that exponent!
Who wrote this shit?”
“Hello!”
An old man putters about this laboratory. Sometimes he seems senile, sometimes
alert.
"I'm Ambrin. I and Konig are the day to day teachers of the tower."
“Peregrine the Fourth. You're a teacher?”
"I am a teacher, and have been one for many years. You can buy spells if you want."
He chuckles. "Don't ask the students for help. They are forbidden to speak without
permission."
((He sells level 5 spells, well out my reach at the moment. I'll have to come back
much later.))
“Konig? I've heard that name before...”
"Yes. He's away. Looking for some sort of crystal cave. Don't know anything about
it. He said he was going to Cotra, I think. Pity he's away. He's the one who
teaches Firestorm. If you see him, ask him about it. Maybe you could learn it too!"
“Wait....”
“I REMEMBER HIM!”
“Well then, do tell him to come back soon. I can't handle all the students myself.”
“Are there not other teachers?”
“Sure! But not anyone can be in charge. That's my job!”
“Makes sense. Where's the library?”
“Off to the east side.”
“Thank you.”
This is Brantford. He identifies stuff and sells things too. However, his inventory
is randomly shuffled every so often, meaning he can sell any non-unique item to you
if you're willing to wait long enough and pay his price. I won't be coming back
here often, but when I do, I'll try to remember to check up on his inventory. Of
interest in his inventory now is the Crystal Rod, which casts “Turn Undead” 4 times
before expiring. But considering the spell is only 1 SP, I skip. He also buys
anything we have that we can sell. A nice replacement for Fort Duvno in this
region.
Zathnia. The red line under her graphic is the result of a misalignment in the
graphics files that I corrected on my end after I had finished recording the
update. She also sells a couple minor recipes. Although she does have something
interesting to say for those interested in Alchemy:
She pauses from her work to look up at you. "This is not my shop, I'm afraid. It
belongs to Cortath. I can teach you some recipes, if you want, but I am very, very
busy."
"He travelled north to try to find some Graymold for some sort of salve. Healing.
Not my area. If you're looking for him, he probably visited Phyllea, in Fort Draco.
Ask her about him." She says all this quickly, while grinding some sort of yellow
powder.
You'll find this a lot in the game. Some person will mention someone else who knows
something, and will have to name-drop, or say something to them to get them to
reveal their secrets. Thank goodness for the talk-save option!
Throndell; he sells healing as well as Level 5 and Level 6 Priest spells. Will have
to come back much later for those.
Meet Glenda. Here's what she sells:
See the fifth one down? That's a Medium Energy Potion. It restores SP as a
consumable. At 200g a pop, you can be very certain I'm going to stock up
eventually.
“Must become richer!”
“Hello, Ma'am. I am Peregrine the Fourth.” He is very formal with this woman.
A young woman with short dark hair sits at the desk, writing. Leaning against her
chair is a short wooden staff, carved in the shape of a twisting serpent. The runes
on her robe seems to indicate she is a person of great power.
"Greetings. I am Linda, of the Triad."
“I am not familiar with the office of the Triad.”
“The Tower of Magi is run by three mages. I control research. X in is charge of

teaching. And one of us is absent."
“Ecks?”
“X. He may be of aid to you. He's around here somewhere.”
“You said you are in charge of research. I was looking for...”
Linda cuts him off. "Of course! This is an ambitious time for the tower, a time of
great and auspicious happenings. Right now, I am trying to find information on the
First Expedition."
“I've heard of them!”
“Hush! We agreed I would do the talking!”
"Yes, I suppose you've heard the rumors. Many years ago, when these caves were
first found, the tyrants above sent down a variety of troops, led by a group of
adventurers. These adventurers had a wide variety of magic items: several weapons,
several peculiar items, and finally a scepter. They were all killed, to a man and
woman, and the items were scattered. And we want them."
“Weapons? Sceptre?”
"We cannot yet reliably make magical weapons. That's why we want these so badly.
There was the Runed Halberd and the greatsword 'Scrioth.' And, more importantly,
there was the giant-slaying hammer 'Smite,' and greatest of all, the sword
'Demonslayer.' Demonslayer was shattered, alas. But if the pieces were found, it
could be reforged. The Sceptre is a strange and powerful item, only usable by the
greatest of mages. I would say more about it, but I won't. Suffice it to say this
is a great and auspicious time for the tower." She smiles, in a disturbingly
sharklike way.
“I must congratulate you on your choice of materials to research. You wouldn't

happen to know where I could find a book relating to the construction of portals
and teleportation amidst this grand library?”
“And what makes you think I'd help some nobody mage who just walks in?”
“...”
“Pardon us, Honoured Archmagus. By your leave?”
“THE GALL!”
“Calm down.”
“THE SHEER UNMITIGATED ARROGANCE!”
“Calm down!”
“I can't believe that! That! That was totally uncalled for!”
“You did ask her for a favour.”
“Still! She could have named her price, or something! But dismissing me like that?
How rude!”
“Hrm.”
“What is it, Art?”
“I've sketched out a map to try and figure out where this X could be.”
“Oh?
“Now, assuming this large section in along the south is labs – a certainly given
the residents, I don't think we'd want to try exploring there. That leaves this
space in the upper right corner and the lower right.”
“I suspect the lower section rather than the upper. Size of the area.”
“It wold behove us to check both. Secret passages and whatnot.”

“Guess not.”
“Much better!”
“People write them?”
“X, I presume?”
You see a strange man, middle aged, calm and confident. He has a staff, carved in
the shape of a cobra.
He nods to you. “Welcome to my tower. I am known as 'X'. I am of the Triad.

Tower of the Magi”
“And what is it that you do here, sir?”
"Mostly I teach, but lately I have been researching a new spell, which would make
an anvil drop on someone's head, even from a long distance. It would be a wondrous
spell. I wouldn't have a chance to find it without this library."
“That sounds interesting. What may this spell be?”
"Yes. Powerful spells. But I've been busy lately, and haven't time to do any
teaching now." He thinks. "But wait! We could trade! I have heard rumors that
somewhere in Exile there is a man with a giant anvil. Find it would be a great help
in my research. I'll make you a trade. You tell me his name, and I will teach you
spells."
“...”
Yes. To learn level 6 spells, you need to find the guy with the largest anvil in
all of Exile. So X can figure out how to drop it on people's heads.
For some strange reason, X is popular.
“I'll see what I can do. About this library?”
"Yes. One of the many gifts of Erika Redmark. About whom the less said, the
better."
“I understand completely. When I have what you seek, I will tell you.”
Here's the current map of the Tower of the Magi:
Next up, I deal with some side quests and exploration before I head back to
Formello. Maybe level a couple people enough to pick up next tier spells and other
things.
‹
Part #12
Part #14
›
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by berryjon
‹
Part #13
Part #15
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Part 14: The Dark Pit and the Ogre Cave
The Dark Pit and the Ogre Cave
"You alright?"
"No, I am very, very annoyed. I want to vent my frustrations in a constructive

manner.”
“There was mention of a Grim Cavern to the north, a source of the Undead. Perhaps
an extermination is in order?”
“That sounds like a good idea actually!” he rubbed his hands gleefully “While I
dislike delving into baser pleasures, a little pyromania can be good for the soul.”
“Um... who are you and what have you done with Peregrine?”
“I agree! Have you been possessed? KLAATU BARADA NIKTO!”
“Oh, you imbecilic peons, even the most astute of arch magi need to get out and
stretch their physical muscles every so often. Have you not heard that a sound soul
rests with a sound mind and a sound body?”
“I applied to that school. Didn't make it.”
“I'm not surprised. They are very particular about their entrants.”
“Which one?”
“Nothing!”
“Right, it's a magic thing. Pft.”
“How about we just find these caverns, beat the crap out of some undead, and then
figure out what to do from there.”
“Right, north it is!”

“This stinks. You guys smell that?”
“Sulphur? But we're not near any lava outflows...?”
“I know nothing about Magic, but even I can tell that this is a bad omen.”
“I can only hope that they remembered the first rule of summoning.”
“Don't call up what you can't put down?”
“I'm amazed that you retained that vital bit of information amidst all the detritus
of your mind.”
“Before you two get into another argument, it seems like there is nothing to do
here and no one has a reason to be here. This place disquiets me.”
“Someone tell me why we're taking the back way north?”
“To be thorough, and that encounter with skeletons back there means it would be a
good idea to check everything.”
“Something is odd about this path.”
“I feel it too. Like there's something waiting for us.”
“...”
“Well, that's not ominous at all.”
“At lease someone has a good head on their shoulders. I think I would like to meet
this Solberg, if only for the pleasant company.”
“Still no sign of more undead.”

“Ooooh! What's this?”
Later identified as a strong poison, but Item Lore didn't kick in so I kept it
around.
“Bah! This could be such a windfall! Excellent alchemical ingredients!”
I'll show on the map at the end of the update, but there are several of these
locations between Mertis and the Tower along the east edge of the map hidden behind
some secret passages. I view it as a constant reminder to check every last corner
for things that may or may not come in handy.
“We're going to have to cross this, aren't we?”
“Unless we want to take the long way around?”
“That's probably a good idea.”
I just went through, and lucked out. Only a Karmas and Ember got poisoned, and that
was easily taken care of.
“So very glad we went around.”
“Found it.”
“This place gives me the chills.”
“All places of undeath do. We must be vigilant.”
“Still up to beating things in?”
“As proud as I am, some things must be done.”

“Let there be light!”
The Dark Pit is the first optional dungeon in this LP. There is no requirement to
come here, and the rewards are paltry.
“What the heck is that thing?”
“A fungus of sorts.”
“And hostile to boot!”
I've been lax in describing encounters, sorry, and this update was long enough as
it is. The Giant Fungus you see here can't move, but can attack three times for
decent damage. They are a 'roadblock' enemy, one that must be put down before
advancing. Nothing a decent party can't take care of.
Spirits. Undead that can cast up to level 4 spells, but actually fragile. Quite the
glass cannon in my view. If you get caught by a group of them though, they can pile
on the hurt like nothing else at this stage of the game.
“Odd, this appears to be a dead end.”
“Ohh, shiny?”
This is a Sapphire. It's a reagent used for casting spells. In this case, it's for
the Magic Map spell which reveals the entire town/dungeon map. I'll be using them
later on for the LP. You can also buy this particular reagent back in Fort Dranlon,
but I skipped on it because I didn't have either the spell or the level to cast it.
I'll be backtracking there a few times off-camera. But for now, I'll just store it.
“This took way to long to find.”
“I guess the Spirit was hiding something after all.”
“What is this?”
Meet the Aranea. Magic slinging giant spiders. They can also throw webbing around
which can severely impede whatever character winds up in them, but I avoid[ all
that in this section of the dungeon. Thankfully they also aren't very tough, but
they do come in groups.
“I am regretting coming here. Peregrine, this was your idea, can we go now?”
“No, this place is no ordinary tomb.”
“What. The. Hells.”
“That is exceedingly deep. And I suspect that none of us have any desire to go down
there.”
“Nope!”
This dungeon wouldn't be so hard except that it has a gimmick. And that gimmick is
that it will kill your current light source (be it magic or mundane), or just force
it down faster. It's annoying, especially when in tight spots.
“Hells, I can barely see through this!”
“And interfering with illumination. Definitely malevolent.”
“Does that mean we should go back and come back when we're more prepared?”
I've found the best way to explore in these situations is to do so in combat mode.
Why? Sure, you can't use the minimap, but you're always ready in case an undead
pops out of the darkness, and if you get in trouble, ending combat mode will
usually teleport your party together in a safe-ish location, where you can prepare
to overwhelm the inevitable oncoming swarm.
Oh, and did I mention that “Detect Life” doesn't work on undead, so you can't keep
track of them on the minimap?
“Fuck you.”
Fixed one time encounter with some spirits. Not an issue.
“Hey! I can walk through walls too!”
This is identified at the end of the update as a Piercing Crystal, which, as

mentioned in a prior update, is a one-shot casting of Dispel Barrier. Except I
don't know what it is at the moment, and can't use it!
“I can sense the magic on this, but cannot tell what it does. Pity.”
“So, does that mean we go North to Duvno or south to the Tower to get it
identified?”
“South. Closer. But not right now.”
Fixed one time encounter with some spirits. Not an issue.
“brrrrrr”
“I never thought I'd be glad to feel heat from lava.”
“It has been a long time since I have seen my breath condense like that.”
“We're almost at the middle, I know it.”
“...”
“This is worse than I thought.”
“And we can go no further. Someone has sealed off the central chamber.”
“I can feel the evil on the other side. It's contained for now, but there's nothing
we can do now.”
I'll have to come back here when I have Dispel Barrier or a supply of Piercing
crystals. In the meantime, have a map:
A variety of undead reside in the Dark Pit. Skeletons are like you would expect,
right down to the very AD&D taking of half damage from non-bashing weapons. Zombies
are so typical I shouldn't have to explain them. Wights are very annoying as they
can 'drain life' which actually reduces your SP, not your HP and can cause 'Slow'
at the same time. Spirits are as you saw, magic slingers.
There are other types of undead in the game, including my favourite type of all
time, but I won't cover those until we get to them.
“Let's head back to Mertis and resupply. We're really low on food.”
Mertis is probably the most cost-efficient place to purchase food in the game. At
Silvar, you can purchase 6 food for 1 cold. 2 gold in Corta. But in Mertis, 2 gold
gets you * 15 * Food.
I buy a bit over 400.
“SIGN!”
“Aw, it didn't say anything new.”

“Any particular reason why we're coming here?”
“I was wondering about that myself, Art.”
“I suspect it is wondering at what could possibly convince the Tower to have a

Monster infested location so close to them.”
“Training, I suppose.”
“Ogres? Oh, this isn't going to be pretty.”
Ogres are straight up melee brawlers, a major step up from the Nephil and Nephar,
and having a slight edge over the Sliths through better Hit Points. Otherwise they
are nothing to write home about.
“I can understand about keeping some monsters around to train magics against, but
this seems a bit too... I don't know... Something's not right here.”
“HOLY!”
Cave Giant. Can attack at range as you see here, and has multiple melee attacks.
And a shiton of hit points. If it wasn't for the fact that it's by its lonesome,
this guy would be trouble. As it is, I spent was too much time whittling him down
to death through spells and blessed attackers. We'll be encountering them in groups
much later.
“This thing has a little hidey-hole back here.”
“Little for a giant. Normal sized for us.”
The chest contains 50 gold. I was hoping for more given the general difficulty of
the encounter.
“A library? In an Ogre cav... vv... oh shit.”
“Peregrine?”
“We must be on our guard. There are Ogre Mages about.”
Right back to AD&D here, Ogre Mages are purple, and very powerful as spellcasters
and melee combatants. They are high priority targets, and will often use normal
ogres as meat shields to bring the hurt, and then mangle anyone that gets close.
“I don't know about you, but I've heard that Ogres eat very healthy in order to
support their bulk and muscles. They don't just scavenge around as it would make
them weak.”
“I don't think that's a good idea...”
“What did I just see? SOMEONE TELL ME!”
“I DON'T KNOW!”
“QUIT YELLING!”
“There's a larder over there. That may contain our answer.”
“...”
“Let us never speak of this again. Let us never investigate anything like this ever
again.”
“Agreed.”
“Hello? Any prisoners behind these locked doors? This is a rescue!”
“Let them go. It's a better thing for them than what we saw earlier.”
“Let's do the other door.”
“Hail!”
You see a man in ragged robes. He seems thrilled to see you.
"Greeting, friend! I am called Bantam the mage."
“What are you doing here, good mage?”
"I was an apprentice mage. Now I'm a prisoner of the ogres."
“So I see. I assume you are affiliated with the Tower?”

"Once. Then I fled. There are true horrors there."
“What do you mean, horrors? Certainly your apprenticeship wasn't that bad?”
He shivers and winces. "I only heard rumours. But the way people acted made me
believe they were true." He looks from side to side, as if afraid someone would be
watching. "I heard they were going to summon a Haakai!"
“The Pentacle. And Kelner's reaction. THAT IS MADNESS!”
“For the uneducated, what are Haakai?”
“Demons above Demons. Creatures of terrible wrath and fury. To fight one is to die
horribly. To summon one is the height of folly and to make a pact is unthinkable.”
He winces at the sound of the word. "The mightiest race of demons. Fierce and
deadly. Utter foolishness to try to summon one, worse still to try to control it. I
heard they were going to lure it to the tower, using a powerful magic item as
bait." He shivers again. "I tell you, it's bad here. But there, I was afraid for my
soul!"
“We must speak with Kelner.”
“You should escape now. I know not about Demons or Haakai or anything of the sort,
but this we can do.”
"Yes. I managed to find a secret passage in this cave. The Divine knows why the
ogres don't know about it. It leads to water. I planned to slip away and swim for
it, before they devoured me."
“Let us further distract these Ogres. We have yet to encounter any of their Magi,
so hold still until we have provided enough of a distraction, then make your way
out. The Nephil prisoners are already leaving.”
“Ugh. This is what passes for a barracks amongst the Ogres?”
“Nope.”
“Another library.”
“This one is better organized. Search the shelves quickly.”
“This....!”
I've mentioned before about Mage Lore. Well, this is a successful use of it.
Normally this event is triggered by searching the bookshelves. The party has a
total of 10 Mage Lore across all the PCs, and that's barely enough to get the
'successful' result. Anything less, and we would get a 'you don't understand this'
message. But because we have, the party learns Protection. A Level 7 spell.
However, I won't be able to cast it for quite some time, and I'll cover what it
does when I finally get there.
So remember people, SEARCH EVERYTHING.
“And behind the library with the spell too advanced for us is.... A boat.”
Boats can be found inside or outside, and can traverse between the two. While in
boats you can travel over water, but can't fight. So be careful while in hostile
territory like this.
“Did they seriously feed their captives to the lizards to feed them? I feel sick.”
“Oooh! I wonder what they would hide in the far end of this lake?”
“An altar. Don't touch it.”
“There's a switch here. It's not that well hidden. I don't think the Ogre Magi
thought any of their followers would get over here.”
“Traps. Let me take the lead here.”
“Peregrine, I need you to short out that symbol there. That'll get rid of the
trigger mechanism.”
“You certain?”
“Yep! And I'll be right here in case you screw up!”
“I wonder if there's anything of use?”
Not really.
“I think we've done all we can here. Let us leave.”
The talk with Bantam and the Protection spell are indeed the only things in this
dungeon worth getting. I don't think we'll come back here. Here's the map!
“We must speak with Kelner at once.”
“Agreed. Haakai are no joking matter.”
“YOU!”
“Y.. you return!”
He grabs Kelner's collar tightly and drags his face close. There is a fire in his
eyes that burns into the young man's soul. “A. Haakai. What madness takes you?”
“Speak not to Linda! This was her plan! You are not from the tower, so you might be
trustworthy." He speaks quickly, looking constantly for eavesdroppers. "A powerful
creature has been brought here, and may escape any day. It all started when Solberg
of the Triad left. It is my hope that if he is alerted, disaster may be averted."
“I've heard of Solberg. Where is he?”
"He went away a year ago. I don't know why. He was my friend, and looked after me,
and said if ever he was needed, instructions for where to find him were left in a
hidden cave east of here. I can't go find him, but maybe travellers such as you
can. Please do it. If the Haakai Lord escapes, horrid, horrid things will happen."
He lets Kelner go, causing the man to stumble back. “I don't have the power to do
that, but I will alert Solberg. May whatever deity you hold dear forgive you for
your part in this, for I do not. Art, we go north to find Solberg and let him know
of this atrocity.”
“Agreed. But we stop in Silvar first to train, then in Formello to rebase.”
“Such is the seriousness that you would delay the goals of the committee?”
“Karmas, look at Peregrine. He threatened a mage with physical violence. I can't

tell one demon from another, but this has Art and Peregrine spooked badly. We'd
best follow their lead on this.”
“I hear ye.”
I want to take a moment here to explain what's going on. Unlike the vast majority
of modern RPGs, Exile belongs to that style known as “non-linear”. In that you
don't have to be told about things in order for them to happen. You saw this much
earlier with the Nephil Fort and the Bronze Key I picked up. You saw this with Fort
Dranlon and the quests for the Dispel Barrier magic.
What I did over the latter half of this update was stumble into one of the end-game
quests at about the halfway mark. Yes. There is stuff that's supposed to happen
before this, and stuff that comes after it, but the design of Exile allows for me
to see these things happen without being told to go do it. And once I talk to
Solberg, there is little I can do about this quest until the end-game, many updates
from now.
I love it. And you just don't see this level of design anymore. It's all very
linear in order to make sure that the player follows the narrative as the designers
want.
Oh, I also stopped by the shop in the Tower that has random items in it. This is
what was available:
See that Gold Ring of Skill? That's end-game level equipment right there and I buy
it and put it onto Art. That was such a lucky find. The Rings of Skill act much
like the Bless spell does, but doesn't actually Bless the PC, so things like Curse
don't affect it.
After this, I travelled to Silvar and did some training with what money I had after
identifying and selling off some stuff. Here's the end results:
Art is pulling ahead in the XP race due to her build and front-line capacity. I
bought the next level of Priest Spells in preparation for Formello, while those
Skill points will be used to buff her SP in the near future.
In terms of inventory, there is no reason for her to have the Sapphire. I should
give that to Peregrine. The Scroll of Stealth mimics the spell of the same name,
reducing enemy effectiveness in locating you. Though were I'm going, it won't see
much use. The Wand is just plain useful. Aside from the new Ring, her combat
equipment remains unchanged.
Karmas' skills make him an excellent offensive fighter. I'll have to decide whether
to switch him out to Two-handed great swords in the future, or start to train up
his Defense skill. I may train that anyways and keep the Great Sword option as a
contingency as the most powerful weapon in the game falls under that
classification.
The Asp Fangs are an alchemy reagent dropped by Asps that are used to mix poisons.
The two he has on hand are very powerful, and are best saved for powerful enemies.
I did find a Great Helm for him to wear, increasing his defense.
I didn't get much training done on Rook, but I will be looking into increasing his
dexterity for accuracy with the bow, and Assassination for the melee. Item Lore
could use a boost too in order to compliment Duncan in that regard.
Flint Arrows aren't great, but they do come cheap, and as it stands, Rook can deal
9-10 damage with them when they hit. The Bronze Ring of Poison Resistance was a
random drop from somewhere, and I put it on Rook. I should move it to Karmas in
case he screws up with the Poison skill.
Duncan bought 3 points of strength and a pair of HP as part of my goal to bring him
up to combat spec. By the time he reaches level 10, I can invest enough in Polearms
Skill to worry about his Alchemy, Mage and Item Lores a bit more.
The Fang Necklace is a stop-gap measure to help him in combat while the Bronze
Spear is an improvement over the Bronze Tipped spear purchased in Metris. Sell the
lesser one when I reach Formello. The Fine Lockpicks are an improvement over the
normal ones, with less chance of failure. They're going to be saved for special
doors.
Peregrine got a point of Strength for further HP gains and the next level of Mage
Spells for the same reason as Art. More SP and improved Intelligence are in his
future along with a couple more points in Mage Lore. Art can cover Level 4 Priest
spells for now, so it's not a vital purchase at this time.
Equipment wise, the Bronze Breastplate is too heavy for him to use, so I'll move it
over to Duncan shortly. The wand is ever useful, while he has the Piercing Crystal
in case I need to use it. It's not a guaranteed thing, as I found out via several
attempts to use it off-camera in the Dark Pit and the Tower.
At the bottom of the XP pile, Ember has some catching up to do. A point of strength
and Mage Spells for the same reason as Peregrine. Like him, she'll need to invest
in SP soon. And with her equipment, I'll put a few points into Throwing weapons
when I can.
Speaking of equipment, Throwing Knives are a step up from Darts, while Lighting
Rods were a lucky drop from an Ogre Mage that deal massive damage, then hit the
enemy for additional lighting damage. Think Zeus' Thunderbolts and you'll get the
idea.
And here's the map of the Mertis – Tower of the Magi region:
‹
Part #13
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by berryjon
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Part #14
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Part 15: Update 013 – Formello and the Nephilim Fortress
Update 013 – Formello and the Nephilim Fortress
"Another river. I wonder if it hooks up to the river that flows north by Dranlon?"
"Perhaps. That would require exploratin via waterways."
"There are boats for sale down in Silvar and Corta. Although I don't know why we'd
ever want to do anything like that."
"This looks like an irrigation ditch of all things."
"I have to concur. The fertile fields to the west, and it looks like there is a
small creek coming out of the town. With the moat, this is a very excellent
fortification, able to withstand a large seige."
"Who would do something like that?"
"Nephar, Sliths?"
"Fair enough."
"Alright, the usual. Split up. Rook, you're in charge of finding the Mayor and
seeing what's up with the necklace of hers."
"Understood."
"Well, Inn for when we stay overnight. Or whatever time it is. I really need to see
if anyone has a proper clock in this Sol forsaken place."
A man sits at the table, hunched over a bowl of some sort of purple beverage. He
mutters to himself quietly.
"Hello? Is this inn any good?"
"Huh?" He notices you. "Oh, call me Crisper."
"I'm Art, with the 1st EEC. What brings you here?"
"I'm sort of a sage. But now I need a vacation. A long vacation." He drinks more of
his purple syrup.
That can't be healthy to drink. You're a sage? What are you studying?"
"I was researching with Leith. We were asking Motrax about a magic sphere. He may
have found something out. Beats me. I was too busy being driven insane!" He takes a
deep swig from his bowl, realizes it's empty, and gets it refilled with gray fluid.
"Uh, Motrax?"
"Leave me alone."
Food supplies. Nothing out of the ordinary here, except for when you talk to Ken in
the lizard kennel:
You see a rugged man with a short beard and long blonde hair. He wears heavy
leather clothes, and has a surprising variety of scars.
"I'm Ken." He seems slightly distracted by the lizards, which never stop eyeing him
hungrily.
"Hello! I'm Ember. What are you doing?"
"Well, I take care of the lizards. Feed them, look after them, try not to get eaten
by them." He chuckles evilly. "Butcher them."
“You butcher the COWS?!?!?”
“No! Well, there's not too much in the way of livestock down here. The
abovegrounders sent down some cattle once, which are good for milk, but the
mushrooms turn their meat rancid. So we raise giant lizards for the meat. At least
they aren't dragons." He looks down, and notices a giant lizard is chewing on his
leg. He kicks it off.
“D... dragons?”
"Dragons? Not that good eating. Problem is, try to butcher them, and they blow you
up. Plus, there's only five of them. Or, at least, five we've heard of." He stops
talking, in order to try to keep a lizard from killing him.
“AAARRRT! SAVE ME!”

“What's her problem?”
Nothing of importance here. There's a couple Iron weapons and armour, but we can't
afford anything at the moment.
“Can't afford much, but can always see what we can purchase later.
There is a portly man with short gray hair sitting behind the counter. When you
enter, he is writing haphazard notes on a sheet of vellum.
“Hello!”
"I'm Bernie. Welcome to my shop. Would you like to hear The Chart?"
“Before I do that, can I see your wares?”
"I have all manner of potions and the like, which you may purchase. You can also
sell me your excess magic. And, if you would like, you can hear The Chart. It's
about the meaning of life.”
He has nothing spectacular.
“So, what's this about a Chart?”
He pulls out a sheet of paper, and start talking and writing. He describes and
draws his life above, how he was thrown into Exile, and what he has learned since
he arrived, throwing in on the side many opinions on life in general. It is very
interesting. It also makes practically no sense whatsoever.
I like the sheer randomness of this. He has a CHART and isn't afraid to use it!
“I wonder if Karmas has come by here yet?”
You see an old woman in white robes. She wears a small gold ankh around her neck,
and radiates peace and calm.
"Greetings, child. I am mother Claudette."
“Peace be unto you, Mother-under-the-Sun. If you do not mind my asking, what

services do you provide?”
"Alas, I am very busy. I can provide healing, if you are in need, for a small
donation. But other than that, running a church such as this is much work."
I've mentioned earlier how sometimes you'll have to name drop a person to open up
new options. Before this, you can only buy healing from Mother Claudette.
“Oh! Before I forget, I met a man by the name of Caius in Fort Duvno, on his way to
the Great Cave. He said you could help people like me.”
Her face lights up! "Oh! You're friends of Caius!" She asks you of his welfare, and
you tell her how he's doing. She sighs. "I have been so busy since he left, running
the church and helping the mayor. There is little I can do for you." She thinks.
"Actually, if you want, you could buy some spells. For a modest donation."
And now we can buy fourth level spells from her! Except I can't afford any of them.
A running theme until I deal with the next dungeon, I'm afraid.
“Thank you for the offer. I may have to take it up in the future. You mentioned
something about the Mayor?”
"She has been furious, almost debilitatingly so, ever since Nephilim spies stole
her necklace. It was one of the few powerful magic items down here - it aided one
in leadership. Since she lost it, she thinks of nothing but getting it back. In
fact, if you ask her about it, you could get a job. If you want one."
“I hope Rook will be alright talking to her. Thank you Mother-under-the-Sun. I will
take my leave now.”
“Please let this be the right place.”
“Yes! Let's see if that boy in Mertis was correct about the library.”
“Not bad. You there!”
A young mage putters around, straightening the books on the shelves. He carries a
broom.
"I'm Zed. The assistant librarian."
“A good job, what are your duties?”
"Oh, learning things man was not meant to know. Plumbing the forbidden secrets of
the unknown. Sweeping."
“Sweeping.”
"Yes. Mainly sweeping. I'm apprenticed to Miles. He does most of the work. Most of
the people who come here are mages, you see. If you have any real business, talk to
him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have forbidden secrets to plumb." He starts
sweeping.
“Forbidden secrets aren't all that cracked up to be. Most of them are that way
because someone wanted to feel self-important about their works.”
The mage sitting behind the counter is surprisingly fit. He is young, just shy of
middle age, and very tall. He has a nicely trimmed black beard.
He stands to shake your hand. "I'm Miles. What can I do ya' fer'?"
“A wonderful Library you have here. You are in charge of it?”
"Well, I run this library. Third best in the pit. Only ones better are in the
castle and the mage tower, a long ways away. Mages come here to do research, and
compare notes. Oh, and occasionally purchase a spell."
Level 4 Mage spells. Still can't afford them.
“Excuse me?”
A man in long silk robes putters around looking mysterious. A large hood hides his
face. It's a bit much.
He intones mysteriously, "I am (dramatic pause) the teacher." You snicker quietly.
“...”
He chuckles, in a peculiarly sinister way. “I train all those who come to me.
(dramatic intake of breath) For a price!"
This guy is just so off the wall, it's funny. I like to imagine him as Exile's
equivalent to Street Fighter's Hibiki Dan.
“Karmas was right, this place can definitely hold out against a siege.”
“And which one of you guys talks?”
This is a statue of a tall, armored woman. Looking closely, you see she is making a
slight swaying motion. She looks down at you and whispers "I am Myrtle." Then she
resumes her pose.
“You're the first one to actually give a name, you know that? So, you going to talk
to me any more?”
"I will be talking to those that I am supposed to talk to."
“Right.”
“Mayor?”
A fidgety woman in a lovely blue dress sits in a chair, rapidly flipping through
the papers on the table next to her. She wears a sash of office.
"Greetings, visitor. I am Mayor Evelyn. I am also very busy."
“I an understand that.”
"I look out for the residents of this city. And occasionally they look out for me.
Now, if you will excuse me, I have much work to do." She makes a big show of
turning away from you.
“This is about your property ma'am. Your necklace?”
She looks at you dubiously. "Yes, my necklace was stolen, I suspect by the Nephilim
in the big fort to the west. I see you don't have it. If you return it to me, I
will reward you very generously. When you get it, if you get it, return to me."
“That was a quick turnaround.”
“The local Mages knew Solberg was in the area, but professed ignorance of the exact
location.”
“And we're hoping we can get that information out of the Mayor when we get her
necklace back.”
“So what is so special about this necklace anyways?”
“From what we've learned, it's somehow magical – though the specifics were no
divulged to us – and it is also a symbol of authority here in Exile for the Mayors
of the major cities.”
“And it cannot be replaced easily? It is better to send armed groups off to

retrieve it?”
“Apparently.”
“Well, we're getting closer?”
“How dare they destroy a sign like that!”
“You poor sign...”
“You don't have to be a strategic genius to figure out attacking this place from
the front is a bad idea.”
It really is. A very, very, very bad idea. Don't try it unless you're very
overpowered. I'm not.
“I say we go around the back instead.”
“Of course they would have this way guarded as well.”
Both nodes here are one-shot encounters with guard groups. But if you go get a
boat, you can bypass both fights entirely! But why would you want to do that and
leave yourself without loot and XP?
“Back doors are always good, especially as we have dispatched the guards.”
“Of course, it would be a trash pit. A building this size would obviously generate
a lot of refuse.”
This dungeon is big, and I'll show you how big when we get a bit further in. For
that reason, there will be a lot of interconnected pictures without much
commentary. Assume I'm fighting half the time I'm not talking.
“A pit inside a trash pit? No thank you.”

Normally, I wouldn't have capped a fight against a single Ogre (oh yes, there are
Ogres in the Nephilim Fort, they're supposed to be tough, but I'm overpowered), but
I wanted a picture to show off how encounter points disappear while in combat mode.
This can be abused in rare conditions, but I won't go out of my way for this in
this LP. I want to show things off, not avoid them!
“We're not finished with this floor yet.”
“Useless.”
“Ewww.”
“Let's backtrack for a bit. We're pretty close to the front of the
“Nothing special about this one. Let it be.”
“I assume Thinshadow is one of the Shamans we've killed. And this is circumstantial
proof that the Nephilim here did take the Mayor's necklace. But who would be
writing in English that they want it back?”
“Someone who wanted to keep the message secret by using a language the rank and
file didn't understand?”
“I would do that. Although wouldn't it be better to use a dedicated code rather

than a language that can be used by spies?”
“This message was hidden behind a secret passage in the private storage room in a
temple area. I think that limits the number of people that can get back here.”
“We're back here!”
“We've also been killing everyone in our way, and shouldn't be back here either.”
Another stairway up.
“SHIT!”
“Ogre Mage! Kill it!”
As mentioned earlier, Ogre Mages are powerful. Major Poison there would have been
worse off if Rook wasn't still wearing that Ring of Poison Resistance.
While I'm at it, I should explain something about Poison. While it does what one
would normally expect (HP damage over time), it comes in two varieties: Major and
Minor. Major poison has a Red “P” instead of a black one as you can see in the
above screenshot. It deals more damage more often than the normal version. In
addition, multiple applications of poison stack, which can upgrade normal poison to
major. In addition, you may require multiple applications of Weaken/Cure Poison to
get rid of it.
Major poison is bad when on you, and great when on your enemy.
40 Gold! It's a gyp!
“Glad we didn't try to come in the front door. That looks nasty with all these
murder holes.”
You have no idea.
“Still no sign of the necklace. Let's go downstairs and see what we can find.
Perhaps a vault of some kind.”
“Kitty!”
And here's the real reason why the Nephilim Fort is so big. It's actually three
floors worth of dungeon all at once. We've gone over the main floor, now we're in
the basement.
There is also a little cat here that you can talk to, but all it does is meow and
purr.
“Don't judge me. You like the cows!”
“And people keep taunting me that Dragons are real! They're all dead!”
“Ember, why would total strangers go out of their way to upset you by telling you
that dead creatures are alive?”
“It's a conspiracy!”
“I expected something a bit more... problematic for a vault. Oh well, let's see
what we got.”
“FIREBALL FIREBALL FIREBALL FIREBALL!”
Meet Ghasts, upgraded Wights. Able to slow you on contact and deal a bit of damage.
Thankfully the way the fight is set up, you can spam both sides with Fireballs
before they can do anything.
“Let me check for traps first!”
Nothing else really worth it down here. Vendor trash mostly.
“Assuming this is not cursed, I shall take dibs on the armour.”
“I wonder what's on the other side?”
“A prison, it seems.”
“Um? Is someone out there?”

You see a very short, very relaxed man.
“Hello. We're the 1st EEC. And you are?”
"I'm Renee. Sure is nice to see a human face."
“What brings you here?”
“Well, I'm a prisoner of the Nephilim. But what I spend most of my time doing is
escaping."
“Really? You're still here.”
"Yep. I'm a master of escape. They throw me in here, I get out, and then they catch
me and put me back in. It's kind of fun. They would have killed me long ago, but
Anastasia likes me. Heck, I've been around this fort a dozen times now." He grins.
"In fact, if you were looking for something, I bet I've seen it. Try me!"
“We're looking for the necklace of the Mayor of Formello.”
He thinks long and hard. "You know, I'm not sure. Anastasia said something about it
once, something about being mad at the priests for putting it away and throwing
away the key. But she didn't say much else."
“Who is this Anastasia?”
He smiles serenely. "Ah, yes. She's a fiery one. She's a human, but she practically
runs this fort. Good mage. Nasty too. I think she'd of killed me long ago, but she
sort of misses human company."
“Where were you headed before you were captured?”
"I was headed for Fort Draco. North of here. Pretty remote. It's called that
because one of the dragons, the friendly one, lives near it. Well anyway, they
grabbed me and I ended up at this fort instead."
“Don't joke about dragons!”
"I hear he's called Motrax. Loves humans. I wanted to meet him."
I smell Stockholm here. But that's enough out of him.
“There's nothing left down here. Let's head upto the top floor and see if we can
talk to this Anastasia about the necklace.”
“If she stole it, I doubt she would return it.”
“As a thief, she needs to be punished.”
“Probably. But if she attacks, then we'll respond in kind.”

“And we pop right up by somewhere that looks different from the rest of the
fortress. Want to bet there's valuable stuff in there?”
“Well guarded valuables.”
“Nothing we can't handle.”
“Seriously? The key we grabbed from that fort we raided north of Duvno? It's that
key?”
Yes. There is a note elsewhere in this fort telling you where this key is, but
you're not required to read it, for as I have done, I collected the key long before
I 'knew' what it was to be used for. As I've said before, this game's non-
linerality is wonderful!
“Hello! Housecleaning!”
“You don't look like a maid.”
Not pictured: Fight against four Nephil Shamans.
“Search the outer rooms.”
“Useless.”
“GOT IT!”
Forgot to grab a screenshot of picking up the Gold Necklace. Both times due to TPK
shortly. It's just a simple “You found it!” announcement.
And now it's added to our Key Items so we don't lose it.
“Let's get out of here.”
“We still have the thief to deal with. If she could do it before, she can do it
again.”
“I'm not sold on the plan, but being able to reassure the Mayor of that would
help.”
“Alright, we do it.”
DO NOT FUCKING TOUCH. It'll summon another Haakai. TPK just as fast as the other
one I encountered. As in, before I could get into Combat Mode. Seriously people,
save often because my last save was before I cleared out the bottom floor of this
place!
“I feel like we dodged a great evil here.”
“This pot of oil is set to flow into that murder line below us at the front
entrance. I suggest we destroy it.”
“Agreed.”
“AH!”
Meet Anastasia. Our first named enemy in the game. Being a specific person, rather
than a generic enemy, expect them to be a bit more powerful than otherwise. Also,
there's no chance to talk to her, she just opens up with an Ice Bolt, a level 4
spell. Time to get killing.
“Damn you! You've killed everyone!”
“There goes negotiation. You shouldn't have been a thief!”
“I have the power! I will take and do as I please!” She throws another magical
attack at the party as her honour guard ready themselves against the sudden
intrusion “These Exiles are weak! They have to measure of what must be done to
avenge us!”
“Then you understand nothing; vengeance is a personal thing, not a cultural one!”
I got lucky on this picture, as it shows the targeting line for Ember's fireball.
I'm centering it on this brazier even though you can't actually enter this tile to
hit Anastasia and two Cheiftans.
“BURN!”
“You will DIE!”
“No. You.”
“Someone had best tell that man downstairs.”

“We shall do so when we leave.”
“Come on, let's see if she left anything of value to us.”
Nothing in the box.
This is the note which tells you where to find the Bronze key if you didn't find it
earlier. Also, Major Blessing is another level 7 spell.
I haven't made this clear, but spells of upto level 6 are available for purchase
around Exile. Mostly Formello and the Tower of the Magi. However, all the Level 7
Spells are only available by finding them through exploration. And they are very
powerful for it.
“This will be useful for Ember and myself.”
“A bolthole. We should have foreseen this.”
“But we didn't. Need to be more careful in the future. Now, let's go give Renee the
bad news.”
“Anna is dead. I can see it in your eyes.”
“It would be best if you fled before any remaining Nephilim took it out on you.”
“It was probably for the best. Um, if you don't mind, I'd like to say my goodbyes.”
“She's in her throne room. Be quick about it for we cannot escort you.”
“Thank you. And goodbye.”
That's it for the Nephilim Fort. We'll be back here in Exile 2. And here's the map:
“Madame Mayor, we have your necklace. He produces the missing golden artefact and
presents it to the woman.”
Her face brightens! "My necklace!" She takes it and puts it on. She summons an
assistant, who brings you a small pouch of jewels and a small token. "You may well
be who King Micah is looking for. Go to the Castle. This token will get you in."
“If you don't mind me asking, what is so special about the necklace?”
“You have done me a great service, so it should do you no harm to find out. This,
and several others like it are in possession of the leadership of Exile. They allow
us to communicate across vast distances and coordinate our efforts.”
“You'd think that such a valuable item would warrant a stronger response than us.”
“Yes, but then I would have to admit to the theft. Here is your reward, and I will
communicate to my fellows your trustworthiness.”
“Thank you, your honour.”
The Mayor gives us 2000 gold, and some experience – enough to level Peregrine in
the above screenshot!
What comes next isn't in 'canon' for the LP, but I want to show it off anyways.
Here's how to Rob Formello's Treasury.
“First, let's break into the Mayor's private office.”
“Then find the secret passage in her bedroom.”
The south path has a necklace. The north path has 5000 gold. However, the south
fork is guarded by an unskippable trap that Major Poisons everyone in the party and
deals ~30 damage. The North path is worse – Major Poison and two attacks that deal
~30 damage each. I don't need the gold, so I skipped that.
Here is the final map of Formello:
Next time, I'll finish off this section of Exile, and then have a vote for what to
do next.
‹
Part #14
Part #16
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #15
Part #17
›
Return to LP Index
Part 16: Update 014 – The Cave of Motrax and the Ancient Crypt
Update 14 – The Cave of Motrax and the Ancient Crypt
"Please! No!"
"I don't want to!"
"By all accounts, this Motrax isn't hostile. And the likelihood of him actually
being a proper dragon are slim to none.”
“ARRRTTTT!”
“What are you looking at me for? Peregrine is the one who wanted to talk to it.
Him. Whatever.”
“Peregrine! You can leave me behind, right? I can stay in Formello annoy that
trainer who thinks he's all mysterious and everything? Right?”
“You shall come with us!”
“It is obvious you are afraid of such a creature. Would you care to share with us
the reason for it?”
“I hear confession is good for the soul!”
“Art, we should just leave her.”
“No, bad precedent.”
“NO! Dragons are scary!”
“One of these days, I'm going to figure out why you're so professional and
unprofessional at the same time.”
“Now I'm betting that when she was young, she saw one of those plays where the evil
dragon gets killed by the holy knight, and she was far too young and impressionable
for it.”
“Shut up!”
“Perhaps a compromise could be had?”
“Sure, make it.”
“Ember is to accompany us to the residence of Motrax, but it not required to

enter.”
“I can agree to that.”
“Do I have to?”
“Yes!”
“You're all MEAN!”
“And yet it's for your own good.”
* humph * “fine.”
“You handled that well enough.”
“I've dealt with kids acting like that before.”
“Personal experience, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Want to talk about it?”
“No.”
“Would it kill people to make proper maps?!?!”
“Especially when there are abandoned mines in the area!”
“Although I suspect these are Sapphires.”
More free Sapphires to feed into the Magic Map machine. Actually, I think I'm going
to cheat a little about that and abuse my save game a little to avoid carrying
around a half dozen of the things.
I want to take this moment to discuss one of the problems with Exile. Inventory
Management. You see, each PC only has slots for 12 items in their inventory. With
an entire party, that goes up to 72 items total. And this includes equipment. In
the next screenshot setting up the next encounter, you will see that of Art's
twelve available slots, a full eight of them are being used for equipment. Karmas
isn't much better off as he has less in the way of accessories, while Rook is quite
strapped with needing unstackable arrows for his bow. Duncan needs a few spaces for
his lockpicks while Ember and Peregrine are perhaps best off due to not needing
equipment to fight properly. They will have nominal armour and a weapon just in
case, but for the most part, they'll have 8-9 spaces each for carrying loot around.
The problem comes with dungeon crawls. You'll collect a lot of loot during them,
and you're reliant on the Item Lore to passively identify them, or to leave the
dungeon and trek to the nearest place that can Identify things for you. In this
region, it's back in Fort Duvno.
Eventually, the only things you'll want to keep to sell to the vendors are rings,
wands and magical gear. Everything else just isn't worth the expense. Just make
sure to raise your Item Lore enough to reliably identify everything you pick up.
“This battlefield has been here for quite some time.”
“And it looks like it's been picked clean by scavengers and looters of all sorts.
There's nothing here but a history lesson.”
“We don't even have that much to go by.”
“Come on, there's nothing left here. Let's keep trying to find Motrax's place.”
“SIGN!”
“So, I can wait outside, right?”
“I see some buildings just inside the cave entrance. Maybe you can stay there
instead of outside.”
“Indeed. These buildings look to be useful for humans, not the proverbial Dragon-
kin.”
“It also seems like this Motrax has a guard. Understandable.”
“please can i go now?”
“Hold on for a few minutes more. You may be able to stay in the barracks directly.”
“Hello sir. As requested, we are reporting as visitors to Motrax's Cavern.”
You see a skinny man in nice steel armor. He's almost manic - he can't seem to slow
down. He bounces up to shake your hand, a wild grin on his face.
"Greeting! I'm Ko! Welcome to the Cavern of Motrax."
“That must be an interesting duty, being a greeter.”
"True, I greet visitors to the cave. I also guard things I need to be guarding." He
goes into his spiel, quivering with happiness. "All visitors are welcomes to the
cave of Motrax, to greet the ancient one, to teach and learn. The rules are simply:
stay on the path, and behave."
“The path?”
"When visiting Motrax, go through the main cave. He'll be in the second cave in. He
throws trash into the tunnels to the west, and lives in the tunnels to the east. I
recommend against going into the latter. He probably wouldn't like it. "
“Does Motrax really need a guard?
He straightens up. "It's a dull job. With Motrax around, only a fool would cause
trouble. I mainly greet people, and take care of my cats."
“Cats?”
"Delta and Epsilon are their names. They should be in the cave. Motrax loves them.”
“Thank you for your time. One of our party has no interest in meeting with the
Dragon. Is there some place she can stay in the meantime?”
“Of course. We have guest quarters just over there.” He gestures quickly to the
west at the building seen out the window.
“THANK YOU!”
“Slow down!”
“EMBER!”
“Let me guess, afraid of Motrax?”
“A bit. Yes. Which is weird considering she's never seen one before.”
You see a tall, thin man with a long beard. He is old and frail, but you can feel
great power coming from him.
“Sorry. Name's Art. This is Rook, Karmas, Peregrine IV, Duncan and Ember is the one
looking for an unclaimed room.”
He gives you a barely perceptible nod of his head. "I am Leith."
“If you don't mind, what are you doing here?”
"I grow old. And I learn from the dragon. We understand each other. Although he was
as old as I as an infant, I still find we think surprisingly alike. And one day he
will mourn me."
“You're not that old! You don't look a day over forty!”
He nods solemnly. "Thank you, but yes I am. It gives my spirit great comfort to
know it will be mourned by something so ancient."
“Pardon me, sir. But there was a man by the name of Crisper in Formello. He said
something about you researching a Sphere? He asked us to see if you had any further
information.”
"Sphere? Oh! You must mean Thralni's Orb. It was brought down here by the first
visitors long ago. Years I spent trying to find it, knowing the gift of flight
might help me escape. But I never did, and eventually gave up. I never could find
it. Hmm. I did find out that Thralni met his end while navigating the water maze."
“How do you get a maze of water?”
"A bizarre mess of waterfalls, to the west of the Slithzerikai. Very dangerous and
difficult to explore. I read an account that he went in, hoping to use to orb to
save himself from disaster, and never came out again."
“I've heard of that Orb. It granted limited flight to its possessor. A useful tool
when exploring caverns, I would presume.”
“Very much so. If someone were to retrieve it, why, we could probably reverse
engineer the spells involved and create our own flight spell for mages to use!”
“A worthwhile goal!”
“Well, there he goes, talking up his own little world there. Sorry about that,
miss.”
You see a woman in long sparkling robes. She has long brown hair, set off well by
the sparkling crystal around her neck.
"Greetings, traveller. I am Marian. What brings you here?"
“Oh, this and that. You?”
"I have been here for a year know, conversing with, teaching and learning from
Motrax."
“What's he like?”
"The ancient dragon of the cave. He knows so, so much of these tunnels, and the
races in them. I hope, one day, to plumb into his memory and find knowledge of a
tunnel to the surface world. Then, I can escape this horrid pit." She looks at you
slyly. "And maybe take the captain with me."
“Captain Ko?”
She grins, very broadly. "Ko's the captain. If I left, I'd have to take him with.
He's good to have around."
“I wonder if he knows that. Well, thank you for your time, we should be going now.”
“Have a nice chat!”
“Well, we'll collect the scaredycat once we're done.
“...”
“...”
“...”
“Anyone want to go join Ember, be my guest.”
“Anyone?”
“too scared to move”
You see a dragon. He is green, with reddish highlights, and towers high above you.
The dull color of his skin and the cracks in his wings indicate he is very old. He
stares at you with frighteningly wise eyes.
His voice is so deep it seems to make the ground vibrate. "I am Motrax.” He
chuckles quietly – for a dragon. “I have that effect on people. You need not be
afraid of me, your hindbrain not withstanding.”
“Sorry sir. Your dragoness. Um... I'm sorry. I completely forgot what I was going
to say!”
He sighs. A small wisp of flame comes out. "I am an ancient dragon, long past my
prime. I do not roam the caves and hunt anymore, but devote myself to scholarly
pursuits and playing with my cats."
“Cats are good! I heard they were named Delta and Epsilon! I'm sorry to hear about
Alpha, Beta and Gamma.”
"Remarkable little creatures. I don't know how I lived without them."
“So, um, people talk to you? Like scholars and others?”

"I have humans come here, yes. And I learn of their ways and of the land above
ground. I would like to visit. Alas, your leaders would no doubt cast me below
again, at best." He chuckles smokily. "I like you humans. Despite our first
meeting."
“Meeting? I hope it wasn't too bad?”
"I met some of those in the First Visitation."
“I've heard of it from other people, but not much.”
His head rears back in surprise. "You haven't learned of the Visitation yet? When
those above found these caves, they sent a large force below, led by a small group
of powerful adventurers, with much magic. The sorry band hoped to subdue us all!"
He snarls. "They were arrogant. They were stupid. And they were slaughtered."
“That doesn't sound nice. But typical of the Empire. Did you leave any alive?”
“Perhaps I can find something to use as leverage over Linda?”
"To a man and woman. A group of them came here, fleeing a band of sliths. They
attacked. I slew them, and cast aside their paltry treasures. Another band came,
humbly this time, asking for sanctuary. I refused them, though they offered a
bribe."
“What could they possibly offer you?”
"A stone key, which they said they found somewhere far to the west. I was enraged
at being attacked, so I threw them out, and their trinket with them. They can't
have gotten far before the sliths got them. They went southeast."
“Art, we were there. We didn't find anything, but now that we know what to look
for, we should look again. If it's subtle like that, then perhaps it has been
overlooked?”
“Thank you for your time Motrax.”
“Come again. If you are doing what I think you are doing, then you will return. We
should have a proper conversation then.”
“Oh! Before we go, the mage Solberg is in the area. Do you know where he is?”
“Solberg? It is as I thought then. His tower is to the south in a cove along the
river by your town. You'll need a boat to access it. I hear that Fort Draco, to the
west, has some.”
“Thank you!”
“You sure we should be going off to the side? Captain Ko did warn against it.”
“How bad could it be?”

Meet the Firedrakes. An upgrade from the normal Giant Lizards, these breathe Fire,
and take half damage from the same. Guess what my only AOE element is? This fight
took a while, but I persevered. Good XP and gold too, for my level.
“What were they guarding, I wonder?”
120 Gold, and a plot item No one has told us anything about these brooches yet, but
we've actually come close to two others already. We'll absolutely need them by the
time the LP is done.
“That's... something alright.”
“I think we're done here. Let's get to this Fort Draco and get a boat and talk to
Solberg.”
And here's the map. Note that it's incomplete as I didn't raid the treasure trove.
There's no way I could survive getting out past Motrax and the guards. I'll do it
later.
“YOU'RE NOT DEAD! THANK YOU!”
“ cant ” “ breathe ”
“Ember, let her go before she turns blue.”
:gasp:
“Can we go now?”
“Sure.”
“I hate you, Sign.”

“SIGN!”
“You still mention the dragon, but also give other useful information, so I cannot
hate you as much at that other one.”
“Now that we know what to look for, let's try again....”
“Found it!”
“Wow, I don't know what kind of stone this is, but it's pretty damned tough to have
survived all this time.”
“Why would the First Expedition think this was valuable enough to try and bribe a
dragon with?”
“Not the key itself, but whatever lay behind the lock.”
“This is going to be like that Bronze Key, isn't it. We pick it up, and then we'll
find out what it's about so very much later.”
“Probably.”
“This isn't a Fort. But there is a fire. Perhaps we should ask for directions?”
“Hello!”
“Hello! They call me Gooley."
Sitting in front of a fire is a middle-aged man. He wears armor and is polishing a

gleaming mace while he waits. He wears a holy symbol.
“I'm Duncan, and we're the First EEC. We were looking to get to Fort Draco, but got
turned around in the tunnels. I assume this isn't the place. What are you doing
here?”
"I and Yong-Mi are adventurers. Fort Draco is to the west, although you'll have to
go around a few of the caves. This section still has plenty of dead ends. As for
your question, we're trying to get into the crypt."
“How do you know this is a crypt?”
"That's definitely what it is. I can sense the torment of the souls beyond. We hope
to liberate them from their unholy bondage, and pick up a treasure or two in the
bargain."
“Surely there is more to this endeavour than that!”
You find a small Asian woman with waist-length hair. She seems to be mixing up some
poison.
"Greetings. I'm Yong-Mi."
“Duncan. Charmed. And you are..?”
"Getting ready to enter the crypt. It'll be a tough haul. Nasty and dangerous." She
sighs. "But better than the alternative."
“Tell me about the crypt.”
"The main problem now is figuring out how to get in. Spells and picking haven't
worked on the door yet, but we'll keep on it. There must be some way to open it."
“What's this about being better than the alternative?”
"Well, I could be on the surface. I went into Exile voluntarily. I may be the only
one. Let's just say there was a marriage I wasn't interested in being a part of."
She looks at the substance she's grinding carefully. Then she smiles. "It's hard to
get quality ingredients."
“I came down by myself too!”
She laughs. “It's good to see I'm not the only fool then.”
“I'm something of an alchemist myself. What are some of the local ingredients?”
"I've had best luck with the poison glands of asps. Asps are hard to find, but
their fangs make powerful poison, if you can find a recipe. I'd teach you mine,
but, well, I don't want to. Sorry." She smiles winningly. "Still, there are better
things."
“Like?”
"What I could really use are some good arrows."

“Oh, how I wish I could get some of those....”
"Arrows of light and arrows of life would be really useful in here. The first slays
demons. The latter slays undead. Both are rare as hell. Ah, well. Have to do things
the old fashioned way."
“How the hell did they miss this?”
“Being a Cleric and an Alchemist means they are not trained for this sort of
thing?”
“Move!”
The door closes behind you, and cannot be reopened.
“Ooops?”
“I swear, I will MURDER you if you just trapped us in here!”
“Calm down! Worst comes to worst, we simply wait for the ones on the outside to
open it up for us.”
“Fair enough.”
You hear the sounds of shuffling coming from deeper within the blackness
“Crap.”
Welcome to the Ancient Crypt, another optional dungeon. It's also a Zombie
Apocalyse in a can. You will be hounded by the undead every step of the way, with a
ludicrous spawn rate of Skeletons, Zombies, Ghouls and Ghasts. It also burns
through your Lights at an insane rate. As in Art's “Light” spell will start to fade
after 10 moves. Long Light lasts a mere 15. You're going to either need a lot of
torches, or be prepared to stumble around in the dark.
I've mentioned before how exploration while in Combat Mode is useful, and this is
the first location where it's a near life-saver. Because of the near constant
combat, conservation of resources is vital, and a Bless lasts a lot longer, and can
result in more damage than any fireball.
Oh, and a person's line of sight is individual, even though you can see everyone's
line of sight at once. This is very important as you can't use people as spell-
spotters without a Light active.
“The builders of this place, I presume.”

“Does not bode well for us.”
I was wrong. Whenever an Undead drains life, they are not Slowing their target,
they are taking away their XP, though thankfully this won't cause a level down at
any point.
“That's the same mechanism that unlocks the front door. We can leave when we want.”
“Nice, but I think we'll need to take care of whatever is causing all this
“What foulness has crafted these things? What poisons their soul?”
A glitch in the game engine. I cast the light spell in this room, and it showed the
existence of the enemy. This being before I moved, and the enemy had to chance to
respond. My response? Fight mode and charge.
That is also totally not a Beholder. What makes you think an Eye Beast would be
that?
“If this is the loot that they want, they will be sorely disappointed.”
A rare chance for me to screencap active damage. This is Ember roasting a group of
undead with a Fireball and here you can see the graphical representation of it –
This particular Ghoul is taking 22 fire type damage. That level of hurt was only
enough to kill the skeletons, but the rest are damaged enough to be easy pickings.
“This altar does nothing.”
“Last place is the deepest section of the crypt, all the way in the back. You guys
ready?”
“There we go, and that lock is sprung!”
“OH SHIT”
Meet the Vampire. Nasty, nasty pieces of work. It was also at this time I realized
I forgot to buy Dispel Undead for Art – I'll have to fix that next update or the
one after. Anyways, Vampires have over 100 hit points, a single attack that can
slow and drain life, and can cast Firestorm for crowd control. They are a massive,
massive threat, especially for a party that is already worn down by the relentless
hordes of undead.
There's also a second one behind the first, so don't think you're lucky when the
first one dies.
This is how I dealt with them. Duncan, in a moment, will be running around, killing
skeletons and the like coming up from behind while the second Vampire is stuck in
the doorway and in the dark where he can't cast any spells.
“Clear!”
“Oh dear god, I could sleep for a year.”
“Not until we're out.”
“Look what I found!”

A picture of an item's details. This particular wand casts Ice Bolt upto 12 times.
I'm probably going to sell it so I can afford training and the Magic Map spell.
“FREEDOM!”
“Go well?”
“VAMPIRES!”
“Hrm, glad we didn't go in. Those can be tough. I'm surprised you made it out
alive.”
“They're DEAD (again).”
“Amazing!”
“killstealers"
And here is the map for the Crypt. Optional, but the real treasure is the massive
XP grinding you can do here if you're willing to take the risk.
‹
Part #15
Part #17
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #16
Part #18
›
Return to LP Index
Part 17: Update 015 – Remote Fort and Fort Draco
Update 015 – Remote Fort and Fort Draco
“Say it!”
“No!”
“Do it!”
“This is unseemly and childish.”
“But entertaining.”
“No!”
“Do it!”
“No!”
“Do it!”
“No!”
“Do it!”
“No!”
“Do it!”
“Certainly for the first few iterations, but a joke like this gets stale after a
while.”
“I saw a play where they repeated the same action over 120 times before the actual
production started. It was humour that relied on excess to work properly.”
“I've heard of those. Absurdism plays do not interest me.”
“You're mistaking Absurdism – which is a philosophy that recognizes the inherent

attempt to find greater meaning will inherently fail due to either its non-
existence or impossibility to comprehend -”
“No!”
“Do it!”
“- and the concept of the Surreal Humor, which is based around the incongruous
behaviour of illogical actions and the juxtaposition of the mundane with the
absurd.”
“Where did you learn that?”
“Studied to be a playwright. Didn't go very far in the whole thing, but it was a
nice groundwork for understanding the nature of narrative.”
“Dissapointing, really. In a more general sense. I'm not empathizing with you. The
decline of culture can be attributed to the inane and asinine policies of Hawthorne
and his circle of advisers.”
“Words like that could get you exiled, my friend.”
“No!”
“Do it!”
“ENOUGH!”
“We are LOST. Simple as that! Now ADMIT to it!”
“...”
“...”
“we'relost”
“SIGN!”
“Oh thank goodness.”
“women”
“What was that?”
“NOTHING!”
“I do not believe this is Fort Draco. Perhaps we can get directions therein?”
“Worth a shot.”
“Someone forgot the lights.”
“And no one is here. This is not a good sign.”
“There's a building on the island over there. And a boat. Perhaps we should
investigate? Worst comes to worst, we fall back, find Fort Draco and inform them of
any problems we encounter.”
“Can I row this time?”
“Sure, as long as Peregrine helps out.”
“WHAT?”
“You both need the exercise. The rest of us get plenty of it as it is.”
“This is preposterous!”
“No, it's absurd. Now row!”
“I object!”
“Overruled!”
“Is there something in the water?”
“This is outrageous!”
“Fine! Someone with actual muscles will row.”

“It's pretty quiet. Maybe they're all asleep?”
“Wouldn't explain the lack of guards at the gate.”
“Right then, be on your guard.”
This dialogue box shows up when you're in a boat and you try to move onto a
'bridge' tile. If you tried getting off onto the ground, then you would simply
disembark. But this allows you to stay on the water for whatever reason. Usually to
reach other places. Interestingly enough, on the world map, if you're in a boat,
you don't get any random encounters!
“Is that a hymnal being sung?”
“Perhaps this is a Monastery fortification?”
“We'll check it out, quietly, so as to not disturb the attendees.”
“KILL THE INTRUERS!”
“Oh COME ON!”
See this? Times three. Major, massive numbers of spellcasters here. Unless you want
to get torn apart at range, stick to the outside wall and let them come to you
through the doorway. I've also been using the opportunity to grind Peregrine's
levels. It was.. Quite successful.
“Oh crap, there's more of them!”
“Hold the line!”
Check the log there. The Evil Priest (in red) cast Flame Strike, a AOE spell with a
range of 2 squares away from the centre (think the city-radius from Civilization 1-
4). And then cast it such that it only hit Ember and Peregrine, instead of casting
it one tile closer and hitting Ember, Art, Peregrin, Rook and Karmas at once. The
combat AI can make some... wonky decisions at times.
“Clear!”
“I swear! I didn't mean to wander into the central fort of an evil cult out to do
evil things!”
“I do not know. You seem to have a knack for it.”

“Hey! That's not my job now!”
“I really don't want to touch this altar.”
“Wow, that is so evil, it's not funny.”
So naturally, I touch it, just to see what demon comes out:
Yeah. I'll stay away from this for a while, probably until everyone in the party is
at least level 20.
“Split up, see if there's any information about this place.”
“Found the library!”
“And there's some interesting tomes.”
Everyone on the party just had their Mage Lore increase by 1 each. It's not a big
boon, being worth only 6 skill points and 150 gold worth of training. But it does
raise our aggregate total from 10 to 16 in that skill, which will carry us for a
while.
“Hidden escape entrance.”
You can go north via water instead of south as I did, and use this as a back-door
into the temple. Just an alternate path, not necessary.
Other than that, there's nothing of real note here. Just a few spawning enemies as
I go, and a couple rats and a spirit hidden on the north side of the map. Here's
the map!
((I'm really sorry about the map. I'll fix it when I come back and Magic Map
everything.))
“Not lost!”
“We still are, but this is a nice find.”
“If we only knew what it was.”
“Perhaps we should find someplace else to be?”
“Don't be a wuss!”
“Says the woman who is scared of Dragons.”
“They're DRAGONS!”
“Not the point. Motrax is not hostile.”
Grabbing this spawns two groups of Giant Spiders, but they are easy enough to
dispatch.
“Finally!”
“This is a mining town. Best not to split up.”
You see an old woman in ragged black robes. She seems to be looking for something.
“Have you lost something?”
"I'm looking for my familiar right now. It's being very naughty. Then we're going
to go meet the dragon."
“I'm Ember. What does your familiar look like?”
"Oh, hello. I'm Caitlin." She keeps looking under tables. "Yes, my little lizard.
My friend! And helpmate! Who I won't punish! Not at all!" She starts to search
faster as she shouts.
You hear, from behind you, something say "Yeah. Right."
“You're going to go see the Dragon!?!?!?! Why?”
"Yes. Mighty and ancient Motrax lives in a cave to the east. He welcomes all
humans. He actually likes us. Mages from all over go to learn from him. I'm on my
way now, if only I can find that naughty, naughty familiar." She spies a lizard
under a table, and leaps after it. It gets away.
You see a small green lizard, with a ribbon around its tail and a bell around its
neck.
“Umm.. Hello?”
"Hiss. My name's Jack. Hiss." The bell tinkles. It looks embarrassed.
“uhhh....”
"Hiss. I'm a familiar. Hiss. Hiss." It tries to shake the ribbon off. "Hiss. For
her nibs, Caitlin. The one who makes my life one long string of torments and
humiliations. Hiss. I say, hiss. Hiss?"
“Good luck. Um. Both of you.”
“Art, this is one weird lady”
“Spectacular!”
Yes, they're using a magma vein to help forge their metals. That's actually pretty
awesome when you think about it.
You see a massive bearded man, covered in what must be an inch of soot. The
enormous muscles in his arms almost threaten to tip him over.
"Welcome to my shop! I'm Boutell." He clasps your hand in a bone crushing grip.
“Master Smith, I presume?” he shakes his hand to try and restore feeling in the
abused limb.
"Yes I am! The best weapons and armor in Exile come from my forge, and I can repair
just about anything as well. I'm the only one with the skill to work the steel
well."
This guys sells steel weapons and armor, the best non-magical gear you'll find in
the game. It's also bloody expensive. I could spend 8-10k gold here to kit everyone
out with optimal gear. I'll talk more about this guy in a moment.
“I was informed that metalworks were nigh impossible own here due to the lack of
metals?”
“Proper Iron for making into steel, sure! But lesser metals like wrought Iron,
Bronze, Copper, Zinc, that sort of thing? Easier to come by, especially in this
region. We got a whole host of mines to the North East, if that's your sort of
thing.”
“You say you repair things as well?”
"I would love to work on a mighty blade! Now that would be a challenge! If you ever
find something I could fix, let me know!"
Aside from his store, Boutell has two things going for him. First is he's the name
we need to tell X. Why?
That's why. Apparently X wants to drop an anvil so big even Bugs Bunny would think
he's overdoing it. The second is that his comment about repairing items isn't just
for show. While this game doesn't break gear, like say System Shock 2, there is a
plot item that can only be fixed here. But we won't come to that for a while.
“Talked to her. The only thing she has is a recipe for a strong poison for 500
gold. Can't afford it, but it will be a good investment if we can find a good
supply of Crypt Shrooms.”
Apparently it's pronounced E-faye according to her dialogue response to 'Name'
You see a small man with short blonde hair. He wears a belt laden with tools.
He's the only guy to sell a boat that can reach Solberg's tower, so buying one here
is pretty much required. It costs 300 gold, and I pop it down.
“I have no idea about all this.”
“Such industry...”
“Bah, material wealth for material men.”
“That sounds like a man who's never had a warm bed in his life.”
A sooty beggar rolls himself around the paths on a cart. He has no legs.
"I'm Frank. Give me a gold piece, please?"
“Here.” He flips a coin to the man. Then another. “What happened?”
"I was once a productive member of society. Then I got thrown into Exile. Then I
became a productive member of this society. Then my legs got chopped off in a mine.
Now I try to get people to give me a gold. Sad story, huh? How about it?"
Just goes to show that even Exile has problems. And we haven't even seen the worst
of them yet. And no, you can't actually give him any money. I tried.
“COWS!”
“I dread the day we find a sign that is in the shape of a bovine, or even has
anything to do with them at all.”
“Agreed.”
Sue sells general supplies, but I can get back to Mertis to buy food.
There's honestly not a lot to do in this town, as befitting its place in the
overall economy of Exile. In E2, it's importance is increased dramatically for
certain reasons. Anyways, here's the map!
“Hold on.”
“Wasn't there that witch in the Tower, Zathnia, who mentioned a Phyella here in
this Fort? How come we haven't encountered him or her?”
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
‹
Part #16
Part #18
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by berryjon
‹
Part #17
Part #19
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Part 18: Solberg's Tower and Loose Ends
The Tower of Solberg and Loose Ends
I want to apologize for this update. Those reading this in the archives will not
know that I had an issue with my system for about a week, delaying this update.
Because of the delay, and the need to re-do pretty much everything here-in, you'll
see me jumping about quite a bit, rather than taking a more natural path back
through places previously visited. I've tried to clean it up as best I can
First, I went by Fort Duvno and Silvar to dump my excess gear and train up. I'll go
over training at the end of the update, as usual. What I want to say now is that as
per the wishes of the thread, Peregrine IV got trained to cast level 7 spells so
that we can use Major Blessing and Protection now, rather than later.
“Ember, I must charge you with a solemn duty.”
“You're scaring me, Peregrine!”
“With this power at my command, I must leave to you a lesser duty, one more fit for
your magical reserves will last longer.”
“I must conserve my strength to cast these epic spells in times of dire need. And
from that, I must charge you with the more mundane task of using Fireball, Ice Bolt
and other offensive magics in my stead. Do you understand!”
“HELL YES! BURN BABY BURN!”
My second stop was Mertis. With 2600 gold burning a hole in my pocket, and not
enough to go out a equip everyone with steel equipment, I go there to do some long
term preparation:
I buy a little over 1000 food to keep me in stock for the duration.
“Are you crazy? Just how are you planning on carrying all this stuff!”
“Peregrine could use the weight training?”
“...”
“I object!”
“Very well.”
Next, I went back to Fort Draco and picked up that boat I bought. From there, I
went south along the water, then turned back to the East.
“You know, based on the positions of those two camps of Nephilim we fought, we
could have taken this boat and bypassed them both to reach the back entrance to
their citadel.”
“And why couldn't we have done that in the first place?”
“We didn't have the money for the boat, and you couldn't row?”
“So, if our directions were right, this should be the place. I don't expect him to
make things easy, but we have to try...”
“This humidity. More open lava or magma. How much of Exile rests just above pockets
of active vulcanism?”
“You have got to be shitting me. Solberg really likes his privacy.”
“No two ways about that. You and Peregrine best be ready with your healing magic.”
This image is disingenuous. To get to the tower, your best path is to walk on the
lava from the west, hitting two tiles of it before entering the tower from the
left. When you leave, you come out here, on the north side, then have to walk over
two tiles of lava to get back onto safe land. There is no secret path to bypass the
worst of the lava. Thankfully Light Heal All can keep you in shape long enough to
cross the worst of it.
“Are you sure this is the right place? I mean, seriously, it looks like some dark
foreboding tower of evilness.”
“It does have a certain magmatic charm to it.”

“Poached?”
“Seriously? I know you poach eggs, but this could just be a simple mistake.”
“Before we go into just how dottering this old man really is now, I see we can walk
around the edge of the tower along the rock there.”
“Ah, thank goodness Solberg was good enough to expand the heat-repelling magics on
his tower to expand out this far. Else the convection from all that lava would
surely kill us.”
“Still very hot. And why don't they turn that into some sort of lava walk spell?”
“The maxims required for the establishment of such edifices scale poorly downwards.
While it would be simple enough to construct a building whose materials can be
augmented through magic to resist even the most intense of non-magical heat, the
effort and energy required to make it usable on the personal scale becomes extreme
as you would need incredibly energy-dense materials to hold the spell in place for
any usable amount of time.”
“So we're talking...?”
“Adamantium.”
“You'd be better off developing outright flight for the same energy expenditure.”
“oh.”
“Disaster.”
“Everyone on their best behaviour. We are the bearers of bad news.”
“STOP CHATTING AND GET IN HERE!”
“Yes sir!”
You see an ageing, bald man in brilliant crimson robes. He supports himself with an
oaken staff carved in the shape of a cobra. He looks at you nervously. "I am
Solberg, of the Triad," he says. His face sours as he looks at you. "I would like
to welcome you, visitors, but your arrival fills me with fear. Let us just say I am
here waiting."
“About that, sir. We have some very bad news...”
“I suppose this means that my fellow members of the Triad have completed their
business?”
“If you mean business, then Linda has....”

“They plan to summon a Haakai! I know! And not any Haakai, but a Haakai Lord!"
“We know! Wait. Haakai's have Lords?”
“Be careful where you say that word. It has dangerous power. They are the
lieutenants of demonkind, powerful, and cruel. And my colleagues planned to summon
one who is powerful enough to lead them. A chieftain, as it were." He groans. "And
now this foul deed is done! Heavens help us all!"
“Sir, you make it sound like they did not call forth a mere rank-and-file member of
this demonic elite.
“You are right. I dare not say his name, but they must be mad to have brought him
down upon Exile. They have great dreams of what they can win from him, but not even
they have the power to contain him for long. Nor, I suspect, can they force him
back to his home."
“Do not call up what you cannot put down.”
“Wise words. No. He must be defeated. Destroyed."
“Is that even an option?”
"I wish some bold adventurers such as yourself could destroy him. It is a
dangerous, gruesome mission, but one that must be done, and soon." He looks at the
party hopefully. "Should you ever wish to undertake it, return, and ask me for the
crystal key. It will enable you to reach where the demon is kept."
“You mean, in the tower?”
"Yes. As a member of the Triad, I was given one by Linda. It's hidden to the south.
But please don't take it until you are sure you have the power to fight the demon,
for I have no duplicate. It would be best to wait to take it until you have found
'Demonslayer.'
“We have heard of that blade, Demonslayer. What do you know of it?”
"A mighty sword, brought down by Karzoth, leader of the first (and doomed)
expedition down here. When he was slain by a Haakai, the sword was broken into
three pieces. Long have we tried to find the pieces, but all he have are clues." He
thinks. "That reminds me. The scepter was brought down by the First Expedition
too."
“Linda mentioned something about that. How she had found a special sceptre.”
"An onyx scepter, which gave great power to the mage that wielded it. We recovered
it, but couldn't figure out how to use it. They used it as bait to lure the Haakai
to the Tower."
“If we are to do this for you, we'll need those clues you had about the pieces of
Demonslayer.”
"When the sword was broken, the creatures that slew the humans took the pieces as
trophies. The Slithzerikai took a piece to their holy shrine, in a swamp far to the
south. Another piece was taken by a lich, to an ancient den of undead far to the
west." He stops to search his memory "Of the third piece, we know nothing. But some
believe the Nepharim took it."
“I think I know. You remember that basalt door we couldn't open in the Nephar Fort
north of Corta? If Solberg is right, that would be a good place to store something
belonging to your hated enemy.”
“That does seem like a good lead. Beware though, any piece of the Demonslayer would
be guarded well by the forces that broke it in the first place. You would need to
be prepared to face lesser Demons to attain the pieces of the blade.”
“Thank you sir. If we find a group capable of doing what is asked, we will let them
know how to contact you.”
“And if it's you?”
“Our primary mission is escape, Archmage. We stumbled on this issue by accident,

and I don't know if any of us are capable of doing what must be done.”
“Still, young lady, that you are here gives me some cause for hope. Be it you, or
someone else, I believe that the cause will be taken up by someone who can do it.”
“In the meantime, refresh yourselves. I know crossing the gulf to my tower can be
onerous. I have a library through that door, and a kitchen through the other.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Books....”
“Don't go drooling over them, ya fool!”
You see a large, lazy, calico cat.
“Kitty!”
It looks at you with utter disdain. It meows, then looks at you as if it were
deciding whether or not to bother. Finally, it says, "My name is ..." It hacks, in
distaste. "... Cheeseball."
“Solberg's Familiar then?”
"I am the loyal servant of Solberg. I assist him and watch over him, and accompany
him, even when he takes me down to the lowest pit of hell."
“It can't be that bad?”
He coughs and shakes soot out of his fur. "What do you think this place is? Lava.
Can't ever leave. No mice. No dignity. If I wasn't magically obligated to stay with
Baldy, I would be off. Now the tower, that was a place for a cat."
“You make it sound like being around a bunch of crazy mages....”
“HEY!”
“... crazy mages who live in the tower is better than being safe here.”
He purrs. "Now the Tower! That was the place for a cat! Prestige! Excitement! Mice!
Mutant catnip! Other cats, some of them a different sex than me! So what if there
were demons? I could handle them! I want to go home. I deserve it." Cheeseball
fidgets about, in a thoroughly unintimidating display of fury.
“... and we're done here.”
“This book is odd....?”
“So, this is the crystal Key that Solberg was talking about. I suppose we should
leave it here then.”
I totally grab it, rather than have to justify coming back for it later.
“Nice kitchen. Except there's only a single pot in here.”
This pot gives 5 food per activation. You can step on it as many times as you want.
Therefore: Free Food forever, as long as you're willing to spend time clicking.
“Does anyone feel like jumping into a strange portal?”
“I suspect it is a two-way portal to allow Solberg the ability to access his tower
without crossing the lava fields.”
“Sounds logical enough.”
Corrupted image here, sorry.
“Um, why are we in a small cave? I can still smell the lava.”
“What's this? A... scrying pool I believe?”
“Oh dear.”
“Well, this explains how come Solberg is so up-to-date on the goings-on in the
Tower.”
“Indeed. Let us head back.”
If it seems like a lot of what we just talked about was something that's already
been covered, you're right. As has been pointed out in the thread, one of the great
strengths of the Exile series is in the exploration. When coming to Solberg's Tower
(actually called the Hidden Tower), you can get much the same information as you
can poking around the Tower of the Magi and the Ogre Cavern. Except not, as the
password to find out how to get inside Solberg's place is located near the Tower in
the first place.
The only really new information we get here is confirmation of the presence of the
Onyx Sceptre and the hints of the locations of the pieces of the Demonslayer sword.
One of my stops later in this update will be to collect the first piece. The second
one is relatively nearby, and will be collected as we go through normal questing,
while the last we'll have to go slightly out of our way to get much later. Then
Karmas gets it.
If you also try to enter the tower without knowing the password, I believe that the
door teleports the party into a cavern full of Fire Drakes off to one side, hence
the 'poached' comment.
And before I move on, here's the map to the Tower.
As promised, our first stop is to pick up the Demonslayer fragment. As you may
recall, there was a door that I couldn't get past in the Nephar Fort where I
rescued those slaves. A basalt door in the upper left corner. Time to go there.
“This Magic Map spell is wonderful! I can create perfectly clear maps of the local
region!”
“Then you or I add in a 'Detect Life' spell, and we can detect all the non-undead
in the area!”
I admit it, I'm cheating here. Rather than carry and shuffle around sapphires for
all this, I decided to cheat and use the game's character/party editor to give me
all the town/dungeon maps for free. What you see here is the result of this; the
ability to see the entire map and where all the hostile living creatures are. This
can be very useful, especially when trying to sneak around a place.
“There are two life signs on the other side of this door. Is everyone ready?
Duncan, you have to door picked?”
“Ready.”
“Oh SHIT!”
Without the use of Peregrine's Major Blessing, this would be a difficult fight.
With it, this becomes a manageable conflict as long as I can keep the enemies
locked into close combat rather than allowing them to pelt the party with ranged
spells. I win.
“Don't touch that helmet. It's cursed.”

This is the first piece of cursed equipment I've shown you guys, I think. In
general cursed gear have negative properties and can't be removed short the remove-
curse spell or visiting a priest in a town. If you ID one, just leave it behind as
the shops won't even buy it. The ring, on the other hand, turns out to be a Gold
Ring of Regeneration that Art wears through out the rest of the update, but before
and after.
“Is that...”
“It is!”
And now we have the pommel of Demonslayer, the most powerful two-handed sword in
the game.
At some point during all my running around, I picked up a Wand of Curranos. For
those of you counting off the references to Dungeons and Dragons, make another tick
mark, because this is effectively a Wand of Wonder.
And now, welcome back to Fort Draco.
“According to the Magic Map, there's a hidden room back here, perhaps that's where
that woman we missed, who knows about Phyella?”
“Actually, Phyella was her name. She was supposed to refer us to... Cortath, was
it?”
“Your memory serves you well. Let us find out how to get to that location.”
A woman paces around here, lost in thought.
“Um, hello?”
She mumbles something.
“Um, Phyella? What are you doing here?”
"Research. Please go away."
“We're looking for Cortath?”
"He crossed the bridge to the west and headed south. Looking for graymold. Go
away."
“I think we're not going to get anything else out of her. Come on, let's go.”
North and East of Fort Draco....
“SIGN!”
There's a few of these encounters on the map, but they all do the same thing. It
also helps support the notion that Fort Draco is the major industrial hub of Exile.
Now to the Cave of Motrax:
“Hey! A small cave I can hide away from the mean dragon!”
“Who goes there?”
You see a dim, insubstantial figure, lurking in the back of the cave.
“Um, who are you?”
It whispers "I was Zeld."
“What are you doing here? Are you hiding too?”
It speaks very quietly. "I wait here, trying for revenge."
“On who?”
"On foul Motrax, who slew me while I looked, merely looked, at his treasure."
“Um.... even I know it's stupid to go poking around a dragon's treasure”
"I tell all I can, as my revenge. It lies beyond the lake, beyond his lair, beyond
the entry cave. But there is a passage, so humans can get to it, should he pass on.
I found it. There are no traps in it! I set them off!" His ghostly form wavers
briefly in his anger and excitement.
“Um... OK? I'm going to go now...”

I'm going to first update all the town and dungeon maps for everyone, reflecting my
cheating to reflect my ability to actually do it by saving, casting the spell,
taking a screenshot, then reloading the game.
TOWNS:
FORT EXILE
SILVAR
MERTIS
COTRA
FORMELLO
TOWER OF THE MAGI
“I can't tell where they would be keeping that Demon Lord creature in the middle of
all those labs.”
“In the section with the Lava?”
“Why are we still planning to actually do it? And it's a Haakai, not a Demon Lord.”
FORT DUVNO
FORT DRANLON
“Hey, I think this spell is wonky. It's showing a large section of land to the
North-West corner of the fort.”
“I concur it may be a flaw. It seems as though large bodies of water may interfere
with the mapping itself, causing it to give false readings past a certain point.”
Or the map is incomplete because there's no way for the party to get over there,
and Vogel cut a corner here? I'm not complaining, but I am pointing this out
because you will see it in the future. Many times.
FORT DRACO
MORTAX'S CAVERN
“I mean, really? Who would be dumb enough to try and rob a DRAGON?”
DUNGEONS:
BRIGAND FORT
HIDDEN (Nephilim) FORT
BAT CAVE
NEPHILIM FORT
UNDERGROUND (Nephar) FORTRESS
OGRE CAVERN
THE DARK PIT
“There is something in the middle there. It must be important, either to recover or

destroy.”
“We'll have to come back after getting that Dispel Barrier Magic.”
REMOTE TEMPLE
ANCIENT CRYPT
“These Arrows of Life will do great when hunting Undead. Too bad you have to walk
across the lava to get to them first!”
Finally, the composite map for this region of Exile:
And now, Stats time!
Art is coming along nicely. I branched off into Luck for this round of training,
though I should get back to working her primary stats. The Gold Ring of
Regeneration is a massively powerful piece of equipment that boosts natural healing
15 times faster. Otherwise, her equipment is still the same.
Nothing really new for him. Still need to invest in HP, Strength, Pole Arms and
Item Lore.
Not much to say about him, unfortunately. He's a meat shield. Although he's
starting to lose AP due to his equipment, so I should raise his Strength soon.
Rook has improved his combat skills, and got a better bow through loot. This
picture was taken before the update, so the half-dozen undead slaying Arrows of
Light are not in his inventory.
More Int, more SP. Nothing really spectacular here.
At the behest of the thread, Peregrine stockpiled Skill Points to raise his Mage
Spell level to 7 to allow him to cast Major Blessing. I put the other 3 points into
SP to give him a little leeway where casting is concerned.
‹
Part #17
Part #19
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by berryjon
‹
Part #18
Part #20
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Part 19: Update 017 – GIFTS and the Aranea City
Update 017 – GIFTS and the Aranea City
“Alright, this, I want to do.”
“What? I do not understand your desire to head in this direction.”
“Greymold.”
“Elaborate.”
“Ever heard of the panacea?”
“Vaguely.”
“Well, it's essentially a medicinal cure-all.”
“And this 'Greymold' is it?”
“No, but it is suspected, based on its properties, that it would be a vital

ingredient for one.”
“This is what was meant when we talked to that witch in the Tower, was it not?”
“Yep!”
“Not to mention discovering the final concoction would make him rich and famous.”
“Would I do that?”
“yes.”
“Look, We can all get what we want! It's just that the limiting factor is the
Greymold itself. Even in the Empire, it's very rare and only found the deepest
caves. Exile may have more!”
“Art, as leader, what say you?”
“Even if we don't find any Greymold, there was that Tower Alchemist who came this
way. We can talk to him about the problems facing the tower and from there see who
we can give this key and the Demonslayer pommel to.”
“I dislike the idea of simply handing off a problem to someone else.”
“We're not, really. We are aware of what Archmage Linda has done, certainly, but we
are not in a position to fight that sort of evil. There has to be someone more
capable than us out there, and once we find them, we inform them of the problem and
give them what we've done so far to them to deal with.”
“I understand the logic, but I do not like it.”
“Hey guys, there's something weird with this sign.”
She wipes the worst of the webbing off. “Who would do that to this poor sign?”
“First though? Spiders. But that's just a wild guess.”
“Anyone an arachniphobe?”
“If we were, we would have found out when we came upon that spider cavern north of
that remote temple.”
“True. Now, I suppose, knowing our luck, that this man we're looking for has been
accosted by these spiders and is trapped in a cave somewhere by a horde of tiny,
non-threatening critters.”
“All of whom want to be loved?”
“Pretty much.”
“Guys, where are we?”
“A cave. Did we seriously lose track of where we were going?”
“It seems so. Quite disgraceful.”

“WE ARE NOT LOST”
:chitter:
“Oh dear.”
“Get ready.”
“Come on, we'll do this carefully.”
“Give me a moment to Magic Map the place.... There!”
“Well, that doesn't help.”
“No, but we must look around.”
“According to the map, there's a body in a small cave to the south of us. We should
be able to get at it from the west.”
“I hope it's not out guy.”
“Come on, we can sneak around a bit through here.”
“Get it!”
You see a giant spider. It sees you, and bounces up and down in happiness. "I'm
spider!"
“...”
“Should we be screaming in terror or what?”
“Um, hello 'Spider'. What is it that you do around here?”
"I haven't decided."
“I'm leaning towards simple running away.”
“About what?” She too isn't sure what to make of this, but a spider that is talking
and isn't attacking...
"I really want to find a mate, and have a whole bunch of baby spiders! But I also
want to catch some gnats! It's really, really confusing."
“gnats?”
"Neat! Where?"
“That way.”
The spider scampers off, looking for gnats.
“Guys? Thoughts?”
“Giant.”
“Intelligent.”
“Friendly.”
“Talking.”
“Spiders.”
“Right. Thought so. I'm too scared to run. Have to keep going forward.”
You see a giant spider. It is singing. It stops singing. "My name is spider! I'm a
singing spider. Would you like a song?"
“I'm not sure...”
"OK... Sometimes I get all hungry/ And then I catch some flies/ They fly into my
webs/ They are really yummy guys."
"Neat huh?" Your ears hurt. A nearby spider swoons.
“There are none back here. We can relax and regroup!”
“I think this guy gave up on life.”
The corpse contains a Bliss Potion – one that blesses its drinker, and provides
other effects I haven't be able to document yet.
“Now we have to go through more of these... GIFTS to make sure we aren't leaving
behind that man to be tortured from the friendliness.”
You see a really big spider. It sidles up close to you. "My name is spider." It
seems to be trying to use the spider equivalent of a come-hither voice. "I'm
looking for a boyfriend spider! Or a boyfriend!"
“Boyfriend?”
"Yeah!" She looks at you closely. "You're cute!" She runs up and gives you all
kisses. It's very, very strange.
“Art?”
“Well, she's broken. What horrors will we encounter next?”
You see a large spider. It's staring at you. "You guys are humans! Neat!" It leaps
up and down in happiness. "My name is spider!"
"I'm trying to learn magic spells."
“oh, have mercy, please? Spells?”
"Yeah! Watch this..." It waves its front legs around, and shouts "BOOM!" Then it
looks at you. "That wasn't very impressive. I know. But someday I might cast spells
as good as an aranea!"
“Aranea? Haven't we encountered them before?”
"They're nasty!"
“Just keep walking...”
You see a spider walking around, looking at the webs. "I'm an inspection spider!
Neat, huh?"
“What is it that you inspect?”
"Yeah! My mission is to walk around and look at the webs, to make sure they're safe
and stuff. You know, webs are very useful!"
“Ignoring the messenger, the notion is quite sound. You must be an expert on webs.”
"Yeah! You see, when you like, want food, you can build a web, and then bugs will
fly into eat, and you can eat them! Yum!" It looks one of you over. "You're cute!
Want a date?"
“And now we've lost Karmas!”
“Huh?”
You see a gigantic spider. "I'm an elder spider! My name is spider!"
“An elder? Amazing.” The last word is quite flat.
"I am an old spider. I teach the littler spiders of the great Spider Lord!"
"He's a HUGE spider! Like a god! And he makes huge spider god webs, and he catches
really BIG flies, and he does stuff, and stuff! It's NEAT!" Nearby spiders stop and
listen to this, fascinated.
“Oh great.”
You see a big spider. It sees you. "I'm a guard spider!"
“What do you guard?”
"Yeah. Sometimes mean people come, or nasty aranea. When they do, I do this!"
[/i]It runs up suddenly, and kicks you on the shin. It backs up.[/i] "That sure
shows 'em!"
“Um, sure. Good job.”
You see a spider. It stares at you happily with its big beady eyes. “I'm spider!
I'm looking for a cute girl spider! I was on a big mission, but I finished it."
“A mission?”
"I was looking for a fly!" It thinks. "But then I caught one! And I ate it! It was
yummy!" It thinks more. "Some spiders like gnats more. They're silly."
“We should be able to squeeze through here...”
“A few dead bodies, but nothing worth looting.”
Not true. A set of wights are back here, but they don't have any loot worth
mentioning.
“Damn, well, we must make our way out now.”
“But how do we get to the other side over there?”
“I don't know...”
You see a very large spider. It's looking at you. "Hi! I'm spider! I'm looking for
flies! They're yummy!"
You see a big spider. It's jumping around happily. "I'm hunting for gnats. Other
spiders like flies, which are yummy, but I think gnats are even yummier!" It runs
around in little blissful circles.
"I'm a spider! I do spider things! Building webs! Meeting cute spiders! Laying
hundreds of eggs! You guys are cute!"
“Must. Resist. Urge. To. Tell. Ember. To. BURN. EVERYTHING!”
“But they're cute!”
“We must flee! They have gotten to her!”
“Don't be so dramatic. They're like overeager puppies.”
You see a spider wandering around, looking for flies. "I'm looking for flies! I met
this human once, and he told me there were things called cockroaches, which are
really yummy, but I've never found any, so I eat flies."
This comment will have absolutely no relevance in this game. I also wanted to break
up the conversations by pointing out that you are correct. Every spider in the
Spider Cave is named 'spider' – yes, with the lower case 's'. I've been skipping
over that comment and going straight to 'job' as my question for a time now.
“Cockroaches?”
"Yeah! They're slower than flies, and meatier! And they walk instead of fly! And
they shoot fireballs, so you have to be careful! Or is that aranea? They're silly!"
You see a very large spider. It's looking at you. It's voice turns sad. "I'm making
a new web. The old one got destroyed. It's making me really sad. I can't work on my
mission."
“What's this about a mission?”
"Yeah! I was on a mission! I was looking for a mate! Then I could have a few
hundred baby spiders! That would be neat!" It jumps up and down joyfully.
You see a smallish spider. It giggles when it sees you. "I'm a baby spider!"
“Ohh, you're so cute for a baby spider!”
"Yeah! I can't build webs yet. They fall down. And I catch gnats, cause flies are
tougher to catch! Someday, I'll be a big spider, and then I'll be bigger!" It
bounces up and down in happiness.
You see a very large spider. It's looking at you. "I'm looking for a mate. It's
tough. All the cute male spiders are busy."
“cute?
"Yeah! You know, you're kinda' cute!" It runs up and kisses you on the shin.
There is a small difficulty here in the Spider Cave. You see, in order to reach the
next plot point, you have to look at the flow of general conversation, and apply it
to the specifics. You see, in this 'town', everyone not only responds to 'name'
(variations on “My name is spider!”) and 'job', but also to 'flies' (“They're
yummy!”), 'gnats' (“Where?!”) and oddly enough... 'mission'.
Once you notice that the spiders talk about their mission, you can start poking at
others who don't mention it directly. From there, you can find someone who actually
has a response to it...
"Yeah." It suddenly turns sad. Its forelegs droop. "One of our spiders was captured
by the aranea. They're smart mean spiders. They live in another cave, to the ..."
It struggles to remember the word. "... west! I've been trying to get a nice cute
human to rescue her. We could give a reward!"
“Reward?”
"A bunch of mean people came here once. We webbed them all in a cave. You can't get
to it now. If you freed our friend, we'd take the barrier down and you could go in
and take their silly things!"
“That sounds... useful.”

“WE'RE OUTSIDE!”
“Praise the gods!
“I've got webbing in places I don't want to think about!”
“But they kiss nice!”
“Oh gods, I never want to go into there again!”
Nothing special about this point, but I did want to show off the slight graphical
glitch here. I like to think of it as flavour for the cavernous walls, rather than
anything more.
“So, why did we agree to help them out?”
“Do you want them to follow us around, pestering us for stuff?”
“Hey, I can hear some water over that way. Let's see if we can get some clean water
to wash the worst of the webbing off.”
“That's a pretty wide river.”
This particular body of water is a natural boundary in Exile. We won't be able to

cross it for a while. This is because it's part of the Demo Barrier. Around here is
a great unpassable chasm that prevents westward movement, and could be gotten rid
of by purchasing the game.
Seventeen updates in, and we haven't even finished what's available in the DEMO.
That should give you a better sense of scale as to just how huge this entire game-
world is. And how awesome the game is for giving players enough gameplay to really
make it interesting.
But in the full version? You can take a boat from Corta/Silvar and eventually make
your way all the way up here if you so chose. I'll be doing that... eventually.
Actually, I just checked my master map, and it seems this particular body of water
goes all the way north and south through Exile. I can work with that. Anyways, back
to the game.
“WHY!?!?!?!”
“Back north it is.”
“Do we seriously have to go in there?”
“Same reasoning as before.”
“What about hero worshipping?”
“...”
“Come on. Maybe Duncan's alchemist is in here.”
“Fire at the entrance. A good sign?”
“The magic map makes me think the prisoners are in this back cul-de-sac here.”
“Then I suggest going up this right-side passage. After the rescue, we can come
back down along the left.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
“MAJOR BLESSING!”
This will be a thing from now on. If you see me in a dungeon, and I don't have my
party hasted and blessed, then I'm doing it wrong.
Aranea cast Slow, Flame, Minor Poison, and are semi-decent in melee combat.
Actually a decent challenge in prepared encounters like this.
Except I have Major Blessing, and everything goes my way way. I LOVE THIS SPELL.
“Duncan?”
“They're protective runes. Peregrine, some help?”
“Hrm. Yes. I see. This junction here?”
“Yes, it looks like Aimee's Rosetta?”
“Close. More like Patrick's version.”
“Booo-ring!”
“And in summation?”
“Protective runes to keep something in. Multiple layers.”
“What does that mean? It is a trash pit back there, look at the filth.”
“I'll go look.”
“CRAP!”
Meet Imps. They are the lowest grade of Demon, and outside of the breaking that
Major Blessing allows me to do, are the first 'demonic' type enemy you're supposed
to face. They take little damage from Fire, cast Fire, Poison, Slow and Curse, oh,
and are probably the most dangerous enemy in the entire dungeon. But I bullrush
them under Major Blessing, and they go down pretty fast.
“Wow, that's not a good sign.”
“And yet, the Aranea were able to construct defensive runes to keep them contained.
That speaks much of their magical prowess. It's too bad that they are hostile.
There is the possibility of learning much from them.”
“Well, there's some more for you to discuss things with.”
This never happened, but I wanted to show it off anyways as this was the first time
it happened. Not when someone died, but because of what happened to poor Peregrine.
He got OBLIDERATED. This is deader than dead, and it's called Dust.
Being dusted is pretty bad. You can't be resurrected, and I'm not even sure that
you can be restored at a church! How does it happen? Well, you take massive damage.
And for Peregrine this was enough.
Also note the usual AI. The two Fireballs were targeted straight onto Rook, rather
than a more sensible spot just south of Rook where the AoE could have hit Ember at
the same time. It seems then, that the AI will always centre an AoE effect on an
actual PC rather than on an empty spot in order to damage more targets.
I reloaded.
For the record, the enemy that brought this pain upon me was the Elder Aranea. They
are very dangerous foes as they can reliably do 30+ points of damage with their
Fireballs. In dealing with them properly on the second try, I waited out of their
sight, cast Major Blessing (sense a theme here?) and then rushed into the room with
them, ignoring the normal Aranea to take them out.
“Wow! That was a difficult fight! I thought I was a goner there for a minute.”
“It must have been a close one for you to drop your pretentiousness there.”
“Be silent, worm.”
“Peregrine's all better now!”
“Indeed. A proper blitzkrieg is a good thing when dealing with spellcasters.”
“Anyways, let's go deal with the prisoners.”
“Hello? Rescue service!”
“In here!”
“Go to the left as you leave, we have secured that route. Do not go down the centre
path or to your right.”
“And behind door number two..?”
“This is... interesting.”
“YES! The secrets of their rune construction ARE MINE!!!!!”
“Can you read Aranea?”

“no”
“Well, I think there's something here you can use...”
A Scroll: Kill. However, this game doesn't have a 'death' effect, so it simply
deals a massive amount of damage to a single target. At this point, it's not worth
keeping, so I'll probably sell it, or store it for much later when there are
targets worth using it on.
“Bah, this is lax reward. But I recall seeing a hidden chamber to the south of
here. Let us investigate that as well.”
“Oh, that doesn't smell good.”
“Ewww.”
“This is disgusting.”
“What fell sorcery is this?”
“Anatomy. Vivisection. Cut down the bodies. Ember, burn them when they're done. I
won't leave people like this.”
“Peregrine, there's something down here you should look at.”
Crystal Wand, dispells undead. I have Art for that, so this becomes vendor trash.
“We're ready to torch the bodies.”
“I got it. Everyone out of the cave, this will be hot.”

“I never thought I would look forward to wading through hordes of spiders like
that, but here we are.”
“And as promised, the path is open.”
“At this point, I still feel that dealing with the Aranea was reward enough.
They...”
“Let it out.”
“Not here. Later.”
“More bodies. Imperial. First Expedition.”
“How do you know?”
“I paid attention. This one has something...”
“This matches the same style as the Ivory Brooch we got out of Motrax's cavern.
They were part of a set.”
“If I actually thought Linda was even remotely trustworthy, I would have cheerfully
handed these over to her for some sort of reward. Now I feel like they should be
kept as far away from her as possible.”
“Agreed.”
There is also a Steel Helmet on one of the other bodies. For the end of the update,
here's an image showing all our 'key' items we have in our possession. We have the
Bronze Key, used to open the door to get the Mayor's Necklace, the Stone Key (which
we don't have a lock for), the Crystal Key for when we attack the Haakai Lord. In
addition, we have the Ivory and Malachite Brooches, whose purpose is still unknown
to us. We have the Demonslayer Pommel, but are missing the Blade and Tip. We also
have the Crown Token granted to us by the Mayor of Formello to visit the Castle and
get an audience with King Micah. It's an interesting collection of partial quest
items that will only grow.
And here's the maps:

‹
Part #18
Part #20
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #19
Part #21
›
Return to LP Index
Part 20: Update 018 – Exploration and the Slith Cave
Update 018 – Exploration and the Slith Cave
"Everyone ready?"
"mrgleh"
"Ember's packed. I'm packed."
"I have some additional cartography supplies for Duncan's insistent mapmakng
project.”
“You denigrate this project with such venom, my friend. And yet the tales of
history have many examples of the benefits for knowing the lay of the land. And I
do not speak just in military terms, but also in measure of surveys for towns, of
mines and farms.”
“They why haven't the locals done so yet?”
“I can answer that. It's because of a man-power shortage. Not only in terms of raw
population, but also in measure of people skilled enough to make maps. I can tell
you from experience that a good map is worth a hundred times its weight in gold.”
“Oh, completely. Even a basic sketch of the path of the caverns can do wonders to
allow future explorers foreknowledge of what to expect.”
“Including Here, there be Spider?”
“Great, you broke them. Again. You bastard.”
“Can we just get on the damned boat already?”
“Notit!”
“Fine, I'll row for the first little bit.”
“If I were a more childish person, I would take this opportunity to taunt all those
monsters with the knowledge that they can't attack us.”
Interesting thought. Throughout this update and the last, every random encounter
has been running from us because we're too powerful.
“Hrm?”
And sometimes you come across things like this. It's good to see things happen that
don't trace back to the party.
I lied. You run over this the first time, you get a random encounter with some
Nephil, but it was so boring and they both ran away so I decided to try and present
what happens with the encounter node after it was triggered instead.
“We should get off here and do some checks of the caves along the water.”
“What are we looking for?”
“Things like this, were there is a lot of plant growth. You see the marsh there, as
well as the excess plant growth here and across the river there?”
“Yes?”
“This land would be good for farming, or at the very least, a good place to start
proper irrigation further into the caves.”
“What he said.”
Not me this time, I swear!
“Nice lake. And not one sign of lava!”
“I see something in the curve of the lake there. Like a shack of some sort.”
“Weapons ready, Rook, Ember, watch our backs.”
“Does anyone see signs of a struggle?”
“No.”
“No, my friend.”
“I can tell that the resident was struggling with the notation on these scrolls,
but that's not what you're after, is it?”
“Hey guys, we're clear. You can come in now.”
“Find anything?”
“Duncan and Peregrine are going through these papers. It looks like some hermit was
living out here.”
“At least, I hope it was a hermit, and not a philosopher. That could get messy.”
“Sure, but whoever was here already left. I don't think they're coming back.”
“bwuh”
“Duncan? Surely you haven't found something so asinine and utterly without merit
that even your feeble intellect must shut down at the horror?”
“SHUT IT.”
“Hey! Be nice!”
“Yes mother.”
“Ouch.”
“That's enough out of you, young lady.”
“No, this is quite serious. But this can't be. Everyone, look around to see if
there's any mention of a 'Cortath' living here.”
“Cortath? The Tower Alchemist? I thought he went west from Fort Draco, not South?”
“Just LOOK, dammit!”
“We've found a couple things that suggest he lived here. Why?”
“Because of this.”
“This is a great loss.”
“There's no way he'd abandon this work?”
“What is this?”
“It's the culmination of all Cortath's work. It's the recipe for the Greymould
Salve.”
This is another Mage Lore locked event. If we hadn't raided the library of the
Hidden Temple a couple updates ago, then we would still be stuck at 10 Mage Lore –
not the 15 minimum for this event. The proximity of the two locations is one of the
few nice things the game gives you.
But now we have this recipe, long before we actually need it. Nor do we have any
Greymould, nor is Duncan capable of mixing any up.
“But this is beyond my skill. Even if I had the necessary ingredients, this is well
beyond me.”
“Hmph. To be expected.”
“Don't be such a blow-hard, you ass! This is important! So many lives will be saved
with the use of this Salve! Cortath's mixture is something far greater than
anything you've ever done!”
“Listen to me you utter”
“THAT'S ENOUGH! BOTH OF YOU! OUTSIDE! NOW!”

“That was... vehement.”
“I don't mind bickering, but I do mind when they argue like that.”
“Still, such an elixir would be a great boon for all. Perhaps we should seek to
distribute the recipe?”
“If it's as hard as Duncan says it is, not many could do it, you know? Who could we
sell it too, without at least proof that it works?”
“She raises a good point. Having a recipe is different is very different from
knowing it works. At the very least, there is a good possibility that Cortath has
gone to find the necessary Greymould for his recipe, and his home has been
ransacked in the meantime by less than savoury people.”
“What does that make us?”
“I suggest we tidy up, and make sure the door is closed to minimize the possibility
of animals getting in.”
“Good idea. Ember and I will do that while you two wrangle Duncan and Peregrine.”
“Of course.”
“There, clean.”
“You know, I've been meaning to ask...”
“Yes?”
“How is it that you're so good at giving commands and stuff like that?”
“I used to be an officer in the Empire.”
“Oh.”
“WHAT?!?!?!”
“And that is the end of that conversation.”
“Alright. I mean, we are all down here, right?”
“End. Of. Conversation.”

“Interesting.”
“Hey Duncan, how do you explain this?”
“Simple. The rock for this peninsula is harder than the surrounding soil, so the
water eroded around it, rather than through it. What does the sign say?”
“SIGN!”
“Grahk?”
“I have never heard of him. He may be an explorer who was doomed.”
“Better mark this down, then.”
Oh, hey. I'd forgotten what random encounters looked like!
“I think that's it for this boat. We should head down to Cotra to buy ourselves a
new one.”
“Can't we, you know, carry it?”
“Far too far to portage.”
“So, we just leave it here?”
“It's unlikely we'll get a refund on it.”
“We'll hide it for now, and if we need it, we'll come back.”
“Ehhhhh....”
“It's the best of a bad deal, I know. But we'll still need it if we need to visit
Solberg again.”
“I name thee..... Water Two!”
“That's embarrassing.”
“You lost the game. I got to name this one.”
“This leaky tub doesn't deserve a name!”
“You're just jealous you lost.”
“Just get in the boat. It's my turn to row.”
“We should really come back here and get that Slith Tome for Mairwen so she can
teach me how to dispel barriers.”
“Right.”
“Starboard.”
“right.”
”Starboard”
“Land ~ ho!”
“Well, It looks like there's a small passage here.”

“Odd, I see no signs as to what deity or force is worshipped here.”
“Did someone desecrate it, maybe?”
“I see no signs of that...”
“It's... musical?”
“YES!”
“What?”
“It's one of those missing crystals from that broken cavern! One down, five more to
find!”
“yay?”
“Great, now we'll have to go back around the long way.”
“And there's Grahk's signpost again.”
“Let's see what's on the west bank here...”
“SIGN!”
“...”
“NOPE.”
“MY THIS CURVED SECTION OF CAVERN LOOKS VERY INTERESTING AND NON-SPIDER-FILLED.”
“I AGREE. LET US LAND AND INVESTIGATE.”
“You're both ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous or not, there's some scree here that indicates mining. And it's fresh.”
“These guys are far from a town.”
Why would I Attack?
A one-time event, this purchase.
“Here you go. An honest deal is hard to come by these days.”
“I don't mind helping out, but that seemed a little out of character for you,
Peregrine.”
“Silence! The gems, though crude and flawed, are sufficient to the task of casting
that vital spell. It was also very cheap to purchase from them, and I see no reason
to not spend the money given that it will only encourage them to work more.”
“Translation: Because I was a nice guy.”
“Ludicrous!”
“HA! You can't get me out here, you eight-legged freak!”
“Can't row up a waterfall.”
But you can go down them, and that will be covered much later.
“This looks to be the place.”
“But Fort Dranlon is just across the river to the east. Was the fort established in
response to the nearby Slith cavern, or the visa-versa?”
“Don't know. Don't care. Let's go get this book or tome or plans or what-have-you,
and get Peregrine his magic spell.”
“A vital magic spell, thank you very much!”
“SIGN!”
“Well, I can't read Slith. Can any of you?”
“No.”
“We go in slowly and carefully. There's no telling what awaits us here.”
“Of course.”
“sign”
“Peregrine, Map it.”
“That looks like irrigation along the left and centre of this cave.”
“Not sure what's with those pools along the back of the city, but in the north east
corner, that looks like where our objective should be.”
“I'm more worried about the fortification right in front of us. Give me a second,
I'll go check it out.”
“holy shit”
“Guys? Problems. The Sliths have a fortification at the end of the bridge. A stone
wall with a couple spell casters behind it, plus several warriors. And that's just
the ones I saw in the firelight.”
“Damn. We need to sneak in somehow.”
“But this is the only way in or out. We can't simply go around and come up through
the back like we did with the Nephil Fort up north.”
“Allow me to cast Major Blessing. Art can contribute a Curse while Ember slows the
defenders. That should give us enough initiative to make a break past the defensive
structure.”
“You sound like you've done this before.”
“I've studied my history.”
“I have to agree with Peregrine. You were starting to treat this as an operation
for a group larger and with more resources than we do. We must be more flexible in
our use of what we have as well in how we use them.”
“Alright, we'll do it your way. But if we all die, then I'll kill the both of you
first.”
“Let's go.”
CLICK THE IMAGE FOR THE VIDEO.
DID YOU WATCH IT? GOOD.
Seriously though, Major Blessing is a huge advantage for a good while to come.
Eventually, we'll need it just to keep up, but for now, enjoy!
"Where are they all coming from?"
"The barracks maybe?"

"Can you imagine trying to fight through them on the bridge?"
"I have enough imagining fighting them now!"
"That... that..."
"Was a very intense workout?"
"Master of the understatement, you are."
"Guys, why are there still little lizards ignoring the fact we just killed, like, a
dozen of their big brothers and sisters?"
"Interesting. Evidence of a physical caste system where ones prowess determines

ones course in life. Warriors and spellcasters are larger and, well, 'better', yet
these 'civilians' barely come up to my chest, and...."
"That could be the study of a worthwhile life, I agree. But now is not the time.
Let them be."
"Right. Right."
"Yep, barracks."
"Actually, let me Detect Life for a moment..."
"There's just some enemies along the north side of the cave. Odd, it doesn't show
any of the Sliths tending the farms though..."
"That class of spell does include a hostility indicator."
"Still, we should head north along this side of the cavern now, and loop around the
side.”
“Duncan and I will take the point.”
“What do we have here? A fishery?”
“Oh.”
“We have another one here, it looks like.”
"Oh."
"We should do it. A generation lost will set them back quite a bit."
"You're asking us to kill so many innocents? Not all of them will grow up to be
evil Slithzerikai, you know. There are a lot of civilians who never picked a fight
with us as we walked through here."
"And what of those that do become hostile?"
"You are making sweeping generalizations about a species we barely understand. We

are also doing a large part in making sure these ones don't grow up to be homicidal
Sliths by removing a large section of the individuals responsible for socializing
them into people incapable of working outside their species, or even their clan!"
"Now you're the one making generalizations. You're presuming mammilian style
parent-child socialization when we are dealing with a lizard-species that has
dozens, if not hundreds of young in pools like this."
"Hey guys? Ethics debates are wonderful, except for two points you're all missing."
"The first one, I assume, would be that we have a mission."
"And the second one is that I don't want to kill babies. Now that's final. Move
out."
I asked the thread for this decision. One of those simple 'first vote wins' deals.
Not because there was any plot need to make a decision here, but because I wanted
some input from the thread. Calamitous_Justice made the vote.
I really wanted to write a full discussion here, but it just didn't work, nor
wouldit make sense to have a long-winded ethical debate in the middle of hostile
territory.
"Very well, but I will warn you of the dire consequences that could come from
this."
"Maybes, all of them."
"Enough, both of you. Our leader has made a decision, and it must be respected."
"Yes, Karmas."
"Anyways, the looks like the place."

"You know, one of these days, we'll be able to accomplish a mission without killing
everyone in our path."
"You're kidding, right? Hey Art. Evil Altar. Do we touch it?"
"We're good on this one."
"Very well then. Now, we saw two secret passages on the Magic Map. The one to the
West, or the one to the South?"
"Flip a coin?"
"I don't have one. Anyone?"
"No."
“West.”
“That was a simple lock. Almost too simple.”
“What was that?”
“Light electrical shocks?
“What for?”
“To discourage animals, most likely. I don't think we can turn this off.”
And you can't! Obligatory damage ahoy!
“Well, Peregrine and I can heal us up, so let's go.”
“Well, what do we have here?”
“An interesting key.”
“And Mairwen's book.”
“You mean the book she wants. Not that it's hers in the first place.”
“It makes no difference to me. Come, let us go.”
I decided to rest up and regain some SP through the 'wait 40 turns' command. When I
was done, I “Detect Life”d again, and this is what greeted me:
That's a lot of random spawns, and I had to fight through them all to get out.
If you're doing grinding, and the random encounters are running from you, this is a
legitimate way to do so. Go into a dungeon, clear it out, then wait a couple
hundred turns for a couple dozen more enemies to spawn in, then repeat.
Except Jeff Vogel and his company thought of that. Every floor of a dungeon has a
hidden value called an 'extinction value'. This is the number of enemies that can
be killed on that particular dungeon/floor before no more will spawn.
I can only recall ever doing this once in all the times I've played this game.
“Let's check out that other side passage as well before we leave.”
“Private sleeping quarters for the priesthood.”
“Duncan?”
“Disarmed. I think we can get across through this alcove over here.”
“And there's nothing of real worth in the chests. Damn. Well, I suppose the Sliths
don't have the same value for things that we do.”
“That was a quiet exit.”
“Yes, because we killed everyone on the way in.”
Yet we have what we came for. Let us be off.”

“Here's your book!” He slams the magical tome down in front of the surprised
Mairwen.
She reverently takes the book. "Thank you. Understanding Slith magic will be a
great aid." She spends several hours teaching all of you how to cast Dispel
Barrier. "Out of gratitude, I will also teach the spell to anyone you may add to
your group later."
“I tried to tell her I don't do magic.”
“She must have known that only Peregrine had the skill for that spell.
“YES!”
“Alright, with that out of the way, here's the general plan. First, we go back to
the undead cavern by Metis, crack open that central area and see what's in there.
We can go back to Mertis and report on the danger if we don't resolve it. After
that, we head to the Mage's Tower, and tell the witch there that Cortath may be
dead. She'll have to be prepared to take over the location permanently. After that,
we can investigate the Tower a bit more, then from there, move West to the Castle,
and see if the government can do anything about Linda and her madness.”
Map Time!
Swamp City/Slith City/Slith Cavern
The Waterway from the Aranea City down to Fort Dranlon and the Swamp City.
‹
Part #19
Part #21
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #20
Part #22
›
Return to LP Index
Part 21: Update 019 – The Island Fort and the road back to the Tower
Update 19 – The Island Fort and the road back to the Tower
"Whose turn is it to row?"
"Mine, I believe."
"Too bad there's not enough wind for a proper sail. That would do wonders."
"Hey, maybe we could just go with the current?"
"That's actually an interesting question. What are the natural currents for this
body of water?"
"From the north for sure. The river by Cotra is a definite south-bound flow. But
what about Silvar?"
"It goes west."
"We can't forget the river that goes past Draco and Formello. That one starts on
the north side and curves to go east as well."
"Could it be connected? You get past the reefs and such south of Formello and
follow the river around, it would come out at Formello and down here?"
"Possibly, but I do not know enough to hazard a guess."
"That's something that you would outfit a proper expedition to uncover. Well beyond
our strengths."
"And from all that, I can assume that this lake drains out to the south?"
"Most likely."
"Speaking of rocks and shoals, Karmas, can you grab that oar and help me out here?”
“Of course.”
“Hey, didn't we see people on this island way back when? Maybe they could tell us
where all the bad parts of the water are.”
In case it wasn't obvious, the rocks in the water are unpassable.
“A good idea. And it looks like Art and Karmas could use a rest.”
“I told you buying all that food would be hard to transport.”

“Shut it or you'll take all the rowing shifts until I say otherwise.”
“You wouldn't.”
“Try me.”
“As a distraction, I believe that's a fortification along the south of the island.
It would make a good defensive position between Corta and Dranlon. Ember has the
right idea. We can get directions there.”
“I'm all for that, rather than blindly wandering about on the lake.”
It's not that bad, really. There's no real mazes out on the water like some of the
caverns, (one exception much later not withstanding). I just wanted a narrative
excuse to come here now.
“Ummmm...”
“Crap.”
“What do we do? Sliths!”
“A moment to let me map the place.”
“If we decide to clear this place out, we can work along the outside edge to our
right. It looks like there are docks over there we can use.”
“And secret passages too. Those are always useful!”
“I concur. That section in the middle looks suspiscious.”
“Are you guys sure you want to do this? We can head over to Corta and report this,
you know.”
“To whom?”
“...”
“Look, we're in this position now. We can do something about it. And claim a reward
for it later.”
“Careful, you almost sounded heroic there.”
“Ugh, don't tell me.”
“I say it was a minor slip of the tongue. Let's just take care of these guards
first, shall we?”
Before we go much further, I discovered something neat with this dungeon that came
from the use of Magic Map. You see, the spell reveals the whole map, not only on
the mini-map, but also on the main screen. You can use the 'Look' command to scroll
around and have a look more directly as well, but in a 'dark' dungeon like this
one, you can still only see what's lit up.
And then I saw the boat. Which appears to be a glitch as technically it is in my

line of sight, but isn't 'lit' by any lights. And it only showed up when the screen
was centred right on top of it. I think it was fun, this glitch, but nothing I
could use or exploit, like say, skipping over event triggers by being in combat
mode.
“Nice and quick. Like professionals.”
“Where?”
“I concur. We have been more lucky than good.”
“Let's have a look here....”
“Man, I'm glad for my poncho. Otherwise, this would be really uncomfortable.”
“I was wondering why you wore that. Fashion statement didn't seem to be it.”
“I found it quite normal. Why would anyone draw attention to ones clothing here in
Exile?”
“Not sure, really. I mean, most of the people we've seen down here are wearing
leathers of some stripe or another. I think... oh my, I just had the most amazing
idea.”
“I doubt it, but do go on.”
“Spider Silk.”
“what?”
“I'm serious! We should find a tailor, and talk to the GIFTS. Make some sort of
deal for cloth-grade silk, make clothes, and be rich!”
“That's stupid!”
“No, the idea has technical merit.”
“I can see it working from an economic standpoint as well. With Fort Draco already
in the area, there is an established logistics line we can use to transport
finished goods down into the Eastern Gallery.”
“The what?”
“Oh, I heard that name being used for the cavern that runs from Fort Exile to Fort
Dranlon, including this lake we're on. The 'Eastern Gallery'.”
“Which implies a 'Western Gallery'.”
“Guys! Spider Silk? Really? I mean, I've worn real silk before, but that's just
expensive! And how do you even know if they can produce that quality and quantity
of thread in the first place?”
“That is why we would need to talk to them first.”
“You're all mad!”
Somehow, a conversation aimed at pointing out how the PC graphics could be a little
weird given the resource situation implied down here in Exile segued into a
conversation about cloth, and then I had a brain-wave. What about Spider silk?
We've met the GIFTS, so it would be fresh in my characters minds. I stopped writing
the update and went to do some research. Turns out spider silk isn't used in cloth
much due to how hard it is to acquire. It has more industrial uses than commercial.
But I had to write this up anyways because its not like the PCs can stop and look
up Wikipedia.
And this has been a glimpse into the mental processes I go through when writing
things. Back to your regularly scheduled LP.
“I mean, seriously? Have you talked to those Spiders? Would they even be able to
understand what you're asking of them?”
“Uh, Art?”
“Yes?”
“You realize you didn't even look at that Slith when you stabbed him, right?”
“Huh?”
Another glitch! Somehow, this poor Slith ended up in the rock, and couldn't get
out. Where Art is standing is the only place to be able to attack him as because
he's in rock, you can't use ranged attacks, and magic won't AoE onto him. Art put
him out of his misery.
“Well, I'll be. He was stuck in a crag there. Almost didn't see him at all.”
“I wonder what he was dong back there?”
“It's not that deep. Maybe he was trying to hide from us?”
“Can we just keep going? There's a store house back here.”
“I might be able to use this, but it's made of iron, not steel like my current
weapon. Oh well, I'm sure someone will pay nicely for this as a trophy.”
Around here I realized that I was over level'd and over-geared for this dungeon.
Besides, by the end of the update, Duncan is going to have a much better weapon.
And to be honest, the Slith Spears are actually pretty good weapons, it's just that
Steel is so much better than Iron. The graphic for the weapon indicates that it's
more like a Partisan or Demi-fune in style than a classic spear, a nice touch I
find.
I also left the dungeon for a moment to recharge my SP as I was going through it a
little too quickly for my tastes. When I came back in, I saw that the guards had
been replaced with normal Sliths, rather than the warriors. Easier to battle.
“Now, let's grab that boat and check out that centre section before we get to the
left side of the fort.”
“Map says something's just south of here. Through that crack.”
“YES!”
“Another of those crystals?”
“This makes the entire trip worthwhile!”
“Enough celebrating, if the Sliths were responsible for that damage, I think wiping
out this enclave would be a very good idea.”
“Hold up, we can land here.”
“Most of the built-up area is to the south. We should hit that first.”
[IMG][/IMG]
“ACK! Plan A!”
“A?”
As Redmark pointed out in the thread, Art: Curse All followed by Ember: Slow All,
followed by Peregrine's Major Blessing is a combination that gets used so much, it
deserves its own macro key command. Except this game doesn't support that, so I
have to do it manually each time.
And I dread the coming day when the enemy starts using the same combination on me.
“Big Slith coming from the south!”
Meet the Slith Chieftan. Much like the Nephar Chief, it's bigger, tougher and
stronger than the Warriors. Backed up by spellcasters, they are a force to be
reckoned with.
Guess what? So am I.
And for some reason, a pet Fire Lizard is here as well.
I've also discovered that I have a problem. I'm so used to using Ember and
Peregrine as my go-to spellcasters, I forget that Art has a pool of SP as well for
much of the time, and as such when I do remember she get relegated to after-combat
healing. I have to force myself to not send her charging into the thick of things
where her build tears enemies to shreds.
“Altar is safe.”
“Let's go get that secret passage now.”
“Now betting it's trapped.”
“No bet.”
“Actually, those were pretty easy. Let's see what we have here.”
“These look like strategic plans...”
“Like the ones the Captain at Dranlon was after?”
“We JUST left there! Now you're saying we should go back?”
“What's in the other boxes?
“Generic supplies.”
And now we have the Slith Plans. Time to leave.

“I hate rowing up-stream.”
“Yes?”
“The Slith Plans you were looking for, from the fort on the island to the south,
near Corta.”
He takes the plans from you, and looks them over. "Wonderful! This will save many a
human life." He then gives you a decent sized bag. "Here's the reward - 500 gold.
Be sure to bring me any other information you find."
Before you think the reward is stingy, you need to remember the 'basic supplies'
also included 700 golf and 50 food. Add the 500 'reward' and the total is 1200g,
plus the experience for killing everything in your path as well as their drops.
It's a bit higher.
“stingy”
“This island is so close to the Island Fort, they may have had a forward scout
here.”
“YES!”
“Three, baby!”
“Before we head north to Corta, we should check out that last island.”
“HELL YES!”
“Quite the boon, finding three in such proximity. There's what, two more to find?”
“Yep!”
“Hello, Konig.”
“Oh, Peregrine! And Ember! How goes your search for the crystals?”
“Found four!”
“Three on islands to the south of us, one to the north, in a small shrine. Do you
have any leads on the other two?”
“Yes. I found plenty of Slith-sign near the cavern, so they must have been
responsible. Go east, and check their swamplands. While you're there, could you
investigate reports of slave camps? Any humans you rescue may be able to provide
you with information.”
“Thank you. Also, Ambrin said you could teach us Firestorm?
“For your work? Gladly. Get the other two pieces and restore that cavern, please.”
“With that out of the way, sir, there is something a bit more serious to talk
about.”
“Linda.”
“Yes.”
“Talk to Solberg. His tower is north of here, near Formello. He knows more than I
do, and is more capable of helping. I'm just a teacher, and the best thing for me
to do, with his advice, was to stay away from the Tower and be prepared to start
from scratch.”
“We already talked to him, thanks. You stay safe.”
“Actually, before we go, you know Cortath?”
“The alchemist? Yes?”
“We found his place north of here, by Fort Draco. It had been raided and ransacked,
and we fear the worst has come of him. But his notes were relatively intact, and it
appears he succeeded in finishing his recipe.”
“Amazing! No. This is horrible news. The man is dead? Oh, that will destroy
Phyllea. Have you told her yet?”
“No. We were heading back to the Tower to deliver the information to Zathnia.”
“Good call. If you'll excuse me, I must think this news over. Leave me be.”
This shot was taken east of Silvar, along the river. I just wanted to show off all
those random encounters that got over here. Only the Slith one isn't guaranteed to
run from me, and now they also include Giant Lizards in the mix.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
“That was a quiet trip down here. Peregrine, you're up.”
“Damn, not enough.”
“What's the matter? Not enough skill to get through the barrier?”
“That insult fell quite flat, as is common for you in the presence of men.”
:groan:
“YES!”
“Fuck! Hostiles! Kill them!”
“That's the last of them.”
“Let us look around. There are many bodies here, at the end of this cavern.”
“Oh.”
“That... this...”
“Nothing we can do about it.”
“He's right. Come on, let's see if we can find something to identify these people
with.”
“A Silver Ankh. It should have provided protection against the Undead, but it seems
there were too many of them.”
He takes the Halberd in hand, and after getting a feel for it, it explodes into
flame! “HOLY SHIT!”
“Magnificent!”
I want to take a moment here to describe how equipment works. All weapons have a
base damage for the purposes of calculations, and a 'bonus'. Some weapons also
increase defence, which I'll get to in a minute.
Duncan's Steel Spear has a base damage of '10', and a bonus of '+3'. That means,
that it will tend to deal 10+3+Strength damage (with variation due to RNG) to any
foe before their defence kicks in. It also adds a hidden +3 (or about +15%) to the
accuracy of the weapon, once again, before the defence of the foe kicks in.
Armour and Shields have a 'Defence' stat, which reduces incoming damage, as well as
reduces the chance of taking damage, and for them, the Bonus applies to that stat
as well. Certain rare weapons have both 'Damage' and 'Defence', allowing the Bonus
to work on both.
Anyways, Duncan's new “Flame Halberd” has a base damage of 18, with a bonus of +2,
and can cast the Flame spell up to five times. Given that would work off his INT
score, I don't think I'm going to use it. He now has the most powerful weapon in
the party, and the party's first piece of magical arms and armour.
When I first checked its stats, I thought that it had a Strength of 0, a Bonus of
+18, and a Defence of 2 (which was simple transposition, alas. If that was the
case, I giggled at the thought of not a 'Flame Halberd', but a Halberd made of
Flame, and would have had fun with the descriptions of that.
“This is the same style as the other brooches we've recovered.”
“The ones from the Spider Cave and Motrax's cavern? This was part of the First
Expedition?”
“Seems so.”
“I want Duncan's new toy.”
“You can't have it. It's mine. There may be others like it, but this one is mine.”
“Ok. That's just creepy.”

“Time to head to the Tower.”
“Zathnia?”
“Yes? Have you come to finally lay down money on my ”
“I have some bad news.”
“What is it?” She looks very nervous and worried, casting glances in the direction
of the south-west corner of the Tower
“No, it's not that.” He explained the circumstances of finding Cortath's house, and
the recipe therein.
“Oh. Oh my. This is... I'm sorry. I.. I need some time. Keep it for now. Come back
later. Please.”
“Of course.”
I hit up the Magic Shop to see what the RNG has for me today, and did I ever luck
out!
The Magic Helm went on Rook, while the Axe, being an Edged weapon, went onto Art,
replacing her Iron Short Sword. The difference is... immense.
“And while we're here....”
“Boutell. He's the man in Fort Draco with the largest Anvil in the whole of Exile.”
“Joyous! You can purchase spells from me anytime!”
“But that thing is huge! What possible use for it could you have?”
X giggles “Oh, you'll see! You'll see!”

“Well, time to move forward.”
“We got a long walk ahead of us.”
I did some training, but then forgot to screencap it all. I'll do that next update.
Sorry!
Island Fort:
Eastern Gallery Lake and Silvar River

‹
Part #20
Part #22
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #21
Part #23
›
Return to LP Index
Part 22: Update 020 – Almaria and Patrick's Tower
Update 20 – Almaria and Patrick's Tower
"Lovely, more lava."
"It gets more interesting than that. Look!"
"This is amazing. I... I mean, the water flows into the magma, boils, rises to the
top of the cavern where it cools and from there, rains down into the soil, flowing
back into the lake, and the cycle repeats...!"
“An ecosystem in a simple shell.”
“Such a wonder would never be found on the surface. We are truly blessed to have
seen this.”
“I wonder what sort of life would live here?”
“Wouldn't it be better to set this region aside for agriculture? Constant water,
plus pulling fresh soil from near the magma should make for good crops, in theory.”
“I think they'd need the crops in the first place, Rook.”
“SIGN!”
“This sign is artistic in its paradoxical representations.”
“Seriously?”
“He does have a point. Paradoxical abstract art has its niche. It was supposed to
represent how we subvert our expectations of art and the world we observe. There
was that one famous piece... oh, what was it? With the article of clothing?”
“You're thinking of the piece commonly known as This is not a Pipe. I had the
chance to view the original some time ago in the capital.”
“Yes! That's where I saw it.”
“Is this what I sound like when I talk about something intelligent?”
“Yes.”
“Impossible.”
“And yet, here we are.”
“Where are we anyways?”
“Sign!”
“Quite interesting.”
“I SUGGEST WE LEAVE THE AREA BEFORE WE GO DEAF.”
“WHAT?”
“WE LEAVE”
“Oh, hey. What's this?”

“Hello the Camp!”
Rather than have a town here, the game just has an event. I considered building up
some narrative here, but this update is mostly talking already, so I didn't want to
do any more.
“They were nice people.”
“And they let us dry out after getting so close to the interface down there.”
“At least they know to be wary of the Tower for now, until someone takes care of
those issues.”
“And they were nice too!”
“I said that already.”
“I know!”
“You annoy me sometimes.”
“Well, we've left that place behind. The Castle should still be this way though.”
“Holy shit.”
“Bhuw.. What!”
“A Colossal Cave....”
“Amazing....”
“...”
“Meh.”
“Ember?”
“SIGN!”
“Is that pronounced ahl-MARIA or ahl-MARRY-ah?”

“We can ask when we get there.”
“Still no actual roads. Just piles of rock taken off the path and left as markers
along the way.”
“It is getting late. Perhaps we should talk to that farmhouse over there, for some
information?”
“Or they could have no information at all.”
“Well, we are close. I think that's the place.”
“Doesn't look like much. Must be a trade centre on the water.”
“You know, I now suspect that we could have taken the boat down from the Eastern
Gallery to reach here.”
“And you tell us that now?”
“In my defence”
“HAH!”
“In my defence, I still don't know if the entire waterway is passable or not.”
“Sign!”
“A Toll Bridge?”
“Used to offset maintenance costs, I would presume.”
“And it's not like we're short on funds.”
“Well, it could be worse.”
“That particular joke is older than the sky, Duncan. Please do not repeat it here.”
“What joke?”
“I must join Ember in my confusion. What joke?”
“I refuse to believe that you both led such sheltered lives that you never heard of
it.”
“Let it go, Karmas.”

“Of course.”
“Whew, this is actually a well-built bridge.”
“Thanks.”
“Here you go. Which way to the inn?”
“North-west corner of town.”
“Thank you.”
“Give me a moment.”
“You're seriously going to Magic Map a town?”
“It's good practice, and I never learned the spell.”
“We must rectify that.”
“But that's less energy used for burning things!”
“Done.”
“There's the inn. We'll do the usual. Split up, talk to people, and meet up there.”
“Yes.”
“Holy. This place is clean.”
It doesn't come through properly through my screenshots, but Almaria is a very

cleanly designed city. All the floor tiles are uniform, with no random splotches of
different things to break it up. I've commented before on how the Tower has an
interesting aesthetic because of how it uses a different pallet than what was seen
before, but Almaria takes the same pallet used everywhere else, and makes it all
look good.
It's actually well presented. You've been conditioned to expect a certain level of
'grime' from the places you've visited so far, yet entering this city and seeing
this statue/fountain, you are presented with a design that's foreign to your
senses.
And we're not done yet.

“Hello, sir.”
There is a very large bearded man in simple, embroidered robes sitting behind the
desk. He's juggling figures on sheets of parchment. He turns to address you. "I am
mayor Bevan, lord-protector of Almaria."
“Ah. My name is Rook, I am with the First Exile”

“I don't care. I'm responsible for taking care of this city, and the surrounding
area. And I can do it just fine without a bunch of adventurers such as yourselves
butting in. The last thing we need is adventurers. You won't get a token here,
fellow."
“...” “Token?”
He grins nastily. "To see the king, you need a Royal Token. And you can only get
one from a Council member. And none of them around here will help you, because we
don't want anyone butting in." He laughs. "Beating the sliths is the army's job.
You won't have luck to the north either. Go beat up aranea. There, you could be
useful."
“Wow.”
Our first real ass in the game. But he does have a point. The only way to get the
Royal Token is through helping the Mayor of Formello. The other Mayors, Corta,
Silvar, and a couple cities we haven't visited yet all have no quest to give us for
the Token. It's a nice way to make sure we get to certain areas before being able
to advance the plot.
“So many books! And I can see shelves behind shelves!”
“This is weird. For access to the library.”
A scroll I forget to identify, and 1 food.
“What monstrosity is this?”
“Bah, nothing worth finding. Hello barkeep!”
“Hello honey! How's it going? I'm Rhiannon.”
“Ember. How much for a room?”
“Oh, not much. But we've just come into a stock of wine.”
“You can't be serious. How would you get grapes down here?”
“You'd be surprised. You can make wine from many fruits. This one” she produces a
bottle from under the counter “is a fruit wine.”
“Wine. I still can't believe it.”

"Yes! Wonderful, wonderful wine! And even edible! Made by local farmers, and not
much money for a bottle. It's in bottles! Bet you never thought you'd see booze in
actual bottles again. And this is the only place you can get it!"
“You know what? This is my splurge. How much?”
“SOLD!”
“Oh, um. Hey. Sorry, wrong room.”
A heavy-set man with a moustache and very dark complexion is working at a bowl of
stew and bottle of wine. He's dressed for travel. "Greetings! Come join me!" He
waves at an empty seat. "The company of a beautiful woman always brightens my day.
I'm Montgomery. Call me Monty."
“Ember. Adventurer. What do you do?”
"I'm a merchant, ya' see. I'm heading back up to Mertis, back from a run to
Patrick's tower."
“We came through Mertis lately. Got to tell you that the undead cavern over there
had some adventurers go through it and put down as many of them as they could. They
couldn't fix it all, but did reduce the numbers in the area quite a bit.”
“That's quite good to hear!” he thinks for a moment. “It must have been that two-
man team, a priest and a warrior, if I remember correctly. They're pretty good at
rooting out the undead.”
“No, I met them west of Formello. They were going after the vampires in a crypt
over there.”
“Ah. Must be a different group then. Still, that cavern has been a thorn in our
side for a long time. I hope someone will be able to perform the ritual to sanctify
it sooner, rather than later.”
“Hey, you mentioned something about Patrick and his tower? How are things going
over there?”
“Gloomy place now. His wife is sick. Not much hope for her. If someone could heal
her, they'd pick up a pretty penny, but I'm not betting on it happening."
“That's sad. What does she have?”
“That's part of the problem. It's something new. Poor Patrick may be the wisest man
in the whole of these caverns, but even he's at his wits end, and it's eating him
alive.”
“Ember? You in here?”
“Hey Art! Thanks Monty, but I have to go now. Nice talking to you!”
“And you!”
“Hello!”
You see a truly rare sight - a child. An actual little girl playing among the
fungus and slime as if it was normal. She smiles at you shyly. "I'm Kelly."
She gets down to the little girl's level. “Hey Kelly. I'm Art. What'cha doin?”
"Oh, just playing."
“Oh? What are you playing?”
"Yeah! With ... um ... my friends." She flashes you a mischievous smile.
“There are other children here? That's nice. So who are your friends?
"Yeah! The statues! They're who I have to play with, so that's who I play with!
This is where mommy puts me while she works!"
“And who is mommy?”
"Rhiannon is my mommy. Julio is my daddy. They do stuff!"
Julio is the town sage, and his only purpose is to identify things for you.
It's also really sad that you can't talk about Kelly to her parents. They don't
have anything to say about their daughter, and that's just sad. It's also sad that
she is told to play in a memorial for dead people. Don't believe me?
It's a sobering piece of commentary with just this one NPC. I want to write more,
but I don't think now is the time. We still don't know enough about the entire
situation here in Exile to make those sorts of judgements and observations.
“Plays with the statues, huh? Alright, which one of you guys talks?”
This is a statue of a bold Exile soldier, slain in action some time ago. It is also
alive. You see its eyes move to look at you occasionally. It says, very, very
quietly, "I was, in life, Karak."
“So, what do you do around here, aside from playing with Kelly?”
"I wait."
“I hope she's a good kid.”
“...”
“Hello?”
He strides forward to shake your hand. A student comes up behind him and starts to
ask a question. He rounds on her and shouts "You are stupid! Shut up!" He then
turns back to you. "I'm Starcap. Welcome to my school."
“You train people here?”
"I train all the substandard lumps of meat that pass through my door. Like you." He
wanders off for a moment, to heap abuse on a student. The student survives. Barely.
This was the most fun conversation of everyone in the stores. I like to think of
this guy as channelling Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket.
Almaria is the replacement for Silvar/Fort Duvno as you move into this section of
the world. It has supplies, training and identification. The armor and weapon
stores are nothing worth writing about, as you'll usually have better stuff from
Fort Draco or loot by now. In all, aside from the bottle of wine (which will be
very important later), this is actually a very bland town.
Which will change in the next game.
“Substandard? Really?”
“Anything of note?”
“The mayor's a dick.”
“The shops are full of mediocre stock.”
“I did nothing.”
“They haven't cleaned their library in years.”
“I got a bottle of wine, and a lead.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
“SEE!”
“What vintage?”
“No clue. I figured we needed something to celebrate with when we get out of here.
And tah-dah!”
“I'll carry that.”
“You? No, I will. Less chance of it breaking.”
“Really?”
“I have to agree to let Ember keep it, but not because it could break.”
“Really?”
“Yes. She's less likely to drink it prematurely.”
“Really? Has anyone here even seen a hint of that sort of thing in anyone else?”
“There was that one guy in Formello....”
“He's not here, nor with us. Now, about this lead?”
“Some dude named Patrick lives in a tower south-west-ish of here. Towers equal
mages equals someone we can complain about Linda to.”
“Your logic is so full of holes, I'm certain I can fit a tower through it.”
“Just because I did two things more productive than you, doesn't mean you get to
insult me like that!”
“HEY! Behave!”
“Yes, mom.”
“Is it me, or was that more sarcastic than usual?”
“And yet, they have stopped arguing.”
“Come on, let's see if this Patrick can help. Who knows, maybe he can even tell us
who we an talk to in order to deal with Linda and her pet demon.”
“Poor soil, I wonder?”
“Maybe there's a contaminant in the water.”
“Either way, it's not something we're looking into. Although I did talk to a couple
of the locals and they informed me that we still have a way to go to the Tower.
They suggested we head south and stay along the cavern wall until we get there, as
he has set up in his own little grotto.”
“What's this?”
“What an odd piece of vandalism.”

“It's not. It's a sign.”
“Of what?”
“Don't know. Could be a cache marking, could be anything.”
“Let's find out!”
“Do we have to?”
“YES!”
“After her!”
“Hold your hand out, you can feel the air flow down into the chasm.”
“I'll keep my hands on this side of the ledge, thank you.”
“Perhaps this is part of the local ecosystem? The air has to move, lest stagnation
kill all the plants and animals. Air goes down this chasm, and comes up somewhere
else.”
“Interesting theory, but we have no means or desire to check it out. However, that
bridge over there indicates someone has taken up residence. And we were informed of
a 'grotto' in which Patrick resides. We should investigate.”
This river is the outflow from the lake around which is poor growing conditions.
“I see something ahead.”
“This isn't ominous at all.”
“We could always go back.”
“The Scmitar?”
“8th Imperial Rangers.”

“Come again?”
“These men. 8th Rangers. Look at the emblems.”
“No way.”
“For those less interested in the construction of the Empire's Military?”
“These guys were part of the 8th Imperial Rangers, the Scout Corps. Recon,
Intelligence. And what logically follows from having highly trained operatives
hidden from view nearby.”
“Did they not put down that revolt a couple decades back? Against that robber-baron
figure who stole taxes and donated back to the people to gain popular support.”
“Correct. These guys prided themselves on being the best of the best, with a
history to live up to. For a whole platoon to be down here and dead speaks badly of
a lot of things.”
“I for one would like to meet this 'Scimitar' group and express my appreciation.”
“Hey Art, you know more about this?”
“No, and stop prying.”
“But why leave the bodies here? Why not take them somewhere?”
“A warning.”
“You know what? My curiosity is satisfied. We should leave now.”
“Agreed.”
Nothing interesting, really.
“Well, this is in the way.”
“There appears to be something interesting on the island there.”
“Let us ignore it for now. We have no means of getting there.”
“SIGN!”
“Finally!”
“Just where is this place anyways?”
“We're here!”
“Hopefully this is better.”
“Front door it is. I dislike entering through the scullery.”
“Peregrine? Map.”
“Looks like quarters around the outside of the library, with the books centrally
protected. We should start there.”
“I have died and gone to heaven.”
“Leave me.”
“Oh, don't be so dramatic.”
“Well, if we leave him here, who will we get to cast Major Blessing?”
“I don't want to! I want to test out my combat spells!”
“Don't look at me, I don't do that type of spells.”
“I don't do magic.”
“I have no talent for it.”
“Don't look at me!”
“Too bad Peregrine, you're stuck with s.”
“Let me be!”
“Don't worry, a lot of people have the same reaction.”

A young blonde woman sits at the table, reading intently. Books are stacked all
around her. "I'm Rita." She has a thick accent you don't recognize.
“Peregrine the Fourth, Mystic Thaumaturge. Pursuer of knowledge. Are you the
librarian here?”
She smiles broadly. "I have been honored with the privilege of studying under
Patrick in his libraries. My research goes slowly, but I have great hopes for it!
It's been difficult, as Patrick hasn't been involved. But to answer your question,
no, I am not. Not officially at least. While Patrick is... currently occupied, I'm
in charge around here."
“What is it that you research?”
"Yes, on magical items. There are few of these down here, but several sorts of
magical charms have been found, and I am trying to tell what they do. I am working
on a certain necklace now. It is slow work, but I keep at it." She starts looking
around. "I have written a paper on several other sorts of necklaces. It's here
somewhere..."
“What sort of necklaces have you been looking at?”
"The Necklace of Fangs is a Nephilim artifact, well known in the world above. It
makes a user more skilled, and what is more, it seems to occasionally bless the
wearer as well! A remarkable item."
“You mean, like this one?” He fingers the artefact around his neck.
“Oh! Exactly! Now I feel stupid talking about that. But yes, necklaces are common
magical items due to the low resource cost. They don't even need metal!”
“What of Patrick himself? We heard that he was in a bad way with his wife.”
"His wife, Hathwisa, is gravely ill. She's been so for some time. And when she
dies, I don't think Patrick will live long either. And we'll all be on our own."
“Such must be their love. I weep at the beauty of it.”
You have no idea how many times I think of Hathwisa as Hiawatha. I've been playing
too much Civilization lately.
“Look what I found!”
“Sir.”
A tired and bent old man sits in the throne, his rich robes hanging loosely from
him. "Greetings, seekers. I am Patrick." He just sounds... tired
“Ummm, if we're disturbing you, sir, we can leave...”
“No, that won't be necessary. I still have duties to attend to, and you are new
faces. Those are in short supply lately, and it will help the time pass.”
“So, you run this library now. What did you do before that?”
He sighs. "Once I fought. Then I built. Now I just wait."
“My apologies sir, but you do not strike me as one who has fought many foes.”
His gaze grows distant. "Oh, that was long ago. I was one of a group of magi who
formed this society, who made it possible. To make it possible, we first had to
defeat the demon Grah-Hoth. I helped lead the attack. I helped seal him in his
prison."
“Um, about that, you see...”
"Oh, it doesn't matter. Not anymore. He's gone, and his foul fort lies in ruin. And
sealed forever.”
“Art, he's not going to be able to help with his mind on other things.”
“I agree. But still, we must be polite. Maybe we can still get something out of
him, even if it's just a friend..”
“... build?”
"I was one of the Triad that ruled the tower of Magi for many years. We, and those
under us, wrote most of the books of magic you will find in the libraries down
here, pouring forth our memories of magical secrets onto crude, handmade paper.
Thanks to that task, our art flourishes down here. I also led some research."
“We met your assistant, Rita in the library. She too was doing research. What
subject interests you?”
His empty gaze suddenly focuses, and he looks at you intently. "On things it can
bring great danger to know. Is there a particular thing you seek?"
“No sir. Not now. Not with your... wait.
"For my wife."
He shakes his head sadly. "My wife, Hathwisa, is ill. I don't know with what, one
of the diseases of the caves, but she will probably die soon. The only thing
untried is graymold salve. I would do anything for you if you could find some and
cure her!"
He produces the parchments with the formula for the Greymould Salve on it. “Sir, a
mage from the Tower, Cortath, he developed this formula for you sir, I think. All
we need is the mold itself, and someone good enough to mix it up.”
For the first time, he stands. Walking over, he takes the parchment from Duncan's
hands. “This... this is amazing work. You said he is in the Tower?”
“Not quite. He... went missing south of Fort Draco some time ago, and we were sent
to investigate by Zathnia. This is what we found.”
“But! This is enough to start.” He raises his eyes to Duncan. “This is enough for
me to hope to see her eyes again. Thank you. If you can find the rest... there is
nothing I wouldn't do.”
“I have no wish to take advantage of his time of troubles.”
“Neither do I, but you heard him. We've already got the formula. All I need is the
practice and skill, and once we find the Greymold, we can give it a try.”
“You sure?”
“We have to try. Not only will it give us a valuable ally, but it will give us
valuable experience with this place, more information for later use.”
“And you guys said I sounded vaguely heroic earlier.”
“Nah, I'm just thinking long term here.”
[79]
“Nice kitchen.”
A big, beefy guy with a flushed face bustles around. He's stirring something up in
a big bowl. "Hiya' folks. Welcome to my kitchen! I'm Marco."
“Art, First EEC. What's cooking?”
"I'm makin' dinner." He proffers the bowl. "Want a taste?"
“Sure!”
He gives you a spoonful of some sort of pasta sauce. It tastes hideous. Marco notes
your reaction. "Hmmph. Not quite there yet. I'm having trouble with the
ingredients."
“What are you using?”
"Well, I was a cook on the surface before my mouth landed me down here. Since then,
I've been trying to make a good pasta sauce, but I just can't seem to get the
ingredients to make it work. If someone could bring me some decent oil or some
garlic..." He sighs. "Well, I'm just dreaming."
“Thanks for your time. I think I need something to wash my pallet with now.”
“Water's over there.”
“Well, this is all just storage.”

To get here, you have to pick a lock. It's a private library of some sort.
A young woman with short, bright yellow hair bounces around the room, looking
through scroll after scroll.
“Hello, I'm Duncan, alchemist.
"I'm Anji!"
“So, what are you doing here? Looks like you're looking really hard for things.”
She slows down a bit. "I'm looking for accounts of the First Expedition. There are
certain items they brought with which I'd like to find. If, of course ..." She
coughs. Twice. "... my health permits."
“What items are you looking for?” He works hard to keep the suspicion out of his
voice
"What I'm mainly looking for is information about 'Smite.' That's a giant-slaying
hammer! There's a lot of trouble with the giants to the north. Finding it would be
really valuable."
“Giants?”
“Can't tell you much about them, except that Smite is enhanced to be very lethal to
them.”
“Your cough can't be good. How is your health holding up?”
She coughs. "It's the cave. All the dampness, you know. It gives me a terrible
cough!"
A black man with very short hair and clothes made for easy travelling sits at the
table, poring over a tome. "Hi. I'm Kai. I heard you talking to Anji. I'm an
alchemist too."
“Very good! What are you studying there?”
He holds up the scroll for you to see. "I'm from up Formello way, but I came down
here to see this."
“Which is....?
"It's a recipe for a special potion, that almost, but didn't quite work. I hope to
improve it. Then I'm going to go to the Mage's Tower and try to learn how to make
graymold salve." He looks you over. "I've also been doing some teaching. I know a
recipe for a nice glowing nettle healing potion which you could buy."
“Uh Oh, competition.”
“Shut up. Teach me.”

“I've seen some of these before, in my family's library.”
“Checking in on my future patient couldn't hurt.”
No Greymold Salve, so we'll talk to her.
“Damn.”
Now for the maps:
This is the path we took from the Tower of the Magi to Patrick's Tower. There's
still a lot left to explore, but we'll get to it in due time. I think I'll make a
circuit of the Great Cave first before finally finishing with the Castle proper.
Here's Almaria. Kelly wanders near the statues.
Patrick's Tower. Bring good Lockpicks to get into the private library and Patrick's
Room.
‹
Part #21
Part #23
›
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by berryjon
‹
Part #22
Part #24
›
Return to LP Index
Part 23: Update 020a – Stats and Equipment
Update 20a – Stats and Equipment
And now, as promised, everyone's stats, along with a breakdown of equipment:
14 Strength may seem excessive, but it's going to stay there for a while as her
other skills go up. I really should invest in some Intelligence to improve her
healing.
But first she really needs that fifth level in Priest Spells to make use of Raise
Dead and Flame Strike.
Here's the equipment details. I won't be showing the images any more, but will be
summarizing them instead, like so:
code:
Name: Dam Def Bon Notes:

Steel Short Sword 6 3 Edged, 1Hand, 180g
Iron Short Sword 6 2 Edged, 1hand, 285g
Iron Breastplate 8 Body Armor, 2Encumb, 500g
Silver Gauntlets Glove Armor, “Protection”, 800g
Silver Ring of Protection 5 Ring, “Protection”, 1500g
Fang Necklace Necklace, “Bless”, 750g
Gold Ring of Regeneration Ring, “Regenerate (x15 healing), 1200g
Magic Helm 6 Head Armor, 0Encumb, 300g
Magic Axe 8 5 Edged, 1Hand, 920g
Potion ???
Art is dealing very respectable damage with her dual wielding, and her high
strength is helping add onto those numbers. With only two points of encumbrance
from armor, she'll never worry about losing AP in battle. Of note, magical weapons,
in another facet stolen from D&D, have no encumbrance.
The Silver Gauntlets seem to have their Defence value mission, though I am certain
it was programmed in. With a total defence of 19+, Art gives an amazing -95% chance
to hit from any foe attacking her. It won't be enough.
Still tightly focused, the mad rush to give him Tier-7 Mage spells hurt his
advancement in other areas. Namely Intelligence, HP and SP. I'll be raising those
in future levels.
Once again, Major Blessing is Peregrine's ability of choice. After that, he acts to
conserve SP, and is currently falling behind on the XP curve as all he gets is
leaked experience.
code:

Leather Armor 2 Body Armor, 8g, 0Encumb
Bronze Shield 3 Shield, 40g, 0Encumb
Bronze Helm 2 Head Armor, 15g, 0Encumb
Piercing Crystal “Dispel Barrier”, 1 Use, 200g
Bronze Ring of Protection 3 Ring, “Protection”, 100g
Silver Ring of Poison Resist. Ring, Poison Resistance 1, 1400g
Sapphire Gem, 1 use, (Magic Map component), 100g
Steel Dagger 4 3 Edged, 1hand, 200g
Medium Energy Potion Potion, 3 Uses, Restores SP, 600g
Silver Ankh “Protection from Undead”, 600g
Scroll ???
Scroll ???
His equipment is designed around no encumbrance, so he'll always be at full speed.

The Poison Resistance acts in two ways. First, it reduces the chance to get
poisoned and also reduces both the duration and damage when poisoned. I also have
no idea how the Silver Ankh is supposed to work, mechanically speaking.
More skilled, and with massive Defence, Karmas is a far more powerful tank than
anyone else in the party. He really needs to improve his Strength and Dexterity
though, before going back to Edged Weapons and Defence.
code:

Iron Greathelm 5 Head Armor, 1Encumb, 150g
Bronze Broadsword 10 1 Edged, 1hand, 300g
Bronze Platemail 12 Body Armor, 4Encum, 700g
Killer Poison Posion, Level 6, 1 use, 300g
Iron Buckler 3 Shield, 0Encumb, 20g
Iron Shield 4 Shield, 1Encumb, 250g
Karmas' equipment is quite heavy, he often only has 3AP when his turn comes around.
He also seriously needs a better weapon. Note to self, move that Iron Buckler to
someone who can use it.
I still have no clue how the 'level' of the poison he's been carrying for ages for
dealing with the right foe works. All I know is that it's pretty damned lethal. Far
more than the results of Major Blessing.
Ember has a lot of things she needs to improve, not only her Intelligence and SP to
fuel her ability to kill things very, very dead.
Kill. Ravage Enemy. Firestorm. These will be staple spells from here to the end-
game.
code:

Leather Baldric 1 Body Armor, 0Encumb, 4g
Lighting Rods 7 3 Throwing, 8 Uses, Flaming, 200g
Bronze Shield 3 Shield, 0Encumb, 40g
Onyx Charm Magic Resistance, 1500g
Bronze Saber 9 1 Edged, 1hand, 400g
Medium Bliss Potion ???, 1 use
Steel Helm 4 Head Armor, 0Encumb, 100g
Bottle of Wine Good Wine, 20g
I think the damage type on the Lighting Rods are off, but I'm really just saving
these for a rainy day. The Onyz Charm is another piece of equipment whose mechanics
are hard to describe. Does she take less damage from Magic? Does she occasionally
ignore it, causing it to miss? Who knows?
And that Wine is very important.
Duncan is catching up in the combat stats, but he has a lot of Alchemy and Item
Lore to buy in the near future. And a few more points of Mage Lore for good
measure.
code:

Leather Baldric 1 Body Armor, 0Encumb, 4g
Lockpicks Lockpick Tool, 3/5 uses, 24g
Fine Lockpicks Lockpick Tool, 5/5 uses, 100g
Steel Spear 10 3 Pole Weapon, 1hand, 840g
Gold Ring of Skill Skill, Level 2, 450g
Flame Halberd 18 2 Pole, 2Hand, “Flame” 5 uses, 1250g
I'm pretty sure the Fine Lockpicks give a bonus to the relevant skill, but once
again, mysterious mechanics. The Skill Ring effectively adds 2 to the total Defence
of the character, and 2 to the Bonus of the equipped weapon(s). The Flaming Halberd
is a thing of beauty as its the best weapon we'll have available for a long time by
far. It's too bad the rest of his equipment isn't as awesome.
Rook is solid, but not spectacular. He'll stay that way until his equipment
improves.
code:

Bronze Breastplate 2 Body Armor, 2Encumb, 480g
Silver Ring of Protection 5 Ring, “Protection”, 200g
Bronze Arrows 11 1 Arrows, 4/15 uses, 20g
Bronze Ring of Poison Resist Ring, Poison Resistance 0, 700g
Iron Mace 7 2 Bashing, 1hand, 475g
Cavewood Bow 0 1 Bow, 130g
Arrows of Life 9 4 Arrows, Undead Slaying, 6/6 uses, 600g
Damage and Bonus from bows and arrows stack, in case you were wondering. The Arrows
of Life work exactly as advertised, killing undead fast. I have a special target or
two in mind for them though.
‹
Part #22
Part #24
›
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by berryjon
‹
Part #23
Part #25
›
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Part 24: Update 021 – Gremlin Gold and Fort Remote
Update 21 – Gremlin Gold and Fort Remote
“That was, in the end, slightly depressing.”
“How so?”
“We just have more problems than answers.”
“Think of it as more opportunities than anything else.”
“Sure, plenty of those. So far we've got Slithzerkai of unknown strength to the
North, Demons to the West and who knows what else just waiting to kill us.”
“Can't forget the Aranea, the Ogres, the Nephar, the Dragons, the lizards, the
Bats, the bandits, the....”
“Enough.”
“But I'm sure the list goes on, for, like, ever!”
“We all get the picture.”
“And I for one have no particular interest in getting to the Castle any time soon.
So we should keep heading around the edge of the cave and look for someone to deal
with this.”
“Your eagerness to foist these issues off to someone else confounds me.”
“It's not that she's trying to avoid responsibilities, it's just that we already
have a goal in front of us, being the escape from this place. The knowledge that
the Empire has Scouts here in the caves means that the possibility of escape is
there. We have evidence that our group's work is not in vein.”
“It's just that we can't afford to divert our time and energy into every single
little thing that crosses our paths.”
“And yet, we have.”
“But we've been helping people to help us.”
“I admit to having benefited from such exchanges, but we should not abandon the
purpose of this group in favour of helping everyone we come across for no advantage
to ourselves.”
“I suppose this means that you're alright with us helping out Patrick's wife?”
“It will net us a useful ally and resource, of course!”
“Huh, we passed that sign, and Ember didn't say anything.”
“What sign?”
“Nevermind.”
“You hear that?”
“Only the sounds of my intelligence plummeting in your presence?”
“Not like you had far to fall in the first place.”
“It is just the motion of air through these caves, nothing more.”
“You sure it's not the sound of evil laughter, resonating through these vaulted
halls in search of souls to steal?”
* snrk *
“~~~ooooooohhhhhh~~~ We're going to steal your vital fluids!”
“Oh, that's hilarious. And for my next trick, I will kill you all!”
“Um...”
“Really?”
“What the hell?”

“Can we turn around now?”
“Um... We can't.”
“What do you mean?”
“You can't walk away!”
“What sorcery is this?”
“Oh gods, we're all going to die.”
“No, it's drawing us in, not just trapping us. Whoever made this wants us to come.”
“Then let's take their invitation, and crash their party so hard the hells will
feel it.”
“I agree.”
“Let us make them rue the day they chose to ensnare us.”
“Did you really just say 'rue'? Who says that?”
“That word has a long and distinguished literary history as a synonym for 'regret',
as in the causing of it through the actions of the one being 'rued' and its
attendant consequences.”
“No, it just makes you sound like the villain in some child's play.”
“We're here.”
“Peregrine. Map.”
“This isn't good.”
Meet the other map gimmick. Unmappable dungeons. These are mostly used for mazes,
and can be a real pain. As they are supposed to be.
Also, there is no 'mysterious force' in the actual game. It's just a narrative
conceit to get the party into this dungeon for this update.
“No map!?!?!?!”
“This place reeks of foulness.”
“Then we'll do this the hard way.”
“Kill everything and use their corpses to mark where we have been?”
“I was going to say chalk on the walls, but I suppose blood works as well.”
“You know, if they didn't want people to mess with them, why would they entrap
people?”
“To add to their treasures.”
“Gremlins?”
“Wasn't there a bunch of them over by Silvar?”
“There was. What is going on? Gremlins don't do this sort of thing. They're
tricksters.”
“I agree. This is unusual.”
“There's only one thing we can do then.”
“Into the abyss.”
“Goddamned Fungus.”
“This statue is quite crude.”
“Hey, rear guard! Is it safe to come in?”
“I don't think there are any basilisks here.”
“A small favour.”
To get to this section, you'll need to go left from the entrance, then north. Don't
hug the outside wall too much. The pool makes a nice reference point, but sadly,
this is going in the wrong direction.
“At least we will not be in want for water.”
Oh, let me talk about Gremlins.

Fuck them. Hard. They are fast, hit hard, and the steal food. You'll lose about 10
about every third hit you take, and they only sometimes drop 9 food when killed.
And this dungeon has the single most ludicrous spawn rate you'll ever see. And I'll
show you how bad it can get later.
I hate gremlins, and I will be thankful once this dungeon is done and I'll never
have to come back here ever again. Until the next game.
“While I cannot see the entire maze, at least the Magic Map spell allows me to see
places we couldn't normally see directly. There's a teleporter over there.”
“A break room. Seriously?”
For all my Gremlin hate, this little room brings a grin to my face. I just like to
imagine this to be the little secret side room to allow all the people working in
the dungeon to take a quick lunch break before going back to the business of dying
on the swords of adventurers.
“A lake?”
“Another teleporter. I suspect a waypoint system is in place.”
“A treasure trove. I suppose that is what the Gremlins seek to defend.”
“Of course. It would never be that easy.”
This is the north-west corner of the dungeon. We'll get here eventually.
“North or south?”
This is north of the entrance.
“Flip a coin.”
“South.”
“Worst teleporter ever.”

“I agree.”
Eight steps back to the teleporters.
“Well, where are we?”
“I figure the east wall.”
“That's an interesting thing there.”
“Oh my.”
“We must deal with this.”
“Ember, up front with me. Everyone else, back up a bit.”
“Oh?”
“I have a plan.”
“What now?”
“Burn them.”
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! FEAR ME!”
“And you burned through most of your mana reserves in the process.”
“Worth it!”
Totally not setting up Ember to level a bit faster.

“Is there no end to these things?”
North of the entrance
“Everyone, start looking for secret passages.”
“Found one.”
“Another teleporter. Is anyone else getting annoyed by these?”
“...”
“That is insulting. And we still can't leave the area.”
To get here, skip that last Teleporter, and continue walking north, then east.
“But I BURNED THEM ALL already!”
“This is what you get for burning things before we're ready to take them all on
directly.”
“You see that?”
“That is very suspicious.”
“Perhaps we can circle around to it?”
“Of course not. That would be too easy.”
“Time to head back.”

“Go around this pool here. I don't want to know what's in there.”
“Another drinking hole.”
“Another secret passage.”
“What?”
Not pictured, me walking to a teleporter. And now you all know why I chose this
icon.
There are two types of barrier in the first game. There are the impassible barriers
that we've encountered so far, and this type, which deals a slight amount of damage
when you push through. There is no way to tell the difference until you try to
enter them. But if you've got SP to spare for the occasional Light Heal All, it can
be more effective to just take it on the chin.
And because even the damaging barriers are still a 'barrier', enemies cannot cross
them, so they make for viable redoubts in case of serious emergency.
“Nothing down here.”
“Well, know we know.”
“Cursed Demons!”
“Isn't that statement a bit redundant?”
This fight is harder than it looks due to tight quarters.
“Now, to see where this goes.”
“Fuck.”
Very high spawn rate. While here, as long as you can't see the teleporter, a new
Gremlin will spawn every 4 turns. It's a slog to advance through this fight,
especially with the tight passage.
“There! They must all be dead!”
“I wouldn't count on it.”
Not pictured: The actual teleporter here.
“This is new.”
“Well, secret passages are a whole lot easier to find when you can see through
walls.”
“Let us take that boat now.”
“LOOT TIME!”
“Gold, silver, gems? How did all this get down here?”
“I suspect the teleporter we used to get into this area may have connected to
another place – going through it from this end sends us here, while the gremlins
arrive from their home. An interesting capacity to 'link' teleporters like that. It
would be worth exploiting, if not for the... locals.”
“Last chest!”
“What?”
“I recognize that seal from the Royal Token the Mayor of Formello gave us.”
“Official correspondence then?”
“Right! There should be a reward for this.”
“Despite all that, there is something a bit more important here.” he holds up a tin
trinket “Ember, destroy this please.”
“Why?” “What did that do?”
“This was keeping us trapped here. Now we can escape.”
“Then we leave. Rook, take that message.”

“FREEDOM!”
“And good riddance.”
“SIGN!”
“SIGN!”
“And with this, my desire to announce every sign we come across has proven its
worth.”
“Look! A patrol we can alert to the presence of the Gremlin cave!”
“What treachery is this?!?!?”
Meet the Bandits of the Western half of Exile. And even with Major Blessing, this
could go poorly.
'Captains' are kitted out much like Karmas. Heavy hitters with solid physical
defence. 'Brigands' are Skirmishers like Rook – with a ranged and melee option.
'Wizards' are comparable to Ember. Firestorm included.
And this was my first proper random encounter in ages. I was unprepared for it, and
performed poorly.
“Where did they come from?!?!?!”
“I do not know.”
“And that was some serious power there. Why would they even attack us?”
“Maybe we can get some information from that fort.”
“Hello?”
“Anyone here?”
“Anyone?”
“What.”
“Hello?”
A heavily armored guard leans against the wall, snoring. Because of the helm, you
can't tell if the guard is male or female. "Zzzzzzzzzz..."
“Seriously? That's... hilarious!”
“I agree. This is....”
“No. No words.”
“Dining room....”
A woman in steel plate huddles in the corner. She has a huge sword, and an even
bigger hangover.
“Hello?”
She moans and grabs her head. "Speak quietly please. I'm Bronwen."
“Um... what are you doing here?”
"I'm the commanding officer out here in the back end of nowhere." She delicately
sips some water from a bowl.
“I wouldn't say we're there...”
"That's where we are. I could have been at the front, dealing death to sliths and
doing some good. But here I am. At good old Fort Irrelevant."
"That's what we are. What I am. The only thing that could possibly attack us is the
Drake. And it keeps to itself."
“Drake? As in a Dragon?”
"Mick claims he saw it. Ask him about it. As for me, I'm waiting to recover so I
can resume my drinking."
“You really shouldn't drink so much.”
"It's a dirty habit. But it keeps me from getting too angry. I'll get transferred
someday!"
“Let's go find someone who can pay attention to serious matters....”
You meet a petite, oddly pretty woman with long brown hair.
“Hello, fair maid. I am Karmas, and these are my travelling companions.”
She nods, and looks you over. "I'm Belinda. I'm the chef."
"Well, cook really."
“Really?”
"That's what I do! Would you like a taste?"
“Yes, please.”
She runs and gets you bowls of stew. It's delicious. She flutters her eyelashes at
all of you. "I put extra effort into my cooking. Helps relieve everyone's tedium."
“Why is that, anyways?”
"Nothing has ever attacked Fort Remote. Nothing ever will. But we keep busy. I have
my own hobby."
“Dare I ask?”
She grins evilly. "Just say my name to Mick. He'll be out west. Get his reaction.
That's what my hobby is."
A man wearing a large ankh and a subdued expression sits at the desk playing
solitaire.
“Red 6 on Black 7.”
He jumps up. "Oh! A visitor! Welcome to Fort Remote!"
“Good. Who's in charge?”
"I'm the, well..., um..., I sort of give orders here. It's not like there are many
to give, but when they come up, I give them! Things get rather tedious, I'm
afraid."
“Someone has to explain that to us. You have bandits less than 20 miles from here
packing serious weapons, a Gremlin inhabited by Demons that claimed who-knows how
many lives, and that's just along the southern edge of the Cave!”
"Yes. Um. You see, this fort was built before the big wars with the sliths and
nephilim. We were afraid of attacks from the tunnels to the west. But hardly
anything lives in there, and the things that do really don't do much, so we have
nothing to guard against!" He seems a bit panicky under the intense gaze of Rook.
"To stave off madness, we busy ourselves with other activities."
"Well, I play solitaire." He waves at the desk. "I've played thousands of games.
Won two. Pointless, really. Then, we all take part in the standard pointless love
affairs, have meals, exercise, have sing-alongs... Well, you get the idea. And, we
act hospitable to the occasional visitor. Breaks the monotony."
“And we've found the dumping fort of the Exile Army. You mean to tell us there's
been other visitors than us?”
"A party of adventurers came through a few months back! They stayed with us a week.
Much fun was had. Then they went west, and most of them got killed. Chasm Drake.
Then there are merchants, messengers, supply caravans, and so on."
“We've heard about this Drake. What do you know about it?”
"Fearsome. Deadly. Wealthy. Remote. It doesn't bother us. We don't bother it."
“Total bust.”
“Such a failure, we didn't even get his name.”
“That is pretty sad.”
“You know what? Let me talk to the next guy. Maybe a little womanly appeal is what
they need.”
“But Art is far too stern for that. Where will we find a woman?”
“Oh, Peregrine, if Ember wasn't going to kill you, I WOULD.”
“Bah! Spend all days with your books. You need to get out more.”
You find a small, handsome man sitting and contemplating this small spring. He's
eating a sandwich.
“Hello!”
"I'm Mick."
“Hey Mick. I'm Ember. Whatcha Doing?”
"Watching the spring. That's how I pass the time. Pretty, isn't it."
“Very much so!”
He looks like he wishes you'd go away.
“Sooo. You saw the Drake, right? And it wasn't one of those mean ole' Dragons?”
"I saw it! I did! It wanders the tunnels occasionally, and it came close. I was
sitting here, and it saw me, and I saw it! I thought it was going to kill me, but
it lost interest. Not hungry, I think. But it could have ate me, in a second! It's
huge! I hope I never see it again."
“Oh, good. Oh, and Beli...”
The moment you say her name, he chokes on his sandwich, smiles ecstatically, rolls
his eyes, breathes heavily, and gets a headache. Simultaneously. There are no words
in his response, but he communicates an awful lot.
“And we are officially done here.”
Here's the map from Patrick's Tower to Fort Remote via the Gremlins:
There is no Map for the Gremlin Cave, sorry to say. It would have been very useful
though!
And Fort Remote:
‹
Part #23
Part #25
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Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #24
Part #26
›
Return to LP Index
Part 25: Update 022 – Fort Saffron and Dharmon
Update 22 – Fort Saffron and Dharmon
"That was the single most useless place in the whole of the caverns!"
"I cannot disagree, but I think your actions based on that opinion need
refinement."
"Don't. She's on the warpath, and needs some release."
"I think I have an idea..."
"Thanks, I feel a lot better now."
"Couldn't they do something productive? Like investigate that drake they're so

worried about?"
"That would be a useful measure of their time. Hence why I suspect it won't get
done."
"They just require an event to bring them out of their somnolence. I am sure that
their situation had been noticed by the proper authorities, and will be corrected
in the future.”
“It's just our bad luck to catch them before that, right?”
“Correct.”
“I don't believe you. A place like that? I think whoever is in charge has already
met the Drake, and they're on polite terms.
“Let's stop here. I got to wash up.”
“Before you do, there is something odd on the horizon. It looks... irregular. Not
natural at all.”
“What happened here?”
“No signs of fighting.”
“I agree. It's like this place was abandoned. But an orderly evacuation. The homes
are tidy.”
“Or it could have been looters.”
“I have seen looting. This was far too calm.”
“So, abandoned then. But why?”
“I see signs of further activity to the north. Perhaps there?”
“Signs of industry.”
“Bad soil maybe? I'm pretty sure these are poisonous.”
“Then why settle at all? Did they hope that access to the fresh water from that
lake would offset the soil conditions?”
“Perhaps that was not an official settlement, but a casual one designed to take
advantage of the local lumber, but was improperly planned?”
“Wouldn't be the first time someone did something that stupid.”
“That's sad.”
“SIGN!”
“You're never going to let us live that down, are you?”
“Huh. The name is familiar. Shall we investigate?”
“Hello?”
“Come on in! My supply changes often, so you'll never know what you'll find!”
Much like the shop in the Mage's Tower, Shaynee's Bazaar has random items in it.
Worth checking out if you don't want to run all the way back to the Tower, but like
that one, don't depend on it for lucky breaks.
“We shall return later.”
“What? No sign?”
“We passed one a couple miles back, but you were distracted.”
“Bah.”
“We should check in, and enquire as to the status of Fort Remote. This place does
already look better maintained.”
“I am close enough to map it.”
“It looks like a fresh-water source to the east, with an old fort to the west.”
“Come on, let's find the commander.”
“Be very careful, those runes look very dangerous, but not active.”
“Hello.” A weary man sits at the table writing out orders. He wears mage's garb
with tiny runes woven into it.
“Art, 1st EEC, sir. And you are?”
"Commander Novak." He sighs. "Welcome to Fort Saffron. I'm in charge here. Here at
Saffron, we work hard, day and night, to keep Exile safe from brigands." He rolls
his eyes. "Plus, I'm going insane."
“It can't be that bad....”
"I was drafted, plain and simple! They needed mages, so they grabbed them. And me!
A promising alchemist!”
“Tell me about it.”
"I was making a pretty penny. And one of my colleagues, a fellow named Hodgson, was
a better alchemist than me! Ask him about it." He leans close to you and whispers.
"He was going to try some experiments with Graymold! But then he had to give it up.
They drafted us both. He's at one of the Great Cave forts now. Big waste."
“Another man looking at the recipe for Greymold Salve? I'd better get a move on to
make my mark on that discovery.”
“You mentioned keeping Exile safe. We just came up from Fort Remote, and we didn't
have much of a briefing on this fortification.”
"As safe as possible, of course, given we haven't been given and reinforcements,
any new weapons, any acknowledgement we exist for months! They say keeping this
pass safe should be simple. Simple! Hah!"
“I would think so too. This pass is very narrow, so it really should be an easy
task to defend it.”
"This pass is the only halfway decent path known from the brigand-ridden cave to
the north to the Great Cave. You'd think they could never get through, but they get
by somehow! I don't understand it! They must be invisible!"
“That explains the group that attacked us to the south. But invisibility? That's a
stretch.”
"That's the only explanation I can come up with. Sometimes we see them! They
approach the fort from the north, laugh at us, and disappear. They we hear about
raids to the south, and catch hell. But we can't do anything about it without
resources!"
“It can't be that easy.”
“What do you need in terms of resources?”
“Was it just me, or did that sound really professional?”
“Old habits, I suppose. She's not as good at keeping her secrets as she thinks.”
"People, mainly. And another mage for scrying. It takes all my energy to keep the
wards up."
“You mean the ones outside?”
"Out in the passage. They're harmless now, but I can make them incinerate anyone
who touches them, if the fort gets attacked. And it might."
He's right. You see a glyph on the floor, things can hurt very quickly.
“Peregrine, show him the map you scryed up.”
“You mean the passage to the west?”
He looks interested in the conversation for the first time in a long while. “What
passage?”
“I initially thought it a form of alternate path around the fort to strike at foes
attempting to besiege it from the sides. But what if it's more a smugglers path?”
“What.”
“Not unheard of.”

“I can see that actually. Although I'm more concerned about this little passage
connecting to the Fort properly.”
“Listen, I know I'm not supposed to have heard, but I do know that sometimes, there
are people would would perform... Unspecified Services to Exile. If you were to
look into this, that would be... much appreciated.”
“I think we can do something about that.”
“Thanks. Report back to me when you're done if you don't mind.”
“I could hear the emphasis he put on that name. 'Unspecified Services'.”
“No money wagered on it not actually existing.”
“Come on, let's see if there's anything else of note before we make some more
friends.”
“By starting by going in the other direction? Alright.”
“Hey there!”
You meet a beanpole of a man, wearing robes that hang off him. He paces about
muttering. He nods at you. "I'm Dilbert."
“We're with the First EEC, checking up on the fort. What do you do here?”
He turns to talk to you. You see he has extensive burn scars on his face. "I
volunteered to maintain this fort. I look after the wards, mostly. Safer than some
things I could be doing." He runs his hand over the scar self-consciously. “What's
the EEC?”
“Exile Escape Committee. Our job is to free up local resources for larger projects.
We're here to investigate your problems with bandits bypassing the fort, rather
than just dumping another 20 or so soldiers on the place where they may or may not
do any good.”
“Specialists, huh? Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time. Novak... well,
he's been under serious pressure for a while now. He's a good man, but he's not the
sort of person who should be here, if you understand me?”
“We understand. But there's a shortage of people due to the Sliths and the
Kitties.”
“Pox on all them! We're beset on all sides. And the damned bastards from the north
keep making a mess of things as well.”
“You mentioned the wards?”
"The huge runes out in the hall. They're off now, but when they're on, they're a
powerful defense."
“I can believe it.”
“Oh, you should also talk to our prisoner in the back. She might be able to help
you in your investigation.”
“Of course. Thank you for your time.”
“Prisoner?”
“Unlikely to divulge information that she wouldn't have already.”
“Hello.”
A women with her arm in a sling and a grimace on her face sits in the cell. She
spits at you, and misses. "I'm Mona, voles. Whaddaya' want?"
“We're here to talk to you about”

"You aren't a soldier. Piss off, vole."
“We're not here to”
"I'm from the Abyss. You aren't. You are a vole. Now let me out of here, and get me
my scimitar back!"
“We're not getting anything out of her. Come on.”
“Quiet back here. But should be safe as a storehouse.”
“Come on, let's go check out that passage that Peregrine scryed.”
“Oh! Hello. Didn't mean to interrupt your work.”
You see a muscular woman wearing studded armor and carrying a dented sword. She
looks nervous. “Oh, you're the investigators. I heard you talked to our prisoner.”
“We did. And you are?”
"Bette."
“These are standard questions, but what do you do here?”
"Guarding the fort from brigands. And a tough job it is, too! Sorry. Too busy to
talk." She moves to leave the room.
“Wow.”
“Even I can act better than that.”
“But not proof. Come, it should be behind this wall.”
“Password?”
“Mellon?”
“That wasn't it!”
“Is there no end to this?!?!”
“There, that should be it.”
“How did no one notice the battle?”
“Thick rock.”
“Still!”
“We should take care of the details, then report back to Novak.”
“We should also examine where these tunnels come out, and mark them.”
“Like this.”
“Time to report back.”
“That was fast. You need anything else?”
“Detain Bette on suspicion of aiding the smugglers and other miscreants. There was
a secondary tunnel system to the west accessible from her quarters. We cleaned it
out of hostiles, then found the north and south entrances. We marked them with this
sign so you can find them and seal them up.”
“That's... that's.... amazing! Oh, my, yes! I'll give the orders right away! With
this, we can hopefully stem the tide of intruders to the south!”
“We forgot to talk to him about Fort Remote, didn't we?”
“Yes, but we did leave him with much on his plate. Reporting about the new
developments means he may not have the energy left to properly instigate
improvements at Remote.”
“Huh, this is different.”
“Good lands.”
“SIGN!”
Not true. Dharmon is closer to South East.
“SIGN!”
“argh”
“Dharmon, I presume.”
“...”
“I hate you.”
“I agree.”
“While we're here...”
“Nice lake.”
“Lets try this again.”
“Much better!”
“Alright, the usual. See you all at the inn.”
“How could anyone tell?”
“Hello.”
A muscular man with raven-black hair, pointed beard and a huge mace strides about
the temple. He seems to radiate confidence and energy. "Greetings, adventurer!" he
says, in a booming baritone. "You are welcome here. I am Malville."
“Art. I have a question first.”
“Sunrise, right?”
“Yes.”
“It's just a time. When this town was first settled, we needed a unified time to
begin work and to mark time, we used 'morning' prayers. Since then, the concept has
stayed around. It's a tradition, nothing more.”
“So, anything else?”
"I guard this place of light and peace, in these dangerous times. I welcome all
here who come with open hearts and peaceful intent, and provide healing and
information."
“Well then, I suppose I should start by asking about what information you have
about the area.”
He grins. "Well, you seem new to the area, so I'll tell you what's nearby. To the
north is the Abyss, home to the misfits of Exile. Fort Remote is to the south,
guarding exactly nothing. The caves to its west have a dragon, but I can say little
about it. Or, if purchasing spells interests you, I can still help you."
Art buys Divine Thud. But she won't be good with it as her Intelligence is so low.
"Not many people have been in the tunnels to the southwest. But one group went into
them and went north. There, they found a small cave, and in it the saw a dragon.
Then they hightailed it. That's all I know, and they might have made it up."
A nondescript man sits sharpening a bunch of kitchen knives. He seems pretty

detached. "Oh, hello. I'm Clive." He doesn't seem too happy to see customers.
“Your business?”
"Uhhh ... Oh! I have weapons available for purchase. For what it's worth. And you
can sell me your weapons too. I suppose. Hell of a life, huh?"
“Nothing spectacular. Although that Lemonwood Bow would be a nice improvement for
Rook. His old bow is starting to show its age.”
“Hello?”
A charming, voluptuous woman sits behind the counter, mixing up some sort of pate.
Jars of preserved meats and preserves surround her. The smell is mouth-watering. "I
am Hestia. Welcome."
“Your sign indicates that you are a purveyor of consumables. What do you create?”
"I sell delicious gourmet comestibles. You may purchase some, if you wish. They
cost more than you may be used to paying, but I think you'll find the taste makes
it worth it! All this is just my little contribution..."
Hell no. I've got enough, I can walk back to Mertis if I need food, and restock
there.
"To the life of Exile! I was miserable when I first came down here, but then I
realized that maybe I could make something good, to make down here as good as up
there! So I started finding ways to make the food better, and I think I succeeded.
Now my husband, Clive, is still depressed about it. But, well, what can you do?"
“I am sure you can think of something.”
“Interesting view of the pond.”
“Oh yes, the fresh water is wonderful for my baking, and for the growing of
mushrooms!”
You meet an ancient woman in a black dress. She is sitting behind the counter,
grinding something with a mortar and pestle.[/i]
“Hello, I notice you didn't have a name on the store plaque.”
She smiles enigmatically. "Names have power, child."
“Not for alchemy. Which you are?”
"I am an alchemist. Many are my potions, and strange are their powers. I have a
secret, one which may be interesting to you. Only a hundred gold. And I have
recipes, as well."
“I am not a tourist, to so easily buy into secrets.”
"To the east, far to the east, is a cave of lava and steam. To the north of it, not
far, is a secret cavern. In it is the best source of crypt shrooms. Use them well."
“I know the cavern you're talking about. You do realize that everyone walking from
For Exile to here will pass through there, right?
“And what recipes do you have?'
Resurrection Balm is useful, if I wasn't saving my way around things.
You have the unique pleasure of meeting a sleazy looking guy in ratty clothes. He
has a scraggly graying beard and a unique odor. "I'm Rippel. I'm overjoyed to
meetcha'"
“I have no time for beggars.”
"I work! I don't beg. I sell things!"
“I don't believe you.”
"Well, for example, if you give me 10 gold, I'll sell you some information."
“What possible information could you have for me?”
“10 gold!”
“Fine. I'll take it back off the next idiots to come out of the Abyss.”
"Well, there are lots of bandits to the north. And they fence their goods here!
Though I don't know how they get them in. But for a hundred gold (a modest fee),
I'll tell you something about the jail."
“Jail.”
"They got a guy in there, name's Eldin. I heard him bragging about stealing some
valuable jewelry, but it got taken from him, then he got taken. I don't know how
you'd get in to see him, but the thing he had was real precious!"
“Bah!”
“Any takers?”
A statue of some mayor long dead stares down at you disdainfully. Then, it blinks!
“...”
It purses its lips in disgust that you would dare speak to it.
“...”
“Nothing?”
It ignores you.
You see an extremely placid, gray-haired man. He sits at the desk, twiddling his
thumbs.
“Hello sir, I'm Peregrine IV.”
"I am Mayor DeBry. And I'm always glad to welcome visitors to Dharmon."
“Surely you do more than that!”
"I keep out of the way, mainly. The people of Dharmon are an independent lot, and
wouldn't let me be mayor if I bothered them! So I mainly do paperwork, and deal
with the council."
“I've heard of this Council
"Now there I have to work! I and the other five mayors have been working like crazy
to come up with ideas to deal with the sliths. Plans! Tactics! Supplies!
Entertainment! And Micah just had to come up with that crazy scheme of his."
“Anything you can tell me without compromising security?”
"King Micah wants to hire a bunch of adventurer assassins. No way! Running the war
is our job! All ours! I hope you aren't another group of adventurers come looking
for a royal token, because if so, you're going to be disappointed."
“Oh, we already have one. From the Mayor of Formello.”

“Oh! You're that group? I've heard about you. She says you can be trusted to be
discrete. Well, sorry, but we still have nothing to take care of, unless you can
figure out how the damned smugglers are getting into town.”
“Thank you.”
“And first to the Inn again.”
A small, sweet looking woman with a baby at her breast sits in the corner. She
smiles at you.
“Oh, what a cute baby! I'm Ember! What's his name? Or hers?”
"I'm Malka. Hello. I've been waiting. For you."
“Uh, I think you want to talk to Art then. She's the mommy. If you're having
troubles with the baby, I'm certain she can help out with things.” She wiggles her
fingers, and the baby giggles
“I can still talk to you. The scimitar's blade is sharp. And its eyes see far. Oh,
excuse me for a moment." She burps the baby. "Where was I? Oh, yes. If you wish to
strike a mighty blow for Exile, go see our contact."
“You really should be talking to Art now. Maybe Rook or Karmas.”
"His name is Royce. He lives in Blosk. Ask him of the Scimitar. We need your help.
We all do." She starts changing the babies diaper.
“Do that elsewhere! I've got a business to run, not a daycare!”
“So, what's up?”
“The King is planning on hiring assassins to kill some external enemies.”
“Pass. The local food is hideously expensive.”
“Nothing much.”
“There's a smuggler in the local jail, plus a local fence.”
“Some group named Scimitar wants our help. Said to talk to some guy in Blosk,
wherever that is. The woman who talked to me had a cute kid. You would have gotten
along great with her.”
“What makes you say that?”
“You can't hide all your secrets from us.”
“Boy or girl?”
“Not talking about this.”
“Please?”
“No!”
“Didn't that woman in Fort Saffron's jail mentioned a Scimitar...”
“And she may have been related to those smugglers.”
“Which leads us to the man in the local jail.”
“I propose we do a little research about this 'Scimitar'.”
“Let's. But how do we do that?”
“I have an idea.”
“Thought so!”
“Why are we breaking into the jail again?”
“Because we have no legitimate reason to be here?”
“Because it's fun!”
A grimy man paces back and forth in his cell.
“Name?”
He looks at you wearily. "Eldin. Look. I didn't steal anything. And I don't have to
answer any of your questions. So bugger off! You have no evidence!"
I think I missed flipping a flag somewhere, I can't get a word out of this guy at
all. Anyone in the thread know what I'm missing?
“This is the last place on the map. If there's smugglers, this is where they'd
hide.”
“Easy!”
“Oh shit.”
This is bad. Really bad. And could have been worse. I click into Fight Mode, and
this is what I get...
Everyone in the same time where I can focus fire. From here I can take on one Demon
at a time, once Peregrine slaps a Major Blessing on the party.
“I HATE DEMONS!”
“Perhaps we should see about properly reforging the Demon Slayer?”
“Later.”
“Wow. Beware of traps.”
“Oh, this is interesting. Duncan?”
“No idea. I'll have a loot at it later. But don't touch the blade, that looks
poisonous.[/i]
Yes, that's three demons you can summon, in addition to the three more through
checking the boxes.
Which one is safe, and nets you the second named weapon of the game?
I'm not going to tell you!

Fine. Second from the left along the bottom. You happy now?
Fort Saffron:
Dharmon
‹
Part #24
Part #26
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by berryjon
‹
Part #25
Part #27
›
Return to LP Index
Part 26: Update 023 – Exploration, Blosk, Gnass and Fort Emerald
Update 23 – Exploration, Blosk, Gnass and Fort Emerald
This update will be a whole lot of talking. Three whole towns in close proximity to
each other, and no dungeons to break up the monotony of it. I even had over 2500
words of dialogue to put into this update, so enjoy!
But first, a little bit of exploration to cover this half of the Great Cave, and to
fill in the map I'll give you all at the end of the update.
This first location is North and a bit east of the Goblin Cave, in the middle of
nowhere.
“A scout?”
“Hail the camp!”
“You have got to be kidding me.”
“Well, think of all the issues we had to go through to deal with that.”
“Like the demons.”
“Demons? Wait, you haven't...!”
“Thank you! I'll let my superiors know you were of great assistance. Bye!”
And our belated reward is a Gauntlets of Skill, which acts as a Gold Ring of Skill,
except taking up the hand slot instead of a ring.
And if you come back afterwards, you get this message:
This location is north of Dharmon.
“Ah, a place of industry!”
In many ways, I see the developing mines at Fort Draco to be a competitor to this
place. Higher quality ores and materials against the cost of high distance to ship
them through hostile lands. It's something I'm probably thinking too much about,
but I like to make these connections to give the game's background a greater sense
of depth to it.
Now, on with the update proper. This next town is east of Dharmon, along the north
edge of the cavern.
“That's an odd set of walls.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Look at them. They almost remind me of Fort Dranlon.”
“But it does look occupied. Come on.”
“A moment to map the location.”
“A fortress town, it seems. We're coming close to going back to where the Sliths
are supposed to be, so perhaps this is some sort of forward staging area?”
“Let's just see if we can enter or not.”
“Karmas was right. Look at these ruts. A lot of traffic goes through these gates.”
“The usual, people.”
“Alright!”
“And Ember, try not to head straight for the Inn this time?”
“Awww.”
“If this is that crazy plan that King Micah is thinking about, I'm not sure any
reward is big enough.”
“Hello there, good lady.”
A heavy set woman with black hair cascading down her back works at a small anvil.
She has to take great pains to keep her hair from the sparks. "Welcome. My name is
Jonnhalyn."
“Forgive my impertinence, but that is a very masculine name for a woman of your
beauty.”
She laughs at Karmas' compliment. “Well, what can I say to that? It's the name my
parents gave me. But anyways, this is my shop. I can't talk much. I'm very busy.
Supplying the fort, you know. But I can sell you weapons and armor."
“Ah, most interesting.”
“Oh, and don't mind the boy. I let him play in here to keep him out of the way of
the soldiers.”
A small boy in ratty clothes runs amuck.
“Hello, child. I am Karmas. Who might you be?”
"Hi! I'm Jeff!"
“That is a good name. What are you doing here? I hope you're not bothering her too
much.”
"Playing!" He looks down at his clothes, ratty and two sizes too small. "Daddy
won't let me play in my real clothes cos' he says their tough to make. Can I have a
coin!"
“Of course. Here.”

He smiles. "Thanks!"
“You shouldn't spoil the child like that, Karmas. His daddy doesn't like that.”
"Leith is my daddy! He does lots of neat stuff!" He looks sad for a moment. "Mom is
at Fort Emerald. She's fighting. I miss her."
A woman in a tattered dress thrusts out a bowl at you. Her breath smells of
mushroom ale. "Spare a copper for Old Kathy?"
“...”
"Give me a coin? I'll tell you my story!"
“...”
"Thanks! Yeah, thinks were tough for me on the surface. So I began getting into the
wine. Before long, I couldn't stop. Still can't. They didn't like that up there, so
they sends me down here, where the wouldn't see me. For 10 gold, I'll tell you
more."
“...”
"They sent me down into Exile, and I came here. That's it."
“...”
“Hello.”
A heavy middle-aged man with a disorganized beard puts fletching on arrows behind
the counter. His fingers work with unerring skill and speed.
“Hello?”
He continues gluing the feathers on cavewood shafts. "Bruce. I run this little
supply shop. You can purchase arrows, and I think I have some other stuff left too.
You'll excuse me for being disorganized - things have been hectic."
“Duncan. I can believe it.”
"Yes. Fort Emerald buys my arrows as fast as I can make them. It's hard work, with
lousy materials, but beats being on the surface."
“You don't look like a new arrival. And you sound like you have a grudge.”
"Oh, yes. Every minute of every day making arrows for the idiot nobles and their
stupid tournaments. Playing games with first class weapons. Well, one of them told
me what he thought of my art, and I told him what I thought of him."He grins. "A
week later, I'm down here. But at least my arrows are getting the use they
deserve!"
“Oh, interesting.”
“Even more so.”
“Nothing I can't handle.”
“ow”
“I hope this was worth it.”
Magic Darts. Not really. And I was already in a town, so I just tanked the damage.
“Just a trainer.”
I apologize for not taking proper pictures here, but there's something I wanted to
cover at this point. It's about the Skill Points we've been getting as the party
levels up.
You see, Art is now level 21 (out of 50). Peregrine is down at Level 14, with
everyone else at 15 through 17.
Up until this point, everyone had been gaining 5 Skill Points per level-up.
However, at level 20, that changes. You only get 4 SP a level from here on out. To
demonstrate the math, by the end-game, you get 60+(18*5)+(30*4) = 270 SP in total
through the game.
I won't give all the details about what I trained up, but here's the highlights:
Art picked up Level 5 in Priest Spells, and another point into Intelligence so she
can use Divine Thud as something more than a support AoE.
Duncan picks up another couple points in Alchemy so he can brew the Greymold potion
when we finally find the ingredient for it.
Ember grabs tier 6 Mage spells. Now she can cast Kill and Ravage Enemy!
Everyone else gets minor upgrades to stats and skills that are just slightly
incremental.
“I feel like I'm slowing down. I can't be that old yet! I swear, I'm 29!”
“I need a freaking drink after that.”
“Sorry, the inn is just to the south.” A tall, thin young man with very long blonde
hair sits behind the desk, reading a tattered scroll. "Welcome, adventurer. I am
Leith. Of all trades."
“Art. Sorry, just... not having a nice day. What sort of trades?”
“Oh, not much that will interest you. I do some identification of various items,
and I sing!”
He leaps lustily into a bawdy song of almost mind-bending proportions. The air
flickers blue.
“AAAAAA! I'LL PAY YOU ANYTHING TO STOP!”
“But I'm getting better!”
“Nah, I know what Art says, but there's no better source for information than the
bar!”
There is a short, blonde woman tending the bar. You wouldn't give her a second
look, except that her clothes are very fine and delicate, and she wears a sash of
office.
“Wow. I'm Ember!”
"Hello, friend. I am Vicki. Welcome to my inn."
“Alright, I have to ask. What?”
"Well, we have fine, fine rooms for the night. Only 15 gold. And we have dinner and
a drink for 2. That's how I run my inn." She smiles. "I'm also the mayor, but I'm
sure adventurers such as yourselves wouldn't be interested."
“Since when does the Mayor run the inn?”
"Ah, yes. These times call for clear heads, and the townsfolk judged me the
clearest head about. It's not a bad job. Takes a lot of time, and I need to hire a
replacement to look after the bar when I go to the Castle, but I like it fine
overall." She starts washing out some mugs.
“Is the Castle really all that awesome? I mean, why would you go there?”
"Yes. For meetings of the Council." She looks at you strangely. "Hmm. And don't go
asking me for a royal token. The king's looking for adventurers to go on some
mission, and I'm not going to be a party to it. Adventures are loose cannons.
Hotheads!" She slams down a glass. "If there's anything we need now, it's clear
heads. The army is fine. Adventurers? Nope.” The conversation was over.
“Can I at least have a drink?”
A gangly man, dressed in loose-fitting red clothes, stands at the bar calmly
drinking. He seems not to have noticed you. "Royce." He slid a coin over the table
to pay for Ember's drink.
“Ember, but you probably already know that. What are you doing around here?”
"Keeping an eye on things. I've heard of you."
“Ah! I remember! You were referred to Art, said you could make a decent scimitar
for her. She really doesn't like that axe.”
He speaks very quietly. "Yes. We've been watching you, but waiting for you to
approach us. Calder. In the Abyss. That's who you should talk to. About the
scimitar, that is. That's all I can say."
“Really? You're just a middleman? Typical men. All tell and no show.”
“Fine! Be that way!” He storms off in a huff.
“Good job. He's been oogling me for days now, and you sent him running away. How
about a free drink?”
“I like how you think, Mayor!”
A women in priestess robes sits at the table, getting drunk in a most unholy
manner.
“Drink me in, sister!”
She looks up at you. She's not as drunk as you thought. "Greeting, my children. I
am called Sabrina."
“Damn it, and here I was, hoping for a drinking partner. At least, an we share our
woes?”
"The sedentary life wasn't for me. I'm an adventurer, much as you."
“Really? What about me screams adventurer?”
She sighs. “I'd rather not talk about it."
“Ah.”
“SERIOUSLY?”
“Even I am beginning to think that course of action is a bit excessive.”
“We cannot continue to object to that choice of action. We did receive a bit more
information about this 'Scimitar' group. And given that they seemed to be the ones
who slew that Empire Patrol to the south, I say we can trust their intentions.”
“That's not the point! I told her not to go straight to the inn to wait for the
rest of us!”
“Can this wait until after we deal with that roving Slith warband?”
“What Warband?”
“Oh.”
“I got this.”
“BWAHAHAHAHAh!”
Ravage Enemy is Group Curse and Group Slow out to 8 tiles from the caster. This
spell, plus Major Blessing, is a very lethal combination.
“Meh. Not flashy enough.”
“Silly Girl. Magic isn't about flash, it's about substance!”
“Shows what you know! Hey, Art! Side with me here!”
“No!”
“This is... ominous.”
“We should take a moment.”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“...”
“You know what? Let's find somewhere else to be.”
“Like the middle of nowhere?”
“Pretty much.”
“And that was the longest loop we've ever taken.”
“Oh shut up. You enjoyed the walk.”
“I think that's a fishing village on the other side of the water.”
“This can't possibly be what I think it is.”

“A town of non-hostile Slithzerikai. I suppose it must have happened eventually.”
“Sign?”
“Give me a moment.”
“This town is completely defenceless.”
“Alright. The usual when we come to a new town. But everyone watch out for everyone
in case something goes wrong. If something goes wrong, kill everyone.”
“This craftsmanship is amazing.”
“Until we return home? What does that mean? Are these people exiles from Slith
lands too?”
“Perhaps I can ask at this building here?”
“Oh.”
A delicate slith female watches over the babies swimming around in the pools. She
smiles at you. At least, you think that's what that is. "My name is Eath. Welcome
to Gnass." Her English is nearly perfect. Ever her S's sound right. She cuts them
short, instead of letting them trail off.
“Peregrine the Fourth. My apologies for the intrusion. I was hoping to ask a
question about the statues just outside, and came here via location association.
What is it that you do here in Gnass?”
She sighs, a slow hissing noise. "I am a sage, by trade, learning, and choice. But
I fled the castle of Sss-Thsss, and my tomes stayed behind. And now my mate and I
wait here for the war to end. And I take care of the little ones, because someone
must."
“And who is he? Your... mate?”
"Skatha, the blacksmith. He is the finest smith I have ever met. Your kind would be
well to get weapons from him. Very few of the blades I have seen in human hands are
any match for his."
“I wonder why I always seem to find the smith first?”
A gigantic slith, green skin bright and shiny, muscles bulging awesomely, forges a
slith two-tined spear. "Ahssss! Humansss! I Skatha! Welcome to my store!"
“I greet you, noble smith. What styles of weapon do you make?”
"I forge weaponsss! My spearsss are my pride, and I love when they used! Purchasss
one, and I burst with pride, that a human use my weapon! A slith spear is a mighty
thing!"
He's right, but Duncan already has a better weapon. No sale.
“Oh, hello.”
A young female slith pores over a leather scroll. Her eyes glow. She looks up at
you, her reptilian face expressionless. "Welcome. I am Garthass."
“Art. First Exile Escape Committee. Pardon for the intrusion.”
“I have not heard of sssuch a thing.”
“We're a group focused on getting out.”
“A noble goal. For me, I study, and prepare. One day, we will be called to defend
ourselves."
“From who? You're in peace with the humans here, and does that mean the other
Slithzerikai will come for you for it?”
“Indeed, thissss is truth. Our dark slith brothers concentrate on you humansss now.
But they will come for us as well. We will fight them! And if not them, I fear you
humansss will one day give in to your hate for us. Our little village sits between
two giantsss, waiting.”
"But I see you are not like that. Or so I think. I have help for you."
“What do you mean, help?”
"I brew potionsss and scribe scrollsss. You could purchase them now, if you like.
Though I fear what humansss may one day do to ussss, we help them now best we can,
in hope that one day peace may lassst."
“For what it's worth, I'm not interested in harming you.”
“No. Freaking. INN.”

“No. Bar.”
“No. Nothing!”
“You!”
A muscular slith works on a statue. "Ah! Welcome, humansss! I Bass-Athai, slith

stonemason."
“Who the what now?”
"I work the stone. I make statues, and homes for people here."
“Who of?”
"We sliths remember the great magi and leaders of our past. And we remember them
with statues. Paper rots, and carvings fade, so sliths keep their history in many,
many statues. Stonemason much respected by sliths!"
“That's... you know statues crumble too right? It all depends on the environment
things are in? Wouldn't it be better to put them in, you know, a house?”
He laughs, a strange, sibilant sound. "We learn that from humansss. Sliths live in
warrens, but when we flee here, no warrens. So make housesss. I think I am first
slith to ever do so! I did not well at first. Rocks fall on our heads. But now!" He
indicates the town with a grand gesture, his strange face lit up with pride.
“Wow. Really.”
“Right, don't go messing with altars and stuff like that without Art around.
Besides, these people are all friendly. Who would summon demons here?”
“Oh, what the hell.”
“Oh.”
“And this guy looks like the local leader.”
A mighty Slithzerikai with rich, dark green skin patrols the town watchfully.
“Greetings, Lord. I am Duncan, formerly of the Surface. I bid you peace.”
He nods gravely. "I am Sss-Schai. The Sss is the slith way of stating leadership. I
am ..." he pauses to recall a word "... mayor here. I watch over my people, and
deal with the two great forces that surround us - the humans and Darklings."
“I have to ask, what are the Darklings?”
"Ah, yessss. I tell this tale to any human I can, so you can understand us. The
sliths here are refugees, exiles like yourselves, from the mighty slith kingdoms in
the deeper caves. The kingdoms are ruled with wisdom and justice. And peace. We
valued that which you humans valued. But there were rebels."
His face darkens with anger. "A band who followed dark powers, led by Sss-Thoss,
grandfather to Sss-Thsss. They were expelled, in the mercy of the leaders, and came
here, threatened by death should they return. Then the humans arrived. As the war
started, decades after we arrived, some of us finally rejected Sss-Thsss."
“What does that mean for your relationship with humanity?”
"I want nothing but friendship and have nothing but welcome for your kind. You seem
to live much closer to the true Slith ideals than the Darklings."
“That's an interesting notion. But I must ask you to ponder this. If your culture
is descended from the rebels, how can you be certain that what you hold dear is
what your home culture expresses?”
“Simple, human. We oppose them.”
“That was a nice diversion. Nothing strange or unusual. Just a completely normal
village. Inhabited by Sliths.”
“...”
“I think... south.”
Not much to see in this update. Here's Blosk:

And Gnass.
Don't worry, next update, we finally reach the Castle! I hope.

‹
Part #25
Part #27
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #26
Part #28
›
Return to LP Index
Part 27: Update 024 – Fort Emerald and the Castle
Update 24 – Fort Emerald and the Castle
“You know, I didn't really feel like fighting those lizards. Let's go check out the
Fort, see if we can pass through it and back to the Great Cave.”
“Very well.”
“This place has seen better days.”
“A moment.”
“Hey, Peregrine? How come you keep scrying the towns we come too? I mean, without
Art telling you, or you complaining?”
“It is an excellent exercise of my skills and magic power. Given that this spell
and Major Blessing are the only ones I typically cast at the moment, I have no wish
to let my skills atrophy.”
“So, you wanna switch off?”
“You do not have the skill to cast the Blessing, nor the knowledge to cast Magic
Map. We shall be as we are. And done.”
“Good, the place is a complete checkpoint.”
“But again, look at the walls. This place is under constant attacks.”
“I think there's someone over there, checking out the damage. Perhaps we should ask
him?”
“Attack!”
“Oh hot damn!”
“Well, that's 1000 gold we can save. Take it.”
The Lemonwood Bow is a straight upgrade to the Cavewood Bow, giving a bonus of +2
instead of +1.
“I think this guy was raiding the stores here. Look!”
Magical even!
“Hello!”
“State your business.”
“Came up from Blosk by way of Gnass, and am headed back to the Great Cave.”
“One moment.”
Alright, we're going to stick together. This Fort 'Emerald' may not like
individuals snooping around asking questions.”
“Am I the only one who sees a pattern here?”
“Two instances do not a pattern make.”
“Possibly. Now if Remote was something else, it could make for the third data point
to create a baseline.”
“Agreed. But we also have evidence of two potential patterns.”
“Oh?”
“Emerald and Saffron are data points suggesting a line of fortifications with a
gemstone theme to the name, possibly to reflect local resources. Draco, Exile and
Remote are all Forts with descriptive names to identify their purpose or history.”
“Wrong.”
“Oh?”
“Saffron is a spice and sometimes used as an incense. A Sapphire would fit your
proposed theme. Also, your theory does not account for Forts Duvno or Dranlon.”
“Exceptions.”
“Actually, the woman is right, sir. But Fort Emerald is in the same classification
as Exile, Remote and Draco.”
“What does that mean? And who are you?”
A young mage with a pointed black beard and an arrogant expression inspects a magic
barrier. "Hmm." He looks you up and down, unimpressed with what he sees. "I am
Matthias. What is your business here?"
“We...”
“We're the First EEC. Don't bother asking. We're just passing through, headed for
the Castle. What about you? We already cleared our entrance with the guards, so why
do you ask?”
He smirks. "Teaching the sliths who come here a lesson. I'm one of the mages of
this fort."
"My job, in particular, is to strengthen these barriers. Sometimes I dispel one and
create it anew. We can't always rebuild the walls between attacks."
“I can see that. Fort Dranlon is in much the same straits. You must be an excellent
crafter of these barriers.
"Often some upstart asks me to teach him how to dispel the barriers." He chortles.
"That, I tell them, is our secret, not theirs. The tower chooses some spells to
keep for itself."
“Obviously.”
“hehe”
“Come on. Let's find someone else to talk to.”
There is a man in robes here. He fingers a holy symbol and stares through the arrow
slit intently. He turns to you briefly, and turns back to his vigil. "My name is
Hodgson."
“Art. You're focused. Worried about something?”
He waves at the slit. "I watch for the next attack. When it comes, I defend us as
best I can. The sliths are relentless. Soon my shift will be over, and I can go to
the emerald and my rest."
“The 'Emerald?”
He flashes you a wicked grin. "It's the thing that's kept this fort going as well
as it has. It was found nearby, and brought here when they found what it can do. It
restores magical power! Thanks to it, each mage here casts the spells of three. Any
sliths that come here, they get three flamestrikes for every one they send."
“Hold on. You're Hodgson? You know a Novak? He said you were an alchemist.”
"Hmm. I actually don't know that much about it. I was going to try to invent a
healing potion using graymold before I got called to come here. I only got as far
as finding a patch of the stuff, no mean feat!"
“WHERE?!?!?!?!”
"Well, it probably isn't there anymore, but I found a small patch of the stuff at
the headwaters of the river that runs down to the big lake. The lake Cotra sits on.
The stuff was far, far to the north. Took me forever to find it! I took some with,
but it spoiled long ago. Sorry."
“Art! We HAVE to go get it!”
“Come on, it's not like you have a recipe for it, or anything.”
“...”
“Do you?”
“Do you!?!?”
“Not sure what we'll find here.”
A slith paces sluggishly in the cell. It's skin doesn't have the normal healthy
green color. Instead, it's slightly bluish. It stops pacing the room for a moment,
to look at you with cold eyes. Then it starts moving around again. It turns to you.
It is shivering slightly. You can tell the cold-blooded creature is freezing. "I
wait to be avenged, warmblood."
"Sss-Thsss is mightier that all of you humans combined," it says in a weak voice.
"Our Gods are mighty. Our ally is a being of devastation." His words ooze out,
sibilant and deliberate. "You are killing me slowly in this pit. Your deaths will
be worse." It continues moving around, trying to keep warm.
“Your ally needs some work if you are stuck here.”
His forked tounge flickers out, and he hisses. "We follow one of the lords of
darkness. I myself have grovelled at his feet. Soon he shall be free, and he will
lead us to mastery over the caves!"
“Demons can die. We should know.”
“Oh.”
“my.”
DON'T BREAK IT!
“That's actually pretty relaxing.”
“Ah, refreshed!”
“I don't feel anything.”
“Because you're not a magic user of any sort.”
That's all it does. Free SP restoration. Combine with healing, and you can rest
without camping.
“Hello.”
“Hello. Art, 1st EEC.”
An old woman with long, snowy white hair sits cross-legged, staring into the
emerald. She speaks without turning away from the jewel. "I am Silverio."
“You're the commander here? Is that your job?”
She emits a long, world-weary sigh. "The same as you. I defend and serve Exile, as
best I can. I know something of your travels. We fight the same fight."
“Uh... good for us then?”
"Yes. We magi keep track of events and significant visitors. Helps keep us all
alive."
“You mentioned fighting. Does that mean you know what we're trying to get help on?”
She smiles sadly and peers deeper into the huge gem. "Against whoever is handy. I
fight the sliths, because we need to if we are to survive. Once, long ago, I fought
demons. I prefer sliths, even though their attacks are near constant."
“Right! The demons”

"You may have heard of it. There was once a demon called Grah-Hoth. He lived in a
fort beyond a sea of lava to the southeast. I was an apprentice then. We defeated
and imprisoned him, and put him in a cave near the Abyss. A well-guarded cave. The
fort is still there, with some demons trapped in it forever. And maybe treasure."
“Why would you mention treasure?”
She thinks. "Most of the fort was shattered when Grah-Hoth fell. Just a pool of
lava, and basalt rubble." She thinks. "But one thing I remember! There was a body,
frozen in stasis! A man, from the surface, wearing a Royal Seal, of the Empire
above. It was a horrid and bizarre sight. I'm glad we sealed the place up."
“Seriously? A Royal Seal, just lying around there? How did it get there?”
“I do not know. Nor do I care to go back there and find out.”
“Oh.”
“Someone is going to ask us to go get that Seal, aren't they?”
“No bet.”
“No, the bet is who.”
A balding, pudgy man moves crates of supplies around at an almost glacial pace.
“Hello!”
"Huh? Oh. Hi. I'm Moe."
“What do you do around here?”
"Huh? Oh. I'm the quartermaster."
“That sounds interesting.”
"Uh. I keep track of the supplies. And stuff. Get stuff in. Hand it out. I hate it
here."
“Oh, come on, surely it can't be that bad?”
"Yeah. It can. At Fort Emerald. I was at Fort Remote. I liked it there. Then they
transferred me."
“We've been there.”
"Yeah. To the west. Most Boring fort in Exile. Guarding a bunch of empty tunnels.
Well, almost empty. There's a big drake living in there. It never attacks, so we
just wait. Much better than here. Here is dangerous. Real dangerous."
“Well, that was an interesting diversion.”
“You didn't experience the Emerald.

“It was amazing!”
“Could it be related to the Crystal Cave we encountered in the Eastern Gallery?”
“Unlikely.”
“That cavern contains Quartz-like crystals that act in sympathetic resonance with
each other. The emerald does not. It simply radiates power to those who can feel
it.”
“Oh, hey!”
“SIGN!”
“How very informative.”
“Damn it, would it kill people to have a sign saying “Castle, This way?”
“Like that one, maybe?”
“Well... From up there, we could have a decent view of the surrounding area.”
“The high ground is always an excellent choice for a defensible position.”
“I suppose someone is going to comment about the good exercise, right?”
“You said it, not me!”
A fumarole (Latin fumus, smoke) is an opening in a planet's crust, often in the

neighbourhood of volcanoes, which emits steam and gases such as carbon dioxide,
sulphur dioxide, hydrogen chloride, and hydrogen sulfide. The steam is created when
superheated water turns to steam as its pressure drops when it emerges from the
ground. The name “solfatara”, from the Italian solfo, sulfur (via the Sicilian
dialect), is given to fumaroles that emit sulphurous gases. - Wikipedia
“Further evidence of extensive vulcanism. Best not to get too close.”
“Well, someone is living up here.”
“Hello?”
Why would you attack?
“Please, don't mind if we do.”
“You said something about having wares for sale?”
Oh fuck me.
I thought they weren't in this game.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Third item on that list. The Knowledge Brew? Whoever drinks one gets two skill
points. I buy 5. There will be voting at the end of the update now.
“SIGN!”
“Maybe we can get proper directions from this one?”
“Nope.”
“I think this is it.”
“Well, we do have the Royal Token. And we do have a pressing concern to bring to
his highness.”
“That, we do.”
“This really can be a staging area, can't it?”
“I wouldn't try.”
“I've seen the Empire's capital. This is... a good try.”
“Don't slip.”
“Impressive.”
“I'm feeling oppressed already.”
“No wonder. Look.”
“Is this Castle standing on a spire?”
“It looks like it.”
“Alright, everyone on your best behaviour. Check your clothes. Be clean. Let's be
off.”
“Now where?”
“Perhaps the temple?”
A tall, thin man with long brown hair putters around the temple smoking a large
pipe. You would wonder what he was doing here, were it not for his spotless
priest's robes and holy symbol. "Greetings. I am Benth, High Priest of this
castle."
“Art, Karmas, Duncan, Ember, Rook, Peregrine. You provide religious services?”
"I provide guidance of many sorts, such as advice for Micah. I also heal any who
need it, for a modest fee. Even in a fort as mighty as the Castle, there is much to
be done. Much need for spells of all kinds."
“You sell Magic Spells? They must be mighty ones indeed if you simply need a Royal
Token to reach you.”
"I have great skill in that area, but there are those with more. If you wish to
learn more, you should go to Malville, the high priest of Dharmon. He may be
convinced to teach you, and he is without peer!"
“Can we use your altar?”
“Of course.”
Free healing. And with the Emerald close by, you shouldn't have any problems in
this region ever again.
“This looks important.”
“Or not.”
“Actual cow leather.”
“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
“Hello!” A skinny boy, about ten years old, attacks the floor furiously with his
broom.
“Sorry about that. She loves cows.”
He looks at you with wonder. "I'm Josh! Hi!"
“So, what do you do around here, Josh? It must be very important!”
"I sweep and clean up and stuff! But I won't always! I'll travel someday."
“Really? Where?”
"Up, down, and all over! I'll be an adventurer, and cast spells, and go to every
tiny little corner of these caves!" His eyes get very wide. "I'll even go to the
Abyss!"
“And what do you know about a place like that? It could be dangerous.”
"Yeah." His voice gets low. "I heard some grown-ups talking about it. It's a big
cave to the west and the north, and it's where all the people get sent who get sent
down here and are actually mean and nasty, rather than just different. They're mean
and nasty people. But I could handle them!"
“I'm sure you can. But first, you need to finish the jobs in front of you.”
“I do not think we'll find the King here.”
You see a small green lizard puttering around. It has a large red lace bonnet tied
around its head.
“That is way to tight. Let me fix that for you.”
“Hiss!”
A huge man with heavy armor and a halberd sits at the desk going over plans.
There's something about him that makes you suspect he's a danger to himself and
others.
“Oh, hello sir.”
He grunts and turns. "I'm Captain Houghton, Temporary Commander of the forces of
the Castle." He grunts again.
“I wasn't aware that such a posting could be temporary.”
He grunts, and belches lightly. "I'm in charge here while the real commander leads
raids against the sliths. And I take good care of things, as good as anyone! When
we get attacked, we'll show 'em!" He waves his arm grandly, spilling wine on his
maps.
“You think this fortress could get attacked?”
"They said that someone like me should be watching the castle, cause it's so
important! And they were right! I've had four months to prepare, and I bet they'll
charge any day now, and I'm ready! I have a great plan!"
"I'll show you!" He turns to get a piece of paper, but finds it is lost in the mess
on his desk. After ten minutes of watching his search, you start to contemplate
possible means of escape. Then he turns back to you. "Well, I guess I need a new
plan. Any ideas?"
“...”
“I could feel my intelligence draining, the longer we were there.”

“Oh gods!”
“What do we have here?”
“NO!”
Let me show you, anyways.
“This door is locked, and the guards won't stop you.”
“This does nothing. Yet.”
“The first couple of fields are simply shockers. The last couple, actual Barriers
you'd need to dispel.”
“The two in the corners are shockers, the rest are solid. Just dispel one to get
in.”
“The treasure trove is is worth 7500GP. That's a lot of Knowledge potions.”
“And if you take it, remember this?”
“That becomes this.”
“And everything turns hostile, and you're probably already half-dead.”
“Duncan, I know that look on your face. Stop dreaming.”
“Maybe we'll find the King here?”
“Oh, hello.”
A tall, raven-haired wizard with a somewhat distracted air works furiously behind
his desk. It takes a moment to get his attention. "Ah, hello. I am Rone, court
wizard of the Castle. Please. I'm very busy. Leave." Then, he thinks twice and
looks you over. "Wait! You are adventurers! Maybe you will believe me when I speak
of the threat that faces us all. Heaven knows nobody else does."
“WE KNOW ABOUT IT!”
"Threat? What threat? There's a threat?" He stops to mentally regroup. "Oh, yes!
The threat. I've written all you need to know. In my memoirs. They're around here
somewhere. I forget where. Read them, and you'll know some of what you need to
know. Also, you can tell me the name of the evil creature who endangers us all. I
forgot."
“Grah-Hoth. Linda in the Tower”

"Yes! That was it. We imprisoned him, but there are signs he can strike out at us
from his bottle. Someone needs to go there, let him out, and kill him. Otherwise,
the threat will never end."
“Let him out and kill him?”
“Kill who?”
“Damn! No help there.”
A genial man with short blond hair moves quickly by. He turns to talk to you. "I am
Renee. Welcome to the Castle!"
“It's good to be here. I hope we're not getting in the way of anything?”
“Not really. I'm the quartermaster. I look after the supplies, weapons, et cetera.
It's quite a job, with the blockhead in charge. I'm also in charge of keeping
things in storage."
“Blockhead?”
"Captain Houghton. Far be it from me to badmouth a superior, but let's just say
whenever he sees a hole in the ground, he has trouble realizing that's what he's
looking at, if you catch my drift. Fortunately, he's just a temporary. The real
commander is raiding the sliths. Hope he gets back to the Castle soon."
“Thanks, we'll be out of your way then.”
“Almost out of places to check.”
“He looks well dressed!”
You see a man in his early twenties wearing clothes of great luxury and an
expression of great emptiness. A silver circlet rings his head. He seems to be
looking for something.
“Hey!”
He flashes you a baffled smile. "I am Prince Chevyn. I'd introduce you to my
lizard, but I can't find her."
“Your... lizard.”
"I look for my lizard. She's naughty, and has run away." A thought seems to pass
his mind, at glacial speeds. "Oh. Wait. I'm also the Crown Prince. That's
important."
“Really? You're the Prince?”
He stands up straight, and fixes you with a stare that seems to be intended to
carry great weight. Unfortunately, it mainly carries great vacancy. "I am Crown
Prince! One day I will be King! Then I will ... uhhh ... be the King! And slay
things! When I'm king, my lizard will be my prince. And I will have a queen! Neat,
huh?"
“I feel sick.”
“Is your lizard cute?”
"Her name is Chevyn. I like that name because it sounds so familiar! Heeeeree
Chevyn Chevyn Chevyn! Tell me if you see her. She has a pretty hat!"
“No, I haven't seen your pet lizard. Bye!”
“Bye!”
“So ends the line of Micah.”
“Wow. Wow. Ow.”
“Are you alright?”
“No, just some things making sense now. And not liking it at all. I'll be fine.
Let's find the King.”
“Ah, I've let Micah know you were coming. Good luck with your missive.”
“Thanks.”
“Wait. We need a token to get into the Castle, and another to get into the audience
chamer?”
“We don't have to let you in, if you're going to complain about the security.”
“No! I'm good!”

When I started this LP, I knew this conversation had to be something special. I've
been developing a narrative outside what the game has, and that's affected how
things are advancing. People who have been playing along at home have probably
noticed when I changed, tweeked, or added things to build a sense of continuity to
the whole LP.
So I'm going to take a step back here, and try something different. You'll see the
whole conversation afterwards, but for now, I decided to write it in a different
manner.
- - - - -
Art took the lead, straightening her shirt one more time, ever more aware of each
imperfection and flaw in the material. If only she had a needle and thread to fix
it, she could have made herself a bit more presentable.
“Art, stop fidgeting” Rook whispered as the six of them spread out a little bit to
properly see and be seen by the ruler of Exile. “Being nervous isn't like you.” He
quickly checked to his right, where Karmas was making sure Duncan didn't look too
shifty, then to Art's left at Peregrine and Ember. He didn't have to worry about
the two mages, as the formal Peregrine looked completely at ease in the presence of
the King, while Ember did her best to mimic him.
“I don't know you.” The commanding, but gentle voice came from the man who sat in a
simple basalt throne. Micah was an aged man whose greying hair offset the loose-
fitting silk clothes. In younger, less stressful times, he would have filled them
properly, cutting an imposing figure. Although there was frailty in those all-to-
human bones, his eyes betrayed nothing of the sort. They were powerful, piercing,
intelligent and not yielding a single measure to the far less intimidating
Committee.
“I don't know you, yet here you stand.” He speaks again, looking over each of the
six in turn, Art feeling like the gaze lingered on her a fraction of a second more
than the others. “I am Micah. Chosen King of Exile, ruler of her people, defender
of her lands. I am responsible for what goes on in these caves, and I don't KNOW
YOU.”
Art took a small step forward, suddenly at ease with the knowledge that she was the
one in charge. This wasn't a conversation between her Committee and Micah. It was
between him and her, and he seemed to recognize it. “I'm Art...”
“I know that much!” Micah snapped as he pushed himself off his throne, two hulking
man-trees of guards following at a respectful distance. “I know your names. Mayors
Evelyn and Steele both have good things to say about your motley band. While that
could just be a case of a group of adventurers being themselves, I kept hearing
your names more and more.”
He approached Art, who stood her ground with all her will power. “Captain Johnson
at Fort Duvno reported that a group tore through a Bandit fort, then a Nephilim
fortification. A recent missive from Metis reports that the undead infestation has
been set well back. The Tower of the Magi thanked me for sending an army detachment
to deal with the Ogres nearby.”
Closer still, and the others stepped back without being aware of it, the force of
his presence pushing them away. “Fort Dranlon suddenly gained vital intelligence
about Slith movements, and was able to make great advancements in understanding
their magics too.
“Commander Novak has bottled up most of the brigands bypassing his fort. Very good
penmanship.
“Mayor DeBry was able to recover most of the smuggles artifacts being moved through
his city.” his eyes flick to the Heartfinder at Art's side before returning to her
own grey orbs.
“What have I missed?” The demand was short and sharp, directed at everyone, though
only Art held his gaze.
“Um, we helped the Giant Intelligent Friendly Spiders with some of their Aranea
problems?” Ember blurted out, the first to break under pressure. With no sigh of
punishment or reproach, the others began to speak.
“There was that demon-summoning cult south of Fort Draco.”
“And the Undead Crypt with the two vampires in it.”
“We've started collecting the pieces of Demonslayer for Solberg.”
“Anastasia is dead.”
“We have a lead on some Greymould to cure Patrick's Wife.”
“We recovered that message for the messenger from the Gremlins!”
“ENOUGH!” Micah roared, spinning around and cutting off the outflow of
accomplishments. “I've heard enough!” He quickly regained his throne before
speaking again. “I've heard of you. But I still don't know why. I've heard what
others have said and unsaid, but if I am to do my JOB, I must know. Who are you?”
“Art. Of the First Exile Escape Committee.” Art found her voice and delivered her
answer as solid as the stone around them. “We want to get out, and keep finding
other problems that get in our way.”
“You think others before you haven't tried?” Micah almost spat in disgust. “That
you can succeed when others before you have failed?”
Art matched his disgust with determination, a fury crossing her eyes. “You may be
content to reign in this sunless, sky-less husk of stone and molten iron, but I
have other things in mind, Micah! So what if we're helping people on the way to get
what we want? We'll still get it. I don't care who stands in our way. Not lizards.
Not Kitties. Spiders, thieves, gremlins, demons, dragons OR KINGS NOR EMPERORS! I
WILL ESCAPE FROM THE PIT!”
Silence reigned. No one moved, no one dared breathe in the face of the implied
threat that Art just lay down.
“Heh.” Micah let a small curl of a smile crawl up one side of his face. “Good. I
would have made your lives miserable if you were in this for the glory or something
like that. I had enough of that on the Surface.”
He gets back up, leaving Art to suspect he needs the motion to keep himself in
shape more than for any dramatic reason. “You're going to do a job for me.”
“Why,” she retorted without giving him a chance to explain himself.

“Because you're in a lot of trouble. If I so choose. Certain actions of yours could
be interpreted as impersonating officers of the Army of Exile.” The counter threat
hung over the Committee's head as a sharp blade. “However, performing a task for me
would go a long way towards legitimizing your previous actions.”
“Not interested.”
“Really?” Micah walked around the small pool of water that would normally serve
more meditative purposes. “What makes you think you have a choice?”
“Because there has to be someone better. We've been finding out all this
information to give to you so that you can get one of your people to solve these
problems. We have our own to deal with.”
Micah looked almost amused by the defence. “What makes you think there is anyone?”
Art's reply died on her lips. “There has to be. Professionals. The Army everyone
seems so proud of.”
“There are none. None who combine the reactive adaptability, the inherent loyalty
towards each other, the sheer power and equipment of your little band of
adventurers.”
“Fair enough.” Micah shrugged. “But you'll find your efforts will be more
productive with my authority than without.”
“Are you trying to extort us?”
“No! Never.” Micah stops. “This is coercion.”
“What do you want?”
“I want the head of Sss-thsss.”
“You're crazy.” Art shook her head. “You want us to assassinate the head of the
local Sliths?”
“And yet I know full well the powers a small dedicated group can bring to bear that
a larger military force cannot.”
Art looked back at the rest of her party. “We need to talk about this.”
Micah nodded. “Feel free to use the garden. But do not leave the Castle.
- - - - -
And here's how the conversation really goes:
LOOK: You see, sitting in the throne, a very slight, aging man in loose-fitting
silk clothes. He wears a gold circlet. Although he appears frail, his eyes have a
powerful, piercing quality that instantly make you feel on the defensive.
NAME: "My name is Micah. I am honored to be king of this fair land."
JOB: "It is simple. I am the chosen king of Exile. I look after the goings-on of
the caves, and mastermind our actions against our enemies." He smiles and looks you
over, measuring the quality of the material brought before him.
ENEMIES: "Yes. The rich, greatly underrated caverns of Exile." He smiles sadly. "I
dream of the day the abovegrounders find out what a wonderful place they gave to
those they hated. I have long ago learned that Exile brings great good with the
bad."
GOOD: "The Slithzerikai are our most organized and deadly foe. Long we have tried
to slay their leader, and long we have failed. Then, of course, there are the
Nephilim. And the Nepharim. And the aranea, and giants, and undead. Our foes are
many, and strong." / "That is why I seek adventurers, to hire them to complete a
mission of great import."
MISSION: "Ah, yes. The sliths are led by their mighty and wily chief - dread Sss-
Thsss. There will be no peace or safety until his head is brought to me, and I
think only a small, stealthy band can get it. Bring me his head, and your reward
will be rich indeed."
Now, we have two sets of things to Vote for. First is what to do with all those
Knowledge Potions. Remember, each grants 2 Skill Points, and I still have to spend
more money to train.
Secondly, where do we go from here? We have pretty much 3 options:
ONE: Do Micah's quest. We'll have to do it sooner or later, and we'll be able to
polish off some secondary quests on the way to it.
TWO: Go to the Abyss and investigate these “Scimitar” people.
THREE: More Exploration.
Fort Emerald, and The Castle
“Unspecified Services, huh? Find Anaxiamander, and bring him here. I have a job for
him.”
‹
Part #26
Part #28
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #27
Part #29
›
Return to LP Index
Part 28: Update 025 – The Great Cave and the Honeycomb
Update 025 – The Great Cave and the Honeycomb
"So, I'm open to suggestions."
"It would be prudent to aid Micah in his quest. The simple answer is disrupting
enemy Slith activity will result in a better strategic position for us to act in."
"I too find it difficult to progress in a steady manner through the constant
distractions of combat at the other detritus of an unorganized society. And with
the possibility of finding more Slith magic tomes, I must cautiously support at
least a good reconnaissance into Slith territory.
“You can't be serious! We should investigate these Scimitar people, and see if they
can help.”
“You mean the guys who killed that Empire Patrol, and see to be residing in the
prison of Exile?”
“You can't be serious.”
“And yet they already seem to have active agents, good intelligence, and a desire
to protect this nation.”
“It does not sit well with me that we would seek to enlist the aid of these
strangers when the onus of action has been placed on us.”
“But every minute we do the bidding of someone else is a minute we do not spend
searching for an exit!”
“DO you really think we can escape through no resources but our own? Think, you
fool! The more effort that gets put into a project, the quicker and better it can
be done. By providing some small measure of aid to Micah now, we can gain more help
in the future.”
“What he said!”
“But still, we have our own goals. How do we know that the King will uphold his end
of the bargain?”
“He is nobility.”
“HA!”
“What land are you from, that such things are true?”
“Valorim.”
“I'm very sorry.”
“You need not be. I doubt you were involved in the.... colonization of my
homeland.”
“Can we get back on the topic here? You know, the assassination of the leader of
the Slithzerikai to the north?”
“I think we should.”
“Why?”
“Well, we were at that village up that way, and I made nice at the altar there, and
I think a Slith deity or spirit asked for him to get killed.”
“What.”
Ember recalls her experience. “You believe me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“If you would, Art? You would likely know more about this than I.”
“Thank you. Ember, what makes you think that a Slith god would talk to you?”
“I don't know!”
“How can you know that this wasn't one of the mages or priests at that village
trying to trick you?”
“...”
“I know I'm right.”
“Look, we don't doubt what you experienced. It's just the source of it that's the
issue.”
“Indeed. I suspect that you were deceived, though my logic was different than
Art's.”
“Thus, it may be that the natives of Gnass wanted more human help. They seemed to
feel that they were in a bad strategic position, and wanted to ally with Exile as a
better prospect for their long-term needs.”
“Still, no need to get us involved!”
“It may be that this is a constant thing to try and convince the locals of Blosk
and Fort Emerald of their good nature.”
“But!”
“Rook? You're being quiet.”
“Just thinking.”
“Your input would be very appreciated.”
“I'm thinking about this from Micah's perspective. We've been seeing signs in many
of the towns asking for adventurers to come to the Castle, yet when we got here, we
found out that only a Royal Token would let us in.”
“So?”
“So, the only way to get said token was to perform a task for one of the Mayors of
the major cities, or, I would assume, through a service to the King directly.
“Go on.”
“Therefore, how would he get the people he wanted? How would he know that whomever
came to his chambers would be qualified?”
“And we have had evidence that the Mayors are in communication....”
“Exactly!”
“For those of us who have chosen a different logical path?”
“Allow me. The whole 'Royal Token' deal is a setup. What it really is, is a sign
that the bearers are competent and capable of performing certain missions. The
other mayors have rejected us out of hand because they already know we bear a
token, and don't need another.”
“So we're... over qualified for this job?”
“That would seem to be the implication. Rook, you have more to say?”
“I'm just wondering why.”
“Because we're expendable, that's why.”
“I disagree.”
“Right, we're not army. We're just a group of individuals with no major political
or military affiliation.”
“So, if things go wrong, we're to blame, and not the King. I hate being on this
side of the deal.”
“Experienced, I take it?”
“Oh shut up.”
“I've made up my mind.”
“What's the call?”
“We make a move to do some recon against the Sliths. Determine what sort of
opposition anyone who makes the actual attempt will encounter, and from there, make
plans to pass it off to someone else. See if this Scimitar group is up to the
task.”
“So, what shall we tell Micah then?”

“Nothing. I recognize him now – honestly thought he was executed – and he's the
sort to respond to action, not words. So we're just going to leave and do our
thing.”
“And if we don't commit to an action...”
“We can't be held if we try or not. Clever.”
“I approve. There is no sense in committing to a course of action with inadequate

information.”
“Come on then, let's go. First stop, let's get our boat back.”
I wasn't sure how to incorporate Peregrine's drinking of the Skill Potions into the
story, so I'm just going to show you the before-and-after of it.
And now, he has 10 more Skill Points; I'll be doing some training at the end of the
update.
“I feel much more capable!”
“Bloody hell!”
“This place seems nice and quiet.”
No idea why I took a picture of this. Maybe because it looked pretty?

“Wouldn't hurt.”
You lose five gold.
And this is north of Almaria.
“Hey, open the door please!”
“Seriously? We're leaving!”
“Yep. Pay up!”
“Oh, I can't wait to get our boat back.”
“Hah!”
“That's deep.”
“Don't mind if we do.”
“Sounds like my kind of fellow.”
No, I don't head back for that in this update.

“This has to be the lava field that has that shattered fortress buried in it.”
“Yeah. No. Not going to go there.”
“No.”
“I have no idea what's in the centre of all this.”
“This place feels... artificial.”
“And what do we have here?”
“I think we got... directions here?”
“SCORE!”
“Look, we just stick to the right, and we'll get through this maze.”
“Art, we are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike. I don't think 'right' will
get us out of here.”
“What made you think that a shortcut existed through a place called, The
Honeycomb?”
“Ember, what are you doing?”
“Noting where we've been.”
“But why 'XYZZY'?”
“Code.”
“Silly girl, codes have to be harder than that nowadays.”
I'm not sorry one bit.

“Are you sure this is the right way?”
“Let's ask this guy!”
“Hello?”
“About those directions?”
“Oh, fine.”
“Maybe this guy?”
“Hello?”
“You really do have a”

“SHUT UP.”
“Oh wow.”
“Let's go somewhere else.”
“Let's.”
“That bad, huh?”
“Very.”
“So, we're what? South of Corta?”
“Give or take a couple dozen miles.”

“Thirsty....”
“Oh, come on...”
:blargh:
Three castings of Cure Poison for the party, we're ready to go.
“This seems weird...”
“UP!”
“We're still going higher!”
“Come on...!”
“damn it all”
“There's our boat. Come on, let's start heading west.”
“I remember that section of the Honeycomb!”
“Why did we come down here again?”
“DRAGON! RUN!”
“No, you won't.”
“DRAGON!”
“This passage does lead out behind those glyphs from earlier.”
“DRAAAAAGOOOOOOOOOOOON!”
“Allow me to make a map....”
“huh.”
“Can we go now?”
“Please?”
“And yet my map shows possible secret passages.”

“Why are we here? Let's get out of here?”
“One moment, Ember... Ah, I do know that spell!”
“Your magics reveal a few living things. I do not like the looks of this place. Let
us be off.”
Not time for me to come here. Not yet.
“Why are we here?”
“Just checking out to see if there's another Slith outpost over here we can raid
for information.”
“Nope.”
“Come, let us do this mission quickly and return to our real goal.”
Sorry about the lack of content this update, I was getting back into the swing of
things after my hiatus. Next update will be chalk full of stuff, I guarantee it!
In the meantime, here's the current stats and equipment for everyone:
Art spend her 15 Skill Points on 3 points of Luck. That will pay off in the long
run. Her equipment is getting into top-notch tiers with the Heartfinder from
Dharmon.
More Edge Weapons, more Strength and Dexterity. I've abandoned giving him any
Traps, Lockpicking and Poison as Duncan does the former two better, and the latter
is redundant in the face of Major Blessing.
Archery is falling by the wayside as Assassination gets improved.
Improved Alchemy and general stats will help carry the team forward.
More intelligence! More Spell Points! Those 10 Skill points from the Knowledge
Potions were well used.
More Intelligence and the sixth level of Mage Spell gives her access to Kill, which
I haven't had a chance to show off properly yet.
Nothing unusual with the Key Items at this point. I should finish off the crystal
quest next update or two.
Behold! The map to the Great Cave (and areas East)
‹
Part #27
Part #29
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #28
Part #30
›
Return to LP Index
Part 29: Update 026 – The Death of Sss-Thsss
Update 026 – The Death of Sss-Thsss
"Hah! You can't get us! Neener-neener-neener!"
"Ember, don't taunt the enemies when we know they can swim. Also they are a couple
miles away and thus, cannot hear you."
"HAH! YOU CAN'T"

"SHUT UP!"
"We should check along this marsh here. See if there is an overland route we can
exploit."
:blargh:
"Whatever possessed you to think that was a good idea? I'd expect that from
Duncan!"
“Don't worry. We are all cured now.”
“I love my ring of poison resistance!”
“But I did see a passage over there. If we're careful, I think we can make it.”
“Alright, let's give that a go.”
“Something is home.”
“Greetings!”
“Polly wanna cracker?”
“I doubt its name is Polly. In fact, I'm pretty sure I can't even pronounce that.”
“Holy shit!”
“Let me guess.”
“This is the fifth missing crystal?”
“Yes! Just one more!”
“Well, that direction was a bust in terms of our long term goals.”
“I am glad you phrased it in that manner, as I would have had... objections given
the current closeness we are to the restoration of that cavern.”
“The currents come from this direction, we should head east and see what there is
to find.”
“Gotta agree with you.”
“Wait a minute. Isn't this where the Slith City is? Just to our north?”
“Yes. Why?”
“Nothing.”
“Signs of work. Excavations. Mining?”
“Seems like it.”

“A lot of scree.”
“ATTACK!”
“There is another one over there!”
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!”
“HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!”
“Anyone else disturbed?”
“A bit.”
“Eh, they don't have the flashing lighting. I suppose we're heading back to that
cavern now.”
“Like I'd give you a choice in the matter!”
Alright, I fibbed. I hit up the slaves first, then backtracked to the lizard. It
just works better for the narrative, and the whole 'moving west' thing to reverse
the actual order. And yes, this means that all 6 crystals are actually very close
by, and the reward is certainly interesting.
“Let's do this.”
Everyone gets about 30XP for the quest (remember that you only need 100 to level),
and most importantly – everyone gets +2 STRENGTH. Yes, you read that right. Even
Peregrine and Ember, who will probably never need to invest another point in that
again.
But it gets better from there. While normally a stat can only be raised to 20
through training, quest rewards like this can go over that limit. Thus, if you had
a character with 20 strength then you completed this quest, they would have 22
afterwards.
I didn't exploit the reward for that result though. Oh well.
“FIXED, you USELESS archmage! We did all the work while you sat in the tavern the
entire time!”
“I suppose you won't be wanting to learn Firestorm like your lady there?”
“no sir. Please teach me.”
“That was... out of character, Peregrine.”
“Sorry. I was still slightly euphoric from the power in that place.”
“I like the new you! Powerful and knowing it, but also ready to back down when it
is needed!”
“Your praise fills me with dread.”
“Perhaps we should move on to our current goal?”
“Are we there yet?”
“Are we there... SIGN!”

“This looks... used.”
“It's just a small flood-lake.”
“I'm surprised that there are floods down here. Wouldn't that require a massive
hydro-cycle?”
“Perhaps this is a sign of geothermal activity?”
“I see what you mean; the water can be pushed up by increased heat and pressure,
flooding out into the proper river.”
“And in layman's terms?”
“Nothing that will affect us. But the marsh here should be very rich in sulphates.”
“Let's be systematic here.”
“We need to be more careful. We didn't harm any of the civilians, but other
villages in the area could have more combatants.”
“Yes. But I am sensing some magical force from the north.”
“Oh, that's not good.”
There's actually many such encounters in this area, so yes, I'm reusing
screencaptures.
“Something here.”
Not pictured – everyone getting severely poisoned, then dropped straight into
combat. I lost Peregrine to the poison, and wound up reloading from an earlier
save. I also discovered that you can get Obliterated by poison damage!
“This looks interesting.”
“We can take a look.”
“And of course it's dark. Peregrine?”
“Definitely Slith construction. This fort of theirs seems to have a secure location
in the back. And there's a bit of life signs on the other side of these doors.”
“Perhaps we can sneak past them?”
“it's dark here”
“quiet”
I can't believe I actually did this. I just snuck past everyone in that room!
“How was that possible? I thought they could see in the dark?”
“Nothing of interest here. Just the usual supply room.”
“Shit!”
“SSSSSSHIT!”
“No more need for stealth!”
“Hrm, this one was working on something...”

Nothing special, a Scroll of Stealth, funny enough.
“Another place where we see that the Slith record their history through statues. No
defacing them, Ember.”
“Awww.”
“And a secret passage over there.”
“I think there's going to be a lot of secret passages in this fort.”
“Good. That means their secrets are worth stealing.”
“This doesn't look good.”
“KILL IT!”
“Something over there...”
“Oh, bugger.”
“Let's check this big room before we get more into this place.”
“Well, this is annoying.”
“And we could have come in here from the south side too. So many secret passages
here.”
“And this boat is pretty useless.”
“ow.”
“There had better be something worthwhile back here.”
“TWELVE?!?!?”
“Well, this is the farthest back location in the fort. There had better be
something useful here.”
“I got it.”
“Hey, why is Art going ahead like that?”
“My turn. SHIT!”
“Let's see what was so important...”
“Excellent! A Priest Spell that will allow Art and myself to deal disproportionate
harm to any demonic creature!”
“Wait. Don't we already have this?”
“We do.”
“From that Slith fort over south of Corta, right? Where we... ummm...”
“No, it was in the Slith city, where we got the Magic Book. This is the second Onyx
Key we've found. It must be important to them on a strategic scale if there are
multiple copies around.”
Actually, those are the only two copies in the game. And you need one or the other.
“Come on, lets get out of here. I think there was a passage to the south.”
“Careful, I have a bad feeling about this place.”
“That place looks important.”
“I think we can get around from the south side.”
“Once we're in, I'll map the place.”
“That is an amazing welcoming committee.”
“I suppose it would be rude to not introduce ourselves properly, am I correct?”
“I do believe you are correct!
“Man, even with the fire, this place is chilly.”
“I think I see stairs headed up in there, as well as a lever. Looks like an exit
from on-high.”
“ARGH! I can't open this door!”
“It defies me too.”
You don't want to know how much I tried to break into this door, only to fail. I'm
pretty sure something important is back here, and I think I know what, but I'll
have to check my notes, and come back later.
“Next floor, important things, like where Sss-Thsss is?”
“Well, this is a castle, so perhaps here?”
“It would be our luck to accidentally complete the quest assigned to us by the King
while searching for information to allow the quest to be completed by those we
deemed capable.”
“Or we find ourselves in over our heads and get killed. That's always an option.”
“Pessimistic much?”
“Interesting.”
“The detect Life spell isn't working properly. Probably natural interference.”
I just forgot to cast it.
“Not taking bets on Demons being behind this door.”
“I think you're right.”
“Nothing? Seriously? What a total letdown!”
“At least there's a secret passage. Into a memorial of sorts.”
“No desecrations.”
“And a more public memorial of their history.”
“I wonder if Sss-Thsss will get a statue?”
“Probably. Either as a warning to future generations that some actions come at too
high a price, or as a measure of his triumph. Given his actions so far, I want it
to be the former, not the latter.”
“Anyone else finding this place a but too quiet?”
“Perhaps we bypassed the majority of the troops that would be stationed here to
guard this place?”
“Or there is nothing to guard.”
“Nevermind.”
“I would love to look through this library at my leisure.”

“After you learn Slith, I assume?”
“I'm sure someone can teach you.”
“And even then, you don't need to know the language to understand this.”
“Come. Let us be done with this horrid business. The only place left is through
that door to the north of us.”
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO WATCH THE VIDEO. I am, once again, sorry there is no sound.
Did you watch it? Good.
"YOU FUCKER!"
"Art!"
"YOU SUNNOVA BITCH!"
"Art?"
"IF YOU HADN'T STARTED ALL THIS YOU WOULD BE ALIVE AND I WOULD BE CLOSER TO GETTING
HOME?"
"Well, this isn't completely unexpected."
"You mean how she hadn't said a single thing since we found that collapsed
entrance?"
"And now she's letting her frustrations out."
"Except everyone is dead."
"I can hear you, you know. Duncan, start looking around, he's got to have something
we can use to connect him to that demon. Take Peregrine."
"Good to have you back."
"Don't compliment me just yet. If this damned demon is reaching out from its bottle
to influence Sss-Thsss, who else could be under its thrall."
"Oh."
"Wow. Even I didn't think of that."
"Yes, we have to get back to the Castle with this head."
"Art! Back here, I think I found the path to his private quarters."
"What have we here?"
The Gilla Cloak is an armor with a rating of 6, and Poison resistance. It's
actually pretty good.
"Nothing here."
"I found another secret passageway out."
"Can I press the button?"
"Go ahead."
"How about this one?"
"I think not."
"Why not?"
"Professionalism."
Yes, hit the first, but not the second, if you please.
"Now, this looks more like the stuff!"
A Shield of Klin, which can cast 'Heal' up to six times, some money, and most
vital, the Nimble Gloves, which improve Lock Picking and Trap Disarming when worn.
They go on Duncan for the rest of the game.
"We should leave now."
"And how do we get out?"
"This."
"And now we head back to the Castle to let Micah know that Linda may be
compromised."
Sorry, no maps this time as I forgot to take map shots without the Detect Life
going on. I'll come back and do those a bit later. Probably when I go see if I
missed a piece of the Demon Slayer in the area.
‹
Part #28
Part #30
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #29
Part #31
›
Return to LP Index
Part 30: Fort Remote and the Pit of the Drake
Update 027: Fort Remote and the Pit of the Drake
"Can we leave now?"
"I concur. If we head south, we should be able to reach Fort Emerald, and from
there, ease of access to the Castle. Hopefully before our food runs out.”
“We are cutting it tight in that regard.”
“Don't worry. We have plenty of time.”
“Then lets get rowing.”
“There's no way through here!”
“I think there's an underground spring here, the water is flowing to the North. We
have to turn back.”
“Damn it. Oh well.”
I make a quick stop in Mertis for Food, and the Tower to see what the Random-Shop
is selling. 750 Food later, and the Magic Shop had nothing:
“HAH! SUCK IT YOU 5G STEALING BASTARD! I HAVE A BOAT!”
“And how much did you spend on the boat? Will it really have been a worthwhile
investment just to bypass my gate a couple times?”
“Oh shut up. You and your logic.”
“Everyone on their best behaviour.”
“And Art, could you make sure that head is presentable?”

“Actually, how will they know it's the right one, instead of the head of any old
Slith that we've killed?”
“Hey, good question!”
“I think they'll know.”
“Let's get this show on the road then. Hey Micah!”
“What?”
“Head!” She tosses the remains of Sss-Thsss at the King, who lets it land and roll
to his feet.
“Is there any particular reason why you wanted to stain my floor with blood?”
“You got us dirty with your plan. It was only polite to return the favour.”
“Your sarcasm is subtle, Art.”
“Before you two do something we'll all regret, how about we get the necessities out
of the way?”
“Of course.” He claps his hands, and bags of gold are brought to you. "I declare
you good and favoured friends of Exile, and may we never need to call upon your
help again!"
2500 gold, and enough experience to level Duncan up.
“And now that the public declarations are out of the way?”
“pst, Peregrine, how long is this supposed to take?”
“It's politics. This could be a while.”
“And yet, they are still necessary.” He sighs, letting some relief flood out of
him. “I suppose there is more to this than simply killing that monster. But that is
for me to work out now that the driving force behind the Slithzerikai war has been
eliminated. By Royal Decree”
“It gets worse, your highness.”
“Oh, of course. Nothing could ever be easy. And what was worth interrupting me?”
“Sss-Thsss was being backed by the Haakai Lord Grah-Hoth.”
“...”
“what”
“No. You kept your word. I'll keep mine. This is not your concern anymore. This is
a different matter, and I have resources and people who can deal with that.”
“You have the official sanction of the Royal Court to search for a method to reach
the surface. Go with my blessing.”
“Thank you.”
“I don't believe it. We actually are able to go for our goal now? No side trips?
Nothing getting in our way except the things that are honestly in the way?”
“Sush!”
“You'll jinx it!”
“Even I know better than that!”
“This is grave news. You mentioned a Demon Lord was backing the Sliths? Well, this
may be a reciprocal attack, or the portent of one. I would like for your team to go
to Fort Remote and investigate it.”
“Excuse me?”
“Recon only. Go there, investigate, come back.”
“You serious? Don't you have people for that sort of thing? I distinctly recall you
saying so just a moment ago.”
“People who are not here. You are.”
“We shall, your highness.”
“Karmas!”
“It is still a legitimate concern. And we've been to Fort Remote. I for one am
concerned over the fate of those who lived there.”
“I got to agree. Demons are a major problem, and our goals may still be served by
investigating.”
“I want to see Belinda and Mick again, and tease them! Maybe lock them in a room
together.”
“You would, wouldn't you.”
“Then it's settled. Investigate, and report back.”
“Have I mentioned, I hate you all for this?”
“Not in the past dozen miles. Have we mentioned it's nicer having the aggressive,
snarking, and good Art over the silent and mopey Art?”
“Shut up.”
I want to make one thing clear. There is absolutely no reason to visit Fort Remote
before killing Sss-Thss and reporting back to Micah. It is completely possible to
miss everything here that I went through in my exploration of the Great Cave.
I know I did on my first play through. I've never missed it since.
“I don't like the looks of this, let me make a map.”
“That's... a lot of damage.”
“Everyone, be careful.”
“I love my pyromania, but this is just wrong. This isn't burning. This is...”
“Desecration.”
“Bring the light over here, I think I see something.”
“Why?”
“Desecration.”
“But why Remote? It's, well... remote. It has no strategic value.”
“I don't know. Come on, let's check the place out.”
“Hello the fort!”
“help me”
“Belinda?”
“I was Belinda.”
“PROTECT ME!
“FROM THE DEMONS!”
“Belinda! It's us! Ember, and Art, and everyone! Remember? You told us about Mick
and how you teased him.”
She emits a scream, a long, piteous, terrified screech. "They won't stop! We saw
them coming! We were prepared, but they blew down the walls! What could we do? Then
the killings!"
“It's alright. You're going to be alright now.”
She sobs. "Poor, poor Mick. All of us. We couldn't fight to the death. They froze
them. They took them out, and oh the things they did! But I was safe!"
“That's right. You're safe.”
"I hid here. They didn't see me. So I could kill myself, instead of them killing
me. I'm so cold. Help me. Please help me."
“We will.”
“Guys. Give me a couple minutes. I may not know a proper sanctification ritual. But
this, I know how.”
“I'll help.”
“This looks important.”
“We should wait on Art and Peregrine before poking it.”
“We're done. Belinda is free.”
“Thanks. We've got this here, and it's pretty much a trap.”
“Time to poke it, then.”
“Siz yüngül qılınc ilə qırdırılmaq və bütün yaxşı bilər!”
“Demons to the left, Imps to the Right. Haakai behind. Our position is horrible.
We're surrounded.”
“Good. That means they have no where to run.”
“KILL THEM ALL!”

“That all of them?”
“No, there's a couple in the former commander's room, hiding.”
“That's it then. Come on.”
“Art, you're going the wrong way. That way is west.”
“Your point?”
“I don't want to know.”
“Art...”
“The demons came through here for a reason. I want to know what.”
“Our duty was reconnaissance. This is excessive.”
“You objecting?”
“Just making sure you understand the consequences of your actions.”
“I think she does.”
“Huh, that's odd.”

Meet the Drakes. They breathe Fire. I'm certain we've encountered them before, but
they are the random-encounter-du-jour in this section of Exile. I wouldn't have
bothered with even this much, but one of them dropped a ring upon dying. This one:
That's... supposed to slow the wearer? I think. Duncan ID'd it, and I dumped it.
I go back for the Flask, but it's nothing special. Just a healing potion.
“There has got to be something back here...”
“Or not.”
“These chasms do not fill me with confidence in the geology of this section of the
underworld.”
“I think I see something back there.”
“Let's see...”
“But against what? Scimitar? Or the Drakes?”
“I think the drakes were the cause here. Look at the wounds.”
“Doesn't explain the looting.”
“Even other Empire forces would scavenge what they could.”
“Seriously. These pits are not doing wonders for my confidence.”

“I can't even tell what that person was – Human, Slith or Nephil, or even something
else.”
“There's something here. Something... old.”
“Come on.”
“This looks natural.”
“Something is interfering with the Detect Life Spell. I have to assume the worst.”
“And this darkness is magical as well.”
“Is this what you were looking for, Art? Where the demons went?”
“A bit.”
“These bodies have been here for a while. And they look... eaten.”
“By these Drakes.”
“While we're here, we might as well see about culling the local Drake population a
bit, in case a proper military expedition needs to come through here.”
“That an unusual suggestion from you.”
“Would you believe me if I said they could be used for certain alchemical
ingredients?”
“I still would not.”
“I hear more coming from the tunnels...”
“What the hell?”
Behold! The Pit Drake! About 1000 HP (!) worth of multiple attacks and ranged fire-
breathing. It's perhaps the first real optional 'super-boss' in that the game has.
And probably the easiest as it's really just a pile of HP with no real tricks to
it. But still a tense battle as it has be pretty much bottled up in the corridor
for most of the battle.
And without Major Blessing, you will lose. Plain as that.

“WHY WON'T YOU DIE?”
“Art, you may want to clean yourself off at the next body of running water we come
across. Drake guts are notoriously hard to clean out.”
“Wow! I mean it, Art! I've never seen anything last so long against you!”
“You make is sound like she did all the hard work. It simply died under her
blades.”
“Still, I must confess some sadness at this result.”
“DRAGON LOOT!”
“Drake, not Dragon.”
“Don't care!”
1500 gold
Mithril Plate Mail. This goes on Karmas to replace his Bronze Plate that he's been
wearing since killing Anastasia. That's a massive upgrade, and will be viable until
I find some magic stuff; maybe not even then. Here's its stats:
“There's something back here...”
“Be careful...”
“Another body. What's this...? Let me look...”
Hello endgame weapon, and the best bashing weapon in the game!
“Mine!”
“Now what?”
“Now we go back to Micah.”
And here are the promised maps from the last update.
First Level of the Slith Fort
Second Level of the Slith Fort
Map of Slithzerikai Territory
Pit of the Drake
Map of the region between Fort Remote and the Pit of the Drake
‹
Part #29
Part #31
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #30
Part #32
›
Return to LP Index
Part 31: Update 028 – Slith Temple and the Dark Cavern
Update 028 – Slith Temple and the Dark Cavern
I must apologize profusely for this update. During the production of this update,
over 50 images got corrupted and needed to be re-done. Alas, the nearest save was
quite some time ago, so I couldn't just re-do this section. I had to take my post-
update party back through the motions. It was a serious annoyance on my end.
Anyways, on with the program.
“Even I despise Gremlins. A blight upon the earth. Perhaps I can add domesticating
the Drakes to the list of reasons?”
One of the more unusual enemy encounters. Otherwise, I would have just skipped this
one over like I have all the ones before it.
“I really don't want to go through here.”
“Yet we must.”
“We should swing by the south side of the fort this time. Less chance of
encountering stuff.”
“So much for that idea.”
“It must have been an inferno in here.”
“Mercifully quick.”
“Requiescat in pace."
"Hey Shaynee! Whatcha got? I need something to raise my spirits."
"How about a magic breastplate?"
"Is that supposed to be an insult or a compliment?"
"Yes."
"Gimme."
And Art goes from Bronze to Magic in terms of protection.
"What news?"
"Fort Remote is destroyed. The garrison butchered. Demons were responsible. They
left a message from Grah-hoth. Normally they would have left a single survivor of
who you would have sent as a messanger, but when he saw it was us, his loss of Sss-
Thss was still fresh in his mind. We sprung the trap, and defeated their forces."
"Afterward, Art, as per her discretion, set about to recconoiter the caverns to the
west of Fort Remote, but we failed to find any demon sign."
"This is..." His expression turns bleak. "Friends, Exile needs your help. The old
enemy has returned. Destroy this demon Grah-Hoth. If you do, you will be given
power and wealth as only I can give it to you. This I swear."
"Power? Wealth?"
"I know such things do not motivate you, but you have proven your mettle. And most
importantly for your motives, Grah-Hoth knows your names and faces. That demonic
general will come for you sooner or later. Escaping to the surface will not change
that."
"Micah has a point."
"I don't want to be killed by a demon!"
"Best defence, huh?"
"Wow, appeal to my sense of survival."
"Yes."
"You have one?"
"Don't tempt me."
"Anyways, this will require some planning before we can do anything. By your
leave?"
"Of course."
"If you do not mind, I would like to speak with Micah a bit about the nature of the
body politic."
"Sure. Why not. We'll be out in the garden."
"Your highness."
"Your highness."
"You looked like you had words to say to a fellow."
"Indeed. When I was sent down here, to Exile, I first thought it was an ugly place,
devoid of joy, of quality, of hope. Then I saw the life the people who had come
down here before me had carved out for themselves, and I learned that being here
was not the doom I thought."
"Now, despite many threats, I work to maintain our government."
"I am surprised. It took a refrence from Art for me to remember who you were."
"Ah, I suppose we all can't leave our past behind. So very few remember me."
"Art and I were students of history."
"Still, I suppose it is a measure of the efforts of the Empire that so few

remember."
"They are very good at covering up the history that they decide is... inopportune."
"Which is why I approved of Patrick's desire for a second major Library. Two
storage places for knowledge are harder to change than one."
"Wisdom in that."
“Oh, I had that beat into my head.”
“Tell me, of this land. There are so few frontiers left.”
"We have good, brave people. We have excellent resources, and skilled magicians.
What we do not yet have, alas, is a clear choice for my successor. My son is, shall
we say, inadequate." He gives Karmas a long, careful look. "I always look for those
who can lead. Remember that.”
I kid you not, Micah implies in the actual game that the party could earn
leadership in the future.
“That is certainly something interesting.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Yes, actually. Why 'Exile'?”
“Ah, yes. Well, that name was in place before I came here.”
“But 'Exile' is a state of being. As a location, it is abstract. Are we truly in

'Exile' when we – and I know a great many of the people I have encountered have
made this known – they feel that they are 'home'?”
“I have no answer to that. There... is no answer to that. It is who we are.”
“Yet the name remains. I have actually put thought into a compromise. May I have
your opinion on it?”
“Of course.”
“I have considered making official the name of 'Exile' as the definition of the
geographic region in which we have found ourselves. From there, create a new name
for the human nation that we have forged with our bare hands. Avernum.”
“Named for the mythical Gate to the Underworld.”
“Not many know that. But it has a certain poetry to it. We who were cast down;
there is still farther to go, but only if we choose.”
“That didn't take too long.”
“The affairs of state can be quite short if needs are met. Have you discussed our
plans?”
“We want to head back to Silvar, store or sell off our excess gear.”
“Then we'll make a search for the Graymold to cure Patrick's wife.”
“Duncan and Rook figure that having him on our side means they can slough some
research onto him.”
“And his tower is the closest secure location to Fort Remote. They can keep an eye
on things.”
“Still, based on the directions we were given, the necessary alchemy ingredients
lay into, or past Slith territory.”
“I like the idea behind the plan. By ourselves, we would eventually be overrun.
Gathering up allies will aid our survival and our long term goals immensely.”
“That too.”
“Anything else?”
“That should be all.”
“Then lets go.”
“Something seems off.”
“Isn't that were the Goblin Colony is?”
“I suppose we should be able to exterminate them.”
“Let's sneak closer!”
“GIVE THAT BACK YOU!!!”
“They... are not hostile?”

“There's something back here.”
“These aren't Graymold, but they'll do!”
“What do they do?”
“They're a key ingredient in the mixing of weak Strength Potions and moderate
Healing Potions.”
“Not worth it. GIVE ME BACK MY WINE!”
“Calm down. We can buy a new bottle in Almaria.”
“But that was my bottle! I called her Bottly!”
“... Let's just leave.”
“Even I don't feel like hurting them.”
“I think we're supposed to go farther north.”
“You're not the one wearing a ring of poison resistance, right?”
“That has nothing to do with this decision!”
“Children, don't make me get mother down here.”
“HEY!”
“Sign!”
“I think these are religious symbols?”
“What makes you say that?”
“Experience.”
“And this place. Remember those maps we found? This was marked on some of them.
There's something important here, I know it.”
“Well, at least let me take care of all the accumulated poisons in our system
first.”
“While you do that, I will map the place out.”
“Secret hidden area to the upper right. Might have something valuable. What are we
looking for, exactly?”
“I am not sure.”
“Perhaps we can justify this as a.... You know what, I don't actually have a clue.”
“Everyone ready?”
“Let me deal with this trap.”
Not shown, a fight against a couple of priests, and a couple warriors. Except I
couldn't get at them directly because that damned trap was in the way; I couldn't
bypass it in Combat Mode, so I had to drop out, and take the free hits while Duncan
disarmed the trap, then got my revenge.
Dick move, Exile.
“I'd say it was quiet, but even I know better than that.”
“A lot of stores here. Nothing we can use though.”
“HSSS!”
“Alright, here's a question. These Slithzerikai are not known on the surface; ergo
they must be natives to the caverns.”
“Statement, not a question. But do go on.”
“Why, therefore, is their skin pigmented? Green is either indicative of chlorophyll

in plants, or the result of some evolutionary pressure in terms of survival
camouflage.”
“Well, there are lights from the moss along the cave walls in most places.”
“If what you were supposing was true, then the humans down here shouldn't be
loosing their skin pigmentation either.”
“Different types of light, my friend. The light of the sun is different than the
light of the moss.”
“Possible. I suppose a proper theory could only be tested if a Slith were to spend
a long period of time on the surface.”
“And here I was, thinking you were going to suggest asking the Kitties.”
“I wouldn't need those data points. Yet.”
“ooh! Glowstone!”
Expendable source of the Light spell. The next place I'm going is a dark dungeon,
so I'm going to keep this around to preserve my spell points for more important
things.
“Ummm.”
“Let's come back here later, after we've checked out that secret room.”
“I concur.”
“Really? Hiding your secret passage behind some stalagmites?”
“Well, I suppose we were going to encounter some basic security for these things
eventually.”
“Oh, come on!”
Corrupted image, unique event.
“Let's see here....”
“Why would anyone think jewelry is worthless?”
“I mean, at the least, sell it to people who can't afford the real thing.”
“Although this key may be useful.”
“Now, let's try this.”

“Well, that looks like something.”
“Now taking bets. Shrine or Tomb?”
“Shrine.”
“Tomb.”
“Tomb”
“Tomb.”
“Art?”
“I feel like being contrary and go with.... with... political assembly.”
“Hah!”
“I suppose that storeroom can only be accessed from the inside.”
“Of course. That would be too easy.”
“Let me take care of these.”
Sorry, bad image here. There should be a couple encounter dots to my left.
“It's a DEAD END? Who booby traps a dead end?”
“The Sliths do, apparently.”
“That's just mean! And spiteful!”
“It does lend credence to the 'tomb' theory.”
“Oh, shut up.”
This is one of the corrupted images, but it still has the visual information I
wanted.
“Care to try these ones?”
“At least I know this isn't a dead end.”
“Ceremonial water pools?”
“Magic.”
“Still a nice spell. Very aesthetic. I thought the Slith culture tended to work
with stone, not flame?”
“Why don't you ask these guys?”
“SSSSSSSSSSSLAY!”
“Hey, before you die, why do you guys occasionally use the human language for your
threats?”
“Better connotationssss.”
“Thanks!”
“Kill Spell!”
“Let's check that storehouse now.”
“And this is why you keep weapons at hand.”
“Spell scroll, can't read it right now. Gems are... decent.”
“And I'll need to check this out later.”
“Door is locked.”
“I don't believe this.”
“This is scary.”
“You mean that we picked up a key, and it had an immediate use?”
“That can't be a good sign.”
“Well, we are still carrying around that stone key, if it makes any of you feel
better.”
“A little.”
“Well, we actually have a chance to prepare ourselves for a battle. Peregrine, if

you please?”
“Aaand....!”
“What. Where is everyone?”
There would have been a minor graphical glitch where I outrun the map's drawings of
itself. You actually have to try to pull this off, but it's nothing serious. And I
failed to get a recap. I'm not going back here a third time. *sigh*
“No!”
“The Demonslayer Blade?”
“Why is it here?”
“And more importantly, this is a shrine, not a tomb! Pay up!”
“Oh, there's the rest of them.”
“This is a wonderful discovery!”
“Still need to find the tip.”
“And I'm still pretty sure we need to go north to find that Greymold.”
“That's alright, this passage simply takes us to the body of water that holds the
Slith castle. But without the benefit of a boat.”
“I also suspect this channel was cut by moving water in the past, which later
dropped.”
“Would explain the Slith villages we keep bypassing.”
“I wonder if anyone has told them that Sss-Thsss is dead?”

“Probably not. Best to keep it under wraps until the new leadership can exploit it
for their own ends.”
“Much experience?”
“Just logic, I would think.”
“Anyways, lets just get back to the boat.”
“Row, row, row your boat...”
“A song about the futility of existence. How delightful.”
“I think there's something interesting over there.”
“We can't get at it from this side due to those shoals. We'll have to go around,
past that geothermal lake.”
“What is it?”
“Not sure yet. I'll have a look at it later.”
“This is interesting. And we're going in the right direction, I think.”
“What's that sound?”
“Waterfall, I think. But it's low. Like a huge one much further upstream.”
“Which stream? There's three of them here.”
“We should come back later to investigate those islands.”

“I agree.”
“Back south then.”
“Hrm, why haven't we been accosted yet? Usually something comes by at this point.”
“SIGN!”
“Cheery.”
“But it is a legitimate warning.”
“I see no reason to violate that interdiction.”
“This is odd...”
“Giants? I wasn't aware that the Empire exiled them? I thought that they, and the
Troglodytes were hunted to extinction?”
“It's a surprise to me too.”
“SHINIES!”
“Damnit, Ember!”
Sorry for the image, but this is a unique, unrepeatable encounter. Meet the giants.
They're the next step up, in terms of difficulty, from the Slitherikai. They hit
harder, take more damage, and by default have a ranged attack where they throw a
rock at you. Other than that, there's not much to say about them at this time.
And this is also the first chance I've had to show off the damage output that a
Slayer-type weapon like Smite can dish out. See the numbers there, where Rook is
doing a base of 16-20 damage? Then he's doing 20+ simply due to the weapon
property. Then Assassination on top of that, and when fighting Giants with Smite in
hand, Rook is the top damage dealer by far.
“I think we should leave before we run into any more problems, right, Ember”
“But they're shiny!”

“Why are we headed back towards the Slith Castle, again?”
“Checking on the deep end of this lake?”
“I'm more concerned about what ever has those Sliths running for their lives.”
“Now, that, I can get behind.”
“And this took too long to find.”
“Magical darkness. Give me a moment. Duncan, you may want to use up those
Glowstones we found.”
“That... tight caverns like this. Most ominous.”
“Well, we're better than mere Sliths, so I think we can make a go of this, while
whomever they were attacked by is still weak.”
“Or distracted.”
“Well, let's light this place up for a moment.”
“What are those things?”
“I don't know.”
“Duncan, the door?”
“On it. This place is old. Gives me the creeps.”
“Much like that tomb where we fought the Vampires?”
“Oh, you just had to make me remember that.”

“Keep the light off. I know what this is.”
“Do tell.”
“Long, thin, passageways with separate platforms? I'll bet there are undead casters
like spirits outside of our immediate reach, and they're set to fire on anyone they
see.”
“Then wouldn't it be better to have a light on?”
“In doing that, the defenders would compromise their location, allowing attackers
better options. Especially against the undead.”
A shade floats here. It's not of a human, though. It's of a creature from a race
you've never seen before - tall and spindly, with an angular face and piercing
eyes. It stares at you sadly. You hear a voice in your mind. "I was Brethis, of the
Vahnatai. We were the cave dwellers, long ago fled or died."
“whut.”
“I was of the Vahnatai. A race of old, we have gone deeper. I know not what
happened to my brothers and sisters who fled. I but stay here. And sense the
debaucheries."
“I've never heard of you, or your kind. I'm Art. I'm human. These are Ember, Rook,
Duncan, Peregrine and Karmas.”
“I greet you.”
“How is it that you know our language though? Who taught it to you?”
“The lord of the crypt. Fear it. Flee it. It lusts for the blood of any living
thing. I will not serve it. I will wait on this ledge until the world ends."
“Great. A Lich. Is there anything you can tell us about it?”
“No. I simply haunt this place.”
“What about your people?”
"The only Vahnatai left anywhere I can sense are dead. But alive. Like me. Many are
in the crypt."
“Is there anything we can do for you?”
“Slay the lord of the Crypt, then I will be free. Perhaps to join my ancestors, and
share in their wisdom.”
The spirit will say no more.

THIS IS A SERIOUS NO SPOILERS ZONE. I'll cover what this all means when I get to
it, and not before.
“Only way in. Let's go bag an undead monstrosity.”
“That's anti-climactic.”
“Still, a warning.”
“Well, this was not completely unexpected.”
“I think we can light it up now.”
Beware, there are a lot of undead behind secret passageways. To the north....
“SHINY!”
1000 gold
“And oddly enough, this one is not cursed to summon a demon if we touch it.”
“I think I've found the passage...”
“Hello! We're your regularly scheduled exterminators, and we hear you've got an
undead infestation!”
“Art, stop with the quips. You're just bad at them.”
“And how will I get any practice?”
“Guys? Lich?”
Just for giggles, I threw a Protection spell on Art as she was the only one the
Lich could target. It didn't make a difference, but it will in the future.
“That was no where near as difficult as I thought it would be.”
“You're welcome.”
“Oh, that's just ugly.”
This is a “Scepter of Death”, which can cast the Kill spell 4 times before
depletion.
“But this might be useful.”
I think I'll end the update here. I want to actually get around to training people
up soon, so I'll leave you all with a small vote:
I can buy UP TO 15 Skill Potions (at 2 Skill Points each) and give them to people
for additional training. Who should I give them to, and for what skills?
And now, time for maps:
‹
Part #30
Part #32
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #31
Part #33
›
Return to LP Index
Part 32: Update 028a – Stats and Equipment
Update 028a – Stats and Equipment
So it was brought to my attention that I haven't actually shown off peoples stats
and equipment in an orderly fashion for some time. This post will rectify that.
“Damn it! I need to improve my reflexes, get better skill with my swords and start
to pick up some Assassination tricks from Rook. I can stop strength training now.”
“I... actually don't mind that. Anything to make you more lethal. And besides,
wielding two blades effectively does require a great deal of upper body strength.”
“Hmph. As for my equipment, I decided to let Ember keep the Frost Axe as she is
better at using its internal magic, and it wasn't an upgrade over the Magic Axe.
Other than that, I could seriously take this equipment into the finale of our
little adventure. But there are a couple upgrades to come.”
“Much like Art, I have been neglecting my basic training. I should invest in
everything that's already high, to keep up my focus. Perhaps a little bit of luck
will help me when I officially move over to a two-handed sword instead of a Sword
and Shield?”
“Aside from my sword, which is a relic of days long gone, my equipment is fairly up
to date. Although having the Fang Necklace, the Blessed Circlet and the Mithril
Plate, I can readily depend on being simply better at any given time.”
“I want to know why you have the Orb of Sight we got from that wrecked boat. It
casts Magic Map, and that's my job!”
“You were simply loaded down with other items at the time. Here, have it.”
“Thank you.”
“Archery really drops off as a general purpose weapon as time goes by. I'm keeping
the bow and specialized arrows though, for certain targets. I even used a few
against the Lich just now. But I really need to improve my Assassination skills to
teach Art, and by strength and dexterity also need boosting.”
“And for the love of all that's holy, ART!”
“Yes?”
“After we get trained up, we are going to head up to Fort Draco and buying Steel
equipment for everyone who doesn't have it. Smite is awesome at kneecaping Giants,
and I don't care about how close Karmas is or is not to getting the Demonslayer, we
need better equipment.”
“We'll see what our budget is like. Steel is exensive.”
“At least you're getting good use out of that Shield we grabbed from the Slith
storeroom in their temple.”
“Sure, but I don't want to use it for the healing yet.”
“As for me, I really need to work on my skill at Pole Arms to use this Halberd
properly. I also need to invest heavily into Item Lore and a couple more points
into Alchemy if I'm going to start whipping up important potions. Though I think I
am good enough for the Greymold potion at this point.”
“Yay!”
“Switching over to the Nimble Gloves while doing trap work certainly alleviates
much of the need to invoke skill points in those areas of expertise.”
“I have been letting you deal with that, and I for one, am glad for your
specialization.”
“Right, I keep forgetting about that too. Anyways, unlike Rook, I'm not complaining
about my gear. I'm just keeping a hold of some of the Glowing Nettle before I whip
up some energy potions for Peregrine.”
“Yes, and why am I holding the other two thirds of your ingredients?”
“Would you believe me if I said it was because they would go right back to you when
I'm done with them?”
“No, you sullied ingrate!”
“Mom!”
“BE NICE!”
“Humph! As I was saying, I should focus a bit more on my spell casting abilities. I
really should pick up a few more points in Mage Lore, as well as improving my
intelligence and magic reserves. More knowledge of Priest spells is not required,
as Art can handle all but the most powerful by now.”
“Oh, that's right. We picked up the Ravage Spirit spell as well, didn't we? I got
to learn how to cast that too.”
“Once I dump the Nettle on Duncan, I can get the Orb of Sights, which will replace
the Sapphire in my possession. I have also been using the Energy Potion, and would
like to get some replacements for it during our next pass by the Tower of the
Magi.”
“Me? I wanna get more lucky! And make sure I can cast more spells, because I don't
like running out. Kill costs 6SP per casting, and that means I can only do it 5
times!”
“A regret to us all.”
“Thrown weapons are useless now, by the way, so maybe I should take some lessons
from Art in using this nice new Axe she gave me?”
“Focus on your strengths first, Ember. Then pick up secondary skills later.”
“Anyways, there's nothing special about my gear. I really suspect though that
people keep dumping stuff on me because everyone else has something better. And the
Glowstone is half-empty. Can we get some more?”
“You have four rings! And no.”
“Looking at this stuff, we've found a use for the Iron, Bronze and Onyx keys. The
Stone and Crystal Keys are still mysterious.”
“No, the Crystal Key was picked up at Solberg's tower, for use at the Tower of the
Magi. He told us this, remember?”
“Moving on, we still have no idea what all these Brooches are for. We know they
were used by the First Expedition to communicate, but I have no idea how they are
supposed to work.”
“I thought those communication necklaces were in use by the Mayors to talk to each
other?”
“Maybe. These still have Empire markings on them though, so we should keep them
handy, just in case.”
“And we have two of the three parts of the Demonslayer Blade. Once we find the tip,
we can reforge the blade. I suspect we will be needing it where we're going.”
“And lastly, this Crown Token just gets us in and out of the Castle. Which is
annoying, because aren't we working for Micah directly? They should know us by
now!”
“Don't remind me.”

‹
Part #31
Part #33
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #32
Part #34
›
Return to LP Index
Part 33: Update 029 – Patrick's Tower, Slith Fortification and the Crypt of Drath
Update 029 – Patrick's Tower, Slith Fortification and the Crypt of Drath
"Alright, training done. Can we do something about our equipment, as Rook

'suggests'?"
"We can swing by those islands on the way up to Draco. See if that hint plays out."
"About damned time."
"Row, row, row your boat!"

"Right here. Now we need to find our way north, through those shoals."
"Like that."
"This looks familiar. The land path is over there a few miles."
"These waters are treacherous. The only clear path is to the left."
"Port."
"Left is left, no matter what term you dress it as!"
"Rocks!"
"We can go no further. Best we land."
"What's that?"
"Oh great. WE COME IN PEACE!"
"They aren't listening!"
"Man, that mace of your really kicks them when they are down!"
"It has some uses, I must admit."
"What do we have here...?"
"YES! YES! BY ALL THAT'S MIGHTY YES!"
"Rook, sorry, but we need to go back to Patrick's tower with this. Now."
"... Actually, I can't argue with that. Healing that woman will allow us to tap
Patrick's resources sooner. We can come back to Fort Draco later."
"There must be a faster method of travel than boating and walking everywhere."
"Here we are, Patrick's tower. Duncan, you ready for this?"
"Yes. Let's get to the tower though. Once I brew this stuff up, it's on a time
limit for maximum potency."
"Here goes..."
"No! It didn't work!"
Did I ever mention that Alchemy can fail? Because it can. Many times. I eventually
gave up fighting with the RNG and cheated in some Greymold Salve.
"Once more...."
"I AM THE GREATEST!"
"No, you aren't."
"I think it was an act of divine intervention that graced you, if your efforts were
any indication."
"Who cares? Let's go!"

"You think anyone will notice if we just barged right in?"
"Duncan, your show."
"Please, let this work."
"Hello. You're going to be alright." He smiles.
"Patrick?"
"Waiting outside. Sleep now, you'll see him when you wake."
"Yes. COME WITH ME."
"I'll forgive you breaking into my personal quarters. This once."
"Of course, sir. Your wife's condition seems to be improving."
He smiles. "Hathwisa is indeed well. I cannot thank you enough. You have saved that
which I value above anything, above this tower, above magic, above myself. If
there's anything I can help you with, just ask about it."
"Two things, Master Magus. First is..." He explains about Grah-Hoth, about Linda's
actions, Solbergs retreat, and the Tower.
"I see. You wish to know about the demon fort that I helped eradicate?"
"Yes."
"Ah. If you want to get into the fort, you will need the gold key, in the southwest
corner of the Castle. You will need a password to get to it. It's in the back cover
of a blue notebook, in a hidden bookshelf near my quarters."
"Thank you. The other thing?"
"Yes?"
He produces the blade and pommel of Demonslayer. "Do you know where we can find the
tip?"
"Oh... my... Yes. Perhaps. When we fought Grah-hoth and his ilk, we spent time
looking for that blade. Our scrying detected three locations."
"We recovered the pieces in the hands of the Nephil in the Eastern Gallery, and
from the Slithzerikai north of their Castle."
"Yes, good, good. I think I know where you can find the last piece then. How much
do you know of the history of this blade?"
"It's an Empire relic, sent down with the First Expedition in the hands of the
leader of it, Krazoth – or something like that. It was lost when he was killed."
"Karzoth, actally. But yes. He was killed by a Haakai-Lord, and the blade was
broken in fear of its power. The three groups that aided the demons in killing him
each were given a piece as a trophy. The last... the last was given to a Lich-lord.
I do not know its name. But I do know where it resides."
"Oh, that's not good."
"Go north from Fort Emerald, then head west. There is a large cavern full of scree
– I think it was caused by a sheet of the roof falling in, but I have no evidence
of that. Anyways, in that cavern is the Lich's lair. There, you should find what
you seek."
"Thank you, Master Magus."
"Go. I will send word to others that I trust that you are moving, and to offer you
aid. Some will respond. Others will not. I don't know which yet. But please, for
all our sakes, do this."
"Yes. We will."
"Secret passage, huh? Let's see here..."
"Ah-ha!"
"One last barrier...."
"Did I tell them about the Basilisk?"
Um.... No. Reload!
"Oh gods, I feel like I should have died!"
"There. Damnit, Patrick, you could have told us about that!"
"Sorry? I've been very distracted with my wife."
"Blue notebook..."
"Straight and too the point. I would have thought a password would be something
more complicated."
"They have to be memorized, so a mnemonic like that works."
"Next stop, this lair."
"North of Fort Emerald. Don't Sliths attack from this direction?"
"They should still be in some disarray after Sss-Thss died. Come on.”
“SIGN!”
“What is that?”
“I think that's supposed to be a fort.”
“This is an insult to fortifications everywhere.”
“I have to agree.”
“I think I see movement.”
“The North-East corner looks breachable.”
“SSSS!!!”
“Peregrine, you need to do this more often! It's fun!”

“DIE!”
“I admit to some visceral joy at simply killing my foes with magic, but such
lowbrow pleasures detract from the glory of pure magic.”
This door is really hard to break through, but the gold on the other side isn't
really worth it. You could try the secret passage to the south though, if you're
really hard up for cash.
“That was just sad. The Sliths have no real knowledge on how to build
fortifications, do they?”
“Ohhh... What are those?”
“Eyebeasts. Some less educated people call them Beholders, but that's a silly
name.”
And they run away.
“I know this is East, but at least we know where some of this water comes out
from.”
“But heading this direction meant I spotted this cavern.”
“Which comes out in that Scree cavern.”
“Hold on, I want to circle around to the west, see where this cavern meets up with
the one leading back to Fort Emerald.”
“Alright.”
“Kill them!”
“Bandits, here?”
:blargh:
“Let's get you guys cleaned up.”
“SIGN!”
“Um, no clue what that's supposed to mean.”
“I think this is the wrong direction.”
“But there's something back here!”
“This is useless.”
“Oh, there we are.”
I'm pretty sure we've encountered Eye Beasts before, but if you think they acted
like Beholders, you would be right. Just not as dangerous.
“I think this is it.”
“And there are plenty of undead as well. To arms!”
Welcome to the Crypt of Drath. The worst singular dungeon in the history of Exile,
and you'll see why later. For now, know that lights don't work here.
“I sense this crypt goes deeper. We need to be careful.”
“This is old. Really old.”

“Let's be careful.”
“I... don't know this.”
“Maybe like that ghost we saw over in Slith territory? Where I got my axe?”
“Maybe.”
“Nothing here.”
“There's something.”
“Wait. I know this! Motrax! Where's that stone key we found that he told us
about...?”
“Here!”
“Yes! This key came from this crypt, and we can use it to get... something?”
“We shall see when we reach that point.”
“A Vampire now?”
“This any valuable, Duncan?”
“No, not really. Rod of Healing, if I don't miss my guess.”
“And there's nothing back here. Ah well, guess it was a work in progress.”
“This just screams trap. Let's find something else.”
If you step on that, you get to take 25 damage each, and drop to the lower floor.
I'll show you where later.
See?
“Much safer.”
“I knew it!”
“There is the chill of undeath here.”
“What was your first clue?”
“Everyone, careful.”
“Phew.”
“You had to say it.”
“I didn't say anything!”
“Will this end?”
“Golems that cast spells? What?”
“I do it better!”
“This seems odd. It controls that door over there, but it seems more designed to
keep something in, rather than out.”
“And another vampire. When did they stop being a threat?”
“We must go deeper.”

“Many burial chambers. And other things.”
“I think we should take to the water first.”
“How considerate.”
“You know, I'm not in the mood for prying into sealed tombs.”
“At least there's a convenient boat here.”
“It looks like this section of the wall gives way, but the mechanism is elsewhere.”
“This looks promising.”
“Very much so.”
“Oh, I know this one!”
“That is some poor treasure. And not the Tip.”
“The map showed a secret passage here.”
“I wanna press it!”
“Alright, I'm lost.”
“Oh. Why am I not surprised by the presence of an evil altar here?”

“What is this?”
“These are stairs that lead back up.”
I failed to capture it properly, but this particular node sends you back to the
empty room where I fought the Vampire earlier, with no way back down. When you fall
down the pit, this is the only way back up. Very insidious.
“This looks almost promising.”
“Or not.”
“I really can't wait to get Demonslayer reforged.”
“I pressed the button!”
“I am honestly surprised these Living Statues can move like that.”
So was I.
“Hah! I was right! The passage is open.”
“Oh no.”
Here it is. The worst dungeon level in the game, bar none. No map. No light. And
it's about to get worse.
“Everyone, be careful.”
“That water is really cold.”
“... We are close. I can feel it.”

“First a corridor of micro-shocks, not barriers? Give me a moment to dispel this.”
You can't. Not really. And even worse? There's a blank wall behind it. You can't go
down this way!
Instead, you need to go back to the previous room, and find this secret passage:
“Can I tell Peregrine all his effort was for nothing?”
And now the worst part. We are now in a teleporter maze. In the dark. With no map.
And randomly spawning enemies.
You REALLY do not want to know how long I spent wandering between these four rooms,
trying to figure it out. It's hurtful, and its spiteful. Now, you may be thinking,
why don't you drop something behind you to mark your path? Well, I did. And every
time you use a teleporter, it resets the level. Meaning that you can't leave a
trail of breadcrumbs behind you. When I (re)found this out, I RAGED.
And Jeff Vogel has gone on record as stating this is his favourite puzzle in the
entire game.
So what are you to do? Easy, here's the answer: Go West three times, once you're in
the teleporters, then go looking for a secret passage..
“That took way to long to find.”
This secret passage allows you to bypass a fight, if you find the secret passage in
the secret passage.
I thought so.
“To arms!”
“It's the lich! Destroy it!”
“intruders destroy”
“I don't think I can break down this barrier. Let us leave it.”
“This Lich was really in love with its secret passages.”
“Anyone else think that was too easy?”
“Shush! Don't curse it!”
“That actually looks kind of nice.”
“Not. Surprised.”
“No...”
“Hamımızın Oh şirin mərhəmətli ana, mən bu hədiyyə qəbul edir. Mən günahsız zülm
edənlər olmalıdır qarşısında duran bütün, siz onları qorumaq ki, bilik yaşayır
edənlərə məhv gətirmişdir ki, bütün günahsız üzərinə and olsun. Dua edirəm Bu, mən
and olsun.”
“We have all the pieces of Demonslayer. Now it must be reforged.”
“I think Boutell, in Fort Draco has the skill.”
“We go there next.”
I hate the Crypt. I really do. Also, Patrick doesn't tell you about this location.
You have to find it on your own. I rushed through it in this LP as a result of my
severe distaste of it. And Drath, the Lich, isn't even a boss battle! Ugh.
Anyways, here's everyone's stats at the start of the update, after training:
And here's the maps:
Taking images for the overworld maps gets more and more difficult. I'm working on
reprocessing every map into one, but it's going slow. I swear, I'll get it done!
Next time, Demonslayer!
“Intruders, Lord Drath. They took the Tip.”
“And of my false duplicate?”
“Destroyed.”
“There must be a reprisal then.”

‹
Part #32
Part #34
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #33
Part #35
›
Return to LP Index
Part 34: Update 030 – Dragonslayer, the Tower and the Shattered Fort
Update 030 – Dragonslayer, the Tower and the Shattered Fort
"Come, we must reforge this blade immediately."
"Really? I mean, we can't even get some proper rest first? You just want to run
over to Fort Draco and do that?"
"And didn't we leave the boat over by Almaria?"

"Side question then – did we ever settle on 'al-MARIA' or 'AHL-ma-RIA'?"
"I've heard both. Perhaps its an accent thing?"
"Ohh! Maybe they're deliberately doing it that way to confuse people!"
"That's ridiculous. Why would a town choose to deliberately make the name of their
town ambiguous?"
"Name Magic?"
"..."
"Name Magic. Really."
"Do not underestimate the power of names, Peregrine. This blade, though broken,
shares its name with its most famous wielder."
"Means nothing. Names are identifiers, not some fundamental property. The
Demonslayer blade, for example, may have the magical properties that makes it
anathema to demons and related creatures, but that does not indicate that its name
must be 'Demonslayer'. It could be, say, Shamshir-e Zomorrodnegar.”
“Hey, Art, didn't that one witch-lady over west... you know, in that town where you
got your sword? Didn't she say that names have power too?”
“Don't look at me! But yes, I think she did. So she would agree with Karmas then.”
“Thank you, Ember, for that recollection.”
“Opinion does not make fact! To associate identity with property is a logical
fallacy that results in misunderstanding and misidentification!”
“And yet, it is quite logical to identify based on properties.”
“AAARGH! You miss the point! Names mean nothing. The don't have power inherent to
them!”
“I'm staying out of this one.”
“I'm not! Names can have associative powers though connotation and linguistic
usage. They are representative of what they describe through the Contamination
Effect, which is something so basic, I'm sure even you accept it, Peregrine!”
“You begin to understand, but then again, I would accept you having greater
knowledge of what I am talking about than Karmas.”
“I'm standing right here.”
“CHILDREN BEHAVE.”
“Yes, mother.”
“And don't take that tone of voice with me. You cannot build a compelling case,
either of you, based on one datum. Save your argument until you have a multitude of
examples to support your position!”
“We should take the boat north, it will be quicker than going overland via Mertis
and Silvar.”
“Fine by me.”
“Um, why are we stopping?”
“I just realized something.”
“Yes?”
“If we go further north, in order to get to Fort Draco, we'll need to pass by the
Giant Intelligent Friendly Spiders.”
“Oh. Maybe we can avoid them?”
“I LOVE YOU!”
“NOPE.”
“This is a good walk, we could use the exercise.”
“A very good idea.”
“The scenery is nice.”
“I like it!”
“Come on.”
“Huh, I forgot we left our boat there.”
“And here we are.”
“Forgive me, my hesitation. This is a momentous occasion.”

“Master Smith, can you repair this blade?” He reveals the pieces of Demonslayer to
Boutell.
He stares at the fragments of the greatsword in awe. "Now THIS is a challenge." He

sets to work, with hammer, water, and lava. The sparks fly, and the flames bellow.
Then, he brings the repaired sword to you. "Thanks! That was FUN!"
“I'm no expert, but that seemed... too easy.”
“I was given word that you were coming. I had time to prepare.”
“Patrick.”
“I ain't naming names, you gotta understand. But let's say that a certain person
and I are square now.”
“Then it is I who am in your debt.”
“You can repay me by sticking that blade into a hundred demons.”
“Then that debt shall be repaid many times over. Thank you.”
And with that, we get one of the best weapons in the game. Very subdued. Here's the
stats to compare with other weapons. And remember that before this, Karmas was
using a Bronze Broadsword.
It is tied for second or third most powerful weapon in the game by the numbers,
behind Duncan's Flame Halberd, and tied with another sword we'll see later in this
update. However, the real boon to Demonslayer is the properly of the same name,
which effectively doubles damage dealt to Demon-type enemies; of which there is a
lot in the game from here on out.
“To the tower. Our only lead at this point is the Haakai trapped there.”
“Not true. Patrick and Rone pointed us at the demonic fort to the west of the
Tower. We may be able to find something there as well.”
“And we still don't have a clue as to where that bottle Grah-Hoth is supposed to be
trapped in is.”
“Hail!”
“Hail!”
“Art, Karmas and the rest of the Escape Committee?”
“Yes...?”
“I come with an important missive from Motrax. He wishes to speak with you
immediately in regards to your current quest.”
“I DON'T WANNA GET EATEN!”

“Duncan, keep Ember quiet. Did he what about?”
“Only that he had to offer material support and well as information.”
“We will be there. Thank you.”
“Of course.” He salutes. “Good luck, and good hunting.”
“I wonder what he's offering. We already found the key that he mentioned to get
into the Crypt, which allowed us to complete Dragonslayer.”
“Not sure. But when a Dragon says they are offering material support? Gives one
shivers.”
“NO EATING!”
“He's not going to eat us!”
“He's a DraGON!”
“Look, you can stay outside if you want. There's nothing to worry about.”
“Easy for you to say!”
“Best behaviour, please.”
“Interesting.”
“Did you really have to Map the Dragon's lair?”
“I honestly thought it would be bigger.”
“There could be other levels.”
“Perhaps.”
“Come, let us see what Motrax has to say.”
“Thank you for coming.”
“We are honoured by the invitation.”
“Spare the flattery, please. This is too important.”

“Of course.”
“May I see the blade? I could feel the powers of its reforging from here, and it
has been a long time since I have beheld that measure of majesty.”
“Of course.” He draws the Demonslayer, and presents it to Motrax.
“Simply beautiful. Truly elegant. It is in good hands, Karmas of Valorim. Better

you than its previous wielder. He was too arrogant, so sure of himself and his
power that he stopped remembering that he too was mortal, and doomed to die.”
“Your warning will not go unheeded.”
“But yes, I should heed my own words and skip the flattery. I know what you are
doing, who your enemies are. They were my enemies in the past too, though I am long
past my prime, I can no longer offer more direct aid. So into my lair. There you
will find a sword with power equal to Demonslayer, though of a different aspect.
Take it, and it alone, then return to me.”
This doesn't happen. Looting a dragon's hoard is a BAD IDEA, and one that I will
come back to much, much later. Instead, I'm going to show you guys something here
as a taste of what is to come.
“There is a secret passage near my bed, by the water. Be careful not to slip.”
“Follow that passage to the north. There will be an alarm there. Do not bother to
try to disarm it, as the magic in it exceed all but a clawfull of humans. You will
activate it, and it will activate the guards to my trove. Do not worry about
defeating them, I can replace them.”
“Take the boat.”
“And find the sword.”
“Scrioth? I do not know this one.”
“I remember this one. It was the name of one of the leaders of the First
Expedition. Like Dragonslayer, it was a weapon named for its owner – And no, we're
not starting that conversation again, Peregrine. It can be commanded to disgorge
flames from its blade.”
“Put it back.”
“Why? It's a relic!”
“Look at it. The only ones here who have the skill to use it properly are Karmas
and I, and he has Demonslayer, which is more important to us. My style won't work
with a blade that heavy and large.”
“She is right. It saddens me that we cannot take it with us, but it is the truth.
It would only taunt us with its power, even more than the blade I carry; for it has
purpose and meaning beyond the hands that hold it.”
“You're both crazy.”
“I know, but it's the way things have to be.”
“Interesting.”
“Utility.”
“Still, I approve of what I see. While you were gone, I was thinking.”
“About?”
“On your way to the Tower to slay Adze-Haakai, talk to Solberg. He can point you to
further aid. In the mean time, I must search my memory. There is a certain Orb that
will prove vital to your quest, and I dimly recall some information about it. I
will send word once I know more, but for now, go with my pride and my
encouragement. This nation needs more like you.”
“YOU LEFT IT!”
“Better that than carrying it around when no one would use it.”
“Still! You could have used it for something else. Bartering for something,
perhaps.”
“Even I caught the warning against greed. It is better in the long run that we left
it behind.”
“I wonder what he meant when he said Solberg has something else to say?”
I want to reiterate that the above and what comes next are not part of the actual
narrative of Exile, but stuff I've made up to help with the flow of the story and
to create a better sense of world building.
“We'll need to go back west to get the boat to head over to Solberg's tower.”
“Hello again. And thank you for coming.”
“Of course. Motrax said you had something for us?”
“Nothing physical. I've already done my part in keeping the Haakai-Lord contained.
No, if you wish to see this through, there is another Mage who fought and contained
Grah-Hoth that you have not contacted yet. Her name is Erika Redmark”
“Impossible! She is dead!”
“I assure you, that is false. She is as alive as your or I, and she has a tower
far, far to the west. If you can find it, and explain the situation, she may be of
assistance. Or she may throw you out. Her fury is a terrible thing to behold.”
“Redmark was Exiled? The only mage capable of going against Garzahd? Surely he
would have killed her if he could have.”
“No, we five chose to leave the Empire for Exile of our own free will. But that is
history. No, if you find her and gain an audience with her, she may be of help in
dealing with the demons you face.”
“This is far too important to lie about, you insolent whelp! Seek her out or not,
but do not doubt me!”
“My apologies.”
“Go. My message is delivered. Bother me no more.”
“Bye!”
GODDAMN IT. This secret passage exists, and I missed it! So much walking on lava
could have been avoided!
“It is time to go to the Tower, and confront the Haakai they have there. A stepping
stone toward Grah-Hoth.”
“There we go. Any last ideas?”

“Slay the demon for starters.”
“You know, Linda may get annoyed that we've killed it.”
“I would prefer that to dying while facing it, and letting it loose in the Tower.”
“You know, I don't think we ever got into this corner of the tower before.”
This conversation was lost when I forgot to transcribe it, but the gist of it is as
follows:
“Save me!”
“The man is obviously addled. Leave him be.”
“You must stop it! We thought we could control it, but we were wrong!”
“The demon.”
“Yes! It's going to get free and kill us all! HAHAHAHAHAH!”
“We're done here.”
“Weapons at the ready.”
“Some of these are merely shock barriers, the others are the real deal.”
“What was going on here?”
As much as I tried, I couldn't get into the room just north of us right now. Which
annoyed me to no end. I'll have to come back later.
“Ah, are you here to surrender?” You see a demon, tall and imposing. Fortunately
he/she/it is kept from you by protective runes.
“Who are you?”
"My name? If I gave away my name, I'd be in quite a fix, wouldn't I? Fool."
“Then what are you doing here?”
"Waiting for the Haakai beyond to break his bond, and blast you all. It will happen
soon."
“Come, let us deal with our foes first, then come back.”
“HAH! You cannot hope to overcome that which awaits you, even with that blade of
yours.”
“We shall see.”
LOOK at that damage! 24 base, plus Slaying, plus Assassination! 81 on an Imp! This
will be glorious.
“Come on, let us go through that barrier. Solberg's key should see us through.”
Everything goes completely black while you are in this section of the tower. Time
to watch your map carefully, and recognize that there are many dead ends ahead.
“Who thought it a good idea to protect a demon with more demons?”
“Internal factions amongst demon-hood, with those wanting to keep the Haakai Lord
locked up?”
“I'm going to push it!”
“Worst. Button. Ever.”
“So many secret passages.”
“Perhaps to confuse the demons with?”
“Unless there are other factors in play, they would more likely knock down the
walls.”
“And now it has a brother!”
“Let me.”
This trap drains all your SP. And there's a Haakai Lord close by. But because he
can't see you due to the darkness, he won't attack, allowing you to rest to restore
your health and energy before picking a fight with him. Like so:
“The demon is close. I can feel it.”
“I can feel you too, human. And the blade you hold. It was sundered, and now you
seek to raise it against me?”
“Seek nought, for I shall indeed.”
“Still, the blade may be mighty, but are you? I am Adze-Haakai, lord over many
domains. But you are not like that pathetic human who though to control me.”
“Shall we find out?”
“Let us.”
This image shows Art, with 6 Int, casting Ravage Spirit, the anti-demon spell.
She's doing more damage than with her two swords, give or take. If she had more
Int, the damage would drastically increase.
“SUCH STRENGTH! I DIE PLEASED!”
And he drops an Ice Shield, which is useless because I have better ones already
equipped. Ah well, there's a Vendor Trash Receptacle here in the Tower.
“It is done.”
“There is something here. Art, can I get a light?”

“The sceptre Linda was talking about. The one used to bait the demon.”
“We need to keep this. And keep it away from Linda, before she does something
stupid with it again.”
“Agreed. You hold onto it.”
“Blessed Light!”
“Well?”
“Speak not to me. I will stay here and trouble the humans no more.”
“Adze-Haakai is head.”
“I... heard the sounds of battle. Is it true?”
“Behold, Demonslayer.”
“I.... There are no words....”
“No, but there are actions that must be done.”
“You are right. Farewell.”
“HEY, LINDA!”
“What have you”
“What was that for?”
“Adze-Haakai is dead.”
“You idiots! Do you have any idea how much work you just wasted?!?!?!?!”
“HOW DARE YOU STRIKE ME?”
“We are under orders from the King to deal with your problems, as they happen to be
the problems of the crown. You are not without oversight. We are it. You will
conduct no further experiments until Solberg or Patrick arrive to examine your
efforts.”
“You don't have the authority to do so!”
“Really? We've hit you twice, and we are a battle-hardened group who has no
problems reforging Demonslayer if that's what it takes to get the job done.”
“Her experiments were also a threat to the sanctity of the Tower, and as such, by
the standard laws governing such things, she is automatically stripped of her rank
and powers for the duration.”
“Oh, and”
“I know why I and Rook did that. But why you?”
“Rule of Three, and she deserves it.”
“You...! You...! You will give me back the sceptre right now! And the Demonslayer!
Perhaps I can still salvage this!”
“No.”
“I wonder what is down this way? I don't think this is where that fort is.”
“Let's have a look.”
“Look around, there may be something useful.”
“COME!”
Nothing spectacular. The fight is against Demons and Haakai, and the only real
issue is the damage taken by the lava. The wand itself is a Crystal Wand, so
really, this is just flavour for a fixed battle against some demons.
“How did they get back here, anyways?”
“I don't know. Let's just get out of here.”

“We need that Key from the Castle before we go much further.”
“Damn it!”
“Where's yer boat, missy?”
“Up by Fort Dranlon. Here's your damned money.”
“Pleasure!”
“And back to the Castle. Here's our pass.”
“Back here. Be careful, there may be traps.”
That's my line!”
“Well, that was odd.”
“With this, we can enter the former demonic fort.”
“Before we do that, I think we should look up here. We know this all looked
artificial when we came by here the first time.”
“That was...”
“Score one for the theory about there being factions inside the Demon hierarchy.”
“This is going to hurt.”
“Let us never do that again.”
“Peregrine, if you please.”
“That's... a lot of lava.”
The Crypt of Drath was made of bullshit. This dungeon is made of pain and agony.
Lava everywhere, almost constant attacks by demons...
I cheated like hell through this dungeon. I used the 'Heal Party' option of the
character editor to keep my HP up, otherwise I would never get more than ten steps
past the door.
And I don't feel guilty about that one bit.
“Let's hope this place is uninhabited.”
“TO ARMS!”
So it begins. A long slog. I'm going to save you the worst of it, and just hit up
the highlights.
“A healing potion.”
“Amazing! Although I doubt we would survive using it a second time.”
This encounter sets your SP to 99 for everyone with SP for 10 turns. It's a measure
of relief to heal up before everything goes to hell, again. And if you try to use
it again... well... don't.
Exhibit B: Local levels of Demonic activity.
Exhibit C: Karmas, earning his keep with Demonslayer.
“Give me a second...”
Exhibit D: Haakai behind locked doors.
Base damage of 4, with a bonus of 10, this weapon is actually better than anything
Art has equipped right now. In terms of raw power, she should drop the Heartfinder,
but I derped and put it on Peregrine for the duration of the update. I'll fix that
later.
“Wow, this room is completely intact. There's absolutely no way this is going to be
a trap.”
“Your sarcasm is stunning. We had best be on guard.”
“Wait a minute...!”
“Ah! Grah-Hoth was right! A reward for the slayer of Adze-Haakai!”
“Karmas, if you please?”

“With pleasure.”
“I don't get it. What is a Royal Seal of the Empire doing here, and why did Patrick
and Rone let us know about it?”
Lair of Motrax with new information:
Shattered Fort
‹
Part #33
Part #35
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #34
Part #36
›
Return to LP Index
Part 35: Update 031 – The Abyss and Spire
Update 031 – The Abyss and Spire
"Hold on."
"What now?"
"We ain't stopping because your feet are sore."
"No, not that. Something I just remembered. The Royal Seal."
"What of it? I mean, it probably dates back to the First Expedition."
"Remember who told us first about the Shattered Fort and the Seal?"
"Patrick, if I remember correctly."
"No!"
"If it wasn't him... Silverton, was it? In Fort Emerald."

"I remember! The lady who was meditating by the crysal all the time! Silverio!"
"Correct. She mentioned to us its existence."
"Wait! Who won that bet?"
"No one did. We went and got it on our own accord."
"So, what, exactly is a Royal Seal, and why is Art all weirded out over it now that
she has it on her?"
"It's an absolute symbol of Imperial Authority. The Seal is forged in a very

specific manner, with certain metals and magic going into its construction, each
Seal is uniquely representative of the power of the Empire.
"There are also magical enchantments built into it which can act as an override on
many of the Empire's logistics and security features. It's almost like a skeleton
key which grants its bearer the power to go places that would otherwise be locked
to them."
"Soooo...."
"Having one means that someone very important and powerful has died, and now I have
his authority."
"So, you can order us out of here?"
"No. It is highly unlikely that any Exile would be granted such a thing."
"What if one of the Empire's agents was sent into Exile in order to infiltrate the
society?"
"I doubt it. Can you imagine the Empire throwing one of their good agents down here
like that with no support? Especially when we've seen evidence that they will send
armed parties down here."
"It also goes against their strategic policy. The Empire isn't factored towards
small scale actors like that. Their response to a problem is to bury it in bodies.
No finesse at all."
"I... have to agree with that."
"So, how does it work?"
"Most of it is passive, and keyed to its specific wielder."
"But we took it off the dead man.... Can you use it?"
"No, it's not set to me. And I don't know anyone who could do that. For now, it's
just a hunk of metal, which would be useful for hitting someone over the head
with."
"Oooh! Can I?"
"NO!"
"With that out of the way, what are we doing now?"
"Headed back to Rone in order to try and figure out where we go next."
"Oh, so that's why we've been standing in front of the Castle for the past 15
minutes?"
"Pretty much."
"You know Rone is pretty much senile, right? What are we going to get out of him?"
"I don't know."
"Hello!"
"Hey, we raided that ruined fortification. It was pretty small. You sure it was the
real thing?"
"Yes, yes. It's called Akhronath, by the way, you puppy!"
"So what now?"
"I, Patrick, and Erika trapped him is a powerful bottle of our own making. To get
him out of it will take a blessed athame, and I can't remember if there is one of
those down here."
"I'd have to agree. Finding one of those would be ridiculously in our favour."
"You may want to ask Linda! She may have made one! Thought she could trim her hair
with it or something like that."
"That would be in line with her ego, that's for sure."
"For the uneducated masses?"
"A Blessed Athame is a ceremonial blade used in purification rituals and the like.
In theory, with Grah-Hoth contained in a bottle that can only be opened by one, it
would reduce the likelihood of Demons using a holy blade to free him. I've used one
in the past.”
“So, what are the odds that Sss-thsss was going to go looking for one during his
little war.”
“Who says the two are connected? War for destruction's sake, and deal with the
whole 'bottle' thing later.”
“I think you're all missing the point.”
“Which would be?”
“We have to go back to the Tower and talk to Linda.”
“Well, Karmas, Duncan and Ember haven't punched her yet. In the spirit of
camaraderie, we should give them the chance.”
“EEEEEEWWWWWWW! I don't want to get any of the stupid on me! Peregrine, you can hit
her for me.”
“Do we really have to? Talk to Linda, I mean?”
“That seems to be the case.”
“But we just left there!”
“I have no desire to return there either, but it must be done, to follow this
lead.”
“And we still have no leads on the location of the place where Grah-Hoth is
imprisoned.”
“Well, if you remember Rone's journal from the first time we talked to him, it
mentioned the caves to the east.”
“Isn't that where Erika Redmark is supposed to be?”
“I still don't believe that she's alive, all things considered. But even if that
were the case, a location as vague as 'The caverns to the east' is, well, vague.
Too much so. We are equally likely to stumble upon her abode as we are upon the
demon's prison, or to miss both entirely!”
“What if Erika has been set as the guard of the Haakai-Lord?”
“You obviously haven't heard of the Archmage Erika Redmark. Her ego is the stuff of
legends!”
“Considering who's talking, that's something of a stretch.”
“Did I hear the nattering of an insect?”
“Oh for! Save your punching for Linda!”
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?”
“The Blessed Athame.”
“Why should I give you anything? You've already ruined years of work!”
“Rook?”
“Where?”
“You're all mad! I don't know how you broke into the labs, but you'll never get
past the barrier!”
“Oh, well, if we hadn't dealt with Drath, that might have been intimidating. I know
where it is.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes, and like Drath's lair, we simply need to go around.”
“That was stupid!”
“And burny!”
“And yet, here we are.”
“This is not a combat worthy blade, as befitting its status as a ritual knife. I
shall keep it.”
Actually, it's a Key Item. And I didn't really come back here. I loaded the game,
ran back to pick it up, screenshotting along the way, then reloaded back in the
Castle, having cheating the Athame into my inventory.
Thanks to Gullwhaker for pointing out what I missed.
“Where to now?”
“I think East?”
“Fort Saffron, perhaps? I suspect that the prison is to the north and east of Fort
Remote, but I would rather try to find the long way around for that.”
“Poor Mick and Belinda.”
“I should really investigate the construction of a teleporter array down here. It

will make getting around so much easier.”
“And going through wasn't a hassle. Let's see what we have.”
“SIGN!”
“Bandits. How droll.”
This point makes little sense in its current location, as we are clearly north of
the Great Cave, and into a section of the map called 'The Abyss'. I suspect that
there was an error with this node, and it calls a sign that was supposed to be
actually in the Great Cave.
“Any particular reason why we're back here?”
“Because I wanted to squeeze through those corners back there?”
“You're weird.”
“There's also tracks made by people here.”
“And they lead here.”
“Can anyone think of any logical reason for people to be back here?”
“Supply cache.”
“Well, it's guarded like one.”
“Um, why are we even here then?”
“Intruders! Kill them!”
“You were saying?”
“Wait a moment. We outclass these people so much, I don't need to cast Major
Blessing!”
“You're kidding me.”
“No, he is right.”
I'm a shocked as you are. For the first time in ages I haven't had to cast Major
Blessing in a battle! It feels... weird. But don't worry, things will be back to
normal soon enough.
“That just means we get to break out the bigger spells!”
“You got soot on me!”
“Could be worse. Could be friendly fire.”
“That never is.”
“Let us examine this facility.”
“Nothing here.”
“Nothing here.”
“Nothing here.”
“Nothing interesting.”
I don't think I've introduced the Assassin type enemy yet, so here he is. He's an
assassin, which means he has a small chance of triggering extra damage on his melee
attack. And he can poison on the melee too. He also has a ranged attack. Oh, and he
has 20 HP. Very much the definition of a Glass Cannon.
But the party is pretty much real cannons by this point.
I only wanted to show this picture off due to how the party stacked up when I went
into combat. That Evil Acolyte is very dead.
“Bah! Major Blessing!”
“Map shows a secret passage back there.”
“Really?”
“I got this.”
“This stuff is crap!”
“I think I see a boat over there, round the right.”
“Yep!”
“Aw, isn't it cute!”
“No pets!”
“Great, more traps.”
At the end...
“Mist Orbs. Really? That's what they were protecting? Pathetic.”
“There's just something off about this place.”
“Perhaps it has more to do with that armed camp over there?”
“HAIL the CAMP!”
“You mean the one we just wiped out?”
“Damn. Wait. I've heard of you... Of course! My apologies for holding you up!”
“That's... nice. Thanks.”

“Amazing!”
“ECHO!”
“Of all it's like, I've never seen...”
“Fellows.... It's bigger....”
Meet the Great Chasm. It's very, very large. And very deep. It is suggested in
later games that this is where the Sliths first emerged into Exile, climbing up
from caverns even deeper. But for this game, it is environment, and while
spectacular, is nothing more than that.
“This bridge is very artificial.”
“Let's... not go that way, maybe there's a way round to the west?”
“Let's try.”
At this point in the LP, I suddenly realize that the directions I've been given are
wrong. Grah-Hoth's prison and Erika are to the WEST, not the east, as I've been
saying all along. It's not the first time that it seems like information got
changed during the development of the game.
“Cache or Brigands?”
“Map says it's under construction.”
“My eyes say it's been attacked.”
“See?”
“No bets on if the place is empty.”
“Awww, I wanted to win!”

“Were these things ever a threat?”
“Maybe not, but this might be. Ember, can I get some fumigation back here?”
“YAY!”
“This looked like a leader. He died cowering.”
“These traps have seen better days.”
“And nothing of worth, really.”
“Let's find that secret passage into that hidden room there...”
“A pittance, really.”
“Well, this is a bad idea.”
“At least we're not being shot at yet.”
“SIGNS!”
“Hello?”
“Hello.” A tall man with long, curly hair sits behind the counter working on a
ledger. He wears nice clothes and a sash of office. "I'm Bohman. Tower liaison."
“Art, First Exile Escape Comittee.”

“I know who you are. You've been granted passage.”
“Pardon my ignorance, but... liason?”
"I'm liaison for the Tower of the Spire. That's a fancy way of saying I greet
visitors."
“You get many? To this place?”
“A few, mostly travellers. Merchants and the like. North to the Abyss, south to the
Great Cave.”
“What of the Spire? Is there anything you can tell us?”
"Yes. The huge stone pillar coming from the pit below, upon which this building is
built. I'm sure you saw it while crossing the bridge."
“That's not what I asked....”
“Don't care. You have Royal permission to pass, so I ain't stopping you. Now go.”
“How rude.”
“I don't know. I think there's more going on here than what we've seen.”
“Maybe, but still, that was no reason to be like that.”
“Oh, don't worry about him. He's just grouchy.” A priest with a sour expression
sits at the table, guzzling ale.
“Oh? I'm Rook, by the way.”
"Reynold. Sit and join me." He takes another swig.
“Sure. What brings a man like you here?”
"I'm a former missionary." He stresses the word 'former'.
"I just came from the Abyss. I was trying to bring some of their less horrible
souls to a more peaceful state, when I suffered the fate of the holy."
“You make that sound so ominous. What fate left you alive?”
"The derision of those who live far from grace. It could be worse, of course. They
could have killed me." He sighs, and drinks. "Anyway, I failed, and fled. Now I'm
going to the Castle."
“Why?”
“To talk to the priest there. I have information on goings-on in the Abyss. They're
two towns - Spire and Bargha. Bargha is to the north, and they're busy fighting off
giants. They're doing much better than you would expect. They have some fierce
fighters there." Another drink. "I also heard rumors of a dragon, but nothing
specific or useful."
“Let's not go there!”

“Ember, it was just a rumour.”
“Wow.”
“Come on, let's go through the gate.”
“Well, that was a thing. A checkpoint on a spire guarding a magically constructed

bridge over a chasm a good dozen miles across.”
That encounter dot is the same as the one on the south side, as is the sign. It is
quite possible to come at this place from the North thanks to the boat, though it
worked out better to approach from the south instead.
“Just how big is this?”
“I want to know what's keeping that section of the cavern up.”
“I'm not sure where this passage goes...”
“Actually, this should lead into the scree cavern with the Lich's cave in it, if my
maps are correct.”
“Then I have no interest in going there.”
“None of us do. Let's go back.”
“This is a pretty overlook.”
Secret Passage to get here, no flying required. * cough cough *
“Nothing worth being here.”
“Amazing!”
“I would agree with you if those pillars didn't look so much like cooled magma
flows, indicating a volcanic source above us.”
“We didn't so much walk into it as we invited ourselves in.”
Finally the enemies treat Art like the threat she is. And it still isn't enough!
“This water is pretty fresh.”
“It would have to be, to feed these farmlands.”
“And a town there. Is that Spire, or Bargha?”
“I think Spire.”
“SIGN!”
There's some interesting geopolitics going on with Spire, Bargha and The Abyss, but
I can't talk about them yet. You'll see it develop slowly.
“Nothing really unusual at first glance. But I don't know what's up with that
building to the south-east.”
“Alright, split up everyone.”
“Hello! I'm Ember!”
A slight young woman with angular features sits drinking. "Carol. I'm busy."
“Whatcha doing?”
"Not much. I'm waiting for my scimitar to be repaired."
“ooooh! Gotcha! We got to talk to you later!”
“Buzz off.”
“Hello! I'm Ember!”
A Nephilim sits hunched over the table, eating stew. His bow sits nearby. "Mrrow.
I'm Featherfoot. What's it to you?"
“I'm just saying HI in a very polite fashion to the people I meet!”
“I'm eating, human. Leave me.”
“Interesting.”
“Greetings, Mayor. I am Rook.”
A short, strong looking woman with long black hair and a leather jerkin sits in a
fine, carved wood throne and watching you. "Meena. Mayor Meena. I'm in charge
here."
"I'm the boss in this town. The mayor. I watch over things. And I don't want any
interference. Do your business, and when you get called a vole, take it as a
complement."
“I'm sorry, Vole?
"Yeah. That's what we call you. You try to live in this pit, and make your own
docile copy of the hell above. Well, we're free, and we'll stay free, no matter
where you throw us!"
“I... what makes you think that you're not free in the first place?”
"I've had you vole visitors before. You come here, all high and mighty, seeing your
rejects, and you think you can do what you want, take what you want. Well, I'll
kill you in a cold second if you don't behave, and Micah can't do a thing about
it."
"Believe it."
“Better people than you have tried. Yet we're still here.”
“Pretty words, but that's all they are.”
“Something important is back here, I know it.”
All the shopkeepers also call the party 'Voles'. It would be more effective an
insult if the Mayor didn't spell it out for the player. Ah well, can't win them
all.
“Well, the sign did mention harsh laws. Seems like lenient punishments though.”

“Here you go.”
Check the log in the next screenshot, as this is one of the few times when an event
flag is thrown with no real notification, and no real indication that things have
changed. Your hand has been stamped!
“Hey. When's the next show?”
An extremely nondescript man watches the arena with dull eyes. The only interesting
thing about him is his long rapier. He looks at you blankly. "Scab." You notice his
face is somewhat pocked, and his hands do have some scabs on them. "I'm busy. Beat
it."
“Alright.”
“Bye!”
A man sits behind the table with his legs up. He's sharpening an axe. "I'm Zagat.
I'm the arenamaster."
“Pretty tiny for an arena.”
"Yes. I don't expect voles such as yourself to appreciate the fine art of blood
sport, but we enjoy it immensely. Combat between criminals. Gladiators battling
captive sliths and giants. It's a beautiful, beautiful thing."
"And we can always use gladiators. If you want to enter, let me know."
“You know what? Why not?”
Zagat smiles. "I'm glad you decided to give it a whack. Go through the gate in the
corner. If you can make it to the opposite exit, your reward will be 10 gold. Good
luck."
“Let's see here....”
Not Shown: A 'fight' against a Giant Rat.
Anyways, here's the obligatory Arena. This will actually be used for the plot
later, but for now, don't worry much about it.
And once you reach the end:

“Thank you!”
“YOU DID WHAT?”
“That's... highly encouraging of you.”
“How could you approve?”
“Easy. Art was willing to show through her actions that she didn't hold herself
'above' the culture of the people in this town. She demonstrated a level of
understanding and acceptance that you do not.”
“Well, that and they threw an easy fight against me. I mean, seriously, do I look
like some innocent maiden to scream and faint at the sight of a rat?”
“Can we save the rest of this until after we deal with these guys?”
Time for the maps!
Sorry, no map for Fort Spire. I missed it!
No Training yet, but soon(ish)!

‹
Part #34
Part #36
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #35
Part #37
›
Return to LP Index
Part 36: Update 032 – Skarragath and the Prison of Grath-Hoth
Update 032 – Skarragath and the Prison of Grath-Hoth
"You know what? As much as I may be doing 'Diplomacy' with these people, I think we
should just leave them to their own devices."
"Live and let live, so to say?"
"Exactly. Time to go West."
“And what purpose would that serve?”
“Well, it's not like we have a reason to go north and talk to these people from
Scimitar. Although I did meet one of their agents in the inn.”
“Naturally.”
“Can we just go already? I don't like the way those cows are looking at me. It's
with predation in their eyes, and I'm not quite certain that they are merely
herbivores.”
“You're silly! Those are obviously nice cows!”
“And here is the end of the Abyss, I presume. At least by the lack of tracks or
footprints leading further in this direction.”
“Well, it would only be natural that you would imprison a Demon Lord someplace no
one would go. So why are we headed this way again?”
“Some damn fool mission, that's why.”
“That's a question then. I mean, just how much of a chance do we have when the
three most powerful mages in the whole of Exile couldn't?”
“We have Demonslayer.”
“So did the other man, but he died.”
“As Motrax said, he got arrogant with his power. I must not.”
“Nice lake.”
“Anyone else get this sudden feeling of doom and oppression?”

“There are major magics in this cavern. We must be careful.”
“How major are we talking about?”
“Very.”
“Coming from you, that's almost an admission of inferiority.”
“When you are as great as I am, you learn to pay attention to the signs of those
who are goals or obstacles to overcome. You would do well to learn that, unless you
want to spend all your time digging in the mud for alchemical ingredients.”
“CHILDREN!”
“Yes, mother.”
“I will always be in awe of your ability to do that.”
“It's all in the voice, and how you project it.”
“Are you sure it's not magic?”
“Hah! I wish!”
I'm over-leveled for the area, so random encounters like this just run away from
me. Poor bats.
“Getting back to our previous discussion, have we really lost sight of what we are
able to accomplish?”
“Those words are usually said with a negative connotation.”
“No, I am a bit more serious. Who are we, to have attained such things in our
journeys? Is this fate, or some other force that guides us?”
“That's a line of reasoning I'd rather not touch.”
“And yet they are questions that must be asked.”
“Oh hey look! A distraction!”
I could have sword I clicked 'take', but then I couldn't find it in my inventory.
And only once I got to writing this part up and I looked at my notes did I realize
that I had stumbled across something from another quest line.
“This looks important. I mean, a solitary patch of purple mold like this? This was
meant to be found.”
“But by whom?”
“I don't know.”
“Leave it, then.”
“YOU REALLY WANT TO DO THIS?”
“Not really, no. On your way.”
Even the groups of Wizards, Captains and Assassins are thinking twice before taking
on a group 1/3-1/4 their size.
“Alright, is it all the glowy magical stuff we have on us? I mean, Demonslayer is
pretty obvious.”
“Perhaps it is our professional bearing?”
“Or they recognize true greatness?”
“Or they had orders.”
“This isn't ominous at all. This fort blocks the entire passage.”
“A moment.”
“This place fills even me with dread. It looks like there are two hidden places on
the North and South.”
“This is a barrier, pure and simple.”
“But are we the ones being defended, or defended against?”
“Maybe the signs will tell us?”
“Or maybe not. How does one pronounce that anyways?”
“Sk-AH-rr-AH-g-ATH?”
“That doesn't sound nice at all.”
“Let's not walk on the Lava if we can avoid it.”
“Another warning, I wonder?”
“Really not cheery at all.”
A figure stands here, a waxy golem carved in the shape of a human. It stares
straight ahead, seeing nothing. It doesn't move or speak.
“Are those men? Or statues? Or Golems?”
It says, in a dry, whispery voice, "None must go beyond."
“I am officially freaked out now.”
“This? This of all things unnerves you? At least Ember has a logical reaction to
the presence of a Dragon, even if she cannot control it!”
“It's not the golems, you fool! It's everything about this place. There is a
malevolence that lay beyond here that nothing else can contain save mindless
devotion to the cause.”
“And yet...!”
“And yet, we must be strong. We must succeed where others have failed.”
“Easy to say, you have the damned Demonslayer.”
“And Major Blessing.”
“North or south first?”
“South.”
“What are those tomes, I wonder?”
“Oh, that's so happy.”
“I...”
“This other book is the same.”

“Is this the only place they are remembered?”
“They are forgotten.”
“No. Not... forgotten.”
The insubstantial form of a man wearing a crown sits on the throne. An eerie heat
and power radiates from him. "I am Prince Hrothar."
“Micah's first son, who was Exiled with him. Why are you here?”
"I died long past, in the war against our prisoner."
"Once, long ago, there was a war against an army of demons and foul spirits. I led
our troops, and I fell, a gout of Haakai flame shattering my chest. I am here now,
forever trying to keep the unknowing from freeing the demon lord."
“Grah-Hoth. We know. We have been tasked by your father to finish the job that you
and your guards started.”
“None may pass. None may break the barrier.”
“You may not know this, but Grah-Hoth has been working through intermediaries to
attack Exile. A Slith Chieftan named Sss-Thss. A Human Mage named Linda. We have to
put a stop to him.”
“None may pass. None may break the barrier.”
“I don't think we'll get anything else out of this ghost. Come on.”
“I'll push it!”
“Sounds like one of the gates to the north was opened. I suspect there's another on
the north side.”
“To arms! The guards are attacking!”
“I hate being unsubtle like this, but we need all the damage we can get.”
“Is that all of them?”
“By my count, yes.”
“What set them off?”
“You're an idiot. None may enter. None may break the seal. They thought we were
trying to enter.”
“But we had the permission – no, the request of Micah to do this. What's going on?”
“Maybe there's an explanation to the north?”
“Or another Lich?”
“Nothing... Just a throne.”
“Here goes.”
“Ritual?”
“WHAT RITUAL?”
“OH, FUCK YOU MICAH!”
“Maybe it slipped his mind?”
“Or it was a test.”
“Of what?”
“Of us.”
“Stupidest test ever.”
“Ember, push the button.”
“Yay!”
“This path is a lot narrower than it looks.”

“There it is.”
“We must gird ourselves properly for battle. I doubt we will have a reprieve once
the seal is broken.”
“A moment, please.”
I love this 'dungeon'. The design of it is so raw, and it really looks like it's
out in the middle of no where. The splotches of magma are also a nice touch.
“Be on your guard. Who knows what other guardians there are.”
“Sign!”
“Erika, Patrick and Rone?”
“Take the door?”
“On second thought, let's scout around a bit first.”
“Sign!”
“There are standard warnings for the imprisonment of Demon Lords?”
“I think this is one of those 'standard' warnings, like 'Enter and Die', or items
like that.”
“Release at your own peril?”
“Ah, the host of warnings that come with binding lesser creatures also applies
here.”
“We should look around some more. There's no way it will be that easy to get in
through the front door.”
“See what I mean? That has to do something.”

“Not a trap...”
“That sounded... beneficial.”
“Back to the prison dome.”
“That looks useful.”
“Not trapped, either.”
“Might as well. They haven't killed us yet.”
“And now we're inside.”
“No way through. Have to take that portal.”
“And still no way through.”
“These walls are impressive!”
“You realize that these walls are helping to contain the most powerful demon known
to Exile, right?”
“Exactly!”
“Portal.”
“Back outside?!?!”
“And now there's a second portal in the way.”
“Where does this one lead? Maybe we're supposed to do a lap, think it's a fake out,
then skip coming back here?”
“Possible.”
“I say we investigate the doors, to be on the safe side.”
“Agreed. We can come back later.”
“Oh, I was wondering where the guards were.”
“Peregrine, keep up the Blessings!”
“Yes!”
This Lich did a number on the team, as they were too busy with the trash and the
Vampire at the time.
“What is all this?”
“There's one on each of the pillars. Do we press them?”
“It can't hurt.”
“Actually, we should check on that rune set outside as well. Just in case.”
“Do it.”
“...”
“Done.”
“Back to that portal then?”
“AARGH! This infuriates me! Why can we not breach these defences?”
“Because we're thinking too hard. See?”
“That's it?”
“A moment to examine it, please.”
This is a completely optional use of the Magic Lore skill.
“Time to crack it open then.”
“I think we did an evil thing.”
Map time!
And behold! The Master Map of Exile, up until last update!
‹
Part #35
Part #37
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #36
Part #38
›
Return to LP Index
Part 37: Update 033 – The Waterfall Warrens and the Stagnant Tunnels
Update 33 – The Waterfall Warrens and the Stagnant Tunnels
“That takes care of the poison. We can rest when we get outside.”
“That was... I expected there to be a battle! Not that he would flee!”
“Makes sense. Why fight when your enemy has you surrounded and ready, when you can
instead choose the battlefield of your own.”
“A pox on Grah-Hoth, for being a coward!”
“Calm down!”
“I agree. Emotions will not help us here. He could not have gone far, so we must
hurry to catch his trail. There is also only one way out of this place, and it is
still fortified. It may slow him down.”
“Yes. Yes!”
“Well, what are we waiting for?”
“Oh.”
“We are too late!”
“Such power. This is worse than Remote.”
“Remote was torn asunder by a horde. This was the work of one.”
“I'm not so sure about this any more.”
“Hee hee. How right you are.”
“WHERE IS YOUR MASTER?”
A tiny imp sits in the huge throne, where Micah's son used to. It idly tosses
little balls of flame form one claw to another. “I'm Frazzik.” It cackles.
“Answer the question!”
It squeals with delight. “I've been left to give you a little message. Just a
liiiitttle message! Heee!” It grins, showing many tiny, red, razor sharp teeth.
“And the nature of this message?”
“Mighty Grah-Hoth cordially invites you to visit him in his new fort!”
“And where would this fort be?”
It rolls around in the throne, twitching with excitement and amusement. “Northwest!
Beyond the lake of lava! He summons you there, for a fair fight! You better go, or
you're doomed!”
“It is your master who is doomed, Imp.”
The Imp screeches, a hideous piercing noise that's painful and unsettling at the
same time. “He's going to kill you ALL! ALL OF YOU! He will have his revenge. He
will freeze you are our plaything for years! You will all die, and die slow. Now
you know.”
“You first.”
“Was that necessary?”
“Completely.”
“Kill the interlopers! For the glory of Grah-Hoth!”
“Shit!”
“No honour amongst Demons.”
“This is annoying. And hard!”
“I'm certain that we've set some record for demon-slaying by this point.”
“These signs have changed.”
“I think I see what Rook is talking about. Usually, demons are things of terror,
death and destruction. See the damage done to this place, and Fort Remote. Yet we
are capable of killing them, and at great success.”
“So Grah-Hoths actions are one of one who wanted to see tomorrow.”
“Did those bandits just flee screaming from us?”

“Apparently. Maybe they heard about the Demons?”
“Well, they went north, so I don't think Grah-Hoth went that way.”
“We should explore around, see if we can find a trail.”
“A good idea!”
“Nothing here.”
“Maybe something there, but we can't cross the river to find out.”
“Or we could just go around. What have we here?”
“Pah!”
“And this river is larger.”
“There is a small passage through here, come on!”
“Is it just me or...?”
“It is not just you. Art seems to be concerned too.”
“This isn't a fairy tale. Someone needs to tell him that.”
“It could be the sword...”
“I hope not.”
“Poisonous marsh.”
“But I see something over there.”
“Another one?”
“Um... hello?”
“Witch! Attend me! We are looking for... * hurk *”
“Karmas! Control yourself! You can't just go around accosting people like that!”
“Well, we know where three of the batches are. We can do a good deed for her, and
maybe answer Karmas' question while we're at it.”
“We should focus on our goal! Not in helping some old witch in the hinterlands!”
“Speak that way again of those in need, and no force in this world, or the next
will stop me from changing your views.”
“You want to go around, challenging the forces arrayed against us, go right ahead!
You want to take your silly sword and run around waving it like your manhood, be my
guest!”
“But never speak of the innocent like they are playthings. Never speak of them like
they are somehow less than you, to bend to your will. I had enough of that, up
there, and I won't abide it down here.”
“So take your little vendetta and put it away! This is not the time to be the hero
of some saga!”
“We are not here for us. We are not here to slay Grah-Hoth! We are HERE TO ESCAPE
FROM THE PIT! And you will fall in line, or you will leave!”
“yes”
“Good.”
“Hey, while you were yelling at Karmas, I found another piece of mold.”
“We've covered as much of this cavern as we can. We should come back later. What
now, Art?”
“That's easy. We head back to the Castle, and talk to Micah.”

“Hey guys! It's us! Open up!”
“What?”
“Orders. There's been an upsurge in activity from the North, and we can't let
anyone pass. Not even you.”
“Oh, that's bullshit!”
“Those are orders. But you didn't hear from me that there's been a major drop in
undead activity to the east. You could probably come out via Fort Emerald.”
“The scree pits? I am very glad we defeated Drath when we did. This could have been
messy.”
“And that fort has been abandoned as well.”
“You guys are so much nicer than the people at Fort Spire.”
“Really? They wouldn't let you through?”
“Nope! Thought we were evil, or possessed or something.”
“I've heard about that. Demonic activity up past the Abyss. Orders came down a
couple days ago. You know anything about that?”
“Grah-Hoth escaped his prison, we're on the force to kill him, but have to swing by
the castle first.”
“Well, don't let me stop you!”

“Hey Micah!”
“Well?”
“WHAT RITUAL?”
“Oh. There is none.”
“what”
“It's a distraction to keep people occupied looking for a subtle way through
Skarragath when there is none. It's worked so far.”
“Sorry, your highness, but it seems like you've caused our leader to have a moment
to herself. What do you know of the region to the north-west of the Abyss?”
“Not much, I'm afraid. However, I did receive a message from Motrax. He wishes to
inform you that the artefact he was talking about when you last met him is located
in the Waterfall Warrens, and that you will need to to advance further.”
“Thank you, your highness. If I may, do you know of where Motrax speaks?”
“The warrens are between the Slith lands, and the lands of the Giants. Enter from
the north, is all I can say.”
“Thank you again.”
“Where did we leave our boat?”
“North of Almaria.”
“I'm really surprised it hasn't been stolen yet.”
“Same here.”
“I'm pretty sure we're too far south...”
“Great. Everyone who saw this coming, raise their hand.”
“Sign!”
I want to make one thing clear. If I was doing this for my own amusement, and not
for the LP, I know the optimal path through this next section. But instead, I'm
showing it off for you all, so that means I make a half-dozen trips through here.
Just watch my food counter.
“You hear that?”
“Rumbling.”
“And the current is picking up.”
“SIGN!”
“That's...”
Meet waterfalls. Officially. They are a water 'terrain' that, when you move one
tile above, they will instantly drop you to one tile below them. And you lose a bit
of food while doing so. Also, you can't go up them.
You enter the Warrens by going straight west by water from Fort Dranlon, and you
leave it in the area west of the Slith Castle where Sss-Thsss resided, or by going
east toward Spire.
I hope you all enjoy this, because to get the full map, I had to go through here
way too many times!
“We cannot go north, it seems.”
“I have no idea how this is supposed to work from a hydraulic standpoint. Water for
both sides of the waterfall come from the east.”
“You're not the one rowing against the current here!”
“Well, time to take the plunge. There's no where to go but over.”
“Art, that's a bad pun, and you should be ashamed for it.”
“Hold on to SOMETHING!”
“Urgh... dry land....”
“At least theres nothing down here to assail us while we recover and check the
boat.”
“Nothing here, either.”
“Looks like we're past the worst of it on this end.”
“And the current goes this way.”
“Brilliant observation. What next? Up and down are the opposite directions?”
“I'll up and down you, you idiot!”
“Guys? This looks familiar.”
“Worthless. And the enemy is stupid too.”
“Actually, I was more thinking that over there is Drath's lair.”

“That could be... awkward.”
“I think I prefer another waterfall over going through that dungeon again.”
“WHEEEE!”
All of these dots are Slith villages, which spawn defenders if you approach. I
don't feel like kicking a culture when they're down, so I pass them by. This time.
“Hrm this is an interesting offshoot of the Warrens.”
Note the flat 50 damage everyone took. This can kill people!
And look what I found in my inventory after the battle!
I think this is the jerkin I picked up from the Eyebeat lair, as it would be the
only armour I've picked up recently. This goes onto Duncan, as he needs the
improvement.
“A nice diversion, and a nice set of armor. Well, back to the Warrens.”
“Do we have to? My hair gets wet!”
“We're all getting wet there.”
There will now be a quick montage of interesting sights before I get to the dungeon
in this area. Because I hate the warrens.
“DRY LAND!”
“There's something back here. A small cave...”

“Smells like something died in here.”
“Um....”
“A moment.”
“Looks like some sort of shelter near the back.”
“But what slew these men and women?”
“This sign is broken.”
“Not the safest boat, but it will do the job.”
“Kill the Gremlins!”
“Just purge this entire area with fire!”
“Right!”
“Really? More basilisks?”
So don't do what I did, and wander around with the lights on. The enemy can attack
you on the boat, and you can't respond. Lights out, people!
Or this happens.
Or this, even when prepared!
The moral of this story is to savescum like a bastard in this dungeon.

“This shelter has seen better days.”
“No interest.”
“I think we missed something.”
“Nope, not better than Smite.”
“I feel like I avoided death there a few times.”
“Don't be silly!”
“No way I can figure this out now. I'll have a look at it later.”
Ring of Speed. 8 charges of the Haste Spell, not auto-haste, sorry to say.
“East or west?”
“West!”
“But the shelter is to the east!”
And we'll do that one last!”
“DAMNED GREMLINS!”
“And Eye Beasts too!”
“Of course. How silly of us to forget those.”
“And there's nothing back here anyways. Come on, let's go back.”
“Hrm?”
“I think it's safe enough for some light here.”
“What is this?”
This is what we came here for. But there's something a little further on that I
really, really want.
“How the hell did they fail to disarm that trap?”
“They did, and died for it. No one reset it afterwards.”
“Well, there should be some secret passages around here, so...”
“Fall back!”
I will never grow tired of having enemies walk into my party, take 7 attacks, and
die before they do anything.
“So, what do we have here?”
“I know them.”
“That ghost.”
“Those bodies.”
“Is there something down there?”
Everyone with SP gets +1 Magic Lore from this event. I'm not sure what the
“unbalanced” thing refers too.
And I think this is the last reference to them in the game. There may be one more,
but it won't be direct. Please save all questions until Exile 2, please.
Meet my favourite spell in the game, bar none. Shockwave is the last word in crowd
control spells, as befitting its status as a Level 7 spell. Yes, it's better than
Major Blessing. What does it do, you may wonder?
It deals damage to everyone around the caster, friend and foe alike. However, the
farther away you are, the more damage you take! Combatants adjacent to the mage
take a little damage, while those 10 squares away (the 'range' of the spell) take
massive amounts of pain!
It's also a vital spell for any solo-run. You need this to clear out rooms when
your attacks don't come fast enough to matter. I love it, and anyone who disagrees
with me that it's the best spell in the series can go over a waterfall.
“Time to get out of here. We have what Motrax wanted us to get, I think.”
“I think I know what this is, now.”
“Well, don't keep us in suspense!”
“Woo-Hoo!”
“We got the Orb!”
“What does it do?”
“With this?”
“We can fly!”
Map time!
Skarragath and the Prison.
The Waterfall Warrens, and the Stagnant Tunnels
Now, it's time for one last round of training before I push through to defeat Grah-
Hoth. Here's everyone's current stats, and please don't forget to note any Skill
Potions you want me to dump on people!
‹
Part #36
Part #38
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #37
Part #39
›
Return to LP Index
Part 38: Update 034 – Erika's Tower and the Ruined Fort
Update 034 – Erika's Tower and the Ruined Fort
Ah, the Orb of Thralni. One of the iconic artifacts in the Exile games (and yes, it
shows up in 2 and 3), using the Orb allows you to fly 6 spaces, bypassing terrain
like Lava, Pits and Water. It does not allow you to go through walls, fly indoors,
or rock piles that normally block movement.
The Orb is also an inventory item, which means you have to have a character cart it
around. It can also be dropped, and lost. Permanently.
Why yes, Exile is a game where that can happen. You can screw yourself out of vital
items required to finish the game.
And you can drown if the Orb deactivates over water. Considering that I figure each
tile equates to one mile.... yeah. You drown. Game over.
Now that little diversion is over with, lets get trained up. I bought 5 Knowledge
Brews for everyone except Art. She's still got more levels, and better gear than
most party members, and she can be used as a benchmark for everyone else.
Art raised her Edged Weapon skill to 15, and put the last point into her SP.
Strength and Dexterity are +2, and Edged Weapons were raised to maximum. I used the
last couple points to raise his Defence by one.
Rook maxed out his Bashing Skill, and raised his Strength and Dex by one each.
Duncan instead maxed out his Item Lore (at 10! I thought it went up to 20!), and
put the rest of the skill points into Strength and Dex. Next few levels will have
him improving his Pole Arm skill for the first time since forever.
Peregrine picked up a few things. First was improved HP and SP then another level
of Priest Spells, then maximizing his Int. He'll need all of these before the game
is done.
Ember also went to 20 Int, while I also raised her Luck to 5. I put the last 3
points into SP.
Now, on with the LP.
“HEY! GUESS WHAT I CAN DO NOW!”
“You found a magical artifact capable of granting limited flight, and you choose to
use it to bypass a 5 gold toll.”
“Damn Straight!”
“Forgive the poor navigation, but with the Orb, there is something I would like to
investigate. The large island over by Patrick's Tower.”
“Sure, why not?”
“Out of curiosity, why does Art possess the Orb, and not I?”
“Because she's in charge, that's why!”
“Effectively, yes.”
“But she uses it for frivolous things!”
"Look. You can prod at it to see how it works after we're done using it to
accomplish our goals. Until then, I'm not risking you breaking it."
“I'm insulted!”
“Besides, travelling isn't your skill set in this party. It's mapping and support
spells.”
“I could hold it!”
“We'd all drown!”

“Peregrine, think of it this way. You have the Orb of Sights, so what happens if,
in the heat of the moment, you try to use one, and get the wrong one? Do you want
to be caught against the ceiling inside a dungeon, or unable to allow us to fly to
safety?”
“When you put it that way... Fine. Art can have it.”
“I will never grow tired of that!”
“Ugh. Maybe we shouldn't have come here?”
“Wow. This is almost a threat.”
Now, you may think that's the end of it, but this is actually a distraction. Once
the fight is over, you have to re-trigger the same event.
“Oh my.”
The Runed Halberd, found here, and only accessible via the Orb. At 19/+4, it is an
incremental improvement over the Flame Halberd that Duncan has been carting around
for a long time. He switches out.
“You know what we need to do now?”
“I'm going to regret asking – but what?”
“HEY! YOU GONNA STOP US FROM CROSSING?”
“You! I'm going to tell Micah!”
“BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! Good show!”

“So, why are we going back this way again?”
“You guys didn't see the tower on the other side of the river?”
“Uh... no?”
“Oh. That tower.”
“Wow, this place is just humming with magic!”
“A moment.”
“Annoying.”
“And the entrance is on the south side. Of course.”
“Why do you say that? There's no correlation between the location of the entrance,
and... well... anything!”
“No, I agree. It's only natural.”
“Not you too!”
“Two.”
“Perhaps a womanly mystery?”
* snrk *
“I still don't know if this is the real Erika, or some imposter.”
“I mean, this barrier is weak!”

“Perhaps we can see if this Erika has any other petitioners first?”
“I don't think anyone is here.”
“Food!”
“Healing!”
Erika is an ass. She really is.
“SIGN!”
“Hello...?”
A small, warty goblin in a finely cut leather jerkin sits in the left throne. "I am
Glogroth von Bloover." His voice is raspy, high-pitched, and irritating. "I watch
the doors."
“And?”
"The door to my left is very unsafe. I don't know anything about the other door.
Ask my partner.
"She knows what is beyond both doors."
“And you are?”
A petite goblin female, hideous beyond comprehension, eyes you from the throne.
"Groovilla dar Throgpull." She flutters her eyelashes at you. They are two inches
long, and greenish gray. "I tell people about the doors, and keep my mate company."
“And what do you have to say about them?”
"I think you should know the door to my right is perfectly safe. Well, not
perfectly, but far preferable to the other door."
“And what of your... mate?” He swallows some bile.
"He's the one who lies. I just love him for it! It's so precious!"
“Logically, actually, you are the liar.”
“You're a fool.”
“What?”
“Look down both doors.”
Did I ever mention how you can scroll around while in 'Look' mode to see things
farther away? Well, here it is in action!
“But that makes no sense!”
“Pierce them both to get the prize.”
“Oh, you can't mean...!”
“And that is how you solve riddles like that.”
“By killing everyone in your way? I can get behind that.”
“Could be worse.”
“At least there's no demon at the end of the tunnel.”
The first two tiles are real lava. The rest are fake-lava, and do not injure you.
“That wasn't so bad.”
“You had to curse us, didn't you?”
“Nope, not working.”
“At least we can see close enough for the secret passages.”
“HOLY SHIT!”
5 Luck. Oh how I love that investment in skill points!
And the Ur-Basilisk! Because instant death wasn't bad enough!
“I wish that map had taken hold.”
“So do I.”
“Finally!”
“SIGN!”
“You know what? This is starting to annoy me. And this will probably be a harder
test.”
“Are you sure?”
I forgot to take a screenshot, but at the south-east corner of the room, there is a
hallway of statues with an event at the end.
“Let me!”
“That was rather easy.”
“Take that back.”
“Please so.”
Meet the golems. They get their own unique graphic in later games, but for now, all
you need to know is that they have about 500 HP, and hit like a truck when they
hit. But under a Triple Major Blessing, our melee fighters wear them down.
“I think this was the 'Clunk'.”

“SIGN!”
“Huh.”
“Anyone else expecting them to come alive and attack us?”
“Hi! I'm....”
“SHUT UP YOU STUPID MUSHROOMS!”
“Hey!”
“You especially!”
“Oh be quiet yourself, you petulant child! We're here to see Erika Redmark!”
“I am she!”
“Really? Because all I'm seeing is a flowered little girl sitting where a woman
should be!”
“Says the bitch who released Grah-Hoth!”
“Funny, I don't remember you saying anything bad about it. But then again, you'd
have to be actually powerful to do anything while hiding behind that river and
those silly little tests.”
“You're nothing to speak of, wielding a stolen sword, and a...
“...”
“Get the fuck out and don't come back until you're of use to me.”
“WHAT DID YOU DO?”
“FALLING!”
“AAAAAH!”
“This is a suspicious disregard for gravity.”

“WHY, in the name of all that's divine, did you antagonize that woman?!?!?”
“She started it!”
“No! Not this!”
“Calm down! Both of you!”
“Rook's right!”
“Perhaps there was some magic involved? We have long known that Art has quite the
violent streak to her. A subtle magic to make all in the audience speak their
mind?”
“Whatever. Let's go.”
“We should return this to the witch. At least something good will come of this.”
“Witch? Are you still around?”
“Before any of you say a word, that was a recorded message. Erika was never here,
and she probably set this up long ago.”
“Seems right. She was way too polite.”
“I concur. When we return, Art, you shall apologize for your behavior.”
“Whatever. Let's go north, and see about scouting out this Fort of Grah-Hoth's.”
“Getting warmer.”
“That's a bad joke. Take it back.”
“Never!”
“Perhaps we can put that aside for now? We are beset!”

And meet the random encounters in this portion of Exile. Demons and undead. The
latter of which aren't a big threat, but serve as meat shields for the rest.
“That was... not what I was expecting.”
“Anyways, there's something over there by the lava.”
“Don't touch!”
“... And they ran away from us. Weird.”
Yes, that can happen.
“And these sapphires would be useful to us if I didn't have the Orb of Sights.”
“Did anyone hear that?”
“Hear what?”
“Like a dragon!”
“Don't be silly!”
“And yet this... Oh my. This isn't good at all.”
“What happened here? Demons?”
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”
“Well, that would wake the dead.”
“Light's out.”
“Mapping.”
“No one's alive.”
“Except some swamp creatures that have moved in.”
“And an altar that reeks of evil.”
“I'm pretty sure there used to be a secret passage leading back here, but the
damage is too extensive.”
“You know what, we need light.”
“A Seer's Ball. And it's intact. I may be able to reverse-scry using this.”
“You sure?”
“Oh, it's an easy thing. In fact, the connection is still intact!”
“Oh dear.”
“RUN!”
“Not here!”
“I hope this is far enough away.”
“Was that seriously the Archmagus of the Empire himself?”
“YES!”
“I agree. He was too powerful!”
“Can this wait until after we deal with the local wildlife?”
Nothing here, save that I fired off Shockwave for the first time in this LP. You
can see mention of a Gazer in the log. That's an improved Eye Beast. Marginally a
threat to the party at this point.
“SIGN!”
“Wow, they really do put their sign on everything, don't they?”
There is a ghost here, barely visible in the shadows of the room. "Too much light.
Too much heat much heat.”
"I couldn't hide. It caught me caught. It had its its revenge." Its voice is a
barely perceptible whisper.
"The serpent came for us all. So strong strong so strong. It brought flames."
"So hot. But so fast. I watched myself burn burn pain burning burn." The ghost's
pathetic whisper fades in and out.
“No one deserves that.”
I'm winding up for the big push to kill Grah-Hoth next update, so I'm skimping out
on maps for now. There's no Map to Erika's Tower, and I want to complete the map to
this section of Exile before I post it. For the Ruined Empire fort, it's easy – The
Scrying Crystal is to the West, the Spirit is in the NE corner. Maps later.
‹
Part #37
Part #39
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #38
Part #40
›
Return to LP Index
Part 39: Update 035 – The Death of Grah-Hoth
Update 035 – The Death of Grah-Hoth
“Come on let's go. We don't need to be in this cairn any longer than we have to.”
“A 'Cairn' is a stone monument, Art. And while you are correct in that they are
used as funerary markers, they also act as navigational aids. I recall that certain
tribes in the desolate cold wastelands use specialized cairns called Inuksuks.
“Way too much information there.”
“And completely irrelevant.”
“But she used the wrong word! Now, if she had called it something like a... charnel
crypt, I wouldn't have had that issue!”
“What about a 'barrow'?”
“Nah, those are artificial hills.”
“And they were burned by Dragon Fire. That's not a pyre.”
“All this because I misspoke?”
“We are simply determining the best word to use. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
“And it's fun!”
“A Mausoleum is a place of respect, though....”
“How about we just call it a pit and be done with it. I mean, it's not like there
was anything left to bury properly.”
“I feel bad about that though.”
“And how many people have we beaten up to get this far? You know, some of them
probably died, besides our best intentions. Did we inter them?”
“That's enough.”
“I wasn't aware that we had chosen to wander this far into the swamps.”
“Whatever is down there, I don't want to know.”
“But it wants to know us!”
“And they fled from us. Is this going to be a thing?”
“I can smell sulphur from the north.”
“Then let's explore the dank, poisonous marsh some more!”

“SIGN!”
“Poor Sign.”
“Let's go back, and make sure there's no surprises waiting for us.”
“This...?”
“I feel powerful magics coming from this place.”
“A moment to map it out.”
“It looks like there's a fortification along the passage there. Perhaps this is a
secret place?”
“This place... it's old.”
“I... how is that possible? Those barriers!”
“Vahnatai? We've heard that before...”
“Yes, but they are irrelevant.”
“Indeed. They are a mystery for another day.”
“Let's go.”
“...”
“Die!”
“Ooooh!”
Meet the Mung Demon. Which, oddly enough, isn't flagged as a Demon, which means
Demonslayer doesnt' trigger. They also love to drain SP from people. For that, I
hate them.
“Oh my...”
“Is there even a safe passage across?”
“I should hope so.”
This is just the prelude.... For around this corner is...!
A fixed battle where you start slowed and Cursed! But Major Blessing carries the
day! Hooray!
“Was that supposed to be serious? I'm not really sure any more...”
“We do seem to be far more effective than we should be.”
“We get to kill things!”
“I hate to shatter the victory celebration, but there's a whole lot a magma ahead
of us.”
“SIGNS!”
“So, they'll put up a fence? That's... awfully polite of them.”

“I think they mean to impale their victims on those – once they have them.”
Times like this, I wish the graphics could reflect the description.
“No path this way.”
“Nor this way.”
“Time to pull out the Orb then.”
“So we go hopping from same island to safe harbour across this lava field?”
“So it seems.”
[41]
“There's something to the North there...”
“No clue.”
“And there's something over here too...”
“Non magical, and thus worthless.”
“Last jump.”
“That... doesn't look like much.”
“Last chance to back out.”
“Nope.”
“Hah!”
“No sense in leaving things unfinished.”
“Let's go!”
“...”
“For our fathers.”
Now, here's the thing. You can get this far without the Orb. You can take a very
long way around the north side of Exile to get here, and then walk across the lava.
But here, at the last, you absolutely need the Orb to get across this last gap.
There's no other way.
“Hold on, this is starting to get weird.”
“What do you mean?”
“Something about this doesn't make sense.”
“Kinda late to talk about that.”
“No, no. Hear me out.”
“Remember that demon to the north of the Shattered Fort? The one who gave us
directions?”
“Yes?”
“The one who gave us directions, and that I wrote down?”
“Yes! So, how did that demon know that were were going to come here? It's not like
we had released Grah-Hoth yet.”
“So it knew about this place before hand?”
“But wasn't this place raised by Grah-Hoth after we released him?”
“No, I'm pretty sure it was mentioned that he had taken up residence here, not
raised it with his mighty magics whole-cloth.”
“But...”
“It doesn't matter. Duncan, the directions?”
“Start here.”
“Wow! Not burning at all!”
Good luck finding this path without burning through a lot of healing!
“Well, here we are.”
“While I appreciate that Grah-Hoth set out guards, I think he overestimates his
capacity for battle.”
“Even I'm not dumb enough to touch this.”
“There's a corpse in the corner here.”
“Let's move on.”
“Seriously? They really expect us to take a long refreshing drink of sludge?”
“Moving on...”
“So this is what the Imp meant by when he said that we would be frozen for all
eternity.”
“Is there nothing we can do for these poor souls?”
“No. Not with the power at our disposal.”
“Oh no.”
“And Grah-Hoth is on the other side. There's no where else left for him to hide.”
“We seriously have to sip of that filth?”
“Ugh.”
“It's not much, but that ring of poison resistance is sure helping.”
“Now for the other side.”
“Everyone ready?”
“Yes.”
[73]
Watch the VIDEO!
What you're seeing is my third of four attempts. The first was just a practice run.
No problems there. The second run, I forgot to set up before hand, and wound up
Peregrine and Rook Dusted before I could get a chance to act.
You'll see why I had to make a fourth run shortly.
“I.... Legendary....”
“We did it.”
“WE DID IT!”
“I SLEW GRAH-HOTH!”
“Calm down! Calm down!”
“She's right. We may have destroyed the beast, but we must still leave this place
with our lives.”
“ooh!”
“MINE!”
And then I had to go back and fight Grah-Hoth again.
“Time to go.”
The large map, from Erika's Tower north.
The Mysterious Vahnatai Cave
The Fortress of Grah-Hoth
‹
Part #38
Part #40
›
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by berryjon
‹
Part #39
Part #41
›
Return to LP Index
Part 40: Update 036 – Aranea Lair and the Strange Cave
Update 036 – Aranea Lair and the Strange Cave
“I'm surprised we haven't encountered any Demons on out way out.”

“They fear me.”
“Don't let it get to your head. It was a group effort. We were all busy keeping the
other demons back.”
“And for that, you have my thanks. Our duel was one for the ages.”
“blowhard”
“I forgive you.”
“Rook?”
“Yes?”
“I think we should make a quick stop by Motrax.”
“Agreed.”
“I wonder if these guys will run too?”
“Yes.”
“I have a request.”
“Oh?”
“I would like to stop back by that cave with the barriers in it. I think I can
crack open the first layer, and we can get a look at the body there.”
“Why? That would only delay our Triumph.”
“We can camp out there.”
“Might as well.”
“Have at it.”
“This may take some time. Please, settle in and rest.”
“Alright!”
“Hah! Success!”
Actually, not. You see, I spent WAY too much time trying to break down this
barrier, trying to find the one non-invincible barrier to knock down and get to the
event you trigger by looking at the body.
Eventually, I just gave up and cheated the item into my inventory. However, there
is supposed to be a triggered message from looking at the body that goes something
like this:
You see a dessicated body here, of a species not known to you. Time has not been
gentle to it, though the blade is carried is still in perfect condition. Though it
is like no place you've seen before.
“What the...?”
“I've never seen a weapon quite like it.”
“Is this one of the Vhanatai? I mean, the body is dessicated, but it seems to match
the spirit we found, and those bodies.”
“I think so. But what would it be doing here, between these barriers?”
“Perhaps it got trapped?”
“But what would it have been doing outside in the first place?”
“A noble rear guard, who sacrificed himself”

“herself.”
“What?”
“You said 'he'. I said 'she'.”
“There's no way to tell, you know.”
“Does that species even have only two genders?”
“Exactly!”
“All of which belies the point; that this individual was still trapped here,
between these two layers of barriers. Peregrine, can you reveal the path beyond?”
“No.”
“Oddly humble of you.”
“No, he's right. This place is... connected to the surrounds in a way I can't even
describe. That there was was a weak point at all in this outer layer just shows how
unimaginably old this place really is.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, the Alien Blade. A 9/+5 One Handed Edged
Weapon that is Always Poisoned. It is the most powerful Blade in the game, tied
with the Ravage Knife for direct damage, but has the Poison on top of that.
In the thread, I had mentioned what Art's end-game equipment was planned to be.
Namely, the Heartfinder and the Alien Blade. Well, because I forgot about the
Ravage Knife, and now Art has both! She's all set for weapons until the end of the
game.
And while I was cheating, I decided to ID everything in my inventory. Well, I came

across this...
This is an accident, a glitch in the system when using the cheater when Identifying
items. What is should be is this...
“Hey, everyone? You remember that Iron Mace we found south of Grah-Hoth's fort, the
one I thought was just plain normal?”
“Yes?”
“Well, it's badly cursed.”
“Get rid of it then.”
“I'll dump it out in the swamp when we leave, where it should sink and no one will
ever find it.”
“Hey! BITCH! GUESS WHAT!”
“SHUT UP YOU PARAMECIUM BRAIN!”
“JEALOUS?”
“DON'T TAUNT THE ARCHMAGE!”
“I think she teleported us onto an eroded sand-bar on the river to the east of her
tower.”
“But solid ground seems to be within range of the Orb, so we are not stuck
anywhere.”
“But what's this?”

“Glowing Nettles?”
“Of limited use, I must admit.”
“I think Peregrine's right. We just aren't using my Alchemical skills enough to

make a difference here.”
“Let's just use the Orb to get out of here.”
“Alright, we get in, see if Micah believes us, then we get back to our previous
goal. Hopefully without interference this time.”
“We shall be sung of as heroes the likes of which shall enter into legend for our
glorious deeds!”
“... right. Um, Art, can you show me how to do that curtsy thing?”
“What? Why now? I think Micah has already forgiven you if you offended him by not
doing that.”
“Well, I mean, in the fairy tales, it just seemed like what was supposed to
happen.”
“You do realize that motion is meant for women in long dresses, right? Not for what
we're wearing.”
“Oh.”
“You should do it anyways. It is good culture.”
“Oh, don't you start.”
“Let's get this over with.”
“Well?”
“We're leaving.”
“Why are we going to visit Motrax?”
“Just a quick visit to ask him something.”
“I'll be waiting outside!”
“At least she's not freaking out this time.
“Oh, I am. It's just that I'm going to wait until you're gone to run around
screaming.”
“What brings you here, after your victory?”
“Trade proposal.”
“Oh?”
“Scrioth for Demonslayer.”
“WHAT? Traitors!”
“And that's why.”
“I see. Yes, the blade does seem to have that property about it. Agreed.”
“Why would you do this to me?”
“A simple switch. Now the blade will not affect his mind.”
“What? What are you speaking about! Speak! I command you!”
“YOU COMMAND NOTHING, MORTAL!”
“It is madness that would drive a man to fight Demons such as you have. You were
right to bring it to me as I can isolate the blade from others, and perhaps undo
that portion of the enchantment.”
“And consider yourself lucky, Karmas. I could have just kept Demonslayer to protect
you from it. Scrioth is a gift from me to you to show that I am willing to be fair
and just when doing these things.”
“Might Motrax, I do have a question for you.”
“Oh?”
“The Vhanatai. Do you know of them?”
“Ah. Them. They are long gone from these caves. I do not know if any of them still
live, deeper underground. But I doubt it, for I would have sensed the working of
their magics by now.”
“Thank you.”
“Not a problem. Actually, I recently received a request. And I also have one for
you.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, you see, from me. I have come across a map of the region between the two
rivers to the west, past the Spiders and before the Giants. However, they
contradict what I already have. So I would like to commission you to survey the
area your selves in order to determine which information I have is correct.”
“I don't see why not. We haven't been there yet.”
“Thank you. You'll forgive me if I don't offer you either of the maps I have, as I
don't want to influence you unduly.”
“And the other thing?”
“Oh, yes. I received a message from a very irate Erika Redmark. She wants to see
you. Immediately.”
“The bitch can sit and swivel for all I care!”
“Well said! But this is not something you want to deny. You can do your survey of
the region, and take the map to Erika, who will forward it to me. You will have to
pass through Giant territory, then through the Abyss to reach her Tower.”
“Been there, done that.”
“Now go back.”
“Ugh.”
“At least we don't have to deal with the GIFTS.”
“YAY!”
“SIGN!”
“NOOOOOOOOOO!”
“NOOOOOOOOOO!”
“RUN AWAY!”
“Really? The Aranea are fleeing us?”
“That's because we're awesome!”
“If that's what you believe.”
“This... this is not good.”
“Let's go somewhere else.”
“Agreed.”
“You know, that rubble to the North looked mighty regular.”
“Probably because it is.”
“And that's obviously not a warrior, as they fled from us.”
“Let's continue that survey then. We should go north along the water first.”
“Like here.”
“Hey, you know I'm the one who has this experience, right?”
“I am fully capable of learning.”

“Hah!”
“Don't make me come over there!”
“Yes, mother.”
“I will never grow tired of that.”
“Welcome, travellers.”
No need to buy that spell in this game. But for someone less discerning than I, I
strongly suggest dropping the 2 grand for it.
“Let us keep exploring.”
“How you feeling Karmas?”
“I am humbled to say that you are right. That I was not acting properly whilst in
possession of that blade. I... am sorry.”
“Forgiven and forgotten.”
“ooh!”
“We can always come back later.”
“The webs are more intense here.”
“Oh, this is a bad idea.”
“BURN EVERYTHING!
“A moment...”
“Why is this cave back here?”
“And it is full of spiders. Extermination?”
“EX-TER-MIN-ATE!”
“Why would you pronounce it like that?”
“Because my mom and I used to play with spice shakers that would fall on and crush
their enemies while saying that!”
“You must have had a weird childhood.”
“Lights time.”
“This isn't so bad.”
“WAIT! I see a shiny!”
“WHAT.”
“What?”
“You remember that cave with the restorative crystals?”
“Yes, and you recovered all the pieces to fix it.”
“Well, here's another missing piece.”
“what”
Yes, there are six Quartz Crystals. You only need five to complete that quest.
And no, returning to the cave does nothing. This item will stay in my inventory for
the rest of the game, a reminder that Exile did something nice for me, and allows
players an extra opportunity to gather all the requirements for this quest.
“There's also a large chamber in the middle. We should check it out.”
“Through a maze of hidden passages, all alike.”
“Ever notice how all these things are the same length?”
“Nope.”
“This isn't ominous at all.”

Meet the Spider Lord, another optional super-boss in the same vein as the Pit
Drake. Except this one has more spell casting abilities than the Drake, and a bit
less health.
And it can majorly poison a PC on a single hit. But in the end, it dies.
“This is a Necklace of Lords! Able to grant great ability to recuperate from injury
and fatigue!”
“Yoink!”
“And we can sell this for cash.”
“MINE!”
“Well, it's time to go through the Giant's lands.”
“How polite.”
“SIGNS!”
“We should stick to the walls to avoid unnecessary encounters.”
“Oh, that's not going to bode well for us.”
“We can go around. Or go over the lake. I would like to try the latter.”
Yes, we just bypassed an encounter. Woo!

“Leave it.”
“I wonder what it was we bypassed though?”
“Let's go. No need to kill everyone.”
“I think we're too far north.”
“Maybe the SIGN will lead us in the right direction?”
“Pyrog?”
“I don't recall that name.”
“A moment to map the locale.”
“That's not an ominous layout at all.”
“Your sarcasm is scathing.”
“Well, someone named 'Pyrog', like, as in fire, can't be all bad!”
“The Signs will support me here!”
“Um...”
“I think we should be going.”
“Why are we stopping? We're still too close!”
“That.”
“I... don't know... anything.”
“This edifice is beyond even the Empire.”
“It is.. impressive.”
“A chasm? I remember reading in the destroyed Empire Fort to the west that they
were glad that Giants couldn't cross a chasm. Is this the one?”
“Wow, we just barely made it.”
“Why are we back here anyways?”
“For that cave.”
“Obviously artificial.”
“SIGN!”
“Yes, but from whom?”
“It makes no difference. There's the portal.”
“And strangely un-assailed. Perhaps the locals have moved on?”
“Really?”
“Even I'm not that foolish!”
“Take the hidden one!”

“ATTACK!”
“FIGHT!”
Our first invisible enemy! That's right, the Black Shade has no icon on the map,
and you can't see it! So your best bet is to wander around to try and find the
damned thing, or spam AOE effects, and see where the damage happens.
This is not the first, nor the last time we will encounter this type of enemy.
“By the map, the south is a dead end. We should go west.”
“East.”
“Oh, yes, right.”
“Being attacked by an invisible enemy sure spooked you, didn't it?”
“Intruders!”
“Fight!”
“Support me!”
“The meal is still warm.”
“Who would sleep back here?”
“The staff.”
“But...”
“Why give a real bed to someone who doesn't have any power?”
For some reason, I just find this lonely bed to be very sad.
“I wonder what this does?”

A small man sits behind the desk, trembling.
“Hello, I'm Art. What's your name?”
"Oh, wouldn't you like to know, pitiful exiles!"
“Exiles? Really? How rude!”
"Yes. Exiles! Running around here like worms with your tiny magicks and your
precious Scimitar. Why don't you just kill me! I'm not going to tell you a thing."
“And what makes you think we're with Scimitar?”
"You tell them that this base will be replaced by two, then four! For every one of
you down there, there are a hundred above! You have no chance. You won't even make
a dent." He smirks, then backs away. "And I won't tell you where the treasure is."
“A treasure? Now that's interesting. Tell me more.”
He looks at you slyly. "Yes. There is a treasure. Why don't you go looking for it?
Just leave me here. You get the treasure and I live. That's a fair deal." He
snivels slightly.
She produces the Royal Seal, then puts it away. “I'll let you live, so you can
explain your failures in person.”
“Was the use of the Seal really necessary?”
“Probably not, but the authority made me feel good about myself.”
“Peregrine?”
“On it.”
“Let's see what we have here. Bad potions, minimal payroll, what's in the crate
here?”
“oooh! I get it!”
“Get what? The back has all the Draconian imagery, the front side, based on the way
its rolled, is completely empty! I mean, sure, it's reflective, and I appreciate
the technical work that went into that, but there's nothing here to get!”
“I feel very sorry for you.”
“Maybe you can explain it to him later. For now, we should get out of here. I think
we need to go to that pool.”
“Your aptitude for guessing portal locations is certainly intriguing. Or just plain
logical.”
“I think we've delayed meeting with Erika enough. Let's go.”
Map time! I'm sorry, but I glitched out on the over-world maps, and I'll try to get
them up for the next update.
‹
Part #39
Part #41
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #40
Part #42
›
Return to LP Index
Part 41: Update 037 – Bargha and the Gremlin Cave
Update 037 – Bargha and the Gremlin Cave
“Look, I'm telling you that this is a sign of something more serious than what
you're thinking!”
“We are not exactly in a position to make rational observations here, Duncan.”
“I'm sorry, but I must agree with Duncan. The preponderance of Empire encounters we
have had here in Exile seems to me to be something to worry about.”
“Three! One of which was a pile of dead bodies in a place no one would ever look!”
“And two reconnaissance outposts. One of which was destroyed by what may have been
a Dragon, and the other just gutted by us.”
“Where are we going now?”
“West, back toward the Abyss. I suppose Art will lead us eventually back to our
meeting with Erika, but I don't know how long she intends to delay it.”
“Exactly! And subtlety isn't exactly the Empire's strong suit, so if they were down
here, they would be here in force, with armies, not scout troops!”
“Have you forgotten what we saw in the crystal ball in the Fort killed by the
Dragon? You know, a certain Archmage who happens to be the second-in-command of the
Empire?”
“Exactly!”
“What a pretty lake.”
“You all just don't get it.”
“I get it alright. But instead of thinking of them as some form of spies for the
Empire, they seem more like jailers than anything else. Watching over the inmates,
reporting back if there's the threat of a breakout, or something like that.”
“Your logic ignores the standard operating procedure of Imperial Army, Art.”
“Oh, shut up.”
“Mere gaolers would not report to Garzahd.”
“You know, I keep pronouncing that as 'Garzahad' for some reason.”
“It's a legitimate thing given ones accenting on certain shortened syllables.”
“SIGNS!”
“We should read this from the west to the east, I think.”
“Interesting.”
“That almost has proper grammar.”
“You know what? Let's swing by north first, see if there's anything else up there.”
“You can't delay forever.”
“Watch me.”
“A castle full of Giants.”
“I have no interest in that.”
“Not me, either.”

“Fine, we'll go back south.”
“There appears to be a town behind that wall, blocking off the entire tunnel.”
“Hello?”
“A moment, please.”
“This place is a fortress.”
“Two layers of solid walls like that? Yes, yes it is.”
“Over here!”
“Oh, hello.”
A young priest with ratty robes and dark skin runs around, looking for wounded. He
bows quickly. "I am called Cabanero."
“I'm Duncan, we're the first EEC. You in charge of the gate?”
“No, I patrol the walls, and heal those who need it. There's more havoc here than I
could ever help with, but I have to keep trying. It is, after all, the fate I
chose."
“Brave man, to choose this. What was it, if you don't mind me asking?”
"I shouted and shouted for the poor and downtrodden on the surface. Then, the
Empire tired of hearing the truth and threw me down here. I did the same thing
around the voles, but they got sick of me too, so they sent me into the Abyss. And
I came here."
"It's miserable and dangerous, but I can fight for good here, and nobody tries to
shut me up."
“So, who do we talk to to get in?”
“You don't. You've convinced me you're not spies for the Giants, they're not so
concerned with other people. There's a passage in the north wall you can squeeze
through. That that to get in.”
“I spotted this on the map.”
“And if we weren't distracted by the priest, we would have come over here first, I
know.”
“No need to be sarcastic about it.”
“Yes there is!”
“Quiet you!”
“A sally port. How useful.”
“Welcome to scenic... whatever this town is.”
“Bargha, vole. And don't you forget it.”
“Thanks!”
“Let's just stick together for now. I don't want people to think too badly of us.”
“I will never cease to be amazed by that fortification. It would take an army to

break through it.”
“Or spies to sneak through that passage.”
“Which we are not!”
“SIGN!”
“Sometimes, I think you do that to deliberately distract people.”
“Do I look that smart?”
“That's a trick question and we both know it.”
“Oh, pardon us.”
This damned Archer. Stayed in this hallway forever! Well, at least several hundred
turns, blocking me from accessing the stores here. It was frustrating enough that I
went to shoot up some Sectoids for a while before coming back.
Healing.
Archery.
Food. However, this guy does have something interesting to say when you talk to him
about his job:
He sighs. "You may purchase food from my meager, meager wares. I once had much
better. The Abyss produced some fine victuals. Then, alas, our enemies came."
“Enemies? You mean the Giants?”
He looks at you with mild hostility. "Yes. You voles probably have never heard of
the giants, but they're here, killing us, and you don't lift a finger to help. You
cast us out, and watch us die." He says all this in a strangely flat voice. "The
Abyss used to be a good place. Now all that is gone."
“There isn't a secret passage here. Let's try from around the south.”
Identification
“Hello!”
A huge, muscular man moves nimbly among the kegs and boiling pots clustered behind
the bar. Great purpose and determination shows in his eyes. "Greetings, outsiders.
I am Calder!"
“What do you do here?”
"I cook and brew for this whole god-forsaken outpost! The few travellers we get,
and the many fighters we support, they come here for my fresh stew. For you, two
gold a bowl. And we have an empty room with clean bed free. Five gold."
“Hey wait! I remember! You're the guy who wanted to talk to Art about her
scimitar!”
You barely get the word out of your mouth before he swings close to you. "Quiet!"
he hisses. "There are those all around who will kill you if they hear you say that
word. We've been watching you. You have potential to do us all much good. There is
a stairway hidden behind this inn. Go down it. The password is 'Phaedrus.'"
“Gotcha!”
“Ember, you are either the best spy, or the worst one. I can't tell the
difference.”
“Would not a good spy be able to deflect suspicion like she has?”
“That first presumes that she's an intelligence operative in the first place. She
could just be playing the part.”
“You know I'm standing right here, right?”

“And that's why I'm standing back here.”
“Huh.”
“Is it just me, or does this place have too many secret passages in it?”
“Let us go downstairs. No sense in worrying over such things.”
“This is quite elaborate.”
“Huh, the pool on the surface has no corresponding body of water at this depth.”
“That is what you take from my mapping skill?”
“Still, this is a lot of supplies.”
A pale man sits at this table, calmly picking at a bowl of cold stew. He looks at
you disinterestedly.
“I'm Duncan. And you are?”
"Cleese."
“So, um, what'cha doing down here?”
"Just sitting around."
“Phaedrus.”
"Ah, yes. I've been told of you. You are being given a chance to join the Scimitar,
secret defender of the people of Exile against the monsters who put us here. All
you have to do to join our band of rebels is complete a simple little mission."
“Really?”
“What she said. This mission of yours? What can it do to match what we've already
done?”
"We have found out that, in the southwest corner of the Cave of Spirits, to the
south of here, the surface worlders have a secret base, from which the watch us,
and report back through a crystal sphere. It should be an easy thing for you guys.”
“And what does this sphere do?”
“It is a large orb, which enables then to communicate with those above. Your job is
to attack their fort, and destroy the orb. This will severely damage their
communications with the surface world. When you have done so, come back, and use
the password again."
"Oh! And watch out for the gremlins."
“Gremlins? Vile creatures.”
"The cave you are looking for will have lots of gremlins in it. Be careful about
them - they'll strip you of food in an instant!"
“We know.”
“And what if we choose not to? Or lie about it?”
"We have our seers and masters of scrying, and we know you have not completed your
mission. Don't come back until you have."
“Well, that was annoying of them, imposing on us like that.”
“And yet these people may be able to help us. If they are tracking Empire movements
here in Exile, then perhaps they know where they come in.”
“And thus, where to get out.”
“Hello there!”
You see a shy, eerily pale little girl.
“Hey! I'm Art! What's your name?”
She says "Molly" in a voice you can barely hear.
“Molly. That's a nice name. Hey, what are you doing here?”
"I'm scared."
“Oh, honey, of what?”
She shies away from you. "Giants thwow fings. Woud. Scares me." It is clear you
scare her too.
This game can get really depressing sometimes.
“Boring.”
“Why are these bodies not buried properly?”
“Let's find somewhere else to be.”
Searching the bodies reveals two things. The first is 71 gold on one of them, and
another gives Major poison to everyone in the party, which Art cures right up.
“Odd.”
“Or perhaps they are too busy with important matters to attend to such things.”
“Hey!” A man with puffy brown hair and a harried expression wanders around
mumbling. He wears nice clothes and some sort of badge of office.
“Duncan, First EEC. And you are?”
"I'm Maher. Mayor Maher. Welcome to Bargha. I know you're voles, but we need all
the help we can get."
“What do you mean by help?”
"Well, I mainly organize and provide tactics for the soldiers here. Bargha is the
last bastion against the giants."
“We've encountered a few of them ourselves, those Giants to the east.”
"Yes. Stupid, vile creatures. They attacked us because it was something to do, and
now they refuse to stop. We keep looking to you people for help, and you ignore
us!"
“You asked for help?”
"We've sent messengers to King Micah again and again, telling him of the horrors.
He hasn't sent a person to help. Not one sword. Not one mage. What I wouldn't give
for a group of dedicated adventurers."
“Well, in case the news didn't reach you, Micah's had his own problems. The Sliths
were pressing in from the North, and they were backed by Demons led by Grah-Hoth.
Only after Sss-Thss and Grah-Hoth were killed was Micah able to free up someone to
help you.”
“Us.”
He grins, not entirely pleasantly. "I'm afraid I don't have any reward to offer
you. But I can tell you the giant fort is to the east, and they own great wealth.
Oh, and there is a secret passage out in the northeast corner of town. You can use
that to get out and get to the giants more quickly."
“Thank you sir, and we'll put that on our list of things to do.”
Training
“Hello!”
An ancient, heavily wrinkled man peers at you through a barred window. His armor
hangs off him loosely. “I am Bela."
Lugosi, not Swann, thankfully
“What's a man like you doing here?”
He emits a rattling cough. "Ach." He spits on the floor. "I'm too old to defend the
wall, so I watch the gate. If you want to enter the city or the outer world, let me
know."
“In that case, could you please let us out?”
"Yeah, I hear ya." He turns a heavy wheel, and the portcullis at the entrance
opens.
“Time to leave.”
“SIGN!”
“Anyone else get the feeling that town was supposed to be approached from the West,
not the East?”
“That's silly.”
“What's that?”
“You know, for a group whose membership claims that they need to protect their
identity, they're pretty open about these sorts of things.”
“They act like an insurgency.”
“Is it contractual to live in the Abyss that you must hate every other person out
there?
“So, where do you guys think this cave of spirits is?”
“Probably scree cavern where we found Drath's lair? I know we didn't really poke
around too much in there.”
“That's a long walk.”
“I hate long walks.”
“Let's see if this is the right cave.”
“I would say so.”
“And make that a third empire outpost. This is no coincidence.”

“Let me check for life signs.”
“And it's in use. There are also a few Gremlins, but they should be easy enough to
exterminate.”
“A portal. The cinches it.”
“There's also no obvious way into this cave on the west side. I think we'll have to
teleport in somehow.”
“And that one is placed weirdly.”
“Ah, there we go.”
“You know, one day stepping into one of these things will be the wrong thing to do.
WHEEE!”
“SIGNS!”
“Hold on.”
“What is that other seal doing here? If this was an official Imperial Outpost, then
only the seal of the Empire would be here. That other one means that a regional
lord is sponsoring this place.”
“Perhaps the Empire thinks to make a Duchy out of Exile?”
“That's very forward thinking of them, as they would have to assume that they have
already won to design a seal for this place.”
“I don't know, this one seems familiar.”
“Hrm, this seems even odder.”

“Way to go. Now they all know we're coming.”
“I don't suppose you would just let us through?”
“DIE!”
How I kill everyone in the Fort. I love being on the right side of choke points.
“What is this for?”
“Probably a way to deactivate the alarm.”
“Not going to pull it?”
“Nah, too late.”
“Seriously?”
“This is quite a bit of supplies. This place is well-supported, that's for sure.”
“This should take us to the other side of the cavern, where we couldn't go before.”
“Let's go.”
“This looks like the place.”
“One tiny peek won't kill me.”
“You idiot!”
“I wish I had Demonslayer!”
“No, we're not going back for it!”
“Hey, Rook, here's a better Bow for you!”
“Nice!”
“Let's do this right, this time.”
“AAGH!”
“Right, down the hidden side passage to get out.”
“Or there could be nothing down there, and there really is only one portal out.”
Actually, it isn't. It leads right back to the Empire outpost. What you have to do
is throw the lever (which is on a timer), and run for the portal in the outpost to
get out.
“That's done. So, back to Bargha?”
“Maybe.”
Map Time!
‹
Part #40
Part #42
›
Return to LP Index

by berryjon
‹
Part #41
Part #43
›
Return to LP Index
Part 42: Update 038 – The Statues and the Giant Castle
Update 038 – The Statues and the Giant Castle
“You know, we never covered this corner of this cave before. It's pretty much
straight west of Drath's lair. I'm surprised we didn't cover this before.”
“Fair enough. We've mapped large sections of the region, a bit more won't hurt.”
“What...?”
It's just one of those mysteries.
“I suppose there is no use in further delay, Art.”
“I have to agree. We have to confront her sooner or later. We have delayed long
enough.”
“Fine!”
“This is annoying. I don't want to talk to her!”
“But we gotta. She did ask for our presence.”
“At least we know how to get past her tests this time.”
“I drop this barrier...”
“Oh, not you again!”

“And finally...”
“Guess, my ass.”
“HEY BITCH!”
“oh merciful mother of us all, she's going to kill us”
There is a piercingly beautiful woman sitting in the throne. She looks at you with
an expression of haughtiness and utter confidence. Occasionally, a spark flies from
the wand in her hand. "Welcome, adventurers. I am Erika, formerly of the Triad,
master incantatrix of Exile."
“Formerly? Huh. And here I thought Linda was the worst the Tower could produce.
What do you do now, aside from teleport people around like it's nothing?”
She smiles. The reptilian coldness of her eyes makes you shiver. "Now? I greet
visitors."
“Ohh! Doorwoman! Great! You must get so~o many visitors out here in the middle of
nowhere.”
"Few manage to penetrate my tower. Even fewer are of value to me. You are both. And
you, Art, annoy me. But you are worth tolerating your pathetic words, worm." You
notice she doesn't look at you as if you're quite human.
“someone shut her up!”
“No! This is funny!”
“Value? What? Had to go kill a Demon Lord for you to realize that there are people
out there that can break your ego bubble? That can do what you can't?”
Her expression darkens. "I am an exile here, like you. A prisoner, but worse
because of my curse! And, more than anything else, I thirst for revenge, beautiful
revenge. You should help me. I can assist you in many ways."
At this point of composing the update, I remember that I forgot to ask her about
her Curse. It's actually pretty important for the overall plot as it gives you a
sense of the scale of magic being thrown around by NPCs
The short of it is, after losing to the machinations of Garzahd (whom we've met in
proxy), he cursed Erika that if she ever was touched by sunlight, she would die.
She doesn't like that one bit.
“Really? Pleading now? I'm almost magnanimous enough to listen to you out, but you
really got to make my participation in your revenge worth my time, you silly little
girl.”
“I wish to bring suffering to the petty fools of the Empire, who put me here. To do
that, I need tools. I would allow you to fulfil that function, to join me in my
mission."
“BORING!”
“My mission... I want to assassinate King Hawthorne. It would be a good start. It

was his father who sent me down here, and he who accelerated the pace at which
people were exiled. He poured people down here like water! He is a tyrant, and
tyrants must die!"
"If you would help me strike this blow for our freedom, ask me for instructions."
Her voice grew cold and serious. “Say that again.”
“Oh, does that interest you, you rampaging mammoth? Yes! I will use you to kill
Hawthorne!”
“If you're lying to me, there is no force in this world, or any other that will
stop me from killing you.”
“Why would I want to lie? I know who you are, what you did. I know that you will
take any chance you can get to get your own revenge on him for what he did to you.”
She smiles again, knowing enough.
“What are your instructions?”
“HEY! One moment, Incantrix Erika, I need to talk to our leader for a moment!”
“Go ahead, it changes nothing. It is to late for the pebbles to vote on a plan, for
my avalanche has started.”
“Are you INSANE?”
“I concur! This woman is clearly insane. Certainly powerful, but completely mad as
well!”
“Even I can feel the raw energy coming off her. This is not something we should be
doing.”
“Ember? Rook?”
“Mad. Leave her be. We can find something else, get back on track.”
“I don't care! I'm enjoying watching the two of you bicker!”
“Look, here's the thing. If she's the real deal, then she wants to get us to the
surface”
“To do her dirty work! Art, you've proved you've got a good head on your shoulders,
no matter what happens. But you can't just jump into this like you are. What is
this thing she's talking about anyways?”
“I'm not saying.”
“Rook is right, you obviously have some personal stake in this that is clouding
your judgement. You must reveal this to us so that we can act as your sober second
opinion.”
“Hey, even if you don't want to tell the guys, I'm always available to listen!”
“No. This is far to personal. Far too important to me to miss. I'll understand if
you choose to go on without me, try to find a way out, but this is why I wanted to
escape. And if making a deal with Erika is the best way to do this, then so be it.
You don't have to follow.”
“That's a stupid reason.”
“Yes! You need to rehearse that far more often.”
“Are you guys really buying this?”
“Name one genuine Exile, not sent here to spy on us, who wouldn't want to gain some
measure of retribution against the Empire? That Art's reason is far more visceral
and personal changes nothing.”
“You're all mad!”
“Hey, Art has seen us through thick and thin. Without her, I don't think we'd all
be here right now. It's about time we paid her back.”
“And the only thing worse in my mind right now than joining up with this, is
leaving you to do it a man short.”
“I understand. Our fellows are vital to us on these long campaigns. I say we make
the attempt. There is no shame in trying.”
“You know, I'm going to side with Rook here. Better to go with you guys to watch
over you than to walk away.”
“This is all madness! But I suppose I can tolerate this distraction if it means
getting a good look at the Incantrix's methods. I can learn from that.”
“Peregrine? Admitting he needs to learn something? Will wonders ever cease!”
“So, you're all agreed this is a bad idea, my reasons are poorly articulated, but
you're going to do it anyways?”
“Pretty much. Don't make me regret this.”
“I'm pretty sure you do already.”
“By that look on his face, he does. Shall we return to our audience with Redmark?”
“Alright, sappy stuff out of the way. We're in for as long as you keep your word
about our objective. What are your instructions?”
"My plan is simple. I want to teleport you into the heart of the evil, into
Hawthorne's throne room! The wards are powerful, but it is possible. To do this
thing, I need several brooches."
“You mean these brooches?”
“Yes. Your ability to find these things was one of the reasons I chose you to
perform these tasks for me. When the First Expedition came down, each of their five
leaders wore a magical brooch, which was linked to the Empire above. They were used
for communication. I can use them for something more - using their magical link to
teleport you up there."
"The problem, of course, is finding them. The statues may help."
“You mean the statues we've found that talk?”
“Not many worms notice what is right in front of them. I suppose you are a grade
above. To keep an eye on things, I created six intelligent statues and placed them
in each of the six largest cities of Exile. The word to get them to tell you what
they know is 'Divulge.' They might have heard something."
“Divulge? Seriously? Well, I suppose if people don't know what they're talking to,
they may not use the keyword like that.”
Actually, I think that particular keyword is something a lot of people who've

played this game remember. Namely because it now involves backtracking across the
entire length of Exile to find these statues (I've only found 5 of the six so far
in this LP) and asking them this question. And most of them have outdated
information for quests and events that'll have already been cleared. You'll see.
“So, what sort of assistance can you offer? You know I'm not getting into this out
of my love for my fellow woman.”
"I am adept in all the magical realms. If you wish to buy some priest spells, I can
sell them to you. I know certain spells that are beyond the reach of most. I know
much alchemy, and my libraries are open to you. There are advantages to allying
with me."
"Also, I can help you with dealing with my tower, should you want to return to aid
me."
“Your Tower wasn't much of a deal the second time around.”
"Now that you've passed my defenses, you don't need to do so again. There is a
spare key to the second gate in the library. Also, the password to the third gate
is 'Dry rot.'"
“You know, there was that crone-image of you down to the south that told us the
latter part as well.”
“Humph. An initiate like yourself couldn't possibly hope to understand the power I
put into my spells by simply casting even the most basic of illusions! Do not
question me!”
“Translation: she screwed up.”
“I CAN HEAR YOU.”
“I can hear you too!”
“What? Art gets to insult her, so why can't I?”
“Because Art is Art?”
“Anyways! About this library of yours?”

"Through the door. Most of the books I magicked down from the surface. It was
difficult, but how could we develop out magic down here otherwise? Non-mage insects
don't realize how much they need us! Just for the mushrooms alone!"
“The mushrooms as well?”
"The mushrooms down here, that are edible, nourishing, and grow with only the
slightest light? I created them! The worms down here should worship me! They owe me
their lives! But do they appreciate me? No! The insects!"
“And that's our cue to leave! By you psychotic bitch with delusions of godhood!”
“You will do as I command, you soulless ginger!”
“That's a redundant insult!”
By asking her about 'Alchemy' and 'spells', Erika becomes a shop for some things.
The Priest Spells are nothing out of the ordinary, but the alchemy gives you
everything you could want, except for the Greymold recipe.
And this isn't the last time we'll have to talk with Erika. A different quest has
us coming back here to ask her about something different. You really can't avoid
her.
“So, what do we have here?”
“Already know Protection, but Recharge...! Wow, if we ever used items with limited
charges to them, I could use this spell to add some more back in. Although there is
a case of diminishing returns here.”
“And this is the Key to the Second Door, I presume.”
“That lizard is so cute! It thinks attacking us will do something.”
“I suppose she uses it to keep rodents away.”
“You know what?”
“It's a trap.”
“Obviously an illusion.
“Aw, but I wanted the pretty shinys!”
“No, Ember. That's enough.”

“Time to take our leave.”
“So, we know that the brooches came in a set of five, one for each leader of the
First Expedition. We've found three so far. And Erika wants us to interrogate her
statues to find clues to the others.”
“But the 'six' major cities. We've only found five of them, by your reports.”
“Right. Dharmon, Almaria, Silvar, Corta and Formello.”
“I would assume that the last would be in Mertis or possibly one of the cities in
the Abyss – Spire or Bargha.”
“Right, but we've been through them. And we haven't found a single talking statue
in those cities. Heck, I don't even think there is a statue in any of those three.”
“Didn't Blosk also have statues? Over by Fort Emerald?”
“Yes, but I don't recall finding any that talked.”
“Alright, this is what we're going to do. We're going on a Grand Tour. We head
south first, go past the two forts, hit up the known statues – Dharmon first. We
check out Blosk on our way to Almaria, and then Mertis. From there, we go North
past Silvar, swing past Corta, then north to Formello. After that, we go back west
past the Giant territory back to the Abyss to check out the two cities there.”
“Why don't we double-check Spire and Bargha first?”
“We did promise to do something about the Giants, and I suppose Scimitar would like
to know that we've upheld our end of their demands. We can finish off with them in
case we have to come back to Erika for whatever reason.”
“You're being quite thorough in all this planning.”
“It's a long trip. We'd better get started.”
“Let me take the lead, I know where all these statues are.”
Guess who forgot to screencap the statue in Dharmon? Well, no worry, it's one of
the three along the waterfront past the beggar.
“Divulge your secrets to me!”
“Way to make a production out of it, why don't you?”
It sighs, and speaks. "Some bandits were talking back here, and I overheard them.
They have a storehouse of stolen goods hidden somewhere in Dharmon. They also said
something about a magic weapon."
“Already dealt with that, Heartfinder is a good blade, but the Ravage Knife and the
Vhanatai Blade are better.”
“Moving on then.”
“Welcome to scenic Blosk. According to that guard over there, there was a statue
that was vandalized by some kids, and put back here. With the lack of other things,
I think we should try this one out.”
“Oh my.”
Among the rubble, you find a heavily cracked and battered statue. It's missing an
arm, and both legs. Its eyes are closed, and a stone tear runs down its face.
Amazingly, its eyes flick open. It looks at you, makes a whimpering noise, and
closes them again. It open its eyes, makes a tiny whimpering noise, and closes them
again.
“Divulge, please.”
It opens its eyes and whimpers. "Look what's been done to me. Isn't it awful?" It
sighs. "Before this horrible thing happened, I heard a man who called himself Eldin
bragging that he stole a brooch and was going to sell it in Dharmon. But then..."
It pauses, then sobs. "Look - if this happened to you, you'd forget things too!"
“Looks like we have our lead. Back to Dharmon.”
“Hello.”
“What do you want?”

“Only for you to tell us what happened with the brooch you stole.”
He laughs. "Brooch? Yeah, I heard about a brooch. In fact, I might have had it, and
then you could have stuck it to me! But I don't got it, because that weasel
Bertrand took it from me and high-tailed it east. So go nail him! And leave me
alone!" He sits down on his bunk and grimaces.
“Thank you.”
“I remember that name from somewhere, but now I can't.”
“But that does account for the six statues. We don't have to check up the other
cities now.”
“We should, just in case another lead pops up. For example, we did find a Brooch in
the undead cavern north of Mertis, so perhaps someone there knows about it.”
“And we can stock up on food again.”
“Actually, while we're in the area, there's something I want to check out with the
Orb that we missed the last time.”
“Oh?”
“You remember that place where we found the exterminated Empire Patrol, to the
south of the Great Cave?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I remember there being something on the other side of that chasm.”
“It's no use, the Orb won't let us go low enough to get under the curve of the
cavern.”
“You'd think that a device that would allow people to fly would allow them to fly
down, instead of up in a parabolic arc.”
“I guess Thalni wasn't as good as he thought he was.”
“I have to agree. Very disappointing, but I doubt anything of value is over there.”
And you never find out what's to the south in any Exile or Avernum game that I'm
aware of. Another mystery best served by other adventurers.
“Now, which one was it?”
“Screw it, I'll just say it out loud. DIVULGE!”
"Alas, I have heard nothing of interest."
“Well, that was a waste.”
“I'll go buy the food, the rest of you take a break.”
“I REMEMBER YOU!”
“Um... What?”
“Tell me about the brooch, now! Or I'll rat you out to the guards!”
He yelps in horror. "It's mine! Not Eldins, whatever he says. It's mine!" He looks
you over, and smiles slyly. "Although you could purchase it. Just a hundred gold."
“Fine, I'll buy it.”
You give him the money, and he fishes out of his tunic a grimy ebony brooch.
"There. Take it. If it really is magic, its use is beyond me."
“HEEEEEEEEE! Four down, one to go!”
“Seriously?”
“Yep! And cheap, too!”
“But that still leaves us with no clue as to the location of the last one.”
“We may be able to do something with the four in our possession, but that will take
some time. In the meanwhile, perhaps we should check up the other statues to see if
they have anything interesting.”
“Next stop, Silvar.”

“This one, that whistles. Divulge!”
"Don't have anything to say. Haven't heard a thing. Nope, nope, nope. Sorry." It
resumes its humming.
“Corta next.”
“Divulge!”
It smirks. "I know something. There's this crystal cavern hidden nearby, with
magical restorative powers. But someone vandalized it, and it awaits repair." It
smirks again.
“Dealt with.”
On my way up to Formello, I stopped Fort Duvno to ID some of my stuff and dump

stuff as well. That Greatsword that Art has been carrying around for a while? Well,
it's a Grim Greatsword.
“Goodbye!”
“Last one. Divulge!”
"Greetings, master. I have little of use to say. The mayor had her necklace stolen.
The town treasury is rich. There are magic fountains to the southeast, and magic
spiders to the west. Oh, and someone said Motrax knows about a stone key. Please
forgive me for not knowing more."
“Now, I know we've heard about these magic fountains, but I'll be damned if we've
found them.”
“He's right, we even looked high and low for them when we first came by here with
the boat to check out across the river. Everything else checks out, so I suppose
getting some incorrect information was bound to happen.”
“Alright, let's go back to the Abyss.”
“Are we there yet?”
“You know what?”
“You want to arbitrarily attack a Giant's castle?”
“Well, I'm not going to sell pastries!”
“And it will get us in the good graces of the people of the Abyss, if we act to
secure their borders.”
“This is a dumb idea, and we all know it.”
“Not as dumb as agreeing with Erika!”
“Well, it's not actually that big a fortification.”
“And there's a secondary door over here.”
“Alright, who thinks that this is a trap? Main door wide open, with a locked side
door?”
“Let's just get this over with.”
“Their attempts at defense are faulty, there is no inner gate.”

“Don't jinx us!”
“Where are we?”
“We still have all our gear though. A moment.”
“This was a stupid idea.”
“Before you go all moody on us, this pile of rocks in the back actually covers up a
small passage out of here.”
“What.”
“Huh. That was way too small for a giant.”
“While the rest of you were going through, I found something interesting.”
“Like what?”
“This is way to regular to be the end of a tunnel. And something else.”
“All the cells have escape routes for non-giants. Oversight, or something more
sinister?”
“We can probably find out on our way out.”
“mrrrrr. Hello there, prisoners.” You see a thin, scraggly Nepharim, holding a
crude club. It watches you warily.
“Or maybe not. We're the First EEC. And you are?”
"Mrmmm. I am called Hfass."
“So, what are you doing here? A spy?”
"Hrmm. Normally, I would be your foe. But here, we all work against the common
enemy." As he says enemy, he lets out a slight hiss.
“What enemies? You mean the Giants?”
"Mrrm. And Vapor rats. It is not important. The human there and I slipped away from
the cell with the help of the third, and wait here for the chance to depart."
“What do you mean, 'A chance to depart? Is there no way out?”
"We have made it as far as the gate, with stealth and skill, but the gate is
locked, and we cannot find the key. Without the key, there is no hope of getting
out. I hope that one day I can return to my mate, but I despair."
“Don't worry, we've been in worse situations than this, we can get you out to your
mate.”
"Oh beautiful, soft-furred tan. You could never in a million years appreciate her
beauty. She waits for me in the fort still, I am sure. Nepharim mate for life."
“Ah... Fort?”
"A few of us Nepharim choose to live together, with our own kind, near your city of
Cotra. We guard ourselves, and the crypt."
“Oh, I see where this is going. A crypt? Why would you do such a thing?”
“It is the tomb of a Nephar hero of old, who helped win the first victory against
you humans. Hrmmm. In the crypt is a piece of the great blade of a human hero. It
is a beautiful sight. I hope to see it again before the giants eat me."
“Oh my.”
“Exceedingly awkward, as I'm pretty sure we pulverized that fort's defenders on our
two passes through there.”
This, and another point later in the castle, make me think that at some point, the
Giant's castle was supposed to be a more accessible location, earlier in the game,
rather than placed so far into the upper-left of Exile. Talking about the
Demonslayer Blade here seems... far too late, though I suppose it's because I knew
what I was doing in getting that weapon.
“Hey? Someone new?” There is a young, bearded man. His once solid figure is slowly
wasting away.
“Rook, First EEC.”
"I am Zed. Welcome to you, fellow prisoner."
“What are you doing down here? Beyond the obvious, I mean.”
"Returning home."
“And where might that be?”
"I am from the Abyss. It is my home, and I look at it with pride. I don't expect a
vole to understand it."
“Alright, maybe you can answer this for me then. Why is that place called the Abyss
in the first place? Is it supposed to be an insult?”
"Yes! You call it the Abyss! We see it differently. We all live in the Abyss. But
our cavern is the ladder that we will all one day climb to escape."
“Escape? From the Abyss?”
"Maybe. Perhaps you might help. We are protected from the giants by Bargha, the
fort we build with our outlaw hands. There, ask of the Scimitar. I would be helping
them now, but the giants are in the way."
“Thanks for the advice, but we've already met with them.”
“This place is full of passages that are too small for a Giant. It's almost like
they took over a preexisting location and expanded the caves they were using.”
“We should try to get into that storage room.”
“And when was the last time any of those had anything of value to us?”
“There might be that key that was mentioned stored in there.”
“Fine, but these rocks are a pain to go around.”
“These are obvious traps.”
“And an eye beast, just to make things interesting.”
“What did I tell you? Uninteresting.”
“I wouldn't say that.”
I don't identify it yet.
“Dammit Art! This is why we should have kept Demonslayer?”
“It's only a single Haakai! How much of a threat can it be?”
“Not much of one.”

“FOOD!”
“And a possibly useful wand, if I wasn't capable of doing everything myself.”
“Better check that book first.”
“This would have been interesting to read if we hadn't already killed both of
them.”
And this is the other piece that causes me to think this was supposed to be
earlier. I suppose this is a note to let people know about part of the first major
quest line, assuming they've been exploring first.
Non linearity is good and all that, but it gets annoying when you're running across
information that badly outdated.
“And behind the door?”
“Ugh.”
“Wow, now that we're north of the cells, this place looks like a pantry.”
“I sincerely hope you're not suggesting the two are related.”
“I don't have to!”
“LEAVE NONE ALIVE!”
“There's more!”
Meet the Giant Shaman. Like Giants, they are huge balls of HP, and they don't give
up their physical attacks to add in decent offensive magic. In short, if I hadn't
already wiped the floor with demons, these would be a threat.
“We should secure this floor first, before going upstairs. At the least, we can let
the others know it's safe to advance.”
“Like looking for this?”
“This should fit the doorway we saw above. And maybe even that large walled gate we
saw to the east.”
“We should see if there are any other jailers.”
“I should not be surprised.”
“Let's go.”
“Mapping.”
“Nice to know where we are.”
“Come on, let's secure this place.”
“It never ceases to amaze me how you can so confidently just decide that the six of
us can take on entire fortresses, and succeed.”
“You doubt the power of heroes?”
“I don't know.”
“Great, a temple of some sort. Anyone remember what gods they worship?”
“Not really, only that they view the Troglodytes as their mortal enemies.”
“Not helping any.”
“Priest's room, for private ceremonies.”
“Why do I even bother?”
“Come on, let's keep sweeping.”

“Might be useful. Might not.”
“Enough dallying, my scrying detected a library to the east. We should

investigate.”
“Fire starter?”
“Don't be such a barbarian!”
“Oh come on, do you even read Giant?”
“Actually, yes.”
“Oh. Never mind me then.”
“I never did.”
“WHAT IS ALL THIS RACKET?”
“Hi? Rescue service?”
“Who are you? Why are you here?”
“Um... saving people from the Giants? You included?”
“No! You've ruined everything, you vole!”
“What was that? Another Anastasia, out to rule via proxy?”
“I don't know.”
“We should look around.”
“Bah! Nothing!”
“I should stop setting myself up for disappointment like this.”

“Completely generic supplies.”
“And some not-so-generic weapons.”
“On others hands, these would be siege shot.”
“And more of them, obvious set so that no matter which side of the castle you are
on, they can get to them quickly.”
“And a livestock larder, with water source.”
“Nope, don't want to go back down stairs, at least, not yet.”
“Alright, let's get those two, and get out of here.”
“Your Giant Castle was a bust, just wanted to let you know.”
“What?”
“The giants we just slaughtered? And I do mean slaughtered? They had nothing for
treasure. Now, we don't mind doing services for all Exiles, even those who would
rather they weren't, but you have to be honest with us in the future. Bye!”
I'm going to cut the update a little short here, as I'm already pushing my limits
with it. I'll finish off the Scimitar outpost next time.
‹
Part #41
Part #43
›
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Part 1 of Exile: Escape from the Pit by berryjon

Exile: Escape from the Pit

"OW! FWCK! My Nowse!"

"Huh? And who are yow suppowsed to be?"

"Good. Hello? Mister Tor?"

"Hello! I'm Art, and I'm new here. You are?"

"Right. Mages. Fuck 'em all."

"Huh. Barracks. Let's see what's up with that.”

“Excellent! Right place!”

“Holy Shit! Books!”

“Now what? Who am I waiting for?”

Part 2 of Exile: Escape from the Pit by berryjon

Exile: Escape from the Pit

Health is a flat measure of HP. It goes up based on a character's Strength at each

Spell Points power magic spells, and go up in level based on a character's

Strength represents a character's soundness of body. The higher, the more HP a

Edged/Bashing/Pole/Thrown/Archery are all classes of weapons. Swords, Clubs,

Assassination is an unusual skill. Characters with it have a chance of doing bonus

Now, on to the show!

Part 3 of Exile: Escape from the Pit by berryjon

Exile: Escape from the Pit

"What am I waiting for?"

"Oh shut up. Hey! Andrew!"

"That wasn't the one I used. So....?"

"It's about 3AM now."

"I don't feel like it's that time."

"You know, I may just do that."

"What the hell! Get off me!"

"One second Andrew, sir. YES! NOW Get OFF ME!"

"YES! Got away from that bastard, I did!"

"You sure? Really?"

"Hey, what's your name? I'm Art."

"You can call me Ember, of course! Isn't it obvious?"

"Yes! Gods, is recruiting going to be this annoying for everyone?"

"I wasn't talking to you."

"Uh... who are you talking to?"

"NO ONE! GET SUPPLIES, COME BACK, GET JOB!"

"Uh... alright.... must be a magic thing."

"Did I hear you were hiring for a job?"

"You saying one in the hand over two in the bush?"

"Yes... Why, you've experience?"

"I haven't heard of those terms before. Buff? Debuff?"

"I'm standing right here!"

"So what next?"

"We'll need at least one proper front-line fighter. Preferably two."

"Now that you mention it..."

"No. Came here by myself."

"How about that guy?"

"Do you address me, ma'am?"

“Hey Art, what if someone else is using that name?”

“I don't know? We challenge them for the rights to the title?”

“Karmas Michaeli. Formerly of a certain Kingdom since... vassalized to a certain

“I like the way you think, girlfriend!”

“What makes you think I would agree to that?”

“You are well educated.”

“Hello. Karmas, I presume?”

“Not at this moment. Is this all?”

“Bye Andrew! See you later!”

“So, that's four. What next?”

“Right now? I think we're almost set.”

“Injured civilians incoming!”

“Oooh! Maybe there's an attack!”

“Steady on there, girl. Let's see what's happening first.”