Quest Blog Post 5
This is coming along very well! Definitely better than I hoped. As you will notice below I have started the second "chapter" of Vlad's journey. It is almost time to leave the village known as Matras and head to Vastares, the first big city. However, first we will tie up some loose ends. Also, we will be running one of the game's most rewarding dungeons- the Abandoned Mine!
Chapter 2- Welcome to Vastares
Vlad was almost finished in this town. All that was left to do was gain the complete trust of the locals. First things first, he Marked a spot in town for quick transit. He walked down the street to the west of the inn. At the end of the street was a home that he knew belonged to a Kingdom Agent Recruiter. Maybe he could offer help? He knocked and the old Siery came to the door.
"Greetings, friend." Vlad said.
The man stared him down for a second and beckoned him inside.
The man made tea and offered Vlad an important job- track down a child for him. The child would be a Kingdom Agent for Mersant, like Vlad. He accepted.
Where to look?, Vlad wondered. He had been told to go to the abandoned swamp to the south of town and see if Onin the fisher boy was there. So he went and found the pale-shirted boy. Talking to the dumb kid, he was asked if he wanted some fish. He then told the kid the situation and found out that the kid didn't want to go! He kept asking and the kid finally agreed to go under one condition- Vlad went to see the kid's older brother at Wolfcreek, north of Matras.
He told Vlad the brothers' password-
"The Bird Went to the Nest", or something along those lines.
Tip for Noobs- I could have marked a position in the swamp and saved some time, but chose not to.
Anyways, the brat agreed to come along and they returned to the recruiter, who gave Vlad 800 gold and a skillbook for persuade and mercantile. Time to leave this hellhole!
Another tip for noobs- I did not finish EVERY quest in Matras. It didn't seem necessary to me to waste my time to get such small rewards when Vastares is just around the corner. Onwards!
Vlad continued southwards along the road to Vastares. Getting there, he marked a spot in the town center and went to browse armor and weapons. He bought a heavy, green garrison shield, a little disappointed by the selection in such a large city.
Having fought many battles over the previous week, he decided to rest a day or two and read those skill books. (Yes I realize that skill books CAN be saved until your skill reaches 100 to over-cap but really- that is completely unnecessary. )
He paid the city librarian to train him 1 level in environmental magic- to 30! Then he read all his skillbooks, getting:
+5 mercantile
+5 accuracy
+5 persuade
+8 attack magic
+5 alchemy +3 more! Total: +8!
Having read all these books he sold them- making a tidy sum of gold.
It was getting late so he rested at the inn. The next day he went to the city jewelry store. He bought an emerald ring to wear (+2AC!).
Vlad was now ready for a good old dungeon to explore. He had heard of just the place- an abandoned mine to the west of Vastares. Before setting out, he bought some potions:
4 potions of cure Warrt and 4 of cure Plague. He also bought 10 potions of full healing- more than he would likely need, but extras never hurt!
Now he went to the city gate and went west- he came to the "Abandoned Region", as marked on Freymore's map. Along the way he slew more than a dozen orcs.
In fact, the orcs (worth 200xp each!) leveled Vlad to 7!
+2 strength, +3 intelligence
+2 heavy weapon/armor, block, env. magic, accuracy.
Arriving at the ominously named "Abandoned Region" at almost midnight and in the rain, Vlad was attacked by seven skeletons, which he UTTERLY DESTROYED!
He found the entrance to the mine after that fight and marked a position before teleporting back to Matras to rest and heal. After a night in the inn, he bought a spell book of cure wounds and had his gear repaired. He was ready. Now he headed back to the Abandoned Region via teleport.
He descended into the mine. As he entered, he noticed a signpost to the right. It read: "Abandon your soul here". Damn, what kind of mine was this? He sliced away a cobweb and was attacked by a pair of venomous bats, which he dispatched quickly so as not to be poisoned. He cautiously crept forward and shot a third bat with his bow. Moving along, he was attacked by 2 skeleton captains and another bat. This bat poisoned him! He didn't have any antidote potions so he quickly finished off those enemies and teleported to Matras and bought several just in case.
Now he went back and looted some money and scrolls off of his fallen foes. On a shelf he found a small potion of healing and some ages old bread , which he left. Another skeleton captain and a general attacked him. Finally , he came to realize that 2 venom bats were hitting from the side when he was poisoned! He finished the skeletons and turned on the bats before drinking an antidote. He also drank one of his healing potions. So far, the opposition had been stiff- 9 enemies guarding one hallway! FINALLY he came to a turn. He saw two skeletons hiding behind a spiderweb and got an idea. He took his bow from a range and shot the web. Shocked, the skeletons ran at Vlad, who shot them a bit before they reached him. He easily finished the weakened enemies. He scavenged a wand of weak unlock and a skill book for environmental magic on them!
Quickly, he drank a small potion before turning south. He found himself in a big room with corpses hanging from the ceiling. He cleared out the only enemy inside/ a skeleton general, before looting 2 scrolls of poison touch from a shelf.
Going back he noticed a side-chamber with a locked door- he was a crappy lock-picker so didn't try in case the door was trapped. He noticed another side passage that led to a manhole, on his left, which he climbed through. He killed a bat that was behind him.
Tip- save here. This is the most damn annoying part of the game unless you have high magical resistances.
He noticed a long passage and decided to follow it- after grabbing a skill book of dual wield to his left.
Suddenly, a skull shot out and hit him. DAMN!, that stung. He drank a potion and moved up, getting hit several times and drinking some potions. Finally, he saw the problem- a ghoul, like the one in Matras' cemetery, was shooting him with magic. He dove into a side corridor with 2 skeletons and killed them. He drank a potion and ran out, killing the ghoul. Suddenly, then, another stepped up to take the first ones place! He (re)killed that one, too.
Totaling their drops as well as those from the shelf in the side chamber, Vlad got:
250 coins
A spell book of resist poison
A scroll of weak unlocking
A wand of drain mana touch
He went back to the manhole, safe from enemies, and rested.
Continuing along, he came to a cobweb with a powerful ghoul smiling at him from behind it. He cut away the web and rushed the abomination, killing it. He looted 2 carved rings and an apple.
In a huge chamber, he saw 2 more ghouls across a chasm. He killed them and looted 300 gold. Now he looked around the room and looted:
A key (the "damned key") , which he had to cross a poisonous puddle to get to. Unfortunately he was poisoned and had to drink an antidote. Also, he found a side room to the south of the main room with several treasures:
-some fresh water, a spell book of cure wounds, and a cheap katana, which he left. Now he teleported back to Matras, tired. He thought that night that maybe the key he had led to the locked door and hid some treasure or prize? The next morning he checked his gear, sold any loot, and went back one last time.
He tried the key- perfect fit! Now he walked forward and saw a coffin on the far edge of the room . There were
2 switches on either side of the room, and he flipped one. Suddenly, 2 ghouls jumped out! He killed them and tried the other switch for the same result.
Looted a wand of mass drain health and a scroll of unholy word.
Vlad leveled to 8 after killing the first ghoul, actually.
+3 dexterity, +2 intelligence (gotta work on that block)
+2 all primary skills except accuracy
He rested and touched the coffin. Suddenly he was thrown backwards and a massive monster jumped out (The Damned). He fought for a long time and was hit twice by DEVASTATING magic attacks. He almost died several tins bit healed himself. Finally, he killed the son of a bitch. It dropped some VERY nice gear- an undead plate mail and an unholy crown, which he couldn't wear, but could sell for a small fortune. Finally, he teleported back to Vastares and sold his items and stayed at the inn- a day well done, no?
Tip- if you step into one of those pentacles, you are transported into an alternate dimension. If you kill all the enemies, you will get some more undead gear, which Vlad can't use, so I didn't bother. If you are an undead, that is one amazing shield!
End of Post 5!
Level-8
XP- 14833/17000
Damage-21-36
AC-28
HP-121 SP-110
Magic Resistance- -8% (will work on it)
Gold-8454
Next post will be shorter and likely just be one quest, maybe two. Thanks for reading and post any comments, questions, etc. below.