Enderal: Contingencies Activated

[Part of the Cursed story line]

It doesn't take long for Kurmai to wander off in the facility and by the time we find him he has lost his mind, blaming us for the absence of his people and activating the defenses of Starcity - all the machinations previously dormant power up, including a robot dragon that uses its laser beam to blast Kurmai into little bits.

Calia and I are the only ones to make it back indoors, fighting through robots and eventually stumble into an electricity trap. Luckily Jespar saves us by opening a nearby access panel that leads to the maintenance tunnels, stating that he's the only survivor from the outside team too as the dragon mech destroyed the airship!

Calia and Jespar, back to back.

Fortunately the tunnels lead to a library of sorts where we learn about a possible location of a Numinos as well as an old map pointing out it's location. We then use a spherical escape pod each (these Starlings thought of everything) which crash back down to the snowy region of Enderal. While Calia and I emerge unscathed, Jespar is not so lucky.

Insight: The mech dragon is a plot enemy rather than a regular enemy, so just expect to be running a lot when it shows up.

Enderal: Mile High

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Kurmai's flying boat is short a few materials so Tealor's advisor Yuslan and I are sent to retrieve said components - myrading out to Duneville and making our way up to the ravaged lands of Thalgard to do so. Thalgard is home to particularly nasty enemies, having been exposed to a huge magical explosion from an experiment gone wrong ages ago.

Our mission is a success, and after a few more hours of installation a crew is assembled to go with Kurmai to the Starcity which includes both Jespar and Calia while Tealor and Yuslan see us off. During the long flight Calia finally gives into my charms and I let her experience all I learned from the lust chambers at Ust Natha. I knew those would come in handy!

The need to defy gravity is so strong in this place.

Refreshed, we arrive at the spectacular floating city but find it abandoned which rattles Kurmai a fair deal as he believed his people were waiting for him here. Jespar and some of the crew remain to guard the ship while a small away team including Calia and myself follow Kurmai to search for any mention of a Numinos.

Insight: Thalgard is the Chernobyl of Enderal and has some high radiation of arcane fever, especially if you go to the original blast site called the Sunfire. Bring potions of ambrosia.

Enderal: Wishbreaker

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Jespar and I return to Ark to meet up with Grandmaster Tealor who is facing many critics upon the coming war, most vocally from Squad Leader Jorek, but Tealor refuses to surrender the Beacon. Instead he tasks us with finding three black stones to power it. To help in this endeavor, Tealor commands the guards to lift the kill on sight command previously on me and after paying an exorbitant fee I'm free of the law men again. It also helps that Mael, the instigator of that command, has left the city, presumably to pursue Dijaam across the sea.

The first of the black stones actually belongs to Jespar's family, most likely with his estranged sister since he doesn't have it. Our search for her reveals that she is also the vigilante known as the Bone Judge. When we finally catch up to her, we find the stone is what gives her her power and since Jespar can't talk her into surrendering I end up killing her. Jespar hates me for this, and spirals into a dark place full of powdered drugs, alcohol and whores. 

Sorry kid, the greater good is always better than a single person's happiness.

I track the next stone to a village near Duneville where everyone seems pretty happy. The owner of this artifact is a little boy whose only hope is to find someone to play with and using the power to create a "reality" where people like him and refuse to leave. I have no choice but to take the stone from him by force and kill the deformed child. As a result the people in the town die too, since they haven't eaten anything real for years and were just being sustained through the boy's wish.

Insight: Not sure why I couldn't pay my fine earlier, I guess I needed to wait long enough for the NPCs to respawn without aggro?

Enderal: The Cycle

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Getting caught turns out to be the fastest way to meet the Nehrimise commander, Taranor, who finds and uses the magic plate to contact Tealor. Apparently there's significant evidence about of a cycle here in Enderal, one nearing its end in which all life simply vanishes.

The Keepers have been trying hard to stop it but the atheistic Nehrimise don't want that. They believe the cycle ends with evolving into something else, something greater. Hence they have come to wage war to stop the Keepers plans, unless Tealor agrees to stop constructing the device Lishari's team recovered from the dig site which they call "the Beacon".

Tealor flatly refuses, so the war is on. Being a good sport, Taranor decides against simply executing Jespar and I there and then - instead putting us on a raft  to let chance decide our fate. Fortune favors us as a passing fishing vessel picks us up after a few hours and takes us to Duneville.

They also didn't take any of our gear, that's convenient!

Here I find Esme once again, who lets all her feelings off her chest. With nothing left for her here, I urge her to find passage elsewhere before she gets caught up in the coming war. Or the end of the cycle. Whatever comes first.

Insight: This is unrelated to the current post but don't try attack any of the Rhalata in their main base (or do it off a save). The result is clever, humorous and fatal.

Enderal: Undertrain

[Part of the Cursed story line]

After defeating some crystal elementals Jespar and I finally reach the temple and find Firespark waiting with the front door open. Not far in a trio of pressure plates that need to be stepped on simultaneously splits up the party in this trap filled temple which likes to play mind games.

Let's split up! What could possibly go wrong?

By the time I meet up with Jespar and Firespark, the old mage has already gone mad - another victim of "Red Madness". I shoot an arrow into his mouth, killing him before he can cast any spells. Not long after Jespar and I find a corpse that looks exactly like me!? No, this temple sure knows how to play with people's minds. I am the true Solaufein!

We push on to the lower levels, defeating numerous lost ones and find the Undertrain and get the ancient vehicle working. It takes a few hours to reach our destination which is another station filled with lost ones, but once those are clear it's just a short hike before we are within sight of the main Nehrimise fort.

It is then that both Jespar and I get knocked out and captured. In hindsight, the Undertrain is not the stealthiest of approaches.

Insight: Did I mention I hate railroading? Because I hate railroading. Anyway, have a melee weapon ready once you reach the arrival station. The lost ones are literally swarming the door as you step out.

Enderal: Meeting Sneaking

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Being wanted really makes it challenging to attend the next meeting in the Keeper's base. It takes a bit of the time stop perk and a number of invisibility potions to reach it without being massacred by all the guards and soldiers on the way in.

Grandmaster Tealor himself is not impressed by my tardiness or by my current status which he refuses to override. Instead he assigns me a task suitable for my skill set, and my being expendable. The Nehrimise army has sailed across the sea in what is the start of an invasion and I am to plant magical plates in their base to spy on them.

Since Jespar is just a greedy merc, he too is sent with me and our first task is to meet up with Firespark at an ancient temple which has the transportation means to reach the Nehrimise camp undetected. To avoid the local guards we teleport out of there to the Frostcliff Tavern, but the patrons there are also on the look out for me just proving the reach of Mael's pockets!

Sort of like this, but with everyone after Jespar and I.

A mass brawl erupts in which we kill a few people before managing to break free and flee towards the mission objective.

Insight: There are a surprising number of NPCs that can't be killed in safe zones, so don't expect to win fights by being the last one standing there. You won't be.

Enderal: Pulling Our Strings

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Stealing the info from the the spooky manor is pretty straight forward, so Jespar and I return to Ark where a courier kid gives me a letter from Dijaam. Jespar goes ahead to report in while I visit the merchantess at an Undercity tavern and accept her request to assist in finding out who set her up to take the blame for the Golden Sickle ambush.

A speedy investigation has clues that quickly point to Mael, the Golden Sickle grandmaster, so Dijaam heads to the Sickle base in town to confront him but only find a shop full of workers. Things escalate quickly which results in their massacre! For this, Dijaam is quickly apprehended by the city guard and taken to prison.

Hang in there, pussy cat.

Fortunately I am a lot stealthier, and with no witnesses putting me at the scene of the crime I am free to head to the prison and break her out. Unfortunately the guards have had their way with her by then and I find her battered, beaten, and "thoroughly" searched, but she did learn from them that Mael is actually missing too. We conclude that whoever is pulling our strings is trying to put on a show and head to the old theater on a hunch.

Insight: Generic enemies respawn after a few days have passed, so don't assume things are clear if you haven't been there recently.

Enderal: Teammates

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With the bandits dead and Calia having disarmed the traps, Lishari's crew is able to descend to do their work. Since everything is under control here we head back to a myrad tower where I run into Esme, who is about to go do something stupid and/or dangerous. I volunteer to assist while Calia myrads back to Ark to report in.

We sneak into the Dark Valley, taking down the numerous Lost Ones and a random huge werewolf wandering within until we reach the haunted ruins of Castle Bleakstar that is inhabited by one stubborn phantom. Once it's dispelled we find proof that Tara may have fallen in with some nefarious cult with clues suggesting they moved to a location near Duneville. I hope it's not that suicide crew I found before.

Esme, you can't sneak with a lit torch...

Esme myrads ahead as I receive word of another urgent mission for the Keepers. This time I'm partnered up with Jespar to try retrieve knowledge from an eccentric artist at his distant, puppet-filled manor with specific instructions NOT to use violence at all. A small detour on the way to the manor rewards me with... a dragon fight!

Insight: Unlike Calia, Esme isn't a great fighter or tank. In fact, all she's good at is giving away your position to the enemy so expect to do some heavy lifting and prep health potions before hand.

Enderal: Sticky Fever

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Appearing in the marketplace, I immediately bump into Jespar who is now ready to take me to the "doctor", a mage named Firespark who happens to also be Jespar's employer. Firespark examines my fever symptoms and gives me a referral to one of his associates, "Lishari", who happens to be at an excavation outside the city at the moment.

Unwilling to leave until I've explored it fully, I thank them and continue doing in-city tasks including opening a bank account that actually gains interest per day! This is quite interesting, but not fast enough for my liking so I also rob as much as I can - including from the local crypt. Why is there a crypt when undead are rising? Sigh. Idiots. 

They aren't smart enough to remove bucket hats either.

The guards eventually catch wind of my sticky fingers and confront me so I kill them all? nope because they are immortal! pay the 40 penny fine and get all the stolen goods confiscated. Obviously I promptly steal them all back and sell them at the Undercity fence. On this trip, I also notice there's an arena down here... interesting. I'm starting to really like this place.

Insight: Remember to use your Meditation -shout- ability to unlock skill upgrades.

Enderal: Across the Mountain

[Part of the Cursed story line]

With all the jobs in Riverville done, I go meet up with Jespar at the remnants of the teacher's house and find evidence that he was suffering from the "Red Madness", much like most of the wild life around.

Satisfied with the work, Jespar keeps his end of the bargain by leading me to the capital - Ark - to cure the sickness. Since the Riverville Myrad is sick (Enderal's fast travel system), we go on foot and it is a long walk through forests and over a mountain. Jespar isn't bad in a fight, but his twin daggers are shit for damage.

The city is an impressive sight from a far!

We eventually reach the visually stunning city and Jespar tells me to hang around for a day or so while he contacts whoever it is that needs to cure me. That's fine because Ark is HUGE and will take sometime for me to explore. It is much larger than Ust Natha!

Insight: There are "secure chests" scattered around civilized areas which are a god send for inventory weight management as they hold a global inventory. Put something in at Riverville and you can get it out in Ark, etc.

Enderal: Riverville

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Not far outside the tomb I encountered another mud elemental, and despite my best efforts can't slay the regenerating creature so I'm forced to flee down a waterfall... which happens to also be the front to a hidden pirate base? I decide to take their stuff, and their lives before following the crab filled coast to finally reach the town of Riverville.

Crustaceans grow big in these parts.

Not only is this near the place Jespar wanted me to go, it also has shops to sell items to and even more quests - from bounty hunting and retrieval of stolen property to exposing a rapist hiding in plain sight. I complete them all. Not bad for an outsider.

The pennies I earned are spent on skill books and salt to go with all the raw meat I need to cook. Having cooked food seems to be the best way to regenerate health outside combat. Inside combat, I have to rely on potions or spells - both of which increase Arcane Fever.

Insight: What a great gold sink idea! Earning levels gives a number of "learning points" which are spent in conjunction with consuming a skill book of a particular skill (+1). Lesser books are cheaper but are only effective to a point. Master level books are pricey but are the only ones that can get you to skill level 100.

Enderal: Lost Ones

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Upon exiting the ruin, things just go downhill with this strange fever I found myself with. Luckily I run into a friendly merc named Jespar who welcomes me to this island of Enderal and is familiar with the symptoms and provides a potion of ambrosia to lessen the effects of this "Arcane Fever" temporarily.

A proper remedy is much more involved, and one he'd arrange if I helped him with his current job: to find out why a magic teacher went mad and decided to immolate his entire class. Without much choice I accept. Armed now with basic gear and a map, he sends me on my way while he finishes up hunting some bandits nearby.

Damn these things are scary.

It isn't long before I deal with some highwaymen of my own and fight a Vatyr goat man. Turns out the packs of deerstalkers are far deadlier! Exploring some land marks on the way I also meet the "Lost Ones" or undead who seem to plague this place. Inside one tomb I even kill a lich with stealth and archery. A useful combination.

Insight: The AI pathing can be easily exploited by finding vantage points to fire from while melee enemies can't hit you back. They will "take cover", but you can always lure them out by baiting them.