Enderal: Numinos

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The wisps and specters in the vault tunnels are easily navigated to reach the Undercity which is in chaos. People infected by red madness, looters and a contingent of tough Nehrimise all have to be dealt with before we reach a collapsed tunnel that Yuslan reopens.

This leads deep down into the lost city we are looking for and it is full of stairs, corpses burned from within and lost ones, including a ghost dragon who collapses the ceiling and separating Calia from the group. Tealor, Yuslan and I push on and at an ancient Beacon, find the Numinos. Doesn't the fact that we found it here means it didn't work?

It's the perfect place for a knife in the back.

It doesn't matter because Yuslan gets to it first and reveals that he too is a traitor, and is the one that let the Nehrimise into the city the first time - all because Tealor killed his family long ago. He also admits to killing Lishari as she was too close to the truth before using himself as a human bomb to destroy the Numinos, a final act of revenge.

I take the brunt of the blaze as Tealor uses me as a human shield. With no way to stop the cycle now, the grand master is resolute in activating the Beacon as is - which is just going to be one huge explosion to take down the Nehrimise with everyone else. I try to grab his leg to stop him but he just stomps me down through the wooden floor.

Insight: The Nehrimise and the Lost Ones at the temple stairs are strong and in big numbers. Hanging back and sniping from the shadows works well provided you brought enough ammo with you.

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: 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: You're F-Hired!

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Returning from Duneville I manage to wrap up a number of lose ends at Ark - completing a relic collection for the SHOES guild, an egg collection for crazy Kurmai who wants to start an aviary in his floating "Star City", and the ingredients to reproduce the poison Mael was interested in - but not before first warning his rival Dijaam that she's under suspicion. Since she confronts Mael directly about it, I promptly get fired from the Golden Sickle.

Just as well as right after Calia and I get promoted into the Keeper guild, and Grandmaster Tealor puts us to work immediately - sending us to assist a nearby dig crew to retrieve an ancient artifact. Turns out this crew is led by Lishari, and her progress into the site is being held up by trap savvy bandits who have made a home of this place.

I happen to stumble into one - a giant pit but luckily land deep water. From there I can work my way back up, assassinating the entrenched bandits as I go. Only their leader gets the drop on me but Calia, who also fell into the pit but managed to hang onto something to find a different exit, shows up just in time to save me - using her menacing "shadow form"? She later explains that she has some other being in her that comes out to kill people from time to time.

More than just a pretty face.

Insight: Even without her shadow form, Calia is a decent tank and does good damage with her two handed sword so let her take point in combat. Comparatively Tharael does more damage with his twin swords but can't take many hits.

Enderal: Arkham

[Part of the Cursed story line]

On the way back to Ark I run into a Golden Sickle caravan getting raided by some black clothed thieves who flee after a short skirmish. I initially thought they were Rhalata but apparently they belong to a different guild called the Petrified. Odd name.

The Golden Sickle guild master, Mael, is very impressed when he hears of my combat prowess and hires me on as a protector. The first job is to simply deliver a letter to a Dijaam, rival merchant representative who I find in the bath house. This simple task evolves into a dinner with the enchanting merchantess at the nearby tavern which goes well but is totally crashed by Lishari, now returned from her dig site, who has had too much to drink.

She works fast...

I must have too as on a whim, I decide to purchase a house in the Nobles District of Ark... which I call "Arkham" (couldn't resist).  The next morning Mael tasks me with reconstructing the trace poison used by the attackers of his caravan crew. Poison he believes was supplied by Dijaam. Argh. To clear my head I go win more arena fights.

Insight: Yes, you can name your house and you can manually decorate it too, though I am glad there's an auto furbish option that just costs a little more money to put it into a functional state.

Enderal: Lawbreaker of Justice

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Now cured by Lishari, I take my time heading back to Ark - doing some bounty hunting as well as killing a troublesome troll which earns me an "amazing" steed: Whirlwind... the Donkey. Such an insult! I then investigate a farmer for the Golden Sickle merchant's guild to find why he hasn't been delivering crop on time.

It serves its purpose.

Turns out his neighbor had been poisoning the soil below with giant spore shrooms as revenge for the farmer getting the contract with the Golden Sickle through underhanded means. As justice is balance, I get the farmer arrested and the neighbor a loan and a contract from the Golden Sickle in his stead. The Sickle Quartermaster, a bald man named Pennypouches, is unhappy with this result as it is a nett loss money wise.

I then Myrad off to another excavator camp also suffering from the local bandits. These ones are extremely tough for some reason, especially the wild mages who use frost spells to slow you down and fire spells to kill you simultaneously. Anyway, I manage to rescue one excavator, Pahtira, and manage to swipe the ancient device she was looking for from the bandit boss who is far too strong to defeat in combat. Luckily I had a few invisibility potions to get past him.

Insight: Myrad towers usually have secure chests. Also, myrads are super cute! :D

Enderal: Firefighting

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Opting to join the arena death matches, the first battle is a rookie free for all where I quickly learn the ropes. By that I mean I find a nice rock to stand on where they can't hit me and archer my way to victory.

Alas it will take a few days to organize the next match so left to my own devices and with no more tasks in the city itself, I venture out and head directly to Lishari's excavation and meet the buxom mage. She immediately asks for help as raiders had come, killed her team and are now torching her research on the lower levels!

Of course I agree to help since I need hers in return, so we split up and what follows is a crazy sprint through a dungeon to put out fires before they do lasting damage while fighting a large band of thankfully poorly armored thugs. We are successful in both saving the info and eliminating the scum. As thanks, Lishari performs a ritual to finally quell my arcane fever.

She likes talking dirty.

Again this is not a cure, but it significantly lessens the magnitude of the disease to more manageable levels.

Insight: As Arcane Fever worsens, so do your stats. At 100%, you die.

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.