Opening
narrator
Ah, the Devouring Woods. An aptly named
place, where adventurers go to die on the
promise of sacks of gold and artifacts.
Yes, I've never been there and no, I'm not
going. Writing this guidebook is a hobby,
not something to gamble my life over.
-Basil's Guide to the Cerulean Crescent
(The Shearwaters arrive at the entrance to the Buried City, but find no monsters waiting for them.)
maurice
Nothing.
tower
As empty as a
noble's promise.
oriana
I also found nothing. How eerie.
This has to be an ambush.
maurice
You've already made me meticulously scour
this entire area. Why waste more time?
oriana
That should mean we are good to enter,
but I can't stop being worried.
tower
It is said a wise tactician once emptied out
a fort to scare his foe into retreating.
maurice
We're talking about
actual monsters here.
oriana
For all we know, there is an
intelligent mind at work behind this.
tower
A god, even.
maurice
If one of the old gods still lives, why
would they lay dormant in some cave, only harassing humanity from afar?
tower
The gods were twisted
and erratic creatures.
oriana
I don't like it, but there is little
more we can do except descend.
maurice
We don't need to do this. The Green Tide
is done. You're all heroes. Let's leave.
tower
If you wish to see home again,
shut up and get to work.
(They enter. The interior is empty except for a Great Blade.)
oriana
Somehow, downstairs is also empty.
This is more stressful than if it weren't.
tower
Perhaps this final corner of the
facility may hold some clues.
Or it might not and will instead
leave an unsolveable mystery.
oriana
You know exactly how to cheer-
That is a person.
tower
An acute observation, Oriana.
Name yourself, unless you wish
to be put down like a beast!
oriana
Impossible, that's... don't know his name,
but he's the one who keeps coming back.
tower
That one?
How curious.
(They approach.)
tower
Answer me! What wretched bargains have
you made to achieve this unnatural unlife?
blaine
Bargain? There was no
bargain. I am a god.
tower
You are claiming
to be a god?
blaine
I see it now. Every death,
every failure was a trial.
My body was broken down.
My mind was broken down.
My soul was broken down.
Everything was broken down,
to be reforged, reassembled,
and reborn. I have overcome
every trial to achieve divinity.
tower
If repeated failure was the catalyst for
godhood, we'd have a world full of them.
blaine
A finch cannot understand
the ways of the condor.
Why is it not Ellerie who stands
before me, but her cronies?
oriana
But Ellerie's territory is on the
other side of the Crescent?
blaine
Then my monsters have yet to
travel far enough. She will come.
oriana
You were behind this. You tried to destroy
the eastern coast just to bait out Ellerie?
All those lives, just for this one purpose?
blaine
Only a blink in the
eyes of a god.
oriana
If you are truly a god as you claim, surely you've had more sensical methods
than... whatever this mess of a plan is!
blaine
It is right for a mortal to come forth
before a god, not the other way around.
oriana
... This is absurd. Weren't you shouting
about justice, about avenging your friends?
blaine
Friends? Their purpose was to only serve
as a trial during my first incarnation.
tower
You're trying to get a crumb
of logic from a raving lunatic.
Unfortunately for you, blindfold, your supposed godhood has not
made you worthy of Ellerie's notice.
blaine
What's mad is this world that
has allowed Ellerie to prosper!
I shall correct this madness,
starting with all of you.
After defeating Blaine
oriana
We both agree there's no chance
this idiot was the mastermind, right?
tower
If he was a god, then I'd be the
next Elis. Of course he isn't.
oriana
There has to be some significance to him
being in this room. Take a look around.
tower
I see walls and a floor.
One wall, anyways.
oriana
Aha. Some kind of switch. Must be
important, to be personally guarding it.
Let's see... Force... Down... Position...
tower
Impressive. Last I checked, you
were a dabbling mage at best.
oriana
Lindros wrote me a treatise on ancient runes.
I've spent the past few months studying it.
tower
I'm surprised. Lindros doesn't seem the kind
to write anything not for his own eyes.
oriana
If I had to guess, he probably felt
guilty about the team splitting up.
Let's convince everyone of the
merits of a descent into darkness.
(Oriana speaks to the rest of the party.)
unari
This is a terrible idea. You're telling
us to drop into a dark pit to our deaths.
Only Elis knows what's down there.
oriana
What we do know is that we've
just beaten back the Green Tide, and the Buried City is the
least defended it'd ever be.
unari
You are asking us to gamble
our lives on that assumption.
What if they still have legions
of undead underground?
maurice
Thank you, someone with common sense.
I don't know how you convinced the others.
tower
If you did not gamble your life, then
you gamble with Frosthaven's future.
Once more waves threaten the Crescent,
you'll regret not taking this chance.
unari
Ugh, I've always hated gambling.
I suppose it's better to gamble on
the present than the unknown future.
maurice
Not you too. Will my
opinion be acknowledged?
oriana
It shall be taken into account
but with little weighting.
maurice
I ask that I at least
share in the spoils.
unari
I thought you didn't need gold,
being the King's footstool.
maurice
Captain Oriana, can you find it within
your heart to deny me compensation, beyond the mere promise of safety?
tower
I can.
oriana
You shall be compensated fairly.
I am not so stingy to not reward
such a service to the Crescent.
(Oriana assembles a totem and several crates of explosives.)
oriana
No sense in going down before
we're as prepared as we can be.
A totem to banish the darkness.
The rest of Maurice's explosives.
... Maybe that was a dangerous
choice in such a tight space.
narrator
The elevator operates once an
allied unit stands on the switch.
This only occurs once all allies are on
the platform and no threats remain.
Any enemy that destroys one of
the explosive crates instantly dies.
Objective
Reach Bottom
Clear every floor
of the elevator
Ending
(The elevator reaches the bottom.)
oriana
This is it. Not the greatest place to
make camp, but we need the rest.
unari
Seeing so many of my long-dead
subordinates rise from the beyond, I shall not sleep well again.
tower
Were you not a famed adventurer
before your venture into politics?
I should think you would not balk
at simply necromancy.
unari
Unlike you, old man, I have
plenty of years left yet to value.
Is it true each ghost was
a foe that fell by your hand?
oriana
I don't remember every face, but each
floor roughly shows a stage of our journey.
unari
This means... This entrance, this welcoming
party, was all arranged specifically for you.
oriana
That fact is...
a little worrying.
maurice
Only a little worrying?
unari
I should've trusted my gut
instead of being tempted by glory.
You've led us into a death trap!
maurice
Signing up was such a miscalculation that
my mathematics tutor is rolling in his grave.
I should've taken my chance against Ellerie's
bounty hunters instead of joining madmen.
oriana
I am no less apprehensive than any
of you, but we've come this far.
If we survive this ordeal, we shall be the
greatest heroes the Crescent has known.
unari
On the other hand, if we all fall, we'll be
another statistic for the Devouring Woods.
tower
Show the backbone that warriors
of your experience should have!
My companion, Mince, as new
to adventuring as he is, has shown not a sign of fear.
Isn't that right, Mince?
mince
[OFFSCREEN]
I'm so ready for this!
tower
See?
Now end your gloomy talk.
unari
Before I miss my chance, I'd like
to inform you that I despise you.
oriana
Use your anger in our impending battle,
not on the ally that might save your life.
Resting more will only invite danger.
Let us cleanse this place of hostility.
maurice
Please be patient. I am taking time
to enjoy my last few breaths of air.
(They continue, finding a massive ornate structure at the end of the hall.)
oriana
Even in ruins, this Buried City is more
magnificent than even the Mainland Capital.
maurice
As much as I want to defend our
Capital, I cannot refute this.
What a waste for this all to
have sunken below the earth.
tower
It is nothing more than faded opulence built
on the bones of humanity. Pay it little mind.
unari
Captain Oriana, would you like to
do the honours and enter first?
oriana
I shall.
Shearwaters and assorted allies!
We do not know what we might
find in these abandoned halls, but walk with courage, not fear.
We've overcome everything
the Crescent has thrown at us.
Stay attentive, as befitting your role
as adventurers, but do not forget, we are the conquerors of the Tide
and defenders of the Crescent!
tower
Eh. I've heard worse.
unari
There's good reason you're
an adventurer, not an orator.
maurice
My King w-
oriana
Just follow me inside.
Yalunzar
(Rosetta's party stands outside the gates of Yalunzar.)
rosetta
What is the meaning
of this, brother?
cyquin
We know well that Ellerie
has betrayed our house.
Is it any coincidence that
she was closest to you, or that you encouraged
Father to come here?
speedwell
You cannot possibly be
suggesting treachery!
What could the Young Lady gain
from sabotaging her own house?
cyquin
How else can you explain her convenient
absence at the start of our landing?
I know not whether my Father's death arose
because of your treason or incompetence.
Speedwell, you are responsible regardless.
rosetta
Cyquin! You must understand that we
cannot afford to turn on each other
while our enemies lie outside our gates!
speedwell
This is madness. Warriors of House Heron,
I demand that you let us through!
cyquin
I am the Lord of House Heron, as is the will
of my Father, and my ancestors before me!
Men, end these threats to House Heron!
(Yarding kills Cyquin.)
yarding
Open the gates for the
new head of the house.
speedwell
Good work, Sir Yarding.
yarding
The loyalty of my lance
is only for House Heron.
rosetta
... May you find peace
in the beyond, brother.
Character Descriptions
Blaine
We are doing him a service by
ending his cycle of suffering.
Bolgo
A mere pirate pretender was once a
formidable foe. How far we've come.
Dirk
A thoroughly vile bully. I have no
regret giving him an early end.
Elder
To think the promise of gold could
so easily twist a friendly face...
Foreman
The sins of the father should not be
passed down. The sins of the son...
D. P. Corky
It is a noble duty to purify the Crescent's
cerulean waters of vermin such as he.
Corkius
It is beyond rare to see loyalty in the
Crescent's beasts. A shame such
loyalty is wasted on a petty criminal.
Milan
I've seen all kinds of evil, yet his kind
of evil is perhaps the most despicable.
Halyna
I remember her as a jolly lass in Valen's
crew. The lies of the Sect got to her.
Deni
There is little joy in cutting down a
fellow adventurer, but I had no choice.
Perhaps he could've been great.
Merzed
He may have believed he was enacting
the will of Elis, but he is but a blind fool
who tried to kill an innocent girl.
Ozie
I once thought of the Sect as a noble
institution. It is a shame they are no less
suspectible to corruption and zealotry.
Georgy
I fear what a full fleet of landboats
might one day be capable of.
Mikkel
Just another Saltsworn underling cut
down while following their orders.
Jeanerik
I never have and likely never will see
again a man so mobile in full armour.
Two Shoes
Caliane put everything on the line.
Even using those priceless artifacts.
Drakeheart IV
Adventurers who make it to old age
are as rare as hen's teeth. A shame this
is how he ends his illustrious career.
Weald
A taciturn man to the end.
Caliane
How can I not sympathise with her now
that I know of her plight? A shame we
never had the opportunity to talk.
Keilu
A boy who lost it all for no reason other
than his cursed blood. It is only luck
that allowed Krynia to escape that fate.
Guava
Many were unjustly banished even
though their faith was harmless, but
I suspect her banishment was just.
Loquat
What use is the pursuit of knowledge
when it goes to only evil ends? Good
thing Lindros has all the right ideas.
Wheelhouse
A large fellow, yet his size did him no
good against our blades and magic.
Cold Caller
What an unceremonious death for one
with such reputation. Now, we get to
experience that reputation ourselves.
Skullcrack Jr.
I hear his father died in the Tide. What
a shame his death was much less noble.
C. Curio
It is when adventurers like him seek
power that everything breaks down.
The Fisher
Another adventurer who died a pointless
death fighting one another instead of
standing together against the Tide.
Sequoia
I can't fault Ellerie for such bitterness
against her father, but even still...
Fine Fellow
Why would one lead his team to their
deaths for such petty reasons?
Legend Legion
Even from what little I saw of them,
their camaraderie was absolute.
The Holders
For some, faith is a just shield which
they use to indulge in cruel desires.
Azure Streak
One of Mother's students. She used to
be quite meek. How people change.
Hardtack
Died cursing his own soldiers. Adventuring
bands would surely have more solidarity.
Bardiche
He should've been our ally once he
turned, not Unari. How did that happen?
Daffodil
She was too young to be buried in the
blood-stained snow. Curse the Crescent.
Foodman
How can one hold such
fervent anger over food?
Cibarious
Even as she bled out, she made sure
to finish her snack. What dedication.
Piquerato
Seems to be the only level-headed
one in that band of fanatics. A pity.
Lord of Pain
I cannot possibly understand his
motives, but none of that matters.
Sour Salmon
Lindros was more affected by his
death than he let on. An old friend?
Grass Gecko
One of Mother's students. I remember
a cocky attitude, and now, a corpse.
Ulach
Perhaps if not for him, the Seahawks
wouldn't have split up so easily.
Slaughter
The Iron Realm cannot be a good place
if this man could become a captain.
Secundus
Why would the Iron Prince send him as
a diplomat? He was asking for trouble.
Humanslayer
Genuine scum.
Totem
A functional automated construct made
by a skilled sorceror. Has many possible
applications but is fragile and temporary.
Boom Trap
A normal looking crate packed with
enough explosives to kill a god.