The Fates of Twinion: Proven

 

I cannot tell from this image what shoulder she's looking over. It's a bit disconcerting.

         

As this session began, I had defeated the two maps of the Gauntlet and (almost) the three maps that make up the aqueduct/reservoir area. These areas together comprise Levels 1 and 2 out of heaven knows how many. 

    

The third aqueduct map was called Twinion's Falls. The area had a lot of spinners and illusory doors (i.e., doors that disappeared when I actually approached them). The purpose of the map was to find a switch that unlocked not only doors in this area, but also a pair of doors back in the Queen's Aqueduct that led to Level 3.

     

The development team does what it can, graphically.

           

Other encounters:

    

• Queen's guards blocked two corridors and attacked after I encountered them repeatedly. 

• A female NPC who I'd previously met in the reservoir area kept showing up. 

      

A better game would let her join my party.

      

• A male NPC who was confused by all the spinners. 

     

You just keep walking, my friend.

      

• A female wizard confused by a message on the wall that was obviously meant to confuse her.

• A series of prison cells. When approached from the north, they showed their occupants behind a force field. When approached from the east or west, I could enter and kill them. One of them, a "coelus," was set up as a major adversary, but he died quickly. 

      

All bark and no bite.

        

• A fountain conferred upon me the "Heal" spell.

• A cleric gave me an Elixir of Healing when I gave him directions to a ranger.

• A battle with two ruffians and a rogue leader earned me a Cross Key.

• I get several messages that suggest that thieves have picked my pocket before attacking me, but I don't notice a significant drop in gold.

        

Level 3 began with my arrival in "The Coliseum," via a teleporter from the Queen's Aqueduct. I started in a small central area with four teleporters, each leading to a different "arena." I eventually explored all four and didn't notice that any of them were more difficult than the others. Early in the first arena, I met a wizard who said: "She said I would get great rewards for doing all four, but I know that only one would suffice." "She" in this case must be the Queen—we're in her proving grounds, after all—so I resolved to complete all four arenas before meeting her.

    

The arenas offered the first legitimately hard battles in a while. Enemies included packs of wizards, giants, archers, thieves, knights, skeletal knights, and skeletal wizards. I found that my usual strategy for tough battles—use a Scroll of Protection at the outset; chug an Elixir of Health whenever my hit points drop below 100—got me killed more often than I would have liked. I experimented with other spells and skills and occasionally had some luck with "Petrify" or "Intimidate." A lot of it came down to luck. I continued to grow annoyed at the game's insistence on never clearing a square, so that if you (for instance) hit a dead end, you have to fight every battle again on the way back.

        

I like the artwork here, but I think I've seen it somewhere before.

         

One technique that occurred to me embarrassingly late is to always attack the group of enemies with the most enemies. Occasionally, you get a critical hit that wipes out three or four enemies at once, and you don't want to waste that on a single foe. 

      

The enemy parties are getting larger and tougher.

       

When I had mapped as much of the Coliseum as I could, I still had a bunch of unexplored areas surrounded by pillars. Is there some mechanism that I'm overlooking to get through these pillars?

   

All arenas eventually led to the same area of the Coliseum, where teleporters could carry me backwards to the Queen's Aqueduct or forward to the only other Level 3 map: The Queen's Palace.  

         

Moving on, or at least contemplating it.

       

Some other encounters in the Coliseum:

   

• A couple of rosters "listing various guilds and names." The game noted that "your name does not appear on the list!" This was true even after I completed all the arenas. I don't know whether I should make anything of this.

• A fountain gave me the "Reverie" skill, which lets you gain mana at the cost of initiative. I don't see using it in a single-character game. 

         

My current skill list. I've been favoring the passive skills.

       

One step into the Queen's Palace was a message: "There are short and long pathways to the Queen's chambers. Each has its own reward. Only one need be solved to continue, but more explored, the greater the rewards." The Palace level was hard; I still haven't mapped it all. It's full of one-way doors, illusory doors, spinners, bottomless pits (instant death), and the most difficult battles in the game so far.

   

I guess there are, in fact, multiple pathways. The first one I tried led me to battles with slimes that I could not defeat. They kept killing me in the first round. The second one led to an area with no exit except to throw yourself down a bottomless pit. There's a message next to this pit that I don't understand: "Perhaps you can send some light across the chasm to see if any burning clues are visible." Whatever it's suggesting, it doesn't correspond with any item, spell, or other game action that I can figure out.

           

Which command lets me "send light"?

        

Eventually, I found a pathway that had me wind past bottomless pits with spinners next to them, so moving too quickly led to instant death. There were also a few tough battles in this area. Beyond that was a room full of poison traps; fortunately, I have "Cure." At the exit to this room, Queen Aeowyn appeared. "Impressive, how you managed to pass through the arena!" she said. "Now, to my throne room. I will wait for you there!"

       

The queen's just hanging out in this room full of poison.

       

Aeowyn's throne room had a couple of pools of water and lots of statues. As I approached, the game noted: "A magnificent queen stands before you. Her beauty and strength awe all who see her, woman and man alike." When she saw me, she had a long speech:

       

My champions, a key awaits you at the palace exit. Use it at the ancient gateway east of the main entrance. Another portal will lead you to the depths of this volcano, where none has dared yet visit. I require four pieces of an ancient map! I enjoin you with this task as a test of your loyalty. Reveal your purpose to no one! Go now! Seek the kingdom of the Night Elves. I will meet you at your quest's end, that we may piece together the maps' meaning.

         

The approach to the throne.

        

I was indeed handed a Queen's Key as I exited. I left a lot of the map unexplored, blocked by enemies I couldn't defeat. But I guess I defeated the "proving grounds" part of the game.

 

The next couple of hours were nothing but frustration. I couldn't defeat the fixed battles with wraiths on Level 4, nor the ones in the Queen's Palace, nor just about anywhere else I went. The game is long and large enough that the last thing I want to do is waste time grinding, but it looks like I may have to if I want to progress. At the very least, I may need to experiment with some of the scrolls the shop offers.

 

These guys are harder than two of anything ought to be.

     

Speaking along those lines, I didn't get a single equipment upgrade this session. I've already bought the best bow, armor, and helmet the shop offers. Leveling has also slowed; I gained two levels (to Level 13) during the first half of this session and none in the second half. I don't know, maybe it's time to call this one. I barely got 1,000 words out of 7 hours of playing time.

   

Time so far: 16 hours