by ·5 Comments

Hi, my name is Sword and i live in a small village where I was found shipwrecked. I have no idea where my real home is, but the villagers treat me nice and this place feels like home to. I also have a great friend and her name is Anella. Anyway, one day we were talking outside when suddenly some strange lightnings came from the sky and tried to take me. Anella said she will do anything as long as they let me go, so they took her and the rest of the village instead.

Away: Shuffle Dungeon Cover, Box Art

Away: Shuffle Dungeon is a fun and slightly weird game.

I searched the village to see if there’s anyone left, but even the buildings were gone, except for my house. Outside my house, I found the chief’s harp and tried to play it, which then opened a portal. The portal lead to Rock Cliff Dungeon where, after fighting some enemies, I encountered a strange creature. I called the creature “fupong” because of the way it sounds when the it walks. When a fupong is following me, I can cast a spell, but if I do, I cant do it anymore on that level. There were several fupongs around the dungeon, though, so I could gather a bunch of them.

A few levels later, I encountered a giant spider thing and it killed me, several times. A few attempts later, though, it was the spider that went down. The spider was holding the chief captive so I saved him and returned to the village with him and a new armor.

The chief said he thinks it was the “Away” that took the entire village. I went to rest and when I woke up, the chief already managed to rebuild his house again. He said he just needed some carpentry nails to expand the place. He invited me in and it turns out he had a fupong in there, this time a green one. He suggested I should try and feed him to see what happens. He instantly grew into a bigger fupong, this time not some round little thing but a bunny-like creature. Chief decided he will keep a few around, but not to many as they grow fast.

I explored the village some more and found a sword which opened up another portal. This one took me to the Flame dungeon. A few levels in, I’ve found Macey, the weapons shop owner. I went back to town and the chief rebuilt Macey’s weapon shop. I also upgraded it with the Orihalcum I’ve found in the dungeon. After this, I’ve found a shield outside, which again opened a portal, this time to the Ice Dungeon. Pretty soon, I’ve also found Helmut, the armor shop owner. Again, I took him with me and left the dungeon. The chief built him his shop and now both Helmut and Macey are asking me to find and save Giggles, the owner of the inn.

I then did a few runs through the Rocky Cliff Dungeon again to get enough nails for the upgrades for chief’s shop and combined some of the red fupongs. I now have three level 2 red fupongs, which will be useful in the future. After the upgrade, I saved my game and decided to take a break.

by ·6 Comments

I tried out this one yesterday, but I don’t think I will be playing it anymore. The best way to describe it would be Pokemon without the exploration. Or the leveling. Or familiar monsters (to me at least). There’s one town, navigated by menus. You get a random monster by drawing a glyph on the screen or shouting something in the microphone, then you go and train it at your ranch. You need to feed it and let it rest when it gets too tired. Every now and then there’s a tournament where you can win money and other stuff and increase your rank. Once you hit a wall, you try and get a new, better monster by summoning or breeding. All you get in the game are menus. You train through menus, watching a training animation every time, you travel through menus, and basically, you fight through menus. The fights aren’t that good either. You get a screen on which you click to move closer or move away from the enemy and, based on the distance, chose one of 3 attacks. After one minute, the one with more health wins.

Monster Rancher DS Box Art

The box art looks nice, but the game didn’t suck me in.

Basically, for me, it’s a duller and more tedious version of Pokemon and I do not like it one bit. Time to try another one.

by ·1 Comment

I started in a small cottage where I was living since the events of Book One. Due to lack of any real action, I have lost most of my skills. I got some water from the well, filled my water skin and got my equipment. When I opened the front door, a message was waiting for me. The message was written by a man named Darun and it said he was waiting for me at Wayfarer’s Jolly in Eastwillow. It sounded urgent so I decided to make my way there.

Eschalon: Book Two, Player's Home

While the style remains the same, the graphics definitely received a polish in Book Two.

The first building in Eastwillow was the smithy. I spoke to Keebo, the blacksmith and asked if he has any work for me while I’m there. He said a woman named Brelinda asked him to make her a valuable sword, but never paid for it. Since it’s been a year now, he asked me to simply retrieve the sword. Brelinda’s house was to the south. She told me that Keebo was late in making the sword and almost missed the Constable’s birthday entirely. Since the sword was the birthday present, this puts things in a new perspective. I’m not entirely convinced Keebo shouldn’t be paid, but it definitely isn’t as black and white as I thought.

Darus was at the inn as expected. He told me that he was someone from my past, from before I wiped my memory and much earlier than the events of the War for Thearmore. It seems that the goblins weren’t the ones responsible for the invasion, but were actually controlled by a general who now controls the taurax. They have recaptured the Crux of Ages and their vast army is now sweeping across the land. They are looking for the three remaining Crux and will stop at nothing in order to acquire them. Darus and I are actually members of an ancient guild called Crius Vindica and our sole task is to prevent the Crux from ever being reunited. Before he could tell me anything else, an arrow flew through the window and killed him where he was standing. I took the arrow that killed him, in the hope of finding his killer at one point, and I also took a strange looking glass. I reported the murder to the innkeeper and asked him about the looking glass, but he couldn’t tell me anything.

Eschalon: Book Two, Character Screen

The character screen also received a facelift, as well as an upgrade of options.

I proceeded to talk to everyone in town. A girl named Wendy asked me to look for her brother, somewhere to the east and ask if she could live with him for a while. The local priest asked me to help with one of his apprentices who started acting strange and disappeared recently. He said I should check the well behind the church. The well had a ladder leading into the depths below so I climbed down into a cave. The cave led to a series of catacombs which I tried to fully explore, but it was not easy without having any points in cartography skill. I finally managed to find Julian but he was completely mad. He kept talking about “Four Stars” and “The One” and, even though I tried my best to calm him down, attacked me, so I had to kill him.

After using the key to get his possessions (he won’t need them), I came back to town and told the priest about what happened. I then went back to the blacksmith to ask him about the arrow and aside from telling me it’s a pretty good arrow, he didn’t know much. The magick shopkeeper, however, said that the shop owner, her uncle, should know more about the looking glass. She said he lives in a house by a lake to the west so that’s where I will be going next. Right now, I saved my game and decided to take a break.

After loading the game back up today, I started to explore for a bit and, since it got dark soon, I did a bit of thieving. I mean, Richard (the character) is a thief. In Brelinda’s house, I’ve found some suspicious papers showing that the Constable was making some strange withdrawals. I also tried to go to his house to steal the sword back, but by then, it was day again so I couldn’t do it. Instead, I went east and pretty soon got to a farm the owner of which is getting attacked by giant dragonflies. He asked me to find their nest and destroy it, so I went looking for it. I killed a few, but it was dark again and I was low on health so I traveled back to Easthollow. I saved my game again and stopped playing.

by ·4 Comments

After waking up, I searched the town again. I’ve found an abandoned house by the south gate and easily broke in. In there, I’ve found a body and on it a note explaining how to enter the Repository. I need to register at the inn under a fake name. The innkeeper took me to a special room from where a secret passage led to the repository. I got in, showed my amulet to the Vault Keeper and opened my chest. It contained the legendary Crux of Ages and another note.

The note said that it was in fact me writing the notes to myself. I somehow came into possession of the Crux of Ages together with my brother and was hunted by a powerful goblin shaman. He uses a technique based on memories in order to track people, so the only way to hide was to erase my identity. The problem is, my brother didn’t manage to do that and is now being held captive and tortured by the goblins at Vela. I am to go there and set him free.

Since I already have the waypoint, I quicktraveled to Vela and started scouting the place. The place was filled with traps, so I had to go back to Blackwater a few times to rest and restock on recovery items. I decided to explore to the north first and found another goblin warlord. Thanks to some nicely placed explosive barrels, he was disposed of easily. He dropped a golden key, so I took it and went south.

Eschalon: Book One, Nice Misty Scene

With good styling, any game could look good, no matter how low the tech.

After defeating a minotaur-like monster and a bunch of goblin archers, I have finally found my brother in a building in the south. He was chained to a cross in a way that it would be impossible to free him without killing him. He told me that the goblin shaman is somehow controlling the chancellor and this is why there is no one defending Thearmore. In addition to that, the Crux of Ages might somehow prevent the mind control and that is why it’s so important. In the end, he asked me to end his suffering and I complied. It was either that, or leave him die in agony.

Eschalon: Book One, Nice Lighting

Even lighting effects can look good in low tech.

I now have to go to Shadowmirk and warn the wizards there of an impending goblin attack. According to my map, Shadowmirk is actually the strange tower I passed by on my quest to clear the slimes from the Marshes of Boradan. Since I have already found the back entrance and opened the front gate, it was easy to enter this time. I’ve killed the floating eye and then continued to explore a tower. I’ve encountered an empty candlestick with some jeweled eggs engraved on its surface and soon encountered a puzzle room which would send me back to start if I stepped on the wrong tile. Past the room were two chests, each with a sign above it that contained a riddle. One was “give me strength”, and the other was “ease my pain”. My guess is, I need to put an item in each chest, but at this point, I have no idea which item to put where. I assumed I will get the items in the tower, so I continued to explore. In another room, I’ve found an apprentice mage named Walter, who told me that the mage I’m looking for resides on the top floor of the tower. The only way to get there is to solve the tower riddles and this is what he is attempting to do as well. The problem is, he dropped the key to the necromancy lab in the arachnid chamber and is now too drained to get it.

I got the key to the necromancy lab and opened it. All the rooms were filled with bones but there were no enemies. I went to the last room where I got a bunch of items and potions in a chest. Sure enough, as I looted this chest, a bunch of skeletons spawned from the bones, so I had to fit my way out. Since I explored everything I could, it was time to go back to the puzzle room. I tried putting a healing potion in one chest, and one of the two unidentified potions that I got in the lab in the other chest, and it worked. I stepped on the teleporter and appeared in another room. I got the key from a nearby barrel and opened the door to level two.

The second level was much easier. It started off with a short and simple teleporter labyrinth which led me to the main residential area. After doing some looting and stealing, I’ve soon found the proving room where a leaver released a raptor and two giant lizards to attack me. I killed one of the lizards while the other one attacked the raptor, and then I finished both of them. I continued up the stairs to the third level. This was the top level so I’ve found Erubor here. He was already aware of the impending attack and of the fact that the chancellor is being controlled. According to him, the Crux of Ages needs to be found (the last note I wrote to myself said I should not tell anyone I have it) and brought back to its rightful place, the Bastion Spire. The problem is that every conceivable entry to the Spire is blocked now, since the chancellor isn’t allowing anyone there. The only way to access it is the way the goblins took when they stole the Crux in the first place – the portal at the goblin citadel.

Eschalon: Book One, A Nice View

This view was a nice reward for climbing the lighthouse.

In order for me to get to the citadel, I need four keys, one in the wizard’s chamber, and three in possession of various goblin warlords. I already have two, so I just need the last one. Lucky for me, the giants managed to acquire that one and the wizard has already sent word of me coming for it. The giants live in the deserts to the southwest, which, as I’ve been told, is pretty much the toughest place in the region, so I decided to go there, since I’m brave, and a hero and all. On the way there, I got the last waypoint which is also in the middle of some ruins. I also had to fight 2 taurax to get to it. After passing through the southern gate, I decided to do some exploring and arrived at an abandoned lighthouse. I’ve cleared it of enemies, found a boat at the docks in the back and managed to turn the beacon back on. As I was getting out I got ambushed by a heap of goblins and I have to say, demon oil turned out to be extremely useful.

Eschalon: Book One, Mountains.

The mountains seem a bit out of place on a static screen, but in motion, it looks fine.

After this, I decided to try and get to the giants, but not before finding a wrecked caravan and a letter addressed to a woman in Blackwater. I decided to deliver it, but first, I wanted to get to the giants on the western shore of the area. On the way there, I’ve found a strange building with three teleporter pads. Only one of them was working and it transported me a bit to the west of Blackwater in a tiny area completely walled off by mountains. There was nothing there as far as I could see, so I went back and finally got the giants’ village. I talked to the chief and, after explaining to him what my goals are, he agreed to give me his key, but only after I do a task for him. I need to recover their last chieftains’ skull from a hunting camp in Baron’s Thicket. At first, I thought I will have to fight the hunters, but it seems they had a sort of Jurassic Park thing going on and kept live raptors to hunt for sport. Off course, the raptors broke loose and killed everyone. I got the skull and I came back. Oh, by the way, as it turns out, that teleporter in the strange building near the village actually was a shortcut to Blackwater. It was dark when I got there so I didn’t see a lever that opens a passage. This will definitely be useful, no matter how you look at it.

I quicktraveled to Loneloft by the south gate to try and find that oasis from which the talking tree asked me to get water. It wasn’t too hard to find, but it was protected by traps and taurax so I had to do some tedious kiting. Since I can’t quicktravel in the desert, I had to use the teleporter. On the way there, I brought the skull to the giants. The chieftain gave me the key and even promised the giants’ aid in the assault on the citadel. I used the teleporter and then quicktraveled to Bordertown to get to the tree. After giving the water to it, it told me about a bow, made from its branches, buried with a hero in the Tanglewood Ossuary to the south. Before going there, I went to Blackwater to heal and rest up. I went there, fought a bunch of ghosts, zombies and skeletons and got the bow. The problem is, while it does do more damage than my current bow, it also weighs a lot, so the only way I can cast spells while wielding it is if I remove my gloves completely. I guess I have to put a few points into strength finally. I went on through the tunnels, pulling levers and killing zombies, and finally realized that the tunnel leads to Crakamir (the desert). I got out in northern Crakamir and decided to go assault the citadel now. I have a few side quests left, but at this point, I really don’t think it’s worth it to waste my time on those.

The giants kept their promise and the assault on the courtyard was easy. Once we killed everyone there, I had to go in alone as the giants are too big for the goblin structures. I was running a bit low on arrows, but I decided to risk it and go in anyway. The main entrance was blocked, so I had to find another way to the next floor. I was exploring the side passages, clearing goblins and other monsters on the way and eventually got into the main chamber from the back. After clearing the area, I pulled the levers to open a way out and used the keys to open the gates to the next floor. I was extremely low on arrows by now, but luckily, I’ve found a teleporter that takes me back to the strange building I mentioned before. I used it to get there, and then used the other teleporter to get to Blackwater. I bought a bunch of arrows and other supplies and went back.

Eschalon: Book One, View of the Throne Room

The Throne Room.

The second level was pretty straightforward. I had to fight some spiders first, then I went through a labyrinth inhabited by three taurax (minotaur) and finally I have reached the shaman. He tried to offer me money to leave, but I decided to use the opportunity to attack him by surprise. I kept a stack of 9 assassination arrows just for this battle and I used all of them to kill him. After this, I plundered his riches and then used the teleport to get to Bastion Spire. I put the Crux on the pedestal and went to see the chancellor. The effect of the Crux was instantly noticeable and the chancellor thanked me and summoned a council to question me. My quest was completed.

Eschalon: Book One, Ending Screen

The game ends with text, which was to be expected from a low budget title.

This was a great old school game which I recommend to all fans of the genre. If you loved games like Baldur’s Gate or even the older D&D style games I cannot recommend this one more. It has all the elements that make these types of games great.

by ·0 Comments

I just realized i haven written anything about this game in a while. I have prepared a post but it somehow slipped my queue. There is no point in writing to much now, but I just wanted to say that I have actually completed the game, only a day or two after my last post. It was not hard at all and I even managed to defeat the green dragon, who was the toughest enemy in the game. My assassin was also max level so I had no real reason to continue playing that character. I actually even completed all the side quests, including all the extra spells I could learn.

by ·0 Comments

So, yesterday I decided to ditch the dungeons for a while and just try to make money. Week three was easy as pie and I actually had lots of inventory and items left for week four. I started to stock up on items when their prices drop and then wait to sell them when it rises. I also upgraded my shop because it seems that, the more expensive the furniture and the decorations are, the more money the customers have. I started buying and reselling more expensive items and pretty soon I got the 200.000 I needed for week four.

Recettear -

I know it’s probably a cultural difference, but characters like these make the game harder to play publicly.

After week four, I had about 100.000 and an even bigger inventory left. For a while, all the items were insanely cheap, but I decided to risk it and kept buying. I also bought a vending machine and started using it to sell food and other lower value items that I could buy an unlimited amount off. Since my merchant level was over 20, I was making lots of money even selling at base price. The deadline was getting close and I was at about 300.000 when the market exploded. Pretty much all the items I was buying at decreased prices suddenly greatly increased in price. I ended the week with over one million pix. Since all I needed to pay was 500.000, I had another half a million left.

Recettear - The Annoying Character

This one is part of the whole “annoying and mean, but in reality insecure” troppe.

As it turns out, this was the last week of payment so my store and house are now mine to keep. I stayed through the credits and the game told me I unlocked New Game+, which allows me to start a completely fresh game but with the items, shop and cash I had in a save slot I choose. I also unlocked survival mode in which the payments never stop and grow bigger and bigger every week. The last mode i unlocked is endless mode which allows me to continue the completed game with no pressure and no more payments.

In any case, the story is completed and I can now decide to continue and try to unlock more stuff, or I can go and play a different game. Whatever I choose, this game will probably stay on my hard drive for a long time. I definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes cute characters and fun mechanics.

by ·0 Comments

So I got to the end of week three. Bad news, I had less than 10 000 pix and Recette was forced to live out the rest of her days in a cardboard box. The good news, it was all a dream. I am back to day 2 with all the money I had left, my store upgraded and all of my inventory intact. I guess I get to try again.

Recettear - A Nice View of the Town

The game can be very beautiful at times.

The greatest news is, even Louie kept his XP. While losing terribly, I also managed to get the next hero, a mage this time. He has a hard time believing that Recette is in fact the owner of the shop and prefers to address Tear.

Recettear - A Hero

This is another hero, though I can’t remember her name.

On my first go, before I lost, I managed to get to level 15 of the second dungeon and lost there against Charme. This time, though, Louie’s level was a bit higher and he had better gear so I beat her easily. The next level is actually a boss run so I got that out of the way to. In any case, I am in week three again, and things are looking much, much better, though I’m not actually sure I will make it this time either. The certain thing is, if I don’t make it, my inventory will be even bigger next time.

by ·0 Comments

I got this game today, and I must say, I really, really like it. Basically, you run an item shop for RPG adventurers. You buy stuff low and sell high, all in order to pay of your dad’s debts. Every week, you have a certain amount you need to repay and the amount goes higher and higher. The game is extremely cute and has a happy atmosphere.

Recettear - Main Character

A cute kid is the trademark of any JRPG of the 2D kind, I guess.

Every day, you can also hire an adventurer to go to a dungeon and possibly get some new merchandise that way. The risk is high, as it takes allot of time, and if the adventurer dies, you only get to bring a single item back, but if you do well, it’s definitely worth it.

Recettear - First Payment

I pay my dues.

I started the first week with some spare change and used that to buy some swords at the Merchant’s guild. I sold all of those at a profit and then went to the Adventurer’s guild to see how that works. Lucky for me, a rookie adventurer named Louie was looking for work, so I got him for free. We entered the first dungeon and he died at level 3. Now, he doesn’t really die, but this meant that I only got a single item. I used the cash from that item to buy and resell some more stuff and then went to try again. This time, we managed to get to level 5 of the first dungeon and got the treasure, which was actually an adventuring license for Louie. As of now, he won’t be working for free anymore. After some more buying, adventuring and selling, I managed to get the 10 000 and then some that I needed for the first week and that was it.

For the second week, I needed to make 30 000. I started off with clearing the first ten levels of the next dungeon with Louie. I didn’t do it in one go, but I might as well have as it was pretty easy. This also means I defeated the Slime King and a giant mouse. While doing this, the prices of candy rose up, so I managed to make some money out of that category of drops. A day or two after my adventuring, the prices of heavy armor dropped to half, so I bought a bunch in preparation for the future. Pretty soon they rose back up and this is how I made enough money for week two. Before I did that, though, I managed to let Louie die in a dungeon again.

Recettear - Louie, The Swordsman

The first hero! He will die often.

Anyways, It’s week three now and I need to make 80 000 this time, I don’t know if I’ll make it, but I will do my best.

Capitalism, ho!

by ·2 Comments

I went to the wasp caves and started exploring for a bit, but ran out soon after. While the wasps do die in 2-3 hits, it´s pretty hard to hit them in complete darkness. I decided to quicktravel back to Bordertown to get some Predator Sight potions, but when I got there, I realized I have a level in elemental and divine magic now. Since I already had a scroll in my inventory, I read it and learned the Predator Sight spell. While I was at it, I also learned a few other spells. In any case, the caves will be allot easier now. I went back in and continued to explore. I gathered some larvae for that guy in the crypts and killed a bunch of wasps. I’ve also found a friendly goblin named Gruzz in the caves. He says he keeps the wasps away with smoke and gathers gems, since this used to be a mine. He is hiding from the war and he also mentioned that the goblin leader is a shaman who is looking for some special, magical gem. As I was leaving, he mentioned a lockbox in the goblin citadel and told me the combination for it. A few tunnels later, I have found the hive queen and defeated her with ease. At first I thought I might have to lead her back to a stack of gunpowder barrels, but as it turns out, she moves pretty slowly, so all it took is a few shots from my bow.

Eschalon: Book One, Forest

The forest is a dangerous place when there’s a bunch of giant wasps chasing you.

I took the queen’s stinger and brought it to Lilith as prove of her death. Lilith told me that the amulet is actually a key to a lockbox in the Underground Repository, the most secure bank in the world. I quicktraveled to Blackwater where the Repository should be located, but I couldn´t find it, so I decided to explore for a bit. I went and gave the larvae to the man in the crypt and he gave me some of his incinerating fluid. Then I went and found the sextant for the shipwrecked guy and he decided he could teach me cartography. While doing some more exploring, I stumbled into the last Burley Oak tree completely by accident and took an acorn with me. I have it to the shopkeeper in Blackwater to also complete this quest. I also managed to find the Tangletree Ossuary waypoint. Since I only have two waypoints left, I will try and find those now.

I quicktraveled back to Bordertown and started to explore in the southwest direction, towards where the map says Vera is. On my way through Baron´s Thicket, I had to kill a bunch of raptors, but since they give 110 experience each, I definitely didn´t mind. In the end I managed to find the waypoint, quicktraveled to Blackwater, spent the night at the inn and saved my game.

by ·0 Comments

After some exploring of the crypts, I met a man named Hesham. He does the corpse incinerating in the crypts and is trying to find a way to speed up the process. For that, he needs some larvae so he asked me to get him some and I agreed. After some more exploring, past a room full of bats, I’ve found a secret passage that lead to some sort of study. In a desk, I’ve found the book for that shopkeeper I mentioned earlier. I´m getting low on arrows.

Eschalon: Book One, Cover, Box Art

Even the cover gives that old school feeling.

I kept exploring, killing bats, slimes and even two walking corpses, and in the end, I’ve found the amulet I was looking for. The way out was easy and straightforward, so I quicktraveled back to Aridell and gave the book I’ve found to Abygail. I got 250 gold pieces for it.

Now, according to the note, I need to take the amulet to a woman named Lilith, who lives in the heart of Tangletree forest. Before that, I quicktraveled back to Bordertown and luckily, the blacksmith there had 250 arrows. I also bought a belt and Scout´s Sandals, which increase my cartography by two and now I´m poor again. While there, I also asked the Innkeeper about Lilith and he told me she lives near the lake, which narrows it down by allot. I also learned something revolutionary, most items stack. Until now, all the reagents and flasks I gathered took most of my inventory space, but not anymore.

I went south to find Lilith and encountered a talking tree on the way. It says that it´s a direct descendant of the first tree ever to be planted in this region. It wishes to help me on my quest, but only if I prove myself to be worthy. In northwest Crakamir there is an oasis of completely pure water. I need to bring a flask of it to the tree. Off course, I accepted the quest. A few minutes later, I´ve reached the lake and found Lilith´s home. She examined the amulet. She said that she can identify the amulet for me, but first I have to complete a task for her. As I am already aware, the forest is infested with giant wasps. There must be a hive queen somewhere, probably in the caves to the south, and I am to kill her in order to stop the infestation. Lilith would do it herself, but she is allergic to bee stings. What that has to do with wasps, I do not know.

Eschalon: Book One, Map of Game World

Some day, when I’m rich, I’ll collect a bunch of game maps and start printing them on cloth.

Before I did this, however, I decided to try and get to Blackwater. It was a pretty long voyage, but I managed to reach it. I had to pay 100 gold pieces to gain access to the city, but since it’s for life, I decided it’s a good deal. I went and talked to the councilman who said that some mercenaries are planning to assassinate him and asked for my help on the matter. Since it’s probably good pay, I accepted. Next was the blacksmith who said he ordered some Divine Ore from father Michael to the east. The shipment got ambushed, so now the bandits have it. I off course, promised to return it. Vekkar at the shop of magicks asked me to get the acorn from the last of the Burley Oak trees in order to save the species from destruction. I also bought a level of divination at the temple and some skill increasing books at the tavern. At the house of pain, I’ve learned level one swords and at the magick guild, level one elemental magic. I quicktraveled back to Bordetown and saved the game.

Loading the game later today, i decided to make a detour and try to clear Grimmhold. After disposing some bats at the entrance, I´ve found a wounded soldier who was expecting reinforcements. The goblins broke the gate mechanism and are now infesting the lower levels where a way to open the gate is located. I promised to clear the goblins and open the way west again. Eventually, after fighting my way through a bunch of goblins and even killing a goblin warlord, I’ve found the control mechanism for the secondary flood gates, pushed the lever, and the gate at the ground floor opened. I´ve found the locket for the innkeeper in Bordertown, as well as the waypoint, fought my way through some wasps, which now die in 2-3 hits and quicktraveled back to Bordertown.

After getting the 200 gold pieces for the locked and restocking on arrows, i decided to try and deliver the ceramic crucible to the blacksmith in Blackwater. I couldn’t quicktravel because the thing was too heavy, so I made the long trek on foot. It wasn’t hard at all, since I’ve cleared the way earlier. After this, I quicktraveled back to Bordertown and decided to try and clear the swamp for the boatman. The swamp turned out to be extremely easy. The slimes were of the type that gives 35 experience points so they were dying in 1-2 hits. After killing about ten of them, i continued to explore south. I’ve encountered a sign saying there was a shortcut to Darkford to the west. It sounded suspicious so I explored it with caution. As i expected, I got ambushed by some thugs. After killing them, I inspected their camp and found Mary, the stranded woman´s husband. I went and told her the sad news. She did not take it well, but thanked me anyway and told me that there is a powerful sword to the west of Grimmhold in her father’s old home. She also gave me the combination for the chest containing it. Since it seemed like a quick thing to do, I went and took the sword. The house was overrun by goblins so i had to clear those to. I returned to Bordertown and saved my game. I think i will go kill the hive queen next.