There was a small part of the desert that wasn’t mapped yet, so after writing down the message Aleen deciphered, we asked her to fly us there. This was a mistake.

Year 901, Day 24, Afternoon

The must be magic at work, or some ancient power hidden in the sands, because this last part was infested with nightmarish creatures – death heads, grim reapers, even dinosaurs where somehow brought back from extinction.

We strived to at least get the general outline of the area, but after a week and a half, we’ve simply given up. There was no point. We will get stronger and we will cleanse this horrible place.

That being said, all but the region of Vulcania was now mostly mapped.

Year 901, Day 34, Morning

Deadly Volcano, or a random dungeon? I wonder…

Year 901, Day 34, Moments Later

Magical flight is extremely useful.

Druid Cave

The crazed druids haven’t changed the password since the last breach of security, so we entered the cave with ease. The trouble was, it was a slide and there was no way to go back up.

The cave was damp and flooded, so we were unable to camp at will. Luckily, it seems the druids had an issue with this as well, because they built a series of rooms for resting and meditation, which we were able to use.

Soon enough, albeit after running into some painful traps, we entered the large central chamber with the stairs leading to the outside, so we’ve secured our escape route.

I’m not sure how to react to this one, other than “yay, extra Strength”.

The chamber made obvious the hierarchy of the druids. They worship the elements, which caused them to split into four factions, each taking one part of the large cavern.

We opted to visit the water druids first, since water is usually the most reasonable of the elements. We were right. The arch druid of water was friendly, in a manner of speaking, and even asked for our help, claiming one of the other leaders has been corrupted somehow, and needs to be disposed of.

We reluctantly agreed, but decided to listen to both parts of the story first.

With the water area explored, Alana took us to the surface with her magic and then Aleen flew us back to Middlegate for some rest. Refreshed, we returned to the cave and took to the southern part of it, where the fire druids were.

The fire druids associated with demons! We wouldn’t have any of that, so on that note, we cleared the whole area. This includes the rogue druid Horvath, who was far beyond merely corrupted. His body was completely transformed by the demonic forces. His twisted mind allowed him a brief moment of sanity. He expressed his remorse and then attacked us. In order to defend ourselves, we had to kill him.

I wonder if the floating head is symbolic or descriptive.

The Arch Druid expressed gratitude in the form of the Divine Intervention spell. This powerful incantation is far beyond anyone’s current abilities, but we know it and we will be able to use it eventually.

Messages

This cave served as more than a druid layout. Runes and symbols covered most of the walls, some of them indecipherable, but a few written completely clearly in the common tongue. They seemed to refer to the two wizard fortresses in the nearby bay.

Might and Magic Book Two - Druid Cave Message 1

The first of the two important messages in the cave.

To find the correct approach to the Good Wizard Yekop, follow the path of light: 2-2-4-6-6-12-A-D-F-I

To find the true angle of the Evil Wizard Ymbug, follow the Dark path: 1-3-1-(3 or 7)-9-11-A-C-G-I

…and this is the second message.

The messages were writing clearly, but the meaning was anything but clear. Perhaps it will be clearer, once we challenge the two fortresses.

Year 901, Day 50, Back Outside

After sixteen days of scouring through the cave, we were content enough to consider it fully explored. We had a new ally in the form of an arch druid. We have gotten the world rid of the horrible creature Horvath transformed into and we even enriched our bags with some valuable treasures, such as the enchanted shield Alana is now holding.

It was nasty business clearing this cave, but overall, it was worth it. Hell, it was worth it for the knowledge of Divine Intervention alone.

There’s the quest to kill Horvath and get Divine Intervention in the druid cave, as well as the two messages about the sorcerer quests. There’s also several spots in the dungeon where you get a random magical item of what seems to be higher-than-average quality, but I can’t really be sure.

The big issue is that the cave is hard to navigate because of all the traps, while you also can’t rest in any place other than the meditation rooms. Because of that, the cave isn’t great for training. It might be a good idea to scan for the treasures on occasion, though.

Side Note: Map Progression

Most of the overworld map is fully explored now and I definitely have all the outlines of the world. The biggest chunk that’s missing is the area in the northeast, where the enemies and the terrain are simply too dangerous for me to easily explore yet. I could probably suicide my way through it, but there’d be no point in doing that, in my opinion.

Might and Magic Book Two - World of Cron

The current state of the world map.

In any case, I’ll now start focusing on caves and castles.

Side Note: Party Progression

And finally, we have our usual party report. There have been levels and items this time.

Lorelei, Level 12 Dwarf Knight

Iron Helm +1
Quiet Sling +2
Dark Trident
Hero Medal +2
Mgt Gauntlet +1
Plate Mail +4

Lorelei gained a level and that’s about it. She’s at 120 health already, so I’m thinking either the health gain has improved since book one, or everyone is really lucky.

Priscilla, Level 11 Human Paladin

Iron Helm +1
Hero Medal
Shaman Pipe +7
Magic Charm +1
Plate Armor +2
Ice Sickle +3

Nothing for Priscilla, sadly. I think she’s close to getting a level, but she isn’t there yet. Paladins don’t have as much health as Knights, so she’s at 105 at the moment. She is a level behind, though, so the true health difference is minor.

Rax, Level 12 Half-Orc Robber

Crossbow +2
Thief’s Pick +2
Blazing Axe +4
Silent Horn +3
Great Shield +2
S Chain Mail +4

Rax gained a level, putting her at 96 health. Her thievery is now 73%, but I’m hopping a more powerful set of Thief’s Pick will drop eventually. Some did drop already, but they had the wrong alignment.

Alana, Level 12 Gnome Cleric

Hero Medal +4
Quick Flail +2
Great Shield +4
Helm +4
B Splintmail +4
Defense Ring +2

Alana scored a jackpot this time. She gained a level and got some item upgrades. Her Hero medal is now a Hero Medal +4, putting her at 33 Personality. Her Large Shield + 3 is now a Great Shield +4, which gives her a total armor class of 34, way beyond even Lorelei, who’s at only 24. She’s at 96 health, just like Rax.

Robin, Level 11 Elf Archer

War Hammer +2
Hero Medal +2
Ray Gun +1
Chain Mail +4
Defense Ring +2
Great Bow +5

No upgrades whatsoever for Robin, sadly. She’s also at 96 health and at only 18 armor class. She does already have an awesome bow, though, so I can’t be too mad about it.

Aleen, Level 11 Elf Sorcerer

Dagger +4
Magic Charm +3
Silent Horn +1
Padded Armor +2
Defense Ring +2
Hero Medal

Aleen got Alana’s old Hero Medal, so she has some extra personality now. Other than that, nothing changed for her. She’s at 12 AC and 79HP, meaning she’s usually the first to day. She also takes the lead at the amount of kills by far, so I’m not very bothered by the squishiness.