Might and Magic 3 (Ch. 5)

Ongoing blog of Might and Magic 3: Isles of Terra

Chapter 5 - Baywatch

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Once we'd dispatched the skeletons at the town gate, Lydia led me in a beeline straight for the Temple Mandrake, where the monks took a nominal fee and cured my ears of that accursed ringing.

"What -were- those things?" I asked my burglar ally.

"Screamers--a kind of magic poltergeist. Not too tough as you saw, but their screams stick with you and can drive a person insane without help."

"Hrmm...but we'll need to get through there to finish exploring the "A" sectors."

There was no clerical spell that could cure the insanity caused by the screamers. The monks at the temple had their own rituals for cleansing it, but there was no prayer or scroll that we could take with us into those woods.

"We'll have to try and kill them at a distance wherever possible. Between my prayers and your crossbow, we should be able to do a fair job of 'em. As long as we can kill them faster then they reform--we should be able to find where they're originating from and seal it up."

"Maybe...but if things go sour don't expect me to carry you back to Baywatch again." Lydia scowled. "This place is dangerous."

"I didn't get a chance to thank you for that. Thanks, friend." I mumbled back moodily to her as I found Corak's notebook.

"I h'aint your friend, jackass." Lydia griped, "Just...consider it payback for Fountain Head."

I pretended not to hear her and let her lean against the temple wall while I found the crease in the notebook's pages and began to read.

A clap of thunder shook the town in the midst of the battles between the Kings Righteous and Malicious--and then, up from the ground several unholy pits opened with the undead crawling out of them.

Likely, I reasoned--it was an act of neutrality's King Chaotic. Probably an attack on Righteous's port to keep him from sailing across the isles and assaulting Malicious's castle in greater numbers. This way, the battle could be dragged out longer to Chaotic's own advantage.

Skeletons weren't the only undead to be found shambling around town. Along the merchant's row, zombies lurched from around the alleys to attack. Their bites could cause disease--another condition that I could suppress with my magic to keep the severity down but could not cure--yet. Luckily, these zombies were partially rotten and extremely slow. Going toe to toe with them and toppling them to pieces was no trouble at all.

The goblin slop they sold at "The Galley", the local alehouse, somehow smelled worse than orc gruel but kept a little easier on long journeys. With a 10-days supply of food we could venture out a little further without starving.

A piece of grafitti near the goods clearinghouse contained the keyword "Seadog". Another passphrase for the mirror teleportal. There was one in this town as well, just as in Fountain Head. Knowing both "Home" and "Seadog", we could travel between both towns in the span of a moment instead of a day's journey.

Chozan the Seer at the local tradesmen's Greek House had studied for most of his life in the local Albatross Guild. For the modestly low price of 100 gold I could buy my own membership from him and avail myself of the library there. I was eager to pain more clerical spells and made that our next stop.

"Do you seek the wisdom of the albatross?"  Like the great birds that sail across the sea, the Albatross Guild was opened by a founder who brought back much knowledge and skill from the Mutant Mountains to the north--not far from King Malicious's castle -- Dragontooth.

From this guild I was able to regain my Power Cure spell--which I had lost in the journey from Varn. This healing spell would grow stronger with me and be the workhorse prayer that kept us alive through many difficult challenges. This guild also had a prayer for Turning Undead, which seemed quite auspicious given the state the city was currently in.

In the Greek House, we met a robed ascetic who introduced himself as Brother Alpha. He told us a tale of magical sea shells that rested at the bottom of the ocean and were retrieved by the evil Spellbinder, Blackwind for central use in his rituals. Although Castle Blackwind and it's magical shells were now lost -- the great nymph of the sea, Athea, still coveted the shells and would shower great rewards on those who returned them.

Our interest was piqued, and when we affirmed that we were interested in learning more about the legend, Brother Alpha cupped in his hands a small worm--he whispered closely to it until it glowed with a strange magic, and then--setting it on the ground--it began to burrow under.

"I have sent word to my brother--Beta, to expect you. You will find him in the caverns below this town. Oh--and you should take this coin. It may aid you."

Rummaging in his desk--Alpha handed us a small round coin with a hole in the middle. Inscribed on it's face was the word 'Quatloo'.

"A 'Quatloo'? What is that?"

Alpha shrugged. "I dunno. One of our brothers brought some back from a long journey."

Well--this little stopover on our way south had turned into quite a little excursion.

In the corner of town where the majority of the undead pits had opened up--a wall had been erected with a warning sign reading "Unholy Hall". It seemed almost venerable--as though perhaps the townspeople were trying to appease whatever force had brought the undead upon them.

The amassed crowd of skeletons and zombies were of little threat since we had come expecting them. The ravenous ghoul that was also lingering there however was a fair bit stronger and faster -- with a toxic scratch that could weaken us and make melee even more undesirable. With my Turn Undead prayer though--I was able to ignite the walking dead with Almighty fires that eventually burned them all to cinders.

Warning signs were erected around many of the pits. Pit of Doom. Pit of Desolation. Pit of Shame. Most of them were too shallow to lead to the underground caverns--but Lydia and I took turns searching them anyway--often coming up with a cache of gold or gems. The unholy magic that clung to these spaces though often did great damage and inflicted us with poison or disease. But a trip back to the Temple Mandrake was easy now that we had destroyed most of the malingering undead.

Eventually, we found a sewer access that opened into the caverns underneath the city. Taking a quick note at Corak's notes -- I took careful note of the warning about the Phantom. Another kind of undead creature--one that had the ability to cause unnatural aging with it's touch. We would have to be careful.

Piles of toxic sludge were piled here and there throughout the cavern. The caustic fluid burned to the touch and we had no means of levitating over them. With my prayer of Elemental Protection though--we could mitigate Acid's effects and make trudging through these areas less cumbersome.

In hidden cells behind some of the walls we would find the remains of shackled humanoids. Most of them simply crumbled to dust under our searching. On others--we would occasionally find jewelry or other trinkets, which we had no objections about taking. What need have the dead for such trifles?

Occasionally--a pit of spikes would open beneath our feet, causing us to fall and take great injury. Poor Lydia had thinner skin than I and would make such great curses that I felt a little guilty for demanding she follow me down here.

Still--with my power cure I could ease her wounds quickly and she was readily able to keep up with me. Without a levitation spell -- there was nothing to be done for it except endure.

At one corridor--I thought I heard a muffled cry. Something was alive nearby that didn't sound like a monster.

"Lydia--did you hear that?"

Lydia was already up close to the wall and listening intently--knocking with her hand.

"This wall is hollow. I don't know if I can break it down, but you probably could."

I put my potion of strength from the Zingaro trader to good use and, with a mighty heave, charged into the wall shoulder first and broke it to pieces!

Ugh! Another Screamer! And a bubbleman! I thought I had seen the last of those nasty things in Fountain Head. They got the jump on us when I sent the wall crashing in, but Lydia was quick to shoot the Screamer down before it's punishing wail could be elicited. The bubbleman similarly went down with ease.

In the back of this cell, among the skeletons hanging in shackles--we saw a figure huddled in the corner.


"You....you're not from the Temple of Moo, are you?" came her cautious voice.

"I'm not from around here -- if that's what you mean." I replied.

She came out from her corner. A human woman--dressed in broken leather armor and wielding a club. She looked like a formidable fighter--although in a condition that was somewhat worse for wear. There were deep bruisings on her wrists.

"Your wrists...you were shackled and left here to rot, weren't you?" I asked. Lydia stayed silent but kept a hand on the hilt of her cutlass, just in case.

"I'm a ranger from Druid's Hold. When the wars of alignment started and the goblins and sprites starting moving into the woods--a lot of druids converted or were pressed in by the Temple of Moo. This cave is where they imprisoned the ones who didn't cooperate..."

"But you got out of your shackles..."

The woman winced and lowered her guard--feeling suitably reassured that we were not hostile to her. In turn--I lowered my weapons and came in closer to examine her while Lydia looked out for roaming beasts or undead.

"I heard your elf friend cursing something fierce...stepped in a few of the pitfall traps, hrmm? I got cornered in the cell here and would have been easy prey for those two if you hadn't answered my call."

I used my power cure on her wounded arms and she heaved a sigh of relief as the bruising faded to clean, mended flesh.

"My name's Stella. In the grove, I watch the stars and pray for the Good of Terra. I owe you a great deal for coming to my aid. Are you on a quest, adventurers?"

Lydia took her attention away from the hall to glance in at Stella and then myself. Her look was not disapproving--in fact, it looked as though she had a keen interest in the ranger.

"I'm looking for someone. Have you ever heard of Corak the Mysterious?" I inquired.

"No...I don't think---no, wait a moment...I think...maybe..."

I leaned in closer and eyed her quizzically, "Yes? Go on."

"In my readings of the stars...I once saw an omen of great conflict. Two stars like angels--descending arm in arm as they fell to the northeast..in my meditation I heard the name whispered on the wind..."Rak....Coh Rak....Coh Rak..."

I felt my mind stirring in the back of my skull. Two stars..it made me think of Corak descending into the pyramids, seeking his prisoner while the fate of Terra's people lay on the edge of a knife pending the end of their conflict.

"He is...a friend, of sorts. I think he is here to protect this world from a danger greater than any of us realize -- and he may need my help."

"Alas...I do not know where to find your auspicious friend. But you have saved my life and if it is the will of the land--I will lend you my life in turn to stand by your side."

"You would be a welcome addition. To escape imprisonment is no easy task. Lydia? What do you think?"

I expected Lydia to be less welcoming of an extra partner to share our loot with. But she was surprisingly supportive of the idea. Tossing a spare knife at the ranger's feet -- it would have to do until we could return to the surface and outfit her with proper gear.

"A ranger is good luck, you know. There's much treasure to be found in the dangerous wilds." Lydia nodded to me, "And we could use a good pathfinder to spot them."

Ahh--the predictable lust for gold. At least there would be no tension between the two of them despite their mismatched alignment.

"This cell is sealed up good." I pointed out as we crept along the corridor and found another side passage.  "Lydia, can you open it?"

"Psh. As if you need to ask."

There were more living prisoners on the other side. Darlana the cleric and Sir Galant the knight were, like Stella -- recently imprisoned. Sold by the clerics of the Moo cult. Their sense of honor bade them thank us bit they did not offer themselves to join us freely--indicating that they would return to the Inn and come with us if we wanted to purchase their services.

Like MM2, MM3 allows you to buy hirelings to join your party who take a per-day salary that goes up as they level. Your max party size is 8--so, if you have a full complement of 6 handmade characters, you can add two hirelings. Since I have only three characters right now, I could hire up to 5. However--I generally don't like using hirelings and just ignore them. They can sometimes join your party with keys in your inventory that allow access to different dungeons, but that cuts out some of the fun of exploring imho.

 In one of the cells was a shackled skeleton that appeared long dead. I closed in on it to loot it.

"Wait--what are you -doing-?" Stella interrupted me.

"Huh? I'm looking for valuables, of course."

"We should leave these poor souls to rest in peace."

Lydia chuckled mercilessly but covered her mouth politely when Stella glared at her.

"Stella--they're dead. They don't need their valuables anymore where they are."

The ranger was adamant, "It does a disservice to their memory to defile their place of rest."

"Rest? You call being imprisoned and left to rot and starve to death rest?"

At this, the ranger was slightly stalled.

"I understand your objection, Good ranger. But know this--I am on a quest to aid Corak against a danger that may well threaten all of Terra. If we can glean any resources from the dead here--it will aid us in that quest. -They- will aid us in that quest."

"I...don't know." Stella was becoming swayed by my argument. I had a way with words. But before I could continue my argument--the skeletal figure shook slightly, causing us all to jump back and go into combat-ready.

"Oh, bother," A voice from the skeleton came, "I haven't got time to listen to this prattle all day."

A veneer of enchantment seemed to dissipate from the shackled figure in a puff of magic smoke. And within, a robed figure emerged--rubbing his sore wrists.

"What the hell?" Lydia murmured.

"I'm brother Beta." the figure introduced himself. "My brother said you would be coming."

"You were looking for the seashells, right? "The Shell of Serenity" they're called. They're hidden on an island somewhere on the seas. Regrettably, I do not know the name or location of this island--but my brother Gamma might know a little more. You can find him in Wildabar."

"Wildabar?" I inquired quizzically. Lydia gave me a nudge.

"City further south. Near King Chaotic's castle. Nice city. Has a bit of a gang problem."

"Gang?"

As Lydia informed me about the ninja clan that had moved into Wildabar and made it their home--brother Beta waves a hand over the ground--where a crack appeared and widened until the groundwater was visible. A small fish came up to the surface and Beta leaned down and mouthed some words to it--whereupon the fish dived back under the water and out to the sea.

"I've sent word to him to expect your arrival. Now if you'll excuse me..."

Beta started to move himself back towards his shackles--but then stopped.

"Oh--while you're here, you should take this coin."

Beta rummaged in his pockets and handed me a small round coin with a hole in the middle--it looked identical to the one brother Alpha had shared with us.

"Another Quatloo Coin? What am I supposed to do it with it?"

Beta shrugged, "You tell me. When you find out. Now if you'll excuse me -- I need to get back to my shackles.

With that, Beta locked himself back into his chains and with a chant of magic spell--the veneer of a rotting skeleton illusion once more covered his body.

"Why are you hanging there, anyway?" I asked.

"Is that any of your business?" shook the skeleton.

"Er....no...I just..."

"Then get out of here."

What an odd group of brothers.

Spiked pits and bubbling pools of acid were numerous as we went further into the caves. With my prayer of elemental protection, passing through the acid was marginally safer--and we did so whenever we could choose one over the other to cross.

At the end of our long sojourn we finally stumbled upon the Phantom overseeing this place, flanked by more Screamers. Worse -- we had just crossed a spiked pit and our stamina was weakened. Faced with the choice of staying put and attacking or fleeing, I chose the former. With the Phantom still some meters away from us I blasted it with my spell of Undead Turning and managed to singe it to ashes before it could close in and artificially age any of us. The spell would not work on the Screamers though and we had to melee them--though through the grace of some Almighty we managed to resist the insanity that their terrible peals would bring.

At last we fled this accursed hole and rested and regrouped in Baywatch. With our work here finished--the city was as marginally safe as it was probably going to get. With a new ally in tow--our next step would be to cross a whole forest full of Screamers in the south.