Well, I spent some more time playing lego blocks, and when I couldn’t take any more, went to speak with Aldanon in the keep library.
By some miracle, he’d managed to find Ammon Jerro’s haven in the mountains. There was also mention made of a strong concentration of infernal magics in that location. Somehow, I wasn’t surprised.
So we took off for the place, naturally. The Haven was protected by a Guardian who sent us through three trials. Just having Shandra wasn’t enough. Of course not.
First there were three braziers scattered around. Each was guarded by gargoyles, with a few fire elementals and whatnot thrown in for our amusement. We had to search the bodies for a heart, one for each brazier.
Putting a heart in a brazier caused shadows to appear. Killing them off at each brazier completed the first trial.
Then there was Old Faithful. This was a geyser that spewed highly acidic water, and some had to be captured in a vial. I kept everyone else back, especially as smaller geysers erupted from time to time. This was an easy one, as I made my dex save and came away unscathed.
The last one was certainly the nastiest. We’d been told that a shaman would, in the future, cause untold havoc and misery in the world. On the other hand, it’s difficult to strike down someone for what hasn’t been done yet (well, maybe if his name had been Hitler…).
Ergo, I decided to let him live. That may not have been the best choice, because we were attacked by barbarian spirits who were incredibly tough. The team went down like ninepins, and I only managed by invoking god mode. Even then it seemed to take near forever to kill them.
But the trials were over, and the Guardian opened the way, at the exact moment that Shandra vanished in a sparkly light. Wonderful, we really needed that.
Inside we found a bunch of demons and devils, bound to the area. The binding somehow powered the place. We talked to Mephasm who told us the portal near him could be diverted to send us to the laboratory in the center, but he couldn’t do it alone. He needed the help of at least three others in the place. So now we have to traffic with infernals. There’s always something.
That shaman was a setup, not the real thing. An apparition put there for the test (he even looked translucent on my computer). So it was a riddle with no moral consequences, my character decided. That was confirmed when choosing the “I guess I’ll have to stop you” option and the shaman says, “Excellent! You have doubts, yet you’re willing to do what’s necessary for the greater good.”
“Greater good”? That wouldn’t be the hypothetical shaman’s view of the situation. That had to be Ammon Jerro’s words and view.
Yeah… I saw it as just a test and my Shaman was apparitiony, too, so I had no problem offing him for the greater good.
Unlike you, Scorp, I DID take some damage when the acid geyser spewed all over me (I think I ran right over one when it blew or something), but it wasn’t too bad.
I rather enjoyed this part of the game. It presented a series of interesting conundrums. Just WHICH demons do you choose to work with?
Not much choice there, really, Klara. And I imagine it would make no difference in game. All that matters is you get three of them (as you already know, and I just posted about ;).
Dell, I wasn’t sure what was going on there, and decided not to attack him. I just figured it was the good thing to do.