Undeterred by the pitiful squeals of the baby beasts, you torch all of the vats, one after the other. This is sure to only be a temporary solution - whoever created these things can easily build more. However, it will slow them down a little.
This room is dominated by several large troughs in alcoves in the walls. They are filled with greenish gray gook, in which dozens of baby alien beasts, none larger than your hand, swim and play. These vats must be where the creatures are born and grow!
This room is dominated by several large troughs in alcoves in the walls. They are filled with greenish gray gook, in which dozens of baby alien beasts, none larger than your hand, swim and play. These vats must be where the creatures are born and grow!
Through the massive, closed portcullis, you are able to get a look inside the black tower. It's a huge structure, forty feet high and several hundred feet across, made of one seamless sheet of black stone.
It looks like it was grown, not built, springing from the ground and throwing aside all the buildings that were there before. Inside, it is dark and smoky, and you hear what sounds like many alien beasts, growling and calling to each other.
This is the meeting room for the Keep of Tinraya's city hall. It looks like the alien beasts set this chamber aside for extra destruction. The floor is torn up, and bones are everywhere.
The alien beasts must not be interested in literature. All the books on these shelves have been chewed up.
The lever is sticking a bit, but you manage to get it to move. Nothing happens that you can see.
As you step over the rune, a magical trap activates. Nothing fancy - just searing flames that bake you inside your armor. Fortunately, the flames die out when you reach a lovely golden brown, as opposed to when you're well done.
Even though Tinraya was ruined over a year ago, this room is still filled with the stink of death. There is no rest to be had here.
You sleep, but not well. The howls of the alien beasts grow louder and more insistent, echoing through the countryside. It's as if they're summoning more of their number to come and help hunt you.
This room looks like it's intended for use in meditation. Thick, plush rugs are arranged in front of blue crystals on low pedestals. The crystals look dull and lifeless, and everything is dusty. Nobody's used this room for a while.
That may have been a mistake. When you peer deep into the crystal, the lights spring to life, arranging and rearranging themselves in a variety of bizarre runes. They twist and rework your mind in strange ways. You stumble back, feeling faint.
You wake up in a small, rectangular room. There's no door, just wall made of a different stone. The room is empty - no beds, chairs, or windows, no food, no light. You have a bad feeling - whatever the Vahnatai have in mind for you, its not good.
Another day passes. You are starting to fade. Then, you hear a voice. It's a whisper, coming from midair. "At last, I can help you. One can leave now. Have a care. Avoid extraneous buttons. Find me in the caves beyond the Great Walls." Then all is silent.
You find a massive door, covered with protective runes. There is a strange keyhole in the center of the door, made to fit a key with a very odd, twisted shape. Unfortunately, none of your keys fit.
You find a massive door, covered with protective runes. There is a strange keyhole in the center of the door, made to fit a key with a very odd, twisted shape. Fortunately, the key you stole from the Vahnatai works just fine. The door opens.
There is a loud rumble behind you. Looking back, you see the walls sliding way. Oh, goodie. Another bunch of alien beasts to fight.
You start to head back towards the hall with the Crystal Souls, but think better of it. By yourself, you wouldn't stand a chance. You better find your friends first, before they die of dehydration.
You find a massive door, covered with protective runes. There is a strangely shaped keyhole in the center of the door. On a hunch, you try the key you found in the murder cave near New Formello, and it works! The door opens.
From this vantage point, you see to the east a series of broad stepping stones across the river. If you could reach them, you could cross.
When you press the crystal into the pedestal, it stays there. With a satisfying rumble, one of the walls blocking off the cells slides away!
You have freed your group! You gladly rejoin them. It is a great relief to get out of that filthy cell at last, especially considering that it could very easily have been your tomb.
You step through the portal, and find yourself in a muck filled cavern. Tiny baby alien beasts, squeaking fearfully, burrow into the slime in fear when you appear. You're free, but your companions are still prisoners.
The cave ahead is filled with foul slime and muck. Swimming in the goo are small, six-legged, squealing beasts, the size of small dogs. They're alien beasts! This must be where they grow up. The small beasts flee when they see you, no doubt to find mommy.
A day passes. No food or water is brought to you. Nobody comes to question you. Time passes in darkness.
Another day passes. Still, no food or water is brought to you, nobody comes to question you. Time passes in darkness. The cell begins to smell very bad. The suspicion grows that the Vahnatai are leaving you here to die.
Suddenly, the air is split with a shrill, warbling wail. They must be able to hear it all over the dungeon! The panel goes inactive, you hear the clattering of opening portcullises and the shouts of Vahnatai.
You open the case, and find the the control panel is inactive. The writing is all gone, and the buttons won't go in when you try to press them.
You are at the west end of a massive subterranean tunnel, burrowing up into the side of a huge, remote mountain. You are able to see because of a dim, familiar, green light. Someone has brought up some of the fluorescent mold common in Exile.
In the sickly light, you can see that the Vahnatai are rapidly constructing defenses. Three walls have been built in this passage, each heavily guarded by Vahnatai. They aren't yet completed - you may have a chance of fighting your way through.
You enter the first wall. You hear the high pitched shouts of Vahnatai running towards the fray. You also notice that the amulets Erika gave you are starting to grow very warm.
You enter the first wall. You hear the high pitched shouts of Vahnatai running towards the fray.
Suddenly, the amulets Erika gave you let fly brilliant lances of light. They fly through the wall, past the guards, into the east wall, blasting a hole through it. You now have an instant shortcut.
You emerge from the first fortification, to be greeted by the second. You hear the shouts of more guards deeper inside.
This cave is bare, except for neat piles of rubble placed at the south end. It is waiting to be the final resting place of the Vahnatai defenders that are lost. The Vahnatai are truly prepared for a defense.
You have to cover your noses. The filth and garbage generated by the fort are thrown in here, waiting to be chucked into a pit and burnt up with fireballs.
You stare deep into the crystal and see maps and schematics! It looks like the plans for the Vahnatai's schemes! Unfortunately, before you can figure it all out, the magical defenses kick in. There is a flash of light, and you feel woozy.
The words flashing by inside the crystal are magical directions. This must be where Vahnatai magical training takes place. You read the runes, and learn the spell Venom Arrows.
The runes flash when you step on them. To the south, you hear the faint sound of massive portcullises opening.
This is one of the Vahnatai's reading crystals. Normally, you'd be able to peer deep into it and see glowing words or drawings. However, it's currently inactive, and you don't know how to activate it.
Fascinating! Rentar-Ihrno has built her keep over a small, active volcanic vent, and magically channeled and harnessed its power! The hot magma bubbles up, and is then channeled into pits, where its heat can power the infernal machinery below.
Everything in here is a bit dusty. This storeroom is unused.
This room contains the starved bodies of two humans, both in rusted Empire army armor. The Vahnatai threw them in here and left them to starve, a grisly reminder of the fate that almost befell you.
You hear the rattle and clang of a portcullis, somewhere nearby.
You peer into the crystal, trying to make sense of the schematics and plans moving by. They move too fast and are too confusing. You only succeed in giving yourself a draining headache. The crystal goes dark.
You again try to understand the writing in these crystals. It continues to confuse you and gives you another nasty headache. However, you think you're slowly starting to make sense of it. This crystal goes dark.
You again try to understand the writing in these crystals. It still confuses you somewhat, but at least it doesn't give you a headache. You think you're almost starting to make sense of them. This crystal goes dark.
Eureka! The crystals are showing schematics of this keep! Below you are four vats, from which fluid can be directed into a central pit. From there, the fluid can be magically changed using controls in Rentar-Ihrno's hall.
This room shows the scars of many combats. The wall scarred with spells gone awry, and semi-fresh bloodstains are everywhere. This must be where newly designed creatures are brought to test their combat effectiveness.
The room to the south contains two prepared platforms, where Crystal Souls may stay to provide guidance. However, the Souls have been removed - probably in order to keep them in a place safe from you.
You peer inside, and read an account of the killings of two miners near the Exile town of New Formello. They stumbled upon a hidden Vahnatai base and had to be killed. To keep the Vahnatai plans secret, the base was destroyed. This explains a lot.
You aren't able to tell much else from the crystal, except that using the controls to magically change the mix when all four fluids are in the pit has volatile results. Very interesting. This crystal goes dark.
Rentar-Ihrno decides she doesn't want you near her control panel. She tosses a powerful (and draining) spell, and you find yourself elsewhere.
Rentar-Ihrno still doesn't want you near her control panel. She casts the teleportation spell again, again moving you the entrance of the hall. You notice, however, that she has much greater difficulty casting the spell this time.
Rentar-Ihrno again tries to cast the teleportation spell. However, repeated castings of it are too draining even for her. Before she can complete the spell, you manage to reach the pedestal!
You press the button. With a honking, blatting noise, all the goo you struggled to hard to send down the channels drains away into troughs to be dumped into the chasm outside. You're back to square one.
You press the button. The controls beep at you. Nothing else happens.
You press the button. With a deafening roar, all the goo you struggled to hard to send down the channels pours into the cauldron to the west. As it mixes, powerful reactions take place and foul smells waft up towards you.
You press another button. A powerful humming noise comes from inside the pedestal, and it begins to vibrate. It's also growing extremely hot. You wrap up your fingers with a scrap of cloth before pressing any more buttons.
You press the final button, and a lance of light fires from the pedestal into the goo mixture. The slime starts to change, writhing and taking shape. Creatures beyond description form in it, swim to the surface, and dive down, never to be seen again.
However, you don't know what to do from here, what spells to cast or what to do with the slime. There is a honking noise, and all of it drains away, to be dumped into the chasm outside. You're back to square one.
