Toggle Background Color
Before we begin this update in earnest, I did want to briefly mention that you can revisit Teron. It changes depending on whether the merchants/Antidas or the Imperial Guard are in charge.
That's basically all I'm going to mention because other than some NPCs you can talk to (like above) and cosmetic changes it's not very important. It seemed like there were going to be actual quests associated with Neo Teron, but since there aren't any I'm guess they're cut content. Still, being able to revisit Teron is nice in case you missed out on some things from that part of the game (like the jelly fish artifact), and because:
The damn inn actually changes with new thieving opportunities, which hey, I'd rather have more reactivity and quests but I'll take it; and
The merchants refresh their stocks for some reason. No other merchants refresh their stock as the story progresses. Again, I'd rather have more reactivity and quests, but I'll take more bombs and napalm and alchemy supplies in a pinch.
Anyway, we rejoin Julius one again on the edge of the Abyss (literally, not metaph-). He chickened out once. But he's become a more seasoned adventurer since then, and is now recognized as a hand of Gaelius himself. It's time to solve the mystery of the Abyss once and for all.
That uh... ya. Must have been... a trick of the light.
Although Julius doesn't realize it, Julius is actually following a guide that Feng's murdered master left for himself so that he could get in and out of the Abyss. The clues spell out a word in a different language. If you heard the story from Feng and have a bit of lore to translate the word, then you'll have an easier time passing the stat checks in the Abyss since you just follow the guide. Other characters need more stats to basically brute force the directions by following a guide they don't understand.
Probably... a gas leak.
Okay. I don't have an excuse for that. That was just fucked up.
You know, those neurostims don't come with a list of side effects or usage directions. Julius is wondering if he's had one too many.
You need a hefty con + str score to get through this without a breathing mask, regardless of your knowledge of the guide. This means if you're a weakling you either have to start as a loremaster and buy a gas mask from your opening vignette, or you need the gas mask from the safe in the underwater chamber. The only other gas mask is from later in the story, at which point the Abyss is sealed from access.
You get a ton of SP for having the very specific tools/stat distribution needed to get past the dangers of the Abyss. Well, at least the dangers of the outer part.
It takes Julius a moment to recover from having his mind directly messed with by the creature in the tank. Was this thing responsible for the strange visions he previously had as well?
There's not a whole lot in the chamber. One of the Magi's weird engine things is humming along, the rest are silent. Strong characters can shut this place down by physically destroying the generator, but everyone else will be driven back by a sudden bout of sickness from the generator's strange energies.
Julius decides to read the scrolls on the shelf before messing with the tank.
(Julius didn't hear about Einar from Feng, but did hear about him from the old man that sold the pebble necklace. It's the Feng story you need to hear to get the lower stat checks)
So the thing in the tank... is what's left of the Dreamer, one of the supposed angels that helped the Empire fight the Qantari? So what happened to the other six? Also, didn't the Qantari summon demons during their invasion? How come all seven appear to have been created by the Empire using human hosts?
The mantra stuff is cute. As made explicit during the interaction with the Inferiae console, the mantras are just misunderstood instructions handed down from previous generations.
Okay choice time! If you've been paying attention, you may have noticed the thing in the tank DOES NOT WANT TO BE WOKEN UP. It wants to die. Waking up the thing in the tank may have HORRIFIC CONSEQUENCES.
Julius chooses to put the thing to rest.
You get ANOTHER 30 skill points for solving the mystery of the Abyss and putting to rest the thing in the tank. That's about 2 or 3 story quest's worth.
You also get this nice view of the Abyss with the fog cleared up.
Julius is having a hard time processing ruining the local tourist economy after the things he has learned.
Gotta hand it to the always enterprising AoD NPCs.
You get a cool trait for ending the thing's suffering.
Okay! It's time for a NON CANON presentation!
What if you decide to wake the thing up?
Uh.... oops?
That wasn't even the Dreamer. It was what was left over when the Dreamer, by unknown means, left Galath's body. If a shell left by one of the otherworldly entities is capable of such destruction... what could the original do?
You do get the mind shield trait, which is actually one of the few ones to be used in actual gameplay.
Next time! I promise! The Arch and Zamedi! For real!