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Episode 3: Part 5: Hell, I've Seen Worse.
After leaving the puzzle room behind we find more enemy encounters and a Heart Stone...
These jerks again too! NUMB
The north end of the room has two 'suprises' for us.
This is pretty much the 'mage' aura. Confound was basically silence if you remember back. The problem is XL-SEEP also keeps you from using XLIFES and the game doesn't tell you which abilities WILL does and does not affect.
It almost certainly applies for both Rhues heals though.
The other 'suprise' pushes out of the tunnel and attacks us.
Ashkt! It's called a Long Tongue you fool.
Imagine that...
I'm glad you find that amusssing, but you'd better be ready to get serious. These thingsss aren't a joke.
What? Is he going to lick me to death?
What a damn smartass.
It will probably snap your throat long before then, but do watch that tongue. It's sssaliva can poissson you..
You mean neck, Scatha.
Wonderful.
So we fight the Long Tongue and ah... despite Scatha's warning, it's incredibly easy. Rhue only needs to heal once and it never even gets a poison off. Rhue just kept using Sleeper on it and Scatha even managed to poison it with one of her XLIFEs.
So the duo continue on.
"Actually, a couple things."
Ashkt... Can't it wait?!
Please, it will just take a minute. Besides I need a short break anyway.
Then she turns to face Rhue.
"Okay, WHAT?!"
Weren't you the person that was knocked into the Pits by Cetsa, a.k.a. Dancing Violet, way back in Lide?
UNTRUE! It was TWO againsst ONE! Flower girl could never beat me on her OWN!
Scatha points!
Yessss, I would.
Have you been trapped down here all this time?
Ashkt! No of courssse not! I come and go from the Pitsss as I pleassse!
I was on the sssurface ssseveral days ago in fact and I walked back down here of my OWN. FREE. WILL!
What?! Sweet lands, why would you do that?
... I prefer thingsss down here.
(It's weird, You kind of understand what she means, don't you Rhue?)
(What? No I don't! What am I thinking?)
This isn't the first time Rhue liking caves/the Pits more than the surface has come up.
I don't think I've ever met anyone who would trade the light of the surface for the darkness of the Pits.
Whatsss ssso great about sssun light? All it does is expossse your flawsss.
Huh?
Ashkt. You wouldn't underssstand.
...
Also the boss fight maxed out Piercer. Only one level left for Slasher too.
Anyway, we move on from where we have the chat, doing a big loop at one point.
But first I have to jump for a secret.
Woot.
The enemies in this area and this area alone are all a version of the very first boss we rescued Gaius from. I think it;s identical except for maybe more HP. We steamroll it now, it just takes a while, because seriously, a lot of HP.
We go down a long series of stairs...
Eshk, we are aren't we? That's jussst the way it isss.
This treasure of yours better be something special.
Trussst me, it's VERY ssspecial.
I don't get it. Why is the air so warm way down here?
You'll sssee very sssoon.
We head down MORE stairs.
Wooo
A LOT more stairs.
...
I had heard rumors of there being a river of fire at the ends of the Reaches, b-b-b-but...
I never would have imagined it would be like this!
Fire... how I loathe it.
Scatha's line is the cue for one of Lun's custom tracks, a good one, that I think really sells this sequence. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEDcJcOKIY8 Sadly, I think the actual midi version is much better but Clyp and things won't accept midis.
What Scatha?
Rhue, we aren't at the bottom of the Pitsss.
We're not?
Have you ever sssseen a volcano before?
No, but I've been told about them.
Scatha looks back out at the river of fire.
We'll (SIC) what you're ssseeing here is basssically an underground volcano.
It's just a highrissse.
We're ssstill a few thousssand stridesss above the bottom.
How do you know?
Ashkt! You asssk more questionsss than a little annoying child!
I bet you haven't even been to the bottom before.
Scatha shoves Rhue.
...
I've been to the bottom. The Reachesss.
You know you're there when you can clearly hear the sssceamsss (SIC) and criesss of the damned.
When you can hear the gleeful whisssperingsss of the demonsss, fessstering in the firesss.
Light becomes a ssshadow, eaten away by the darknessss.
Every thought is agonizssing.
Every sssensation horrifying...
There isss no joy.
There isss no peace.
Sssuffering. There isss only sssuffering.
...
Pray you never end up down there.
Unlike me, you probably wouldn't make it out.
Who ARE you??? The princess of the Pits?
...
(Princess Pit, maybe I should call her that instead of Scatha.)
Let's not wassste any more time ssstaring at the pretty lava. We are nearing our dessstination.
(Wonderful. I don't like this. I don't like it at all.)
So, in The Way, Hell is The Reaches, and -allegedly- it's a real physical place, and you can travel to AND escape from it.
Anyway, I'll end this update here before it becomes really long.
the end