Legacy - Beast from the East (Coast)

 Written by Morpheus Kitami

I realize things are getting a bit long in the tooth, but I'm feeling confident. The end is in sight. There can't be much left to do. Its a matter of picking a few locks on the 3rd, a mausoleum, and the second basement. Might be a 4th, some set of caves, but we're in the home stretch. Now, off-screen I've been moving around some stuff around, mostly health items, but the important thing is I can solve all the problems I've had on this floor.

You can see how I might think that would work

First, the mysterious door that won't let me in. I have brought down from the asylum Ellen's straitjacket and...yeah, no, that doesn't work. I'm not going to get into this room am I? Eh, if I am, there's going to be a note about it somewhere.

She can get around old nosey, can she?

Repairing the fusebox down here does nothing for me...technically. I've already seen everything this area has to offer, no hidden items or anything. But as I'm checking each room again, and re-reading a note from Ellen, saying how she got past Alberoth. Next to a pit. Know what I'm thinking, right idea, wrong floor. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH! But first, I should make sure the path is completely clear of ghouls.

Lightning strikes twice

I have no way of confirming this, but I think that only some of the ghouls can poison you. Shame, I healed myself quite a bit for nothing. I can always clean out some more gargoyles...or maybe they're Hellions, some note mentions Hellions. To lower my health down before resting. While checking a note in front of a staircase, by one Anton Wisniewski, I notice the date, 1920. Hang on a minute, I thought Miriam killed him years earlier. She died in 1898. Perhaps I'm misreading things, but that seems awfully long-lived for a guy "with yearnings above his stature" or some crap.

Still, I manage to chip away at all the beasties that remain on this floor. All of them. They're all dead. My reward for this? And keep in mind that the manual says, "points are given for successful actions". Nothing. Nothing for killing them, nothing for peace and quiet. Time to take a nap. Only, I go to rest in a bed and I can't. Thanks realism. All these elements they've added feel weird in a game where a human can tank dozens of rounds. Like they've been added to make the game harder, not to make it realistic of itself. I wouldn't be surprised if adding other biological mechanics were floated around, hence the bathrooms. Still, I've got to go down there.

Wait a minute, I haven't been here before

Um...uh...this doesn't look like the place where Alberoth was. This isn't good. Well, there's another spell nearby and some rock salt...I guess I'm going to have to go back up there and use that...thanks...thanks...The spell is Maelstorm of the Mind, sounds like an inaccuracy spell. Dunno why I wouldn't just boost my own agility, but who knows at this point. There's a copper door. As soon as I tried opening it a horrific sound came out, so I backed up.

Turning that frown upside down

For the first time in a good long while there's something scary about this horror game. Trapped down below with unknown assailants, no known way of returning to the higher floors. With the copper door...too spooky for me...I venture down a hallway. There it forks into the same hallway. The way the fork works is that you go down one path, then are teleported to the other. There's something down one, so after discovering this, I get there eventually. Its a wakizashi. I throw the axe and pick it up immediately. Is it an upgrade? Perhaps, perhaps not, but I'll need it later and it's the first item that's actually, unarguably a bladed weapon. Not so fun fact, until this entry I assumed that wakizashi was pronounced "wah-kah-shi". That probably means turnip or something. I am a grown-ass man who claims to understand a small bit of Japanese.

Further investigation reveals that the copper doors just make a creepy sound when they open, as I enter a safe room and no monsters are within. I find a note from Ellen here, describing worms. I'm guessing the local enemy will be worms. I can use salt on them, but I can't get close and throwing salt is bad luck. What could this possibly be leading to? You think the shotgun? Unfortunately, I left the rock salt shotgun on the ground floor. I'll come back with that, but first let's see if these worms can survive a good stabbing.

The worms, not very terrifying

Um, is this a joke? With the shield and the sword I'm just slaughtering these things. Was I not supposed to have the shield until after doing this floor? They're just scratching me, I might be in trouble if there are twenty or more of them, but any terror I have quickly disappears. Oh, no, I'm trapped without a way of getting to safety. Whatever shall I do with practical invulnerability and the ability to rest safely. The horror, the horror.

Anyway, after my heart rate goes back down I can examine a trio of notes I found in one room. The first explains that the Sea Daemons kidnap humans, turn them into Servitors of Melchior. They do rituals that give Melchior power and allow him to appear on Earth. You too may summon Melchior, but you need the Golden Torc or you'll be dead. The second is from that magician of the Right Hand Path.

The third:

There are three Dark Gods: Melchior, Master of the Endless Void; Alberoth, Sower of Discord; and Belthegor, the Beast and Lord of the Dark Triumvirate.

Belthegor is imprisoned on the Astral Plane; the other two seek to free him.

Melchior resides on the Ethereal Plane but is able to appear on Earth if summoned, making him the Beast's principal agent.

Alberoth is able to cross the planes at will, but his attention spans the entire universe, making him of limited use to his master.

You know, I'm not sure how I'm going to get rid of these two guys before reaching Belthegor, but maybe I don't need to.

More unreachable rooms

As it turns out that whole twenty or more worms thing could be a problem. In the northern half of what I've reached, but is more like the central half, there's a room with a book in it. Could be a regular book, could be a spellbook, doesn't matter. There are two doors, and whenever I enter, I'm teleporting to the southeast room, where a door opens up to Alberoth and you can go back to the 1st basement. I'm not leaving yet until I have the ability to get down without jumping down a pit. Each time I enter the room there's another worm in the center. Which could be a problem if it continues.

Moving ever so slightly toward victory

Alberoth, as can be surmised from the plot so far, actually is in front of the only two stairways up I've found. I remember three stairs down, don't tell me there's another "mausoleum" type floor there. Most of the items I'm finding are relatively useless for the time being. Another box of matches...didn't realize I could run out. Another .44 speedloader, still need a gun. A plaque for the Mayan Effigy. If I can only take one item (excluding the sword) up from this floor, its going to be that one.

More things I don't know what to do with

Behind a locked door (that I found the key for, thankfully) there's an astrolabe, see the game's description, and a red potion. I'm not touching either of those yet. Something tells me its going to be fairly easy to figure out where these items go. Then on the other side of the hallway, there's a worm who actually hurts me, and a mortar and pestle. No way north. Half this floor is just unreachable as of yet.

Further examination reveals that this is going to be the overarching problem for the next few entries, because going east reveals that there is no way north. I have no way north from this position. I take the time to have a rest, fortunately, I have plenty of food. However moldy it may be. I take what I can and leave the floor, clearly, getting back down here without the pit is going to be an issue. The two plaques and the mortar and pestle are all I can remove, that astrolabe isn't staying in my inventory until I get rid of Sower of Discord.

Imagine doing 5 minutes of this

I clean out all the zombies in my way on the ground floor, it's bad enough having to remember two protective items, I'm not using three. As an aside, while I was reexploring one of the rooms I was checking the Death Awaits room, and left-clicked on the severed head. It turned into a shrunken head and I could pick it up. Is this game supposed to be bloody gruesome, or gothic gruesome? Severed heads and chopped up zombies are usually the former. That's a bust. Since I can reach the Astral Plane now, its as good as time as any to open up some of these portals.

Only, that doesn't work. I try doing it with the rune stone on the ground, in my other hand, after using experience on Dimensional Rift, but no dice. Clearly, I'm doing something wrong. We're going to get back to that in a second. I want to try something in the mausoleum.

It's dark...and he's wearing sunglasses

I bring down the rifle from the 3rd floor, because I'm feeling confident that I can take the shotgun zombie here. First I carefully advance, jumping in and out of cover, taking shots at him each time. I get horribly killed. At this point I'm just about ready to throw in the towel...but, I think to try again. Staying at the extreme edge of visibility, and it is dark. I take potshots at him with the rifle. Two shots, and he's dead. Oh, I'm going to have so much fun with this later. There's a door behind him, but I'll get to that next time. There's also a note here, dunno who wrote it, but I suspect Marcus Roberts. Whoever it is died against Mr. Shotgun here, as he mentions rushing him or dying trying. Wherever his body went, I don't know. Probably the same place as those movers. He also says the Golden Torc must be kept out of their hands.

Probably a trap, and yet, still nothing

There's one more thing that springs to mind to do before entering the mausoleum truly. I travel back up to the 3rd floor and put the plaques on the pedestals they're supposed to be on. I get two items, a necklace called The Key of Abhomet, which allows me to travel where others cannot. Hopefully that is true. The second, the Mayan idol that keeps coming up. So I go to the nearest symbol I can remember. It's one of the ones I think are traps, but as long as it works I can worry about that later. But the thing is, it doesn't.

So, at this point I'm just about ready to make a request for assistance. Got it all set up, but then I figure, hey, cheat yourself max experience then ask. I do that, give myself maximum willpower and Dimensional Rift...and it works. This presents a problem. While I'm certain that successfully casting it doesn't require full experience, this isn't a good sign. I've got about 3 or 4 points into willpower and this is a sign I absolutely need to put the rest of my experience into it as soon as possible. I think I can coast on my current experience in dexterity and strength, but I definitely need another point in Intelligence. Electronics is probably useless by now, but mechanical and the healing skills are definitely not. I just hope I've got enough experience left to effectively do this.

Inventory: Bullet-proof vest, circlet, Key of Abhomet, Zulu shield, spellbook, medikit (x2), matches, rune, Jade Mayan Effigy, mechanical tool kit, electronic tool kit, magic crystal (x3), food, keyring, wakizashi

Spellbook: Shroud of the Shadow Walker, Agatta's Iron Fist, Belgor's Mental Violation, Elixir of Health, Aura of Mystic Defense, Flames of Desolation, Dimensional Rift, Key of the Shadow Lord, Crimson Mysts of Myamoto, Xython's Guiding Eye, Wind of Destruction

Note Regarding Spoilers and Companion Assist Points: There’s a set of rules regarding spoilers and companion assist points. Please read it here before making any comments that could be considered a spoiler in any way. The short of it is that no points will be given for hints or spoilers given in advance of me requiring one. Please...try not to spoil any part of the game for me...unless I really obviously need the help...or I specifically request assistance. In this instance, I've not made any requests for assistance. Thanks!

This Session: 2 hours 30 minutes
Total Time: 20 hours 30 minutes