Veil of Darkness - A Good Ol' Coffin Hunt

Written by Zenic Reverie

A small correction from my last post. The Rowan staff is used to kill the Will-o-wisps, while the zombies are damaged only by the silver sword. Also, I thought I had killed Andrei to gain a crystal, but when I loaded the game up he was still alive. I attempted to kill him and realized why I didn't save, the disease zombies give is devastating. It drains continuously increasing damage, isn't cured by the gypsy woman, and I haven't found a cure for it yet. I'm not sure where I gained that crystal, but Andrei has a diamond specifically.

The machete I found by the plane proved the bane of these plant monsters.

Unlike the zombie's disease, the poison from the topiary creatures does get removed when healing at the gypsy camp. I also had many herbs that cure it, but I was hoarding them while I could make the trek back to camp. Only once I was deeper into the maze did I resort to using the nasturtium to remove the green lipstick. I could easily take out two or three creatures before needing to retreat, and as the only creature in the maze it proved easy to navigate despite the name. I picked up some comfrey plant and garlic throughout the maze. The garlic was strung together into a necklace by Annabelle. She warned to keep it hidden, lest those sided with Kairn might upon seeing it be embolden to strike me down. The comfrey doesn't seem to have a use other than trading for coin.

 

Those creatures weren't Kairn's design?

At the other end of the maze was a mansion that housed Mischa, a man whose family long ago isolated their home behind the maze and filled it with creatures that protected them from Kairn's minions. Maybe I shouldn't tell him I killed them all. He was a lonely man, and welcomed my company, so long as I didn't steal anything from the house. Good sir, I don't steal, I borrow. And borrow I did, a book from his library capable of reversing magical aging, and a rapier in the attic for which I obtained a key some time ago. I mentioned my plan to fight Kairn, to which Mischa offered to trade a holy symbol for some tobacco, the only plant that wouldn't grow in his garden. The symbol, as he tells it, should glow when I am close to a vampire's coffin. This sounded useful enough that I quickly made the trade. Mischa said I would need to seal the coffin to prevent Kairn from healing, not that I'm close to even wounding him. He said the coffin should be close to Kairn, but well hidden. I supposed I'll need to scout out the stronghold soon to find the coffin. Using the holy symbol bestows protection from undead, though I'm not sure how useful it actually is as it has limited uses before the symbol is destroyed.

I think you misunderstood, I'm asking about the rapier I'm holding...

The Mansion gets added to the map.

I'm not sure where the thread that leads to the rapier is supposed to begin, but I found Seth responded to 'rapier' as well as Jon the shopkeep. They provided enough information that I realized it was indeed Aleksander's. I suppose I was to figure that in addition to his head, his sword was also delivered to the inn.
I next attempted to make some headway through crazy Frank's cave, but found I didn't have the right weapon for the vampire women there. At least, I didn't know which weapon to use as anything I could swing didn't leave a mark. It wasn't until I found a pouch next to a skeleton that contained a vial of holy water that it clicked. I needed to chuck the vials at the women. This meant I needed to stock up a bit. Good thing I picked some herbs to sell. Eight vials got me through all the vampires in the cave. Unlike the hedgemaze, the cave was easily navigated and emptied of everything except the locked iron gate Frank had describe. I didn't have the key to open it, so I took my modest spoils and made my way to Kairn's fortress to search for his coffin.

Taking out the three skeletons at the front took some quick footwork and a fair few trips back to the gypsy camp to heal.

The inner sanctum of Kairn's stronghold was decorated by a fountain of blood and statues that looked a little too lifelike. Room after room I made my way; I dispatched the creatures I could, and maneuvered around those I couldn't. Shades, ghosts, and not least of which Kairn. I came away with some treasure, including a book that removes evil influences. The holy symbol neither glowed nor protected me much from the undead. Kairn waited for me in a room that looked much like the one shown in the death scene I'd seen many times at this point, sans mounted heads. Nothing I had prevented him from charming me into stillness, at which point he easily slashed my throat. I thought the talisman or garlic necklace would provide some protection.

Not even the garlic necklace dissuaded his touch.

Striking out at the stronghold, I decided to try my hand at the Dark Forest, banshee infested or not. Seemed I feared the banshee for no reason as I didn't even encounter it as I searched the forest high and low. I did find motherwort, which cures disease, and a cabin with a hunting cap. I delivered it, the violin, and rapier to the shades of Kairn's family, but the signet ring needed the diamond. This time I truly struck down Andrei, but Nikolae wouldn't take it until I'd found everything for his sons. Peter was still a bit of a mystery, but I knew I needed to find an ivory horn for the witch to enchant that would raise the fairyman at the lake. There I would surely find something of Peter's.

Is this banshee I feared? It's just spinning in circles.

At this point I felt I'd exhausted locations to search for items easily. It was now time to problem solve again. I took stock of my possessions, especially things I hadn't used at this point. I had the crystal innate, actually multiple, but they only seemed to imbue regeneration a limited number of times. I had rope, but nothing jumped out for that as the solution. There were also the darts from the inn that might just be a fun diversion. Technically I hadn't used the pitchfork other than to kill wolves. I also still had the bell, iron spike, golden pin, empty gun, and lighter, which I've used to solve other puzzles. I then looked at the pry bar on the ground I dropped to make room. It was indeed the heaviest object in the game so far. I figured it couldn't hurt to try to pry open that iron gate.

About as surprised as I was that this actually worked.

Beyond the bars was indeed a floating book: The Agrippa. A source of evil so profound that it left a lasting stench of evil upon my person. The book was the one that turned Kairn into what he is today. In return, Kairn imprisoned the book in this cavern, guarded by his spawn, to prevent anyone from gaining the same power. The book of course was furious by this point, and wanted only revenge after its freedom. What I needed from the book was Kairn's true name. The book supposed the key binding its chains was in Kairn's coffin. Great, another reason to search for the coffin.

Oh no, no one will talk to me!

Except I can still heal at the gypsy camp.

I took another turn around the stronghold, but I still had no luck finding the coffin. I swear I waved that holy symbol around in every room, rubbed up against every wall, and pulled upon ever tapestry. Next time I'll take a closer look at the banshee, see if I make any headway asking about the ivory horn from random characters, and I guess make another round of the stronghold with the holy symbol in hand. I wonder if it's another case of needing to actually push into a bookcase or similar object. Even if I could take out the shades and ghosts, I don't believe it'd open up any additional rooms to explore at this point. It's rare for creatures to drop items, but that's another possibility.

Hey, I at least made some progress on the prophecy.

Session Time: 2h 45m
Game Time: 12h 00m