Lia's BK tweets archive - 2020-11-17: Azha, Lava Caves

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:50 PM · Nov 17, 2020 Permalink

Back to the Lava Caves! We’ve got a bunch of silly fetch quests to do, plus some wildlife slaughtering, so I don’t think I’ll hit The TwistTM tonight. But it’s getting close.
Onwards!

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:52 PM · Nov 17, 2020 Permalink

Oh wait no we said reload save and try some silly things first. Let’s see...

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:06 PM · Nov 17, 2020 Permalink

If we go to the Lava Caves entrance before the spire, we get a bunch of chitchat between the Imperial soldiers posted there...

Soldier 1: “I didn’t expect the Emperor to come in person to a miserable cave like this.”

Soldier 2: “You know the Emperor. Not only is he mistrustful of common soldiers like us, he doesn’t even fully trust [cont]”

Soldier 1: “Shut your trap! Remember the Emperor’s orders. Our job is to stand watch here.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:10 PM · Nov 17, 2020 Permalink

It’s not like two soldiers have historically been a problem, as Kalas is too happy to point out.
But it’s not like slaughtering those villagers is something the Empire wouldn’t do, so we get railroaded into exploring.

Kalas: “Umm... shall we try a little aggressive negotiation?”

Lyude: “W-wait! If we do that, there’s no telling what they would do to the people [here]”.

Lyude: “We shouldn’t risk the lives of the Azhani people. We need to take heavy precautions.”

Lyude: “I’m well aware of the fact we must hurry, but we may have to find some other means.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:11 PM · Nov 17, 2020 Permalink

(Also making a point in triplicate when a single instance was very likely enough is A Mood and I’m filing that in the Accidental Autistic Coding bucket)

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:14 PM · Nov 17, 2020 Permalink

As we’ve seen that gets resolved by Savyna walking to them and staring them into running off.
Next up: what if we-the-player don’t remember Larikush in Cebalrai?
Xelha fills it in instead. Not much of interest.

Xelha: “Hey Kalas, remember Cebalrai Village... where they brought you the day you passed out... the doctor [cont]”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:15 PM · Nov 17, 2020 Permalink

Dialog choices are generally of little to no consequence in this game, this isn’t a branching story. They might nudge the frequency of special spirit spells but that’s it.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:14 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

1) My dude they’re literally called the LAVA Caves.
2) Not wrong.
3) That’s not how lava works.
4) Fetch quest, part 2!

Mechanic: “What? My cave is flooded with lava?!”

Mechanic: “Those Imperial idiots! They think they own everything.”

Mechanic: “It’s very easy. All you need to do is chill the lava.”

Mechanic: “Go back into the Lava Caves and get me some Flame Ice.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:15 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

So we go back in and fetch the thing we found last time but couldn’t grab...

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:38 AM · Nov 17, 2020 Go

The other branch of the path has this, so, worry not, it’s going to get sillier.
Since we can’t pick it up yet it means we’re getting a multi-step fetch quest, hurray.

Kalas, inspecting a blue crystal: “What’s this? Ice? In this sweltering heat?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:19 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

Worry not, it’s magical ice turned into magical snow and cold enough to freeze lava.
The machine makes pretty sparkles at least.

Mechanic: “Flame Ice is a very special type of ice. It’s so cool that even the scorching heat in this cave can’t [cont]”

Mechanic, in front of a strange machine now spewing blue-white sparkles: “This isn’t your ordinary snow cone... It’s a special order crushed Flame Ice summer delight.”

Textbox: “Magna Essence of the Sparkling Snow has been trapped in a Blank Magnus.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:21 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

Factually untrue because The Upcoming Events are about to put a frikkin’ interdimensional breach in there.

Mechanic: “I know I can trust you not to disfigure my cave like those imperial imbeciles.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:23 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

We use the snow on the lava flow, which... freezes and explodes. We’ve seen weirder by now, why not.
(Third screenshot is from the second such obstacle because I was too slow on the key)

Kalas, facing the lava flow: “Well, let’s try what the old man told us to do.”

Quest Magnus UI focused on Sparkling Snow.

A lava flow turning into a river of pinkish ice crystals.

The lava flow gone, replaced by raw rock.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:28 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

There’s a glowing thing on the floor before the last room. It’s the ol’ Pendant Of Unsealing Bad Things, meaning we are, of course, ever so slightly too late.

Kalas, crouching by a glowing item on the ground: “Look, Xelha. Isn’t this the pendant you had?”

Xelha, also crouching by a glowing item on the ground: “...Yes. The one Ayme stole from me in the Labyrinth of Mirrors.”

Kalas: “Geldoblame has already summoned the guardian of the final End Magnus.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:31 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

However, I’m not going in there tonight because it’s a boss battle followed by, er, a lot of VERY DRAMATIC events.
Instead I go back the other way, get some very satisfying overkill combos in the process, and get everyone up to level 33.

Combat turn result for Savyna, showing 881 raw damage thanks to an +80% water weakness, turned into 1445 thanks to a +64% 5-straight combo bonus.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 12:39 AM · Nov 18, 2020 Permalink

Made it back to the savepoint right before the boss, so... next time is Geldoblame and THE TWIST.
I’ve been analyzing the foreshadowing and spoiling it plenty, but I sure didn’t see it coming the first time ‘round.
Fun times ahead.