Beyond the Beyond: Update 39: The Master Magician (Arawn's Tower pt. 2)

[ladyabaxa]

Beyond the Beyond: Update 39: The Master Magician (Arawn's Tower pt. 2)

So the last time we saw the team they had fought their way up Arawn's Tower despite the enormous monster infestion. No matter how many they kill two more are there to challenge them again. If they ever actually see Arawn they're going to have to lodge a complaint.

You know, I had no idea what to expect when we hit the top but this is definitely not what I would have thought we'd find.
It's... empty.
Yeah, it is. Where's Arawn? Where's anything, really?
Maybe Arawn's out to lunch.
Very funny, Steiner.
Those gems are magical. Maybe they do something useful?
Maybe they'll give Finn a nice shock and turn his hair green or something.
Ha, ha. You'd like that, wouldn't you?
I would laugh, yes.
Heartless. You're utterly heartless sometimes, Steiner.
I try.

Well, here goes. Wish me luck.
Ok then. Good luck.

Finn touches the left jewel giving the team a sudden but pleasant surprise by refilling their VP.

I'm not sure what that did but it didn't kill us.
Kinda warm and friendly actually.

The other gem restores the team's MP which would have been nice to have before they started chugging Mage Potions.

The third jewel in the middle resurrects anyone who was dead but thanks to good resource management no one got even close to dying on the way up. Of course the game's not going to give out a free party-wide effect like that unless something big was about to happen.

You've finally come! Such brave, young people!

Confused and alarmed by the voice that just called out to them the group looks around for the source.

Did anyone else just hear a voice?
Yeah. I did.

As they cast around in confusion an old man teleports into the chamber.

There!
What? Who goes there?
I used to go by the name Arawn.
You are the almighty Arawn?! You look like a mere old man.
Yes, I am Arawn. "A mere old man," you say? I'd suggest you watch what you say in my presence...
My apologies. I did not mean to cast doubt on you it's just a little... shocking the way you look.
*shakes his head* I'm sorry that my present form disappoints you. I have never felt a need to show off.

Stunned the team takes a moment to make something of a plan.

Um, we found Arawn. Now what?
We've got, like, a million questions, right?
I think we'd better be careful. Edward, you're up.
Me?
Yes. You actually understand what diplomacy is.
Ok. Um, give me a second.

Your present form?
Yes. My natural form is made up of pure energy.
Sounds painful.
Tont!
What?
It's alright. I know you don't understand what that means. I must assume a human likeness in order to interact with you people.

(Oh boy an energy being. Somewhere a physicist weeps.)

*steps forward* Well then... Arawn, we have arrived...
Indeed. I was starting to wonder when you would.
Well we had many... difficulties.
You didn't exactly make it easy to find you. Couldn't you just send a letter or something?
*facepalm*
Or you know you could have just appeared to us directly. Would have saved a lot of time.
Are you still skeptical...? Well, don't worry! *pauses* Let me show you why I led you here.

You?
Led us...
...Here?

Well, not literally. But I laid out the path you took.
A long and convoluted path.
So you put it all together like, centuries ago, right?
I suppose it was more straightforward when you first made it.
Yes, of course. Time has a way of changing even the best laid plans. Well... why don't you take a look outside? It's a beautiful view.

With that Arawn turns his back on the group to do... something.

The game then cuts to an exterior shot showing the overworld.

What do you think of the view?
It's beautiful... so beautiful...
Wow! I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life.
Eh, it's nice but really I've seen all the sand I care to see for my lifetime.
I like it! Look, Finn, everything looks like tiny ants below us.
*squints* I can't really see much of anything with all the glare.
Ahem! If you'll all direct your attention this way.

The camera rotates and pans up until it comes to a stop here.

What are we supposed to be looking at?
*muttering* Damn thing. Work for five minutes, will you?
What direction is that anyway? West?
Yes, that's west.
So that's towards Marion?
Yes and if this blasted thing was working I could show you Marion.
Well this turned awkward.
Look this stuff is all very old. Just roll with it, ok?
O...k.
One moment. I'll have to use an alternative.

There's our view of Marion. What, you don't believe me? Well look it has the two towers and trees and everything although no moat because that wasn't in the budget. It's all very sophisticated!

*clears throat* Look over there! That should be Marion. I can't believe I just did that.
I wonder what's happening in Marion? The king... my father...
... ...
Annie, are you all right?
I'm sorry... I was thinking about my brother...
Hey, Finn! Are you trying to be Mr. Sensitive by giving her a shoulder to cry on?
Heaven forbid I should comfort my sister when she's sad. What the hell, Edward?
Ha Ha! Edward, do I detect a hint of jealousy in your voice?
Hey, look! The prince is turning red!
*flustered* Ugh, uh, it was just a joke, ok? Y-you know me better than that, right?
You still walked right into it, your highness.

Uhum. If you could look to the west for a second.

The camera rotates towards the southwest.

Past Marion, on the horizon...

Then zooms across the landscape a bit to come to a rest here.

Blast it! Come on, work damn you! *fiddles with the rabbit ears*

Adorable... but wrong.

GAH!

Still adorable but even more wrong.

This is actually going pretty well.
*raises an eyebrow*
What? We haven't been smited yet. We haven't even been yelled at for looting his house... either of them.
Yes, I suppose against those standards this is going extremely well.

Hold on a second. I'm going to need another alternative to illustrate this.

Best laid plans...
Admit it, sis, he's doing much better than we would in his position.
Eh.

There we go. It looks something like that.
Umm... the sky looks very foreboding.
That's right! I brought you here to show this to you!
...
Maybe I've just contracted a case of the stupids but I don't get it. That's supposed to be foreboding?
Look I'm just doing what Arawn told me to do, ok?
Ok, ok. *clears throat* My that is indeed an ominous sky.
Is that the cloud of evil that we heard about in Simone because I thought we weren't supposed to take that literally?
*stares incredulously at Finn* _{Oh dear, what have I done?}

The scene returns to the tower. There is a moment of silence as Arawn takes a deep breath.

All right let me back up a bit and explain some things.
Finally!
Have you heard of the Abyss?
Uh, I think so.
Yes you have, Finn. Don't be silly.
The Abyss, the Abyss... uh, I think I might have skipped class that day.
The Abyss is a dimensional vortex just beyond the boundaries of our world. Nothing can live there because it is so unstable.
Well said, Prince Edward. Beyond the Abyss lies the Underworld... and the Vicious Ones.
The Underworld...? That is... *pauses to think* No, not that. Uh, demons live there. I think. That's what Master Myrrdin said, anyway.
*nods* The Underworld and the Common World should remain separate and never interact. That was the agreement, but the agreement is about to be broken!
Demons live down there? Um, so is that where that water demon came from?
How should I know?
Edward?
I'm afraid Master Myrrdin didn't go into any details.
You're probably right, Finn.
He is?
...Yes.
*nervous laugh* That's... not exactly comforting to know.

The team turns back to Arawn.

Agreement... did you say? Who made that agreement?
Probably people who are long dead.
That is an unfortunate truth of your kind. However not everyone present at that time has passed away. There are more than humans in this world after all.
But it's still going to be broken?
Yes. That is what I said.
Ok. I just wanted to clarify that because if that demon came from the Underworld I figured it means the treaty or whatever has already been broken.
You might be getting ahead of yourself, Finn. *turns to Arawn* What do you mean it's about to be broken? Who is trying to break the agreement?
Hmm, yes, I know this is a lot to take in so suddenly.
I don't know. It seems pretty straightforward to me.
Pryaa. For once?
Yeah. That Shutat guy wants to call up demons or something. That would break the treaty, right?
Hrm, yes it would. Perhaps we should just leave it at that. A description of the situation right now may only confuse you.

There is a moment of silence as the team looks at one another. Arawn waits patiently until they are ready.

The ominous cloud you saw is above the kingdom of Bandore. I know you didn't see the actual cloud but you would have if the viewer was working. Just trust me on this.
You... want us to do something about that?
Bandore's aggression is related to that evil cloud. I'm just letting you know.
I still think you could have just sent a letter.
*nervous laugh* Of course we are grateful for your warning.
Even if it comes a bit late for Marion.
I know. You kids don't have to put on a brave face about that. I can tell that you're wondering why I didn't speak up sooner.

There is some quiet but awkward shuffling amongst the kids.

Right now, it is just a battle between two kingdoms. If you fail to stop Bandore and the Vicious Ones, it will develop into a dispute between two worlds.
That would be bad, wouldn't it?
It would mean a widespread war.
Indeed and the world went through that once already. It is not prepared for another one. The Vicious Ones know that.
What do you want us to do?
As part of the agreement, I cannot personally interfere in this battle... That is why I had you come here. As far as advice I can only give you this: Seek the one who would corrupt Marion and cast the shadow from her heart.
Marion...

Arawn starts to glow creating a glowing sphere in the process. From the sphere emerges a tablet which comes to rest before him.

After you restore Marion and purge the evil from Bandore, this Ancient Tablet shall guide you. However, the tablet is useless alone. You must find the other three of its kind.
I guess I'll be taking that.

Key Item Ancient Tablet got!

And let me give you the Light Orb.

Arawn summons a yellow sphere which glows, spins, and creates a copy for each party member except Steiner. Steiner doesn't have an inventory since he has a personal pet assistant in Finn to do little things like that for him.

When your party gets larger, the Light Orb will help you tremendously. Whenever you wish to visit a friend, cast your wish on the Light Orb, and it shall come true.

Each team member then receives a Light Orb, or they would except this message pops up telling Finn "But Thou Must!"

Finn would be able to keep the orb if his inventory wasn't completely full of other stuff. Aargh! He tosses out an antidote to make room.

As if that wasn't enough the "But Thou Must!" message pops up again because Annie's inventory is also full... because she had the first open inventory slot which the game shoved the Ancient Tablet into. That slot was of course her last slot because that's just the way my luck rolls. I try to throw away the Hammer but since it is a plot item it cannot be discarded. It has ZERO use for the rest of the game too. She ends up tossing out a Cure Herb.

Praa! It's very glowy, Finn.
Yeah it is. *looks at Arawn* It's not going to do that all the time is it?
No. It'll settle down.
Good because I really don't want a glowing backpack. *pauses* That and I don't particularly want Edward to go blind.
*blinks* Huh, what?
You've been staring at that orb like you're trying to will it to save Marion all by itself.
Uh, no, sorry. It's just that you don't see magic like this everyday.
I'm glad you like it.
So how do these things work?
Don't worry. When the time comes the orb will give you all the instruction you require.
Well if Finn's track record is anything to go by his will be broken by then.
Steiner! *flustered annoyance* Sheesh, I'm not that careless.
I have learned from past mistakes.
Meaning?
Meaning I know how to build things to handle human... ignorance.
Sounds kinda ominous.
Well this has been interesting but I'm afraid we must wrap this up.
*steps forward* Ah... well...
*shakes head* I know you have many questions, but that is all I can tell you right now.
Because you have to stay neutral.
*nods* Yes. Trust that I have a good reason for doing so. Now, you must go.

Arawn turns his back to the team and shakes his head.

Oh wait... I almost forgot about Samson's curse.

That prompts him to turn back around.

Let me send you to one who can break Samson's curse.

With that Arawn glows sending light washing over his visitors. Then they shrink and disappear because Arawn apparently has an interesting take on teleportation spells. Hopefully being micronized won't have any lasting repercussions.

Good luck, Finn! No matter what happens...

Warning! Animated GIF ahead!

Arawn then calls the glowing sphere down and vanishes in the same way. Honestly I'm just including this gif because for some reason the animation amuses me.

Meanwhile in some other location we haven't seen yet but whose eye motif gives away the fact that it must somehow be related to Simone someone in purple is sitting, meditating, er, doing something all by themselves.

Well they were doing something before the area lit up and Arawn's light-spherey self teleported in to shoot sparkles at the person in purple. Arawn is kind of rude like that. It makes the figure jump up in alarm.

OH! You must be Arawn...

Arawn "speaks" again but we're not privy that whatever it is he is saying. The person just nods at first.

Yes... *pause* if Arawn tells me so, then I'll assist with all my powers. But... why the child?

Again Arawn "speaks" which causes purple person to step back.

Mmm, how terrible... You say fighting between the Underworld and the Common World? Scary... very scary.

Then the light fades and the team teleports in.

Where the hell are we?
I don't know but if we don't have to do that again in a long time I'll be grateful.
What you don't like teleporting?
Not really if what just happened is the norm.

The screen scrolls down which Arawn uses as a convenient excuse for vanishing once again. The figure in purple walks forward to greet them.

I'm Simone's Master Magician. Welcome, heroes of Marion!

The master magician? So you're Zeon?
I am.
All that trouble just to be sent back to Simone.
You've visited before?
Yeah we were here awhile back but since you sealed the only way up here we couldn't see you.
Ahh, yes. I am sorry about that but if I don't seal the shrine I can't get any peace and quiet.
Well we're here now. Arawn said you could break Sir Samson's curse?
Indeed. Arawn has instructed me to do just that. *steps forward* Which one of you is Sir Samson, he who was cursed by the Vicious Ones?

Show time?
Let's hope so.
That is an interesting way of putting it I suppose.
Well, you know, trying not to be too serious in case this doesn't work out.
We don't lose anything by trying.

*steps forward* I am Samson.
*steps forward and nods* Arawn has told me to break your curse.
You're sure you can do this?
No but if Arawn commands it I will do my best.

With that Zeon turns and walks north.

Please stand in the middle of the shrine.

Samson, time to go.
I know. I just need a moment.
I never thought I'd hear Sir Samson admit to being afraid.
Watch your tongue, kid.
That's more like it.
Ha!

Steeling his nerves Samson walks out into the center of the emblem.

...This could hurt...
It can't be any worse than what I've already been through.

Zeon sits (I think, that sprite isn't very clear) and the screen darkens because either this ritual includes some dramatic lighting as a prerequisite or there is some odd weather above Simone on this particular day. Zeon begins chanting and electricity hums around Sir Samson.

Uh... Aagh... Uh... Mmmm...

Haah... Hum... Haah... Mun...

Shuh... Fuuh... Shaaah!

Then with a bright flash the ritual is complete. When the team can see again they find that Zeon and Sir Samson are lying on the ground motionless.

Did it work?
Praa. How should I know?

That was quite a spell. It knocked Zeon unconscious.

As soon as they get close to him Zeon wakes up.

I'm all right. But please, see if Sir Samson is OK.

Naturally before I let the team do that I poke my nose into all the nooks and crannies around the shrine. In a chest tucked between several trees is a Wind Cloak for one of the mages.

They can also wander away from the shrine towards Simone where Sir Samson, despite still lying on the ground unconscious, is still part of the group. It's magic!

I'm including this screenshot just to show how rushed this part of Simone actually is. Beyond the Beyond is normally very careful to never, ever show the black space around the map tilesets. However the edge of this map is easy to see. Ultimately it's not a big deal but I'm pointing it out as another fact supporting how incomplete Simone is. I really get the impression that this was all last minute stuff thrown together in a hurry because Samson's arc had to be complete and a hard deadline was looming just ahead.

Getting back to checking up on Sir Samson...

Where... am I... *pause* I remember! Master Zeon...
Sir Samson are you ok?
What? Huh?

Samson jumps up, excited.

My body... is lighter! I can move freely again! The curse... has been broken!

Before any congratulations can be given Zeon walks up behind Samson.

Umm... Yes! The curse has been vanquished!
You don't sound very confident.
One must always have a realistic perspective to any situation.
*turns to Zeon* Master Zeon! Thank you!
Uh, yeah. Don't let my cynicism fool you. We are all very grateful.
To be honest I wasn't sure my magic would be up to the task. The Vicious Ones are the stuff of legend and their spells are poorly understood here in the Common World. Just being part of such a task is a tremendous honor.
Look at me, Finn! *does a little spring step*
Look at Sir Samson go!
I've never seen you so happy.
Today is a good day, your highness! Now we can get help from Zalagoon and restore Marion!
Can't argue with that.
Yes, you shouldn't waste time. Restore peace to Marion and complete the task Arawn has given you.

Zeon turns, the screen scrolls to the left, and in a flash of a light a glowing rock that was barring our path north vanishes. Pictured: the FUTURE!

Oh yeah and the rock that was blocking the route to Simone has also been removed. The Puzzle Gods have deemed us worthy to pass at last.

Arawn has instructed me to ready my people. We shall meet again!

Then Zeon leaves.

Finn! We should go now! Let's defeat Bandore!
Like all of Bandore? By ourselves?
*laughs* Ha! I feel like I could take on the world right now but no, Finn.
Just those jerks in Marion.
Yes and one sorceress in particular.

I decide to give the Wind Cloak to Edward bumping his defense up by another 3 points and granting him a +3 bonus to Speed.

-- SUMMARY OF EVENTS --

Normally I would do a summary here but since the second act just ended that means we've got an act wrap-up next and with it the act recap so I'll save it for then.

One thing I do want to briefly touch on is the wacky-looking camera movements where Arawn is trying to show the team things on the overworld. Those shots don't work as the developers planned because this is a Playstation game and the Playstation has a limited draw depth for 3D objects - which is what the overworld map is. As things are designed those shots simply were never going to work as intended.

Next time on Beyond the Beyond - Hey we're back in Simone and good things actually happened. How the hell did that happen?

Update Thirty-Eight | Index | Update Forty