CHAPTER 34: FACE-OFF IN THE FORBIDDEN CITY
With Lankh'Nar now open to you, the time has come to finally face-off with Primus/Maximus and his ilk. Will you be up to the task?
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- from the ssethanti sacred ziggurat, retrace your steps and return to Lankh'Nar, the Forbidden city.
Key
to the Forbidden city:
x72y76 - adandoned building
x72y78 - compound (a battle awaits you there!)
x73y76 - compound (a battle awaits you there!)
x73y78 - adandoned building
x74y76 - adandoned building
x74y78 - compound (a battle awaits you there!)
x75y76 - compound (a battle awaits you there!)
x75y78 - adandoned building
x76y76 - adandoned building
x76y78 - compound (a battle awaits you there!)
x77y76 - compound (a battle awaits you there!)
x77y78 - adandoned building
x78y76 - large ancient ziggurat. The last remaining Overlords
(other than Primus), Consul Yavis Shuul and
Praetor Varlys Qui (yes, the
older sister of General Arla Qui from
TiSL!), are waiting for you with a host of psi-warriors. You will
have to go through them before being able to enter this ancient
building. Have fun.
- make sure to rest after the clash with the last Overlords, before venturing into the ziggurat of Lankh'Nar. When ready, just step inside.
Key
to the Ziggurat of Lankh'Nar:
x39y60 - exit
x33y52 - door
x30y53 - Yavis Shuul's private quarters
x29y55 - chest holding Shuul's personal fortune
x30y51 - Varlys Qui's private quarters
x29y50 - chest holding Qui's personal fortune
x46y52 - laboratory
x39y47 - left side of commemorative obsidian landmark
x40y47 - right side of commemorative obsidian landmark. Approach
with search on to spot protuberance. Push on it to make the wall
at x40y46 slide off to reveal passage.
x37y44 - incubation room. Numerous incubators are here, with most
of them broken or inactive. But some are fully functionning.
Oberon is aghast, reasoning that Primus/Maximus is trying to
generate new Mentarch bodies to be used as hosts in the active
incubators. But why go through this trouble, since all the
Mentarchs need are human hosts, preferably ones gifted with
psionic powers? Oberon tells you that the Mentarchs were
long-lived -not only are their essences nearly immortal as long
as they are hosted, but their physical bodies could last for a
thousand year, if not more. Thus, Primus/Maximus not only wants
to bring back the reign of the Mind Lords, but he also wants
himself and his siblings to be whole. Oberon then enjoins you to
destroy the active incubators. [Note:
it is highly recommended that you do as Oberon suggests before
going on any further -namely, facing off against Primus/Maximus.
This will provide you with maximum experience points available.]
x33y41; x29y44; x31y46; x34y46 - active incubators (just break
them to render them useless).
x42y44 - Primus' private quarters. Primus Ankh,
flanked by the revived Yavis Shuul and Varlys Qui, is waiting for
you there. Behind them, you see a shimmering vortex not unlike
what you have seen before. Primus rants at you, explaining at the
same time that Maximus has
left his body and has gone to the Astral Plane
with the other Mentarchs, in order to wait for Primus to deal
with you once and for all. At that, Primus and his collegues
attack.
- once you have dealt with Primus and his ilk, go to the chest at x44y43 and grab hold of Primus' personal fortune. Then head for the machine at x50y44 which generates the portal to the Astral plane. You'll notice that it is destabilizing fast and looks about to break down soon - either closing off the vortex before you jump or after you do. Knowing that going through the vortex is therefore likely to be a one-way trip, you are offered a choice to jump in or not. What happens next depends on the decision you make, as follows:
i) You don't jump in. You choose not to go, feeling that you have done more than enough already and deserve to rest for a long while. You are simply tired of chasing after those Mentarchs. However, most of your friends will leave you in order to jump in without you, arguing that Maximus and the surviving Mentarchs are too dangerous to leave alone -in other words, they are willing to sacrifice themselves if necessary, in order to stop the Mentarchs once and for all. Indeed, Maximus and his siblings are certain to attempt to return one day and try again to restore themselves and the Lankharhan empire. Only Oberon does not go, opting instead to return to the Tower of the Hourglass in order to inform his Order. As expected, the vortex closes off behind your friends and the machine breaks down, stranding them probably forever -if they survive against the Mentarchs, that is.
Consequently, the adventure ends for you right here and now, and you are free to roam Anarym at your leisure. However, a cloud of doubt will always be following you, making you wonder if you made the right decision ...
ii) You do jump in. Without giving it another thought, you go through the vortex along with all your comrades, including Oberon. As expected, the vortex closes off behind you and the machine breaks down, stranding you probably forever.
Consequently, it's Onward to Chapter 35!
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