Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Parts 173, 174 and 175: The Rite of Peace, Marcus and Erana and Beginning of the End

In Which Our Hero journeys to Atlantis and brokers peace with the Tritons; proposes to a woman who's been with him since the beginning - and she says YES!; and discusses Minos with Elsa again, and hears about the Dragon from the Famous Adventurer.





We find Marcus swimming underwater in front of the gates to Atlantis. A little mojo with the magic spear and the gates open; Marcus is instantly attacked by two Tritons. Rather than fighting, he uses his Awe ability to scare them off and swims inside. Once in, he follows the Famous Adventurer's advice to find a couple of secret panels, bypassing and Awe-ing several guards along the way. Then he swims right into the Queen's chambers and discusses peace with Hippolyta.

She hears Marcus out and his Paladin promises resonate with her, so she agrees to a peace treaty, offering Marcus a statue as a symbol of the act. He swims back to the surface and flies back to Marete, but not before stopping off to see Erana.

Before Logos concludes the Rite of Peace, Dr. Praetorus and Gort stand accused of cheating and drugging the Wizards of Silmaria. Praetorus doesn't protest, but goes on a tirade about poppycock (where have we heard that before?) and eventually turns into Dr. Mobius in a strange twist of fate that no one, not even the game's writers, probably saw coming.

Now the game becomes about resolving plot lines before the finale. First, to the apothecary, where Marcus hears about how the Lethe water has cured the Wizards. Nice work. Marcus also stocks up on a bunch of potions, which really makes you wonder where the hell he's keeping all this stuff he's carrying around.

Next, back to Erana's island. Marcus talks with her some more and makes his feelings for her known. He gets down on one knee and presents her with a ring - and Erana says yes. A love across the ages, through all five Quest for Glory games, comes to a happy conclusion. And hey, it's not like it's Marcus' first marriage anyway.

Then it's off to the Dead Parrot Inn, where a rather-smug looking Ferrari takes the Tritons' peace statue in exchange for the deed to Ann's inn. What Ferrari is planning with that statue is anyone's guess - but at least we helped Ann, and she is extremely grateful.

Elsa comes for another visit that evening, where she lays out her plans for proving Minos' guilt. It sounds solid, but Elsa's putting herself in grave danger. Hope she's OK.

Next morning, Marcus heads out to the Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School and speaks to the FA one last time. FA tells Marcus about the Dragon of Doom, which is a far bigger and nastier monster than the little dragonlets Marcus has seen or encountered before.

Marcus kills a bit of time before nightfall and on his walk back to the Inn is trapped by a man in a black cloak. It's the assassin - who turns out to be none other than Bruno, the old thief from Spielburg. What the hell? During the battle Marcus kills Bruno but is stabbed by a poison dagger. Luckily Toro witnesses the whole thing and gets Marcus some much-needed help.

When he wakes, Marcus talks to Logos about how to approach Minos. It is agreed to lay a trap, inviting Minos to the Hall of Kings and using the Ring of Truth on him.

There's no turning back now.

Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Parts 171 and 172: A Midnight Meeting and Drugs and Dancing

In Which Our Hero learns from Elsa whom she believes is behind the problems in Silmaria; and discovers who drugged the Wizards and engages in some casual crossdressing.





After talking with Erana for a while (and doing a little behind-the-scenes grinding to get his vitality back up to at least early Shadows of Darkness levels), Marcus heads back to Silmaria and crashes at the Inn. Elsa wakes him in the middle of the night to talk to him about her suspicions regarding who is responsible for the problems. She points the finger at Minos, her sponsor, but has no real proof. Guess we'll need to be on the lookout.

Next morning Marcus has a sudden inkling to buy a magic spear, and then discusses Atlantis at length with the Famous Adventurer, who helpfully reveals the sunken city's location and some tricks for getting around once inside. Now all we're missing is some scuba equipment.

Marcus decides to pay Science Island one last visit. But hey, something really strange is going on. It seems Dr. Praetorus admits to being the one who drugged the wizards! A damning confession if ever there was one.

The next step on this disjointed adventure is walking into a trap. Gnome Ann confronts Marcus when he comes in that night and asks him if he'll do her a favor, without telling him what it is. He agrees - what is a Paladin to do? - and finds himself dressed as a woman, performing a belly dance.

Welp.

Next morning, though, it's down to serious business as Marcus takes his balloon and flies to Atlantis, where he discovers an ancient-looking sewer tunnel that may or may not lead to the lost city. We'll find out next time...

Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Parts 163 and 164: Elsa's A Winner and The Balloon

In Which Our Hero does something nice for Elsa and starts making a balloon; and constructs a flying machine.





Back in Marcus' room, he tucks in for the night and is woken the next morning by the city guards. It's time to go to the Hall of Kings.

Elsa stands before Logos and wins the Rite of Valor, although Marcus is named as a kind of co-winner for helping her out. Logos then lays out the next Rite: to journey to Delos and speak to the oracle about destiny. Sounds fun. The main problem is: how the hell do we get to Delos?

With the Icarus wings well and truly busted, it's time to take some alternate opinions. Wolfie talks about flying, and he's got a really nifty painting of a balloon he saw once. Hmm. I wonder if we could make the same?

Marcus shows the painting to Marrak, who agrees to sell Marcus his spare brazier. Marcus then sets off to find some other elements for his puzzle, but not before stopping by Pholus' stall to sell a few unneeded items.

After that it's the Famous Adventurer's place, where Marcus hears about Delos and the Oracle - and more interestingly, the Dryads who also live there. We'll have to stop by and say 'hello.'

Next step: a bag for the balloon. Ann happens to have a sheet that might work, and she's so happy that we helped her with the seeds (and gave her a lead on Wolfie painting the Inn) that she agrees to sew the sheet.

After that, Marcus takes a well-deserved rest, then journeys to Science Island where he fishes the gondola out of the ocean. Applying the various pieces to it results in a workable hot air balloon. Pretty cool! The world is now our oyster - or at least this part of it.

Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Parts 159 and 160: Gnome Ann's Blues and Icarus' Wings

In Which Our Hero learns that Ann paid far too much for the Inn and flies like a bird.





This next Rite is going to be a doozy. No matter who we talk to, they all agree on one thing: getting to Hydra is going to be the hard part. I suppose that's a good thing...

Talking to Ann, we learn that she owes a lot of money to someone for the Inn. Who? None other than Ferrari, our old 'friend.' Very interesting. We'll try to help her of course, but Ferrari being Ferrari we might as well be hitting our head against a wall.

We do however have two very interesting conversations with Pholus and the Famous Adventurer. We're reminded of stories of the hero Icarus, who built a pair of wings. I wonder if we could do the same?

In fact - we can. Marcus gets some beeswax, and then makes his way to science island (after a brief interlude where Ferrari confirms that he is, in fact, a complete asshole.) We make ourselves a pair of Icarus wings with the wooden frames on the wall, take off and arrive safely on Hydra. Well, mostly safely - we have to kill a beast that can't be killed. But we'll take care of that next time...

Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Part 148: Science Island

In Which Our Hero passes a test to gain access to Science Island.



Reasonably fast update this time. Marcus grills the Famous Adventurer, who is a hundred times more lively now that he's had the Hippocrene Water but not terribly helpful. He'd rather sing and dance and talk about this new book he's writing, the 'Quest for Glory Story.' Too bad there isn't a dialogue option to tell him you like 'Hero's Quest' better. Or that you expect some royalty money!

Marcus then returns to Science Island where he hunts the correct pixel to make the cart work. On the island, he passes a simple 'scientific' test to gain entry to the labs, where he meets one Dr. Praetorus, the chief researcher on Science Island. Praetorus expounds at length about science and pizza, but luckily we only need to listen to this drivel once.

We're getting close to kicking off the Rites - just a couple of other little quests to go! Woohoo!

Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Part 147: Arestes' Arrest

In Which Our Hero convinces Arestes to turn himself in, is rewarded handsomely, sells some feathers and revives the Famous Adventurer.



We pick up right in the middle of the conversation with Arestes, where Marcus' golden tongue convinces the sailor that turning himself in is better than the alternative - facing an angry Erasmus. Luckily vague threats of magical violence work and Arestes goes quietly, armed (heh) with the loot, all of which is accounted for. Marcus is rewarded handsomely for it: 2000 drachmas, more than enough to cover the entrance fees for the Rites of Rulership and cover any other expenses he might have in Silmaria again. At least it beats grinding for gold.

Marcus then speaks with Arestes, who tells him that the prospects for a one-armed sailor are pretty slim and that's why he's taken up a life of crime. If only he could get his arm back! Well, Marcus was on his way to Salim and Julanar's place anyway, so he asks Julanar about the possibility - and she seems to think regrowing his arm is completely plausible. Cool, good deed done. Salim buys the Pegasus feathers and Marcus scores some Stamina pills for later.

One last stop as we tick off quests: the FACS. Famous Adventurer is his usual morose self until Marcus produces some Hippocrene Water, which perks FA up right away. So much in fact that he gives Marcus a magical helmet, which should help protect his pretty noggin against the blows that are about to come.

Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Parts 143 and 144: A Big Basket and Pegasus Quest

In Which Our Hero returns a basket, gives a cat some flowers and enters the arena; and gets a new quest and tries to make it to Science Island.





After the basket fight (heh) Marcus isn't too keen on getting into another scrap with some monsters, so it's back to town and quickly. There, Marcus gives Sarra the basket and receives his reward: another version of the necklace he bought earlier. Sigh. Maybe he can find someone who appreciates jewelry?

Then it's down to the docks (after giving the young Katta some flowers - aren't we sweet?) Marcus needs to go back to the FACS but it's already closed. Everything closes early in Silmaria, which is strange for a resort town. The Dead Parrot is open for business though, so Marcus nips inside and takes a gander at the arena roster. Rather than betting on someone else, he enters himself on Day 5. Mayhaps we can bet on ourselves later then.

Something strange is afoot in the Dead Parrot. There's this dude in a black cloak in the corner, doing his best Strider impression. But this is no ranger: our danger sense is tingling and he's as silent as the grave. Hmm...

Marcus turns in, gets a delightful good night and good morning from Gnome Ann, and is then back in the saddle the next morning. There's a new guy down at the docks: a friendly young sailor named Andre, who says that he is the only fisherman left in Silmaria and that he's willing to take us to other islands. I bet that's going to come in useful very shortly.

On to the FACS. Our favorite morose friend is whining about being old, and mentions how he'd like to taste the waters of the Hippocrene stream again. Hey, if it will shut him up, why not.

Then Marcus heads off to solve the puzzle of science island. Oddly enough, he's stopped not by his lack of brains (hurr) but his lack of throwing - or that I aimed for the wrong place. Either way, we'll get to science island later.

Quest for Glory Epic Let's Play Part 140: A Hero's Homecoming

In Which Our Hero visits his Alma Mater.



This video opens with one of my least favorite parts of playing any game: running around killing time to get to a timed event. I don't understand why some game designers insist on including painful stuff like this. Timed events I get. But give me a way to skip to them!

Anyway - after running around and getting a nice preview look at Science Island, Marcus finally makes it into the Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School and finds Famous Adventurer - or FA - himself. Who turns out to be slightly less enthusiastic than the literature might lead one to believe. In fact, are there even any other graduates of this school? Is this guy even famous? Does he have a real name? At least we have his autograph and a book about how to swim, which Marcus reads (looks at the pictures) and picks up a new skill from.

Then it's back to the marketplace and specifically the bank to introduce ourselves to the banker, who looks hauntingly familiar. Maybe it's the way he talks about old heroes being forced to work as beggars. Maybe it's his admitting to meeting Marcus in Spielburg. Yes, Sam the Banker Man (ugh) is none other than the beggar Marcus gave money to way back in one of the first updates in this Let's Play. Guess he did pretty well for himself, huh?

After checking out the bank it's on to the last building we haven't been in: the apothecary. Speaking of old characters, here's Salim from Tarna and.. a very human-looking and American-sounding Julanar. We'll talk to them more next update.