Welcome friends, make yourselves comfortable. Tonight we're taking a trip back to a place we haven't been in a good while. We're going back to see our good man August Star as he explores Bastille.
Now fully equipped, August headed for the harbor, still at night after his arrival in the city. A quick walk around the area near the gate to Bastille revealed a number of almost abandoned buildings. Evil humanoids, and other unsavories were pushing close to the city.
Of note were an abandoned temple, and Shana's Alehouse and Emporium. The temple's weathered stone was covered in ivy, in an archaic script it identified itself as a temple to "Jolith", a figure that August was only passingly familiar with, there being a temple to the god in the city proper.
Shana's Alehouse was a much large building. August had heard some rumors about town that the Ale from Shana's was a big export from Bastille, said by some to be the finest in the realm! However, given that Bastille was still bustling at night, he was very surprised to find that at Shana's, the door was open, but the inside was quiet. August pushed at the door, his trident in hand. The front room contained tables and chairs, everything seeming to be in order, a single candle alight on a round table. A hall of doors came off from the lounge. At first, August hesitated to search these rooms, thinking they might be rooms for guests, although an unlocked, unguarded door to an inn seemed unlikely given the recent influx of evil in the region. He heard voices, speaking in the gutteral tongues of goblins, and the high-pitched yaps of kobolds. August immediately threw open the doors, and cut these creatures down!
Further investigation of Shana's found other evil folk. The emporium seemed like it had only recently been overrun, as there was a spa pool that was still in good repair. August was tempted by the warm waters, but good sense prevailed as he moved on, not wanting to be caught unprepared by evil foes.
Across the path from Shana's was a warehouse situated on the river.The warehouse seemed like it could possibly be abandoned. Beside the door was a plaque, proclaiming it "Greenlund Trading Co. Receiving." August pushed open the door, it being unlocked. He was greeted by men wearing the livery of royal guards. However, August figured them to be either fakes or very daft, as their first action was to draw their swords as their leader yelled "Bandits!", and to fall upon August. Four armed guards being quite intimidating, August cast a spell of sleep to incapacitate them. After a short internal debate, he cut their throats and looted the bodies, telling himself they must be thieves.
These guards turned out to be my primary source of grinding for my first few levels. Which is representative of my main gripe with Forgotten Worlds; it's very difficult to adventure on your own, hence the need for me to grind. Of course, it's hard to say if this a fault of the game, as it was obviously designed to have a number of people to adventure with available at any time. There is an option to create a character that is at max levels, and in hindsight that may have been the way to go. However, I'm going to stick it out! My blogging has lagged behind my playing quite a bit, and at the moment August is at levels 6/5/5. The game, at this point, is pretty much survivable in the surroundings of Bastille, but very tough outside of it.
Thanks for stopping by friends, return again soon... for This Bard's Tales!
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