Gateway to the Savage Frontier, Chapter 12: Fin

Hmm... this isn't typical.

Upon their arrival in Sundabar, it became clear that something was amiss. Soon after arriving by boat, the clerk at the rental shop said all his boats were out; yet they had just arrived. Similar to their experience upon being ambushed in Loudwater, there was no one walking the streets at all. Exploring the conspicuously quiet city, everyone was on edge. Their eyes darted to and fro, and hands were never far from their weapons. Standing at the edge of an arched stone bridge, they all stopped as they thought they heard sounds coming from the square ahead. Augustar put his finger to his lips, and they advanced cautiously.

Faced with the biggest force of monsters they had ever seen, some in the party braced for the battle of their life. Augustar however, exercised discretion, and quickly made a gesture for the party to retreat. Oddly, even though a goblin had drawn attention to them, no one from the massive army followed. "I think we'd best find another way to Ascore!" Augustar said, out of breath as they made haste to the gates of Sundabar.

The Company traveled for more than a week trying to find a path to Ascore. The water of the nearby rivers ran too deep to cross. The mountain path south of Sundabar had recently been blocked by an avalanche. In the end, they found a path through the great desert itself, battling the heat, thirst, and a flight of wyverns to reach their destination.

I thought this was a little cheap until I found a way around it.

Some nice art.

Surrounding the city was a massive cliff; the party could see a ring of pyramids far below them, within the ruins of what must have once been a great city. There was no doubt, this was their destination, Ascore. There appeared to be an entrance down into the cliff itself, flanked by two griffons carved in an ancient style, sporting minor imperfections from the passing of thousands of years. The Company followed the path as it spiraled down through the cliff-side, it's bottom worn smooth by the countless boots and carriage wheels that had traveled it. After what seemed like hours in almost total darkness, they emerged into the light of the sun to see a great archway before them, behind which was the only visible entrance to the city. The archway was worn with time and choked by vines, but it's etching was still legible.

This is pretty wonky looking; it's a bit of a hint.

They found a dead city, filled with the restless dead of Ascore who were unfortunately not happy to once again have visitors. Within the ancient walls they discovered some new stone work. Upon a huge wooden gate, reinforced with iron bands, was nailed a stylized "M", just like the one they had seen on the red sail of the ship in the purple rocks, made of brass. Yes, there was no doubt who had erected this gate, the Zhentarim.

The gate was massive and took much effort to open, but it was unlocked, almost as if they were expected. Soon after entering this newly constructed area of the city, a booming voice rang out from seemingly everywhere and nowhere all at once. "Welcome to Ascore would be heroes!" It was Vaalgamon, "I thank you for bringing the statuettes which are critical to our success. Before you is something that was a bit of a hobby for the Ascorians, a maze! Enter it, I know you will, and face my minions. If you are valiant, you will have the honor of delivering the statuettes to me personally and dying by my sword. If you are less so, then my minions will feast on your flesh and bones."

"I really don't like this guy," said Steve Nash.

Vaalgamon does a little fourth-wall breaking to describe the new game mechanic here. 

The final battle(s) in Gateway introduce a novel idea. Instead of returning to the first person exploration map as usual after a combat, they pick a direction to leave the map, and then are immediately faced with new foes. Some of the possible combats are ridiculously easy, a bunch of goblins; while others are very, very tough, with a bunch of shambling mounds. Vaalgamon himself is a BEAST. He is loaded with magic items. These give him a -8 AC, regeneration and magic resistance. He can also cast spells and wields a long sword +5. I think beating him is supposed to be sort of a "mega-boss" type thing, not really expected. I remember I got him with a very lucky charm person spell the first time I beat the game. What is key here is that a party member can escape off the map to the north and win the game without actually defeating Vaalgamon and his minions. This is not explicitly stated in the game. I think I assumed I had to beat him the first time I played.

I have beaten Vaalgamon to get his items before. I thought about going back and re-doing it, but I'm glad I didn't, as I found out from the comments on this video that the items don't import into the next game! These battles are so long and difficult that would have felt like a colossal waste of time (though still not as bad as FF13-2 Gilgamesh!).

With a couple of their number fallen, including Augustar and Chode Hammer, Avrilenne yelled "Run!" pointing to the northern exit of the maze with her mace.

They gathered up the bodies, of which Ranzo Ray was the worst off, having miscalculated a lightning bolt that had reflected back upon him and sent him to his death, and made for the exit. Vaalgamon and his minions smugly lined up to pursue them, but their smugness didn't last long.

Rotting and skeletal hands rose up by the hundreds to claw at Vaalgamon and his minions. The dead of ancient Ascore would no longer tolerate the trespassing Zhentarim. One-by-one they were dragged beneath the foaming earth. The general wielded his sword in a frantic whirlwind of gleaming metal, but for each arm he severed, two more seemed to take it's place. A look of surprise and disbelief contorted his face as even the powerful Vaalgamon found he could not win, and he slowly disappeared into the ground. With Vaalgamon defeated, there was no time yet for celebration, as uncountable armies of orcs, trolls, mercenaries and Zhentarim warriors bore down on the city.

Considering his 18 intelligence and low strength, I wonder if he's actually a powerful fighter/mage and chose to hide that fact... jerk.

Everyone collectively gasped as Krevish revealed his hidden identity. He produced a shining ring, and held it aloft, soon everyone felt much better. Even Ranzo was resurrected before their very eyes. "My ring had one wish left, I had to save it to restore you heroes for your final task."

Krevish complemented them on their perseverance, skill, and overall heroism, then directed them to the top of the largest pyramid in the plaza, where a black granite alter stood. "Quickly Augustar, you must invert the statues and place them inside the altar. It is not the elements which lend them their power, but the bases."

Augustar inserted the statuettes as quickly as he dared, not wanting to damage them or otherwise disturb the magic. The missing base rose from inside the altar, creating a five sided pyramid, like the one they now stood on. Beams of light shot forth, and the Ring of Reversal was placed at their apex.

This reminds me of the end of the last game I played...

The beams of light expanded until they bathed the entirety of the city, the cliffs beyond, and into the desert. An uncountable horde of monsters were drawn to the light, bearing down upon the surrounding armies in a storm of fangs, claws, and fire. Soon, all was pandemonium. The Company did not need to have a discussion, they all knew now was the time to leave. They made their way through the army of orcs, who was now scrambling to defend themselves. They cut down who they needed to make a path, their focus on the pathway up the cliffs. In the mayhem and carnage that followed, all were looking to save themselves, no one cared anymore to target this now insignificant group of adventurers. 

I really liked how these ending scenes are tiled together.

Nice cop-out! It's okay game, you did a good job describing the events preceding this in detail.

A reception befitting heroes.

After weeks of travel and celebration, the grateful heroes ended right where they started; in the warmth of the tavern in Yartar, spending late into the night reveling and story-weaving. Only this time, they kept a very close eye on their drinks! 

Thank you my friends, I hope you have enjoyed this tale, that of the Gateway to the Savage Frontier. Before long, you will hear more of the great deeds of The Company as their adventures continue in Treasures of the Savage Frontier. Return here for more... of This Bard's Tales!