Slowly, ever so slowly, the vision returns to me as I am reassebled back from tiny specks floating around the Passage.
HURRAY! I LIVE!!! :D
What a strange place, though. Its roads are all cramped and covered in seaweeds. And the water... while there were some rivers on Fostral, on Glorx, water is
everywhere. Sigh. I am not good with water. Guess I'll have to adopt jumping as my main traveling style.
I fly over some big pompous structure with an entrance glowing gold. I am a bit curious about what's inside, but the mission comes first. At least the insect swarms are the same as in the first world. Ouch!
There
are roads of Glorx, but they are indirect, winding, and high above ground. If you fall down, your only way back is to jump on it.
Down below, there is some growth that constantly explodes in a flurry of blue goo. They are a bit like stinkers back at home, except they don't need me shooting at them to go boom.
One more thing to say about the Glorx roads. They are
old. They collapse under my weight. I am starting to hate this world already.
Hmm... A Rigs Station and a Repair Station rolled into one. Neat!
There is a Beeboorat escave in the south, neglected and covered in moss and algae. We do not enter it yet. For now, we only scout as per Leepky's instructions.
And there is a ghOrb Station directly above it. Free repairs, free ammo... I like the layout. A good place to make a stand if we find ourselves outnumbered.
Our mechos is quick enough to cross the dangerous area before it falls down. Still, jumping from one road segment to another is about the only way I can reliably move across the map in a timely fashion. Following the roads is just too slow, as they are mostly horisontal rather than vertical ones.
However, there are dangers inherent to careless jumping. Because the roads are too narrow, there is a high chance you will end up in a way of some vehicle that you'd rather wish you didn't. This is going to suck...
Glorx lives up to its reputation of the crossroads of the Chain. There are vangers of all colors here. Maybe if we ask them nicely the Beeboorats will give us the much wanted paintjob?
Looks like the sumptuous escave in the center of the map has a much less pretentious-looking back entrance. Heh.
There are whirlpools on Glorx, too. However, they look differently here. Let's jump into one and see what happens.
Weird! We are transported to an area that is covered in seaweed. What is the purpose of that, I wonder?
The inner voice tells me something I do not understand. Are you trying to insult me again, you irritating twit? I am a slave to no one! And I do not even know what Valorins are!
Let's continue the exploration. There must be some method to this madness! Checking out the second whirlpool!
More seaweed! But this time there are items inside...
I get it! This must be the equivalent of Fostral hideouts!
Checking the northern part of the map I come across an important-looking escave. It is definitely more well-maintained than the one in the south.
Also, I think it's time to whip out the Compass. Whoa! We have a whole menu dedicated to the Lost Chain! That's what Feenger was talking about! 'F' for Fostral, 'G' for Glorx... 'N' must be for Necross and 'X' for Xplo. What do the rest of the letters stand for, I wonder? And why are there three passages on Fostral, but only two are marked on the menu?
To the right of the escave, there stands a beautiful Passage. The Compass informs me it's the one leading to Necross.
According to the Compass, there are four Passages in total on Glorx - to Fostral, Necross, Xplo and Khox. The northern escave, the one to our left, is called Lampasso, the central one with a fashionable entrance is called VigBoo, and the southern one is Ogorod. How does it know all that without visiting them once!?
Oh, look! An old acquaintance! Lost your gun, wheeler? Nope, I am not getting into a fight with you a second time!
What a lovely stone! It must be important somehow. I would have loved to examine it in more detail IF THERE WOUDN'T BE A 100-TON MECHOS TRYING TO LAND ON ME.
I escape death by mere centimeters. I think we've seen enough of the place.
As I search the world for Larvae, the colors begin to change, and some numbers appear on the screen. I guess the cycle has come to an end.
Oh, so that's what the glowing thing does. Good to know! Meanwhile, the numbers keep growing.
The DigRig doesn't work under water. However, if you find a patch of dry land, it can help you climb back on a road as long as the two are connected. Here's me clawing my way up the support column.
There are tiny brown specks on the map. There are at least two on the screen below that are clearly visible. I ride over one - and I understand what the numbers are for. They count how many of those you have in your cargo bay!
But what
are those?
A peeperette (
pipetka in Russian), huh? A 'cult doodad'? Can't say I understand much more than I did before.
Nevermind. The Larva is in sight. A blue dot encased in white. This is what we came here for... isn't it?
Remembering Leepky's teachings...
Leepky in update 7 said:
- We get the Larva's spirit through cirt, plain soil taken from the worlds where our lords live. [...] You only have to take the cirtainer, find the smelly soil and fill it up, and take it back to Podish and our bunch...
...I stand right above the place the Larva just crawled through, and activate the cirtainer to collect the pheromone-enriched soil.
One cirtainer is full!
We repeat the process with the second one as well. Time to head back!
There is one last surprise before we reach the Passage. My air reserves do not allow me to travel under water for long, so I have to resort to my usual jumping routine.
However, due to there being very little space on the roads, the possibility of collision rises tenfold. And this time I jump straight on an atTractor's sawblade, which instantly takes off 3/4 of my hull! Yikes!
Yes, my mechos may be unrivaled on dry roads and in the wide open plateaus of Fostral, but it definitely is not a good fit for Glorx which doesn't have many roads to speak of - and the ones it has favor much better armored vehicles than mine. I could take to the water, but the lack of air would kill me quickly, and I would lose the sole advantage of the Blurry Dot - its speed.
I will have to find some other ride if I want to survive here.
Back to Fostral!
Ah! Home, sweet home! I can't tell you how I missed this sickly green color! And the absense of water!
Let's head to the nearest escave which just so happens to be the Incubator. Feenger is delighted to hear we brought some cirt back! Yiss, yiss, praise me more!
[Cirt in inventory]
- I can smell the cirt in your bay, you fortune trader. But it's Leepky who takes the cirt from you. Go to Podish; the heart of Eleepods is there!
However, he is agitated for some reason. Chill, buddy! It's called midlife crisis. Sitting in one place the whole time must be getting to you.
- Although I'm just an appendage, I can feel that something is wrong here... But I don't understand what... My head is swirling and my scratchers are depressed...
He calms down after a while, and goes through the rest of my cargo.
[Peeperette in inventory]
- A peeperette from Glorx? How interesting! What are you shipping this rubbish for, doltish wheeler? Looking for a place to plant it? I'll tell you what: no peeperette will grow on Fostral even if you stand on your head...
I try selling him the peeperettes, but he offers a pitiable 1 beeb for each. What a worthless load of junk!
And then, he decides to confide in me.
[
ruBeecation warning]
- You've served us well, vanger, and the wet wasteland of Glorx is looming in the distance. But don't be afraid. Despite the evil and dullness of Beeboorats, we've figured out their secret. You'd better learn it: every vanger that falls into the clutches of these wicked beasts will be shorn like a lamb.
- He'll lose his mechos and get a raffa in exchange. Don't even think about peeking into the central escave or Lampasso. They'll capture you there and...
- A better way to go is by that ugly Beeboorat with the elongated snout... And dig a little there...
Followed by his usual proposal. It's Plump-up, after all.
- Vanger, the Eleerection is coming up. The Eleepods are giving you the chance to participate in something holy. Do you agree to wait here until the abundant Plump-up passes and eLeeches emerge from the abyss of dreams?