A Look at Pillars of Eternity: Part 6

Now to check in with Crariewan to continue this look at Pillars of Eternity after a long while. Last time, she and party had begun exploring Caed Nua, the old fort belonging to one Maerwald.

A quick reminder that this game was funded by Kickstarter. To be fair, Pullars is one of the few good games out of the crowdfunding site (it is definitely leagues above games like Mighty No. 9).

Exploration begins and already a Shadow is in sight.

Good thing it is just the one shadow. Imagine if there were more...

I WAS KIDDING!

And Durance is unconscious... I'd gloat more but Crariewan is unconscious too so we will call it a draw.

Time to sleep after that encounter. More pillars.

Well, this looks like a nice enough building.

And this looks like where we need to go.

So let's explore more of the grounds instead. Already there are enemies to face.

Looks like the way forward is gone and with the bridge gone, seems the party is stuck here.

Time to head into the ruined stronghold but before that, Crariewan goes to talk to this spirit.

Looks like something is about to go down. Or rather something went down a long time ago.

Wow... village slaughter... Now that's a horrific experience to recall.

I wonder if this incident is important.

Inside Crariewan and party finds this unique sword. Pretty useful for Eder since he is the only one in the party currently using one-handed weapons.

Here is the Enchantment screen that allows players to enhance weapons and armor by enchanting them with money and the various items picked up in the world. If I have depicted this to the reader before, here is a reminder that it exists.

Now to proceed onward. A lot of wrecked furniture around.

As Crariewan attempts to explore a nearby room, she is engaged in conversation.

Blimey! A talking chair!

Crariewan is indeed looking for Maerwald, talking chair? Any relation to the talking wardrobe in Beast's castle?

Ah... so it's a consensual preservation at least. It's still disturbing to be stuck as a chair though, especially if the user has constantly awful flatulence.

Ah... at least she sense things beyond the chair. That's nice.

Here's some words on Maerwald.

That's a real shame. Plus being stuck in a chair will not help much.

So there's a clue where Maerwald is at least.

Of course there is. The welcoming committee's evidence of that.

Before that, time to explore the side rooms. Or side room. Take note of the room, reader, it will be somewhat important for later.

Now to move on through the only other main door.

But before that, here are the other rooms. An abandoned barracks.

An abandoned library filled with subs for the welcoming committee.

Here's a little fun fact.

Now to go deeper into the basement and... there's someone here. Another spirit...

Looks like it is time for another side-story.

Hmm...

Sounds like there's a tragic tale waiting to be told here.

Sounds like the person addressed lost their father to the Glanfathans though... another possibility exists.

Uh oh... the other possibility seemsmore likely based on the description.

Avenge... Oh... If that does not spell it out for you readers, I do not know what else will. I will not go any further on this for now but keep it in mind.

Now the basement. Hopefully there are things to take our mind off what we just heard.

Spiders! Brilliant!

Here is some descriptive flavor text.

And more spiders.

A lot more.

Uh oh... another spirit. Hopefully, their story is not as heavy as the one before.

A soldier this time.

Pitch... That sounds bad....

Slaughtering natives... Hostile natives, yes, but... it's still slaughter...

I guess the form of deterrence here would be to engage in mass slaughter to serve as an example. Seeing how the Glanfathans are still hostile based on the attack on Crariewan's caravan though... it does not seem to be working.

Personal? So the person being addressed by this commander seems to be the same person who was being addressed by their mother. Keep that in mind reader with the previous matter as well.

Now the party has reached the actual basement. The door here seems to be of interest.

And another spirit appears.

This time the spirit is a wild looking man. A raider as labelled by the game.

And a raider as described by the dialogue. Looks like these raiders are Glanfathans.

Looks like the person this raider is speaking to was in charge of organizing the raids.

And looks like these raiders went after villages.

I am not sure if the dialogue changes based on the player character's gender. Neat if it did.

Now reader, keep in mind that the spirits had been speaking to a raider, possibly their leader, and a son of a victim of those raids.

Again the locked door seems important. Note that it can be unlocked by a character with the appropriate Mechanics skill.

Or Crariewan and party can try to find the key for the sake of exploration.

A lot of beetles here. A nice change of pace from spiders at least.

Spoke too soon.

Scouting ahead, Crariewan and party catch sight of a looter.

Before confronting the looter and whatever group they're a part of, Crariewan and party rest up again. More dreams of the pillars.

After killing the looters (with good usage of abilities and strategic pausing), Crariewan goes to investigate the area.

The lockpicks will be useful at least.

Now to explore the rest of the place.

Due to Durance's know-how of construction, I have designated him as the party's Mechanics expert. As seen by him unlocking the above door.

More exploring.

More Xaurips.

Here is the key to that locked door from before. The one that I had Durance unlock with his own skills.

Interesting barrier. I wonder how will we dispel it.

Here is some descriptive flavor text.

Hmm... I wonder what lies around the corner.

THAT"S A BIG SPIDER!!! A BIG SPIDER!!! BIG SPIDER!!! SPIDER!!!

The spear spider is not an uncommon creature to face.

The Spider Queen on the other hand is QUITE uncommon!

Eventually with skill, spells and luck, the Spider Queen is left prone and defenseless to the party's onslaught.

The party's reward, a unique stiletto. 

Oh... a pet spider... Nice.

That is a big hand and more importantly, that is an interesting ladder.

Ah... the ladder leads out to the surface. After that encounter, it is time for the party to rest once more.

Returning to the dungeon, we are greeted by this map. I wonder what could the map mean by level 1 and the Endless Paths...

Now to go through that unlocked door. I doubt Maerwald could lie behind the first unlock-able door in the area...

Oh... there he is.

Yes we should, Eder. But we have engaged in conversation.

Looks like Maerwald has some screws loose.

Ah... he has gone lucid. Now is Crariewan's chance.

Or not... Well it is better that Crariewan can speak to someone at least.

So the person from before got swapped out for someone else who will call for Maerwald now. Sensui Seven, anyone? Also, note that the second speaker appears to be a soldier.

So the trembling, feeble man is Maerwald and the others are... someone else?

Kana, we will get to you in a bit. Nice that you spoke up at least. You will fit in with the party nicely.

That sums up Watchers nicely. Empaths capable of seeing souls and able to interact with them.

And the soldier speaks up.

Now it appears to be a Glanfathan raider.

Awakening? This seems important to Crariewan.

The Lore based speech option sums up Awakenings nicely: Being able to recall one's past lives.

That's... quite horrifying if you think about it. Imagine you being your usual self and then, recalling that in your previous life, the person you were was the kind of person you would have hated as you are now. Worse still if you have been constantly reincarnating so you add on even more past lives with varying appearances and personalities.

Maerwald has Awakened to his past lives which had an effect on the man's mind as the reader can tell.

Looks like Awakening to the past lives has caused them to manifest too much and caused Maerwald to lose himself to the masses of past lives.

Even worse than recalling past lives is when those past lives begin to overwrite your present life.

Remember what I have been telling you to note, reader? This is why. The son-turned-soldier and the raider the spirits were speaking to were among Maerwald's past lives.

Raider and soldier.

Recall the Broke Stone War mentioned before.

Kana elaborates on it a lot better.

And such violence begot more violence.

Looks like Maerwald will not be taking the phone now.

And that is the horrible alternative I was hinting at. The son-turned-soldier was a child born of rape. Essentially, one of Maerwald's past lives was a Glanfathan raider either raped or enabled the rape of the woman who would give birth to his next life. Who then led the massacre of his past life's tribe.

Reader, now try to imagine watching the woman who would become your mother be raped and that you would be born from that rape followed by the implications of it... I hope you have something to clear or cleanse your thoughts after that.

Despite my disagreements with you, I am willing to concede on that, Durance.

Even more confirmation of what I stated earlier.

No wonder he went mad upon Awakening. Realizing you were the child of rape and that you enabled said rape to begin with... it would break a mind or two...

And more confirmation that as that child of rape, he slaughtered his past life's village without knowing the truth of his birth.

Looks like Aloth got the point.

Looks like Maerwald is lost among the masses of past lives now.

What purpose is there to have such a cycle of reincarnation so random that a raider could end up reincarnating as a child of rape from raiders who would go on to slaughter the raiders? And that is not even counting on the other lives on can recall.

Since Crariewan does not believe in gods, she goes for the rational answer. Or the closest one there is.

If recalling those lives was that bad, I cannot imagine what it is like to recall every past life. In my current state of mind, I would go catatonic if I could do so.

Uh oh... Crariewan's undergoing an Awakening.

Wow... that is how boned Crariewan is. The fact that Maerwald can show sympathy despite his ongoing madness is indicative of that.

I am willing to bet on that.

Let us hope so, Aloth...

Well, the dreams of pillars probably helps.

Well, the visions started after witnessing that strange ritual near the Glanfathan ruins at the start of Crariewan's journey.

If something that simple can trigger an Awakening, just imagine what else could trigger other Awakenings.

Good to see Crariewan recalls the strange ritual from before.

Now there is a name for that strange group, the Leaden Key.

Interesting, Kana.

So the group has some secrets they like to keep hidden. Secrets that a Watcher can see...

Woedica? That is one of the known gods of Eora. Looks like she ties into this somehow.

Okay... that is better than nothing.

Defiance Bay? It is a city in the region so it fits the bill.

That is nice of him to say.

Uh oh... one of the other lives is taking over.

And this one is extremely hostile to boot.

So a fight breaks out.

The tool-tip to right brings up a rather important fact. One that I sometimes forget in this game.

With the right strategy though, the back-up Maerwald summons can be dealt with and the man himself will go down.

Like so.

Looks like something happened to the keep.

Looks like Maerwald was bonded to the keep in a way.

And Crariewan gets a new ability.

Now to decide Maerwald's fate. Either Crariewan uses Maerwald's soul to safeguard the keep which while practical for the keep will keep him bound to the world longer or she allows Maerwald to pass on for reincarnation as a non-Watcher which is a benevolent act though providing no practical benefit. Or she could siphon Maerwald's knowledge which only benefits Crariewan.

Despite not believing in the gods, she does believe in their values (or rather the values of her god, Eothas). So she does the benevolent act to free Maerwald's soul. May he finally find peace again.

Here is Maerwald's grimoire. I am interested in that level 3 spell because it looks familiar.

Here is some descriptive text but more importantly, Kana has something to say.

Indeed but since Crariewan is a rational minded person as well, she opts to note that knowledge was not the problem.

Unless of course, if you deal with eldritch truths. Then too much knowledge would be bad.

Time to move on,

Outside, Eder has something to say.

Then again with Maerwald dead, his reason for coming here is gone. So, time to converse.

After he is done, of course.

What did you expect? A hermit who meditates on the tip of a pointed stalagmite?

Well, Crariewan knows the need to be diplomatic here so she speaks diplomatically then.

Ah... he was trying to find out about his brother.

A crisis of faith mixed in with family matters. Looks like it is another story to explore.

Hmm... not sure if one could do so even as a Watcher. Still, Crariewan chooses to be nice about it.

True. The staring-off-into-the-distance should have been more distinctive.

I get what he means. When you are desperate, your mind can start making weird concessions and ideas that your desperate self would be open to consideration.

Now to ask the obvious.

Ah... that is where we need to go.

I would not be too sure about that. Crariewan could start a brawl by stating her beliefs to any nearby priest.

With that, Eder's questline continues. Now Aloth wants to speak.

After he collects his thoughts, of course.

Time to be benevolent seeing as Crariewan is one.

I get that.

Now for the rational side to step in.

Perhaps it will, Aloth.

From this, one may see how Crariewan's reputation has developed.

Now to speak to the throne, I mean Steward.

Smooth... Well, at least she is grateful that he has passed on.

Looks like Crariewan got that real estate she was looking to get with the colonists. Except it is a whole keep.

Ah... darn.

Good idea. Now to find out about Caed Nua.

Ah... so Crariewan can repair the rest of the fortress.

No auto-instructions here. At least the Steward knows how to handle construction, maintenance and more. So that counterbalances it out.

Cool. It would be nice to see the keep up and running again.

So there is a balance to strike between prestige and security.

What other things?

Oh right... the keep is cursed.

Ah... that explains the levels. There lies more the dungeons below the keep.

Looks like the keep was built on one of those pits of adventuring that a thriving town with an economy based around adventuring could spring from.

Ah... well, that ends that dream.

Perhaps. I should remember to bring you along down there.

Like all superstitions. Except in a world where magic and souls are real, superstitions will always bear a grain of truth to them.

I guess those people did not have the motivation to fill in the Paths completely.

Ah... did you just say treasure?!

Oh right... there is a Master to deal with. Let's hope it is not from Gallifrey.

Well there was that giant hand from before. Perhaps more of it lies below.

Now to clarify on Crariewan's status as master of the keep.

Ah... so Crariewan is the master of the keep but because of the Master Below, her position is tenuous at best.

Ah... so to claim full control over Caed Nua and for treasure, Crariewan is to travel into the Endless Paths.

Time to go and thanks for the hint, Steward.

I wonder how fast she can fix up the barbican.

Ledgers are always useful.

Aw, the throne is giddy. How adorable.

Ah... so there is some buildings to rebuild for the keep and its grounds.

Well that is useful. Imagine finding a stash of money and being able to use it immediately simply by telepathic instructions.

She's so adorable.

Here is the stronghold menu. Right now, the menu shows what can be upgraded. As the reader can see, some places can only be built once a previous structure is built.

So the barbican is rebuilt quickly. Now to figure out what else to rebuild.

For now, getting the main keep seems important. Note that only one construction project can be initiated at a time so pick your initial projects wisely.

And there is another new quest.

Which Kana wants to speak about.

That is a good way to describe the past.

True. Hopefully whatever is down there, stays down there.

And with that, the party presses on. To Defiance Bay.

After selling the loot from dungeon crawling, it is time to explore ahead.

The party emerges in this area.

A dwarf and her fox? Interesting... On that note, I will stop this long installment of my look at Pillars of Eternity. Join me next time as we attempt to handle Lord Raedric in another possibly long installment (due to the game being dialogue heavy).

Writer's note: Since I have found full time employment, I doubt I would be able to regularly update this online journal. I will do my best to write but no promises on regular releases. Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire is coming out on the 3rd of April so that is something to look forward to along with Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Yakuza 6.