TerroirNoir2

Oh yes, there's some excellent AEs in the game. I should know, I've played a few of them!

And I'm back albeit intermittently, like a slightly out of tune TV from the past..!

After a longish work project I have some (intermittent) time to myself! I need to catch up on things!

Arc 19 from our second esteemed writer in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @cranebump's Noble Mettle Part Two: The Hollow Crown. Well, when last we heard of Dr. Colicos, their new shiny technology aimed at reducing emissions and who knows what, while not becoming Hamidon Pasalima himself, thereby saving them a few blushes (not that the Devouring Earth blush per se), is about to be initialized. Success! The planet is saved! Bunting! Little flags! But wait, what comes a creeping and a stealing through Engineria's window (note to self, close that window in future) but the Ivory Leopard himself. Replete with satisfaction, preening and strutting - no wait, that's my cat. The Ivory Leopard gently nudges Felix aside with his boot and perches on my windowsill with grace and insouciance. Engineria, hey. We have a problem. Don't we just. It's been three weeks since Sandra Colicos was kidnapped and...it's time. Time? Go on. Engineria strolls over to her shuffle-in closet and find her armor. Hmm, needs some buffing. Serge at Icon can...YES! Yes I AM listening. I can get dressed and listen at the same time! Keep talking or you can go chat to Twinshot and see how that fares. The Ivory Leopard continues. I swear I'm not imagining it but part way through there was a sound of coughing, like a furball. MIGHT have been Felix. Might not. Mission 1: Redox. It seems that Dr. Colicos has been given permission to install her tech but the Ivory Leopard is wary of this. After our previous adventure - I say "our" but we didn't see eye to eye all the way through on that one - there's a lot of questions left unanswered. Some questions may not need answers but these do, he feels. Colicos' tech could put a serious dent in the Rhodium markets and two, separate and apparently entirely disconnected, parties targetted her BEFORE her tech went for public scrutiny. Ok, boots are on so where am I going - you have got to be kidding me. Last time I went there I was attacked by clones. And Ghost Widow was creepily friendly. No, don't ask. Warburg here I come. And I expect to see the Crimson Crew and possibly N'Kunzai again. I don't want to but I expect to. A quick flyover and I can see some caches of supplies down below. Ok, time to move in. So I make my way along and...hello? Are you ok? Ah...right. I'll just be going now. things to do, you know how it is. I have to deal with some outliers along the way but they're caught by surprise so for now I'm not left sitting on my keister looking embarrassed. Carefully does it. Well of course I got cocky! And then this guy nearly takes the top of my head off! Managed to get him though but it was a sudden surprise to me this time. I destroy supplies needed by the enemy and then move in. Time to investigate inside the building.

Just cuz.

Oh yeah, this could be great.

Life is beating me up at the moment. Not in a "bad" way, just eating all my spare time. So apologies to all for the excessive delays. And Happy Holidays to you and yours!

Arc 19 from our initial writer in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glimmers 3.1: Summonings in Nerva Archipelago. Mission 1: Possession is Half Ownership: Marchand of the New Praetorians is having a chat with Engineria, Desdemona and Pendragon. Yeah, I have myself at the front of the line, because this is MY story, ok? Ok. LOL. When I say chat, it's a group call, like a concall or Shoom or one of those things. I dunno, maybe it's Praetorian tech or something. He's had a big talk with various other interested groups and the New Praets are now going to monitor things regarding this whole Mu/COT war thing. Even Vanguard is involved somehow. My job? Investigate the possible summoning of Lilitu. Because that = BAD THING. So I'm off to Fountain Island in Nerva to investigate whatever the COT are up to there. Which mainly seems to be attacking civilians. So stopping that is a start. Stopping is a start. Curious choice of words there. Longbow are back in Agincourt and Wyvern are spread thin, so it's up to me to stem the thingy. On I go. Well that's not right. Hmm, Wyvern are around and doing their utmost. Plenty of civilians too. Hey! Those civilians are not taking it lying down! They're fighting back against the COT. Go civilians! Let's give them a hand. Ok, that dealt with I spot one of four Arch Mages I have to deal with. This should be interesting. Body snatching+possession in BROAD DAYLIGHT! The COT are getting brazen. Or desperate. Could be desperate. The Arch Mage of Madness. (I mean really, guys? Arch Mage of MADNESS? Surely you have a more ritualized term for that? Whatever. I'm not a robe wearing pointy hat maniac so what do I know?) But now he's a different sort of mad. More the Arch Mage of Seething probably. Right, where are your brethren so that I mayest trounce them forthwith, or you know, leave them agog. Agog? Agog. I'll have to be more situationally aware. I turned on the spot and the next guy is literally over there. I will not stop them saving their ethereal kin? Ok, I absolutely am going to do that because it involves you stealing bodies from civilians, but...are the Mu destroying your ethereal kin? Sort of sucking them up to fuel some sort of Soul Device? I'm getting ahead of myself. Take that, Mister Ruin! I forgot these guys just LOVE encasing me in rock. Ok, pop a Break Free and move in. And stay down! Ok, who is next? Time for a little fly around to scout further. Arch Mage of Agony I seeeee you! Don't go anywhere, I'll be right with you. And BOOM! Eeep. He has a Behemoth with him! HEY! I managed that better than I was expecting. With the Behemoth and the Guides down the Arch Mage makes a run for it, but a Rad Blast takes him out, leaving me with one last Arch Magus to track down. Back to the skies! And there he is! Mr Arch Mage of Death. Well of course the Arch Mage of Death would be the final one. It's fitting. Anyway, I'm going to scoot around the back of the bridge and come through the arch to flank him and his cronies. They've not seen me, so powering up a Rad Blast to take them out. And I think a follow up with an Ion Judgement for good measure. As long as I don't crack the foundations of the bridge! Success? I thought he'd have taken more injuries from that! Oh well, let's get into this! Moments later the Arch Mage is down and I've cleared his minions. It's time to check in with Marchand. Next up for Engineria is...drum roll...investigating a BELL? Alrighty then, Marchand. [Mission 1= Simple and straightforward and we're right into the action leading from the previous arc. The plot thickens! Or thins? Depending on the ethereal nature of things?] Mission 2: The Summoning Stone. (More ASAP)So Marchand wants me to investigate the summoning shenanigans of the COT, all the ritual implements that they were searching for. I mean how can I refuse? Well, I could but I've committed myself to this now so on we go. (retirement may be in order soon though!) So Longbow have a magic stone and Crey have a magic bell. Not sure WHY they're magic but what do I know about this stuff? Ah, Desdemona is being sent to see about the bell, not me. So, off to Longbow I go. Things go south before I even get out of Marchand's tiny office! Pendragon calls and tells us that COT and some demonic allies are on their way to Agincourt, and could I pretty please hurry up! I get to the Longbow base via submarine. Never liked those things. Hopping out I find things are already in full flow. Longbow on the defensive and the COT doing their thang. Some possessed folks here too I see. I wade in and start blasting. Ripping health from the enemies to keep the Longbow troops up and active longer. Every little helps. At the least it keeps them from concentrating fire on ME. I know, not very altruistic but what's a gal to do? Holy moly but these guys just keep on coming! I deal with them and fly in through the upper gateway, only to spot an ally! Time to rescue him and we can both proceed. Let's GOOOO! Having collected Tendaji we gather come to the aid of some Longbow, and then pause as we see where we need to go. And we'll have some obstacles ahead of us as all can see. Behemoths can be nasty, though Ruin Mages and their bouncy ground attacks annoy me more. Making our way inside (yeah, we dealt with the Behemoth and his friends) we're met with an even BIGGER demon thing calling itself Argilius. It really doesn't like me! Not sure what I've been hit with but currently held and taking damage while Tendaji is still doing his thing. There's the artifact! We have to stop it being damaged. That may be easier said than done but time for the old college try! Not good! Oh so very ungood! Weird floaty blue swords of energy are mangling my armor! And the artifact is still intact BY A SLIVER! Kills all of the Mu descendants??? Oh that's definitely not good. But we manage it! Argilius is down! The artifact is STILL intact. And breathe. And breathe. And note to self on patching the old armor up. Really, I need to retire. Or go into training newby heroes or something. Ok, back out and report in to Marchand. He's pleased that we succeeded. In typical fashion though things are heating up elsewhere, like a TV dinner we forgot about. Forces are amassing on Primeva, including the Banished Pantheon that we drove out of Astoria. Because of course they are. I have no luck. And Crey has been attacked by the COT. Normally I wouldn't worry about that. Crey can go hang. Normally. But this time their Code Merlin protocols may not work. So, yeah. And Desdemona is in there and needs help. [Mission 2 = The stakes are rising! The COT has set something in motion that needs dealing with and we continue the fight! Onwards!] Mission 3: The Summoning Bell. (More ASAP) And Off to Crey Industries goes Engineria! Somewhere in here Desdemona is doing her demony thing. Let's hope she knows what she's doing then. Ok, no sign of Desdemona yet, or any Crey members. But time to go to work! COT and their demon allies...or servants? Slaves? Whatever. Ah, found Desdemona. But others have found us too, from the position of the guy on the stairs not to mention the amount of rocks being flung at us! Jeez Louise! Will you WATCH where you're flinging that whip, Des!!! You could have had my eye out or head off even. She's not taking any prisoners here. Any demons she hits are being sent back to who knows where, and I for one do NOT want to know. Heading further into the Crey facility we continue to eliminate demons and COT, not to mention running into Possessed Scientists. A bit like those you sometimes see in Peregrine Island. So much for Federal safety laws. Seems they don't apply in Paragon City! And we meet a friend! Or at least someone who isn't trying to kill us. It's Crimson Revenant. A Crey hire for the duration it looks like. Now THERE'S a familiar face Engineria is happy to see! It's HORNET! We back him up. And as soon as we do we get a flood of enemies washing over the top of the stairs and over us like a tide! We fight on and through and around, wave after wave after wave of enemy. The COT REALLY want this Bell thing. We were in the middle of closing yet another Demon Gate when security announced that the Bell had been taken! We'd failed. Time to report back to Marchand. Our plans are derailed and I'm wondering will Crimson Revenant get paid now. Marchand is stoic about though. He says ANY Bell or stone would have done, but these particular ones would make it far easier for the COT to summon Lilitu. Well, half far easy. They only got one of the things they needed and have to make do with a regular old stone. Marchand calls Pendragon for an update. [Mission 3 = Very intense combat mission! That particular map lends itself well to this sort of thing. Time to ramp up our response!] Mission 4: The Summoning. News from Pendragon! He's been laying low and hiding in the jungle. Tricky with that armor of his I would think. Not to mention not the quietest. Anyway, he says that he witnessed a man in orange and black being led into a temple, a so-called final sacrifice! That does not sound good. Desdemona immediately sets off and I have to chase after her. Time to do good! Yes, of course they did! Because sticking together is never a thing. Have they never seen a horror movie? Well, maybe not Pendragon, but Desdemona...ah who knows when you spend all your free time training demons. A guy in orange and black, huh? Like Duke Mordrogar here? All possessed already? Right. I thought we were saving him but he's going to get a punch on the nose from me. Admittedly that WILL save him from the COT, but not from me! Zapedy Zap go the old laser eyes! And the Duke gets a new tattoo! Oh he be riled now! Akathath? Well, you're toast now, friend! I just need to knock out your bodyguards and then find MY friends. You're that other sort of "friend", and you're right, you were NOT ready for me! Well that was handy, I stepped through a portal and wouldn't you know it? There's Desdemona all trussed up and waiting to be rescued, like a kidnapped Christmas gift or something. I'm stumbling on similes here, leave me alone! I free her and while she's summoning her demons I have a little look around, and voila! Up there! It's Pendragon. After all this is over I definitely have to get them to watch a horror movie. Never split the team! Gah. Ok, let's go get him. With Pendragon collected we head further into the temple, and then he gets all fighty and runs ahead of me while I get frozen on the spot. Don't split the team, you idiot! Gah. Do I have a Break Free? I do not. Ok, this will take a second or two. Oh, he's found Lilitiu! And she is not a happy person. I doubt if she's ever been a happy person but right now she is cresting a wave of not being happy. Not sure what Pendragon has done to her. Engineria and Pendragon take her on, while Desdemona seems to be covering our backs against COT and Behemoths and so on. Excellent. And I think I saw another prisoner up ahead. Also in orange and black? So maybe Pendragon wasn't talking about the Duke. I should have asked him. Psimon Omega! I've heard of you! He looks worse for wear. And we have further trouble ahead. From BOTH sides. Well that will be a barrel of monkeys to play with I'm sure. Sigh. The Stray... ...and Puc...Pluck...Pull...that guy over there. And the Stray hits first! downing Psimon Omega and leaving Pendragon reeling. I blast her and blast her, wearing her down. Trying to keep the fight away from Puculqis and his gang because if they enter the fray now we can't win this. And we drop The Stray! but she vanishes! No time to catch our breath as P-Boy is upon us almost instantly! Pendragon and Engineria are running on fumes now, so hell with it. Time for an Atomic Blast! And Puculqis goes down! The crowd goes wild. Engineria and Pendragon both bemoan the state of their armor. Ok. Ok. Also, Desdemona, what did I say about not splitting the team? Ok, next time! And time to talk to Marchand. We're on a group Shoom to Marchand when the Stray joins the call and then hurriedly logs off! Desdemona tracks her. Looks like the Stray had picked up Pendragon's phone along the way. And right now she's in a warehouse in Crimson Cove! [Mission 4: Well, that was a rollicking rollercoaster of a mission. Great great final fight sequence! Absolutely loved it. Apart from Desdemona getting stuck in a door with her demons after killing a behemoth!] Mission 5: The Stray. Marchand is surprised by Pendragon's spying ability, though personally I put it down to the COT being deafened by the constant roaring of demons as opposed to Pendragon's skill at sneaking around in plate armor! We're heading to catch the Stray, and we've got an update from Hellewise. The Stray is a natural sponge at magic, picking stuff up everywhere and anywhere that she puts down roots even for a moment. All clues point to her being behind turning the Harbingers into the Banished, what with all the goo and so on. Spirit Walkers and Drudges are just one part of her spidery web. If she even is a spider, she's more ...looming? Anyway. We just don't know what her own end goal is. Now we may find out. Time to saddle up and...you'll need a bigger horse, Pendragon, and no, one of Desdemona's demons will NOT do as a substitute. Typical. And look, what did I say about horses? Cavalry is me. Well there's Desdemona, and as per usual she has made a new friend. I dunno, why oh why will they not let me go ahead? I have stealth! And can fly! And it's hard to sneak around followed by a band of demons. Sheesh.. Let's deal with this red cloaked idiot and find Pendragon. Whoah! Desdemona does NOT hold back when she gets going! Fire it up! And our red cloaked friend is definitely scorched now! Whoo! Engineria and Des move through the warehouse, pretty much cleaning as we go, until we run into a familiar face. Sadly this time the Crimson Revenant, due to his Mercenary status, is not so agreeable to a team up. Pity. Also, you know damn well who it is Mister! That's probably for your employers to hear so that you don't look complicit. Turns out he was just there to get paid! So we had a brief fight over a misunderstanding. I suppose it happens in his line of work. Ah! There's Pendragon! Turning down to the rear of the building we run into a ...Wizard of Frost? He ices things up around us and rants about the Stray, but we blast him to Kingdom Come and down he goes in a tinkle of icicles. Plinky plink. Investigation continues and we destroy a cauldron or two along the way. Then Trepsarciel shows up. As if we weren't already busy! Whatever that stuff is, it stings! Pock marks all through the old armor! Ow ow ow! Of course the Stray chooses that moment to join the fight. And it kicks off! She's tougher than I expected too! With her temporarily dealt with we have a chance to search the place and find a few bits of intel. Time to report back to Marchand! Things are coming to some sort of a head. Magus Mu'Drakhan is the villain behind the curtain here! He's working his way towards being a Patron. Dunno if he's going to eliminate one of the others though. I mean, he COULD just apply for a sixth position. I'm sure Arachnos likes their bureaucracy! And even that's not the worst bit. They're planning on summoning Hequat. Yeah, her. Goddess of Mu Magic. Hmm, I'm a thinking that the old saying of the priests should be wary of job security when their god actually shows up might come into play here! [Mission 5 = Rollicking little roll through the map, plenty to deal with and plenty of clues to feed into the ongoing plot. Lovely!] Verdict: @Ankylosaur just keeps rolling out the greatest hits track here like some sort of AE DJ. On we go and into the next one. Where oh where will it end up? Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glimmers 3.2: Ninjas in the Wind. And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @cranebump's Noble Mettle Part Two: The Hollow Crown.

Hmm, maybe I misread it and it was a TP Beacon, but my take was Engineria and Syz had to get King out. Narratively obviously, glad @Darmian didn't make it an actual escort.

And whose fault is THAT? It's definitely NOT me. Looks askance at @Ankylosaur, @cranebump and @Darmian. Taps foot.

Actually yes! Though as they're part of the in game Praetoria storyline I haven't recorded them like here. In fact I have tagged all of @Darmian's Praetoria arcs like this. Well, because he tagged them as the relevant part in the title.

Arc 18 from our third author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Darmian's Spirals: Part Two. Spirals: Part Two is subtitled "(Imperial Crusader, Ch. 7)" which means it is meant to follow on directly from "Spirals: Part One (Imperial Crusader, Ch. 6)", which follows on directly from "Blood of Tyrants (Imperial Crusader, Ch. 5" Mission 1: Shapes and Colors. Odysseus tells Engineria that there is unfinished business. I mean, ok. When is there NOT unfinished business? Rhetorical question there. Oh no, he's decided to answer. So, like when I ask a rhetorical question and someone actually answers, does it STOP being rhetorical? Is it out of my control now, the whole thing? Whatever. Hmm. He's spotted I've drifted off. Back to the briefing! Last time we took down Simon McAllister and I got my head almost handed to me by Olympian Guards. McAllister doesn't know who the mole in the Resistance is, so that's a strike against us. However, documents recovered from his safe mention Dominatrix, so Odysseus wants me to investigate that angle. Duncan is a party gal so we're going to raid one of her raves and kidnap Medea, one of her entourage. Get some intel the old fashioned way. Ok then. Well this place looks peachy. And there's Dominatrix's infamous "Servants" walking around in their bondage outfits. Ok then. Yeah, I'm going to avoid you people for now and just hunt out Medea. And there she is, rocking out to her own little groove. Let's get this over with and get back to base. Oh! She is not happy! Rita Mayfair? Expensive togs! Looks like she's using Fixadine! And a raver has decided to join in the dance. OW. That raver has a taser! Jeez Louise! I've attracted more company! Company with whips fergawdsake! Ow ow ow! That did not go well. Time to mediport out, patch up and ...Round 2!! And this time I catch her flat footed and minus her bondaged assistants! And stay down! Now, Odysseus told me to cover my trail, so I need to wipe the CCTV. There we go! Hmm, I found some green crystals of Fixadine. Odd. Well, THAT'S annoying. Even though I've wiped this, one of the uplink feeds goes direct to a cybernetic implant in someone called Lady Etta. She's somewhere in the building so I need to find her and, I dunno, stick a large electromagnet near her head? Play it by ear. Oookay. That, dear friends, is "Lord Ocean". He seems a mite agitated. A bit squirrelly if you ask me. I am going to avoid him entirely. So, we're going right at this intersection. Continuing on I find Lady Etta. HANG ON! My own powers are Rad Blasty! I reckon that alone will fry an implant! Go me! And down she goes! I pop out the implant and reel through it before wiping. It shows her putting something in a nearby safe. Let's have a looksee. Handy to open having seen the exact code in the playback. And I am cursed. An Olympian Guard arrives! Olympian Guard 25 in fact. And I need to take him down to get out of here. Last time I met these guys I RAN AWAY. You know, like a sane person. Of course, there WERE a lot of them. Ok, I've taken one out before (just one but there's only one here, so...) Whew! Got lucky there in that his whippy friends didn't attack alongside him! One careful Kinetics pull later and he's on the floor! And I am outta here! Back to Odysseus. Medea was TP'd out when I dropped her and she's under DeVore's care now. Whatever that means! Odysseus is intrigued by the green Fixadine. As for Lady Etta and so on? That's just good work on my part. He's going to call me later. Time to snooze now. [Mission 1 = Well that was jam packed full of surprise and nastiness, and I didn't even go near the deranged Lord Ocean! Looking forward to the next one!] Mission 2: This is the Way. So Odysseus tells Engineria that Vanessa DeVore has been working on our friend Medea. That remains ongoing though and Engineria has a new task ahead of her. Harking back to the spy hunt, two of Crow's minions have gone to ground and I have to find them. Trouble is, the Resistance operates in cells so their teams will think WE'RE the bad guys. Ok, great. Engineria has to find these two, Tagger and Heder, and TP them out. Off we go then. The block is flooded. Neutropolis' poor quarter is ... pretty poor. And first of all I can see some Resistance members ahead of me. Gathered around a barrel. And of course as Odysseus warned, they're unfriendly. I deal with them and then examine a body lying in the water. It's Heder. He's been electrocuted it seems. So stick a TP beacon on him and move on. One down though not the way I expected. And coming around a corner I find out WHO killed Heder. It's gawdamn REESE! And he thinks I'm his back up. Let's see how that goes then. Oh, he's just given me a Speed Boost. That will be useful. So how did Reese know about Heder and Tagger? More questions. Moving on through the building with my new "ally" we find Tagger. Ok, let's get this done. I need to TP him but I'm certain Reese will want to kill him. Ok, this did not go well at all. Yeah. Now I have to deal with Reese, AND catch Tagger, and ...sigh. I take out Tagger and slap the beacon on him and then I ... run away because Reese's ACTUAL back up has arrived and he's given them ALL Speed Boost and they're zipping around me. So I run for the elevator, pursued all the way to the exit. But I make it! I get back to Odysseus and report in. He puts together a connection between Reese and Dominatrix. And at least Tagger is alive to be questioned. So something salvaged out of that mission. He'll call me when that's done. [Mission 2 = Oh that was fun and atmospheric. And the run in with Reese was great and the reveal was timed really well. Loved it! Also, about time Reese showed up in all these Praetorian missions.] Mission 3: Hey, Mr. Postman. Odysseus informs Engineria that Tagger has had his mind "peeled open" by the psychics. Ugh. Tagger and Heder and their minions were the last of Crow's traitor cell, well as far as Tagger knew at least. Their contact with Imperial forces is a Clarice King. Odysseus has never heard of her. You know, Praetoria is a relatively small place so you'd think that it would be easier to spot people. Something to think about I suppose. Anyway, the dead letter drops to Clarice King take place in a sealed crate placed at one of Anti-Matter's reactors. So that's where I'm going. And off we go. So I fly up to the top of the reactor and...yep, there's the crate....no, there's a couple of them. I search through and find the right one. Got it! Ah. Syzygy is here too. That guy is constantly trying to back Engineria up. But he's been caught. Time to rescue him. Ok Syz old buddy, time for you and me to find Clarice King. Let's hope you're up for that. And there she is! Oops. Gone is the element of surprise. And in the open this could get messy. King is nasty but we take her down. Unfortunately she had summoned reinforcements so now we have to fight our way back out and get to the exit. Not easy. There are a hell of a lot of them. I mean a HELL of a lot. Now we have to get by all this with our prisoner. Sheesh. Jeez Louise! They just keep coming! I'm keeping myself and Syzgy up via stealing health from them with Kinetics, but it's getting tough! We finally clear a space and then we run! Run run run run run! Whew! Good job Syz. Getting to Odysseus, Engineria reports in. He eyes the prisoner and gives Engineria his customary response to get rest while the Resistance questions Clarice King. Let's see if we're making any headway. [Mission 3 = Small mission but oh hell it got very intense! And absolute bloodbath trying to get to the exit. Flying away would have worked if I'd been able to get aloft, but no. On to the fourth mission!] Mission 4: Another Broken Day. Odysseus informs Engineria that Calvin Scott has euphemistically removed McAllister. Dead is dead says Odysseus. Medea is interesting. Dominatrix sent Reese to take out Tagger and Heder, and there's possible blackmail there. Especially with the green Fixadine. Which isn't Fixadine. It's Superadine from Primal Earth. A parallel earth. There's a lot going on that Engineria is not on the "need to know" list for. The recipe for this was brought to Praetoria by Recall [I remember Recall! He wasn't so bad in the end!] a former Powers Division guy. With Duncan involved previously in the Fix trade we need to shut off that loose end and close down a Superadine warehouse that has arisen to replace Fixadine. Well, it all got a bit street there! If it wasn't for the fact that a PRAETOR is involved this really should be a job for the PPD. Instead it's me. And in I go to see some Destroyers and Superadine stashes. I deal with the Destroyers and the stash and then check a nearby bulletin board. Today's deliveries are being run by Lord Sallust. Oh great. Lady Etta, Lord Ocean, Lord Sallust. So he's one of Domi's bondage followers. With the whips and the leather. Wonderful. Engineria moves through the warehouse and tackles the Destroyers she meets along the way. Makes sense that the biggest Fixadine addicts in Praetoria would want a replacement for their favorite drug. And there's Sallust and friends. And he's not expecting me, which is good. I don't like playing catch up. So I catch HIM off guard! YEAH! I keep my distance from the whips since I learned that the hard way in the rave warehouse. And Sallust goes down. I pull a key card from his outfit. It is marked "Refrigerator". Wonder what's in there? Well, time to sneak around. Here we go. Ah. packages of the green stuff and a log with its recipe and so on. And wouldn't you know it, I have company. Reese! I should have killed that guy last time. I go on the attack immediately. With Reese and his Kinetics boosted minions I can't take the option to slow down, or I'll get really slow! Always win do you? Not this time, buddy! Should have killed you before. Even your bosses are telling you to withdraw. Probably wondering why on earth you're even here anyway. Not like you're going to tell Marauder that you're doing Duncan's dirty work for her, is it? I drop the remaining minions and go to set explosives to take care of this entire operation. Job done! (That fight was closer than it might seem as I can still see the Kinetics rings sapping me here!) And out the door to report back to Odysseus. And he hits Engineria with a surprise. [Mission 4 = Simple and straightforward but actually challenging, especially at a higher difficulty! Love the tie in to Superadine and a great use of a Primal map in Praetoria. On we go.] Mission 5: False Dawn. Well, there's a little trouble. I didn't have Syz on my last mission and the reason for that is he went missing on his way to back me up. So, now I have to find him... or you know, end him because he knows too much. Thing is he may already have given the house away. So kill anyway? We'll see. Gonna be tough for you Syz. After some searching through hacked CCTV feeds Syz was spotted being hustled into a PPD building. So, let's go. SPOILERS AHEAD Right. What's in here? Ah. Taking it easy I sneak in and...to my right is another console. Let's check that one. Looking good! Syzygy is here under guard. And there he is with some Seers. Have to hit them fast or they'll leave me unable to use my abilities. Coming for ya, Syz! Someone else you say? Lead on then. We clear a few T.E.S.T. along the way as we go. SYZYGY! You total piece of S**T! What the hell?!?! Oh, I'm mad now. Oh that hurts. I'm mad and that hurts. Ergh. Mediport! Regroup! Right. Let's try that again, yeah? Yeah. C'mon Buddy. . And I take off most of VICTOR's head with a blast. And good riddance. Odysseus said most revolutions fail from within. Looks like he was sorta right. And Buddy finishes him off before we move on to Dominatrix. If my uniform had the right sort of sleeves they'd be rolled up now. The fight's a bit rough, I won't lie. (Glad I didn't do this on +4!) We wear her down though! Right, now we skedaddle before Grandpappy hears about this! RUN BUDDY! RUN! SIGH. Ok, see Engineria and Buddy we're not in great shape making their escape, and we got dropped by T.E.S.T. when we were almost, ALMOST(!) at the exit. Hit the mediporters as we fell and we're out of here all the same! A little while later back with Odysseus. [Mission 5 = Such a short mission but full of nasty surprises. I loved it!] Verdict: @Darmian managed to fool me for most of the arc, which is hard to do I think with the limits of AE writing. The use of the Vagabond clone in the previous arc threw me off! And the Lore just keeps coming. Great arc. Loved it a lot. Next up from @Darmian is Spirals: Part Three. And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glimmers 3.1: Summonings in Nerva Archipelago.

I don't have his time! Plus, he doesn't write it up after. Totally different LOL. I've seen a few of his plays and they look enjoyable, since I just solo things, but sometimes I think they miss some of your nuances. Just a different style isn't it?

Again apologies to all for my slowness of late (hah!). It's not that I'm not enjoying the plays though!

@cranebump, there's TWO listings for this in the AE. Which one is the actual next part?

You don't say???!!!

There's some great stuff in there, let me tell you!

To be honest @Kyksie I don't know where you found the time! My own output has slowed down considerably given some changes in real life and there's not much I can do about that right now.

We'll be waiting!

Excellent! Now that trilogy will have an ending for me! When are you getting the final trilogy done? Like, NO PRESSURE AT ALL. NONE. Ha!

Arc 18 from our second author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @cranebump's Noble Mettle Part One: The Colossus of Rose. Engineria is contacted by Agent Six. I don't think we've met before though I know she normally frequents Founders' Falls. Ok, I SAY contacted but I was randomly scrolling through the police radio for stuff when she contacted me. There's been a raid at the Paragon Commodities Commission. Might as well have told me that someone is raiding the IRS for all I know about them. And in fact it IS raiders. Skyraiders. Well, time to get the armor off the hat stand (What? I can't have a hat stand?) and get over there. Mission 1: Yellow. I'm to follow the cop cars if I get turned around, avoid collateral damage if possible and...yeah. Ok, got it. We'll see what the situation on the ground is like when I get there. And in we go. Sums up my thoughts nicely. Ok, Skyraiders are weird. Here's two of them arguing over whether the movie of "Double Indemnity" is better than the book. After listening for a bit I decide to wake them out of their chat with a few Rad Blasts. Hmm, singed a book. Does that count as collateral damage or was Agent Six being euphemistic about people? Right. They know nothing though they are quite well read and I appreciated their film criticism. On we go! AHA! Found a civilian prisoner. Let's see what they have to say for themselves. Hmm, not seen any Skyraider Porters yet and that's odd. Ah. Right. He's one of those Wall Street types is he? "Not the shirt"? Ok then. Still, even fools need saving. Even? Fools especially need saving I reckon. You're welcome. I suppose. Sigh. On we go. Oh this seems more like it. I might find out WHY they're here. Someone needed COFFEE! Coffee IS a commodity after all. (If someone shows up shouting "It was the Dukes!" I won't be surprised.) AW. I actually thought I was getting somewhere with this. But no, she ain't talking beyond mentioning this Colicos person. Time to look for them. And a Porter showed up! So I continue on through the Paragon Commodities Commission building and lookee here! Another Skyraider. He seems pleased with himself. Let's put an end to that little bit of gloating. Around the corner to find Delfino, a security guard. She looks injured. After dealing with her assailants she gives me the warmest welcome I've had so far. Apart from hot lead and flames that is. And there's the Raid Leader! A flying Raider Bot Guy. I never could figure out if those guys are AIs or brains in a can or some sort of Robocop mash up. I deal with them and head back to see Agent Six. No sign of this Colicos person. Agent Six is...charming. Oh very much so. [Mission 1 = Great little start, some tight fights with Skyraiders through the building and some typical @cranebump dialog that got me chuckling at things. Good stuff] Mission 2: Orange. So Agent Six is a little less than forthcoming with the intel when it comes to telling Engineria why this Colicos didn't have protection if she was sooo important. Turns out Engineria is ALL Agent Six has right now. Apart from Six herself of course. Sigh. Ok, what's going on? No one other than Agent Six in Omega Watch thinks this is important, that's what's going on. Ok, I actually LIKE that. Some gut instinct gives Sixy a little humanity. Let's go, gal! In the door of a warehouse. And after overhearing some salty language on I go. Sky Raiders again. Start as you mean to go on, says I. And I do! Grenade! Now I'd like to say that I work my way through this John Wick style, but I'm not that stylish. It's more John McCLane minus the bare feet and glass. What? I am not taking off my armored boots for anyone! Warehouses are notoriously filthy. Have at ye! Ah. Someone down below is having an interesting chat. Is Engineria too late again? Better go and see. Auto emissions? Ah! Staff fighters can be such a pain to deal with. Poking and smacking and knocking the legs from beneath a gal. Who are you supposed to be then? You're no Sky Raider that's for sure. What in the blue blazes is going on? I literally just dropped this guy, and obviously the Sky Raiders weren't too pleased about that, but now there's fight elsewhere and ..."capitalist dogs"? Who ARE these people? It looks like Agent Six was right to trust her gut. Now Engineria has to trust HERS. Still gotta find some data on the Raider plot though. Soldat? And...owie. That is not good. Just a moment. Counting. that's a LOT of those Decoy things. No wonder I had half my armor shredded. I mediport out and patch myself up before returning to the warehouse. Fortunately for me these Soldats are still fighting the Sky Raiders, so I just have a quick looksee at their console to filch out some data on the raids, and I waltz...limp...back out. Agent Six is going to be SOOO pleased to see me. I just know it. Agent Six is not pleased that Colicos was gone but it confirms her suspicions that if she had been listened to then maybe things would have been different. And she identifies the Soldats as Crimson Crew. And they're a long way from home. This is big, says Six. Well I should hope so. I don't like having to use the mediporter for just no reason! [Mission 2 = Ramping up the weirdness! Another fun little mission that pushes the plot forward and leaves you wanting to figure out more. On we go!] Mission 3: White. (More So we're back to square 1 according to Agent Six. (Which reminds me, Engineria has been meaning to ask, like, you know, is there or was there an Agent 1 to 5? Huh?) And this entire Zuluesque Strike Team? Yeah, those guys. Those damn guys. Someone has to know something about them. In we go then. Let's see what we can see. We don't know where Colicos is but we do know where her lab is. I mean it's not like that could be moved, could it? COULD IT? I dunno. I'm off to where it is supposed to be at least. Ok, so the building knows I'm here. I'm guessing there's people in here obeying the diktat of this EVIL BUILDING. Engineria overhears something about...auto emissions? AUTO EMISSIONS? Ok, is this a job for the likes of Engineria? Maybe. Maybe. Let's carry on and see what's really going on. I investigate a desk and then check out some crates. This place is, so far, innocuous. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop though. These crates have nickel and platinum and there's notes on delivery to a new lab somewhere. Hmm. Further investigation turns up this: Okaay. I'm seeing a leverage point here over Colicos. It's always this sort of thing that gets people. But if there's a code for a safe then somewhere around here there's a safe, yeah? Yeah. Here safey safey safey. Here boy! Ah! There you are! Who's a good safe? It's you, isn't it? Or are you alarmed? Sigh. Alarmed it is. And no, I never take advice. Apart from my armor maker that is. She's good at that. So, Ivory Leopard, huh? Well, I feel I'm going to get some use out of my armor so let's see what they're at. And huh. He did not try to kill me. I am definitely confused right now. Let's see how far this goes. I mean what starts off as a Sky Raider gig, and then weird Soviet types show up and then Ivory Leopard and co, and...put a pin in it for later. Ok, spoke too soon. There's the Soviet types again! They want the files but Ivory Leopard is straight into them like a buzzsaw! I'll just hang back here and Rad Blast from a safe distance. I don't need Leopard claws through my face in case this goes south. And she's down and Engineria and Ivory (live together in perfect harmony) are out of the Colicos lab and catching their breath. Well I am. HE seems perfectly fine. Typical. Let's go see Agent Six. She goes through the files (and we really need to stop meeting under a bridge like this) and then declares I've done well and I am welcome to the INNER SANCTUM. Whut? A part of the wall slides away revealing a tunnel. Okay then. [Mission 3 = Lovely little intelligence gathering mission. Story is revealed in portions and maybe some motivations are seen too. On to the next bit in Agent Six's Inner Sanctum!] Mission 4: Blue. (More ASAP)So Engineria gets a self guided tour kinda, and I admit it's impressive what you can find in the underground of Founders' Falls. First of all, who KNEW there WAS an underground in Founders' Falls? All the water would preclude that. Then again there are the DE caves so...I hope they haven't excavated in the wrong direction! Agent Six finally fills me in. Colicos had a kid who contracted a rare respiratory illness and passed away. So that changed her viewpoint on many things. For one she started investigating airborne particulates and so forth. And that leads us back to auto emissions and obviously the industry didn't take kindly to that. Hell, I've seen "Tucker" and HE was ultimately one of them! So what chance has someone who is actively engaged in investigating their shortcomings, never mind "just" being a competitor? I'm glad I can fly! So Colicos starts developing research on synthetic rhodium. Rhodium being used in catalytic converters and so on. Guess what Kawanda's and N'Kunzi's major export is? Yeah. And now I'm visiting an embassy. And not for an ambassadorial ball. I reckon this is going to be nasty. There's no protection here of any kind. Sheesh, Agent Six lives in a nasty nasty world. Already I don't like the way this is going! Oh, this is gonna hurt. I mean me that is. What did I tell ya? OW. OW OW OW. OW OW OW OW. Walk it off, Engineria. Walk it off. I call Buddy and ask for some assistance and he's willing to do it, but I reckon it's off book for him considering where we are and all. And the Security Leader meets us in the same corridor and goes full on attack! She's a real whirlwind of pain! You know I am going to have to buy that man a new house or something at some point. If I ever get paid. You ok there, my friend? We mediport out and Buddy gets to repairing his armor. I on the other hand stagger back to the embassy and catch the Security Leader off guard. And down she goes finally. AHA! Ok, I'm not really any the wiser, other than the Crimson Crew, those Soviet era relics, are also around. Hopefully both sides will thrash the other and leave me to heal up normally, and hopefully die of very old age. Wandering through the mansion Engineria finds her way to a subterranean set of tunnels, some with armor plated walls. Up ahead there's someone who may she light on what is going on here. It's Giogre. I met him a LONG time ago if I recall correctly. He seems pleased to see me. I wonder what his angle is here, and if Whipsmart is about too. And there's voices from up ahead talking about a portal of some kind. Giorge got the tip off from Agent Six herself. Good to know I'm in the special circle of knowledge, yeah? Yeah. He's not happy with his mother country however much he loves it and these Soviet stooges are not on his Christmas list. Well, let's get getting then. Giorge and Engineria fight their way down the tunnels, which lead to a final secure area. The going is tough and we've yet to see any Crimson Crew, "merely" the warriors of the Embassy. Making our way into the last secure zone we clear as we go, until ahead of us I can see a sort of altar or summoning stone. I'm not sure how either of us "thieves" could steal that, but let's see how we go. Siyanda the Summoner, huh? Well, that took off fast! We both blast her as quick as we can and Giorge moves in for close quarters work while I call Buddy in. His armor is rebuilt and rebooted and frankly after the debacle in the upper hallway I could do with the backup. The three of us take down the guards and then we examine the stone itself. The stone is inert and none of us have a clue what the carvings mean. But Agent Six probably does, so we call it in on a nearby terminal and then get the hell out of Dodge while we still can. Agent Six lets slip that Giorge is former Crimson Crew! Well, that all seems a lot more personal now. In the meantime Six tells me that she herself can decipher the runes on the stone and to make space around the thing because she's going to port to us. Well, this is all coming together. [Mission 4 = Feeling very international espionage crossed with personal histories and mysteries. @cranebump really knows how to build a mystery in a supers world around "real" issues. Loving it.] Mission 5: Black. And Agent Six ports in beside Engineria! BOO! Shock! And all that jazz. She sets to work on examining the summoning stone doohickey and gives Engineria some "light reading" (HOMEWORK??) to get through while the work goes on. Hmm. African Prince. Full military uniform. Lotsa background (no spoilers!) And a short time later Six looks up. It's a short range transporter with a single location/destination. The Ibutho and Colicos are more than likely there. So, I think that's gonna be MY cue to step on through to the other side. We all step through and...are separated in the beam (beam? maybe.) Somewhere Giogre has run into the Ibutho. It sounds like a homecoming of sorts! Well...I'm off to a great start. Got jumped. Sigh sigh sigh. Once I recover I I find Giogre and then take a knee. Those Ibutho are DANGEROUS, @cranebump! We move through the ship, tackling the enemy as we go. With Giogre at my side I'm not getting flanked and stabbed, which from this gal's POV is only a good thing. Shortly after we find Agent Six, who seems "happy" to see us. "About time"? Sigh, on we go! Colicos is spotted and we extract her from her captors, leaving them strewn around the deck. Colicos warns us that SHE is here. Whoever SHE is. In the meantime Colicos runs and hides. Ah. SHE is one of the Wives of Lionsmane. And a serious badass to boot. It takes all three of us to take her and her henchfolk down. And Engineria here is on blue fumes by the end of the fight. Have to check my Endurance burn later! But take them down we do. Now comes the simple option of commandeering the ship. One bit of commandeering later and this baby is sloowly turning and heading back the way WE want it to go. Agent Six calls in an extraction team and Omega Watch arrive in force. (Again, is there an Agent One to Five? I didn't get a good look). Accompanied by a squad of Longbow. Because the Red+White get everywhere, don't they? Unfortunately with Diplomatic Immunity this lot won't stay in custody long. And as if on cue Engineria's phone gets a message from the Ivory Leopard: [Mission 5 = Great tight wrap up. Loved it] Verdict: Here @cranebump moves away (kinda) from the noir feel I know him for, into a more espionage oriented world. It's still the same world but expanded. I've skimmed over sections of the plot because...SPOILERS! Play this and enjoy it, it's well worth it. Next up from @cranebump is Noble Mettle Part Two: The Hollow Crown. And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Darmian's Spirals: Part Two.

182 missions! It continues!

Spooky Bacon!

Arc 18 from the first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glimmers 2.3: Incursion in Oranbega. (I've done some renumbering of this series, as has @Zhym in his listings page below, but bear in mind that there may now be slight variations in Engineria's previous recorded adventures compared to what's currently available for others to play through) Mission 1: Contested Trophies. So Engineria's day starts with being shouted at over the phone by Pendragon. He seems confused by (a) modern tech (I thought he was from super sci fi Praetoria, no? NVM) and (b) he seems to think I called him. I mean I could argue the point but where would that get me? Well, it might get me another hour of sleep as I dream of finding the AV that invented the snooze button and nailing them to a wall. Oh, it seems sooo useful but it's just a time loop of "AH! I have to get up" with each iteration getting more and more fraught as...so anyway I'm on the phone to Pendragon, who seems to think that distance means shouting at me despite the use of electronic devices. He's been expecting my call. It seems Noble Savage had told him to. Maybe I DID call him. I've been run ragged on things for a while, not to mention weird echoes of Praet Engineria bleeding through. Oh yeah. Nerva. I have to go to Nerva to investigate magical shenanigans. And old Pendy is the man to help on that, seeing as he's practically Galahad or whatever. Except he can't because he's off looking at ruins. Like you do. He's arranged for a Longbow escort though, one Lt. Sefu Tendoji, and can I meet him. Sure, the old Red & Whites are mostly fine with me. Mostly. Depends if Libs is involved or not. So I'm meeting him in the Officers' Club in Crimson Cove. Well for some. Now on first entering I sense something is off. Not to mention the floaty lamp things spinning around some guy over there. Oh oh! I'm walloped with a quick case of the snoozes. (See?! Snoozes! All types, not just the alarm clock versions) Man, I LITERALLY just walked in the door. I'm still cramped from being on a small plane down to this place, but sure, yeah, it WAS me. I'm the beacon-placer! Wait, FAKE beacon? What's the difference if they both do the same thing? What is it with folks shouting at me today? I heard you the first time! Not that he can hear ME say that since I'm frozen in place by something. Wait? What? Are you like the Vahzilok for souls or something? Is that a thing now? That can't be a thing, can it? So I manage to drop this guy but not before he summons company from the...from somewhere spooky no doubt. And OW. A few well timed Rad Blasts and stealing whatever passes for health from these guys using my Kinetics and I stumble clear of them, over to this "fake beacon" thing. There's also a box. I peek inside and then, still no sign of that Longbow dude, I leave and call Pendy. So he's surprised that the lieutenant wasn't there but he'll give him a call and see what's up. As for the spooky dudes? Those are the Drudge apparently. Crossed over the Veil to this side of things to collect souls. Summoned by that beacon, which Pendy says sounds like an Oranbegan beacon. He has to call me back. Using a phone with gauntlets is tricky apparently. Who knew? [Mission 1 = Wrong footed out the gate and the contact is nowhere to be seen. Instant mystery. Let's see where this goes!] Mission 2: The Uninvited. More shouting from Pendy. His Longbow friend apologizes for not meeting me but they were in the middle of also investigating these Drudge people. It seems the obelisk in the Officers Club was simply there as confiscated loot from an Arachnos submarine. So that explains that I suppose. The rest of what was found is being examined in Agincourt base, and can I go over there and help out. Well, sure. If only to stop the ringing in my ears from you deafening me. Ah, my phone makes an email delivered sort of noise. An email from Desdemona telling Pendy of my previous involvement with Light Astoria and so on. Credentials verified! Now, time to see what is what. So I get to Agincourt and whooo! There's a full scale battle going on here! And after that is cleared up I finally meet Lt. Sefu Tendoji. We wander up the slope and OMG! It's my old pal Hornet from Wyvern! Ok, with three of us this should be better! The Drudge dudes and their minions are the ones causing all the ruckus here, and somewhere there's a Taskmaster Holman we need to stop. Let's go! Holman seems a mite angry. And disinclined to listen to reason. Or speech. Or anything I think. He's a symptom of "Snooze-buttonism" if ever I saw one. Him and his minions are tough enough but like I said, there's three of us now and we take them all down, though that LAST thing sounds very like a threat to me! Very much like a threat. Who is this big man he's talking about? Are the Drudge guys even men anyway? Humanoid shaped sure but men? Now we have Holman's boss to deal with. He's probably the big man. Field Marshal Taylor. This Agincourt base is pretty big so we have a scout around, even inside one of the buildings where we find one of those confiscated items taken from the Arachnos sub. Then coming around a corner I spy Taylor! And again with the accusations! Get him! More threats! Also, allies? Where are you?! Ah, there we go! The three of us whittle him down and then he is OUT FOR THE COUNT! (Not a Sesame Street reference) So I pull out my phone and this time when I call Pendy I keep it away from my ear. (I wonder what he's like if I put it on speaker? Nope, that is a BAD idea) He's got patchy reception since he's in some ruins. He mentions an explosion or something and then says the Circle of Thorns are responsible. No, don't explain...no, don't...I know who they are, I'm from here. You can stop now...no, stop. Come back to our mission. And breathe. Ok. Wait. Back up. WHAT did you just say? The Drudge are soul reapers, uh huh, and they're there to collect the souls of all the Circle of Thorns. Oh that's not good. Well maybe it IS good, but what I mean is it is going to cause a LOT of trouble. A hell of a lot of trouble. And the reception fades. [Mission 2 = The Drudges are here in force to do their soul swiping thing and the stakes just got magically higher! Oh yeah!] Mission 3: Demonic Traitors. Pendragon manages to reconnect. Quietly this time! It seems the Drudges and the CoT haven't noticed him. Well, that's good. I hope he's oiled his joints! Sneaking about in armor must be difficult. And now he's telling me about his personal quest. It seems the CoT are intent on summoning a demon called Lilitu. Ages ago the CoT contracted with demons to exterminate the Mu. That didn't go as planned. Now however that ancient contract is going to be fulfilled. The catch is, and it's a BIG catch, about 20% of the population have Mu blood or genes or whatever. I suppose it's blood magic. I can't imagine the CoT talking about Gene Magic. Or maybe they do? Do they have a Techno Wizard faction? Hope not. So I'm off to meet him at a ruin. Oh great. And he's been spotted. Looks like I might be rescuing him too. Time to find old Pendy then, and we're straight into combat as soon as I set foot in the first corridor. It's like these guys were expecting me! I manage to clear my way through them and catch my breath further on at an intersection. Let's have a little looksee around the place before I dive in further. that seems reasonable, doesn't it? Might need to check for some of these beacon things too. I know Desdemona said they appeared to be powered by Mu magic but the CoT surely would be examining them, yeah? And these beacons appear to be weakening the Veil between here and the spirit world, so that's summoning the Drudges and their lampy friends. Ok, looks like I have an ally. I say ally not friend because, well what do you think? I'm going to trust this guy completely? Trust him when he says this? I mean he's pretty much telling me that his goals are conditional. I'll be on my guard and watch my back. So Qunqalda must die, yah? Ok, I'm not good with just killing folks because that's never a right solution, but if I recall a thing Madame Maven said to me a long time ago, some times there are only bad choices. On we go. Found Pendy! Looks like they bound him in some sort of mystic circle thing. Ok, now I have HIM to guard against possible betrayal by Sparcetriel too. Let's find Qunqalda and hand him a whupping. And there's the Chief Wizard himself. Time to gird our loins, or whatever that means. Ready up! Pendy and Engineria make for him while Sparcetriel lumbers around the side. Qunqalda is tough though and deals out some hammering damage to us. And Qunqalda goes down! And yes, Sparcetriel makes his Heel turn and flings Pendragon into a wall or something. I focus on him and let loose, and let me tell you neither me nor Pendy are in good shape after the Qunqalda fight! Oh. That HURT. I'm not sure where Pendragon got to but he hadn't made it back to me when Sparcetriel dropped me. Time to mediport out, collect some help and rescue Pendy. I'm going to bring Marcus in on this one, no offence to Buddy but this is a big damn demon capable of frying us! Engineria and Marcus arrive back at the ruin. Still no sign of Pendragon but hopefully we'll find him in a bit. Sparcetriel is instantly enraged by Engineria's return and lets loose with fire and magic. And Marcus responds with fists and lightning while Engineria Rad Blasts the bejezus out of Sparcetriel's demon ass. And he goes down! Luckily for me. I'm skimming near red on the health. Marcus is still mostly fine though. We scout around, find Pendragon down a side corridor and then proceed to examine some shelves and so on for clues. Lilitu is definitely something on the "SummonSomeone" list! Not good. Time to get the hell out of here. I bid Marcus farewell and accompany Pendragon back out. Pendragon is troubled by this 20% of the population sacrifice thing, and rightly so. Who wouldn't be? Well, Sparcetriel I suppose, and those doing the sacrifices. anyway. It's time to seek advice before we move on. [Mission 3 = Great rescue/fight/betrayal/fight mission. Despite effectively knowing that Sparcetriel will betray, given the nature of his demonic contract and so on, it still works as a whole. On to the next part of the mystery!] Mission 4: Spirit of the Land. There's an attack happening! Thorn Isle is the focus and it looks bad. The CoT are being hunted by the Drudges! I'm to get over there as fast as possible while Pendy contacts others, including Marchand of the New Praetorians. I have to find us a key to get inside. Off I go! Engineria to the rescue. Or something. Impressive, isn't it? The Key is apparently held by one of the Arch Mages. And there's one of those guys right now. Let's go and ask him some questions. And if he doesn't want to answer? Ah, we'll think of something. We always do. Nope. He doesn't have a key. Or at least he doesn't have the one we need. He might have the key to a 1996 Ford Taurus for all I know but that ain't gonna help us in our quest. Next up is the Arch Mage of Death. Ominous. And keyless too. Arch Mage of Madness? Do YOU have the key to our heart's desire? Or...Yah, need to rein in the old poesy there. Let's just slap him around the head, turn him upside down and shake out his pockets. And he doesn't have it either. Tsk. Oh, there's one of those mystical beacons! I'll poke it. Well THAT got someone's attention! And he seems confused. Now if you'd just waited a minute before trying to suck my soul out I could probably have told you about this being a fake powered by Mu magic, but no. You just waded in and...got your ass Rad Blasted and your health wrenched out of you by Kinetics. So, that's on you. He desouled now. I mean I defeated him, and like the rest of the CoT I don't think they're technically killed. Just corporally inconvenienced. I'm sure it is more than an inconvenience to the person who had their body stolen in the first place though, so I'm not feeling bad about this. AHA! Lookee there! Another Arch Mage. Ruin this time. Oh, those guys can be a total pain. Let's get this done though. Success! He has the key! Time to phone Pendy and gather the troops! (Disclaimer: Engineria spent a lot longer looking for stuff on this island than is shown but I'm not posting images of her just looking for stuff. Not a complaint on the mission, it's a great map, just filled with niches and so on for things to hide in.) Pendragon is pleased we have the key. He's informed Marchand of what's going on, and seems to get an email ding as a reply while we're chatting. Time to finish this. [Mission 4 = Basically a set up mission for the finale that narratively plays well with the entire CoT/Drudge war that appears to be going on. On to the finale!] Mission 5: The Spirits Below. Old Pendy (I don't know why I'm calling him "old Pendy", it might be the knight in armor thing, but he's probably younger than me from the looks of him. Though you can never tell with supers), anyway Pendy apologizes for getting me to get the key all by my lonesome, so he's taking point on this next thing. Fine by me. Your armor looks a lot more durable than mine. Might be more susceptible to electricity though! So off he goes into the depths of Oranbega/Nerva/are they the same place here? And again loses his connection. Sigh. I follow him. The Hunt is here! And those guys are nasty. Taken the Thorn tree? It's all blowing up here today! And of course I get the blame. I mean I clearly look like a member of the Hunt, don't I? Engineria fights her way down the dusty corridors of this place and rescues Pendragon. Sheesh, that is a damn big sword, Pendy. Surely you need hydraulics in your armor to lift it! Agreed. They should all leave Primal Earth. Let's see about making that happen, yeah? Damnit all to heck and back, Pendy! Are you seriously telling me we have to ally ourselves with that backstabbing Sparcetriel again? I mean come on! Also, he need to really look at the fine print in the contracts the wizards are waving at him! That's him captured for the umpteenth time I betcha. And it's mugs like us who keep letting him out. Maybe the CoT are sitting somewhere arguing about this: Wizard #1: I dunno, Arch Mage Groony, the heroes keep freeing the demon! What's with that? Don't they know we are trying to save them from its evil? Wizard #2: Tsk, you know heroes. They never ask questions, just port into Oranbega and start blasting. Honestly, it takes a lot of magic to keep the place half decent after every attack. Wizard #1: So what do we do about it? Wizard #2: More wine? Wizard #1: Of course. What's that I'm overhearing? Are the Hunt and the Drudges actually in cahoots with each other or are they simply taking advantage of the other's presence? Engineria and Pendragon free the demon Sparcetriel, and he informs them that a nature avatar has seized the Thorn tree. I bet I know who THAT is. I've been wrong before though so let's wait and see. Watch your back for Sparcetriel, Pendy. I'd bet that he betrays us again when we do what he wants. We make our way further into the complex and finally before us is the Thorn tree itself. Ok, there should be...AHA! I was right! Finn! And if I remember rightly he's a nasty piece of work. Tough as old boots and hits like a Mack truck. Conspire? Conspire? We'll ignore that for now. In the meantime, get him boys! Ok! I was a bit TOO eager there. Finn has back up (though Sparcetriel has flung one of them WAY across the room!) and I'm getting hammered here! Oh so VERY hammered. OW OW OW. Pendy, and you too Sparcetriel, keep him busy. I'll be up in a minute. Honestly. I'll just lie her for a moment to, you know, catch my breath. Or something. And as Engineria staggers upright, Pendragon puts his sword through Finn's chest and down that avatar of nature goes! Back to wherever he came from. As predicted Pendragon and Engineria then have to deal with Sparcetriel. It's in his nature to do this I suppose. Doesn't make it any easier. We leave and head back to base. What have we discovered? The Drudges are stealing the souls of the CoT! The Thorn tree is draining the ancient forest of the Mu! And Finn and the Hunt are seriously pissed off by all of this. Not to mention me. OW OW OW. [Mission 5 = Well, that was a rollicking rollercoaster of fights and twists and betrayals and some epic combat! Loved it.] Verdict: Here @Ankylosaur is weaving in a bigger plot around the magic denizens and how the collision of Praetoria and Primal Earth goes far beyond the end of the war, even beyond just dealing with political stuff like refugees and so on. Big stuff! Looking forward to the rest. If you want to know more, play! I don't want to spoiler everything! Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glimmers 3.1: Summonings in Nerva Archipelago. And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @cranebump's Noble Mettle Part One: The Colossus of Rose

As of the end of @Darmian's Spirals: Part One I've hit 177 missions! That's including the Christmas themed ones. Whew!