TerroirNoir's "Cable Channel of AE!" Reviews. Part 2.

[Zhym]

Woo hoo!  Welcome back, @TerroirNoir2!

 

Also, @cranebump: Nixon, Agnew, and Haldeman?  ISWYDT...

Edited July 29 by Zhym

[TerroirNoir2]

1 hour ago, Zhym said:

Woo hoo!  Welcome back, @TerroirNoir2!

My timetable is STILL awful, but I'm trying!  I promised to finish this and I'm aiming to do exactly that!

[cranebump]

2 hours ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

My timetable is STILL awful, but I'm trying!  I promised to finish this and I'm aiming to do exactly that!

Welcome back! And as far as finishing stuff, not to worry from my part—I have nothing in production. (Though I evidently have the usual errors).:-)

[TerroirNoir2]

Arc 20 from our third author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Darmian's I Sing of Arms and the Man.

 

Taking a brief break to research things in the Midnighter Club I answered a call to visit Cimerora and meet with Imperious.  Imposing Imperious.  Imperial Imperious. Impactful Imperious.  Talking to him is...wait, no.  I didn't talk to him, I got talked AT.  A lot.  And it was kinda Shakespeare in the Park. So anyway, bad things are happening.  I THINK. He's prepared for war and wishes to see the usurper driven from his lands.  Ok, got that.  Even this little super has heard of Romulus. But now he's telling me my help was foretold.  ACK.  I shy away from predestination malarkey. 

Wait.

I THINK he's asking me to retrieve his stolen property.  His gladiators.  Who are slaves.  His property. Stolen by the forces of Romulus.  His "property."

This is a tricky one.  I know we're engaged in helping this guy overthrow Romulus but does anyone do background checks on our allies?  Oh it's a different time!  That's fine then!  

Right.

But I'm not happy about this AT ALL.  And I'll be having words with the Midnighters or whoever is in charge there.  Dream Doctor maybe?  Or Montague Whatsiface.

Because if I can't retrieve them I'm not to let them live.

Sheesh.

 

Mission 1: Munera. So I head in to a series of caverns where the Traitors were last seen dragging the gladiators with them.  Imperious's slave(!) Tullio is waiting for me. He's a bit pompous but leads me through the caverns.

 

 

Along the way we find barrels and amphorae containing supplies and marked with the sign of the Ludus (I checked this, gladiator school!), so we're on the right track.

Then we find some bones with scraps of cloth. Scraps of cloth that are also from the gladiator school.  Ok, some nasty people ahead.

There's someone else hunting these gladiators too, a Publius Cato, whoever he was originally he's now one of Romulus's stooges.

 

I take down several of the traitors along the way before finally finding Publius Cato.

 

 

SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ENGINERIA!

 

Sigh, I walked right into that one.  They were just around the corner to the left and did I check?  Nope.

 

 

But we...I deal with them.  Tullio is strolling around like he's on a Sunday School picnic!

Now for Publius Cato!

BOOM!

Tagged ya!

 

 

And oddly this Cato gets taken down fast.  That bothers me.  Anyway, no sign of gladiators but we found a stone carved by someone named Crixus in what Tullio says is some sort of Ludus battle sign.  So the gladiators are SOMEWHERE.  (Still free of Imperious then!)

Time to go back and talk to him.

 

Imperious knows of someone who can read these signs and sends Tullio off to get him and not to take no for an answer.

And now I am to rest.

 

[Mission 1 = Ok, definitely not the hardest mission @Darmian has thrown at us but also possibly one of the trickiest morally.  Ok, it's not Phipps but then what is?  Let's see what comes next.]

 

Mission 2: Until Turf is Cast Upon the Bones.  So Imperious introduces me to Gallus, a rather old man who once was a gladiator but won his freedom and was given a wooden sword.  Right right.  Uh huh. WOODEN sword.  Hmm.  Go on. Gallus can read the battle sign.  There's a series of caves along the coast and Crixus has gathered his brethren there.  Or as Imperious calls them, "property".  Sigh.  Really gonna have to have words with the Midnighters.  Even Recluse frowns on actual slavery.  Yeah yeah, I saw the History Channel.  Not chattel, it's tooootally different.  Yeah.  Still treating people as things and that's wrong in my book.

 

(Oh, I should write a book!  "Engineria: A Life of Confusion")

 

Anyway, it's all going soooo well already that Imperious is planning to buy MORE slaves/gladiators.  Jeez Louise.  You weren't talking about this when we stormed the castle against Romulus.  Oh no, that was all "Liberation!  Freedom!  Down with the evildoer!"  This lesser of two evils thing is tricky to navigate.

 

So Gallus says Crixus will have left a marker allowing others of the brethren to locate him.  Find that and you find Crixus.  Plus Gallus doesn't seem to like Imperious much even though he's quiet about it.  I see you, old man.  I see you.

 

Well that was easy.  Sometimes you get lucky.

 

 

Again with the situational awareness!  So much for lucky!

 

 

Having dealt with this guy I look closer at the stone.  Deciphered it reads "Meet me in the back".  Simple and to the point.  Then again who writes long messages on stone?  

 

Then I run straight into Scipio.  And he has my number.  Luckily for him I think, going by what he just said!  And I have seen some charred bones along the tunnel floors.

 

 

I'm attracting these gladiator dudes like flies!  Don't know what that says about me!  OH!  I'm gonna get my head caved in with that ax! And yes, I have an arrow lodged in my back armor plate.

 

 

HOWEVER...you guys don't get much radiation in this century so it's highly unlikely you have any protection against it.  So, alley-oop!

 

 

And there we go.

 

Heya, Crixus.  In the back I see.

And you are really not fighting fair here!  Pulling the heart strings!  But if I step back you'll cut me down!  ACK.

 

 

And he's got company!  More brethren are on the way.

I'm having trouble holding these sword-wielding madmen off so I stick on Repulsion and hope for the best.  Seems to work.

 

 

And I've captured Crixus!  He asks only that his brothers are freed from Romulus's evil.  That seems and entirely reasonable request to me.

So back to Imperious.

 

Imperious agrees!  He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy never mind a slave.  I'm not pointing out that Romulus IS his worst enemy though.  Don't confuse the locals as it may offend.

Time to get some rest and then off to rescue the last of the Ludus.

 

[Mission 2 = Nice little plot explainer here.  Fast moving too.  And those gladiators are damn dangerous!  Fortunately I was not running this at 4/8!]

 

Mission 3: Ave Imperator, morituri te salutant.  So Crixus has told us that Agrippa Cato is the culprit behind kidnapping the gladiators. Imperious is still calling it theft though (grrr). Imperious tells Crixus to accompany me so that he might gain greater glory than he ever would in the Arena.  I mean Crixus is coming but I don't think that's HIS reason.

 

So off we go.  Crixus is eager and we arrive at the temple and pretty soon we are rescuing Crixus's gladiators.  So far so good.

 

 

Although Romulus and his minions, in this instance the aforementioned Agrippa Cato and his goons, are heavily in cahoots with the 5th Column and their otherworldly allies,  Which all told is not great for the kidnapped gladiators.  I'm not saying stolen!  They're not property, Imperious!  Bah!

 

 

But we make our way through the temple, rescuing as we go, and outside where we find that there's a CYCLOPS working for the enemy!  These things are dangerous!

 

 

But Crixus is battle hardened and with a combination of his sword work and my rad blasts (not to mention siphoning speed, speed boosting Crixus and stealing health from the Cyclops to keep both of us up) we finish him off before facing Agrippa Cato himself. He seems annoyed by having to ally himself with...vampires.

 

 

He's easier to take out than the Cyclops though.  Now we just have to meet Imperious and....GAWD!  GAWD DAMMNIT!  Why couldn't you just be a noble ruler?  Just and fair to all?  Jeez Louise!

I mean really.

 

 

And then he ignores me and tackles Crixus himself!  Crixus has identified me as an enemy too so I can't even help him!  But I refuse to help Imperious.

 

 

I'm leaving.

Imperious, in an imperious way, seems oblivious to how I see things and just rants at me.

 

 

Right.  I need a very sharp word with Montague Thingy in the Midnighter Club and I'm not taking "historical differences" as a legitimate answer.

 

[Mission 3 = Tight little mission that finishes up the arc.  Good stuff with no extraneous material.]

 

Verdict: @Darmian has surprised me here with a shorter arc (but I think if this was stretched to five parts it would have padding) that really pushes at some of our notions of what it means to be heroic in different times as opposed to the present. You could rush through this and just hack and slash but when you don't and have a think about it, it's different.  Like I said earlier, it's not Westin Phipps but it definitely could be his Cimeroran ancestor!

 

Next up from @Darmian is Three Sisters.

And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glimmers 3.3: Gods in the Planes.

 

Edited August 13 by TerroirNoir2

[Darmian]

16 minutes ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

Ok, definitely not the hardest mission @Darmian has thrown at us but also possibly one of the trickiest morally.  Ok, it's not Phipps but then what is? 

I was attempting to write a Cimeroran arc as though the Cimerorans were real Romans, inasmuch as we know how their society worked. And no, it wasn't nice.

[TerroirNoir2]

7 hours ago, Darmian said:

I was attempting to write a Cimeroran arc as though the Cimerorans were real Romans, inasmuch as we know how their society worked. And no, it wasn't nice.

Ok, interesting!  I've seen Rome (the TV show) and that's grim.  And to be honest much as I love Cimerora, we don't interact much with the people.

[TerroirNoir2]

Hmm, I've been getting "Sorry, an unknown server error occurred when uploading this file. (Error code: - 200)" when attempting to upload a screenshot.  Otherwise I'd be on to the next arc.  Anyone have any ideas.

[Darmian]

15 minutes ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

Hmm, I've been getting "Sorry, an unknown server error occurred when uploading this file. (Error code: - 200)" when attempting to upload a screenshot.  Otherwise I'd be on to the next arc.  Anyone have any ideas.

I just tried adding a pic to this.  Not just you.

[TerroirNoir2]

I'll get more up when this error thing is resolved.

[TerroirNoir2]

On 8/2/2025 at 3:47 PM, TerroirNoir2 said:

I'll get more up when this error thing is resolved.

And the error thing seems to be resolved.

[TerroirNoir2]

Arc 21 from our first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glimmers 3.3: Gods in the Planes.

 

So after my brief sojourn in the past of Cimerora (grr @Darmian) Engineria gets a call from Marchand, formerly Provost of Praetoria.  Things down Brickstown way are not rosy.  Well, not exactly Brickstown way but that's where his New Praetorians base is.

 

So anyhoo, I stop in to see him and it turns out that Pendragon and Desdemona are missing.  Not good.  Marchand fills me in.  The Mu (remember them?) under the command of Mu'Drakhan, are intending to summon Hequat.  And that sends a shiver down the spine. Our two pals set off to stop him and are now MIA. With the aid of Hellewise, Jaena and Nadia, Marchand has a plan.  And oh sweet baby back ribs what a plan. 

 

Mission 1: An Aspect of Death. Anyway, I'm currently laden down with tiny voodoo-style dolls (do not ask!) that will link me to the TUNNEL system.  I just have to...recruit...some people along the way.

I say people.

The first is Adamastor.

Yeah.

Which is why I'm currently in what appears to be a ...brain cavity?

 

 

Yep.  Brain cavity.

 

So I place a doll on a focus point and Adamastor is summoned into this place somehow.  Now to free him from his captors.

With the aid of a twinkly ball thing that leads me to him, I find the big lug looking a bit forlorn.

 

So I take out his captor beings(?) and off he shuffles.  Job done.  And then I'm magicked out of this weird place and back to Gerald T. Marchand.

(Ok, I am not sure this goes in my autobiography.  Who the hell would believe it?)

 

Marchand tells me that Nadia has shooed Adamastor off to Primeva in Nerva, and with any luck Mu'Drakhan will take him into the fold, like some sort of Trojan Banished Pantheon Thing^TM. 

Next up?  Oh let's see!

 

[Mission 1 = A classic @Ankylosaur starter mission.  Clear goals, in and out, job done.  Good stuff.  The plot continues.]

 

Mission 2: An Aspect of Life.  So more magical madness! Merulina is involved somehow in all this.  Sheesh.  I faced her before and she wasn't keen on getting involved in earthly things, so what changed?  In the meantime I have to find another Trojan God.  Not Zeus or Diana!  But...I'm woolgathering here.  On with the show! Time to recruit...yeah, recruit...not one but TWO Finn MacCools!  Because I didn't have enough trouble with just the one before.  

 

(I think your arcs are getting stranger and stranger @Ankylosaur!  I don't mean in a bad way! Then again I have played through Croatoa and Night Ward so...)

 

There's a little recap between Marchand and Nadia and Jaena, with Engineria listening in and making notes.  Mainly involving an ancient war between the Mu and the Coralax.  Oookay so far. And this feeds into Finn MacCool how?  Oh you're being mystical at me.  Or not?

 

I'm a practical person so I get ready and head off to find Mr MacCool(s).

I enter a snowy landscape...snowy in more ways than one!  Snow Beasts!  And already they've taken a dislike to this warm person!

 

 

I burn him down to slush and move on.  OH!  SWEET!  A doggo!

Who's a good boy then?

 

 

MORE doggos!  Awesome!  And they've led me to a mystical stone too!  (Aw!  This is lovely!)

 

 

Then in a surprise I meet a Mountain Lion!  And she just joins the pack and helps out!  Yay! She's an Earth Spirit Guide appearing in that form it seems.

 

We enter a cave and I'm confronted by a crystal being who does not like me being there!  Fortunately Rad Blast seems to shatter it and we continue exploring. Finn (or Finns) should be in here somewhere.

 

 

We find the first of the Finns, a Life spirit, and free him from his captivity.  With an "Unnnh" he runs off and leaves me and the pack staring after him.  The ungrateful lump!

Oh well.  Let's find the other one.

And there's the Earth Spirit version of Finn.

 

 

Once we free him he...also runs off.  "Unnh unnh and away!"  Kinda.  What's he gonna do now?  Combine into some sort of Voltron-Finn?  Or whatever the Malta Hercules things do?

 

Back to see Marchand I suppose.  Which is good because my feet are wet from trudging through the snow here.

Nadia has forwarded the Finns to Primeva.  Probably by some sort of USPS Priority Mail thing.

Oddness all around!

 

[Mission 2 = Another collect the Aspect mission and I have to say this one was a delight.  Having the dogs and the mountain lion as allies was a beautiful touch and so different from anything I've seen elsewhere in the AE.  Bravo!]

 

Mission 3: An Aspect of Torment. And now I'm going to HELL. The demon Skulkerin needs to be recruited to our cause.  Oh, I do not like the sound of this.  But it seems to voodoo/hoodoo/that you do doll will work on him too.  Him? Her? Them?  Does it matter?  I don't suppose it's actually Hell, just some extra dimensional realm of fire and hot stuff.  Then again if I was more Nordic or Celtic would it be cold?  I dunno.

 

Either way here I am looking around me and wishing I was somewhere warm.  NOT HELLISHLY HOT.  Warm.  I have surely mentioned Aruba before.  Although to be honest right now I'd be happy to visit Siren's Call for a picnic.

 

 

So after seeing off some Shadow Demons and following a friendly ghost (not Caspar and more of a Tormented Soul) to a focus altar, I finally find Skulkerin.

 

 

Once freed he will join the others as one of the Manchurian Candidates for us in smoking out the Mu.  Smoking?  This place is affecting me.  Everything is starting to revolve around fire!

 

Upon returning to Marchand and the others, Nadia informs us that Skulkerin is the final part of the puzzle.  Now it's time to fight Gods with Gods!  Whoo!

 

[Mission 3 = Same again as 1 and 2, simple but very well executed.  On to the fight!]

 

Mission 4: Fight Gods with Gods. So while I've been off Godbothering, Marchand has recruited the Carnival of Light and the Midnight Squad to help on on this. They're going to help clear out the Mu's base in the ruins of Primeva.  Oh good.  Like those two sets of folks are completely reliable.  Still, who else we got? So my job is simple. SIMPLE!

Sigh.

 

 

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for starters the Mu are playing for keeps here.  OW OW OW.

 

 

I'm forced to use Judgement on them.  I don't normally resort to Incarnate powers but sometimes you just have to get them the hell away from you with as much inflicted damage as possible.

 

After dealing with these Mu I find a book.  The Book of Death.  Ominous. It describes Adamastor as an aspect of the God of Death.  The Banished Pantheon need to get out in the sun more.

 

And with all the poking around through books (I found a few more interesting ones relating to the gods I already "rescued") I've been noticed by the Chief Librarian!

 

 

What happened to "SHHH!  Quiet in the library."?  It's more "These books are sacred!"  and blast me with some sort of hellfire!  Yeah, well I'm not returning your book, friend!  And your multimedia section leaves a lot to be desired!

 

With Khull left to bemoan the lack of respect in libraries in this modern age I leave and make a discovery. Excellent!  One of the people I've been looking for.  Hello, Pendragon!  Soon have you free of those villains!

 

 

And on we go and there's Desdemona, held in some sort of energy cage!

 

 

Pendragon and Engineria rescue her and the three of us fight our way through the corridors until eventually we find Skulkerin.  Time to free him and cause some havoc!  Those other beings I recruited should be around here somewhere too.

 

 

Along the way we run into Merulina!  She's happy to help us against Hequat.  The more the merrier I say!  Until the inevitable betrayal!  What?  You think I actually TRUST Skulkerin or Adamastor?  I mean Adamastor?  Not so sure about Finn, he's a bit mercurial at the best of times.  Could go either way.

 

 

Speaking of which, there's our boy now!  Let's get him off the leash and see what happens!  (Marchand, you have to be careful in future!  I know the plan is working so far but it's STILL a bit crazy.)

 

 

Mercurial?  I should have said downright treacherous!  Finn (or one of him at least) decides we're his enemies...although I did kinda "kidnap" him so there's that...and goes on the offensive after we deal with his jailers.  

 

 

Finn gets taken down and Adamastor tries to consume our souls!  Desdemona and her demons give him a sound thrashing (I think that's the right phrase) and he runs off to...wherever he usually goes.

 

But the momentum is relentless and Ksenia Stray arrives!  She's hopped up on ideology and intent of defeating us but here she's smart and realizes she's outgunned and retreats to the spirit realm.

 

And then...Mu'Drakhan makes his entrance!  Not grandly. He seems surprised that we're here!  Which is all for the best because at this point I'm kneeling and Resting!

 

 

However he IS about to summon Hequat and we can't let him do that, so we all pile on and hope we're in time!

He's tough though.

But tough or not he takes a knee!

Unfortunately for us Hequat makes her appearance anyway!

This entire mission has been one epic fight/run from room to corridor to room.

 

 

Merulina is still with us and she seems (to me at least) particularly angry with Hequat!  Throwing down on her like there's no tomorrow and laying all on the line.  Pendragon and Desdemona back me up and we force Hequat back to her origin point and then she's gone.

Just like that.

We've won.  I have two inspirations left.  Those odd red/yellow ones that I can never remember what they do.  

I'm rambling.  Time to stumble back to Marchand and report in.  

See you on the flip, Merulina!

 

Marchand and the others are pleased to say the least.  Phrases like "The stuff of legend" are thrown around.  Well, I dunno about that.  Right now I'd settle for a really hot bath with some of those fizzy bath bomb things in it.  And a really fluffy robe and a glass of wine after.

 

[Mission 4 = Relentless mission.  It's go go go from the get go.  Great fun.  Sweeping fights up and down the corridors of Primeva. Awesome.]

 

Mission 5: Epilogue: Glimmering Changes.  Marchand and friends tell me that Mu'Drakhan has reappeared, standing at Recluse's side but no doubt seething as being an underling.  His pride will be his downfall. For now we are successful and the people of Nerva are breathing clearer, even if many don't even know why.  But plenty do.

 

Time to have a look around and see what's the word on the street or on the grapevine.

Well not EVERYONE is happy to see me!  Of course I'm used to that by now!  When I finally do take that job with Whipsmart (that still a thing, @cranebump?) I may write up my memoirs and have stern words to say about these sorts of folks.

 

 

Seems even Countess Crey wants me disciplined.  Arrested.  The gall of the woman!  So much for Crey news!  Let's poke around some more.

Well, things go from bad to ...the same level of bad?  The Banished, not the Banished Pantheon, have set themselves up in Light Astoria and are STILL worshipping fallen gods.  I mean do these people NEVER learn?  Isn't that a popular definition of madness?  Doing the same thing over and over because, you know, THIS TIME IT'LL WORK!

Sigh.

 

 

And it seems from reports that the Stray, Ksenia herself, is standing in the shadows beside Mu'Drakhan.  

Ok, this feels very much like a lull in the fighting, a sort of temporal no-man's land.

 

But for now we've beaten them.

Marchand thanks me.  The others do too.  Although maybe I'll see them again.

 

[Mission 5 = A nice epilog to the arc.  Not often you get a wrap up that appreciates what you've done as opposed to a curt nod from your contact.  Well done!]

 

Verdict.  A slow build up and then a sudden boom of sound in this arc, followed by a lovely coda.  Well played @Ankylosaur. Took me a while to get here but I did! 

 

Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glints 1: Let Go of My Ego.  (Now there's a title to conjure with!)

And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @cranebump's Solace: Part 2.

Edited August 16 by TerroirNoir2

[Zhym]

On 7/30/2025 at 3:14 PM, TerroirNoir2 said:

Wait.

I THINK he's asking me . . .

I kid you not, when I first read that I thought it was going to end in, ". . . on a date."  Which would have been a very different adventure (but probably involving less slavery).

 

On 8/4/2025 at 3:28 PM, TerroirNoir2 said:

So I place a doll on a focus point and Adamastor is summoned into this place somehow.  Now to free him from his captors.

With the aid of a twinkly ball thing that leads me to him, I find the big lug looking a bit forlorn.

Look, if you got summoned every hour just to get beaten up, you'd be a little glum too.

[Darmian]

If there's one thing @Ankylosaur does better than anyone (and they do a LOT of things!) it is the use of allies to lead you to different places/things/other allies.  It seems so simple yet it can be so hard to do in practice.

[TerroirNoir2]

Arc 21 from our second author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @cranebump's Solace: Part 2.

 

(And this one starts off with an excerpt from a poem by T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men. Nice.  Also, curiously ominous!) 

 

Mission 1: Dried Voices Whispering. So Jake Montoya, formerly the Red Tiger, is chatting to Engineria.  Because you know, I get to meet my heroes now and then.  It happens. It's not always Laronda saying "Nice Costume!" to me when I rescue her from muggers.  I'd come looking for Everett Daniels but he's taking a back seat to things at the moment it appears. 

So this Solace Injunction thing is bigger than just getting Longbow out of Faultline.  (Remember BEFORE they fixed up the dam?  So many ways to fall down a hole).  So Darkwater is "up to something".  I know.  I was there.  But what? And the Toska-Schander Corp? What they be at?

 

Well, we will see.  In the meantime Kestral and me are going to take a look see at somewhere we shouldn't be lookseeing, if you see what I mean.

 

Into the sewer I go.  (At least the Praetorian Underground is dry!  Mostly.)

 

And there's my girl Kestrel.

Facing off against...well they ain't friendly looking.

 

 

Xaos' machinery still humming away.  Mandelbrot creatures everywhere. And I find some tech boxes.

They've got some Skyraider Jumpbot bits, hazmat suits and on the lid there's a label, "Mandelbrot Signature Identification."  Ok then,  Clear as mud.

 

 

A bit further in Engineria and Kestrel find a Skyraider corpse, killed by the Mandelbrot creatures it seems.  The sewer is not a safe place today.  Ok ok, it's NEVER a safe place in Paragon City but normally I have to go to the Abandoned part of it for it to get really wild.  Hmm.  You'd think Freedom Corps would have a deal with the City Council to "deal" with the sewer stuff.  Instead there's probably a Sewer Response Department, like the Fire Department, totally average guys and gals, who have to go down here and get murdered for $15 an hour.  I reckon this is a job Hero Corps should be looking for a contract for.  Might be too small potatoes for them.  

 

(Which reminds me.  Surely there are other orgs like Hero Corps?  Just not as big or as famous.)

 

OH!  Kestrel and Engineria run into some more of those scientist types!

 

 

Oh well that's not bad at all.  Surely the Clockwork King will only want good things from this "power".  Surely.  I have a bridge in Independence Port to sell you then.  See me after class.

 

 

Alas for Clocky here, its master will have to build a new one.  We even stomped on the Gears after he fell apart.  On we go Kestral.

We find another crate with Skyraider material in it. An abandoned power cell.  They don't normally leave those behind. I think they're for the Skiffs or the Porter devices.

 

(Typo on cell in the clue, @cranebump)

 

A box of scraps and tools.  And clearly marked is "Microcel Removal Procedures."  Ok, I need a scientist.  And Kestral ain't much help here.  This all has to go back to Montoya.

 

 

And down at the back of the zone there's a whole series of these things on the wall.  And every one of them has been pried open and there's a space where something has been removed.  Again, scientist time.  I don't know what's missing but somewhere there's a blueprint for these things I'm sure, and we'll see what we will see.

Or not see since it's missing.

I know what I mean.

 

 

Montoya does some L33t level 'splaining when we get back.

The Skyraiders were...raiding.  Although not Skying.  Whatever.  I'm caked in sewer water up to my knees, leave me be.

Whatever their equipment was it had enough power for the dormant Mandelbrot thingies to siphon and reactivate, generating odd creatures and "devouring" some of the Skyraiders.

And Montoya is gonna get Carlos, his nephew, the Bengal Tiger, to analyze stuff.  If only to keep him out of trouble. Well, better him than me.

We'll find out what's going on, for sure.

 

[Mission 1= A continuation and a start.  @cranebump builds the mystery and lays down clues like a madman throwing the bits of jigsaw across the map and here I am on my knees looking for a bit of sky(raider) or a corner piece.  Solid!  Looking forward to the next mission.]

 

Mission 2: Sunlight on a Broken Column.  Oh I'm tired.  There's only so many showers and baths you can take before your skin starts to prune.  And I'm never getting invited to the Paragon Met Ball at this rate.  Sorry. Jake is filling me in.  All these devices I found?  Yeah, they're for amplifying and volumizing water.  Like one of those shampoos I see on TV.  Trouble is, when Longbow started removing them after Xaos was originally taken down they found that the Mandelbrot energies were "creating" things.  No way to stop them so cold storage for a couple of years was mandated. 

Except there's echoes from the last one examined.  Which means someone is being a bad person and experimenting on it.

As for the Toska-Schander?  Well that's where I'm off to next.  So Longbow has worked with TSC and me and Jim Bartlett are going to have a poke around.

 

To be honest I've been wary of Longbow since that whole thing with the Meteors when we faced off against Ms. Liberty.  Which is probably why I never get called when she's organizing a Task Force.  So I'm not 100 per cent surprised that the Red and Whites might have worked with TSC.

 

JEEZ LOUISE!  I literally just walked up to you!  Didn't fire at you, nothing!  And you give me FLAMETHROWERS!

 

 

I spend a moment activating Repulsion.  GUYS!  I'm not a threat!  I have still not laid a finger on you!

Repulsion is a doozy though!  Happy landings!

 

 

I'm forced to render them unconscious and then I move further in and link up with Jim.  He seems to be handling himself well too.

 

 

Ok, what do you have for me?  OOOH!  Well that's interesting.

 

 

Chill Pill?  Well the Red and Whites are recruiting more laid back individuals these days apparently.  Let's go and have a talk with them.  Who knows what level of stoner logic we're going to find.

 

 

Oh, they're also a gambler and likes horses.  Where?  Saratoga?  Belmont Park?  (Or is Narragansett Park still open in Paragon?)

They're laid back to the point of being unaware too!

 

 

Chill Pill is not impressed by us despite handing him his ass.  He doesn't want to be here.  No, he hasn't got a keycard for any secret stuff.  Maybe Agent X-Treme, the head honcho does.  Who can tell?

Clear as mud. C'mon, Jim.  Let's go hunting.

We run into a few more folks with similar responses [Not spoilering them, there's some funny ones!] and have to deal with some patrol type aggro.

 

 

Eventually we get a keycard, but not from an Agent X-Treme, and have a looksee at some data.

 

 

So far these Longbow are not the furious and dedicated maniacs I ran into back with the Meteors.  And I'm thankful for that! 

But it doesn't last and we finally meet Agent X.  Not X-Treme.  He seems capable and patient.  Which is fair I suppose from a veteran of the Praetorian War.

 

 

So we do a little trade and then Engineria and Jim "escape".  Job done.

Back to Montoya to catch up on things and debrief.

 

Montoya seems interested that a senior member like Agent X is "not on board with Longbow's latest lies".  Ok, I know why I have my issues with them, but...anyway.  Not the time or place.  Let's move forward.  There's intel to examine.  And crab cakes apparently. 

 

[Mission 2 = classic infiltration mission with some comedic elements.  Loved it. Plenty of gentle sarcasm from @cranebump in this one!]

 

Mission 3: Between the Idea and the Reality.  Hoo boy have the team got intel for me!  Toska-Schander have their fingers in lots of pies.  Two of them in particular in the local area. MCI Industries is the first.  TSC bought them, or at least their old premises, about a year ago and have been working on the place ever since as far as anyone knows. MCI are the moneymen behind the Solace Injunction buy outs.  So there's that. They're pretty much invested in getting Longbow off their spot at all costs. And Krimulo is wrapped up in that like a cat with a ball of yarn.

The other one is Barrier Tech.  You know, the ones who make a good chunk of the generators you see in bases these days.  (I remember looking at one of those!  I couldn't afford it!) So thanks to that a lot of their business is "classified".  

 

Time to pay them a visit and my team is in before me.  Ok, just once can I go in first?  Wait, what am I saying?  That's insane.  I could get killed!

 

 

In short order I meet with Kestrel and Viridesence.  

 

 

While I'm examining a wall panel Virdesence tells me that the CLOCKWORK KING is here!  Oh good.  I did a task force a while back for Synapse and met him then, and oh that was fun.  You can insert several layers of sarcasm into that last sentence.  Along with "why wasn't Mr. Speedy himself just zooming in and dealing with it at a speed where no one could even see him act?  Whatever.  Back to the present!  What's in here anyway?

 

Ah.  Microcels filled with Mandelbrot energy.  Oh great.  That means we're gonna meet more generated creatures.  What happened to good old cloning?  At least then you had pods and so on rather than enemies generated out of mid air. 

 

And then we find a terminal with weirdly corrupted data.  Ok, I say weirdly.  I'm not a programmer so I don't know how weirdly, or even if it is in code rather than actually corrupted.  But if it was entirely ciphered why would I be able to read part of it?  It says "Donner Project"  Nope.  Nada. Not a clue.  Montoya can poke at this later.

 

Oh good.  Safety protocols are off.  Generators are heading toward overload.  Sigh sigh sigh.  Oh, and comms are down.

It's been curiously quiet so far.  I don't like it.  Ok, I like it less when I'm being hit by things but this is ...odd.

Oh.

Well, maybe there's a reason for the quiet.

 

 

Of course as we move forward and pass several Test Generators, the quiet doesn't last.  If I didn't know about the Mandelbrots then being attacked by random punks would be strange.  (Honestly, I have no idea what passes for accepted normality in this city anymore)

 

 

The attacks are coming more frequently now and with more ferocity.

 

 

Kestrel takes a bad hit and has to port out.  Greene and I continue on but his power pack is hit and then he too ports away.  Can't blame them.

Although their timing is not the best. 

 

This fight is tough solo!  

 

 

But I disassemble him!  This Clockwork King body is trashed.  And mine is not far behind.  Armor is overheating and I'm reddlining my HP here.  Any inspirations left?

 

Ah!  Such a time for an ambush! Well s*&t.

 

 

Hang on Kestral and Viridesence.  Joining you for a minute.

I make a quick call before going back and pick up Buddy. Kestrel and Greene are still recovering.

And fortunately I did!

 

 

We clean up and then after freeing up the comms, examine some master access panel.  As we leave the rest of the Ravens arrive to clear up after us. Good luck with that!

 

Montoya is sucking air through his teeth like a flaky mechanic trying to get you to pay $500 for a new whatever when all you need is an oil change. (Although I'm looking at an EV these days.  I mean I can FLY, but you know, I don't do it to buy groceries.)

 

So the Barrier Tech folks might have been low grade sketchy but they didn't deserve to die.  Someone overloaded their power and let the Mandelbrot kill them.  Probably to cover tracks.  So something is missing from that place.

 

[Mission 3 = A lot of fun with this one.  Slow build and then a rapid ramp up.  Being attacked by numerous Posses was amusing!  Although one pack of them just stood around ignoring me, possibly comparing tattoos.  In solidarity I ignored them back.  Clockwork King?  Really?  Hooboy.  Anyway, on we go!]

 

Mission 4: Violent Souls.  So the Ravens' gave the Red & Whites an "anonymous" tip, which led to Barrier Tech being shut down and cordoned off. So that's dealt with at least for now.  Next on the agenda is Pack, Diversant & Hayes, a law firm.  Seems Pack is a money gal usually, corporate stuff, but still clean as far as Everett Daniels can tell.  The other two though?  Nothing on them.  Though Diversant has been seen with Krimulo before so...where there's smoke there's a pope?

Either way we're paying them a visit.  

As usual "we" = me. Well, Bengal will be VERY stealthily sneaking around ahead of me.

 

In I go.

And straight off the bat we have trouble. Someone has set off a viral worm thing that is eating the data records of the firm!  Gotta find the source and shut it down before there's nothing left.

 

 

I jink and dodge my way around security as best as I can with stealth/infiltration.  Have to crack a few heads here and there as I go and then I find Leola Pack herself.  She's got guards around here yet she seems unsettled by them.

 

 

Looks like she has good reason to be unsettled!

 

 

OOOF!  Rad Blast right to the chest!  That has gotta hurt!  (Remembering that I fought "Lord Richter" a while back, yes, yes it does hurt!)

 

 

Leola Pack comments that she's had enough, it was supposed to be a business deal.  Then she hands me her briefcase and informs me that she was never here and I didn't see her.  Ookay then.  Hmm, the briefcase has everything needed to take down Anwar Diversant.  Seems he's the go to guy for this gone to thing.

Still no sign of young Bengal though.

 

Further along in the office I find a thingy.  You know, a whatchamacallit. 

One of these.

Let's hope it stops the data wipe.

 

No sign of Diversant but I run into Amanda Hayes.  She's not a happy bunny. More like that Rabbit in Monty Python and The Holy Grail.

 

 

Well, no thanks.  I've gone this far with the Ravens so I'm taking it all the way thankyewverymuch.  A few Rads soften her up and she's soon screaming about emergency beacons and whatnot. All units to disengage and scatter?  That does not sound like lawyer-speak to this gal!  This Hayes seems like a ringer to me.

 

 

With Hayes dealt with I examine the desk here and find that Diversant has TP'd out.  No way to track them either as it has been shut down by Sturmwolke.  

Ok, gathering whatever I can of the remaining data I leave and head back for the debrief. Diversant is gone.  And so is young Bengal.  Hopefully he's kept under cover and hasn't been captured.

 

Montoya is a bit sweary.  I reckon the phrases "youth of today", "back in my day" and other, louder, less savory things are part of that package of invective that I tuned out of part way through until he stopped being angry and started examining the evidence.

The briefcase will be sifted.  When that's done he'll be in touch because we have to find Diversant and his errant nephew.

 

[Mission 4 = Oh!  Cliffhanger!  Good stuff.  Seemingly passive as we walk through the law offices but then catching them in mid whatever just ramped things.  Looking forward to the finale!]

 

Verdict. @cranebump just builds these slow burning things that suddenly flame up and grab you.  Excellent stuff.

 

Next up from @cranebump is Solace: Part 3.

And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Darmian's Three Sisters.

Edited Wednesday at 01:00 PM by TerroirNoir2

[Darmian]

This is a great image actually.

 

[cranebump]

Just thinking that @TerroirNoir2's assertion, I know what I mean, encapsulates my entire life mantra.:-)

 

(I love reading these writeups. TN is always dropping in these humorous pearls, one after another.)

[Ankylosaur]

On 8/4/2025 at 11:28 AM, TerroirNoir2 said:

Took me a while to get here but I did! 

 

 

And me awhile to realize it!

Great read-through with good laughs along the way. Loved to see the grand conclusion through Engineria's eyes. All those missions defeating Pantheon gods on the way to this paid off as you could compel them to a very small degree. That map for the summoning was a handy find - lots of spots for captives - like that Adamastor pic - and helps set the stage for a dramatic finale, and glad it felt like an epic fight!

That epilogue is "newish." I felt kind of like I needed to use the Vault of the Mu map in M5 for obvious reasons, but it just fell flat after the epic battle of mission 4. And then, it occurred to me I could do what I did in Glitters, an epilogue mission, which works for a 9 arc series. Sort of a "where are they now" mission that let's you get an in-world "feel" of the changes introduced, by you, through the story. 

 

I also originally had the gods you "rescued" in 1-3 escorted to the door - but escorts are never fun. This is also the arc where I started using the term "spirit guides" for these non combat escorts that guide you to an objective. M2 is big and multi-roomed, and M3 has a million forks, so the guides are there point you the right way in what amount to very simple missions to avoid the frustration of hunting for a single objective.

 

And i still wish I found a better character than Finn McCool for the Celtic earth and life aspects of a god there, especially after @Darmian's feedback, but never did. The name is funny though - so that is part of the reason it stayed 

As to the rest...

 

Spoiler

I always thought Arachnos should get shaken up more than it does. Vying for power and overthrowing leaders in the ranks feels like it's whole backstory, but Recluse's lieutenants are ever unchanging. Clearly, the devs felt that too with their plans for Scirocco, and this was my, different take on that. Mu Drukan won out over Vorkhan because there is a level 50ish mob for him. (You defeated Vorkhan way back in 1.3)

 
While Glitters focused on Praetorian tech, and usurped Aeon with Midas, in this, Scirocco and Ice Mistral are usurped by Mu'Drakan and Ksenia, The Stray. That's not the end of the shake ups there, but the end you will see in "All That..."

One big problem with both is they are mad-long, so not many have experienced them; the other is that I am not sure people like their worlds to change through MA. 🙂

I learned lessons there and All That Glints and All That Glows are much shorter at "only" 3 arcs each and focus more on the changes/power struggles among factions in the Council after the collapse of Striga. 

Can't wait to read Engineria's next adventure!
 

Edited August 16 by Ankylosaur

[TerroirNoir2]

I've adjusted my profile pic to be Engineria.  This is generated from an in game image of her.  I like it!

[Darmian]

Just now, TerroirNoir2 said:

I've adjusted my profile pic to be Engineria.  This is generated from an in game image of her.  I like it!

Very swish!

[TerroirNoir2]

@cranebump, based on my new avatar image I've made a few tweaks to Engineria's look.  Since you used her in "Potter's Field" I thought I'd give the adjustments to you.

 

Spoiler

Face 13

Executioner.  Color for this is 4 from the left on the bottom and then 6 up.  😄

 

Hair

Resistance 2. Color for this is 4 from the left on the bottom and then 7 up.

 

Detail 1

Earpiece. Top right white for both.

 

Detail 2

Cybertech 1.  Again, top right white for both.

 

[TerroirNoir2]

Arc 21 from our third author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Darmian's Three Sisters.

Well, how could I refuse someone with such a distinguished sounding name?  And there is mention of a large fee.  I do need to get this armor refitted after going toe to toe with a version of the Clockwork King after all.  Let's go see what this is all about.

How bad could it be?

 

Mission 1: Dies Irae. So I rock up at this Kings Tower Consolidated place.  And wouldn't you know it, it's just across the street from the Pawn Shop.  You know, the one where you can easily get stabbed when you're still a noob hero just nosing her way around Kings Row and suddenly find out that the Skulls are tougher than you think.

BUT

BUT...this place has a DOORMAN!  I mean in THIS neighborhood?  What?

So I'm directed to the elevator and it takes me straight up to the top and opens onto ...a restaurant?  Well, not in use.  Chairs stacked and sheets covering stuff.

Then Mr. John Spreadbury III meets me.  He's all old school charm and smells of Bay Rum. He looks like Anson Mount would play him in a TV show.  But with a mustache.

So the spiel is nice.  He's heard of me, my reputation and so on and his employers want to use my services.  

Then it comes.  He asks if I've heard of Cimerora.  Oh I have, I have.  (Grr slavery grr!) And if I take this job then that's where I'll be going.

 

So I agree and it looks like I'm off to see the wiz...Cimerora.  Except this is back in time but after Romulus has had his butt handed to him.  Ok, place should be a bit more peaceful then I suppose.

Then he tells me that death is not for me, not yet.  Which is why his employers, the Fureys, picked me.  Like they know?  I don't know that!  How do THEY know that?

Job is "simple".  Make sure a voyage takes place.  And avoid fellow contractors.  They may not like me being on the same job or something.

Sheesh, time travel is hard.  I mean the tenses!  Anyhoo, I'm transported back and I'm getting a guide, someone called Callimachus.

 

And there he is, with some unfriendlies.  

 

 

So one rescue later...

 

 

Wait what now?  Ok, I actually need to read Spreadbury's note.  Ah.  Collect the blood of cyclopes.  That's plural.  So i have to collect samples of blood(!) from three cyclopsesess.  Cyclopes.  Oh my day just gets better and better.  And what's this about a stone?  Oh you're gonna lead me to the stone.  Ok then.

So he leads me to a magically inscribed stone, warns me about the temple and then runs away!  You just can't get the help these days!  (Unless it's Buddy)

 

And there's one of them.  Did I offend someone really badly in a previous life?  AAAHH!

 

 

Welp, got lucky with that one!  Whew!  He hit the ground fast.  Fortunately not by falling on me.  The vial I have to collect his blood is 1/3 full.  So, two more to go.

 

Further along the cavern I meet the second brother.  And I'm being extra lucky today.  I rip his endurance away from him with Kinetics and blind him with a Rad Blast!

 

 

Down you go!  Excellent stuff.  The vial is 2/3 full now.  Ok, last guy is outside and up on the temple.  Let's go exploring!

And finally Steropes.  He's looking peculiar.  There's a purplish aura around him.  I sniper shot him and that angers him.

 

 

Jeez Louise!  He gawdamn TP'd me straight to him!

 

 

OW OW OW!

Ok, I drop his Endurance and then rapidly hit him with Atomic Blast and an Ion Judgement!  Then I kick him in the shins for a bit before getting the last 1/3 of the blood I need.  That could have gone REALLY badly.

Whew!

A portal opens and whisks me back to present day Kings Row.  Spreadbury is waiting and takes the vial from me, commenting on its faint glow. Now Alexis Furey will make a potion with it that I'll have to administer.  Oh, so I'm  (checks thesaurus) an apothecary now?  I'm to get some rest and he'll call me in the morning.

 

[Mission 1 = That was fun!  It's a mission I'm GLAD I had nowhere near /8.  Otherwise I'd have been swamped by Cimerorans and Talons just trying to GET to the cyclopes.  And to be fair, I did get lucky with them.]

 

Mission 2: Quos Deus vult perdere... Right.  Now I have to visit a cavern where people are preparing for a voyage and sneakily slip some of that potion into their drinks like some sort of magical roofie, oh and swap out a cursed amulet for a non-cursed one.  What could go wrong?

 

So I enter somehow disguised as a Midnighter and pass by Daedalus, who's doing inventory on stuff.  Like you do.

 

 

A bit further along I meet a familiar face!  It's Tullio!  Imperious's ...sigh...slave.  Fortunately he doesn't recognize ME. I didn't disturb Daedalus, honestly.

 

 

 

Hmm, he's leading me to Marcus.  But Marcus is where the stores are so that's a good thing, right?

Right.

You know, I dunno if I told Tullio my name before.  Maybe not.  Either way he's holding up his side of things.

 

 

Then I proceed to put potion in amphorae and swap out a medallion. Job done!  Got lucky again it seems!

Back to Kings Row for Engineria!

 

So I get back and Spreadbury gets the medallion from me and then asks me have I heard of Scylla and Charybdis.  If I say no do I get a cookie?  No? Well, the answer is still no. I pull up a chair and settle in.

 

[Mission 2 = Nice little mission!  Plenty of character in it, lots of scene setting objects and so on and it sets a tone.  Lovely.]

 

Mission 3: ...prius Dementat.  Right this is where it gets weird. Spreadbury starts telling me about sea monsters and then I start hearing voices and THEN Spreadbury stops and stares at me.  Like he's definitely noticed I'm losing my grip here. He says he needs to make a call.

Tapping of feet.  Waiting while he does. He's talking to the bosses. Something about the other client is interfering and needs to know its place.  So the sea monster chat can wait while this thing is dealt with.  Oh good. Why do I say that?  Because its the Banished Pantheon and I'm to go and give them a warning to back off.

Sigh.

 

Oh. Oh. That's not right.  That's just not right at all.  

 

So I wander into this horrible cave and after blasting a few Banished Pantheon out of the way I reach a cavern at the end where I find an "Ancient of Death". He's not very friendly and hits me with some dark energy.  Mot might be patient my friend but I'm not!  I proceed to Rad Blast him to his god and hope he gets a warm welcome when he has to explain he failed.

 

 

And then I get a surprise.  Dream Doctor appears!  

 

 

What evil?  OH!  THAT evil.  There's a Ravager behind us!  Not good!

(Also, what the hell is Dream Doctor doing here?  Maybe Spreadbury knows.)

But in the meantime Engineria and DD tackle the Ravager and send it to HELL!  Booya!

 

 

Following that I erase an inscription from a focus stone and then...then I'm returned to Kings Row.  So let's see what Anson Mount has to say for himself.

When I get back Spreadbury is on the phone to someone. When I tell him what happened he says that the BP probably haven't learned their lesson or heeded the warning. And it was only a warning.  If they'd wanted something more serious they wouldn't have sent me.  Way to go in boosting a girl's confidence!

As for Dream Doctor?  Seems he does his own thing and crossing through our mission is intriguing.  But for now, time to rest.

 

[Mission 3 = Creepy but interesting.  Not sure exactly what is going on there but I liked it.  I think I'll have to replay the entire Marcus Valerius arc to see how this all fits together because it feels like it slides in.]

 

Mission 4: Ubi Solitudinem faciunt... Well, in the morning Engineria goes to meet Mr. John Spreadbury III.  And things are different today.

 

 

So I'm to visit the Midnight Mansion (by way of Cap Au Diable) and find out what Dream Doctor was doing because the Fureys don't believe in coincidence.  somehow Dream Doctor's presence signifies an interest in the Fureys' particular goals. I'm handed a gem that will glow in the presence of anything Dream Doctor has touched.

 

So in I go.

 

(The pop up on entry is ominous. Besides mentioning that Ashley McKnight is missing and the stench of the Banished Pantheon is noticeable, there's a warning that a team might be useful!)

 

And there's the BP and they're feisty today.  Are they hunting Dream Doctor like they were before or are they here for another reason?

 

 

The gem leads me to a display case. This display case contains something called the Scepter of Mot!  Well that doesn't sound good!  Damn.  Ok, now where will the gem lead me?

A Cimeroran tablet it appears.

 

 

Ahh. I'm an idiot!  

 

Spoiler

 

The Furies?  The Fureys?  Damn but I'm slow.

 

Oh this thing beside the tablet works!  I craft myself an Endurance Reduction Buff.  That should be useful against the BP.  Hopefully. On we go.

Next up is an ancient chest.  But there's an Ancient of Frost in my way.  Have to deal with them first.

 

 

Airlia?  Oh, that can't be a good thing.  An eternal nemesis?  Fame at last!  Although being on the BP's hit list isn't a fame I'd have chosen.

I drop her and move to examine the chest.  It turns out to be the chest that I saw just yesterday, relatively, that I changed a medallion in.  Time flies!

 

But now I've attracted the attention of Dream Doctor himself.

He seems, what's the word, irate?  Irate.  We'll go with that.

 

 

He's tough!  Of course he is.  I'd hardly expect him not to be considering what he usually deals with  And then he gets mysterious. (Gets?) He's called for back up!  

 

 

Oh!  Back up!  ARGH!  What in the blue hell? When you fight a person capable of time travel you have to be aware that this sort of situation could arise.  Well, YOU have to be.  I wasn't!

 

 

Oh!  I'm momentarily confused!  Pop a Break Free!  Whew!  And ....oh hell, every one of them has summoned a Dark Servant!  So that's doubled their numbers and...damn that staff is painful! Powers, Dark Servants with their powers and...right, Repulsion is going on before I get murdered!

 

 

I run away!  I don't even have time to pause and call Buddy!  Not to mention I still have an amphora to check on!  Run run run!  Oh, the main meeting room!  It's here. Got it!  Whew.

 

They've followed me!  Jeez Louise!  (I can see why the pop up said a team might be helpful)

 

 

Ok, the working plan is still running away.  And ah one and ah two and ah ...jump on the table, hop over their heads (briefly get stunned and stagger around like a weird showgirl before popping another Break Free) and run for the reception area.

 

The Dream Doctors are still following me!  Ah!  I jump over the stairs and flee for the door to Cap Au Diable!

 

 

By the time I eventually get back to Kings Row, Spreadbury seems almost amused(!) at Dream Doctor's antics.  He says the man seems very determined but that he probably has to be considering what lies in store for him.

Clear as mud.

We're almost done though apparently.  Just one thing left for me to do for the Fureys. I have to return to Cimerora and rescue one person.

Oh is that all?

(Falls over)

 

[Mission 4 = That was insane!  Incredibly good fun but insane.  What on earth would that be like on 4/8?  Frankly I both want to know and don't want to know at the same time.]

 

Mission 5: ...pacem appellant. The person I have to rescue is Sister Airlia. Spreadbury says she's need but won't tell me why, other than Stefan Richter cannot be allowed to have her.  Right.  So am I going to run into time traveling Arachnos?  Wouldn't be the first time.

 

I am sent back to a cavern complex and make my way inside.

There's 5th Column markings here.  Oh good.  

And would you look at that?  It's going to be another of those days I think.

 

Oh hell, they're all over the place!  Time to stick on the Infiltration and sneak around!

 

 

Sneaking further into the caves I move around a pillar and see a 5th Column survivor, one of the vampire types.  He's raving about some woman.  That's probably Sister Airlia.

 

 

I give him a Rad Blast!  And I can see Airlia from here!  Oh, soon be done.  I've jinxed myself haven't I?

 

 

With the vampire and his minions blasted and dealt with I free Sister Airlia.  With her free I am to set off several explosives and collapse the cave behind us as we escape to the future.

 

 

And with that done I reappear in ...no, I'm in the Hotel Geneva in Atlas Park, not the KTC in Kings Row.  No sign of Airlia either.  

The concierge comes over and hands me a letter from Spreadbury.  He apologizes for the detour but our business is now done. And if I check my bank account I have triple the original fee!

 

Job done!

 

[Mission 5 = Sort of an epilog, sort of a coda.  It makes you wonder what else is going one with the Fureys and their plots!  Loads of fun.]

 

Verdict. This is one of @Darmian's more intricate arcs...I think!  I definitely recommend it to all!

 

And that is all from @Darmian (at least for now!)  So to add to the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-Offs the next arc in this slot will be @ZamuelNow's Dhahabu Kingdom and the Indelible Curse of Hate.

 

And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glints 1: Let Go of My Ego

 

Edited Monday at 10:03 PM by TerroirNoir2

[Darmian]

21 hours ago, TerroirNoir2 said:

Oh!  I'm momentarily confused!  Pop a Break Free!  Whew!  And ....oh hell, every one of them has summoned a Dark Servant!  So that's doubled their numbers and...damn that staff is painful! Powers, Dark Servants with their powers and...right, Repulsion is going on before I get murdered!

ROFL.  And yes, it CAN get insane at 4/8.

 

[TerroirNoir2]

Arc 22 from our first author on "TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE" Reviews is @Ankylosaur's All That Glints 1: Let Go of My Ego.

 

After all the shenanigans concerning Cimerora, I kinda need a rest.  So I decide to just stay home and repair my armor, buff a few things and get used to my adjusted look.  I'm liking it.  And then I get a vision. A woman appears in front of me.  Some sort of projection!

 

Mission 1: A Meeting of the Minds.  The woman is Katie Douglas, late of Praetoria.  I met her once on the Refugee Island when I did some work for Marchand back when he was setting up his New Praetorians.  Just a brief hello though.  Wonder what she wants.  Oh, Seamus of the Midnight Squad mentioned to her I'd seen silver clockwork in Cap Au Diable.  Oh, that was ages ago!  I think.  The time travel has really screwed up my sense of time.  Anyway, she wants me to help put a stop to them as they're native to Praetoria and are no doubt causing trouble.

Sigh.  Ok, yes.  Gimme half an hour.  I need to freshen up.

It's at times like these I'm glad I invested in more than one suit of armor.  I leave Buddy a message telling him I might need him.  

 

Right, we're off to Steel Canyon to examine a captive one of these things and hopefully we can triangulate (SEE?  I used the big word) in on who is controlling them. Apparently we're seeing a Dr. Frost and we're to ignore if the scientists are ...green and glowing?  Ok then.

 

Well isn't that the best news to receive right at the start?

 

 

Ok, Katie is trapped somewhere here on the streets since she didn't make it to the lab.  Time for a quick scout around/fly by to find her.

AHA!

 

 

I Rad Blast the Tesla Knights and free Katie.  She's a bit shaken though and asks me did I just feel a wave of hate flood the area.  Ah, not the psychic.  That's you.  So that's a no from me.  I did see a lot of fighting in the distance from various groups though.

 

 

Gotta admit, the regular public is looking a bit weird right now.  And no sooner have I said that than a group of office workers attack us!  We subdue them fast but when taking them down they're leaving behind psychic residue, Fractured Spirits! Oh, we're in for a regular Praetorian haunting maybe!

 

 

Nevertheless we continue on. At this point I'm regretting using Speed Boost on Katie because she runs off in a blur to tackle more pedestrians who appear possessed, and has rendered them unconscious by the time I catch up to her.  At least the way to the S.E.R.A.P.H. building is clear now.

You know, every time Ii come by this location when I'm NOT on a mission it appears to be a bank.  Very strange.

 

 

So we pop inside, pass some Longbow (I'm still suspicious of them due to the whole Darkwater thing recently) and go to see Dr. Frost.

Ok Katie, I can see that the doctor is in a smidge of trouble right now so let's help her! She can tell us what she knows after the rescue.

 

 

And down they go.  Between my Rad Blasts and Kinetics and Katie's psychic abilities we soon clear a space around Dr. Frost.

A ship you say.  Right, let's go find that computer.  Come on!

 

 

On the way to the computer we get jumped on by a Tesla Prince and...I thought we were to ignore these scientists?  They're certainly not ignoring me!  Right, boom!  And down you go.  And stay down.  At least the green isn't some sort of ichor.

 

I take a knee for a moment to recharge me Endurance before turning to the computer.  I'd rather not be ambushed when at half strength.  Let's see now.  Coordinates, coordinates, coordinates.

 

 

Ah, there we go.  Striga. Or rather a ship bound for Striga.  Whatever is on that ship seems to be masking psychic activity in some way. At least that's how I'm reading it.

 

What do you think Katie?

She says it reminds her of First Ward.  That can't be good. Whatever is doing this has a lot of power and needs to be dealt with. So that's gonna be me then I reckon. 

 

[Mission 1 = Lovely little introduction. Nice to see Katie again and I've always loved that particular map. Interesting use of the very old Clockwork from pre Going Rogue too.  On to the next mission!]

 

Mission 2: Mental Baggage. Ok, I'm hitching a ride with my old pal Hornet.  He's gonna drop me at the ship on his way back to the Isles.  There's a little catch to the thing though. Seems the Verandi Mooks own that ship and they're known for ferrying Praetorian Tech for Langston.  But they also ferry psychics.  That's our bag.  Except Hornet wants me to plant some explosives on the ship and take it out.  Ok, fair exchange is no robbery as the old saying goes.  Let's get to it.

 

 

And in we go.

 

I'm gonna stealth most of this one.  Examine a few things, question a few thugs, plant the bombs and get the hell outta Dodge.  Plan?  Plan.

And that's the first explosive set.  Now to hunt for more.

 

 

Katie is riding along in my mind and peeking out through my eyes throughout this entire thing.  Which gives you an existential sort of itch.  Not ssure how to describe it really.  I know she's "looking out for me" but I can't say as I like it.

And I run into a Mindstorm psychic.  They seem kinda out of it. Still Dangerous though.  Very much so.

 

 

But I Rad Blast her to the deck and move on, still searching for explosives to plant. That Mindstorm was raving about new friends.  Knights and Dukes and Princes.  I reckon that's the Clockwork we're all het up about.  

 

Stowaway?  Nah, stowaways intend on staying.  I'm outta here soonish, my friend.  As soon as I give you a beating that is.

Sal doesn't seem the sharpest knife in the drawer.

 

 

Sal had a Ship's Manifest on him. This is the third ship headed for Port Noble that has been carrying Praetorian augmented weapons, Warworks tech, curium (whatever that might be) and Clockwork parts. Nice little business you have going on here, Sal.  Or had.  Although that means there's two ships full of this stuff already in Port Noble discharging their cargo.  Can't be good.

 

I set the rest of the explosives and make my way topside, jump into my dinghy and once I'm far enough away I detonate the explosives.  Down she goes.

Time to talk to Katie.

Mentally.  With her riding shotgun in my head I don't suppose I need a phone or to go back to her.  I wonder how far her psychic range is anyway?

 

 

Katie is agitated to say the least.  She's calling the psychics onboard a First Ward reunion of the Awakened.  All of Mayhem's discards hell bent on who knows what. Not to mention they are buddied up with the dregs of Calvin Scott's gang plus the UPA!

Badness ahead she says.

I kinda expected that.  It goes with the territory.  Ok, what's next, Katie?

 

[Mission 2 = Nice little cross-reference here to earlier @Ankylosaur arcs involving Hornet and Langston.  This interconnectedness helps to build a fuller world.  Good stuff!]

 

Mission 3: Any Port in a Psychic Storm.  Katie fills me in on some details that I'm already aware of, namely the fall of Calvin Scott and his Council allies. I had a small part to play in that but getting the blanks filled in helps. So far so good. Or bad.  Anyway, what we're interested in is the Primal clockwork parts and this Curium.  Which is radioactive.  I should be fine then.  Or at least have some sort of tolerance for it higher than anyone else that might be going to investigate this.  We will see.  There's a thing called LD or Lethal Dose, and while I might have a higher resistance it doesn't mean I'm beyond that threshhold.

 

So now I'm powering up the outboard on this dinghy and heading to Striga, Port Noble in particular.

 

 

I stealthed my way through the last encounter onboard the ship so I think I'll do the same here.  It's far too open and full of marching Council and so on for me to go in all Rads blazing.  Hmm, wonder who that new person they're talking about is?

 

 

Moving through the base I overhear troops talking about ConDev supplying them with weapons and more.  I'll assume Hornet and Co are looking into that. [Or maybe I did in another timeline!]

 

OH SWEET POTATOES!

I'm very very thankful for Infiltration/Stealth right now!  I think I'll, you know, circle around behind that thing and not attract its attention.  The plan is a good plan.  Stick to the good plan, Engineria.  The bad plan will get you killed.  I hope you're seeing all this, Katie! 

I wonder.  If I get badly injured and have to mediport out is there a backlash to Katie?  Hey, you in there!  Be aware that that might be a thing!

No answer.

A Tesla Paladin.  Sheesh.

 

 

I...I'm not sure what's going on here.  Maybe that Council soldier summoned them to join him on the roof?

 

 

And I take out a cargo of Praetorian weapons.  Let's not give these guys any more that they can use against us.  One down, three to go.  Time for a little fly by I reckon.  

 

 

HAH!  Evidence!  Well, not evidence as such but hopefully it will lead to evidence as such.  I really need some form of dictaphone in my headset so I can review all my notes...I suppose I could just install a body cam.  Yeah, those are common enough. 

 

 

So I dispose of the rest of the cargoes and head back to the truck and then on to my dinghy.  Time for a little internal tete a tete with Katie I think. I mean she should know all this from being "here" with me I suppose.  Nope.  It's getting confusing now.  I'll just find somewhere quiet to pull in and talk out loud to her.  Let passing fish think I'm a crazy woman chatting to herself if they want.

 

She's already got it mapped out for us.  I mean me.  Since I'm doing the leg work here.  

 

 

Ok, next thing to do is...row back?  Oh, get back to that truck and make a "delivery".  Well, you could have said that BEFORE I travelled a mile offshore in an inflatable dinghy!  Sigh.

 

[Mission 3 = @Ankylosaur likes to build the world and fill in the gaps and this is beefing up the background to the plot nicely.  Let's see where Mission 4 takes us once we go on a delivery run!]

 

Mission 4: The Treatment is Worse than the Curium.  Katie is pondering.  The Awakened, cos Katie knows this from personal experience with them, are fractious and almost uncontrollable by themselves. She reckons there's a mind behind all this, a powerful one.  Well, Mayhem is dead as far as I know.  At least I hope she is.  Penny Mayhem maybe?  Maybe?  I hope not.  But we're stopping the truck and making a "delivery" to find out what exactly is going on.  Or as near as dammit.

 

Hmm, once we..I...we...Katie's still riding along mentally...get inside we can see that the Council are low in numbers here. Maybe they've not recruited fully after the whole defeat of Calvin Scott fiasco.  Maybe. 

Those that are here though are pretty intent on their work.

 

 

ACK!

I forgot to put Infiltration back on!  And this Archon spotted me.  Him and his two Clockwork friends.  Nothing for it but to Rad Blast him and hope the other Tesla Knights puffing smoke on the stairs don't come up here and spot me.

 

 

Just the beginnings of your army?  Confident, aintcha?  Ok Katie, let's ...put on Infiltration...and have a snoop around.  It'll be better this time I'm sure.

So I move silently through the factory and make my way to a rear elevator.  That leads down to a series of tunnels where after wandering for a while and dodging some patrols I come across a set of steps that lead up to...Splice.

She's been held by this lot of crazies.  Well, time to free her and see what she has to say for herself.

 

 

I dash up the steps and Irradiate all around me (sorry Splice but I reckon your equipment can take the hit).

 

 

Using Kinetics I rip energy and health from her captors and subdue them in short order, although I had to pop a Break Free when their psychic powers stunned me into staggering a bit.  Always have a Break Free or similar to hand, fellow adventurers!

So, Splice.  What's the skinny?

 

 

Tracking down a friend?  Care to be a bit more specific?  Apparently not.  Oh, but she's tagging along.  Still hunting for that friend I see.  Ok, less stealth then because she'll draw fire but two is now better than one, so on we go.  

More tunnels.

Lots of Praetorian tech.  Boxes of Clockwork parts. ConDev stuff.  Pretty much what I expected.

 

Now, I did NOT expect that.  Well, this is gonna need a fast and deadly strike because if that Subjugator manages to consume any of its allies psychic powers we are gonna be in a whole world of hurt.  A whole world of it.

 

 

Booya!  Sometimes you get lucky!  And she is down and we are not toast!  

 

 

Although this wasn't who Splice was even looking for.  She takes off into the tunnels on her hunt while I dispose of a robot, a Tessla Mech Man,  and then it's time to have a chat inside my own head with Katie again.

Honestly this is getting a bit weird.

Katie is adamant that a Subjugator would have the mental ability to power these Clockwork, kinda like the Clockwork King himself does with the Primal ones I suppose.  Now with the Council they're building radioactive ones?  

As for Splice?  Katie doesn't buy the "looking for a friend" story.  She thinks there's more to that. 

 

[Mission 4 = More exposition in that classic "show don't tell" mode that @Ankylosaur loves to do.  Just picking up background stuff and tidbits that fill in the world.  Very nice.]

 

Mission 5: A Clear Mind.  So here's the thing.  I'm currently listening to Katie have a chat with herself INSIDE MY HEAD.  Who the hell knows what it looks like from the outside.  I'm not going near a mirror to check either.  Katie is worried about possession.  But I, me, that is Engineria, isn't possessed because Katie would know.  (Are you sort of possessing me now? I mean you're not controlling me or anything but...no no, forget I said anything.)

So that first wave of hate we felt back in Steel Canyon was different because?  Ah, because all the possessed scientists (the ones I was to ignore, yeah, go on) were Praetorian.

How does that make a difference?  Are they on a different wavelength to Primals?  It's gonna make future integration difficult.  Although there's a really nice Nova Praetoria Café opened up in Brickstown these days.  No, I AM listening.  How can I not be listening?  You're literally in my head.

She thinks some of the UPA may be affected more than the other Council allies.  Time to have a look.

Back in the boat then and off to the Port Noble base.

 

Ok, we're sneaking along when Katie stops us/me.

She's sensing another powerful mind here.  Aurora Pena!

Anyway, if we run into her we inform her we're on the same side.  In the meantime we have to see if any of the UPA are tainted.

 

Whatever is going on here it's affecting everyone in some way.  Some Skyraiders, no doubt raiding the equipment the Council are bringing in (I seldom cheer the Skyraiders, but go team!) are having a fight with some Fractured Spirits.  And winning!

 

 

Skirting by the Tesla Paladin (NOT going near that thing!) we see a UPA Specialist.  And yes, he's got a stranger in his head.  One that takes an almost instant dislike to me!

 

 

But I manage to wear it down and take it out, along with its mindless assistant.  Nasty.

No time to rest though because there's another further along.  You know, it looks like he's waiting for me.  Or waiting for SOMEONE.  Maybe Aurora since I haven't seen her yet.  

 

 

Oh that did not go well.  You ok in there Katie?  Because to me the inside of my head feels like sponge right now.  You know that feeling when your foot goes to sleep and you try to walk on it?  Yeah, my HEAD feels like that.  And that can't be good.  I may need to get a medical after this.  Or at the least some sort of insurance. 

 

 

How exactly DOES the mediporter work anyway?  When does all that trauma inflicted on you finally catch up like a sleep crash after staying awake for several days?

 

OW.

 

 

So I port back and deal with my temporary nemesis.  Fortunately I had done THEM enough damage that Round 2 was relatively easy.  I should hope so.

Ok, time to take to the air and have a scout around.

Found you!  And I'm staying up here thank you very much.  A long distance Rad Blast should settle our accounts.

 

 

And it does.  Still no sign of Aurora Pena though.  That's worrying.  Time for more scouting.  There's lots of places for her to be on this base though.

Wait, down at the docks!  There she is.  And she's been captured.

Time for Engineria to "Save the Day"!

 

 

Once freed Aurora is happy that me and Katie found her.  Oh, so she can sense Katie riding along with me?  Interesting.  Now we need to get out of here and she'll explain better.

 

The getting out is tricky.  We have to get back to the truck except Aurora can't fly and I can't carry her.  So we're swimming.  Why are we swimming?  Well, I for one am not getting in a fight with a Tesla Paladin.  Even with help.  So we're swimming.  It's the long way around but it works.

And eventually we climb up a hill at the side of the base and make for the truck.

 

 

Katie is done though.  She hands me over to Aurora to continue this investigation.  Too much mental baggage it seems.  She sounds drained completely, and it was ME doing all the work!

This is bigger than that though.  Further investigation needed.

 

[Mission 5 = Ok, excellent stuff.  Good intro of the next contact and now we're getting into the meat of the mystery.  Looking forward to the next arc.]

 

Verdict.  @Ankylosaur builds the world very well.  We're deep in the heart of the Ankyverse now and heading deeper.  Or at right angles to it, sort of filling out the map.  Great stuff.

 

 

Next up from @Ankylosaur is All That Glints 2: Beware the Ids That March.

And next up on the schedule in TerroirNoir's Cable Channel of AE Reviews is @cranebump's Solace: Part 3.

Edited Tuesday at 11:24 PM by TerroirNoir2

[TerroirNoir2]

Just spotted you @sponazgul.  Thanks for the thumbs up.  I plan on including Allegedly, Your Death as part of the Interludes, Side Trips, and One-Offs series.

[sponazgul]

You are too kind! Thank you. Not to press my luck, but I hope at some point you try out The Return of Despoticus,  my latest story arc (no pressure, you have a lot of things to do.)

 

Best regards!