Under The Lake (Deepwater)

"I will not say it, I will not say it," I murmured softly. "Okay, let me guess we have to defeat some more enemies to get the shrine relics."

"Yes, the Strangler Goblins have Mercy's Sword, and the Stag Chargers have Mercy's Shield," said the Lady. I shook my head sadly. Oh well... at least this wouldn't be too hard to do.

"Are there any more shrines we must restore?" asked Grace.

"There is one more, but it is harder to reach," said the Lady. "Once you have recovered the relics and restored the shrine, I will aid you in reaching the last."

"Okay," said Christina, smiling wickedly. "Guess we have to beat up some more deers and goblins." I was glad she got over her breakdown. We need her power to defeat these foes.

More of the same. (Everyone took two goblin fights to get the Sword and Grace and Sierra got the Shield in one fight - Christina needed to solo a second to get the Shield.)

 Christina did her voodoo and replaced the Sword and Shield into the shrine. We meditated before it...

And something rose up.

"What is that?" I asked.

"It's a cave that leads underwater," said Christina.

We found ourselves in the lake itself and the Lady was waiting for us.

"We will defeat the Pendragon and make him pay," I said.

"He would kill you without the Sword of Kings," scolded the Lady. "You are still not worthy. You must find the final shrine. It is deep below Castle Avalon... but the only way to it from the surface is through the Castle itself, and the Pendragon will most certainly spot you if you try to go through that way. We must sneak you in from below. This teleporter arch will take you safely to the catacombs, but it is broken and the Pendragon's four more foulest servants have spirited away the pieces."

"Looks like we're on a boss hunt," said Christina. "Let's do this."

Ethan Jadeshade smiled. He joined our ranks recently and it was nice to have a dedicated healer. (Took a while but the last of the foursome, my Theurgist, has reached this point! Hooray! ^_^ And it's going to be a ***** to run four games at once with my computer speed.)

(The Drowned Knight is Death and is accompanied by Water Spirits, which are Storm - Christina took a lot of damage)

As we defeated each enemy, I spoke to my friends. "I have a feeling that the Lady of the Lake is hiding information from us," I said. "I was examining those tapestries we got and some of them point to things that might reveal the fate of King Artorius." (You have to defeat a boss, talk to the Lady to open the lair of the next boss, and so forth until all four are defeated. I waited until Ethan joined us before completing this part - his Gnomes spell was vital .)

(Kerr Knucklebones, gracefully, is Ice and not Storm like her fellow Loch Spriggans she fights by.)

"I certainly agree," said Ethan. "But then again, I'm sure she had her reasons."

(The Bog Witch is Storm and has Ice Eels as pets, Grace finished them all off with Mass Storm Prism + buffed Tempest)

 "She did, Mma," said Grace. "First, she had been locked up. Second, she probably feared a great panic if the truth was known. I am sure she will tell us when the time is right."

(Finally, Tarn the Drowned Giant is Myth [duh!] and has more Loch Spriggans, so you'll need a Prism if you Frog.)

"Let's do this," I said as we finished off the final foe and got the last piece of the arch.

 

Christina did her magic and fixed up the arch, and it flared into life. (Not before Sierra got a cry from Valdus, who was being violated by Ketil Blackheart in Sudrilund. ARGH!!!! And he would have soloed it - his Fire Dragon easily had gotten them out! I know it's poor manners for a future WizMerc to put someone on Ignore but for Pete's Sake!) We swam in and walked out into a giant underground labyrinth. Catacombs was indeed the right name for it!

"Watch yer step," said Christina. "Goblins underfoot."

The Lady sighed. "I wish I could have welcomed you to Avalon in better times, but we do as we must." She shook her head sadly.

"It's okay," I said. "We can manage."

"One of them must have the key to the tomb of King Artorious, which is where the final Shrine is," said the Lady. "Beat them down and..."

"We get it," I said. "No disrespect but we're used to this by now." I giggled.

 

(Luckily, the Deep Dark Goblins are Storm so one buff Frog can take them out easily. Sorry for the GUI again but I keep forgetting to hide it when I take shots sometimes. :( Also, Christina needed another battle so Ethan helped her out as Forest Lord takes these guys easily, although Christina didn't need it - she got in a Critical Ra. ^_^)

 "Thank you," I said, bowing to her. "So the final virtue shrine is inside that door, right?"

"Exactly," said the Lady.

You know what, I don't care anymore. As long as they don't force US to say the full name, I'm fine.

"Let's go!" said Christina. "Just one more prayer to make and we'll be..." She ran in and screamed. "NO WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!"

We hurried after her...

I was greeted with a horrible sight. The Shrine to Justice had not only be destroyed, but utterly defiled. There was no way in the Spiral it could be reconstructed, at least not without years of labor.

Was this...

(I do not own this picture, and no, this isn't Game Over. :p)