"This venture will definitely go a long way toward answering those questions and getting him back."Merlin touched various points on the map."I think any of these three locations is the likeliest."
Dred snorted."A graveyard, a cursed swamp, and a forgotten temple.Yeah, those track.Please don't suggest we split up."
"Hell no," Merlin said."We'll start with the temple, as it seems the least likely, honestly, and will narrow the search from there.Hopefully one of these three works out, because otherwise we'll have to start all over, and that's going to get exhausting fast.Lance, you keep an eye on when we're no longer able to exit as we please."
"Affirm."
They mounted their patiently waiting horses and rode off.Lancelot kept the map up in one corner for just himself and quietly pinged his commands every twenty minutes or so, testing minor things like the sensory sims, since those tended to fail alongside the ability to leave the game.
Perhaps an hour or so later, because seriously the map in this game was ridiculous, they reached the 'forgotten' temple.It had an Aztec vibe to it, though didn't seem like it was trying to be authentic in any way."If this is the home of cannibals or something, I'm going to roll my eyes so hard the game thinks I need to be kicked out for health problems."
Dred snorted."Says the knight with a katana."
"Oh, shut up.I'd fix it if I could, but it seems stuck in this form.Why hasn'tyoursword changed?"
"Don't ask me," Dred said with a shrug."Maybe it's something to do with you being the first.It had to reach you, and surrendered some measure of control in order to be able to do that."
"More or less," Merlin replied."Yours is the only sword that didn't have to be found or fought for.It was ready and waiting for you, but that means surrendering other things in balance.So its form in this life was randomized.Just window dressing, though.It's exactly the same in every way that matters."
"At least it didn't turn into a gun or something, I suppose."Lancelot dismounted and led the way through what was left of an entrance onto the temple grounds proper.Stone, moss, weird statues, small pools of water, beams of sunlight breaking through a heavy canopy… It was all there: check, check and check."Doesn't feel creepy enough."
Merlin laughed."I was going to say seems too calm, but that works too.Spread out and give it a sweep to be thorough, but yeah, I think we can check the temple off."
"Still able to leave if I wanted," Lancelot added for good measure.He took the lower entrance to the temple, leaving one of the others to climb the five million stairs to the top.A quick sweep only revealed bones, more bones, mysterious chests and urns, and a small pool of something that definitely wasn't water."Can't wait to see what the missions here entail."
Dred snorted."If down there is anything like up here, I think you're right about the cannibals."
Merlin added, "All the bones around the temple seem to confirm that.How utterly cliché."
"Not like the rest of the game is an ode to originality."Lancelot stopped just as Dred landed on the ground mere steps ahead of him, leaving a small indent from the impact."Did you take fall damage from that?"
"Only a little bit.It'll regenerate without issue.Another good tell we're in the wrong place.What's next, wild man?"
Merlin pulled up the map and lit up a spot."The swamp is the next closest.That would be Morgan's choice.She always loved the creepy, child-eating bog witch aesthetic."
"Nevermind she'd sooner kill herself than so much as scratch a child," Lancelot replied.
Grinning as he swung back up into the saddle, Merlin led them away from the temple and back to the road, headed northwest toward the Swamp of Lost Memories.What a name."Wait, what was the temple called?I forgot to look."
"Temple of the Blood Moon."
"Wow.Creative."
Merlin and Dred laughed.
Another forty minutes of travel later, they arrived at the Swamp of Lost Memories on the heels of a storm."Is the storm set or a randomization?"Dred asked.
"Random," Merlin replied."Am I the only one who read all the notes and datamined information?"
"Yes," Dred and Lancelot said together.
Merlin rolled his eyes.
As they reached the edge of the swamp, Lancelot dismounted, secured his horse in a safe location, and then trawled his inventory for a suitable get up.He wasnottromping through a swamp in full plate.He was reckless, not stupid.
Dressed in gear that had more of a 20thcentury look than 15thcentury, he jumped into the water where it seemed to be not more than waist deep and headed off, Merlin and Dred in line right behind him, Dred holding a lantern to ward off the worst of the dark, and Merlin at the ready with his magic.
Only minutes in, though, he could sense that this wasn't the place they were looking for."I don't think they're going to be here."
