We
do still have that Amulet...
'Then pray, speak aloud the seventeenth rite of poisoning one's enemies,' commands one of the elves. You did not even know of the existence of such a rite, of course. The Elves realize this only too well. They order you killed. The pike points scythe down at you, but you dodge nimbly only to feel the hand of one of the sorceresses at your shoulder. Her hand seems to sprout rods of iron that embed themselves in you, and then she has levitated your body off the floor so that you cannot knock her over. You struggle, but the pikes batter you until she lets you fall to the floor, a bloodied pulp. Your end has come in the eternal darkness, far from home.
... but it never comes up.
Now, I agree with your reasoning; Nullaq makes the most sense. We know she's a legit evil god, we may have witnessed some of her rites, and we are carrying not just a worshiper's, but a priest's soul-searing token. This would be a great place for a call-back to book 4 and a reward for having played it. Instead, the only choice here that doesn't result in insta-death is Zarahrayal, a goddess the player has
never previously heard of.
The Elves begin to mock you. 'A slave to the Temptress, eh? You will not find her ear here, nor any other part of her, come to that.' The Orcs snigger unpleasantly. 'Begone! Slink back to the fourth tier where you belong.' The sorceress points to the gallery, and you waste no time doing as she says. Soon you have left the Sacred Vault behind.
For several hours you follow the circuitous twistings of the tunnels that lead down, towards they third tier somewhere below. Your nerves are strained taut like hot wires lancing into your brain. The constant sense of peril is not lessened by the hours spent with no danger in sight; rather, dread only increases, as it becomes easy to imagine you walk a path designed to carry you to your doom. If the walls themselves were shifting on you, you could never tell.
You strike upon larger halls, perhaps the very lowest inhabited parts of the second tier. Approaching footsteps startle you out of your thoughts.
(Foxglove is not with you.)
(You were not spotted crossing the Sacred Vault on the second tier.)
Technically we totally were spotted, but that prompt only triggers if you were specifically told to note that you were spotted, which only happens if you run.
There are no sounds of pursuit as you continue searching for the paths that lead ever deeper into the ground, but the sensation of being watched grows until your hair prickles with apprehension.
Soon you have left the second tier far above. For several hours you continue to descend without being challenged. The only thing of note which you pass on the way is the scene of a battle. Three Dark Elves and as many Orcs lie dead on a stone landing. One was killed while running away, but they seem to have been fighting on the same side.
A scroll has been discarded nearby, its magic spent, but to your surprise you recognize it as a scroll that carries the blessings of Gauss, Enchanter of Arms, patron of sages, who took up the sword and fought on the side of good when the Pantheon descended to Orb itself to do battle, many thousands of years ago. There are no other clues as to who joined battle against your enemies the Dark Elves and the Orcs, but there is a vile and noisome gas lingering in the hallway which almost makes you vomit. Judging by the arc in which the bodies fell, they were attacked from a side passage.
• Take the side passage?
• Continue down the seemingly never-ending stairway?
