Daytime in the village and a peddler, Madeleine, would like us to escort her to the Encampment. She’s in a tavern-wench dress, bosom popping out the top, and has an oily, flattering manner. She seems completely untrustworthy, but a quest is a quest.
The lane between the village and Encampment is short and, mostly during the day, free from goblins. Losing Madeleine is not really a risk. Our healer tops off her health bar before we even set out. The hilarious part is that Madeleine scrounges for gold along the way, pausing and delaying. It’s just that little bit annoying. When we arrive safely Madeleine immediately asks for coin to cover her further travel expenses. I say yes. It’s a financial hit, but she’s too distinctive to be a one-time quest. Gamble money now with the hope it will pay off in further information later.
Here at the Encampment a soldier named Mercedes has had a prompt bubble over her head for a while. I think it’s time to take her quest.
She first makes some interesting comments. She can order pawns to fight (and is not impressed with their ability) but she cannot call them from the Rift or make companions of them as the Arisen can. Why do pawns come from the Rift in the first place if they aren’t in service to the Arisen? Pawn chatter (lol, how could I forget?) calls them a vagabond people, adrift in the world.
Mercedes asks if we would rest, and we say yes. That takes us into a cut scene. We wake to an attack on the Encampment by a hydra.
Yes! One of the big beasties.
I don’t remember how long it took me originally to realize I should grab one of the snake necks and climb. This time I go right for the jump and start hacking. Because our party has two experienced pawns, the hydra’s health takes a hit. Usually, with early level pawns, we would not see the needle budge much. It’s pretty fun to see that meter go down.
After a set amount of time (and destruction of the Encampment) one of the hydra’s heads will cleave off. The creature fades away, no longer important to the story, and we’re left with a decapitated trophy. It gives one last hiss and dies, a curious red mark glowing on its forehead.
Mercedes suggests we give it to the Duke to curry favor. She will cart it to the capital, and we should join her. This quest is essential, so of course I say yes. She had hoped to gather a larger fighting force at the Encampment, but the chance to deliver a hydra head with the Arisen is too good to pass up. Funny. She’s a mix of competency and envy, probably someone of royal lineage who isn’t confident as a military leader. We’ll know more about her later, but early hints to her character are well done in this scene.
We agree to meet her at the Waycastle.