Just one more time...
We agree to wait for the end of the cycle, accept an eLeech from Feenger, and buy ourselves a new tabutask. The timing is ideal - the cycle has just changed. We will have plenty of time for the mission ahead of us!
Unfortunately, the task manages to be both quite dull AND hard.
Through an oversight of Feenger,
who became engrossed in writing poems, some nymbos rotted away.
You have to bring ten chunks of nymbos right away!
Reward: 2000 Luck: 6 Cycles: 0
We have to transport ten piles of nymbos to the Incubator. Nevermind that Podish only sells 9 at a time, and our mechos can only take 6, max. We will need to make 4 trips between the escaves - and all in a single cycle!
Better get to it, then. I drive as if I stole a kusowock and there are 5 Rippers on my tail.
This cycle's Eleerection is a busy one, but it is quite trivial to finish first with the mechos we have. That's not where challenge lies.
Now, give me my money for the eLeech and bring out all the nymbos you have. Uh... why are you looking at me like that?
Leepky is livid. I've never seen him like this.
- What's that stinking stuff in your mechos, you crummy roamer? Where did you get THAT? Before you bring alien cirt here, you'd better think about whether or not we need it, you rusty bearing.
- That's cirt from boneheaded Beeboorats or gabby Zeexen. Don't do that anymore or we will punish you... Get out of here!!
He's so mad he pupates inside his cocoon before kicking me out of the escave.
Ingrate! I did it for you!!
In his anger, he didn't even take the eLeech. I could lose the Eleerection like this! All right, all right, we will get rid of the stuff. Sheesh. I empty the cirtainers one by one.
But where did we go wrong?
Leepky in update 7 said:
You know, only aliens live here on Fostral, and they're loathsome to us...
Hmmm... maybe this has something to do with colors. We've seen the mechoses of three colors so far - green, orange and blue. All mechoses in Podish are of green color - that's why we can't get the paintjob lightbane wanted. One could then infer that green is associated with Fostral and with its ruling bios, the Eleepods. That's what I heard people complaining about, anyway - 'too much green'. But the only 'special dots' on the minimap that we've seen here on Fostral are orange and blue. That must be the 'aliens' Leepky talked about! These Larvae are not connected to the bios that lives on their world.
And come to think about it, our cirt was taken from another 'blue' Larva on Glorx. Perhaps we should have been looking for a green one - if it exists at all.
Anyway, that's a matter for a different time. For now, we have several deliveries to make.
- Vanger, you are the best! The Eleerection is yours; there's nothing for the others to catch here. But what are you still doing in our world? The time has come to go to Glorx, the world of the brutal Beeboorats...
At least he is happy with us again. Talk about mood swings.
[ruBeecation warning]
- You caught my fancy with your diligence, vanger, and I want to save you from the dreadful fate that awaits you on Glorx. The first escave you come to must be Ogorod, the lowest on Glorx.
- You'll get the sacramental object from a dull counselor there in one of the cycles. Don't even peek into the other Beeboorat escaves without it!
Right, so that's out of the way. Now for our tabutask.
By the way, this time the Luck gain from the won race is bigger. That's because there are more participants this time. The harder the task, the better the rewards.
I try my best to drive as swiftly as I can. My Dominance is high enough that Vangers on small mechoses jump out of the way. They fear and respect us.
And I do not have time for them. Not even raffas coming tantalizingly close to my mechos can make me change course.
Unfortunately, I do not perform well under pressure. My mechos is the fastest there is, and I control it well enough that I would overtake any AI racer, but my driving is not
perfect. A few stinker hits here and there. An overextended jump. An unnecessary tumble into water. These, together with our little delay back in Podish leads to the logical finale.
I fail the task mere seconds away from the Incubator entrance while making the fourth and last trip.
Now,
in theory, I could have bought a good combat mechos, loaded it with guns and sailed for the Incubator with 8 nymbos piles in cargo bay, hoping to get the last two from other hapless vangers by force. They, too, bring wares to the escaves from time to time. However, that would have required a vote, and I thought I could make it. Lesson learned.
Naturally, I can't leave it at that.
I sell the now useless nymbos...
...and double down on the tabutasks! I will not be denied!! No one takes away my Luck!!!
Leepky wants to see if today's vangers
can move carefully and stealthily.
You have to reach Podish
without taking any damage to your armor
and you must do it before the end of the cycle!
Reward: 2500 Luck: 5 Cycles: 0
Feenger is seeking a desperate vanger
to carry out special missions.
To prove your desperation,
bombard five vangers from other worlds!
Reward: 5000 Luck: 7 Cycles: 1
So you guys need a careful, stealthy and desperate driver. Gotcha!
The more urgent tabutask comes first. The winning condition is clear - stay the hell away from other vangers. Running into them - even if it just scratches your paint - results in armor damage. And many of them often carry special weapons, those underground bugs called terminators that bypass the shields and deal their damage straight to the armor.
If you look closely, you will see another vanger moving under the bridge. That's why I jumped over. I don't want to initiate contact in
any way.
Not too far from Podish I run into our old 'friend'. Thankfully, the gate that is supposed to open and close every few seconds gets stuck, separating us and leaving me enough time to get the hell away.
There are alot of vangers around. Gotta be careful not to get too close.
Easy!
At least now we have a net gain of +2 Luck. And another tabutask, which would bring us to a total of 48 Luck in case of success!
This one will be easy, by the way. Shooting five vangers from other worlds is trivial when you have access to other worlds. Just go there and go on a shooting spree. Eventually you will hit someone.
So, it's decided. We are going to Glorx. Farewell, Fostral, it was fun while it lasted, and I almost got attached to you, but it is time for us to move forward.
Which brings us to a topic of our vehicle. It
sucks on Glorx. We need a better one. There are two decent choices on sale. The Ancient Demon, and the Iron Wraith.
Of course, there are a few other ones as well, but who in their sane mind would choose that garbage?