Strong Alone, Stronger Together

Arcanist Hunt (Part 2)

I can't walk there, not with this cliff in the way. I jump off it and fly off once I fall half way, following the path Owen is projecting for me to follow.

"Hear anything else from Matthias?"
"Nothing, and I just lost the radio signal. We need a signal booster. Wait – I found one"
"On it"

I land in the water and head towards the signal booster. The weird teleport sound signaling the Scar have arrived, of course they'd be here.

"Got a bunch of Scars"
"I can see that Owen"

I shoot at the Scars that teleported in until the last one is down, or so I thought. Where are they coming from?

"I've never seen this much Scar activity. What is going on?"
"I don't know, but it's not a good sign"

Scars appear behind me; they shoot at my back as I finish off the roaches in front of me. I jump and spin around to face the new lot, I hover in place and unleash a round of metal hail upon them, the last one drops dead a meter from me.

"More Scars incoming. Looks like they're using gates!"
"Gates?"
"I hate those. Very unfair"
"I shall give them a hard time then"

I run towards the new batch of Scars, I hit them with my mace as the gate begins to close before another appears. I reload my gun, only to find I'm out of ammo, really. I spot some ammo dropped by the Scars I just whacked dead and run to grab it, I reload and unleash hell fire upon the Scars gating in.

"Okay, that's done. I'm looking for a signal booster, right?"
"Yes. Should be close. All you need to do is turn it on"

I jump up to the booster, I turn it on and wait for the radio to reconnect. I look around at the beautiful scenery, it's quite nice when nothing is trying to kill you, I think I'll like it here.

"Signal booster is working"
"I'm heading up the stairs. Hoping to find refuge. Scars in pursuit"
"Matthias? He still can't hear us"
"I've got a location"
"On it"

I run to the cliffs' edge and jump, activating my thrusters to fly to Matthias' location. I spot a waterfall ahead, I skim over the water before it to cool my javelin so I don't crash land, which would make the dash to a mad Arcanist take longer. Ha, usually it's a mad scientist, but now it's a mad Arcanist. I follow the path laid out by Owen, the water soon disappearing behind me as I fly further away. I near a swamp like area, nasty looking green water, and dead trees along with hives for dangerous flies is all there is, save for a few old ruins.

"I'm not seeing our mad Arcanist, Owen help me out"
"He's not here...wait"

I land and begin to kill the Scars in the area, a sign that Matthias was here. A broken radio is in a small camp behind them.

"That's the radio we've been following. The Scars were taking it apart. We fix that, I bet we reach Matthias"
"Just let me get rid of the pests first"
"What's happening with the Scars? Something has them enraged"

I whack the last one with the mace, I grab the ammo it drops and walk towards the radio. Parts of it lay on the ground, small sparks coming from the wires.

"That seems to be the last of them. Let's fix that radio"
"What needs to happen?"
"Get me to the access panel, I'll do the rest"

I find the correct switch to turn the radio on, giving Owen access to start fixing the radio.

"Ok, done"
"Starting repairs"

I look around, information for a few of the things laying around camp appear, giving me handy but not needed info on the items. I notice the radio sparks more; it looks more broken than it was.

"Owen, doesn't look like a repair!"
"Would you just let me...ugh, dammit. Hang on we've got company"
"Scars, really. Can it be fixed?"
"Yes, of course. Just deal with the Scars – I'll figure it out"

I stay near the radio and shoot at the incoming Scars, slowly moving forward into the murky water to the patch of land the Scars are gating in on. I finish off what is left with my mace, collecting the dropped ammo to reload my gun. Another gate sounds, a bigger Scar walks out, a shield in front of it and styled like a colossus javelin.

"This looks serious"
"Very serious. Focus on the big guy. Watch out for the flamethrower!"
"That has a flamethrower? I could use it to burn the other roaches"

And that's what I'm doing, every time the big bug gets near me, he sets off the flamethrower, I just happen to step out of the way and one or two smaller roaches get toasted. Once the small Scars are dealt with, before anymore can gate in I focus my attention to the big boy.

"The gates are closing. Looks like we scared them off"

Its back is defenseless and his weakest area, I hover behind him and shoot, moving left or right to dodge the flames and move behind to shoot again. I finally win the fight as it falls to the ground dead, I try tugging the flamethrower off its body but to no avail, it won't budge.

"Ha-ha! Ok, I think I got it"
"Are you sure?"
"Mostly sure"

I head back over to the radio and turn it back on, a few sparks fly before they stop and the radio is fixed.

"It's working. I've got a location. Patching Matthias through"
"I'm calling anyone in the area. I need help. There are Scars everywhere"
"It works. Matthias, can you hear me?"
"Yes, I can hear you. Thank goodness. There's no time, I'm hiding, but the Scars are searching. I...I can see them. You must hurry"
"Just hang on, we're coming"

I fly towards Matthias' location, inside an old ruin, possibly a dungeon, with a heap of stairs.

"Matthias managed all these stairs to get up here. With an army of Scars at your heels, great things are possible, I guess"

I enter the ruins, the inside showing very little age, as if time hasn't affected it. A few holes in the walls and torn tapestries show its use and possible crumbling due to time, and other events.