If you haven't read the first installment of this : Read it Here!
In this installment, I got some levels behind me and set about exploring the world as a rough, tough, confident man in a silly mask as opposed to a fresh-off-the-beach nooblet in a silly mask.
I must admit, I’m not much of an explorer type—my Bartle usually buries the needle somewhere in ‘Killer’ with ‘Killer’ as my secondary—but I keep finding interesting things just around the corner.
First, the ruins.
While striking a dramatic pose is cool, what’s even cooler is that the towering ruins in the back aren’t just a snazzy backdrop. You can actually make your way there and climb up them, assuming, of course, that the angry Picts you’re intruding on don’t take exception to that (or assuming you’re strong enough to kill them). It’s not an especially easy climb, but it can be done, assuming swarming hordes of cannibals don’t cause you any trouble.
Likewise, if you happen to be standing on the beach just beside the shipwreck from Installment the First and look off into the distance, you’ll notice this reinforced wooden palisade (though it’s not in the screenshot as it’s obstructed by vegetation). A short swim and a bit of exploring leads to a Pict village, captured here as I strode confidently inside, only to find myself swarmed by angry Picts that did not appreciate my intrusion. They also didn’t appreciate the fact that I’d eviscerated several of their kinsmen, a fact made abundantly clear by the way my hide was filled with arrows.
Even so, it’s possible to poke around a bit and find an alternative route around them (or, alternately, drive them before you, etc.), and I was in the process of taking what my dad would’ve called “a shortcut” when a pair of towers came looming into view. Intrigued, I set out to find them, possibly to look for treasure untold, and possibly because I knew precisely where I was and just wanted to appreciate it more when I arrived at my destination. (Right? Right.)
Through my instinctive and powerful directional skills, I eventually found a lost temple or something of the kind, with three cheerful locals standing out front waiting to help wandering tourists, or so I’d thought.
Much like family trips with “shortcuts” involved, it didn’t turn out quite as well as I’d hoped after they discovered I was definitely not from “’round here.”
