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GEK MONOLITHS
PuzzleType: TRA_MON_
Alien: Underling! The Gek First Spawn demand you destroy the weak!
I see a strange vision. A small winged creature lands on the very top of the monolith. Suddenly, its eyes glow red and its head revolves in a full circle. It screams for mercy in an ancient voice that wants itself dead.
The poor animal has clearly broken its neck, but the monolith's power of possession still animates it. I wonder if the right thing would be to shoot it, and put it out of its misery.
{Shoot the creature}
The poor winged creature is no more.
The monolith rewards my actions.
---C_GEKRELIC---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---HEALTHLARGE---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Leave the creature alone.}
The possession ends, and the poor winged creature drops down dead.
All else is silent.
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: Beware! Murderous abomination! Do not awake! Terror! Despair!
A strange new reality grips me. The ancient structure swings open to reveal a body encased in ice. It is a patchwork of different body parts. Its ragged beak appears to have been stitched on with animal gut.
A hand-written sign in the language of the ancient traders can be seen above the body's head. A flammable isotope would most likely melt the ice...
{Melt ice}
The creature's eyes flick open. Its hands leap around my throat.
I force it back into the depths of the disapproving Monolith.
---DAMAGESMALL---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Leave}
The panel on the Monolith swings shut.
The abomination remains trapped. I am thanked.
---C_GEKRELIC---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: Underling! The Gek First Spawn demand help! Give silicate!
I'm inspecting the monolith's surface when, suddenly, a ragged silicon claw grabs me. Despite being broken and fragmented, it holds me tight while an ancient metallic beak emerges from the living rock.
It shouts in an ancient tongue, unaware of who or what I am.
{Give silicate}
The metallic hand releases its grip and grabs at my offering.
I have perhaps appeased an ancient evil...
---C_GEKRELIC---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---HEALTHLARGE---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Smash claw}
I smash the metallic claw into pieces.
---PROD_FUEL---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Wait}
The claw grips me tightly. Just when I feel like my forearm will crack into pieces...
...I am released. The pain is agonizing.
---DAMAGESMALL---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: Feed First Spawn beak common oxides! Rare oxide brings painful noise! Furious noise!
A beak emerges from the ancient stone. It's shouting, but can't be heard. In the stone above someone, long ago, has scrawled advice for those who would approach it.
The beak screams wordlessly at me, furiously intoning the words of the ancient beings that once worshipped here. My scanner detects traces of oxides around it, but can't specify which ones.
{Feed beak common oxide}
The beak whispers the words of those who once worshipped here.
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Feed beak uncommon oxide}
The beak shouts the words of those who once worshipped here.
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---C_GEKRELIC---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Feed beak rare oxide}
The beak screams the words of those who once worshipped here.
The noise is extreme. I feel great pain.
---DAMAGESMALL---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: ToilGek dare approach First Spawn holy site? Leave! Leave! Depart or die!
I hear a low rumble, which gradually builds into an ancient scream. It's like no other noise I've ever experienced. To this strange alien landscape it's a calm silence, inside my helmet it's a nightmarish cacophony of pain and death.
Through the noise, however, I can make out some words within the screams.
{Touch Monolith}
The vengeful spirits that inhabit this place are grateful for my obedience.
---DAMAGE_TECH---
---DAMAGESMALL---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Move away}
The vengeful sprits that inhabit this place punish my disobedience.
---C_GEKRELIC---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Wait}
The vengeful spirits that inhabit this place are grateful for my obedience.
---DAMAGESMALL---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: The Gek First Spawn destroy the pirate!
A portion of the monolith melts in front of my eyes. The face of a trader emerges, its beak cut off for reasons unknown. It screams and writhes in the bubbling vertical lava, desperately reaching out to me - with a multi-tool in its hand.
Supercooled liquid frenium from my suit systems could relieve its pain, but I can also take a risk and pull it from the molten rock.
{Cool lava}
The relieved ancient trader pushes a gift out towards me.
The lifeform is absorbed back into the rock.
---C_GEKRELIC---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Reach into lava}
I pull the overjoyed trader from the burning lava.
It dematerialises suddenly, leaving only what it carried.
---WEAPON---
---DAMAGELARGE---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: Retain foul First Spawn stench! Remove sweet eggs from the spawning syrup!
Reality changes. I'm standing in a crater beneath a jet black sky. I'm up to my knees in a strange syrup that glows pink in the darkness. Spherical eggs float around me. Some of these mucus-covered orbs smell terrible, others are sweet and delicate.
The taint of the foul eggs is infecting the entirety of the spawning pool. I am filled by an urge to separate them.
{Remove noxious eggs from pool}
I have angered the ancients Gek spirits that dwell here.
Reality is restored.
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Remove sweet-smelling eggs from pool}
I am smiled upon by vengeful ancient spirits.
Reality is restored.
---C_GEKRELIC---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: First Spawn... power... low ... give... element... isotope... carbon... plutonium...
The monolith's glyphs take on a faint yellow tinge, then flicker and disappear. It has no power: the mysterious forces that fuel these stones are weak. I hear a faint crackling whisper on the planetary breeze, and I notice a hole in the monument's base.
I could potentially fit some of my mined resources through the gap...
{Insert Isotope element}
I awake this place's vengeful spirits.
They reward me.
---C_GEKRELIC---
---STD_INC_TRA---
---HEALTHLARGE---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Insert Oxide element}
There is silence.
My elements are not returned.
{Insert Silicate element}
There is silence.
My elements are not returned.
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
Alien: The First Spawn gives help to the worker. The First Spawn destroy the workshy.
The monolith has the smell of burnt metal and heavy industry. Strange runes swirl and transform, forcing an image deep into my mind.
I look into the past. I see a small beaked figure, silhouetted by the light of a forge, industriously hammering armour. Next to it, a cloaked companion idly watches – seemingly content to avoid the work. Both look at me. I must choose.
{Choose the worker}
I have pleased this place's spirits.
My equipment is filled with a strange power.
---SHIELDLARGE---
---REPAIR_TECH---
---C_GEKRELIC---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Choose the onlooker}
I have angered this place's spirits.
My equipment is damaged by a strange force.
---DAMAGE_TECH---
---HAZARDSMALL---
---STD_DEC_TRA---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
.png)
VY'KEEN MONOLITHS
PuzzleType: WAR_MON_
#11
Alien: The Vy'keen Ancients burn thieves and pirates.
I place my palm on the monolith, then stand back when it melts in response to my touch. Molten rock drips down the stone, exposing a hollow interior. Inside, I see riches that are beyond belief. Ancient technologies and cargo that would aid my journey.
Lava continues to drop, and the edifice seems unstable, but equipment that could aid me is within arm's reach. Suddenly, the voice of an ancient tribe shakes the ground I stand on...
{Reach in}
The molten monolith collapses onto my exosuit.
The edifice is reconstructed – the damage remains.
---STD_DEC_WAR---
---DAMAGESMALL---
{Stand back}
The ancient warriors who once worshipped here bless my show of respect.
---HEALTHLARGE---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#1
Alien: Isotope given. Ice thaws. Vy'keen rise.
I am trying to read the glyphs on the ancient monument when I feel a strange chill. A layer of frozen gas suddenly coats the monolith from bottom to top. It's so cold that I can see my breath inside my helmet.
There is one small gap in the crystal ice, and I feel convinced that I could feed some of my mined elements through it, so they can come into contact with the monolith behind.
{Insert isotope element}
The frozen gas melts into the atmosphere.
I am rewarded.
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---PROD_FUEL---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Insert oxide element}
There is silence.
My elements are not returned.
{Insert silicate element}
There is silence.
My elements are not returned.
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#12
Alien: Grah! Learn language of the conquerors! Learn language of the conquered!
There are three vast columns of words on the ancient structure, each written in a different alphabet. The first column's words are like savage runes scratched in sand, the second shows precise sequences of dots. The final column has wide and welcoming letters, almost appearing hand-written in hard stone.
The dirt and blood of ancient hand prints cover the base of each column.
{Press hand against runes}
The ancient spirits that dwell here infuse me with the language of their warrior descendants.
---TEACHWORD_WAR---
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Press hand against dots}
The ancient spirits that dwell here infuse me with the language of a distant race of electronic lifeforms.
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
---TEACHWORD_EXP---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Press hand against letters}
The ancient spirits that dwell here infuse me with the language of a distant race of beaked traders.
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_TRA---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#2
Alien: Respect the Warrior! Respect their weapon!
The body of a warrior emerges from the obelisk, a jagged tear in their midriff suggesting that the dangerous-looking multi-tool that sits in their hand was not enough to save them.
The surface of the sculpted rock blurs and shows images of military worship. It's trying to tell me something.
{Bury the soldier and multi-tool}
Ancient voices howl their appreciation in a wind that whips around me.
An offering emerges from the monolith.
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---HEALTHSMALL---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Take the multi-tool and leave}
I take the multi-tool from the body.
I'm about to turn to leave when a crimson bolt of energy strikes me on the right shoulder.
---WEAPON---
---STD_DEC_WAR---
---DAMAGESMALL---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#3
Alien: Grah! Vy'keen Ancients bless your journey!
I see a strange vision. A small terrified creature emerges from the monolith and runs between my legs. I hear the noises of an ancient hunt: the howls of pack animals in pursuit and the thunder of hooves.
Warriors on vast beasts charge through the rock, and amidst the chaos one sees me staring. It raises its facial tendrils in greeting, barks a few words and swings a bladed weapon down towards me.
{Grab weapon}
The hallucination fades, but the blade remains.
It transforms into a multi-tool I can use.
---WEAPON---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Dodge weapon}
I dodge the warrior's attack.
The hunt disappears, and I am left alone.
---STD_INC_WAR---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#13
Alien: Rebuild the ancient warrior body. Restore monolith power.
I become a part of a strange new reality. The ancient rock opens. Inside, the dried out heart of an ancient warrior is strung up between wooden pillars. It pulses slowly as it hangs there, still beating.
Lying below it on a dusty floor are a set of wrinkled lungs that look forever doomed to wheeze stale air. A desiccated eyeball stares up at me. Unblinking.
{Shoot heart}
I hear an ancient scream.
The monolith's power fades.
---STD_DEC_WAR---
{Place lungs with heart}
The heart and lungs pulse in harmony.
The monolith's power is restored.
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Respectfully depart}
The monolith closes.
I hear disappointed wails from inside.
---STD_DEC_WAR---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#4
Alien: The command of the Vy'keen Ancients! Sacrifice the beast! Blood for Hirk!
The monolith shows images of creatures lying dead before it. Each sacrificed, butchered and offered up to whatever Gods were once worshipped here.
Suddenly, the head of a small woodland animal raises up through the earth below me. It stares at me with wide-eyes, then gives a joyful skip when its tiny hooves reach ground level. Something is clearly expected of me...
{Sacrifice the creature}
I blast the woodland animal in two.
I am rewarded for this offering.
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---PROD_COMMOD---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Let the creature live}
The creature skips around my feet with joyful abandon.
It runs away and out of sight.
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#20
Alien: Warrior accepts journey's end. Embrace death.
I am suddenly underwater. I am drowning. Water clogs my lungs. My chest is on fire. I gasp for air where there is none, and feel only tepid liquids filling me inside and out. My vision is clouding. I know this is my time. This is it. This is what it feels like.
Suddenly, a green hand thrusts itself through the surface of the water. The light is fading.
{Reach for hand}
I reach for the hand, but it pushes me back down.
Reality reverts. I live, but have disappointed.
---DAMAGESMALL---
{Die}
The lights go out. Reality reverts.
I have known death, and it makes me stronger. The ancients bless me.
---HEALTHLARGE---
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#5
Alien: Choose healing blood or renergising bile of the Vy'keen Ancients. Drink destiny.
Two ancient stone cups materialise in front of the monolith. One is filled with a dark red viscous liquid, the other contains a sticky fluid that is bright yellow and smells powerfully bitter.
On the stone tablet behind the cups ancient glyphs swirl to form an image. A powerful and muscular warrior surrounded by a red halo challenges an opponent clad in bright yellow armour.
{Drink the viscous red liquid}
The liquid seems to clot as I swallow it.
I feel somehow reinvigorated.
---HEALTHLARGE---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Drink the bitter yellow liquid}
The liquid tastes foul as it washes down my throat.
Suddenly an unknown power repairs all my equipment.
---REPAIR_TECH---
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---SHIELDLARGE---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#6
Alien: Pathetic dead coward lies here! Interloper! Take your remuneration...
The monolith rips like paper, opening a window to another world. It is laced with a giant web. Just within my reach, an ancient warrior lies cocooned. It has been there for centuries. Dead, vacant eyes stare through me and on into the landscape beyond.
It carries a rusted multi-tool, while a bulging webbed sack on its chest suggests it might carry greater riches on its body. Suddenly, the strange leathery growth starts to move...
{Take multi-tool}
The multi-tool is not operational.
I salvage a new technology blueprint.
---TECH_WEAPON---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Search body}
Hundreds of arachnids burst from the warrior's corpse.
Their bites are poison, but my search is rewarded.
---DAMAGESMALL---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---C_VYKEENEFFIGY---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---
#14
Alien: Choose your warrior! Vy'keen ancients reward interloper howl!
I live within a new reality. I am inside a vast coliseum and beneath a blood red sky. The noise is overpowering. Warriors scream and bark at the battle set up before them.
Two combatants are squaring up on the crimson sand. One has lost its blade, and hides behind a shield. The other stalks towards it, with a spear raised. I feel compelled to add my voice to the howl of the mob.
{Support endangered gladiator}
The gladiator decapitates its foe with the sharpened shield. It bows towards me.
I am thanked with something to defend me.
---TECH_SUIT---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Support spear-wielding gladiator}
The gladiator plunges the spear straight through its rival's head. It bows towards me.
I am thanked with something to help me destroy my enemies.
---WEAPON---
---STD_INC_WAR---
---TEACHWORD_ATLAS---
{Locate a Portal}
---REVEAL_PORTAL---