
Might And Magic VI I | Barrow Downs And The Dwarfs
There are two major factions on Arrakis, and for a while now I've been doing a little side work with one of them. I, however been wanting to increase my standing with that faction for some time. As it allows you to buy cosmetic swatches and building blocks in that house theme.
I felt in a way that if I gathered enough faction to unlock some of the Harkonnen decor and other stuff. I might get around to expanding my base. So far, for the most part, I was just doing what felt like an odd job. I was taking my time with it as well. Now, however, I wanted to advance quicker with the Harkonnen.
I always like just how snarky they often are with you. Anytime I show up after finishing a job, it’s like a shock that I survived at all. Granted, that was kind of the deal; it felt like I was signing up with them in the first place.
For a while, it felt like I was on a wild goose chase. I was sent kind of all over the place. I’d have a conversation with one person. They would send me to another. I can also say now there seems to be a decent amount of backstabbing going on.
I don’t know how many times it seemed like I'd go out working on a task for one member of the Harkonnen. Suddenly, I'd find out a far more powerful individual in their faction wanted what I had. Can I be blamed for wanting to have more influence with the powerful? I think not.
That somewhat leads me to dealing with whom I call Maxim. Far too long of a first name, and the last name I couldn't care less about. I tend to just refer to him as Max. He could also quite clearly see I was one to leverage opportunity if given the chance.
I was sent in to go find some documents. At least that was the thin lie I was given. Funny enough, the place I'd find them in was called Dead Man’s Depot. One can only guess how I acquired said documents.
The place was littered with flags shredded by sandstorms and graffiti on the wall depicting a certain faction known as Kirab. A faction I'm willing to admit I'd go on to farm quite often if there was something in it for me to do so. Long after I had acquired any sort of documents.
Once I had the documents in hand, plus some fresh blood stains. I had a choice to make. I could turn over the real ones, or I could make a counterfeit with just enough information in them to get someone to act on the information in a manner that will get them killed.
Max wanted me to counterfeit the documents. He was after some kind of spy. At least that's what I could gather from him. If there was one thing I knew, it was to never trust a word he said. Let alone trying to work out the motive behind anything he was plotting or having me run around doing.
What I was not expecting as part of me getting in with the Harkonnen was just how dirty things were about to get. It’s one thing to steal the real documents and leave behind some counterfeits. It was another way to use those fake documents to blackmail an individual.
I would not say I was buddy-buddy with Anton. I would also say it left a rather sour taste in my mouth, threatening to make him out like a deserter in some long-forgotten battle. It was clear this was a reputation killer, and all his hard work over the years would be erased by the stain this would leave him.
This act, however, gave Max great glee in his eyes. I could have sworn he was about to drool over the power a couple of fake documents would give him over Anton. At the time, I just cared about moving up the ranks. This was just going to be something long and forgotten in the later years.
It seemed that after getting some of this small stuff done. I was giving something a bit more to my liking, and it felt like a proper job. I needed to go into a testing station and steal a guidance system.
Lucky for me, the lab itself had been one I've cleared in the past. It was, of course, down in Hagga Rift. In that doomy place I so lovely call the abyss. At least this time, I knew how to get out of the abyss rather quickly, and I somewhat knew the layout of the testing station itself.
After that was done. I felt that if I wanted to progress even faster with the Harkonnen that riding around on a sand bike was just not going to cut it anymore. Besides, how am I supposed to make it big time with them if I'm still rocking like someone who just fell out of the sky a week ago.
I, however, was going to need an insane amount of aluminum ore and about a dozen other materials to step things up. Having to farm and haul back over 1,600 aluminum ore on a sand bike was going to take a lot of doing.
The only real good news is that this meant I had moved up from the steel age into the aluminum age. I was able to craft a better cutter for mining, weapons, and armor. All of which needed you can only guess even more aluminum among other items.
Thankfully, my overcrowded base at this point had a lot of the random stuff I was going to need. Being a packrat can sometimes have its benefits. So needing odd things like servoks, capacitors, plating, dust, and other stuff was not an issue. I had already farmed up enough for what I needed.
It just came down to what felt like a million trips to get aluminum. The worst part was that it’s not close to my base at all. The only good news is that I was able to pay for a flight out to a location not too far from another outpost.
I’d then farm up as much as possible. I’d then drive back on the sand bike, being weighed down by every scrap of aluminum I could hold. After the first four or so trips, I lost count of how long it took to collect everything I needed. It felt like a million, but it would all be worth it in the end.
What was I going to need all these resources for? A mark 4 Scout Ornithopter. That's right, I was no longer going to be bound by being on the ground. I was about to take flight. The number of missions I'd be able to run for the Harkonnen and the materials I could bring back with me each time I went out were about to explode.
Having an Ornithopter brings its kind of issues. Like, I suddenly realize my base has no real spot to park an Ornithopter in. The spot I had for my sand bike was just not going to cut it. That, however, would have to be an issue for another day.
For now, it was time to take flight. I so wish I had an Ornithopter sooner. Like when I first got a personal shield. Building an Ornithopter unlocked a new level of progression I was not expecting.
Suddenly, things that would take half an hour or hours could now be done in a fraction of the time. I no longer had to go the long route to get somewhere in a safe manner to avoid sandworms. I could just fly, and if the worms were not doing that, I'd be safe.
Screenshots were taken and content was written by @Enjar about Dune: Awakening.