Out of Moria!
Viburnum has just been sent to find aid from Lothlórien, which means one very important thing: I'm out of Moria! I always have mixed feelings on that area. On one hand, it's incredibly atmospheric and it has some of the best music (I particularly like the music in the First Hall). But I'm also terrible at traversing the place even if I have gotten markedly better over time. It is a maze, an incredibly large maze without any sunlight and deep pits that are all too easy to fall into. Not good for a hobbit at all (or even a Woman when I went through with Laurinda several years ago).
I suspect I'll be sent back into Moria for a few more epic quests, though. I can't quite remember how this questline ends to be honest, so that will be good to revisit. I've posted several screenshots, which are under the cut.
That first glimpse of Nanduhirion is always so beautiful after being in the dark:
Viburnum took a moment to take it all in:
I've just gotten to the outskirts of Lothlórien, and Haldir has given me reluctant permission to speak with Galadriel. I never had to deal with this myself, but apparently you would be shot down when first trying to get into Lothlórien. I'm not entirely sure why this was changed since it makes sense for the world, but at the very least it means the elves are a bit less hostile. Here is Viburnum in one of the flets:
Of course, it's hard to appreciate the change in tone if you've never been in Moria, so here are a few shots of the place to give you an idea of what we're contending with.
It's very dark as you can see and this entire area circles downwards for quite some time. There are also doors in the tunnel that lead to different areas. I'm now decent at getting around this, but it was extraordinarily difficult when I first started the game. XD
And those endless pits I mentioned earlier? This is a shot to give you an idea.
So, I'm on one floor, you can see a bridge with a goblin down below, and then utter darkness, which is an insta-death should you fall in. I got a little too close to that ledge for comfort. XD I will fully admit to purposefully falling off of the highest places I can find in Middle-Earth, however. It is a lot of fun. :D
While it's nice to be out of Moria, I still think it was designed interestingly, and I like seeing all the dwarves. I'm sure I'll be revisiting the area soon, either with Viburnum or another character, but in the meantime, I'm off to that Golden Wood!
I suspect I'll be sent back into Moria for a few more epic quests, though. I can't quite remember how this questline ends to be honest, so that will be good to revisit. I've posted several screenshots, which are under the cut.
That first glimpse of Nanduhirion is always so beautiful after being in the dark:
Viburnum took a moment to take it all in:
I've just gotten to the outskirts of Lothlórien, and Haldir has given me reluctant permission to speak with Galadriel. I never had to deal with this myself, but apparently you would be shot down when first trying to get into Lothlórien. I'm not entirely sure why this was changed since it makes sense for the world, but at the very least it means the elves are a bit less hostile. Here is Viburnum in one of the flets:
Of course, it's hard to appreciate the change in tone if you've never been in Moria, so here are a few shots of the place to give you an idea of what we're contending with.
It's very dark as you can see and this entire area circles downwards for quite some time. There are also doors in the tunnel that lead to different areas. I'm now decent at getting around this, but it was extraordinarily difficult when I first started the game. XD
And those endless pits I mentioned earlier? This is a shot to give you an idea.
So, I'm on one floor, you can see a bridge with a goblin down below, and then utter darkness, which is an insta-death should you fall in. I got a little too close to that ledge for comfort. XD I will fully admit to purposefully falling off of the highest places I can find in Middle-Earth, however. It is a lot of fun. :D
While it's nice to be out of Moria, I still think it was designed interestingly, and I like seeing all the dwarves. I'm sure I'll be revisiting the area soon, either with Viburnum or another character, but in the meantime, I'm off to that Golden Wood!