There was much rejoicing in Citi last night.

Luis Atilano has his worst start yet, giving up the game.

20 May

NPB
Off day.

MLB
Florida Marlins (2) at St. Louis Cardinals (4). Nate Robertson just wasn’t good enough to hold the Cards down while Wainwright had all the right stuff to keep the Fish from putting too many on the board. Florida remains in second place with their 22-20 record.

Tampa Bay Rays (8) at New York Yankees (6). The Yankees are always a tough, potent team to face, but Tampa manages to sweep New York in this two-game series thanks to some serious offense from the Rays. Carlos Peña mashes two and the Rays record jumps to 30-11, becoming the first team to reach 30 wins this year.

New York Mets (10) at Washington Nationals (7). Luis Atilano’s six earned runs are what doomed the Nats. They return to playing 0.500 baseball in fourth place with their 21-21 record.

Baltimore Orioles (7) at Texas Rangers (13). Ouch. The Birds get stomped by Texas in a surprising loss. Why so surprising? Brian Matusz should be way better than this. 13-29 for the Orange Birds.

I have no idea why I’ve been sitting on this completed installment. Just remembered it was done and decided to post it this week.

At the top of Talon Tower Dan, Dave, Beca, and Sancho meet up with a very familiar face. Slon the Rook, the second third of the duo that murdered Pankraz. Dan already killed Kon the Knight right before being turned into a statue, so I was on my toes worried about what might happen after Dan took out Slon. Thankfully, nothing did and I was left feeling a little relieved and gratified that I had enacted Dan’s revenge on yet another of his father’s murderers. On a whim, I decided to check in with the party to see what they had to say about the fight.

Dave’s response: “What’s wrong dad, you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

Poor Dan was repeatedly being forced to relive his tragic childhood by facing the creatures who killed his father and sold him into slavery. It wouldn’t end there either. The next room contained the Bishop Ladja, third member of the squad who killed Pankraz. Would Dan get a chance to completely avenge the murder of his father? After a tough fight I thought I’d see payoff, but, predictably, Ladja ran away. Dan was now equipped with the tools to revive the Zenithian Dragon, so he returned to Zenithia to find the residents antagonizing Dr. Agon.

There was no Dr. Agon in Zenithia before it was banished underwater, they said, so this man must be a monster of some kind. They were half right. Dr. Agon (if you haven’t gotten it yet, smash the two together) was the Zenithian Dragon and Dan’s quest finally allowed him to assume his true form yet again. Next stop: the temple that Dan spent his entire life slaving to build and also the location of the Zenithian Armor. How would he get there? By riding his new, sweet Dragon.

It was strange to return to the temple after so many hours, but stranger still when I noticed that it was full of cultists who had given up on the world and were worshiping the evil presence that was corrupting it. Dan and his party quickly found the Zenithian Armor and forced their way to the stage of the shrine. Upon the shrine sat…Madalena?! She asked Dan and co. to join her, but when they refused, she cursed them. Turns out she was actually Queen Ferz in disguise! I believe it’s at this point that I finally realized that there’s a chess theme to the bosses (Queen Ferz, Slon the Rook, Kon the Knight, Bishop Ladja). Anyway, with the Queen defeated, it was time to explore the temple a bit more and delve into the labyrinth that lied beneath.