JUMP 8: Results

Adventuring is hard. It's also a long journey.
*TL;DR, just in case - Shard AKA Mirror Knight makes mirrors and joins Shovel Knight through the game starting at the Lich Yard. 

Who would have thought adventures included insanely deep pits everywhere? There alwaays had to be treasure over pits, and I fell down almost every single pit there could be.

That said, I should probably mentioned what I did first in order to further prep for my travels.

First order of business was to make sure my weapon was durable enough for the long term. Surprise of all surprises, glass breaks pretty easily. So I spent a good portion of my first few months making a load of new mirrors, and running them through 914 to toughen them up. It was a bit unwieldy though: some of them were tougher, others reflected more clearly, other's still had a fancier design. One I had to get rid of because it went through the Very Fine setting, and it was, um... it reflected light really powerfully. By the end of it I had a couple that were good for combat and others good for distraction by breaking them!

Next order of business was to travel to the village to redeem my Meal Ticket. Simple as that.
As I was eating I heard some villagers talking about a knight who'd taken back some place called Pridemoor Keep, and speculation that he was headed to a graveyard next to fight one called Specter Knight. I asked someone for directions and headed out to get more information...

But then I was stopped by a Black Knight who also wielded mirrors. Not unexpected, but I was caught off guard when his mirrors proved to be the same quality as mine! Either that meant they had a similar machine or they were just that good with making mirrors. It was close, but I came out victorious.

With that setback I had no time to lose- I had to sprint through The Lich Yard as fast as I could (which could have been faster, I admit, thanks to all the treasure just lying about.) Towards the end of this haunted place I met a blue-armor clad man: Shovel Knight.
Thanks to my rival I was unable to assist him with his fight with the ghost-like Specter Knight. It was basically over the moment I arrived. When Specter Knight fell I introduced myself as Mirror Knight and asked the blue knight for more information. That was how I learned there was an Enchantress that planned world domination that needed to be stopped.

... It sounded a bit cliche in hindsight, but I was eager to offer companionship. I don't know, something about having to be the one to stand up to a greater evil... hits a bit close to home. He accepted.

The next stop was the Explodatorium. At first it seemed like a wonderful place to conduct more experiments, but it quickly proved to be exceptionally annoying to navigate. Shovel Knight however had little difficulty leaping from obstacle to obstacle... it was quite impressive. I started to feel like a hindrance, but he didn't seem to mind. Or if he did mind he didn't let me know.
Plague Knight... was an interesting character. He seemed surprised to see another person traveling with Shovel Knight, but... we shared a similar sense of humor. Regardless, he was working with the Enchantress and a fight had to be fought. I threw down a ton of mirrors, which I think confused the alchemist seeing as he was breaking potion bottles left and right.
It was a spectacle of a fight, but we were victorious. I was slightly disappointed Plague Knight disappeared immediately, I was hoping we could chat afterwards...

Each time a member of the Order of No Quarter was defeated, we traveled back into the village for various reasons. Sometimes just a meal, others to buy potions... and meeting up with a Bard to return music sheets. The bard and I got along exceptionally well, and every now and again we played music together.

After meeting the alchemist we went to two of the most opposite locations this land had to offer: the sunken Iron Whale and the fiery Lost City. I seriously don't know how Shovel Knight is able to navigate through these places without any trouble. You'd think it'd at least get a bit hot under that armor, or it would weigh him down underwater, but no. It just doesn't.
I guess I can't complain since being in space isn't an issue for me, but still...
So, obviously, the Iron Whale was particularly difficult for me. Especially considering the one who guarded it - Treasure Knight. Due to the condition I got for myself, we had, um, quite the disagreement on who really should own the treasure he gathered. I'm embarrassed to admit my greed made me able to fought harder...

Next was the Clockwork Tower. This place was also very fitting to my tastes, and I think I was finally getting into the swing of things as far as adventuring was concerned!
Well, until we journeyed to the Stranded Ship. It was freezing and slippery. I'm positive I fell down every pit here. So disappointed in myself still...

In between our trip from town to the Flying Machine, we ran into my rival again! And this time, he was paired up with another knight with a shovel... also called Black Knight. That was confusing. But I didn't mind in the heat of the moment! It was a 2 on 2 fight between us heroes and those dark turncoats! It was an interesting experience, as I basically had to fight against "not" Shovel Knight while he fought against "not" me. He was able to dispose of my rival quickly... I guess he took notice of what techniques I used all this time.

So, the Flying Machine. Um, well...
It sucked.
... Propeller Knight reminded me of some people back home though.

It was finally time to traverse to the Enchantress herself. I found myself wondering what kept my companion going throughout this adventure of his.
Turned out he'd lost his partner some time ago... That's all he cared to say about the matter. Outwardly I respected that, but really I was bit annoyed I couldn't know more.

That ended up not being a problem after we scaled the Tower of Fate and found Black Knight once more, this time enhanced with magic via the Enchantress. It was a hellish fight - her magic was great, and his skills nearly stopped us for good. But after seeing the Enchantress, she reminded me of someone... and I pushed as hard as I could to help defeat the enhanced Black Knight.

It hurt.

Black Knight told us that the Enchantress was in fact Shovel Knight's lost partner, Shield Knight, and all that he wanted to do was make sure Shovel Knight wasn't going to kill her.
He agreed.
Thank god. I wouldn't want to associate with anyone who'd make such a decision...

In my condition, I wasn't able to go into the Tower with Shovel Knight. He told Black Knight to lead me down the tower, which he obliged and immediately made his way back up. I hoped he was intending to assist his "rival." It's probably better that I stayed out of that conflict anyway, it seems too personal for me to get involved.



But I'm still proud of what I accomplished here. I uh, got over myself and did something for once. And I made a pretty good friend. It's unfortunate that I can't bring him along for the rest of my time jumping. He has a definite role here.

I feel... a lot better now.