Part 20: Episode XVIII: In Which I Suffer

Episode XVIII: In Which I Suffer


So, after the District of Hallowed Water's seal is destroyed and Hanch's lies dead, we are unceremoniously dumped back onto the world map. No, the chapter is not over yet despite beating a boss and completing our Manah's goal for the area. But, before we progress let's take care of a few things in this area.


"The goblins come night after night and steal people away into the darkness! What do we do?!"
"Won't the Knights of the Seal do anything to stop them?"
"Those cowards were the first to run away. Some maniac with a dragon assaulted their keep up the mountain and murdered the lieutenant of the district, I hear. They've gone and abandoned us!"
"The knights used to be so dependable under General Oror."
"Yeah, well a dead man ain't too good at leadin' no army, now is he?"
"W...what if it was like an...undead army?"
"What does that have to do with anything?!"
"Well...alls I'm sayin' is I reckon a dead man ought to be helming a zombie army is all."
"What is it with you young folk and the zombie infatuation?! What is so bloody interesting about shambling rotten corpses tooling about?!"
"Well...ya know... It's fun to 'hink about how you'd survive holed up waiting out the undead hordes an' all. Settin' up barricades and keeping supply of rations, keepin' an eye on if anyone has gotten bitten and might turn and all that kinda stuff..."
"Boy, I ate a soddin' boil rat for breakfast and I've saved its smoked tail for lunch! Ya want me to box yer ears for thinking about this foolish nonsense?! Go jerk off to your ghoul buffet fantasies when we ain't racking mud for bugs to eat!"


So, I went and cheated myself a bunch of cash because I am not grinding and relying on handouts from a RNG for money on weapons I am never using acquired some funds to pick-up that pricey weapon we skipped last time while we were in town. Let's take a look.


That has to be the lamest ending to a deal with the devil that I have ever heard. Oh well, I think that is...three on the tally of razed villages?


Anyhow, after the filler aerial free expedition mission, we can now go check out the District of Hallowed Water for a brand new weapon. This is...a godawful experience, to say the least...




We begin the mission way back where we started Verse 2 in this chapter. The area now re-populated with Knights of the Seal err...just kind of hanging out in case Nowe and company show up again. Who knows. The point is, the area is infested with 'em. And unlike the rest of Chapter 4, where the massive map was split into easily digested bits, it is now one gigantic gauntlet of a map combining every Ground Mission stage into one endless twisting grind of misery.

Here's a brief break down of what must be slogged through to finish this mission...

• 1.) Just a ton of KotS along with a Murder Meter to wear them down before progressing. Not too bad...
  
• 2.) A repeat of the battle from Verse 3's ambush by Gismor. Legna is once again absent for the proceedings. Yet another Murder Meter to wind down, only this one combines all three waves from the previous battle there. So like 50 dudes. After that, there is an item box holding a new weapon just past the point where Manah got lightning bolted off a cliff in a FMV. We'll get to that later.
  
• 3.) ARCHER HELL! Two dozen archers are infesting the ground. They all have 100% accuracy while Legna is in the air, so Nowe must dismount and kill every last one if he wants to get past without being riddled with arrows. On the ground, their accuracy goes down to only like 90% with a range of about 100 yards.
  
• 4.) MAGE HELL! A dozen mages spaced out as far as humanly possible from one another spam fireballs like they're playing Street Fighter 4 online and they all selected Ken. Manah has the task of inching toward every one and taking them out while blocking 95% of the time.
  
• 5.) HEAVY TROOPER HELL! About fifty regular soldiers and eight heavy armored troopers that block all frontal attacks and have invincible frame unblockable attacks cluster together like ants all over beneath the dam. A Murder Meter demands the death of every last one of them.
  
• 6.) MAGE AND HEAVY TROOPER TAG TEAM MATCH! The top of the (still quite intact and water flow preventing) dam and the bridge to the shattered district key is peppered with mages protected by heavy troopers. God help you if one of the latter gets near Manah, since they can cut her down in about two or three hits without breaking a sweat.
  
  
  So yeah...that was a godawful level all just for one new weapon. Oh well, let's take a look at what we got...
  
  

  Drakengard 2 Weapon Stories posted:

  
  HANCH'S SPEAR
  
  History:
  The chaser in the fortress city to the west was a master of his craft. The nobles had him decorate their armor. However, he wouldn't let anyone into his shop, and went out at night without telling a soul where he was going. In time, his wife grew suspicious and tried to follow him, but lost him in a cemetery near the outskirts of the city.
  
  One night, the chaser's wife decided to wait for her husband in the cemetery. Sure enough, the chaser arrived soon afterwards and began to dig up a freshly buried coffin. Horrified, his wife ran away without saying a word. Once she's collected her thoughts, she decided that it was high time she had a look inside her husband's shop.
  
  What she was there were corpses dressed in armor and matching accessories, and her husband dancing naked among them. The chased had brought back dead bodies and clothed them in his richly decorated creations.
  
  Maddened by disgust and despair, she lunged at her husband, impaling herself and him on a spear held by one of the grotesque mannequins. Several days later, the couple was discovered, skewered together and surrounded by corpses. The offending spear, notable for its exquisite chasing, eventually found its way into the hands of Hanch.
  
  Description: Pact-partner Hanch's spear.
  Traits: Excels at both physical and magical linear sweep attacks.
  Magic: "Icicle Wings" - Shards of blue ice pierce the enemy.
  

  
  Hanch, who went on to never use it once. Oh well, that one wasn't too bad. There was grave robbing and nude dancing. At least someone was having some fun. Ergh...wait. Hanch's Spear...?
  
  
  ...You mean my prize was a super powered boss weapon with stats over double my second strongest weapon and 3-4x the rest of the crap I've acquired...? But it is for a character that is not in my party and probably will not be in my party in the remote future...? My prize for all that bullshit is a SUPER WEAPON I CANNOT USE?!?! Sonuvabi-
  
  
  Alright...alright. Just gonna calm down. Should have seen this eventually coming. Again. Okay, let's get to where Manah wants to visit for uhh...some reason.
  
  
  Chapter 4 continues onward to the...the Endless Grounds again...? But... But I JUST rode on a caravan on some secret road to escape that area! Why am I going back there?!
  
  
  Oh, well that clears everything up. So uhh...we gonna get an explanation about why we're doing this...? Umm...hello exposition text? Well, maybe Nowe and Manah are going to discuss it on the way there... It had to be a pretty long flight... No...? No, that's not happening... Tch...fine!
  
  NOTICE: So hey! I'm abridging bullshit filler from now on because this part of the game is the definitive low point and everything that happens in it is boring and dumb, for the most part. I really should have started doing this earlier but meh...hindsight and all that... If you still care about what they really say, there's a video at the end. You'll still learn the gist of the conversation just reading along.
  
  
  "Err...what are you doing back here already? Thought you were getting hunted down by the knights or some nonsense. Lost five good horses from the burden of dragging-on that dragon of yours, I did... Thought you'd stay gone longer."
  "Good to see you again. Yes, well. Listen, we need some information on uhh..."
  "Manah, a little help here?"
  "Oi! Lady Manah! Fighting the good fight getting' revenge on those Union scum for toppling our glorious Empire, are ya?"
  "Gah!"
  "Ietquay aboutway ethay empireway inway ontfray ofway ethay ormerfay ightknay."
  "?!"
  "Ohh... My mistake. Mistook you for someone else. So whatcha need, lad?"
  "I heard there was a deserter from the Knights of the Seal. I want to know who it was."
  "Oh, yes. The knight that ran away, you mean? Everyone's talking about him... Call him the 'dragon child,' they do."
  "Err...no. No, that's me..."
  "Huh... Ya don't look like any dragon I've ever seen... Not that I've seen many. But still."
  "It's because I was raised by Legna, the dragon I was traveling with. Remember?"
  "Oh right! On the caravan... Killed eight of my horses from the strain of that heavy lizard, that trip did. But ergh... Wait... Dragon child...raised by a dragon, you were...?"
  "How does that w...I mean where did yer mum... I mean her and the drag-on? Uhh... Did they...ya know..."
  "Gah! No! Gross! He just found me in the wild! He's not really my father."
  "Oh...oh. Okay. Thank the gods. The mental images I was gettin' were a ghastly sight."
  "Anyway, have you heard about any OTHER knights deserting the Knights of the Seal?"
  
  
  "'The masked man?' Do you know anything else about him."
  "Aye, I do. But information don't come cheap around these parts, ya know."
  "B-But I saved the lives of you and every one of your men... Surely that's worth just a small tip."
  "Ya went and spent your credit with me when we had to smuggle out you and your dragon down the secret merchant road. Lost sixteen of me horses to that trying journey, I did. Fine steeds. Cost a lot to replace 'em."
  "Alright then. Is it money you want? I looked into my coin purse today and I suddenly had 99999999 Gold. So, I can spare a bit to save some time."
  "Naw. I got lots of gold. I'm a jovial merchant drunk off me arse from dust to dawn. Sometimes I just throw gold coins into the streets to see the beggars scramble for it. Great fun, that."
  
  
  "Maybe it's just a rumor, but I've heard about a pair of famous weapons. I'd really like to find them."
  "So if I find these two weapons, you'll help?"
  "Sure will. One's a sword and one's a staff. Well, good luck to ya."
  "Okay. Well, where do we find them?"
  "Hell if I know. They wouldn't be very 'legendary' if I could mark where they were on your map, now would they? Hahaha! Good luck, my friend!"
  <frown>
  
  I hate that man... Anyway, I bought that previously skipped weapon with my ill-begotten funds. Another unusable spear for Eris. Take a look, I guess... I need to open another bottle of Jack.
  
  

  Drakengard 2 Weapon Stories posted:

  
  VICTOR'S SPOIL
  
  History:
  Once, there lived two princes. One studied the martial art of bravery, and the other studied the martial art of adaptability. The two trained constantly to refine each other's skills.
  
  The brothers asked their master, "Which school is more effective?" The master handed a spear to the brothers.
  
  Smiling, he explained, " A good spear has a hard, sharp blade and a staff as flexible as a willow. What matters is that the two schools fight together, not against each other."
  
  The master eventually died of old age. The princes buried him with the spear that had taught them so much, cowing that they would work together for the rest of their lives. Their kingdom flourished.
  
  Description: A forbidden spear.
  Traits: Short reach, but excels at linear-sweep attacks.
  Magic: "Seraph's Tentacles" - Fiery tentacles bind the victim and violate every orifice of their body, impregnating them with the seed of Ifrit which will burst from their stomach in a shower of crimson and gore upon birth. I wonder if anyone reads this part...
  

  
  And then the master's body was dug up along with the spear and his worm eaten corpse was dressed up in a maid's outfit while the one who defiled his tomb danced naked in the pale moon night. The end.
  
  Verse 9: The Collect-a-thon - Music: Breakthrough
  
  
  So hey, I don't think the three missions we did on this map before were quite enough. Time to up the ante to a nice, even four recycling of a brown cave and its brown ruins.
  
  
  This mission could not be any more utter filler garbage if they tried. The area is teaming with Knights of the Seal. Why are there twice as many of them loitering about in a lost district that they ought to have pulled out of already, compared to when they were fighting off a rebellion? Why are they even clogging the abandoned caves in the first place? This and more will never be bothered to be answered!
  
  
  
  
  Joining the standard knights are Fire Fortress exclusive explosive arrow bowmen. These have all the aimbot accuracy of their stock variety cousins, except it's even more difficult to dodge due to a giant fuck-off explosion knocking you into the air if you're remotely in the vicinity of the arrow. There's no indication of which knights are actually bowmen unless you look closely among the mobs, especially whilst in a dimly lit cavern with narrow hallways and tight corridors which the camera hates. Thanks, Cavia!
  
  A quick overview of events, since this mission is almost as terrible as the previous Free Expedition grind.
  
  
  [list]
  
• 1.) Fight your way to the item box over in the corner of this area to obtain a key to get to...
  
• 2.) FIRE ARROW HELL! One room. Twenty dudes trying to blow you up with Rambo II tactics at once. Woe and despair is found in these halls.
  
• 3.) Several hallways filled with enemies leads to the first weapon chest. Which is locked. Go find the key!
  
• 4.) Wander around aimlessly until finally triggering another battle here. Hope you like fighting a ton of mages in a wide, open area separated by an invisible wall due to a bridge (invisible wall is not an obstacle to fireballs.) Go backtrack to 3 to get the first weapon.
  
• 5.) Randomly wander about aimlessly once more until a fight against zombies occurs in some out of the way chamber.
  

Nothing else noteworthy happens beyond that. Not even any in-game chatter outside:
"Hey, it's one of the weapons!"
"Yes, indeed it is a weapon. It looks pretty strong."
"Hurray!"

Back to town to give this crap to the merchant...


"By the way, what were all of those knights doing in those caverns? I thought the district was lost to them?"
"Somethin' about recovering the bodies of the fallen from that uprising a couple weeks back to give 'em a proper burial or the like. What? Run into any of their lot?"
"...A few."
"Now about these weapons..."
"Huh, so the rumors were true. Hmm...lemme see... Huh... Where'd you get these toys? What is this rubbish?!"
"!?"
"Ha! I'm just yankin' your chain. Yeah, this is them. Look at the craftsmanship. See how the blade of the sword shines. The balance is perfect. You can feel the power in the hilt. No doubt about it, these are the legendary Weapons of the Seal."
"Neat. Now I think you owe me some information about the masked man."


"The District of Prec-Manah?! Isn't that where you wanted to go next, anyway?!"
"Umm...well..."
"Wait, I ain't done. Like his name suggests, he always wears a strange mask for to hide his face. They say he should be found around the City of Rust. Shouldn't be hard to find. It ought to be on your map. Only city still standing in them parts."
"..."
"Do you...know anything else about him...?"
"They say his mask is blackish... Or maybe purple. Or was it dark blue like... Ah, I forget. Well, glad I could help."
"T-Thanks...?"


"Huh? Don't you want them?"
"I can't insult such fine weapons by selling them in a shop, no, can I? And of course, I can't use 'em."
"I'm sure you'll see why soon enough. Go ahead, take 'em. Shocked ya actually went and found the things. Was just pullin' your chain, again. Gah hah hah!"
"Well, thanks a lot. I guess this wasn't a total waste..."
"Put 'em to good use now. Right, Lady Manah?"
"Yes, thank you."


Drakengard 2 isn't exactly consistent with the translation its predecessor had in regards to some things. Most of the time when you hear "Gods" they mean "Watchers/Doom Space Babies".


So how long until we get Furiae's Dagger of Incestuous Lust?

Anyway... Hey, we got two legendary weapons for that utterly pointless side trip. Surely, it wasn't all a waste of everyone's time, right? Hmm...let's see their stats...




...Why do they have the worst stats in the game?! Wha...? They're gimmick weapons? Like the Wooden Sword in Ninja Gaiden? They turn great after grinding for like 2-3 hours. Each? Oh...that's great...that's just... MOTHERF-
































































Wha?! Was that another one? The fuck is going on out there...? Eh? You doing alright, dragon? You're breathing kinda funny..."


Yeah, I see you dragon. You're kinda hard to miss. Even with the missing eye... Take it easy, eh?



Yeah... Soon... Listen, Angelus. I'm gonna take off for a while.
I think it's time for round two of killin' time... I think... Right? Is it in the script this chapter? Huh... It is?
Awesome!










Verse 9 Cutscenes


Old Friends Again (Probably worth watching)




Villager Concept Sketches - The most useless of sketches.