Part 30: A Missing Pug, Part 2
Update 30: A Missing Pug, Part 2
The Vaults of Sarth are, of course, replete with scribes. Brother Marc could help us there. Also, I've heard Abbot Graves at Malac's Cross is well known for such knowledge.It's funny that you can go on much weirder-ass side paths with zero suggestion or advice or hints that there's any reason to go there, and yet this one time, where there's actually someone asking us to go these places... we're actually asked to push off in the sternest terms possible.
In any case... we make it almost all the way to Silden before there's anything new.
You said you were a teacher. Would you be interested in teaching us how to pick locks?
Abuk is always interested in making money. I propose a price of seventy sovereigns. Is this offer acceptable to you?[YES]
I've spent seventy sovereigns on less interesting subjects. Teach us. You must open yourself to new things. This is the first learning. Without this opening you will not be complete. Opening yourself is like opening a lock. If you can not open, then the lock may not open. You should understand that there is no difference between yourself and the lock that you pick. All these things I will demonstrate with a test lock that I carry with me. Now I want you to observe. You cover your cantrip poorly. Though I very nearly missed it. Can-trip? This is a word that Abuk does not know. Perhaps you will teach me. Just now, as you were demonstrating with the lock, I noticed that you motioned only very slightly with your right hand - a casting gesture. What sort of spell did you just effect? You observe keenly, but I am not of the magician's breed. I know nothing of cajunlo and yet I have this...ability... I may take a seed of knowledge and plant it in the fertile soil of another man's mind. I have done as requested, however, I have taught you something of the art of picking locks and our deal is still as valid. Agreed, but a bit of advice if you want to keep your secret hidden. Make sure that your students keep their eyes on the lock. Perhaps you should arrange it so that sparks flew from it or you had it painted in a shiny color. I know that many of the trickers who pose as magicians use that to keep people from seeing what they are doing. We both learn in this exchange. Your advice is appreciated young magician. My thanks. Travel to the sun on cool sands. Our paths may one day cross again, Abuk. Until then...This boost is only five points of lockpicking or so, but there are a couple of points where having decent lockpicking on Gorath and Owyn helps. Frankly, a smart move if you didn't already loot everything lootable with James would be to pick up one or maybe even two Amulets of the Upright Man since they can spare you some pain in a few places. No real surprise to anyone that Owyn knows some tricks about bilking people of their money.
We continue north along the river road, though, which has gotten repopulated with a few hostile rogue and Quegian groups.
I'm a bit sad that the Krondor site doesn't seem to have all these battle start messages logged anywhere, as there are a few novel and unique ones. None of these fights are all that interesting in the actual fight part, however. None of them are dropping unique things we don't already have, there's some good stuff, like Dragon Plate and high-tier swords, but at this point none of it represents an upgrade or anything new. Still, it could represent a decent amount of extra funds if you're not starting Chapter 6 with a lot of money.
We're going to be tracking blood on to Mitchell's carpets.
Good. It'll make the point that he shouldn't give us the runaround.
We've come from Malac's Cross. Abbot Graves sent us.
What about? The townspeople in Malac's Cross are calling for his head. He said that we should come and ask you for help. He's gambling quite a bit that I would help him, of all people. If I hadn't accepted his connections to the Crawler and the Guild of the Romney, the guild war might never have started...blast him. Deep down I know he was trying to help us, but the trouble he caused... Do you think they will truly attempt to kill him? I can't be convinced, but the Abbot seemed convinced. He's wise enough to know... All right, then. I will give you a note to give to the Abbot. There is a Glazer's Guild office in Malac's Cross and they should be able to help him out, but I'm calling in the last of my favors. I'll probably lose the guild, but this is for a friend... I'm sure he will appreciate it. Thank you, Mitchel.Now, we could just head back down to Malac's Cross buuuuuut, as we leave Sloop out the eastwards road...
Prince Arutha seemed to think that finding this Pug was of importance. It is important, but at the same time, we aren't far from there and I need to find out if Ugyne and my uncle are all right. Why would they not be? We were captured by moredhel who had penetrated into the Kingdom as far south as Cavall Keep. Since they took us, how can I be certain they didn't ride into Cavall Keep and burn it all to the ground? May be Navon du Sandau's Nighthawk friends didn't appreciate their little ring being broken up and decided to take it out on the local count. I've been thinking about it since we escaped from Sar-Sargoth and it's something I just need to know. I don't wish to sound indifferent to the fate of your kin, but I think there are rather more important issues to concentrate on. If the Kingdom falls to Delekhan and his supporters, I can guarantee your relatives will find their deaths early. I will go wherever you lead, Owyn, but I think you should think with your head rather than your heart.I have no idea why Gorath is so willing to let Owyn take the lead here, but whatever, it's our hint that we should keep going north!
Once we get north of Romney there are no more rogues and Quegians, but once we pass Prank's Stone and the Temple of Banath, we start seeing Moredhel on the roads.
I still really want to know what the fucking lore is behind Evil Seek that makes it not hit human rogues, of all things, but still target everything from dogs to trolls otherwise.
I guess they weren't good boys.
The one that's interesting is when we reach Cavall Keep again. Around where we found the Count's "please fuck Navon up, Kahooli"-note, there's a Moredhel ambush that's actually worth paying attention to. Not because of the fight itself, because it just contains a couple of Moredhel and their dogs, RIP to the dogs. But because of what they drop.
BaK posted:
Your orders are to penetrate into the Kingdom and disrupt activities within to allow our invisible magicians to the south of Northwarden in time to organize their efforts. If you should become trapped behind Kingdom lines, head south and wait it out in the barn we have secured for our spies.
So this is hilarious, I can only imagine this is the note that Martin somehow got a hold of that warned him of the invisible magicians. This means that Gorath and Owyn warned Arutha, headed south to Krondor, east to Silden, north through Romney, got this note, and then got it to Martin, all before Arutha got from the Dimwood to Northwarden with his troops. I cannot even parse this timeline.
Anyway, to avoid a collapse of causality itself, I suppose we should make sure he actually receives this and then not think too much about it.
As we approach Kenting Rush, these mercenaries yell at us from across the town. The following dialogue pops up before we're even in view of their sprites.
BaK posted:
ROGUE: What d'ya think you're staring at, lad? Answer me!
OWYN: Let me guess...A pompous, fat, old soldier who has no better way to serve the King than to stop law abiding citizens who are on their way to help fight a battle at Northwarden? Sounds like an admirable profession to me...
There are actually nine different dialogues you can get for this, some where Owyn is cowed, some where Gorath talks back to them, etc. I do like this one, too.
BaK posted:
ROGUE: What d'ya think you're staring at, lad? Answer me!
GORATH: What I see is a ridiculous child masquerading in the body of a full grown man. You would be well advised to allow us to pass...
No matter the exchange, though, they pick a fight with the party and get hacked up because they're three weak Rogues who really should not be picking this fucking fight with us.
Our next goal is this inn. First we talk to the guy on the left side of the room...
BaK posted:
Owyn tapped the fellow on the shoulder.
Wiping ale froth from his lips, the man gave his guests a once over, then put aside his drinking cup. "You want something taken up to the muster in Northwarden?" he asked.
"Are you a messenger?" Owyn replied.
"Not as such, but if anyone wants a message delivered to Northwarden, I'd be the one to do it," the man said. "I just got stuck with the duty you might say."
Withdrawing the note that they had found, Owyn handed it over to him. "It is important this message get to someone in a position of authority at Northwarden. I've had a chance to look it over, and I think what's within may affect the tide of the battle."
"That so?" the man said, gaining his feet. "All right then. I'll see to it that it reaches no less than Duke Martin himself. But I warn you, if this is some kind of prank, I'll hunt you down wherever you are and give you the thrashing of your life."
Owyn nodded. "I'll keep that in mind," he said. "I'd take care on your run though. I hear things are getting rough up that way."
Returning to his beer, the man muttered over the rim of his cup. "You don't know the half of it."
Afterwards, we'll talk to the innkeeper.
BaK posted:
Owyn motioned to the man.
Dressed in a food stained apron which seemed to weigh heavy upon his shoulders, tavern keeper Lurough approached them hesitantly, his green eyes reflecting a certain fearful quality. "If you've come looking for a drink, I'm afraid you'll be turned away empty handed. Our tap has run dry."
Owyn raised a startled eyebrow at the carrot headed fellow, then looked about at the grumbling patrons of the bar. "You've no alcohol and a bar full of soldiers. I'm surprised there hasn't been an uprising," he said.
"Oh, its occurred to them," the barkeeper replied. "So far, they're not so mean spirited yet we can't keep them corralled. But things keep up as they are, these soldiers will get like wild dogs and there'll be nothing to keep them from fighting amongst themselves. The same is true down at the Candlemaker's Grin tavern. It'll be a bloodier war than any fought at Northwarden or Highcastle."
"Sad state of affairs," Owyn agreed. "What if we could get you the alcohol?"
"Could you now?" the barkeep said with astonishment. "You know where there might be supplies?"
Owyn waved off Lurough's enthusiasm. "Not precisely, no. But we will look around and see what we can come up with. I...know a few people around these parts."
Grabbing up the boy's hand, Lurough kissed the back of it. "You'll be a savior if you do, boy. Thank you."
This can be completed with any cask of ale, but there are really only three places to acquire them. There's one on a body in the Dimwood, they can be bought in Loriel and lastly there's the illusion valley to the east of Kenting Rush which we found because I know it's there, which isn't the intended way to find it. Let's say we don't know about it and just poke around Kenting Rush...
Turns out Ugyne's up here, too!
What are you doing out of Cavall Keep?
We came up when some of Prince Arutha's men passed through Cavall Keep. They said there is a battle about to happen and there were going to be troops mustering here with the Lady Boswich. Is that true? Are we really going to war with the moredhel again? I don't know how much I am allowed to say, but there is a very good possibility of it. Actually, Gorath and I are supposed to be looking for a magician named Pug from Stardock, but with the war going on here... I wanted to make sure that you and your father were all right. Why wouldn't we be? It's not as if the fighting will get this far south...will it? No...it's just that... There are several things we will need to talk about when things have calmed down. I'm just glad that you're safe. I was concerned that something might have happened to you. You're getting to be as silly as I am. So...what have you been eating? You're as thin as a bone. Is there anything I can do for you two?[ALCOHOL]
Some of the tavern owners here are concerned that if the men don't get some alcohol soon, there may be a riot. As I recall, your father had quite a stock of foreign wines once... That was a long time ago, before... Can we not talk about this now? I have a terrible headache and I'm doing the best I can to try and help out Lorna with the children. Ordinarily I wouldn't push the issue, but it seems to be a crisis at the moment. The fight at Northwarden might pale in comparison to what may happen around here if we don't get a few of these men drunk. You'll need to find father and ask him. He might be able to speak to Lady Boswich on your behalf. I know that she used to send us wines from her secret reserves.[HER FATHER]
Where is your father? I'm surprised he isn't trying to command this muster himself. I don't know...we've had a parting of the ways. I don't know when I will see him again. I think he may be with Lady Boswich in the mustering area, but I'm not sure. I don't think I'm very sure of anything anymore... Why? What's wrong? I don't know who to trust anymore. I don't know who's telling the truth and who's lying to me. Do you remember when my brother was killed in the wine cellar accident all those years ago? Yes...Ugyne, I... He didn't die, Owyn. Father found out Neville was a bastard and so he arranged for the accident, but it didn't kill Neville. And then Neville was found by some bad men and they were going to ransom him but Neville knew father wouldn't pay. Then he found a way to use his spyglass against them and...Owyn, he came back as one of my suitors! I hadn't seen him since I was a little girl and he had changed so much. How could I have recognized him? He called himself Navon and I thought...I thought...I don't know... Shhhhhh. You're babbling, cousin. Maybe you can explain all of this to me sometime after you've calmed down a bit. I think you need some rest.The house we walked past to get to the Prelate's House in Chapter 3 is Lady Boswich's house, and normally unapproachable in Chapter 6 because of her guards, but if we've talked to Ugyne first we can get there. We care about the barn rather than the house itself, though.
BaK posted:
A man intercepted them.
Offensive in his body odor, the fellow who stood before them was brutish, his pitch colored hair clipped just above his heavy brows and his eyes set close on either side of his lumpish nose.
"Sorry, no one is to see M'lady Boswich except her advisers. Get along with you," the guard said, waving a huge hand at them. "The mustering captain is elsewhere. He probably has need of a pair of scullions..."
Choosing to ignore the slight, Owyn took a deep breath. "I have to get in to speak to Lady Boswich. We're trying to make sure your muster here doesn't turn into a riot."
"I'm not supposed to let anybody by," he said, as if reviewing the information for his own benefit rather than theirs. "But I'll let you in for fifty sovereigns."
"What?" Owyn blinked, startled that the guard would be so blatantly corrupt. "How did you arrive at that figure?"
"Easy. See, if what's you got to say to M'lady is as important as you say, then you won't mind paying that sum. If, however, M'lady doesn't like the fact I let you two in, I still have me commission for the month when she dismisses me. So...do we have a deal?"
Owyn handed over the gold. Annoyed the guard had insisted on counting the coins before allowing them to pass, he tapped his foot in the muddy soil...
"In you go then," the guard said, rattling the bag of coins with satisfaction as he finished his inspection. "Give me regards to M'lady."
If we don't have the quest, he just tells us to push off and Gorath drags Owyn off before he can start hurling Flamecasts. Inside the barn...
BaK posted:
Guards escorted them inside.
Near the pasture gate and past some of the more offensive smelling horse stalls, an older woman sat on a large oak bench, her gaze stern and unflinching as she looked into the faces of the numerous military captains who were seated on the floor around her. Looking up, she didn't appear amused that her council had been interrupted.
"Yes, what is it?" she asked of Owyn. "You bring news?"
"Of a sorts," Owyn said awkwardly. Quickly he summarized the things which he had been told about the brewing difficulties with the soldiers and the need for supplies for the taverns.
Angered, Count Corvalis turned on Owyn and shook his head. "I can't believe you would interrupt this meeting for so trivial an issue."
"You do not have permission to speak, Count," Lady Boswich replied, an iron hard edge to her voice. "If anything, their request is the most reasonable thing I've yet heard from anyone in this room today. Most of you have been preening and prattling on like you were cocks in a hen house, but I'll have no more of it. It's time we addressed our problems here!"
Uncomfortable to be witness to his uncle's humiliation, Owyn said nothing as the Lady returned her attention to him. Her faint smile painting aged lines across her face, she motioned for the doors to be reopened for them. "You will find that I have reserves of alcohol hidden in secret chests located near here. They are hidden behind an illusion of a mountain that was created for another purpose."
Owyn staggered. The thought of an illusion of a mountain boggled his mind, the sheer amount of power necessary fantastically large. "But who..."
"It is not important," she replied. "Go from this place and bear east into a small canyon. That which appears to be the canyon's end is an illusion and may be passed through. Beyond it you shall find the chests of which I speak."
Nodding his head, Owyn bowed respectfully to the Lady and allowed himself to be escorted with Gorath back outside.
I like Lady Boswich, she should feature in more stories. She reminds me a bit of Lady Brock from Joe Abercrombie's latest books. Also, the guide insists that there's a hint somewhere that Patrus set up her illusion for her, which would seem totally in character, but I can't seem to find it. A more pressing problem, however, is... the booze is gone. There are triggers for the game emptying containers left around if they don't contain specific quest items or, especially, notes. Since I opened them back in Chapter 3, apparently the game saw fit to just empty every fucking last of them!
No huge loss to us, though. Obviously, we miss out on the reward and dialogue if we returned to Lurough in the tavern:
BaK posted:
The bartender shook his head.
Weaving past a hard looking mercenary, he bent his head low as he spoke, fearing being overheard. "For all this fuss about the moredhel, I don't know that I could be worse off than I have been these last few weeks," Lurough grumbled. "Had a group of soldiers come in last evening after last watch. They threatened to set the Dagger N Star alight if I didn't get them something to drink. Fortunately Dabney was able to talk sense to them."
Looking around the bar, Owyn could tell that the mood had changed little since the run in. "We've looked around for you..."
"Yes?" Lurough said with sudden interest. "Did you find anything?"
[YES]
Owyn grinned.
Feeling like Father Charity at a Midwinter's Festival, he undid the hood of his satchel and flashed the tavern keep a view of their prize, at the same time looking about to see if they were observed.
Glee dancing in the barkeep's eyes, he was barely able to contain himself as he escorted them to the rear room of the tavern. "There may not be much there, but at least it'll keep a riot from breaking out in here!" he squeaked, giving in to an urge to caper now that he was out of the sight of bar patrons. "Let me make this up to you!"
Rummaging through the goods in the back room, he found a long object wrapped in burlap and handed it over to them.
"It's a sword," Gorath said, looking at the finely crafted weapon. "And quite deadly looking by my estimation."
Lurough nodded. "My grandfather used that during the Great Rising," he said. "I hope you can put it to better use than I could."
Resuming a calm facade, Lurough escorted them back into the common room of the tavern.
The sword we'd get would be another Sword of Lims-Kragma, which is a bit odd considering how easily we can acquire one right at the start of the chapter. Now, the PRO GAMER MOVE is that you can actually leave this one in a place that James and Locklear can access in the next chapter they appear in, but it's not necessary. James and Locklear are already pretty tough fighters, and Patrus has the spells which are needed to get through his next appearance.
In any case, back to Malac's Cross. I warp to the Temple of Lims-Kragma from the Temple of Kahooli, which is the closest we can get to the Chapter 5 area in Chapter 6.
He has a plan that he believes will work. He sent along the details.
Tactics, tactics, tactics, always tactics. A justified end to my life as an abbot, I suppose. The priest brought down by the pawn. The circle closes. It's not too late to do the right thing, abbot. You have a chance to strike back at the Crawler. You can tell me how to get the relic so that he doesn't gain it. Tell me how to get the Book of Macros. Book of Macros? I've never heard of it. I transcribed quite a few of the books that came from his library when he left Midkemia, but I believe I would have remembered reading a book by that title. I know very little about that magician except for what is written in Pug's or Tomas' historical commentaries on the Riftwar with the Tsurani. No, the Crawler was after a magical sword that was reputedly lost near Malac's Cross in the dim past. Personally, I don't believe the Guarda Revanche is anything but a myth. You just mentioned someone named Tomas. Who is that? Hmph? Tomas? He's Warleader of the Elves in Elvandar and Consort to Queen Aglaranna. He was very close to Pug as I understand it and I believe he also spent some little time with Macros. Perhaps he may know about your Book of Macros. It's a lead. Thin, but a lead. Thank you, abbot. I think we have a book to find. Perhaps we will meet again under happier circumstances... Unlikely, unless you set your feet on the road to Kesh. I imagine that's where I go next. Goodbye and farewell. Kesh is it? Good luck.There's no tangible reward to this except thta we get pointed to Elvandar and a reminder about the Guarda Revanche(it also opens up the Malac's Cross teleporter again, but we're out of any good reasons to ever return to Malac's Cross anyway, so the only real effect is that we can leave quicker.
). We're still not where we can acquire it, but we definitely want to acquire it. Of course, we first need to go back to Krondor because there's something I skipped over when we were there earlier. Not because I couldn't do it earlier, but because it's neater to do it this way.