Part 12: Grave Mistakes, Part 1

Update 12: Grave Mistakes, Part 1





Welcome to the sewers of Krondor! Every time there's a part of a Midkemia story set in Krondor, the sewers get to be involved, and they seem roughly as actively travelled as the streets above, therefore it's no real surprise that the instant we arrive, someone's walking up to hassle us.




Meet Limm! He's a Mocker, and oh boy am I going to have a lot of complaining to do about the Mockers in the lore post after this one.

Who be you and what would you in the Thieves' Highway?

I be Seigneur Locklear and I do whatever I will in the Prince's sewers! If you're half as intelligent as you seem then I would advise you step out of our way.

Fast with a blade I am. Step any further and I'll do you, I will!

The only thing you will do my young friend is die an unfortunate death on the point of my sword. I used to spar with Jimmy the Hand and I'm a faster blade than he. Do you still wish to cross me?

Jimmy the Hand? He's a legend, sire. Next you'll be telling me you've lain with the Empress Lakeisha of Kesh. I'd advise you to be nice like, however cause I got five blokes waiting a little on down to make sure nothing happens to me, see. I don't suppose you've come on behalf of Seigneur James have you?

Seigneur James? Then you don't...well, perhaps we have.

Alright then, down to tacks. If he didn't send you, you'll be answering to the Upright Man and not me, so I wash my hands of it. Just watch your steps down here, as there's a bit of trouble going on down here. G'day.

Wait...we don't know our way around down here.

I look like a bloody page to you? I've got affairs of me own whats I gots to do.

Just answer a few questions?

Right then, so long as you don't ask me anything what might get me in the hots with the Nightmaster. What you want to know?

We don't actually have anything we can talk to Limm about for now and, in general, he doesn't have a lot of dialogue options in future chapters either. The only thing he's good for at the moment is selling us lockpicks in case we're short on them but... we're going to effortlessly be drowning in the fucking things anyway. There aren't actually that many actually, well, locked locks in the game, at least not compared to word locks, and most of the ones really worth getting into can be sorted with keys and... ooooh the keys are a whole other kettle of fish. Anyway, we'll bid Limm goodbye since he seems willing not to set the entire guild of thieves on us for splashing around in his territory.

I'll be off now as I've got business with the Upright Man. You'll have to come and tell me some more of your fables about Jimmy the Hand.

Perhaps we will. Thanks for your help.



Squire, is it normal for the sewers to be this crowded in Krondor?
Honestly? Yes. To listen to James, he runs into more people down here than he does up above.
If you two are done chatting, we've got company up ahead.




Rogues are a relatively common encounter down here, but most of them, note that I say most of them, are no big deal since it's just two or three of them and we're ready for that kind of shenanigans by now.




Hold up, something's strange about the darkness up ahead.
How can darkness be "strange"?
Well, it seems more murderous than darkness usually is. Also carrying swords.
Ah, my favourite part about the sewers, Nighthawks. You sometimes wonder, when you're killing a rogue, or a moredhel, whether maybe they're just good people in bad situations, but Nighthawks...



Dressed as they are in all black, Nighthawk encounters are very likely to happen without you spotting them down here in the sewers. Their all-black outfits suit them less above ground, but they wear them there anyway because... here's the thing... the Nighthawks, despite being a guild of assassins, are dogshit awful assassins. The only time they're ever a threat to any protagonists in the series are when they have magical assistance(for a notable period, dead Nighthawks had the annoying habit of rising again as murderous zombies, Black Slayers, who can only be put down by magic or being burned, due to a dark pact they'd signed with the False Murmandamus featured in Silverthorn and A Darkness At Sethanon.), but outside of those situations they're regularly killed by a 15-year-old Jimmy the Hand and do bungling cartoony shit like accidentally shooting each other with crossbows in the middle of fights or charging like cartoon bulls so protagonists can just step aside and let them drop over tall ledges.

In BaK they are, appropriately enough, not that particularly much stronger than the other enemies in the game, though they're more likely to carry better-quality weapons than the enemies fought so far, and regularly bring crossbowmen and poisoned bolts. There are no Nighthawk mages.




And now we cut out their hearts and burn them!
At least the smell of burning human flesh is better than the smell of the sewers.




Looks like they were guarding this ladder, maybe it's the way u-




It's just like you Jimmy. I haven't seen you in seven months, then I rescue you from a band of Nighthawks and the first thing you want to talk about is my bloody change of hair color! What is going on around here? The front gate is smashed and there are Nighthawks loose in the sewers.

Not Nighthawks. Impostors. Someone has been trying to convince Prince Arutha that the Guild of Death has reestablished operations here in Krondor and is using the sewers as their hideout, hoping that the Lancers will come down and clean out the place. In doing so, I think whoever is running this game hopes that the Lancers will root out the Mockers while they are at it.

What, take out the Guild of Thieves? Doesn't seem likely from all the things you've told me from your days as a Mocker.

More to the point, we know now a few of the Nighthawks escaped to Romney when we smashed them up after that affair with Princess Anita. They certainly won't dare tread Krondor's streets for a while yet. I'd been tracking around down here trying to find out more when I ran into those fellows... So...why have you come back so soon to Krondor, Locky? I thought you were going to be gone another four months or so.

I've got bad news from the Northlands. Looks like the Dark Brothers are stirring again. They raised Murmandamus' battle standards over Sar-Sargoth and there's a moredhel army gathering to attack the Kingdom. This moredhel used to be one of their clan chieftains, something of a hero during the Riftwar against the Tsurani too. I thought Prince Arutha would be interested in talking to him.

I don't like this, Locky. The moredhel stirring again in the north and someone mimicking the Guild of Death... My bump of trouble says that things are going to get far worse before they get better... I assume since you're down here that you're trying to get into the palace the way I showed you a few years ago?

Yes...I was thinking I would have to pry off the grate somehow, but if you have the key, it would save me a great deal of trouble.

Still on me. It's all yours. I can find my own way into the palace. I'm going to creep around a while longer down here and see if I can unravel this particular mystery.

Suit yourself. I, for one, am anxious to get out of this hole. Come and get me for breakfast tomorrow after I've spoken to Prince Arutha!

Welcome to Jimmy the Hand. While he doesn't have the supernatural powers of Pug or Tomas, he's the third major protagonist and usually more competent than any adults he's travelling with in the books where he's not even 18 years old yet. By the time of Betrayal, I think he's around 25 years old, though the specific progress of the timeline is often kind of vague and can generally only be inferred by keeping an eye out for minor comments about how old a given character has turned compared to comments about their age in previous books.

He's generally kind of smarmy and unlikeable in Silverthorn and Sethanon, but in the Betrayal-Assassins-Return trilogy, he's a lot more tolerable. In-game he is, like Locklear, inexplicably an asshole to people(sometimes in funny ways) for no good reason.

Oh and also let's not forget that there's a sewer entrance(a sewer that connects to the sea and is reachable by boat) right into the Palace of Krondor. That's good design work, folks.

In any case, the sewer features a number of "false" ladders that lead nowhere, only the right one can be opened by the unique key James hands us.



And it can't be picked, so we need to bungle into James to progress.





So that's Jimmy the Hand? I've heard stories of him, supposedly quite skilled, for a human.
He is pretty skilled. So what do the moredhel stories say about me?
...
Oh come on, there aren't any stories about me? I tagged along for all those adventures and I don't even get the smallest bit of fame? This is the worst.

Past a rope-requiring pit(you CAN come around from the other side, to be fair), and a couple of false ladders, we find the right one.




Now, time for text...


In the book, this entire sequence is much different. For one thing, the three goons go and have a bath first before marching up to the Prince of Krondor covered in blood and shit.





Incurable sewer rats, the both of you. I shall have to order that each of you be accompanied by a score of washing maidens to keep you presentable enough for court. Welcome home, Locky.

Thank you. As happy as I am to be here, I'm afraid I come with bad news from the Northlands.

I expected as much. With the false Nighthawks prowling my streets above and below it can only mean the moredhel are up to their old mischief. What do you know?


Assassin! Get Down!



I love how Arutha just stands there, not giving a fuck, after a Moredhel assassin manages to infiltrate his castle and starts shooting arrows at him.



Welcome, somewhat abruptly, to chapter 2, which starts, like chapter 1, with a ton of text.


In the book this flashback is somewhat more detailed, giving us a good bit of background on Gorath's life and sorrows, and how he's never exactly been eager to join in warfare, though he got swept up in the madness of both the first (real) Murmandamus and the second (false) Murmandamus. As for the new characters introduced here, the only one that needs explaining is Gamina, Pug's adopted daughter who can read minds and communicate telepathically, but is otherwise mute. Pug also has a biological son, William, who we won't be seeing in Betrayal at Krondor.



Pug and his wife, Katala, have clearly had too much to drink themselves and have no idea how to deal with Arutha being a belligerent drunk. Katala is a member of a minority from the Tsurani homeworld, the Thuril, she was a slave alongside Pug for a while, but he had her freed when he became a megawizard. The descriptive text always goes on about how she's headstrong and from a proud warrior culture, but she generally just plays the generically nagging and worried housewife, because women aren't allowed agency in a Midkemia story until Return to Krondor.

I have been tolerant while I listened to your vague speculations based on incidental half-heard conversations, but how am I to believe what you say? What evidence have you laid before this council to prove what Delekhan intends to do?





He is leader in name only. However bitter a draught Delekhan may be for your kith and kin to drink, magician, his rule is black poison in the gullets of me and mine. Already he enslaves my cousins and rapes the land.

Bloody his nose Prince of Krondor. Blunt his swords and the unified tribes will cast him down in wrath. Let him cross your Northern border, however, and ten other clans will join their strength to his and the legacy of Murmandamus will be but a spark next to his glory.

Where would you have me send my troops? If indeed he intends a strike against one of our northernmost possessions, which castle shall I garrison for the attack? Highcastle? Ironpass? Northwarden? If I am to fight a war, by my teeth tell me where would you have me fight it!

Would that I could tell you! Delekhan holds in good confidence only a handful of cowering dogs and, among them, only a few are privy to his war plans. His private counsels are restricted to choice individuals, his advisors Narab and Nago, his mistress Liallan, his son Moraeulf and - Nighthawks!

He keeps foul company that leader of yours...

Your highness, if you give me leave, I believe I can find the evidence of Delekhan's intent. I will need someone to accompany me to Romney and supplies for my journey and a small parcel of gold.

Romney? What do you think you can find in a provincial river town in the heart of the Kingdom?

I aim to catch a bird in flight. Of late Delekhan has emptied a good deal of his treasury to revive the service of the Nighthawks. In exchange he has demanded tactical information about kingdom holdings...

He's turned the Guild of Assassins into a guild of spies?

Only for a time. Although the payments have been left in various hidden locales, the messengers were always to rendezvous in Romney. If I go there, I may be able to intercept information concerning a forthcoming attack. Would such evidence suffice?

Perhaps. Damn me but I don't trust you Gorath. How do I know that this isn't a plot of yours? We can weigh the evidence to our heart's content and your cousins could be slitting the throats of my serfs as we sit dawdling...

Go to Romney, but you'll provide for yourself. If this is part of some secret moredhel scheme, I'll not look the fool before the world. Pug, unroll the map for me...

This conversation also goes a bit differently in the book, going in a bit more on why Gorath dislikes Delekhan. Not just because he's a dictator who has his political enemies killed, but because the Moredhel, being slower reproducing and much lower in number than the humans, suffered incredibly from their huge losses at Armengar and Sethanon. Gorath worries that if Delekhan leads another war against the Kingdom, it'll completely destroy the Moredhel as a people.



This bit has Arutha jabbing at various points on the map with his... what is that? Just a general metal pointy stick? Anyway, refer to the map in the first post if you're wondering where the various locations actually are.

...and Northwarden.

His fortress at Sar-Sargoth is three hundred miles to the North and I doubt he has the resources to defend a line that long.

So an attack at Northwarden seems unlikely.

Leaving Highcastle...

Which is a viable alternative, but neither target seems to have an obvious goal. I know you are no field strategist and you hate to become involved in state matters but I should like you to delay your return to your home at Stardock for a while. I feel...ill at ease.

You are not alone in that. I too have sensed something unusual in the air, but I won't ascribe it to anything as dire as magic. More likely we suffer from bad soup.

Feelings aside I will call up the militia reserves from Malac's Cross, Darkmoor, and Lyton and join them to a detachment of the Krondorian Lancers just outside of the Dimwood.

James will send word to me there.

What of the garrison?

It will remain in place. I have considered the option of a full push south and it seems unlikely, but I will give Delekhan nothing. Our agreement remains.

Now we wait. Gods help Gorath if he betrays us to the moredhel.

And then we're dropped back into control.



This is absolutely not the lady who played Katala in the cutscene. There's like a 15-year age difference at the minimum.

Anyway, let's talk to her before we do anything else.

A pleasure to see you again, James.

Mine is the greater pleasure, my lady. Is Pug about?

You've just missed him. He and Makala went off to discuss magic someplace and if I know my husband, that means I won't see him for a few days. Even on holiday, he can't seem to take his mind away from the art for long.

In many ways, he and the Prince are much alike. Where is Arutha anyway?

Out with his twins and the Princess Anita. It seems your famed luck is running thin today.

Quite the contrary, for I still have your company. If I may have a moment?

As much time as you need. What may I do for you?

She doesn't have an awful lot of keywords, and one of them, Rations, only triggers if we manage to completely starve ourselves, in which case she'll graciously allow us to make use of the kitchens.

[GAMINA]

So, when do I get to meet this stunning daughter of yours? I've heard quite a bit about Gamina, but I've been too busy to make the time to meet her.

I imagine you will see her as soon as I do. She's more than likely trailing Pug and Makala about the palace. Any opportunity to hear her father discuss magic and she's immediately at his side. Then too, it may be she's hiding away from Arutha's twins. She's not quite interested in boys yet.

[MAGIC SUPPLIES]

I know that quite few of the artificers in Stardock have begun exporting their goods from the Academy. Are there any good places to buy magical items near here?

The most notable one that's close is a little place called Stardock Annex at the Abbey of Ishap at Sarth. Officially they have no ties with the Academy, but there's not much we can do to keep them from using the name. There's also a fellow by the name of Dabeh who buys from us, but he lives a long distance from here, out north of Romney if I recall.

We can't go out the main gates, because James will complain that it isn't stealthy enough, on the left side of the screen is an exit back to the sewers, but it's vitally important that we use the exit on the right first because...



That's where all Locklear's stuff went, and James starts with gear at about the same level as what Locklear did at the start of Chapter 1, so these upgrades are absolutely vital to make James not dead weight. Not that it really does a lot to fix him up since... yeah, let's just go over his starting stats.

On the bright side, he has the highest starting Defense, Stealth and Lockpicking skills in the game, and he's slightly sturdier than Locklear is starting out. On the downside, the only character we've had with worse melee than him so far is Owyn, and these are starting stats. He's missed out on all the trainers and practical experience that the rest of the party have enjoyed on the way south from LaMut. Despite being one of the main protagonists of multiple books, he's definitely playing second fiddle to, well, everyone, for a while yet.



Alright, Gorath, I don't know how things were with Locklear, but from this point on we're doing things my way.
And what is "your," way, human?
Quiet, calm, professional, minimum of detours and no un-needed violence.





I can see why you'd prefer that, even Owyn would have been more threatening in a fight than you.
Can it.
Why didn't we bring him, by the way? He's been useful so far.
He's completely unrelated to this entire thing, it would just put him in danger and, secondly, if we deal with any national security matters, we don't need an extra witness.

I proceed to then bumble around in the sewers for a bit as I make my way towards the exit, in part because I know there's a chest down here with a Skyfire scroll that I want to pick up, though it requires mulching a few rogues to get to.






These fights haven't been trouble so far, but they consist mainly of James whiffing two out of three swings while Gorath drops all the enemies with a single swing a piece.




Behind these guys is another gang(guarding a dead end), but you can stay just outside of their aggro radius and sneak into the side corridor containing the Skyfire scroll, you know, for any future wizards we might pick up. Now, to take the shortest and simplest route back to the exit...




I can't help but notice you've walked us right into a conflict where we're outnumbered more than two to one.

Also, two of those rogues are rogue mages(you can tell because they have yellow pants, which is because of magical power, not because they wet themselves). One of them, funnily enough, has Skyfire as a known spell, despite being underground, but he also has Grief of 1000 Nights, and losing Gorath for 32 rounds in this fight would be a game-over.




Instead, while I use James and his high Defense to disrupt the enemy casters, they tag Gorath with a cast of Unfortunate Flux, which basically sees him attacked by a small swarm of angry magic wasps. It always hits and is interesting in being one of the few spells that do randomized damage, in this case between 30 and 130 damage. Thankfully Gorath is built like a brick shithouse and survives it, though it also sees him then spending an entire turn chugging magic meth to get back to near-full health.




Thankfully, positioning allows James to disturb both mages at once, and then Gorath sets to work, dropping rogues left and right like the badass he is.



Gorath is absolutely the MVP of this party. Anyway, now we have a clear run to the exit. This fight and two others are spawned at the start of Chapter 2 exclusively to ensure you have at least one fight on the way to the exit, mind you.




I sense another ambush, someone is waiting for us...


It took you two long enough. I was beginning to think the Mockers had you bagged up again, Seigneur James. Is everything all right?

Squire, suppose I ignore the fact that this trip is a state secret to which you are not supposed to be privy AND that we are hurrying out of the sewers instead of leaving by the main gate at the proper time. How did you find out we were coming?

Well, after Seigneur Locklear dumped me off after we got here and told me I could go home, I got bored and decided to check out Krondor. Unfortunately there's nothing much interesting going on here, so I decided I would come back to the palace. I tried to pay Gorath an unexpected visit last night, but discovered that the guards had been doubled with orders that no one could see him. I might have fallen for it if I hadn't heard someone snoring in his cell...

Gorath doesn't snore, I take it.

Not a sound. When I realized that something was in the air I went to find Locklear and discovered that he was mysteriously absent, despite a tray of food delivered to his door just moments after I slipped away. Finally, I came down here and talked to Limm who told me you had been down here earlier this morning. At that point, I realized Arutha meant to slip Gorath out of Krondor for some reason...

Are you sure you're not a thief by profession? You think unnervingly like a Mocker I used to know.

So, are we ready? We should probably get moving. Where are we going anyway?

You cannot accompany us, Owyn. Our mission is much too important.

Quiet, moredhel! I'll handle this.

But I could jeopardize your mission! Who knows who might take me captive between here and Tiburn? If I go back to Krondor now, I might accidentally talk to someone. Besides, I'm from the eastern part of the Kingdom. I know the area and I might be able to help...

For better or worse, you seem determined to hitch your fate to catastrophe. But if you want to get yourself killed at a tender young age, who am I to naysay it? I used to pull the same stunts when Arutha wished to pull out of Krondor...

All right then squire, you can come along, but these are the ground rules. One, I am in charge and you do whatever I say without question. Two, under no circumstances do you reveal anything about Gorath or our mission to anyone. If someone asks, we will continue what Seigneur Locklear suggested - Gorath is an elf. Thirdly, and lastly, you don't wander off on your own. I don't care if you're watering the trees, you ask me first. Is all that clear?

Absolutely. Whatever you say.

Stop smiling. You're going to earn your keep. I know I'm going to regret this, but let's get moving. We have a long way to go and no time to get there.

Neither the game or the book are very clear on exactly why Owyn decides to come along on a mission that sees his attempted murder every five minutes and gets him on the shit-list of a gang of assassins that have attempted to kill Kingdom heads of state multiple times over the last decade, but in the book it's much the same, Owyn figures that the quest isn't over yet and just sort of wriggles his way into the party with "damn, sure would be a shame if someone forced me to rat you out through horrible torture or something, getting my fingernails yanked out always loosens my tongue," which is a relatively strong argument for why he should come along, but one that should be used on him rather than by him.

What, you think I'm gonna bail on this party? Have you seen the cash this mission rakes in?

Little about the books ever establishes the value of a Kingdom "Sovereign," except for a passing comment about how 100 of them would see someone set for about 4 months of good living. Considering that this party has, at one point, been carrying around 4000 sovereigns(which must have weighed a hell of a lot, they're supposedly relatively pure gold coins), that would've been about 12 years of comfortable living in the Kingdom.

And I'm not settling for "comfortable," so let's get a move on, we've got chests to crack and pockets to empty.
...I feel like the stealthy, low-violence approach has just gone out the window.



And so, we're clear to leave Krondor! Before I do so, though, I want to drop by the inn...



The Rainbow Parrot pops up in both Silverthorn, Sethanon and Return to Krondor, since the owner is good friends with a number of canon characters and also has a secret door into the sewers in one of his back rooms. The guy we want to talk to is the only NPC who isn't generic-looking, Nivek. He's also here in chapter 1, but has nothing to say then, now, however...




The pleasure is mutual. How are the ledgers of the Kingdom, Nivek? Think we shall have enough money to keep the Kingdom running for the year?

The ledgers are at a balance, but I daresay my thirst suffers a deficit of catastrophic proportions. Though I handle thousands of sovereigns a day, I fear I haven't the command of more than a handful for my own use at the moment. I don't suppose you might be in a position...

What do you say, Owyn? Do we buy a drink for the honorable tax collector or do we allow him to expire of thirst?

[YES... we want to buy him a drink, not YES we should let him die of thirst]

Bartender, a drink for the tax collector! Drink up friend and tell me what you know. You've always had a good ear for the happenings in and out of the Kingdom.

[FIRST DRINK]

Rumors? My goodness me, I'm not the kind to consort with the rumormongers. No sire, you should know that. Of course, I do occasionally hear a few facts that are of interest to people. Accounting is a...UHRUP...fascinating business you know, all the figures and such.

Something a little more lively if you please. Stolen cows, cheating wives, dishonest traders - that sort of thing.

The prurient and the scatological, eh? Hmmm. Well, let me think on it. I believe I heard something last week - at least I believe it was last week. Maybe it was the week before that. Couldn't have been before that annexation in Malac's Cross ---

If you please, Nivek. We would like to get out of here before tomorrow.

...I...AHHHP...would be most pleased to accommodate you, but it seems that my mouth has grown a bit dry. What do you say to buying me another drink?

[SECOND DRINK]

Ahh now. That's much better. What was I saying? Oh yes, about this story. Th-ere was...UHRUP...this fellow that lives near Sethanon that has filed three new claims on land in the past year. Thr-ee, ya understand that?

Is there something suspect about his purchases?

Oh, his selections of land are nice enough. Prime pieces of land matter of fact, but he's without a...AAHHHP...ti-tle! How'z a person of ignoble birth manage to buy three prime estates? Tell me that!

What was this fellow's name? Perhaps we should look into it.

What kind of ques---RUCHH---question is that now? Ya think I carry my ledger about in my head? I mean you might as well ass me the name of Prince Arufa's---Arutha's wife...

You mean to tell me that you can't remember Princess Anita's name?

No---what is her name?

You were telling me about the man near Sethanon. What else do you know about him? Tell me about the man.

...Ahhhh...I fink his name was Fibber... NAH, that's not right, not right at all... Fleeber...Monk's Finger...Map's Flipper...Fever... FEEBER! Maxie Feeber! Thatsss it! Ya know, I'm really, really getting tired now and maybe I should go home.

There's still a few things I need to know. Think you can hold out for a just a few more minutes?

Sure...RUCCHH...I kin do it. Need something else ta drink though. You buy---UHRUP--ing?

[THIRD DRINK]

That hit the---the ahhh---What?

I suppose you mean that your drink hit the mark. Why don't you tell us a little more about this Max Feeber character?

NAHnahnahnahh...that's bori---UHRUP--ng... let's talk about the last year. Did ya know that for every cow in Midkemia, we get a golden sovereigns a year alone just for their manure... Did ya know that? BETCHA didn't! An for every duck...

Max Feeber. I want to know about Max Feeber.

Dokay. Moxie Flipper. Ahm, I know that gee was tryging to buy up some of the propurtee left in Sethanon a few years back from Jared Lycrow but Jared wouldn't sell to no one, so Moxie co--AHRUP---cooked up this idea... Sure you don't want to hear about the ducks?

No. Just tell us about Max. What did he do?

Ee gots him selk a shovel and dug---ARRGHA---to try to skeer Jared. Corse Jared wasn't skeered of nuthin but it shore fri-teened---UHRUP---Nia...

What was he digging up?

...Goin ta slep now... Gnite...

Maybe I could buy you another drink?

What, you haven run outta mon---mon---money yet? Oh, in that case I'll have nother...if you're buying?

[FOURTH DRINK]

Grabeyurd neer Sethnon. Dats whur he wusss diggin. Up---ERRRRUP--- Frait o gosts n Jer-rud whatnt. Not at ull. Jes Nia. Littl o Nia...

Where do you think he got the funds to buy the land?

E...Ee sait that he gots it in na hole! Alz the monkeys...ARRAH...moneys in na hole! Jus got go...to get it... Ain't frait no gooset...

What hole are you talking about? Where is he going?

I tink I go home now...

One more tankard of ale to keep him going?

[FIFTH DRINK]

Ya nu... Zaa unturducktur key urdn skeywers...trite to sulit tome but...UHRUP...I no crumiminal...oh gles mr...AAAGH. O Ghats! Imna be sich! Ha- ho!

The what? I don't understand.

I sait, mna be SICK!

Okay, okay. I think I've abused you enough for now. Sleep well, Nivek. I think we know all we need to know.

Now, this might seem like a completely pointless way to waste our money, but! Ol' Nivek here is, in fact, our first clue on the way to one of the more lucrative sidequests in the game and which, if completed, rewards us with a weapon of which there are only four in the entire game, and which is thus eminently easy to miss out on entirely. It's also the quest that suffers the most from some Sierra-ass triggers that make it very easy to miss out on being able to complete it because you have to visit not just the right people, but also in the right order, Nivek here and one other thing are the only two ones you can get anything out of in the "wrong" order.

Anyway, that's for later, for now, we're gonna hit the road! As we do so, I also have James read Thiful's Bird Migrations for the boost. Then, because he's so far behind, I have him chew up the remaining 96 charges, because hey, with an 8% chance per charge, he SHOULD get more boosts, right?

Ha ha, fucking NOPE. James gets absolutely ZERO boosts beyond the first guaranteed one. This game has a cruel RNG.