Part 21: Tiz Arrior and the 40 Thieves

Entry 19: Tiz Arrior and the 40 Thieves

Last time: the party pursued a band of thieves into a desert cave, aiming to find both justice and treasure.



Speaking of...



Ow.

After a clunking and hissing noise from nearby, the party got hit with a dense dark cloud.



Even damage across the board and all blinded.



What's--? My eyes! I can't see!

Blind gas!? Where is it coming from!?

Be careful, everyone! This is clearly a trap!

Our aim is completely shot. We can't go rushing into melee attacks with Brave.

Don't want to miss and then have to just stand there turn after turn!

Still... Even blind, I can see to the core of a woman's heart, clear as day.

Heh, the things that really matter can't be seen by the eye.

...Gah!

Augh, Ringabel! Stop spouting gross nonsense and watch where you're stepping!

Even when you're not blind, you can't see past your big, fat mouth!

...Ack!

Oww, Edea, don't go stomping ar-- OW! Not again! Where are those eye drops!?

While those three flail around, Agnès goes for the treasure. What's our prize?



Oh. This can buy... 1/20th of a potion.

So normally in this dungeon, you'd learn to avoid the traps and blindna/eye drops the party when you mess up. But I'm exploring without random battles, so the party's just going to run around blind. Sorry, guys.



Complete map shows two stairs leading down. The right stairway leads to a dead end with treasure.



A good old Final Fantasy star pendant. Silver is powerful stuff in fiction.

Back upstairs and down the left staircase.




New item and complete map. How far down do these ruins go? Why did this ancient civilization build giant traps everywhere? Or were those added later?



Jeez, this seems extreme. Just stick with coffee, guys.



This dungeon is dark, and this corner is even darker. There's a hidden passage here, to the left.





Handy! Almost like we've got a real thief in the party! Now if only we could get our mitts on a pair of those thief gloves.



Another blue chest. Even the local thieves couldn't open it.



Further on, the path splits east and west, both passing through a gauntlet of traps. The party stumbles blindly on.



Treasure to the west includes our first bow. Bows hit like the dickens but require both hands. They are also always strong against flying enemies.



At the very end of the path, past another cluster of traps, are the gloves mentioned in the thief's knife description.



That would be great, if only we had...




As always, the Adventurer's ahead of us. After finally taking care of the party's eyesight and health, time to confront the thieves. 40 against 4... hope they're not all at home.



Cozy living area. Looks like they've been set up here a while.




The place is cleared out at the moment. Angry leader guy is all alone.



These guys have stolen more junk than they know what to do with.



This is our chance. Maybe down here in his cave, out of the heat, he'll be more chill.



Why do you persist in these awful deeds? You must return the articles you stole!



Well that was pretty uncalled for.

And what? Don't tell me you came all this way just to vomit a few platitudes out on my floor. Feh. This place is nothing but sand and hypocrites! Drives a man mad...

And this thirst. These daggers in my throat! All the water in the desert can't dull their edge.

The people you robbed at the oasis were thirsty, too! They risked their lives to get at that water, and you--

Augh, spare me the lecture. You come to convert me?



Out here, honest lives end quick. The desert's a beast, and it's always hungry! The city's no different. There are only two kinds of folk in this world, make no mistake. The takers, and the taken from!



Till the day came they couldn't feed their family of three, so they cut loose their kid and disappeared!

They just left you?

The city just took and took till they had nothing left. Their own brat became a burden, so they dumped him like a bag of sand! Daft, eh? Absolutely stupid. If surviving means pinching from other folk, I'll happily join the takers!

Are you sure they left because you were a burden to them? Maybe they swallowed their tears and left you in the city in hopes that you, at least, could find happiness there.

Aye, or maybe they left me because they didn't have the guts to kill me themselves! You don't know a stinking thing about them.

You're right. I don't know their reasons. But they do. If they're still alive, you can go and ask them! You can track them down and make them explain themselves. Make them answer for their choices!

You can yell and scream and fight as long as you like. As long as it takes. You can work on forgiving them! But you haven't done any of that. You've stayed here sulking and festering all your life. That's far dafter to me!

My throat... This accursed thirst. It's worse than ever. You... this is your fault! You smug, delusional, self-righteous little lambs make me sick! I'll take everything... EVERYTHING from you!

Should... should we really be fighting this guy? He needs a therapist, not a deadly beatdown.





Seems we don't have any more choice in the matter.

Heh, aye, that's enough words. I'm choking on this lot's hypocrisy. I want them stripped to the bone!

I care nothing for your reasons, and still less for your ideals. My assistance hinges only on the weight of your coin purse.

She's heavy enough. You'll have your pay.



So, Khint is working with/above both Profiteur and this thief, plus acting as a messenger for the Council of Six.



Time to see how tough he is.



Due to the surprise entry of Khint, the battle has two opponents.



Khint's fighting style is obvious straightaway: He spends a turn casting Sword Magic on his weapon, then for a few turns afterward dishes out hefty physical damage laced with whatever magic he put on.

In this fight, he uses either magic adding additional fire damage or magic with a chance to silence the target.



The thief, Jackal, does comparatively little damage and no fancy attacks but has incredibly high evasion, making regular physical attacks against him nearly worthless. He will also sometimes steal a potion from the party.



...And use it on himself.

Taking one of the two opponents down to half health triggers a cutscene (battle cutscenes like this aren't available in the event viewer).





Your odds are poor, and I don't take poor clients.

Go, then! They all abandon me in the end!



Oh. Okay, then.



Left alone and in poor health, the Jackal starts Braving 4x.



His attacks don't hit for much, so it hurts him more than the party. Without Khint, he's easy.



Edea's been cutting away despite his evasion, and gets in the last blow.



Despite the party's attempts to persuade him otherwise, the ending of the Jackal's story is grim.



However, for their efforts, the party can now learn to steal from enemies.





Khint's battle entry shows up even though we didn't defeat him. This confirms he's got one of the asterisks.

But first, the party need to finish what they came here for.



Ringabel wanders over.





The streets, they are full of people too poor to afford it. The sense of panic grows by the hour. That self-righteous fool of a prime minister comes to demand the price be lowered day after day.

It will not be long now till the masses reach their limit. The poor will have no choice but to go to the oasis. That is where you will wait, armed and ready. Steal everything. And above all else, do not let them at the water.

Your task is to ensure all of Ancheim is terrified of the oasis. Give them a welcome they will never forget. In time, they will understand that if they wish to survive, they will be buying the merchantry's water. No matter the price.

But see you keep your mouth shut, yes? No one must know of our collaboration on this matter. If you are found out, the deal is cut off. Your head will be next. -- E. Profiteur

Then...

Those thieves were under the employ of the Khamer & Profiteur Merchantry.

And the people's suffering? Did it mean nothing to them so long as they reaped a profit? ...Despicable.



The people will continue to suffer as long as these degenerates hold the kingdom's water ransom. I say we storm the place and set this matter straight right now!

The party nods in agreement. Sounds like we're continuing our rampage of justice right back to Ancheim.


Next: The party confronts unregulated capitalism in the way they know best.

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Event Viewer
Sub-Scenario:
Thieving Jackal
The Cause of the Water Shortage

Party Chat:
What the Eye Cannot See