Part 8: Goddamnit, Henry!

: C'mon, Puckle, let's go tell Dad what happened!


: Your father was summoned by the throne of Reinhart, and just left but a few moments ago! He wanted to take you along with him, but you were nowhere to be found! The call was urgent. He had no choice but to leave without you, young master... But if you leave now, you may be able to catch up with him! Go on now, hurry!
: Oh my God! I can't believe Dad left without me! Daaad! Wait up!

Simon hurries to the outskirts of the village, frantically trying to catch up to his father.


: What? But Sancho said he left already!

: Hey, blondie, have you seen my Dad?


: Not very helpful, man.


: I wonder... what could have happened to all the food?
: That vixen keeps accusing me of eating all the food, so this time I really did eat it!
: Auugh! I don't care!


: Let's see now... Dear Simon... thank you... I hope we can meet again one day... -Bella...
: ARG! I SAID I DON'T... wait, what? Awww, thanks, Bella!
: What in the hell...?


: easy... Something about him finding a person called the Legendary Hero... Oops, maybe what I said was a bit hard for a little boy like you to understand.


: Papas was renowned for his skills as a warrior... Must be why they called him.
: OK, so how do I get there?


: If he had a favor to ask Papas, he should've come to him personally.
: What is wrong with people in this town? I need to find my... oh there he is.


: Well, I found the guy that stole the fairies' flute but it was really the fault of the Snow Queen and...
: No use yelling over it. I was just offering a prayer to God before I set out... You should pray as well, son. I'll be waiting at the entrance of the village.
: Hunh, that's weird. Dad isn't usually the prayers sort of guy.


: Dear God, thank you for awesome fairyland adventures, and also for Puckle. Please watch over Bianca and keep her safe so she doesn't have to blow people up with her scary fire powers and get in trouble. And please watch over Daddy. I know he's real busy lately because he's always too tired to spend time with me. I'd like it a lot if Daddy got a chance to take a break. Amen.


: This will be a relatively short trip compared to our travel by sea. After we finish this journey, I plan for us to settle down for a while. I know that it must have been rough and lonely for you 'til now... but I plan to make it up to you after this...
: Aw, Dad...
: Well then... shall we?
: Take care, Papas!


To get to Reinhart, Papas and Simon have to first cross a river. There's no bridge, but there's a tunnel underneath the river. Rumor has it, an adventuring merchant built the tunnel back in the days when the land was only 8 bits.


: I was summoned here by the King of Reinhart with utmost urgency!
: Ah! So you must be Lord Papas! I've been informed of your coming. Please pass!

On the other side of the tunnel, an old man is gazing out over the river.


: Don't trouble yourself with my worries... I am merely divining this nation's fate by watching the flows of the river...
: I see... Well take care, old man... the wind blows cold and you may catch chill...
: Naw, don't worry, Dad, I fixed that.


Teehee. The game is still on autopilot, so after talking to the old man Papas walks straight to the right again and goes directly into the staircase back into the tunnel. A pointless detail, but it amuses me.




: I am Papas from the village of Santa Rosa. I am here under summons of the King.
: Oh! You're Lord Papas!? The King awaits you, sir! Please, this way!


: Good work... You may go...
: Sir!
: Papas, is it? I have heard the rumors of your heroics from all over the nation... So.. I have a favor I must... er... ask of you... *cough* Would you mind coming closer? The rest of you are dismissed!

The King's guards leave, and Papas steps up to consult with the king. After a moment, he turns back to Simon.
: Simon, you must be bored just standing there... Why don't you take this opportunity to look around the castle? I'm sure I'll be done here by the time you're done taking a look or two around the place.


: Simon! What did I tell you about showing proper respect to kings?
: Ummm... That I'm as good as any royalty and I'll never have to kneel to anybody.
: Oh, right. Go play anyway!


: It makes me anxious to think that those are the characteristics of the future King of this land...


: Odd. I feel as if I once caught a glimpse of him somewhere. Perhaps I'm just imagining it...


: Young as you may seem, how very perceptive you are. You too believe that our Dale is more suited to take the throne than that wretched boy, Henry, don't you? Ho ho ho ho!


: Don't think she's listening to you, dude.


: Huh? Why? What's wrong with Henry?

Simon tries going to talk to that blond guy, who jumps out of his chair faster than I can record.


: He knows how much I hate frogs, and he still put one down my back... I'm so paranoid now!
: Heehee, frogs. That's a pretty good one!


: When he was very young, he lost his mother, so his father promptly remarried, but... it just wasn't the same. All the new Queen cared of was her own children. It's only natural that he be bitter.


: Oh ho, what is this? An unattended door? Good think I am now the master of unlocking!


: what


: WHAT THE F


: Oh. My. God. Stupid locks! Stupid fairy key! AAAAUGH!


: So long as nothing drastic happens, then no doubt our King will be the eldest, Lord Henry!


: I was kind of wondering that, too.


: But should I bring this up before the King...? Oh what a dilemma...


: Ever since, monsters have once again begun to attack the people of these lands. Little boy? Can you believe it?
: Sure! Sounds totally plausible to me! Want to hear about hit Winter with a stick so hard she gave up?
: Only God knows the truth of things.


: Neat! A map!


: You're the son of that Papas guy my father called here, aren't you? I'm the prince of Reinhart! I'm the next bestest after the King. Do you want to be my personal goon?
: Well, no, not really.
: Whaaaaat? I didn't quite hear that... so I'll ask you again.
: Ugh, fine. Whatever.
: Wa ha ha! Why would I want a little shrimp like you as my goon? Go home to your mother!
: I... don't have a mother.
: Oh, yeah, me either. Whatever, scram!
: I'm gonna go tell your dad you're being a jerk!


: I also ask you to be his friend. I am counting on you.


: I wish he would trust me a little, but he really seems to dislike me...
: I think that's just because he's a sh
: But you're a kid too. Maybe you can befriend him...? I'll be watching out here to see he doesn't go anywhere, so will you go try to be his friend? That a boy! I'm counting on you!
: Isn't this job a little beneath us, Dad? We could be doing way much more important stuff than babysitting!
: I promised his father I'd help, and a man never goes back on a promise. Remember that, son.


: Yes I would love to be your goon.
: Well, alright, if you insist, you can be my goon. There's a Goon Badge in the next room, so go bring that to me! If you do that, I'll make you my personal goon!
: Please stop saying goon.

: If this badge is in a locked chest I am just going to flip out.


: ... Henry, you butt!


: ... Wait, where'd he go?


: Without entering through this corridor, the Prince couldn't have gone out... but I never even saw the boy... Hmmm... Oh well... I suppose we should check it out anyhow.


: *grumble* Now he hates me even more... My apologies, prince.
: You're a little jerk, Henry!
: Heh heh heh...


: Anyhow... will you please befriend the Prince? I'm counting on you.
: Does beating him unconscious count?


: You know good and well there's no badge in there!
: What? The treasure chest was empty? That's impossible! If you want to be my goon, then go check again!
: Seriously? We're playing this game... Fine.


: Oh, gee, Henry has vanished I'd better go get my dad so I can look like an idiot again!


: Or I just find the obvious secret exit behind your desk.


: Still, you didn't bring me the Goon Badge, did you? Well you can't be my goon, so there! ... Hmmm?

Some thugs bust in from the door to the right and shove Simon out of the way as they go for Prince Henry.


: Who the hell are you?!
: Sorry, but you're coming with us!
: Ugh!


: Hey! Get back here!


: *huff* *puff* They got away! I'd better go tell Dad!


: Hey boy, if you notice anything odd, it's best you go tell your dad right away.
: Yeah, wouldn't want to waste the castle guards' time on something like this, would I?


: Listen up, Simon, don't tell anyone about this yet. We can't make this any bigger than it already is. We've got to save the prince! Follow me, Simon!

Papas runs after the kidnappers faster than Simon's little legs can keep up!
: Dad! Hey, Dad! Where'd you go? Dang it, I'd better ask around town to find out which direction to go.





: But it's really dangerous, so my mother told me to never ever go near it.
: Well, that's obviously where I'm going, then.


Some random new monsters out here. Dancing Needle can do a strange dance, which drains MP from a party member. Laughing Grass is kind of fun to say. Brownies have the ability to build up power to smack super hard later; basically the precursor to the Psyche Up ability in later games. In this case, his accuracy is so bad that it's nothing much to worry about, but sometimes he can get lucky.



: OW OW OW This green stuff hurts! Why did I walk here?
... Oops. Sorry...


: That must be where they took Henry!


: Weird, this isn't a natural cave at all...


: Dad! Oh jeez oh jeez. I'm coming, just hold on!

This dungeon looks really confusing, with lots of bridges and stairs, but it's actually almost completely linear, with just a few short offshoots for loot.




: Oh.. uh... Hi guys...


: Travelling around with a little panther... you're one of those jungle boys, aincha? *hick*
: Uh.. Yeah, sure, that's the ticket!


: Anyhow, they say if you bring children here, someone'll buy 'em as slaves for a good price. Good deal, eh?


: I think I'll sell him off and make a bit of extra spending money. Two birds with one stone.


: I think I'm gonna need this...


: Ugggggh, so gross!
The monsters are starting to get tough, now that you've got some resources to defend and heal yourself with.


Identify tells you some of the details of an item. Pretty useless in the age of gamefaqs.


: Oh jeez, it's Henry! I hope he's OK... Hold tight, dude, we're coming!


: Dad! I found Henry!


: Simon! I thought I'd lost you, but you came all the way here by yourself, eh? You truly have grown, haven't you? It makes me so proud!
: Aw, jeez, Dad, is this really the time?
: Oh, quit squirming. You'll be too big to hug soon! Anyhow, we must save the prince! You go ahead! I'll beat down anything that comes from behind us!


Papas lets Simon lead the way. In fact, I think this is the first time we have any control while Papas is in the party, so let's check out his stats.


Yeah, there's a reason everyone asks Papas to fix their problems. Those numbers are huge. _{Would it kill the man to put some pants on, though?}


: Hey, I think I can get to Henry's cell with this boat!
: Attaboy, son, lead the way.


: That guy riding the slime doesn't look right...
: That's not a person; the slime's just halfway oozed into a suit of armor.
: ... That's gross.
: Yes it is, son. Yes it is.


: No! No NO NO! It's not fair! Why doesn't this key work? I hate locks so much!


: ... No child has ever loved his father more than I love you right now. You are my hero.


: Well, whatever, I don't plan on returning to that castle anyhow! My brother can take the stupid throne! No one cares about me anyhow!
: Prince Henry! *smack*
: You... slapped... me?! Ugh!!! How dare you!?
: Your highness, did you ever stop to think about how your father would take this? Your father... he...
: ...
: At any rate, we have to get out of here before--

Some monsters appear out of nowhere!


: We've got company... Simon! Leave this to me! You take the prince and get out of here!
: OK, Dad! C'mon, dumbass.


: Ohhhhh, sh
: Ho ho ho... What naughty little children, thiking you could escape me... Well, I suppose I should punish your insolence! Come!
: Crap! Get back, Henry! C'mon, Puckle!


Sadly, Simon was no match for the sorceror. Before Gema can strike the killing blow, though, Papas arrives on the scene!


: Ho ho ho ho! So you are the one who defeated my men, are you not? Jahmi! Gonz!


Gema summons his minions out of nowhere, but of course they're no match for Papas.


: Ho ho ho ho... Impressive! Very impressive... But what if I were to do... this?
Gema places the blade of his Death Scythe to Simon's throat!
: Simon!
: If you wish to see the child die, then go on, and fight to your fullest! But know that this child's soul will forever roam the plains of Hell... Ha ha ha ha!
: ... Damn you...


: Dad? What are you doing? Beat them, Daddy! You have to win! You just have to!


: Daddy! Noooo!

: Ho ho ho ho! You have been... what's the term? Highly amusing...
: Uuuhh...
: Oh? You breathe still, human?
: Simon! Simon! Can you hear me? Uuuuhhh...
: Please, Daddy...
: Your mother... still... lives! Please... for me... find... your... mot--


:Ho ho ho ho! Ahh, a parent's love for his child... how touching... But don't you worry. Your son will be spared... to live the rest of his life happily enslaved to our High Priest! Ho ho ho ho! Jahmi! Gonz! Take this child away!


: Throw it out somewhere. After a while in the wild it'll regain its killer instincts. Hmmm? Wait! This child has such an odd looking gem!

Gema takes the Golden Orb away from Simon, and turns it over in his hands.
: Could this be...? No matter, its fate remains unchanged!

Gema holds the Golden Orb tightly in his grasp, and...


: Ho ho ho ho! Well, shall we take our leave then?

Gema casts Return, whisking away everyone except for Puckle and the charred remains of Papas.
: Mow? Mrrrrrrow!


"Your mother yet lives!" The hope filled words ring in Simon's head, but all that awaits Simon now are the pain and cruelty-filled days of enslavement.



End of Act I