Part 24: Furry and Flamers

"For a town lighthouse, this is a hell of a long way out from town.. isn't a lighthouse supposed to be for helping to guide ships around ports?

"Maybe they just having bigger problems around here? I don't know what a boat would be doing out here, but it could happen."



"It also looks like it's haunted by the most depressed looking ghosts I've ever seen."




"I think I like this place already."



"And we don't know who you are, but you're probably right."

"How rude of me.. I'm Torneko Taloon, merchant extraordinaire. You might have heard of me."



"You... you're Taloon? The same Taloon that dug a tunnel by himself? The same Taloon who crossed the Great Desert? And who's here to fight off the evil monsters?"

"See, you have heard of me!"

"You're... not exactly what we expected."

"I seem to be hearing that a lot lately."

"I want to extinguish the Evil Fire burning in this lighthouse."

"But powerful monsters have been preventing me from going any farther."

"Will you extinguish the Evil Fire for me?"

"I.. I guess we can do that.."

"The Fire of Serenity burned in this lighthouse until recently."



"It should be able to extinguish the Evil Fire."

"So you're saying that we need to use a fire to put out another fire and that's doing a fire changeout will somehow solve all our problems?"

"What if we just used a lot of water instead?"

"I.. guess that would work, but then somebody else would have to come up here and set the fire again."



"Soo.. that was the Taloon we've heard so much about."

"I told you to keep a rein on your expectations."

"Yeah. I think I'm giving up on men."

"Really?"

"No."



"For a lighthouse, they went all out on the decorations and weird winding passages.



"I'll be taking that."



"Was it everything you could have imagined?"

"I'm a bit disappointed, yes."



"I think I can see why Taloon had to turn ba..wait, is that what I think it is?"



"Ha! Got you, you little bastard!"



"I'm certainly glad we've got someone along to eat all these seeds we keep finding.

"I'm a growing girl and I need my nutrition."

"Growing is a nice way of putting it.."

"You keep saying things like that because you miss your vanished youth."

"Children, we've got more important things to be concerned about.. like that guy over there."



"Huh, that is a bit odd... let's walk around and talk to him. Maybe he's friendly or something."




"Hmm. The treasure quality in this tower has fallen off dramatically. I intend to complain to the management about it."



"On the plus side, I think it can't get much worse than this."



"It doesn't LOOK so bad.. I mean, sure it's mostly composed of teeth and hatred, but.."

"...."

"Dammit Sis, you were the only one with a return spell and we didn't pack a Wyvern Wing."

"It's not my fault none of you bothered to learn that spell."



"Did you ever hear the proverb about the priest who was too busy trying to make time with a parishioner to help somebody and got a boot in his ass?"

"I haven't heard that one, and I'd like to keep it that way."

"This is the second deadbeat priest Mara and I have run across.. I think we just have bad luck with priests."



"That depends entirely on how much money he has, I think."



"Is it just me, or is there something funny about that guy hanging around the stores at night?"



"I can't help but notice that you said 'yet'."

"Maybe we can let this slide... it all kind of depends, you know?"



"The only thing keeping me from turning you in is the fact that this town doesn't have a city guard."

"Might as well keep poking around while it's night."

"A little help here?"



"I don't think it works like that.."



"Because it's your fortune to be destitute and continually making excuses."



"That's about the only thing he's a fine example of.."

"He plans to travel the world in his own ship to search for legendary weapons."



"Wow, this town is a lot more open-minded than I thought."

"You're so naive. I was only kidding!"



"We already found who we were looking for, but didn't get what we expected. Could you tell us more?"

"It was a princess and her escorts. They said they were after a man called Necrosaro."

"I think that's the same princess that won the tournament at Endor.. she might be worth finding."



"I think I see why this door has to remain shut. Alright, let's get Mara back on her feet and head back to the lighthouse."

"Finally!"



"It was only a few hours, really.. not much to complain about."

"If you ever die we can haul you around for a bit and see how you like it."

"I blame the priest more myself, since he wasn't working at night."



"He did come here, but then he left unexpectedly."



"This can only end in tears."



"And that's why you cast Outside first, THEN Return."



"I'll make a note of that if I ever figure out both those spells."

"If you don't learn both spells, just remember the part about not using Return indoors."



"Halfway there.. now we just need to figure out where to put it."



"I think I have an idea, but the three monsters around it don't look too promising."




"I love it when they come to us and save the problem of chasing them."



"Hey, we saw a cat-man thing like that back home!"

"That one wasn't purple, though.. at least the Flamers are new."



"Even if they're still not good enough."



"Much better. Now that we've got proper lighting, let's keep looting."



"This was completely worth sticking around for."



"Don't mention it. Say, a monster from the lighthouse didn't happen to track you down at some point, did it?"

"That's an oddly specific question to ask.""

"I've one favor to ask of you. Monsters are after me."

I'd feel safer being with strong people like you."

"Let me join you. Let's travel together all over the world!"

"When you put it in such a flattering light.."

"And when you've got your own ship.."



"Starboard the Helm!"

"I've only been on one boat in my life, and that sounds wrong to even me."



"Then that's as good a place as any to start."

End of Update Snapshot



Now that Lamarck has caught up with everybody else for levels, she's really starting to come into her own. Luck's pretty poor, but everything else is respectable especially her HP, attack, and defense.



Nara's not doing bad either, although most of her stats are mediocre other than luck. Still, you go with the healer you've got.



For a mage Mara's got a LOT of HP. She can still burn right through her MP in a hurry, and will happily do so left to her own devices.



And now we've got Taloon. He's a bit behind in levels but that'll get fixed soon enough. The saddest part is his armor.. right now he's got most of the best storebought armor he can buy. Still, after a few fights I started to grow fond of him.