Part 14: Government Contracting

"Of course, your majesty, but.."

"I want you to collect weapons and armor for my soldiers and deliver them to the people downstairs."

"So how big are we talking here and how much?"

"My order is 7 Broad Swords and 7 suits of Half Plate Armor!"

"That's.. that's it? Well, I'll see what I can do."



"You heard the man, and I've still got you two on the payroll so let's slaughter our way across the countryside."

"I can get behind this plan."

"It's a paycheck, although I'm starting to think a flat fee might not be the best pay schedule..."



"This isn't an inn, it's a tent that you might or might not decide to guard tonight. I'll pass."



"60 WHAT? I should have gotten into government contracting a long time ago!"

"You can buy them in other towns if you want. Do your best."

"I.. might do that, if you really don't care either way. Profit is profit.."



"Okay, but I really need to open up some space. Big order from the King, and you're not going to believe how much it's worth."



"Okay, maybe you will. How did you..?"

"Black merchantry. It's better if you don't know."*



"Whatever you're doing, just keep on doing it."



"Done with that dead weight... I've got to fill this order to keep up with Neta's money-making."



"Ha! And with that, I..hmm. Who do I sell to next?"

"I appreciate your effort. I wish you good luck in your business."



"It so happens that I have, but I can't promise I'd be able to.."

"I hear it's the most powerful sword in the world. It can even break rocks, they say."

"And I understand that, your majesty, but I don't know where it..."

"I wish I could get it...and I'd be very disappointed in any local arms merchants who didn't find it for me."

"Yes, your majesty."



"I don't think I've ever been this rich in my entire life.. and I know what to do with it."



"With peace between the two kingdoms and the guards equipped, the market's drying up.. so this is an investment."



"I would, actually. Here you go."

"I'll use this money to hire people and restart the excavation. Be assured it'll be finished."



"I'd heard that. But it'll feel much better after you finish digging."



"I'd ask how you know where I live, but that's probably besides the point."



"I hear the casino reopened. Why don't you go there and relax?"

"You.. actually WANT me to go to the casino?"



"Yeah, yeah. You're not going to believe this, but my wife actually told me to come in here. Have you ever heard of anything like that?"



"I'd hate to break this to you, but I'm pretty sure that odds don't work that way."



"That's.. pretty sad. But you shouldn't have used money you actually needed."



"It's wise to gamble only with the money you won't need."

"You know, I was just telling somebody that exact thing a minute ago. Would you believe it?"



"This should set me up pretty well."



There are three gambling options. The first is the slots, which are pretty damn random and don't really have much of a chance of paying out. The payout isn't worth it. I didn't look at the monster arena in this update, but will later.

"Slots are for old ladies and bad gamblers."



The second option is video poker, which has a higher allowed bet and a better possible payoff... but that's not all.

"You're bluffing!"



It's a pretty simple version, and it's not as though there's much strategy involved. If you don't have anything you don't have anything, and it doesn't matter how high your cards are except for with a royal flush.



"It can't be that great."



Once you eventually win, you can go for double or nothing and bet that you can find a higher card out of these 4. I did a bit of experimenting to see how possible it is to game the system, and the results were that the game determines what the flipped cards are when the double or nothing is generated.



Sometimes you'll end up in an unwinnable situation, like this one. If you want to cheat the system you can save state before saying yes or no to the double or nothing.



Oh, and you can apparently keep going for about as long as you want.

"I think that's enough of a winning streak.."



"Ooh! Ooh! How much can I get with this many?"

"A skull ring and an eraser."

"..what kind of eraser?"

"I'm just kidding. But you should have seen your face, it was priceless."



"Very nice. I'll take two of them."



"Really? Just in that little bit while I was in the casino?"

"I didn't understand what it meant..."

"Are you leaving on a journey again?"

"...Maybe.."

"Alright, I won't say anything."

"You're always chasing dreams.."



"I promise, I'll come back with more money than we'll know what to do with and a boat and everything."



"I can die a happy man, now..."

"If you have to, I guess? You don't have to die right away.."



"Yeah, I kind of financed it. It's not a big deal or anything."



"Me too. And if you find it first, you'd better leave it there or I can't be held responsible for what I do to you."




Taloon's quest is unique in that it doesn't end until you go through the tunnel. You can hang around making money and buying things for as long as you want.. but for the purposes of the LP, I just kept rolling through.



*Credit for Black Merchantry goes to Alectai.