Part 23: The Greatest Treasure

"Where are we going again?"

"To go find this Taloon guy."

"I'm pretty sure he's south across the desert... we're heading east away from the desert."

"I had noticed that. Trust me, before we cross the desert we need to see a man about a horse and before we see that man about a horse we need to find some kind of hidden treasure that'll make him realize he can trust us."

"Maybe I could just talk to him and..?"

"This is easier."



"Could you help me with this? It's a bit heavy."

"The sooner we get some men in this group to help with these kinds of things the better."



"That doesn't sound like a bad idea to m... hey, where did they go?"



"Alright, when did you two wander off?"




"I should have known that the whole "8 lights" thing was a bit too good to be true..."



"Or it could have been a couple of Liclick's using magic to disguise themselves. Have they always been able to do that?"



"Dammit, not again."



"This.. might be kind of tough.."



"But so worth it."



"Alright... they've got their back turns, so don't give them a chance.."



"You won't fool us again. You're not Lamarck! We'll fight you this time!"

"Wait sis! I think this is really Lamarck. I can tell.

"Really? Then answer this. Was Nara at the Casino in Endor?"

Wait.. how do I know YOU aren't monsters? Fool me once shame on you, fool me three times I probably deserve it."



"Hmm..you may be right."



"I wasn't chased, I pretty much killed my way to you."

"About what we'd expect of you."



"There'd better be something good hidden here."



"Well, that looks kind of important.."



"I'm pretty sure this is what we're here for. To be honest, it's been so long I've kind of forgotten."



"I got it! The most valuable treasure has been none other than trusting each other!"

"What!?" No. Hell no, that's not the most valuable treasure."

"I'm afraid I have to agree. That entire cave was filled with monsters that used shape changing to prey on people."

"Which seems like a lot of work for meals."



"Well.... if you're including the wagon and the horse.."



"I'm always nice to horses."

"And I love them. Horses are magic."



You can guess what the deal is with Hector from looking at his stats. That said, he's no longer all that impressive with the Hero along and with our characters at their current level.



"Let's get this show on the road."



"This desert is a LOT bigger than I'd have guessed."



"Where the hell did they come from?"

"I can get the sand colored yeti, but what's a tree doing in the desert?"



"Nevermind the tree, I can only imagine having a giant exposed eye in a sandy place as being extremely uncomfortable."



"At last. I don't know if there were any ruins or anything in the desert, and I don't care."



"Umm... I guess..."



"Hmm. Maybe later."



"Souvenirs. How ever did you know that's what we wanted?"



"Saved the town from what?"

"I'll get to that"



"It's not like I'm a curator or anything. I just happen to be here since it's a house of healing."



"What kind of mysterious power?"

"So mysterious I don't even know about it."



"The An.. an.. "

"Just call it the spa. It's probably the only one around here so it's not like it matters."



"Thanks, that's really nice of you."



"That's pretty nice, I guess.."



"I wouldn't worry about it. If you've got it you've got it and if you don't... well, you don't."



"Hey, wait a second! You're the tour guide from earlier!"

"And your inn is twice as much as the other one in town.."

"Seriously, screw this. We're going somewhere else."



"As nice as the spa is, I guess we can't stick around.."



"I just got finished clearing a cave of shape changing monsters who preyed on groups of travelers by isolating them and pretending to be their friends so they could devour them. Ghosts in a graveyard is positively mundane compared to that.. even sensible."



"That's terrible! How could you celebrate someone like that as a hero?"

"What? No, he fought AGAINST them. Anyway.."

"..and perished along with the last monster in the final battle."



"Must have been quite a hero if strength seeds are growing out of the ground where he was buried."



"I guess "puts your elderly grandparents right out" doesn't exactly work as an advertising message..."



"Oh really? Tell me all about him.."

"I'm all ears too."

"He had lots of money and was talking about buying a ship. What an ambitious man!"

"Sounds right up your alley, sis."



"Somebody? How did you miss who did it?"



"Well, when you put it that way.."

"Hector, scram."

"Awww..."

"And if I catch you peeking, I've got a Firebane just for you."

"Look at those muscles! Did you inherit them from your father or your mother?"

"Well, it's hard to say since my father was a woodcutter and my mother was an angel.. but since my father was the one who worked hard to develop those muscles, I guess I inherited them from him."



"Pretty much.. even his ghost thinks so. Of course, no armor means no reason for us to hang around.."



"Alright, that Taloon MUST be in this town. Let's go!"



"Who gives away maps of the world, anyway... and who made them?"

"I'd expect a lot of 'here there be dragons' marked on them.."

"Dragons? Really? Tell me when you have more in stock!



"At least until we find the key for it.."

"The world is doomed if we ever find a doomsday switch that says "absolutely do not touch this ever," isn't it?"

"I could restrain myself... for about five minutes."



"Monsters, you say? How long has this been going on?"



"Since then, it's been shining evil lights on the sea."

"How evil are these lights?"

"Sinking ships evil."



"Hmm... who'd be building a ship under the circumstances?"



"The people of Santeem, across the sea, vanished without a trace..."

"Do these events have some connection to the rumor the Ruler of Evil will resurrect?"

"It seems like these problems are occurring all over the world.."

"That doesn't make me feel much better."



"I bet she was a beauty."

"Well, if she's the one who won the tournament in Endor she's probably some big, muscly type who looks more like a man than anything else."

"Yeah, because all strong women look like men."



"However, when a ship leaves the shore, the lighthouse shines eerily and makes the sea rage violently."

"Yeah, I think we're going to have to deal with this sooner rather than later."



"I don't think this is actually useful, but someone might want it.."



"You're turning down a chance to make some money because you're so depressed about the port? You're a terrible merchant!"



"Now that's more like it."

"Those are cute! Let's get a matching set of three."

"Sis, I love you but that's kind of lame."

"They're enchanted to offer more protection than the hats we've got on. We're getting them."



"Can anybody in this town talk about ANYTHING else?"



"He went to the lighthouse to destroy the monsters who are making sailing impossible."

"Oh, well we can just hang out here and wait then. I imagine he'll be back soon."

"Oh no we're not!"



"See, Taloon needs our help!"

"This is not going to end well..."



"I think we've gotten everything of value in town. Time to go look for Taloon."