Part 13: We Can Fix This, You Know

Update 9: We Can Fix This, You Know



Picking up with Sir Karl's rescue, the actual mission to do so isn't activated until we go into the commandant's office and receive this message. Until you do that, you can go around and do anything. The training hall, armory, and just about anything else are open to you. This means...



Maya has been patiently waiting this entire time while we went off to play ambassador offering us a free guided trip to Neraka. You don't have to accept this offer and can find your way there on your own, but this is much easier.



"Okay everybody, keep your eyes peeled. If it's a secret base, it's going to be really well hidden. Probably some kind of hidden door or something like that."

"Found it!"



"It's… a different color than the rest of the walls."

"And no more than twenty feet from where we entered Neraka."

"This is the worst hidden secret base I've ever heard of."



"This makes me feel better."



Something's a bit odd here. I'll just give you all a second to take it in. Especially as that's about how long this fight lasts.



"Of course… although I fail to understand how being the lover of a dragon is so embarrassing."

"I've never quite understood it myself, but you humans are so odd. After all, Huma had a dragon lover."

"It might be that Sir Karl didn't feel he was worthy to be in such august company."

"That would be like him… anyway, we should probably do something about those."



"One must admire their courage, if nothing else."





"Charming."

"The part I find most worrisome is this Sir Lebaum's fascination with dead bodies."



"Pah. This is getting us nowhere. We need to hurry and find the prisons."





"Karl…? KARL! Don't…"

"I'm sorry. He's gone."



"Um…maybe we could start with the ones in the basement holding all the slaves in the prison?"



"I guess not. So… what do we do?"

"We're the only people who can help those slaves. We've got to keep going."



"The old man really did a number on his way out. I'm actually impressed."

"You don't become a Knight of the Rose sitting around in an office."



"There's quite a trail here… I think Sir Karl has certainly eased our path to the prisoners."






"I think Maya might want to see these… once some time has passed."



Our next destination is a sub-section of the prison that is marked by a sudden change in decor. There's nothing precisely plot-related here, but it's a good source of experience and some treasure. Of course, to get that...



"The Prison Lord designs great entertainment doesn't he."

"I've got a better game for us to play."



"Thanks… I think we knew about that already."



"Oh, come on now. There's not even anybody watching!"



"That seems to be a running theme here. It passes beyond torture for information, through torturing for pleasure, and into torture for its own sake."



"It definitely makes dealing with the perpetrators into a distinct pleasure."



"Gable, no!"

"I've got to!"




"I'd… have done the same thing if it were magical items…"

"Truly, birds of the feather. At any rate, I think we are done now. Shall we try the other direction?"



"Sir Karl definitely didn't come this way."





"Wait, organizing? Is that all you're doing while we take care of the heavy lifting?"

"Supervising. Obviously."



"How many people did they take? It seems as though there is no end to them…"



"Wait, all at once?"

"Perhaps in dualities? Samantha Boo, Elon Ishmael, Gable Rip?"

"I just hope that the Samantha is a girl."

"Speaking of that, how did you end up with that name?"

"I was named by my Elven parent, who had no idea which gender human names belonged to. Next!"



"Were they already starting this, or did we enact a massacre already in progress?"



"You have fun with that. We already went ahead and killed everything between you and the exit."

"Sounds good. Good luck with that diversion."

"You are a very unusual hero. How is that?"

"I lived long enough to be a hero by not being the diversion. Seriously, good luck with that."

Continuing on..



"Nice helmet, jackass. I'm really going to enjoy this."



The Prison Lord is special enough to get his own custom sprite, and is actually significantly tougher than the warriors surrounding him.



That doesn't save him from a well-placed Hold Person, though. Especially not with Sam standing right in front of him.

"Nice job. And he's got something on him, too… although it's just a bit bloodstained…"



"How utterly transparent. We will have to do something about this Sir Lebaum."

"Trying to build an undead army. Zombies make lousy soldiers, though."

"Has this served as enough of a diversion?"

"No.. there might be guards around the exit. We need to deal with those."



"I hate it when you're right."



Same as the dragons two updates ago, except that now there are two of them. It's pretty much a damage race, aided by the fact that the area is very open. That said, it's a very good idea to move your weaker characters away from the battle. Dragonbreath uses the dragon's max HP for damage, so these two can potentially due 72 damage to all of your characters in a single round. You kind of hope that your weaker characters get knocked into unconsciousness by the first breath, since due to the game's engine characters who are unconscious don't receive further damage.



"A very odd place to store dragon eggs. Anyone could have just walked in and stolen them."

"We probably interrupted another movement. Hopefully we've cut their supply of eggs severely."



With that, we're complete and it's time to head back to the outpost… where we have an important question regarding Sir Karl.



Why are we holding services for this man? There's a temple right there in the stockade that offers raise dead as a paid service. Taking a look at the spell description for Raise Dead, it can be used on targets that have been dead up to one day per level of the casting priest, so given that Karl was flown here on a dragon there's no way he's outside that limit. He's a wealthy and respected individual, so it's not like there's financial barrier here. Sir Karl's death is essentially being played for drama when, according to the game rules, there's no reason it has to be. You can't even go with the old "phoenix down just heals unconsciousness" excuse, since the spell is explicitly aimed at the dead.

That said, Dragonlance is supposed to be a low magic setting. Only the most powerful of clerics are supposed to be able to do things like raise the dead, and then only in extremely rare cases. We're talking maybe the most powerful priest from a given deity, and then usually only with the assistance of that deity. It's not a power that's granted lightly, but gameplay and story interact in weird ways. Since death is so possible in this game, there has to be a way to restore characters if you make a mistake. Somehow, though, I don't think the writers thought it through to this degree.



"You know, this is something that we could have completely fixed."

"Shhh. Sometimes we have to make allowances for differences in customs."



"We have decided that the major forces of the enemy are in Sanction. Our armies are gathering and beginning to march on that city. Dismissed."

"You're no Sir Karl, but we really can't argue with that mission."

"Although you should be aware that the Dragonarmies are expecting you to do exactly this."





A few good changes after this update. Sam and Gable have hit max level for their respective classes, while Ishmael and Rip have access to a new tier of spells. Even Elon has gotten a bit of a power boost, although you can see now where his multi-classing is slowing him down.