Part 57: Long Live the King

Update 16: Long Live the King




"Let's not be hasty. We're all friends here."

"Only the visiting dignitaries from Yahmentnacharu may enter, and not one soul more."

"Oh, that's us!"

"Oh, well why didn't you say so? Welcome!"

"I'd say I can't believe that worked, but… well, by now I kind of expect it."



"Oh. Tas. It's been entirely too long."




"It figures that we'd only get the crappy gnomes back home. Although if the king is that daft, it doesn't sound like these ones are much better."





"How did a simple switch in leadership lead to this much chaos?"

"That's gnomes for you."



"There must surely be a better way to do this."

"That kind of thinking is what got them to this point."




"Well, I'm depressed now."

"Against all odds, they probably survived. It'll be fine."



"Ah, my dear friends, it is so good to see you once again!"

"It's good to see you too, but you look like seven kinds of hell right now."

"I haven't slept in weeks, but Crysia is still in the hands of those vile creatures!"



"Without the strength of the gnome armies and their fire-fleets and windships, I will never make it out to the Tower of Flame to rescue my sister. Do you think I might join you when you talk to the king?"

"I can't say I'm surprised, since it's a bit much to ask an entire nation to mobilize to rescue a foreigner's sister. We might have a few arguments he'll listen to, though."





"I think he's finally cracked… but then again, we're all mad here."



"About time? Who does he think he's dealing with?"



"We would petition you, oh king, to save your kingdom while there is still time. Draconians, shaped by foul magic, are seeking to use the Tower of Flame to bring great evil into this world. If we do not stop it, your kingdom will be only the first to fall."

"Hmmn, what, are you finished?"

"No, but you will be if you don't pay some damned attention."

"We would very much like to extend our royal hand in support, however, we cannot! We feel confident that you will do just fine all by yourselves! Now be off with you!"



"I think we're going to have to smack some sense into you."



"The king's a stinkin' draconian!"

"What have you done with my sister, slime-beast?"

"Guards, kill them!"

"This is starting to get depressingly familiar…"



The best that the gnome kingdom has for guards are these disposable cannon fodder. The fact that they're all thieves without a warrior, mage, or cleric among them is a likely reason that they suck so badly. These guys love using their slings and pegging you with rocks.



"I should have known those silly little fools were useless."

"I really can't argue with you there."



A lot more battles during this section will feature nothing but enhanced draconians. This is the game's way of being serious with you, and it pretty much ensures that you'll take some damage during the fight. If it's not all enhanced draconians, it'll be mostly Auraks.



"Us little guys will search the residential areas, you big guys search everywhere else."

"Oh, thank you Mishakal. One annoying shortie who won't shut up is more than enough."

"I think it's just nice of you to imply that he's still alive, Daenor. There's no reason for them not to have cut his throat and stuffed him in a ventilation shaft somewhere."

"A little hope can go a long way. Also, it kept them from attacking us in the confusion."



"We need to, but… how do you manage that with the lift broken? It seems that the trick with the balloons only goes one way with any kind of control."

"Control would be the key word, wouldn't it?"



"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

We take damage from every trip down the shaft. It's fairly random, and quite annoying.



"It seems like people really didn't know the king well enough to tell when he was replaced by a draconian… although it might have been an improvement."

"You might be right. I guess there's no choice but to start searching from room to room."



"That sounds like… spell casting! Duck!"

"Wait, a spellcasting duck?"



"And this is why I'm glad we didn't have Tas along. I can only imagine what he would have said to that."

This battle is three regular Auraks and one enhanced version. It's a speed bump, especially since they're within swinging range.



There are a few places that are safe to rest. Anywhere else is going to get your sleep interrupted by random gnome chaos, but you won't get ambushed in your sleep.



"Wow, do you guys think that maybe you should have talked this over before you snuck in here and started pretending to be gnomes?"

"They've heard too much. Get them!"



"You know, I think they're just making this up as they go along."

"They probably didn't feel a need to plan since the people they're working against are idiots."



At close range in a hallway, these fights get downright nasty. As close as we are to those enhanced Sivaks, there's no way to get out of this without eating two meteor swarms directly to the face.



"We might have found it in time for them to fix the damage. Maybe even by accident while they're trying to build something else."

"We had better go check on the rest of the ships before they do something to those."



"I smell draconians!"

"We'll take your word for that."



"You guys are…. well, you're huge. Don't you think you should be trying to disguise yourself a little bit better?"

A few seconds later...




"What an odd little fellow."

"Best of luck on becoming a.. wait, how are you having a problem becoming a captain if you're already a captain?"

"It's a gnome thing. You wouldn't understand."



"I think that's the last of them… but no sign of the king."

"I'm afraid that we all know what this means."



"Sheesh, how many more floors are there to this place?"

"At least two more that we're responsible for. This could take a while."