Part 12: The plan

Have no fear!


The plan



So another winter has passed. Serb recovered and is now at Akhmet's side. I would like to point out something here. The term "House" is more meaningful by this point. Basically a House is akin to a clan or organization. In the current situation a good house is half of your power. In the sense that a secure and defensible location will not only give you shelter but also attract other people. It's a bit like with medieval castles I think. So each "House" is like their own clan or family in the city. It's never really made clear but it sure does shine through the subtext of the rest of the game.


This chapter starts with a short conversation.

:"Could you bring me some fish from the Bazaar? I think I can cook a pie ...for variety."

:"Good idea. I'm fed up with potatoes."




But I also have another reason to visit the Bazaar.

All these quest items need to be turned into Xp for my group.

Speaking of, let's gather the lads and take a look at our new buddy.


Have a look at his stats.



Serb is really good at killing things and taking hits. He'll be our heavy assault guy that can lug around big armor and guns. I've set some thing aside and equip him at the house.


A neat detail is that you can actually see the grenade in his launcher.

Off to the Bazaar!



Huh, how about that? It's Zhirik. We met him when we went to the Rusreserve base with the old Administration. Seems like he also survived the mutiny. He seems to be decently tough but not that bright. I mean, coming to a place full of armed guards and trying to muscle your way to the top isn't such a good idea.

He joins our group.

But his injuries have to wait a while, as I still have business around here.


He has decent stats and is skilled with melee, SMG's and has a point in LMG's. I'll use him to show one of the LMG's later. JFYI, he won't be joining us permanently just for this chapter, which is rather long. I'll explain it in just a bit.


Akhmet seems to have a plan. Also I suppose it should say "settle in my house". This'll get more clear shortly.

Time for some chatting!

:"We're fed up with that friend of yours digging for our market. If he pulls it off again, we'll kill him on the spot. No offense, Akhmet."
Nah, I understand. Also I like how the tone of the Bazaar people changed throughout the game. It gives the impression that Akhmet became known and respected as time went by.

There is a new fellow at the entrance.

He's labeled "Cop".

:"What's your business?"

:"Hi, Pyotr! How are you? It's been a while. Why so sad?"
Just accept the fact that Akhmet knows everyone.

:"No time to grin, Akhmet. My family was murdered while I was away. Everyone's killed...My wife, my kids...I was completely crazy not so long ago."


:"Who was the murderer?"

:"Avtaikin and his band. They're no longer humans. First, Avtaikin tried to bribe me..."

:"You told him to fuck off?"

:"Exactly. Proud I was. I said I would not be obeying creatures like his band. All my life I've been pursuing them and thrown them into jail. We could never be one team. So I told him to shove off. And here's the results.. "

:"Are you looking for revenge?"

:"I wish, but how? I can only wait for some lucky occasion... What about you? Look, I have enough to reward you. But I'll need some proof the bastard is smelling the daisies."

:"Well, Pyotr. It could be wort a try. Avtaikin stinks and corrupts my air, too. So..how should I prove that I got rid of these creatures?"

:"Just bring me his orange locks, that'll be enough for me to be sure that I have my revenge."

:"Locks? What is it?"
A victim of translation.

:"Oh, sorry. It means "Golden watch" in his damned dog language. Rouges bought an expensive golden watch for Avtaikin some time before. He accepted the gift, he didn't hesitate to accept blood money. Only when he traveled through the region, he put it off. Never parted with it otherwise."


It's okay to be a little confused at this point, don't worry. It'll make sense in a moment.

:"This man, your fellow, had serious plans to become the chief of the Bazaar. He must be kidding. He's got neither House nor guns."
Yeah, Oleg. I don't know either.

Let's turn in our items, and discover something nifty.

:"Stuff it is, yeah? Thanks. Here you are, my part of the agreement. And..hey, wait. You've been doing well so far, I've earned a lot on your devices. I want to thank you. Here, take it. It's a Yankee collimator sight for your gun. I know you're using AK, I altered it's mount for our standard."

When you give the traders enough items, they'll reward you with a piece of equipment. This'll only happen once, but you can still bring them new stuff afterwards.


Can't say if this is better than the Russian sight. It has a bit more range, but whatever. Also this one is uniqe, due to the modified mount.

:"Give it to me. Here's your Fives, precisely. Take it, my friend. Thanks, Akhmet, you never forget about my requests. And I never forget about you too. Here's a little present. It's a night vision goggle."

:"Sanek, brother...I'm grateful, but are you sure you know the price of it?"

:"Don't worry, Akhmet, I certainly know it. I earned more on your stuff. Keep it, don't make me sad."


Now before you get all excited, I'm convinced that NV doesn't work. There are two maps which have darkness and when I tried them, my guys couldn't spot shit and died.


At least it makes Akhmet look like Spec-Ops.

Masha also gladly accepts the dog skins, but it'll take another load for her item.

Akhmet leveled up.

Fast aiming:"You waste no time targeting your AK at enemies. It almost targets itself."

Vitek did too.

Field medicine:"You can do successful heart surgery with a kitchen knife. Your use of medkits is vastly improved."

Akhmet then spends some cash!

First on new magazines.

More rounds in the clip are never a bad thing. Especially for the Saiga. The description is wrong. It does indeed hold ten rounds.

Then he buys laser pointers for everyone and has Serb's AKM pimped. The Professor will repeat the text we've already seen for the stock and buffer, so just look at the finished product.



Back to the house!





Okay, let's recap this a bit. First off, now we know who Avtaikin actually is and that we can kill two birds with one stone. I'm not quite sure what Akhmet's reasoning is for helping Zhirik though. Yes, a second MG is nice but this whole plan also sounds mighty dangerous. I assume he wants to turn Zhirik into a powerful ally. This scene also explained why Akhmet doesn't want Zhirik to join his house. He's quite the shifty fellow. Not a bad guy, per se, but also not the finest of characters. I mean, he joined the guys that murdered his former friends and then tried to shake down honest traders and people. The rest of this chapter will consist of three battles, each one quite large and challenging. So I'll cut this update short and will give each it's own update. Believe me, they are large enough to warrant that.

Let's see what our lads think about this plan.

:"What do you need, Islam Warrior?"

:"Serb, we're going to fight."

:"I can make it. Who are the guys you want me to kill?"

:"These guys can kill us themselves. A rouge house. Avtaikin's place."

:"No shit! That's dangerous."

:"Prepare to move out."


:"Yes, Akhmet?"

:"Vitek, today we'll have a little war."

:"Cool. I was about to get bored. Who's our victim?"


:"We need to slay some bastards. Bastards from Avtaikin's house."

:"Oh..."


:"Ha! Boring? Be serious, we're preparing for war. Be ready to move out soon."

And lastly, let's chat up Wifey.

:"Have you brought it?"
I actually remembered to bring it.

:"I'll be away. But not for a very long time."

:"How long is this "not very long"?"

:"Two days or less. We will bash some hot heads and then travel out of the city."

:"Who'll be with me at the house?"

:"We'll see. Yeah, here you are - the fish, start cooking the pie. I already told the guys about it."
I assume that this is also a remnant of the planned encounter system. I guess Wifey just has to hide in the kitchen when we're not here. On the other hand, she could have bothered to learn how to shoot the MG.

Welp, that's it for this time. The next update will be the fight with Avtaikin's band, and it'll be kick-ass.