Part 9: ARC II: Part 2: Never Argue Politics and Ideology With Your Girlfriends Friend.

ARC II: Part 2: Never Argue Politics and Ideology With Your Girlfriends Friend

After realising that they have too little to go on to be as proactive as they'd like, Cade and Bones settle for being typical reactive heroes for the time being, and head back to their apartment.


Yes, and if you start gloating I may have to break you in half.

No gloating, but may I give you guys some advice?

No, you may not!

Nah, come on. Let's hear what he has to say.

Look, you guys are my friends, so naturally I want what's best for you. Now that Equipment King is here in town, that's where the money is.

You don't know that. It hasn't even opened yet.

You guys are good salesmen. I think you could go far at the right place.

Are you suggesting we abandon Torto and jump ship like common mercenaries?

I know you guys have... what do you call those... oh yeah! Principles. But you also have to face reality.

Finley, I know you have good intentions, but we're not sellouts.

I would think about it. Cause once it opens, you guys aren't likely to sell anything.

Maybe not to you, but some people in this town still have some decency. Now beat it!

Pea-- Oh yeah! Cade, Emma came around here looking for you. Peace bros.



Enjoy. I could use some time to relax. Today felt like one blow after another.

We're not beaten yet, though. It won't take long for Equipment King to try something... and we'll be there.
Scene end! Cade heads up to Emma's on his own.







Cade, have you met my roommate? This is Violet Lolian.
Violet is actually related to a character from Clean Slate, Mina Lolian... a woman that is very important to Galdar the minotaur. This actually will come up a bit in this game, and in fact both will have a role to play in mid-late Master of the Wind.



Oh yeah?

I'm glad you two could finally meet. Cade and I have been seeing each other about a month, but this is the first time he's ever been here.

I just want you to know that I love Torto's shop. You all create such a nice environment.

Well, thank you.

She works for Blue Tide, so she knows all about faking friendliness.

Faking? Ha ha, not a chance. Bones and I are always genuine.

I did once see him genuinely throw that Finley guy out the door.

Now that's customer service!

So what's it like working at Blue Tide? Having to deal with those swaggering blowhards with gold pouring out their pockets?

Every day is interesting, that's for sure. You wouldn't believe the demands people make sometimes.

Heh heh...

Hmm? What's funny?

Oh, I was just thinking about what it would be like if Bones had her job.

Oh?

It's just that he hates rich people so much. You know what he said to me the other day? "Rich people are scum." And he meant it.

He would have been pretty fed up this week, then. I just finished my deal with Don Kovak. Now that Equipment King is about to open, he was finally ready to buy.

Don Kovak? Who is that?
Obviously our villain. He has DON right there in his name.

You work in the armor business and you don't know Don Kovak? He's in charge of Equipment King!

To be honest... I don't trust Equipment King. If he's moving here, I'm going to be extra suspicious of him.

Sounds like you and your friend are on the same page. It's not good to judge someone only on their wealth.

That's not what I'm doing.

Now now... Let's not...

Bones has been around for a long time... I can understand why he would be so cynical, given what he's lived through. We both trust Torto, though.
He sold armor to people who needed it to fight Gallia. The armor was expensive, but it was of a high quality. People didn't mind paying extra.
Equipment King, on the other hand, sells weapons and armor for ridiculously low prices. Nobody can sell things for so little and make a real profit.
He's making up the difference somewhere else, and it can't be anything good.

That's awfully harsh. You haven't even met the man.

You're right... and I don't know how he got all his money. But this business of owning multiple stores... It's unheard of! Nobody's ever done that!
It's like he's trying to just ruin all the world's other stores. People should have a choice when it comes to spending their money. If the same store is in every town, there is no choice. That's not right.

That's ridiculous! Do you know how paranoid you sound?

Well, I'd rather be paranoid than a stooge.

Cade!

I'm surprised you don't agree with me. Think about your situation. You helped sell a very valuable piece of land, but you still live here in these apartments.

What's your point? You're living here too... but you don't have anything bad to say about Torto. Why the double standard?

You can't compare the two. Torto is one man with one store. He pays us what he can, but his wife is gone and he has to raise a little girl on his own.
Blue Tide is owned by a bunch of people who do nothing but count the money they get by trying to turn Port Arianna into some ritzy paradise for people like Kovak.
What about the people who have made this town what it is? Don't you ever feel like you're getting the raw end of the deal?

Enough, Cade! I don't think I've ever seen this side of you before!



jesus cade

I think you should leave.

Fine.


No, Violet! I've had enough of this!

If she--

Stop! Just leave!



Oh... she's one of -those- types.

You were?

Yes! It's okay to disagree once in a while. Nobody gets hurt. We can't all think the same way.

Hmmph! Well go find him and argue some more then. I don't care.

Emma, I don't understand. What did we do wrong?

I don't want to talk about it any more. Good night!

...

Now the games a bit unclear here even when you're playing it, but Cade just went home to sleep and when he wakes up in the morning...





Hey, Finley.

How are you this fine morning?

I'm well, thanks. I'm just grateful for the weekend, you know? I got to sleep in.

Oh... Well, I don't need a job, so every day is like a weekend for me!

... Yeah.

Where's Bones?

I'm not sure. He must have gotten up before me and gone out. Right now, I gotta go find Emma and apologize.

For what?

I wound up having an argument with her roommate about Equipment King. I think it upset her.



I love this moron.

Yeah, yeah. I just think that he couldn't have made all that money honestly with those low prices, and I was trying to get that across.
But I may have been out of line.



Gah... what is it with everyone? It's not about them being rich. It's about how they got rich. I gotta go, though.

Peace, bro.



Finley has to jump out of the way as Bones tears up the stairs and over to Cade.




What's going on, Bones? You look exhausted. I didn't think skeletons even got exhausted.

Last night... a whole bunch of... of kids... were kidnapped! Right out of their homes!

What?!

It's true! I don't know... what's going on, but we've got to go now!

Okay, calm down. Let's go into the shop and see if we can put together some armor. We can also see if Gino has anything new.

We don't have time for that! We've got to rescue those kids!

They're not in immediate danger.

Are you nuts?!

Think about it. This is a rich town... only getting richer. They're obviously going to try and blackmail people into buying their kids back.
They won't hurt them as long as they think they're going to get the money. If we just rush after them, though, we don't know what they'll do!
I say we get prepared and then get the drop on them... wherever they are.

... Okay. You better be right about this.

And so, our new hunt, and the actual plot of the series, is afoot.


the end