Part 33: ARC III: Part 10: Preparing For A Freezing Vacation!

ARC III: Part 10: Preparing For Freezing Vacation!

When we last saw our heroes, they were taking the carriage back to Port Arianna. And now they're home! But only for a day.



Right, you're paying.

Fine with me! I should also stop at Equipment King and pick up some new armor and stuff!



Finley, take a moment to really think about what you just said.

But the prices are so low! So what if they kidnapped kids... and set a guard house on fire... and tried to have us all killed...
Ohhhh... crap. Guess I'll just go home.





Yeah, and once you give Gino some information on guns, you and he can work on some new designs.

Wow, great! I'll have that tomorrow!! See ya!



You should have told him that in person. It would have made him happy.

Maybe next time.
There might not be a next time!!!

Well, I'll be seeing you boys tomorrow! Boreal's a great market, and I have some friends up there.

Take it easy, Gino.



One good night's sleep should be enough. Let's take care of anything in town that we need to do and then get back to the apartment early.

I concur.


So we're allowed to wander around now, but there's not much to do or anyone to speak to really.



Bubba's still irrelevant.




I forget to go and see if I can see Violet in her room, and the Touten Corp members in jail + Ercello still say the same things they did last time.

So I have Cade and Bones rest, which starts the next cutscenes.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MeYcNVFGrM 'Auburn's Theme' - Lithe Or Death from The Incredibles OST. (But only the first 50 second or so, repeated.)




Auburn's cutting something up when some knocks on her door.



Not at all. I'm just fixing up a late dinner.

I finally found time to sort through the mail we recieved while we were gone. There is a letter here for you.

For me?
Thanks. So what's with Kovak? I haven't seen him all day.

He's feeling rather exhausted. I think the trip was hard on him. It was far more stressful than he had anticipated. He won't admit it, but he is not getting any younger.
He can't be taking on the same kind of physical strain that he did when he was first making a name for himself. It is simply unhealthy.

Ha ha. At least he has you to worry about him. Now let's have a look at this letter.



Vec starts to leave, but...

Is everything all right?

This is... unexpected. Vec, I need to leave. Tomorrow. This is urgent personal business.

Understandable. I am sure Mr. Kovak will be sympathetic. In the meantime, I will try and make sure he takes the next week or so to relax.

Thank you.
And this time he does manage to leave.





...



"In the end... that may have been part of what got him killed. Not necessarily the fame... but being confined to only one school of sorcery.
I once read of a fire mage who was determined to also learn water magic. It took him nearly two decades, but he succeeded in the end."



"I will be the one to strike fear into their hearts. They will think that I am invincible, but I will have just mastered my own weakness."





Do you have any idea what that did to my family?!

Yes... I do...

You killed my brother!





The stalactite falls in very slow motion as Cade tries to run towards Evrind.





Wha?!









What the?! Relax, it was just a dream!!

Yeah... Yeah, it was. Thank Arcadius for that.

Come on, let's find Finley and meet Gino by the docks.
To... next door!




You ready to get going?

Am I ever! I can't wait to get to Boreal! We're gonna have a blast!

From what I remember, Boreal is hardly a partying town.

... Yet. Just wat (SIC) till they get a load of The Baron!

Hopefully neither Shroud nor Stoic nor Baron will have to make an appearance. We're going for infortmation, that's it.

Sorry! Your attempts to make it sound boring have failed! I'm still super excited!

Enough! Let's go.


...



We go buy tickets at the guard/boat office/jail. Finley pays, of course. Then we go meet Gino at the docks.



Right here, Gino.

And we're off!



We get to walk around and talk to everyone as Cade.



Look, Violet's here too!

You know, this is the first time I've ever been on a ship.

You're kidding!

Nope. I've always lived on the same continent. Lots of carriages... never a ship.

Well, now you know what you've been missing!

So Violet... what made you want to go to Boreal?

After Boreal, this ship heads south to Harrol. That's where she's going.

Some of my family still lives there. I haven't seen them in ages!

Everyone in my family is long gone by now, but I have several friends in Boreal. It will be nice to see them.

Oh yeah? Who?

You'll meet them. Very nice people.

Right... well, okay. I guess I'll continue my walk.

Enjoy. It's great night for your first ship voyage. Quite beautiful, if I do say so myself.
If you talk to Bones a second time...
"Sorry for the vagueness. I'll tell you more later, I promise."

So let's speak to Violet now.



Well, with Torto's shop taking a break, there isn't much else we can do.

That's a shame... I liked Torto's shop, even though it was a little expensive.

Oh, stop it. Nobody thought we were expensive before Equipment King opened.
On that note... What do you make of Emma spending time with that manservant of Kovak's?

Now you get jealous? It's a little late for that, Cade.

Do you two always have to bicker like this?

I'm not jealous. I just don't trust any of those Equipment King people. She could get in trouble.

Emma wouldn't go anywhere near Vec if she thought that would happen. She's very mild-mannered, and he's a pleasant man.
You can't always be so angry at them, Cade. It's unhealthy.

It's also unhealthy to just sit around while good people are wronged by these money-grubbing slimeballs.

Okay, nobody is listening. I'd be better off talking to the ocean.

No, you're right. Everyone knows how I feel about this. I suppose there's no sense going about it now.

You're on vacation. You gotta relax.

Yeah, I'll do my best.

That redhead friend of yours is here too. She seems nice enough.
She sure is, but I decide to not talk to her just yet, even though it doesn't make a difference.



Sure is. Did Finley show you those gun designs?

He did. It isn't quite as complicated as I thought. Pretty ingenious, actually.

Will you be able to make new ones for him? The ones he has now seem more for show than real combat.

I'm confident I can. Especially in Boreal. The craftsmen and merchants there are very savvy when it comes to new technology.

You know... You could charme him more than you would someone else. That way, Bones and I wouldn't have to pay.
Haha.

Ha ha! You better be careful, Cade. Soemone (SIC) could accuse you of waging "class warfare." I know how much you love that!

Gah... good point. It was worth a shot, though.

Ah, knock it off. I know for a fact you and Bones hoard money you find on your missions. You can't fool me by acting so poor.

Ah ha ha! Well Gino, you got me there. I'll talk to you later.

Have a nice night, now.
I can't wait to get to Boreal... See that snow-covered landscape again. You can find yoruself there in the quiet.

Below decks... where Finley is bragging about his heroics.



Finley, can I talk to you in private for a minute?

Sure, I guess.



You guys only moved a single space!

I was gonna use that one.

Oh. Oh well. I'll find another one.

That guy you and Bones fought in the forest... you said he could use spells from multiple schools of magic?

Yeah, we got him to talk about that a little bit. It's pretty amazing. If he focused on a spell being cast by another person, he could learn it just like that!

I've never heard of anything like that before...

I don't know if anybody has. It's so new there's not even a name for it yet!

Do you think that this ability is something you have to be born with... or is it possible somebody could learn it just by training for a long time?

Good question. I couldn't tell you the answer. It's a shame about what happened to him, but I bet there are others like him.

Yeah... I'm almost sure of it. Thanks for the help.

No problem. You sure you don't want to sit and chat with us? I'm wowing them with stories of my heroism!

What?! Don't tell battle stories in a place like this!

Don't worry about it. I'm not talking about any Baron stuff. Just things I did before that.

All right. Well, I think I'm going to sleep soon.

Okay. Later!
Finley's specifically bragging about the fight with the Touten Corps at Kovak's party and fighting Ercello and his angels at the concert. The other people at the table don't believe him for a second.


...



You know, maybe I'll just give up this armor merchant thing and become a world traveler. You want to join me?

Ha ha! If only I could.

So what inspired this particular trip?

I received a letter from Tanisa, a friend of mine who lives in Boreal now. She and I go way back. I'm excited to see her again, but judging from some of the other things she mentioned in the letter, this may not be an entirely happy visit.



I... I can't say. I'm sorry, but I just don't want to draw you into it all.
Auburn quickly glances at Cade here and there for the rest of this conversation.
"But I'm glad that you're here.
I missed you while I was in Pearlton. More than I expected to."

I missed you just as much as I expected to... if not more.

Oh no, let's not start that! "I missed you." "I missed you more."
"No, I missed you more!"
I hate when couples do that.

Couples?

Uh... well. You know what I mean. That ooey-gooey stuff. It's not me.

It's not me either... At least, it never was.

*sigh* I'm sorry. I think I'm just a bit tense. I don't know what to expect when we get to Boreal.

Honestly, neither do I. Will I see you there?

... Sure. Once I sort things out with Tanisa, we should get together. You know, there's this great pub right up on a mountain.
We should go there... and maybe take a walk around town.

That sounds great! I'll leave alone with your thoughts for now.

Thank you. I'm sure I'll be more fun once I know more about the situation.

Don't worry about it. I'll see you later.



Eat shit Finley!


...





"The real focus should be on dismantling these symbols, so that we can come to an empirical understanding of the way the mind synthesizes physical stimuli into words and other abstract concepts."







... Where is everyone?

What do you mean?

I mean just about everyone is gone! Where are Tyranda and Mortias and Douglas and Shadehorn and Grinfrak?

Hmm... they have indeed been absent for quite some time.

I sent Tyranda and Shadehorn in order to bring back Morias and Douglas... What could have happened to them?

I notice you're not so concerned about Grinfrak. Can't say I blame you.
Pilc transforms into Grinfrak.



Pilc, knock it off! This is no time for foolishness!



"We must venture to Port Arianna and figure out exactly what has happened to them."

Well, that sounds a lot better than just sitting around here!

Let us not wander into danger haphazardly. It would be best to study the area and recognize possible threats.

How do you suggets we do that?



One last scene for this update... last scene to set up the last ... third (?) of Arc III, too.

...





Where are you going?

Just to Pearlton. No need to panic.

Gabriella... I'm not... I'm not stupid!
First... first Cade and Evrind just disappear... and now you're leaving in the middle of the night? Tell me what's really going on here!

Okay, Selene. You deserve the truth.
Some of the monastery's allies... are not what they semm. Once I get to Pearlton, I'm going to take a carriage north towards Port Arianna.

But why... why go alone?

I was never supposed to learn what I know now. If people at the monastery knew how I came across this information, I would be in big trouble.
Someday, I may be in charge of the monastery. This is something I have to do to make sure it doesn't lose its integrity before then.
But Selene... you can come along if you like. I could use your help.

I... I can't. I'm sorry.

I understand. It is asking a great deal. I've got to do this, though.





And that's it for now. Next time, we arrive in Boreal, and drama unfolds.

the end