Part 34: ARC III: Part 11: Terrible News!

ARC III: Part 11: Terrible News!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omehhGr6c4g Labelled as 'Boreal'. Sounding Echo by Spencer Nielsen. Used as the Boreal theme!





No kidding.



Hmm? I don't feel cold at all. I have to get going, though. Tanisa is expecting me.

Right. Good luck with that.

Come and find me once you're settled. According to the letter, her house is near the eastern wall of town.

Sure. Bye for now.

Have fun!
She leaves.



Believe it or not Gino, it gets old after a couple of hundred years. Seeing old friends, however, does not. I'm looking very forward to this.

Let's go then.



Take care, Violet.
She leaves and then I have control.



So yeah. Boreal's frozen year round because of a curse. We've actually seen the reason why be referenced before.



Past the port is a crossroads. The left and right paths just lead into the wilderness so...





A joke most people playing this are unlikely to get, since I think only people Volrath knows IRL have played Clean Slate and I doubt even all that many fans of MOTW watch much of the Clean Slate VLP. This is just a reference to Volrath, in all his naivete, making a couple towns in Clean Slate way too big and spread out. Boreal being the worst case example.


I wish someone had told me it was going to be so cold!

When you travel north... it gets colder. That is a basic fact.

Well Finley, you could always pick up a heavier coat around town. Looks like my old friend Ington's been doing well for himself.

Another friend, eh? I take it that's where you'll be setting up shop.

Well, I'm not sure how long we'll be staying in town, but I do intend to at least pay him a visit. Stop by later when you have your information!
Gino enters the building on the right.



We go find Dasani and her apprentice, Lily. They run this town and their place is straight ahead on this path.
I think I only briefly mentioned Lily in Clean Slate but thirty-three years is a long ass time to be an apprentice! Let's explore first anyway.



"Pointed Shoes
Magic Molar
Cat Collar"
What is this, a fetish outfit?



Gino's under the textbox here, and his friend Ington doesn't have anything interesting to say.





Then someone shoots one of the arms off.



And the other arm...



... Talk about dating yourself. I do believe 2007 was the height of Pure Pwnage's popularity. I didn't even watch the second half of the original series let alone whats come since.





Not just a gunner, lady! The gunner! I'm Finley Donner. Perhaps you've heard of me.

RAVEN: Heard that name before, that's for sure. But my gun comes from the original Groome models. Before your family took over and began using cheaper parts.

Cheaper parts?! That's an outrage! Those parts were chosen for their lightness. The guns are much better off now.

RAVEN: That so? What do you say we find out for sure?

Tempting, but I don't want to cause you too much pain. These guns aren't toys. They're serious business.

RAVEN: Oh come off it I've got padding under here, and I can see you do too. It will be a friendly match. No headshots, no below the belt.

Well, if you insist. But you will regret this insolence.

RAVEN: You're a trip, you know that? I'm gonna get in position, and when you're ready to take a dive, come and tell me.





So this is a little minigame. After a countdown from three... nothing happens... Until the word DRAW flashes on screen, which you respond to by pressing the action key as quickly as possible. I get it on my first try.



"You can have it as a memento of our duel here today."

I shall gladly add it to my arsenal.





Yep, there'll be more of this. Only one flamethrower though, which is a same, since Finley dual wields.







Not much interesting here.



The guards are having trouble though.



We also pick up a sidequest.



... Riiiiiiiiight.





A fairy stationed here?! Talk about a lucky break!

Stationed? Nah. I finished my tour of duty years ago. Now I just work here for some extrascratch.

We've come to visit the mayor. I'm an old friend.

Great! Go on up!

Should you let her know that we're coming?

She already knows. Come on, guys.







None other.

You know, I've been hearing your name a lot more often these days!
Your young friend there must be the one they call Shroud!

What?!

Don't bother trying to deny it. She's telepathic.







Well... it's nice to meet you both.

Hey, doesn't anyone want to read my mind?! There's some cool stuff in there!

He's a costumed fighter too!

Is he really? This is turning out to be a much more exciting day than I expected.

So where is Dasani?

What?

Oh, I see. She's probably at one of those diplomatic meetings in Gallia. That would be just my luck.
The music dies off here...



... What?

I... I'm sorry... but frankly, I am shocked that you didn't know. Some telepath I am.

How did it happen?

How? Peacefully... in her sleep. She was very old, Stoic. We humans don't live all that long, you know.
I'm so sorry you had to find out this way... but nobody had any idea where you were at the time.
Volrath said her faceset was deceptively young looking in Clean Slate and that Dasani was actually middle-aged. And it's been over thirty years since then...

....

We... we built a small shrine... up on the cliffs. I could show it to you... if you like...

Yes... I would like that.

Bones... I'm sorry for your loss.

Don't worry, Cade. It's my fault for being so out of touch.

What was that?!

I didn't say anything.

She's hearing something in town.

There's some kind of violent battle going on at the inn!

Ember mages?!

I don't think so... I'm trying to get into the mind of the attacker... but I really can't sense much.

Oh, dear. What could be happening there?

If there's some kind of disturbance in town, we'll take care of it. That's what we do.

Yes, I can see that... Laurel, go with them. There may be people there who need to be cured.

Right!

Let's go, guys!



Business as usual.



Then tell all these little pipsqueaks to back off! You give me the money you got back there, and I'll go.

BARTENDER: Whatever you say.


The guard gets to his feet and charges Grinfrak.



Hope that guy ain't dead.


And Grinfrak picks up the plate that was on the ground and hurls it at the bartender, who dodges.


Enough with the tantrum.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3i74uxxvjM&feature=youtu.be Shroud's Theme, 'The King' from Bubba Ho-Tep







Laurel comes in after our heroes.

And who are these two you got with you?! A skeleton and some idiot in goggles. You trying to start your own corps too?!

Hey!!

Shroud, who is this moron?

This moron is a Touten, though he seems to have gotten lost.

I ain't lost, shrimpy. I just had it up to here with Cyneric's disrespect! I'm starting new out here. Soon this place will be ruled by...
The Grinfrak Corps!!

Doesn't quite have the same flair.

Yeah, and you need more than one person to be a corps!

Lay off! I only just started!

I'm afraid you picked a bad time to begin this enterprise, Grinfrak. I'm not going to let you rob this place.

What?! Have you really become that much of a little goody-good?!

Yes, as a matter of fact. Now are you coming along quietly or no?

Forget that! I'm not getting busted on my first caper! I never liked you anyway!

Don't think I didn't notice.

Now you all get crushed!!



This is uh... Well, it's a really damn easy fight. Not much to say about it. Just pound on him and heal. I guess it's amusing that one of his attacks is throwing dishes.



Ah, shut up! What are you, a little infant?!



The maid moves aside for Laurel.







Thanks!

For now, we're gonna need some help getting this guy into his cell. I'm not sure we can do it alone.


...



Really? What answer was that?

I decided I would make money by shoveling snow for people!
Everybody here has been doing it for years and hates it... but for people like us who grew up in the desert, it feels like a new experience!
The best part is that I won't ever run out of customers! After all, this island is supposedly cursed. I don't think we'll ever see an end to the snow.

*chuckle* That's too funny. I'm glad you have been keeping busy.
I've really enjoyed the chance to catch up with you, Tanisa... But I have to talk about what you wrote in that letter.

Yeah... I'm so glad you came. I've been so scared.

But it doesn't make sense! Why would Goma come here?

Well... you remember he was always so proud of his fire magic.

Of course I remember. He taught it to me himself... And I was grateful the moment I stepped off that ship and realized the effects it had on me.
I barely feel the cold.

If I had known I would eventually move here, I might have learned it as well.

But why is he here?

He joined this group... They call themselves the Ember Mages. They live in caves out in the mountains and sometimes cause trouble here.
A rogue like Goma... He probably fit right in. But once he found out that I lived here... he started trying to get me to leave town with him.
He thinks I'm still a kid, but I don't want to see him anymore! I've tried to change my life since then.


Auburn gets up and walks away from the table...



Coromant was the desert town near the Blurn Fortress that Seth destroyed, where Arius abruptly passed out and also the home manor with the ghosts of Gallia's victims, including General Randell. Cade also said his childhood home wasn't too far from the Blurn Fortress, which is former dwarven lands and right on the border of Rellenia, the elven kingdom.











Sounds like Coromant isn't much of a town anymore though.



There's no need to remind me of how vicious he could be... or how ugly life could get in those ruins. That's why we left.
I went from town to town looking for work. It was mostly small jobs until I met Don Kovak in Gallia. Then I hit it big.
A man who does business the way Kovak does... He'll always need a bodyguard. I thought I was on my way to a shiny new future.
But I still feel like it isn't enough... but maybe it will never be enough. Maybe this whole new identiy I've forged for myself is just a shell.
Maybe I'll never be able to escape what happened in the past. Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised that I have to deal with Goma again.

It's been so long... But he's still so fixated on me! I don't understand it!

Don't worry. Now that I'm here, he won't hurt you. If he tried anything, we'll make sure he learns his lesson.




Yeah and next time we'll have some dramatic scenes to boot!

the end