Part 12: Two of Thieves (1)

So we've got a new party member, and a new overworld song! Wess is a temporary party member, though by far the most effective one we've seen yet. More on that once we get into some battles with them, though.



Probably half the town's dialogue changes once you get Wess.



A lot of it is people going, "Oh, hey, Wess."



Apparently, that's been his nickname ever since he was a kid. I guess he was a real troublemaker or something.

Matt meanwhile has some new info on Scamp. That's neat.



but no one will even give me the time of day.

Meanwhile, there's still lots of excitement going on in the town due to recent events.







You don't happen to know where little Claus is, do you...? No, I suppose not, huh?

But the townspeople will still give Wess the time of day. I guess people like him more than Isaac.





It's still some years off - I'm not sure how many, exactly - but there's talk about constructing something called an "old folks' home". I figure it'll be perfect for you, old man. It'll be like a dream come true, so I hope you look forward to it.



Meanwhile, Pusher has some foreshadowing about a mythical place of wonder for old people. Sounds like it's headed by the same guy who punched a monkey.







Abbey. Tea for two, please...Oh. You're in a hurry? Never mind the tea, Abbey.



"Good evening" just slipped out when I saw you two, even though it's still noon-ish.

Abbey doesn't know how to deal with nocturnal people.



Is that what this is?









Have you and him ever talked before?

Why, he never talks to anybody, so of course not.

I've never seen him talk before, either.

Let's say yes to freak out the drunkard.

Whaaaat?! He can talk?!



Ol' Wess seems more full of energy than you do, in fact.

Considering it's Duster's bed time and he's been busy exploring a monster-filled castle, it makes some sense.



Why, if it isn't Mr. Wess! "Wess" up?!



That's three characters now who used that pun.



You look like you're in a rush. Why did you drop by here?

Good question.



Another defense boosting item to equip.





Meanwhile, my own thoughts just keep getting gloomier and gloomier...



...That's how I always feel, anyways. But I can't even begin to imagine what the outside world is like.



You guys are depressing me. Let's get to the plot now.









Looks like the Pigmasks have reached the castle! Maybe talking to all those townspeople wasn't such a good idea.





He doesn't talk back, Wess. We've established that.



At least it's not blocked anymore.



Better follow the tracks then.



Nippolyte's seen better days.



Some pig-looking guys just bust right into the castle. If you're going inside, *huff* do be careful.













As soon as we enter, we get another mini-boss thrown at us.





The Clayman has a beefy 879 HP and some solid attack power.

As usual, our first priority is to make it cry.



Since it's a mind-controlled automaton, it's susceptible to sleep. Sleep's kind of bad though because if they get hit, they'll probably wake up, and when an enemy wakes up they get to do an attack.







Wess has a variety of attacks, one of which is throwing one of his seemingly limitless amount of Thunder bombs. Very useful for groups of enemies.



Wess also has a regular physical attack on par with Duster's.





He also has a super-powerful attack he can bust out which does a large amount of damage. I'm pretty sure Wess is even stronger than Buzz Buzz as far as temporary party members go.



Meanwhile, the Clayman sometimes needs a turn or two to get its act together.





But when it does attack, it hits hard.



This has a chance of paralyzing an enemy, similar to wall staples, but it's not effective here since the Clayman doesn't have a nose.



Wess's last move is simply him calling Duster a moron.





Once you beat up the Clayman enough, it'll fall on you and do decent damage.



Of course, being a giant lumbering creature, it has some trouble getting back up.



Not too tough as long as you keep healed and Wess doesn't just mock you the entire time.



With the Clayman destroyed, the Pigmen retreat into the castle. Time for business!



After a nice relaxing soak with Pa, of course.



The old enemies are pretty much gone, replaced with new ones.





Pigmasks are the main new enemy littering the castle.



They'll fire beams and beat you up and stuff. Standard stuff for standard enemies. They'll also boost their offense and apparently can lower yours, though I never saw the latter happen.



These guys just surrender when defeated, though.



They also have a 50% chance of dropping Pork Chips, which recover 50HP. I had a lot of them drop for me, so they'll at least keep you topped up between battles.







The other new monster here is a Recon Mech.



These guys don't really do much, it seems.





I only fought one, and all it did before I destroyed it was summon a Pigmask.







The Pigmasks have beat up the fun-loving poltergeists in the area, which is a shame.



They even busted the party!



Please don't run in here. It's cramped. Besides, Osohe Castle is so small. Where could you be going in such a hurry?

Don't worry, though, as all the ghosts are still fine. Well, relatively speaking.



so we all fled into this room.





This is the same ghost that told you about blue gift boxes and maps, and he repeats himself here. Of course, you can't actually get to the gift box now since the room's so cramped.









Even with ghosts, when you get this many all in one place, it gets stuffy!



What a travesty!



Onward!



Apparently this reset, though I didn't bother trying to fight these guys again.





The rest of the castle's pretty similar, so there's no Pigmasks blocking the way to where we found the Spitoon.



It appears someone has opened this door... Very recently, too. I believe only the princess has the ability to open this secret door...



And so Wess unlocks the locked door using secret knowledge only known to the Osohe family and to one master thief...





Don't look, now! I'm not going to stick my butt out or anything like that, though.











I believe I taught you this dance when you were still very young. I even told you a million times to do it whenever you find yourself stuck...



The princess most likely went through here. And those pig fellows are probably still inside the castle as well. So we need to be careful! You moron!

...And with all that, we unlocked the secret passage that goes further into the castle.

Now, you sharp-eyed readers may have noticed a similar statue in the castle's basement.



But of course we can't visit that this chapter.



The passage shuts when we enter, though we're still free to go through it as we please, even without Wess having to shake his butt again.





The next room has a garbage can. It's probably useless.



Oh, is that the thing that's been passed down in Osohe Castle since ancient times? I remember way back when, when I asked King Osohe what it is.



...I think. I can't remember. I decided to mind my own business and forget about it ever since then. Or so I recall.



So it's useless. Moving on.





Where we are ambushed by a woman stuck in a trap.



Is that you, you old geezer?!



My, how this brings back memories! Sometimes... I wouldn't remember you for not but a little bit. No, no, no! Wait! I'm so giddy that I've mixed up my words! I haven't forgotten about you for but a bit! No, no, wait...





I can't afford to die here, so I was just thinkin' about cuttin' my foot off.
Oh-ho-ho! I see you're as reckless as ever! But you needn't resort to removing your foot, Princess. For me and my Thief Arts, a trap of this sort is absolutely nothing to never worry about! No, wait, wait! Just leave it to me!



Piece of ca-



Oh, wow.







Damn. Can't let my guard down for even a second. He your son, geezer?











This girl's also rather important, considering we can name her and all. Her default name is Kumatora.







Let's go!
Wherever are you headed, Princess?
Isn't it obvious? You guys're here for it too, aintcha?
...But, your leg is injured...



Let's move!







And so Kumatora joins our party! And unlike Wess, she is a full-fledged party member!

Next time, we'll learn more about our new party member and (hopefully) find the treasure as the chapter comes to a close!