Part 40: Smoke Vs. Water
Chapter 19: Smoke Vs. Water
QfG2 Manual posted:
Career Paths for the Successful Thief
Playboy
Chief Thief
Godfather
Playboy
What thief can't imagine himself (or herself) in a fancy oceanside resort,
gambling and gallivanting by day with beautiful (or handsome) members of the
opposite (or whatever) sex unable to keep their hands off you, and
stealthily sneaking by night into the cabins of the rich tourists and
accumulating more wealth to fritter away the next day?
Chief Thief
Rising to the head of the Thieves' Guild is high status in this workaday
world. To gain this coveted position, it is important to have contacts. Be
sure to impress any Chief Thieves you meet and go out of your way to
demonstrate your talents. Remember, it's not who you know, it's whether they
know you.
Godfather
To really become a Godfather, it helps to have plenty of relatives. You must
learn to use bad grammar and mumble when you speak. Above all, be generous.
If someone has something you want, make him an offer he can't refuse.
Hey, you’re back. So what is it this time?
Alas, again our great city is in peril! The most feared of all elementals has been unleashed upon us—the Water Elemental! Wait, how is that dangerous? The only water for miles is in the fountain. That is precisely it! The elemental shall absorb all of the water out of the fountain and destroy us all!
We’re all doomed!
Doomed!
*Inhales* DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO—
Who the heck was that last guy? Oh hey, the water elemental is a chick. And she’s just playing in the fountain! What’s the big fuss abooooooOHGOD
Just mixing a couple deaths together here. The message for the water elemental going critical is nothing you haven’t seen before. Incidentally, you once again have only 2 days to get rid of her.
I suppose you’ve been waiting for me to ask about this one, huh?
I am glad you have finally come to me about the last elemental, yes. The essence of Water is attraction. The elemental will draw all water into itself. It can draw water from the very body of a human that approaches it. In the fountain, the water elemental will draw upon the boundless magical stream which is the lifeblood of the city. People will be dying of thirst as it grows in power enough to engulf the entire city in a flood. As long as the water elemental is in the fountain, the elemental cannot be harmed or contained. It is only vulnerable to Air.
A flood in a desert? That is messed up. Indeed. Once away from the fountain, the water elemental will be drawn to the nearest source of water. You might then contain it in a waterskin. Got it.
Yep, even though you will probably have a few spares lying around if you did any desert traveling, the leatherworker will give you an extra if you ask politely for it.
Not what I’d hoped I’d be using a magic bellows for, but whatever. I got me an infinite water supply!
Hey, Abdulla. We’re not doomed anymore. Really? You mean you’ve— Yep. Goin’ to bed now. You don’t want to— Nope. Goin’ to bed.
[MEANWHILE, IN ANOTHER DIMENSION…]
I wonder what the Prince is doing here?
*You read the crumpled paper with the nearly illegible scrawl and small torn spot. “Tomorrow night is your last night. You’ll get your final orders then. Be seeing you.”*
I wonder if these guys are related to the elementals? Oh well, let’s get to training some more, Uhura![THE NEXT DAY]
The Enchantress Aziza sends you this message of gratitude and requests that you visit her home tomorrow. It is said that Uhura at the Guild Hall has a message for you as well.
This time the note be stuck to the door with an old sword. Tell your friend I will show him where to stick it the next time.*You read the crumpled paper with the nearly illegible scrawl and large torn spot. “At nightfall tonight, go to the door at the end of Askeri Darb, off Saif Darb. Obey, or you’ll regret it.”*
I guess reading comprehension wasn’t part of the requirements for getting into the ancient conspiracy or whatever this is. Oh well, time to wait for nightfall.
And here it is. I had trouble finding this place on my first run through, and between that and missing Omar on the 7th day, I wasn’t able to make paladin.
Here it is on the big map. For some reason, I thought it was at the dead end one step closer to the Fighter’s Plaza.
Voice: Enter the darkness.
Trap, here I come!
*The room is in total darkness as you enter. You can’t see your hand in front of your eyes. You do, however, hear some movement around you, although it’s hard to locate the source of the sound.*
Voice: Stand where you are. You now face the most important decision of your life…Are you a man, or just a craven coward? Step forward and obey, or now run away!
Heck no, I’m not running away! This is awesome!
*THUMP*
*Before you can recover from the unexpected assault, you feel yourself being searched and dragged through the darkness by your arms. Suddenly, you feel something heavy and cold being attached to your wrists with a solid “clank…”
Oh man, what hit me?Voice: You have 10 seconds to prepare for battle.
Crap, I’ve got to break these manacles.
*Clank* *Clank* *Clank*
*CLANKCLANKCLANKCLANKCLANK*
*CRINK* *CRINK*
Not good.You can’t do much against an armed opponent with just your fists, so you need to get the sword at the other end of the room. To do that, you have to dodge right four or five times in order to get around the swordsman.
Like so.
This is one of the special endgame combats where I didn’t have any trouble since I practiced so much with Uhura. Once again, of course, the combat is made harder in the remake. Having just a sword limits the fighter’s options in defense, but more importantly the heavy blade apparently prevents you from using the only combo attack the hero has. At least they were kind enough to limit your opponent to single slashes as well. Supposedly, there’s some sort of “locking blades” special move, but the window was too small for me to get it to work.
Phew. You guys are going to have to try harder than that to kick my butt.Voice: Well done. Now finish him off! Kill him!!
I’ll give you one guess as to whether showing mercy to an enemy is a paladin points moment.
What? No way! I already beat him, why should I bother to finish him off?
What a turkey! Even when you win, you don’t have the guts to finish the task. Never show mercy to an enemy. Isn’t that right, Walid?
Dat’s right, Boss!Walid will be fine whether or not you choose to “kill” him. No, I don’t know how that would work.
Issur?! You’re not part of an ancient conspiracy! What’s going on here? And where’s my stuff? Your real equipment is in the other room. You have been tested to prove your worthiness to join the Eternal Order of Fighters. You can fight, and you’ve got some guts, but you just can’t obey a simple fucking order. We figured we’d let you join the EOF despite the fact that you failed. You are admitted to the beginning rank of our order. You are now a Brother Saurus. Welcome to the EOF. Uh, thanks?
As you might expect, finishing off your opponent gets the EOF’s support, and you join as a Brother Dragon instead. The meaning of the order’s name is quite literal, however, because if you get their support, you really will be a fighter eternally.
*You are shown the secret handshake, you learn the secret password (“Might is Right!”), and you are given the secret membership token with your name, rank, and serial number engraved upon it. After you pay five dinars for membership fees, you are taken into the other room to celebrate. You can’t remember what the party was like afterwards and you have no idea when or how you got to bed. You awaken with a terrible headache and feel very sick. Somehow, this just isn’t your idea of how a hero should be.*
Aw man, what a night. What do those idiots think they’re doing, anyway? Some of them haven’t even been outside the city in years! I’m a man of simple pleasures, but these assholes can’t even seem to get that much right.