Part 98: Nightlife

Chapter 5: Nightlife


Ah good, looks like we made it up to the arena with some health left to spare. On regular days, the gate opens between 6 and 8, which can make getting up here from the Dead Parrot quite the climb.

Hello, Kokeeno. I’m guessing you’re the local in the Rites?
I am. You are here to compete as well, are you not?
Apparently.
Good luck, then. No offense to you, but I wish very much to win, and I will be competing as hard as I can. I have been a guard of Silmaria since I was sixteen. This is my home, and I intend to become the next king. No outsider could rule her with more love than I.
None taken. You have my total support, in fact. Oh, and good luck in the match tonight. I’ll be supporting you _{and the bet I made} from the crowd.
Efhareesto, stranger. It shall be a good contest. I shall look forward to meeting you again.


What do you think about tonight’s fight?
Five drachmas to watch fight.
O…kay. So you think Kokeeno would do well against Abduel?
Five drachmas to watch fight.
…Ferrari.
Signor Ferrari.
“Anything else.”
Five drachmas to watch fight.
I thought so. Here you go, my good man.

*Abdum accepts your five drachmas and allows you to enter the arena.*


My greetings to all of you. Welcome to the arena and tonight’s spectacle of deadly combat. I, Signor Ferrari, am your host for these events. As you know, the combatants may choose the style of combat they prefer. They will fight in deadly earnest to bring their opponent to his knees. When a foe has fallen, the combat is over. The winner shall receive the purse of gold drachmas, and the defeated will be healed to fight another day.

Tonight, the champion of this contest is someone most of you know. He has served the city of Silmaria for many years as a guard. He has proven himself to be valiant and brave. Ladies and gentlemen, I call to battle Kokeeno Pookameeso.


I, Kokeeno Pookameeso, shall defend the honor of the guards of Silmaria.

*Cheers*

Our champion is challenged by the finest of fighting guards from the city of Raseir. I summon to battle Abduel.


You make bad mistake. You no belong here. Now, I get you. I break you in bits!

*Boos*

May the contest…begin!


This is more or less what combat looks like in the game: two guys who are sort of dancing around each other before whacking each other with their weapons. There’s also blocking, but neither even tried it in this case. I may put up a video later of an example combat.


The victor of arms at this contest is Kokeeno Pookameeso.


At this point, you get dropped outside of the arena, the gate shutting behind you.

Still not too late. I think I’ll go look for the thieves’ guild.


Silmaria by Night

If Ugarte and Arestes can be trusted (heh), this should be the right wall. I’ll need to check for traps, though.


Trap

Traps work quite a bit differently in 5 than in 4. You begin by observing the dancing man in each compartment, and the idea is to memorize which figure is where. While easy traps like this one open all compartments and don’t close until you’re ready, harder traps only show one compartment at a time, and the hardest only show them once each. My usual tactic is to draw the arm positions on some note paper.


Once the trap starts, you have to select the compartment that matches the figure in the center. Correct choices keep the compartment open, but the wrong choice closes it again.


In this case, the trap will explode if you get five wrong, but you’ll succeed if you get three right. Naturally, you need to get more right with fewer screw-ups with harder traps. That sixty second time limit in the lower left corner gets shorter, too.


*Ding!*


Sweet!


Ooh, nice place. Good clandestine vibe.
Aye, this be the finest thieves’ guild in all of Silmaria.


Ah, so that’s what you meant.
Aye, I be the town fence for Silmaria. Not much else I can do what with a missing arm. But where be me manners? Welcome aboard, me hearty. It’ll be good ta see someone new around here.
Dues?
Straight ta business, eh? The fees for the guild are a bit stiff. It’ll cost ya a hundred drachmas to become a guild member. Still, you can make that back in a week or so. And where else are ya going to fence your hot stuff but here? So what do you say, me bucko?
Here you go. And sorry about being direct about it, but other guilds I’ve been in have been pretty hostile until you join up.
Aye, I’ve heard the like. Still, I be no thief in me own right, as it were.
Oh?
I be minding the store, sure, keeping the guild honest, as it were. But I be trusted because I didn’t set out fer this job. I made me livelihood at sea, ‘till I went one way and me arm went another. So that’s me life story in a nutshell, as it were.
What happened to it? Your arm, I mean?
A Great White bit it off, sure enough. I got him in the end, but it were too late fer me right.
So who’s chief around here? Ferrari?
Ha! Not but in that one’s dreams. No, the chief thief were assassinated some weeks back, and now there be a contest to see who takes his place.
Really? I heard that some random merchant was also killed by the assassin. He was the chief?
Oh, aye. The chief were keeping the appearance of respectability, ya see. I don’t but expect those fellows investigatin’ the king’s murder consider the chief’s death not but a red herring, as it were.
_{So the assassin is hooked into the thief circuits. Good to know.} So what’s this contest you were talking about?
Well, if ya wants ta be chief thief around here, all ya gotta do be to make a lotta drachmas ta enter. Ya keep betting you’ll outbid the other entrants, and winner takes all, unless the bird shows up.
So wait, you mean it’s basically an auction? Highest bid gets the job?
Aye. The theory be that the one what shows up with the most money be the best thief on account o’ his accounts. There’s five now in the running fer the position. A few have dropped out when the stakes got high. Ya gots ta be a high spender, or bring in the bird, if ya gonna win. Only one bet a week, mind.
What’s the bird you keep mentioning? Are you talking about the Blackbird?
Aye, it be a standard clause in all chief thief competitions, on account of how rare it be. Usually doesn’t amount to much, but there be rumors lately that the bird be near Silmaria, so most thieves be out trying to catch it, which is why the guild’s a bit empty-like. Even if they’re not interested in the chief thief position, the guild’s willing ta pay a reasonable sum ta get it, although I hear Ferrari be willing ta pay more. Most mates’d rather the get rich quick scheme than working fer a livin’, even at this profession.
I think I just might sign up. Hell, I managed to find the other three fakes, how hard could getting the real Blackbird be? Oh yeah, what do you have for equipment here?


The eternal oil, along with a torch, pickpocket knife, blackjack, rope, and normal grapnel.

What’s with the knife?
That be a pickpocket knife, just the thing to cut a coinpurse from someone’s belt, or slip into a pocket and pull out a pouch of coins. If yer interested, I can give ya some basic tips on usin’ it, though yer better off practicin’ on the dummy over there.
Cool. So how does the blackjack work? I’ve never used one.
The use be pretty simple. Ya just sneak up behind someone and hit ‘em in the back of the neck. It be less deadly than a dagger and knocks ‘em down faster, so it brings ya less attention. Plus the charges be less if ya get caught.
I think I’ll take one of everything, except the grappling hook. I’ve already got one of those.


By buying the knife, you automatically get the Pickpocket skill, which also ended up pushing Swimming onto the left column. Training it up is fairly simple; just use the knife on the dummy in the guildhall until your skill goes up about 10 points, then leave and come back to boost it another 10 per visit. There is an upper limit, but not for a while yet.



There, all signed up. Only first initials, though? Let’s see, “U” is probably Ugarte, F stands for Ferrari…no “A?” You’re not signed up, Arestes?
Aye. I don’t rightly consider myself chief thief material. I’d rather just sit back and watch the rest of you duke it out.
C, N, G…how come you’re only using initials?
Some folks aren’t known by this profession, and their name on a board like this would be pretty damning evidence. Plus some might get it in their heads ta rub out the competition, and we’d rather that not happen.
Fair enough. Well, I guess I’ve wasted enough time dithering around. I guess I’ll have to go find Gnome Ann’s Inn.
Ye be staying there? Good luck, stranger.
Lovely.


Just to the left of the bridge is the prison, which we hopefully won’t be seeing much of as a thief.


This is the front gate.


And finally, on the edge of the cliff here, we can find the place we’ll be staying in Silmaria.

Looks…cozy, actually. Not quite as insane as I was fearing. But then Keapon’s place looked normal on the outside. Well, here goes.


Gnome Ann's Land Inn

Still kind of cozy, although the paint’s a little ugly.
Hello, sailor. I’m Ann Agrama, Gnome Ann, and this is my Land Inn. Kalifornia, or whatever it is they say around here.
Hi. I’m Nike von Slartibartfast, and I apparently have a reservation here.
Oh, so you’re the guy the chatting rat made arrangements for? Cheesed to meet you. Your room’s paid up through the month; yours is the first door at the top of the stairs. All the comforts of gnome, including gnome-cooked meals!
I…can’t wait. So what made you decide to open an inn?
Want to get to know me a little better? I’d sure like to get to know you. I came all the way from Zurich to make this little bed ‘n breakfast in winterless wonderland, and what happens? No tourists. That’s the way my life goes.
So you started the place just before the troubles hit?
Yeah. It seemed like a good deal at the time; I got a loan from the other innkeeper in town. Nice guy, if a little chubby.
You took out a loan from Ferrari? Hoo boy.
I’m sure it’ll all work itself out eventually, though. Oh, and as my first and only customer, you get the best room in the joint. Isn’t that great?
Yeah, sure. I think I’ll go there now.
Alright. Oh yeah, if you want to get into your room or the inn late at night, you’ll need a key. Here you are.
Thanks.
Be seeing you!


You can also pick the lock to your own room for that extra bit of practice.


Damn, this room is huge. It’s almost as big as my place back in Shapeir. Let’s see, I’ll just drop one of the Magnets into the chest here, steal some sheets for…well, habit, I guess. And then the bed…


…


WOOHOO!!


That’s enough of that. Well, I’m still not sleepy; I think I’ll go visit the tavern one last time tonight, maybe make back some of the money I just spent.


The Tavern (track 2)

Hey, Ugarte. Ferrari not around?
Ah, it is good to see you. No, Signor Ferrari is still probably at the arena. He enjoys witnessing the combats, but he also enjoys counting the money others pay to watch the combats. He is probably still working his way through the piles of cash he received tonight. Myself, I am not interested in watching such brutality.
So how have you been doing?
Oh, quite well. It is amazing what some people will pay for the right information. Why, just yesterday, I sold someone some secrets about his wife that he did not know. Poor man, I’m afraid they did not make him happy.
I can imagine. So have you heard anything interesting lately?
Everything I hear is interesting. Ah, but you seem to think that information is free.
Information wants to be free.
On the contrary, secrets love being locked away as tightly as possible. That is why someone with a key, such as myself, can make a great deal of money by charging access. However, I will tell you this for free: a certain attractive young woman has been asking about you. You seem to be quite popular with the ladies, no?
That doesn’t really help me much.
I suppose not. Funny how my free information tends to be valueless, no?
Ha, ha. See you later, Ugarte.
Goodbye, Nike. I am hoping we will be able to do business together in the near future. You always seem to be in the middle of things, and I am always happy to play the role of a middleman.


Good evening, ladies. I heard that you were feeling lonely, and I was hoping I could get you to feel something much better.
Hello again, Nike. You certainly have a way with words.
I wish he had his way with me.
So how come the two of you are spending all your time here? Didn’t Zayishah free all the harem women?
Some of us enjoyed having everything done for us in exchange for a little enjoyment. That’s why Nawar and I followed Ferrari when he left.
Wait, you mean that both of you—
Not all of us. But I’ve known Budar for longer than a girl is willing to admit, so I just had to come along with her. Seeing you here makes me think I made the right decision.
Well, thanks. So you two have spent some time with Ferrari? What’s he like?
Ferrari is ruthless, cunning, and deceitful. And those are his good points.
What can I say? I know what I like, and I like what I see.
Ferrari better not hear you say such things.
Oh? It seems that Ferrari wouldn’t be the only jealous person around here.
What about Ugarte?
Ugarte is a sneaky little twerp who knows everything about everybody. One day, he’s going to learn something he shouldn’t, and someone will teach him to mind his own business.
He found something out about you, didn’t he?
There are some things about a woman that should remain mysterious. But we shouldn’t talk about such things. Why not play some Wheel of Fortune? Just a little toss, and the house takes a loss.
Maybe I will. You know, I’ve been thinking of switching from a dagger recently, maybe getting a nice sword that will reach deep into the enemy’s flank.
Really? I’ve always had a thing for men with big swords.
It’s not the size of the sheath, but the skill with the blade that counts.
Don’t you worry, I’m already plenty skilled with my weapon. But I think maybe I should get going. Just get me one of today’s special for the road.


Here you are, one rum and croak. I’ve been “toad” it’s pretty good. Come back soon.
Come back often.


While you can’t get him to talk normally, you do get access to a dialogue menu if you give him a drink. He still doesn’t say anything, mind you.

What do you want?
Just getting to know the local underground. So what’s your name?
None of your business.
Okay. What do you know about the town?
See for yourself.
Do you have anything you wanted to tell me?
Yeah. Fools don’t last long around here. Now fuck off.
Geez, fine, asshole.
Whatever.


Teleport powers are go!



The bed here is quite nice, allowing you to sleep until morning, evening, or simply for eight hours regardless of the time. So ends the hero’s adventures on day 1.