Part 9: The New Team

I REALLY hope Dog wasn't watching during that whole Jetboy incident.

Oh, also:



: "I'm going to miss that place."

: "It did have a certain je ne sais quoi about it."

: "I don't understand Japanese."

: "...That was fr... nevermind. "

: "I remember there being a shitty bar around here, we should round up some meat shields now that Dave and Hamfist are gone."

: "You could have found a nicer way to word it, but I agree regardless."



: "Hey look! It's a pallet swap of OUR orc!"

: "The hell is that supposed to mean?"

: "He even has the same portrait!"



So this is Orifice. He's basically a slightly beefier Hamfist. There are... drawbacks, but they'll crop up later on.



According to the "City Speak" page of the shadowrun wiki:

jander – “to strut” (walk in an arrogant yet casual manner)

I totally thought this was just a typo of "wander".



Orifice is the same price as Hamfist, which is dirt cheap. He's also a bit of a douche, but he can fire a shotgun well enough.

On the other side of the bar is another runner.



Dances with Clams is... honestly the worst runner in the game. He has the bare minimum of HP, he has less magic than JAKE does, he has the same slow magic attack as Kitsune, except Kitsune can at least deal damage with it. His spells are all either trash, or Kitsune has a better version of it, and...



All that for a thousand bucks. Without the negotiation skill he demands TWO THOUSAND NUYEN. Dances with Clams can fuck right off.

: "I command my magic from the land! If it is strong, I am strong!"

: "Wow, the environment must be straight up fucked then. Hey someone with your portrait gave me this Magic Fetish, what's up with that."

: "It looks like the fetish of an evil being. You had best ask someone who knows of these things."

: "Great. You had a single opportunity to be useful and you blew it."

: "I think there's a magic shop around here somewhere. I don't come around these parts often, but Cecil mentioned it."

: "Oh yeah, I remember that, I ignored it because I wasn't a shaman. Also there was a gun store beside it."

: "Wow, that magic shop didn't stand a chance."



Haha Orifice your HP is outclassed by a magic user!



: "Look out, a sniper!"

: "You're in for a surprise when we go Downtown again."



The magic shop! there's three things on sale right now, but let's talk to the owner first.



: "Hello, apparently I'm a shaman now or something. I don't really get it."

: "I have most anything you need to give power to your magic!"

: "Neat, hey I've been showing off my Magic Fetish to everyone today, what do you think?"

: "I'm going to be a little sad when you no longer have a reason to say 'magic fetish'."

: "It is very evil. I used to deal in such an item. They are very hard to come by. I sell them no more."

: "Great. I still have no idea what to do with this thing. I'm new to the whole Shaman business."

: "A shaman can find most anything he needs to give power to his spells. If I do not have it, then you best seek it yourself!"

: "...So if you don't have it, find it somewhere else. Sage advice. What were those Talismans you mentioned?"

: "You shaman? You need talisman to cast magic! My number is 416-822 if you ever need to contact me."

: "Cool, that means we have almost no reason to ever come back to Old Town."



: "Or it will, once we buy everything here."

: "What do we need a black potion bottle for?"

: "Dunno, I'm a shaman now, so I figure I should just gather all the magical crap I can."



And so we do. This is all crap for later by the way. I just don't want to come back later on.



: "The only graveyard I've seen is that one where I found the first nations dude who gave me the magical thing."

: "Aww."

: "Why exactly are we going to a graveyard anyway?"

: "The magical dog on the docks told me to find some guy worshipping a rat and kill him."

: "...Wow."



: "Come to think of it, we're still a man down."

: "Isn't there a bar around here?"

: "...Well, yes, but..."



: "Oh hey, it's Hamfist! Bonjour!"

: "Salut."

: "You know this guy?"

: "..."

: "Oh god, this is immediately nauseating. Not-Hamfist, you shut up for a while."

: "So uh, how's the whole vengeance thing going?"

: "I fought and killed an octopus disguised as my girlfriend, then found a dog spirit who taught me how to heal wounds through magic. He also told me to find a rat man in a graveyard and kill him."

: "...Did you wake up in the morgue again"

: "No seriously, that's what happened. Maybe if you didn't duck out before the going got good you would have seen it."

: "Hey you only paid me three hundred nuyen, I think that's a nuyen per person I killed."

: "Oh big whoop, you don't see Kitsune or Jack complaining."

: "...Jack?"

: "Anders left soon after you did, right before the octopus."

: "Wait, that actually happened?"



: "Did you hire a pallet swap of me?"

: "I aint a pallet swap of no-one, spug."

: "Hey, I said no talking. In fact, no one's allowed to talk when someone with the same portrait is involved."

: "That should be easy enough."

: "Anyway I don't need a betrayer like you, I'm just fine on my own. I just came in for a drink."

: "...But you came over to talk to me"

: "...Yeah well uh, your mom."

: "Don't let him see you cry, champ."



At the bar is a Jamaican fellow. Last time we saw him, he was on the phone. You can actually 'unlock' him before you go to the caryards, but... why would you, you'd lose him when you went to the caryards anyway.



: "Oh god I thought we were done with this when Ibn and Carlos were killed."

: "Wow, no one is going to get that reference."

: "Jangadance give a hand for 800 nuyen. You look like you need it... badly!"

: "I feel like that might be an insult, but whatever. Here's your money."



Jangadance is AMPED. Jangadance is mostly a mage, which usually means he's useless if Kitsune is around, but he's also smart enough to carry around a gun and wear a mesh jacket. He's infinitely better than Dances with Clams. Also just look at his portrait. How could you NOT hire that?



: "So you say you're looking for a rat shaman?"

: "Yep, apparently he's near a place where souls rest."

: "Fair enough, I'll keep you safe. Ghoul fighting is my specialty!"

The game touts Jangadance as a ghoul fighting specialist, but he doesn't seem to kill ghouls any faster than the rest of us. Whatever, let him have his fun.



: "You might want to grab that."

: "The disgusting, rot-stenched human bone?"

: "Yep."

: "Why would I EVER want that?"

: "I'm a shaman too, your totem likely asks for wierd shit in exchange for power just like mine."

: "Oh huh, I thought it was just Dog being a wierdo."



Jangadance is 100% correct of course, so we grab it up. We also search the area, but there's no Rat shaman to be found.

: "What the hell, we searched the place up and down, but nothing. The longer it takes me to find him, the more painful I'm going to make that rat shaman's death."

: "Come to think of it, there is one other graveyard..."

: "Really? Where?"




: "Are you shitting me?"

: "Wow, I live nearby and even I didn't know this was here."

So yeah, tucked away in the corner of a downtown area is the entrance to this graveyard with a whopping two graves. Right next to it is a sewer. The only way you would know this was here is if you happened to see it from another map segment.

: "Thanks for nothing, Dog."



: "Are you serious?! I JUST hired you!"

: "Yeah well tough. I earned my money."

: "I think I have a newfound respect for Hamfist and Rick."

So yeah, despite being the same price and only slightly stronger, Orifice is the LEAST loyal shadowrunner in the game, usually leaving long before being useful. He's a waste even at 300 nuyen.

: "I swear, EVERYONE is betraying me tonight."



: "This really IS turning into a JRPG."

: "How the hell did my life get to this point."

: "At least this probably means a rat shaman is nearby."

: "Suddenly I feel lucky to be a dog shaman."



So yeah, rats are... harmless mostly, at least these ones are. There are two types, one that basically does nothing, and another that throws shit (oh god I hope not literally ) at you. The ones that throw shit are actually very dangerous since they throw a LOT of it.



The sewer is also a maze, because it's a 90s game with a sewer.



This was from two thrower rats. This place can be really dangerous on a solo run.



There's only like, three sections of this that you have to go through, all the other paths lead to dead ends full of thrower rats. this place sucks.



: "These sewers go on for... quite a while, don't they?"

: "Story of my life."



: "Oh shit! Here he is!"

: "Finally, god damn."



Rat Shaman is a nuisance. He runs around a lot, has a super high defense, and a lot of HP. He also uses magic like Freeze, which he did to Kitsune. It... well freezes the character, making them unable to move or attack.



He also makes explosions happen, which sucks considering your shadowrunners' obsessions with grouping together as close as possible.



Eventually the fucker FINALLY drops. Now we can get back to dog and...



: "Why does everything I do end up adding another thing I have to do. What the hell even ARE you."



: "Is this a joke."

: "Be careful Jake. I've heard of the Jester Spirit before. It's a dangerous foe."

: "Do you like games, little man? How about one where you guess my name! If you return lacking that simple truth, I'm afraid there are no losers... I'll just vaporize you! Ha ha ha ha!!!"

: "...Wouldn't getting vaporized mean I lost?"

: "Don't mock me, human. I'm more powerful than you can imagine!"

: "You're... also a jester though, it's hard to be scared of that."

: "Run and hide, flesh bag. Time is on your side, but nothing is going to save you! Ha ha ha ha!!!"

: "Alright, well uh, is your name uhhhh Jester Spirit?"

: "Not so fast! You leave me no time to toy with you... and neverytheless, you are wrong. Do not return as foolish as you are!"

: "Wait, I thought you said you'd vaporize me if I'm wrong, do you even HAVE any powers?"

: "I'm giving you another chance since that guess was so ridiculous, do you know anyone just named 'human'?"

: "Well I don't really have a basis for what spirits are usually called. Heck, Kitsune just goes by 'Kitsune'"

: "Don't insult me. Laughlyn is a WAY better name than 'Kitsune'."

: "..."

: "..."

: "..."

: "Did you ju--"

: "Whoops, left the stove on! Gotta go!"



And off he goes. He just leaves, by the way. He'll never actually come chasing us down. Technically I'm pretty sure we COULD just ignore him and move on, but there's a very good reason to go through with this sidequest. The game expects us to go chase down the Jester Spirit, anyway.



: "Heh, yeah, we're pretty good together. Where's Jangadance?"

: "Oh he died like thirty seconds into the fight."

: "Aww, I didn't completely hate him."

: "I better stick with you now. Someone has to look after you (*SIGH*)"

: "You know, I'd almost think that you were looking for an excuse to hang around."

: "Heh heh, now what makes you think that I wonder?"

So if you bring along Kitsune to the Rat Shaman fight, she'll have this dialogue with you. After this dialogue is triggered, she will never quit on you saying she earned her money. For as long as we keep her alive, she's a part of Team Armitage until the very end. If she dies, she'll make you pay to hire her again.

So let me level with you guys, this right here is why Kitsune is one of my favourite characters. She might not be the best shadowrunner, or even mage in the game, but just the fact that in this hell hole of a world, where loyalty is bought and sold as a commodity, where friendship is just an invitation to plant a knife in your back, there's ONE person who kept Jake alive without even knowing who he was, who helped you find dog and gave you the item you need to summon him, and now who's joining our fight out of decency instead of just for the money.

Kitsune is also the ONLY character except maybe Dog who doesn't betray or ditch you. It's a shocking amount of magnanimity in a world devoid of selflessness. Maybe I'm just reading way too much into it, but I just REALLY like Kitsune as a character.

: "So you seemed to recognize that, uh, Jester Spirit thing. What's the deal?"

: "They say he commands a lot of power. From what I've heard, someone at the Dark Blade knows where he haunts."

: "The hell is a Dark Blade? It sounds like a shitty vampire fanfiction story."

: "Ever see how much those Vampires hate sunlight?"

: "Wait, Vampires?! Are you joking?!"

: "I have a tail and you got magic from a dog god. Are vampires that hard to believe?"

: "Ughhh."

: "They're very dangerous. I wouldn't trust them."

: "You don't say."

: "If you want to know more, you might want to ask Cecil back at the Jagged Nails. I've seen some vampire-types go in there before. He might know something."

: "Well why not. Fighting vampires STILL won't be the most ridiculous thing I've done all day."



At least we're done in the sewers forever! Also this still isn't the wierdest shit we'll see in this game.