Part 12

Welcome to Ribble!



Mayor! Mayor!

What a warm reception!



At first, all the doors in town are locked except for the Mayor's.



As we enter, the Mayor shoves us back into the street.



A group of soldiers were just here. Soldiers must be waiting beyond the gate. Be careful!
You're so persistent. What do you want?! You suddenly appear in Parmecia, and build a castle? I don't know who you are, but all big cities like war! I've never seen such impolite and violent guests!
He's right! You came here to capture Parmecia!
We'll never obey you! Go away!
You talk too much! Hey, Nigel! Why don't you say something? I can't stand this!

mp5 is right about Knox. The moment he joins up, he starts talking whenever Nigel should.


Why?
I'm not from Granseal. I just visited there... They didn't come to Parmecia to conquer it, they were forced to leave their island due to a disaster. They're good people! You don't have to be so paranoid!
Who are you?
I'm a phoenix that lives in Mt. Volcano.
A phoenix! The legendary bird?

Technically, Knox is only a "Phoenik" until his promotion...

I don't know if we're legendary or not...
I'm very glad to meet you! Of course, we of Ribble will become allies of Granseal. I promise that we will welcome you when you visit us again!


What a pain in the ass. At least now the town's inhabitants have unlocked their doors and come out. Which means it's pillaging time...





Mithril #5


We also find a centaur wandering around town...



No argument here.

When do they ever go adventuring? I can't take it anymore! Hey, would you mind if I joined you?

Cherry joins the force. We have our first archer, as well as my personal favorite.



The only new items in the weapon shop are Daggers and Wooden Arrows. Since Cherry came equipped with a wooden arrow, they're useless. The Dagger, however, is a much-needed upgrade for Cluny.



Since we're done with Ribble for now, we set off to the southeast. Once again, we don't encounter any monsters at first. It's not until we make it to the next zone to the east that we encounter resistance.


Battle #10:



This battle consists of 3 Goblins, 3 Vampire Bats, 2 Hunter Goblins, 2 Witches, and 2 Dark Dwarves.

As you can see by the minimap, the battlefield consists of a strip of grasslands surrounded by heavy overgrowth, forest, and hills. This is a fairly standard outdoor battle, except for one thing... One of the witches is carrying a Power Ring.

I haven't had a chance to mention the "Deals" option at shops before, so I might as well do so now. When you kill a creature with a special item, the character that deals the final blow will pick it up as long as he has room. If he doesn't, the item is dropped, and it ends up for sale under "Deals" at any appropriate shop. During this battle, if one was inclined to cheat, one could enter the "control all enemies" code, make the witch drop the Power Ring, cast Egress and buy one from a shop and repeat until they have however many they want. I will not be doing that. I chose Super so I'd suffer a bit, and suffering is what I'm going to do!

Battle Results:

Levels:

Ashley 10 > 11
Byron 8 > 9
Cherry 10 > 12
Cluny 11 > 12
Knox 9 > 10
Nigel 12 > 13
Ron 11 > 12
Samwise 10 > 11
Shaggy 11 > 12

Casualties:

Knox - Went off on his own and got killed taking on a Vampire Bat solo. Is it wrong that I cheered when it happened?


In any case, with the battlefield cleared, to the victor go the spoils...



Mithril #6



Next Update: The Cavern of Darkness


But first, here's what our force is looking like at the moment: