Part 8: Update VI - Goondalf the G(ilded)

Part VI - Goondalf the G(ilded)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93sBCARKG68

As Goondalf's journey through Village 3 continues, we find some stairways that are currently inaccessible. We definitely need to remember where they are though, since they will come up. (I may or may not have forgotten where one of them was and wasted five minutes exploring the entirely wrong map looking for it.)





Goondalf's aim is improving as well, and he now only misses about half of his projectile spells in his ongoing shadow war against the Sha'ahoul.





In a former bar, Goondalf and one of his enemies glare fiercely at each other from over the top of a chest-high wall.



(Siege of Avalon's pathfinding is... not great, for friends and foes alike, but I think it does improve in later chapters. It's really only useful here as a way to plan our attack though, as the direct-fire spells we have currently cannot go over the wall.)

So we eventually go around and do battle, scimitar to scimitar!

We are victorious, winning a fancy ring that doesn't do anything.



We also take the opportunity to spend some of our Training Points.



Once Mysticism reaches 20 (un-adjusted) it starts costing 3 TP per level. The ratio of effect increase is about the same, but even 3 per point is still a steal. I think the price increase is mainly so Fighters and Scouts can dabble a little in Mysticism without needing to take away too much training from their primary abilities.

We do need to put some points into Charm at some point in Chapter One, because Chapter 2 has some conversation checks that go off of it. We'll need 15 in it, but thankfully equipment counts for the check, so equipping the Dried Rose when we come to that segment will help. Plus, high charm results in better buying/selling rates at merchants, and we're about to unload a lot of shit.

Here are the spell effects that result from our new level of Mysticism:


(With the 15 Mysticism we had at game start, it was 8-17 Heat and 2-7 Crushing.)


(Formerly 5 + 5%)



And Hold now lasts for 3 seconds instead of 2.



Another stairway to take note of.



Also, a broken cart we would have spent far too long pixelhunting for an amulet near... Not that I have ever done this...

Anyway, maybe that ruby ring will be good enough of a gift to finish that Lahren quest? Since we need to go heal and restore our Mana anyway, let's go check.



I've brought you something to give to Pell.



Perhaps she would like this ruby ring?

Lahren: A ruby red gem? I'm afraid that she would reject that out of hand, as nice as it is, simply because of the color.

OH COME ON I understand. Perhaps something else.

This chapter has a couple red herring pieces of jewelry. They can't be used to finish the quest, but they do sell for quite a few crowns, especially if we get our Charm up (we're talking enough to buy like two Fancy Hats per ring!). More on that later, since there isn't anything pressing we need to buy at the moment.

Back in the village, we discover that we aren't the only ones who loot for our equipment.



The kite shield this Scout has possesses the same stats as our current kite shield, but has the rampant dragon of the Kingdom of Oriam on it! If you recall from the map, Oriam is the eastern-most kingdom, and the one that has borne the brunt of the Sha'ahoul invasion.





We bear it to triumph against the last of the starving doggos on the map, earning us a measly 2 TP. At least they are out of their misery.

And so Village 3 is fully explored, apart from the staircases we can't go down yet (and one we can, but that will be shown later.)

After a quick trip to the healers and our secret armoire stash, it's time to head over to the right of Village 1, into Village 2.





Two Scouts greet us. Let's try out the Frost spell against them. The Ice of G doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but it's still a good spell.



It uses basically the same particle effects as Flame, though the projectile is smaller and clearer.



Also in this picture is one of our arch-nemeses during this chapter: BOW GUYS. Remember how I mentioned we can deal massive sneak attack damage if our Stealth is high and an enemy hasn't noticed us? Well, enemies can do the same thing. Not only that, but the check for whether or not we notice the attack is based on our character's Perception, so even though we might be able to see the archer attacking us, Goondalf might not. Blessedly, this time the archer's initial attacks were blocked by the doorway, and we alpha-striked him with ice too quickly for him to get a good shot off.

With that terror temporarily averted, we can turn our attention to looting.



He wasn't wearing this, just sort of... carrying it around?



Would be a good pick for an alternate universe warrior Goondalf.



And the archer has...





Damage is Piercing: 3-10 and Cutting: 0-4. Doesn't seem that great for a longbow, does it? Well, that's not including the quiver.



That damage is added to the bow's, and then that sum is doubled or tripled (I don't recall exactly) if we pull off a stealth attack. Might be a good way to use the Shadow spell once we have high enough Strength to use a bow, though magic is usually the better and safer option.

The house the archer was in also says it has a transition...



But when we click on it, nothing happens. This might be a transition later in the game, or it could just be a bug. I'll have to tell you later.

Now let's check out this big building, that miraculously still has a roof.





Just one guy, and not a very tough one at that, guarding the item we need!





We could go back right now, but eh. We've still got health and Mana to spare!



This guy has some pretty good stuff.



Another ring,



Another scroll,


And an amazing magic weapon we were really lucky to have avoided too many hits from.





This would be fantastic for Goondalf the F(ighter).

Another Bow Guy is in the building, but thankfully it is just as possible for enemies to miss with projectiles as it is us. The only downside is that we can't attack while moving.



A bit to the south, however, a Bow Guy catches us unawares, and takes off half our life with a single shot. Which honestly could have been much worse.



A couple snowballs sent flying his way is enough to put a stop to that.



It is well worth the trouble, as the archer has an important treasure to complement our pant collection.



Ha! Now we won't need to buy one. Eat it, merchants.





Armed with this, we are truly ready to steal Lahren's girl. Plus, as usual, we need more healing from the monks.



I've brought you something to give to Pell. Again.



Perhaps she would like this sapphire ring?

Lahren: A sapphire? Yes, of course! She loves blue—it's her favorite color. She'll take this, I know it!

If given to her in love then, yes, I am sure she will.

Lahren: Thank you so much. Let me summon my courage, and then I shall go take it to her.





Yes, lady. He should be along presently. The rest, I'm afraid, is upon your own shoulders.

I wish only that I could have done all this myself. This entire situation, as dear to me heart as it is, must have seemed like so much silliness to you. I hope that one day you will better understand what it is like to be in our places. There is no worse fate than to be in love, sir... And yet there is no better fate. In the meantime. I owe you a debt I will never be able to fully repay. But should you ever need something, I stand ready to assist you, my friend.

It was my pleasure. And someday, I, too, hope that I will be in love and thus able to share your joy—and commiserate with your sadness. Until later, then, I bid you farewell.

Lahren then approaches from the south, and though we can talk to him right away, Goondalf of course attends to other business for a few minutes so that the lovers may reconcile in peace.



Namely, unloading all the loot he has liberated.



The 149 crowns we start with are just the ones looted directly from Sha'ahoul bodies, plus selling some excess leather armor and pants we don't plan to use. The rings alone are going to bump us up a lot. We could sell the Axe of Confidence too and never have to worry about money again... but we may have need of it one day. So that goes in the armoire, for now.

Sadly, with a Fancy Hat reclaimed from the Sha'ahoul, this merchant has nothing else of interest to offer us. We could go see Holt to get some black market armor, but it is more Restriction than it's worth for a wizard. But at least we have vast wealth now.

Pell will surely ditch Lahren for Goondalf when she sees it.



I heard from Pell that you were a scholar and a linguist. Tell me, know you anything of the Ahoul?

Lahren: Sha'ahoul is their proper name if you are referring to them as a people or culture. The Ahoul—the more brutish of them, resembling cousins of the orcs—comprise but one part of their society. Yes, you could say I know something of them. They are why I journeyed to Avalon. I have not spend all my days wrapped in self-inflcted misery, my friend. I have compiled much on them in my stay here, and have even discovered a handful of data on my own.

I see. What can you tell me about them?

Lahren: I'm not certain how much information you would be interested in, and what we do know is certainly still very limited.

I find myself curious about what I am facing. The basics, I suppose, would suffice.



I... see.

Lahren: To continue, the Sha'ahoul have divided themselves into several... castes, I suppose. The Sha'men are the leaders. They are human and are capable mages, much to our dismay. Thse are very dangerous individuals, and I have learned they are responsible for many of our losses in this war. You, however, will most likely be facing those of the warrior caste, which is comprised of Ahoul, crossbreeds, and non-magical humans. There are others, apparently—a hunter caste, perhaps, and possibly a worker or slave caste—but we know little of them.

I thank you for your time, my friend. I hope I can put this knowledge to good use.



Actually, I'm curious to know if you can decipher the written language of the Sha'ahoul...



This is the scroll with unknown writing on it.

Lahren: No, not unknown. This is most certainly Sha'ahoul writing. There aren't many who know anything about it due to the very short time we've known about them, but while I've been here I must admit that I've made the most of my loneliness in studying what I could.

Then can you help me?

Lahren: I'll do my best with my limited understanding. Let's see... It starts off... Uh, that's a name, I think. Perhaps something to do with speed. Nevertheless, it goes on... Oh, I see, this is a set of orders. Something about... a dirtman escaping in the village, and the need to find him immediately. Oh, this is cruel: a slow death is ordered, if he is captured, though it does say the dirtman is responsible for a half dozen Ahoul deaths in his flight. At the end is written “This is commanded by someone-or-other, Sha'man.” I assume that's the local commanding officer, but I cannot read the name.

A dirtman escaping in the village? That could be my brother! Tell me, does it say anything else?

Lahren: No, I'm afraid not. This is a fairly simple set of writings—I don't believe I've missed anything. I'm sorry.

There's nothing to be sorry about. This is more than I expected, anyway.

Lahren: Did you have another scroll for me to read?

Yes, I think so. Let me check...

This is the scroll with strange writing on it.



The Church? There have been reports of strange events at the Church. This is proof that the Ahoul are involved—as if we needed any. I had thought that there were an awful lot of Ahoul about in the village, though... I guess I know why. Thank you.

Interesting... Also, the quest is complete, so now our Quest Log is back down to a single page! Next time, we'll see if Olon will finally tell us anything helpful. Hopefully it will at least remove his entry from our log.




RUMORS


JOURNAL ENTRIES

-with equal skill. Perhaps I should be thankful the arrow did not puncture my writing arm, or then I truly would have nothing to do but sit and endure Curly's endless optimism.

He did report today that I should be able to return to duty at the end of the week. That will be a relief. I feel terrible, hiding in the infirmary while my fellow soldiers defend Avalon. Nothing like a few turns at the watch to liven things up again.