Part 3: Anything but the Sewers

Here we are in the sewers. They are a terrible place.



So, I'm going to put that shit off for a bit longer as we have a few tasks to complete before going down there.
Note: It is a long ass run back to the marketplace. FeyerbrandX is completely right about the maps.

Soundtrack - Lenele Marketplace



We saw these riders in the prologue video. They are hot shit and our soldiers know it.



Let a tear roll down their faces as they notice the exquisite detail of my paintings as they slaughter the townsfolk.



You were robbed?

Mercer the Tailor: Yes, a customer bought fine silk garments and paid for them in what seemed to be gold coins.

Seemed to be gold coins?

Mercer the Tailor: The coins were base lead with a thin coating of gold. The cursed thief--I am ruined!

How are you ruined?

Mercer the Tailor: With my best clothing stock gone, and no gold to buy more, I cannot stay in business!

Who is this thief?

Mercer the Tailor: He goes by the name of Cerval. If you were to find him and return what he stole, I would reward you well.



Why is that?

Pomporo: I'm beside myself with worry. Something precious has been stolen from me.

What's been stolen?

Pomporo: A family heirloom, pilfered from my chambers! It's a signet ring once owned by my ancestor, the Lord of Dhuramil. Our family lost our lands and titles in the civil war of 217.

Why should I help you?

Pomporo: I will offer you a substantial monetary reward for the return of my ring.

Any clues about the thief?

Pomporo: None whatsoever. I suggest you start by speaking to my wife and the chambermaid. Perhaps you will see what we have missed.



Tell me about the thefts.

Cordelia: The thefts? So has my husband hired you to solve his little mystery? Fool. I told him to speak to the guard, but he doesn't listen. As for the thief, I can tell you who she is.

Who is she?

Cordelia: The chambermaid, of course. She cleans the chamber, doesn't she? She's the only one who goes in there besides my husband and me.

Do you have any proof?

Cordelia: Not yet, but I'll catch the girl before too long. She'll be cleaning the privy in the keep when we're done with her.



Do you know anything about the thefts?

Chambermaid: I have an idea about the thefts, but no one listens to me.

What's your idea?

Chambermaid: I think it's sewer rats that do the stealing! I hear them in the walls, scurrying and squeaking. The city is rotten with them, even the fine houses in the Crown District.

What would an animal want with jewelry?

Chambermaid: How would I know? Maybe they like the shiny things.

Where can I find the sewer rats?

Oh no, Joseph must be contagious.

Chambermaid: I'll give you three guess, you daft pid.



Almost where?

Zefnat the Scholar: I've just found volume 83 of the 'Compleat Encyclodpedia of Heresies, Heterodoxies, and Apostasies.'

Is that good?

Zefnat the Scholar: Oh, yes! All I need now are volumes 28 and 67 and I'll have the entire set.

How are you going to find them?

Zefnat the Scholar: Well, these last two volumes will be hard to get. I could use some help.

How can I help?

Zefnat the Scholar: Volume 28 is in the possession of a certain book dealer, but he will not sell it to me. He seems to blame me for the disappearance of his volume 17 a few weeks ago.

Did you steal it?

Zefnat the Scholar: Of course not! I, er, acquired it from another source later that same day.

What do I have to do?

Zefnat the Scholar: Here is 250 gold. In the marketplace, you will find a man named Bibrus. Ask him for volume 28. He will sell it to you. Once I have the complete set, I will give you something I know you will find quite useful.

This nerd wants me to steal some very rare comics for him.



One thing that is very hard to miss, since 99% of the rest of the game doesn't do this.
Doors with signs above them actually open up.



And there are people inside!
With the huge goddamn number of doors and buildings I feel like this was intended to be done for all of them but got scaled way down.



Why in advance?

Jarl the Smith: My last customer, a nobleman, took a sword he'd commissioned but refused to pay for it!

He refused to pay?

Jarl the Smith: Yes. A servant came to take the sword, saying that my fee would be paid when his master accepted it. Three weeks have passed and still no fee. I have become desperate.

Jarl the Smith: I cannot pay the moneylender unless I collect that fee. The vultures will haul me off to the keep!

How are you planning to collect?

Jarl the Smith: He ignores me, but if a bold adventurer like you confronted him, he would surely pay the fee.I will reward you richly if you can collect my fee.

Jarl the Smith: The nobleman's name is Lord Korel and he often hunts in the grasslands near Lenele.



I need volume 28 of the Encyclopdeia of Heresies.

Bibrus the Bookseller: Why, certainly... Wait, you're not buying it for Zefnat, are you?

Yes.

Bibrus the Bookseller: Begone! I will sell neither to Zefnat nor his agents. Begone, I say!

I need volume 28 of the Encyclopdeia of Heresies.

Bibrus the Bookseller: Why, certainly... Wait, you're not buying it for Zefnat, are you?

No.

Bibrus the Bookseller: Good. For that thief shall have no more books from my shop, if I can help it.

How much is the book?

Bibrus the Bookseller: It is 200 gold for that volume. Very rare, it is. Here you go. May it bring you years of enjoyment.

May this ancient tome of heresies and apostasies bring you joy!



Let's take a look at that fiery falcion we got last time.
Not bad. The dagger part at the end means that Flece can use it to backstab things.
heh hehehe ahahahaha



With that extra dosh from the book quest we deck her out gear that matches her cloak.
How convenient.





I love how these guys talk, and I can't make sense of most of it.
Loveable kafugs!



I have a sword for you.

Earis: That sword belonged to my ancestor! He died on Naedo's hill, fighting for Lord Falconeye. If you are giving me this sword, my Uncle Aesik must be dead too. Take my weapon, Joseph. I no longer have need of it.

Earis: My Uncle's sword will be a blade of vengeance, Joseph. The Emperor of Orenia will rue the day his soldiers attacked Masad!



It's nothing spectacular, but it's an upgrade from the old shortsword.



We move on to the Old City, which instantly becomes smoggy and overcast the second we walk over the bridge.



Ghimaadi?

Varyssa: Ghimaadi means wanderer in the Old Tongue. Unlike you, farmer, we are not bound to the land. We wander where we please because we are free. For the Ghimaadi have enver forgotten the cities of glass.

Cities of glass?

Varyssa: All of our ancestors lived in cities of glass, even yours. Cities high up in the clouds, for in those days, we all had wings. The Winged Sudani, we were called. If you don't believe me, go to the temple and ask the priests! But when Laharh murdered Urath, the cities of glass shattered and the Sudani lost their wings.

Urath?

Varyssa: Urath is our God and creator, and now we are exiles, forced to walk the Earth. But the Ghimaadi, we are special. Like most Sudani, you have forgotten your true home. You have forgotten that you are beings of the air. You have stopped dreaming of glass cities in the clouds.

Forgotten?

Varyssa: The Ghimaadi have not forgotten. This is why we have no home other than the one that we lost. This is why we build no houses nor do we till the soil. This is why we will wander forever.

Forever?

Varyssa: Well, even the Ghimaadi have to make a living, so we mend pots, and clothes and shoes. Most people shun us, unless they have holes that need mending. But in our travels, we search for the ruins of home. Shards of the cities of glass. These shards are the same as the ones that shine in the night sky: Elaadi, the Sea of Stars. Would you like to see one?

*The woman draws a long, jagged piece of glass from her pouch. The shard is a deep, emerald green. As she turns it over in her hand, it sparkles in the sunlight.*

Offer to buy it.

Varyssa: It is not for sale, traveler, but I would make a trade. Bring me three shards of glass. Red, green, and blue. If you bring all three, I will give you something special in return. It's a treasure only the Ghimaadi know how to make.



Ah we found the gambler. This should be a quick and easy quest completed.

Do you have the sailor's lucky charm?

Ivas the Gambler: You mean that earring? I sold it to Gebbin the Pawnbroker in the Old City. Go ask him about it.

Well, that's not too bad, just one more stop!



Oh, yeah. Throughout that conversation this dad was berating his daughter for being a harlot.



Doesn't help that she is actually referred to as 'Harlot'.



Who are you?

Merden: I am Merden, cleaner of sewers. Well, I would be if it weren't for the bacites.

Bacites?

Merden: Hideous, six-legged beasties! Eaters of filth! They've nested in the sewers and chased us cleaners away.

Cleaners?

Merden: We're the lifeblood of the city! You'd be neck deep in your own muck if it weren't for us! But not it's too dangerous to work.

Dangerous?

Merden: We've petitioned the city guard. 'Go kill the bactities yourself' they say to us. Cowards and ingrates!

Kill the bacites?

Merden: We take pride in our work, but we're not fools! Fight a bacite, feed a bacite. The proverb goes, so we're offering a bounty. 50 gold per bacite, but you have to fetch us proof. The beastie's tail will do.

By the end of the game there is usually a huge pile of bacite tails built up in the inventory. Might as well get paid for some of them.



Who are you?

Pedrog: My name is Pedrog, and I work for Tancred. Tancred rules the Old City. Master of the thieves and smugglers, he is. If you need something you can't buy in Avrum market, you talk to Tancred.

Smugglers?

Pedrog: The king's men look the other way. We have an agreement. But word on the street is a few renegades are running their own black market.

Black market?

Pedrog: Aye. Selling salt from Saavik. They sneak it into Lenele to avoid the tariffs. Problem is, Tancred never sees a cut, so he wants them shut down.

Pedrog: All I need is information. Where the smugglers are hiding their goods. Give me a location and a piece of evidence, and you'll earn Tancred's gratitude. He's a generous man, no matter what his enemies say.

Now Joseph and Flece both work for Tancred.



Doll?

Weeping Butcher: Aye, no ordinary doll this was! I bought it from a witch, for my girl was sick and the doll cured her ills. But now the doll's lost, and I fear my daughter will die.

Normally you hear stories about the opposite.
"Please get this evil witch doll away from us, it just keeps coming back and my daughter is sick now!"



Who are you?

A beggar with no eyes: My name matters not, for I have nothing in this world. I lost my land and my gold, and now I've lost my eyes.

Lost your eyes?

A beggar with no eyes: Yes, that apothecary made off with them. Plucked them right from my skill, he did, that vile toad!

Apothecary?

A beggar with no eyes: Crafting an elixer, he said. Needed the eyes of a beggar. Well, I am a beggar, but now I have no eyes! I mourn my land and gold no longer, but how I mourn my eyes! Half my world, stolen from me!

Elixir?

A beggar with no eyes: Go ask the apothecary! And if you are clever, fetch my eyes from him. My possessions are few, but I promise a reward.

For the record I love this quest's dialogue.



Old City is home to Medeva's top foot chefs.



There are a couple of burned down buildings here. We did hear mention about someones house being burnt.



Orenian?

Aravind: Orenia and Medeva are now at war, and the Orenians who have lived peacefully in Lenele find themselves victims of reprisals. An angry mob burned this house down, and our friend has disappeared.

Disappeared?

Aravind: If you hear anything, let us know. Our friend's name is Jinyan. I'll reward you for your trouble, but please be discreet.

Looks like this was the one.



Need to get in on that sweet potato tariff exemption market.



The keep?

Gorbus the Guard: Aye. In the days of the old princes, they called it Eastkeep, and here the first kings of Medeva lived. Now it's the royal prison.

Royal prison?

Gorbus the Guard: All the undesireables are kept here: madmen, outlaws, vagabonds, traitors, and even a few Orenians.

Orenians?

Gorbus the Guard: For their own protection. With the rennies burning and pillaged up north, the townspeople are getting violent. We keep them here so they don't get hurt.

Do you have a prisoner named Jinyan?

Gorbus the Guard: Jinyan? Aye, he's the rennie whose house burned down. We've got him in here, but until I get a release order, he's not going anywhere.

Oh shit, we could use the forger to stitch this up real quick.
Let's go find him. He was around here somewhere...



Oh shit, sorry. Please don't shiv my dum! You guys kind of all look the same, no offense!



Here he is.

I need a release order.

Dagis the Forger: Hm. Need a villain sprung from the keep? That will cost you 25 gold.

*The forger inspects each coin carefully.*

Dagis the Forger: In my line of work, you learn not to trust appearances. Now what's the prisoner's name?

Jinyan.

*The forger pulls out a scroll and inscribes Jinyan's name on the parchment.*

Dagis the Forger: Here you go. The seal will appear genuine enough to the guard.



From the palace.

Gorbus the Guard: Now don't try to play me the fool, farmer. You forge a release order, you'll die on the headman's block. That man wields an axe with no mercy.

*gives him 20 gold*

*The guard pockets the money.*

Gorbus the Guard: Very well, then. The order appears genuine enough. I'll let Jinyan go tonight. Too many eyes watch the gates in the light of day.



Jinyan will be released tonight.

Aravind: Tonight? Unless you are friends of the royal justicar, how is this possible? I pray you did nothing against the king's law.

No, I didn't.

Flece did!

Aravind: For this miracle, Jinyan and his friends owe you a debt of gratitude. We have found a safe place for him to hide until the war is over.

Jokes on you if you think anywhere will be safe.



Beggar's eyes?

Apothecary: Yes, I have the eyes of which you speak, but I require them to make an elixir. I am brewing a concoction of Mendicant Vision.

Mendicant Vision?

Apothecary: One who imbibes this potion will gain the gift of special sight: he shall perceive the generosity of others! Those who are the most generous will be the most willing to part with their gold.

Will you give me the eyes?

Apothecary: Well, not for free, of course, but perhaps we might barter? I desire something worth more than this potion of Mendicant Vision.

Barter?

Apothecary: In the hills west of Lenele, there lives a rare and elusive fire salamanka. Slay the salamanka and bring me its tongue, and I will give you the beggar's eyes.

Haha, no way I'm giving up these hobo eyes! I stole them fair and square!



This little bit of question got Flece to level 5. We can backstab now.



No.1 skill gets No.1 skill slot.



We head out of Lenele now in search of a few things. Firstly, the salamanka's tongue.
When on the worldmap you get into random encounters. They have day/night versions of each map and multiple monster spawns.
Some encouters are much rarer than others, and can even have very nice equipment on the ground.



Like this one is fucking filled with skeletons.
This is a good chance to show off backstab though.





thank mr tolum

God that feels good.
While the damage is pretty good for where we are at this point. This is still not a "true" backstab.
We will see those later on when we unlock a few more skills.



Soundtrack - Hills

Now, that apothecary said the rare and elusive salamanka lived in "the hills west of Lenele"
You would think that this would be the area. It isn't.



What he actually meant was the snow capped mountains far west of Lenele.



That are covered in monsters.



Like cool imps and shit that shoot fireballs.



And crazy 4 armed oni demon things.



That give a fuck load of experience!



Joseph now has the Holy magic skill.
The two spells right now are Bless and Protect.
They lower the damage a character takes in combat.
Protect just casts Bless on the entire party.
I have no idea why they even bothered to put in Bless.



Bless he.
The spells effects do look pretty cool*.
*For that era.



And he already has Resurrect now. That was quick.



Aww yeah. A bunch of bitchin golems runnin around.



Hark! Is that a rare salamanka enjoying a nice afternoon in the shade?



Let's take his tongue!









In the end, he wasn't so tough, but I did have to switch to the dagger as the fireball only resulted in Joseph and Flece taking fire damage.
Oh yeah, and the xp from him caused us to

*DING!*



Soundtrack - Grasslands

That one sewer cleaner wasn't kidding. The country side is swarming with bacites. Big ass, four legged, two armed lizard monsters.
We become very familiar with them in the sewers coming up.



At last, we finally managed to track down Lord Korel.
This encounter is very easy to miss as there is a small window of time between steps in the main quest where it is available.



Have you paid for that sword?

Lord Korel: No, but I shall make you pay for your insolence, mongrel. No one asks such questions of Lord Korel! I will give you this sword but on one condition. You defeat me in combat to the death. Do you acccept my challenge?

Yes.

Lord Korel: Let us begin, dog.



All this dispute over a sword and he ends up whipping out a dagger.
Whatever, let's body this fool.



This should do it!
Fuck! He is durable!



DIE GODDAMNIT!



After burning Flece's entire AP pool on backstabs and he is still standing.
What a machine.



Though he does eventually fall, and a sudden revelation occurs.
Hahaha, the sword is only valued at 10gp.



Moving on we... Oh shit, surrounded by kafugs! Quick Joseph! Hide your dum!



Yes.

Zane: He has so much and cannot spare any for others. We rob his wagons so that the poor might live. He's the richest merchant in Lenele, and he is ever-greedy for yet more wealth.

Yet more wealth?

Zane: Not content with his riches, he covets my magical bow. If I surrender the bow, would you leave us in peace?

Yes.

Zane: Then take it, and curses follow you for your ill choice of patrons.

I decided to just take the bow. One, because that's a lot of pids and kafugs to deal with at once.
And two, it would probably be worse for that gypsy spice merchant. Plus, they wont live for very long anyway.



Yes.

The Great Ragneli: Spelndid! Now my caravans can set forth without fear. I'll take that bow. Here is your reward.

He only ends up giving us a whole 10gp. Damn gyspies. I'm glad your caravans are going to get the shit robbed out of them.



She really does not blend in well.



You mean the whole 10gp? Haha.

No*, but I got your sword back.

*Fails to mention the 115gp we found on Lord Korel.

Jarl the Smith: But how? Lord Korel is a mighty warrior that only a fool would dare attack! No matter. I'll sell this sword and pay my debts. Please accept this axe for all your trouble.



We trade the tongue for the eyes.



Which are hillarious.



Give him the eyes.

*The beggar gently removes the wet orbs from the bottle and slips them back into his sockets. He blinks twice. He gazes into the palm of his hand and smiles.*



A beggar with no eyes: I can see, he whispers in awe. Thank you, lad.

*As the beggar looks up at you, a strange expression comes over his face.

A beggar with no eyes: By the wings of Urath, it's you! Cursed boy! Get away from me!

Cursed boy?

A beggar with no eyes: It was you who burned Ciran! You burned my lands and made me a beggar! Aye, nine years ago it was, but I remember you! Come to burn Lenele too, have you? Get away from me!

Shit, he is on to us! Joseph's master plan revealed!



We are now pumped up with loot and levels.



Joseph has an even better sword now.



So it's time to take the short entrance to the sewers, locked of course. But that is what Flece is for!



And what do we have here? A lone kafug?



Captain Cerval, counterfeit coin cloth... caperer.

I hear you use fake coins.

Cerval: If the coins I used were false, I defy you to prove that I knew of it!

I've come for the goods you stole!

Cerval: I've stolen nothing. I paid for this clothing with coins received for a task I performed.

What task?

Cerval: A man paid me for services rendered. Though I know not why that matters to you.

Who paid you?

Cerval: A merchant with a purse full of gold. What more can I say?

Haha, come on dude, just throw us a bone. We are so dumb we are ready to track down this dastardly merchant.

Describe this merchant.

Cerval: No more answers will you get from me. Your accusations will be your doom!



Not so tough after a few applications of EXPLOSIONS.
I hope that tailor doesn't mind some cremated human remains on these clothes.



Sigh. I guess I have to do the sewers now. Fine.

Next time.