The Age of Decadence Part #23 - Traveling salesman

Part 23: Traveling salesman

Part XXIII: Traveling salesman

When we last saw Gaius Stabbius, he was going to Maadoran because the Boatmen guild in Teron had been wiped out. Maybe he'll have better luck here.

: Yes, I was.

In retrospect, Neleos was a bit of an idiot.

: It was all we could do. The Guards broke the treaty, we couldn't let the insult stand.

Peacekeepers, eh? I guess it makes sense if you're a believer of "death solves all problems."

: I couldn't care less how "proper" you think things are done here, it all eventually devolves to people killing each other over scraps and titles. As long as I'm on the living end of this arrangement, that's as "proper" as I need things to be.

Don't you hate it when people laugh at their own jokes?

: That's what they said about Neleos.

: Better?

Working for Gaelius has its perks.

: Who's Gaelius?

The game implies Darista is ugly now, but her portrait shows otherwise. Seriously, she's a 9 out of 10.

: I'm ready to work.

Oh hey, looks like the stolen treasure has come up.

: I'm in. What's the plan?

: We're stealing from thieves now? I thought we were assassins.

Okay, geez...

: You're working for Gaelius now?

: I'll talk to Hamza then.

Several invisible men, it seems.

: How are we going to take the gold out?

: Who's Levir?

The logic of this is questionable. Levir is a fucking thief sitting on a pile of gold -- why would he let us take it?

: Disguising ourselves is the only way in?

Next to Hamza is this guy, who totally stole my name.

: I don't have many options at this point.

Thanks, Cyrus! This will come in handy in our current quest.

: Yes.

We don't need no stinkin' guide!

Can we pull this off?

Yes, we can.

Invisible men and women. The only point of interest is this brick wall.

Let's take a closer look.

Sir, I'm selling this fine dagger...

This guy is no big deal. My dagger can pull off critical strikes fairly regularly now.

What? You mean Levir isn't going to let us waltz out with the gold? Who could have predicted this!

Let's try to find this hidden tunnel. We can talk Levir into letting us go, but he'd want us to do a job for him in return and I don't feel like getting mixed up in that bullshit.

Nothing here.

Ah-ha!

We'll try the crafting option.

So long, Levir.

Okay, we lost a lot of people, but at least we get a big pile of gold.

Let's chat with Hamza.

: So, are we working for Gaelius now?

: How long have you been with the guild?

: Any tricks of the trade?

Hamza is arguably one of the "best" characters in AoD. Sure, he's an assassin who's killed countless people, but he's loyal, which is more than I can say for most of the characters.

: Do you have any work for me?

Now this is a job I'm looking forward to.

: Mind if I ask you a few questions?

: Last time I killed a high profile mark, all hell broke loose.

: Surely there are some causes worth fighting for?

There's something poetic about the Boatmen being formed out of the remnants of the Emperor's personal guard, only to end up working for a man who wants to be emperor.

Darista had some bad luck when it comes to joining mercenary groups.

: Vultures?

: You mentioned the business side?

We'll see about that.

: Another job for Gaelius. The Boatmen used to be independent...

I wonder how many times Darista has to listen to guild members moan about working for Gaelius. Anyway, time to stop fucking around.

: I'm ready to take care of Lorenza.

We can't sneak in, so we'll take the direct approach.

Good sirs, are you interested in buying a quality dagger? It's very sharp!

Nothing outside, so let's go in.

: A job's a job.

We could join forces with Lorenza, which means killing Darista. Frankly, I'd rather chew broken glass.

: Your life.

Okay, now I'm fighting a bunch of scantily clad women. This fight can get out of hand quickly, so make sure to brings bombs/nets/whatever you can to even the odds. It goes without saying that antidotes are a must.