Part 12: Episode 2: Part 7: How Sweet RNG Is, How I Learnt To Stop Worrying and Love my Sword and Traziun's Food Ordering Advice

Episode 2: Part 7: How Sweet RNG Is ALSO How I Learnt To Stop Worrying and Love my Sword ALSO Traziun's Food Ordering Advice ALSO A LOT OF OTHER STUFF


When Rhue awakens in the morning, Traziun's already out of bed. Rhue thinks he's probably warming up for his plunge against Kygar.


So here, you got a timer to get an item, do a thing to unlock the way to an item later, and talk to everyone you care to. It's plenty of time.



First thing I do is head to the ladder behind the counter of the tavern.



It takes us behind this door, which we can unlock. We can't get into the private rooms though.

Next we head outside to the plunge field.



Thanks.

WOMAN: Are you single? I have a daughter about your age and I think you'd like her!

Uh...

WOMAN: Just consider it. Here's a piece of Pocite. I know you fighter types like Pocite.

Thank you. Maybe I will go and meet your daughter later.

WOMAN: Great!

(I'll have to remember to avoid her after my plunge)

Next to her there's a little girl that says that Rhue's her favourite fighter... besides Kygar, which upsets Rhue and he says Kygar sucks and then wonders why he even bothers to speak to dumb children if you try to speak to her again.
Rhue and his hissy fits.

Next to the little girl...



How did you know my name?
YOU'RE LITERALLY IN A TOURNAMENT IN A SLEEPY LITTLE SETTLEMENT RHUE

MAN: You're my opponent today. I hope you're ready for a drubbing.

Whatever.



I believe her boyfriend was supposed to be Taram, the guy Traziun plunged in the first round, and whos corpse gets Rhue decapitated in the barrucha cave.

Yea, I saw him.

WOMAN: And you didn't have the decency to bring his body back?!

I was more concerned with saving the living.

WOMAN: Don't talk to me.
Moving on...



Hi Alex! As mentioned earlier in the thread, it's almost like a running gag in RPGMaker2K/2K3 games to use the default hero sprite, named Alex, like this for idiot wannabe chosen ones

You're no hero.

MAN: After tomorrow I'm off to cleanse the way of all unrighteousness.

I'll try to keep a sharp look out. If I see you I'll be sure to bury your body.

MAN: Arrgh! You'll see! I'm going to be famous!


Rhan and his girlfriend just give Rhue their thanks and well wishes.



Yep.

Is it going to be easy?

Hard to say, but I don't think so.
Kygar is probably going to be the toughest to beat though.
That's not to say that you don't have a chance if you win today against the guy with the red pants.

I'm going to win at least.



There's no point in waiting around, so skip it!!!



Let's welcome two of our semi-finalists back!
First to my left, let's hear it for Kyyyyger!
She pronounced his name wrong.

"And to my right, please give a warm welcome to Traziun!
Let's get this thing under way!"


Traziun and Kygar charge and jump for the first pass and...





You know the Jagged Edge blade art? Impressive...
I believe Jagged Edge is just an extra 1d6 of damage or something like that?

That's not all I know.



...

Using the Cool Wind blade art won't help you much against me.



Some stars appear this time but I don't remember what it is, and neither of the plungers mention it.

This is going to be a close one.

Not really, I'm going to finish you right now.

Please do.



On the next pass these circles circle around the duo...



Looks like he's through.



...
And the winner is... Traziun!

And now for our next bout.



And on my right...
He took down Alanthreonus yesterday and he's back for more...
Please give it up for... Rhue!
Let's get it on!







(Concentrate...)
So. If you know where all the secrets are then this is probably going to be the toughest/most luck orientated plunge in the whole series for you. Parris really did give me the worst drubbing I've ever had on my first attempt.
Rhue was dealing 1-3 damage pretty regularly while he was dealing 5+ usually. Then he got Ray of Light off and got !!!2!!! plunge points out of it. Rhue was at yellow hp while Parris was on dark green still, and then Parris immediately did two 14 damage passes in a row which are also step 2 injuries to boot. Rhue went down the next pass. You're allowed to lose this plunge too.
Something I forgot to mention is that if Rhue loses to Alan in the first round, you get a free plunge point. Thats arguably far more valuable than two critical strength (we get critical strength from this victory too) and a piece of pocite, but I never liked doing things the easy way. Also Rhue loves to win and hates losing.



...

PARRIS: I'm going to use you as a stepping stone on my way to winning a kiss from Cetsa.

The only thing you're going to be kissing is the dirt.
The crowd cheers at this.

PARRIS: ...



Parris gets Ray of Light off but gets 0 all three times. Just how lucky is this asshole though, to get it 3 times??
At least Rhue rolls big on a dropslash risk attack, dealing a step 2 to him. He'd been rolling bad on this second attempt, and now he's going to be worse.



He goes down a couple passes later, with Rhue still on highish HP.

Here is your winner, RHUE!


So, with this our critical is a 1d6 on a 3% chance. Hahah.

The final bout will take place tomorrow and will be between Traziun and Rhue.
Hope everybody comes back then!

Shortwhile later...


Thanks. Let's go party at the tavern to celebrate our victories!

Maybe we'll see Kygar.

Maybe. He sure looked pissed off after our battle.

I guess you suprised (SIC) him with your skill. I think you suprised (SIC) a lot of people. Even Cetsa looked...



Did the proofreaders miss this incorrect spelling of suprise?

Yea, but there was something more in the look that I saw on her face.

Hmmm... Let's not worry about it. I just want to get something to eat.

Sounds good to me.

Awhile later...



Palberry suprise.(SIC)

Yuck! This stuff is awful!

Heh heh...

It just goes to show that when you take risks, you sometimes lose out.

Thanks for the moral lesson oh wise one.

That's not the end of it.

Oh, I've got to hear this.

You have to minimize the risks as much as possible before you take them.
For example, before I ordered my meal I had a look around and asked other people what they thought was good.
My efforts paid off and I now have a delicious morsel in front of me.

You can't researc all risks like that you know. This is a rare case.

True. That's why you should always have a card up your sleeve to help you deal with various situations that may arise.

That's great, but I think I'm starting to like this sword on my back. How do you like that for a card?

Sometimes it's just the card you need, but other times there are easier ways of accomplishing things.

Hmmm...
There's a disturbance at a nearby table... involving our old friend, thrown through window guy.


WOMAN: You jerk! My boyfriend just died and you're already hitting on me!

GUY: Oops...

WOMAN: Take this you insensitive lout!



She punches him out.



Yea. Probably only because Cetsa was here during our stay though.
I bet you Lide is usually a total bore.

Speaking of which, where is Cetsa?

I don't know for sure, but I'd guess she's in her room.

Why do you want to know?

Huh?

I don't!

It just seems off that she keeps to herself so much.

Tell me something...
If you weren't in love with Serena, would you go after Cetsa?

What?!

How you can you (actual error) expect me to answer such a hypothetical question?!

I guess I don't. Let me get us some drinks instead.

Hours later...




Yep, you wouldn't want to miss my moment of glory.

You never know, I might pull an upset.

I can't believe I feel so tired.

Well, I've got a few things to do. Don't wait up for me.

Don't worry, I won't.

Rhue leaves Traziun there and heads to the bunkhouse.



Ah, we haven't seen the Rhue haunting shadow since we got to Lide. Welcome!









Rhue follows it outside.



All right, I don't want to complicate matters for you.

Thank you. I'm glad you're not an egomaniac like your friend.

Good luck, I'll be off now.
[i[Kloe leaves and Traziun heads off to the bunkhouse, but...



What are you doing up?

I suddenly awoke from my sleep to find that someone was watching me.
They ran out and I came out here after them.

Something really strange is going on. Remember how there was something running loose on the walls on the first night we arrived?

Yea, Kloe clobbered me that night.

Well, whatever it was, it's back. Anyway, I'm going to bed.

Going to bed?

No way, we need to investigate. Something was just in my room!
Kloe's not going to protect us. All she cares about is protecting Foreman Ballar.

So what do you propose we do?

We're going to take a look around ourselves.

Fine, but let's avoid being seen by Kloe.
Before we investigate properly we have an unlocked door to take advantage of.



If you think about it, this little optional puzzle doesn't make sense. If you can unlock it from this side, you can do it any old time, as long as downstairs is cleared out. You have to go up this way though, since the stairs are always guarded by a bouncer.



Anyway, when you go through the doorway, Kygar leaves his room and Rhue automatically dodges back in the door.



"Hmmm..."
"Cetsa is waiting on me. I don't have time for this."
Kygar leaves via the... balcony? Presumably he jumps or climbs to ground level. But now we can break into his room and take the red thing on his table.



Hell yeah.



So, this mirror used to have a little event where Rhue would comment about his relationship with mirrors. For whatever reason, in PROBABLY the 2.0 versions, Lun disabled it by moving it to another layer and changing the dialogue text to "The Player Never Comes Back Here." or some such. I have no idea why he did this.



You can see Alan's recovering in his room there.

We head back outside and to Foreman Ballars house... which is still locked. Though there's a strange sound inside after we try the door.



Yes... but I'm not sure what it was...

What direction did it come from?

This way maybe?
They both look back towards the bunkhouse.



The shadow that's been hanging aroudn Lide jumps onto the balcony from the neighbouring house. Rhue and Traziun turn to see it just after it enters the door there.

Did you see that?!

Yea, something strange is going on here...

Maybe there is anoter way in. Let's check the sides of the building.





DREN: Foreman Ballar might be in danger!



DAR: Kloe!

Once we get inside I want Dren to guard the door.
The other two of you will each guard a staircase. I'll go upstairs alone, and don't argue with me!
They all head in.



Yep... looks like it.

But with that guy guarding the door inside, I don't know how we can get in unnoticed.

Hmm...
A woman screams.

Screw it, let's just go!

The first floor is empty of anything interesting, even the guards, so we go upstairs.



We saw a dark figure enter the top doorway and thought there might be trouble.
Where's Kloe?

DAR: She went up that ladder after Cetsa.

Cetsa?

DAR: Kloe said that Cetsa killed Ballar and then went up the ladder.

I always knew there was something a little off about Cetsa.

DAR: Kloe screamed, and when we got up here he was like this.

Did you see Kygar?

DAR: No.

Let's go after them.

All right, let's have some fun.



Notice that white thing on the ground to the right? It looks like it was meant to be a rope or some sort of binding.


Up the ladder, Lun was gracious enough to make the passage visible. The one to the right just leads to some barrels.




The second ladder goes pretty far down.


TAL: Dren... oh Dren...



Cetsa has her hair up now.



And the shadow is finally revealed as a blonde masked woman in all purple leather.

Better ssssave your breath for the battle honey.
But I must ssssay, I like your new outfit.

...


How did you know about this place Cetsa?! How did you find out about the sword?

That's easy, Ballar told me.

He what?!

Surprised? I think you've seriously under estimated my abilities dear Kloe.
Wow, they missed this mispelling of suprise too.

So your little tournament was just a cover?

Just a cover?

No, not at all. My little tournament was just a little scam.

It didn't go quite right this time with Kygar losing and all, but that usually doesn't happen.
In a normal town Kygar and I would taken everyone's money and ran after such a loss.
But I found out about your little town treasure, so I didn't want to run this time.

It's not a treasure! It's an object of evil!

Call it what you likie. It matters little, the sword will soon be mine.

You've wassssted your time Cetssssa. Why don't you leave now before I sssscratch up your pretty little fayssss.

Is that a threat?

Kygar, what do you think?

She's one dead freak.



Swords are drawn.



And then everyone stops to look at the sword throbbing and pulsing red. Even the room's filled with a dull red light. Kloe steps back.







Then Rhue, also pulsing red, runs down...





He hits the sword up into the air... there's some sort of transparent explosion effect as he does so...





And the sword flies into the Pits.


You complete fool...

Why did you DO that!

...

I don't know.
(Did something just possess me?)

I'll deal with you later, but first...





Cetsa and Kygar one-two hit the masked woman off the platform.

Finally, I'm rid of that accursed woman!
Now for you three.



Since you have no healing besides Rhue's weak Inflow, this battles about doing as much damage as you can, as quickly as you can.
It's pretty straightforward though.


As it is, Kygars last attack before going down leaves Kloe at 4 hp. And that was with a slew of criticals from Traziun. Probably the closest I've ever cut it in this fight.



You know what to do Kygar.

Yes.



Kygar uses some sort of smokebomb or something, and when it clears the dastardly duo are gone.



...





I only know a little bit about it. Ballar never told me much.
I was supposed to protect him and the sword...

But now he's dead and the sword is lost.

I failed.

So Ballar took the secrets of that sword to the grave it seems.

...

...

(I don't know why, but this man's face is familiar...)
I'm sorry, I just kind of drew a blank for a second. And yes, it seems that Ballar did take those secrets to the grave.

You called it an object of evil. What did you mean by that?

You've never heard about the Shadow Swords?

The Shadow Swords?

I swear Rhue, have you been hiding under a rock all your life?

Just tell me what they are.

I've always been told that the Shadow Swords are the embodiment of evil.
Their power makes them very desirable to some.

If they're just swords, how can they be evil?

I don't know.

Hmmm... I doubt that they are evil.
My guess is that most people simply abuse their power.
Most people just don't know how to handle power.

That sounds more reasonable than anything Kloe's been saying.

!!!

Foreman Ballar knew more about that sword than anyone! I'm just passing along what he said.

I for one, don't believe everything I hear.

He wouldn't lie to me!

Maybe not on purpose, but isn't it possible that he could have been wrong aboutthe sword?

I... uh... I guess.

I can't believe he's gone.
I guess I'll be leaving town tomorrow morning.

Why?

Foreman Ballar is gone and so is the sword. My blood oath to serve him no longer stands.
I failed.

But I'm almost happy about it.
I want to forget about all the horrible things that have happened to me ever since I first came here.

What kind of horrible things?

I don't want to talk about it.
I have to report to the nearest Battle Grounds immediately.

You're a Blood Lyn?

Yes, I was trained at Delhara Battle Grounds.

Ah, the infamous Delhara...

(that's it! That's where I know him from!)

I've never heard of it.

Rhue, where have you been these last few years? In a hole?

Delhara is famous because of a boy named Alagard.
He broke his blood oath and escaped from Delhara a few years ago.

What's a blood oath? And why would this Alagard break it?

Blood oaths were created by the Blana Sera. They run the Battle Grounds.
Every child raised on a Battle Ground takes an oath to serve the Blana Sera without question.
That is why those who are raised on Battle Grounds are called Blood Lyn.

Once a Blood Lyn turns eighteen, they are contracted out to respectable buyers.

Yes, that's what happened to me. Ballar was the buyer in my case.

No one knows why Alagard broke his blood oath, but it's not like he's the only one who's ever done it.

Then why is he famous?

Only Alagard and one other have broke their blood oaths and lived.
You see, the Blana Sera ruthlessly hunt down those who break their blood oaths.
Delhara was actually the place where the other person escaped from as well.
But I wasn't around for the second escape.

...
I'm suprised (SIC) you know about it. No one talks about the second escape ever.

So I've noticed.

I'm leaving to report to the nearest Battle Ground immediately.
I've heard that there's one called Matalan further up the Way somewhere.

Yea, we're leaving tomorrow too.

Hey, maybe we could...

Could what?

Nothing, nevermind.
Thanks for helping out down there tonight guys. Goodnight.
Kloe leaves


Yep.

And then... the screen goes dark, and we find ourselves at the next morning.


"Hey Rhue, I had some business I needed to take care of. Sorry to leave so abruptly. I'm sure we will meet again sometime. We'll have some more fun then." Traziun.

Hmm, I guess I'm on my own again. It was nice having Traziun around though.
He's been one of my first real friends in a long time.
I should get going.
Outside, we go!



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZblCtcDTy84



Don't call me sweetie!

I apologize. How rude of me, I don't even know your name.

My name is Strata, and you are?
And you finally learn Strata's name at this point.

Kloe.

A pleasure to make your acquaintance.
As I said before, I'm looking for someone.
He's about twenty years old or so and has brown hair.
He was wearing all blue besides his belt, boots, and gloves, which were orange.
Have you seen him?

Why are you looking for him?

He's a dangerous thief.

No way!

It's all true. Where can I find him?

He was with another man. I just saw his friend about an hour ago. I don't know where he went though.
I'm guessing he's with him. If I were you I would take the right branch at the far end of town.

Thanks! You've done a good thing.



At least Kloe accidentaly misinformed him.
I guess I'll be taking the left branch out of Lide.



(Crap)

I just met someone who was looking for you. Why don't you stay here while I go get them.

Sure, thanks Kloe.

Ok, don't move! I'll be right back.



This choice affects Kloe points, from top to bottom, +1, +0, -1. Otherwise, the outcome's the same.







Isn't this the most perfect hiding place?

So long.



Rhue leaves Lide behind.





I'll have my revenge on you soon, father.


And so ends the Lide Arc. One of the highlights of the first half of the series. I particularly like the Barrucha Cave (and so do most, I think?) sequence in spite of my complaints about the trial and error section because it's a short horror-esque sequence that doesn't over do it or over stay its welcome. And the deaths are very memorable. And right after Lide comes another Highlight, but for other reasons. We're about... ehh... 2/3rds done with Episode 2.

the end