Part 3: Update III - Such A Lonely Little Man In A Cold, Cold Wasteland

Update III - Such A Lonely Little Man In A Cold, Cold Wasteland

So, last time we made it to the Icy Wasteland proper, and now it's time to take a look around!



A whole day of traipsing through rock, mud and snow. I hope this stress was worth it.

Time will tell. The first thing we do is engage in combat with one of these birds flying around.



These vultures are pretty damn tough - in fact, they take only 1 HP damage at best. This is probably supposed to simulate how they're flying and really hard to hit. The solution?



The new attack, called "Sword's Dance", entails flinging your sword at the enemy. It's got one use and one use only, and that is attacking flying enemies. However, it quite excels at that.



And with big damage like that, taking this guy out is not a problem.



This here...



...is something...



...that happens a lot. Running back to the Eastern Marches and using the inn is a lot cheaper than buying healing items, so I regularly make use of it.



Back in the Wasteland, we run into these demon-things.

What kind of things are those?! Aren't cold flames a paradox in some way?

They seem tough, but they still go down fairly easily. Next up, we make our way east.



Over there, we've got something down that cliffside, but we can't seem to get it. Also...



A boulder...

This rock seems important somehow, but I can't figure out exactly what to do. Next, we have a grave:



Brunhild - mother and wife.

So that's the second dead wife we've come across. I bet we're going to get the story behind this one in that nearby house!



A guy, on his own. Seems familiar...



Greetings, my friend. My name is Bernhelm. May I know yours?
1) I am Grandy, a traveller. - 2) That's none of your business!

Once again, no reason to be a dick, so let's go with the first option.

Nice to make your acquaintance, Grandy. Can I do something for you?
I wanted to ask you the same - you look worried.
I do? Pardon me, I didn't want to pester you with the worries of a father. It's my two children, Dada and Dudu - they both went outside to play... and haven't come back in hours.

Dada and Dudu, born to Bernhelm and Brunhild. Now that's a weird shift in naming between generations.

1) Can I help you? - 2) Oh well, then fare well.

Wow, dickish. Once again, we go with the standard RPG player's answer.

That's very friendly of you, Grandy. Sadly, I don't know where they went, either.
No problem, Bernhelm. I'll be back in a jiffy with those little rascals.

So with that, we'd leave. But before that...



Oh, Bernhelm... one more question...

...Grandy gets his Columbo moment.

Yes?
Why are you living out here in this wasteland with your kids?
A self-evident question, Grandy... but please allow me to not answer that question. It's a dark story. My wife lost her life. I don't want to talk about it.
1) You've got something you're hiding! - 2) Forget it...

We decide discretion is the better part of valor and just leave. The guy's got enough problems.



Next, we move south...



...and find a kid! Wow, that guy didn't try looking around at all, did he? However, I expected a big battle when it comes to bringing back these kids, so I backtrack a bit...



...and fight some more demons!

Holy smokes! Four of those terrible ice demons at once! I hope my sword doesn't freeze!

The sword attack that hits all enemies makes short work of them, and one trip to the inn later, we're back to the kid. Getting a hold of him is tougher than it seems, since he runs around fairly erratically.



Hey little guy, stay still for a second!
Hello, you. Who are you? You look really strong.
My name is Grandy. My dad asked you to bring you home, Dada - or is it Dudu?... Doesn't matter! You and your brother... or sister?
Oh dear! Oh dear, oh dear, OH DEAR!!!

And then he starts running around even more erratically. We get a hold of him again:

That's enough, you brat! Now tell me where your other sibling is, whatever their gender may be!

This flows a lot better in German, because the language has gendered articles, as "der, die, das andere Geschwister".

Don't hit me, mister Grandy! Oh my, Dada is missing, mister Grandy! She should have been, too, since we were playing hide and seek. But, but, but that's been soooo long ago and I've given up ages ago, and Dada is still missing! And I don't think she's coming back. What should I do?! I'm her brother, mister Grandy, I should be protecting her...
Calm down, Dudu. No reason to get excited. I'll go look for Dada for you.
REALLY???!!! YOU'D DO THAT??!! That's so nice of you, mister Grandy! I bet you're a really big hero and...
Well, kind of. Please wait for me here and stop running around like that.

Right, so we've got a lead. And if I'm not mistaken, it seems like there's a cave down there.



There's a cave down there. But there's no way down there...

And now I spend about ten minutes bopping around before I figure out what I have to do, since I still have the mountain climbing equipment on my mind. However, it turns out that's not needed at all!



I could get down from here... but it's still really damn deep...

Oh, come on, ya pussy! If you fuck up, I can just reload anyway!

Really jump? 1) Yes - 2) No

Do it!



Boing!



Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all...

Man up! It'd not like you can just get back up anyway!

Oh well! There's no turning back now anyway!



Boing! And we've made it to the cave!



Oh my, that's a lot of bats. And guess what? They don't do anything at all. So let's rescue that girl!

Help me, mister. I fell here through a hole and there's all these terrible bats here!

Yeah, there was actually a hole behind the snowman we could have used to get in here too. Only found that out after recording this.

I see that, little girl! Stay near me, I'll get us out of here!

Now, how could we get out of here? Could it possibly be related to the very distinctly different looking part of the cave?



The wall here looks kind of different...

Oh come on, I've got to tell you to look at this again?

There's light coming in from the top. There's a hole in the ceiling! 1) Climb up - 2) Stay down

Alright, let's get out of this joint and have some progress.



Dada! Dada! Come quick! Daddy's been waiting for so long!
I know, silly. The man will bring us to Daddy.

And one screen further north...



Grandy, Dada told me what happened. We're indebted to you.
It's been a pleasure helping you.
As a sign of my gratitude, let me give you my old set of armor.

And we get some plate armor that's better than the armor I just spent a lot of money on. Them's the breaks, I guess.

And before I forget: While you were gone, somebody was here looking for you.
Huh? Who could possibly know that I'm here?
Oh, the young lady didn't know that, but I told her about you and how willing to help you were. She said she wanted to search for you, but I didn't know where you went...
Was her name... Libra?
Yes, that was her name. I knew that you were good acquaintances.
Well... um... not really. Do you know where she went?
She wanted to start looking in the west.
Then I'll be on my way. It's been nice meeting all of you.
The pleasure was all mine, Grandy. Fare well. I hope we'll meet again some day.

Well, he said west, and west we go!



Fresh tracks... they lead south.

Not exactly a lot of options here...



...and suddenly, there's a ladder here! If we went here before, then there wouldn't have been a ladder, so we had to resolve the missing kids subplot before we can move on.



And for some reason, we suddenly ended up in the Frost Palace from Paper Mario or something like that. Getting all frosty up in this bitch. But before we explore, a chest!



Two small healing items and what I think is one MP regenerating item. Nice, but not really useful to me. Now, let's go through that big gate.



And at this point, I finally remember to equip the new armor, which is a great improvement. Now, let's go through the gate.



Only King Asgard's servants may pass through here.
1) I'm a servant of the king! - 2) Alright, then I'll leave.

Oh, come on, we're totally a servant!

You don't look like one, though.
1) But I am one... - 2) Alright, I'll be leaving then...

What? How does a servant look, then? We're still totally a servant!



Oh fuckshits. Totally forgot we can get into a fight with these guys. How strong are they?



OH FUCKSHITS.



Well then. Wait, when did I save the last time?



OH DOUBLE FUCKSHITS. However, that gives me an opportunity to re-do the missing child subplot and press Bernhelm for his secret this time.



1) You've got something you're hiding! - 2) Forget it...

So let's go all pressure on his ass!

Please, Grandy. Don't insist on hearing this story. My family was innocent regarding that what happened... just like the villagers that chased us all the way to these wastelands.
1) You've got skeletons in your closet! - 2) I'll leave you alone then.

We're not backing down this time!

Out with it, or you'll taste my blade.
I wish this didn't have to happen, Grandy... fare well.

What does he mean by that...



OH FUCK IT'S MORPHIN' TIME.



Oh shit, he's a werewolf.

Hey, Bernhelm! Calm down! I didn't mean it that way!



I still crit him in the face and he goes down.

He transformed into a wolf! No small wonder they had to flee. I bet the whole family belongs to the pack!

...

Hm... so what's going to happen if I head to his kids now?



You don't have to say anything anymore. I smell the blood of my father on your hands!




...



Hey, you! Wait! I smell the blood of my father on your hands!




...



...I reloaded and did that properly. Next time, we're going through whatever this place is.