Part 5: Update V - Everybody Bless The Landlord, Everybody Bless His Spouse

Update V - Everybody Bless The Landlord, Everybody Bless His Spouse



Right, so the last time we ended up with a party of four and ready to head to Düsterburg, but for now, we've got some stuff to take care of before we move on. First off, a thing I had absolutely no idea existed (which will become a theme as we go further on, if what I've read ahead in the walkthrough is any indication):



This smells fresh and spicy... somehow... HEALTHY!

Yeah, you can pick these blue-looking plants up, and they're actually healing items - the basic one, but still, it's free items! I think I never bothered looking for that kind of stuff because money is plentiful and the inn is easy to get to as well.

Anyway, there's a few things we could have done earlier but put off, but there's also a few things we can only do now that we have Dankwart in our party. One of those is leaving this area, and we'll be looking at the other two next. First off, when we go back to the place Grandy originally came from...



My goodness! What is that?
That's that fog I told you about.
Grandy, that's no fog. I'm not an expert in the field of Sphereology, but I believe this is a sphere tear.
What's that?
If I started explaining this to you, we'd probably still be standing here tomorrow morning.

A sphere tear, eh? Might this be related to Dankwart's old studies? Our next destination brings us to the Icy Wasteland one more time:



There's something on the other side of this hollow log!



Yeah, so remember when I said I need to find a shovel? The game doesn't roll like that. Instead, we find a pickax lodged in a log in the middle of nowhere we can use to dig stuff up, which we will be doing once we get back to the Marches.



I also end up getting into combat, so here's Dankwart using the Holy Amulet. Like I said, it doesn't do shit against anything but creatures of the night, and ice demons don't fall into that group. He should become more useful once we move on from this general area. Next up, Dankwart has somebody to talk to.



You must be Bernhelm. Grandy told me of you...
Umm... yes, sir, but I don't understand...
You used to live in Düsterburg, didn't you? As Grandy told me your story, your name sounded familiar to me.
Sir, I still don't understand... you wouldn't want to...
No, Bernhelm, I don't mean you any harm. Just the opposite!
I am Dankwart Dengelbrack, and I know every single one of my subjects by name!
My goodness! The duke! We've always been told you were dead!
I'm still alive, and I intend to take my title back! But that's not what's important right now!
What happened in Düsterburg? Why did you flee here with your children, so far away from any civilization?
Please spare me from recounting that, sir Dankwart! It's a terrible story filled with blood and tears!
Bernhelm, I want to help you so that Dada and Dudu can once again play with other children.
That will never be possible again! They're not like other children!
Explain yourself, Bernhelm! What happened in Düsterburg?!
The duke... that is, the NEW duke... the population hated him! He reigned with an iron fist! He dissolved the city guard and instead used his own underlings! They were werewolves! Barbaric creatures that enjoyed torturing the population!
One day they attacked my wife. She didn't tell me about it, but during that incident she was... infected!
It's some kind of sickness... or a curse! Dada and Dudu were born with it!
I've heard of that - it's called lycanthropy. You change into a wolf under a full moon?
No, that's not the way it is! We have our form under control! Most of the time, that is. Just very rarely...
One day it happened! We were attacked and defended ourselves as wolves! A few people saw that happen!
They reported it to the city guard.
Excuse me, but didn't you say that Wahnfried dissolved the city guard?
That was not a state that could be held for a long time. The population was in near revolt, so the duke gave in and pulled the werewolves back.
I see. Pardon me for interrupting. Please continue!
The hatred for the werewolves was still dormant within the population. Even though Xanja, the commander of the city guard, spoke out in our favor, they came to our house! They were armed with torches and pitchforks. It was clear what would happen if they managed to capture us!
Brunhild, my wife, charged to attack the crowd! She screamed at me that I should take Dada and Dudu and run away!
She always was the more energetic of us two! I grabbed the kids and ran for our life!
I haven't seen Brunhild since then! Even the grave in front of the house is only symbolic!
That is all. You surely understand why we can never live with other humans again...
Never say never, Bernhelm... but one more question: How did you get past Harkon, my guard?
I told him what happened. He had sympathy for me and the kids and let us pass!
Well, I think I won't think worse of him for him forgetting about his duty... he acted like a noble person.
I'm terribly sorry for your fate, Bernhelm, but we must move on!
When all of this is said and done, I promise to find you a place where you and your children can live in peace!

...well, that was a lot to take in at once. It seems like Düsterburg is still in a state of near revolt, which would explain the revolutionary force led by Laz and Rank (even if they're now down to two members), and the town is being ruled like a dictatorship. But we'll be able to see that once we make it there ourselves. That concludes our business in the Icy Wasteland, so let's make our way back.



There's something buried here!

Now that we have the pickax, we can start digging up a few things around here. And yeah, that's a pile of dirt there. Kind of hard to see, I know. I didn't know it existed, myself.



And our reward is 700 more bucks. Not that I'm hurting for cash, but more money is always nice.



On the way to the next patch of dirt to dig something up from, I get into a fight with some orcs, and Dankwart's magic proves itself to be ineffective against those as well. Oh well.



Well, well! Somebody buried something here!
Would you take a look at that - a pair of leather gloves with weird symbols on it!




These power gloves (they're so bad) give a small boost to attack power. Pretty neat, since we don't have anything else that goes in the misc. slot.



There's something buried here! Hey... a short sword with weird runes on the blade.




Well, that's kinda shit. I mean, it does magic damage, which can be useful occasionally, but eh, I'm just going to stick with the regular longswords as opposed to this magic shortsword. Now, with our full party and good equipment...



...let's deal with that tiger.



And the hell of it is...



...he goes down in two rounds without dealing any real damage.



I was too late!

Pretty sure she was already dead before you even stepped into the cave. People don't tend to live too long when a saber tooth tiger gnaws on you. Anyway, the tiger dropped his teeth as an item, and since I can't use it, let's try selling it...



JESUS FUCK. 2500 bucks? Fucking sold!



As my party is a bit banged up, it's time to head back to the inn to heal up, and at this point I'd like to give a big thumbs up to this inn design. A lot of inns in this kind of game either bill you per party member or increase the price as your level increases, but not here! 30 bucks for a full heal, and if you don't need a full heal, 10 bucks for a small heal over in the kitchen. Now that's service! With us healed up, let's try and solve that quest we got from that ghost.



First off, I forgot to take a look at the guy's gravestone:

- Fredegar Longfing -
After fifteen years, we guess
he had to have died somewhere

Not exactly a great epitaph, but it does show nobody knows where this guy actually died. However, we know where he's at - at least to some degree. "Northwest of here, beyond the river"...



Just one moment..
The wall here is porous and covered with moss... and I'm feeling a small draft...
I could try hacking my way through... 1) Yes. 2) No.

"Do you want to progress y/n" - come on, get in there!



Whoa. Not sure what I was expecting, but not something like this. I think we should be leaving...

And then the screen starts shaking.

What's happening?



And then the entrance is caved in. Bloody great. Maybe we can still get back?

I'm not getting through there, even with my pickax! Completely caved in!

Well, fuck. Might as well head further in.



We have to be careful. This is a place of evil. Several generations ago there were black masses celebrated here. Nothing here is what it seems.

So the statues are going to come to life and try to murder me? Anyway, what's going on with that symbol on the ground with the fire?

Right over this weird symbol...
That's a hexagram...
...this hexagram... black roots are growing out of the ceiling...

Weird. Suppose we'll be dealing with that soon enough, but first, I see a chest with my name on it!



Another longsword. Well, Grandy doesn't have three arms, so this is entirely pointless. As an aside, walking over that lava does ten points of damage. Nothing too bad, but annoying. But now, let's head back to the inn to heal up before we deal with this room.



There's a shaft leading up here. There's light coming down from above. Climb up? 1) Yes. 2) No.

Yeah, might as well get out.



Oh, I know where this is! This is beyond the river Grandy called a dead end in the first update! That puts things into perspective. Might as well explore a bit.



It keeps getting colder... the closer... we get to this tree.

Spooky tree in the south.



Spooky wolves in the north. Let's just get the hell out of here.



One quick jump and a trip to the inn later...




...we're back in this cave, and now we're messing with the statues.

Hmm... the surface of this statue looks weird.
Should I try messing with it with my pickax? 1) Yes, that'll be a lot of fun! 2) I probably shouldn't...

Come on, what's the worst that could happen?




Oh, the statue could turn into a demon that's going to try and kill me. Yeah, I guess I should have figured as much.

Careful, friends! That's a demon. It can only be fought with magic!

And I just went and sold the magic shortsword. Welp. Oh well, this shouldn't be that much of a problem...



...oh, and it can deal about half of a character's HP in damage. That's not helping matters.



Thankfully, Dankwart's magic does big damage...



...but unfortunately, so does the demon, and Dankwart drops in the second round.



Libra's magic does good damage too...



...and Grandy revives Dankwart, since he can't use magic anyway...



...but then the demon uses an attack that hits the entire party and knocks Dankwart right back out and leaves Libra with single digit HP.



Oh my... this guy is killing me, Grandy. Do something!

Suck it up, lady - Dankwart's gotten pummeled into unconsciousness twice in a row, and he's not complaining!



Thankfully, Libra's next magic attack takes out this painful nuisance.



Another trip to the inn and a pickaxing of the caved in entrance later (you can dig it up again from the outside, but not from the inside)...



...and we're back in fighting form to take down the other two demon-statue-things.



Thankfully, they don't concentrate on the same person this time around...



...so Dankwart's healing spells can actually keep the party going, and the demons go down without much of a fight.



The black roots in the ceiling are shaking... and it smells kinda burnt.
Whatever kind of being it may have been that was worshipped here, we have dealt it a serious blow!

Well, we could finish off this thing (this thing being that spooky tree, what else could be connected to those roots), but...



...we've got something else to do. You may have noticed the skeletons disappeared in that cave, and you might remember we were supposed to look for the remains of that ghost. Well, let's have him check out those skeletons and see if we got the right one!



Boooooo! You're back, dear friend! So... were you successful?
Umm... well... I've got these bones here...
Booooo! Booooooo!
Umm... Was that an expression of happiness?
Nooooo! You idiot! Do you really believe moldy bones like that could be mine? There has to be another skeleton in that chamber... a nice, shiny one... please take another look... booooo.

Hm, well then. But where could that skeleton be?



The wall here looks kind of unstable... should I use my pickax? 1) Yes. 2) No.

Well, nothing ventured...



Oh dear! What did we stumble upon now?

A bunch of ghosts, it seems. I wonder what kind of story these guys have.

Boooooooo!
Pretty loud for a dead guy...
Do not dare to joke, mortal scum! You better kneel down and pray to your ancestors that they accept you in the afterlife!
Don't fluff yourself up too much, pal - just tell me what you're looking for down here.
The days on which I was looking for something have long past - now all I'm doing is wait. Booooo!
I see... and who are you waiting for?
For those coming to steal the remains of the heathen that maimed us! The remains shall never be found, so that his soul shall never find peace!
1) What happened? 2) You found me!

Let's get the whole story here.

It has now been many generations ago. We wanted to summon the ghost of the Black Oak at this holy place for it to give us its power!
Doesn't sound particularly holy, more like black magic...
At the peak of the ceremony this putz barged in... he disturbed everything and chaos fell over us! The Black Oak ate our souls, and nobody made it out. Boooooo! But the cowardly thief that caused everything managed to hide in this room. But the waves of destruction had the exits collapse, ha! His death was slow and painful! Since this day, we're guarding his earthly remains so his soul, just like ours, will never find rest!
1) Keep your bones. 2) I will save him!

Well, maybe I can pull a quick one on these guys - let's not antagonize them just yet.

I've got no interest on a pile of old bones. See ya - I'm just looking around a bit.



Joink! We snatch the skeleton and run!

All ghosts to me! A thief is trying to steal our bones!



Or not. These guys are kind of tough...



...but by using a lot of attacks that hit all enemies, they go down a good bit easier than the demons. Now, let's head back to the ghost and give him his skeleton back!



Boooooo! You're back, dear friend! So... were you successful?
Take a look - I've got this exceptionally well-preserved skeleton!
Booooo! Boooooo!
Was that an expression of happiness?
Yes, yessss, yeeeeeeessssss! Thanks, dear friend. I am free! Oh yes! I can feel the tingling... release is coming! Yes!!!



...what.

... ...what is this supposed to be? Reincarnation... as a chicken? Booooo! ...um... cluck, cluck! What bad luck. I'd rather have kept ghosting around for another 243 years!
You can't be pleased at all, can you?

And all we get as a payoff is some experience. Not exactly the great reward we were promised. Oh well, that only leaves one thing to do, and that's deal with that tree. But beforehand...




...we kill some big-ass toads...




...and some big-ass wolves for experience, but it seems we're already plenty strong, as they go down fairly easily as well, so let's check out that tree.



I feel something... there's something in this tree...
The dark presence poisoning this forest is eminating from this tree...
Knock on it? 1) Yes. 2) No.

Let's do this shit.



Surprisingly, the Black Oak isn't as tough as the demons we fought earlier, although it was weakened by killing those demons, so eh. We can attack it with regular attacks, for one, which means Julie isn't dead weight and Grandy isn't just an item user.



Grandy learned two new attacks over the course of our adventures. This one, the feint, lowers an enemy's defense. Nothing special, but hey, it's useful, I guess.



Meanwhile, Libra just fucking roasts this tree and deals triple digit damage.



Grandy then tries to nail the tree in the solar plexus. I have no idea if the attack only works on enemies that would actually have a solar plexus or if I just missed here, but if it worked, it would stun the enemy.



Some more pounding from Libra and Dankwart, and the Oak goes down without much of a fight. We also get a magic apple that will raise one of our character's HP permanently, which is nice.



And then the tree erupts into flames and disappears.

This forest is cleansed... it will take a few years for it to recover, but in the end, peace will return.

With that, we're done with the Eastern Marches, so let's make our way to Düsterburg!



...after another night at the inn, of course. Can't beat that price! Now, let's let Harkon know that Dankwart is back in business!



Sir... you have returned!
Yes, Harkon. And look! I have the Holy Amulet! Your guard duty is finally over!
I thank you, my duke, but the danger still seems to persist. I will continue to guard here until you have reclaimed your throne. You and your friends may pass, of course!
Thanks, Harkon. It's good to have a loyal servant like you.

And on we go, into the unknown!



What's that up there?
Looks like that biting fog we came through!
No, this is something different. It's drifting in the same way, but it seems even darker and scarier!
Now don't go and wet yourself, Grandy. We have to go through there!

And go through there we do!

By the gods, look! The sun!!!
What the hell is that?!
Woof!
Quiet, Julie!
That monster! He actually went and did it!



Did what, Dankwart? Turned off the sun? Who could do something like that?!
Calm down, my friend. It's just a solar eclipse, a rare astronomical phenomenon.
Don't downplay it, Dankwart! You know something and you don't want to tell us! Who did what?
Wahnfried, the lord of Düsterburg! He stopped the timeflow in this area!
1) What? 2) I got it!

Regardless of what we pick here, we get the thing explained, but according to the walkthrough, letting Dankwart explain it gives us more details, so let's play dumb.

Stopped the timeflow? What's that supposed to mean?
As you know, I have made experiments that interfered with the timeflow in the past. My goal was to extend human life. I couldn't imagine that my findings would be abused in such a way. My first attempts were to try and stop time in order to stop the decay of the human body.
But sadly, the results were not satisfying. I managed to stop time in a certain area... but everything was stopped! Nothing moved in the area of my experiment!
My second attempt was more successful: Although time stood still, organic life still continued to move...
...but organic decay did as well, so I didn't actually get any closer to my goal...
That's all very interesting, Dankwart, but what does it have to do with this phenomenon?
That should be obvious, my friend. Wahnfried must have gotten a hold of my notes...
...and he stopped the timeflow just at the moment of a solar eclipse...
Exactly, Miss Libra - very astute of you.
But why would he do something like that?
He's a creature of the night, Grandy. At daytime he's barely capable of anything, and the same holds true for his servants. But without the light of the sun Wahnfried and his lackeys can go wherever they want, unhindered.
Couldn't that have been done more easily? He could have just as well stopped time at night...
Surely, but Wahnfried uses black magic to summon and command his undead servants.
Under normal circumstances, the school of black magic is far inferior compared to the other ones. But during a solar eclipse...
I think I get the picture, Dankwart...
Couldn't our problems get smaller for a change?
I wonder how the people in my duchy are faring after all these years without the sun...



CHAPTER II: CITY OF SHADOWS



Now we could stop it here...



...but we get instantly dropped into another cutscene - "at the same time, but in a different place".



We find Wahnfried pacing back and forth in the throne room of Castle Düsterburg. I just love the seriously fucking tacky statues of himself.

A quick note - it can be kind of confusing when talking about the naming of places, because there's both the town Düsterburg and the castle Düsterburg, which are two separate entities. However, in German, the whole thing becomes a lot easier, since the town becomes a more general entity ("we're going to Düsterburg in the next update"), and the castle becomes a distinct entity ("we're eventually going to attack the Düsterburg"). I won't be making the distinction that often, since it should usually be self-evident.

They have returned!
Where the hell is this guy? The one time I need him, and he's late!



And in comes a really big demon.

Pardon the delay, my lord, but I still had to oppress a few souls...
I was just about to get angry, but I understand that tormenting souls is a priority.
Speak, my lord: How can your most humble servant be of service?
I need somebody with your special skillset to take care of a potential threat!
Give me name and appearance of the threat and consider the problem dealt with!
A young couple. Their names are Grandy and Libra - and all those, that accompany them.
What are you offering me for doing that?

I don't think this guy knows how "humble servants" work. The standard offer for those is not casting some seriously heavy black magic shit on your ass for disobeying.

Their souls, my friend and servant. I think you're going to have your fun with them...
I think so too.



Well, shit, he's a shapeshifter. That's not going to help matters.

A good thing that I could secure his loyalty, or else one wouldn't have the slightest idea who you're dealing with...



Düsterburg! After all these years I've finally returned! I wonder if some of my old acquaintances are still alive? We have to be careful. Surely Wahnfried has stationed a ton of informants all over the town. I believe it would be for the best to keep my identity a secret for now.



And with that, we're in Düsterburg! Well, not really - we're in front of Düsterburg. Odds are that getting inside is going to be a trip and a half, but we'll see that next time!