Part 16: Update XVI - A Delayed Update Is Eventually Good, But A Rushed Update Is Forever Bad

Update XVI - A Delayed Update Is Eventually Good, But A Rushed Update Is Forever Bad



Alright then, we've got a few more things to wrap up around here before we move on to storming the Düsterburg. First and foremost, we've been avoiding this inn entirely so far apart from peeking inside just once to pick up one wanted poster.



The reason for that is that this inn only exists for a single sidequest, and since it really doesn't have anything to do with the main plotline, I figured I'd insert it between Rabenstein and attacking the Düsterburg. First off, let's go around talking to people.



What's happening?
We're travellers, and we wanted to talk to you.
What is it that's so important? I don't have much time!
1) Who are you? 2) What is this place? 3) How about a shave? 4) Never mind...

It's been a while, but I'm sure you still know the drill. Down the line we go.

My name is Haldir, and I trade in iron and leather works. Heard there was demand for that stuff here.
Really? What kind of wares are we talking about here?
Whips, cuffs and similar things - whatever you need, you know.

No idea, I just arrived here myself. The folks here leave you alone. I like that...

How about I give you a new haircut, pal? Come here, I've beat the crap out of tougher than you before!
No thanks, I think I've gone through enough fights recently.



Oh my! You don't see strangers around here a lot. Good day, my name is Bartolan.

"Bart" is German for "beard", so this guy not only has a big beard, he's even named after it. Wonder how the parents made that choice.

1) Tell us about yourself. 2) Tell us about this region. 3) Tell us about this inn. 4) See you.

There's not a lot to tell about myself. I'm a lumberjack, and I live in this inn.

This is an untamed area. If you work outdoors here, you better have a weapon at the ready at all times. Orcs and trolls roam this area! To the north there's an especially bad area - the cliffs of the Screaming Ancestors. A wild beast is on the loose there! I've never seen that thing, but if I did, I probably wouldn't be here anymore. The beast kills everything that comes before its fangs. A few suicidal guys have tried to hunt it down. They were never seen again.

The Squeaking Boar has been kept by Fredobert and Tonja for twelve years now. They really made something of this place! The location isn't the worst, either... right on the trading route from Königsberg to Düsterburg! A lot of folks congregate here that way! A few years ago, the two lost their only son. Tonnobert - he was just nineteen years old. Got it into his head to take down the monster of the Screaming Ancestors. You can see where that leads now.



Hello there... some new faces in the Squeaking Boar! Wonderful! My name is Waldemar, and these are my dear friends Winfried...
Greetings!
...and Werdegast...
Evening, folks!
Thanks for the friendly greetings. 1) What are you doing here? 2) Tell me something about the region.

We meet here every year - it's become a tradition. We all grew up in Düsterburg, but migrated years ago.
Yes, yes... those were the days. The youths of Düsterburg used to meet in the Squeaking Boar and throw great parties.
...and all the stories we made up to stay away from home for a night! Those were wonderful times!
These days, all you meet are the lackeys of the Duke and maybe a few traders on the way through...
...and old sentimental men like us!

We're not exactly in the loop on those matters, since we only come here once a year.
But this always used to be a dangerous region. You could find wolves and maneating ogres in the forests.
Tell them of the monster, Werdegast!
The monster... yes, yes... I can still remember the day my father went out to take it out. As far as I can remember, the monster of the Screaming Ancestors roamed the northern forests and made trade with Königsberg a lot harder. The few that saw it rarely lived to tell the tale... they claim it is a massive boar, as black as the night, but with eyes as red as fire and deadly fangs... it can hear any sound with its sharp ears and they say it moves with the grace of a panther. My father never returned, but a few years later the monster disappeared. But since a few years ago it's back and lusts for blood more than ever before!
Is there any explanation for the reappearance of the monster?
Nobody really knows. It must have been around the time Fredobert and Tonja took over this inn.
So what's the reason behind this "Screaming Ancestors" thing?
The Screaming Ancestors are a craggy rock formation north of here. That's where they say the monster lives. Between the rocks the screams of its victims are still heard... hence the name.
Sounds pretty dark... do you have more of those stories?
Dozens... but this is the only one that isn't made up.

Well, that was certainly a story, and I'm sure I'm not the only one getting the feeling that all this is foreshadowing a future encounter with this monster.



Next up, we head upstairs and search the rooms, like any good RPG character does.



There's only one interesting thing in all the rooms, though.

Interesting...



So we just found some cuffs and a whip. Wonder when those might come in handy...



However, it's time to go to sleep now.

Can I do something for you?
1) Drink! 2) Sleep! 3) Talk! 4) Nothing!

Most of those don't get us anywhere, so sleep it is.

That'll be 60 bucks for all of you - the rooms are upstairs!



I'm dead tired! I think I'll fall into bed right away and will only wake up when the sun shines again...
Understood! We'll wake you up when we take care of Wahnfried, then...
If nobody objects, I'd like to split the room with young Tarius here. I could instruct him a bit in the development of his capabilities.
Good idea - we should be prepared before we step up to the Duke.



And then everybody splits up to their own rooms.

Good night, friends. Have a good night's sleep, tomorrow will be a strenuous day.
Has there ever been a different kind of day ever since we got here?



I have a strange feeling with this inn...

Gee, ya think? Yeah, this has "bad things are about to go down" written all over it. But nothing we can do about that now...



...time to go to sleep.



However...

I can't go to sleep! 1) Stay in bed regardless? 2) Take an evening walk!

MISSABLE SIDEQUEST ALERT

This is your one and only opportunity to start the sidequest. If you don't get up and walk around, you'll completely skip over the sidequest and will never get an opportunity to start it again. Given that it isn't important in the bigger picture and that this question is pretty much flashing big lights right into your face saying "HEY THERE MIGHT BE SOMETHING GOING ON", I suppose that's not that bad. So we get up and start walking around a bit. Let's peer into other folks' rooms in the middle of the night, that seems like the right thing to do.



The old men are still awake as well.

For our yearly get-together everybody has to think up a scary story, and then we tell each other those stories.

I can barely keep my eyes open, but there's still so many stories to tell...

Every year there's too little time to tell all stories...

Looks like they could still be going for ages.



Dankwart and Tarius are still kicking too.

Mister Dankwart wants to teach me everything he knows.

You can't sleep either? I've got a bad feeling about this inn.

Gee, ya think? Wait, I already did that one.



Libra seems to be the only one that's actually sleeping here.

She looks like an angel when she's sleeping!
Of course, that impression quickly vanishes once she's awake and opens her mouth!



Bartolan is still awake too.

What are you doing here? If you're looking for that trader, he just went outside to relieve himself.



Well, let's go and get some fresh air. Maybe that'll clear Grandy's mind and help him go to sleep.



But before that, let's take a look downstairs. Previously, the owner in the kitchen wouldn't allow us down there, but now we're free to snoop around. The left door has the two owners sleeping inside, and Grandy figures it best to not disturb him.



The right door seems to lead to some sort of storage. And when we poke around a bit more...



Uahh! There's somebody in there!
But... that's not a human! Looks more like a big animal... a mighty boar, seems like... except for those massive fangs...

I suppose we'll have to figure out what that's all about later. Now, about that fresh air...

When we start walking towards the door outside, we hear a growl.

That came from outside!

Well, let's see what this is all about.



Oh god, that's not what I want to see when I just step outside for some fresh air!

WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?



The monster growls at us...



...and makes a step towards us. We have some options here: 1) Draw weapon and charge? 2) Just stay calm... 3) Get the hell out of there!

Attacking doesn't solve anything, running away would be an option, but let's just stay calm here.

Nice animal... stay calm... I'm staying calm too...



It comes closer...



...but eventually loses interest and just hops away.

Phew! Seems like I don't fit his tastes!
I have to wake the others!



So everybody congregates in the main hall of the inn.

The body has been sliced up from top to bottom. Some of the guts are missing. You seem to have interrupted it while it was eating, Grandy...
I've seen too many similarly mutilated bodies recently... what happened to this region?

You know, I just remembered something. This guy was out taking a piss when he got attacked. Talk about leaving ones dick hanging in the wind...

Please describe this creature in more detail again, Grandy. Did you notice anything extraordinary?
I mostly paid attention to the teeth... but wait a minute...
The forelegs were strange for an animal... the muscles seemed more similar to human arms.
Now that I think about it, the claws were also laid out like a human hand... four fingers and an opposable thumb.
Excellent observation, Grandy! Maybe this knowledge will help us in the future!
Grandy, it is our holy duty to take care of this creature before it can strike again!

Alright, time to question everybody. Detective Grandy is on the case!

The monster struck again!
You live here, don't you? What can you tell us about the monster?
Not a lot. Every once in a while, we find mangled corpses like this one, and then people say that that was the monster.
And then there's one more thing... I was downstairs in the storage. I found a chest that contains a skeleton... it looks just like the creature that killed this man!
How did the bones of such a creature end up in your storage? Out with it!
Umm... I don't know about any skeleton...
You can't be serious!
I refuse to say anything else regarding that matter!
As you wish. Then I'll find it out myself!

Sooner or later it gets all of us!

I assume he's talking about death here, not the monster in particular.

Say, you work in the forest, right?
I'm a lumberjack, yes!
Then you must know your way around this region... how can I get to the Screaming Ancestors?
The entrance is hard to find - I myself only happened to stumble upon it... when you head north and keep right, you can see an overgrown, barely noticeable entrance to a canyon. That canyon leads directly to the Screaming Ancestors.
Why are those rocks called the "Screaming Ancestors"?
The people say that you can still hear the screams of those that fell victim to the monster over the years.

Nobody else has anything interesting to say - the old men don't know anything beyond what they already told us, and the bartender, Tonja, just tells us to talk with her husband.



So, time to go snooping around a bit, particularly in the room we couldn't enter before.



This is the owners' room. The first thing we of course do is plunder the chest, which has a nice 3500 bucks in it. Not extraordinary, but not too shabby.



But the real treasure is hidden in the cupboard here.

Bedding and worn clothes... nothing really useful.
Wait a moment, there's something hidden under the covers here!
It's the ledger for this inn! This is where all earnings and spendings are written down.
By itself, it's not really useful to us, but look: Judging by the handwriting, this book is currently being written by somebody else than who used to do it.
Probably the previous owner. We know that the current owners took over this inn twelve years ago.
Your assumption is correct, the handwriting changes twelve years ago... but look!
What? I don't see anything - just the handwriting changed.
That exactly is the problem! There are no records of monetary flow that suggest that the inn was sold!
Either the previous owner just gave it away, or...
...those two got their hands on it in some other way!
Oh my - there's a few loose sheets of paper between the pages of this book. Seems like the previous owner wrote something down here...
Let me take a look!






...oh Christ, here we go again... *ahem*:

This shall be my bequest for those that come after me... a bequest and a warning as well. I managed to solve the riddle of the monster of the Screaming Ancestors! To be exact: I am the monster! But I did not choose this fate. I myself became a victim of the monster and of its curse! I was an average man until I was attacked by the monster ten years ago. I knew of the supposed invincibility of this creature and thought my final hour had come; but regardless I wanted to sell my life dear. With a shining blade in my hand I went forth to fight! We fought for a long time and I thought it would never end, but then I managed a lucky strike: I chopped off one of its front paws!

The howling of that creature made the rocks shake and the animals go quiet. It tried to run away, but I recognized my chance and pursued it. A few more well-aimed hits and it was over! The monster of the Screaming Ancestors was lying in its death throes in front of my feet. But my triumph only lasted a few heartbeats, for just before the creature breathed its last, it turned towards me... there was a triumphant twinkle in its eye, and there was an almost human intelligence in its dying gaze. A moment later I found myself gasping on the floor! I felt an unknown force trying to take control of me. I heard my bones crack, felt them change, felt them grow and expand. The more I tried to fight it, the faster the transformation went. Finally, I accepted my fate...

But exactly in the moment where I let go of any resistance, my body calmed down just the same. The presence that tried to take over me seemed to have disappeared. But I knew that it was still inside me, watching, waiting... hoping I would give it a second chance to take control. And so it was: Whenever I felt anger overtaking me in the following years, I could feel it trying to overpower me. So this is my bequest and my warning to those that come after me. A demon is hiding in my body. It feeds on fear and anger. If it should succeed in escaping from my control, the monster of the Screaming Ancestors will return to ravage the land. I suspect that it survived in this way: Whenever the monster was defeated, the demon found its new host in the warrior that killed it!

If somebody reads these words, then that means I'm dead or missing... if I should have died peacefully in my bed, then the demon inside me probably found its end as well. But if I died through violence or even disappeared, then bar your doors and forbid your women and children to go to the forest alone, because the monster of the Screaming Ancestors has returned to sow death and decay!

--Joost Wanja

Written in the eighth year in power of his Highness Duke Wahnfried of Düsterburg

That, together with the skeleton in the chest, should be enough to convict these owners!

Alright then, let's waste no time!



I want to know what happened to your son right now!
What happened to Tonnobert? That's well known. He's been missing ever since he went out to take out the monster...
Save your lies! It just so happens that he vanished right around the time you "took over" this inn from the previous owner!
I'd like to know if you have a proof of purchase...
Of course we have one!
Could we get a look at it?
That's our business, not yours!
Considering there's a man lying dead in a pool of his own blood, I'm making it my business!
I'm going to tell you what I think happened here:
Fifteen years ago, you and your wife arrived here with your son. I don't know what your original plans were... but this flourishing inn got your attention, and the owner was in the way! So your son Tonnobert volunteered to take care of him!
I have no idea what exactly happened, but I do know that the previous owner was possessed by a demon.
He was the monster of the Screaming Ancestors himself! But somehow he managed to keep the demon under control!
However, as your son tried to kill the previous owner, the curse broke through! He changed his form and a fight broke out!
I can only guess what exactly happened after that, but I assume that your son didn't have the power to keep the demon under control! And ever since then, the monster of the Screaming Ancestors once again terrorizes this area, and your greed is to blame!
I suppose there's no use objecting anymore. But what do you want to do with this knowledge?
I'll go to the Screaming Ancestors myself and take care of your son.
And concerning you and your wife, when I come back, I don't want to see either of you here anymore or you'll regret it!
I bow before brute force, but only under protest!
Keep protesting and I'll hang you from the next best tree!
But what will become of the inn?
You're the only regular here anyway. How about you take over?
ME? But I can't cook, nor do I have any idea how to keep this place up and running...
I'll get you people for that. There's enough people in Düsterburg that would be happy to have a calling like that.

Well, that was a lot to take in, but the gist of it is that we're now on the hunt for a monster and also on the hunt for personnel. First of all, let's deal with the monster.



Moseying on up north to the area with the guarded passage, we find the little passageway to the right.

There's a passageway here! Just like the lumberjack described it!



And there we are. Welcome to the Screaming Ancestors. They don't really live up to the name - just some canyon with a bunch of fog, just like the rest of the area. A bit darker than the rest, maybe.



There's something buried here!

Holy smokes! A full set of armor! A bit moldy and mossy, but otherwise intact!



Well I'll be damned, it's a piece of equipment that's actually an improvement over what I already have! That's not a common occurrence.



Anyway, we move on (it's just a linear path) and eventually find the monster again!

Here goes!



The monster would be strong if we weren't completely roided out, stocked up on great weapons and armor and overleveled to shit. As it stands, we just beat the shit out of it until it runs away.

The beast is trying to run away!



Phew, that was a tough one.

Nah, not really. Took only about two rounds and we barely took any damage.



The creature then retreats into this cave. I wonder if that rock lying in front of the cave is going to be relevant. Let's head in for now.



When we approach the creature, it roars at us.

This one's still moving!

We then get the option to walk up to it and kill it, but that's probably a bad idea (which leads to Grandy becoming the monster and attacking the party, leading to a guaranteed game over). Instead, let's try something else.



Let's head back and just push that rock in front of the cave so the monster can't get out anymore! At least, that's the plan.

I don't know... this doesn't really look all that safe...

And it proves to not be safe, as a small rumble happens right after that.

Uh-oh!

Then we get a minor rock slide.



I love doing good things!

Well, this apparently solves the problem. I figure that if the creature dies, it will still be because of the wounds caused by our party, and as such the demon should still pass on, but I guess it can't come out because the exit is blocked or something like that? Oh well, the game says we're done, so we're done, so let's head back to the inn and see how Bartolan got settled in.



You're back! And, did you manage to take care of the monster?
Yes, indeed. The monster of the Screaming Ancestors has been terrorizing the area for the longest time!
Fredobert and Tonja packed their bags and scampered off. The old men left as well. At least that gives me the opportunity to practice in peace - I've never worked as a barkeep before, after all. Right now I'm practicing pouring beers. But what am I talking about? What can I do for you?

And we get the same options as we did before. For now, we need to take care of the whole "need personnel" thing. Now where could there be some people that have experience in cooking or housekeeping and are out of work?



Oh, right.

Rüdiger! Sir Dankwart is back again!
Greetings, you two. Say, wouldn't you two like to leave the city to earn your keep at a much nicer location?
Sir Dankwart... you must be joking!
Far from it, dear Berta. You must surely know the Squeaking Boar?
Of course, Sir Dankwart. I used to go there a lot after work.
Oh... and this is the first time I hear of this?
The inn needs a new cook and a bookkeep. I thought you two were made for that kind of job.
Really? Oh, we'd love to, Sir Dankwart, but we can't leave the city. The guards at the northern gate, you know...
My friend Grandy already dealt with that. The way is open.
That's wonderful, Sir Dankwart! We'll be packing our things immediately!



And when we return, the two are working at the inn. We don't get anything beyond experience for it, but hey, doing good is its own reward, right?



Anyway, that's everything we can do regarding the Squeaking Boar. Next time (which hopefully won't take as long to put out as this one), we'll be making our first moves towards infiltrating the Düsterburg.