Part 25: Update XXV - Königsberg Ist Deutsch

Update XXV - Königsberg Ist Deutsch



CHAPTER V: THE DAY WITHOUT A NAME

It's time for the final chapter. As an aside, the shot of Königsberg is actually a shot of Riomaggiore, an Italian village, part of the Cinque Terre, a certain region of Liguria that is actually a World Heritage Site.



Königsberg - gateway to the world! It's been a long time since I've last been here. Horses aren't allowed within the city walls.

"Das Tor zur Welt" is one of the nicknames given to Hamburg, the most important port city in Germany.

But there are stables for rent outside the city. The owner is a rich man.



Welcome to Königsberg! This city is pretty fucking big, and there's lots to see. There's several parts of the city - the one we're in right now is Altenberg, a sort of residential area. I'll go over the other ones in time, but first of all we're going to be staying here.



Now, the very first thing to check out is our new party member. Malthur's about on par with our party as far as experience goes, he's a big tub of HP, but not a lot of MP.



This MP problem is not exactly helped by his spells costing a fuckton of MP, either. Seems he's a prime candidate for the magic amulet that halves costs, since I pumped the fuck out of Tarius' MP pool with fruit.



His stats are also kind of blah, not helped with the rest of the party being pumped up on Vitamin Roids, and he can't use any other equipment bar stuff in the misc slot. Still, he's going to be an offensive powerhouse, but we'll go over his strengths in combat later. Now, on to exploring!



Welcome to Königsberg! Don't play around with your swords too much and we'll get along just fine.
No worries, we're not planning to cause any trouble.
That's unusual coming from you, dear.
Please don't let the guard get any bad ideas now.
No worries, I think I got the right idea... your girlfriend, I presume?
To be exact, we're married... I think. I still need to get used to the idea.
Drank a bit too heavily and then let yourself get dragged in front of the altar, eh? I know those stories well.
Now don't say the wrong thing, dear!
1) Who are you? 2) Tell us about the city. 3) Anything special happen recently?

Now that we've had our fill of battle and story sequences, it's back to bopping around town, asking everybody in sight about everything imaginable. Down the line, as usual.

My name is Rondrian, and I've been the head of the gate guards for years now. My men and I make sure that no dark creatures come into town.
What kind of dark creatures?
Where are you from? Don't you know of Düsterburg and its terrible ruler?
Now don't you start with your stories, dear. We need to get to the baron!
No worries, I know that we're in a hurry.

Actually, no, we're not. We're going to fuck about in town for a long time before we start getting to the main quest, because there are sidequests and exploration aplenty here.

Königsberg is a peaceful town. If it wasn't for the threats from the east, we'd probably be out of a job. But that's probably not all that interesting for travellers like you... check out Minas' tavern at night. His "Pick-Me-Up-Special" is known far beyond the borders of Königsberg.

Last night, one of our guards was attacked at the gate. He mumbled something about a black carriage.
Could we speak to that guard?
He didn't survive the night.

So we now know that Wahnfried successfully made it here last night, so we're at least in the right place. Time to keep asking around.



Ho ho! New in town? May I introduce myself? I am Gruzli, son of Grizzli.
My name is Grandy.
You're dressed for battle, Sir Grandy... and that despite the long summer plaguing us with muggy nights this October.
Well, you don't exactly look like you're feeling hot yourself.
There you are mistaken, Sir Grandy! A real dwarf never takes off his armor, regardless of how much he's sweating!
1) Tell us a bit about yourself. 2) What's the climate here like? 3) Could I help you somehow?

I mostly ended up here by chance. I was looking for a wife and got to know an enchanting dwarven girl here. So I bought a house and got myself a job as a doorman at the Flying Fish. For that girl I would have left my home, the caverns of Zwergenbinge, forever - but it wasn't to be...
Did she leave you?
Not in the slightest! Our love was as firm as the earth itself! Some idiot told her that several galleons filled with gold coins sank near the docks here. And being a dwarf, she decided to dive for those treasures. However, she probably should have taken off her chainmail beforehand.
That's a terrible story.

Thanks to the cliffs surrounding the town we only get the winds coming from the south over the ocean... right from the Sarabian desert! Furthermore, Königsberg lies right on the gulf stream, which also causes mild temperatures. Since I've been here I haven't seen a single snowflake, and the trees lose their leaves in late November at the earliest. Königsberg is therefore a paradise for water rats and sun worshippers, however it's not to be recommended for dwarves.

Because of the heat, I suppose? Nothing much you can do there. The serving of beer is banned until sundown. If a dwarven ruler would pass a law like that, his rule would end within a few hours!
And how about some water?
Water? You want to poison me?

So there's treasure down around the port area. That's probably worth looking into.



Hello, my dear. You're new in Königsberg, aren't you?
Umm... umm...
Just say "yes", dear.
How about you drop off your mother somewhere and then I can show you around town... maybe show you some romantic spots...
"Mother"? That's it, doll! Grandy's mine! Got it?
Calm down, sister. Can't blame a girl for trying.
1) What's your name? 2) Romantic spots? 3) Anything new in town?
Trudel. I live down at the port, but that's too crowded for me. I love nature. But that changes at night. Down in Minas' tavern all sorts of strapping adventurers and sailors from all around the world come together.
All right!

It's pretty nice here, but it's even better down in Klipping. The people there are poor, but friendly, open-minded and in good shape too.
Klipping? What's that?
It's almost a village in itself. You'll get there when you go west from the port. North of Klipping is an old villa. I wouldn't dare to go there at night, but it's quite romantic during the day.

That about wraps it up for what we've got in Königsberg. We've got Altenberg, the cozy residential area, the port, where a lot of shit goes down and a lot of people are, Klipping, the poor section of town, some old spooky villa and finally the baron's castle, and there's a lot to do in most areas.

I don't know if it's exactly something new, but I'm getting the feeling that chivalry is dying around here. The people are getting more secretive and aggressive. Really, the entire mood in the city has been getting quite... irritated since a few days now.
Any reasons for that?
I don't know and I can't explain it either. Everything's so loaded, it's like a storm is brewing.

Foreboding. Well, we're in the home stretch, so it's probably time we get some sort of foreboding feeling.



Let's start rummaging through some houses, then.



First off, we have a general store.



Greetings. Here you can find everything you need in a working household.



If by "everything" you mean some lockpicks, a lantern, a hammer, and some clothes, then I guess you're right. We pick up a hammer because why not. Now, to find some nails.



Is this a weapons shop?



Oh, it's just the guard station. What a shame.



Who are you? I hope you've got a good reason to disturb Reyven Krähenschwinge by his work.

"Krähenschwinge" comes out to "crow's wing", and his first name is probably pronounced like "raven". Somebody had birds on their mind.

1) What work? 2) My name is Grandy. 3) We need your help.

You're really trying to be funny, aren't you? You better watch out who you're dealing with. Being commander of the bailiffs is grueling work.

I really don't think these guys are bailiffs. I'll continue to refer to them as such, but as far as I'm concerned, they're just fucking guards with a fancy name.

But a vagrant like you probably doesn't even understand the meaning of words like "grueling" or "responsible".

You never even used the word "responsible"! I'm starting to get the feeling this guy might be somewhat of a prick. Next question.

Great, and how does that help us? I could add you to my great book of annoyances, of course... but I'm not in the mood right now... and I don't have the time, either.

Speak!
We're chasing down a vampire named Wahnfried! He's hiding somewhere in Königsberg!
You're not talking about THE Wahnfried, are you? The dark lord of Düsterburg?
Exactly that one. We chased him off and now he's trying to leave the continent. We can't allow that to happen!
If you planned on impressing me, you've managed it!
Never in my life have I heard a fairytale of that magnitude!

Oh come the fuck on.

There's a great specialist in Königsberg for mental illnesses. He can probably help you out...

Fucking guards, man. No respect. No respect at all. Fuck 'em, they're guards. They don't deserve the fancy title.



Let's go back to looking around, maybe there's somebody in here that will give our party some respect.



Oh, I seem to have forgotten to lock the door. I'm sorry, son, but there's nobody here anymore.
What? Who isn't here anymore? And where am I, anyway?
Oh, I must apologize, sir - I thought you were here to enroll. You're at the KAoS.
Umm... yeah, right back at ya.
You misunderstand, sir. I didn't wish to insult you. "KAoS" stands for "Königsberg Academy of Science".

Originally, it was the "KAdW", "Königsberger Akademie der Wissenschaften". And that sounds just like "KdW" when you pronounce it, which stands for the "Kaufhaus des Westens", or "the Department Store of the West", the largest department store in mainland Europe, located in Berlin. To be exact, the abbreviation for it is actually "KaDeWe", but pronouncing that sounds exactly like "KdW". I don't even know if there's a relation, but I thought I'd bring it up. Also, I like the "KAoS" abbreviation.

Oh... I didn't know that.
No problem, sir. I'm used to worse coming from the students. Still, I'll have to ask you to leave. If the doors are open much longer, something might get stolen.
I'm already gone.

You'd think that this place would be important at some point, after all, this is where Dankwart studied and everything... you'd be wrong. The only thing you ever see of this academy is this very room. The doors lead nowhere, and you can't even enter anymore after this scene. I guess I can see why - if I had to map out an entire academy worthy of being called a world-famous academy, I'd probably rather just shoot myself. The university I go to isn't known for being really great, and it's so large it's spread out all over town. If I wanted to map a centralized version of it out, it'd probably end up bigger than the entirety of Königsberg.



Anyway, let's move on. What's this place, the post office?



Hm, doesn't look like it.



Is this city hall?
Yes, sir. Do you have any concerns?
Not really, we're just looking around.
This is the city hall, not a museum.

Well screw you, I'll keep looking around!



Not so fast, there. May I ask what your concerns are?
Concerns? We want to go over there!
It's not that easy. We're very busy and you need a good reason if you want to pass.

THERE'S NOBODY HERE, HOW FUCKING BUSY CAN YOU BE. Fucking bureaucrats, man. No respect. No respect at all.



Nobody's opening...

Locked door over here, guess that'll be important later.



What's over here then?



A kid and a giant fuckoff teddy bear. Alrighty then.



Whoa, who are you? You've got really BIG... eyebrows!
Umm, shouldn't you be in school or something?
We're on vacation! VACATION!
You don't need to scream because of that...
Why aren't you out playing with the other kids then?
Mom said I'm supposed to watch over the house so bad people with big eyebrows don't steal our toys.
Ah, I see... I'll tell you when I see one of those guys.

So, what's the deal with this bear?



Hands off my Schöppi-bear!
"Schöppi-bear"?
Yes, Schöppi-bear. What else would it be?
Why is it called Schöppi-bear?
Because the baron likes them so much, I think...

This is a reference to teddy bears being named after Theodore Roosevelt, however, the reference goes a bit deeper. The baron's full name, I believe, is Serafin Davidoff von Schöppelbrunn. One of the major contributors to the game and one of the old guard in the German RPG scene (who goes by the alias GSandSDS) is named Sean David Schöppler. Additionally, the baron's advisor is named Grimor Schlangenzahn, so the baron and his advisor are literally GS and SDS. There's a few more references to major contributors to the project in Königsberg, and we'll get to those as they come up.



Next up, there's this guy. He constantly runs around a few houses and just tells you to get out of his way. Theoretically, you're supposed to talk to him when he stops to punch the air for a bit, but I couldn't get that to work properly. Might be an imbalance in the system or something.



So I just spammed the spacebar until it worked.

What do you want?
What are you doing?
I'm training for the fight tonight.
Fight? Hey, if you need another sword or two, we're ready!
You misunderstand, my friend, I'm talking about a fistfight, a contest for sport.
I see.
I'm noticing that I haven't had a good opponent in a while now - I'm running out of energy too quickly. That'll come back to bite me some day. I could use some refreshment...
1) If we could help you somehow... 2) Just relax for a while.

I smell sidequest.

You'd do that for me? Down at the port there's a bakery. They always bake some bread with special ingredients for me. Very exotic ingredients...
Not that cheap...
So if you could advance the 200 bucks, it'd be great if you could get me some bread.
1) Yes 2) No

Turn down a sidequest? Never. Also, I wonder if the bread is supposed to be an allusion to performance enhancing drugs.

Great! Just head south, it's not far. Tell the saleswoman that it's for me.

Well, we never got a name, but we'll figure something out. We're not in a hurry to solve that quest just yet, though.



First we need to explore some more.



Why hello there, fancy seeing you here!

Couldn't you have taken something else from that moneybag? His boat, for instance? You know that I can't stand being in enclosed rooms!
You can't be happy, can you? Instead of lauding my trick with the four aces, all I get is complaints. When did we ever have this, Thorn? Our own home? After you've gotten used to it for a few days, I'll have to drag you outside, just you see... And this town with their rich moneybags is the perfect place to become a rich...

What are you doing here? As far as I know people in Königsberg knock before they enter a house!
That's rich, coming from you, Dante! I tried your "magic" short sword in battle...
Ummm... and did it not work or something?
You can say that again! The thing didn't make a sound when orcs were nearby...
I didn't say that it could talk...
Don't try to talk your way out of this, it doesn't glow either!
Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you everything about that sword... you have to activate it with a magic word every morning.
A magic word?
Exactly, otherwise it doesn't work.
Why didn't you say so in the first place? Out with it, what's the word?
Well, that information doesn't exactly come for free...
That's enough! I paid 3000 bucks for a working orc-detecting-sword, so now give me the word or I'll chop your damn head off!
Alright, I bend to violence: Banana peel...
Banana peel... I see...
Just say it every morning and the sword works just fine!
Alright, I'll try that. If it then doesn't work, then you'll get to hear from me.

Yeah, like that'll fucking work. Of course, we don't get an opportunity to try it, there's no orcs in Königsberg. Does Dante have some other crap we could maybe blow some money on?



I can tell that you're looking for magic artifacts, am I right?
Magic artifacts are never wrong.
Sadly, we're all out right now. But we're expecting a... delivery... of excellent wares next week. Just drop in again then.



Say, how did you manage to get through the gate anyway? I mean, the guards aren't going to let a wolfman through...
Especially one coming from Düsterburg!
Well, the guy at the gate actually knew his stuff and realized that I am neither a wolfman nor a werewolf!
Really? But what are you then?
...
A Sarabian dogman, am I right?
Don't you dare tell anyone about that!
What's that?
They were bred in Sarabia as harem guards. They assumed that they'd be immune to the allures of the girls in the harem... but that turned out to be a mistake. One of the dogmen found great enjoyment in the company of human females.
As the whole thing came out, the Shah had them all put to sleep. Just one couldn't be found...
That was an accursed injustice!

Backstory! Malthur is replacing Dankwart in more ways than one - when you wander around the world for centuries, you pick up on a lot of things, and he's going to be explaining a lot of things throughout this chapter.



What? I hope you have a good reason to be interrupting Kunalbert von Süppelbrack during his inspection rounds.
Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Grandy, and I didn't know you were making important inspections.
1) What are you inspecting? 2) What do you know about Königsberg? 3) What do we have to watch out for?

Ancient creatures lurk in the deep of the mountains. The ingenuous citizens of this town don't even know they exist. But in certain nights, if the stars are right, they leave their lairs to steal little kids, dogs or similar...
But why are you inspecting during the day when they're out at night?
Good question. It's an old problem of mine - I'm night blind.

Many ages ago, the mountain on which Königsberg was built was home to an unspeakable cult. They paid homage to demons and slime snails in some kind of disgusting rituals that I can't even describe for the sake of your young ears.
...
...
The humans that committed those sins are gone, but the monsters they prayed to are still there! They wait for the day they can take power again and enslave the unknowing citizens of this town! But as long as old Süppelbrack is keeping watch, that won't happen, yes sir!

Watch out for anything that has more than eight legs, or black tentacles instead of arms! Purple glowing eyes are another indication that you're dealing with a creature of the infinite deeps! Another reason to be mistrusting is if your conversational partner is constantly sucking on freshly squeezed eyeballs when you're talking to him...
Pardon me if I interrupt, but do you possibly know the books of Wilhelm von Junzt?
Of course, young lady. I don't read anything else. Why are you asking?
Then you must know where he lives.
Just follow the path that leads up the hill. It's the last house before the cliffs.

Basically, what we gather from that is that Junzt is somewhat Lovecraft-inspired. And when we ask that third question again, we get something else:

Trust nobody! You can't trust humans, women or animals! You can only trust your sword!
Don't women count as humans too?
Only in the broadest sense, dear.

Well, let's move on and head up that hill then.



Greetings, young sir. You're not from here, are you?
No. My name is Grandy. My companions and I just came in from Düsterburg.
Really? The traders always say it's dangerous out there, but the profit makes it worth it.
Those times are over! We cleaned up there. 1) Who are you? 2) What do you know about Königsberg? 3) Any interesting rumors going around?

My name is Leomar Hammelback. Most of the time of my life I spent in the silver mines of Gardafels until it came to an accident.
What happened?
I got buried alive. Three long days I was buried under rocks until I was rescued. I still have trouble breathing, which is why I settled down in Königsberg - because of the good air.

It's peaceful here in Altenberg, the oldest part of the city. Down at the port things are too wild for me - must come with age... but for young people like you, the port has lots to offer. Taverns, shops and many guests from faraway countries... and then there's Klipping, west of the port. The poorest of the poor live there. I never went there, too dangerous...

People say a black carriage drove through the streets last night. Strange story. Because of the cliffs you can't drive a carriage well and it wasn't seen anymore after that. The guards at the gate said they didn't see one either, but it couldn't have just fallen from the sky, right?

Probably prudent to assume Wahnfried did some black magic shit with that carriage.



Let's check out the inn next.



Ah, guests! How nice, how nice! How can Aaron Senkelfried be of service to you?
We don't need anything right now, we still need to have a meeting with Baron von Schöppelbrunn.

Well, that was... pointful? Also, yes, Aaron here is related to Elwys from Düsterburg.



Can I help you?
1) We're new in town... 2) Who are you?

Do you maybe know more about this town?
I'm new here myself, I just arrived here yesterday by boat.

My name is Sol Aeinur. You can do without knowing where I come from or how I do my day's work. But to at least give in to your curiosity a bit, you should know that I have a date with destiny here in Königsberg.
Do they all talk like that where you come from?
Yes.

This guy talks really awkward. I wouldn't even know where to start with him to make it sound similar and eventually just threw my hands up and said "fuck it". Also, that was... also pointful? I guess? Let's check out Junzt's house, then.



That's the house that was described to us.
Then let's see if sir von Junzt is at home.

We knock on the door, and...



Looks like nobody's home...
Maybe we should come back later, after we've talked to the baron maybe...

Eh, let's talk to more people first.



Hello. You don't seem to be from here.
Right. How could you tell?
The smell.
Told you it was high time for a bath, Grandy.
I didn't mean to be insulting - it's just that the people here cover up their natural smell so much with soap and oils that it makes me sick.
1) Who are you? 2) What do you know about Königsberg? 3) Any rumors going around?

You're an... elf, right? With the pointy ears and the like.
I am Kokibi of the Greenwood elves. When young Greenwood elves become fledged, they leave the forest for three years to go and see the world. Apart from that, you'll only rarely see elves inside a fortified city like this...
And, do you like the way humans live?
It's kind of entertaining, but I couldn't bear it for extended periods of time. That's why I'm always out here.

Although the city is very large, it has a lot of greenery compared to other human cities. I like it most of all in Klipping, west of the port. It's nice there, and the people don't smell so much. I'm here right now to study humans - I don't get a lot of opportunity to do that in Klipping because I'm usually playing with the children.

It's not really a rumor, but there's an old abandoned mansion north of Klipping. I was there only one time, and I won't be going back any time soon. It's infested with the horrors of the past. I tried to find something out about it, but nobody wants to talk about it.

I guess that mansion is going to be something we're going to have to explore some day. Next, let's head to the right, over to the church.



Greetings. Can I help you somehow?
What are you doing?
I'm taking care of the grave of my dear husband, who left me a week ago.
How did he die?
He must have had a terrible nightmare. In the middle of the night he bolted upright in bed, screamed out the name of our daughter, clutched his heart and fell over, dead.
What happened to your daughter that could have caused this?
I don't know, myself. Right now, she's living with relatives and is learning how to act like a proper lady. I haven't heard from her in weeks.

Uh oh...

...
Where do those relatives live?
In a dangerous region. My sister Xynthia lives on Castle Rabenstein, in the domain of the dark duke, Wahnfried.

Oh god.

...
What's wrong, sir?
Nothing, please excuse me.

He walks away.

I can't tell her now... later, when this all is over...



Well, let's go check out the church. Yeah, that seems like a good idea.



Really spiffy looking place.

Can I help you?
1) Not a lot going on here. 2) We need a priest. 3) Who are you?

You're right. Father Abraham always says that the people just bury their head in the sand when evil throws its shadow.
What?
He believes the Dark God is preparing to try and take over our sphere. He could see the signs everywhere... but instead of strengthening their belief and going to church to stop him, the people hide in their homes.

You'll find Father Abraham in his chambers. He'll surely help you out.

I'm Bobo, and I'm a neophyte. Ever since I could remember I wanted to serve the Gracious Father, and now I'm finally old enough.



Can I help you?
1) Who are you? 2) We need a priest. 3) What are you doing?

Some of this is starting to sound like NAME, JOB, BYE to me.

I'm Piet, and I've been a neophyte for a year now.

You'll find Father Abraham in his scriptorium.

Sadly it's my turn for kitchen duty. I'd much rather be playing with my friends... but since I became a neophyte, I've barely had time to.

Now, there's something very, very, VERY important here (and somewhere else, but this really is the best place to get it, and if you miss it here, you'll probably miss it somewhere else too).



And that's these sticks here. Use them in the inventory and then...



You know, when I look at this stick a bit closer...

...Grandy sharpens it and makes a stake! As you can imagine, this can be quite crucial. We make three of those. Now, we just need somebody to bless them...



...oh, right.

What can I do for you, my son?
1) We need holy weapons. 2) Tell me of the gods...

We've got this stake and would like to ask you if you could bless it for us?
Of course, my son.

We do that three times because it only does one at a time.

The world is split in three spheres. In each of them one of the gods resides.
In the lowest sphere, also known as "The Seven Hells", the Dark God rules. It is his task to punish the souls of the damned for their sins.
The highest sphere, also known as "Heaven", is the home of the Gracious Father. His task is to make sure that love and justice always have their place in the world. It is HIM who the church serves and whose word it spreads.
And the third sphere?
Well, my son, that's the world in which we live.
And is there a god here too?
Indeed. He is everywhere - in every human, every animal, every plant, every stone. He is a gracious and compliant god that allows every being to act of its own will.
However, the Dark God tries to abuse that state of things. He tries to expand his influence to our sphere!
But together with the Gracious Father we have always been able to prevent that.

Well, so much for the theology lesson. Let's go check out some graves, that's always great.



Let's just go through all of them in no particular order, since all of them do nothing.

Kresikom
It was pretty much unsalvageable

Julian
His cows were his undoing

Bahamut
Rest in peace - but rest!

Fryie Irghuryn
Ledunar was there first

Mikos
Probably should have shut up

And then the last one:

Beta
Alpha

What?

I don't know if any of these are supposed to be references or something, no idea.

Well, that'll be enough for now. Next time, we're going to be exploring the port!