Part 33: Update XXXIII - While Reyven Krähenschwinge Gently Weeps

Update XXXIII - While Reyven Krähenschwinge Gently Weeps



Night falls over Königsberg, and we are unceremoniously dropped outside of the guard station after the baron presumably busted us out. However, we didn't get the opportunity to be smug about it to that twat Krähenschwinge. Let's rectify that.



Get out of my face! Get out of my guard-station! And don't you dare ever show up here again!
Did the baron give you a bit of a stern talking to because you interfered in our investigation?
Get out, or there will be a secret execution the baron will never learn of.

I'd love to see you try, twat. Ah, finally a bit of satisfaction, if not respect.



Anyway, it's night now, which means the taverns are finally open for business and we have time to peruse them! Time to get shitfaced!



As we look around, we see quite a few familiar faces. Königsberg is nice about being consistent like that. It's a nice thing - makes the characters feel more whole.



Welcome to the "Flying Fish". Can I help you?
1) One tankard of your best beer. 2) Behind the bar, at your age... 3) Anything new in town?

That'll be five bucks...
The rest is for you!
Ah, that hit the spot!

Now, we could get drunk here, but it actually turns out that that's a Bad Thing, so let's not do that. There's no benefit to it either.

...but then again, the dialogue is kind of amusing, so let's still look at it. The dialogue goes the same way for the next two beers, but with the fourth one we get something different:

You've got some grand swill here, sir barkeep.

And then after another one:

Say, do you really think it's a good idea to get plastered here?

And then when we try to get another one:

Forget it, dear - you can barely stand!
Whas you say? I feeel greeeeeeeat.
How could I only forget what a drunkard you are...

Time distortion, Libra. Anyway, that's not a good idea, so let's just talk instead.

An astute observation, young man. The young lady that normally serves here is currently indisposed. And apart from her, all I have is my foster son Genji, but he's already behind the second counter. So what else can I do apart from getting my tired bones in gear? After all, business isn't considerate of my age.

I'm getting the impression that everybody seems to be quite irritable. At first, I thought it was because of my new musicians, but my patrons are telling me that this is happening all over town. The air seems loaded, like a storm is brewing. I'm feeling it in my toes.

A lot of people have been mentioning a general irritability going around. Tensions are running high, and we're definitely racing towards the endgame. But let's not think about that for now, let's go talk to everybody else.



Hello! I remember you from city hall. So, do you want to wash down the dust from those old documents here?
We'll see... we're actually pretty busy right now...
I should probably go to sleep early myself instead of staying up all night. Lars here is quite cute, but somehow he doesn't seem to have a clue how to handle women... the only topic he wants to talk about is weapons... weapons... weapons... and the music is as all get-out as well. You want to have a nice evening out, and all they're playing is those sea shanties.

The "sea shanty" in question? "Yellow Submarine". The more astute of you will already have noticed where this is going.



Greetings, Grandy. Do you need anything else?
No, thanks, Lars. That has time until tomorrow.
I should probably get back to taking care of my weapons... I don't know, but Tonja seems rather bored.
I think she's not really interested in weapons... don't you have any other topics you could talk about?
Umm... I breed flowers in my off time...
Try that.

And when we talk to Tonja again...

I had no idea Lars could be so charming... what did you do with him?

But we're not quite done with her yet. Still, more talking first.



You're the last one I wanted to see, sir Grandy! I lost my job because of you...
Your job? I don't quite understand...
What is there to not understand? Until now I was the bard that entertained people here... but now these shroom heads are here!
And what do I have to do with that?
You kept me locked up at von Junzt's house for a night, which is why I couldn't get to work.
Umm... sorry...
I'd rather feel sorry for the guests that have to listen to this terribly mundane tootling...

We'll get to those shroom heads later. Yes, this is going exactly where you think it is going.



Derleth? What are you doing here?
Please don't tell sir von Junzt about this. I can hardly stand being in the house with those two brats.
No worries, old pal. We can very much sympathize...



Why do you bother me while doing the only thing I can still do?
1) Who are you? 2) You should drink less... 3) Can we help you?

My name is Derric von der Wagenfurt. I'm part of the ancient order of the Shadow Hunters. It was and still is our goal to hunt and destroy the followers of the Dark God wherever they may hide.
Königsberg may shine to the outside world, but under the glimmering surface, the city is corrupted to the core. I came here under orders from my order to purge the city, but we underestimated the number of his servants here.
Wealth and technological progress may be seen as a blessing by some people, but they weaken belief.
The people become viable prey for the whisperings of the dark preachers promising them endless pleasure and overwhelming lust.

With all due respect for your care, it isn't the alcohol that drives this paleness into my face... it's a demonic plague that I have the servants of the Dark God to thank for!
The Dark God? What a coincidence! We're looking for his followers as well in order to bash their heads in.
Truly a task worthy of a nobleman. I myself had committed myself to that task...
...back when my body was still capable of fighting...

My fate is sealed as long as the dark priest that cursed me still draws breath...
We'll take care of that dark guy! Tell us what happened!
It was a dark and stormy night on the third day after my arrival in Königsberg. I followed a suspect named by my order to Klipping.
"Klipping"?
That's the name of the rural part of Königsberg west of the port...

Every once in a while, there's a little slip up like this. The game does track whether or not the group (and the player) know about Klipping, but it's occasionally not checked. This part even sounds just like it was made to be able to be a modular piece of the conversation.

He disappeared in a house and in my cockiness, I followed him.
But apparently the servants of the Dark God knew of my presence in Königsberg! It was a trap! Four of those guys attacked me, led by a black priest! The battle was short and intense! The black priest summoned one of the terrifying miracles of his dark lord! The ritual practically sucked the life force right out of me, and under the foul-mouthed mockery coming from these godless heathens I fled into the night!
Since then, I'm plagued by nameless nightmares every night, and my body is so weak I can barely lift the beer mug. However, I can't even manage to fall asleep sober any more, and I can feel that it won't be long until my last bit of energy leaves me.
That sounds horrible! Do you know what one can do against it?
There is no healing for the terrible illnesses of the Dark God!
That is generally assumed, is however not quite true...
You know something about that?

...Grandy, you've said some dumb shit before, but this might just top it all. Either that, or you're a very good actor. This is "what's an airport, again?" level.

Grandy, you forget that I'm a recognized authority in the field...
The curse that has befallen you is bound to the dark priest that has put it upon you... if we manage to send his tainted soul to his idol, then you'd be saved!
Could you describe the priest a bit closer?
He wore a dark robe. I could only see his black beard!
And the man you followed? Can you remember him, or where his house was?
Like I said, it was dark and a terrible storm worsened my visibility, but I know that it was a mud-walled house and built right on the cliffside.
And right in front of the door, there was a mighty oak...
And the man himself?
A really unpleasant guy! He had a dark robe. His face was as white as chalk, and he had a scar over his eye...
We've seen that guy before!
Don't worry, we'll take care of this for you!
You really are an honorable man...

And we've got ourselves a sidequest and we even already know where to go! Fantastic. But first, let's finish up our tavern business.



I heard what happened to your friend... those damned bastards!
How many more victims must there be before Wahnfried is finally destroyed?
If you need my help, don't hesitate to ask. However, my influence is limited to within the castle walls.
But aren't you the captain of the guard?
The baron's guard, yes... but we're only responsible for the defense of the castle. In town, other rules apply. The true power lies with the mayor, Reyven Krähenschwinge and his guards.

Well, let's hope we don't need their help again, because I doubt we'll get it.



What can I get you?
Aren't you a bit young to be standing behind the bar?
What's that supposed to mean? It's not like I'm drinking the stuff! The "Flying Fish" belongs to my father... my foster father, to be exact. He took me in after my parents died. I don't want to be mooching off of him, so I help wherever I can.
I didn't mean to be insulting... my name is Grandy.
And I'm Genji.
1) Get me a beer. 2) Anything new in Königsberg? 3) You look rather glum...

Well, getting beer is the same as before, so let's skip that.

Well, I don't hear too much, since I work all day. But we got new musicians yesterday...
Working with them is a lot more fun than with that sourpuss that worked here before!

Well... it's because of Kati... she normally helps behind the bar here as well... but she hasn't come to work for two days now... I don't know why... I hope I didn't say anything wrong... because I really like Kati...
You "really like" her?
Well... I really really like her, you know...
What does your Kati look like, then? We get around town quite a bit, and if we see her, we could give her a message.
Well, she has really pretty eyes, and gorgeous, shining hair...
I think the color would be enough...
Umm... red hair and green eyes...
We'll see what we can do.

Another sidequest! There's still a lot to be doing in Königsberg.



So yeah, let's see what the Beatles here are up to.

I hope you like the music...
1) Yes, just keep playing... 2) Please, play something else...

Let's get them to play something else to maybe enhance the romantic mood the two back there have got going.

Not a problem... not everybody likes these sea shanties. So, what'll it be?
1) Play something hot! 2) Something sad, please... 3) I'd like something funny. 4) Just play something nice...

Like always, let's go down the line. First, the hot song.

Hey, Jonn, how about my song? You know, the one that's so popular with those devil worshippers?
Forget it, Paule! We'll get in trouble with the guards again if we do that... we'll play "H- H- Help!"
Sounds like a hiccup...
Not only the title sounds like that... the song itself does too!

And as you can imagine, they play "Help!". The other song being referenced here is "Helter Skelter", the song that Charles Manson claimed outlined a scenario for a race war. That's only the short, though. Shit goes into a lot of detail, pretty interesting. Next, the sad song.

Come on, Jonn, let's play my favorite song... that one ballad everybody knows and everybody wants to hear over and over again.
No, thanks. We just played that yesterday.

So then they play "The Fool On The Hill". No idea what the other song is supposed to be, I'm not up to date on what the most popular Beatles songs are, and given that so god damn many of them were so popular, picking the one "everybody knows and everybody wants to hear over and over again" is kind of tough. My guess would have been "Eleanor Rigby", but that might just be my personal bias because that's one of my favorites.

EDIT: Thread to the rescue:


Missed the forest for the trees here.

Then, the funny song.

I'd go for my song. That "Hollahi-Hollaho"! I'm sure that's exactly what that guy wants to hear!
Not a chance! ...well, when I think about it, I can't think of anything better.
How about my little octopus song? That's pretty comical.
Great idea, Gringo! You saved the evening once again!
I'll remember that, Gringo...

And then they play "Octopus's Garden". Also, I presume that the other song is supposed to be a play off "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da". So, finally, what about the nice song?

Well, that's a really specific request. We like all of our songs, really...
Well, I like the songs I wrote the most! We could for instance...
NO! We're playing that new song by Gregor we practiced yesterday. The one with the wailing cross flute!
Great! Finally I get something to do!

And then they play... "While My Guitar Gently Weeps"? ...I can't recall ever having heard a flute in there. This is quite confusing. It's not like the MIDI version used here has a flute in it, either. Weird. Now, that we have changed the music, we can go back to Tonja and see what she thinks.

Did you request this nice music? Finally, something that isn't these sea dog songs!

And this gets us a little experience boost. Hooray for little sidequests!



Now, for what we really came here to do.

HEY! Don't come any closer! Only members allowed here.
I've been invited here!
By whom?
By a fighter named Ali!
Ali himself? Well, if that's the case... you may pass. Have fun down there.



And here we go. Welcome to the underground fight club of Königsberg. A few familiar faces around here as well, though some only repeat the same stuff we get to hear from them in the daytime.



Greetings, young man. Can I help you?
1) Who are you? 2) What do you know about Königsberg? 3) Tell us something about this tavern.

Walter Waldemar is the name. I'm the caretaker at the local academy of sciences.
Is that fun?
It's the greatest job in the world. See: I'm not exactly the prettiest, and never found a woman for my life, so I don't have any kids either... but at the academy, all the students are like a family to me. In the beginning, they're still crotchety and spoilt, but that passes with the time.
"Crotchety and spoilt"?
They don't know any better. Most of them come from rich families. Their parents were usually too busy to raise them properly and servants aren't any real authority. But I've managed to straighten everybody out so far.

I grew up here. It's quite the jolly city. That's probably also due to the large amount of young people living here - because of the academies. Even back when I was a boy, I roamed the streets with the students. Sadly, my parents were too poor to send me to the academy.

Wanja has been running the "Flying Fish" as long as I can remember. It's the most reputable tavern in town. If it wasn't, the guards probably wouldn't look away either. Fist fighting is actually outlawed by royal decree. Further down towards the port we also have the old dwarf Minas's tavern. He's famous for his "Pick-Me-Up-Special".
"Pick-Me-Up-Special"?
You best get yourself a good foundation before you dare to try that speciality - it'll make your toenails curl.



Greetings, sir Grandy. I would have been quite surprised if a man with a pronounced disposition towards violence didn't find his way down here...
Are you here often?
Pretty much daily. The sheer brutality of this sport has a cleansing effect.
Don't look at me in that dumbfounded way. You deal with brute force every day...
Me, on the other hand, am more of a sewer worker for the soul... and there's a whole lot of dirt going around there, believe me.



You're new here, aren't you? Can I help you somehow?
My name is Grandy, and I'm interested in the game that's being played here.
You call this a game? You best watch out, young man! Some have lost their lives playing this game.
Umm... sorry, didn't want to offend you.
What do you want to know?
1) Explain the rules. 2) What can you win? 3) I want to fight!

The rules are simple: Before the fight, you have to pay a participation fee. Then you can step into the ring with the opponent of your choice. Then you just beat on each other until one goes down. If you win the fight, you get double your fee as reward, but if you lose you get nothing.

The winner gets the participation fee of his opponent and his own back. Furthermore, every fighter is free to make bets.

Who do you want to fight? The participation fee depends on the skills of your opponent.
Who can I choose from?
First of all, there's Hagolf Hammerhand, a guy as strong as a bear that can take a wimp like you off his feet in two to three blows. The participation fee for Hagolf is 100 bucks. Then there's Ebald with the iron skull. Barely anybody can take as many blows as he can! Fee is 200 bucks. One of the quickest men in the ring is the little Kamui - he can outpace pretty much every opponent. Fee is 300 bucks.
And then, of course, there is the Almighty Ali! Knows every trick in the book, unbeaten since twenty fights! Fee is 1000 bucks.
Who do you want to fight?
1) Hagolf for 100 bucks 2) Ebald for 200 bucks 3) Kamui for 300 bucks 4) Ali for 1000 bucks

For now, let's just go with Hagolf since I haven't played this game for ages and couldn't remember just how hard these fights were.

That'll be 100 bucks.
Take the money!
I suggest mentally preparing for the fight. Come back when you're ready.



Now that we've got a fight lined up, it's time to bet on it.

Do you want to bet on your victory?
I'm still thinking... can I bet on my loss as well?
Used to be you could do that, until one of the fighters tried to cheat the bets. That was a pretty ugly story.
That must have been a terrible thing for you... financially, I mean.
Well, I didn't really care myself... but the guy is now sleeping at the bottom of the sea... so, do you want to bet, or not?
Yes.
And how much?
1) 10 bucks 2) 100 bucks 3) 1000 bucks 4) Eh... I'd rather not...

For the same reason as above, we just go with 100 bucks.

The odds are against you, sir. If you win, you get 400 bucks.

The odds system is fairly basic - as you win fights, odds go down. If you lose, odds go up. There's a way of minmaxing this for optimal winnings, but eh. And yes, there are optimal winnings. You only get 21 fights total for night 3, and on night 4 it turns out that due to the increasing tension, there was a massive brawl downstairs and the whole place is wrecked. So those 21 fights are all you get.

Anyway, let's get to the fighting!



Ladies and gentlemen! Let us begin with the first of tonight's fights, and this one should be a good one!

For the sake of simplicity, I'll just put all four introductions for the different fighters one after the other here. The introductions are also somewhat dynamic, keeping track of wins, losses and unbeaten streaks, which is pretty neat. What I'll be showing here are the introductions for the first fight with each, then the one for Grandy's first fight.

In the left corner, weighing in at 57 potato sacks and with a record of 5 victories and 5 losses...
HAGOLF HAMMERHAND!

In the left corner, weighing in at 43 flour sacks and with a record of 8 victories and 4 losses...
IRON-SKULL-EBALD!

In the left corner, weighing in at 197 flower pots and with a record of 12 victories and 3 losses...
OUR LITTLE KAMUI!

In the left corner, weighing in at 12 bronze statues and with a record of 28 victories and 2 losses... the black devil! The flying fortress!
ALMIGHTY ALI!

And in the right corner, in his first bout, weighing in at... at...
...291 chicken legs...
GRANDY THE HORRIBLE!

As Grandy wins more fights, his name gets upgraded, from "Grandy the Horrible" over "Grenade Grandy" and "Grandy the Great" to "Grandmaster Grandy".



So, boxing - the second mini-game in Königsberg after the diving one. This one requires a bit of explanation. Basically, you have a certain amount of points to spend each turn, with which you can do different things. You can move in one direction for one point, if you're next to your opponent you can punch for three points, and for one point, you can block (which reduces damage taken from the first punch you take) and end your turn. The player and the opponent take turns moving and punching until somebody gets knocked out.

Grandy starts with pretty terrible stats for points, attack power and defense power, but there are two ways to increase them. One way is to fight, which slowly increases your stats. The other way is to eat a whole bunch of that special bread, which raises your stats to maximum if you eat twenty of them.



Since we've done so, Hagolf doesn't even stand a chance.



And he goes down with only a few rounds of Grandy pounding his face.



Still, none of the fighters end up knocked out with the first knockdown.



But after just one punch most of the time, they end up going down and out for good.



The winner is: GRANDY!

And then we get our winnings and can go to the other guy to pick up our bet winnings. I beat up some dudes for about eight fights, but eventually get bored and leave. Even the "almighty" Ali isn't really a challenge when you're fully roided up.



With that done, let's check out the other tavern.



Not as big as the other one, which seems to fit in with the whole "not as reputable" thing.



Ah, customers. How can I help you?
Well, what do you have to offer?
Oh, you'll only find the best drinks here. My beer is world famous, and my wine is talked about all throughout the land. Would you like to try some?
Yes, I'd like to.
Here, this one's on the house... the "Minas-Pick-Me-Up-Special"! Drink it all the way down!
...
What... what's in that stuff?
Oh, like I said, good beer, fine wine, a few spices, some dishwater... well, it picks you up.
Argh. Well, thanks for your hospitality.
Well, if you'd like to show your gratitude - I've got a bit of a problem.
Just tell us where you store that stuff, and we'll gladly throw it out for you.
No, it's not about the special... I... um... have a little rat problem.
That explains the starchy taste...

Grandy complains about the taste here, and in the original text it's "pelzig", which comes out to "furry" (referring to the rats) and also comes out to... "blah". I can't really seem to find a good translation for this term in this situation, because you can't really pinpoint that kind of taste. Translations I've seen range from "starchy" over "mealy" to "wooly" and "leathery", and none of them really seem to fit. It's just a blah taste.

If you could help me, it would not be to your detriment.
Where could we find the dear little animals?
Just head through that door, then down the stairs. But be warned - these beasts somehow ended up quite a bit larger than they should be!
Well, I think we best get going.



Well then, my name is Arthur, and I fight against evil! Who are you, dear wanderers?
Oh, we seem to be colleagues.
Truly? Champion against darkness? Protector of the weak and defenseless?
Something... like that.
How joyous - finally an island of light in this ocean of darkness that surrounds us.
What are you doing in a bar like this, anyway?
Ha! I have found the darkest enemy of all life here!
The bartender?
No, the alcohol! I have to destroy as much as I can!
By DRINKING it?
Well, you've got to start somewhere, right?

Fantastic.



Oh, what injustice, what dishonor... the entire world is cruel and empty.
You seem to be quite sad. Could we help you somehow?
Buy one of my books, that would be enough.
You're an author? What's your name?
I'm sir Mitaki. But you surely don't know me. NOBODY knows me.
Well, it seems you're right. Why don't you have any success?
Pshaw, there's apparently already a famous author in town, so there's not enough room for somebody like me.
Oh, I think you're talking about Wilhelm von Junzt.
Yes, yes, Junzt, Junzt - all the time all I hear is "von Junzt"... Ha! I can write lame ghost stories just as well! You know what? I'm going to start, right now!
Well, then we don't want to further disturb you.

And when we talk to him again...

Yes, "Vampires' Reign" will be a big hit! Hm, what subtitle... "Dawn of Blood"? Gooood idea!

Another Vampires Dawn (subtitle: "Reign of Blood") reference? Why not.

And again...

Hmm, "Three Monkeys"... now that would be a title...

Another RPG Maker game.



Grrmm, Hmmwhat?
(I can barely understand this guy...) Hello sir, umm... knight?
Hmmmnganyes?
Wouldn't you like to tell us your name before we talk?
Hrrm gnaaa, no!
Wonderful.

What is this, I don't even.



Now, let's take care of this rat problem, but first, what's behind that other door?

Hmm... locked...
"OCCUPIED!"
Whoops, sorry, I didn't know this was a lavatory.
"This isn't a lavatory, it's a shithouse! Now get the hell out, I want to read my book in peace!"

Sometimes, I'm not quite sure just what to say. Let's just move on to murdering wildlife, that's a lot easier to work out.



Wow, those are big ones. And what is that guy over there doing?



Umm... hello, fair sir. I must have gotten lost. The bathrooms aren't here, right?
Not quite - they're one level higher!
And I was just wondering what a strong guy like you would be doing in this dark hole...
(Why is he looking at me like that?) Umm... we're the rat catchers for tonight!
How wonderful, and how manly! Would you mind if I were to look over your shoulder as you do your work?
(He's hitting on me, isn't he?) Umm... yes, er, no... that wouldn't be a problem... sir. We'll get going then...

AWKWARD THINGS GOING ON, NEED MORE MURDER.



Ah, that's better. Let's talk about these things. They're shit. Like, holy crap are they shit. It's such a hilarious drop in difficulty from the vampires we faced beforehand (and would indeed have to face beforehand to even get to this point) that it's almost insulting. What actually is insulting is that these fucks are pretty much the only enemies that black magic (the one Libra can learn, that is, Malthur's black magic is still murderdeathkill regardless of who we're facing) is remotely useful against. To make things even worse, they only attack one at a time. Christ.



Daddy's cooking rat ragout tonight!
Should we bring your admirer back up too?
Do we really have to?
YES.

Oh, she is so enjoying the hell out of this situation.



Oh, you were fabulous, good sir. We just HAVE to have a glass wine together some day.
But where are my manners? My name is Sigmund, and what is yours?
My name is Grandy and this is my girlfriend Libra, we like each other very much and I'm allergic to wine!
You're shy... I find that adorable!
I think we best get back upstairs.

Sigmund leaves, but when we try to leave, there's a sound!

What was that?

The party steps back into the room.

There's... something BIG coming!



Well, that certainly looks impressive...



...but it's still utterly pathetic. Took about three rounds of combat, during which all three enemies together did about 60 HP damage to Libra, and that was it. My god, that's just embarrassing. I hope these enemies weren't intentionally so weak.



So, we head back to get our reward. Sigmund, meanwhile, had made an attempt at conversing with that mumbly knight, with little success.

Many thanks, folks. Here, take this ring as thanks. I just foun- bought it yesterday!

And we get a shiny ring. Shiny ring, shiny ring...



Ha- have you found IT?
Is this perhaps your missing treasure?
Oh yes, oh yes - that is it, no doubt about it. You must give it to me, please, dear strangers!
Alright, alright - here's your shiny treasure.
Oh thank you, thank you, dear friends. Sadly, I can't offer you much... this here, perhaps...

And he gives us a Gift from the Gods! Wonderful - that'll certainly come in handy at some point.

That'll be all for now. Next time, it's time to solve some mysteries!