Part 35: Update XXXV - The Search For The Box Of Dirt

Update XXXV - The Search For The Box Of Dirt



So, how about that incredibly urgent "seeking for Wahnfried's coffins before he is able to jump town" thing? Guess we should get on that at some point. So here we are, at Katzengasse 5.



The house is dilapidated as hell, and there's nothing of interest here or in the top floor.



In the cellar, however...



...and kaboom!



I think we're all tired... how about a bit of sleep? 1) Yes 2) No

Yeah, sure.

But we really should get up first thing at dawn. We can only look for the coffins in peace during the daytime.

Well, that's that, then. Yeah, it really is as anticlimactic as that. The episode with the second coffin gets its content from the sidequests and the like, all the stuff you can see in Königsberg at night.



After we get up and get ready to hunt for coffins, we're suddenly stopped by Derleth.

What's the matter with you, Derleth? You look really upset.
Sir von Junzt wishes to let you know that the church was attacked.
The church? When?
It must have been last night! Sir von Junzt wishes that you investigate the crime scene before the guards bar the entrance.
Alright, Derleth. We'll go check it out.



CSI: Düsterburg is on the case! Also, note the crazy hooded guy changed location. He moves around every day, but never really says anything noteworthy.



Holy smokes! What happened here?



Tarius's coffin is gone!
The priest and his acolyte... massacred!
This is the work of the Dark God!
What are you talking about, Malthur? Have we failed?
Not yet, Grandy - if we did, we'd all be dead. But he announces his coming. This is the work of his followers!
And even they would only dare to do something as sacrilegious as this if the order came directly from him!
Let's look around. Maybe we can find a clue pointing us towards who did it.

Looking around the room, the only interesting tidbit we can get is when we look at the priest.

Not even the priest had the power to defeat the attackers.
It happened at night... the Dark God has the advantage then.



When we step up to the big cross, we get a glimpse of some ghostly image for about a second, along with a faint sound cue. I had never noticed this before, and in fact I didn't even notice this when recording, only when looking over the footage. The Dark God is making his presence felt.



It must have been a massive effort to smash this huge cross!
Somebody pulled out all the stops when it came to destroying this church. My guess is a blinded group of followers of the Dark God.

All this destruction, and nobody smashed the windows?



No interesting clues over here, just another dead guy. Maybe something in the priest's office?



Yes, there is something, but not something you'd have guessed. While we don't find any clues, we can now look at the books here - previously, the priest would have told us to keep our hands off them. And in those books is something very useful indeed.

Hey, Libra, look over here - there's some sort of spellbook with some sort of formula about protecting oneself from black magic...
Let me see...

And with that, we learn a spell that protects us from dark magic - basically the same thing as Tarius's song, except without the protection against bleeding. While that sucks, it's still a great spell.



As we leave, having learnt pretty much nothing beyond "SHIT'S GETTIN' REAL BRO", we get one more ghostly image to play us out.



And to nobody's surprise, Reyven Krähenschwinge is here, back to be a dick again.

What the hell are you doing here? Incidents like these are of absolutely no interest to civilians like you!
1) Just calm down... 2) How dare he!

Let's be an asshole back, he deserves it. Also, it's actually a Good Thing.

Now don't you act like you're the big dog around here, mister chief guard! We were in there, doing your work for you!
...after all, it's not our fault when you're so late...
We were informed too late... but we'll let you get away with this just this once if you tell us what happened in there.
Are you scared to go in yourself?
How dare you! I'm only interested in the safety of my men, that's all!
Somebody killed all the clergy in there and destroyed all the relics.
The church has obviously been defiled!
Sounds like a case for the Holy Inquisition... step aside!

We step back, and Reyven steps in front of the door and does something.

The church stays sealed until the inquisitors can make it here and do their investigations!

Given the speed of bureaucracy around here, I figure the corpses would have already decayed by the time they roll around.

There are dead people in the church! They deserve a proper burial!
Don't tell me how to do my job! MEN! MOVE OUT!

And then they leave.

I wonder who made this guy a commander...

Well, we should probably check in with von Junzt and let him know what happened.



What happened in the church?
It was terrible, sir von Junzt! Somebody killed all the priests and destroyed all the holy relics.
That is incredibly alarming, my friends! This can only be the work of the followers of the Dark God!
We already got that far ourselves...
I wonder if there's a connection to the prophecy as well.
Do you have an idea?
I haven't gotten far enough yet for me to determine that. Please come back later, perhaps during the evening.

Well, that gives us our first objective during nighttime. But now, time to bop around town again, because a few new people have shown up!



Greetings. My name is Jordison. May I learn yours?
My name is Grandy. You look like a warrior. Do you belong to the baron's guard?
No, my friend. I work for nobody, except maybe a good cause.
Tell us more about yourself.
I'm here to have my blood cleansed by mages of the Green Thumb.
Cleanse your blood? I've never seen dirty blood before!
Grandy, you misunderstand. My blood is impure - impure through the bite of a vampire!
So? In the last few days, I've had a few of those bloodsuckers jam their fangs into my throat.
You shouldn't be taking that lightly, young friend. You should get yourself treated fast.
Do you really think so? Sadly, I don't have time for that right now. There's a few more bloodsuckers in need of a staking...
I've been doing this for years now and I can assure you that you'll regret your carelessness sooner or later.
Well, we can't do anything about it right now. We're chasing down Wahnfried, the dark duke.
The lord of Düsterburg? I have to be honest, you've impressed me. I'd love to help, but in my current state... I could only give you my last blessed stake. Please, take it! You can never know when you'll need it.
You're right, Jordison. Many thanks - we'll use it the way it should be used.

No, we won't. I've already made enough blessed stakes for the rest of the game (which isn't a lot). This is basically just a way to give the player one more in case they only got new blessed stakes when they needed them and as such are now without a way to get more. Also, I can't really take this "impure blood" thing seriously, given that Dankwart never brought it up, and I trust him more than I trust some Van Helsing wannabe that just shows up out of nowhere. Now, let's start walking around town, because we've got some visitors.



Well lookie here! There's our hero! I hope you don't bear a grudge towards old Elwys...
Bygones. What are you doing in Königsberg?
After Deppert Drombusch was relieved of his post, I was... put on leave...
So I figured: Why not visit your cousin Aaron in the big city? You wouldn't believe the stories he has to tell, and tonight he's going to be introducing me to the girls of Königsberg. And he already renamed the room you stayed in to the Grandy-Suite after I told him what you have done.

Recognition! It does a man good.



GRANDY! Good to see you!
Tharand Al' Rhun? What are you doing here?
Duke Dankwart gave me a few weeks of leave. And since there were already a few people planning to go to Königsberg, I joined them.
Tell me what happened in Düster... I mean, Falkenburg after the sun started shining!
It was awe-inspiring. I was out on patrol on the battlements when I noticed that the sky to the north started changing color. And then the light came! You could really see it coming towards us over the forest, like a wall! The boneheads saw it as well and were quaking in their boots! Some tried to escape by jumping over the battlements and shattered on the ground, the others were torn apart as the light reached us! Then the people came out of their houses! Some bumbled blindly through the streets, others fell to their knees and cried. I think there were more tears of joy shed on that day than there were in the last hundred years.
That's good to hear.
Oh, and there's one more detail that should interest you - I have some regards I was supposed to deliver to you.
Some regards? That's nice. From whom?
One day after the sun came back again there was a horde of people on our graveyard. Men, women and children. They were led by my predecessor, Xanja. They openly told us of their fate. Bernhelm and Xanja seemed to have dealt with each other... in a quite intense way... anyway, I'm supposed to tell you that they'll be waiting with their marriage until you visit them at Bernhelm's Fate. Father Medarius has volunteered to wed them. He pointed out that the outer appearance of a creature has no impact on its character.
I'll gladly accept that invitaion.
And how have you been?
We're still on the hunt for Wahnfried. The bastard has our daughter in his clutches.
Do you need any help?
Not to be insulting, Tharand, but you haven't experienced that what we have experienced the last few weeks...
I understand... coming from anybody else, I'd have called that an insult, but you're right. Well, then I'll go stretch my legs some more and enjoy the last days of the summer.
'Till we meet again, chief...

Grandy, you don't get it, do you? THE FUCKING DARK GOD IS PLANNING TO TAKE OVER THE WORLD. If somebody half-way capable with a weapon says "can I help you" you say "HOLY SHIT YES WE NEED EVERY BIT OF HELP WE CAN GET". Same with the vampire hunter, same with the captain of the baron's guard, same with the warrior of the order. You should have said "hey you, the world is about to end and we kind of need your help, check it, we even have the son of the Dark God with us if you don't believe us shit has gotten real". I know this is because we can only have four people in the party at the same time, but still, it really seems like our party isn't taking this shit seriously. Oh well. What can you do? Oh right, bitch about it.



Grandy! I knew I'd run into you here. The duke told us that you all came here. Pardon me for being rude to you back in Düsterburg. After Duke Dankwart tried to explain the whole story to us, I finally understood that Lazalantin wasn't wrong. You really are the grand hero he always waited for. It's a damn shame he couldn't see his dream come true.
What are you doing here in Königsberg?
After the years of isolation and weapon smuggling I thought I should probably get out and see if I can't find some good offers on location. The guy back there has some pretty impressive things for sale... sadly, not that cheap. While we're at it... what's that impressive sword on your back?
Oh, that one...
That's my new blade. I named it "Lazalantin"!
Really? He'd be jumping for joy if he heard of that!
Maybe he can hear it where he is now...
At least that's what Father Medarius says, and he's got to know. Well, I'd make the most of the day and take a look around some more. See you!

Next stop, the Flying Fish. Let's check in on Genji.



If you're looking for Genji: He's not here right now. He's out in Klipping with Kati. For me, that means I've got to clean up this place by myself, but I won't complain as long as the two are happy.

Nothing in Klipping, but when we go up to Wahnfried's mansion...



Look, Grandy: Over there!



Looks like the two are having a moment at the cliffside.



Aww.

The love of those two can even enchant this place.
Why can't something like that happen to us?
It already happened to us, dear. We just can't remember.
Great! And what good does that do me now?
We can have a second chance, I'm sure... when this is all over.

Now, we've got something else to do relating to Kati - if you remember, Genji wasn't the only one that sent us on a search for a girl that went missing.



Now what?
Say... that girl that took care of little Sarah... did she have red hair?
Yes, Kati had red hair... wait, why "had"? Did you see her somewhere? Did something happen to her?
She got captured by a group of dark priests and was to be sacrificed to the Dark God...
...but we managed to prevent that!
So that was you... you're real heroes, you know that? Sadly, we can't offer you anything...



*barks*
...

And what was that about just now?
Julie says that she hid something for you in this city. All you have to do is find it and dig it up.
How do you know the name of our dog?
What do you think? From Sarah, of course. She told her just now.
Umm... I guess. And where is this buried thing supposed to be?
Apparently next to a big wooden house. I can't tell you more.
Well, let's get going, Julie!

As a sidenote, if we failed to save Kati, this would trigger a new sidequest where we need to find somebody else that can take care of Sarah. Turns out that the baron will help them out. Man, he sure is a nice guy. Now, to find that buried thing.



Hmm... this spot seems suspicious.
*barks*
Well, then let's get going!

Aha... a really nice...
...
...bone.
Now don't look so surprised. Julie just gave us something she held very dear.
And that even though we neglected her so.

And we get a dog bone. It's pretty much useless. It's an item akin to the magic fruit, which raises Julie's HP by two, her attack by two, and her defense by one. That's pretty weak. Oh well, time to get back to the coffin search.



How can I help you today?
It's about a ship passage that was booked by a lady named Serena.
Serena? ...umm... sorry, can't say I remember anybody by that name.
Why are you shaking so much? Are you cold?
Cold? ...yes, of course! It's a bit drafty in here, don't you think?
How stupid do you think I am, pal? You're hiding something!
Me? But not on my life, good sir!
Normally, I'm quite the pleasant guy, but in this case...

Grandy draws his sword.

Do you understand just WHO you're trying to cover for here? How much did they pay you to have you shut up?
And does the amount compare to the lives that were destroyed just so yours could be a bit more luxurious?
YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME, SIR! I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS!
You didn't hear what I said, did you?
So many people have died so far - what difference does your life make?
But I'm innocent!



And then he leaps across the counter!

I'll take that risk! Then the blood of innocents will be on MY hands for a change!
HAVE MERCY, SIR! I'LL TELL YOU EVERYTHING!
Why not say so in the first place?
Now, tell me about your deal with Serena and her master!
She came here a few days ago to book a passage to Sarabia... but not for a person...
...but?
For her dead husband.
And you didn't get suspicious about her moving a corpse to Sarabia?
Of course. But she asked me not to ask any questions - it was a very personal thing...
Do you always not ask any questions?
Well, she offered me money for my silence...
Smart move by Serena. That way she could ensure his silence in every regard at the same time.
A state official that is proven to have accepted bribes is very heavily punished, isn't that so, sir Arturus?
I'm not interested in a talk about legal stuff. What ship did she book the trip on?
The "Larana", the dark one master in port. They wanted to leave for Sarabia once the embargo ran out.
Then we'll have to check out the Larana.
They won't just let you on board. The political relations between the Empire and Sarabia are pretty frosty right now.
Can't the baron do something in that regard?
Not really... the way it is is that you're stepping upon Sarabian soil the moment you step onto the ship.
However, every ship anchored in the port has to follow the orders of the harbor master...
What are you getting at?
I'm capable of giving you a search warrant for the ship. Even the captain of the Larana can't do anything against that.
I suppose something like that only comes in some sort of trade-off...
I ask nothing less than that you don't report me.
Pretty cocky, sir Arturus, but to be quite honest, I couldn't care less about what happens to you.
Also, I don't believe you knew from the start who Serena was working for.
So get me that warrant and we'll forget the whole thing!
One moment, please...

Artifex walks off, then comes back.

Here you go. I think that means we're even now.
We're only even when this plan works, sir Arturus.

Well, say goodbye to Artifex here, because he's a dead man. Won't be long before he finds himself visited by a certain vampire that doesn't like it at all when people sell him out and help our group. But we don't care about that, so let's search that ship.



What do you want this time?
We have a search warrant for this ship, issued by harbor master Artifex Arturus.
Alright, you can come in. Talk to the captain downstairs!



And here we are on the Larana. Let's look around a bit first.



Right to the left is the kitchen.

Holy mackerel! Don't sneak up on me like that! What do you want?
1) What do you do here? 2) Tell us about the ship. 3) What's the captain like?
Can't you smell it? I'm cooking! The crew has to have something in their stomach for them to toe the line, after all!
What kind of delicious stuff are we having?
Delicious? Nah, we don't have delicious here. If the boys are doing too well, they get lazy, the captain always says. We're having stockfish, just like yesterday.

The Larana has been sailing across the ocean for two generations, and she's seen everything you could imagine: Kobolds, mutinies, scurvy, icebergs, aggressive whales... and of course an innumerable amount of pirate attacks. It's an old ship, you know. I hope I'm not on board when these rotting planks break.

Hack's a wild guy. Used to be a pirate. The men hate him, but nobody dares to say anything. The pay's terrible, the work is hard, and when people don't obey, they get the whip. A captain like all the others, you know.



Hello there, folks. I don't know you - are you new here?
We're just visiting. 1) Who are you? 2) What do you do here? 3) Nice bandana...

My name is Owen.
Sounds like "oven".
Thanks, but I already know that joke. Everybody used to tease me with that. That's why I decided to travel across the world. One day I'll come back home with my pockets full of gold and a princess at my side. Then they won't laugh anymore.
I wouldn't want to spoil your dreams, but you picked a pretty damn hard and rocky path there.
I'll manage, don't worry.

I signed up as a scullion. In a port town, that's the best way to see the world.
And what do your parents have to say about that?
Them - they aren't better than everybody else. Keep whining about everything and make me take out the garbage...

That's actually a handkerchief, and not even a clean one... but nobody really pays that much attention anyway.

That was enlightening. Let's check out what the captain has to say.



I'm Captain Hack - commander of the Larana. What can I do for you?
We know you're hiding a vampire here, captain! Where did you put him?
I don't have any vampires on my ship.
Well, maybe you didn't know about it. You made a deal with a lady named Serena, right?
Yup, that's right. Quite the lucrative deal. We were supposed to bring a box of flower soil to her aunt in Sarabia.
Flower soil? And you didn't think that to be suspicious?
Must be quite special soil.
I don't care! This box can under no circumstances leave Königsberg! We have a warrant from the harbor master...
Tell the harbor master he should quit fluffing himself up like that. I'm not letting him mess with my business. After all, I'm indebted to lady Serena.
Serena is dead.
Really. Well, then you'll understand that I have to fulfill the last wish of a deceased. After all, I have a reputation to uphold, and a good reputation is worth its weight in gold in this business!
Understood! How much do you want?
I think... about 15000 bucks should be enough to make ends meet until my slate is clean again.
You could retire on the spot off that kind of money!
Well, I'm not exactly getting younger...
1) There's your money! 2) Never, you snag!

Nah, fuck this guy. We're not paying that. But we will be exploiting it.

No insults, please. The offer still stands, if you change your mind.

We won't.



Instead, we're going to blow all our money on magic fruit! ALL of it!




Just look at those MP and magic stat numbers.



Now that we're broke, we head back to the captain.

How's the money coming along?
We're trying to get it together.

This sets the flag that we don't have enough money to pay. And this allows us to do this!



What can I do for you?
We have a problem, your highness. The captain of the Larana is hiding one of Wahnfried's coffins on his ship. But he won't let us to it.
I can't help you there. You have to go to the harbor master for that.
That would take too long, sir baron. Captain Hack gave us an alternative - he wants 15000 bucks.
But we don't have that kind of money.
Sir Grandy, you and your friends have done a great deal to help my old friend Dankwart and the entire region.
It is an honor to help you in this situation. Please wait while I have the money brought here.



And there we go. 15000 bucks. This is a one-time "get out of jail free" anti-fuckup card - if you screw around again, you don't get shit. However, let's look around the ship some more - maybe we can avoid paying after all and have some free money.



Don't you look at my chest like that! You're not getting to it, no matter what you do!
Look behind you! A red herring!
Nice try, but no chance!



To be fair, that doesn't sound as painfully obvious in German - "roter Hering" only means the fish, not the second meaning.

And yes, the second meaning does apply here - you can actually never get to the chest. It's a red herring. Huzzah!

You got a problem, landlubber?
Not really. Why?
Because you're looking at me all funny. Keep your eyes to yourself and hold your gills, then we can stay friends.

I... OK then? Is "die Kiemen halten" some sort of obscure northern German idiom? Fuck, I'm so confused. Well, nothing interesting here.



Hello. I've got no time right now, I've got to guard this place.
1) What are you guarding? 2) Is keeping watch fun? 3) Who are you?

This is a storage room for especially valuable goods. Exotic spices, high-quality fabrics, that kind of stuff.
Is there a coffin in there, by any chance?
A coffin? No idea. Only Captain Hack can enter this room, or whomever he told the password.
We have a warrant from the harbor master. That should be enough.
Sorry, but the harbor master doesn't get whipped when he disobeys the captain.
Where can I find this Hack?
Just head back the way you came. His cabin is at the end of the hall.

I could imagine a lot of things that would be more fun. When I was hired, they promised me the greatest things... and what am I doing now? Standing in some old, dilapidated frigate and getting clavi and bow legs from all the standing.

I'm Göfla. I've been on this ship for two days, and all I've done is guard this stupid door.
So why are you doing it, then? I'm sure there's got to be some other work for a strong guy like you.
Well, they told me all sorts of great stuff, told me about the great food, told me that I could climb a lot - I love to climb. But all we're getting is stockfish, and the earliest I can get into the shrouds is in one year, I was told. What a terrible prospect, not having any prospect of roast pork with dumplings...
Can't you just quit?
No, I got my pay right on the first day.
Then just pay it back.
I can't. Right on the first day, my new mates invited me to a game and took me to the cleaners.
1) Maybe you'll learn from the experience. 2) We'll help you...

This seems like a prime opportunity to get off on the cheap. Also, helping him is a Good Thing.

We'll try to get you out of here. If there's no other way, we'll just pay what you owe.
You'd do that for me? But why? You don't even know me!
I was just about to mention that myself.
If people only did what they had to, the world would be a pretty sad place, my dear Malthur...
Interesting approach. You always find new ways to surprise me, Grandy.

Now, back to the captain.



It's about your new cabin boy, this Göfla guy. He wants to sign off.
He should have thought of that before he drank away his entire pay!
We'd be willing to pay you that money back.
Really... well, it's not that easy. After all, I've got to find a new guy, and that takes time, and time is money...
Alright... how much?
I'd be happy with 500 bucks.
Your time seems to be quite valuable indeed!

So we give him the money.

You can tell that little squirt he can leave.



We talked with the captain and convinced him to let you go.
Really? That's great! How much do I owe you?
Don't mention it. Just go out and have some pork roast with dumplings.

And off he goes.

Ah, it's such a great feeling to do good...
Especially when you can also gain access to guarded rooms that way.

So there we go. For 14500 bucks less, we just managed to get access to the storage room. Why pay the captain to give you the password so you can get past the guard when you can just pay the captain substantially less to just remove the guard? We enter the room, and...



...well, shit.

How, what, where? Am I mistaken, or shouldn't there be a coffin here somewhere?
There was one here before, too. Look, you can still see the markings on the floor.
And this hole in the ship's wall isn't just here for kicks, either!
Wahnfried knows he's in trouble, and he had the last coffin moved!
That would have been the last one!
But he must have hidden it somewhere, so we can find it!

Well, that just fucked everything up for us. We're running out of time, and we don't have any leads.



Clearly, what we should do now is sell everything that isn't a healing item...




...and blow it all on fruit! Just look at that magic power.



I think we're all tired... how about a bit of sleep? 1) Yes 2) No

And then go to sleep.

But we definitely have to make use of the night. Maybe we can catch Wahnfried when he tries to hide his coffin.

That'll be all for now. Next time, we find the final coffin, and time officially runs out!