Part 32: Update XXVI - I'm On A Boat

Update XXVI - I'm On A Boat



♪ BGM: Sailing For Safety - jacklight.mid ♫

This will slow down our ride a little bit, but fortunately, there are only a few waves... the storm will pass by eventually, don't worry.
Asmos is feeling worse. We don't have much time.
We'll be arriving soon. The healers will be able to help him...
Asmos is strong. He will make it.

We hear some shouting coming from outside.

Damn it, what's going on out there!?



What the hell...
Nyria, please help the sailors...
Of course!
I have a few more healing potions for us, Lady Nyria. They will help us!
3 Healing Potions received!



And we get a free save. The knight has once again rejoined our party, so our group of two is going to have to go out and fix shit, it seems.



5 Healing Flasks received! 2 Eternity Potions received!

Free items!



♪ BGM: Rough Seas - track10.mid ♫

What are these creatures?
Let us annihilate them!

So, now we get to walk around the deck, murdering a whole bunch of enemies.



We get these creatures to fight.



We either get one or two of these, depending on what Marlex felt like putting there for any given spawning monster. They're annoying - they can cause bleeding and blindness with their skills, both of which suck for us, either by causing more of a drain on resources or making fights last longer, meaning we take more damage and lose more resources.



As you can see in the top left, new creatures start jumping in on the boat on the regular. And, well, this repeats for a while. On Easy, we have to fight a total of 7 of these fights. On Normal, we have to fight 14. On Hard, we have to fight 20. So yeah, this takes a bit.



It is at this point that I start using Nyria's Throw Knife skill a lot more frequently, because it kills a lot more effectively than I thought it would. It's a "causes instant death" skill that doesn't fucking suck! What will they think of next?



Alas, not all fights go optimally, and every once in a while, somebody bites the dust. Thankfully, we can still use Eternity Potions after battle to fix them up. Anyway, like I said, this takes a while. Let's talk to some people.



If even one of them gets close to Asmos, you're done for!
Don't worry, I'll stop them!



Good idea! There's nothing I'd rather do!
Take these healing potions!
4 Healing Flasks received! 2 Eternity Potions received!
Thanks!
Make them suffer!



You have been trained for battle, haven't you? So stop talking!
To hell with them!



Let's strike them down!

They don't really have much interesting to say. All of this is sandwiched between a whole bunch of fighting. And eventually...



With your skills, it was not surprising!

And now that we've killed all the monsters, we can talk to people some more and score some free items!



Protective Ring received!
Thank you.



Useful!



At least you have confidence. Because you suck at fighting.



We? It looked like you were just running around on the ship aimlessly and tried to stay out of the fights.
Oh, nonsense. That was all tactics!
Obviously...



Sailor Hat received!
Thank you!



Also useful! "Sailor's luck" in this case means "protects from critical hits", which isn't exactly all that great - not that many creatures have crits in the first place - but hey, it's free.



♪ BGM: Sailing For Safety - jacklight.mid ♫

Yes, I have killed all of them. Disgusting creatures... but your sailors weren't exactly masters of combat.
Well, you did save us!
I knew that we could rely on you. And you, brave warrior, shall also receive a reward as soon as we arrive at Castle Horan.

But he's still not important enough to get a fucking name.

Thank you very much, Sir Aaron! It is an honor to fight at Lady Nyria's side!
So that means we can finally keep going!



♪ BGM: Unknown World - tears.mid ♫

And thus, we start sailing. We don't have any control over this, we just keep going. And eventually...



The "Lazalantin" truly is a marvelous and fast ship!
Quick, we have to get Asmos to a healer!
Castle Horan is a little to the west from here. We're almost there!



And with that, we're dropped on the world map once more.



We find the castle pretty quickly.





♪ BGM: Castle Horan - Horan.mid ♫

...

The only thing we need now is for Nyria to go "I HEARD THAT" and a sitcom jingle playing.

They have a wounded with them! Quick, let them enter!
Asmos, hang in there! We're almost there!
This wound burns like hell!



Why can't something go right for a change!?
This wound has been inflicted with a magical weapon. It was either cursed or poisoned.
Jayna, you wretched witch! I hate you!
Who is Jayna!?
The bitch that attacked us!
How do you know her name?
She... I don't know!
We should talk about this at one point, don't you think?
For now, we have to take care of Asmos!
I can't do much for him, unfortunately. I will need the help of the leaders in the temple.
Who are they? And where can I find them?
Not far from here, in the northwest, there is a temple of the Clan. Among other things, there is also our sacred spring, where we take the water for healing potions from. Furthermore, our prophet is also there.
What was that? Your prophet?
Yes, he's recently appeared in the temple. Of course we didn't believe him at first. First, we wanted to see if what he prophesied would really come true. But as I have now realized, he was right. It doesn't seem to be a bad idea to listen to his advice. From him, I also got my teleporting stones. I think I should make him give me a few more, just in case. My supplies in this castle are basically exhausted.
Does he know how Asmos can be cured?
If he doesn't, then our own healers should.
All right. It looks like somebody has to pay him a visit and get a cure for Asmos.
One of my knights will accompany you, of course!
It is an honor for me to accompany you, Lady Nyria!
Well then, let's make haste!
Take this letter. I have written it during our trip on the ship. It is for the healers of the temple. They will understand. Good luck, Lady Nyria.
I don't need luck...
✝ Letter received!
And you, Sir Aaron, should tell me what happened now.
That I will.

And with that, we can head out and explore the castle.



Who else was in charge of Castle Horan, anyway?
During the time Sir Aaron wasn't here, our instructor down in the training room is the one in charge. But he's also making us train quite a lot. That's pretty damn tiring!
Trust me, you'll be very grateful for that one day!
Well, we'll see. I don't really think that all this daily drudge is ever going to be helpful. We haven't had an enemy to fight for a long time.
That will come sooner than you think...



surely can't be a good sign.
You're absolutely right about that.
Yeah, great, thanks for cheering me up.
Life is hard. You had better get used to it.



Well, I need to get to the temple...
The temple? Then you should beware of the creatures there! There are plenty! It's probably for the best if I give you a few potions. These are "special potions"... of course, you mustn't drink them!
2 Acid Potions received!
Got that! Thanks.



Yes, you could say that. Asmos is going to die if I don't get a cure from the healers northwest of this place as quickly as possible.
From the temple? The mountain is full of dangers. Here, take this. It will help you.
2 Healing Phials received!
Thanks!



I have been sent to the temple, but apparently, it's not very easy to reach.
Sounds pretty much like you need some better equipment, huh?
That's what I was hoping, yes.
Take what you can use. The weapons and armor stands are right behind me at the wall.
Thank you!
Good equipment is the basis for successful battles. And good luck to you.
Good, I'll be taking some of the equipment, then.



2 Steel Shields obtained! Clan Armor obtained!





Huh, that's kind of weirdly dickish. Here, buy some medicine with the money you don't have! How do you get money? Sell items! What items do you have? Mostly medicine. Welp.





Lots more useful stuff.



Also, here's Nyria with her shiny new equipment. Good defensive boosts, always welcome.



The knight doesn't profit as much, since he doesn't get the armor improvement - because he already has it, that is.



Hey, I'm not gonna let a woman tell me that! I am strong enough!
Well, I'm not going to sew your head back onto your shoulders!
Pfff, I can sew myself. I don't need you for that!
(Moron...)



I'm on my way to the temple.
Hm, if you give me a kiss, I will help you!
1) Fine, come here... - 2) Never!

We hear a kissing sound effect.

Ah, that was good. How about another one?
1) Fine, come here... - 2) Never!

And again.

Ah, that was good. How about another one?

To spare you the repetition, we repeat this until we've kissed this guy ten times. Because then...

Okay, I can see that you are an easy lady. But I like it. Take this as a thank you!
Life Ankh received!
This will strengthen you!
Thanks a lot!
(But somehow, I do feel pretty damn cheap!)

Hey, it's 10 more HP for basically free!



I have to quickly get to the temple of the healers!
The road isn't easy. Perhaps it'd be best if I give you this. I will never forgive myself if anything happens to you!
Flame Potion received!
(Sometimes, being a pretty girl is quite handy!)
This will help you defend yourself against the creatures that are living in those mountains.
I thank you.
Don't mention it.



Alright, that'll do for now.



♪ BGM: Unknown World - tears.mid ♫

The temple is not at all far away, basically on the same screen.



♪ BGM: Temple Mountains - Naatktha.mid ♫

And thus, we make it to the temple mountains, an area we need to trek through before we get to the temple itself.



The map isn't too descriptive, since we have to go in and out of caves constantly, and the caves are pretty small and uninteresting too. So let's just move on.



In case you can't tell, it starts raining.

It is only rain, Lady Nyria! We'll make it, I'm sure.
At least that is a reasonable attitude. Asmos needs us!



Not a lot going on. We have some fights.



Here's a fight with some dragon looking thing. It has a wonderful attack called "Flamepoison Thorn", which inflicts berserk and doesn't have fire as its attribute. Also, the knight leveled up to 21 at some point and picked up a skill that lets him attack multiple enemies, which is great, because every enemy group here is just one enemy.



Here's a fight with some bird looking thing. It can inflict blindness and bleeding with its attacks.



Nyria levels up to 22 and gains a new skill. This heals HP and increases Attack, but by so little it's not really worth it. However, since we can use it out of combat, it means free heals for Nyria! Useful!



We make it to the temple without further incident, though.



♪ BGM: The Temple - ELEGY.mid ♫

My name is Nyria, and I need your help!
I don't know you! Go away!
I have a letter here from Sir Aaron!
A letter? Show it to me!



Oh, God!

He walks back to the others.

*whisper whisper*

He turns back to Nyria.

Please follow us...



And everybody heads for the basement, including us.



Down in the basement, I see a chest with my name on it!



Of course!

Bah. Also, note "healer" not being translated here. Slip-up!



It told us we should listen to his words about him being able to see into the future. Of course we didn't believe him, because magic isn't anything unusual to us. But fortune-telling isn't possible with any magic of this world. The entity, or the Prophet as we have been calling it ever since, told us that a war would break out. A war against the Elras! And all that despite the fact that the Elras had been wiped out by the Clan of Holy Warriors decades ago! We had destroyed them and taken possession of the stone tablet. So how could we believe him? That the Elras were walking the earth once again, and that they were strong enough to attack us!? But according to this letter, it is true! The Elras have taken over Castle Johlar and Castle Zharas! The time of blood has arrived! The war of the Clan against the abominable Elras has sparked once more! We need to brace ourselves!
We have lost a lot of brave men!
You have seen it?
I was there! And I was only barely able to escape with Asmos and Sir Aaron! Their magical abilities are incredible!
Are you hurt?
I'm not, but Asmos received a magically cursed wound!
That doesn't sound good. The wound of a cursed blade is not easy to treat.
But you know of a cure!?
Yes. But unfortunately, we don't have anything here that we can give you.
Damn it, Asmos is dying!
All is not lost just yet. We have to consult the prophet. Perhaps he has advice. It appears thst we will need his help more than just one time.
How do you want to summon him!?
He has given us a magical symbol that we can use to summon him. We haven't tried it so far, but I believe now would be a good time to give it a shot!
So what are we waiting for!?
Silence now! We have to concentrate!



These guys start waving their arms around, and we start hearing some droning sounds.



We start getting some more color with this swirling thing that rapidly changes color, and then...



♪ BGM: The Dark Lord Exdea- ...Elras - death.mid ♫

A flash of white! Ominous music! And then...



DUN

DUN

DUNNNNNN

So that is how it is. My prophecies have come true, haven't they?
Yes, oh wise prophet! You have proven your might! Please give us advice now how to proceed! How we can fight against the Elras!
So helpless... so weak... but worry not, since I am here now to save you all! As I have foretold, the Elras are back in this world. They are here to take back the stone fragments! They want their power back.
What should we do, wise prophet?
You must prevent the Elras from getting their hands on the stone fragments. If they get them, the world is forever doomed!
How can we prevent that!?
Activate the magical barriers!
The barriers? But we won't be able to dispel them again! The magical keys are unobtainable! If we summon the barriers, then we will no longer be able to obtain the stone fragments!
And the Elras won't, either! It is the only way to grant the Clan the required time they need to prepare themselves against the Elras.
But...
Do it, or the world will perish!
As you say!
And who is that?
This is...
I am Nyria, and I desperately need a cure for a friend! He received a cursed wound!
Oh, very dashing... well, young lady, such a wound is not that easy to heal.
I know that, damn it! HOW can I heal it!?
Take this rune. If you use it, it will heal the wound. Take good care of it. It is very valuable!



Jinnai throws us some weird golden thing.

Thank you!
And now, activate the barriers before it's too late!
So be it...
And this whole summoning thing is something you can cut out. Next time, just use the symbol. If I'm merciful, I will appear, don't worry.



And once more, Jinnai takes his leave in his typical fashion.

Let us activate the barriers!

And the healers start their work.



Fire!



We then get some shots of the different dungeons of the castles...



...with barriers appearing.



Some of the castles have seen better days.















Does this count as foreshadowing? I guess not, we're not seeing much of anything here.



♪ BGM: The Temple - ELEGY.mid ♫

We will see. At least he seemed to have a cure for Asmos. That's the only thing I currently care about...

At the same time, Valnar, Asgar, and Alaine were discussing their next steps...

And that'll be it for this part! Next time, we'll be diving back into RPG Maker, and after that, we'll get back to our main crew and turn our first human into a vampire! Excitement!