Part 54: Update XLI - No Turning Back Now
Update XLI - No Turning Back Now
♪ BGM: A Truth Revealed - WraithTouch.mid ♫
So, in a break with tradition, this update will actually not start with us at Asgar's castle, but instead jumping right into the exploration, because it's time to explore the final two locations noted on the world map! Excitement! Our first destination will be the final castle.
♪ BGM: Castle Ronom - Ronom.mid ♫
Castle Ronom is... not really all that notable. I mean, most of the castles really haven't been winners, but this one is just kinda there. Or maybe that's because I've been through so many so far.
"Marlex - An Autobiography".Strange books!
Shiny treasure!
Recipe 10 obtained!Shit we can't read!
Oh, wait, it's actually shit we can read!
And a stone of stat boosting, to be shelved and maybe used ages later! And that's about it.
♪ BGM: A Truth Revealed - WraithTouch.mid ♫
Now, let's check out the village associated with this castle.
♪ BGM: Ildan - SS_13.mid ♫
Man, that sounds so familiar somehow, but I can't put my finger on it.
Ildan has eight buildings for us to explore, so let's get to it! Let's start with that dead or dying solider there.
Ronom in order to assist the soldiers there, and now there's no one left in town who knows something about healing arts! Poor guy...Man, healthcare has really gone downhill in Trump's America. Ba-dum-tish.
...that's my political humor. People like it when you're topical.
What a fate... bleeding to death because there's no doctor in town. Damn it!
They have... attacked us...
Uh, yes, who ever could that have been!? Monsters... everywhere... our outpost, they...
Outpost? What outpost? Northeast... *pant*... help... *pant*...
He's dead...Damn. I didn't even get a chance to accept his sidequest before he died!
Shall we go to that outpost and take a look? 1) Yes, let's take a look. - 2) No, doesn't interest me.Oh, we're accepting the quest from the corpse instead. Alrighty.
If we really have to...Alright, I can imagine that that outpost is currently infested by monsters that will tear our heads off if we try to take them right now, so let's throw that oooooooooon the pile!
Absolutely right. 
Then you're probably someone who travels around the world a lot, right? Yes, you could say that. Would you be willing to do me a little favor, then? What kind of favor? My husband is a mercenary in the mercenary camp north from Syrahs. I have a letter I want him to receive that tells him how much I miss him. And we are supposed to bring him the letter? Only if it doesn't cause too much trouble... 1) We'll bring him the letter. - 2) Sadly, we don't have time.Oh yes, this quest. This quest is the best quest.
Thank you, you are very nice! I'll add that he's supposed to give you a reward. ...okay, here's the letter. Hand it over to Karos. Marry's Letter received! All right!
Oh, Karos, when are you finally coming home again! I miss you!!!
What, why?
A little to the south lies a wounded guard! But unfortunately, we currently don't have a doctor in town, because he's tending to the soldiers at Castle Ronom right now! Damn it, if somebody doesn't help him soon, he's going to bleed to death!A little late for that.
(Which would mean more blood pointlessly not going into my mouth...) To the south, you say? Yes, he's leaning against a tree! I hope he can hang on! Damn it, first, all the guards are gone, and now even our doctor is missing!
No, thanks, I've had enough of beds! Come again? Um, he wanted to say, no, thank you, we don't need a bed at the moment. Ah, I see. But feel free to come back in case you should change your mind. Our beds are soft and cozy! Yes, thank you. Ah, customers. They, too, are surely going to appreciate the benefits of a soft, clean bed. No other inn in this world has SUCH clean beds as we do. I am proud of it for a reason!
According to the spine, Zkhar, the powerful orc, kills the wretched humans of Rimwood using his mighty axe and then eats the brains of his victims.
Neat.
OK, that is just quintessential Asgar right there.
I wonder if that means anything. Normally, they only accept very few new recruits. But in recent days, they seem to have been accepting almost everyone who volunteered. Strange. So the Clan has been busy recruiting new soldiers. Well, well. If they accepted women, I would have already volunteered. But this way... Hrmpf, well, I was somewhat expecting more from that new toy store... where are the new action figured of Him-Man, for example?
Why do you ask? Supposedly, there are plenty of treasures there. But people also talk of a giant fire-breathing lizard monster guarding those treasures. Sounds weird, don't you think? For me, it actually sounds pretty clichéd. Those rumors don't happen to mention some kind of princess, do they? Yeah, yeah, just make fun of me. I bet you think this is just some kind of story out of a fairy tale book, but I'm telling you, all of it is definitely true! Then why don't you just go and find out? Uh, I can't, unfortunately. My knee, um, is hurt and all. Right... Fire-breathing lizards in the volcano! If that's true, then there are definitely huge amounts of treasure!
Hello! I bet you've come here to Ildan because of the new toy store, right?
No, we're not, actually. Oh, I could have bet you were. Ever since the store is here, we've even had visitors from far away cities like Jhalum or Mesdor on regular occasions. You don't see a store like that every day. You should definitely stop by there! Uh, yes, we'll do that, surely... Hm, I could also allow myself to get a new dress once again. This one is full of holes already.
Let's hear a few, perhaps there's something decent among them... "No, Captain, the iceberg missed the ship!" "Oh, it's just a wolf..." "Oh, how cute, a small desert spider!" "Oh, this crocodile can't even open its mouth that wide!" "Please hold my weapon for a second." "Hm, so were the healing potions red or green again?"
"http://ovdc.nemesis-gen.de/". What could THAT mean?Good question, Alaine. The website doesn't seem to exist anymore, archive.org has a very limited image of it, and I just can't figure it out from that. Seems it will forever be a mystery.
Ah, even I know Bambi the crocodile.
Map 4 obtained!That'll take forever to find.
Some strange books you can find...
Hello! Can I help you somehow? Actually, we're looking for people whom WE can help. Hm, well, I'm personally pretty happy at the moment, actually. It seems like you have to keep looking, then. Sure, we'll do that. Hehe, I know that Reyka is totally in love. With her pen friend! I'm going to tease her about that later!
expand their power? It seems like those shrines, the Elras, and their artifacts are in some way connected. Hm, highly interesting. Well, since there aren't any Elras around anymore, the mystery probably won't get solved that easily... We'll see... If only I could get a bit more information about the Elras from somewhere...
Anarchy, hogwash. I rule, and that's that!
It seems you'd really like to win one of the prizes there. Oh, you can say that. I would love to have that beautiful amulet with the scratch cards, but they are way too expensive for me and my husband. 1) We'll get you the amulet! - 2) Well, nothing to be done.Hey, sure, why not.
You're kidding, right? No, we'll get you the amulet. I'll only believe that when you actually give it to me. No one can be that nice! We'll be back soon.And by soon we mean "some undetermined time in the future".
Curses, I wish my husband would earn more money! Then I would be able to afford the scratch cards in the toy store!
What do you mean? Daddy always buys those stupid beer bottles! And the more he buys, the more he drinks! And then he always smells! Then you should just kill him.
ASGAR! Hey, at least that would be a good action for a change... Daddy smells so disgusting! I don't even like playing with him anymore!
The superstition of humanity is really enormous...
What? My wife really wants some kind of stupid necklace from that new toy store. As if I would throw away my hard-earned money for such junk! Sometimes I wish my wife had a little more sense for truly important things. For example, she could be supporting me with my beer collection! But no, she's all about some useless jewelry... To each their own, I would say. Nonsense! A woman has to want whatever the man allows her to. A truly superb attitude that wil make your marriage last a long time. I know, right... Necklaces, earring, rings and all that useless garbage! My wife could wish for something else for a change...
You seem to be madly in love.
Yes, you can say that. I have had a pen friend for several weeks now, and he always writes me such unbelievably nice letters! And now we have decided to meet for the first time! Oh, I'm so looking forward to it! Um, say, what kind of flowers do you like? Huh, I'm sorry? What kind of flowers I like? What kind of question is this? You aren't spying on me in Collin's name, are you? No, of course not. It was just a question. (That didn't work...)Well, of course, we have other options available to us. Like mind reading!
Oh, Collin. If you give me red Lanos Blossoms now, then you are the one chosen for me by fate! (Red Lanos Blossoms, well, well...)
The title is "The Vampire". "The full moon shines with pale light, the humans asleep without it in their sight. An owl screaks, audible from far off its beaks! There flies a bat, isn't it weird to look at? A twitch on its face, and look what appears in its place. 'tis no animal dire, but a vampire! Alive and yet dead, they desire your bloody red. A creature dead, and yet alive, is this a cursed or a blessed life? If they bite you, you know what will ensue, what it means to suffer forever, sun, garlic, crucifix to endeavor. You can hear it during the night, their laugh as you are in fright. Only when they lie in the morning in their vault, surrounded by a moldy scent and cold, then you can stop whining like children, but beware: The next night is on the horizon!"I'm glad I didn't have to translate this myself.
since recently, and it seems she thinks very highly of him. I hope for her that she won't be disappointed with the first meeting with the boy. Correspondences with a pen friend are always a delicate subject. But it is so nice to see how much in love my little girl is. That reminds me of back when I was in love for the first time. Her name was Patricia and she was 18. We met each other at a small lake in a forest, and on the rock at moonlight, we had kissed for the first time. A few weeks later, she was pregnant, but that is a whole other story... (...that we hopefully get spared from!) My little Reyka is in love! What a wonderful event! That means I'm finally going to be a grandpa soon!Note we can't open that chest while this guy is still around. It would contain a topaz if we did open it, which would be useful for that other quest, but whatever, we can probably find a topaz somewhere else.
And here we have the toy store. We can buy a grand total of three items - a teddy bear, which we could use in the quest with the crying baby, a scratch card, which we'll get to at some point later, and a shovel, which will allow us to dig up treasures that are marked on those maps we can't read. We don't buy something right now, since we can't read maps and the quest with the scratch cards would probably cost us a ton to get the amount we need.
Castle Ronom, do you? Some people here speculate that because our doctor went there some time ago, and some time later, all guards also suddenly left for Castle Ronom. All of it VERY peculiar if you ask me. Um, no, we didn't hear anything like that... Very strange. But of course, no one in this town wants to bother and walk all the way to Castle Ronom. That's why we'll be staying in the dark, I guess... So was there an attack or not!? Always these rumors...
of several individuals. Medusa's Eye - Petrifies the victim. Ultima - A powerful elemental spell that freezes, burns and disintegrates the target. Dhan's Punishment - Dumbs down, paralyzes, and puts the victim to sleep."Those are all spells we can get at some point in time. Of course, that point in time might be a while out.
can be found on this shelf. Well, looks like someone has a lot of fun.
as well. It seems like somebody has good taste.Eternal Legends shoutouts are always nice.
If even the soldiers of the Clan are being attacked, then a grim future is ahead of us. I hope the Clan is able to resolve the issue, or we're in for some real trouble soon! I wouldn't worry too much about it. I think, for now, nothing's going to happen to you, even if the soldiers of the Clan have, um, left. I can only hope that you're right. How will things continue if even the outpost of the Clan gets attacked now?
There are simply so many things that just taste so good...For some reason, I brainfarted and didn't talk to this guy, so here's his dialogue courtesy of RPG Maker:
Tell me, is it raining outside? No, why? Well, it has been raining pretty damn rarely lately. And if it doesn't rain, I don't have to look for Rain Mud Roaches, either. After all, they only come out from below the ground after rain trying to look for food. And why are you looking for those Roaches? Well, because they are the main ingredient for my favorite dish: "Rain Mud Roach Stew". Ugh, that sounds atrocious! Well, not everyone has such a regaled palate like I do, so I can tolerate your reluctance. But perhaps, maybe one day, you will be able to appreciate a bowl of the stew, as well. I don't think so...So there's that. And that's about it for Ildan. So with that, we've officially explored all of the towns and castles listed on the map! Yayifications! So with that, let's move on to other things!
♪ BGM: Asgar's Castle - blood009.mid ♫
Like tax revenue!
And torturing!
...things haven't changed at all, have they. Anyway, we have some new information.
Uhhh, let me go! Perhaps we can let you go if you can finally tell us something useful! I don't know anything! Then you will die here! No, wait! Do you already know about the locations of our shrines? Your shrines? What do they have to do with you? Arrrgh... they were created by us, we use their powers. The shrines are their doing? Where are they? Uhhhh, the shrine of the earth lies in a narrow forest northeast of Ghardon... Northeast of Ghardon, huh... Where are the other shrines? AAAAAAARRRRGH... He's passed out...So the locations of the shrines are what we're going to get out of this Elras we have prisoner. No luck with Raron yet, though.
Also, we stock up on mercenaries again because why not. Gotta keep those defenses going strong.
Ongoing Costs: 78100 + 8000 = 86100 Filar
We also get some sweet loot from the chest, with the Holy Sand giving us 1400 Filar when sold. We also get about 450 Filar directly from the chest. Hey, every bit helps.
We then spread out the bought mercenaries amongst the castles and get 40 total in every single castle, except 39 in Asgar's castle. So then we buy some more because screw it, best be prepared.
Ongoing Costs: 86100 + 5000 = 91100 Filar
And then I buy one more for a completely unknown reason. Sometimes, writing updates months after recording the footage causes some issues when it comes to remembering why the fuck I did certain things.
Ongoing Costs: 91100 + 100 = 91200 Filar
After that, I head back to that one island where we were with solo Asgar and grind a few souls so I can save my game using the crystal in the Ronak room.
Then some more torturing, with a success on Raron!
You fools! How dare you to torture me?
I torture whomever I want! And now tell us something useful, before we inflict never-ending pain on you! You think you can scare me? You are not the first ones who are after the power of the Elras! We even survived Pharaoh Ustra! Pharaoh Ustra? That wretch was going after us. After our power, after our magical skills. He was strong, many of us fell victim to him...
♪ BGM: Throwing Knives - warlord.mid ♫
of you... you are so pathetic! Ustra, you damned pharaoh from hell! We curse you!
HARHARHAR! I'm going to eradicate you! The world had to suffer your existance for far too long! Do your dirty deeds. But soon you're going to suffer the wrath of the Elras! We will soon possess a spell that will grant us unlimited power! Unlimited power, huh... but I'm afraid there's nothing that will save you! ATTACK!
Ustra gets the Elras spellbook smacked out of him.
Arrr... Ghadar's book!
Yes, I have already eliminated your leaders! They were just as weak as you are! And now, die!
An Elras gets his shit pushed in.
You will feel the wrath of the Elras soon enough! Well, but certainly not the wrath of your leaders... they are safely banished into this book...
Another one of the Elras gets hit shit pushed in.
REVENGE!
Ustra gets knocked back with a fire spell.
Your paltry spells are too weak to stop me now! Be damned!
The Elras then runs up and just boots the fucking book off the cliff, creating an image that would be fucking hilarious if this had more detailed animation. Just punts the damn thing.
Damn it! The book! You will never use our spells against us! HARHAR... it's already too late for that... I have already memorized all the useful spells... from summoning a copy of myself, right up to the banishing of your Shadow Wraiths into other objects than your sordid book. And now, with my banishment stone, I have a way to destroy you completely! I don't even know what you're talking about, damn Ustra, but your head will be cut off by an Elras one day! You don't know about Shadow Wraiths? Interesting... it seems that your leaders have kept it a secret from you subordinate Elras... probably to make themselves the most powerful Elras of all time... The Elras will never die! We'll see about that!
And the third Elras gets his shit pushed in as we fade to black and return from flashback-vision.
♪ BGM: Asgar's Castle - blood009.mid ♫
He's passed out... So then Ustra used an Elras spell to create an image of himself, which he then used to protect his pyramid from intruders. You mean we didn't even kill the real Ustra back then? It looks like we didn't. And then where is the real Ustra? And how did he even get his hands on the book of the Elras? What did the Elras say? Ghadar's book... who is Ghadar? Again these unresolved questions...Note that I did not get to hear the full conversation here and instead had to get it from RPG Maker. Why?
Because again, I got interrupted by another fucking castle attack.
9 Elras show up and kill 15 mercenaries.
Mercenaries Lost To Global Domination: 429 + 15 = 444
After that, a fair amount of mercenary juggling between the castles ensues to keep things a bit more even.
♪ BGM: Swords For Hire - Islands2.mid ♫
Next stop, the mercenary forest. We have a quest to finish here.
We need to talk to this guy.
jobs. But nobody's had any need for us in weeks. Hey, you're Karos, aren't you? Yeah, that's me. What can I do for you? We have a letter here from your wife Marry. Oh God, I bet she misses me endlessly! Give me the letter! Here you go. And boy does she miss me. Endlessly even! I think it's about time to finally visit her again. Love before money! I thank you! We were happy to help. She tells me to give you a reward. But I barely have any money. But I think the time has come for me to quit my mercenary job. I need to take care of Marry more deeply. Yes, I will do that. Here, take my sabre. I have taken this from an enemy during one of our recent missions. I believe it is magical. Sabre of DAmore received! 1) Thanks! - 2) It isn't magical! (Lie)We don't have the skill to lie here. We'd get a neat amount of potions if we could, but still, what we get is pretty damn sweet as well.
No, I have to thank you. The time has come to change my life! I will always stay with Marry from now on! I'll just quickly pack my things. Well then, good luck for the future! You, too! 5346 Experience Points gained!
And there we go. We've officially crossed the threshold - now mercenaries cost 200 Filar instead of 100, and will only get more expensive from here on out. We needed to do this at some point, might as well get going now.
Also, hey, we get our unrest removed because we did quests. Neat!
Now, not only is the Sabre of D'Amore a great upgrade over what we have now just by attribute alone, but it also inflicts a status effect, and most importantly, it attacks twice. Not only that, but if the enemy you're attacking dies, the second attack isn't wasted but is instead just put on a different enemy, which is very neat. This thing is going to turn Asgar into a wrecking ball for quite some time. This weapon is good shit, and there is no level requirement to get it since the quest just involves going to a place you've already visited.
♪ BGM: Mirana - Stadt11.mid ♫
Since we're officially over the level threshold, let's hand in some more quests.
Yes, we did.
So? What flowers does she like? She likes Lanos Blossoms. Especially the red ones. Red Lanos Blossoms? Oh, great, I can get them quickly. Thank you! Not a problem. Here, take this as a token of my gratitude! Ice Rune received! Amulet of the Nymph received! I was actually going to give her these, but I think the naked woman on it isn't very appropriate. 1) Thank you and good luck. - 2) She's a guy! (Lie)Pffft. Sadly, we don't have the lying skill necessary to convince the guy that his penpal girlfriend is actually a man, baby (we'd need the level 3 skill for that). If we did, we'd get a treasure map from him which would lead us to a chest that contains a status rune, a life rune, and a life ankh, which, given the level we'd need to be at to get that map (as a quick reminder, that's 80), isn't all that great. So instead, let's let him meet up with the supposed love of his life. Hopefully it doesn't end horribly.
First, I'm going to get the flowers now... 3960 Experience Points gained!
Next, let's deliver some bread.
You are Lisa, right?
Can I help you? We have a delivery for you from Gerum. Ah, finally, I've been waiting for this for at least one hour!Yeah, nah, probably more several days at least.
How much do I owe you? 1) 1000 Filar. - 2) 2000 Filar. (Lie) - 3) 3000 Filar. (Lie)This is one of the situations where we can actually lie with our single level in the skill and pull it off.
Oh, his "bread" is definitely worth its money! 2000 Filar received! The price seems to be pretty damn high for some baking goods. Hihi, now please leave me alone with it, I want to "enjoy" it undisturbed! ...It's drugs. It's so obviously drugs. Like, what else could it possibly be apart from drugs. Anyway, we still have one person left to deliver to.
As an aside, here's the amulet of the nymph. Pretty useful for us at this point, especially if we know we're going to be going up against enemies with water spells.
♪ BGM: Ordun - Wald2.mid ♫
Now, to go back to delivering bread.
Um, are you Raine?
Who wants to know? We have a delivery here from the baker Gerum from Mirana. Why didn't you just say so? Hand it over! Wait, first the money. Okay, how much do I owe you? 1) 1500 Filar. - 2) 2000 Filar. (Lie) - 3) 3000 Filar. (Lie)Again, we get to lie for fun and profit.
Hm, was it really that much? Oh well, I hope the "goods" are worth it! 2000 Filar received! You must be really hungry! Hungry? What, why? Well, you just bought three bread baskets for 2000 Filar. Ah, I see, yes, yes, of course. My hunger is "big". Understood? And now, leave. Strange...Druuuuuuuuu-
-FUCK.
13 knights attack and take out 14 mercenaries.
Mercenaries Lost To Global Domination: 444 + 14 = 458
Anyway, Valnar's BP situation isn't exactly great. Well, sounds like a perfect time to go for a trip!
♪ BGM: A Truth Revealed - WraithTouch.mid ♫
La-dee-daa, just flying across the ocean...
Oh, look, the blood meter disappeared, I wonder what that mea-
*gargle*
Valnaaaaaaa...
Oh dear.
Damn it, Valnar! We almost drowned! You are lucky that we can't even drown at all...
I'm sorry! I'll be more careful!
Yeesh. That did quite the number on us.
But we also find a light rune, so this little expedition was a profit overall.
Leaving this area shows us that we've actually landed really close to Asgar's castle - it's just a slight bit north from here, which is handy.
♪ BGM: Asgar's Castle - blood009.mid ♫
Heading back there, the assorted crap we got from the thief actually included a savestone this time, which is very nice.
Then, a few more mercenaries for the road.
Ongoing Costs: 91100 + 2000 = 93100 Filar
Yep, there's those increased costs making their presence felt. This'll be fun shit.
And finally, we manage another torture success on the Elras mage.
Let me go! Come on, talk, where are the other shrines? Arrr, the shrine of water is at a small pond northeast of the great volcano... A small pond northeast of the great volcano, okay, noted. And the other four? Uuuuuuuhhhhhhh... He's passed out...And that's it! This is where the update will end, because I've actually run out of footage! This hasn't been the case in ages now, so I'll actually have to go back and record some more. This will require some soul-searching and thinking about exactly what I want to do. So, next time, whatever I'll do next!