Part 5: The Town of Delphi
Update 5 - The Town of Delphi
MUSIC: Act 2
MUSIC: The Bard and the Witch
What's this place?
What do you think? It's me and my grandma's house! Come inside.Miriam and her grandma have a very cute home, but there's nothing to do on the outside but play in the leaves. So, let's head inside!
MUSIC: Miriam
Yup, that's about what I'd expect a witches' hut in the middle of the woods to look like.
So you talked to an Overseer, hmm? That's so delightful. We've been trying to commune with them since we divined this world's fate... (Uh, more like I've been trying to!) (You just sit at home and tell me what to do.) I'm an old lady, Miriam. Old schmold. But I can see from your eyes... He didn't help you, did he?
Oh. I thought you'd be more useful than that. Hmmm. Well. I like this one! So full of hope! Unlike my granddaughter... Psh. I think you two ought to travel together.
THIS clown??We are a BARD not a clown! Please get it right!
We don't even know your name. Well, why don't you tell us your name, then?
And here's where we spell out a name! You end up getting four letters to spell out a name, and I'm pretty sure you get different letters depending on what you go with. It's a kinda weird thing, but the name rarely comes up so it's mostly just for you to have fun. While I did find a couple good choices, I decided to go with the name I already gave him:
So... your name is Bard?We had a plan for our life from the moment we were born!
You get a chance to start over and pick something else if you want to, but I like Bard! Lets stick with that.
What a wonderful name! It's a pleasure to meet you. Is that good enough for you, Miriam? Ugh. Whatever. Welcome to the "team" "Bard."
Miriam heads out the front door and leaves us in the cabin with her grandma. Fun fact: if you take more than one try to spell a name, Miriam will comment on it and say " I don't know why it took you so many tries to spell your name, but alright."
Since Miriam left, lets take the opprotunity to speak with her grandmother.
Don't mind my granddaughter. She's a fuddyduddy, but her heart is good. She's been grumpy ever since she was a little girl. But she's my grumpy little girl... I only wish she could learn to loosen up a little. Our family is so very funny. Half of us come out jolly, half the complete opposite. Many I can't even speak to, like my sister. But Miriam, I'd always be there for.Aww, her grandma is so sweet. So there's another family of witches out there? Hopefully we run into the ones like Grandma Saphy here, and not like Miriam.
Alright, time to follow Miriam outside and head out on adventure!
MUSIC: The Bard and the Witch
And like every good adventure, this one starts off with a SIGH.
OK, let's get going down this hill. Can't I fly with you? NO! You're heavy. And anyways, we're going through a cave up ahead. There's an Overseer access point in there., for the Queen of Winds. And before you ask why we haven't checked this one out yet... it's because... there's monsters in this cave. M... Monsters?? Don't you freak out about it.It's ok, if we do run into any monsters I have faith in the power of song!
... Or the lady with witch powers, probably that one yeah.
While the area around the cabin looks nice, there's nothing to do here but head down the valley towards the cave.
Eya almighty. I'm a witch, I can handle monsters. Frankly, I don't know what we need you around for. But hey! Grandma Saphy knows best.She does know best Miriam. Where will you be when a pipe bursts and theres no one to sing it closed!? Huh!?
She's too trusting for her own good. I know she orchestrated this just to mess with me. She lives for that.I'm not sure "sending you on a dangerous adventure with some random bard you just met" is her way of pranking you. If it is, I may need to reevaluate my opinion of your grandma.
Regardless of Grandma Saphy's pranking skills, we need to explore this cave.
It's uh, pretty quiet so far. No monsters yet. You sure we got the right cave Miriam?
Why are you lowering your voice? Just shut up!!!
My videogame senses are tingling, that HAS to be where a monster is.
VIDEO: Boss Fight?
SFX: Miriam Angry
(The monster could be anywhere!! Probably sleeping! Do you want to wake it?? Cause I'D prefer not to!! So hows about you keep it down, you and your loud bard mouth!! We don't need any of that here!!)...Wow. You've got some anger issues Miriam. We know a good therapist, his name is Clyde.
We continue to head down the bridge, when suddenly...
UUUuuuugh, I can't believe you woke up this stupid monster!
MUSIC: Troll Fight
He probably didn't like being called stupid... Miriam.
GREAT. Guess I have to take care of this mess! What are you going to do? I'm a witch. With awesome magic powers. I'll use those. Won't that hurt it? Uh, probably! That's how this works! Monster attacks, we rough it up a little, it lets us through...Yeah, that's a solid plan. Alright Miriam, give it a sh-
Let me handle it!! Why??? This'll be over in like 5 seconds! I wanna get close and try talking to it! ... You know what? Sure. Knock yourself out.
So I'm pretty sure Miriam meant that in the very literal sense of "Go get knocked out so I don't have to deal with you anymore", but we're going to try anyway! And uh, sing this monster away I guess??
If we sing against the monster's current, then we can slowly make our way towards him.
The monster will counter by singing in a different direction, forcing us to change and counter this new direction.
...Or we can miss time it and end up falling backwards.
Sure you don't want me to take care of it? No!! I can do it! I'll sing even harder this time!!Alright, let's give it another shot!
Slowly... but surely, we are getting closer to the monster.
MUSIC: Troll Theme
Than-
But... THAT WON'T FIX MY BOYFRIEND!!
No!!! What did you say about a boyfriend? One of you humans hurt him! US??? Well... Not... you, but definitely a human!! They cursed my boyfriend with some magic spell... Things have gone too far! We can't let any more people like you through! Hey!! It's not like we came here to attack you guys! I mean, I would have, but...Miriam, please be quiet and let Bard do the talking before the troll eats us.
I'm really sorry about what happened to your boyfriend!! If it's a spell that's been cast on him... Do you think... singing might help?
Magic spell? Witch? Hello? Does this not sound like more my forte?? ....... Are you saying you would... help us? uh... I guess. Alright, humans... I'll let you in.
Huh, we actually did manage to sing the troll away. How about that!
We are now clear to walk across the shiny bridge and make our way to the other side.
You heard the troll! Let's make our way up there.
Probably...not. Wha? This is the work of someone really powerful... Kinda scary, actually. Not even grandma Saphy could fix this. We're used to humans attacking us... You attacked us fir- But never like this! Hey... maybe humans and monsters should stop attacking each other!
But this one's already cursed. So what do we do? ...I don't know. s i g h. I was a fool to think humans could help. ... I'm sorry this happened, Mr. Monster! Just go... Get out of our home.There's nothing we can do to help the poor cursed troll. Even singing, the only thing we can do, doesn't do anything. Before we leave the cave, the troll does still have a little bit of dialogue left in him.
The other side of this cave is very close. Go now and get out of our home. Leave us be, humans.Poor guy, he just wants his boyfriend to be ok
There's nothing more we can do here, time to head east.
Below us is the way to the nexus point for the Overseer. There's nothing of interest there right now, so let's just leave the cave.
MUSIC: Delphi
Just ahead is a town called Delphi. If anyone knows the Queen of Wind's song, that's where they are. I'm tired of waiting around for you... so I'll see you there!
Miriam soars away from us as fast as she can. Man, does she really dislike Bard that much?
We have no reason not to follow her, as the only other place of note in the area is the cemetery which is a bit dead this time of day
And here we are! Delphi! This place is uh... kinda depressing me out. Maybe talking to Miriam will cheer me up.
This town is cute! I guess... if you've never seen a town before. Don't forget we're here to learn the Overseer song. I'll wait here dilligently... In case someone useful looking passes by.... May be a while. Finding the Overseers' songs... is by far the worst part of this saving the world stuff. I hate having to talk to people... I don't mind it! Well, that's why we made it your job. Well? Find anything yet? Not yet! Okay. Just try not get distracted by dumb side-quests, alright?Oh Miriam, you shouldn't have told me that. Now we DEFINITELY need to go find a side-quest to do. Thanks Miriam! You cheered me up!
Let's see if that fellow on the other side of the sign knows where we can find a side-quest.
This town used to be great. But these people ain't seen something good in a long time. Their spirits are DYIN' y'know? I wanna fix that, I wanna bring their spirits back! But I need a singer...A singer eh? Well, I know where we can find one of those...
That VOICE! It's exactly what I been lookin for! Your voice... It would be PERFECT in the band I'm puttin together!! The name's Manny. Pleasure to meet ya, ace! Thing is... Right now you're the only other person in my band. So help me out!! Find me a couple other musicians! We'll put on a show the lieks'a which this town ain't never seen before!!
Thanks for the fun side-quest there, buddy.SFX: Miriam Angry
Focus on finding the Queen of Wind's song, Bard.That last line is Miriam calling us by our name, so if you pick something different, it will show up there. She's about the only one who actually uses the name you put in, but it's still nice to hear her call Bard by his name.
Also, we've got a side quest!! That's actually part of the main quest. Let's see if Manny has got some tips for us in our search.
I can see it now! That perfect show... our performers are out there waiting, ace! Go find 'em! I been at this business a long time. It ain't easy! But if I do this right, this town'll never forget me... Don't let me down! I think just a couple performers will do the trick...This is starting to seem like your way to get famous, and less like an attempt to spread happiness Manny.
Let's start our search by heading to the right and seeing who's behind Manny.
Oh hello! How are you doing?
You know what I am? I'm a teen. I'm supposed to be acting raucous and rebellious. But this town sucks so bad... I just don't have the spirit to be a proper teen. When I'm old, I'll probably say things like, "I really wasted away my teen years." Usually that's supposed to mean you regret your reckless teen mistakes. But I'll be thinking of how lame I was instead.Normally, I'd say Tina here is overreacting, but uh this town has been pretty depressing since we got here. I can't imagine if I had to live here.
Heading back the other way, we find the sweets shop that was behind Miriam and decide to take a peak inside.
Well, the candy looks great but uh the old man behind the counter seems a little bit creepy.
Whoa there! You some kinda musician? The kids these days just LOVE music. I've been looking for a way to reach 'em. Maybe you can help! Can you write a jingle for my candy shop?
Is there even a question? "Heck yeah" we will!
THAT'S the kinda spirit I'm talkin' about! Ok I'll give you the go and you sing it! Something short and sweet, ohoho!VIDEO: Candy Jingle
This is a little minigame that you can do for fun and come up with different combination of notes and have the game play it back for you! It comes up a couple times and your enjoyment is I think based on how good of an ear you've got. As you can craft some good tunes... or some really awful stuff. The game will tell you how much it loves it despite that though.
You can also try as many times as you like, so you get plenty of chances at experimentation. Once you get a tune you like down...
Yes!!! I love it too! Hopefully the kids agree.SFX: Candy Theme
You can now hear the theme you chose playing in the candy shop! So I hope you picked something that is at listenable!
I'm working on some lyrics for the jingle you made! It's candy o' clock...Something super cool about this, is that the lyrics do try to match the tune you've made and even change based on the tune you did!
You can change the tune at any moment you like, but we've spent enough time here as is. Plus, Mask walked in while we were making the jingle! Let's see what's going on with him.
Hey now, wanderer. I love candy... But I came because of the sick tune they have playing... You wrote it, didn't you? I was waiting for you... to usher you... into the next level of DANCE. That's right, it's time to discover a new move. You already know this one, wanderer. I'm just gonna help you find it.VIDEO: Second Dance
Beautiful dance, wanderer. Carry it with you on your journey. Show the world the dance that lives inside you...The "Crabwalk" is my favorite dance in the game. There's still a couple of good ones left, but this one just takes the cake
We're back outside, trying to look for someone who'd be interested in joining a band.
Hmm, how about you? You seem like you know something about music.
I hate being single. Why won't anyone date me? I have lots of great datable qualities. Like, for example, I once at 20 hot dogs in an hour.That's uh... a datable quality I'm sure. What man/woman wouldn't be interested in someone that's most interesting characteristic is "eats hot dogs"
Why do you keep talking to me? Do you... want to date me?
Despite my better judgement, sure Sue! We will date you.
Oho. Really? Sure! I'd say you're about... 27 years old?
SFX: Slidewhistle
Bard continuing to smile throughout the whole "date" is what makes it for me
Now that we've broken a woman's heart, let's continue towards the rest of town.
Ah... so here is somebody that... I kinda loathe.
Hi, my name's Nate. I have some backstory to tell you!
OK, here is some backstory! This town is over 400 years old! Well, thanks for listening. I've always got more backstory if you want to hear it.So why do I loathe Nate? Because that exchange was great my first time! I enjoyed the dude who's just running around screaming to strangers if they want some backstory. But talk to him again...
OK, here is some backstory! The girl who works for the Crazy Raven wants to be a dancer. Well, thanks for listening. I've always got more backstory if you want to hear it.This dude has ten pieces of backstory, and you have to repeat the process every time to hear each one! It's a great joke, but tell it a dozen times in the same way and the joke starts morphing into this shaggy dog experience. Anyway, thanks to the magic of editing, please enjoy:
Apparently, everyone had the same ominous dream. The old explorers stopped here because of cave monsters. The candy shop owner's son runs the Crazy Raven. A famous band got its start here, but they don't come back anymore. When I was in high school, everyone called me "Nate the Great" The coffee beans here are supplied by pirates! Somebody fierece came through town recently. They were looking for the Overseer song! But they didn't find it... Wow, so... you're a really big backstory fan, huh?Yes we are Nate... Yes we are.
Finally released from Nate's grasp, we can talk to the person behind him.
Hey!! You should go to the Crazy Raven! It's only the COOLEST hangout spot in Delphi!! I definitely don't work there!! This is candid viral marketing!!I'm pretty sure it's the only hangout spot in Delphi, from the looks of things.
Okay, actually, I do work at the Raven.
Don't tell me I work too hard!! The Raven is actually a great place! I don't want it to have to close because my boss is an idiot. Tell your friends about the Crazy Raven, ok?Alice sounds... stressed. We can at least check out the Raven and try to help it out a bit.
If we head back a bit before Nate was, we come to the center of town! There's a couple people here to talk to, we'll start with squidward.
What's the point? Why even bother? Who ever cares?Truly a light in the darkness that is Delphi. Thanks Lenny.
What's with the getup?
I bet you're really cool. Wanna do something... thrilling?? Um. Kehehehe! Quit being weird, Mitzi.Alright, so what's this thrilling thing you're going on about?
You've heard about the monster cave outside town, yeah? Sometimes at night we like to just stand in there, and see how long we can do it without getting scared! It's scarier than it sounds. Dani always wants to hold hands. It makes me feel safer.D'aww. More teens trying to make their own fun in this depressing town. I'd tell them the monster cave is safe, but then they'd probably go mess with the trolls and they've had enough misfortune as it is.
The cave is like RIGHT next to a graveyard too. I'm sure it's totally haunted!! You hear all kinds of weird noises in there. Those monsters are totally real. Well, if you wanna be cool, you should totally come to the caves with us tonight. Wait, isn't there like a show tonight though? Oh yeah! At the CrayRay! That basically never happens. We can't miss it!!Wait, a show tonight? Looks like we got here just in time to see the show!
I can't wait to move out of here... I'm tired of this lame town where nothing happens. Wherever you go, I'm coming too. Don't leave me with these plebs!! I would never let that happen!!!At least these two have each other to keep from the depression funk that's got this time in the dolldrums.
Eh? A pirate?
Yar!!! heh Ahoy!!! hehe Doubloooooons! hehehe... Ok then.
We're going to ignore the Coffee shop and Inn for now, and continue exploring the rest of the town.
Behind
"Sure"
Grand! Except... I'm out of beans right now. But you can still pay me, and I'll deliver next time I'm in town. I actually don't have any money either! ... Well, I'll put you down for 500.Cool! 500 coffee beans! We have no way to pay for this, but hey, it's reserved for us!
Want to increase your bean reservation amount?
"Yeah!"
That's the spirit! I have you down for 1000 now.Wow! 1000 coffee beans. Yeah that's pretty good... but...
Want to increase your bean reservation amount? Um. Are you... sure?
"Of course!"
Well, OK. I put you down for 2000. That's probably enough beans now.Yeah that is definitely enough beans... for an ordinary man. We are a bard! We demand more beans!
Uh. Really? Is this some kind of joke? Do you think I won't really bring you this many beans??? Because I will.
"I really want more"
Wow. A real bean fan, huh? I put you down for 3000.More.
Listen. While I am completely serious about bringing you these beans, you have to understand that what you are asking is really stretching the limit of reason here. You're going to have to pay for all these beans. You realize that, right?
MORE.
... Okay. I put you down for 5000.MORE!!!
... This has gone too far.
MORE BEANS!!!!!
I put you down for 7000. I just cannot fathom what you want with all these beans.So at this point, talking to her further just has you repeat the dialogue of last time... except your bean counter increases by increments of 2000 each time. So, after wasting some time mashing buttons later...
Oh, no reason. No reason at all. I do realize that hating the exchange with Nate while loving this is a bit weird, but what can I say? I'm a bean man.
We can finally leave the bean lady and talk to that man with the gigantic head.
No matter how good something is, I can always find something wrong with it. I've never heard truly "good" music before.Wow! Mr. Youtube Comments! It's you!! I can't believe we are in the presence of a celebrity!
My great taste extends to all things.
Hey! You ass! This outfit is super cool
Have you heard the new Holmes Sweets theme song? It has some nice qualities to it. But does it stand out in the crowded "Candy Shop" genre? I think not. Nothing is perfect. Someone has to be there to point that out. Jeez, fuck that guy. His head needs to be that big just to make it all the way back out from his ass.
If you sing in front of him, he sarcastically says:
Heh. Nice singing.Jerk!
This is the last guy in town, maybe he'll be better than Fredrick was.
Uhhh. Hi. I don't really have time to talk to you. I'm a pretty cool guy here in Delphi. How did I get so cool? Simple: I just opened my eyes to how lame everything is. People respect that kind of vision. Could you stand, like... way over there? You're cramping my style.
I miss Langtree.However, not is all as it seems to be with Ryan. It seems he has a weakness... to singing...
VIDEO: Singing with Ryan
That is it for the town members themselves. There's one more person left to talk to, but we need to double back and head outside of the town to find him.
Whoa. Is that a pirate?
Ahoy! Can I help you? Are you a pirate? Yes. I mean... yar. That is so cool! Har! I know. Do you know anything about the Overseer song? Apologies matey. I don't.
Sorry, it's just... it's so cool that you say "matey".This pirate is the first person that Bard actually asked about the Overseer song. Took us the whole update before he finally did it.
What's your ship called? She's the Lady Arabica. Gosh. I just can't get over how cool you are... Well, I'm supposed to be looking for an Overseer song, so I guess I'm gonna leave you alone. Arrighty then, matey. ... Actually, you wouldn't wanna join a band, would you? That's flatterin'! But... nae, matey. Right. Ok. ...I thought you got something else to do? Yeah... I just really like listening to you talk.Bard, if you weren't so earnest, that would come off as creepy.
We've still got to check out the Inn, the Coffee House, and the