Part 6: Chapter 1-6: Ice Queen
Chapter 1-6: Ice QueenAll right, everyone. Let's finish up chapter 1.
Maria's Quest:
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4410088/
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A girl was staring at you. As you turned your head, she turned red and began speaking.
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Maria Fredel... You've heard that name before. It's the client from the quest you just accepted.
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Sort of a weird one, but easy enough. You see, a few different things in this game cause paralysis, but the simplest way if you're trying to get paralyzed on purpose is to get attacked by the undead. Their attacks have a fairly low chance of paralyzing their target. I'll get to that later on in the update, but let's jump ahead to the conclusion of this quest.
You returned to the Tavern in order to have Maria cure your paralysis.
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When Maria saw that you were paralyzed she became cheerful.
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Right after saying that, her face filled with regret.
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Maria apologized more and more. But the paralysis is getting worse by the moment. You comfort Maria, and ask her to get to work immediately.
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Your paralysis was definitely healed. You can now move again.
Huh. Who here was expecting her to screw it up?
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Maria took out a Parazkea Stone.
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Maria bowed deeply and left.
You got a Parazkea Stone.
You got 400 EXP!
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Let's go over the rewards we got.
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The Lapis Ornament is pretty good. Warriors can't equip it, though, so it'll go to Warren. His luck is lowest anyway.
The Parazkea Stone is, fittingly enough, a spell that cures paralysis. Sara gets that one.
Okay! Let's get the main story going again, how about?
At the entrance to the Labyrinth...
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387635/
Kasta came running.
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Kasta walked around the party looking for something. He wondered why the Swordsman was not with you.
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Kasta's round eyes stared straight at you.
How will you respond?
He died.
He's traveling.
Ugh, tough one... I'm going to say he's traveling. I don't think Kasta could take it.
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Kasta held out a staff. You got a Guiding Staff!
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So... yeah. Let's keep going. A few steps into the Labyrinth...
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387749/
Arghhh!!
Suddenly, there was a loud cry. As you stopped to see, a Hobbit thief came plodding your way.
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He looked resentfully at you.
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You gave him a puzzled look. The thief stared back.
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Do you know about the vellums?
Yes
No
I'm probably going to regret this when the tutorial fairy shows up again, but no, I don't know about vellums.
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He grinned, thinking that his anticipation was correct.
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The Hobbit thief then looked down at the vellum he was holding.
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The Hobbit thief handed the vellum to you. You got a Guiding Vellum!
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The Hobbit thief left in a hurry.
Thankfully, the fairy doesn't come up this time. Even more thankfully, that's the last interruption before the Imperial Quarters.
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387664/
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A well-groomed Knight stood in front of the door. He placed his hand on his sword, and looked this way.
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Are you brave enough to try the test?
Yes
No
Bring it on!
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(Five seconds later)
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Cleaning the harpy guts off their weapons, our heroes enter the Imperial Quarters to meet with LeDua.
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387589/
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A sorcerer, dressed in a robe, and an elegant lady in a white dress were discussing something.
They stopped talking at the sound of the opening door and looked this way. There was a surprised look on the sorcerer's face.
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The sorcerer whispered and shook his head with closed eyes. The look of surprise was gone. Instead, he stared with way with a sharp look in his eyes.
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LeDua spoke with a clear, dominant voice. It was a voice used to giving orders.
You...
Get on your knees.
Stare back at LeDua.
Tempting, but I really don't want to piss off a monarch this early in the game. Let's kneel.
You obediently got on your knees.
You moved swiftly as if your body already knew what to do.
Sagoon's attitude gave a good impression to comrades with a good or neutral attribute.
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The Queen nodded in response to LeDua, then turned her cold eyes toward you.
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The Queen spoke indifferently.
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All you could do was nod in approval at the Queen's statements, as if they were read from a script.
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LeDua pulled out a vellum for you. It looks like this is the Pass.
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You got the Pass!
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As you nodded, LeDua twisted his lips to hold back his emotions. It apeared that he had laughed.
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You felt the glistening eyes of the Queen and LeDua follow your every move until you stepped out of the room.
Well, that was intense.
A few steps down the slope...
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387558/
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A pretty Elf girl gazed at the sight of falling snow. The girl had such a calm expression, gazing at her white surroundings, looking dignified like a noble bishop communicating with God.
As if she felt you approaching her, she turned slowly towards you. And then, spoke in a soft tone.
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After the girl bowed shallowly to you, she covered her body with her cape from the cold air and walked deeper into the Labyrinth.
Gotz isn't around when we pay a visit. We'll go back later. As we pass the shortcut bridge in the second half of B1...
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387670/
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The adventurers who left behind the Betrayal Sword earlier have set up a camp not too far away from you. They were talking loudly without any concern for their surroundings.
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The girl had not spoken a word until now.
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The girl glanced at the boy thief.
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The boy thief clicked his tongue in disappointment.
How much do you guys want to bet we'll have to fight one or more of those guys down the line?
Moving a bit further on...
A creepy voice echoed from overhead.
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As soon as the voice was gone, your body moved as if it was being dragged by something.
Once again, the creepy voice echoed.
Please come visit us!
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Welcome. This store has no attendant. The merchandise is in the leather bag on the left. If you see anything you like, feel free to purchase it. Please place your money in the leather bag on the right. Don't forget to pay. A security alarm is installed. If there is any suspicion of theft, our security guards, young Maelifics, will be moving in. Please use good judgement. Please be aware that if you break the rules, your life may not be spared.
Owner, Maelific
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It's basically what it says. Pretty simple stuff here. But I'll bet you're wondering what happens when you try to take something without paying, right?
Why tell you when I can show you?
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4406750/
Yeah, let's not do that... By the way, you may have noticed that Sara looked different. More on that coming up.
Near Smiley's, we meet yet another mysterious stranger.
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4410096/
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You heard a muffled voice from the depth of the cave.
O' ill-fated Duhan... Can you not hear the cries of the people?
Among the echoes of evil... You wicked Queen, what is your wish...?
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There was a mixed emotion of anger and sadness in the man.
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The man walked away mumbling to himself.
The beautiful town of Duhan, the bright days lost forever...
Our loving Queen... Has your heart departed from us?
After transcribing cutscenes for an hour or so, I'm kind of tempted to take this guy up on his advice. But, what kind of LP would that be if we just chilled in Duhan for eternity? Nah. The show must go on.
We have yet another event in the atrium where the Swordsman met us earlier.
A young warrior covered with cuts and bruises came running with a tense expression.
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You tried to ignore him, but you were stopped by the warrior.
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Will you...
Believe him.
Don't believe him.
I believe you, buddy.
Sagoon's believing attitude gave a good impression to comrades with a good or neutral attribute.
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The warrior whispered a prayer as he left.
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387515/
Taking a couple of steps further in...
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Uh?
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...?
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That's right, everyone. Sometimes you get chased by the Grim Goddamn Reaper. He shows up as a blot of inky blackness on your minimap, and you can obviously see him here. He'll drift after you on whatever floor you're on at the time. He can go up and down, as well as through walls and other obstructions, but he can't follow you between levels. So if you go from B1 to B2, you'll be safe.
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He's also really fuggin' scary.
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If he catches up to you...
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Then one of your characters gets possessed. Possessed characters are actually good and bad.
Pros:
-Higher attack power.
-Able to damage Undead with non-magic weapons.
-Reaper Doors are visible. More on that in chapter 2.
-If all party members are possessed, new AAs become available temporarily. They're insanely strong, but they use up HP. Or worse...
Cons:
-Weaker defense power.
-If a possessed character is killed, they either turn to ash... or are annihilated instantly. No resurrection chance, no dropped equipment, nothing. Gone.
So, yeah. Generally it's a bad idea to stay possessed unless you have a specific purpose in doing so.
Let's take a quick moment to unlock the real shortcut through B1.
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387676/
That thief is getting more and more useful all the time. Even if he is still kind of annoying.
Heading closer to B2, we have another encounter on the broken bridge.
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387674/
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Don't you dare mess with Rui, the former sorceress!
A flame burst right in front of your eyes.
A red-headed girl was burning away Undead monsters with her spell.
It looks like Rui, the female thief, who you encountered at the shop. Not before long, a black shadow in the midst of the flames crumbled.
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As you were lost in admiration, Rui smiled at you.
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Rui winked as she said this.
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Rui pranced past your side after she finished speaking.
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Rui had a handful of gold coins. She picked it when she passed by you.
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Rui jumped down a path below and disappeared into the darkness.
You had 100 G stolen...
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Oh well, money isn't that important. Besides, Rui touched me to get it. I'm sure that would make certain players happy.
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387765/
The Undead monsters that Rui defeated were laying on the ground. The burnt bodies slowly turned into ashes. You heard a shuffling sound and turned your head towards it. To your amazement, an Undead Kobold staggered and stood up! It seems that there were some survivors from Rui's spell of fire. They slowly approached you.
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Let's do it!
You stood ready with weapon in hand!
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Like Rui said, normal attacks don't do anything to the Undead unless the weapons used are magical. Spells will do the job, though. Even Kyo can one-hit one of these guys with a Creta spell, since they have less than 10 HP.
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Dispel is by far the most effective technique, however. It hits all of the undead at once, and will either kill them, make them run away, or not affect them. Still, with a group bigger than two, the gamble is usually worth it.
Oh, in case you're wondering, this is where I got someone paralyzed for Maria's quest. This is by far the easiest time to do it, when you have a guaranteed fight against a small number of the weakest Undead. Still, poor Sagoon was out of action for a little while.
Sagoon had the way to fight the Undead ingrained in his head.
Almost there!
http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387744/
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Don't you think it's weird that there's a waterfall here?
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Interesting. Random, but interesting. We're now standing right in front of the stairs to B2.
There was an Elf warrior, accompanied by several soldiers, in front of the stairs leading down to the basement. The Elf warrior noticed you and walked towards you. He glanced at you and swiftly held out a hand.
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The party handed the Pass to him, and he quickly ran his eyes over it.
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He then returned the Pass to the party.
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Lord YES. FINALLY.
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This completes Chapter 1. Stay tuned for Chapter 2!
Videos:
Maria's Quest - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4410088/
Kasta's Gift - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387635/
Vellums - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387749/
Imperial Challenge - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387664/
Meeting LeDua and Queen Otelier - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387589/
Mysterious Girl - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387558/
Idle Gossip - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387670/
Smiley's Shop of Horrors - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4406750/
Mysterious Man - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4410096/
Fighting the Undead - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387674/
Undead Beatdown - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387765/
Waterfalls and Graves - http://miketopus.blip.tv/file/4387744/