Part 15: Chapter 5-2: Barfo's Revenge

Chapter 5-2: Barfo's Revenge



Welcome back, everyone. Did you enjoy the brief vacation from Duhan?

As I'm sure you can tell by the title, we have a rather interesting event coming up. This should be a fairly short update, but we'll cover some ground.

Before we head back to B5, there's a couple new jobs to pick up in the tavern.



First up is a familiar face. You may recall we helped Maria by deliberately paralyzing Sagoon way back in chapter 1.



- Ah...

You thought you heard a voice coming from behind you.

You turned around, and there stood Maria.



- So I went to the Temple to see if I could work there. But...

Her face became pale, and tears started to form in her eyes.

- They said that there are too many priests at the Temple... that they need bishops right now... I... I... want to become a bishop... I only need one more thing... the power to resurrect someone from ashes. I know it's a cruel quest... Please, let me resurrect someone from ashes...! I'll always be here... So please come back when one of you has turned into ashes.

...

So... she wants one of my party members to die... huh. Interesting quest. I get the feeling I may regret this later.



Next up is Paul.



(Kind of looks familiar. Maybe it's just my imagination. After all, who would palette-swap an NPC?)

A middle-aged man with a beer-belly approached you.

- Sorry if it's a funny quest...

His name was Paul Gadwin. He was a gambler.

He was just playing poker with the men in the corner of the Tavern.

- I never helped anyone in my life. Well, I won't die from that, and it ain't bothering me either... But you know.. I'm kinda getting a bit lonely. Grandma used to tell me, "The happiness of others is your happiness." It's only been recently that I've begun to understand what that means. But it's really only a gut feeling. Half of my life's already gone anyways. I didn't want to do what she said when she died... But I want to do something good at least once before I die. So this is the treasure I bought with all of my savings.

He took out a stone that constantly changed colors.

It was the Sage's Stone.

- I hear there's a spring somewhere in the Labyrinth. Throw this in there! It should alter the water so that it can heal anything. That's all I want you to do.

Thankfully, this quest is not only easy, but very useful.

For once, we can skip right down to B5 because nothing eventful happened on the way down.

I feel kind of silly for not putting this in the previous update, but we got a new battle song for B5. You might find it an interesting change from the typical Labyrinth and battle themes, so here it is:



First, we make a brief pit stop at Kasta's Shop to purchase a little something for Warren...



-

Good job, Warren! Some lesser souls might make a joke or two here about you, perhaps cautioning you to keep your hands away from Daniel or somesuch. But hey, this is a family-friendly LP!

(I expect good bishop jokes in future replies to this thread)



Bishop Warren is a bit more clingy than Sorcerer Warren. Oh well. Check out all the spell slots!



Next stop, the spring from the previous update.

There was a spring.....

Will you toss in the Sage's Stone?

Yes
No

No, you cannot just keep the Sage's Stone. We made a promise!

You threw in the Sage's Stone.

With a beautiful sound that came from seemingly nowhere, the spring as bathed in light.

It rose from within the spring, and a fragrant aroma filled the air.

It felt as if your body had been purified.

You recovered your HP!

You recovered your MP!

You recovered from abnormal status!

Paul's quest has been completed. Go to the Tavern to get your reward.

The really awesome part about this quest is that the spring does this from now on. So, grinding will be slightly less dangerous down here! You still need to go topside to sell loot/make magic stones/level up, though.



As we head further down, a random encounter with a Gaze Hound finally nets us that Hound Ear that Helga the Hellish (W)Hore was harassing us horrendously about.

Don't worry, I won't abuse alliteration anymore.



I only met one new enemy this update, but he makes most of the others look like sissies. Earth Giants not only have a ridiculous amount of attack power, their defense is also incredibly high. Stun Attack is a good option against them. It prevents them from smashing your characters into the ground, and even though it doesn't drop the giant's defense by much...



Even a 3 HP instant kill will do nicely.

A little further down in B5...

http://blip.tv/file/4848539





That's... a little gross...

It was a Poison Giant, one of the strongest kind of Giants, who suddenly appeared.

- Puss and Jasmine... gone... Where... where'd they go...?

There was no hostility coming from the Poison Giant.

He looked around nervously, yet slowly. He seemed to be looking for something.

- Come on, no slackin' off!

Eh...?





Oh, dammit. Her again.

- Gone... they're nowhere...

- What do you mean, nowhere?! Go find them or you're dead meat!

- O... kay... Me find... me find...

- Geez, he's so huge but he's completely useless. At this rate, the money...

- Huh, who the heck are you? I think... I've met you before...

Yeah, back when we stomped your creepy face back on B1!

- I remember now...



Virgo's blue screen of doom is back, I see.

- Why are you spreading rumors about me for? You said that I lost to you and I cried and whimpered? How dare a mere adventurer like you embarrass me like that... If you want to die so soon, then be my guest. I'll shut that big mouth of yours for good...

- There... I found them... Found... Puss and Jasmine... They were eating adventurers...

- Move! You're in the way, move it!! Come, my two sweet, darling doggies!!





Well, as you can see, Virgo traded up her hench men for hench hounds. Beyond the additional complications provided by the occasional Glare attack that paralyzes a party member, she doesn't have much else besides upgraded spells. Even then, Spell Cancel is still effective.



A couple of these are enough to put her on ice. As for the Gaze Hounds, they lack the muscle to significantly harm your characters by themselves. Unless you get very unlucky and aren't able to kill Virgo before the majority of your party is paralyzed, it's a fairly easy encounter.



- Why do I have to be the loser?! This is all because of that stupid brat Eugene... He just flashed his money in front of my men and lured them away. Word is he's trying to usurp the throne of Duhan.

- What's he gonna do? Put a crown on his stupid head and dance around? Whatever he does, I'm going to teach him what happens when you mess with the great Virgo!

- Puss and Jasmine... ran away... Let.. me... Me beat... me beat...

- I'm changing my plan. I'll take care of Eugene first, so get lost!

- There won't be a third time. Next time I'll really show you the true power of Virgo!



I'm going to end this one on a high note. Next update, more waterfalls! Bet you weren't expecting that, right?


Videos:

Barfo's Revenge - http://blip.tv/file/4848539