3: Sewer Millionaire
Aside from fixed events, the sewers are also replete with random encounters. This time we face 5 spiders, but they aren't much of a threat, and the experience they give is low.
Ignxx strikes up a conversation as we explore around. In general, the game seems to be full of these little details and unimportant events that games like Age of Decadence could also use to flesh out the world.
Despite Ignxx' words, I haven't been able to discover a Ranger hideout here or anything.
Ignxx poles the boat forward. "I really, really hate this area... so many rats," he says with a shudder. Cold yellow eyes stare at you out of the darkness.
Ominous. Oh wait, these aren't exactly rats...
Giant Spiders are tougher than simple ones, but aren't a big deal either.
Vampire Bats are fairly dangerous in large numbers, but two of them are a pushover.
There are also trap areas here, like this one.
Procras is down, and if you take your sweet time...
Not the kind of outcome we want. Damn carnivorous plants, always getting in the way.
A selection of cheeses? What is this, the Frenchman's corner?
But who is the meat for, then?
For the occasional German?
A man rises from the chair, setting aside a book.
"Greetings! I am Leo Felis. Biorom gave me this place to live, to monitor the sewers and to entertain people like you."
Do you also feed the local rats? Because holy shit, that's a lot of cheese.
He gestures at the laden table. "Help yourself."
Drawing closer, you are impressed with the variety, and puzzled by the lack of an equal selection of meat. In fact, the meat looks greasy and stringy. Leo is eyeing you carefully.
I say we attack him and eat both cheese
and meat. My stomach's a-rumbling.
This situation has two outcomes, depending on whether we go for the meat or the cheese. Let's have some cheese first.
Scenario 1: Suffer not a furry to live
I won't touch this meat with a ten foot pole. At least the cheese looks edible.
Hold on, princess, don't touch the ch---
"You have eaten cheese! You are one of them!" Leo shrieks, his voice changing to a low rumble in mid-sentence.
His clothes rip, exposing a furry hide, and in seconds he has transformed into a lion!
Evidently, Biorom placed him here to catch rats, and his limited cranial capacity led him to believe that anyone who eats cheese is a rat. To continue living, you must kill him...
This is a pretty easy fight, but pretty pointless too. Our reward is some meagre exp and a Silver Platter. We could sell it, of course, but the second outcome is both more peaceful and more desirable, loot-wise.
Scenario 2: One of us
Damn, it's like furry central. (Quoth the bee.)
Our reward for choosing the meat over the cheese is a Cat Ring, an accessory that sounds like it could be handy for a Rogue so I give it to Janurz. Unfortunately, just like in Wizardry, Dark Heart of Uukrul or hardcore Japanese dungeon crawlers, there are no in-game item descriptions, and the manual doesn't list them either. So I'm pretty much in the dark as to what the Cat Ring does. At least it does sound like a thief's ring, wouldn't you agree?
With that, we're done exploring B1F and descend to B2F. What more traps and trials await us?
HOLY CRAP ON A CRACKER.
Witchlight illuminates a previously hidden alcove. On the wall of the alcove hangs a huge black blade and a small leather bag. It is this bag he takes and opens. Two dice and three large gems tumble out of the bag.
Looks like a roll-playing game. I never knew Wraiths are into this kind of thing.
*Updates his journal*
My game is simple. Your life against these three gems -- each one worth over 1000 gp.
You lick your lips with fear.
More like crap your pants with fear, eh, princess?
Shut up. I-I'm not scared.
You see just three options:
1) try to fight this creature;
2) try to bolt for any of several exits;
3) you can play the game.
Well, there's no harm in trying. (I mean, we can always reload if things go wrong.)
You volunteer, Hobb?
I think whoever of us is the luckiest should play the game.
That means the Rogue, right?
Actually, funny story, I think it's you, Elodie.
Damn. I never asked for this.
Elodie's Luck is the highest at the moment, so we let her play.
As unfair as expected.
*Sighs*
So, is it above 7?
Um, no?
The Wraith's empty eyes slant at yours.
Oops.
We roll again. Above 7?
Er, no?
Two bad guesses. *Chuckles* You are mine...
"A good game," smiles the Wraith coldly. "Perhaps we will play again..."
Oh, we definitely will. For now, let's reload.
(That said, the flower on Elodie's grave looks kinda cute, doesn't it?)
Above 7?
Nope.
"A lucky guess," scowls the Wraith.
Two lucky guesses out of three, and we have the gems:
Okay, that was... fun?
Elodie levels up as a result, and I choose to improve her IQ. She's a spellcaster after all, even if her spells are useless in the sewers.
The pig-like demon conveniently appears again, ready to help us explore the second level.
Naturally, we can't let a random event like this pass, so we join the demon and his emo Elven friend.
Ignxx introduces Aradon, a black elf, and the demon and elf chat about people you've never heard of and places you've never seen.
Such a waste.
*Yawns*
Ssh, listen...
Then the name "Lerotra'hh" crops up.
"I heard a rumor she's gone out of Khazan to raise troops somewhere," says the elf.
Ignxx nods. "Khara Kang's in charge of the capital. It's good for them: lots of 'honest folk' would like to see those two dead."
He glances at you in amusement.
What?
"As long as either one lives, their sorcery will keep the Great Wizard Khazan in exile -- wherever he is."
Aradon shakes his head. "But Lerotra'hh's Khara Kang's master. I think her power is the keystone."
Ignxx disagrees. "Khara Kang is the sorcerer, not her."
So we must slay both, then? No biggie.
If only your actions matched your words, Dwarf, and weren't just drowned in wine.
The conversation drifts off to other things.
"Hope you weren't bored," says Ignxx as he reboards the boat. "I'm always up for a chat with Aradon. We're off again."
And so we continue.
Whoa! What the hell?
Did I tell you there are also underwater encounters in this game? The torches still work, though, so this is just play pretend.
A shark! Watch your limbs.
Turns out the shark isn't as scary as it looks, and it only manages to scratch Janurz a bit. The experience we get is appropriately pitiful, but it allows Az, Janurz and Procras to go up a level:
Az improves his Strength from 33 to 36.
I don't care if it's useful or not, but as a Rogue Janurz must have high Luck. Should be useful for gambling, at least, if not for much else.
Finally, Procras continues to improve his extremely low CON somewhat.
Passing some kind of (IQ?) check, we spot something off about one of the walls.
Huh, I wonder what it can be.
Let's just break the wall and see.
Your methods are as refined as ever, Az.
And as efficient as ever, I would add.
Hey, look at all these chests! I bet there's treasure inside.
Wait, don't---
Sure, my hair was a mess, and I reeked of the sewer, but at least I wasn't soaking wet!
I'm more concerned about the snake than about getting wet, personally.
The snake doesn't turn out to be much of a trouble, however, and the game asks us whether we want to seek treasure:
We do, and find 2 gems. Nice.
Trying to search further, however, only has our party face a Great Crocodile that rips us into shreds. Eh, whatever.
The writing on the wall informs us there is also the tomb of the Prince of Gull here, mentioned in the previous update.
However, it takes me some time to figure out that "directly behind you" means "on the opposite side of the room," heh.
Who tries to unlock it?
Let me try. I have a reputation to uphold.
Impressive. I thought it was fairy tales.
There are several sarcophagi here, and when we open one the game asks us if we want to set the corpse aflame.
If we choose "yes," the game suggests we burn all the mummies at once and run away. I'm afraid doing so might bar us from entering the tomb again, so let us rather leave them rot in peace and approach the mummified Prince instead -- as it turns out, he is more useful when we don't get on his bad side.
I have a bad feeling about this, but let me try.
You consider putting down:
1) cash;
2) item;
3) nothing, after reconsidering.
Well, I have some gems here...
You sense the gift has been accepted. One thing tips from the pile toward you, as if offered in exchange.
So yeah, the gist of this is, we can exchange gifts with the Prince. If we offer him too little, however...
...then we have to fight him and his undead guardians, which isn't so good. So let's not.
Exchanging gifts is fairly useful -- for instance, we've just got a Pierce, which we can't buy from any of the regular shops in Gull. I guess it is some kind of shortsword? In any case, to Janurz it goes.
However, this actually isn't the main exploit on this floor. And we've run out of gems, hmm...
I don't suppose you have any more gems left, princess?
Nope. And we don't have the gold to appease the Prince either.
Then I have an idea.
I just hope it involves setting all these undead abominations aflame.
Not quite. I suggest we go back to the Wraith.
You've got to be kidding!
Hmm, I guess I see what you mean. You think the Wraith will fall for this?
No harm in trying.
Alright. Just don't involve me this time.
On our (roundabout) way back, we also come across one of the possible exits from the sewers. All of them are dangerous, but this one especially so. Judging by the description, you need high Luck and Speed to get through here, a combination I'm not sure all of our characters possess. In any case, we don't want to get out of here right now, and there is another exit anyway.
Meanwhile, we're back at the Wraith's.
Wait a moment. Haven't I seen you guys before? Just today, actually?
Er, no. No way.
You're obviously mistaken.
We're not them.
True story.
Hmm, well. Okay then.
The Wraith goes through the rules again, and then Janurz plays.
After we get two lucky rolls in a row, the Wraith offers us to roll for the third time (and a chance to get one more gem). The only downside to this is that there's also a chance of rolling the death's heads, but the chance is slim and the reward is worth it -- three gems instead of just two.
The funniest thing about this, of course, is that the Wraith respawns whenever we reenter B2F, and has amnesia to boot, turning this little gambling game into a powerful exploit.
This exploit is not just about money (although that is its main purpose, obviously), but also about experience, since whoever plays the game goes up a level after a few victories.
Az stocks up on gems. We could just sell them, but let's see if the Prince of Gull has anything useful to offer us first.
A Kross Kris is, I believe, some kind of sword. When equipped, it also seems to dispel all (?) spells around the character. It might prove useful, so we hold onto it.
The Prince of Gull also gives us a gem in exchange for two of ours. His gem sells for a higher price, but overall this isn't the best possible bargain.
Unfortunately, it seems he's run out of weapons and only gives us jewelry now. Apart from the pearl strand, there's also a Tiara of Silver & Gems and a Jeweled Scepter.
Oh wait, not only. There's also a Ring of Fire -- which, as it turns out, casts some kind of weak offensive fire spell. Far from game-breaking or anything, but nice to have nevertheless.
After that, he runs out of new things to give us, so again, we return to the Wraith. This time we're in this for the money, not rare gifts.
You're the most pathetic wraith I've ever seen, you know.
Amidst all this gambling, Janurz reaches a whopping lvl 7. I choose to build him as a front line fighter, because we already have two spellcasters in the party.
After a while, Az is fully stocked up on gems and Janurz gets a few, too. I could play on, but this should suffice for now. Time to get out of this shithole.
And this is the second exit from the sewers. Not too safe either, but safer than that other one, at least.
We opt for climbing down.
Janurz gets down without mishap.
Az gets down without mishap.
However, things don't go as well for Elodie and Procras...
Both of them now have to fight, and in complete darkness to boot. Thankfully, the true-and-tried tactic of running away doesn't let me down.
We may be a bit beaten, but most importantly we're all alive. This was one hell of a ride.
We've ended up at the local wharf, and we can even rent a ship here. But this can wait for a bit. We have gems to sell!
Two more events happen as we go back to the marketplace.
The first involves a youngster pushing a wheelbarrow. He's probably up to no good, so we let him be on his way.
Second, we come across a wandering mage who offers to identify some items for us. I make an attempt at identifying a few of the things we're carrying, but it turns out we don't have enough money at the moment. Bah, just you wait!
Oh damn, the stores are actually closed at night. We rest until it's daytime again.
There is a dedicated store that buys jewelry. Just what we need.
We're rich. And it looks like we can basically repeat this trick ad infinitum.
Time to stock up on the best gear this city has to offer.