RGR020 - Saro's Shadow

Darn it, I said I'd be better about making these posts on time, and here I go again falling behind. Truth be told, I'm playing a few games at once right now, mostly non-retro, and I'm not good with the whole concentration thing. Anyway, it's finally time for another post:

Within the children's secret playground, I found nothing but an old well. But as I approached the well, a voice called out, beckoning me to jump in. The voice continued to guide me within the cavern at the bottom of the well, but I was feeling exploratory, so I chose not to listen. There were a couple of minor treasures here and there, along with a nice new set of stronger monsters, which I noticed only appeared when I strayed from the path the voice led me along.

Deep within the cavern, I met a kind Healer named Healie--yes, I know, very creative--who wanted nothing more than to become human. He seems to be under the impression that he can become human if he makes enough human friends. I'm not about to argue, though, since he's a Healer, and he's in my party now. I have no control over him in battle, but he does tend to cast Heal pretty reliably as needed.

After wandering for a bit too long, we eventually reached the end of the last path available to us. Inside a chest at the end of that path we found the Flying Shoes, which explains a couple of things I've been trying to wrap my head around. I tried using them right away, but they apparently don't work inside caves, what with the ceilings and all. So we backtracked to the part of the path that led outside, returned to Izmit to rest, and then tried the shoes again.

But it's dark and it smells funny...

Wait, which way?

You should probably just
draw arrows on the walls.

Your logic is mind-blowing.

Things like this really impress Healie.

Just $129.95 at Foot Locker!

Oh, so they're actually shoes that fly?

This is going to hurt...

Instantly, we were both flung through the air, landing on top of Loch Tower, that mysterious tower to the west of Izmit surrounded by a moat. Once inside, we noticed a monster harassing a small child, so we knew we were in the right place. That monster had lots of friends, though, so we had some difficult battles ahead of us. We scoured every inch of the tower for treasure on the way down, and had to make a few trips, since Healie can be a bit unreliable at times. I gained a few levels along the way, so I guess I can't complain.

We encountered another of the Royal Soldiers within the tower, who wasn't long for this world. Before he died, he managed to reveal the monsters' plot to us: it turns out that their ruler is going to revive soon, but a prophecy says a hero will appear to destroy him. That hero should be a child at this point, so the monsters have been taking all the children (and most likely killing them) in order to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled.

*oof* Hmm... that wasn't so bad.

Unhand that brat, you fiend!

They're much tougher than they look.

I hope Healie appreciates the irony here.

Everyone loves Healie!

Mmm... Bantam.

Now pay attention, this is important.

Sorry, ceiling, didn't see you there.

I really hope this isn't a trap...

I'm the Hero! Treat me badly! ...like that?

Then it's not really a door, is it?

Well, I have no business with a creepy tentacle monster!

Finally, at the bottom of the tower, we found the local leader of the monsters, an impish little wizard type by the name of Saro's Shadow. He was surprisingly strong for his size, but Healie held out as long as he could to keep us healed while I hacked away at him. Healie didn't make it to the end of the fight, but thanks to him, I survived just long enough to deal the finishing blow. Thankfully, we were healed by some mysterious force after defeating Saro's Shadow, so we had an easy time climbing back up the tower to jump over the moat and return to Izmit.

The people in the village were thrilled to see their children returned safely, though the children who had learned of the revival of the Ruler of Evil were pretty spooked about it. But since there's nothing we can really do about that right now, we decided to head back to Burland and report to the king. As you can imagine, he was pleased to hear the children had been rescued, and offered Ragnar a reward of his choosing.

This Ruler of Evil stuff was really weighing on Ragnar's mind, so in lieu of an actual reward, he wished to be allowed to begin searching for the hero in order to help and protect him. The king was happy to oblige, and handed out a fairly large chunk of experience points to help him on his way.

No, that's not what I wish.

These next few turns had better count.

And they did!

He actually said "Gasp!" at the end.

And now everybody loves Ragnar!

Kid, I barely know what's going on.

I don't like you.

If you were young, I wouldn't even exist.

Please, waiting is what he does best.

All that experience and I only gained one level.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Not quite a cliffhanger, but I'll take it.

And that marks the end of chapter 1! Chapter 2 will begin as soon as possible; I'm at the end of one of the less-than-retro games I'm playing now, and will probably be done with another pretty soon. That'll leave me with more time for Dragon Warrior IV.

So, assuming I don't start playing several more games, updates should be a little more frequent.

RGR020 - Alex & Flora

I needed a good night's sleep before departing for my trek back to Burland, so I stopped by the inn to rest. In the morning, I gave the town another investigative once-over, and was told by one of the children that the innkeeper's son, Pocos, flew away. I had already learned from the innkeeper that Pocos was playing with some "funny shoes" when he disappeared, and I think there's a connection. That is, if the kid was telling the truth.

Actually, I was already here.

That sounds serious.

That would explain the pencils,
books, and... dirty looks.

Yes way?

He went that way.

That's also great!

I'm having a hard time believing you.

Fwha?

We already did that.

I already wondered that.

Oh yeah, I've got to go get your wife.

Chosen for what?

Tell that to the guy hiding in the bushes.

I imagine they want kids.

Tell me about it.

Funny ha-ha, or funny strange?

Armed with what little information I got from the people of Izmit, I started off on my way back to Burland to tell Flora of Alex's imprisonment. She begged me to take her to Izmit, though I didn't really have much of a choice. Having gained so much experience fighting my way back and forth, I found my third trip through the cave fairly easy. Not that Flora was of any help; she stayed out of sight during battles.

Once we reached Alex's cell in Izmit, I stood back and watched as Flora helped Alex regain his lost memory, either by kissing or smacking him. I'm actually not sure which. Once he came to, Alex told me a rumor he had heard from the children about a secret playground near the village, four steps south and four steps east of the signpost. I left the two of them to their devices, stocked up on supplies, and headed out to investigate this secret playground.

Way to fail early.

Okay, but you have to help with the monster-slaying.

Yep, I see you're making lots of progress.

That wasn't so bad, now was it?

At least I got a clue out of it.

Here we go...

It seems like it'd be best if I teamed up with some of my fellow Royal Soldiers, but they're all just wandering around being worthless. It's like I'm the only one who knows what I'm doing.

But then, I guess that's what makes me the star of the chapter.