Stephen Williams (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} stephenw32768) wrote,@ 2008-07-18 21:49:00 |
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Rogue Galaxy, part 7
I play RPGs so you don't have to! Previous instalments: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6.
The "rules" I mention in these posts are, of course, taken from The Grand List of Console Role-Playing Game Clichés.
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Pooling their knowledge, Dorgenark's crew come to the conclusion that the holographic symbols projected by the Great Tablet refer to the ancient Leo, Cancer and Libra monarchies of Juraika, Vedan and Zerard. Lilika knows of a ruined castle, deep in the Juraikan jungle, that is said to have been the seat of the Leo King's power. Sounds like it's worth checking out!
(The shops in Juraika now stock better equipment than last time, neatly subverting Rule 174. However, Rule 58 is well and truly in effect; doesn't Jaster find it strange that the same currency is used on both backwards Juraika and high-tech Zerard? Furthermore, equivalent items such as Heal Potions cost the same amount. Forget globalization, this is apparently a universe-wide economy!)
The journey to the castle takes the party through a forest path where no Burkaquan warrior voluntarily treads. People who enter the Leo King's forest don't return. There are stories of the castle and forest being occupied by a witch. None of this seems to bother Jupis; he's more concerned about the lizard-eating snakes that lurk in the undergrowth. Along the way, our heroes encounter the spirits of deceased Juraikan warriors who once served the Leo King; after so many centuries as lost souls, they're not really much for conversation, imploring Jaster and his friends to save their queen. The poor souls must not realize that the Leo dynasty is long since dead...
Eventually reaching the castle, the party are suprised to find Burton (the archaeologist chap from Vedan) waiting there for them (Rule 73). He has no interest in the Key Piece; he's just wanting to learn about Juraika's past, and hopefully get a look at the Leo King's treasure. Maybe, if he asks the witch nicely, she'll let him see it? Because she's real, y'know. And she's floating right in front of everyone. Oh, and she's glowing purple. And wearing a giant cobra. Reluctant to permit anyone to proceed any further into the castle, let alone look at the treasure, the mad old crone summons:
D A R K G I G A N T S
(Big stone guys. Only their heads are vulnerable, so there's a fair amount of jumping to be done. Not difficult mid-bosses).
The witch makes her escape as our friends are busy knocking seven bells out of the Dark Gigants, so the way through the castle is clear for now. In its prime, this would have been an impressive building. It's rather tumbledown now, with broken stone blocks and overgrowing vines blocking some passageways. Hordes of monsters make the place their home, including more Dark Gigants. (It's perfectly normal for mid-bosses to show up later as normal enemies, I know, but in the same dungeon?! Good job they're easy to beat. Especially with Jaster's level 3 Flash Sword technique).
Some shouting in the next room brings Jaster and co. to a sudden halt. They pause to listen to what's going on. It's Seed! He's demanding that the witch hand over the Key Piece. She's adamant that no-one will get his hands on "her treasure"; casting a spell, she summons a tornado to blow Seed clean out of the castle! Well, saves us the bother of fighting him again.
Proceeding deeper into the castle, the party encounted Miyoko and Chie again (Rule 73 once more), still looking for Sho. Quite why they expect to find him in a ruined, haunted castle is anyone's guess.
Arriving in the crypt where the Leo King is buried, the team discover Burton, turned to stone! It seems that he got a little too close to the treasure, and the witch punished him for it. And now, it's Jaster who's a little too close...
M A D W I T C H
(A very confusing battle. She loves teleporting around and casting status effects (Rule 77). Ugh).
Defeating the witch breaks the curse that had been placed on her centuries ago, transforming her back into her true form: the Leo dynasty's final queen. She tells her story: in the final days of the war which ultimately ended the Leo dynasty, she had made a Faustian pact, selling her soul in exchange for the guaranteed safety of her son, the infant Leo King. The child survived, but she paid for his safety, cursed with the body of a crone and a shattered mind. Her remaining few threads of sanity compelled her to defend her treasure: the Leo King himself, still an infant, still sleeping in the crypt.
Seed bursts in. Now that the spell is broken and the queen cannot defend herself, she's no match for him; he strikes her down with a single blow. Ignoring the protests of Jaster and co., he searches the crypt for the Key Piece, but it is nowhere to be found. His mission a failure, he departs.
As Jaster stoops to pick up the infant Leo King, the child reacts to him; in a flash of light, a golden statuette of a lion appears: the Key Piece. Why did it appear when Jaster approached the child, I wonder?
The witch's defeat also broke the spell on Burton. He takes the Leo King back to Burkaqua village; the villagers will raise him as one of their own. As Jaster's party leave the castle to return to Dorgenark, Desert Claw observes them from a distance, remarking to himself "a child of royal blood. Jaster, soon you'll know..."
I play RPGs so you don't have to! Previous instalments: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6.
The "rules" I mention in these posts are, of course, taken from The Grand List of Console Role-Playing Game Clichés.
R
O
G
U
E
G
A
L
A
X
Y
S
P
O
I
L
E
R
S
P
A
C
E
Pooling their knowledge, Dorgenark's crew come to the conclusion that the holographic symbols projected by the Great Tablet refer to the ancient Leo, Cancer and Libra monarchies of Juraika, Vedan and Zerard. Lilika knows of a ruined castle, deep in the Juraikan jungle, that is said to have been the seat of the Leo King's power. Sounds like it's worth checking out!
(The shops in Juraika now stock better equipment than last time, neatly subverting Rule 174. However, Rule 58 is well and truly in effect; doesn't Jaster find it strange that the same currency is used on both backwards Juraika and high-tech Zerard? Furthermore, equivalent items such as Heal Potions cost the same amount. Forget globalization, this is apparently a universe-wide economy!)
The journey to the castle takes the party through a forest path where no Burkaquan warrior voluntarily treads. People who enter the Leo King's forest don't return. There are stories of the castle and forest being occupied by a witch. None of this seems to bother Jupis; he's more concerned about the lizard-eating snakes that lurk in the undergrowth. Along the way, our heroes encounter the spirits of deceased Juraikan warriors who once served the Leo King; after so many centuries as lost souls, they're not really much for conversation, imploring Jaster and his friends to save their queen. The poor souls must not realize that the Leo dynasty is long since dead...
Eventually reaching the castle, the party are suprised to find Burton (the archaeologist chap from Vedan) waiting there for them (Rule 73). He has no interest in the Key Piece; he's just wanting to learn about Juraika's past, and hopefully get a look at the Leo King's treasure. Maybe, if he asks the witch nicely, she'll let him see it? Because she's real, y'know. And she's floating right in front of everyone. Oh, and she's glowing purple. And wearing a giant cobra. Reluctant to permit anyone to proceed any further into the castle, let alone look at the treasure, the mad old crone summons:
D A R K G I G A N T S
(Big stone guys. Only their heads are vulnerable, so there's a fair amount of jumping to be done. Not difficult mid-bosses).
The witch makes her escape as our friends are busy knocking seven bells out of the Dark Gigants, so the way through the castle is clear for now. In its prime, this would have been an impressive building. It's rather tumbledown now, with broken stone blocks and overgrowing vines blocking some passageways. Hordes of monsters make the place their home, including more Dark Gigants. (It's perfectly normal for mid-bosses to show up later as normal enemies, I know, but in the same dungeon?! Good job they're easy to beat. Especially with Jaster's level 3 Flash Sword technique).
Some shouting in the next room brings Jaster and co. to a sudden halt. They pause to listen to what's going on. It's Seed! He's demanding that the witch hand over the Key Piece. She's adamant that no-one will get his hands on "her treasure"; casting a spell, she summons a tornado to blow Seed clean out of the castle! Well, saves us the bother of fighting him again.
Proceeding deeper into the castle, the party encounted Miyoko and Chie again (Rule 73 once more), still looking for Sho. Quite why they expect to find him in a ruined, haunted castle is anyone's guess.
Arriving in the crypt where the Leo King is buried, the team discover Burton, turned to stone! It seems that he got a little too close to the treasure, and the witch punished him for it. And now, it's Jaster who's a little too close...
M A D W I T C H
(A very confusing battle. She loves teleporting around and casting status effects (Rule 77). Ugh).
Defeating the witch breaks the curse that had been placed on her centuries ago, transforming her back into her true form: the Leo dynasty's final queen. She tells her story: in the final days of the war which ultimately ended the Leo dynasty, she had made a Faustian pact, selling her soul in exchange for the guaranteed safety of her son, the infant Leo King. The child survived, but she paid for his safety, cursed with the body of a crone and a shattered mind. Her remaining few threads of sanity compelled her to defend her treasure: the Leo King himself, still an infant, still sleeping in the crypt.
Seed bursts in. Now that the spell is broken and the queen cannot defend herself, she's no match for him; he strikes her down with a single blow. Ignoring the protests of Jaster and co., he searches the crypt for the Key Piece, but it is nowhere to be found. His mission a failure, he departs.
As Jaster stoops to pick up the infant Leo King, the child reacts to him; in a flash of light, a golden statuette of a lion appears: the Key Piece. Why did it appear when Jaster approached the child, I wonder?
The witch's defeat also broke the spell on Burton. He takes the Leo King back to Burkaqua village; the villagers will raise him as one of their own. As Jaster's party leave the castle to return to Dorgenark, Desert Claw observes them from a distance, remarking to himself "a child of royal blood. Jaster, soon you'll know..."
