Tales of Errac (Part 1?)

So after a very very long delay (it's been some time since the Family gained entrance to Errac), and with the crafting of a few trumps and Italy's (Fighter) promotion to Expert, the group returned to Errac to farm Rhodolites and hopefully - a few runes as well.

After acquiring the needed 50 Rhodolites for the Captain (read: Found 2, bought 48 - ..what? They were cheap!) he commended our survival and took us to Chief Haman.

 Such a warm welcome..

 Now this woman.. I'm not entirely sure what to make of her thus far. Going to the Entrance Guard for advice, he too told us that she is indeed a scary woman, but she also has a definite penchant for shiny things. Shiny things that also happen to be spendy as well, naturally.

Upon Mr. EG's advice we returned to our current home in Reboldeux and purchased an Elemental Jewel. At 10m each they're spendy little buggers. Returning to Errac Niyone (Scout) showed the gift to EG, and he quickly approved (he was speechless) of the gem. Brought into the Chief's presence once more by the Captain, Niyone presented the Jewel and waited anxiously for Haman's opinion. In short, she approved! Well, long answer is she did like the color. And that even someone 'as puny' as our family 'have something useful'. Acknowledging we deserved her attention, she sent us off to meet with her warriors.. Huzzah!!! Wait.. sending our 'puny' selves to meet her warriors is good... right? Gulp.

Inhibitions aside, our Diplomat spoke with Nar. Now.. Nar is a huge warrior. I'm pretty sure he makes Claude look scrawny. Meeting him he advised the Family follow the laws of the land to survive, and informed that the name of the Captain from earlier was Khan, and were warned to touch not break or steal anything - or we'll be dealing with Nar personally. Not even touch? Heh.. uh oh.. his warning was a bit too late on that one..

Told you he was huge.

With the warning of the creatures outside, he also gave a warning of what would happen if we failed to help defend the village. The Family never realized at the time until later, how foreshadowing this was going to soon be.

No sooner had this chat happened when suddenly monsters from outside attacked! Italy, Jisket and Niyone were rushed outside with Nar to help defend the village.. which oddly turned more into keeping poor (squishie..?!) Nar alive. Italy was agast at his mediocre stats (55/55 AR/DR? Out here? Really..?) and Niyone's attempts to persuade him away from the fight were unsuccessful, so the fight commenced! Stubborn, stubborn Nar insisted on fighting (he was a Warrior, after all) and the only way to drag him out of harm's way was to have Italy draw any mob near him away to the side of the field. Nar actually died a few times, but apparently Erracian's get amnesia upon death, as he didn't seem to remember any of our failures.. but on the upside..

Success!!!

Resuming our 'casual' conversation, we found these are frequent events. We were also told of another Warrior in the village, a - and I quote - 'a beautiful lady called 'Ania'...' ..mmmmmhm, we see what's going on here. Timing couldn't have been better, for while Nar was chatting it up with the foreign ladies Ania apparently got stuck in a rush by these monsters outside the village.

 Of course you do..

Now, Lady Ania is no stranger to this small family. Joining our ranks around the same time as Isabel (Hellena) she took on the name Xaele. While Andre has apparently expressed interest in meeting the unusual lady (something to do with clothes... or so he says), it's been decided to wait until Nar can be persuaded to also join before training for her commences further.

Defending Ania was much like helping save Nar, though fortunately for Ania she managed to survive on the first try... but while on the field, lo and behold what did we find? A pair of glasses.. Nar spazzed at seeing them, noticed they were Lorenzo's (while still spazzing) and then told us to throw them away because they were old. Right. Thinking of dear Emilia back in Port Coimbra, the glasses were delivered to her instead.

Poor Emilia! She cried upon receiving them, knowing they were from her father. With much gratitude, apparently the mourning girl also is convinced it was a sign to keep going. But apparently.. asking Nar about the glasses hadn't been such a good idea after all..

The trio returned to Errac and were confronted by the Captain. He had been given a report that while the village (and the 'beautiful lady' known as Ania) was under attack, the Alzeda Family stood by like spectators at a boxing match and just watched the flayed flesh fly. The guy was pissed, and immediately banished us.

As Nar stepped in, a murmured whisper betrayed the truth. The glasses had provoked him and had brought back 'a piece of the past' that he wanted to hide, and keep hidden. He'd lied to the Captain about the Family's role in saving Ania. Just one curious thought.. why didn't Ania defend us?

But no - apparently mere 'banishment' wasn't good enough for a group of foreign visitors! 'Kill the Kobold Crouches and Elders' the Captain told us (more or less). If we return alive, the Family will be pardoned. Dias had already turned to Noche by that time, but the terms of our pardoning only complicated one little thing..

Occulta requires runes to enter..

 

..and I'm pretty sure offering a sacrifice isn't going to get us any.

Well ..maybe.