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Episode 4: Part 4: Illuminati This.


Then Rhue wonders where the courthouse even is.

We head out.







We're abruptly teleported to in front of the courthouse. Thanks I guess.

A couple guards about talk about the Vigilante-Guided alliance being an uneasy one, and mention the Gudied typically stick to the east side of the city.


Couple familiar faces here...



"My present proximity is ensnared in the machinations of a magisterially malevolent petticoat beureauocracy(SIC)!"

Uh...



Yea...

So what's up? Why are you here?

Oh you know... legal stuff.

What?

I can't really explain.

Oh please, don't give me that. Are you too embarrased (SIC) to tell me? Maybe you're worried about what I mgiht think?

What?! Are you kidding? I don't care at all!

I'm here to request visitation rights in order to see Dancing Violet.

You must be kidding. Why would you want to see that witch?

I have some questions for her that I need answered.

Is that so? I don't know Rhue. I think you're planning something else.

I don't care what you think. And I know I didn't ask for your opinion.

You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that? I think this conversation is over.

Fine.





Anyway, at some point one of the receptionists became free so... we get a dialogue where Rhue reconfirms he has a Standard Citizenship and to apply for prisoner visitation rights he needs to be a Respectable level citizen. Then he's told he'll probably be waiting for two hours for an interview. But, fortunately...



"The job will pay quite well and there will be a chance for a citizenship upgrade for all who participate.
You must have your own weapons. Any who are interested may skip the waiting period and come upstairs immediately."
Rhue reflects on how fortunate this news is briefly and we cut to...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9wDFdI3OSg (Wow this sounds much more ominous than the midi version)



Oh, the cameo of the backside of an important character in the top left there.
"I assume you are all trained in the art of combat. Such skills will be necessary for the completion of the task at hand.
There is a degree of risk involved in this job. That is the reason for the handsome reward.
The nature of this job is a secret. If you agree to accept you will be blindfolded and taken to the job site. Further instructions will be issued there.
Does anyone wish to back out now?"

Anything has to be better than standing in that line downstairs.

I agree.

Fear hath no place in the heart that is mine. I accept this mission.

WYST: Then lets begin. Blindfold them.







No... No! They've lead us deep into more caves!

GUIDED: ... Are we missing someone? I could have sworn we had seven volunteers.
... (I must be losing my mind)
Let's get down to business.
The person you are standing next to will be your partner for the next 8 hours.
Each pairing will be assigned to help protect one of three sectors.
Sector 1 is down the passage to my right. Sector 2 is down the passage in front of me. Sector 3 is to my left.

What are we protecting against?

GUIDED: Do not interrupt. You will need to help handle any and all dangerous natural inhabitants the miners may encounter during your tenure.
Kill anything that may pose a threat to the mining crew in your assigned sector.
The sector you are protecting is down the passage behind you.
Do not for any reason leave your assigned posts.
Wandering around is prohibited. We will be back to escort you out in 8 hours. Have fun.
Let's get out of here men.



Yes, I wonder why.





Who are you?

What? You don't know me? Impossible! I'm a legend!

A legend? What's your name?

Brace yourselves. I'm none other than the great, the wonderful, the Forerunner of Laos, the Panthers Pride,
the Devil of Ennbelin, yes, you have the distinct honor of being in the presence of Dirk...
the greatest Forerunner to ever tread upon the Way.
Despite being a pretty standard eccentric old man type, I've inexplicably always been really fond of Dirk. He also used to lack facesets.



...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnY9XMYu-1s This is used for Dirk's Theme.



Yes! That's me!

Sorry, but I've never heard of you.

What?! Have you been under a rock for the last thirty years?!

I wasn't even alive thirty years ago.

Heheheh. Yes! I understand now! You are merely ignorant because of your youth!

It's so obvious now. How could I have missed it? Heheheh.

We've got a job to do. Which sector were you assigned to guard?

I believe the man said to join the pair with the pretty little lady in it.

Obviously he must have been talking about you. Hmm my darling?

Ick.

I think we're going to have lots of fun today! Heheheh! I'm really looking forward to getting to KNOW you.

Rhue? Help me.








Rhue! Wait up!


And with that out of the way... Cut the music and change scene!



"All you have to do is sit out here and stay alert. Do not go ANYWHERE. If a situation arises, we will notify you. Trust me, we won't hesitate to.
The work shaft is off limits to you. So like I said before, just stay out here."

No problem.



You had to say this shit didn't you.



... and that's when I knew what I had to do! I jumped on that thing and...



...so I never really understood what peoplw meant when they told me that the "barn door" was open...
Uhhhhhhhh... lol.



So Rhue, what's your happiest thought?

Getting the hell out of here.

Do you believe in Hell Rhue?

I didn't before I came here, but now I do. (Her and Dirk's chattering is driving me insane. Thank goodness he's asleep now.)

Come on Rhue, seriously. What happens to a wanderer after they die?

... I don't know. Why are you thinking about this kind of stuff anyway?

... Well, I was sure I was going to die back at Matalan. I guess it got me thinking.
You don't think there is a Hell do you?

The Reaches. I saw the Reaches when I was stuck in the Pits. Right before I made it to Matalan.
It was hot and there was lots of lava. It smelled bad too.
If there's a Hell, that's probably it.
It's only a place you can go while you're still alive. I didn't see any "dead" wanderers down there.

Why would a person like you worry about Hell though? Not like you'd go there.




Then there's the sound of death screams.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CIvVxxzwOs





There's trouble in one of the other sectors!

You don't say?

We better go check it out. If it's something bad, it might be headed this way.

Yea, but if we go check it out, we'll probably die quicker than if we just wait here for it, heh.

This is a bad place to wait cause we'd be cornered. Do you know how to get out of here Dirk?

Yes, but we won't be able too(SIC). The exit is locked and sealed. They open it up every eight hours. Heheheh.
No exceptions. Heh.

And we were told NOT to leave our post!

I'm sure they'll understand.
Rhue stand between the other two and looks between them a few times.
"Let's go."

This really sucks.
And with that we head off. When we reach the hub, there's more screams.



...

Let's get this over this. (This is how its actually phrased. By mistake, I hope.)


The hub has some loot first!







Despite being EXTREME Gutwings, they're not hard at all. Maybe if we ever fought two at once they'd be a moderate challenge.



Also Dirk is EXTREMELY useless. All he has going for him is this move and the fact that he's strong or even immune to most status effects besides Sleep which he is weak to.



Anyway, I slaughter a bunch of Gutwings-X.





Woo







I'd be very suprised (SIC) if they were still alive.

Yes indeed, yes indeed. This is not natural.

Not natural?


"Who knows why it came here."

From the Reaches?

Heh. It's just a thought. Although there is one other explanation that comes to me mind...

Then there's another scream.






Rhue tells everyone to get ready to ambush the monster.



... You can see the monsters head clipping through the tiles at the bottom there...





The miner runs out, and after a moment, is followed by something moving EXTREMELY quickly, so the ambush fails and we hear another scream.



Does anyone know what that thing was?

I have no idea.

It's called a Spansa. Dangerous little devils they are. Heh.

Can we kill it?

Kill it? Sure, if you can get it to stay still long enough to get in a strike.
Heheheh, they're quick little devils and they move every which way!

There's three of us. We can take it out. Hopefully there isn't something worse wandering around down here.

You just had to say that... I guess we're headed for Sector 3 then.



Then arrows mysteriously appear. I'm beginning to think this may be related to a bug with the 'difficulty' options.



RIP


I mean seriously? We didn't have arrows when we went to Sector 1.



Sector 1 is also plagued by Gutwing-X's.





That actually puts its attack at equal to piercer and 2 behind Slasher. Still only 1 XL though... I switch to Air Edge which has 22 attack but 2 XL!





Hidden CTP spout.


Jump!



There's half a man down here.... Also that guy down there is torn in half. Haha.

It's... here.
Alanthreonus Phillipe Straphachar, you have the luck of bards.



The beast and the party move to confront each other!



Look at it! It's adorable!
Anyway, this is a pretty easy, straightforward boss. Just attack, use yoru Xl when you have them on special attacks or healing. Win.
Besides a normal attack, it can do some decent damage to every character at once and also uses a status effect move that never landed (kept targetting Dirk) so I don't know what it inflicts.



Something tells me they won't be too pleased that everyone else is dead.

...

Fade to black...



Yes, they looked quite suprised (SIC) to see us.

Maybe they just expected everyone to be dead.

But why would they expect that?

I don't know. Oh well, at least they let us go. I thought they were going to lock us up for a second there.

Yea, they definitely made it clear that we're not supposed to talk about any of this to anyone else.
It makes me nervous. It probably wouldn't have been too difficult for them to shut us up for good.

Don't say that! You're scaring me Rhue.

I'm just being realistic.
At least they upgraded our citizenships. I wonder what new wonderful benefits we'll get as Respectable Citizens.

Hey, don't be so sarcastic. It's a step in the right direction for sure.

I guess so.
I've got to get back to the Grand Casino. See ya Kloe.



What?

I was just thinking...

...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5V_YvcRuBE

That it would be nice to have someone walk with me to my lodge tonight.
It's not too far.

...

And it might come in handy to know where I'm living if you need my help for something in the future.



Chance for more/less Kloe points, obviously.

Yea, I think that sounds nice.

Great! I'll lead the way.









...















More/less Kloe points...







So you'll do whatever it takes to achieve your ends? Break laws, hurt other people, kill other people?



I don't have much of a choice. I do what I have to do. Even if I find my own actions distasteful.

Do you ever hate yourself for doing some of those things?

code:
"Yes."                          +1 Rhue
"No."                           -2 Rhue
"I haven't thought about it."   -1 Rhue

I go with yes.

I do regret some of the things I've done, but I don't dwell on it.

I think I'm beginning to understand you Rhue. Just a little bit.
Thanks for walking with me.

Sure.
There's a brief pause.

Well, goodnight then.

Goodnight.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7YtvbiM1Hk

You look kind of sad tonight hon. What's the matter?

It is the sadness of a lost heart that you see. I grieve for my father who may be facing great trials even now!
The people of the city offer not a single solitary word of encouragement that might ease my suffering!

Don't worry, Estrana is a large city. This will take some time.
After I win the Grand Tournament I'll have all the resources you need to find your father.
We'll get out of this dumpy tavern and I'll build you a mansion of your own.
Sound good hon?

Yes. It sounds wonderful. No, it's more than wonderful, yet the word to describe such thoughts I do not know!



You're so beautiful Lyrra.

Thank you my handsome saviour.

I fell in love with you the moment I saw you.



Shhhh.


And uh, I think the animation that plays is meant to be the 'sucking face' animation.



MEANWHILE. RHUE WALKS HOME. ALONE.



"How's it going Rhue."



I don't imagine you were. But it's a good thing you did.

Why is that?

You want to visit Dancing Violet. Quite badly, I might add.
But unfortunately you don't know quite how to go about it.

That's not true. I was told that I just needed to be a Respectable Citizen before any kind of prison visit would be granted.

And I just got upgraded to a Respectable Citizenship today.

Quite true. You do have to be a Respectable Citizen to get basic prison visitation rights.

Unfortunately for you, Dancing Violet is no ordinary prisoner.
You're going to need to be more than just a Respectable Citizen, dear Rhue.

What do you mean?

I mean that you're going to have to be an Elite Citizen to even have a chance. That's the highest citizenship there is dear.

Fine, I'm sure I can manage that.

Wrong again Rhue. The system is crooked. You can't earn such a citizenship based just on merit.

In fact, merit doesn't have anything to do with it. It's all about the money and who you know.

Without wealth and powerful friends, you can kiss your visit to Dancing Violet goodbye.
She's not going to be alive much longer afterall.

All right. So what's the point of telling me all this?

Dear Rhue, the point is that you need a lot of help. I think my organization can provide the assistance you need.

And what do I have to do?

Whatever we tell you to do.

What's the name of your organization?

Sorry Rhue, I can't tell you that just yet.
I can tell you that you'll never speak to Dancing Violet without our help. Think about that.

Hmmm... It's hard to believe everything you're saying is true.
How do I know you're even capable of following through with your half of the bargain.

When you get back to the casino you'll have a little suprise (SIC) waiting for you. Courtesy of my organization.

A suprise(SIC)?

Yes. You'll love it. It should give you a good idea of the type of people you're dealing with.
See you tomorrow.

Tomorrow?

Yes, tomorrow.



And then we cut to Rhue entering the casino, and speaking to the clerk who had been waiting for him. He says Rhue has a new room...



He offers to have someone show Rhue to his room and Rhue accepts.



Yea, everything, uh... looks nice and orderly.

BELLHOP: If you need anything just ask the front desk. Goodnight sir.


NO WAY!!!
Rhue then notices the note.

"Dear Rhue, how do you like your suprise(SIC)? There will be a message for you at the front desk in the morning.
If you like your suprise (SIC) do exactly what the message tells you to do.
See you tomorrow.

Sorya"

I guess I will see her tomorrow.

And now this long string of cutscenes is over. Technically Rhue goes to bed automatically and wakes up the next day, but I'll show you some thing sfrom his room before I end the update.


GRRR


Project Reality was the codename for the N64, I believe. Kleunwrade... Well, his name was attached to a painting in Episode 2 I believe. And we'll be seeing it come up more still in the future. The name's also an anagram of Luke Wander. Lun's real name is Luke Wacholtz.
On the next shelf over we have...


"Apparently they even had specific names. Only a few are listed here.
Revalzo, Aldebaran, Arctura, Betelgeuse, Fomalhaut, Venturi, and Regulus."
So here, we get a missable piece of pretty important information! I think this is the only place to mention the Illuminati names. Anyway, those are all the names of stars. Except Revalzo, which I couldn't find at all. And judging by the phrasing, there's a bunch more than that.

Huh! How intriguing.

the end