Lia's BK tweets archive - 2021-08-26: Cebalrai, Rodolfo's Estate

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:21 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Back to Cebalrai! I have, er, low expectations for how our meeting with Rodolfo is going to go.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:49 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Sagi goes for an epic fumble on a mixed intelligence and charisma roll, apparently.
Giacomo is seriously so well-written? They NAILED the obsequious cowardly greedy collaborator...

Sagi: “Master Rodolfo, wait! You can’t trust the Empire!”

Rodolfo: “I’m awful sorry—it must be one of the village boys. I’ll make sure he gets punished later.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:53 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

... notably by, just as I expected, having him dramatically switch tone when he changes interlocutors.
Sagi you can’t say “don’t trust the Empire” and then “I come on Empire business” that’s not going to work, I swear even Kalas had more smarts

Rodolfo: “Go on, kid! Get lost! I’m in the middle of some important business here!”

Sagi: “Please listen to me! I’m here with a message from Quaestor Verus of the Empire.”

Rodolfo: “Blasted kid. Stop talking nonsense! Questor Verus my hide. Who put you up to this?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 10:56 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Heughes does A Villain, Rodolfo pitifully follows him out hauling his giant bag of coin. So far so classic.
This is actually a good example of a very classic theatrical scene that would not work at all with modern cutscenes styles to me? It’d need to be completely rethought.

Heughes, walking past the party: “Sagi, right? Hmph. You can’t change anything now. Tough luck.”

Heughes, exiting: “Hehehe, ahahahaha! Rodolfo! You coming or not?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:00 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

The obvious solution is to go back to Pherkad where “he’ll be more relaxed and listen to us” (wrong).
Milly, are you ever NOT misbehaving, though. Just say you want to kick Giacomo’s ass again, that’s a healthy respectable impulse.

Sagi: “Maybe he’s more relaxed at home. He might listen to us there.”

Guillo: “What about all those soldiers? Don’t tell me you forgot.”

Sagi: “I know. This time let’s just crash the gates. Desperate times, right?”

Milly: “Hee hee! It’s about time I got to misbehave.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:04 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Last bits of Cebalrai exploring.
We know exactly who that kid will grow up to be, why the heck are there gears in the pow enclosure, and a completely useless dialog where the blabbing lady has like four different textboxes then “You’re not listening, I’ll start over”. OKAY.

Kid: “Aren’t fantail ducks cute? One day I’ll fill the whole yard with ‘em!”

Inspection text: “The pows are eyeing the machina parts suspiciously...”

Woman: “... Like I said! Now, normally, people would... Blah blah blah...”

Soldier: “Zzzzzz... Hrm? Mrm. Zzzzzz...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:05 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Back in Pherkad, I figured this one out. It depends on what order you talk to those two people in. Start with the pun and Sagi’s horrified “...!” is the only party reaction involved.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:14 PM · Aug 21, 2021 Go

I had missed Milly’s reply somehow, I think only Sagi’s lines displayed? Weird.
Either way yes the glubberfish pun must be just as awful in the original Japanese, then.

Laughing person: “Y-You’ve got to stop! You’re killing me here.”

Sagi: “What the heck are they talking about, I wonder?”

Milly: “I’m sure it’s something EXTREMELY stupid.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:12 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Fun With Quest Magnus:
The yogurt has hints that it’ll turn into the “stinking pow stuff” we need for a knight, and gives Milly bonus health.
The Naughty Novel... gives Sagi a significant health boost, maybe 10%.

Quest Magnus menu, focused on Pow Milk Yogurt. “Fermented pow milk. You can eat it as is for dessert, or let it sit even longer and... uh, see what happens. One of Milly’s favorites. “The best way to start my day.””

Quest Magnus menu, focused on Naughty Novel: “Full of dubious content, although it’s really not that racy. Still, it doesn’t take much to titillate a pure-hearted young lad.”

Main menu, showing Sagi and Milliarde’s health in green due to a quest magnus bonus.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:34 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

I hope your staff unionizes, Rodolfo

Poster: “-NOW HIRING-
- A cook who won’t complain
- A maid who won’t moan”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:37 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

The soldiers guarding the entrance are almost friendly until it turns out we want to go through. No fighting though, just rushing in!

Dark Serviceman: “Huh? Aren’t you... Sagi? I guess that business about the quaestor taking you in was true.”

Dark Serviceman: “Master Heughes gave us orders not to let anyone through. So scram!”

Sagi: “This is urgent! Like it or not, we’re going in!”

The party rushing through the front door.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:40 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Not for long, they’re right after us so we have to beat them up. I don’t think they’re more powerful than the starter Dark Servicemen, so it’s no challenge.
(The power curve in this game is weird)

Guillo, eyes blazing blue: “Sagi! Those knaves are on our tail. Might I suggest stopping them before they chase us into more [...]”

Two Dark Servicemen rush the party readying their weapons.

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:43 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Yes? I am planning to fight every last man in the building? This is a JRPG?

Man: “What in blazes?! Who’s causing all the ruckus down there?!”

Guillo: “Reinforcements. We’ve made too much noise.”

Milly: “Hey! Are you planning on fighting every last man in the building?”

Milly: “Misbehaving has its limits! Come on, we should hide.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:46 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Who indeed. At this point we’ve wiped the floor with dozens of them but I guess the poster is just too different.
Anyway, they carry the poor souls back up, and we’re left to our own devices with a very, VERY good bit of environmental storytelling.

Empire Soldier: “Intruders...? But who could possibly take out a Dark Serviceman?!”

A square hall with a fountain in the middle. Title card: “Rodolfo’s Estate”.

Inspection text: “A scratch in this golden candle holder reveals a dull, black metal underneath...”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:50 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

This time the side rooms are accessible. Both are cellars with a whole bunch of local products either stored or being made.
“Hypoallergenic” and “nuts” in the same sentence is pretty hilarious.
The cider thing has me wondering whether it’s an elaborate joke or translation wonks.

Inspection text: “This hypoallergenic flour was made from ground-up nuts gathered from Nunki’s woods.”

Inspection text: “The label reads: “New! Mountain Apple Cider””

Sagi: “It looks just like regular mountain apple wine... Is this some new test product?”

Inspection text: “Pow milk yogurt is slowly being cured here to make pow cheese.”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:51 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

(At least in French / France, cider, a bubbly alcoholic drink, is the default thing you make with apples apart from juice. I’m aware that US people have however yet again done weird things to words just like the “biscuit” debacle)

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:54 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

There’s some light puzzling upstairs.
Pherkad’s got some clouds we can pick up, so I’ll give that a try later.
The locked room is accessible from its neighbors, and just contains sleeping Imperial Soldiers and some treasure, nothing fancy.

Inspection text: “This stone contraption appears to monitor movement and close off the path to intruders.”

Sagi: “We could probably sneak by if we had [blue text] something to use as a smokescreen [end blue text].”

Inspection text: “This door is locked tight.”

Sagi: “It looks like we can reach the neighboring room using this ivy. Should we head next door?”

Lia @liareplaysbk · 11:56 PM · Aug 25, 2021 Permalink

Next time: check out the other wing and go grab a cloud.
I still don’t think we’ll get very far with Rodolfo unless threats of violence are more convincing than money, which... is depressing. We’ll see!