Opening
narrator
The Workshop is a tourist trap.
My fellow tourists fell into said trap
and died rather brutal deaths.
I barely escaped the Workshop, though
at the cost of my guide's life, bless him.
Aspiring scholars and curious historians,
I'd recommend looking elsewhere.
-Basil's Guide to the Cerulean Crescent
maurice
What's the meaning of
this? Unhand me!
weald
I have some concerns to address
with you. What did you say to the
Commander that had her do all this?
maurice
So she didn't even tell you?
Not much of a- Argh!
weald
Spit it out or else
you'll be spitting blood.
maurice
Commander Caliane!
(Caliane approaches.)
weald
As if I'd belie-
Ah. Commander.
caliane
Tell him the information
you gave me, Maurice.
maurice
The daughter of the Seahawk's
quartermaster has a peculiar illness.
An illness that they know the
Workshop must have a cure for.
Which the sect must kill them for.
weald
Peculiar illness? Commander,
surely you don't mean?
caliane
Nothing we've tried has worked.
We only have long shots like this left.
weald
This does explain why the Sect mobilised
seemingly in the middle of nowhere.
caliane
I know the excuse I gave to the men
about this expedition was feeble.
Cutting off the source of the Green
Tide at the Workshop? Nonsense.
weald
Commander.
You should have told me.
caliane
How could I? I'm forsaking my duties
to Enan for my own selfishness.
But I can't let this opportunity pass.
We saw what happened to Valen.
Only the Goddess knows if my son
will live past another summer.
weald
I swore my loyalty to you, Commander, not
Enan. I would support you no matter what.
maurice
Now this is heartwarming
and all, but I'd like to be let go, now that you've just settled
this little miscommunication.
caliane
About the information you gave
us regarding the Seahawks.
You told us, that they'd have
some way into the Workshop.
You did not tell us about their
string of bloody victories, or of the monstrous killers
that make up their crew!
maurice
I didn't think it was notable to a famed
adventuring group band such as yours.
weald
Since your report regarding their ability
was so inadequate, one can only wonder, if your other information about the
Commander's son is also inaccurate.
caliane
My little boy is living on borrowed time.
If you've wasted part of this time with
your “accidental” misinformation...
maurice
I would not be so foolish as to lie
to such esteemed adventurers.
caliane
I would hope so. Perhaps this was
another innocent miscommunication.
maurice
Then may I be
allowed to leave?
caliane
Not quite. I would like to invite
you to join with us on this trip.
If the Workshop contains no
cure, I will skin you alive.
maurice
Ah. I suppose I must make some
time in my schedule for this.
pomelo
We're awfully close to those
monsters. I don't like this.
ellerie
According to Tower, they will remain passive
until we make any aggressive moves.
pomelo
Yeah, I've already heard. But that
doesn't make me feel any safer.
ellerie
Speaking of which, how's work on that
totem, Lindros? You're looking nervous.
lindros
(thinking)
Stay calm, stay calm. My mind is as sharp
as a knife. Just think of it like the tests at
Oakhall. You passed those. Tests can't kill.
No, shut up. Things are okay. Wait no, was
this rune connection inverted before? A single
mistake and you will die. That's nonsense.
I have room for error. Not that I need it.
And how can you be so sure?
offscreen
Lindy? Lindster? Legendary
Lad Lindros the L-
lindros
Yes, I'm alright. I am fully confident in the
ability of this totem to crack the wards.
We lucked out that Tower had this thing
around, even if it makes him a hypocrite.
ellerie
Are you sure you've got this? This is a huge
jump in scale from the tomb from earlier.
lindros
Provided all my formulas are
accurate, which they are, theoretically, there is
zero chance of failure.
ellerie
I heard that “theoretically”. So if it
does backfire, what would happen?
lindros
Irrelevant.
pomelo
We already heard how the crew
of Tower's son ended up.
I assume the aforementioned horrible
stuff will wake up and kill us good.
ellerie
Lovely. Hopefully that escape plan
we agreed on is never needed.
It's just down these stairs and-
(Saltsworn swarm in from the south.)
two shoes
The Seahawks? How did they beat us,
going through the Green Tide?
saltsworn
Only the Goddess knows. But
the Commander did say if...
two shoes
Why do I have to be leading the
charge against these killers?
I'm a mage damn it, I should
be in the backline!
saltsworn
You changed your tone after the
Elephant squad all got killed.
two shoes
Yes, because I don't want to die!
The Commander has authorized the
use of one of her precious artifacts, so powering that up has my attention.
Forward! I will support you all from here!
saltsworn
Go everyone!
Forward!
two shoes
You're not charging?
saltsworn
I have the most important job of
all. Defending the Commander.
two shoes
A kindred spirit.
pomelo
Put a cap on that escape
plan, Captain.
ellerie
Don't need to point them out.
Damn, they got here fast.
pomelo
Well, they do have
quite a few mounts.
ellerie
Lindros, how long do we have
before you crack that thing?
lindros
It should be working.
Why isn't it working?
pomelo
Lindros?
lindros
Something from inside
is actively interfering!
ellerie
Then we'll kill it.
Do you have a location?
lindros
I feel like it's somewhere to the north,
but trying to brute force our way-
ellerie
Say no more. We'll split. One team goes to
hunt down whatever is holding the ward,
the other defends the totem. Then we
smoothly escape down that staircase.
lindros
I'd like to emphasize
if the totem falls-
ellerie
Yes, I know. We'll get hacked into pieces
and our corpses will be fed to the baels.
pomelo
I don't fancy our chances of
fighting both forces at once, but our other choice is to
throw ourselves off the side.
ellerie
I like my plan better. Gather
the crew, let's get this going.
(A bard appears and walks up to Ellerie.)
quilan
Hello.
ellerie
What in- Where did
you come from?
quilan
I've been around watching
your progress for some time.
ellerie
Fantastic, just what I wanted to hear.
Let's get to it. What do you want?
quilan
To compose my legendary epic,
I've searched for years for a band
of adventurers to base it on.
And after some deliberation, you
lot might have what it takes.
ellerie
Shouldn't you latch onto an
already well-known group?
quilan
They don't make good underdogs.
It was all very exciting to witness
your motley crew overcome the odds.
However, I found the lack of a nice
pre-battle speech very disappointing.
ellerie
That sounds all fine and dandy, but
we are always fighting for our lives.
We don't need some useless
bard getting in the way.
quilan
You should reconsider.
Would you rather die listening
to an inspiring battle tune, or bleed out alone to the
gurgling of a slit throat?
ellerie
That's a good point. If we don't all
perish here, you can come along.
quilan
Wonderful.
My last seven adventuring
bands all died too quickly.
I can only hope that your
Seahawks don't disappoint.
ellerie
I see a common factor.
narrator
When Qiulan's active is available,
she will have a green arrow.
Ending
(The crew enters the first floor of the Workshop.)
ellerie
That's everyone!
We're in!
lindros
Haha! Even century-old wards
are nothing against my skill!
I told you everything would
go as planned.
ellerie
Admittedly, that
was impressive.
lindros
I'm vindicated! “Your antiquated
books are worthless, Lindros.”
“It's never going to have
any practical use, Lindros.”
Now who's laughing? It's not about
making the biggest fireball, it's-
pomelo
You've set him off. He could gloat about
this all day. He certainly has before.
lindros
Pom, I totally
deserve this.
pomelo
You do, my man. But preferably
when we're in the clear.
ellerie
We've made it through, but can the
Saltsworn force their way as well?
lindros
Do they have a genius mage like me?
Besides, every security ward is tripped.
mince
Captain, I saw someone
very familiar in their crowd.
ellerie
I could sense his stench from miles away.
Of course Maurice would be involved.
pomelo
Maurice? That's not
a familiar name.
lindros
We are racking up a list of enemies.
We'll need to start keeping notes
to keep track of all of them.
ellerie
This one is an old friend from the Mainland.
In retrospect, perhaps our string of bad
luck now has a reasonable explanation.
pomelo
Must be a good friend to have come
all the way here for your head.
lindros
As if we didn't need more enemies.
I'm almost starting to think you're more
trouble than you're worth, Captain.
ellerie
You haven't left yet, so I'll take
that as your vote of confidence.
mince
I assumed with how crucial he
was to the false King's ascension, he would have a cushy position.
Why bother coming all the way here, when he could be consuming fine wine
and luxury cheeses in the Capital?
ellerie
You don't know the extent of our rivalry.
We have been locked in a bloody feud both
in and out of the royal court for years.
He knows I will stop at nothing to kill
him and I expect the same of him.
pomelo
And I thought you lot were
just a bunch of pen pushers.
What incident could have
begun such hostility?
ellerie
Early in my service to the Royal Court, I planted some evidence to ensure he'd
get passed for a promotion which I sought.
Not one of my proudest moments, but this
was a fairly normal way for promotion.
pomelo
Fairly normal? Sheesh.
mince
I'm surprised that's it. I'd thought
you'd have to have murdered his whole
family with how much he detested you.
ellerie
Of course not. That was just the beginning.
We've traded blows for years with
each one more costly than the last.
Where our rivalry began no longer matters.
lindros
That does explain why the Mainland has
been decaying the past few decades, if the administrators are more focused on
plotting than actually running the place.
ellerie
I believe that's due to the encroaching
influence of the Houses rather than us,
but I'm not about to argue about politics
in the middle of some deathtrap ruin.
pomelo
Let's get back to what matters. Is he
someone we should be concerned about?
mince
He's a resourceful crook. He's bound to
make some allies with his position and wealth.
ellerie
Position and wealth he
got from trampling on me.
lindros
I don't want to be in the crossfire of
political strife I have nothing to do with.
ellerie
No need to worry your pretty little head.
He doesn't have the support of his pathetic
little King out here, he'll be on his own.
It'll give me the best chance to crush him.
Outside
caliane
How is it possible for them to arrive
first, even after their vessel was lost, and having to brave the Green Tide?
weald
They're no ordinary adventurers,
beating us at every turn.
caliane
We've never taken so many casualties
under my command before.
And yet, all this sacrifice is for nothing,
for the pursuit of a selfish goal, while the people who I swore to protect
remain in danger. I'm truly a failure.
weald
You cannot let defeat break your spirit.
It's in human nature to value the life of
your own child above all else.
caliane
For anyone else, perhaps. But I had
sworn an oath of duty to Enan.
Regardless of whether we succeed, I am appointing you as the new Commander
of the Saltsworn. I am no longer fit to lead.
weald
Commander... I- Do you hear that
rumbling? Danger approaches.
caliane
All units, formation!
(The ground shakes and a swarm of dragons descends on the Saltsworn.)
If Murky and Quilan are alive
ellerie
So, getting your story straight,
your adventuring band were all killed
in the assault on the Workshop?
murky
Yes. There were
no survivors.
ellerie
That could have been us as well.
You seem pretty good with a staff.
You're welcome to join my crew.
murky
It won't be easy getting over the loss of
my old band, but I can't turn that down.
(Quilan approaches.)
quilan
Not quite. There's
one still alive.
murky
...
ellerie
You were in the
same band?
quilan
Yep! We got along well.
I can vouch for her skills.
ellerie
Glad to hear it.
I'll leave you two to it. Don't
split off from the group.
(Ellerie leaves.)
quilan
You're looking a bit pale.
Not happy to see me?
murky
You- How? It's not possible.
You can't be alive.
quilan
Of course, you should know that more
than anyone else. But I recovered.
Oh, I like that look. You want to finish
the job. But are you sure you can?
murky
Why didn't you say anything
to the Seahawk Captain?
quilan
Because it would be more interesting
this way. What excitement could you bring
to the table? Please don't disappoint me.
murky
I don't know what you are, but if
you think you can threaten me-
quilan
Simmer down, I won't rat you out.
Now, let's get along, okay?
Character Descriptions
Quilan
A travelling bard with stalkerish
tendencies and an obsession
with the glorification of warfare.
Discreet Box
A nice pile of crates, looking like
they've been recently stacked.
Murky
A travelling healer who has some
incredibly developed knowledge
regarding anatomy.
Lesser Keeper
If this is the “lesser” keeper, I don't
look forward to the “greater” keeper.
Two Shoes
A tad larger than your average mage,
but it's a good thing that magic has
no correlation with physical strength.
Guava
A warrior priestess that appears
to have exchanged the power of
faith for faith in the blade.
Caliane
Commander of the Saltsworn, and a
veteran mercenary. Unfortunately, not
much of a competent commander.
Weald
Second-in-command of the Saltsworn.
Not much of a talker, but dangerous.
Maurice
An old friend from my days at the royal
court. Doesn't know it yet, but I'm due
to be collecting a lot of debt from him.
Defender
Eternal guardians of the Workshop,
protecting it from possible infestations
of the adventurer kind.
Saltsworn
One of the biggest adventuring guilds on
the Crescent. Trades quality for quantity.
Salt Elite
The finest the Saltsworn has to offer.
Not really that good, but there's a lot.
Lightwalker
Fanatics who worship the old gods.
Have more in common in the Sect than
they realise, though I dare not say it.
???
Unfortunately, a book is still
very capable of hurting us.
Illusion
If it can kill us, is it
really an illusion?
Totem
A functional automated construct made
by a skilled sorceror. Has many possible
applications but is fragile and temporary.
Chicken
Bawk.