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Update 34: Cavall Keep (CD Soundtrack)  (MIDI Soundtrack)  I rather like Cavall Keep. The Elvander theme song is nice and gentle and sets the theme for the city rather well. I find it all very charming.   First thing to do is go to the inn. Gotta catch up on local gossip, and fail horribly to mack on the ladies present. Only there aren't any here. Must be on Locklear's "Do Not Visit" list.   "Actually, I am the reason why there aren't any around anymore. It is kind of a long story, you see, it all started a year ago, when..."Yeah whatever. Let's talk to the patron. "Aw, c'mon. I miss being in the game."   "Welcome to the Duck's Head!"I take it he is an Irishman? "Dook's Head" indeed. "It's just a regional thing, laddie. We all talk like this in Cavall Keep. All the time!" (CD Soundtrack)  (MIDI Soundtrack)    "Ha, no! Except for the attempt to poison the Count's family a few months ago, things have been fairly sleepy around here in Cavall Keep. Farmer folk here tend to keep to themselves and worry about their crops, not each other." "Who do you think tried to poison them?" "If you heard word from the Keep, you'd think no one did. They're a brave lot, all acting almost as if it didn't happen. Wouldn't matter to me if I hadn't of lost my best kitchen boy when he tasted the port. I've got a new boy that works for me, but I miss my old scully. He was a good lad... So... What can I get for you fellows, now that I've talked your ears off?" I find it weird that Peter is just so... casual... in mentioning that there was a murder attempt on the count's family. You'd think that Owyn would have more of a reaction in this scene too, but he doesn't say anything at all.  "Sorry, what's that? I'm busy inquiring after fruit."  Eh, fair enough. Let's ask Mr. The Grey about that. "So barkeep, what sort of fare do you offer in the Duck's Head?" "Only the best in all the Kingdom! What can Peter interest you in today? A bit of roast chicken with a hunk of cheese? Spitted roast with steamed potato eyes? Or what ho, the house special, a duck baked in a lemons and stuffed with rose peel crumbs! How does that strike you?" "I don't suppose any of those come in servings for the road?" "Oh my goodness, no. We can prepare rations for you at the very reasonable cost of fourteen gold per pack. Shall I have them made?"Saying 'Yes' just takes us allows us to purchase rations and out of the conversation screen. We'll decline. "As good as that sounds at the moment, I think I'm going to have to pass. I just realized I have a few other expenses to attend to first." "I'll let you off the hook, but just so long as you remember the Duck's Head after for a drink and something to eat."We ask after lodging for the evening. "Do you have a spare room where we could lay down? I could use a nap." "Need a bit of a rest, do you? I wish there was something to do for you, but the only room open in the Duck's Head is the scullery..." "We wouldn't mind sharing with someone..."  "Truly, I would like to help you, but the rooms I do have to let are full up and I don't think my skully would want to share. The room is only just large enough for him to squeeze into and it's a tight fit as it is. With three of you in there, we'd have to stack you like ricks of wood. I'm sorry..."Now for the more meaty question about Nighthawks. "Have you ever seen any Nighthawks in the area?" "Ishap forfend! The Guild of Death? I wouldn't let them into my establishment. When one of my patrons comes into the Inn, he comes in breathing and I like them leaving in the same condition - alive. Please tell me you aren't looking to hire one..." "Hire one? I...might be. There's someone I've been having problems with." "Not another word of it, not another word of it! Whatever grievance you have with this man, I don't want to know. If you're looking for a contact, you'll not find one here. If you're looking for a criminal, try the pub in Prank Stone."Criminals are to be found in Prank Stone. Gotcha.   "I'm taking it back. I'm taking them all back."We investigate one of the additional entrances in the town.  But nothing interesting there. After all, why would we need the services of moneylenders when we can just get money ourselves by stripping it from the bodies of the slain...  Ahem! Anyway, Let's find Owyn's Uncle, shall we? "What is the meaning of this?"Turns out that he is kind of a dick!   (CD Soundtrack)  (MIDI Soundtrack)     "The operative word being was, nephew. I have decided that we should aim higher for her. The Prince of Krondor has two boys, both unmarried and more than eligible for the hand of my fair daughter. I think either would make a fine husband." "I agree, but with all due respect, Borric and Erland are only two very rambunctious eleven year olds who still run away from girls. I think the pair of them would be horrified by a proposal at this point, though I imagine Prince Arutha might find the idea appealing." "I wouldn't suggest they marry as yet, of course. They will need a little time to grow naturally, say two years. Thirteen is a very marriageable age." "Ahem. Once I return to Krondor, I'll mention it to Prince Arutha." "I would be forever in your debt Seigneur. Is there anything I can do for you in return?"Almost slipped into a Crusader Kings II moment there with the talk of betrothals. There are a few things we can talk to the Count about. Since we found that spynote at the end of the last update, we can now confront him about it. "You have a reputation for disliking Navon du Sandau. Anything you would care to share with us?" "And what makes you believe I have animosity for Ugyne's suitor?" "Your petition to Kahooli. You asked for Navon to be - how did you put it - driven mad until he is grey with age?" "Who did you pay to get that note? Do you have spies in the Temple?" "Nothing so insidious as that, Count. It seems the petition collectors from the Temple of Kahooli have been slow to do their duties this year. We found your note and your tithe. If you tell us why you wish him driven mad, I'll let this little matter slip my mind. Otherwise, I think I can take up the matter with du Sandau." "Do what you will, Seigneur. He already knows my feelings for him. I simply wish him gone from my family and his meddling in our affairs... Day and night, he is at Ugyne, asking her questions about the Keep and Cavall Run. How extensive were the tunnels that ran under the great hall? Have they ever been mapped in any great detail? How much money is in my coffers? What are my schedules? With whom do I meet? His questions are endless... I lost a wife in that infernal Keep and I wish the matter put to rest. I never wish to hear another question again about it! Can you understand that, Seigneur? He brings up memories and feelings I wish to leave buried..." Sounds pretty intense. I'm not sure what James' actual reason is for confronting the count with it, but it might make more sense in the next chapter. :shh: We can ask the Count about 'Assessment'. "Weren't you a spotter for the Natalese Rangers when you were younger? I seem to recall you telling stories when I used to visit at the Keep." "That was quite a long time ago, indeed. Before you or Ugyne or even Neville had been born. I still have the eye too. I can tell you precisely how much a man is carrying by the way he walks or how good a swordsman he is by the way he pulls it free of the scabbard." "Sounds like a useful skill. Any chance you could teach us something about it?" "Don't be absurd. I spent five years training to be a spotter. You expect for me to teach it all to you in one afternoon?" "I suppose you're right. I'm already a decent spotter myself. I'll make you a wager though. You teach us anything I don't already know and I'll pay you in gold sovereigns." "I'll take your wager, but I'm not one to waste my time. Two hundred sovereigns or it's no deal. Will you take that wager?"We'll say yes, but if we say no. "I'm a bold gambler at times, but I don't believe I am feeling quite that bold." "It's just as well, for it is a bet that you would have lost."He taunts us about it. Dick. Let's take him up on the offer.     "I lost... wait a minute. I'm not supposed to lose!"But lose we did. Somehow? Maybe somebody else can explain what happened. We've finished up with the Count for now. We can go back and ask Peter about him. "Being right across the street from the Count, you must see him quite a bit." "Actually, no. The Count is quiet, likes to keep his own company, mostly. He's not one much for drinking with the commoners. His whole family has been much the same way with the exception of his daughter..." "Does he have any unusual callers at his house?" "There aren't many that would visit him. Don't get me wrong, he isn't a bad sort but he can be unpleasant at times. About the only people in and out of there are Ugyne's suitors and the men who work for the Count."He doesn't shed any new information for us though. Last stop is the armory.     It has a bit of everything. The most interesting thing being the Grey Tower Plate, which isn't sold in too many places in the game. We'll be continuing our journey onto  at this point, but first let's check out how our characters are doing.  James is coming along nicely. His melee score is still a bit weak, but he is pretty solid in battle now. We got a nice boost to our assessment from the Count too. Don't worry, I deselected everything else except for assessment before I got the training.   Owyn is really coming his own now. He should be pretty difficult to hit and the blessed armor should absorb a good chunk of damage when he is targeted.   Gorath is our MVP. Look at those stats!  And they will only get better as we continue on in later chapters. You may note that his weapon is not blessed whereas James is. This is only because I ran out of enough money to bless it by the time I bought the Dragon Plate and had that blessed first. BONUS UPDATEIf we had come to Cavall Keep in Chapter One with Locklear, the conversation between Owyn and his Uncle would have gone just a little bit differently. "I have given express instruction that I was not to be disturbed today, but Miri seemed to think your visit might be of some importance." "I don't know that it is important, but I would think you would be a bit more receptive to your own kin, uncle." "Don't presume to lecture me on manners, Owyn. If you were the proper squire your father dubbed you years ago, you would be in Tiburn at your brother Harold's side. Instead, you are allowed to roam wherever you like, without a whit of accountability to anyone. My daughter Ugyne has far more sense of responsibility." "You have quite a few opinions for someone who hasn't seen me in three years. Have you always hated me this much?" "It's not a question of hatred, Owyn. But your roaming about the world like you were a jongleur or a mercenary is an embarrassment to the family. How do you ever hope to gain the hand of a duke or an earl's daughter if you continue behaving as you are? How will you learn to rule?" "What? Sit about all day long and tell quarrelling franklins who owns this bit of land and who owns that? I don't want that. I want to be a magician, like Pug of Stardock." "And are you going to conjure up your living by doing parlor tricks for King Lyam? Going to make smoke pour out of your ears so you'll have a bit of something to eat in the evenings?" "I hate to disrupt your argument Count, but at the moment he is in my service as my squire. I am Seigneur Locklear of Krondor, adviser to Prince Arutha." "From Krondor? My forgiveness, I hadn't noticed your colors. And I have been standing here conducting a family spat! What can I do for you?"The rest of the dialogue options are the same from there on out. I do think it is fascinating to get this peak at the Count's opinion of his nephew in this conversation though, which is that he holds Owyn in very poor regard. We also get a glimpse into a bit more of who Owyn is as well.
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| ← # ? Dec 19, 2013 04:27 |
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