--------
ROCKLAND
--------

(The party makes it to Rockland without incident, and goes to 
take a look around.)

*****NPCs*****

Man:
Yeah, I know the place.
The Military Commander's house
is all the way up there.
Grady's his name.
A real scoundrel!

Marco:
Hey there, fella.
How about a contest?

(Play cup game)

Boy:
Big Brother. Are you an
Imperial Army soldier?
You're not, are you?
I knew it because you didn't
hit me.

Girl:
I saw them, I saw them,
It's true. The bandits have 
returned to Mt. Seifu in
the east.
That's where they're hiding out.

(The well...)

"A deep well"
"Conversation prohibited"

(Inside house...)

Boy:
I'm hungry.
Terribly.

Woman:
No matter how hard we work,
life gets worse and worse.
All because of that bum Gre...
Oops, that was close.
Just forget what I said.
Ha ha ha ha...

Man:
They say a new Emperor came
to power some years ago, but
out here in this country
village it makes no difference
who's Emperor.

(In armory...)

Man:
You didn't need to carry a 
weapon last year.
But nowadays, it's getting
so dangerous around here.

(In the inn...)

Old Man:
Fine scenery and a bit of
food make tea taste
better.
Boorish Imperials
make tea taste lousy.

Man behind counter:
Sorry, but we're all out of
tea.

Kanaan:
Then what's all that you've
got lined up there?!

Man behind counter:
Ha ha, this stuff isn't fit
to be served to Imperial
bigwigs.

Inkeeper:
Welcome to Rockland.
A soft straw bed and a warm
breakfast for only 30 bits
each.

Man:
Wow, what a cool outfit.
Imperial Guard, right?
Wow... wow!

Kanaan:
Ha ha ha... that's right.

Man:
Wow, you're so lucky.
Are you so fat because you
get to eat well?

(Inside house...)

Woman:
Who are you?
We have no food!
THEY take it away as fast as
we prepare it!

Man:
Could it be that you're the
Imperial Army?
What's going on in this world?
Life used to be so much
better.
What's the matter with
Emperor Barbarosa?

(Tombstones...)

"Here Lies a Troubled Man"
Loneliness is a slow-acting
but fatal poison.

"Here Lies a Farmer"
As long as there was gentle
sunlight, I was able to grow
anything.

"Here Lies an Ordinary Mother"
Good night.
Until we meet again.

"Here Lies a Nameless Soldier"
"For me, war was life itself.

"Here Lies a Poet"
As evidence of my life,
I leave behind a song that
will be my epitaph.

"Last word of a Woman
who died on the street"
Clive, forgive me for not
dying at your hands.

*****PLOT*****

(Upon entering Grady's mansion, a man steps in front of them,
blocking the door further inside.)

Man:
Hey, who are you fellows?
This is Master Grady's 
mansion.
You're not allowed in here.
What do you want?

(Kanaan steps forward.)

Kanaan:
What did you say?!
I'm Kanaan, assistant to
Imperial Guard Commander
Kraze!
Tell Grady to get out here!

(The man jumps.)

Man:
What! Y-yes sir,
right away.
Please wait a moment.

(He heads into the northern room, where Grady is.)

Grady:
What is it?
Those villagers come to
complain again?
Get them out of here.

Man:
No sir.
They say they're the
Imperial Guard.

Grady:
Whatever they are, I'm busy!
Hurry up and... What?
Imperial Guard?
Did you say Imperial Guard?
Why didn't you tell me sooner,
you fool!

(Grady rushes to meet them at the door.)

Grady:
Welcome, welcome, members of
the Imperial Guard.
What brings you to this poor
country town?
Please come in.

(They follow him in, and Kanaan takes a look around.)

Kanaan:
Humph.
Looks like you're doing very
well here.

Grady:
Oh no, not at all, sir.

Kanaan:
Forget it.
You know why we're here,
don't you?

Grady:
Indeed, sir.
About the taxes, right?
We've been troubled about
that too.
You see, some bandits settled
on nearby Mt. Seifu, and have
been pillaging the local
villages.
That's why we've been unable 
to collect taxes and deliver
them to you.
But I'm glad there's nothing
to be worried about now.

Kanaan:
What do you mean by that?

Grady:
I speak, of course, of your
arrival.
The arrival of the courageous
National Guard.
Getting rid of country bandits
should be an easy task for
you.
You're not afraid of them,
I'm sure.

Kanaan:
Ho ho! Of course not.
Hmmm, bandits,
eh? Ummm... well.
We should be okay.
We'll crush them like flies.
Ho ho ho!

Cleo:
That's ridiculous.
Our mission is to...

Pahn:
Ha ha! I can't wait.
I've been waiting for a good
fight.

Ted:
Me too.
Let's teach the bandits a
lesson. Right, Tir?

Tir:
*Of course.
*We should return home first.

/-----

Tir:
Of course.

Gremio:
Young Master, we mustn't.

Cleo:
Boys will be boys.

-----

Tir:
We should return home first.

Kanaan:
What?
I'm the leader of this party,
and I say we go fight.
Just shut up and follow me,
you cowards.

/-----

Kanaan:
Fine, let's get going.
Don't fall back now.

Gremio:
I'm glad of your decision,
but do you know where
Mt. Seifu is?

Kanaan:
Sh-shut up.
I was just about to ask you.

Grady:
Mt. Seifu is east of Rockland.

Kanaan:
Fine. Now let's go!

(They depart, and head to Mt. Seifu. Upon arrival...)

Kanaan:
Phew! Finally, Mt. Seifu.
All of you, don't chicken
out because of the bandits.

Pahn:
And you too.

Kanaan:
Here we go!
Pahn, you take the lead.

(Pahn jumps.)

Pahn:
Why me?

Kanaan:
Just shut up and go.
I'm the leader,
so I'll go last.

(Pahn turns away.)

Pahn:
Pshaw!

(Ted and Tir turn to each other.)

Ted:
This is exciting,
isn't it, Tir.

Gremio: 
Ted!
Please don't say such things.
Young Master,
don't put yourself in danger.
I Gremio,
will be protecting you.

Kanaan:
Hey, let's go!

(They make their way through the caves of Mt. Seifu,
until they come to a large monster blocking their
path. It attacks, and they battle the best they can,
but the Queen Ant is too strong.)

Pahn:
Damn, she's powerful!
We'll never beat her!

Cleo:
At this rate we'll get
wiped out.

(Kanaan jumps.)

Kanaan:
Fools!
What are you saying!
You must protect me.

Gremio:
Young Master, let's run.
I'll protect you.

Cleo:
I don't know if we can make
it.

(Kanaan jumps again.)

Kanaan:
Do something!

(Ted turns to Tir.)

Ted:
Tir, everybody, stand 
back.
I have an idea.

Tir:
*OK, Ted.
*Don't be reckless, Ted.

/-----

Tir:
OK, Ted.

Ted:
Let me handle this.
Did I ever let you down?

-----

Tir:
Don't be reckless, Ted.

Ted:
Don't worry, Tir.
Let me handle this.
But...
Thanks for being considerate,
Tir.

/-----

(Ted rushes forward into battle alone, and raises his
hand. A symbol glows above him, and the Queen Ant is
engulfed in dark energy, then disappears.)

Kanaan:
What the hell??

Gremio:
Ted!
How did you do that?

Ted:
Sorry,
but I can't explain right now.
Tir, I'll tell you when
we get home.
But don't ask now.
Anyway, let's get rid of the
bandits and go back to
Gregminster.

(They make ready to leave, except for Kanaan.)

Kanaan:
Hmmm, this must be what
Commander Kraze was talking
about.

(He joins the others, and they advance. Upon reaching the
summit, they find two bandits.)

Varkas:
Well well, we have visitors.
How unusual.
What do you want?

(Kanaan steps forward.)

Kanaan:
Listen up, you bandits.
I, Kanaan, Assistant Commander
of the Imperial Guard of the
Golden Emperor Barbarosa,
have come here to teach you a
lesson.
Turn yourselves in,
you tax thieves.

(Varkas turns to the other bandit.)

Varkas:
Did you hear that?
He says we're the tax thieves.
Listen here, you petty clerk.
I'm Varkas the Whirlwind Axe.
Sydonia, you introduce
yourself too.

(Sydonia turns away.)

Sydonia:
Heh, why bother?

(Varkas turns back to them.)

Varkas:
Affable fellow.
Anyway, that there is
Marksman Sydonia.
You Imperial tax robbers
better get out of here
before you get hurt.

Pahn:
I'm the renowned Imperial 
hero...

(Cleo turns to him.)

Cleo:
Shut up!
Don't you join in their games.

Kanaan:
Listen, bandits.
If you don't give yourselves
up, you'll be sorry.

Varkas:
You wanna fight?
Fellas, go get 'em!

(Several bandits rush forward, and Kanaan steps behind the
others.)

Kanaan:
Whoaaaaaa!
These guys are serious!
W-what are you doing?
Hurry up and fight! Fight!

(They do so, and defeat the bandits.)

Varkas:
You guys are hopeless.
I'll take you on myself.
Sydonia, give me a hand.

Sydonia:
Heh.

(They attack the party, and are defeated not long after. Pahn
...gloats, basically.)

Pahn:
Give up? Ha ha!

Gremio:
Phew! 
Are you alright,
Young Master?

(Kanaan steps forward again.)

Kanaan:
Heh heh heh.
That's what you get for
defying me.

Cleo:
You didn't do a thing.

Varkas:
Damn.
How can I be defeated by
Imperial dogs.

Kanaan:
Capture the bandits.

(After they've finished...)

Kanaan:
OK, our work is done!
Let's get the hell out of
here!

(They head back down the mountain, pausing at the bottom.)

Pahn:
Phew.
That idiot sure moves fast on
the way down.

Kanaan:
Hurry it up, you all.
We're off to a hero's welcome
in Rockland. Ha ha!

(They return to Rockland. Upon arriving, they find two 
soldiers picking on a kid, while a little girl stands by
crying.)

Imperial soldier(s):
You've muddied my shiny boots,
you little rat!

(He pauses and looks at the newcomers.)

Imperial soldier(s):
Who the hell are you?
Beat it!
Get away!

Tir:
*Fight
*Don't fight

/-----

Tir:
Fight

(They fight off the soldiers.)

-----

Tir:
Don't fight

(They run away.)

/-----

(Inside Grady's house, the servant greets them.)

Man:
Welcome back, Master Kanaan.
What happened with the
bandits?
What, you captured them?
I'll get Master Grady right
away.
Please wait a moment.

(He goes to speak with Grady, who comes to meet them.)

Grady:
You're back so soon.
I'm very impressed,
Imperial Guardsmen.
You didn't waste any time
capturing the tax thieves.

Varkas:
What do you mean, tax thieves?
You're the tax thief!

Grady:
We'll place them in this
dungeon here.

(The servant leads Varkas and Sydonia away, while Grady
turns to Kanaan.)

Grady:
Master Kanaan.

Kanaan:
What?

Grady:
Please take this.
A small gift from the
villagers.

Kanaan:
Well, thank you very much.

[Found 10,000 bits!]

Kanaan:
This is dangerous,
so I'll hold on to it.

[10,000 bits stolen!]

Kanaan:
Thanks to my efforts, the
bandits have been captured.
Let's get back to Gregminster.
I want to report my success 
to Commander Kraze right away.

*****NPCs*****

(If you try to reenter Grady's mansion...)

Man:
Hello again,
Imperial Guardsmen.
Did you forget something?

(You leave.)

*****PLOT*****

(Upon reaching the gates of Gregminster, Kanaan steps
forward.)

Kanaan:
This is as far as you have to
come.
I will report to Commander 
Kraze.
You can all go home and rest.
I'm such a nice guy.

(Pahn turns to Cleo.)

Pahn:
Yeah, so nice it makes me cry.
He's planning to take all the 
credit for himself.

Cleo:
Let it go, Pahn.
It wasn't such a big
accomplishment anyway.
I'm exhausted.
I want to go home and rest.

Gremio:
Young Master, we've been away
from home for a long time.
I'll fix something special to
eat.

Ted:
Great. Gremio,
your cooking's terrific.

Kanaan:
Ted, you come with me.

Ted:
What's this about?

Kanaan:
Oh, nothing much.
It'll be over soon.
Come along now.

Ted:
OK then.
Tir, go on home.
I'll see you later.
Besides, I have something
to tell you.

Kanaan:
Let's go, Ted.

(Kanaan and Ted leave.)