*****PLOT***** (As the party reaches the first floor of Toran Castle, they are met by Varkas and Sydonia.) Varkas: It's been a while, Tir. I guess we both managed to get by without getting caught. Gremio: Why Varkas... Sydonia... what are you two doing here? Varkas: We heard some rumors about you and figured this would be a good chance to return the favor we owe you. We'd like to join the Liberation Army. (He turns to Sydonia.) Varkas: Hey Sydonia, you say something too. (Sydonia turns away.) Sydonia: Heh. Hey there. Varkas: Oh well. By the way, I'd like to say hello to Lady Odessa. Gremio: O-Odessa's... (Mathiu approaches suddenly from behind them.) Mathiu: Odessa has gone north on a mission. Master Tir is our leader while she's away. Varkas: North? Hmmmm? Oh well... In any case, congratulations, Tir. Leader, eh? Very impressive. Mathiu: Commander Tir, how about holding a banquet to welcome Lepant, Varkas, Sydonia and all of our new friends? Tir: *Let's do it. *Now wait a... /----- Tir: Let's do it. Varkas: A fine and understanding leader you are. ----- Tir: Now wait a... Viktor: Great idea, Master Mathiu. You agree, don't you, Tir? /----- Gremio: Well then, I'll cook my best recipes. (Later, upstairs, one of the rooms is furnished with a large table, which many of the recruits are standing around.) *****NPCs***** Pahn: Gremio's cooking is the best in the land, I tell you. That slop the Imperial Army serves is so... Cleo: Pahn! Can't you be more quiet while you eat? Mathiu: I myself prefer to drink quietly. Viktor: Ha ha ha. Ho ho ho. Hee hee hee. Gremio: Having fun, Young Master? Varkas: Yo Master Tir! Let's crush those Imperials right away. Sydonia: Heh. Tai Ho: Tir, the moon is beautiful tonight. Lepant: This is a fine crew, Commander Tir. I'm glad I came. Eileen: Lepant really seems to be enjoying himself. He must truly hate the Empire. *****PLOT***** (As Tir leaves the banquiet room, someone calls to him.) ???: Tir, I'll take that rune on your right hand. Give it to me! (An assassin rushes in, and Tir fights him off until he gives in. Pahn rushes to the door.) Pahn: Master Tir! Are you all right? You scoundrel! (Viktor and Cleo rush to the door after Pahn.) Viktor: How dare you infiltrate the Liberation Army's headquarters! Assassin: Ha ha ha! The Liberation Army indeed. Do you really think you can defeat the Imperial forces? Fools. Cleo: Say that again! Assassin: Watch your back, Tir. Lady Windy is always ready to destroy you! (He runs off. Later, Pahn and Gremio and Viktor are talking outside Tir's bedroom.) Pahn: I'll stand watch over Master Tir. Gremio: No, I'll protect him tonight. Viktor: Stop this silly argument. Why don't you both stand watch? *****NPCs***** Gremio: Please get plenty of rest, Young Master. I'll be protecting you. Pahn: Master Tir, from tonight onwards, I shall be on guard duty here. *****PLOT***** (Tir goes to bed. The next morning, Gremio approaches his room as he wakes.) Gremio: Good morning, Young Master. It's another beautiful day outside. (He joins the party.) *****NPCs***** (On the second floor...) Pahn: Where's my food. (On the first floor...) Onil: Heard anything interesting lately? Varkas: I miss that easygoing bandit life. Sydonia: Heh. Viktor: Hey Tir! Don't look so morose! You'll depress everyone else! Rock: Do you have business in my vault? Fine, thanks. What can I help you with? (drop/withdraw items) (In the east tower...) Giovanni: Master Tir, are you here to see Master Lepant? Eileen: Seeing his happy face reminds me of my own youth. Lepant: Commander Tir, I'm very glad to have joined the Liberation Army. Together, we'll defeat the Imperials. (In the basement...) Juppo: Well well, this is a surprise. What are you doing here? Krin: How's it hangin'? I'm hangin' just fine. Hee hee. *****PLOT***** (Out by the docks, Tir finds an elf lying almost unconscious.) Kirkis: Uhhhnnn... Gremio: You're soaking wet. Don't tell me you swam all the way here. Let's take him inside. (Later, Kirkis is resting in Tir's bed, as Tir, Gremio, and Mathiu are watching over him.) Gremio: I wonder what happened? Just seeing an elf is unusual enough in these parts, but one who swims all the way out here. Mathiu: There must be some reason. (Kirkis stirs, and wakes up.) Kirkis: Gurgle...uhhhnnn... Where am I? I must have survived. Gremio: Are you all right? Kirkis: I heard through the wind, and came. Please tell me...is the Liberation Army... Gremio: Don't you worry. This is the Liberation Army's headquarters, Toran Castle. Kirkis: Thank god. I have a request. I must speak to your leader, Odessa. Gremio: ......... Mathiu: You can't see Odessa right now. Our present leader is Commander Tir here. Kirkis: Commander Tir, then. Please help us. Gremio: Help who? Kirkis: The Great Imperial General Kwanda Rosman is planning to exterminate us elves. Please. Please lend us the Liberation Army's power. Tir: *Of course. *But... /---- Tir: Of course. Mathiu: Wait, Commander Tir. Our present forces don't amount to much. Even with the old Liberation Army's survivors and Varkas' bandits, we still only amount to a few hundred men. It's not a good idea to mobilize our forces yet. ----- Tir: But... Mathiu: You're right. As Commander Tir says, our forces are still few. Even with the old Liberation Army's survivors and Varkas' bandits, we still only amount to a few hundred men. It's not a good idea to mobilize our forces yet. /----- Gremio: But that will mean the elves will die. Mathiu: Of course, we can't allow that to happen. Our only strength is the hope that people see in us. That we must never betray. Therefore I suggest that before all else, a small reconnaissance mission be sent out to gather intelligence. Our next step can wait. Kirkis: Thank you very much. I'll lead you to our village. Gremio: Young Master, no matter who says what, I'm going. [Kirkis joins!] *****NPCs***** Onil: Hey, did you know that beyond the Great Forest is the Village of the Elves? The Forest Village is southeast of Kouan. *****PLOT***** (When they reach the docks...) Kirkis: Our village lies beyond the Great Forest. Let us first head for the Forest Village. The Forest Village is southeast of Kouan. We'll find it along the eastern edge of the forest. (After leaving the castle, the party finds the Forest Village just where Kirkis said, and enters. As they do so, a man approaches.) Man: That's funny. It's true, you know. Elves have been seen coming out of here. My god! You! Hey everybody, it's true! There's an elf here! (He runs off.) Kirkis: Better not cause a ruckus. There's a secret elfin trail up ahead. Let's hurry. *****NPCs***** Man by trail: Up ahead is the Great Forest. Even we don't set foot in there. It's like a huge maze. Man: It's true! I really saw an elf! Aw shucks, nobody believes me... (In the inn...) Woman: Can you believe it? He says there are elves beyond the woods. He says he's seen one. Funny, isn't it? Innkeeper: Staying the night? We charge 100 bits per person. (In the item shop, if you try the stairs...) Clerk: Please do not go that way. *****RECRUIT***** (In the blacksmith's...) Maas: Are you a member of the Liberation Army? Our boss Mace used to say, "A sound body is the same as a sound mind." When the world is twisted, so are people's minds. Please let me join the Liberation Army, so I can help straighten out people's minds. Tir: *Recruit *Don't recruit /----- Tir: Recruit Maas: Thank you very much. Let's be on our way to Toran Castle. [Maas joins!] ----- Tir: Don't recruit Maas: I'm very disappointed, but I'll be here. Come back anytime. /----- (In the house beside the blacksmith's...) Sansuke: What? I'm Sansuke. An expert in baths. Tir: *Recruit *Don't recruit /----- Tir: Recruit Sansuke: Join you? Sure. I'll come along. [Sansuke joins!] ----- Tir: Don't recruit Sansuke: Heh! If you don't have any business with me, beat it. /----- *****PLOT***** (The party enters the Great Forest. A little ways in, Kirkis halts them.) Kirkis: The area beyond this point is under a spell. Without me, you'll get lost. Please stick together. *****RECRUIT***** (A little further on, they are crossing a ravine, when a young woman appears behind them.) Viki: What? What??? Uh oh, looks like I blew it. (She approaches the party.) Viki: Say, where are we? The Empire? Which one? My goodness, almost the other side. My name's Viki. I'm a poor soul with nowhere to go. Won't you protect me? Tir: *Recruit *Don't recruit /----- Tir: Don't recruit Viki: Oh no! Please, you aren't planning to leave an innocent little girl like me here in the forest, are you? (If you talk again...) Viki: Hey, hey, you've changed your mind, right? Protect me. /----- Tir: Recruit Viki: Oh, thank you! What? The Liberation Army? You have a castle? Wow! Where is it? That's pretty close... All right then! Let's go! [Viki joins!] (She vanishes.) *****PLOT***** (Partway through the forest, they reach a village.) Kirkis: What the... Gremio: What's wrong? Kirkis: This is the Kobold Village, but all the kobolds are gone. (A kobold comes out of the Great Forest.) Kuromimi: Bow wow! You humans take away friends. Not forgive. Kuromimi: Grrrr, not forgive, sniff sniff. But no time now. Kuromimi fix everyone sickness. (He goes back into the forest.) Gremio: He's saying his friends were taken away and everyone is sick. Kirkis: Something happened here. Let's hurry to our village. Maybe they know something there. The Village of the Elves is east of here. (They reach the Village of the Elves, which is in a large tree. Climbing the ladder to the village, they find a human woman confronting the elder.) Valeria: That's enough. Listen to me! How dare you be so insulting! Elder: Listen? Listen, you say? I didn't know that you humans could talk. So what do you have to say? Have you thought of a good way of exterminating us? With your tiny minds? Valeria: That's right. Kwanda is planning something truly frightening. Not only is he going to wipe you out, he's planning to burn down this entire forest, this forest that also happens to be my home. Elder: You humans are too stupid to realize such a task. Hey, lock this one up. (He leaves, and two guards take Valeria away.) *****NPCs***** Man: To the north are the Dwarf Mines, to the south Kwanda Rosman's castle. They both want our land. Woman: Why it's Kirkis. Say, your friends, aren't they... Man: Hey Kirkis, I'm surprised you got back in one piece. After all, you're a coward who disappears before a battle. (In the inn...) Man in bed: Ahhh. That wound he gave me throbs. Innkeeper: What do you want? Staying the night? 200 bits. And don't dirty the rooms. (In the item shop...) Clerk: I have nothing to sell to humans, but Kirkis is OK. (In the armorer's...) Clerk: How will our wonderful armor look on humans? (In the runemaster's...) Clerk: Welco... whaddaya want? (In house...) Woman: Kirkis, you're back. How was it? What? Human help? (In house...) Man: Kwanda lives in Pannu Yakuta Castle, south of the woods. Next time we'll go get him. Woman: If my husband were around, we "Guardians of the Forest" would never lose. (In house...) Man: We elves will never lose, unlike those dirty dwarfs and stupid Kobolds. Woman: Did you know that these creatures up north called dwarves catch elves and eat them? Scary, eh? *****PLOT***** (The party enters the Elder's house, and a young female elf approaches Kirkis.) Sylvina: Kirkis... why did you leave me alone? I was lonely. Kirkis: I didn't mean to leave you alone. Sylvina: How terrible, going off alone. You should have taken me with you. Was it fun outside? Kirkis: No, I mean, I didn't go out to play, you know. I didn't take you because I didn't want you in danger. Gremio: Of course. *****NPCs***** Sylvina: Kirkis, did you do something bad? Grandpa looks really angry. Guard: Kirkis, don't tell me you believe what that human woman tells you. Guard: Kwanda Rosman, one of the Five Great Imperial Generals, is the true enemy of the "Guardians of the Forest." Guard: The Kobolds switched sides and joined the Imperials. They're double-crossers. Guard: Phew! Kirkis, you smell like humans. *****PLOT***** Elder: Kirkis, why did you leave without my permission? What did you do out there? Kirkis: There are humans who are fighting the Empire too. I left to get help from the Liberation Army, as they call themselves, to protect the Village of the Elves. Elder: Protect this village? What are you talking about? We don't need human help to protect ourselves. It's true that at one point, Kwanda's men had the upper hand. But they're human, after all. They've been behaving themselves recently. Kirkis: But... Elder: Shut up, Kirkis. You left the village without permission, and dared return with filthy humans. Lock them all up. Guard: Yes, sir. Sylvina: What? Why? Why? Grandpa, why are you arresting Kirkis? (The guards step forward, and the party is surrounded. Later, in the jail, they are sharing a cell with Valeria and another elf.) *****NPCs***** (Stallion runs around them.) Stallion: Well, if it isn't chicken- hearted Kirkis, who turned and ran when he found out the Imperial Army was attacking. Hey, don't you remember me? Stallion, the fastest pair of feet in the village. Didn't you know? You should have seen how fast I ran when Kwanda attacked. Ha ha ha! *****PLOT***** Valeria: Who the hell are you? Liberation Army? Come to help the elves? I guess we're all fools here. Gremio: That's an Imperial uniform. Valeria: Yep, I was a fool too. I risked my life to betray the Empire, and look at me now. How stubborn these elves are! They refuse to believe what I know. Kirkis: So what is it you know? Valeria: Oh, that. The man in charge of this region is the Great General Kwanda Rosman. He has commissioned a horrible weapon to exterminate the rebellious elves. Gremio: Horrible weapon? What is it? Valeria: I'm not sure, but it's called the Burning Mirror. They say it can burn down an entire forest in an instant. Not only the elves, but the village where I was born. That's why I came. I wanted to warn the elves of this danger, so they could prevent the Burning Mirror's completion. Gremio: And before you knew it, you were in this prison. *****NPCs***** Valeria: Dammit, we don't have time to waste around here. Shouldn't have trusted those elves! *****PLOT**** (After a little while, they hear a noise.) ???: creak Kirkis: Who is it? (Sylvina comes down the stairs, looking into the cell.) Kirkis: Sylvina... Sylvina: Grandpa said I shouldn't come here, but I have to ask... Kirkis: Ask what? Sylvina: Tell me, Kirkis, why are you so hung up on humans? Humans act big, yet they're dead after only 50 years or so. Why bother with such lowly creatures? Gremio: Dead after only 50 years or so? What an awful thing to say. Kirkis: Listen to me, Sylvina. It's true that humans dislike elves and dwarves. We look down on humans. The dwarves detest us. Isn't it sad? After all, what's the difference between us? Why can't we get along? I just don't understand it. It's very sad. Sylvina: Kirkis... I'm sorry, Kirkis. I don't understand what you're saying. I just can't. I just can't trust humans, and dwarves scare me. (She looks away for a moment, then back through the bars of the jail.) Sylvina: But... but... I'll believe you. I'll believe whatever you believe. I'll do my best to believe. Kirkis: Sylvina... Sylvina: Here's the key to this cell. Do you think I'll end up in here for doing this? (She unlocks the cell, and Stallion rushes out first.) Stallion: Ha! I, Stallion, shall show you how fast I can run. (He runs up the stairs in the blink of an eye.) Gremio: In-incredible. Sylvina: Kirkis, you run too. You can't run that fast, of course... Kirkis: No, I can't run away. I have to do something about that Burning Mirror that Valeria was talking about. (Valeria steps away from the wall and approaches him.) Valeria: What can you do? Kirkis: I have an idea. Master Tir, northeast of this village is the Village of the Dwarves. They must know something. Let's get their help. Tir: *I agree. *Let's go back to the castle first. /----- Tir: I agree. Valeria: Me too. If we don't hurry, there'll be a disaster. We must prevent the Burning Mirror from being completed. ----- Tir: Let's go back to the castle first. Gremio: Young Master, we don't have the time. The Burning Mirror is being built at this very moment. We must hurry. /----- Sylvina: Kirkis! Are you going to dwarf country?! They say dwarves eat elves. Kirkis: That's just a nasty rumor. We should get rid of prejudices like that. Let's go, Master Tir. *****NPCs***** Sylvina: Hurry Kirkis, or I'll get in trouble. *****PLOT***** (THe party leaves the jail and exits the village. At the base of the tree, Valeria and Sylvina are following them.) Valeria: Take me with you, Commander Tir. I want to help protect this forest. [Valeria will join party. Reduce membership by one.] [Valeria joins!] Sylvina: Kirkis... Kirkis: Do you want to come along, Sylvina? This time you're welcome to join us. Sylvina: ......... I'll stay. I'll wait for you to come back. So, promise me you'll return. Promise? Kirkis: I promise I'll be back. I'll never make you feel sad again. Sylvina: It's a promise. (Kirkis kisses Sylvina, and the party departs for the Village of the Dwarves.)