======================================================
He was going to warn her, to tell her that it was dangerous to play around with these things, but that implied that one believed in their power, and he did not. Did he? (The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency)
======================================================
 |
| (The voice actor TRIES to do the Chewbacca roar, but fails. He tried.) |
"Sorry, I was clearing my throat," said the lion. "You need my help?"
"We need to use your boat to visit Waterfront," said Grace. "Rra Onetusk pointed to you."
"Ah, I see," said Sobaka. "Well then, I will help, but I need you to make a distraction. Fight the Black Tusk Cultists and I'll be able to go to my hidden dock and set up the boat."
So we created a diversion. (The Black Tusk Cultists are Death, so expect a LOT of annoying Death Ninjas to weaken your attacks. Also, you'll have to fight a few Berserkers or Greyhorns as you can't avoid pulling in one of those guys.)
"Thanks, Rra," said Grace. We crowded into the boat. I was embarassed to be shoulder-to-shoulder in such a tight space but we didn't have a choice if we wanted to get to the Waterfront.
"Yeah," I murmured.
"You can use my boat to get back to Stone Town at any time," he said. "By the way, I am curious as to why you wanted to come here, this is not really a good place for women like you."
We blushed and told him why.
"You're looking for Belloq, eh?" he said. "He's a shifty one. 'Mischief-maker' is what we call him in hte Savannah. He is not easy to find. Maybe one of the Greyhorns would know where he lairs."
(Yep, have to fight more Greyhorns. It never ends, does it?)
"I will wait here for you," he said. "Be careful."
"Let me go in first," I said. "If I yell, come running."
"Okay," said Christina, winking.
I found the tent and entered it, finding an elephant in a white leisure suit. This must have been Belloq. And what shocked me was that Councillor Rasik Pridefall was there too!
I gasped...
A little TOO loud. (Cue Metal Gear Solid ! sound here.)
"I can't be seen here!" cried Rasik, who dashed out of the back door of the tent.
"Guards!" cried Belloq. A Greyhorn merc barged in. Oh ****.
(This is Belloq. YOU WILL HATE HIM. He's a gimmick boss and I think I need to show his gimmick so please forgive me Sierra for sacrificing you for this demonstration...)
 |
| Dun dun dun, just fighting dis elephant... |
 | ||
| "I THOUGHT YOU CAME HERE TO HURT ME!" |
 |
| Hey, no fair summoning my friend's spell before I can act!!! |
 |
| (Cue Super Mario Game Over music) |
(This is the first boss that has the "Don't Hurt Me!" gimmick - IF YOU DO NOT DO DAMAGE TO THE BOSS EACH ROUND, YOU'LL TRIGGER A PRIORITY ATTACK BEFORE ANYONE ELSE CAN ACT! In Belloq's case, he has a priority Ra which violates the damage it does - it does 2000 damage without resists! Needless to say, you will be WIPED in two rounds if he gets off this gimmick. It's impossible to solo him with this gimmick unless you have almost complete immunity to Balance damage. YOU MUST INFLICT DAMAGE TO HIM EVERY ROUND, so it's impossible to Feint, Hex or Curse him as those traps will have to be busted unless you want to eat over 1500 damage a round. Luckily, he hasn't got a lot of HP for a boss. But you will have to be careful not to let the Greyhorn stun the person damaging Belloq with Freeze or you're dead.)
(Oh, and by the way, you'll face him and this cheat much later in your career, so be warned.)
My friends arrived. "Hey, don't let us skimp on the fun!" laughed Christina as she summoned Ra to take out the Greyhorn.
My Earthquake slammed Belloq hard.
"Enough!" he cried. "I surrender!"
"Okay, talk!" said Christina. "Tell us what you know about the Blackback Gorillas!"
"Councillor Rasik introduced me to them," he said.
"Well, those gems are causing the elephants to riot," I said. "Where can we find the gems?"
"There is a barge on the docks where we trade," said Belloq. "Don't believe me, go look for yourself!"
"Can we trust him?" I asked.
"We do not have any other options, Mma," said Grace. "We must take his word."
As we left, I heard Belloq mumble something. "Stupid girls don't know the first thing..."
I glared at him. I had a feeling this wouldn't be the LAST time we meet this shifty pachyderm.
"He said there was a barge to the Drum Jungle," I said.
"Oh yes, I saw in over there," said Sobaka. "Go and check it for clues. But be wary if it is a trap."
"Even if it was a trap, we have to check it out," I said.
Some fellows from Ravenwood were there and waved us in. (Had to switch realms because there were too many people wanting to go in.)
Figured that there would be guards. We went in quietly...
I SAID QUIETLY, GEEZ GRACE!!! :(
"Look," said Grace.
I took the paper off the barrel. It was some sort of bill of trade but I couldn't figure out what it was for. "I bet an elephant would know what this means," I said. "Let's speak to Hathi, he is the queen's right-hand elephant. He would know what this says."
"Yeah, don't ask," I muttered. I handed the bill to him. "Can you translate this? We can't read your writing, you know."
"Ah, a Bill of Lading," he said. "I will study it. In the meantime, could you inform the Queen what has happened and what you have found out?"
We did so.
"Ah, it is good that you give me these reports," said Queen Silvertusk.
We returned to Hathi and he pointed out the obvious. "I knew that councillor was in cahoots with the bad guys!" said Christina. "He's a mean one!"
"I dunno," I said. "Something smells worse than a school of Gobblerfish here... Hathi, can you tell us where the Councillor lives?"
"Of course," said Hathi. "You must confront him with the charges!"
"Let's bust his face in!" said Christina, smacking her fist.
"Hold on, I'll go alone," I said. "I don't want him to spot us and run for the jungle. If he sees only one, his guard will be lowered. Trust me."
"Oh," I said, recognizing Vir Goodheart, Rasik's assistant. "Thanks again for helping us back in Baobab. Didn't expect you here."
"You have seen the Councillor, yes?" said Vir. "You know he has fallen under the Shadow, yes?"
"You mean... he's been brainwashed?" I asked.
"I would like to help you find the Councillor," whispered Vir. "But not here. Come to the Waterfront and I will explain further. You have a boat, do you?"
I sighed. "Yes."
(I thought I had taken a screenshot, but I didn't. :( )
We piled into Sobaka's boat and rowed down to the port. We found Vir hiding behind some crates. "You weren't followed, were you?"
We shook our heads.
"Good," he whispered. "The Councillor is at the Black Palace now."
Grace gasped. "I saw that place, it is a beacon of dark magic."
"I know, I don't know how the Black Tusk Cultists ensorcelled so many of my people were spellbound into building that place," Vir said.
"But how can we get in?" said Grace. "There is a magical barrier preventing entry."
"The Black Tusk Cultists must have a password or something," said Vir. "You should find out."
"Okay, that means more 'tusks' if I can guess right," I said, shaking my head. "We'll find the way in and find out what is going on."
This place was tense, many people were suffering, including a librarian. We helped her recover her library and fix her translation stone. (Get ready to fight a TON of elephants for this side quest chain, but you get a TON of experience from it!)
"That stone..." murmured Grace as we reclaimed the library. She sighed."I will tell you more about the legend of my people. You know how I told you about how the four great leaders summoned a Spiral Door and out came a council of Wizards, yes?"
We nodded.
"This Council, the Council of Light, fought the Umbra Queen and destroyed her Spider Temple."
I shuddered. I hate spiders.
"Do not worry, that temple is long gone - Rra Ambrose and his council tore every last thing down."
"And now Morgie's back for revenge," muttered Christina. "I wouldn't blame it if she was behind all of this craftiness."
I found a book which pointed out that the founder of Stone Town helped the Council of Light. It was most enlightening.
During our mass slaughter of the Black Tusk Cult, one of the cultists surrendered the password, which we repeated to Vir. He then explained how to get through the magical barrier.
"I have a feeling this will involve magic," I muttered, recalling a similar situation in Sudrilund.
Sure enough, we had to drink a potion to become elephant-men. I was glad this was temporary, I didn't like having to be a male elephant. (You have nine minutes to hoof it to the Black Temple.)
 |
| (Forgot to Ctrl-G. :( ) |
"Halt!" said a guard. "What is the password?"
Grace cleared her throat. "Nants ingonyama bagithi baba!"
The guards nodded. "You may pass."
We slipped through the barrier...
Only to run into trouble. "They are using elephant-skin magic!" cried a patrol. "Destroy them!"
"Dang it," said Christina, frowning. (Yep, I stumbled into one of the wandering mobs in the perimeter while trying to make the stupid sigils register. :( )
"Time to ditch the disguises and sneak in before they get reinforcements!" shouted Christina. We willed away the transformations and hurried inside.
"This place is as creepy as Tartarus," muttered Christina. I nodded and tried not to churn my stomac on seeing the pillars sporting spider emblems.
"We will not get anywhere standing around," said Grace. "We must confront Rra Pridefall and force him to confess to his crimes."
Cultists were patrolling heavily, so we stuck to the walls stealthily.
"Found the jerk," said Christina.
"Chris, don't do anything rash," I warned.
Does she EVER listen to me?
"Yo, you two jerkwads!" she screamed. "Busted!"
The zebra in disguise turned. "Gah!?"
Rasik spotted us and snorted. "You foolish girls, you have sought nothing but death! My little pet will take care of you three!" He whistled and, guess what? ANOTHER beetle-man skittered out of the walls as the Counciller and his ally slipped away.
"We will not be able to give chase until this thing is defeated," said Grace.
That was a bit difficult. X_X (Maglor has 6300 HP and is Ice, so yeah, expect tons of stuns. He fired off Freeze on Sierra, then spammed Frost Giant. Luckily, that blew all of his pips...)
(So a couple of Myth attacks took him down. The Cultists with him needed to eat a Ra.)
"Come on, don't let them get away!" cried Christina.
We cornered the Councillor. "Please, Rra Pridefall," said Grace. "Surrender and turn yourself in and the Queen will be merciful."
"Bah!" said Rasik. "I am not a coward hiding in his mother's skirt! I will face you like a bull!"
"Good, because you're FULL of bull!" snarled Christina, smacking her fist. "You asked for it!"
Ow.
(Rasik has 7000+ HP and is ALSO Ice, so expect to be hit with Freeze a lot.)
We brought the Councillor down with our spells. "Agh!"
"Don't kill him," said Grace. "We will not stoop to evil."
"I am a broken man," said Rasik.
"Tell us what you know," I said. "Who was that guy?"
"The elephant?" asked Rasik. "That was Tim-Tim Snakeeye. He and Belloq introduced me to the Blackback Gorillas. They created the four keystones which cause the people of Stone Town to be befuddled so we could continue our work."
"I knew Belloq was a bad guy!" growled Christina.
I tied his hands tightly with rope. "Don't get me wrong, Rasik. I'll send Vir to get some guards to fetch you, and then they'll decide what your fate will be. You're lucky we were like some people..."
I went around breaking the stones and felt the dark magic leave. "Now the riots will quell," said Grace. "That is a good thing."
"Let's find this Tim-Tim and kick his butt," said Christina.
"You know what?" I said. "I have a feeling that Tik-Tik, Tim-Tim, Tom-Tom and Tse-Tse are the same guy, just some zebra wearing masks."
"I agree," said Grace. "But for now we must find out what he wants."
"Yes," I said as we confronted the trickster zebra. "But you forget something..."
"If you crush a firefly, its guts burn."
(Tim-Tim, who is actually Tse-Tse, has 6700+ HP and is Storm... and usually starts off the battle with Levy. Yeah, he wastes a spell that could cripple your blades on the first turn. :p)
(He is a gimmick boss - he throws up a Guardian Shield[-90% to damage] BUT if you heal, the shield will be destroyed. He recasts this shield every three turns after it's destroyed, so be very careful to time your hits. Oh, and he has Black Tusks, so expect to be hit with Death Ninjas.)
"No deals, spy," said Christina. "We're nipping this in the bud now."
"I know where the Elephant Prince is!" shouted Tim-Tim.
I held the girls back. "Verify this," I said. "Is Morganthe taking Prince Tziri to the Drum Jungle?"
"Yes, yes, the marvelous Umbra Queen is heading there now," said Tim-Tim.
"You may go." I said. "But we will have a reckoning."
"You are kind," said the zebra, who teleported away.
"What he said," said Christina. "Why did you let him go?"
"We couldn't have stopped him from escaping," I said. "Besides, I am no killer. If he wants to die, he has to attack me."
Grace smiled. "You are an honest soul, Mma."
"Well, you are our leader, so I won't question it," said Christina. "But... nevermind."
"Let's get out of here," I said.
"Look here!" said Christina.
"This must Queen Elissa's portrait," said Grace. "I had heard it had been stolen from the palace long ago, when I was a child."
"Well, looks like we need to return it," I said. (This is a housing item, be sure to pick it up!)
We found a secret tunnel leading back to the entrance and hurried out - the magical barrier was gone now that we destroyed the stones and the guards were in a pickle so we slipped by easily.
"Let us return to the Queen and report our success, Mma," said Grace.
"All for that!" I said.
We returned to the Queen and gave our reports. We bowed in thanks.
"If what you heard was true," said Queen Aryanah. "Then the Umbra Queen is heading for only one place..."
"The Elephant Graveyard," whispered Grace. "The place where your Golden Swords are hidden. My daddy told me that they were hidden there, you told him they were there."
The Queen nodded. "You must hurry and intercept them before they reach that place. You see, the seal on the Swords can only be dispelled by a member of Olyphant royalty, and..."
"That's why she wanted the Prince!" said Christina. "We have to hurry!"
"Wait," said the Queen. "The least we can do is to release your Wizard into your custody. Don't forget to feed and water him!"
Christina snarled and stomped out. I shook my head.
We got back to the zoo and found the keeper putting planks for Lail to cross. We smiled.
"We will at least get you to Baobab," said Grace. "Hannibal will assist us."
We parted ways at the market and he returned to Ravenwood, and the picture filled in more.
"That's all the students," I said. "At least they are safe. We can consider this a success."
"Not yet," said Grace. "We still must rescue Rra Sunchaser and the Prince."
"Of course we will," I said. "We can't let Morganthe have her way with the Prince." I then blushed at my words. "I mean..."
Christina slapped my back and laughed. "We'll save them, don't you worry! And when we stop Morgie's plans, we'll all celebrate!"
I had a feeling it wouldn't go down like that....
[To Be Continued...]
