Gothic 2: Week 1

Day 1:

I awake to find Xardas standing over me. We talk, and he tells me what I missed.

As I slept, the armies of Beliar, the god of darkness, arose to take over the land. The Sleeper’s final cry was but one word-COME. With it, he summoned all the forces of evil in the land to the island we called home. That army includes dragons. To save the land, I must convince the Holy Paladns to give me their ancient artifact, the Eye of Innos, and find its wicked counterpart, the Eye of Beliar.

My armor and weapons were all destroyed. I have nothing. Xardas lets me take what I may from his tower-a stone tablet, a potion, some herbs. I also find a book with some information on how to make potions from plants. I leave it there, but try to put the most important things down to memory.

I also take a heavy branch I can use as a weapon. When I swing it, I know one thing with certainty. I am weak again. My only recourse is to try to make it to the city of Khorinis, where I can explore, trade, and hopefully find weapons and armor powerful enough to allow me to survive for any length of time in the wild.

I stay with Xardas for the night.

Day 2:

I spend the day with Xardas, reading his ancient texts and discussing matters in the colony. Little is accomplished.

Day 3:

When I leave for Khorinis, I find a stray sheep. I club it to death and take some raw meat. I also find a wolf, which I manage to take down-perhaps some of my old strength has remained. When I first arrived in the colony, those beasts were near impossible for me to take down.

As I run to the city, I meet a familiar face-Cavalorn the Hunter, of the Old Camp. He taught me various useful skills, although I cannot seem to recall any of them after being knocked unconscious for weeks. He greets me, and tells me he now works for the Water Mages. However, other freed prisoners have taken up banditry, forcing Khorinis to close its gates. I will have to think of some clever tactics to enter the city.

Cavalorn tells me some of the bandits robbed him. He gives me a few of his remaining possessions-a weapon called a wolf knife that packs a surprising punch, and two healing potions. Knife in hand, I agree to help him take down the bandits who robbed him.

I don’t find that I’m of much help. Cavalorn does most of the work. When the bandits are downed, he asks me to find a letter that one of them must have and give it to Vatras, the head of the Water Mages in Khorinis, and that I should tell him that Cavalorn is going to “the meeting place”. I find the letter and read it. It’s from Saturas, the leader of the Water Mages in the colony, and from it I learn that the Water Mages are in pursuit of an unknown artifact. Among the other things I find are a bow I know nothing about using, some gold, and a wanted poster. One with my face on it. There is also a note discussing a “man”, and offering thirty gold pieces to whomever kills him. I don’t doubt the note is talking about me.

With that done, I continue towards Khorinis. Along the way, I see a pack of bloodflies. Damned beasts are small, but feisty, so I avoid them. I do, however, find a farm and talk with Maleth, the sheepherder. He tells me I could convince the guards I’m a farmer if I looked like one, and then tells me to go to Lobart, the farm’s owner.

The instant he sees me, Lobart asks if I’m with the king or the peasants. When I show my confusion, he explains that the farmers are rebelling against the king due to overtaxation. Fees to spend in the war agains the orcs, most like. Lobart says he’ll sell me farmer’s clothing, but the price is high. Khorinis is nearby, but the guards won’t let me through. I do some work for Lobart and his wife and he lowers the price enough for me to afford it. I purchase the clothing.

As I do the work, I meet Canthar, a merchant. He offers me a free pass into the city, as long as I do him a favor next I see him. However, I meet Greg, a sailor who says he’ll pay me if I help him get into the city. I offer him the pass, but he refuses, saying the guards won’t believe him. I give him the farmer’s clothing and keep the pass for myself, earning a few gold in the process.

I enter the city, only to be stopped by a Paladin who forcefully tells me the new rules of the city. I am not allowed into the upper quarter, where the mages are, until I am a citizen, and I can become a citizen if I am accepted as an apprentice to a craftsman. Apparently everything is going to hell, though-the farmers are rebelling, citizens are randomly going missing, the harbor area is a cesspool of violence...I attempt to tell him that dragons are approaching and I need the Eye of Innos, but he refuses to believe me. However, I do learn from him that Diego, my friend from the colony, also knew of the dragons and was imprisoned for disrupting the peace when he refused to stop talking about them. I do not make the same mistake.

I am in Khorinis now, but it is late. I find a small, unknown corner in Khorinis and sleep on the ground there. It is quiet and peaceful, so I decide it’ll be a nice place to stay and go unbothered for now. I shall begin work tomorrow.

Day 4:

Since I’m new to Khorinis, I know I should talk to people and learn what there is to learn. I meet a good number of people, including the various masters, and I learn what they want of me. Matteo, the merchant master, asks me to settle a debt with a woman named Gretta, who refuses to pay her debt but wears clothes fancy enough to prove she easily could. I find her, and she’s such a damn annoying bitch I have to force myself to not attack her-at least, until she refuses to give me the money. I take the heavy branch and knock her unconscious, grab the 100 gold she has in her pocket, and give it to Matteo. Easy enough, but I decide that when the opportunity arises I will find Gretta again and shove my wolf knife through her chest.

Another of the masters tells me that he won’t help me until I get the blessing from a priest of Innos and a priest of Adanos. I’m also to find an orc and take its weapon to please another of the masters. These men most certainly demand much of me.

I talk with Vatras, the leader of the Water Mages in Khorinis and a priest of Adanos. I give him the letter and tell him Cavalorn sent me. Vatras is pleased and gives me his blessing. He also tells me to find Lares, another man I remember from the colony, and gives me… something… I’m not quite certain what it may be. During our conversation, I ended up having to tell him about Xardas, the dragons, and the Eye of Innos, despite the paladin at the entrance telling me not to bring them up. I am told that I should meet with Lord Hagen, the leader of all the paladins in Khorinis, but he never leaves the upper quarter. To be granted permission to see him, I’ll have to join either the militia working under the paladins, the ring of water run by the Water Mages, or the mercenaries participating in the peasant rebellion.

After taking an enormous quantity of free beer and giving some of it to a city guard until he tells me of an orc nearby, smoking a pipe with Appleweed Tobacco in it, meeting a pompous ass named Valentino, and being offered to have my fortune told (which I admittedly am still considering), I find a small outpost of the Milita near the edge of Khorinis. I talk a bit with their trainer, Wolfgar, who offers to teach me one-handed or two-handed weapons. I decline for now-such sounds useful, but for now, I am busy and don’t have the time. Lord Andre, the paladin with the highest rank not in the upper quarter, is there as well. I discuss things with him, including a potential desire to join the militia. He tells me of a Thieves’ Guild which has been creating trouble for Khorinis, and that if I can help him take it down, he’ll pull some strings and let me into the Militia, whether I am a citizen or not. Interesting offer, to be sure…

By this time, night is falling. I return to my corner and sleep through the night.

Day 5:

I spend the day mingling with the less opulent folk, hoping to find out some worthwhile rumors. I do not, and little is accomplished.

Day 6:

After the underwhelming performance the previous day, I decide I shall try to get as much done as possible today. I begin by talking to more citizens in Khorinis.

When I make it to the market, I meet Canthar again. The favor he asks of me is to go to another merchant named Sarah, slip a note into her pocket that says she’s selling weapons to the mercenaries, and then report her to the paladins. If I do this, everything works out fine and I earn the bounty for putting a criminal behind bars. If I refuse, Canthar will tell everyone that I am from the colony, and the merchants will almost certainly refuse to trade with me.

Letting Sarah be arrested would be in my favor, but unlike the bitch Gritta, she never did anything to make me want to exact punishment on her. If Sarah is arrested, Canthar will take over her position, I’ll earn a bounty, and it will be of no detriment to me. If Sarah is not arrested and Canthar spreads his rumor, then no injustice will be done but I will have some trouble on my hands. I ponder this for a moment, then make my decision. I agree to put the note in Sarah’s pocket, but instead go to Lord Andre. I tell him of Canthar’s scheming, accept my bounty, and return to the market to watch him be arrested.

In the market, I meet a fire mage, who gives me Innos’ Blessing after extorting fifty gold pieces from me. Now I am able to satisfy the master, but other merchants find themselves with issues. One notes that he was robbed by bandits. I offer to help him get his things back. Another says a man stole his purse. I catch the thief, report him to the guards, and return the money to the merchant. In return, I am given additional information about the Thieves’ Guild in the city. Apparently, there is an inn by the docks where some seemingly shady fellows meet. If I go there, more information might present itself.

As such, I start heading towards the docks. A man stops me and informs me of Lehmar the Moneylender. I want little to do with the trade, as I am certain the lender will find some way to trick me out of every coin I have.

Outside of the inn, a man tries to extort more gold from me. I refuse to hand over what he asks, so he draws his weapon. He hits like a rabid Swampshark, but I manage to knock him down and he leaves me alone.

Inside, the bartender is selling food and information. I find out all the things I might have wanted to know after 60 gold pieces, after which I’ve learned a few things.

For one, Lares, one of the leaders of the new camp, is right by the docks. There’s a man named Carl who can help me regain my strength. I can duel Alric behind the building to earn a few extra gold. Someone imposing wants to talk to me, for whatever reason. And I also ended up getting a job-pretend to be someone’s errand boy so I can steal an item from them, and then bring the item to someone else who can sell it and give me half the profit. Whether I will do it or not, I am yet unsure.

I meet Lares and have a chat with him. I learn more about the ring of water-it’s apparently a secret organization that functions not dissimilarly to the paladins, but working for the Water Mages instead of the Fire Mages. Lares teaches me how to hold heavier weapons and how to swing harder-I’m still nowhere near as strong as I once was, but it’s an improvement nonetheless. He also gives me a tip-if I cast a sleep spell on the man guarding the paladins’ storeroom, I can slip inside, grab a few things, and be with nobody the wiser. Buying a sleep scroll from the market sets me back a good deal, but when I find myself a suit of leather armor in the storeroom, I conclude that my coin was well spent.

Continuing to search, I find a brothel where a man beckons me inside. I ask one of the whores there about the missing people, but she says she can’t talk to me unless I pay the owner. I lose fifty gold pieces, but I go upstairs with her and learn what I wanted to. Another of the whores, Lucia, seemingly vanished a few days back. As much as that concerns me, I spent a good deal of gold to get into a room with this girl, and I am not intending to let that money go to waste.

After… resting for a few hours, I go outside and continue to talk to people. I see someone who fits the description of the person who is looking for me-I choose not to get too close, as I’m not certain I’d be able to fight them off if it came down to it. However, I do run into a sheepherder complaining about another person slamming a hammer into the wall of their house every day. After being there for only a few minutes, I found myself getting irritated by the noise, so I find the person hammering and knock them to the ground with a few swift blows. When they get back up, they agree to stop hammering, and I earn thirty gold in thanks for stopping the noise.

I also have a run-in with Alric, the man running the duels. I give him fifty gold and we fight. He’s tough, but I manage to down him, and I earn my money back twice over as a result. I ask if we can fight again, but he refuses unless he gets his old sword back. He tells me the name of the merchant he sold it to for food-Jora. I decide I’ll get the sword so I can duel him again, hopefully earning some more gold in the process. There are some lovely weapons available, but they are most certainly expensive.

I go to the marketplace to find the merchant. As it turns out, this is the same merchant whose coins were stolen by the thief-in thanks, he gives me the sword free of charge. Helping others can pay off, it seems.

I return the sword and duel Alric again. With my purse now notably heavier, I realize that this is a fantastic way to earn a few coins, should I need to.

I talk to a boat builder and a fisherman about the missing people, and find that there is a small landmass off the cost of Khorinis, near enough to swim to. One of the missing people was last seen there-perhaps I should go and take a look.

However, that is a task for tomorrow. It is late, so I return to my corner of town, drink one of the remaining free beers, and settle down for the night.

Day 7:

I’ve explored much of Khorinis, and now it’s time to head out. First, I talk to Baltram, the merchant who’s looking for a courier to bring him something from Akil’s farm. I’ve been hired to take the item to someone else instead, but I’m yet debating whether I should. Regardless, I then head out of the eastern gate of Khorinis.

I run into some wolves, but these are much more powerful than the ones I had faced earlier. I am only able to down three before heading back to Khorinis to patch myself up. Even so, as soon as I am able, I run outside the city walls again, hoping to make it farther this time.

There are a good number of creatures out there. I see field raiders, giant rats, scavengers… I even spot some boars and wargs, but I stay far away from those. I don’t consider myself an experienced enough fighter to down them.

I find Akil’s farm, but I notice that there seems to be an argument or conflict of some sort outside. I choose not to get involved-it doesn’t appear to be going anywhere, but if I step in, it could come to blows. From what I can tell, I could return and nothing would have changed, so I can resolve whatever is happening whenever I feel I’m prepared.

I do, however, talk with the two brothers tending the field. Neither seems to like the other, so I get sent back and forth ferrying messages between them in a comical fashion. Through some sequence of events I don’t fully enderstand, one of them begins attacking the other. One goes down, the other walks away. After a few minutes, the unconscious one gets back up and they keep working.

I leave and go back to Khorinis. While there, I learn from Lares how to properly hold a large axe, which I promptly use instead of my pitiful wolf knife. I also find some strange man who asks me to beat someone up and then cast a spell on them that should make them forget I beat them up. I find this a strange matter, but when I see someone not surrounded by others, I try it out. Indeed it works, and they have no recollection that I just knocked them unconscious. In return, the strange man offers to teach me alchemy. I decline for now, but keep it in mind for later. It could be useful.

With that complete, I retire back to my little corner. I have accomplished a decent deal this week. With luck, I can convince the paladins to give me the Eye of Innos before too long.

The week, in short:

I went to Khorinis and talked to many people. I helped out with some small tasks, worked towards becoming a citizen of the town, and fought a few small monsters outside the gates. Things are going nicely.

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The numbers:

Level: 3

Strength: 35 (+5 from equipment)

Dexterity: 10

Mana: 10

Magic level: 0

HP: 76

Armor: Leather Armor (Weapon def. 25, projectile def. 20, fire def. 5)

Weapon: Rusty Axe

Bow: Shortbow

Gold: 168

1-handed skill: 10%

2-handed skill: 14%

Bow skill: 10%

Crossbow skill: 10%