Final Fantasy Nerdery: nalbina dungeons

Showing posts with label nalbina dungeons. Show all posts

Saturday, December 14, 2013

The Confiscatory, The Black Watch, and the Oubliette

The Confiscatory

Fran: Look.

Balthier: Ah! The prison repository of wrested relics and raiments.

Vaan: So our things are in here?

Balthier: That’s what I said.

[You recover your lost items and equipment!]

[You obtain a map of the Nalbina Dungeons!]

[Your location map for this area is complete!]

The Black Watch

Balthier: There are more turnkeys than cutpurses down here. I’ve had my fill of chains. Let’s tread lightly, shall we?

The Oubliette

[Balthier, Fran, and Vaan hide in the shadows and watch the following scene unroll. The Judge approaches the chasm in the middle of the room, from which a long thin cage is being hoisted. Inside the cage a very unkempt and scarred blond man is shackled. The Judge takes his helmet off as he begins speaking to the prisoner. The two look remarkably alike, thought the Judge is of course clean-shaven and groomed.]

Judge: You have grown very thin, Basch. Less than a shadow. Less than a man. Sentenced to death and yet you live. Why?

Basch: To silence Ondore. How many times must I say it?

Judge: Is that all?

Basch: Why not ask Vayne himself? Is he not one of your masters?

Judge: We’ve caught a leader of the insurgence. She is being brought from Rabanastre. The woman Amalia. Who could that be? Such a faithful hound to cling to a fallen kingdom.

Basch: Better than throwing it away.

Judge: [putting back on his helmet] Throwing it away? As you threw away our homeland?

[The Judge and accompanying Imperials leave, and Balthier, Fran, and Vaan emerge. Basch perks up.]

Basch: Who’s there?

Balthier: [to Balthier and Fran] This the place?

Fran: The Mist is flowing through this room. It must be going somewhere.

Basch: You! You’re no Imperials. Please, you must get me out –

Balthier: It’s against my policy to speak with the dead. Especially when they happen to be kingslayers.

Basch: I did not kill him.

Balthier: Is that so? Glad to hear it.

Basch: Please, get me out. For the sake of Dalmasca.

[Vaan scowls at this comment, and leaps onto the cage, enraged, gripping the bars as he screams at Basch.]

Vaan: Dalmasca!? What do you care about Dalmasca!? Everything that’s happened is because of you! Everyone that’s died, every single one! Even my brother – You killed my brother!

Balthier: Quiet! The guards will hear.

[Too late – Fran is the first to hear the sounds of Imperials coming.]

Fran: I’m dropping it.

[She kicks the lever that keeps Basch’s cage suspended. The chain holding it up loosens…]

Balthier: [shaking his head] Pirates without a sky.

[Balthier jumps onto the cage along with Fran and Vaan, just as the cage begins to drop full velocity into the abyss below.]

Arena

[After Vaan enters the arena area, two bodies drop from a balcony about two stories up. One of them is either unconscious or deceased; the other, a red bangaa, feebly looks up from where it landed at Vaan’s feet and pleads for help. Before Vaan can do anything, two seeq land on the ground, and the bangaa tries to crawl away. The seeq easily overtake the weak bangaa and proceed to beat him with their clubs. Just as one is about to land a killing blow…]

Vaan: No, don’t!

[…the club is swung anyway, and the bangaa falls limp. The seeq now turn to Vaan and look menacingly at him.]

Vaan: He was defenseless…

[The leader, a seeq with an absurdly ugly, disarrayed set of teeth, drool dripping from his mouth, approaches Vaan, dragging his club in a Neanderthal fashion behind him; he grumbles something incoherently to Vaan. Vaan doesn’t notice until too late the third seeq who jumps down from above, hitting Vaan as he lands. He blacks out.

When he opens his eyes again, he’s been dragged into the pen in the center by the seeq. He scrambles up from the ground and tries to run, but the gates on all four sides close on him. He’s trapped, and the seeq gang begins to close in on him, but they stop when they hear a voice.]

Balthier: Something stinks in here all right. I’ve changed my mind. This is no dungeon, it’s a sty.

[The seeq leader begins grumbling incoherently again, this time at the speaker. Balthier appears on the other side of the fence. He spits and cracks his knuckles.]

Balthier: I said you’re the one that stinks, hamshanks. Hear me now?

[Balthier jumps down into the pen next to Vaan.]

Balthier: You all right, Vaan?

[He proceeds to smirk and wave provocatively at the seeq.]

[After defeating Daguza, Gwitch, and Galeedo…]

[People approach the pen, looking on in admiration at the ones who defeated Daguza. Then they hear the sound of a door opening, and the prisoners all retreat into the shadows with bitter backward glances. Balthier and Vaan take a hint and press up against the wall closest to the approaching party, out of their sight.]

Balthier: Great. They just don’t give up, do they?

[Imperials file in and line the stairs, standing at attention. A hoplite walks in and looks around, followed by the green bangaa from the earlier scene in Lowtown, who scowls and looks around himself.]

Balthier: Now is looking like a good time for us to leave.

[The two hear a sound. Fran stands at one of the gates, quietly opening it just enough so they can crawl out. As they approach, Fran murmurs to Balthier.]

Fran: Through the oubliette, there’s a way out. Only –

Balthier: Only you sense the Mist.

[Fran nods]

Balthier: Then we’ll need weapons.

Imperial: What did you call me? Say that again!

[Balthier, Fran, and Vaan’s attentions are directed back at the Imperials with bangaa]

????: What, you couldn’t hear? I merely said that the lot of you are incompetent fools. If you’ve the sky pirate in your hands, where is he?

Imperial: You’d have done better, Ba’Gamnan? By your own words, it was the Imperial army who caught this sky pirate of yours. We’ve done your job for you! We don’t require the assistance of filthy headhunters. The Empire will restore order here.

Ba’Gamnan: Eh? What’s that you say now? Maybe I’ll whet my blade on you… before I kill Balthier.

????: [yet another voice] That’s enough, Ba’Gamnan.

[From the doorway, another Imperial, this time in an ostentatious horned helm and blue and red cape bearing the insignia of House Solidor, makes his grand entrance.]

Fran: A Judge.

Vaan: Judge?

Balthier: Hmph. The self-proclaimed guardians of law and order in Archadia. They’re the elite guard of House Solidor. Which effectively makes them the commanders of the Imperial army. If you ask me, they’re more executioners than judges. Not a friendly lot, at any rate. What are they doing here?

Judge: [to Ba’Gamnan] The Emperor is willing to overlook race for his more talented servants. However, those that do not show respect will receive none in kind. (Ba’Gamnan begins to object, but he talks over him) You travel freely through our lands because the Emperor wills it. Am I correct?

[Ba’Gamnan grumbles, then says “Bah” and throws his hands up before turning away.]

Judge: [to soldier] Where is the Captain?

Imperial: We have him in solitary, Your Honor. We’re ready to begin our interrogation.

Judge: This does not concern you, bounty hunter.

Ba’Gamnan: [frustrated, to his henchmen] He’s in here somewhere! Find him!

Henchman 1: – Bwagi, that way!

Henchman 2: – I was going this way!

Balthier: Time for the hare to follow the fox.

Fran: The magicks binding the door to the oubliette are quite strong. Too strong even for my talents.

Balthier: That’s why we’ll get them to open it for us.

Vaan: How is going deeper into this place –

Balthier: [cutting off Vaan] What’s wrong? You don’t trust her? Viera’s noses are sharp. If she says there’s a way out, there’s a way out.

Stockade

[Vaan awakens in a sandy chamber on the ground. Balthier sits nearby.]

Balthier: You’re awake.

Vaan: Where are we?

Balthier: Prison, where else? More a dungeon, but it’s really all the same.

[Vaan walks curiously toward the open doorway. Someone outside screams. He draws away, reviled, and almost trips as he steps backward. He looks around to see the body of a bangaa sprawled in the dirt.]

Balthier: It’s just a corpse. Jump at every little thing down here and you’ll wear yourself out. [yawn] It’s not even a proper dungeon. They just sealed off the bottom level of the fortress. Take a look around. We’re not the first they’ve thrown down here.

Vaan: Where’s Fran?

Balthier: She’s off trying to find us a way out.

[Vaan looks cautiously at the doorway again.]

Balthier: Remember what curiosity killed. Just a friendly word of advice. This is all the water we’ve got. I’d save your strength if I were you.

[Vaan turns and walks away. Balthier looks vaguely surprised, and then simply smirks.]

Balthier: Looks as though our belongings were carted off by the Imperials. Ah, perhaps they’ve brought our things up to our rooms. How kind. No sense strutting about at a time like this. Save your strength, and stay out of trouble.

No. 691: Ah, new arrival? Welcome to the famed Nalbina Dungeons, boy. We’re all equals here. Stripped of everything by our kind friend the Empire. All we got is our bones, and those’ll be theirs soon enough! Har!

No. 691 (x2): You’re in with us, which means you’re in here for a long, long time. You’re lucky. You get to die slow. If they were going to kill you quick, you’d be down in the oubliette.

No. 691 (x3): Don’t even think about going back to see the oubliette, boy. They’d as soon toss you in there as look at you.

No. 278: Room back there’s the corpse pile. That’s where they’ll throw me when I pass on. You, too.

No. 278 (x2): I wonder why they say “imprisoned for life,” when it’s for death we’re waitin’.

No. 474: My friend and me were just going to the cathedral to pray for Lady Ashe and Lord Rasler, when some Imperials arrested us! Said we were part of some royalist movement! Can you believe it? They had no proof at all! And my friend, he… (sniff)

No. 474 (x2): What have I done? All I did was pray for Lady Ashe’s peaceful repose…

No. 823: Tell me, boy, you still have hope?

>Of course.

Eh heh… good, good! Man can’t live without hope. Here’s another bit of hope: the Empire’s fated to fall, you know. Not too long from now… Should be any day…

>None at all.

Eh heh… I see, I see… Too bad, ‘cause I’ve got hope. You see… the Empire’s fated to fall. Shouldn’t be too long now… Might be today… might be tomorrow…

No. 823 (x2): The Empire can thrash about all it wants, there’s no escaping fate. Eh heh. Eh heh heh heh!

No. 381: O-ow… That surly tart!

No. 381 (x2): Ach… So overjoyed was I to see my lass once again, I went to give ‘er a kiss… …And got a fresh slap in the face for my affections! I can’t be blamed for mistakin’ that viera for my bonnie lass… Been a year since I saw a lady. Should’ve known one tough enough to survive down here long’d be cast of iron. Grr… Blasted viera…

No. 381 (x3): What! If you’re fixing to have a staring contest, let’s end it right now. There, I lose. You happy?

No. 102: Unh… ahh… W-water…

No. 102 (x2): W-why bother giving us this brackish swill… A man can’t drink that…

No. 102 (x3): Please, just a taste… Cold, clear water… A taste…

No. 124: You Dalmascan, boy? I once fought at this fortress to save the King of Dalmasca. It’s true. Seems an age ago, now, down here.

No. 124 (x2): Listen, boy. No matter how hard it gets, don’t forget your pride in Dalmasca, and your hatred of the Empire! They’re all we got.

No. 124 (x3): Accursed Captain… I hope he’s burning in the pits of the underworld…

No. 982: Ah, fresh blood! If you want to make it out of this place in one piece, you’ll do whatever Daguza tells ya to, got that?

No. 982 (x2): You’ve the face of one looking to start something. Start all you want, but I guarantee, you won’t much like the end.

No. 546: The man you came here with had a familiar look to him… Might be I saw him somewhere? Might be a wanted man… In fact, I think that’s it. He were a bandit… No, a sky pirate, he was. Seem to remember a hefty sum on his head…

No. 395: Escape? There’s plenty of folks down here wanting to do that. Never heard of anyone succeeding, though.

No. 395 (x2): I always heard Nalbina Fortress was impenetrable. Just never thought it worked both ways…

No. 395 (x3): If you’re thinking of trying to escape, better stop thinking. The lucky ones get thrown in the oubliette.

No. 643: What did you do to get in here, boy? You don’t look none too bright. Throw a stone at some Imperial, or something?

No. 502: They don’t need a reason, them Imperials toss people in here when they feel like it. Criminals, free-thinkers, bad singers…

No. 643: Keeping from dyin’ is a full-time business in here. But if you ain’t alive, you’ll never get out.

No. 643 (x2): Call it what you will, we’re an occupied state. What the Empire wants ain’t “shared prosperity,” or “self-rule.” It’s a herd of nannas to milk.

No. 502: You’ve heard about the lower levels? Sounds like all manner of vile nasties are lurkin’ down there… When it gets dark, they get to movin’ around… I’d stay out of there, if I were you.

No. 643: When night comes, you hear the voices… Like demons weeping in the deep…

No. 502: That sound, it’s like something from the pits of hell… or worse.

No. 502 (x2): I’m scared… I’ll admit it, I’m scared…

No. 281: Er… Annngh… Damn swine…! What’s he talking about “spy hunting”? What gives him the right…

No. 281 (x2): That Daguza… Swine thinks his manure’s made o’ gold.

[When you walk through the doorway past 281, if you’ve talked to him…]

No. 281: Look, take my advice, and stay out of there!