Hero	Text	Audio
Lares	I'll see you later, down at the harbor.
Lares	I must be crazy, what are you doing here?
Lares	Did you SWIM here?
Lares	(laughs) That's one way to get past the guards at the city gate.
Me	Have we met before?
Lares	Man, don't you remember me? I used to hang around in the New Camp.
Lares	The list for the mine... Man, we had a lot of fun. Do you remember Lee?
Me	Hey, Lares, you old scoundrel, how did you get here?
Lares	I was able to escape the Valley of Mines just in time, together with Lee and some of the other boys.
Lares	You remember Lee, don't you?
Lares	I got out of the colony with him then. Just after the Barrier was destroyed.
Lares	He and his boys are now on the farm of Onar the landowner.
Lares	He made a deal with the farmer. He and his boys defend the farm, and Onar feeds them in return.
Me	Of course I remember Lee!
Me	Lee ...?
Lares	You've been through a lot, huh? Lee was the leader of the mercenaries in the New Camp.
Me	Vatras sent me. He told me to come to you when I needed help.
Lares	(astonished) So you've already been to see Vatras. You must have made a lasting impression on him.
Lares	Otherwise he certainly wouldn't have volunteered my name. Especially not since the matter with those missing people still hasn't been resolved.
Lares	Tell me what you need.
Me	So what's your business with Vatras?
Lares	I've got this little agreement with the Water Mages, you see.
Me	What kind of an agreement?
Lares	We work for them, and they see to it that our past in the penal colony doesn't get us into trouble.
Me	You're talking about the 'Ring of Water'?
Lares	You've heard of it?
Me	Vatras told me about it.
Lares	You might have mentioned that right away.
Me	Tell me more about the 'Ring of Water'.
Lares	The 'Ring' is to the Water Mages what the paladins are to the Fire Magicians.
Lares	But, unlike the paladins, we operate in the background.
Lares	The 'Ring' is a mighty weapon in the battle against the dangers that threaten the people of Khorinis.
Lares	But this only works as long as we keep the identity of all those secret who belong to the 'Ring of Water'.
Lares	So keep this to yourself!
Me	Sure.
Me	I want to join the 'Ring of Water' ...
Lares	That's fine with me. But the decision about whether you will be accepted or not lies with the Water Mages alone.
Me	I see.
Me	What did you do to impress the Water Mages?
Lares	I protected them for a long time when we were still living with the Barrier.
Lares	(smiles) And they have plenty of reason to be grateful to me.
Me	What's it like to belong to the 'Ring'?
Lares	We are very different from the usual communities you can join here in Khorinis.
Lares	Once you're one of us, we're not going to ask anything of you that you are not ready to do.
Lares	The only thing we truly require of you is to keep quiet.
Lares	We work in secret and do not want to let outsiders know who our members are.
Lares	We shall keep an eye on you. Everything else remains to be seen.
Lares	We are going to have a secret meeting soon in Orlan's tavern.
Lares	Meet us there as soon as you can. We'll give you your gear there.
Me	I now belong to the 'Ring of Water'.
Lares	Great. So can I have my aquamarine ring back?
Me	Sure. Here it is.
Lares	I hope it proved useful to you. I'm glad to know you're one of us now.
Me	Hmm. I don't have it on me right now.
Lares	Don't mess around with it! I still need it.
Lares	I guess you want your gear now. So pay attention.
Me	Here's your aquamarine ring.
Lares	Good for you. I thought you'd lost it.
Lares	You need to wait a little longer. Everyone's not here yet.
Lares	All right, my young friend. We have come together here to celebrate your admission to the 'Ring of Water'.
Lares	The boys who are present here will keep an eye out for you from today on.
Lares	Of course, there are others who also belong to the 'Ring of Water', so be careful.
Lares	Whether you do us a service or mess things up - we are going to learn about it.
Lares	Here, take the armor of our community.
Lares	Wear it with pride, but never in town or in other inhabited areas.
Lares	Remember, we must not be exposed. Nobody must therefore be told who the members of the 'Ring of Water' are.
Lares	Nobody talks about the 'Ring of Water'. That's our foremost rule. Stick to it.
Lares	Any more questions?
Me	What about weapons, then?
Lares	The weapon of the 'Ring' is the quarterstaff, but everyone uses whatever arms he is most comfortable with.
Lares	Here's one of our staffs. I never really figured out how to use it, but maybe you can handle the thing.
Me	I've got to go.
Lares	Fine, then don't let us keep you.
Lares	Now go directly to Vatras and have him give you your first task.
Lares	Brothers of the 'Ring'. Let us now return to our duties.
Lares	The bandit attacks are still going on. We must see to it that this menace is stopped.
Lares	Adanos, preserve the balance of this world.
Me	What kind of help can I get from you?
Lares	I can show you how to become more dexterous.
Lares	If you need help with wielding close-combat weapons, talk to Cord. He is a master of the blade.
Lares	Gaan will gladly show you the proper way to gut animals.
Lares	Martin can tell you a lot about the paladins.
Lares	Cavalorn will teach you sneaking, one-handed combat and archery.
Lares	Orlan will always have a warm chamber and a bed waiting for you.
Lares	And for anything related to magic, talk to Vatras.
Me	Have you ever used a teleporter stone?
Lares	No, but I've heard of them. The Water Mages aren't too sure about those things yet.
Me	I've given it a try.
Lares	(laughs) Of course you have. You're not afraid of anything, are you?
Lares	Well. If you want to use the things, go ask Orlan the pub-owner whether he'll let you into his boarded-up cave.
Lares	I think he has hidden one of the teleporter stones for the Water Mages near his tavern.
Lares	Walk out of the eastern city gate and simply follow the path. You can't miss it.
Me	Vatras gave me this ornament to bring to you. He said it is to be taken back.
Lares	(sighs) Of course. It's up to me, as usual. I might have known.
Lares	I'll have to walk halfway across the island to take it back to the Water Mages.
Me	I can take the ornament there for you!
Lares	(pensively) Mmh. I think I had better take it there myself. But you could come with me.
Lares	Only, I can't leave here at the moment. I need to keep an eye on the harbor.
Me	What exactly do you do here at the harbor?
Lares	I can't talk about that.
Lares	Vatras would have my head ...
Lares	I'm doing what we all do. I fulfill the tasks the Water Mages give me.
Lares	Some of the missing people where fishermen. They disappeared along with their boats.
Lares	That's why I'm standing here, watching the harbor. Maybe something will happen yet.
Lares	But you could help me.
Lares	Listen. I shall give you my aquamarine ring. It signifies that the bearer belongs to the 'Ring of Water'.
Lares	If you wear my ring, the rest of us will know that you're acting on my behalf.
Lares	Get someone to take over my duties so that I can take the ornament back.
Lares	One of us is always keeping an eye on the marketplace. But I don't know whose turn it is.
Lares	You had better go talk to all those standing around there. Once the right man sees my aquamarine ring on you, he will let you know.
Lares	Tell him to see to it that somebody else takes over here at the harbor.
Me	I have talked to Baltram. He will find someone to relieve you.
Lares	Ah. Very good. Then we can finally leave here.
Lares	You had better keep my aquamarine ring for now.
Lares	(smiles) I assume it will come in handy for you.
Lares	(smiles) Who knows, you might want to join us ...
Me	About those missing people ...
Me	Tell me what you know.
Lares	The first was William, one of the fishermen here in Khorinis. One day, he simply didn't return.
Lares	At first we thought that one of those sea monsters out there had eaten him and his boat for breakfast.
Lares	But not too long afterwards, other people started disappearing from the town and the surroundings. Pretty random events, though.
Lares	Everyone's at a loss so far. The way it looks, we'll just have to wait until we finally stumble across a clue.
Me	Isn't this a case for the militia?
Lares	The militia is pretty useless, if you ask me.
Lares	They're never going to clear this up. The missing people have just vanished into thin air.
Me	I know what has become of all the missing people!
Lares	(surprised) Really.
Me	The former ore baron Raven had them kidnapped.
Lares	Are you sure? Then we need to get them out of there.
Me	I'm working on it.
Lares	All right. But you know, whenever you need my help ...
Me	... then I'll know where to find you. Understood.
Me	I've been able to rescue some of the missing people.
Lares	I knew you'd succeed. Then I can finally go about my own business now.
Me	I need your help.
Lares	And what exactly were you thinking of?
Me	What about some better armor?
Lares	Mmh. Matteo sells armor. But he'll probably charge you an arm and a leg for it.
Lares	There is a way you could get it cheaper, though, if you don't mind pulling a fast one on the militia ...
Me	What do you mean?
Lares	There's a storage area next to Matteo's house. But all the merchandise has been confiscated by the militia.
Lares	Go to Zuris at the marketplace and get yourself a sleeping spell. Then you send the guards off to dreamland.
Lares	I'm sure you'll find some decent armor among Matteo's stock ...
Me	I need a better weapon.
Lares	There's nothing I can do about that, I'm afraid. Have you tried the marketplace?
Me	I need some money.
Lares	Don't we all? Sorry, but I have none to give you. But Lehmar the moneylender still owes me a favor.
Lares	Go to him and borrow whatever money you need. I'll take care of the rest. You'll find Lehmar in the harbor district, where it borders on the lower part of town.
Me	That guy is pestering me ...
Lares	Not for long ...
Me	I must talk to the paladins, by all means!
Lares	What do you want from THEM?
Me	They've got a powerful amulet, the Eye of Innos. I need to have it.
Lares	And you think they'll give it to you? You'll never get into the upper end of town.
Me	I'll find a way somehow.
Lares	Sure, if you want to ingratiate yourself with the citizens or play errand boy for the militia ...
Me	Do you know why the paladins are here?
Lares	Nobody knows for sure ... Lots of people think it's because of the orcs, but I think there's another reason.
Lares	It probably has something to do with the old penal colony.
Me	Vatras said you could help me join a community.
Lares	(laughs) Getting tired of being the underdog, are you?
Lares	All right. I see your point.
Lares	I can exert my influence with the mercenaries if you want to join Lee.
Lares	And I'm sure we can find a way to get you into the monastery soon.
Lares	But the easiest thing would certainly be for you to join the militia.
Lares	Which community do you prefer?
Me	I'll have to think about it ...
Me	The mercenaries.
Lares	I'm sure that Lee will accept you.
Lares	But first you're going to have to pass a test.
Lares	Go and talk to Cord on Onar's farm.
Lares	He can help you with your test.
Lares	Tell him that you 'reside beneath my wing'. He'll understand.
Me	The militia.
Lares	(amused) Yes. I can imagine you'd like that, eh? Read the law to other people while you're pocketing their purses.
Lares	The paladins have set up their provisions store by the harbor. Their provisions master is a good friend of mine.
Lares	Maybe he can do something for you. His name is Martin.
Me	The Fire Magicians.
Lares	(laughs) I bet Vatras didn't foresee that, or he wouldn't have sent you to me.
Lares	Joining the monastery is expensive.
Lares	Those boys won't even let you in unless you pay them a tribute.
Lares	And the only one who could do anything about that is Vatras himself. You had better talk to him again about this.
Me	Tell me more about Lee and his mercenaries ...
Lares	What do you want to know?
Me	Tell me more about the mercenaries.
Lares	Well, if you're as tough as you were back then, you shouldn't have any problems with them.
Lares	Most of them are ruffians and if you can't stand up to them, you won't get far.
Lares	(laughs) If you're squeamish, you don't have a chance of landing with them...
Me	Why aren't YOU with Lee and his mercenaries?
Lares	But I am! Just not on the farm.
Lares	You could say I'm our outpost in the city. We don't want the ship to sail without us.
Me	What ship were you talking about?
Lares	It's on the open sea harbor, behind the cliffs. Lee and a few of his people really want to get away from here.
Lares	But that could take a while...
Me	Why?
Lares	You'd better ask Lee about that, if you meet him ... He's got plans.
Me	How do I find the landowner's farm?
Lares	It's quite simple. You leave the seaport by the east gate, and then follow the path towards the east.
Lares	I can take you there if you want.
Me	Do you know anything about a thieves' guild in town?
Lares	The questions you ask ...
Lares	Of course, there's a thieves' guild here. Just like in every big city.
Lares	And every petty pickpocket or fence is probably connected to it somehow.
Me	Do you know where I can find the thieves' guild?
Lares	(laughs) No offense, but even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you anything.
Lares	These people usually react VERY sensitively to things like that.
Lares	If you want to get involved with them, you should be very careful.
Me	I've got this key here. It's been corroded by sea salt ...
Lares	So?
Me	I think it will lead me to the hideout of the thieves' guild ...
Lares	Well, it could be the key to the sewers.
Me	Where can I find the sewers?
Lares	What do I know... they usually empty into the ocean.
Lares	You're in the militia now!
Lares	(laughs) I'm gonna laugh myself sick - a former convict in the militia...
Lares	So now you're one of the King's paladins!
Lares	(mischievously) Only you could pull something like that...
Lares	(concerned) You won't blow the whistle on me about working for Lee, will you?
Me	But you know me ...
Lares	I don't get it. You entered the monastery. What's it like there?
Me	Different.
Lares	I can imagine.
Lares	I heard that you have been accepted to join Lee.
Lares	Congratulations.
Me	Can you help me get through the thick woods in the east?
Lares	Okay. But what do you want to go there for?
Me	Nefarius ordered me to find more ornaments.
Me	One of the places where I'm supposed to look is in the middle of the woods.
Lares	I see. And that's still too dangerous for you alone, right?
Lares	No problem. Let me know when you want to leave.
Lares	Then let's go...Follow me.
Me	Okay, lass uns gehen.
Lares	I cannot leave here until we know more about the missing people, or someone else takes over my duties.
Lares	Where?
Me	Let us take Vatras' ornament back.
Me	To Onar's farm.
Me	To the dense forest in the east.
Lares	So, here we are.
Lares	So there you are. I was beginning to think you'd been eaten by wolves.
Lares	So, the rest of the way you can manage alone. I have to get back to the city, I've got a few things to take care of...
Lares	Just follow this road here, and remember - stand up for yourself and don't take any crap, and it'll be smooth sailing.
Lares	Now that we're no longer in town and cannot be overheard, let me tell you a little more.
Lares	We are now going to take this ornament that you brought me back to Saturas. You remember Saturas, don't you?
Lares	We lads from the former New Camp still have good relations with the Water Mages.
Lares	Even Lee will still protect the Water Mages against any danger today if it is within his power.
Lares	To keep up the contact with the Water Mages, I'm in town most of the time, working together with Vatras.
Lares	And this is the armor that is issued to each of us by the Water Mages. The members of the Ring of Water have been wearing such armor since before the orc wars.
Me	What is Cavalorn's part in this? He wasn't a follower of the New Camp as far as I know.
Lares	You are right, our community has grown. Even I do not know how many there are by now.
Lares	But let us move on. I want to get further away from the city. We can talk more about it later.
Me	Saturas? Who is that?
Lares	He was the head of the Water Mages in the New Camp, back in the Valley of Mines when the Barrier was still around us all.
Lares	Lee and I had made a pact with the Water Mages back then. Together, we were strong enough to hold up against the Old Camp.
Me	Certainly. He was the leader of the Water Mages in the New Camp.
Lares	What's wrong? Are you still holding up?
Me	That fellow over there has problems with bandits.
Lares	(snidely) Too bad for him, but we don't have time for that now.
Lares	Don't you break down on me now.
Lares	The Water Mages are all beside themselves. They've been digging at an excavation site in the north-east for weeks. It's anybody's guess what they're trying to find there.
Lares	It all started when the earth began trembling like it did in the worst times of the Barrier.
Lares	Horrible stone creatures emerged from the ground, slaying everyone who went within 100 feet of them.
Lares	The Water Mages took the matter in hand and destroyed those hostile invaders. And now they're digging down there, searching for an explanation for these strange events.
Lares	But you will soon see for yourself.
Lares	Can you still go on?
Lares	Right. It could get dangerous here.
Lares	We're here.
Lares	Here, take the ornament. The Water Mages must be in there somewhere. Take it to them.
Lares	If you should meet any beasts down in that hole in the ground that look like they're too much for you, flee forward to Saturas.
Lares	He'll take care of the beasts for you. I need to go back.
Lares	And one more thing: Don't even think about strolling around for long with this ornament. Go DIRECTLY to Saturas.
Lares	See you.
Lares	(strictly) Stop goofing off! Take that ornament to Saturas already!
Me	Yes.
Lares	All right, my friend. Then follow me. This is going to be gross.
Me	No. You can go.
Lares	I guess the matter has taken care of itself? All right. See you.
Lares	Do you still want to go into the woods with me?
Lares	Have you thought about going into the woods? Do you really want to do that?
Lares	There. You should be able to do the rest by yourself. I'm headed back, then.
Lares	Hurry up. I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to.
Me	Stop blabbing.
Me	(irritated) Yeah, yeah.
Me	Let's move on.
Lares	Keep back a little.
Lares	Stay close behind me.
Me	Can you teach me something?
Lares	Sure. I can help you become stronger and more dexterous if you like.
Me	Teach me something.
Lares	You've already gotten more dexterous.
Lares	(appraisingly). Good. Your strength has increased.
Me	Any news?
Lares	You're responsible for the best news yourself. They've let Bennet go again, he's back at the farm.
Lares	Go to him, I think he'd like to thank you himself.
Lares	You could say so. The paladins have arrested Bennet, our smith.
Me	So I've heard. That's a bad business.
Lares	You can say that again.
Me	How did that happen?
Lares	Bennet went to town to buy supplies. Well, he never came back.
Lares	If you want to learn more, you should ask Hodges, he was in the city with Bennet.
Me	Any news of Bennet?
Lares	They seem to have taken him to the barracks and tossed him into the dungeon.
Me	How can we get him out of there?
Lares	I don't have any ideas so far. I can't get to his cell to talk to him.
Lares	All I can do is keep my ears open, but there isn't much to learn around here.
Me	Why aren't you out hunting dragons?
Lares	That's not my kind of thing, I'll leave that to the others.
Lares	Nah, nah. Fresh sea air - that's what I need now.
Me	Would you fancy leaving this island?
Lares	More than anything. What have you got in mind?
Me	I found out where the leader of the dragons is hiding. He's on an island, not far from here.
Me	I intend to get rid of him for good.
Lares	Sounds like a blast. If you can use me, I'm in.
Lares	Couldn't you use a teacher for dexterity or combat with one-handed weapons on your journey?
Me	The ship's already full, but I'll get back to you if there is a change.
Me	I knew I could rely on you.
Me	We're all going to meet at the ship.
Lares	A man of action, that's what I like. See you later.
Me	I appreciate your offer, but I have no use for you.
Lares	You must know what you want. If you want to talk about it later, you know where to find me.
Me	It's better if you don't come along.
Lares	As you like, but in the future, think about what you promise to whom.
Me	Are you still interested in the voyage?
Lares	Normally, I don't let people treat me like that, but since you're one of us, I'll let you get away with it this time.
Lares	We'll meet on the ship.
Lares	Don't take it personally, but I think you were right.
Lares	It's better if I stay here.