So, the translating being done at GitHub is doing okay. There are a lot of different types of writing in there, but for the people interested in the story, it looks like there are a few “books” in-game that have some interesting, long stories in them that expands the world. Think Aesop’s Fables, and whatnot.
I don’t know if the game will have a “book view” for these bits, and without one it might get inconvenient in-game — and after translating the first part of one, I figured that this would make a nice sneak preview.
As far as I can tell, this part seems to be spoiler-free and unattached to a quest, but you can never be sure, so you should probably be careful anyway. It also might change, since the whole thing hasn’t been translated yet.
The Gambler of Klaipeda
In the town of Klaipeda, there once lived a man by the name of Modestas.
He was a good, honest man - but had one major flaw that his friends and family all worried about. His wife was especially so. Mister Modestas was not lazy, nor very clever, but not too foolish. He did not drink, or repeatedly get into fights.
The man had one flaw, and it was that he was a man who loved to gamble.
During the day, Modestas would work hard and would never let himself go hungry - but whenever he earned more than he really needed, he would always spend it all on his gambling habits. The wife would always try to save this money, but not one extra coin would ever go toward their home. When there was time, Modestas’ wife would often go to the shrine, and pray to the Goddess’ likeness — but Modestas continued his odd habits, and the people around him grew increasingly concerned. After all, the mind of a gambler would think, ‘Today may be small, but tomorrow it could be big!’ And so the days rolled by, same as they ever were, until he reached a peculiar day.
Like most of his days, Mister Modestas was heading home after gambling away his excess coin. He walked though the Siauliai Woods on the path to Klaipeda, when there was a peculiar old woman on the road.
This old woman seemed not only old or frail, but had an unnerving aura around her. She was acting strangely, as if distracted with thought or obsessed with whatever she was doing, and Modestas thought about simply ignoring the woman and walking past.
Nothing would have happened if he did that, but curiosity got the better of him.
To be precise, what really turned his head toward the old woman, was what was being held in her hands. Gold. The woman seemed to be obsessing over two gold pieces, doing something with them. Unable to hear, Modestas drew closer to the strange woman.
Over the jingling sound of gold, the old woman muttered. “If these two pieces of gold could ever marry, the baby gold will make me rich… but there’s no life in these things…”
Mister Modestas heard those words, and decided to comment.
“That gold won’t make you rich by itself, so just put it into something worthwhile. Do you really think muttering at baby gold will do something?”
The old woman spoke plainly. “Why not? If that way bears fruit, it’ll be good. It’s safe and secure.”
“That’s ridiculous. You should do what I do, and take a gamble.”
The woman was incensed. “So, you think your betting ways are better?”
“Why wouldn’t I? There are moments where I could win or lose, but your way won’t make any gold at all.”
With Modestas’ words, the old woman seemed to think. “Let’s make a bet, then.”
A disturbing aura seemed to emanate from the old woman, when Modestas heard that offer - but he couldn’t seem to outright refuse. “What kind of bet?”
“We’ll see whether your way or my way will make us richer.”
“And if I lose?”
“Don’t worry about that. You will lose, or you will win - That won’t change. The rules are fixed.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“By taking my offer, you will fail once, and you will win once. No matter what happens.”
“Well, yeah. Winning and losing is how gambling works.”
“No. No matter how unlucky it may seem, you will win on your first gamble — and then, no matter how favorable life may seem, you will fail the next one.”
Modestas was still confused by these strange words. “So, you’re saying I’ll win on every odd bet, and lose on every even one?”
“Yes. It will be so. You will win coin, and then you won’t. Is that not fair? One coin will be enough to succeed, no matter how many bets you make. That is my offer.”
"You think I’ll switch between winning and losing, huh?
With her hand to her chin, the old woman gave a puzzling response. “Three times each, should be enough. Return to me after you make six gambles. Naturally, if you don’t earn more after your sixth bet, I will win.”
Modestas seemed to tremble. “How much should I earn, then?”
“You start with one gold piece,” she replied, “and when I come, bring everything but that one. If you stretch that single piece to anything more, then you win. As for the time… I give you one week.”
“So, what will you have when I lose?” Modestas reminded her.
“Well…” The old woman lingered. “In the case you win, everyone will know about my gold – and you’ll have the power of winning and losing. On the other hand…”
“On the other hand…?” Modestas said, tensely.
“When I win, then after this, the friends you know will disappear every time you lose a bet.”
Modestas was unnerved by the conditions set. He did not immediately object, but thought of the victory, and soon accepted. Modestas was, most of all, the kind of person who never backed down.
