Lost Gold Marius Investigation 02-04
Overview
- "So, we need to 'create an opportunity' for him to make the next move."
- Stage Cost: None
- First Clear Rewards:
Astral Memory x20
- Unlock Condition:
Emergency Medicine x130, 
Lumber x195, 
MRE x65, 
Drinking Water x260, 
Long Pole - Note - During its initial limited run, this stage's first clear reward was:
Hunter's Badge x50 - Note - During its initial limited run, this stage's unlock condition was: Emergency Medicine x150, Lumber x225, MRE x75, Drinking Water x300, Long Pole
Guide
- Hover to view spoiler content.
Script
Temporary Camp
After leaving the archaeological camp, your party decides to take a break at a nearby campsite.
Due to Bryce's unexpected behavior and Marius' uncompromising reaction, there is an awkwardness in the air.
Bryce has not said a single word to Marius until you reach camp.
You: Marius, Bryce is already on guard around us. It'll be hard to keep investigating him.
You: What if we put everything on the table and confront him about the Great Gold Heist...
You can't even finish your sentence.
You don't have anything to leverage in a negotiation with Bryce, nor do you have anything to threaten him with...
The only useful thing you have is the archaeology notebook, the value of which you are uncertain of.
Under such circumstances, Bryce has no reason to tell you the truth.
Marius: Relax. Uncle Bryce is the one who's in a hurry.
Marius: The notebook he desperately wants is in our hands. As long as we don't move, he'll break before we do.
Marius: Don't you remember? According to our earlier speculation, his goal has a time limit.
Marius: We can wait, but he can't.
Marius: He's been silent this whole time. Probably because he's busy making up excuses.
As though proving Marius' conjecture correct, Bryce comes over.
Bryce Thatcher: Marius, young lady, I'm sorry. I lost my composure. Please forgive my offense. I didn't mean to snatch anything from you.
Marius: Uncle Bryce, no need to apologize so much.
Marius: We were just a little shocked is all. We knew you weren't being hostile.
Marius: We aren't treasure hunters, and we aren't hurting for those morsels of money. There's nothing here worth fighting over, right?
Hearing Marius' deliberate emphasis on "money," Bryce nods approvingly.
Bryce Thatcher: Exactly, we didn't come here for the money.
Bryce Thatcher: There's something I've wanted to tell you, but it's kind of embarrassing. I didn't want you to laugh at me.
Bryce Thatcher: You know I was very sick last year. At one point, I was in a coma and was transferred to the ICU.
Bryce Thatcher: During that time, I was in a dreamlike haze and I saw a beautiful goddess.
Marius: Goddess? She must've been a hallucination.
Bryce starts his story with fantasy, which makes it sound somewhat ridiculous yet reasonable.
Bryce Thatcher: That's what I thought. I thought I was dying and was seeing an angel at the gates of heaven.
Bryce Thatcher: But even after I recovered, I'd dream of her.
Bryce Thatcher: During my recovery, I did some research on goddesses from different cultures, and then I found her.
You: Is she the goddess from Nosta's culture?
Bryce Thatcher: She sure is. The people of Nosta had worshiped her the most, and she's the goddess of life.
Bryce Thatcher: You young people may not believe it, but for someone like me who almost died, it's impossible to not believe.
Bryce Thatcher: I even felt like I was saved because the goddess rescued me. This is why I wanted to come to this island.
Marius: But what does that have to do with the notebook?
Bryce Thatcher: After discovering that the goddess is from Nosta, I contacted many experts to learn about Nosta's culture...
Bryce Thatcher: But they all knew very little about the goddess of life. They only saw her name in a few decoded files.
Bryce Thatcher: I recognized the hieroglyphs on the cover of that notebook — that's why I was so eager to take it.
Marius: So those hieroglyphs are the goddess' name? I see...
Marius: You should have told me earlier.
Marius takes out the notebook and generously hands it to Bryce.
Marius: Here you go. Take your time reading it.
Bryce Thatcher: Thank you, Marius. You're a good kid. I'm almost jealous of your father now.
Bryce Thatcher: Compared with my disappointments of children... Sigh.
Marius: Uncle Bryce, don't make fun of me.
Marius: Everyone knows I'm just here to cover for my brother. When he finishes his business, I'm back to goofing off.
Bryce Thatcher: By the way, did you find any other useful clues other than this notebook at the archaeological camp?
Marius: No, we didn't. There wasn't anything else left in that archive room.
Bryce Thatcher: Oh...
Marius: Uncle Bryce, you should rest and take care of your body. You've been up and about for the whole day.
Marius: We'll go with you to look for the goddess of life tomorrow when you're well-rested.
Bryce Thatcher: Sounds good. I'm a bit tired. I'll heed your words and go back for some rest.
Bryce stands up and heads back to his tent, but after a few steps, he stops.
Bryce Thatcher: I heard from the staff who were preparing the props that there are some rare flowers along the river nearby.
Bryce Thatcher: You should go check them out before it gets dark. Don't miss the opportunity while you're here.
Marius: Great. I'll head over with my sketchbook in a bit.
Bryce Thatcher: Have fun, you two. See you.
You let out a sigh of relief after Bryce enters his tent. You turn around and see Marius with his sketchbook.
You: Marius, you're not really going to go sketch rare flowers, are you?
Marius: Of course I am. Otherwise, it'd be a waste of the information that he specially received.
Marius glances at the tent behind you, as though he sees Bryce peeking at you two.
Marius: We've taken photos of the notebook's pages, so giving it to him isn't an issue.
Marius: But he's trying to send us away from camp after he got it. That's very suspicious.
You: I can sense from his speech that he still doesn't trust us. He thinks we might be hiding other documents.
Marius: And... If he's in a hurry, he might take action at night.
Marius: So, we need to "create an opportunity" for him to make the next move.
You and Marius return your backpacks to your tent, then leave with only sketching tools in hand.
In reality, you two haven't walked far. You hide in a patch of undergrowth and observe the tents from there.
As expected, you soon see Bryce through your binoculars as he sneaks into your tent.
Woods
You: Is he really leaving the camp? It's getting dark, and the next campsite is hours away.
After exiting your tent, Bryce immediately heads towards the camp's exit.
Looks like he's planning to travel at night.
Although everything happens as you had expected, this is clearly not something Marius wants to witness.
After this series of events, his expression and his tone become stern.
Marius: There's no rush. Let's head back and check our belongings and supplies.
Marius: With the tracker, we won't lose him.
