Laxius Force III - Thief's Guild - Persuasion points

[GO-Rikki]

(Point in the Game: LittleBro's Walkthrough for Chapter 13)

It appears that Discussions (from this Link) regarding receiving "persuasion" points is very very important to being able to progress in Laxius Force III ... and thus, when I finally was able to visit the Thief's Guild, imagine my puzzlement when Brubeck says to Random "If you don't go steal that old man's chest, you'll miss most of our amazing training"

I cannot steal the chest from Mt Zulle (as instructed) so how on earth can I complete this quest? The awaiting harpie that brought me to the Thief's Guild is blocking any attempts to leave the Thief's Guild. I also have the Garden Key (found in the sink in deceased Julian's Palace) ... however, it stays "grayed" constantly.

With no ability to earn these vitally important "Persuasion Points" ... how can a player progress?

P.S. I started Laxius Force III from the beginning, as LF1 and LF2 was erased from my computer by a technician ... maybe I should just stop trying? Any suggestions shall be appreciated.

[Tomas]

I believe that some quests simply cannot be completed when starting LF3 "from scratch". LF is more "hardcore" in this than let's say MM.