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Update 8: Birds of the Ruins
It's time to recruit Alula into the party!
Wait a minute...
How did you know that I was the, um, messiah?
I don't have the sun with me...
Your eyes!
They reminded me of the sun!
Oh!
That's why you're our messiah, right?
Well... I... A lot of people back in my homeworld have eyes like mine...
Home... world?
Yeah!
I'm actually from another world, you see! It's a place where the sun is in the sky and not in a Tower.
Suns... in the sky?? Pshh, that'll never catch on.
Do you like this world too?
I...
Yeah!
Alula's portraits are freakin adorable by the way.
Calamus keeps saying how this world is getting more dangerous by the minute.
But that's ok! You're here now!
You can make everything better!
Yeah...
Niko... doesn't sound too sure of themself. We'll cheer them up though! This update is hereby declared to be a cheery one!
Before we continue on to do cool things, let's check out the room alula was stuck in.
Huh... it's ... pretty empty. What was she doing in here to begin with? And why were those square things on the door? Eh, guess we won't know. Let's head out of the ruins.
Now... while we could take Alula back to her brother. There's actually something neat you can do with Alula in your party. Since she's now following along, there's now another person for Niko to talk to! It's time to re-explore the area with Alula in tow!
[HELLO, PEOPLE. TWO CHILDREN RESIDE NEAR HERE.]
I'm one of 'em!
Almost everyone gets a line with Alula, except for the research station - which doesn't have anything for her.
The pathway is blocked...
By blocks!
Haha!
I could honestly be down with Alula being in the party for the rest of the game to be quite honest.
I'm not afraid anymore. Thank you.
...
.....
... Alula? You okay?
...she just looked away.
Aww. Poor Alula, I guess she knows this woman? Maybe Calamus can tell us more when we meet up with him.
It's time to check out the village again. For two reasons: 1) Alula has the most dialogue here and 2) Progress is gated until we complete something.
Before heading into the village proper though, trying to go into this building will prompt Alula to say something.
Oh! This is the shrine where the old prophet used to live...
Oh?
I don't remember the last time I was here...
Back when she was still alive, I think?
So... Alula actually knew the prophet that prophetbot was based on? And apparently, that room we went into earlier is an actual shrine. Unfortunately, there's no follow up on this and going inside does not give any more clues.
Oh yeah! The shepherd wanted us to come back when our hands were empty! Since we aren't carrying the sun around anymore, we can take care of his herding request.
Oh, I see your hands are now free. Would you like to help me herd my rams? There's a great reward in store for you, I promise.
Uh... yes?
Excellent! To the south is a peninsula inhabited by my rams. They are all standing in unfortunate spots. You need to move them onto the darker moss. If you get stuck, ring a bell and they'll all return to their original positions. Good luck.
Looks like we gotta herd some rams now, Alula.
Can I help?
Sure!
Aww, adorable. So here's the sidequest that turns out is actually not a sidequest but mandatory content. We've gotta herd some rams onto the correct spots. There's also an achievement if you can do it without ringing the bell which is a bit tougher since you're likely to make at least one mistake.
And here are the blasted rams. So the rams can move in any direction that Niko pushes them towards, so if Niko can't push them in any direction - they are stuck and you'll have to reset. Which is quite easy to do considering that the correct spots for some of the rams will lock you out of the other spots if you don't take care of that ram first.
The first step is to move that top one far enough along you can move but not to the correct spot (that second dark spot) just yet.
Then do the same for that ram on the bottom.
Next, we can move that other ram down to here - which is its correct spot.
Now, you can move the rest of them onto their spots in any order. The major one is to make sure that ram on the right side is on it's spot before finishing the rest. You should have just that one ram hanging out to easily push onto the spot.
Sheep Victory
Yes, you heard that right.
Here's a visual guide in case you'd prefer that.
Thankfully, you are teleported out when you are done so there's no shenanigans about not trapping yourself and completing the puzzle.
You've provided a great service for all of ramkind. In return... Take this fine ram wool.
Oh uh... thanks.
That's right, the important item we needed - wool.
You're heading to the city, aren't you? Been there, done that. Too cramped, you know? But it's not like this place is getting any bigger with the rising waters and all. Hm... maybe the city isn't so bad after all.
...what?
Errr....okay... moving on. So just about everyone in the village has dialogue with alula in the party, however the npc's dialogue doesn't reset if Niko has already talked to them. So if that npc has more than just a repeatable line, you won't get the full amount of dialogue from Alula. It was fun finding that out!
Let's start with this house.
Doesn't matter... one day the world will finally give up this fight. I just hope I'm not alive to see it.
But the savior is here!
That won't fix the root of the problem.
Just like the other lady said...
Other...lady?
Yeah! She's this robot and she seemed kinda sad...
Ah...
Oh! But don't lose heart! Without the sun, the world will die much faster. At the very least... I'm sure everyone would like to see the sun again. Right little one?
Yup!
This guy is still depressing as hell, but at least Alula tries to stick up for us.
Back into the grain storage to see what this dude's got to say to Alula.
This is it... the last of our grain surpluses... And now we're dealing with a vermin problem.
Maybe you can get cats?
Not that I'm a cat, I mean...
What's a cat?
Something that I'm not!
?
It's an animal that walks on four legs and hunts mice and rats!
I... guess?
Foxes are cool!
I saw a fox once a long time ago, had a pretty silver coat. I've never had any other interaction with one otherwise. Please post all your fox interactions in the thread.
This girl has some entirely new dialogue for us!
Wooow! Your eyes glow in the dark!
Yeah!
Just like the sun!
That's what I said!
Something the game does really well during this part is how dark it is. Niko carrying the literal sun around obscures the fact that hey, this is a dying world that literally doesn't have a sun! It not being in our possession anymore means that the world is actually much darker and we're relying on the lumination of fireflies like the rest of the population.
Now for this house which I strategically skipped our last go round.
Last week, I saw more of those squares while out fishing. I knew better than to get too close, though.
Oh!
It was that stuff in the door...
Oh, so you saw it too, huh...
Yeah!
My brother told me not to touch those!
Yeup. He gets it. Squares are bad news, man. Stay away from 'em, kids!
We will!
Hmm, these square things seem really prevalent. We only ran into them the one time in the Barrens but they seem to be getting more frequent as we get closer to the city. I wonder what they are?
It's time for this girl, who was also strategically skipped, to get a moment in the spotlight.
Daddy says the world is very sick. But the Goons are gonna make it better again!
Uh... look I know everyone needs hope in a dying world, but do you really want to put your lives in the hands of goons? Like at least have a backup plan!
Are you the Goons?
Uh... not really. I'm just the "messiah" they sent.
I can talk with Goons, though!
Wow!
Double wow!
What's that like?
Really cool!
Nope! I can only hear their voice in my head.
That's still really cool!
These are kinda sweet moments when the character is named after yourself, but when our character's name is "Goons", well it kinda turns into some sort of sitcom where a perrenial fuckup somehow becomes God.
Let's check in with the spinning girl.
Why are you spinning around like that?
You're gonna get dizzy!
I'm the Tower!
Huh?
Grandpa says the Tower used to spin allll the time bringing sunlight to the world. I wanna see it too!
I've only seen the sun when I was a little baby...
Well, I'm here now... I guess it'll only be a matter of time again.
I'm getting dizzy!
I told ya!
The last guy left in town to talk to is the dude with a pot of stew who offers some to both Niko and Alula - who both turn him down. That's it for dragging Alula around with us! The research station doesn't interact with her so let's bring her back to Calamus who is probably worried sick (or sicker) over her.
Calamus!
Alula!
You're okay!
Thank goodness...
Children of the Ruins (Piano)
I was trapped inside this room and it was really scary...
...but then the messiah saved me!
...trapped? In the ruins?
Yeah!
There was that weird stuff in the door!
You know, the floating squares we see next to the ocean sometimes? The stuff you told me to stay away from?
It's... spread to the ruins now?!
This isn't good...
Don't worry! I didn't touch it!
I'm not hurt or anything...
Still... If it gets any worse, we might have to find somewhere else to live...
Bad.
Anything that touches them just... sorta...
...gets... messed up. Whenever you hear people say the world is decaying, that's what they meant...
Obviously, you should avoid them too.
Hmm, still didn't really get an answer but Calamus did seem to react in an almost traumatic manner. It should still be a good idea for Niko to avoid them though.
I will!
Good!
Anyway, ah...
I can't thank you enough for rescuing my sister, savior...
Just call me Niko!
Oh gosh! Would it not be rude to call you by name?
Huh?
Why would it be?
I mean, I'm just a kid like you guys...
Ah...
Then... would you like to visit our house, Niko?
Yes!
Yaaaaay!
Let's go!
You do technically get a choice there, but we'd still have to go anyway to continue with the story.
Oh shoot!
Looks like we can't get past that block...
...
Seriously?
Well then! Looks like our path is no longer blocked!
...
... I have literally never thought of that.
You kinda get used to all the debris after living here for a while.
Come on, our house isn't far from here.
Children of the Ruins
I know it's not much, but...
Feel free to make yourself at home!
Oh, a feather!
The edges are glowing yellow!
It's a sacred feather from the great Prophet.
Oh?
Yeah!
She's this old lady our dad used to know!
Her feathers can glow in the dark and she can see into the future!
What!
Or... something like that!
Father wanted to pass this down as an heirloom, although...
... it feels more fitting for you to have it!
A-are you sure?
Totally sure!
I think that's what father would have wanted.
Thank you!
While a bit hard to justify giving away a priceless family heirloom (from a prophet no less), I guess the justification becomes a lot easier for the literal savior who also saved your sister.
Oh, by the way, what happened to the sun?
I lent it to someone in the ruins.
She said she wanted to feel the sun again, before she...
Oh, you must be talking about Maize.
Is that her name?
She's a powerful plant spirit. She used to protect the Glen.
...but once the sun died, her health rapidly deteriorated.
Oh...
I'm glad you were able to find her in time.
I think we might be already too late to save her...
I know.
But I'm glad she got to see the sun again.
That was uh, a very adult conversation for two adolescents to have. I guess the world dying kinda kills the childhood phase of life.
We are able to move on from the Glen now, but there's still some things we need to check out... like this house, for one!
Hey! Just like-
Oh! My book!
Gosh, I still need to finish studying it...
Oh?
My friend gave it to me for Solstice Day.
He's the one who wrote it, actually!
He's also the one who taught me how to read!
Oooh!
I have a few more of his books somewhere...
A clover symbol on a book, huh? Just like the journal we found in the Barrens. Weirdly enough, Calamus doesn't react to the journal but Alula does.
I can't read yet!
Our friend says he'll teach me when I'm older, though!
Hmm, who is this friend? Usually kids have a family name they give to like close family friends. They usually don't refer to an older adult as their friend. This guy doesn't seem malicious, it just seems... odd. Anyway, back to exploring!
Do you like fish, Niko?
Yeah!
So do we!
They're good in stews.
Or soups!
...but I know some people back home who like to eat them raw.
Ewwww!
Yeup.
I'm a hater of just about all food that comes from the sea unless it's like fried first. Crab is about the only thing I can stand, and it's such a chore to eat that I don't do it often.
That's mine!
Our friend gave it to me last year!
Oh?
Yeah! He has a fox too! And she can talk!
...what?
Surely she means one of those talking dolls, right? Not an actual talking fox, that would be absurd!
I know! I thought she was the coolest thing ever!
So he got me a fox plush for Solstice Day!
Oh! That's nice of him!
He's the best!
My fox is named Ruby, by the way!
Whoever this dude is gets more curious the more we find out about him. We can't go in the backroom, Niko says it's just cobwebs and dust anyway, so that's it for the kids! It's time to continue on our journey without them.
Say, we haven't checked out the right side yet because we were blocked by a block.
Oh, this is a pretty little area.
So I thought I'd tag along!
Same!
So we aren't quite down with the kids just yet. Which is good, they're definitely my favorite characters in the game.
It's got water... and... stuff...
There's an entrance to an underground passage here. It's flooded though.
Oh! I should probably take these in soon!
Doing chores falls by the wayside when you're looking for missing people, understandably so.
That's mine!
It doesn't bounce around as much as it used to, though...
Fish!
And here's that flooded underground passage Calamus mentioned. As far as I know, there's no way to unflood the area so I assume it's just a red herring.
Only one more place to check out in the courtyard - that building in the middle.
It looks like it used to lead somewhere.
Yeah, the sacred grounds!
It's been a while since we went there...
We don't have a way of getting there now, remember? There isn't a boat and none of us can swim and...
What's... the sacred grounds?
It's where our people are buried.
Sometimes we go there to visit mom!
Well, her grave, anyway.
Oh....
-wait, how do you get there?
I thought you said there isn't a boat?
Oh, our friend helps us!
Uh... this dude also has his own plane??
Sometimes he takes us along!
But like I was about to say, we haven't seen him around for a while.
I wonder when he'll come back? I wish we could go see mom again...
...
Come on, Alula, let's go back to the courtyard now.
Okay!
After that, there's nothing else to do in this room or in the courtyard. However, if we sneak back to the kids' house for a bit...
I have one at home too...
But mine's an owl and not a fox!
Niko will tell us this. I'm not sure why they didn't want to say that in front of the two kids, but hey. What is weird is that's the only unique line here when Niko is alone.
That is it for the Glen though. We'll go pick up the sun and another item so we can get past the door guard and head towards the city! We're almost at the Tower already, and Niko can save the world!