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Part XIII: The Tower We Climbed
So, we're back in it, and we have a skit already. So the reason Eleanor in particular has been dreading the sale'tomah was because she's already had it in the past, namely, as part of the Abbey's "welcome festivities". Velvet calls it a hazing ritual, which seems pretty plausible.
She can't just keep joking without consequences.
In another skit, well...again, this is your company now, Eleanor. The real reason we're back in Reneed is to talk to a "Garrulous Woman" near the Fens of Nog exit, who mentions that a silver-haired man also asked her about the tower. He also said that people would be asking her about the tower, so seems like he really wants us to go there. Let's not disappoint him.
Male pride, likely. The exorcists have cleared out of this particular passageway back to the Burnack Plateau, which also means we can pick up a local Katz box for 145 big ones but no reward. But isn't helping the Katz its own reward?
And wouldn't you know it, but we already have a friend to greet us. Breed Wolf
For a large percentage of the fight, the Breed Wolf won't do much more than just jumping up and slamming its claws down. Powerful, but it makes it very predictable and decently easy to dodge. Not a big deal.
More of a problem is Beastial Barrage, which is a rapid series of slashes in front of it. Luckily if the target isn't right in front of it, or at least in a 45 degree radius in front of its face, you'll be fine. Its Break Soul is Fatal Claw, which is just a single, very powerful swipe in front of it. Really would not recommend trying to sidestep it, because missing it is practically guaranteed to get you killed.
We live to fight another day. The Luminary's Ventite refunds some portion of the BG spent to activate Mystic Artes, but on "each successive hit". I take this to mean that Mystic Artes with lots of hits, like Eleanor or Eizen's, will benefit the most, while Rokurou and Laphicet will benefit the least. But hey, any refund is better than none.
A little further on (that chest on the mini-map has gald in it), we have this nice view as our next conversation. According to Eleanor, this is one of the seven wonders of the world, the Burnack Geyser, and well worthy of that title from what I see. Magilou's imagination when she joins the conversation, also, well...that is worthy of a wonder of the world, too.
Good to know he didn't get too far. Hopefully he can come along quietly. Pirate's creed
Eizen!
Did you get the medicine to the ship's crew?
Yeah!
Good. My thanks to you.
These soldiers won't be happy in the morning, but they're alive. Is this your work?
No, they were like this when I got here. It must have been Zaveid.
He didn't kill a single one. Interesting.
The Abbey is going to great lengths to arrest him.
Even so, he clearly knows he's walking into a trap. What I don't get is why he roped me into all of this. If he didn't want my help, then what need did he have to play the Aifread card on me?
If you knew this was a trap, why did you come?
To see for myself. When I met Aifread, I was wallowing in despair that I would ever find a way to break the Reaper's Curse. "Stop denying reality", he told me. "If you were really born with that curse, then it's part of you. But if the Reaper learns to grasp the wheel of his life, even he may find his creed, his path through stormy waters." And so I joined him aboard the Van Eltia.
A creed of life...
Let's say someone's murdered the captain. If it came as teh result of him living life on his terms, I could accept that.
But if anyone, and I mean anyone, tries to crush his way of life, I could never forgive them.
Who's there?!
*walks out of hiding*
It's rude to eavesdrop.
If ya got secrets, talk about 'em at home.
Zaveid, isn't there a way you and Eizen can work together somehow?
Not if he's going to keep acting like this.
Tch.
*begins walking away* Well, that's how it is.
What was the point of all that posturing? He could have just stayed hidden. Weirdo.
Can't disagree there.
Seems like he's just getting off on annoying Eizen at this point, but now that our favorite pirate malak is back, we have a couple skits. First, about exorcist ranks. Eleanor explains, much to Rokurou's befuddlement, that exorcist ranks are set in stone. Some people are just naturally more talented at handling malaks than others, and that is what determines your standing. No such thing as career advancement. More relevant to our purposes is that Lothringen is a big Abbey training center, so if we're going in there, we'd better be prepared for quite a welcome party.
The second skit is about Zaveid, discussing his apparently strict no-killing policy. Seems like he just enjoys the fight, but I doubt the Abbey sees it that way. Before we continue on to the tower, there's a Katz box nearby for a 145 spirits and a Drop Earring (Right).
In the next area, more of the world's bizarre logic for Eleanor to ponder over, namely, why Aifread brought a hand grenade like Eizen aboard his ship. Don't think this is the kind of thing we'll ever get the real answer to without asking the legendary pirate.
So this is a pretty big junction area. In front of us leads to Vortigern. Unless you forgot get to get the Katz box, there's really not much point in going there. To the west lies Lothringen, which, obviously, is our destination. And finally, to the right is the East Laban Tunnel we haven't been to before, but looks exactly like the West Laban Tunnel. I'll just go ahead and say it now, there's not much actual reason to go there now. We will be going there for a sidequest much later in the game, but that is not now. There's nothing stopping you from going there now, of course. It's really up to you.
As for how I recorded the content for this update, I decided to go that way, and if you do choose to explore, you can pick up some treasures now. I'll mention what you can pick up, and a warp portal you can unlock for fast travel within the dungeon. But before we go, a skit. Eizen is a bit looser lipped about that gun Zaveid had, confirming it was the artifact Aifread brought back from the far continent.
According to Eizen, he was pretty married to this thing. Definitely sounds worthy of interest to us.
First up, picking up this Garish Pink Shirt before we leave. No sense in leaving it here.
Oh yeah, my crew's fortunes in the Exsphere Sea were uh...not great. Apparently they stumbled upon the Mystery Meat / Bread Crumbs HORDE and just couldn't get enough of that. So my crew would basically just be picking up these two items constantly. You'll have to wait until a future update for more tales from beyond the sea.
But as for the East Laban Tunnel, like I said, I won't cover it in detail, since there are no new mechanics or anything of particular note, but you can find Flouric Paper, 1750 gald, a Panacea Bottle, a Katz box good for 135 spirits, a Life Bottle, a Death Ward for Rokurou, and a Denore Bottle.
And this is the warp point I mentioned. It'll save a little time when we return here.
This is the special line for Velvet wearing her Rin costume. Rin's gimmick is that she's a very archetypal Cool Beauty. Soft-spoken and not prone to fits of excitement, unlike many, many of her contemporaries. So just saying "Good work" with a nice smile on her face is very Rin-like.
That certainly seems to be the play here, but I hope no one will mind if we let ourselves in.
So, I haven't mentioned it until now, but the name "Lothringen" certainly has some real world pedigree. See, shortly after Charlemagne's death in AD 814, his empire gradually passed from him to his son, Louis the Pious. Louis' tenure as emperor was marked by gradually escalating civil collapse for the far-flung Carolingian Empire and resulted in him granting powerful titles for three of his sons: Pepin I as King of Aquataine, Louis the German as King of Bavaria, and most importantly for the name "Lothringen", his son Lothar as co-emperor and King of Italy. The three bothers continually squabbled amongst themselves, eventually resulting in the Oaths of Strasbourg, which created a tripartite division in the empire: another son of Louis named Charles the Bald taking control of West Francia (eventually becoming the core of modern France), Louis the German taking East Francia (eventually becoming the core of Germany), and Lothar taking the land between the Rhine and Rhone Rivers.
This central kingdom, ruled by Lothar, is where the name "Lothringen" comes from. His kingdom was called "Lotharingia", which, in German, was rendered into "Lothringen". And now you know the rest of the story. The name lives on to this day in the historical name for a portion of northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est, but was historically called Lorraine, which directly stems from "Lotharingia".
Aside from all that, you know what seems odd? Nobody seems to be home. On the first floor, there's an Inoph Bottle and 1820 gald in chests but other than that, nothing of interest on the first floor. Maybe something up above...
If looks could kill... Eleanor was asking about Eizen's relationship with Aifread, mostly about how he disappeared, and eventually he decided to spill the beans. Aifread apparently went to duel someone without any witnesses around, and by the time his crew went to peep things, Aifread was gone and a pendulum was on the ground. Apparently it wasn't common knowledge with the Abbey's foot soldiers that Melchior boosted Aifread, so Eleanor can't help much on that front. Though, according to her, a large number of personnel went missing around that same time, and Eleanor's investigation into the incident resulted in her being directly ordered to cease digging into the circumstances, by none other than the old wizard himself. Definitely something is afoot.
Shortly after that skit,we have a little mess hall for the exorcists who would normally be here. In addition to that Saffron, there's a Halberd for Eleanor definitely worth picking up.
For now, ignore the star icon on the map, because that progresses the plot, and continue up the stairs. Along the way, another Katz box for 140 spirits and Aviator Sunglasses as a reward. If you go up all the way up the stairs, you'll eventually come to a dead end and a Simple Ribbon, also for Eleanor.
Once you're done. Let's check this out. Definitely something untoward going on here. Battle at the tower
Aifread...
So this is Van Aifread...
Eizen... It's good to see you again.
...So you're alive. You could've sent a letter.
Heheh... And when have you ever written a letter to another man?
Heh, true... Aside from my little brother, not even once.
Your brother? Ah, yes, you told me that once.
*punches Aifread in the stomach*
Eizen... Why...?
I've got no brother.
*gasp*
Thanks for luring 'em out! I owe ya one.
Zaveid.
Now come on out, you old coot!
Lord Melchior...
Breaking through my double illusion... Impressive.
I make it a point not to fall for the same trick twice.
...I shouldn't have let you get away last time. I won't make that mistake twice. *summons three malakhim*
N-Nnghh... What...? Why am I here?
Her consciousness has returned? So that is its power. *looks at Zaveid's gun*
He turned her into a daemon!
What?! This can't be happening!
*other malakhim transform into daemons*
*teleports away*
*reappears near the door* A chain reaction... Your "Reaper's Curse" is quite the dreadful affliction, isn't it? *wanders off*
Don't you run away! *runs after him*
Heads up, Wyverns coming!
Legendary Wyverns, huh? Must be legends of getting chumped. The one thing that might throw you off a little is this is a *very* big arena and the camera is more positioned behind your player character rather than above them, so I guess it can be a little weird quickstepping at first, but just keep that in mind. Thankfully, since there's so much room to run about, it's easy to dodge and none of them have any particular devastating attacks to worry about. I have a feeling this is one of those fights that is much harder on higher difficulties, but that is not for this thread.
Oh? Are you sure about that?
*runs toward the wyverns*
*unsheathes arm*
*gasp*
What the--?!
*finishes absorbing wyvern* I'll take care of the last one.
*shoots gun at the last one, wyvern flies away*
He just...saved the Wyvern?
You folks jump in and kill without a second thought! Is that your "creed"?
Marvelous. Your "Siegfried" is just the power I've been looking for.
What?!
*reappears near the door* My work here is done.
The hell did you do?! Wait, damn you!
Follow them!
So now we're headed back to the entrance. Don't forget to pick up Chamomile before you go, however.
Vaguely, eh? This is Rollo from Xillia 2. We heard about this guy from a villager in Aball. If you've plundered the entire tower, there's no reason to stick around, so out we go. Two paths
Damn. He's sure got some speedy legs for an old fart.
I'm glad to see you're OK, Zaveid.
It's not me that I'm worried about.
Melchior was highly interested in your weapon. And yet he didn't steal it. Surely a legate like him could snatch it if he wanted to.
Why bother stealing it...when you just copy its hidden formula? Some artes can decipher the workings of other artes in a split second. And guess what Melchior's specialty is.
As he left, he said, "My work here is done".
The Abbey must have some use for that unknown arte. Who knows what? After all, they brought it here from another continent.
Hmph! Then we'll find out what they're after and crush it to dust!
Let me ask you just one question. Why do you have Siegfried?
"Siegfried", by the way, is a German given name, most famously associated with the hero in the Nibelungenlied, who slew the dragon Fafnir and bathed in its blood. This figure is also known as Sigurd, which was the more popular name for this figure until Richard Wagner's opera, simply called "Siegfried".
..."I'm counting on you", he said. Back when I served the exorcists, they sent me on a mission to capture Aifread.
Zaveid, you were once their slave?
Yeah. My mind was under the influence of Innominat's domain. But when Aifread aimed this baby at me... one shot was all it took to open my eyes. The fight we had after that was one for the books. He might've been a human, but that guy was a beast. Put a song in my soul. But then Melchior had to jump in and spirit Aifread away with one of his damned illusions. That old bastard, playing tricks with people's minds!
But why'd he grab Aifread, and not Siegfried when he had the chance?
He probably didn't know at the time that this guy was the real prize he was after. But Aifread knew. Right before he was taken, he distracted Melchior long enough to hand Siegfried over to me.
...
Well, that's all I know. Whether you believe me or not is up to you.
Got it. We're done here.
Huh? That was easy.
...Is that so.
So what you gonna do now?
Gonna keep looking for Aifread. Still gotta give this back and settle our score.
I doubt you have much time left to get that done.
I'd hazard a guess that until now, Melchiori was unaware what Siegfried could really do. In other words, he and the exorcsts werne't able to "interrogate" anything out of their captive.
And now that Aifread's no longer needed, I see no reason for them to keep him alive.
You think I don't know that?
If you really want to save Aifread, you probably ought to team up with us.
Nope. No can do.
Why not?
You lot will do anything to achieve your goals. Even kill.
*gasp*
Sorry. I'm a fighter, not a killer. I won't steal a single life. That's just MY creed.
And I've got no intention of changing our pirate creed, either.
Just like humans...
Well, we can certainly ponder all that on the road. Afterwards, we have a skit about our illusion-conjuring friend. Eleanor vainly tries to stick up for him by saying that illusions can non-lethally pacify an opponent which...sounds noble but I dunno. You just don't see many upstanding types who conjure illusions. Just not really a thing. However, she does also add that Melchior and Artorius have been tight since before the Abbey's founding, which does remind me... When Artorius and Velvet met in the woods at the start of the game, he said that the person he was supposed to meet left him hanging... He never exactly specifies who he was referring to, but perhaps it was Melchior? Entirely possible, if you ask me.
Since we've got no more business on Westgand, it's time to head back to Port Reneed. Along the way, the party ponders the mystery behind Siegfried, which, considering it comes from a land largely veiled in myth and legend, definitely seems wondering about.
In a second skit, we wonder about the mystery of that Umbrella Girl. I doubt she's just a mob character, given she made Eizen hesitate, but we're not likely to pry out any answers from the man himself. Magilou and Velvet have their own romantic theories about the girl, for the record. Since there's nothing at all interesting in the Fens of Nog at the moment, let's return to Reneed.
So this is an important conversation, because it starts a long sidequest oriented around Laphicet. Every party member has a big ol' sidequest associated with them, and this is good ol' Laphicet's. This conversation directs us to take this book to Vidal, who is a kid who lives at the inn. The boy in town
Are you Videl? Is this yours? *hands book out*
My book! That book is super important to me! Thank you, uh...
I'm Laphicet. I hope you don't mind that we flipped through some of it. Can you actually read Meliodasian script?
You recognize Meliodasian writing? That's unusual in this day and age.
Oh, it's not that big of a deal, really.
When I grow up, I wanna be an adventurer who travels the world and explores lots of ruins! So to make sure I'm ready for anything I've been studying ancient history, starting with the Era of Darkness.
The "Era of Darkness"? You're referring to the Dark Period, right?
Right. Almost no written records from the age have survived. But if you compare the history before and after, you can tell something major must have happened!
Wow, that's fascinating!
I know!
My little brother was just like that, too. Laphi and our brother used to--
We've received reports of suspicious persons in the area. Have you seen anything?
Not good. They're onto us!
Quickly! Hide in my house!
Aiding and abetting, huh kid? Not a good look. After a fade to black where everyone filed into the house...
Videl, have you seen anyone suspicious recently?
Sorry, sir. I've been absorbed in my book!
That's alright, thanks... Look, I know it must be tough living alone with your mom. Just remember, your father's a praetor. He's out there, fighting to protect us all. Keep your chin up for his sake at least, alright?
Uh-huh.
*The soldier leaves, the party returns*
Thanks for your help, Videl.
Videl, your father is an exorcist?
Yeah, he is, but don't worry. I won't say anything about you and your friends. I'm your friend, too!
Really?!
And to prove it, I'll let everyone in on a big secret. This book tells you how to make an Omega Elixir, an incredibly ancient and powerful medicine. If I'm reading it right, you need five ingredients in order to create the elixir. I've only translated one of them so far, but I'll tell you what it is. *hands over note*
That's really nice of you Videl, but... I don't have way to repay you for this.
Please, think nothing of it. I'd just like it if you came and talked with me again sometime.
Of course! What are friends for?
Well, we've got no reason to indulge this kid other than friendship, but hey, don't think like that, right? Laphicet's side quest involves going around and getting all these ingredients, which, wouldn't you know it, are scattered all over the place. If you examine the item we just got in the menu, it'll say we're looking for a "Long Dau's Dust" that can be excavated in the Vester Tunnels. Regardless of whether you want to continue the plot or pursue this little sidequest, make sure to talk to the Blood Wing dude in town to collect 3150 gald for the Breed Wolf quest.
As an interesting note I discovered after recording the content for this update, even though this above scene with the kid has no relation at all to the main plot, you can't actually leave Reneed until you see it. I assume this is the reason it was a full cutscene rather than just a conversation. Very strange, but after that, this sidequest is entirely ignorable if you so choose.
So this conversation also more or less triggers a sidequest, namely, the Class 4 islands. To sum this and a resulting skit up, we can now go to Class 4 Islands, which are...well, you'll see. Plot-wise, these are basically islands the Abbey has completely lost control of, and only a damned fool would go there on purpose. Sounds perfect. The other conversation is just a couple guys complaining about rampaging daemons in Warg Forest. Whether that describes us or others is...none of our concern. Upon returning to the docks...
Sorry to worry you.
And the captain?
It turned out to be a fake. But now I know the real one's still alive somewhere.
Well, of course he is!
Not that he has a lot of time left!
What do you mean?
Calm down. I'll explain later.
E-Eizen... Y... You stay calm too, OK?
... And you've all taken your sale'tomah?
Yes, sir!
And nobody died?
All still kicking.
Compared to your curse, sir, this sickness was tiny potatoes!
All right, then let's get ready to sail out.
Already done, sir!
We're ready whenever!
Heh.
*sighs* The pirate's creed, huh?
There's worse out there.
*sad sigh*
Behold, Tales of Berseria finally goes off the rails for a bit. Many more ports will open up as progress through the game, but we finally have some ability to choose where we end up. For now, we're going to the first Class 4 island. As Eleanor mentioned in the skit, there are 10 of these things scattered around, and we'll conquer all of them in due time.
All of the islands have this same general format. There's an arena that dominates the center of them and some random wilderness around it that usually contains a Katz box. On this island, there's one for 115 spirits. Also, take note of those statues of slimes at the top of the stairs. To put it simply, and as the skit goes into a bit, all the Class 4s are essentially enemy gauntlets. The statues indicate what enemy type you'll primarily fight. In this case, it's Amorphous enemies. This place is good for grinding equipment drops since you'll fight so many enemies, but you don't get any EXP for winning these fights.
As for the prize for winning this fight, you get a Virtuouso's Ventite, which allegedly "allows you to perform different artes by pressing attack while guarding". Seems like more trouble than it's probably worth, but hey. Might as well.
Just for full disclosure, there's no Devil Arm mechanic (power up certain weapons by killing enemies with a specific character), so there's no point in grinding these places JUST to kill enemies. Saving some effort here if that's what you were thinking.
Getting back to our other sidequest, this is the Long Dau's Dust we were looking for, back in Kurogane's Workshop (nothing at all interesting happened on the way back here). This dust previously showed up in Xillia 2 as one of the main plot tokens, but I have a whole thread about that particular story if you're so curious. This also triggers a short skit, but never mind that, because we're headed back to Reneed. Last time for now, I swear.
Since it's just a conversation where Videl reveals the second ingredient he was able to translate, no transcript from me. This is the meaning of Laphicet's name, by the way.
And Eizen's having his fun too, asked about whether he'd let Videl aboard the Van Eltia when he gets better. Hey, there's all kinds of hidden fees, kid. If you're asking about freebies from a pirate, you're asking the wrong guy. As for the second ingredient of the Omega Elixir, it is a Unicorn Horn, a legendary beast last allegedly seen in Northgand, which we can't go to right now. It'll just have to wait.
Oh hey, check out everyone, including Dyle, hanging out on the prow. Good to see they're having fun.
Now, if there are any more sicknesses, wizard exorcists, wind malakhim wielding pendulums, wyverns, kids asking for legendary ingredients, I say "Cool it", because we're headed for Southgand finally. After sailing about halfway there...
First a skit, then a scene right after. Grudge
*flashes back to Lothringen and Warg Forest* (The Abbey is supposed to exist to bring peace and order to the world. Everything the Abbey does, everything Lord Melchior and Shepherd Artorius do, it ought to be rooted in that mission... And yet...something just doesn't feel right here.)
You are dismissed. That knowledge is not for you.
*sighs*
Somethin' wrong?
*gasp*
Whoa, easy there. Just askin'.
S-Sorry, I was just deep in thought. Is there something you need from me?
Nah... Just heard a bunch of sighs and wondered if you were feeling sick or anything.
No, I drank my sale'tomah juice.
Ahh. Tasted like crap, didn't it?
It... It wasn't that bad...
Hey...
What?
Are you afraid of daemons?
No! I-I am not!
It's more like I...despise them.
...
Ten years ago, a group of them attacked my village. They destroyed everything and everyone.
Including your family?
Yes. The only family I had at that point was my mother, and in all the chaos, she... All I have left of her is this hand mirror she gave me. I didn't want anyone else to have to feel the way I did. And so I became an exorcist in order to destroy daemons. So you can keep your pity.
Gotcha. I will, then.
We're finally there. The southern land
That's called a pengyon. A type of bird native to this area.
"Pengyon"...
Their meat is succulent and tender, and makes a lovely stew!
Wow, what's it taste like?
You'd eat that poor thing? Savage.
You're one to talk, daemon. ... It was one of my mother's specialties...
All right, enough of that chit-chat. Magilou. What's this Grimoirh friend of yours like?
Hmm... Well, how do I put it?
Ya know, like that.
Like what?
Hmph! Well, to put it in a way those of meager imagination can understand... Grim's got a sort of listless aristocratic air about her. A noblewoman in her twilight, you could say.
Huh... So you mean, like, a woman, but different from Velvet and Eleanor?
Hahahah, you're not wrong there. Tell you what, just keep an eye out for a grown woman.
A...grown woman. Okay, I got it.
Well, since we got her name, we could start by asking around.
Exactly! Now you're talking!
...
What's up, kiddo?
You're a grown woman yourself. So why is it you have trouble clearly expressing your real feelings?
Gooood question. Put simply, a long time ago, mine broke. Bagow! Chapoom! Bye-bye!
Your feeilngs...broke?
Come on. Let's question the townfolk.
Truly dire. There's nothing of particular note at the docks right now, so let's just proceed right on to the main town, Yseult.
Yep, we've got a nice tropical setting today. Yseult is named after the love interest in the story of Tristan and Iseult (alternate spelling), a chivalric romance between the eponymous leads as well as Iseult's actual husband in the story, King Mark. See, Tristan was a knight who was instructed to escort Iseult to Ireland to wed King Mark. Along the way, the two ingested a love potion that caused them to fall in love with each other. From here the stories differ, as these older tales tend to do, and Tristan either successfully completes his mission while Iseult still pines over him, or he eventually leaves Ireland to take shelter in Brittany, where he weds another woman named Iseult (of the White Hands).
For poor Tristan however, no matter what the version of the story, tragedy awaits him after this. In Malory's The Death of Arthur, he is wounded rescuing a young woman from outlaw knights, but in the Prose Tristan, it is King Mark himself who gravely injures him. Tristan instructs an ally of his to bring aid from Iseult herself: white sails if his friend is successful, black if he is not. However, while Tristan is on his death bed and awaiting good news, his wife tells him the color of the sails she saw were black, when, in fact, Iseult of Ireland agreed to come to his aid, his wife having lied to him. He proceeded to die shortly thereafter.
You might surmise from that Death of Arthur nod that Tristan is associated with the Round Table. In fact, he was from the start, but his role gradually expanded to being that of a full-fledged member despite nothing in his story particularly involving Arthur at all. For a lot of legendary stories from Britain / Ireland / Brittany, this is a pretty common motif where seemingly-unrelated figures eventually involved Arthur and his knights. It was just a thing.
Yseult is a pretty big town (this is only one half of it), and there's a lot to explore, like Katz boxes hidden under the buildings. This one is good for Laughing Glasses.
And of course, conversations too, like how Southgand ended up in the thrall of Midgand.
Meanwhile, at the church, we learn that the quality of the clergy in Southgand is appalling, to say the least. Truly a blighted land.
The garrison is similarly unhelpful. While you're here, you might as well stop by the tavern (which also has Yseult's Blood Wing rep) to listen to a conversation between the Town Elder and a townswoman, who lament how Southgand's youth are more interested in cities across the sea than the island's traditions. Regrettable.
You can also get a nice view of this part of the island if you climb up a couple ladders.
In the next area of town, we learn that Eizen's game is dire. And it's not getting any better hanging out with Velvet. Once you proceed to the center of this part of town... Siblings
Magilou. When did you get that letter from her you mentioned?
Hmm, hard to say. It must have been...last year? A decade ago?
Take this seriously or I'll feed you to the sharks.
Aww, what? I think I'd at least rate a Kraken!
Keep this up and I swear I'LL eat--
The final preparations are complete. Once you've assumed your new post, everyone will act on your command.
Thank you, Sister. But to be honest, I worry that these shoes I'm filling might just be a bit too big for me.
You need not worry. You possess a special strength and quality that others lack. Shepherd Artorius has high hopes for your deployment to Palamedes. Fear not. Just be yourself, and you'll do fine. Believe you're a leader, and you will be.
Yes. I'll try to make you proud, Sister.
*smiles*
(They're sending him to Palamedes? Is that the name of a facility on this island?)
I had better get going.
Safe travels.
*nods, begins to walk away* Oh, one more thing. Be careful around the daemon in Haria. It's stronger than it looks. We've even had some casualties.
*nods* Understood.
*begins to walk away again* Also, if you must drink the water, remember to boil it.
Sister...
*giggles* I know, I know, I worry too much. But I just can't help myself.
*nods*
*nods, finally leaves*
So there's a daemon in Haria. Sounds like it's a pretty feisty one, too.
If so, it may prove useful.
Still, what magical timing for Oscar to show up here at the very same hour we do.
...I understand your suspicion of me. But have you any proof?
None, it's true. But as an exorcist, you're certainly sympathetic to the Abbey's cause.
And soon you may wish WE were sympathetic.
Grr...
Eleanor hasn't been snitching on us. I'm sure of it.
And how would you know? Are you watching her even when she's taking a bath?
No, I don't... I... I always stay outside when she's taking a bath...and...
Then isn't it possible she's communicating with the Abbey in secret while you're not there?
*marches over* You pledged to obey me until the day you die, correct?
...Yes. That I did. *stares daggers*
*stares daggers*
Remember, when you two trade blows, only the Abbey wins.
One less daemon and one less traitor for them to worry about.
While we're standing around here arguing, that daemon could be attacking Grimoirh!
It's true. Let's find some more people to question around town. *everyone leaves*
Right after the above scene, we have a couple more skits. The first, asking Laphicet how it feels to be tethered to an exorcist. Well, while he's capable of intelligent thought, at least. Turns out it's quite the sensation. I like how it's a consistent thing, the party warning Laphicet about older girls. Even from Velvet herself.
Next one starts off about Teresa and Oscar, but very quickly evolves into a not-sibling war between Velvet and Eleanor. As long as everyone's having fun. After you're done with this particular bit of amusement, there's a Conversation nearby. This time, about the Empyrean Amenoch. Apparently Amenoch worship was very popular before Midgand's conquest of the archipelago, but now it has been outlawed in favor of everyone's favorite, Innominat. The Abbey sure is trying to make this a thing... Well, except for one village deep in Southgand, called Haria, who keeps the old faith.
Less seriously, we also have to help this kid out. Well, within reason, as well as getting a nice helping of some local culture.
For some mini-game flavor, we have the next challenger in Character Cards. I thought she was much harder than the previous kid, but sometimes you just get some bad hands. I did manage to get Tales of Eternia and Adorable Sidekick (basically the characters with cutesy mascot buddies. In my case it was Elize, Anise (Abyss), and Meredy (Eternia)). That's something.
Nice to know these delightful creatures seem right at home around here.
At the other end of town, we can play a new mini-game, Bienfu Bounce.
The rules are simple. Once you choose your difficulty level, you'll be instructed to press a certain button or button combination to make Bienfu run to the end of the pier. Once you get close, press another button to launch Bienfu high in the air toward the water.
Once he leaps, press the instruction indicated to make Bienfu keep going. The closer he is to taking a dive before you press the button, the further he'll fly, gradually losing momentum.
At least on Easy, it's very easy to get S+++, since the water skipping button is always square.
On Very Hard, it seems much harder, but it's really not. See, the only thing you really have to do is jam on the buttons by rotating these separate pads in roughly the same order. The game isn't picky about the input and it's very easy to build up a lot of speed on Very Hard. The water skipping part is a bit harder because it changes between lots of potential inputs, but as long as you get a good running start, getting an S+++ rank, which for me was 422.633m, is pretty easy.
For bouncing your way past the Easy leaderboard, you get Bienfu Hat (Rokurou), for Normal, a bonus 200 Tales Coins, same for Hard, and for Super Hard, up to 600 bonus Tales Coins in addition to the ones you'll earn directly from the game. Not too bad.
When you're done goofing off, stop by this guy for an actual lead. According to this guy, Amenoch talks exactly like the wistful pseudo-noblewoman Magilou was talking about, who is also called Grimoirh. Well, that was unexpected. According to the shopkeeper, she was last seen down at Maclir Beach, which is right where we were headed next. How about that?
A fine point...