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Part XVII: The Prisoner We Met
And we're off to Hellawes...right after this scene. As soon as you talk to Benwick you get shepherded into going, for the record. Not that we have any business elsewhere. The pains of childhood
Eleanor...
What's wrong, Kamoana?
She, uh... She said she had a dream about her mom.
(crying) When Mommy saw me, she said I looked scary... That she didn't want a scary girl like me...
Your mother would never say that, sweetheart.
But...how can you be sure?
Well... Uh, how do I put it...? I know because I know!
You're just lying to make me feel better... *starts bawling*
Aww, Kamoana, don't cry...
(stammering) I...
... Ugh, this is the part I hate about little kids. *walks over*
I'm not a little kid! I hate you, Velvet! I hate you!
That's right, let it all out...
Stop it, stop it! Mommy... I saw my mommy... She didn't want me...
*fade to black*
She managed to cry herself to sleep.
They're not rational creatures. Sometimes you just gotta let 'em cry it out.
You seem used to it.
I guess you could say that. Laphi usually kept himself together when he was younger... But when he was really little, he had times like this every now and then.
...
And on that note, let's take off while we can.
My Liege, Dyle, I leave Kamoana in your care.
I'll do what I can, but kids as sweet and honest as her are harder to deal with than corrupt bureaucrats.
An outlaw prince and a talking lizard are no replacement for a mother.
That is putting it mildly, but hopefully we won't be gone too long. The frozen city
I do hope Kamoana isn't crying anymore...
Yeah...
Shush!
...How long is it going to be before you send in another exorcist to replace Lady Teresa?
With these daemons clamoring at our gates, none of us feel safe anymore.
You have our deepest sympathies, but we were sent here on a different mission.
That's what the last exorcists who came here said before leaving for the north. What could be up there that's worth all that attention?
Surely we're not all being punished by the Abbey for what happened with Medissa, are we?
That is not the case. Now if you'll excuse us, we have business to attend to. *the two exorcists leave*
(So the exorcists are just passing through town and heading straight north... Odd.)
In a conversation just after we resume control, we learn Velvet has a new nickname, the "The Calamity". Works for me. It's catchy. They again mention a "Medissa" woman, and in a skit just after this conversation, Velvet decides getting more information about her is our first order of business around here. There's an interesting skit right after that one where the party observes the poor state of Hellawes these days after the warehouse and docks got burned, namely by stating that flamestone had been a town-wide get rich quick scheme that blew up in their faces, so to speak. I say "interesting" because it's a skit largely about the party talking themselves into the proposition that the people around here are spoiled because they no longer have their flamestone and don't know how to fish anymore. It's a valid point, but I'd say this bunch are about the last ones who should be making it.
There's another skit right after about being "The Calamity". Well, if we're on this path, we're certainly not going to make things better for the world. There's a final old guy at the port who talks about how this town has changed over the years. The power of money.
Once you're in the main part of town, whole bunch of people to talk with. The starred ones, and the optional one to a certain extent, are about the incident that Medissa was involved with. To make a long story short, Medissa's daughter "caught" daemonblight, the Abbey stepped in and killed the daughter, Medissa barricaded herself in the church, her life was spared because she was "receptive", and she disappeared from Hellawes shortly thereafter. Also, the Faldies Ruins north of town belong to the Abbey and they run it as a prison for humans. I smell the distinct sense of the next dungeon in the air. Also, this Medissa woman killed the man who had turned her daughter into the Abbey. Definitely sounds like some nasty business.
The skit after the final conversation goes over what we know. This is in regards to Rokurou saying Medissa should be cooperative. I completely agree with Magilou. He definitely jinxed it. But before we go to Faldies, there is some sidequesting to be done. Shouldn't take too long, but there is definitely business. First up, the earthpulse point for Hellawes is up a long ladder on the rail path that runs at the top of the city. I always feel naked before I get to ride the geoboard.
First stop, the inn. Phi reading this book about King Claudin's words gets Velvet to flash back to...
This moment with Artorius talking to Seres, before the events of this game. Artorius certainly seems to have been quite tight with King Claudin guy, which is just a bit odd, given Claudin lived hundreds of years before Velvet's lifetime. Alright then...
However, in the tavern, we have more light-hearted fare. First, that Teresa Fan from way back when is still gushing about her, unsurprisingly, but given what we've heard from a few civvies, she's popular around here in general. Until we made her unpopular with Artorius, though. The second conversation...
Phi's turn in the laugh seat. It uh...goes about as well as you'd guess, though at least the audience can actually hear the performers, unlike Velvet's sorry attempt earlier. Still, this is not going to pay Magilou's way to Midgand's equivalent to Hollywood, that's for sure.
So while I was waiting for these dialogues to stop playing, I got this idle animation of Velvet taking something out and looking at it. I *think* it's the comb she got for Laphi back in the day? It's pretty hard to tell, since you can't usually bring the camera in very far, but that's at least what it looked like to me.
Anyway, the skits. First one is about the changes in this merry band over the time they've been together, and the second...
Cold weather will make people do the craziest things.
Next, this little curiosity. The dudes on both sides of this particular area of the coastline will say that an invisible avalanche has blocked the path. Normally when a game does that, it just means they don't want you getting somewhere important earlier than you should or when something's been blocked by the plot or whatever. But here's the weird thing.
If you go back through Hellawes and head out the storeroom "exit", which has yet to be sealed off by the town's authorities, you can emerge right where we want to go, the green ! bubble on the mini-map. So what's the point in these guys blocking off a very small portion of this map? I have no clue.
The skit you get for picking up this item, the Unicorn's Horn (for Videl's Omega Elixir) is a bit strangely translated. Normally the written out dialogue for skits has been bang-on accurate, down to the letter, but here, Magilou's voice actress (obviously) says something totally different. What she actually says is "Eizen you spoil sport, I totally have them on the hook", which makes a lot more sense than what she's saying here.
Also, after Magilou says that only a maiden pure of heart can touch a Unicorn's Horn, Velvet just repeats the phrase a bit wistfully, and it sounds like Rokorou says "That's a pity, nobody here fits that description", but the transcription says "That's pretty, nobody here fits that descripton". Just a bit strange. Oh, and Phi's "Let's report our success to Videl" was cut off by the game, not me. I wonder if this was something thrown in fairly last minute and there wasn't enough time to polish it or something.
But never mind that, because the Normin Islands gave us quite a treasure. So let's go to the phones.
Oh! These are the crests of the Empyreans!
You recognize them, Magilou?
Of course I do, because I am me. Now, I'll do you the favor of explaining it all for you, so be grateful!
From the lower left is the crest of Musiphe, Empyrean of fire, followed by Amenoch, Empyrean of water, then Hyanoa, of wind, and in the upper left, Eumacia, of earth. Those are the four elemental Empyreans. And this last one is...
Innominat, the fifth. Right?
You've been paying attention.
This tablet was found in the outer seas. That means the Empyrean's power extends beyond Midgand.
Well... Maybe you're better off not thinking about what it is you're going tup against. Ignorance is bliss, right?
I don't care what my enemies are. I won't rest until they are defeated.
We certainly wouldn't expect anything less. In fact, we have one of those enemies now.
Right where Velvet, Rokurou, and Magilou washed up just after escaping Titania. First order of business on the way, though, is hanging 10 and getting this chest. The first time we saw one of these kinds of gaps was waaaay back in Tranquil Woods, but now, we can finally cross them. The earthpulse point is just at the top of an ice slide outside Hellawes, on the previous screen. This chest contains a Gold Scrap, a crafting material.
They still haven't moved this ship? Damn lazy guilds. Anyway, here's Managarmr.
Unlike the previous few Code Reds, this one is actually a threat. Its most dangerous attack is Shockwave, its Break Soul attack. It'll throw out a large howl that throws up a ring of damage around it, that gradually expands. An ally who gets caught in it right next to Garmr will take a ton of damage and, since it's a Break Soul attack, you can't block it at any point to mitigate the damage. Only thing you could potentially do is switch someone out with Blast Switch to save them.
The wolf's other main gimmick is to use Call Backup to bring in some canine comrades. It won't use this skill that much, at least it didn't in this run, but you can stop it from happening in the first place by doing enough damage while it's in the animation. Just as a final note, there's no issue in reviving characters who are KO'd on the sidelines. Just select a revival item, drag the cursor over to their icon, and select. Piece of cake.
Next stop on our little tour is Port Cadnix, where we last fought Shigure. Only two points of business here. The icon near our position, and you can kinda see it in this screenshot, is that black doll sitting on the crate near the store. This one prompts a skit, wherein we learn, among other things, a freakin' dragon attacked Eizen's sister back in the day. Probably a good thing they walk their own paths at the moment.
There's also a conversation in the inn about...Bunny Bonanza Saturday and, if that weren't enough, Rappig Roundup Saturday. Strange customs around these parts. Next part of our sidequesting for now is stopping by Reneed to tell Videl about recovering the Unicorn Horn. Unfortunately, he seems really out of it, but nonetheless hands over the next part of the Omega Elixir recipe: a Cloud-sheep Egg, which can be found in either Galles Lake or Baird Marsh. This is actually pretty unique, because Baird Marsh is near the very end of this act of the game, and, depending on where you get it, you'll get a different skit. We won't worry about it now, though.
Also, a skit afterwards about the 12-Year Sickness we've heard about, which leads to the death of children at age 12, and Videl is 11 right now. It's certainly not our main business but let's just hope we can finish this in time...
As previously stated, the Faldies Ruins are just north of Hellawes. They're right in front of you if you remember that flower patch of Princessias that triggered a skit with Artorius when we were in Northgand the first time, if you remember that. If you don't, it's the only exit to that big area outside Hellawes we haven't gone to yet.
The primary denizens of Faldies are ghosts, zombies, ghost dudes in armor, and bats. A pleasant bunch, to be sure. Be very very careful of triggering Dangerous Encounters here; if you get caught in a bad arena with a bunch of spellcasters, they can easily completely destroy your party. I should know... And, unfortunately, a Game Over in a normal encounter means you go back to your last save point.
Oh yeah, and Velvet's current outfit? Rutee from Tales of Destiny, who was last cosplayed by Judith in Vesperia. Her cameo costume song is Bare Its Fangs and the victory music is, very appropriately, called Victory. As for her victory line, what kind of line could capture Rutee's most defining trait?
A surprisingly fitting line for Velvet, actually. Rutee's main thing is that she's quite the money-grubber. Very obsessed with making a score, so a lot of content related to her is about money. She actually showed up, in-person, in Xillia 2, where this trait was on full display.
I don't know, Eizen, Laphicet's "You don't want to make me angry...!" was *really* out of line. Shortly into the dungeon, you'll get a short skit, where we learn all these enemies wandering about are malakhim. The Abbey must be quite interested in this place. The northwest room has a Katz box for 320, and, if you've been opening all of the ones in order, this one's good for Angel Wings. How nice.
This is the main room of the dungeon. The north room leads to a whole bunch of exorcists milling about on the far side of the room. Unfortunately, we can't pick a fight to get through the door they're guarding. That area won't be available until muuuch later in the game. Like, probably within 5-6 hours of the end of the story late. Put it out of your mind.
As for progress in this dungeon, you'll eventually have to take both staircases, so let's start with...the right one, shall we? At the bottom of the stairs, light two torches to proceed. Once you get into the room beyond, a skit will trigger about Phi's speculations, which sounds interesting to me, but Velvet is in no mood. Maybe it's the cold. If you take these stairs, go throught the nearest room before going deeper to find this area's earthpulse point. This room also has Mellow Fluid and Runner's High boots before you continue on.
Down here you'll need to light a number of torches to open that locked one, beyond the bars.
So instead, let's do something really stupid (upon returning to that main room I mentioned), and summon this area's Dire Foe. Remember when I explained how they worked last time? Yeah, for some reason, that got me in the mood to pick a fight one, and whoo boy, was my choice of goofing around a bad one. On a NG, Lindwurm is probably the hardest of the Dire Foe batch, and it'll spawn mostly in Northgand locations, with the exception of Last Dungeon, where it also is the Dire Foe.
Lindwurm has a tooon of HP on Hard, a little north of 162k, and, as I mentioned, it's backed up by two invincible enemies that fly around to assist it. Now, you see bats in this screenshot, but on a previous recording, I got spellcasting zombies. I should explain that, on my first attempt at recording this part of the game, I fought Lindwurm, but after a very hard-fought fight, I lost, and it cost me an hour of footage, which included everything from the start of this update on. I was not a happy camper. Well, that first attempt, I got spellcasting zombies, which made this fight a whole hell of a lot tougher. I just thought it was worth mention that what enemies spawn alongside a Dire Foe appear to be random.
Now, Lindwurm is extremely powerful. Luckily, it doesn't have so many attacks that hit around it. So, like with many large foes so far, just staying away from its head / front of its wings is the safest bet.
Also, watch the hell out being at a decent range from it. That puts you in prime position for getting hit by the fire breath or the water breath, both being basically guaranteed kills. As for close-range attacks, it has Tail Uppercut, which does a decent amount of damage, but much less threat of getting annihilated in a single hit.
I should also mention Velvet is *really* good for these kinds of fights, since her Break Soul gives invincibility as long as it's active (but remember, you automatically cancel it if Velvet hits 1 HP), and the swipe with her claw gives invincibility frames, dodging many of Lindwurm's powerful attacks.
Phew. I can't say the EXP much impresses me, but look at that gald! You know what's fun, though? I negated all of this. After beating Lindwurm, I continued on into the dungeon, accidentally got into a Dangerous Encounter, got wiped because of a bunch of spellcasting jerks, and had to restart outside of Faldies Ruins. The worst part? I passed the save point outside Faldies TWICE to go back to Hellawes to restock. I got cocky. Let's just say I was glad to finish this dungeon... Honestly, you'll mostly beat Dire Foes to get an achiveement and for the bragging rights, but it's a good place to get money, too. Oh, and Wikipedia describes a Lindwurm as a "dragon without wings". I guess something like that would unimpressive if animated, so it gets wings here.
Anyway, now that that's off my chest, the torches are where previously indicated, near another locked door on the far side of the bars, in a small room in the southwest, and finally, inside that locked room. Not too hard. The other side of this floor is blocked by rubble from this direction, but you can go through the stairs on the left side of the main room.
Down those left stairs and into another room, you can find this little branch. Here, you can find Red Lavender, a Saturn Satchel for Phi, 3800 gald, and, most valuable, the red Nor doll. Wow, two of them in one update.
Eizen gets some...interesting mail.
And a rare sight, indeed, Magilou actually managing to rile Eizen up. He certainly can't keep his cool when it comes to any insinuations about his sister. Well, again, not only did his sister get attacked by a dragon, but the one time Eizen did revisit her, she got attacked by a swarm of crowd of humans turned daemons right then and there, apparently. Again, you can kinda see where he's coming from.
Once you're done lighting torches and finding dolls, down we go. Shortly after arriving... Exorcists in the ruins
She's calm. It looks like letting her in on the truth worked as well as we thought it might.
Good. Maybe she'll be easier to control now.
Halt! Who are you?!
So surprisingly, for a bunch of masked exorcists, this is a pretty hard fight, mostly because all of the enemies, save the haunted armor guy can cast spells, and these spells can be pretty nasty, particularly Hell Gate. This one throws out two big waves of death, one after another, in a X pattern that hits a very wide radius. Eventually it boiled down to a Velvet solo, which was easier than you might think. Still, not the classiest fight ever on my end.
In the next room, we have more torches to light. Four of them, in fact. Two of them can be found easily on the upper level, near where you just fought the exorcists, and the other two are fairly well-hidden down among these pillars.
And in the final room, one final torch "puzzle". This one's easy, though. Just flanking the door, and two in the nearest corners to where you come in (you can see the path I took that uncovered these latter two). Well, the security was defeated easily enough. Minus the two Game Overs, of course. A mother
A barrier! She's a therion!
Third time's the charm, eh, kid?
Yeah...
*shatters the barrier* You're Medissa?
I am... And who might you be?
We're like you. We carry grudges against the Abbey...and Shepherd Artorius.
It's gonna be OK. We came to get you out of here, Medissa.
...There's no escape.
What?
Please, don't give up. I can--
No, you don't understand. There's no escape...for you. *stands up* If you dare sully Shepherd Artorius' ideals and the light the Abbey shines upon the world... I will kill you all!
Okay...not quite the welcome I was expecting, personally. It's just a bunch of low-level snakes, nothing to be concerned about. Upon winning...
That snake woman keeps summoning them. If we don't go after her directly, there'll be no end to it.
Your left hand... Don't tell me YOU'RE the Calamity.
Why are you doing this, Medissa? Why fight for the Abbey after they forced you to become a therion?!
They didn't. I became one of my own free will.
But your daughter...slain at an exorcist's hands! You must hate the Abbey for that, don't you?
Oh, I feel hate. Toward a world where daemons spawn from the people's malevolence!
You...know about malevolence?!
The exorcists told me the truth. Diana turned into a daemon because of the malevolence she radiated. I knew what I had to do. Become a therion and devour malevolence so that such a tragedy would never repeat itself. *strikes a pose* It matters not what dreadful form my body may take. I will revive Innominat and change this wretched world! *summons golems from the ceiling*
Well, even moreso than usual, getting rid of the underlings is the first order of business, because the golems, in addition to being decently powerful, also take up a lot of room you could be using to maneuver around Medissa, who is now suitably "dreadful", I'd say. Her most unique arte is this, Gorgon Eye. As you might guess, this move has a high chance of Stone'ing anyone in front of the eyes. Stone, or Petrify, depending on the game you're playing, is a unique status effect that doesn't go away over time on its own, and, if everyone on the field is Stone'd, that's an insta-Game Over. So it's entirely possible that if your party is Eleanor/Velvet/Eizen/Rokurou, she could wipe your party in a second. So be extra careful you don't have that party. Magilou and Phi's default AI is set so they'll avoid getting close to an enemy as much as possible.
She also possesses Soul Burst and Screw Driver, the diving attack that Harpy-Go-Lucky also possessed, I believe. Still as powerful. Once the golems are defeated, she'll attempt to summon more snake allies, but even if she succeeds, they're much easier to deal with than the golems. When she gets lower on HP, she'll also throw in Crown Fire, which is a very damaging Fire/Wind spell. So definitely do not treat her lightly, is what I'm saying.
Lord of Calamity...?
That's the name of the daemon lord who will bring about the Age of Chaos. The unrepentant embodiment of malevolence whose blind pursuit of self-gratification will rain destruction upon the world. The irredeemable, uncontrollable personification of human sins... An evil like you!
Daemon, therion, Lord of Calamity... Call me whatever you like. But if I'm this supposed lord of daemons, then you're just a minion to be used as I please. Nothing more.
No, I refuse... What happened to my Diana was my fault... That's why... *stands up* I will fight you until my dying breath!
*runs between Velvet and Medissa* Stop!
Don't get in my way!
No! Enough mothers have died! I won't let you join them! Eleanor and Kamoana, they both lost their mothers, too. It's a terrible thing!
...Kamoana?
A little girl that the Abbey forcefully made into a therion. Her mother tried to save her, but she failed. All she could do was to offer her own life to fill her child's empty stomach.
I only noticed it during this scene, but Eleanor's Winter outfit is wearing that coat over her regular exorcist uniform. Yep, she's still wearing it.
Kamoana's been crying ever since. She misses her mother. If you die here... I can only imagine how sad that would make your Diana...
Diana! (thinking) "You don't need me anymore, Mom. I get it. You love this new dad more than your own daughter!" No, honey! I did it for you... But you really thought I stopped loving you, and...the malevolence...made you into a daemon. It's all my fault... I'm so sorry... Forgive me, Diana. *collapses*
Medissa...
She'll be all right. She's just unconscious.
Let's grab her and haul her back.
I'll place her under a binding arte, just in case.
Hmph. Gotta hand it to the Abbey. Very resourceful, taking advantage of Medissa's regrets like that... Making her into a therion who would do their bidding.
It's... It's just so cruel.
Who cares? Reason above all, no?
...It's true. The way I feel goes against all reason. There's no telling what'll happen to Hellawes once we take Medissa out of here. And yet I'm doing exactly that, all on account of my own hangups. Even crushing Medissa's honest resolve...
According to "reason", malevolence is the fault of the individual. You assume no responsibility or guilt for what happens to them.
I refuse to turn a blind eye to the consequences of my actions. I chose this path to seek the truth, not to deny it. If I'm to betray reason, then that is the very least I should do.
You're too much, you know that? You and Medissa both. Quit overthinking things. Just blame all the suffering on the "Lord of Calamity". Makes life easier. *takes off*
Velvet, I...
I'm not trying to cheer you up. I'm just saying it doesn't bother me. Whatever's coming, I can handle it.
That's what I'm afraid of, personally... Anyway, there's a shortcut back to the upper levels of the ruins at the end of the cell block where Medissa was, so up we go. You have to solve one final torch "puzzle" to clear the path, which loops back around to where you probably found the earthpulse point earlier (that room with the Runner's High I mentioned earlier).
Once you get back to Figahl Icecaps and are on the way back to Hellawes, you'll get a skit about Eleanor and malevolence. Eizen, who seems to know what he's talking about when it comes to stuff like this, doesn't see much cause for concern at the moment. Apparently she's just a cut above most exorcists. Well, that much we can see for ourselves.
Let's slip through town and head for Titania before that changes.
Hm, indeed. Looks like Haria was just full to bursting with potential malevolence, and that's why it erupted almost as soon as Kamoana was removed from Palamedes. In fact, it seems most every place where the Abbey seems strongest, Loegres, Yseult, and Hellawes, are all more or less fine even without a therion to eat malevolence. Maybe they ARE onto something. Or this therion-removal plan is a lot less effective than the party seems to think it is. Maternal instinct
So this is your secret hideout. Once I get free, you won't stand a chance. You all had better sleep with one eye open.
Look how worried I am.
Welcome back!
That's Kamoana.
She's the same age as Diana! Did the Abbey really turn someone so young into a therion?
*stops once she sees Medissa, turns around, falls down* *starts bawling*
Eleanor!
Medissa... Please. Would you be able to talk to her?
...Is this a trick?
Kamoana may be a therion, but deep down she's still a normal little girl who misses her mother. I can't do anything to console her, no matter what I try. But if it were you...
*walks over to Kamoana, kneels down* You OK? You can call me Medissa, all right? Do I scare you, honey?
...A little. But not as much as Velvet and Dyle. But...don't you think I'M scary? I had a bad dream earlier... My mommy said I looked scary and that she...she didn't want me anymore...
*embraces Kamoana* She would never! Your mother would NEVER think that about her daughter.
But...how do you know?
Because I'm... I'm a mother, too. Mothers always love their children, no matter what. No matter if we die... No matter how the world changes. There's nobody who loves you more in the world than...than...
*hugs back*
It's OK, you don't have to cry...
And after that, a skit wherein Eleanor is appointed to supervise Kamoana and Medissa, especially. She was our adversary not 20 minutes ago, after all. Velvet uses the phrase "Grand Poobah of Calamity" in this one, and it inspired me to finally look up what a "Grand Poobah" is. I mean, I knew what the phrase was, just didn't know where it came from. Apparently, it's from The Mikado, where one of the characters, Poo-Bah, assumes many grandiose titles. Good to know.
As for what's next, well, Benwick mentions that Grimoirh is hanging out in one of the towers. No doubt looking sorrowfully over the horizon, sighing to herself, but I doubt she'd waste our time on something we know she does a lot of already. Probably more news from the book, if you ask me. Along the way, you'll get a skit. Magilou mentions being born from a peach, and having a dog, pheasant, and monkey as compatriots. She's referring to the story of MomotarÅ, for the record. Oh, and I guess Bienfu tags along in this version of the story.
Eizen drops some more lore on us. Malakhim are born from "untainted mana", according to him, so they don't have family relations in the same way humans do.
If you go out the first door and proceed straight on, you'll come upon the nearest watch tower, but Grimoirh isn't on top of this one. Instead, we learn of Kurogane's marvelous feats of engineering. That kinda thing oughta keep the Abbey at bay if it doesn't kill all the maintenance crew first.
Instead, this is the tower you want. Shortly after going through this threshold, you'll get another skit. Remember when Eizen said malakhim do not have "family" per se? Well, he helpfully explains his sister here. He says he was born on an earthpulse point on a "sacred" mountain. His sister was born from that same point, and they just naturally started living together. He just felt a particular connection with her, that's all. As for keeping in touch even when apart, well, his sister wears a pendant as a necklace (she does get a name, but not this game).
Cute portrait. Magilou does get a pretty great burn at the end, though. Even Eizen is left speechless.
Yep, that's Grimoirh for ya. In this skit, we learn a bit about what Innominat will actually do if it's awakened. Nothing pleasant, it sounds like.
We get a VERY rare sight here, Velvet actually sticking up for Artorius. The context for this was that, apparently, when the world's malevolence overflows, Innominat will return everything to zero. This is rather incongruous with the Abbey's stated goal. Velvet's sticking up for him because she thinks ending humanity is absolutely not what he is trying to do. At least, that's the man she knows. And, even in spite of Magilou's questioning, she does know him the best of anyone here. Even so, if this truly is what the Abbey is up to, we comprehend nothing about their actual motivations.
The other interesting point we get here is that the rest of the book seems missing, and this is the only copy we know of. Seems like kind of a dead end, but at least we have something to go off in the meantime until we know more. The next day, we start on the ever-popular front docks. New destination
She's warm for a snake lady!
That's great!
She's gonna help me take a bath now. You should come join us, too!
Wha!? Uh, I couldn't--
It's OK! I don't mind at all!
Um... I...
Hey, Kamoana! Did you know? Dyle started to grow a brand-new tail!
Wow, really?! I wanna see!
He's up at the observation tower.
Let's go see! Medissa, you too!
A-All right. But don't run, or you'll trip. *the two leave*
Maybe Eleanor's a lot better at handling Kamoana than she let on. Nice way to defuse the situation.
Thanks, Eleanor. I appreciate it.
Heheh, having some girl trouble, my little malak?
I'm just glad Kamoana and Medissa are starting to feel better.
Yeah. They both still have a long way to go, but it's such a relief to see them smiling.
We've got bigger things to worry about. Hurry up and locate the next earthpulse point.
R-Right, OK! *takes out the compass*
Must you always be so blunt, Velvet?
I must, in fact. We're up against the Abbey here, and sooner or later they'll find this place.
That's true, but still...
Do we go find another hideout?
No, we'll keep on the offensive. We'll capture the remaining therions before the Abbey finds us.
As a swordsman, I can respect that mindset.
I'm not so sure we could hold this place, anyway.
...And we've got no obligation to.
I found another earthpulse point! It's in the eastern part of Eastgand... I think.
But that's...
Then our first stop should be Port Taliesin.
Hmm...if I know my cutscene framing, Bienfu being like that is definitely not a good sign. But I'm sure that'll be addressed later, you know? Velvet's apprehension about that name? Eastgand is actually where this game began, and why we haven't seen (the remains of) Aball Village since this thread started; we haven't gone to its corner of the world at all. As for the name Taliesin, I'll go into it next time, but we HAVE actually heard this name before in this thread. Do YOU remember where? We've heard it just once, but I'll reveal the answer next time. I just had to go back to a particular update to refresh my particular memory, that's all.
For now, there's another batch of skits. I don't know why the devs loved throwing together these big batches in Titania of all places, but they did. This one's a bit smaller, only three skits. The first one was my favorite, Eleanor deciding she compares unfavorably with Grimoirh and aiming to do something about it.
But there are a handful of conversations to be had, including this one back near that tower where we were previously. Apparently Dyle's a lot lamer than he lets on as a lizard. You can also talk to your buddies in the little foyer area, but it's all voiceless stuff and not necessary to continue. On the front docks, though, we have a couple more. First one is about a new Class 4 island, and the other is with Dyle explaining what he's doing around here lately. Hmm, a lizard chickening out. Has to be a new low.
This frigid place off the western coast of Northgand is home to the first "real" Class 4 island. Real as in, it's an actual challenge. I came very close to losing this one, but I eventually muddled through. The Katz box is located just to the left of that little / point on the mini-map. Our reward for the Class 4 is... a Force Ring. Go team. But for now, we're going to continue sidequesting and head for more equatorial climes in Islegand. There's an important conversation to be had in the inn.
Apparently, while Vortigern was being constructed, it was sacked yet again by another daemon, this time named Lancelot Capalus. This is that noble family we last heard about from just before we fought that scorpion daemon. A daemon capable of sacking Vortigern certainly should interest Rokurou. Also, this exorcist the Sly Pirate is referring to is Shigure. At least, according to the rumors.
Since Reneed -> Fens of Nog -> Burnack Plateau -> Vortigern is a bit of a hike, the fastest way to confirm the rumors is to use a Denore Bottle to warp to Lothringen, head left once you leave the base of the tower, you'll find a massive wall, and through there is the front entrance to Vortigern. As a bonus, the earthpulse point for Burnack is located just outside this wall.
Oh, before we go, another mini-game. Well, it's not much of one, but it's something. At certain points, you'll find a Katz who wants to eat some fish, and we're responsible for its diet. Couldn't be simpler. There's three types of bait you can find, the Emperor Ant being the most valuable and therefore rarest of the batch, you choose your bait, and you cast your line. What you fish up depends on where you are, and what type of bait you used. There's no actual input necessary to succeed beyond choosing the bait.
Why you'll want to fish is that, if you catch all the rarest fish, you'll get some allegedly valuable thing. I will be the judge of that, but you can tell you've succeeded if you get a very triumphant jingle and a good amount of Tales Coins. Here, the prize is the Amber-Colored Horseshoe Crab. You'll get 500 Coins for fishing one up.
Once you get back to Vortigern, proceed straight forward to the main branching room that leads to all parts of the fortress. The earthpulse point for the geoboard is located right near where we infiltrated this place the first time. It's just a trip down the hatch in that connecting room. As for where Lancelot is, he's hanging out on the Eastern Sea Gate, the second one we opened the first time we were here. As to how to get back there quickly, go through the door nearest to the save point and up a couple ladders. Piece of cake. Noble daemon
Count Capalus. It's been a long time. *kneels*
The reason Rokurou is being so respectful is that the Rangetsu family previously served the Capalus family. After the Capalus family fell into dishonor after the Abbey's ascension, Shigure, Lancelot's former servant, ascended to the highest tier of Abbey leadership.
Oh, wait... Is that you, Rokurou? Leave now. You are not the one who I summoned here. I want your brother, the traitor Shigure.
Sir, if I'm not mistaken, I believe Shigure's execution was assigned to me.
Ha, oh please. Don't make me laugh. You had your chance. You couldn't even scratch him, you wretched dog.
...
Frankly, I don't need any Rangetsu to do my bidding any longer. Not with the power that I've attained by devouring everyone in the entire manor. I shall administer your punishments myself...with my own hand!
You're the one who devoured the people at the manor?! How could you do that?
Hahaha! I never knew humans were so delicious. After I make a meal of you and the reset of those damnable exorcists, this will be my kingdom... My feeding ground!
Welp, it looks like the only thing that got abducted was this guy's conscience.
Remain there, Rokurou! Your lord commands you! Wait and be thankful that your blood will stain my blade beside your brother's.
There's no reasoning with this guy. *walks forward*
Wait. *rises*
Rokurou?
I refuse. If you simply wanted to eat flesh, then perhaps I wouldn't stop you. *draws swords* But dying to you would make a mockery of the Rangetsu name. Turn your blade on me or my brother, and we won't hold back. Not even against an impotent lord.
You... How dare you speak to your master like that!
So Lancelot is actually a really hard fight. As you might expect from the greatest of Arthur's knights, of course. He's powerful, but mostly just because he has a metric ton of HP and it goes down very slowly. This is a long fight. The one advantage you have is that he doesn't have a huge range of attacks. His most common will be a 2-hit combo with his spear, where he'll just smack it around. It's pretty easy to sidestep with the right timing and aside from that, doesn't have many surprises. Having Phi and Magilou harassing him from a distance is essential to speeding this slog up.
His Break Soul is Light Spear Blast, where he'll stop for a few seconds, then thrust the lance forward numerous times before knocking whoever gets caught in it, assuming they survived, into the air with a skyward hit. Another attack that's only dangerous on the business end of his spear, nonetheless it can be sidestepped but it's very dangerous to do so. Anyone who gets caught in it is guaranteed dead unless you Switch Blast them out. As for who you should play as, either Velvet or Rokurou, since they can most easily hit Lancelot's Water weakness. I find Rokurou easier to self-sustain with, assuming you're decent at sidestepping. But make no mistake, this is a very long fight. If you're playing as Rokurou, just be very careful about using Form 5, because Rokurou will stop in place for a moment to throw out a decent-sized Water attack, but the most important part is you can't cancel it out, so Lancelot can easily kill him during it.
Y-Yeah...it's like he wasn't even trying. Afterwards, one more skit for the road, but before we end this update...why don't we make landfall in Eastgand? That sounds good to me. When you're ready to go, just go back to any port town and choose Taliesin Docks. Once you're just off the coast... Nightmare in the fog
*takes a bite of the apple* It's sour...
So you've kept your sense of taste?
In my dreams I have. Nowhere else.
Does that make this a dream?
It would have to be, wouldn't it? After all... I devoured you.
That's right. Don't you go forgetting it.
How could I ever forget it?!
*looks at left hand* How could I ever...?
After that little scene, we get a skit with the girls. Magilou's words of caution would be well heeded, if you ask me. But never mind that, because in spite of the fog, the Van Eltia docks impeccably.
Told you. Eizen gets a short skit bragging about it, and Benwick wondering about the fog. Well, weather patterns. Who can say?
Dang. This does look like a pretty nice town. Seems this place was spared daemonblight. So far, at least.
This used to be the base of operations for a rich trading family. When trouble came knocking, they were ready for it, to say the least.
Wow... They must have had a lot of enemies.
But that was a long time ago. Nowadays, it's just another town in the middle of nowhere. ...But even so, to us, it was the big city of our dreams.
You know this area well.
I grew up near here. Keep on going, and you'll run into Aball, my home village.
Then the therion is...
Yeah, somewhere in my village.
Is that OK?
No one will know me there. Everyone I knew... I already devoured.
Don't worry, this is where we're calling it today. One thing to keep in mind, there's lots of cats sitting around here. Just keep that in mind... And the Katz box near this cat, for 230 Spirits and a Water Normin Hat and Suit for Magilou. Who knows what more awaits in this mysterious land?