Part 20: Chapter Sixteen: Shaman

Music: 02 – My Home Sweet Home



Alright, now that we’ve finished grinding, we can get back to finding the thief. Except…wait a minute…was that red haired girl next to the inn here the last time we visited?



: Um…excuse me? Sorry, but I’m kind of busy now, and-

: W-wait! I can’t go back alone! If I don’t get any takers, there’s no telling what the boss’ll do to me!



: Okay, this conversation is going to uncomfortable places now. I’ll tell you this straight out – I’m just not interes-

: Oh, thank you so much!

: Now wait just-



: No, I-







: Huh? Where the hell am I?

: Hmm? Hmm? What’s with the panicked look?



: Wait wait wait. Volunteer? For what? This crazy broad just dragged me here after dropping some creepy hooker pickup lines. I have no idea what’s going on.

:…I see.





: Wait, WHAT?!

: Do you want test subjects, or do you want to tell people the truth? You can’t have it both ways, Granny!



: Shame on you, Sanamo! You’re grounded! For two hours! Ah, well. The boy’s here, and that’s really all that matters now. Hold on tight, dearie…You’re my ticket to making magical history! Eee-hee-hee-hee!

: I don’t like the sound of this. I don’t know what you’re up to and frankly I don’t care. I have my own problems to deal with, so if you’ll excuse me I’ll be leaving now.

: W-wait, please! I’m sorry, please excuse my grandmother’s creepy giggling. Grandma!



: Even so, I-



: See, you and I are going to do a little tango called ‘Fusion’. You know the story…’When a boy and a girl get together, sparks fly!’

: I’m pretty sure you can be arrested for that sort of thing.

: Sanamo!



: Now listen up! I’m only going to give this lecture once! Ahem…Fusion is an extremely theoretical concept in magic! The idea is, an ordinary human being can be made much more powerful by being bonded with a Shaman!



: *Sigh* Looks like I’m not getting out of this one. Whatever, let’s get it over with.

: I’m still talking, sonny! A-hem…



:…and I suspect that you might finally fit the bill!





: Fine, fine…



: Hooooo! Yaaaaa! Sanamo! Shaman of Fire! It’s time to combine!







*Rumble*



: What…what the hell is this?! Aaaah!!







Surprise surprise, Granny’s scheme goes horribly wrong and everything bursts into flames.







An indeterminable amount of time later…



: How in the heck did -you- end up with genuine, bona fide dragonic powers?

: Say what? What are you talking about, old woman?

: Exactly what I said, sonny. You’ve got dragon blood in you, make no mistake.



: Hey, it wasn’t my fault.

: The dragonic energies completely threw off the fusion. Talk about unexpected. Well, Sanamo, you picked a strong boy all right…he’s so strong, fusing with him would be like kissing a hurricane!



: Details, details! Forget fusion for now! This boy’s dragon powers have got my interest piqued!

: Uh…



: I have somewhere to be…



: Don’t you think you owe me a little something in return? Like a new house?

: Are you serious? Your call-girl assistant kidnaps me, you jam me full of magic until my eyeballs nearly pop out, perform some kooky ritual that I’m pretty sure is neither sanitary nor legal and then are -shocked- when it doesn’t work and burns down your little shack in the woods? And then when the dust settles you claim that it’s all my doing and that I somehow owe you a new house when all the evidence clearly points to it being your own damn fault?

: Yes.





: Oh, and our own secret basement laboratory!

: Sanamo! I never knew you had good taste! Where did you pick that up?

: Is that all? Well shit. Guess I better reach into my deep pockets full of zenny and materials and just build you something up right away.

: No need to get sarcastic. We aren't asking for much!



: You aren’t listening to me, are you…Aw hell, I guess I’ll take you to the Hideout and let Bosch and Nero deal with you.



We regain control of Ryu on the world map. Our next objective is to return to the Hideout. There’s just one problem…



…That being, Ryu is now on his own without the rest of the party. To get back we have to go to Capitan.



Talking to this guy standing where Sanamo used to be will immediately warp us back to the Hideout, no questions asked.



: Oooh! This place is just perfect! Style, class and utility all in one!



: Eh? Should I know you from somewhere?

: Move, Rover!





: You and me both, old buddy. Because of, uh…various circumstances of an unusual nature, they’re demanding we give them somewhere to stay.

: Wait, what? Miss No-Manners wants our room?



: Calm down, Bosch. It’s not worth the hassle. It’s a pain in the neck, I know, but they seem to know some sort of magic so it might be useful to have them around. Although, uh, it might be prudent to keep a few barrels of water around, just in case.



: You there, Rover! You built this place, right? I need a laboratory built, ASAP!

: For starters, my name’s not Rover! For seconds, that’s my room! And for thirds, I don’t take orders from pushy old hags!





: What part of ‘you’re not getting my room’ do you not understand?





: A-are you…are you talking to me?

: Oh god, here it comes.





:…Same old Bosch.





The screen fades to black, and we wind up in Bosch’s room. Our next objective is to find a carpenter so that Grandma and Sanamo can have their magic lab. For this, we need to head back to Capitan, which I’ll do next update. I’ll also be explaining Ryu’s newfound dragon powers as well.