Part 59: Update LVI: An Adventurer and the Land of Midnight
So, now that we're done with the major part of the plot, it's time to get back some good ol' adventuring. Still, don't we have a few loose ends we could tie up first? Sure do. First one is going to be poor Ceci still hasn't gone out on an adventure with us. Let's fix that.
But first, eagle-eyed readers may have noticed I had a job notice that was very close to ending by the time I made it to the Frontier Village. Amazingly, and I still can't believe my good timing here, I made it back *just* in time to fulfill it. A single day longer and I wouldn't have made it. Kinda makes you think...
The era of Healing Salves has come an end. The Secret Remedy is vastly superior, and has a couple of neat features thanks to the ingredients I chose for it (which includes the Seahorse). Surging Power is basically just a nice, temporary attack boost, whereas Fall Back basically gives anyone Totori's ability to shrug off a KO from time to time. Pretty great.
True, the Elixir restores HP, MP, and LP, but it also takes the Chims much longer to replicate it, and costs a lot more in stores. This is just the more convenient option for me.
Oh yeah, you can't invite Ceci without Mel in the party. Well, for reasons that should be obvious, it's Rorona that's hitting the road this time.
Anyway, after signing Mel on, time for a little adventuring with our big sister. Video goes until Totori says "Today's trouble was just an accident!"
What's with the formal crap? Cut it out. It's not like you.
Oh, who cares? I'm nervous here!
Ceci, is there a place you want to see? I can take you anywhere.
Then let's go! Hurry, hurry! H-Hey! Don't pull me so hard. Oh, man. This'll be a lively adventure.
*fade to black*
We're here! That was a long walk... You two walk so fast. I'm exhausted. You sound like an old woman. An adventurer's job has just begun at this point. I know that... So what do adventurers do again?
You do a lot, don't you? Where should we start? Oh, look. We got just the thing. Huh?
Ah! A monster? Hehe. It's all right. This monster's a gooey pushover. Good luck, Ceci! Huh? I can't! Not right away...
Look at you go. You want to show off to your big sister that much? I-It's not that! Anyway, just watch. Hiyaah!
A-Are you sure you want to let Totori fight by herself? It's okay. She might not look different from before, but she's an adventurer. Totori must really be growing up... Hehe. That's it. Easy... Huh?
L-Look. A lot more are coming. Wahh! Whoa! Totori! What's wrong? You can handle them. I-I know, but there are so many... Ohh, help me!
*Mel leaves*
B-But are you sure? Melvie, wait!*Ceci leaves*
Wait! Don't leave me behind!
Ugh, that was terrible... Totori! I'm glad you're okay. Oh, finally done? Come on. I know you could have done better. This is why Ceci gets so worried. Ugh... I think I Just got a bit too excited about today...
I'm okay. You haven't done anything adventurer-like yet. We did a lot of exploring and stuff while you were getting beat up. Really? You left me out of the loop...?
Again?
I want to! I really want to! We should definitely come again! It's a promise! Yeah, a promise.
Today's trouble was just an accident!Indeed. If I was playing, I might have taken a whole four damage.
Anyway, another Piana scene after going into the Dining Room. Video goes until the screenshot of Totori saying she's going back to the village.
Um, I want to talk to Piana... How about this ribbon, Piana?
It's cute! Lemme try it! Sure thing... Wow! It looks great! How about this one? It's Totori's best dress. ...Ceci?
Y-You're not busy at all! I gotta talk to her about serious stuff! Oh, just a little longer, okay? Besides, it's your fault beacuse you don't let me dress you up anymore. My fault?! Don't you have a job? Gerhard is waiting for you!
I have to go out for a bit, Piana. Can we play some more later? Sure. Thank you! I'll be right back!
I know! Just go! Ugh... Okay, I'll see you later.
Oh, Ceci... I wonder if she's been lonely. I am out of the house a lot... What did you wanna talk about? Oh, sorry. Well... Does Pilca know you're with me? Nope. I came as a surprise.
Oh... Why don't you want to? Did you get into an argument with Pilca? Nope. I just don't wanna go back. Why? If I stay at that village, I'll get gobbled up.
That was fast! You came back already? What about your job?! He doesn't have customers anyway. It's not a big deal if I take a day off. Gerhard said it's okay. I bet you sounded really pushy and he reluctantly said okay. Come on, Piana. We get to play all day today! Really?! Yay! Aw... I guess this would take Piana off my hands... Anyway, Ceci...
She's being a real meanie to me. Anyway, will you watch Piana for me? I don't mind. I actually welcome it!
You should. Bet they're so worried because such an adorable villager just up and disappeared. I'm not going back! I know. I won't take you back. Can you watch over her for a bit? Leave it to me. What'll we play, Piana? Well, um...*Ceci and Piana leave*
Ugh, really? I guess, but can we make sailing any faster? Well, about that, at the wharf... Video goes until Totori says "I have a weird feeling about this".
How about it? I think it's possible. It shouldn't take much effort.
Hmm. You're right. It's worth a shot. Hi, Dad. What are you talking about with Marc? Hello, Missy. You always come at just the right time. Huh? What do you mean?
Would you do it? For me. You know I'm terrible at gathering materials. If you say so, Dad. I have a weird feeling about this.
Like with the carriage scene, if Marc is in the party this scene won't show up. However, no need to worry about that for me. Anyway, these are the two ingredients he needs this time.I have a spare Shining Saucer that has "Pro Favorite" on it, so I'll never be using that in synthesis, but unfortunately I don't have the ingredients for a Platine.
But I know where to find them. Night's Domain.
Anyway, the trip to the neighboring continent is 28 days. Remember that number for later.
Back in Arland, we're bringing along an old favorite, Cordelia, as our new buddy for a while. She's going to be around quite a bit more in the future. I mean, I could use Sterk, but we've already seen quite a bit of him already. Gotta shake things up every now and then.
Unfortunately, she's also back at only level 17, lagging quite a bit behind Totori and Mimi. But, she'll be catching up. First up is giving her upgraded equipment from the Goldsteins and Tanbeash I have lying around.
Looking much better already.
There's kind of a hard-to-see path north from the western shore of the lake on the map screen north to Night's Domain. With the Shoes, it takes 8 days to make the trip, which coincidentally is the same number of days it took to go to Night's Domain in Rorona. Neat. Anyway, off we go.
Music: The Night's Domain ~for Atelier Totori~
Huh? It got dark all of a sudden. It was still bright just a minute ago. The world sure is full of mysterious places.Indeed. Anyway, our old pal Night's Domain is back. Like Nabel Lake and Traveler's Way, it got quite a bit smaller in-between games, but it's still pretty large. The place is more like a large tower, with a few areas surrounding it, but most of the journey is made on blocks heading upwards.
However, its position as best location in the game has been thoroughly usurped. But, that title belongs to a worthy king, trust me. In the meantime, though, only rank points here are for finding all the gathering locations. Since this is a late-game location, and in a big area, Tonics are a natural choice.
Blocks like so. Oh, and hey, they remembered mushrooms grow here. We can't gather any, though.
The Dark Messengers from the Deserted Village are back in full force, as well as Black Demons. The Demons are pretty annoying, but nothing they do is too terrible.
Of particular notice here are all the Dark Dews. These count as (Gunpowder) items, and we'll definitely want stuff like Boost Effect and Rank Boost and the like. The high Cost of the item is an added bonus, of course.
A random area...but something feels missing here, especially. Wonder what that's all about...
Show's over, folks. Let's roll out.
North of Night's Domain is the Dusk Throne, which is a neat location. It's interesting because it's clearly using Night's Domain motif, but it's not exactly part of the Domain. Neat, anyway, there's a really cool physics thing that happens here if you get lucky. Unfortunately, I did not...
Okay, for these goats, they come at you really quickly. It's impossible to outrun them if they're after you. The physics thing here is that if you get lucky and get up on that flat surface where the goat in the back is, they'll try to get at you from the lower level. If they hit just the right spot, they'll launch up in the air like a million miles and then fall down on you.
It's hilarious, but basically impossible to make happen on purpose, which disappoints me.
While they may be goats on the field, Scarlets make up the majority of these melees. These fights take *forever*, which is one thing I don't like about Dusk Throne.
Unfortunately, that jerk ass goat prevented me from getting the landmark points (obviously, it's Demon's throne where I'm jumping). I won't show it, but at a later date I came back here, simply because I forgot I didn't get those points.
Another blast from the past is the Moonlight Forest northeast of Arland. Why is it a blast from the past?
Well, first off, we've been to all the New World of Arland locations, so that's nice.
Dunkelheit?! Aw, lovely. Unfortunately, they're not in bloom. Maybe we should come back later...
The Forest Dew is a wonderful ingredient. Pick up a lot of these.
But at last, we have our Platine. Give this, and a Shining Saucer to Marc, and another scene. Video goes until Totori says "I'll be extra sure I don't go anywhere near the red zone".
Yes, that'll do. Now it's time to get some work done. All right! Let's do this! He's acting different again. Will this really turn out okay?
Wahhh! B-But I just want to know... This is no place for women or children. We'll take it from there. Okay...*fade to black*
No, no. I only did as you directed. I think that was a job well done! Oh, Dad's back to normal... So, are you done? Yes. With these modifications, you should be able to travel nearly twice as fast as before.
Hahaha. Don't worry about all that. I wouldn't do anything silly to put my own daughter in danger. R-Right. You were working on it, too.
Yeah. The fastest part is marked red. Good thing you noticed that. Be sure to never hit the red zone while you're steering the ship. What happens when I do?
Yep. Hahahaha. ... I'm up for a drink. You?
*Guid and Marc leave*
I'll be extra sure I don't go anywhere near the red zone.Oh, Marc, you rogue, you. But, just for a comparison, let's see how long it takes to get to the Northern Lands now.
Marc, did you ever know you're my hero? For you are the wind beneath my wings.
So after a bit more mucking around, I returned to Arland. The next scene with Filly can be kinda tricky to get. You have to do a whole bunch of requests for her, then go to Tiffani's *without* any quests currently on your docket. Video goes until Totori says "Sure, I guess".
It'll be all right. Don't say you want to quit.
Even if I don't quit, they'll fire me!
Ugh, Totori... It was a short time, but thanks for being my friend. Even if I go to another workplace, I'll never forget you. Huh? She seems serious... What happened this time?
Oh, but that happens all the time. Don't say that! I'm being depressed here! Cordelia might have a short fuse, but she'll always forgive you when you her a sincere apology. If you're scared, I can go with you...
Then why not think of it as a few extra days off? I am not in the mood for optimism! I think it's best to quit now... She's really depressed...
Uh-oh...
D-Drinking? No. I've never gone drinking at all. When adults have bad stuff happen, we drink to forget. We should go tomorrow, or maybe the day after. Do you think I can handle it? Can I really forget the bad stuff?
Okay, I'll go. Then it's settled. Will you join us, Totori? Me? I don't think I can drink yet...
We'll go to Iksel's restaurant. Come when you feel like it. Sure, I guess.Poor fool. You're going to regret that...
Anyhow, although Tiffani didn't say it explicitly, the next event takes place exactly two days later in the Sunrise Cafe. Any time after that, and you miss the event, so let's not do that.
Video goes until Totori says "I'm scared to see Tiffani now..."
Tiffani said it was today. I wonder if they started already. I hear some commotion inside.
What? That scream... Was that Filly?!*fade to black*
Filly! What happened?! Are you okay?
Hey! Why'd you come in?! Run away while you can, idiot! Huh? Run away...?
Tiffani? W-Why are you squinting at me? I was waiting for you. I caught'cha! Huh? Huh?! Wahhhh!
It's not use... No matter how much you scream or cry, once she latches, she'll never let go! Filly! You were caught, too...? Wahhhh! Stop moving your hands all over me!
Wahhh! S-Stop! Please stop! Noooo! I feel sick! I can't take this anymore! Oh, yeah. You don't know the legends of how poorly Tiffani handles her booze. Iksel! Why are you just watching us?! Help!
B-But...!
Y-Your hand! Stop putting your hand in my clothes! Cut it out! Gahhh... I didn't think this would happen to me. Ah! Tiffani, no!
S-Somebody help!*fade to black*
Yup, you lose a day after that scene. I wonder if Tiffani passing out is the only way Totori and Filly got away.
Ugh... Is it morning? I... I don't know what happened after passing out... Oh, yeah. I wonder if Filly's okay. I'm scared to see Tiffani now...After that scene, you can get a short voiced scene by talking to the two of them. Let's start with poor Filly. Video goes until Totori says "Seriously..."
Oh, Filly. You're back to work... Yeah... Now I know there's something much scarier than Cordelia... She was scary... But in a different way... Yeah. A different way... ... ...
I can't complain to Tiffani anymore. Even if my life depends on it. Yes, please be careful... Seriously...But now let's have another chat with the culprit... Video goes until Tiffani says "But that explanation really doesn't sit well with me..."
*fade to black*
Oh, welcome. What's wrong? Why are you acting all sneaky? *gasp* T-Tiffani! G-G-Good morning!
Wahhh! I-I'm fine! J-Just don't come any closer! Really? Did I do something? Filly ran away when she saw me earlier, too. Huh? You don't remember? About yesterday...
I know I talk big about drinking, but I don't hold my alcohol well. Did you manage to make it? Um, yes. I was there... You really don't remember? I did do something bad, huh? If you don't mind, can you tell me?
Well, if you say so... But that explanation really doesn't sit well with me...
Now that we're in the end game, we really need to upgrade our equipment. This Sylph Breath shall do nicely, as these traits can be transferred to a Blessed Coin, which can in turn be transferred to an ingot. Halmolium once again requires a Dragon Tusk, and we won't be seeing another dragon for quite a while, so how am I going to get a Tusk?
Wait and see. The answer may surprise you.
But back to Alanya we go. We've been putting off going back to the Frontier Village a bit too long, I think. But first, another Piana scene. Video goes until Totori says "I don't like this at all..."
It's Totori! Welcome back! Piana, don't move. I'm still changing your hairstyle. Totori! It's all your fault for coming back when it was getting good. Wait, it's my fault? You haven't been nice to me ever since Piana's come here...
That's great, but be careful. She's usually nice, but make her mad and she's very scary... Don't put weird ideas into her head!
How did this become about fairness? Come on, Piana. Let's continue. I'll bake you my best pie later! Yay! Che-Chi's pie!*Ceci and Piana leave*
I'll make Piana's share. Just make enough for Dad. I don't like this at all...Mmm, seems things aren't going too well, but another thing that can wait.
NOW off we go. We're taking the southern route this time, because, of course, more rank points to be had by charting all of the Outer Isles.
This place has higher quality Sponge Fruit than could be found at Mushroom Island a couple updates ago. However, the Sponge Fruit is by far the least versatile part of a Velvetis, but we'll be making one of those in due time.
Our final stop in the islands is Desolate Island, which features high quality Wispstones and not much else. It's not particularly important for stopping by except for the the Outer Isles points.
Hm, ghosts everywhere. This could make sense if these were the ghosts of people who got shipwrecked and stranded here, or perhaps I'm reading too much into this.
And now we have all the sea lanes open. There's three paths depending on the islands chosen, but the northern route is always the fastest.
Anyway, after a couple months, we're back. Let's talk to Pilca about them goings ons. Video goes until the screenshot of Pilca by herself.
Oh, you're back. How did your family take the news? My sister and dad were prepared for years. But my sister still cried. Bring your family here someday. I have other things I'd like to talk to them about personally. That sounds great. I'm actually here today for something else. It's about Piana.
She's no trouble at all. It's like I have a new sister... Wait. You knew Piana snuck onto my ship? Of course. When a child disappears from a village as tiny as this, everyone realizes it right away. Besides, she disappeared the same day you left. I guess everyone would know, huh? A-Anyway, what should I do about Piana?! What do you mean?
As long as you don't mind, it's fine. Or does Piana want to come back? It's not that. She refuses to come back here. She said it's because... Go on. I won't mind.
Oh? Is that so? I don't think she's serious! You know how kids always speak their minds and don't really think about it... But it's a fact. Whether she understood the meaning is irrelevant. Ugh...
So long as she remained here, it was an inevitability. If Gisela didn't come to the village, her life would have been already lost. ...
I have already lived long enough. I am ready to accept my destiny. But I can't bear to think one so full of life like her will die with me.All this talk of destiny and fate and such...I'm not digging it.
Even if Piana is spared, you and everyone else will... You can't save everyone. Even if we choose to run away, someone else will take our place. I feel it is all worth it if at least one of us escapes this fate.
I understand how you feel. We thought long and hard about it when we were still young. But we must accept this. ... Is that all you wanted today? W-Well, um! Hmm?
Oh hell yeah. I'm liking the sound of this plan.
Huh? What are you talking about?! B-Because if I defeat it, no one has to be eaten anymore! It's impossible. Not even your mother could defeat it.
It's still impossible. You would be throwing your lives away! Well, you can't say that until we try! ... ...
It may be ten years. It may be fifty. Are you going to wait here until then? W-We can go to it instead! To that tower! You can't. No one can break the tower's seal from the outside. But there is one exception. So there is a way. How do I do it?
Sacrifice? That means...
That's terrible! Who would make such a thing?! I don't know. I wasn't the one who made it. Now do you understand? Don't worry about us anymore. Just leave us be. You know I can't do that.
...
Dare to Hope, Plica. If there's any way in this world it can be done, we'll do it.
But first, let's talk to Pilca again.
Perhaps to you. These are all very common for us. Yes,. So, um. I want some for alchemy. Could I take a few of these?
I don't feel right just taking it... I have some money, so I can pay you. We have no use for money here. Oh, right. Maybe someday you'll get the chance to use it though! Well, if that's what you want. I won't try to change your mind.
Yes, that'll be fine!
Yep, Plica is the sorta hidden last shopkeep in the game. She doesn't do wholesaling, but she is selling something super valuable.
This. This is where you can get a Dragon Tusk waaaay ahead of schedule (the Dragon in the Old Sanctuary will never drop a Tusk, only a Scale if you're lucky) for a Halmolium, for a mesely 735 Cole. Besides, if you want more, you can always have a Chim gather copies of this. Easy.
After returning to the world map, these two new locations show up. There's absolutely no point in going to the tower at the moment, but there is a point in heading west.
The Path of Oblivion is another "High quality materials, nothing much remarkable" location. Next.
This is actually a rather rare CG. It can only be seen on this continent, and these random events can take a while to show up. I got lucky and got it without any travel grinding.
The Mystic Snow Plains have our old furry buddy Jagd Wolf walking around. They come in groups of two or three, which really only serves to drag fights on longer. Again, nothing really worth mentioning here other than that.
And our third and final stop is the Prayer Forest, which also has Pioneer points that I got. Here can be found Purple Grape, World Spirits, and World Tree Twigs. All high-quality, of course, so it's a good idea to use a Tonic, but there's something else to find here.
A distant altar, which counts as a landmark. Every bit helps.
But, hm...I think we've done enough for a single update. Next time, lots more adventuring, you can count on that.
Drunkard Legend
Filly concept art
Tiffani concept art
The Night's Domain ~for Atelier Totori~