Part 17: Ahead on Our Way

Entry 15: Ahead on Our Way

The party catches up to Heinkel outside the airship.



As daughter to a true knight, I know their pride is staked upon fair and honorable combat.

Four against one is fair and honorable?



Hah! You invoke your father after betraying him?



He's headed for the airship!

Heinkel continues to outstroll the entire party. To be fair, he is twice their size.



His aim is the vestal, not the king.

He's baiting us?

Still, we have to give chase! We'll lose him, and the ship!

Well? I'm game to brave a trap.





Right!

The party follows Heinkel onto the ship's deck. The airship immediately takes off. Well then...



This ship is a prison you entered willingly! Nowhere to run now, save down...quickly!

Really, I must thank you for taking the bait so eagerly. It's earned you a lavish cruise through the clouds, vestal. And for your friends, a career as ballast!

You're a prisoner here, same as us. No more tricks, Heinkel!

A knight without chivalry is a common bully. I'll see you stripped of that title here and now!



I'd thought to bring you home in chains, but no.





Heinkel is a slightly harder fight than the other Sky Knight bosses.



He has high physical defense and is accompanied by two archers. Heinkel will take damage in place of the archers if they're targeted by a physical attack. He'll also use Ironclad to increase his physical defense even further.

The archers will whittle down the party's health decently if left alone, so the first trick is to find a way to take them out.



Solution? Magic. Thunder also happens to be Heinkel's weakness.



Although Heinkel has a couple decent-hitting attacks, once he's on his own there's nothing too alarming. Stomp, which he uses at low HP, ends up working against him thanks to its self-debuff decreasing his physical and magical defense to 75%.



Edea takes him out, as is proper.





Presumably this was taken right off his corpse. ...Does that count as honorable?



And, as is becoming expected, we get his asterisk. The party wins power by the bloody deaths of their foes.

Time for us to return to Caldisla in celebra--

*SHUDDER*



The airship! We're losing altitude!

Oh, right... We just killed the driver.

Who was piloting during that fight, anyway? Let's give the benefit of the doubt and say Heinkel had auto-pilot on and turned it off just before he died.

Edea, hurry! Take the wheel!

Me!? I can't drive this thing!

What!? You're a sky knight, aren't you!?

Only Heinkel and the other officers knew how to pilot the ship!

Ohhhhhh!

Boy, this certainly is a way to end a game.



--




What!? Who cares about that?

And how are you so calm!?

The Eschalot, galleon-class airship? Am I correct?

Yes, but how--? Is that in your book, too?

Indeed, it is. Let me have a go at steering.



*twist twist, turn turn*



...

.......

Wait, is he...!? We're steadying out!



Now, find something to hold on to!



The airship flies southwest over the ex-Norende chasm...



Plunking down in the lake where Holly and Barras met their end.



Somehow, against all odds, we had an airship pilot with us nearly all along. Which means...

Ringabel's real name must be Cid! (It isn't.)



As tempting as the airship is, Caldisla business, first.

Back to the palace.



You, more than anyone, Tiz. A nightmare was visited upon you and your home, and still you rose up to defend ours.

I'm certain your feats have earned Owen a peaceful rest. If you are willing, I would gladly see you take up his sword. Will you continue to keep this land safe, son?



I've promised Agnès that I'll join her on her journey.

Caldisla shall be poorer for losing you. Know that you will ever have a home here.

The Eternian airship is yours to use as you will. Take it with my blessing. There's not a man in the kingdom able to pilot it anyway! Hah hah ha ha!

I leave the matter of that horrible chasm to you. I have faith you'll see it unmade. May the crystals keep you in your journey!

Pretty sure the king never wants to set foot on an airship ever again, anyway.



With the king's blessing, we're free to set off! We couldn't save Owen or the other soldiers that died, but at least now there's a chance of peace returning.

Let's do a victory lap around town. Everyone has new things to say now that the Sky Knights are defeated.



Soldier in middle of palace:
I was assigned to patrol the palace grounds until just recently. I'm still not used to this new post. It makes me nervous...

Soldier by palace doors:
Standing here in my old armor takes me back. It really gives a man a sense of purpose. They only guards left are all still kids. Hopefully there's still a thing or two I can teach them.

Seems they've got a mix of newbies and retirees filling in now that Owen's soldiers are gone.



I don't know if we can ever repay you for rescuing the king, but I mean to try.

I thought long and hard, and decided to dust off the old armor. I have to do what I can.



It's the Ringabel admirer. Maybe she hopes Ringabel will come back if the house he was using is rebuilt.



They say you all beat the Sky Knights. You have the whole kingdom's thanks!



There's only one downbeat person in the city. Surprising there aren't more, considering the whole rotted ocean, halted wind thing is still going on.



But that's what we're out to solve. To our airship!



Now, my ladies, all you need do is simply speak the word and I shall whisk you off to the very ends of existence!



Rest assured, my dear. I never fail to properly escort a lady.

The real mystery surrounding Ringabel is how much of his talk is just hot air.

......

Agnès, will you tell us why they were chasing you?

They Sky Knights are a branch of the Eternian Forces. The Duchy of Eternia has put forth an agenda of Anticrystalism.

Anticrystalism?

A new way of thinking, based upon the idea of a society no longer dependent upon the crystals.

It brands the Crystal Orthodoxy as a heretic faith, and the vestals its minions. It was the philosophy I was raised upon.

When the chasm appeared, everyone of the Eternian Forces was given the order to capture the vestals. They said the vestals and the crystals they tend were the sinkhole's cause.

That's not possible! Agnès has been fighting this whole time to fix what happened to Norende!



You've nothing to apologize for.

All of this paints the duchy in a suspicious light, don't you think? Perhaps they know more of the chasm's true cause than they let on.

I cannot imagine we've seen the last of them. If any of you wish to go, do it now. I'll not blame you.



I'm in as well. I need to see for myself whether my people are right or wrong.

And playing escort is my job. I'll not cede it to anyone.



For a split second before she covers her mouth, you can see Agnès smiling.

This is so exciting, Agnès! You're finally headed back to the Wind Crystal's side!

Yes, to Ancheim. The Land of Sand and Time. And to the Temple of Wind.

Ancheim, the Land of Sand and Time... What's it like there?

Like an oasis in a vast desert beyond the sea. We make southeast of here.

She's giving the most literal response possible.

The party starts flying, but doesn't get far before Ringabel speaks up.



Er, yes, it's...southeast...

So will this course serve, or...?

S-southeast...please.

Hm? My dear, I'm afraid I've no recollection to go by. I need reliable directions, or--

(What should I do? The innkeep said southeast and nothing more...)

(Ha ha, I think I see what happened.)

Ringabel, she means it's southeast of Caldisla, specifically.

Aye aye!

Ooh, Agnès. Just what sort of place is Ancheim?

It's...covered in a vast desert. And hot, as though it were always midsummer.

Wow! That sounds like the complete opposite of where I was born.

Huh. I guess there's all sorts of places out there.

This is your first time leaving Caldisla, then, Tiz?

It is. What about you, Edea?

Me? Er, I was a former Sky Knight! I've flown all over the world!

Where have you seen?

Oh, lots of places. Eternia, Caldisla...Caldisla.

Aw, you're barely any better than me.

The world is vast, my friends! There are countries of perpetual summer, others of winter...

Verdant lands rich in water, entire kingdoms built on volcanos, nations hidden in forests...

That sounds amazing!

...Or so I'd imagine. I've no memory, remember?

Whaaat? You're just guessing?

Ah ha ha ha! The world is vast! Keep it that vague, and you're sure to be right!

Who knows, Ringabel might end up guessing right about a place or two. Time to explore the world!





There are a few limitations to our transport, however.

It can only land in water, so the dry southwestern continent is out. It also can't land in rotted water, so the ocean's out. It also can't go over tall mountains, such as those surrounding the northwest continent. It also needs a significantly large body of water to land.

In the end, aside of the southwest lake where we started, there are only a few areas accessible to the airship. One of those is the lake in the easternmost middle section of the east continent.



Going to visit shows that's a no-go, either, due to a thick, inpenetrable wall of mist around the lake.

That leaves one place with a port...



Despite the false excitement, we're still being tunneled along the main quest. A bit disappointing, but not surprising for so early in the game. On the way there, the party chats.



Hm? Oh. I'm afraid I so rarely left the temple... I couldn't say.

And when I passed through on my way to Caldisla, it was as a fugitive...

Well, just tell us about what you have eaten, then.

Hmmm... I seem to recall a great deal of Ancheim's cuisine being spicy.

One bite, and I felt as though I were spewing flames. I broke into a full-body sweat...

That sounds pretty intense.

Leave it to a desert people to develop a taste for searing heat.

I'm sure their women are no less fiery in--

Ooh, what about sweets!? Any cakes and things?

Ah! I'd nearly forgotten! I had the most curious delicacy in a port on the inner sea.

Yes? Yes?

It...it was ice cream...th-that stretched!

Huh? Stretchy ice cream? That sounds so weird! I can't wait!

Get ready, weird stretchy ice cream--Edea's coming for you! Full speed ahead!

Ha ha ha!

Temperament. Fiery in temperament...

Agnès may be referring to dondurma, a Turkish version of ice cream which blends in flour and a chewy resin, allowing it to be stretched.



Touchdown in the Flor-Cheim Inner Sea. The difference in color between the good and rotten water is pretty noticeable up close.



A short ride away and we reach the port where we'll dock, beginning a new chapter.


Next: You'll never guess who the bad guys are.

--

Event Viewer
Main Scenario:
After That Knight!
A Knightly Duel
The Eschalot's Narrow Escape
A Triumphant Return
Company for the Road

Party Chat:
About Ancheim
Ancheim's Gourmand