Part 2: Enter Guild Lumen

Update 1: Enter Guild Lumen



Mhm. Can't do much until we make one.
Good enthusiasm. That's what I like to see, explorer. Just write the desired name for your guild on this line. I'm sure that many in this city will welcome a new guild with open arms.
...Eh, someone else do this. Been a long time since I named anything.
I don't think naming is a skill that you'd lose with age, Asriel... Well, in any case, I say we name ourselves "Caduceus!" It's symbolic of both health and power.
Um, wouldn't that be a name more appropriate for a guild of Medics...?
Lumen.


Heyyyy, Luca, don't just sign guild paperwork without asking the rest of us!
If we want our guild name to impress others, a term related to light is best.
...You could've asked first.
Lumen's a good name. I'm all for keeping it.
Rrr!
I, um, don't have a problem with Lumen, either.
_{Pick and choose your fights, Realga.} Well, I can't complain much if everyone else likes it.
I've never heard of that name before. Is it some foreign tongue, perhaps...? Regardless, it has a nice ring to it. ...Well, that aside, it's time for you to register explorers with your guild.
Erm, we...don't have the rest of our guild with us. Can we just take registration paperwork with us, get everyone to fill it out, and then come back?
That is fine.
Thank you!

Before we leave, I should note that each facility in Lagaard has a Talk option on its menu. The dialogue for this option generally changes when you reach a new floor, or sometimes conditionally based on sidequests. This is pretty much the only time the dialogue changes for neither of those reasons; each place has dialogue for before you enter the Labyrinth at all. Here's Marion's dialogue for this situation:

On paper, registering as an explorer is identical to applying for citizenship in High Lagaard. Put another way, any who are registered in this guild will automatically earn citizenship here. ...Wherever it is you came from, whatever you intend to do, we have no qualms with you. You may use an alias if you need to. Regardless of your circumstance--whether you're a foreign noble, or a wanted criminal fleeing to a safe haven... As long as you are willing to challenge the Labyrinth as explorerse, we will not question your motives.
Well, we've got that princess from close to Armoroad. Fairly certain we don't have any criminals, though.

When we try to leave the Explorers Guild:


There are inns specifically for explorers in High Lagaard. You can leave your goods there, and prepare for your exploration. But before you head to the Labyrinth, I suggest you stop at the Duke's Palace. I won't keep you further. Farewell.



So, anyone remember where everyone else went? We should probably get their registration taken care of before we go to the Grand Duchy.
Rr.
The bar?
Zack, Tyler, and Rheine said they were going to get food earlier.
I'll go back to the inn. Rest of 'em are probably resting from the trip over.
Aaah, wait for me, Asriel! _{I'll put down clerical work as a surcharge.} Freyja, Luca--
Stardust.
...Freyja, Stardust, and Ursa, can you bring the forms to the bar?
Rrhrm!



The name's Cass. I'm the owner of this place, the Stickleback Bar. What? Aren't yeh done with yer first mission yet? Don't lie to me! I see through yeh! They'll let me know once yeh're done. So get to it already, and come back then!

Cass won't talk about it now, but the Stickleback Bar is where we'll go after finishing the first Grand Duchy mission to take on sidequests. It's also where you can get hints about conditional monster drops, game mechanics, or other stuff through talking to bar patrons.

Um, we're not here on business...we were just told some of our guildmates are here.
'Ey, you guys! C'mere, we're just in the middle of breakfast.
Man, I've never had meat first thing in the morning before. This is great!
Slow down your eating down, Zachary. We're not going into the Labyrinth today, there's no need to rush.
But it's so good!
We have paperwork you all need to fill out. Explorers Guild paperwork.


Oh, we already hafta fill that stuff out? Give it here, then!


Put my name down...and done.


Hm, I know I had a royal seal somewhere on me...
I-is a royal seal be an acceptable substitute for a signature?
I would certainly hope so...ah, there it is.
Thank you all. We'll bring these to the Guild.


Like I mentioned earlier, you can talk to bar patrons through Gather information. Some of the conversations are utterly pointless, but the others often contain hints about how to obtain certain drops, or about less-than-obvious game mechanics. Let's talk to the Novice dark hunter.

*sigh*... I bought all these new weapons, but I just can't find one that feels right... At this rate, my adventuring career is over... *sigh* I guess I'll have to go track down my old whip. It must still be in the forest...
...Can we keep an eye out for his whip when we go exploring? It hurts to see another Dark Hunter so down.
I don't see why not.

Loud caster:

Hey, haven't seen you around! You folks new? Going through some rough times? Don't worry, I know how it is! Lemme help! You taking advantage of the gathering points in the forest? If you raise your gathering skills, you'll find rarer stuff! You need rare materials to make rare items, and improving those skills isn't gonna do you any harm. Why not give it a try? Okay then! Have a good adventure!

The caster lies. Don't listen to her; it's a waste of skill points to invest in gathering skills when you can just have a gathering party do it for you. Most material gathering points are fairly close to stairs in EO2U, close enough to avoid running into monsters most of the time. Speaking of gathering parties, I made one:


Five of these guys, all named identically. If you want to know why the hell they're all named "Byeah," here's some context: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgGOLvbknow

Girl wearing a ribbon:

Ah, here comes a new challenger of the forest! Your equipment gave you away, eheheh. I am Rozsika! I am here to teach...well, varoius things to adventurers. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me!

Rozsika gives very, very basic Etrian Odyssey advice once you've finished the first Grand Duchy mission. You can talk to her again before completing it, but all she'll say is:

Ah, it's the new adventurer. How is your mission from the Palace going? Let's talk when you've finished the job. I'll be waiting here!

And lastly, before we go check the Inn, here's what Cass says if you Talk to him before finishing the first Grand Duchy mission:

I can only give jobs to explorers that've been approved by the Grand Duchy. Sorry, but I'll have to ask yeh to leave.



Well, welcome to Lagaard! There are lots of inns here, but my place is the best! You're exploreres, right? Great! You'll fit right in. Try to get along with the other guilds, now, okay? Oh, and my name is Hanna. There's no need for formalities, you can just call me Hanna. That's what everyone else does! Bahaha!
Pleased to meet you, Hanna.
Okay, let's see... Where was Nadia's room again? ...Ah, here we are. Nadia!
...What? What is it? I was having such a good dream...
Explorers Guild paperwork! Everyone in the guild needs to sign their own papers.
Alright, but I'm going back to bed after this. I'm still exhausted from all the rides I took here...


Thanks! We'll take it back to the Explorers Guild.
Mhm.

Alright, where's that Protector...
Right here, Az.
Oh, hello. Thought you'd be sleeping like everyone else.
Nope. Not a big fan of sleeping in. 'Sides, I gotta go find where everything in this city is. Better to do it while there's barely anyone out.
Ah, I see. We got forms you need to sign, though.
Guild stuff?
Yep.


A'ight, that look good to you?
Seems finished to me. Realga and I'll take it back to the Guild before we go into the forest.
Thanks, Az. Be seein' you.

Miiiiiiiiilly!
Gods, what is it? The sun's barely up...
The Explorers Guild asked us all to fill out paperwork for ourselves. Registering for explorer status and all that.
Ugh, do I have to? Let me sleep.
Milly. We can't explore the Labyrinth until everyone's filled out their papers. Ｆｉｌｌ ｏｕｔ ｔｈｅ ｐａｐｅｒｗｏｒｋ.
Euuuugh, fine. Just, please, don't make that face or use that voice again.


There. Happy now?
Yep. Thanks.

Hey. Demon girl. There's papers you need to sign.
...Asriel, I already said I'm not really posessed. That was just a show.
Can't fool me, Miss Oni. What else'd that robe and those chains be for?
They scare people enough to make them give me food.
Heh. I'm sure. You want an offering of bison or deer meat when we get back?


...Bison, I guess.
I'm partial to bison myself, after that outbreak of poisoned venison back in Etria.

The door is open.
Oh, thank you Coleeeeeeeeeeeeeette what are those markings on the floor?!
War Lore. I need to stay practiced.
Please tell me those aren't permanent... Oh, um, I'm not disturbing a ritual or anything...right?
Not at all. Are those guild forms?


That should be everything.
A-alright, t-thank you.

Heyyyy, Realga! Getting ready to go into the tree?
Erm, yes. We were just going around making sure everyone filled out their Guild paperwork...in fact, you're the last person who needs to sign.


Dot the i...aaaaand done! So, when is it gonna be my turn to go in?
We, uh, don't know yet. We're still trying to decide on how parties will be chosen; we'll let you know when it's your turn.
Oh...alright. See you later, then.

Let's talk to Hanna before we go shopping:

Huh? What's wrong, loves? Aren't you going into the Labyrinth today? Hmph! Lazy children... Are you sure you're really cut out for the Labyrinth? You know, if you lose focus like that in the Labyrinth, some monster's going to eat you whole without so much as a by-your-leave.


Hey, everyone! You guys get the barflies' paperwork taken care of?
Rrhrm!
Here.
Alright! I'll run everything over to the Guild, then. Go buy supplies while I'm gone, and get me something nice!


Sitoth Trading's our last stop before we accept the Grand Duchy's mission. It's your standard RPG store; buy weapons, armor, and consumables made out of the junk you find off monsters/in the Labyrinth and sell.



Note that Sitoth Trading's one of two places in Lagaard where the bottom screen is switched away from the map editor; instead, it shows you your party members and their equipment.


My name is Abigail. It's nice to meet you. This is my father's shop. He makes the equipment in the back, and I sell them up front. I'm just an assistant here, but I'm always on the job! Don't forget about me!

Let's talk to Abigail before we buy anything:

Oh, you must be about to enter the Labyrinth, huh? Just wait until you see it! I've only ever been as far as the entrance, but I was still amazed! It's so bright inside. The greenery goes all the way into the depths... Oh, but you have to remember to be careful! They won't come near the entrance, but inside the forest, there's a lot of monsters. They'll eat you if you don't watch out! You all look really strong, so you might be okay, but you still need to be careful, okay?

Rather than bore you with all of my purchasing decisions, here's the end result of the spending of our initial 500 ental:



I buy Thick Gages and Wooden Hairpins for both Freyja and Asriel. Especially on Expert, monsters hit very hard relative to your party's HP early on, so it's incredibly important to buy as much defense as you can. I tend to lean towards buying gauntlets and headwear for frontliners; they generally provide better DEF boosts and more relevant stat bonuses for frontliners than boots do. Do note that I did not buy anything for Ursa, as Beasts have a very limited subset of equipment they can buy; they can only buy collars and a very small selection of armor that other classes can wear. Their high max HP generally makes up for this early on, thankfully.



For Realga and Stardust, I buy Wooden Hairpins and Leaf Sandals. Without getting too much into game mechanics, boots provide positive turn speed bonuses compared to other pieces of armor, which is very desireable for Medics. It's less so for Alchemists, but boots also tend to provide TEC bonuses, which Alchemists *do* want.

Those of you who have played EO games that aren't EO2U might be paincking and wondering "why didn't you buy any Medicas?!" There's a good reason for that, which'll become apparent once we go into the Labyrinth. For now, just trust me.


Alright, that should be everything taken care of! You guys buy me something nice?
Y-yes, here.
...A wooden hairpin and sandals made out of leaves.
Shop doesn't have much in stock now.
They probably need materials from inside the Labyrinth to make better equipment.
Well, let's go get our mission from the Grand Duchy, then.



I am Minister Dubois, vassal to the esteemed Duke. I am charged with the governance of High Lagaard. My duties range from managing civic affairs to overseeing the explorers that investigate the Labyrinth. You are, I see, another band of hopeful explorers come to make your mark in the forest... However, only official citizens of Lagaard are allowed past the Labyrinth's 1st floor. I'm afraid you must pass a test of our devising in order to register as a citizen. Are you prepared to accept the mission?



It's kind of pointless to say no here.

...Hm, I'm glad to hear it. Helping explorers become stronger is beneficial for us, as well. You see, the Duke himself has given the order to have the Labyrinth fully explored. Our ultimate aim is to find the floating castle of legend. Of course, it may only be a myth... But surely chasing myths and legends is at the very core of an explorer's purpose, yes? If you find the floating castle, you will be greatly rewarded...and if you wish it, even ennobled. ...But I'm getting ahead of myself. First, you must accomplish this mission and prove your ability.


Missions are analagous to story quests. You have to do them in order to progress the storyline.


It is essential that you master mapmaking skills before going too far into the Labyrinth. And one thing more... I'd like you to bring back a token from one of the treasure boxes on the 1st floor. Don't fret overmuch. I'm sure you'll stumble upon it naturally as you walk the Labyrinth drawing your map. The guard on the Labyrinth's 1st floor will have more details for you. When you have proven your worth in this challenge, report back to me... I will confirm you as citizens of the Grand Duchy and approve your travel through the forest. Take this parchment. It is blank now...but someday you will fill it with the forest's secrets.

One sad omission from Classic mode that's in Story mode is Dubois mentioning that the token is because the Duchy was having issues with people turning in "plagiarized maps"--a non-subtle jab at EO players who just copy their maps from the internet.

Oh yes...it may be wise to visit the inn and Sitoth Trading before venturing into the Labyrinth. If you are not properly prepared for exploring, your journey will be all the more difficult.

Way ahead of you, Dubois. Finally, if we Talk to Dubois before going into the Labyrinth:

There are no time restrictions. You can proceed with your exploration at your own pace. Do not push yourselves too hard, hm? The gates to the Grand Duchy will always be open to you. Feel free to stop by any time you please.

Next time: we actually enter the Yggdrasil Labyrinth.