Exit Fate Part #5 - Wherein we learn that 60 Arn is a fortune

Part 5: Wherein we learn that 60 Arn is a fortune

Welcome back. Last time on Exit Fate, we started looking for answers about what happened at the Kelsinger Pass, only to end up with more questions. Then the Kirgard army decided to show up unannounced. It's time to get the fuck out of here.

But... they weren't supposed to attack Harlinton this soon! What's the meaning of this?

Uh-oh! This is bad! Let's get out of here while we still can!

This guy is going to continue panicking but never feel the need to actually move from this spot.

Unfortunately, it turns out that we can't just walk out the front gate. Though that's probably a good thing, since walking into the Kirgard army at this point seems like an incredibly stupid idea.

I understand, but I really have to leave. Can't you just let me through?

Look, orders are orders, so I can't let anyone pass. What do you want to do at a time like this? Just go home and stay inside. We'll take care of the rest.

What, and fight our way through the whole regiment of soldiers outside? We have to find a way out. Maybe there's another exit somewhere.

Despite the imminent threat of attack, this classy gent is still classy.

If we head up towards the northern end of the city, Fitch will suddenly call out to us...

... and the camera will pan up and right to this part of the city wall.

If we go there, maybe we can climb over the wall and escape that way!

Since we don't really have a choice, we head into the nearby building, then upstairs and out the door on the right.

Fitch jumps up and over the wall...

... and Daniel follows suit.

Music: Forest - Suikoden V, "The Deep Forest, The Lost Forest"

We land outside in a forest. Nowhere to go but south.

Of course, when that panicky guy was telling us that Kirgard was right outside, he neglected to tell us that they had the entire fucking city surrounded. The enemies in this forest are all Kirgard soldiers.

The soldiers with swords are the same Kirgard 4th soldiers that we met at the Kelsinger Pass, but occasionally they'll show up with a Kirgard Sergeant leading them. The sergeant hits a little harder and takes more punishment than his subordinates, but he doesn't have any special attacks.

They'll also occasionally drop Copper Badges, which grant +1 to STR.

The forest itself isn't really a dungeon, it's just a few screens of trees that we have to walk through. There's a couple of treasure chests lying around, though. The Silver Dust, as we've seen before, heals the entire party for 40 HP. The Copper Ring is an accessory that grants +1 MAG, and the Ice Cube is an attack item that casts Icicle.

We reach level 5 fighting the Kirgard soldiers...

... and after a few minutes, the forest abruptly ends. There's no boss battle or anything, we're just unceremoniously dumped back out onto the world map.

Daniel suggested last update that we might as well head back to Alfheim, and there's really nowhere else for us to go, so we head back there.

Music: Alfheim - Final Fantasy IX, "Border Village Dali"

All this excitement made me really tired! I'm going to get some sleep now, so you should go back to the inn and do the same. Thanks for taking me to Harlinton! In return, I'll tell the innkeeper to let you stay for free tonight!

Good fucking riddance.

We've got some money to burn from the Kirgard soldiers we were fighting, so I go ahead and upgrade the Seraphim to level 2.

Stromgaard is still hanging around the inn, but his dialogue has changed. The fact that transport off the island is hard to come by might be a problem if Kirgard takes over.

Anyway, we make use of our free night at the inn and then head over to see the elder.

We find him speaking with someone new.

I find this strange. If you were a Kirgard colonel, didn't you know this was going to happen?

This wasn't part of the original plan. We were supposed to secure the ports of Jargo and Bayside first, and then lay siege to an isolated Harlinton and force them to surrender.

Do you know why they'd change their strategy so suddenly?

Well, they already consider me a traitor. It's possible that they're afraid I told the State Army all about their plans.

I see... In that case, we have little time. Colonel Vinyard, I was happy to offer you shelter while you were recovering, but the situation is changing rapidly.

I just want to draw attention to this short exchange here. In most other RPGs, getting banished from a village is a big fucking deal, and the protagonists almost always make a stink about it. But here, Daniel understands immediately why he's being asked to leave, and accepts it without complaint. It's little things like this that make Daniel a much more believable character.

I'm glad that you understand. If the human armies become suspicious of us, then our entire way of living is at risk.

You've kept me safe until now, so I'm grateful, Elder. I will leave Alfheim as soon as possible.

The new guy finally decides to speak up.

Indeed, as soon as Bayside falls to Kirgard, you will be trapped here.

Yes, I was about to mention that. Your safest bet would be to try to travel to the Zelmony mainland from Bayside Town. Perhaps you still consider Zelmony "enemy territory," but I doubt Kirgard would be any safer in your situation.

Yeah... it doesn't look like I have any choice. In the worst case, I could travel through Zelmony, and seek refuge in the countries beyond.

But I've already decided that I can't go back at this point. I will take your advice.

Excuse me, but I have a rather... unusual request.

Ljusalf...? You're leaving the village?

I'm sure it would be a good opportunity to expand my knowledge of magic as well.

It's your decision, Ljusalf. I know that I cannot stop you.

You know me too well, Lothis. Ah, forgive me, Colonel. I haven't even introduced myself yet.

Oh, of course. You're welcome to come with me if you want. I'd feel a little safer if I'm not alone. I am Daniel Vinyard, but please just call me Daniel. I guess I'm not a colonel anymore.

Excellent. We should leave as soon as possible. I'm sure you already know that Bayside lies at the south coast of the island.

A sound plays when this message comes up, which didn't occur when Angel, Jovian or Fitch joined. I believe the sound is the same as the "new party member" sound in one of the Suikoden games. What does this mean? We've just gained our first permanent party member

Please get ready. I'll be there in a minute. I still have something to talk about with the Elder.

Yes, I normally prefer to think things over, but I don't think we have such luxury here. You know what the situation is like, don't you?

Still, why do you wish to join him? Even the last time you accompanied a human, you never left the island.

You intend to guide him?

Guide him? Oh, I'm not sure if I'm qualified for that. For now, I just want to observe him. Besides, if I go to the mainland, I may finally get the chance to meet my old friend again. It's been over thirty years...

I won't stop you, but I hope you'll be careful. It's a different world over there than what you're used to.

I'm not worried about that. I think I'll be in good company. Farewell, Lothis, it may be a while until we meet again.

Outside, we run into Fitch.

Hey! You weren't thinking of leaving without me, were you!?

Gee Ljusalf, you're no fun! Hey Daniel, can I come along!?

Aww... Well, goodbye Daniel! It's been fun!

Let's hurry to Bayside before it's too late.

Right then, let's see what this Ljusalf fellow is all about, shall we?

As you can probably tell from this screen, Ljusalf is our first pure mage, and probably the strongest one we'll get for awhile. He's our first water-aligned character, as well. I'm not even going to try to pronounce his weapon's name.

He's also Daniel's third relation, at C-rank. Unlike Jovian and Angel, this relation isn't reciprocated by Ljusalf, so Daniel's the only one who will receive a boost from both being in the party.

He comes equipped with the usual mage garb, as well as a few items we haven't seen before. The Stone Amulet is a pretty awesome accessory that raises MP+ by 1, which can be a big fucking deal at this stage of the game when characters' MP+ is so low. The Memento is an item that cures Amnesia, a status effect that lowers MAG significantly.

Before we head out, I also stop by the magic shop and pick up a copy of Lightray and Splash to round out our magical arsenal somewhat.

Then it's off to Bayside.

As a mage, Ljusalf isn't really one for physical attacks. His ACC is fairly low, and what few hits he does land won't do very much damage.

His magic, however, packs quite the punch.

I also have Daniel try out our other new spell, Lightray. Lightray only hits a single target, but does a little more damage than other elemental spells to make up for it.

Like Harlinton, Bayside really isn't that far away, just a few screen-lengths to the south. We get there without much trouble.

Music: Bayside - Final Fantasy IX, "The Secret Library Daguerreo"

Now that we're here, we need to look around for someone willing to take us to the mainland. Let's hit up the inn and see who's there.

I need no help from -men- like you.

Uh... well. She's not going to be helping us anytime soon. Let's see who else is around.

Hmm, that's not good, but we need to keep looking.

Also, there's a dog with a portrait for some reason.

It's at this point I realize that this town also has a bar. This'll be a much better place to look for transport.

Inside we find this guy who may or may not have been abusing that poor dog outside.

We also find this girl with a name and portrait, but she has nothing to say to us.

In the northeastern corner of town, we find this guy who functions as this place's item and magic shop.

He has the final elemental spell at this tier, Shadowcast. Shadowcast, like Spark, hits all enemies, but unlike Spark, it does "spread" damage. This means that the more targets there are, the less damage it will do to each target. I'd pick one up to round out our magic selection, but I don't have enough money at the moment.

His item selection is pretty lame.

Sweet, a free spell!

Muscleheal cures the Enfeeble status, which lowers STR. It's also the cheapest spell we have.

If we head to the southeastern part of town, Ljusalf will suddenly pop out to chat.

Oh, we're looking for the owner of this boat.

Ah yeah, that's what I thought. I saw this young girl come out not long ago. She was headed for the tavern. Maybe she can help you out.

Thank you, we'll go take a look.

Not surprisingly, that girl with the portrait we saw earlier is the person we're looking for.

Uhm, we're looking for the owner of the sailing ship that's at the eastern docks.

Yeah, that'd be me. So?

You mean... you own that ship yourself?

Look, ye clowns. I got no time t'be watching a circus. Either get down t'business or leave me alone.

Even in a decently-written RPG such as this, our heroes are not safe from a case of the ellipses.

We're looking for transportation to the mainland, and your ship seems to be the only one left in this town that could do it.

I ain't like those cowards who run at the first sign of danger. So ye want a ferry ride to Mayfall, huh? Aye, I can do that. But it ain't going t'be free.

Fair enough. Name your price.

Hmm, let's see... I can take ye to Blackwater, the nearest port, for 60 Arn.

Ljusalf, we can get that money from, like, two battles. Hell, I've already spent about ten times that much since the game began. This is nothing.

Take it or leave it, matey. It's not like ye got much of a choice.

She's right, Ljusalf. There's no one else we could turn to.

So we got a deal?

I guess so.

Yarr. I'll go prepare my ship then. Come whenever yer ready, and make sure ye got the money!

It seems I have much more to learn. Let's hurry, Daniel. We must get off the island as quickly as possible.

At this point, we can head over to Sally at the docks and get going immediately. However, we have just barely too little money (56 Arn) and Sally won't let us leave until we have the 60 she requests. But that's okay, since there's one last thing to do on this island.

If we make a quick jaunt back to Alfheim, you'll recall there's someone there who was looking for a way off the island.

It's a bit rude of me to ask, but do you mind if I tag along? It might be my only chance for a while. I'll repay you of course. You're on a journey of some kind, aren't you? I've been wanting to see more of Zelmony, so I think it'll work out nicely for the both of us. Well, what do you say?

We have the option of turning him down, but we didn't come all the way back here just to taunt the guy.

Now, I can already hear you asking, "What if you get on the boat at Bayside without talking to Stromgaard? Do you lose him forever?" Short answer: no. Nobody in the game is permanently missable. Though some, like Stromgaard here, need to be found somewhere else if you miss them the first time around.

Stromgaard is a fairly average character, but he has the benefit of coming with a pre-smithed weapon as well as a weapon that can attack from long range. He's actually our hardest hitter at the moment, but that's mainly because Daniel and Ljusalf don't provide much competition.

He also comes with some decent armor already equipped, so there's no need to buy new stuff for him.

He doesn't have much of a role in battle aside from plinking at enemies repeatedly with his bow, but that's okay. Since we have Daniel and Ljusalf to cast magic, Stromgaard can sit in the back building up his MP, and then use it all on auto-healing when battles end.