Part 24: An Offer You Can't Refuse

Welcome back. Last time on Exit Fate, the Caretakers got in our way, and we took care of them. Afterwards, we returned to Cento Temple to find a Zelmony soldier waiting for us, telling us that Erin had ordered us back to Elysium Castle immediately. Today we'll be finding out why we've been ordered back, as well as tying up a few loose ends. So let's get to it.



Unlike the other areas we've visited, Oischin doesn't have a port city. That means that in order to get back to Elysium, we're going to have to walk.




Along the way, I stop off at the Faraday blacksmith to use some of that money we picked up in the Elemental Mansion.




Bast and Shiro get their weapons upgraded to level 8, which is the highest they're going to get for quite some time. We're now free to spend our money on spells and such, which is good, because we're getting to the point where second-tier spells are becoming viable. Myst and Midian now have MP+ ratings of 17, enough to cast Eclipse in three turns, or their second turn at the start of a battle. Of course, I'll need to buy a few copies of Eclipse first, as we don't have any.



... Hey, why not? vv



Following that, we have to trek back through the forest to make it back to the Matrech state.



We pop in on this hidden passage again on our way through.



Alex is still standing guard in the clearing here, but once we've finished our business in Oischin...



... he'll start taking an interest in us.




Music: Druids - Final Fantasy Tactics, "Under The Stars"



After a quick fade to black, Alex brings us to a gathering of people.

(Note: There are a whole bunch of people here with names but no portraits. There's not much point in me making a bunch of talking heads for characters we can barely tell apart anyway, so I'll just be using their names to show they're talking.)



Vardak: You're bringing outsiders into the Circle at a time like this? This is sacrilege!
Marketh: You could be excommunicated for that!



Thistral: But this goes directly against our code! You're breaking our sacred traditions!
Enough already! Breaking our code? Traditions? I'm disgusted you still say such things. What's our purpose here? Isn't it to live in harmony with nature? Look at yourselves! We can't even live in harmony with each other! How can we carry out our duty like this?



Vardak: Alex... You... I... can't believe you said that in front of this outsider! This should've stayed between us!
Feru: I think he's been acting very suspiciously. We should banish him from the Circle before this situation gets out of hand!
Milthanis: Come, now. I'm sure Alex didn't bring this man here just to shock us. Let's at least listen to his explanation.
My reasons should be obvious. We've already shown that we're incapable of solving this problem internally. We're all equally suspect, and that has caused distrust between us all. We refuse to listen to each other.




Well y'know, it'd probably help if you told me what the situation was, or even asked me if I'd be willing to help out. But this is an RPG, so we're guaranteed to help, I suppose.

Milthanis: I see... An independent arbitrator. An interesting idea...
Shorak: You're agreeing with him!?
Qualeth: Surely he has a point. We've made very little progress during our own investigation. Even if one of us came forward with conclusive proof, we probably wouldn't trust him. It's not a bad idea to have someone neutral reach his own conclusions.
Rivalna: We can at least give it a try. The damage has already been done. The news will leak out regardless of what we do. Would you rather have it be known that the druids of the Oischin Sacred Circle are no longer able to perform their duty?
Feru: I guess she's right. It's better if we solve this problem before the rest of the world finds out.



Thistral: Unless, of course, someone else would like to break our laws as well?
Shorak: Very well. Alex, I will give you one opportunity to carry out your plan.



However, our previous master, Lutaris, is dead. Even worse, he was murdered... by one of us.
How can you be so sure of that?
When we found the elder, his body had been... torn apart by wild animals.




I see... so there's no way the elder could've been killed by animals if it wasn't done by one of the other druids.
Exactly. Mr. Vinyard, please talk to everyone and try to find out exactly what happened here. If you think you know the answer, come and tell me.



Right then, it's time for Daniel Vinyard: Ace Detective to prove his mettle. First we're going to need to get some witness statements, so let's chat everybody up.





First we talk to the druids hanging around outside, which gives us a few suspects.



There are also a few houses in the northern part of the area, so let's check them out as well.




Vardak: The only ones I can't say I fully trust yet are Qualeth and Marketh.



Feru: But now that he's dead, the eldest member is sure to take his place, which is Shorak. Quite convenient for him, don't you think?




Well, that's everyone. This isn't nearly enough information to bag us a killer though, so if we talk to Alex at this point...




... Daniel will comment that he hasn't figured everything out yet. Now that we've done this, a few of the druids will have new dialogue.



Rivalna: ... Isn't it strange that whoever killed him left him in a place where we'd easily find him?




Vardak: Pure nonsense. There was never any rivalry between us. Even I consider Shorak a better leader.



Milthanis: In fact, I still can't accept that one of our own could've done something like this. We are a group that promotes peace.



That's all the information the druids can give us. Have you figured out the solution yet?



If you haven't, Daniel will explain for us.

Fade to black...





In fact, there is no one here who isn't covered by at least one other. That would mean that whoever was the murderer had an accomplice.
Vardak: P-Preposterous! You mean there was a conspiracy involved!?
Thistral: That's impossible! It's already hard enough to believe there is one criminal among us!
Milthanis: I agree. I refuse to believe that we have two traitors in our midst.



You are a group that promotes peace. Why would any one of you do this? Despite the rumors, no one had a clear motive. Moreover, Rivalna said the elder was found in a place he often visited, and there were no attempts to hide the body. And isn't it strange that the killer would use animals? After all, he would've been aware that he'd be one of the nine prime suspects once the elder was found.





(It's worth noting that you don't actually have to figure this out on your own. There's no point where the game asks who you think the murderer is; Daniel will simply come to this conclusion automatically.)

Rivalna: But if it wasn't one of us, what happened!?
Here is my theory about what happened. At some time during the night, the elder went to the flower field where he was later found by Rivalna.



But if that's how he died, there's still the question of the animals... That was a difficult one to answer, but I finally realized what happened. You said the elder's powers prevented him from being attacked by animals. This may have been true while he was alive, but what purpose would it have served after he had died?



Feru: You're saying that those animals... had not actually killed the elder?
Vardak: So... there was no murder at all...



Shorak: But then... all this friction between us, all the distrust... was all for no reason?



We have been fools. We allowed the seeds of distrust to spread and blind us from the obvious truth.



Rivalna: Alex? You're leaving the circle?
No. I'm only going away for a short while. Right now, this is not a place I want to be. Look at yourselves. Is this the Sacred Circle, who are supposed to live in harmony not only with nature, but also with themselves? We've been exposed for what we really are. Despite all our rules and traditions, we couldn't rise above our base emotions. When I come back here, I want to see this place back to how it used to be, with a new elder to take Lutaris's place.








Damn, we went through all that trouble for this? Alex is, unfortunately enough, thoroughly mediocre. While he is somewhat of a hybrid character, our current hybrid, Daniel, has him beat in nearly every stat. None of Alex's stats really stand out at all, and there's no real reason to recommend using him.





Alex's weapon of choice is his staff, which he uses to poke people in the stomach. Most of our characters can do better.




And with that, this sidequest is done.




Music: Elysium - Chrono Trigger, "Frog's Theme (Orchestral Version)"

Afterwards, we make our way through the rest of the forest and head back to Elysium. There's a couple of new things to check out here.



First up is Venkal, who has taken up residence in one of the northeastern rooms on the second floor.





If we talk to him, he'll hand us a few more of those Menu Sets, like the one we found in the Elemental Mansion.



Venkal is the only person who can actually make use of them. Like he says, he can use these sets to change our menu style.




Menu Set #1 is just the menu we're already using, but the others...




... look a bit different.



Changing menu styles changes dialogue boxes as well. I'm going to stick with the Standard Set for the moment, but I'll make sure to show off the other menu sets as we acquire them. If there's a strong consensus I can switch to another menu set, but I don't feel the need to have an official vote for something this trivial.



The other thing we can do in Elysium is talk to Bartolli, who wants to get some herbs locally grown so he can add them to his inventory. You know, I think we met someone last update who might be able to help out with that...




Music: Sibet - Chrono Cross, "A Narrow Space Between Dimensions"



Remember this guy? His selection may have been shit, but he does grow healing herbs himself, which is exactly what Bartolli's looking for.



Once we've spoken to Bartolli, the option to recruit our farmer friend here will open up.









Hawk is another character who doesn't really have anything in particular to recommend him. His STR is passable, but it still pales in comparison to our frontliners and his other stats are simply unremarkable.

Also, C-rank relations with Derek? Why on earth?





Hawk's weapon of choice is his scythe, but as mentioned, his damage isn't really anything special.




Once we've recruited him, a door will open up on the eastern side of Elysium Castle that leads to a garden. Hawk himself doesn't do anything but stand around here, but...




... having him recruited will upgrade Bartolli's selection with the herbs and status-healing items we've seen elsewhere. Like his accessories, Bartolli's inventory of healing items will auto-update as we see more powerful items get stocked in stores.



Now then, Erin might have ordered us to return to the castle and report to her immediately, but damn it, we still have stuff to do! For our next stop, Stromgaard gets to come along in our entourage.




Music: Vault - Chrono Cross, "Dead Sea (Tower of Destruction)"

Our destination this time is the Mad King's Vault underneath Shiro's mansion in Blackwater. You may recall us having come here when we rescued Shiro from his house arrest.



Much like the Elemental Mansion, the Vault has a door behind where we fought the boss of the area, the Kirgard Captain. We actually could have come here immediately after defeating Keyser at Mayfall, but it's probably a good thing that we waited a little bit, as you'll soon see.



Through the doorway, we find a new face.



What, are you going to stop me? This is the vault of the mad king, right? That must mean that this king's treasure chamber is down here somewhere. I just can't seem to find the entrance...



Stromgaard will decide to pipe up if you have him with you here. He's not required to come along, and I don't think there's any prior indication that these two know each other, so this dialogue is easy to miss.

Oh, it's you again? Are you looking for the treasure as well?
I'm an explorer, not a treasure hunter like you. Although right now you look more like a thief.
Yeah yeah, cry me a river. I didn't come here all the way from Almenga to hear your whining again. Now that you're here, why don't you help me "explore" this vault?



Fascinating, but talking to Mandala doesn't actually accomplish anything. The southern half of the room doesn't contain anything interesting, so it doesn't look like we'll find the treasure chamber there.



In the northern half of the room, however, something looks slightly out of place. Can you spot it?



You can't see it in this shot, but in the previous image you might be able to pick out the faint impression of a switch on this pillar.



Naturally, pressing it catches Mandala's attention.




Music: None





OPTIONAL BOSS: The Mad King

Music: Boss Battle - Wild Arms 2, "Battle vs. Solid"



The Mad King is a pretty damn tough opponent for the level that he first becomes available at. The levels we gained from our adventures in Oischin are about to come in real handy.




He has the strongest individual attacks that we've seen in the entire game thus far. On a lower-leveled character this would have been an instant kill.





In addition to Iron Break and his regular physical attack (which does similar damage), the Mad King is also fond of using Poison Sword to inflict the Poison status while still dishing out a good amount of hurt. Any one of his single-target attacks will kill our frontliners in two hits.




And every once in awhile he'll bust out Black Wind to mix things up, dealing a decent amount of magical damage to our entire party.



The King's main weakness, though, is that he's roughly as fast as we are. This means that we have 4-6 turns in between his attacks, which is plenty of time to use a Mend or Mend-All to heal whomever he hit last.






What this battle really comes down to is how many copies of Mend and Mend-All you have. Aside from occasionally inflicting Poison, which is pretty much negligible, the only thing the King can do is hit you really hard. If you have enough healing magic to outlast the King's stockpile of HP (which is actually rather significant), and are strong enough to withstand at least one of his attacks, you won't have any trouble with this battle.



Also, make sure to bring a thief because the King's steal is a whopper. Diamond Dust is the equally absurd counterpart to the Purple Herb, healing 750 HP for the entire party.



It's not too long before we make the King un-undead.

Music: Boss Battle Won - Chrono Cross, "Victory (A Cry In Summer)"



Our reward for the battle is the Circlet of Insanity, a rather interesting helmet. It has some crazy good defense for this point of the game, granting 12 PDF for 4 weight at a point where even our best normal helmets only grant 6. The downside, however, is that equipping it also imparts a -20 penalty to MAG. This is likely going to go to Bast, because his MAG is already shit and it's not like I ever use him to cast magic anyway.

Music: Vault - Chrono Cross, "Dead Sea (Tower of Destruction)"





Following the battle, Mandala searches around for a bit.



I assume by "that thing" she means the Circlet of Insanity we just picked up.

Well, it was a mad king, wasn't it?
Bah, I was about to go look at that pillar myself... Well, truth be told, I probably couldn't have handled him by myself, so I guess I owe you.




We're just RPG protagonists on a sidequest for treasure. Totally different things.

Oh... Well, you seem to have an eye for it anyway. Yeah, that's right. I smell more treasure. Let's go already!







Man, what is it with this update and utterly unremarkable characters? Like Alex and Hawk, all of Mandala's stats are thoroughly mediocre. The only thing notable about her is that she's our first character with the Smokescreen special ability. Smokescreen works a lot like an escape command in other RPGs, giving us a chance to run from a regular battle. If you go all the way back to update 2, when I first explained the battle commands, you might have noticed that there wasn't an Escape command among them. Smokescreen is the only way to flee once a battle has started, but it's not good enough to get Mandala a party spot. I guess you could keep her in the entourage and switch her in to use Smokescreen if things got really hairy.

Stromgaard also reciprocates her relation with him at B-rank. I guess that's one way you could find out that these two know each other, but there's no way to do that before you recruit her.





Mandala's weapon of choice is a whip, which works at long range for some reason.



Music: Mayfall - Final Fantasy VI, "The Wedding Waltz ~ Duel"

Before we head back to Elysium, we also make a quick stop in Mayfall City.




If we switch Deus into our active party for Bast, we finally have enough total MAG to get an A-rank from Wilona.

... Huh? Hold on, that can't be right. Did I make a mistake somewhere? No, it IS true. I keep getting the same result. T-That's incredible! I've never seen anything like this before. How did you get so strong?








Okay, okay, I got her. You happy now? She's not even that good. Wilona's only notable stats are her speed and passable MAG, and as we saw with Fitch way back when, high speed isn't really that helpful when you don't have anything you can do with it. She's also our second party member with Scan, which we can use to view enemy stats.





Wilona attacks by stabbing people with her pencil. She may be weak, but I will say this, it takes some fucking balls to fight an orc with just a pencil.




That said, she's not really meant for combat. Her real use is as a stats guru.





If we talk to her in Elysium, she'll let us view stats and rankings for all of our characters in several categories. In addition to battles, kills and deaths, we can also sort our characters by any stat on the status screen. If there's anything you guys would like to see, let me know and I'll screenshot it.



Right then, enough fucking around. It's finally time to go meet with Erin. Will she acknowledge our dawdling in any way? (Spoilers: no.)

Music: None



Gather everyone here immediately.

Fade to black...

Music: Mission - Xenogears, "Leftovers from the Dreams of the Strong"



It is. It may have seemed to you like the war had ended, but it's far from over. Kirgard hasn't been sitting still since the last battle. In fact, they have been preparing a new attack on our lands.



That seems almost too easy... Would Kirgard really be so careless to let their entire plans fall into our hands?




For now maybe, but it's a fragile alliance. Let me explain. As you all know, the rough equivalent of two-and-a-half legions is still stationed at Helman Island. Knight's third Legion and Leonius's fourth Legion are there, as well as the remainder of Keyser's second. Eander's first Legion is still in Kirgard to protect their homeland, and it's unlikely that they'll move away from there.



Normally in such a situation, we would've certainly responded with force and sent part of the State Army to defend Highland. But that's part of their calculations. They're waiting for our men to venture too deep inside Highland to make it back in time. At that point, Kirgard would attack. Their aim is to end the war instantly by dealing a lethal blow to the heart of Zelmony: Matrech itself.
A direct attack on the capital? So they'd have to come by sea from the north.
That's right. We don't have a lot of information about their precise deployment, but we do know that they will come ashore at two different locations. General Leonius's 4th legion has merged with the survivors of the 2nd legion. They will split into two forces that will both head straight for Matrech. With half our forces entangled in Highland, they plan to overwhelm us in the north. A siege of Matrech would be inevitable.
I see, so they're using the rebels as a distraction.



It doesn't matter to them. Either we'll lose Matrech to Kirgard, or we'll lose Highland to the rebel army.
Exactly. This is a no-win situation for us. We could try to split up our forces in such a way that we could deal with both threats at once, but it's risky. If we fail, we'll lose everything. A pre-emptive strike against the rebels is also out of the question. They've gone to great lengths to hide their location.



What do you suggest that we do?
The rebels have little affiliation with Kirgard. The only reason they're helping them is because Kirgard promised them independent control over Highland. But what Kirgard says and what Kirgard does are two different things. Even the rebels know that they can't take their word for it.



Officially, negotiating with the Highland rebels goes against our stated policy, but the chancellor has authorized it this time given the emergency. I don't like it either, but we have no choice. We may have to make some concessions, but it's better than losing Highland altogether.
It's worth trying. We have nothing to lose here.



Aren't we throwing away an important advantage?
You have a point, but I don't think it weighs up to the benefits of negotiating with them. We can't expect to make friends with the rebels, but as long as we can delay a confrontation with them, we'll have come out on top.
Well then, we need someone to seek contact with the rebel army and convey our message. The problem is that they distrust the State Army. We need to send someone they feel they can trust. Colonel, we know that Rock came to meet you in person after you were captured. He has shown interest in you since you're an outsider.



Me? Hmm... I don't know...
There's a lot at stake here, but I know you can do it.
I was just wondering if he'd still be so eager to talk to me... but all right. I accept.
I wish you good luck, but how will we get in contact with the rebel army?



Hmm... Are you sure they'll be willing to negotiate in the first place?
Why wouldn't they? They're just looking to make the most out of this situation. If we offer them a good deal, they'll take it. They have nothing to lose.
Well, I'll be off to Highland then. I don't know how they'll get in touch with me, but I think that we'll find them if we look around Grunthall or Bergstadt.
In the meantime, I'll stay here to come up with a battle plan. We'll be fighting Kirgard no matter what, so we'll have to prepare ourselves.



Fade to black...

Music: None




What do you mean, sir? Are you worried about the upcoming battle?



Sir?
What will happen to me after this? They're sending me to make concessions to the Highland rebel army. If negotiations fail, it'll be my fault. But if we agree to unfavorable terms, then I'll take the blame for it as well. I'm standing in between two factions who hate each other, and I'm not popular with them either. I've gotten myself into a dangerous position...
You mean... no matter what happens, some people could use it as a way to get rid of you? You should refuse to go! It's not worth it!
No, I can't do that. There has to be a way to make the best of this situation, but it's looking bleak. Every outcome could be used against me... Unless...




Let me come with you! It'll be dangerous!
It's not necessary. Rock will want to speak to me alone anyway. He's not going to hold me prisoner this time. His aims are different than before.



Fade to black...



Well, as Daniel said, the best way to find Rock would be to visit the Highland cities. In particular, we need to head to Grunthall.




If we head to the Grunthall mines, we'll find someone there waiting for us.





Sorry for this, but the location's a secret. We'll have to blindfold you until we get there.



Some time later...





Music: Rebel Leader - Final Fantasy Tactics, "Officer Cadet"




What are you talking about?
The plans between you and Kirgard... you leaked them out intentionally, didn't you?
Oh? What makes you think so?
You're not stupid. You know the vast majority of your rebel army can't be trusted with vital information. If you didn't, you wouldn't have been able to keep the locations of your camps a secret.



You're saying I was careless with that information on purpose? Why would I do that?
There's no point in hiding it. When you think about it, there's nothing you could've lost by doing it. Kirgard's plan relies on forcing the State Army to choose between sacrificing Highland or leaving the capital vulnerable. If they'd choose to ignore you, all the better for you. You'd have control over Highland without even having to fight the Matrech Guard. But the alternative is a costly battle against the State Army. Even if Zelmony were to later collapse under Kirgard pressure, you'd still have suffered heavy losses. In that last scenario, Kirgard may even decide to rid themselves of you while you're weak. No matter how you look at it, the first option is the best for you, while the second is best for Kirgard.





But there's another advantage. You've come here to negotiate, haven't you? If things turn out well, we can even solve our problems without having to fight.





We're still here to talk about Highland. The State Union doesn't want to lose it.
Which is perfectly understandable. We've already lost Helman Island and barely managed to take back Mayfall. Zelmony can't afford to lose another state.



That's true, but do you think it's in your best interests to go your own way? Kirgard is agressively pursuing domination of the continent. They may temporarily ally with you to bring down Zelmony, but will that really last? At least within the State Union, Highland has some degree of autonomy. I won't deny that there's a lot to be desired, but I believe things may improve in the future. Even if you don't think you have enough freedom now, you'll lose even that bit as soon as Kirgard decides to expand their borders again.
It's easier to defend Highland from outside invaders than to bring down the current government from within. But, you are right. It's not an ideal situation.






But before we get to hear the details of Rock's proposition, the game fades to black.

Next time: What did Rock propose to us? Will we be able to repel Kirgard's attack? And what have Trevor and Sick been getting up to lately, anyway?