Part 9: Part Nine: Exploring Canaan

Part Nine: Exploring Canaan


Here we are, in Canaan. Let's look around, shall we?


Anyone familiar with the game knows what this guy is talking about, and if you're not, well, there's something to look forward to.


This guy has a useful little tidbit for us. It'll be important in a little while, so maybe keep it in mind?


Also of note, this is the first inn we've visited where we'd actually have to pay. As you get further into the game, free healing becomes more and more scarce, then really easy to access again.


In the item shop, they've started selling Echo Herbs and Gold Needles. Echo Herbs cure Silence (which stops your casters from using magic) and Gold Needles cure Petrify (which is like KO, essentially). They're both kind of expensive with my gil situation like it is, so I pass on them both. It's not a bad idea to stock up if you're loaded, though.


I wonder who this Desch guy is. I mean, he has a name, so he must be important.


Here's a revival wellspring, if one of your characters is in a bad way.


Here's another person talking about Desch. What's his deal? Where is he?


We can also pop by Cid's house. It looks like something might be going on here, so let's check in.



: Don't worry! She'll be fine! ...If only I could get my hands on a bottle of elixir.

Elixirs are really rare, dude. She's probably done for. Sorry for your loss, I guess.



Talking to Mrs. Cid gives us a chance to use an item. I suppose that, being Light Warriors and whatnot, we should probably do the heroic thing and try to cure what ails her. Of course, I don't have an Elixir handy.


So let's go look for one. Let's also learn about Aero. I think that this game just gives out a general wind weakness to flying enemies, so that's what Aero's used for. Well, that and giving your White Mage something to do if your party doesn't need healing.


And here's a dancer, just hanging out in the middle of town.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YEIs4iQLRM
Watch her prance!


The magic shop in Canaan has Cure, as well as the second-level Black magic spells. I pick up a couple extra Cures, just so that everybody has it. Not everybody can use it right now, but it'll be useful to have some magic in a bit. I can't afford Thunder, though.


I also decide to explore the water that runs around town.


And look what we have here! I guess we better go give this to Mrs. Cid.


We had to run down a waterfall to get to the Elixir, and we can just run right back up it. This strikes me as something that wouldn't really work in the real world.



Before I take that Elixir to Cid's place, let's just, say, switch it with our Potions.


And then, oh, how about we get into a battle. That sounds fun, right?


These guys are Basilisks. They're not too much of a threat, they'll do fine for what I have in mind.


See, the game gives you an Elixir here, pretty early on, obviously to heal Mrs. Cid with. But what they didn't count on was that the game shipped with an item duplication glitch in it.

What I do is select the item I want, which has to be in one of those top two slots there (that's why I switched Potions and Elixirs), then confirm while pressing up...


And for a split second, the equipment window pops up. It comes up all the way, but this is much more glitchy looking, don't you agree?


And hey presto, two Elixirs! This can be very handy if you're not above a little bit of cheating, because Elixirs are the only way to restore MP other than an inn/wellspring, and the glitch works with items like Phoenix downs and attack items, too, if you want to use a bunch of those.

I'll probably not be doing this again during the LP, though, unless I decide to do a bunch of grinding later for some reason.


Oh, Basilisks can put you to sleep with their regular attacks. Sleep means you can't do anything, but you'll wake up once you take more physical damage. It's not much of a threat here, but it can get ugly if it happens to, say, your healer in the middle of a boss fight.


The Basilisk gives Sephy a rather rough awakening in the next round. The front row might not be the best place for him right now, strictly speaking.


I try to steal, but it doesn't work out. The success rate is really low, but there are four tiers of items available, but I only have access to the first one right now because Sephy's job level is so low. Oh well.


Here's Jecht's Cure spell in action. It's better than a Potion, but not by much right now.



This is just a quick comparison between the Thief and the Warrior, damage-wise. Kuja whiffed a hit, but they're pretty close even if she lands all of them. We've certainly taken a downgrade since we were Freelancers. I guess I just need to get some job levels together.


Anyway, it's back to Cid's place now, with our fancy Elixir and illicit knock-off.


Ah, Mrs. Cid is back on her feet straight away! We're real heroes!



: Thank you again! That'll be two I owe you all! You've all grown so much... *Sniffle*
: Wha...? You've only been with us for a couple days. We couldn't have grown that much! Heh heh.

Sephy catches Cid's slip almost immediately. I don't know if that laugh at the end is supposed to be genuine or nervous, because it would be pretty creepy to hear about how much you'd grown from a guy you met two days ago.


Cid just dodges the issue, though.

: It'll open the way to the hangar where I used to park the ol' airship. There might be something in there you can use!

Ah, treasure! I'd say you couldn't distract me from a mystery with shiny things, but I'm not particularly invested in this mystery.



We can get some encouragement now, before we rob Cid's house.


As far as robbing the house goes, hitting the lamp opens up a hidden passage.


A hidden passage to the basement! What's up with the whole "parking airships underground" thing, anyway?


Look at all that treasure.




These are pretty lackluster. Potions are okay, I guess, but Gnomish Bread is pretty much useless.


I could have bought one of these at the weapon shop, but I like equipping weapons that aren't worse than the ones I already have.


Odds are I'll never use these.


Gold Needles are okay, like Potions. Still not a big score or anything, though.


A Phoenix Down, though, is always a winner.


Blind is a second-level Black magic spell, and it's not a very good one. Status effects in general aren't very good in this game. Random encounters don't last long enough, and bosses are immune. I think Blind is worth 350 gil, though, so that's something.


Over here is a secret passage.


I follow it to find even more chests!




4,000 gil isn't bad, and there are two Phoenix Downs here, too. The Elixir would probably more useful in the long run, but our time certainly wasn't wasted rescuing Mrs. Cid.


Now that I have some gil, I go buy Thunder for everyone. Since I buy in bulk, I get 140 gil off. Not a huge difference, but it's something.


Before we leave Canaan, we have one last house to hit.



Jolina: But he didn't stay a fortnight before he left, mumbling about some task he'd promised himself to do. And Salina's been angsty and crying ever since.

Desch, Desch, Desch. Everything is Desch in this town. No wonder he left, everybody was probably talking about him all the time.

You can probably see some sparkles on that woodpile behind Jolina there. There's a Mallet in it. Mallets are a healing item; they cure Mini.



There's also a secret passage in this house, leading to a Gold Needle.


Well, let's see what Salina has to say about Desch.

Salina: *Sob* ...Oh, Desch, my beloved Desch! When will you be back?

Dude probably went out picking flowers or something, got put to sleep by a Basilisk and died. Sorry, kid, that's just how she breaks.

Salina: Why would you go to the mountains in the east, where a dragon is said to dwell? And what would drive you to go to such a place alone?

Haha, wow, yeah, Desch is definitely dead.

: Hey, do you think we should check out this dragon mountain?

What part of that sounds like a good idea? You kids could barely fight skeletons and mummies a week ago, a dragon will eat you for breakfast.

: Definitely! Let's go look for this Desch guy and bring him back here!

So you're just gonna go for it? Don't you have more important things to do, like save the world?

You know, the Wind Crystal didn't really tell us how to do that, except "gather the light" or whatever. Probably could have chosen some better heroes, you know? Someone old enough to vote, at least.


That's not how it works, though, so next time, we get to look for Desch!

Mognet

Since there are letters to receive through the game, and since I don't want to dump them all into one big post, I figured I'd spread 'em through the LP. Here's the first.



Just a little check-in from Topapa. Nothing special here right now.