Part 46

Chapter 39

We're done dungeon-diving and dealing with enemies. The rest of this Tale is pure plot.





First things first. We need to go to Baron and talk some sense into Cecil. I'm sure Edward will succeed and single-handedly save the world through logic and reason.



Aye-aye, sir!




J-just fine, my lord! But what about you?
I could hardly feel healthier right now. Indeed, healthier than I've been in many years...
Sir?
Oh, sorry. Just reminiscing about the past a little.



Is something the matter?
Your Highness...what do you think about the moon?



...



(The Lunarians...)



!?
The man in black. The one who took Baron hostage and used it to take the Crystals. In the end, he left the planet, along with his moon.

Don't get any ideas here. Just because Golbez was a man in black doesn't mean he's the Man in Black.

You know about that?



Dammit, Edward, you just fell for the oldest trick in the book.

...
I simply conducted a little research of my own.
How much more do you know?
I know of certain theories regarding magic and airships...



Impressive.
But this moon... It looks different to my eyes. It is not the same one as before... Not the one I remember seeing in the past.
I agree with you there.




Time to revisit that scene from Yang's Tale, and find out why the Kaipo Captain was such a dick.



Ha ha! Let's show 'em what we got, my lads!
Aye-aye, sir!
A Fabul ship?



The king of Fabul?
Yes. A stronger, gentler, braver monarch you will seldom find.

You forgot stubborn.




Their destination is the same as ours?
Indeed. Fabul has picked up on the same signs we have, no doubt. Ah, what a shot of confidence, knowing that he's on our side!







What happened to them? Engine trouble?

Ships with large sails have engines that run on oil from palm trees. The sails don't work if the engine fails or they run out of palm oil.

This is canon.



No...I'm all right.

Edward can feel the shivers of foreshadowing running down his body.



Anyway, we made it to Baron without getting eaten by Leviathan. Hooray!



Baron's been fucking up shit left and right.



There are Troia-level monsters hanging around Baron. They'll give a good beating, but your team should handle it no problem.

Let's take a detour to the Town of Baron.






The main news is that Rosa, Cid, and Ceodore are missing, while Baron's guards no longer go to the town. I assume this is before Ceodore and the Hooded Man popped in. Anyway, we'll see them all again soon enough.



No visits to Mist, either.




The last of the tails, at least from the FAQ I used. There could always be more hidden around. It's not like I'll bother grinding for the last of the tails for an item that's not that useful anyway.

Time to go to the castle.





How rude of you! You fail to recognize King Edward, ruler of Damcyan?
What...?



We wish to speak with His Majesty personally to discuss the reply we received from his messenger.




Again, the game could've been a dick and made us go through the Baron Waterway, so there's that. At any rate, everything is blocked off, so we're pretty much guided to Cecil.



It certainly has, Edward. Quite a long time indeed.
...
Is something bothering you, Edward? You can take it easy here.
I...I appreciate your kindness.



I have come to speak of the meteor.
If that is why you are here, then the answer is the same as the one my emissary gave you. You have nothing to worry about. Please let Baron handle the matter.
...But what is the reason?

To be fair, just what business is it of Baron's to deal with the meteor? It landed between Damcyan and Fabul, after all.

A shame Evil Cecil couldn't at least half-ass a reason here, but that would require effort.





Of course not.
Superb. I'm so glad you understand, Edward. I knew I could count on that.
...

Man, Evil Cecil's being such a dick right now. Then again, if you're evil, there's no reason not to be a dick.

Something the matter?



...What do you think about it?
I believe it portends bad things ahead for all of us. It reminds me too much of past events that haunt us to this day.





I see.
Baron has a mandate to govern over this land, to keep it at peace.
That's right. If you ever need to consult with me, please do not hesitate to do so.
Thank you so much for taking the long journey to my domain, Edward.
If you will excuse me, then...



That's it? We walked through monster-infested caves and wasted time saving Harley's life for that?



Yes. She's not feeling very well, I'm afraid.
Is that so? That is troubling news.
There's no need for alarm. It is nothing life-threatening.
Is Prince Ceodore doing well?
Absolutely. He is out of the castle for training right now.
That is good to hear.
My wife and I would expect nothing less from our son, after all.



Yes, my lord.

A bit of idle small talk doesn't make this trip any less meaningless, game.





Oh boy, a box! I can't wait to open it and see what's inside!

You know what's inside, don't you?



A token of our friendship, and of my appreciation for your visit. Please, take it.
I appreciate your kindness.





(...)

Haha, burn.

Is something the matter?
Oh, nothing. I am glad you like them.





Oh wait, we're actually leaving now? Still kind of a waste of a trip.




(Your Highness?)





Yep, we are indeed going back to Kaipo already. Even the Captain thinks the visit was too short.




What!?
The real Cecil would have known what my gift really was.
What do you mean?
I mean this.






The voices are coming from the flower!?
Shhh.



(He was acting extremely suspicious around me, though... He came here personally to check up on matters, it seems.)
(Weaker creatures need to be more cautious.)
(Damcyan is a hub of commerce, not of war. Its military is no more than mere ceremony.)



(Interesting. So the Fire Crystal is of no concern to you.)
Not at all. It is virtually ours anytime we so desire.

The game doesn't say who the voices are, but the music and context makes it obvious it's Evil Cecil and Mysterious Girl talking here.




Also, Edward deserves a lot of credit here. You see, he is the only person in any of these god damn tales who has actually accomplished anything even remotely useful against the enemy. Granted, all he did was eavesdrop on a conversation, but that's still much better than anything anyone else did in the rest of the game so far.

Edward is the most competent person in the game. I can only think of one or two people that accomplish more later on before we fight all the bad guys. I just want to emphasize that Edward is the only person so far to actually succeed at, well, anything.

(Overconfidence is ill-advised.)
(Certainly. My plan is already underway.)
Plan?



You must be curious about it.
Of course.



Are you already aware of its contents, Your Highness?
If my hunch is correct...
Yes?




Your Highness?

Not only did Edward successfully do some sabotage, he's actually smart enough to see through the obvious trap here. Like Edge, Edward takes advantage of the game's blatant use of recycling old events to know that the box is actually a bomb. I'm pretty sure Ceodore would've opened it or ate it by now.

Speaking of which, why does the box not kill the user? Cecil and Kain survived opening the thing just fine when they nuked Mist.

Also, considering how often Harley parrots Your Highness, it's clear that Edward has no qualms having a title, which is nice after hearing everyone else complaining about having titles. He's a damn king, he deserves to have his ass kissed.



Whoa! What's that!?
My lord!
Did...did Yang's ship run into that?






And that ends that Tale. Kind of mediocre gameplay, and the story's a bit bland, but they went all-out in making Edward the Spoony Bard into one of the most badass characters in the game, and they sort of succeeded. He's still wimpy, but he's definitely confident and sharp, and he actually gets stuff done. Plus his partner is just so god damn useless that Edward looks great in comparison. So even if this tale sucked at most everything else, it made Edward looks great in a simple yet effective way.

After we get the Challenge Dungeon out of the way (or before if Edward's CD is as much of a pain as everybody else's), we'll finally continue Ceodore's adventures as his journey segues into what will be Kain's Tale. This will certainly be interesting.