Part 63

Chapter 50





Let's check out Troia for now.




People have gone batshit insane from this crisis.



It's alright, as there's still stuff to loot.




She's not kidding.



Oh, no...
What is it?
...We have to hurry!

Everybody's frozen solid, and there's not much to explore except the Crystal Room.



It must have been her.



Where could he be?
You mean Palom?
Think about it. Remember where the Red Wings were attacking us?
He was on a black chocobo...headed due north.
The area north of Troia is covered in mountains and forests.



He spoke of a cave northeast of Troia filled with fearsome monsters.
Care to give it a look?
Absolutely!



I decide to go get a Black Chocobo, only to find out we can't go to the Chocobo Forest. There's a spot to land your airship instead. There is this clearing, though.




The Ice Whip is a nice weapon and all, but we're going to get something even better a minute later.





Time for the dungeon.




Feast your eyes on the Recovery Rod. It's easily one of the best items in the game, and they give it to you in the very first chest of the dungeon.




Free Cura every turn for everybody. Between Rydia healing shitloads every round and everyone else laying down the hurt with physical attacks, this cave is a fantastic place to grind. The enemies here give great EXP and are generally worth the effort. Even at this point, everyone's such a high level that the Vampire Bats no longer run circles around the party. It's also a plus that they give good EXP and are weak to Edge's Metal Boomerang.





There's a bit of Diamond loot here in case you decide to save Ramuh for later, as well as another Small Tail.



Palom!



Would Fire or Flame do anything to help him?

That's... actually a reasonable question.



Oh?
It is Diamond Dust.







You're wasting your time, Rydia!
Give me back my Palom!



Shiva uses Ice magic. What a surprise.




Firaga obviously ruins her day.



Now's our chance!
Hold it! Shiva just wants to get back to normal! I'm sure of it!

So again, don't attack for a minute or you'll fuck everything up.



Shiva!





And now that Shiva's back to normal, Palom and Leonora are thawed out.







Palom!



Don't be ridiculous! You're alive...and so am I, for your information!
Leonora!



Don't worry me like that, Leonora...







Her?



M-my name is Leonora. It's an honor to meet all of you!
Palom, the Elder of Mysidia is in grave danger.
What!? Then I can't just sit around here!



Nobody asked you! What's going to happen to Mysidia if I'm not there for them!?
Calm down. You haven't heard the whole story yet. The Elder has a team of white mages caring for him. Come to the Falcon with us. Porom's on board, too.
...Heh! Who died and made you my master?
If you don't like it, then rest up until you can fight on your own.
No problem! That's exactly what I'm going to do, thank you very much!



Here I was, getting a kick at how Palom was acting exactly like Edge did in the original game, and then this line pops up. I swear, this tale is a fluke or something in terms of quality.

...



Leonora!
Now, look...
W-we're not done yet, are we? You haven't finished teaching me your magic skills.
Hah! Good point!

It's nice to see a change from the usual "I WILL GO" "YOU CANNOT GO" "I'M GOING ANYWAY" "FINE I RELUCTANTLY ACCEPT JUST DON'T FUCK THINGS UP." I mean, the process was the same, but at least Palom's eager about it.

Now it's time for another trip to Baron.





Only if you wish for it.
Kain!



Over your own flesh and blood?
!
Stay behind me, Ceodore.
Ceodore...











No fair, I had Blink on!

Too much happened, time to go back to the airship.





...Pa...lom...

Seriously, the guy has two women wanting him and is lusted over by many of the Troian women. For someone designed to look and act like a bit of a dork, Palom does seem to have a bit of the designers' wish fulfillment programmed into him.

Oh, Palom... I'm so relieved you're safe...

Porom's dialogue also changes when you save Palom.

Let's take a visit to Troia.





You see, it's because Leonora's too busy chasing some Mysidian ass that the world's about to end. If she'd do her job and stand in front of the middle-right pillar, everything would be fine.




And with that, we're done. Next time, we'll take a trip to Eblan and witness one of the coolest sequences in the game.