Part 60

We're pretty much done with sidequests, but there's still a few things I'm gonna do before jumping back into the plot. First, let's revisit Alexandria post-explosion.







The place has definitely seen better days, but there seem to be significantly less casualties here than there were in Lindblum. Of course, that could've changed if I didn't talk to all eight soldiers at the beginning of the game and remembered what things they all excelled at.







They could stand to do a bit more work now, though.





We can't access the castle or the other tower due to all the nothing they are now. We can still take a boat into town, though.



Also there's a good amount of loot, mostly more gems.



Uh, she's here right now. I want to make sure she gets to experience everything her leadership has resulted in. Surely that will fix her depression, right?



Depends on the game. Regular card games I'm kinda mediocre, but I'm usually pretty good at more modern board game-type card games.

Tetra Master is a trick question because there's no skill involved.





Thanks for the toilet paper.



In most cases, it's fun to play with friends or with new people or whatever. Again, the exception is Tetra Master.



This is the new location for the weapon salesman. Sells the same stuff as before.







A majority vote will determine the policy to be submitted!



Boy... We're full of ideas, aren't we? Let us take a vote tomorrow!

...This might take awhile to rebuild.





Next stop, the inn to further the adventures of the terrible innkeeper.



Y-Yes, I'm sorry...
Oh, and that makes everything better!? We made a reservation!



How many nights will you be staying?
Well, let's see... We were going to stay three nights.
I understand. Please wait one moment.





A room will be available later this evening. How is that?
Later tonight, huh...?
Of course, we'll be offering a 20% discount for your inconvenience.
Okay! Agreed!
Thank you. Would you please sign in here?



Hippaul's already a big step up from his inept and useless waste of a father. It's a good thing he takes after his scary-as-fuck mother.







Seriously, you're fucking hopeless dude, how did you end up running a fucking inn anyway.



The synthesist walks around the alley sometimes and will synth stuff as usual. Same as before.



What in tarnation are we supposed to do?



So Lowell has finally arrived at Alexandria, and he's as humble and accepting of this place as you'd expect.



Yeah, kinda hard to run a production with a whopping two people and all.







Guy needs to learn some tips from Zidane. I'm sure Zidane would be happy to teach him a thing or two.



Feeding the fish was my favorite pashtime.



They must've known I was away!



How do you keep losing that damn cat!?





I'm glad my big brother is doing well, kupo!

I could've sent this at the start of Disc 3 but then I'd miss out on a Kupo Nut I can trade in for a free Tent or whatever the hell.



Now to go south and check out the rest of the area.





But the city needs to be rebuilt.
We all have our place in life, buddy! Yours is to cook delicious food for the people of this city!
Hmm, he has a point!

Sometimes it's best to focus on what we're best at. Or maybe sometimes we should just pick up a hammer instead of using a frying pan.





Well, the inn has-no, wait, it's full. The theater...wait, it's only star isn't doing shit. Uhhhh, you can hammer nails maybe?



Look on the bright side, there's no more cities to destroy!

Well, I guess Conde Petie maybe. Hope you like dwarves!



FF9 has a plumbing system, this is canon.







I think Ilia's statement sums everything up nicely.

The plaza is gone now, so we've seen everything there is to Alexandria. Now for a few loose ends.



Let's check out Flare for kicks.





The effect is pretty sweet, but the damage...



HOLY FUCKING SHIT.



Next up, we'll visit some gates. You can't actually reach this without a Mountain Chocobo since it's high up in the mountains.





What's the purpose of your visit?



The Berkmea is not operating right now.
What are you doing in a sleepy place like this?

Gonna catch up a bit and loot a couple things I forgot to get.





There's nothing for me to do here, but there's no way for me to go back home to Lindblum. I hope Regent Cid builds his new airship soon.

The people here are essentially stranded since there's no Mist to propel them down.



Hee hee.

Not that all of them care.



I'm glad the Mist is gone, but it's certainly inconvenient.

OK, we're done here.



Remember that exit in Gizamaluke's Grotto that leads to a nasty forest? We can use that as a shortcut now to deliver our Kupo Nuts.

But on the way there, I accidentally trigger another friendly animal.





This is Garuda.



It doesn't mince words. Pretty direct, this one.







I...guess it's happy?



40AP and a Diamond is definitely not bad.

After Nymph, there's a progression where you give a creature a specific gem and then it gives you a gem to give to the next one. I accidentally triggered the last in the chain, but honestly you can do them in any order and it doesn't matter. There's a last one that requires you to get all the other ones first. I only need two more to trigger the last one, but I can't do one of them quite yet.



The South Gate near Evil Forest has a couple of Elixirs now, so might as well grab those.



I'm telling you, don't go inside.

Still can't re-enter Ice Cavern.

Next up, Dali.





I'm running short of money. I hope he has a new business plan.

The mayor's back and everyone still likes the prick for some reason.



There must be another way to make easy money...



Let's be honest, he lucked into his last cash cow.



When I look at him, I forget about all the horrible things going on.



Gotta take whatever escapism you can get, I guess.



Everyone else gets in the way of my success! <Hiccup!>



My son was there. He escaped in one piece, thank heavens. You'd think a near-death experience would change his outlook, but he's still as greedy as ever.



This kinda implies she's the mother of the mayor and the innkeeper. Kinda adds a bit to her feeling out of touch with the rest of the money-hungry town.



Our last stop today is Treno. There's a couple new items to grab here.









Tot is back, though the gargant isn't.



We had another Stellazzio to turn in, netting more cash.



So, the first item isn't a big deal. The Promist Ring boosts Strength and teaches Magic Elem Null to Vivi, Absorb MP to Quina (Quina absorbs the MP of enemy spells that hit them), and Restore HP to the four offensive fighters (if they take damage while under 1/6 their Max HP and they survive, they recover 50% of their max HP).



This one cost me a whopping 35200 Gil, but god damn is it worth it.



These pretty much do one thing: Teach Zidane Master Thief. Master Thief is the last ability to buff Steal, and it's a huge one. You know how semi-rare steals have a 1/16 chance of triggering, and rare a wonderful 1/256 chance? Master Steal changes both of those to 1/8 chance each. Much better odds. Even better, Steal will now skip item slots where the slots are empty. Huge, huge time-saver now for bosses.



Finally, we've jumped a good bit just between now and our last trip to Treno. Chocographs count for a lot, remember.

Next time, we'll revisit the Black Mage Village and finally get back to the story.