Part 59: (Part Four, Chapter 5) More like "Disciples of Borderline Insanity"

Tibarn's group passes quickly through Salmo, drawing steadily closer to the imperial capital.



However, Almedha, the queen mother of Daein, remains alone and aloof, lost in thoughts of her own. Her son, Pelleas, also seems to guard some secret thought, tucked deep within his heart.





Reyson's song seems to have calmed her for now.

I see...

What about her son? How's he feeling?

He is sleeping right now. He's quite exhausted, understandably. We've been fighting one battle after another.

Pelleas is so fragile compared to his mother. Actually, they don't seem anything alike. That Almedha is a formidable woman. At first I doubted her claim that she was the daughter of that useless old lizard. But even I had trouble holding her down. Me! She's no ordinary beorc woman, that's for sure.

I agree. Lady Almedha and Prince Kurthnaga share a striking resemblance, as well. Not just their faces, but their mannerisms, too.

Is that how beorc spot blood relations? We laguz use scent, mainly. Speaking of which, something has been bothering me about Almedha...



She actually told me something that I wanted to ask you about. She said that she lost her power when she became pregnant with King Pelleas.

Hm. So the ancient songs are true...

What songs would those be?

It is said that the goddesses forbid laguz and beorc to procreate. If a couple breaks the taboo, the punishment is dealt to the laguz parent. She or he loses the power of the laguz and becomes something that does not belong to either species.

...Did you hear something? Who goes there?



If the songs are indeed true, then it is my duty to keep the honorable hawk king from being alone with my bewitching queen! Do you not agree, Your Majesty?

Who--

Only one man in all Tellius talks like that. And it's about damn time too.



Bastian!

I have been absent for a long time, Your Majesty. I apologize again from the deepest place in my heart.

Oh, you are all right! How I worried for your safety!

Sorry to interrupt this tender reunion scene, but where on Tellius have you been, Lord Jester? What have you been doing up 'til now? Come on, I'm listening. Out with it!

I suppose one as swift as our king of the skies is unlikely to count patience as one of his virtues. Fear not! I shall tell you everything. But first, I must ask you both to step away from other ears. And would it be possible to rouse the prince with the elegant white wings?

Are you asking me to get Reyson? Fine. But do me a favor and talk like a normal person, would you?



Ah, my dear, beloved Lucia! It pains me to imagine your piteous tears during those cold, lonely nights without me! Be of good cheer, little one. This day, you may weep tears of joy in my loving embrace.

Ever the optimist, eh, Bastian?

Bastian has, as we already know, masterminded pretty much the entirety of the plot in Part 2 of the game, right down to the surprise reappearance of the Greil Mercenaries. But he's been completely absent from the "world" stage since the end of Path of Radiance, and no one seems to have any idea what he's been up to. Doubtless we're about to be about to find out when we get sidetracked by a battle.

---



It is.

Geoffrey! You're safe, too!

Queen Elincia... I swear that I shall never, ever leave your side again!

Oh... I'm so glad...

...Hello.



He was working for Ike during the Mad King's War, perhaps you remem--

Our captive has disappeared. He has been gone for approximately half an hour.

He escaped?! No! We must find him! Here is your next assignment. Find the escaped prisoner immediately!

Two thousand gold.

That will be fine. Make it quick.

Understood.



Would you all gather here again once we capture the escapee?

That's fine. I'm not very fond of the dark, anyway. We'll gather later.





I was curious, too. It's no use asking, though. Neither Bastian nor my brother would say anything.

Even Geoffrey? I didn't think he ever kept secrets...

A mysterious escaped prisoner... a man shrouded in black... it's a big night for secrets, isn't it?



Oh boy.

Before we get to equippin', we have conversations.



...well, aren't we just the latest little brick in the wall of coincidence this chapter has been.

Amy! You're safe! Oh, I'm so glad! It's so good to see you!

I came here with General Geoffrey.

With Geoffrey?

I was outside on the day when the bright light engulfed everything. At first, I thought that time had stopped. Then I realized that time was normal, but everyone around me had been turned to stone. I rode around the city to investigate, and I found this little girl crying in Calill's bar.

Did you find anyone else? What about Largo?

...

No... How tragic. How am I going to tell Calill?

Mommy is here!? I want to see my mommy!

I'm sorry, Amy. Your mommy is somewhere else.

Mommy isn't here...?

No, she isn't. But I'm sure that she's doing well.

M-Mommy... Mommy! Daddy! Sniff... Wahhhh!



K-kitty-cat man...?

Good, you remembered me! Listen carefully, all right? If you're good and travel with us without complaining, you'll get to see Mommy really soon. Does that sound good?

Really!?

Would I lie to you, pumpkin? And I'll tell you a secret... If you're patient, we'll even find a way to get your daddy moving around like usual!

I'll be patient! I won't cry anymore! I promise!

Good. That's my girl!

Amy, it's late. Let's go to my tent and get some sleep. All right?

Um... Kitty-cat man, will you come, too?

Sure. I'll even let you sleep on my furry belly.

For real? Yay!

Don't tell anyone, but my belly is super comfortable. You'll be asleep in no time!

Wow, that's great, Amy. Let's get going.

Yes! Kitty-cat pillow! Kitty-cat pillow!



Don't mention it. I'm a sucker for kids. And Largo and Calill have been good to me. I'll catch up with you later.



King Tibarn, Prince Reyson.

I'd assumed that only the people with a certain amount of power were safe from petrification, but I guessed wrong.

I'm wondering if there are even rules at all.

Hmm.

There are three versions of this conversation. The one we saw happens if Calill is alive but in another party. If Calill is in this party, then you get a brief scene after the "regular" conversation in which Calill and Amy reunite and say nothing of interest.

If Calill is dead, however, the conversation is slightly different...

Did you find anyone else? What about Largo?

...

Oh, no... How tragic. This is terrible.

Mommy is here!? I want to see my mommy!

I'm so sorry, Amy. Your mother is...

Mommy's not here?

I'm so sorry...

M-Mommy... Mommy! Daddy! Sniff... Wahhhh!

Hey, don't cry, Amy! Mommy told you not to cry, right? Remember?

...and then continues completely as before after this point, up to and including Ranulf promising Amy that she will see mommy again soon. This is quite jarring and a little creepy, of course, but then there's an additional few lines at the end, after Amy leaves with Lucia and Geoffrey:

I feel like a horrible person.

Ranulf...

It'd be too cruel to tell her the truth now. I'll apologize to her after we get Largo back to normal. Until then, please don't tell her the truth. I'll catch up with you later.

...so make of this what you will.

---





...General Tauroneo.

Is something wrong?

Take a look at this.

The mark of the blood pact... It has faded quite a bit, hasn't it?

What do you think this means?

Hmm... I do not know. I must think on it.

Yes, we'll both have to. The lives of Daein's people depend on it.

Do you believe that people can be saved from the state they are in?

Of course I do. To be honest, I'm a little bit thankful for the situation right now. Daein was headed for destruction because of what I'd done. But what the goddess did has changed the course of things. I can't fail this time. I have to save everyone.

Ah, I see. I shall do everything I can to assist.

Thank you.

Your Majesty, this is for you.

It's a dark tome! Thank you, General Tauroneo. Dark tomes are harder to come by than tomes of other elements. How did you find it?

I did not find it. Your gratitude belongs to someone else.

What do you mean?

Lady Almedha looked for it at every village and town we stopped in. She gave it to me out of concern that you might not take it from her.

I see.

Your Majesty. If you'll excuse me.

Mother...

[Received a Fenrir!]

Sweet, extra Fenrir tome! We haven't even used ours yet!

---

Finally, if both Janaff and Ulki are in this party, they get a conversation here too:

Sheesh, all I'm saying is that you should take it, Ulki!

No... You are older than me. One must respect one's elders. It's yours, Janaff.

That's not fair! You only say things like that when it's convenient for you. We're only five years apart!

Five years is five years. You deserve the perks due someone of your age. You take it.

Did you just call me an old codger!?

Come on, I don't care who keeps it. Just make a decision already.

Shut up, Tibarn! This is between me and Ulki!

Should you really be addressing your king with words like those?

Who cares? It's not like anyone else can hear.

Selfish little magpie.

Hey! Lookit me! I'm Ulki, the solitary peacock!

All right, Janaff, that's enough.

What?! How am I the one getting scolded!?

You too, Ulki. You know how to press his buttons. Don't egg him on like that.

...Fine.

What are you fighting over?

They're arguing over who would take my gift. Neither of them seem willing to take it.

Really? How uncharacteristically selfless of you to put up a fight, Ulki.

What do you mean, White Prince? Ulki is just being an ungrateful wretch for not appreciating my thoughtfulness! He'll never understand!

Since the item is so nice, I thought that you should have it. I'm not the stubborn one here.

Well, since neither of you want it, I'll take it.

What!?

...Prince Reyson?

It will come in handy during a battle, right? Then I'll wear it and fight next to Tibarn. Sure, it's good to be thoughtful and giving, but if neither of you appreciates it, there's no point.

Reyson's right! All right, this is for you. Reyson can be my one and only aide from now on. I shoulda thought of this sooner.

W-wait! No, I'll take it!

No, I shall take it.

Ulki?

Once we have it, Janaff and I will discuss who should wear the item.

Do you agree to this, Janaff?

Um... Yes, I do. I have no problem with that.

Reyson?

That's fine with me. As long as you agree to keep me nearby, I'm all right with whatever you decide.

It's a done deal, then. Now, don't you two feel a little stupid after getting lectured like that? And by Reyson, as well!

...Sorry, Ulki.

I... I apologize, too.

I've been with you and Tibarn since our feathers hadn't even grown in yet. I guess we know each other a little too well. Well, the White Prince certainly reminded me of who I am. I'm an aide to the king of Phoenicis!

Me, too. Here, Janaff. This is for you.

...Hey, wait a minute! You think you pulled a fast one on me, don't you?! Get back here, Ulki!

[Received a Shriek!]

...but they're not here, so we don't actually get a Shriek. Not that we care; it's a shit skill.

---



Fiona gets over Volug and moves on to Oscar. But seriously, though, both these units are durable and dodgy as is, and this will make them quite excellent together. If they both come to endgame, they'll be able to get to Rank A in no time.



This seemed appropriate.

Now, our newest recruit:





Bastian is a pretty decent Archsage. A little on the slow side, though. He's another unit designed to stand in if you decide you really need an Archsage and haven't bothered to train Ilyana or Calill or Soren or (*shudder*) Tormod. He is absolutely not going on my endgame team because he's basically the exact same unit as Soren only not as good, and we need to bring Soren. He has innate Corrosion.

We hit the shops: we sell the Statue Frag and Blue Gem we picked up last mission (Red Gem is still in Heather's inventory), and also a Shine tome we snagged because we have no use for it.



With this, we now have a complete set of "-foe" skills, in one party. This cannot possibly be any sort of gameplay hint.



I really, really am beginning to regret using that Master Crown on Heather. This is a waste of nearly 8000 BEXP, here, and for what? +1 strength? +3 luck? +3 HP? We're getting BEXP levels with only two stat growths, for christ's sake!



No matter.



Pelleas, now with 50% more swish! Seriously, he gets an additional set of swishy robes inside his original set.



Nice, nice. Pelleas gains lots of stats, the Flare skill, and the ability to wield staves. He still can't use fire or wind magic, though.



It's the end of an era; we're removing Paragon from Astrid. Frankly, she's made absurdly good use out of Paragon/Blossom and is basically set for stats for the rest of the game, though up to 14 more natural levels can't exactly hurt.



Blossom is going on Elincia. Elincia has a lot of growing room, and could possibly use a hand filling it.

Paragon goes to (of course) Pelleas, along with Cancel. Oscar, Zihark and Fiona get Beast, Bird and Dragonfoe, respectively. Astrid gets Imbue because she has like 20 magic. Since we have all these scrolls kicking around, I put Adept and Resolve on Nolan. This is the last mission with all the teams separated, so we're getting all our stuff together after this, meaning there's no need to leave skills unequipped "just in case".



Pelleas loads up on staves and magic.



Hey, HEY, what are you doing with that?! This isn't PoR, you can't use knives anymore!



Oh, never mind.



I know it's none of your affair, but we would greatly benefit from laguz assistance in our hunt for last night's escapee.

No problem. I could use a little exercise before breakfast.

Thank you, King Tibarn! Please, follow me.

Why are the others up so early? What's going on?



No, Your Majesty... It's not the Disciples of Order. If you'll excuse me, I must go!

Wait, Geoffrey! ...Who does he think he is?

Let's follow them.

---



An oddly familiar figure is hunched within a group of laaaare those dragons?



Your Majesty! Sister! Why are you here?

That's not important! Explain why there are Feral Ones here!

See that odious man among them? He's controlling them. He is using fell magic to summon the poor laguz souls who were turned into Feral Ones! He is the man who escaped our custody last night. Volke found him just now.

His name is Izuka. He designed the process that created the Feral Ones!

What?! He's the butcher who twisted the lives of my kinsmen? He won't die quickly. I'll make sure his screams are heard in Phoenicis, Gallia... even Goldoa.



Oh, great. Now he can summon them.



Show them the meaning of genius! Come, my children, defend me! Come, my Feral Ones!

We can't let a creature that twisted roam free. We must fight!





Our team. This shouldn't be too shocking.

Hey, where did Volke disappear to?



Oh, there he is. But he's an Other unit. Knowing him, that can only mean one thing...



This battle is a gigantic clusterfuck of cats, tigers, ravens, hawks and dragons. They're Feral Ones - meaning they're permanently transformed, and at full strength.



Izuka is in the middle of all of them. Our goal is to kill him. But let's just say we're going to take our time about it. He's holding the SS-rank Dark tome and a Rewarp staff, which he will use in an extremely irritating manner, be assured.



Bring it.