Part 13: Episode XIII: By Land, Sea, and Sky
Episode XIII: By Land, Sea, and Sky
At this point we are given the option of going to bug Popola for the 50th time this week or checking up on Yonah. It doesn't matter which option we pick. It just changes the order of the next segment of the main quest. Popola's option leads to probably my least favorite dungeon in the entire game. Meanwhile, Yonah's leads to the next major town. So, let's see how our little girl is doing.
"I am sure of it."
"Yeah, but we could barely hold it off, and we had that girl helping us! We need to get stronger..."
Before kicking off the next leg of the adventure, let us polish off the few sidequests we left idle on the backburner, mmm? A load more will be unlocked soon enough.
Sidequest: The Tavern Keeper's Grandmother - Continued
I put this one on the backburner earlier since the Royal Ferns all spawn on the western part of the Northern Plains, outside the Aerie's entrance. The easiest way to farm for them is to just look about at spawn points and hope for the best, then enter/exit the Aerie to reset everything. The trouble is, on the first visit to the Aerie, Nier will refuse to turn back to the Northern Plains until he speaks with the village chief (and subsequently fights Kainé and Hook.) Once that is taken care of, it shouldn't take more than a few minutes to gather the materials.
Returning to the tavern...
When we return to the tavern keeper with the goods, he'll mix up some gross grass, herbs, and berry digestive medicine and ask us to give it to his grandmother over at the fountain. Not the one by the mutton lady quest in the town center, but the earlier one where Devola initially hung out before she realized she could get huge tips singing to trashed bar patrons.
To the fountain...
The old granny explains that apparently she gorges herself on food and it pains her to walk without being a gross old cheese smelling mess without the elixir. A bit too much info there....
But, she does tip Nier 2000 Gold so I guess we can put up with the unpleasant mental visual of old timer bowel movements. Almost...
Sidequest: On the Wings of Eagles
Should we return to the barkeeper after the initial quest, he'll provide a second...much less pleasant task. He needs an eagle egg for a new potion for his grandma. Fantastic.
Sidequest: Fragile Delivery - Continued
While we're in the neighborhood, Nier can drop by and inform the fragile parcel quest giver that we broke his junk roughly 1.8 seconds after he gave it to us. So, he's slightly less reliable than USPS. In any case, he'll tell Nier not to worry about it and just fork over another identical package.
With the fabulous drifting boar upgrade and the Aerie clear of Shades, the delivery can progress without a hitch. At least, just so long as you remember not to roll all over the damn place because it is just slightly faster than running. I know your type.
Backtracking to the Aerie Chief's hut...
"...For me? ...Yes. ...All right. ...Now leave it and go!" "...This town makes me crazy."
We'll need to return to the Fragile Delivery quest giver to finish that off. But, let's talk Eagle Eggs first:
Eagle Eggs suck! They are terrible things that have a whole...7% chance of spawning next to a hut directly beneath the cranky chief's cabin. This is the only area in the game they spawn. If one doesn't appear, the quickest way to try again is to leap to your death repeatedly until you get a Game Over, Continue, and then hope the RNG smiles upon you.
I got extremely lucky this time and one was sitting around on my first return visit to the Aerie.
If you're the completionist type and are trying to 100% the game for e-penis Trophies/Achievements then it sucks to be you! You need four more for upgrading weapons to max later on. Have fun committing suicide until you feel like jumping off a large building for real!
It is worth a passing mention that Eagle Eggs, and several other rare materials of the like, are much more common in the NIER DLC if you feel like dropping a few more bucks for less hassle. But, then again Eagle Eggs are probably one of the easier rare drops to obtain. So...good luck with that...
"-time." "Oh, quit moaning." "I imagine this egg would fetch quite a sum if you sold it to the highest bidder." "We can't do that. The old woman is waiting for it." "Perhaps we should place our own financial situation ahead of the concerns of an elderly woman, hmmm?" "I told you to quit moaning!"A boar drift across the Northern Plains later...
The Fragile Delivery guy thanks us for our time and says the xenophobic dickhead mayor of the Aerie is a nice guy once you get to know him. Yeah...I think we'll take a rain check on that one...
Once again, the tavern keeper mixes up a slightly more appetizing brew. At least I should hope a drink containing the egg of an endangered species (if that 7% drop rate is to be believed) ought to be pretty damn good.
The old lady once more tells us about her gross elderly ailments briefly before Nier looks at his invisible wristwatch to note the time and scurry off. She does leave us a 2000 Gold reward for the hassle of raiding the nest of near extinct birds to soothe her gluttony, so that is nice.
Welp, I reckon that is enough farting around doing menial tasks for meager profit. Let's see how Yonah is doing...
"Ngh..." "Yonah!? What is it!?" "It... It hurts." "It's going to be all right. I'll go get some medicine. Just hold on."
Nier decides he needs to drum up some more medicine to ease Yonah's pain while he's out adventuring to find the Sealed Verses. This of course means...
Time to go bug Popola again!
"Pain medicine?" "It's for Yonah. Her pain is... It's getting really bad." "That poor girl! Well... I guess we could try a shaman fish." "Never heard of it." "You can catch them at Seafront. Their livers contain a chemical that's said to dull even the strongest pain." "Great. ...So where's Seafront?" Nier, have you ever even left this village before last week?" "Sure. I left plenty of times. I left with a sword in one hand and returned with dinner in the other. And a healthy amount of red fluid on my shirt too. That's why I skip that last step these days..." "...I see." "Seafront is out beyond the southern plains. Shades have been spotted there recently, so be careful. Once you arrive at Seafront, you'll probably need to catch the fish yourself. They don't keep very well, so people often use them as soon as they're caught." "Southern plains, Seafront, stab fish for Yonah. Got it!" "I don't think you'll be able to catch the Shaman fish like th-" "Hold on, Yonah! Thanks Popola, bye!
And so Papa Nier rushes off to learn the ways of the ocean in the distant town of Seafront. Fishing... How hard can it be...?
Eagle Egg Banter
Early Yonah Concept Art