Part 16: Episode XVI: Man's Best Friend

Episode XVI: Man's Best Friend

Music: Village Room


Man, you'd think curtains would be in greater demand on a planet with no nighttime...


"How are you feeling?"
"Great! The pain is totally gone!"
"That's fantastic, Yonah!"
"....."
"That's really fantastic... Listen, I need to talk to Popola. Stay here and get some rest, all right?"
"All right!"


As soon as we finish completing the shaman fish retrieval business, a new little slew of sidequests will unlock. Usually, completing a main plot objective will open up a few more sidequests. Though, I don't think it is possible to miss any if you blow them off for a bit. Having said that, the game does have a hard point of no return mid-way through the game. But, we're nowhere near that. So, don't fret too much for the moment.

Let's see what Yonah needs...

Sidequest: Yonah's Home Cooking


"A deer...wheat...stew? Um, that sounds...that sounds nice, Yonah. Okay, Yonah. Let me see if I can track down your ingredients.
(Get ready, stomach. This is gonna be rough...) Note: (blahblah.) indicates internal thoughts.
"Really? Oh, thanks Dad! I think you're really going to like it."

Nier heads out to pick-up the goods...


"You got something to say?"
"Oh, no! No, no! Nothing at all! La dad um da de..."
"Look, I know Yonah's not a four-star chef or anything, but she puts her heart into it, and I love her for it. Only a real jerk wouldn't appreciate the effort! What kind of father do you think I am!?"
"...Did you hear me imply anything of the sort?
"I guess not."
"Just... Well... Good luck."
"...Yeah."


So, Nier is tasked with the most dreaded of all parental activities next to explaining death and having the kid walking in on you and your wife boning: godawful meal preparation. You know it is going to be a culinary nightmare and you know you are going to have to soldier it down and put a smile on while you do so.


Anyhow, delicious venison can be harvested from deer roaming about in the southern plains while wheat is found for a nominal fee down at the village grocer. Let's get this mess back to Yonah and prepare for the worst...


"Thanks, Dad! Hold on. I'm gonna start cooking right away!"
"Yonah, wait-"


Nier has the option of being kind of a jerk and telling her not to burn the house down or to tell her to cut the meat into small pieces. That just makes it easier to choke on, pops! What you should say is 'here, sweetie. Let's make it TOGETHER!' and then do most of the work. You are bringing this doom upon yourself.

Some time later... If Nier tells Yonah not to burn it...


(Oh, gods. That meat looks almost raw.)
"Dad? Aren't you hungry?"
"Uh...I sure am, Yonah! And boy, it smells...delicious..."
(This tastes like the floor of a cave. ....I think I'm going to be sick.)

Alternative: Some time later...if Nier tells her to cut the meat up into small chunks...


"Dad? Aren't you hungry?
"Oh...I sure am, Yonah! And boy, it smells...really...amazing...."
(Oh gods, it tastes...like death.)


No reward for that one. Just being nice to your daughter with a side of uncomfortable bowel movement in a day or so. I wonder how Caim would have handled his sister's shitty cooking... Probably with kicking her. That guy was all about the kicking. I miss Caim.

Music: Village Tunes

Sidequest: Shopping List - Continued


You will recall we picked up those tulip bulbs for this lazy old crone over in Seafront a while back. It is time to take that last quest off the backburner.


This quest unlocks the non-standard reward of gardening. Oh joy!


The back yard of Nier's pad now features a tract of land in which flowers, fruits, and vegetables can be planted and grown. Fertilizers can also be utilized to speed up the growing process and augment growth of the plants.


Unless you are hell bent on doing 100% of quests or doing trophies/achievements, it is safe to ignore gardening. I like to just plant some crap, go off and play the game normally, and then return to harvest what has grown the next day.

Most plants take about 16-24 hours to grown. Real time. It's based on the console's eternal memory. You can fiddle with the clock setting and cheat to get around the time requirement. But really, feel free not to bother.

Sidequest: A Return to Shopping


The old woman who gave us the first task to do some shopping in Seafront gives us another shopping errand...in Seafront. Nobody asks for everything at once in role playing games, do they?

Sidequest: Fragile Delivery 2


At the nearby fountain, an old man gives us an additional job to visit Seafront, so we might as well kill two birds with one stone. This is the second (out of three) in the Fragile Delivery quest line. If you have forgotten from the first exciting escapade in delicate FedEx assignments, the requirement for this sidequest is no evade rolling and no being hit by enemies.


Luckily, there is a boar right outside the gate to the Southern Plains and it is a straight shot to the village and Seafront using it. It is much easier than its predecessor as such. Too bad the third one is the biggest pain in the ass in the trio...


"We'll be fine. We just need to go slow and take it easy."
"I am a creature of phenomenal talents, but those are two that escape me."


The tavern in Seafront is located just alongside the dock with the fisherman from earlier. Nothing cliché about that.


The bar is missing something without the cute redhead singing. Seafront needs to step up its game if it wants my patronage. Anyhow, Nier needs to return to the quest giver to finish up Fragile Delivery 2.




But first, a quick pit-stop to grab that fertilizer for Mrs. McInefficientshoppinglist. Seriously, why does the coastal town have the monopoly on farming supplies? I know it is a port and all but come on!

Backtracking...


The florist will hook Nier up with 2000 gold, one of the bounty fertilizers, and some seeds. As well as an expansion to his garden. Well, I guess that was a nice little package deal.


Nier's garden gains three additional rows for gardening (bringing his total spaces for plant space to 16 spaces.) It is all very interesting. As for the fertilizer, there are three varieties to choose from:

• Bounty Fertilizer - Increases the amount of harvest output.
  
• Speed Fertilizer - Decreases the time it takes for plants to fully bloom for harvest.
  
• Flowering Fertilizer - Increases the length of available harvest period (taking too long to harvest plants with cause them to wither and die.)
  

Oh yeah, the old dude with the fragile dinner tray (that seems counter-productive) gives Nier 1500 gold for his work. So, there is that. There is just one more quest on the tables for the moment.

Sidequest: A Dog Astray


"Sorry, I don't know a Max."
"Max is my dog. He's been missing since yesterday."
"Oh, I see. Um...any idea where he went?"
"He usually likes to run around the Northern Plains. Most of the time he just comes and goes, but I haven't seen him in over 24 hours."
"Well, If I find him, I'll make sure to bring him back."
"Th-thank you... Ouch..."
"Hmm? Something wrong there?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Just...just a little choked up about my dog is all."
"Okay. Well try not to worry, all right? I'll do what I can."

Music: The Northern Plains

A trek to the Northern Plains later...




The Northern Plains are a pretty expansive joint, but there aren't really many landmarks. This sidequest will take Nier to the "Iron Bridge" to the northeast of the village, which we'll be seeing more of at a later time.


"Would that be the canine we were looking for?"


It would seem the poor dog had a run-in with some rather beefy Shades over on the wrong side of the 'hood. The old timer isn't going to like that...


At least we can slaughter the lot of them for animal cruelty. Why can't they go pick on someone their own size. Like those prick, mutton filled sheep bastards.

I'll rest the day their woolly asses are wiped from this world like excrement from a boot!


"Hey, wait. I think the dog has something in his mouth. ...It's some kind of leaf."
"This is a rather dangerous location for leaf hunting. I wager this decision cost the animal its life."
"Well, the least we can do is bring the leaf back to the old man."


And thus those damnable green herbs claim another victim. Weiss and Nier have a bit more commentary on the trip back to town...


"This is gonna be hard for that old timer to deal with."
"Be they dog or man, no living thing can escape their ultimate fate."
"That include you, Weiss?"
"Mmm... In truth, I have never considered the question. I suppose at some point in time I may simply...wink out of existence."
"I doubt I'll live long enough to see that happen."
"Um... Say there..."
"Yeah?"
"See here, if I ever find myself...departing this world-"
"Oh, stop being morbid, Weiss! ...Besides, you can't die. You're made of paper."
"Indeed? ...I've never looked at it like that before."

A dash back to town with the dog's herbs later...


"You mean Granddad? He passed away... His heart finally gave out on him."
"Huh. Looks like he went with his best friend after all. Oh, hold on a second. His dog had this leaf in his mouth when we found him."
"Oh... That's the herb Granddad used for his heart medication. Max must have been fetching it for him. ...Well, I suppose I owe you a great deal. I can't give you much, but I hope you'll accept this."

Nier gains 1000 gold...

"What a faithful animal!"
"...You think Max and Granddad are together in heaven?"
"I do."
"....."
"I'm sure of it."













Sidequesting Banter




Yonah Concept Art