Part 108: Love and Hate

Music: Gazing Over the Great Plain



H'aanit and Alfyn are my last two banter buddies, so they're in. Which is good, because H'aanit needs levels and Alfyn is a great panic button.



Perhaps you don't recall, but the two of you were playmates as children. So many nights you came sneaking back home after dark, and I would scold the two of you together. It felt as if I'd gained a daughter! Of course, Jan's a man grown now. He works with his father, looking after the town and tending to our estate. But I have heard him murmur more than once over the years...



And now fate has brought you back to us at last. A splendid thing, is it not?

Nothing to get you in the mood for murder like having a woman try to set you up with her son.



At any rate, time to take care of business.

Music: Forbidding Corridors



You have my gratitude, Master Forsythe.
I cannot guarantee your safety should you choose to go forward, my lady.
Nor would I ask you to.
Lady Primrose...



...I do. It has been my sole reason for living all these years.
Very well. In that case, Lady Primrose...



There was a time when I, too, vowed I would see justice served. For so long, I had abandoned hope, and lost my way... But reuniting with you... It has lit the path before me anew, as if the light of the Flame shined upon us.



Master Forsythe...



Oddly enough, Revello is solely here for cutscenes. You would think for something like this, Primrose would Allure Revello so you can at least pretend you'll use him in combat. It seems like such an obvious place for Allure, and it's a bizarre missed opportunity, especially seeing this right after Olberic's chapter which utilized Challenge so well.

Anyway, another transition...

Music: Creeping Dread



The Lady Azelhart comes calling.
Does she now? How thoughtful of her to save me the trouble of hunting her down myself...



Which reminds me... Wasn't he supposed to be joining us?
On that matter, sir, I'm afraid there's been a slight change of plans. He left a message. It appears there are some...preparations...he would see to first.
Heh heh heh...



Sir...?
No doubt he's preparing a welcome party of his own. My Lazy Azelhart... 'Tis a pity you'll not live to see it.



This could end up being to our advantage. Kill them both at the same time! Of course, then there wouldn't be a Chapter 4...

Music: Forbidding Corridors



It's a manor dungeon.



My favorite part is the coat room.



There's another Elemental Hat here, which I'll probably go back for off-screen.



Those Ravens like to use Blinding Mist to blind us with mist.



That bow is disgustingly good in H'aanit's hands.



This is the first accessory I find that blocks poison, oddly enough. There seems to be three or four of each stone, so just enough to protect the final party at end game...when you wouldn't use these anymore. But it's more giving you several options to find these so you'll always have one or two in case you need them in the mid game, like I did with that recent snake boss. So while they're situational and are mostly useless end-game, they're still good accessories.





Otherwise, we have Icky Slugs, which are a bit scary with Stampede but not too bad otherwise, and some other generic foes not really worth going into.



This is pretty linear as far as manor dungeons go, at least in the second section. And I like the color scheme going on here, you can tell what this guy's favorite color is.

Otherwise, it's an Octopath Traveler dungeon. Not much else to say, so let's get down to the main event.

Video: The Right-hand Man



So you were the one who clipped the left wing.

Music: On a Knife’s Edge



I have waited too long for this day.



You really did a number on us, didn't you? The left was responsible for maintaining and expanding our little circle of friends.



We made quite the team, if I do say so myself. Nothing--no one--could stand in our way. ...And now you've gone and fouled it up.



All I've done is removed a filthy scavenger from this world. One less crow, and our realm will be better off for it.
....Hmph. You're a bold one, I'll give you that.



...So it is you. Lady Primrose, this is the man who disappeared after your father's murder. The man I feared dead...



What!?



How could I have been so blind...? It was you who sold Geoffrey to those villains. He trusted you more than anyone...



That's my second-in-command. A bit slow on the uptake, but you'd always figure it out in the end.



Anyone with half their wits knew the Obsidians were pulling all the strings from the shadows. I simply cast my lot with the winning horse. A simple business decision.



Your father spoke grandly of peace and order until the day he met his end. He would talk of his vaunted faith and how it would shield the town from any danger. In the end, he couldn't even save himself. And now a field of headstones is all that remains of the once-proud House Azelhart.



.........



Lord Geoffrey was a thousand times the man you are! You'll sully his name no longer!



But Lady Primrose!
The time for talk has ended. This man--if one can even call him a man...

Music: For Revenge



.........



Yes... It reminds me of the fire in your father's eyes when he faced his end.



Come at me, Primrose Azelhart!



Video: Boss - Albus, the Right-hand Man

Music: Decisive Battle II



Here is the right wing, Albus.



Idiot's weak to bows, great job champ.



Your standard Chapter 3 boss HP.



He's another guy who sticks to physicals. Shoulder Smash adds a PhysAtk debuff.



The usual Break and Boost. H'aanit with a PhysAtk buff and that sick bow can do some serious damage.





Especially when she gets to do it twice in a row!



At 3/4 HP he gets two turns a round. Nothing too scary.



He can hit decently hard, but he's as easy to manipulate as any other physical boss.





These Obsidian Officers can inflict Blind, and will block his weaknesses until they're defeated.



Albus also loves to inflict Blind using Eye Gouge. Really, this guy's gimmick involves the Blind status.



Mostly because he has an attack, Death to the Unseeing, that instantly kills all blind characters. And of course, his boost attack, Eye Slash, deals damage and inflicts blind on everyone. Luckily I never trigger that, but that's why I have Alfyn!



Otherwise, this guy's not really too bad, and Primrose even gets the killing blow for this one!



The Obsidian Garb is the rare item that is a steal/drop from an enemy that isn't a consumable. The officers that Albus summons have these, and this is the only way you can get them. It's alright, 98 PhysDef and 112 ElemDef are pretty average for this part of the game, though the 96 Crit is not too shabby. A nice grab, but not a big deal if you miss out on it.

Video: Pulling the Strings

SILENCE



...And then there was one.
There was no warrior in Noblecourt more fierce than he... You fought wonderfully, Lady Primrose.



No grand death speech here. Albus takes the blow and dies instantly. That just leaves one left, but who could it be...?

Music: Bonds of Friendship



Ah, Primrose! Fancy meeting you here!
What brings you to this...terrible place?
Ah, but of course. About that, you see...















SILENCE



Oh, I'm sorry. I heard that you were looking around for my friend here.



The mark...



...of the crow...

It's not really shown in the cutscene, only explained in the description of the cutscene viewer, but when Simeon stabbed Primrose, she grabbed and ripped off his scarf during the act. Simeon's sprite is even slightly different than before. And of course, this reveals the horrible truth...



Simeon...!
Do forgive me, Lady Primrose. There was just one thing I forgot to mention. The head of the Obsidians? The crow atop the roost? And, oh yes, the one who killed your dear, dear father...



.........



.........

Music: Sorrow



I knew you had it in you. That was a virtuoso performance, my love...



Look at the tears she weeps, the blood she spills...and pity her. Oh, the tragedy! It moves me to the depths of my soul!





Fare thee well, my poor, poor love...



And so Primrose succumbs to her wound...





-----

Music: Reminiscence



Simeon...?
Yes? What do you want?
Where are you going?
To work. Where else? The hedges want for trimming.
Who cares about the gardens? Won't you stay with me?



Won't you read me one of your poems? Pretty please?
...As you wish, my lady.





-----

SILENCE





Unnngh...! .........



The man Primrose loves is the man who murdered her father and almost murdered her. That will mess with anyone's mind, even someone as steeled as Primrose.

And that relationship seems really messed up in retrospect. Primrose was just fourteen, and there's a chance Simeon was simply stringing her along the entire time for whatever sick and twisted reason...



Darling! Darling, come quickly!



I feared the same, my dear...
Oh, but the heavens can be merciful...



You slept for three days and three nights.
I...I see...

Music: Melancholy



Whatever does he hope to accomplish by such monstrous deeds?



.........
I was, however, able to convince one of his lackeys to talk.



What business he has there, I cannot say.



Would that I could join you there... But I am not as young as I once was, and I have a family that needs me. Be safe, my dear child, and may you find the answers you seek...
Thank you, Master Forsythe.



-----





No grand farewell speeches today. Primrose has a lot on her mind, and one last man to get vengeance on, as difficult as it may be.

We shall end things on two more banters.

Music: Enveloped in Kindness



...No. Not yet. Yes, I loved him. Dearly so. But it is too soon to be putting flowers on his grave. When this is all finished, when he is avenged...



If that is thy wish, then so be it.
But thank you, anyway. For caring. I will return, sooner rather than later. But right now, I have work to do.



Primrose refuses to face her father until she has accomplished what she set out to do, afraid she is to disappoint him even in death. Vengeance is how Primrose chose to honor her father, and so she shall.



...
This is for you.
...Medicine?
It'll fix you fast, if it starts to hurt again.
Thank you...



I'm askin' as your apothecary...and friend.
...



Alfyn's always there when you need him most, and not just when you're hurting physically (though he excels at fixing that part).

We're halfway done with Chapter 3! But we've still got lots of side stories to go, which we'll get back to next time.

In the meantime, what next? Again, the rest of these are gonna be obvious but might as well make things official!