Part 127: Side Story: A Royal Secret

Music: Among Stately Peaks



Let's knock another side story out!



Ventus the Third is my favorite of the kings. He was renowned for his drawings and paintings. Strange thing is, one day Ventus the Third suddenly stopped painting and never touched a brush again. It was as if he'd lost his muse. A queer mystery, fair to say, and I'm setting about to solve it.



So we have to investigate why this king decided to stop painting.

Wouldn't you know it, there are two different solutions here!

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METHOD ONE



Some folk say it lies in the place people call the Tomb of Kings.

Seems a good a place as any to find information about the Ventus kings!



The Tomb of Kings is the side dungeon for the intermediate area of the Highlands, and is a nice lower-level dungeon with no boss.

Music: Dark Caverns





For a side dungeon, the Tomb of Kings may be one of the most interesting dungeon designs in the game, as you're steadily climbing up a ruined stone pyramid.



There's a Hasty Helm in the purple chest, but it's outdated and I couldn't find the path to it anyway.



At the top is a tombstone and a mysterious man.



Don't know who ye are, not where ye come from, but I'll be askin' ye to leave.



After failing two 90% Scrutinize chances, we uncover some useful information relevant to the quest at hand.





And after a fadeout back to the Tomb of Kings...



Thanks to his reforms, the realm continued to prosper under his son's rule. But after the son died, the realm was torn asunder by civil war.



The baseborn brother was the better man, and older, too. But only true blood matters, and the throne was his brother's.



I had heard tell of civil war, but I never knew that the royal family itself had become divided. The man who protects the tomb is a descendant of the older brother.



So it's a penance of sorts, the way he devotes his life to watching over that tomb.



I'm going to write the tale down without further ado, and deliver the paper to the Royal Society. Thank you, for all you have done.



Then we're back at Stonegard with our reward. The Royal Crest gives +600 Max HP, so an improvement over the 500HP accessories I use often, but will soon fade once we get to that final tier of stat accessories.



I've oft thought we should do great things, so they might have something interesting to read about in their history books.

So things turned out well enough, but that's also not entirely the whole story. In fact, we never did answer the youth's original question in the first place. Why did Ventus the Third stop painting?

That's what we'll find out, and we won't even have to leave Stonegard for the answer.

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METHOD TWO

Music: Among Stately Peaks



Rumor is there's a direct descendant of the Ventus kings residin' in this very town. Can't say I know much about kings, nor history for all that. But it'd be a rum thing if true, wouldn't you say?

Of course, actually finding this descendent is a bit tricky.





The closest we get is that this man is also an artist, so hey, it must run in the family, right?





Well, let's see what happens when we bring these two together.



Aye! Indeed I am, begging your pardon for being so bold and all. But the question's been eating away at me--why is it that Ventus the Third suddenly stopped painting?





Yes. He loved his art far more than his kingdom, so he cast off the crown and gave up his throne. He then spent the rest of his days in obscurity, painting to his heart's content.
Crivens, you tell a far-fetched tale--but how do you know it?



Let go! How did...that is to say, why did...?



He abandoned his realm and his people. It was a feckless act--some would even say cowardly.



In the end, the realm was well-served by the adventure. The false king even had a son, who ascended the throne upon his father's death.
Well-served? But the realm collapsed in the end, leaving nothing but relics and legends.
Just so. But had the real Ventus the Third remained on the throne, I warrant the collapse would have come all the sooner.



For him and I, the yearning to create is greater than the yearning to rule. It is in our blood, you might say.



I thank you for telling it to me.

And that ends the quest.



So, where were we? You wanted to know about the robes people wore back then...



I see, I see...

So the historian learned the truth about the reign of Ventus the Third, and the sculptor got to learn more about his ancestry. It's amazing how complicated one story may end up being once you learn all the details!

Next time, we finally finish Chapter 3 by revisiting an old acquaintance.