Part 79: Noblecourt

Music: Gazing Over the Great Plain



Noblecourt is your typical medium-sized town with its own noble district.



It's been on a downslide since Geoffrey Azelhart was killed, however. As we'll see in Primrose's Chapter 3 when she revisits her hometown properly, many here still respect her old house and think highly of both Geoffrey and Primrose.



Anyway I fail a 48% Scrutinize chance three times, and now you see why I always use Alfyn for NPCs whenever possible.



Many NPCs in this area are focused on one business or another, and instead of the scholars and nobles this town is supposed to be famous for, we mostly see the every-day workers dealing with the usual day-to-day struggles.



And of course take their forgotten giant stones of electric power.





This town probably has a lot more mini-stories than most, as many of these NPCs are linked together as family units working the same job.



For instance, there's this hapless florist...





...and his long-term girlfriend.



One who sells a really nice knife at an exorbitant cost.



I don't buy it, of course, but it makes sense she'd have more respect for Tressa's business acumen.





Even the child is involved here!





I seriously doubt 6500 leaves is normally pocket money, especially for a kid.



I wonder if it was someone's diary...?



Even the solitary workers generally have more humorous backstories. As far as generic NPC writing goes, Noblecourt has some of the best.



This is worth nearly 10k leaves, so even more reason to talk to inept merchants!



Anyway, we'll surely revisit him for a side story.





There's two NPCs blocking doorways.



I...can't tell if that's a cat or a dog. Either way, it's a Heavy Coin Pouch worth 4k-ish.



In addition to some fantastic armor (second-best ElemDef in the game, and a decent ElemAtk boost!), she's selling the same knife as the earlier woman for twenty thousand leaves less.

The knife I don't really want to invest in, but that robe is tempting me...





It'll make sense shortly.





There's also this old man who wants to shoot arrows into the skulls of thieves. I like this man.



Unsurprisingly, his insatiable bloodlust factors into a side story for this town.



And he doesn't even need the damn bow because he's pretty talented at poisoning people anyway.





This guy is easy, but requires too high a level for Olberic.





Olberic can fight this woman, but she's actually a bit challenging with a painful fire attack. Not too threatening, though.



The old woman has a purple chest with some cold hard cash.





The man has another man who he's clearly learning nothing from.



He sells basic concoction ingredients.



He's decently strong, at least.



They're my own design, fashioned of silk from Gendy's Finest Fabrics in Quarrycrest. They're both comfortable and durable. Why, they'll survive a trampling by a shire horse, and I should know!



Do I even need to say anything here?





Here's another family, this time a line of carpenters.



He sells grapes.



oh no



This is the eastern district, where people go to get drunk.





We've found him, the dullest man in Noblecourt.



The alehouse is quite lively, with all the NPCs we saw here earlier in Therion's Chapter 2.





Here's the middle generation of carpenters.



He gives an underwhelming Steel Axe, but more importantly is where we find it. You may recognize this as the former site of House Azelhart, back from Primrose's Chapter 2 flashback.



Criminals're the only ones makin' any money out there. I hate seein' what the world's become.



Here's the former innkeeper.



However, ever since Lord Geoffrey was taken from us, it simply hasn't been the same. A shame, really.



A silent alcoholic salesman. My kind of guy!



There are also many scholars in the commoners' district. The Flatlands are a fertile ground for learning.



So yeah, even just from general exploration you can tell there are still some who were very fond of House Azelhart.



Pretty average, but not too shabby. I'd like a bonus effect for that price, honestly, but I'm cheap.



Recovers 1000HP to the party. Obviously more of an Allure target than a Guide one.



There's something morbidly humorous about having an Olive of Life in a graveyard.



Take a guess where Primrose's C3 dungeon will be.



That reminds me, Lord Geoffrey had a young daughter. I wonder whatever happened to her?



And the youngest of the carpenter family.



Ehhhhh. It trades stats for ElemAtk, but I might as well splurge for that robe from earlier if I want to go that route.



No matter who you are, he'll greet you with a warm smile and a how-do-you-do. Why, he even volunteers to pick up refuse and keep the streets clean. A man of his station! And yet, occasionally a wistful gaze crosses his face, as if he harbors some sadness or regret deep in his heart...



And here's the innkeeper himself, with probably the most important information of all.





And so I go looting. There's one Chapter 4 town in particular that gives a huge boost and lets you steal tons of utterly fantastic items at 100% rates. I'm certainly looking forward to that one...



...Ugh...





FINE



For my reference, as I still need to update the vendor trash list on my site. Maybe one day.



The Spirit Sword gives a terrible +60 to both PhysAtk and ElemAtk, a worst-of-both-worlds for a weapon that warriors and mages will never have use for. The Assassin's Dagger is expensive, but it's actually worth the price in its case.





And some fine-if-pricey armor options.

And that's Noblecourt! Next time we'll continue another quest chain and then tackle our penultimate CHAPT TOO chapter with...



...Ophilia! So onward to the Riverlands and Saintsbridge!