Part 18: Clowns Make Everything Better

On our way out they've put in some new enemies in the Valley of Flames. They're a bit higher level than the last set, which is a good thing. The various side exits are still blocked off..which is a sure sign that we'll be back. The blue helmeted duck is actually a duck general, while the armored fighter is a sword master.



Sword masters have some pretty cool looking group attacks.



The new enemy parade includes the gold version of the Bulettes.. which don't really do anything special to justify their color change. Some kind of defense effect, but that's it.



"I've got your back, bro."

"Sounds great..is that what the doctor said?"

"The what now?"

"I'll check on her."



"Ha! Guess she remembers you pretty well, Hawk."

"Oh.. oh my. That's… we should leave now."




We've got two theoretical options right now, but this one is still closed off until we get the next spirit.



Our real destination is over in this direction, but we're going to have to take the long way around and go up river to find it.



We're actually headed over to this quaint little town.



This is the barrier that would have kept us out of here vanishing now that we have Salamando and Undine with us.



It's a charming town, full of.. night blooming flowers, I guess?



We won't be visiting there yet either, but we might be a bit more familiar with the area if we'd gone with a different set of characters.




The town is full of peacenik hippies and pacifist werewolves. It's a bit of a strange place. The fact that the Altenans passed through is good news, since it means that our enemies are fighting each other too.



"My favorite part has always been the disemboweling."

"I like the bludgeoning."



"I'm more worried about the beastmen at this point."



"The effects of this mana stone keep the forest under constant darkness."




New equipment, weapons and armor. There are two tiers of weapons here, very close in price. The less expensive set are silver, which one might think would be useful against werewolves but this is not in fact the case.



They're also kind enough to put up a sign heading to the one place we can actually go leaving town.



The moonlight forest is a foggy, haunting place full of werewolves and bats. There are two varieties of werewolf, but they're very similar.



There are also some high level versions of the very first enemies we actually got a chance to fight after leaving the prologue.



It's a pretty small area in actuality. There's not even a golden goddess statue to mark the end, just this silver one. I can only presume our characters were hiding in the bushes for the next little bit.



"Is that a spleen?"

"The one on the right? That looks more like a liver to me…"



"Please, return to the castle!"



"Delicious souls? What does he…?"



"Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick."

"That's.. one way to get a soul out.."



"Looks like he's kind of like Bigieu. The middle management of evil."

"Shh, someone's coming."




"And you, sir, are an imbecile for believing it!"

"But I will say this… Karl's soul was quite tasty, for a wolf's…"

"GRAAAAAAH!"



"This can only end in tears."

"Ten on the psychotic soul-eating clown."

"Pffft, that's a sucker's bet."



"Hehehe! Looks like I'll be having dessert after all!"

"Dear boy, you'll be seeing Karl sooner than you think!"



"I say! Isn't it rather rude to bother someone while they're eating?"

"And yet somehow, I just can't bring myself to care."



"Give him back! What did you do with him!? Give him back, give him back!!"



"You're that little child, the Priest's granddaughter…"

"Yeah, so!?"

"How many people have you done this to that you couldn't remember Heath right off the bat?"

"You say that like it was important to me. To me, that was Tuesday."



"He's the Number 2 man, and I'm Number 1! Hehehe…"

"Is that.. bathroom functions? Because that's just weird if your boss has henchmen specifically for that."

"What…? No, you idiot! I'm second banana and he's third!"



"NOOOOOOOOO!!"



"Wait! Allow me."



"But before I do that… I'll deal with you. It'll be a nice warm-up."

"A… as you wish!"

"Fine with me too. We still owe you for the trip down the waterfall."

"Haaaaaa!"

Boss Battle: Lugar

Lugar Battle Video

Although it's too quick to easily catch, Lugar starts the battle by turning into a werewolf. He's actually pretty similar in appearance to a lot of the werewolves we've been seeing throughout the forest, although much more dangerous.




The battlefield is pretty small and he loves to use martial arts moves that can deal a pretty solid amount of damage. These come in single target and group varieties, and without something to mitigate the damage they can really hurt. Luckily we have the necessary spells to kill his attack power and raise our defense.



All he gets is moon saber, and that's really not that great. Also, Lugar is kind enough not to throw counters at you if you use second level techniques. That speeds the fight along considerably. Given that it's just him by his lonesome, this is destined not to end well.



Not pictured - Death Jester running inside.



"Wow, I'm surprised he's up."



"…Words could not express my jealousy…"

"Lugar…"

"I wouldn't given anything… killed anything… to have what you were granted by birthright…"

"But for myself… a mere soldier without a drop of royal blood… it was an unattainable dream."

"Anybody else feel like we're coming in at the halfway point of a play?"

"Shh! It's just getting good!"



"All your pacifist nonsense… you let your martial arts training go to waste. I couldn't allow that."

"I trained as hard as I could… so that one day I could defeat you. But this… THIS… is the result."

"Aww man. I feel pretty bad now, since they had some kind of epic showdown that we interrupted."

"It's okay. Kevin was pretty beat up, so it was probably going to be a straight up murder anyway."



"Kevin… one day, perhaps. Until then… continue training… don't let yourself become weak…"

"… Lugar!!"



"Oh, but of course! I was waiting for you to arrive…"

"What took you so long to actually show yourself?"

"Hey, I wanted to see what was going to happen just as much as you did."




"Are you sure this is a good idea? He did just try to kill us all."

"Oh, it'll be fine. Besides, I'm sure he's learned his lesson about trying to kill you three now."



"Right! One day, he may yet become heir to the Beast King's throne…"

"All right, Lugar! I'll wait for that day…"

"Was that really the only way?"

"I'm not saying, but it certainly did solve a lot of problems at once. Go on boy, off with you now."



"Ah… animals… pick him up and raise him! No worries! Normal for beastmen!"

"I just can't see that working out well on a large scale basis."



"Do I come to your homeland and mock your culture?"

"Point taken."



"It's on the first floor of the Moonreading Tower."

"Altenan soldiers tried to raid it a while ago, but Lugar and his men defeated them all."

"So.. this tower? The one that the harlequin just ran inside of?"



"Go, go! I stay here and guard!"

"Thanks! Good boy!"



"That must take a lot of power… Oh, by the way, where did Deathjester go?"

"If he were here, I'd sense his evil presence… but I don't. Maybe he left."

"Your certainty is very reassuring."

"Not my fault you can't sense the broad side of a demonic barn."



"But if they manage to get the Sword, the power of Mana will disappear!"

"Well… maybe not completely. Some might be trapped in stones, artifacts, and other things like that. But still, I take your point.