Part 32: Bistritz, part 1

Bistritz, part 1


There are several towns and cities in Eastern Europe named Bistritz, but I have a feeling the developers meant it to specifically be Bistritz, Transylvania, even though they made it a tiny village rather than a large city. Call it a hunch.



It's been quite a while since I've felt such a strong ghostly presence! This is exciting!

Don't be overconfident. First we should look for Terry's shop.

Yeah, let's do that. I just wish we weren't the ones who had to break such bad news about Terry.

Me, too.


Whee!


Unfortunately, the church is of absolutely no importance.




Now, to find Terry's shop. This must not be it.



But the door seems to be tightly locked...


Oh, goddammit.




Ah, here we go. (And no, I'm not going to tell the recently half-orphaned child that I'm a monster. What's wrong with you people?)

Girl's Voice: Dad! Is that you? Come inside!



We're the exorcists from Prague. Terry asked us to investigate this village.

Exorcists...? Where is my husband?



Terry is...

Nina, why don't you go play over there?

Mom...?

...




Uh-oh.


Man, it sucks to be an NPC in Shadow Hearts.

I-I'm afraid not, Nina. Daddy went to call these people to come save the village.

H-He...

I'm so sorry... I wish we'd realized sooner...

Maybe we could've saved your father.

...

You're really bad at this, aren't you?

No, that's all right. The important thing is you came...

We will do everything we can. I'm sure we'll be able to send the monsters packing.

Thanks, mister.

We're interrupted from this awkward scene be the sound of the door opening.

Oh, Mayor!


How could they be seen? Everyone except Nina and Michelle have been cowering under their sheets like children afraid of the dark.

That'd be you folks, I suppose? I'm the mayor of this village. The name's Kevin.

We're exorcists from Prague. The master of this shop asked for our services.

Ah-hah, so that's what's going on! Most reassuring! And where's Terry, then? He's not with you?

After Terry gave us this assignment, he was attacked by monsters.

I see... I'm so sorry to hear that. I don't know what to say. You have my deepest condolences. It's such a shame, just when you'd made arrangements to move to America.

...

But you needn't worry. I will make sure you are taken care of! Please do your best to cheer up!

The vultures sure move fast in this town.

Kevin. You don't have to worry about us. Nina and I have each other.

Now, we're not strangers, so don't hesitate to call on me any time, whatever concerns you might have. Whew... Well, I guess I'll be going. I should warn our two exorcists that the monsters appear when the fog turns red. Please be careful.



And I thought Dehuai was slimey...

Were you all planning on going to America?

Yes. A good friend of my husband is in New York. He sent us a lot of gifts and took good care of us. From this fall, he was going to help us with work over there. But now...

He's a famous professor at a New York university who grows flowers.

I wonder if the friend is Oakes Ames?

I see...

Well, let's you and me go take a look around outside. We need to explore this village a little more. Ma'am, what can you tell me about the castle where the lord of this domain used to live?

The nobleman's castle? Yes...the people of Bistritz call it "Blue Castle." It's an ancient castle past the forest east of the village. It was deserted 300 years ago...

No one goes near it. Are the monsters coming from that castle?

No! There's no monsters in the castle!

Eh?

Nina!! You promised not to tell that silly story anymore!!

But... Mom.

Um... maybe we should leave now...

I'm sorry. Please find out what you can about the village. I'm awfully tired. We have to rest.

We'll be leaving, then. Sorry to have brought you such bad news. If you think of anything else we should know, please be sure to tell us.

I'm so sorry. We won't let your father's death go to waste.

I hope Alice never goes into grief counseling.

Anyway, back outside...

Coincidence?

So it's time for the monsters to show up. Heh heh heh... I can't remember the last time I was this excited.

I really don't need to hear about how excited the old man is. Anyway, there are three enemies roaming around here: the Birdmen we already fought, Mailmen, and Police Dogs. The Police Dogs sometimes cast Devil's Deal, which increases Special Attack power by 30%.


There's one more item hidden in town, over by the eastern gate.


Examining the house on the far left moves the story along.



This is the mayor's house, right? Hmmm...

Did you notice how Michelle and Nina were kind of cold to the mayor? Something's fishy here.

I don't know, but I noticed how the mayor was drooling all over Michelle before Terry's body was even cold.

Let's ask the people here.


Now that the monsters are out, the townspeople will talk to us. Doesn't that seem a little, well, backwards?

Weapon Shopkeeper: We deal in weapons and armor here. Go on, take a look around.


There's a new weapon for Alice, but none for Zhuzhen because he just got a new one. But what's this sword doing here?



Cowardly Ido: He's been doing strange research for a long time, but I heard he's having some money problems now.



Hunter Warda: Gold!? Bistritz has always had frozen ground, never able to produce more'n a hare's droppings! Have ta make do wit' what little beastie meat 'n hides 'n such we can scrounge from the forest.

I like him. He's 'colorful'.


Now that we've heard enough about the mayor to make us suspicious, it's time to go back to Terry's shop so we can learn more about Blue Castle.

Nina, can I ask you something? The mayor... What kind of person is he? Could you tell me anything?

...

I don't like him. He keeps bothering my mom. He also keeps asking to see all the gifts my dad gave me.

From your dad? He gave you lots of gifts?

You know, Alice, just because Yuri's gone, that doesn't mean you have to fill the stupidity gap.

Yeah! One of them is a letter from my dad's friend in America. It's got a cute little leather bag attached to it. It's my favorite.

Do you still have it?

Yeah, I hid it in a secret place.

Aw, that's so cute.

Hmm, so perhaps the mayor is just an oddball who doesn't seem to be very well liked...?

Or maybe he's a pedophile.

Maybe... Does that mean the monsters are coming from Blue Castle?



The master of the castle would never be friends with monsters!

You know the master of the castle?!

There are no monsters in that castle. That blond-haired master of the castle saved me from wolves.

But - the one doesn't necessarily follow from the other...

He did? Really?

Yeah. A month ago, a person with big wings flew toward the castle.

Hmm...

I ran after this person, but I got lost in the forest. Soon, the wolves came after me. Then...the master ran out of the castle to save me!

Then what did the master of the castle do?

The master of the castle took me back to the village, and went home. My mom keeps saying that the master is a vampire. She tells me that if people find out about this, they'd think I'm a vampire, too.

Did he suck your blood?

No! The master was very nice. We joined hands and sang together.

Oh, really.

So it seems there really is someone at the castle. Maybe we need to check that out first?

But if what Nina said is true, then I wouldn't think the master and the monsters are related. But he might know something more about the red fog and the monsters.

Alice, are you going to see the master? Then take this key with you. You can open the east gate with it.

What I'd like to know is how a little girl got hold of the key to the gate leading to wolf-infested woods?

You've received the East Gate Key.

There are lots of wolves in the forest. Be careful.

We'll be right back. Wait here with your mother, okay?

Ok.


This time we don't automatically leave the shop, so we can pick up another Guild card. This one lets us try for 30% discounts and 15% price raises.




And we're off into the deep, dark forest to meet a vampire. Might not be our brightest idea ever.


Next time on Shadow Hearts:


Bistritz, part 1 on Viddler


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