Part 5: Valua

When we left off last time we were escorting a Nasr merchant home. This time, we're going to totally ignore that and go see a man about a bird.


Click for video!

You gave a Moonfish to Maria's bird.

Hm...that thing is getting...big.

Gee, I wonder how much more it'll grow??



Eew, it coughed something up. Oh, wait, there's something inside the...um...hairball.

Tell ya what, as a token of my appreciation, you can keep whatever the bird spits up, Ok?

Gee, thanks Doc!

You received the Riselem Crystal

So yeah, that's basically how it works. You need to feed the bird one Moonfish at a time, with it gradually growing after each fish. I'm going to cut out all the repeat scenes for obvious reasons and just give a rundown of the items after every feeding session. Every so often you also get special scenes with some character backstory.

.....

Look how big your little bird has grown, Maria! And it's all thanks to this young man and his friends.

.....




W, w, huh?! Maria!!! Did you just say something?!

...Thank you.

M, Maria...

Vyse, I...I can't thank you enough. I don't know how many years it's been since I've heard Maria's voice.

What?! You mean to tell me that your own daughter hasn't spoken to you in years???

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back up there, honey. I'm still single. I don't even have a wife, let alone a kid. Maria's not my kid. She, uh...lost her family a few years back.





I worked for Mendosa, a former Admiral of the Valuan Armada, as a doctor onboard his flagship. And Maria is his daughter...the daughter of a Valuan Admiral.



It was a horrifying experience for such a little kid to go through. Since then, she hasn't shown a hint of emotion, nor spoken a single word. And I don't blame her, either. The poor kid had to watch her family's ship, with all of her family still onboard, sink below the clouds. So, I took her under my wing, and retired from the military. And that's when I became a free ship doctor. That's why it's...sorta my responsibility to make sure Maria is happy. It's my responsibility, and my punishment, of sorts.

Ting-a-ling-a-ling!

Hm? Oh! I'll be right there, Maria!

Ever since she stopped talking, whenever she needs me, she just rings her bell like that. And every time I hear that bell, my heart nearly breaks...Vyse...I beg of you, please find more Moonfish. The little bird, for whatever reason, seems to be getting through to Maria. She seems to be coming out of her shell at long last. Whoa knows...maybe Maria will actually smile again someday! Heh...I probably shouldn't get my hopes up, but I can't help it. But, I'm going to bet on you. Something tells me that if anyone can heal Maria's wounds, it's you. I'm counting on you, Vyse!

Ahem. Sorry. Something in my eye. Moving on, there's a suspiciously empty little island just north of Sailor's Island.





Caution: Too much juice! You simply cannot comprehend juiceocity on this magnitude!



Oh yeah, and Drachma killed that Grouder in one regular, non-critical hit. God I love this guy.

Anyway, on with the story. Nasr is the desert country under the Red Moon a ways north of Sailor's Island, which lies under the Silver Moon. It's protected on all sides by stone reefs and sky rifts, so the only way to get to it is through the Dannel Strait. Nasr is constantly at war with Valua, but as long as the Dannel Strait is defended Nasr is safe. As we approach the Dannel Strait, however...







Air Pirate: But, there's a strange ship following it very closely...
I don't recognize the markings.





Let's
introduce these fools to the true meaning of fear! They will know that
I, Baltor, send them plummeting to their deaths!!!



Don't let them escape! And take everything on board
that isn't nailed down!

I'm sorry, I just can't be intimidated by Baltor. He just looks so friendly.



So that's Baltor, huh? What should we do, Captain?

We're vastly outnumbered. Don't let them board us. We'll fight it out from a distance. Ready the cannons. If you see them attack, I want you to go into evasive manoeuvres. Then, when they're in your sights, blast them.

Aye aye, Captain! Let's rip 'em to shreds... Sir!


Click for video!



That is slightly more intimidating.

Gahahaha! How do you like that? Feel the power of my ship, the Blackbeard!



Ok, ship battle time! Skipping the tutorial as usual so I can explain things. The black square is the current combat grid where we can place commands, commands being either one of the ship's weapons, a spell, evasive manoeuvres or Focus. Unlike regular battles, all attacks from the ship require SP. Each party member can perform one action per column, as can Baltor. The greyed out square is the next round of combat. The CT square is a critical round, where our attacks will do more damage, while the yellow square indicates a more powerful attack incoming from Baltor. We only have basic cannons for now, so there's really not a lot to say about this battle. Just pound him with your cannons till he gives up.



Something's not right, Cap'n. It looks like he's preparing for something. I'm getting a bad feeling about this...

It looks like he's tryin' to get behind us. Most ships have their engines in the back and that makes them more vulnerable form behind. But, if he tries to get behind us, in the meantime he'll be wide open. What do you want to do, boy?



This is about the only point of interest in the battle. Ship Battles often have tactical choices in battles which can have either a good or disastrous effect on the next round of combat. Not all of them are simple text choices like this, either. Anyway, remember how Vyse said the Little Jack had a really tight turning circle? We can use that to our advantage and get behind Baltor instead.



Look at that. Three beautiful squares of critical hits. Baltor's going to feel this one.



Yeah, I'd say we won this one. We haven't seen the last of Baltor, naturally.





This I swear on the code of the Black Pirate! You will rue the day you ever crossed paths with me! And somebody put out that fire!

Black Pirates have a code? I thought there were just all about the raping and pillaging.

Vyse, we did it!

Yeah!

Ok, I know I said I wasn't going to try to show off Vyse and Aika's celebration dance, but just this once I'll make an exception.











Clonk!

Once again, Drachma is awesome.

Ow! What'd you do that for, Captain?

We're not there yet, you idiot! Never take your hands of the wheel until we've come to a complete stuff!

Yeah, you idiot! Why don't you watch what you're doing? It's a good thing Cap'n Drachma's here to keep you in line.

Aika... why you little...

Hahaha... I'm sorry! I just couldn't resist. You just defeated Baltor the Scary, why don't you lighten up a little bit?

We're almost there! Get ready!!!



The Southern Dannel Strait. The big city in the distance is Nasrad, the capital of Nasr.

Nasr National Guard Fleet: Greetings! Welcome home! We are the fleet that guards the South Dannel Strait. We will escort you from this point.

Nasr Merchant: Oh, that would be great appreciated! Lead the way... Thank you very much. It would appear you have safely brought me home. As I promised, here is the Valuan passport.

Alright! So this is what the passport looks like...

We can finally get into Valua with this!

Nasr Merchant: I must get going! May the Red moon watch over you and light your path.

Off to Valua! Let's not waste any more time!

Aye aye! Little Jack, full rudder! Turning 180 degrees... to Valua! Full speed ahead!



A quick off-camera detour to hand in that bounty and the the Guildstones discovery later...


Click for video!

Oh boy. See those searchlights in the distance. That's the entrance to the Valua Fortress. The Valua Fortress in in fact the entirety of Valua.

A passport? I've got one right here. Take your time looking it over.

Valuan Patrol Ship: ...Hmm. Very Well. You may proceed.

Looks like we made it through. We just passed a Valuan Security Checkpoint. That's quite an accomplishment, don't you think?

Yeah... I thought getting into Valua would be a lot tougher. Now all we have to do is sneak into...

...!

Huh? What's that?!





Valua is surrounded by impassable mountains so that is the only way in or out.

Anyone else starting to have second thoughts about this?

Wow... I can't believe they actually built something that big...

During the Valuan-Nasr War, over a 100 Nasr warships bombarded this fortress for days. However, all the shells were repelled by these walls. The fortress may be the strongest structure of the new world.

Look! It's moving!!!



The door of the fortress opens only once a day to allow ships to pass through. The backside of that wall is completely lined with cannons. It was those cannons that nearly wiped out the entire Nasr fleet.

I don't think I'm really making clear the sheer size of this thing. Take another look at the screenshot above. See those specks over on the far left? Those are ships.

Defence and offence all in one... It's an invincible fortress.

That's where they're holding Captain Dyne... and Fina!

No prisoner has ever escaped from that fortress. Although, I've heard that there's one way out.

Really? Then it's possible?

Yeah. After they execute prisoners, their corpses are thrown off the island.

That's just great! What are we going to do now?

Hah! No one's ever escaped, because they've never tried! I love a challenge! Don't worry, I will rescue our friends and escape from that fortress. Just watch me!



Remember how I said Alfonso was a sort of mirror image of Dyne? The closing of this door here is a rather nice mirror to the closing of the drawbridge on Pirate Isle all the way back at the start.

We're in enemy territory now, so maybe it would be a good idea to see just what we're up against.





Excellent.



The Five Admirals of the Valuan Armada.

Admirals of the Valuan Armada... Let me first offer my gratitude to each of you for asembling on such short notice. Let it be known that we succesfully captured a citizen of the Silver Civilization, as Empress Teodora requested.

What?! How?!

So, we've finally captured one... Who accomplished this?



First Admiral Alfonso we already know, of course.

I crippled her ship and captured her. But I was betrayed by my own Vice Captain and she was taken from me...



Second Admiral Gregorio may be the oldest of the Admirals, but he's the most experienced and the most trustworthy. He earned the nickname “Iron Wall Admiral” for his tactics in battle – he never lets an enemy get past.

Now, if we can persuade her to give us the information we need, it would be worth all of the effort we spent tracking her down.



Third Admiral Vigoro. Hoo boy, Vigoro. You know what, I'm not even going to bother describing him, he does a perfectly good job of that himself. Besides, if you really want to know the look no further than the top of this very page.

How old is she? Is she good looking? Does she wear leather? I like my women wild and crazy!



Fourth Admiral Belleza is the espionage expert. She avoids confrontation whenever possible, but make no mistake, she's quite capable in a fight as well.

Her name is Fina. She is currently being escorted to see Empress Teodora in the Imperial Palace.



And finally, Fifth Admiral De Loco. He doesn't do so much in the way of commanding the troops, he's the head of weapons R&D. As you probably guessed from the name, he's also completely and utterly batshit loco.

Of course, being the head of weapon development, I have deeply vested interest in the technology of the Silver Civilization! Hehehe!

I will head back to the Imperial Palace and await Empress Teodora's orders to commence the search for the Moon Crystals. Fina, our new... ally, shall aid us in gathering all six of the Crystal from around the world. As for you... Alfonso. You lied on your report. As a punishment, you are now relieved of your position as Commander of the Mid Ocean fleet. And for an indifinite period of time, you shall be confined to Ixa'taka.

Y... you think that I lied in my report sire? Ha... haha... What are you talking about?

You were attacked by the Air Pirates and you deserted your crew and your ship to save yourself. Your ship and your crew were released by the Air Pirates and returned recently. They filled a full... and ACCURATE report.

He's demoted? I'd have thought abandoning his ship and crew, lying in his report, and the cold blooded murder of his own vice captain would be worth a court-martial and summary execution, myself.

Bah...

Our Armada in invincible. Showing any signs of weakness is unforgivable. I trust that you will not forget that. This meeting is over. I want all of you to be ready to depend at a moment notice.

Yes, Lord Galcian!

Anyway, Valua. Like Drachma said, Valua is basically a gigantic ring of mountains with a massive valley in the middle. Or to put it another way, it's a crater about a hundred miles across.





It's beautiful... But the skies are so gloomy...

Valua is a beautiful city, but because of the fierce thunderstorms caused by the Yellow Moon the city is shrouded in eternal darkness.



Upper City?



The less fortunate are confined to Lower City. It's on the right shore

It doesn't seem right to force them to live in poverty like that.

Hey, Captain... Where should we land?

In Lower City. There is a dock that repairs and remodels ships.

Aye aye. I'll bring us into Lower City Port.


Click for video!



We still need to check the place out. We need to find a way to save Dad and the others. Captain, what do you think we should do?

I'm returnin' to the docks... I'll be overseein' the installation of the Harpoon Cannon.

Let's split up. Aika and I will check out the city while you get your cannon. When we're done, let's meet back at the inn.

Sure, I'll see you two later then.



A little exploration reveals this. Technically, this happened after the next story scene, but I don't want to break the story scenes up.



Drachma may only have three Super Moves, but they're all pretty damn awesome. Spirit Charge restores double the amount of SP that Focus does (IE, double Drachma's Spirit), and puts Drachma in Guard status for the turn. It's also the only skill in the game that costs 0SP. There is now no reason for Drachma to ever use Guard or Focus again. If you're wondering where the second Moonberry required to learn it came from, all random encounters have a minuscule chance to drop a Moonberry and I got lucky on the way to Valua.

Anyway, exploring Lower City a bit, it's not long before we run face first into the worst kind of trouble.





A snot-nosed brat. That's literal, by the way, he has a special animation for picking his nose.

Well, well... aren't we a little obnoxious... kind of reminds me of a particular someone when they were little.

Hey! I wasn't this annoying when I was little! Give me some credit here!

What did you say? Are you trying to start a fight with me?! The name is Marco! Everybody who is anybody knows who I am!

Hah... for such a short kid, you sure know how to talk big! Sorry, boy, but we don't have time to play with little kids right now.

What did you say?! I'll remember this! Fools!

Just to really drive home what an utter shithole Lower City is, let's go talk to some of the residents, shall we?



Lower City Valuan: If we tried to resist, the guards would just kill us. I don't know if that's necessarily worse, though. We have no dreams...no hopes...



Little Girl: I've never had white bread, only hard, black bread...I've heard people never chip their teeth on white bread. I'd like to try it sometime...



Lower City Valuan: Sometimes, they have criminals fight each other in a duel to the death...or they execute Air Pirates that dared to resist Valua. For some reason, it's comforting seeing someone in a worse position than ourselves.

You get the idea. Lower City is no mere shithole, it is a cancerous blight upon the good name of shitholes everywhere. On the bright side, we don't plan on staying for long. Let's get to the inn so we can get out of here posthaste.



I guess we'll stay the night. We've got another guy joining us... a big, old man. He'll pay for the room.

Innkeeper: You better be telling the truth, for your own safe. If he doesn't come, I'll be knocking on your door.

Okay, okay if he doesn't come, then you can kick us out if you want. We'll be heading off to the room now.



I'd say the inn doesn't take good care of their beds, but do you know how much care it takes to get sheets with that perfect balance of grittiness and scratchiness? It's not easy.

I'm so tired... I can barely stand. It's been a long time since I've laid down in a nice, warm bed... with pillows... and... blankets...

I'm tired too, Aika, and it's not like we've had time to relax ever since we left Pirate Isle...

True... and I don't think I'll be able to sleep right now, even in a real bed. I can't stop thinking about Captain Dyne and the others.

I'm sure they're okay. Let's at least try and get some rest while we can. Who knows if we'll be able to sleep in real beds again?

That's right... you've been cramped on a hammock in the engine room of the Little Jack for quite a few nights now...

I don't mind the lack of space... it's just that the engine is so old...and it's so loud...

Well, excuse me for having an old ship.

Captain! I didn't expect you back so soon!



My ship wasn't mean for anyone but me in the first place.

Drachma is very attached to his ship. He's been flying it a long, long time.

I didn't mean anything like that! I'm really grateful! Honest!

You two seem to be takin' things well tonight...especially considerin' your friends are going to be executed tomorrow.

What?!

Tomorrow at dawn, at the coliseum between Lower City and Uper City, they will be executed...



Vyse! What should we do?! If we don't do something, they'll all be killed!



“Acting quickly and rushing are two completely different things.” Besides, we don't even know where they are right now, but we know exactly where they'll be tomorrow morning.

Hmm... Tomorrow, we'll sneak into the Coliseum. Dad and the others will be definitely be taken there tomorrow morning... we'll resue them there.

What? You mean you're not going to try and save them right now?!

If we start frantically searching everywhere, we'll probably get caught by the Valuan Guards and if that happens, we're all dead.

Vyse is right. But it may get a little ugly at the Coliseum tomorrow... but it's our best chance to save them.

So, tomorrow morning at the Coliseum it is! Now that we sort of have a plan, I feel a little better! I think It will work... besides, we have the element of surprise on our side.

So, that's our plan. Tomorrow we will break into the Coliseum and rescue everyone!

Rattle-thump!







Someone was spying on us! Don't let him get away!!!

Vyse! Need a lift?









Yeah, Aika just threw Vyse a good thirty feet in the air . I don't think that was even physically possible. Also, Aika's character model does horrible, horrible things during the animation if you pause at the wrong time.



The chase scene is dead easy. You have a choice of directions to jump in on each rooftop, and the idea is to cut Marco off. All you get for catching him is a handful of crystals anyway. The end scene is the same regardless.



If you catch him on the rooftops he just slips away and runs to the end point of the chase sequence, trying to lever up this manhole cover.



Yeah, that's not happening. Also, Vyse holding Marco aloft in one hand, at arms length . Did Drachma's freakish strength rub off on them overnight or something?

What the...? You're that kid from this afternoon!

So, what's it to you? PUT ME DOWN NOW!

Thump!

Ow! You didn't have to drop me!

Vyse! Did you catch him? Oh, no... It's that annoying kid again.

Who are you calling annoying?! At least I don't have hair like a scarecrow! Heh, I heard EVERYTHING you said. Now, if I was to rat on you to the guards... you'd all be executed!



This could get messy. One smack with that arm would splatter Marco's head all over the walls. Fortunately for him, Drachma is probably bluffing. Probably.

W... wait!!! Cap'n!

Hmph! If you're going to kill me, then kill me! It's not like anyone would care! I don't even think the rats would miss me. I've pretty much given up on life in this dump! If I'm dead, at least I won't have to search the garbage bins for food every night.

Really... good. Then you have no regrets...

Cap'n!! He's just a kid!

Hey, Marco. That hole in the ground next to you... What is it?

Oh... this? There's Catacombs under the city... I've heard that they've been around since the Old World. Now, they're just sewers... This is... where I live.

Well, it's an improvement on Lower City. Probably smells better too.

Sewers, huh? Can you use them to get into the Coliseum?

Yeah, it reaches the Coliseum... W... wait a second... You were serious!?

Yep. If we take the Catacombs to the Coliseum, we can sneak in without worrying about the guards.

AHAHAHAHA!!!!! What're you, stupid or something? You're going to get caught! There's no way! Why don't you just give up and go home?

Can't do that. Blue Rogues never give up! Especially when their friends are counting on them. Marco, if you ever went sailing and ran into a storm, with the way you're talking, you'd probably just give up. "It's too rough! I shouldn't have gotten on this ship! I want my mommy!" is what you'd probably say.

W... what? Take that back!

Even if you run into a storm, there's always a way out. No matter how bleak things seem. I've been in really bad situations before and I always look for a way out. I'm in that kind of a situation now, and I'm not giving up!

So, what are you trying to say?

Captain... Aika... tomorrow, we're taking the Catacombs to the Coliseum. Since we don't have to get there until tomorrow, we should rest tonight.

Hey! Aren't you supposed to kill me now?

You're going to be at the Coliseum with us tomorrow, too. You said that you've grown tired of living, right? Well, I just want you to see something interesting before you die.

What? You can't be serious...

Now, we had a plan... With our objective in mind, we hurried back to the inn, crawled into our soft, warm beds, and were fast asleep. Morning came too soon. The skies were so dark that it fell like the sun had deserted us. Quietly, we all hoped that this wasn't an omen.

I'm pretty sure that's the only narration in the actual game. I assume it's Vyse doing it but the game doesn't actually say. Actually, it almost certainly wasn't Vyse, because those beds looked neither soft nor warm.

It all comes down to today... I hope we can save them...



So tomorrow, The Catacombs. Yeah, it's a sewer level. Sorry about that. I'll try to make up for it with massive amounts of Drachma.

Video list

Moonfish 1

Baltor

Entering Valua

Exploring Valua