Part 13: Update 11 – Fuck South Ocean

There's a strong crosswind that blows from the west. Nobody has ever successfully sailed through it.

Remember this from a couple of updates ago when we first got to Nasr? Now that we have Azelleb's engine the game will actually let us go through here. Unfortunately I really, really don't want to go through here.

But the lands of the Green Moon are through here, right? And besides, we have Belleza's engine now. It's not like we don't have a chance of making it through.

Hmm... Perhaps. But my knowledge of this place is limited. You're on your own, boy. This isn't goin' to be an easy journey. Prepare yourselves for the worst, kids.

Ok, let's get this out of the way right now: Fuck South Ocean. I said I wasn't going to do the “Angry Lper” act and I'm still not, but this is by far the most annoying part of the game. The first part of the problem is that strong crosswind from the west Drachma keeps talking about. To make the first problem more apparent, I have procured a world map.



Pirate Isle is in the little circle of white Sky Rifts in the middle, while Valua is the yellowish continent in the north. South Ocean is the narrow band connecting the orange continent of Nasr to the lush green lands of Ixa'Taka. The problem is that to get to Ixa'Taka we have to go west through South Ocean, directly into that crosswind. Which, uh, makes it not a crosswind at all.

That headwind makes progress excruciatingly slow, and to add to the problem the encounter rate is tied to how long you travel for rather than the distance you travel, so you hit a random encounter for approximately every three inches of progress. Oh, and if you're not holding forwards as you come out of the results screen, the wind will blow you right back again.



Part two of the problem is the encounters themselves. There are only two enemy types in South Ocean, the ever-present Loopers and these rather cute looking silver blob angel things. They can do this.







Yup. Eternes is the middle sibling of the Etern- family of instant death spells. It inflicts instant, unavoidable, 100% accurate death to anything not outright immune to instant death. The Gravers here like to cast it a lot. A LOT. If you're facing a big group, expect multiple castings per turn. Since there are only 3 equips in the game that can block Silver magic, the only defense we have right now is to put up Delta Shield at the start of every turn.

Oh, did I mention that this game has surprise attacks, letting the enemy attack before you get to do anything? It has surprise attacks, letting the enemy attack before you get to do anything.

Fortunately, I have developed a method of dealing with Gravers and Loopers alike. It goes like this:

First turn, Delta Shield and Focus.









Second turn, fuck Loopers.

But enough of that, let's talk about the discoveries of South Ocean. There are only four in total and one of them is automatic, so you only really have to find three.





Both of these are invisible until discovered, naturally, but that's nothing special.



This one, however, is new. It's the first of the moving discoveries, and like all moving discoveries it flies around along a set path. Fortunately there are no invisible moving discoveries, but there's a few that are so tiny and hard to see they might as well be. The Comma Stone is easy enough to see once it actually crosses your path, but good luck catching up with it if it's flying against the wind. Finally, for the fourth discovery you just keep steaming on ahead to Ixa'Taka.



She's right, as you get close to the end of South Ocean you start seeing leaves blowing in the wind. The red Loopers are also replaced by their green cousins, which cast Sacrum rather than Increm spells.

Which means... We're close to land! We've finally made it across South Ocean!



“Finally” is right. It may be only a short distance, but my South Ocean video clocks in at a whopping 37 minutes long. This is the automatic discovery, of course.

I'm sure those leaves came from Ixa'taka. Under the light of the Green Moon, ever since ancient times, the lands of Ixa'taka have been covered in lush forests. The life-giving Green Moon has blesses the lands with fertility.

Blessed lands, huh?



I can see it now... piles and piles of fruits and vegetables... of all different shapes, sizes, colors, and tastes...

I bet there are just as many carnivorous monsters roaming around the woods, too... Preying upon unsuspecting fools who sit there, stuffing their faces with fruit...

Hey! You don't have to crush my hopes like that!







D:

Vyse! Look what you did! Now you've got Fina doing it!





Aika just laughs it off of course, but it's a bit hard to show in screenshots because she has her back to the camera.

Get to your posts... Get ready to drop anchor.

Aye aye, Captain! As soon as we see Ixa'taka, we'll look for a spot to land.

Actually, we won't be going to look for somewhere to land just yet. New lands means new discoveries!



This isn't a town you can land at, despite appearances. It's going to be important for a couple of things later on, though.





This one is a pain to find because it hangs underneath the island. Who thinks to look there? It's ok to giggle at them, I did too.





This one can be a nightmare to find. It zooms around the entire Ixa'Takan continent at high speed, so your best bet is to just wait somewhere along its path for it to fly by.



By here is a good place. This is the Iron Net, which looks incredibly out of place in the forests of Ixa'Taka. It's not a discovery, it's just sat there blocking passage out of the back of the area, and if you paid attention to the map earlier you know that leads around to the back of Valua. Oh dear.

Now, there are another two discoveries I could grab right now, but I'm going to leave them for a bit because of Plot. But where do we hand in all these discoveries? Ixa'Taka doesn't have a guild office.





We go to the black market, of course!



Yes, he will pay you for discovering the continent he's hovering over right now.





The bounty list has also been updated with a couple of new faces.



Yeeeeeeeeeeees. Torpedoes are the third type of cannon, which Belleza gleefully demonstrated on us earlier. I absolutely love torpedoes and use them at every opportunity. It's not unusual for me to end the game stocked with a single cannon and three torpedo tubes, but for now I settle for two of each.



Finally, it's a bit hard to see but you can just about make out the walkways and huts wrapped around these trees. This is Horteka, which sits proudly above the Garpa Fruits. If you look closely, there's also what looks like a ruined ship at the back of the village.


Click for video!


_{Click this! It's by far my favourite town theme in the game, and one of my favourite tracks of all}







Umm... There are a bunch of people wearing masks... And they have spears, too...



Quetya? Now where have we heard that before?

Huh?

Horteka Villager: The girl... in the white clothes... Is she Quetya?

What? Are they talking about me?

Umm... we're Blue Rogues. We came across the South Ocean.

Horteka Villager: You are not Quetya... You are the same as the other men from the East. It is best if you leave soon.

What did I say? What do they mean "Quetya" and who are the "Men from the East"?

I have no idea. I don't know what they're talking about.

We should meet with the leader of the village. He might be able to explain what's going on here. Also, that trip across South Ocean has depleted our fuel supply. We need to stock up Moon Stones if we ever want to leave this place.

Okay... let's find the leader of this village... Maybe we'll be able to find some Moon Stones here as well.

Ohboyohboyohboy! Horteka makes the trip across South Ocean all worthwhile. I fucking love this town, it's like the best treehouse ever.



Ladders!



Fireman poles!



Ziplines!



Slides!







WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!



The villagers aren't very friendly, though.



I must not talk to men from the East. You'd better forget what I said.

This guy is awesome though. He keeps flapping his elbows like a chicken as he talks.



Behold, the mighty Iron Clad! This is the wrecked ship visible from the world map, tucked away at the back of the village. It's home to the only non-Ixa'Takans in the village, which currently includes these two kids dancing morosely.





Seriously. I never even knew it was possible to dance miserably, but they found a way.



This woman is presumably the mother of those two. There's no followup to her line here, that's all she has to say.



Finally, on the deck of the Iron Clad itself is Hans. Hans is a Cool Dude.

We're not. Actually, we had to cross the South Ocean to get here. My name's Vyse.

Wow! You were able to cross the South Ocean? That's impressive. My name is Hans. It's good to meet you. We're Blue Rogues under the command of Captain Centime. We had to crash land here after a hurricane knocked us off course.

Centime... He's the Blue Rogue that takes in orphans and trains them.

No. Stop right there. I know what you're all thinking, and Skies of Arcadia is not that sort of game. This is a HAPPY PLACE. GO HAVE SOME COFFEE, WITH CREAM OR SOMETHING.

I also heard that he's a brilliant engineer.

Yeah, he was... I mean is. The Valuans kidnapped him and are forcing him to build weapons for them. We're staying here and working on the ship until he returns.

Oh... I hope he returns soon...

Hey! Hans, I was wondering if you could help out some fellow Blue Rogues. We burned all of our fuel crossing South Ocean. Do you think you could spare a few Moon Stones?

Of course. We've got plenty to spare... Here, take these.





Thanks! We owe you one. You really helped us out a lot.

You're welcome. Well, I need to get back to work. Good luck!



Final stop in Horteka is the the Village Elder, who naturally lives in the biggest and grandest little wooden hut. For some reason his house is also the inn, and you can talk to the little old lady next to him to sleep here for the night.



Elder: So, you are from the East. You people bring disaster. Leave this village immediately.

Wait a minute! Why does everyone keep talking about these "Men from the East" and this "Quetya" stuff? I don't even know what a "Quetya" is!

Elder: Quetya is our god. Generations ago, when the giant came to destroy us, Quetya appeared and saved our village. Ancient prophecies say that Quetya's messengers will come from the East and save us if our land is ever in danger.

I understand... and since we came from the East, that is why everyone thinks "Quetya" sent us.

But... if Quetya's messengers are supposed to save you, why did you say that people from the East bring disaster?

Elder: Even now, the men from the East are destroying our land. They claim they come from a place called Valua.

But Valua is to the north of Ixa'Taka.

Valua?! They're here, too?

Elder: When the people from Valua came, everyone thought that Quetya sent them. Even the king came to greet them. The people from Valua said they wanted Moon Stones. We took them to our Sacred Mountain where we keep Glow Rocks.

So, the Valuans came to steal their Moon Stones...

Elder: And then the people of Valua attacked us with fire-breathing iron ships. They took control of Sacred Mountain. Everyone... even the king fought. But many were killed and the forest was burned. The survivors... were... taken as slaves...

That's terrible! They are using your people to gather the Moon Stones so they can make weapons!

So that's why everyone is so against the "Men from the East".



We fight against Valua so they can't hurt people And that is why we've come all this way... We need a very precious stone, called a Moon Crystal.



Fuck yeah. It's not just schoolgirls that can be rockin' the pink hair, you know. And, uh, 5 ¼'' floppy hair decos. On his eyebrows.

Elder: ...

You can't expect him to trust us... You're wasting your time, boy!

... Please, I am telling the truth. Please...

Elder: ... If you fly north from this village, you'll see a small hut in the middle of the forest. That is where our king is hiding. The kings of our land have always passed down the Sacred Green Stone from generation to generation. This may be the stone that you seek.

Elder: Your eyes. They are pure. I believe that you are here to help us.
Please... save our people.

Thank you... I will not betray you.

Let's go! We've got a village to save...

You heard the man. Next time, we have a village to save. _{I'll try to get back to a reasonable update schedule, I promise}

Video List
Horteka