Part 23: Update 21 – The Unfettered

Click for video!



Technically where we left off last time was in the middle of a cutscene, so this video starts right where the last one ended.



This is why this is one of my favourite parts of the story: Vyse spends absolutely zero time moping and feeling sorry for himself, or even worrying how long he'll be stranded for. He's just absolutely, unfailingly optimistic.



He even found the time to write a journal entry, in fact.

If Gonzales survived long enough to settle into that cave, there's got to be food on this island. It's time to go hunting...



And hunt we shall. Also, Gonzales apparently got fed up of waiting for Vyse and buried himself overnight. That little pile of stones in the background is his grave marker, which I completely forgot to check out in the video.



Anyway, this is a Grapor. Fuck if I know what it's supposed to be, apart from some sort of fish made entirely of boils. This is the only time in the game you can ever see them, and they're pretty much the weakest enemy in the game. For comparison, the soldiers on the battleship right at the very beginning had 58hp, while these have only 40. Makes sense really, every other fight in the game is us being attacked by enemies, while this is Vyse hunting for breakfast. They can be mildly annoying because they tend to show up in large groups, and picking them off one by one takes a while.



Therefore, my preferred strategy is to nuke the bejeezus out of them.



For our troubles we get one (lightly roasted) piece of meat per Grapor killed, the objective being to collect 15 of them.

A mountain of frying fish later...



I should have enough food to last me for a while. I wonder if this island is near any of the trade routes... A ship has got to pass by here sooner or later. I should prepare some sort of signal fire in case I see any ships.



Yep. Shipwrecked, stranded on a deserted island, and he still thinks he's lucky. That is the kind of optimism that moves mountains.

I started my third day with a big breakfast... Now it was time to get to work.



If a ship passes by, all I need to do is light it and they'll probably see it.











I need to gather some firewood...



So now we have to scour the island looking for firewood. I'm not going to show pictures of that because it really wouldn't be very interesting, but if you really want to see it that badly it's all in the video.



Well I have enough firewood to last me a while. It looks like it's going to rain soon... I should call it quits for today.



I suppose I just have to think of this as some sort of vacation and deal with it...





I don't just want to sit around all day, hoping for a ship to pass by... I wonder if I can fix the lifeboat from the Little Jack?



This is my fifth night on this island... First thing tomorrow, I'll try to fix the lifeboat!



Since this island has been deserted for a while, there should be some Moon Stones lying around. The rain probably unearthed a bunch of them.



Same deal as last time, just replace “sticks” with “shiny stones”. I'm going to show it off in pictures this time because the quotes are yet another demonstration of Vyse's inexhaustible optimism.











Lucky, lucky man. Lucky that it rained, lucky that the island is deserted, lucky that it has horrible cancerous blobfish. There is nothing that can keep Vyse down. Nothing.



Eating the food that I saved up, I spent the next few days hard at work on the boat.













It's alive! It's alive!



One day/night transition later...







Still not just for decoration.


_{Everything reminds me of Drachma since he left .}







That is an awesome ship.



And that's just a flare rather than a cannonball, fortunately.



So, I think it's about time we went to meet the captain of the ship, our saviour. I know a lot of people have been waiting for this, so here it is.


_{Remember when this theme music showed up way back in episode 2? We finally get to meet the character it belongs to.}







Yes, that parrot is wearing a flying hat. Believe me, it'll only get better.





Air Pirate: ... Captain!!! Uhh... Captain... You need to wake up!

... Huh? Oh...



Air Pirate: Judging by the way he's dressed, he's probably an Air Pirate. He looks like he's about 17. He's pretty much still a baby.



Yes.



But, if it was me and I was stuck on an island without any women for two whole weeks... I'm not sure if I would have made it!!!





I'm Vyse. Thank you for saving me. Are you the captain of this ship?

Yes, I am. Just call me Gilder.



Come to the bridge. I want to hear about your adventures.

Yep, this is the great Gilder the Unfettered, holder of the number one spot on Valua's most wanted list. All you need to know about him is that in the Japanese version he was voiced by NORIO WAKAMOTO. As if that wasn't enough, take a look at him in the Japanese version, before he was hit by localisation censors.



He's not the only character to have his smokes removed. Dyne suffered the same indignity along with a couple of minor characters.



Oh, and Willy. Yes.



I like you, Vyse. I wouldn't expect anything less from an Air Pirate. Personally, I'm constantly searching for adventure. Treasure, brawls... and women. There are tons of things in this world that make me happy.





This isn't a Swashbuckler choice, and why should it be? Gilder is way too awesome to care what you think of him.

That's a good motto. I'm sure with your looks, you get all the women.







Wha?! Really? You'd let me...?

I don't care... Anyone who's accomplished what you have knows his way around a ship. The Claudia's a little on the sensitive side, but you'll get the hang of her in no time... I'm heading to Nasrad. It's the capital of Nasr, due south from here. If you get lost, just look at the map and get your bearings. Alright! Let's go!



Oh yes, this is going to be good. I'll do a breakdown of Gilder at the start of the next update, so tune in then!