Part 24: Update 22 – A Comedy of Errors

Okay, let's talk about Gilder. Actually, that's a bit of a misnomer because he's named after the Dutch Guilder coin, which is itself a corruption of the Dutch word “Gulden”, meaning golden. Gilder really is a pirate's pirate, right down to the name.

Statwise he's pretty similar to Vyse – a little more HP, a little less power, but otherwise pretty similar, which makes him a nice solid character. At the moment he's actually flat-out superior to Vyse in every stat, but then Vyse has been stuck on an island with no way to upgrade his equips for the last few updates.



His weapon of choice is a neat little pistol, which sadly dashes any hopes of Dyne ever joining the crew. Can't have more than one person using the same weapon, you know.



Like all the characters, he also comes equipped with his own unique gear. As well as being a nice little touch for characterisation, it's also nice because it's at least as good as what we can buy right now. At least, that would be nice if I wasn't rolling in cash by this point.



Finally, at the cost of a single Moonberry, we can get one of the most badass moves in the entire game. Seriously, check this out.



Come on...



Dance for me!



It hits all enemies in a line for pretty respectable damage, like a physical version of Aika's Alpha Storm. At 9SP it's not the cheapest of moves, but it's just so damn cool.

Anyway, we finally have control of a ship again and a new area to explore, just north of Nasrad if you were wondering. I'm sure Gilder won't mind us having a quick look around for interesting rocks.



Oh, Map of Ages, do not crumble, love is breathing still...



But it has no eyes to see the treasure!



Holy fuck, is that what I think it is? You guys are seeing that little speck at the top of the screen, right?



By Satan's smouldering jockstrap. The Balloon Seed is an absolute bastard of a discovery to find. It's so tiny as to be almost invisible and it drifts all over a gigantic area. Unless I've blocked them out of my memory there's only one discovery in the entire game that's more elusive, so you have no idea how glad I am to find this one before I even started looking for it.

Anyway, that's all the discoveries in the immediate area, so on to Nasrad!



Oh yeah, and I love the design of Nasrean ships. MORE! CANNONS!


Click for video!

Uh oh.



Even by the standards of this game, Gilder has the best expressions.



Oh, yes.













Hmm... in some ways, she's even more frightening than the Armada! Okay, here's the plan. Vyse, you and I are going to take a lifeboat to Nasrad and my crew will sail my ship in the opposite direction as a decoy.



Umm... Okay. But you're the captain... Is it alright for you to leave your ship?

Heh heh... don't worry about it. Titles mean nothing to me.



Alright, everyone! Time for Operation Clara... You know the routine. Catch up with us later.



The game really missed a trick by not calling this Pink Alert, I feel.



Alright Vyse, let's head south. Let's see what kind of fun Nasrad has to offer.





I don't mind travelling separately, but what is it you need to do, exactly?

I need to stop by the tavern for a bit. There's a few women there that will be happy to see me. Don't wait up...

Since this is a massive trade centre, there are a ton of boxes, crates and barrels all around the port for the examining.







And while we're here, we may as well try to warn the Nasr guard about the impending attack.



What? Valua is launching an attack?! Hahahaha! I have been waiting for this! The Red Moon has answered my prayers! Once Valua gets close enough, I'll knock all of their puny little ships out of the sky with my cannon! Well, it's not like they would ever get past the border guards, though...

Oh well, it was worth a try. Nothing left to do but check the bounty board and turn all those discoveries into a giant wad of cash.



Interesting!



Ominous!



Nothing to do but rest, then. Hopefully we have time for a quick power nap before Valua wipes this place off the map.



And so Vyse goes to wait for Gilder. Meanwhile, just down the hall...



I... I've never worked for gold before. It's... it's rather exciting actually.



Despite looking exactly the same as the previous screenshot, this is Vyse's room that they're walking past, with him inside.



And so we now have control of Aika. She has her own opinions on the town's sights. so it's worth taking a look around the town before dropping by the tavern.







I...don't know why Gilder always faces directly away from whoever's talking to him. It's very disconcerting.

Let me introduce myself. I am called Gilder. Perhaps you'll do me the honour of remembering my name, fair maidens.



Innkeeper: You both worked very hard, so I decided to help you out with a little extra bonus. Thank you for everything!



(Note: Not redeemable for actual money.)



Wow! Thanks! With this, we finally have the 10,000 gold that we need to buy a ship!

Well, well! I didn't know you had such pretty girls working here!

Tavernkeep: Gilder, you scoundrel... Keep your hands off the help, okay?

They just stopped working here, right? You don't need to get so protective...

Tavernkeep: Some things never change... Gilder, you never were one to resist a pretty face... Aika... Fina... Be careful out there! You better take care of yourselves!

Thanks for everything! Alright Fina, let's go back to the inn and pay off our bill!



Huh. A sad sack of old bones lying between us and rest. Where does that seem familiar from?

Old Man: Ugh... Starving... Thirsty... Need water... Need food...

Alright, just hang on. I'll bring you inside, we'll take care of you.



With a moustache like that I'm not sure he actually needed to tell us his name. I'm pretty sure that when you grow a moustache like that you're legally required to change your name to Pedro.

That's quite alright. Don't give it another thought. Helping people in distress is what we Blue Rogues live for.



What's this? It looks like an old map...

Pedro: I, I used to be a sailor. I used to travel with my friend, Gonzales. One day, we were lucky enough to find this... "Daccat's Map."

Daccat's... Map?





Pedro: And this map supposedly shows where Captain Daccat hid all of his treasures... "Daccat's Island."

But, half of the map is missing!

Pedro: Well, Gonzales and I promised each other to look for it together someday... We tore the map in half and we each carried a piece with us. Right after we found the map, we were attacked by Black Pirates. We had to abandon ship. I don't know what happened to Gonzales, but I ended up here in Nasrad.



That's very sad...

Pedro: Now I am too old to be going off looking for buried treasure. I'm sure that Gonzales would have been happy if you found the treasure...







Bearing in mind that Aika had to explain to her what money is a few updates back, Fina is maybe not the best person to ask here.

Hmm... He didn't appear to be the kind of person that would lie.

Yeah, that story did seem a little farfetched, but it might be worth checking out. Hey... Do you want to go searching for the treasure?

Sure, I would like that very much. It sounds interesting.

Sounds like a plan. Let's pay the innkeeper and get going!



We'd love to, but we're about to go on a trip. Maybe some other time.

I see. Well, that's too bad. Safe travels.

Thank you. Maybe we'll run into you later.





Hey! Where'd you get that map?!

I found it on the deserted island I was on.

That's the map to the hidden treasure of the legendary Air Pirate, Daccat!





Okay, so this part of the story is maybe just a little contrived, and it's only going to get worse in the next update, believe me.

And it is also said that all the treasures that he accumulated on his adventures are hidden somewhere on a small island. And this is a map of that island. Vyse... you certainly know how to pick your maps!

Hmm... But how do we know it's real?

Look... it's Daccat's seal. It isn't easy to duplicate that seal. It's no fake, Vyse. This is a real treasure map!



But Gilder, didn't you say something about meeting women and having some fun?



I have to admit, I can't fault his logic. His morals, perhaps, but not his logic.

C'mon, Vyse... let's go!

Alright, let's go! Next time, we go in search of the treasures of the greatest Air Pirate the world has ever known. Because it's not like we have anything better to do, like searching for the missing party members or stopping Valua from destroying the world, you know.

Video List
Nasrad