Part 43: Sidetracked (XV) - Stolen Moments
Upon leaving the small border village, our party has yet another brief conversation.
You don't have to worry about those Rune Cannons at the border anymore.If looks could kill... well, Kyril wouldn't have made it this far to begin with because he's been glared at pretty hard by various people at this point. But if we're going to limit that to currently relevant things, Heinz totally wishes he had stabbed Kyril to death in his sleep.
What do you plan on doing?Of course, he's not going to tell the mentally unhinged young man with the sharpened kayak paddle any of that.
We're heading to Kooluk's Imperial City, Graska, to learn more about their Rune Cannons. Back in Caleron, we noticed that they're building something... something huge. That has us worried.That came kind of out of the blue, but hell, why not? I bet Graska has nice stores.
I see..."Note to self: stab Kyril before he blows it up this time."
Then we'd like to join you, too. If there are more Rune Cannons out there, Scarlet Moon isn't safe.Seeing those things deal 1 damage to Mitsuba on the last map kind of takes the edge off that whole WMD thing, but then again most people are not Mitsuba. (More's the pity.)
Okay. Let's go together then.And so,
a new path opens up. You all know what those red dots mean by now, but we're going to be ignoring those for the time being because quests.
You're not fooling anyone, Jeane. Sadly I used up the only water spirit fragment I had on that other quest earlier, so we can't do this now.
However, this one only requires stats, and we have a lot of stats.
Specifically, it needs 120 ATK and 60 DEF - and with a 'zerkerbelt, Champo just manages to meet the requirements.
See ya!You are getting the strongest mercenary.
We can also do this, which has been available for a while now.
See you soon!Like it says, it requires a two handed sword, but they also need 35 STR and 30 SKL. I don't know if Mitsuba meets that naturally, but she does with her current gear, which is all that matters.
(Insert ~20 days of faffing about on the world map...)
Well...I expect great things.
Good kitty!
The reward is somewhat unusual. This is another unarmoured owl; basically the same as the red, except it's... not red. We also get 8000 Potch and 1000 Skill Points - a pretty good haul! Next up...
Uhh...You're always so enthusiastic, so that sounds worrying. You're not gonna tell me you failed, are you?
Thought not.
This one is worth 6000p, 1000sp, which isn't much, but...
...finishing it unlocks the next sparring quest.
Alright, I'll do it.It requires 45 MAG and 40 MDF. Maxine is close to both even naked, and a nice robe and wizard
Ummm..."What the hell was that mission? They all kept stumbling over their own rods! It was terrible!"
Nothing but the best. This time, the reward is more substantial - 10000 Potch and 1500 Skill Points...
...and something even more interesting.
There are only five S rank quests in the game, and we're only going to think about doing four of them, as much as Chiepoo deserves it.
Speaking of S-rank quests, though,
...we got this from one of the golems in the ruins and can thus complete one of them straight away. Our reward is 20000 Potch and 100 Skill Points. Kind of lopsided, but hey, I can really use the money.
Here's the annoying bit. We've been able to take this on for a long time, but no access to the village in question, so it obviously couldn't be completed earlier.
Huh... I thought it'd look cooler than that.
So now we have to walk all the way over there and talk to the kid. He's not very impressed with the bronze medal, because it technically means you suck.
Well, what are you going to do if they come and take it out on us?
I might as well talk to the other NPCs while I'm at it, so...
The only ones who can eat three meals a day here are the smugglers who bring provisions in from other lands, and the officials who turn a blind eye.
You get what I mean? There's no reason to stay for long. You'd be better off leaving right away.
That's a
if I ever saw one. But they got their reasons, I suppose.
But no one will believe me. When I tell them what's going on, it's like they don't even want to know.
But I've really seen it, I tell ya!
Finally, that's the kid's line if you talk to him outside the quest.
SBV also has an even better smith than Haruna...
...as well as a well stocked store where we can, indeed, buy that armour I dug up before, as well as the various elemental robes if we need more. They also sell higher-tier elemental beads as regular items, in case you haven't unlocked those at Chiepoo's yet.
Even more interesting, this little thing is now buyable, which is going to make our casters very, very happy.
(Except Pablo, but he doesn't deserve happiness.)
Also note the Giant Owl Orb there - it's similar to the Kangacorn Rune. The first level tech deals 0.5x damage to a + shaped area right in front of the user, and the second level tech raises accuracy and evasion, which is good since anyone riding an owl doesn't want to be hit. Of course, it only works while riding an owl, which limits its use somewhat.
Anyway, back to Middleport for the reward. The quest is worth 1000p, 500sp, and that's shit.
However...
Wow, that's so cool!
...it unlocks this one, which is worth 2000p and 800sp.
And...
Wow, so that's what it looks like... Isn't it the coolest?!
...that in turn leads to this one, which brings in 4000p and 1000sp. But you know what?
The gold medal really isn't the coolest.
Whoa! That's totally awesome! So there really is a medal more amazing than the Gold Medal!
The last quest, predictably, is to bring him an S-rank item. You don't lose it by doing the quest; you just have to show him. (Though I suppose I wouldn't mind hading over the Chiepoo & Co. card or another one of the entirely pointless ones.) This one is worth 8000p and 1200sp, which still isn't great, but, eh. Acceptable. Also, we got to impress a random NPC with our prowess in battle, which is a reward all in itself shut up yes it is.
But to get back to the beginning, we're going to need that water spirit fragment. Not to worry; this will only be a quick visit.
TARGET ACQUIRED.
Noah has a role to play in this, so I'm bringing her along. The support conversations don't have anything to do with it, honest!
Yes?
I'm hungry...I'm going to need a crossover game where Noah teams up with Ilyana from Fire Emblem and goes on a quest to obtain all the food ever.
Heh. Here, take this. I'm not gonna reopen the shop for a while, anyway. Wow! A Meat Bun! Thank you! That's the last one, you hear me? Uh-huh!So fucking
I'm just gonna die.
I'm great! M'kay, see ya! See ya!This one, not quite as much, I guess.
Speaking of cute things, Flare takes the new owl for a spin.
It helps her murder some considerably less cute winged things and damn, Flare! Have I told you lately that I love you...r stat growths?
Her success rate will rise along with her Steal Skill Level. The items she can steal vary by enemy unit. All the items she steals are placed in the Caravan.
Finally, it's Noah's turn.
She can't even reach the elemental from here. It's driving me batty.
...wow, it's fucking nothing! And that is the story of how I benched her forever.
But she has a 100% hit rate on this thing and nabs the item I was after quite easily once it flies in over solid ground, which makes the whole trip worth it.
Lazlo swaps out for Cedric, and Cedric hits the exit. Well done, team!
Now for the reward.
Now then... In return, how about I help all of you out?
WELL GEE
Sure, I would love to. Tee hee! I'm happy to join...It's an improvement over *seductive laugh*.
Which, if you'll recall, was an actual thing that happened.
We can also hand in the quest for 5000p and 1000sp, but of course the real reward is recruiting another character. Sort of. Except not so much. I'm not saying nerfing Jeane a bit from IV is uncalled for, but not giving her Extra Move is taking things just a wee bit too far.
Statwise she's a lightning mage (duh) with great MAG - in fact, the highest of all the casters in the game - but not having Extra Move is, as always, a very unpleasant drawback.
Oh, and she has 1 JMP and can't learn the Jump skill, either.
That was a lot of running, so let's have a little break.
What?
Are you still up to your same old tricks?
Whatever do you mean?She has a shtick, and she's shticking to it.
Those phony duels, that's what!Tsk... Even Reinhold's in on it... If you guys wanna make money, just get a job or something.
Beating things up and taking their stuff is totally a valid job. Even Lazlo does it.
Yeah, but Mitsuba said-- Shaddup! We're doing fine just like this!
Don't do it, Jeremy. You're like level 12 or something, and besides you kind of suck.
...
You know what, never mind. Go ahead if it makes you feel better.
Jeremy briefly ponders the possible outcomes of such a confrontation.
Okay, okay... I don't care. Do what you want.And decides it's not worth it.
Oh, and by the way... If you want in, just say the word. We'll see what we can do, heh heh...Do it! You've got nothing to lose, except getting roped into helping the next hero who comes along and beats her up.
...Reinhold, how do you put up with her?
I'm not sure myself.I'm sure the fact that the scabbard on her back makes up about 60% of her outfit has absolutely nothing to do with it.
All right, time to move again. I saw something interesting while we were at Haruna.
Something that wasn't there before.
!What the?!
Good question!
It's a ninja! I was just thinking how it's about time we collected the full set.
Kate...?Who knows, maybe this time we'll find out what's up with those names.
You know her? You could say that...Nothing important, we were only heroes in the big war together.
They seem to be chasing her. What should we do, Kyril?Same thing we always do: stick our noses where they don't belong?
Uhh...Don't pretend like you have a ch
oh
we do have a choice
actually never mind
It looks like Kyril isn't required for this so it's just Lazlo as usual.
Give me seven more characters to fill the rest of this space with. 
Until I get around to counting those votes, please enjoy this artwork. (Naturally, it's one of the biggest in the book.)