Part 76: Crazy Hat Guy

Last time, Miakis started digging out her Lara Croft cosplay outfit and I know everyone's just dying to head to the Deep Twilight Forest. (In Lyon's case, quite literally. _{Okay I'm sorry, that was in bad taste.})



It's the white square on the map here, a short bit west of Spinacks, the orange one. I didn't even encounter anything on the way.



Our first visit is going to be relatively short, but there's a brief scene as we head in.



(music)

The Sindar ruins lie deep within.
This place doesn't see many visitors, so don't expect an easy path straight to the ruins. Steel yourselves. This will be a difficult journey.

Zweig is kind of right, but it's more "annoying" than "difficult."

It'll all be worth it if we can save Lyon!

Lyon is worth it though.



You can find princesses anywhere, but there's only one Lyon. Let's move it!



This is the main problem with the DTF. Half the time there's a bunch of salad in the way of the camera and it makes the paths a... bit of a chore to navigate, shall we say.



Here's the first thing we're looking for. I like Viki's little teleporty-dodge.



This little fucker is actually our last DoReMi elf, so now we never have to care again!



And then I found this. Now let's go back home and kick Cornelio out of the party. Permanently!


It seems even a mediocrity can do great things if he puts his mind to it! And I am grateful that you did! I know I said I would only accompany you until I gathered all the DoReMi Elves, mediocrity! Bug a great maestro such as I must always see the performance through to the final, triumphant act!

Well, even so I'd have been pretty pissed if recruiting the elves caused him to flounce off with them. Luckily, no.

You wish to hear the DoReMi Elf Symphony Orchestra? I doubt mediocrities like you would appreciate it...

From now on, he'll be our sound test guy.



The translations for the song names are a little different here, but you can pretty much tell what's what. I think I prefer "Suddenly, it's Euram Barows!" over this one, though.



The window set is... very green. A little too green, even.



Well then, back on track. (music)



Pent Tactic: Boot one of your characters for a stat boost that does not in any way make up for the loss of one character!



The enemies in here are all boring; we've met them all outside already. However, it's worth noting that since we have Rania in the group, we once more get different battle music. She comes with the special skill "Bard", but neither Cornelio nor Moroon need it to get their music, so I don't see much point.

There's really nothing more to see here, so I trust no one will complain if I just skip us...



...right to the end.



Indeed. These are what ruins normally look like. Salzburg Castle is the exception.

You want to EXPLORE this mess? Is it even worth it?

Poor Miakis, she is so disappointed we didn't find another space Cthulhu castle to investigate.

There were a number of doors I couldn't open the last time I was here. I want to find out what lies beyond them.

Ah, the truth comes out! You've been here, too, Zweig?[

Yes. And, like you, I returned home empty-handed.
I thought the doors wouldn't open because of the ancient nature of these ruins. But if my intuition is right, your Rune will do the trick, Prince.

Only one way to find out!



Miakis sure got back in the mood quickly.



The ruins aren't quite as interesting as the totally-not-Egyptian dungeon we explored with Eresh, but there's some sweet loot. (music)



New enemies, too! This is the miniboss for the area, the Copper Sun. It might have attacks or something, I dunno. Also you're kind of unlikely to run into him since there is a different enemy set outside and you probably ran into that miniboss on the way here (the golem we saw earlier), which means the encounter will probably be on cooldown when you get here. On the other hand, the ruin is a bit of a mess, so you may well end up spending enough time in here that the timer runs out.



Either way, the stuff he drops is pretty nice. Galleon would appreciate the armour if I hadn't stuck a better one on him already.



The ruin is divided into several parts, and some of them are a little more overgrown than others. It makes for some nice variety, at least.



Miniboss aside, the enemies are largely the same as the ones in Eresh's dungeon. Millioneyes are back. We're even stronger now, so they don't get to do much.



Eventually...

Hmm... That hole wasn't there the last time I came. I wonder what happened...

More than you can imagine!



Wait, YOU blew that big hole in the ceiling, Lorelai?!

Uh, you actually think I could do something like... THAT?!

Well, then, what happened? Elaborate.



But I like stories.



She sure is a strange one, all right.

You're one to talk.



...?

...Oh, nothing! C'mon, let's get going!

We're free to move on. Since I know someone is going to wonder, both chests have gloves. Galleon gets a pair of Fujiwara Gauntlets, and no one cares to equip the Guardian Gloves. Onward!



This is a regular encounter, the Bronze Sun, getting horribly murdered by Miakis.



And this is the nicest treasure in the entire area.



Now, you'd think summoning Dongo with a Blinking Rune Piece and putting him to work is a good idea, but...



...his skill won't actually improve until you go back to the castle and give him the hammer.

Good thing I savestated before I tried, just in case!

The golden hammer, once handed over, raises Forge to S rank, which lets him sharpen to level 15. There's also a platinum version for the last rank. Most likely they did this because you have to give Dongo two hammers in order to recruit him, to give careless player another chance.



Fucking unicorns! Can't even die properly. Don't come back this time!



A lot of undead ponies later, we reach a dead end. (music)

This door was most stubborn before.

Yeah, no luck for me, either! And I think we know I'm willing to try just about anything!

The fact that someone hasn't tried to blast through this door should be all the evidence we need that Lorelai didn't cause the big hole in the ceiling.

But look at the seal. It's not the same as your Rune.

If I have to walk all the way back out of here-

Uh, wait... Isn't that the TWILIGHT Rune?

Yes. It looks like it isn't the Dawn Rune after all.

Wait... You mean we came all this way for nothing?!

No, don't jump to conclusions. Give it a try, Prince.

I can do that.



Listen up, door! If this doesn't work, I have other methods at my disposal. (music)



Either you open peacefully, or I'm bringing in the big guns!



They're a lot bigger than this!



Hey, it's opening!



I'm so glad we could come to an agreement.



(music)

it is believed that the Dawn Rune and Twilight Rune work together as a pair to protect the Sun Rune. Think of them as twins. That's probably why one reacts to the other.

Well, all I care is that it opened! And save the theories for LATER, okay? We've gotta pick up the pace!

Let's!



What...?



...oh, not you again. Why am I such a douchebag magnet?

Killey?!

In the flesh oh god why.

You KNOW this guy?! Uh, you ARE a guy, right?!

Okay, I know why! It's so we can get more lines from Miakis.

Fine, carry on then.

...Have you been following us, Killey? Be honest!

No, little girl. I just ended up in the same place as these idiots.

Hmph! With you involved, I tend to doubt that!

Now, now, this isn't the time or place to argue! Why don't we let him join us? He looks pretty normal. ...Well, other than the whole hat and cape deal!

Looks can be deceiving. I can't count the number of times this fool almost got me killed!

You're one to talk, little girl.

What are you talking about?!

Enough, enough, ENOUGH! We all wanna explore this place, right? So let's work together!

Right, Prince?! You don't mind if Crazy Hat Guy comes along, right?



I think his hat is a little too crazy even for me, and I've seen some crazy hats in my days.

His fashion sense isn't the issue here. And he's bent on exploring this place, whether we like it or not. And I grow weary of this pointless quarrel. Bring him along.

He's right, Prince! Enough of this arguing!

Hmph!



Well, okay, I guess.



I'm okay with Lorelai but I'd rather hear as little as possible about Killey. We have a princess to save. Or something along those lines anyway.



Killey is actually pretty damn good. In Suikoden II, he becomes the most powerful character in the game, but he's not quite as good here. Still, he gets three runes, his attack power is high, he's fast, and he crits a whole damn lot. His weakness is that he can't multi-hit.

(And the fact that he's probably the second biggest douche in my entire army.)



The boss of the ruins awaits us just inside the next door.



I don't know.

Is that tree... MOVING?!

But it's in my way.



I'm gonna kill it.



It's called an Ancient Creeper, and we murder the hell out of it.



'course, I probably should have remembered that it resists lightning.



But Miakis and the rest softened it up enough before this that it dies on the first shot. Waste of a good Chain Magic.

The game really isn't prepared to handle a well set up party. That's a fifth of the creeper's health there. But it's impossible to make a game that will both challenge the spergiest of spergs (that's us) and allow someone who thinks it's fun to go dungeoning with their pet giant tortoise and a bunch of doremi elves to do just that. Given the kind of game we're looking at here, I think it's better to err on the side of "tortoise."

...That said, I do think this dungeon could have stood to be harder, given we're forced to take no less than three NPCs with us, two of them competent and one of them Miakis, Destroyer of Worlds.



I look forward to finding out what that painting depicts.



Come on, you've killed trees before. Tons of them!



The heart of the ruins lies just ahead.

Yeah, they do look awfully similar...

Look.



I just have to do the same thing, right?

(music)



But this time-



-we do more than just open a door.











(no music)

Same as the other one...

What "other one"?

We saw a vision in the castle at Ceras lake, too.

Really? You did?

The content of the vision was very different, though. A vision of destruction and a vision of rebirth... Hmm...



(music)



Aaaahhh! There she is again!

"Again"?!
So that's it! You must be Leknaat! Yes, I heard you appeared in the castle at Ceras Lake, too. I am sorry I wasn't able to be there. If you don't mind, there are some questions I'd like to ask you.

I am sorry, but I am unable to answer your questions. What I can tell you is...


A new power has awakened within the Dawn Rune. It is a power that appeared in the vision you just witnessed. That power will show you the fate destined for both you and the Sun Rune. But you will of course, choose your own path.



If you're having Rune problems, I feel bad for you, son. I got 99 problems, and a witch is one.



Nope! Leknaat out.

The lady in white... She's... gone. Again.

How utterly selfish... She refuses to answer our questions, yet she insists we listen to her inane babbling.

It shames me that I can do naught but agree with Zweig.

And she didn't make much more sense THIS time!

...Well, enough about that crazy lady! How about it, Prince? Notice anything different about the Dawn Rune?



I'd say so.

Well, she did say that some "power" had "awakened." Or, at least, that's what I think she meant! Hard to tell.

I like that our characters are calling the game out on its bullshit, but on the other hand, they're rather making me feel obsolete...

Ah, it's becoming clear. The power to restore a burned-out wasteland to a green, fertile landscape... If but a fraction of that power resides within the Rune...!

You mean, we could... HEAL Lyon?!

Yeah!

What are we WAITING for, then?! Let's go back! Let's go back!

All right... If you're leaving, I will join you. I really wanted to explore some more, but without the Prince's Rune, none of these doors will open.

Yeah... I know all about dealing with that! Besides, I don't think I'll find what I'm looking for here.

For once, little girl, we agree. These are Sindar ruins. That alone is their significance.

Hmm...

Yak, yak.



We're doing this.



Tune in next time!


Bonus content

It's also possible to be friendly towards Killey.



Not that the smug fuck deserves it, mind!

Care to join us?

I've never seen the area ahead. If I can explore it by accompanying you idiots, that's what I'll do.

Uh... Welcome aboard, then, I... guess!

Hmph!

And then he joins the party, same as the other choice.