Part 2: Chapter Two: Meet my Family

Chapter Two: Meet my Family

Where did we leave off last time...?



Oh, that's right. After hours of murdering small, mostly defenseless animals, I decided it was time to explore the world. (And by explore the world, I mean head towards Sarady) Almost immediately after heading west, a mountain path became visible. What better place to go adventuring than mountains, right?



(Not pictured: Money, Medicines, Wind Rune piece, Clone crystal, and an Antique. More on the last 3 later) The monsters here were a lot stronger than the cute animals I had been beating to death outside of Gregminster. That, of course, lead to a lot of this:



After a few screens of dodging rabbits and moving goop, I arrived, mostly unharmed, in Sarady. I made some chit-chat with the locals, wondering how people so far from society actually lived.



Other than be socially awkward, these people didn't seem to have much going on for them. Though, that old lady made me feel a little . I wonder if the other people are less strange.



Looks like crazy mountain people aren't all bad. (Even though I said we were coming here for an EXP rune, leveling isn't really all that difficult to begin with. This is really more of a demonstration of an early game item that is very easy to miss.)

With experience under our belts, money in our wallets, and items in our bags, I make my way back through the horrible mountain path.



FREEDOM! (This is the world map. There's nothing really spectacular about it, I just figured I'd show that the game does have a world map.) It was time to head back home, and pretend that I hadn't been missing for hours. Ted and I head to my room, just as if I'd followed his orders earlier.



: I owe so much to Master Teo, who adopted me when I was an orphan, and I want to return the favor. OK?



Ted's my friend and all, but I think I'm going to give him some grief for bossing me around. (This is the first time we encounter a "But thou must!" scenario. There's a few of them in the game, I'll be providing the text up until it loops.)

: Please, I want to work for the Imperial Guard too. Oh Please...(Gee, I dunno.) Oh, come on. I thought we were friends. (Gee, I dunno.) Hey, stop giving me a hard time. You're really going to let me join you, right? I know what's on your mind.(and the loop starts here)

If he really knew what was on my mind, he'd stop interrupting my stray thoughts about Cleo.



: Great! I knew you were a good friend! Now, for more important matters. What kind of man was the Emperor? And tell me about Windy, the Court Magician. Was she beautiful? Come on, tell me everything.

Hey now, what's all this? Is he trying to scope out Windy? I tell him exactly how it is, and that he needs to back off <>

: I see. I am sure I would like to see Windy in person. Hey Tir... I really don't know how to tell you this, but... ummm... Say Tir there's something I want to tell you. Can you keep it a secret? Can you promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you?

Ted seems a little overconcerned about this secret. He basically told me twice that he had something to tell me. Also,  He'll meet Windy, and won't like it. 



: Hey, it's time to eat. Let's go, Tir. We can talk some other time.

Thankfully, before Ted gushes to me about whatever this secret was, Man-servant calls us for dinner.



: Tomorrow morning, I must travel north. Tir will be responsible for the household in my absence. I'd like you all to give him full support. Gremio.

: Y-y-yes...sir,

: You've taken care of Tir since he was a baby. Thanks to your efforts. He's grown into a fine youth. I'm grateful to you.

: But Sir, I, this is my job, an-and besides, serving Young Master is a pleasure for me too...

Gremio seems more and more by the minute.

: I'm glad to hear it. I hope you continue to watch over him. Cleo, Pahn, I'm counting on you two as well to help and protect.

: Yes, Master Teo.

: Of course Sir, leave it to us.

: And Ted, I hope you'll always be a good friend to Tir.

: I'd do so even if you said otherwise, Sir. Right Tir?

: Enough talk. Let's eat before the food gets cold. Let's raise our glasses.



After eating Gremio's special stew, the rest of the night became kind of a blur. I wonder what makes the stew so special. In the morning, had I been awake, I might've seen the following.



: Shall I wake him up?

: No, let him sleep. It's not as if we'll never meet again. Gremio, take good care of him, won't you?

Dad's right. It's not like I won't see him again.  Certainly not as enemies either. 

: I will, Master Teo.

I woke up to see Gremio going through my diary. Gremio doesn't even try to play it off as I call him out on it.

: Oh, did I wake you up? Good morning. Listen, Young Master, Master Teo departed while you were sleeping. You're such a late sleeper... Today you start working as a member of the Imperial forces. We must prepare to visit Commander Craze.

Oh boy. I can't wait to see that pleasant fellow again.



We head downstairs, and do a bit of eavesdropping on Pahn and Cleo.



: Hey, here he comes. You're late, Young Master. It's your first day on the job. I'm so excited! Whether it's battling bandits on Mt. Seifu or monsters on Lake Toran, Pahn here's your man.

(Is Pahn some kind of psychic or what?) Pahn's definitely a cool guy in my book.

: Calm down, will you? All you ever think about is fighting. Our job is to protect the Young Master.

: I know, I know. Now, let's be on our way to the palace.



Oh hell yes. and join for the ride. Let's go grab Ted, and leave.



... Fine, Ted. We're gonna go see Windy without you.



Yeah, that's what I thought. Of course, rather than actually show up to work late, I'm gonna go beat up small, furry animals with my friends, and Gremio.



(This is the basic menu screen. As you can see, Ted and Tir are a few levels ahead from their Sarady trip. This also shows off the 6 character party system. If memory serves, that was the largest party available at the time. There's a front and back row, and three different attack ranges. Short range fighters can only attack from the front row, Medium range fighters can attack from the front OR back, and finally Long range fighters can attack from front or back AND hit the enemy's back row as well.)



Gremio and Pahn are definitely a lot more impressive than Cleo in terms of their bodyguard potential.

(This is a Unite Attack, with Gremio and Pahn. It's pretty powerful, and also one of the more unique things about this game. Characters with certain relationships or common traits have unique attacks that have them work together. Suikoden didn't have too many of these in comparison to the other games in the series, but I'll try to show off as many as I can)



Of course, Pahn has the advantage with his Rune. He's definitely the est of my bodyguards.

(Runes are both magic and unique powers in this game. Pahn's rune allows him to unleash a flurry of attacks, but leaves him unbalanced for a turn afterwards. Basically, it costs him a turn to use it, but it does awesome damage and looks cool.)



Gremio got himself poisoned, and put an end to our animal killing fun. Thanks a lot, Gremio.