Part 18: Ymir Without An Arche-r

So, Basilisk Scales... This takes forever to do, and there's a few things I managed to get to happen or bothered to check out while running around looking for them.



Arche is a shitty, shitty cook. She still managed to succeed at making this a few times, because she's good at the TP restorative stuff or something. Amazingly, this came out better than normal (less TP but a fair bit of HP).



If you somehow get someone hit with Stone Gaze and don't have any Panacea Bottles for some reason (they're super cheap at this point), you could always cook some sushi. Which manages to un-petrify people. Sure, why not?

...There is no other recipe in the entire game that can remove stone. Seriously, why Sushi?



It doesn't look like there's anything of note here. I'm just interested in that island you can see on the map but can't get on-screen. We have no way of accessing it yet, and if it's the one I think it is then that's kind of a shame.



Since it takes goddamn ages to get the scales, Mint picked up Sharpness during the incessant grind this is. Sharpness is pretty awesome, and Mint's AI is smart enough to stick it on Cless.

Oh, and I think she picked up Nurse after kicking Maxwell's teeth in but I really don't remember. It's a decent healing spell though; it's better than Heal in that it affects the entire party. Shame it heals slightly less HP per use (45% v 60%) but it's still damned useful.



Lastly, this peninsula over in the northeast is where I farm the scales. It seems to have a slightly better encounter rate for Basilisks but I'm probably just imagining that. This mandatory pointless task is tedious enough that I will take any placebo just to make it seemingly go quicker.



Oh good, it's done. Let us never speak of this again.



Innkeeper: Why don't you stay here for the night? It's on the house, of course. I'm sure that Edward will be back here by tomorrow. I'll have someone keep watch in the village.

You know that thing where if an inn is free it's usually too good to be true and has plot happen in the night? That doesn't apply here. The Alvanista inn before Jamir had us pay to access it, and this one is free and... nothing happens. It's pretty nice and weird like that. It does lead into a cutscene, but that takes place during the day.



: You donated all of these previous scales?
: You're Edward, right? Actually, have a look here...



: My name is indeed Morrison...
: But why is it that you're both so surprised by that?
: Oh... well, um...
: You're both acting strange.
: Edward, before we discuss the scales, have a look at this letter.
: An introduction from Grom, huh? If you've come this far to find me, there must be some reason, right?
: Yes, if you don't mind, let's speak in the back room.

Much like with Lundgrom, everything gets explained off-camera.



: So you were the ones who saved Prince Leiard.
: Yeah, little did we know it came with a prison term.
: Haha, you even have a punchline to go with it. Well, I think I've got the general idea of the situation.
: So do you know of any way to fix them?
: Compared to tracking down the rings, repairing them should be a simple matter. From the looks of those, those rings were used to form pacts with rather powerful Spirits. However, they've already fulfilled that purpose and can't be reused easily. At any rate, those rings were the product of a collaborative effort between the now deceased Dwarves and the Elves.
: Meaning?



: If anyone has a way to repair those rings, it's them.
: Meet the Elves!? Entering the forest is completely forbidden!
: Just ask Lundgrom. With official permission from Alvanista, you'll be allowed in.

Just imagining Klaus losing it over the suggestion of going to Ymir and Edward casually point out how easy we'd be able to manage it, makes this part better.

: I see...
: But really, I can't thank you enough for these Basilisk Scales. Before the war breaks out, it's my intention to gather as many powerful allies as I can in Midgard. If possible...



: But I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing you. Well, if the opportunity arises, perhaps we'll meet again some day.

And with that, Edward leaves and... Cless follows him.



: Was there something else?
: Please take a look at this. I'm sure you'll find it worthwhile.



: Hm. Is this my handwriting? And my signature?
: Trinix D. Morrison. That's the name of the man that left this book in my care.
: Morrison, you say?
: He's your descendant. He was the one who sent me from the world in which I lived to this era, to the past.
: Time travel? Don't make me laugh. I'm researching that alone, and it's still not complete.
: But in the future, the Morrison that I knew had access to the completed research.
: If what you're saying is true, that's even more of a reason to not read that book.



: Cless and i were sent to this era from our time, 100 years in the future. Do you believe me?
: Say what? So in other words... that means...
: In your world, I'm like a hundred year old granny?
: Our presence here is possible only thanks to the power of Edward's descendant.



Just in case one flashback to stuff from the first section wasn't enough, have another!



: If someone were to know the outcome of an event before it happened, they could change the future... That's why I don't want to know a thing about what's to come, even if it means I lose everything. I don't know if my descendant was a close friend of yours or not, but I assume your goal is to save him, right? Changing history itself in the process... If it were me, I would feel the same way. If you wanted, you could change the whole course of history with what you know.
: I wouldn't want to go that far...
: There's no need to explain; as I said, I understand your feelings perfectly. The fact that you're standing here before me with the desire to defeat Dhaos is proof enough of that.



: Please wait for us in Midgard! We'll be there to join you! We'll lend you our strength!
: Do you have any way to return to your own time, to the future?
: If we don't resolve the current situation, that'll be the least of our worries.
: All right, then by the next time we meet, I'll have the means to send you back. After all, if my descendant can do it, it should be a simple task for me, wouldn't you say? And to think, I was about to give up my research on transference...

So by coming to the past, meeting Edward and telling him we travelled through time to kick Dhaos' ass, that convinced Edward to finish his research on time travel. Meaning, if we didn't come to the past... we wouldn't be able to... come to... the past...



: Let's ask Lundgrom if he can get us the official approval to enter the Elven Village.

Skit: The Pact Rings Origin



: Which means that new ones cannot be made, right?
: So our only choice is to repair the ones we have.
: Right. So we'll have to visit the Ymir Forest where the Elves live.
: Then we should talk to Lundgrom and ask about getting approval.

Skit: Elven Repairs?



: Then let's go find out.
: For now, we need to return to Alvanista.
: We need to get approval to enter the Ymir Forest.

Fortunately, Lundgrom never changes where he is in the Alvanista castle so we can find him pretty easily. Much like before, talking to him in the lab leads to going outside to do the rest of the scene, so...



: It figures he'd suggest something like that without even consulting me about it first...
: Then, is it possible to get the permission needed to enter the Ymir Forest?
: Yes, if you can wait, I'll have it prepared by tomorrow. There are a lot of formalities involved, you see.

Skit: The Waiting Game



: That is certainly a relief.
: So what do we do now?
: Well, I guess we should just stop at the inn and wait until tomorrow.



For no reason, let's take all of Arche's equipment off of her before continuing. But not the broom, because the game won't let us take that.

Skit: The Red Tape



: We have no other choice. There seem to be many necessary formalities.
: For today, let's stay at the Alvanista Inn.
: That's true. There's nothing we can do to speed things up anyway.



: As long as you have this, they should let you in. Also, I don't really know how to put this, but Half-Elves are absolutely forbidden from entering the Ymir Forest.



It should be obvious who Lundgrom was referencing when he mentioned "half-elves" but just in case, the game even makes sure to mention it.



: Sorry.
: It's no big deal.
: I'll just wait at the inn until you get back.
: We'll hurry back as soon as we're done, so hang in there.

If you didn't change Arche's equipment before sleeping at the inn, the game actually gives you a prompt here for if you want to change it or not. How nice of it.









Skit: Half-Elf Misfortune



: We don't have any other choice. Half-Elves can't enter the Ymir Forest.
: We should try to return as soon as possible.
: Yeah, you're right.

Skit: Summoner Misfortune



: Do you hate the Elves?
: Nothing like that.
: They're an extremely advanced race, intelligent and know inherently how to use Sorcery.
: Boy! I just wish that I had been born so lucky!
: So he does hate them.
: Yes, it looks like it.

It sounds more like "jealousy" than "hatred," but maybe I'm just crazy.

Skit: Ymir Forest



: Once we cross the bright to the east of Alvanista, it's somewhere to the southwest, right?
: I hope we can find someone there that knows how to repair the rings.



This is Ymir; it's kind of in an uninteresting spot with nothing of value nearby. The guy who sold us Roaring Kick is on the other side of some mountains to the east but that's not much help in finding the place.



Sentinel: Beyond here lie the lands of the Elves. You should leave her immediately.
: We've received permission to enter. Take a look at this Emblem.
Sentinel: That is, without a doubt, the crest of the Kingdom of Alvanista. Very well, you may pass!

Ymir, the forest of "mirror-water" (really), is quite the uninteresting "dungeon." It's basically linear with all but the smallest of divergances. The first screen is set out sorta like a maze but it doesn't deliver on that aspect. The only real divergence is on the second screen which has two branches; one leads to treasure:



And the other lets you continue but blocks your path with a hidden treasure chest.



Oh and the fights here give ~2,000 gald per fight on average. That's sort of interesting, but speaking of fights...



Cless gained his first level title at last! He gains it at... level 30. That's pretty high considering Mint has like three or four of these things at that point. (The item there is just more Lavender.)

That's the entire "dungeon!" It's literally just three screens and you're done. Well, okay, four but you'll never see one of them again.



: Just now I thought I saw something move in the shadow of that tree.
: You sure it wasn't just your imagination?
: Perhaps it was one of the forest critters?
: Yeah, that could be it.



...I don't think Arche counts as a "forest critter" even if she is a half-elf.



Elf: Only the Elves are permitted to enter the forest!
: So even if we've got this Emblem you aren't going to let us in? We'd like to meet with the lord of the Elves.
Elf: That's the emblem of the Kingdom of Alvanista... Please forgive our rudeness, come right this way.

I'm kinda curious as to why the Alvanistan emblem would grant us access to the Elven village with the Elven guards who aren't part of the Alvanistan kingdom, and have no real reason to let us in... if it was gonna be this easy why didn't we just doodle it on a piece of paper or something?



: It's a pleasure to meet you. I am the lord of the Elves, Brambard.
: I'm Klaus, and over here are Cless and Mint. Sorry to jump right to the point, but could you have a look at these?
: These are Pact Rings, are they not? However, by the looks of them, they're broken...
: We came here after hearing you might have some way to repair them.
: I understand. We'll need to make use of the slate's power. If you'll join me on the north side of the village, I'll give you a more detailed explanation.
: I guess that means we won't be able to repair the rings in the village.
: So it would seem.
: But he did mention something about a slate.
: Only one way to find out.








Cless might have forgotten, but we are trying to help this guy too.