Part 57: Stout of Heart

This is another short one, but with good reason this time. Unless I'm forgetting something, this is the last bit of "bonus" content until the post-game. Which more than makes up for it by adding a whole new dungeon!



First things first, let's go to Early and--



Oh, I'm sorry. Let's go to Arlee and pick up something much earlier than we did before.



Let's just head to the Cave of Darkness...



Run through this corridor and...



That's the entire dungeon done. No random encounters, no boss fights, nothing. Just this one tiny room. Naturally, you need the Amethyst ring to get Shadow to even appear but that's better than having to wait until the very end of the post-game to get a mid-game summon.

Anyway, before doing the next thing I went and got Suzu (nothing different happens here during that event). This is useful for what we're doing now even though she isn't required to do it. You just miss out on the reward for it if you don't have Suzu.



: Cless, I think this girl's lost. Let's help her!
: Yeah.
: What's wrong?
Girl: I can't find my Mommy.
: Oh, boy...
: What's your name?
Girl:Umm... May.
: Do you want us to take you to your mother?
May: Yes...
: Alright, May, follow right behind us.

This "sidequest" is very short but very annoying. It's basically an escort mission, but without the usual hassle of trying to make sure the escortee doesn't die. So what's the problem?



Well, May is about 4 years old and walks slower than someone that age. Even if you just walk, you can get too far ahead of her in about 2 seconds. It's pretty ridiculous. Everytime this happens, you have to start again and your "reward" gets worse.



The plus side, though, is that the girl's mother isn't all that far away from the starting point which is nice.

Mother: May! I told you not to wander off!
May: I'm sorry...
Mother: I really want to thank you for finding my girl.
: Don't mention it.
Mother: It's not much, but please take this as a small token of my appreciation.



Bleh. Just a Spirit Ring for finishing without causing the kid to cry at all. How... outdated.



Anyway, for finishing it with Suzu around gets you an extra scene and the "real" reward.

: Mother...
: Suzu?
: Um, nothing! Let's go!



...Yep. That's it. That's what you get for doing this when you're expected. 3 extra lines and a title. I didn't say it was a GOOD reward!

Next time: You thought that Elves were dicks? They got nothing on Dwarves.