Part 10: Halure

Halure! But first, a skit.

Skit: The Broken Sword
Karol, are you okay...e-even though your sword's still broken?
Nah, it's lighter and feels easier to use!
Now your sword won't be swinging you anymore. Sounds good to me.
Breaking your sword to get it to just the right length... You're obviously some guild's ace!
...Yuri, you didn't break Karol's sword on purpose, did you?
I'm not that good.


Alright, now we can enter.

Watch the cutscene!



Halure... The "City of Blossoms."
Yeah, that's right.
Don't they have a barrier here?
Yes, there should be...
You guys haven't been to Halure before, right? So then you haven't heard about the tree barrier.
Tree barrier?



"The tree barrier of Halure is one prime example of this." I read that in a book.
Well thank you, professor. So what's happened to this famous barrier?



Doesn't look like it's doing much right now.
Every year, just before the blossoms are in full bloom, the barrier weakens for a while. It's just that time of year right now, and the monsters took the opportunity to attack...



Yeah, the monsters were taken care of, but the tree is slowly starting to decay.

A girl runs by.

Hey!
W-what is it?



Does that kid ever sit still?




Doesn't she know we need to keep a low profile? And what happened to looking for Flynn?





Oh my, you can use healing artes? Why, that would be excellent! ...But I'm afraid we don't have very much money...
No no, I don't need any money.
Amazing... The pain is all gone. Th-thank you. Thank you so very much.
Ah, uh, please, don't mention it...
My heavens, what amazing healing artes you have...



No, really, think nothing of it.
What a humble young lady. I wish the Imperial Knights could follow your example.
Woman: Not a chance! The Knights refuse to lift a finger to protect us from the monsters!
Well, I guess the empire couldn't care less what happens to us here.
No...th-that's not true...
Woman: Ah, but that one knight sure was different, wasn't he?
Yes, that young man. If not for him, we would have all been lost. The barrier weakened earlier than usual this year, and we were attacked before the guild could come to protect us. There was a knight who happened to be passing through our town on a pilgrimage. He and his brigade drove off all the monsters.
A knight on a pilgrimage...



Woman: Yes, his name was Flynn Scifo.
Is he still in the city?!
No, he left the village afterwards in search of a mage who could fix the barrier.
Do you know where he went?
It looked like he was headed east, but beyond that I couldn't tell you...
I see. So we can wait here, and Flynn will come to us.
Looks like we've caught up with him. Don't you feel better now?
Yes...I won't be able to relax until I see him, but I guess I feel better.
I think I'll go have a look at this famous tree. Wanna come with?
Ah, yes! Yuri, you don't mind? You're okay not going after the blastia core thief?



The game makes us check up on Karol before we can go look at the tree.

Watch the cutscene!



I kept her waiting so long. She must've gotten mad and left... I wanted to show her Halure's flowers in full bloom... Then maybe...



Where'd she go? Is she really gone? I'm doing the best I can...
Karol?
Let's give him some time alone.
It's over, it's over. It's all over, it's really over. Everything, everything is over...

Ahead, Yuri and Estelle can see three kids.

Kid A: Yeah! We got weapons now! We're gonna beat those monsters!



Kid C: Let's beat up those monsters, just like Flynn!
All Kids: Yeah!
Even those kids are trying to fight... I hope the barrier is restored soon.
Me too.


Skit: Who Is This Karol Kid?
This Karol guy is kind of weird.
He does seem a bit restless, but that doesn't make him a bad person.
He doesn't seem evil, but I'll bet he's got some weird thoughts going on in his head.
You're only saying that because you can see some of yourself in him.
You think the two of us are alike?
Yes. It's like you have genuine emotions, but your pride won't let you show them. So I can't bring myself to dislike him.
Huh...
Did I upset you?
No, that's just some pretty deep insight about people you only just met, is all.
Hey...


Walking along the town road, we eventually reach the big tree in the middle.




The tree's flowers should blossom any day now.
Yeah, I wish I could see it in bloom.
I know how you feel. There's something about the image of a tall tree vibrant with blossoms and protecting the city that's so...romantic. You know, I'm going to stay here and help heal the injured.
Hmm, if you're going to heal something, maybe you could heal the barrier itself?
What do you mean?
When monsters come again, more people are gonna get hurt. Those kids we just saw could be among them.
That's true, but I have no idea how I could heal the barrier.
What you need to heal is this tree. It wouldn't be in this condition just because some monsters attacked it.
You think there's some other reason?
I think there's gotta be.



We're trying to figure out why the tree has withered like this.
I don't know if you'll make much progress on that one. The knight Flynn couldn't figure out the reason either.



...What are you talking about?
It seems these two are trying to figure out the reason the tree's withered so.
Oh, is that all?
What do you mean, "is that all?"
I know the reason. It's why I was in the forest looking for the eggbear...
Huh? What are you talking about?
Look closely at the ground. Notice the strange color? That color is where the ground absorbed the blood of monsters who attacked the town. That blood has been poisoning Halure's tree.
What! The monster blood? I had no idea...
Karol, you really know your stuff, don't you?
...It was nothing.
Is there anything we can do to get rid of the poison?
I know a way, but...well, no one believes me.
Come on, try us.
I think we'd be able to do it if we had a panacea bottle.
Maybe we can get one in the General Store.
Let's go, Yuri!

Off to the store! (which now has a shopkeeper despite having none before)


Skit: The Tree of Halure
I can't wait until the tree's blossoms are in full bloom. They'll be fantastic...
I bet there's a flood of petals big enough to just sweep you away.
All those petals dancing in the breeze... It'd be like a dream...
I wonder how they deal with all their houses getting buried in flowers every year. That's gotta be a pain to clean up.
...You really take the fun out of things, Yuri.






Do you have panacea bottles?
Unfortunately we're sold out at the moment.
But how can that be...?
But you know, if I had the right ingredients, I'd be able to fix some up for you.
What would you need to make it?
I'd need three ingredients: "eggbear claw," "nia fruit," and "luluria petal." But why do you need a panacea bottle so badly? A kid came by the other day asking about the same exact thing.
We want to heal Halure's tree.



Hmmm, yeah...
What sort of thing is this "nia fruit" you mentioned?
That would be that bitter fruit you said was so delicious back in the woods.
So what's an eggbear, then?
Sorry, I can't help you there. Monsters are beyond my expertise. If a member of the Hunting Blades were here they might be able to tell you. They make their living hunting monsters.
So that's why he was in the forest...
What can you tell us about the luluria petal?
You know the tree in the middle of town, right? It's a petal from that tree. Normally we use magic resin but there isn't any around these parts at all.
But the tree is all withered...
I believe the mayor has some luluria petals. You might try asking him.
Gotcha. We'll come back when we've gotten the ingredients together.


Watch the cutscene!



What do you mean?
Remember? "Prepare to die, eggbear!"
You mean you believe what I said about the panacea bottle?
Were you lying?

Karol shakes his head.

Well then, we'll have to go with what you've told us.
Yuri... All right, I'll help you out just this once. I'm a very busy person, you know.



You're coming too, Estelle?
Well, of course I am.
What about waiting for Flynn?
Wasn't it you who said "if you're going to heal something it should be the tree"?
We'll just have to fix the tree before he gets back. Can't wait to see the look on his face.


Skit: Maps
Estelle, what are you looking at?
It's a map of the area around here.
Ooh, let me see...
Hey, this is almost completely blank!
You can't call this a map!
Really?
You should try a surveyors' guild, like the "World's Cellar"! Their maps are really amazing! All the top guild members have one.
So then, naturally you've got a copy, right, Karol? Let's see it!
Uhhh, well, y'see... Once you get as good as I am, you don't need to use a map anymore!
Oh, that's too bad. I really wanted to see it.


Okay, short recap: we need three items. Two are back in the Quoi Woods, one we can get from the mayor. Since we're already right here, let's check with the mayor first.



Who'd you hear that from? I mean, I do, but...

Our party explains the situation.

Ahh, so that's why you need a petal. The luluria is one of the three flowers that blooms on Halure's tree. The petals are dried for half a year in the shade, and they're very valuable. This is my last petal, but if it'll restore the tree to its old self, then I don't mind giving it to you.

Obtained Luluria Petal!

Thank you!
Next up on the list is the nia fruit...and an eggbear claw, was it?
Yep. Let's go to the Quoi Woods.


Before that, I'm gonna do some shopping. Besides the usual recovery items, I get two new weapons:


Skills:
Recover: When thrown into the air or onto the ground, press the guard button to quickly leap back into fighting position. Very useful.
Evade: Raises agility by 5%.


Skills:
Critical: Increases the chance of dealing critical hits.

As we can see here, your characters are usually not limited to a single weapon type. Yuri, for example, can equip both swords and axes, while Karol can equip large swords, axes and hammers. The weapon type also slightly alters your battle performance: Yuri's attacks and artes are a bit slower when he's got an axe equipped.




Next time, we're gonna go back to the Quoi Woods to find an eggbear!