Part 47: The Atherum

Warning: Long Update coming up!



Ghost Ship exploring time! We have to pick two of our party members in addition to Yuri and Repede to join us on our trip. It really doesn't matter who you pick, all that's different is a few lines in cutscenes and a couple skits.




I went with Judith and Estelle for battle purposes here.



Kaufman acts as an item shop in case we need something.



We are to return as soon as we get a signal, although as you may be able to guess it won't get fixed until we're done exploring.



Alright, here we go!

Skit: Fun on the Ghost Ship
Do you think the others are all right?
You should probably worry a little more about how we're doing.
There's no telling what might happen on a boat this sketchy.
You say that, but you sound like you're enjoying all this. Maybe that's why I don't feel all that scared myself.
Aww, man. This isn't gonna be half as fun if you're not properly terrified...
Fun...?
...Never mind.

For some reason, the game only gives you one "ghost ship skit" even when you have multiple people that have skits in your party. I'll be showing the others off via the game's skit viewer throughout the dungeon.

The ship itself is roughly split into two parts, the outside and the inside.



On the outside you can find a couple hawk enemies that bring some aquatic enemies such as crabs with them, as well as a bunch of treasure chests.



You can climb up the mast if you want to but all there's up there is a chest so I'm skipping it for now. You'll see why later. Our only other option is to go inside.




Skit: Step Back!
Hey, wait up, Yuri! We should slow down and try to keep quiet.
Yeah but I can't walk with you right on my back, Captain.
N-no, no. It's good. I can walk fine. It's no trouble.
No, I said you make it hard for ME to walk.
Right, so I said I'M not having any trouble walking.
No, listen! *Sigh* All right, whatever.




One of this dungeon's gimmicks is that some enemies are invisible and can only be seen in mirrors. It's less exciting than it sounds.


Skit: Yuri's Hunches
It looked quite sinister from the outside, but nothing interesting has happened so far.
...Yeah, seriously. Looks like all my hunches were off.
Hunches?
I was kind of hoping for something, but you aren't scared at all...
Oh. So I should be saying things like, "Aaah! Save me, Yuri!" and grabbing onto you?
It's no fun if you tell me up front you're gonna do it. Forget it.
That's too bad. It sounded like fun.




After the corridor you'll reach this "center" room, you can go up the stairs or enter the side rooms that usually have an enemy and one or two items.





Up the stairs are two more rooms just like this one.


Skit: What Raven's Good For
So, what possessed you to bring old Raven along?
Huh? I just figured you'd come in handy, I guess.
Y'know, you just ain't too bright.
It's the perfect chance for some alone time with the ladies!
What's the fun in havin' two guys here?!
"Aaah! I'm scaaared! Help!"
Never fear, kitten, daddy's right here.
That's the way these things are supposed to go down.
If we run into any trouble, I'm using you to save my own skin, got it?
Huh? So that's how I come in handy? A decoy?


In one of the side rooms you can find a fake chest, which drops a fairly nice 6000 Gald, a Fake Box Fang (fairly rare synth item), and a Specific.







Eventually you'll reach this corridor, which triggers a cutscene:









Aaah!



It's no good. It won't open.
It looks like... We have no choice but to keep moving...
All right, let's keep moving, then. There's no use sticking around here.
Yep. Let's go. I wonder if everyone we left behind is okay...?




I can't believe the mast would suddenly collapse like that...
Are you all okay?
We're fine, but... I hope Yuri and the others are okay...
I'd be surprised if they came out of an impact like that without a few scratches.
...Those troublesome kids. You mind if I go and make sure they're still alive?
Now, hold on just a second. Who'll protect the ship while you're gone?
I'm sorry, but by ourselves we wouldn't be much help in protecting the ship, anyway.
Hey, I ain't in the guild, anyway! I don't have to look after your ship if I don't wanna!
Yes... I suppose we don't have a choice...
Everyone, be careful.

It sure is creepy with just us here...
Eek, don't say things like that! Talk about something more fun!
...




So now we're in control of the party we left behind before. This also gives us a couple skits depending on who's left behind, they're fairly short so here you go:

Skit: I'll Save Them
I'm pretty nervous, but I'd feel awful if anything happened to the others. We have to go save them.
A-all right, let's do this!

Skit: Estelle Talks to Herself
I'm worried about the others of course,
but this place is scary... Estelle Let's make this quick.

Skit: Oooh, When I Find Them...
They insisted on going to go play on the creepy boat, so here I am stuck going after them.
When I find them, ooh, they're gonna wish they had died.

Skit: Sounds like Fun
I'm actually kind of glad I have an excuse to explore the ghost ship.
It's not every day you get a chance to have this much fun.

Skit: What a Pain
Oh man, what a pain. I don't wanna do this... I mean, they'll come out on their own eventually, right?
Whoa, what was that? Man, there's somethin' spooky in the air around here.





If we're playing the PS3 version, the "party we left behind" includes Patty!

Here's a dungeon video of the part from now until we find Yuri's party where you can see Patty in action a little.

Patty is really strange to use in battle. Her whole battle style revolves around several "forms" that can be changed around randomly with the Form Change arte she starts with.



There's four possible forms Patty can be in: Normal, Advance, Brainel and Critical. The form you're in at the start of battle is random, unless it's influenced by a skill. (For example, there's a skill that carries over the current form to the next battle if Patty deals the killing blow.) Note that the following descriptions are general direction in which the forms go, but it won't always necessarily be true for every Arte or attack of that form.



Normal form is, to put it bluntly, bad. It doesn't excel at anything. If you get into Normal form for whatever reason, try to get out via Form Change as early as you can, because all other forms are better. If you die and are revived, you will start in Normal form.
I suppose you could call the Normal form the "jack-of-all-trades" since you can use both close and long-range physical attacks, but the other forms are much better at either (or both) so you probably shouldn't bother unless you really can't spare the couple seconds it takes Form Change to change forms.












Advance form is the "attack" form. Her physical attacks all become close-range (using her knife), your maximum combo increases, and Artes change to become more close-range, multi-hit and/or damage oriented.

Physical attacks are fairly similar to the Normal form ones, except with the gun ones replaced.








Brainel form is the "long-range" or "magic" form. Her physical attacks become long-range (her pistol), Artes change to accommodate for this long-rangedness. It also reduces magic casting time.










Critical form is the best form. Not only does Patty become faster to move and attack, but she also gets the benefits of both Advance and Brainel forms. Artes change to simply become better, you'll see what I mean once I get to the Artes she starts with. You can use both the knife and the gun depending on if you're holding the Artes Ball* button (default L1) or not - don't hold it to use the knife, hold it to use the gun.

*The Artes Ball is a PS3-only item you can synthesize to equip additional Artes and map them to L1 + the default Arte commands, for up to 16 different Artes that can be set at the same time. (4 on Arte button + directions, 4 on right stick directions, 4 on L1 + Arte button + directions, 4 on L1 + right stick)


As for artes, let me preface this with something: Every one -- or at least nearly every -- of her artes has a random element to it. It's quite possible that I miss a variation of an arte or state something incorrectly about them because they're random and influenced by the form you're currently in, and something simply never happened in my testing.
Patty starts of with four artes in addition to Form Change and her Burst Arte:


Trick Trick




Trick Trick summons a jack-in-a-box that gets unleashed upon the enemy. The Normal and Advance Form versions simply drop it in front of her, which then hits enemies there a few times as it flails around.





The Brainel version kicks the box towards the enemy.





And the Critical version summons a giant iron hammer instead, which hits fairly hard. Note that I also got the default Normal/Advance version once in Critical, but that was once out of ten or so tries.


Little Big Chef





Little Big Chef hits enemies with a frying pan. The Normal and Advance versions fry the enemy from below, knocking them up into the air a bit. The Advance form seems to have more hits than the Normal one.
After she's done hitting the enemy, Patty holds up a random dish into the air. This one is the most common one, which restores around 10% of everyone's HP.



There's also this, which cuts everyone's current HP by half,



and this, which resores some TP. I think there's also a dish that recovers more HP than the default one.




The Brainel version smashes the pan into the enemy from above in one powerful hit.




And the Critical form hits them multiple times from above.


Variable Trigger



Variable Trigger is a long-range gun attack. Not very spectacular but pretty useful.




The Advance and Normal versions are just this basic shot.



The Brainel version hits from further away and for more damage. (Range not pictured)





And the Critical version drops a bomb onto the enemy after the gunshot.


Risky Cast




Risky Cast simply casts a random low- (Normal version) or mid-level (other versions) spell.



Normal and Advance form get attack spells,





while Brainel form gets support and healing. Critical can get both.


Glitters Rain






Her burst arte, which seems to be the same in all forms. You pick one of two cards (with the Arte and Attack buttons), it flips open, and depending on the symbol something gets dropped onto the enemy. At least, that's the theory: I've gotten this star every single time I tried here. I feel like I got other stuff sometimes in my first playthrough of the PS3 version, so maybe that unlocks later or with a higher Over Limit level or something.


Anyway, as neat (and random) Patty is to use in battle, her personality isn't. There's a couple skits you get with Patty here that, and I'm sure you'll agree, illustrate a huge problem with her.

Skit: More Than a Sucker Fish
What's wrong, Patty?
I wanted to go with Yuri...
D-do you not like being with me?
That doesn't matter. I want to be more stuck to Yuri than even a sucker fish could manage.
I-I think that would be difficult.
Oh! Repede might let you play sticking like a sucker fish, though!
Playing the sucker fish isn't the issue.


Skit: A Maiden's Heart
Yuri and I are madly in love with each other.
And why do you say that, all of a sudden?
You're a distraction.
We've just met and you already hate me. How sad.
Aye. A maiden's heart is a complicated thing.
Hehe, what a cute girl.
Your powers of seduction are useless! I belong to Yuri, after all.
Aw, that's too bad.


Skit: Sharp Intuition
Little Missy, why're you walkin' so far away from me?
I don't want Yuri to get the wrong idea.
Wrong idea?
Yuri and I are madly in love with each other.
You don't need ta worry. You're way out of my strike zone.
You can't fool me. I know you're already captivated by my womanly charm.
Is that a joke, or are you serious?
My intuition doesn't lie.


Skit: A Brave Karol?
Patty, wait! Rushing is dangerous. We don't know what might be lurking around the corner, so we should tread carefully.
You're right. I guess I'll go after you, Karol.
Huh...?
Okay Karol, lead the charge!
U-um, I don't really need to take the lead...
You're an unexpectedly reliable man, aren't you, Karol! Nothing compared to Yuri, though.
Patty! Don't push me!


Skit: Searching for Treasure
H-hey! Stop wandering around and getting sidetracked!
There might be treasure!
N-never mind that, just get going!
What, are you scared?
N-No I'm not...!
Ah! W-what was that!?
That door closed all on its own. That's suspicious! I'm going to go investigate!
W-wait! Y-You're going to get lost!


Yeah. Don't get me wrong, occasionally she's fun as well, but she really clashes with the rest of the party since they're pretty... normal while Patty is anime, to put it that way.



Anyway, we're supposed to get to Yuri's party. We can't run the same way as he did because the door to the inside is locked, so we go up the mast instead.





Up there, we can walk down where the mast fell over to find another entrance into the ship.






On my way, Raven learns a new arte:




Fairly decent base arte that hits in a small radius around him.


After a short corridor, we'll run into the other party.






Hey hey, you decided to come along for the ride, too?
Let's get out of here quickly!



The door closes on its own.





This ship's evil spirits are surely at the bottom of the ship, plotting to make us one of them...
D-don't make up stories like that!
N-no way that's p-possible.
We'll just have to look for another way out.
Right on. Let's go!


Skit: A Terrified Little Girl
...
Rita, are you okay?
What do you mean? Of course I'm okay... That's why I'm gonna get outta here right now...
Aww, but we worked so hard ta get here! We should take our time and soak in the atmosphere!
We can't take our time here!!
I-I have the important mission of investigating the aer situation...
It's not like there's any other reason I'd want to leave here...
Ack, a strange face on the other side of the mirror...!
Eek... Er, uh, n-no, it can't be...!
I feel kind of sorry for her.
Come on, let's finish what we came to do...for Rita's sake.
Yes, that might be best...




After saving at the save point and reorganizing the party, we go further up.





Apart from a weird door, we can find something else to the right.

Watch the cutscene! (English, 360)
Watch the cutscene! (Japanese, PS3, includes following cutscene as well)







The Asule period and the month of Bluerre are from a time before the empire.
So over 1,000 years ago...
That long?
"Adrift five and forty days. Food and water used up. Men succumbing to thirst and starvation. I cannot give in, though. I must see the clear ciel crystal safely to Yormgen... This crystal holds the power to banish the monsters, and with it the town may yet be saved. I have stored the clear ciel crystal in my red chest, a gift from my dear Yuefan. It won't be much longer until I am in her arms again. And then we will all be saved."
...But he wasn't able to return to his town. He passed away here...
Come on Estelle, it was more than a thousand years ago.



If this record is really that old, there's no guarantee the town even exists anymore.
Yeah, I guess that's true. ...What about that clear ciel crystal?
I've never heard of it.
The power to banish monsters. Huh.



Do you think it might be here somewhere?


Skit: Better Together
See how much better it is when we're all together?
It's times like these that give you a sense for how important cooperation really is.
Y-yeah, I guess. The runt said something smart for once.
Not that we've done anything all that cooperative, yet.
That's all right. Just being together makes this place less frightening.
I wonder if it's really that simple.
Aiee! It's a four-legged hell beast!
Aaah! Aaah! Gaaah!
Oops, my bad. Must've just been the pooch's shadow.
Woof!
You are so dead. I'm going to kill you and leave you haunting this ship!


It's pretty obvious what you're supposed to investigate to advance, namely the dead guy at the table and his chest.

Watch the cutscene! (360, English)



He is clutching something. It must have been very important to him.
You think it's the clear ciel crystal?
Well it matches up with what was written in that diary.



Um, no thank you. What is it with kids today, always blurting things out like that?



Waaah!





Judith's having so much fun!

(attempting to open the chest) Hey, this thing's stuck...






M-m-m-monst...
Huh? ...Aaaaah!
It appears to have the opposite effect.
What are you talking about?!
It's drawing the monsters to us.





Easy battle against random enemies, nothing interesting.






In the PS3 version, it's not some random ghosts that appear, but rather...









Direct link to the battle if you skipped the cutscene link before





This is a pretty fun boss fight. He's fairly brutal, to which I respond by rushing him head-on with three physical attackers. It works out surprisingly well.








One attack he likes a lot is swiping everyone in front of him into the air, then shooting them a couple times with his exploding-rounds-shooting revolver. It's not too bad though.



Another attack is this, where he just spins around and swipes around him, somehow. It's also not too bad.





This, however, is bad. He jumps into the air, then shoots his revolver into the ground around him. It damages you a lot and can even hit multiple times if you're unlucky.



After he's done with that attack, though, he's gotta reload. The secret mission is to hit him while he's reloading and Yuri's in a perfect position to do that.





Once more, for good measure. Note how I'm dead.







I, of course, won't stand for that and hit him with a nice Burst Arte -> Fatal Strike combo once I get revived.










Another attack is this, large swipes and a shockwave in front of him. He didn't actually hit anyone though so I'm not sure how much it hurts.



After a while, he, like pretty much every boss, goes down.



The Secret Mission reward is a Sephira, an accessory that increases Gald rewards.

Trophy:

Secret Mission 8





There's no reason for us to chase after that monster, right?






Should we give it back to him? "Him" is referring to the dead guy in the chair, "it" to the box.
I think that's what he wants!



You what?!
Would it be possible to add that to the jobs being done by the guild?
We can't, Estelle. As a rule, tiny guilds like ours don't take on a new job... ...until they complete the one they're working on.
Completin' each job to the letter is the way new guilds have ta build their reputation.
Hm? Is the guild going to be sent running here and there by another one of this girl's whims?
Hey! You don't have to talk to her like that, you know!
Rita, wait... Judith, I am sorry. But I want to help him deliver this...to the one who was waiting for him.



...



Rita...
You all have your hands full looking for Phaeroh and escorting Estelle, right? I'm free to do what I like.
Well, I'll come along too, then!
I don't mind going either.
H-hold it, you guys have your jobs to take care of!
You know you're going to end up sticking with us anyway. So I don't see any problem with us helping you out a little on the side.
Thank you!
Ah, how I envy the vigor of youth.



Notice something?
It looks like there's smoke outside.



That might be Tokunaga's smoke signal. I wonder if the ceres blastia's working again.
Let's get back and check it out.
Come to mention it, we won't be able to get back the way we came.
We'll just have to see if we can't find a better way out.


Skit: The Box
It looks like the case holding the clear ciel crystal just won't open... I wish we could make sure it's actually in there, considering the sort of place we found it in.
Couldn't you just bust it open with your magic?
No, I can't.
Right. If we damaged the contents we wouldn't be able to make the delivery.
No, I mean I already tried blowing it up.
This little box is tougher than it looks.
...I...I'm at a loss for words.
Forget it, Estelle. There's not much you can say to that.
A-anyway, I suppose it makes sense to put something so important in an unbreakable box.




Climbing up the ladder in the back leads to the top of the deck, and another mast to climb.




A really huge mast.





With nothing on top! Why is this even here?

Forums user Polsy had the following to say about that mast:


That's slightly better I suppose, but doesn't really excuse them being empty in the 360 version.

Oh well, back inside, we can check out the locked door again to find that it's no longer locked.




I guess we can go back through here.
...Hmm, the curse was broken, huh?
Don't be ridiculous! Now, let's go!
Yes, ma'am.







Wh-where did you get that?
I thought something like this might happen, so I brought this from inside the ship!
...I think I'm gonna gag.
All right, let's go back to the ship...
Nearly falls off the edge. ...Wahhhh!
Good grief...
If the ceres blastia's been fixed, that means we can say sayonara to this hellhole!





Skit: Skull Monster
I wonder what that skeleton monster was? It wasn't like other monsters.
It may have been a wandering spirit dwelling on the Atherum.
T-t-that's impossible! It's unscientific!
Did you sense anything, Repede?
Woof woof! Woof!
What did Repede say?
Um... I'm not sure.
I guess Yuri is the only one who can interpret for us. Hey, Yuri!
H-hey! Do we really need to go to such lengths to make things clear!?
I wonder if it was really okay to let that monster escape...


A couple ladders later, we're back on the Fiertia.


Watch the cutscene!



So it seems.
Of all the... Why do I always get sucked into these messes? If it was anybody other than me, you guys would've been left behind.
Sorry about that. We'll never do it again, promise.
*Sigh*
I wonder what caused the ceres blastia to break down?
Who knows? It just came back to life suddenly...
Ya really think there's a curse then?



No way! Dead people can't want to do anything...
Doors get stuck, the ceres blastia stops working... Sounds like a curse to me.

Rita punches Karol in the back of his head.



What're you hitting me for...?
I'm just glad that no one was hurt.
Well, the boss here's seen better days.
Hey, are we going to Nordopolica or not? Let's get this thing out of here.
Right. I'm looking forward to finally getting there as well.





*phew* Finally out of that ship. Now we actually have some free choice where to go, as long as we don't go to Nordopolica.

Also seems like I cooked enough to trigger this skit:

Skit: The Secret Ingredient
Yuri's croquettes are the best!
How strange... They're just balls of mashed potatoes, but...
There must be a secret ingredient!
Oh yeah? What'd ya put in it, Yuri?
Love.
Agh! ...*Hack* *hack* Ick, blech!
Wh-who are you and what did you do with Yuri...?
My hearin' isn't what it used to be. What did ya say the secret ingredient was?
Love! The lady who ran the inn where I lived always said cooking was all about love.
I put as much love in them as I could. So eat them with care, okay?
Yuri's love-filled croquettes...
Ugh...
I wish they weren't so good...
A secret ingredient is a cook's greatest treasure. You didn't want to tell them, did you?
Actually, I didn't put anything special in there at all.


In preparation for next time, I'm gonna sail east and dock my ship near Zaphias.



And that's it for today. Next time: Sidequesting!