Part 59: Hanging around in Yormgen

Before we stay at the inn to progress the story, we can talk a bit with party members.

The first is Rita, back inside the Sage's residence with Duke.




...
...





What's the point? He's not gonna talk to me.
So this was a complete waste of time?
Well, I wouldn't go that far.
Apatheia...?
When the aer krene went berserk, Regaey--I mean, Yeager--was carrying this box.



You think the apatheia is what's causing the aer krene to go out of control?
Judging from the evidence, it could be a valid hypothesis.
So when the blastia in Heliord was going out of control...you think there was apatheia nearby? And the aer krene in Keiv Moc, too...
There may have been. Otherwise, maybe the apatheia's been damaging the whole world's aer krene little by little, and a large distortion just happened to appear then.
...I see.
It's really nothing more than a guess, but it could be right.
You don't sound very sure of yourself.



Hmph...
...Well, okay. Maybe I can do something with this after all.
What are you going to do now?
The next step after a hypothesis is testing it!


By searching a bit around the house, we can find a Strange Mark, a kinda useful accessory.




Next up is Karol, who's staring at the sea.




Yeah, our first job as a guild was an egregious failure. What do you think, should we go back to Dahngrest?
That might be best...but would you be okay with that, Yuri? And what about Estelle?
I'd be fine with it. As for Estelle... I'll leave that answer up to her.
All right...



Huh? Oh, yeah...it is, isn't it? No guilds, no empire...it's a little strange.
Yeah, but I think it's relaxing.
Yeah... But even so, I prefer Dahngrest.
That's how everyone is. Everybody prefers the place where they grew up.
You too, Yuri?
Well, yeah, sure.
But if we're going to work together in Brave Vesperia, we'll have to decide on a single place for our home base.



Someplace new...?
Yeah, you know. Everyone thinks of Dahngrest as the Union's city, but it's really Altosk's city. It could be like that. Brave Vesperia could make its own city.
Brave Vesperia's own city... Yeah, I like that idea...




We've got a lot of jobs as a guild ahead of us before we can be thinking about things like that.
Yeah...! ...Now that you mention it, Nordopolica is Palestralle's city, isn't it?
Yeah, if you think of it that way, Nordopolica's more of a guild city than Dahngrest, even.
Yeah. And Belius rules the city, too... Nordopolica, hmmm... Leader of a city, Duce of a guild... I wonder what sort of person Belius is...?



Raven's hanging out on the left side of town.




Hey there, young'un. What, you wanna get rid of me so soon?
Wrong. I just wouldn't want you to miss the new moon and your chance to deliver the letter all on our account.
Honestly, I could do fine without your concern.
Wrong again.



What? You're too young to bother yourself with such fluff.
It's a matter of Brave Vesperia being trustworthy. You see what I mean?
We've still got time left until the new moon. We'll be fine.



Anyway, I ain't about to go back through the desert and that cave myself! If I got killed by some monster on the way there, not only would the letter not get delivered, but Brave Vesperia certainly wouldn't look very trustworthy to potential clients then, would they?



Oh, how kind of...
...Wait, hey!
Anyway, just so long as you won't go blaming me if you don't manage to deliver it on time.
No problem!♪



Estelle's outside the inn.




But I learned about some very important things.



But the only new thing we learned was what those words mean. As for the reason Phaeroh's trying to kill you...it seems we won't know unless we go and ask him directly.
But you heard what he was saying. If I go to meet Phaeroh, he'll just wipe me out.
It looks like we'll never know the truth, then...
After all this...



No, no way.
...Maybe...
Huh...?



What do you mean?
If I'd never met you, Yuri, and I'd just kept living my life in that castle, I would have lived without ever knowing about the Child of the Full Moon, or the Entelexeia, or any of that. So maybe I could just go on living without knowing why Phaeroh wants me dead.
So you're saying you should just go back to the capital?
I think that's definitely an option.
...If that's what you want to do, I won't stop you.
Yuri...
Our contract with you is null and void at this point, after all.
...That's true.



And I'm not too good at pretending to forget things that I already know.
...
If you can do that, then I don't have any problem with it. But can you really?
Then, I... I can't do that, either. But I have no idea what I should do in this sort of situation...



...That'd be a good summary of your situation...right?
Yes...
Gotcha.


And as always, we run into Judith by attempting to leave town.





Yes, I guess I'm a pretty restless person.
That's unexpected.
You seem to have some problems staying put, yourself.
I'm pretty restless, myself.



...
Maybe it's the wanderlust coming back to me from when I used to fly around with Ba'ul all the time.
Yeah, back when you were wearing that weird white armor...
Yes.

Are you going to go look for Phaeroh by yourself?
Nah.
Oh, then where were you planning on going?
Only a walk.
Oh, I see.



No, must be your imagination.





We can also find Patty in the inn in the PS3 version.




Want some oden?
Is it any good?
Why don't you give it a shot?



It's my grandfather's secret recipe.
What do you mean? I thought you lost your memory.
I know everything when it comes to Aifread. I spent a long time investigating him, after all. During my travels, I learned that Aifread told me my name.
Aifread gave you your name?
Aye. That's my oldest memory.
Huh.
Whenever I remember the kind look he gave me back then, I feel all warm inside. I don't know if he's my real grandfather or not. But I feel like he's such an important person to me that I can't think of him any other way.
I see. Still, it may be wise to keep that name a secret.
Aye. But...
You're used to it now.
Aye. It's best not to sweat the little stuff.
"When the going gets tough, the tough don't cry!", was it? Even though you know that in your head, it won't stop what you're feeling.
I've got more patience than a camouflaged stone flounder sitting still on a stone wall.
Is that so? That attitude got in the way of getting information from your sought-after informant, though.
No worries! Things will work out somehow. Tomorrow's wind will blow tomorrow, and what will be shall be. Anyway, you'll feel down if your stomach's grumbling.



Mm... It's good.
Aye! Of course it is!




Having talked to everyone, we can rest.




The next morning...


Watch the cutscene!



Sorry to keep you waiting.



Man: Yes. Thanks to your help, we've recovered our strength. We were thinking we'd cross the desert with you all... That is, if you don't mind.
Just make sure ya don't go wanderin' off.
How about us? What's our plan after this?



But I am curious about the Entelexeia, too.





I want to see just what kind of person the leader of the only guild to rival Altosk really is.



That's assuming he's still in Nordopolica, of course.



Which means I have to meet Phaeroh...
But there's got to be another way that doesn't involve Phaeroh.
Right... Besides, walking around in the desert just looking for him wouldn't be easy.
Why don't we all head for Nordopolica, then? You're only looking to find out the reason you were...attacked by the Entelexeia, correct?
Y-yes...



Why, because of the connection between the Entelexeia and the coliseum?
I do remember Yeager mumblin' somethin' about the Entelexeia of Nordopolica.
If we can believe anything he told us.
Well, we'll pass through the Weasand of Cados on the way to see Belius. Good enough?



Right. First let's get back to Mantaic.




Yeah. We'll have to get a move on if we're going to see her. I'll kick myself if we miss the new moon and have to wait another month.


Skit: Likes and Dislikes
Yormgen and Mantaic are totally different. It's much cooler here. Maybe it's the ocean...
But it seems boring. I wonder what the folks here do for fun.
I kind of like it. This kind of calm, quiet village suits me.
I can't stand loud people.
Ohhhh. That's gotta hurt, old man.
She was talking about the town, not about me!
Hmm, maybe...
D-do you really hate me that much?




Before we start heading back, though, I synth some stuff at the store and get some Altered Artes.


Aerial Combo: Adds 1 more hit to an aerial attack.


Chain
Hell Fire
Strength 3: Attack +15%.


Aerial Combo: Adds 1 more hit to an aerial attack.
Strength 2: Attack +10%.
HP Recover: Increases the amount of HP recovered.


Attack Arte Charge: Ability to charge up offensive artes with Mighty Charge.
Critical Break: Increases chance of guard breaks.
Roll


Spirit Healer: Increases TP recovered after battle.
TP Condition 3: Increases magic defense slightly when TP is more than 75% of the max amount.
Alembic


Life Healer: Recover HP after a battle.
TP Condition: Increases physical defense slightly when TP is more than 75% of the max amount.
TP Condition 2: Increases physical defense when TP is less than 25% of the max amount.


In Step: Increases the advancing distance during a Critical Guard.
Chain
Hell Fire


Long Range: Extends the attack range for bow & arrows.
Heavy Arrow: Increases the effect of an arrow attack while the interval decreases. Limited to normal attacks. (ie the delay between shots becomes bigger)
TP Condition: Increases physical defense slightly when TP is more than 75% of the max amount.



Yuri: Azure Edge + Chain -> Azure Storm





Azure Edge combined with Chain gets you Azure Storm, essentially two chained Azure Edges. The individual hits are actually significantly weaker than the normal Azure Edge ones, but it's still worth getting to stagger enemies for a longer time, especially once you get the ability that lets you chain base to altered artes or vice versa.






While checking for altered stuff, Yuri learns Raging Blast. Not an arte I normally use. A slight dash forward followed by a punch and an explosion that knocks enemies down.


Skit: The Clear Ciel Crystal
Can a clear ciel crystal really be used to make a barrier?
If they could, and we had enough, we'd be able to make as many barriers as we wanted.
Then even areas that suffer frequent monster attacks could be assured safety.
Yeah, but if it were possible, wouldn't something like that have happened by now?
Maybe it's best not to get our hopes up about it, then.
Ever the realist, I see.
All I'm doing is speculating on the most probable outcome.
Actually, I think that's what being a realist means.



Rita: Spread Zero + Alembic -> Demon's Lance.





Like most of Rita's magic, it's really just one more option to throw at enemies, but it looks cool.

Also, I'm not sure if I ever showed off most Fatal Strikes (I probably didn't), so here's a nice shot of Rita's red one:








Skit: Duke
Duke certainly has an air of mystery about him.
I thought he was pretty cold. Would it have killed him to listen to us a little?
Maybe he was caught off guard. We did just kind of show up out of nowhere.
Did one of us say anything rude to him?
Probably you, Rita...
Ha!
Ow! Hey, no hitting!
I wonder if he's always lived here in Yormgen.
Who knows. I didn't get the feelin' he'd been here all that long, though.
Duke is pretty weird, but this whole town is pretty weird, too.
Yeah, no kidding.


Raven: Around + Chain -> Around and Around.






A series of slashes with his knife and knife-bow.


And that's it for now. Next time, back across the desert.