Part 61: Back through Cados

Watch the cutscene!



Yeah, it's called oversleeping.
We're ready to hit the road, so get that sleep out of your eyes.



Yeah. Flynn and his crew went back to Nordopolica.
That must mean they were traveling by night.
Was there some emergency they had to deal with?
Maybe they had to take care of the monsters from the coliseum.
I'll bet Palestralle requested the help of the knights.
Hmm, we'll have to wait and see.
...?
Well, it's just that Flynn said something about a barricade.
Barricade? What could that mean?



I can't imagine that Palestralle would be outmaneuvered that easily by the Knights.
I get the feeling this is going to get messy.
Maybe we should think twice about headin' back ta Nordopolica for now.
But the new moon's almost here. If we miss this chance who knows when we might meet Belius again.
That's all well and good. I'm just not in a hurry ta get tangled up with that armor wearin' bunch.
Me neither.
We'll just have to be careful, like always. No use panicking about it.
Don't forget, I want to take a look at the aer krene in Cados.
Don't worry. I haven't forgotten. All right, let's head out.





Skit: Cumore's Missing
Things are bound to improve here in Mantaic, now that Flynn's liberated the town.
They did allow the ringleader to escape, though.
Cumore? Flynn'll catch him in no time! Right, Yuri?
...Hmm? Oh, yeah, sure he will.
Is something wrong? He looked troubled...
Estelle's not her usual perky self, either.
Th-that's not true. I'm as happy as you all are that Mantaic's been freed.
I-if you say so...


There's a few more things we can do before leaving town. If we reenter the main area of town by either leaving town and reentering, or entering and exiting the inn, this scene happens:



What's up, Yuri?



Yeah, you're right. Hmm, I wonder what we should do. We could get a job in Dahngrest if we were members of the Union...
Hey kid, didn't ya know? The Union'll throw you work even if ya don't join 'em. They take a cut, but...
Really?!
Really!
But it'll take us some time to return to Dahngrest from here...
If we can find a Union's outpost staff around, we might be able to get a job.
Then why not look for them?
Judy, ya coming?
Woof!
Uh... but, what should we do about Phaeroh?
If this is something we need to do as a guild, I don't mind.
Thank you Estelle!
OK, let's go.


Despite what the scene suggests, we can't actually start any Brave Vesperia guild related sidequests until a bit later, but the first stop for those quests is indeed in Mantaic here. I guess they didn't expect you reenter the main area so quickly? I dunno.


Skit: Flynn - Part 2
Your friend is quite talented, considering the ease with which he saved Mantaic.
Who, Flynn? That was nothing for him.
...You know him really well, don't you Yuri?
Well, we've hung around together since we were kids.
You don't hang around together much anymore, though.
...
Yuri?




Another thing we can do is go to this back area, which was previously blocked off by the knights.



We can find this peculiar kid here, as well as the start of a multi-part sidequest that might seem familiar to those who played Tales of the Abyss.



Ding-dong! I'm Kowz! You can call me K-Z for short. Nice to meetcha!
K-Z? Don't you think Kowz is plenty short enough?
No need to be so sassy, Flatty McChesterson!
F-flatty McChesterson!! Hah hah! I like the cut of yer jib, K-Z!



I'm surrounded by idiots... What's the point of having big boobs, anyway? They just get in the way!
I g-guess...
So, what are you doing in a place like this, anyway?
Goooood question! I guess you could say I'm helping out with some chores.
Oh, that's so nice of you to help your mother with the chores!



Is Ant Lion Man the name of a friend of yours, or something?
Yepperoo! Something like that, Ms. Bouncy-bouncy.
B-bouncy-bouncy...
Anyway, could ya let me borrow an Apple Gel? If you do, I'll show you what I mean.



Round and round we go! Where we stop...only I know!



Catch!





What the heck was that...
That is my friend, the Ant Lion Man. You can call him A-to-the-L for short.
I'm...at a loss...
So... He took that apple gel, huh?
I think so... I was too flabbergasted by all this weirdness to really notice.
Yo, give that apple gel back, you!
Give it back? Don't be so heartless, Flatty!



Obtained Milk!

Fresh-squeezed from the udders of yours truly! Moo hoo hoo. ♥


The Ant Lion Man sidequest! Basically, you can return here periodically throughout the rest of the game and give him various random items in exchange for various other, usually worse, items. If you keep doing this, however, the final reward is a ton of useful equipment, so I recommend it.


Skit: A Barrier in an Oasis
Why would someone set up a barrier in a place like this?
Actually, they discovered the blastia at the bottom of the oasis, and have just been using it as is. A nice person in town told me that.
And with it sunk in the oasis, no one could move it, so I guess they had to leave it where it was.
No one would trudge out into a scorching wasteland like this just to set up a barrier.
Ah, that explains it. Guess there's a reason for everything.




That's all we can do here for now, let's head for Nordopolica.



Just a short walk after leaving town, however...




Merchant: Ah, are you going to the Weasand of Cados?
Yes, we are. Why do you ask?



Merchant: It's not just here--they've set up blockades at all of the routes through the mountains.
Blockades...? Why would they...
Merchant: I don't know all the details, but I heard that it has something to do with some danger in Nordopolica.
What should we do... We need to get to Nordopolica before the new moon!
Merchant: I wish I could help, but they wouldn't even let me through, and I have a travel permit.
Are you a member of the Fortune's Market?
Merchant: Yes.
How'd you get your permit?
The empire issues travel permits to Fortune's Market so that its members can travel wherever they want...at least, that's how it's supposed to be...
Merchant: Right, but the Imperial Knights wouldn't let me go any further. I'm going back to Mantaic, since there's no way to get around them.



Hmmm, I couldn't say. Either way, we can't afford to be stuck here for much longer.
Yes, it'll be a lot of trouble if we miss the new moon.
But I don't think they'd let us through, even if we asked nicely.
Well, to be honest, we can go take a look and think about how to get in... The hard part will only come once we've gotten inside.
What do you mean, "once we've gotten inside?"
They set up blockades to make it hard to get outta the mountains...gettin' inside shouldn't be nearly as tough. I think that much is safe to assume.
Well then, should we go back to Mantaic to do some final preparations?
No, we're fine. Let's go like we are.


Well, we should have expected that.



Still, we're gonna press on and see where it gets us.




The Flynn Brigade...
So that's the blockade?



But...what are those monsters doing here?
P'raps they've been tamed by the knights?
This brigade is reminding me of Flynn less and less... ...What the hell is Flynn doing with his knights, anyway...
With hardcore tactics like this, there ain't any doubt in my mind this has something to do with the talk of Belius engineering the Great War.
So how do we get past this checkpoint...








Sidenote, instead of Raven himself coming up with that idea and rolling with it, Patty asks him to do it in the PS3 version. This isn't really important, but gives context for a later skit.





Another thing to point out is that they also completely redid the camerawork for this scene -- and a couple others throughout the game -- for no particular reason.










Hey hey, don't leave this old man behind!










I thought I'd liven things up a bit!
Geez...




In the PS3 version, there's a bit more about Patty coming up with the idea instead of Raven.

That was pretty slick, old man!
Whatta ya mean? I just followed Patty's advice. Ya catch more bees with honey, am I right?
What do you mean by "honey"?
That's - a - secret. ♥ It's a promise between the two of us, okay Patty? ♪
Geez...
It's - a - secret. ♥ Aye!
What's with them...
It's probably a waste of time thinking about it. Forget it. Let's get moving.




Skit: Closing Everything Off
Only the empire has enough power to cut off all the ways in and out of a whole town.
Well, the guilds' power is totally different. The Union would never try something like this.
It's the empire's style. Crush problems with everything they've got. What are they after?
Who do they think they are, sealing off all the roads like this?
I think the answer to that lies in Nordopolica. We should hurry, before we're caught.


The dungeon itself hasn't really changed since the last time we were here, except now a couple knights are running around.





Do note that, despite the game being pretty good with that most of the time, some of the knights here are one-off scans. If you miss them you won't be able to complete the Monster Book!



Super Chain 4: Allows linking Base to Altered Artes.
Magic Guard Plus


A chest with this sword in it also randomly pops up while the knights are here. Be sure to grab it, Super Chain 4 is really useful.


A short walk after entering...



Yeah, but they went and sealed off a dangerous place like this just to isolate Nordopolica. These guys mean business.
Seriously, even bringing monsters to help?
Whatever they're doing, it can't be good.
I can't believe that Flynn would order something like this...



When a brigade gets big and famous enough, things can start to get outta hand.
You certainly know a lot about these things. Makes sense for someone in Altosk.
Things can end up like that no matter what the organization.
What worries me...is how much of a hand Flynn had in all this.
I'm sure we'll get a good understandin' of that as soon as we can get to Nordopolica.
That's right.
But we should be on our guard. Even though I find it hard to believe that they've conquered Nordopolica by force...
Yeah, I think Palestralle would have a problem with that.
Sorry, Rita. You won't get much time to investigate the aer krene.
Grr... Oh well... I don't have much choice. It'd be bad if they caught up to us.



Yuri sure is enthusiastic.
He won't say it, but I reckon he's just worried about his friend.





Skit: Promise with the Old Man
So, what's this secret promise between the two of you about?
Promise? What are you talking about?
Weren't you and the old man going on about some promise back in Cados?
...?
Did you forget?
...!
No, of course not!
(...So she forgot.)
So, it really is a secret?
I'll make a special exception and tell you, Yuri.
Well, I'm glad to hear that.
I told him that if he did a good job, I'd ask for Judy's measurements for him.
... You really know the right buttons to push.
He's just easy to understand!
Hey, what's up? We've gotta get going!
Old man... You should act your age. Try to control yourself.
Aye, you should.
W-what are you talking about!?











Sure.
It's completely inactive now... And it was overflowing so much before... Is that how the aer was controlled? How could a monster do something like that...
Is that aer krene safe now?
We'll be in trouble if aer shoots out of it like before!
It doesn't look like you have to worry about that...



That's what's puzzling me.
Maybe it was just a natural phenomenon?
The probability of that is low, at best. If that was the case, it should be emitting aer at regular intervals.
If aer were emitted that frequently, it'd have an effect on the environment.
Like how the plants grew so unnaturally in Keiv Moc.
Looks pretty normal 'round here to me.



But what could do that... Only a formula or blastia could affect aer like that...



Damn, that would be our fan club. Seems like these knights are just as dedicated as the Captain himself. Rita, let's go. Are you done looking at the aer krene?
Just let me think a little more...
If you just need time to think, you'll have plenty of time once we've gotten out of here!
Mmm...all right, all right!


Skit: Investigating the Aer Krene
If the aer krene was disturbed by...
Did you figure anything out?
...It's still too early to say. I've got some leads, but it's nothing I can be sure of, yet.
Well, make sure and let us know when you've nailed it down.
...I will.
All right, let's head out.

Yuri leaves.

And it'll probably involve you...


While we're in here, Rita learns (δ/χ)λ＝ι "Ideal".







Pretty neat, especially considering that it's a physical Rita arte.





Skit: All for You...
Yuri, you're really good at cooking!
*Woof*
Yer not half bad yerself, Karol.
You're pretty good at it too, for an old man who's always making excuses not to cook.
The ladies love a man who can cook!
No way... If that were true, I'd be the coolest guy around!
Seriously, it's true!
Even if it doesn't make me cool, I guess I'm happy just to have other people enjoy my cooking.
Yeah, it's a lot better than just cooking for yourself.
*Woof*
It's nice watchin' a lady enjoy a good meal.
I could care less about guys.
Next time I cook for you, Raven, all you're getting is a butter sandwich.
Nah, spreading butter is too much work. Just give him the crusts.
What happened ta being happy about other people enjoy yer cooking...?





Reaching the cave exit, we reach another cutscene.


Watch the cutscene!








Raven, can you do something like you did before?
Best not ta press your luck when the Knights're takin' their work so seriously.
They don't look that serious from here.



How has our illustrious Schwann Brigade ever been reduced to playing back up for Flynn?!
Enough complaining! If you don't like it, we'd better produce some results!



They found us...
What is this?
Knight: You three! Don't let them escape!





A-and Your Highness!
Wh-what're we gonna do?!
Oh, well. Here goes nothing!
Wait!


















Ahh, it's nothing. Enough standin' around. They'll catch up in no time if we don't get movin'.
Yeah. Let's head for Nordopolica, quick.


Well, that was strange. No time to ponder it though, we need to move on!




Skit: Cook to Live
Yuri, you like cooking, don't you?
I don't know about "like"... Why?
We've been making you cook for us all the time, and you haven't refused once.
Quiet, Estelle! We don't want him ta stop!
It's all right. I noticed.
You don't mind? Isn't it a lot of work?
I used to cook for myself when I was living in the capital. It's not bad at all.
It's not bad...but you don't really like it?
Well...
it was better than having to eat dangerously awful stuff every single day.
He meant well, but he didn't realize how bad he was. This was the only way to stop him.
Ya got my condolences, Yuri.
Why are you looking at me?!
Rita's cooking is nothing compared to this stuff, trust me.
I'd like to meet someone who could make food like that.
It's like lookin' at a scary monster.
I'll pass on the food, though.
...You already met him.







And here we are, back at Nordopolica. Next time, we're finally gonna talk with Belius.