Part 76: The Shrine of Baction, Part 1

Skit: Working With Entelexeia
So it really was Duke's friend who saved us all in the Sands of Kogorh.
You mean that monster we met in Cados?
She's not a monster, she's an Entelexeia. She must have been regulating the aer in the Weasand of Cados, right?
I think I saw something right before we collapsed in the desert.
I wonder if that Entelexeia is an ally of humans or not?
She's the same as Ba'ul and Belius. We can communicate with Entelexeia, so I'm sure we can all get along just fine.
Yes.
...


Skit: Alexei's Plan
Now we won't have to fight against Flynn any more.
Come to think of it, when did you realize Alexei was planning to overthrow the empire?
I've had doubts about the Commandant's orders for a while now. After you warned me at Nordopolica, I went through all the incidents that had occurred to date.
So that's how you discovered that it was Alexei pulling the strings behind Barbos, Ragou and Cumore?
After I learned Lady Estellise had been taken prisoner by him, I was sure of it. If only I had realized it sooner...
But still, you realized he was up to something on your own. There's still time. Let's take Estelle back.
Yes. You're Patty, right? I'm happy that you're lending a hand in rescuing Lady Estellise.
Of course! I won't let Alexei get away with any more of his schemes!




Last time, we unveiled Alexei as the mastermind (or rather, he unveiled himself, but whatever), then got information from Yeager that he's headed towards Baction. Since we had no other leads, we decided to trust that information.







Heracles...! Alexei brought out the big guns, I see.


Watch the CG scene!










Alexei's still trying to get apatheia, it seems.
It looked like it got away, though.
Yeah, it looked like it was forced into those ruins.
Those ruins definitely appear to be the temple, Baction.



It doesn't matter what Alexei's planning to do.
Right. We're just here to rescue Estelle.
But if we get too close like this, we'll end up like Astal.
Let's land a little bit away from it and approach on the ground.


Watch the cutscene!





Alexei!





Give Estelle back!
Estelle, come on, wake up! Estelle!





A...aaah!!







As you can see, the Princess' life will fade each time she uses her power. If you care for her, then do not interfere further. Heh heh...



...You...bastard...













These were the Captain's orders. He sent us here when he became aware of Heracles' movements. You should show some gratitude for the Captain's foresight.
I swear, that guy... You tell Flynn we don't need him sticking his nose where it doesn't belong.



But just look at you. After all the boasting you did. Pitiful.
Sorry, but unlike your precious Captain, we aren't perfect.



Uhh... Huh? What are they...?



...How can someone like you... How can the Captain possibly consider someone like you his friend?! Our Captain is the ideal to which we all aspire. He's the epitome of an Imperial Knight. And yet!





We don't have time to sit around and play guidance counselor for you.
A-Apple Head?!



Sodia, no, don't! Sodia!
...Listen well, Yuri Lowell. Your very existence is hurting our Captain. Stay away from him!

Sodia leaves.



Um, Flynn also wanted me to give you this message. "Take care." A-all right, now we've done everything we came here to do. You're on your own after this.
(offscreen) Platoon, fall out! We must hurry to rejoin the brigade.



Yuri...



Right. If she's forced to use her power, then it'll be too late to save her or fix the aer.
That bastard... Using her like some kind of tool...! He's gonna pay!
Come on!


Skit: The Entelexeia, Astal
If we don't go after Alexei, that Entelexeia we saw is gonna wind up an apatheia.
Even from this far away, Astal's wounds looked terrible. He might not hold out much longer...
I guess not even the Entelexeia are a match for Heracles.
Maybe that was Alexei's reason for building it in the first place.
Naturally. There's no way he'd need something that powerful just to take care of the guilds.
Whatever the case, we have to catch Alexei and stop him before it's too late for Astal.


In the PS3 version, Ioder sent Sodia and Witcher instead of Flynn. Flynn is with us after all. They try to get Flynn to come with them instead of going into Baction with Yuri, but Flynn refuses. Apart from that the scene is pretty much the same. This place has a bunch of new scenes and skits due to Flynn, though.



Going inside, we run right into another cutscene.




Flynn sent his knights to help us!
That idiot...sending the better part of his subordinates over here! He should be worried about his own butt.



He must really be worried.
About us? Or about Estelle?
Both, I'd hope.
Woof!
I swear...it's not like he has time to be worrying about other people.



So Flynn hasn't completely hardened to others either...




PS3 version of this scene:

Watch the cutscene!



Wow, I can't believe Prince Ioder sent help for us.
I'm pretty sure he sent help for Flynn and Estelle, not us. Right?
Coming in itself is crazy, but so is sending help. Does that prince even understand the gravity of his own position?
That's the kind of person His Highness is.



Is he grieving over what happened with Estelle, or what happened with Alexei?
...Both. Let's hurry.



We're not in any position to take things easy.
We don't know where enemies might turn up. Calm down.
You're right. I apologize. You're all far more...
Don't worry about it. We're all on the same team here.



I'm fine. Really, just dandy! Now then, let's get going! Estelle is waiting!

Patty runs ahead.



It's true that it's not unheard of for the Knights to employ guilds, however...
We don't know enough to say anything for sure. We should save this conversation for later. Let's go.


Skit: Apatheia Held by Alexei
So, just how much does Alexei know about the apatheia?
He said that they conceal a horrific power. He claimed if that power fell into the Union's hands, there was a chance that the guilds would exploit it for military purposes, and oppose the Empire. And that's why the knights were ordered to collect and manage them.
And what does that have to do with kidnapping Estelle and taking the Hermes blastia?
Alexei must be planning on using the apatheia for no good!
If so, then just what in the world does he want to use it for?
He's going after Astal's apatheia now...
Astal? That entelexia we just saw?
Either way, we need to catch him and take back Estelle! After that, we can make him spit out everything he knows!
You're right. Let's hurry!




Baction can be a quite tough dungeon, for reasons that will become apparent soon.



Based on the state of the shrine, it doesn't seem like anyone's been here in a long time.



Well except for monsters I guess.



And the Imperial Knights have spread themselves around here too, now. There's at least one unique enemy among the knights here, so make sure you scan him if you're going for a full monster book.

Not too far in, we run into another cutscene.


Watch the PS3 version of this cutscene! (Japanese voices)



I'm going to go check out what's ahead.
Repede.





It's okay. Relax.

Karol and Repede return.



Repede's sense of smell doesn't seem to be working too well here, either.
I see. We can't afford to get lost in here.
Here, use these.



Y-you're always so well prepared!
Karol, can you do this?
Yeah, I'm good with maps. Leave it to me.
We'll be in a lot of trouble if you mess up, you know!
D-don't say that, come on...everything'll be fine, probably...

(this is totally a sound effect from Zelda at the end there, by the way)




So yeah, this is a maze. At least you get a map. I dunno why the space two to the left is filled in, but the room to the right is the one we entered from. If you go back and up,



you'll run into a dead end -- at least for now. We can come back later with a more powerful Sorcerer's Ring to explore this part.

This dungeon can be a war of attrition: In addition to the fact you probably don't know which way is the right way, you don't have any real healer except Karol (in the 360 version, anyway), there's tons of enemies, and enemies respawn whenever you change rooms. Not to mention that the Encounter Link mechanic can screw you if you're not careful, it's surprisingly easy to draw three enemy groups into the same battle here.




Skit: Situation at the Weasand of Cados
You never did give me a good reason.
Just what were you trying to accomplish with that blockade to Nordopolica at the Weasand of Cados?
I was following Alexei's orders. That's all.
Was taming monsters also one of his orders?
Most likely... But it was my fault for not understanding what my own troops were doing. I have no right to consider myself a commanding officer.
At least you know.
I'll definitely make up for all my errors.






Thankfully, there's a healing save point every once in a while, which is much appreciated.


Because there's lots of enemies here, we get a couple new artes:





Stalagmite + Athenor -> Riot Horn. Shoots a big stalagmite along the ground.







Yuri learns Wailing Havoc, where he jumps upwards together with an enemy, then kicks and slices the enemy in midair. Not one of my favorites.










Judith gets Moonbeam. This is a fun one: Judith jumps into the air, disappears, reappears above an enemy, shoots down an exploding spear, then teleports back to where she started.







And giving Yuri the earth-elemental altering skills alters two of his base artes. Shining Fang + Athenor -> Shining Fang Drop. A normal Shining Fang, then a jump and downward smash.






Azure Edge + Crucible -> Azure Blast. A powerful smash to the ground. I honestly don't like either ones of these altered artes, since they both cause knockdown and have some recovery and/or charge time. Besides, unless you grind them somewhere, using these means you won't have access to Shining Fang and Azure Edge for a while, two of Yuri's best artes if you ask me.






And last but not least, Repede learns Phantom Fang. He lies down on the ground for a short while, and if any enemy touches him during that, he jumps up with some rocks following him from below. Kinda neat, except there's a huge recovery time if no enemy touches Repede.


Past the first save point is a PS3-exclusive cutscene.



Watch the cutscene!





I'll probably be forced to fight him.
You're prepared for that, right?
Honestly, I find it hard to believe even now. No, it's more like, I don't want to believe it.



Sorry, but my answer is set in stone.
I know... Besides, we can't let him get away with his treatment of Lady Estellise.
No objections here.





Well, Flynn, you uh...know what Yuri did, right?
You must be referring to Ragou and Cumore.
Y-yeah.
You don't have to worry. I won't arrest Yuri. For now.
Does that mean you'll do it once we've rescued Estelle?
Yuri's actions are serious crimes in the eyes of the empire.



Serious crimes...
A personal grudge?! Yuri was just trying to...!
I know. Yuri didn't do it for personal reasons alone. But that's how the law sees it. And that's not because the Empire is corrupt or anything like that.



I'm really not sure anymore. Perhaps I am hesitating, or maybe...



Ah! S-sorry!
My, how scary. Let's get going.
...


Skit: Patty's Encouragement
You look like you're still hesitating.
...
Alexei is rotten to the core. Doubting that only makes you look like an idiot.
I know. Alexei's actions cannot be forgiven. But...
There's no buts about it! Don't hesitate! You've seen exactly what he's capable of with your own eyes.
You're right.
You're unexpectedly level headed.
Really? That's the first time anyone's told me that.
I have to get my act together, too.
Aye. Get your bearings straight, and overthrow Alexei!
Yeah.


Skit: Tense Mood
I wish I had stayed closer to Lady Estellise. I could have protected her...
That wasn't an option. She decided she wanted to travel with us.
That's true...
I know this is my fault.
No, that's not what I meant. I have no right to judge you.
I think I've had my fill on who's qualified to do what.
You're right.
Maybe it's just my imagination, but I feel like I could breathe easier at the bottom of the sea than here.
Yeah... Things seem kind of tense between Yuri and Flynn.






There's also these lamps scattered around the dungeon. I honestly have no clue why they're here. You can shoot them with the Sorcerer's Ring to turn them on, but



it kinda doesn't really light anything up.




Eventually, you'll come to a stairway downwards.



If you didn't already guess this from the fact the map has a BF1 on it, there's a second floor to this dungeon.

A bit further we come across a statue.




Watch the PS3 version of this cutscene! (Japanese voices)



This is a temple, after all. This is probably a statue of whatever deity the temple was dedicated to.
You know, it might just be a statue of the Entelexeia we just saw outside.
Huh? It couldn't be...I mean, a monster...that is, it's a...but they don't even look alike...
No, I think it's possible. The Entelexeia have powers beyond those of humans, and can speak in our language. It's not strange to think that humans would've worshipped them in ancient times.
The relationship between the Entelexeia and humans might be closer than we thought. Maybe they drifted apart during the long, long passage of time, eventually leading to the situation we find ourselves in now.
I-I think that I prefer the distance we have now to the cozy relationship we had back then, heh...heh...




Right after that scene is another save point, and past that...


Watch the cutscene!







Good call Karol. Estelle's gotta be back there somewhere. We don't have much time. Let's make this quick!



Not different from any of the random encounters here.


This is...



Can you open it?
It uses an ancient technology that's barely been studied at all. Even I've only seen something like this in books. I couldn't even guess how long a thorough analysis might take.



Locks usually aren't placed on anything that's easily broken into.
Yeah, you're right... Wait, how do you think Alexei got through here?
He probably forced the lock, using Estelle's...the power of the Child of the Full Moon.
Which means he made her use her power again.
...







Alexei's got her somewhere up ahead!
...I see. So he has made his move.
Are you here because of him, too?
The aer krene in this region has become severely imbalanced. I have come to restrain it.
...By restrain, you mean you actually have a way to do that?





That's enough.



An unstable Child of the Full Moon cannot be ignored.
You're as hard-headed as Phaeroh. I thought as a human, you'd see things differently.





Listen. She may be a bumbling, sheltered excuse for a princess, but she's one of ours. She's none of your concern. So back off!
Do you say that knowing just how great a threat her existence poses?
What we know's got nothing to do with it. Our motto is always do what's right. And if that means having to get up close and personal with you, then so be it.







The time has come to show me the resolve that so impressed Phaeroh.




Special: Trigger a mystic arte with Over Limit Lv. 3 or above. Hold the attack button after an arcane arte or above.
Super Chain: Able to link arcane to base artes.
Bastion: Changes Crushing Eagle to Guardian Field.

This is Dein Nomos. It is the only manner in which the aer may be quieted.





Duke, wait!



What are you doing with it? Why does something like that have the power to control the aer? Who are you?



Go, before you are too late. Soon you will learn for yourselves the true weight of the burden borne by the Entelexeia.
...










Skit: Just Who Is Duke?
Dein Nomos, the child of the full moon, "the resolve that impressed Phaeroh"?
Just who the hell is this Duke guy?
Well, judging from what he says, it seems he's in contact with Phaeroh.
And he has the sword Prince Ioder's been looking for... I don't like this.
Yeah, but why would he just lend us something as important as Dein Nomos? I thought he was stubborn, but maybe he's actually willing to listen to reason.
I wouldn't get my hopes up about that.
Don't we have more pressing concerns to worry about?
Yeah. Let's hurry.


What's behind this door? What's Alexei doing there? How much longer is this dungeon? Find out next time!



Notable loot acquired so far:


Heavy Magic: Increases power of a spell. Also increases TP consumption and cast time.
Item Pro: Decreases the amount of time a character is unable to move after using items.


Dash Cancel: Able to cancel actions with free run.