Part 72: Egothor Forest

Last time we left off right before entering Egothor, where we're supposed to beat up a mysterious group and find the Krityan hometown, Myorzo. So let's go do that!

Watch the cutscene!





Huh, it's nicer here than I imagined. Not a bad spot at all.
Whoa, really? I thought you liked being cooped up in cold, dark labs and stuff...
...I wish I could have seen it in its original state.



But that's a hoplon blastia...
What do you mean by "mystery group?"
We weren't able to get any details... But Tort said he'd tell us how to get to Myorzo if we did something about them.
Would "doing something" include smashing that thing?
I wonder. I suppose we could if there were no complaints.
I'll fix it so there's no need for you to break it.
Oh? I'll leave it to you, then.



Skit: The Kritya
So...is Myorzo here?
I wonder.
I get the feeling it won't be easy to find.
Nobody we talked to had even heard of a town called Myorzo.
You'd expect to see more activity in this place if anybody knew there was a town here.
The difficulty of the road might be responsible for that, though.
Man... Why'd the Krityans have to go and build a town in a place like this, anyway?
Probably to avoid a lot of prying eyes.
We're just gonna have ta check it out for ourselves ta make sure, then.





I kind of hate this dungeon. You might wonder why, since on first glance, it doesn't seem too bad. It looks nice and has some calm music playing, the enemies aren't too bad, and there's lots of side paths for treasure and stuff. Soon, one of those things will change though.




On a more positive note, I equip Chain on Karol, which transforms his Punishing Smash into Twin Punishing Smash:





He spins around with his weapon in front of him a couple times before having a short recovery time.


After a pretty short walk, we reach some knights and a cutscene.



The Royal Guard... This is the Commandant's private force of elite knights.
What are the Commandant's forces doing in a forest like this with hoplon blastia?
Knight: I have no reason to answer your questions. And civilian activity is restricted by law in this area.
Hmmm, be that as it may, why are you pointing that weapon at us like that?
Knight: Bring it on!



Karol learns Gaia Bug here, where he reaches into his bag, pulls out a random item, and throws it at the enemy.





It's pretty silly.



So here's one of the reasons I hate this dungeon: Nearly every cutscene in this place, of which there are a couple, throws at least one of those knight enemy groups as you. It's pretty annoying, as it's always the exact same group of enemies.



Well, we're off to a good start.
So the mysterious group of people was the Imperial Knights...
But why did he attack us?
Maybe because they're doing something here that they don't want anyone to know about?
You mean...with that blastia?



Maybe, yeah.





Right about here, this music starts playing and plays for the rest of the dungeon. This is probably the main reason why I hate it, because it's a terribly annoying track, which just makes you want to get through this thing as fast as possible rather than explore all the side paths and areas.



...What did you just do?
Same as what she did in Heliord...! Estelle's power took the aer and made it dissipate!



I'm, I'm sorry! I just thought about how everyone was in danger, and before I knew it my power...
Her power is starting to unconsciously respond to her feelings...
That last attack came from that blastia. It was aiming straight at us.
Which means that Estelle will end up using her power every time we're shot at.



Hey hey, you saved us, didn't you?
Yeah, if that had hit us head on, we would've been goners for sure! We should be mad at the fact that they shot at us, not that Estelle protected us!
We've sworn to settle Estelle's problems along with the world's problems. Everything we're doing right now is towards that purpose. We shouldn't let the details get in our way.
But won't Phaeroh get mad if she keeps doin' stuff like this? Whether it's by a blastia or by Phaeroh, I don't wanna be barbecued alive!
Come on, this is simple. We just have to do something about that blastia, right?
That's right.
Let's pummel the jerks who are controlling that blastia!
All right, let's go. Try to keep a low profile.


Skit: Rita and Estelle



But you'd be putting yourself in danger, Rita.
We're all in danger, so relax. Or maybe you don't believe I can do it?
No no! I'm just worried about you.
Well, I'm worried about you.
Those two sure have come a long way.
Their little fights were fun, though. Oh well, I guess this way's healthier for everyone.
Yeah, I think so, too.
Hey, peanut gallery. Shut up or we'll leave you behind.
She's still got a couple rough spots to work on, though...






Moving along until we eventually reach the hoplon blastia that shot us.





Watch the cutscene & battle!



Get out of our way!

One more of the knight battles here. Exactly the same as before.




Skip past battle.



We might have stopped the Knights, but we've still got to deal with this guy.
Hmm... He's not a Hermes blastia, but the formula's been encrypted...
Care to explain in English?
Basically, without a key to decode the formula, we can't turn it off.
So I assume breaking the code isn't...
...No, it's not easy. Even if I could break it, that would take time. Hmm... Maybe if I...
I don't think this will take much time at all.







What are you doing here...?!
Perhaps he is this blastia's engineer.
Engineer: N-no! I mean, I am an engineer, and all, but I...I was just following orders. I...I swear I never wanted to get involved in something like this...



Engineer: Y-yes, of course, right away...!



Humph... Duh. I knew right away you were only trying to make me jump.
Oh...?





What is it...?






It's kinda hard to tell even in-game, but Yuri gets thrown off the cliff by the blast here.

Y-Y-Yuri...

Raven runs over to the cliff to help Yuri back up.



A-ah, right...!



Yuri...don't tell me you did that to keep me from using my power...!
Don't you think that was a bit reckless?
Indeed...do you have a death wish?
...This? This is nothing.
Yuri, I'm sorry... It was my fault...
Hey, you did the same for us before, right? Now we're even.
But...
Estelle, perhaps a simple "thank you" would do best.
I... Th-thank you.





Hey!
He's gone! That engineer got away!
Fast little bugger... We'd better catch him quick.
Wait. I'll just have to do it again. They'll find us with the hoplon blastia sooner or later if we just go tramping through the woods. And if that happens, somebody might get it in their fool head to go and play hero again.
Y-yeah...but you said it wasn't easy...
As long as the Knights aren't around, we don't have to worry so much about how long it takes.
Besides, who do you think you're dealing with? I'm the genius mage, Rita Mordio. If it's me versus a blastia, I'll win or die trying.



...Let's hope it doesn't come to that...
What are you doing?
If we leave it like this, someone could use it again. I'll just make a few adjustments. ...I'm sorry.



For somebody who's stood on death's doorstep, saying you'll do something or die trying isn't just a figure of speech.
Huh? Death's doorstep?
Didn't you say you almost died during the Great War?
Ah, forgot I mentioned that. ...Well... Only the livin' have the privilege of sayin' they'll fight ta the last breath. And words like conviction and resolve don't mean much to a dead man...
You okay, old man?
Here I am, runnin' off at the mouth. I get a bit sentimental when I start diggin' up the past. Come on. Onward!




So now we have to run back to where we met the first knights and branch off the other way to continue. Meh.







Through that cave over there we trigger another cutscene in the next area.







I'll live...
This time the old man looks a little worse for wear.
Hey old man, wanna sit this one out? We can go on ahead.
If you leave me behind, there ain't anyplace else for me to go.
Come on, even Yuri wouldn't leave you here for good. And anyway, you could always go back to Altosk, couldn't you?
Hmm. There's always that I s'pose, but they're...how do I say it...not the same as you guys.
Oh really?
Hmph...
Well, if you're okay, old man, let's get over to that blastia before it recharges and attacks us again.
Aye aye. Roger that.




And after that more of the same until we reach a save point.





To the right here is a completely optional area with a bunch more treasure as well as a giganto monster, which is way too strong for us at this point in time. So we'll leave that for later.




Continuing forward, we run straight into a new PS3 cutscene. This cutscene didn't help in making me like this dungeon more, in fact it kinda did the opposite.





That blastia is making some kind of weird noise.
It's reloading itself with aer. It won't be able to fire again for a little while.



We gotta hurry it up and slip past it. After that, the knights' hands'll be tied.
Haven't we already covered this?







They're over here, too!
We're surrounded!
We'll just have to stand our ground!



Great, another one of these. And after we win this battle...





Another one right afterwards! To be fair, this at least tries to mix it up by forcing your party to the four members that currently weren't in your active battle party, so if you don't know how to play with any of these you might be in for a rough battle.



It's still the same in terms of enemies though so it shouldn't be a big deal.



Is that all of them?
...!





Get a hold of yourself!



Maybe ya really shoulda stayed back at the ship and took it easy.
Aye... This isn't an easy fight. If I'm just in everyone's way, maybe I should--
Quit your grumbling! Now's not the time! Everyone's friends here, so don't worry about it!
Friends?
That's unusual coming from you, Rita.
Oh shut up! Come on, we've got to go stop that hoplon blastia.
I see. So that's how it is.





Patty, what're you doing? Do you want to be left behind?




I'm coming! I'm coming with all of you!






With that way too anime scene out of the way, let's head up the mountain to the second hoplon blastia.





Watch the cutscene & battle!



Knight: Those who obstruct the work of the Knights shall be treated as criminals!
Wouldn't have it any other way!



Skip past battle.



Just like I thought, this formula is protected by a code as well.
Think you can break it?
I said I'd do it or die trying, didn't I? This has nothing to do with getting us to Myorzo anymore. There's no way in hell I'll let those idiot Knights go on using these poor blastia like this.
Okay, I'll leave this to you guys!



I'm gonna keep watch down below, just in case more Royal Guards show up!
Well then, I'll come along and help out.



...It's Yuri's influence.
I guess the rest of us'll stay here for now.
...Yuri himself is as laid back as can be, though.
...True.

Time passes, signified by a few crossfades of the same scene with Yuri and Raven in different locations.



Looks like it'll be a while before she can crack that code...
Royal Guard, huh? I wonder what those guys were planning to do with the blastia anyway...




Knight: Aargh...!









And more of the same. Raven gets Azure Heavens in this battle, where he rains a bunch of arrows upon the enemy, but I forgot to get a good shot of it, probably because I wanted this dungeon to be over. Sorry.

Skip past battle.

I recommend to start watching the video now if you haven't been, there's a lot of cuts in the upcoming scene that don't translate very well to screenshots. Also, you don't want to miss the pretty good music in the scene, which is a godsend after the terrible one I had to listen to throughout the dungeon.








...It seems they're not going to let us rest.



Y-yeah... They're just waiting for us to get tired...





Estelle, fall back...!



Rita! What are you...?!
We have to destroy him...! You worry about the Knights!
Rita... But why?!
We're out of time! You can't possibly...
Rita...



Do you have no faith in me...? In us? Succeed or die trying, wasn't it?
We won't give in. Rita, do what you can and save that blastia.



...I will! I'll fix this thing if it's the last thing I do!





You joining the shining youth brigade or something?
Looks that way. But man...this guy must practice a lot.
I'm not too worried if you're still making jokes.





Stop goofing around, you guys! Fight!!




Rita!



Well, I'll be... She came through.



Why? Because the blastia stopped? I wonder what they were trying to do.
Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Now we've kept our promise to Tort. Judith, you take it from here.
Okay.





Ah, wh-whoa...
What is that thing...?!
The door has opened... That is Myorzo. Homeland of the Krityan people.
It's definitely...impressive.
Looks like they won't keep it open for us very long. We should hurry. Ba'ul!




Forget the city! What about that huge thing?! It looks like a living creature...
It's an Entelexeia. Though not one I've spoken to.
An Entelexeia?! How did something like that swallow an entire city?
That I don't know.



That is because Myorzo cut off contact with the outside world ages ago.
It's not gonna attack us or anything if we get closer, right?
Don't worry. As long as Ba'ul is with us, we should be allowed to enter.



And with that, we finish off Egothor Forest, for now anyway. Next time, we enter Myorzo and learn some things about this game's world!

---

Notable loot:


Crucible
Athenor
Endure: Decreases amount of time needed to recover from a stagger hit.


Overheat: No casting time, with 1/8th TP consumption for novice spells when HP is below 120 and TP is over 60.
Strength 2