Part 90: The Enduring Shrine of Zaude, Part 1

And finally, it's time for Zaude! First off, have a skit from the masses of items I sythesized in the last 360 update.

Skit: Still a Ways to Go
Hmm hmm hmm hmm hmmmmm...
Huh? What are you writing? Item names?
Yes. I'm working on the Collector's Book. Look how many items we have already!
Wow, you've filled in a lot! It must be fun since you like books so much. Well, keep up the good--
No. From what I can see... Yes, it looks like it's only about halfway complete.
What?! H-halfway?!
Keep on working on it, and come back when you've made some real progress!
A-argh... I'll fill this book up all the way, and then I'll make you eat your words!
...Didn't this use to be your book, Rita?




As we get close to Zaude, we get a cutscene.

Watch the cutscene!



It's sort of shaped like a ring.
Anybody with fingers big enough for that wouldn't have any trouble taking over the world.
I wonder if we'll get in without being seen.
Whoa, look! Over there!
Phaeroh...









































But Phaeroh's one of the strongest Entelexeia...
And even he couldn't do anything to it. What'd we get ourselves into?
It reconstituted itself by manipulating the aer. ...What processing speed...
Let's go in from below.



Phaeroh...thank you.


Skit: Fighting Alexei
I'd like to know one thing before we begin this battle. Just how strong is this Commandant?
I heard he earned his knighthood when he won a royal tournament during the previous emperor's reign.
I got to cross swords with him once, and I didn't last more than three minutes.
So then he's really, really strong...
And don't forget he's surrounded by his Royal Guard.
None of this sounds very promising...
Hey, we've got Dein Nomos, don't we?
Woof, woof!
Besides, we've been through all kinds of stuff together on this journey.
Yeah. We're tighter than any kind of guard, royal or not.
All right, so say we handle the Royal Guard. It's still a coin toss, in the end.
I guess we'll never be too prepared when it comes to facing Alexei.
Right. We'll have to give it everything we've got.





Watch the cutscene!







Is this really one big blastia?! There's no way...
It must possess unimaginable power.



Could it be Flynn?
Nah, I'd bet it's the Royal Guard. Which means...

Raven runs closer to the entrance to scout.





There aren't that many. We could blow 'em away before they knew what hit them.
Easy. We're not here to get noticed. Let's see if there isn't some other way in.




The game doesn't allow us to enter via the main entrance, so the other way it is.



You'd think they would also guard such an obvious side entrance.


Watch the cutscene!



Leave it to me!



Please, I-I'm not worried.
You clearly are.
Oh, shut up! Hurry up and get that thing open!
You're the only one shouting.
Got it!
Wonderful, let's take a look.





Skit: Still a Lot to Learn
Synthesis artisans are amazing. They produce such lovely items in such a short time!
Yes, it really is an art. The quality is always second to none, too. And the same artisan is always sneaking into the cities we visit just before we get there.
What?! Really?! What?! Are you serious?!
Oh yeah. I wish I had half the vitality he has. We're nothing compared ta how much he gets around.
Yeah, right, okay. There's no way he could do that...
Really? Do you think it's more likely that the world's full of such skilled artisans?
Y-you too, Judith?! Y-you really believe that??
And he must have great instincts, too. We should see about getting him to join Brave Vesperia.
R-really...? K-Karol, the next time we meet him, let's see if he'll join.
R-right! Okay!

Estelle and Karol leave.

Whoa... I think those two actually fell for all that.
The princess and the kid still have a lot ta learn.
I hear they're actually using blastia to do the synthesis.
You know, maybe we got a little carried away...


Love that skit.



Zaude is a nice dungeon. Very atmospheric, and actually has some clever puzzles!



The path to the back right is broken, as the the way up the stairs to the left, and the device in the middle is inactive, so the back left path is the only way to go for now.







Here's a ton of chests. Some nice stuff in there, but what we actually want is in the center one.



Not that RPG treasure chests make sense in general, but if it fell off a pedestal -- rather than being removed intentionally -- why is it in here? Anyway, let's carry that back to the thing we saw in the middle before.


Skit: Phaeroh's Help
So Phaeroh's been absorbing aer, too. Is he trying to restabilize it?
We owe him one for keepin' the fight up this long.
No, I don't think that's it.
My guess is he's taking in all that aer to disable Zaude's power source.
That way he'll be able to mess with Alexei's plans, right?
Right.
...Right, Judith?
...Who, me? What was the question?
...Never mind.
It'll be easy if we can just get inside. We'll stop everything in one shot.
Wish it were that easy, kid. But we'll be up to our ears in traps and royal guards.
Gotta admire his confidence.
...Do you really mean that?

...Phaeroh... Please be okay...




Skit: Unexpected
Flynn, you've been fighting all this time. Aren't you tired?
This is nothing.
Is it just me, or does he actually seem more alive the more he fights? Just like some other people I know.
Like who?
Who could that be?
I haven't been able to get on the front lines as much as I'd like to since I was promoted to captain. It's good practice.
Call it what you want, it still doesn't change the fact that you're a battle maniac, just like them.
I-I'm a battle maniac? That's a first.
*Sigh* I thought at least Flynn would be a normal person.
I guess we aren't considered normal.
I'm so hurt.
Rita, what kind of person did you think I was until now?
Huh? Why are you asking that all of a sudden?
Well, I'm just surprised to hear that you'd consider a friend of Yuri's normal.
...
...You and Yuri really are the same.
Both of you are being really rude to me...








Put in the orb...



Shoot it with the Sorcerer's Ring...



Oh hey.



Raising the water level allows us to access some of the areas we previously couldn't. It also spawns in some water enemies.




Skit: Geraios Technology
We've seen plenty of blastia so far, but this one's in a different class altogether.
If this was made at the end of the Geraios civilization, it may contain clues to all their technology.
Chances are pretty good, if the building we saw in that relief in Myorzo is actually Zaude.
So is there a connection between the cataclysm and the Adephagos?
If it is does come from the end of the Geraios civilization, maybe it can turn back the Adephagos.
I wonder if that's why they carved the relief. It all adds up, but I keep going back to Phaeroh's words.
About disturbin' Zaude? Thinkin' about it isn't likely ta get us anywhere. We just have ta go on.



The side/back path here is actually optional and just has some treasure.





Judith learns Luna Crush. It's fairly self-explanatory.



Skit: Yuri and Flynn's Artes
Hey, Yuri.
What's up, Karol?
You and Flynn both use similar artes, but yours seem kind of different.
That's because Yuri learned those artes when he was still a knight.
But since he never took his training very seriously, they're not quite...
Hey, what do you mean by that? If I did Dragon Swarm like you do, the enemy would get away!
That doesn't mean you can just throw some kicks in there! You've turned the arte into Dragon Kick! And then there's your Tiger Blade...
I didn't even learn that one when I was a knight!
I don't see why you punch during that arte.
I like it better that way.
Well it isn't!
These artes have been passed down for generations, you can't just--
Now now, no need ta fight! Isn't puttin' yer own personal touch inta things all the rage these days?
So Flynn can honor tradition, and Yuri can create new waves!
Oh, to be young!
Arooo!



One of my favorite new PS3 skits.



To continue further, we need to go up here.




What?
How come the Royal Guard is so loyal to Alexei?
Well, did you know that most of the Imperial Knights are taken as apprentices from the nobility?
Yeah, I wish I could forget.
Well, the Royal Guard protects the emperor, and they're made up of the finest soldiers in the Imperial Knights.
Hasn't it been several years since we've had an emperor, though?



It doesn't seem like that'd be enough to turn them into such little lapdogs, though.
Well, the ideals he offered them were attractive in their own ways. "Lead our empire to prosperity!" and what have ya.
I'll bet there were a lot of idealists in their ranks.
...Like Flynn, you mean?
It'd be nice if all of them could've figured out the truth on their own like that one...
...








Of course, sneaking in through the side entrance wasn't really all that useful, as we come out pretty close to the main entrance.

We get another new arte here.



Oh man.





Hell yes. Tidal Wave is possibly the best spell in the game due to various reasons. It covers the entire battlefield, staggers enemies it hits, and hits each enemy eight times on one cast. In addition, it is the spell when it comes to getting Grade for a New Game+, but we'll get to that later.




Continuing through the door here...



Leviathan's Claw?



We make quick work of them.



So with Leviathan's Claw here, who's behind this door? Find out next time!


Notable Loot so far:




Super Chain 5: Able to link altered to arcane artes.
Item Pro: Decreases the amount of time a character is unable to move after using items.