Part 9: St. Binah + Sidequests
Now then, last time we left our heroes we were heading to St. Binah to meet up with Anise.
Skit: Is Anise Safe?
: “I hope Anise is all right...”
: “Yeah, it sounds like she fell from pretty high up...”
: “She'll be fine. This is Anise we're talking about.”
: “True... I can't imagine Anise not being safe.”
: “This 'Anise' sounds pretty incredible.”
: “Hah hah hah... She's indeed a very cute and perky little girl.”: “Yes, she's very dependable.”
: “Really? She sure didn't look it to me.”
: “Well, as they say, you can't always judge a book by its cover.”
: “...Why does that sound like it's pointed at me?/”: “It's just your imagination, Luke. Anyway, enough chitchat for now. Shall we be going?”: “Yes, let's go.”
: “...So why is everyone assuming this Anise girl is all right?”Of course, there seems to be no need to worry.
: “St. Binah's the closest city to the Tartarus. They probably expected us to stop here.”
: “For a Kimlascan, you're certainly familiar with Malkuth geography, Guy.”: “I like reading about vacation spots.”: “Oh, I see. How nice.”
: “Colonel, look!”
: “You may pass.”
: “There's one more wagon after this one.”: “How convenient.”: “We're going to stop the second one and hitch a ride, huh?”: “Let's go back down the road toward Engeve a little ways.”: “Yes, let's.”
: “Hey, quit making plans without talking to me first!”
: “Sorry about this, but do you think you could hide us in your wagon?”: “We'd like to enter St. Binah, but a group of malcontents chasing Fon Master Ion are guarding the entrance. Could we ask for your assistance?”
: “Goodness. My birthday Score didn't ay anything about something like this happening.”Here, the Score comes up again. Birthday Scores are general prophecies read to people on their birthday that outline major events that should happen to them that year.
: “Please.”
Kinda hard to convey, but Tear comes up right behind Guy here, and he leaps away in a panic. Oh Guy.
: “Okay. We owe you for the trouble we caused with all the mistaken thief nonsense. Hop in.”: “Thank you.”
: “Right. Go on in.”: “Thank you.”What, not even a cursory glance into the back of the wagon? They're not even covered by a blanket or anything: they're just chilling in the back playing cards. Great checkpoint there, idiots.
: “Thank you for your help.”
: “Yes, thank you.”: “Don't mention it. Take care, now.”: “So Anise is here, right?”: “She's to meet us at the Malkuth military base. If she's still alive, that is.”: “Do you really have to say things like that? Let's go.”: “Try not to do anything to draw the attention of the Oracle Knights.”
: “I know, I know. You don't have to tell me every little thing.”
: “Hmm? She's already got you whipped, huh, Luke? Princess Natalia's going to be jealous.”
: “Don't say stupid things.”: “I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Stop touching me, please!”
Tear of course refuses to fall behind Jade or Guy in attempt to make me use the
emote.Skit: Let's Rejoin Anise
: “Looks like we got in unnoticed.”: “Good thing that woman was driving the card. Must be my lucky day!”: “So now what? If we stick around for to long, they're bound to notice us.”
: “Indeed. I'm hoping we can collect some information here, but let's check up on Anise first.”: “The plan was to meet her at the Malkuth base, right? Let's go!”Before that though, this kid is standing just outside the base:
: “...Why, yes. Yes I do.”
: “My great grandfather said the Necromancer's doing experiments to bring dead people back to life.”: “What...?”: “Next time you see him, could you ask him a favor for me? Kimlascans killed my Dad... so I was wondering if the Necromancer could bring my Dad back from the dead.”
: “I see... I'll pass on the message.”: “Really? You promised, okay! Thanks!”
: “You're amazing Colonel!”: “Don't be stupid. It's just a rumor people started right?”
: “Yeah, if it were true, I'd have a few favors to ask him myself.”: “Did you lose someone close to you?”: “My family and everybody in my household... Well, you know how things are these days. It happens to a lot of people.”: “Your parents aren't around either, right Tear? Van told me.”
: “R-right...”:”...You know what they say. Where there's smoke, there's fire...”
: “What...?”: “Nothing.”Hmm...
: “May I speak with General Glenn McGovern?”
: “Yes, sir. General McGovern is currently seeing a guest, so please wait inside.”
A Scorer being, obviously, one who reads the Score.
: “We can't restrict their movements without a direct order from His Imperial Majesty.”
Nice beard.
: “You know how terrible the Hod War became with their involvement!”: “My apologies for interrupting.”: “Jade the Necromancer...”
: “It's been awhile, Field Marshal McGovern.”: “I'm retired now. There's no need for those formalities anymore. And what about you? Don't you think it's about time you accepted a promotion? Even at your age, you could have easily made lieutenant general by now.”: “Oh, I don't know. I think I have my hands full just being a Colonel.”: “Is Jade somebody important?”: “Sounds like it.”: “You and His Majesty go way back, don't you? Could you ask him to do something about the Oracle Knights?”: “I'm afraid they're here because of us. Once we leave the city, they should leave as well.”: “What's happened?”: “I'm afraid I can't tell you the details. I'm under direct orders from His Majesty. I'm sorry.”
: “Ah, yes, my apologies. Have you received any letters from a Fon Master Guardian?”: “Ah, that... I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we opened it to confirm the contents, for security reasons.”: “That's fine. There should be anything in there that would be a problem for you to see.”
: “It's from Anise, right? I can see her writing to Ion, but why me?”Dearest Colonel Jade, ♥
I had a really scary time, but I managed to make it here. ♪ Don't worry, I'm taking good care of you-know-what! Aren't you proud of me? ♪ It looks like the Oracle Knights are going to close off St. Binah soon, so I'll go on ahead to the next location. ♥ Is my beloved Luke safe? (Oh, I'm so embarrassed! ♥ I just confessed my feelings! ♥) I'm really worried. Luke, I miss you so much. ♥ I can't wait to see you again! ♪
Oh, and give my regards to Ion, too. Bye-bye for now! ♪
Love,
Anise
Do you think she actually wrote down all those hearts and musical notes? Transcribing Anise is such a pain: she drops these characters everywhere.
I feel ya.
: “Damn Luke, popular enough with the girls? Just don't get carried away. You're engaged to Princess Natalia, you know.”: “You've got to be kidding. I don't want anything to do with that annoying chick...”: “What's the 'next location'?”: “Kaitzur. It's a city to the southwest of here, on the other side of the Fubras River.”: “If we make it to Kaitzur, we can rendezvous with Van.”: “Van's there...”: “Hey. I don't know what happened between you two, but you're his sister, right? Don't go trying to slice him up like you did in Baticul, okay?”
: “I know. I won't.”: “Well then, we'll bid you our leave.”: “If the Oracle Knights are chasing you, I'll gladly lend a hand. I was elected by the city representatives here. Come by anytime you need help.”: “Thank you, Field Marshal.”We get the World Map for our troubles, which gives us a nice outline of the world. No landmarks we haven't seen first, however.
Let's go-
FUCK.
: “It doesn't appear that he's entered St. Binah.”
: “Those people with Ion are the ones who killed Mommy... my Liger friends told me. I'll never forgive them.”
: “What about that Fon Master Guardian they said was hanging around?”: “She appears to have made contact with the Malkuth military. But Malkuth is saying it's 'classified' and is refusing to provide any useful information. “
: “If I hadn't let that Necromancer get the better of me, Anise would've never gotten away. I'm sorry.” 
: “Ahh hah hah hah hah! That's why I told you!”
: “The esteemed member of the Oracle Knights' Six god-Generals, yours truly, Dist the Rose!”
: “You mean 'Dist the Reaper'.”: “How is one so beautiful as myself a 'reaper' and not a 'rose'?!”
: “There's no point in dwelling on the past. What do we do now, Sync?”
: “Withdraw the troops from Engeve and St. Binah.”: “But...!”: “Your wound still hasn't healed. The Necromancer almost killed you. Why don't you take a break? Besides, the only way for them to cross the border is through Kaitzur. If we stay and antagonize the Malkuth military, it could spark a Diplomatic incident.”
: “So next comes deciding how to deal with them at Kaitzur. Let's return to the Tartarus for now and consider matters there.”: “Inform the troops! First Division, withdraw!”: “Yes sir!”
...Okay then.
: “This is the first time I've seen the Six God-Generals.”: “Who are the Six God-Generals?”: “The six executive officers of the Oracle Knights.”: “But there were only five of them.”
: “There's Largo the Black Lion, Dist the Reaper, Sync the Tempest, Arietta the Wild, Legretta the Quick, and... Looks like the one missing was Asch the Bloody.”That's... quite the title.
: “They're Van's immediate subordinates.”: “Master Van's?!”: “If the Six God-Generals are taking action, then the one who's trying to cause a war is Van...”: “The Six God-Generals side with the Grand Maestro. Mohs is likely giving orders to Van.”: “Grand Maestro Mohs would never do something like this. My mission for the Grand Maestro is top secret, so I can't divulge any details. However, I assure you it is one of peace.”Yes, flawless logic. 'I, one of his subordinates, have been given a peaceful mission. Thus, all missions given by him must be peaceful!'
: “Wait a minute! Master Van wouldn't try to cause a war, either!”: “It's just the sort of thing my brother would do.”: “What are you saying?! What about you, huh? How do we know you're not a spy working for that Mohs guy?!”
: “Please, settle down.”: “He's right. Now's not the time to be worried about Van or Mohs. Right now, we have to get past the Six God-Generals and prevent this war.”: “...You're right. I'm sorry.”: “..Humph. I'm not accepting the apology of anyone who badmouths Master Van.”
: “You're unbelievable...”Skit: Oracle Knights' Actions
: “The Oracle Knights are acting like they want to start a war.”...No shit?
: “It couldn't be the Grand Maestro's order! He only desires peace.”: “Are you still trying to blame Master Van for this?!”
: “Well, that's the only way everything makes sense!”: “Calm down, both of you. The important thing is that we're escorting Fon Master Ion to Baticul to avert a war, and that the Oracle Knights are after him.”: “Exactly. It may not be clear who is ultimately responsible, but one thing is certain: Oracle Knights will continue to attack until we reach Baticul.”
Before we push out, let's get some rest, huh?
: “To the Sephiroth...”: “The Sephiroth?”
...Just kidding.
: “The Sephiroth are the world's ten most powerful fon slots.”: “They're the planet's vital points. Places where memory particles, a kind of planetary fuel, concentrate and fonons gather easily.”
: “...I-I knew that. You don't all have to launch into an explanation like I'm ignorant.”I hate to break it to you Luke, but...
: “What did they do at the Sephiroth?”: “...I can't say. It's confidential to the Order.”: “You always say that. It's really starting to get on my nerves.”: I'm sorry...”: “Oh, hey, Jade: how are you feeling? Is your body okay, I mean, with that fon slot seal and everything?”: “My strength is somewhat diminished. My body's fon slots have been sealed, after all.”: “You're so considerate, Master!”
: “N-No I'm not! It'd just be a pain if this old man keeled over on us, that's all...”: “Aww, you're blusing, Luke!”: “I am not!”: “Is it going to be difficult to undo completely?”: “A fon slot seal is like a lock with a code that changes periodically. I'm unlocking it little by little, but it looks like it will take a bit more time.”Conveniently, the rate Jade unlocks his powers is exactly in sync with the rest of the party's level ups.
: “Of course, my abilities are on a whole different level to begin with. Even after a partial drop, I don't imagine I'll have any trouble keeping up with the rest of you.”: “Man, you're obnoxious.”: “My apologies. It's my nature to be honest.” : “Humph. Well, then, let's leave Ion in the hands of the great and powerful Colonel while we get some sleep.”
: Could Ion be the same as Luke...?Wait, what?
Skit: St. Binah Inn
: “Whew! Finally, a decent bed to sleep in!”: “Hah hah... Did the cold ground get to you?”
: “No way! ...Well, okay, a little. I'll take a bed any day.”: “There's no need to worry about thieves or monsters here, either.”: “Yeah, and if any did come, they'd be no problem or us.”: “Between Malkuth's Necromancer, a Locrian Sergeant of the Oracle Knights, the leader of the Order of Lorelei and the son of a duke of Kimlasca, you'd have to be fool not to run away.”: “And of course, we have you Guy.”: “Me? Nah, I'm just a servant, that's all.”
: “Heh heh heh.”: “Just a servant indeed...”So, after staying the night...
We stay the night again! Doesn't make much sense from a narrative stand point, but bear with me.
: “Guy! Hey, Guy!”: “What is it?”: “Shh! Be quiet or they'll wake up. Come with me for a little bit. Oh, and bring your sword.”: “What the heck...?”
: “And what can I do for you, Master Luke?”: “Give me a hand with some sword training.”: “What? What's up all of a sudden?”: “I'm still not sure I can swing my sword against a human opponent without hesitating.”: “I want to practice to get over that. You and I are the only ones who use swords, and besides, this is kind of embarrassing. You're the only one I can ask.”: “Luke... all right. I'll give you a hand. Learn yourself a new move or something and get right over that fear!”
Sonic Thrust Is a Tales mainstay. It hits a single opponent for respectable damage and pushes them back a ways, with a pretty great chance of stunning them. Not to shabby!
Now then, before we push off to continue the main quest, we're going to spend the rest of this update clearing up some side-quests that are now available to us. All of these are not only completely out of the way and hidden, but they're also missable if you don't do them right now. There's a lot of that in Abyss, so Vesperia fans can look to this game to blame for making Namco go overboard in that one.
The first quest is just a bit of an info dump at this point to the north east of town is a ladder near the very back.
Climbing it puts us in a sort of tree platform. At the trunk, we can inspect some of the junk on the ground.
: “Don't treat something like that when you don't even know whose it is!”
Classy, Luke.
: “Oh, that old guy?”: “It looks like he's trying to solve the mysteries of the Soil Tree.”
: “Mysteries?”: “Oh yeah, there are a lot of old rumors about this tree. I guess that's probably why it became the symbol of St. Binah.”: “Yes... why did just this one tree grow so large? Is it true that it's 2000 years old?”: “I heard that way back, this tree was dying, and all the other plants around it almost died as well.”: “Yes. That's why he's studying the relationship between the Soil Tree and the other plant life here.”: “Huh. That old guy's spending his time doing something like that? Weird...”: “But the plants that grow in the city won't grow in any other region. That's the weird part, isn't it?”: “If that's the case, then this city may owe its prosperity to the Soil Tree.”: “Yes, that's probably part of what prompted the Field Marshal to study it.”: “This big tree smells the same as my home.”: “What? You think this is the same kind of tree as the one you live in? The plants in this city don't grow anywhere else, remember? What are you, stupid?”: “Colonel? What is it?”: “...Interesting. The Field marshal, too, may have arrived at a certain hypothesis.”: “What hypothesis?”: “It's a secret. ♪”Oh god, please don't start dropping these too, Jade.
: “By the way, Guy, you know an awful lot about this city.”: “I told you, I like reading about vacation spots. After a while, you learn a few things.”: “Well, I suppose we can leave it at that for now. Anyway, let's leave these maps alone. It wouldn't be nice to interfere with the Field Marshal's work.”Right, one down.
Next up, see the poster here that doesn't really stick out from anything to indicate that it's special? Shoot fire at it anyway.
: “Can't you see for yourself?”
: “What would you have done if Noir's sign had caught fire?!”: “Like that's my problem.”: “Luke! You went too far. You should apologize.”: “Apologizing isn't enough. I can't believe you were toying around with Noir's sign. Ah, I know! If you want to make up for it, how about doing me a favor?”: “Why should we have to-”: “If it's in our power.”: “All right! Take this.”
So far I like this favor.
: “The Black Dream fan club office is in Chesedonia. Go there and pay my dues for me.”: “Go do it yourself.”: “Unfortunately, I'm busy and can't make it to Chesedonia. Unlike you people. Make sure you pay and bring me back the newsletter. You'd better not try running off with my money.”: “All right, we'll pay the dues and get you the newsletter.”: “Jeez...”: “If you tell them it's the yearly dues from Ayn in St. Binah, they'll understand. Thanks. The office is in front of the inn on the Malkuth side.”: “Ayn. Got it. You make sure to remember, too.”: “..Humph. Like that's my problem.”Two down.
Way in the very back of town is a medicine shop, and in the back of the shop is this guy. He tells you he's in need of ingredients, but refuses to tell you what they even are. There's also no cutscene, nor does he specifically ask you to get him the stuff he needs. So he just sounds like a grumbling NPC, but in actuality, he's a side-quest. His quest also happens to be the most far flung, requires you to go to places you not only haven't been yet, but really never need to go in the entire game, and relies on you understanding a mechanic the game never bothers to teach you.
Regardless, we're doing it anyway, because the reward is awesome down the line. The two ingredients he wants are a Gel Base and Cotton. Where do we find these things?
At search points, of course! Search Points are glowing circles hidden around the world map that provide you with a variety of goods. Some items are unique to certain search points, while other common trash items clog up every search point. In all honestly you don't need these to complete the game, but there are a lot of neat extras, including two unique items and a side-quest that you get from them. The two needed for this quest are SSW of St. Binah (back near Rotelro Bridge, the one the Dark Wings blew up) and one directly south of St. Binah, bordering the Fubras river.
You won't even always find what you need, but luckily I get cotton on the last draw.
Miracle Gel is an item you probably won't be seeing much of until near the end game, other wise! It restores 60% HP and 60% TP. Quite a handy little treat!
Moreover, completing this quest opens up a second medical shop. Apart from selling Miracle Gel at an incredibly low price, this is also the only store that will ever sell you Specific and Treat, which restore 30% HP and 30% TP respectively, however instead of only affecting the user, it does this for the entire party. These babies are very handy but also very rare, so having a store that sells them is pretty awesome. They're a bit out of our price range at the moment, however.
So all that obscure bullshit you had to do to get these fabulous rewards? This is the only time in the game you can do them. The next time we'll be near St. Binah, the quest will have been missed. This is the kind of shit they include just to sell more strategy guides.
One last side-quest, I swear.
Remember how we promised to return the mystery box to the apple seller? Probably not, but hey. Once again, this quest either needed to be picked up back before we went to the woods, or right now. Moving onward would have locked this quest out.
In exchange we get the Collector's Book, which catalogs all of the items, moves, recipies, enemies and so on we encounter during our journey. A side-quest or two going forward require us to have a certain percentage of the book filled out. Forgot to get it? Fuck you! It's gone until next playthrough, sucker!
We're finally done with the damn side-quests. Sonic Thrust, Noir's Fan Club, The Soil Tree, The Medicine Shop, the Secret Box. Five side-quests that all have to be started or completed now or you've missed them all. Fuck you too, Abyss.
Skit: Melodists
: “So Tear, you're not a Scorer?”: “Not exactly. Scorers are members of the Order of Lorelei who can use the Seventh Fonon. I use fonic hymns, so I'm a Melodist.”: “A Melodist... not to many of those these days, are there?”: “Not lately, no, and they usually serve in a supporting role, anyway.”: “I like Melodists, though. There's something pleasant and soothing about their songs.”: “Granted, some songs are used to attack people... but they also sing healing songs.”: “And I like your songs a lot Tear... they somehow seem very nostalgic.”: “Ah... Thank you...”: “Huh... well, now that you mention it, I guess she does have a good voice. Shame about the personality though...”: …: “...S-stop glaring at me...”
Anyway, we'll call it here for now. Next Time: We cross the river and finally make it to Kaitzur, which if you remember we've been trying to get to since Engeve. Damn...
Synopsis
We finally reached St. Binah, but Oracle Knights had closed off the
entrance. Dammit, they got ahead of us! But as we were thinking about what to
do, a wagon from Engeve came by to deliver food supplies, so we hitched a
ride and snuck in.
Now we have to find Anise without those Oracle soldiers finding us. Anise
should be waiting at the Malkuth base inside the town.
It was the Oracle Knights' Six God-Generals that had blocked off the town--
though only five of them were here. They weren't able to find us, so they
opened up the entrance again and left. If only they'd left earlier, we
wouldn't have had to go to so much trouble to get in.
Anise wasn't in the Malkuth base.
When she found out that the Oracle soldiers were watching St. Binah, she
left a letter for us and went on ahead. The letter said that she'd gone to
Kaitzur, which Jade said is on the other side of the Fubras River to the
south. So, now we're heading for the Fubras.