Part 35: Chapter XXX - I'm giddy as a schoolgirl!

I'm giddy as a schoolgirl!


Music: A Friendly Ear


- Video: The Rainbow Bond, Part 1


As soon as we approach the bar…




Pagus...is that you?




Ohh—Maddox, isn't it? Maddox, goodness me! How long has it been? My word... What is Celapaleis's famed general doing out here? Though, actually, I'd heard you'd retired and become somewhat of a recluse.




Have you heard about Sibal? Apparently, he's come across something so incredible that you will not believe your ears.
I won't? ...No...it couldn't be...!




It is... The Arco Iris. The famed Remnant said to bring miracles to life. Goodness, we searched it for ages... My word, and the stories around it—!

Normally, the text boxes pause after each line is done, but for this next part, the next one starts automatically, conveying that he’s not pausing for breath.




used the miracles granted by the Remnant to not only survive, but conquer and absorb the surrounding kingdoms. His accomplishments from then on are the stuff of legends...
And in the end, Sibal actually saw it? He saw the Arco Iris with his own two eyes?
Indeed, that's what he says. However, I've yet to hear the particulars of how it all came about... It seems Sibal's been leading and excavation team in Royotia. Once I've a free moment, I've a mind to see what he's up to myself.
The ancient Remnant of legend, Arco Iris... To think it truly exists...! Goodness, I've got the old butterflies in my stomach—I haven't felt that in years! Once I have a chance, I'll certainly go to see Sibal!






What’s that about?
You haven’t heard? Yamas are fairly large beings, but this yama is even bigger beyond that.
You know everything!




Years ago, we and a third, Sibal, met in a seminar studying ancient civilizations. Back then, the three of us were obsessed with old legends, especially those centered around the Arco Iris. It is a famous Remnant said to have granted miracles to the people of the Old Kingdoms. And just now, Maddox says that Sibal's found the real thing. The Remnant powerful enough to create miracles... Seeing it with my own eyes has been my dream since I was a student. Rush, my boy, I realize it's the foolish conceit of an old man, but I've a personal favor to ask of you, if you've the time... Would you come with me to where Sibal is?




Sounds cool! Let’s check it out!
Thank you, lad! It's much appreciated. Sibal is in the mining capital of Royotia, south of even the great desert. Goodness, I haven't seen Sibal in years. I'm giddy as a schoolgirl!

This is Pagus’s personal quest, so of course we’re doing it. Since it’s his personal quest, he’ll be temporarily leading David’s union. (Later on I may make that permanent.)






In the Firestone pub…




Damnation, if it isn't Pagus! Cripes, you're a sight for sore eyes!




Darned tooting I do! And I've sure got reason for it, you know! I've only made the biggest discovery of the century! Pagus—you're gonna flip when you hear this, but—




Maddox! Gabbering God Emperors, you just took ten years off my life! But huh! I've got not only one of Athlum's Four Generals come to see me, but an ex-general of the Celapaleian Army! The star power!




The Arco Iris is a Remnant that takes the form of a seven-colored light. The old stories say that the guy what had it was granted all kinds of miracles. As for me... Well, I was digging in Siebenbur not long ago, when out of the blue, I'm hit by this dazzling beam of light. Thing is, I was deep underground, way past any place the sun could hit, see? It's just like all the history books said... A rainbow of light shot straight over my head. I...I can't even begin to describe how beautiful it was... Something that stunning could only be the work of the gods.
Come now, are you certain you didn't just spend too much time underground and started seeing things? Lack of oxygen, perhaps?
Whaaat? You calling me a liar!?
Maddox, Sibal, please! Let's try to act our age, shall we? Still. To think that the Remnant of Miracles is real... Sibal, you've been able to taste a part of a legend over 640 years old. Dear me, you've really done something incredible!"
If we go there, we should be able to see the Arco Iris as well, correct?
Reckon so. Just, you can't right now. Some huge monster's taken the place as its lair. Until somebody cleans the place out, you've got more of a chance of seeing the inside of the monster's belly than seeing the Arco Iris.



Then call me 'the Cleaninator'!




But if you think you can underestimate this bugger, you're in for a rude surprise, kiddo. The miners of Royotia—no slouches in the physical power department—have tangled with the thing more than a couple times... They haven't won once. Don't go off half-cocked, alright, kid? You'll regret it.
Accepted quest: The Rainbow Bond


- Dungeon Video: The Fifth Path


Music: Labyrinth


There are enough of these “Path” dungeons to get their own theme.





Siebenbur – The Fifth Path: An underground cavern that has been maintained from the days of the Imperator. It has entrances from every region, though no one knows why this is so.

The Remnant of Miracles, the Arco Iris, was spotted in Siebenbur, but that place is crawling with monsters.



The Siebenbur caves are a mix of tunnels and old ruins. Each Path is laid out a little differently, and looks slightly different (well, maybe not so different that you could tell them apart with a look).








This is going to sting a little. The funny thing is that I’m only fighting these guys because I thought Emma wanted a drop from them. But she’s since gotten a weapon upgrade past the point of wanting this material. I can’t remember picking up a new weapon, so maybe that is the automatic upgrade system in action for when people get tired of you not getting their stuff.




It was really lucky that the first one only did 400 damage, because the second Hammerspin did almost 925.




We’re at a fork, which prompts a cutscene.




Darned tooting we will! Like we could just leave Pagus alone in a dangerous place like this! ...'Sides, we can't let Pagus and the kid walk off with all the glory, eh?
...Alright. Into the breach! To the Arco Iris.




Ameobas aren’t technically tough to evade, but they fade in and out of visibility, which can make them tough to spot until you’re right on top of them.




Let’s take a shortcut down.




We need to go to this dead-end in the northeast.




Don't tell me he's already taken out the monster!
Mmm, that would be an astonishing feat indeed! Of course, as the former general of Celapaleis's Third Division, defeating monsters like this would be as easy as taking candy from a baby...
RAAAARGH!!!




Lavafender's blustering hells...! I heard the monster was supposed to be big, but this is just ridiculous!




Maddox! Sibal! Fear not, I'm here to save you!
Pagus!
A guest union has joined the party.


- Boss Video: Ancient Dragon


Mission: Defeat the Ancient Dragon!




Sidequest Boss battles come in two sizes: Filler and Killer. Guess which one this is. Go on, guess.






This boss primarily uses “Blaster” as its main attack.




Blaster is annoying.




Because it is very, very random. It does a random amount of damage. It’s allegedly between 5% and 200% of the union’s maximum health according to the wiki, but I’ve seen it do less than 5%, and if it could usually do 100%+ of the union’s HP, you’d expect at least half of the attacks to kill the union outright, and that’s actually pretty rare. Blaster can also add Poison/Silence/Paralyze, which is very annoying, although that doesn’t seem to happen terribly often either.




Moving the morale. This is important, because later on you’ll see what happens if I let the morale stay low. It is bad.




I think Rush is pretty close to leveling up Remedies. (Okay, I’ve played ahead and KNOW he is.) I got no commands to revive Violet, but we’ve got a lot of time to take down this 96,000-183,000 HP union.






On my previous run, Maddox’s union spent most of its time silenced and paralyzed, which was not exciting.




Artsap does no damage, which can be good. But it drains all your AP to zero, which is bad. If you were planning to do any AP-requiring moves, now you’ll just stand by instead.

We should strike at their flank!






Fantastic. This is its killer attack.



You can do it!




Rush has the chance to lower the enemy morale, and Pagus can flank attack, so I’m going to take advantage of both of those instead of simply bringing Emma back.






If Blaster worked the way the wiki claims, there should have been a 75% chance that I’d get killed there.


Music: Struggle Eternal




This is a tough battle, so I am going to take this chance to nuke the boss down. Pagus’s union’s flank option will only have him cast Spark III, so I may as well just have him bring Emma back.






When preparing to execute a special attack, you’re very LIKELY to dodge any attack, you are not guaranteed to dodge. And the poisoning is not going to help at all…




Damn it. You can’t dodge poison.




And I’d just gotten Emma up over 2000 HP, too.




Time to break and heal. Maddox’s union will keep the dragon busy.






Oh!

This heals a single unit for 1500 HP. Not bad, especially given how much HP we have at the moment. Later on it’ll fall off in effectiveness.




Time to spend some AP.







W-wait…

I can’t catch a break, can I? Violet, as an individual unit, was already at low HP, so the Darkbreath killed her, even though Emma’s union as a whole survived.




I am going to get you this time, you bastard. Pagus will heal Emma’s union, and she will bring back Maddox’s Bunch.






Rush!

Are you shitting me? Twice in a row?




Rush’s union will do whatever, but I’ll try to have Pagus’s union heal them.






Yay.




Dragon’s Flight is a blow from below delivered with such power that the user leaps unto the air. This did 4100 damage alone.




This did about 2% of Emma’s maximum HP damage. Emma’s Resonance edge puts it into critical, though.




It’s still too soon to be popping champagne corks, though.






It’s about time.

Yeah, how long were you going to just leave Violet just lying on the floor, huh Baulson?




So much for Emma healing her union.




Time for Rush to spend some AP and keep this dragon occupied while everyone else nurses their wounds. Emma will Defend because she can’t do anything else.




You losers aren’t even a challenge!




… Rush’s union has the worst luck today.




Fuuuuuuuuccckkkkk yooooouuuuuuu…






Even though Emma’s union was out, I ordered a full-on attack anyway, because I (correctly) guessed that it wouldn’t finish off the damn dragon.




I hate this fight. Especially because I actually had to redo this entire quest the first time because I forgot to make Pagus the union leader on my first attempt.








*eye twitches involuntarily*






YAY, what fun we’re having!






Now someone is definitely going to get raidlocked, but I want at least one union back up.






Emma got Maddox’s union up. This Artsap is actually a good thing for me because it does no damage. It also transforms what would have been a series of combat arts into attacks totaling under 900 HP. That’s a bad thing as it turns out, as the boss still has a ton of HP left to spare.






Let’s try this again.




Everyone is going to unleash their most powerful stuff.










Goddamn, that took way too much time. And this is not a low BR run. I have no idea how people can find low BR runs fun. But at least everyone is alive and got the XP. (Guest unions don’t matter.)





So in other words, I’m pretty close to learning the next art in Remedies. But I actually chose Addle II. It’s okay, the next time I get a Mystic Chance I’ll be learning Refresh. It’s enough to know that I CAN learn it soon.




MORE NUMBERS. Violet is actually becoming a pretty little powerhouse.


learned Addle II!
learned Vivification Herb II!
learned Life Powder!
learned:

• Restorative Herb V!
  
• Vivification Herb III!

learned Double Time!
learned Nimble Resonance Edge!
learned:

• Restore II!
  
• Vivification Herb II!

- Quest Video: The Rainbow Bond, Part 3


Darned tooting we did! We're talking about the Arco Iris here... If all three of us can't see it together, what's the point?
Sibal...
But, seems like Maddox was right about it after all... I guess I just imagined seeing it. I was so certain I saw the Arco Iris... Ha, but there's nothing now, huh...
No... Certainly, you met the Remnant of Miracles, Sibal. Maddox... Sibal... The time we three were engrossed in the mystery of the Arco Iris is many years past. As time passed, we went our separate ways, doing different things and living different lives, perhaps never to meet again... And yet here we are, on an adventure, at that! It really brings back memories, doesn't it? Ahem. My point here is, just the fact that we're all here together again...
...That is the miracle given us by the Arco Iris?






You too, kiddo! I'll treat you to dinner or something!
The guest union has left the party.





























































Music: The Seat of Vulcan





Truly, I mustn't forget to teach the young folk that experience is just as important as book knowledge.
Gahahah! Howzabout I put 'em to work here? I'll look after 'em good!
Sibal, you'd do well to take care of yourself... We might not be there next time you're about to be eaten by monsters.
Eheh, sorry about that...




I know he's a meddlesome old coot, but take good care of Pagus for me, would you?
Pagus. Rush. I'd better be getting back, then. Pagus—let's do a better job of keeping in touch this time, hmm?
Ahh... For a moment, I was back as a young man having a great adventure... It's not a feeling I'll soon forget. Rush, my boy, thank you so much. This is for you.

Obtained Manryn Salia!
Manryn Salia – A red stone known as the roc's sphere.
Salia Count: 6

What the-? Pagus, this is one of the Crimson Shards?
Crimson what?
You know, the 9 shards we need to bring together to stop Vespalia and save Royotia from destruction?
Is it? Oh, I wasn’t really paying attention to all that.

Completed quest: The Rainbow Bond!

Me and Pagus’s friends Maddox and Sibal beat the monsters in Siebenbur. Yes! The Arco Iris was in their hearts… What…?

That was pretty long for a single quest – I was right to split it into its own update. But we’re not quite done yet. Sibal can’t be recruited yet, although doing this quest was a necessary step. But we can go over to Royotia’s guild…






Maddox is surprisingly cheap to recruit for a BR 25 character.




Maddox


Ex-Celapaleian general. Once shared a vision with Pagus. A real chatterbox of an old man.

Class: Expert Marauder
Initial BR: BR 25
HP: (471)
Str / Int: (19 / 37)

Current Arts

• Invocations: (Spark II, Wind Shear)
  
• Hexes: (Poison Gas)

Future Arts

• Remedies @ BR 36
  
• Herbs @ BR 44
  
• Arcana: Blackout, Crimson Flare, Animalcule

Tags: Mystic, Healer, Arcana

Another decent mage. Available after completing his quest. He’s the first party member to learn Hexes, but he’s going on the bench because people voted to keep Loki and Nora for now.




When recruited, he can be found outside Royotia’s tavern. Inside the tavern is our final quest before heading to the Heroic Ramparts. So celebrate! We’ll be seeing new stuff soon!




New Arts Summary
learned Addle II!
learned Vivification Herb II!
learned Life Powder!
learned:

• Restorative Herb V!
  
• Vivification Herb III!

learned Double Time!
learned Nimble Resonance Edge!
learned:

• Restore II!
  
• Vivification Herb II!

The Rainbow Bond, Part 1
Dungeon: The Fifth Path
Boss: Ancient Dragon
Quest: The Rainbow Bond, Part 3


I’m pretty glad that they did indeed show the Arco Iris. They talked it up so much, and if they hadn’t actually shown it, it would have been such a tease.

Here’s some bonus dialogue:



(This sounds kinda scary...)
The miners of Royotia—no slouches in the physical power department—have tangled with the thing more than a couple times... They haven't won once. Don't go off half-cocked, alright, kid? You'll regret it.
Boy... Men who run from their challenges find they're running from their own growth. Stop being wishy-washy and defeat that thing! ...I'll be waiting here, where it's safe.

That declines the quest. If you go back….

Some giant monster's moved into the cave where I saw the Arco Iris—and it seemed hungry. So long as the monster's there, there's no way we cann go look for the Remnant.
Monsters don't sound like fun...
What's wrong, kid, scared of the big bad monster? ...I was, and that's why I didn't even try getting close!
I'll take care of that thing!
The miners of Royotia—no slouches in the physical power department—have tangled with the thing more than a couple times... They haven't won once. Don't go off half-cocked, alright, kid? You'll regret it.


If you leave and go to the world map mid-dungeon, then try talking to Sibal again…

Oho, it's the kid again! I figured you an' Pagus couldn't commit and went back to Athlum already! Don't tell me you're gonna go back to the cave to try and see the Arco Iris, are you?
(Going home sounds good.)
What's wrong, kid, scared of the big bad monster? ...I was, and that's why I didn't even try getting close!
That monster's toast!
The miners of Royotia—no slouches in the physical power department—have tangled with the thing more than a couple times... They haven't won once. Don't go off half-cocked, alright, kid? You'll regret it.


Discussion question: Should we beat up an old man for no good reason?

Next Time: It overflows with the desire for blood!