The Let's Play Archive

The Last Remnant

by Stabbey_the_Clown

Part 46: Chapter XXXIX - Oh dear... I'd already gotten up to 263 fishies, even...


Oh dear... I'd already gotten up to 263 fishies, even...




Music: In the Shadow of the Dragon


What’s up?
Kosmosfest Staff: Okay, the job's real simple. I just need you to find a girl and bring her here to town.
…Just any girl, or do you mean someone specifically?
Kosmosfest Staff: See, everyone in town's getting ready for a big celebration called the Kosmosfest. It's an ancient festival that's been held for hundreds of years. However, for some reason this year's Cosmos Maiden hasn't made it yet. Folks in town have started wondering if she's okay, but we're so busy getting things ready that we don't have time to go look for her.
That sounds like it could be a problem.
Kosmosfest Staff: So, I'd like you to go out and find the Cosmos Maiden for us. I mean, she probably just left late, or is traveling kinda leisurely, something like that, but you never know if she ran into monsters... Anyhow, we're sort of in a hurry, right? So, will you help us out?"
I'll get your maiden back safe!
Kosmosfest Staff: Great! I really appreciate it. I'm sure she just got caught up somewhere along the way... Probably Crookfen. Try looking around there, would you?
Accepted quest: The Cosmos Maiden

No, I don’t know why the game uses K for Kosmosfest but C for Cosmos Maiden.




Music: Limberlost





People are worried that something happened to the Cosmos Maiden in Crookfen.

Just make your way to the Melphina exit of Crookfen.




…
…
…
Hello?




Look, aren't they cute? I've been counting the killifishes! There sure are a lot of them, though... I'm a little tired!
Sounds tough. Good luck!
Thanks—I'll do my best! Augh! I lost my place! Oh dear... I'd already gotten up to 263 fishies, even...
1...2...3... Aww, come onnn, guys, quit moving around so much, okay?
Err…




You sure like counting fish.
Ahahah... It's less that it's super-fun... Ever since I was a kid, I easily get caught up in stuff. I guess I'm just that type! Anyway, I'd better get to work... Today I'm gonna count 'em all!
(This is amazing to watch.)
(*sigh* You should have seen some of the things he’s done earlier.)
...You the Cosmos Maiden?
Hey, how'd you guess? My name's Sheryl. Ever since I was little, I've wanted to be the Cosmos Maiden... I can't believe they picked me! Lucky, huh? *giggle* Oh no, I almost forgot! I can't do this now, I've got to get to Nagapur!




It’s north.
………
Um, h-hey! Us meeting here has gotta be, uh, fate or something, right? So we should stuck together, all the way to Nagapur!
Okay!
Our newfound friendship hasn't got anything to do with me maybe being a teensy bit lost, really! But, you should walk in front. A-anyway, let's get going! Oh, yeah, and let's try to avoid monsters, okay? I know they just wanna play, but I don't really have time for roughhousing, you know?
A guest union has joined the party.

Found Sheryl, the Cosmos Maiden, in Crookfen. I think she's a few stars short of a galaxy...




Sheryl is a future party member, obviously. She’s pretty good at Evocations, and… that’s it. I don’t really use those much, so in my previous runs I never hired her. If you want your mystic unions to go for status effects, they’re pretty good, but they lack damage.




Once Sheryl joins the party, previously peaceful Crookfen spawns some new friends! There are 4 wyvern-type enemies surrounding this guy.




Bai Ze is a Rare Dragon who spawns during this quest (He can also spawn randomly, but he always spawns during this quest). So I’m fighting him. There’s another good reason to do this, though. I’ll show that later. He has a base BR of 37-39, and HP of at least 143k.




This is a fight where you really, really want to get your morale up and make sure it doesn’t go low. I’m not going to go turn-by-turn because I’ll be fighting him again later anyway. You’ll see.




That 1149 is from a basic attack at medium morale. He also likes to use Predation which is usually the same or worse.




This is the kind of fight where Talisman’s Gift can really come in handy versus physical attacks.




In this configuration, none of my unions can withstand attacks like that.




I knock him into critical at about 13 minutes into the 20-minute fight.




Sheryl’s weapon is a ridiculously long blade-on-a-stick Quarterstaff. EDIT: It isn't really a blade, it does bludgeon-type damage.




This does only about 1000 damage.






Eventually he goes down.

learned Addle III!
learned Rejuvenate!
learned Poison Gas II!
learned Double Time III!
learned Wind Shear II!
learned Wind Shear II!
learned:
learned Mighty Quad Slice IV!
learned Switchback II!
class changed to Master Scout!

Long fights are great. And we’ll be seeing quite a few more long fights really soon.




You always capture Bai Ze if you win the fight. He also dropped 3 Dragon Eggs, which - you probably don’t remember from a couple updates ago - are required for Rush to learn the Explosives Item Art.




Man, that guy sure was tough. Now let’s get you to Nagapur. It’s north, right?




Huh… I could have sworn…
Oh no! This is where I came from! Sorry, but I’ll just have to find my own way, Bye-ee!
The Guest union has left the party.

(I have never seen a man with a poorer sense of direction.)
(So why do you let him lead?)
(I have no idea.)


So I did indeed abandon that quest mid-way, and for two good reasons. The first is that there’s still more dialogue with Sheryl. The second is that Bai Ze always is captured when you win the fight, and he sells for 66,000 G. If you are so inclined, you can farm him as much as you want. But in my current condition, it’s a long and tiring fight, so I don’t think I’ll do that. Bai Ze can also spawn repeatedly when the quest is not active, so you can still farm him even if you turn it in.




Now that we’re on the world map with no quests, Aveclyff shows up there. We can access it directly now, without needing to go through Dillmoor.

Aveclyff - A village that once flourished with the blessing of the Rubber Soul. All that's left today is the remains of an old monastery.

We’ve also got some Chatty Cathys in our party, too. Enjoy.

Rush… Could I borrow your Olibanum?
Sure, no prob.
Thank you, I appreciate it.

That was the sword we got from the woman in the Amber Tavern. Side note: there is apparently alternate dialogue where her boyfriend survives, but the wiki doesn’t say how to get it, maybe if you go there right away after leaving Nagapur, without any stops? Or maybe if the Celapaleian soldier group is never KO’ed? I don’t know.

David will not make great use out of it, but good enough. I think he could make a good Assassin, or possibly an Alchemist, because he gets Shards pretty early. I’ll have to try that if I play this game again, and make Rush a Mystic type instead.

Your Ring of the Patient Ear is impressive, but it would be more so in my possession, wouldn’t you say?
…Sure, you can borrow it.
You have my eternal gratitude. It shall be used spectacularly.

So how about your Bracelet of Grafting? Why don’tcha let me take care of it for a while?
Sure, no prob.
F’r real? You’re alright.

Rush, I have need of a Amoeba Eyes. Is there time to obtain one.
Yeah, let’s go.
Excellent.

Rush, you know Grand Beetle Husk, right? Well, I was hoping maybe we could go find some if it wasn’t too much trouble…
Yeah, let’s go.
Really? Thank you so much. Let’s go, alright?

Probably not, actually. It’s at the far end of the Catacombs, and that’s a really long trip for the sake of someone who is on the bench for the foreseeable future.

Hey! You know what would be super-special awesome? Imperium! Let’s find some!
Yeah, let’s go.
Awesome-possum! So let’s saddle up!

I think Blocter also wants some of this. Imperium is not found, harvested, bought, or collected. It can only be obtained by disassembling certain pieces of equipment. That makes it rather expensive. It only comes from certain pieces of equipment, too. I’ll have to look it up.

Rush, I have need of a Raptor Hide. Is there time to find one?
Sure, no problem.
Thank you. I am in your debt.

Hey, I need some Shed Husk. If you got time to sit around and talk, you’ve got time to go get some eh?
Yeah, let’s go.
Arright. C’mon

Heya, Rush! I bet you’re bored like me… How ‘bout we go do some fighting, show some monsters who’s boss, eh?
Sounds like a plan.
Yeahh, that’s more like it! C’mon!

I’m guessing Blocter no longer needs Imperium.

Rush, if you’ve got a moment, let’s fight a bit outside of town, shall we? Trainin’s the most important part of being a mercenary, ya know!
Sounds like a plan.
That’s what I like to hear.

If nothing else, that convinced me that I need to go harvest more stuff for my party members. I also took this time to rearrange my squads. I changed Blocter to lead Emmy’s union, because there will later be a better reason to have Emmy lead a union, so I may as well have Blocter lead for a while until then.

Blocter, to the rescue!






Trendy Girl: Isn’t that exciting?
Bartender: Those who are ignorant of the justice of others do not know the true meaning of the word.
Trendy Girl: Do you really think the Silver Falcons are acting out of selfishness? I don’t know about that…




Sure. See you in a bit.
Kosmosfest Staff: Great! I really appreciate it.




Music: Limberlost





Uhhh…yeah.
Ahaha, how wild is that! So...I guess you come here often?
No, just passing through.
Oh, that's nice! Have a safe trip, then. Bye-bye!




…
…
Hello?





…
Yeah...didn't we have a little chat or something, maybe? What is it? Do you need me for something?
Just enjoying the view.




How embarrassing, *giggle* I'd better do my best then! O-okay, here I go!




…
Um, Kosmosfest…
Kosmosfest? ... Ohh, I know that one! You know, ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be chosen as the Cosmos Maiden, and I finally...was...
Yeah, I know.
Poopies, I've got to get to Nagapur! I'm gonna be laaate! Oh yeah, and let's try to avoid monsters, okay? I know they just wanna play, but don't really have time for roughhousing, you know?
A guest union has joined the party.







So the first time I fought Bai Ze, I had my default unions set up. That was apparently a fluke victory because he kicked my butt twice.



So I gave up and temporarily dissolved the Emma-Blocter-Darian union, folding those members into Rush and Caedmon’s unions. I think I also turned off all of David’s herbs except Vivification to encourage Pagus to use Herbs to heal, and thus learn Vivification Herb.


- Video: Rare Monster Bai Ze (The Cosmos Maiden)


I also brought in two Oarfish unions, just because killing them will give me a morale boost, which I could really use. David’s Division will stand by to heal anyone injured, Caedmon will go after Bai Ze.






Watch this!

I forgot to disable her 1H arts.




Pagus repairs the damage Bai Ze’s predation did.




Aah! I know size isn’t everything, but…

The morale isn’t where I’d like it, but I can’t fix it. That poison will be obnoxious. I order David’s union to attack while curing the status ailment, and Rush and Caedmon will each keep their HP up.






That was cutting the healing a tad closer than I would have liked. Basically, right now, the average HP of a unit in Rush’s troop is 1.2.




Revitalize rules.








Ugh! That sucks!




Stand firm!

One Raidlock undoes all the good Morale I’d built up.




We continue to fight!

I order both unions to go bring the dead unions back. I haven’t learned yet. One day, I will.






It can’t end like this…




And because I was dumb, David’s sacrifice to revive her was wasted. Rush revives Caedmon’s union, and Glenys helpfully clears the poison. Darien follows it up with some herbs.




Morale is the priority, even above reviving. Caedmon can revive a unit, but only Sheryl. I have him do it anyway. Again, this is probably a bad move.






That block helps immensely.








Music: Clash of Opposites


This time I’m playing smart. Caedmon will keep Bai Ze occupied while Rush brings unions back.






This ultimately does 12000 damage.




Now, Rush will switch places with Caedmon in blocking Bai Ze while the wounded Caedmon union revives David.






Hmm!




He’s going to keep fucking doing that at the end of every even-numbered turn.






Revitalize makes those “keep your HP up” commands a lot more viable. I did 9000 damage and still heal fully.




Are you all right?

No one is dead, so yes. David will be our shield (and also Blackout guy), while everyone else self-heals.






She just hasn’t got nearly enough HP to be in this fight.




8400 damage on the dot.






Kiss of Life is very AP-intensive, but more ways to revive is always better. It also restores the union to full HP.




It can’t end like this…






Rush takes a major hit, but he got off the much-needed Morale boost, so that counts as a win.




That’s probably the most effective thing she’s done all fight. The Silencer adds another 1100 on top.




You okay?




I order David to attack from long-range with Hexes. Caedmon’s job will be to pick up all of Rush’s teeth.




Rush’s union is dead, but I’m more concerned with getting the morale up.

Music: Reversal





Dave! Crush ‘em with Ex Machina!

This is not a fight where you turn down any opportunity to use your big guns.








Finally, Bai Ze is in critical health.




With that much damage I’m glad that only ONE union was killed, let alone the others only taking half-damage.






I will not allow any more losses!

As always, Sheryl, thank you for your valuable contribution to the fight.






Rush!

Caedmon’s already on the way to heal Rush’s union so I prefer this to the alternative of it getting outright killed.




8900 damage. And Vulcanbreath killed David’s union, but the others are generally okay.




I wanted to do Omnistrike here, but Caedmon’s union had no option to revive, so Rush had to do it.






How much more can that monster take?




Okay, let’s do it for real this time.






Will you give me the power?




Get. Fucked.

And hey, everyone was alive! XP for everybody!

learned Revitalize III!
learned Poison Gas II!
class changed to Expert Marauder!
class changed to Adept Mysticknight!




Wow, that didn't take any time at all! I figured we'd be traveling for a couple weeks...
Ummm…
I know it's hard to believe, but I can be a bit of a lazybones. But to be done already is like getting an early birthday present! Oh yeah! I guess if I think of it, you helped out by walking where I could follo—er, see if I was on the right track. Thankies! Well, here in Nagapur I've got something really really important I have to do, so I'll see you later, okay? Bye-bye!
Hey- wait!
The guest union has left the party.




Music: In the Shadow of the Dragon





About the Cosmos Maiden…
Kosmosfest Staff: The Cosmos Maiden just showed up a minute ago, safe and sound. She made it in time for the festival. What a load off my chest!
Wait, what? How the-
Kosmosfest Staff: Though I figured you'd come in together... You get split up or something?
…something.
Kosmosfest Staff: Ah, whatever, whatever, no biggie. The point is, you totally saved me and the festival—thanks. Take this.
Reward: 6000 G, Royotian Alloy x2, Worn Manuscript x2, Antique Platter x2.
Kosmosfest Staff: Alright... Guess I'd better get back to work. There's still so much to do for the festival... We'll be burning the midnight oil on this one. I've gotta run, but thanks again! And make sure you come back for Kosmosfest, alright?
Completed quest: The Cosmos Maiden
I got Sheryl safely to Nagapur. Kosmosfest is about to start. Fun times ahead!

On PC, there are a few possible rewards for the Cosmos Maiden quest. I got the best one, which, in theory, is supposed to be for completely avoiding combat. But I did not do that. Twice. I don’t know what happened there, but I’m not complaining.

Sheryl is not recruitable at this time, there’s still one more quest for her first. But it’ll have to wait. Next time, we get to do a lot of walking in another quest I really like.




New Arts Summary

learned:
learned Rejuvenate!
learned Poison Gas II!
learned Double Time III!
class changed to Expert Marauder!
learned:
learned Wind Shear II!
learned:
class changed to Adept Mysticknight!
learned Mighty Quad Slice IV!
learned Switchback II!
class changed to Master Scout!



Rare Monster Bai Ze (The Cosmos Maiden)




If you try to leave Nagapur at this point, Dave complains. But you can totally leave anyway. Next stop, Melphina. This stretch of the games has a bunch of Melphina-related quest stuff.


Discussion Question: How the heck did Sheryl beat us to Nagapur?


Next Time: Melphina’s oh-so-important knightly order is done for.