Part 11: It would be in your best interest not to resist, but I'm sure Estelle is hoping you will.
Welcome back. Last time, we received some upsetting news - the septium we worked
How about you two, did you find anything?
All right...then let's check the details one by one and see what you've come up with. First off, what were the criminals after?
Schera’s about to give us a little interrogation about how the crime went down. Since you can’t start this conversation until you investigate everything, this is really just to see if you were paying any attention. As always, getting the right answers is necessary for max BP.
How many of them were there?
Where did they get into the house from?
Point-blank, what is the portrait of those thought to have committed the crime?
Wow, you did a good job investigating. It looks like we'll be able to specify who the criminals are with this information.
Mayor Klaus... Over the past two or three days, have you had any new faces in your study?
When you put it that way, I guess there's been a number of people... That reporter from the magazine company was one.
Oh, so those two came to visit you too, huh?
But at the time of the crime, they were with us at the Esmelas Tower. I think we can cross them off the list of suspects.Unless... we were in on it too
I see...so, Mayor Klaus, were there any others?
Other than that...there was only Josette.
Ha ha ha, but let's not kid ourselves here.
Ha ha, I think it'd be a bit of a stretch for her to be our thief. After all, she's a student at the Royal Academy. Criminals aren't always dressed so they can be easily spotted. As for a school uniform, if someone put their mind to it, they could create a replica.Just ask creeps everywhere!
But I'm telling you, she was a really nice girl. She was modest and courteous... Right, Joshua?
I'm sorry to say this, but I completely disagree.
Huh? During that time-- when the mayor put the septium into the safe... That girl's eyes lit up like a hunter's, eyeing her prey. Of course, since I had no conclusive evidence, I couldn't call her out on it... But at least to me, she didn't look like any ordinary student.Josette... no. I thought you were cool
Y-you must be joking...Wait, no I didn’t. Being a jewel thief is way cooler than a highschooler.
Unbelievable... At any rate, it looks like we're going to have to ask this girl a few questions. You wouldn't happen to know where she is, would you?
If I remember right, she should be staying at the hotel... But she said something about taking off from Rolent sometime today.
Hm, well it looks like we're going to have to hurry then. 
Estelle, Joshua. Let's try the hotel first. R-right!
Understood.And with that, Schera joins our party.
Schera’s somewhat of a powerhouse now, but only because she’s got 5 levels and two opened orbment slots on the rest of us, which is actually somewhat underwhelming considering her reputation.
In the long term, Schera’s somewhat less impressive, however. She’s hardly bad, but she’s another well rounded unit, and while her magic is fairly strong, she falls short of more specialized party members later in the game. Some of her orbment slots are also locked to wind, which isn’t a great element to be locked to.
That said, this kind of talk is mostly academic, because of the way the game is structured party composition is rarely up in the air.
Either way, since she’s locked to Wind, we give her the Impede 2 quartz Estelle was holding, letting her use Aerial on top of some other arts. With Schera’s higher magic, she’ll be doing a lot more damage with it. This means Estelle is back on healing.
Verne: Is something the matter?
We’ve got a criminal on the loose, and we’re hot in pursuit. It’s all very fun.
Do you remember a girl named Josette? She's a student from the Royal Academy who should be staying here.Verne: Of course I remember her, but... She checked out just a moment ago.
Shoot, we're a minute too late. Let's hurry to the landing port. We might be able to catch her there.
She really didn't seem like a bad girl...Verne: ???
Alright, I don’t like it, but I think we’ll have to go and talk to Alan. About the girl in the highschool uniform.
I’ll go get the disinfectant.
Alan: The airliner should be arriving any time now, so please be patient.
Yo, Alan. It's us if you haven't noticed.Alan: Oh, it's you guys. Ooh, and Scherazard, too! (Thank you, Aidios, for this feast of the eyes!) So, uh, what's up?
You didn't by chance happen to see a girl in a school uniform around here, did you?Alan: A girl in a school uniform? A school uniform from where?
From the Jenis Royal Academy...Alan: Oh baby! Those uniforms are so hot!
Can we just let her get away with the septium? That seems far less painful for all parties involved.
Alan: The contrast of those neatly pleated white skirts and navy blue socks... Oh yes, I can see them now! I totally forget what the boys' uniforms look like though.
This is one obsession I just don't get...
Thus defineth man's eternal struggle... Back on topic here, so you didn't see a girl in a Royal Academy uniform?Alan: Nope, not this month. And believe me, I watch for those. I check all the passengers boarding and disembarking, so I can tell you at least that she hasn't come here.
Which means that she came to Rolent along the roads without using an airliner... This complicates things.Wait, I think I’ve got something...
Our search field suddenly got much bigger. Come to think of it, there must be others, so they've got to be hiding somewhere...
I’ve almost got it...
Wait, that reminds me...!
What does, Estelle?That’s it!
When's din-...er, what was I saying again...?
How about taking this a little more seriously, Estelle? Did you notice something back at the mayor's place? That's right! That's what I was trying to say!Estelle pulled out the Servais Leaf found in the attic.
I almost forgot that we found this. Could this be some sort of a clue? Oh right...we did find that. Schera, do you know of any places nearby where Servais trees grow? Servais trees, huh...? I'm pretty certain they grow in Mistwald, south of Rolent. Mistwald...that's the forest in the opposite direction from home as Rolent, right? It seems like it's worth looking into. That settles it. Let's hit up the highway through Rolent's south gate!Alan: You're really excited, aren't you? Well, whatever it is, good luck.
Man’s Voice: Who can just walk... at a time like this?!
What are the two of you up to?
You kids again, huh? Actually, we've got to get to Bose ASAP. But the airliner's not even here yet.
I know. That's why we're heading there on foot. It'll take some time, but it's not a distance that we can't cover by ourselves.
Well, don't wear yourselves out too badly. By the way, are you after a scoop or something?
Yeah, and the mother of all scoops, too!
No time to talk! We've got to make it there today!Nial runs off, in hot pursuit of the chimpanzee from Bose that’s smoking two packs a day.
I wonder if Nial's going to be all right.
See you later, Estelle! Joshua!
Well, aren’t they a lively pair. Friends of yours? Those were the reporters from one of the jobs Dad asked us to take over. I wonder what’s going on...I’m sure whatever it is, we’ll find out eventually. So let’s hunt down our fugitive first.
On the way to the Mistwald, we run across this cute lil fella. Let’s murder it! (This is actually the last sidequest of the prologue, although sidequest is kinda misleading since we can’t actually get to the Mistwald without killing it.)
Let’s commit some Rhinocide
Anyway, since you could do this before Schera joins, having Schera backing you makes this a shutout.
Unsurprisingly, the giant rhino thing can take a hit or two.
Equally as unsurprisingly is its ability to deal a hit or two.
That said, magic, especially magic courtesy of Schera, will tear it a new one. Since the Rhinocider can only attack one ally at a time, you can just bulldoze through it since you’ve got the action advantage.
One Rhinocide later...
(This is one of the better dungeon tracks, in my opinion.)
Yep. It was also Mistwald last time we were here, Estelle.
Can you tell us anything, Schera? ... ...Someone came through here all right. From what I can see, a number of people passed through here not long ago. I'd wager mira we're on the right track! How can you be so sure?Because there’s no other accessible zones left to visit, they’ve gotta be here.
Because tracking fugitives is an essential skill for bracers. Anyway, let's check the woods. Be sure to keep your voices low. Roger that! Understood.
So. Mistwald. It loves poison. For example, here are these friendly bees, who do crap damage but have a chance of poisoning you.
Poison is pretty potent, but it doesn’t last long.
Hurricane is a pretty neat arte. It’s Estelle’s first offensive art, attacking all enemies in a fairly wide circular radius. I’ll show it off when we fight the boss.
Spoiler: There is a boss.
We also have Forest Mists, which are pretty hard to hit without magic, and Pine Plants, which we have already fought.
If you’ve forgotten, they hate fire, and blow up when you kill them.
Fuck Pine Plants.
Forest Mists use their bad odours to try and inflict us with a variety of status effects. I saw Poision, Sleep, and Attack Delay (bumps you down the turn order.) while making my way through Mistwald.
Thankfully, someone made bridges for us, or we’d be SOL.
The Mistwald has a couple of dead-ends, but it’s fairly small and visually distinct, so it shouldn’t take long to make it to the end. Which isn’t here. This is just a pretty tree.
The end is here, though.
I think I know why. (It's because it wasn't.)
And to think that something as exquisite as this fell into my hands with almost no effort. Wait 'til Don and Kyle hear about this!
Lonnie: The way you pulled off that act wearing that school uniform was simply astounding.
Dino: Just what you'd expect from the mademoiselle of an ex-aristocratic family.
Thanks for filling me in Dino. For that, I’ll let you live in the inevitable kerfuffle.
For certain definitions of living.
Yeah, yeah...but what's in the past is in the past. But it certainly doesn't hurt that in this outfit I can deceive almost anyone. That gullible mayor and dim-witted bracer girl... 
Idiots! The whole lot of 'em!
(Calm down... Let's see what else they have to say.)
(F-fine! But I'm not happy about this...)Lyall: Yeah, but that girl seemed pretty tough. I mean, she took care of all the monsters that appeared in the mine...
The mine? Oh, so you're the one who screwed up their job.And it all comes together.
If you had just done it like you were supposed to, I wouldn't have had to put on a monkey show to get this thing.Lyall: My apologies...
Eh, forget about it. All's well that ends well. At any rate...those two kids being bracers was an absolute joke. Especially, that brainless bimbo! She honestly believed that we could be friends! Whadda freaking moron! I had to try so hard just to keep from laughing. 
This’ll end well.
Estelle: ...What's so funny?
Yep. It's the 'brainless bimbo' and her absolute joke of a bracer partner.
Sometimes, all there is to say is
Lyall: What?! Bracers?!
Lonnie: How did they find...
You did a fine job stealing that septium from the mayor's residence, but... It looks like you were a little careless in the end. In accordance with the laws of the Bracer Guild, you are hereby under arrest and charged with breaking and entering, vandalism, and burglary. It would be in your best interest not to resist, but I'm sure Estelle is hoping you will. I’ve gotta say, as long-winded as the game is, the dialogue can be surprisingly snappy when it needs to be. Dino: This doesn't look good...
Lyall: Wh-what are we going to do now, Josette?!
How about you quit quaking in your boots for starters! These bracers are nothing more than a ragtag group of kids! I think it's time we showed them the real strength of the Capua Family!
Who are you to be calling us 'kids', you...YOU BRAT! I've had it up to here and I'm going to do something about it right now!Estelle and Josette are basically the same person, and that kinda makes me laugh.
Hey, that's my line!
All right boys, get 'em!I have no idea how she did that, but I must say, her bandit digs are pretty slick.
The fight opens with Josette shooting Estelle, which is great.
Also, the game loves me, and gives Joshua a Critical turn for his S-Break straight-away.
Holy crap, Josette's a tank
So yeah, Josette can basically take physical hits to the face all day (which is hardcore, props to Josette), but magic still does decent, if only decent, damage.
This means AoE magic wins the day.
Anyway, the way to victory here is fairly clear. Although most of the enemies are fairly durable, they take solid damage from magic, so buckle down, cast some magic, and try and clear out the mooks before starting on Josette. None of the enemies do too much damage, so this isn’t too hard.
Also note that Estelle is poisoned. None of the bandits play fair, and so they can all potentially poison you when they attack you.
That said, this is easier said than done, because Josette has some nasty tricks up her sleeve. This spell, Petrify Breath, can do some heavy damage, and can cause cursing if the petrify effect lands.
And now the mooks are dead. Once you’ve cleared that hurdle, it’s your win.
Mainly because when Josette starts running low on health, she starts casting Tear on herself. Since there’s three of us, and one of her, she’s basically just postponing her death.
Especially since as she tries to sandbag, our S-Breaks build up.
And so the fight ends in the most appropriate of ways.
---
You had enough yet? That's what you get for taking bracers lightly. 
And we'll be taking this back if you don't mind, thank you very much.Recovered Septium Crystal.
Hey, that septium belongs to me...
No, not to you, to the people of Rolent, that's who! The sheer nerve you have to say something like that is astounding... Now that we've got the crystal back, how about we move on to confession time? That's an interesting name you mentioned. The Capua Family was it...?
I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. So you want to be a tough egg to crack do you? I don't mind at all. In fact, I like them that way.
Ahhhhh!
Wh-what are you trying to do?! That's a dangerous thing to be swinging around like that! Well, if you can't answer with your mouth then maybe your body can answer instead. But don't worry, I'll be EXTRA gentle. Eek... Get away from me, you crazy witch! (I think Schera's enjoying this.)
(Let's just sit back and enjoy the show...)Yup, nothing like some torture to close out the day.
I think we might be the bad guys here.
Look out, Schera!
An orbal gun?! Are you all right, Schera? I'm fine! Forget about me, look at that!
Well, we’re boned.
Ah ha ha ha! Looks like the tables are turned in our favor now, aren't they?
Kyle! You're late! Where have you been? Oh, never mind, just hurry up and give us a hand!
No can do. Our push into the Rolent Region has been put on hold. Something big came up in the Bose Region while you were away.Even the pirates are keen on seeing the smoking chimpanzee
What's that supposed to mean? I don't have time to explain. Hurry and get on or I'll have to leave you behind.
Crap...
We'll pick this up another day! And don't think you've won either! Payback's gonna be a beast!Yay, we’ve got ourselves a rival!
---
I sure wasn't expecting anything like that to come out of the woodwork... Ha ha ha. It looks like they caught us all off guard. This isn't a laughing matter! Right now I'm so frustrated I don't even know what to think! Well, on the bright side, we did get the Septium Crystal back. Switching gears...that group sure looked to me like a bunch of sky bandits. Yes, they certainly seem of that variety. It also sounds like they've made the Bose Region their base of operations as well. I certainly wouldn't have expected a group like that to travel all the way to a rural place like Rolent. I could care less if they're sky bandits or brigands! The next time I see that scruffy, lying, jerk of a tomboy I'm going to thwack-bam-kapow her! What's [thwack-bam-kapow] supposed to mean...?Exactly what it sounds like, I imagine.
Thus the Septium Crystal stolen from the mayor's residence was safely recovered. After returning it to the mayor, Estelle and the others returned to the guild to report the details of the incident.
I don't blame you for letting them escape.Considering there were four of us, and they had a giant airship, I think that’s fair.
No, this time it was my fault. I should have been more careful. I'm really far from being in the same league as Cassius...Yeah, but who is
It's not your fault, Schera. I let my emotions get the best of me and... I was careless as well...Careless apparently means “vulnerable to being shot at by giant airborne vessels.”
No, you guys did a great job. Your on-site investigation of the mayor's residence was flawless, too. Don't you think you should recommend them, Aina?
Yes. I was thinking the same thing as well. Recommend?
What do you mean? Hold your horses! First comes the payment for a job well done.
Received [Eagle Vision] quartz as a perk.
This is for you both, and take this as well.Received Recommendation
Th-this is...? As of now you are both junior bracers. In other words, bracers-in-training. In order to become senior bracers, you'll need to receive recommendations from all regional branches in the kingdom. This is your recommendation from the Rolent branch. Is it really okay for us to have this...? I had heard that in order to become a full-fledged bracer we'd need to achieve something fairly noteworthy. I think in light of the jobs performed in your father's stead and your great showing here, your achievements are sufficient.They’re really not. Fortunately, our later deeds will be.
However, those achievements are only for your work here in Rolent. You'll need to receive recommendations from the other regional branches after achieving success there as well. Bose, Ruan, Zeiss, and finally Grancel... You've still got a long road ahead of you. Even so, I'm really happy. It was worth all the hard work! Now that we've come this far, don't you think we should visit the other regions too, Joshua? I figured you'd say as much. I agree with you, but we can't decide this all by ourselves. We should discuss it with Dad when he gets home. Right!
Oh... That's the telephone, right? Hello, this is the Bracer Guild's Rolent branch in the Liberl Kingdom. Ah...it's been a while since we last talked, hasn't it?
I see...Are you sure? That's terrible...Don’t tell me... The smoking chimp died?
I wonder if something happened... It looks that way to me. Yes, that's right. He left on business the other day...
I apologize, but this is a little difficult to believe... Understood. I'll pass on the news to his family. They'll be fine... They're bracers, too. Yes. And if you hear anything else, please let me know. What's wrong, Aina? It's unusual for you to be so surprised like that. Who was calling?
The airliner, Linde, has disappeared over the Bose Region.
Whaaaat?! How is that possible? I don't know any of the details, but... The Royal Army is currently conducting a wide-scale search. Due to this event, all other flights have been postponed. Well, that explains the back-up at the landing port. And... Aina? Estelle, Joshua, please brace yourselves. ...Your father, Cassius, was aboard the airliner which went missing.
Impossible...! There's got to be some kind of mistake! It seems his name was on the passenger list. Liberl Bracer Guild, Rolent Branch, Senior Bracer... Cassius Bright, 45.