Part 26: Putting Hot Air Balloon Festivals to Shame
Part 26: Putting Hot Air Balloon Festivals to Shame
When we last left our heroes, Meis had defeated his evil rival (again) and saved the damsel in distress, but they remained on the ship while Schmidt teleported off. Then this happened:
You're seeing that right: this particular floating island is held up by balloons. Gigantic balloons. This game is crazy in all the right ways.
The Cloud Manta reaches the docking area and slowly descends.
It then opens up...
Depositing our heroes.
It's worth adding that the ship can be reentered at any time. I didn't show this off in the last update, but this area can be accessed from the regular dungeon areas, although you couldn't use the door here until now.
Heck, you can even search the bridge, although there's nothing here but the random encounters.
Moving on, it looks like that girl with the green hair has shown up again.
And she's got some plot to deliver!
OK, beautiful. My name is Meis Triumph. You seem to be in trouble. Why don't we go somewhere private. You can tell me what's going on here.
Oh my, they're here. I have to go now. I'll be waiting in the Coincule District. Please come to the Coincule District.
If you watch the video, you may notice that the green-haired girl's VA doesn't really sell those lines about terrible things happening to the city. It's worth mentioning that there's a perfectly good reason for this.
Sharan is, as you've gathered, the obligatory floating island of Thousand Arms. It's also Arabic-themed and happens to be the biggest commercial center of the game.
For instance, this entire left row of merchants sells assistance items of various sorts, including the basic restoratives, the attack items, and a surprisingly wide range of accessories.
It helps that there's four of them. The right side all sells gift items of varying values.
Why hello there, tons of Geo and Spark Bottles. So glad to see you.
The map of Sharan is also circular. The dock and bazaar sections are along the straight path to the north.
The east path leads to nothing but an Elemental Spirit and a great view. Great enough for dates, that is. Also, MP drops seem to be between 50-100 now.
The circular path can't be traversed all the way, thanks to this Print Club booth on the one end...
And the Goddess statue on the other.
Laputa. It could be named after the original from Gulliver's Travels, but I doubt it.
Up the staircase, we find a couple goons in turbans guarding the mansion (which, oddly, also has the only cable car down to the surface). You can't get in now, but you can grab the Elemental Spirit in front of the fountain.
Conveniently, the town smithy is just down the stairs from the Goddess statue.
There's also a woman here who will tell you to visit the balconies on dates.
Across from the smithy is an empty house with just a single Spirit drop.
On the south end, you can find the hotel and the tavern. The hotel has a nice room, but the rate is absurdly high. It starts at 300GG, and goes up by 100 every time you come back. For reference, the last inn I stayed at cost 40GG.
There are also a couple hints about what's up in town scattered here and there. Also note the passage down in the back.
A second balcony sits just past the buildings.
Damn damashi always talking smack about me!
No comment.
Anyway, Meis has hit level 7 Charisma, and this seems like a nice enough town, so it's time to level up the party girls some more. Since we're hitting the top half of the scale now, I figure I should show off how the character of the dates has changed.
Mostly what you'll notice is that the Q&A has switched to more intimate topics, and there's less about general topics. There are still a few funny moments, though.
Level 6 Sodina provides Light +, which does what it sounds like.
At level 7, Sodina grants Cure All. It's like Cure, but instead of curing poison, it cures everything. It costs five times as much in EP, though.
Next up is Wyna. Note how she still talks about food even this high up the scale.
6 for Wyna gets me access to another of Muza's special attacks. Based on the description, this one oughta be great fun to watch.
Next at 7 is Fire+. I am just tearing through this spell list.
Anyway, enough messing around. That covered staircase by the tavern takes us down to the Coincule District. You can probably already tell that this is where all the poor folk live. Even the soundtrack rubs it in by playing a slow, distorted version of Sharan's theme.
It seems Green Hair has been waiting for us.
I'm so glad that you've come! Please come to my house. I need to talk to you in private...
Meis is so easy to sway.
After a quick fadeout, we rejoin the group in Kyleen's house.
The people of Sharan have changed...no, they've been corrupted. They used to live honest lives...Ever since Lavantis came, the merchants have started to treat their customers badly. Through Lavantis, they buy goods from the Empire and sell them at outrageous prices...And they have no qualms with selling products of poor quality. People in Fugoja began to notice, but...
Hmm... The market will eventually collapse, and the Empire will take over Sharan. I'm trying my best to restore Sharan...and to get rid of Lavantis once and for all.
I didn't realize how grave the situation was... Oh no, it's very late. I'm very sorry. Would you care to stay the night?
Never an opportunity lost. That's Meis' motto.
Oh! I'm so glad!
She...didn't insult or slap him? Success!
MEIS!! ...But I'm sorry I can't. Not in front of everybody...
Maybe next time...OK? Please follow me. The bedrooms are this way.
At this point, she leaves through the back door, giving Meis time to rummage.
Both Sodina and Wyna say something just as they leave the party.
Goodnight, Meis. Don't forget to brush your teeth, Meis!
What follows is an extended discussion in the dark.
Yeah, she's pretty. But, something about her made me feel strange.
I felt that too. Strange indeed... I can see how Muza feels strange, but you? You like all girls. Huh? Whadya mean by that? Anyway, we should get some sleep. We need to get up early. By the way, uh, Meis, could you move your hand...You noticed how the room only has two beds, right?
*Sound of a rooster crowing*
Where's my stuff!? My possessions have disappeared! Oh NO! What the <beep>!I think she says "hell" there, but it's so much funnier to leave it up to the imagination.
I knew something was suspicious about that girl! She was after our stuff from the very beginning!
I can't believe this...Kyleen...? Come on, guys. You can't accuse someone without proof.
But there's no sign of someone breaking in. Who else could've done this!? You underestimate women. I was suspicious of her since the beginning.
But we still don't know if Kyleen took our belongings or not! Come on, guys! Let's look for Kyleen!Next time: Vengeance is had.