Part 31: This Is Mine
Part 31: This Is Mine
Right, so where were we? Oh yes, about to enter whatever the hell this is.
"This" is apparently where the dwarves live. Dwarves with fruity hats and tons of Disney references. Apparently the place is called the Rockbit Coal Mine, but I don't recall seeing the name anywhere in the game; they all just call it the Jayarl Plateau, which is more the region's name.
The first couple areas are actually a fully-featured town, although it's rather small and doesn't have a town map. Still, there's an item shop and an inn, and that's what's important.
Thousand Arms dwarves are apparently the type who view hard work as an end in itself.
And now, like "smurfing," you begin to wonder just what the dwarves mean when they say "Hi-Ho."
Oh, please, god, don't let it be who I think it is.
Shit.
Hey, he's stealing diamonds!
Your treasures must be irritating. Therefore, I must be confiscating. In my hands, the empty sparkle of a diamond can be changed into dust that can save the world.
I'm not really sure what happens if you agree, but apparently in involves getting 500exp and not having to fight Bandiger.
Screw that, says I.
After all, beating his ass gets me more EXP, plus money and MP.
I included the combat for this encounter, partly because I didn't last time and partly because it went faster this time around. Bandiger's damage may have gone up since last time, but he has no new tricks, whereas Meis has a new summon and can bring down Aquoon 3 times instead of 2 (special attacks per day slowly go up with leveling).
And once again, Bandiger scoots off before anyone can catch him.
Right, one rest and save later and it's on to the mine proper!
Today's dungeon theme is "mine." Of course, we encountered a mine earlier; it was the very first dungeon of the game. This one, at least, is much more active and roomier than the last one.
The primary enemy of Rockbit Mine is the Evil Crystal, rounding out the Evilmancer and Evil Priest trifecta or something. The Evil Crystal loves casting buffs even more than the Evil Priest did, so taking these guys down is surprisingly easy.
Every once in a while they cast something like this, but fortunately status effect spells have as poor a chance of working on the party as yours do on the enemy.
Next is the Grand Bomb, whose cousin you might remember from the volcano dungeon. Exactly the same but with more damage, basically.
Last we have the Rock Giant, who also had a friend back in the volcano. Just as slow and just as useless.
Nice view out here.
I should have mentioned this earlier, but the chest I opened to leave the sewer dungeon in Sharan contained a "Nurse," and the chest next to this one contains a "China Girl." Curiously, none of these show up in the Item menu. What could it all mean...
At one point in the dungeon, this suddenly happens.
Whatever Meis tripped over, it apparently triggered an earthquake.
That's what I wanna know!
A sudden shift pitches all three girls off the cliff!
Sodina! Wyna, Kyleen!!
Don't panic! It seems like we can go down there and rescue them.
After a quick fade out, we rejoin Meis at the bottom of the cliff. Now, watch what order you decide to pick up the girls in:
The first will get a solid relationship boost,
The second will raise relationship a bit,
And the third will actually drop relationship a bit. At level 9, though, none of them went up or down enough to change Intimacy level.
Also, don't forget to look in that conspicuously placed chest before leaving. That's Sodina's special weapon, you know.
Ah, we're finally here.
Yadda yadda, point of light,
Blah blah xen red sphere blah,
Hang on a second, why is the Flame Elemental in the coal mine? I'd have figured him as being in the volcano. So who'd we miss?
Flame jumps into the hammer, and we're done.
Before we leave, Wyna drops a pretty big hint.
A hint that turns out to be unnecessary, since the game teleports Meis straight to Mounthand immediately after Wyna says that. It's a real shame, too, since I wasn't given a chance to drop a weapon for fortifying first.
All done! Mounthand is as good as new! Oh, that's right. Langoud's fixed too!
Well, I could go to Weino...
...Or I could visit the smithy and discover that Marion is now officially a datable girl. She never does join the party, but now that her plots are done Meis can go out with her. I'm not entirely sure why he thinks that's a good idea, all things considered, but what the hell.
Marion's minigame you've already seen.
Of course, now that it matters, I cheated the hell out of her game. Like with Kyleen's blackjack, Super Rock Paper Scissors is much easier with save states.
Marion's favorite gifts include mechanical kits like this and anything with a strange sense of fashion.
I like this photo.
Also, to no one's surprise, Marion grants Confuse at level 2 (also Sleep at level 1). I'm starting to run out of MP at this point, so I haven't actually gone much farther than this for now.
Incidentally, if you want to ask Marion questions, get ready for a hike, since her favorite spot is the control center of the Mounthand. The enemies are gone and the dungeon isn't very long without Marion's A-Trap Generator active, but there are still a lot of screens between the Goddesss statue and the control room.
I kind of wish I had asked about her first love in the video, since her response is, "my neighbor's red sports car. It looked SO FAST."
Next time: returning to Langoud.