Part 25: In Medius Res
This is about the worst pun in this LP. I’m so sorry.
OVERWORLD MUSIC: “The Continent of Nadias” (Disc 1, Track 15)
So, it’s back to Balandor now. Cyrus hasn’t even made it to Albana yet, and we’ve already gone to Greede and back—on foot, no less!
CUTSCENE: Returning to Balandor
Why do I get the impression we’re pretty much sneaking back into town? I’d say that it might cause the populace a measure of unrest to see the people the Chancellor sent out to rescue Princess Cisna come wandering back into town sans Princess… But who am I kidding, no one in this town cares one bit about the world beyond the reach of their arms.
Caesar: So. This is the Kingdom of Balandor, huh?
Caesar: Thanks guys. I appreciate you tagging along.Even the game has figured out that this is Caesar’s show now.
Eldore: Who’s tagging along, funny man?
Eldore: We all need to find Medius and ask about the Knights.
Caesar: Oh, right. My mistake.
Caesar: So Leonard, since you’re the local expert, how about telling us where this Medius guy lives?Leonard couldn’t find his way back to Rapacci’s place without a detailed map. And he lives there. Oh Caesar, you still have a lot to learn about being a part of this group. You never ask Leonard anything. He’ll only disappoint you.
Leonard: Heck if I know… I’ve never heard of the guy before.Por ejemplo.
Caesar: What? Some expert.We’re going to find out in short order that half of Balandor apparently knows who Medius is.
Leonard doesn’t know who he is because he’s an incurious rube. And also dumb.
Eldore: Alright. Let’s start by asking around, shall we?Thank you, Eldore, for once again suggesting the blatantly obvious course of action, given the situation.
And we’re walking…
AREA MUSIC: “Balandor Castlestown” (Disc 1, Track 4)
So the game expects you to wander around town and listen to people jabber to put together enough clues to pinpoint where Medius’s house lies in the city.
Okay, so a stylish house on the city’s main street. That doesn’t really help much, seeing as how this is Blandor and everything is bland. So let’s see if we can scrounge up some more details about Von Hoenheim’s abode before we go knocking on doors like we’re the goddamn Mormon Church.
As you’ve probably noticed, between now and the end of the second game, Leonard will only be my party leader from now on in instances where he absolutely needs to be. And thankfully, those instances are few and far between now.
While we’re here, let’s check on Chester to see if he’s still perving out over the lady who runs the accessory shop.
Let’s see what these folks have to say for themselves now.
Sir Not-Appearing-In-This-Game (thankfully).
Actually, it’s Dame Not-Appearing-In-This-Game. Sil’s a lady and can actually be found in a dark corner of Greede’s Downtown quarter. She also plays a small role in one of the untranslated Avatar Story DLC quests at the end of the second game.
Bingo! House on the main street with a blue roof.
Seline and Palt also play a role in the aforementioned Avatar Story quest. A very minor, non plot-relevant role, but a role regardless.
Thanks folks! Let’s roll!
Eldore: Don’t assume the town walls will keep us safe. Leonard: Are you trying to make us paranoid?!
Yulie: Alright, Eldore…
Kara: You needn’t remind us.
Orren: Heh. Yeah, nowhere’s safe with Leonard. Caesar: As you say, my good sir!
Since we’re passing by, I figured we should stop in and say hello to Rappaci, just to see how business has been keeping up since he lost 100% of his staff.
AREA MUSIC: “Rapacci Wine Company” (Disc 1, Track 3)
Rapacci: Well look who comes crawlin’ back here. You rescue that damn Princess yet? Come to get yer old jobs back? And what’s with the hot chick and the angry blonde? Yulie: His name’s Caesar, Rapacci. Caesar: So this is your old boss, huh? Nice to meet ya. Rapacci: Your clothes and androgynous hips are confusing me. Stop that. Leonard: We’re still trying to rescue Princess Cisna, Rapacci. Rapacci: Then why the fuck have you all come back here? Orren: He’s failed to rescue her three times now. And got an innocent girl killed in the crossfire. Rapacci: Well, I always said one of these days I was gonna hear “Hey, Rapacci, Leonard got someone killed.” Gotta say, it took longer than I thought it would. I’m so frickin’… what’s the opposite of proud? Kara: Ashamed? Rapacci: Sure. Why the hell not? Eldore: Begging your pardon, Mr. Rapacci. But, do you happen to know where a man named Medius lives? We were told we could find him here in Balandor. Rapacci: Do I look like I give two rips about anything but wine to you? Eldore: Point taken. Orren: Hey, Ogrim Doomhamer. Do we still have jobs if we come back alive after this is all over? Because if it means I have to work with this idiot a day longer than I have to, I’m burning this place down when I get back. Rapacci: Hah. You should. I need the insurance money. That asshole Sarvain hasn’t even paid me my restitution for letting you three go on this stupid quest. Caesar: And on that note, we’re outta here. Catch ya later, pops.
Rapacci: …Who the fuck is this guy? Orren: Count Caesar Drisdall, ruler of Greede. Rapacci: Fuck me. How do you keep meeting all these people?!
And it’s cutscene time!
CUTSCENE: A House with a Blue Roof
Leonard: So, a house with a blue roof…
Yulie taps Leonard’s shoulder to draw his attention away from “CISNACISNACISNACISNACISNACISNACISNACISNACISNACISNACISNA—”
Yulie: There! Is that it?!
Sure. Why not?
Leonard: Fits the description. And looking around, it’s the only blue roof. Eldore: Seems worth a look.
So funny story, there’s supposed to be a people in this little yard, including a pair of kids who were literally running around in front of Caesar the second before I took this screeshot. However, at this point in the video, the game started loading the custcene, so the kids and everyone else in the yard literally blinked out of existence.
White Knight Chronicles! Because we just don’t give a shit any more.
CUTSCENE: Setti
There doesn’t appear to be anyone home.
However, at this moment a kindly woman stops what she’s doing and decides to chat it up with this eclectic group of strangers who are pounding on the door of the most Interesting Man in Balandor, apparently.
Woman: Are you looking for someone?
Leonard: Yes!
Leonard: We heard a man called Medius lives here.
Woman: Oh dear. I suppose you didn’t know…
She puts down her laundry basket. Drama is about to happen, folks.
Woman: Medius passed away this last year. 
Caesar: He’s dead?! Yulie: What?! Orren: Sheesh. We talked to half the town about this guy. SO WHY THE HELL DIDN’T ANYONE BOTHER TO MENTION HE WAS DEAD?! Fuck this stupid place, let’s just go back to Greede.
Caesar: Aaaaugh.
Caesar: Well, guess I’m never gonna find out where I came from.
Woman: Yeah, the plague got him. He was such a good man.
Caesar: Pfft. Talk about a big old waste of time. Orren: You’ll get used to it, buddy. On the plus side, though, at least we can’t directly trace his death back to Leonard. …Or can we?Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUN!!!
Woman: …Are you folks friends of Medius? Orren: …Let’s go with ‘yes’, just for speculation’s sake.
Woman: Maybe you’d like to meet with Setti, his son?
Caesar: What?
Eldore: He had a son?
Yulie rushes forward.
Yulie: Do you know where we could find him?Because everyone else in this game has to pick up the slack for Leonard. Everyone. Even the Avatar, eventually.
Woman: Gods, who knows? He might have gone to the cave in the south looking for rocks.
Woman: But, he’s been gone this past two, three days… I do hope he’s alright.
Woman: Oh nah. I needn’t worry about that one!
Eldore: By “cave,” ma’am, you mean the one on Balastor Plain? Woman: Aye, that’s the one.
Woman: Oh, now listen to me gab away like I-I don’t have a thousand things to do!
Woman: Well, best of luck finding him. Good day!
So she promptly bolts while Leonard and Yulie wave goodbye, even though she can’t see it.
Caesar: A cave? Doing what? Lookin’ for rocks?
Caesar: Come on! I bet he’s inside the house right now havin’ a good laugh.
Eldore: No. I can tell you no one is in that home right now.
Caesar: Yeah?
Caesar: You sound pretty sure about it.
Eldore: Indeed I am.
Caesar looks at Eldore intently and we get a weird and dramatic BA-DOOM! sound effect and magic ripples appear around Caesar’s eyes for a second that you can’t see in the screenshot at all.
Caesar: Interesting…
Even Kara cocks an eyebrow at this little aside.
Leonard: Come on. The cave’s not far away.
So off to the waterfall cave on Balastor Plain, on the word of a woman who was making a guess that Setti might possibly be there, but hasn’t been seen for three days, so who knows if he’s even there. God, if we find him, that would just be the biggest
Eldore: …Was I too late, then?
AREA MUSIC: “Balastor Plain” (Disc 1, Track 5)
Eldore: I don’t know what to make of this.
So we’ve got to head for the mountains on the eastern side of Balastor Plain, toward the place on the map I posted way back at the start of this LP that says “To Waterfall Cave.”
Caesar: Now, see, Setti’s just missing because he wants to protect my secrets! Orren: Twenty guilders says we come across his corpse in that cave and nothing else.
It might not seem like it, but the cave is very close to Balandor Castletown, so there’s not that much running around involved. …This time.
We also get this round of Live Talk before we reach the cave.
Eldore: The boy was lucky he left town… Yulie: Are you feeling alright? Leonard: I’m fine. Let’s just move. Orren: Don’t think she was talking to you there, guy. Eldore: Nothing. Just tired, I wager. Kara: Sorry. Something in the water, I think. Caesar: Oh, ah, I just get skittish sometimes…
CUTSCENE: The Story Starts to Unravel
As the group moves on ahead, Caesar hangs back a little to have a chat with Eldore about Plot and shit.
Caesar: So, Eldore.
Eldore: Mhuh?
Caesar: You, uh, gonna tell us who you are?
If that isn’t a look that says “shut the fuck up and stop asking questions,” I don’t know what is.
Eldore: Mrrgh.
Caesar: Ever since I got the Ark, things have started to look kind of… different to me. It’s like… I see through dragon’s eyes now.See, told ya that thing Yulie said after we fought the Ancient Dragon would be plot-relevant!
Caesar: Mm… How do I put this?
Caesar: It’s like the dragonsight lets me look inside people to see what makes them tick. Eldore: And what of it?Caesar is just saying he’s become a human lie detector. This power comes and goes as the plot demands it, by the way, but it’s just one more thing that makes Caesar cooler than Leonard. Leonard doesn’t get any special abilities with the White Knight’s Ark. Caesar meanwhile turns into Toph Bei Fong, Kamen Raider.
He also gains the balls to finally call Eldore out on the paper-thin ruse he’s been stringing Leonard along with this whole time.
Caesar: Well, uh, you sort of… jump out at me now.
Eldore: Hrmph.
Caesar: I look at you and… there’s something about you that just seems out of kilter, you know? No offense.
Eldore: I’m just a humble travelling man. Eldore: And Broadway producer. Eldore: You’re talking nonsense, my boy. No one has the power to look into another’s heart.
And that’s the bottom line, because Stone Cold said so.
CLICK HERE YA DUMB SONS OF BITCHES
Caesar: Nonsense?
Caesar: Huuh. Thanks a lot…
Leonard: Alright. Let’s hope Setti’s in here.
Yulie: While we’re at it, let’s hope he’s in one piece.
So yeah, this party set up I’ve got here? Doesn’t mean crap for this next battle because it’s a plot battle.
I spent a good five minutes getting everyone healed up and equipped and ready for action with AC refilling Charge Drinks, and none of it mattered.
This gate was locked the last time we were on Balastor Plain, but because Plot happens here, it’s now unlocked for us. Hooray!
We run down to the open area at the base of the cave, aaaaand…
CUTSCENE: The Black Knight to the Rescue (?)
Yulie: Over there!
Never a bloody dull moment, huh?
So Setti’s running for his life from a trio of angry trolls. Wonder what he did to piss them all off? Well, I’m glad we got here at just the exact right moment for this bullshit.
I’d like to think that these damn trolls have been chasing Setti around this tiny cave for all three days he’s been here so far. Because it’s fucking hilarious and I need the distraction to keep my mind from melting as I analyse this game to death.
Leonard: Damn! There’s three of them!Sometimes I wonder why I bother explaining things with Captain Obvious around to do it for me after the fact.
Setti: Ye-agh!
Eldore: Save him! Orren: Like, FOR REAL this time!Ah, who are we kidding. Setti’s about to become Setti-paste on the butt of this troll’s club.
Caesar: Leonard!
Caesar: Transform!Thank god, someone was there to actually remind him this time.
They both spring forward into action
The troll’s club thunders down on poor Setti.
[SMACK!]
Setti looks in up awe. Well, fucking finally. It took you guys long enough, but you finally actually did something heroi—
OF FUCKING COURSE!
White Knight Chronicles! Where even the goddamn villains are more heroic than the actual heroes!
CUTSCENE MUSIC: “Tense Battle” (Disc 1, Track 30)
Leonard: The Black Knight!
Leonard: Why is he here?! Caesar: Oooh, reinforcements, huh?Aww, look at how pissed off the Black Knight makes Leonard. It’s like he’s realised on some level how much cooler every other Knight so far has been than his and he’s starting actually become jealous of it.
Caesar, meanwhile, has a different outlook on the Black Knight’s random plot contrivance of an appearance here for no good reason.
The trolls collapse before it, leaving the Black Knight to its lonesome on the battlefield.
Dragias: Bitch, you WISH you were me.
Oh uh.
Leonard: Verto!
(USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
A-fucking-gain! REALLY?!
So Leonard, in an ignorant rage, rises up to do battle with the Black Knight once again. Yulie, meanwhile, has rushed in and scooped up Setti by herself, doing something actually heroic while Leonard spins his wheels acting like an angry 12 year-old.
Caesar: Wh-woah! Aren’t we on the same team?!…Now why would you possibly be saying something like that, Caesar?
Yulie: Take cover! Yulie: People tend to die whenever he uses that thing!
Yulie: Caesar, the Black Knight’s our enemy! You have to help Leonard!
Caesar: Okay. Sheesh. 
Caesar: This is getting complicated…
Caesar: Verto!
I was too late to post this for Chapter 15, but I’ll just leave this here now because it’s appropriate, apparently. This one’s for you, Ashsaber!
BOSS BATTLE: The Black Knight (Round Two) (with commentary by nine-gear crow… and only nine-gear crow, so it’s going to sound dull as shit!)
BOSS BATTLE MUSIC: “Jet-Black Wings” (Disc 1, Track 22)
So this is our first dual Knight battle. There’s a couple of these sprinkled across both games including one triple Knight battle!, and they’re all plot battles.
So because the thread hates Leonard and loves Caesar, I immediately jumped into the Dragon Knight, especially because it was custom-made for ruining the Black Knight’s shit.
Stabby stab stab. Caesar’s Wyrm Dance works wonders against the Black Knight. It’s multi-hit attack. Caesar strikes like three or four times, and each hit has a percentage of hitting or missing, and depending on the number of hits he lands it does more damage.
I got lucky this time and had him land all four hits, doing a total of 420 damage.
SMOKEWEEDEVERYDAY Knocking the Black Knight down to three-quarters health triggers the next cutscene.
CUTSCENE: Resonance
Ouch. Right in the chest!
DOWN GOES FRAIZA!
The Black Knight begins to glow, however. Oh shit, it’s about to reveal its final form!
The White Knight and Dragon Knight start glowing too. They’re about to digivolve to the next level.
Come on down MegaWhiteKnightmon and CyberDragonKnightmon!
Eldore: The Knights’ power… It’s resonating. Yulie: What does that mean?
Eldore: They’re making each other… stronger. Orren: HOW THE HELL DO YOU KNOW THIS?!
Something suddenly catches Eldore’s eye—or rather, the lack of something.
Yulie? Check.
Orren? Check.
Kara? …Kara? …Bueller?
Moving on.
Eldore: Ahhhgh.
HAVE YOU ALL FIGURED OUT WHO THE BLACK KNIGHT IS YET?!
BOSS FIGHT MUSIC: “The White Knight” (Disc 1, Track 13)
So with that diversion out of the way, it’s back to battle. The background music has switched from the Black Knight’s theme to the White Knight’s theme to denote the shift in the momentum of the fight… even though we were kicking
Also of note: the blue indicator down by the Turn Break trigger has turned from blue to green, indicating a jump from the level 1 to level 2 power level. In the vanilla first game, this would have had an actual noticeable effect, allowing you to use more of each Knight’s attacks at their higher power levels. Here? Eh, the just do a little bit more damage than before and you’d have to be paying acute attention to things to actually notice it.
WOM WOM WOOOOOOM!!!
Leonard: Huh?! What’s going on?
Caesar: Hey, I feel kinda tingley! Leonard: I feel… stronger! 
CUTSCENE: Setti’s Thanks
With
But they’re not quite ready to let
Oh who are we kidding, they’re going to let
Need I remind you, Caesar’s Knight is capable of flying. He can very easily chase after the Black Knight…
But I guess he’s just not feeling it.
Winning sucks when you do it, Leonard.
Caesar: Who was that guy in the black armour? Orren: Weeeeell—
Yulie: A Magus. But unlike the other Magi, he can turn into a Knight. He murdered Balandor’s King.
Caesar: Got it. Black Knight, bad guy.
Oh, welcome back Kara. Where were you for no valid reason while the Black Knight was here?
Eldore: Urrrgh. Eldore: I will keep my now-completely warranted suspicions about you a secret from everyone else because I’m kind of a dick about these things.
Kara: Hmmm…It’s okay Kara, you’ve just skyrocketed into a tie with Caesar for “Most Interesting Party Member”.
Caesar exchanges glances between Eldore and Setti.
Caesar: Well you lucked out.
Setti: I don’t know how to thank you all. You saved me. Orren: Technically.
Leonard: The Black Knight saved you.
Leonard: Why would he do that?
Setti: Well I certainly don’t know. But… those Ebonwings. That could only be Dinivas!
Leonard: Ebonwings?!
Leonard: So you do know about the Knights, huh?
Setti: Yes… Quite a bit. And now I’ve been rescued by one!
Setti: That day must be drawing near…
Setti: The day that father feared so much. Yulie: Huh?
Caesar: Yeah? Tell us more.
Setti: Very well. But first, let’s return to town.
So it turns out they weren’t half-bad at actually rescuing people. They just sucked at rescuing people named Cisna. Well, I was certainly intrigued about what this Setti guy had to say next. Hell, any explanation as to what the hell had being going on up till this point was a welcome prospect.
…Then I found out.
You ever get so mad you want to punch History right in the gonads?
