Wild Arms 5 Part #9 - Johnny Appleseed?

Part 9: Johnny Appleseed?

As you can see, the Wayward Path let us out right next to Gounon. A short walk north takes us there.

Music: Even If I Can See the Reflection of Peace In Your Eyes

Hey, something smells good!

Yeah, it sure does!

Apples, isn't it? It's such a flavorful aroma!

Sheesh. It's nothin' to get all excited about.

But this is great! Usually you only smell this kind of scent around dinnertie. Not right smack in the middle of the day!

Uh...sure. Anyway, what did you expect? Gounon's a wine town. The Veruni are partial to apple wine, and this place has several good wineries. It smells like this pretty much all day long.

All day?! Seriously?! Though I guess that would make it pretty tough to live here...

Why? Wouldn't it be great to spend each day surrounded by such a nice scent?

What, and have my stoach grumbling all the time? See?

*GRUMBLE*

All in all, it's not such a bad place to live. Thanks to the wineries, the Veruni don't cause much trouble here either. Thinds tend to stay pretty calm.

I see. Doesn't sound bad at all. So where's Johnny Appleseed?

It's a brand of wind that's made here, Johnny Appleseed.
Dean & Rebecca: What?!

A brand of wine?!

That's...unexpected. I'd always thought it was a person's name.

Johnny Appleseed is a brand of wine...?

Did that trigger anything, Avril?

No, nothing...

The winery's over there on the left, across the bridge. Maybe it'll jog your memory, or somethin'.

Good thinking. Let's go!

I'll be off, then. Good luck.

What part of "I'm only stayin' with you until Gounon" did you not get? Do I need to draw you a picture? Next time I see you, it'll be as a Golem Crusher.

So long.

Greg left the party!

...Let's go.

You're just going to let him go?

At this point, Dean walks away.

...Men, I swear. Dean, wait up!

...

Gounon has two cameos for us, but first let's save.

Well okay, then.

Guitar-Strumming Youth: "Well fed, well bred." my father used to say, and that tescribes Gounon to a tee! I can't help but wish that all of Filgaia felt like this...

Hey, it's Gallows from Wild Arms 3! He wears a completely different outfit than in Wild Arms 3, but otherwise he's pretty similar. The guitar is most likely a reference to his third tool, the Kramer Doll. When the Kramer Doll is used, he plays a small guitar and an enemy attacks. He also played a guitar in one or two cutscenes.

I wonder what sort of request? At the moment...

1. We don't have any urgent business.
~~2. Our schedule is packed. Sorry!~~

Paladienne: That's wonderful! Will you help me find my brother? We've lost track of each other since we left our hometown on his bicycle eight years ago. I don't know where he is now, but if he sees this music box, he'll understand that you were sent by me.
Obtained Music Box!
Paladienne: All I can give you is a description from eight years ago. I'm sorry that I can't tell you anything more definitive. My brother has the same color hair as me, he has a name for his bicycle, and he excels at using ARMs. Finding someone based on so little information... It may be difficult... But please do your best!

If we speak with her a second time, she tells us why they left home.

Paladienne: My brother and I were living in a small farm village near Honeysday. But one day, the Veruni began forcibly conscripting men to work as laborers in Mt. Chug-Chug. My brother and I snuck out of town under cover of darkness, but we lost sight of each other during our escape. My brother loves bicycles. He named his bicycle, and takes very good care of it. He's someone antisocial and often curt, so he can be a little argumentative... But he truly is a kind and decent person.

This is Yulie, from Wild Arms 4. Her brother Kresnik is in Capo Bronco, but we don't currently have the means to return, so this quest will have to wait.

The music box probably plays this song from Wild Arms 4, by the way.

Talk

Mama Pluck: Welcome, young friends! I take it you aren't here to drink... Perhaps you've come to ask about the history of the northeast shrine? The shrine is said to be 12,000 years old. We get Drifters wandering in to ask about it all the time. In fact, a girl with a cute ribbon was here just a little while ago. She went off to the shrine by herself... I hope she's okay!

And now it's time for me to notice tiny references most other people either wouldn't notice or wouldn't care about.

In Wild Arms 1, Jack's default weapon is the Arctic Blade. In Wild Arms 5, (and I think Wild Arms 4, too.) the Arctic Blade badge increases the chance of counterattacks by 5%, this is a reference to Jack's high counterattack rate.

Anyway, we've spoken with everyone remotely interesting in Gounon, so let's proceed to the winery.

Johnny Appleseed, a brand of wine... I'd have never guessed. Avril? Do you remember anything?

No... All I can say is that I feel as if I've been here before...

Huh... Well, if you've been here before... Then I guess this wine is the Johnny Appleseed you were looking for?

I can't say either way. To be honest, I feel as if everything I've seen on this journey is something I've seen before... Unfortunately, this is just another such place...

Hmm. So that's all, huh?

Yes.

Then maybe this isn't the Johnny Appleseed we're looking for...? Ahh, I give up...

Well, why don't we try going inside? Maybe she'll remember something.

It's almost unbearable!

A smell this strong ought to be pretty hard to forget... Well, Avril? Still nothing?

...No, I'm afraid not...

Oh well... I guess this isn't it, then. I think you'd remember a smell like this.

Then I guess we'll just have to keep looking!

...Avril? You sure seem happy for someone who just hit a dead end.

Do I? ...Well, I suppose I am. This way, I can continue to travel with the two of you.

Hah hah. Thanks, Avril. Well, we may be back to square one, but we'll find this Johnny Appleseed yet!

Let's go search the town-maybe we'll find some clues! I'm not gonna give up!

There are a few NPCs in here, but this guy is the only particularly interesting one.

Apple-Pressing Guy: He even married the prettiest girl in town! And even though he had everything I ever wanted, he committed an unspeakable crime and fled town for good. Now that guy's a wanted fugitive. Serves him right! Knowing that sure makes squeezing apples all day a whole lot easier!

This is very easy to miss.

Anyway, now that we've been to the winery we can start an event in the graveyard, which is over near Gallows.

This will be useful later. The graveyard is past that arch.

Music: A Rusted Scar

This looks like...a graveyard?

What is that an doing?

He's offering flowers to the dead.

Offering flowers? Why is he doing that?

You don't know about that? I guess you must've forgotten that, too... The dead can't do anything by themselves, so the living offer them flowers to help them rest in peace. That's what he's doing.

...I see. That sounds like a nice tradition.

Oh-did we disturb you? I'm sorry, we didn't mean to interrupt...

It's no problem.

But what do you mean about Avril being a Veruni?

Oh, she's not? When I heard she didn't know about offering flowers, I just assued... The Veruni don't bury their dead, you know. They cremate their bodies, and throw the bones into the sea. Apparently it's a tradition that carried over from when they were travelling through space, and left the bones to float among the stars. So they don't have a custom of offering flowers, either.

Oh, that's right... The Veruni were drifting through space until they landed on Filgaia, weren't they?

That's right. They settled here on Filgaia about a hundred years ago. Now, they govern the planet as the leaders of human society.

Govern? You call what they do governing?! We had a friend almost killed by them back in Mirapulse!

Well, there are a few who are...less than courteous. But there are those among humans who are even worse... My daughter, my grandson...they were both killed by a human!

Killed...?

Yes, I will never forget that day... I will bring their killer to justice... I swear it!

Um...mister? You know the wine they make here called Johnny Appleseed?

Yes, what about it?

Do you like it?

Yes, I'm quite fond of it. But I've not had a drop since my daughter and grandson were killed.

Then how about you try having some tonight? Old man Tony always says that the best antidote for sadness is a good glass of wine and a good night's sleep!

Hah hah hah... This Tony of yours may be right. But I doubt I'll be able to enjoy it now. The taste of wine depends as much upon your mood as it does the wine itself. I'm afraid I don't feel the confidence to have a good glass of Johnny yet.

I see... Then let's have some together sometime when I'm old enough to drink! I know you'll be able to enjoy it then!

Hah hah... You're certainly an interesting young man. I'll be looking forward to it, then.

I wasn't expecting you to just call out to him like that.

He was crying in front of that grave...so I just...

So you just couldn't leave him alone, right? That sounds just like you. You've always been weak to tears like that. I remember how you always used to comfort me when I cried.

Now that you mention it, you don't cry much anymore, do you? You sure have changed a lot.

Hey! I'm an adult now! I can't go around crying all the time!

And now that we've seen that scene, we can go back to the winery and speak with the mayor.

Music: Even If I Can See the Reflection of Peace In Your Eyes

Intersting...? Dean, we seem to have caught someone's attention.

It's hardly surprising, when he does things like that! I wonder who this Joseph person is, though.
Mayor: He said you met him in the graveyard.

Oh, so that's his name!
Mayor: He tells me you made an arrangement to drink Johnny Appleseed sometime in the future. I like that spirit of yours! Say, would you be willing to do me a favor? You'd be perfect for the job.

A favor? What is it?
Mayor: I'd like you to take a cask of wine up to the shrine of the northeast.

No problem! We'll get it there in no time!
Obtained Holy Wine!
Obtained Amulet!

Um... I was wondering... Why is this wine called "Johnny Appleseed"?

Yeah, now that you mention it, it is a strange choice, the way it almost sounds like a person's name.
Mayor: That's an excellent question. Johnny Appleseed is the name of the explorer who first settled in this area. You're familiar with the custom of sowing apple seeds in the wilderness to aid those that come later? The first person to come here was named John, and so he was given the nickname "Johnny Appleseed". They say he first arrived at the shore just northeast of here. The tree he planted is long since gone, of course, but a shrine was built there. And every year, we bring a cask of new wine there as an offering of thanks.

So there really was a guy named Johnny Appleseed, and now there's a shrine... Maybe we'll find what Avril's looking for there, too.

Yeah. Let's go take a look!

There's a dirt path right by the entrance to Gounon that leads straight to the shrine.

Nothing interesting happened on the way.

Music: The Place Once Called a Temple

There are two more of these white crystals by the entrance to the shrine. We still can't do anything with them. When we investigate the door we're given the option to use the Amulet.