- Pronouns
- She/They
I wonder if there's any kind if bird where the collective noun is an arson. An arson of phoenixes, maybe?
Let's Play RPGs I Missed! [Now Playing: The Legend of Dragoon]
- Thread starter Roarian
- Start date
- Let's Play
- Pronouns
- He
Though they whine so much being posed for display makes it almost more trouble than its worth.
Trails in the Sky (Part 35) - Stirring Up the Roost & Agate Interrupts
- Location
- Netherlands
Stirring Up the Roost
In hot pursuit of our missing orphan, we speak to Murray behind the hotel. Estelle asks to borrow his boat, since we need to get across as quickly as possible. Murray says he can't do that - that duke fellow has already reserved it. Maybe we can come back later…? A tearful Kloe begs him to please help us, since a little boy is in grave danger! Murray tells her not to go shedding tears like that - she reminds him of his granddaughter, and he doesn't like to see her upset either. All right, he supposes it won't hurt - go ahead and hop aboard!Estelle calls him a lifesaver, and Murray just laughs - he'll just tell the duke that the boat's being repaired! He asks Joshua if he can handle a boat, and he hesitantly confirms he'll handle it, and tells the others to get aboard. With that we make our way across in the tiny little boat - I guess it was too small to also bring Murray along so he could have his boat back immediately? Anyway, we exit on the edge of the southernmost part of the warehouse district. Almost immediately a familiar bird screeches and flies closer - it's Sieg! Kloe hears the bird out, and explains that Clem apparently went as far into the warehouse district as you can go.
Joshua figures we should get a move on, then - that's probably where we will find the Ravens' hideout. Roger that!
Now that we're on the other side, we can check in with the locals again - orphans are pretty far down the priority list, clearly. Portos says he had discussed the delinquents in the warehouse with the mayor before all this started, but he never heard anything back about it. What a pain. Benoit says the Ravens have seemed really on edge lately, and they're probably up to no good again. Kuper notices the bridge is up, and figures that means it's time for lunch. Brenda says Mayor Dalmore is really into sightseeing in Ruan, and thinks he wants to see about starting up business in every city he visits… This place used to be packed with sailors, but not so much these days…
At Aqua Rossa, Pesca says he doesn't understand why the mayor doesn't do something about those delinquents in the warehouse. Oh well, he's just a fisherman, he doesn't want anything to do with it. Squaro says that the Ravens like to come to this shop, too. They sure don't act all rough and mean like they used to. If they don't have any self-confidence anymore, they'll probably just drift apart. Before, it was obvious how nasty they were just by the looks of 'em… Zecalte tells us he saw a little kid running in the direction of the warehouse earlier. Can't imagine what he's doing there… He hopes he's not involved with those little punks who hang out there! Bolle explains that the Roubine River that runs through this town leads to Valleria Lake, dead center of Liberl. Any foreign goods that they unload can be shipped directly onto Grancel. Used to be that you'd see tons of people from all kinds of foreign nations around here…
Inside her house, Noria laments that she wanted to get the shopping done before the bridge was up! She completely forgot about it. In her house, Bridget mentions that she has one other son… but circumstances being what they are, he's not here. She does hope he's eating alright! Her other son Louis, of course, is shouting that he's hungry… Norman mentions that those little crooks down at the harbor are the source of most of his headaches. They aren't just making things unpleasant for the occasional tourist here and there…
At the mayor's place, Gartner notices the bridge - it's that time already, huh? He's hungry! Dario says the candelabrum on display in their foyer is an heirloom of House Dalmore. Handling an item of such extreme value can be quite nerve-wracking. Dominique says that Flora is at it again - she wants her to move her hands, rather than her mouth!
Flora says that she saw another bracer out on the street earlier, one with brilliant red hair and sharp eyes. There's just something about a wild-looking man… (Hi Agate!) Viego mentions that lunch will be ready soon. Today is salmon marinade on garlic toast and free-range herb-roasted chicken! Steward Gilbert wonders if we have any suspects? Those hoodlums certainly can't be allowed to run about freely! So many questions piling on top of each other… Mayor Dalmore says it's truly dreadful what happened to Matron Theresa… He'll do anything to help - he feels it's his duty as a mayor.
At Aqua Rossa, Pesca says he doesn't understand why the mayor doesn't do something about those delinquents in the warehouse. Oh well, he's just a fisherman, he doesn't want anything to do with it. Squaro says that the Ravens like to come to this shop, too. They sure don't act all rough and mean like they used to. If they don't have any self-confidence anymore, they'll probably just drift apart. Before, it was obvious how nasty they were just by the looks of 'em… Zecalte tells us he saw a little kid running in the direction of the warehouse earlier. Can't imagine what he's doing there… He hopes he's not involved with those little punks who hang out there! Bolle explains that the Roubine River that runs through this town leads to Valleria Lake, dead center of Liberl. Any foreign goods that they unload can be shipped directly onto Grancel. Used to be that you'd see tons of people from all kinds of foreign nations around here…
Inside her house, Noria laments that she wanted to get the shopping done before the bridge was up! She completely forgot about it. In her house, Bridget mentions that she has one other son… but circumstances being what they are, he's not here. She does hope he's eating alright! Her other son Louis, of course, is shouting that he's hungry… Norman mentions that those little crooks down at the harbor are the source of most of his headaches. They aren't just making things unpleasant for the occasional tourist here and there…
At the mayor's place, Gartner notices the bridge - it's that time already, huh? He's hungry! Dario says the candelabrum on display in their foyer is an heirloom of House Dalmore. Handling an item of such extreme value can be quite nerve-wracking. Dominique says that Flora is at it again - she wants her to move her hands, rather than her mouth!
Flora says that she saw another bracer out on the street earlier, one with brilliant red hair and sharp eyes. There's just something about a wild-looking man… (Hi Agate!) Viego mentions that lunch will be ready soon. Today is salmon marinade on garlic toast and free-range herb-roasted chicken! Steward Gilbert wonders if we have any suspects? Those hoodlums certainly can't be allowed to run about freely! So many questions piling on top of each other… Mayor Dalmore says it's truly dreadful what happened to Matron Theresa… He'll do anything to help - he feels it's his duty as a mayor.
We make our way through the warehouse district - since I stumbled in here a couple times before, it's not exactly hard to track down the Ravens. As we enter, we see Clem facing off with half a dozen of the thugs, declaring that he won't let them get away with it! Rocco has no idea what the little punk is talking about...
Deen tells him this is no place for little kids. He ought to go home and get back to sucking on his mama's tit! Rais laughs at that lame joke - nice one, man! Clem just growls in fury and then charges Rocco, much to Deen's disbelief. Rais wonders what the brat is so pissed off about? Clem shouts that he doesn't have a mother, jerks! He only has the matron, and they don't get to make fun of her!
Rocco knocks Clem backwards, at which point Deen lifts him by his neck off the ground with one arm. He's got a lot of attitude for a little punk! Rocco guesses he may need some discipline, and Rais proposes a hundred whacks on the ass - ha ha! At this point Kloe runs in and demands they stop this. Estelle and Joshua join her, of course, and the Ravens recognize us from the earlier run-in. They all draw knives and get into battle position, which means Deen drops Clem and he coughs loudly now that he can breathe again. Clem is surprised to see Kloe, who asks the ruffians how they could be so cruel to children? It's disgusting. They should be ashamed of themselves!
Deen scoffs at the very idea, while Rais asks who Kloe is to look down on them, just because of her looks? Rich snob… Rocco wonders how many bracers we think it'll take to beat them? Estelle tells Kloe to stand aside, and Joshua promises we'll buy her some time - get the kid as far away from here as she can! Kloe says no to this, though - she wants to fight. She really doesn't enjoy it, but she was taught how to use a sword if it's to protect others. She thinks now is the right time. With that she brandishes a rapier, much to Estelle's astonishment. Joshua is also a little weirded out by that choice of self-defense weapon…
Kloe again asks the Ravens to let Clem go, or she'll force them to do so! Bargo and Terence suddenly think Kloe is rather hot, and Deen shouts at them to get their minds out of the gutter and focus! Rais wonders if we expect them to let this brat get away with mouthing off to them? They're the Ravens, and we need to learn not to mess with them! Let's go!
[Boss: Rais, Deen, Rocco, Raven Gang Member*3]
Six enemies at once, huh? While the three regular Raven Gang Members just do mundane physical damage and not much else, the three named ones are all pretty competent (and identical) fighters who can heal each other, reduce your defense, and even charge up a one-shot knockout move. There are items to equip which make you immune to the latter, but the real clincher in this battle is Kloe. She comes with a rapier, sure, but she's also a potent healer with access to powerful arts! She's immediately assigned to 'keep the bracers alive' duty, and some stray AOE blasts make short work of the whole group. They can't revive everyone at the same time! Just have to watch out that they can still knock out Kloe if they get lucky, since you can't change her loadout before this fight.
After the battle is over, the Ravens are spread around the warehouse. Deen declares that we are some kind of monsters! Rais says that even if she is a bracer, there's something weird about this chick… Clem declares that Kloe was awesome, and Estelle also compliments her - nice going! Joshua concludes she must have learned the art of the sword from someone very skilled. (Is that you again, Dad?!) Kloe assures him she's still just a novice, then walks closer to the named gang members, who are still holding up their weapons. She insists that fighting would no longer serve any purpose. They should release the boy.
Rocco calls her a bitch, while Deen says they aren't just going to let her make fools of them and get away with it!
'...Enough,' a young man's voice says from off-screen.
Deen wonders who's there, while Rocco guesses reinforcements. It turns out it's Agate, who asks if it's been so long that they've forgotten his voice? Deen and Rais are astounded - Agate? He's here?
Estelle also wonders why he's here... Agate addresses Rais directly, then violently punches him so he crumples to the floor. He demands to know what the Ravens think they're doing? Fighting with girls and beating up a little kid, is that what they've come to? Rocco tells him to s-shut up! Agate left them, so why is he to give them orders anymore? Agate responds by tossing Rocco into a rather distant wall, and asking what he was saying again…? Deen tells him to take it easy. If this is about the kid, they'll let him go, see…?
A free Clem quickly rushes over to Kloe, and she's relieved - thank goodness he's all right now. Agate huffs and tells Deen that he should've just done that from the start. Estelle is annoyed with this bunch of mean jerks, and asks Agate how exactly he knew when to show up? Agate just says Jean told him. He then turns to Clem, and tells the brat that he's got some guts to come up here all by his lonesome! Still, he's really pushing his luck - he shouldn't worry his mama like that.
At this point, of course, Matron Theresa enters the building. Kloe asks her why she's here, and she explains that she inquired at the guild as to what was going on, and she was led here… She tells Clem he really knows better. Clem refuses to apologize this time - he's gonna get those jerks who started the fire! Theresa yells Clem's name, but Kloe asks her not to scold him. Theresa says that wasn't her intent - she understands how Clem feels, she really does. The orphanage was important to everyone who lived there with him… to all of them. Getting himself killed will not bring it back, though. All that she wants is for all of them to be safe. Nothing else matters, so she begs him not to put himself in danger…
Clem bursts into tears and rushes into his matron's arms, and Estelle sniffles a little too - she's a sucker for this stuff. Kloe is just glad Clem is okay.
Agate, annoyed, scoffs at the whole affair - women and kids are always the same! He calls out to Joshua and says he should get the matron and brat out of here, as this really is no place for them. Joshua doesn't mind that idea, but wonders what Agate will do? Agate says he's made up his mind - he's going to remind these idiots who runs things, and why! He may need to crack a few skulls. Deen begs him to take it easy on them, but Joshua just smiles. He prefers not to be interrupted, then? Got it.
Back at the entrance to town, Matron Theresa thanks Estelle and Kloe for the help - she wishes she had the words to express her gratitude. Estelle assures her that she really doesn't need to thank us - we were just doing our jobs. Still, is she sure she doesn't want an escort back to Manoria? Theresa assures us it's fine - the Gull Seaside Way is like her backyard, after all. More importantly, she doesn't want to get Kloe in trouble at the school… Estelle says she shouldn't worry about that, and Kloe assures her she'll accept full responsibility. Theresa thanks Kloe, but says it's fine. She should focus on preparing for the campus festival - the children are looking forward to it.
Just then Joshua arrives - he made it just in time! He went and brought the boat back to its owner, see. Estelle thanks him for doing that, and Kloe apologizes for making him do that on his own. Joshua says it wasn't a tough job, so no worries. Theresa says she owes Joshua gratitude as well, and even Clem chimes in - with some difficulty he thanks Miss Kloe - all of us, actually - for helping him today. He was stupid, really stupid. He thought maybe he could get back at them, but then we had to come and save him! We must think he's a complete loser! We assure him we don't think that, but Clem is still sniffling.
Joshua points out Clem risked life and limb to protect something important to him - that's no mean feat, even for grownups. Personally he thought Clem was awesome! Still, he needs to leave the crime fighting to us. His job is to protect the matron and the other kids. No one else can do that. He'll have to stay with them to encourage and support them, as he's the only one who can. Clem finally gets his smile back, and thinks he gets what Joshua is saying. Joshua wonders if he's up for it, and Clem says he can count on it! Theresa chuckles and thanks us once more before heading out to leave. Clem tells Kloe that he's looking forward to the play, and she assures him she's been working hard on it, so she hopes everyone will be there! We can count on it.
After they finally depart, Estelle admits he's glad to see Clem is feeling better. She turns to Joshua and admits that sometimes he knows just the right thing to say, doesn't he? Kloe laughs and says she couldn't believe her eyes, seeing how quickly Clem cheered up! She thanks Joshua for his help, but he just says he didn't say anything special. He just believes that you've got to protect what's important to you, that's all… As he stares into the distance, the two girls wonder what's up with him… Anyway, Joshua snaps out of it, and says he's glad Clem is okay. He thanks Kloe for her help, but she argues she should be thanking us!
Before she forgets, she asks what became of our investigation? Estelle admits that the red-headed dude from before butted his spiky in it, so… She wonders if he's done yet? Joshua suggests we should head back to the guild for now, like we originally intended. He asks if Kloe is coming along, and she's fine with that - she'd like to find out what's really going on too. Not to mention the identity of the arsonist. Estelle figures it's time to go, then…
With that, we now have a new party member - Kloe Rinz! As mentioned she wields a rapier. Welcome to the team!
Only the people who previously referenced Clem actually have new text. Ruvie mentions that she spoke about that little boy from before, right? Apparently the matron came to get him. She's not sure what was going on, but at least he's safe. Atget says she doesn't want to worry her mom… Ernest says the duke had planned to go on the water, but he thinks the boat is in for repairs. He suggested that perhaps he should go up to see the waterfall instead!
Murray says it looks like the boat proved useful - maybe next time we can stay and visit for a while?
Murray says it looks like the boat proved useful - maybe next time we can stay and visit for a while?
We head back to the Guild for now, and Jean compliments us on our good work - he was told we were able to rescue a young boy. Estelle says we managed it somehow or another… She's still kind of in shock from when that redhead showed up! Jean says Agate is working another case in Ruan - he used to be the leader of the Ravens, if we can believe it! Joshua suspected as much, and Estelle figures that explains his terrible disposition.
Jean explains that was a long time ago... Agate drifted into town right around when he was our age, and hung out with a rough crowd and got into some serious trouble. Compared to back then, the tough types nowadays are puppy dogs! Estelle is surprised such a guy was allowed to be a bracer, and Jean says he'd gotten to know Agate a little bit, and it turned out he wanted to become a bracer ever since he was little. Sometimes people just change.
Agate enters the building and states that's probably enough of the idle chatter. Didn't mama ever tell us it ain't nice to talk about someone behind their back? Always with the gossip… Jean wonders if it's really gossip if it's positive? Anyway, is he done with his investigation? Agate says it's over and done with, yeah. He can't say for sure, but he thinks they're clean. Estelle wonders if he's not just trying to protect his old buddies, and Agate snaps that she should watch that mouth of hers! From what he saw last night at the sailors' tavern they couldn't be the arsonists… Hell, he doubts they could've even walked in a straight line if they wanted to.
Joshua figures if that's true, we can hold off on them - they didn't strike him as the type with the guts to try arson, anyway… Estelle agrees they just seemed full of themselves, mostly. Agate says that all you need to give them is a nasty look, and they'll cave. He'll see if he can find the arsonists while he's out in the field.
See, he's taking over this case… and we're off of it! Estelle is confused - whoa, what? He's got to be kidding her! Joshua asks for an explanation, but Agate tells him not to get his panties in a wad. We're too close to this case and we know it! If we let our feelings run away with us, it screws up our judgment. That, and we let a civilian get involved… She tells Kloe she doesn't have to apologize - it's the other two she's worried about. The point is that you've got to be professional about it, and we're not. Estelle wonders where Agate gets off calling us unprofessional? Besides, no matter what he says, she made a promise to the mayor! Agate, amused, asks Jean what the rules are about junior and senior bracers wanting the same case?
Jean sighs - come on, he knows that as well as he does. Of course it rules in favor of the senior bracer. Estelle gulps, while Joshua argues we're not bad in a fight - perhaps we could be backup? Agate argues it's just an investigation, so he doesn't need more people. He thinks we're done here - and we should try not to hold it against him. With that he leaves, much to Estelle's annoyance. Just who the hell does he think he is?! Joshua agrees this is frustrating, sure, but he's got a point. It just irritates him that we don't really have a counter-argument.
Kloe apologizes - if she hadn't drawn her sword… Estelle immediately tells her that's not what's bothering her. Agate doesn't have to just blow us off like that! Jean assures us he means no harm - we shouldn't be upset. Tact is not his strong suit. He just doesn't know any other way to communicate, particularly in light of the current situation. Jean thinks it may have something to do with an earlier case of Agate's… He was pursuing someone, and well… Ah, never mind about that. He really can't go into detail. We should just let him handle these criminals - consider it a personal favor. Estelle figures we don't have a choice, and Joshua decides we'll just hand over our report from our investigation, then.
With that we turn in the orphanage investigation only partially finished, and receive 3000 Mira and 5 BP for our work. With this we rank up to 4th Class Bracers, and gain the Strike Quartz - this one gives you 10% chance to land a critical hit, the only way to get those reliably - the other way is having a lucky turn order come up or manipulating that.
Jean compliments us on being quite thorough - presumably that's dependent on how many answers you got right along the way - but as he mentioned, the circumstances of this case are special. He's terribly sorry, but we'll have to end our investigation here. Estelle laments that she just wanted to do something for the matron and the kids… This isn't right. Joshua is also pretty down. Kloe, recognizing this, turns to Jean with an idea. It's possible to enlist the help of the Bracer Guild for civilian events, right? He confirms that's possible, though it would depend on what kind of event she's talking about. Because of the number of people who attend, they'll be handling security at the Royal Academy's festival, for example.
Kloe turns to us and suggests helping her out with the play, in the meantime? Every year when the festival ends, there's a play held in the auditorium. She knows the children always look forward to it, and there are still two major roles that haven't been filled… Estelle and Joshua are taken aback. Does she want us to take these parts? Kloe confirms that is her plan - otherwise they may have to cancel the plan entirely. She mentioned us to the Student Council last night, and they seemed quite eager to have us. It wouldn't be much, but we'd be reimbursed from the admin budget.
Estelle doesn't understand why she'd want us? She doesn't think she'd be any good, and isn't the play a really big deal? Kloe points out that for the girl part they need someone who has been trained for combat, so she thinks Estelle will fit the role perfectly. Estelle blushes and says she can definitely do combat stuff! Joshua agrees it should work, and asks about his own part. Kloe seems embarrassed to talk about it, and Joshua asks what that means. What kind of play is this? Estelle just asks him to stop trying to make Kloe say it. If they can do something for the kids, what's the harm? Plus, if we do some work, they'll probably let us have some of that awesome festival food! Can't let that opportunity slip by! Joshua tells her to hold on a second, and asks Jean if this really is a legit bracer assignment? Jean confirms it actually is - citizen outreach and regional services comprise plenty of the general work that bracers do.
Since Agate showed up and took our job, we do have some extra time… Jean certainly has no problems with it. Estelle is quite pleased at the thought of helping Kloe out, but Joshua has a bad feeling about this… Still, if it's for the kids, what choice does he have? He argues that if we have anything else to do first, though, we should take care of that beforehand. He doubts that working on the play will leave us with free time for anything else. (Point of no return, gotcha.) Estelle wonders if it would be okay with Kloe if we looked around here some more? She assures us that's fine, and gives us directions to the Royal Academy for when we want to go and follow up on the play...
Next: That blue-haired dick just stole our main quest, let's go do sidequests…
Trails in the Sky (Part 36) - Ruan Sidequests II
- Location
- Netherlands
Ruan Sidequests II - Orbal Boogaloo
With a very clearly signposted 'Point of No Return' established, we can now head out - but if we check the nearby billboards for jobs, there's actually a boatload of new sidequests available at this point. More importantly, all of them are very short-term, so you need to finish those first. I guess it makes sense if we're right before a big red line that locks us into story content, but this still seems a bit frontloaded…Maintenance Delivery
Term: Short
Client: Tobias
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I am looking for someone to carry a Maintenance Kit to the Varenne Lighthouse for a routine inspection. For job details, please come see me at the Granate Orbal Factory."
Secrets of the Old Map
Term: Short
Client: Jimmy
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I'm searching for some pirate treasure hidden along the Gull Seaside Way. If anyone is willing to help me in this investigation, please contact me. I'll be waiting at the chapel."
Escort Job
Term: Short
Client: Amelia
Pay: 1500 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I'm looking for an escort for my uncle, who's dead set on heading out onto the Krone Trail."
Candelabrum Theft
Term: Short
Client: Gilbert
Pay: 5000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"The Sapphire Glim, a treasure of the house of Dalmore, was stolen from the mayor's residence. Please try to find the whereabouts of this candelabrum ASAP! For details regarding this incident, please see me at the mayor's residence."
Make Him Leave!
Term: Short
Client: CWO Han
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"There's an annoying traveler causing problems for everyone around him at Air-Letten, and I'm looking for somebody who can resolve this problem amicably. Please come ASAP, directly to Air-Letten at the east end of the Aurian Causeway."
Term: Short
Client: Tobias
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I am looking for someone to carry a Maintenance Kit to the Varenne Lighthouse for a routine inspection. For job details, please come see me at the Granate Orbal Factory."
Secrets of the Old Map
Term: Short
Client: Jimmy
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I'm searching for some pirate treasure hidden along the Gull Seaside Way. If anyone is willing to help me in this investigation, please contact me. I'll be waiting at the chapel."
Escort Job
Term: Short
Client: Amelia
Pay: 1500 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I'm looking for an escort for my uncle, who's dead set on heading out onto the Krone Trail."
Candelabrum Theft
Term: Short
Client: Gilbert
Pay: 5000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"The Sapphire Glim, a treasure of the house of Dalmore, was stolen from the mayor's residence. Please try to find the whereabouts of this candelabrum ASAP! For details regarding this incident, please see me at the mayor's residence."
Make Him Leave!
Term: Short
Client: CWO Han
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"There's an annoying traveler causing problems for everyone around him at Air-Letten, and I'm looking for somebody who can resolve this problem amicably. Please come ASAP, directly to Air-Letten at the east end of the Aurian Causeway."
Right, let's get started on that, shall we? Well, after talking to folks, obviously…
Jean says we're to be commended for our assistance to the civilians and general contributions to the area. He can honestly say that this is the first time someone has been sent to participate in a play! He'll be waiting for our report… Carna says she heard what we said to Jean, and informs us she's going to be working as security for the campus festival herself. She'll see us there! Melvin says he'll just have to hold out until 'she' gets back. (I'm not entirely sure what this relates to...)
In the streets we can speak with Legaro, who wonders where they'll go next…? Sylvie muses that Ruan has so many great sights to see! Atget compliments Kloe on her cute uniform, and wishes they had those at Sunday School! Ruvie mentions that she heard about the arson at Mercia Orphanage - that's just horrible! All the boys and girls there are pretty close in age, right? Matilda opines that Ruan is a big place… Lots of people come and go, and it all sort of blurs together. Sometimes she thinks she's about as significant as a pebble that someone tossed aside. Why, she wonders…?
At the weapons shop, Eva says it's almost time for the campus festival! Her little sister is in the play, but she's got no idea what role she's playing. Next door, Lytton wonders what job he'll pursue next? He's happiest when his job keeps him busy. His daughter works as a house-sitter, but he worries about how lonely she is. Eletta chuckles, glad that they're all going to her brother's school for the festival soon. Mom's gonna come too - it's awesome! Ciel says she's taking time off work to attend the festival at her son's school. She often forgets how much she works, and poor Eletta always gets stuck looking after the house… When you really think about what's important, family wins out. She works specifically to support them… She may have lost sight of what really matters.
Next door, Renzo muses that they really make a big deal of this campus festival, don't they? He wonders why a school would hold an event like that. Liz is just excited it's coming up soon - now is the perfect opportunity for them to check it out for their son's future education. She'll have to take him there! Their son Antonio thinks it can't hurt to go take a look at the campus. He hasn't decided to go yet, though, so he hasn't taken the entrance exam. He doesn't want to get his mom's hopes up…
At the church, Father Theodore mentions orbments have made the modern world a more convenient place in which to live. The invention of the airship, though, has all but negated the usefulness of Ruan's harbor. The world seems to be leaving the Septian Church behind in similar fashion… He should hope that the people of Ruan, at least, would not forget their faith in Aidios… Sister Frieda says Theodore can seem a little on the crass side, but he is rich in his faith.
At his shop, O'Neil mentions that the Erebonian Empire used to be a much smaller country than it is today. After all the repeated attacks, the different nations and peoples basically merged into one large nation. Still, the Imperial family has absolute control internally, just as they always have. He passed through the area before, and things got pretty tense. Ha ha!
Here, we can also buy ourselves a copy of the Liberl News - Issue 5!
At the restaurant, Primo sighs and says it looks like his brother and his crew owe the bracers big time… He hopes they realize it someday. Here's hoping those idiots take a chance to soak their heads.
Sitting outside at the restaurant, Muriel says this is great - they get to eat here? She's impressed her dad found a place like this! Randall appreciates the box seats, while Rutherford mentions the guide put a lot of work into finding out what's good to eat today. His dad and daughter both liked it, so that's great. Upstairs, Spiridon mentions the roulette wheel doesn't spin as freely anymore, and that simply won't do. The most important thing is making sure that the customers enjoy themselves.
Percy is fishing near the Ruan City lighthouse again, though on the opposite side, and says it's important to try out different spots when you're fishing - if you're where the fish aren't biting, you have to go someplace else. At the hotel, Ernest says it'll soon be time for the royal academy's campus festival. He thinks they invite back all their alumni every year, so the hotels nearby will be flooded with them, as well as celebrities.
At the Landing Port, Edwin says canceled seats are offered for sale on a first-come, first-served basis. When you're in a hurry and you don't have a reservation, it's always a good idea to ask. Nearby we can speak to Hardt, who's getting ready to check in, and Nial, who says he's got to work on a few things in Grancel, so he's holding out for a seat to free up on the airliner. He's planning to come back to Ruan soon, though! Samario says that he thought the last guy who came in was just another applicant sent here on Clive's recommendation, but when he went to check on him, he got the distinct feeling it was something a bit more important than a simple meeting. Clive doesn't say anything. Todd muses that maybe it's just him, but Clive's been super-energetic today. Wonder what's going on…?
In the south, Brenda says the weather is nice again today… She used to come down to the harbor and goof off when she was little. She loved running around all the street vendors and roadside markets. It always made her feel good. Inside one of the houses, Noria mentions her son's campus festival coming up soon, though it seems he doesn't much like his parents being there. Guess he feels he's too old for it… Boys eventually grow into men, but little girls are much more difficult. Next door Louis sighs and wishes his brother would come and play with him… Bridget says she wanted her eldest son to attend school at the royal academy, but what good would it do if he doesn't want to go there? Norman says he was thinking of taking a short vacation when the festival rolls around. Next year, perhaps…
Over at the mayor's place, Gartner mentions that there's been a lot of high-standing people passing through here these days. Seems the more blue your blood is, the prettier your face is too. Because, he swears, some of them were real lookers! Dominique mentions that for an influential man, 'he' wasn't all that impressive… but he is probably coming from a long ways away. She supposes that orbal communication works well enough… Virgo remarks that using cutlery from the Far East takes some true skill, but lately it's been quite popular among chefs. Flora says they had an Erebonian Imperial Ambassador come to visit here not too long ago. It seems that many of high status have been coming by of late…
At the southern eatery, Pesca says he got a nice haul today - the fish are always biting in this one spot, it's great. Squaro mentions that a red-headed bracer came by a while ago looking for information… You know, he looked kind of familiar…. While here, I also return Squaro's fishing rod, which has its own dialogue option. Neat! As far as I can tell you can't actually use it anymore, and it's mandatory to return this at some point, so might as well...
Zecalte says that even on his days off he's still transporting cargo back and forth. Guess it's just the sailor in him, he has no urge to give it up. He's proud of the work he does. Bolle says that back in the Hundred Days War, Ruan was a major strategic asset. Break through here, and you'd have no opposition until Valleria Lake. That's where Fort Leiston is, though, and nothing's getting through the defenses there…
At the port, Portos says all of the equipment in the facility is gradually wearing out. Ah well, shouldn't go borrowing trouble… Kuper says the equipment has been in sorry shape lately, and it's going to get a lot worse unless they get a Zeissian engineer in to fix things. Benoit opines that those punks in the warehouse are old enough to get some honest work. He doesn't imagine their parents would shed any tears if the kids stopped sponging off of them. Harg thanks for our help earlier, and hopes he can count on us if he gets himself into a fix again.
At the warehouse, Terence says that if Agate comes and they find out about it, they're getting the hell out of the warehouse district. He kind of stands out in a crowd, yeah? With that huge sword and the red hair, they'll hear about it if he shows up around town.
Rais wonders why Agate had to hit him like that? He thinks he got stronger when he became a bracer or something… Guess he'd better lie low for a while. Rocco notices us and fearfully worries - oh crap, he's not back, right? He seriously thought Agate was gonna kill him, That's one intense dude… Deen is similarly worried about Agate's presence in Ruan. He'll have to be on his best behavior when he's around… Picaro agrees - he can never relax when he knows Agate is around. Brrrrr…
Bargo wonders if we ever eat chocolate cigarettes? They're his favorite. He likes to think he's pretty tough, but he's got nothing on Agate… Burt thinks Agate is as scary as ever. He's always been a real hard-ass, but they respect him. The Ravens just haven't been the same since he left. Belden explains that he'd heard stories, but that was the first time he'd ever actually met Agate. He's just got a hell of a temper. Maybe that bandana of his is a little too tighter, you know? He sure scared the crap out of Deen and the others… Jabu mentions he sure scared the crap out of him. He really is the genuine article…
In the streets we can speak with Legaro, who wonders where they'll go next…? Sylvie muses that Ruan has so many great sights to see! Atget compliments Kloe on her cute uniform, and wishes they had those at Sunday School! Ruvie mentions that she heard about the arson at Mercia Orphanage - that's just horrible! All the boys and girls there are pretty close in age, right? Matilda opines that Ruan is a big place… Lots of people come and go, and it all sort of blurs together. Sometimes she thinks she's about as significant as a pebble that someone tossed aside. Why, she wonders…?
At the weapons shop, Eva says it's almost time for the campus festival! Her little sister is in the play, but she's got no idea what role she's playing. Next door, Lytton wonders what job he'll pursue next? He's happiest when his job keeps him busy. His daughter works as a house-sitter, but he worries about how lonely she is. Eletta chuckles, glad that they're all going to her brother's school for the festival soon. Mom's gonna come too - it's awesome! Ciel says she's taking time off work to attend the festival at her son's school. She often forgets how much she works, and poor Eletta always gets stuck looking after the house… When you really think about what's important, family wins out. She works specifically to support them… She may have lost sight of what really matters.
Next door, Renzo muses that they really make a big deal of this campus festival, don't they? He wonders why a school would hold an event like that. Liz is just excited it's coming up soon - now is the perfect opportunity for them to check it out for their son's future education. She'll have to take him there! Their son Antonio thinks it can't hurt to go take a look at the campus. He hasn't decided to go yet, though, so he hasn't taken the entrance exam. He doesn't want to get his mom's hopes up…
At the church, Father Theodore mentions orbments have made the modern world a more convenient place in which to live. The invention of the airship, though, has all but negated the usefulness of Ruan's harbor. The world seems to be leaving the Septian Church behind in similar fashion… He should hope that the people of Ruan, at least, would not forget their faith in Aidios… Sister Frieda says Theodore can seem a little on the crass side, but he is rich in his faith.
At his shop, O'Neil mentions that the Erebonian Empire used to be a much smaller country than it is today. After all the repeated attacks, the different nations and peoples basically merged into one large nation. Still, the Imperial family has absolute control internally, just as they always have. He passed through the area before, and things got pretty tense. Ha ha!
Here, we can also buy ourselves a copy of the Liberl News - Issue 5!
Article: [Liberl: Issue 5]
[Featured Story] We Interview Colonel Richard!
A Close-Up Look at the Man Behind the Plan
The Linde incident halted the nation's aerial transportation and struck fear in our hearts, but thanks to the Royal Army's Intelligence Division (hereafter 'I.D.'), all of that's behind us now, and no hostages were harmed. We're pleased to welcome the I.D. founder today for an exclusive one-on-one interview, and we'd like to thank him for taking time from his busy schedule to meet with us.
Alan Richard, Founder of I.D.
Born S.C. 1168 (Age 34)
Single War College Graduate
Rank: Colonel
Liberl News (hereafter LN): Congratulations on your success with the Linde incident!
Col. Alan Richard (hereafter AR): Thanks, but I'm not sure I'm the right person to congratulate. We officers just sit in front of a desk all day. It's the men and women on the field who deserve all the praise here!
LN: And we are thankful, truly. Tell me, Col., what was your role in the Hundred Days War?
AR: Easier to say what my role wasn't! I planned strategies, I fought, I handled communications and intelligence, and I procured goods for the troops, to name just a few of my tasks.
LN: And were the lessons you learned in the war contributive to the founding of the I.D.?
AR: Actually, no. We now live in an information age, and as orbal technology advances, life becomes faster-paced. And if the Royal Army can't keep up… Well, then that's it for us!
LN: How do you see the Royal Army now, and in what ways do you believe it could be improved?
AR: As an officer, I really can't officially answer that. If you're asking for my own personal opinion, though, then I'd say we need to become a more robust organization.
LN: As in, more arms proliferation?
AR: No, no, quite the opposite! Not an expansion of force, but of quality. We need significant improvements in our organization, our equipment, our command structure...
LN: I'm afraid that's all the time we have, but Colonel Alan Richard, I sincerely thank you for granting us this wonderful opportunity.
This Reporter's Impression
Unpretentious, unrestrained and bold, Col. Alan Richard is nothing at all like the elite, haughty image people seem to have of him. And given his accomplishments, it's clear he's not only a brilliant man, but a politically savvy one as well. He truly is the Royal Army's rising star, and his time is only just beginning!
[Culture] Festival at the Jenis Royal Academy
The lychee is back in season, and as always, the Jenis Royal Academy is ready to celebrate! Come for the fruit, but stay for the booths, the exhibits, and of course, the annual class play!
[Culture] 'Site'-Seeing: Ruan & Air-Letten
Clear lake water flows from over the edge of an aqueduct, forming cascading falls of unmatchable beauty. Such is Air-Letten—a place of natural splendor and boundless wonder. Scholars and archaeologists alike are baffled as to how such grand medieval aqueducts were built in an age before orbal technology. At present, the ruins or Air-Letten are used as a checkpoint between Ruan and Zeiss, but quality accommodations are also available for curious travelers with a taste for the ancient and mysterious. If that's you, then Letten the Air out of your boring life, and get going!
[Breaking Story] Mercia Orphanage Burnt to Ashes
Before dawn yesterday, a fire broke out at the Mercia Orphanage. No injuries were reported, but the building has been completely leveled. The Bracer Guild is presently investigating.
At the restaurant, Primo sighs and says it looks like his brother and his crew owe the bracers big time… He hopes they realize it someday. Here's hoping those idiots take a chance to soak their heads.
Sitting outside at the restaurant, Muriel says this is great - they get to eat here? She's impressed her dad found a place like this! Randall appreciates the box seats, while Rutherford mentions the guide put a lot of work into finding out what's good to eat today. His dad and daughter both liked it, so that's great. Upstairs, Spiridon mentions the roulette wheel doesn't spin as freely anymore, and that simply won't do. The most important thing is making sure that the customers enjoy themselves.
Percy is fishing near the Ruan City lighthouse again, though on the opposite side, and says it's important to try out different spots when you're fishing - if you're where the fish aren't biting, you have to go someplace else. At the hotel, Ernest says it'll soon be time for the royal academy's campus festival. He thinks they invite back all their alumni every year, so the hotels nearby will be flooded with them, as well as celebrities.
At the Landing Port, Edwin says canceled seats are offered for sale on a first-come, first-served basis. When you're in a hurry and you don't have a reservation, it's always a good idea to ask. Nearby we can speak to Hardt, who's getting ready to check in, and Nial, who says he's got to work on a few things in Grancel, so he's holding out for a seat to free up on the airliner. He's planning to come back to Ruan soon, though! Samario says that he thought the last guy who came in was just another applicant sent here on Clive's recommendation, but when he went to check on him, he got the distinct feeling it was something a bit more important than a simple meeting. Clive doesn't say anything. Todd muses that maybe it's just him, but Clive's been super-energetic today. Wonder what's going on…?
In the south, Brenda says the weather is nice again today… She used to come down to the harbor and goof off when she was little. She loved running around all the street vendors and roadside markets. It always made her feel good. Inside one of the houses, Noria mentions her son's campus festival coming up soon, though it seems he doesn't much like his parents being there. Guess he feels he's too old for it… Boys eventually grow into men, but little girls are much more difficult. Next door Louis sighs and wishes his brother would come and play with him… Bridget says she wanted her eldest son to attend school at the royal academy, but what good would it do if he doesn't want to go there? Norman says he was thinking of taking a short vacation when the festival rolls around. Next year, perhaps…
Over at the mayor's place, Gartner mentions that there's been a lot of high-standing people passing through here these days. Seems the more blue your blood is, the prettier your face is too. Because, he swears, some of them were real lookers! Dominique mentions that for an influential man, 'he' wasn't all that impressive… but he is probably coming from a long ways away. She supposes that orbal communication works well enough… Virgo remarks that using cutlery from the Far East takes some true skill, but lately it's been quite popular among chefs. Flora says they had an Erebonian Imperial Ambassador come to visit here not too long ago. It seems that many of high status have been coming by of late…
At the southern eatery, Pesca says he got a nice haul today - the fish are always biting in this one spot, it's great. Squaro mentions that a red-headed bracer came by a while ago looking for information… You know, he looked kind of familiar…. While here, I also return Squaro's fishing rod, which has its own dialogue option. Neat! As far as I can tell you can't actually use it anymore, and it's mandatory to return this at some point, so might as well...
Zecalte says that even on his days off he's still transporting cargo back and forth. Guess it's just the sailor in him, he has no urge to give it up. He's proud of the work he does. Bolle says that back in the Hundred Days War, Ruan was a major strategic asset. Break through here, and you'd have no opposition until Valleria Lake. That's where Fort Leiston is, though, and nothing's getting through the defenses there…
At the port, Portos says all of the equipment in the facility is gradually wearing out. Ah well, shouldn't go borrowing trouble… Kuper says the equipment has been in sorry shape lately, and it's going to get a lot worse unless they get a Zeissian engineer in to fix things. Benoit opines that those punks in the warehouse are old enough to get some honest work. He doesn't imagine their parents would shed any tears if the kids stopped sponging off of them. Harg thanks for our help earlier, and hopes he can count on us if he gets himself into a fix again.
At the warehouse, Terence says that if Agate comes and they find out about it, they're getting the hell out of the warehouse district. He kind of stands out in a crowd, yeah? With that huge sword and the red hair, they'll hear about it if he shows up around town.
Rais wonders why Agate had to hit him like that? He thinks he got stronger when he became a bracer or something… Guess he'd better lie low for a while. Rocco notices us and fearfully worries - oh crap, he's not back, right? He seriously thought Agate was gonna kill him, That's one intense dude… Deen is similarly worried about Agate's presence in Ruan. He'll have to be on his best behavior when he's around… Picaro agrees - he can never relax when he knows Agate is around. Brrrrr…
Bargo wonders if we ever eat chocolate cigarettes? They're his favorite. He likes to think he's pretty tough, but he's got nothing on Agate… Burt thinks Agate is as scary as ever. He's always been a real hard-ass, but they respect him. The Ravens just haven't been the same since he left. Belden explains that he'd heard stories, but that was the first time he'd ever actually met Agate. He's just got a hell of a temper. Maybe that bandana of his is a little too tighter, you know? He sure scared the crap out of Deen and the others… Jabu mentions he sure scared the crap out of him. He really is the genuine article…
Right, let's get cracking. We'll start with the jobs that take place entirely within Ruan City, and get further afield later.
Side Job: Secret of the Old Map
We approach Jimmy inside Ruan's church, and he remembers seeing us the other day - we came to his rescue on the beach! Remember that dude trapped in a cul-de-sac? Joshua says it's nice to meet him again, and Jimmy thanks us for saving his skin.
He also wonders if we've checked out the bulletin board today…? Estelle confirms we did, but wonders why in Liberl he would pick here to meet, of all places? Jimmy points out he kind of stands out here, doesn't he? It costs a lot to put up one of those requests, and he figured people would see him here and ask: 'Hey, why are you in the chapel?' And then he could be like: 'So you can help me find some awesome treasure!'
Estelle concludes we should get down to business, then. His request certainly sounds intriguing! Jimmy is glad she agrees, and explains he acquired an ancient map just recently, and if we wouldn't believe it if he told us… but it leads to the treasure of the great pirate Schirmer! Estelle is astounded - then immediately admits she doesn't know who that is. Jimmy is surprised she doesn't. Isn't she from Ruan? Or, wait, is she from somewhere else…? Either way, Schirmer! How can she now know? Estelle complains he shouldn't go making assumptions…
Kloe cuts in, mentioning that if her memory serves her correctly, Schirmer was a pirate that used to, uh, work in the waters around Ruan about a hundred years ago.
Jimmy says that's nicely done - leave it to the royal academy to teach the right things! Shame about that uniform, though. Estelle compliments Kloe's knowledge, but she just waves it off - it's not that impressive. It's just a story she heard, that's all. Jimmy mentions he'd like us to look for Schirmer's treasure - the location is marked on his map. Do we recall where we met him before? That pit in the sandy beach on Gull Seaside Way? The map has that pit marked, you see.
Estelle guesses that's why he was there, and Jimmy confirms it - he was conducting a field survey. Since he found the place, though, monsters have started showing up… He figured he'd let professionals take over. Estelle asks what's next after that pit, and Jimmy explains the map shows an 'X' to the southeast of it. He figures that should be the location of the treasure! Estelle stutters that he may be right - she needs to make a note of this! As Estelle turns around, thinking, Joshua decides they should take a minute to work out a plan. We go to the beach in Ruan, find that pit, then go directly southeast…
Estelle distractedly confirms that, then recalls she did find something neat earlier, on the beach...Jimmy asks what she found, and Joshua remembers what she means - that barrel which drifted ashore. That's where we found those daggers and that torn-up map, right? Estelle agrees - now where did she put those? Jimmy is amazed when Estelle pulls out the map - it's a sea chart! This could be a major discovery! He begs to see it, while Estelle nervously tells him to calm down - wouldn't want him to die of excitement or something. She warily hands over the torn map…
Jimmy turns away for a moment to study his acquisition. Whoa… Is this what he thinks it is?! It's incredible! This is one of Schirmer's treasure maps! Estelle is baffled, while Kloe just hums inquisitively. Estelle pauses, though - now wait a second, didn't Jimmy say just a minute ago that he had the treasure map already? Jimmy concludes that it must have been a 'treasure map map'... His map showed the location of this map, which shows where the actual treasure is! Kloe admits this is just getting confusing… Estelle also points out that she found that chart inside a barrel…
Joshua tells the others not to worry about that - sometimes we have to just suspend our disbelief to get through the day.
It may seem a little strange that we'd find a sea chart like that, but it was found where the old map had the 'X' marked. Kloe says that much is true… Estelle mutters that as long as their client is happy, we're happy! Even if we're also very confused. Estelle asks about the daggers that were found with the chart, but he says we can keep those - he doesn't have much in the way of mira, so it's the only payment he can offer. Please take them, and share the mystery with him!
Jimmy intends to take the map to O'Neil to get it deciphered… he's going to flip! He thanks us for our help again and rushes out. Kloe repeats the name 'O'Neil' and admits he would be the one to talk to. He's an older gentleman who runs a general store, she explains, and tells lots of interesting stories, though he tends to blow them out of proportion. Estelle figures that Jimmy's been taken in by the old man's tall tales, and Kloe agrees that seems to be the case. Estelle sighs - she knew it sounded too good to be true. If it is true, though, then maybe that chart really is the one from his fish tales. If we believe in it, she wonders if maybe it would pay off…? Still, she thinks Jimmy believes a little too, uh, fervently. Joshua figures chasing your dreams isn't a bad way to live…
For this job we receive 1000 Mira and 5 BP, some of which is because we saved him in that earlier encounter too.
He also wonders if we've checked out the bulletin board today…? Estelle confirms we did, but wonders why in Liberl he would pick here to meet, of all places? Jimmy points out he kind of stands out here, doesn't he? It costs a lot to put up one of those requests, and he figured people would see him here and ask: 'Hey, why are you in the chapel?' And then he could be like: 'So you can help me find some awesome treasure!'
Estelle concludes we should get down to business, then. His request certainly sounds intriguing! Jimmy is glad she agrees, and explains he acquired an ancient map just recently, and if we wouldn't believe it if he told us… but it leads to the treasure of the great pirate Schirmer! Estelle is astounded - then immediately admits she doesn't know who that is. Jimmy is surprised she doesn't. Isn't she from Ruan? Or, wait, is she from somewhere else…? Either way, Schirmer! How can she now know? Estelle complains he shouldn't go making assumptions…
Kloe cuts in, mentioning that if her memory serves her correctly, Schirmer was a pirate that used to, uh, work in the waters around Ruan about a hundred years ago.
Jimmy says that's nicely done - leave it to the royal academy to teach the right things! Shame about that uniform, though. Estelle compliments Kloe's knowledge, but she just waves it off - it's not that impressive. It's just a story she heard, that's all. Jimmy mentions he'd like us to look for Schirmer's treasure - the location is marked on his map. Do we recall where we met him before? That pit in the sandy beach on Gull Seaside Way? The map has that pit marked, you see.
Estelle guesses that's why he was there, and Jimmy confirms it - he was conducting a field survey. Since he found the place, though, monsters have started showing up… He figured he'd let professionals take over. Estelle asks what's next after that pit, and Jimmy explains the map shows an 'X' to the southeast of it. He figures that should be the location of the treasure! Estelle stutters that he may be right - she needs to make a note of this! As Estelle turns around, thinking, Joshua decides they should take a minute to work out a plan. We go to the beach in Ruan, find that pit, then go directly southeast…
Estelle distractedly confirms that, then recalls she did find something neat earlier, on the beach...Jimmy asks what she found, and Joshua remembers what she means - that barrel which drifted ashore. That's where we found those daggers and that torn-up map, right? Estelle agrees - now where did she put those? Jimmy is amazed when Estelle pulls out the map - it's a sea chart! This could be a major discovery! He begs to see it, while Estelle nervously tells him to calm down - wouldn't want him to die of excitement or something. She warily hands over the torn map…
Jimmy turns away for a moment to study his acquisition. Whoa… Is this what he thinks it is?! It's incredible! This is one of Schirmer's treasure maps! Estelle is baffled, while Kloe just hums inquisitively. Estelle pauses, though - now wait a second, didn't Jimmy say just a minute ago that he had the treasure map already? Jimmy concludes that it must have been a 'treasure map map'... His map showed the location of this map, which shows where the actual treasure is! Kloe admits this is just getting confusing… Estelle also points out that she found that chart inside a barrel…
Joshua tells the others not to worry about that - sometimes we have to just suspend our disbelief to get through the day.
It may seem a little strange that we'd find a sea chart like that, but it was found where the old map had the 'X' marked. Kloe says that much is true… Estelle mutters that as long as their client is happy, we're happy! Even if we're also very confused. Estelle asks about the daggers that were found with the chart, but he says we can keep those - he doesn't have much in the way of mira, so it's the only payment he can offer. Please take them, and share the mystery with him!
Jimmy intends to take the map to O'Neil to get it deciphered… he's going to flip! He thanks us for our help again and rushes out. Kloe repeats the name 'O'Neil' and admits he would be the one to talk to. He's an older gentleman who runs a general store, she explains, and tells lots of interesting stories, though he tends to blow them out of proportion. Estelle figures that Jimmy's been taken in by the old man's tall tales, and Kloe agrees that seems to be the case. Estelle sighs - she knew it sounded too good to be true. If it is true, though, then maybe that chart really is the one from his fish tales. If we believe in it, she wonders if maybe it would pay off…? Still, she thinks Jimmy believes a little too, uh, fervently. Joshua figures chasing your dreams isn't a bad way to live…
For this job we receive 1000 Mira and 5 BP, some of which is because we saved him in that earlier encounter too.
For the next quest we head to South Ruan, to the Mayor's Estate. Gilbert is waiting near where the candelabrum used to be, but we can have a look around the mansion first...
We can speak to Dario, who says he would never have thought such a precious heirloom could be stolen! He knows that it was securely locked up, so he can't imagine how thieves could have gotten to it. Speaking to Mayor Dalmore, he mentions we may have heard about what happened already - a thief broke into his estate and stole his heirloom. That being a family matter, however, he cannot allow it to get in the way of his work. Which is why he asked the guild for assistance. He'll let Gilbert fill us in on the specifics. If we need assistance in the investigation, we should let him know.
Side Job: Stolen Candelabrum
After speaking to Steward Gilbert, he says he can't believe the Sapphire Glim was stolen - and now, of all possible times? He's glad to see we're there, as he was waiting for us to show up. Ah, and Kloe is with us! Joshua explains we came as soon as we saw the bulletin board. Gilbert explains that the pedestal behind him used to be adorned with a candelabrum, and Estelle is amazed it just disappeared without a trace! Things being what they are, Gilbert muses, he'd like us to conduct a search. Are we available?
When we confirm, Steward Gilbert explains that the stolen item is called the 'Sapphire Glim,' and it's a fine piece of craftsmanship dating back to just after the Orbal Revolution. It's a Dalmore family heirloom, and would sell for hundreds of thousands of mira were it ever placed on the open market. Estelle is amazed by the price, while Joshua concludes it's probably not an issue of petty burglary then. You'd have to have some kind of safe way of laundering something that valuable. Whoever took it must be well-connected. Estelle figures that rules out most of your everyday thieves. Gilbert interjects, and says it doesn't seem money was the primary motivation for this crime… When we ask what he means by that, Gilbert shows us a card:
When we confirm, Steward Gilbert explains that the stolen item is called the 'Sapphire Glim,' and it's a fine piece of craftsmanship dating back to just after the Orbal Revolution. It's a Dalmore family heirloom, and would sell for hundreds of thousands of mira were it ever placed on the open market. Estelle is amazed by the price, while Joshua concludes it's probably not an issue of petty burglary then. You'd have to have some kind of safe way of laundering something that valuable. Whoever took it must be well-connected. Estelle figures that rules out most of your everyday thieves. Gilbert interjects, and says it doesn't seem money was the primary motivation for this crime… When we ask what he means by that, Gilbert shows us a card:
'That which nests here is a beast more dire than any other. Continue to give praise to the spirit whose blue light was lost in the darkness. Free the spark it left behind, and I will be free. Ahh, seeker. The eyes of Aidios see only the truth, and pass it on to you. Look to the three-eyed giant which towers over this settlement. Do so, and the blue light will be revealed. - Phantom Thief B'
Gilbert explains the card was left behind on the bare pedestal, and appears to have been written by the thief. Estelle is surprised - he wants us to know he did it? Gilbert thinks so, and Estelle thinks it's a wee bit excessive if he was only after the money. Kloe thinks what he wrote must have some significance - it almost sounds like some kind of poetry. Joshua repeats the lines about 'blue light lost in darkness' and guesses that it refers to the stolen candelabrum. Gilbert explains that the heirloom is said to have been made at great pains by the townsfolk and given as a gift, so that might explain the 'give praise to the spirits' part.
Estelle wonders about the last bit - sounds like it wants us to look in a specific direction. 'Look to a three-eyed giant which towers over this settlement.' Joshua thinks it certainly sounds like it's trying to tell us where to go. Estelle figures the destination is important somehow, and Kloe thinks it's probably in Ruan. We should look around for some 'three-eyed giant' in the city, then. Estelle makes note of the clue, while Gilbert apologizes for being little help - he must be off soon, as he has other work to which he must attend. He leaves us to our investigation.
Estelle is fine with that - our first step will be to search this room, top to bottom! Gilbert immediately argues that won't be necessary, as it's already been looked over by residents. We should search the surrounding area. The card left us a distinct clue to follow, so we should get out there and find the candelabrum. Joshua figures we should abide by our client's wishes, and Estelle reluctantly agrees. Gilbert thanks us for understanding, and leaves - he'll be upstairs if we find anything out. Estelle muses this is a strange case… Kloe figures there must be a hint somewhere in Ruan, and Estelle says we'll just have to stay patient and focused…
The clue here is honestly pretty easy to figure out… if not for the game's top-down perspective. The 'towering over' hint is honestly more helpful than the three eyes. See, there's not a lot of things that tower over Ruan - aside from the small lighthouse at the waterside. The 'three eyes' are its three distinct orbal lamps, but those are barely visible from your normal perspective. Walking to the back of the tower and inspecting the plaque leads to the party recognizing there's another card hidden there, the same type we found back at the mayor's estate. Joshua concludes what the 'three-eyed' hint was about and the camera pans up to reveal the lights - which would have been helpful beforehand. Anyway, our next clue:
'Ah, seeker. The eyes of Aidios see only the truth, and pass it on to you. Look to the endless waltz which unfolds between the red and black. Do so, and the blue light will be revealed. - Phantom Thief B'
Estelle suggests this hint will lead to the next location, and Kloe muses about 'red and black' - that's got to refer to something in Ruan too, right? Joshua agrees, and thinks this criminal sure loves his puzzles… He won't break his own rules. Estelle thinks he's a total jackass, but figures we should start searching. This hint is easier than the last, since there's an obvious 'red and black' thing in town if you've explored at all - and that's a roulette table! Visiting the upstairs portion of the restaurant we can ask Spiridon to step back for a moment and inspect the roulette wheel next to him, which has been running poorly of late, which you would've learned if you talked to him on occasion. Here we discover another card has been glued in there. This should have the next hint on it!
'Ah, seeker. The eyes of Aidios see only the truth, and pass it on to you. Rest at the land harbor and look to the one-eyed lion. Do so, and the blue light will be revealed. - Phantom Thief B'
Estelle jots the hint down in her notebook, and concludes the important parts are probably the 'land harbor' and 'one-eyed lion.'
Kloe mentions this is the second time eyes have been mentioned, so that's curious... Joshua says these riddles have always made more sense once we got there, so he doubts this one will be any different. Estelle guesses we need to get a move on, since a madman's clues must be followed, after all! Spiridon is utterly confused, but Estelle just apologizes for all the fuss…
So, the 'land harbor' is obviously the Landing Port, since that's where airborne ships make landfall. The 'one-eyed lion' is more tricky, but wandering around inspecting anything vaguely fishy will eventually lead you to a small one-manned transportation vehicle with a single headlight. Joshua gets it - this is where we need to be. He wonders if there's a way to keep it from seeing you? (I wonder if this is some reference to a story I don't know?) Joshua quickly finds the card with the next hint:
'Ah, seeker. The eyes of Aidios see only the truth, and pass it on to you. Beyond the drawbridge, look to the barrels near the Steel Crane. Do so, and the blue light will be revealed - Phantom Thief B'
Anyone else think Phantom Thief B is getting lazy with these? This one wasn't even a proper riddle. Estelle agrees - this weirdo clue seems suspiciously easy to figure out this time… The drawbridge is probably the one over the harbor. Ugh, how much longer are we going to have to do this? Kloe chuckles and thinks we must be nearing the end. We just have to keep going. Joshua wonders what she needs to pick up her spirits? Estelle blushes and says that uh, she's just tired is all… She's fine, really! See, she's ready to get back in the game! Joshua just sighs.
Heading to southern Ruan, we can inspect the huge crane at the docks - that must be the 'steel crane' the hint was talking about, but there's no barrels nearby, just some oil drums. Estelle wonders what this stupid clue is supposed to mean, then? Estelle asks the nearby worker, Kuper, if he's seen any barrels around. Kuper can't recall, but he says the warehouse is packed full of them. Estelle is disappointed, but wonders about that warehouse. Didn't we find a warehouse key earlier? Joshua agrees - when we fulfilled Mr. Harg's request. Estelle recalls we haven't talked to him either, right? If the barrels near the crane were moved to the warehouse… Joshua gets it - let's go speak to Harg! He compliments Estelle on her deduction, and she argues that she does get a good idea from time to time!
Approaching Harg, Joshua asks him what kind of work he was doing when he lost that key of his. He said he was moving the barrels near the crane over to the warehouse, didn't he…?
Harg agrees that sounds right. It was actually just the one barrel though, since it was in the way of the crane. It had to be put into storage. He lost his key sometime after that. Joshua hates to be a bother, but asks if there is any way we could get into that warehouse? We'd like to examine that barrel. Harg muses that management doesn't approve of outsiders entering the warehouses. It's prohibited, in fact. The stuff that's stored there is supposed to be secure. His job is at stake, so he can't let us inside.
Estelle concludes that's a problem… Harg says he owes us one, so he'll see what he can do. We just want to check out that one barrel, right? Well, he can take that out for a spell, then. That way we can look it over all we want, without ever having to go inside! Hooray for loopholes! We agree that's a good idea, and Harg says it's no big deal. Follow, then! We quickly head over to one of the locked warehouses, and Harg quickly opens it. Hang on one second, then! As he goes to enter, though, his boss Mr. Portos suddenly leaves the building, much to Harg's surprise. What's he doing around here? Portos said he just had a hunch about something, so he used the duplicate key to get into the warehouse and check on it.
Harg didn't even know there was a duplicate… Portos asks who we are, and Harg explains we're bracers who want to look over a barrel that was moved inside earlier as part of their investigation. Portos warily warns him that only authorized personnel are allowed inside, but Harg argues he's the one who moved the barrel inside in the first place - should be okay to bring it outside for a short while so they can look it over, right? Portos thinks that's fine, and tells Harg to assist us in our investigation. He's surprised to see bracers coming all this way for an investigation, though. Such young ones, too! We do some admirable work. If we need any information, we should feel free to ask Harg. With that, he sets off…
Harg promises he'll head inside to bring the barrel - hold on one second! Soon enough Harg reappears with the barrel, breathing heavily - here's what we wanted! Estelle comments that the barrel is huge, and yet he carried it all by himself! Harg warns us never to underestimate a dockhand! Joshua inspects the barrel and finds another card:
'I must apologize most profoundly. For the barrel to have been moved was an error most inopportune. But the Warehouse Key was recovered, and you have made it here. I will reveal the truth unto you. Your reward will be what you have sought. Look within the barrel. The candelabrum you find will, no doubt, be returned to its rightful owner. Ah, time grows short. We will meet again. - Phantom Thief B'
Estelle has a bad feeling about this… This weirdo must have been close by, watching us! Joshua says that some of the ink on the card is still wet! Kloe and Estelle are shocked! Just then Portos comes back, and wonders what we think we're doing here? Harg is confused - didn't he just okay this whole thing a few minutes ago? Portos has no idea what he's talking about, and Joshua concludes we've just been had. That must have been someone posing as Portos! The criminal may have worn a disguise and used the opportunity to plant a card!
Estelle snarls that we need to get after him, and rushes off. Kloe is surprised, while Joshua figures that off she goes… Kloe wonders if they should do something, but Joshua suspects it's probably too late. We messed up when we didn't notice the imposter earlier, and he doubts Estelle will find any trace of him. Let's just make sure that the candelabrum isn't damaged. Retrieving that was our main priority, not catching the perp… Kloe mentions it's supposed to be inside the barrel, and Joshua prays that's true. He hopes Estelle won't be too disappointed they're opening it without her, though…
Back at the mayor's estate, Joshua explains the whole story to the mayor and Gilbert. We got the candelabrum back undamaged, but haven't found any clues as to the whereabouts of the thief. All we know is that he calls himself 'Phantom Thief B.' Estelle sighs - if only we'd found out about the fake sooner! He disappeared while they were running around in circles. Dalmore says we've all done a fine job. The main thing is that the Sapphire Glim has been recovered. Gilbert agrees - we've done exactly what was asked of us! Joshua thanks him for the kind words, but the fact is that we allowed a thief to escape.
Estelle argues we can't let him get away with this, and Joshua asks for permission to continue the investigation. If possible, we'd like to search the estate for possible clues. Dalmore responds that this is really not necessary. His request did not require us to catch the culprit, after all. We brought back the candelabrum, that's enough.
Dalmore understands our passion for upholding justice, but there are other more important crimes which must be answered for. He doesn't want to further monopolize our time over something so trivial. He has no doubt that there are others out there who are waiting for a bracer's help. It would please him if we helped those in greater need first!
Joshua acknowledges this, and concludes that we'll end the investigation here. Estelle isn't pleased, but goes along with it. Dalmore promises that, of course, he'll compensate us fully for our time and effort. Now, if we'll excuse his rudeness, he must leave. He wishes us the best of luck in our future endeavors… We thank him for his time and get on our way ourselves.
Outside the front door, Estelle sighs in disappointment. Well, that's taken care of, but she wouldn't exactly call this 'settled.' Kloe agrees that it would seem that way. Estelle can see Joshua has something on his mind, and he admits there is something - he was just wondering why the thief would take the candelabrum if he meant for it to be found. Estelle guesses we may never know. Kloe is more troubled by the newest card - it's as if this whole affair was designed as a test specifically for the two of us.
Estelle admits that's been bugging her too. We need to keep up our investigation. For starters, we still don't know where the crook sneaked in from. Why don't we do some sneaking around of our own, and check out the estate? Joshua wonders if that wouldn't make us just as bad as the crook we're chasing? Estelle asks what else we're supposed to do, then? Joshua notes we're supposed to abide by our client's wishes, so what choice do we have? For now, we just have to be patient. Estelle is not happy with that, but we go on our way… Like the mayor said, there's a lot to be done. Kloe agrees that this seems like all that we can do for the moment...
For this job we receive a whopping 5000 Mira and 7 BP - that's quite a haul!
We can head back to the docks and speak with Portos, who apologizes for getting so angry earlier - he didn't know the full story. Harg told him that his doppelganger was the spitting image of him… It's a shame, really. If we'd caught him, he could have made that guy do all the work around here and nobody would be any the wiser! Ha ha ha! Just kidding, of course. Harg notes that the fake Portus was just like the real deal - not just the way he looked, but he even talked and moved the same way. It's downright creepy! The world is full of amazing people… Harg now talks about the next ship that's coming in - it should be a Republican vessel. If they have to wait offshore, then Chief Portos has to answer for it. It's too bad the harbor ain't a bit wider!
At the mayor's estate, Dario observes that as he understands it, the candelabrum has been safely recovered? He would like to speak on behalf of all servants when he expresses his gratitude. Steward Gilbert says we've done some fine work. Now they can go to the campus festival and actually enjoy themselves! This presents an opportunity to meet many of the students, so they look forward to it every year. Mayor Dalmore says our efforts are most appreciated. By all rights he really should thank us more properly, but he has a great deal of work that needs his attention… Unfortunately the circumstances do not permit him to spend any time with us.
At the mayor's estate, Dario observes that as he understands it, the candelabrum has been safely recovered? He would like to speak on behalf of all servants when he expresses his gratitude. Steward Gilbert says we've done some fine work. Now they can go to the campus festival and actually enjoy themselves! This presents an opportunity to meet many of the students, so they look forward to it every year. Mayor Dalmore says our efforts are most appreciated. By all rights he really should thank us more properly, but he has a great deal of work that needs his attention… Unfortunately the circumstances do not permit him to spend any time with us.
Next: With these two jobs finished, there's three more on the docket - and for those we're off towards the far reaches of the province. Plus there's a tower out there I should probably check up on...
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- Pronouns
- He
That sure took you all around the city. Did you figure all of the locations out on your own or consult a guide?
- Location
- Netherlands
Didn't actually need a guide there because, well, only the first clue was actually convoluted, because I had no idea there were three lights up there. Still, the clue talked about a tower in the city, and literally the only high spot anyone has mentioned is the lighthouse. The rest get progressively easier since Phantom Thief B gets sloppier - probably because he's basically running ahead of at breakneck speeds just to stay ahead, until the final clue literally isn't even dry yet. Heh. I'm still not sure what the one-eyed lion thing is about, though. Why is it a lion...?
The best puzzle is probably the roulette table, but 90% of that is because I couldn't figure out where the spot was to get at it, even though I was pretty sure I was correct about my guess. You actually kinda need to wedge yourself in there to get the clue...
Trails in the Sky (Part 37) - Ruan Sidequests III
- Location
- Netherlands
Ruan Sidequests III
We're done in Ruan City for now, but there's still several sidequests in the outlying areas of the region's map… We're heading up towards the north first, in the direction of Manoria Village and Krone Pass. For lack of anywhere else to put it, here's what people in that direction have to say:Creda says it's so good of us to come play with the kids at the orphanage. It's as if they've suddenly become everyone's grandchildren. She tends to prefer the quiet, but she doesn't mind that! Sadie explains the kids from the orphanage seem to be getting a bit of their old spirit back. She's glad the girls were able to come over and play.
At the inn, Alvin comments that the weather is perfect for scaling that mountain he'd had his sights set on… but he can't stop worrying about the kids from the orphanage. He still wants to watch out for them, at least for a little while. He knows he's not the most dependable person around, but he has to do something. Shelby figures they can go climbing as much as they want, now. Can't say either of them see that as a bad thing. Carla promises the orphans and Matron Theresa are being well looked after. They have to come together in times of trouble, you know! Rex mentions it's almost time for the campus festival, and he thinks the kids from the orphanage are going too. He just hopes they can forget about all this mess for a little while…
Upstairs, Matron Theresa says she's truly indebted to us for a multitude of reasons, and the Manorians greatly appreciate all that we've done. He's really grateful to everyone for what we've done. Outside we can find the children playing together - Polly is just glad to be 'playin' wif everyone', Daniel wonders what's for dinner, Clem is glad everyone seems to be doing better already, Lucia is sure glad to have lots of friends, and Mary thanks us for helping Clem - he can be a real pain sometimes.
Solomon morosely mentions there's nothing left of the orphanage but rubble and ashes. The first must have been burning super-hot. Many memories were made there… Elder Serge says it seems the orphaned children are recovering their spirit little by little, and they've settled in enough for him to hear them laughing from time to time…
At their northern home, Zack mentions that they're finally done with the first phase of cleaning up the site of the fire. More importantly, someone did this on purpose! They have to pay for what they did… and the only currency he'll accept is black eyes! Amelia mentions they used to have three people living under this roof, including Zack, but uncle Orvid moved out years ago. He does pop back in from wherever he goes on occasion. She wishes Zack would get along a little better with him, though. Maybe he'd come home more often…
At Krone Checkpoint, Private Usher mentions the Bose Region has been rather quiet since the sky bandits were apprehended. Guess it's better than a string of events… Warrant Officer Serose says they haven't seen any of those monsters after they attacked the other night. Any way he looks at it, it just seems like they weren't from around here. CWO Zelste says soldiers have been stationed at each checkpoint to protect them, but occasionally they have to rescue stranded hikers in the mountains. That's because they have a lot of hikers who find themselves in trouble here along the Krone Range…
Private Cutinger says that since this is the middle of the mountains, it's really inconvenient to get food brought up here. They usually get their stuff delivered from Bose or Ruan along the trail here. Along with the deliverer's own escort, they have to go and meet them along the way. Private Mikey mentions the Warrant Officer loves to cook. Even when it's not his turn, there are times when he still makes things in the kitchen.
At the inn, Alvin comments that the weather is perfect for scaling that mountain he'd had his sights set on… but he can't stop worrying about the kids from the orphanage. He still wants to watch out for them, at least for a little while. He knows he's not the most dependable person around, but he has to do something. Shelby figures they can go climbing as much as they want, now. Can't say either of them see that as a bad thing. Carla promises the orphans and Matron Theresa are being well looked after. They have to come together in times of trouble, you know! Rex mentions it's almost time for the campus festival, and he thinks the kids from the orphanage are going too. He just hopes they can forget about all this mess for a little while…
Upstairs, Matron Theresa says she's truly indebted to us for a multitude of reasons, and the Manorians greatly appreciate all that we've done. He's really grateful to everyone for what we've done. Outside we can find the children playing together - Polly is just glad to be 'playin' wif everyone', Daniel wonders what's for dinner, Clem is glad everyone seems to be doing better already, Lucia is sure glad to have lots of friends, and Mary thanks us for helping Clem - he can be a real pain sometimes.
Solomon morosely mentions there's nothing left of the orphanage but rubble and ashes. The first must have been burning super-hot. Many memories were made there… Elder Serge says it seems the orphaned children are recovering their spirit little by little, and they've settled in enough for him to hear them laughing from time to time…
At their northern home, Zack mentions that they're finally done with the first phase of cleaning up the site of the fire. More importantly, someone did this on purpose! They have to pay for what they did… and the only currency he'll accept is black eyes! Amelia mentions they used to have three people living under this roof, including Zack, but uncle Orvid moved out years ago. He does pop back in from wherever he goes on occasion. She wishes Zack would get along a little better with him, though. Maybe he'd come home more often…
At Krone Checkpoint, Private Usher mentions the Bose Region has been rather quiet since the sky bandits were apprehended. Guess it's better than a string of events… Warrant Officer Serose says they haven't seen any of those monsters after they attacked the other night. Any way he looks at it, it just seems like they weren't from around here. CWO Zelste says soldiers have been stationed at each checkpoint to protect them, but occasionally they have to rescue stranded hikers in the mountains. That's because they have a lot of hikers who find themselves in trouble here along the Krone Range…
Private Cutinger says that since this is the middle of the mountains, it's really inconvenient to get food brought up here. They usually get their stuff delivered from Bose or Ruan along the trail here. Along with the deliverer's own escort, they have to go and meet them along the way. Private Mikey mentions the Warrant Officer loves to cook. Even when it's not his turn, there are times when he still makes things in the kitchen.
We'll have to check in with some folks before we leave, though:
Side Job: Maintenance Delivery
Speaking to Tobias at the orbment factory, Estelle explains we're there about the guild request he left. He catches on - this is about the Maintenance Kit, isn't it? Our timing is exemplary! Will we be able to make the delivery post-haste? This is rather urgent business, after all! This brick of a thing is all ours! Estelle is confused by that phrasing, and Tobias asks if she's daft? He's telling her it's heavy! Very, very heavy. Here, we should feel for ourselves! As he hands it off, he wonders if we're okay with it? No bone fractures forming to our knowledge? The kit is filled to the brim with replacement parts and every tool you can imagine for replacing an orbment light the size of a lighthouse's.
Estelle notes that it's not a big deal at all - she's stronger than she looks. We just need to carry this over to the lighthouse along the coast, right? Tobias confirms it should go to Vogt, the lighthouse keeper, who is expecting it. The contents are quite valuable, so we should be as careful as we can. He still can't believe it… Such responsibility! Such strength! Such grace! Ah, youth… Estelle is confused, and Tobias explains that Jean told him about us, but seeing for himself just how peppy we are lifts his spirits to the sky. Estelle argues we're not peppy - we're professional! Tobias says we're young, that's what we are. Naturally he was worried about entrusting potentially reckless youths with something so valuable, but he worries no more. Estelle mutters that just because we're young doesn't automatically mean we're reckless…
Tobias argues she got it all wrong - he just meant that he wasn't sure how old man Vogt would take it. Estelle agrees that's a good point - we helped him out when he was in a bit of a pickle. Joshua agrees we should just leave it at that, yeah… Tobias laughs, and wonders if he left the door open again? Either way, we know what we're talking about, it seems! We should try to understand where he's coming from, though. Being a lighthouse keeper is lonely work, so a little eccentricity is to be expected. Kloe notes the lighthouse is crucial for ships to be able to navigate safely, so the work is a big responsibility. Estelle gets it - it's important work…
Tobias mentions that when he was still a fisherman, Tobius used to down plenty of drink at Lavantar. Now that he lives at that lighthouse though, he barely gets a chance to have his favorite drink. It's pretty sad, really. He'd like to go ahead with getting him what he wants, but… well, he's probably said too much. Either way, don't let the old man's unpleasantness get to us, okay? Estelle agrees, and wonders if there's anything else? Tobias says there's nothing in particular. Once we're done, he'd like us to return here. Take care!
If you recall that Vogt is incredibly into overdoing every request, and you picked up on Tobias' unsubtle reference to the Lavantar restaurant, you can swing by there before heading out of town and speak to Primo. He spots the toolbox and wonders if we're headed over to Varenne Lighthouse by any chance? Estelle confirms we have a delivery to make to Mr. Vogt, the lighthouse keeper. Primo muses that the old man went to the lighthouse a long time ago, but he guesses he's still doing okay… Estelle mentions that she heard he came here a lot in the past, and Primo confirms that - he's a fisherman, so he loves his drink and he loves to gamble. He especially loves a good Azelia Rose, which is a cocktail made with fruit juice. He's missed around this place… They'd love to see him again, but he never comes down to have a drink. It's a rough job he has…
Primo wonders, if it's no trouble, whether we would mind bringing one of them to him? 'One what?' Estelle asks cluelessly. Primo says he obviously meant one of those cocktails, seeing as we're headed over there anyway. He's not making a formal request or anything, so if it gets to be a pain to carry we can just dump it out on the way. Estelle figures this basically just means we're dropping off supplies, right? She asks if Joshua would mind, and he sees no problem with it. Estelle says he's such a gentleman, and Kloe agrees! Primo thinks this is great, and just tells it to get the Azelia Rose to the old man. Mind, it could really use something salty to go with it, but he doesn't have anything like that right now… This season's great for Manoria's specialty though, salted anchovies. Ah well, guess it's just the drink for right now. Good luck!
While I've already got a bunch of salted anchovies, you can stock up with Sadie in Manoria on the way to the lighthouse. Climbing all the way up, Estelle yells cheerfully that weeeee're back! Vogt recognizes us as those kids from before, and Estelle says it's been a while since we were last up this way. Today we're here on another job! Joshua explains that a request came in to the Bracer Guild, so we're here to deliver a Maintenance Kit. Estelle warns it's a little heavy, so he should be carefully carrying it… Vogt checks it over - yeah, everything is alright. He appreciates us bringing this all the way over here. Estelle assures him it's no worry - it's our job, after all.
On another note, Estelle adds, we actually have something else for him. Kloe hands over the bottle of Azelia Rose, explaining it was entrusted to our care by Primo, from Lavantar. Vogt is ecstatic - he used to drink this all the time while munching on anchovy dishes! We can then choose to hand over some of our food or withhold it. Naturally we give him anchovies, and Estelle laughs - we've got one of those for him too! Vogt is excited - we've even brought him some munchies to go with it! What thoughtful bracers we are! Man, this takes him back… How are Primo and the others? Are they doing well? Estelle assures him they are, but they're all worried about him. Work must be tough, so he should take care of himself, okay? Don't overexert those old bones!
Vogt haltingly promises that he, uh, won't? Well, blunt or not, he thanks Estelle for her concern. He values that even more than anchovies. …So does this mean she's starting to understand what it means to possess a caring soul? Estelle says she's just not good with those touchy-feely concepts. Vogt thinks she did a good job today, but she could of course always do better. Which reminds him… Wait right here a moment, okay? Vogt quickly fetches something from a nearby storage compartment - something he once used a long, long time ago. He'd be pleased as plum if we'd accept these for bringing all those things out here for him! They may be a little old, but like him they'll still do the job as surely as the day we were born! We then receive a Work Helmet and a Gladiator Headband. (The latter ups your CP recovery and boosts strength at the cost of defense.)
Joshua wonders if we can really have these? Vogt says we absolutely can - not like he'll be setting sail for wild, exotic lands again any time soon! Anyway, he thanks us for delivering that stuff all the way up here. Now, he'd best get back to work… He's basically been playing hooky this whole time we've been talking. If he stays here any longer, somebody is bound to notice! Kloe tells him to take care of himself, while Estelle tells the same to the old coot. Joshua just excuses himself as we set off for home…
Optionally we can check in with Tobias back in town, who's glad to learn that things went smoothly. Estelle tells him the old man was doing well, and Tobias is pleased about that. Later, then! He'll be in touch if anything comes up. If we speak to Primo at Lavantar again, he's glad we got the whole thing sorted out, and asks how the old salt is doing? Estelle assures him he's doing just fine, and that Vogt sends his regards. Primo is happy about that. Age eventually gets the best of us all, but it sounds like he's still hanging in there. He really appreciates this, and wishes us luck out there!
For this job we receive 1000 Mira and 4 BP on top of the items Vogt gave us.
Side Job: Escort Job
As we approach the far side of Manoria Village, Amelia steps out of a nearby house and wonders if we're with the Bracer Guild? She's been waiting for us. Joshua recalls the assignment had something to do with an escort mission? Guardian someone who's going into the mountains? Amelia confirms that's right - she wants us to protect her uncle who's going through the Krone Trail. Estelle guesses he's traveling to Bose, but Amelia says that's not it, exactly - he wants to specifically go to the Krone Trail. He said something about looking for some rare plants up there… She doesn't really know what he's talking about, sorry.
Estelle just sighs - okay then. Joshua suggests asking the man directly, and Amelia thinks that's reasonable - we should wait just a moment, she already called for him. As she heads back inside, Estelle mentions this already sounds more complicated than the bulletin board indicated - she's got a feeling this won't go well. Kloe agrees that the Krone Trail is an exceedingly dangerous place, so she can't imagine someone specifically wanting to go there. Joshua figures they'll never know if they don't ask the man… Just then the house's door opens again, so it looks like he's here!
When only Amelia steps outside, Estelle is rather confused. Where is her uncle? Amelia admits that, well, it appears he's already set out… Estelle is astounded - he's already set out?! Alone? Joshua assumes he means he's already going towards the Krone Trail, then. Amelia says she asked him to at least wait until we showed up, so she's not sure what made him decide to just leave on his own like this… Estelle says this is not good - not good at all. Why would he go alone? It's like asking for a monster to eat you! Joshua muses it'll be even more dangerous after dark, so he should really be off that pass by sundown. Amelia apologizes - we pretty much came here for nothing. Estelle tells her not to worry about us - we're fine. She promises she'll have a word with her uncle when he gets back…
Naturally, we trek up towards the Krone Trail to figure out what happened to the wayward uncle, using our haze quartz to avoid all the giant scorpions along the way. Finally, all the way up the trail near the checkpoint to Bose, we discover a wayward traveler running from a trio of slime monsters. He's surrounded! As he spots us, he calls out: 'Help!' Estelle just calls Joshua's name - let's go! With that, we throw ourselves into battle…!
The actual fight is pretty quick and easy, since we're just dealing with three weird slime monsters. After they go down, Kloe sighs in relief - looks like we made it just in time. Estelle agrees we made it by a hair's breadth. Joshua asks if the running man was hurt, but he assures us he's quite alright - thanks to us he came out with nothing more than a few scratches. He pauses and says he could almost swear he's seen us somewhere before… Estelle's homely face is especially familiar! Estelle isn't sure how to take the 'homely' comment, but the guy does seem familiar to her too…
Ah! The man remembers her now - she's that country girl from Rolent! Estelle also recognizes him - he's that conniving merchant who was searching for those toxic mushrooms, Orvid! Joshua tells Estelle that he was a client, remember? She should tone it down a bit. Orvid mutters that it looks like even now she still hasn't learned how to show the slightest courtesy. Exactly what he'd expect from someone raised in the boonies. Estelle asks him to just shut up, nasty food maniac! No doubt he was out here hunting for more bizarre ingredients, right?
Orvid argues that he already gathered the valuable wild vegetables he came here for, thank you! These delectables are far more unique than even that Firefly Fungus! Heh heh, with these in hand his next business deal is sure to be a success! Estelle asks him to back up there - what's this about his 'next business deal'? Hah, that Firefly Fungus didn't work out for him, did it?
Orvid blusters that he's not going to listen to any more of this pessimism! There just happened to be no demand for them at the time. That's all. End of story.
Kloe asks Estelle that when Orvid mentioned wild vegetables, did that bring anything to mind? Joshua gets it immediately - right, that's something that Amelia mentioned back at Manoria Village. Orvid recognizes this as his niece's name - but what does she have to do with any of this? Estelle belatedly realizes Orvid is her uncle, while Joshua explains that Amelia asked us to provide Orvid's escort, but when we arrived he'd already left. Orvid admits that it wasn't very nice of him to just take off like that, but it couldn't be helped. He had to come up with a real eye-catcher before his next business deal!
Estelle points out it nearly led to him ending up as some monster's next meal. She's pretty sure you can't do any business deals from inside the belly of a monster! Once he gets back to town he should apologize to Amelia, as she's sure she's worried sick about him. Orvid begrudgingly agrees. He promises to talk to her after his next business deal in Grancel is done. Joshua thinks that's a good move, and suggests we should get going back towards Manoria. The escorting job isn't done until he's back home.
Retracing our steps, we get back to Manoria where Orvid says this is splendid! He's greatly obliged to us for today, and he hopes that the matter from earlier can be forgiven and forgotten. It would seem we are united by fate. When we next meet, he hopes we can see one another as business associates, rather than mutual nuisances. Joshua is okay with it, and asks Estelle - she decides it's good with her too. At last we're on good terms again. To future successes! Orvid is glad to hear it, and says perhaps we'll meet again on the next job!
For this job we receive 1500 Mira and 5 BP.
With those two tasks finished, it's now time to venture south instead. This seemed an opportune time to visit the Sapphirl Tower - there's no quest that takes place there, so it's just a bunch of looting and a lot of backtracking while avoiding the many random encounters. There's also several chests full of the same set of mobs again and again - lots of Robber Trappers - which net us some Army Boots, a Flamberge for Kloe, a Battle Suit, and the recipe for Hot Fried Chicken. Also among the loot is the 'Scent' quartz - this is sort of the anti-Haze, since it lures all enemies directly towards you. It's kind of a horrible effect. The upside is that it gives you 3 Wind and 2 Space value, efficiently opening up several techniques. The trick is to have both Scent and Haze equipped at the same time, so the attraction effect of Scent is negated by Haze! Score.
I leave the loot tower behind and make my way to the checkpoint between Ruan and Zeiss, known as Air-Letten - the location of the last sidequest on the checklist.
Private Vernon at the entrance mentions it's been noisy inside for a while now. Wonder what's going on? Tia complains about 'that annoying guy', while Gary muses that there are selfish people in all walks of life. Private Orta complains about the noise outside. Is someone arguing or something? Lindsay says she wishes someone would do something about this already! Bartholomew guesses even a bracer is no match for an 'upper crust' jerk. The future looks bleak… Mikelson can't seem to see anything through the keyhole…!
Side Job: Make Him Leave!
As we arrive at Air-Letten, we can see several people gathered together in front of the door to the dinner hall. Mikelson mentions that he can't hear anything, and Lindsay asks what's going on. Bartholomew wonders if the Royal Army is really going to just roll over for some bigwig? Our party walks in at this point, and Estelle asks the three what they're doing? Joshua notes that by the looks of them he'd say they're just ordinary travelers… He has to wonder why there isn't a single guard here, though…? Kloe agrees that's strange, and Estelle asks if maybe something big is going on…? Joshua suggests asking a guard when we find one!
Heading upstairs onto the bridge, we see CWO Hahn speaking with a familiar butler… Oh no. Hahn asks him if His Grace has changed his mind? Butler Phillip admits that His Grace is not the sort to do so, once he has decided on something. In light of that, he believes he'll be staying here. Hahn says that in this case they'll just have to wait for the bracers to arrive before they can do anything more. Phillips agrees - if that's all, he shall take his leave. Hahn asks him to wish them luck…
Passing by Phillip as we head upstairs, Estelle is surprised - don't we know that guy? Before she can figure it out CWO Hahn calls out, saying he is glad to see us - we're bracers, aren't we? Thank Aidios we're here! He introduces himself as Chief Warrant Officer Hahn, and we quickly return the introductions. Joshua asks about this traveler who is a problem, and Hahn explains that they do have an unsavory character here… and dealing with him is proving most difficult. Do we have time to help out…?
We head back downstairs, and Hahn concludes that there's been little progress to speak of. Estelle asks what's up with the people gathered at the door, and Hahn explains they're the victims of this current little issue - the traveler, you see, is currently in the dining hall. They were hopeful food will persuade him, for the sake of the others here. Estelle wonders what he means, and asks who exactly this troublesome traveler is? Hahn is about to answer when the people at the door notice Hahn and rush over to him - Mikelson recalls he's the one in charge here, right? He has to do something! Bartholomew asks if he's just going to let this kind of bullying go on unchallenged? Lindsay argues the Royal Army is supposed to be on the side of the citizens, right? They should do something about this, then!
CWO Hahn tells everyone to hold on now, and Joshua also joins in trying to calm the people down. Mikelson is sick of being calm, though! Joshua says he understands but asks them to please just take a step back… The three aggrieved guests just start pesting him and Hahn, and Estelle worriedly wonders if he's okay? Joshua just tells Estelle that for now, she and Kloe just check on the dining hall by themselves. Estelle nervously agrees, and Kloe accepts as well. Joshua assures us that he will handle the crowd here. Onlooker Gary says it's no real surprise they'd attack the soldiers over this… Not that he blames them, but he really doesn't think that's going to help!
As we go to enter the cantina, we see that Caesar is facing off with an old frenemy - Duke Dunan. Caesar tells the man that if he reserves all the rooms as well as the dining hall, what will he tell the other guests? Why can't the duke see where he's coming from? Butler Phillip feels like he must agree with Caesar, and suggests that they should perhaps return to Ruan as originally planned? Dunan tells him to be quiet - he likes it here! Particularly since it has such a lovely view of Air-Letten's waterfall. Caesar just asks for some consideration here…
This is when Estelle and Kloe enter the room. Urk. It had to be him, didn't it? That self-centered duke guy from before! Warrant Officer Kientz is glad to see the bracers have shown up, though he says we're late - they've been waiting for us. Estelle narrows her eyes - don't tell her, this is the troublesome traveler they've been dealing with? Kientz wonders if she sees anyone else here? Estelle sighs. Fine. It's no wonder they recognized the guy who was talking to the CWO, then. Kientz explains that the duke says he wants to stay here, and insists that he has to rent all the rooms as well as the dining hall. Estelle concludes he really is as selfish as selfish gets, huh? Kloe sighs - oh dear, he is a troublesome fellow… Kientz notes that royalty or not, what exactly does he expect them to do about everyone else? Make them go camping?
That's where we come in, hopefully. Kientz asks us if we can do something to help? Ideally we should convince him to go back to Ruan. (Or give him a little nudge over the falls.) Estelle wonders if he really expects her to do it? Kientz points out that tactical negotiation is part of our job, right? They're just soldiers at this checkpoint, you know - they train with guns and swords. Negotiating with swords can be somewhat… messy. Estelle asks what makes him think she's any different? She's good at hitting stuff, not talking! They usually teach that stuff to someone with a knack for it. Joshua is the one with the silver tongue, not her…
Kloe argues we can't just stand by while this is going on, and Kientz begs for help - and if we can't convince him with words, there's always that staff! With a grumble, Estelle says that okay, okay, she'll give it a shot. She hates this kind of stuff! Kientz has faith in her, at least. Estelle tells it to him straight - he can have all the faith in the world, but she doesn't. He shouldn't get his hopes up. Kloe assures Estelle she'll do fine. Estelle thanks her - and here goes nothing!
Estelle walks up to Duke Dunan, and Butler Phillip recognizes her. Estelle greets him, and concludes where he goes, trouble soon follows, huh? The Duke asks who Phillip is talking to, and Estelle thinks to herself that she has to start this off right. With that we get two options - we can either casually greet the 'Duke-guy' or play up the official language, stating that she's here to 'collect His Grace.' The latter, of course, is the way to go to keep the duke from getting angry. Dunan doesn't remember needing 'collecting', though - where did we travel from?
We can now pick between the mayor's estate and Hotel Blanche. If you recall earlier dialogue, the estate was a possible location Dunan wanted to go, and he's already been at the hotel, so the estate is the option to go with there. Dunan says it's quite admirable of us to come fetch him on behalf of the mayor, but he has no desire to return to Ruan this evening. He's already decided on staying at Air-Letten.
Hearing this, Estelle muses to herself that it's double or nothing, now… She's got to change his mind, but make it feel like it's his own idea… We can then pick between calling the checkpoint a 'junky old place', or mentioning an impending dinner party at the mayor's estate.
Playing up how low-class the establishment is here seems logical - Estelle tells him to just look around. She doesn't think this place deserves the business of the next king! Dunan says she declares things he already knows to be true, as he never believed this place to be worthy of his presence. It is, however, occasionally interesting to live as the common folk do… briefly. Estelle gets that, but she doesn't think they even have a high-class chef here… Not to mention, she bets it may not be very sanitary. (In the background, Caesar angrily grumbles.) Dunan muses that yes, now that she brings it to his attention, this place does look a little on the filthy side. He supposes he simply cannot stay at such a place…
With that, Estelle thinks it's time for the sales pitch! We can pick between just offering to get him back to Ruan… or mentioning that there's something by his foot… Picking the latter option, Estelle calls out in warning that there's a huge cockroach! Dunan screeches in horror and yells at Phillip to find the roach! Where is it?! Hurry and kill it! Estelle sighs, a satisfied grin on her face, and says that surely he can expect no better from the common peasantry… Why, she'd wager they even have monsters infesting… Dunan screams again and declares that he's leaving! Phillip says they'll go immediately, but pauses for a moment to thank Estelle for her assistance. Estelle cheerfully tells him to think nothing of it!
Back outside the dining hall, Kientz explains everything to Hahn and notes that things were fixed because of one magic word… 'Cockroach!' Classic! And Estelle had the guts to say that to his face…! Hah! Yeah, he needed a good laugh… Hahn says it's a relief the matter is settled. He'd been worried that they might have to get rough with him. From what Kientz has told him, though, everything seems to have worked out. Caesar grumbles that speaking ill of his establishment certainly seemed to do the trick didn't it? Estelle apologizes, but she didn't see any other way to get him other than to tell a little white lie or two…
Joshua comments that this was unexpected, still. He didn't think she had it in her to be sneaky! Estelle says you never know what she's capable of when the situation calls for it. Honestly, she just tried to channel Joshua. Kloe laughs, and says it certainly seemed like that to her. Estelle agrees - if not, she'd neer have been able to lie with a straight face like that. Joshua just stares at the two with lidded eyes, while Kientz chuckles. Well, lies come in all shades! Estelle did it to help others, so he's sure Aidios will forgive her for it. Hahn greatly appreciates her help, and hopes she'll be equally as determined in her future duties. With that, we set off again…
If you're curious - screwing up the dialogue options intentionally means you miss out on some BP… but it also leads to Estelle calling Duke Dunan a spoiled brat and a big jackass, before lunging at him with her staff. He only barely avoids a righteous beating because Kloe intervenes and puts herself in the way. Hah! I almost prefer that series of events!
For completing this job we receive 1000 Mira and 5 BP - some of those are for peacefully resolving the situation, but you can threaten to beat up the duke and still get a few points. Heh.
Private Vernon mentions they had some rich guy come through with a regular laundry list of complaints. He doesn't know what his problem was… Private Cromwell is astounded that the man was actually Queen Alicia's nephew! His messenger certainly caused quite the stir this time… He's sure the deputy director will pick on him about that come dinnertime. CWO Hahn says we all did very well. This sure has turned into quite a day! Private Orta complains it's been noisy for a long time… If something happens, he wonders if he should let his commanding officer know?
In the dining hall, Warrant Officer Kientz declares that what we did was abso- frickin'-lutely awesome - he didn't know bracers had comedians in their ranks! Still, why does a jerk like that get the good luck to be born in the royal family? Couldn't the next king find a better hairdresser?
Caesar complains that that guy was a huge pain. This is a public place, so what's wrong with him that he couldn't understand that? Gary can't believe Duke Dunan is actually of royal blood. He certainly wouldn't want any foreign dignitaries seeing him!
Mikelson sighs in despair. He came here so he could have some space to think, but thanks to that stupid duke he's completely forgotten what it was he wanted to think about. Lindsay complains that she went through all that trouble to make this trip, and the mood's completely ruined. She's gonna sue that jerk! Bartholomew is relieved that bracers managed to get everything straightened out. He doesn't know how they got rid of that selfish bastard, but he's glad they were here. Tia recognizes that we took care of things, and muses that bracers really do live up to their reputation.
On the bridge, Private Nix says both of the higher ups were writing reports like crazy a little while ago. If there is any truth to the rumors he heard, that duke is one incredibly frustrating man to deal with! He's glad he's on inspection detail today…
In the dining hall, Warrant Officer Kientz declares that what we did was abso- frickin'-lutely awesome - he didn't know bracers had comedians in their ranks! Still, why does a jerk like that get the good luck to be born in the royal family? Couldn't the next king find a better hairdresser?
Caesar complains that that guy was a huge pain. This is a public place, so what's wrong with him that he couldn't understand that? Gary can't believe Duke Dunan is actually of royal blood. He certainly wouldn't want any foreign dignitaries seeing him!
Mikelson sighs in despair. He came here so he could have some space to think, but thanks to that stupid duke he's completely forgotten what it was he wanted to think about. Lindsay complains that she went through all that trouble to make this trip, and the mood's completely ruined. She's gonna sue that jerk! Bartholomew is relieved that bracers managed to get everything straightened out. He doesn't know how they got rid of that selfish bastard, but he's glad they were here. Tia recognizes that we took care of things, and muses that bracers really do live up to their reputation.
On the bridge, Private Nix says both of the higher ups were writing reports like crazy a little while ago. If there is any truth to the rumors he heard, that duke is one incredibly frustrating man to deal with! He's glad he's on inspection detail today…
Finally, we're now finished with this epic journey of miscellaneous sidequests, and it's about time to set off towards the academy for our next main task - which is to just attend a festival and be part of a school play. I assume things are going to go horribly, horribly wrong, if my experiences with Chrono Trigger and Wild Arms tell me anything… At least we got a decent amount of cash and whatnot from these sidequests to stock up on quartz and such for the future. Also having Estelle beat up the duke was cathartic.
Next: We return to our regularly scheduled main quest, to check out the Jenis Royal Academy, Kloe's school! Freakin' Agate stealing our job...
- Pronouns
- He
Deception might come naturally to Estelle but she pulled through when she needed to. Of course, so long as you lay on the flattery, it doesn't seem to be too hard to talk the duke into pretty much anything.
Trails in the Sky (Part 38) - Welcome to Jenis Royal Academy
- Location
- Netherlands
Welcome to Jenis Royal Academy
After finishing up our many side-jobs, it's time to head down Vista Forest Road to the gates of the school - we've been there a couple of times just to see some ancillary dialogue, but now we can actually head inside. As we approach we get an overhead shot of the main building, and there's several smaller ones spread around the campus as well.
Estelle is amazed at the sight of the royal academy - she likes it here, it seems so nice and relaxing! Joshua agrees it seems like a perfect type of environment for studying. Kloe mentions everyone's in class at the moment, and it'll get pretty noisy if we just wait around for a little while. The campus festival is coming up soon, so people are busy preparing for it. Kloe wants to introduce us to the head of the Student Council, but she's in class too… Instead, she'll take us to the dean's office first. Dean Collins is in charge of the whole academy - his office is on the first floor of the main building, to the right when you head inside. Let's get going!
Before heading inside, we can have a quick look around the campus - two of the side-buildings are the dorms for girls and boys, locked now that everyone's in class. To the left of the main building is an Auditorium with a stage - this is probably where the play will be held, since there's a special camera angle if you get onto that stage. If you go behind the auditorium you can find a back road which leads to an old, dilapidated schoolhouse that doesn't seem to be in use. The door is locked, but there's some treasure chests visible out of reach, so we'll get back here eventually. The final building to the right of the main school is the academy clubhouse, where all sorts of groups meet and organize.
Inside the clubhouse we can speak to cafeteria lady Deborah, who mentions that classes are almost over - the place should get flooded with hungry young students shortly! We eat some Jenis Lunch here to learn the local recipe. Outside, Janitor Parkes is working on the greenery, and mentions students are always up late around this time of year, which means that he has to make his rounds later than usual.
Inside the schoolhouse we can speak to receptionist Fauna, who greets Kloe. Kloe says she just got back, and Fauna just tells her if she's looking for the dean he should be in his office - he's been quite worried about her. Kloe promises she'll go see him right away! In the faculty lounge we can talk to Mr. Effort, who explains that there are three major courses offered at the academy - all of them are important, but he's personally in charge of Physical Education. He has no class at the moment, so it's the perfect time to get his papers sorted out…
Inside the schoolhouse we can speak to receptionist Fauna, who greets Kloe. Kloe says she just got back, and Fauna just tells her if she's looking for the dean he should be in his office - he's been quite worried about her. Kloe promises she'll go see him right away! In the faculty lounge we can talk to Mr. Effort, who explains that there are three major courses offered at the academy - all of them are important, but he's personally in charge of Physical Education. He has no class at the moment, so it's the perfect time to get his papers sorted out…
Heading into the dean's office, Kloe greets the elderly Dumbledore-lookalike sitting there - this is Dean Collins. Estelle introduces us, and Joshua explains we're from the Bracer's Guild. Collins is amazed - we're so young! Very impressive, indeed. The dean wonders if we're here because of the fire at the orphanage, perhaps? Kloe confirms that, and quickly explains everything that happened. The dean admits that's all terrible, and wishes he could do something to help. Well, first, there is the matter of cheering up those children… Perhaps he should start there? Kloe agrees, and says she'll work on the play with Estelle and Joshua and Dean Collins is in full agreement, wishing us both the best. We should do what we can! Joshua promises we'll do so, to the best of our meager abilities…
Dean Collins explains that he's letting the head of the student council handle the matter of the play - her name is Jill.
She can tell us far more about it than he ever could. Meanwhile, he'll see about setting up some dorm rooms for us. Estelle and Joshua are confused, but Collins points out the campus festival is nearly upon us, so he imagines we'll need to rehearse every day for long hours. If that's the case, we'll need a place to sleep, won't we? Accepting his point, we thank him for the assistance. Just then the bell rings to mark the end of classes - lessons have concluded for the day, so how about we go and introduce ourselves to the student council president? Kloe agrees, and tells us we can find the office we need on the second floor of the clubhouse.
Dean Collins says we shouldn't worry - he'll make sure we have a place to stay. He's also greatly looking forward to our, erm, 'transformation.' There's also a cafeteria on campus, which we may use at our leisure. We should just relax, and work hard on the play… In the faculty lounge, Mr. Ratio says with the festival coming up, the kids practically vibrate in their seats when class is almost out. He supposes there's nothing to be done about it. Haha! Ms. Millia mentions that everyone tends to slack off in the lead-up to the festival, and she supposes all the instruction in the world can't change that. Perhaps she'll give the kids a pop quiz tomorrow? Just to show them it will not be multiple choice! Mwa ha ha… ha… Ahem! Fauna muses that even with classes done, it's still extremely busy. It's almost festival time, so she hopes all the students are trying their hardest for this.
In the Humanities classroom, Alice mentions that Kaden is really good with his hands, and if you give him a little coffee then he can do just about anything! Maybe she can get him to make some stuffed dolls next… Despite the fact that he's appearing in the play, he still managed to find the time to make maid outfits for them! Kaden is humming at his desk nearby, reciting lyrics about 'they've got an awful lot of coffee, an awful of coffee.' He explains he's making outfits to wear at their food stand. He's got to really throw himself into this! And to do that… he needs more COFFEE!' He loves making stuff like this. Oh, right, and he's got to make decorations for the room too…
In the Social Studies classroom, Logic notices that Kloe has come back. He explains that the preparations for the class program appear to be coming along well. How fares the play? He's told the casting has not yet been finalized, correct? Kloe chuckles and says that was done some time ago, and the play is going to be great - hopefully he'll enjoy it! Logic wishes us the best of luck, then. Thelma mentions they've got to start putting up the decorations soon. If they can't finish up one task, they can't move on to the next… Kloe then apologizes to Ms. Wiola at the blackboard for missing her class, but she says she shouldn't worry about that. She had important business to attend to, after all. If Kloe stops by the faculty lounge later, she can give her a printout of the work she missed. Meanwhile, she should get started on grading these tests…
In the Natural Sciences classroom, Gerome sighs to himself and guesses he has some shopping to do first. He's got to buy some of everything he can think of! Nikita wonders why he can't learn to have some kind of schedule? Everyone else is busy, and he doesn't have any assistants, so he needs to learn to be efficient! Is he planning to make a round trip to Ruan from campus? She turns to us and muses that Gerome has absolutely no idea how to make good use of his time…
Outside the building, Richelle greets Kloe and explains that she's just getting started on the setup for the club's food stand. Kloe admits she can't help right now, but Richelle says it's fine - she knows Kloe is busy with the play. Did they ever decide on casting? Kloe hesitantly chuckles at that, glancing at us, and Richelle catches that we're the one who were cast. Eep! Estelle wonders about that reaction, and Joshua is really starting to worry now… Richelle yells that she gets it! That's perfect, great thinking! She's glad that some nice people came to help… She's going to be in the play too, so we'll work together! Sounds good.
Nearby, Monika is looking at a particular spot in the courtyard - how's this? Picking the right spot is important, after all. The Archery Club is running a popcorn stand for the festival, and even now Rhody's still way too enthusiastic for words. Rhody himself laughs to himself - it's that time of year again. The campus festival always winds up taking more of your attention than your actual class work… Come on, let's give it their all!
At the girls' dormitory building, Purity muses that she's going to read that book she bought - she'd like to write one someday, so she's studying humanities. (Come here later for a book, gotcha.) At the boys' dormitory, Argyle says it's almost time for the festival, and the club is doing a food stand, so he'd better get cracking on the setup. Mr. Effort mentions both dorms have a teacher who patrols at night, and obviously he is the one who patrols the boy's dorm. Dennis says that although he'd like to focus on studying, he has to learn his part for the play… How did he get roped into this anyway? He just sighs…
At the auditorium, Janitor Parkes mentions it's his job to take care of the academy equipment and facilities. It's especially important now, before the campus festival starts up. At the clubhouse, Mickey complains that setting up for the festival is such a pain - let the people that want to be involved work on it! Taylor says everyone in the woodwind group is late… She wonders if she should just start getting ready on her own? Lunchlady Deborah wonders how the festival setup is going? We need to keep our strength up, so big servings all around! We should come by any time.
Upstairs, in one of the studying-themed side rooms, Roy greets Kloe - it's good to see her back. He explains that he's trying to find something for his class display… Ha ha, he'd better get a move on, or else he'll never hear the end of it from Logic. In another room, Patrick says the festival setup phase is when the club practices and rests. Today, this is all they have to practice with… just him… but it's obviously pretty crucial. See, he's in the Fencing Club with Kloe. He has to help out with the club food stand later. He doesn't like leaving Richelle to handle it on her own…
In yet another room Felicity complains that she's soooo busy. There's the class display, and she's going to be in the play later, plus she has to help with the club's food stand! It's getting to be a little bit much, even for her. She wonders if she should drop one of them…? Reina muses to herself that sometimes people don't really make their meanings clear. Felicity wonders what that means? Reina points out everyone agreed that it was a lot, but if they all put in their fair share they'd get it taken care of - but he who has made the least progress will inevitably be the one to proclaim how busy he is… Felicity again wonders what she's getting at…? Reina just asks which one of those tasks makes her feel the busiest. Of course, she always assumed Felicity would handle all of them with no problem. That's what she meant… Felicity grumbles and says she gets it already - she'll keep working on all of them! Ugh, if Reina keeps this up she's going to set fire to her panty drawer… Reina chuckles and says that Felicity is plenty capable, but humility is not her strong suit…
In the Humanities classroom, Alice mentions that Kaden is really good with his hands, and if you give him a little coffee then he can do just about anything! Maybe she can get him to make some stuffed dolls next… Despite the fact that he's appearing in the play, he still managed to find the time to make maid outfits for them! Kaden is humming at his desk nearby, reciting lyrics about 'they've got an awful lot of coffee, an awful of coffee.' He explains he's making outfits to wear at their food stand. He's got to really throw himself into this! And to do that… he needs more COFFEE!' He loves making stuff like this. Oh, right, and he's got to make decorations for the room too…
In the Social Studies classroom, Logic notices that Kloe has come back. He explains that the preparations for the class program appear to be coming along well. How fares the play? He's told the casting has not yet been finalized, correct? Kloe chuckles and says that was done some time ago, and the play is going to be great - hopefully he'll enjoy it! Logic wishes us the best of luck, then. Thelma mentions they've got to start putting up the decorations soon. If they can't finish up one task, they can't move on to the next… Kloe then apologizes to Ms. Wiola at the blackboard for missing her class, but she says she shouldn't worry about that. She had important business to attend to, after all. If Kloe stops by the faculty lounge later, she can give her a printout of the work she missed. Meanwhile, she should get started on grading these tests…
In the Natural Sciences classroom, Gerome sighs to himself and guesses he has some shopping to do first. He's got to buy some of everything he can think of! Nikita wonders why he can't learn to have some kind of schedule? Everyone else is busy, and he doesn't have any assistants, so he needs to learn to be efficient! Is he planning to make a round trip to Ruan from campus? She turns to us and muses that Gerome has absolutely no idea how to make good use of his time…
Outside the building, Richelle greets Kloe and explains that she's just getting started on the setup for the club's food stand. Kloe admits she can't help right now, but Richelle says it's fine - she knows Kloe is busy with the play. Did they ever decide on casting? Kloe hesitantly chuckles at that, glancing at us, and Richelle catches that we're the one who were cast. Eep! Estelle wonders about that reaction, and Joshua is really starting to worry now… Richelle yells that she gets it! That's perfect, great thinking! She's glad that some nice people came to help… She's going to be in the play too, so we'll work together! Sounds good.
Nearby, Monika is looking at a particular spot in the courtyard - how's this? Picking the right spot is important, after all. The Archery Club is running a popcorn stand for the festival, and even now Rhody's still way too enthusiastic for words. Rhody himself laughs to himself - it's that time of year again. The campus festival always winds up taking more of your attention than your actual class work… Come on, let's give it their all!
At the girls' dormitory building, Purity muses that she's going to read that book she bought - she'd like to write one someday, so she's studying humanities. (Come here later for a book, gotcha.) At the boys' dormitory, Argyle says it's almost time for the festival, and the club is doing a food stand, so he'd better get cracking on the setup. Mr. Effort mentions both dorms have a teacher who patrols at night, and obviously he is the one who patrols the boy's dorm. Dennis says that although he'd like to focus on studying, he has to learn his part for the play… How did he get roped into this anyway? He just sighs…
At the auditorium, Janitor Parkes mentions it's his job to take care of the academy equipment and facilities. It's especially important now, before the campus festival starts up. At the clubhouse, Mickey complains that setting up for the festival is such a pain - let the people that want to be involved work on it! Taylor says everyone in the woodwind group is late… She wonders if she should just start getting ready on her own? Lunchlady Deborah wonders how the festival setup is going? We need to keep our strength up, so big servings all around! We should come by any time.
Upstairs, in one of the studying-themed side rooms, Roy greets Kloe - it's good to see her back. He explains that he's trying to find something for his class display… Ha ha, he'd better get a move on, or else he'll never hear the end of it from Logic. In another room, Patrick says the festival setup phase is when the club practices and rests. Today, this is all they have to practice with… just him… but it's obviously pretty crucial. See, he's in the Fencing Club with Kloe. He has to help out with the club food stand later. He doesn't like leaving Richelle to handle it on her own…
In yet another room Felicity complains that she's soooo busy. There's the class display, and she's going to be in the play later, plus she has to help with the club's food stand! It's getting to be a little bit much, even for her. She wonders if she should drop one of them…? Reina muses to herself that sometimes people don't really make their meanings clear. Felicity wonders what that means? Reina points out everyone agreed that it was a lot, but if they all put in their fair share they'd get it taken care of - but he who has made the least progress will inevitably be the one to proclaim how busy he is… Felicity again wonders what she's getting at…? Reina just asks which one of those tasks makes her feel the busiest. Of course, she always assumed Felicity would handle all of them with no problem. That's what she meant… Felicity grumbles and says she gets it already - she'll keep working on all of them! Ugh, if Reina keeps this up she's going to set fire to her panty drawer… Reina chuckles and says that Felicity is plenty capable, but humility is not her strong suit…
With exploration done, it's time to head into the Student Council Room - which, if anime has told me anything, is the most important room on campus and possibly in the nation. Inside we see the head of the student council, Jill, complain that she's too busy - the budgets for all of the concession stands have been checked over, and there's no problems with sending out the invitations… Hans concludes that now all that's left is the play. If they can't find anyone to fill the last two roles, though, the only option might be for the two of them to fill them themselves. Jill immediately says there's no way Hans is acting in the play - the horrors she witnessed when they first tried out those costumes are going to haunt her for the rest of her life. Hans asks not to be reminded. He never wants to wear anything like that ever again…
This is the moment Kloe announces her return, and we enter. Jill says she heard about the fire - it must have been awful! Hans asks after the health of the matron and the kids, but Kloe assures her they're fine, for now. The orphanage was burnt to the ground, though… Jill tells her to try and keep her spirits up despite that, since fretting won't do anyone any good. The best thing we can do is to make the play something the kids can enjoy. Kloe agrees that the matron gave the same advice, so we'll give it our best!
Jill says that with Kloe's help, it will surely work out alright. To think she was stressing out about it a few minutes ago! She asks after the friends Kloe brought, and we quickly introduce ourselves. Jill concludes that we're the ones Kloe spoke of before. Kloe said she did promise to bring us here, and we'll be helping too. Jill is relieved, and says she's glad to meet us both. She's Jill Ridonor, head of the Student Council, and she'll be directing the play. Hans explains he's the vice president, and says that it's nice to meet us too.
Jill, meanwhile, muses that with a pair of bracers here, maybe they can incorporate some stunts into the play? She wonders if Estelle is any good with a sword, and she admits her father mainly trained her with the staff, but she's not hopeless. Jill figures that settles it - she'll have a big sword fight with Kloe! Estelle is surprised, and Kloe quickly clarifies it's in the play, of course. Jill notes there's a fight between the two knights at the climax of the play. It's a really powerful scene, perfect for the final act. They don't have any girls who can use a sword well enough to compete with Kloe, though, much less make it look good… She beat every guy in the fencing tournament and took the top spot… She actually beat out Hans in the final match! Hans just thanks her for reminding him. It's not that he's not good, it's just that Kloe is way better.
Kloe argues that she's still just an amateur, and she doesn't think she'd be any match for a professional like Estelle… Estelle notes that here she goes again with the modesty! But hey, if they need her help, she's game. They can do it! Kloe is sure they will, too! Joshua, meanwhile, laughs nervously - you know, a duel between two female knights ought to be pretty unique. Hans, confused, wonders what this is about female knights? No, they're going to be playing the two male knights. Jill smiles and says this leaves them without a role for Joshua… Oh my, whatever shall they do? He deserves to play a 'crucial role' in this. Hans laughs along, and says they may just have the part for him…
Estelle and Joshua, still confused, wonder what kind of play this is, exactly? Jill explains it's called 'Madrigal of the White Magnolia' (title drop) - it's a famous story set in a time where there are nobles and commoners. A princess is courted by both a knight of royal blood and a commoner. In spite of their different social classes, the three have been friends since childhood. As we can imagine, this leads to complications between the nobles and the commoners. There's a great happy ending to the whole thing!
Estelle thinks it sounds like fun, but Joshua wonders why girls are playing the guy roles, then? Hans says it's just something to make the production more interesting this time, having girls and guys switch roles. Estelle asks if the teachers are okay with this, and Jill just says she brought up ending sexual discrimination, and being free of gender roles… Put in that light, the teachers loved the idea! Personally she thought people would get a kick out of it. Kloe calls her incorrigible, while Hans says she prefers the title 'Evil Genius.'
Estelle is totally up for this, but Joshua tells them to hold on a second - from what they're telling him, that crucial role they want him to play is…? Hans quickly confirms he's really doing them a massive favor here. Jill thanks Kloe for introducing them to such nice people, while Kloe apologizes to Joshua for all this…
The scene switches to the auditorium, where Kloe and Estelle are now dressed in blue and red respectively. Estelle concludes these will be their costumes for the play, and says she figured they'd be armored up given that they're playing knights. Jill says that armor and a helmet won't work so well if they want people to see them act, so that's why she decided to arrange things so they'd be dressed more like the Royal Guardsmen. Estelle thinks it looks great on Kloe - she's petite. Kloe thanks her, and says it suits Estelle as well. Estelle asks about the different colors, and Kloe explains it's because she'll be playing the Azure Knight Oscar, while Estelle is the Ruby Knight Julius. It makes the play more colorful!
Estelle asks after Joshua, which is when Hans shows up from backstage and says the object of their affection will be… the fair Princess Cecilia. (Wait, hold on, did I put in the wrong game?) Joshua is a bit hesitant to get on stage, and asks for another moment, but Hans gets him on screen… fully crossdressing in a flowing white-and-purple dress and with hair extensions and a tiara.
Joshua's expression is incredibly deadpan, but he actually pulls it off rather well? All the girls are dumbstruck, and Joshua just says that if they're going to say something, they should get it over with. Don't leave him in suspense… Estelle searches for a way to put it, then declares it's perfect! Kloe says she's shocked - he looks beautiful! Hans says he's got such poise - why, if he didn't know what's really going on under there, he'd be smitten at the very sight of him! Joshua thanks them for being honest about it, at least. He's not so thrilled himself, but...
Jill's eyes gleam as she chuckles to herself - this is just as she had hoped. She thinks everyone will be pretty pleased with the casting. Come on, everyone! Let's make this a play to remember! Everyone cheers, while Joshua pretends to sniffle. Afterwards, they all head their separate ways, and Joshua and Estelle head over to sleep in their respective dormitories…
At the girls' dormitory, we see Estelle in Kloe and Jill's room, where she's pointed to one of the beds. Estelle concludes that if they're sharing a room the two of them must be close, and Kloe agrees that they have been ever since they started going to school here. As schoolmates, they're pretty much inseparable! Jill proposes to Estelle that she could become an honorary best friend of hers, since they're going to be working together - she doesn't mind, right? Estelle is on board, and Kloe jokes that this doesn't supersede their own best friendship, right? They're a best friends trio. Estelle is on board, and Jill says it looks like it's just them girls in here, so this will be fun. No need to worry about boys' prying eyes while they're here. Kloe complains she makes them sound so dirty, and Jill just says she's so innocent, like a lamb! That's just mean… Just for that, Kloe isn't baking her any sweets! Jill quickly apologizes to 'Ma'amselle Kloe', but Kloe tells her to try that again…
Estelle is watching the interplay, and the girls notice - what's with the staring? Estelle laughs it off and says it's no big deal, but she's just got a little green monster on her shoulder. She's got some friends back in Rolent, but the most they ever did was have sleepovers. She thinks it must be nice to have someone close, living under the same roof with you...
Jill asks Kloe what she thinks about that, and Kloe doesn't really understand what would make her jealous. Jill agrees, and she almost wants to ask Estelle where she gets off saying something like that! Come on, she's got a traveling companion, doesn't she? A pretty nice looking one to boot… Who she also, you know, lived under the same roof with?
Estelle, baffled, asks if they're talking about Joshua? Kloe thinks that's rather a silly question. Jill points out she's got a hot guy with her all the time, but she's jealous of the two of them living in an all-girl household? She playing a tiny violin for Estelle, miniscule in size. Estelle just sighs and says Joshua is more like a big brother to her, so them living together is more like a family thing. Jill just smirks as she repeats 'family thing.' She wonders if Joshua feels the same way? She bets that's not what a guy his age would think! It's got to be tough for him to always be around a pretty girl like Estelle! Estelle stands there, mouth agape, as Kloe tells Jill that's enough. Kloe quickly apologizes for Jill's bad habit of picking on people. Jill just comments that if they're gonna start talking about bad habits… Kloe just stares at her, and Jill quickly backtracks. Nope, she's good!
Estelle gets herself together, blushing furiously, and tells them not to mess with her like that. And really… Joshua? Come on… no way!
Jill just sing-songs that someone's in denial… When Kloe calls her out again, Jill just quickly excuses herself, stating that she's got to give her daily report to the teacher before bed. Goodnight, ladies! As he rushes out, Estelle just stares after her silently. Kloe says that Estelle can borrow some pajamas if she'd like, but Estelle doesn't even hear her as she's blushing bright-red. Right… pajamas. Yeah, that sounds good… With that, night sets in and our unlikely life at the royal academy has begun…
What follows are several vignettes without much dialogue to depict time passing - a training montage! We see Kloe attempting to wake up Estelle and Jill in the morning, only for Estelle to fall back asleep the moment her back is turned to go wake the other. We see Estelle and Joshua join class like the students, where Estelle fails to answer a question correctly while Joshua solves it easily. We see the girls share food at the cafeteria until they're joined by the boys - most of their pleasant and silly conversation revolves around how Joshua might look in heels. We watch the actors in the play practice, including a mock sword fight between Kloe and Estelle, and Joshua in his dress. The rigorous rehearsals lasted into the night, and we're told that everyone was having such fun that time seemed to fly by. Thus, we arrive on the day before the festival…
On the stage once more, we see Kloe and Estelle square off…
Estelle - Ruby Knight Julius: 'My friend… I fear that this was inevitable. Perhaps fate always intended for us to meet in so base a fashion. Speak that we may both be unburdened!' She draws her sword. 'If nothing else, for our beloved princess!'
Kloe - Azure Knight Oscar: 'We would cleave a path through fate with our own hands… But at this moment, my words and her smile seem lost…'
Julius: 'Has fear clutched your heart, Oscar?'
Oscar: 'But what is this passion that pierces me to the quick? Though I have no wish to fight you again, it would seem that I am left with little choice.'
She draws her sword. 'Before this storm, by the name of revolution, should claim us both… Take up your sword, and we shall let fate decide!'
Julius: 'Yes! And may the Goddess above see our spirits as they truly are! Come then, let it be done!'
Oscar: 'Indeed!'
The two actors pause for a moment, and let out a sigh. Woohoo! Estelle is ecstatic that she finally got through the scene with no mistakes! Kloe says it was a convincing performance, though Estelle argues she's got nothing on Kloe. She doesn't think she's flubbed a single line. Kloe says she's been familiar with this script for a long time. She learned it at about the same rate Estelle is going, though. She really appreciates her taking the trouble to rehearse. Estelle says it's no big deal - she's kind of been her guide through it all. Personally, she thinks Kloe would make a great bracer. Kloe is flattered by that suggestion…
Kloe turns to the empty auditorium, and muses that they'll finally do this for real tomorrow. She hopes Matron Theresa and the children will enjoy it. Estelle observes they really mean a lot to her, don't they? They're like her family! Kloe looks troubled at this, and Estelle wonders if she said something wrong? Kloe says that no… she was exactly right. They're the ones who taught her the real value of family. She explains that both of her parents died shortly after she was born, and she was left in the care of an affluent relative. She never wanted for anything, but she really had no idea what having a family was like.
Then, ten years ago, she met the matron… Estelle guesses that this was during the Hundred Days War, and Kloe confirms that's when she came to Ruan. Everyone she knew had scattered trying to escape the Imperial forces, so Matron Theresa and her husband Joseph took her in and cared for her. After the war ended they waited for several months for word to come of her relatives. Theresa and Joseph were so kind to her… That's when she first understood what it must like to have a mother and father, and how it must be to have a family to begin with. Kloe apologizes for rambling, and thinks Estelle must be bored to tears, but Estelle just tells her that's not true at all.
Getting back into the spirit of things a little, Estelle says they should really show everyone tomorrow how it's done! She was worried before, but she's really excited now. Jill and Hans sure have worked hard on this, haven't they? Kloe agrees, but says that she thinks Joshua has really been the biggest help. She never expected him to be such a good actor! Estelle stutters an agreement, and says that while he acted all uninterested, he sure plays the role of the spoiled princess well. Kloe says he definitely nailed the mannerisms, and he's seen professionals turn in worse performances. She wonders if he has any experience in theater, but Estelle admits she doesn't know much about his life before she met him. Whatever went on back then, he never wants to talk about it.
Kloe apologizes, and syas she didn't mean to pry, but Estelle says not to sweat it. He's always been the type to be good at whatever he does, always calm and collected. Sometimes he gets flustered, though, and that's when he's really cute… Kloe giggles, then glances at Estelle and thinks maybe their roles should have been reversed. Julius and Oscar. Somehow she thinks Estelle would have preferred playing Oscar…
Estelle wonders why? Well, maybe. Julius is the son of a noble, and she sure doesn't know anything about that… Kloe says that's not what she meant. It's more about, uh - you know - the ending. Estelle catches on - oh, it's about how Oscar gets… Blushing furiously, Estelle argues it's just Joshua. Hey, does Kloe mean she wouldn't like kissing Joshua? Kloe says she shouldn't be ridiculous - but it still does seem rather risque. Estelle tells her she's starting to sound like Jill. Besides, Joshua just sees her like a little sister… Kloe wonders if he does…? Estelle points out he's always treated her like a little kid, especially with her dad around. It drives her nuts! Anyway, there's absolutely nothing like that going on! Kloe haltingly accepts that statement for the moment.
This is, of course, the moment that the boys arrive. Estelle, flustered, calls out to Joshua, while Kloe mentions Hans. The latter says that rehearsal is over, but we're still practicing. That's some dedication we have! Joshua wonders if we're ready for the big duel scene, and Estelle says to just leave it to us! It'll be flawless! Joshua says he looks forward to seeing it! Kloe asks what the two boys are doing here. Were they looking for us? Hans confirms that yeah, today is the last day us bracers will be staying in the dorms, right? He was thinking we could all have a big dinner to pump ourselves up. We're up for that, sure! Joshua then asks about Jill, and Kloe explains she was called away by the dean some time ago, so she'll go check on her. Estelle volunteers to tag along while the boys head for the cafeteria.
After the boys leave, Estelle thinks Joshua and Hans really hit it off. Sometimes it worries her that he doesn't really let people get close. Kloe chuckles, and when a clueless Estelle wonders what she's on about, she just waves it off. Estelle suggests getting changed - it'll be embarrassing walking around in costume. After quickly doffing our costumes backstage, it's time to head for the dean's office again…
Before exploring all the new dialogue around or heading for the dean, there's a secret scene if you head to the clubhouse immediately. Upstairs, you can listen at the door to the Student Council room, where we can overhear Hans mentioning that Ms. Wiola is so damn hot! Plus he's really up-front about things and seems low-maintenance, which always scores big points with him. On the other hand, he doesn't get the feeling that there's a beating heart under Ms. Millia's chilly exterior. Man, there's something about a woman wearing a pair of glasses that suit her, though…
It turns out Hans is speaking to Joshua, who says that far be it for him to challenge a strongly-held opinion, but wouldn't that also apply to Jill? Hans stutters at that, and quickly argues it's not just about the glasses. Mature women just have this glamor to them! Joshua guesses Hans is feeling a bit anxious, but he denies it - never in his life! Estelle thinks to herself that the boys claimed they were going to their seats at the cafeteria, right? So what is this all about…? Boys can be so hopeless sometimes. Kloe notes that Joshua is in this conversation too… She's kind of surprised.
Hans suddenly asks Joshua how far he's gone with Estelle? He knows he's not going to tell him he hasn't done anything with her. Joshua responds that he's sorry to disappoint Hans, but he just has an overactive imagination. What is he supposed to say? Not that it would be any of his business, mind you.
Hans is surprised, and admits he just figured the two of them would make a good couple. So, if he's given up on that, what's his plan of attack on Kloe? He might have to practice, but if he'd straighten up a little, he could be a good match for her. Joshua wonders what that's supposed to mean? Outside, Estelle blushes and asks Kloe if she wants to get out of here too and get to the dean's office? Kloe quickly agrees.
We arrive at the dean's office just as Jill is speaking with Dean Collins, meaning that something is a great idea - that's the dean, always level-headed! Collins says she flatters him, and entrusts a list to her. Jill promises she'll take care of it. As we enter, we ask if we're interrupting anything? Collins assures us they were just finishing up. Actually… Jill immediately tells the dean not to say anything, as he'll spoil the fun tomorrow! Estelle wonders why she's acting all suspicious, and Kloe wonders what she's plotting this time. Jill just says we'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out… She wonders if we need her for anything, and Kloe confirms we do. She explains that an evening feast had been planned for the next day, in anticipation of the play's success, and Jill says that sounds fine. She just hopes and prays that the festival is a success. Let's give it all we've got! Collins says that barring any major complications, he thinks tomorrow will go just fine. Estelle suggests we all get over to the cafeteria, and she agrees.
With this, Jill is now a temporary party member... and while we're supposed to meet Joshua and Hans right now, there's other options...
Next: Let's do... sub-quests? Sidequests by another name? Let's get ready to partay!
- Pronouns
- He
That seems to be only one of the many fetishes that Jill is hoping to live out with the newcomers.
- Pronouns
- She/They
And now for the part of the show where everyone remembers they are sixteen year olds with no parental supervision.
But no I really love this section, not just because I'm an obsessive worldbuilding addict, but because it's the fulcrum of all the funky stuff Sky 1 does with gender, with the crosscast play, Joshua being the stunning beauty (again) with the mysterious past while Estelle is the awkward straightforward shounen meathead, etc.
Although I'm just realizing that, given the timing with Joshua in costume, we were only a few carefully considered words away from Estelle realizing that she likes girls, as opposed to stepbros. Damn but this series could have gone in a different direction.
But no I really love this section, not just because I'm an obsessive worldbuilding addict, but because it's the fulcrum of all the funky stuff Sky 1 does with gender, with the crosscast play, Joshua being the stunning beauty (again) with the mysterious past while Estelle is the awkward straightforward shounen meathead, etc.
Although I'm just realizing that, given the timing with Joshua in costume, we were only a few carefully considered words away from Estelle realizing that she likes girls, as opposed to stepbros. Damn but this series could have gone in a different direction.
Trails in the Sky (Part 39) - Festival Prep
- Location
- Netherlands
Festival Prep
Before we're officially off to the races, we still have this final evening to spend - the last finishing touches, shall we say. We'll do it with an all-woman crew of Estelle, Kloe and Jill, this time around...Dean Collins says he'd hate to get in the way of our fun tomorrow, so he hopes we enjoy ourselves. Next door in the faculty lounge, Mr. Ratio guesses we came from Rolent, right? He's actually from there, too. Speaking of which, his parents will be visiting to attend the festival. It's good that they were invited - such dedication from all the actors! He's quite looking forward to the performance. The, uh, princess is something else! Ah, yes, he had a chance to watch the rehearsals… Ms. Millia mentions the students will show everyone the fruits of their labors tomorrow. She'll do her best to keep her criticisms to herself… as valid as they may be.
At the reception desk, Fauna asks if we've finished getting ready? It looks like they'll have more attendees tomorrow than ever before…
The Humanities classroom has been transformed into the 'Fontana Tea House', a refreshment booth. Alice says that Kaden thought they had more time than they actually do. Thankfully, with enough coffee in him, they can still make the deadline. So worry not, they will be ready! She wants this to be the cutest little place ever!
Kaden, meanwhile, is in despair - he got cappuccino, but ordered an espresso. Noooo! He'll never finish in time at this rate. Maybe if he works all night? Yeah, that should give him enough time…
The Social Studies classroom is host to a demonstration on 'Ruanian History & Economy' - the whole place is full of blackboards covered in maps, graphs, and other information about the region of Ruan. Inside, Roy greets Kloe and says the class has finished up most of its setup duties. Logic is still at work in the reference room, though. Thelma mentions Logic is such a perfectionist, and personally she thinks they got plenty done!
The Natural Sciences classroom is host to a demonstration on 'Quartz Circuits & Orbal Arts' - it's got a bunch of complicated machines, several screens and a sizable computer of some description. Gerome wonders if this is good enough? He can put the finishing touches on tomorrow, when everyone will be around to help. Nikita complains that he never gets tired of passing work off on other people. Everyone still has work to do, too, so there's no telling if anyone else will even have time to help him! Gerome guesses she's probably right, but he's hungry… Patrick says those two must be childhood friends, as they both live in Ruan. He's kind of envious…
Outside the school, Richelle is at her ice cream stand and looking forward to tomorrow - though it'll be the last time she'll get to see Kloe in her Azure Knight costume. That's kind of a shame, if you think about it. Kloe hesitantly thanks her, and Richelle assures us that we'll all be great!
At the popcorn stand, Monika says that everything that's gone into making it is just right! She's put in some practice, not to worry… Rhody says they're all set, and all that's left is to wait for tomorrow. At a third food stand, Taylor is also finally done with all the setup, and says everyone in the club is switching off being a clerk…
At the girls' dormitory, Purity greets Kloe and Estelle and wishes them luck with the play tomorrow. She's working on the sets, since she's a big history buff. Ms. Wiola wonders if everyone is still practicing? We should go to bed and rest up for tomorrow. She wonders if everyone is still on campus… They've cleared out of the dorms, so she imagines they're all over the place.
Felicity sighs to herself and says it's been a full week of upheaval. Rehearsals for the play, setting up the Art Club's food stand, plus helping out with the class exhibition… Reina comments that she did a pretty good… check that, a great job! Felicity wonders where Reina was during all that work, huh? Felicity had been considering backing out of the play, too... Reina admits she didn't expect Felicity to volunteer for the role of the Archbishop! Felicity snarls that of course she did - did she think she'd really play as a commoner?! If she's going to do something, she's going to do it right. Unfortunately she had to give up the lead role… Reina says she's impressed, but Felicity gets the feeling that she's being led down this thorny path… Reina remarks that she likes to watch Felicity's development… You know, make sure that she's turning out to be a good person…
At the boys' dormitory, Argyle chuckles and says night is upon them… Just north of here is an old building that used to be part of the school. Way back when it was refitted to serve as a military stronghold. He bets we couldn't make it out of there… alive! Mr. Effort says that some of the kids came by earlier looking for the key to unlock the old building. They wanted materials for set dressing, they said. They went in some time ago, but he hasn't heard from them since… There's a lot of students who haven't come back to their dorm rooms yet, so he might go make his rounds before curfew… Dennis says it's almost time for bed… Oh, wait - the play…
At the clubhouse, Deborah says she bets we've been so involved with setting up that we haven't been eating so well. Kids like us need to eat right!
At the reception desk, Fauna asks if we've finished getting ready? It looks like they'll have more attendees tomorrow than ever before…
The Humanities classroom has been transformed into the 'Fontana Tea House', a refreshment booth. Alice says that Kaden thought they had more time than they actually do. Thankfully, with enough coffee in him, they can still make the deadline. So worry not, they will be ready! She wants this to be the cutest little place ever!
Kaden, meanwhile, is in despair - he got cappuccino, but ordered an espresso. Noooo! He'll never finish in time at this rate. Maybe if he works all night? Yeah, that should give him enough time…
The Social Studies classroom is host to a demonstration on 'Ruanian History & Economy' - the whole place is full of blackboards covered in maps, graphs, and other information about the region of Ruan. Inside, Roy greets Kloe and says the class has finished up most of its setup duties. Logic is still at work in the reference room, though. Thelma mentions Logic is such a perfectionist, and personally she thinks they got plenty done!
The Natural Sciences classroom is host to a demonstration on 'Quartz Circuits & Orbal Arts' - it's got a bunch of complicated machines, several screens and a sizable computer of some description. Gerome wonders if this is good enough? He can put the finishing touches on tomorrow, when everyone will be around to help. Nikita complains that he never gets tired of passing work off on other people. Everyone still has work to do, too, so there's no telling if anyone else will even have time to help him! Gerome guesses she's probably right, but he's hungry… Patrick says those two must be childhood friends, as they both live in Ruan. He's kind of envious…
Outside the school, Richelle is at her ice cream stand and looking forward to tomorrow - though it'll be the last time she'll get to see Kloe in her Azure Knight costume. That's kind of a shame, if you think about it. Kloe hesitantly thanks her, and Richelle assures us that we'll all be great!
At the popcorn stand, Monika says that everything that's gone into making it is just right! She's put in some practice, not to worry… Rhody says they're all set, and all that's left is to wait for tomorrow. At a third food stand, Taylor is also finally done with all the setup, and says everyone in the club is switching off being a clerk…
At the girls' dormitory, Purity greets Kloe and Estelle and wishes them luck with the play tomorrow. She's working on the sets, since she's a big history buff. Ms. Wiola wonders if everyone is still practicing? We should go to bed and rest up for tomorrow. She wonders if everyone is still on campus… They've cleared out of the dorms, so she imagines they're all over the place.
Felicity sighs to herself and says it's been a full week of upheaval. Rehearsals for the play, setting up the Art Club's food stand, plus helping out with the class exhibition… Reina comments that she did a pretty good… check that, a great job! Felicity wonders where Reina was during all that work, huh? Felicity had been considering backing out of the play, too... Reina admits she didn't expect Felicity to volunteer for the role of the Archbishop! Felicity snarls that of course she did - did she think she'd really play as a commoner?! If she's going to do something, she's going to do it right. Unfortunately she had to give up the lead role… Reina says she's impressed, but Felicity gets the feeling that she's being led down this thorny path… Reina remarks that she likes to watch Felicity's development… You know, make sure that she's turning out to be a good person…
At the boys' dormitory, Argyle chuckles and says night is upon them… Just north of here is an old building that used to be part of the school. Way back when it was refitted to serve as a military stronghold. He bets we couldn't make it out of there… alive! Mr. Effort says that some of the kids came by earlier looking for the key to unlock the old building. They wanted materials for set dressing, they said. They went in some time ago, but he hasn't heard from them since… There's a lot of students who haven't come back to their dorm rooms yet, so he might go make his rounds before curfew… Dennis says it's almost time for bed… Oh, wait - the play…
At the clubhouse, Deborah says she bets we've been so involved with setting up that we haven't been eating so well. Kids like us need to eat right!
We could theoretically head out and meet up with the rest of our party right now, but there's a bunch of optional missable content in this brief window of time…
Festival Help Quest: Decorate the Campus
Just outside the entrance to the school you can find Janitor Parkes, who says he's bushed. At this rate he'll never finish getting these decorations up! All the students who were helping him are busy with other stuff. Just look around - there are still plenty of places that aren't decorated yet!
Estelle looks up and notes there's no center curtain on the school building yet - that might not look so good. Parkes says that's what he means - if we see any other bare spots like that, we should let him know. He'll be over to get them fixed up in a jiffy! We should keep an eye out, and we should let him know if we see any empty spots.
There are three locations where you can spot missing banners - the first is missing flags above the boys' dormitory. In a quick cutscene we call over Mr. Parkes and assist him in hanging up the flags, and in similar fashion we can spot a missing tapestry on the side of the auditorium, as well as a final missing row of flags that are sneakily hidden on the back side of the connection between the main building and the clubhouse. With the decorations finished, Parkes says we've been a great help, and Estelle says it was no prob. We all want the festival to go well, so helping out isn't a big deal. Kloe says it's our festival, after all, and Jill says that's the spirit! Parkes is looking forward to it himself, and we tell him to leave it to us…
We get an actual message that this is a 'festival help quest' we completed - they might not be included on the job board, but these are essentially hidden quests which contribute to your final rewards for the festival main quest. BP and such.
Festival Help Quest: Research Materials Hunt
If you listened in on conversations, you may have learned that Logic is still hard at work in the reference room. This is upstairs at the clubhouse, let's check up on him! Kloe asks him if he's still working on the research for his class presentation? Logic confirms he's almost finished, but he's still missing a few research materials needed to back up the points he made in the presentation. Specifically, he needs all three volumes of the 'Ruan Economics' series. It appears some miscreant has carried them out of the reference section. He doesn't suppose we've seen them anywhere around school, have we? Estelle doesn't remember seeing any, and Logic figures they must be around here somewhere. If we happen to find them, we should let him know!
Looking for the three books is essentially just wandering the entire accessible map checking every book you can - the ones we need all look pretty distinctive and light up with an exclamation point if you get close. The first is actually in the next room over, in the Archery Club's room, while the second is in the Faculty Lounge, and the last can be found in the boys' dormitory.
Since these are books you get in your inventory during the quest, you can actually read all of them to get some insight into the economics of this region:
Article: Ruan Economic History Volume 1− Table of Contents −1. Ruan Economics Prior to the Orbal Revolution
- Urban Transfiguration Due to Developments in Nautical Technology
- Developments in Industry and the Rise of the Working Class
2. Abolishment of the Aristocracy and Regional Economics
- Collapse of the Oligopolistic System
<Introduction>Economic history is a field of scholarship which looks back historically on economic activity, one of a number of actions carried out by people, and weighs its evolution in relation to the future.In fact, it would hardly be an overstatement to say that the state of the world following the Orbal Revolution was led by a series of economic dynamics. Dramatic progress in transit technology and improved productivity gave rise to a continental-scale flow of goods and people, which in turn resulted in a more explicit structure of interests making an appearance within governments among neighboring nations.This book aims to trace history sequentially from prior to the Orbal Revolution, and while setting Ruan apart from the rest of Liberl Kingdom, proceed to analyze the developments of regional economics.
Ruan Economic History Volume 2− Table of Contents −Preface: The World After the Orbal Revolution3. Ruan and the Orbal Revolution
- Advent of the Airship and the Maritime Industry
4. The Hundred Days War and the Empire
- The State of Commodity Distribution Before and After the War
- Disparity, and the Shifting Empire
<Introduction>The benefits in connection with the Orbal Revolution wrought mighty change in both production and transportation; the foundational elements of economic activity.The introduction of orbal technology to the manual industry increased production without leading to a consolidation of the workforce and allowed outdated worker unions to commercialize and thereby erect a framework which supplied the market with a stable flow of diverse goods.On the downside, the progress of transit technology, beginning with the emergence of airships, internationalized economic competition in one fell swoop and created a situation which prompted a fierce utilitarian rivalry among nations. Economic rivalries such as these can be found skulking in the milieu of nearly all erupting strife in this present age, regardless of boundaries.
Ruan Economic History Volume 3− Table of Contents −Preface: The Hundred Days War and Ruan5. Ruan Economics After the War
- The Appearance of New Entrepreneurs
- Contrasting Tourism Resource Development Policy
6. Challenges for the New Generation
- Internationalization of Airship Routes and Ruan
<Introduction>Though being in the midst of great advances with regards to transit technology following the Orbal Revolution, Ruan's economic epicenter remained as before, centered on the import and export of goods through its seaport, with the Erebonian Empire occupying a significant position as a strategic partner in trade.Consequently, at the conclusion of the Hundred Days War, cooling relations with the Empire meant serious repercussions for this seaport city. This situation forced merchants to tread new ground and, as a result, pioneered enterprise which created domestic demand and developed tourism resources.At present, though these measures and policies have finally begun to bear fruit, there still remain a number of issues which have yet to be resolved.
Heading back to Logic, he says it's as he suspected… The books in his room aren't going to be sufficient for his research. Did we have any luck finding those 'Ruan Economics' books, by any chance? Estelle barely pays attention at the best of times and isn't sure what he's talking about, but Kloe confirms that we seem to have the ones he needs and hands over all three volumes. Logic is delighted, and thanks us profusely. Now he finally has all of the books he needs for his research! Kloe says she's looking forward to reading his paper when it's done, and Logic says he looks forward to showing her his results. She'll be astounded! Thanks to our help he can make this paper the best it can be. Now he should really get started - time is short. He wishes us luck with our play, and we promise to do our best.
Festival Help Quest: Clear Out the Old School BuildingIf you talked to some folks at the boys' dormitory, you'll have heard that there's something going on at the old schoolhouse building that's a ways behind the current one. If you head over, you're just in time to watch a boy - Mickey - rush out of the door in a panic, panting and wheezing as he slams it closed behind him. Holy… freaking… crap!
Estelle wonders what's up, and Kloe agrees with that question - Mickey seems really, really scared! Estelle asks him what happened, and he says we shouldn't stand right in front of the door… Never know when a ghost or something might come flying out! Estelle wonders if he's saying there are monsters in this building, and Mickey confirms that's right. Enormous suckers, and swarms of them…
Kloe explains this used to be one of the school buildings, but it's always locked up these days… Mickey admits he borrowed the key from Mr. Effort. The regular school buildings are all noisy lately, so he just wanted to find a quiet place to sleep… Estelle is astounded, while Jill figures that's just another way of saying that he was ditching. He's got some nerve! Mickey complains he never wanted anything to do with the festival in the first place. Why should he be forced to do anything for some lame play? It's boring, and he isn't messing with it any more. Estelle angrily wonders what's up with his attitude? Pretty arrogant of him, considering everyone else is pitching in!
Kloe tells her to chill, and suggests we should focus on checking into these supposed monsters here. Estelle agrees that if there're really monsters, we can't just let them stay in there! Kloe agrees that we can't - the festival is tomorrow! Mickey isn't sure what we can do. He was planning to give the key back to Mr. Effort, tell him the place is haunted, and never speak of it again! It's really dangerous in there, so we shouldn't even get close to the door! With that he rushes off in a panic, leaving us to explore in peace…
The actual building is pretty barren, but there are some really freaking huge spiders running around, so I guess Mickey's panic isn't entirely unjustified. While we have to deal with Jill tagging along as a helpless NPC, these mobs aren't exactly dangerous enough to need the big guns, and Kloe is more than capable of healing any scrapes we might get here. It's weird not to have Joshua along, though. Our actual goal here is to kill every monster - any loot we pick up along the way is a nice bonus. There's a weird room with a statue that we might get back to later, but it doesn't seem to do anything right now, and several mostly empty classrooms with the odd spider and mundane item.
After slaying the last monster and getting back to the front door, we're met there by Mr. Effort, who wonders if we're alright? Mickey told him that monsters had shown up in the old school building. Estelle tells him not to worry, since we already wiped them all out. Mr. Effort is momentarily surprised, then remembers Estelle is a bracer - right. Well, he thanks us for our help, as we can't have anything happen to the festival. Jill muses that come to think of it, Mickey's laziness actually helped us out… In spite of his reasons, he did find those monsters. Mr. Effort says that just to be on the safe side, he'll lock the door again. Better safe than sorry, after all! Effort says he'll head back to his night duty room, then - it'll be closing time fairly soon. We should try not to stay up too late!
With that, all our ancillary tasks are complete, and we can head over to the clubhouse to meet with Joshua and Hans. As if to maintain cohesion for people who haven't done any festival quests, Estelle immediately gets flustered again - but I assume this is just more of what appears to be the actual romantic subplot of the game. A romance between a brother and sister. Okay. Adoptive, I get it, but it's weird. It was hinted at early on, but it seems we're really going there! I'll try to not be weirdly prudish about it - at least they're not related. It's still weird.
Jill thanks everyone for their help, and Hans says they've been waiting for us - now, are we ready to order some food? Jill says her stomach cries out for nourishment! Finishing up the play and having to run hither and yon like a madman really works up an appetite.
Kloe says that all ends after today, right? Jill agrees that she's gotta get motivated, as she's got a new job to deal with, after all… Hans wonders what she means by that, but Jill tells him she'll tell him later. Let's go out there and stir things up! We're going to make the festival a huge success! She'll be counting on Estelle and Joshua as well. We promise to do our best! That evening, everyone spent a rather busy hour in the cafeteria, and at the end they all raised a toast (with soft drinks) to the success of the play. After that they returned to the dorm and went to bed early, in order to be prepared for the busy day ahead. The day of the festival has arrived…
We're once more back on the stage, and Jill says it's set perfectly… The lights are just right, too. Okay! Looks like they're ready to unleash their masterpiece! Hans says they'll be opening soon, but they've got some time before everything starts. We should go have some fun in the meantime!
Estelle declares that now he's talking! She's gonna go stuff her face with something from every food stand out there! Joshua warns her that looking is fine, but if she eats too much she'll be too full to move in the play… Estelle admits she probably shouldn't overdo it. She wonders if the others are going to join her, but Jill says they can't - she's still got student council business to deal with. We'll be fine on our own, go have fun!
Kloe wonders what student council business this would be? Didn't she say the same thing yesterday…? Kloe wonders if she can help, but Jill just winks at her and says they're fine, promise! All she needs to do is show Estelle and Joshua around. Besides, aren't the pipsqueaks gonna be showing up soon? Kloe admits she's right, yeah. Hans promises they'll have enough time to go out and enjoy the festival. Oh, and Joshua…? If he sees any hot girls out there, Hans expects him to beeline it right back here and tell him, got it? He wouldn't want any of them to miss out on the pleasure of his company! Joshua gets it already - tall, gorgeous, sensual, charming… Did he miss anything? Hans says he couldn't have said it better himself! Jill declares he's hopeless, while the other girls stare in disbelief.
Just then, there's a message on the intercom…
The time that we've all been waiting for has finally arrived: the 52nd Jenis Royal Academy campus festival has begun!
Next: Festival time!
- Pronouns
- He
This is way less tense than the previous chapter with the military and the air bandits but it is still very, very charming and enjoyable. Especially with Estelle and Kloe.
Trails in the Sky (Part 40) - Festival Wanderings
- Location
- Netherlands
Festival Wanderings
As the intercom message plays out, we see the gates of the academy swing open, and a rush of children enter alongside many other guests. The festival has begun! Estelle and the others have made their way outside to see the throng, and Joshua remarks this is the famed academy, after all… It's definitely not your average festival. Kloe says they're expecting a lot more visitors this year than usual. Jill tells Hans they should get going, and tells us they can be found in the student council office, so we should come see them if we need them. Joshua wishes them luck… Kloe, meanwhile, suggests we go have a look around.At this point a whole lot of visitors have arrived at the school grounds, and many of them don't have unique names - they're just 'Visitor.' A young boy near the auditorium wonders where he should start, while a young girl says they come here every year. Another visitor is amazed at the size of the royal academy - it's huge! Another says it's a pretty building, and yet another visitor comments that she hasn't been back to her alma mater in a long time… Near the front gate we can spot Steward Gilbert, who wonders if all preparations have been completed? Estelle confirms that we practiced hard, learned our lines, and spent the afternoon waxing the hair off Joshua's face and arms! All that's left is the doing. Gilbert, a little flummoxed, says he's looking forward to seeing the, ah, results of our efforts. It's been some time since he was last here, but he still loves his old alma mater… He has fond memories of this place.
Near the clubhouse, a visitor is taking a load off - maybe he should take a breather before he walks around any more. Another kid mentions he came here to see his big sister. At the little sidewalk cafe in front of the cafeteria, a visitor mentions his daughter has been pestering him to let her show him around. This is his first time at the campus festival. A woman mentions she heard all the rumors, sure, but she loves the atmosphere here! At the food stands, Richelle wonders if we want to try some ice cream? It's pretty good! A visitor comments on the low prices, while another is getting hungry from all the good smells, and a third comments on there being so many shops here!
Noria says that the festival is nice and all, but she wants to see what a typical school day is like. As a parent, she'd like to see how her child is going to spend his time. Portos tells one of the kids selling popcorn not to get too excited - young folk certainly are energetic! Rhody welcomes us to the shop, and wonders if we would like some light, fluffy popcorn? It's a healthier option than, say, candy…
Across from him is the candy store, where a nervous Taylor tries to sell some food - it's super delicious, and better than popcorn! She admits she was told to say that… At the fourth stand we can find Reina, who says she's great at science and biology, but a novice in the kitchen. Oh well, she'll work on getting the basics! She sells crepes.
We can also find Nial at this last stand, and he is surprised to find us here. We are similarly surprised, and ask him if he's here for business or pleasure? Joshua points out lots of people in the entertainment industry were invited. He asks Nial if he ever found a link between all those bits of information he found. Nial stays mum about that, and says that before he gets into that, he's hungry. He'll go fetch some grub! If we head over to the gates, Estelle comments they're still open - are they expecting more guests? Joshua says there's still some time before the play starts, and Kloe agrees that a lot of people come specifically for that…
At the auditorium, Janitor Parkes says that until the big show, the building is not actually being used. Except by him, of course! Dean Collins asked him to do a safety check before the main event.
Inside the main building, we find a bunch more visitors - one says his daughter attends this academy, but this is his first time on campus. Another says that when they were students, this building wasn't even around yet! The building to the north used to be the main school building. Another visitor mentions Sunday School is nice and all, but this? This is real learning!
The Humanities Classroom is a tearoom now, and Kaden wonders if the guest at the table is a real maid? Ugh, standing up all night has left him completely drained… or is that caffeine withdrawal? Mr. Ratio recalls the lead roles in the play will be played by students, right? Everyone is more active than usual. Eva says that under normal circumstances she'd never be able to get in here, so it's exciting! Now, where is her little sister's classroom? Got to fulfill her obligations as her guardian! Purity says she's kind of embarrassed to be dressed like a maid, but it's for the festival… Alice thinks it's a cute outfit, and says Kaden's been making a lot of them. Monika says she'll be manning the club's food stand all afternoon, so she needs to have fun while she can. Rhody's in the same club, and he runs the stand in the morning. She thinks she'll get an idea of how annoying it can be soon…
In the back of the room, we spot a familiar face - it's Mayor Maybelle from back in Bose! Estelle wonders what she's doing here, and Maybelle says that truthfully she actually graduated from here. She always makes a point of going to the campus festival each year. Estelle thinks that's cool! Maybelle says that's enough about her - how have the two of us been doing? Are we here on guild business? Estelle chuckles and tells the mayor what's been going on, and she's surprised we're helping out with the play. She's always found them to be slightly tiresome, but if we're going to be on stage, she certainly doesn't want to miss it. Joshua muses to himself that he'd really rather not have anyone he knows in the audience for this… Lila says it's been a long time since she's sene us - we look as energetic as ever.
In the front hall of the school, Dean Collins is speaking with Mayor Dalmore, and tells him he hasn't seen the man since last year's Royal Council. Has much changed since then? Dalmore assures the dean he's feeling quite well, and the old man looks to be in good health, also. Today should be quite enjoyable! Dalmore notices us, and mentions that he comes to the campus festival every year at the invitation of the dean and the student council. Collins mentions he'd like the mayor's input on some of the school's affairs, if he has the time… Though they may be chartered by the monarchy, it's still important to hear local views. In the employee lounge, Mr. Effort thanks us for everything we did yesterday - he doesn't really have anything he needs to do, but he's just staying here in case he's needed.
Near the stairs we can find Carna, who says that Jean told her what's been going on. So, we're just helping out wherever we're needed? Estelle says that's more or less true, yeah. Joshua wonders if she's working here as security or something, and Carna confirms that's basically it. The alumni here tend to be Liberlian celebrities from all walks of life, and every year they're all invited back. Thus the need for heightened security. Joshua remarks we already saw Mayor Maybelle here earlier. Carna tells us to just leave security up to her, so we can focus on helping out with the festival. Fauna mentions the event is held on the grounds and in the main building, and the play is scheduled to be held in the auditorium this afternoon. The student council has set up the cafeteria as a rest area, so we should feel free to relax there.
Upstairs, a visitor wonders if it's just her, or are there more people here than usual? Another explains the natural science and social studies classes are up here - neat! A third visitor wasn't expecting to find so many buildings on campus, and a fourth is a bit lost - she's not sure where to go next. A kid asks if we attend classes here? Do we ever get to have any fun?
In the Social Studies classroom, Logic mentions that his class has been using various economic indicators to predict future trends and they're displaying the results here today. They also have a collection of materials summarizing the history and development of this region in a simple, easy to read format. If we're interested, we should take a look! Liz mentions she came here with her son to check out the campus. They've got to get him focused on passing next year's entrance exams! Antonia wonders what typical classes here are like… Thelma says that today they're on standby… They're like the information desk! They can explain the social studies periodical in plainer terms if anyone asks…
We can also find Duke Dunan in here - ugh. He muses that this is the campus which is funded through the royal coffers, huh? As the queen's nephew, he ought to give it a thorough inspection! Ha ha ha, he's sure the students will consider that a great honor! Estelle wonders if this old fart was even invited, but Joshua imagines not investing him would have just been asking for trouble. Dunan says he finds the campus somewhat lacking - they haven't even a single gilded bird feeder. Butler Phillip hates to say this once again to His Grace, but he should please consider his words when amongst the public…
Checking out some of the boards, we can find one summarizing trends in orbal arts usage, graphs depicting changes in the tourist industry's annual growth rate, a map concerning population growth and migration, the most important exports, and more. Roy explains that he's an exchange student from the Calvard Republic, and he's been busy with this year's research periodical. It's eaten up most of his time, actually. Ms. Wiola mentions this class is fairly low-key… Honestly, she thinks the research periodical is pretty plain. It's okay, she's just glad they've got readers. She doesn't want to lose to Millia's class. Argyle wonders if there's no haunted houses this year? Too cliché, he supposes.
In the Natural Sciences classroom, Ms. Millia asks if we've seen the size of the crowd?! She wonders if they're all on vacation… Nikita mentions that in the end they weren't able to finish setting up the displays yesterday. Somehow, though, it was all done when they came back in the morning. They were still in the middle of working when it was time to go home - they asked around, but no one knew who had done it. Gerome wonders what his mom and sister are doing here? He told them not to come… said he'd be busy. Ciel mentions she took a day off work to see how her son has matured. She says her daughter Eletta seems to be quite pleased as well. She needs to be a better mother from here on out. Gotta turn the doting up to 9! Eletta yells that she just wants to play!
Felicity remarks that Reina and her don't share any classes or clubs, but they still room together at the dorm. Phew, at this rate it's going to be difficult to breathe… She guesses she should take advantage of the freedom to enjoy it while she still can. Patrick laughs and says he knows all about it. Gerome did a bang-up job! Next to them stands an Orbal Compatibility Tester - a big machine which you can feed two inputs to get the compatibility between two people - and the result is entirely random and very horoscope-like. That said, all of our previous party members as well as Dorothy and Nial are options here, so we can learn all their days of birth:
If you try and measure compatibility with the same person, the computer sends a few error messages, then crashes and resets, going through a memory check before bumping you back to the selection menu. It's pretty neat! A little sign in front of the machine promises that it's now working - and no more electric shocks, they promise!
At the clubhouse, Carla says she's amazed that the campus is so busy. Rex mentions he and his wife moved to Manoria years ago, but this is the first time they're visiting the royal academy. In the corner, Estelle spots someone and wonders where she's seen her before? Joshua recognizes her as the woman who was with Colonel Richards in the sky bandit hideout. Sure enough Captain Amalthea recognizes us, and says the Colonel often spoke of coming to visit, but he still has his hands full at the moment. She's sure he'll be free to drop by in a while.
We can also find Lucia here, who says she came here with Clem and the other kids. Seagaro says the school's really been shaping up lately. He's only ever been to Sunday School. Edel says she's always heard stories about how she should visit the academy if she ever traveled… Deborah says this place is open today as a rest area, but they've still got the same food as usual!
Upstairs we can visit the student council room again, where Jill is going over a projected budget with Hans. They should be okay, since it's not that much. Jill spots us, and asks what's up? Are we having fun? Hans comments that the documents are all set to go. Now they just have to get the dean to approve them! Next door, Mickey says he doesn't want to have anything to do with the festival, and he'd rather spend the time relaxing. Why should he have to get roped into this crap? Dennis is holed up in the research room, grumbling and wondering what we want? We shouldn't interrupt him, he's trying to study!
Near the clubhouse, a visitor is taking a load off - maybe he should take a breather before he walks around any more. Another kid mentions he came here to see his big sister. At the little sidewalk cafe in front of the cafeteria, a visitor mentions his daughter has been pestering him to let her show him around. This is his first time at the campus festival. A woman mentions she heard all the rumors, sure, but she loves the atmosphere here! At the food stands, Richelle wonders if we want to try some ice cream? It's pretty good! A visitor comments on the low prices, while another is getting hungry from all the good smells, and a third comments on there being so many shops here!
Noria says that the festival is nice and all, but she wants to see what a typical school day is like. As a parent, she'd like to see how her child is going to spend his time. Portos tells one of the kids selling popcorn not to get too excited - young folk certainly are energetic! Rhody welcomes us to the shop, and wonders if we would like some light, fluffy popcorn? It's a healthier option than, say, candy…
Across from him is the candy store, where a nervous Taylor tries to sell some food - it's super delicious, and better than popcorn! She admits she was told to say that… At the fourth stand we can find Reina, who says she's great at science and biology, but a novice in the kitchen. Oh well, she'll work on getting the basics! She sells crepes.
We can also find Nial at this last stand, and he is surprised to find us here. We are similarly surprised, and ask him if he's here for business or pleasure? Joshua points out lots of people in the entertainment industry were invited. He asks Nial if he ever found a link between all those bits of information he found. Nial stays mum about that, and says that before he gets into that, he's hungry. He'll go fetch some grub! If we head over to the gates, Estelle comments they're still open - are they expecting more guests? Joshua says there's still some time before the play starts, and Kloe agrees that a lot of people come specifically for that…
At the auditorium, Janitor Parkes says that until the big show, the building is not actually being used. Except by him, of course! Dean Collins asked him to do a safety check before the main event.
Inside the main building, we find a bunch more visitors - one says his daughter attends this academy, but this is his first time on campus. Another says that when they were students, this building wasn't even around yet! The building to the north used to be the main school building. Another visitor mentions Sunday School is nice and all, but this? This is real learning!
The Humanities Classroom is a tearoom now, and Kaden wonders if the guest at the table is a real maid? Ugh, standing up all night has left him completely drained… or is that caffeine withdrawal? Mr. Ratio recalls the lead roles in the play will be played by students, right? Everyone is more active than usual. Eva says that under normal circumstances she'd never be able to get in here, so it's exciting! Now, where is her little sister's classroom? Got to fulfill her obligations as her guardian! Purity says she's kind of embarrassed to be dressed like a maid, but it's for the festival… Alice thinks it's a cute outfit, and says Kaden's been making a lot of them. Monika says she'll be manning the club's food stand all afternoon, so she needs to have fun while she can. Rhody's in the same club, and he runs the stand in the morning. She thinks she'll get an idea of how annoying it can be soon…
In the back of the room, we spot a familiar face - it's Mayor Maybelle from back in Bose! Estelle wonders what she's doing here, and Maybelle says that truthfully she actually graduated from here. She always makes a point of going to the campus festival each year. Estelle thinks that's cool! Maybelle says that's enough about her - how have the two of us been doing? Are we here on guild business? Estelle chuckles and tells the mayor what's been going on, and she's surprised we're helping out with the play. She's always found them to be slightly tiresome, but if we're going to be on stage, she certainly doesn't want to miss it. Joshua muses to himself that he'd really rather not have anyone he knows in the audience for this… Lila says it's been a long time since she's sene us - we look as energetic as ever.
In the front hall of the school, Dean Collins is speaking with Mayor Dalmore, and tells him he hasn't seen the man since last year's Royal Council. Has much changed since then? Dalmore assures the dean he's feeling quite well, and the old man looks to be in good health, also. Today should be quite enjoyable! Dalmore notices us, and mentions that he comes to the campus festival every year at the invitation of the dean and the student council. Collins mentions he'd like the mayor's input on some of the school's affairs, if he has the time… Though they may be chartered by the monarchy, it's still important to hear local views. In the employee lounge, Mr. Effort thanks us for everything we did yesterday - he doesn't really have anything he needs to do, but he's just staying here in case he's needed.
Near the stairs we can find Carna, who says that Jean told her what's been going on. So, we're just helping out wherever we're needed? Estelle says that's more or less true, yeah. Joshua wonders if she's working here as security or something, and Carna confirms that's basically it. The alumni here tend to be Liberlian celebrities from all walks of life, and every year they're all invited back. Thus the need for heightened security. Joshua remarks we already saw Mayor Maybelle here earlier. Carna tells us to just leave security up to her, so we can focus on helping out with the festival. Fauna mentions the event is held on the grounds and in the main building, and the play is scheduled to be held in the auditorium this afternoon. The student council has set up the cafeteria as a rest area, so we should feel free to relax there.
Upstairs, a visitor wonders if it's just her, or are there more people here than usual? Another explains the natural science and social studies classes are up here - neat! A third visitor wasn't expecting to find so many buildings on campus, and a fourth is a bit lost - she's not sure where to go next. A kid asks if we attend classes here? Do we ever get to have any fun?
In the Social Studies classroom, Logic mentions that his class has been using various economic indicators to predict future trends and they're displaying the results here today. They also have a collection of materials summarizing the history and development of this region in a simple, easy to read format. If we're interested, we should take a look! Liz mentions she came here with her son to check out the campus. They've got to get him focused on passing next year's entrance exams! Antonia wonders what typical classes here are like… Thelma says that today they're on standby… They're like the information desk! They can explain the social studies periodical in plainer terms if anyone asks…
We can also find Duke Dunan in here - ugh. He muses that this is the campus which is funded through the royal coffers, huh? As the queen's nephew, he ought to give it a thorough inspection! Ha ha ha, he's sure the students will consider that a great honor! Estelle wonders if this old fart was even invited, but Joshua imagines not investing him would have just been asking for trouble. Dunan says he finds the campus somewhat lacking - they haven't even a single gilded bird feeder. Butler Phillip hates to say this once again to His Grace, but he should please consider his words when amongst the public…
Checking out some of the boards, we can find one summarizing trends in orbal arts usage, graphs depicting changes in the tourist industry's annual growth rate, a map concerning population growth and migration, the most important exports, and more. Roy explains that he's an exchange student from the Calvard Republic, and he's been busy with this year's research periodical. It's eaten up most of his time, actually. Ms. Wiola mentions this class is fairly low-key… Honestly, she thinks the research periodical is pretty plain. It's okay, she's just glad they've got readers. She doesn't want to lose to Millia's class. Argyle wonders if there's no haunted houses this year? Too cliché, he supposes.
In the Natural Sciences classroom, Ms. Millia asks if we've seen the size of the crowd?! She wonders if they're all on vacation… Nikita mentions that in the end they weren't able to finish setting up the displays yesterday. Somehow, though, it was all done when they came back in the morning. They were still in the middle of working when it was time to go home - they asked around, but no one knew who had done it. Gerome wonders what his mom and sister are doing here? He told them not to come… said he'd be busy. Ciel mentions she took a day off work to see how her son has matured. She says her daughter Eletta seems to be quite pleased as well. She needs to be a better mother from here on out. Gotta turn the doting up to 9! Eletta yells that she just wants to play!
Felicity remarks that Reina and her don't share any classes or clubs, but they still room together at the dorm. Phew, at this rate it's going to be difficult to breathe… She guesses she should take advantage of the freedom to enjoy it while she still can. Patrick laughs and says he knows all about it. Gerome did a bang-up job! Next to them stands an Orbal Compatibility Tester - a big machine which you can feed two inputs to get the compatibility between two people - and the result is entirely random and very horoscope-like. That said, all of our previous party members as well as Dorothy and Nial are options here, so we can learn all their days of birth:
Estelle Bright - Born 8-7-1186
Joshua Bright - Born 12-20-1185
Scherazard Harvey - Born 5-14-1179
Olivier Lenheim - Born 4-1-1177
Kloe Rinz - Born 10-11-1186
Nial Burns - Born 11-25-1172
Dorothy Hyatt - Born 1-22-1182
Joshua Bright - Born 12-20-1185
Scherazard Harvey - Born 5-14-1179
Olivier Lenheim - Born 4-1-1177
Kloe Rinz - Born 10-11-1186
Nial Burns - Born 11-25-1172
Dorothy Hyatt - Born 1-22-1182
If you try and measure compatibility with the same person, the computer sends a few error messages, then crashes and resets, going through a memory check before bumping you back to the selection menu. It's pretty neat! A little sign in front of the machine promises that it's now working - and no more electric shocks, they promise!
At the clubhouse, Carla says she's amazed that the campus is so busy. Rex mentions he and his wife moved to Manoria years ago, but this is the first time they're visiting the royal academy. In the corner, Estelle spots someone and wonders where she's seen her before? Joshua recognizes her as the woman who was with Colonel Richards in the sky bandit hideout. Sure enough Captain Amalthea recognizes us, and says the Colonel often spoke of coming to visit, but he still has his hands full at the moment. She's sure he'll be free to drop by in a while.
We can also find Lucia here, who says she came here with Clem and the other kids. Seagaro says the school's really been shaping up lately. He's only ever been to Sunday School. Edel says she's always heard stories about how she should visit the academy if she ever traveled… Deborah says this place is open today as a rest area, but they've still got the same food as usual!
Upstairs we can visit the student council room again, where Jill is going over a projected budget with Hans. They should be okay, since it's not that much. Jill spots us, and asks what's up? Are we having fun? Hans comments that the documents are all set to go. Now they just have to get the dean to approve them! Next door, Mickey says he doesn't want to have anything to do with the festival, and he'd rather spend the time relaxing. Why should he have to get roped into this crap? Dennis is holed up in the research room, grumbling and wondering what we want? We shouldn't interrupt him, he's trying to study!
Regardless of what else is going on during the festival, the story-relevant bit is that we can find Professor Alba again - he's over in the clubhouse, where he's getting a bite to eat. He's pleasantly surprised to see us here, and trusts we've been doing well? Joshua wonders if he was invited to the festival, but Alba admits he wasn't, and he's here on other business related to a new discovery he made about Sapphirl Tower. He was hoping that the academy could provide him with some useful materials. Estelle admits he's really dedicated, and Alba says he has to be - research hasn't made him wealthy, so he's fueled by pure enthusiasm! On a related note, the academy's curriculum is divided into a few courses, right? Will there be any exhibitions?
Kloe confirms that although of the three available courses to study here, only the social studies class will have an exhibition. The students are displaying the results of an independent research project. Alba says he recalls his own days as a student, and wonders where this research publication is made? Estelle guesses this is his first time at the academy, and tries to explain directions, but gets a bit lost. Kloe admits the campus is fairly littered with buildings, and offers to just take him to the classroom. Alba admits that would be helpful, but he'd hate to spoil our fun here. Estelle argues it's fine - they're not doing anything major right now! In that case, Alba is happy to be shown the way to the exhibition hall whenever we have time.
After eating all we can to get some recipes and talking to everyone, we can return to Alba at any time to take him up to the social studies classroom, which moves time forward. As we arrive, Professor Alba remarks that they certainly pulled out all the stops, haven't they? So many areas of interest, from history to economics… Alba thanks us for taking him here - this looks like smashing fun! Kloe says it was our pleasure to help, and mentions social studies is her major, so she hopes he enjoys looking around. Estelle admits she's never been good at this academics thing, while Joshua sighs and says that one of these days she'll have to get over that. Being a bracer requires knowledge in many different areas of study. Estelle gulps, while Alba laughs - he's itching to start looking around, though, so he excuses himself.
We can look around, but the only thing that's changed at the moment is that Logic has been moved into the far corner of the room so he doesn't get in the way of the cutscene of us entering. Leaving the room and heading downstairs, though, leads to a new development - the orphans have arrived! Clem calls out to Kloe, and all the orphans quickly congregate around us in the front hall of the school building. Estelle says she's glad all the kiddos could make it, and Joshua asks if they're having fun? Polly says it's awesome, and Daniel says he ate so much candy he puked… Mary mutters she told him not to be such a pig… Kloe asks where Matron Theresa is, and Clem says she's talking to some people over there…
Moments later the matron enters and greets us, thanking us very much for inviting them over today. The children and her have enjoyed the festival immensely! Clem asks Kloe when the 'play thingy' is supposed to start, and Mary says they've all been looking forward to it! Kloe tells them they'll have to wait just a little bit longer. Oh, did they know that both Estelle and Joshua are going to be in the play with her? Daniel thinks that's really cool, and Polly wonders what part Mister Joshua is going to be playing? Joshua is not sure how to put it, but Estelle tells the kids to wait and see!
Estelle asks if they're all still staying in Manoria? Theresa confirms they are, through the continued good will of the innkeepers. That said, however… Estelle wonders what she's implying, but Joshua seems to get it. He asks the kids if they want to see the costumes that'll be used in the play? There are pretty dresses and suits of armor… Mary is interested in the dresses, while Clem is all in on the armor. Joshua figures he's got their attention, and says he'll give them an exclusive sneak peek before the play even starts. The rest of the orphans want to go too, so Joshua whispers to the rest of the party that he'll be backstage, and we should come there when we're ready. With that, he and the kids set off.
Matron Theresa chuckles, and says Joshua is such a thoughtful boy. She didn't want to speak of this in front of the children, but… yes, she's chosen to accept the mayor's offer. They'll impose upon the Manorians no longer. She'll tell the children today, after the festival. Kloe understands, and thinks it's sad - but she supposed that the matron has no choice. Theresa asks Kloe not to look at her like that - Grancel is easily reachable by airship - moreover, she can look for work while she's there. If she saves enough mira, she'll be able to rebuild the orphanage someday. Estelle and Kloe are saddened by the whole affair, but the matron tells them we should go find the children. She imagines that they're a bit much for Joshua to handle on his own…
Backstage at the auditorium, we see Clem and the other kids marveling over the suits of armor - whoa, this is so cool! Clem wonders if he could wear one. Mary thinks he can't, not with how short he is. She wishes she could try on that white dress! Estelle and Kloe enter, and say they look like they're having fun. Where did Joshua go, though? Clem turns around and admits Mr. Joshua left after he brought them here. He told them to 'wait here until the girls arrive.' Estelle is worried, and Kloe wonders if something's wrong? Polly giggles and says she knows! Mr. Joshua went lookin' for the guy with silver hair.' It's the guy who helped the kids out of the fire when the orphanage burned!
Estelle is baffled at what the kids are saying, and Kloe concludes the mysterious man with the silver hair was spotted on campus, then? Polly confirms he only showed for a second, though - Mr. Joshua was sure surprised! Clem calls Polly a dummy for not telling the rest of them about any of this! Polly just says she didn't because she was eating a crepe! Estelle tells Theresa she'll be right back, and she says it's fine - and she should take Kloe with her, too. She'll take care of the kids - go! Kloe promises she'll see all the kids at the play, and Estelle promises it'll knock their socks off!
Outside, Estelle decides we should go find Joshua - she's not sure who this guy with the silver hair is, but even without meeting him he totally creeps her out. Kloe asks for just a moment, then calls over her bird, Sieg. She asks if he knows where Joshua went, and through the magic of bird telepathy she gets an answer. Estelle admits she's not sure she'll ever get tired of that. Sieg flies off towards the old school building down the back road, and Kloe suggests we follow him there to find Joshua…!
Or… we could not do that, because it's only festival day once per year, right? Let's get some more crepes before doing mandatory stuff.
In the auditorium, Janitor Parkes says it's almost time for the play to start, so they'll be calling for the performers soon. Polly mentions that Joshua went off to look for the man with the pretty hair, while Mary sighs at the sight of the dress - she'd love something like that when she grows up. Daniel can't wait for the play to start, and Clem says Polly picks up on a lot of different things… but she always makes a beeline for everything she spots. Matron Theresa wonders if we've found Joshua yet…? Outside, a kid near the auditorium heard this is where they are holding the play, right? He hopes it starts soon. Another kid wonders if it's true they'll be able to see the princess this year?
Roaming the plaza, a visitor mentions she's just got to see the play! It's been a tradition ever since she was a student here. Another says the play ought to be fun! An older lady says this academy is in a nice quiet spot, so she bets studying would get you pretty far in a place like this. A man mentions it looks like it's tough to get into this school lately. He's still kind of jealous that he doesn't get to study here. At the boys' dormitory we can spot Steward Gilbert, who says this dorm is where he spent many a day as a student. Back then there were foolish rumors flying around about a ghost.
Near the clubhouse, a few exhausted people are talking a load off - one woman mentions all this walking's starting to wear her out. Another says that she'd want to attend here, too - maybe if she studies harder than ever from now on…? A kid says he just saw some guy with black hair go running past him. Maybe he saw something interesting in that direction? Another says the displays are interesting, but she's just waiting for the play. Another says that he eats one thing, and then gets hungry for the next… Carna wonders where the fire is? What's going on? Estelle avoids mentioning what's happening and just claims it's no big deal. Carna figures that we should be sure to let her know if anything pops up!
Near the food stands we can find Captain Amalthea who chuckles and says she hasn't had candy like this since she was a kid. She wonders where this stuff was made? Argyle asks us if we want some delicious candy? It's not as sweet as us ladies, but it's still pretty good. They have every size, shape, and flavor! That's way more variety than the popcorn stand! Rex mentions he's heard the festival is a great way to loosen your purse strings. Lucia asks for some snacks, and Carla says it looks good… Felicity mentions this is the Art Club, so she figured she'd get a chance to paint some portraits, but… Well, at least she's a good cook, so she can't complain too much.
Across the way, Patrick mentions he's running the Fencing Club's ice cream shop at the moment. It's surprisingly good, and they even made special scoops just for the festival! A visitor mentions that she's pretty surprised the food is so good, given it was set up by a fencing club… Nearby, a kid says she bought some ice cream with her own money. The guy at the store gave a discount! Monika welcomes us to the popcorn shop, and asks if we would care for some gourmet popcorn? It's made from the finest ingredients!
In the main building, a visitor notes that the highest final exam grade was from one… Kloe Rinz. Wow, she and Jill must be really smart! Eletta nearby wants some juice, and Ciel suggests maybe they can just rest here in the hallway? A man in a tophat says there was a time when all of the students' displays were research papers of some kind. Times change, he guesses… Another visitor says they must have something interesting up their sleeves for this afternoon's play. He asked his daughter about it, but she wouldn't tell him any details.
In the Social Studies classroom, Mr. Ratio mentions his class has done a fine job on the festival. They really put a lot of work into this set. Purity welcomes us to the Fontana Tea House, and Alice says she'd be glad to show us to our seats. Kaden, meanwhile, says that since he's working on the coffee house, he's got to push himself! And to do that… he needs more COFFEE! This is pretty tough… Rhody says he's been involved in the club's food stand the whole time, so he didn't have a chance to get involved in the class project. He's feeling good! Liz sighs, and says the festival is just perfect. Now she wants her son to enroll here more than ever. Antonio muses that his mom is really eager for him to get in here, so he's got to really bust his butt to pass the entrance exam… Richelle says she's tending the store in the morning so he she can have fun in the afternoon.
In the front hall of the school, Duke Dunan says he heard the play starts this afternoon. He can't imagine it will come anywhere near the splendor of Grancel's theater, but this is official business after all. He supposes he will go see it. If he must. Butler Phillip says that the Jenis Royal Academy is as magnificent as he'd expected. The campus festival is quite an event!
Dean Collins says everything's been quite a big success, and he's looking forward to seeing the play. He expects it will be a big hit for the festival. Fauna says that this festival has probably their best turnout yet. Success! Though she does always worry that the people with children will lose track of them in the crowd… But so far… no fatalities! In the employee lunge, Mr. Effort says he should make his rounds soon. The students are generally well-behaved enough to not require him to hover.
Upstairs, a visitor mentions the exhibitions will soon shut down - she'd better hurry. Another says all this walking has tired her out, and maybe she should take a rest at the coffee house. Nial is up here too, and he is just confirming when the play will start - ah, and it's based on the old classic 'Madrigal of the White Magnolia', huh? Sad to say, he's not so sure that a bunch of students can pull that one off…
Another visitor notes that there's displays everywhere, and you can see the students put a lot of work into them. Another is amazed at the natural sciences class - these students have really accomplished a lot! Another visitor says the displaye were fun, and the children seem to be having a great time, while another is psyched to go to the play later.
In the Social Studies classroom, Edel sighs and says she needs a break, while Logic says that being a senior is rough - he understands the need to enjoy oneself, but at the end of the day he still needs to hand in his research results, you know? Getting good grades is paramount. Noria says schoolwork is all well and good, but she'd like for her kid to be more thoughtful, first and foremost. Portos complains that he hates these writing assignments! Professor Alba observes that we're studying hard, while Thelma says Ms. Wiola has been yawning non-stop for a while. The pretty lady even came, too…
Taylor says everyone in the social studies class is working on the research periodical. His class is either doing a tea house or a haunted house. Not such which, though, and frankly he thinks there's cross-over potential. Roy says he's too busy with classes to do much with the club, lately. They've been switching off who's supervising the club shop, so he was thinking of checking in. In his case there's a lot of people to watch, but the more enthusiastic ones have some pretty sharp questions. Ms. Wiola is really bored, and wonders how much longer it will be until the play starts. Good thing we seem like the reliable sort! Seagaro is attentively reading the placards on the wall - okay, so the economic development after the Hundred Days War hinged upon these…
In the Natural Sciences classroom, Ms. Millia wonders why her class is doing fortune-telling and games? Wiola's kids are doing something far more direct. The students in that class are impressive… though the same can't be said for the teacher. Gerome admits he's having more fun than he expected, and says he had no idea how he'd get it all done when he came up with the plans for it. Mayor Maybelle is in here, and says it's rather fun! The play is this afternoon, right? She's looking forward to it. Lila mentions she saw Joshua running off earlier, looking quite serious. Has something happened?
Reina muses that general viewing is over, so she thinks she'll go see Felicity in the shop and torture her. Uh, she meant to encourage her. Nikita wonders if her sis shouldn't be working? Is the shop gonna be okay with her?! Eva chuckles and says she found her - thought she could get away from her big sister, did she? She seems pretty close to that Gerome fellow, she's noticed. Wonder if there's anything there…
Over in the clubhouse, Jill wonders if the kids of the orphanage have gotten here? Kloe confirms they are present and accounted for, and Jill is glad. Hopefully they'll be able to forget about all this nastiness, at least for a little while. Hans asks us what was so important that Joshua actually thought it was okay to leave us two cute girls on our own?
He also mentions that once the play starts up, everyone will be locked out of this building for a while, to keep anyone from coming in and stealing anything. Deborah recalls that we're in the play, right? She's planning to go see it, and hopes it'll be good. Upstairs, Dennis is talking to a wall, and it turns out he's reciting lines from the play. He's surprised when he notices there are other people present - how long have we been there? Please don't make this out to be something that it's not…! He just doesn't want to make any mistakes and look foolish…
Roaming the plaza, a visitor mentions she's just got to see the play! It's been a tradition ever since she was a student here. Another says the play ought to be fun! An older lady says this academy is in a nice quiet spot, so she bets studying would get you pretty far in a place like this. A man mentions it looks like it's tough to get into this school lately. He's still kind of jealous that he doesn't get to study here. At the boys' dormitory we can spot Steward Gilbert, who says this dorm is where he spent many a day as a student. Back then there were foolish rumors flying around about a ghost.
Near the clubhouse, a few exhausted people are talking a load off - one woman mentions all this walking's starting to wear her out. Another says that she'd want to attend here, too - maybe if she studies harder than ever from now on…? A kid says he just saw some guy with black hair go running past him. Maybe he saw something interesting in that direction? Another says the displays are interesting, but she's just waiting for the play. Another says that he eats one thing, and then gets hungry for the next… Carna wonders where the fire is? What's going on? Estelle avoids mentioning what's happening and just claims it's no big deal. Carna figures that we should be sure to let her know if anything pops up!
Near the food stands we can find Captain Amalthea who chuckles and says she hasn't had candy like this since she was a kid. She wonders where this stuff was made? Argyle asks us if we want some delicious candy? It's not as sweet as us ladies, but it's still pretty good. They have every size, shape, and flavor! That's way more variety than the popcorn stand! Rex mentions he's heard the festival is a great way to loosen your purse strings. Lucia asks for some snacks, and Carla says it looks good… Felicity mentions this is the Art Club, so she figured she'd get a chance to paint some portraits, but… Well, at least she's a good cook, so she can't complain too much.
Across the way, Patrick mentions he's running the Fencing Club's ice cream shop at the moment. It's surprisingly good, and they even made special scoops just for the festival! A visitor mentions that she's pretty surprised the food is so good, given it was set up by a fencing club… Nearby, a kid says she bought some ice cream with her own money. The guy at the store gave a discount! Monika welcomes us to the popcorn shop, and asks if we would care for some gourmet popcorn? It's made from the finest ingredients!
In the main building, a visitor notes that the highest final exam grade was from one… Kloe Rinz. Wow, she and Jill must be really smart! Eletta nearby wants some juice, and Ciel suggests maybe they can just rest here in the hallway? A man in a tophat says there was a time when all of the students' displays were research papers of some kind. Times change, he guesses… Another visitor says they must have something interesting up their sleeves for this afternoon's play. He asked his daughter about it, but she wouldn't tell him any details.
In the Social Studies classroom, Mr. Ratio mentions his class has done a fine job on the festival. They really put a lot of work into this set. Purity welcomes us to the Fontana Tea House, and Alice says she'd be glad to show us to our seats. Kaden, meanwhile, says that since he's working on the coffee house, he's got to push himself! And to do that… he needs more COFFEE! This is pretty tough… Rhody says he's been involved in the club's food stand the whole time, so he didn't have a chance to get involved in the class project. He's feeling good! Liz sighs, and says the festival is just perfect. Now she wants her son to enroll here more than ever. Antonio muses that his mom is really eager for him to get in here, so he's got to really bust his butt to pass the entrance exam… Richelle says she's tending the store in the morning so he she can have fun in the afternoon.
In the front hall of the school, Duke Dunan says he heard the play starts this afternoon. He can't imagine it will come anywhere near the splendor of Grancel's theater, but this is official business after all. He supposes he will go see it. If he must. Butler Phillip says that the Jenis Royal Academy is as magnificent as he'd expected. The campus festival is quite an event!
Dean Collins says everything's been quite a big success, and he's looking forward to seeing the play. He expects it will be a big hit for the festival. Fauna says that this festival has probably their best turnout yet. Success! Though she does always worry that the people with children will lose track of them in the crowd… But so far… no fatalities! In the employee lunge, Mr. Effort says he should make his rounds soon. The students are generally well-behaved enough to not require him to hover.
Upstairs, a visitor mentions the exhibitions will soon shut down - she'd better hurry. Another says all this walking has tired her out, and maybe she should take a rest at the coffee house. Nial is up here too, and he is just confirming when the play will start - ah, and it's based on the old classic 'Madrigal of the White Magnolia', huh? Sad to say, he's not so sure that a bunch of students can pull that one off…
Another visitor notes that there's displays everywhere, and you can see the students put a lot of work into them. Another is amazed at the natural sciences class - these students have really accomplished a lot! Another visitor says the displaye were fun, and the children seem to be having a great time, while another is psyched to go to the play later.
In the Social Studies classroom, Edel sighs and says she needs a break, while Logic says that being a senior is rough - he understands the need to enjoy oneself, but at the end of the day he still needs to hand in his research results, you know? Getting good grades is paramount. Noria says schoolwork is all well and good, but she'd like for her kid to be more thoughtful, first and foremost. Portos complains that he hates these writing assignments! Professor Alba observes that we're studying hard, while Thelma says Ms. Wiola has been yawning non-stop for a while. The pretty lady even came, too…
Taylor says everyone in the social studies class is working on the research periodical. His class is either doing a tea house or a haunted house. Not such which, though, and frankly he thinks there's cross-over potential. Roy says he's too busy with classes to do much with the club, lately. They've been switching off who's supervising the club shop, so he was thinking of checking in. In his case there's a lot of people to watch, but the more enthusiastic ones have some pretty sharp questions. Ms. Wiola is really bored, and wonders how much longer it will be until the play starts. Good thing we seem like the reliable sort! Seagaro is attentively reading the placards on the wall - okay, so the economic development after the Hundred Days War hinged upon these…
In the Natural Sciences classroom, Ms. Millia wonders why her class is doing fortune-telling and games? Wiola's kids are doing something far more direct. The students in that class are impressive… though the same can't be said for the teacher. Gerome admits he's having more fun than he expected, and says he had no idea how he'd get it all done when he came up with the plans for it. Mayor Maybelle is in here, and says it's rather fun! The play is this afternoon, right? She's looking forward to it. Lila mentions she saw Joshua running off earlier, looking quite serious. Has something happened?
Reina muses that general viewing is over, so she thinks she'll go see Felicity in the shop and torture her. Uh, she meant to encourage her. Nikita wonders if her sis shouldn't be working? Is the shop gonna be okay with her?! Eva chuckles and says she found her - thought she could get away from her big sister, did she? She seems pretty close to that Gerome fellow, she's noticed. Wonder if there's anything there…
Over in the clubhouse, Jill wonders if the kids of the orphanage have gotten here? Kloe confirms they are present and accounted for, and Jill is glad. Hopefully they'll be able to forget about all this nastiness, at least for a little while. Hans asks us what was so important that Joshua actually thought it was okay to leave us two cute girls on our own?
He also mentions that once the play starts up, everyone will be locked out of this building for a while, to keep anyone from coming in and stealing anything. Deborah recalls that we're in the play, right? She's planning to go see it, and hopes it'll be good. Upstairs, Dennis is talking to a wall, and it turns out he's reciting lines from the play. He's surprised when he notices there are other people present - how long have we been there? Please don't make this out to be something that it's not…! He just doesn't want to make any mistakes and look foolish…
With our curiosity and appetite sated, it's time to head north along the abandoned path to the old schoolhouse to find our wayward Joshua. The building is the same as last time, now utterly abandoned, and you can loot the chests you may have left behind if you didn't actually do the festival quest the first time around, since the door is wide open. I wonder if it would have enemies in it if you didn't finish the quest...? Anyway, our destination is surprisingly not the weird statue I noticed earlier, but the roof to the south-east - that's where we can spot Joshua looking out over the edge, musing to himself that it's strange… He could have sworn - but it couldn't be…!
Estelle and Kloe rush up to Joshua, and the former tells him he should stop making us worry about him! She almost had a heart attack when she heard that he went chasing after some guy with silver hair! Joshua asks how we know that, and Kloe explains Polly tattled on him. Joshua acknowledges she's a pretty sharp-eyed kid, and confirms that he did follow a man matching that description out this way, but he guesses he lost him. Estelle concludes he must have been pretty talented if he managed to give Joshua the slip. Any idea who he was? Joshua admits he doesn't know, but he doesn't think it was the arsonist. He tailed the guy as long as he could…
Estelle asks why Joshua ran off on his own, and Kloe says he could have at least left a message! Joshua apologizes for worrying us, and Estelle immediately snaps back that nobody said she was worried, she was just pointing out the importance of teamwork! Kloe laughs and says Estelle is a terrible lair. Not five minutes ago she was in a total panic! Estelle insists she was not, and anyway, Kloe was pretty concerned too! Joshua just thanks both the girls. Just then the intercom goes off in the distance, calling everyone to attention - the play is starting soon, and all performers are told to hurry back. That's us! Time to get into costume! Before we leave, Estelle asks Joshua what we should do about the guy with the silver hair, and he muses that all they can really do is to let Carna know and warn her to keep an eye out.
On the way back the three do that, and then leave for the auditorium immediately after to get ready for their starring roles…
Next: A cutscene so long it's gonna take up an entire post, I think. Let's go act in a play, shall we?
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- Pronouns
- He
Oh yeah, one of the highlights of this act.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Holy crap, Trails in the Sky remake announced during the Nintendo partner showcase.
View: https://youtu.be/3QiqmzVSqRc?si=cXEpHj2HvLCjO3rI
View: https://youtu.be/3QiqmzVSqRc?si=cXEpHj2HvLCjO3rI
- Location
- Netherlands
Awesome! Also for fuck's sake. I'll have to cover this when it releases!
- Location
- Netherlands
Most likely it would be a comparison, just taking screenshots and figuring out if they just copied the dialogue wholesale or did new stuff. I wanna see all those cutscenes and whatnot in proper animation now.
- Pronouns
- She/They
The best thing about a Sky remake is that they can't change the focus to be about Joshua's ambiguous romantic harem with half a dozen women and two men that never goes anywhere because it depends on Social Links and player choice without changing the entire plot.
The worst thing about a Sky remake is that they can't do that with Estelle, including the half a dozen women and two men part.
The worst thing about a Sky remake is that they can't do that with Estelle, including the half a dozen women and two men part.
The sudden swerve into harem territory of Cold Steel really rubbed me the wrong way, even though the series itself played much better than Sky did - sure, Trails always played with well-established anime and RPG tropes, but the difference between Azure/Zero and Cold Steel was massive. At least, from what I've seen of Daybreak so far, it's taken a bit of a step back from that kinda thing - if only because the main character's an adult man with a well-established career.
That said, Estelle as a harem anime protagonist would be hilarious - she'd be as dense and entertaining as Katarina Claes in that one villainess anime; also, Olivier already acts as if he's in some kind of otome game. And, I'd lie if I didn't exploit Cold Steel's harem anime mechanics to enter a very inappropriate relationship with Sara; the fact that I went for the teacher twice the main character's age, that is also a high-functioning alcoholic that should not be anywhere close to a teaching post, might say some things about me, and none of them are good.