- Pronouns
- He
Yeah, this tripped me up when I first played through it. Bit of a nasty move, though at least it only affects 100% completion instead of the plot.
Let's Play RPGs I Missed! [Now Playing: The Legend of Dragoon]
- Thread starter Roarian
- Start date
- Let's Play
- Location
- Alberta
Trails: Because hardcore completionists apparently have it too damn good these days.
Incidentally, the history book on the Hundred Days War, in the original English release, had an easily missed but potentially very consequential mistranslation in it where the one-line reference to the Reinford company instead called them the Reinhold company. It's easy to imagine a translator with no access to any outside information making that decision thinking it wouldn't affect anything—without further context it looks like a minor background reference, and I believe the only time the Reinford logo (which would've cleared things up real quick since it spells the company name in that way and is centered on the abbreviation of the name as "RF") had actually appeared in any Trails game as of 2011 was on a single screen in Zero. Can't imagine what it must've felt like for whoever came up with that when Trails of Cold Steel came out two years later and made the heir apparent to the Reinford company one of the party members, had the company's connection to the Erebonian military be a major plot element, and plastered the Reinford logo all over a bunch of things at a high enough resolution that it wouldn't be at all practical to change...
Trails in the Sky (Part 27) - Fall of the Sky Bandits & Epilogue (Chapter 1: End)
- Location
- Netherlands
Fall of the Sky Bandits
We left off last time mid-raid on the sky bandit base. A short distance away from the room with the hostages there's another door very similar to the two previous ambush rooms, where Estelle pauses and wonders if this is where we need to be? Joshua agrees that it looks like the sky bandit boss' room… We obviously choose to eavesdrop, then raid the room!Our view shifts inside, to see the previously mentioned Don - he's a guy who shares the same sky-blue hair as Josette and Kyle, meaning he's probably family. He's also got Kakashi-eyes going on, since they're red and one of them is bisected by a dramatic scar. He's laughing about the queen paying the ransom - now they can finally say goodbye to this meager living!
Kyle warns his 'bro' Don not to get careless, since they don't have the money in hand yet. Josette agrees that they'll need to decide on a plan on how to let the hostage go, too. Don wonders why they would let the hostages go? Why would they bother with that? Once they get the mira, they'll just kill them all and be done with it. There's no need to leave them alive.
Josette, shocked, wonders what Don is saying…? Kyle similarly demands to know if he's joking. Don points out that the hostages know exactly what they all look like, right? Even if they left Liberl for good, they could still be tracked. Josette says there's old people and kids among the hostages! Does he really intend to kill them all?! Don scoffs and says that no matter how old she gets, Josette never grows up. This isn't play time, get it? Josette is upset, and Kyle backs her up - he's sorry to say this, bro, but he's against killing the hostages too. Aidios would never forgive them for that… and he doesn't want to get their home back with mira stained in the blood of innocent people.
Don just stays silent for a moment, then wonders when Kyle became the boss around here? It's about time he learned his place! He grabs a bottle of booze and smashes it over Kyle's head, sending him sprawling and crying in pain. As Josette rushes over to help him, Don laughs and wonders why they even care about their old home? With this kind of mira coming in, what could they possibly want with their old, worthless land? Ha! They've going to blow all this cash somewhere near the southern resort and enjoy the good life for a while! Once they run out, they'll just hijack another airship! That's going to be the future of the Capua sky bandits! As Don explodes into loud laughter, Kyle and Josette wonder what happened to him… What in Aidios' name happened to him?!
Estelle dryly remarks from the door that she's sorry to interrupt, but could they have their little family feud later? As we all rush in, Josette and Kyle recognize us as those bracers from before - why are we here?! Olivier wonders how they could say something so heartless…? Especially after they gave us a lift on their own airship! Kyle says that's impossible - what is he talking about…? It can't be! Estelle reminds him they had their airship sitting in front of Amberl Tower, right? Yeah, we slipped in when they weren't looking and hid in the cargo hull… We stole a ride from a bandit!
Josette snaps that for a dimwit, she's really outdone herself this time! Estelle furiously wonders who she's calling a dimwit, two-faced tomboy? Josette fires back with 'bimbo' and 'airhead brute', before Joshua breaks up the bickering. He explains that we've liberated the hostages and defeated the other sky bandits, and Schera proclaims that in accordance with the laws of the Bracer Guild, we're here to place the three ringleaders under arrest… It would be best not to resist.
Don demands to know what the meaning of this is? Kyle and Josette apologize to their bro, but Don says it's okay - he'll forgive them just this once. Once he kills us, that'll be that… What a bunch of fools we are! To think that with such a pitiful number of people we could ever capture Don Capua! Don then pulls out a freaking orbal cannon and lobs a shell at our group, sending Estelle and Schera flinching back.
Joshua is amazed at how effortlessly he's handling that weapon… Don yells that it's time to hunt some game, and he likes his sport bloody! Kyle and Josette, despite their familial troubles, join in the battle, and we've got ourselves a good old-fashioned boss fight…
[Boss: Josette, Kyle, Don]
While Josette and Kyle have both gotten a decent boost from previous fights against them, they're fairly predictable - Josette is the weakest of the bunch, while Kyle tosses grenades which can potentially blind people. Both of those are barely relevant, though, compared to the menace that is Don, who does huge AOE damage with that cannon of his. Spreading out is key here to defend against both Kyle and Don, at which point big arts are key for taking out the bandits. Don's defense is sky-high, but he's absolutely pants at blocking arts. Disabling or even taking out Josette or Kyle first is doable, but after Don is down the rest of the fight is a total cakewalk, so focusing fire on him is probably the best strategy here.
After we win, Kyle pants and admits that we're tough - so this is the strength of a bracer, huh? Josette just complains that she can't lose to this girl, crap! Estelle smiles and says that's how it's done! Have they learned their lesson yet? Schera agrees that now that this has been settled, she's going to ask them to surrender nicely. Any more trouble out of them and, well, they know what'll happen, right? She strokes her whip and smiles at Josette, who quickly backs off - yikes, anything but that! Kyle wonders why he's got to go down like this…? Don grunts and wakes up, then wonders what's going on here?
Surprisingly, as he gets up, his blood-red eyes have disappeared and they're now green, just like Josette and Kyle's eyes… He's hurting all over, he says, and wonders where on earth he got an orbal cannon…? What the heck? He is surprised to see that Kyle and Josette have returned from Rolent already! If they're back this quickly, then he guesses things didn't work out there, huh? He laughs cheerfully and tells them not to try and cover it up. If Josette's had enough, then how about leaving the bread-winning to the men? They probably won't be able to earn a whole lot, but she should be patient. Josette asks Don what he's talking about? Kyle wonders if he hit his head… Josette came back from Rolent forever ago, as he picked her up right after they attacked the airliner! Don has no idea what he's talking about - what's this about an airliner? What's all this crazy talk…? They'd never do something like that!
Kyle and Josette are dumbstruck, while Estelle wonders what this guy's talking about. Joshua muses that he doesn't think he's trying to cover his butt here… he really genuinely doesn't know! Don spots us and wonders who these strangers are? They're not new recruits, right? Schera says she'd hate to burst his bubble, but we're not. We're with the Bracer Guild. Don is aghast - what are we doing here!? Estelle concludes Don has completely lost his marbles, while Olivier is amused at this turn of events. Schera states that whether he's forgotten or not, he's still under arrest. The Capuas are charged with hijacking an airliner, hostage-taking, demanding a ransom, and other such offenses. Don asks Kyle and Josette if this is a joke, and they don't know how to answer...
Suddenly, Kyle mentions that thanks to Don, they've got a chance to escape! He tosses a smoke grenade which blinds everyone, and Estelle and Schera curse - not again! As Kyle forces Don along, he says they'll talk about this later - let's just focus on getting out of here! Olivier coughs and complains he's never going to get the smell of this out of his hair! They all quickly exit the room to get out of the smoke. Estelle wonders where the Capua siblings went, and Joshua concludes they must've gone up - they're trying to escape in their airship! We can't let them get away after tracking them this far, we've gotta catch them fast! Olivier, still coughing, says he's glad he made it out alive - this has become quite a tragedy! Ah, his delicate nasal cavity! Estelle tells him to hurry, or they're going to leave him behind…
Yes, the madlads actually gave all the hostages new dialogue while we're supposed to be chasing the bandits. Gotta love overdoing it.
Estelle asks Captain Grandt whether the sky bandits ran in here, but he denies it - he did happen to hear a bunch of loud voices and footsteps coming from outside, though. Sounds like they might have rushed up the stairs. Joshua again warns that they're going for the airship… He asks the captain for forgiveness, but we'll need the hostages to sit tight for a little longer! The captain says we should be careful out there…
Before we leave, we chat with everyone else - Burrell says there's still sky bandits out there, aren't there? We should please hurry and take care of them! Prometheus mentions that he had been away to give a lecture at the royal academy, but who would have thought this would happen on the way back? Blaue had planned to visit an old friend in Rolent when he got caught up in the middle of all this. Atget asks us not to pick on the nice guards too much, okay? Ruvie explains that the sky bandits were very nice to little Atget, and even gave her sweets. They might not all be such a bad bunch. Finel says he's sure Katrina's worried sick, and Lenore is sure her whole family is worried about her… Legaro is just glad everyone is safe. Sylvie assumes we've got the bandits cornered? She's sorry she can't be of any help, but she's rooting for us.
Trino says he had scheduled several business meetings and purchases, but they're all down the tubes now that he's stuck here. He's going to have to make a number of apologies once he gets back to Bose. Colton says that sky bandit head honcho was one scary dude… He almost feels sorry for the men under his control. Some of the bandits were rather kind, almost like they were forced into doing this… Clare says there's still sky bandits outside, aren't there? They've got to protect the passengers at all costs. Duncan says if those punks set foot in here, he's going to give them a good beating! It'll be his revenge for the Linde. Nobody gets away with that! Timon really wants to contact the Orbalship Corporation and let them know they've been saved. Parker thinks bracers are really something else. He can't believe we're launching an attack on the sky bandits' hideout with just a handful of us!
Estelle asks Captain Grandt whether the sky bandits ran in here, but he denies it - he did happen to hear a bunch of loud voices and footsteps coming from outside, though. Sounds like they might have rushed up the stairs. Joshua again warns that they're going for the airship… He asks the captain for forgiveness, but we'll need the hostages to sit tight for a little longer! The captain says we should be careful out there…
Before we leave, we chat with everyone else - Burrell says there's still sky bandits out there, aren't there? We should please hurry and take care of them! Prometheus mentions that he had been away to give a lecture at the royal academy, but who would have thought this would happen on the way back? Blaue had planned to visit an old friend in Rolent when he got caught up in the middle of all this. Atget asks us not to pick on the nice guards too much, okay? Ruvie explains that the sky bandits were very nice to little Atget, and even gave her sweets. They might not all be such a bad bunch. Finel says he's sure Katrina's worried sick, and Lenore is sure her whole family is worried about her… Legaro is just glad everyone is safe. Sylvie assumes we've got the bandits cornered? She's sorry she can't be of any help, but she's rooting for us.
Trino says he had scheduled several business meetings and purchases, but they're all down the tubes now that he's stuck here. He's going to have to make a number of apologies once he gets back to Bose. Colton says that sky bandit head honcho was one scary dude… He almost feels sorry for the men under his control. Some of the bandits were rather kind, almost like they were forced into doing this… Clare says there's still sky bandits outside, aren't there? They've got to protect the passengers at all costs. Duncan says if those punks set foot in here, he's going to give them a good beating! It'll be his revenge for the Linde. Nobody gets away with that! Timon really wants to contact the Orbalship Corporation and let them know they've been saved. Parker thinks bracers are really something else. He can't believe we're launching an attack on the sky bandits' hideout with just a handful of us!
We have to retrace our steps to get back to the airship, but it won't be that easy - at several points we're intercepted by the sky bandit grunts we knocked out earlier. It seems like they recovered in the interim, and are spoiling for a rematch. Joshua and Estelle are amazed they're back after a righteous beating like that - they're tough! Schera says that if they don't want to move, then we're just going to force our way through! This time the fights are against only four bandits at a time, but there's three fights instead of two… Same total, it checks out! They mention they're buying time for the leaders to escape, since they've done a lot for them over the years… Olivier says that though this is a ridiculous thing to do, their spirit is admirable.
After finishing up the final squad of grunts and heading up the stairs, we arrive to discover… that the Capua trio is already under arrest! Not only has an army airship parked in the hideout, but Nial and Dorothy are there reporting on the capture of the sky bandits! While we look on, Kyle questions how the army even found out about this place? That liar! Things weren't supposed to go down like this! Josette demands the soldiers take their hands off her, while Don wonders what's going on here!? He still seems pretty clueless, honestly.
Dorothy concludes that those are the ring leaders of the sky bandits, huh? She's surprised one of them is such a young woman… Nial tells her to shut her yap and start taking some good pictures already! What are the chances of another scoop like this? Right that moment Colonel Richard moves into view alongside his assistant and General Morgan, and asks Nial if this is enough to help him write a decent article? Nial says he's really grateful Richard took them along, and asks for a picture while they're at it… Richard asks for General Morgan's input, but he tells Richard to do as he likes - this plan was successful thanks to his genius. Honestly, this is truly something to boast about… Richard says this was just the result of the accuracy of the Intelligence Division's analysis, and thanks to the cooperation of those people standing over there…
General Morgan is shocked to see us bracers, and Estelle is similarly astounded by the army's presence, tripping over her words as she questions how the heck they're even here. What's going on, exactly? Nial is amazed to see us kids again, and Dorothy cheerfully greets us. Morgan demands to know why bracers are here? Schera says that, just for the record, she'll tell him. We infiltrated this place one step ahead of them… again. We subdued the entire hideout and chased the fleeing sky bandit leaders up this way. We never would have guessed that the Royal Army's patrol ships would be waiting, though.
Morgan snarls that once again we overstepped our bounds! Colonel Richards comments that, with all due respect, it's because of us that the military strike saw this level of success. Shouldn't our achievements be recognized in turn? Morgan grumbles but tells Richard to do as he wishes. He'll leave the rest up to his discretion. He'll return to the patrol ship and see what information he can get out of these sky bandits…
Estelle muses that the old man's as stubborn as ever… Colonel Richard says that he's not a bad person, but just lacks a little flexibility. That aside, where are the other sky bandits and the hostages? Scher explains that the lackeys should just be lying all over the place unconscious. As for the hostages, we have them waiting in the same room they were imprisoned in. Richard nods, and says we've done this nation a great service. He tells us to leave the transportation of the cargo and hostages to the Army, and commands his second-in-command, Captain Amalthea, to get moving. As they walk off, Nial chases after them - he'd really like to interview us kids, but this time the Colonel is top priority! He'd appreciate talking with us if there's another opportunity later, though! Dorothy also waves us off, and they all quickly depart.
Afterwards, Olivier remarks that my, we had our whole shining moment uprooted and stolen just like that! Estelle agrees with that, but Schera tells her not to let it bother her. The bracer's role has always been that of the unsung hero. There's no real reason to stand out. Joshua says that sounds about right, yeah. Dad's always made a point of staying in the background, too… Estelle admits she never noticed, then abruptly wonders... where is Dad?! Joshua agrees that's one problem we've still got to figure out. Where is Dad? What is he doing? Why hasn't he tried to contact us? Schera says that for now, it seems there's nothing left for us to do here. We should head back to Bose in the meantime and report what happened with the incident, then see where we go from there.
Epilogue
We quickly transition to the Bose Bracer Guild building, where Mayor Maybelle is waiting for us, and tells us she really appreciates all our hard work. It seems her impression of us was right. She knew that we would come through and bring closure to this incident. Estelle grumbles that the army took off with all the glory, so she's not sure we could exactly say we solved the case… Maybelle says that's not true - if we hadn't been there, she doesn't know if the army's raid would have been so successful. Backed into a corner as they were, the sky bandits may very well have harmed the hostages. Lugran agrees - everything worked out because we infiltrated the hideout and took them out ahead of time! We should feel proud of what we've done. Estelle blushes and wonders if he really thinks so? Tee hee…Schera says that it's a bit vexing to know that there are still some unanswered questions left… Joshua agrees that there's still the issues of those men who appeared at the Valleria Lakeshore and the mystifying attitude change of the leader of the sky bandits. We should consider that there's a lot behind this incident that we don't know about. Lugran guesses we'll have to leave that part up to the Royal Army to figure out. With all the culprits being detained by them, there's really not much left we can do… Maybelle says we should be glad all the hostages came back safe. Thanks to the news about the arrest of the sky bandits, things are returning to normal here in town. As a token of her thanks, she'd added a bit of a bonus to our reward. Maybelle also thanks Olivier personally, and he says he hopes his work was worth the price of that Grand Chardonnay… She confirms there was change to spare! She wishes us all a wonderful day, and says that if anything comes up, she'd greatly appreciate our help again! Lila also wishes us a good day as the mayor and entourage leave.
Estelle feels quite good about being appreciated, and Joshua muses that if the incident had gone on any longer, it would have caused much more confusion, he's sure. It's probably natural that the mayor is as happy as she is. Estelle feels all giddy inside, and admits she doesn't think a bracer could be any more happy than knowing her work helped out a bunch of other people! Schera chuckles, and says it's safe to say we're no longer greenhorns. Honestly, the two of us really surprised her this time! Estelle wonders if she really thinks so? Lugran just says we should accept their assessment and pay for clearing up the incident. We received 6000 mira and a total of 8 BP for solving the missing airliner plot, and a further 8000 mira and 10 BP for the second half, relating to the capture of the bandits - that's a boatload of stuff! We advance to 5th Class from this and get the Haze quartz, which makes us invisible to enemies if equipped, allowing us to essentially ignore random encounters entirely when we want to.
After handing over all the money and goodies, Lugran also gives us a Recommendation from the Bose branch. Joshua wonders if it'll really be alright to give this to us so soon? Lugran assures that it would be downright rude of him not to recommend us after resolving such a big incident! Estelle thanks him heartily, while Joshua assures him we'll work hard so we don't bring any embarrassment to the recommendation. Schera commends us for our great work, and she's sure our father would be extremely pleased if he heard the news. Estelle and Joshua both droop at the mention of their missing father, but admit she's probably right. Lugran wonders what Cassius could be doing right now? Not contacting the guild is one thing, but not contacting his family…? Schera agrees it's not like him. After he suddenly disembarked from the airliner in Bose, where could he have gone…?
A young man's voice suddenly pipes up from off-screen - it's Receptionist Ted from the landing port! He says they recovered some of the cargo stolen by the sky bandits, and among some of the pieces were a number of parcels addressed to the Bracer Guild. He's here to deliver one of them today! Lugran is pleased about this, but a bit confused - why would there be something addressed to this branch of the Guild, when the airliner left from Bose to begin with? Ted admits it's actually addressed to the Rolent branch, but he heard Cassius Bright's family members are here in Bose. Estelle and Joshua quickly identify themselves, and Ted thinks that's perfect! See, they contacted the Rolent branch and were directed here…
He hands over the parcel alongside a letter - that's Dad's handwriting alright! Joshua concludes that he scribbled it out before he got off the airliner, so it seems he did intend to get in contact with us after all. Schera agrees that's good to hear. Schera wonders if that parcel is from our dad, too? Estelle says it looks like the parcel was sent to Cassius by someone else, but the sender hasn't written their name anywhere. Ted says that with his job done, he's out of here - but thanks again for helping to arrest those sky bandits! Lugran is amazed that a clue about our father would be mixed in with the airliner's cargo… He offers the lounge upstairs to read the letter, if we'd like. Olivier agrees that we should have a look at the contents!
After taking a table in the lounge upstairs, Estelle wonders what Olivier is still doing here? He admits it's just plain and simple curiosity, that's all. After all, why did our father disembark the airliner prior to its departure? Were he forced to wait around for an answer, the question would stick in his mind so he'd never be able to get sleep at night! Estelle wonders why he's telling her this…? Olivier asks her how heartless and cruel she can be to those who traveled alongside her… Just who is it that she has to thank for being able to infiltrate the sky bandits' hideout, he wonders?
Schera remarks that Olivier can be a rather obnoxious fellow, just so he knows. Joshua figures they don't have much of a choice except allow him to stick around. Depending on the content, though, they might ask him to leave. Is that okay? Olivier agrees that he understands.
Estelle cuts the letter's seal, and reads the contents:
Dear Estelle and Joshua,
I'm sure you're probably about finished with the jobs I left for you, right?
I'm also sure there are many things you'll have trouble with in the beginning, but take each one a step at a time. I know you both can succeed.
Anyway, it turns out I've had a little trouble with my own work, and unfortunately, it looks like I won't be able to make it home for quite some time.
Please don't expect my return until after the queen's birthday celebration.
I'm really sorry that things turned out like they did, but you should be grown up enough not to be lonely while I'm away.
Until I get back, I'll leave it up to the both of you to decide how you want to live.
You're free to continue working in Rolent… or you're free to pursue qualifying as senior bracers.
Your 16th year is a vintage time in your life, so make sure not to waste it.
Please give my regards to Scherazard and Aina.
Cassius Bright
Schera concludes it seems like the sort of letter our father would write. He touches lightly on things, but it's full of consideration toward the both of us. Olivier remarks on the mention of the queen's birthday celebration - from what he's heard, that's still a ways off. Schera confirms it's about two or three months away, which means this would be the perfect time to take a small trip… Estelle seems upset at the implication - is Schera leaving?
Olivier tells her to forget about that, and let's focus on what's in that mystery package! With an unknown sender, there's bound to be something interesting inside. Estelle admits she's also curious, but they shouldn't be opening things addressed to Dad… Olivier suggests thinking about it differently - it was a package delivered by an unknown sender at the same time our father disappeared. The two might be related, you know? Estelle admits that's true… Scherazard asks Olivier not to coax Estelle into doing something to satisfy his own curiosity. Joshua admits he has a point, though - instead of leaving it until Dad comes home, it might be worth looking into.
Estelle quickly rips into the package and reveals what's inside - a black hemispherical object alongside a memo. Estelle wonders what it's supposed to be?
Joshua immediately recognizes it as a type of orbment, although he's not sure what it's used for. The memo says: 'I was able to secure the item the aforesaid group was carrying, so please take care of it. Please ask Professor R to do an analysis of it when you find an opportunity. -K.' There doesn't seem to be any further writing. Joshua asks Schera if she knows who 'K' or 'Professor R' might be, but she admits she doesn't have a clue either. Our father's pretty well-known, so there's a possibility that these people could even be foreigners! Estelle mutters that if this is the only thing we've got to go on, we might as well throw in the towel now.
Estelle wonders what this black orbment even is? Schera muses that from the shape alone, it doesn't look like anything intended for general use, although it feels a little similar to a battle orbment. Olivier remarks it's still quite different - a normal battle orbment has slots in which to install quartz, but this one has none. Maybe this one is… an artifact. Artifacts are orbments created by an ancient civilization, the models for all orbments produced today. They're still occasionally discovered in ruins, and for the most part the Septian Church has custody over them. They're a type of antique, so to speak. Scherazard points out that this one doesn't appear to be that old - it looks to have been made recently. Olivier acknowledges this, but admits it almost seems like a black-market item…
Estelle angrily snaps that geez, now look at what's happened because of her good-for-nothing dad! Doesn't he know we're all worried about him?! Joshua cautiously asks if Estelle is alright, but she complains that now he's getting some sketchy item from an unknown sender… What in the world has dad gotten himself into this time? Schera and Joshua are not sure what to tell her, but the latter eventually says he's been thinking... How about we continue or journey? That's what Dad wrote in his letter, right? He said we're free to pursue qualifying as a senior bracer, and we already managed to get recommendations from Rolent and Bose. All that's left are Ruan, Zeiss, and Grancel - only three! If we do jobs as we travel around to those other regions we might just hear something about where Dad is or what he's doing… We're probably worrying for nothing, given Dad's skills, and there's also the possibility he may have traveled abroad… Getting off our own duffs is a lot better than sitting around and waiting, right? We might be able to find this 'Professor R' too!
Estelle declares that Joshua is a genius! This is like killing two birds with one stone, or maybe even ten! Sometimes she hates him for being so smart! Joshua concludes that he should consider this a 'yes.' Estelle agrees. Oh, is it ever! Yes, yes, triple YES! Training to be senior bracers as we travel around Liberl and exposing what that no-good middle-aged man has been doing in the process! Joshua thinks she's somehow missing the point, while Schera chuckles and says it looks like she's back to her old self. Olivier chuckles along - looks like it's settled, then!
Later, at Bose International Port, Scherazard tells Estelle and Joshua to take care since she's going to head back to Rolent now. That said, she's still a little worried about us. Are we sure we don't want her to come along? Estelle tells her to give it a rest - we'll be fine! The whole reason we're going on this trip is to become senior bracers. It wouldn't be training anymore if she came with us. Joshua points out that if Schera doesn't head back, the Rolent branch would have a hard time managing things, too. She shouldn't worry about us - we'll figure out a way to get things done.
Schera says it's pretty rare for someone of our age to be aiming for senior bracer status, so we shouldn't overdo it. If we run into trouble we should contact the Rolent branch - she'd come running no matter where we are! Estelle says the same is true the other way. She shouldn't get herself too liquored up - that's the only thing she's worried about. Scherazard chuckles and says that alright, she'll watch the number of drinks. Estelle glances at Olivier next, and wonders why he is also headed to Rolent? Alongside Schera, no less? (No, don't leave, please!) Olivier explains that it's because he's tasted all there is to taste of the local dishes here in Bose, and he thought it was about time he turned his attention to another region. As for Rolent's cuisine, he's heard the produce is just to die for, so that's what he's looking forward to next!
Schera says that's pretty much it - he says he wants her to introduce him to a nice restaurant and some 'lovely vegetables' or some such nonsense. Since he's so persistent, she only agreed to him coming along under the condition that they'd go drinking together at the bar. Estelle concludes that they'll never see him alive again, and Joshua warily hopes he realizes just what he promised her… Olvieir declares that he'd die for the likes of fine women and food! Part of him longs to be by Joshua's side as he continues his journey, but after many agonizing hours of consideration, he's decided to accompany fair Scherazard instead. Joshua muses that he thinks he's better off with him at a safe distance away. Estelle tells Olivier to have fun, but not to dare make any trouble in Rolent. She also warns him that at the bar, Schera's gloves come off… She's seriously not joking.
Scherazard wonders how she dares to speak about her mentor like that! Besides, Aina is coming along too. Estelle mutters that she's even worse! Olivier warily takes in the idea that the gloves will come off - is that, perchance, what she and Estelle were talking about before? Joshua confirms that yeah, that's it. Estelle said it best, though - it was nice knowing him.
Olivier agrees that it was, then realizes he was being eulogized. Before he can respond, the intercom announces that the airliner is about to depart. Schera tells 'Olie-boy' that it's time to leave, but Olivier asks if they can talk this over? He'd really appreciate it if he had a little more time to think things through… Schera wonders if he's getting cold feet already? If he considers himself a man, he should quit acting like a ninny! With that she drags Olivier on board, and the ship departs with Joshua and Estelle waving it off.
With that, Chapter 1 comes to its conclusion - and I have to admit, this one upped the ante from the Rolent chapter considerably. Rolent was a comfortable and a slow start, but for the most part it felt pretty low-key in its scope, and the fights were generally rather easy. Bose kept momentum up with the ongoing main storyline which tied all the other stuff together, and Olivier was just great. I'll miss the doofus going forward, but I expect we'll be replacing him with someone new before long. Both him and Schera, actually... It's probably a good thing we got that Haze quartz if we're supposed to traverse some of these areas with only two people now...
Chapter 1 - END!
Next: We start our journey towards the region of Ruan. Well, technically we spend some time cleaning up loose ends in Bose first, but it's time to move on...
- Pronouns
- She/They
A random Youtube comment I found while trying to remember the soundtrack for this section said it best:
I quite liked Chapter 1 of Trails in the Sky myself. It does a great job of giving a satisfying conclusion to the initial Sky Bandits plot while introducing a bunch of plot threads that will keep getting picked up for the next, uh, two games. Nothing really out of the ordinary for JRPGs but the layered mysteries here are just great - and there's even one more in the opening cutscene of Chapter 2 that I'm quite fond of.
I quite liked Chapter 1 of Trails in the Sky myself. It does a great job of giving a satisfying conclusion to the initial Sky Bandits plot while introducing a bunch of plot threads that will keep getting picked up for the next, uh, two games. Nothing really out of the ordinary for JRPGs but the layered mysteries here are just great - and there's even one more in the opening cutscene of Chapter 2 that I'm quite fond of.
- Pronouns
- He
Oh man, that's a good quality of life item. Probably one of the best, since you can't really grind a lot.
Why do I have the impression that he was actually interested in a pair of melons?
- Location
- Netherlands
Between that and the quartz that highlights enemies on the minimap, the only ones that really bother you are the ones blocking your way in dungeons and such, or if you just have a train of people running after you and the monster happens to run into you. Makes getting around easier, though, which helps for the purposes of dialogue gathering...
I'm gonna miss the spoony bard... Here's hoping he'll make a reappearance later, since he does get that scene at the start of chapter 2...
- Pronouns
- He
The game certainly does throw two really great companions for Estelle and Joshua at you right out of the gate. Schezra and Oliver both really leave an impression and set a high standard.
Trails in the Sky (Part 28) - Tying up Loose Ends in Bose (Chapter 2: Start)
- Location
- Netherlands
Interlude
The screen cuts to black after Chapter 1 ends, and we hear a man's voice explain to someone about the sky bandit incident that occurred in northern Liberl. To think that the bankrupt Capua family drifted all the way down here! The speaker warns that his conversation partner might be contacted by Liberl regarding the incident, so he should deal with it as he sees fit. The voice then mentions he wasn't able to meet 'him' in the end, as it seems like something else must have come up. Any connection with the sky bandit incident is still unknown, but it's clear that another power is at work here!The darkness lifts, and we witness that the man speaking is actually Olivier, using a handheld communications device while standing on the deck of the airship. He tells the person on the other end of his apparent cell phone call that Liberl is not like that at all! He's become acquainted with an interesting bunch, too. The food is great, and there are babes everywhere! This is unquestionably his kind of country. Maybe he'll just take up permanent residence here while he's at it?
The person on the other side of the call apparently throws a fit, because Olivier tries to calm him down. He asks him to see what else he can find out, but to avoid getting caught looking into things by the chancellor. He promises his dear friend he'll call again, then hangs up - hah, he does love messing with that guy! He's so stuffy and uptight that he just can't help himself…
A woman's voice suddenly interjects, remarking on that portable phone - well, isn't he carrying around quite the nifty gadget? Schera reveals herself from behind the airship's cabin, and states that the fact Olivier's carrying around an orbment that even the Zeiss Central Factory couldn't create, well… He'd better tell her who he really is! Olivier tells Schera not to treat him like some kind of stranger… He's Olivier Lenheim, the wandering bard and gifted musician she's come to adore! But if she'd like to get to know him better, he's sure he could arrange something - a little pillow talk, perhaps? Schera asks to skip the foreplay, and go straight to the climax. These cheap antics don't fool her. Or should she call him 'Mr. Erebonian Operative'?
Olivier chuckles, and says it looks like the title 'Silver Streak' isn't just for show. She was just pretending that she didn't notice in front of Estelle and Joshua, huh? Schera confirms she didn't want to worry those two any more than they already were. Back to the subject at hand, though - why doesn't he start talking? Who is he, and what is he doing in Liberl? Olivier says that before they get to that, he'd like to correct her on two points. First, these 'cheap antics' as she calls them are completely natural - he's not playacting or anything, it's just who he is. Schera isn't so sure about that - is he claiming that he drank that wine without paying just because he felt like it? Which led to him being taken to the Haken Gate, where he could gather information? Was this all a part of the plan? Did he even set himself up to run into her party? She doesn't think so…
Olivier smiles and leaves that part up to her imagination. Anyway, the other thing he wants to correct her on is that the device he's using isn't actually an orbment. It's an artifact which was unearthed in the Empire. See, it can piggyback off any orbal communications system and its transmissions can be encrypted, so there's no worry about them being intercepted! Comes in handy for a busy man like himself! Schera is surprised - it's an artifact? Like one of the sacred relics the Septian Church has stewardship over? Now she's even more curious what Olivier is after!
Olivier responds by telling her that you should never try to pry into the secrets of a mysterious beauty all at once, oh no! Schera just stares at him, then wonders how he'd like to get to know a real woman? She'd be more than willing to show him with her whip… Olivier fearfully admits he can't see any humor in those eyes of Schera's! He almost immediately drops the facade, though, and puts the jokes aside. Scherazard tells him he really should just have been straightforward from the beginning.
Olivier finally admits that, as she's already figured out, his position is like that of an operative in the Empire. He has no intention of sabotaging anything or stealing classified information, though - he merely came here to meet a certain someone. Someone that Schera knows all too well. He seeks the one lauded as the supreme swordsman and master strategist by the Royal Army, the bracer with the special title belonging to but four people through the whole of the entire continent. The 'Divine Blade' Cassius Bright is the one he seeks!
Who knew our dad was such a bigshot? Or Olivier, for that matter...?
Tying up Loose Ends in Bose
With that, we get to our next chapter...
That was a very quick title drop, this time around! We see Joshua and Estelle leave the Airship dock after saying their farewells. Estelle concludes that if they're going to travel around the entire kingdom, their next destination is the Ruan region! She wonders which route they should take to get there, though. Joshua wonders if she's really not planning on using an airliner? It's going to be quite the detour if we head there on foot… Estelle reminds him what Schera said - we need to walk and actually see the places we protect first. Or was it Dad who said that?
Joshua admits we have some time on our hands, so it wouldn't be a bad thing to head there on foot… We could save on the money it would cost to use an airliner, too. Estelle agrees that we can use that money to go shopping at the Bose Market! After all, we didn't have the time to spend leisurely shopping around during the whole sky bandit mess. We could leave after that - what does he think? Joshua doesn't care either way, but he asks Estelle to try not to waste too much money. Just so she knows, in order to enter the Ruan region we'll need to head west through the Krone Pass. Once she's done shopping, we should head out the west gate.
Before we leave, though, there's a few more loose ends to wrap up, and this is the last time to handle that. First, we can go on one last round of talking to the entire map to see what they're all up to:
Heading inside the Bracer Guild, Lugran has already gotten word that we're headed for Ruan, and both Estelle and Joshua thank him for everything, and tell him we appreciate what he did for us. Lugran asks us not to mention it, and admits he'll miss having us around. If we're ever in Bose again we should stop by, we're always welcome here! He warns us the pass to the west is a bit of a chore, though… Upstairs, Anelace is surprised we're leaving so soon. That's too bad - she was hoping we could work together. Well, she wishes us good luck with whatever lies ahead - and remember, we should never give up! Sting wishes us luck too, and says he's looking forward to seeing us again as future bracers.
Outside on the streets, Lucas says that now that the incident has been resolved, he can finally walk around town in high spirits for the first time in a while. He's so happy he just wants to greet everyone he meets! Bose forever, long live the mayor! Harry tells Mina that he's going to try real hard! She guesses this is about his dream of being a merchant, and Harry says it's that, and also… Mina tells him to spit it out, and he blurts out that he hopes to become the man she wants him to become. Mina thinks that's a fine idea, and to herself muses that she shouldn't crush his hopes just yet…
Jacob mentions that the Krone ridge is the biggest choke point between Bose and Ruan, a series of peaks with difficult terrain covered by bare rock. It's not a place anyone should set foot on without the proper equipment and preparations. Elegia is relieved every shop has finally got their wares again. Now she can go shopping as much as she likes! Letta remarks that he's really got a thing for the clothes being sold in the market recently. Their designs are trendy and unique, and he wonders where the brand is from? Fannie says that the cake shop in the Bose Market is said to be pretty good, and wonders if she should go have a taste herself…
At the chapel, Father Holstein says that although a lot has happened, the city seems to be returning to normal. Well, he guesses the fact that no one lost their spirit despite the numerous incidents is one of the strong points of the citizens of Bose. Ho ho ho!
Sister Rosa has just finished cleaning up and doing the laundry, and the materials for the discourse and preparations for the sacraments have been made… Oh, right, now what should she do about the next lesson for Sunday School…? She'll feel as though she's being slothful if she doesn't get this decided ahead of time…
At the restaurant, Manager Lechter says he's not sure if it's because the crime wave's been stopped or what, but the customers sure seem to be happy lately! Peace is the best, for sure. Nothing beats it! Alta mentions that the soup today tastes different than usual. It's a bit rough, but the ingredients blend well to create a rather bold, interesting flavor. She likes it! Did they get a new chef or something? Shaque remarks that they've been discussing the effect this blockade will have on the local economy, but he suspects it'll be lifted soon enough, making it all a moot point. Keep your eye on the prize, that's his motto - he seems to have gotten himself wrapped up in business discussions, though. Caron sighs - another day, another failed business meeting. He just plain sucks at successful transactions!
Lenore the waitress wonders if we're here for a good meal? If so, please, she'll show us to a table! Citron mentions that the wine he ordered finally arrived on the last airship - their stock was beginning to dwindle to a most worrisome level. They were in danger of running out altogether! Horrace is glad to see his very favorite wine has been delivered, he's been waiting so long for this! Marian is relieved the airships are back in business, finally. She feels she'd done all she can in Bose, and she is thinking of returning to the capital. Norche muses that she'll vacation in the Erebonian Empire next. It's a fairly historic place with a lot of great sights to see, after all. Admittedly, though, it seems a frightening prospect when she thinks back to the events of ten years ago…
Head Chef Ross is glad that they can finally stock up on ingredients fairly and honestly! Now he'll be able to work on those new menu items he's been dreaming up… Gwen asks us to listen to this - the head chef actually told HER to make today's soup! Looks like all her late nights of practicing soup-making are about to pay off!
Over at the competitor, Kirsche's Bar, waitress Platina resolves to get to work - she's gotta get all this crap in order immediately so she can kick back with a drink! Sometimes she wants to be a customer too, ya know! Warner says that they were told sky bandits were responsible for all those burglaries, and what's more, he heard that they were arrested en masse by a Royal Army division led by General Morgan! He hasn't had a story take his breath away like that for quite some time - seriously, what a scoop! Lyndon mentions that just as he hoped, there really are reports in this land from people who claim to have seen an ancient dragon! Yes, oh yes, his excitement is paramount! He must know why they no longer show themselves… He must know where they have gone, and he believes the time for answers is nigh!
At the hotel, Barlowe mentions that placing importance on tradition as the years go on is a very difficult task. Should he work to improve service which conforms to the needs of the customers, instead of being bound by old traditions…? Dina the maid mentions she can't believe how busy things are today!
Over at the Mayor's place, Butler Mayner says he honestly couldn't be more grateful to us all than he is now. He just hopes Mayor Maybelle will consider putting down her work for a little while. Unfortunately she's the type who adds more onto her own plate whenever she finds she has a minute, and that's what has him worried. Maid Sarah says that recently Lila has been deciding the mayor's menu for her… Looks like she's short on vegetables, so she'll have to make a quick trip to the market later. Lila says that it looks like Miss Maybelle will finally be able to get a good night's rest. That's all thanks to us, so she would like to express her sincere appreciation.
Mayor Maybelle wonders if we're going somewhere? Estelle and Joshua confirm we're heading out, and that we appreciate all her help. Maybelle says she should be the one thanking us! It would certainly be great if they had bracers like us in Bose all the time. Estelle thinks that's giving us too much credit, but she says there's no need to be modest. She'd like to thank us on behalf of the citizens of Bose, and she's really grateful to the both of us. It wouldn't be right of her to keep us any longer, so she hopes we'll be careful on our travels. Estelle promises we will, and tells the Mayor that she should take care of herself too, and not work too hard either. She laughs and admits Lila lectured her about the same thing, and promises she'll try. Joshua says he hopes we'll meet again sometime, but for now it's farewell… Maybelle says that would be wonderful.
At the Bose Market, Claire says she just loves the atmosphere of this market. No matter how mad her parents get, she just can't stop sneaking off to come here. It's not like there's anything to do at home, after all… Former captive Finel has set up his own store, and wonders what kind of man he'd be if he took over the old store again now, after Katrina has made it this successful? He guesses he's just going to have to start his own business from the ground up…
Felicia swears her husband never changes… He started this business so that they could live together in Bose! If he's got a reason why he backed out at the last minute, he should be clear about it. Pomme wonders what his father is doing right now back in Ravennue Village? Meissen remarks that they got some new and interesting wares today, and is surprised to see what an Eastern design for a pot looks like… Spence remarks that it appears those evil cretins who were causing a ruckus here in Bose finally got what was coming to them. Now he can get back to business without worries!
Emmy says it's unfortunate she can't buy a lot of perishable goods at the same time. If she could buy a lot of them when they're cheap, it'd certainly help out her home budget… Carol wonders if she should splurge occasionally and buy something with steak? If they're going to dine well tonight, then it'll be fun thinking about what to do for the side dishes, too. Young Lyrill, meanwhile, doesn't quite recall what she was supposed to buy here…? There were onions, carrots, and then… Was she supposed to get some kind of meat too? Was it a duck? Is she supposed to get a duck?!
Trayton says he's thinking about stocking fish from Ruan. They've always had a reputation for bringing in the largest catch in the entire kingdom. That's what a seaport city will get you, he supposes… Buck heard the sky bandits were finally arrested - they sure caused a lot of trouble! No matter the circumstances, it's never okay to steal! Paul says that with all the airlines stopped up, it's kind of hard to get new clothes in stock. On the flip side, these new original store brand clothes are selling better than he expected them to! He's got to succeed with the business to make a good living for his family.
Katrina mentions that his fiancé, who was taken hostage by sky bandits, has finally come back. Now he's decided to set up a store of his own, though, and seems to be a bit frustrated that the old store got off the ground without him… He's as stubborn and competitive as ever, tee hee! Guess that means they'll be competing from now on, so she'll have to work harder…
Gantz says it was quite a letdown to learn that Katrina, the girl from the confectionary stand, has a fiance! He's disappointed to say the least, but as her fan he'll still come buy her stuff. Minuet says the goods that customers need often change with the times. She needs to figure out what those needs sare and get those goods in stock. Libro says he decided to work a part-time job here so he could earn more money to buy books. Who would have thought he'd be working at the same store he's grown so accustomed to shopping at…?
We can also pick up a new issue of Liberl News here, and there's one last chance to get the first couple Carnelia chapters. This issue is all about our mission, though it also calls out Olivier's wine theft! I'm guessing we'll be running into the Duke mentioning below soon, since he's also going to Ruan, our next destination…
Over at the airship landing port, Berna comments that it looks like the sky bandits have been arrested, and the missing crew and passengers are back safe and sound! According to the receptionist, flights on the Cecilia will resume soon. She's been waiting on this flight for who knows how long! Receptionist Ted thinks it's great those criminals were caught and all, but it was after the incident happened… There are several customers that are now worried because of it. He thinks it's about time they took another look at the safety of the airliners…
Mechanic Lakely says the incident made him a lot more conscious of the maintenance work he does. The Orbalship Corporation is going to have to work hard to win back customers' trust now that this has happened. Aldan has finally been able to take the photo of the Linde that he's been after. Hee hee, now to get it developed! Norm mentions that international flights bound for the Empire are still on hold, but he hopes they'll resume soon.
At the orbment shop, Marco mentions that he came here to make a deal, but it looks like the store manager has changed… Guess it's back to the drawing board. He wonders when he'll be able to bring some good news to the Imperial City? Cornelius has taken over his shop again, and mentions that Nigel was arrested and taken to Haken Gate - looks like he was involved in some really shady business! Upstairs, Carrie mentions that it looks like her boss was led away by the army. She just wants to create things - as long as there is an environment for that she could care less about anything else. A shop with no boss has her a little worried, though…
Mirano says her bossy father made it back home in one piece. If she hadn't had to take care of his work, she could have been in Ruan by now! Modena is relieved that her husband, who was abducted by the sky bandits, made it home safely. She's thankful to the Goddess Aidios for his safe return. Trino is glad he finally made it back to his lovely home. After being locked up in a dank and dirty cell, home feels like paradise! Looks like Mirano picked up the slack while he was away, so it's time to get back to work.
Launa is very grateful to us for resolving the sky bandit situation - with them behind bars, it looks like she can finally get back to her life. Elke says her mom looks like she's happier now, and she's glad! Sein at the weapons shop mentions that the army returned his stolen products, so he can finally settle down and get back to business as usual. Cecile complains that her husband's been doing nothing but fishing for the last twenty years - she can't see how he doesn't get sick of it! Kuwano wonders what he should go fishing for next…
Borden comments on Trino's return, deciding it means he can go back to business without reservations. A Bose merchant shouldn't let trouble like this discourage him! Rionne concludes those masked robbers were sky bandits, huh? She's glad they were all arrested, as she can get back to focusing on her work. She's sure she's going to sell more than the Trinos this month! Alvelle says that at the Jenis Royal Academy in Ruan there's a subject called social studies. There, you focus exclusively on politics and economics, so he's sure even his dad would understand why he'd want to go there.
Back at Valleria Shore, Sophina says the weather is absolutely wonderful today - teehee, it looks like the sheets will dry well, too. Lenard welcomes us back - did we come to fish again? We should make ourselves at home. Also, if you head back all the way through the misty valleys to the secret entrance of the sky bandit base, a couple of sentries will block the way and explain that due to an ongoing investigation, civilians are not permitted to pass. No backtracking allowed!
Far to the east, at Verte Bridge, Private Antose is surprised the burglaries in Bose were the work of sky bandits, but hopes the region returns to its calm and peaceful state now. Private Lacos says it looks like airliner flights have resumed, and he's glad the criminals were arrested. Warrant Officer Dyne has also heard the news about the discovery of the Linde, and that it seems the Intelligence Division and border garrison worked together to resolve this incident. Thank heavens, now he can finally get back to his normal duties!
Heading for Haken Gate next, one of the sentries recognizes us as 'those bracers' - do we have some business with the General? Carlos says he can't believe his very first mission with the guard was to storm the sky bandits' hideout! When you live your life as spontaneously as he does, you can experience a lot of things. Another sentry mentions that with the sky bandits in custody, the red alert status will be changed. Inside the bar, Nolan is relieved the criminals are in custody, since he's sure that means the border garrison can finally take a break. Amelia mentions that the other day some soldiers arrested a man who cried the whole way to his cell. From what she heard, it seems he was involved in some sort of fraudulent scheme…
On top of the wall, one of the soldiers mentions that it's beautiful weather today, isn't it? There's a very clear view of the Empire's territory. Another says that they haven't seen a border garrison force this size since the Hundred Days War. He just hopes the Empire doesn't mistake it for an extensive military operation… Inside the base, another soldier is glad he can get back to regular work now that the crisis is over… then realizes he can't relax here, this is the border with the Erebonian Empire! Another says that even if the sky bandits are gone, that doesn't mean they're going to get a day of rest. He's dragging his feet from lack of sleep… Man, he's so tired.
A little deeper into the base, a soldier inside Morgan's room notes that the sky bandits have already been transported to Leiston Fortress in the Zeiss region, and he's sure they'll be interrogated about a number of things. General Morgan recognizes us as Cassius' kids, and wonders why we're here again? There's nothing further to talk about. He's busy dealing with paperwork and other reports after the incident.
At Ravennue Village, Fran says she thinks if Vince had been born into a merchant family, things would have been a real mess. For starters, he doesn't even like to study! Vince says he sure wishes he were born in Bose! There are no orchards in Bose, so he wouldn't be stuck helping like this all the time. Emile says that right now, it looks like the orchard farmers are gathered at the Village Elder's house to talk. Apple mentions that she's glad she started the inn with Limon, but she's got to work harder to make it a success… Limon welcomes us, and says she just finished making some fresh fruit juice. How about a glass?
Lewey mentions those guys from the army are still standing guard outside the mine, investigating! Figaro muses that with the saplings planted, they'll finally be able to take a break now… Orange wonders if we've come to buy fruit? If we need her husband, he's at the Elder's house. Melony is at the orchard, and mentions her husband is late getting home from the meeting - she hopes he can work things out with Gray!
The Elder's house is pretty busy, but Birnette mentions that the village meeting is already over. Things always end up like this whenever those two come face-to-face…
Elder Reisen says that they can't seem to get anywhere with these talks! Lore complains that if those two could just learn to get along, he could head to Bose without any reservations. He wants to see his wife and son who are already waiting for him there. Gray, meanwhile, declares that he wants to grow delicious fruits in his own way, and can't agree with Pesca's use of machines. Pesca denies the idea that they should sacrifice the taste of the fruit in favor of shipping volume, he's just saying that they should learn to make the same quality of fruit more effectively! He wonders why he can't make Gray understand - if they could get his cooperation, he's sure that things would work out just fine…
Outside on the streets, Lucas says that now that the incident has been resolved, he can finally walk around town in high spirits for the first time in a while. He's so happy he just wants to greet everyone he meets! Bose forever, long live the mayor! Harry tells Mina that he's going to try real hard! She guesses this is about his dream of being a merchant, and Harry says it's that, and also… Mina tells him to spit it out, and he blurts out that he hopes to become the man she wants him to become. Mina thinks that's a fine idea, and to herself muses that she shouldn't crush his hopes just yet…
Jacob mentions that the Krone ridge is the biggest choke point between Bose and Ruan, a series of peaks with difficult terrain covered by bare rock. It's not a place anyone should set foot on without the proper equipment and preparations. Elegia is relieved every shop has finally got their wares again. Now she can go shopping as much as she likes! Letta remarks that he's really got a thing for the clothes being sold in the market recently. Their designs are trendy and unique, and he wonders where the brand is from? Fannie says that the cake shop in the Bose Market is said to be pretty good, and wonders if she should go have a taste herself…
At the chapel, Father Holstein says that although a lot has happened, the city seems to be returning to normal. Well, he guesses the fact that no one lost their spirit despite the numerous incidents is one of the strong points of the citizens of Bose. Ho ho ho!
Sister Rosa has just finished cleaning up and doing the laundry, and the materials for the discourse and preparations for the sacraments have been made… Oh, right, now what should she do about the next lesson for Sunday School…? She'll feel as though she's being slothful if she doesn't get this decided ahead of time…
At the restaurant, Manager Lechter says he's not sure if it's because the crime wave's been stopped or what, but the customers sure seem to be happy lately! Peace is the best, for sure. Nothing beats it! Alta mentions that the soup today tastes different than usual. It's a bit rough, but the ingredients blend well to create a rather bold, interesting flavor. She likes it! Did they get a new chef or something? Shaque remarks that they've been discussing the effect this blockade will have on the local economy, but he suspects it'll be lifted soon enough, making it all a moot point. Keep your eye on the prize, that's his motto - he seems to have gotten himself wrapped up in business discussions, though. Caron sighs - another day, another failed business meeting. He just plain sucks at successful transactions!
Lenore the waitress wonders if we're here for a good meal? If so, please, she'll show us to a table! Citron mentions that the wine he ordered finally arrived on the last airship - their stock was beginning to dwindle to a most worrisome level. They were in danger of running out altogether! Horrace is glad to see his very favorite wine has been delivered, he's been waiting so long for this! Marian is relieved the airships are back in business, finally. She feels she'd done all she can in Bose, and she is thinking of returning to the capital. Norche muses that she'll vacation in the Erebonian Empire next. It's a fairly historic place with a lot of great sights to see, after all. Admittedly, though, it seems a frightening prospect when she thinks back to the events of ten years ago…
Head Chef Ross is glad that they can finally stock up on ingredients fairly and honestly! Now he'll be able to work on those new menu items he's been dreaming up… Gwen asks us to listen to this - the head chef actually told HER to make today's soup! Looks like all her late nights of practicing soup-making are about to pay off!
Over at the competitor, Kirsche's Bar, waitress Platina resolves to get to work - she's gotta get all this crap in order immediately so she can kick back with a drink! Sometimes she wants to be a customer too, ya know! Warner says that they were told sky bandits were responsible for all those burglaries, and what's more, he heard that they were arrested en masse by a Royal Army division led by General Morgan! He hasn't had a story take his breath away like that for quite some time - seriously, what a scoop! Lyndon mentions that just as he hoped, there really are reports in this land from people who claim to have seen an ancient dragon! Yes, oh yes, his excitement is paramount! He must know why they no longer show themselves… He must know where they have gone, and he believes the time for answers is nigh!
At the hotel, Barlowe mentions that placing importance on tradition as the years go on is a very difficult task. Should he work to improve service which conforms to the needs of the customers, instead of being bound by old traditions…? Dina the maid mentions she can't believe how busy things are today!
Over at the Mayor's place, Butler Mayner says he honestly couldn't be more grateful to us all than he is now. He just hopes Mayor Maybelle will consider putting down her work for a little while. Unfortunately she's the type who adds more onto her own plate whenever she finds she has a minute, and that's what has him worried. Maid Sarah says that recently Lila has been deciding the mayor's menu for her… Looks like she's short on vegetables, so she'll have to make a quick trip to the market later. Lila says that it looks like Miss Maybelle will finally be able to get a good night's rest. That's all thanks to us, so she would like to express her sincere appreciation.
Mayor Maybelle wonders if we're going somewhere? Estelle and Joshua confirm we're heading out, and that we appreciate all her help. Maybelle says she should be the one thanking us! It would certainly be great if they had bracers like us in Bose all the time. Estelle thinks that's giving us too much credit, but she says there's no need to be modest. She'd like to thank us on behalf of the citizens of Bose, and she's really grateful to the both of us. It wouldn't be right of her to keep us any longer, so she hopes we'll be careful on our travels. Estelle promises we will, and tells the Mayor that she should take care of herself too, and not work too hard either. She laughs and admits Lila lectured her about the same thing, and promises she'll try. Joshua says he hopes we'll meet again sometime, but for now it's farewell… Maybelle says that would be wonderful.
At the Bose Market, Claire says she just loves the atmosphere of this market. No matter how mad her parents get, she just can't stop sneaking off to come here. It's not like there's anything to do at home, after all… Former captive Finel has set up his own store, and wonders what kind of man he'd be if he took over the old store again now, after Katrina has made it this successful? He guesses he's just going to have to start his own business from the ground up…
Felicia swears her husband never changes… He started this business so that they could live together in Bose! If he's got a reason why he backed out at the last minute, he should be clear about it. Pomme wonders what his father is doing right now back in Ravennue Village? Meissen remarks that they got some new and interesting wares today, and is surprised to see what an Eastern design for a pot looks like… Spence remarks that it appears those evil cretins who were causing a ruckus here in Bose finally got what was coming to them. Now he can get back to business without worries!
Emmy says it's unfortunate she can't buy a lot of perishable goods at the same time. If she could buy a lot of them when they're cheap, it'd certainly help out her home budget… Carol wonders if she should splurge occasionally and buy something with steak? If they're going to dine well tonight, then it'll be fun thinking about what to do for the side dishes, too. Young Lyrill, meanwhile, doesn't quite recall what she was supposed to buy here…? There were onions, carrots, and then… Was she supposed to get some kind of meat too? Was it a duck? Is she supposed to get a duck?!
Trayton says he's thinking about stocking fish from Ruan. They've always had a reputation for bringing in the largest catch in the entire kingdom. That's what a seaport city will get you, he supposes… Buck heard the sky bandits were finally arrested - they sure caused a lot of trouble! No matter the circumstances, it's never okay to steal! Paul says that with all the airlines stopped up, it's kind of hard to get new clothes in stock. On the flip side, these new original store brand clothes are selling better than he expected them to! He's got to succeed with the business to make a good living for his family.
Katrina mentions that his fiancé, who was taken hostage by sky bandits, has finally come back. Now he's decided to set up a store of his own, though, and seems to be a bit frustrated that the old store got off the ground without him… He's as stubborn and competitive as ever, tee hee! Guess that means they'll be competing from now on, so she'll have to work harder…
Gantz says it was quite a letdown to learn that Katrina, the girl from the confectionary stand, has a fiance! He's disappointed to say the least, but as her fan he'll still come buy her stuff. Minuet says the goods that customers need often change with the times. She needs to figure out what those needs sare and get those goods in stock. Libro says he decided to work a part-time job here so he could earn more money to buy books. Who would have thought he'd be working at the same store he's grown so accustomed to shopping at…?
We can also pick up a new issue of Liberl News here, and there's one last chance to get the first couple Carnelia chapters. This issue is all about our mission, though it also calls out Olivier's wine theft! I'm guessing we'll be running into the Duke mentioning below soon, since he's also going to Ruan, our next destination…
Article: [Liberl News - Issue 4]
[Featured Story] Case Closed! Criminals Caught!
• All Hostages Safely Secured! •
The Royal Army reports that the military's Intelligence Division successfully located the sky bandit' hideout in the mountains of Bose. The criminals were apprehended, and all the hostages were set free.
• Linde Found in Abandoned Mine •
Mere days prior to the Capuas' capture, the Linde was found in an abandoned mine north of Ravennue Village. Its cargo had been looted, and its passengers and crew were still missing, but this was the break the investigators needed to crack the case wide open. And shortly thereafter, that's exactly what they did!
• Great Success for New Intelligence Division •
The monumental task of clue analysis and deduction fell upon the Royal Intelligence Division, newly founded by a young man named Colonel Alen Richard. While the Border Patrol tracked the criminals, a team of intelligence officials led by one General Morgan fed them information and analyses, and it was this coordinated effort that ultimately led to a successful rescue.
• Historic Arrest Witnessed by Media •
'Put your hands in the air!' came the cry. With that, the Royal Army blockaded the Capuas before they could escape, and it was all over. Don Capua's blank, disbelieving stare said it all!
• Bracers Also Play Crucial Role •
Intelligence and Border Patrol alone can't take all the credit for this successful rescue, as a handful of bracers played a fairly significant role, too, modestly dodging the limelight in the process. Several hours prior to the army's raid, these bracers infiltrated the sky bandit's hideout through decidedly nonstandard means, and waged a small war against them from within, keeping them off their guard. In the end, it seems the bracers and the Royal Army really did work together, albeit by accident.
• Ringleader Taken to Leiston Fortress •
Don Capua, the ringleader of this crime family, has been transported to the Leiston Fortress, where he will be thoroughly interrogated. The Capua' Imperial-made light aircraft, 'Bobcat,' has been impounded as evidence, and the case is expected to be an open-and-shut one.
• Families Relieved That Hostages Are Safe •
Friends and families of the hostages finally have a reason to smile again, now that they know their loved ones are safe. Bose's Mayor Maybelle is overjoyed as well. 'This is the result we all prayed for,' she says, 'and we owe an immeasurable debt of thanks to all those involved in resolving this incident without casualty.'
We at Liberl News also wish to send our gratitude to General Morgan, along with all his men and women of the Intelligence Division, for working around the clock to track down the whereabouts of the hostages and their captors. Everyone else involved deserves commendation as well, so let's be sure that when they return to their homes, they receive a hero's welcome!
[Society] Duke Dunan von Auslese to Visit Ruan
Our sources say that Her Majesty's nephew is planning a vacation to Ruan -- though the exact times and locations remain undisclosed.
[Society] Imperial Citizen Dines and Dashes!
The upscale Anterose Restaurant in Bose's north block suffered a loss this week when an Imperial traveler/would-be musician bilked on his (rather hefty) bill. The man was arrested on the spot and imprisoned at Haken Gate -- a bit severe, but it sends a powerful message.
Over at the airship landing port, Berna comments that it looks like the sky bandits have been arrested, and the missing crew and passengers are back safe and sound! According to the receptionist, flights on the Cecilia will resume soon. She's been waiting on this flight for who knows how long! Receptionist Ted thinks it's great those criminals were caught and all, but it was after the incident happened… There are several customers that are now worried because of it. He thinks it's about time they took another look at the safety of the airliners…
Mechanic Lakely says the incident made him a lot more conscious of the maintenance work he does. The Orbalship Corporation is going to have to work hard to win back customers' trust now that this has happened. Aldan has finally been able to take the photo of the Linde that he's been after. Hee hee, now to get it developed! Norm mentions that international flights bound for the Empire are still on hold, but he hopes they'll resume soon.
At the orbment shop, Marco mentions that he came here to make a deal, but it looks like the store manager has changed… Guess it's back to the drawing board. He wonders when he'll be able to bring some good news to the Imperial City? Cornelius has taken over his shop again, and mentions that Nigel was arrested and taken to Haken Gate - looks like he was involved in some really shady business! Upstairs, Carrie mentions that it looks like her boss was led away by the army. She just wants to create things - as long as there is an environment for that she could care less about anything else. A shop with no boss has her a little worried, though…
Mirano says her bossy father made it back home in one piece. If she hadn't had to take care of his work, she could have been in Ruan by now! Modena is relieved that her husband, who was abducted by the sky bandits, made it home safely. She's thankful to the Goddess Aidios for his safe return. Trino is glad he finally made it back to his lovely home. After being locked up in a dank and dirty cell, home feels like paradise! Looks like Mirano picked up the slack while he was away, so it's time to get back to work.
Launa is very grateful to us for resolving the sky bandit situation - with them behind bars, it looks like she can finally get back to her life. Elke says her mom looks like she's happier now, and she's glad! Sein at the weapons shop mentions that the army returned his stolen products, so he can finally settle down and get back to business as usual. Cecile complains that her husband's been doing nothing but fishing for the last twenty years - she can't see how he doesn't get sick of it! Kuwano wonders what he should go fishing for next…
Borden comments on Trino's return, deciding it means he can go back to business without reservations. A Bose merchant shouldn't let trouble like this discourage him! Rionne concludes those masked robbers were sky bandits, huh? She's glad they were all arrested, as she can get back to focusing on her work. She's sure she's going to sell more than the Trinos this month! Alvelle says that at the Jenis Royal Academy in Ruan there's a subject called social studies. There, you focus exclusively on politics and economics, so he's sure even his dad would understand why he'd want to go there.
Back at Valleria Shore, Sophina says the weather is absolutely wonderful today - teehee, it looks like the sheets will dry well, too. Lenard welcomes us back - did we come to fish again? We should make ourselves at home. Also, if you head back all the way through the misty valleys to the secret entrance of the sky bandit base, a couple of sentries will block the way and explain that due to an ongoing investigation, civilians are not permitted to pass. No backtracking allowed!
Far to the east, at Verte Bridge, Private Antose is surprised the burglaries in Bose were the work of sky bandits, but hopes the region returns to its calm and peaceful state now. Private Lacos says it looks like airliner flights have resumed, and he's glad the criminals were arrested. Warrant Officer Dyne has also heard the news about the discovery of the Linde, and that it seems the Intelligence Division and border garrison worked together to resolve this incident. Thank heavens, now he can finally get back to his normal duties!
Heading for Haken Gate next, one of the sentries recognizes us as 'those bracers' - do we have some business with the General? Carlos says he can't believe his very first mission with the guard was to storm the sky bandits' hideout! When you live your life as spontaneously as he does, you can experience a lot of things. Another sentry mentions that with the sky bandits in custody, the red alert status will be changed. Inside the bar, Nolan is relieved the criminals are in custody, since he's sure that means the border garrison can finally take a break. Amelia mentions that the other day some soldiers arrested a man who cried the whole way to his cell. From what she heard, it seems he was involved in some sort of fraudulent scheme…
On top of the wall, one of the soldiers mentions that it's beautiful weather today, isn't it? There's a very clear view of the Empire's territory. Another says that they haven't seen a border garrison force this size since the Hundred Days War. He just hopes the Empire doesn't mistake it for an extensive military operation… Inside the base, another soldier is glad he can get back to regular work now that the crisis is over… then realizes he can't relax here, this is the border with the Erebonian Empire! Another says that even if the sky bandits are gone, that doesn't mean they're going to get a day of rest. He's dragging his feet from lack of sleep… Man, he's so tired.
A little deeper into the base, a soldier inside Morgan's room notes that the sky bandits have already been transported to Leiston Fortress in the Zeiss region, and he's sure they'll be interrogated about a number of things. General Morgan recognizes us as Cassius' kids, and wonders why we're here again? There's nothing further to talk about. He's busy dealing with paperwork and other reports after the incident.
At Ravennue Village, Fran says she thinks if Vince had been born into a merchant family, things would have been a real mess. For starters, he doesn't even like to study! Vince says he sure wishes he were born in Bose! There are no orchards in Bose, so he wouldn't be stuck helping like this all the time. Emile says that right now, it looks like the orchard farmers are gathered at the Village Elder's house to talk. Apple mentions that she's glad she started the inn with Limon, but she's got to work harder to make it a success… Limon welcomes us, and says she just finished making some fresh fruit juice. How about a glass?
Lewey mentions those guys from the army are still standing guard outside the mine, investigating! Figaro muses that with the saplings planted, they'll finally be able to take a break now… Orange wonders if we've come to buy fruit? If we need her husband, he's at the Elder's house. Melony is at the orchard, and mentions her husband is late getting home from the meeting - she hopes he can work things out with Gray!
The Elder's house is pretty busy, but Birnette mentions that the village meeting is already over. Things always end up like this whenever those two come face-to-face…
Elder Reisen says that they can't seem to get anywhere with these talks! Lore complains that if those two could just learn to get along, he could head to Bose without any reservations. He wants to see his wife and son who are already waiting for him there. Gray, meanwhile, declares that he wants to grow delicious fruits in his own way, and can't agree with Pesca's use of machines. Pesca denies the idea that they should sacrifice the taste of the fruit in favor of shipping volume, he's just saying that they should learn to make the same quality of fruit more effectively! He wonders why he can't make Gray understand - if they could get his cooperation, he's sure that things would work out just fine…
Well, after we're done with our last round of the Bose Region, there's a few hanging plot threads to tie up...
First, if we head to the south of Bose and speak to Launa in her house on the east side, Estelle presents the jeweled ring we picked up during our exploration of the sky bandits' base. She explains that we're here to fulfill her request, and asks Launa to take a look at the ring to make sure it's the right one.
Launa is astounded that the ring is indeed her own, and admits she would never have thought this would come back to her like this. This is definitely the one that was stolen! It was a memento from her mother, so she'd know it anywhere. Estelle figures it must be really important to her, and Launa agrees, though she didn't believe she'd ever see it again. She thanks us heartily for our help, though she has no idea how to repay us… Side-quest complete! Turning it in, we receive 2000 mira in payment, and 3 BP. Done and dusted.
Next, if we head to the basement level of Haken Gate, where the cells are, we run into a cutscene - two guardsmen are interrogating a familiar figure, Nigel from the orbment shop, about where the mira disappeared to that was listed in this black book he's holding? It would be in his best interest to start talking, because it's only a matter of time until they find some evidence against him! Nigel wonders how many times he's told them to show him some proof of wrongdoing? If he's being suspected of something, then prove it! But they can't, can they…? The soldiers are clearly furious, but can't disagree with the man's point.
We walk up and ask what's going on, and one of the guardsmen explains that Nigel is being held over suspicion of scheming to take over a factory that didn't belong to him. The only bad news is that they haven't been able to find decisive evidence linking him to a crime. They can only detain him for so long, and after that they're going to have to release him. Estelle figures they must be looking for material evidence, huh? Joshua remembers that strange black book we found in the sky bandits' hideout. Estelle takes a moment to recall that, right, we found that inside a vacuum cleaner, right? The soldiers are interested in what we found and ask to have a look at it, and Estelle hands it over - we don't mind at all.
The guardsman quickly reads the book, then declares that 'Ah HA!' - this is exactly what he's been looking for. There's no doubt about it, this book we found is Nigel's secret account ledger from the factory! The soldier holds it up to Nigel, wondering if maybe it looks familiar…? Nigel panics, declaring that this can't be happening! That was taken along with his vacuum by those burglars! The soldier thanks us heartily for our assistance in this matter, and tells us we've been a great help. Any bracer who can do work like this is a good one in his opinion. With this notebook they'll be able to establish Nigel's guilt, and he'll make sure to send an official payment through the Bracer Guild in the near future.
The soldier mentions that it's safe to say this is the end of Nigel's back-door schemes… It's about time to make arrangements to send him off to Leiston Fortress. Another guardsman asks Nigel how he explains this black book and its secret accounts? He should go ahead and think about it - he's got plenty of time to listen to Nigel making up excuses and trying to worm his way out of being locked up for good. Nigel, still freaked out, yells that the devil made him do it! He swears it was a sudden impulse - yeah, that's right, a sudden impulse!
He promises he won't do anything bad again, please… Can't they just forgive him? He's faint-hearted and frail to begin with. If they put him in prison, he'll get sick and die…! For figuring out this hidden quest we receive 2000 mira and 5 BP.
With that, after a bit of last-minute shopping, it's time to head west to the Krone Trail, and beyond...
Next: We get to Ruan! Right...?
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- Pronouns
- He
Huh, could have sworn that you could talk to the bandits in the fortress jail. At any rate, the next chapter has started and it's time to see more of this charming country.
Fell a bit behind on this, but had some time today.
There is no kill like overkill. Glad you're enjoying this so far!
There is no kill like overkill. Glad you're enjoying this so far!
Trails in the Sky (Part 29) - It's a Long Road to Ruan
- Location
- Netherlands
It's a Long Road to Ruan
Our time in Bose is at an end, and we make our final trek through the Krone Pass to the checkpoint at the far end. After equipping the Haze quartz this journey is a cakewalk rather than a minefield…We arrive around dusk, and Estelle sighs in relief that we finally made it up here. Once we pass through this checkpoint we're supposed to be in the Ruan region, right? Joshua agrees, but is wary of the fact it's nearly sundown - maybe we should ask for a place to stay the night? Estelle thinks that's one option - but we could also hurry down the pass and rest at an inn at the foot of the mountain, right? Joshua warns that crossing through the pass at night would be dangerous - our field of vision would be limited, and we'd be on bad footing. There's also the possibility we could fall off a cliff if we were attacked by nocturnal monsters… He wouldn't recommend it. Estelle is disappointed but accepts that it could be pretty dangerous. Let's talk with the soldiers at the checkpoint and explain our situation.
Private Cuntinger is waiting outside, and says this is rather unusual - they don't get many travelers at this hour! Did we get lost hiking along the trail? Estelle explains we're bracers and shows her emblem, and Cutinger admits he's surprised to see that people of our age are already bracers. Are we here with work, then? Joshua explains we're traveling around the kingdom to become senior bracers, so we figured we'd travel on foot to get in some training instead of just using an airliner. Cutinger is incredulous at the thought of crossing the kingdom on foot - maybe it has to do with being young, but kids certainly are fired up these days! Estelle laughs that off as a bit of an overstatement.
Cutinger warns that trying to head down through the pass now would be suicide - recently they've had an untold number of monsters appearing in the area. It's quite peculiar, really… They've got a rest stop for travelers here, though, so it would be best to stay there for the night and head out in the morning. Estelle thanks Cutinger for his help, and Joshua accepts the invitation. The private points us inside the guard station, telling us to go speak with the Chief Warrant Officer inside when we're ready to hit the sack.
Private Egel says that since this place is at such a high altitude, it gets really cold after dark. Private Mikey comments that it's almost time for him to go on duty. He'd better hurry up and eat while he can! Warrant Officer Serose wonders what us kids are doing hiking at a time like this? It's pretty cold out there, huh?
Inside one of the siderooms of the guard station we can find CWO Zelste, who wonders who we are…? Joshua apologizes for intruding at this hour, but quickly explains the situation and asks if we can stay the night. Estelle tries to make her eyes as large and yearning as possible to back him up, and in hopes of scoring some free food as well… Zelste says it's no problem, as he can tell from our emblems that we're bracers. We should feel free to use the room next door. Estelle assures him we really appreciate this!
We head into a side room containing three beds, a table with a couple chairs, and a fireplace. So this is the room for travelers, huh? Joshua hurries over to turn on the fireplace and get rid of the chill, while Estelle cheerfully warms herself. She argues that wood stoves just feel so much more cozy than these things, though… Joshua agrees that orbment stoves may heat up quickly, and they're certainly efficient, but they just can't compare to the feel of a real wood-burning stove. Estelle admits that these stoves are much more easy to use, though…
Warrant Officer Serose enters the room and apologizes for disturbing us, but he heard from the chief that we'll be staying the night. If we need anything for dinner, they'll be happy to share what they have with us, if we'd like. Estelle and Joshua are quite thankful, but Serose says it's no problem. After the airliners went into service, the number of travelers through here drastically decreased, so with all the free time they've got they welcome any guests coming through here… Estelle promises she'll make sure to eat up in that case! Serose asks for a little time to get supper in order - and full disclosure, he thinks it's Uther's night to cook, so he hopes our stomachs aren't delicate…
After the officer leaves, Estelle muses that there was a lot of rivalry going on over the sky bandit incident, but there are quite a few nice soldiers once you start to talk to them on a personal level. Joshua opines that Liberl is probably about the only place you're going to find nice soldiers. Estelle asks for clarification, and Joshua quickly backtracks - she shouldn't take him too seriously. He was just thinking out loud… In the meantime, let's put our bags down somewhere.
Later, after night has fallen and food has been devoured, Estelle says she feels so stuffed. They said not to expect much, but the food was pretty good, right? Joshua is more hesitant - he circumspectly admits that it was like nothing he'd ever had before. Serose returns again, and Estelle quickly tells him the meal was delicious, and thanks him heartily! Serose is a bit confused, concluding she must have taste buds of iron, too… He means, of course, that he's glad she enjoyed it! Anyway, another guest has arrived so he asks us, if it's not too much trouble, if we could share the room? Joshua is surprised another guest would arrive in the middle of the night like this, and Estelle concludes they must have serious guts to be hiking around the mountains at this hour… We don't mind sharing, though, since it's not like we're paying to stay here… Serose appreciates that, and remarks that the new guest is actually in the same line of work as the both of us, so he's sure we'll get along just fine.
A man's voice speaks up from the door, and states that he knew he'd seen the two of us somewhere before. With that 'Heavy Blade' Agate enters the room, and Serose is glad we know each other already. He asks Agate what he's planning to do about dinner, but he says he already had something before coming up here, so he doesn't need to eat yet - but thanks for the invitation. All he needs is a place to crash for the night. Serose just says we three should divide the beds amongst ourselves, then wishes us a good night and leaves. Agate recalls that we were Cassius' kids, right? What are we doing sleeping in a place like this, and what happened to Scherazard?
Joshua explains Schera went back to Rolent, so now it's just the two of us traveling together. Estelle adds that we're thinking of making our way around the kingdom in order to become senior bracers. We're going to see places we want to protect, and train so we can do just that. Agate thinks this really sounds like the kind of thing a couple of carefree brats would do - there's no way the two of us are going to simply become senior bracers! We should use our brains and think about it for a moment.
Estelle snaps that Agate can say what he wants, but we helped in the arrest of the sky bandits, and we've even got some recommendations, so he should quit treating us like we're a bunch of kids! Agate remarks that he heard all about it from old man Lugran. Let's put it this way - suppose we two had been the only ones there. Do we think we could have solved the incident? Without Scherazard's help. Estelle is not so confident now, and Joshua muses that it would have been very difficult. Agate agrees that it seems pretty obvious, right? We are newbies and little brats, to say the least. Not to mention we're lacking in strength and experience… We don't have the ability to make quick, sound judgments. If we get all caught up in ourselves and forget that, one of these days we're going to get the rug pulled out from under us…
Estelle protests that we're not all caught up in ourselves - and how about Mr. Macho Man himself? What was he thinking hiking up the pass this hour of the night? He's either plain careless, or maybe that bandanna he's wearing is just a little too tight? Agate snarls that Estelle should watch her mouth - he's trying to hone his skills, unlike us amateurs! Besides, he's here for work. She shouldn't compare his actions with her own tourist-training! Joshua asks if it's work for the guild, and Agate says that's right - the work our old man forced on him. Joshua asks for clarification… It's work that our Dad pushed on him? Agate is silent for a moment, then says we should forget about it. He's got an early day ahead of him, so he needs to get some rest. We should quit talking and get some sleep too.
As Agate claims a bed, Estelle complains that he just avoided finishing that conversation, while Joshua muses that at least he dropped a tidbit about our father, so that's something… Agate just snaps that we should shut the hell up and let him sleep! And we'd better stop poking around where we shouldn't, or we're gonna get burned. Instead, why don't we get our behinds over to Ruan and do some jobs listed on the bulletin board? That's far better suited for the likes of us…
Agate falls asleep quite abruptly, and Joshua mentions it's just as quick as someone else he knows… Estelle furiously tells him not to compare her to that jerk! What's his deal, anyway? It seems to her like all he's trying to do is pick a fight… Joshua tells her to relax, and admits that it's true we're still novices at this. It could be that he just said that to us because he's worried. Estelle wonders if he really thinks that's true, and Joshua admits he wishes he could say for sure, but he doesn't know. He definitely did get one thing right, though - we should turn in for the night. We've still got to hike down the pass tomorrow. Estelle complains she's all riled up now, but she guesses there's nothing to be done about it… Unless we doodle on that jerk's face and then go to sleep. She's pretty sure he wouldn't wake up, the way he's snoring… Joshua warns her not to even think about it.
Later, we see the changing of the watch - Private Usher is ready to switch out with Private Cutinger. The latter is surprised - is it that time already? It really makes him wonder if anyone really needs to stand guard with nobody coming through here… Wouldn't it be better if they just kept the gate locked all night? Usher says that unfortunately rules are rules, and it's their job to follow them. They just got over the sky bandit mess, and now things seem to be going downhill… Usher suddenly stops and turns, much to Cutinger's confusion. He wonders if the latter just heard something? It sounded like rustling leaves… Was it just the wind? The growling voice from off-screen suggests not, as a whole horde of monsters closes in. It's a pack of wolves! You've gotta be kidding me!
Inside, all three bracers are alerted by the commotion - what was that? Joshua concludes something is going on, and Agate quickly jumps up and moves to go check it out, telling us to stay here. Estelle asks him to wait just a minute, but he's already gone. Joshua figures we'd best go see for ourselves, just in case. The building is entirely empty, but exiting the building in the Bose direction shows several soldiers surrounded by half a dozen wolves.
Estelle says this is bad news - we'd better hurry and back up the soldiers! Agate yells that we should forget it, but Estelle wonders why he's trying to stop us from helping. And he calls himself a bracer!? Agate says we shouldn't get him wrong, it's just that it's the army's job to protect the checkpoint, not ours. These guys are well-trained, so they should be able to take care of the animals in no time. We'd just get in the way. Estelle is pretty sure we could help, but both Zelste and Serose back Agate up and tell us to get back inside. Estelle is distressed at the very idea…
Right as we head back inside, though, Agate curses and runs off. Estelle wonders what's going on, but Joshua shouts that there's something going on at the other side, too! Rushing across the building to the far exit, we see another pack of wolves converging on the entrance, with one soldier trying to man the post alone just as Agate rushes in to back him up. Joshua comments that he seems even stronger than rumors suggested… Agate himself laughs off being surrounded by the wolves - they're pretty clever for a bunch of mutts! That's when Estelle and Joshua rush in to back him up, and the former states he can't stop us from helping him out! Joshua promises we'll help out without getting in his way, and Agate reluctantly agrees - just as long as we avoid getting caught beneath his heavy blade!
We're thrown into a fight against a quartet of 'Attack Dobermans' - so not wolves, really. We also get Agate in our party, naturally. The actual fight doesn't take very long, and Estelle sighs in relief when they manage to take care of them all. Joshua notes that there were a lot of them, and they were pretty formidable. Agate seems a bit astounded, then recovers his gruff demeanor and admits that we handled ourselves better than he would have expected. Then again, maybe it's only natural if we learned the basics from our old man. We did well - for newbies. We're still a heck of a long way off from becoming seniors bracers, though.
CWO Zelste comes rushing over to make sure everything is okay over here, and Agate assures him it's all good - we took care of every last one of them. He asks after the injured soldier he rescued, and Zelste says he luckily only suffered a few minor cuts and bruises. He's just glad Agate happened to be here. Serose says he should have expected as much from the 'Heavy Blade' Agate! Agate denies doing much, and even adds that us kids didn't do a half-bad job either. Serose is surprised, and says that in that case we're owed a thanks too. Zelste says they intend to patrol the area, just in case, and suggests we head back inside and get some rest. Agate promises we'll do that, but warns the soldiers to be careful.
After the soldiers leave, Agate turns back to us and says it's time for him to get back to bed. We shouldn't have to worry about any other dangers tonight, so we should be good kids and get some sleep. After he walks off, Estelle wonders if she imagined things - or did he give us a compliment? Joshua muses that he may have recognized our ability. Maybe he's a lot more straightforward than we made him out to be? Estelle isn't sure about that, but he certainly talks big, that's for sure…
The next morning, Joshua prods Estelle awake, but she yawns and complains - come on, can't a woman have her beauty sleep? She blinks awake and notices Joshua next to her bed, and wonders if it's already time to go to the guild…? Joshua, exasperated, wonders what she's talking about? This is Krone Pass Checkpoint! Estelle recalls that, right, we had that monster scare last night and… Huh? She looks over and notices the third bed is empty. Where did the redheaded jerk go? Joshua says it looks like he took off early this morning. Apparently he had an urgent job to attend to. Estelle sighs… And after we helped him fend off those monsters last night, too! How rude not to say anything before leaving. Joshua thinks it's not a big deal, and proposes to get ready ourselves - he'd like to make it through the pass by noon. Off to Ruan we go!
A few moments later Estelle has dressed and put her hair up, and we speak to Warrant Officer Serose, who thanks us for helping out the way we did the previous night. Estelle admits we didn't do much - how about the soldiers, though? Did they run into any trouble patrolling the area afterwards? Serose says everything was fine, like on any normal night…
That whole attack was rather strange, though… You know how there's lights along the roads and at checkpoints that have the ability to ward off monsters, right? Well, even if there were some monsters that approached the checkpoint, they wouldn't be any more than two or three in number, so yesterday was the first time he's ever seen them come in a large pack like that. Joshua agrees that's certainly strange… Serose muses that, then again, these monsters were small change compared to the Imperial Army, so they should probably just consider it good training in protecting their base of operations. Estelle questions if that's really the issue here, but Serose insists that's all they really concern themselves about. Protecting the checkpoint is paramount. They'll leave figuring out what the monsters were thinking up to us bracers.
Getting back on topic, Serose concludes we're heading off towards Ruan, right? Are we ready to fill out the paperwork for our gate pass? We should let him know when we're done with preparations!
CWO Zelste greets us, and wonders if we were able to sleep well? He thanks us for lending a hand last night, too. Private Mikey complains that the monster got him good, ow! Private Cutinger thanks us again for our help with the wolves. We may be young, but we're bracers. He should know better than to underestimate us! We made excellent work of those monsters.
I believe this is the point of no return - you could, theoretically, head all the way back to Bose here, but there's no new dialogue or anything. Instead we step up to the desk of Warrant Officer Serose and fill out our paperwork for a gate pass. He opens the gate, and welcomes us to the Ruan region - blue oceans and white magnolias await us!
That reminds him, we'll be heading to Ruan City, right? We should make sure to report to the guild concerning the incident that happened up here last night, as there will be a payment there from the army for helping them out. We'll have to divvy up the spoils with Agate, though. Anyway, we should enjoy ourselves in Ruan! Good luck in our endeavor to become senior bracers…
Private Egel notes that if we're heading to Ruan we need to use the far door - the near side leads to Bose instead. CWO Zelste heard we're leaving, and warns us it's a wild world out there - we should be careful! Private Usher, just outside the Ruan-side door of the checkpoint, mentions that last night's attack on the checkpoint was good practice. He guesses he should be better prepared for an emergency - both in body and mind.
It took a surprisingly long time to extricate ourselves from the Bose region, but we now enter the second half of the Krone Trail which winds down from the mountains, and we walk into Ruan proper. With the Haze quartz still equipped, navigating the pass just involves turning a few corners while picking up a few stray EP Charge items along the way from semi-hidden chests. There's barely any monsters here, so it's easy work.
Eventually the trail ends and opens up into the Manoria Byroad, a winding path along the seaside. Estelle is astonished and rushes over to the cliffs, gazing out over the water and calling Joshua over - look, it's the ocean! It's so blue and sparkly and just… huge!
The sound of the waves and the smell of the tide… so this is what those feel like! Joshua wonders if this is the first time she's seen the ocean, and Estelle admits she kinda sorta remembers seeing it when she was really young, since she was on an ocean liner with Dad one time. This might be the first time she's seen it up close, though… Joshua says it's been a long time for him as well, and we got here by walking - no ship this time! Estelle agrees that it feels like we accomplished something.
There's a fairly challenging chest in a sidepath down the byroad containing a Lily Necklace accessory, but before long the Byroad splits into two, and we have to decide which way to go. The western path leads towards Varenne Lighthouse, while the right heads to Manoria Village - and I'm guessing story progression. As such, I elect to check out the lighthouse first. There's a few signs which indicate that the actual city of Ruan is about five times further away than Manoria Village, so I'm guessing we'll have to pass through there towards the main city…
Arriving at the base of the rather huge Varenne Lighthouse, we can see an old man standing in front of the door, Vogt. He wonders what to do, what to do? He wouldn't feel right leaving the lighthouse unattended to go get help… On the other hand, he can't very well leave things as they are, either!
As we approach he turns and is surprised to see us - who are we? What brings us here? Estelle admits we're just looking around. Vogt explains that he belongs here, because he's the lighthouse keeper, ya see? Though he must say, it's not an easy task maintaining a lighthouse this size! Suddenly he pauses and spots the emblems on our chests - that wouldn't happen to be…?
Estelle confirms we're bracers, and Vogt is ecstatic - we should rush to the assistance of an octogenarian in need, not pretend like we didn't notice his forlorn expression! Estelle wonders what he's talking about? Why didn't he say anything to us? Vogt argues it's because we didn't ask. Shouldn't the first words out of the mouths of bracers be something like 'are you in need of assistance, my elderly friend'? Young bracers these days are all fight, no care - where's the love, where's the compassion? We're worlds apart from that manly bracer he worked with before, now that was a bracer you could set your clocks by, yesiree! He reckons that was… seven years ago? Eight, perhaps? However long ago it was, he was better than us!
Estelle grumbles that while she can't tell him how much she's loving this abusive lecture, he was saying something about needing assistance? Vogt seems caught off guard by this - he was? Right, right - dire need, dire need indeed! See, he was cutting the grass earlier and he forgot to shut the door behind him when he left. Wouldn't you know it, by the time he got back there were monsters inside, monsters all over the place! He dares not go back there, he's not senile yet… Estelle concludes he wants us to exterminate the monsters, and Vogt confirms that's the idea. He doesn't know how many there are, though, so we should try not to die.
Estelle says we'll definitely do that, but asks why monsters would wander into a lighthouse…? Joshua concludes they're probably drawn to the septium. The light on top is produced by a particularly large orbment, as you might imagine. Vogt says he's got that spot on - when this happened before, the monsters were all gathered at the top. Estelle says that makes sense, and Vogt opines that if it makes sense to her, then she should get going and use that brutish body of hers to show the monsters what's what! At this point we can choose to do it, or leave it until later - but we're already here, so might as well knock this sidequest off our list. Let's do this! Vogt warns it's almost inspection time, so we should please take care of these things as quickly as we can, okay? And we shouldn't let our guard down, these things are nimble…
Heading inside, the lighthouse is arrayed as several octagonal floors of very similar design stacked on top of each other, with very little in the way of decoration. There's also pink flying hammerhead sharks. There's several encounters with these things on multiple floors, but the actual fights are near-identical every time, so it's a bit repetitive clearing out every floor on our way up. Eventually we end up at the final ladder to the light, but unauthorized personnel are prohibited there, and the monsters also obeyed the sigh, evidently.
With that polished off, we head back all the way down, and Vogt asks how the monster-busting went? Estelle announces he should stick a fork in it, because the job is done. Joshua agrees that all the monsters have been taken care of, so everything should be back to normal. Vogt thinks that's splendid news, and it puts his mind at ease. He thanks us for our hard work, and says we shouldn't forget, as we flex our bracer muscles in the future, to flex hardest the strongest muscle of all: the caring muscle! Estelle, nonplussed, says we'll certainly try to do that. She also tells the 'old fossil' to take care too.
As we walk off, Vogt yells after us - what do we think we're doing?! Aren't we all forgetting something? Estelle, puzzled, doesn't think so? Vogt insists that she's forgotten 'Is there anything else we can do for you before we go, my good man?' He's not hearing it! Observe his mouth, and mimic its movements… 'Is.. there… anything… else…' You get the picture! It's proper etiquette, proper caring, to check in with your client to ensure there are no other issues. That dashing young lad who helped him before certainly knew how to leave a good impression. We could all learn a thing or two from him! Hard to believe we're in the same organization that he was. Like comparing Poms to a dragon!
Estelle mutters that the old man is really trying her patience. If that dashing young man was really Aidios' gift to bracers, why doesn't Vogt give us a few pointers? Tell us more about this man-crush of his, so we can better ourselves in his image and get Vogt off our backs! Vogt notes that he's just a dapper fellow who came to lend a hand seven or eight years ago - but what a man he was! Far different from Estelle, that's for sure. He was a real bracer, not some cheap imitation! In fact, the only way in which he could possibly compare the two would be… hair color, he supposes. The exact same reddish-brown. Hmmm, and looking closer, he'd say the color of Estelle's eyes is the same too…
As Estelle and Joshua realize who the man is talking about, Vogt continues complaining that we're not exactly like that man when he heard we were bracers, but he guesses that would be wishful thinking. He doubts anyone could be as amazing as that man was… Can't hurt to try, though. We should be diligent and maybe we'll be a real bracer one day! Anyway, even if we're not dashing, we did help him out and he's truly grateful for that. Always remember to care for our clients, though, and we'll do just fine.
After Vogt departs, Estelle wonders if that man was really talking about…? Joshua confirms that he couldn't help but read into it himself. Seven or eight years ago would be right on the money - he was talking about dad! Joshua figures that of course we're not going to measure up to him. Estelle notes that we're bracers like him now, so it's kind of flattering, in a way, to be compared to him at all! Joshua says that if we want to make names for ourselves like him, we really have to take it one step at a time. Catch up bit by bit, day by day. Even then, he thinks he's a little out of our league… Estelle agrees that he might be, but she can only believe that one day we'll totally outclass him. We pretty much rule! Anyway, it's time to get going - this is no time for horsing around. If we're going to be world-class bracers, we need to keep moving!
Let's hit the road and see where it takes us…
Visiting Vogt on the top floor of the lighthouse, he compliments us on our nice job exterminating those monsters. Us whippersnappers should keep up the pace now, y'hear? But we shouldn't let our guard down out there. Anyway, he guesses it's about time to start making the rounds. Before he gets to shipping, though, he should get himself ready for work…
Next Time: We still don't get to Ruan City - we hit up Manoria village, though. The long journey continues!
- Pronouns
- He
Just theoretically, huh?
Trails in the Sky (Part 30) - Orchids and Orphans
- Location
- Netherlands
Village of Flowers
After finishing up at the lighthouse we return to the Maniora Byroad and take the other fork, which leads into Manoria Village. This is a quaint little cliffside village along the sea, with a large mill on top of a hill overlooking the ocean.
Estelle sighs in relief - civilization at last! And with all these pretty white flowers blooming everywhere, too! Joshua notes that this village of Manoria has an inn, and all those white flowers are a type of hibiscus. Estelle says they're so pretty - and between the ocean and the flowers, this place smells great! It also makes her kind of hungry. Joshua chuckles that only she could work up an appetite from smelling flowers. Just make sure to eat the food, not the flowers. Estelle just says she's a growing girl. Anyway, it's almost noon, so how about getting some lunch? Joshua admits we don't have much in the way of provisions left (you know, aside from all the food we keep snacking on everywhere) so Estelle proposes getting something local - I mean, we did just get to the province of Ruan. Joshua agrees we should go check out the inn and tavern, then.
Inside the northernmost building, Amelia mentions that Zack was fired from his job in Ruan, so he came back here. She has to wonder if he ever puts any thought into his future. His big sister is always worried about him… Zack explains that he used to work at the harbor in Ruan, but came back to the village of his birth. He'll probably wind up settling down right where he was born and raised. The only downside is that his oh-so-delightful sister is here…
In the streets, young Lucia wonders if we're travelers? She lives over at the inn, so we ought to stop in when we have the time! The mill is vacant at the moment, so we move further east, where Sadie mentions that all the flowers here are of a breed called 'magnolia.' Aren't they positively gorgeous? Inside the nearby shop, Creda mentions that Sadie is her granddaughter, and the sweetest girl. Her parents left to find work, but Sadie stays here to be with her. She's truly grateful…
In a nearby house, Solomon mentions that if we're looking for a place to eat, he'd suggest trying the White Magnolia. They've got good food and you get a fair amount for your money. It's worth checking out! Elder Serge greets us - more travelers, huh? Welcome to Manoria! At one time this village was quite renowned for its inn, but with the advent of airships they've seen far less traffic. Nowadays they only survive because of the famous flowers.
Inside the inn, we can find Alvin - he explains they're all woodsmen, hikers, and mountain nuts here. They came to Manoria so they could do some climbing in the Krone mountains. Shelby confirms that they're self-proclaimed mountaineers. He knows that Manoria is the best place to set off for a trek up the Krone mountains, and they're just trying to get everything they need to make the climb safely… Carla asks if we'd care for some food? They'd be happy to have us! She makes it all herself with the help of her husband, and she's quite confident we'll love every bite!
We can also move further east to leave town, but Estelle refuses to leave without breaking for lunch first. It'll just be a minute!
In the streets, young Lucia wonders if we're travelers? She lives over at the inn, so we ought to stop in when we have the time! The mill is vacant at the moment, so we move further east, where Sadie mentions that all the flowers here are of a breed called 'magnolia.' Aren't they positively gorgeous? Inside the nearby shop, Creda mentions that Sadie is her granddaughter, and the sweetest girl. Her parents left to find work, but Sadie stays here to be with her. She's truly grateful…
In a nearby house, Solomon mentions that if we're looking for a place to eat, he'd suggest trying the White Magnolia. They've got good food and you get a fair amount for your money. It's worth checking out! Elder Serge greets us - more travelers, huh? Welcome to Manoria! At one time this village was quite renowned for its inn, but with the advent of airships they've seen far less traffic. Nowadays they only survive because of the famous flowers.
Inside the inn, we can find Alvin - he explains they're all woodsmen, hikers, and mountain nuts here. They came to Manoria so they could do some climbing in the Krone mountains. Shelby confirms that they're self-proclaimed mountaineers. He knows that Manoria is the best place to set off for a trek up the Krone mountains, and they're just trying to get everything they need to make the climb safely… Carla asks if we'd care for some food? They'd be happy to have us! She makes it all herself with the help of her husband, and she's quite confident we'll love every bite!
We can also move further east to leave town, but Estelle refuses to leave without breaking for lunch first. It'll just be a minute!
Entering the inn, Rex welcomes us to the White Magnolia, and admits he can't recall seeing us before. Are we here on vacation? Estelle clarifies we're passing through on our way to Ruan, and Joshua adds that we came across the pass from Bose. Rex thinks we're joking for a second - wow! He never thought he'd meet another person brave enough to handle that place in this day and age. We're into hiking, then?
Estelle says we're not especially, but it sure works up an appetite! Joshua asks if there's anything he'd recommend, and Rex suggests the box lunch. The windmill at the edge of town has a platform with a great view. Every day at lunch, lots of people buy some lunch boxes here and take them there to eat. Estelle thinks that might be nice - from what he's saying, it sounds like something she'd like! Joshua agrees we should try it, and wonders what kind of box lunches there are? Rex explains there's smoked ham sandwich and seafood paella… either would be good in his opinion. Estelle goes for the sandwich, and Joshua takes the seafood - that'll set us back 120 mira. After accepting the deal, Rex tosses in some herb tea at no charge - it's his specialty. Estelle thanks him, while Joshua proposes heading over to the viewing platform.
As we head outside, we see a purple-haired girl in uniform walk down the street, pausing in front of the inn - she's already checked here. He's not in the general store either… Damn, where could he be? Right as she stands there Estelle rushes out of the inn, yelling at Joshua to get a move on. Joshua tells her to watch where she's going, but naturally Estelle crashes straight into the uniformed girl and they both go sprawling. Oof! Estelle quickly apologizes and helps up the girl - is she okay?! She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, and… The girl assures Estelle it's alright. She has to confess her attention was elsewhere as well… Estelle concludes they're even, then. Joshua sighs, and wonders what Estelle is doing…?
There's a weird moment where the uniformed girl just goes '???' while Joshua stammers that there's n-nothing… (Mutual recognition, maybe?) Anyway, he apologizes for Estelle disturbing the girl, and hopes she's not hurt. The girl assures him she's fine. She was looking for someone and didn't watch where she was going either. She's trying to find a little boy, about ten years old, wearing a cap. We haven't seen him, by any chance? We don't recall anyone by that description, which just worries the girl more - where could he be? She asks to be excused, and apologizes for any trouble she caused once again, then runs off. In her wake, Joshua stares after her with '...' above his head, much to Estelle's confusion. It takes her a prod or two to jolt him from his thoughts. What is it?
Estelle suddenly comes to a conclusion about what's going on there…! Joshua wonders what half-baked idea she's cooking up this time? Estelle tells him he doesn't have to be shy about it. She can see the way that girl set Joshua's heart aflutter. Joshua categorically denies that - ab-so-lute-ly NOT. He just thinks he's met her before, a long time ago. Estelle figures that as pick-up lines go, she'd give that thirty points. Joshua quickly moves on from that.
He mentions that the girl's uniform was familiar, wasn't it? Estelle agrees - now that he mentions it, wasn't that the same uniform Josette used as a disguise? Joshua explains it's the Jenis Royal Academy uniform. Since we're in Ruan, it's not surprising to see someone wearing one. Estelle guesses this is the real thing, then? She seemed polite and smart… and refined. Totally different from that scruffy, crude pretender in other words! Joshua wonders what she's thinking, sinceJosette had her completely fooled from the get-go! Oh, and that's right, didn't Estelle tease him about it then, too? Well, if she gets taken for a fool again, don't expect him to help out… Instead of picking on him, why doesn't she work on becoming a better judge of character? Estelle says that fine, she won't pick on him anymore. Joshua is pleased, and proposes heading onto that viewing platform with our food.
The two walk over towards the inn, and Estelle marvels at the view - you can practically see the entire ocean from here. Getting to eat at a nice place like thai really makes it feel like you're living it up, huh? Joshua suggests we have ourselves a little picnic. Estelle is starving, so she's in full agreement. The two quickly grab one of the benches, where Estelle shows off her smoked ham sandwich - it smells so good! Joshua is looking forward to his paella - he loves the smell of saffron. Let's dig in! Estelle confirms it's as good as it smells - the lettuce is super-fresh and crunchy. Joshua agrees his meal is great too - compliments to the chef!
Estelle asks if she can have a bite? She's never tried paella before. Joshua figures we can just share, but Estelle complains that she's got her hands full. Ah, she knows how to fix this - he'll just have to feed her! 'Feed… you?' Joshua asks nervously, but Estelle just opens her mouth wide. Joshua thinks it's all a little embarrassing, but Estelle assures him it's not like anyone's watching. Unless he can let loose, he'll never enjoy himself! Joshua mutters that it's not being seen that's embarrassing. He doesn't have much of a choice, though, does he? He feeds her a bit of paella, and she munches on it happily - it's delicious! Fantastic seafood. She's not sure what that sweet-peppery smell is, but it really adds something.
Estelle realizes she's being selfish and shoves her sandwich into Joshua's mouth - a little too enthusiastically, perhaps. Joshua quickly works it down, but complains that while it's pretty taste, she really didn't have to do that, you know. Estelle just smiles and says she knew that. Ahhh… that hit the spot! Joshua notes the herbal tea was also pretty good - Estelle agrees that it's nice and warming without sitting all heavy. The breeze up here is nice, too - makes her sleepy. Joshua warns that they say you shouldn't sleep right after eating, but maybe a post-meal nap isn't so bad in moderation…
Suddenly Estelle spots a seabird flying by - it looked like a seagull, but it was huge! Joshua noticed that the wings were a different shape, though, and the beak was sharp. Maybe it was some kind of falcon or eagle? Estelle didn't know they made falcons in white… She wonders if it's a sign of good fortune in our future? Joshua thinks that would be nice, then muses that Estelle just claimed she was sleepy, but here she's jumping around. Estelle admits she's sleepy anymore, I guess, and Joshua proposes we should get going, then. He'd like to check in with the Ruanian guild branch and get all our paperwork squared away. Estelle hates to leave, but I guess we'll have to…
As we walk back from the mill, though, a small pink-haired boy with a cap rushes into the street and smacks straight into Estelle - she's really not very lucky today, is she? Even Estelle calls it out.
The boy apologizes and says he was just looking for someone - say, we're not from around here, are we? Estelle confirms we're from out of town, then notes this boy fits the description the girl in uniform gave earlier. She explains that someone's looking for the boy, and wonders if he knows anything about that? The boy confirms he's actually looking for her, and asks where we saw her. We note it was by the tavern, but that was a while ago, so we don't know where she went afterwards. Estelle wonders if he'd like help with the search, but the boy says that's okay - he's pretty sure he can find her. Okay, bye!
Estelle comments that the kid seemed pretty energetic - reminds her a little of Luke from back in Rolent. She wonders what the kids there are up to now… Joshua is still staring after the boy, and Estelle asks him what's wrong. Joshua notes that it might be his imagination, but wonders if Estelle has lost anything? Estelle, confused, asks him what he means. Joshua clarifies that he's asking if she lost anything she was wearing, like a money pouch or something. Estelle is not sure why he's asking, then checks her pouch and hairbands - those are still there. Next, Bracer Emblem… What?! It's missing!
Joshua concludes that he knew it. Estelle wonders if she dropped it on the mountain pass or something, but Joshua says she was wearing it when we had lunch, so if she lost it, it was around here. Estelle finally catches on, and Joshua confirms it - it was probably that kid's doing. He bets it happened right when he 'accidentally' ran into her.
Estelle, outraged, demands to know why he'd want that emblem?! Joshua wonders what reason kids have for wanting anything? He probably just took it because he could. Estelle swears he's in so much trouble now! Once she gets her hands on him, he's gonna get the spanking of his life! Joshua figures that for now, we should just check to see where he went.
Amelia mentions that the only child in the village is Lucia, so the boy with the cap is definitely not from here. Zack says he's been in and around his house all day, and he's seen no little boys here, so he can't help us. Sorry! Solomon and Elder Serge confirm he hasn't been in their place either. Carla and Alvin haven't seen the boy, while Shelby asks for distinguishing features - Estelle explains about the cap and him being kind of a brat, but that doesn't help either. Carla did see the girl with the uniform, though…
Rex recognizes us from earlier, and wonders if everything's okay? No, there were no little boys in this establishment. Creda says no little boy has come into her store, but perhaps Sadie has seen him pass by? Lucia mentions that she knows who we mean - she saw him over by the flower shop. We can also head to the edge of town and try to leave, but Joshua says we should check the town first.
Rex recognizes us from earlier, and wonders if everything's okay? No, there were no little boys in this establishment. Creda says no little boy has come into her store, but perhaps Sadie has seen him pass by? Lucia mentions that she knows who we mean - she saw him over by the flower shop. We can also head to the edge of town and try to leave, but Joshua says we should check the town first.
Approaching Sadie who runs the flower shop, she wonders what's wrong? Estelle says she's got a few questions for her. She hasn't seen a little boy in a cap around here, has she? Sadie thinks for a moment, and wonders if he was a student's guest at the royal academy? The boy is not from this town, and she thinks he's one of the orphans from Mercia Orphanage. A woman called Matron Theresa is the administrator there, and she takes in kids who've lost their parents. It's just off the Gull Seaside Way, to the east of here, on a little byroad.
Estelle figures that if the kid lives there, we should go there next, and Joshua agrees. Sadie helpfully marks the location down on our map.
Solomon mentions that everyone in the village tries to help the Mercia Orphanage out. Matron Theresa's already gone through so much… Ever since Zack quit his job and returned to the village, he's been going there a lot. Zack hears we're headed to the orphanage, and thinks we're good kids - he goes there himself, from time to time. He and Solomon sometimes help out with manual labor there since Matron Theresa doesn't have any men around.
Elder Serge says that Matron Theresa occasionally brings the children to Manoria from the orphanage. They're all very close, as though they were bound by blood rather than circumstance. Lucia adds that the kids at the orphanage come to play sometimes, and he's met them a few times. The matron is a really nice lady! Amelia is not sure what Zack intends to do in the future… If he doesn't get a job, no woman is ever going to want to marry him. He's been a constant source of worry, ever since he was little. Creda notes that some people say the airships are the reason nobody comes here anymore, and why all the young people leave. She, for one, likes peace and quiet. She just wants a nice, quiet place where she can grow old gracefully.
Alvin wants to go mountain climbing, and you know why? That's a silly question - because they're there! Estelle mumbles that she didn't actually ask… Shelby says they've got all the provision they need, so now they're getting the equipment. Last time they were here the weather stayed too nasty for them to climb, but it's looking better this time. Carla says the magnolias are blooming in two and threes again this year. The village has no particular specialities, but they sometimes have people who come to see the flowers. Rex agrees that they get lots of people who come to check out the scenery, while the rest are mountain climbers. Used to be that they got all of their business from people going back and forth between Ruan and Bose…
If we head back up to the Krone Pass Checkpoint (for some reason), Private Usher notes that those monsters the other day were a lot stronger than he imagined. This means he'll have to train a lot harder than he has been! Warrant Officer Serose is surprised to see us bracers from the other night again, and wonders what he can help us with today? Do we have business up here? Private Cutinger says it's almost time for training. In light of the monsters attacking the checkpoint, he needs to get himself ready for anything else. CWO Zelste wonders how they should protect against an enemy if they're attacked on both sides…? That's the topic of today's training. Private Mikey mentions they're almost out of firewood, so after training and reporting back to the chief, he intends to go out and gather some more.
Elder Serge says that Matron Theresa occasionally brings the children to Manoria from the orphanage. They're all very close, as though they were bound by blood rather than circumstance. Lucia adds that the kids at the orphanage come to play sometimes, and he's met them a few times. The matron is a really nice lady! Amelia is not sure what Zack intends to do in the future… If he doesn't get a job, no woman is ever going to want to marry him. He's been a constant source of worry, ever since he was little. Creda notes that some people say the airships are the reason nobody comes here anymore, and why all the young people leave. She, for one, likes peace and quiet. She just wants a nice, quiet place where she can grow old gracefully.
Alvin wants to go mountain climbing, and you know why? That's a silly question - because they're there! Estelle mumbles that she didn't actually ask… Shelby says they've got all the provision they need, so now they're getting the equipment. Last time they were here the weather stayed too nasty for them to climb, but it's looking better this time. Carla says the magnolias are blooming in two and threes again this year. The village has no particular specialities, but they sometimes have people who come to see the flowers. Rex agrees that they get lots of people who come to check out the scenery, while the rest are mountain climbers. Used to be that they got all of their business from people going back and forth between Ruan and Bose…
If we head back up to the Krone Pass Checkpoint (for some reason), Private Usher notes that those monsters the other day were a lot stronger than he imagined. This means he'll have to train a lot harder than he has been! Warrant Officer Serose is surprised to see us bracers from the other night again, and wonders what he can help us with today? Do we have business up here? Private Cutinger says it's almost time for training. In light of the monsters attacking the checkpoint, he needs to get himself ready for anything else. CWO Zelste wonders how they should protect against an enemy if they're attacked on both sides…? That's the topic of today's training. Private Mikey mentions they're almost out of firewood, so after training and reporting back to the chief, he intends to go out and gather some more.
House of Future JRPG Protagonists
With that, we head out eastwards from Manoria onto the Gull Seaside Way, which leads us past a small beach area and onwards towards a two-way split. One direction leads towards Mercia Orphanage, naturally, while the other goes towards Ruan City. As we approach, Estelle makes a few expressions which Joshua can't interpret. Finally she snaps that this settles it! The situation has nothing to do with it - it's not okay to take things from people! When we find that boy, we have to punish him! Joshua chuckles - leave it to her to get all worked up over this. For right now she'll need to settle down, alright?
Heading north along the path we enter the area of Mercia Orphanage, where a couple of kids are playing. A girl called Mary asks 'Clem' where he went? Miss Kloe is gonna be worried about him! Clem, of course, is the boy from the village who stole the emblem… He laughs off that Kloe won't be worried - not after showing her the awesome thing he got! Now, the other kids shouldn't freak out or anything, but he just borrowed this from some crazy lady he ran into. 'Who are you calling crazy?' a voice calls from off-screen, and Clem blanches. ACK! What is she doing here?!
Estelle walks closer and huffs that she's a bracer - give her a little credit. Wherever a delinquent like him goes, we'll figure it out in no time! Clem curses and declares that she won't be catching him! He rushes off, and Estelle yells at him to get back here, before chasing after him. Mary, meanwhile, asks Joshua what's going on. Daniel, another kid, asks if Clem did something bad again? Joshua apologizes for barging in like this, while Estelle finally catches Clem, who demands to be let go - he'll sue her for child abuse! Estelle calls him a real brat, and demands her emblem back. Clem says she's got no proof he took it, and Estelle says he's right about that - but that's nothing a quick search won't fix. She quickly rifles through his pockets while Clem protests that tickles! Cut it out! Pervert! Abuse! Estelle just tells him to give it up and hand over what he took.
A girl's voice yells 'Sieg!' from off-screen, and a bird swings by - what the hell was that? A familiar purple-haired girl steps out of the orphanage and holds out her arm, and the large white bird from earlier lands on her arm. She then tells Estelle to get away from the boy. If she lays another hand on him, she'll have her to con… Hold on, didn't they meet in Manoria? The bird, a Gyrfalcon, screes in confusion. Clem begs for help from 'Miss Kloe', claiming he didn't do anything and she's just being mean to him. Estelle angrily snaps that he stole her emblem! 'Didn't do anything,' her butt! Clem again asks for proof - and no tickling this time! Estelle growls but releases the boy onto the ground.
Joshua cheerfully greets Kloe, who is more welcoming now, and admits she thought for sure that a thief had broken in. She assumes there's a reason for all of this? Mary confirms that there is, and says Clem was being bad again. Daniel, meanwhile, is more interested in whether the apple pie is ready yet…? Kloe tells him he'll have to wait a little longer, since it still needs time to bake. While Estelle and Clem still snipe at each other, calling each other 'brat' and 'child abuser' respectively, Mary wonders when the boy is going to grow up. Daniel is still stuck on the pie… Joshua just thinks this has all gotten out of hand, and Kloe and her bird suppose that it has, ha ha…
A woman's voice from inside the orphanage wonders what all the noise is about? It's Matron Theresa, and while she doesn't know the full story, it sounds like Clem has been up to no good. Clem protests that it's not fair - he didn't do anything! The pervert lady just says he did! Estelle wonders who he's calling a pervert?! Theresa muses this just won't do, and asks Clem if he really didn't do anything? Does he swear to Aidios? When he hesitantly swears, Theresa muses that it's just that he dropped some kind of badge in the nursery earlier… That wasn't his, was it? Clean protests that it's in his pants pocket!
He catches that he just confessed a moment too late, and Estelle snarls that she knew it! Joshua just compliments the Matron on a job well done. Theresa tells Clem there will be no more excuses - he should give back what he stole. Reluctantly the kid does so - alright, alright, just drop it! He tosses the emblem at Estelle's feet then takes off, while Kloe calls after him. Theresa says it's alright - he'll be back when he starts getting cold. More to the point - why is everyone standing around? Why don't they tell her the whole story over a cup of tea?
Estelle introduces herself and explains all the events so far over a veritable feast of tea and pie, and we move inside the orphanage to have a chat. Matron Theresa is concerned, but says that Clem isn't really a mean-spirited child, though he can be quite a little trickster. As his guard, though, she must apologize for his actions. Estelle figures it's okay now that she's got her emblem back. Plus she got some tasty herbal tea and apple pie out of it, so they're square. Theresa thanks her for that, and Joshua agrees the tea was really the best part. It's just like what they brew in the tavern - is it grown locally? Theresa confirms that, stating that gardening is one of her hobbies, actually. She gives some to the barkeep at the tavern when she has extra.
Estelle gives her vote to the apple pie - it was plain amazing. Theresa can't take credit for that one, though - Kloe made that. Kloe thinks it's still so embarrassing that she was so rude earlier - to think she could have been so mistaken! Estelle tells her not to worry about it. Apple pie heals all wounds, or something like that. Besides, she wasn't acting like any kind of saint herself… That white hawk sure surprised the hell out of her, though. Kloe mentions that it was Sieg, the gyrfalcon. Joshua recognizes that as Liberl's national bird, and noticed that Kloe seemed really comfortable with him. Is he her pet? Kloe says she doesn't keep him, but he's a close friend. Estelle thinks that's a pretty cool friend to have…
That reminds her, actually. Isn't she a student at the royal academy? But she lives here at the orphanage…? Kloe clarifies that she stays in the girls' dorm on campus, but it's not far away so she likes to come here to visit when she can. Sometimes she worries she might be kind of a bother, though. Theresa assures her she doesn't have to think like that - she's always so helpful when she comes by, and the children are always happy to see her. She personally worries that Kloe might be neglecting her duties at school in favor of them, actually, but she knows that is a silly concern to have about her… Kloe assures Theresa she won't let her down.
Estelle repeats that she lives on campus, huh? She's always kind of wanted to know what that was like. Joshua says he imagines that they got a weekly taste of it at the church lessons. But isn't the entrance exam for the academy pretty hard? Estelle thinks her head would explode if she had to take an exam like that…
Kloe says it's not that hard, and believes it must be far more difficult to become a bracer. She's always kind of wanted to be one, ever since she was a little girl! Estelle is not sure what to say to that - she's just met a bracer, but only an apprentice. Joshua explains that we have to travel all over the kingdom before we can advance. We'll be in Ruan for a little while, though. Matron figures in that case she may get a chance to repay us, and the children would love to play with us again. She'll prepare a whole mountain of tea and baked goods!
Leaving the orphanage alongside Kloe, Estelle comments that Matron Theresa sure is a nice lady, and Joshua agrees she's very motherly. Kloe laughs and says she's sure all the children here think of her as their mother! Sieg flies into the screen and lands on Kloe's arm, and she wonders if he was waiting for her? She reassures the bird we're not here to hurt anyone, and introduces us to him. He remembers us, right? The gyrfalcon screeches happily, and Estelle is amazed she can actually talk to him. Kloe clarifies he doesn't actually talk, per se, but she can understand what he's trying to say. They've always been able to tell what the other is feeling. Estelle is very impressed by this cool bird telepathy, and Joshua thinks it sounds like mutual love, which Kloe agrees to.
Estelle greets Sieg directly and says it's nice to meet him, then asks him to read her mind! When the bird makes confused noises in response, Estelle wonders if maybe her thoughts are too complex to read…? Joshua notes that if she was thinking of what he thinks she was thinking of, then… no. Kloe snickers, and wonders if the two of us are headed for Ruan City next? Estelle confirms we're planning to register at the guild there, otherwise we can't get work here. Kloe figures that if we're headed to the guild, she's got a few things to do over there herself, so maybe she could show us around? Estelle thinks that sounds great, but Joshua wonders if she shouldn't get back to school? Kloe assures him it's fine, since she got special permission to be out today. She won't have to return until after nightfall. Sounds like a plan, then!
Matron Theresa tells us to come back soon - the children would be delighted to see us again. There isn't much for them to do, you see. All they have here is tea and candy.
Daniel muses that Miss Kloe makes the best apple pie. He could eat it three times a day forever! Mary apologizes for all the trouble Clem caused, but he's always like that. What a pain… Polly asks 'Stelle and Joshy to come and play some more again, okay? When he returns, Clem asks Miss Kloe to come back to see them sometime soon, okay? They'll be waiting.
Daniel muses that Miss Kloe makes the best apple pie. He could eat it three times a day forever! Mary apologizes for all the trouble Clem caused, but he's always like that. What a pain… Polly asks 'Stelle and Joshy to come and play some more again, okay? When he returns, Clem asks Miss Kloe to come back to see them sometime soon, okay? They'll be waiting.
As we go to leave the area, a boy's voice calls out to 'Miss Kloe' from the side of the path. Clem has returned, and Kloe tells him that he knows he shouldn't be playing around here. What would he do if a monster attacked him? Clem says he just had to come to apologize to her… He's sorry about lying about the emblem thingy. Kloe assures him she's not mad at him, but isn't there someone else he should be apologizing to? Clem says that - ack - no there isn't!
Kloe assures him he's a good boy, and after a few moments he caves - alright, if she wants him to, he's gotta do it. He walks up to 'Ms. Bracer-lady' and says sorry. Estelle is shocked, but declares that there is justice in the world, after all! Clem argues we shouldn't get him wrong - he just wanted to apologize to Miss Kloe! Aren't bracers supposed to pay attention to what's going on? If a little kid like him can just grab something off her so easily, what's her excuse? Bye-bye, now! She should make sure to hone that training of hers before she loses something even more valuable!
With that he rushes off, and Estelle again complains he's such a little brat! Joshua tells her to settle down, and concludes Clem was just trying to hide his own embarrassment. That, and Estelle really isn't the most attentive person in the world, so maybe she should heed the advice…? Estelle just complains Joshua is an even bigger brat!
Kloe giggles at the interplay and concludes we must be really close. Joshua says that it's only insofar as we try to look out for each other. Estelle muses that clearly that's a big help… Kloe admits she is a little envious since she was an only child, so she wishes she knew what that kind of relationship feels like… Estelle is intrigued, but Kloe waves off any further discussion by saying it's nothing, and proposes we head out towards the city. We can get there by just following the beach further east. Let's get going, then!
...Or not. Turning around right now is totally unnatural, but go figure - if you do, people are saying new stuff!
Creda muses that the flowers overlooking the village are beautiful, aren't they? It's very convenient to have a city like Ruan so close by, but she quite likes it here. Sadie mentions she opened up a florist shop to help cheer up the town a little. Would we like anything? At the inn, Alvin declares he loves the mountains, as there's nothing as refreshing as waking up early and smelling the mountain air. Plus the feel on his skin…. Man, he wants to go climbing! Shelby explains that the Krone mountains push into Valleria Lake like a small peninsula. You've got to have climbing gear because of the sheer elevation involved. The season and weather are important, but you've also got to plan out the right route. Right now they're waiting for the weather to settle down. It's fine down here, but it's still pretty nasty up on the mountaintops…
Carla mentions that next up is getting her laundry done. Today is supposed to be sunny, so she'll have no better chance to dry the clothes. Rex comments there's not much wind today, so it'd be nice to have a walk on the beach. Zack comments that Ruan certainly is changing - the entire town used to be built around trade and fishing. Nowadays, though, it's been turning into a big tourist trap. Rumor has it that there's been some civil unrest there lately… Solomon says he and Zack are bringing some food to the orphanage today, and it should be enough for all the kids. He'd better start getting set up.
Elder Serge says that the Gull Seaside Way leads to Ruan, and some call it the Sea Breeze Road. The view is impressive, and the breeze from the water is very pleasant. He makes a point of taking a walk out there each day. Lucia sighs, and says she wants to go play at the orphanage. It must be nice being like brothers and sisters with all those kids. She wants to play with everyone! Amelia says all the worrying about her brother will be the death of her, but Zack's always worried about the family… It's as if he's incapable of thinking of himself!
Carla mentions that next up is getting her laundry done. Today is supposed to be sunny, so she'll have no better chance to dry the clothes. Rex comments there's not much wind today, so it'd be nice to have a walk on the beach. Zack comments that Ruan certainly is changing - the entire town used to be built around trade and fishing. Nowadays, though, it's been turning into a big tourist trap. Rumor has it that there's been some civil unrest there lately… Solomon says he and Zack are bringing some food to the orphanage today, and it should be enough for all the kids. He'd better start getting set up.
Elder Serge says that the Gull Seaside Way leads to Ruan, and some call it the Sea Breeze Road. The view is impressive, and the breeze from the water is very pleasant. He makes a point of taking a walk out there each day. Lucia sighs, and says she wants to go play at the orphanage. It must be nice being like brothers and sisters with all those kids. She wants to play with everyone! Amelia says all the worrying about her brother will be the death of her, but Zack's always worried about the family… It's as if he's incapable of thinking of himself!
Next: We finally get to Ruan City! Took a while.
- Pronouns
- He
house, village, field, city...
And now you've met one of my favorite non-Joshua and Estelle characters, tied with Schera and Oliver. Kloe, obviously, not Clem.
Trails in the Sky (Part 31) - Come to Picturesque Ruan City, Avoid Half of It
- Location
- Netherlands
Finally, Ruan City!
The Gull Seaside Way is actually three maps long - the first is the map with the branch towards the orphanage, but the next couple lead across the beach since parts of the actual road have collapsed. Partway through this trek, though, there's a little cul-de-sac to the north, and we can hear a man yelling for help from inside. 'Ahhh! Somebody!' A villager named Jimmy has gotten himself surrounded by a trio of sand-sharks, and our bracer crew (and Kloe) jump into the action to save him. It's a fight against three 'Crododarks' which are hilariously super-slow, so there's minimal chance they'll even close in enough to get a bite off. Kloe is a guest character at the moment, so we'll have to keep her safe too, but that's not exactly hard.
After finishing off the sharks, Joshua concludes everything is okay now. Kloe is concerned Jimmy is hurt, but the man seems fine and is relieved by the rescue. He thought he was done for, this time! He barely missed becoming fish food… Estelle says it's because he was out here by himself - what in the world was he doing? Jimmy says that's rather complicated, and he can't really talk about it. Estelle figures that doesn't matter to her, and just warns him to stop wandering into dangerous places all alone. Next time he might not be so lucky! Jimmy admits she's right. He muses that today was a close call and he saved up some money, so it's time to splurge a little. Joshua proposes that we escort him back to town, but Jimmy says he's okay - he's fine going down the coast road alone. Later, and thanks! Estelle thinks that was one easy-going guy, but Joshua suspects he was here for a reason. He'd hate to see the guy get in trouble again…
If you twist your camera, you can actually find a secret chest hidden around the corner, and it contains a bunch of monsters. The Ruby Talisman is what you get from beating these, though I didn't do that until a bit later. Passing onward to the next map, we get another large beach section alongside a dead-end sideroad and another branching path towards the end, one way going towards Vista Forest Road and the other to Ruan City. Via some creative maneuvering through shallow waters you can pick up a Battle Suit for Joshua, and by following a very long and winding secret road you can pick up some Skull Daggers for him too, and a mysteriou Torn Map. Joshua suspects the ancient daggers date back to the Orbal Revolution, while the torn map seems like part of a sea chart, from before people used airships and traveled by water. Maybe this beach lies on an old trade route…? Basically Joshua is a pirate now.
Back on the road, we're stopped partway down the path by a large monster in the middle of the road - we'll have to exterminate it to head past, so I guess this is a little sidequest you have to finish before you can ever even pick it up?
[Boss: Jabba, Stove Plant ×2, Crocodark ×2]
The Crocodarks are absolutely no threat for a few turns, while the Jabba spams arts and the plants occasionally confuse people. Water element is extremely effective against a couple of these guys, ironically, so just spam water arts to win this battle before they really get a good rhythm going.
Afterwards, we just keep heading down the path, picking up some healing potions from random chests, before turning into the forest road to see what's up. This leads to the entrance of Jenis Royal Academy. Kloe explains she goes to school here, but classes aren't in session right now, unfortunately, so she can't show us around. Estelle is amazed - this place is huge. She really studies here? Sure is different from our little Sunday School! With that diversion out of the way, it's finally time to exit the beachfront and get into the city proper…
Ruan, much like Bose, consists of two large blocks - North and South. Unlike Bose, however, they're separated by more than a staircase - there's an enormous mechanical drawbridge in between the two segments of the city, crossing over a broad river that's central to the place.
The camera pans across the guild located in the middle of town, and we can see numerous white buildings and many small canals flowing in between them like Venice or Amsterdam. We pan over to the corner of the map where our party enters right next to the weapon shop. Wow, so this is Ruan! It's one gorgeous city! The blue water and white buildings do make a nice contrast… It certainly feels like a port city!
Kloe agrees it promises many varied things, and explains there's a lighthouse not far from here, in a little park on the coast, and on the other side of town there's a pretty neat-looking church, too. The biggest attraction of all, though, has to be the Langland Bridge. Estelle wonders what's special about it, and Kloe explains it connects the north and south districts of the city, but more importantly - it's a drawbridge! Joshua seems interested in that, sure. Kloe explains that the Bracer Guild is just past here in the middle of the main street, right in front of the bridge. Estelle figures we should go there first, then.
…Yeah, maybe. Eventually.
Right as we enter the city, Matilda is sitting on a bridge over one of the canals and welcomes us to the seaside city of Ruan. Right across the street is the weapon shop, where Eva comments on what a cute little bracer Estelle is - or bracer-in-training, if she recognizes her crest correctly. Estelle compliments her on knowing her stuff, and she confirms she knows a few things… Upstairs, Nikita greets Kloe and wonders what brings her to town? Kloe explains she's just playing tour guide, while Estelle recognizes her school uniform as the one Kloe is wearing. Kloe figures Nikita is on her way home, and she confirms there's club practice today, so… She also wonders if Kloe ever made up her mind about 'you-know-what'? Okay, hope she does that soon… Estelle is curious what that was about, but Nikita tells Kloe that since she took the trouble to come here, she hopes she'll relax and enjoy herself.
In the next house over, Renzo explains that Ruan was originally a town of sailors and fishermen. You'd have men from all around the world here, and they all made their living at sea. He wants his son to live that kind of life too… to be a real man! His wife Liz recognizes Kloe's royal academy uniform, and says that now that she gets a close look at it, she likes it even more! Their son, Antonio, is upstairs in his room and mentions he should head over to the harbor soon, as there are things he wants to get done!
If you take a hike along the canals you can find Percy the fisherman singing a ditty about coming from afar to the Seaside City - ol' Azalea Bay stretches on, and the fish are sure pretty… You can also get into the orbment shop from the canal-side, where Tobias says there's a lot of tourists today. They don't have reservations for the hotel, though, and that place is booked solid! He thinks the Bracer Guild office is opening up to take them in… Outside the front door, Ruvie reminds us that she was one of the people the sky bandits held prisoner, so it's been ages since she's seen her hometown. It's still her favorite place in the world! Her daughter Atget says she's been playing with her mom out here! There's also a large hotel near here, Hotel Blanche, where we can talk to Ernest at the reservation desk. He explains that all of the rooms here boast a magnificent view of the ocean, so we should feel free to relax and enjoy the amenities. Despite being fully-booked, the place is pretty empty.
Heading towards a nearby monument, a cutscene plays - a tour guide named Ciel is leading a group of tourists around, and explains that this location is a park built to commemorate the end of the Hundred Days War. She has a question for everyone, then - as they know, they'll be right in front of the Royal Palace if you cross the Roubine River, and that's where the ships of the Imperial Navy were defeated during the war. How was that done? Randall says that's easy - it was the cannons all over Ruan City, right? Ciel says that's not quite true - there certainly is plenty of artillery here, but they still can't withstand a heavy Imperial attack with that alone…
He gives a hint - a much more dynamic method was used. Muriel yells that she knows, she knows! Did they lower the Landland Bridge!? Ciel that's unfortunately also incorrect - power to the city had been knocked out at the time, so the bridge was stuck in the raised position. Muriel is not pleased with guessing wrong. Ciel decides to just give the answer, this time. Many old and decommissioned ships were sent from upriver to be detonated and sunk, and since the mouth of the river is so shallow, the Imperial ships couldn't break through! Muriel thinks that's cool, but also a bit much… Randall agrees it does sound extreme. Ciel just tells everyone they're done for the day now, so they're free to do as they wish for a while. They should have fun until it's time!
Speaking to the people after the cutscene, Rutherford mentions he brought his father and daughter here to Ruan, and fortunately everyone's been getting along very well. If something does start up though, he's keeping out of the line of fire! Randall comments that the Royal Army is quite impressive… Muriel is not sure why her dad has to be so stubborn… Ciel, meanwhile, concludes she should escort everyone to the hotel now…
There's a waterside restaurant, Lavantar Casino & Bar, where Melvin mentions that he ran into this really fast monster on the beach not long ago - and when he tried to kill it, he actually broke his sword on its hide! It may be small, but it's tough! Hardt is a customer, and thought the airship trouble was going to ruin the business meeting, but he's glad he rushed here from Bose! At the bar, Primo wonders what he has here - are we travelers? Word to the wise - we should stay away from the warehouse district. They've got some real unsavory types hanging out down there.
Upstairs we can find a sign which notes that the newly remodeled casino will reopen just in time for the Queen's birthday celebration. Spiridon explains that he's planning to coincide the grand opening with the festivities, but right now there's still remodeling going on.
In one of the houses past the bridge we can speak to Gerome, who is getting ready for school. He's done everything he needs to get done, so he can't really complain… Eletta has just finished washing the clothes, and mentions that her big brother helped her today - mom and dad are both working. A little further we can find the local chapel, where Sister Frieda mentions that when the sun sets in the evening, the light comes in from over the water and through the stained glass, and it's quite beautiful. Since the building itself is so pretty, it's very popular with women… Father Theodore says that this area was populated mainly by men waiting off to go to sea long ago, true louts all. A magazine article described this 'seaside church' as nothing more than a tourist attraction! There's also a 'O'Neil Duty-Free Shop' where O'Neil immediately starts narrating as we enter - oh, when he was young, nary a mira to his name, she sailed around the world on a trading ship! Once upon a time, Ruan was full of men with the same drive…
Near the bridge we can speak to a group of people - Legaro says the bridge is amazing, and Sylvie comments it's much bigger than she'd expected! Seagaro is here, and says he's seen the bridge on postcards before, but this is the first time he's seen it in person. Edel agrees that it's an amazing view. Tour Guide Lytton asks everyone to look over here… To our left is Ruan's iconic Langland Bridge. When it's down, it spans roughly 109 arge in length, and a custom Zeissian orbal engine is used to raise it. He apologizes to us for having no time to talk - he has guests to lead around now!
We can also head over to the Ruan Landing Port, where Receptionist Edwin mentions that any time the airships are grounded, he gets absolutely flooded with inquiries… Of course, even when everything is running perfectly smoothly, he's still busy. At least it's not boring!
Further into the rather huge landing port, Clive is discussing an engineering issue with Samario and Todd - it's not a problem yet, but just to be safe he needs him to swap out plugs four and seven, and to make sure to check the orbal pressure in the process. Todd comes across as rather less experienced. Sure enough, Clive and Samario wave us off - they're in the middle of work, after all - but Todd confirms he's a mechanic trainee. He's not even in uniform!
In the next house over, Renzo explains that Ruan was originally a town of sailors and fishermen. You'd have men from all around the world here, and they all made their living at sea. He wants his son to live that kind of life too… to be a real man! His wife Liz recognizes Kloe's royal academy uniform, and says that now that she gets a close look at it, she likes it even more! Their son, Antonio, is upstairs in his room and mentions he should head over to the harbor soon, as there are things he wants to get done!
If you take a hike along the canals you can find Percy the fisherman singing a ditty about coming from afar to the Seaside City - ol' Azalea Bay stretches on, and the fish are sure pretty… You can also get into the orbment shop from the canal-side, where Tobias says there's a lot of tourists today. They don't have reservations for the hotel, though, and that place is booked solid! He thinks the Bracer Guild office is opening up to take them in… Outside the front door, Ruvie reminds us that she was one of the people the sky bandits held prisoner, so it's been ages since she's seen her hometown. It's still her favorite place in the world! Her daughter Atget says she's been playing with her mom out here! There's also a large hotel near here, Hotel Blanche, where we can talk to Ernest at the reservation desk. He explains that all of the rooms here boast a magnificent view of the ocean, so we should feel free to relax and enjoy the amenities. Despite being fully-booked, the place is pretty empty.
Heading towards a nearby monument, a cutscene plays - a tour guide named Ciel is leading a group of tourists around, and explains that this location is a park built to commemorate the end of the Hundred Days War. She has a question for everyone, then - as they know, they'll be right in front of the Royal Palace if you cross the Roubine River, and that's where the ships of the Imperial Navy were defeated during the war. How was that done? Randall says that's easy - it was the cannons all over Ruan City, right? Ciel says that's not quite true - there certainly is plenty of artillery here, but they still can't withstand a heavy Imperial attack with that alone…
He gives a hint - a much more dynamic method was used. Muriel yells that she knows, she knows! Did they lower the Landland Bridge!? Ciel that's unfortunately also incorrect - power to the city had been knocked out at the time, so the bridge was stuck in the raised position. Muriel is not pleased with guessing wrong. Ciel decides to just give the answer, this time. Many old and decommissioned ships were sent from upriver to be detonated and sunk, and since the mouth of the river is so shallow, the Imperial ships couldn't break through! Muriel thinks that's cool, but also a bit much… Randall agrees it does sound extreme. Ciel just tells everyone they're done for the day now, so they're free to do as they wish for a while. They should have fun until it's time!
Speaking to the people after the cutscene, Rutherford mentions he brought his father and daughter here to Ruan, and fortunately everyone's been getting along very well. If something does start up though, he's keeping out of the line of fire! Randall comments that the Royal Army is quite impressive… Muriel is not sure why her dad has to be so stubborn… Ciel, meanwhile, concludes she should escort everyone to the hotel now…
There's a waterside restaurant, Lavantar Casino & Bar, where Melvin mentions that he ran into this really fast monster on the beach not long ago - and when he tried to kill it, he actually broke his sword on its hide! It may be small, but it's tough! Hardt is a customer, and thought the airship trouble was going to ruin the business meeting, but he's glad he rushed here from Bose! At the bar, Primo wonders what he has here - are we travelers? Word to the wise - we should stay away from the warehouse district. They've got some real unsavory types hanging out down there.
Upstairs we can find a sign which notes that the newly remodeled casino will reopen just in time for the Queen's birthday celebration. Spiridon explains that he's planning to coincide the grand opening with the festivities, but right now there's still remodeling going on.
In one of the houses past the bridge we can speak to Gerome, who is getting ready for school. He's done everything he needs to get done, so he can't really complain… Eletta has just finished washing the clothes, and mentions that her big brother helped her today - mom and dad are both working. A little further we can find the local chapel, where Sister Frieda mentions that when the sun sets in the evening, the light comes in from over the water and through the stained glass, and it's quite beautiful. Since the building itself is so pretty, it's very popular with women… Father Theodore says that this area was populated mainly by men waiting off to go to sea long ago, true louts all. A magazine article described this 'seaside church' as nothing more than a tourist attraction! There's also a 'O'Neil Duty-Free Shop' where O'Neil immediately starts narrating as we enter - oh, when he was young, nary a mira to his name, she sailed around the world on a trading ship! Once upon a time, Ruan was full of men with the same drive…
Near the bridge we can speak to a group of people - Legaro says the bridge is amazing, and Sylvie comments it's much bigger than she'd expected! Seagaro is here, and says he's seen the bridge on postcards before, but this is the first time he's seen it in person. Edel agrees that it's an amazing view. Tour Guide Lytton asks everyone to look over here… To our left is Ruan's iconic Langland Bridge. When it's down, it spans roughly 109 arge in length, and a custom Zeissian orbal engine is used to raise it. He apologizes to us for having no time to talk - he has guests to lead around now!
We can also head over to the Ruan Landing Port, where Receptionist Edwin mentions that any time the airships are grounded, he gets absolutely flooded with inquiries… Of course, even when everything is running perfectly smoothly, he's still busy. At least it's not boring!
Further into the rather huge landing port, Clive is discussing an engineering issue with Samario and Todd - it's not a problem yet, but just to be safe he needs him to swap out plugs four and seven, and to make sure to check the orbal pressure in the process. Todd comes across as rather less experienced. Sure enough, Clive and Samario wave us off - they're in the middle of work, after all - but Todd confirms he's a mechanic trainee. He's not even in uniform!
We can't currently cross the Langland Bridge since Kloe points us to the nearby Guild branch, where we need to register. The Bracer Guild here looks pretty similar to the one back in Rolent. There's a person looking at the signboards where we pick up sidequests, but nobody at the desk - where's the receptionist? The woman at the board, Carna - who has a portrait, hello - wonders if she can help us? She explains that Jean is currently meeting with a guest on the second floor. She's sorry for the inconvenience, but is there something she can help us with? Estelle explains that we're not customers, and Carna notices the emblems on our chests - ah, so we're in the same business, huh? She introduces herself as a local bracer, and wonders if we're new in town? She doesn't recognize us.
Estella and Joshua quickly introduce themselves as well, and Carna recognizes us as the new kids from Rolent, then. We were involved in some big to-do with Scherazard back in Boe, weren't we? Estell is not sure she'd put it quite like that, while Joshua wonders if she was expecting us? Carna confirms that Jean told her about some promising up-and-comers, but she's afraid we can't change assignments until he's available. Why don't we go sightseeing for a while to kill time? Joshua figures it beats sitting around waiting, and Estelle totally agrees. Estelle then turns to Kloe and wonders if she wants to hang around a while longer? We've only just met, and she'd hate to part so suddenly… Kloe is happy to stick around, so long as she won't be a bother or get in the way. That settles it! Joshua suggests touring the city a bit, and coming back in a little while.
The only thing that's really changed is that the bridge is now open for exploration - so let's have a look!
Walking across, Estelle wonders at the huge construction - so this is the Landland Bridge? It sure is huge. It's got to be twice as big as the Verte Bridge! Kloe explains that it was built more than forty years ago, and before that people used to have to take a ferry from one shore to the other. Estelle wonders why they didn't build a bridge sooner, but Joshua explains that the Roubine River is the only body of water linking the lake to the ocean, and ships still need to reach Grancel, don't they? Kloe confirms that astute observation, and says it wasn't possible to build the bridge until after the Orbal Revolution of fifty years ago. Estelle recalls that's when they came up with orbment power, right? But it looks almost like it just popped up out of nowhere. Kloe mentions the drawbridge is opened three times per day - and the next time should be sometime this evening. Estelle really wants to be there to see that…
With that we enter Ruan's southern block which links to the Aurian Causeway, and is dominated by a harbor, a warehouse district, and the mayor's palatial estate.
Time to have a look around?
One of the buildings here is the Aqua Rossa Bar. Karl is a customer there and mentions that since airship transit got suspended right as he was about to leave, he had to walk here from Zeiss! That's no gentle massage on the feet, let me tell ya! Could have been worse, he supposes. Pesca says a lot of his fellow fishermen have just given up the trade lately, but he doesn't see how he could ever do anything else. As long as people keep wanting to eat fish, he'll keep fishing.
The owner, Squaro, welcomes us to the bar and mentions he mostly sees fishermen and sailors in here, but he's always glad for new customers, whoever they might be. Upstairs we can find some fishing rods on display, and Estelle wonders if she could borrow one for a bit… Zecalte says he just got back from the Calvard Republic some time ago, and hasn't seen this place in a loooong time. He yells at the 'old man' to give him another drink! Bolle says there's nothing like a drink after you've set off… He also complains that nowadays, this town has more landlubbers than anything else…
Beyond the bar is the harbor, where we can run into Simon, who says it'll cost a fortune for a load this big to fly… Guess he can always send it by boat, as long as none of it is a rush order or anything. Benoit guesses we're travelers, right? Just to give us a fair warning, we'll probably want to avoid the warehouse district. There's some unsavory types hanging around there… Harg mentions he's in charge of the Warehouse Key today, and needs to go get it from Chief Portos. Kuper explains this is where they unload cargo from overseas. Foreign goods pass through customers here and get shipped all over Liberl…
If we wander into the warehouse district, we can find Picaro in front of one of the buildings. He wonders what a bunch of kids are doing there? This place is off limits! Estelle points out we never said we wanted to come in. Why is he so nervous? Picaro stutters and asks how she can tell…? Never mind! We're not allowed here! Joshua murmurs that we may need to handle this one with some care… Estelle isn't sure why he's acting so strange, and Kloe stays silent. Picaro just yells that us brats ain't getting in, so scram!
Back at the bridge, we can also head east - almost immediately we can find Brenda, who says the far side of the river has seen a lot of growth lately, mostly centered on trade and tourism. The harbor facilities and the residential district have been side-by-side for a very long time.. Inside a nearby house we can speak to Logic, who says his father can be kind of offensive, which works to both his advantage and detriment. His mother doesn't always say the right things, either… Noria mentions her husband is the harbormaster, but he's a bit of a coward. He's popular and reliable, but she wishes he'd be a little more confident. Said husband, Portos, is upstairs, and concludes he needs to head over to the harbor, as if he's working up to it. As harbormaster, he should definitely not have to put up with such nonsense…
Next door, Louise says her dad is always working - always! Bridget agrees that her husband truly loves his work. It's a wonder that he hasn't passed out from exhaustion on a few occasions! Upstairs, Norman, explains that he works in the tourist and hotel industries of central Ruan. The most popular new construction with the tourists has definitely been the Hotel Blanche. The penthouse suite is particularly nice!
Heading to the mayor's residence, we can find gardener Gartner in the gardens, wondering what he can do for us? We got a problem…? (Nominative Determinism strikes again!) Inside there's a dramatic museum piece on display - it's the Sapphire Glim, said to be the culmination of early orbal arts. It was given to House Dalmore by the citizens of Ruan immediately after the Orbal Revolution, as thanks for contributions to the city's growth. (That thing is definitely getting stolen before the end of this arc. It's Chekhov's chandelier.) Everyone else in here just says the mayor is away.
The owner, Squaro, welcomes us to the bar and mentions he mostly sees fishermen and sailors in here, but he's always glad for new customers, whoever they might be. Upstairs we can find some fishing rods on display, and Estelle wonders if she could borrow one for a bit… Zecalte says he just got back from the Calvard Republic some time ago, and hasn't seen this place in a loooong time. He yells at the 'old man' to give him another drink! Bolle says there's nothing like a drink after you've set off… He also complains that nowadays, this town has more landlubbers than anything else…
Beyond the bar is the harbor, where we can run into Simon, who says it'll cost a fortune for a load this big to fly… Guess he can always send it by boat, as long as none of it is a rush order or anything. Benoit guesses we're travelers, right? Just to give us a fair warning, we'll probably want to avoid the warehouse district. There's some unsavory types hanging around there… Harg mentions he's in charge of the Warehouse Key today, and needs to go get it from Chief Portos. Kuper explains this is where they unload cargo from overseas. Foreign goods pass through customers here and get shipped all over Liberl…
If we wander into the warehouse district, we can find Picaro in front of one of the buildings. He wonders what a bunch of kids are doing there? This place is off limits! Estelle points out we never said we wanted to come in. Why is he so nervous? Picaro stutters and asks how she can tell…? Never mind! We're not allowed here! Joshua murmurs that we may need to handle this one with some care… Estelle isn't sure why he's acting so strange, and Kloe stays silent. Picaro just yells that us brats ain't getting in, so scram!
Back at the bridge, we can also head east - almost immediately we can find Brenda, who says the far side of the river has seen a lot of growth lately, mostly centered on trade and tourism. The harbor facilities and the residential district have been side-by-side for a very long time.. Inside a nearby house we can speak to Logic, who says his father can be kind of offensive, which works to both his advantage and detriment. His mother doesn't always say the right things, either… Noria mentions her husband is the harbormaster, but he's a bit of a coward. He's popular and reliable, but she wishes he'd be a little more confident. Said husband, Portos, is upstairs, and concludes he needs to head over to the harbor, as if he's working up to it. As harbormaster, he should definitely not have to put up with such nonsense…
Next door, Louise says her dad is always working - always! Bridget agrees that her husband truly loves his work. It's a wonder that he hasn't passed out from exhaustion on a few occasions! Upstairs, Norman, explains that he works in the tourist and hotel industries of central Ruan. The most popular new construction with the tourists has definitely been the Hotel Blanche. The penthouse suite is particularly nice!
Heading to the mayor's residence, we can find gardener Gartner in the gardens, wondering what he can do for us? We got a problem…? (Nominative Determinism strikes again!) Inside there's a dramatic museum piece on display - it's the Sapphire Glim, said to be the culmination of early orbal arts. It was given to House Dalmore by the citizens of Ruan immediately after the Orbal Revolution, as thanks for contributions to the city's growth. (That thing is definitely getting stolen before the end of this arc. It's Chekhov's chandelier.) Everyone else in here just says the mayor is away.
Heading towards the warehouse district, Estelle comments that there sure are a lot of big buildings around here! Kloe explains that these warehouses are used to store cargo from foreign countries. Estelle thinks this is a kind of depressing place, though, and seems really lonely and desolate. Kloe agrees that ever since the advent of airships, not much cargo is transported by sea anymore. These warehouses don't get a lot of new shipments these days. Estelle figures that makes sense, and Joshua admits some of these warehouses look abandoned…
If we leave the area and head back towards the Landland Bridge, we're called back by a young man's voice - it turns out a trio of young ruffians are following us. The first, Deen, chuckles and thinks this must be their lucky day, while a second, Rocco, agrees that not a lot of 'womenfolk' come round these parts. She's a real sight for sore eyes! Kloe asks what business they have here, and Deen laughs - oh, this and that! They've been here for a quite a while, actually. If us honeys have time to spare, how about we entertain them, huh? Kloe isn't sure what to say to that, while Estelle incredulously wonders if they're seriously trying to pick up girls in an empty, old warehouse lot? Sorry, but she's already got plans. You know, places to go, things to see… So, yeah, not interested. Feel free to go away now!
The third guy, Rais, is impressed by her opposition - he likes tough women, and he'll take all the abuse she can dish! Estelle figures that if his goal was to creep her out even more, consider this mission accomplished… Rocco suggests that if us ladies are playing tourist, then maybe they can show us around, huh? Ditch the little kid with us, and they'll have some fun! Estelle wonders who they're calling a little kid?! Punks like them couldn't take on Joshua if they…! Joshua steps in and says the name-calling doesn't bother him. What's getting angry going to do? Deen thinks that holding back for their sake is sweet… Rocco just wants to know where he gets off hanging around with two hotties? Rais believes he needs a lesson in just how unfair life can be…
Joshua calmly states that if his presence has somehow offended them, he apologizes - but if they lay a finger on the ladies, he'll make certain they regret it. The three boys seem caught off guard by Joshua's serious demeanor, but quickly decide that he's probably just bluffing. Who does he think he is? They get that he's trying to look all cool in front of the ladies, but he's about to experience a world of pain! It's at this point that another voice from off-screen intervenes, and demands to know what's going on here. Rocco complains that great, here's another nuisance!
A blue-haired figure arrived across the Landland Bridge, Steward Gilbert, and he says he can't believe the three hoodlums would start again with this delinquency! They're old enough to know better, and should be ashamed of themselves! Deen tells him to shut up, and asks why he cares what they do? He's just one of the mayor's yes-men! Gilbert is rather annoyed at them denigrating his work, at which point yet another off-screen voice announces that Gilbert is a valuable member of his staff! A brown-haired man shows up, and Estelle muses that he's far too well-dressed for this part of town. Kloe quickly explains that it's Mayor Dalmore, and the younger figure is his private secretary, Gilbert.
Dalmore states that Ruan has always been a free city, so he has no intention of lodging a complaint about the kids' manner of speech or their attire, but bothering outsiders… who may be paying guests… is not permissible! Deen scoffs and tells the old man to stuff it - he thinks he's such a big shot! They're not interested in what he has to say. Gilbert, once again offended, asks how they dare speak to the mayor in such a fashion?! How would they like for him to report them to the Bracer Guild again? Rais doesn't care about Bracers - he's always hiding behind them, can't he do anything on his own? Rocco agrees - besides, it's not like the bracers would get here right away, so they'd have plenty of time to enjoy the altercation, then be gone without a trace before anyone's the wiser…
Estelle turns to him, and says she'd hate to ruin his masterful plan, but… we're already here. Deen does a double-take, and Estelle wonders if he still hasn't noticed the badges we're wearing? Maybe they need glasses or something? With great deliberation and exaggerated movements she points out the bracer emblem on her chest, raising her eyebrows for emphasis. Rais and Rocco stare in disbelief - we're bracers? So, hold on, that little punk we're with… Joshua confirms he's also a bracer, yes. Rais and Rocco quickly whisper to each other in a panic - what do they do now?! Rocco decides that even if we're bracers, we're still just some kids, but Deen points out you can't judge a book by its cover. Remember what happened the last time they took on a chick bracer? Even with three people she wiped the floor with them! Going up against two of them, even pipsqueaks, is a bad idea!
Deen decides to retreat, stating that they're going to let us off the hook… this time! Rais promises that if they see us again, though, we'll be in for some real pain! The punks run off, and Estelle wonders if they could have been any more stereotypical? Joshua says no harm was done, and don't we have somewhere to be, anyway? Mayor Dalmore apologizes, as he loathes when the city's guests are bothered. We introduce ourselves to each other, and Dalmore mentions that Jean did inform him about some promising new faces soon to arrive. Estelle isn't sure if we're 'promising', but that's probably us. Dalmore is glad we came to work here - they've had some hard times of late, so any help would be simply wonderful. Joshua asks for details, but Dalmore refers to Jean for the details…
As an aside, Dalmore notices that Kloe is wearing the uniform of the Royal Academy, and Kloe confirms she's a second-year student there. Dalmore says that Dean Collins is a friend of his - and didn't Gilbert graduate from there himself? Gilbert confirms that he did, and that he's heard a great deal about Kloe. She ran against Jill for head of the Student Council, right? She must be proud to have been a contender as a junior! Kloe is flattered by the recognition, and Dalmore says he's looking forward to the campus festival, and trusts Kloe will be giving her all to help make it memorable. Kloe promises she will!
With that, the Mayor gets going - if those Ravens from before start making trouble again, we should feel free to drop by and let him know… It's his duty, as the mayor of Ruan, to ensure that these streets are safe for tourists and residents alike! After they leave, Estelle comments that the mayor certainly was the dignified sort, and Joshua agrees that his manners and actions were perfectly suited for the mayor of a city. Kloe explains that House Dalmore is made up of a long line of well-bred aristocrats. Though there's no longer any nobles here, he's about as close as it gets. Estelle thinks it's like he's from a whole different world. On the other hand, though, there's still all the low-lives like those guys who tried hitting on us…
Kloe agrees that was unsettling, and apologizes for leading us into such a place unprepared. Joshua argues there's no need to apologize - it's not like we sought them out or anything. We should probably keep our distance from the back end of the warehouse district, though, to avoid any further altercations. Estelle doesn't like being restricted like that, but whatever… Naturally, I immediately checked out the back of the warehouse district.
Funnily enough, the guard at the door of the locked warehouse is gone, so we can just wander into the den of these 'Ravens.' Terence comments that he hates manual labor - if they try to make them do any real work, he's so out of here! Rais tipsily wonders what we're looking at? Rocco scoffs and wonders what a high-and-mighty bracer would want in a place like this?
Deen is similarly confused about what we're doing here. Picaro sighs, and isn't sure why he is even here. It's not like you get the option of refusing if you get asked to join, though… Bargo says he found a mira on the side of the road, so he took it. He he he, he's so slick, yeah! Burt complains that this is so dull - he's had more fun wiping his ass! Belden complains that adults are so damn boring… Jabu says honest work just isn't for him. He was driven out of his home, and before he knew it, here he was!
Back at the mayor's residence, everyone is more talkative now that the mayor is back. The maid Dominique mentions that Gilbert may not have realized what kind of man he'd become, but he always seemed to be the sort who'd cave in to unsavory folk. Viego the cook explains that cookware is the life's blood of a chef, that's why it must stay absolutely well-maintained! Maid Flora mentions the mayor's home, so she's preparing his tea. Butler Dario says the master has been very busy of late… Near the center of the mayor's mansion we can find Stewart Gilbert again, who says those Ravens are getting to be a real bother. If they're allowed to run free, they'll do severe damage to the town's reputation. Mayor Dalmore says he's received many complaints from the townsfolk about that gang, and something will eventually have to be done about them…
Deen is similarly confused about what we're doing here. Picaro sighs, and isn't sure why he is even here. It's not like you get the option of refusing if you get asked to join, though… Bargo says he found a mira on the side of the road, so he took it. He he he, he's so slick, yeah! Burt complains that this is so dull - he's had more fun wiping his ass! Belden complains that adults are so damn boring… Jabu says honest work just isn't for him. He was driven out of his home, and before he knew it, here he was!
Back at the mayor's residence, everyone is more talkative now that the mayor is back. The maid Dominique mentions that Gilbert may not have realized what kind of man he'd become, but he always seemed to be the sort who'd cave in to unsavory folk. Viego the cook explains that cookware is the life's blood of a chef, that's why it must stay absolutely well-maintained! Maid Flora mentions the mayor's home, so she's preparing his tea. Butler Dario says the master has been very busy of late… Near the center of the mayor's mansion we can find Stewart Gilbert again, who says those Ravens are getting to be a real bother. If they're allowed to run free, they'll do severe damage to the town's reputation. Mayor Dalmore says he's received many complaints from the townsfolk about that gang, and something will eventually have to be done about them…
Oh, and before I forget, I never did post Kloe's headshot, did I? Her Craft is Kaempfer, a single-target airstrike which reduces strength and defense, and her S-Craft is Lichtkreis, a support AOE which heals everyone and revives people, and if you boost it up to full it even ups everyone's defense for good measure. Neat! (I think it's no spoiler she's a character who sticks around, heh.)
Next: It's getting late, so let's check in with the Guild, then do something easy and uncomplicated like getting a room.
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- Pronouns
- He
Looking back on it, the Ravens seem like a clear replacement for the sky pirates as mildly effectual and amusing scallywags for Estelle and Joshua to have to deal with.
- Location
- Netherlands
Yeah, though I think the sky bandits had an air of competence about them that these guys can't really measure up to so far. Honestly they seem to be talked up a bit too much by the likes of the mayor for what they actually do, and I'm not clear why he doesn't actually do anything about them. Especially since they live on the same side of the river as him!
So far, Chapter 2 feels like a step down from the last in a few ways. The plot spends quite a while meandering around with low-impact stuff like we got back in the tutorial phase in Rolent, instead of building on the heightened bar of the previous chapter's hijacking plot. A lot of the plot here concerns at most a handful of people dealing with, for the most part, pretty mundane concerns. Lots of the random NPC chatter is also just tourist stuff - at least in Bose it was generally about the ongoing crisis. I'm guessing this chapter will eventually dial it up again, or serve as a sort of lowkey bridge to a more high impact chapter down the line, but it's not my favorite so far.
I mean, the fact that Olivier is gone is already a big sin...
- Pronouns
- She/They
The bulk of Ruan's runtime is worldbuilding in a general sense, as opposed to dealing with immediate problems like in Bose. The main plot does come back in a big way, but not until the climax of the chapter, and there's a lot of just kind of hanging out happening before that.
Also, if I as a Falcom layman can speculate, I have a theory that Jenis Royal Academy was meant to be more relevant to the ongoing series than it wound up being, given that future arcs keep introducing new Anime High Schools in whatever country they're set in, regardless of if the main characters attend or not.
(They also recycled the Ravens in Crossbell a little, but those goobers actually stay relevant given thst you're playing cops who spend two games in the same city in Crossbell).
Also, if I as a Falcom layman can speculate, I have a theory that Jenis Royal Academy was meant to be more relevant to the ongoing series than it wound up being, given that future arcs keep introducing new Anime High Schools in whatever country they're set in, regardless of if the main characters attend or not.
(They also recycled the Ravens in Crossbell a little, but those goobers actually stay relevant given thst you're playing cops who spend two games in the same city in Crossbell).
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Trails in the Sky (Part 32) - Bracing For Nightfall
- Location
- Netherlands
Bracing for Nightfall
With our curiosity sated, it's time to head back to town and check in with the Bracer Guild again. Sure enough, the plum-haired Jean is back behind the desk now, and welcomes us - and he's surprised to see Kloe with us. He wonders if she's here with another extermination request? He knows that security is being tightened for the campus festival. Kloe is sure that they'll be here for that at some point, but today she's just visiting with Estelle and Joshua. Jean figures we're civilians, then? He supposes he should have known, given the lack of student attire. Hold on, those emblems…! Estelle and Joshua cheerfully confirm their bracer status, and Jean finally figures out who we are. He's so glad we're here! They've been waiting for us ever since they got word from the Bose branch! Estelle figures old man Lugram must have sent word.
Jean introduces himself as the local receptionist of the Ruan branch, and that he'll be supervising us, as well as providing various types of support. Kloe mentions our assistance over in Bose, and Estelle says we helped a little. Joshua mentions that it was the Royal Army that really did the work of apprehending the sky bandits. Jean tells us not to be so modest, though, since Lugran had nothing but praise for us. Anyway, to change our assignments we'll need to sign the appropriate forms. Estelle and Joshua figure they might as well take care of that now… We're now part of the Ruan branch, and Jean thinks they've been so busy here that we couldn't have picked a better time to come! Ha ha, now we can't get away! Estelle wonders why she feels like she just signed her life away…? Joshua mentions that he heard about the Guild being short-handed earlier, so what's going on? Something in particular?
Jean argues he wouldn't say that, exactly… They're expecting a member of the royal family to visit, though. Estelle is amazed - he's not talking about the queen, is he?! Jean denies that - no, it's just someone of royal blood, that's all he knows. He's heard that they will be giving Ruan a thorough inspection, though. Estelle thinks that still sounds cool, but why would that cause the Guild to be short-staffed? Jean says it's because this is a member of the royal family. If even one thing is out of place, Mayor Dalmore will be worried sick! That's why most of their staff has been requisitioned to help strengthen security. Joshua concludes that was being discussed upstairs, earlier - policing the streets, right? Jean confirms that, and says he feels certain the crew at the harbor will be back in action pretty quickly, as he wants the city to be hooligan-free during the royal visit!
Estelle wonders what he means by the 'crew at the harbor'? Is he talking about the guys we dealt with earlier? She had the feeling they were up to something… Jean wonders if we know something, and Joshua lays out what transpired outside the warehouse district. Jean admits he knows about the warehouse district issue - that's the turf of a rather unsavory group calling themselves the Ravens. He imagines we've counted some young men and their leader there…
Estelle wonders what these 'Raven' characters are up to? Jean says they've been fine until recently, but whoever is in charge needs to tighten the leash. The mayor's main concern, though, is that they cover the whole area - that's why they're so short-staffed right now. Thank goodness the two of us are here! Estelle thinks it's nice to feel wanted, and figures we've got a lot of helping out to do tomorrow… If anything happens, they should call on us to help!
As we leave the Guild, it's already evening - look at that gorgeous sunset! Joshua agrees it's beautiful, and all the light shines off of the streets… Kloe has always loved it too, and says that right - it's almost time! Time for the Langland Bridge to open! Moments later the huge bridge slowly opens up while our crew watches from the waterside. Estelle sighs, and says it really is a masterpiece! How long does it stay up, though? Kloe recalls it's about thirty minutes. It's raised early in the morning, just before noon, and in the evening - and it isn't lowered again until all the ships have passed. Joshua figures those are the times with the least foot traffic. Kloe admits it's easy for first-timers to get confused.
Oh, which reminds her - what are we planning to do about lodging? Estelle guesses that the second floor of the guild is always an option, although she could really go for a luxurious hotel… Kloe suggests we might want to hurry then and get a room. This is tourist season, so they tend to fill up pretty quickly! Joshua figures there's no time like the present, and Estelle agrees we should get going, then.
We can't leave town, or get towards the southern part of Ruan, but that still leaves a section of the city to explore…
Atget is still playing in the streets, and says she's so hungry! Ruvie didn't realize it was this late already, and decides she should finish shopping and get home. Matilda comments that the setting sun peers down upon her from its heavenly perch, and warms all the cockles of her heart… but it's a bit too bright! At the weapon shop, Eva says bracers certainly are impressive, but having that level of authority must be a heavy burden to bear. She's sure one has to be trustworthy to be a bracer, but at the same time she imagines that someone like that has to be pretty critical of oneself. Nikita mentions the breaks from classes end today, so she has to get ready for tomorrow…
Inside one of the residences, Lytton mentions that they've got quite a few tourists here today - they see a lot of folks coming in from a long ways off. Being a tour guide is much more stressful than being a fisherman… too much worrying about what everyone else needs. Gerome is just done with prep for his classes tomorrow, and wonders what he can do to kill some time? Eletta muses that she's gotta go back to house-sitting tomorrow, and hopes she can make friends at Sunday School. Ciel explains that both she and her husband work as tour guides. Her husband used to be a fisherman, but you can make more money as a guide these days. Their oldest son goes to the Jenis Royal Academy, so the expenses add up quickly!
Next door, Renzo says he's proud of his life as a sailor, and that's enough for him. He was never good at school, but you don't need book learning to be a good man. Liz says that someone as old as her dad would probably just get left behind - she doesn't think he could make it in school nowadays. Their neighbor, Gerome, also attends the Academy and her son won't lose to him! Antonio explains that his father encourages him to be an airship crewman, but his mom won't shut up about going to the Royal Academy. He really doesn't think that going to college is a big deal for what he wants to do…
At the orbment shop, Tobias wonders if we've seen the Langland Bridge yet? It's definitely worth checking out. It's the real symbol of the city! At the waterside, fisherman Percy mentions the fish are most active around now, in the evening. Naturally, that's when it's easiest to catch them… Heh heh heh, come now, little fishes… Upstairs at the Guild, Melvin concludes we're the newbies Jean was talking about, huh? He failed the exam several times before, but was eventually able to get bumped up to Junior Bracer. If you really want something, you have to keep trying! Carna is also here, and wonders if we've changed assignments yet? That makes us partners for a while. There's only one other bracer-in-training at this branch, and now we are here for a little while, so she appreciates the help. Really.
O'Neil mentions that as we can probably see, he was quite the sailor in his younger days. He's sailed from one corner of the continent to another, in search of rare and exotic things. Long ago he was fairly well known as Captain O'Neil! We should sit right back and we'll hear a tale… a tale of his adventures!
Near the bridge, Legaro states that they made it just in time to see the bridge being raised - what a spectacle! The size of it is astounding. Sylvie says it's great to just stand and watch the sunset over the bridge… At the restaurant, Primo says his kid brother is hanging out with some thugs called the Ravens. He won't get a job, and now he's just causing trouble for other people… It's so damned embarrassing, and makes him ashamed to say they're family. Spiridon says life is like a roulette table - you might get a lucky streak one day, only for it all to fall apart tomorrow. That's why you should enjoy the good times while you have them!
Over at the Landing Port, Edwin says they've seen more and more tourists coming to Ruan over the last few years. Since there's basically nothing except tourist traps, the crowd gets pretty huge whenever people have the day off. Todd mentions that if they see you've got talent, the Zeiss central lab will let you work there. He dreams of getting good enough to do that, someday. Samario mentions that Clive is such a great engineer that scouts have been coming all the way from Zeiss. He's gotten several notices of personnel change from the higher-ups. He'll probably keep working here his whole life, though, just to stay close to family… It's just the kind of person he is, though it does seem like a bit of a waste. Clive notices that the bridge is up, and says Ruanians can pretty much tell the time by the bridge's schedule.
The church is pretty busy, and Sister Frieda explains Evening Mass is currently in progress. Around now is when tourists come to see the sunset light up the stained glass… Father Theodore says ideally everyone will follow the prayer as they're meant to, but… Sure enough, interviewing the attendees reveals they're more interested in the stained glass - Randall comments that that's impressive! Muriel agrees - it's so pretty, just like the guide says! Rutherford is also awestruck. Seagaro muses that the pilgrimage has ended safely - he and his wife managed to agree on what sights they wanted to go see. Edel comments that you can see all the sunlight reflecting off the water and in through the stained glass… It's unbelievably stunning!
Finally, if we bypass the NPCs that will continue the story and head out the back of Hotel Blanche we can find Murray in his little boat, and he comments that they've got another gorgeous sunset this evening - no other city has sunsets like these!
Inside one of the residences, Lytton mentions that they've got quite a few tourists here today - they see a lot of folks coming in from a long ways off. Being a tour guide is much more stressful than being a fisherman… too much worrying about what everyone else needs. Gerome is just done with prep for his classes tomorrow, and wonders what he can do to kill some time? Eletta muses that she's gotta go back to house-sitting tomorrow, and hopes she can make friends at Sunday School. Ciel explains that both she and her husband work as tour guides. Her husband used to be a fisherman, but you can make more money as a guide these days. Their oldest son goes to the Jenis Royal Academy, so the expenses add up quickly!
Next door, Renzo says he's proud of his life as a sailor, and that's enough for him. He was never good at school, but you don't need book learning to be a good man. Liz says that someone as old as her dad would probably just get left behind - she doesn't think he could make it in school nowadays. Their neighbor, Gerome, also attends the Academy and her son won't lose to him! Antonio explains that his father encourages him to be an airship crewman, but his mom won't shut up about going to the Royal Academy. He really doesn't think that going to college is a big deal for what he wants to do…
At the orbment shop, Tobias wonders if we've seen the Langland Bridge yet? It's definitely worth checking out. It's the real symbol of the city! At the waterside, fisherman Percy mentions the fish are most active around now, in the evening. Naturally, that's when it's easiest to catch them… Heh heh heh, come now, little fishes… Upstairs at the Guild, Melvin concludes we're the newbies Jean was talking about, huh? He failed the exam several times before, but was eventually able to get bumped up to Junior Bracer. If you really want something, you have to keep trying! Carna is also here, and wonders if we've changed assignments yet? That makes us partners for a while. There's only one other bracer-in-training at this branch, and now we are here for a little while, so she appreciates the help. Really.
O'Neil mentions that as we can probably see, he was quite the sailor in his younger days. He's sailed from one corner of the continent to another, in search of rare and exotic things. Long ago he was fairly well known as Captain O'Neil! We should sit right back and we'll hear a tale… a tale of his adventures!
Near the bridge, Legaro states that they made it just in time to see the bridge being raised - what a spectacle! The size of it is astounding. Sylvie says it's great to just stand and watch the sunset over the bridge… At the restaurant, Primo says his kid brother is hanging out with some thugs called the Ravens. He won't get a job, and now he's just causing trouble for other people… It's so damned embarrassing, and makes him ashamed to say they're family. Spiridon says life is like a roulette table - you might get a lucky streak one day, only for it all to fall apart tomorrow. That's why you should enjoy the good times while you have them!
Over at the Landing Port, Edwin says they've seen more and more tourists coming to Ruan over the last few years. Since there's basically nothing except tourist traps, the crowd gets pretty huge whenever people have the day off. Todd mentions that if they see you've got talent, the Zeiss central lab will let you work there. He dreams of getting good enough to do that, someday. Samario mentions that Clive is such a great engineer that scouts have been coming all the way from Zeiss. He's gotten several notices of personnel change from the higher-ups. He'll probably keep working here his whole life, though, just to stay close to family… It's just the kind of person he is, though it does seem like a bit of a waste. Clive notices that the bridge is up, and says Ruanians can pretty much tell the time by the bridge's schedule.
The church is pretty busy, and Sister Frieda explains Evening Mass is currently in progress. Around now is when tourists come to see the sunset light up the stained glass… Father Theodore says ideally everyone will follow the prayer as they're meant to, but… Sure enough, interviewing the attendees reveals they're more interested in the stained glass - Randall comments that that's impressive! Muriel agrees - it's so pretty, just like the guide says! Rutherford is also awestruck. Seagaro muses that the pilgrimage has ended safely - he and his wife managed to agree on what sights they wanted to go see. Edel comments that you can see all the sunlight reflecting off the water and in through the stained glass… It's unbelievably stunning!
Finally, if we bypass the NPCs that will continue the story and head out the back of Hotel Blanche we can find Murray in his little boat, and he comments that they've got another gorgeous sunset this evening - no other city has sunsets like these!
We can quickly head back into the Bracer Guild and report in at this point - previously we weren't actually members of this branch yet, so we didn't have access. We get 1500 gold and 4 BP for taking care of the lighthouse monsters earlier, and the same again for tackling that obligatory encounter on the road towards the city. We also get 2000 gold and 2 BP for the situation up on Krone Pass - presumably the rest of the BP went to off-brand Cloud Strife, Agate.
We then make our way towards the rather oversized Hotel Blanche, and speak to Ernest at the reception desk. He asks if we have a reservation, and we deny that, but explain we were hoping that a room would be available. Ernest says we have impeccable timing, since they just had a cancellation on the top floor. If it pleases us, he can show it to us now. Estelle thinks a penthouse sounds pretty good, but Joshua wonders if that's not going to be expensive? Ernest says that since it's empty due to a cancellation, he'd be happy to charge us the standard rate. Besides, we seem to be bracers, so he'd consider it an honor to serve us for all the hard work we do in protecting the citizens! Estelle figures when you put it like that, we can't refuse, and Ernest is pleased.
Kloe chuckles and says that was a stroke of luck, wasn't it? Anyway, she thinks she'll head back to campus for the time being. She won't make it back before the dorms are locked up if she doesn't hurry! Estelle recalls that she did mention she could only stay until evening, and while she hates to see Kloe go, she understands. Joshua asks if she'd like an escort back, but Kloe assures him it's all right. She knows the way. Outside she thanks us for letting her come along today, but Estelle argues we should be thanking her. Joshua appreciates that she was willing to play tour guide for us. Kloe says it's no big deal, and confirms that we'll be in Ruan for a while, right?
See, she was hoping we'd come to the campus festival at the end of next week. Joshua guesses that given the Royal Academy's reputation, he's betting that's more than just balloons and party games… Kloe agrees, and explains that it's an independent, academy-sanctioned student celebration. It's a major tradition, really. She definitely has Estelle's attention at this point - will it have stage skits and food stands? Chocolate-covered Poms?! Kloe laughs and says they might - they really pull out all the stops. Estelle says she is so there! She then quickly backtracks and says she'd love to join her for the preparations. Joshua, meanwhile, points out how busy the guild is supposed to be - we might not have time. Still, he guesses it can't hurt to take a break on the day of the festival… Until then, we've got work to do! Estelle sighs in despair, and Kloe laughs.
After Kloe sets off, Estelle muses that she's such a sweetie - yet she's all dignified. If she were a guy, she'd be completely wrapped around her finger… Joshua dismisses her painfully obvious allusions handily, but admits she certainly seems to be a genuinely nice, guileless girl. Estelle agrees she's definitely not like some sneaky sky bandit she could mention… Meeting Kloe sure was lucky. We even got a sweet room here thanks to her advice! She bets they could even spot Sieg with the view they've got up here! Joshua says she might be right, and proposes taking our bags up to the room. Estelle chirps that he's talking about their penthouse room!
The penthouse suite is, of course, enormous.
Estelle rushes through and is amazed - and this is just the bedroom! Joshua admits it's amazing - not just the top floor, but an all-out suite… though he would have been okay with a normal room. Estelle figures we should enjoy it while we can. The two exit onto the room's balcony, and are amazed it's this luxurious - check out the view! Estelle hates we're the only ones who get to enjoy it, though. She was hoping Dad would be here. Joshua wonders where he is, and what he's doing?
The two are surprised when they hear a voice inside their room, commenting on how it's all posh. Inside, a nobleman comments that the room is spacious and well-appointed, and declares he likes it - he'll take this room! An old man in black tells 'His Grace' to please wait a moment - this room is not vacant! Perhaps he can stay at the mayor's estate as originally planned?
The nobleman tells 'Phillip' to hush - he can't even see the water from there! This hotel has a much better view, and he can smell the sea air as well. He can even go out onto the balcony… As he heads over there, though, he walks straight into Estella and Joshua, who stare at him in mute disbelief.
The nobleman immediately flips out - who are we?! Are we thieves?! Are we here to kill him? Estelle replies that that's a horrible thing to assume about someone. Besides, who is he? He's got no right to be in our room! The nobleman wonders how she dares to speak to him like that! So, we are the ones renting this suite? He's going to be using it as a private room during his stay in Ruan, so he suggests we leave! Estelle doesn't know what he's talking about, and sees no reason to leave. Joshua agrees we deserve to hear an explanation, but the nobleman just says he shouldn't have to deal with ignorant commoners. Do we not realize who he is? Estelle says that clearly we don't have a clue - all she sees is an old man with a weird-looking head. Joshua tells her off for being rude - at least call it 'unique' or something else positive! Estelle gets it… It's all about how you say it, huh?
The nobleman, still annoyed, figures that fine - we should clean out our ears and listen well. His name is Dunan von Auslese, and he is nephew to Queen Alicia II, granted the title of duke by Her Majesty herself! Estella and Joshua stare in disbelief, while Duke Dunan decides that astonishment has robbed us of the ability to speak. That's to be expected! What more reason do we need to give up the room? It only takes moments for Estelle to burst into riotous laughter, and even Joshua chuckles. Seriously though, he's supposed to be the queen's nephew? That's hilarious - she's dying here! Joshua tells her it's not nice to laugh like that - maybe he was just telling a joke to ease the tension?
Phillip steps forward and interrupts the conversation, explaining that His Grace is actually speaking the truth. Perhaps he should have been quicker to speak - he is the duke's personal butler. Dunan has been under his care since the time of his birth. He assures us it's all true - he swears on his honor. The man before us is, indeed, Duke Dunan, the nephew of Her Majesty the Queen. Estelle still can't quite believe it. Never mind the weird, rich-looking guy… the butler seems legit. Joshua is suddenly reminded that Jean told us royalty would be arriving to inspect the city. Dunan laughs and wonders if we'll submit now? He's the next in line to succeed the throne, and we should be honored to give him our room! Such an opportunity is offered to commoners so rarely!
Estelle, fuming, decides he's got to be kidding! He might be royalty, but to her he's just acting like an arrogant old man! Phillip asks her to wait and to hear him out for a moment. He closes in to whisper, and - pardon his impertinence - he'd like to ask us for a favor. Could he persuade us to relinquish the room? The butler then produces a large sum of mira from his pocket and presents it as a bribe. He explains that His Grace is the type of man who will not be swayed once he has begun speaking, a trait he fears may even be due to negligence on his part. So, please… He then bows to us, and Estelle decides that's that. She'd hate to cause the butler any trouble. Joshua agrees to hand over the room, and he doesn't need to pay us for it either. It's fine, really. Estelle figures it's too fancy for us anyway - and she bets that looking after the duke is a hassle, but Phillip should hang in there! Phillip is just very grateful.
The Duke wonders what we're whispering about, but Estelle says it's nothing important. We were just leaving! Please pardon our intrusion. We'll give the room over to him. Duke Dunan is surprised, then laughs and suggests we could have been so humble to begin with! We'd do well to retain that mindset in the future. Estelle is about to call him a total jerk, but Joshua just drags her away - excuse us!
We meet up with Ernest again at the reception desk, and he's a bit put off by what happened. Even if we'd explained our situation to the duke, he probably still wouldn't have taken 'no' for an answer. He's really sorry we had to deal with that. Estelle says it's not a big deal - if anyone's to blame, it's that selfish duke guy. Joshua asks if there are any other rooms available, though? A regular one would be fine. Ernest hesitates and admits that they just booked their last room a short while ago… Joshua figures we just got played for suckers. Ernest tells us not to fret - it's their fault, so he'll see to it that arrangements are made for us elsewhere.
A man's voice interrupts the conversation - what's the deal here? Nial suddenly walks in, and remarks that he hasn't seen us since the sky bandit hideout! Estelle is shocked, and Joshua admits he wouldn't have expected to see him here. Nial says much the same about us - he didn't think we would show up in Ruan. What's up? We explain the recent turn of events, and Nial laughs at our misfortune - we get into the damnedest situations. Estelle doesn't think this is a laughing matter, but Nial tells her not to get her knickers in a twist. Anyway, we can stay in Nial's room. It has some extra beds anyway. He turns to Ernest to see if he minds, and the guy honestly says it would help him out immensely. Nial says his room is in the basement, so we should get over there soon.
After Nial leaves, Estelle wonders if we're okay with this…? Joshua figures Nial offered, so it should be all right. He might want us to do something in return for this, though. Estelle figures it'll probably be something way out of proportion, too. Guess we're kind of stuck, though…
At this point the hotel actually has people in it - thus far it was a ghost town. Ernest says he deeply regrets any trouble his ineptitude has caused us, and we should have a drink - on the house. We receive some Fresh Juice, and he says it's the least he can do as a form of apology. He merely wanted to serve us - he is sorry. Edel comments on her lovely room - but it's hard to see the water from this side. Seagaro agrees it's gorgeous, but he just can't relax. Muriel thinks her room is niiiice - she can handle staying here. Randall agrees it's very comfy, and Rutherford is similarly pleased. Simon says Ms. Mirano certainly wasn't kidding about knowing the manager of a nice hotel… Upstairs, Butler Phillip says he's caused us enough trouble, and he won't forget what we did for him. Duke Dunan laughs and comments on the beautiful landscape - he likes it, this is truly a room for the future king! Now if only the casino would open… It's utterly outrageous that they're closed for renovations while he's here!
We head downstairs to Nial's room, and he tells us to grab one of the unused beds and make ourselves at home - turns out his room has three of them, which is slightly overkill for one person. Estelle appreciates him giving us a place to stay, but thinks the gracious host thing is overdoing it. Nial apologizes if he's acting suspicious - he's just grateful we helped him nail a great story earlier and wanted to pay us back. Joshua figures he means the sky bandit article, and wonders if it got much of a reaction? Nial confirms it was a big hit, and the readers loved the article on Colonel Richards and the Intelligence Division. He gets the feeling that they sold more copies because of him than the sky bandit incident, to be honest.
Estelle wonders if he's really that popular, and Nial says there's a rumor he's about to get a big medal from Her Majesty… It's all anyone wants to talk about, and Nial is actually going to have an exclusive interview with the man! He's got looks and brains to his credit, so he's impressive, and he puts people at ease. Nial frowns, and Estelle wonders what's wrong? Nial dismisses her concern - it's nothing to worry about. Anyway, that story netted him a tidy bonus, so he's glad he finally got rid of his bad luck charm! Estelle wonders if he's talking about Dorothy there? Nial explains that he was only looking after her while she was learning the ropes, and that last big story meant the end of their mighty team. Estelle is a bit worried to think she's gone off on her own, but Nial doesn't really want to think about that - he just wants to enjoy a nice vacation with the bonus he got!
Estelle wonders if he shouldn't be chasing the next big scoop? Or is he checking out that duke guy who kicked us out of our room? Nial knows about Duke Duncan, and calls him their own walking catastrophe. From everything he's heard he's a real hedonist - more so than most royalty, even. Rumor has it he even drives the Queen up the wall! Joshua says that sounds perfectly believable, but he also recalls that the duke claimed to be next in line for the throne? Estelle really doesn't want to call that fat jerk 'king'... Nial says that given the Queen's age it's not unreasonable, and there's the fact that her son died some time ago. A lot of people would be opposed to it, though…
Joshua acknowledges that Nial probably doesn't know much more about this than we do, so he suspects Nial is chasing a different story…? When he reacts affirmatively, Estelle says she called it. Nial sighs - man, he can't sneak anything past us kids, can he?
Yes, we're right, but that's all he's saying. This one is just too big! Estelle wonders if he's not overstating things a little? Eh, whatever, it's not like they'd go shouting it from the rooftops. Joshua says he looks forward to reading the article, and Nial just tells us to leave it to him… He then asks if we've had dinner yet? He offers to take us out for a treat, and that night they all share a meal at Lavantar, the local restaurant. After eating the best seafood from Azelia Bay, and drinks in Nial's case, we bring the now-unconscious Nial back to the hotel and put him in his bed to sleep it off.
Next: Orphans are on fire, so it's time to do sidequests.
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Speaking of Trails, I've been trying to play Daybreak, but I'm having some major lag/stutter issues even though my laptop meets the recommended requirements, and I'm running it on a Nvidia GPU; a guy I know thinks there might be quite a lot of dust inside my laptop, and I'll be able to de-dust it in a few days (I take care of a former neighbour's cat every summer, and he works with PCs for a living, so...), but if this doesn't work, I might try and get an external SSD - would one even help for this kind of issue, if dust isn't the problem?
Trails in the Sky (Part 33) - Orphans are on Fire, Ruan Sidequests I
- Location
- Netherlands
Orphans are Dying, Let's Do Sidequests
In the middle of the night we shift our view back to the Mercia orphanage, where we can see all the kids in bed - the little twerp who stole our badge is still wearing his hat, even while napping! Next door, Matron Theresa is sewing some clothes, and muses that having this much work to do is proof that children are full of energy. Well, it'll all wait until morning - for now, she'd best get some sleep herself. She walks over to the window and prays to Aidios, asking her to watch over the children tomorrow, and keep them safe. Suddenly she hears a strange noise, though - what's that? Sounds like someone put wood on the fire…? That smell - it can't be!
We see the outside of the orphanage, and a corner near the front door has caught ablaze. Theresa quickly runs to the kids' bedroom and shouts at them to wake up! Clem jumps up in bed and swears he didn't do anything, still half-asleep. As Mary also wakes, Theresa yells at Daniel and Polly to get up too - there's a fire, everyone up! They're going downstairs now - everyone should stay close!
As the group descends the stairs, it becomes clear the fire has spread quite far already - most of the lower rooms are an inferno, and parts of the ceiling are falling down while smoke spreads everywhere. Theresa quickly hustles the children towards the front door, but a huge wooden beam crashes from the ceiling and blocks the way. Theresa is terrified, and prays to Great Aidios to save the children - she doesn't care about herself, just save them!
Meanwhile, back at Ruan's hotel - and yes, that's a cruel way to end that - Nial yawns loudly and complains about his aching head. Estelle figures Nial must have one heck of a hangover - it was kind of impressive the way he drank the whole bar! Joshua asks if he's sure he's okay? Does he want some water, or does he need the bucket again? Nial assures us he's good. He's got an event to cover, anyway. Estelle thanks for taking us in yesterday, and Joshua agrees we're grateful. Nial just asks us to pass on anything interesting we hear since he'll be in Ruan for a while too. Okay, see us later - ah, Aidios, why is the light so bright?! Estelle and Joshua decide that heading to the guild would be a good way to start the day...
Of course, with a new day come many new monologues.
In the hotel, Ernest is truly sorry for the trouble yesterday, and can only promise us that it will not happen again. Behind the hotel, Murray explains that Ruan has been called the Seaside City for ages. Anyone can see why, really! Just outside the hotel we can speak to Atget, who says no one should cross the bridge alone. Her mother Ruvie mentions that there's been a big increase in tourist traffic lately, and she hopes those people by the dockside warehouse don't go causing any trouble. Tour guide Lytton is planning out his day by the Landland bridge, and muses that this afternoon they'll be going to Air-Letten, and the Lavantar restaurant sells seafood… Hm…
Inside the Lavantar, Edel figured this place would be noisy since it's right beneath a casino, but it's actually very quiet and peaceful! Seagaro says he's a little late, but he came for breakfast! Primo says rumor has it his brother's little crew got caught up with the mayor yesterday. He'd bet money that they only act out like this because they're insecure. When you think about it, that's kind of pathetic...
Spiridon says that once the tourist season starts up, he wants to pullin customers from all walks of life. Since tourism is getting so popular, it's resulted in more customers for him! He wants to get the remodeling done as soon as possible so they'll be busy again… On the outside deck next to the restaurant we can find Hardt, who is relaxing since there's no work to be done. He doesn't get much of a chance to do so, usually, since he's a merchant in Bose… Definitely not good for your health!
O'Neil in his shop mentions that there are quite a few countries, both large and small, on this continent - aside from Liberl, Erebonia, and Calvard, that is. Far to the east of these nations the entire culture is very different, and that's why the Republic is made up of so many different cultures. Back when he was young he sailed to all those countries! At the church, Father Theodore says he hopes today's Mass will be a relatively peaceful affair. Sister Frieda explains that the morning Mass will start soon - will we be participating?
Near the lighthouse, tour guide Ciel is explaining that the lighthouse in Ruan was built around forty years ago, roughly the same time as the Langland Bridge, and one of the few structures not damaged in the war. She also mentions that she gave up her day off to work today, and she's so busy her daughter is helping out back at home. Legaro says that all that's left to see now are the historical sites from the war. Sylvie says the scenery is gorgeous, but the history is really sad… Percy is fishing nearby, and says he's caught a few today, but they're not big enough catches to satisfy him! He's going to catch a real whopper, one for the record books! In the name of the holy order of the Fisherman's Guild!
At one of the residences to the west, Liz says the Academy's entrance exam is apparently as difficult as she's heard - it might take a lot more dedication than Sunday School ever did. Renzo says he's been thinking over this whole matter with his son. Not so much about where he'd prefer he pursue a life at sea or college - he thinks he'd be okay with whatever he wants, so long as he can make a decent living. He'd hate to admit it, but he'd rather leave the choice up to him…
Antonio says he wants to eventually work as a crewman aboard an airship. It's what he's wanted to do, ever since he was a little kid. That's never changed - not one time! Next door, Eletta mentions she's looking after the house by herself today, since her parents are working and her brother is off to school. She's… kinda lonely.
At the weapon shop, Eva laughs and wonders if we can believe that she's been here for ten years already? The years certainly do creep up on you… Matilda at the bridge wonders where the birds go? They spread their wings and fly off to unknown lands. They look so small, up in the sky, but they're strong creatures… She wishes she could live like they do! At the orbment shop, Tobias heard about it from Jean - someone from the royal family is apparently here in Ruan! If he shares the same bloodline as Queen Alicia, he bets he's really refined and dignified. Guess he's coming to just make his presence known.
Upstairs at the Bracers guild, Carna says Ruan's seen a lot of tourists coming through lately who have been keeping her super-busy with guard jobs, not to mention searching lost property! She could use our help with that stuff…
If we take a circuitous route down towards the waterside, we can find a small group of people gathered together. Muriel wonders who you call when you get in trouble. That's right - you call bracers! At home or abroad, it doesn't matter… Bracers are always around to help. She loves us! Melvin, meanwhile, is looking for some lost dentures and asks the nearby old man if he dropped them somewhere around here? Randall gives an unintelligible response on account of the missing dentures, and Melvin just misinterprets it - what's that about bangles? Hold on, is he asking about anyone seeing his banana? Surely that's not right… Randall just says this is 'ho hembahaassing…' Rutherford explains his father dropped the dentures into the water and they don't have a spare set, so he's guessing they'll be playing charades for the rest of the day…
At the Loading Port, Edwin says it's another nice day today - but hey, good weather or bad, he's ready for anything the day throws at him! Todd mentions that Clive has been teaching him, and thanks to him he's a lot more confident in his work. Almost more like a father than a brother, heh! Clive tells Todd to pay attention - applying orbal energy to the rotor blade converts the linear kinetic energy and causes the blade to rotate. That's the basis for any standard orbal engine! He also mentions that Todd's the only family he has, and he just wants to help him in whatever way he can… Samario says that until the airship shows up, he should check over the equipment.
Over in the south district, Brenda says there's a very fine mansion on this side of the river, the residence of Ruan's mayor, Morris Dalmore. The job of mayor has typically been held by the head of House Dalmore for generations now. Nial is sitting on a bench here, and wonders where he'll focus his investigation next? He should probably start by walking over to the crime scene.
Inside one of the nearby houses Noria mentions that her husband has gone off to work, and her son is at school. She supposes she should set about getting the house cleaned up. Next door, Louis says his dad was super-mad when his watch broke the other day! Bridget mentions Louis can be such a mischievous child. It's as if he's never satisfied unless he tries out every harebrained notion that pops into his head! Norman mentions that Ruan has been changing into a real tourist area lately, and that presents a real opportunity for him. It means that he'll have customers from all over Liberl coming here. Personally, he sees absolutely no issues with the mayor's plans for tourist expansion!
At the Mayor's mansion, Gartner explains that the statue in the middle of the garden represents the founder of House Dalmore. Pretty inspiring, huh? Maid Flora says the mayor's always been the head of House Dalmore - since he comes from such a noble background, he carries quite a bit of clout. This estate has belonged to the family for generations. Maid Dominique says she can't do much of anything about all the things that the mayor says. They say that he is elected because of his lineage… and they're half right. Upset the townsfolk enough, and you can be sure that they'll fight back in one way or another… but it was those townsfolk who elected him, all the same. They share the blame for this, don't you know!
In the kitchen, Viego says the mayor could be very particular about what he'd eat as a child. Nowadays, though, he'll eat almost anything. Perhaps that's just part of being a mayor? Dario says he's got immense respect for the master's good name. Feudal lords may no longer exist, but House Dalmore still bears a great deal of responsibility. Steward Gilbert says that for every just and true person, there is another like those we met yesterday. He suspects they may wind up employing our services as brayers before too long. Mayor Dalmore figures we've heard that someone from the royal family is currently visiting Ruan. In light of yesterday's incident and the potential dangers to His Grace, Jean is being called upon to make certain that this visit goes smoothly.
At Aqua Rossa, Pesca mentions that the seafood from Azelia Bay is the best we'll ever have, and recommends the fish that's pan-seared in wine and topped with roe. Squaro says he's always been a fisherman. All of the fish in his store are caught fresh by him - he takes the boat out early in the morning. He's not generally one to boast, but you won't find fresher fish anywhere else in Ruan!
Zecalte explains that he's the navigation officer on a merchant vessel. He may be a little drunk right now, but he's at sea for months at a time… He's allowed, damn it! Bolle says if we're looking to make money, the tourism industry is a safer bet than fishing. The folks on this side of the river, though? They'd never be able to handle that line of work.
Over by the harbor, Simon says that long ago, Ruan was built around foreign trade and commercial fishing. Nowadays the harbor brings in the least money of anywhere in the business district. He's of the opinion that it started turning into a tourist trap as soon as Mayor Dalmore was sworn in. Portos mentions that they have a lot of foreign goods just packed into the ships. It's not a surprise to anyone that most of it is orbment-related these days. Liberl-made orbments are the most famous in the world! Benoit doesn't know why the mayor hasn't done something to get rid of them. If they're just allowed to run amok, they're just going to keep getting worse. Harg, panicked, wonders where he dropped it…? He has to get it back before someone finds out! Kuper says the physical work he's doing is satisfying - nothing else gets your blood pumping!
Back in the Ravens hideout, Terence mentions that if you've got no ambition, this is where you'll be sent, that's for sure. They've really screwed up their lives, haven't they? Rais is laughing and says he ain't drinking that to absolutely nobody, before hiccoughing - he's drunk. Rocco wonders what's with us? Did we change our minds about hanging out with them? Deen says he thinks he drank too much last night - his head's pounding, fit to burst. Picaro sighs, and muses that if he said he wanted to quit the Ravens, he'd be so pissed...
Jabu says there's no fun place around here to get some mira, with the casino closed. Belden doesn't want to go home, since his folks are going to be waiting for him. You know their favorite hobby? Giving him crap! Scratch that, he ain't got a soul waiting for him. They've given up by now, for sure. Bargo says that yesterday he managed to snag a salmon from a fishing boat. Easy pickings! Yeah, he's a total badass! Burt wonders if we found anything interesting around here?
Inside the Lavantar, Edel figured this place would be noisy since it's right beneath a casino, but it's actually very quiet and peaceful! Seagaro says he's a little late, but he came for breakfast! Primo says rumor has it his brother's little crew got caught up with the mayor yesterday. He'd bet money that they only act out like this because they're insecure. When you think about it, that's kind of pathetic...
Spiridon says that once the tourist season starts up, he wants to pullin customers from all walks of life. Since tourism is getting so popular, it's resulted in more customers for him! He wants to get the remodeling done as soon as possible so they'll be busy again… On the outside deck next to the restaurant we can find Hardt, who is relaxing since there's no work to be done. He doesn't get much of a chance to do so, usually, since he's a merchant in Bose… Definitely not good for your health!
O'Neil in his shop mentions that there are quite a few countries, both large and small, on this continent - aside from Liberl, Erebonia, and Calvard, that is. Far to the east of these nations the entire culture is very different, and that's why the Republic is made up of so many different cultures. Back when he was young he sailed to all those countries! At the church, Father Theodore says he hopes today's Mass will be a relatively peaceful affair. Sister Frieda explains that the morning Mass will start soon - will we be participating?
Near the lighthouse, tour guide Ciel is explaining that the lighthouse in Ruan was built around forty years ago, roughly the same time as the Langland Bridge, and one of the few structures not damaged in the war. She also mentions that she gave up her day off to work today, and she's so busy her daughter is helping out back at home. Legaro says that all that's left to see now are the historical sites from the war. Sylvie says the scenery is gorgeous, but the history is really sad… Percy is fishing nearby, and says he's caught a few today, but they're not big enough catches to satisfy him! He's going to catch a real whopper, one for the record books! In the name of the holy order of the Fisherman's Guild!
At one of the residences to the west, Liz says the Academy's entrance exam is apparently as difficult as she's heard - it might take a lot more dedication than Sunday School ever did. Renzo says he's been thinking over this whole matter with his son. Not so much about where he'd prefer he pursue a life at sea or college - he thinks he'd be okay with whatever he wants, so long as he can make a decent living. He'd hate to admit it, but he'd rather leave the choice up to him…
Antonio says he wants to eventually work as a crewman aboard an airship. It's what he's wanted to do, ever since he was a little kid. That's never changed - not one time! Next door, Eletta mentions she's looking after the house by herself today, since her parents are working and her brother is off to school. She's… kinda lonely.
At the weapon shop, Eva laughs and wonders if we can believe that she's been here for ten years already? The years certainly do creep up on you… Matilda at the bridge wonders where the birds go? They spread their wings and fly off to unknown lands. They look so small, up in the sky, but they're strong creatures… She wishes she could live like they do! At the orbment shop, Tobias heard about it from Jean - someone from the royal family is apparently here in Ruan! If he shares the same bloodline as Queen Alicia, he bets he's really refined and dignified. Guess he's coming to just make his presence known.
Upstairs at the Bracers guild, Carna says Ruan's seen a lot of tourists coming through lately who have been keeping her super-busy with guard jobs, not to mention searching lost property! She could use our help with that stuff…
If we take a circuitous route down towards the waterside, we can find a small group of people gathered together. Muriel wonders who you call when you get in trouble. That's right - you call bracers! At home or abroad, it doesn't matter… Bracers are always around to help. She loves us! Melvin, meanwhile, is looking for some lost dentures and asks the nearby old man if he dropped them somewhere around here? Randall gives an unintelligible response on account of the missing dentures, and Melvin just misinterprets it - what's that about bangles? Hold on, is he asking about anyone seeing his banana? Surely that's not right… Randall just says this is 'ho hembahaassing…' Rutherford explains his father dropped the dentures into the water and they don't have a spare set, so he's guessing they'll be playing charades for the rest of the day…
At the Loading Port, Edwin says it's another nice day today - but hey, good weather or bad, he's ready for anything the day throws at him! Todd mentions that Clive has been teaching him, and thanks to him he's a lot more confident in his work. Almost more like a father than a brother, heh! Clive tells Todd to pay attention - applying orbal energy to the rotor blade converts the linear kinetic energy and causes the blade to rotate. That's the basis for any standard orbal engine! He also mentions that Todd's the only family he has, and he just wants to help him in whatever way he can… Samario says that until the airship shows up, he should check over the equipment.
Over in the south district, Brenda says there's a very fine mansion on this side of the river, the residence of Ruan's mayor, Morris Dalmore. The job of mayor has typically been held by the head of House Dalmore for generations now. Nial is sitting on a bench here, and wonders where he'll focus his investigation next? He should probably start by walking over to the crime scene.
Inside one of the nearby houses Noria mentions that her husband has gone off to work, and her son is at school. She supposes she should set about getting the house cleaned up. Next door, Louis says his dad was super-mad when his watch broke the other day! Bridget mentions Louis can be such a mischievous child. It's as if he's never satisfied unless he tries out every harebrained notion that pops into his head! Norman mentions that Ruan has been changing into a real tourist area lately, and that presents a real opportunity for him. It means that he'll have customers from all over Liberl coming here. Personally, he sees absolutely no issues with the mayor's plans for tourist expansion!
At the Mayor's mansion, Gartner explains that the statue in the middle of the garden represents the founder of House Dalmore. Pretty inspiring, huh? Maid Flora says the mayor's always been the head of House Dalmore - since he comes from such a noble background, he carries quite a bit of clout. This estate has belonged to the family for generations. Maid Dominique says she can't do much of anything about all the things that the mayor says. They say that he is elected because of his lineage… and they're half right. Upset the townsfolk enough, and you can be sure that they'll fight back in one way or another… but it was those townsfolk who elected him, all the same. They share the blame for this, don't you know!
In the kitchen, Viego says the mayor could be very particular about what he'd eat as a child. Nowadays, though, he'll eat almost anything. Perhaps that's just part of being a mayor? Dario says he's got immense respect for the master's good name. Feudal lords may no longer exist, but House Dalmore still bears a great deal of responsibility. Steward Gilbert says that for every just and true person, there is another like those we met yesterday. He suspects they may wind up employing our services as brayers before too long. Mayor Dalmore figures we've heard that someone from the royal family is currently visiting Ruan. In light of yesterday's incident and the potential dangers to His Grace, Jean is being called upon to make certain that this visit goes smoothly.
At Aqua Rossa, Pesca mentions that the seafood from Azelia Bay is the best we'll ever have, and recommends the fish that's pan-seared in wine and topped with roe. Squaro says he's always been a fisherman. All of the fish in his store are caught fresh by him - he takes the boat out early in the morning. He's not generally one to boast, but you won't find fresher fish anywhere else in Ruan!
Zecalte explains that he's the navigation officer on a merchant vessel. He may be a little drunk right now, but he's at sea for months at a time… He's allowed, damn it! Bolle says if we're looking to make money, the tourism industry is a safer bet than fishing. The folks on this side of the river, though? They'd never be able to handle that line of work.
Over by the harbor, Simon says that long ago, Ruan was built around foreign trade and commercial fishing. Nowadays the harbor brings in the least money of anywhere in the business district. He's of the opinion that it started turning into a tourist trap as soon as Mayor Dalmore was sworn in. Portos mentions that they have a lot of foreign goods just packed into the ships. It's not a surprise to anyone that most of it is orbment-related these days. Liberl-made orbments are the most famous in the world! Benoit doesn't know why the mayor hasn't done something to get rid of them. If they're just allowed to run amok, they're just going to keep getting worse. Harg, panicked, wonders where he dropped it…? He has to get it back before someone finds out! Kuper says the physical work he's doing is satisfying - nothing else gets your blood pumping!
Back in the Ravens hideout, Terence mentions that if you've got no ambition, this is where you'll be sent, that's for sure. They've really screwed up their lives, haven't they? Rais is laughing and says he ain't drinking that to absolutely nobody, before hiccoughing - he's drunk. Rocco wonders what's with us? Did we change our minds about hanging out with them? Deen says he thinks he drank too much last night - his head's pounding, fit to burst. Picaro sighs, and muses that if he said he wanted to quit the Ravens, he'd be so pissed...
Jabu says there's no fun place around here to get some mira, with the casino closed. Belden doesn't want to go home, since his folks are going to be waiting for him. You know their favorite hobby? Giving him crap! Scratch that, he ain't got a soul waiting for him. They've given up by now, for sure. Bargo says that yesterday he managed to snag a salmon from a fishing boat. Easy pickings! Yeah, he's a total badass! Burt wonders if we found anything interesting around here?
Blissfully unaware of what's going on, we head to the Guild to pick up a couple sidequests from the board:
Warehouse Key
Term: Long
Client: Harg
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I lost my Warehouse Key somewhere, and I really need it! Please find it ASAP! For details, come see me at the harbor."
Find the Prototype!
Term: Medium
Client: Karl
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I lost my orbal gun prototype along the Aurian Causeway. I think I dropped it when I was attacked by a monster along the way. If you happen to find it, please bring it to me at Joan Arms & Guards."
Aurian Road Monster
Term: Long
Client: Bracer Guild
Pay: 1500 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"A ferocious monster known as a Helmet Crab has been spotted roving near the Sapphirl Tower. Bracers from this branch are requested to deal with this threat immediately."
One of these we can finish right now, and it's honestly kind of funny to literally leave the orphans to burn while we do menial nonsense, so let's do this first.
Side Job: Warehouse Key
Time to do some all-important work - let's head to the harbor and look for a key someone dropped. High Octane Action. We approach Harg, and he's surprised to see us bracers there. Joshua asks for clarification on him losing a warehouse key, and Harg confirms that he did - he was working with the barrels around the crane the other day, and he guesses he must have dropped it around there somewhere. Actually, he was waiting around to have a drink at the Aqua Rossa and probably dropped it in that area. Oh, and once he got to feeling good and toasty, he decided to walk around here…
Estelle incredulously asks if he really wandered around the harbor while drunk? What if he dropped the key into the water? What if he fell in the water?! Harg asks her what she expected? He couldn't resist the ocean air, you know? Estelle sighs, and decides talking isn't getting us anywhere. Harg says the key has to be somewhere in the harbor, at least, and Estelle guesses we've got some walking around to do… Harg apologizes for being unhelpful - he's not trying to make our lives any tougher. He's gotta get back to work, so we should let him know if we find it! Joshua agrees, and tells the man to contact us if he thinks of anything else. Harg promises he will!
While you can wander around the entire harbor with little success, there's a little cul-de-sac on the lower level pathways of the harbor which features a little wooden scaffolding crossing a dead-end path. There, Estelle pauses. Hmmm? There's something shining below us! Sure enough, beneath the (surprisingly clear) water we can see a glint of metal. Joshua figures if Mr. Harg was here, maybe they could check it out. Estelle says we can't exactly dive in and have a look - but if we had something hooked to snag it, then maybe…
If you've been exploring, the answer is obvious - upstairs at the Aqua Rossa the owner keeps his fishing rods, and going there to grab them makes Estelle wonder if we could borrow one? Joshua suggests asking the shopkeeper on the lower floor about it. Approaching Squaro in the kitchen, it turns out he's entirely fine with lending out a rod - just say the word! We get the Progressive Rod from him, and he tells us to just bring it back when we're done.
Returning to the glinting spot, it takes Estelle a moment to realize - right, let's use that tool we just picked up! She whips out her new fishing rod, and Joshua figures she's going to try and fish out that object - but won't that be difficult? Estelle just chuckles and tells him to sit back and watch the magnificent Estelle at work! Sure enough, with only a few moments of effort she snags the glinting thing, and it turns out to be the missing Warehouse Key! Check it out, she's got it! Joshua admits that was pretty impressive - she didn't think she would be able to do it. Estelle complains that's not really teh same as congratulating her - but we should get back to Mr. Harg and show him what we found! No telling how he dropped it here, though…
Estelle yells a greeting at Harg as we return to his side, and he tells us to be quiet - the others are gonna find him out! Estelle apologizes, then mentions that key… and that we found it! After we hand it over, Harg confirms it's the missing key alright, no bones about it. We really saved his skin there. Why is it all tangled up with fishing line, though? Estelle says it's kind of a long story, but Harg decides it's not a big deal. He's gotta split - later! We get 1000 Mira and 2 BP for finishing this minor request.
We can't leave the city right now, so it's time to head to the Guild - we cheerfully greet Jean, who thinks we're certainly here early! Estelle says we promised, and Joshua admits that while it's early, he hoped he'd have some assignments for us anyway. Jean says that's music to his ears. Let's see, there are just so many options… Just then his wall-mounted orbal phone rings, and Jean asks us to hold on for a moment. It's an incoming communication from the White Magnolia - how unusual! He's impressed they were able to reach here with their old comm equipment… Hold on, what did they just say?! Ah, that's definitely a major issue… Yes, he'll send someone over shortly.
As Jean hangs up, Estelle notices the sudden tense atmosphere - what's wrong? Another case? Jean says it could be a case, or just an accident, he's not sure. Last night the orphanage on the coastal road caught fire and burned down. Estelle is shocked - no way! Joshua wonders if Jean has any idea who might have done it? Jean explains that the proprietor of the Manoria Inn called - are we familiar with the Mercia Orphanage? Estelle says we were yesterday afternoon! Joshua asks about the children and the matron, and Jean admits he's not sure about them - would we be willing to head out there and look into this? Estelle says that of course we would, and Joshua agrees - let's head out right away! Jean tells us to take care…
Now, instead of actually going where we're supposed to go, we head southwards out of town along the Aurian Causeway - there's more sidequests to do, after all, so those orphans can wait! Partway through the causeway there's a split in the path, with one side leading towards the local ancient mystery tower, the Sapphirl Tower, while the other goes towards the Air-Letten Checkpoint, on the border with the region of Zeiss. We'll get back to that tower later - it's not going anywhere.
Side Job: Aurian Road Monster & Find the Prototype!
We can explore the general area of the split in the causeway to find a weird red-eyed crab thing floating in mid-air - our first sidequest objective!
[Boss: Helmet Crab*5]
These Helmet Crabs are, of course, very damage-resistant and can reflect physical blows. Any guesses what works well on them, though? This game is nothing if not rather predictable. Yeah, they're weak to all the elements! They can cause mute and call in poms to aid them in battle, but arts are the key to victory here, as they so often are. White Gehenna is the area-of-effect spell of choice at this point. Helpfully, killing these things also nets us the '0-Type Test Model' as loot, which happens to be the missing prototype we need for the other sidequest out here. These two quests seem kind of redundant, don't they…?
After grabbing the prototype we can head to the weapon shop and find a new NPC upstairs - Karl says he came here from Zeiss to do market research into orbal-powered firearms. The Aurian Causeway is crawling with some extremely aggressive monsters, and he has an extremely important prototype model that he was trying to work the bugs out of. Estelle mentions she saw that on the bulletin board, and concludes that what he lost was this orban gun thingy? Karl is about to beg us to return it, only for Estelle to just hold it out. Is this the prototype he's missing? Karl is astounded - whoa?! How did we get our hands on this?
Joshua quickly explains we got it from a monster near Sapphirl Tower, and probably just wanted it for the septium mechanisms. Karl thanks us profusely - in Aidios' name, and thank goodness! Estelle figures that's another request fulfilled, so we must be going. Karl wonders why we're in such a hurry, though? Please, at least take this with us! We receive an Attack 2 Quartz as a token of his appreciation, and he wishes us luck on our future endeavors… Hopefully he can count on us again should it be necessary…
Returning to the guild, we receive 1000 Mira and 3 BP for returning the prototype, and 1500 Mira and 4 BP for killing the crabs that held it. Score!
Before doing what we're told to do, we can now also explore Air-Letten Checkpoint, since this is the first time we can actually leave town from the south instead of just the north. Air-Letten is a pretty gorgeous old ruin surrounded by scenic waterfalls, and there's a stone bridge leading to a tunnel which presumably heads towards the Zeiss region. It's mostly filled with soldiers and tourists.
Private Vernon is standing outside, and says he heard they had a messenger from Leiston Fortress a while back. No telling what that was about… Inside, Warrant Officer Kientz says that Cromwell is talking to Sarge about something or other, and he's got a bad feeling about this… He never brings anything but bad news. Tia says that something about the roar of the waterfall really relaxes her. Lindsay says this is a beautiful place, isn't it? You can see why it's one of the sixteen wonders of Liberl! Bartholomew mentions that first it was Manoria, with all the beautiful flowers, then the port town of Ruan, and now Air-Letten… This area has so many must-see places!
Inside one of the side rooms, CWO Hahn is talking to Private Cromwell, and says he heard that Cromwell was going to Ruan, but nothing about him coming here! Cromwell admits it seems their plans suddenly changed. Well, what can you do? Hahn says they should just begin preparation for the inspections. What a pain… Afterwards, Cromwell mentions that someone important has shown up… In another room, Private Orta says there've been a lot of guests today, all looking for a place to stay. He should get a room ready!
Up on the bridge, Mikelson says it's pretty bizarre that the ruins themselves became the waterfall here…
Private Nix has to say one thing about guard duty here - the view is great! It can get tough when winter comes, though. In a sideroom, Caesar says he doesn't have much of anything special in the way of food, but he'd be grateful for the conversation. The little kettle-roasted fish here are especially good, though! He highly recommends them, even though we may feel compelled to eat them up in one bite… Gary sighs, and says this is a lovely place, don't we think? Since the cost of a room is so reasonable, he thinks he might stay for a few more days…
Inside one of the side rooms, CWO Hahn is talking to Private Cromwell, and says he heard that Cromwell was going to Ruan, but nothing about him coming here! Cromwell admits it seems their plans suddenly changed. Well, what can you do? Hahn says they should just begin preparation for the inspections. What a pain… Afterwards, Cromwell mentions that someone important has shown up… In another room, Private Orta says there've been a lot of guests today, all looking for a place to stay. He should get a room ready!
Up on the bridge, Mikelson says it's pretty bizarre that the ruins themselves became the waterfall here…
Private Nix has to say one thing about guard duty here - the view is great! It can get tough when winter comes, though. In a sideroom, Caesar says he doesn't have much of anything special in the way of food, but he'd be grateful for the conversation. The little kettle-roasted fish here are especially good, though! He highly recommends them, even though we may feel compelled to eat them up in one bite… Gary sighs, and says this is a lovely place, don't we think? Since the cost of a room is so reasonable, he thinks he might stay for a few more days…
Next: Right, there was something about orphans...?
- Pronouns
- He
I found myself laughing in disbelief when I played this and watched the screen fade out on the crackling of fire to the cheery sound of 'Full Health Restored!~'
Trails in the Sky (Part 34) - Right, About Those Orphans...
- Location
- Netherlands
Right, About Those Orphans…
It's time to figure out what's up with the orphan emergency. The Mercia Orphanage, it appears, has seen better days - it's a burned out husk, and most of the place looks like a bomb went off. A couple of people are going through the wreckage when we arrive. Estelle thinks this is all terrible - it's just… gone!
An off-screen person, Zack, wonders who they have here? Solomon joins him, and wonders if we're here from the Bracer Guild? Joshua recognizes the two from Manoria, and they explain they came to help pick up the pieces. They were here last night around midnight, trying to fight the fire… As we can see, that... could have gone better.
Estelle is more concerned about Matron Theresa and the kids, but Solomon assures us they're all fine - right now they're sleeping at Manoria's inn. Given the size of the fire, it's a miracle that nobody was badly hurt… The two of them are just here to clean up what they can. Estelle is relieved, and thinks we really ought to check up on everyone at the inn… Joshua believes that'll have to wait, though. Now that we're here at the scene of the crime, a lot of things strike him as weird. We need to find what clues we can before the trail goes cold, so to speak. He knows how Estelle feels, but this has to take precedence! Estelle takes a moment to gather herself, and admits he's right. We're bracers, after all - we have to find out what happened. With that, Zack and Solomon get out of the way, and give us all the space we need to investigate the location.
Much like the robbery at the mayor's place back in Rolent, we can run around and inspect various things on the ground - only some of them are required to progress, but all of them inform what's happened here. The front door has been completely wrecked, and is all pitch black. Estelle is confused, though - maybe it's just her, but does the hinge look weird to Joshua? Like it's been torn off or something… Joshua agrees that it does, as if it happened before the fire started! What used to be a wall is now little more than ruins, but Estelle smells something strange. Joshua thinks he knows why - it's strongest right where the walls collapsed…
At the sides of the property we can find an upturned milk tank, and the soil from the flower beds is scattered all around the ground, while herbs have been uprooted from the garden and the firewood from the stove has been scattered around everywhere. Even the seats at the table have been tossed about! Questioning Zack, he mentions that since the fire has burned so much, he guesses the only thing they can do is rebuild. He doesn't know what Matron Theresa is going to do… It's going to be really expensive! Maybe they can get stuff at a discount? He owes them a little, too, and now is the perfect time to pay it back. Solomon admits he was in shock yesterday, when the sky went all red in the east. He tried to get here as quickly as he could, but everything was already gone…
Joshua calls Estelle over, and says that we've taken a good look around, so he asks what she thinks? Estelle admits she's not sure… Joshua points out that firstly, the fire doesn't appear to have started inside the building. It came from outside. Joshua points out the location where the walls collapsed, and there's a large blacked spot - it looks like this is the fire's point of origin. Estelle asks how he could tell, and Joshua notes that the fire damage is worse here than anywhere else, so it went outwards from there. You know what that means? Estelle can then pick between guessing it was a forest fire, an intentional case of arson, or a lantern accident. Naturally, the second option is the one to go for, here…
Joshua agrees with the arson suggestion, and notes that the smell everywhere comes from highly flammable oil. That's why it's strongest where they are here - it's the fire's point of origin, so that's where it was poured. Plus, doesn't Estelle think it's weird how everything outside is scattered around? Even the people fighting the fire wouldn't have done that to the herb garden! It's not a coincidence - someone did this!
A voice from off-screen wonders if that's really true…? The camera shifts to reveal… Kloe! We quickly rush up to her, while Kloe wonders why anyone would do something like this…? She has so many irreplaceable memories of this place! Why…? How? How could anyone do anything so cruel? Kloe apologizes for her emotional outburst, but she's just so confused… Estelle says she's not alone in that feeling. She barely knows this place, and it still bothers the heck out of her, too. It's hard to believe that anyone could be capable of something this awful. Still, the matrons and the kids are all okay so we can be thankful for that, at least! Kloe admits that does help…
She explains that she'd just started morning classes when the dean came to see her. He said that he'd heard that the orphanage had gone up in flames. While she was on her way here, all she could think about was that they're fine - they're alive, and Aidios was watching over them! Joshua explains that they're all staying at the inn in Manoria, safe and sound. We just finished up here, so we're planning to go see them there - does she want to come along? Kloe agrees that she'd like that very much. All right then, to Manoria we go!
Before we leave, we can chat with Zack, who says he's known Matron Theresa ever since he was a kid. The people who fought the fire sure were dedicated. He just can't understand how this happened. Fighting the fire took some serious dedication! Solomon greets us mighty bracers, and wonders if we found anything out…?
Moving back westward, we soon arrive at the village of Manoria. Creda says the village certainly seems busy… Did something happen? Sadie heard there was a fire at the orphanage, and saw all the kids come by, crying. She feels bad for them… Little Lucia mentions that everyone from the orphanage came over… They were upset about something, though. She wonders what happened…? Elder Serge mentions that last night he saw the eastern sky turn red, and the stars were hidden from view by the rising smoke. He sent a young man from the village to combat the blaze, but alas… they couldn't save the orphanage. At least there's some small comfort in the fact that nobody was hurt.
Amelia says that Zack tore out of there last night when he found out about the fire - she supposes he's still trying to help out over there. He really is a very dependable person… At the inn, Alvin mentions he heard the kids crying upstairs. What in the world happened? Shelby knows something unusual is going on, too. Carla recognizes Kloe's uniform, and wonders if she's Kloe, by any chance? The children from the orphanage talk about her a great deal. They're all upstairs in the big room, so she should go and see them whenever she gets the chance. Rex asks if everything was destroyed in the fire at the orphanage? He went ahead and let the kids use his room… If we wouldn't mind, could we go and try to cheer them up a little?
Moving back westward, we soon arrive at the village of Manoria. Creda says the village certainly seems busy… Did something happen? Sadie heard there was a fire at the orphanage, and saw all the kids come by, crying. She feels bad for them… Little Lucia mentions that everyone from the orphanage came over… They were upset about something, though. She wonders what happened…? Elder Serge mentions that last night he saw the eastern sky turn red, and the stars were hidden from view by the rising smoke. He sent a young man from the village to combat the blaze, but alas… they couldn't save the orphanage. At least there's some small comfort in the fact that nobody was hurt.
Amelia says that Zack tore out of there last night when he found out about the fire - she supposes he's still trying to help out over there. He really is a very dependable person… At the inn, Alvin mentions he heard the kids crying upstairs. What in the world happened? Shelby knows something unusual is going on, too. Carla recognizes Kloe's uniform, and wonders if she's Kloe, by any chance? The children from the orphanage talk about her a great deal. They're all upstairs in the big room, so she should go and see them whenever she gets the chance. Rex asks if everything was destroyed in the fire at the orphanage? He went ahead and let the kids use his room… If we wouldn't mind, could we go and try to cheer them up a little?
Heading upstairs at Manoria's inn we stumble into the next room, where Matron Theresa and the four pint-sized brats from the orphanage await. Kloe is relieved to see them all, and the children quickly congregate around 'Miss Kloe' as he looks them over - is anyone hurt? They assure her they're fine, and Theresa says she's glad Kloe is here. Estelle and Joshua, too! Estelle explains that someone contracted the guild, so we're investigating the incident and thought we'd stop by!
Theresa thanks us for taking the time, while Clem guesses this is about the fire, right? Do we know who did it? We exchange awkward glances as we have no answer for him. Kloe says she missed breakfast, so how about getting some food? Who's hungry? Good boys and girls who join her will get some sweet treats! Three of the kids immediately sign up, and they pressure Clem to quit griping and come - let's go downstairs with Miss Kloe!
After Kloe and the children leave, Estelle sighs in relief - she really wouldn't want the little kids to hear about this…Joshua guesses that at least Mary has some idea of what's happening here… Theresa agrees - isn't she great? She's happy to have her around! Now, though, with that said - if we could tell her what we can, Theresa would be grateful. Joshua thanks her for understanding, and lays out that we first checked into how the fire started - and it does appear that it was set deliberately. Theresa suspected as much - she says she's always been very careful about fire, so she thought it might be something like that.
Joshua wonders if she has any idea who could have done this? They must have had some motivation. Theresa isn't sure. They have no real money to speak of, nor has anyone ever borne a grudge against them… Estelle figures that means it wasn't a robbery, or revenge. Joshua muses that they have to acknowledge the possibility that someone did it just for fun. Did Theresa happen to notice anything unusual leading up to, or during this incident? Strange people hanging around the orphanage, for example? Theresa admits that there is something - not during the daytime when we were there, but afterwards… Though she can't imagine he would do something like this!
Estelle asks who she's talking about, and Theresa explains that when they were trying to escape from the burning building, the beams fell in and blocked their way through the entry hall. Then he showed up and helped them all get free. They owe him their lives! Estelle asks if this person was from Manoria…? Theresa says that right after he helped them, he called the villagers over and then left in the confusion. She asked the villagers about him, but nobody seemed to know anything… Joshua thinks this sounds rather suspicious. What business would anyone have around the orphanage at such a late hour? Did she happen to notice anything particular about him? Theresa explains he was a man in his late twenties, maybe, with brilliant silver hair. Joshua seems taken aback by that description. Theresa says he had a troubled look about him, though… that's what made him seem far older than he looked. He didn't strike her as a bad man, though.
Estelle thinks he sounds suspicious, but he did help out. Doesn't sound like our arsonist to her… Joshua is frozen, wide-eyed, and Estelle asks what's up with his goofy stare? Joshua quickly says it's nothing… Perhaps he was just a bracer who happened to pass by? Anyway, we should probably disregard him as a suspect. (Joshua, you're being kinda sus...)
As Estelle tries to figure out what's up with Joshua, Kloe returns and explains that the children are currently downstairs eating desserts. She's here to tell Matron Theresa that she has a guest. Mayor Dalmore has arrived, and greets us as well, since he recalls meeting us bracers the day before. Jean's reputation for responding quickly is well-earned! He turns to Theresa and greets her - it's good to see her again. After he heard what happened, he came over as quickly as he could, and he's glad she's safe. Theresa thanks him, and says it's very kind of him to come - she knows he's a very busy man. Dalmore says it's his responsibility to look after all areas of the region. More to the point, those who did this must not be allowed to get away with it! Joseph always loved that place… It's such an atrocity! He expresses his heartfelt condolences…
Theresa thanks him again, but she's sure that Joseph would just be relieved that all the children are alive and well. Her sole regret is that all her mementos of him were lost in the fire… Dalmore turns to us, and asks if we have any insight into the perpetrators of this arson? Joshua admits we've only just begun our investigation, so it's too early to say. It does look like it might have been done simply out of malice, though.
Dalmore admits that's a terrible thought. For something so heinous to happen in such a peaceful place… Steward Gilbert wonders if those people might have had a hand in it? Estelle asks who he means by that, and he clarifies he's talking about the guys we met yesterday - those ruffians in the warehouse district of Ruan. Joshua asks - and pardon his bluntness - what makes him suspect them? Gilbert points out that they've been openly defying the mayor for quite some time now, and certainly seem to get their kicks out of causing trouble for him. And since he and Matron Theresa are friends, it… Dalmore cuts him off, and says wild speculation does no one any good. This is a dire offense, so they must have no false accusations.
Gilbert quickly apologizes for his foolishness, while Dalmore figures it would be best to let the bracers identify and locate the ones responsible. He can count on our help, right? We quickly promise we'll devote our full attention to it, and the mayor is glad to hear it. He then turns back to Theresa, as he has one more question to ask. What does she plan to do with the orphanage now? Rebuilding will take time and a not inconsiderable amount of mira to complete… Theresa admits she's at a loss. They have a modest reserve of mira, but the cost will be phenomenal.
Dalmore admits he was afraid of that, and has a proposal for her to consider. Theresa warily asks what that might be, and Dalmore explains that at the Dalmore estate in Grancel he has a villa only used for special occasions. What say she to having the children stay there for a little while? Of course, charging rent would be particularly boorish of him. She'd be welcome to stay for as long as the rebuilding process takes. Theresa protests that there's no need for him to shoulder the burden of their troubles, but Dalmore underlines that the villa sits unused! If she has misgivings, he'd grant her control of the grounds. Think of it as a well-deserved reward!
Theresa asks for some time to think it over. The offer is most generous, but she can barely process it with everything going on… Dalmore figures that's perfectly understandable. If she decides to accept, she should feel free to contact him. For now she should get some rest - and he'll be off as well. Let's go, Gilbert! After they leave, Estelle says the mayor is certainly the generous type - on par with Mayor Maybelle! Joshua says it's particularly surprising given he's a former noble. Kloe asks Theresa what she intends to do about the mayor's offer, and she turns the question around - what does Kloe think about it? Kloe muses that conventional wisdom dictates she should accept it, but once she's gone to Grancel… She cuts herself off there.
Theresa chuckles, and says Kloe always was such a thoughtful child…It's all right, she can give her honest opinion. Kloe is silent for a moment, and says the herb garden and the people she cares about would be gone… and with Theresa and Joseph both gone, she feels like all of her good memories will fade away… She's sorry for being stupid and selfish. Theresa says she shares Kloe's feelings. The orphanage is home to her memories of him, as well as the children's memories. But… though memories are precious, having a place to live is of the utmost importance. She believes this will all be settled soon. Please, she should try to focus on tending to the campus festival for now - the children are really looking forward to it. Smiling thinly, Kloe acknowledges the point. Theresa turns to us, and wishes she could be of more help in our investigation, but she must leave it in our hands. Joshua promises we'll handle it, and Estelle says we'll take the culprit down - she can count on it!
As we leave and head outside, Estelle complains this has turned into a royal mess. Where should we start the search? Joshua figures they should maybe go back to the guild and report back to Jean, and figure out a plan of attack there. Sounds good enough for Estelle! Kloe remains silent, and Estelle asks if anything's wrong? Looks like something's bugging her...
Kloe admits her mind is just all over the place right now. Estelle knows how she feels, then asks for a bit of clarification - Joseph was Theresa's husband, right? Kloe confirms that, but says he died a few years ago - he meant a great deal to her as well. Estelle blinks, then wonders if Kloe is from the orphanage as well, then? Kloe says it's nothing like that - he just did her a huge favor a long time ago. They grew close again when she came to Ruan to attend the academy. Joshua figures that means every time she came by to play she ended up helping out, like part of the family. Kloe agrees - Joseph was like a father to her, but the shock she experienced was nothing compared to that of the matron and the other children. Still, they managed somehow.
An off-screen voice calls out for Kloe, and it turns out it's Mary - what's gotten her into such a hurry? May explains she has to listen - Clem is gone! Estelle asks if she means he left Manoria…? Joshua asks for more details, and Mary explains that after that old man showed up, Clem went upstairs… In a couple of minutes he came back all red in the face saying that 'they're not getting away with this!' Then he just ran off! Estelle wonders what that means, and we get a few options - we can guess he was talking about the arsonist, Mayor Dalmore and his steward, or that Ravens gang over at the warehouse… The latter option is the best, as Joshua guesses Clem overheard what Gilbert said.
Estelle hopes he's not planning to go and find those thugs himself… Kloe is fearful of that as well, and swears she can't allow this! She has to find him at once! Joshua promises we'll come with her - if we hurry, we might be able to catch him before he gets to Ruan! Kloe promises Mary she'll bring Clem back safely, and asks her to look after the other children, all right? Mary promises, and wishes us good luck! Let's head back to Ruan!
Inside the inn, Alvin asks if it's true that someone set fire to the orphanage? There are some real lowlives in this world… Shelby says that by the looks of the weather, they should be able to take on the Krone mountains soon. Their wait has paid off! Carla says she saw Clem running out of here just now, and Rex agrees that a boy from the orphanage came running by a while ago. Upstairs, Daniel wonders what's got Clem all worked up? Matron Theresa says that Mary told her about what happened. How terrible - what an awful thing for him to overhear! She begs us to please find Clem and bring him back safely. Polly says Clemn didn't say anything since when they were eating pudding. Mary has also made it back in here, and asks us to find Clem.
Amelia is shocked the fire at the orphanage was arson - how could someone do such a thing? That's terrible! She has to go and help out at Carla's later. Sadie says the little boy from the orphanage was running like his life depended on it… She wonders what happened? It's a little worrisome. Creda says it must have taken a truly heartless individual to set fire to an orphanage. It's just not the kind of thing any human should be capable of. Whoever did this must be brought to justice! Lucia says she thinks Clem ran outside in a big hurry… She wonders if he did something bad again and got Matron Theresa mad at him? Elder Serge says they will do whatever they can to help Matron Theresa and the orphans. Rex offered them a room at the White Magnolia, which was of great help. In times of need, they must work together.
On our way back to Ruan City, we can also hit up the school again, and get a little extra dialogue. Estelle asks Kloe if this is her school, then? She confirms it and admits she'd like to be able to show us around… For now, Joshua insists, we need to go to Ruan and find Clem…. 'R-right!' Estelle responds as we set off again.
Amelia is shocked the fire at the orphanage was arson - how could someone do such a thing? That's terrible! She has to go and help out at Carla's later. Sadie says the little boy from the orphanage was running like his life depended on it… She wonders what happened? It's a little worrisome. Creda says it must have taken a truly heartless individual to set fire to an orphanage. It's just not the kind of thing any human should be capable of. Whoever did this must be brought to justice! Lucia says she thinks Clem ran outside in a big hurry… She wonders if he did something bad again and got Matron Theresa mad at him? Elder Serge says they will do whatever they can to help Matron Theresa and the orphans. Rex offered them a room at the White Magnolia, which was of great help. In times of need, they must work together.
On our way back to Ruan City, we can also hit up the school again, and get a little extra dialogue. Estelle asks Kloe if this is her school, then? She confirms it and admits she'd like to be able to show us around… For now, Joshua insists, we need to go to Ruan and find Clem…. 'R-right!' Estelle responds as we set off again.
As we make our way all the way to Ruan, Estelle admits that there was no sign of Clem on the way… You don't suppose he's already made it all the way there? Joshua suggests checking out that warehouse to the south to make sure! Well, after talking to literally everyone accessible, of course.
Matilda is still sitting on the bridge, and wonders if the stars shine beyond the blue sky… It's too far away to see! Ruvie says that she saw a little boy running like his life depended on it. Wonder what's wrong. Atget agrees that it's dangerous to run in the street. Eva at the weapon shop has been told the Royal Army performed admirably in the Hundred Days War… but it was one particular colonel who really made the difference in driving off the Imperial forces. Still, she hasn't heard a peep about where he is or what he's done since the war ended. People just stopped talking about him! Wonder what he's like…? (Dad, is that you again?) Karl thanks us for our help with his prototype earlier, but he should be able to handle things from here on out. He simply must get to work!
Near the local lighthouse we can find Sylvie, who thinks the bridge is a marvel over the water… The air here smells so clean… It's refreshing! Legaro mentions that the white streets floating between the blue sky and the water are beautiful - he really can't get over it! Ciel mentions her son's campus festival is soon, so business has picked up… She'd love to be able to take some time off. Percy is still fishing, and isn't sure what we're all excited about… but he needs quiet. The fish are really sensitive to sound. They're like the government… they hear everything.
Eletta mentions she just finished the laundry and sweeping up, and hopes everyone will be back soon… Next door, Renzo guesses he ought to check out the campus for himself, but shouldn't they see what the kid wants, first? He doesn't get an answer, and just sighs...
Liz says that the Royal Academy has more applicants with each passing year, that's why the entrance examination can be so difficult to pass. It makes her nervous… Antonio mentions that his dad suggested he should think about things carefully before he decides what he wants to do. That's why he thinks he needs to study a lot in order to crew an airship. He doesn't think attending school would be such a bad thing… At the orbment shop, Tobias is glad it's almost lunchtime. He just can't work on an empty stomach! One of the staples of Ruanian cuisine is paella with plenty of shrimp!
At O'Neil's shop, O'Neil is sharing stories about his glory days again - how about that time when he was sailing through Republic waters? That was before their political climate had settled down, so there was no real public order. Anyway, they were suddenly attacked by some pirates in a passenger ship. But since he was a man of the sea, it was the pirates that were in trouble! With them getting closer, he knew that hesitating would spell disaster… After a scuffle, he eventually bested them and spent his victory bathing in the adoration of some exotic Eastern women… my, but they were lovely! What, do we want to hear more of his old adventure stories?
Edel complains that they came all the way here… and she wasn't planning on just browsing! She's here to shop, damn it! Seagaro mentions that O'Neil has been like that ever since they stepped in here… He'd like to eventually get some shopping done!
At the restaurant, Melvin sneezes loudly and then shivers. He was always taught that you're supposed to eat a lot when you've got a cold… He's got to eat up and keep up his strength to work as a bracer, in case of an emergency! Nial is in here too and greets us again - if we turn up anything interesting, we should be sure to tell him about it! Primo wonders what's wrong? Are we looking for someone? Hardt asks if we see the guy in the chair over there? He thinks that's Simon from Ms. Mirano's place. The Trinos are the most renowned of Bose's merchant families! Simon is glad that negotiations are behind him and he can breathe again. Ms. Mirano is off on a business trip, and there's a lot to be done… Spiridon wants to replace the roulette wheel while the renovations are going on - he's trying to draw in more customers.
At the church, Father Theodore says he tends to see more tourists than local folk in his congregation these days. Some of them have the most atrocious manners - even during Mass, they will not keep quiet. They can be quite trying on one's patience. Sister Frieda says she doesn't think Father Theodore cares much for the church being turned into a tourist attraction, heh. Back at the Guild, Jean greets us and asks how everyone is at the orphanage? Estelle stammers that we finished our investigation, and Joshua adds that there's been some trouble, unfortunately - we'll have more information for him later. Jean notices we seem to be in a hurry, and says he'll take our report later...
At the Landing Port, Edwin figures if we've got a flight to catch, it's best to stay on this side of the bridge. A lot of folks miss their flight because they get stuck when the bridge is up! At those times, the schedule for the airship departures is jam-packed, too. It's somewhat problematic… Samario says that someone from the head office is in Clive's office. He can only guess what it's about - oh well, like that's anything new! Todd says Clive sure is amazing - he's glad he gets to watch his brother and learn from him! Hopefully he can be an engineer too, someday. Clive mentions they have to swap out the parts in this crazy gizmo piece by piece… He should contact the head office about it!
Near the local lighthouse we can find Sylvie, who thinks the bridge is a marvel over the water… The air here smells so clean… It's refreshing! Legaro mentions that the white streets floating between the blue sky and the water are beautiful - he really can't get over it! Ciel mentions her son's campus festival is soon, so business has picked up… She'd love to be able to take some time off. Percy is still fishing, and isn't sure what we're all excited about… but he needs quiet. The fish are really sensitive to sound. They're like the government… they hear everything.
Eletta mentions she just finished the laundry and sweeping up, and hopes everyone will be back soon… Next door, Renzo guesses he ought to check out the campus for himself, but shouldn't they see what the kid wants, first? He doesn't get an answer, and just sighs...
Liz says that the Royal Academy has more applicants with each passing year, that's why the entrance examination can be so difficult to pass. It makes her nervous… Antonio mentions that his dad suggested he should think about things carefully before he decides what he wants to do. That's why he thinks he needs to study a lot in order to crew an airship. He doesn't think attending school would be such a bad thing… At the orbment shop, Tobias is glad it's almost lunchtime. He just can't work on an empty stomach! One of the staples of Ruanian cuisine is paella with plenty of shrimp!
At O'Neil's shop, O'Neil is sharing stories about his glory days again - how about that time when he was sailing through Republic waters? That was before their political climate had settled down, so there was no real public order. Anyway, they were suddenly attacked by some pirates in a passenger ship. But since he was a man of the sea, it was the pirates that were in trouble! With them getting closer, he knew that hesitating would spell disaster… After a scuffle, he eventually bested them and spent his victory bathing in the adoration of some exotic Eastern women… my, but they were lovely! What, do we want to hear more of his old adventure stories?
Edel complains that they came all the way here… and she wasn't planning on just browsing! She's here to shop, damn it! Seagaro mentions that O'Neil has been like that ever since they stepped in here… He'd like to eventually get some shopping done!
At the restaurant, Melvin sneezes loudly and then shivers. He was always taught that you're supposed to eat a lot when you've got a cold… He's got to eat up and keep up his strength to work as a bracer, in case of an emergency! Nial is in here too and greets us again - if we turn up anything interesting, we should be sure to tell him about it! Primo wonders what's wrong? Are we looking for someone? Hardt asks if we see the guy in the chair over there? He thinks that's Simon from Ms. Mirano's place. The Trinos are the most renowned of Bose's merchant families! Simon is glad that negotiations are behind him and he can breathe again. Ms. Mirano is off on a business trip, and there's a lot to be done… Spiridon wants to replace the roulette wheel while the renovations are going on - he's trying to draw in more customers.
At the church, Father Theodore says he tends to see more tourists than local folk in his congregation these days. Some of them have the most atrocious manners - even during Mass, they will not keep quiet. They can be quite trying on one's patience. Sister Frieda says she doesn't think Father Theodore cares much for the church being turned into a tourist attraction, heh. Back at the Guild, Jean greets us and asks how everyone is at the orphanage? Estelle stammers that we finished our investigation, and Joshua adds that there's been some trouble, unfortunately - we'll have more information for him later. Jean notices we seem to be in a hurry, and says he'll take our report later...
At the Landing Port, Edwin figures if we've got a flight to catch, it's best to stay on this side of the bridge. A lot of folks miss their flight because they get stuck when the bridge is up! At those times, the schedule for the airship departures is jam-packed, too. It's somewhat problematic… Samario says that someone from the head office is in Clive's office. He can only guess what it's about - oh well, like that's anything new! Todd says Clive sure is amazing - he's glad he gets to watch his brother and learn from him! Hopefully he can be an engineer too, someday. Clive mentions they have to swap out the parts in this crazy gizmo piece by piece… He should contact the head office about it!
When we try to head across the Langland drawbridge, Joshua realizes it's almost noon already - the bridge is about to go up! Sure enough we arrive just as Clem rushes across the bridge towards the south, after which the bridge opens and locks us off from that part of the city. 'No!' Kloe cries. It's no use - Clem can't hear us. Estelle wonders why the bridge has to go up now, of all times? It couldn't wait thirty minutes?! Kloe fears what happens if we don't do something - but what can we do?
Joshua tries to calm her down, and recalls what she told us about this bridge - it wasn't always there. How did people get across the water before the bridge was built? They used boats!
Kloe recalls that there's a boat you can rent behind the hotel, so suggests we head there and find ourselves a way across that way...
At the Langland bridge, which wasn't accessible until the cutscene resolved, Randall and Muriel are gushing about the huge drawbridge, while Rutherford wonders why we're in such a hurry? Don't suppose it has anything to do with that boy from earlier? Lytton says they often conduct boat tours of Ruan from the ferry port behind the hotel. If that's about what we had in mind, it can certainly be arranged!
Entering the hotel, we can speak to Ernest behind the counter, who recognizes that we're in a big hurry for some reason. Do we need something? Kloe asks about the local boat rentals - they do those here, right? Ernest confirms they do, and that we should just go down the stairs and take a right to get to the back of the building where the boat is. Let's go, downstairs and to the right!
Entering the hotel, we can speak to Ernest behind the counter, who recognizes that we're in a big hurry for some reason. Do we need something? Kloe asks about the local boat rentals - they do those here, right? Ernest confirms they do, and that we should just go down the stairs and take a right to get to the back of the building where the boat is. Let's go, downstairs and to the right!
Next: Time to head south in pursuit of the last orphan we need for our complete set. Time to put a murder of Ravens to roost!
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