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[Roarian]

This Mayor Means Business

With our exploration done for the moment, and the available side quests taken care of, our next destination is the mayor's mansion. As we enter, Estelle comments that this is a gorgeous place, check out that crazy-expensive looking chandelier! Joshua tells her to calm down… Scherazard confirms this is the mayor's place all right, and now she just wonders if she's home. Butler Mayner soon enters the room and notices there's visitors, and he welcomes us to the mayor's residence. Schera quickly explains we're with the Bracer Guild, and that the mayor sent us a request, so we've come to inquire about the details.



Mayner acknowledges that he heard about this from the mayor, but he's sorry to inform us that said mayor is currently out. She's gone to worship at the chapel! Joshua asks when she's expected back, and Mayner says he would imagine her to be making her return at any moment. Estelle remarks that we're sort of in a hurry to meet her, so does he think it'd be all right for us to call on her at the chapel? Mayner seems unsure, and says he wouldn't want to inconvenience us… Estelle assures her it would probably save us all some trouble, though she does ask what the mayor looks like, so we can spot her? Does she look like a typically wealthy person? Big hat with feathers on it? Dripping gemstones from every pore?

The butler blinks at those colorful descriptions - but they're quite off the mark, he assures us. How would he describe her? Should he say she looks splendid, or beautifully mature…? Ah, if she could just find the right man, he could retire in peace… N-never mind, he was just thinking out loud. What might help is to know that the mayor has a maid accompanying her. That might be the easiest way to identify her. Joshua agrees that a maid sounds easy enough to find in a crowd of people… Let's hurry over to the chapel!

Over at the chapel, there's no sign of the mayor, but there is a maid standing in the middle of the aisles. Estelle greets her - she must be the maid we've been looking for. Lila is confused, and wonders who we might be? Joshua tells Estelle she could be a little more polite, and explains to the maid that we're with the Bracer Guild, and we're looking for the mayor so we can confirm the details of a job she requested. Lila introduces herself as the mayor's maid, and explains she sees to her daily needs.



Estelle muses that she's being served hand and foot, huh? The worlds they live in are really different… So, where is the mayor, if she doesn't mind her asking? Didn't she come here to pray? Lila grudgingly admits the mayor is playing hooky from her religious duties. She's sure that she's probably in the middle of inspecting the situation in the market… She took off after telling Lila to pray for her too...

As everyone takes that in, Joshua admits he doesn't know how he should say this - but the mayor seems like she has quite a unique personality. Schera agrees that she does sound interesting. Even if she weren't the mayor, she'd be kind of intrigued. Lila states that there is no doubt the mayor is a capable person, although she does have a bit of an unrestrained aspect to her at times. Anyway, she's on her way to meet the mayor now. She doesn't want to sound impolite, but would we mind waiting at her residence? She'll let her know we're there. Estelle doesn't know how she feels about going back there empty-handed, and asks if we can tag along with her instead? Lila begrudgingly goes along with it - she guesses it's okay. Let's head to the Bose market, then.

Lila actually physically tags along with our party, though it's just for show and she doesn't make an appearance in the menus. We make our way to the large central market building, and Estelle comments that this place is really huge - wonder where the mayor is? Lila comments that she does stand out in a crowd, so she's sure we'll find her right away… Ah, just as she thought! The camera pans over to reveal a young woman yelling at two shopkeepers that they should be absolutely ashamed of themselves!



Trying to force up the price of food at a time like this by buying it all up… They're not fit to be merchants of Bose! Buck and Trayton protest, arguing that they were just thinking about how to increase sales for the Bose Market in general… She snaps back that she doesn't want to hear anymore from them. If it were other products it would be a different story, but making undue profits on necessities will lead to negative publicity for the market. They should return these goods to their original prices at once!

The two merchants meekly agree. The mayor doesn't doubt their passion for the Bose Market, but she wants them to understand that commerce, when you get right down to it, is the established relationship of trust between people. If they do business with that in mind, they can become wonderful merchants here in Bose. As the two merchants promise to try their best and leave, the mayor lets out a sigh of relief.



Lila takes the opportunity to approach, and the mayor immediately apologizes that she had to see that side of her. The maid says that, actually, she did a wonderful job as always. Never mind that, though - there's people here to see her, so she should please come home immediately. The mayor recognizes our bracer emblems and realizes why we're there. She apologizes for not introducing herself - she's Maybelle. She is the owner of this market, and the mayor of the Bose region…

Instead of moving to the mayor's house, we switch over to the Anterose restaurant, where the mayor has arranged for a table. Estelle is amazed - this place looks super-expensive, so are we really going to have a meeting here? Maybelle explains that she often uses this place for business meetings, and the food is quite good too. Scherazard comments that she had heard the mayor of Bose was a woman, but she never imagined she'd be so young! Estelle agrees that based on looks alone, she'd guess Maybelle is only four or five years older than her...

Maybelle admits that she actually still feels like nothing more than an unworthy successor to her father. Her late father was the previous mayor, and all she did was inherit the rights to the Bose Market and the political foundation which he set up… Joshua comments that's a rather unvarnished self-evaluation if he's ever heard one… The mayor states that she's just the daughter of a businessman after all, so there's no sense in getting high hat about that.



Anyway, she wonders if it would be all right to go over the details of her request? What she'd like to ask us is to investigate the disappearance of the missing airship, and bring closure to the incident. She is of the opinion that bracers would bring about much more desirable results concerning this incident than the army is currently producing. The reason being that they're not fighting a war, just trying to find answers and solve a mystery. Schera says that she, for one, would be honored - but isn't she overrating us a bit?

Mayor Maybelle explains that the fact of the matter is that an influential businessman was aboard the airliner that disappeared. In addition, if the Royal Army continues to keep the Bose airspace as a no-fly zone, business is going to suffer. And just when business had been booming prior to the Queen's birthday celebration, too… Joshua concludes this is an economic appeal, and Maybelle agrees that it's something which she can't trust to be left up to the army alone. So, what do we think? Will we accept this request for our help in this matter? Schera explains that we have our own reasons for wanting to investigate the incident, and we'd like to accept the job, but the army has actively been trying to exclude bracers from having anything to do with the incident...



So, uh… Schera doesn't suppose she could pull the mayor card for us, right? Maybe show the army who's running this show? Maybe muses on the notion of excluding bracers - this must have something to do with General Morgan, then. That man has disliked bracers from the beginning. He was a friend of her late father's, and tentatively speaking they have a passing acquaintance with each other, so she just may be able to do something for us…

Maybelle turns to Lila, who's been standing nearby the entire time, and she produces a sheet of letter paper and a foundation pen from a pocket and hands them to the mayor. She scribbles down a letter, and says that it should be sufficient. She hands it over, and explains it's a letter of request to General Morgan, informing him of her request for information about the incident as the official responsible for the Bose region. That should be enough to get some information out of the army.



Estelle wonders if that bracer-hating general will even meet with us at all, but the mayor says it would be a pretty safe bet as long as we hide our identities. We'd probably be best served by saying we're messengers from the mayor. Estelle doesn't like the sound of that - feels like they're lying or something. Joshua argues it's not lying, just not telling him everything. Since this is a time-sensitive situation, he thinks we should be practical about it. Estelle guesses he's right. So, where will we meet with this General Morgan? Maybelle explains there's a fort called the Haken Gate on the international border north of Bose, and we should be able to find him there.

A few moments later, outside the restaurant, the mayor says that she's counting on all of us.



Estelle assures her she should just leave everything to us. If we find out anything, we'll come and let her know! Maybelle looks forward to some good news, and wishes us a wonderful day. As she and Lila take off, Schera decides it's about time for us to get going. The Haken Gate can be found at the end of the Eisen Road, which branches off from the East Bose Highway. In short, we need to head out of the east gate and then turn north. Haken Gate, here we come!

...Eventually.

Spoiler: Bose Exploration (Post-Mayor)

Before setting off for Haken Gate, time has progressed, so it's time for another round of exploration. Some places like Ravennue Village and Krone Pass seem unaffected here, but that still leaves a lot of people:

Pacing around the market, Elegia says today she's going to treat herself to a new dress. She hopes she can find something she likes. Harry wonders how he can become a merchant. Mina says she's got no idea, but she'll tell him this: anyone who can't do Sunday School arithmetic is bound to fail. Harry whimpers. Mina wonders who ever heard of a merchant who's bad with numbers?



Lucas says this city has all kinds of merchants. First there are the ones who open up shops in the Bose Market. Then there are the merchants who have their own places on the south block avenue, and there are the trade merchants like Trino and Borden… He almost forgot to mention even the mayor is a merchant! Jacob says the mayor may be young, but she's quite the businesswoman. Her political finesse is one of the things they pride themselves on as citizens. She's quite the eye-catcher too!

At Anterose Restaurant, Manager Lechter thanks us for our continued patronage, and says he'll anxiously await our next visit. Estelle huffs and says we were treated by the mayor last time, and… how much did it come out to be? She doesn't think we'll ever be able to come here again - not on our salaries anyway. Joshua thinks that's true, but she's got to admit the food was worth the price… As expected, the food made by professional chefs is something else!



Alta mentions that she came to this restaurant often with her old grandaddy way back when. That must've been ten years ago! We catch Caron mid-conversation with Shaque. He says that they're under strict regulations, so this price would never be accepted! Shaque responds that Caron is going to drive them out of business if that's the best he can do… They're having a good discussion here, aren't they? He bets Caron loves this! Lenore the waitress recalls seeing us here before, and wonders if we forgot something? Citron the sommelier thanks us for our patronage, and hopes to see us again soon. Head Chef Ross asks if we were able to have as much cooking as he does? We should come again soon! Gwen is busy peeling potatoes, and then it's on to the carrots. She must peel as she has never peeled before! Busy, busy, busy…

Fannie asks Letta what's with the hunched posture? Sit up straight, this is a fancy-pants place! Letta says it's actually his first time eating at a place this fancy, so he's afraid he'll embarrass himself… Horace says he was a merchant in the Bose Market back in the day, though he's quite retired now. Marian mentions this restaurant has a great reputation even in Grancel, and she actually came from the capital just to eat here. Norche announces that this food is absolutely scrumptious! The things they can do with monster eyes here is simply amazing. She's not sure if there's a single restaurant in all of Grancel that can even compare! (Ew...)



At the Bracer Guild, we can let Lugran know we're taking on the mayor's request, and he's glad - the guild has been tied up with monster extermination requests, so he was worried he'd have to call in other branches for assistance. Upstairs we can find Sting again, who says that he'd love to give us a warm welcome… but both Grant and Anelace appear to be out. Estelle muses if he's actually a nice guy after all…? Scherazard tells her not to let appearances fool her - he's the type to look out for those around him. Sting admits that right now the bracers are dealing with a number of incidents, so they're a little shorthanded. Any help we could give would be helpful…

At Kirsche's bar we can speak to Platina the waitress, who says a lot of people compare this place to Anterose, but there's really no comparison. None whatsoever. Anterose is where you go if you've got money… and this is where you go if you don't. Barman Warner agrees - it's apples and oranges! You like cheap, good grub? Then you come here. You want hoity-toity delicacies and excessive formality, you go there! He doesn't feel the slightest shred of competition since they appeal to completely different customers.



Also sitting at the bar is Scholar Lyndon, who wonders if we're familiar with the 'Great Collapse'? Long ago, there existed a prosperous society on this continent, contentedly thriving on high-grade orbal arts. Yet one day, all of that was destroyed by a cataclysm we call the 'Great Collapse.'

Upstairs, Cornelius explains that he used to manage an orbment workshop, then one day he took out a rather large loan and found himself in way over his head… The workshop got handed over to his debtor. He lost it all! He worked his way up from the market and really thought he was on his way to making his dreams come true, but now his future looks bleak… Simon mentions that Ms. Mirano suddenly gave him the day off. No rhyme or reason, as far as he can tell - what the heck is she up to…? With the airships grounded, maybe she just feels that we aren't going to be getting any work done anyway? When things get busy like this, he always feels like he should be doing a million things at once… Well, if he is to take a holiday today, then so be it. He'll get nothing done and like it!

At the mayor's residence, Butler Mayner acknowledges that we've met the mayor, and says we should stop by again if there's anything to report to the mayor regarding her request. He's been informed to let us in at any time. Down the hall we can find Lila, who says Miss Maybelle may not look it, but she's been really hung up over these incidents. There's been a string of break-ins, you see - if we hadn't already heard. If there's anything us bracers can do to assist the mayor she's asking us, as her lowly maid, to help her shoulder the burden. In another room, maid Sarah says Mayor Maybelle is not only a beautiful woman, but she's smart and dignified. She really looks up to her, and hopes she can be like her someday.

At the hotel, Barlowe says that it began its business 120 years ago, and has a long and distinguished history here in Bose. In one of the rooms, Dina the maid says after she finishes work today, she's going to first have a meal out of town, and then have a look at some clothes at the market. A certain clothing store has been pretty popular recently and the designs are cute. She's got to check and see if there are any new fashions out that she doesn't know about!



At the church, Father Holstein says Mayor Maybelle is the daughter of the late mayor, and she may be young and a little rough around the edges, but she isn't the type of person to let herself be limited by her own father. Sister Rosa mentions that the mayor leaving her maid to do the worshiping for her is something she's never heard of in all her years in the ministry. Father Holstein doesn't seem to take any offense at it, but for her it's deplorable… The mayor, of all people, is the one person who she thinks should show their face around here above anybody else…

At the market, Claire says she snuck off to come here and look around, as there's so many unusual things to see. Guess this is where everyone comes to shop, huh? Felicia says all her products are made with a woman's touch, and they're just as good as anyone else's, if not better. Her son Pomme says the mayor stopped by just a minute ago and gave them some advice on how to run their business. She was even kind enough to teach him about setting out goods and how to address customers. After that, she bought some dishes!

Meissen says he loves looking for bargains - whenever there are antiques to be found, he just can't ignore it. Spence informs us that each month, one shop in the market receives an award from the mayor. Last month his shop was chosen for being the most scrupulous! Now he just feels like working harder! Schera remarks that it's interesting that the mayor's got her own ideas about how to make the economy grow here in Bose. Joshua agrees that she may be young, but you can definitely see that she's supporting the market...



Seagaro mentions that he wanted to walk to Ruan, but apparently he'd have to hike over a mountain? There's no way he could get his wife to do that with him… At this rate, though, the cost of lodging is only going to pile up. Eden feels sorry for her husband, but she feels kind of lucky that the flight was canceled since she can spend more time shopping!

Libro says that whenever he stops by Minuet's shop, he always finds himself stopping in. Since he basically comes here every day, he probably knows where things are in this place better than the shop owner herself… Minuet says she's been doing business here since back in the days when it was an open-air market. In other words, she's the most senior merchant here in the market. Estelle concludes she's a real veteran, and she agrees - we're talking more than forty years ago when she started this business! At the time there wasn't a wonderful building here like we see now. Bose may have changed a lot, but the air of excitement we see here is the one thing that hasn't.

Gantz claims that the pure smile of the girl who works here at the confectionary stand is to die for… In fact, he comes here to buy sweets several times a day just to see her smile. Katrina says that she recently started helping here around the store, but she's still learning the ropes. She actually still gets embarrassed trying to invite customers to look at the wares… Uh, she knows she's going to have to do something to change her attitude, but… Lyril sniffles and says she forgot what she was supposed to buy - and that's after her mom let her come here all by herself. Maybe she should just go home and ask again… Emmy says if we want to get our hands on advertised items, we'll have to camp out in front of the market well before it opens. That's pretty much the most basic of basics for shoppers.



Carol has decided on what to do for food today - they're going to have fish! Now the bigger question, whether to grill the fish or to boil it. You know, maybe she should just stick with meat today… Trayton mutters that he and Buck only thought about profit, so Mayor Maybeel was exactly right about them when she got angry. They were on the verge of straying from the path of a merchant. Buck explains that when you start a business here, you can receive aid from the city. Estelle comments that Bose really is a city of commerce, just like everyone says! Schera says that's because ever since Maybelle's father's time the city has supported the market. Buck says the reason they've all been able to have their own stores like this is because of the late mayor. He regrets to say he's caused a bit of trouble for the current mayor, though, and brought disgrace upon the merchants of Bose…

At the south side of the market we can run into Dorothy again, and Joshua asks what she's up to. Dorothy just spins around erratically taking pictures, and declares that everyone's got such shining faces today! Okay, now smile for the camera! Estelle concludes she still can't seem to hear us, too caught up with her photography… Off in her own little world again. Dorothy muses to herself she's got to get those photographs Nial asked for… At a nearby stall, Paul mentions he was originally a commissioned officer in the Royal Army, but for some reason he couldn't give up his dream, so he left it all behind and opened this shop. His wife fought him tooth and nail about it, so he's got to work hard to make her understand why he chose this path. His daughter, on the other hand, is happy about his business!

In the south side of the city, Nigel is Heidegger-laughing to himself in the orbment shop - a full gya-ha-ha - asking who would have thought he'd be able to get his own factory this easily? In this world it's only the smart people who remain on top.



Working upstairs, Carrie says that unfortunately, before she even knew it, Nigel had taken over the store. She's only interested in pursuing her own creative interests, though, so as long as there is an environment to do that she could care less who her boss is…

At an eastern residence, Launa mentions that her husband resigned from his post in the Royal Army and started a business in the Bose Market - that'd be Paul, obviously. She's against it… She at least wishes he would have done this when Elke was a bit older! Elke herself says that one day when she's older she's gonna help her dad make clothes. She's going to work with dad at his store! Sein at the weapon shop says that when he was a lad he set up his own store at the Bose Market. Nowadays when he goes there, it all feels so nostalgic. Now if they could just get all the young bucks to work hard like that too!

At a western residence, Mirano explains that she got word her father was on the airliner that went missing. She wonders what he is going to do about his business deals now? Maybe they should be worried about whether or not he's still alive instead… Seriously, making Mother worry like that…



Modena can't believe it… Her husband has disappeared along with the airliner he was on. What should she do…? Next door, Kuwano is still having a tiff with his wife, wondering why she gets angry so easily? Doesn't she realize that high blood-pressure is bad for your health? Cecile complains about her good-for-nothing husband, who takes off without a word and doesn't come home for hours. Whenever he takes off he's gone for who knows how long!

At the house furthest west, Borden says his family has been merchants conducting trade here in Bose for generations. He's been at odds with a man named Trino here for some time now, but recently Trino's daughter Mirano has begun to amass her own financial power. Now it's a cutthroat struggle between the three of them at the top… Rionne says it wasn't all that long ago that Ms. Mirano used to be a cute little girl who came to visit, but now she's a fierce business rival. She sure hopes that her little Alvelle will have that kind of backbone too, that same razor-sharp business sense. Alvelle says that his parents are always telling him to watch and learn from Mirano, but he really doesn't have any intention of being a merchant. He wants to go to Ruan and study at the Royal Academy! Mirano used to tease him a lot when he was younger…

At the airship landing port, Berna says she won't be able to travel by airliner for the time being. It's not that she's in a hurry to be anywhere, so she's not too stressed, but she'd at least like to know when flights will resume… Receptionist Ted says presently all flights have been postponed, and he's sorry to inform us he has no idea when they'll resume either. Even if he tried to explain the circumstances to customers, he still doesn't know the cause of the missing airliner… He wonders if the Royal Army are really out in full force searching for the Linde?



Norm says his boss, Lakely, worked as an airship mechanic even before there were such things as airliners. In other words, he's like his senior in the field of maintenance. For that reason alone, he's stricter than anyone could imagine, and he gets yelled at everyday… Sure enough, Lakely yells at him from across the platform and reminds him that idle hands are the devil's work! He should go find something to do! If he's got time to talk, then how about putting some of these tools back where they belong!? Norm quickly agrees, and apologizes for taking off like this… Any more talking and his head's gonna blow…

Aldan says that Bose International Landing Port gets a lot of traffic, which is kind of why he came here expecting to get some photos with his orbal camera. But why isn't there a single ship coming in?! Hardt wonders what the world is coming to? He was trying to head to Ruan, and then all of a sudden he's told that flights have been canceled. Despite this being out of his control, arriving late for a business deal is embarrassing for a Bose merchant. Lakely mentions that the fact they're all on standby must mean that either the company doesn't fully grasp the situation, or there's already an airliner on the way. The fact that nobody's been told much means that they're all in the dark. Considering that there's been no contact, maybe even the company doesn't know what's going on either.

Back at the Verte Bridge Checkpoint where we first entered the region we can find Anelace again. Scherazard wonders if she came here on a job? She confirms that there's been a boom of various small-scale incidents going on, and there's so many she can't even take a break...



Private Antose says at any rate, their CWO Ashton does an admirable job over here, too. He positioned all of the new recruits on his side of the bridge to whip them into shape. He's respectable and serious, but he must live with twice the stress of others… Private Lacos mentions people are saying this is the first time they've been put on high alert since the Hundred Days War. It makes him really nervous… Warrant Officer Dyne wonders what's up with prohibiting flights for the entire region, as well as blockading the Eisen Road? They're pulling out all the stops - it looks to him as if the border garrison is in a big rush…

Next: Haken Gate! Time to meet General Grump, and also my favorite character so far.

 

[Roarian]

To Haken Gate With Peace and Love, Baby

We leave Bose City through its eastern exit and return to the Eisen Road, where we were previously stopped by some Royal Army goons when we first headed this way. They're still there, of course, and ask who we are? Wait, weren't we with the Bracer Guild…? Estelle says that we're not - today! Today, we're here on official business. She produces Mayor Maybelle's letter with a flourish, and Joshua explains that the mayor requested that we come and speak with General Morgan about the status of the search for the missing airliner. Scherazard confirms that the document is official, as they can see, but if they don't want to let us through she's sure they'll be hating life later.



One of the soldiers decides there's nothing they can do but let us through. The other is not sure about that, but the first argues the mayor is in charge of the entire region, and that can't just be ignored. The other is convinced by that argument, and begrudgingly lets us pass. We shouldn't cause problems, though - whatever happens, we shouldn't forget that we share a border with the Empire here! Estelle says she gets it already, so let us through already!

Following the Eisen Road northwards past a fairly humdrum bunch of easily avoidable enemies, we eventually reach the rather imposing Haken Gate base.



Estelle is astounded by its size, but Schera points out that of course it's huge - it acts as the sole entrance to the Empire, and is the rampart that protects the country of Liberl from foreign threats. After it was destroyed in the war ten years ago a much more robust wall was built in its place. Standard military reaction: bigger equals better. Estelle notes that this means beyond this point is no longer Liberl, and Joshua confirms that beyond here lies the territory of the Erebonian Empire which stands beneath the emblem of the golden stallion. Joshua closes his eyes for a moment at the mention of the Empire, then says there's been enough staring for a day - let's go meet General Morgan. There's some barracks right there to the side of the gate, so maybe we'll find him there…

Scherazard reminds us belatedly that we should probably remove those bracer emblems we've got pinned on our chests, as things won't be pretty if General Morgan sees those… Estelle admits she forgot all about that, and reluctantly removes her emblem along with Joshua. Somehow she feels all weird doing this… Joshua agrees that there's something that doesn't feel right about this. Schera responds that we shouldn't worry, as that's just proof we've started adjusting to being a bracer!

Spoiler: Haken Gate Exploration (Initial)

Before heading in, I have a quick look around the place. Carlos is standing near the front of the base, and says he's thinking about visiting the Empire. Doesn't look like anyone's here to fill out the necessary paperwork for leaving the country, though. Well, it doesn't really matter to him, as he just lives his life on a whim. In fact, the only reason he decided to travel to the Empire is… well… because it occurred to him! The sentry at the huge gate welcomes us to Haken Gate, and then double-takes and asks whether we came here by way of the Eisen Road?

At the west side of the Haken Gate there's a small inn for travelers to wait while their papers are processed. Walking inside, we immediately see a blond-haired man with a portrait exclaim that it's a surprise - this is his first time eating Liberl's cooking, but it was rather delectable! Nolan the barman is glad that he liked it. If the man heads to town, he explains, there are a number of places where he can eat great Liberl cooking as well. He should enjoy this trip of his, all right? The blond-haired man says he will. If this is the kind of food he can get in a border dive, then he truly is in for a feast elsewhere in this land! Nolan, mildly offended, asks to be excused for having his bar here on the outskirts of the country!



Nolan suggests to the blond-haired man that before he goes feasting on the finer things, how about drinking a glass of wine? He knows it's not high-end exactly, but the taste is worth the price… The blond-haired man replies that maybe he will. Estelle wonders if this guy is…? Joshua says he looks like a traveler from the Empire to him… Speaking to the man directly, he just comments that the wine is quite good here. If this is called cheap wine, then Liberl must be a wonderful country of tastes. He thinks this only adds to Queen Alicia's prestige as a ruler…

After this optional scene is over, Nolan also welcomes us to his humble establishment, and says there's wine and food to eat here, though we shouldn't expect anything too elaborate. Amelia the waitress says that the blond-haired man over there at the counter is rather handsome and well-dressed, but after talking to him, she found him to be a little… odd. Marco mentions he's a merchant from the Erebonian Empire, and he's on his way to Bose.

We walk over to the guard in front of the barracks and mention we came here on an errand from Mayor Maybelle from Bose. Does he think we could get in to see General Morgan?



Joshua explains the details, while withholding his real identity, and the sentry says this is all understandable. In that case, he could definitely get us in to see the general, but unfortunately he's out at the moment... He's actually spearheading a number of searches at the moment… Scherazard decides our timing was bad, and asks if the guard happens to have an idea of when he might return? The sentry thinks it'll be sometime today, but he can't be more specific than that. There's a bar in the rest stop near here, though, so why don't we wait there for him? He'll let us know when the general returns.

Estelle remarks that we were just there, actually… (I assume this depends on whether or not you explore.) Why is there a bar here, anyway? The sentry says it's obviously because this is the border with the Empire. The screening process for those entering and leaving the country is really strict, so there are a lot of travelers who have to wait quite a bit. Joshua thinks that makes a lot of sense. In that case, it's understandable that they would need facilities like an inn and a bar. Schera decides we'll take him up on that suggestion, and wait over at the bar.

We head over to the bar, where we immediately run into a blond-haired man who wishes us all a good day, fine friends! (Or for the second time if you explore.) We appear to be citizens of Liberl, he declares, but he wonders if we're traveling to the Empire? Estelle explains we're just here on an errand, not crossing the border. Joshua notes that the man seems to be a citizen of Erebonia himself. What about him? Is he here to visit the Liberl Kingdom? He's glad Joshua asked - he's indeed a visitor in Liberl, both for work and for… pleasure… And us, well, we say we're running an errand, but he can see our true colors. He knows exactly who we are. Yes, we're bracers, no?



Estelle is baffled - how did he know? We removed our bracer emblems! Is he trying to tell us that he's in the same profession? The blond-haired man acknowledges that there are guild branches in the Empire too, but actually he's not a bracer. He just knows several people in the guild, that's all. And there's… an air about us that reminded him of them, so he just thought he'd ask. Joshua remarks that those are some excellent deductive reasoning skills he's got - he doesn't think an amateur could have picked us out of a crowd like that. Is he sure he's just a traveler? The man laughs and asks Joshua to please not look at him with such suspicious eyes. Those cold flickering eyes of amber… just like a glass of exquisite brandy. They just make him want to kiss him and hold him in his arms…

Joshua is rather embarrassed by the sudden flirting and backs away in confusion, while Scherazard notes that he's a bold one, isn't he? Estelle, affronted, asks him if he's one of those men who likes… other boys?! (She's got a bit of homophobia going on, perhaps?) The blond-haired man says he just can't help himself when he sees something beautiful standing before his eyes! Daughters of serenity, sons of elegance, supernal melodies and cleansing landscapes, masterpieces and stories to move the soul. And last but not least, the most exquisite food and drink! For things such as these are those which pique his interest!

Estelle concludes he's a pervert, just as she thought. Schera agrees - definitely a pervert. (I think he's just a hedonist.)



The man sighs, and laments how dreadful it is that genius is misunderstood every generation! He feels as if his delicate glass heart is about to be broken… He turns to Joshua and begs the boy with the magnificent black hair to please comfort him in his time of need! Joshua responds that he's going to have to pass. He's already been scarred for life by this conversation as it is! Nolan the barman whispers that he's heard strange conversations in his day, but this one is worth remembering… The look on that kid's face!

Suddenly a sentry enters the room, cutting short the weird conversation. It's the same soldier from earlier, and he explains that General Morgan has just returned. He's already spoken to him about the matter, so he'll meet us now. We should come to the barracks with him immediately! Joshua remarks that this was much quicker than we thought, and Schera agrees with him - now at least maybe we'll be able to find out what's going on. The blond-haired man says that it's time to be off then. Shall we?

As we walk outside, Estelle asks why this guy is following us around now, exactly? Scherazard remarks that his timing is excellent, since he didn't miss a beat in exiting behind us… It seemed almost natural - scarily so. The blond-haired man seems kind of surprised that was even noticed, and claims that everything about us all just seemed so interesting that he thought he'd take a gander. We shouldn't mind his presence - carry on, good gents and mademoiselles! Estelle angrily yells that of course we're going to mind! Now get! Shoo, shoo!



Cowed, he just calls her a scrooge, then reluctantly heads back inside the inn. Joshua wonders who that guy even was? Seriously, what was his deal? Estelle decides getting rid of the weirdo was probably better - not just for ourselves, but a service to the world at large, too! Now let's get to the general!

The sentry at the door to the barracks remarks that he heard some arguing earlier. Was there some kind of problem with another traveler? Estelle says it was nothing big at all… Anyway, that aside, could he let us meet with the general now? The guard steps aside, and explains that the general's office is the last door on the left. We should make sure we don't go wandering around in other places where we're not permitted. (Guess what!)

Spoiler: Haken Gate Exploration (After Waiting for the Guard)

Carlos says that after the Hundred Days War ended, not a lot of people have wanted to travel to the Empire. He's sure there are still a lot of complex feelings for many people here in Liberl… The sentry at the gate says the fort is on heightened alert for the time being. Therefore he must ask us not to walk around like we own the place. It looks… suspicious.

Reentering the inn, we can talk to the blond-haired man again, naturally, and he wonders if we've changed our mind about taking him with us, then? Estelle exclaims: 'in your dreams!' The man mutters she's such a cold-hearted creature for being one so young… Nolan says the Royal Army has blocked off the Eisen Road, and now all those from the Empire wishing to leave the country are stuck here. That man over there with the blond hair seems to be in the same situation. Amelia says all the customers here are off-duty soldiers and travelers waiting to enter or leave the country. Most of these customers have been here so long she knows them by sight!

Marco remarks that with the airliners stopped, he had to travel here on foot. Now how long do they expect to keep a merchant from the Empire such as himself waiting? He's even finished reading the book he brought to pass the time. Holding on to it is just going to add to his load, so he'll gladly give it to us, free of charge! Here!



We receive Carnelia - Chapter 3. Sneaky, this one…

Article:

[Carnelia - Chapter 3] - Representative of the Septian Church

The train barreled on, almost flying through the thick veil of fog. Droplets of water splattered against the window glass, extending out like transparent veins, and continued to wriggle back and forth under the pressure of the swiftly passing wind.

Placing the temple of my head against the glass, I stared blankly down at the tickets in my hand and rubbed the two of them together between my fingers. I would be traveling by train to the border city, far south of its imperial cousin, and then to reach the Liberl Kingdom I would have to transfer to an airship. Both of my tickets were first-class-- but not the highest-end seats available.

The passenger car was nearly at full capacity, but for some peculiar reason, nobody had seated themselves in the space next to mine. As I mused about the empty seat, it occurred to me that Micht may have purchased the spot ahead of time, leaving it vacant on purpose. There was no doubt in my mind that he was being paid handsomely to make sure this job was done and done well.

'Will you be traveling to the Liberl Kingdom, sir?'

Right around the time my trip on the rails had passed its halfway mark, I was met with this sudden question, and set up with a start. My eyes searched for the one who asked it. There, standing in the isle, was a single woman with a radiant complexion, beaming down at me. She wore a coat with overlapping buckles secured slightly above her breast and appeared to be in her mid-thirties. Gingerly bending her knees and pointing her finger at the empty seat beside me, she asked, 'Do you mind?'

With a tilt of her head, she indicated the rear of the passenger car where swirling smoke saturated the air and softly muttered, 'The smell from the tobacco smoke is just dreadful.'

Wordlessly, I nodded and dragged my bag from its place on the floor, moving it over by the window to the opposite side of my feet. The woman expressed her thanks and delicately sat herself down in the seat next to mine.

For being a perfect stranger, she talked on endlessly, and I appropriately reciprocated the conversation by saying that I was on my way to the Liberl Kingdom on business as an orbment specialist. Her story was that she was on a mission of mercy for the Church and had an errand to fulfill in the border city.

'Just so you know, people sometimes refer to me as 'Sister',' she went on. 'Of course, it's just a nickname.'

She recrossed her black leather boot-clad legs and let out a sort of suppressed titter from the back of her throat as she made mention of this. Sister Carnelia was her nickname.

We continued on in this fashion, subjecting ourselves to a variety of idle banter. And as the time drew on, the sun overhead began to dip in its arc, crossing the celestial meridian and descending into the west. Each time the moving train cleared a grove of trees, the entire vehicle-- passenger cars and all-- was bathed in a warm apricot hue, flooding into the cabins, creating a majestic spectacle. I gaped at the coruscating effect, and in doing so locked eyes with Sister Carnelia right at the moment the brilliance of the sinking western light seeped into her rich brown irises, causing them to give off an exquisite rubescent sparkle. The glimpse made me wonder if the origin of her nickname was somehow related to the color of her eyes being likened unto the luster of a polished carnelian stone.

The train gradually began to decelerate, and Sister Carnelia returned to her original seat in order to collect her bags. As a matter of habit, I checked my bag and orbment and found both the junk paper-covered package and the magical device fastened into my trousers' inner pocket by a series of chain stitches-- exactly where and how I'd left it.

A woman's voice came over the intercom system announcing that the train would be arriving on schedule and that rainy weather was to be expected at our destination. At the conclusion of the announcements, a number of disappointed sighs could be heard coming from along the rows of seats. Raindrops pattered against the windows outside as the looming silhouette of the overcast city came into view. The station's signal lamp emitted an angular light which was scattered with a refractive effect by the falling droplets of water. Then came a spine-chilling metallic sound followed by the jolt of the orbal engine's reversing thrust as the locomotive at the front of the train lurched to a halt.

Over the loudspeaker came another announcement asking passengers to ensure that they did not leave their baggage behind. And with that, several people stood up and crowded into the

aisle. Watching a station worker in uniform as he waved a small flag amidst the falling rain, I picked up my bag and rose to my feet. I crossed paths with Sister Carnelia as I attempted to step into the aisle, but when she tried to step aside and allow me room to pass, she suddenly tripped and fell forward. Grabbing onto my shoulder for support, she picked herself up and, with an embarrassed smile, let me by. I gave her a short bow in line with general etiquette practices, then headed for the exit ahead of her. Following my lead, Sister Carnelia shuffled along closely behind me-- so close, in fact, that it felt as if she would step on my heels.

Something about it just didn't feel right.

Instinctively sliding my right hand into my pocket, I searched for my orbment, but the brass feeling I had grown accustomed to was nowhere to be felt.

In an instant, I felt my arm being twisted behind my back by someone or something with incredible strength. The sleek sound of a blade being unsheathed and then a warning prick of the tip at my back indicated the seriousness of the situation.

'I have what you're looking for, Toby,' whispered Sister Carnelia in an almost inaudible tone, her lips barely moving just behind my right ear. 'Let's not try anything either, shall we? I'd hate to see your afternoon spoiled any more than it's going to be.' And to show that she meant business, Sister Carnelia slightly altered the angle of her grip on my wrist, causing an explosion of agony that sent sparks flashing behind my eyes.

Source: Carnelia - Chapter 3

Inside the base, we can disregard any advice of steering clear from the rest of the base, and talk to a few soldiers - one mentions he was supposed to be off duty today, but then they received an order to maintain ready status here in the fort. Another mentions he was involved in the search for the missing airliner until late last night, so he's dead tired. Yaaawn! Up on the top of the gate, a third mentions that all the guards here are very tense due to what happened ten years ago. He hopes they never have another breach of this gate by the Imperial Army… A fourth soldier says the border is always confronted with threats from the Empire, that's why they must be extremely prudent in their actions, whatever they do. Otherwise they could possibly give them a pretext to invade again…

We walk down to the end of the hall and approach the last door on the left - looks like this is the general's room. All right, here goes nothing! We knock, and a gruff voice asks if we're here on behalf of Mayor Maybelle? Come inside. Scherazard thanks the general for seeing us as we pile into his office and array ourselves in front of his desk. He introduces himself as Morgan, tasked with guarding the Haken Gate by Her Majesty, Queen Alicia. Schera says it's an honor to meet him, and explains we're here on behalf of Mayor Maybelle. Joshua asks him to please pardon the intrusion during such a busy time. Morgan says there's no need to apologize - he's known Maybelle since she was but a child, so he couldn't imagine ignoring her request, much less one from the mayor!

We hand over the letter, and Morgan takes a few moments to read it. So, it's about that missing airliner, is it? Under ordinary circumstances, he says, that information would be strictly confidential, but considering this is a request from her, he'll tell us everything he knows.



Estelle is vocally pleased, and Morgan is a little confused why we'd be happy about something that doesn't concern us? Estelle realizes belatedly she should have kept her mouth shut, but Joshua covers for her, stating that the mayor appears quite distraught over the situation, so we've wanted to do anything we can to assist her. Morgan is glad to hear that she's been blessed with some good people around her, then. So, let's get right down to things and explain the status of the search efforts…

Morgan explains that the airliner Linde disappeared on its way to Rolent after taking off from the Bose Landing Port. Presently, the Royal Army has units searching all areas of the region, but they have yet to come up with anything. Joshua concludes that what he's saying is that the possibility of the incident being caused by monsters or an accident is fairly slim, right? If an airship of that size had crashed, it likely would have been discovered in the initial search efforts… Morgan agrees that's exactly right. In fact, the flight route between Bose and Rolent goes over some plains that allow a commanding view of the land. And of course, the probability of the airliner going down in Valleria Lake or the ocean is extremely low. Estelle is relieved to hear it's probably not a worst-case scenario like that.



Schera notes that if those have been ruled out, that leaves the door open to the possibility that the airship could have been taken, right? Which makes her think that the only remaining motives must be to loot the cargo or demand a ransom for the hostages… Joshua notes that she's thinking of a hijacking, right? Also, considering the geographical conditions, it could have been a covert operation carried out by the Imperial Army… Estelle thinks it would be really big news if that were the case. The General silently watches the byplay, and Estelle asks what's the matter? He muses that he was just thinking that was quite an impressive assessment from some civilians… They also considered the possibility that the Imperial Army was involved, so they enforced strict regulations on the flow of information. An international incident, if taken lightly, could result in another war… Estelle is horrifed at the very thought.

Morgan says that thanks to the small mercies of Aidios, the possibility for another conflict disappeared early this morning. A certain organization sent a letter to the Royal Family and Orbalship Co. claiming responsibility and demanding a ransom for the passengers. This organization goes by the name of the 'Capua family.'



Estelle recognizes that name and asks that it couldn't be who she thinks it is, could it…? Joshua agrees it seems to be that way. Morgan notes the Capua family are sky bandits who have been operating in the shadows in the Bose region and are led by three siblings at their head. He takes that we've heard of them? Estelle confirms that not only have we heard of them, we just had a run-in with them back in Rolent! She just can't believe those good-for-nothing thieves have managed to create such a big incident here in Bose…

Joshua and Schera turn to Estelle for blabbing on that, and she tries to laugh it off. Morgan, though, observes that we had a run-in with them in Rolent, did we? He'd heard that some of their gang had shown up in the Rolent region, but… Estelle sighs, and admits that she thinks he's onto us. Schera agrees - and all because of her and her big mouth! Morgan says that he sees now… He thought the way we were able to analyze the situation was strange for mere civilians, but he never would have guessed that a girl and a couple of kids like us were bracers! Estelle wonders who he's calling kids?! Joshua tries to save things by explaining that, for the record, Mayor Maybelle did in fact request that we come here and talk to him!

General Morgan angrily snarls 'Silence, deceivers!' He then calls for his men, as Estelle nervously whispers that the general looks pretty pissed… Schera remarks that this is how a hard-nosed military man acts, huh? A couple of soldiers rush in and wonder what's happening. Did the visitors pull something funny? Morgan explains that these 'bracers' need to be shown the door! They should be thrown out immediately!



Moments later we're forced out of the door and back onto the central plaza, where Estelle wonders what the old man's problem is? Trying to brush us off like bugs! General Morgan scoffs and says we're no different. Hiding our identities so we could try and finagle some information out of him… It's because we pull underhanded actions like this that bracers can't be trusted! Estelle wonders where he gets off calling it 'finagling'? It's his own fault, since he didn't share information with the guild to begin with! Morgan says that's nonsense. Who in their right mind would leave an incident this big in the hands of a mere civilian group?! Of all the stupid things Maybelle could have tried to pull… Hiring a bunch of kids like this and getting in the way of the search party…

Scherazard demands that the general cut it with the crap. Why does he think we've had to come all the way from Rolent to begin with? It's because when it comes down to it, military morons can't do their job!



Morgan is caught off guard, while Estelle and Joshua nervously recognize Schera's really pissed! Schera says that for the past few months the general has known about the string of burglaries which seem to be the work of the sky bandits, right? And then, knowing full well it was them, the army dumped the workload onto the guild instead of looking into it themselves like they should have, huh? The second this incident happens, though, the general gets on his high horse with an attitude, yet he's got nothing to show for it. No hostages or even the location of the missing airliner. Doesn't he think that's an embarrassment to the entire kingdom?

Morgan snarls that Schera should be silent. The military is an organization that runs on discipline and does not take action on a whim! Unlike a group he knows of, who didn't think ahead and let the sky bandits escape! So enough with her insolence! Schera concludes he really is looking for a fight, isn't he?

'How sad it is to see such discord,' states a man's voice from off-screen. Everyone turns in surprise as the blond-haired man from the bar walks closer while strumming a guitar. Strife brings nothing to be borne, he states, but only extends the barren wilderness within our hearts… Now let him sing a requiem for us all, one to soothe our parched souls. A gentle, yet wistful tune to bathe our brittle spirits and cause the deserts of our hearts to bloom… He then begins to play us a tune:

Brightly shooting stars, leaving trails in the skies…
Like a guiding light, they show me the way to your eyes…
This yearning passion, tears my heart in twain…
And the cruel moon mocks my pain…
If this fleeting dream shall never be…
A single wound will remain in my heart for all to see…
Our passionate first and final kiss…
Your tears to me are an amber bliss…
Let us immure this eternal love… ​

As everyone stares in disbelief at this absolute banger some random dude just belted out, the blond-haired man says that it looks like we all understood what he was trying to get across. What is it that is most precious above all? That's love and peace, baby!

General Morgan seems caught off guard by this whole mess, then coughs in the silence and claims it's about time for the search party to be returning with their reports. He should get back to his duties! He quickly tells his subordinates not to let us kids into the building again - oh, and they should cancel any further checks on the travelers along the Eisen Road, by the by. Having us around any longer will just be an eyesore! With that he quickly runs inside, and Estelle whispers in disbelief that the general just ran away! Joshua says he wishes we could escape too, but that guy is still right behind us, isn't he…?

The blond-haired man laughs and says that no matter which country you visit, military men lack romanticism! We, on the other hand, appear to appreciate his aesthetic sense. Our party all just nervously argue we maybe should be leaving ourselves? Joshua agrees it's a good idea - we had a bit of trouble here, but we did manage to get some information… Scherazard suggests that after we head back to Bose, how about we think about our future plan of attack? We then quickly run off, leaving the blond-haired man to wonder where we're going. 'W-wait for me! I-I mean, please wait for me!'



Apparently the guy catches up, because we next see our group sharing a cup of coffee with the blond man in the local bar at Haken Gate. The man says he'll try and introduce himself again, and this time he's successful - he is Olivier Lenheim, a wandering bard and musician by trade. (I am glad to finally have a name for him…) As we already know, he says, he's an Erebonian touring fair Liberl. Estelle begins to introduce herself, then asks - wait a minute, why do we have to introduce ourselves to him?! Joshua tells her to calm down, since Olivier did intercede for us back there. Joshua and Scherazard then introduce themselves, and the latter explains that things were getting pretty heated, so she's glad Olivier stepped in before something really bad happened. She just wants to say thanks.



Olivier tells her she's got nothing to thank him for. He only did what any person who loves beauty and peace would have done. However, if she insists, how about going on a date with him for a day? Schera passes on that. First of all, she doesn't have that sort of free time… Olivier says that's too bad. All right then, he'll accept Joshua as a substitute. Joshua wonders what he has to do with any of this…? He doesn't want to be involved in his questionable humor. Olivier says that's odd - he didn't mean that as a joke. Joshua remarks that saying that just makes him even more questionable.

Estelle, feeling excluded, wonders how come he didn't invite her on a date? Olivier remarks that he doesn't know how to put this, but she's a bit lacking in the… sexy department. She might want to think about taking a lesson or two from her friends here! 'Well excuse me for not being sexy!' she blurts, and then wonders what he means by saying she should take a few lessons from Joshua?! Joshua tries to calm her down again, and assures her he thinks she's cute enough just the way she is. Though he guesses it's true that she's a bit lackluster in the sexy category… Estelle wonders what he just said?!

Schera sighs at the whole mess. Good grief… Anyway, as she said before, we're busy. He's sorry there's not a better way to thank him, but we've got to get going now. Olivier proposes we take him along to the city of Bose, then? This is his first time in Liberl, after all, and he'd like to request a guide. Schera figures if that's all he wants, then she doesn't mind. Estelle tells her to hold on a second! Scherazard reasons that it's the least we can do, and we're headed to the same place anyway. Plus, acting like a guide is one of a bracer's many duties… Estelle guesses it's all right. Guess we're stuck with him until then… But what if he tries to sink his poisonous fangs of lust into Joshua…? She turns to him and promises Joshua that he shouldn't worry, for she'll save him from his perverted attentions if he tries anything funny! Joshua wonders what exactly she thinks he'll try?



Yeah, Estelle, you're not coming off great here - I'm guessing you're just being weirdly jealous about your heavily implied thing for your brother, but you're just coming off as a homophobe.

Olivier also thanks Estelle not to refer to him like he's some sort of ferocious beast. He'd rather she call him a 'hunter of love.' Even 'love stealer' wouldn't be that bad of a title, either. Heh heh heh… Estelle just wonders if he's right in the head? Olivier ignores that jibe and asks if everyone's ready to go? He's counting on us to get him to Bose safely. Let's be off! Estelle wonders who made him the leader, exactly? And hey, wait a minute, she's not done warning him about the grisly fate that awaits him if he sullies Joshua's innocence!

While this seems like just another 'escort the NPC' moment, opening our status screen reveals that we've actually just gotten our fourth party member - Olivier wields an orbal gun, a Needler, and his crafts involving quick-drawing.



I am unreasonably happy that we're getting a bona fide stereotypical bard in our party, complete with hitting on everyone and everything that moves, and breaking into song at opportune moments by channeling his inner hippie spirit. And he shoots people. Olivier has been in the party for two minutes now, and if he dies in this game I'll cry. Bonus points for dropping the game-title reference in his debut song, too! I'm gonna guess that song's lyrics will be relevant somehow? I think it relates to Joshua somehow, since 'amber tears' seems weirdly specific phrasing when Olivier comments on Joshua's amber eyes just a few minutes earlier.

Spoiler: Haken Gate Exploration (Post-Olivier)

After we get Olivier in our party there's one more update to the local dialogue. Carlos says that even if you try to live a serious life, you're still going to have your ups and downs. That's why living a life on a whim and taking it easy is the best way to go.



The sentry mentions he could hear the general yelling all the way out here… What in the world did we do to piss him off like that? The other sentry asks us not to hold it against him, but after getting his ear yelled off by the general he can't let us go through.

Nolan concludes the general has finally let his thunder fall here at Haken Gate, has he? No doubt his troops screwed up something real bad this time. Amelia remarks that the general's voice is as loud as ever… In fact, they could hear it all the way here inside the bar! Whenever the general yells, all the young recruits come running in here in fear. Marco says that the road has finally been reopened, and now that he's got his entry permit he can finally go to Bose.

Walking back to Bose with Olivier in tow, we get a scene the moment we arrive. So, he remarks, this is Bose, is it? It's more urban than he's imagined. That building over there in the center, is that the Bose Market? Estelle says he seems to be quite knowledgeable, so is this really his first time in Liberl? Olivier just admits he's smart enough to have bought a tourist guidebook before he left. One published by our very own Liberl News, no less! Estelle is surprised they sell such things, but Joshua remarks that he doesn't know how to say it, but we live in a really convenient age…

Scherazard wonders if Olivier plans on shopping? He agrees that yes, he'll do a bit of window shopping, and after that he planned to dress up and dine out. According to his guide, there's supposed to be a three-star restaurant in town. Estelle confirms that it's the place we ate at with the mayor. Uh, what she meant to say was… she guesses this here is the place. She gestures behind her. Joshua states that the Anterose has authentic Liberl cuisine, or so they say. Olivier says this is no doubt the place, and he's quite looking forward to it! Schera warns him it's supposed to cost a pretty mira if he decides to go with a full-course meal. She recommends a normal bar any day over this.



Olivier tells the 'fair lady' not to worry, because he brought sufficient travel expenses. And if that's not enough, he'll earn more with his superb skills! Joshua hopes that by 'superb skills' he's not talking about his songs and musical, uh, renditions, is he? Estelle wonders if you could actually earn mira with that crap…? Olivier chuckles, and says he's starred as the main opera singer at the Great Theater in the Erebonian Capital before. If he remembers correctly, he once earned a million mira in a single night… Estelle whispers that he's a big fat liar… Olivier tells everyone they did good work getting him here, so this is farewell until fate brings us together once more. (No, don't go!) Adios, amigos!

Estelle asks what horror we have unleashed upon this poor, innocent city…? Is everyone from Erebonia a weirdo like that? Joshua sweatdrops and haltingly says he doesn't like that being the Empire stereotype… Estelle is confused why he's talking about that, but Joshua plays it off by claiming he was just trying to say that he thinks the majority of people there are quite serious. He read in a book that their ethos respects the strong, silent type! Estelle concludes that what he's saying is that Olivier is simply a weirdo because he's an artist, right? Schera tells her to hold up there - if the artists of the world heard that, they'd be less than pleased! (Is Joshua from the Empire?)

For now we should go report the information we got out of the general to Lugran at the Bracer Guild. Joshua adds that it would be best if we let Mayor Maybelle know after that, too. Guild first, then the mayor's pace! Let's go!

Next: Actually, the mayor's house is a silly place. Let's go sidequesting and visiting literally everywhere else.

 

[Roarian]

Bose Sidequests II

Before we continue the main story, let's pause for a moment. Finishing up Haken Gate has unlocked several new sidequests for us, so let's tackle those before we move on, shall we? The bulletin boards at the guild net us these quests:

Bear Claw Survey
Term: Long
Client: Spence
Pay: 1000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"I am searching for sites within the Bose region where a plant known as the Bear Claw grows. If anyone know of such places, please notify me at the Spence Pharmacy within the Bose Market. And come see me if you need further information, too!"

Nebel Valley Monster
Term: Long
Client: Bracer Guild
Pay: 2000 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"A ferocious monster known as a Master Cryon has been spotted roving the Nebel Valley. Bracers from this branch are requested to deal with this threat immediately."

West Bose Monster
Term: Medium
Client: Bracer Guild
Pay: 1200 Mira
Difficulty: Medium
"A ferocious monster known as a Thunder Quake has been spotted roving the West Bose Highway. Bracers from this branch are requested to deal with this threat immediately."​

One of these three we can already finish due to our earlier premature dip into the Nebel Valley.

Side Job: Bear Claw Survey

Visiting Spence at the market, Estelle explains that we came here after seeing something posted on the bulletin board at the Bracer Guild. Joshua dispenses with the formalities, and says he understands Spence is trying to find places where the Bear Claw grows, correct?



Spence agrees that this medicinal herb is difficult to find in these parts, and up until now he's been having them shipped from Rolent. Just recently he was asked by Father Holstein to prepare a new medicine, however, so it seems like he's going to be using more of these than before.

Estelle remarks that now that he mentions it, didn't we see a Bear Claw just recently? Joshua confirms that we found some over in the Nebel Valley. There weren't many of them, but there should be enough to use for Spence's medicine. The pharmacist says this is great news! It's been said that Bear Claw grows well in humid places, so now that he thinks about it, the Nebel Valley is the perfect place for them to grow. He appreciates us helping out like this - now he can put his full effort into preparing the new medicine! Estelle wishes him good luck with his work, and a wonderful day!

We earn 1000 mira and 4 BP for our trouble. (I think this quest's availabilty actually depends on whether or not you delivered that letter from Rolent, that's pretty neat.)​

Side Job: West Bose Monster

This creature is just sort of hovering along the western road: it's a very large, stripy blue fish-monster…

[Boss: Thunder Quake]


This beast is annoying, because it blasts people with electrical attacks that deal out status effects, so there's a lot of constant healing involved to keep people from being useless. Thankfully it's quite weak to earth-element attacks, so hitting it with those when you're not healing is probably the best strategy. I imagine this would be nightmarish on higher difficulties where it would hit even harder, but I'm not that much of a masochist. At least the thing is alone, which makes it a bit more manageable thanks to the action economy!

Curiously, once defeated I get a message that I killed a ferocious monster on the East Bose Highway? Did they just copy-paste the quest text and forgot to actually change that? Heh. We get 1200 mira and 4 BP for reporting this one.​

Side Job: Nebel Valley Monster

Nebel Valley is a bit of a mess to navigate, but beyond the imposing-looking Yeti enemies and several long paths that wind around this hard to grasp area, we can finally spot a giant floaty crystal…

[Boss: Master Cryon, Boiled Egger R*2, Boiled Egger G*2]


This is a straight-up arts fight, since the four egg adds are essentially exploding mines which spit out various magical spells. Going into melee is just a terrible idea, since you'll get blown up. Instead, stuff like Aerial can hit all of these enemies at once, and fire attacks work wonders on the giant ice crystal that is the Master Cryon. Really, the trick here is just to reduce the number of attackers so the remainder can't out-damage your healing anymore. From that point it's just a matter of attrition...

Just beyond the mob there's a chest with a pair of Katars, a nice weapon upgrade for Joshua… We get 2000 mira and no less than 5 BP for dealing with this bastard.​

Side Job: Amberl Tower Mystery

Someone mentioned it in the thread already, but this is a sneaky one! If you come to the tower off New Ansel Path earlier in the chapter, you can just sort of wander inside and loot stuff, but nothing happens. If you go there now, though, a scene plays. Estelle wonders what the name of this tower was again? Joshua explains this is the Amberl Tower, one of the ancient ruins referred to as a 'Tetracyclic Tower.' Estelle concludes that's why it looks exactly like the Esmelas Tower, right? Aside from the color and the layout, of course. But the atmosphere is the same She suddenly turns, and Joshua asks what's wrong? Estelle admits it's probably nothing, but she could have sworn that she just heard somebody talking...



The camera shifts, and the vague mumbling of a distant voice is audible, though no words can be made out. Joshua says she was right - it sounds like somebody's in here! Estelle wonders if it could be…? Scherazard comments that taking a detour every once in a while isn't a bad idea, and we may just have netted ourselves something big. It looks like we'll need to investigate, so let's be cautious…

From here, we're free to explore the tower - it works very similar to the Esmelas tower, just that some of the walkways are differently connected and the enemies are different (and rather easy to defeat, honestly. Guess you could come here at any point…) There's a chest partway up with Fried Eyes & Eggs in it, and the chest has a note if you check it again: 'Limit: One per adventurer. - Dev Team'. Cheeky! There's also chests with healing items around, but I've got plenty of those at this point, since I do like to make use of my arts to take care of that when possible.



On the fifth floor, Estelle spots the source of the talking earlier - it's that guy again! The camera shifts to reveal Professor Alba studying a giant orange crystal in the center of this floor. Suddenly he's hemmed in by two monsters, and he yelps - Y-yikes! He calls for help, and our party is quick to jump into things. The actual fight here is incredibly simple, though, since they are just the basic mobs that can be found around this dungeon. After the second one goes down, Alba is relieved and thanks us - we really saved his hide there!

Estelle is amused that we just ran into Alba again - she was all tense because she thought there might be sky bandits up here! Alba remarks that it's been a while since we met, hasn't it? Scherazard wonders if we know this guy? Estelle explains that he's a scholar that's been investigating the towers in Liberl, and we met him when we were escorting those reporters to the top of Esmelas Tower. Alba acknowledges that it looks like he's being rescued again. Scherazard mentions that we heard talking earlier, so is there someone else in here with him? Alba is a bit embarrassed we heard that, actually - it's a bad habit he has whenever he's doing his research. If he doesn't say what he's thinking out loud, he can't collect his thoughts. Right.



Estelle awkwardly laughs at the fact that he was just talking to himself, and Schera comments that eh, we're all a little crazy sometimes. At any rate, we'd best save the chit-chat for another time. We should get out of this place before more monsters come looking for a snack! Alba is a bit upset we're leaving already… Schera wonders if there's a problem? Alba explains that his research isn't finished! Schera replies that in that case, he should take as much time as he needs. We'll be leaving now, though - Mr. Researcher here claims he can find his own way back to town… Joshua and Estelle both recognize that as an implicit threat - scary! Alba nervously apologizes and decides he's ready to leave. Schera just giggles and says men are definitely best when they're so agreeable! Good grief…

If you're daring - and I have saves, so I'm daring - you can try and take out some more trapped chests here now, even though Alba is hanging out in the back of the battle as an NPC. There's some Chain Mail in a chest for our trouble, as well as an Emerald Talisman in another (which makes all attacks wind-based.) We can also wander onto the roof, which has a similar magitech teleporter thing as the Esmelas Tower and a dramatic lakeside view, but nothing else happens there. (For now...?)

Descending back down the tower, escorting Alba all the way, we finally reach the exit again, and that's where he thanks us for helping him out of a mess again. If we hadn't come along when we did, he might have been done for good this time! He's managed to get a little funding for his research, so he'll send a payment to the guild as a token of his gratitude! Estelle dryly points out that, as she told him before, he should just hire a bracer to escort him around! Alba says that funds permitting he'll seriously look into that next time. Anyway, he must be going now… Scherazard wonders if he's sure he doesn't need an escort back to town? Alba laughs and says if he did that, then his wallet would truly be barren! Farewell everyone, and he hopes we can meet again someplace…



Joshua comments that he sure is a strange one… Estelle doesn't think so - he seems like the typical academic to her. Joshua remarks that she's definitely not one of those people, that's for sure… Estelle snaps that hey, even she knows better than to come waltzing into a place like this alone! Schera muses that for a scholar, he may just be more than meets the eye. For one, he came by himself! Estelle agrees that she may be right about that, but we're still the ones who had to save his behind! Schera argues that's just part of bracer work - anyhow, how about we get going?​

So, can I put a bet on this guy Alba actually being a villain yet? You can only be found hiding out in spooky ancient towers so many times before it gets suspicious, never mind badly lying about being alone in there. His excuses for why he's never got anyone to escort him around but still avoids all the monsters are wearing a bit thin, too. Guess he's secretly super-powerful. I'm thinking he's after the Aureole treasure he mentioned during the first time we met him? Villains do love to monologue about their plans, after all...

For this sneaky hidden quest we get 2000 mira and 4 BP, which is enough to rank us up to Junior Bracer - 6th Class, and gives us access to the Petrify quartz, which grants attacks 10% to petrify and is worth 3 Earth element value, so that's pretty sweet. It's a one-stop shop to give someone quality earth arts with only a single slot used!​

Incidentally, finishing Haken Gate also refreshed the dialogue for most NPCs, so it's time to explore away! I'm pretty sure it changes again after the next story beat, after all.

Spoiler: Bose Exploration (Post-Haken Gate)

Bose Exploration (Post-Haken Gate)

Jacob remarks that General Morgan is one of the great men who fought in the Hundred Days War, and the Haken Gate is one of the most important of strategic military points. It's no surprise he oversees the border garrison there.



Lucas says the Bose Market is like the gateway to success for aspiring merchants, so if he's going to begin any kind of business, it'll have to start there. Elegia really wants to buy a pair of shoes to match the dress she bought yesterday - maybe she'll poke around the shops and see what they've got?

Harry admits that he really wants to be a merchant, but he's never been good at arithmetic, so maybe he's just not cut out for it after all... 'Who knows?' Mina replies Still, if he's already going to give up on any possibility before he's even begun, then he's bound to fail at anything! She hopes he knows he's acting just like a little kid. Harry wonders if it's okay to just cry now? Estelle admits that maybe that's not a bad idea…

At the chapel, Father Holstein mentions that Sister Rose is an extremely serious and dedicated individual. He thinks it would do her some good though if she wasn't so uptight… The local tone of the people of Bose carries an air of freedom, and while doctrine and commandments are important, he'd like this church to be more involved in the region, because not everyone sees eye to eye… Sister Rosa says that Father Holstein is a man of his word and has a magnetic personality about him, but she does have trouble dealing with the pace at which he does things.

At Anterose, Manager Lechter says they're currently looking for an in-house pianist, but there seems to be no one with the necessary skills anywhere in this whole land! He shall speak with the owner and see about summoning an imperial pianist for the restaurant. Estelle muses that when they say this is a high-class joint, they're not kidding!



Alta says times have certainly changed, as tourists from the Empire now come here to Bose to buy our goods. She's not sure how to feel about that, as she just keeps thinking about all the men and women who were lost during the war. People who will never come back…

Shaque tells Caron that no, no, he's had his eye on this for a long, long time now and he's simply not giving his offer the consideration he should! He should try to look at the broader picture here. This is a great price to offer after the airships are running again, isn't it? Caron mentions that he understands Shaque's feeling so much that it hurts, but they have a quota to meet… Lenore says this restaurant has become more and more popular each day since the current owner took over. Just about every member of the staff here was hand-picked specifically by her. She's the exception, she just came because she wanted to! Citron says that with the airships grounded, he's finding it impossible to get his wine shipments. For the moment, he supposes they can make do with what's in the wine cellar, but the stock won't last forever!

Fannie says that she and Letta have been wanting to come here forever now. They worked their little tushes off, pardon her Erebonian, to save up enough money to afford a meal here. But it was worth it! Letta says he wore his best outfit to come here, but he hopes he doesn't seem overdressed… He'll need to be careful not to drop any of the tableware… He just gets this sinking feeling he's really out of his element here. Pitiful, isn't it?



Horace says the old market here was quite barebones, just some stalls lined up in a vacant field - a common flea market! The merchants back then were made of even tougher stuff than they are today. There was the mayor's family, influential as anything… and all the traders of the Trino and Borden households, they all started in that common flea market and worked their way up to what they are today.

Marian wonders if it's true that all operation of airships has been halted?! She supposes she has no choice but to prolong her vacation here, then. Since there's nothing she can do about it, why worry? She might as well enjoy it while she can! She can shop and eat as she wishes, spread her capitalist wings and fly! Norche says it's not just the food here that's top quality, but the wait staff and service as well. You can see signs of the owner's dedication in every last detail. Head Chef Ross says cooking is an art and a culture - it requires as much creativity as anything and, of course, is just as resistant to compromise. Gwen says the head chef here is extremely strict - a real kitchen nightmare! He's known as the preeminent chef in all of Liberl, and it's not a title earned lightly! His techniques and flavors are second to none…



At the mayor's residence (after a few scenes I'll detail soon), Butler Mayner is glad to see us all again, and says Mayor Maybelle has been excitedly awaiting our report. Lila mentions that General Morgan has come here to visit on several occasions. He's a little difficult to describe, but what she can say is that he is a respectable man… There's no doubt in her mind about that. But in both a good and bad sense, he has the temperament of a military man.

Over at Kirsche's bar, Platina says their boss takes pride in the fact that people tend to stick around for a long time when they come here. She's guessing it's probably because a lot of people use this place for business meetings. Or maybe it's just because it's such a half-assed business, people feel right at home. No clue! What she does know is that they get lots of weirdos in here, and people who blather on endlessly about their troubles. It's what they're known for!



Scholar Lyndon remarks that it seems the development of orbal arts was far superior before the Great Collapse, and we're still discovering orbal relics from that era. That's what people mean when they say they've unearthed an 'artifact.' Warner says the Anterose doesn't feel like a place where you can just sit back and relax, you know? You always feel rushed.That's why he makes such a point of trying to give his establishment a comfortable, homey feel, so people know they can take it easy. Nial is drinking his ass off in a corner, and while Estelle tries to get through to him, Nial barely notices, just rambling that he'll have to make something up for the paper - nobody will know the difference… He's out of it.

Cornelius curses out Nigel - they always came in together and worked side-by-side, and he can't believe the man would betray him like that! He's the one who signed the papers to give him a loan when he first started his business, for goodness' sakes! Then he cheated his way up to the top… and now this! What the hell! Simon mentions that Mirano, of the Trino household, is kind of like the vice mayor, except she also kind of runs the place all by herself. The Borden household is pretty influential too, sure, but Ms. Mirano is the real shadow mayor here, hands down. No clue what's going to happen now - helping out Ms. Mirano isn't so bad, but he can't help feeling like there's something better for him out there, y'know?



Barlowe at the hotel says that whenever they greet guests, they do so with utmost sincerity… Their motto is: 'Service always comes with a smile.' Furthermore, they should always work to improve service. Dina the maid says she's got a table reserved at the Anterose today! She's been saving up for this day for a long time now. She's so excited she can hardly breathe! She's got to hurry up and take care of her work around here!

At the market, Claire muses that instead of just staring at things all the time, maybe she should try buying something for once? Felicia mentions there's been a lot of strange things to deal with since she expanded the store. Her son Pomme has been really helping her out a lot, and she couldn't have asked for a better kid. Pomme remarks that his mother is very rough in the way she handles dishes, so his heart always skips a beat every time he sees her pick one up. Since these are the goods they're supposed to be selling, she should be more careful with them. Meissen notes that he's trying to find things with hidden value and get his hands on them for a reasonable price. The thrill of this is something you can't experience that easily in other occupations! To be honest, though, he's still quite an amateur at it himself… No matter how carefully he chooses what he buys, more than half of what he gets turns out to be junk.



Spence says he formulates medicine for each one of his customers according to their symptoms. He's even recently started carrying Eastern medicine, which has grown in popularity. Innovation is important when it comes to business. Libro mentions they haven't gotten any foreign books in at the bookstore recently. It probably has something to do with all these restrictions put in effect by the army. Minuet wonders how long the army intends to blockade the border, anyway? Because of all this, all her merchandise which should have come from the Empire hasn't arrived. Whatever they're doing, it isn't helping her business, that's for sure.

Gantz says that ever since this girl started selling sweets, the sales of her sponge cake have really started taking off. Now he's found himself coming here to shop just so he can get a glimpse of her smile. Katrina giggles and says that at first she was worried about how she was going to run the store, so she guesses the best thing she can do is give her customers service with a smile! Mirano says she'd really like to leave her father's business deals up to Simon, but he still lacks understanding of the business world, and it would be a perfect time for Borden to take advantage of the situation. She guesses that if she gets overwhelmed, she'll get Simon to help her out… Trust is the first rule of business, so she just has to make sure she doesn't get wrapped up in the middle of the situation.



Carol concludes that today she'll be making a dish with meat. Should she grill a steak or should she make some stew? She just can't decide… It's not easy trying to think of what to do about the menu every day! You know, maybe she should just go with fish. Emmy comments that meat goes on sale for a limited time after three o'clock this afternoon, so she needs to find a place to camp out near the store until then. Trayton mentions he and Buck came to Bose to make it big. In the future, it's their dream to open a huge food market together. It will have the freshest foods at the lowest prices in town all the time! Doesn't that sound like the kind of food market we'd like to shop at? With the way distribution has changed thanks to the advent of airliners, he's sure they can make their dream a reality…

Sarah says that she may not look like it, but she runs the kitchen at the mayor's residence. Though she can't cook anything like the Anterose, she can still whip up a decent meal. The mayor has been so busy recently, so she needs to at least get her to take in some nourishment… Buck says Bose merchants are said to like an atmosphere of freedom, and for that reason alone there was a time where each did as they liked. The previous mayor, and now his daughter, have started bringing all the merchants together… Oh, and it looks like inspections along the Eisen Road have been terminated - now he'll be able to start getting his selection of goods back to normal! Lyril chants nearby that cabbage, cabbage… that's what her mom asked her to pick up. And a duck. Delicious, delicious duck. She's too scared to talk to people she doesn't know, though, that's why she's been pacing in front of the store like this… She proceeds to practice some more: 'One head of cabbage, please…'

Seagaro says his wife is shopping like a crazy woman - if he doesn't intervene, she'll never stop shopping! Money is not the issue here, he just wishes his wife would practice a little self-control. Edel cheerfully says that it looks like it's time to hit up the next shop! All this shopping is why she came along with her husband on his pilgrimage! Paul admits he's having a hard time getting the new brands he ordered from the Royal City, and on top of that, merchandise is in short supply. The only thing left to do is to try his hand at making some original clothing and seeing how that goes… Actually, he had wanted to try selling some original store brand clothes from before, so this is as good an opportunity as ever to give it a whirl. Olivier stands nearby and remarks that this marketplace is much more lively than he could have ever imagined! It was definitely worth seeing.



In the south side, at the orbment factory, Nigel says his boss is way too trusting of others. In any case, it's impossible to get along for long in the business world like that, which is why he should be running the shop! Gya ha ha! Carrie comments that her new boss is a pain in the behind about orders and all kinds of things. In comparison, her old boss gave her the freedom to do all kinds of things. Next door, Launa mentions that ever since her husband opened his business, he's had more time at home as well… Of course, he keeps the books and manages his goods at home, too… When he was in the army, he only managed to get home about once a week. Opening the store hasn't been all bad… Elke agrees that her dad plays with her more now than when he was a soldier in the army. She likes the way her dad is now - before, he used to get angry all the time.

Sein at the weapon shop says that pretty much any of the merchants in Bose had their starting point in the market. First you start there, subsidized by the city, then after gaining experience you're able to get approval to start your own store. It's for that reason that people have come here from far and wide to become merchants. At a western house, Cecile warns me to steer clear from talking to her husband, since if we get him started he'll just fill our ears with rubbish. Said husband, Kuwano, mentions that if we head south from Bose we'll arrive at the north shore of Valleria Lake, a massive body of water in the center of the kingdom. All kinds of fish swim around there, heehee! Guess he's a secret fisherman…?

Modena says some people think that Mirano and her husband are on bad terms with each other, but that's not the case. They're just competitive, that's all. She doesn't think people should expect anything less, since Mirano is his daughter after all. She knows it seems like Mirano is complaining as she goes about taking on her father's work, but that's just her way of showing compassion. Modena really appreciates her being considerate at a time like this…



Borden mentions that Trino seems to have been on board the airliner that went missing, and feels a little guilty saying this - but this may just be his big chance! He figured he'd use this opportunity to seize all of Trino's deals for himself, but Mirano's glare was enough to set him straight. It's difficult for him to tell if that father and daughter are on good terms or not…

Rionne is in disbelief that Mr. Trino was on that airliner. No matter how much of a rival he is, they've still known him for a long time, so she just hopes he's safe… Alvelle has heard of Trino's disappearance too, and says that he knows he's dad's business rival, but he's still Mirano's father! He's really worried about him, and wonders if Mirano is too…

At the landing port, Berna says it appears there's nobody here that really knows what's going on either. She wonders if the airliner had some sort of an accident? Receptionist Ted mentions that the corporation still hasn't received any word from the army, and the transportation of goods related to the market has pretty much become stagnant. They're receiving all sorts of complaints from everywhere now because of this.



Norm says his boss, Lakely, appears to be really irritated over something. He's always got a stern look on his face, but even more so right now! Aldan mentions that they've got freighters arriving from the Empire about once a week, mainly used to carry goods to Bose Market. Also, their intimidating design is typical of what she'd expect from the Empire… Hope the military restrictions get lifted soon. Hardt says that they even said they have no idea when flights will resume either, so all he can really do is wait… Lakely guesses we'll just have to deal with it then, huh? Waiting like this…

At Verte Bridge, Private Antose says that if we compare the east checkpoint with the west one, the west one has more veteran soldiers. Warrant Officer Dyne, despite his appearance, does his job to the letter. Private Lacos says that if the missing airliner turns out to be the work of the Empire, he wonders if we're looking at another war… The very thought makes him shudder! Warrant Officer Dyne mentions that it seems like the blockade on the Eisen Road has been lifted. The airliner hasn't been found though, so what's going on? At any rate, he wonders when flights are gonna start up again…



At Valleria Lakeshore's King Fisher Inn, Anette comments that the food is great, and this place is relaxing - she couldn't ask for anything more, but she has to be careful not to put on any weight. Elke says the weather is just wonderful today, so maybe she'll just take a book and read by the water's edge this afternoon. Or maybe she'll give fishing a try? Sophina comments that her brother Lenard started this inn, and she grew fond of the atmosphere when she came to visit him. That's why she decided to stay and work for him! Lenard mentions that there's an old tower standing to the northwest of here, apparently called Amberl Tower. He wonders what it was built for…?

At the Krone Gate, Private Cutinger muses that he's heard about the sky bandits - sounds like a troublesome group. However, this time General Morgan is spearheading the investigation, so it's only a matter of time until he's got this bunch locked up behind bars.



Private Usher says daily training is essential for being a soldier here, due to the rugged terrain which covers the Krone Range. The sky bandits may just be hiding around here somewhere, which is why the border garrison has already investigated this area on multiple occasions. On a normal day they almost get no travelers through the steep pass here…

CWO Zelste says General Morgan has issued an order to bolster security in the surrounding area because they still don't know where those sky bandits are hiding. The mountainous areas are an especially good place for them to make a hideout. He needs to tell his men to get squared away as well. Warrant Officer Serose says that despite his appearance as a soldier in the Royal Army, he loves to cook. He often gets the chief's permission so he can cook here at the checkpoint. Just so we know, the traveler's quarters are over there, so we should feel free to use them whenever we need to.

Next: We go report in at the guild and mayor, and see where that leads us...

 

[Roarian]

Reporting In & Figuring Out Where to Go!

Let's get back to our quest, shall we? If we wander close to the mayor's mansion, we can spot Nial and Dorothy are talking with Lila at the door. Nial says he's begging her to please let them in, missy! If he could just get a comment from the mayor he'd be on his merry little way!



Dorothy agrees, and says of course she'd need a photograph too! Lila says she's sure the mayor would be flattered, but she's extremely busy. She's going to have to ask all those without an appointment to leave, and hopes they can understand the situation. Nial just keeps begging, stating that for an incident this huge, they hardly know anything about the circumstances surrounding it… He has an obligation to inform the readers! Dorothy chimes in - yeah, what about the readers? They can probably reach double the number if they have the mayor grace the cover! She's said to be very beautiful, after all. Lila stays silent at that, while Nial panics a little. Dorothy! Why did she have to go and say something like that? Dorothy notes in bafflement that it was Nial himself who was saying the same thing earlier, remember? He said that if they didn't have any news to go on, they could at least lure customers to buy the magazine by featuring the sexy mayor on the cover! Nial calls her an idiot, then nervously turns to Lila.

The maid in question says they're a couple of interesting visitors, and she'll make sure to tell the mayor about the details of their conversation. At the moment, however, she asks them to leave… Nial tries to say it's a misunderstanding, but Lila just states: 'P-L-E-A-S-E L-E-A-V-E. Dorothy wonders if that means they won't be getting a photograph of the mayor, then? Nial tells her, for the love of Aidios and his sanity, to just keep her mouth shut! As the two rush off, Lila lets out a sigh of relief.

She spots our approach, and recognizes us from earlier - have we just returned from Haken Gate, then? Estelle confirms that it's something like that, and wonders about those two she just turned away…? Lila calls them a bunch of unscrupulous individuals. Those miscreants said they planned to use the mayor to make some quick mira! As long as she's here to protect her mistress, however, she won't allow that to happen. Joshua remarks that she's really serious about her job, isn't she? Lila states that she's deadly serious, because it's her duty. Anyway, why don't we come inside? The mayor is waiting for us.

Before that, if we speak to Lugran at the Bracer Guild, he wonders if we found out anything about the incident while we were at Haken Gate? Estelle says we did - valuable information at that! She relays everything we obtained from General Morgan, and Lugran is amazed - the sky bandits and the Capua family… That is valuable information, that's for sure. Looks like they'll be able to decide on a policy for the Bracer Guild related to this, now.



Still, he's surprised to hear that General Morgan is an even bigger bracer-hater than he originally thought! Estelle admits she was surprised herself. In Rolent, the job of a bracer is pretty much respected by everyone, so to encounter someone that hates bracers that much… Lugran assures her that Morgan is an exception, since under normal circumstances the Royal Army and the guild maintain a pretty good cooperative relationship. Looks like this time we're going to have to deal with a lot more than we bargained for, though… Scherazard decides that we'll have to try and make steady efforts while maintaining a low profile, then.

She notes that it looks like these recent burglaries are also the work of the sky bandits, right? Lugran confirms that. Taking into account the incident in Rolent, it's pretty clear who's behind those too. To call them burglaries is one thing though, because most of the stuff that's been stolen hasn't been all that valuable… He would have never thought they would go as far as to commit a heinous crime like hijacking the Linde! Estelle admits that this does seem odd - the burglary that happened in Rolent was also rather mild in comparison. Joshua agrees that hijacking an airliner and then turning around and demanding a ransom from the royal family carries rather greater risks than any potential reward. Schera says that in light of that, we should probably do a little more on the investigative side ourselves… Lugran suggests we go report in with the mayor, to let her know all that we've found out.

Visiting the mayor's residence and actually entering her office, we find her ranting to herself about all her paperwork - dealing with complaints from the citizens, late deliveries of goods to the Bose Market because of the airspace being a no-fly zone, servicing the sewer facilities, selecting a congratulatory gift for Her Majesty the Queen, harm incurred by monsters on the New Ansel Path… When will all this paperwork finally end?!



We nervously enter, and Joshua comments that the mayor looks pretty busy, so would it be better if we came back at a later time…? She coughs and says it's fine, it's fine. So, did we find out something from General Morgan? She'd like to hear about it. We quickly fill her in, and Maybelle is pleased by our progress - she feels like she's got a much clearer picture of the situation now. First, there was a hijacking by the sky bandits, and now a ransom demand…? The situation is much more serious than she had originally anticipated. Estelle laments that if General Morgan hadn't found out we were bracers, she thinks we could have learned more, but… The mayor says it's all right, she's just glad to know that the Linde didn't crash. With this information she should be able to take effective countermeasures with the city. Now she needs to think of a way to inform the citizens of Bose and deal with the families of the passengers… Joshua imagines that'll be quite a difficult task considering she's already as busy as she is, but Maybelle laughs it off - that's just the duty of a mayor!

Maybelle then wonders whether, since the identity of the criminals is now known, she may ask us to continue our investigation into the incident? Scherazard says that was the idea to begin with - we've already had a run-in with these sky bandits before, after all. She'll wager the honor of the guild that this is one group we cannot simply leave up to the Royal Army… Estelle adds that we still have to find Dad too, and then we need to deal with these sky bandits once and for all!



Joshua gives her a look, and Estelle wonders what that was about? He remarks that he was just thinking, and no matter which way he looks at it, that he just can't believe it. That Dad could get beaten by a bunch of sky bandits. Basing his judgment on the ability of the group that appeared in Rolent… Schera agrees that Cassius could have easily dealt with a group of that caliber. Estelle argues that Joshua and Schera are giving her dad entirely too much credit. He's pretty good, she'll give him that, but she thinks it would be a bit of a stretch to take on an entire group! Maybelle, nonplussed, asks for clarification - are we saying our father was aboard the airliner? Estelle is surprised we hadn't mentioned hat, blushing. She's embarrassed to say it, but yeah - he was. Not to mention he's a bracer, too! His name is Cassius Bright!

Maybelle is clearly caught off guard by this revelation, and Estelle wonders if she knows her dad or something? The mayor says she's never met him in person, but she's heard a great deal about him. She's sorry, she doesn't know what to say… But we might be able to use this to get some information from the army… Estelle asks her what she means by that, but Maybelle just apologizes, and says she can empathize with what we must be going through. If there is anything she can do to help us clear up this incident, then she is at our disposal. We shouldn't hesitate to ask!

As we return to the streets outside the building, Estelle wonders what was up with the mayor at the end? As soon as she mentioned her dad's name, she was all surprised! Joshua says Estelle is right, but he can imagine where the mayor is coming from. The mayor and the general have known one another for a long time, after all… Estelle isn't sure how that relates… Scherazard says we shouldn't worry about that right now, as the real question is where we go from here?



Estelle muses that searching around blindly for the airliner or sky bandits probably won't amount to anything, right? If that's all it'd take, then the army would have found them a long time ago. Joshua and Schera turn to her, and she wonders what's the matter with them? Joshua smiles and says that she's matured - if it had been the same Estelle as before, she probably would have said something like: 'Let's just comb the entire region!' Schera agrees that she never thought she'd see the day when those words would come out of Estelle's mouth either… Her heart is too full of emotion for words! Estelle, peeved, wonders what they're trying to say? They can be so rude sometimes, she hopes they know that… Joshua says they were complimenting her, seriously…

Schera mentions that unfortunately the Bose region is enormous, unlike Rolent, so combing the entire region wouldn't work anyway. She'd be really happy with a clue right now! Estelle thinks about that - a clue, huh? Oh, right! Weren't Nial and Dorothy in front of the mayor's place earlier? Nial seemed pretty starved for a story, but he's got to know something by now, right? Joshua acknowledges that he arrived in Bose a little before we did, so it might be worthwhile talking to him. Estelle wonders where he went, though…

If you've been exploring at all, or think logically about his character, the bar is just the obvious place to go look for him. Naturally, Nial is drinking away his sorrows there, cursing that his job ain't a joke, you know! Ugh, hic! Estelle concludes that we found him, but he's drunk off his ass! Was having his article rejected really that much of a shock to his system?



Scherazard comments that he's just acting like the man he is. Men are pigs, after all… Though he seems to have forgotten that alcohol is a drink to be consumed, not a drink to be consumed by. Estelle mutters that she's one to talk - don't they sometimes call her 'Bottomless Schera'?

Schera scoffs - please, 'Bottomless' is much more suitable for a woman like Aina… Schera argues that she, on the other hand, can hold her liquor! No matter how much she may drink, her face and disposition remain unreddened! So we shouldn't dare to group a fun-loving drinker like herself in the same category as this clumsy lush! Estelle asks her to come on now - when she gets drunk she loses it completely and everyone around her gets a heck of a show, she should just admit it! Joshua remarks that it's certainly true that Aina is like a bucket to Schera's sieve… No matter how you look at it, though, they're both pretty bottomless. Schera says she is sensing disrespect here…

Nial finally wakes up from his stupor, and wonders where the hell he is? Joshua is glad that he's awake… sort of. Drinking so much is not good for his health, you know! Nial nurses his head and is surprised to see us - we're those bracer trainees, aren't we? Oh, Goddess - what the hell is he doing back in Rolent?! He thought he'd made his way to Bose…! Estelle asks what the sponge is mumbling about now? She informs him he is in Bose, and so are we! Nial says we shouldn't scare him like that, damn!



Ah, but he sees we have a lovely lass with us…! Schera then introduces herself - Scherazard Harvey, the pleasure is all his, she's sure, mentor to the bracer trainees. Nial recognizes the name Scherazard - she's not the infamous 'Silver Streak' by any chance? Schera says he humbles her - he's heard of her, then? Nial admits he's only heard rumors, but he does know her name. She's one of the top young bracers, if he's not mistaken. …Which means the three of us are here to investigate the airliner incident as well, right? Schera is surprised that he does have some brains left in there after all that booze - she's impressed! Estelle asks if Nial found anything out? We saw him by the mayor's house earlier, and he seemed pretty troubled. Nial is a bit put off by the fact we saw all that, and quickly tries to cover for what happened by saying he was looking for clues, but couldn't find any! Estelle figured as much…

The reporter then explains that damned army regulations on the spread of information really restrict what he's able to learn, anyway. And if he tries to consult General Morgan at the Haken Gate directly, he'll be held up for inspection for who knows how long! So he figured he'd at least try to score an interview with the legendarily voluptuous mayor, but a maid turned him away outright! To top it all off, that useless girl Dorothy kept screwing everything up. Everything! Oh, great Aidios! What did he do to deserve this shabby life?! Estelle points out that he did try to do an exclusive on the mayor's chest… Still, if he wants information that badly, we might share some of ours with him… We're actually investigating the incident on Mayor Maybelle's behalf right now, so naturally we've met with the mayor - and General Morgan too for that matter.

Nial is astounded by this. Holy crap, are we serious?! Estelle confirms that we are. Score! Nial says the Goddess gets a point, blessed be the bounty of Aidios! He then begs us to tell him everything! Every last detail! Joshua says we'd be happy to, but… isn't he forgetting something? Information isn't free, you know. Schera says we'll scratch his back, but he'll need to scratch ours first. And he should get that look off his face - she totally didn't mean that literally. Nial wonders if we want mira or something? His research funds are long-exhausted at this point, he's sorry to say. Joshua states that we're not interested in his money, we just find it fascinating that he made his way to Bose right after this incident occurred. Seems like he might have heard some interesting things himself. That being the case…



Nial sighs and says that here he thought Joshua was a nice kid, but it turns out he's just a slimy little leech like him! He'll tell us what he knows, but rest assured, it's not big news by any stretch of the imagination. Joshua argues that as long as it's related to the incident, no matter how trivial it may seem, he'll take it. Nial just… shouldn't be stingy. Give it to us straight, okay? Nial says that fine, fine, he'll tell us everything on his honor as a newsman! He's got two clues to share, so if we're taking notes, he suggests we get out our pen and paper. Joshua drolly says we're ready whenever he is… Estelle muses to herself that Joshua is really on a roll here, way to go! Schera reckons that if he ever gets tired of being a bracer, he'll have a bright future in racketeering with those skills of his…

We move to a table at the front of the bar, where Nial explains that the first clue is in the form of an eyewitness report from the village of Ravennue to the west. He talked to a villager who'd just come to Bose for a visit, and she told him something very interesting. Apparently she knows a kid who saw a huge shadow flying overhead on the night of the incident… An airship perhaps? Maybe even that missing one! Well, the army checked that rumor out, but they found absolutely nothing… Estelle complains that Nial's a meanie for raising our hopes, only to dash them straight away! Schera concludes that he's saying somebody saw something, but it was probably unrelated to anything? Nial yells that's what he was saying earlier! He warned us it wasn't big news! He went to a lot of trouble to get this sad morsel too, what with the information embargo in place and all…



Joshua asks after the second clue, and Nial sighs - fine. The other thing he learned is that the military's Intelligence Division is on the move. Schera says she's heard rumors about them too. It's a new royally-sanctioned branch of the army in charge of intelligence gathering and dissemination. Nial agrees that's the one, yeah. Supposedly they're so elite they can even stand toe-to-toe with the royal bodyguards. The man they put in charge, Colonel Richard, is apparently quite the whiz kid! With him on the case, they saw this incident is as good as solved already… Estelle comments that it doesn't seem like his information will be of much use to us in our investigation, but Nial argues that we can't say he didn't warn us! Sorry he couldn't be of more help on our end, though… A promise is a promise though, right? He scratched our back, so now it's our turn!

Joshua agrees that a deal is a deal, and he tells Nial all about the incident in Rolent, as well as the information we received from General Morgan. Nial is astounded to hear about the Capua family, and the sky bandits! A random demand to the royal house and the airship corporations?! Good Goddess, that's exactly what he needed! That's the missing link he's been killing himself to find! Joshua figures it's caught his fancy, huh? Nial says that he can absolutely write his article now! He can't be wasting his time getting drunk here, he has to go find Dorothy, post-haste! He'll see us wonderful people later! With that he rushes out of the bar.



Estelle observes that wow, Nial's spirits certainly lifted there! Joshua points out he was chasing a big story pretty unsuccessfully until we came along, so it's only natural. He's glad we could help him out. Estelle is amused at Joshua's behavior - look at him! He went from Mr. I'll-Break-Your-Kneecaps-If-You-Don't-Talk to Mr. Nice Guy in under a minute! Talk about a split personality! Joshua asks her to please stop thinking weird things about him… He was just negotiating. A little give-and-take, nothing more! Schera giggles and says he's got a bad boy exterior with a good boy inside, or is it the other way around? Either way, she's sure girls love it!

Anyway, she guesses we've only really dealt with scrupulous people before, so we're pretty lucky in that regard… When we start dealing with weirdos, that's when we'll need to bust out some really questionable negotiation tactics. Estelle fumes and wonders why she was looking at her when she said that…? That aside, was anyone else a little bothered when Nial talked about that huge flying shadow thing? Joshua recalls it was about an eyewitness sighting in Ravennue village, right? He'd say there's a strong chance there's nothing to it, if the army already checked it out… Estelle acknowledges that, but she says the army is hardly infallible, so they could have missed something. It wasn't General Morgan himself, after all, but one of his men. Some of those guys are pretty thick-headed!



Joshua admits that's true, and agrees it's probably worth looking into, then. Certainly can't hurt, at any rate. Schera smiles and says the two of us are starting to get the hang of this, and she agrees it's a splendid idea. Let's head to Ravennue then, shall we?

Of course, first we'll have a walk around town, because spending a bit of time chatting with a drunk changes the world...

Spoiler: Bose Exploration (Post-Interview)

In the streets, Elegia says that it seems like no matter which store she goes to recently, they're getting low on supplies. It looks like the airliners being grounded is to blame. They can't stock up on anything with those being out of commission! There's nothing she really wants to buy, so she's bored… Jacob comments that the fruit from Ravennue knows no equal. Bose may lose to Rolent when it comes to producing great vegetables, but Bose is definitely the place to be for fruit! It's one of the things they pride themselves on as citizens of Bose.

Lucas mentions he put in a notice that he'd be opening up a shop in the Bose Market, but it turns out they're not accepting them at the moment. It seems like there's been a lot of problems recently… Harry points out that Mina always nitpicks at him. Does she hate him or something? Mina replies that if that was the case, she doesn't think she'd be here right now… Harry blushes, which makes Mina wonder what that's all about? She never said she liked him either! Harry laughs it off - he should have figured as much. Guess this means she… neither likes nor dislikes him, huh? Mina just says he's unbelievable…

At the chapel, Father Holstein mentions the village of Ravennue where fruit is cultivated, but says there's unfortunately no chapel there. He'd be most delighted to have the children from there come here for Sunday School. Sister Rosa says they get a lot of people coming to the chapel to pray for the success of their businesses. Aidios, the Goddess of all creation, is not a deity of fortune! She wonders if she should post a note on the door to tell people that this kind of sacrilege is unacceptable…



At Anterose, Manager Lechter welcomes us hesitantly. Estelle wonders what's up with him? He seems pretty depressed. Joshua agrees that his shoulders are drooping off the charts, so did something happen…? Lechter wonders what he'll tell the owner… Alta says during the war, they weren't the only ones to take heavy damage - poor Ravennue Village suffered the same fate. There are quite a lot of them who share these awful memories. Shaque is arguing that, no, no, No, if he takes it for that much money, he's sure to suffer losses! He realizes it's just words, but asks Caron to listen to him - he's trying to help here! This is simply no way to negotiate. Caron insists he must absolutely get it for this price right here, and won't accept any less! To say something like that at the very start, come on now…

Lenore says she previously worked as a waitress at a restaurant in Zeiss. The owner of this establishment happened to be on business, and they got to talking shop, so to speak. The wagers seemed much better here than there, so she jokingly asked her to give her a job! That's when she told Lenore she was the owner - she's a strong-willed lady who always gets what she wants! The polar opposite of the … sigh… manager… (Is the owner also the mayor? They're weirdly circumspect about this, but it would make sense.)



Citron explains that he's originally from the Empire. One day the owner of this restaurant came to the establishment where he worked, as an ordinary customer. She loved the wine he picked for her during her meal so much that shortly afterward he received a letter inviting him to work here. He decided to at least come to Liberl to see the restaurant and fell in love at first sight. Admittedly, when he was invited, he had his concerns, but she has a certain charm about her - so here he is!

Head Chef Ross says the previous owner would never, ever listen to him. The current owner listens to even the most minuscule of nitpicks he may have, though, so he's very grateful to her for that. Very grateful indeed! She did make him chef without having ever met him or seen his face, so he's a little worried about her mental stability, but still. Gwen mentions she used to work as a cook at a bar in Ruan, but the owner here asked for her by name. How could she say no to that? Apparently she took a real shine to Gwen's desserts. She's still learning the ropes here, but she's giving it everything she's got. She mustn't let the owner down!

Fannie declares that her meal was delicious, wowwee! It's easy to see why this is Liberl's most highly-rated restaurant, that's for sure! It was definitely worth the trip. A little luxury makes for a nice break every now and again. Letta says he's so nervous he can't even taste this food… Seems almost like sacrilege. He hopes he'll be able to savor his food next time he comes here. Horace says the market became great around the time when that little lady's pappy served as the mayor. He was a real pioneer, pushing forward all kinds of measures to promote commerce. Clearly, it worked wonderfully! The current mayor then inherited all of that from her pappy. At first he didn't think much of her, but she's really proven herself a worthy successor.

Norche comments that Marian sure does like to eat, no? It's amazing! If he tells her there's delicious food to be had, she's packed and ready to go in a heartbeat. But, as such, he must admit that he is never bored thanks to her unbridled enthusiasm for viands. Marian comments that there's a town to the northwest of here where the most delicious fruits are grown. Sadly it lies partway up a mountain, making it an impossible destination for one such as herself. Hm, she supposes some of their delicious fruits may be sold at the market here, no? She'll go take a look!

At Kirsche's bar, Lyndon mentions he studies creatures that lived in the old world, before the Great Collapse. Beings that surpassed mankind's potential and indeed, were almost god-like… Indeed, he speaks of the ancient dragons! Estelle mentions she remembers hearing about them in Sunday School - they were around in Liberl, too, up until just a few decades ago. They stopped showing up around the time orbment technology was first discovered, though. Joshua stares in surprise, and Estelle wonders why he's got such a dumb look on his face? Is something the matter?



Joshua says it's nothing - he's just surprised she actually remembered something she learned in school. Shocked, really! Estelle says that's really rude. Of course she paid attention. Huge, cool things with wings? She totally wants to see them herself! Just thinking about them gets her worked up! Lyndon can relate, and says that's why he's been journeying to exotic lands in search of information.

Warner says that his bar was originally founded on a whim more than anything else. He wishes he could take it easy and not have to worry so much about criminals and profits and such… Platina says the manager always claims he runs this place as a hobby, and acts like that's why it's such a great establishment. Rumor has it that the owner of the Anterose says the exact same thing, though. She thinks their obsessions are on two different levels entirely… Cornelius muses it won't do him any good to just keep crying about this - it's his own fault that the workshop got attacked, and he should have been more careful! No sense in giving up, though, that's not the Bose way. Time to roll up his sleeves and try again!

At the hotel, Barlowe mentions that his hotel has maintained a high level of popularity ever since it was established. It may be busy around here, but this hotel is his life! It's his role as the current manager to find a future manager who can sustain these traditions. In one of the rooms, Dina the maid asks if we can believe this - the manager made her work when it was supposed to be her break time! Not to mention she had a table reserved at the Anterose restaurant and it was all for nothing!



At the market, Claire says she just bought something by herself for the first time. It was some kind of sponge cake someone was selling near the fountain. A bunch of people were eating sweets over there so she joined in with them… She couldn't believe how good they were. What a great experience that was for her! She thought it was unbecoming to eat away from the table like this, but there are some tastes you can only experience this way. Felicia says she's ready for a breather, and wonders how her husband's getting along back at the village…? Pomme mentions his father is growing fruit back at their village, and the fruit they're selling here may be some of the fruit that his father grew! Originally they were supposed to be running this business together as a family, but he chose to stay behind…

Meissen says that porcelain made in the Empire has an artistic quality in the absolutely gorgeous designs. Just the opposite, the porcelain from the Republic employs simple colors and patterns, but its beauty comes out the more you use it. The varied and contrasting styles are why porcelain wares are so interesting. Liberl's porcelain, on the other hand, may have a simple shape and design, but there is an elegance about it… He guesses that's the best way to sum them all up. Lila stands nearby and mentions that Miss Maybelle is the type of person who thrives the busier she is, and is just like her father in that respect. She's worried about her health, though… Spence says that even if the airliners aren't running, a true Bose merchant won't get discouraged easily! How should he put it…? A real Bose merchant knows how to innovate at times like this. Ho ho ho!



Marco looks around the Bose Market, remarking that it's pretty lively for a marketplace in a small country, if he does say so himself. Maybe he'll have a look around after he finishes up with his business deals. Simon asks who would have thought that Trino would be on the airliner that disappeared…? Now Mirano is taking care of all her father's business deals in his stead. He knows he shouldn't have expected anything less, but hopes she doesn't take on more than she can handle. Emmy despairs that this is terrible, how could this have happened?! She spent all the money she has for today! Noooooo! She can't figure out when they're going to slash prices here…

Libro remarks that all the books in the back of the bookshop are covered with dust and cobwebs - he should probably borrow a feather duster from the shop owner and clean them off. Minuet welcomes us to her store, to see what she has in stock. Believe it or not, they've got a luxury carpet from the Calvard Republic going for just 500 mira! We heard it right, but that's not all! At regular price this goes for 1500 mira, but the price has been reduced to an amazing 500 mira! But that's not all! If we buy now, she'll even throw in a tapestry with matching patterns! Yea, okay Billy Mays... Edel remarks this is really cheap, but if she buys this too, it'll just add to her already, uh, substantial amount of luggage… She wonders if she can get someone to deliver it directly to her home in the Royal City? Seagaro says it's unbelievable - his wife is set on buying even more stuff. Not to mention she just barely shopped here not a few minutes ago! Hopefully those flights are going again sooner rather than later…

Gantz mentions the girl at the confectioner's shop, and says her sweets have gotten tons better since she started making them. He should know because he eats them every day, and they just keep getting better and better! Katrina is distracted, and admits her head's not quite in the game right now, sorry. She says her fiance was actually the one who started this store, but he was aboard the airliner that disappeared that everyone's talking about. She truly believes in her heart that he'll come back safely, somehow. Until he returns, she has to keep his store alive… Estelle sadly reflects on the situation, and says Katrina is right. It's not only someone from our family who was aboard that airliner, which means she has to do her best as well as a member of the Bracer Guild and her dad's only daughter! Joshua approves of her resolution. Katrina just asks if she can sell us some sponge cake?



Lyril remarks that these sponge cakes look so yummy, but it's probably not okay for her to use the money she's supposed to use for her errands, right? Carol wonders what she should do about a side dish today. She just can't decide what would sit well on the table. She thought she could decide once she got to the store, but now she's here and she still doesn't know… Trayton says the top dogs here in Bose, aside from the mayor, would have to be Trino and Borden. However, recently Trino's daughter has been extending her sphere of influence. If he remembers correctly, her name is Mirano. Anyway, she appears to have a knack for business and can hold her own against her father. It's pretty cool to see a sharp pair of merchants in a family like that. Oh, and he almost forgot to mention that Mirano and the mayor are pretty good friends, too.

Buck says he gets all his fruit from Ravennue Village, which used to be a thriving place from its mining industry, but now it's known for its orchards. Paul mentions that the clothes he designed and tailored himself are selling quite well. He thinks he's going to try and make more with numerous variations. He gets a lot of inquiries from his female customers regarding original clothing, so he thinks he's going to try and design some clothes, this time focused solely on women.



Over at the landing port, Berna admits that to tell the truth, she's getting tired of waiting for flights to resume. Maybe it would be best to try again later. Receptionist Ted says that if flights remain canceled much longer, it could affect the reputation of the corporation. There's never been an accident and nothing like this has ever happened before either. He certainly hopes they'll be able to properly explain what happened later… Aldan says at present there are two airliners which provide domestic flights for passengers in Liberl, the clockwise looping Linde and the counterclockwise looping Cecilia. They were put into service in the same year, but their coloring is different, and if he remembers right, the engine model in the Linde is older. Lakely remarks that he doesn't think there'd be any harm even if the Cecilia were the only airliner making flights, but the fact that all flights have been grounded means that this must be a really big incident. Norm the mechanic says that even though there's not really much to inspect, he's going to get yelled at if it looks like he has nothing to do. He's got to do something to keep busy…

In the south of town, Paul's wife Launa says it looks like her husband's business is doing better than expected. Recently she's noticed a vibrant look on his face, so she's happy for him. Elke says she's gonna visit her dad's shop with mom later on, she's so excited! At the orbment shop, Carrie says she refuses to make anything which distorts her aesthetic tastes, but her new boss often makes demands for crude products… Just seeing his face alone makes her will to create wither like a dried reed. Orbment shop owner Nigel says store sales are going rather well, but it bothers him that these craftsmen aren't very serviceable, but whatever… Hee hee, now if he can just keep making money like this… Weapon shop owner Sein says he really struggled a lot and worked hard when the market began, and he thinks it's because of that hard work and experience that he has his own shop now. Learning to start at the bottom of the heap is important for anyone.

Cecilia remarks that sometimes she wonders why she ever married her husband. It was the worst mistake of her life! Kuwano states that men, no matter how old they get, have a little childish part in them. A part that makes them always want to chase after their dreams! Too bad women can't seem to understand this… Modena says that Borden's wife helps him with the business, and while she tried to help her husband with his work a few times… let's just say that the results weren't great. It looks like she's best cut out for supporting her husband and Mirano here at home. She's sure that her husband is going to walk through that door any minute now with a nonchalant look on his face…



Mirano says that the flights stopping has actually turned out to be good for business, as she's able to earn quite a lot more with her father temporarily out of the picture. She'll try to pick up as much of the slack as she can for his work during this time. Because she originally got her own business started by helping him out like this, she basically knows the way Simon thinks and how he'll act…

Borden mentions that with the Bose airspace designed as a no-fly zone, businesses are being hit hard economically. Flights from the border are also being held up. At this rate, there will be no deals to be made! Mirano seems to be hammering away under these conditions anyway, though. If she can do it, he won't give up either! Rionne says her husband proceeds rationally with his deals and business talks, but Mr. Trino is the exact opposite. He pushes with vigor and flair. However, Ms. Mirano is getting together with both of them… She's almost like Mayor Maybelle in a number of ways. In the near future, Mirano just may strip her of the top seat if she's not careful, but that's going to make them hold back on anything, that's for sure. Alvelle says her mom saw the culprits, too. (Huh?) He wonders what Mirano is doing right now…?

At Verte Bridge, Private Lacos says both of the higher ups here have been soldiers since the Hundred Days War. The two of them have very different personalities but both are extremely calm. Especially the Warrant Officer, who does everything at his own pace. He seems as if he enjoys anything. Private Antose says that even now, not much information is being passed on to the checkpoints. They don't really know how the Royal Army is moving - he's getting impatient, he wants to mobilize too!



Warrant Officer Dyne wonders how an entire airliners just disappears? Bizarre stuff happens, he supposes. Although it seems like something that big should be easy to find, right? He questions if old General Morgan is growing senile or something? Ah, he'd better not be caught talking like that or the chief's gonna have a field day with him!

At Haken Gate, Carlos muses that whether someone is happy in life or not, it's all based on how satisfied they are, right? As long as a person is satisfied that it doesn't really matter what anybody else says, that person is happy. He wants to live a life that changes on a whim, so that's what he's going to do, and he's not going to let anybody give him crap about it either! At the inn, Amelia happened to hear from the soldiers that this hunk of a colonel is coming to visit the fort. She just doesn't know what she's going to do if he speaks to her. She's better find something nice to wear! Barman Nolan says the border garrison seems to be really busy, but moving this many troops and still being unable to find an airliner looks pretty bad for the military. It looks like our men in uniform have their work cut out for them.

We can also speak to bracer Sting once again, who mentions that he's just on his way back from escorting a traveler from the Empire, but he's going to go straight to the next job instead of dropping by the guild first. Scherazard concludes things must be very busy then, and asks to sit down for a drink after we take care of some of these jobs. Sting refuses, claiming he doesn't drink, though Schera seems dubious. Since when, exactly?

Next: Would you believe there's more sidequests? Also, off to Ravennue - for something other than sidequests!

 

[Roarian]

Bose Sidequests III

Before we head to our next main destination, a few more sidequests have opened up, so let's tackle those real quick.

Escort Request​

Term: Short​

Client: Hardt​

Pay: 1000 Mira​

Difficulty: High​

"I am searching for someone who can escort me to the Krone Pass Checkpoint. Please see me at the Friend Hotel ASAP."​

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New Ansel Path Monster​

Term: Medium​

Client: Bracer Guild​

Pay: 1500 Mira​

Difficulty: Medium​

"A ferocious monster known as an Amber Turtle has been spotted roving New Ansel Path. Bracers from this branch are requested to deal with this threat immediately."​

Side Job: New Ansel Path Monster

Once again, these 'kill a monster for me please' quests are very simplistic - in this case we're asked to take on an Amber Turtle, a creature which is just a common mob inside the Amberl Tower, not even actually a boss. Here, though, we'll have to contend with six of them at once! This basically means that relying on AOE attacks and fire-based arts is the obvious way to go. Since we don't have a tagalong this time, it's actually a lot easier to handle this fight - there's no risk of knocking out an NPC and instantly failing here!​

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For this task we get 1500 mira and 5 BP - not too shabby!​

Side Job: Escort Request

There's a reason I did this task second… You know how I just mentioned dealing with a pesky escort NPC in the back? Yeah… We can find Mr. Hardt in one of the hotel rooms, and he's surprised we saw his request on the bulletin board. Ah, we finally came, huh? He's been waiting around here forever! He needs to get to Ruan ASAP, so he's looking for an escort to take him to the Krone Pass. Can we handle that? While this is a somewhat treacherous road, we agree to take him along. Hardt is glad - we're his saviors! He hears the mountain trail has a lot of monsters, so he's too scared to walk it alone… Estelle wonders what he'll do after reaching the checkpoint, but Hardt assures us the guild will handle that too. A bracer from the Ruan branch is coming to meet him there at the checkpoint to take him the rest of the way.​

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Joshua wonders if everyone's ready to go, then? Scherazard cuts in and suggests we should meet up somewhere else later, since we still need to prepare for the trip. It's fine by Hardt - he'll be waiting for us at the west gate, so once we're ready we should come find him. After he walks out, Joshua muses that to reach the west gate we should leave town by the mayor's residence. Schera and Joshua say we should get to work! With no real other duties right now, I just walk straight there and speak to Hard to get started. We're good to go, and Hardt has also prepared for the journey - he'll leave the rest up to us from here on out. Schera warns us it's pretty far, so we should not get careless along the way…​

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Schera wasn't kidding - first you have to traverse the entire West Bose Highway, past the path leading to Ravennue Village, only to eventually reach the Krone Trail, which is considerably more treacherous than the path so far. This is mostly because the area is full of pretty tight corners and lots of weird cul-de-sacs with monsters in them, so you have to dodge and weave more than usual. With four people in the party that's not an easy proposition, and getting ambushed with an NPC in the party is a pretty dangerous scenario since that guy can not take many hits before croaking. Save-scumming is pretty useful here, though I didn't end up needing it for the actual trek up towards the Krone Pass. I somehow dodged all the mobs this time around…​

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Towards the western side of the Krone Trail we walk across a rickety wooden bridge, only for Estelle to pause. Huh…? What was that? She could have sworn something moved…​

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Sure enough, a quartet of large sheep-monsters roll their way off the mountainside and into our path! Joshua wonders if this is an ambush…? Two more sheep drop down behind us, confirming that. Hardt worries about what we're going to do now that we're surrounded, but Schera promises we've got him covered. Estelle muses that there's monsters in the front and the rear now, so it's time to…​

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We can pick between charging onwards through the front or protecting the rear. Charging is much more up Estelle's alley, I feel, so we take on the larger group of weird sheep first, to get those out of the way. Schera immediately confirms that's a good call, since it could be dangerous to get split up.​

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[Boss: Creepy Sheep*4]​

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The sheep are not too terribly difficult, but you have to watch that Hardt stays safe back there. After the first batch of sheep go down we quickly dash to the far side of the bridge, then turn around. Schera warns us that there's only a few left now, but we shouldn't get careless. Surprisingly, the smaller group in the back is the exact same size in combat, leading to a fight with four more sheep. The approach here is identical to before, since it's the same exact encounter repeated. At least we've already got practice, right?​

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When the last sheep dies, Estelle lets out a sigh of relief, and Joshua and Schera say that somehow we managed to get them all… Hardt is amazed, and says we really saved his hide there! Scherazard smiles and reminds him she told him everything was going to be alright, didn't she? Hardt can't believe we came out of this in one non-bloody piece… Bracers are something else! It was amazing how we took care of those monsters like that. Estelle twirls her staff proudly and says that when it comes to her skill with a staff, it's all over for these monsters! How about she give a free performance while she's at it?​

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Schera just tells her we'll have to pass - but maybe another day? Let's clear out of here quickly, since we could get attacked by monsters again if we stay much longer. Hardt is fully in favor of leaving pronto, and repeats to himself: 'I will not be a monster snack, I will not be a monster snack…' Estelle is a bit put out by everyone just hurrying her along, but Schera assures her the checkpoint is up ahead, so we should be extra careful until we arrive there.​

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We're only a stone's throw away from Krone Pass, where Hardt is glad we've finally made it. Estelle comments that it was a pretty rough climb, huh? Joshua says at least we can breathe easy now… Scherazard mentions that Hardt's escort from Ruan should be here any time now. Speak of the devil, look who's here! A brown-haired bracer, Melvin, compliments our work and introduces himself as a junior bracer registered with the Ruan branch. Schera compliments him on his own good work - we'll be transferring our client into his care from here. He should make sure Hardt makes it to Ruan safely. Melvin promises he'll do that, and asks Hardt to follow him - he'll get him where he needs to go! Hardt looks at the wired kid and wonders how much coffee he's had? Eh, whatever, he'll count on the kid to get him where he needs to be.​

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After we all say our goodbyes and wave the two off, Estelle comments that this Melvin guy was really over the top energy-wise. Joshua muses that he mentioned being a junior bracer, right? That means he's a trainee just like us, working out of a branch. Schera confirms we're not the only ones - all junior bracers do that. They're working hard to become senior bracers. Estelle muses that it looks like she's going to have to work harder.Joshua agrees that it wouldn't be right of us to just rely on Schera all the time. Scherazard is pleased that meeting Melvin stimulated our motivation a bit. For now, how about we head back to the guild and report in?​

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For completing the task we get 1200 mira and 5 BP. Seems charging through the front of the sheep line gave us a little extra over the usual rewards.​

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Ravennue Village Mission

We head up the Ravennue Trail, retracing our steps from that monster-hunt we got in the first batch of sidequests. On our way over, though, a red-haired guy meets us from the other direction and recognizes Scherazard - it's another one of her bracer colleagues. He muses this is an unlikely place to run into the 'Silver Streak', and Schera says that she can say the same about him. She thought he was in the Royal City! Is he here to look into the airliner incident, then?

The redhead says he's just here on some chump errands, but speaking of that incident… he heard it's the work of sky bandits. If we're on the job, he guesses he doesn't have to worry about that himself… Schera remarks that he must have heard about Cassius being taken hostage, right? The red-haired guy thinks that's hilarious, actually - Cassius Bright taken hostage? Don't make him laugh! That old man's not going to get beaten by the likes of some sky bandits! Anybody saying that is severely mistaken! Schera says she'd like to believe that too… Estelle and Johua wonder who this guy is, but figure he fits the mold for a bracer…

Red-haired guy wonders who the two of us are, tagging along behind Scherazard. Looks like a couple of newbies to him! Schera laughs and says he'll surely be surprised to learn that these brats… are Cassius' kids! The redhead is shocked - so we're the old man's children, huh? Hard to believe… He walks closer and inspects Estelle, who wonders why he's looking at us like that…?! The redhead muses that the boy with the black hair is one thing, but the girl really looks like an amateur. Is she really Cassius' daughter? Estelle testily wonders if he wants to try saying that again with her staff in his teeth? Joshua affirms that Estelle is the bona fide daughter of Cassius Bright, and her bite is as good as her bark… He describes himself as 'just his adopted son.'



Red-haired guy takes that in, then decides it doesn't really matter, much to Estelle's frustration. He turns to Schera and tells her to take it easy, and not to let these brats drag her down! Schera just tells him not to rush into any trouble himself, either. He agrees, laughing it off, and then asks if she was the one who took care of that monster near the mine? Schera confirms that it was us, but the guy dismissively says he doubts any number of trainees would have made much difference, so Schera is the one who gets the credit. Anyay, good luck on that bandit search! As he takes off, Estelle wonders what was with that guy? He really pisses her off!

Joshua recognized him, stating he's 'Heavy Blade Agate'. Estelle thinks that's a stupid name… Schera explains his full name is Agate Crosner, and he's a senior bracer in the guild who works in all regions and isn't affiliated with any specific branch. His massive blade is said to be capable of slicing monsters in two with a single slash… He's one tough customer! Estelle scoffs at that. Whatever! She doesn't care how tough he is, he's still a rude jerk! How does he know our dad, anyway? Joshua observes that Agate seems to think highly of dad's ability, but even so he didn't seem to like him all that much. Schera says there are a number of things in his past she can't get into, and those things are the reason why he feels that way about Cassius. Estelle doesn't care about someone rude like that, and says we should just keep heading towards Ravennue Village…

As we enter town proper, Schera concludes that we should see what we can find out about the sighting. Estelle wonders if we should just go talk with all the villagers? What does she suggest? (Guess she didn't learn that much, huh?)



Joshua thinks that would be suspicious of us if we did that all of a sudden, so he thinks we should talk to the village elder first and see what he has to say about it. Naturally, I speak to everyone else first.

Spoiler: Ravennue Exploration - Second Visit

Fran wonders if we're visitors? If we're looking for the village elder's house, it's just up that hill in the back of the village. Vince mentions that Lewy hasn't come over recently, and wonders if something happened…? Inside the item shop, Emile says the village lies close to the border, and was one of the first places to be occupied during the war. There were so many victims back then, and the deep wounds in peoples' hearts still have yet to heal over.

At the inn, Apple says she'd like to recommend the squeezed juice in the bar on the second floor. We should give it a try if we like! Upstairs, Limon welcomes us to her bar and says if we're here for a drink, she recommends we try their various types of fruit wines! The ingredients here are the freshest and finest in all of Liberl. Schera says that sounds great, but if she doesn't mind her asking, this place wasn't around before, was it? Limon confirms that it was opened just recently, so she hopes we'll come to visit often! Schera asks for a recommendation, and Limon notes the pomegranate wine and apricot tart set is delightful! Estelle dryly suggests we should be investigating things first, but Schera says that's what she's doing… Speaking with local residents can net us some information as well. We don't need to be in such a hurry… Estelle wonders if she's really serious about what she says, and Joshua laughs at that. Who knows? Whenever it comes to her and alcohol, her credibility isn't that great…



In one of the houses, Orange says that if we're looking for her husband, he's always in the orchard. Even when she calls him for meals, he ends up coming an hour later, and the food has long since gone cold. In another house, Figaro wonders if we've visited the grave site in this village? The large tombstone is dedicated to the victims who died in the Hundred Days War. Even today, he still sees that horrific scene sometimes in his dreams…

Down by the orchard, Gray mentions he's been growing fruit here ever since the village was alive with its mining industry. When it comes to growing delicious fruit, he has no equal in this village. Melony says her husband Pesca is really dedicated to his research, and he works by day in the orchard while researching various means of cultivation by night. Pesca says he moved to this village a number of years ago because he wanted to be an orchard farmer, and even purchased a new set of orbal farming equipment which he's been studying how to use all his life. He's going to grow and produce more fruit than anyone else!



Lore mentions he's actually looking to get out of the orchard business and start again as a merchant in Bose. There are still a number of problems hanging over the village, though, and if they can't find a way to resolve them, he just won't be able to leave with a clear conscience. That's why his wife and son have gone ahead to Bose without him. At the pier, Lewey sniffled that nobody believes him…

At the elder's house, Birnette recalls the heat of the flames burning flesh and the charred smell of blackened bones amidst the screams and cries of the villagers and their children… No matter how many years pass, the terrible events of the war remain ingrained in her mind. If he'd let her know he was coming, she could have cleaned up the house for him. (...Is she talking about Agate, maybe?)

Speaking to Elder Reisen in his home, he wonders what brings us here today? Here for a visit? Schera explains that we're here on business… Although, if it's possible, she'd really like a glass of the fruit wine! The elder chuckles, and says things in the world never go like you expect, huh? He never got a chance to ask until now, but Schera doesn't happen to be one of Agate's companions, right? Scherazard explains that we're all members of the same guild, but we're not companions exactly. We know him by face, that's about it. The elder muses that he's traveling by himself as usual, huh? He closes his eyes for a moment as a look of sadness passes over his aged features. Estelle is confused, but the elder says it's nothing - pardon his expression. (This is Agate's dad, I'm gonna guess.)



Anyway, he quickly changes topics and wonders what brings us here, then? There's not another dangerous monster that's shown up in the area, right? Joshua says that's not it. We're actually in the middle of an investigation concerning the missing airliner. We came here because we heard there was a sighting of some kind of flying object. The elder notes that the Royal Army came by and investigated the other day, searched the area, and left empty-handed. Estelle wonders what happened with the person who saw the flying silhouette in the sky? The elder explains it's actually one of the children in the village, a boy named Lewey. He apparently saw some suspicious shadow making its way across the sky on the night of the incident… He's a kid any way you think about it, so he may just have imagined the whole thing while he was half-asleep…

Estelle questions that conclusion, while Joshua suggests the best thing to do is to just ask him directly. Estelle thinks that's fair, and thanks the elder for his assistance. The old man waves it off, and says that if there's anything else he can help us with, we shouldn't hesitate to ask. Lewey should be somewhere here in the village. It's rather small, so he's sure we'll be able to find him without any trouble.

Lewey can be found on the far eastern side of town, on a small pier over a small inland lake. He doesn't seem to recognize us - hasn't seen us around here before, at least. Are we merchants here to buy fruit? Estelle explains we're actually here for a different reason - in fact, we're bracers! Lewey wonders if we're like Agate, then? He's not sure, Estelle doesn't look all that strong to him… especially 'cause she's a girl! Estelle sighs, and tells him to say what he really feels… After seeing her great skill with the staff, though, can he still call her weak?! Estelle does a dramatic spin, and Lewey is amazed - it's like a tornado! Estelle smugly declares that he has hopefully learned his lesson that looks can be deceiving! She proposes another demonstration, but Joshua cuts in and reminds her she hit herself in the face just yesterday doing these tricks…



Joshua turns to Lewey and confirms that we're dealing with the right kid, explaining that we heard about him from the village elder. He said Lewey saw some kind of flying shadow…? Could he tell us a little bit more about what he saw that night? Lewey points out that the soldiers from the army already searched the place and didn't find anything… Joshua says we're not worried about that, it's fine - could he just stick to what he saw? In as much detail as he can remember, please. Lewey nervously agrees, and explains that sometimes he likes watching the stars at night. So he often sneaks out of his house to come out here and look at the night sky. The other night when he was out here, though, he saw two shadows moving across the sky…

Estelle pauses him there. Hold on now, two shadows? Lewey confirms that's what he saw, and that they were different sizes, too - kind of like a mom leading a kid. Estelle muses about two differently sized shadows, while Scherazard states that this is consistent with an airliner and the sky bandit airship, if you think about it. Joshua agrees that the aircraft we ran across in the woods in Rolent was definitely smaller than a typical airliner. Lewey explains that the shadows kept flying north until he couldn't see them anymore. Schera points out there's a trail that continues northwards behind the village which leads to an old Septium mine which was abandoned some time ago.

Lewey explains that the soldiers supposedly searched that trail, but they didn't come up with anything… That's why they said he must have been dreaming. Then they laughed at him like he didn't know what he was talking about! Tears spring into the boy's eyes, but Estelle quickly reprimands him - he's a boy, right? Boys don't cry! Anyway, we don't think he's telling a lie, and we're going to prove it! Just leave it to us! So no more crying, okay?



Lewey says Estelle is actually a really nice person… Schera and Joshua muse that as ever, Estelle's got a knack with the kids… Maybe it's a virtue? Estelle just wonders why they're looking at her like that? Joshua says we should focus on the task at hand - we've got stuff to do. Let's follow the trail behind the village and see what we can find!

Spoiler: Ravennue Exploration - Post-Lewey

Fran muses that she thinks it's just like he says… She's heard that when their fathers were children, there was a dragon still around here somewhere. She'd love to see a dragon for real, even if only just one time. Vince says it's partly Lewey's own fault that people don't believe him. When he first talked about seeing some suspicious silhouettes, he said he thought they were dragons! Dragons are creatures from ancient times, right? So saying something like that is not going to help believability…



Item shop owner Emile mentions that even young children were victims of the Hundred Days War… At the elder's hut, Birnette says it's a daily routine for her and her husband to pay their respects to the deceased. They don't ever want those who lost their lives during the war to feel that they've been forgotten. Elder Reisen muses that the silhouette that Lewey saw flying in the sky… He wonders if it could be 'him'...? No, it couldn't be… it's been decades since anyone last saw him…

Apple comments that when it becomes the right reason, people can come and experience picking fresh fruit from the trees here. Estelle is pleased - did Joshua hear that? We can come and pick fruit! Could we come here again sometime so we can gorge ourselves on all the good stuff? Joshua figures she'd say something like that.. Anyway, it seems a little early for that. Apple agrees that it'll still be a few months before the fruit is ripe. Estelle sighs - why would she say something like that? She got all excited for nothing… Well, let's go back when it's picking season, alright? Joshua points out that she said the same thing about shopping in Bose. Upstairs, Limon wonders if she should increase the number of dishes that use fruit in them - she'll have to discuss it with Apple later.



Orange says her husband Gray is stiff as a board and stuck in his ways. In fact, he may just be stuck in his old ways until the day he dies. It seems like recently he has had a difference of opinion with one of the young men in the village… Figaro wonders if Lewy is still off crying somewhere by himself? He said something about a shadow flying through the air the other night, but any normal person would think he mistook an animal for what he saw!

Lore mentions that Gray and Pesca were at each others' throats again today. There are a number of things that Gray is unwilling to budge on. Gray complains that these youngins' ways of cultivation are nothing less than crude. Thinking only about production instead of quality of taste! It's utterly deplorable in every sense of the word… Pesca says that Gray thinks the only reason why he wants to use machines is so he can be lazy. He completely misunderstands him. Melony agrees that it's as her husband says, Gray just misunderstands them. She thinks that if they had a chance to really sit down and talk to him, he would understand where they're coming from…

We've already explored behind the town during an earlier sidequest, so all that's needed here is just to retrace our steps to the far northwest and find the entrance to the local mine, heavily padlocked and inaccessible. Inspecting the lock, Joshua confirms this leads to the abandoned mine, and Estelle comments that it kind of reminds her of the Malga Mine, except for the fact that it's all deserted. Scherazard agrees that it seems to have been abandoned quite some time ago as the padlock and chain are rusted, and it doesn't seem to have been opened recently. Joshua concludes that there's no possibility the sky bandits entered through here, then, and wonders if that's why the army never investigated this place?



Estelle guesses you're probably not going to find clues searching around in some old mine, that's for sure… She suddenly pauses, and Schera asks what's going on? Estelle asks if she's imagining things, but… does she feel any air flowing out from here? Joshua gets closer to investigate, wetting the tip of his index finger and holding it out, and confirms Estelle's perception - it's subtle, but there's air flowing out of the mine. Schera comments that sometimes Estelle's senses are surprisingly sharp. Maybe she got that from her father?

Estelle declares her dad doesn't have anything to do with it! Never mind that, though, aren't the others more interested in what's inside the mine, now? It has to connect to somewhere, so it's probably worth checking out… Estelle proposes busting the lock off, but Schera tells her not to even think about doing that! For now, she suggests, we'd better head back to the village and talk with the elder, as he might have the key. Estelle huffs and says Schera is no fun at all.

After retracing our steps to the village, we discover the elder isn't in his house - his wife Birnette mentions that if we're looking for her husband, it's currently the time of day when he's up at the grave site on the hill, saying his prayers for the deceased.

Spoiler: Ravennue Exploration - Post-Mine

Upstairs at the inn we can discover Anelace at the bar, who greets Scherazard. She wonders if Schera is here on a job with the guild, too? Seems they're all bogged down with work, huh? One more thing, she says - we should be wary, since the region has become really dangerous lately.



Limon mentions she started this inn with her childhood friend Apple, and of course she was the one to invite her to join in this venture. Apple is a bit of an introvert so Limon wasn't sure she'd be up for it, but she was surprisingly eager to give it a shot. Apple admits she may be a bit shy, but she loves doing this job. They get people from all over with interesting stories about the world, and it makes her feel all warm and tingly inside hearing them. She's so happy when someone who stayed here before comes back again…

Outside, Lewey wonders if we found out anything? Estelle admits we can't be sure yet, but she doesn't think the thing he saw was a dream. She promises we're going to do a little more investigating, so he should give us a little longer to see what we come up with. He wishes us luck! Vince heard this from Lewey, so he asks us not to be mad if he's wrong, but are we really from the Bracer Guild? That's awesome! So even girls can be bracers too, huh? He always thought you couldn't be a bracer unless you were tough like Agate. Fran wonders what Vince's new theory is now…? This is the time for women to shine! Even Lore's wife is the queen of the house, and for heaven's sake they even have Her Majesty the Queen! In the item shop, Emile says he had his own store in the Bose Market at one time, but feels more comfortable in his hometown. Unfortunately this place is out of the way, and sometimes it's difficult to get products in stock. Still, he has fond memories of Bose, and what he learned there…

Orange says that she doesn't think her husband Gray is wrong in his opinions, because the fact is that he grows the most delicious fruit in the entire village. That said, she doesn't think it would hurt to try accepting new ways of growing fruit. Figaro comments that Lewy seems to be rather upset, and wonders what's wrong…? Gray grumbles that Pesca relies too much on those orbment-run machines. Look at what it's brought him: fruit that tastes much less delicious than his! He just doesn't know how he feels about shipping out something like that from Ravennue Village… Lore says he gets what Gray is trying to say, but he thinks Pesca has the best idea. He thinks they should sit down and discuss this, since it's really important to the whole village.

Pesca comments that it's not like he wants to turn everything into a mechanized civilization...



Orchard cultivation is difficult to do with machines anyway, so even if they used orbal machines to help out, a large portion of the work would still rely on doing things by hand. As it stands, there's not enough people here in the village to do everything manually… That's why he thinks they should use machines where they need them. He's tried to discuss that with Gray on multiple occasions. His wife Melony says she really loves raising fruit herself, so she's glad that she came along with her husband. It's been a while coming, but gradually they've been able to confide in the other villagers. Gray is someone they've never been able to get close to, though…

At the back of the village we can find the graveyard, dominated by one huge headstone. Elder Reisen is paying his respects there. Schera comments that it seems a rather extravagant grave for a small village like this, and the elder explains that it was erected to mourn all those souls the village lost ten years ago. Since the Bose region is nearest to the Empire, it was in the thick of the fray and this village lost a number of good people in the hostilities.



Estelle morosely says that's terrible, but the elder says there's no need for her to get somber too. These days, he explains, cleaning this monument is just one of his daily routines. He guesses we wouldn't have come up here to find him if there wasn't something we needed his help with, right? Estelle confirms there is something, but before that… would he mind if we paid our respects as well? Joshua says we don't have any flowers to give, but we can at least offer up a prayer. The elder says he's sure all those looking down from above would be overjoyed by the gesture…

Later, we pick back up in the elder's home, where we've already informed him of our visit to the old mine, and that we think there might be some clues inside. The man acknowledges that he at least knows for sure that the soldiers never went in. Estelle explains that after hearing Lewey's story, it got her thinking - she'd like to check the place out just in case, so would he mind lending us the key to the entrance? The elder muses about the key to the padlock, then hobbles over to a cupboard and rummages through - he swore he left it here somewhere. Ah, yeah, there it is! Estelle comments that the key looks ancient, then thanks the elder, and Joshua chimes in with the same. The elder says we shouldn't mention it - they're always indebted to the Bracer Guild for their help, so it's only natural to return the favor. Schera thanks him, and says if only everyone we dealt with were as cooperative, it would make our lives a lot easier. We promise to let him know of any developments, then go on our way.



If we speak to her before we leave, Birnette explains that when the mine was in use, the village enjoyed a period of economic growth. In fact, this place was so lively with miners and merchants that you could have almost called it a small city instead of a town! Following the war, though, this place became quite lonely... Elder Reisen hopes we manage to find what we're looking for in that mine.

Next: Let's delve into the mine proper, and see what's hidden there...

 

[Roarian]

Sky Bandits in the Abandoned Mine

Heading back up the trail towards the mine, we can now try the key on that big padlock, and sure enough the entrance swings open. Whew, that's one heavy gate! Joshua wants to head inside, but Schera warns that she's not sure about sky bandits, but she can definitely sense monsters in there. Walking inside we spot… crabs. Between Malga Mine and this place, what's up with the subterranean crab population in this land, exactly? Anyway, the cavern is large but also very empty. Some directions lead to nothing but long looping hallways full of crabs… and nothing else. Good for grinding, I guess, but not much else. These 'Murder Crabs' are weak to basically every element and can also summon more buddies into battle, so they are clearly a way to bulk up before the inevitable boss fight.



Speaking of which, heading westwards inside this cavern leads you to a large outside area rather quickly - honestly I expected at least some dungeon, but the intended path is very short. Estelle complains that it's bright in here, before spotting something with amazement. Hey, isn't that the…?! Joshua hushes her quickly, while Schera whispers that it looks like we've hit the jackpot!

The camera shifts to reveal that this large secluded area inside the mining complex is currently taken up by two airships - the sky bandit one we saw in the Mistwald, and the airliner Linde! It has had most of its cargo removed and scattered around the vehicle. Near the center of the area stand a quartet of sky bandits and their blue-haired leader, the guy who picked up Josette. The blue-haired guy, Kyle, tells his minions to forget about the heavy things and focus on the food provisions and valuables. And they should hurry up, yeah? It's only a matter of time before someone finds this place. The four bandits shout 'Roger that!'



Estelle wonders what an airliner is doing in a place like this? Guess that kid wasn't seeing things after all… Schera concludes this was an area that used to be used for strip mining, and it turns out to be great for hiding something of this size. Joshua agrees that nobody would have thought to look here! He observes that the bandits are loading airliner cargo into their own ship… Estelle says we should worry about that later. For now, we should figure out a way to bag these guys before they get away again!

The camera shifts back again, and Kyle comments that this is their third trip already - man, Don can be a real slave-driver sometimes. Oh well, once this is all taken care of, they'll be able to sit back and negotiate a nice, fat ransom… That's when Estelle jumps into frame and tells him to hold it right there! She then dramatically declares that the scorching flames of justice shall never fade away as long as evil thrives in this world… The League of Extraordinary Bracers has arrived! Everyone just pauses for a moment, and Schera calls her a bonehead who always gets carried away. Estelle nervously wonders what's with the others? Now she just looks like a big fool for saying that stuff all alone!



Kyle recognizes us as the ones Josette had a run-in with back in Rolent. This can't be right - we're not supposed to be here this early! Estelle wonders what the hell he means by that. What is he talking about? Schera announces that in accordance with the laws of the Bracer Guild, the bandits are hereby under arrest and charged with the hijacking of an airliner and its passengers. He hopes for their sake they'll come quietly… Kyle tells us to hold on a minute, and asks if we're trying to tell him only the three of us came here to arrest them? Estelle wonders if the bandit boy sees anyone else around? Kyle concludes we're not involved with the others then - that simplifies things. He commands his subordinates to attack alongside him. Let's get them, boys!

[Boss: Kyle Capua, Sky Bandit x4]


This is honestly an easier fight than the one against Josette in my experience, because I knew what was coming (sort of.) Just like before the regular foot soldiers can poison people, but that's something you can plan for. Kyle himself is pretty weak to pretty much all magic, but he has an AoE bomb attack which can blind people, though it needs to charge up - which means you can use some abilities to impede him and break his concentration. By this point both Aerial and the Hell Gate attacks are pretty good for whittling down the crowd. Compared to some of the sidequest bosses, this is peanuts.

After taking Kyle down, he admits we're tougher than he thought, so it's no wonder Josette got beaten by the three of us. Estelle smugly says that sweet-talk won't get him anywhere, buddy! It's time to surrender and let those passengers go! Kyle laughs - we really don't know anything, do we? What was it we called ourselves? The League of the Exceptionally Dim or something? Estelle wonders if he's really making fun of her awesome team name? He's dead! Kyle grabs for something in his pocket, and Joshua warns the others to look out! Kyle then detonates a smoke grenade at his feet and blocks out our sight… you gotta be kidding me! From somewhere in the blank nothing Kyle laughs, and shouts that it's too bad the rest of the cargo will have to stay here, but they'll just have to live without it.



The smaller airship takes off, while our party coughs and gags from the smoke - some of it got in our eyes! Thankfully it's not poisonous, Joshua concludes, just a typical smoke canister. Schera scans the skies, but the airship is already out of sight. This is really getting old - it's not once but twice now that these bandits have gotten away! If she gets demoted for this at the guild, there's not much she can say in her defense… Estelle tells her to quit acting like it's all her fault. Joshua agrees that we're responsible as well. If we've got the time to kick ourselves over this, though then there's got to be something more constructive we can do. Schera comments that he sounds like a senior bracer already - well, at least we were able to take back the airliner, so how about we have a look? The passengers may be inside.

The rather enormous Linde is now open for exploration, its side hatch open while numerous large cargo containers are stacked up outside, presumably looted for supplies already.



Estelle comments that it's pretty bare inside, since all the cargo has already been removed. Joshua guesses the bandits made off with it all, judging by the looks of things. Schera decides we should still do a thorough investigation of the place. Just inside we can find a forklift, just like the ones used at the landing port, which was probably used to move the cargo around. We can also find an orbal engine control panel nearby, and Schera notes that it seems the flow of orbal energy has completely stopped…

One level up, at the front of the ship, we can find the captain's seat up on the bridge. Estelle says if these were any other circumstances, she'd love to sit there. Joshua warns her not to even think about it. We can also interact with the steering wheel, used to pilot the ship. Where did the pilot go…? Another level up there's a passenger lounge at the front, where a lot of light is streaming into the ship. There's a poor potted plant in there which looks like it's not gonna make it. Estelle calls the bandits 'a bunch'a plant murderers!' beyond that we can look around outside and around the top passenger level, but the place is entirely deserted.



At some point, when exiting a door to the outside deck on the top floor, Estelle concludes that we checked over the entire Linde, but it looks like there's nobody inside. Joshua says there's a high possibility that the passengers were transferred to the sky bandits' airship, and then to wherever their hideout is. Estelle says this sucks - right when she thought we had some clues, we're back to zero! Scherazard tells her to cheer up already - it's not like every clue has completely vanished. Why did the sky bandits hide the airliner in a place like this, she asks? As far as she can tell, the orbal energy in the ship has completely stopped, which means the engine was stripped from the aircraft. Orbal energy in an orbment gradually recharges over time, so there should be some. Furthermore, the sky bandits made multiple trips to carry off a large amount of cargo. Considering the time and risk involved, doesn't it seem like it would have been more effective to just take the entire airliner to their hideout…?

Estelle admits that does seem a little odd. So, why did they hide the airliner here, then? All she can think of is… We get a choice here between motivations: we can guess they did it to sort the cargo, to move the hostages onto their own ship, to steal the orbal engine, to keep clear of the search party… or to ditch the Linde entirely, because their hideout is somewhere weird. That last one stands out as the only one that's really an explanation rather than just repeating what we already knew, and Schera agrees that we got it exactly right. Schera's guess is that the bandits are hidden in a slightly peculiar place, maybe only 10 to 15 arge in size, where only a small airship like the bandits' own could feasibly land. Joshua wonders if it might be in terrain covered in extreme differences in height, like mountains and ravines? Schera agrees that she's been thinking the same. Still, if that's the case, we may be unable to do anything else, since there is the possibility that they're in a place we can't reach by foot…



Estelle wonders what we can do, then? Schera says she hates to admit it, but we may have to share our conclusion with the army, and ask for their cooperation, since they're the one with patrol ships. Estelle angrily wonders if she's trying to tell us we should go crawling back to the army and ask them for help?! Joshua points out that either way we should inform them about our discovery of the airliner. Personally speaking, he still thinks we should cooperate, whatever their attitude may be, if it helps bring the hostages back safe and sound. Estelle admits he may be right. This isn't the time and place to let her personal feelings get the best of her. Schera says that for the time being we should return to the guild and report our findings to Lugran. We should be able to contact Haken Gate if we use the orbal telephone there.

Heading back through the ship and exiting through the side of the vessel, though, we are suddenly faced with new… visitors. A contingent of army troops await us just outside the doors. What the heck? Joshua admits he didn't expect this - great. Schera wonders if we should be glad, since they've saved us the trouble of having to contact them…?



It's revealed that an army patrol vessel landed nearby, and a royal army officer steps up and declares that they've found a suspicious armed group - us! We should put our hands in the air! What's this world coming to? A woman and two kids are the sky bandits…? Though that girl does look shifty… Estelle remarks that's just rude - and who are they calling sky bandits?! Can't they see the shiny emblems on their chests? An old man's voice recognizes the bracer emblem, but says he hopes we don't think for a moment something like that proves our innocence! General Morgan then reveals himself and steps in front of his army contingent…

General Morgan explains that after looking over the reports of his men, he found this place to have been insufficiently investigated, so he came to see for himself… Who would have thought we were conspiring with the sky bandits? Schera asks the general to stop with the accusations - we simply managed to find this place one step ahead of his men. Morgan asks, if that's the truth, where exactly the sky bandits are? Are the hostages in the airliner? Joshua admits we almost had the bandits, but they managed to escape, and there are no hostages to be found here. Morgan scoffs - looks like the truth has come out. Most likely we notified the sky bandits to let them know the army was coming! Estelle shouts that he should wait a minute, and cut with the crap! Morgan shouts back that these are his thoughts exactly! He then commands his men to take us into custody…

Prisoners of the Law

The camera fades back in to reveal Haken Gate - we've been put into the prisons beneath the base, previously accessible but empty. A royal army soldier says the general will be questioning us himself on the morrow, and if our innocence is proven we'll be released in two or three days. For the time being, this cell will give us a place to cool our heels. After the soldiers leave, Estelle sighs - this isn't even funny. Tossing us in a place like this without even listening to a word we have to say…



Joshua muses that if the army managed to arrest the sky bandits, then he's sure we'd have our names cleared, but with the way things are at the moment, that may not be possible. We remember what the sky bandit leader we fought said, right? He mentioned that we weren't supposed to be there so early, if Joshua remembers right. Estelle asks if he meant the army by that? Joshua's not sure, but he would bet that's what it meant. Schera concludes that means the bandits have a mole in the army, or a collaborator who is leaking information. Estelle guesses that if that's the case, they'll never get caught. We're the only ones who stood a chance of nabbing them! Schera wonders how our father would get around this little setback…

A voice from the next cell over speaks up - my, my my, don't we all seem to be in a bit of a fix? Estelle at first thinks Joshua was saying something, but he denies it. Schera says it came from the next cell over, and almost sounded familiar. The voice wonders how she could say something so heartless? His lustrous voice should be recognizable to anyone! Estelle asks if that this unfounded self-confidence and tone of absurd narcissism could belong to…? Scherazard recognizes it must be Olivier! The camera shifts to reveal him, and Olivier is glad we do recognize his dulcet chords. To think we'd meet again in a place like this! Seems we are bound by destiny… Estelle asks why he's here? Wasn't he in Bose? And yet now he's locked up in a place like this? What the heck did he do?



Olivier tells us not to worry about the little details. He's got his reasons, which are deeper than the deepest oceans and higher than the highest peak! Estelle resolves that she's definitely not asking now, since she's sure we'd just get tired while he talked our ears off. Joshua admits that it's some coincidence that he happened to be thinking the same thing… Schera confirms we really don't care to know. Olivier talks so much that she'd probably be an old woman by the time he was done, and she's not ready for wrinkles yet! Olivier laughs this off and tells us not to be like that. He'll fill us in on all the details of the tragic incident which befell him. Estelle whispers that we don't want to hear about it - didn't the dummy listen…?

Olivier explains that it all began after we last parted ways. He did some window shopping in the Bose Market and then moved on to the Anterose Restaurant. You see, once he'd heathen to his heart's content, he began to play the grand piano to feed his artistic soul. Upon doing so, the restaurant manager was overcome by his skill, so he was asked to stay and work as the professional pianist for the restaurant. Estelle comments that's great and all, but wasn't he supposed to be a lutist? Olivier dismisses that - a musical genius is not limited to just one instrument. Anyway, back to his story - after negotiating a few of his own conditions, he accepted the job offer. Those conditions were, of course, food and wine for free every day instead of mira. Joshua remarks that it's certainly very Olivier. Yet, he's not sure how that relates to him getting thrown in jail… This, Olivier explains, is where the real sob story begins.



See, that night he'd been enjoying a plate of sauteed duck he'd had the chef prepare… but the blood-sauce which had been used was a little too overbearing for his palate. Consequently, he began to feel that normal red wine was not satisfying enough. Estelle says that the more she hears Olivier talk, the more she wants to hit him… Go on, though - she's curious despite herself.

Olivier explains that he went and borrowed a bottle of wine which seemed good from the cellar. Something called 'Grand Chardonnay' from the year 1183. Schera, booze-hound that she is, recognizes that immediately - that's the legendary vintage wine auctioned off in the Royal City! Olivier says she's well informed. He heard a rumor about it too, so of course he was interested in having a drink for himself. Estelle takes in that it was auctioned off, and wonders how much mira they're talking about here…? Scherazard says that from what she heard, it went for somewhere in the neighborhood of five-hundred thousand mira. Half a million?! For just one bottle? Joshua says that's truly out of this world… Olivier didn't, right? He laughs and admits he opened the bottle and had a sip. Its sweet-smelling fragrance tickled his nostrils, its luxurious mellow taste caressed his throat, and can you believe what else? A rose-tinted vignette of time and space existed within that very bottle… Estelle can't listen to this any longer, and Joshua admits his ears are bleeding from listening to such stupidity… Schera is dumbfounded too.



Oliver continues, explaining that the sad thing is that after taking a sip of such excellent wine, he began to feel the food was lacking. While he was having the chef cook him up something else to match the wine, the restaurant manager returned. Since he's not a stingy fellow, he cordially invited him to join for a drink. For some odd reason, though, he got rather upset. In fact, he got so steaming mad that his face looked like a ripe tomato. Before he could say another word a group of soldiers came filing in, and one thing led to another… He can't say another word about this tragedy of being dragged all the way here without coming to tears. Let us all weep together as we sympathize with his dilemma…

What Olivier hears back is just Estelle and the others snoring - though Schera still manages to call him an idiot in her sleep. He kept going until deep into the night… He wonders if his ears deceive him? He could have sworn he heard a 'zzz' and 'zzzz' and even an assuredly misheard 'idiot' coming from the other cell. Are they listening? Because this is where the story gets really interesting! See, several further trails awaited Olivier after he was brought here. Hello, is anyone still listening…?



The next morning, a royal army officer knocks on the cell door to wake up our trio. Estelle yawns, while Joshua wonders what's wrong? Schera asks if we're really being interrogated this early in the morning…? It's a little early even for her! The soldier says it's the opposite, actually - we're being released. Estelle is confused - why are we free, all of a sudden? Is there a reason? A woman's voice from off-screen says she'd like to consider herself that reason. It's Mayor Maybelle! Schera admits this is an unusual place to be meeting her! Maybell is really sorry about everything that's happened to us, but assures us our names have been cleared.



General Morgan is also there, and gruffly states that he doesn't completely agree with everything, but this is a request from Maybelle herself, so we'd better remember to thank her. Estelle wonders if the mayor stood up on our behalf, then? Maybelle says that's not exactly it. She just explained our situation to the general. 'Our situation…?' Estelle wonders. Morgan has one question for Estelle and Joshua - are we really the children of Cassius Bright? Estelle is caught off guard, but Joshua confirms that she's Cassius' daughter, and he's his adopted son. Morgan admits that now that we mention it, Estelle does slightly resemble Lena. Estelle is astounded that Morgan knew her mother! Morgan says he enjoyed Lena's cooking on several occasions when he visited our home in Rolent. In fact, he even met Estelle once when she was just a baby!

Estelle is amazed - hold on, General Morgan is a personal acquaintance of her dad's? She knew he used to be in the military before, but… General Morgan says he doesn't know Cassius Bright, the bracer - he only knew the one from the service. He was a rare strategist… He just can't imagine what Cassius saw in the Bracer Guild… It makes him angry just thinking about it! We'll have to excuse him! He then runs off, and Estelle wonders what's wrong with him…? Mayor Maybelle laughs and says it seems like our father was a brilliant officer in the military. He's heard from the general that he tried several times to get our father to change his mind about retiring. Estelle didn't know that, and somehow feels that hard to believe… Scherazard guesses that if that's the case, the general's hatred for bracers may stem from Cassius leaving the army. From the vexation of being left by one of his most promising men. Joshua got the same impression.



Estelle muses that what they're saying is that our lives are such a pain because of our dad. That dirty rotten scoundrel! Maybelle chuckles and suggests heading back to Bose now. With the airliner found, the situation has taken a turn, and there are a number of things she'd like to discuss with us. Estelle pauses, then admits that while she's definitely ready to get out of here, she feels like she's forgetting something. Joshua and Schera agree - but what could it be? This is when Olivier pipes up - oh, how callous people can be sometimes! How could we forget about a companion who spent the night with us in a cold, hard cell? How lamentable, how pitiful! He then pulls out his lute and starts strumming it. Estelle concludes he's still there, and Schera admits she completely forgot about him too. Joshua says there's not much we can do for him…

Maybelle asks if this is the musician she heard about, the one who chugged that bottle of Grand Chardonnay without a second thought? Olivier admits that was him. Yet, he declares, he would be heartbroken if such a fair lass would take his intentions the wrong way. For you see, he perceived it as an advance payment for the exquisite services that he was about to render! Maybelle chuckles and says he's quite the interesting character, and says she'll see what she can do to bargain with the general for his release. Olivier is amazed - really, truly? She would do such a kind service for a man such as himself? Estelle thinks that might be asking a bit much, and Schera says that if the restaurant takes this to trial, there's going to at least be a lawsuit. The mayor says there's no need to worry about that - since she's the owner of the restaurant! (Called it!) That Grand Chardonnay was the one she bid on. That being the case, she's fairly confident there won't be any other problems over the matter.

Later, we catch back up with everyone at the mayor's residence, where Estelle still can't believe Olivier was released! Schera says it's like a stroke of bad luck… Olivier himself laughs and asks us to please not lay on the complements so thick. Still, it pains his soul that he partook of such a fine wine without paying a single mira. Shall he play the piano in the restaurant per contract to remedy that? Maybelle says she's going to have to pass on that. After what happened, she thinks it would be a bit awkward having him back there. Estelle whispers that she doubts Olivier would mind a bit, and Johsua agrees that he seems to have some thick skin.



The mayor suggests thinking of this as an unfortunate incident, but Olivier doesn't think he can just let things go like this. He notes that we're investigating something at the moment, right? How about he lends his assistance in return for the wine? Maybelle admits that sounds interesting, and suggests he should help us bracers with our work. Olivier assures her he can do so. It's settled! Let this new working relationship bloom like a magnolia at the height of spring! Estelle wonders what we did to deserve this…? Schera comments that general weirdness aside, simply having an amateur around is honestly going to be a pain. Is he confident he won't be a drag on our work? Or our sanity?

Olivier assures us he's confident in his marksmanship and magic, but of course he'd be distressed if we tried to list his musical genius in the same group. Estelle says that kind of line gets her really worried… Joshua figures we could use an extra hand, though. As long as we can't count on the army to help us out, he has the feeling we'll be short on manpower. Scherazard says it's all right, then - we'll use him for what he's worth. If happen to conclude that he's not worth his weight, though, he'll be dumped from the party. Olivier doesn't mind, and promises he won't let us down. Estelle admits that her expectations of him are pretty much at rock bottom anyway, so she knows he won't let her down.



Maybelle is glad things are settled between us, but has something to tell us. Scherazard admits the town did seem pretty noisy as we were headed here - what's going on? Maybelle explains that truth be told, last night there was a large-scale burglary in Bose's south block. The weapon shop and orbal factory were targeted, as were a number of private residences. Joshua wonders if it was the work of sky bandits, and the mayor says that while that's unknown at this time, it seems highly probable. A unit of the Royal Army is currently conducting an investigation. Schera concludes we'd better do an investigation of our own, then. The Mayor agrees - she'd like to formally request that we do just that. She'll send a payment over to the guild for the work we've done so far, and we should make use of that for the current investigation expenses.

As we head for the door, Estelle comments that she's got a feeling the army is going to get in our way again. Guess when that happens, it happens… Joshua decides that whether they get in our way or not, he doesn't think we should be forthcoming with the army about any information we come across. If there really is a spy in their midst, they'll just leak it to the sky bandits. Schera says that though she's reluctant to say it, she also thinks it's best to keep quiet about our findings. Let's act with prudence. Olivier declares that all-righty, bosom companions, let's head to the south block! Estelle wonders who made him king of the show…?

Next: The mother of all Bose exploration segments, plus some southern burglars!

 

[Roarian]

South Block Burglary!

Right, time to start on our next mission! We head back to the Bracer Guild first, where Lugran is surprised we're back already. We all gave him a big surprise! It was unprecedented to hear that some of this branch's bracers were taken into custody during an investigation! That General Morgan… Scherazard apologizes for making him worry like that, but Lugran waves it off - he's just glad we're all back safe. He was even considering protesting in the Royal City through our main branch! Mayor Maybelle managed to smooth everything out before that could happen, though.

Estelle wonders if it was really such a big deal? Schera tells her to think about it - in the Liberl Kingdom, the Bracer Guild's right to investigate crimes is recognized by law. Therefore, the general's actions would be in direct defiance of the system of rules that governs the kingdom. Lugran is glad things have settled down. At any rate, we should probably just focus on investigating this string of burglaries for now… We'll probably have to deal with the army again, so we should act with prudence. Before we leave, checking the boards here reveals a single new sidequest:

Stolen Ring
Term: Medium
Client: Launa
Pay: 2000 Mira
Difficulty: Low
"I was burglarized the other day, and my Jeweled Ring was found to be among the missing items. It's quite valuable to me, so if anyone happens to find it, please let me know. I live on Bose's South Block."​

Seems like something we'll deal with during our main quest, not something to tackle right now. Before we get into the actual story content, this is also the time to see what a Post-Ravennue Bose looks like. You know, everything north of the South Block, at least. Heading south now locks you into story events which end with everything changing again - because of course it does.

Spoiler: Bose Exploration (Post-Ravennue)

If we speak to Mayor Maybelle before we leave, she says she's got a female friend by the name of Mirano, and her father was on board the airliner that went missing. She's sure there are a lot of other people also worried about family members who still haven't returned. There's a high possibility these burglars and sky bandits may be one and the same, so she hopes this investigation can yield some important information about the group.

Butler Mayner says she's recommended to the mayor that she should take a break from her labors, but she's stated that alleviating the citizens' concerns and bringing back peace to Bose comes first. He couldn't be more happy that Mayor Maybelle has matured into such a fine young woman, but he wishes she would take better care of herself sometimes. Lila heard we had a stroke of bad luck, and the mayor received a message from the Bracer Guild about what happened. Estelle says it was kind of unavoidable, but she's still ashamed to say it happened. Joshua says it was out of control to begin with, and he can't say the Royal Army was necessarily at fault either. Estelle swears that if any of the sky bandits can hear her, they should just wait until she gets her hands on them!



On the streets outside, Elegia says with all the soldiers flooding the south block, there's not much room to do any shopping there. She'd planned to go see some orbment engraving work, but she guesses she'll go to the Bose Market instead. Lucas hopes these burglaries and the missing airliner incident get resolved soon, as nothing good has happened around here for the last several months. Jacob remarks that it's odd so see the border garrison directly involved instead of bracers… Does it have anything to do with those other incidents?

At one of the benches Letta mentions that Fannie wants to dine at the Anterose again, but it's just not a place they can afford all the time. He's going to have to work a part-time job to save up some money. Fannie says that whenever she eats good food she feels so happy - the much-praised food at the Anterose was beyond her wildest expectations so she'd love to indulge herself there at least once a year. Harry tells Mina he's thinking about becoming a merchant and opening his own shop. Mina responds that having a goal is always a good thing, so now all he has to figure out is how to do so. Harry agrees, and Mina promises to help out - within reason. Harry admits this might be the first time she's said anything kind to him…

At the hotel, Barlowe says that in the past employees worked together in an effort to gain customer satisfaction, but the way young kids think these days has sure changed… In one way or another, things often don't go as expected. Dina says she doesn't care what the manager says, today she's leaving on time and going shopping! She needs to blow off some steam from the last time he made her work overtime!

At Kirsche's, Platina mentions that it looks like the bandits had enough sense to know they'd be a lousy target here, and they'd do more harm than good to attack them. There are a lot of larger shops and shopkeepers in the south district, but once the sun goes down the roads are practically deserted. If Kirsche's got raided, all they'd find are a bunch of leftover ingredients. Only a mouse would be happy with a haul like that! Lyndon is still on about the ancient dragons that lived before the Great Collapse, and says it's almost as if they removed themselves from the land of their own volition! Warner has heard that the southern district got trashed by bandits, and guesses it's all because Bose is rich. You get money, you get robbed, been that way for as long as he can remember. Cornelius says that his workshop seems to have been attacked by the bandits as well - have they no shame?! He's a bit worried about one of his workers, a man named Nigel. Sure hope he's okay…



Upstairs at the Bracer Guild we can meet Anelace once again, who notes that Scherazard seems to have run into a bit of trouble, huh? She can't believe we were tossed into prison without a shred of conclusive evidence. She wonders what that old bearded general was thinking? Schera says it turned out to be one of those situations of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. That aside, was it her who let the mayor know about the situation? Anelace confirms Schera is right on that one - she just happened to run across the mayor while she was on a job at the village. Schera laughs, and kind of feels bad for all the trouble she had to go through for us. Anelace says it's not a big deal. Now, this is a little off subject but… she heard the new recruits were Cassius Bright's kids…? Alice warns us that we won't be super bracers like him just because we're his kids, but she's still excited to have the chance to meet us in person like this. Estelle and Joshua conclude Anelace must be another one of their dad's old friends, then…

Inside Anterose, Manager Lechter stutters when he recognizes Olivier - he's sure of it, he's the guy… from before…! Olivier asks what's up, oh good managerial sir? Thanks for the meal last time! Lechter wonders if he didn't have him arrested already? Guess he'll just have to report him again! Olivier tells him not to do anything brash, friend… This restaurant is actually quite blessed! To have an owner with the eyes to recognize the value of an artful man such as himself is quite wondrous, truly! She is an exquisite beauty too, isn't she? Like a flower in bloom! The future of Anterose is as bright as a field bathed eternally in the noontime glow of a crisp spring day! Joshua decides to play along, saying he can't believe Lechter would defy the owner like that - what kind of manager is he? Lecher says we should consider this a managerial failure on his part, and apologizes to the owner…



Alta muses that whenever a man in uniform shows up, she can't help but think of the past. It's been a long road for Bose… Shaque complains that just pushing good on him without ever sweetening the pot does not make for successful negotiation! Given the situation, he thinks a discount is entirely appropriate. Caron sighs and says she just can't make a deal here. Why can't he close a deal to save his life?! Is it his haircut? Bad body odor? Great Aidios, does he smell? Lenore says not long ago, a very important and very valuable bottle of wine was completely downed by a customer. A non-paying customer, mind you! That was the first time in a while that she's heard the manager let out his, uh, special cry of dismay. It's a shriek, really. Sounds just like a little girl… or someone who's been kicked very smartly in the bagpipes.

Citron is not sure what to do now - his lovely 'Grand Chardonnay' was downed completely while he was on break. The owner simply laughed it off, but he does feel responsible for not safeguarding it better. Head Chef Ross heard a shrill scream from the manager the other day, the stuff nightmares are made of… Wonder what happened this time? He often hears that subdued shriek from him when new staff members arrive, actually. He supposes it's nothing to worry about.



Gwen says their prized 'Grand Chardonnay' was drunk, in full, free of charge. The owner didn't seem to care at all! She's about her age, so how could she have her head so high in the clouds about this?! The manager, by contrast, practically swallowed his tongue. She's never seen anyone turn such an unholy shade of red! Guess such an unnatural color is a pretty natural reaction, all things considered. Poor guy…

Horace says like anywhere else, this place was reduced to rubble during the Hundred Days War… but it was also the quickest to rebuild after it was all over. There's a reason for that - the merchants all got together and pooled their profits to fund the revival effort. Sure, Bose merchants all love the freedom to earn and spend at will… but when push comes to shove, they'll band together every time. He's proud to live his life as a Bose merchant. Marian says she doesn't care much for soldiers, as they tend to be boorish and overbearing. Why must they behave so? Why can't they just act their ages? She knows they're not all like that, but still. Norche understands where she's coming form, but finds it hard to agree with her assessment. Though they're soldiers like anyone else, she finds the members of Her Royal Highness' personal guards to be the most polite and understanding.

Over at the chapel, Sarah wonders why military personnel have to be so arrogant? Bracers are much nicer, that's why she likes them. Anyway, she's here to pray in the mayor's place today…. Father Holstein comments that it seems to be rather noisy outside. Did something happen? Sister Rosa also comments on the clamor - they're trying to conduct worship services here, but it's certainly loud outside! This town never really seems to quiet down all year long.

Inside the Bose Market, Claire sniffles and says her mom caught her sneaking into the market and yelled at her. Felicia explains that her husband was the one who said 'let's start this business' to begin with, then at the last minute he shoved everything on her and ran back to the village by himself, leaving her to shoulder the burden. What in the world was he thinking when he cut and ran like that…? Pomme wonders if his mother wants to see his father? Sometimes he can see this look of loneliness in her face…



Meissen mentions it appears they've got the army coming and going here in town now - he can't stand that repugnant group with their pretentious attitudes! Spence says there's even some members of the Royal Army here in the market. Is there some sort of trouble…?

Emmy says it doesn't look like there's anything in particular on sale at any of these stores today - but this is no time to shirk her duties. This is for the future of her home budget! Who knows, there may just be a bargain in here somewhere. Edel says that due to airliner flights being canceled, she'd had way more than her fill of shopping. It looks like her husband's about to have a heart attack after seeing how much she bought! Seagaro says that it looks like flights have started up again, so now they can finally head to Ruan. He's really got to start keeping an eye on his wife's shopping habits… Personally, he thinks people should live a little more modestly than she does.

Minuet heard the city was hit up by some burglars - what a despicable bunch, trying to make a profit stealing from others! She hopes someone soon catches those crooks. Libro wishes the shop owner would take better care of the antique books - maybe he should put in a word or two about it? Gantz mentions that the girl working at the confectionery shop has been looking a little blue recently. Is she worried about something? There sure have been a lot of disturbing things happening lately… Katrina says she heard a rumor that the army found the missing airliner, but she wonders what happened to her missing fiancee. And what about the other passengers…?

We can buy a new issue of the Liberl News at the book shop:

Article:

[Liberl News: Issue 3]
[Breaking Story] The Linde Saga Continues! Ransom Request Received!
A Royal Army representative reports that the Grancel Liberl Orbalship Corporation and Liberl Royal Family alike have received letters claiming responsibility for the Linde incident. The criminals refer to themselves as the [Capua Family], and demand a hefty sum of money (rumored to be in the millions of mira) to secure the passengers' safety.

Who Are the Capua Family
These so-called [Sky Bandits] are a group of marauders operating from Imperial airspace all the way into the Bose Region. Their exact numbers are unknown. but they're believed to be around two dozen strong.

The Need for Cooperative Efforts
With the incident quickly turning from search and rescue to hostage negotiation, collaboration between the Royal Army and the Bracer Guild seems the best possible course of action. When questioned on this subject, a guild representative stated that the relationship between the two parties has seen worse times, but is still less than civil. Given this idealistic divide, a partnership seems extremely unlikely. Bose's mayor, Ms. Maybelle, has launched an independent investigation through the guild, but still laments that the Royal Army won't share their information. 'This is no time for jurisdictional disputes,' she says. 'Both parties need to work together!' Having inherited the mayorship from her late father at only 21, Ms. Maybelle is known as a very wise young lady. Whether or not either party will heed her advice, however, remains to be seen.

[Technology] Enter the Arseille!
At long last, this high-speed cruiser takes to the skies! With rigging a whopping 42 arge in length, the pride and joy of the Zeiss Central Factory has finally been completed, and transferred into the stewardship of the Royal Guard. Watch out, do-badders! Although not airborne just yet, the Arseille is scheduled for an operational test flight within the next few days, to the excitement of all involved. Due to delays in its orbal engine development, however, only a basic performance evaluation will be conducted at this time.

[Culture] The Hundred Days War - Book Review
Ten years have passed since the war, and I'm sure we all remember the endless reports of casualties and destruction, making an objective assessment of events a ludicrous proposition. That's exactly what this book sets out to do, however, by compiling accounts from virtually every possible source to paint a crystal clear picture of what happened behind the scenes, and how the war came to be. History demanded a book like this to be written, and on this dubious anniversary, I think everyone should give it a look.

[Travel] Finding the Perfect Getaway
The Maple Leaf Inn, nestled in the corner of Elmo Village in southern Zeiss (within walking distance of the Republic's borders), is the most luxurious hot springs resort this reviewer has ever seen. Its tranquil Eastern aesthetic, abundant natural springs and outstanding Eastern cuisine are nothing short of dazzling, but the true reason to visit is, indeed, the soak itself. For you see, the Maple Leaf Inn, is renowned for its open-air baths -- an understandably embarrassing prospect to some, but those who succumb will be glad they did. Taking in the warm waters while gazing up at the starry sky is truly a breathtaking experience. And best of all: Towels are optional!​

Source: [Liberl News: Issue 3]

​

Paul explains that some burglars broke into his house last night. Unfortunately, at the time only his wife and daughter were at home. Though no harm came to them, they were rather shanken up by the whole ordeal. His wife sent him off with a smile this morning, but he's still worried about them and the house. Buck says the westward bound airliner has finally resumed flights, so he'll be able to stock up on vegetables from Rolent, finally. Time to stock up and sell, sell, sell! Lyril says there were a bunch of scary men outside - what happened? Carol is indecisive about her food again - meat, vegetables, fish… what should she make for supper? She's got to think about what to do for a side dish whether they have to deal with burglars, the Royal Army, or whatever. She wonders if the queen would ever entertain the idea of making a holiday where you don't have to think about side dishes? Trayton heard about the burglaries down where all the well-established shops are…



Up at the Landing Port, Berna mentions that it seems the airliner landed in Ruan, but the Royal Army's patrol ships are here in Bose - wonder if they're here to investigate the string of burglaries? Receptionist Ted explains that only flights for the counter-clockwise looping Cecilia have resumed. All those passengers who are boarding should make their way to the gate! They finally received an explanation from the mayor about the missing airliner, as she mentioned the disappearance was due to being hijacked by sky bandits. He's worried about the passengers. Aldan the plane spotter points out that one of the airships here is a patrol ship belonging to the Royal Army - they were used in the war ten years ago and are famous for achieving great military results! Airships are awesome, aren't they?

Lakely the mechanic mentions that the Cecilia, which had been standing by in Ruan, has finally arrived. What's more, it appears that the patrol ships from Leiston Fortress have come too! He'd like to say that this is the most excited he's felt in a while, but he's feeling a little rusty. Norm comments that he'd better take care of the basic inspections for the patrol ships while the boss is looking over the Cecilia… .He's going to blow his top again if he doesn't hurry and get his work done! Even if he's busy or not, he's always getting yelled at!



At Haken Gate, Carlos mentions that he was finally able to get all the paperwork done to leave this country, but during his layover here he used all his travel money eating and drinking. Then again, he's always lived his life on a whim. Whether someone is happy in life or not, it's all based on how satisfied they are, right? In the local drinking hole, Amelia says the colonel, who's rumored to be an elite strategist, came here for a meal the other day. He was a perfect gentleman, unlike the rugged soldiers who work at the fort. She may have fallen for him - it's unbelievable to think that there is such a paragon of a man in this world. Nolan says she thought they only had one guy in the clink for that petty eat and run crime, but he's heard they've got the guys who attacked the airline in custody too. What's that, they don't have them…?

Talking to the sentry at the gate, he recognizes us as those bracers who were tossed into prison not that long ago, right? Estelle wonders why he's making us remember the bad things, and he laughs it off - at least we were cleared of wrongdoing, right? Another sentry wonders if we've got business with the general? A guy on top of the wall mentions that ten years ago there used to be a village called Hamel that sat just beyond the border, and he heard it could be seen from all the way here. It seems as if that village completely vanished during the Hundred Days War. However, since the Liberl Army never invaded the Empire's borders, he doesn't understand how that could have happened… Another sentry says they hit a brick wall in the search for the sky bandits again. They've been using patrol ships to search the northern mountainous regions but came up empty handed.



We can find a few more soldiers inside the base, with one saying he'd rather sleep than eat or take a shower right now - man, he's beat! Another says that after a good night's sleep he feels refreshed. He'd better hurry and grab a bite to eat while he still has time! Guess these guys are in different shifts? General Morgan wonders why we're still loitering around here? He's only going to tell us this once: this incident is under the jurisdiction of the army. If we interfere again, we won't find any clemency here. Estelle muses that the general is looking rather pale in the face, so he must be really tired. Joshua thinks they've been giving their all in the search as well.

Traveling eastwards to Verte Bridge, Private Antose says the border garrison seems to have arrested a number of suspicious individuals - there was a maniacal group of women and children, and even an odd con artist, but none of them were the criminals… Private Lacos says it seems the westward circling airliner has resumed flights, and thanks to that the number of travelers passing here has decreased. He wonders when the eastward circling airliner, the Linde, will resume flights? Warrant Officer Dyne is glad that the missing airliner has finally been found, but he's received no command to cancel security checks here. What's going on? He needs concrete information.

Heading westwards to Krone Pass instead, Private Cutinger has heard the missing airliner was found too, but since the criminals weren't apprehended, the security checks are going to continue for a while.



Private Usher mentions this area is covered with monster-filled mountains, not to mention big and vicious ones roaming around. Daily training is an essential part of being a soldier here. CWO Zelste says that General Morgan has narrowed his search area to the northern mountains - so the sky bandits have been lurking somewhere along the border, huh? Warrant Officer Serose says all soldiers are allotted at least six hours of sleep because they can't fight to their full ability if they have insufficient rest…

Returning to Ravennue, we can find Lewey near the entrance to town. Estelle greets him cheerfully, and the kid admits he was shocked to see the army haul us off after we went up to the abandoned mine. Especially since we didn't do anything wrong, either! Are we okay? Did those soldiers do anything bad to us? Estelle apologizes for worrying him there, but assures him we're okay - as he can see we're alive and kicking. Lewey is relieved, and asks that we found out that what he saw was actually an airship, right? He thanks us for proving that he wasn't just telling a tall tale! Estelle says the Royal Army would have proved his story sooner or later, so she's got mixed feelings about the whole ordeal since we were mistaken for bandits and arrested. Joshua points out that even if she didn't go out in style, at least she kept her promise. Isn't that enough?

Fran says Pesca just moved here recently - usually he's kind and serious. Vince mentions that old man Gray and Pesca were just fighting again… They've been seeing those two going at it a lot recently. Emile says some members of the Royal Army showed up, and he wonders what's going on? He heard they didn't find anything in their last investigation. Whenever they see anybody dressed up in military uniform coming in and out of this place they get a bit nervous…

Apple says she sometimes wonders if Limon is okay by herself running the bar… If it looks like she's busy, she wants to help out too! Speaking of busy, it seems like the upstairs is packed - Lore mentions they're going to have the village elder open a meeting to discuss policy regarding orchard cultivation. Hopefully there will be some sort of development. He also wonders how his son Pomme is doing - hopefully he's getting along well in Bose. Pesca says he doesn't think they should just continue on in the old ways, but find a more inventive approach where they can achieve a constant output of products. Everyone can see how all of the fruit producing trees are short, right? That was something he suggested. He figured that if they didn't have to deal with high places, they wouldn't need so many hands to do the work.



Melony really wants people to somehow be able to understand her husband's ideas - she thinks in the end it's in the best interest of the village. Limon admits today is a little more crowded than she expected, and shouts for Apple to give a little help, please! At the elder's place, Elder Reisen is surprised we came back - he was really worried after he saw us get led away by the Royal Army. It's almost unbelievable to think that the airliner was hidden up there in the mine… The army is now watching the place in the event the sky bandits decided to come back. Birnette admits that whenever she sees a soldier it causes her heart to skip a beat and reminds her of what happened here ten years ago. She really doesn't like them coming to the village…

Orange mentions that the army came back and was looking for something else. These new soldiers are a lot more energetic about their work than the last ones who came… She's sure that probably has something to do with their leader. Gray says raising fruit naturally on trees one by one is the best way as far as he is concerned, and it's because he takes so much care and time that the fruit is so delicious!



Figaro mentions that Lewey was born after the war had already ended, and he hopes that we'll never have to experience something as horrible as that. We can also revisit the mine, where a soldier warns us that the area is off limits to all civilians - we're not allowed inside! If we don't leave the premises, he'll have no choice but to place us under arrest.

It's time to head south and deal with this burglary business. As we descend the stairs into the southern part of town, Scherazard says we should ask around and see what we can come up with. We can't actually go back north now, not until we finish this particular task. We can go exploring the houses as we like, but there's a few mandatory locations to visit here before the game shunts the story forward - I had to save and make sure I got to everywhere before that happened.

Spoiler: South Block Exploration (Soldier Occupation)

In the orbment shop, Marco says that it looks like this store was hit by the burglars as well - guess this isn't the time to be talking about business deals… Even still, when we've got reporters already on the scene, why doesn't somebody hurry up and call the Bracer Guild? Nigel desperately says his factory and all his goods - they're gone! He's got to report this to either the army or the Bracer Guild! But, hold on a minute… if either one of those groups saw what was written in that stolen ledger… Yikes, he'd be in for a world of hurt. (Interesting…)



Sein says his shop was ripped off by a bunch of thieving criminals who took off with every last one of his pricey goods. Why did this have to happen to him at a time when there's hardly any goods around to begin with…? Upstairs in the orbment shop, Nial says that thanks to our shenanigans, though, the pages of the next Liberl News issue are going to be filled with gripping headlines, so we should let him know any further scoops! Dorothy adds that the newest model of camera on display here was stolen, so she wonders if the thieves have some interest in photography? Carrie admits it looks like the burglars made off with nearly everything, but she could have sworn the boss locked up last night…

We can also talk to Mirano, who despairs that now they've got burglars running amok in the city? What's happening to Bose?! She's just glad they left this house alone, though she's baffled as to why! They certainly didn't do their homework on this city… Modena similarly comments that this house was untouched, but it's at times like this that it makes her feel uneasy when there's no man at home. She's just glad that Mirano brought Simon over to watch the house! Simon says he was shocked when he heard about the burglaries since Mirano's mother was all alone here…

Royal Army soldiers march through the streets, and asking them what's going on gets us mostly irritated responses - they can't believe these sky bandits managed to circumvent their search and just walked right into town to burglarize a bunch of places! Another reluctantly allows us to look into things because the mayor authorized us, but tells us not to get in the army's way. A third compliments General Morgan - he's running the show, and he's a capable leader, as expected from someone who defeated the Imperial Army in the war a decade ago. What gets him is why he's having so much trouble this time around, though… A fourth mentions that the group of sky bandits in the old mine consisted of two females and a male, and rumors are there were even kids in the mix! Hold on, those people weren't sky bandits? We can run into a few more soldiers trying to interrogate the locals, like the house of the bickering couple, and they are thus inaccessible at the moment.



More soldiers are present at the house in the southwest, where they comment that they'll be done with questioning soon enough, so how about we sit tight? Oh, are we bracers here to ask a few questions ourselves - it's a mess for both of us, huh? If we then enter the upstairs section of the orbal refinery, we can see that it's completely empty of orbal equipment - but Nial and Dorothy are there! Dorothy is snapping pictures, and cheerfully says that one of them turned out really cute. She asks if this is how Nial wanted it, and he agrees it should be something like that… He comments they really got screwed, though… Joshua steps up and asks them if they're working on another story, perhaps? Estelle guesses they're on the trail of a scoop!

The two greet us, and are glad to see we were let out of the clinker! Nial heard all about us getting arrested by the army up at the old mine, so we had him worried. Estelle wonders why he's acting like he had nothing to do with it? It was his info which led us to that village in the first place! Nial wonders what that face is for - Estelle is not blaming him for this, right?



Joshua wonders if the two ended up checking out the mine themselves, and Dorothy confirms they went over there yesterday, but that was after we'd been hauled off. Nial grouches that they could have had a really great shot of us getting arrested if they'd been there. It really guts him that they missed such a perfect opportunity for a great shot! Estelle swears that people in the news business are something else… Scherazard asks if they think these burglaries look like the handiwork of the sky bandits? Nial confirms it looks that way to him, and it seems the army is sniffing around for clues as well… Honestly, though, it looks like there's nothing to be found here anymore. Schera says that does make things more difficult.

Olivier speaks up, and tells Mr. Reporter he should answer a question of his, then. Does he know from whence the sky bandits entered town? Nial says that according to witness statements, they were seen leaving through the west gate… Olivier comments that's awfully strange, since the mayor's residence and Bose Market are right through the west gate, and it seems like attacking those two places would be far more lucrative! Nial admits that it makes sense if you put it that way, but then asks who the heck he is anyway, if he doesn't mind the question? Olivier is glad he asks, and dramatically introduces himself as the wandering bard and gifted musician Olivier Lenheim! He's surely heard rumors about him, right?

Dorothy acknowledges that he's the guy who drank wine without paying at that classy restaurant! Takes guts to stiff such a big bill - it's an honor to meet him! Olivier laughs and says she's making him blush, and he promises he's ready for his interview any time, so don't hesitate to ask! Dorothy is pleased, but Estelle says she's getting a headache listening to this crap… Joshua thinks Olivier and Dorothy are very much alike, while Nial doesn't even want to ask how this guy wound up with the rest of us. Schera agrees that's for the best…



After checking in on the accessible locations, exiting a door to the outside triggers a scene - a Royal Army officer at the head of a squad of soldiers yells out at us, and says he'd better give us a word of advice. Even if we are representing the mayor, at the end of the day we're still just civilians. They can't have us wandering around here in the middle of their investigation! Estelle wonders who he thinks he's talking to? Joshua comments that this 'advice' sounds more like a threat, and the officer does nothing to counter that perception, claiming he's just saying we need to know our place…! If we're so adamant about investigating the matter, then we can do so after they've cleared out of here. If they get any more trouble out of us, he's going to have to give us a personal invitation… to jail! Schera says Estelle should forget about it - there's no use arguing with these… gentlemen. Olivier declares that for an ass in a lion's skin, this soldier sure knows how to throw his weight around! The officer, furious, wonders what he just said?!

An off-screen voice asks what's going on here? The soldiers turn to watch a pair of fancily-dressed people descend the stairs behind them - a blond man and a pink-haired woman in a hat. The officer recognizes the first as 'Colonel', and said black-clad colonel states that for a soldier in the prestigious Royal Army to be threatening citizens is an outright embarrassment to them all! He's another portrait character, by the way! The officer argues we're not just civilians, though, but members of the Bracer Guild! The man in black is surprised, then asks what's going on here - he won't ask again. The army is supposed to be working closely with the guild, is it not?



The officer argues that as far as the general is concerned… The man in black cuts him off - ah, yes, that side of the general really concerns him. He'll take over the investigation from here, so he tells the officer to take his men and clear out. They've been here since early this morning, so presumably a sufficient investigation has been conducted by now, right? He'll smooth things over with the general later, so is there anything else they wish him to address? The officer buckles and quickly runs off with his soldiers - back to Haken Gate!

The man in black then turns to us, and says it looks like that's that… The army personnel were rather impolite to us, so he'd like to apologize. Scherazard appreciates the gesture, but admits we made some slightly inflammatory remarks as well, so how about we let bygones be bygones? The officer in black agrees, and says that as he stated before, they're supposed to be working closely with the guild… He thinks our two organizations working together grants them each the ability to make up for the other's shortcomings. He's looking forward to any progress we make with this recent series of events. Schera thanks him, while Estelle and Joshua think this guy's a decent sort - but who is he?

The female officer finally speaks up - another portrait character - and tells the colonel it's almost the appointed time. The colonel apologizes for departing so quickly, but it appears he must take his leave. Before he goes, though, it looks like he hasn't properly introduced himself. He is Alan Richard, a colonel in the Royal Army. If there is anything he can do to assist us, we should not hesitate to contact him.



After he leaves, Estelle muses that she thinks she's heard about Colonel Richard before somewhere. Joshua mentions that Nial mentioned his name earlier, and said something about him being a sharp, young officer who leads the Royal Army's Intelligence Division. Estelle remarks that for someone in the military, he sure knows how to listen to others! Schera concludes that he's probably in his mid-thirties, and not hard on the eyes either… Seems like he's more fit to be a politician than a service member in the army!

Nial and Dorothy walk out of the orbment factory at this point, and Nial wonders who the guy in the black uniform was that we were just talking to? He could have sworn he'd seen him somewhere before… Estelle wonders if he's saying he didn't recognize him at all? That was Colonel Richard of the Intelligence Division, the very guy he mentioned earlier! Nial wonders if we're pulling his leg? Estelle says that would be fun, but… nope. Joshua points out he introduces himself, so we're fairly confident he is who he says he is. Nial is shocked the legend himself would show up here, and yells at Dorothy that they can't wait around here like this any longer! Let's see if they can catch up! Dorothy agrees, though she's really not sure why they're chasing after anyone…

After the two dash off, Estelle notes that Nial's eyes really lit up there - is he going to do an interview or something? Scherazard laughs and says that anyone else in the army would surely brush him off, but she's sure the colonel will oblige him. The only person who seems less lighthearted about all this is Olivier, and Estelle wonders what's the matter with him? He looks so serious, and that's rather creepy coming from him. Olivier says he was just thinking about the colonel. He'll be the first to admit that he's quite the specimen of a man, but…



Joshua prods him to continue, at which point Olivier gets back into character and blithely declares that he can say with confidence that Alan Richard doesn't stand a chance against Olivier himself when it comes to the ladies! He'd like to see him try just a little harder, as it's no fun without a romantic rival! Estelle wonders why Joshua had to ask, and he says he'll regret it for the rest of his life… Schera mentions that with the soldiers gone, we should just continue our investigation… starting with talking to all the people we couldn't reach earlier because the soldiers were busy being menacing. Estelle thinks that's a good idea.

Spoiler: South Block Exploration (Post-Colonel)

Most characters still keep the same dialogue at this point, but a few new people are now available to talk to. Launa says she was putting her son to bed last night when suddenly some masked men kicked in the door and came storming in! She didn't tell her husband because she didn't want him to worry, but her ring was taken - the one from her mother… Elke says that a bunch of strangers came into the house without asking… Mom and her were scared, so they hid under the bed!

Borden declares that by the Goddess, first an airliner goes missing and now they've got a bunch of burglaries… What'll be next? The Cecilia resuming flights is about the only good thing happening… Although as long as the international lines with the Empire don't reopen, the merchants can't reopen their businesses… Rionne remarks that she got a real surprise last night. When she went to open the window and let in some fresh air, there was some masked man staring right at her! He wasn't alone either, there were a bunch of others with him. Alvelle mentions the burglaries too, and that his mom saw the culprits. The army was asking about it until just a little while ago!

If we head into one of the western houses, that one with the bickering couple, Cecile recognizes us as the bracers who came by to ask questions a while ago, when those soldiers were around. Estelle acknowledges that, and Cecile apologizes for being unable to talk to us then. So, what did we come to ask about? About what happened last night, right? Joshua wonders if this is a good time, and she says it's as good a time as any. She takes a seat at the table, and explains that it was the middle of the night when she heard a noise coming from outside. She, of course, thought it was her husband coming home at such a late hour, so she opened the door and started yelling. It turned out to be a group of masked men coming out of the orbal factory across the road! She thought her heart was going to stop right then and there! It turned out the burglars were rather surprised by the yelling, and they ran away towards the north.

Estelle guesses those were the sky bandits, huh? Joshua concludes that what she's saying is that this house didn't incur a loss of any kind? Cecile agrees that thankfully she was spared. Schera has another question - did her husband coming home late mean that he went to the bar? Cecile says if it was just that, it'd be forgivable… but no, in addition to being a no-good drinker, he's obsessed with this! She then makes a dramatic casting motion, which Schera doesn't understand at all, but Estelle immediately recognizes that to mean fishing, right? Cecil agrees her husband loves fishing more than life itself. Just yesterday he said something about catching some smelt and took off towards the lake in the south! On top of that, he still hasn't come back. Estelle wonders if that means he knows nothing about the incident? Cecile agrees, and when that good-for-nothing husband of hers gets home, he's going to get what-for, she assures us!

By virtue of convenient timing, that's when the old man, Kuwano, gets home. Whew, what a day he's had! He was fishing patiently all morning, but he has nothing to show for it! Oh, what's this? There's guests? Cecile shouts that he's a senile old man!



Kuwano wonders what fiery tempest has gotten into Cecile, goodness? Doesn't she think it's rude to act like that in front of guests? Cecile declares that if anyone's being rude, it's him! She's dumbfounded that her own husband can just take off to do what he likes at a time like this! Kuwano asks what that's supposed to mean, so Joshua decides to explain…

After getting the cliffnotes, Kuwano is astounded - burglaries by sky bandits? Now that is terrible! To think they hightailed it out of here after his wife hollered at them is hilarious, though… Guess they got to experience the 'Cecile effect' first-hand, haha! Cecile asks what he just said?! Estelle tries to calm the situation down, and everyone settles back. Kuwano muses that to think these bandits came in the night like they did and then just disappeared again… he wonders if that has anything to do with that thing he was talking about the other day…? Joshua asks what he means, and Kuwano realizes that obviously we don't know him - he's his fishing buddy! The guy is staying at the inn down the lakeshore to the south of here. If he remembers correctly, he said something about seeing a strange bunch near the place the other night…

Scherazard says this certainly sounds interesting - can he tell us a little more about what he's heard? Kuwano doesn't mind, but admits he's just going to tell us up front that this is all hearsay. From what he heard, his fishing buddy just happened to see them by chance while he was out fishing during the night. He saw them leave by way of the inn's front door and then out onto the road. However, when he asked around at the inn in the morning, it turned out that no one like that had stayed there the night before… Joshua agrees that's odd, and wonders if there was any type of burglary at the inn? Kuwano says there was nothing of the sort. It's quiet there, the meals are great, and it's… well, a place he'd recommend to anyone! Best of all, it's a prime fishing spot…



Having exhausted our avenues of inquiry, we gather outside. Schera says that while there weren't any definite clues related to the incident, we did manage to hear a few interesting bits. Olivier remarks that he especially liked the one that described all the delicious foods at the inn! Estelle says that's not what we were talking about… although she did find the fishing part to be rather interesting. Unfortunately, if there's nothing going on there, then she guesses it wouldn't be worth investigating… Joshua thinks it's the opposite - if someone had been careless and caused a problem, the army would have thoroughly investigated the place. Conversely, the possibility of the sky bandits appearing where there's nothing happening is rather high…

Estelle guesses that's one way to think about it. Schera says that in light of this series of incidents, there's either a spy in the army, or the sky bandits are a really clever bunch of thieves. It'll be extremely difficult to corner them only by investigating the incidents which have occurred. We need to get a step ahead of them by tracking their movements. Estelle decides that what she's saying is we should take an offensive stance rather than a defensive one. Olivier proposes we should get going, then - off to beautiful Valleria Lake, extolled in many a rhyme as the 'pearl of Liberl!'

With that, the world opens up again… including the north side of town, and all the previous areas. And everyone has new stuff to say, of course… (You know, this is gonna make every other RPG feel underdeveloped, heh.) Go figure, I once again ran out of room to include that stuff...

Next: Let's head down to the lakeshore and catch some fish! And maybe do something plot-related, possibly.

 

[Roarian]

Search for the Fishing Maniac

Before we get to our actual content, let's tackle the mother of all exploration rounds...

Spoiler: Bose Exploration (Post-South Block Burglaries)

Nigel at the orbment shop says his account ledgers were confiscated by the army… This is bad, really bad! Now hold on… maybe he's not in as much trouble as previously thought? Thankfully those sky bandits took off with the one that could have gotten him in the most trouble… The game's not very subtle with the hints here...



Carrie says her boss seems to be more on edge than she's ever seen him before. She wonders if it's the shock from being burglarized like that? She's really only interested in pursuing her own creative interests, so as long as there's an environment for her to do that, she couldn't care less about anything else.

Launa mentions that a very important ring was taken by the burglars, and she doesn't care if it's the army of the Bracer Guild who takes them in, she just wants these crooks caught! With these sky bandits on the loose, she doesn't think she can live without being in fear every day… Elke wonders if her dad will come home soon? Mom looks really upset about something… Sein wonders if the army found the crooks who did this to his shop? He sure hopes they catch them no matter what they have to do to them! He's seething with anger over what happened!

Cecile says that no matter how many times she yells at her husband about his addiction, he still takes off to go fishing again. She's just about ready to give up. There's something that really gets her goat about seeing him come walking through the door with such a carefree look on his face… Kuwano mentions that the Kingfisher Inn can be reached by heading south from town and following the New Ansel Path. The structure's been built right on the lake shore, so we'll know it as soon as we see it. Simon remarks that Mirano had an errand and went to the mayor's residence. They're actually good friends, and have been for as long as he can remember. Modena says she knows her husband is always out and about, but not having him around makes her feel a little insecure…

Borden says he feels like he's going insane without Trino being here in Bose! They've been fighting since they were kids, so it's weird not having him around. Though he's a business rival, they seem to have this strange sense of solidarity. He's actually pretty proud of the fact that the two of them built up trade like they have in Bose, though he's sure if Trino heard that, he'd laugh off the notion. Rionne really hopes this city will settle down soon. The stock market's cooling down, and at this rate she's going to show a big deficit this month on her financial report. Just when she'd beaten out the Trinos last month, too… Alvelle wonders when he should tell his parents about wanting to enter the royal academy… Right now doesn't seem like a good time, unfortunately. If he can't get his parents to cover his tuition, though, he can't pay… It really puts him in a bind.



On the north side of town, Jacob mentions there's a place called the Nebel Valley in the northeast Bose region, and given its complex geography of mountains and valleys it's quite the strange spectacle to get a look at. Lucas says that people have been saying the missing airliner was the work of sky bandits, and on top of that he's heard they demanded a ransom from the Royal Family… What an outrageous bunch! Elegia says there's really not much good to talk about these days, so maybe she'll go shopping to get her mind off depressing news. Harry asks Mina if she wants to be anything in the future? Mina wonders if he really wants to know? She wants to be a wife who's filthy rich! Letta says he's looking for a part-time job now so he can eat at the Anterose again. He guesses the Bose Market is probably the best place to look. Fannie wants to get a part-time job too - She can work like nobody's business if it means she can eat more delicious food because of it!

Butler Mayner recalls the city of Bose being destroyed and occupied by the Empire in the war of ten years ago, however Mayor Maybelle's father, the previous mayor, took the helm and made extensive efforts to rebuild the city with the help of other merchants like himself… For merchants who generally only care about making a few quick mira, this was the first time in history that so many came together like this. It seems as though it was at this time that Mayor Maybelle made the decision to follow in her father's footsteps! Sarah says the mayor looks really busy, and she hopes this incident will be resolved sooner rather than later. After things settle down and there's some free time, Lila and her have promised to go shopping together!

In the mayor's office, Mirano says that according to Maybelle, the missing airliner appears to be the work of the sky bandits. If it's a ransom they're after, then it's probably a pretty safe bet to say that her father is still alive. Hopefully her mother won't be so worried after hearing this. She's heard us bracers are investigating this, right? We should bring back her father safely! Mayor Maybelle mentions that Mirano was just asking her about the situation in the Bose Market, as it appears the effects of the missing airliner incident are farther reaching than she had imagined.



By the looks on our faces, she guesses we've found something… Estelle immediately wonders if she could really tell that by the look on our faces? Well, we didn't get anything for certain, but we did manage to gather a little information. Joshua promises we'll give a full report in the future, and Schera admits we might be swinging at empty air on this one, but she'd like her to hold on just a little longer while we see what we can dig up… Maybelle promises she'll await our report with anticipation, but tells us to be careful - she's really had it up to here! Not only is she drowning in work, but now she's got all these burglaries to deal with too!

At the hotel, Barlowe understands what his young employees are trying to say, but it appears he's old and stuck in his ways… Dina states that she's here to work for herself, and not for the hotel. The manager says they should act only after considering the effects of their actions on the hotel as a whole, but worrying about the entire hotel is supposed to be the manager's job, right? Besides, she's not here to be an apprentice! Is she wrong to be thinking this way?

At Kirsche's, Platina says she knows there's still some serious stuff going down outside, but everything seems fine and dandy in here. It's all thanks to the manager's policy: take it easy, 'cause this here is the place to unwind! Things get a little boring sometimes as a result, but she'd rather be in here than out there!



Lyndon mentions that the last man to have ever seen an ancient dragon is from Bose, that's why he's come here. He supposes the first order of business - as always - is to speak with the locals and see what answers can be found. Warner states that we live in lawless times, it seems, as the violent incidents just keep on coming right after one another! He wishes it would all just stop and they'd let him live in peace… Cornelius says they took Nigel to Haken Gate - they actually sent someone to question him about it a little while ago, asking about his workshop's finances. Guess old Nigel was cooking the books…

At Anterose, Manager Lechter says there's lots of bad tidings these days… He wonders if they should hire some protection around the restaurant? If anything should happen to one of the customers, they'd be in serious trouble! Alta says she's here again, eating at this restaurant like always - she feels like that man on the other end is making her eyes at her, though… Shaque is still haggling, stating that it's not a bad price, per se… Caron guesses this is just not in his nature, and decides that - fine - how about this price? Is that better? Lenore says she's been commissioned by the head chef to go to Bose Market after closing to purchase the necessary ingredients for tomorrow.

Citron is glad that with the airships running again, he'll finally be able to get his wine shipments delivered. The items were on the order list, yet due to the embargo they've run out! That simply won't do! Head Chef Ross mentions Gwen has got high hopes, so she may yet carve a true niche for herself here at Anterose… That's the impression he's getting, anyway. Gwen says the chef actually let her make the soup recently, for the first time since she came here. She kept making and re-making it over and over… and all that time he stayed by her side…

Horace always thinks of days long past whenever he visits the Bose Market. Every time he goes, it seems like another son or daughter has inherited the family business. The shopkeepers just keep getting younger! It's heartening to see. Marian says when she first came here from the capital, she traversed Valleria Lake. During that voyage she saw a quaint, charming-looking inn along its banks. Ever since she's wanted to spend a night there, if only she could remember its name… Norche says her stay in Bose has been unexpectedly prolonged by delays from the airship incident. But when in Romn, right? She fully intends to enjoy her forced vacation time!



In the chapel, Lila mentions the mayor has been working into the night day after day and now she has these burglaries to deal with too. She's got to look out for her health… Father Holstein muses that there sure seem to have been a wave of incidents occurring lately. Maybe he should raise his voice to the heavens on behalf of the citizens? Oh Aidios, who art in heaven, please bestow thy blessings and thy guidance upon these souls… Sister Rosa says it's unbelievable to think that normal homes were burglarized too… Maybe she should go visit the victims of these incidents later on.

At the Bose Market, Claire says her parents don't like her coming there, but she just loves the atmosphere of the place. So much so, in fact, that she just can't help sneaking off to come here. It's just so boring sitting around the house that she'd rather be at the market any day. Felicia says it would be nice if her husband worried about them for once and showed his mug around here! Sometimes he can be a real jerk, and she wonders why she chose him to begin with! Pomme muses that he's pretty sure his father had his reasons for returning to the village. That's because he was the one who was looking forward to opening the shop the most…

Meissen says he's heard they make all kinds of porcelain in countries to the east of the Republic. He'd sure like to go on a journey in search of those porcelain goods someday. Spence says his shop has been gradually getting busier and busier. He's been thinking of hiring somebody, but he always enjoys connecting with customers face-to-face… That's kind of what has him hung up about it. Emmy mentions she came shopping with a coupon today. Buying quality goods for cheap, that's one of her passions in life! Let's shop like a budget-minded housewife! Carol muses that maybe they should take turns at home deciding what to do for the side dishes, too. Better yet, maybe it would be best to decide on what to do about them every other day of the week!



Lyril cheerfully says she can go shopping all by herself now! She still hasn't bought anything except cabbage, though, so she's got to be more like a grown-up… Minuet mentions her supply of goods is finally back to normal, so now she's thinking about using this opportunity to expand her selection. She's not the type to pass on potential profits when they come knocking on her door! Libro explains he came by the bookshop to buy the next chapter of the novel series he's been reading, but it's still not in yet. Once he reads a book, though, he almost never reads it again. He's done with the last one, so we can have it. With that, he drops Carnelia - Chapter 4 in our laps.

Article:

[Carnelia - Chapter 4] - Human Fodder

Sister Carnelia spoke to me in a tender tone as she sent a wave of immense pain rushing through the whole of my right hand.
'I won't have any trouble with you, now will I, Toby?' she asked.

Far from eyes just brimming with tears, I nodded my head in consent as the salty streams of water ran down my face. Satisfied with my answer, she loosened her grip, and I felt the pain vanish as if it had all been some sort of illusion.

With a wry smile, she further added, 'Don't get me wrong, Toby. I've been sent here to protect you by the Goddess, herself.'

This is what she said while instructing me to keep my eyes focused on what lie beyond the window glass. Yet, there was something about the way she pronounced the last syllable of my name that really rubbed me the wrong way.

Little by little, the line of passengers slowly began to flow out of the train car. Prodded on by Sister Carnelia, I inched forward while keeping my gaze on the platform through the passenger car window. Down the stairs which led to the front ticket gate were the figures of those men from earlier this morning, the three thug-like passengers who had been loitering near the large horse head emblem of tile at the imperial station.

A muffled laugh echoed from her throat as she, too, noticed them. 'Well, isn't this a warm reception party you've got going on.'

Cocking my head, I quietly pleaded, 'Give me back my orbment!'

Sister Carnelia said nothing.

Members of the crew bid us farewell as we stepped through the exit to disembark the train onto the lead-colored platform below. Angrily, I thought to myself, 'Dammit! What's wrong with these fools? Can't they see what's going on?'

I shut my eyes halfway to protect them from the drizzle whipping against my face, and I unhurriedly descended the wet set of stairs, a half pace at a time. Sister Carnelia moved along behind me at precisely the same length of stride. Below, the group of thugs waited expectantly at the bottom of the stairs. Waited for me, no doubt.

Contemplating the rate at which I was going, I ultimately believed it was only a matter of time before I would be handed over to the enigmatic group. I caught sight of their soured faces as the distance between us grew smaller and felt the heat of my left hand tightly gripping my bag grow in intensity until my palm began to sweat profusely. Hitting the midway point on the stairs, Sister Carnelia suddenly whispered in my ear, 'Keep your eyes on the ground, Toby.'

I did as I was told and cast my gaze down upon the tips of my boots, stained to a darker shade by the rainwater. Then, right at the moment I let out my breath, I felt a deep sense of pressure just below my shoulder blades as I was forcefully shoved forward.

Droplets flew from my saturated fingers and my world turned upside-down as I tumbled down the stairs and slammed back first into the group of hoodlums. With a muffled crunch, I felt the painful sensation of my ribs crumple under the weight of my body and then return to normal from their severely compressed state. Two of the seemingly military men who were hit as I toppled down the stairs (like an avalanche unleashed on a a pair of young saplings) absorbed the transfer of force and were thrown into a large puddle collecting on the ground nearby. Shrieks erupted from startled passengers nearby, more shrill than the high-pitched sound of the railway brakes from a decelerating locomotive.

As my world spun wildly about me, I lay there, the chill of the tiles seeping into my back. With a concerted effort I rolled my eyes to the left where my arm remained in an outstretched state.

By some act of the Goddess I had managed to keep my tight five-finger grip on the bag I had been carrying. In an effort to get up, I slid into a prostrate position, keeping my chin in contact with the ground. Making a low visual sweep of the vicinity as if my life depended on it, I noticed the military-like physiques of the men had vanished from view. The only figure I saw standing above me now on the platform, was that of Sister Carnelia. And on her shoulder, as if she were merely hefting a sack of grain, was one of the men.

Turning in the direction where the train sat in its motionless state, she lobbed the unfortunate man down onto a set of empty rail tracks below. By this time, I had risen to one knee while keeping the other planted firmly on the ground in a half-standing position. The world in front of me was still swaying, undulating in my wavering eyesight. My head slowly rocked back and forth with it as the double vision of Sister Carnelia's boots approached me. Then, with a strong grip, she tugged on my hand. For some strange reason or another, when she did this, I failed to notice the unpleasant feeling that her hand wrapped tightly around mine brought.

'Let's go, Toby,' she instructed in an authoritative voice. Nearly dragging me, she pulled me to my feet and before long, we were hightailing it out of there.

The onlookers made quite a commotion as they moved hastily out of the way in a determined attempt not to be caught up in the middle of our flight path. The bag in my left hand swung helplessly, knocking against my thigh. After clearing the ticket gate, Sister Carnelia finally let go of my hand, but a sickening slippery sensation came with it. Looking over at her, I realized that the stomach-churning, slimy feeling on my hand had come from the bright red blood which stained both of hers.

I peered back over my shoulder in the direction of the platform as I continued to run, but the figures of those three men who had been waiting for me at the station were nowhere to be found.

Source: [Carnelia - Chapter 4] - Human Fodder

Libro also mentions that the lady who owns the shop recruited him to work there not long ago. He wonders if she hired him because he was always putting in his thoughts about her merchandise? (Good job getting hired in this economy, my man. Nominative Determinism wins again.)

Marco says he's decided to stay in Bose until he can start doing business again with the orbal factory that was burglarized. That's because the orbments in Liberl are just that fascinating - then again, all he's done is wait ever since he arrived in Liberl! Ah well, patience is a virtue for merchants in any case... He'll just take his sweet time and wait until things blow over. Katrina says customers have really started pouring in, and business is picking up. She's sure her fiance is going to be happy when he hears about this! Hopefully he'll be back soon… Gantz also comments on the confectionery shop's popularity - he thought that might happen, because the girl here is working so hard!

Buck says the barricades on the roads have been lifted, and though it's only the westward bound airliner, flights have resumed. Business has started to pick up again! Trayton also mentions the missing airliner and the string of burglaries… There sure is a lot of disturbing news going around these days. Luckily Mayor Maybelle runs this city, so he's sure she'll do something about it. Paul wonders if his wife and daughters are feeling insecure right now? When he thinks about them dealing with another burglary, he starts to feel worried and can't seem to focus on his work. Ah, he knows what to do! He'll just close up shop for the day and head home.



At the Landing Port, Berna says she heard that the Linde is still out of commission. Though it may be a big detour, she wonders if taking the Cecilia to the Royal City is the fastest way to get there… Receptionist Ted says the Cecilia just departed for Ruan - now all that's left is getting the Linde back up and running. It appears to have been found intact, but it seems like it's still under the army's supervision. Flights are expected to resume once it is returned to the Orbalship Corporation. Lakely says that even though they found the Linde, it's still unable to return to the skies. Considering the captain, crew and passengers haven't been found, it's no wonder. The whole thing's got him on edge…

Aldan says he's just waiting on the Linde to come back, but it's taking forever! Actually though, what he really wants is to get a shot of the Arseille, the airship which belongs to the Royal Family. Rumor has it that its state-of-the-art design is awesome! Norm explains that though none have arrived just yet, this is a stop for Imperial merchant ships too - they mainly come here with goods to be sold at the Bose Market. For that reason there are two runways at the landing port - the only other place like that is the Royal City in Grancel. Having two runways alone makes this landing port twice as busy as others, but there's something about this job that makes seeing an airliner take off safely extremely fulfilling… The job can get really stressful at times, but somehow he feels he's cut out for it.

Over at Haken Gate, there's a new guard at the gate to the Empire - it turns out it's actually Carlos, who explains that he's been thinking about traveling to the Empire but he ran out of money so he joined the garrison here. Why did he do that? Obviously because he lives his life on a whim! He doesn't regret his choice either!



The other guard says that when the sky bandits are in custody, the red alert status will be changed. The garrison is conducting a full-scale search at the moment! At the local watering hole, Nolan mentions that those in the military sure have a tough life. Though the captured airliner has been found, nobody has a clue where the criminals responsible are. It seems that General Morgan has been leading the investigation on no sleep… Amelia says that recently the army has been going in and out of here even after dark. Thanks to the noise she can hardly sleep… If her skin gets wrinkly from that, she's gonna give the soldiers who come in for a drink a piece of her mind!

The sentry on top of the gate says that thankfully it doesn't seem like there's any military movements building on the Erebonian side, but he guess that's to be expected since they've signed a mutual nonaggression pact. Even so, it's difficult to relieve tensions. Another soldier mentions that General Morgan said he plans to change the way the search is being conducted, as it seems he's going to rely on the newly established Intelligence Division… Inside, a soldier mentions that tomorrow morning they'll be using patrol ships to search the mountainous regions, so he'd better get some sleep while he can. Another says that soldiers who were supposed to be off duty tomorrow were called up, so this is probably going to be a full search…

Over at Verte Bridge, Private Antose is surprised to hear that Bose was hit with a bunch of burglaries. What's this world coming to? It makes him want to rush there right now! After seeing the border garrison's airships, though, he imagines they're already investigating the matter. Sky bandits and now burglaries, it sounds like someone is doing whatever they please… He doesn't want to work at a checkpoint, he wants to work on the front lines! Private Lacos says that though flights have resumed, the security checks will continue, but he hopes things go back to normal soon.



Warrant Officer Dyne says that this hasn't been confirmed, but it seems the border garrison and the newly formed Intelligence Division are on the move. If this goes on much longer it'll look bad for the army, so we'll just have to let them do their work…

At Ravennue Village, Lewey mentions that there was a big war in this area a long time ago, and a lot of people died. He wishes they could just get along with the Empire, since he hates it when people are sad… Fran thinks that since they all live in the same village, they should try and get along… Vince agrees that even adults have their own kinda problems, so it must be tough being a grown-up sometimes. Emile muses that this village is pretty peaceful, except for the occasional argument between Gray and Pesca. It's the same as it was right up until the Imperial Army invaded the place ten years ago. That's why they can't help but think that maybe someday their peace will be shattered again…

At the inn, Apple mentions that Limon will come and help her to do the cleaning in the morning, and she'll come to help Limon in the bar when it gets crowded during the evenings. Limon says that if she remembers right, there's a village meeting going on today. The village elder came by this morning and he seemed to have a lot on his mind. She hopes he doesn't worry too much, because it'll start eroding his health! Elder Reisen mentions that this village looks peaceful at first glance, but theyré actually dealing with a number of problems. Well, he guesses the only thing they can do is deal with them one at a time. Birnette says she knows it's painful, but they shouldn't forget what happened here a decade ago in order to prevent such a tragedy from ever happening again. They need to tell their children about the war…

Figaro says the entire village oversees all the orchards in Ravennue Village, though originally everyone operated on their own. Since the orchard farmers were shorthanded, though, the village decided to manage the cultivation of orchards together with everyone. Orange mentions it might be a good time for Gray to sit down and speak with the other villagers. Then again, he's always been a stubborn one, ever since his younger years… Hopefully there's someone who can be a good mediator between them all. Gray says he's going to have to keep his eye on these young upstarts and their ways of cultivating fruit…



At the orchard, Melony says she's always on her husband's side. It's because they can trust in each other like this that they can live as a couple. Pesca says that maybe he should suggest his own ideas at the village meeting this time? He knows things always turn into a big argument with Gray, but he thinks they need to sit down and talk with cool heads for once. Lore hopes that Pesca and Gray can come to an understanding at the village meeting, since he thinks if those two could learn to cooperate, the village orchards would become more prosperous!

Way over at Krone Pass, Private Cutinger says the border garrison often comes here to investigate - that's because the Bose region is covered with mountains, so it's the perfect place for criminals to hide. Private Usher says that with the garrison's investigation carrying on this long, he's sure they're tired. Hopefully they'll find a lead soon… CWO Zelste says it appears the border garrison requested reinforcements for the headquarters, so it looks like the general is planning to make his move sometime in the near future. Warrant Officer Serose says that no matter how experienced a traveler we are, we shouldn't be hiking around in a place like this at night. The trail is steep and there are a lot of monsters out there! That reminds him, as strange as it sounds, that they've seen a lot of organized packs of monsters recently… He's never seen anything like it until now.



(That sounds like foreshadowing!)

After scouring the land for new bits of dialogue, it's time to continue the story by heading south from Bose City towards the waterfront. We get a scenic introduction to the inn on the shoreline, since it's possible we've never been here before.



Estelle similarly seems surprised by the location. It's certainly peaceful and quiet around here! Joshua comments that the inn doesn't look too shabby either. Schera adds that she's stayed here before during another job - the wine is great, the rooms are nice… it's pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a place like this. Estelle thinks it's unfortunate this isn't a pleasure trip, while Olivier is surprised it's not - he, for one, intended to toss his cares to the wind for a while! Taking catnaps in a rocket boat by day and filling his belly with food and wine by night… It's heaven! It's what vacation is all about!

When he gets several deadpan stares for his trouble, Olivier quickly clarifies that he was only joking. We can enjoy vacation any time, but right now is the only time we can enjoy taking care of some would-be thieves! Even Olivier Lenheim knows enough to get his priorities straight! Estelle says this doesn't have anything to do with enjoyment. Schera laughs it off, and says that as long as Olivier does his share of the work he's here to do, it doesn't matter. Let's go see if we can find the old man staying here that loves fishing… Joshua recalls that he's the guest who said he saw some suspicious individuals here two nights ago, right?



Before heading inside, if we walk down the waterline to the furthest dock, we can find a man fishing - Estelle tries to ask him something, but he seems deaf to her yelling. Schera is amazed he's not responding at all, and Joshua concludes he must really be into his fishing… Olivier guesses this is what a fishing maniac looks like, what a unique breed! Estelle muses that he's not as 'unique' as Olivier is, that's for sure…

Spoiler: Valleria Shore Exploration (Pre-Lloyd)

The area is pretty void of NPCs at the moment, but there's a few. Anette explains that her mother and her come here every year on vacation around this time - it's a tradition in the family. Her mother seems to look forward to it, every time. She kind of feels bad for her father, though, as he always gets left behind. Elke explains that the Kingfisher Inn in Bose and the Maple Leaf Inn in Zeiss are her favorite places to stay. Sophina welcomes us to the inn, and asks us to let her know if we want to stay.

If we speak to the inn's cook, Lenard, he welcomes us, and asks if we want something? Estelle says it's yes and no - we're looking for someone, see. Joshua asks if there's any guests around who really like to fish, and Lenard admits that applies to pretty much everybody who stays here. Schera explains that he would be a friend of the old man who stayed here just yesterday. Lenard guesses she means Kuwano? If we're talking about his fishing buddy, that'd be Lloyd. He's a professional angler who came all the way here from the Royal City. Seems he's a member of the Fisherman's Guild there. Estelle says he sounds like a pretty amazing guy. So, that must mean he's that old man fishing out back? Lenard confirms that's probably the guy we're talking about. We might be able to get his attention if we call his name out really loud… He should be over at the south pier.



Revisiting the man fishing at the south pier, he still completely ignores us. Estelle asks him if he's Lloyd from the Royal City? When no answer comes, Joshua says he seems really focused, so he's tuned out everything but fishing. Olivier thinks his skills will come into play here, then… Estelle wonders what he means? Olivier just tells her to sit back and enjoy, then leans over and with a smile that leaves all kinds of things up to interpretation, he blows into the man's ear. Lloyd jumps in shock and yells out: 'Oh-oh-oh my goodness! What in the…?!' What the fuck, Olivier.



The fisherman turns to the party in surprise, discombobulated, and wonders who we all are? Where did we come from?! Estelle just turns to Olivier and says that was a dirty trick to play on the man! Schera agrees it was pretty low… Olivier ignores them and wonders how the good sir Lloyd is doing this evening? He explains that we tried calling out to him a moment ago, but we could see that like a true professional his attention was fixed upon his task. Joshua wants to confirm he's Lloyd, and he confirms that he's the one we're looking for - but how do we know his name? Schera explains we heard about him from a certain old man, and wonders if we can speak for a moment? Lloyd concludes we heard about him from Kuwano, then. Ah, it's about that strange pair from two nights ago, then? Estelle asks for more details, but Lloyd pauses for a moment and asks if we're all bracers or something? Is this related to some crime? Joshua admits we can't say for sure, but there does appear to be that possibility…

Lloyd is happy to help us out in that case, and explains it all happened the other night when he was out fishing on his boat. He was just returning to the inn, dead tired after a day of battling it out with this lake's Guardian. It had gotten late into the night, and it was about the time when everyone at the inn was asleep in their beds…



Schera asks him to pause and asks about this 'Guardian'...? Lloyd is so glad she asked! See, the Guardian is this giant salmon that swims the murky depths of Valleria Lake! It has been the feared king of the waters among fishing-lovers for over a decade! Schera whispers that she shouldn't have asked, while Joshua says she threw a log onto the maniac's fire… Estelle wonders if it's really that huge of a fish?! Lloyds says it certainly is, and he's been chasing the darn thing for the last five years of his life… It comes and goes in different parts of the lake and changes its feeding spots on a whim. He heard from a buddy that it had appeared in these parts, so he came running from the Royal City…

Olivier says that's what you call passion, and he can completely understand where Lloyd is coming from. Whenever he finds something he likes, Olivier says he stops at nothing until he gets ahold of it! For example, a bottle of Grand Chardonnay and such… Estelle points out in his case 'steal it' is more accurate. Schera coughs, and asks Lloyd to get back to his story. So, what exactly happened when he came back from fishing that night?



Lloyd recalls that he put his boat away and was on his way over to the inn when he saw an odd couple head out onto the road from the grounds behind the building. Joshua is surprised they'd head there in the middle of the night, and Lloyd confirms that he has no doubt they were headed out on the New Ansel Path. At first he thought they were a group of people visiting from the city heading back home, but it was too late for something like that, and when he asked at the inn the next day, nobody knew a thing about it. He thought maybe he'd seen a couple of ghosts or something! Estelle warily asks if there's r-really g-g-ghosts out here?

Lloyd laughs and plays into this, explaining the two he saw were just a young couple, so maybe they were two lost souls who committed a double suicide after not being accepted by those around them…? Estelle, creeped out, asks Lloyd not to tell her any more! Oh brother… Schera muses that the thought of a bracer who's afraid of ghosts is laughable. The guild is doomed! Joshua adds that Estelle's habit of always wanting to hear more ghost stories and other bizarre stuff just adds to the mess! Olivier comments that Estelle being scared is attractive in its own right - not sexy, perhaps, but cute nonetheless! Like a kitten shivering in the cold. Estelle, miffed, tells him he'd better watch out because this little kitten bites!

Lloyd returns to his story once again, explaining that he was kidding about the whole ghost thing - but this couple did, in fact, seem to be one with a purpose and reason. He says this because the girl was wearing some rather odd clothing. He saw her only from behind, so he couldn't say for sure, but it looked to him like she was wearing some kind of school uniform! Estelle gapes in disbelief - it couldn't be, right? Joshua asks if the uniform was from Jenis Royal Academy? Lloyd remarks that he really knows his stuff! Schera says this whole event just got a lot more interesting. Estelle agrees - it was her, Josette! That lying tomboy from before, we're finally onto her trail!



Surprised that we're familiar with this person, Lloyd suggests that while we're at it, we should tell her and the boy with her not to fret and rush into anything they'll regret later on. If his mind isn't failing him, he could have sworn they said something about coming again tonight. 'We'll meet back here in two days' is what the young man said, and his tone seemed rather serious, so he couldn't help but think about it. Schera appreciates the valuable information, and tells him to leave the rest up to us. We won't let them get into any more trouble than they already are. Lloyd is relieved, as if a weight has been lifted off his shoulders - with that off his chest, he feels like taking a boat out to go fishing again! There's no time to lose, so he'll leave us youngins to our work! As he rushes off, Estelle says she doesn't measure up when it comes to that fishing nut… Joshua admits he's curious about this 'Fisherman's Guild' too, and wonders what that is.

Olivier, who wasn't around for the events in Rolent, asks the others how this mystery couple is involved in the missing airliner affair...?



Schera gives him a quick infodump about all we've found so far, and Olivier guesses that means we'll want to be around tonight to catch this person when they return, right? Schera confirms we should probably arrange for a room at the inn and stick around, since we'll be in for a late night. Estelle suggests we speak with the receptionist to arrange for a room to stay…

Spoiler: Valleria Shore Exploration (Post-Lloyd)

Anette comments that this Lloyd fellow who came from the Royal city is an odd apple. It seems that if you try to talk to him while he's fishing, he completely tunes you out. He's a rather friendly gent if you meet him during dinner, though. Elke wonders if she should bring her husband here next year? He always stays at home to watch the house while she's gone, so she feels kind of sorry for him. But she's bonding with her daughter, just the two of them, so that isn't a bad thing either. Lenard wonders if we were able to find Lloyd? If we like what we see here at the Inn, then we should please stay the night… There was a cancellation just now, so there is an open room.

Speaking to Sophina about a place for the night, Joshua warns Estelle that when we sign in here, we'd better make sure we've taken care of everything, because he doesn't want to head back to Bose after we've gotten a room.



This is an unsubtle indication that this is a point of no return, so it's best to do all sidequests and other miscellaneous things first.

Next: Fishing! Also dramatic anime heart-to-heart speeches and increasingly funny Olivier and Scherazard interactions.

 

[Roarian]

Heart-to-Heart at the Pier

At the end of the last update I was asked whether I wanted to rest up until nightfall - given that I've done all the optional content so far, that seems like a fair idea. Sophina guides us to our room, with four large beds to accommodate all of us, and says that's where we'll be staying. We should relax until dinner is served! After she leaves, Joshua comments that this is quite a nice room - it has a certain atmosphere that you just don't find back in the city. Estelle adds that it wasn't that expensive either!



Scherazard wonders what to do now…? How about we relax until dark? Olivier thinks that's an excellent idea, and Estelle admits she'd be more than happy to do just that, but is it really okay to take it easy? Schera points out that resting when you can is also part of the bracer job - this is our free time, so let's enjoy a meal, take a stroll, or something else!

Estelle and Joshua walk out of the inn towards the lakeside, where Estelle admires the picturesque view. The entire lake looks like it's glowing! Joshua says it's too bad we can't see the Royal City on the opposite shore because of the haze… From here, it's easy to tell that this is the biggest lake in the kingdom. Estelle says this lake is like a fisher's dream come true, so she bets it's a blast to throw a line in these waters. Joshua wonders why she doesn't just… do that, then? It might be a nice change of pace!



Estelle admits that she might, and wonders what Joshua's going to do? He muses for a moment, then admits there's a book he's been meaning to read, so maybe he'll just sit in a chair over here and relax. Estelle wonders how old he is again? Only geezers talk about sitting back and relaxing! Young boys are supposed to get out and move their bodies! Joshua leaves that part to Estelle, then walks off. Estelle muses that sometimes he can be such a drag…. Ah well, let's hurry up and decide on a fishing spot! Somewhere around the nearby pier seems like it'd make for a good spot…

Spoiler: Valleria Shore Exploration (Pre-Fishing)

Inside the inn, Scherazard and Olivier are having a drink of chilled fruit wine together. Estelle wonders if she should really start drinking again when it's only noon? No matter how light the liquor is, drinking too much is bad for your health, right? Schera argues this stuff is just like water, while Olivier says that sometimes we all need to take a breather. He understands her concern for Schera, but says she can leave her with him. Estelle remarks that Schera is not actually the one she's concerned about, which confuses the hell out of the bard. If asked, Olivier explains he invited Schera for a friendly drink, and she readily agreed. It seems she's finally been taken in by his charm! Estelle muses to herself, while still smiling, that this brash self-confidence might cost him his life… Olivier just comments that after Schera gets wasted, he'll be the one to take good care of her! Heh heh heh! Estelle muses that it's scary how much he doesn't know…



If we talk to Schera again, she asks what happened to Joshua, actually? Did he dump her or something…? Estelle confirms that he did, which clearly shocks Scherazard - really?! Estelle carlifies that she invited him to come fishing with her, but he brushed her off for a book! Doesn't that seem a little cold-hearted? Schera wonders if that's all? She had her going there for a minute… Scherazard recalls that Estelle has liked fishing ever since she was a kid, right, even though it's a hobby for boys? Estelle says it shouldn't matter if she's a boy or not, she just likes the things she likes!

Lenard says he's got some good fish in today, so we should please look forward to our meals! Sophina explains that people come here to enjoy fishing. If we'd like to borrow a fishing pole, they can loan us one, all we need to do is ask. Upstairs, Anette wonders what's for dinner today? She's so excited she can barely wait! Elke wonders if we're staying here too? Let's enjoy this wonderful place together! Outside we can talk to Joshua again, and he points out the pier we can use to fish. Estelle asks him why he's not joining in? He's not so bad at fishing himself, you know? Joshua says he's not as good at it as her, so he thinks he'll just sit here and watch if all her practice has paid off…

Heading out onto one of the small piers, Estelle calls out that this looks good - definitely the best fishing spot! Now let's see about casting a few lines. This is, in fact, a tiny minigame! The moment we try to start it, though, Estelle remembers she didn't actually bring a fishing pole. Crap! She wonders if somebody at the inn has a spare she could borrow…? We can run back to Sophina real quick to ask, and she confirms they have several stashed nearby, and they're free to use for anyone lodging here. We borrow a 'Progressive Rod' and Estelle muses that it's a pretty nice one to be loaning out to everyone. She'll put it to good use! She asks about good fishing spots, and Sophina says there's a small island close by where you can catch a lot of fish, but she'd say around the pier is the most highly recommended spot. The lake bed has quite a few hidey-spots there for the fish, so there are a lot of them swimming around in that area.



Returning to the pier, the minigame actually starts - and it's essentially a guessing game. Estelle first asks which direction to drop a line - either to the west around the pier, to the south where the sun is hitting the water, or to the east where the shade reaches. She then asks about bait - whether ot use a lure, to use live bait, or to use a fly. She casts out a line, and after a few moments she gets a bite, at which point you get another choice about how to bring up the catch. You can either reel it in all at once, wait a bit before reeling it in, or wait until the fish gets tired before reeling it in. There's no timing or anything here - depending on your choices, you get any out of a variety of possible catches & the same combination always gives you the same catch. You get up to ten fishing opportunities, so a bit of save-scumming is useful to find all the possible results.

The first result I get is a Smelt, a little fishie. Estelle comments that Joshua is gonna make fun of her if she sees this! Should she eat it right away to hide the evidence? My second catch is some Holey Boots - curse you, this victory is yours! (Funnily enough, despite being pretty crappy defense-wise, this equipment actually has great movement stats, so it's useful for giving a character more mobility in combat.) The third catch is a Liberl Carp - Estelle says this one is just her warm-up. Next is a Rainbow Trout - now this is quite a catch! What follows is a Tiger Rockfish, and Estelle declares this one's a biggie, and she believes a little bragging may be in order! The grand prize is catching a Salmon, at which point Estelle yells out in victory and declares she's the GODDESS of fishing! What a haul! This may just beat the record for the size of her best catch to date! She thought for certain it was just a regular fish by the way it tugged on the line…



After fishing ten times (or by choosing to quit early) the color grading of the scene shifts to twilight, and Estelle remarks that it's already starting to get dark. She ended up with a pretty good catch after all! She turns to show Joshua what she caught, but he's no longer on the upper deck of the inn. Estelle goes to check where he previously sat, and finds Joshua's book is still there - a history book on the 'Hundred Day War.' She picks it up, and wonders if Joshua forgot it here. For being so sharp, he sure can miss things sometimes! Guess she'll have to bring it to him! Now where did he take off to…?



Incidentally, we can have a quick read of the book at this point to get some historical context:

Article:

[The Hundred Days War]

<Outbreak of War>
In spring, 1192 of the Septian Calendar, a single cannon-shot shook the Haken Gate, situated in the northern part of the Liberl Kingdom. This marked the beginning of an invasion later known as the Hundred Days War, and the moment in which the raging golden stallion assailed the noble white falcon.

During this time, the Haken Gate was little more than a reinforced medieval rampart. It easily succumbed to the round fired by one of the Empire's Reinford Company-built orbal tanks, leaving a section of the aged barrier fractured beyond repair. And as the Liberl Kingdom's other defensive walls were hit in succession by a fusillade of cannonballs, they too fell under the explosive impact and were reduced to a mountain of rubble.

<Declaration of War>
At about the same time that the first cannon-shot was fired, a single letter from the Erebonian embassy located in the Royal City was delivered to Queen Alicia. More specifically, it was a writ containing a declaration of war by the Erebonian Empire upon the Liberl Kingdom.

In terms of diplomatic wisdom, the propriety of the declaration was established by being handled prior to the preemptive strike, but in this instance, there was hardly a difference in time between when the two occurred. In short, firing the first shot at the exact moment war was declared on the Liberl Kingdom made it possible for the Erebonian Empire to guise their preemptive strike as one of legitimacy when the first bombshell hit. This could be referred to as a new diplomatic war tactic, though one incapable of being employed without a meticulous level of planning used in concert with an orbal communication system.

<Blitz Tactics>
After the destruction of the Haken Gate, the Imperial Army began its invasion of Liberl in earnest. Overall its troop strength was made up of thirteen divisional units. This proved to be roughly half of the Empire's entire military force, and was such a massive deployment that it exceeded three times that of Liberl's entire Royal Army.

Within a month after the outbreak of war, the Imperial Army had occupied nearly all of the Liberl territory. Only the Grancel region and Leiston Fortress, situated just off the shore of Valleria Lake, remained in opposition. So rapidly were these blitz tactics carried out that even the Calvard Republic, an ally of the Liberl Kingdom and long-time rival of the Erebonian Empire, never had the opportunity to dispatch auxiliary forces to aid its partner. However, in a following attempt by the Imperial Army to take direct control over the Zeiss Central Factory and Malga Mine, they instead found themselves on the verge of being forced to surrender to Queen Alicia, who remained entrenched within the Royal City.

<Staging a Counterattack>
Two months following the outbreak of war, the battle situation was altered in a way which no one could have previously anticipated. Unbeknownst to the Erebonian army, three patrol ships were quietly being developed behind the walls of Leiston Fortress. Upon completion, they were put under the direction of veteran commander, General Morgan, and a large-scale counterattack was launched.

These patrol ships, shielded by armor far superior to the tanks of their imperial counterparts and mounted with a substantial amount of high-performance orbal weaponry, had also managed to boost their speed to over 1800 selge per hour. Using these crafts -- an independent mobile force lauded as the elite of elite -- Liberl's forces mounted an attack and quickly recaptured the checkpoints connecting the various regions. And as this strike was underway, they simultaneously launched an amphibious attack from Leiston Fortress and, one by one, defeated the remaining isolated imperial divisions.

<The End of Hostilities>
After just three months following the outbreak of war, the larger part of the Imperial Army's remaining divisions finally surrendered. However, as capitulation was at hand, there were indications of a surge of further reinforcements from the imperial homeland -- a move which galvanized other continental nations to follow suit and join the Calvard Republic in supporting Liberl. Together they lambasted the Empire, and a formidable group of allied forces began to materialize.

Amidst all the chaos the Septian Church, in cooperation with the Bracer Guild, called for an armistice, and after approximately one hundred days from the start of the war the hostilities came to an end. In the following year of 1193, in the Erbe Royal Villa on the outskirts of the Royal City, a peace treaty was signed by both the Liberl and Erebonian sides. Although no indemnification was made, an official apology was offered up by the imperial government as they expressed that they had, '...made a grievous error attributed to a tragic incident occurring within (their) borders.'

Source: [The Hundred Days War]

Why do I get the feeling that Joshua left this book behind because it brought back unpleasant memories...?

Spoiler: Valleria Shore Exploration (Post-Fishing)

Before we go hand that book back, though, let's head back into the inn real quick… Inside, a rather sloshed Schera and Olivier are still busy drinking. Schera remarks that Olivier can hold his liquor, huh? Heeheehee, she thinks she's changed her mind about him! Come on now, drink up! Olivier seems less than pleased with that suggestion, and wonders if they're not getting a little ahead of themselves with this pace? It could interfere with tonight's…



Schera wonders what he's whining about now? Come on and drink, you third-rate musician! Or is he saying he can't keep up with her?! Olivier, his eyes little more than swirls, gulps and asks Estelle to stop sitting there and watching, and to do something! Estelle apologizes, but once Schera gets started there's no stopping her… Not to worry, though, Scherazard never gets plastered. Olivier wonders if she shouldn't be worried about him?

Speaking to Schera, she says things are sure starting to heat up here! Maybe she should strip down naked? Estelle warns her that if she takes off anything else, we're all really going to be in trouble! Schera lets out a heart bubble and muses that Estelle sure is cute when she talks like that! How about giving her a kiss? Estelle says she'll do no such thing! Olivier wonders if Schera is always like this? Estelle remarks that whenever she's on the job, she manages to behave herself, but when it comes to having a drink, even her dad can't keep up with her… Olivier admits he's kind of interested in seeing her go wild, but he worries that he's just going to pass out from the drinks first…



Lenard asks how our fishing went? If we happen to catch anything good, he'll cook it up for us as part of the service! Sophina says the dishes here use fish purchased straight from the fishermen themselves, so we can look forward to the freshest fish there are! We ask about Joshua, and Sophina muses that the boy we came with hasn't come in here. Upstairs, Elke says she was able to spend another day relaxing here today, as it's important to get away from your daily routine when you're worn out… When she returns home reality is waiting for her, so she'd better enjoy herself while she can… Anette remarks that there are a lot of people who come to this inn to fish. Just a while ago an old man came here from Bose and spent all day fishing before going back home! She's thinking of giving it a try herself…

Heading over towards the far side of the beach where we first met Lloyd, Estelle notices Joshua brooding on that distant pier. 'Hey there, laddie!' she calls out as she approaches, and she wonders what he's doing whittling away the evening in a place like this? Joshua admits he's not doing much, and wonders if she is done fishing, or is she heading back into battle with the sea life? Estelle admits she's had her fill, but it's sure been a while since she did! Which reminds her… She shows him the book she found on the table earlier, and remarks that Joshua claimed he was going to read, but he ended up leaving his reading material behind. He should be more careful! Joshua stares at the book, then says he already finished reading it. His eyes were starting to feel a bit tired, so he thought he'd take a walk for a change…



Estelle grumbles for a moment, then steps closer and accuses Joshua of lying. He's hiding his feelings again, isn't he? She can tell that's what he's doing. Joshua, caught out, admits nothing. Estelle states that's not really fair - he always finds a way to cheer her up when she's feeling down, and while she may not be as reliable as Dad… she can still give him a shoulder to lean on. Joshua eventually says sorry, but Estelle states that in times like these he should say 'thank you', not apologize! Joshua may be smart, but sometimes he doesn't seem to know what's most important. He admits she's probably right about that, and then genuinely thanks Estelle. She remarks that that wasn't so hard, was it? Oh, and in return… how about playing her a song on his harmonica? Joshua asks if 'The Whereabouts of Light' is good for her, and Estelle confirms that's exactly the one she wanted to hear!

As Joshua plays the melancholic tune from the beginning of the game, which somehow has already become nostalgic to me, we get a montage of other people hearing it - we see Lloyd out on his boat in the middle of the lake and Scherazard and Olivier in the inn - before we return to the pier. Estelle wonders why it is that when she hears the sound of his harmonica in the evening light like this, it makes her want to cry? Joshua, after being silent for a moment, wonders if she's still not going to ask? About his past, he means. Estelle reminds him that they promised, remember? He was going to tell her when he felt like it, and she wasn't going to ask. Considering that five years have passed since then, it doesn't seem like such a big deal anymore.



Joshua turns towards the water, and muses that it really has been five years already, hasn't it? How can she just live with him for that long and not have a million questions? That day her father came home with this beat-up kid… Some random stranger who never says a word about his past. Why'd she take him in like that? Estelle steps up next to Joshua and says that it just seemed like the obvious thing to do. Besides, he's family now! And, like she said before, she knows him pretty well. He loves books, he's a weapons geek, and he's got a serious knack for just about anything that comes his way. He's kind and fair, but he's also got a way of not letting others inside by using politeness as a shield… and he's caring… and lonely.

Of course, Estelle doesn't know everything about his past, but if he wants to make comparisons, she doesn't know a whole lot about her father's past either. Doesn't mean that the two of them aren't still family, right? Being a family for them has more to do with her knowing his personality, his habits, the food he likes… You know, the kinds of things that only she would know firsthand. Joshua is no different in that regard. Joshua is struck silent for a few moments, and then admits Estelle makes it nearly impossible to argue with her. It's been like that ever since the first time they met, and she gave him that flying kick to the gut while he was lying in bed… wounded, he might add.



Estelle, surprised by this callback, wonders if she really did that…? Joshua confirms that yup, she hit him while he was injured and all - more than once! Estelle laughs nervously and is sure it was all just a bit of childish play… Uh, he should blame Dad for her lack of social graces! Joshua sarcastically mutters that's a nice excuse. Anyway... he pauses and seems to rethink his words, finally just deciding that the two of us should make sure to solve this whole airliner mystery. He's not sure if father's been captured or anything, but we should resolve this with our own hands! Estelle agrees, that's exactly what she intends to do! Joshua suggests heading back to the inn, then… supper is probably ready by now. Estelle argues the two of us will need to eat our fill so we're ready for tonight!

As we head up the short steps to the inn, Estelle remembers that she grabbed Joshua's book earlier - she showed it to him earlier, but never actually gave it back. Joshua says he's already done with it, and at this point it'd just end up being bulk weight. What should he do with it…? Estelle can ask if she can read it herself, or suggest giving it to someone. I've technically already read it, but I choose to keep it, and Estelle nervously admits that it looks like a pretty difficult book. She asks Joshua if he thinks she'd understand it if she spent some time with it?



Joshua assures her she'd be fine, as there's already a lot of stuff in there she already knows. Estelle declares she'll give it a shot, at which point we get the book (again?)

This entire segment was actually pretty great, and Estelle is legitimately Best Girl. She didn't seem particularly enthused about everything back in the game's introduction, but clearly she adapted to the situation quickly, and her genuine care for Joshua and willingness to let him keep his secrets if that makes him comfortable is... just great. I also appreciate that the game brings up Joshua's mysterious past, since it's been a vague background notion for most of the game, so it's easy to forget that was all kind of sketchy. All I really know thus far is that Joshua is probably an Erebonian child soldier or something like it, judging by a few of his reactions throughout the game. We'll see how that turns out, I suppose...

Spoiler: Valleria Shore Exploration (Post-Joshua)

Lenard remarks that Schera and Olivier certainly drank a lot - he's going to have to put in another order from Ravennue Village for some fruit wine! Sophina says she's not sure if we'll believe her, seeing as she's family, but her brother's dishes made with fish are something to be reckoned with! Please look forward to a meal like no other! Upstairs, Elke says that during the evening, the entire surrounding area is bathed in a beautiful orange color. Anette says it's almost meal time, so she wonders what's on the menu today? The food here is the one thing she can always look forward to.

Returning to the inn, we can check in with the rest of our party - and if you haven't been back here to look in on them during exploration, it's probably a bit of a shock to find Olivier and Schera entirely surrounded by empty bottles of fruit wine that they have imbibed with reckless abandon. Olivier, his eyes full-on cartoon squiggles to reveal his inebriation, begs us to help a fellow out. He can't take another drink…! Estelle says she just reconsidered her opinion of him, and Joshua agrees - it's pretty rare for anyone to still be conscious after a night of wine with Schera.



Schera singsongs that the two of us came at a good time, heh! How about having a drink together? We're good for that, right? Estelle says we're going to eat dinner now, so the answer is no! Schera angrily snaps that come on now, when she says 'let's drink,' we drink! We're going to make her veeeery angry if we don't sit down for a glass with her!

Estelle observes that great, it seems that Schera has already reached Stage 2: Rage Mode! Joshua tells Schera not to worry, since Olivier said he's goot for another couple rounds. How about having him keep her company? Schera scoffs, then turns back to Olivier and asks him in surprise if can really still drink more? Olivier, dismayed, asks Joshua how he could just give him to her like that? He can't, he can't…! Estelle wonders if Joshua doesn't feel sorry for the guy? Joshua wonders if he should. Olivier remarks that Joshua is like a little demon… and cute at the same time too… Hee hee, at least the fish are polite here… -hic- Estelle guesses he'll be fine, and Joshua agrees - let's go find a spot at the counter, shall we? He'd hate to bother the drinkers…



After the two walk off, Olivier pleads with Schera to please stop - he's asking her, and the fish, to stop pouring him another glass! Schera, of course, immediately puts a new glass of wine in front of him, and Olivier sighs in despair. I have to say, I think this entire drinking binge sequence is one of the more entertaining cases of updating background dialogue I've run into yet!

As the color grading shifts to night, we move to the bedroom upstairs, where Olivier is sprawled out on one of the beds, swirly-eyed and moaning in discomfort as he sleeps off his intense binge. The rest of the party stands around the bed, and Estelle declares that he's totally plastered. It looks like even a guy who takes his sweet time for everything couldn't stand up to a drunken Schera! She seems completely sober, incidentally, and says that was a great night of drinking - she's been so busy lately she hasn't been able to enjoy herself like this for a while! Joshua points out she's not even red in the face from all that alcohol… Is she sure she didn't take some sort of special training? Schera admits it could have been all the bizarre liquors she drank while she was in the troupe - you know, like the ones with scorpions and asps in them. She might have built up her resistance that way, but who knows?



Joshua doubts that's the case, honestly. Estelle wonders what Schera plans on doing with Olivier now? He's pretty much useless this way… Scherazard argues we should just let him sleep. He looks so peaceful now, and we wouldn't want to disturb him. There's a high possibility that we'll have a direct encounter with the sky bandits tonight, and getting a civilian wrapped up in the middle of it all wouldn't be a good idea. Estelle belatedly concludes that Schera got Olivier drunk just so he wouldn't be able to go along with us, didn't she?

Schera blinks, and quickly covers for the fact that she totally didn't think of that by claiming that yes, that's totally what she intended. He'll thank her for it in the long run, too! After his raging hangover, anyway. Estelle figures that this means she was just toying with him the whole time, wasn't she? Schera ignores that accusation and says it's getting late, so we should hurry up and begin our stakeout around the inn. Estelle asks her not to skate around the issue, but she snaps for Estelle to be quiet! Anyway, for now, let's circle up to the far pier…



Before leaving, there's a last bit of incidental dialogue to catch:

Spoiler: Valleria Shore Exploration (Night)

Olivier is talking in his sleep, asking Schera that he really can't take another - it seems his binge continues in his dreams. Over in another room we can find Lloyd, back from his fishing trip, staring at a map of Valleria Lake that he's put on his table. He remarks that there are hardly any structures on the west side of the lake, and he didn't get many bites either. All he's getting on the east side are small-sized fish, so the Guardian probably won't appear in either of those two places… He guesses the best thing he can do is to continue fishing from shore. He's going to catch it this time for sure!

Elke enjoys seeing another group of lodgers here, and she'd love to keep our company if that would be all right. Anette says her mother seems to be enjoying the atmosphere here - she was the first person to recommend this inn to her, and now she's invited to come here with her every year. Downstairs, Lenard asks if we're going out? If we're going to fish at night, we're going to need an orbment light or we won't be able to see. Sophina says the gentleman with us seems to have drunk a lot - is he going to be alright? She can go bring us some water, if we like…

Next Time: We'll track down those dastardly Capua bandits once and for all... and maybe run into the local Illuminati?

 

[Roarian]

Skyjacking the Skyjackers

In search of the sky bandits we head back to the spot where we had a heart-to-heart with Joshua earlier, but Estelle sighs when she doesn't see anyone. She doesn't know what kind of business those siblings could have here, but do the others really think they'll show up? Joshua admits there's no guarantee, of course, but if Lloyd's information had any truth to it, his best guess is that they'll be here. Schera notes that if we move around too much there's a possibility we'll be seen and they'll take off, so we should find a place to hide out. The sky bandits are supposed to come from the road, so it might be a good idea to watch that area. Estelle wonders where we should watch from, then? Joshua suggests looking for a place where we can see the road without being noticed ourselves…



We're left to find the spot in question ourselves, and logically speaking there's not a lot of possible options. The road leads north from the inn, but obviously standing out in front of the building wouldn't work. There is, however, a balcony on the second level of the inn where we can take shelter behind some flower-filled planters and keep an eye on the road. The moment we duck down, of course, two familiar figures walk in from the road - it's Kyle and Josette Capua! Kyle remarks that they're a bit early. Josette says it seems that way, and muses that if it were the middle of the day, they could have gotten a bite to eat on the way. Kyle tells her to quit talking nonsense - they're outlaws, remember? Let's hurry and keep moving.



As the two make for the far pier, Estelle grumbles that she should have known it'd be them. Scherazard suggests following quietly and seeing what they're up to, but to make sure not to get noticed. Schera, Estelle and Joshua soon duck behind a wall near the stairs to listen in, close enough to make out every word. The camera shifts to the pier, where the Capua siblings are waiting for something. Kyle says he should have figured 'they' wouldn't be here yet, since they always come exactly on time. Josette says she really hates those guys, since they act like they're so superior, and honestly they're kinda scary… Kyle agrees there's no doubt about that - they're quite the clandestine bunch. There's not much they can do about it, though, since this is an order from Don...



Josette, after a moment of quiet, asks Kyle if he thinks Don's been acting a bit strange recently? It's just not like him if you'd ask her… You know, the whole hijacking of airliners thing. While she admits it was lucrative, now they've got the army clamping down on them full scale, not to mention those annoying bracers. Now Don's gone and taken hostages too, and demanded a ransom in return. No matter how she thinks about it, it seems like Don has gone way overboard this time! Kyle grumbles that in the end, she'll always be just a girl. Deep down, she's just not cut out to run with the bad crowd. 'Excuse me?!' Josette demands incredulously, and Kyle quickly apologizes for the wording - he meant it as a compliment. If things are getting too tough for her, she's always welcome to try salvaging a life back home… It shouldn't be too hard to get by as long as she doesn't set her sights too high. Admittedly, it is a bit colder there than in Liberl…

Furious, Josette wonders if Kyle really thinks he can just treat her like a kid without her getting angry? She'd like to see him get by without her, what with his crap cooking and all! Not to mention the laundry! Does he really want to go back to burnt toast and turning his underwear inside out?! (Ew.) Kyle winces, and says that he sees her point. He's really sick of toast, burnt or otherwise. Anyway, she should think about what he said before it gets too late for her to back out… Getting back to what she said earlier, though, he does agree that Don's been acting kind of weird. Does he really expect them to keep fishing for ransom? They should take what they can get! He'd like to think Don is smart enough to see that… Josette mentions that he started acting strange about the time 'that guy' showed up. That's the only thing she can think of as to why he started acting like this. Kyle notes that 'he' was the one who introduced them to these other guys too, so he might have even gotten Don to buy into his ideas…



Estelle, just like me, wonders what all these references are about - 'they, 'that guy', 'he' and 'those other guys'? Schera agrees that's a good question. Joshua spots something on the water - it looks like whoever the Capuas are waiting for has finally shown up. A small dinghy carrying two figures sails closer - and both of the people on board are wearing elaborate face-covering helmets and full sets of armor. The multiple spots or eyes on the front of them make me think of Shinra helmets from FF VII, but given that the front guy has a black cap with a red mask, I'll probably stick with calling them Ascians until I get a proper appellation for these Evil Empire-looking guys, since that was came to mind first. The guy in the back has a similar set-up, but their mask is silver and without a vertical segment.

Kyle remarks that they've made it on time, as usual. Josette mutters that they could have come a little early for a change… or even late! They're definitely not her type, that's for sure! The black-clad soldier with the red mask says that they're trained to be punctual. Now, if that displeases her, then he'll offer his sincerest apology. Josette snaps that she was just being sarcastic, so relax! To herself, she thinks she now knows these guys are definitely not the type she wants to be around. Kyle tells Josette to knock it off, and wants to get down to business. Have there been any developments since last time? The soldier confirms that yes, Her Majesty has finally made a move. She intends to contribute to the ransom from her own assets. Kyle is astounded by that - they're really going to get paid out of the queen's own pocket, seriously? Guess they're pretty close to getting the money then, right?

Josette asks about the Royal Army - is there any indication that they've figured out where the hideout is? The soldier says that they haven't yet, but it's only a matter of time before they do. They've received reports that members of the Bracer Guild are on the move as well. At any rate, on the morning of the payoff the Capuas will need to leave this hideout behind. Kyle says there's no problem there - they just happened to run into that temporary shelter by chance. Don shouldn't have any regrets about it either.



Estelle sighs, and says there's way too many suspicious types involved in this… She asks Schera what she wants to do here. Should we just storm in, shoot 'em all and let Aidios sort them out? Schera has a much better idea, actually. Those two siblings appearing here means that the sky bandits' airship should be parked somewhere nearby, right? There's not much we could do if they got away again, so how about they try and take that out first? Estelle concludes we'd be taking away their means of escape, and she's down for that. She turns to Joshua, but he's scowling at the strangers on the water. Estelle wonders what's wrong? His face looks really tense all of a sudden… Joshua claims it's nothing - he's sure it's just his mind playing tricks on him. Estelle is not sure what to make of that, but Schera insists there's not much time, so we should head out onto the road and look for the airship before this meeting is finished… (Okay, Joshua and the Ascians definitely have history...)

Rushing out towards the road, the party searches the immediate area for the location of the airship and discovers it's set down next to Amberl tower, with sky bandit minions holding the fort.



Our party hides behind a large rock and Schera mentions this is definitely the perfect palace to land, since it's just off the main road. Joshua wonders if we should subdue the men, and Schera admits that's one way to go about things… but there's more than double their number since the last time we encountered them. Estelle argues that even twice as many guys are no match for us, so we could take them all at once…

That's when a man's voice suddenly remarks that he's not sure that's the best way to go about things. Aw yeah! To the party's utter shock and surprise, a perfectly sober Olivier shows up and apologizes for keeping them all waiting. Estelle is about to shout his name, but is quickly shushed by Joshua since they might be overheard by the sky bandits. Scherazard admits this really is a surprise - she can't believe he's standing here after the state he was left in before. His tolerance is… impressive! Olivier wonders if she knows who she's talking to? Rather than miss a minute of her fair company, he dutifully puked his guts up and dumped a bucket of cold water over his head! Voila, he was good to go! As everyone seems kind of appalled by that, Estelle remarks that she's not sure he's good to go just yet - she's pretty sure she can hear his liver screaming somewhere in there. Joshua admits that he's got some serious tenacity. Olivier points out that he couldn't let us enjoy all the fun ourselves, right?

Olivier recalls that he had just come out of the inn when he saw us hit the road, so he came running from behind to catch up with us. Schera concludes that she went a little too easy on him after all, so maybe she should have had him down all that brandy at once… Olivier, dismayed, says she'd have put him to sleep for good if she'd done that! Anyway, getting back to the topic at hand, fighting the sky bandits here would lack finesse, wouldn't it?



Estelle thinks finesse is hardly the issue here, but Olivier insists he's serious. Even if they subdued them all and managed to arrest the siblings, there's still a chance they wouldn't reveal their hideout's location. They might even use the hostages as leverage to demand their release. Schera opines that there's a risk involved with any action we take - unless he has a good plan on how to avoid taking such a risk? Olivier promises he does, oh does he ever! Estelle mutters that if it involves blowing in her ear, she's seriously going to punch his lights out… (Ha!)

Some time later, we watch Kyle and Josette return from their meeting and greet their sky bandit crew - their minions are glad to see them back, as they didn't think they'd be gone so long. Kyle confirms that the talk took longer than expected, but they're nearing the end of the negotiations. They also managed to get a great deal of information about what's going on with the Royal Army. Josette confirms that they'll be getting the ransom money within a few days, and they'll finally be one step closer to making their dream a reality! The crew celebrates, but Kyle warns them to cool it - it's too early to get excited just yet. For the moment they need to head back to base and report to Don. Pack up everyone, and let's get out of here! 'Roger that!'



Inside the ship, Josette goes through preflight checks - the temperature is 69.8 degrees with 15% humidity, there's a south-southwest wind blowing at a speed of 12 arge, and there's no orbal reactions in the surrounding area. Kyle concludes the army is not patrolling around here, so it's time to activate the orbal engine and transmit orbal energy to each section of the airship. As the systems activate, we see snapshots of the ship's interior - the orbal floater starts, then the orbal driver, then the stabilizers all go green, each overlooked by various crewmembers. Time for lift-off! As the headlights of the airship turn on it flies into the sky, where Kyle commands a drive rate of 40% after which they will maintain cruising speed. He warns the crew to be ready to switch to battle speed at any time, though… Josette concludes they'll be back home by morning, and Kyle says he's ready for some shut-eye, but he'll have to report to Don first…



Meanwhile, in the back compartment, Ryan - one of the bandits - hears something, but his coworker Lyall didn't. Ryan could have sworn it came from below deck… He heads down to check it out, wondering if maybe it was a mouse or something? The place is cluttered with stuff, so he muses that he should clean it up sometime. As he heads upstairs again, we can spy Estelle hiding beneath the stairs, with a sliver of Schera's face visible as well… The airship soon makes its way to a very misty area - it's Nebel Valley! Remember way back when, back when I first got there, that I mentioned a weird offshoot that ended in an apparent boss arena? Turns out that's where the secret base of the sky bandits is located! The ship flies into a secluded grotto and all the bandits quickly get out, rushing down some nearby stairs.



Lyall and Ryan stay behind for a moment, and the former yawns loudly and admits he's tired - ever since they came here, his nights and days have been completely reversed. Ryan says they've just got to tough things out a little longer and then they can say goodbye to this horrible life… With Don as their leader, nothing can go wrong! Lyall points out Don's been acting a little strange lately, and he's kind of scary to talk to these days, but Ryan tells him to knock that crap off! If Kyle or Josette heard him talking like that, they'd beat him upside the head! Lyall tries to restate his point, but Ryan is sure he's just tired from lack of sleep, so let's just get some rest… From offscreen, Estelle yells that they're welcome to take a rest now if they'd like! As the two sky bandits freak out Estelle announces that they're too late, and goes in for a preemptive strike.



After quickly mopping up these grunts, Olivier says that it looks like we were able to get in here without any trouble. Schera is amazed his little plan actually worked - guess we all have him to thank this time! Estelle admits she was getting pretty nervous, and wasn't sure what they'd do if they got caught stowing away… Joshua reasons that even if we had been discovered, though, we could have just taken control of the airship. We would have had an advantage fighting against this lot in tight quarters, since superior numbers mean nothing without room to maneuver in. Joshua concludes Olivier thought that far ahead, , taking all of those factors into account... Olivier says that he didn't think of any of that in a million years, he just thought it'd be funny to infiltrate an enemy base! Estelle mutters that they'd have been better off if he hadn't said anything at all. Schera asks her to give the guy a break - at least we were able to get in here without incident!

Schera observes that we're somewhere in the Nebel Valley, near the border between Bose and Rolent. Estelle figures that explains why it's so misty outside, and Joshua says this is definitely terrain covered with extreme difference in height which would prevent the landing of any large aircraft, so Schera's guess was right. She complains that it didn't seem to help us much in getting here, though. Anyhow, we don't have time to hang around here chatting. We'll need to subdue the sky bandits, and ensure the safety of the hostages being held captive here - and our father Cassius too, of course. Right! Let's go!



Before heading in, we can actually backtrack onto the nearby aircraft and head back inside to rest and save up, since the sky bandits keep a mobile orbment recharge station on their ship. Afterwards, it's time to head inside and explore the base proper. The first few rooms are empty, and I pick up a Scorpion whip from a chest there, a nice upgrade for Schera. Further down we find a few more items, including a Jeweled Ring - this is a piece of equipment, but we were sent here to find a stolen ring, so we neatly completed that task as well. After a bunch more empty rooms - seriously, barring a random monster wandering around, this place is mostly deserted - we find a door behind which voices can be heard. Joshua thinks it sounds like some of the grunts… Should we rush in? We can't actually leave the room to skip them, since Scherazard suggests not leaving enemies behind us before heading further in, so off we go…

Rushing inside, we discover a whole bunch of grunts drinking, eating, and napping - we've caught them at break time, clearly. One of them asks if we're new around here, and Estelle wonders if he's for real? In his freaking dreams! The sky bandits wonder if we're not new here, then who are we? Are we supposed to be… intruders? Olivier says 'Bingo!' to that. Joshua announces that we're with the Bracer Guild, so it'd be best if they all surrendered… The sky bandits quickly say no to that, and get ready for a fight, and we're promptly thrown into a fight against six of the buggers.



Honestly, as long as you make sure you can't be poisoned via your equipment, these guys are pushovers. After the last goes down, Estelle demands answers from one of them - where are the hostages? If he doesn't start talking there are going to be serious consequences involving a whip! The sky bandit says we can do what we want, but he won't talk! Schera wonders if that's true, and asks for permission to handle this. Estelle allows it, and points out she did warn the bandits about this… Schera whips the guy good, and says she's actually being quite gentle with him. He shouldn't think for a second he's allowed to pass out yet! If he starts talking, though, she may be kind enough to let him… The sky bandit gulps, then quickly breaks - they're down below! Some of the rest of the crew are guarding the hostages!

Schera asks about the ringleaders next, and the sky bandit clams up again. She concludes he won't sell out his leaders, huh? Then there's only one thing left to do. With a mighty whip-crack she sends the guy flying through the room until he impacts with a bed and just lies there. 'Holy Strega!' Estelle exclaims. Schera's as unforgiving as ever… Scherazard mentions that she's been far more unforgiving than this, and Olivier remarks that any masochist would be thrilled to make Schera's acquaintance! Schera says her whip would be thrilled to make his acquaintance too, and Olivier says he'll consider it some other time… Joshua is focused on the hostages below, so let's hurry!



As we head through the next few rooms and take out some more vermin, Estelle asks if anyone has a clue what this whole place even is? It's way too big to have been built by these sky bandits, and it seems pretty ancient judging by the stonework. Schera says that it feels like a stronghold of some sort, and she agrees that it must be pretty old. She wonders if people used hidden forts like this as hideouts back then? Olivier adds that as far as he's heard, the turmoil following the Great Collapse continued on for several hundred years, so it doesn't seem strange to him that something like this is still around.

Estelle asks about this 'Great Collapse', and Joshua explains it's the collapse of the ancient Zemurian civilization which existed more than 1200 years ago. It's said that a huge natural catastrophe wiped them out. Estelle recalls that Professor Alba mentioned it before. Schera muses that for being a place this hard to find, someone's got seriously bad taste in hideouts… Not to mention there's monsters lurking around here too. Is this how all men like to live…? Joshua and Olivier share a look and wonder what sort of men she hangs out with...

In one of the siderooms I grab some new shoes for Estelle and a 'Bear Assault' gun for Olivier - it's an orbal hunting rifle. In a room further down the hall we can find another point of interest, one I would probably have missed if not for the mysterious 'vacuum' note on my checklist. Sure enough, there's a random vacuum cleaner stashed with a bunch of other loot in one of the rooms. If you inspect it, an object which doesn't even seem like it would be interactable, Estelle wonders what it is. Joshua explains it's the newest model of orbal vacuum cleaner, so it's probably been stolen. Estelle inspects it more closely and discovers something stuffed inside - it's a black notebook filled with strange numbers. What's this? What's it doing in a vacuum? Schera guesses it's probably important, so suggests holding onto it for now. If you've been keeping up with exploration it's pretty clear what this is about. Hidden quests with hidden objectives, huh? You're not fully completing this game without some kind of guide…



A little further along the hallway there's another room full of sky bandits, and once again we rush in - and once more these idiots have no idea what's going on. Schera concludes that there's actually another room beyond this one, and that's probably where the hostages are being held. She tells the bandits to surrender, but they naturally refuse, and we're faced with another battle against six grunts, which is exactly as easy as last time around. They even grouped up in this case, so I could AoE them to death! So helpful…



As we finish off the last of the chaff, we get a look inside the room with the hostages. Trino, whom we've heard about during exploration, wonders what's going on out there - is there fighting? Captain Grandt says it seems a bit loud for just an internal squabble. Moments later Estelle runs into the room and asks if everyone is alright? Schera announces that we're with the Bracer Guild, and we're here to rescue them. Trino is astounded by this - seriously, they're s-saved?! Joshua explains that we've already taken care of the guards, so they don't need to worry about anything for the moment. Grandt explains that he's the captain of the airliner Linde, and he doesn't know how to express his gratitude for what we've done here today… Estelle just says he can thank us after he's safely out of here.

Estelle has a look around, and is rather confused. Joshua confirms her conclusion - he's not here! Captain Grandt wonders who they're looking for, and Estelle asks if all the hostages are accounted for? Grandt confirms that everyone is here, crew and passengers both. Estelle says that can't be right, and Joshua mentions that a man named Cassius Bright was supposed to be on the flight, a member of the Bracer Guild.



Grandt recalls hearing that name somewhere, and Crew Member Clare confirms that he was that passenger, the one that got off right before they left! Grandt recalls that, right, now that she mentions it, there was one passenger who did get off. He had been on board since the Royal City, and he did seem to have the name Bright if he remembers correctly… Since he left right before they departed, though, there wasn't any time to document the changes, that's why he was still on the passenger manifest. It would have been handled on arrival in Rolent, but they were attacked en route and things were left as they were…

Joshua concludes that that's what happened, huh? He thought it would have been awfully strange if Dad had been captured by the sky bandits… Scherazard agrees that it seems one of our questions has finally been answered. Olivier thinks it's quite ironic! Estelle tells everyone to wait a minute, though - then what exactly is Dad doing? With something this big going on, why hasn't he contacted us!? Joshua tells her to calm down, and admits he's just as curious as her to know the answer, but thinking about it now won't get us anywhere. Our focus should be on securing the hostages. Estelle admits he's right, and that we'll need to forget about it for now. Schera tells the room that we're going to go after the sky bandit leaders and arrest them. While she knows how they must all feel, they'll need to sit tight for a little longer.



Grandt wishes us luck, and Trino says they'll prepare for the worst. Their lives are in our hands, now… We shouldn't let them down!

Spoiler: Hostages (When Rescued)

Burrell says this was the first time he'd ever ridden an airliner - and to think something like this would happen… Prometheus says he'll finally be able to get home to Zeiss! Blaue is amazed they've been saved - he must be dreaming or something. Atget, a young girl, wonders if we're 'bray-zers'? Are we going to arrest the nice guards? Her mother, Ruvie, says that she's glad to know that Atget's been saved, more than herself. Finel wonders what's going with his store right now… Lenore thanks us for coming to the rescue, as she'll finally be able to get home! Sylvie says those sky bandits ripped off everything she bought at the Bose Market! We should make sure to get it back! Trino admits that all things considered, he's surprised we were able to find and get into this place… Being a bracer must be a tough occupation, huh?

Legaro says he'll finally be able to get back to his travels now. Being stuck here has put a real kink in his plans. Colton says he thought this was the end of them for sure. There was something just not right about the look in that sky bandit boss' eyes… Clare says all of the passengers are safe and sound, and nobody is sick or injured either. She thanks us for saving them… Duncan mentions that after the way they ripped out Linde's engine, which he'd kept in such good repair all this time, he'll never forgive them… Timon says he's glad they're safe, but what happened to the airliner? They were blindfolded, so they never exactly saw what happened. Parker knew we'd come to save them! Captain Grandt says he's pretty sure the sky bandit leaders are somewhere on the lowest level of this place… We should all be careful.

Near the place where the hostages are kept there's a staircase that leads to nowhere - inspecting the rock wall at the end reveals a secret passage leading directly to that 'boss arena' location in the Nebel Valley, and thus to the outside. Using this, we can now head over to the hermit's place and rest up or do some trading, or grind against local monsters, but we can't actually leave the Nebel Valley itself.



Olivier says the secret door was quite a neat little trick, but he wouldn't expect anything less from a secret fort! Joshua wonders if we should use this to help the hostages escape first, but Schera argues we'll need to take out the bandit boss first lest we get attacked while attempting to escape. There's no way we'd be able to protect that many people. Olivier suggests getting back in there, then, and having a face to face chat with the gentleman running this fine operation!

Next: Time to take down the Capua family, once and for all!