Summary: The hellish Garamsythe Waterways. Cluckatrice. The “independent” city of Bhujerba. Lamont.
Wrapping Up in Rabanastre
-I talk to Ktjn with Fran in my party. No new dialogue.
-Back to the Garamsythe Waterways to investigate the puzzle from the letter. Something about stopping the water’s flow. Central Waterway Control sounds right.
-There’s a map on the floor here with two lit orbs. Four rusted devices are around, one lit. I need a “sluice gate key.”
-I see what’s going on! The map indicates which surrounding areas have their water drained so I can pass through.
-I explore the east way. A red-con lizard down here smacks me for 500, but I still sneak by.
I keep going, waiting until the lizards pass by so I can keep exploring. A stealth puzzle!
OH GOD IT’S NOT A STEALTH PUZZLE
I’M FREAKED OUT RIGHT NOW AND CLEARLY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE –
THERE’S A MOTHERFUCKING “MALBORO OVERKING” WITH A MOTHERFUCKING CROWN AND A MOTHERFUCKING REGAL MUSTACHE AND I NEED TO GET OUT BUT NOW I’M LOST
-I FOUND A ROOM WITH THREE TREASURES IDK WHAT THEY ARE I’M SO NERVOUS
[Later edit: the main treasure I got was a Hornito, a Hand-Bomb (license 1). The rest were single-use items.]
I PROMISE YOU, THERE USED TO BE RATS AND BATS HERE, NOT SWARMS OF MALBORO KINGS
I’M DYING I’M DROPPING, COME ON FRAN, YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE
-FRAAAAAN!!! I SOMEHOW SOMEHOW SOMEHOW MADE IT BACK TO THE CONTROL. THAT WAS HARROWING.
[Later edit: a silver lining of this brief nightmare was that I learned about the party system. Only can have three party members active at a time, and I can choose who’s the leader. Also, when my party members die I can have the party members on the “bench” step in.
I like this a lot! I prefer smaller parties. It makes tougher fights like a puzzle where I have to come up with the right combination rather than more one-size-fits-all type fights where I just have to pile on max damage and healing.
I mean, I’m 1000% certain those types of fights exist. No doubt there’s Omega and Shinryu and the like who just need you to max your damage, stats, defense, healing, etc. But I don’t see that as the default.]
---
Cluckatrice, Round Two
-I got my ass handed to me once today. Let’s try for more. Round two with Cluckatrice and her chicks.
-My strategy: Vaan, Balthier, and Basch. Vaan has Mage Masher and will silence Cluckatrice as often as possible, despite her self-purifies.
Basch will heal allies when they go below 50%. Balthier’s has a license that lets remedies cure petrify. Only five remedies, so not setting this as a gambit. Balthier is also my back-up healer, using First Aid on critical HP party members.
I start out on the individual chicks, healing up as each goes down. Then onto Cluckatrice.
-Come on come on…. Dammit out of Remedies…
Wrapping Up in Rabanastre
-I talk to Ktjn with Fran in my party. No new dialogue.
-Back to the Garamsythe Waterways to investigate the puzzle from the letter. Something about stopping the water’s flow. Central Waterway Control sounds right.
-There’s a map on the floor here with two lit orbs. Four rusted devices are around, one lit. I need a “sluice gate key.”
-I see what’s going on! The map indicates which surrounding areas have their water drained so I can pass through.
-I explore the east way. A red-con lizard down here smacks me for 500, but I still sneak by.
I keep going, waiting until the lizards pass by so I can keep exploring. A stealth puzzle!
OH GOD IT’S NOT A STEALTH PUZZLE
I’M FREAKED OUT RIGHT NOW AND CLEARLY NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE –
THERE’S A MOTHERFUCKING “MALBORO OVERKING” WITH A MOTHERFUCKING CROWN AND A MOTHERFUCKING REGAL MUSTACHE AND I NEED TO GET OUT BUT NOW I’M LOST
-I FOUND A ROOM WITH THREE TREASURES IDK WHAT THEY ARE I’M SO NERVOUS
[Later edit: the main treasure I got was a Hornito, a Hand-Bomb (license 1). The rest were single-use items.]
I PROMISE YOU, THERE USED TO BE RATS AND BATS HERE, NOT SWARMS OF MALBORO KINGS
I’M DYING I’M DROPPING, COME ON FRAN, YOU’RE MY ONLY HOPE
-FRAAAAAN!!! I SOMEHOW SOMEHOW SOMEHOW MADE IT BACK TO THE CONTROL. THAT WAS HARROWING.
[Later edit: a silver lining of this brief nightmare was that I learned about the party system. Only can have three party members active at a time, and I can choose who’s the leader. Also, when my party members die I can have the party members on the “bench” step in.
I like this a lot! I prefer smaller parties. It makes tougher fights like a puzzle where I have to come up with the right combination rather than more one-size-fits-all type fights where I just have to pile on max damage and healing.
I mean, I’m 1000% certain those types of fights exist. No doubt there’s Omega and Shinryu and the like who just need you to max your damage, stats, defense, healing, etc. But I don’t see that as the default.]
---
Cluckatrice, Round Two
-I got my ass handed to me once today. Let’s try for more. Round two with Cluckatrice and her chicks.
-My strategy: Vaan, Balthier, and Basch. Vaan has Mage Masher and will silence Cluckatrice as often as possible, despite her self-purifies.
Basch will heal allies when they go below 50%. Balthier’s has a license that lets remedies cure petrify. Only five remedies, so not setting this as a gambit. Balthier is also my back-up healer, using First Aid on critical HP party members.
I start out on the individual chicks, healing up as each goes down. Then onto Cluckatrice.
-Come on come on…. Dammit out of Remedies…
-YESSSSS HOLY FUCK I BARELY MADE IT BUT I BEAT THE CLUCKATRICE WITH NO PETRIFIES LEFT
---
Lamont
-A woman asks to accompany us to the Lhusu Mines. She doesn’t say who she is. New party member?
-She’s small. I’ll bet the Imperials are looking for her.
-VAAN WTF ARE YOU DOING. He’s like, “Don’t worry Lamont, you’re in good hands. Right BASCH?” You suck at keeping secrets.
-She joins as a guest. No way is “Lamont” her real name. She paused before saying it, as if making it up.
-Very interesting though. I was sure Amalia would be the next party member, but maybe Lamont will join permanently.
-Diabolos is rumored to live in the mines.
-If I have “Slow” on me, “Haste” erases it. I didn’t know that. Glad I’m talking to the folks in the shops.
-Guns are strong against armor, but useless against some enemies (or “raksas” in the Bhujerba tongue). Flans, for instance. Probably other amorphs too.
-I adore how FFXII draws on Persian aesthetics/art. Maybe even some south Asian cultures. (I’m unfamiliar with these beyond really vague generalities, so I could be wrong about its influences.)
-Another Forgotten Grimoire is suddenly available at the technick shop for 25k. Dunno how I triggered that. Too expensive now, but I’ll try saving up for it.
-Lamont says that the Imperial army is not generally allowed in Bhujerba. So why are they allowed now? Is their target (I assume still that it’s Lamont) important to both Bhujerba and the Empire?
---
Lhusu Mines
-We enter the mines, narrowly escaping the sight of an Imperial party.
-Marquis Ondore and a Judge lead the party. They confirm that now Bhujerba is giving the purest magicite to Lord Vayne. This explains why the rumors in town say the magicite has been worse quality of late – the best stuff is going to the Empire!
This deal is getting worse all the time.
-Ondore mediated Dalmasca’s surrender.
-Lamont pauses on hearing Penelo’s name. Maybe she’s working with the bangaa who kidnapped her.
-There are literal traps in this mine. Most are explosive, though one actually healed my party. I’ll bet this game has a dungeon that’s obnoxiously stuffed with traps lol.
-Got a technick, Numerology (damage that increases with successive hits), from a chest. I had no idea I could get stuff like that from a chest.
-Poor Basch is now made of stone, but his sacrifice was not in vain.
As rewards, I got an Amber Armlet and a Rainbow Egg. The armlet boosts barehanded, but I have no monk. The Rainbow Egg netted me a pack of Hi-Potions as Bazaar Goods.
-The Chickatrice and Cluckatrice show up as “Elite Marks” in my bestiary, a new category.
---
Flight to Nalbina
-I hop an airship there to Nalbina to explore before pushing on.
-Two options: a leisurely route where I converse with others or fast travel. I’ll go the leisurely route.
-There’s a group of fliers called the “Roamantics.” XD
-A pompous and obnoxious dude named Rande is hitting on a steward named Ann. Ayn Rand pun somehow?
-Rande proposes a “game.” If I can deliver a flower to all Ann’s sisters on the different flights, Rande (and his brothers) will give up trying to marry Ann (and her sisters). Six ships, six sisters.
-Since “TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER YOU HARASSING ASSHOLE” apparently isn’t an option, I’ll do it.
-The ship arrives in Nalbina.
-“Boss Burrogh” is the bangaa down in Barheim Passage.
-A Nalbinite talks of an “eerie cry of a woman” in Barheim Passage. I didn’t hear anything like that. Maybe I’ll end up back there.
-The “baknamy” are in the Nabreus Deadlands.
-Nabudis is a dead city, destroyed by the empire.
-Ready to move on. I fly back to Rabanastre.
---
To Bhujerba
-I meet up with Balthier at the Rabanastre aerodrome. He tells me that Bhujerba is a small city-state on a sky continent that thrives on the export of fine magicite. We’re heading for the Lhusu Mines.
-Again, I like that the game very explicitly tells me I won’t return to Rabanastre for a while, and am I SUUUURE that I’m absolutely ready to leave right now?
-The Strahl is our ship. It looks BEAUTIFUL.
-Okay, a trio of mechanic moogles just bounded off the Strahl and they’re SO CUTE OMG. They’ve grown on me.
-We set sail. Sky pirates AHOY.
-Scene change. The headhunters holding Penelo taunt her. Poor Penelo. She’s so confused, doesn’t know who Balthier is, what the fuck’s going on, what happened to Vaan.
-THIS CONTINENT IS AMAZING! There are these tall blue crystalline structures. Magicite maybe.
-The city has its own language. The term “bhadra” that gets peppered in. Nice bit of world building.
-More imperials are here than usual. I keep mentally hearing Vader say “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”
-The Imperials are looking for someone. Basch? No - a kid said he was grabbed by the Imperials, mistaken for their target. They’re looking for a kid.
As rewards, I got an Amber Armlet and a Rainbow Egg. The armlet boosts barehanded, but I have no monk. The Rainbow Egg netted me a pack of Hi-Potions as Bazaar Goods.
-The Chickatrice and Cluckatrice show up as “Elite Marks” in my bestiary, a new category.
---
Flight to Nalbina
-I hop an airship there to Nalbina to explore before pushing on.
-Two options: a leisurely route where I converse with others or fast travel. I’ll go the leisurely route.
-There’s a group of fliers called the “Roamantics.” XD
-A pompous and obnoxious dude named Rande is hitting on a steward named Ann. Ayn Rand pun somehow?
-Rande proposes a “game.” If I can deliver a flower to all Ann’s sisters on the different flights, Rande (and his brothers) will give up trying to marry Ann (and her sisters). Six ships, six sisters.
-Since “TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER YOU HARASSING ASSHOLE” apparently isn’t an option, I’ll do it.
-The ship arrives in Nalbina.
-“Boss Burrogh” is the bangaa down in Barheim Passage.
-A Nalbinite talks of an “eerie cry of a woman” in Barheim Passage. I didn’t hear anything like that. Maybe I’ll end up back there.
-The “baknamy” are in the Nabreus Deadlands.
-Nabudis is a dead city, destroyed by the empire.
-Ready to move on. I fly back to Rabanastre.
---
To Bhujerba
-I meet up with Balthier at the Rabanastre aerodrome. He tells me that Bhujerba is a small city-state on a sky continent that thrives on the export of fine magicite. We’re heading for the Lhusu Mines.
-Again, I like that the game very explicitly tells me I won’t return to Rabanastre for a while, and am I SUUUURE that I’m absolutely ready to leave right now?
-The Strahl is our ship. It looks BEAUTIFUL.
-Okay, a trio of mechanic moogles just bounded off the Strahl and they’re SO CUTE OMG. They’ve grown on me.
-We set sail. Sky pirates AHOY.
-Scene change. The headhunters holding Penelo taunt her. Poor Penelo. She’s so confused, doesn’t know who Balthier is, what the fuck’s going on, what happened to Vaan.
-THIS CONTINENT IS AMAZING! There are these tall blue crystalline structures. Magicite maybe.
-The city has its own language. The term “bhadra” that gets peppered in. Nice bit of world building.
-More imperials are here than usual. I keep mentally hearing Vader say “I am altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it any further.”
-The Imperials are looking for someone. Basch? No - a kid said he was grabbed by the Imperials, mistaken for their target. They’re looking for a kid.
---
Lamont
-A woman asks to accompany us to the Lhusu Mines. She doesn’t say who she is. New party member?
-She’s small. I’ll bet the Imperials are looking for her.
-VAAN WTF ARE YOU DOING. He’s like, “Don’t worry Lamont, you’re in good hands. Right BASCH?” You suck at keeping secrets.
-She joins as a guest. No way is “Lamont” her real name. She paused before saying it, as if making it up.
-Very interesting though. I was sure Amalia would be the next party member, but maybe Lamont will join permanently.
-Diabolos is rumored to live in the mines.
-If I have “Slow” on me, “Haste” erases it. I didn’t know that. Glad I’m talking to the folks in the shops.
-Guns are strong against armor, but useless against some enemies (or “raksas” in the Bhujerba tongue). Flans, for instance. Probably other amorphs too.
-I adore how FFXII draws on Persian aesthetics/art. Maybe even some south Asian cultures. (I’m unfamiliar with these beyond really vague generalities, so I could be wrong about its influences.)
-Another Forgotten Grimoire is suddenly available at the technick shop for 25k. Dunno how I triggered that. Too expensive now, but I’ll try saving up for it.
-Lamont says that the Imperial army is not generally allowed in Bhujerba. So why are they allowed now? Is their target (I assume still that it’s Lamont) important to both Bhujerba and the Empire?
---
Lhusu Mines
-We enter the mines, narrowly escaping the sight of an Imperial party.
-Marquis Ondore and a Judge lead the party. They confirm that now Bhujerba is giving the purest magicite to Lord Vayne. This explains why the rumors in town say the magicite has been worse quality of late – the best stuff is going to the Empire!
This deal is getting worse all the time.
-Ondore mediated Dalmasca’s surrender.
-Lamont pauses on hearing Penelo’s name. Maybe she’s working with the bangaa who kidnapped her.
-There are literal traps in this mine. Most are explosive, though one actually healed my party. I’ll bet this game has a dungeon that’s obnoxiously stuffed with traps lol.
-Got a technick, Numerology (damage that increases with successive hits), from a chest. I had no idea I could get stuff like that from a chest.
-We reach a large, glowy cavern. Lamont’s goal.
-She finds manufactured nethicite. It absorbs magical energy. The Draklor Laboratory is behind the research. Balthier looks skeptical as fuck right now, like Lamont shouldn’t know that.
BALTHIER: “Errand all attended to, then?”
LAMONT: “Thank you. I’ll repay you shortly.” Chances that Lamont turns on us just shot to like 99.999%.
-Yup. The bangaa headhunters reveal themselves. I love Ba’Gamnon’s circular chainsaw type weapon.
-Ba’Gamnon has Balthier, he already let Penelo go. That’s… kind of him?
-Looks like I was wrong about Lamont. She throws some nethricite at Ba’Gamnon and flees.
-Balthier tells us to fight cautiously, but fuck that. I took down a big turkey this session. I can take these guys.
-We kill Ba’Gamnon’s henchmen. When he goes to critical HP, he flees.
-We pursue Lamont back through the mines. She evades us.
-OH FUCK. Lamont was running from the empire, but not as a thief/rebel. He’s a high-ranking Archadian. The Judge addresses him as “Lord Larsa.”
-Penelo had fled out of the mines and was taken by the Empire. Lamont sees her, immediately puts her under his own protection. Maybe as a favor to us.
-New theory: Lamont is a privileged child within the Empire, but not necessarily bad. He could’ve turned us in just now. He didn’t. He could’ve turned in Basch. He didn’t.
Instead, he used his power to protect the person he knows we care about.
-Balthier confirms that “Lamont” was a pseudonym. He’s the Emperor’s fourth son, Vayne’s brother.
-Our next step is to talk to Ondore.
---
Next time: Finding Ondore.
-She finds manufactured nethicite. It absorbs magical energy. The Draklor Laboratory is behind the research. Balthier looks skeptical as fuck right now, like Lamont shouldn’t know that.
BALTHIER: “Errand all attended to, then?”
LAMONT: “Thank you. I’ll repay you shortly.” Chances that Lamont turns on us just shot to like 99.999%.
-Yup. The bangaa headhunters reveal themselves. I love Ba’Gamnon’s circular chainsaw type weapon.
-Ba’Gamnon has Balthier, he already let Penelo go. That’s… kind of him?
-Looks like I was wrong about Lamont. She throws some nethricite at Ba’Gamnon and flees.
-Balthier tells us to fight cautiously, but fuck that. I took down a big turkey this session. I can take these guys.
-We kill Ba’Gamnon’s henchmen. When he goes to critical HP, he flees.
-We pursue Lamont back through the mines. She evades us.
-OH FUCK. Lamont was running from the empire, but not as a thief/rebel. He’s a high-ranking Archadian. The Judge addresses him as “Lord Larsa.”
-Penelo had fled out of the mines and was taken by the Empire. Lamont sees her, immediately puts her under his own protection. Maybe as a favor to us.
-New theory: Lamont is a privileged child within the Empire, but not necessarily bad. He could’ve turned us in just now. He didn’t. He could’ve turned in Basch. He didn’t.
Instead, he used his power to protect the person he knows we care about.
-Balthier confirms that “Lamont” was a pseudonym. He’s the Emperor’s fourth son, Vayne’s brother.
-Our next step is to talk to Ondore.
---
Next time: Finding Ondore.
