Errands & Rumors
I can gear up Mustadio, but not Agrias and Ovelia. Are they only temporary party members? …Oh, I’ll bet they’re just out of my party right now because they’re hanging out with the Cardinal.
A new errand in Lionel: “My Little Carrot.” Someone lost her pet malboro named Carrot. That was an FFXII hunt. Not sure which is referencing which. I assume FFXII was calling back to this, but I don’t know how much of this “War of the Lions” content was introduced after XII.
-I think I found the worst, most annoying random encounter: a flock of chocobos. One is like a black mage launching red pellets, and the other are basically white mages constantly casting Choco Cure.
-Some new rumors. First, “The Legend of the Zodiac Braves.” A mini history of early Ivalice! It started as seven warring kingdoms. Then a young king who wanted to unite the kingdoms summoned a demon for help.
It did not go well. What a surprise.
The demon got loose, killed the king, and set out to destroy the world.
Twelve braves gathered to face them, each with a crystal engraved with a zodiac sign.
-Second rumor: “Zodiac Stones.” From the time of Saint Ajora. They weren’t just symbols for the Zodiac Braves; they granted them miraculous power.
-Third rumor: “Baert Trading Company.” Based in Warjilis. Positive public face, but sketchy shit in the shadows.
-The more I fight, the less I like Mystic. Gonna change my Mystic/Time Mage to a Summoner/Time Mage, and my Summoner with some black mage support to a straight up black mage. When I feel I got enough black mage stuff, maybe I’ll add in Time Mage or Orator or some supporting thing.
I get that mystic and orator can be powerful. There are just so many turns though where I feel I’m doing nothing. And that’s saying nothing of when the spells don’t land.
-I had wandered around fighting while the errand got done. It rewarded decent gil and JP, but nothing great.
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Tchigolith Fenlands
-Not much story here it seems. We’re just on our way and get stopped by monsters in a swamp.
-Argh! It’s poisonous to stand in the fen.
-The fight is fairly slow. I wait in my corner and shoot/fire/shockwave the enemies as they get in range.
- I like the errands, but I think I’ll send my bench characters on it going forward. I don’t like all the leveling I do, since it seems like the main story missions don’t scale the way random encounters do. A random encounter I faced just now was 17, but the Fenlands monsters were only 13.
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The Clockwork City of Goug
-Cool tinkly sound in the music.
-Baert isn’t here. Lionel’s troops aren’t here either, as they said they’d be. Something’s off. Mustadio goes to investigate.
-We head to the Goug Lowertown. No signs of Mustadio…
-He’s been captured by Ludovich. Ludovich demands the auracite, and is threatening both Mustadio and his poor father to get it.
-Mustadio gives in. Ramza turns the auracite over, and Ludovich frees Mustadio.
LUDOVICH: “This should bring a smile to the cardinal’s face.”
FUCK. I should have seen this coming, but I legit thought that cardinal was on our side.
-Battle time. Two separate roofs, which is fine by me with my black mage and archer.
Hi, Shiva! From an enemy summoner.
We defeat Ludovcih’s troops and save Mustadio… but they still have the auracite.
-I really like the portrait art on Mustadio’s dad.
-HAHAHAHA MUSTADIO YOU BEAUTIFUL MACHINIST!!
He prepared a fake auracite for just this scenario. Ramza and I tossed Ludovich the fake, keeping the real one.
-A new problem arises: the cardinal still has Princess Ovelia and Agrias with him. He’ll probably try to ransom them. It would piss off the Crown, but he doesn’t care. He knows people hate the Crown.
-Our next step then is to extract Ovelia and Agrias from Lionel. The road will be blocked off. Maybe we can sail there.
-Yay! Mustadio rejoins the party.
-The outfitter in Goug has a lot more status protection accessories. I buy some. I’m afraid of an onslaught of disable/immobilize/etc. attacks.
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The Port City of Warjili
-The roundabout route to sneak into Lionel by sea concerns me. The first stop is Warjili, home of the Baert Trading Company.
-Yay! Another of those watercolor cutscenes.
-Delita’s here! “We have ears in many places.” Who’s ‘we?’
-He warns us away. Somehow, we’re putting Ovelia in danger. Delita plans to do the saving himself.
-I hate when characters are vague like this. Just tell Ramza why his attempts to save the princess will be counterproductive. Explain it. You know if you don’t, there’s no chance he’ll listen to you. Do you just want to sound mysterious?
-Delita isn’t working for either king. He’s working for a third party. Someone trying to overturn the system itself.
-Two new weapons are in the store here, a Kotetus and Ashura. Both for a Samurai.
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Negotiation
-Before I head to Balias Swale I get a cutscene. Gaffgarion, Ludovich, and Cardinal Delacroix.
-They’re negotiating. The Cardinal will turn over the princess to Dycedaarg. I guess the plan is for Dycedaarg to then give the Cardinal the stone in exchange for helping. Maybe? That sounds like a terrible plan lol. Dycedaarg won’t give up any advantage he doesn’t have to.
-I really, really like Gaffgarion’s character. He’s a craft old mercenary. Smart and cunning, but also knows his limits.
-Gaffgarion is the one who will try getting it back. The cardinal trusts his competence. He’s pissed at Ludovich for letting us go. Welcome to the doghouse, Luddy boy.
-HOLY SHIT!!! [later edit: lol no pun intended] I THOUGHT LUDOVICH WAS JUST GOING ON THE BENCH FOR A WHILE, bUT THE CARDINAL KILLED HIM! THE SCREEN PANNED UP, WENT RED, WE HEARD A SCREAM AS THE CARDINAL ADVANCED, AND SPLAAAAT.
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Balias Swale
-Two squads for this. Smaller squads.
-Lady Agrias is being pursued by Lionel’s Gryphon Knights. We have to protect her.
-So though Princess Ovelia was taken, she escaped.
-The Gryphon Knights have a couple of knights, archers, and black mages. The knights’ rend can be annoying, but the black mages scare the hell out of me. Gotta watch my positioning. Archers are pretty nasty too, but at least they can only take out one at a time.
-Victory! Agrias says the princess is being taken to her execution. Let’s go.
-I’m still… wary of Agrias. Not that wary since she seems super loyal to Ovelia, but I’m at least a bit concerned she’s loyal to the Crown above all and is Dycedaarg’s reluctant servant. The chapter 2 title is haunting me.
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Next time: the gallows.
