The Mining Town of Gollund
-A man named Orran is on a rooftop. People inside are hunting for him.
-Our party stumbles on the scene. Our job is to protect him.
-The Hasteja animation is trippy af.
-Orran is an astrologian with an awesome mass-disable called Celestial Stasis.
-Victory! Smells like a new party member.
-Orran’s shocked to hear Ramza’s name, but then feigns ignorance. Does he want vengeance on the Beoulves?
-He’s heading away from Lesaslia. Later bud.
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Royal City of Lesalia
-An awkward reunion between Zalbaag and Ramza.
-Ramza pleads with him to end the fighting, that the war has been plotted by a third party.
-Zalbaag seems legit taken aback. Dycedarg may well be doing this on his own.
-A knight interrupts, saying that Cid has broken through our lines. The war calls.
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Lesalia Castle Postern
-Alma catches Ramza on his way out.
-Ramza is worried for Delita. He wants to pull him out of whatever evil shenanigans may be afoot with this third party. I get the sense that saving Delita is as much of a primary motivation as saving Ivalice.
I don’t necessarily ship Deliza, but I don’t NOT ship it.
-ALMA WANTS TO COME WITH! HELL YES NEW PARTY MEMBER???
-A man enters - Confessor Zalmour of the Holy Office of the Inquisition. He’s here to charge me with the murder of Cardinal Delacroix. I mean… he’s not exactly wrong.
-Alma and I against three knights, two monks, and the Confessor himself? Uhhhhhh….
-PHEW! I now see the rest of my party waiting just outside.
-Alma is a cleric. She drops a great (if mana-hungry) buff on Ramza, Aegis.
-The Confessor gives me the chance to repent. As with most of this game, I’m unsure whether Zalmour is sincere. Does he really believe I killed Delacroix and stole his auracite as an offering to some horrifying god?
-I try to tell him the truth, but he peaces out.
-Alma overheard that, and thinks she saw an auracite. She blessedly doesn’t tell Ramza where it is unless he takes her with. GOOD. We need a cleric.
Seriously, this is just like in FFIV when the three dudes in the party told the two female mages that they couldn’t join them in the final dungeon because it was too dangerous.
-She also makes the point that no matter what happens, she’s in danger. She just fought off the Office of the Inquisition. No way she’s safe just chilling at home.
-The auracite is in Orbonne. Where we started the game. “A crystal engraved with the likeness of a virgin maid.” …Virgo. She’s coming to help us get in.
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Orbonne – First Level
-We go into the monastery. Elder Simon is wounded.
-We hear troops down below, searching for the auracite.
-High Confessor Marcel apparently wants to restore the Church to prominence. He set Dukes Larg and Goltanna against each other to weaken both of them. He wants the Zodiac Stones “to revive the Zodiac Braves” and gain popular support.
I don’t quite understand this. Does he think the stones will revive the Braves rather than the Lucavi? I think it’s more likely that he’s the high priest of eeeeeevil and just spreads the nobler story to get others to help him revive the Lucavi.
-Ramza and his party will head down to the vaults to save the Virgo stone. He’s giving Alma his current auracite to protect.
I’m terrified that she’ll use it to fend off troops and become another Lucavi in the process. She’s clearly frustrated by how much Medievalice and Ramza personally limit her, so maybe she’ll take drastic action to prove herself.
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Monastery Vaults – Second Level
-The enemy team is scary here. Three dragoons, two time mages, a chemist.
-Still not over how powerful Agrias and her Holy Sword abilities are.
One-woman army.
-We defeat the party but Isilud (who continued below) found Virgo. Uh-oh.
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Monastery Vaults – Third Level
-Really cool music.
-Isilud’s job is “nightblade.” Not sure exactly what that does – that’s a job name in the MMO Rift, a type of elemental-based rogue. All he does here is use a dragoon jump.
-Everyone in FFT attacks Ramza for shaming House Beoulve by not being a jackwagon, but he always stands fast. He’s a bit of a straight arrow, but I admire that morally at least.
ISILUD: “The Church of Glabados envisions a world devoid of class divides – a world where all men can live as equals.” Sounds good, and I definitely see why Delita joined. But what’s up with the Lucavi?
His claim that war is the fastest way to this future reminds a bit of progressives who wanted Trmp because the resulting catastrophe hasten their goals, without caring who would gets hurt along the way.
-I feel bad for Isilud. I believe that he doesn’t know the auracite is tied to the Lucavi.
-Isilud leaves, all, “I’ll get you next time, heretic!”
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Monastery Vaults – First Level
-Alma is under attack. Isilud has got her, and Wiegraf is nearby. SEE RAMZA??? The “go away for your safety” plan NEVER FUCKING WORKS.
-This next fight is to defeat Wiegraf.
He obliterates me. My party was grouped up and his Holy Blade blows me up and stops me.
-Second attempt. I spread my party out more, to avoid Wiegraf’s initial Judgment Blade.
(I really wish the game had included a “skip cutscene” option.)
-Wiegraf is one of the more sympathetic antagonists in the game. He came from poverty, saw his sister killed, his comrades decimated under systemic oppression. And now this kid who grew up with everything lectures him on the nobler path.
”Only with power can dreams be made real.”
I really, really like Wiegraf.
-At least, I like him as a character. As an antagonist, he’s terrifying.
I manage to pour enough damage onto him to take him out without dealing with his supporting cast.
-Like so many this chapter, he escapes. With the stone.
-Scene change to outside the monastery. Isilud is on a chocobo and sees a bloody Wiegraf crawling out. Wiegraf urges Isilud to flee when Ramza emerges, taking Alma away.
-Wow. I honestly thought Wiegraf would live to fight another day. It looks though like his run ends here. He drops the stone.
Uhhhhh. The Stone speaks.
“God Stone bearer, with me now do treat.”
Your spirit and my flesh as one…”
The auracite – or something within – is trying to tempt the dying Wiegraf.
“Your ire and despair, their call I heed.
And so once more I ask, with me do treat.”
Wiegraf, would you like to live deliciously? It seems he would.
Wiegraf accepts the offer and becomes the Gigas Belias. The first esper we found in XII.
-Oh shiiiiit. Beliasgraf gets away. And the way he spoke makes me pretty sure that Wiegraf is still somewhere in there.
-Elder Simon crawls out of the church and gives me a book by a man named Germonique, a disciple of Saint Ajora. The true tales of the Zodiac Braves.
ELDER SIMON: “I have lived a life of sin. All these years I have turned a blind eye as the Church rotted with corruption.” He wants to atone with his dying breaths.
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Dorter
-Some folks find me here, tell me to bring the Scriptures of Germonique to castle [something? Didn’t catch the name] to get Alma back.
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Next time: Chasing Alma.
