After meeting Fester, the astrologer, and walking around the newly opened, nocturnal doors and townsfolk, I make my way to the inn to sleep until morning. It turns out the inn is full-up. I didn’t try this, but apparently, we’re not allowed to leave town. So with that not an option, no vacancy at the inn, and limited places to go, I stumble into the house of famed botanist Nello. It quickly comes to light that Shana and, especially, Albert are interested in plants, so the three talk about Nello’s plan to cultivate the desert. They talk into the morning, but the screen fades as they begin. Well rested and ready to get on with their search for Lloyd, the party leaves the city.
As they come to the entrance, the party tries to figure out where to go. The only place brought up is the Flower Town of Donau, across The Barrons. But first, go back to the bar to meet Martel, the Stardust LADY. I turned in my dust and got an amulet, doubling the user's MP.
With everything done, I make my out to The Barrens, the badlands of Tiberoa. While still in Fletz, we learned some interesting tidbits about the area. There’s a group of bandits, a ghost ship, and an ever encompassing desert. Wonder what we'll come upon here... The Barrens is the smallest place we’ve been, but something big happens. As we march through the rocky terrain, we’re beset by a small group of bandits named the Gehrich Gang. The leader, or sub-leader, in this fight is named Mappi. Like all mad bandits, we do battle.
I’m pretty sure this is a boss battle with Mappi and his two friends, seeing as you get a lot of EXP for it, but it feels pretty easy. I didn’t go Dragoon, and I used predominantly physical attacks. It was a good enough strategy that Dart did his boss kill steal attack sooner than expected. The final blow, though, missed. A cutscene battle takes place between Dart and Mappi, where Dart’s Red Dragoon gem gets knocked out of his possession and stolen. Mappi is an agile man and manages to get away. The party has no idea where he went, so they continue to Donau, without Dart’s ability to transform. They’re weirdly okay with this.
Donau is a city on the ocean filled with flowers. It’s a colorful scene, and the music fits, meaning I hate it. Before entering, we get a scene where Lloyd enters into a mugging by the Gehrich’s and a woman, a sister of Millie Sesaou. The bandits insult Lloyd, who makes them flee. The woman thanks him, and he says no problem. Is Lloyd a good guy? We, beginning to find our way through the town, immediately talk to a woman in fear. Kate has just received a note from her husband-to-be, Lynn, saying he went to end the Gehrich’s assault on this land. The woman asks us to talk to the mayor, her father-in-law, about the note. We go there, walk into the scene we just saw with Lloyd, and meet the mayor. He tries to get a group of people together to save his son, but he fears leaving the town empty will make it vulnerable to full invasion by the bandits. Dart, ever the hero, offers to go since we need to go there anyway. The mayor tells us the bandits live in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity, and the only way in is to ask the king’s permission. So back to Fletz we go.
But first, we overhear an argument where a 16-year-old girl says she was sexually assaulted by three bandits. It’s played off a minor comedy, as comedy in the early aughts sometimes wasn't great. It’s not as serious as she says... which makes me seem like a monster. Look, it's a scene that hasn't aged well. Anyway, she ends up holding her own in the argument, scaring them off. She learns about our quest to save Lynn and, being a friend of the couple, offers to join the party. She claims to know the valley, despite probably never being there. I give Dart’s okay, not sure if it even matters, and the Dancer of Donau joins.
I remember really liking her ten years ago. She’s the fastest character, by far, but doesn’t do a lot of damage. She’s one of those spunky, hyperactive teenage girls that most people find annoying in games. Maybe it’s the fact she wears very little clothing, but I don’t know why I liked her so much. I guess there are 40 more hours to remember why.
Regardless, we return to the Duel Castle and walk up to the guard. Being good at his job, he doesn’t let us in but does admit Shana is pretty. The only way to ask the king for permission is to come in with a trusted source. In short, we go find Fester, who we follow in to have an audience with King Zior.
The king says that Lynn came by recently, asking for the same pass. Saying we’re not taking a risk, but we're going to save the man, Zior gives us permission. As we try to leave the castle, a lady-in-waiting asks us to speak to Princess Lisa. She’s an Astrologist who can read the stars. Because of that, Lisa knows Albert, who’s not claiming royalty on this journey, is here. She informs us of Emilie’s backstory. Emile was a kind woman until she was knocked out on a horseback ride one day. At least, they assume. Her horse went crazy, and the two sisters became separated until someone found Emilie alone in the forest. She also tells us about their royal treasure, The Moon Dagger, which is their version of Albert’s Moon Gem. The stars say not to give the dagger away, which is about to happen at the upcoming coming-of-age ceremony for the heir of the kingdom. The hair, being Emile.
The party then goes to dinner, where Emilie is uncouth with her eating habits, and then go off to bed. Meru and Haschel have a discussion about how pretty she’d look in a wedding dress after Haschel says he wished to see his daughter in one. In the morning, the party heads out to a mountain of floating rocks...
...which I’ll get to tomorrow!
There’s a lot that happens in this game. I only got an hour and a half of play in, but I’m always here for so long. I guess an hour isn’t that bad, but it can really drag. Not saying I hate it, but I do hate my phone.
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