The enemy approaches.

The team goes south to a tunnel called Under Traffic. It’s the main thoroughfare between the capital, Meria, and the rest of the country. It’s a straightforward path with only a few offshoots, both leading to good treasure. The one in the moving platforms is a new special for Ashley, and the one hidden behind a rock is a Crest Tag. Creat Tags are used to create new magic for Lillia. To get through the tunnel, have Brad kick explosive containers around, and then Lillka can blow them up, as well as the rocks they should be near. At the exit, they find a wounded man. They all agree they can’t leave him here and call up Valeria on the communicator he gave them before they left. They confer to bring him to the nearby town of Damzen.

Damzen is straight out of the American wild west. It’s got saloon doors, desert landscapes, cowboy hats, and is just one road. At the end of that road is the town’s clinic. The doctor patches up the wounded man, and he tells us that he believes the cave in, I neglected to mention, was man-made. We then go around town and see if anyone can confirm his story. In the first building I enter is a family of people who work at the commutation tower. They inform us that evildoers have taken over the tower. We, being the heroes, go to kick them out!

The tower is just south of Damzen and is filled with locked doors. To open the first door, throw three boxes into the magic switches. Climb the stairs until you find a lever. Climb more stairs to drop down onto the lever, then climb back up. Eventually, there will be another switch that activates all the remaining locked doors. Behind those doors is an elevator that we should take everywhere. One of the floors has the Booty Call Tool that signals a treasure is nearby. Keep climbing until we reach the top of the tower and the communication crystal relay. We get there just in time for a worldwide Skype call.

Vinsfeld Rhadamanthus, the leader of Odessa, gives a
L O N G and W I N D I N G
speech about cleansing the land of monsters. It sounds great until he starts talking about overthrowing governments and killing people. It’s long and poetic. It’s also really confusing. I don’t know what I learned, but I sure did learn. After the never ending speech, we’re attacked by an Odessa monster.

Vagesta is easy. Destroy his arms, and gain all the EXP. I don’t know what Disease does, but once you blow his limbs off, he starts healing every turn. If Lillia knows Vortex, he can’t outheal her DPS. I was lucky to find a Lucky Card on the beach east of Damzen, sonI got 2000 EXP AND Geld. Combat seems easy so far, and bosses like the Phantom Being remind me of that.

Afterwards, we return to the house and inform the inhabitants of what happened. As we leave, we meet the girl who stared at the comet yesterday. She knows Ashley and says her name is Marivel. She doesn’t look human. She says more esoteric mumbo-jumbo about Ashley, who should remedy her, but probably that he couldn’t. She finally tells us a plane, probably, from Odessa, went east. Meaning our destination is to the east!

Day one plot dumps are passed, and we’re already in the nitty-gritty. I assume. This is a two disk game, and we’re going fast. What’s the twist?

Also, there’s a picture of Vash the Stampede in the room next to Ashley’s in the bakery. Now I want to watch Trigun.