Chapter Three; Prier and Alouette

We open up on a dark haired preacher giving a sermon in a large cathedral. He speaks of how glorious suffering is and that we should accept it. Living sucks, though, so humans find a way to "escape." But, inevitably, people die and dreams end; it's just a part of life. We should accept it, and we should come home to the Divine Mother.

Later, when the congregation is gone, the man tells the aether of his disdain toward humans. A hooded man enters, called the preacher Noir, and tells him of Alan. Noir doesn't know who Alan is. The hooded man reminds him was, and it rings a bell. He remains unmoved. He even thanks La Pucelle for killing him to save them the time. The preacher turns around, stares up, and calls out to his "mother." Guys, I think we found the villain.

We return to our party in Father Salade's office. We're giving him the report of the last chapter, including the involvement of the Church of the Divine Mother. Prier thinks we should raid the church, but Alouette hits her with a book and says how terrible that is. Over seventy percent of Paprika are adherents, so any attack might lead to a civil war or the very end of the Church of the Holy Maiden. Croix enters the room, and the Saladman seems worried. He keeps it together, and no one notices, but the player can tell. Prier introduces the two men, and Croix talks business. His former employer is involved with demons, so he can't really go back. Instead, he offers us his services...at a price. At the behest of everyone, especially Alouette, Salade accepts the freelancer into the group. Croix then takes Alouette's hand to thank her further, and Colette starts thinking he's hitting on her. I suppose Colette has a crush on Alouette. The bossman gives us our next mission, which is to report this to the Queen of Paprika. So it's off to Cresson Castle. I hate food puns.

The castle is to the north of Pot au Feu City. The party is already in the throne room when the camera catches up with them, and two guards beckon us. Prier hates it here because everyone is so "pompous." Croix wonders how he was allowed in since he's an unknown actor. Alouette just wants everyone to behave themselves. Prier and Croix have that "Don't call me mister" speech that comes off strange in English. I'm sure it's meaningful in Japanese, but it just falls flat here. For some reason, they re-introduce themselves, and Prier tells him she's going to be the Maiden of Light. Colette doesn't believe it. She insults Alouette, but Alouette remains solemn. At some point, Prier's image flashes before Croix' eyes, and she turns into someone else. He stares at her, and now Colette thinks he's gonna hit on his sister. Before long, a guard comes in and tells us that Her Royal Highness, Princess Eclair, will see us.

In walks a purple haired girl, younger than everyone else in the room. Princess Eclair tells us the Queen is elsewhere, and we give her our report. She, too, is suspicious of the Divine Mother. For all of our hard work, Prier asks for a reward, which upsets Alouette. The two bicker until Eclair laughs and calls Prier "big sister." This makes the two adults in the party confused, and Colette informs the group of how the two of them are friends with a Princess. Four years ago, when they were still initiates, they came to the castle for a show. Prier was busy practicing when Eclair came in. She was shy and a bit scared, but Colette sensed that she was lonely and wanted friends. The three became fast friends, but Prier wanted the heir to the kingdom to call her "big sister" because Prier is strange. Colette remakes that, even though they're from vastly different castes, they're still friends and even have the same goals: become the next Maiden of Light. The Princess and the Pucelle reconnect for the first time in a while before we need to return to the church.

As we approach the church, we hear a commotion from the infirmary. Inside we see the Padre, a few nurses, and two hurt men. The two men were walking in the Meuniere Forest when they were attacked. Salade asks us to investigate further. Prier doesn't want to and assumes they were up to something. Them getting attacks was the will of Piotenne, and they got what they deserved. Alouette finds that statement blasphemous, believing the wrath of the boob goddess to be used for the clenching of souls only. Colette calms them down, and we head to the fish forest.

As we approach, Croix asks why demon hunters are looking for a beast? Alouette tells him that anything that harms Poitenne's children must be dealt with via holy weaponry. Prier brings up Croix's amnesia, asking how he knows so much despite it. Croix says it's strange that he only forgot his own past. Alouette notices the similarities between them, and Croix makes a joke that amnesia must be contagious. Prier hates it and asks why he'd work with us if being solo might be faster for his goals. Croix says he joined because of Prier. She resembles someone our gunslinger faintly remembers. Colette thinks he's hitting on her again. A loud roar is heard in the forest, and we finally get on to battles.

Stage One is the Forest Entrance. It contains two new mobs, a hippo and a box. The hippo is alright and has better stats than our bats, but it has less movement. It can put enemies to sleep. The gremlin, though, is great! It has terrible, crippling movement rates, but its defense is off the charts. And it has more than enough attack to have a place on the team. This was another mob I remember using until the end back in high school. I need to put some shoes on it one day.
Stage Two is the Forest of Grief. It's a battle, but there's an event square here. Stepping on it reveals a sentient mushroom. Everyone is shocked. It's crying because it's wounded, but mostly because it lost its mushroom essence, which means it can't return home. Prier promises to get it back.
My stage Three was Barsom's House. When we arrive, we see the master of the forest walking away. We think about putting it down, as we were told, but Croix stops us. He points out that it's wounded, and it isn't an accident. The two men in the church infirmary said they were taking a walk, but standard walking gear couldn't have issued those wounds. This convinces Prier to go home, which enrages Alouette. Anything that harms the Goddess' children needs to be put down at all costs. Prier thinks that's a load of junk and doesn't care what the "Holy Book" says. The master is innocent, so it should be left alive. Alouette is adamant, though, and the two women's argument starts to get heated. Alouette has so much religious fervor that she refuses to see that her book can be incorrect, and Prier doesn't want to harm anything that was just defending itself. Croix manages to settle them down, and we go to the battle. There's an event square in front of the house. All it is is a man losing the last piece of his hair. He laments that he'll never be able to tell a girl that he loves her now, and we just casually leave. I'm sure it'll mean something later...
I went back to Stage Four, the Forest of Judgement. It's a massive battlefield with two event squares. The one closest to spawn contains the mushroom essence. The one next to the box is something for Colette to experience. He walks to a lone cat and asks if it's lost. The cat speaks and tells him that he is. Colette is stunned because cats, apparently, don't usually talk in this world. The feline leaves to keep doing his thing, and the rest of the group enters the scene. Colette tries to tell him what he saw, but no one believes him. Finish the battle and return to where we met the mushroom. Prier will hand over the essence and then ask for a reward. Alouette will scold her, but Prier thinks it's reasonable. It's just business, right, even though we're priest/esses. The shroom doesn't have anything, but it does tell us her name is Elizabeth. She warns us not to kill the master of the forest or else the whole area will wither and die, leading to cataclysmic events. She tells us about Eringa Village and leaves. We can visit her home, but she's not there. It's another peaceful city that serves as a single Rozenqueen shop populated by mushrooms. Visit if you want, but you should return home now, anyway.

Head to the church infirmary and report what we just learned about our "prey." Salade did his own investigation and found out that the two men are working for the Divine Mother. They were sent to kill the Lord of the Forest to make the area unstable, creating more darkness and evil. We're to return to the forest and protect the Lord, I guess. It's just a vague "go back" in the game...

Stage Five, Endless Forest, is just a battle map. Enemies are in a 3x3 pattern, and a few guides suggest this location as a grind spot.
Stage Six, the final stage, is the Shrine of Beasts. We see a hooded man from the Divine Mother strike down the Forest Lord and turn into another Gargoyle. This one is harder than Alan, and it even has stronger sidekicks. The boxes here seem a lot stronger than mine, but I managed to put them to sleep to keep them from inferring. A few Miracles put them down. The boss couldn't defend itself against six of us, but it did get two of our guys. But the Lord was still dead. Not wanting to see the forest die, Prier prayed for guidance from the Goddess. Even though she tried twice, nothing happened. Reluctantly, Alouette stepped in, prayed, and the Lord got back to its feet before walking off. Alouette was winded, though. Croix said she could have died performing such a miracle, but she'll pull through. Alouette blames herself for wounding the Lord, for some reason, so she thinks it's the least she could do.

We return to the Saladman's office, where Prier and Alouette get back on the same page. Alouette holds the church's teaching to a high standard because that's all she knows. Her only belonging was the Holy Book when she lost her memory and doesn't want it sullied. But, as she saw today, maybe it's not always correct. Sometimes you need to listen to your own heart. Prier tells us that she follows her gut because, otherwise, she might have regrets. At least this way, she won't double think stuff. I'm sure that's a perfectly fine rationale... Croix and Colette remark that they're glad everything is okay again, but...

Just as the two have their "Don't call me by a formal name" conversation, Alouette tells her young ward that she should dress more modestly. A sister shouldn't wear such tight a revealing outfits. A bowl of leafy greens turns around. Prier defends herself by saying this is what Salad wanted her to wear. She then calls out Alouette for wearing a micro-mini. Blah blah blah Father Salade is a pervert.

By not killing the Lord of the Forest, I got my third straight Good Ending, 5000 Gold, and a Handshake weapon. Prier is still hitting her brother, and now there's mild pedophilia...