Grating...

The trick to getting the kid is to take to the skies with Nina. Wait until he comes into view and descend when he's near. I floated above the bridge. The chase will begin, so hammer X. He'll agree to return to the orphanage, and we're warped there. While the kids eat, the adults talk about Elina.

A nun confirms Elina was here but doesn't know where she went. Cray is annoyed that that's all she knows, but the kid we caught rushes upstairs. He saw where Elina went! But he sucks, so he challenges us to a game of hide 'n' seek. Without any recourse, Nina agrees. We now have to find six kids throughout the town. They're all scattered in hard-to-see areas, so get ready to spin that camera! Fortunately, they give a clue about another kid, and the first one we can find is cleaning the kitchen. If you're missing one, she's probably in the inn. Once we've got the six, a nun notices we're only missing the kid we tagged. Another orphan says he went into the basement, which is very bad. While the outside of town was cleared of hex, the underground is still affected, and monsters roam the area. This seems like a dumb place to rebuild.

There's only one way down, and it's guarded by a guy. He'll move when the sexy water lady comes to sell him high quality H2O, so head down when his back is turned.

This dungeon is just an advanced tutorial. There are no gimmicks, offshoots, or bosses. Walk through the dungeon until you reach the prison. The kid will be in one, but we can't catch him. Head up another floor and fall through the second hole in the floor to reach him. We'll automatically be returned to the orphanage. The kid tells us he saw Elina leave with her entourage, but two people took her further west - to the Empire Wyndia is at war with. Kid doesn't know who they were, but the nun knows she went on a sandflier, so it was probably the local merchant, Marlok.

We find his house guarded by a bodyguard, who Cray forces a fight with. He's no threat to us. Marlok saw the battle unfold, so he offers us an audience. He confirms he took Elina into the Empire, but he doesn't know why or where she went from there. Cray gets rough, but the sly merchant talks him down. We're gonna need his help to get west.

Cray is upset because we have to do his errands now. Ershin reminds him we roughed up his bodyguard, so we're kinda obligated to repay him. But why did he keep Nina as a maid? Our job is to find a thief who's been stealing Marlok's stuff. A peddler by the gate thinks the thief in question lives on the eastern highway. We have access to a new cave now, so head to it. Don't go all the way! If a question mark or exclamation point appears over Ryu's head, enter the area it's calling to.

We'll spot the possible thief and confront him, but he'll run off. While we give chase, we cut to seeing Marlok ask Nina for a shoulder massage. The others enter the cave, and now we have to corner the thief. I moved two barrels into a wall and chased the guy there. He tells us that he's just stealing his stuff back. Marlok bought them for a pittance, and he wants them back. Cray agrees with our target and lets him go. Nina has to give Marlok a foot massage.

We return to town and get yelled at. Marlok did buy those items fair and square, after all! But he gives us a second chance; one that doesn't require thought. We have to do manual labor at the sandflier wharf while Nina gives Marlok a back rub. Our first task was to clean the store room. We have to put barrels in the barrel section and urns in the urn section with Cray's push ability. Ershin will have to destroy the old barrels with a bash. I got three in each for 1200 points and a 500 bonus for time. Marlok offers Nina a massage now, and we hear her scream... D...do I want to know what this was about?

After that, we have to load the flier. Using the crane, which is a lot too oiled up, we have to place ten crates with a bonus score for putting them on blue squares. I got all of them for 2000 points! Nina comes rushing up to us, and Marlok has decided to ferry us west. For a job well done, we get straw. A drinking straw or hay? What was the point of all this? En route west, Cray complains about our room. All four of us are cramped into one small box because Marlok is technically smuggling us into the Empire. While the flier fades off, we cut back to Fou-Lu. But we'll get back to him...

...tomorrow!

All these mini games in quick succession suck. Especially when they're awful experiences. Please don't diverge back to BoF3!