The Gladiator's charge ability - does it just automatically attack on the next turn, or can you perform another different ability on the next turn that gets the charge damage multiplier?
Turn 1: Charge
Turn 2: Nine Smashes with damage boost from Charge?
The Gladiator's charge ability - does it just automatically attack on the next turn, or can you perform another different ability on the next turn that gets the charge damage multiplier?
Turn 1: Charge
Turn 2: Nine Smashes with damage boost from Charge?
You get to pick the ability. Etheric Charge works the same way. Which means that you can actually queue up an elemental limit and Etheric Charge, and have the charge boost the damage of the limit.
Are there any physical-damage limits that go at the end of the turn instead of the beginning, so you can pull off the same thing with Charge?
Entry Made: 15th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
I suppose it should go without saying that the Molten Caves is an immensely uncomfortable place to be, moreso when you’re carrying several hundred pounds of armour on your person at all times. However I’ve been able to make a tolerable amount of progress, at the very least we’ve discovered several shortcuts through the area that will allow us to avoid the more troublesome spots later on.
I can’t say I approve of entering the 3rd Stratum purely on the Abyssal King’s behest, though. If I recall correctly, during an audience with the king the matter of why travel through the Deep City and the Labyrinth beyond was so heavily restricted, and apparently we’ve been sent to the 10th floor of the Labyrinth to see the reason for ourselves in a chamber known as the ‘Hall of Conviction’.
Well, we’ve had two weeks of resting, which should be more than enough time for everyone to have recuperated fully. Given how tenacious the beasts of the 3rd Stratum have thus far proved themselves, especially those giant saurian creatures with spiked tails, I suspect we’ll need all our strength going forward. Adrian, in particular, was barely reining in her obvious excitement at having a chance to trade blows with tougher creatures than the ones in the 2nd Stratum.
All in all, our first venture into the 3rd Stratum went along tolerably well. The locals have warned us about giant sandworms lurking in the area, but I’ve yet to meet any. I suppose I should pass along the notice to the others in the Guild.
*~*
Sidney
Monsters Defeated: Stegosaurus x 3, Flame Lynx x 2, Rattle Nozuchi x 4
Items Collected: Stegosaur Fin x 2, Predatory Fang x 1, Burning Fur x 1, Red Iron Chip x 2, Red Iron Scale x 3
Got a chance to try out by new voltage rounds today! I gotta say, it worked pretty well, especially on those weird bug things with the rattling tails.
But man, is the 3rd Stratum hot! My usual gear leaves my shoulder and midriff bare, and I’m pretty glad for them, but Adrian was wearing that green robe of hers in addition to her shirt, to say nothing of Alexis who spent her entire time walking around in heavy armour. Eesh, if I tried the same sort of thing she did I’d go crazy, that’s certain.
From what I heard we were allowed into the 3rd Stratum for the sake of finding some sort of ‘terror’ from the deeps, but we were able to handle ourselves well enough, so I gotta admit that I’m still puzzled about why all the hush-hush surrounding the Deep City.
In other news not directly related to Labyrinth explorations, it looks like several of Armoroad’s merchants have been able to secure footholds for trading with the Deep City, including dad, of course. ‘Course, there’s still a bit of a problem of finding stuff that the Deep City people are willing to trade for, but with the word out that Armoroad’s the middleman between the rest of the world and the elusive Deep City, more people are flocking to Armoroad than ever before. Of course, the seas around Armoroad are as treacherous as ever, but now more people think navigating through it is a worthwhile investment, so Armoroad’s well on its way to pulling itself up by its own bootstraps!
During a break session in the middle of today’s expedition I had a chance to talk with Adrian and ask about how she was doing. Her training with Pure’s going steady, and apparently she’s starting to think of sending him into do some actual fighting with her backing him up. Gotta say I’m pretty interested in how that would work.
I stopped by Napier’s to turn over the monster bits I’d picked up through today’s jaunt. I wonder what Edie’s artisans will come up with. They’ve never had materials like this to work with before, so I can only hope they come out good.
*~*
Juliana
At last! We’re to begin travel through the Labyrinth again! I was beginning to wonder if such an extended rest would not in fact dull my blade. Zack went down with the female knight today, and I understand that I’ll be part of the expedition party tomorrow. Simply splendid!
Although, when Zack came back from his trip today, his complaints about the intense heat of the caverns were long and loud. That could indeed prove problematic – I was never very good at dealing with the heat. Perhaps my ability to master the Ice enchantments might prove useful in there. I’ll have to play it as it comes, I suppose.
Also, the HMS Tranquility has been properly repaired at long last! It would have been ideal if it had been repaired before we restarted journeys into the Labyrinth, of course, so I’d have the opportunity to go for a bit of a sightseeing trip before the call of duty overtook me once again. Oh well, one must play the hands one has been dealt.
I recently had an audience with that Seyfried fellow and I must say I found him a perfect gentleman, and the cuisine of his chefs are world-class. It’s almost enough to forget that he’d authorized an ambush that almost left me dead. I honestly don’t know where I stand in his eyes, but in this particular case I’m inclined to side with Wooster – we can treat with him with all the niceties our respective positions demand, but he’s still not to be trusted.
*~*
Melina
Napier’s Branch in the Deep City managed to finish setting up shop today! I visited it, and they’ve managed to bring down enough of the stock from the main branch that there’s plenty of stuff lining the shelves. I wonder if the denizens of the Deep City will be interested in what she has to offer? Especially when a lot of this is specifically geared for adventurers too.
I’ve also received some basic training with a shield and spear from Alexis over the past two weeks. Not much, but I should be able to defend myself better when we go foraging for materials now. And not a moment too soon, since the 3rd Stratum’s opened up to us and I hear the monsters are a lot tougher than anything we’ve faced so far.
I stopped playing at the midboss in the 3rd Stratum. I really need to get motivated to play this again but damn I just can't be bothered to grind for hours whenever I get to a boss, ugh.
Honestly I don't think anything I do will be able to 'pump life' into this thread. I do this Travelogue primarily because I enjoy doing it. That others enjoy it as well is a pleasant bonus.
*~*
The Etrian Odyssey Travelogue
Entry Fifty Two
*~*
Asmodeus
Research on the Deep City is proceeding at an acceptable pace. Of course, the fact that the Deep City is still populated and thriving means that I’m not as qualified for this task as I’d assumed I would be. Trying to find out about a civilization by digging up relics is rather different from being able to simply ask the people there about it.
In the meanwhile, we’ve also started exploring deeper into the 3rd Stratum. To be honest, I’ve little interest in what lies further in – my primary goal is the Deep City, and I’ve already reached that. However, I’m given to understanding that the denizens of the Deep City rely on raw materials from the molten caves to help sustain themselves, so I suppose it would be worth my while to investigate along with the rest of the Guild.
I must say that my Ice based offensives have proven themselves rather useful, or at least that was my observation from today’s venture. Many of the creatures living in there are rather adverse to the cold. Well, that’s only to be expected when you make a volcanic cavern your primary dwelling.
Rossa’s spent a large portion of the past two weeks in the Deep City, mostly running around and visiting various restauarants. So much for doing actual research. I still have no idea why Master Hale approved her stay here in any official capacity. At least the latest series of incidents in the 2nd Stratum appear to have sobered her up some.
Horoscope: Beware the Eldest.
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 231 en
Adrian dragged me into the bottom of the 1st Stratum and asked me to face off against one of those crazy deer things that roam around that. I mean, I managed to figure out how to use a couple of her fist techniques from her, but taking on one of those murderbeasts isn’t a proposition I was exactly comfortable with.
Nor was I exactly comforted by her story of her master throwing her off the edge of a waterfall against her will in order to toughen her up. According her this is supposed to be somewhat analogous. So apparently she thinks fighting a Furyhorn is an experience equivalent to getting thrown off the edge of a waterfall.
Somewhat more reassuring was Sidney and Adrian coming along to offer backup, although Adrian insisted that I would have to at least deliver the final blow with my fists. Given the quality of my dagger and pitchfork at this point, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, regardless.
Well, long story short, we found one and managed to beat it down. And I only got knocked unconscious twice. However, I did manage to hurt it when I hit, and I guess I kinda surprised myself that way.
Later we took a breather in one of the safe chambers we’d found around the 4th level. I handed out some of the drinks I’d made before setting out on the mission, Sidney talked about how there’ve been enough monster clearing in the 1st Stratum for more people to visit it for excursions, and Adrian patted me on the shoulder and told me I did well.
Oh, and we were able to sell the deer hides too.
All in all, not a bad day.
*~*
Juliana
I spotted some sort of dreadful beast in the 3rd Stratum today! A humongous worm with far too many teeth, lurking in a crevice down one side of the area. Fortunately, it was past sundown at the point and the worm was obviously in a deep sleep, so we were able to avoid confrontation with it.
Also, the others were serious about the intense heat. It appears my strategy of only attempting to enter at nightfall was of little effect. Wooster was obviously suffering heavily, but firmly resisted any attempts for me to comfort him. I really need to have a talk with him one of these days.
I ended our expedition when we stumbled upon yet another of those Submagnetic poles. This allowed us to go straight back to Armoroad proper. Of course using the pole to enter the Deep City before the 3rd Stratum was convenient enough, but every little bit helps. Alexis seemed sufficiently cheered by this news.
*~*
Zeetha
Gosric wasn’t too happy with our trip into the caverns. Of course he wouldn’t be happy anywhere that had a roof over our heads, but the added heat probably didn’t do him any favours.
But that aside, the sheer amount of wildlife in the 3rd Stratum is astounding. Well, diversity’s a bit problematic given that they’re all in a volcanic area, but that so many animals could thrive in a location like this! There’re barely any plants, too. I’ll need to spend longer and observe these animals so as to determine the food chain of the region! Unfortunately, we had to leave quickly today,but perhaps I’ll have more time for my own studies in the near future.
I retired my level 99 main party. I'm now using a completely new level 70-ish party (they were on combat study the entire game). It seems that I can't do any of the postgame bosses without a monk's 300+HP party heals, as my character with the best TEC in the new party only heals slightly above 100, which is definitely not enough.
So I've been grinding the Freed Savages on floor 13.
Damn, I really need to finish this game.. Just started it after stopping for a month due to Monster Hunter and I can't remember how the fuck my party worked anymore.
And the Travelouge is good as always, Pureauthor. Thanks.
The only problem I find with EO is that if I leave it for a while and then come back to it, I have absolutely no idea what I was doing with my characters, how they work together and what I was planning to do with their builds. I'll be coming back to this soon, but it's been woefully ignored; I still haven't even gotten past Narmer. I was ravaged by him several times, so I was grinding up, respeccing and trying out new party members when I got sidetracked by work and other games.
I'll probably try to go back through the thread, as this was likely discussed way early back, but any Narmer tips? If I remember correctly, I was using a Princess Hoplite Gladiator / Arbalist Ninja party, though I was still early enough that I was experimenting with all of the characters.
Got summoned for another audience with the Abyssal King. In between Armoroad’s requests on updates on the Deep City, and the Abyssal King’s constant talk about the great dangers in the 3rd Stratum (whatever that is), I haven’t actually been down there myself since we restarted our exploration business.
Seyfried’s also being as unhelpful as possible about whatever it is that I’m supposed to be looking for. There’s apparently some kind of taboo about speaking of whatever this menace is, although for the life of me I can’t figure out why. I’m almost tempted to simply tell him that I’m no longer interested in finding out whatever it is he’s got tucked away in the 10th floor, but then I’d never hear the end of it from Alexis about what a massive breach of protocol it is to turn down a request from a fellow monarch after already agreeing.
That and it’s supposed to be on our way, so I suppose we can entertain the king for a while longer.
(X)
Alexis just returned from another journey. Normally that would be a rather ordinary affair, but then again most of the time she doesn’t have a pair of gaping holes rent in her armour. After making sure that that particular wound had been properly healed (and try as she might, Alexis couldn’t hide the flash of pain on her face whenever she moved her left shoulder) I had to ask her about how she’d gotten the wound. Apparently one of the monsters with the spiked tails had caught them unawares in the caverns and they had to fight it off.
Of course she also mentioned about her having to do more. That she’s most often the one responsible for keeping us alive down there apparently slipped her notice for now. In any case, she mentioned wishing to study how to improve her abilities. I can’t say I’m sure what she has in mind.
In any case, I forced Alexis into an early night, and I’ve taken over responsibility for handling today’s administrative trivia. And I can’t forget to tally Guild finances as well.
Expenditure, Supplies: 349 en
Expenditure, Equipment: 1257 en
Expenditure, Misc: 1074 en (Man, our Guild has been buying a lot of clothes lately)
Income, Labyrinth Goods: 743 en (Melina reported a good haul in the 3rd Stratum today)
Income, Sea Goods: 2133 en (Rook just brought the ship back into port today)
Income, Misc: 60 en
Total Income: 256 en
Total Current Funds: 17, 423 en
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 17th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
My wound in my side still burns. I suppose it cannot be helped. The treatment was a hasty one, meant to get me back on my feet until we could leave the caverns. It’s a good thing I asked Master Geoffrey to travel with me today.
That said, the beasts I’ve faced today were as tough as ever, and much as I do not wish to admit it, I was struggling against a fair number of the monster’s attacks. I need to grow stronger, although I admit that I am currently at a loss as to how I’m supposed to make a rapid improvement in so short a time.
Meanwhile, his Majesty is constantly being summoned by either the Senatus or the Abyssal King in order to serve as a middle man for negotiations between the Armoroad and the Deep City. I’ve already told him that it’s not his business as royalty of an entirely separate city-state, but apparently neither Senator Flowdia nor the Abyssal king see a problem with ordering a Prince of the Holy Empire around. At least the flow of requests appear to be drying up somewhat – he should be able to make a journey into the Labyrinth tomorrow without having to worry about interruptions.
In more disquieting news, I’ve received word that the Empire is mobilizing against the Western Shelf, and that open conflict is expected by the outset of next spring. I don’t mind admitting that this worrisome state of affairs has been plaguing my thoughts for the majority of the day, and that this distraction was what allowed a lumbering fifteen-foot beast to sneak up on me in the first place. I’m not sure if Princess Juliana is aware of this development; at the least I could not detect any change in her behaviour.
I’ve been ordered not to inform his Majesty Jules for the time being, nor am I to return to the Empire despite the mobilization call. This entire state of affairs is a headache I honestly don’t need right now.
*~*
Rook
Well, back on dry land after a week out at sea. I think it did me and Midori some good, at the very least, we had plenty of work to do. I can’t wait to tell the others about the foothold we established to the north. A Geomagnetic pole out on the sea! There’re supposed to be more of those things scattered across the Four Blues, but no one I’ve talked to could ever give me a precise location. Maybe they shift around once in a while?
In any case, Midori started smiling a bit again a couple days back. I guess I was right that taking her mind off the Deep City and Olympia for a while was a good idea. Of course now we’re back in Armoroad and less than five minutes from the both of them so I hope she doesn’t regress too much. I left old man Mueller with the fishes I’d hauled in since last night and asked Midori to join me for an early dinner at the Butterfly Bistro.
Ran into Adrian, Sidney and Pure while we were there. The three of them have really started hanging out together more often over the past couple of weeks. We got to talking about how they’ve restarted heading down into the Labyrinth (I should probably go take a look and see if Alexis’s got me pegged for any other dives soon) and how the going’s a lot harder than they expected. I shared about how I caught sight of some of those oceanic lights that every sailor’s supposed to see at least once before they die.
Man, I’d almost forgotten how good Missy’s Meat Lover’s Supreme tastes.
*~*
Adrian
Mood: Delighted
Oh my goodness.
The Moss Strawberries from the 3rd Stratum.
They. Are. Delicious.
Especially when blended in juice, and especially when Pure blends it. That’s just this thick… richness that I can’t replicate whenever I try it on my own. When I asked him how he did it her just got a puzzled look on his face and said that’s just how he always makes all those juices.
Maaaan, as long as Pure can do it and I can’t, I’m going to be in his debt whenever I want more of those drinks! This sucks.
Melina also threw a fit over us eating (and drinking) so many of the Strawberries she’d picked, yelling that they were meant to be sold to Napier’s to help develop medicine. Sheesh, if it’s that much trouble, Pure and I can just join her next time to go forage in the 3rd Stratum for more of these things.
*~*
Midori
It’s been a while since I’ve smiled like I did out on the boat ride. I guess Rook was right, I really could use some time out there.
Still, I can’t help but feel confused. I was angry before, sure. But… I needed that anger to drive me. I needed to focus on taking down Olympia. Without that anger, that drive, I’m not sure about how to proceed.
I wish there was someone I could talk to about this sort of thing. Rook tries, but he just doesn’t understand what it’s like to realize you’ve lost everyone and everything from your old life. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better if everything had remained forgotten, if I could leave my old life behind. But whenever I think about it my chest just starts to tighten.
These are my memories. They define me as a person. I can’t give them up.
I broke down and started playing EO3 before finishing 2, which was put on hold after my dog ate the cartridge.
I didn't get the second sequel until Christmas and thought I missed out on the art book, but no! My secret santa managed to get the art book when she bought the game!
Keep up the Travelogues, Pureauthor, I'll get around to reading them all, once they no longer offer juicy spoilers...
Questions regarding getting the true ending, just entered floors 15 and 16.
* After reaching B14F, return to Armoroad. If you told the Senatus about the Deep City, an event will occur.
* After reaching B14F, return to the Deep City as well. If you told Olympia that you would keep the Deep City a secret, an event will occur.
* When you hand in the mission for defeating the 4th Stratum boss, you will receive access to a new mission that allows access into the 5th Stratum, just as normal. Do not accept this mission.
Just want to make sure I'm avoiding the right mission. I think I've had the two B14F events occur (each city gave me some kind of item?) I'm on the Deep City/Yggdroid version of the story. Now I've been given a powder to use on a wall to read an inscription, I've done that, and now the Deep City King wants me to look for a teleporter or something to get to the next stratum.
I'm supposed to accept this mission, correct? Then the teleporter will be tied to the stratum boss, and when I finish this teleporter mission, the next mission is the one I am supposed to avoid?
Questions regarding getting the true ending, just entered floors 15 and 16.
* After reaching B14F, return to Armoroad. If you told the Senatus about the Deep City, an event will occur.
* After reaching B14F, return to the Deep City as well. If you told Olympia that you would keep the Deep City a secret, an event will occur.
* When you hand in the mission for defeating the 4th Stratum boss, you will receive access to a new mission that allows access into the 5th Stratum, just as normal. Do not accept this mission.
Just want to make sure I'm avoiding the right mission. I think I've had the two B14F events occur (each city gave me some kind of item?) I'm on the Deep City/Yggdroid version of the story. Now I've been given a powder to use on a wall to read an inscription, I've done that, and now the Deep City King wants me to look for a teleporter or something to get to the next stratum.
I'm supposed to accept this mission, correct? Then the teleporter will be tied to the stratum boss, and when I finish this teleporter mission, the next mission is the one I am supposed to avoid?
Thought for the Day: One of the true joys of life is to pass on what you know to a new generation.
Woke up earlier than usual this morning.
Approximately two hours spent on meditating and training.
Was later joined by Adrian and Pure by the sea side. The boy was complaining as usual, but it appeared to be mostly in jest.
Adrian appears to have settled nicely into the role of a teacher. She cannot cover much more than the basics, of course, but otherwise she is progressing fine.
It is not often that I reminisce on when I first found her and took her in, but I cannot help but do so today.
She has indeed been a worthy student. Perhaps it is time I initiated her into the ninth level of the Yuan Yang technique. I shall need to observe her closely the next few days.
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 18th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
Geoffrey came to me in the afternoon with something about letting him an Adrian go down together for our next journey into the Labyrinth. I suppose I could work something out, although from my understanding we won’t be heading down for a couple of days. I suppose it’s not anything urgent, or at least he didn’t seem to think so.
I got Rook and Rossa to engage me in a short training session today as I tried to figure out how to improve my abilities in combat. If I can get better and deflecting and parrying strikes aimed at me, then I won’t have to worry about suffering wounds on the battlefield. Of course, dealing with attacks that are arcane in nature would also be helpful – the primary reason I asked for Rossa’s help with this task.
I have to acknowledge that any attacks that fellow humans use against me won’t prepare me fully for dealing with the beasts of the Labyrinth, but it’s a worthwhile start. Naturally there’s nothing stopping me from training against the monsters as well, but for now I’ll limit myself to human opponents.
Melina also requested more lessons on how to better use a shield. I went through some of the basic stances with her today, but unfortunately I didn’t have the time to properly oversee her. I wonder if Wooster would be willing to take over teaching her if I made a polite request of him.
*~*
Zeetha
I spotted an owl in the woods outside town today. The colouration of the wings was unusual – almost like they were eyes. Plenty of animals use markings in order to ward off prey, but seeing as I have a record of most of them, I have to say that these were different. It’s possible that this was a monster whose home was in the Labyrinth, but I don’t believe it was ever found in the higher floors before.
Well, I attempted to follow it in order to record its behaviour, but it managed to evade me. I wonder if it’ll remain in the area – if it does, I’ll have another chance at finding it again.
I have to say that Gosric didn’t appear very impressed with the owl. Then again, I first saved Gosric from an attack from a Spotted Snow Owl, so I suppose he would be wary of those types.
*~*
Jared
After Rook came back with his tale of finding one of those Geomagnetic poles on the seas, I decided I had to go take a gander for myself.
Sure enough, a bit of fancy manoeuvring and I’d got to the beginnings of the Northern Sea. Of course, when I showed up there, there was a moment if I wondered if I’d done the right thing bringing Relena along.
Sheba was right there, after all. She didn’t show anything on her face, of course, but after a couple moments staring at the city she turned and went below the decks. Shouldn’t have been surprised that she was still raw about the whole thing.
On the trip back though, she mentioned that it the currents around the city looked a lot more violent than normal. I haven’t been to Sheba often, so I really couldn’t tell myself. I wonder what that’s all about.
*~*
Rossa
Ms. Alexis asked me to help her with some of her training today! I was more than happy to help, of course, especially since it gave me a chance to practice some of my own magic.
Trying to generate enough power to send my spell out over a large area is more draining and difficult than I’d anticipated. I guess I have to accept that no matter how I handle it, I’m going to end up with a weaker strike than if I focus on a single target. Of course the big thing is to try and decrease the gap as much as possible.
I wonder if Big Brother knows about how to make spells target an area. Maybe I could ask him for some advice. Of course he’s still devoted to studying more about the Deep City, so he might not have the time. Still, it couldn’t hurt to try, I guess?
Also, Master Hale sent me a second letter saying that he expects a full and detailed writeup on the journey when I’ve returned to Sovelude. Pft. We both know he won’t read anything I give him anyway. I’m only thirteen! What sort of insight could I possibly offer over Big Brother or… well, any of the older people studying the place? Whatever, I guess I’ll just scribble something out.
Note: Gotta remember to pay a visit to Angie. I promised I’d bring her some of Armroad’s fruits!
*~*
Midori
Man the Innkeeper’s boy has been looking really worried. I wonder what’s the problem? Maybe I should ask him about it.
No official Labyrinth trip today, so Alexis and I entered the 3rd Stratum ourselves to get some training done. The large lizards (I’ve managed to glean the term ‘stegosaurus’ from the locals) apparently don’t like hanging out in the entrance chamber from the Deep City very much, so we were able to get a fair amount of fighting done.
I’ve also noticed several eggs scattered about the area. Most of them appear dormant, but occasionally one of them begins to move on its own, almost as if it is preparing to hatch. The never actually happens, though. I wonder what sort of creature those eggs hold, and whether or not it would be a good idea to try to destroy them. Alexis appeared against the idea, but then she’s always cautious about most things.
While we were cooling down later, we ran into Zack and Clay, both of whom looked rather worse for the wear. It turns out they had the same idea as us but ran afoul of one of those giant sandworms. Turns out it spews some sort of sticky mud that entraps its opponents, and that made getting away from it a massive chore. They also stunk, apparently a side effect of getting covered in the worm’s saliva, but I chose not to mention it.
So far we’ve marked down three separate spots where the mud worms have been seen making their nests. At least we know they rarely leave it except to hunt prey, so that’s something. Either that we’ll have to organize more night trips.
In other news, we’ve spotted the first of the other Guilds that have been allowed access to the Deep City and the 3rd Stratum beyond. Apparently the primary criteria is the strength of the guilds in question. I really have to wonder what the Abyssal King is thinking, and what he wants out of this whole business.
*~*
Midori
Apparently that pen pal that the boy’s been talking with is in trouble. Her village has come down with some strange malady and apparently they can’t find a cure. Apparently it’s called the Green Death and some kind of spore-thing that causes plants to sprout from within the victim. The poor kid was fretting so much about it he could barely focus on any of the people in the inn. I guess I can’t blame him, but I’m also not sure if there’s anything any of us could do to help.
None of us are really doctors – I mean, the closest we’ve got is Master Geoffrey, but he’s not really focused on healing diseases, is he? I talked with him about it for a while, and apparently even his sister’s stumped by the symptoms of the disease, so I don’t think asking any of the locals would be a help.
The poor kid’s all but tearing his hair out in frustration that he can’t help his friend. I guess I’ll ask around, see if anyone in the Guild knows anything that might be helpful. I want to help him if I can.
(X)
Well, Asmodeus just offered me a suggestion. He told me that the technology of the Deep City is far superior to that of Armoroad’s. So, if I were to ask the people there for help, maybe they would know what to do.
I
I don’t want to associate with the Deep City any more than I have to. But people have been dying of this disease, whatever it is, and if there’s a chance for me to be able to help stop it, what choice do I have?
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 453 en
Went on a gathering run today in the 3rd Stratum with Melina. The conditions there are awful – although not quite as bad as I expected, but I gotta say, the price for the stuff we can harvest there is just fine with me. Got more of those strawberries too, and I made sure to pocket a few when Melina wasn’t looking.
Atahualpa was one of our guards today, and he didn’t seem to like the look of the eggs scattered around the place. I wonder why – it’s so small that anything that could come out of it can’t be that big a threat, right?
Not that I stuck around for one of those things to hatch and make sure for myself, mind you. But on our way out I noticed a hatched egg and what looked like scrabbling claw marks in the area around it.
I don’t want to think about that too hard.
*~*
Rook
The rumour mills are turning yet again. Well, the seas carry all sorts of info on their waves, it’s up to us to see if there’s any truth to them. Turns out there’s supposed to be some sort of giant monster that’s trapped the city of Sheba to the North of here.
Well I was there myself just about a week back and honestly I don’t remember any sort of giant monster in the area. Of course I didn’t sail into Sheba myself but I’m pretty sure I’d have noticed something that even the city guards couldn’t fight off.
Then again, Jared headed there himself just yesterday and apparently the currents there were a lot more violent than what’s normal – even by this area’s post-Calamity standards. Maybe that’s what that thing is using to keep the city trapped.
Well, we’ll know soon enough – if there’s really a monster there that needs to be put down, they’ll be putting out a bounty on it before very long. Given the enthusiasm of some of our Guild, I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up being the ones to take it out again.
Midori’s been running around a fair bit today. I wonder what that’s all about?
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 19th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
After training with his Majesty in the 3rd Stratum this morning, I decided to gather more information about the nature of the denizens in the Molten Caves, if only to prepare myself psychologically.
As it turns out, many creatures are drawn there due to their natural comfort in being in an area of intense heat. Including dragons. It turns out that the lava seething through the area makes a perfect heat source for incubating their eggs, which we saw liberally scattered about the area.
I suppose I’ll need to extend warnings to the rest of the Guild. Apparently the mother dragons don’t come to the highest floors of the Stratum except to collect their young, but still, best to be on the safe side.
And while we’re at it, I’d best get started on the roster for our Labyrinth journeys for the rest of the week.
Ms. Midori came up to me this morning looking kinda flustered. As far as I could tell, there was a situation about someone falling sick and her wanting to ask the denizens of the Deep City if they had anything that they could do to help.
I guess I was a little confused because I asked her why she needed to ask me about it when she could go looking around herself. So when I asked her she kinda ducked her head and scratched her hair a little and mumbled that she wasn’t comfortable with talking to people from the Deep City, and that since I’d been spending more time with them. So we settled on a compromise where I’d follow her around, help her get a bit more used to the whole thing.
Honestly I don’t know why it took so long for me to think of talking to Angie. I mean, she’s a doctor, but her main job is running the inn, so I guess I didn’t think of her as a doctor-doctor. Anyway, when we talked to her she acted really surprised because the disease Ms. Midori was talking about was supposed to have been eradicated a long time ago.
But she said that she could brew a cure if she had some Scarlet Sage from the 3rd Stratum. Ms. Midori rushed off to go get some of that, but not before pausing and saying thank you to her. In retrospect, maybe I should have gone with her, but Angie asked me for help in setting up the equipment she’d need to make the medicine.
I hope Midori finds it quickly.
(X)
We did it! Angie was able to whip up several packets of medicine in a couple of hours. Of course it won’t be enough to save the whole village that’s sick, but it’ll do for a first batch, and as we find more of the Scarlet Sage we can make more and send more there too.
I gotta say most of the team that went in looked pretty beat up. But then they also looked happy, so I guess it was a good thing.
*~*
Midori
It’s not every day you fight an enraged dragon. Also not every day you get out of that fight alive.
But that’s not important right now. I got the medicine that can cure the Green Death (apparently it involved some kind of plant reagent from the 3rd Stratum) and I was able to help the boy at the inn. The look of relief on his face was indescribable.
I’m glad I was able to help him, and to help his pen pal, but… I had to rely on people from the Deep City to do it.
Well, person. The female innkeeper appears pleasant enough, and she was willing to help us with our problems, but she’s still part of the Deep City. Part of them. Ugh. This is why I kept away from the Deep City in the first place.
Rossa appeared friendly enough with that innkeeper. I don’t know how the others can be so carefree about this thing. Maybe I should go find Rook and talk to him and ask him for advice. Or something. I don’t know.
Lately I just seem to keep feeling more confused.
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 20th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
We were preparing to depart on today’s journey when Midori burst in, panting and asking us to change our priority from discovering the entrance deeper into the Labyrinth to hunting down a plant of some kind. I believe she referred to it as a Scarlet Sage.
After asking a few quick questions, I was able to determine that the innkeeper’s son had a friend from overseas that had fallen ill, and that this herb from the Labyrinth’s 3rd Stratum could cure this disease. A rather convoluted chain of events, but I suppose that it’s always a good idea to help others where possible.
A quick discussion about who should stay and who should go quickly ensued, and ten minutes later I, along with Adrian, Master Geoffrey, Midori and Pure prepared to venture into the 3rd Stratum. Luckily the farmer had been there on harvesting runs before and pointed out the spots where plants grew in the area.
I’m not sure whose fault it was specifically, but there was a general lack of carefulness in our group as we proceeded towards the aforementioned areas. It was Master Geoffrey who first noticed one of the eggs cracking, but before we could leave, a baby Dragon tumbled out.
Even in the first few moments of birth, it proved an aggressive beast, lunging at Adrian after a moment’s consideration. She was able to defend herself well enough, and I’d just succeeded in slaying the little beast when a ferocious bellow meant that our worst fears had come to pass – the mother dragon had known the egg was about the hatch and had come to check on her offspring.
What followed was a battle for our lives. I spent the majority of the time baiting the dragon, trying to draw its attention from my more fragile colleagues, and in this I believe I was aided by the copious amounts of its offspring’s blood on my spear and armour. The beast’s rage led her to focus almost solely on me. Still, at one point Adrian attempted to duck under the dragon’s claws and aim a blow at the dragon’s underbelly. A quick slash and she was sent flying, her own torso now with a large gash in it.
I don’t mind admitting that the battle was going badly for us – the dragon’s flame breath was able to cover a wide enough area that I couldn’t cover all or even most of the others, when it was brought to an abrupt end by Midori finding an opening and plunging her dagger into the creature’s neck. To my surprise (and I must admit, horror), the creature was rapidly turned into stone, frozen in the throes of its agony.
While we recovering from the fight (and Master Geoffrey was focusing on healing his pupil) I tried to raise the question of where Midori had mastered such a technique, but she simply shook her head and said that she did not wish to talk about it.
In any case, we were able to complete our mission. But now I have to start keeping a close eye on Midori yet again.
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 235 en
So, got roped into hunting for some sort of herb thing. Something about it being used to make medicine for some girl who’s dying of Green Death or… something? I dunno, I wasn’t even paying attention.
I didn’t even expect to have to go down into the Labyrinth today, so I guess you could say I was kinda grumpy about the whole thing. Adrian was there too, and we got to talking about what we were doing in there today. Turns out she wasn’t too sure either. I guess it had to do with Midori or something. It kinda fled my mind when we were jumped by a giant yellow dragon and all of us had to face off against it.
To no one’s surprise, I didn’t do much during the fight, although I guess it’s kinda to my credit that I didn’t get knocked out throughout the thing. Mostly I hung back and darted out to give medicine to anyone I thought would’ve needed it – especially when Adrian got herself slashed open. Again. Her body’s going to be one big scar at this rate.
Anyhow, Midori somehow turned the dragon to stone (pretty freaky, I gotta say), and old man Geoffrey seemed to be doing a pretty good job at keeping Adrian on her feet, so I just went ahead dug up some of the plants she asked for. Turns out they grow really well next to heat vents. Don’t ask me why. Midori grabbed it, mumbled thank you, and then ran off the instant we were back out of the caves. Well I guess that’s the sick girl matter settled.
Went out for dinner with Adrian and Sidney again. It was pretty easy to tell that Adrian was feeling down – I guess getting beaten up in front of her master was a blow to her pride and all that? Sidney and I tried to cheer her up, but she was still a little out of it when we headed back.
You know… Adrian may be tough, but she doesn’t seem to know much about healing. Maybe I should just go ask the old man for some tips. Just to, you know, get myself started.
*~*
Adrian
Mood: Frustrated.
I screwed up today. Master insisted on joining me for today’s trip, and I know it was to evaluate me for something or other. Doesn’t matter what it was now, I guess. I completely blew it.
I was trying to impress him, trying to take chances I shouldn’t have when facing down a friggin’ mother dragon. All those teachings about caution and waiting and stillness and whatnot just fell out of my head or something. Got a claw to the stomach for my troubles, which was bad enough, but a disapproving look from Master, which was about a million times worse.
I guess I kinda wanted to show off for Pure too. Wonder what he thinks of that little display I put on back there. Ugh. I need some sleep.
Alexis' increasing unease at the abilities of her companions is excellent.
I don’t mind admitting that the battle was going badly for us – the dragon’s flame breath was able to cover a wide enough area that I couldn’t cover all or even most of the others, when it was brought to an abrupt end by Midori finding an opening and plunging her dagger into the creature’s neck. To my surprise (and I must admit, horror), the creature was rapidly turned into stone, frozen in the throes of its agony.
While we recovering from the fight (and Master Geoffrey was focusing on healing his pupil) I tried to raise the question of where Midori had mastered such a technique, but she simply shook her head and said that she did not wish to talk about it.
In any case, we were able to complete our mission. But now I have to start keeping a close eye on Midori yet again.
I have a question: I've noticed some people saying that their Hop has like almost 400 hp at a lower level than the 40ish mine is at, as well as their other characters having significantly more than my others. My Hop has under 300, my Prince a tad less than he, and my Monk/Hop has under 200.
It's been a while since I've played, but there's a few things I can think of off-hand as to why this might be. Others may have points in HP up that you do not, or may have that +100 HP accessory equipped. The retire-bonus may increase HP also, in addition to the other stats (not sure on this one). I don't believe you're doing anything wrong - are you stuck anywhere?
But my Monk/Hop dies faster than anyone else, and almost every time in a semi-tough fight.
It's ridiculous.
I'm seriously thinking of retiring the whole party, and starting from around level 20 each.
My party right now is: Hop/Ninja, Prince/Monk, Monk/Hop, Monk/Princess, Zod/Arb
This has taken me to the beginning of the 4th Stratum.
I had been thinking of reworking the Monk/Hop for a while now, since he never really does anything but hit the A button - weakly, at that. But now that he dies almost every battle, I'm definitely leaning towards a reboot. Possibly a Sho/Buc or a Sho/Glad.
I hear binds are necessary for some rare drops?
I guess I need a Wilding on side.
Should everyone have that C skill for Exp, or just sideliners?
I wish I'd seen that tab before hitting level 35...
You really don't need that many monks, especially with two princes. I myself beat the game with a healing monk and a prince subjob, once I got the passive healing high enough the monk barely had to do anything in normal fights.
If you want some bindage without dedicating someone to that role, hammer gladiators can bind arms and rapier buccaneers can bind heads. You can actually do pretty well with a buccaneer completely ignoring the chase moves and just spamming Hanging. You could also give one of your monks a gladiator subjob, since they can already use hammers.
You're seriously going to want to be able to bind heads in the 4th Stratum, so I'd recommend picking something up. Hanging has the advantage of doing good damage and being spammable with points in Trickster.
Word came in during the afternoon about a bounty being placed on whatever freakish monster is roaming around Sheba in the north. Mostly came out about because some textiles merchants got their ships ruined by the beast when they tried to find their way around the currents. I haven’t asked Alexis about it, but word is that she plans on letting some other guild handle this one; their hands are full trying to deal with the 3rd Stratum and it’s ‘wonders’.
Fine by me, I guess.
But I guess the more important part would be Midori showing up during lunchtime and asking if she could talk with me. I guess I should’ve expected it coming – her mood’s been all over the place since we came back from that boat trip. Still, it kinda caught me by surprise, the talk coming when it did.
We took a walk down the seaside – I dunno, I guess I feel more comfortable talking about these things when I’m walking. Mostly she’s just conflicted about everything to do with the Deep City and its inhabitants. That, and every time she sees someone (mostly Jules and Alexis) treating cordially with the king of the Deep City she feels a tightening in her chest, and that was one of the reasons she agreed to go with me in on that boat trip in the first place.
I wasn’t sure what to say to her, honestly. I mean, I wasn’t one of those who got jumped by the giant fishes, and no one else in the Guild had friends they’d lost to the Deep City’s tactics. And I’ve picked up enough rumours at the bars to know that several people from other Guilds have lost friends to the Deep City and they’re not a fan of Armoroad being so chummy with the Deep City. Midori’s the same way, I guess.
In the end, I pointed out the same thing I did a few weeks back – that Olympia and the rest of the Deep City residents probably wasn’t the same. There was also that thing from the Abyssal King about needing to preserve the secrecy of the Deep City because of some terrible secret, but I decided against mentioning it. If it turns out to be a lame duck I’d rather not give Midori more to rage about.
At least this time she seemed a little more receptive, enough so that I asked her if she wanted to go pay a visit to the Deep City. She stiffened a little at that, but after a moment she said that she supposed that a short trip couldn’t hurt.
We’ll be heading down there tomorrow.
*~*
Sidney
Monsters Defeated: Stegosaurus x 2, Flame Lynx x 3
Items Collected: Burning Fur x 2
We found the entrance to the 9th Floor today!
Well, we did that mostly by accident after we realized that we’d accidentally wandered off the area recorded by the map and that we didn’t have a clue where we were. After deliberating a few minutes Jules decided to press ahead based on a vague idea that we were moving ‘parallel’ to the route on the map.
And then we got chased by a couple of enraged sandworms. One of them we managed to get away mainly because it ran into a bunch of ants that tried to swarm it. We didn’t stick around to find out who won that particular encounter.
I know Alexis well enough to tell that she’s going to chew him a new one when we get back. Wonder if I should hang around her discreetly so I can watch the fireworks. Heh.
Can’t say we got nothing out of it, though, since we ended up running into the stairway down by accident. And then we found a passage that got us back to the Submagnetic pole within five minutes of walking. Gotta wonder about who keeps putting stairs that always lead us further in – maybe it was the Deep City folks.
In any case, it wasn’t a half bad day for Labyrinth diving, especially since Jules decided to buy us dinner as a sort of apology for getting us lost. Of course he chose the Butterfly Bistro instead of any of the high-end places, but you take what you can get. I know I did – three Quencher Specials in one go!
Adrian’s apparently dragged Pure off to spend the night in the 2nd Stratum for some kind of training. I guess it’ll help her get out of the funk she was in after she messed up yesterday. Hope she doesn’t do anything too strenuous though.
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 0 en
Spending the night underwater with nothing more than the shirt on my back, and it’s freezing down here. It’s really different from the 3rd Stratum, that much is for certain.
Adrian’s the one who brought me down here for training, but she claims that tonight, she’s as much of a student as I am. That hasn’t stopped her from having to teach me how to catch my dinner, and now she’s sitting by the door to this room meditating.
She’s still feeling badly about old man Geoffrey witnessing her screwup, I can tell. I guess that’s only to be expected, but I hope that it doesn’t eat at her too much. You shouldn’t let your mistakes drag you down – lord knows I’ve made more than enough of them in my time.
I wonder if Geoffrey ever does these kind of Labyrinth expedition things.
*~*
Jared
Relena’s been getting more and more anxious about the situation in Sheba. Not sure why she’d care about the city that left her to rot, but there it is. Right now the monster trapping it hasn’t done more than sink ships that try to come in or out, but a trapped city is a starving one, so it’s going to have to be cleared out sooner or later.
Alexis says she’s not interested, but Juliana is practically chomping at the bit to go face the monster. Maybe I should go have a talk with her.
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Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Also, are +stats on equipment as worthless as they appear at a glance?
I may have been overleveled a bit but I just straight up kill them.
Buff party with attack and use warrior might following shogun/bucc attack spam.
My party is:
hoplite/prince gladiator/shogun shogun/buccaneer
monk/ninja arbalest/gladiator
I have no points invested in the anti skills.
BTW, master level ressurect is just plain awesome vs any enemies that don't just aoe your team down. Ressing with full hp is a lifesaver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbsuAbTTsV8#t=00m21s
Dangit, linking to a specific time doesn't work with embedding. Starts at 21 seconds.
Turn 1: Charge
Turn 2: Nine Smashes with damage boost from Charge?
You get to pick the ability. Etheric Charge works the same way. Which means that you can actually queue up an elemental limit and Etheric Charge, and have the charge boost the damage of the limit.
Are there any physical-damage limits that go at the end of the turn instead of the beginning, so you can pull off the same thing with Charge?
Lucky Hammer is the big one.
*crickets*
*tumbleweed*
*~*
The Etrian Odyssey Travelogue
Entry Fifty One
*~*
Entry Made: 15th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
I suppose it should go without saying that the Molten Caves is an immensely uncomfortable place to be, moreso when you’re carrying several hundred pounds of armour on your person at all times. However I’ve been able to make a tolerable amount of progress, at the very least we’ve discovered several shortcuts through the area that will allow us to avoid the more troublesome spots later on.
I can’t say I approve of entering the 3rd Stratum purely on the Abyssal King’s behest, though. If I recall correctly, during an audience with the king the matter of why travel through the Deep City and the Labyrinth beyond was so heavily restricted, and apparently we’ve been sent to the 10th floor of the Labyrinth to see the reason for ourselves in a chamber known as the ‘Hall of Conviction’.
Well, we’ve had two weeks of resting, which should be more than enough time for everyone to have recuperated fully. Given how tenacious the beasts of the 3rd Stratum have thus far proved themselves, especially those giant saurian creatures with spiked tails, I suspect we’ll need all our strength going forward. Adrian, in particular, was barely reining in her obvious excitement at having a chance to trade blows with tougher creatures than the ones in the 2nd Stratum.
All in all, our first venture into the 3rd Stratum went along tolerably well. The locals have warned us about giant sandworms lurking in the area, but I’ve yet to meet any. I suppose I should pass along the notice to the others in the Guild.
*~*
Sidney
Monsters Defeated: Stegosaurus x 3, Flame Lynx x 2, Rattle Nozuchi x 4
Items Collected: Stegosaur Fin x 2, Predatory Fang x 1, Burning Fur x 1, Red Iron Chip x 2, Red Iron Scale x 3
Got a chance to try out by new voltage rounds today! I gotta say, it worked pretty well, especially on those weird bug things with the rattling tails.
But man, is the 3rd Stratum hot! My usual gear leaves my shoulder and midriff bare, and I’m pretty glad for them, but Adrian was wearing that green robe of hers in addition to her shirt, to say nothing of Alexis who spent her entire time walking around in heavy armour. Eesh, if I tried the same sort of thing she did I’d go crazy, that’s certain.
From what I heard we were allowed into the 3rd Stratum for the sake of finding some sort of ‘terror’ from the deeps, but we were able to handle ourselves well enough, so I gotta admit that I’m still puzzled about why all the hush-hush surrounding the Deep City.
In other news not directly related to Labyrinth explorations, it looks like several of Armoroad’s merchants have been able to secure footholds for trading with the Deep City, including dad, of course. ‘Course, there’s still a bit of a problem of finding stuff that the Deep City people are willing to trade for, but with the word out that Armoroad’s the middleman between the rest of the world and the elusive Deep City, more people are flocking to Armoroad than ever before. Of course, the seas around Armoroad are as treacherous as ever, but now more people think navigating through it is a worthwhile investment, so Armoroad’s well on its way to pulling itself up by its own bootstraps!
During a break session in the middle of today’s expedition I had a chance to talk with Adrian and ask about how she was doing. Her training with Pure’s going steady, and apparently she’s starting to think of sending him into do some actual fighting with her backing him up. Gotta say I’m pretty interested in how that would work.
I stopped by Napier’s to turn over the monster bits I’d picked up through today’s jaunt. I wonder what Edie’s artisans will come up with. They’ve never had materials like this to work with before, so I can only hope they come out good.
*~*
Juliana
At last! We’re to begin travel through the Labyrinth again! I was beginning to wonder if such an extended rest would not in fact dull my blade. Zack went down with the female knight today, and I understand that I’ll be part of the expedition party tomorrow. Simply splendid!
Although, when Zack came back from his trip today, his complaints about the intense heat of the caverns were long and loud. That could indeed prove problematic – I was never very good at dealing with the heat. Perhaps my ability to master the Ice enchantments might prove useful in there. I’ll have to play it as it comes, I suppose.
Also, the HMS Tranquility has been properly repaired at long last! It would have been ideal if it had been repaired before we restarted journeys into the Labyrinth, of course, so I’d have the opportunity to go for a bit of a sightseeing trip before the call of duty overtook me once again. Oh well, one must play the hands one has been dealt.
I recently had an audience with that Seyfried fellow and I must say I found him a perfect gentleman, and the cuisine of his chefs are world-class. It’s almost enough to forget that he’d authorized an ambush that almost left me dead. I honestly don’t know where I stand in his eyes, but in this particular case I’m inclined to side with Wooster – we can treat with him with all the niceties our respective positions demand, but he’s still not to be trusted.
*~*
Melina
Napier’s Branch in the Deep City managed to finish setting up shop today! I visited it, and they’ve managed to bring down enough of the stock from the main branch that there’s plenty of stuff lining the shelves. I wonder if the denizens of the Deep City will be interested in what she has to offer? Especially when a lot of this is specifically geared for adventurers too.
I’ve also received some basic training with a shield and spear from Alexis over the past two weeks. Not much, but I should be able to defend myself better when we go foraging for materials now. And not a moment too soon, since the 3rd Stratum’s opened up to us and I hear the monsters are a lot tougher than anything we’ve faced so far.
We’ll conquer this Labyrinth yet!
Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
Depends. Do you see yourself really wanting to play all 3? It'll be hard to go back (especially to EO1) after playing this one.
As far as story and stuff goes, there's no reason why you can't start with the third game.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]
*~*
The Etrian Odyssey Travelogue
Entry Fifty Two
*~*
Research on the Deep City is proceeding at an acceptable pace. Of course, the fact that the Deep City is still populated and thriving means that I’m not as qualified for this task as I’d assumed I would be. Trying to find out about a civilization by digging up relics is rather different from being able to simply ask the people there about it.
In the meanwhile, we’ve also started exploring deeper into the 3rd Stratum. To be honest, I’ve little interest in what lies further in – my primary goal is the Deep City, and I’ve already reached that. However, I’m given to understanding that the denizens of the Deep City rely on raw materials from the molten caves to help sustain themselves, so I suppose it would be worth my while to investigate along with the rest of the Guild.
I must say that my Ice based offensives have proven themselves rather useful, or at least that was my observation from today’s venture. Many of the creatures living in there are rather adverse to the cold. Well, that’s only to be expected when you make a volcanic cavern your primary dwelling.
Rossa’s spent a large portion of the past two weeks in the Deep City, mostly running around and visiting various restauarants. So much for doing actual research. I still have no idea why Master Hale approved her stay here in any official capacity. At least the latest series of incidents in the 2nd Stratum appear to have sobered her up some.
Horoscope: Beware the Eldest.
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 231 en
Adrian dragged me into the bottom of the 1st Stratum and asked me to face off against one of those crazy deer things that roam around that. I mean, I managed to figure out how to use a couple of her fist techniques from her, but taking on one of those murderbeasts isn’t a proposition I was exactly comfortable with.
Nor was I exactly comforted by her story of her master throwing her off the edge of a waterfall against her will in order to toughen her up. According her this is supposed to be somewhat analogous. So apparently she thinks fighting a Furyhorn is an experience equivalent to getting thrown off the edge of a waterfall.
Somewhat more reassuring was Sidney and Adrian coming along to offer backup, although Adrian insisted that I would have to at least deliver the final blow with my fists. Given the quality of my dagger and pitchfork at this point, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t be able to tell the difference, regardless.
Well, long story short, we found one and managed to beat it down. And I only got knocked unconscious twice. However, I did manage to hurt it when I hit, and I guess I kinda surprised myself that way.
Later we took a breather in one of the safe chambers we’d found around the 4th level. I handed out some of the drinks I’d made before setting out on the mission, Sidney talked about how there’ve been enough monster clearing in the 1st Stratum for more people to visit it for excursions, and Adrian patted me on the shoulder and told me I did well.
Oh, and we were able to sell the deer hides too.
All in all, not a bad day.
*~*
Juliana
I spotted some sort of dreadful beast in the 3rd Stratum today! A humongous worm with far too many teeth, lurking in a crevice down one side of the area. Fortunately, it was past sundown at the point and the worm was obviously in a deep sleep, so we were able to avoid confrontation with it.
Also, the others were serious about the intense heat. It appears my strategy of only attempting to enter at nightfall was of little effect. Wooster was obviously suffering heavily, but firmly resisted any attempts for me to comfort him. I really need to have a talk with him one of these days.
I ended our expedition when we stumbled upon yet another of those Submagnetic poles. This allowed us to go straight back to Armoroad proper. Of course using the pole to enter the Deep City before the 3rd Stratum was convenient enough, but every little bit helps. Alexis seemed sufficiently cheered by this news.
*~*
Zeetha
Gosric wasn’t too happy with our trip into the caverns. Of course he wouldn’t be happy anywhere that had a roof over our heads, but the added heat probably didn’t do him any favours.
But that aside, the sheer amount of wildlife in the 3rd Stratum is astounding. Well, diversity’s a bit problematic given that they’re all in a volcanic area, but that so many animals could thrive in a location like this! There’re barely any plants, too. I’ll need to spend longer and observe these animals so as to determine the food chain of the region! Unfortunately, we had to leave quickly today,but perhaps I’ll have more time for my own studies in the near future.
Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
So I've been grinding the Freed Savages on floor 13.
And the Travelouge is good as always, Pureauthor. Thanks.
I'll probably try to go back through the thread, as this was likely discussed way early back, but any Narmer tips? If I remember correctly, I was using a Princess Hoplite Gladiator / Arbalist Ninja party, though I was still early enough that I was experimenting with all of the characters.
Entry Fifty Three
*~*
Got summoned for another audience with the Abyssal King. In between Armoroad’s requests on updates on the Deep City, and the Abyssal King’s constant talk about the great dangers in the 3rd Stratum (whatever that is), I haven’t actually been down there myself since we restarted our exploration business.
Seyfried’s also being as unhelpful as possible about whatever it is that I’m supposed to be looking for. There’s apparently some kind of taboo about speaking of whatever this menace is, although for the life of me I can’t figure out why. I’m almost tempted to simply tell him that I’m no longer interested in finding out whatever it is he’s got tucked away in the 10th floor, but then I’d never hear the end of it from Alexis about what a massive breach of protocol it is to turn down a request from a fellow monarch after already agreeing.
That and it’s supposed to be on our way, so I suppose we can entertain the king for a while longer.
(X)
Alexis just returned from another journey. Normally that would be a rather ordinary affair, but then again most of the time she doesn’t have a pair of gaping holes rent in her armour. After making sure that that particular wound had been properly healed (and try as she might, Alexis couldn’t hide the flash of pain on her face whenever she moved her left shoulder) I had to ask her about how she’d gotten the wound. Apparently one of the monsters with the spiked tails had caught them unawares in the caverns and they had to fight it off.
Of course she also mentioned about her having to do more. That she’s most often the one responsible for keeping us alive down there apparently slipped her notice for now. In any case, she mentioned wishing to study how to improve her abilities. I can’t say I’m sure what she has in mind.
In any case, I forced Alexis into an early night, and I’ve taken over responsibility for handling today’s administrative trivia. And I can’t forget to tally Guild finances as well.
Expenditure, Supplies: 349 en
Expenditure, Equipment: 1257 en
Expenditure, Misc: 1074 en (Man, our Guild has been buying a lot of clothes lately)
Income, Labyrinth Goods: 743 en (Melina reported a good haul in the 3rd Stratum today)
Income, Sea Goods: 2133 en (Rook just brought the ship back into port today)
Income, Misc: 60 en
Total Income: 256 en
Total Current Funds: 17, 423 en
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 17th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
My wound in my side still burns. I suppose it cannot be helped. The treatment was a hasty one, meant to get me back on my feet until we could leave the caverns. It’s a good thing I asked Master Geoffrey to travel with me today.
That said, the beasts I’ve faced today were as tough as ever, and much as I do not wish to admit it, I was struggling against a fair number of the monster’s attacks. I need to grow stronger, although I admit that I am currently at a loss as to how I’m supposed to make a rapid improvement in so short a time.
Meanwhile, his Majesty is constantly being summoned by either the Senatus or the Abyssal King in order to serve as a middle man for negotiations between the Armoroad and the Deep City. I’ve already told him that it’s not his business as royalty of an entirely separate city-state, but apparently neither Senator Flowdia nor the Abyssal king see a problem with ordering a Prince of the Holy Empire around. At least the flow of requests appear to be drying up somewhat – he should be able to make a journey into the Labyrinth tomorrow without having to worry about interruptions.
In more disquieting news, I’ve received word that the Empire is mobilizing against the Western Shelf, and that open conflict is expected by the outset of next spring. I don’t mind admitting that this worrisome state of affairs has been plaguing my thoughts for the majority of the day, and that this distraction was what allowed a lumbering fifteen-foot beast to sneak up on me in the first place. I’m not sure if Princess Juliana is aware of this development; at the least I could not detect any change in her behaviour.
I’ve been ordered not to inform his Majesty Jules for the time being, nor am I to return to the Empire despite the mobilization call. This entire state of affairs is a headache I honestly don’t need right now.
*~*
Rook
Well, back on dry land after a week out at sea. I think it did me and Midori some good, at the very least, we had plenty of work to do. I can’t wait to tell the others about the foothold we established to the north. A Geomagnetic pole out on the sea! There’re supposed to be more of those things scattered across the Four Blues, but no one I’ve talked to could ever give me a precise location. Maybe they shift around once in a while?
In any case, Midori started smiling a bit again a couple days back. I guess I was right that taking her mind off the Deep City and Olympia for a while was a good idea. Of course now we’re back in Armoroad and less than five minutes from the both of them so I hope she doesn’t regress too much. I left old man Mueller with the fishes I’d hauled in since last night and asked Midori to join me for an early dinner at the Butterfly Bistro.
Ran into Adrian, Sidney and Pure while we were there. The three of them have really started hanging out together more often over the past couple of weeks. We got to talking about how they’ve restarted heading down into the Labyrinth (I should probably go take a look and see if Alexis’s got me pegged for any other dives soon) and how the going’s a lot harder than they expected. I shared about how I caught sight of some of those oceanic lights that every sailor’s supposed to see at least once before they die.
Man, I’d almost forgotten how good Missy’s Meat Lover’s Supreme tastes.
*~*
Adrian
Mood: Delighted
Oh my goodness.
The Moss Strawberries from the 3rd Stratum.
They. Are. Delicious.
Especially when blended in juice, and especially when Pure blends it. That’s just this thick… richness that I can’t replicate whenever I try it on my own. When I asked him how he did it her just got a puzzled look on his face and said that’s just how he always makes all those juices.
Maaaan, as long as Pure can do it and I can’t, I’m going to be in his debt whenever I want more of those drinks! This sucks.
Melina also threw a fit over us eating (and drinking) so many of the Strawberries she’d picked, yelling that they were meant to be sold to Napier’s to help develop medicine. Sheesh, if it’s that much trouble, Pure and I can just join her next time to go forage in the 3rd Stratum for more of these things.
*~*
Midori
It’s been a while since I’ve smiled like I did out on the boat ride. I guess Rook was right, I really could use some time out there.
Still, I can’t help but feel confused. I was angry before, sure. But… I needed that anger to drive me. I needed to focus on taking down Olympia. Without that anger, that drive, I’m not sure about how to proceed.
I wish there was someone I could talk to about this sort of thing. Rook tries, but he just doesn’t understand what it’s like to realize you’ve lost everyone and everything from your old life. Sometimes I wonder if it would have been better if everything had remained forgotten, if I could leave my old life behind. But whenever I think about it my chest just starts to tighten.
These are my memories. They define me as a person. I can’t give them up.
But I still don’t know what to do.
Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
(Yes, I'm slow. What of it?)
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
Hardly. I haven't reached the 3rd floor yet and I got the game on ship date.
I didn't get the second sequel until Christmas and thought I missed out on the art book, but no! My secret santa managed to get the art book when she bought the game!
Keep up the Travelogues, Pureauthor, I'll get around to reading them all, once they no longer offer juicy spoilers...
Just want to make sure I'm avoiding the right mission. I think I've had the two B14F events occur (each city gave me some kind of item?) I'm on the Deep City/Yggdroid version of the story. Now I've been given a powder to use on a wall to read an inscription, I've done that, and now the Deep City King wants me to look for a teleporter or something to get to the next stratum.
I'm supposed to accept this mission, correct? Then the teleporter will be tied to the stratum boss, and when I finish this teleporter mission, the next mission is the one I am supposed to avoid?
Thanks!
Yeah, you've got it right.
Entry Fifty Four
*~*
Thought for the Day: One of the true joys of life is to pass on what you know to a new generation.
Woke up earlier than usual this morning.
Approximately two hours spent on meditating and training.
Was later joined by Adrian and Pure by the sea side. The boy was complaining as usual, but it appeared to be mostly in jest.
Adrian appears to have settled nicely into the role of a teacher. She cannot cover much more than the basics, of course, but otherwise she is progressing fine.
It is not often that I reminisce on when I first found her and took her in, but I cannot help but do so today.
She has indeed been a worthy student. Perhaps it is time I initiated her into the ninth level of the Yuan Yang technique. I shall need to observe her closely the next few days.
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 18th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
Geoffrey came to me in the afternoon with something about letting him an Adrian go down together for our next journey into the Labyrinth. I suppose I could work something out, although from my understanding we won’t be heading down for a couple of days. I suppose it’s not anything urgent, or at least he didn’t seem to think so.
I got Rook and Rossa to engage me in a short training session today as I tried to figure out how to improve my abilities in combat. If I can get better and deflecting and parrying strikes aimed at me, then I won’t have to worry about suffering wounds on the battlefield. Of course, dealing with attacks that are arcane in nature would also be helpful – the primary reason I asked for Rossa’s help with this task.
I have to acknowledge that any attacks that fellow humans use against me won’t prepare me fully for dealing with the beasts of the Labyrinth, but it’s a worthwhile start. Naturally there’s nothing stopping me from training against the monsters as well, but for now I’ll limit myself to human opponents.
Melina also requested more lessons on how to better use a shield. I went through some of the basic stances with her today, but unfortunately I didn’t have the time to properly oversee her. I wonder if Wooster would be willing to take over teaching her if I made a polite request of him.
*~*
Zeetha
I spotted an owl in the woods outside town today. The colouration of the wings was unusual – almost like they were eyes. Plenty of animals use markings in order to ward off prey, but seeing as I have a record of most of them, I have to say that these were different. It’s possible that this was a monster whose home was in the Labyrinth, but I don’t believe it was ever found in the higher floors before.
Well, I attempted to follow it in order to record its behaviour, but it managed to evade me. I wonder if it’ll remain in the area – if it does, I’ll have another chance at finding it again.
I have to say that Gosric didn’t appear very impressed with the owl. Then again, I first saved Gosric from an attack from a Spotted Snow Owl, so I suppose he would be wary of those types.
*~*
Jared
After Rook came back with his tale of finding one of those Geomagnetic poles on the seas, I decided I had to go take a gander for myself.
Sure enough, a bit of fancy manoeuvring and I’d got to the beginnings of the Northern Sea. Of course, when I showed up there, there was a moment if I wondered if I’d done the right thing bringing Relena along.
Sheba was right there, after all. She didn’t show anything on her face, of course, but after a couple moments staring at the city she turned and went below the decks. Shouldn’t have been surprised that she was still raw about the whole thing.
On the trip back though, she mentioned that it the currents around the city looked a lot more violent than normal. I haven’t been to Sheba often, so I really couldn’t tell myself. I wonder what that’s all about.
*~*
Rossa
Ms. Alexis asked me to help her with some of her training today! I was more than happy to help, of course, especially since it gave me a chance to practice some of my own magic.
Trying to generate enough power to send my spell out over a large area is more draining and difficult than I’d anticipated. I guess I have to accept that no matter how I handle it, I’m going to end up with a weaker strike than if I focus on a single target. Of course the big thing is to try and decrease the gap as much as possible.
I wonder if Big Brother knows about how to make spells target an area. Maybe I could ask him for some advice. Of course he’s still devoted to studying more about the Deep City, so he might not have the time. Still, it couldn’t hurt to try, I guess?
Also, Master Hale sent me a second letter saying that he expects a full and detailed writeup on the journey when I’ve returned to Sovelude. Pft. We both know he won’t read anything I give him anyway. I’m only thirteen! What sort of insight could I possibly offer over Big Brother or… well, any of the older people studying the place? Whatever, I guess I’ll just scribble something out.
Note: Gotta remember to pay a visit to Angie. I promised I’d bring her some of Armroad’s fruits!
*~*
Midori
Man the Innkeeper’s boy has been looking really worried. I wonder what’s the problem? Maybe I should ask him about it.
Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
Entry Fifty Five
*~*
No official Labyrinth trip today, so Alexis and I entered the 3rd Stratum ourselves to get some training done. The large lizards (I’ve managed to glean the term ‘stegosaurus’ from the locals) apparently don’t like hanging out in the entrance chamber from the Deep City very much, so we were able to get a fair amount of fighting done.
I’ve also noticed several eggs scattered about the area. Most of them appear dormant, but occasionally one of them begins to move on its own, almost as if it is preparing to hatch. The never actually happens, though. I wonder what sort of creature those eggs hold, and whether or not it would be a good idea to try to destroy them. Alexis appeared against the idea, but then she’s always cautious about most things.
While we were cooling down later, we ran into Zack and Clay, both of whom looked rather worse for the wear. It turns out they had the same idea as us but ran afoul of one of those giant sandworms. Turns out it spews some sort of sticky mud that entraps its opponents, and that made getting away from it a massive chore. They also stunk, apparently a side effect of getting covered in the worm’s saliva, but I chose not to mention it.
So far we’ve marked down three separate spots where the mud worms have been seen making their nests. At least we know they rarely leave it except to hunt prey, so that’s something. Either that we’ll have to organize more night trips.
In other news, we’ve spotted the first of the other Guilds that have been allowed access to the Deep City and the 3rd Stratum beyond. Apparently the primary criteria is the strength of the guilds in question. I really have to wonder what the Abyssal King is thinking, and what he wants out of this whole business.
*~*
Midori
Apparently that pen pal that the boy’s been talking with is in trouble. Her village has come down with some strange malady and apparently they can’t find a cure. Apparently it’s called the Green Death and some kind of spore-thing that causes plants to sprout from within the victim. The poor kid was fretting so much about it he could barely focus on any of the people in the inn. I guess I can’t blame him, but I’m also not sure if there’s anything any of us could do to help.
None of us are really doctors – I mean, the closest we’ve got is Master Geoffrey, but he’s not really focused on healing diseases, is he? I talked with him about it for a while, and apparently even his sister’s stumped by the symptoms of the disease, so I don’t think asking any of the locals would be a help.
The poor kid’s all but tearing his hair out in frustration that he can’t help his friend. I guess I’ll ask around, see if anyone in the Guild knows anything that might be helpful. I want to help him if I can.
(X)
Well, Asmodeus just offered me a suggestion. He told me that the technology of the Deep City is far superior to that of Armoroad’s. So, if I were to ask the people there for help, maybe they would know what to do.
I
I don’t want to associate with the Deep City any more than I have to. But people have been dying of this disease, whatever it is, and if there’s a chance for me to be able to help stop it, what choice do I have?
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 453 en
Went on a gathering run today in the 3rd Stratum with Melina. The conditions there are awful – although not quite as bad as I expected, but I gotta say, the price for the stuff we can harvest there is just fine with me. Got more of those strawberries too, and I made sure to pocket a few when Melina wasn’t looking.
Atahualpa was one of our guards today, and he didn’t seem to like the look of the eggs scattered around the place. I wonder why – it’s so small that anything that could come out of it can’t be that big a threat, right?
Not that I stuck around for one of those things to hatch and make sure for myself, mind you. But on our way out I noticed a hatched egg and what looked like scrabbling claw marks in the area around it.
I don’t want to think about that too hard.
*~*
Rook
The rumour mills are turning yet again. Well, the seas carry all sorts of info on their waves, it’s up to us to see if there’s any truth to them. Turns out there’s supposed to be some sort of giant monster that’s trapped the city of Sheba to the North of here.
Well I was there myself just about a week back and honestly I don’t remember any sort of giant monster in the area. Of course I didn’t sail into Sheba myself but I’m pretty sure I’d have noticed something that even the city guards couldn’t fight off.
Then again, Jared headed there himself just yesterday and apparently the currents there were a lot more violent than what’s normal – even by this area’s post-Calamity standards. Maybe that’s what that thing is using to keep the city trapped.
Well, we’ll know soon enough – if there’s really a monster there that needs to be put down, they’ll be putting out a bounty on it before very long. Given the enthusiasm of some of our Guild, I wouldn’t be surprised if we ended up being the ones to take it out again.
Midori’s been running around a fair bit today. I wonder what that’s all about?
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 19th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
After training with his Majesty in the 3rd Stratum this morning, I decided to gather more information about the nature of the denizens in the Molten Caves, if only to prepare myself psychologically.
As it turns out, many creatures are drawn there due to their natural comfort in being in an area of intense heat. Including dragons. It turns out that the lava seething through the area makes a perfect heat source for incubating their eggs, which we saw liberally scattered about the area.
I suppose I’ll need to extend warnings to the rest of the Guild. Apparently the mother dragons don’t come to the highest floors of the Stratum except to collect their young, but still, best to be on the safe side.
And while we’re at it, I’d best get started on the roster for our Labyrinth journeys for the rest of the week.
Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
*No I don't. Sem 2 of Uni just started.
*~*
The Etrian Odyssey travelogue
Entry Fifty Six
*~*
Ms. Midori came up to me this morning looking kinda flustered. As far as I could tell, there was a situation about someone falling sick and her wanting to ask the denizens of the Deep City if they had anything that they could do to help.
I guess I was a little confused because I asked her why she needed to ask me about it when she could go looking around herself. So when I asked her she kinda ducked her head and scratched her hair a little and mumbled that she wasn’t comfortable with talking to people from the Deep City, and that since I’d been spending more time with them. So we settled on a compromise where I’d follow her around, help her get a bit more used to the whole thing.
Honestly I don’t know why it took so long for me to think of talking to Angie. I mean, she’s a doctor, but her main job is running the inn, so I guess I didn’t think of her as a doctor-doctor. Anyway, when we talked to her she acted really surprised because the disease Ms. Midori was talking about was supposed to have been eradicated a long time ago.
But she said that she could brew a cure if she had some Scarlet Sage from the 3rd Stratum. Ms. Midori rushed off to go get some of that, but not before pausing and saying thank you to her. In retrospect, maybe I should have gone with her, but Angie asked me for help in setting up the equipment she’d need to make the medicine.
I hope Midori finds it quickly.
(X)
We did it! Angie was able to whip up several packets of medicine in a couple of hours. Of course it won’t be enough to save the whole village that’s sick, but it’ll do for a first batch, and as we find more of the Scarlet Sage we can make more and send more there too.
I gotta say most of the team that went in looked pretty beat up. But then they also looked happy, so I guess it was a good thing.
*~*
Midori
It’s not every day you fight an enraged dragon. Also not every day you get out of that fight alive.
But that’s not important right now. I got the medicine that can cure the Green Death (apparently it involved some kind of plant reagent from the 3rd Stratum) and I was able to help the boy at the inn. The look of relief on his face was indescribable.
I’m glad I was able to help him, and to help his pen pal, but… I had to rely on people from the Deep City to do it.
Well, person. The female innkeeper appears pleasant enough, and she was willing to help us with our problems, but she’s still part of the Deep City. Part of them. Ugh. This is why I kept away from the Deep City in the first place.
Rossa appeared friendly enough with that innkeeper. I don’t know how the others can be so carefree about this thing. Maybe I should go find Rook and talk to him and ask him for advice. Or something. I don’t know.
Lately I just seem to keep feeling more confused.
*~*
Alexis
Entry Made: 20th of the Month of the Shining Leaves, in the Seven Hundred and Fourteenth Year of the Holy Empire
We were preparing to depart on today’s journey when Midori burst in, panting and asking us to change our priority from discovering the entrance deeper into the Labyrinth to hunting down a plant of some kind. I believe she referred to it as a Scarlet Sage.
After asking a few quick questions, I was able to determine that the innkeeper’s son had a friend from overseas that had fallen ill, and that this herb from the Labyrinth’s 3rd Stratum could cure this disease. A rather convoluted chain of events, but I suppose that it’s always a good idea to help others where possible.
A quick discussion about who should stay and who should go quickly ensued, and ten minutes later I, along with Adrian, Master Geoffrey, Midori and Pure prepared to venture into the 3rd Stratum. Luckily the farmer had been there on harvesting runs before and pointed out the spots where plants grew in the area.
I’m not sure whose fault it was specifically, but there was a general lack of carefulness in our group as we proceeded towards the aforementioned areas. It was Master Geoffrey who first noticed one of the eggs cracking, but before we could leave, a baby Dragon tumbled out.
Even in the first few moments of birth, it proved an aggressive beast, lunging at Adrian after a moment’s consideration. She was able to defend herself well enough, and I’d just succeeded in slaying the little beast when a ferocious bellow meant that our worst fears had come to pass – the mother dragon had known the egg was about the hatch and had come to check on her offspring.
What followed was a battle for our lives. I spent the majority of the time baiting the dragon, trying to draw its attention from my more fragile colleagues, and in this I believe I was aided by the copious amounts of its offspring’s blood on my spear and armour. The beast’s rage led her to focus almost solely on me. Still, at one point Adrian attempted to duck under the dragon’s claws and aim a blow at the dragon’s underbelly. A quick slash and she was sent flying, her own torso now with a large gash in it.
I don’t mind admitting that the battle was going badly for us – the dragon’s flame breath was able to cover a wide enough area that I couldn’t cover all or even most of the others, when it was brought to an abrupt end by Midori finding an opening and plunging her dagger into the creature’s neck. To my surprise (and I must admit, horror), the creature was rapidly turned into stone, frozen in the throes of its agony.
While we recovering from the fight (and Master Geoffrey was focusing on healing his pupil) I tried to raise the question of where Midori had mastered such a technique, but she simply shook her head and said that she did not wish to talk about it.
In any case, we were able to complete our mission. But now I have to start keeping a close eye on Midori yet again.
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 235 en
So, got roped into hunting for some sort of herb thing. Something about it being used to make medicine for some girl who’s dying of Green Death or… something? I dunno, I wasn’t even paying attention.
I didn’t even expect to have to go down into the Labyrinth today, so I guess you could say I was kinda grumpy about the whole thing. Adrian was there too, and we got to talking about what we were doing in there today. Turns out she wasn’t too sure either. I guess it had to do with Midori or something. It kinda fled my mind when we were jumped by a giant yellow dragon and all of us had to face off against it.
To no one’s surprise, I didn’t do much during the fight, although I guess it’s kinda to my credit that I didn’t get knocked out throughout the thing. Mostly I hung back and darted out to give medicine to anyone I thought would’ve needed it – especially when Adrian got herself slashed open. Again. Her body’s going to be one big scar at this rate.
Anyhow, Midori somehow turned the dragon to stone (pretty freaky, I gotta say), and old man Geoffrey seemed to be doing a pretty good job at keeping Adrian on her feet, so I just went ahead dug up some of the plants she asked for. Turns out they grow really well next to heat vents. Don’t ask me why. Midori grabbed it, mumbled thank you, and then ran off the instant we were back out of the caves. Well I guess that’s the sick girl matter settled.
Went out for dinner with Adrian and Sidney again. It was pretty easy to tell that Adrian was feeling down – I guess getting beaten up in front of her master was a blow to her pride and all that? Sidney and I tried to cheer her up, but she was still a little out of it when we headed back.
You know… Adrian may be tough, but she doesn’t seem to know much about healing. Maybe I should just go ask the old man for some tips. Just to, you know, get myself started.
*~*
Adrian
Mood: Frustrated.
I screwed up today. Master insisted on joining me for today’s trip, and I know it was to evaluate me for something or other. Doesn’t matter what it was now, I guess. I completely blew it.
I was trying to impress him, trying to take chances I shouldn’t have when facing down a friggin’ mother dragon. All those teachings about caution and waiting and stillness and whatnot just fell out of my head or something. Got a claw to the stomach for my troubles, which was bad enough, but a disapproving look from Master, which was about a million times worse.
I guess I kinda wanted to show off for Pure too. Wonder what he thinks of that little display I put on back there. Ugh. I need some sleep.
*~*
Now to go work on that SRW OP.
Joy.
Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
I have a question: I've noticed some people saying that their Hop has like almost 400 hp at a lower level than the 40ish mine is at, as well as their other characters having significantly more than my others. My Hop has under 300, my Prince a tad less than he, and my Monk/Hop has under 200.
What did I do wrong? Lol.
This is my first EO, please be gentle.
...because the game surely is not.
But my Monk/Hop dies faster than anyone else, and almost every time in a semi-tough fight.
It's ridiculous.
I'm seriously thinking of retiring the whole party, and starting from around level 20 each.
My party right now is: Hop/Ninja, Prince/Monk, Monk/Hop, Monk/Princess, Zod/Arb
This has taken me to the beginning of the 4th Stratum.
I had been thinking of reworking the Monk/Hop for a while now, since he never really does anything but hit the A button - weakly, at that. But now that he dies almost every battle, I'm definitely leaning towards a reboot. Possibly a Sho/Buc or a Sho/Glad.
I hear binds are necessary for some rare drops?
I guess I need a Wilding on side.
Should everyone have that C skill for Exp, or just sideliners?
I wish I'd seen that tab before hitting level 35...
If you want some bindage without dedicating someone to that role, hammer gladiators can bind arms and rapier buccaneers can bind heads. You can actually do pretty well with a buccaneer completely ignoring the chase moves and just spamming Hanging. You could also give one of your monks a gladiator subjob, since they can already use hammers.
You're seriously going to want to be able to bind heads in the 4th Stratum, so I'd recommend picking something up. Hanging has the advantage of doing good damage and being spammable with points in Trickster.
Entry Fifty Seven
*~*
What a day.
Word came in during the afternoon about a bounty being placed on whatever freakish monster is roaming around Sheba in the north. Mostly came out about because some textiles merchants got their ships ruined by the beast when they tried to find their way around the currents. I haven’t asked Alexis about it, but word is that she plans on letting some other guild handle this one; their hands are full trying to deal with the 3rd Stratum and it’s ‘wonders’.
Fine by me, I guess.
But I guess the more important part would be Midori showing up during lunchtime and asking if she could talk with me. I guess I should’ve expected it coming – her mood’s been all over the place since we came back from that boat trip. Still, it kinda caught me by surprise, the talk coming when it did.
We took a walk down the seaside – I dunno, I guess I feel more comfortable talking about these things when I’m walking. Mostly she’s just conflicted about everything to do with the Deep City and its inhabitants. That, and every time she sees someone (mostly Jules and Alexis) treating cordially with the king of the Deep City she feels a tightening in her chest, and that was one of the reasons she agreed to go with me in on that boat trip in the first place.
I wasn’t sure what to say to her, honestly. I mean, I wasn’t one of those who got jumped by the giant fishes, and no one else in the Guild had friends they’d lost to the Deep City’s tactics. And I’ve picked up enough rumours at the bars to know that several people from other Guilds have lost friends to the Deep City and they’re not a fan of Armoroad being so chummy with the Deep City. Midori’s the same way, I guess.
In the end, I pointed out the same thing I did a few weeks back – that Olympia and the rest of the Deep City residents probably wasn’t the same. There was also that thing from the Abyssal King about needing to preserve the secrecy of the Deep City because of some terrible secret, but I decided against mentioning it. If it turns out to be a lame duck I’d rather not give Midori more to rage about.
At least this time she seemed a little more receptive, enough so that I asked her if she wanted to go pay a visit to the Deep City. She stiffened a little at that, but after a moment she said that she supposed that a short trip couldn’t hurt.
We’ll be heading down there tomorrow.
*~*
Sidney
Monsters Defeated: Stegosaurus x 2, Flame Lynx x 3
Items Collected: Burning Fur x 2
We found the entrance to the 9th Floor today!
Well, we did that mostly by accident after we realized that we’d accidentally wandered off the area recorded by the map and that we didn’t have a clue where we were. After deliberating a few minutes Jules decided to press ahead based on a vague idea that we were moving ‘parallel’ to the route on the map.
And then we got chased by a couple of enraged sandworms. One of them we managed to get away mainly because it ran into a bunch of ants that tried to swarm it. We didn’t stick around to find out who won that particular encounter.
I know Alexis well enough to tell that she’s going to chew him a new one when we get back. Wonder if I should hang around her discreetly so I can watch the fireworks. Heh.
Can’t say we got nothing out of it, though, since we ended up running into the stairway down by accident. And then we found a passage that got us back to the Submagnetic pole within five minutes of walking. Gotta wonder about who keeps putting stairs that always lead us further in – maybe it was the Deep City folks.
In any case, it wasn’t a half bad day for Labyrinth diving, especially since Jules decided to buy us dinner as a sort of apology for getting us lost. Of course he chose the Butterfly Bistro instead of any of the high-end places, but you take what you can get. I know I did – three Quencher Specials in one go!
Adrian’s apparently dragged Pure off to spend the night in the 2nd Stratum for some kind of training. I guess it’ll help her get out of the funk she was in after she messed up yesterday. Hope she doesn’t do anything too strenuous though.
*~*
Pure
Today’s Profit: 0 en
Spending the night underwater with nothing more than the shirt on my back, and it’s freezing down here. It’s really different from the 3rd Stratum, that much is for certain.
Adrian’s the one who brought me down here for training, but she claims that tonight, she’s as much of a student as I am. That hasn’t stopped her from having to teach me how to catch my dinner, and now she’s sitting by the door to this room meditating.
She’s still feeling badly about old man Geoffrey witnessing her screwup, I can tell. I guess that’s only to be expected, but I hope that it doesn’t eat at her too much. You shouldn’t let your mistakes drag you down – lord knows I’ve made more than enough of them in my time.
I wonder if Geoffrey ever does these kind of Labyrinth expedition things.
*~*
Jared
Relena’s been getting more and more anxious about the situation in Sheba. Not sure why she’d care about the city that left her to rot, but there it is. Right now the monster trapping it hasn’t done more than sink ships that try to come in or out, but a trapped city is a starving one, so it’s going to have to be cleared out sooner or later.
Alexis says she’s not interested, but Juliana is practically chomping at the bit to go face the monster. Maybe I should go have a talk with her.
Platinum FC: 2880 3245 5111
...
The game locks up at the Licensed by Nintendo screen. Huh.
Would I be a horrible person for just skipping to EO3?
Though you'll probably find it hard to go back (as I am having with 3 and 2).
Steam: Elvenshae // PSN: Elvenshae // WotC: Elvenshae
Wilds of Aladrion: [https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/comment/43159014/#Comment_43159014]Ellandryn[/url]