View Full Version : Let's... We're All Mad Here: Let's Play Rune Factory 3!
Most people who follow my LPs know I'm something of a fan of the Harvest Moon series. Well, that series has a sort of franchised Spin-Off, the Rune Factory series, with all the farming and romancing, and less of the "sitting around watering your crops and brushing your cows everyday until you die." While you're waiting to get a few more Love Points for the next event, or waiting for your crops to grow, you've got gear to craft and dungeons to crawl. Or maybe it's the other way around -- while you level grind your way to beat the next area and gather up crafting ingredients, you've got a farm to tend and a town full of clever, goofy, vibrant villagers to befriend. I've found the series a little hit-or-miss, falling madly in love with some entries and only being meh about others, but on the whole, I'll recommend it with a big smile, particularly the recently-released Rune Factory 4 for the 3DS (Which I absolutely adore).
And this one! Rune Factory 3, released for the DS somewhere between 2009-2011, depending on where you were in the world. This is the US version I'm playing, so that'd have been released in 2012. It was made by the now-defunct Neverland Company (a moment of silence, please), produced by Marvelous Entertainment, and released in the US by Natsume and in the UK by Rising Star Games. I'm never sure how to look at videogame review scores, particularly scores for less obviously popular games, but I will say that the people who like this sort of thing found it was the sort of thing they liked, and it's still well-loved by Rune Factory Fans. It's pretty fast-paced, and you rarely feel like you've got nothing to do but pass time (you do, however, sometimes have to do a bit of grinding), and I generally find the gameplay solid and fun. The plot's nothing to write home about, but does its job. But my favorite element to Rune Factory 3, as most games of this type, is the townspeople. Let me get this out of the way: the title of this LP is pretty much accurate. This game's characters have a streak of the charmingly nutty, and that's what makes me really excited to share it all with you!
This LP, at least initially, is going to be updated a bit irregularly, though hopefully less irregularly than my troubled Thracia 776 LP: for the moment, it's a project I can take with me a bit more easily, and something fresh to do while HM64 is winding down. I'll be doing a little narrative for it, though from time to time I'll either interrupt myself or do a side-column on the mechanical aspects of what's going on.
Index
Chapter 1 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16771212&postcount=22)
Chapter 2 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16863759&postcount=30)
Chapter 3 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16883627&postcount=41)
Chapter 4 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=16985002&postcount=49)
Chapter 5 (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=17054804&postcount=59)
Cast List
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Micah_zps3037c722.pnghttp://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/RamzaWooly_zps7921593d.png
Ramza
Our amnesiac protagonist, who fell from the sky. It turns out he's half-monster, specifically a wooly, a sheep-like monster. Isn't he precious? He intends to keep his dual nature under wraps for now, to avoid discomforting the villagers, or being turned away. That's about all he remembers at the moment.
While somewhat meek and easily overwhelmed in social situations, he's ultimately kind and good-natured, and an unexpectedly courageous warrior once you get a sword in his hand.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Shara_zpsc9e657db.png
Shara
A kind and generous girl who raises flowers with love and care.
Family: Wells, Monica
Shara set up Ramza living at the Sharance Tree: she's a rather mothering sort of girl, bursts of playful sense of humor aside. She loves the more harmless stripes of monster, and would probably qualify as a friend to all living things, even weeds.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Collette_zps52b7e284.png
Collette
Works at the diner. She'll out-eat anyone in town... unless she's distracted by food.
Family: Blaise, Rusk
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Marian_zpsa7c40040.png
Marian
Outgoing girl who's training to become a doctor. However, her treatments don't always go as planned...
Family: Marjorie
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Karina_zpseeaf9215.png
Karina
Unbelievably lazy girl who works at the general store. She's usually napping on the job.
Family: Hazel
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Pia_zpsa8b960b1.png
Pia
The bathhouse assistant. Ditzy girl with a bit of a fishy secret...
Family: None
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Sofia_zpsd5290599.png
Sofia
Sherman's spoiled, haughty daughter. Takes after his habit of speaking in opposites.
Family: Sherman, Evelyn
A member of the always-bizzare, always enigmatic De Sainte-Coquille clan. Opposite-speak is not noted with bright red text. It'd be very convenient if Ramza could see the font color, but also less fun.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Sakuya_zps75cd2230.png
Sakuya
An inn attendant who loves to travel. Sells items she finds in dungeons.
Not a fan of monsters.
Family: Shino
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Carmen_zps85bc7f36.png
Carmen
Loves fishing and her brother. Helps out at the family fishing resort.
Full of energy and easily excited.
Family: Carlos
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Raven_zps735acd06.png
Raven
Likes to keep to herself, and doesn't interact much with other people.
Has a warm side to her.
Family: None
Tends Gaius' blacksmith shop, selling weapons. Whose idea was it to put her in customer service?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Dariah_zpsbed88c68.png
Daria
An excitable and eccentric artist of many mediums. She LOVES rainbows.
Family: Her Art
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Wells_zps0ee39bff.png
Wells
The town's mayor who also runs a flower shop. He's stubborn, but soft on his granddaughter Monica.
Family: Shara, Monica
He's also not a fan of monsters at all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Monica_zps4469facd.png
Monica
Likes to keep to herself, and doesn't interact much with other people.
Has a warm side to her.
Family: Shara, Wells
What the game neglects to mention is that she likes biting strangers who approach her or her sister.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Gaius_zps864eae3a.png
Gaius
The town blacksmith. Loves forging weapons and items. A dwarf.
Family: None
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Blase_zps0eb20242.png
Blaise
A three-star chef who's laid-back... Except when it comes to the kitchen.
Family: Collette, Rusk
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Russel_zpsfd4384d7.png
Rusk
The Diner's Pastry Chef. Not a fan of vegetables... Or much else, really.
Family: Collette, Blaise
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Majorie_zpsc9725bf1.png
Marjorie
Once a great witch, she's now the town doctor. Marian's unpredictable antics keep her busy.
Family: Marian
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Hazel_zpsa80c764d.png
Hazel
The serious, hardworking owner of the general store. She worries about her daughter Karina's laziness.
Family: Karina
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Sherman_zps27fe7e01.png
Sherman
An arrogant glutton who's amassed a vast fortune.
Speaks in opposites.
Family: Sofia, Evelyn
The De Sainte-Coquille family is a staple of the Rune Factory series, being generally wealthy without any sort of source of income...And incredibly bizzare. All the patriarchs look like this, and somehow never pass this down to their children. Most of them are big eaters, too. I suspect they might be their own species.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Evelyn_zpsef0a6591.png
Evelyn
A misguided fashionista who'll use anything for an outfit... and we do mean ANYTHING.
Family: Sherman, Sofia
The normal one in the family. Boy, is that sure not saying much... She considers her father and sister's habits to be tiring, but she loves them.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Shino_zps85154d53.png
Shino
The town inkeeper, and Sakuya's mother. She seems to have a hidden past...
Family: Sakuya
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Cast/Carlos_zps45faea14.png
Carlos
Extremely passionate about fishing and life in general. Loves his sister and can be overprotective of her.
Family: Carmen
Without further ado, let's get started!
Opening Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IwK76w_OXg)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Title_zps3f49fc1f.png
...Oh, wait. There is some further ado.
If I cut the first few updates in the places we'll need to do votes, they'll be ridiculously short. So instead, I'm going to gather up all our basic stuff voting in one place.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/NameHero_zpsf0fd3022.png
First off, we need a name for our protagonist! His default name is "Micah."
He's a pleasant, kind of mild-mannered young man, inclined to laugh nervously and get pushed around as he plays straight man to the nutjobs around him. He's a Rune Factory protagonist, so...Amnesia. As usual.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/NameFarm_zpse472bb44.png
Second, we need a name for our farm! It's default name is the "Sharance" Farm, because of its location -- more on that when the game starts. Everything in the area is called Sharance, pretty much, and it's a perfectly meaningful name in context. The word "Farm" will be added to whatever you pick.
And finally... In the combat tutorials, we're given the choice of one free weapon, from a variety of types. These types each have their own skill category, so what type we have as our first weapon will get a little head-start towards being used and made when we can upgrade...But we're by no means stuck with it forever.
So let's see our options!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/image002_zps4454fcd5.png
The short sword is the simplest weapon, with a reasonably quick attack speed, decent swing width and reach. They're a bit weaker than other weapons, but are straightforward and balanced. Also, they can fully use shields, and are the only weapon that's true for. Guess where the game, or internet in general, will tell you this directly?
If you said 'nowhere,' you win a prize.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/image003_zps0a306fd8.png
The longsword has the widest swing and have good reach, but they're slow to wield, so you won't get off a lot of attacks, and you'll sometimes be left vulnerable. They're often rather defensive.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/image004_zps7dcb2c96.png
Spears, as our hero here says, have the best range...But unlike the sword weapons, there's no arc to the attack: you just pierce in a straight line, hitting everything along that line. They're good for keeping your distance, but I sometimes have trouble with accuracy.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/image006_zpsf7217381.png
Uh, basically this. Axes are power, but they're slow and kind of unwieldy. They're not the same as axes for chopping wood.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/image005_zpsafbcecab.png
Hammers are somewhat odd weapons, slow and heavy. They're very likely to send foes flying or just knock them straight out, and have good odds of a critical hit.
Axes and Hammers actually share a skill, unlike every other set of weapons.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/image001_zpsfe97cc1c.png
Dual Blades are the weakest weapon on average, but they're also the fastest. You can't use a shield with dual blades, but you can keep hitting the enemy nearly non-stop, in a hurricane of blades.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/image007_zps4de4b6d5.png
Staves are strange. They've got good magical attacks, and work well charged, unleashing little spells. Of course, their physical attack isn't all that great. To really get the most out of staves, we'll ultimately need to make our own.
So, cast your votes!
Trobby
2014-01-02, 06:55 PM
Actual Early Game spoiler:
Clearly your character should be named Lambo Part 2.
...No. ;p
Hmm...how about Renard? I am rather fond of such a name...
As for the farm...well, why not have it be Renard Farm? Named after yourself of course.
And for the weapon...I guess a short sword?
erikun
2014-01-02, 07:01 PM
Oh my, Rune Factory 3! Fun game. It's a shame I never finished it, never getting all the way through the third dungeon. I should pick it up and actually complete it. Not to mention actually marrying someone in a Harvest Moon game. Seriously, the only time I've ever married a girl was in A Wonderful Life, because the game ends after the first year if you don't. I'm not that good at commitment, it seems. :smalltongue:
And yes, everyone's a little bit crazy. Okay, maybe not a little bit. Seriously, Harvest Moon is good for having characters with quirks, and Rune Factory even moreso. But RF3 really takes the cake in characters. Have fun choosing, everyone.
As for choices! I don't have much to recommend. I usually put my first name for the character and last name for the farm, although that won't quite work here. :smallwink: I suppose we could have Link living in the Deku Tree, although that's just me being silly. As for weapons, I'd probably recommend the Sword/Shield or Spear early on. You frequently want to hit quick and run away early on, and both do that well. I think Longsword is best for crowd control (although the Whirlwind skill of the Spear is great), which is more of a concern later.
I've found that focusing on fishing/cooking has the side effect of boosting up your stamina quickly through use and allowing a lot of food items, so I didn't have any problem with the character picking up and learning new weapons.
Hawkflight
2014-01-02, 10:27 PM
Name: Kyubey
Farm: [I Abstain]
Weapon: Hammer or Staff
Ogremindes
2014-01-02, 10:57 PM
The short sword is the simplest weapon, with a reasonably quick attack speed, decent swing width and reach. They're a bit weaker than other weapons, but are straightforward and balanced.
Shortswords are actually the best weapon in the game, save for advanced post-game staves. The reason being that the other weapons only get half the stats from the shield if any at all.
I thought I remembered that being the case, since it's true in Rune Factory 4, but I couldn't verify it at any sources I could track down, since I don't like posting things I can't find any support for, having started reading internet guides in the era of "The invincible Katori will protect your greenhouse from being blown away in a typhoon" or "You can find Mew if you push the truck."
...So thought to myself "Nah, there has to be *something* else that can use shields fully, right? I'm just being a derp, yes? Everyone wouldn't forget to mention this, right, so I'm bound to be not remembering correctly? They're not being that deliberately unhelpful to verify my shoddy memory, yes?"
...
My new rule is just to trust nothing. Except I guess you because you agree with me, so I'll add that in.
MeatShield#236
2014-01-03, 07:32 PM
Name: Link
Farm: Ordon
Weapon: Short sword and shield
Let's go full Zelda on this.
Seerow
2014-01-04, 12:33 AM
Oh fancy, another story style LP from Deme, but this time with dungeons and grinding?
Yes please.
No preference on the name, but for starting weapon I'll vote for Hammer/Axe. Them sharing a skill sounds like it'll get us a bit more variety in weapon types we can see, and the mild-mannered straight man (as he's described) being a power attacking barbarian once he leaves town sounds like it could be played for laughs.
TaRix
2014-01-04, 02:36 AM
Well, how about Ramza for the character? I think it fits in three ways, none of which I'd spell out.
As for the farm, the big honkin' tree screams either Faxanadu or Eolis.
Weaponry? I say magic. My true preference is spoilery, and those already in the know already know why.
I can't think of all three reasons, but instinctively like Ramza just for the reasons I can think of. Care messaging me with them? Now I'm just curious.
Qwertystop
2014-01-04, 11:27 PM
Name: Link
Farm: Ordon
Weapon: Short sword and shield
Let's go full Zelda on this.
I would agree with this.
Seerow
2014-01-04, 11:43 PM
As a fan of FFT, I'll throw in with Ramza, despite not knowing enough about this game to get any connections.
Ogremindes
2014-01-05, 05:25 AM
As a fan of FFT, I'll throw in with Ramza, despite not knowing enough about this game to get any connections.
Knowing little about FFT but plenty about RF3, I concur. Because puns.
Welp, I'm getting to playing this puppy. Since we have a tie between Link and Ramza, I'm going to use my authority as the person who's playing this game to break the tie.
So the winner of the 'Blond Hero Reference Battle' is... Ramza!
It's also fairly clear that Short Sword is the winner for the weapon, since all alternatives are kind of scattered.
This does, though, leave us a bit of a problem. All the farm name suggestions are either specific to a character name, or references to a game I never played, so not overwhelmingly cheering.
What I'm going to do, then, is play to the bit where the farm is named and take a little break while you guys come up with or shift farm name votes around. If nothing sings out or gains popularity, I'll go with the default. I suppose I will add the small spoiler that our farm is inside a giant tree, if that gets the juices flowing.
Trobby
2014-01-05, 04:07 PM
Hmm...
I would say "Lon Lon", but the characters clearly have no concept of modern things so that wouldn't work...
Maybe...Wooly Farm?
erikun
2014-01-05, 06:13 PM
Maybe...Wooly Farm?
Wooly Farm... how amusingly appropriate. :smallbiggrin: I'll change my vote to Wooly Farm.
Lycan 01
2014-01-07, 03:04 PM
Hmmm. Giant tree house, huh?
Oakbough? Oakenbark? Hausbaum?
Actually, I like Oakenbough. Sounds kinda fancy and nature-y, and it has a good flow and ring to it. :smallbiggrin:
Vauron
2014-01-07, 06:46 PM
While Igros or Gariland seem more appropriate for Ramza, I'll vote Wooly Farm.
Hawkflight
2014-01-07, 07:48 PM
I'll vote for Golden Oaks.
Neither Golden Oaks or Oakenbough fits in the 8 characters... While Wooly does.
I've finished the update, too, it just needs to be edited down to size (I thought I wanted to show the farming tutorial; I was mostly wrong, excepting some high notes. I just do it for the free time. My raw screenshot count is nearly 300), the images resized, and put together. This is all deeply impaired by the fact that I've been sick for the past several days, crushing my hopes of being energetic enough to do anything.
Brance_a_Lot
2014-01-09, 11:22 PM
Well I'm excited, Harvest Moon was one of my favorite games to play, and Rune Factory is even better!
Thanks for playing and sharing these great games! :smallbiggrin:
Alright! I've managed to pull myself together long enough for this! I'd say it's a short update, but it's actually pretty long. Probably screenshots.
Chapter 1: Me, The Mystery
Certain things are forbidden, when starting a tale. One cannot begin at the absolute end, of course, though one can begin at the middle and worm back. No one's ever quite refused 'once upon a time,' and yet it says things about a story that, in many cases, one wishes to avoid.
No one should meet in a tavern, for example. No one should ever remark that two families are alike in dignity, or steal the clever contrast between the best and worst of times.
And under no circumstances should a story begin with "it was a dark and stormy night."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image001_zps5bf1feda.png
Of course, no one told that to the weather, and so this tale begins with the sound of the wind and the rain, howling against the sides of the little flower shop.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/Addition001_zpsd097953d.png
And a wooly falling from the sky, hitting the ground with a tremendous crash.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image002_zpsdfcaa16c.png
The girl must have heard the sound from her room. She gasps.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image003_zpse30bbec8.png
"What are you doing all the way out here in town...?"
She glances left and right, trying to find a sign of the wooly's passage in the rain. It was like he'd fallen from the sky. Because he'd fallen from the sky.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image004_zpsacd61682.png
That resolved, she begins, through a no-doubt painful process of some lifting, mostly dragging, to bring him inside.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image005_zps5f7b41a8.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image006_zpsb96a6c19.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image007_zps1dd1298e.png
And is stopped before she quite has to work out how to get his wounded body up the stairs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image008_zps032d90a0.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image009_zps14983bf6.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image010_zpsda5c98a9.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image011_zpsd0442897.png
The old man's expression sours instantly.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image012_zps54d49cb7.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image013_zpsa9268c6d.png
"He's hurt! I need to help him!"
"Well, you coulda done that somewhere else! What'd you go drag it in here for?!"
The conversation avoids, just barely, shouting -- not in temperment, but in the way of two people trying not to attract attention, or wake sleeping family.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image014_zps56dc718b.png
Then, more appeasingly,
"Anyway, I'll take care of him myself. I won't let him bother you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image016_zpsac878a2a.png
In the end, he can't say anything to that. With a grumble and the occaisonal below-the-breath muttering of "When I was your age, we listened to our elders, you know," he moves aside, and watches as the girl carried the prone creature up the stairs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image017_zpsd3ddc034.png
She treats his wounds as the rain howls around her. Mostly, they just need some patching and bandaging, a little washing out from where the mud had clung to his fur.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image018_zps010820c8.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image019_zpsc68bec7d.png
And there, after she'd left to give it some peace, as the night emptied out into morning and the rain gave way to a clear, bird-chirping dawn...
There's a flash of white light,
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image020_zps593bc398.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image021_zpsc7f4c6f6.png
And our story begins properly, with a young man lying in a stranger's bed.
The world swims into focus. It's dark at first, and my head hurts like you wouldn't believe... But slowly, I feel my fingers and my toes. There's a faint taste of blood in my mouth.
My clothes are cold, and kind of damp. I'm wearing clothes. These bits of information filter in slowly, until a bedroom takes shape around my bleary eyes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image022_zpsf6d7eb2e.png
It's not a familiar bedroom. I've never seen it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image023_zps584741c8.png
I sit up, even though I'm kind of banged-up. Come on, limbs! No arguing! We can do this.
With that... Why am I so sore?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image026_zps34f675f0.png
Uh, The strangeness of the bedroom suddenly feels...A lot more important.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image025_zps5a1a1086.png
No, no. I've never seen anything here before! I look again and again, and it's all completely unknown!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image027_zps7b7ad55e.png
I start running, down the stairs and out through - um, some sort of florist's, maybe? It had flowers -- and into the streets, my heart pounding.
Will I be chased? Am I in trouble? Should I have waited there, and it would have all made sense, maybe after a cup of tea? I'm not sure.
I slow down as I run, though. My body still feels heavy...
And none of what I'm seeing looks like anything I've seen before.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image028_zpse22a262a.png
Yeah, maybe I'm still dreaming. It feels kind of real, but doesn't it always feel real, when you're dreaming?
I mean, I can't actually remember how my dreams feel, so... Maybe? Maybe I forget they feel real.
There's someone up ahead, though.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image029_zpsa6707650.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image030_zps4c69fdae.png
Oh, there's a girl in this dream, too. She's...Kind of a pretty girl. There's something about her, standing silently and looking at something above. A...sort of dignity, or an aloofness. Like a bird, living high above the world...
...Actually, it sounds kind of crazy, when you start saying 'oh, this is how it is in my dream.'
It's probably not a dream, and even if it is, I should respect its dignity!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image031_zps3a8fab8f.png
I hope I'm not bothering her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image032_zps31ad72d5.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image033_zps3d8c846e.png
Oh, I... I guess I am.
"...Was it something I said?" I mutter, not so much at her as after her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image034_zpsf105a319.png
But before she can leave, or answer, whichever...
Someone else calls out to her and starts walking up.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image035_zps648eff50.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image036_zpsea48a075.png
"I don't usually see you around here by the tree..."
Tree?
"..."
The quiet girl doesn't say anything, though.
"Oh!"
I was going to slip away, since I don't want to interrupt them or anything, but then the second girl notices I've been standing here this whole time.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image037_zps7395d702.png
She asks that.
Yes, that's definitely what she asks. It's a very ordinary question.
It's such a simple question, even a child should be able to answer it. It's asked all around the world, every day. It's literally the first thing someone meeting you for the first time will say.
So...
Why am I drawing a blank?
No, not just a blank, I realize.
I didn't know where I woke up, or what this place was.
I couldn't tell you a thing about how I got to that room.
Or what sort of room I should be waking up in, what sort of town streets I should walk on a light spring morning.
This is beyond blank.
"..."
I fall silent, the shock of this realization making me go numb.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image038_zps54ce6ba7.png
I...I don't remember who I am.
"...Yes. I...can't remember my name," I feel silly, admitting it, but... If I can't remember anything, there might be something wrong with me.
So I should probably tell someone.
But she keeps smiling blithely, only a confused glint in her eye changing.
"You can't remember your name? Why not?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image039_zps096c74c3.png
I mumble. I'm still hoping I can find something -- anything. Anything to make me feel like there was a yesterday.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image040_zps51f68215.png
Amnesia? Does that mean I hit my head or something? Could I have some sort of brain damage that's keeping me from remembering?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image041_zps8e3f9f2b.png
I chuckle uneasily, putting aside my panic with a smile.
No, wait, I probably should be panicking, right?
Because that's the right thing to feel if you think you might have some sort of brain damage, right?
How do you even check for that?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image042_zps1116705b.png
Well, if she doesn't know, how should I?
"Um, maybe there's...some sort of doc--"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image043_zpsd8291848.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image044_zps3a3e7cae.png
Oh, um. OK. Alright.
She turns to the other girl.
"Raven, could I ask you a favor?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image045_zpse39d409f.png
"Yes. I'll explain in a bit."
Then she turns back to me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image046_zpscbdd03ab.png
I freeze for a minute. I really don't want to just give up on finding my name, not unless it's a last resort...
But I really should answer her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image048_zps98fdf7f2.png
I blurt, finding the first idea for a name that comes to mind.
I have to admit, I feel better, having something to call myself. Ramza. Alright, OK. I can be “Ramza.”
At least until I can remember, Ramza will do.
The girl giggles.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image049_zpsb5c9ad1b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image050_zps8f44e7cf.png
"Now, Raven...About that favor... Could you take Ramza to the Sharance Tree?"
Wait, what about seeing a doctor?
Shouldn't we be more concerned? I mean, I don't remember why I have amnesia -- maybe there are other things wrong.
Can I still do math?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image052_zps81044c6d.png
1+1=2.
"Yes, you. Could you do that as a favor to me?"
4x4=16. That's the same as 8x2 or 14+2.
"...
Okay..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image053_zpsa7d5892c.png
A^2+B^2=C^2. That's triangles, isn't it?
"Well, then. I'm going back to my house to see my grandfather."
Wait, how do I know the answers I'm coming up with are the right ones? If I was wrong, thinking I was right, how would I know the difference?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image054_zps0d61e1c1.png
Uh, what about --
Excuse me, but...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image055_zpscecb94fc.png
If they're not worried, then maybe I'm OK? I mean, I'm talking just fine, so that's good.
I guess I should just do what I can for right now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image056_zps0beb1fe3.png
I ask the red-haired girl who the other girl (she never introduced herself, I realize.) keeps calling Raven.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image057_zps223d5d9f.png
I get the feeling no one's really as worried about this as I am...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image058_zps0e5b48e3.png
Up the steps leading up what I had thought might have been some sort of odd cliff, but...
As I look up, I realize...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image059_zpsc677ce38.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/Rune71_zpscf240752.png
It's a tree. An enormous tree, covered in pink buds.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/Rune72_zpsa190612f.png
I think I can say with confidence I've never seen a tree this size.
...Um, sorry, that was a lie. I can say it with confidence, but I can't actually believe it for sure.
But it seems unlikely.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image062_zps23bfd74a.png
I climb up the steps to...Someone carved a door in here. How odd.
Well, down the rabbithole I go.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image063_zps8ed73860.png
There's a giant room in here!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image064_zpsb2316f76.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image065_zpscf870102.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image066_zps87629e62.png
No, scratch that! It's basically a house!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image067_zps0eefc339.png
While I’m looking around, the girl – Um, Raven – turns and starts towards the door.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image068_zpsddff19a6.png
Maybe she wants to say something, but doesn't know what to ask a guy with no memories?
I wouldn't know how to talk to me, either. Let's give her the benefit of the doubt, I think, as I flash her a smile that probably comes out more timid than I mean it to.
"Yes. My work is done."
"Wait, before you go... Why did you bring me here?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image069_zpsd0dd63d9.png
"Now that I've done so, I'm leaving."
Before I can tell her I hope I see her again, the girl whose idea this -- whatever this is -- was comes running up.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image070_zpsaa9d7bb5.png
"*Pant, pant*"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image071_zps467f56f3.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image072_zps4831a84b.png
I answer, a little bit more cheerfully than I have been. I feel better knowing that, wherever this is going...At least someone knows.
Anyway, she seems very friendly, so why not be friendly back? Or even if someone's not that friendly, it can't hurt either, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image073_zps4339686e.png
What does that have to do with my amnesia, exactly? Are they implying I live here? No, wait.
They know this place, but needed me to introduce myself. So that can't be it.
I guess I should be neutral.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image074_zps216c3a03.png
Probably. I think if I had, I'd have thought of this as one sooner. I know things, just not...Um. Things.
Like myself.
”Great!”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image076_zps2759bde1.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image077_zpsd5b3f93f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image078_zps657aaa0c.png
"Staying here? What are you talking about?!"
Shouldn't I be seeing a doctor? Or trying to find where I actually live?
Do I have family? What if they're worried?
She just smiles, all sweet and innocent.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image079_zpsbcee4dc5.png
"You're going to be living here now, Ramza!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image080_zpse4ddaad5.png
”Exactly! There’s a lot of things you don’t remember! You don’t even know who you are, or what you’re doing here!”
Um, I'm not sure how reasonable it is to go from that point A to this point B...But...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image081_zps7781676c.png
She is right.
"Also, I think that there must be a reason you ended up in this town, Ramza."
Really?
"A reason...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image082_zpsbf8aa37f.png
That doesn't sound like a very good reason at all!
But no, there's something more important than saying that.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image083_zpsa547a721.png
"Of course! I even got permission from my grandpa!"
"Your grandpa?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image085_zpsb56aaa00.png
"So don't worry about it, and make yourself at home!"
Well, if she went through all that trouble...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image086_zps9d02c88b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image087_zps57a906eb.png
"And that's Raven over there."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image088_zps879d57cd.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image089_zps1039d737.png
Oh, she spoke to me!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image090_zps6f78dd60.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image091_zps21dda4c0.png
"Come, follow me!"
Shara whistles happily as she trots me over to a box on the other side of the room.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image092_zps68872bd4.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image093_zps3f002a0a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image094_zps6751de2b.png
...Do I have any of those?
Do I need any of those?
”You should put any items you’re not using regularly in the storage box!”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image096_zps9f93efa9.png
That does seem to match my idea of how backpacks are. So that's something.
I know how backpacks work.
"Did you get all of that?"
"Uh, yeah. It's...A box. You put things in it, so it's not like that's complicated."
”Great! Let’s move on!”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image098_zps9735007b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image099_zpsf674cd8d.png
"Are you interested in cooking, Ramza?"
Is...Is it really a good idea to let a guy who isn't sure if he can tie his boots operate a kitchen?
Not that I don't think I should, I mean, I might be a really good cook. I might have been a chef or something... It'd be a shame not to try and find that out. Or maybe I've never so much as touched rice.
I guess I just don't know what I'm interested it.
"I think I should try, at least."
I mean, it can't hurt my memory to try things and see if I'm trying new things, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image101_zpsbb26fff8.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image102_zpsa7f7847e.png
"If you have a kitchen counter, you can cook! Talk to the chef in town. He can get you a kitchen counter and different kinds of cookware. You should talk to him when you get the chance."
"Yeah, I guess I should." I should at least get to know the people here, while I try to work things out.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image103_zps7eb4fb77.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image104_zps5143063f.png
Well, that's handy!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image105_zps003f8131.png
"The calendar also displays the birthdays of people you know."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image106_zps8f22755c.png
"Speaking of which, my birthday is Spring 11th! And Raven's birthday is on Spring 29th."
...I just realized...
I don't even know when my birthday is, either.
I had wanted to answer her with mine.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image107_zps63152165.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image108_zps1bbd0625.png
Just smile and laugh, just smile and laugh...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image109_zpsa02b42b3.png
"Whose diary was it before now?"
"These things just come with the house; they don't belong to anyone. Until now!
Anyway, you can write down what has happened to you in it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image110_zps706fa0e4.png
Ah, she's right! What if I've got different types of amnesia? I might wake up tomorrow just as confused as I woke up today!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image111_zps5d8de609.png
I really think I should see a doctor... I mean, how do you even check for that before it happens?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image112_zps2a7eae5d.png
Eeyup. I know what a bed is, still.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image113_zps2164757b.png
For the first time, I feel like she's taking this problem seriously.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image114_zpsec2d3ce8.png
"Let's go downstairs next."
“Hm? What’s downstairs?”
”You’ll see…”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image117_zpsf0a73136.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image118_zps7b0c5b34.png
I'm not sure what I imagined at the base of the tree...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image119_zps020423d3.png
But it certainly wasn't all of this. I run ahead of Raven and Shara, looking around at the whole scope of it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image120_zps3c659726.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image121_zps67225eef.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image122_zpsae320ed3.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image123_zpsd7aaf5bd.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image124_zpsbd527273.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image125_zpsae890dd1.png
That's...kind of odd. What's wrong with the rest of the soil?
Oh, well.
"Yes. The fields are a little overgrown, but you can consider cleaning them up as part of your rent."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image126_zpsc454384d.png
The fields are an absolute mess... I hope I'm up to it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image127_zpsc10cadab.png
...M...maybe?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image128_zpsf6fa1774.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image129_zps8f19f716.png
Well, these'll get me started, I suppose.
“Thanks!”
"Both of those items should come in handy. Also, since we're here, why don't you try tilling the fields some?"
"Sure."
...I've given up.
But before we can get to that...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image131_zps18f58e7b.png
A monster shows up! I thought this place seemed peaceful... But it had a menacing look in its eyes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image132_zps794f0558.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image133_zpsf0743e56.png
If it wants to fight...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image134_zps3393aacb.png
I'm not going to let it hurt the girls.
As they flee, I find myself looking the monster right in the eyes. Its posture, expression, the way it's holding its weapon... There's no room for doubt.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image136_zps6e12910c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image135_zps84fbdfed.png
I said that so automatically, I kind of forgot: all I have on me is a hoe.
...I'm not even sure if I know how to fight.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image137_zps6bf5db51.png
"Use your hoe as a weapon!"
...Well, I guess it's too much to expect her to be an arsenal as well as a real estate agent, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image138_zps45db0c72.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image139_zps41e6471b.png
I don't want to have to, but...
I don't see another choice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image140_zps96ce5bcb.png
Ow!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image141_zpsb15ddd3e.png
What do I do with this thing? What do I do?
The hoe's not a good weapon -- I just sort of flail around with it.
I hit the fields about as often as I hit the monster, at least at first...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image142_zpsbc586d18.png
But then I relax. I stop trying to think about the hoe. Or about the monster. About anything. My body tenses, and I think...
I feel like it knows the way, even if my head's a mess. Is this what they call muscle memory?
Eventually, the orc collapses under another blow.
...It didn't leave a body, though. Not even an unconcious figure -- there was a bolt of light...And it was gone. There wasn't even blood on the hoe.
How strange.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image143_zps6f91b559.png
I run back to where Shara was waiting.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image144_zps5bc4a408.png
"That was incredible!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image145_zpsf6585ef3.png
Still, it's easy to see she's unsatisfied. I can't blame her, I mean... If it had just gone a different direction, this whole thing would have gone differently. It was pointless.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image146_zps144f389a.png
"Yeah, I feel bad too..."
Wait, what was that last bit?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image147_zps6b3f0920.png
"Oh! Well, I've only read about it in books, so I don't know the full details..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image148_zpsa823a320.png
That sounds...kind of nice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image149_zps70e65c70.png
Well, that explains the lack of sign, other than the mess in the field, that there was a fight.
"Yes. The tools and weapons we use are imbued with magic. This magic allows us to send the monsters back to the Forest of Beginnings unharmed."
"Is that right...? Wait, why the tools?"
"I guess it's for situations like this."
...Well, that makes sense, I guess.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image150_zps3ccbc95c.png
I guess our friend there wasn't alone.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image151_zpse5ce429c.png
"Shara, go somewhere safe!" I can do this. I can do this.
"OK."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image152_zps6f7af1f9.png
A short man comes running up, a hammer in his hands and an impressive array of weapons with him. But... He's nowhere near close enough to cover for Shara.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image153_zpsdab60e0a.png
"What weapon do you want?"
I'm just guessing -- at what I can use, as well as what he might have.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image154_zps47192371.png
But a shortsword's not complicated, so it seems good for me.
"Alright, here you go!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image155_zpse098ef78.png
I'm not sure...It's a really good idea to toss a sword around a field. But I guess I don't know.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image156_zps2b309234.png
Hey, I caught it without chopping off my hand! Good work, me!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image157_zps4c1d67a6.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image158_zps3b943084.png
With an actual sword in my hand, everything works neatly. Not that they don't get their licks in, but... It's different.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image159_zps1f29cf3c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image160_zpsa493bab3.png
My body moves in a fluid, easy series of sword-sweeps. I barely even need to think about it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image161_zps762c0647.png
But...Fighting like that's exhausting.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image162_zps78d53942.png
Everyone regroups back near the center.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image163_zpsa9f9777d.png
Uh, well, I don't know for sure, but...
"Call me Ramza."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image164_zps9ff3f851.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image165_zpsbfea229f.png
"You're pretty strong."
"Thanks."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image166_zps7cb769ed.png
Raven?
"She came to get me when she saw the monsters."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image167_zps7d33ac79.png
I think my smile's less uneasy than the one before.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image168_zps9a9fa21f.png
...Or maybe I still have a ways to go, because she just walks away.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image169_zpsdf094695.png
I don't know what I could have said...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image170_zps2afdda05.png
"Anyway, I'm going to head back to work."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image171_zps8b09075c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image172_zps86cfe2dd.png
Yeah, I'm glad he was there to lend me... Oh, the sword!
"Wait, I should return this --"
"Keep it. Consider it a welcoming present. Besides... It'll give me the opportunity to make a replacement."
He waves his hammer like a third hand and is off. Well, Raven excepting, the people here seem pretty generous...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image173_zps1fc0980d.png
And even Raven really helped, when she could have just left. I'm sure once we get used to each other, we'll be friends.
I hope, anyway.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image174_zps98c4308f.png
“No, I’m fine.”
These are just scratches. I don't want her to worry.
"Still, I can't believe those monsters attacked all of the sudden..."
"Does that happen a lot around here?"
Should I be on the lookout for more trouble?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image176_zpsa75cfa73.png
"The monsters around here are mostly gentle."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image177_zps6be4ddaf.png
So things are getting riled up around here, huh? I guess I really should keep an eye out.
Then her voice turns a 180 and she says, cheerfully,
"By the way, you're quite strong, Ramza!"
I can't help but suppress a laugh.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image178_zps43283e54.png
I just did whatever popped into my head...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image179_zps3095b3c0.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image180_zps907bfe66.png
"Well...They were pretty strong." I'll be feeling those hits for a while, I'll tell you that.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image181_zps60d5ac46.png
A-amazing? Me?
"Thank you very much."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image182_zpsdc24ea9d.png
"I think you saw how well I did with that."
"I don't mean as a weapon!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image183_zpsf193fb2b.png
"Sure, I suppose."
She nods and looks about eagerly, before settling on a spot in the upper corner of the field.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image184_zpsb119dab7.png
"Hi-yah!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image186_zps6eaddc97.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image187_zps12d67d6f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image188_zpsdb936457.png
How...How did she do that?
"I want you to clear all of those weeds off of the field."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image190_zps8baf2bfb.png
I can pick up some of the stuff that went everywhere during the fight while I'm at it, too.
I...sort of get carried away. Like, very carried away.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image191_zps6ae832bc.png
Eventually, I get around to actually clearing Shara's patch of voodoo weeds, assembling them into a monstrous tower of plant life, several feet above my head.
Soo.... Things I can apparently do: Fight, possibly math, and stack weeds like a boss.
Who the heck am I?
Putting aside existential questions, after that, she walks me through many basics of farming, leaving me with 3 full-grown flowers, a crop of 9 more planted, some apparently useful dried weeds, a bit of lumber, and my pockets full of junk.
"And that's all you need for farming!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/image193_zps2804ad8e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageB001_zpsb24cd38e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC001_zps70e85307.png
"What?"
”I forgot to explain RP!”
"RP?"
"Yes, it's very important."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC003_zpse8c4e85a.png
....What?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC004_zps6bc2fc3a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC005_zpsee70410e.png
"...What are you talking about?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC006_zps7ffd755b.png
This is getting strange. I...I think I might need to see that doctor after all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC007_zps53933232.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC008_zpse49375df.png
Maybe I do have brain damage. Maybe this is all a dream.
"I...I see..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC009_zps4d02da00.png
"When you run out or RP, you'll lose strength, just like if you were attacked. If you run out of strength... You faint."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC010_zps18bb196e.png
Alright. I'll just... File this under concern for my health.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC011_zps67b1b9bc.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC012_zpsf9e4bd7f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC013_zps88651316.png
"It doesn't already have a name?"
"No one will mind if you change it! The tree's the same, but the farm is yours now!"
Weeell~...
If I'm not naming it for the tree, then... What do farms have? Crops, I guess. Fruits. Weeds and rocks apparently. Um... I've heard some farms keep monsters, like Buffamoo and Woolies...
"...Wooly Farm?" I suggest.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC015_zps3864a254.png
"You have kind of strange taste in names, Ramza."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC017_zps8018c093.png
"Yes, I do!"
Ugh, like being shot through the heart.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC018_zpsbac8cdc9.png
"I have more to tell you, but I need to set up my shop first."
"Okay! I'll come see you later."
…
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC019_zps0061c3d1.png
"Well, if you go down from here, there will be three stores. The middle store is where I live, the flower shop."
...The middle?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC020_zps814b8833.png
...Isn't that where I woke up?
Then she looks me over once more, carefully. I've been hard at work, and I was fighting before that...
And I'm still not sure about all of this, of course. I must look kind of pathetic.
So with a gentle little smile, she asks,
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC022_zps945f6e98.png
“No, of course not! You’ve been a really big help.”
She hasn't done anything wrong! I don't know what I should be doing, exactly, but... I know for sure that Shara's trying her best to help!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC024_zpseca0e1cf.png
"Okay! Thanks so much for everything!"
"It was my pleasure. Well, if you'll excuse me, then."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageC025_zps048647f0.png
I find myself sighing like a deflating balloon at her retreating figure.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageD001_zpsa7c34237.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%201/imageD002_zps8ef1e68c.png
While I think, I sow the extra seeds she gave me.
What am I thinking about? Well, she gave me a place to live... But should I be living here? I mean, I must already have a home somewhere. And a family, and friends... I should be trying to find them.
The first thing I should do is work out where I am. "Sharance," doesn't tell me a lot. If there's only one or two places that are along the road to or from Sharance, I'll go look there, until I find someplace someone's seen me. A backwards trail.
But if there's more places, and 'where I was going to' and 'where I was coming from' can't be told clearly... It might be a better idea to wait here. If you're lost in the woods, you shouldn't keep moving. You should wait until help finds you, right? The same principle might apply... If I can't work out where to go, it might be better to wait until someone comes looking for me. At least then, there's no chance of us missing each other!
...Assuming there is someone.
No, no. I shouldn't worry like this.
OK, I'll look into what the surrounding towns are like... And in the meanwhile, I'll do my best here at Wooly Farm!
Mechanics Chat
See Three Posts Below, it ran too long for this post.
erikun
2014-01-11, 08:18 PM
The only thing I have to say is: don't till under your entire field. Having places for random herbs and branches to spawn is very useful in the beginning.
Qwertystop
2014-01-11, 08:20 PM
Yeah, I made that mistake in... I think it was 2. Tilled it all at the very beginning because I had nothing else to do that day and I figured I'd need to have it tilled eventually.
Derp.
I'm both far too lazy and far too worried about junk like soil resting and crop rotating, as well as a nice supply of junk, to ever actually till the whole field at once.... But I can verify for new players, it's a good idea to leave some 'down space.'
Embarrassingly enough, I didn't leave enough character limit space to include this in with the first chapter. Oh, well. Never take your screenshots when some manner of flu is descending upon your brain.
Mechanics Chat
Hallo and welcome to Mechanics Chat, where I talk about the game not from the perspective of our amnesiac hero, but from my perspective, and hopefully with the perspective of other guides, aides, and forum members, to supplement the fact that I don't quite know the game inside and out. I've played it, but we all know that's not the same thing.
For starters, you'll notice that I cut what seems to be a lot of the tutorial dialogue. Most of it's boring, so that's why. But if I cut it, why'd I do the tutorial?
Well, one reason. The tutorial takes place in timeless space, and gave me the chance to gather up extra wild grasses and weeds from our field. As the people above me note, we want this junk. Money, light healing, crafting ingredients, presents... It's good junk.
The second thing you'll notice is that I had Ramza agree with Shara that, yes, the monsters are strong. This is the game's way of initially setting the difficulty: I went with the 'easy' option. The main difference is the toughness and strength of the enemies -- it's a basic numeric difficulty adjustment.
#1, I don't like things that are difficult. I'm pretty much a soft creampuff of a human being. I'm a weenie, and I'm not ashamed.
#2, I'm already playing with the handicap of screenshotting while fighting.
The third thing... You won't notice at all: any reference to it was in the tutorial stuff I cut.
But let's talk about farming. The farming works, in broad strokes, like so: you plant your seasonal veggies or flowers, you water them, they grow, you harvest. When you harvest things, you can get rune spirits or runeys -- little collections of the Rune Factory series' magical energy that is in all things, including you. I'll talk about them later, remind me. When you don't water crops, or plant them out of season, they will eventually wither and turn into withered grass. You want this to happen sometimes...
Because the soil has its own properties, which I'll generally call "Health." I'll show it off more fully when we get a tool to help actually see it. Health determines things like your growth rate and the level of your produce (or, at least, it can't hurt; seed quality has more to do with it, though), and if you plant your crops in the same place multiple times, the health of the soil will go down. Well, you may ask, how do you fix that? There are two basic strategies, and we'll probably be using both of them for the LP:
#1, You till withered grass into the soil, basically using it as a mulch. I'll show my favorite way of getting withered grass later; this is running long.
#2, Let the soil rest for a while, changing out where you plant. This has the advantage of giving more junk new places to crop up.
erikun
2014-01-12, 03:03 PM
Yeah, I made that mistake in... I think it was 2. Tilled it all at the very beginning because I had nothing else to do that day and I figured I'd need to have it tilled eventually.
Derp.
Note that you can hit tilled soil with the hammer to return it to non-tilled soil, if you find yourself in this position of overtilling. :smallsmile:
Or you can buy some out-of-season seeds or some cheap seeds, plant them there, let them wither, and pick up your withered grass, and that'll de-till it as well. Or actually grow things there, and just let it rest.
Oh, by the way: the second update's taking so long because I appear to have gone slightly overboard, and it's definitely going to take more than one post to get done. So, you'll be getting two updates in the ambiguous future, very close together.
For those following HM64 (As I'd like to think all patient people should), the update there's taking a while because I've been both away and sick, but I've got the game play done, there's just a bit of writing left and editing, which shouldn't take too long. As soon as I can get over the fact that Hulu Plus has a decent amount of Ranma 1/2 on it. Or stop being lazy. One of those.
erikun
2014-01-20, 02:51 PM
Yeah, there is a lot that happens in the beginning and a lot of interesting characters to run across. A lot of VERY INTERESTING characters. :smalltongue:
Take your time.
Chapter 2: Down the Rabbit Hole
Ok, I've got a garden planted, so I guess I should go see Shara.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageA001_zps9b314c9f.png
The town has a lively air, now that it's started to wake up properly...
When I get to the place with the three shops where Shara lives (A road sign marks it as "Flower Way,") I see a girl standing there, just sort of milling about, without any real sense of urgency or destination. If it was possible for her to be asleep standing up, just basking there with the morning sun shining through her long silver hair... That's what I think she'd be doing. As it stands, she's...Probably awake, right?
"Um..." I don't want to disturb her, she looks so peaceful, but... She lifts her head and glances, yawning all the while, my way.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageA002_zpsa988ea0d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageA003_zps32f65a9a.png
Her eyes flick open and glances up and down at me.
"Your name is Ramza, right?"
"That's...right." I say, still hesitating over having just sort of given myself a name. "Um, how did you know that?"
"(Does it really matter?) ...Shara said something about that, when she walked by. New guy, name of Ramza, he'll be working on the... You get it, right? (I don't have to explain it all, do I?)" She sighs, like it's a lot of bother.
"Um, well, she told you right. I'll be working the farm here while I get my bearings."
She nods sympathetically.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageA005_zps15c7e9ed.png
I think she's trying to share sorrows, but... I don't mind working on the farm.
Then a though sneaks across her features and she sighs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageA006_zpsab763cb5.png
"Well, it's a general store, um... What sort of things do you sell there?"
"Seeds. Cooking ingredients. Crops. Things like that..."
I can't help but chuckle a little. I mean, it's not like I could avoid a shop like that as a farmer, right?
"Well, uh... I think you sell a lot of things that I'm going to need."
She only sighs and shakes her head weakly.
"(I guess I can't stop you.)"
She falls silent and I worry I've offended her by, um, patronizing her. Her store, I mean, not her as a person.
"Well, uh, I'll see you around. People to see, things to do, all that..."
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She shrugs as if it makes little difference, and having excused myself, I head to Shara's.
I step into the shop, and it's definitely where I woke up. ...Did I just crawl in here to sleep or something, under the cover of dawn? I should apologize, as soon as I work out what for.
The shop smells of all the fresh flowers they have cut and growing about the store. Come to that, the whole town seems covered in flowers, so they have some demand.
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That was just a reflex, because she sees me and walks over.
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"Well, you asked, right?" I'm still looking around -- there's a really wide variety, and some of them must take a lot of care to manage.
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"Hee hee. Thank you! We sell flower seeds and some magic seeds too!"
"Magic seeds?"
"Yes. They're..." But before she can finish her explanation...
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A figure darts down the staircase, and leaps on me,
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and just decides to start attacking me!
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I thought the monsters here were mostly peaceful!
...Wait.
That's a little girl.
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The man behind the other counter, who to be honest I hadn't noticed before, calls out.
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Shara grabs the girl -- Monica -- and holds her back.
"Got you!"
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Um....Dragging you away, it looks like.
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Monica's still thrashing about, bloodlust gleaming in her eyes. You sure she doesn't need to go back to the forest of beginnings, too?
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Eventually, yowling like a cat, Monica is pulled up the stairs. After a few minutes, Shara returns.
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"Who was that atavistic war-child in a ribbon?" I am still watching the stairs.
"That's my sister... She doesn't like strangers."
Hehehhe...
"Boy, I'll say."
That's... putting it mildly.
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"She.... bites?"
Shara shrugs with an embarrassed smile.
"Well, anyway..."
Well, anyway?!
Well. Anyway...
"This is one of the magic seeds I was talking about."
She takes a large, striped seed out of her bag. I'm not even sure you can plant it in a single section of soil -- that's the sort of size I mean.
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"They're really amazing. Just throw the see on the ground, and it grows in an instant."
"Really?!" That's incredible! If all seeds were like that, farming would be easy! Oh, but I guess crops wouldn't cost anything more than seeds, and the real farmers would be the people who could produce the seeds...
Oh, but at least everyone would get fresh fruit and vegetables all the time that way!
But back to reality.... Or what I'm guessing is reality, anyway.
"It'll grow into a magical plant that will follow you like a pet and help you out. Different magic seeds will help you out in different ways. The more powerful you are, the more powerful the magic seeds will become."
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This elicits a glowing smile.
"Tee-hee. ♪ Do you really think so? I'll give you this, then."
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This... Shara's being so generous.
"Are you sure?!"
"Of course."
I'm really touched... By this sort of kindness for a total stranger! I...I want to be that sort of generous person in my new life here!
"There are lots of other kinds of magic seeds out there. Be sure to come back here and buy a bunch!"
"Okay!"
"Anyway, did I tell you about the bulletin board yet?"
"What bulletin board?"
"It's in front of this building. Follow me."
I'm not sure I need directing to just outside the house, but...
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Follow her I do.
"What's it used for?"
"Bulletins, of course! Well, actually... When people need help with something, they'll post a request on the board. You can take the request and help that person out...But only once per day."
That sounds kind of silly, doesn't it? Well, who am I to question village custom?
"Become good friends with people, and you'll get more requests from them. You'll see all sorts of requests."
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"The board's updated every day, so check it often for new requests...And that's all you need to know! There's a sign for more information if you want it, though."
"Thank you."
"I actually have a request for you already, Ramza. You should try accepting it now for practice."
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...
...
But... But I was just talking to her.
...
"...It's not very comfy to sleep with your head against the bulletin board like that...Just so you know. (Believe me, I've tried."
Karina, who's been watching this, calls out.
"Thanks..."
I straighten up.
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I guess I'll accept it anyway.
I catch her on the way back into the flower shop. Monica's there, too. I'm watching my fingers and toes. And limbs.
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"Well, since this is your first request, let's start with something easy. Why don't you go around to everyone's house and introduce yourself?"
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That's all? Well, at least it's something I was going to do anyway.
"That's right. You're new in town, so you should get to know your neighbors." She claps her hands together when an idea occurs to her. "Oh, and don't forget to see Daria. She lives in the house over by Privera Forest."
I should head by there, too, then.
"Okay!"
"Once you've talked to everyone, come back and talk to me again."
"Gotcha!"
But before I go out, I probably should try actually talking to Monica again. I'm sure as long as I don't startle her...
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"I'm Ramza." There, see? A perfectly civil introduction. I was nervous for nothing.
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I offer her a hand to shake.
"Don't come near me! I'll bite you!"
"Ah!"
All my hopes are short-lived.
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"You're a weirdo stranger!"
This doesn't seem to be going well.
"I told you not to come near me!"
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"Owwwww!"
Those teeth are sharp!
"And you'd better stay away from my sister! I can bit lots harder than that!"
I'm not running away scared, I am making a tactical retreat.
I mean, I have lots of people to meet, right? People who won't bite.
Of course, the first person I ran into was... Kind of... strange.
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Really?! Well, that's wonderful news! Call off the search!
...I'm not sure what sort of last name "Newcomer" is, but I'll take it!
"Uh, listen, then, this might sound a little strange, but... I can't remember a thing... Have we met somewhere before?"
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And then, without missing a beat...
"I'm Sherman. What's your name?"
"Umm... Ramza."
I think I'm losing my grip on the situation, but he just beams away.
"Oh, Ramza. Well, starting today, we aren't acquaintences."
"What?!"
I'm not exactly sure what he's even trying to say there.
"No, nevermind... Listen, could you tell me where I'm from?" Or what I'm doing here, or anything?
"I'm happy To dissapoint you, but I know all about that, so I can't tell you a thing."
...
...
"What?!"
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I have no idea what's going on, and I think I just need to stop trying.
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I think I need to go rest my head. Or at least get out of the sun.
So I head into the next shop, my head feeling like a beaten puppy.
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The shop's an astounding array of weaponry and armor -- it almost feels less like it's on display, and more like they simply ran out of places to put everything.
"Wow! There's so many weapons!"
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Oh, I thought I might find Gaius here, since I'm guessing this is the blacksmith's... But I didn't know Raven worked here.
"Were all of these weapons made here in the store?"
"Pretty much." She delivers it in a flat voice.
"That's amazing..."
Who knows how long it must have taken to make all of these -- no, more than all of these. The shop sells weapons, so there are weapons made here that are even somewhere else.
I smile and hope that, one of these times, it'll put her at ease.
"Do you make them too?"
She just pauses and stares at me for a while, her only response a little gasp, like she's taken aback.
Is... Is she not used to people smiling at her? Am I just creepy-looking? Do I have a creepy smile?
I stand there, waiting, hoping I don't have a creepy smile. Maybe I shouldn't smile until I get a good look at myself.
She doesn't move, only watching me -- the only movement her alarmingly cold and bright blue eyes. Like something at the very bottom of a glacier, hidden away in a deep crevice, looking back at me.
And at last, she finds something to say.
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"Huh?"
"This is a weapon shop, not a place for idle chat.
If you're not going to buy something, then leave."
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...Ok. Yeah. I shouldn't have -- there's work to be done.
A ringing echoes out over the shop's floor, hammer on metal, clattering through the uneasy silence.
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Gaius calls out, to no one in particular.
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There's a sound of cheerful whistling as he sets down...Whatever that was...
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And emerges to the other side. He stops when he notices me.
"Hey, is there anything you want to buy?"
"Umm...."
I was just about to leave, is what I'm about to say -- I don't want to bother him while he's working, after all -- but he shrugs before I can say anything.
"Doesn't matter to me, really."
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"Please take your time, and make yourself at home!"
"What? But..." Raven was just...
I turn to look at her, wondering again if I'd done something to bother her particularly, since it's not like this is a store-wide policy or anything...
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"Oh, it's nothing..."
Anyway, if Raven doesn't want to talk to me, that's alright. But I wouldn't mind another word with Gaius -- I don't think I thanked him well, earlier.
"Hello there."
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"What was your name again?"
"It's Ramza." At the moment.
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"I just make the weapons, though, and leave it to Raven to help sell them."
I shift around and laugh uneasily on the whole topic of Raven.
....But then, he doesn't seem to actually notice.
"Well, just give me a shout if you ever need a weapon!"
"Will do... Oh, by the way, the sword you gave me is very nice, thank you."
He nods appreciatively.
"I just make weapons because I like to. I don't have any great ambitions of becoming a master smithy or anything like that... Still, it's nice to hear my work appreciated. I'll keep it in mind you like that balance, though."
I could just leave now, and not worry about it... But if I did something wrong to Raven, I really do want to understand it.
So I approach her behind the counter.
"Umm..."
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...I can't think of anything to say!
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"...What do you want?"
"Well, Raven... Um, your name's Raven, right?"
She tilts her head, bird-like.
"Yes."
Right, it's not like we haven't been introduced a few times now.
"Well, umm... Uh..."
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"I know."
Wait. She was there for that.
"Oh...That's right. of course you do."
She looks away, hiding her face... But her eyes are still on me.
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And she mutters something I don't hear clearly.
"What?"
"..."
"...Nevermind. I'll see you later, alright, Raven?"
After another pause, almost imperceptibly, she nods.
Well, at least that went better. Now, let's see... There's a couple of paths I could take from here, but let's head south, through the center of town, first.
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Wow! It's a beach!
Well, it's the beach of a lake. But it's still some nice sand and some beautiful blue water.
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And a house, presumably with people inside!
Walking in, I'm immediately struck by two things: the scent of fish, and a charged emotional atmosphere.
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A sporty-looking girl with hair the color of the ocean, her skin a little red from the sun, says, with tears on her face.
I've walked in on something... Kind of personal, haven't I?
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What a heartfelt moment!
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The two are standing in the center of the shop/house, the world almost constricted down to the two of them.
"I am devastated beyond words, brother!" proclaims the girl, a sob shaking her voice. "But it is time for me to make my own way! I must leave..."
Oh, how sad, a brother and sister parting like this... Her destiny pulls her away from her family...
"To go fishing!"
...Wait. It's...clear that this is some sort of fish and fishing supply store. So...couldn't she fish here?
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"Oh, my dear brother..."
She sobs openly.
And then it all defuses, as she opens one eye and notices I've been standing here.
"Oh, hey! It's a customer!"
She says, in a suddenly clear and un-teary voice.
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They both turn to look at me, the brother bursting into a bright smile.
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"What? Oh, y-yes?"
A resort? What exactly is this place?
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What? Now everyone's all smiles! What was with the tears and the sappy melodrama?
"That's right! It's like taking a trip to an exotic tropical island!" says the brother -- Carlos, I'd assume, since it's Carlos's Resort -- proudly.
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"Ha ha ha, You flatter me as always, Carmen!"
He stops laughing and adds, to me,
"The cost is a bit high, but you can fish all day! If you're good at fishing, it's a great deal!"
Carlos laughs to punctuate his sales pitch.
I'm not sure I can afford any cost, high or otherwise...
I wonder if I'm any good at fishing, though.
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This place is...kind of strange.
"So stop on by! Either me or my sister will be behind that counter there! Feel free to ask us anything!"
"Yeah! Stop by anytime! We'll be here waiting!"
"Alright..."
I guess I should introduce myself, though. They seem like nice people, even if they're a little nutty.
"Do you like fishing?"
Asks the sister, when I try to think of a way to open a conversation.
"Fishing?"
"Yes, fishing!"
"Uh..." I think about it for a while, but I can't remember ever fishing. Maybe I did, and enjoyed it? Maybe never?
"I guess I like it..." Innocent until proven guilty, fishing!
"Really?! That's great! I just can't get enough, myself... The dance of the lure, the feel of the rod in my hands..." Overcome with feeling -- about fishing -- a tear springs to her eye. And then she opens them very wide, the gleam of passion coursing through them. "And the moment the fish peaks its head out of the water!"
I'm a little taken aback, but... When you put it like that, fishing sounds like it really might be fun.
Then she smiles, and adds,
"Oh, sorry! I tend to get carried away when it comes to fishing!"
"You must like it a lot."
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She thrusts out a hand, and I shake it.
"I'm Carmen. Who're you?"
"I'm Ramza." Innocent until proven guilty.
"Ramza? Nice to meet you! You can usually find me by the lake! Come by and see me any time!"
Alright! That was a nice introduction.
I turn to her Carlos, too. Introduction-by-proxy probably wouldn't be enough for Shara...I'm not sure it'd be enough for me.
"Hello."
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"Ramza." If I say it enough, maybe I'll feel certain with it.
"Ramza, eh? I'm Carlos! I run this resort with my sister!"
"Just the two of you?"
"Just the two of us, a brother-and-sister team-up!"
"That's pretty neat!"
I wonder if I have siblings...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC041_zps98a85930.png
...Good taste?
"I think we're gonna get along great!"
"You think so...?"
"I know so, bro'! By the way, be nice to my sister! I'm sure you'll get along, too." Then he pauses, leans forward, and his face becomes very serious.
"But no funny business, though! You got it?!"
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Then, he just leans back and is all smiles again.
"Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting to know you, bro'!"
Anyway, that went well! If there's no one else on the beach, I'll go look at the east end of town now.
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I wonder what sort of store this is... The East End doesn't have as many buildings as Flower Way: just a giant house and a little shop.
Entering the shop, there's a sharp and sudden smell of dried herbs, and... Something bitter and a dangerous smelling, like something toxic.
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A girl in a two-pointed hat is brewing something -- the source of the smell -- in the back. As she turns, sees me, and dashes towards the front...
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Her expression is beatific. I can't remember seeing a person so happy. Oh, standard exceptions apply, I guess.
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She leans forward, speaking in a clear and eager voice, her eyes the color of a thistle darting up and down across me.
"So what hurts? Your head? Your chest?" A fiendish gleam lights her eyes. "Someplace you can't tell me?"
"Uh...what?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC047_zps4d984403.png
Oh, uh, is this...some sort of clinic? It just caught me off --
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC048_zpsaaf6b956.png
...Get that away from me.
"No, I'm not sick..."
I lie, but... I think that's some sort of blowgun! Made out of a trumpet! Made out of lots of trumpets, maybe even! Indescribable!
"Don't be nervous! It only hurts for a second! Although, sometimes the pain can linger for a bit..."
I back away slowly.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC049_zpsb0979f1f.png
I'll take the brain damage, I think.
I can talk and move around and operate farm tools, that's undamaged enough, right?
She creeps towards me like a predator preparing to pounce.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC050_zps0e87ffc5.png
My...My savior!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC052_zps9eb66cb3.png
The old woman approaches us, stopping Marian in her tracks.
"I'm sorry... She never listens to me..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC053_zps1333db96.png
"I hardly think you can call a treatment just as likely to fail as it is to work a "cure"... And anyway, he says he's not sick."
Marian blinks.
"What?" She turns to look at me. "Really?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC054_zpse2bdb462.png
She wasn't listening at all.
"Honestly, Marian... You silly witch, trying to play doctor..."
Ok, I might have been a head-trauma patient, who abandoned that right to avoid being a 'needles in my everything' trauma patient, but...
Even I think that was the wrong thing to say.
"It's not silly, Grandma! You're just old fashioned!" Marian glares at her grandmother, digging her heels in to prepare for what I suspect might be an old battle. "There are some things that magic can't heal. Us witches need to adapt to the times, too."
"First you need to learn how to properly administer care to a patient! Then you can talk about what kind of medicine to use!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC055_zpsc29715c4.png
...That's not what she was saying at all.
"Ah! I know!"
She looks back at me with a gleam in her eye.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC056_zpsb51ffdf8.png
THAT'S NOT WHAT SHE WAS SAYING AT ALL!
But I don't want to make her upset... How do I get out of this?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC057_zps2d9db99a.png
"Great! So if you get sick or poisoned, come see me! We sell medicine and stuff here! Grandma works on the weekends, though, so be sure to come during the week!"
"Like I said, let me get back to you on that..." And mainly visit on weekends.
"Fantastic! I'll be waiting!"
I laugh a little, under my breath.
"She's not listening at all.."
"Anyway, you're...Ummm..." She realizes only now that she's never seen me before.
"Oh, my name's Ramza. It's nice to meet..."
"Oh, that's right! Ramza! A doctor never forgets a previous patient's name! Yes, of course! How are you, Ramza!"
Oh, she...didn't realize that at all.
"Um, I don't think we've really 'met' before..."
"Of course we have! You're Ramza! Boy, you sure are forgetful!"
Wait, does she... No, I'm not going down that road again. Check for over-ruling strangeness first, have hope second.
"Jeesh...I can't seem to get through to her..."
"I'm Marian! I'm an apprentice doctor and witch! Stop by anytime if you get sick! Be absolutely sure you will!"
Not this again...
"Rembember: Anytime! Anywhere! For whatever reason! ...Except weekends."
"I-I'll remember that..."
And now her grandmother, whose name I didn't hear during the conversation... But she sure saved my skin back there.
"Um...Hello..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC058_zpsfc33bf00.png
"Yes, that's right."
"My name's Marjorie. People used to call me a witch, but now I'm just an old woman..."
Aw, that's a sad way to look at yourself...
"My name's Ramza. It's nice to meet you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC059_zps83a42c4d.png
"Um, thank you..."
"I'm also a doctor, but I've been leaving most of that to Marian these days...Would you rather be treated by me, or by Marian?"
She smiles like that's an old joke of hers, but... I'm not sure what answer she's expecting. Does she expect I'll go for the girl my own age to treat me? Or for the not-scary doctor?
"Umm..."
"Normally, I would expect you would want to be treated by a cute girl like Marian, but that girl can be hazardous to your health..."
"...Huh?" Admitting that about your own granddaughter....Gutsy.
"Anyway, it's nice to meet you. I'll try to reign her in, so you can visit the clinic safely anytime."
"Nice to meet you too."
I think I'll clear out of here before Marian forgets what "I'll think about it" means.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC060_zps4d8d6bf9.png
Well, let's see who lives in this big, imposing house.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC061_zps0cab45f1.png
Oh. Sherman lives here, it seems.
"Yuck!"
A woman in an...eccentric outfit has a plate of food that he's devouring limitlessly, despite his protests.
"Yuck!!" he says a third time. He doesn't have to eat what he doesn't like, does he? Or is this more mindgames?
He plows through the first serving in his hands, and beams.
"More!!!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC062_zps6d9529f1.png
Says the woman, whose clothes are accented by stuffed animals -- I thought they might be real at first, but I think that monkey could act as a shield in a tough fix...
She reaches into a shopping bag...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC063_zpsd1b79d45.png
And hands the contents over to him.
"The 3-star chef's cooking is very terrible, I must say!"
He digs into it. I think I'm getting an idea about how this guy talks...
But it makes no sense at all.
"Yuck!! Yuck!!! " He cries out again.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC064_zpsa74b888b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC065_zps186305b4.png
He's certainly enthusiastic in action, if not in words...
"Sure thing," says the woman. "I'll have to thank Blaise."
Then she sighs and shakes her head,
"But you really do eat too much, Father. Don't you think so?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC066_zps47074250.png
He pauses. He thinks. He crosses his arms and rubs his not-really-a-chin-at-all.
Sherman lifts his eyes and contemplates the ceiling, and engages himself in a serene meditation. His eyes lit up with understanding and epiphany.
At last, he announces his answer.
"...More!!!"
The woman just laughs and shakes her head.
"Okay, just a moment."
My eyes flit to some motion on the upper level.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC067_zps0f6efc6b.png
...What a beautiful girl -- the sort of girl you picture in this type of classy environment. Poised on the top of the stairs, her long dress and long hair fluttering in the faint breeze from an open window, her lavender eyes looking down tenderly at the family scene (I guess) below... It's like something from a storybook.
And then she speaks.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC068_zps163c4549.png
And plunges my soul into confusion...It's not even noon.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC069_zps3f60a292.png
They turn and look at her, and Sherman beams away.
"Indeed! Bad morning, my ugly Sofia!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC070_zps4b99295d.png
"Are you going out this fine day?"
"No," Sofia answers. "I'm going out today. I'm in a good mood."
"Indeed! Just don't go to dangerous place. Don't be careful!"
"No," She says, with a cheery smile.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC071_zps57e515c0.png
...You know...
I think I understand why no one was really worried about my amnesia. I mean... Abnormal thinking seems to be the norm here.
"Well, I'm off!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC072_zpsa0fe2ada.png
She passes them on the stairs. The woman with the stuffed animals -- her sister, I guess -- sighs.
"Always speaking in opposites...Why do they have to go out of their way to make things so difficult?"
I might just be eavesdropping, but I'm wondering the same thing!
Since Sofia passed me on the way out, there's only her sister to meet here. That's good -- I don't think I could withstand more chaos.
"Hi, umm...I don't think we've met." That's not a good opening, Ramza. You don't think you've met anyone.
"And who might you be?" She asks.
"I'm Ramza. I just moved into that big tree in town."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC073_zpsc54019bf.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC074_zpsf5e74d92.png
Rumors sure travel fast here...
"That must have been a harrowing expereince! I hope you get better soon..."
Her expression gets so sympathetic and sad, though...That I can't help but feel guilty. I don't want people looking so sad over me.
"Oh, it's okay." I'm not sure that's true, but... I'm really fine, even if I don't have my memories. "I'm doing much better now!"
"That's good to hear... Anyway, I'm Evelyn." She relaxes, and adds, "Have you met my family? I think I should warn you... They speak in opposites. They're weird like that."
"I met your dad earlier. I'm kind of glad to hear you explain it -- I couldn't follow that conversation at all." I rub my arm -- honestly, I'm a little impressed. I didn't know you could be more confused than waking up with no memories, but he managed to make it happen. "That seems... pointless. And difficult on a lot of levels."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC075_zpscfa54427.png
"But they're also incredibly kind and generous. Please try to look past their eccentricities!"
Well, I think it'd be kind of rude not to, right?
"I will. Thanks for the explanation."
"And who knows? Maybe you'll become such good friends that they'll talk bad about you behind your back!"
"That...seems like a counterintuitive goal!"
Well, I'll do my best to be bad-mouthed!
...Goodmouthed? It'd be bad, so that’d be good.
But being good is bad.
But being bad is good…. Bad, good, good, baaaad?
AHHH! I CAN’T FOLLOW IT AFTER ALL!
The next road through town takes me to a beautiful square...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC077_zpscc95c46f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC076_zps1008637a.png
Where Sofia's taking in the flower blossoms, lacy parasol in hand.
"I don't believe we've met."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageC078_zpsdfd1603b.png
"Uh, what? I've never seen you in my life." Probably. Oh, wait, no. This is their opposite-speak, right? So we've definitely not met, right?
"What's your name?"
"Oh, I'm Ramza. I just moved into the big tree. It's nice to meet you."
"Your face utterly repulses me."
Uh, is that opposite? I mean, sometimes, back there, they said stuff that was normal... So she might be saying she likes my face... But what if she isn't?
I haven't seen my face; what if it really is awful? Or what if it got torn up by whatever made me lose my memory, or --
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%202/ImageD001_zps5e6c9852.png
"You are most welcome. You may call me Sofia."
...Oh. I guess it was a compliment, right? There's no way to unwelcome someone...Right?
"You've got a weird way of complimenting people," I admit with an exhausted sigh.
But she seems sympathetic -- or, at least, doesn't think I'm being mean, which is a relief.
"Indeed. Now, I'm simply FAR too busy for any visitors!"
She smiles at me brightly, as if trying to make sure I get her point.
"So, be sure to stop by my place anytime!"
But...
I don't get it.
"Uh, didn't you just say you'd be too busy?" Or was that the opposite-speak bit, and the 'stop by' was?
...It's going to take me a while to get a handle on this.
"That's correct. I won't be waiting for you."
"Um... Okay..." I'll see her, I think. If she minds, she can just throw me out. That seems to be the best way to handle the people here…
And there’s still more to meet…
Qwertystop
2014-01-25, 01:38 PM
Those people are funny...
Javan
2014-01-25, 01:39 PM
So this is what Dems has been up to, neat
I was wondering if you were okay since HM64 and Thracia776 hasn't updated in a while.
So this is what Dems has been up to, neat
I was wondering if you were okay since HM64 and Thracia776 hasn't updated in a while.
HM64 updated 3 days ago, actually.
...Thracia 776, though, you've got a point about. I'll get on that, since someone asked ^^
Javan
2014-01-25, 01:56 PM
Well prior to that it had been, it looks like 3 weeks, since your last post to HM64, what I was referring to.
And yay Thracia update!
erikun
2014-01-25, 02:09 PM
Yay Karina! *ahem* Not me playing favorites. Nope, not at all.
And just imagine, this is only around half the town. :smalleek:
Well prior to that it had been, it looks like 3 weeks, since your last post to HM64, what I was referring to.
And yay Thracia update!
Heh-heh. ^.^;
Well, you got a point there... A couple of things happened that made updating that hard for a bit, one after another. Not to mention the kind of funky production times at this stage -- that's one of the reasons I started this.
Seerow
2014-01-25, 04:52 PM
Wow you weren't kidding about everyone in this game being crazy.
MeatShield#236
2014-01-26, 07:46 PM
Suddenly, I now understand the title. These townsfolk are certainly... unique.
Yay Karina! *ahem* Not me playing favorites. Nope, not at all.
And just imagine, this is only around half the town. :smalleek:
And the second half contains my personal favorite! In theory, anyway. In execution, I found they could have done better with her. I may make an effort to fix.
Also, I said I wasn't kidding, but noooow you believe! Ha-ha, vindicated!
The title's actually an Alice in Wonderland quote, because... I'm not sure why, but the quote, and a more benevolent take on Wonderland in general, seems to fit the game. The best possible LP title for this game was taken by an abandoned LP on Something Awful, and I'll never forgive it for that.
Dragoon
2014-01-28, 03:03 PM
Yeah, another Let's Play by Deme.
Though at least the town gives a reason that an amnesiac isn't so surprising. It will be interesting to meet the rest of the town.
Eh, it's less so much that the game offers you that explanation, as it is very easy to just take it as one, when you stop and think about it.
Chapter 3: RAAIINBOW! (Ah, I'll never get tired of that.)
There's one other person in the square, too...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA001_zps9d493351.png
Shara's grandfather, I'd guess, standing under the cherry tree in the center.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Shara's grandfather."
"I'm Ramza."
"Hmph. My name's Wells. I'm the mayor of this town. I hope you're happy with your new home."
"Yeah, it's great. Thank you very much." It's a really generous gesture, giving someone a house like that.
Next up is a near-complete loop, judging by the maps and signs I can find... The next street's called Pond Way, and it's got two buildings, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA002_zps6ff9df88.png
And one of them is this diner I've heard about.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA003_zpsfb015841.png
Oh, it's Sherman. He's certainly moving about a lot today. He's engaged in some serious eating with a thin girl -- and she's not any less voracious than he seems to be.
"Oh, dreadful! Absolutely dreadful! Take this food...And DOUBLE my helping!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA004_zpsa34b9b85.png
A man walks over, plates of food in hand.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA005_zps547a8600.png
"Great, but I STILL don't think that'll be enough!" The girl exclaims in a cheery voice.
"My compliments to the chef! This is truly an abomination!"
They look as happy as pigs in slop... Though maybe that's a bit on-the-nose.
"That means a lot coming from you, Sherman. Enjoy your meal!" The man says, without missing a beat. "Oh, and Collette? Might help to actually chew this time."
"Oh, that's such a waste! But I'll try. Now gimme gimme gimme!" She holds our her arms and waves her hands, trying to grab the plate of food the instant he'd hand it to her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA006_zps5403a911.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/Image001_zps2231b665.png
A young man by the stairs sighs and shakes his head. This causes Collette to whip her head around to glare at him.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA007_zpsef31130d.png
"It's called having a lightning-fast metabolism! I can't help it! I need to EAT!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA008_zps0bd0aa34.png
Well, now that the conversation's died down, maybe I can get in some introductions.
Well, let's start off with the I-assume-Chef.
"I don't think we've met, have we?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA010_zps9525278e.png
"Wow! Word spreads fast. Yeah, I'm Ramza. Nice to meet you!" I guess Sherman's doing all the rumor-spreading.
"Heh. I got my ear to the ground in town. The name's Blaise. I'm the head chef here at Blaise's Diner. If you want some home cookin', you're always welcome here."
"Good to hear! I'll definitely be stopping by later! Your place comes pretty reccomended."
"See ya around, kid!"
And the young lady...
Turns to look at me when I draw near, then smiles intensely.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA011_zps15906cbe.png
"Uh, down? Down where?"
"Down in an eating contest, duh!"
"Uh... With you? You really think that's a good idea?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA012_zps9fc4a35d.png
"Don't look at you how? I don't even know what you're talking about!"
"Liar! I see you giving me the evil eye! You're jealous of my metabolism!"
...What? If I've ever felt that way about anyone's metabolism, I don't think I want to be that person.
"Uh, no, I can honestly say I've never been jealouse of anyone's metab--"
"I can see it in your eyes! I can see it in everyone's eyes! They all want my metabolism! Well, I'm not sharing!"
Metabolisms don't work that way! You can't steal metabolism!
No, I should try and calm her down. I hold up my hands in an effort to show my innocence of crimes of biological theft.
"Uh, Ok. I won't ask for your metabolism, then. You can feel secure in that knowledge."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA013_zpsba2e2ae0.png
"I just moved into that big tree. Call me Ramza."
"I'm Collette. I'm usually here at Blaise's Diner working... or EATING!"
She says that so proudly... Still, the food's apparently good enough to gorge on.
"Heh. Sounds like I should stop by here when I'm hungry, then!"
"Sounds good! Just don't think you can outeat me!"
I glance over at the table of broken dreams and empty plates.
"Heh. I won't even try, if that helps."
The pile's grown during our conversation, too. I shake my head and mutter, incredulously,
"Wow... Did she really finish off 10 more plates?"
Anyway, finally, the other guy.
"Hello."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA014_zpsbf758ffc.png
He waits for an opportunity to hear my name.
"Ramza. I just moved into the Sharance Tree. I hope we can be friends." Even it isn't for very long.
"Oh, I see. I'm Rusk. It looks like we're around the same age. So let's keep it casual."
Really? Huh... He's maybe a little younger than, say, Shara... So I'm about Shara's age, huh? Or, well, I look like it. That's good to know.
... I really need to go take a look in a mirror. Learning things about how I look piece-meal like this isn't much good.
"Alright, well, it's nice to meet you, Rusk."
"Yeah, same here. I'm usually here at the diner, so come by to see me sometime."
"Yeah, I'll do that."
Well, that's the diner done: nice people, and it looks like I'll have food.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA015_zps0e0ce46a.png
The last building on this street is surrounded by an almost moat-like pond, with a bridge going across... It's sort of an Eastern-looking building...I wonder what sort of place it --
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA016_zps40b27a0a.png
I don't even step foot in it when someone comes running to greet me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA017_zps8198e5cf.png
...Wh...What are those things on the sides of her head? Those definitely look attached...
"Would you like a bath? Or would you like to BE a bath?"
She says that in such a happy, mindlessly cheerful voice that for a second, I don't get what she just said.
And once I do, then I just don't understand it.
"The bath's over there! Come on in! The water's fine!"
Before I can explain anything, she grabs my hands in hers -- hands that, I notice, have something like, well, fins attached to the wrists, the same color as the things on her head.
"Whoa."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA018_zpsd04ed988.png
She starts pulling me along, happily humming, her step bright and bouncy.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA019_zps443c7bf2.png
Another voice rings out, stopping the strange girl in her tracks.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA020_zpsea1fe3f5.png
The speaker's an Eastern girl, maybe...Um...My age, I guess.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA021_zpsdfdaa56f.png
She steps between Pia and myself, breaking the grip Pia had on my hands, even as Pia gestures like she really wants to grab them again.
"I'm really sorry about that."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA022_zps3f9b4fe7.png
She grabs my hands.
"Wait, what?" I'm not being saved at all! "Not you, too!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA023_zps04c382d0.png
Regardless, she starts pulling me in the opposite direction, only to be stopped by a protest -- not from me.
"Sakuya! Don't you DARE steal him! He's MINE!"
I hope whatever my life's been like, it's prepared me for this.
...I doubt it.
"What are you talking about? He clearly came to stay at my place!"
And then Pia bursts into tears, her sobs quickly filling the room.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA024_zpsaeadcb5f.png
She looks so pitiful; maybe there's something I can say to make her feel better?
Sakuya looks as alarmed as I do, immediately looking about for some plan of consolation.
"Oh, come on now, Pia... Don't cry..."
I can literally see the scheme cross her face, a cunning smile entering.
"Hey, let's do this, then! He can stay at my place, and then he can take a bath later on! How does that sound?"
"That works!"
"Great!"
Yeah, that'll make everyone ha -- wait. I have a place to stay! And I don't want to be a bath!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA025_zpsb51c256e.png
They converge on me, gleams in their eyes.
"Uh... Don't I get a say in all this?"
Once again, the abduction-in-progress is interrupted.
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She appears like an angel from on-high. Thank you, ma'am!
"It's great that the two of you are so enthusiastic about your jobs, but you shouldn't put so much pressure on the customer like that."
Pia wiggles in place and looks contrite.
"Sorry for fighting over the customer..."
"Dang! And I'd concocted the perfect plan, too!"
Sakuya, less so.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA029_zps5c7e5e47.png
From the tone, I guess that's Sakuya's mother; that's a very 'mother' tone.
"Um, never mind. Forget I said anything."
The woman turns and looks at me, an elegant but apologetic smile on her face.
"I'm very sorry about that, sir. Let me take this time to formally welcome you to the Miyako Inn."
She bows.
"We have fantastic food and a wonderful bath. Please, do not hesitate to use any of our facilities."
Pia interjects, "My bath's open from 10 AM to 10 PM! I better see ya there later! 10 AM to 10 PM! You better not forget!"
I, uh, heard that a first time.
"Oh, my daughter also sells some odd things at her shop. Please, take a look."
This steams Sakuya.
"Hey! What do you mean, 'odd things'?!" She crosses her arms and continues. "I sell things I find on my trips. The products change daily, so be sure to stop by every day!"
"Um, Okay... I'll be sure to check it out..." Now that no one's forcing me to.
Pia looks me over a bit and adds,
"So, you must be the new guy everyone's blabbing about, right?"
"Wow, you've heard about me, too? Yeah, my name's --"
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She stares at me for a minute before suddenly adding,
"It's strange though, isn't it? There aren't any dice anywhere!"
...I... I think she's being serious.
"I don't think it's a pair of --"
"Oh, never you mind that! Time to get you in the bath!"
"This second?!"
Didn't we just get done talking about this?!
"Duh, this second! You look, uh, haggard or something!"
Now, see. I don't even know what my face is like, and even I can tell she's making stuff up.
"It's okay. I'm doing fine, really!"
She leans forward and takes one hand in hers, inspecting my forearm.
"Really? You sure you don't need even a TINY little scrubbing?"
I pull my hand back.
"Yes. VERY sure."
"Just you wait! You can't evade our scrubbings forever!"
This would sound like a threat, if it weren't delivered in a voice like a series of colorful sugar-bubbles.
"Uh, if you say so."
"I know so! Oh, and I guess it does matter what your name is! After all, I'm gonna need to log your visit later!"
"Heh! I'm Ramza."
"Gotcha! Nice to meet you, Ramza!"
But you know what? You can't fault that sort of enthusiasm. I bet her baths are really nice, if she's that gung-ho.
"Nice to meet you, too. And I'll let you know when I'm ready for a bath!"
Next up, I suppose I'll introduce myself to Sakuya.
"Hello there."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/Image002_zps822fc6d2.png
"Did I hear that right? Are you the guy who moved into the Sharance Tree?"
"That'd be me."
"Ah, my intuition was right! My name's Sakuya! Nice to meet you!"
"I'm Ramza. Nice to meet you."
Sakuya's head drooped slightly.
"Anyway, that was so mean of Shara..."
"Huh? What was...?"
"We could've had an extra customer if she'd had to stay here instead of in that tree."
"I...I guess that's true..."
... But then, I didn't have any money. Or a way to make money...
"Well, I'll just have to talk to Shara later."
"Huh? Talk to her about what?"
"To make sure she reccomends our inn from now on!"
"Ah....Gotcha..."
She giggles.
"Well, I hope you stop by our inn soon! See you later!"
I don't think I'll move out until I move, uh, "home." Wherever that is.
And finally...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/Image1001_zps2a343557.png
"That's right."
"My name is Shino. Shinonome, actually, but I go by Shino for short. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. By the way, how did you know my name?" Was she listening in on the conversations I was just having?
"Actually, it's just a small town. Word of a new resident spreads fast."
"That makes sense..." But she didn't say who she heard it from, which is sort of dissapointing.
"I run this inn here. If you ever feel tired, please come by and have a rest."
"Sounds good. I'll be sure to do that." I do owe her a debt, after all.
"We'll be waiting! Though I suppose you'll have more use for our baths."
Well, with that, it's time to close the loop that's the town -- the road leads back to the Sharance Tree, and if you go South from there, we're back near Shara's house. There was one more shop near there...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA031_zps4a924866.png
This is probably the general store, since I haven't seen that yet.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA032_zps129c5d11.png
Looks like, particularly since...
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Karina's asleep over the counter, her face still and peaceful.
"Uh, hello?"
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My approach wakes her. She sits up and looks at me with impressive awareness, for someone just woken up from a nap. She's like a sleeping cat like that.
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"Oh, uh...okay."
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A woman calls out from behind me.
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"What are you doing?!"
She storms up the steps and to the counter.
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"You're supposed to be working!"
"I AM working. Taking breaks is a part of work."
...I-I'm Not sure it works like that.
"You can't take a break when there are customers in the store!"
"Sheesh. What a slave driver."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA040_zpse8330b92.png
Mother and daughter, huh? That's certainly sounds like family squabbling.
Still, it makes me uneasy...
"Ha ha..."
She looks at me appraisingly and, for the first time, smiles.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA041_zpsa77a2ced.png
"Yep."
"We should explain the shipping system to you, then. Why don't you step up to the counter? Karina won't bite."
That's nice to hear -- so far, there's only one person who will. In a literal sense, I mean.
I finally step up from the stairs, getting a nod from Karina's mother.
"OK, Karina! Go ahead."
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"But there's so much to... (What a pain...)"
She opens her eyes and seems to have come to a solution of her own liking.
"Actually, I think you'd do a much better job explaining it, Mom."
Ha! You're just too lazy to do it!"
"Hey, I'm just thinking about what's best for our customers." Point: Karina
"Oh, really? Well, since you're so concerned about our new customer, I'll put you in charge of shipping for his farm." Point: Karina's Mom.
"What?!"
"I know you'll love that!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA043_zpsfb724b0d.png
Game, set, and match.
Her mother nods, satisfied with having made her daughter do something. Probably "Actually do something."
"Well, I've got to get some orders ready, so Karina will tell you all about shipping."
I shoot Karina an emberassed smile.
"Okay."
"Karina! No sleeping on the job!"
"Fine... (She's so bossy.)"
Karina's mom turns to me and smiles.
"See you later."
As she leaves, Karina heaves a sigh.
"Well, I guess you're stick with me for the explanation. I'll try my best, but no promises. (This is such a drag...)"
"Thank you. I'm sure I'll follow well enough."
"Ummm..." She pauses to formulate her ideas. "Toss your crops into the shipping bin and we'll come pick 'em up. (Lighter crops are better.) We'll pick them up around 5 PM. (Or whenever we feel like it.) Then you'll automatically get paid for them. We'll pick them up every single day. (I don't even get weekends off. *Sigh*)"
...I feel like there's a lot going unsaid here, somehow.
"I guess that covers it. (That was annoying.)"
At last, she opens her eyes and looks at me again.
"Got it?"
"Uh....Kinda..."
"So I guess I start today..."
She sighs.
"Why does your field have to bee so far away?"
"Uh, sorry about that."
But it doesn't seem so far to me.
"Yeah... (I just hope you don't ship too much.)"
"I look forward to doing a lot of business here!"
I'll have to come back to introduce myself to her mother, so that just leaves... Um, Daria, wasn't it? The person who lives in the forest to the South of town.
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This place looks pretty big -- there's much more of it than I'm seeing, but...
I'm guessing that...
Uh...
Colorful house is Daria's.
I wonder what some of those...sculptures, I guess? are. Maybe I'll ask.
The room I walked into was... Busy. Messy. Colorful. Covered in giant splatters of paints and bits of colorful objects that could be pieces of the stuff outside or sculptures on their own, all in bright, near-neon shades.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA046_zpsb8732c8d.png
And there's a woman with long blonde hair and pointed ears, happily painting away on a large canvas.
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...Is that a hammer she's using to paint?
Lost in her own work, she hasn't heard me come in at all.
"It's incredible! It's beautiful! This is the piece that'll show everyone what a staggering genius I am!
I'll finally be world famous! People will be lining up to interview me!
I'll give lectures to packed houses!
I'll be invited to fabulous parties!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA050_zpsa5bff53f.png
"I'll need assistants! Probably a hundred of them!"
She brings a finger to her lips, suddenly pensive.
"Hmm...I'd better start looking."
I'm not sure I want to disturb her, but...
"Hello."
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She leans in close and looks me over, turning her head this way and that, examining me more closely than I think I've ever been examined.
A light that approaches mania fills her eyes. Is -- Is this what it's like to be "undressed by someone's eyes"?
"Uh...Yeah?"
"Hmmm...."
"I... Uhh... What are you staring at?"
It's not my soul, is it?
"Your nose, your cheekbones... Your face is fascinating."
"W-what?!"
Th-that's good, right?
"You should model for me sometime!"
"Model...? Uh, sure, I guess."
She claps her hands together once as a sort of exclamation point.
"Excellent! You couldn't have chosen a better artist to capture your form! Paintings, sculptures, mixed media...I'm a master of them all, an artist extraordinaire!"
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"That sounds pretty impressive."
...When did rainbows enter into this?
"You'd better believe it!"
She pauses and looks at me again -- not with the same intensity, but a sort of thoughtfulness.
"Actually, maybe you'd make a better assistant than a model."
"Huh?"
"What's your name?"
"Ramza."
"Ramza? I'm Daria. Come by my studio any time you want to take a look at my masterpieces!"
"Okay."
She seems a little... eccentric.
If I'm putting it mildly.
Oh, but, if she's going to call attention to my face...
"Hey, this may sound odd, but...Do you have a mirror somewhere I can look at?"
She turns from her painting again.
"Why do you need one?"
"Well, this may sound silly, but... I don't remember what I look like."
She folds her arms and nods, her expression suddenly grave.
"What a dreadful dilemna!" ... But her voice is so enthusiastic it's hard to take that seriously.
"Well, you're in luck! I've been using one to aide me in my latest masterpiece! It should be right over there!"
She points to a pile of... objects, thrown haphazardly on a green chair next to her.
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"That's a mess..."
"Nonsense, controlled chaos is essential to art! I know where everything is!"
Everything but a mirror it seems: when I look through the pile, I find everything but that. There's even something here that smells like it might be...Food?\
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA055_zps79222910.png
I pull it out, and it turns out to be...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageA057_zps3358cc99.png
"...Are these cooked eggplants?"
"Oh, that's where that went! Well, for retrieving it, you're welcome to keep it!"
"...Thank you?" I'm not sure...How old is this? Well, it's a gift, anyway. "Thank you."
I could eat it, but I think I'd do better seeing if I can get money for it somehow.
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"Well, thanks anyway. I've got to get going."
"See you later! I've got artistic vision to produce. RAINBOW~!"
And she turns back, frantically, to her work.
Well, finally... I guess the last thing I need to do is go back and talk to Karina's mother. My luck's good enough that she's manning the shop when I get back up there.
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"Yep." At this point, it doesn't surprise me.
"I'm Hazel. I own this general store, and am mother of the laziest girl on Earth.
We sell an assortment of crop seeds, so I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of you."
"Yeah. I plan to do lots of farming."
"Good! It's great to meet someone with some energy and ambition!
...
If only my daughter was more like you..." She sighs. This is...Kind of a lot of issues in a simple introduction.
"Well, I'm sure I'll be back later, but I've got to go see Shara."
She waves me off as I run to the flower shop.
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Where Shara greets me with a contemplative hum.
"What's the matter?"
"How would you feel about trying out a new scent, Ramza?"
"Uh....What?" Do I smell bad or something?
"A little cologne can make a big difference."
"I don't own any cologne."
I don't own any anything.
"Just come by any time I'm tending the store and I'll choose a scent for you."
"You'll choose?" I feel uneasy about that...
"Of course! Is there something wrong with that?"
"Well, a guy's cologne is kind of a personal decision, don't you think?"
It's sort of a personal expression...
"Tee-hee. Don't worry, I'm a proffessional!"
I thought you sold flowers, not toiletries!
I shake this off.
"Anyway, I introduced myself to everyone in town."
"Oh, thank you. I'll bet you got a 'SKILL UP!' message while you were walking around town. Were you surprised?"
I think something like that happened... But it didn't exactly catch my attention.
"Not really..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageC005_zpsc66851d4.png
[color=limegreen]"You got that message because your walking skill increased. That's a skill that you increase just by walking around. You'll find that you have build skill levels for just about everything you do, even eating and sleeping."
"Wow. That's pretty detailed."
"Building skills will help you out in all sorts of ways."
"That's good to know."
"Now, let's see... Next, I'd like you to ship any one item."
There's more to this request?
"Any item at all?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageC006_zps9a8ce9bf.png
"Just put it in the shipping bin, then come back and talk to me."
"Sounds easy enough."
I've got just the thing!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%203/ImageC007_zps639ea6b6.png
In you go! This should fetch an alright price, bottom of the junk pile origins or no.
"Okay, I shipped something. I should get back to Shara."
Back to the flower shop!
"I put something in the shipping bin.
"Thank you. What did you ship?"
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"Was it something that you cooked? I would've liked to have tried it."
"Um, Not exactly..."
"Well, that's it for my request. Great job!"
She places a chest on the other side of the counter.
"When you complete a request, sometimes you'll get a gift. You'll usually get an extra nice reward for difficult requests or when you complete a request for a wealthy client."
...Soo....Do lots of favors for Sherman if I need money. I can do that.
"But I think the real reward is helping others."
"Yeah, everyone's been so nice to me here. It's great to have a chance to help out!"
The people here are kind of strange, but... They're also very nice. I'm glad of all the places I could have wound up, it's here.
"Tee-hee. That's the spirit! Now I should tell you about your mail box. It's just outside your door. It's another place where you can get requests."
Shara sure slips easily into expository mode, doesn't she?
"I asked my grandfather to send a request to your mail box. So check your mail box and I'm sure you'll get his letter soon! Did you understand all that?"
"I got it. I'll be getting a request in the mail box by my front door."
[color=limegreen]"Perfect. ♪ And please be sure you accept my grandfather's request, okay?"
"Okay!"
Looks like my first day'll be busy.
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And now my prize...
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/RuneB70_zps723406b7.png
Some turnip seeds! Nice! ...Why are they pink, though? ...No, you know what?
I think there are some things not worth knowing.
I guess I'll go worry about these, and then it's on to the next request!
Mechanics Chat
Let's talk about some things, shall we? Most of this is just stuff to keep people from being confused when I show things off.
We'll start by taking a quick trip through the menu. I could show this at any time, but might as well do so now. Uh, people who've played Rune Factory 3, you can just skip to the bottom paragraph, where I'm talking about what this LP will do with requests.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_25_19241_zps4e066a0e.png
First up, we've got the main menu screen. It shows our stats and inventory. If I press a button, whose relationship to real buttons I have forgotten (I think it's the button that is meant to be the left shoulder), I can pull up an expanded description of an item, like I did for the miso eggplant.
You can probably guess what most of our stats do: they're pretty standard.
We could also look at our rune abilities from here, but we only have two, and both of them will get their own explanation when the game comes. I'll save it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_01_19750_zps7f91eb8f.png
Our second page is skills! Like Shara mentioned, there is an almost hilariously long list of skills for this game, and they go up all the time, whenever you do relevant things.
Here's what we've got now, I really should leave listing them all for its own segment. This is mostly for my showing off bits of menu without people who don't know the game getting confused:
Water Skill Uh, it's right there in the description, basically. There's a reason we have it on our skill list, though, even though we've never done water magic: we used our watering can. We've watered things, and the water skill figures that's good enough.
Earth Skill: The skill for earth magic. In terms of how it effects earth magic, it's the same as the water skill, and it raises the same stats, too. It probably went up because we've been hoeing the ground. Probably -- the game's a little bit obtuse about this stuff, but it's basically all we've done.
Love Skill: ...Not like that. Well, a bit: it's gone up because we talk to people, or maybe because we sowed seeds -- I've heard both of those things increasing love skills, and both sound plausible. Love is the element associated with healing and curative magics. It works like the other magics in terms of the stats it raises, and it also has a special effect that we'll get to later.
Farming: We're going to need this for making our own farm tools later, and it reduces RP use on farm tools. It raises RP and HP, and you increase it by using farm tools.
Walking: Yes, this is a skill. Why, I do not know. It boosts HP, RP, and Vitality.
There's enough skills that I'll be dedicating a segment to them, honest. Just remind me.
If you run over a little rune (not a runey, but just a ball of light), you'll get a boost to a random skill. I never know my skills well enough to know what improved, but that's nice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_07_22709_zps401273a2.png
We can have party members, either monsters we've tamed, or villagers who have friendly feelings towards us (3 FP or LP). We'd check out their stats and equipment (you can give villagers equipment and weapons) here, if we had any.
If you've got any villagers you want to party with us, let me know! That's something you can decide, and I'll talk about our options when we have options!
...To be honest, I never had non-mandatory party members in this game. I only really started bringing people along with me in RF4. But it'd be more fun this way, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_45_23225_zpsa33cb136.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_50_23241_zps781f55a6.png
And finally (well, finally before 'Options,' which I won't show you during the LP, so why do you need to worry?), we have the affections listing! This gives you a little bio about a character (I'll be putting them all in my bio list, which I'll be working on now that we've met everyone), their family (if they have one), and how much they like you... And how they like you. Characters with little hearts for their affection rating are marriage candidates, and include: Shara, Collete, Marian, Karina, Pia, Sofia, Sakuya, Carmen, Raven, and Daria. There's one we haven't met yet, as well. Due time, due time.
...By the way, all of Daria's RAINBOW lines are voiced, and I will never get tired of that. Neeeeevvvveeer.
Now, finally, let's talk about stuff that's not the menu! Let's talk a bit more about the bulletin board and mailbox.
You can accept a total of 3 requests a day, one from each of the locations (mailbox, bulletin board, surprise mystery locations) but can only have one active at a time. Some requests are important, and will stay up if you cancel them: these are one-time requests, and are sort of part of a villager's larger story line, and are an essential part of the wooing process.
...We'll be seeing all of the girls' events, give-or-take depending on how I feel as we get towards the last ones for each girl: I might run votes about how selective we should be about our affection. But we'll cross that bridge later.
One thing we will be doing, though, is taking votes about how to prioritize requests. Every once in a while, once we get done tutorial requests -- say an in-game week, or maybe a fortnight, we'll see -- I'll be asking you guys to pick the 3 characters whose requests you want me to prioritize, and take on before the requests of others. These don't have to be girls -- just whomever suits your fancy. I'll probably start voting next update.
Oh, about the miso eggplant: sometimes, when you interact with an available spot, you find things. I just got lucky. There's a skill for that, too.
That's all I can think to talk about for now!
Seerow
2014-01-28, 04:30 PM
Poor Ramza, one day in the town and already has two girls fighting over getting him into bed/bath.
Also the pink/grey text is pretty hard to read.
I will see what I can manage to replace it.
Ogremindes
2014-01-28, 05:43 PM
The grey text may be a bit low-contrast, but it feels like the right colour for unenthusiastic mumbling.
I'm working on the cast list, and have alternate font colors for Karina and Pia up there: thoughts?
I've used the silver in LPs before without complaint, but the pink was definitely an experiment.
erikun
2014-01-29, 01:17 PM
Hmm, which three characters?
Sofia, because she is always fun to talk to.
Daria, because you like her RAINBOWS! voice. :smalltongue:
And Karina, because personal preferences.
Javan
2014-01-29, 01:32 PM
The alternate text colors are much easier on the eyes.
Dragoon
2014-01-29, 08:08 PM
Thanks for the update. Though I am curious how exactly one becomes a bath... :smallconfused:
People to take requests from first
Gaius, because better weapons maybe, I hope.
Sakuya, because random items might shake up Ramza's memory, assuming of course it actually is a good idea to figure it out.
Sofia, for the headaches it will give Ramza, especially if she writes out her requests how she speaks. :smallbiggrin:
I like to think that we might find out, if you look at it from a sort of Pia-y way.
Chapter 4: Magic Sword Seed, I Choose You!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageA0012_zps906e32e5.png
Alright, pink turnips: planted!
Now, let's see, mailbox...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageA0011_zpsd3d89ba1.png
This'd be it, I guess.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageBDontCrop_zpsf0a15f75.png
...That's...vague. But OK!
I find Wells on the second story of the flower shop.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC002_zps0cce718f.png
"Yes. What can I do for you?"
"Do you know Marjorie from the apothecary?"
"Yeah. Well, we've met."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC003_zps4a79f766.png
"I just got the flowers that she ordered. I told her they'd be in today, but knowing her, she probably just forgot."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC004_zps8e952239.png
That's...Kind of an odd thing to ask, don't you think?
"You just want me to deliver that message? I don't mind delivering the flowers to her."
"No, that's all right."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC005_zps0f6eae0a.png
...Isn't that what a store's meant to do?
"Well, hop to it!"
I find Marjorie in the back part of her shop.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC006_zps6b5a98fa.png
"Hello."
Some sleep does sound nice...
"Did you need something?"
"I have a message for you from Wells. He told me to tell you that your flowers have arrived, so please pick them up."
"...Ah! Those flowers!" It looks like he was right. "I completely forgot about them. If you came all this way, why not just have you deliver them, though?"
...I'm not sure I understand that, either.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC007_zps23a556e3.png
"Honestly... That stubborn old man..." She smiles at me. "Well, you can let him know that I'll come and get my flowers later."
"Will do!"
"Thanks."
...And back to the Flower Shop. I've been there, what, 4 times today?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC008_zps7df1e1e6.png
"Thanks for your trouble. Here, take this."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC009_zpsd64dffea.png
A sickle as a housewarming gift?
...Well, I guess it is a farm.
"Thank you."
"You can use a sickle to cut weeds and harvest grass for fodder. You can also use it on a crop to harvest seeds from it. Sometimes you can get higher quality seeds that way. It's an essential tool for farming. Put that field of yours to good use!"
"Okay!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC010_zps15257b55.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC011_zps100fc7cb.png
...Well, there's still some daylight left, and I ate an herb so I have a bit of energy...
I think I want to go check out the forest some more.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC012_zpsc7ed09ad.png
When I get to the entrance, I look around and see that there are a couple of paths I could take, but... One of them seems especially tantalizing.
Tantalizing? That's... A strange choice of words, but... As I get nearer, the feeling that that's where I have to be going gets stronger. It's almost like an itch, somewhere under my skin.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC013_zps49b7cc09.png
Something interrupts my musing, though.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC014_zpsb28b2b1b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC015_zpsbadce0ca.png
"Wells?"
"You shouldn't wander into Privera Forest unless you're prepared."
I tilt my head.
"Why? What's in there?"
"Monsters, of course! If you don't have a weapon with you, you're liable to get walloped!"
I've got a sword, and it seems I know how to use it.
"And I hear that troublesome raccoon is hiding in there, too."
...A...raccoon?
"It'd be nice if someone would take care of him."
There's that itching feeling again...
If someone's causing trouble, then... I want to help if I can. Everyone's been nice, and given someone like me a place to stay.
I can fight -- it might be that that's all I have to give. But if that's it...Then I have to give it.
"...I'll do it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC016_zps1e5adfee.png
"Sure. I think I can take down a raccoon, at least."
"Thank you. Glad to hear it. The monsters in Privera Forest aren't too tough if you're ready for them. Just don't try exploring any other areas yet."
"Other areas?"
"On the west side of town are the entrances to Vale River and Sol Terrano Desert. On the east side, you'll find Oddward Valley. The monsters in those places are a lot more dangerous than the ones you'll find in Privera Forest. So you'd better stick to Privera Forest until you've got a lot more experience fighting monsters."
"Got it."
"I should also tell you about Teleport -- It's a power that emerges in rune-rich areas like this one. You can use Teleport when you need to get home fast. If you're in a dungeon, it'll take you to the entrance. If you're in town, it'll take you straight to the Sharance Tree."
That sounds amazingly handy.
"It doesn't use any RP, so you can use it any time. Teleport is a special ability. You can't remove it, so you'll always have it with you."
I am never not using this again, I think.
"Sounds useful. I'll try it out."
He begins to leave, but at the last second, he turns. His face is pleasant, but his voice...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC017_zps1e0d5b9d.png
Is alarmingly sour, and it hits me in a way I can't quite explain.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC018_zpsf9ee67d3.png
I stare after him.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC019_zps9afef6b8.png
I shake my head and go into the woods.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC020_zps53b1b738.png
The first area seems, initially, quiet: monster-free enough that I can just sort of look around quietly.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC021_zps3015657e.png
For one, it's got a little field. I guess there are other places crops could grow here -- good to know.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC022_zps2b217b0e.png
And a swirling vortex -- a gate that pulls monsters from the Forest of Beginnings. If you don't close them, they'll just create monsters forever, if I'm remembering correctly.
Not good.
I start picking up a few supplies, but then...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC023_zpsd2af07bb.png
A little apple monster (they're called Pomme Pommes, I think) shows up, and just out of the blue starts attacking me!
I guess they don't like humans... But by the time I've started beating it back, I'm so tired I can barely swing my sword.
...I...I can't handle this for now.
I teleport home,
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC024_zps4277e9a4.png
And a few ports later end up in my room.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC025_zpse61a9da3.png
I'm worn-out, but I'm not sleepy, so I decided to work on clearing my field some more...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC026_zps0166e927.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC027_zps4e8dba0b.png
I even find enough pink turnip seeds to finish that patch I planted when I do, just sort of under the roots of the weeds. How odd, but you can't look a gift seed in the mouth, right?
While I'm doing that, I stop by the pond...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC028_zps825145e9.png
And look at myself. A kind of baby-faced young man stares back at me, my blue-green eyes open, if a little confused, my thin blonde brows nearly vanishing in the color of my face, drawn tight with worry. A little smile, oddly relieved. The smile looks natural on my face, so I probably smiled like that a lot; it's not a sour sort of face.
I look like a nice person, I think.
I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting to see, but... The face of the young man looking back at me is surprisingly mine. I expected it to be unfamiliar -- a stranger's face, one I'd never seen before. I expected it to look alien to me. Instead, even though it's not a face I remember ever seeing, it still means something.
I've lost a lot of things: maybe more than I'm capable of knowing. But "I'm" still here. Whoever I am, I'm "myself." Maybe that doesn't mean anything, but that's the feeling that washes over me.
I sigh as a weight lifts from my shoulders. I didn't know how anxious I was about that, but suddenly it seems like I've finally let go of my breath.
I get back to work, and spend a while figuring out what of what I've just picked up I want to ship. I want to save a few things for later, after all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC029_zpsc4bcc820.png
And I eventually head to bed, just as midnight hits. It's raining outside...
I guess it's going to be a dark and stormy night.
For not having been slept in for a while, my bed's pretty comfy, and I fall asleep quicky.
Whatever rain we had passed during the night: it's sunny this morning.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC030_zpsc0cc8185.png
Too sunny: about half my flowers are drying out.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC031_zps9a2be8dc.png
But it doesn't take me long to water them.
I check my mailbox to see if I've recieved any other requests, but nah, nothing. I'm not sure what I should be doing just yet, other than tending the crops... But if I want more crops and be able to manage doing anything else, too, I'm going to need more food to keep my strength up...
So I'll probably need to go see Blaise, on top of whatever else I'm doing. That sounds like a plan.
The bulletin board has a request, though. It's from Sherman, and says...
Please don't come see me!
...Or something like that, anyway. I kind of skimmed it.
...I think I'm supposed to come, right?
That's how this goes. I'll accept it and see.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC032_zps08fa04e1.png
I run into Shino on the road there.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC033_zpsd543e3a2.png
"Yeah, it is. Good morning."
"Do not hesitate to ask me any questions you have, Ramza."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC034_zpsf9bcca6b.png
"Uh... Wh-why would you know anything about using weapons...?"
She doesn't answer, only smiles silently and goes back to contemplating the morning sky.
III...Think I should just be going along to Sherman's, huh?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC035_zps8d52fc12.png
Oh boy... Let's try this out, then...
"Y-yeah, it's...Nice?"
This elicits no particular response, so I just keep going.
"Hey, I saw your request on the bulletin board."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC036_zpsb84b7971.png
"Ah..." I think I'm sweating.
"You need a pot to make Seafood Gratin, and you won't need fire for the pot."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC037_zps03556d69.png
Try and contribute, try and contribute...
"I don't believe so."
He smiles.
"So. I don't want you to bring me 9 wood."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC038_zpsb388f838.png
Ok, if he didn't want me to bring him them, then I wouldn't need to be standing here. Ergo, he wants me to bring him some fuel for his fire.
It's cool. I got this.
"You shouldn't be fine even when you don't have a wood. Because this axe --"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC039_zps94d7e437.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC040_zps83cd0ef6.png
...Riiight. Well, it's an axe. Mostly. In theory.
"Thank you, Sherman."
"Use this axe on a branch to make wood! By the way, if you lose it, you can't buy one from the weapon shop."
"Ummm, So they do sell them?"
"Then please don't chop up lots of branches!"
So he wants me to chop them up, right...?
"Oh, you can't also throw items to hand them. But please don't be careful that someone else doesn't catch it. Because they won't think it's not a present!"
"I-I see..."
He's moving too fast!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC041_zpsc9532910.png
"Ummm... Thanks."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC042_zps439efdd7.png
On my way back to the house (I want to get better at getting around, so...) I run into Sofia.
Let's get in some practice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC043_zpsa36299b8.png
"Good morning, Sofia."
"I'm busy."
I'm about to apologize and let her go on her way, when it hits me that that might not be what she means.
"What?"
"I'm so busy."
"Oh, yeah...Sorry... I'll let you get on your way, then..." I'm about to turn when she adds, in a miserable tone of voice,
"I'm so busy. Why isn't anyone paying attention to me?"
"Huh?" Did I get it wrong?
But she just keeps walking. I think I done goofed.
Anyway, the roads are fairly busy today, and so...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC044_zpsc6a97ed9.png
"Good morning."
Evelyn, standing by the bulletin board and pacing about, crosses my path.
"Ramza, do you know fake layered?"
"No...What is it?"
"I imagine it to be a light-weight dress...Like fairy wings."
"So it's not like anything you know..."
She shrugs.
Rusk's also in the area, so why not?
We exchange pleasantries.
"I'm not a fan of Turnips. The leaves are just disgusting!"
"...And you want me to know this because...?"
"Hey, man. I'm just looking out for you; gift-giving's a big custom here, so you should try and get it right. But some people are just bizzare... You can't give anything nice to that Sofia girl, for example," he says, pointing.
Nothing nice, huh? Well, she is pretty rich.... She might be bored. Or it might be some odd opposite-think...
Maybe I should try giving her something...Uh...not-nice?
"Thanks, Rusk..." I walk away more confused than I started.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC045_zpsd9cd075c.png
Back at the farm, it's time to do some chopping. This axe looks like it's about to fall apart, though...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageC001_zpscc8c1865.png
While I'm working, it starts to rain. Man, I wasted all that energy watering this morning... And our nice day is gone so soon.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageDDoNotCrop_zpse72a5422.png
But with some herbs to fill me up, I get it done, at least.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageE002_zps1ed76a99.png
And I go to deliver it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageE003_zps9755bc14.png
"No thank you very much."
"..."
...Is that even proper opposites?
"Now I can't eat Seafood Gratin!"
"Umm, that's good...?"
"This isn't much, but it isn't for you. Please don't take it."
"Thank you very much. Right...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageE004_zpsf18b79fd.png
"Umm....?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageE005_zpsed0ebab7.png
Wow, that's a lot of money!...At least, relative to me.
"Well then, I won't ask you again some other time."
"Ah..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageE006_zps9f2aceb2.png
I surrender.
Well, let's see what I can't do with my money! Now that I have some, I mean.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageE001_zps33daf36f.png
"Hello."
Oh, dear...Marian's tending shop....
"What's the matter? You feeling bad or something?"
"I've come to shop."
"What do you want?"
"Uh, well, what do you have?"
"We've got medicine and supplies... And magic tomes and staves!"
"Well, let's start with the medicine."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageFDoNotCrop1_zps5082cc8b.png
It looks like they have herbs that aren't in season (and ones that are), and medicine for ailments. They also have something for my fields, but it's a bit pricey for my blood.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageFDoNotCrop2_zpsf761c5db.png
For magic, they don't have much, and it's all pricier than I want to make blind. So I'll pass.
After I take a while looking, Marian leans over and eyeballs me.
"Hey, how are you feeling, Ramza?"
"What? Um... Not so good, I guess... I'm a little worn-out."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG002_zps11e6eec1.png
An image of her syringe-gun crosses my mind like a post-traumatic flashback. More like a pre-traumatic flashback.
"Uh...I think I'll pass..."
I see Sofia passing in the rain, and remember my talk with Rusk. I want to give Sofia something, but I can't give her something nice... Well, the least nice things I have are these weeds, so maybe...?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG003_zpsf43ddb06.png
Here goes nothing...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG004_zps5536159a.png
Fingers crossed...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG005_zps51655b7b.png
That cheerful smile... I can't trust her words, not exactly, but... I think I did good.
VICTORY!
I think I want to see about some cooking supplies next, I guess: I do need food badly.
Collette's hanging around, too, so I guess I should stop and make small-talk.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG006_zps833a5076.png
"Yeah, it is." It's slowed down a bit, though.
"I'm SO hungry!"
"Have you eaten yet?" It is lunchtime, or just about.
"Of course! I had 10 helpings of rice, curry rice, and rice balls and --"
"That's insane!"
"Yeah, I know! I can't survive on so little! That'll leave me looking like a skeleton!"
"Uh, I somehow doubt that."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG007_zps64084b9f.png
"Welcome."
"I've come to see if you could install some cooking supplies. Shara said you were the person to talk to about it."[/color]
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG008_zpsd41808e7.png
"Uh, aren't you gonna need that?"
"Nah, I got plenty of spares. Gotta get my practice in, right?
But just to clarify, you can only cook with your bare hands on a kitchen counter."
That doesn't leave me with a lot of options, though...
"What if I want to cook more complex dishes?"
"You'll need other cooking appliances. You'll have to buy those seperately."
"I'll have to keep an eye out for those, then!"
"Okay, I'll deliver the kitchen counter to your house!"
"Sounds good!"
Wow, that's actually really nice! I have a piece of kitchen!
He looks down at some sort of list he has -- or paperwork, maybe?
"What's that?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG009_zpsa4d256a5.png
"Why would you go to all that trouble?"
"Presentation's important when it comes to the culinary arts, kid. Just as important as flavor!"
I see...I've got a lot to learn.
Well, I've got money, a bath might be nice, to warm me up after walking in the rain for hours. And that Pia girl will be thrilled.
And Sakuya's got that shop, right? I should check out that, first.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG010_zpse66f3dca.png
"Well, it looks like it's lightening up," I say, trying to be encouraging.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG011_zps5af3bb29.png
"What do you have?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG012_zps0e1adcf1.png
"Then why did you tell me to buy something?"
"I'm trying to build good sales habits!"
"....I'll come back another day," I say with a sigh.
On to the bath.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG013_zpsffeb9d69.png
"Hey there, I was wondering --"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG014_zpsb833fcea.png
"What's wrong!?"
"I thought I wanted Charm Blue for my bath today...But it turns out I felt like Toyherb instead!"
"Uh, what are you even talking about? Well, anyway," Because I'm not sure I'd get an understandable answer, "Is the bath open?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG015_zpsbfd1acbe.png
"Yes." A little pricey...
Giggling all the while, she pulls me over to the bath.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG016_zps434ed5a7.png
The bath feels very soothing -- it's open-air, so there's still the rain, but the warm water relaxes me and helps me re-energize.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG017_zps127d72b3.png
What's next, what's next...?
Well, I'd like to buy some ingredients or seeds, since I have a kitchen. To the general store!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG018_zps64a033ff.png
Karina's tending shop today.
"Hello, Karina."
She looks up at me with a bored expression.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG019_zpsc846cb6a.png
"Yes?"
"Never mind... (It's too much trouble to go into.)"
"Uh... Okay."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageG001_zps64a54a6d.png
"Let me see the seeds that are in-season right now, please."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageHDoNotCrop1_zpsbb7641b1.png
I'll start with just a few of these: I don't want to over-extend myself.
"And some of your miscellany, please."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageHDoNotCrop2_zps2f0ad2d3.png
"A sale? Nice!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageHDoNotCrop3_zps61fa2ad8.png
I can probably make some rice balls with just what I have, so let's go with that.
What next, what next...?
Well, I want to go see Shara, and what seeds this shop has...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageJDoNotCrop_zpsaa23207d.png
Wells is tending shop today... But there's nothing I really want to buy now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageK002_zpse9b04c83.png
It's a shame I've already watered them...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageK003_zps6e558c08.png
"Nothing but weeds have come in yet..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageK004_zps0cbcb790.png
"But I just said they're just weeds..."
"The difference is academic!"
"So I could just give a pretty girl a weed like this and," I have the weed out of my bag, since I'm not sure what to do with them...
(Actually, didn't that exactly happen with Sofia?)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageK005_zps7e90533c.png
"But it's...This is a weed."
"Oh, weeds are wonderful flowers. What a wonderful gift!"
...Ramza, stop before you think this'll work for anybody else.
I shake this odd experience off and head to the last place I really want to see today: The blacksmith's!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageK001_zps6f227844.png
"Oh, hi, Gaius. Shouldn't you be working?" I thought Raven watched the shop...
"Working? Making weapons is really just a hobby of mine."
"Uh...Really?"
Because this is a lot of weapons. He just laughs -- I guess if you love it, it's not work?
I think I'm good for weapons right now, but I don't have anything...But they do have a section for Special Deals.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageLDoNotCrop1_zps28214429.png
A sale!
Ooh, that sword's much better than my current one...But can I afford the expense?
Well, OK, if I have at least 1000 left by the end of my shopping, I think I'll be OK. So, if I've still got money later, I'll use it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageLDoNotCrop2_zpsc9bd6ac9.png
I'll buy a shield first...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageLDoNotCrop3_zps434eb360.png
Um, let's see...Do I want a bigger defense from the boots, or a more even defense from the hat?
...The boots are cheaper.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageLDoNotCrop4_zpsd66319d1.png
And I get some defense against magic from the bracelet on the cheap...
Leaving me just enough that if I go just a little under my agreed amount, I can buy that sword! I'll sell my old one to make up the difference, honest!
My poor wallet...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageLDoNotCrop5_zps87ad6966.png
But I feel much more prepared now.
...While I'm here...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM002_zps46edf84d.png
"...What?" She meant that in a 'what is it,' sense...
I'd like it if Raven and I could be a bit friendlier. "Well, I don't actually need anything, but..."
"Then don't talk to me."
Before she can walk away, I hold out my hand.
I don't think weeds will do it... But maybe some flowers?
"Wait! Raven. I...don't know why we got off on such a bad footing, but... Here. This is for you."
I present her with one of the toy herbs. Her eyes go wide.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM003_zpsf0903e39.png
She hides her face in her hair and says, little more than a whisper,
"The smell of Toyherb is so relaxing. I like it... maybe.
Thank you..."
It feels like a little victory.
Well, back to the farm for now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM004_zps3109bdad.png
In it goes!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM005_zpsc7e758c3.png
And planted they go. The sun's just coming out when I've managed it all...
I've got my ingredients, so it's off to the kitchen, next.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM006_zps27c23627.png
I don't really know how to make anything, so let's try something simple with the rice, first.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM007_zps7dd2cdf2.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM008_zps4592bd4e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM009_zps5bea6d76.png
I successfully made a thing!
I wonder if I can make anything else with what I have...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM010_zps313dedfd.png
Well, bamboo shoots taste nice with rice...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageM001_zpsc66cbb0b.png
There we go!
Both of these sell for more than the rice cost, too, so I could make a little money this way, and I'd be able to keep working for longer.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageNDoNotCrop_zps0002d9fe.png
I make another bamboo rice and another rice ball -- I'll sell one of the riceballs, but I think I'll keep the rest for myself.
Or have lunch, ha-ha. Well, I'll save it for when I really need it first...
Because I'm heading to the forest.
While I'm there, I decide to check in on Daria, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO002_zpse24d47ac.png
"Uh, yeah... But it's spring."
...She's lost in her own little world, isn't she?
Some of the herbs I have are pretty colorful...I wonder if she'd like them?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO003_zpse56eca89.png
Another small victory for Ramza!
Into the forest -- I mostly just run past the area with the field...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO004_zpse66f0e8f.png
To encounter a lakeshore swarming with orcs. Some of them even fire arrows! I make for a fighting retreat to look around the area, hitting them when they get too close, and running the rest of the time.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO005_zps9687ca13.png
This place is pretty fertile -- it's got a mushroom patch and an apple tree. I bet those apples will sell nicely, once I clean it out of monsters.
I do some more running, dealing with orcs all the while, my sword slashing through the air... And, at one point, it cuts across a big, blue flower I'd seen.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO006_zpsf4524c4f.png
Is that...A collection of runes? Something like that, anyway -- I saw those when Shara was showing me how to work the farm, and they perked me up really well. Good thing there's this, or I might not be able to keep fighting.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO007_zps5f61e8af.png
I eventually find the gate that's summoning the orcs, and take that out: it drops a mysterious stone I decided to look at, later.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO008_zps541f1477.png
And, sure I'd not see any more, I turned on the rest, crying out like an animal and flinging their bodies around on the end of my sword.
...They'll probably be OK when they're back in the Forest of Beginnings, right?
With that done, I pick up what I'd found: the stone, the mushroom, the cloth dropped by the orcs, and the apples.
Onto the next area!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO009_zps00cf8280.png
AAAAH! WHY ARE THE ORCS RIDING GIANT BEETLES?
Gotta find the gate, gotta find the gate...
A single strike form the duo knocks me off my feet, and I'm cut up pretty bad -- I think now's a good time to run.
And also have a snack, to help keep me going. A rice ball should do it.
The sweep of my sword's enough that I'm hitting the gate and all the enemies at once, thank goodness.
And as I swing, a certain knowledge arises -- I can run and hit things *at the same time*.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO010_zpsa40dd854.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO011_zps0cb5f3d7.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO012_zpsaebb9b8b.png
When I learned this, I must have swung hard enough to knock the orc off: nice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO013_zpsbb090ad4.png
They're back together, soon, though, and joined by company...Why company, though?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO014_zps3deda179.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO015_zps81bc4778.png
Augh! A second gate!
It's taken care of quickly, but it's also getting kind of late...
There's just one thing that's caught my attention...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO016_zps06273154.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO017_zpse5ccfb53.png
How odd...But it's getting late.
I head back to the farm and make myself another bamboo rice. I might sell this one, since I still have the two I made earlier.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO018_zpsbe5b002d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO019_zps6915129d.png
I ship a few of the things I've picked up, too...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO020_zps74ca7799.png
And chop a little lumber, since I can. Why not, right?
It's almost midnight by the time exhaustion creeps in... So I guess it's time to call it a night.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO021_zpsae3e651c.png
This morning...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageO001_zps77b5db79.png
I've got Toyherbs to harvest! Alright! I'll save a few for Raven, but the rest, I'll ship out!
While harvesting, I even manage to get some toy herb seeds to re-plant.
I'll wait to see what the weather today's like before watering the stuff that's not withering, thanks.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImagePDoNotCrop_zpsf9292f22.png
Looks like Gaius has a request for me. Well, good -- I'm glad I have a chance to help him out.
Carmen's out in this section of town today, so I have a chance to talk to her today.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageQ002_zps6891256f.png
"Oh, yeah? What's biting?"
"Masu Trout are in season right now!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageQ003_zpsa5b4b61f.png
I've only been here a day, and it's not like I have a fishing rod...
But better to bite my tongue on that one.
"Remember, if you ever feel like fishing, just come on down to Carlos' Resort! Our fish are always super-fresh! And you can find some rare fish too! Stop on by! You won't be dissapointed!"
Right, right...
Well, maybe I will see what's on offer.
Pia's nearby, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageQ004_zpsb57b86db.png
"What is it?"
She giggles.
"Eek. So,
Baths feel so great."
"..."
"Ah, baths feel great. They're nice."
"Umm..." Why is she just repeating herself?
Maybe she'll break out of this odd loop if I give her something? What would she like...
Maybe an apple? It's a nice piece of fruit, and I'm sure everyone likes food...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageQ005_zps6f2499f4.png
Victory for Ramza!
"Fruit and squid are so nice because you can eat them both raw."
...Raw...squid?
"Thank you, Ramza!"
Since I'm in the area, I decide to go see Shara, too.
"Hey, Shara."
"Hello, Ramza! How're you finding town?"
"It's nice. Everyone's busy...But at the same time...The town's kind of quiet, isn't it?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageQ006_zpsa678a2f0.png
"Though it would be nice if the nature around here didn't have so many monsters in it."
"Yeah, I can see that..."
Hmmm...
"Um, I'd like to try some cologne."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageQ001_zps1f8de84b.png
"Today's scent is... Iron Forge!♪"
"Iron?!" What sort of scent is that?
"Yes. I made this one for Gaius, but thought you'd like to try it."
Oh, that makes sense... Well, anyway, I'll try it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageRDoNotCrop_zpsb696220c.png
I make a few purchases on top of that.
When I leave the shop, I'm stopped by a string of people heading this way. The roads sure are crowded this morning!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS002_zpsded56981.png
"The sous-chef? I'm not sure..."
"Let me provide some ever-so-helpful assistance, then! Blaise is the head chef. And that gargantuan girl with a miniscule appetite is the sous-chef!"
"Don't tell me you forgot her name..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS003_zpsa888a961.png
"Oh, I see. Do you want to talk about something?"
"I said I'm really free right now. Maybe next time."
She waves a hand quickly, as if it'd impart some extra meaning.
"What?! Oh, it's the opposite. Sorry about that, Sofia."
...I seem to be making these too long. More in the next post.
Chapter 4: Magic Sword Seed, I Choose You! (Part 2)
Sofia heads into the blacksmith's shop, and since Gaius made that request, that's my next goal, too. Raven's tending store today.
She sniffs the air as I approach.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS004_zps45180069.png
Wow, that's...actually a really cute smile. I guess I'll have to thank Shara, after all.
"Anyway, are you going to buy something?"
Sofia interrupts, though.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS005_zpsa3fa12f4.png
"We have enough to get by..."
"The selection looks good to me..." Oh, this is Sofia, though, so...
Well, nevermind.
Well, anyway. I should go see Gaius.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS006_zps9aee8461.png
...He thinks iron is calming? That's... That makes so much sense.
"Hey there, Gaius. I got your request..."
"Ah, you did? I just ran out of materials to forge. Do you think you could get some Iron for me?"
"Sure!"
...Uh...How do I do that?
"You'll need a hammer to mine for it, though. Here, use this one."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS007_zpsed7aaa9b.png
"Yeah, it's no problem. Anyway, to mine for ore, you're going to want to hit the gray rocks you see in Privera Forest and other dungeons."
"Gray rocks, you say?"
"Yeah, gray rocks. Oh, also, you can mine with any kind of hammer, even those used for battle."
Oh, I think I saw some of those!
"I see..."
"Oh, and if you accidently lose your hammer, we have lots of them here at the shop."
"Great! Thanks!"
"Well, I'm not going to give you a new one for free."
"Uh, so I have to buy a new hammer from you if I lose this one...?"
"Yes. So I suggest not losing it. Thanks for you help!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS008_zpsf21be75e.png
Hammer: retrieved!
I guess I'll go do that now: I don't have many other high priorities, after all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS009_zps5871ecd6.png
And go see Daria, while I'm there.
"Good morning."
"I've got an idea! A stroke of true inspiration!"
"Really?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS010_zps1bb4b013.png
"Um...good luck with that."
I'm leaving before I somehow get involved with a quest to paint the moon.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS012_zpsb5bb8ea6.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS013_zps60ccc08a.png
Today, I try out my magic sword seed. It grows in just an instant, and seems to function OK by itself.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS014_zps41f156c7.png
It does a pretty good job of covering for me, too. I don't go anywhere new right now, though.
While I'm by the rocks, I find...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS016_zps603a4733.png
Apple juice. Ooookay.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS017_zpsd3ebacc3.png
The rocks do seem to break into minerals and things, even if some of them are just junk. But after a while, I manage to get some iron.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS018_zps60c3cd30.png
I teleport to the entrance, and am back to Gaius around noon. My magic sword plant's still with me, of course.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS019_zps991386cf.png
"Wait, you've been working this whole time?"
Isn't it about time for a lunch break? The request was posted this morning, right?
"Yeah. I think I'd fall asleep instantly if I put my hammer down."
"Heh, well, I don't know about THAT..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS020_zps5939f729.png
Raven creeps up on us, watching quietly.
"Since you got this iron for me, though, I can keep going for a while longer. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
"Now, I should give you something in return for your help."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS021_zpsdfffc9af.png
"Mine? Why mine?"
"A newer hammer would be an improvement over what he currently has..." She turns to me, her eyes serious. "You'd like Gauis' hammer, right...?"
Uh, well, I don't need...
But her eyes say an answer like that won't suffice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS022_zpsbd9d0826.png
"I don't mind. Here you..." He starts to hand the hammer over, but the minute he loses contact with the hammer, he staggers. "Huh? My eyes...Can't...keep...them..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS023_zps83890e04.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS024_zps103e81b2.png
And he collapses onto the floor of the forge.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS025_zpsf51f96e4.png
"He's fine...He just fell asleep..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS026_zps61bb0921.png
"Uh... Did he really fall asleep because he let go of his hammer?"
I thought he was being figurative!
"Gaius has a one-track mind when he's forging. It's all he can think about. That's why I always try to make sure that he runs out of materials when it's time to go to sleep..."
"Ah! So he stayed up too long because I gave him the iron to use..." Well, he'd stayed up too long before that, I guess.
"Yeah..."
So I really screwed things up, huh?
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault."
"Thanks." Anyway, it looks like he'll be able to rest now. "I guess I shouldn't take his hammer from him."
"Are you sure...?"
...W-was that a serious offer? I shake my head.
"Yeah, it's fine."
"I see..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS027_zpsd041e1a0.png
No special reward, but I do have a hammer.
I check Gaius a bit closer, and he mumbles.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS028_zps68683652.png
"Man, he needs sleep, and badly..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS029_zpseb5e1b63.png
"I-I'm sorry..."
She shrugs.
Let's see... I'm free right now, so why don't I go around town a bit?
I'll swing by the resort, since Carmen was talking about it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS030_zpsde065e0d.png
"Oh, really? This is a busy season for fish, isn't it?"
He laughs.
"Delicious fish and a happy sister! That's all I need to be satisfied!" He pauses in thought.
"Now, if I only had a cute... Actually, nevermind!"
Alright, onto the Apothocarie! Marian's there, and oddly enough, so's Collette.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS031_zps5e806b67.png
...W-would you reccomend medicine based on the weather?
She turns away from me while I consider this, back to her conversation with Collette.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS032_zps150e598c.png
She brandishes a strange vial for her...Uh...Thing.
"Hm...It's cloudy blue..."
"Mmmmm..."
"Looks good, doesn't it?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS033_zps2aa9834a.png
"Uh...That doesn't look good at all!" I'm not even sure it's not poisonous!
I need to stop her!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS034_zpsfd38a26b.png
She's retreated from that, when...
"Coleeeeette! Come here! This is reaaaally good!"
"No way! I'm not touching any of your stupid witch food!"
Weren't you the one thinking that vial looked tasty?
"You drugged my food with sleeping powder before!"
Marian turns to look at me now.
"Hmmm, Ramza. Can you convince her for me?"
"If she doesn't want to eat it, I can't exactly force her..." Or blame her...
The return to their squabbling, and I make a break for outside.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS035_zps3672ed14.png
Where I find Karina at the intersection.
"Hello!"
"Uh, you weren't planning to ship a lot, were you?"
"Well, yeah. I was thinking I might want to make some money."
I need to make a living somehow, right?
"*Sigh* Really? (That's more work for me.)"
And next, the Diner...I want to learn to cook a few more things.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS036_zps26d74267.png
Rusk is still regaling me with his likes and dislikes. Mostly dislikes.
"Say, Blaise, I was hoping to learn how to make some more food."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS037_zps90bc5859.png
"...I...was hoping to learn how to prepare some more food?"
"Oh, then you want recipe breads."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS038_zps21537dc2.png
"Oh, alright..."
His menu card also has 'Farming Bread,' which I think is for farm tools...But I can't make anything besides food -- I'm sorry, I mean prepare! Prepare! -- so I'll just stick to cooking.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS039_zps62178a1c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS040_zpsc1fee394.png
I'd say the knowledge just popping into my brain is unsettling, but, really... All my knowledge is sourceless. I am sourceless, just emerging inside my head. So...You know? This is pretty alright.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS041_zps5ee03448.png
Oh, hey! I can actually prepare this! If I have the supplies, anyway... Neat.
I head to the Inn next, because why not?
"So, where are you coming from on your walks today, Ramza?"
Shino asks me with a smile.
"Oh, I just went to the diner..."
"Ah. Blaise does a lot of cooking for our inn."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS042_zpsdd10023f.png
"Wow, he must be well-known."
She nods.
Anyway, I look over Sakuya's wares today...But she doesn't have much of anything I really want.
"How'd you open this, anyway?" It's...sort of an odd business.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS043_zps50a06a41.png
"But the more I traveled, the more my souvenirs kept piling up in my room... So I decided I should give them away, and I started selling them. Before I knew it, it had turned into a business!"
"Um...Isn't selling them and giving them away pretty different...?"
She just sort of sighs and looks away, as if that never was said.
Well, I guess I should go home...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS044_zps146b8323.png
Oh, no! Monica's in the road!
"Umm..."
But while I'm preparing for attack of the little girl...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS0442_zpsaec9f06e.png
She starts crying.
"I'm sorry!"
Run away!
I head home, ship some items, and plant my seeds.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS045_zps5018c9df.png
I water them all, too, since a convenient rain is not forthcoming.
Well, I guess it's back to the forest. I'll try the other way.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS046_zps1c0ae278.png
The other fork's got this area, which is covered in angry ants. It's like a picnicker's worst nightmare!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS047_zps537e809c.png
Their gate drops a different crystal, though, and there's an apple tree nearby, so that's money in the bank.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS048_zpseea50d98.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS049_zpsdd1d2473.png
A little path by the river's curve, just wide enough to walk on, has some Big Mushrooms that are pretty unpleasant...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS050_zpsab8436fb.png
And the path ends at this area with these Chipsqueeks and some funny crystals. Let me see about my hammer...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS051_zpsef31498a.png
Ooh, rune energy. Nice!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS052_zpsb44d4853.png
Oh runes, it's riding an Elephant! That's really unfair!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS053_zps1d36cb13.png
The area's got two gates, too. It's a pretty rough-and-tumble place...
But it's kind of odd. Isn't there supposed to be a raccoon around here?
Am I missing something...?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS054_zpsbfb34ac6.png
All signs point to "yes."
"Let's see... 'When the faces see each other, the doors will open.'"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS055_zps25c57037.png
Well, those odd statues have faces... And there's some matching ones on about the other side, too.
Let's try that on for size.
Can I move them somehow?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS056_zpsf7fe52c8.png
Well, it's not going to progress by not being rotated, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS057_zps9d419c35.png
I turn it around until I think it's about facing the other side... Which, naturally, isn't facing it. I'll need to go fix that.
But first, I'll mine out a rock.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS058_zpsd1be640d.png
And get a nice gemstone out of it! Good for me!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS059_zpsb3953b36.png
I try heading to the other side... But I haven't been there long when I notice my sword-plant isn't following me anymore. I turn and see...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageS001_zps39b38ed0.png
That it's just lying there as a dull seed.
Oh, no! They killed it! My little baby seed!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageTDoNotCrop_zpsfc67f042.png
Oh. It's...just sleeping.
Well.
I think I'll try to open the way again tomorrow.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%204/ImageU001_zpsf2f7dbb8.png
I do some work, and finish clearing a column....So I can rest easy.
So let's call it a night.
Ok, we're nearing the end of tutorial requests, so let's officially start voting for who to give our first round of priority in requests to. I'll try and give this person priority in gift-giving, too, assuming I'm not already (because I give girls auto-priority in gift-giving), but that might be harder.
Basically, vote for 3 people whose requests you'd like me to take over others, and the most popular 3 characters will win. You're voting characters, not sets of characters, so don't worry about that.
I've been too busy to do pretty much anything, so watch this space, or some space, for mechanics chat about crafting, recipe breads... And... Um.... There was something else, but now I can't remember it. Find out if I ever will!
Have a question? Ask away!
Mechanics Corner!
Alrighty, then! It's a bit late, but let's talk cooking!
Cooking (or crafting of any sort) requires the appropriate ingredients, an appropriate level of skill (which can actually be lower than the skill level for the item/recipe, though no lower than 9 levels below to even have a chance).
Basically, success or failure in crafting is percentage-based, and if your skill level is lower than the recipe's level, that percentage will drop 10% per level's worth of distance, hence why anything more than 9 levels away from you is functionally impossible. I think this is more pronounced if you don't know the recipe, but who knows? I may be wrong. We'll be getting as many as we can anyway.
Recipe breads will select a random recipe from the appropriate category (cooking, medicine, and so on) that you are capable of learning. For things like farming tools or weapons, it also checks your skill levels in using what you make -- your sword skill, for example, or your farming skill. This is seriously annoying. Grinding is your pal.
One way to get more recipe breads is to win festivals.
Anyway, cooked foods make more money and restore more health, and also have other effects, so if possible, ALWAYS COOK.
This will also cost a bit of RP, but it's not a hugely prohibitive factor. More annoying is that you can't cook in bulk until Rune Factory 4 (When I learned such a thing was possible in that game, I was overcome with joy.)
Seerow
2014-02-12, 08:23 PM
Yay, update!
I have a question, though it may have been covered earlier and I missed it: What is the magic sword seed?
Also, can you make things without getting the recipes from breads? If so, isn't it wasteful to spend money on the bread instead of just taking recipes off the internet and making what you want? Or are you going for a more story focused approach than a "I want to max out everything" approach for this Let's Play?
As for voting, is it possible for me to just reserve my votes for whatever 3 characters are closest to the top and not the reverse-talky people? Their gimmick annoys me, and I don't feel like I know the others well enough yet to really make decisions. (Okay, I do like the smithy couple, so if that's not allowed give me two votes on them + 1 on someone of your choice)
Shara explained it an update or two ago: it's a thing she sells. You put it down, and it fights for you. When it runs out of HP, it reverts to seed form to recharge. That's...Basically it. I've never found things that say exactly how the game determines its strength and HP, but I believe it to be based on yours. There are other Magic Seeds like it, and one we'll probably need to beat the game.
As for recipe bread stuff...I'll talk about it more when I get to making that mechanics chat bit, but I'd like to point out that I made two things without the recipe in this very update. ...However, it's much easier to make things if you've learned the recipe via a recipe bread (or if you've already made it), on a mechanical level.
Well, it's not like these are permanent: I'll be asking again every now and again, as we learn more and do some events, but yeah, I can let you vote for whomever's in the lead... Provided someone emerges into the lead. If not, I guess I'll put you down for Raven, Gaius...And I'll ponder the third.
Qwertystop
2014-02-12, 11:13 PM
Is all of the dialogue original? I mean, there's a lot of stuff between screenshots that I'd normally assume was yours to provide story or jokes, but... with how crazy even the things in the screenshots are sometimes, I'm not sure how to tell.
This is why I try and screenshot particularly nutty lines, but... I just don't have the character count space to do that sort of thing reliably.
So a lot of exchanges are getting text-dumped as opposed to screen capped, and it does all blend a bit.
But most of the off-the-wall stuff isn't an addition. Most of what I add is just to smooth things out at this point, make things feel a bit more conversational, and possibly to transition between one type of exchange and another in the game's text, where normally they'd be disjointed. I may purely add a bit on occasion, more from Ramza than anyone else... I'm not sure if the trouble telling the difference is something I should think about fixing or not. Hm.
But the vast majority of the dialogue is straight from the game. It really is this crazy.
Javan
2014-02-12, 11:41 PM
Raven
Marian
Karina
Long updates make me happy.
I can typically tell apart what you have added, versus the in-game dialogue even though I have not played this game before, or any of the Rune Factory games though I may want to now.
Sallera
2014-02-13, 01:19 AM
Well, you've sold me another game, Deme. Never tried this genre before (unless Atelier counts), but I'm only half a season in and quite thoroughly hooked, so thanks for that. :3
Anyway, your dialog additions add a lot of charm to these LPs, but I don't think being unable to tell the difference between transcription and original is a bad thing. So far, this definitely seems like the sort of town (and story) where going with the flow is a survival strategy. :smalltongue:
As for requests... I'll vote for Rusk, Collette, and Gaius.
Seerow
2014-02-13, 09:00 PM
Anyway, your dialog additions add a lot of charm to these LPs, but I don't think being unable to tell the difference between transcription and original is a bad thing. So far, this definitely seems like the sort of town (and story) where going with the flow is a survival strategy. :smalltongue:
I agree with this. I can't always tell where the game's dialogue ends, and where yours begins... but that's what makes your stuff great. The way you integrate what you write into the game, so it blends closely enough that I don't want to know the difference.
Ogremindes
2014-02-13, 09:45 PM
I'd like to see you prioritise... well any girl other than Raven, Collette and Pia, as Raven's was the only one I finished before... a certain event in my playthrough, and that event doesn't impact Collette's or Pia's as far as I could tell.
Unrelated, I just imported a US 3DS because reasons (http://www.vg247.com/2014/01/20/rune-factory-4-european-release-cancelled-publisher-confirms/).
We'll be finishing as many girls' events before...That point... As I can possibly manage. Maybe. I might have you actually vote on the last event on a girl-by-girl basis: does that sound fun to anyone?
...Actually, wait. Let me get back to that topic after this chapter.
Chapter 5: A Very Long Day
This morning when I woke up, I felt... I dunno. Stiff and sore. Not hurting, but like I just needed to stretch.
So I tried that -- it didn't actually work, though. Something's just... Off.
Well, maybe I'll try getting some extra exercise today, see if that does it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageA1_zps6d709705.png
But for now, pink turnips!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageA2_zps42535ec6.png
A fair number of them, too. I wonder if there's anything I can do with these...
To the kitchen!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageB1_zpsf09c9742.png
Let's see what we can do with them, first...
After a while, I work out a way to do a sort of quick pickle on pieces of the turnips.
I think it's worth some money, anyway.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageB2_zps6ab09c30.png
So I'll try making these.
I get those done,
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageC1_zps40604a59.png
Ship them out...
I decide to leave by the front door, so I can check the mailbox, when...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageC2_zps1d1c7b63.png
There's someone at the door. It's Shara, of all people.
"Ramza? Are you there?"
"What is it?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageC3_zps840472cb.png
"Really? Neat!"
"Yes.♪ It's called the Bean Throwing Festival."
"What happens at the Bean Throwing Festival?"
"Well, everyone gathers in the plaza, then a few people dress up as demons."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageC4_zpsd09f95c3.png
"Grandpa says you can be one of the demons this year! It's tons of fun!"
"That sounds...really strange."
I guess it could be fun...
"Really? I've been going to it for as long as I can remember, so I've never thought about it."
"How do I join the festival?"
"My grandpa will be in the plaza. Just talk to him. He'll tell you all about the rules. And then you can choose whether or not you'd like to participate."
"Got it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageC5_zps4c6129a6.png
"Uh, thanks... I think."
"See you later!"
She leaves, whistling a cheerful song.
Anyway, nothing in the mail box.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageD_zps00472f23.png
But the bulletin board has a request from Carmen, and it sounds like it'll be fun!
Shara's out taking the sun, and she sighs a little.
"What's up?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE1_zps50fd02b0.png
"I can bet..."
Getting hit by little things, over and over again...Your skin stings, and you just end up covering your head...
...Uh, that went a little dark there for a second, didn't it? I wonder where that thought came from...
I head over to the general store, where Karina's tending shop. She's looking at the calender and sighing.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE2_zpsab8aab71.png
"You don't seem too happy about it..."
"Not really... (It tires me out...)"
I buy a bunch of seeds, hoping to fill the space on my farm that I've tilled.
Heading out, I find Sofia on the road. I'm hoping communication'll get easier if I work at it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE3_zpse779f5df.png
"It's a very serene event!"
And Sherman's not very far away...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE4_zps3cda907a.png
"Uh, that's not what I've heard from everyone else..."
Well, enough of that. Next up, the blacksmith. I'll go find Carmen after this.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE5_zpse6c8ad49.png
"So I heard."
"It's quite a strange festival if you ask me..."
"You think so...?" I can't argue with that.
Trying with Raven, take...Whichever?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE6_zps7ab24cc6.png
She pauses and says nothing.
"Uh...That's it? You don't have anything to say about it?"
I'm already expecting commentary about it from everyone.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE7_zpsd570d0d9.png
Why am I not surprised that that's what Monica likes about it?
I try the restaurant first, but she's not there. It's just Collette, a random passer-by, and Blaise.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE8_zpse43c604f.png
"You sure do think about food a lot, don't you?"
She just smiles and laughs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE9_zps63be6c73.png
"Oh...Uh...Yeah, I've heard."
We both stand there in awkward silence.
"So, uh...How about those cooking appliances, huh?"
I have some money, and the harvest looks like it'll be worth some cash...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE10_zps6401af0e.png
"Oh, I can afford a knife? Great, I'll take it." I'm alright with blades, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE11_zps29bbc13e.png
Nice.
I buy 2 cooking breads, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE12_zps8e67183b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE13_zps01df8ee5.png
...Well, I can use one of these.
Alright, let's try the inn!
I don't see her at first, but I do see Pia, singing away.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE14_zps862af090.png
It's just wordless crooning, but it's surprisingly soothing. Something in that restless place in the back of my head stills for a moment.
"That's really nice, Pia."
"Oh, hi! The bean festival's tommorow! That's Sakuya and Shino's favorite festival, so I'm really excited!"
"So happy you could sing, huh?"
"Yes!"
I almost leave, but then Carmen comes out of the bath, her skin still a little pink from the heat.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE15_zps9911d755.png
"Carmen!"
"Great! You came quick! Awesome!"
"So, what did you want to see me about today, Carmen?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE16_zpscd889ddf.png
"Uh...I think I missed that part, actually..."
"'Missed that part'? Oh, you have much to learn, apprentice... Well, I'll let you off the hook for today! Now, let me teach you the basics of fishing!"
"The basics?"
"Yes, the basics! Are you ready, apprentice?!"
She's really getting into it...
"First, we need to find a fishing spot! You can see shadows where fish are! Not all bodies of water have fish, though! Got it? Now, you'll have to keep this a secret! Guess what?! You can find some fish in the sand! Isn't that amazing?!"
"What? In the sand?!" I find myself carried away by her enthusiasm a bit, too.
"Yes, but it's a secret as to where you can find these fish! You'll have to find them yourself!"
Aw, but -- I don't know anything about the area!
"Wait, can't I get a hint or..."
"Anyway, let's move on!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE17_zps5ce23e14.png
"Next, the fish will poke at your lure for a bit. However, just be patient!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE18_zpseb9ce0c0.png
...
Goodnight everybody!
"Um...A-are you okay?"
She pants, having lost all her breath so screaming to the heavens.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE19_zpsdc83dcfb.png
"I think I got it..." I say, trying to soothe her.
"Anyway, the better you get at fishing, the more fish you can catch! So keep working at it!" She seizes my hands and a tear appears in her eyes. "Just remember to be patient! Fishing isn't easy to master!"
"I...I can tell..." I try patting her shoulder. There's still a little moisture on her skin, warm from the bath...
She beams.
"Now, let me give you this old rod of mine! Take good care of it!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE20_zpse8fe96ff.png
"Usually, you'd have to buy a fishing rod from Gaius! But you can't start fishing without a fishing rod! You should be thankful you have such a kind master! Anyway, do you have any questions?"
"Uh, not in particular, no..." Fishing sounds... straightforward.
"Great! Then why don't you go catch something?! How about... 1 fish? Yeah, that sounds good... Go catch 1 spring fish!"
She's really getting into this, isn't she?
"Since it's spring now, you can catch them around our store! You can even go to Privera Forest to catch them! Oh, but be careful of the monsters! Well, good luck!"
"Uh...You mean you want me to catch the fish right now?"
"That's right! Now hop to it! Off you go!"
She whips her pole at me, striking the air around my head. That's not a whip, you know!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE21_zps5a05b61e.png
"I look forward to seeing what you can catch! See ya!"
"Y-yeah...See ya..."
Before I go do that, though... Pia said Sakuya liked the Bean Festival, right? I wonder what she has to say about it...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE22_zpscfbb4088.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE23_zps7ff268a5.png
... Somehow, I feel like this will be trouble.
"You seem pretty eager to win..."
I spot Shino on the road to the lake, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE24_zpsf20d5bd8.png
"Yeah, I heard... Pia said you liked it: Any particular reason?" Besides violence?
"We actually have this festival in my home country, as well."
"Oh, that's neat!" It must be nice, having a home to remember...aheheh....
At the lakeside, it looks like I can see some fish. Here goes!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE25_zpsa2c35fd5.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE26_zpsfec49d67.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE27_zps900afb15.png
Does that count as a spring fish? I mean, it's a squid...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE28_zpsa4e3a07a.png
Well, it's what I can catch, it seems. I'll try giving it to her.
"Will this do?" I say when I hand it over to her.
"Hm..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE29_zpsbbaeae75.png
"It looks like you've got what it takes to be a fisherman! Good work! Here's a special treat from your master!"
"Thank you!"
"Just keep on practicing! You are now dismissed, apprentice!"
"Yes, master!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE30_zps7341404b.png
"Uh...Yes?"
"Have you been looking in your mailbox?"
"My mailbox...?" Well, yes, but...why? No one's sent me anything.
"Yeah! You know, the mailbox next to your front door! As you get to know the people around here better and better, they'll send letters to your mailbox!"
"Oh, really?" I guess I'm not familiar enough to people to get mail...
"Yep! So be sure to take a look in your mailbox sometime!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE31_zpsaba61aa4.png
"Okay! I'll be sure to keep looking!"
She winks and looks very satisfied. I guess she feels she's helped me as her apprentice.
"Great! Dismissed then, apprentice! This time for real!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE32_zps4cefe44c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE33_zps8e99d9de.png
...A sardine. A single sardine...
Well, Sardines are full of nutrients!
I get to hear some other opinions on the festival on my way out to the forest.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE34_zps9bf8daba.png
...Poor fella.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE35_zpsd8ee0488.png
"You bet!"
"That's good to hear! It should be a lot of fun, huh?"
I go out to see Daria and find her hard at work.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE36_zps3b0aab3d.png
"Afternoon, Daria. Excited about the festival?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE37_zps960f8f68.png
"Uh...Is that really necessary?"
She doesn't answer. I think I've angered her.
Well, enough of that! I have stuff to try out in the forest!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE38_zpsea5e7bec.png
I plant my seed early this time.
In the first area, I see a monster I haven't seen around there much before...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE39_zps778fbe67.png
A wooly. As monsters go, they're pretty harmless: even if they attack, they don't pack a lot of punch, and their balance is a little...Uh. It's honestly kind of emberassing.
I sort of crouch down and have a look at it.
"How you doing, little guy? Everything OK?"
And then he headbutts me in the gut.
"Ow! Excuse me for being nice!"
Still...If I can get away without beating the stuffing out of him, I'd rather just move on.
"Baaah <Race-traitors will be first against the wall come the revolution>"
...Did I just hear someone say something ? No, nevermind. I've got stuff to do.
I make my way to The Eye (the area with the statues on the North side of the lake)...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE40_zps71c3574d.png
On today's battling, we have an Onion Ghost. He fires lasers, which is at least 3 points of unfair.
But he drops a bag of seeds, so hooray!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE41_zpsd57cbc68.png
I rotate the statues, and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageE42_zpsaef46330.png
A secret hatch opens.
"They're stairs... I guess I can go down."
Inside, there's some sort of...building? It's flooded, though, and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageH1_zpseed6e5b8.png
"I should check the other side."
On the way there, though...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageG1_zps28c0132a.png
I get poisoned by mushrooms. I've got antidote herbs, though, so I'm OK!
Mostly.
But...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageF1_zpsc6b97fb3.png
"Maybe I can find someone who can fix this. Do I know anyone who's good at making things?"
Someone good at making things...
Well...
There's all the sculptures around here, right?
And they were all made by...
Daria!
I teleport out and run: Daria's at work sculpting, even!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageI1_zpsb49e7159.png
"There's a pair of broken bridges in the forest: do you know a way to repair them?"
"A broken bridge? How mundane. I'm sure I could fix it, but where's the art in that?"
So she can do it! But...Wait, where's the art in that? She's the one talking about making art with beans!
"Come on, a great artist like you? I'm sure you can find something artistic to do with it."
She beams.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ1_zps69dd4a80.png
"Leave it to me! I'll build you a bridge like you've never seen!"
She goes down there as quick as her legs can carry her, and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ2_zps50fa103a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ3_zps6e0a064e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ4_zpsd8e84994.png
She dashes inside.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ5_zpsf5c265d6.png
Her voice echoes from below.
"Some of this! And some of that! This!"
A crash.
"Is!
Another banging noise. The ground shakes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ6_zpse6da4584.png
She comes running up, her fingers covered in paint and a big, beaming smile on her face. That smile, full of pride and energy...Is disarming, and she looks like an innocent child as she wipes forehead and leaves a paint stain smeared across it.
"It's another masterpiece! A bridge like no other!"
And she dashes off.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ7_zps0cf00a6e.png
Well, let's see about that bridge...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageJ8_zps9ff861d0.png
It looks...
"Wow. Daria wasn't kidding about the bridge being unique. It's really...something."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK1_zps770d438f.png
This area's home to a monster called a Leaf Ball: they can attack from quite a distance.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK2_zpsa6d51d9b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK3_zps3d2c4d2d.png
After all, Wells said it was causing trouble...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK4_zps7f6553e4.png
At first, we just sort of circle each-other. It tries to punch me and throws some leaves, but they're easily dodged.
My hits are solid, swinging the sword with more instinct than forethought: a strike here, a blow here, and so on.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK5_zpsb65dfbad.png
And then he becomes giant.
WHAT SORT OF RACOON BECOMES A GIANT STOMPING DEATH-THING? WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PLACE?!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK6_zps5ef6093b.png
...I do a lot more dodging and a lot less hitting, and I'm not ashamed of that, but...
I'm not sure I can really allow something so dangerous to wander around near people -- especially not if it's taken interest in people. He hits like an airship to the face.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK7_zpsbd36c94d.png
He fires more leaves, stomps and punches, and jumps around, landing with a big crash that knocks me off my feet.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK8_zpsadc2babb.png
I also find, for some reason, a plate of spinach. I'll need to eat this if I want to keep fighting: I'm way too haggard to keep going as it is.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK9_zpsd75da822.png
The leaves are sometimes giant. Yeah, I need my spinach.
Heh. I'm strong to the finish, because I eat my Spinach, I'm Ramza the...Whatever it is I do or am.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK10_zpsb047906d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK11_zps796f125e.png
This is A TERRIBLE TIME FOR EPIPHANIES.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK12_zps301d880e.png
But eventually, my strikes hit home...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK13_zpsde0bc3d0.png
And he collapses, the world shakes with a violent release of energy. That's...pretty unusual, though I guess not for a monster that size. Still, he definitely wasn't a normal monster.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK14_zps1cf950d3.png
He leaves behind a single, multi-colored leaf. It's a satisfying feeling: I took care of a big problem.
As I go to pick it up, I notice something...
There's another path through the woods.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK15_zpsce838e0b.png
Before that, though, I'll take the leaf, and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK16_zps529e6176.png
...Some dumplings? I guess it must have stolen a lot of food.
The deepest point in the forest is a beautiful spring, with a stone path leading to...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK17_zpsd52de659.png
The orb gleams brightly, beckoning like a light in the window of a distant house.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK18_zps15a180cf.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageK19_zpsae4a4247.png
I walk towards it slowly, reaching out my hand cautiously. From the moment I reached out my hand, I think it may have been impossible to pull it back.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL1_zpsd1bc5081.png
My vision goes white for a second. An electric jolt races down my spine. As my chest tightens, I start breathing faster.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL2_zps4bcdfb13.png
The orb ascends...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL3_zps2484fe75.png
And breaks into my body, showering me with energy.
For a moment, there's...Nothing. Then, a voice -- far away, at the end of a long, dark tunnel.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL4_zpsc5fec3b5.png
Monster...blood?
Suddenly, I know that that tunnel I felt: it was time. And on the other side, where he was speaking, was...
The past. My past.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL5_zps72e8fe46.png
I know this voice. I -- I didn't know I knew it until just now, but...
My own voice -- not my voice now, but what it was then -- from the far side of that tunnel, answers him.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL6_zps96908176.png
The person speaking to me was...my dad. He was showing me...
Something important.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL7_zps29f48a85.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL8_zpsbe3772da.png
Something important about myself -- about who I was. Who I could be.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL9_zps152dd530.png
I realize only then that, even though I remember what happened that day...
I don't remember their faces. My mom, my dad... They're just shadows in my head.
But...They existed in my life. They're...They're a part of my life now, because I remember them.
And because... The blood they gave me...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL10_zpsf41a6b19.png
"And this spell lets me transform!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL11_zps4a0ebe98.png
Well, it's more like a 'technique' then a spell. It doesn't take any of my rune energy, or anything. It just sort of...redistributes it. Or something like that. I'd be better at explaining it, but... It's almost halfway to instinct.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL12_zpsbfc004a1.png
Well, the end result is the same. The feeling of having a wooly's body is immediately comfortable, and wipes away that cramped, restless feeling I've had the past day.
I guess I forgot that I could do this, but my body didn't. It must have gotten restless.
"Let's see..." I think there's a few combat techniques I've learned for fighting like this, too...
"Once I've knocked down an enemy, I can pick it up...And throw it with a couple of different throwing attacks."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL13_zps075f9686.png
Time for some bowling, I guess.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL14_zpscec5a5e9.png
For the time being, I transform back. Because...
Well, because of the stuff Wells said, for starters.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL15_zpsfa3c0879.png
I don't exactly recall but... It's not like that's something ordinary people would really think too nicely about... I don't think I've ever told too many people.
"I'll keep it to myself for now."
But there's something kind of strange about all of this...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL16_zps08a3edd7.png
"But so much of my past is still blank." My parents, even: what were they like? Are they still alive? Where did I come from, exactly?
But if there was one random memory orb...Could it be the only one?
"Maybe I can find more orbs like that one..."
Well, it's really late. I must have stayed up for hours fighting that monster, so... I think I'll go home.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL17_zps901ff63f.png
When I teleport to the foot of the Sharance Tree, I see...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL18_zpsd375fdf9.png
A strange person there. Someone I haven't met. He doesn't look like a traveller, either...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL19_zpsfbdb3b03.png
When he sees me, his silver eyes widen and he runs away.
"Hey, wait! I didn't mean to startle you like that!" I try calling after him.
He's already gone, though, but...Where?
I follow him West, to where the road forks between the river and the desert.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL20_zpsc32c78ba.png
He doesn't stop, even then...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL21_zps33988924.png
No response.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageL22_zps2f48d850.png
Tomorrow, I'm going, then: to see what's out there!
After the festival, of course.
I plant the seeds I bought when I was in town.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageM1_zps4284d575.png
When I do so, a light rain begins to fall. Man, what luck!
Before I go to bed, I think I should do some cooking, so...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageM2_zps2fdc9c1c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageM3_zps998d463e.png
I do a good enough job cutting up the squid, even without a recipe...But I don't think I can cut finely enough for tiny sardine bones, and get enough for good sashimi.
I transform back for bed... It'll be nice to sleep like that. Wool is pretty comfy for pajamas.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageM4_zps3693853d.png
It's been such a long day... I think I'll sleep well.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%205/ImageM5_zpsebe58155.png
Mechanics Corner
Soo... That was the first boss!
First Boss Video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kk6ckcZ5qyo&feature=youtu.be)
(Not from our run, but from a fight done solely to get the video)
Things to note for any boss: Bring lots of food and other healing items, as well as your best combat gear and, if there are elemental attacks in store, things to resist. It's also, in my opinion, way better to dodge than to defend, so keep your distance. Every boss has its attack patterns, like in most games, so learn to read them.
Oh, also, while I shipped the drop for this boss, we'll be able to get more: bosses can be re-fought once a day.
Let's talk about the Raccoon specifically now, alright?
So, this boss isn't too bad. Until you get some good hits in, it's tiny and mostly harmless. Then it gets bigger and does more attacks.
The little leaves have a fairly wide spread and cover a broad range.
The larger leaves have only one projectile, but it acts as a boomerang. I seem to recall it having 3 big leaves in my "real" run, but...Eh. Maybe I didn't see it correctly.
It'll also jump up into the air and land, making a big impact that'll cause
At half health, a boss will start flashing. In my screenshots, this translates to "turn black." It'll get faster, tougher, and more random in its patterns. Also, this guy will start making illusions, but that didn't happen to me, so I couldn't show it.
Also because screen-shotting while battling a boss is hard.
Alright, that's that...
Let's talk about the Main Character's transforming. You can do this at any time, and it costs no RP to change. If you've played RF4, Wooly form plays like the Fist Weapons, and it uses the Brawling skill. Because of this, you can't use tools or weapons. Major pain, because it's adorable and I'd do all my farming as a Wooly if I could. I'll still probably do a lot of random junk as a wooly.
I'm not sure what determines your attack power with the Wooly, but it does improve.
At this point in the game, you can't transform back and forth when in the same general area as a villager, for fear of freaking them out. By the same merit, you can't have a normal conversation in Wooly mode, either -- they'll treat the MC as just a random wooly that wandered into town, and the MC will play dumb. I may show this off, it's kind of interesting.
Later in the game, this will change. Actually, there are certain events eventually (and we're obligated to see one to beat the game) where our Ramza will reveal his secret, or have it discovered. One thing I was considering would be to have you guys decide who we can trust, or want to trust, on a case-by-case basis when this becomes available. Thoughts?
Qwertystop
2014-02-22, 09:12 PM
Well. I'm thinking... trust wossname artist-lady?
I mean, everyone's crazy, but her particular sort of crazy doesn't seem too likely to cause problems.
Well, I'm not asking for a vote now, since we're far from the point where we can see those events with anyone. Lot of story to travel between the two points. I was just asking what people might think of the idea, or if I should just do all of them because, hey, events! Why not complete them?
Edit: Oh, update on the previous page, folks.
erikun
2014-02-23, 04:50 PM
I seem to recall that there is a seperate Brawling, for Fistfighting, skill that governs Wooly combat.
Fighting as a Wooly is a lot of fun. Besides smacking stuff around, you can also grab things and toss them around the area. You can pick enemies up and swing them around, hitting other enemies nearby and doing damage to both. You also have a jumping spinning piledriver after enough skill. :smalltongue: The disadvantage though is the range, plus not getting the attack bonus as you would from a weapon, plus there not being any Brawling activated skills like you would find for swords or spears.
Also, if you toss enemies around the screen enough, it can be hard to find where they landed to pick up the items they drop. :smallbiggrin:
As for people to show, Daria works. We might want to hang out with Ms. Rainbow there anyways, if we want to see more of her. :smallwink: Shara might be an idea as well, especially given that she found you in the first place...
Ogremindes
2014-02-23, 07:08 PM
I seem to recall that there is a seperate Brawling, for Fistfighting, skill that governs Wooly combat.
There's also a stat boost from transforming, which I've read but not confirmed is governed by the Love skill.
The wiki says the love skill does boost that, yeah. Not sure to what extent I'll trust the wiki, but *shrug* It's there.
Also, I've updated the index and cast of characters. And including wooly-form Ramza. Who is totally adorable, and I will spend a lot of just down-time like that, because it pleases me on a narrative and cuteness level.
Ogremindes
2014-02-23, 08:34 PM
The wiki says the love skill does boost that, yeah. Not sure to what extent I'll trust the wiki, but *shrug* It's there.
With a healing spell and a supply of sweets it should be reasonably easy to work out if love effects it, since you're still early on.
Well, if that's a request, I'll see about making the money to get such a thing at once. We're going to science up some things!
erikun
2014-02-23, 11:07 PM
I think I mentioned this before, but I found that fishing/cooking the fish is a ridiculously good way to boost skills, stamina, get a bunch of recovery items, and a large amount of money. I don't think I really started until after the desert, though, so perhaps it was just easier to begin with the boosted stamina.
It might be worth looking into, to see how quickly you can earn money that way.
P.S. I don't think giving Pia sushi is a good idea. Well, nothing but squid.
Knifing up fish is, in fact, an excellent money maker at this stage in the game. Basically, this last in-game day, between the improvements we'll see from having beaten a dungeon, and having gotten the fishing rod, the game's giving us a to to do all at once. We'll probably take a while to get established before we deal with too much of the next area...But we'll have to handle some.
Giving Pia sushi is indeed a terrible idea. Except for Squid Sashimi, which she loves.
Dragoon
2014-02-26, 02:51 PM
I assume that you talk to Shara's grandfather at the actual festival to be a monster to be thrown at?
Anyways enjoyed the update and obviously about doing the events, we should see who like the cute monster form and then tell them later. Obviously tell the artist as it might inspire her. As long as Ramza does not become part of the masterpiece. :smallbiggrin:
Oh, of the two rune factory games on the Wii, do have a suggest on which one to get, if you've played either one?
Indeed! You'll see my gross incompetence in that regard next update. I'm... Not good at that festival. At all. I'd do better if I just stood still, I think.
Rune Factory Frontier, definitely. I really enjoyed it, and to be honest, it's what convinced me to give the series a second shot after the original Rune Factory left me a little cold. I couldn't get into Oceans: I hated moving around that stupid golem-mecha-whatever-that-was.
Chapter 6: The Desert Settlement
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA1_zpsd6e64eb0.png
I can't do much farming like this, which is kind of a shame: I mean, I don't think I'll be able to walk around town as a wooly, but it's been a while, so it feels like a nice relief. Oh, well. I've got some things to harvest and to cook, but nothing too exceptional.
Anyway, there's a festival today! Somehow, they got confetti to fall from the sky...Some sort of spell?
Oh, well! Everyone's out having fun today, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA2_zpsde073478.png
"I really love this festival!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA3_zps9b87d4e4.png
"I gotta make sure to hold back a little to give everyone else a chance to win, though!"
"Carlos, maybe you shouldn't be so overconfident..."
"Hm? You say something, bro'?"
"N-nevermind..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA4_zps3b4eb89d.png
Everyone's so excited... Actually, since I couldn't do anything with the sardine...I wonder if I should return it?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA5_zps6aa18969.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA6_zps4cc2db88.png
"Y-yes?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA7_zps2eccdc1b.png
"There, I said it! So, keep that in mind next time!"
I think she's over-estimating my cooking... Fish it is.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA8_zpsc9315907.png
The sisters are having a chat.
"What is it?"
"How come demons lose their power when you throw beans at them?"
Shara assumes a pose of elder-sisterly knowledge.
"Beans have invisible energy inside them. Demons are weak against the energy, and run away from it. And that's why you can beat ogres with beans!"
Spoken like a true sister: a total lie.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA9_zps2b17a7b1.png
...But that's the first time I've seen Monica smile.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA10_zps800fcb12.png
She's really happy. She almost looks like just a sweet little girl...
"You're in a good mood, Monica. Do you like the Bean Throwing Festival that much?"
"Yeah! I love it!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageA11_zps8770bf99.png
"Uh...You sure?"
Because that's not the face of a disgusted man...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageBDoNotCrop_zpsd35f9f54.png
There are several requests on the board: I'll talk to Pia today, though.
A bunch of the girls are talking on the beach.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC1_zps83159e6b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC2_zps6fb67e72.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC3_zps80ec0871.png
"That bean on the ground is so pretty..."
She mumbles, ignoring them entirely.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC4_zps9460432d.png
The two turn their heads.
"I've never been the one hit by the beans in this festival. I've only ever thrown the beans. (Maybe I should try it once...It might be less tiring than throwing the beans...)"
Sofia turns to Raven at that, her face neutral as a pond.
"Shall we help her practice, Raven?"
"Gladly."
They start throwing dried beans at Karina's head, without any expressions on their faces.
...Girls are brutal.
"Hey, those beans hurt! Ow! Stop it! They really hurt!"
"Th-that's a little harsh..."
After a moment, Sofia nods sadly.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC5_zpsa1a58b9a.png
Now Karina smiles, wiping at a red welt.
"Is that right? (Hmmm... That gives me an idea...)"
"Wh-what do you mean?!" Sofia gives them a weak attempt at an imperious glare.
"Shall we start?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC6_zpse9c67634.png
Once again, they start hurling beans at her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC7_zps68c386d8.png
...Remind me never to cross them.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC8_zps4844d02f.png
"That's why I think I'm gonna win this year."
I don't think I have a chance of winning...
I also spot Shino around the mansion.
"Excited?"
"Oh, yes, though... Not as much as Sakuya. You see, there's one difference between your custom here and my homeland's."
"What's that?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC9_zps91de5844.png
"It seems like Sakuya is treating them the same, though."
I find Collette and Marian talking, too.
"Mmmmm"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC10_zps6dd150a1.png
"Oh, it's just that those beans look SO good!"
"*sigh*...I'll make some beans for you later, then."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC11_zpsbcdf904a.png
"Hey! What are you planning on making?!"
"Something special!"
She waves a jar of beans around.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC12_zps8f1c1290.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC13_zpsaa74b6ba.png
"Of course! That's why I mixed them in my medicine ahead of time! You want a taste?"
Collette glares at her and reaches into the jar, and…
"Ow! Hey, don't throw beans at me, Collette!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC14_zps1980b574.png
"I think so, yeah."
I'd like to belong here, after all. At least for now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC15_zpsf031f447.png
...What is she plotting?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC16_zpsdc15ef68.png
She is treating them the same.
"Okay! That's awesome!"
Pia says this with a very serious look to her eyes.
"It sure is!"
"It's time to get out of the red!"
"Exactly."
"We're in this together!"
It sounds like they're gearing up for war...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC17_zps11f6523d.png
"Um, Pia..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC18_zps5a93b190.png
"Oh, I saw your request on the bulletin board."
"Oh, that! Cool! I could really use your help. It's for the census!"
I tilt my head.
"The census? For the town, you mean?"
"No, it's the bath census!"
...A...bath census? What would I even put down for 'Race'? 'Other?'
"Question the first! You like your water hot or cold?"
"Uh, I don't think I ever agreed to a bath census..."
She looks up at me; she's pulled a clip-board from uner her capelet. She looks so happy... That in a second, I'm going along, swayed by her little bouncing on her heels.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC19_zpsd93f790f.png
Well, it's not a good bath unless it's nice and warm.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC20_zpsd1edff90.png
"Uh, I like my bats as hot as possible. What can I say?"
"Question the second!"
"Oh, there's more than one question?"
"Duh, it's a census!" That's not what a census is... "So, what's your favorite color of water?"
...Uh, is clear an option?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC21_zpsa202192c.png
...No, it's not.
"...Tan?" At least that's a color water can be...
"Ah, the color of iron! The water turns that color when iron oxidizes!"
"Wow! I didn't know you were so much into science!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC22_zpsb62e3309.png
"Uh, I'm not made of metal!"
This was met by her hurrying onto the next question.
"Okay, question the last! How do you like the water to feel on your skin?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC23_zps913ae45e.png
Well, except for Slimy, are these even real water textures?
"Crunchy, then," I answer, since this whole thing's gone ridiculous.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC24_zps35bac0c4.png
"I was actually joking..."
"Don't be dissing crunch water, buddy!" She said...But I'm not sure she's really putting forth a good defense.
...Isn't crunchy water ice?
She writes down this answer and looks at her clipboard, nodding. In a voice attempting to be official, but sliding wildly into just silly,
[color=palevioletred]"Okay, we will carefully review this information! It may or may not improve your bathing experience!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC25_zpseef41aa8.png
"...I get a sticker?"
"You get a sticker!"
"I get a sticker!" I must be catching her ridiculous enthusiasm.
"...But a prize? For a census?!"
She brings out a chest.
"I'll come around again next census!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC26_zps6b3a345a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC27_zps43cc40d5.png
Well, until next time...
I guess it was kind of fun. I wonder what she'll do to the bath from all of this?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC28_zps87373c52.png
My prize is juice.
Anyway, time to gather in the town square!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC29_zps9bbcf031.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC30_zpscbc7dc31.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC31_zpsea12bbb0.png
"I'm quite good at throwing my sewing needles, though..."
W-what?!
"P-Please don't throw your sewing needles..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC32_zpsf93b83b3.png
"How about it? Do you want to enter?"
"What are the rules?"
"The rules are simple. You're playing the part of a demon that everyone throws beans at. Your job is to try and get hit by the beans. Get hit by green beans to get points. Getting hit by Brown beans can get you a lot of points. Get hit by many beans in a row to start a combo! However, if you get hit by a failed dish, your combo will reset, so be careful!"
Hmm...
"Sure, I'll enter!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC33_zps760f777f.png
"Okay! Ready....set...Go!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC34_zpsb6d2908a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC35_zps4dbec210.png
To be honest, I don't think I'm any good at this festival: I get by beans some of the time...But mostly, I'm just diving past them on accident, or getting there a moment late. It's really kind of sad.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC36_zpsfd8260c6.png
But since nothing hits me, at least I'm rarely hit by failed dishes...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC37_zps87ee6a77.png
"The results are in!
The winner of the Bean Throwing Festival is..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC38_zps60a5dcba.png
6222? How does someone even get all those points?
"Yay! So, what was this for again?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC39_zps75e26b2b.png
Woooh! I mean, it's not 6000, but it's great!
"Congratulations, everyone! All of the winners, don't forget your prizes! Until next time!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC40_zpsb1c59343.png
My prize is a mound of recipe bread. Well, let's see what I get.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC41_zpsca4b284f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC42_zpsb32a1bca.png http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageC43_zpsca2e38d7.png
Well, if I can ever get those things, I'll be able to prepare some filling meals!
Anyway, with the festival handled, it's time to check out that desert. I want to see what that guy was about.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageCB1_zps61bfc689.png
I'm stopped by Wells before I can enter, though.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageCB2_zps7614226d.png
"You weren't thinking of going into that desert, were you?"
"Yeah, I thought I saw..."
"Well, don't even think about it! There's nothing but monsters in there!"
Really? Didn't we have this talk before? I place my hands on my hips.
"Huh? But there are monsters EVERYWHERE. What makes this place any different?"
And Wells then just turns around and leaves.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageCB3_zpsa64de9e0.png
"That was strange..."
If there was only monsters there, then why did that guy not look much different from a human? I wonder...If I'm not the only one hiding something like this...
Ah, no. No sense getting my hopes up, right?
Before I go in, though, I shift into my wooly form. It'll be nice to get in a good run, and anyway, I want to get some practice in on my punching.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageDDoNotCrop1_zpsacd468ee.png
This is me, punching a pinapple. I feel like my life went somewhere odd.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageDDoNotCrop2_zps03af2ede.png
Anyway, this area has some water and some fields, so I could grow crops here! Probably something that can handle heat, though...
It's also got some mining rocks, so I'll dig around through those.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageDDoNotCrop3_zpse9e4ca27.png
Oh, geeze! That guy looks big!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageDDoNotCrop4_zps12ba8136.png
And those knives are sharp!
But what I also notice, not yet covered by the wind and sand... Footprints.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageDDoNotCrop5_zpsc024f16c.png
"I'm definitely following his trail."
I just have to keep going this way, and I'll find what I'm looking for in no time!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageE1_zps6c1df7ae.png
...Oookay, this is not what I was expecting. It's... It looks like a town.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageE2_zpsbfc547c0.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageE3_zpse9838075.png
A woman steps out of the central building, pushing aside the curtains and moving into the heat. Her hair is pale as the desert sand, bleached by the sun, and very long; it flutters like an echo of her long cape. On her forehead, she has a spiral horn the length of her hand.
Her blue eyes pierce me, but when she sees I've arrived, she walks toward me quickly, hands folded peacefully.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageE4_zpsfaf6d7a4.png
I look down to make sure I haven't forgotten what shape I'm in: it's not every day a pretty girl calls a monster 'comrade.'
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"Oh, don't worry. It simply means we're cohorts-in-arms! Proud patriots!"
...Isn't that a bit of a rush to decide? Still... She has a gentle smile on her face.
"I'm Kuruna, the proud elder of the Univir Settlement. My duty is to defend this land with my blood. What's yours, comrade?"
I can hear that pride in her voice -- she says she's an elder, but she looks only a little older than I do -- well, my human form. Woolies age pretty gracefully, so it's kind of hard to tell, there... But when she speaks of her duty, she sounds almost like an empress.
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I'm not exactly sure I have a duty...
Or, worse, what if I do? I have no way of knowing that, and so...There's nothing I can do about it.
Is it better to be purposeless? Or to have abandoned something that needs you?
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"I never knew there was a settlement here..."
It's pretty small: just three buildings, surrounded by stone. There are some monsters wandering about, but they look peaceful enough. There's a pond, and...That's it, really.
"My proud, advanced ancestors built this settlement, an oasis against savage aggression."
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"...And by hornless, you mean...?" Because, you know. I see a lot of things here, not with horns, so it's a little...
"Ah, pardon. Of course you'd have your own terms... I mean, of course, those so-called 'human beings,' who reach wide and greedily across these lands."
Her voice plunges me into icy water -- or, at least, that's how it feels. She says she hates humans...And her tone makes that hardly rhetorical.
"Are humans really deserving of all that hatred...?"
She looks at me like I've grown a second head. Then she stoops down and looks me in the eye. Her eyes are the color of ice, but they're not cold eyes. Instead, she looks...Confused, maybe. And concerned. What I'd said seems like it confused her -- like how could I not know this? -- and it worries her, too. She explains it simply and matter-of-factly.
"Hornless are to be NOTHING but hated, comrade."
"I don't know..." I edge away. At the end of the day... Part of me is human. A large part, to be honest. And...
More than that... Isn't that awfully quick to assume?
She pulls back and asseses me again, trying to understand what it is she's looking at.
"Well, you must have your reasons. An elder should not be so insensitive."
"Well, if you say so." She sure takes her job seriously... I can't help but envy that purposefulness.
The best I have is that I want to find more of those stones. On a scale of purposeless to purposeful, that's... Barely a 2.
"I can see it in your eyes, comrade. You yearn to join us!"
"I-Is that what my eyes were saying? I was just thinking... How nice it'd be to have a real duty."
"Then perhaps that's what I saw. All the same..." She smiled then, and all that chill seemed gone. "Know that you are welcome here...always."
She bows her head.
"Please, have a look around. Meet our other residents."
Well, I guess meet the other villagers, I shall.
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Wow, that guy….I like him. He understands the soul of our era. A true poet-philosopher of our times.
I finally found the guy who was by the tree before, but...There's no way to ask him about it without letting on about the whole 'half-human' thing.
"Nice to meet you," I try instead.
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"I'm Ramza."
"I'm Zaid!"
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I... Is he hitting on me, or is he just super-vain?
"Um, yeah, I guess." It's not a common color or anything... He looks unimpressed by my lack of enthusiasm.
"They're unique to my tribe. No other dwarves have our gleaming silver eyes!"
"Wait, you're a dwarf?!"
I mean, he's not the tallest guy, but that's hardly short enough to be a dwarf, right...?
"Sure I am! What's surprising about that?"
"Um...Aren't dwarves usually short and hairy with big, braided beards?"
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"Oh. I stand corrected," I said, holding up my paws in an attempt to pacify. I really don't think I've met many dwarves...
"A-anyway, it's nice to meet you, Zaid."
"Good to meet you too. Just don't forget what you learned about dwarves today!"
Right. Well, let's hope the next introduction goes better.
I eventually find someone I can talk to -- a tall man, I guess another Univir, in a purple cloak.
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"I'm Ramza. I just discovered this place."
"Ah, I see. I'm Ondorus." His voice has a mature, cultivated air, but his smile's approachable enough. "Welcome to our settlement, Ramza."
"I never expected to find a camp of monsters living together like this."
"Not all monsters behave like mindless, rampaging beasts, you know. Some of us can be quite civilized."
I think that's a given, looking at who's having this conversation.... I more meant, well, it's not usual to see a big group of different species together, is it?
"We univir are actually quite similar to humans, you know," he's still explaining, though. Then he pauses and looks at me thoughtfully. "How do you feel about humans?"
I -- I -- what answer is he looking for? Is he looking for Kuruna's answer? Or...Well... I can't lie.
"I think some of them are actually pretty nice," I settle on. After all... Every group has bad people. But they usually also have good people.
I don't know what I'm expecting, but he smiles.
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"Oh, but don't tell the elder I said that. She does not like humans." His smile looks uneasy on that.
"Yeah, I noticed. She isn't she about letting people know."
"Well, it's good to meet you. I hope I'll be seeing more of you around here."
He seems like a nice person to have around.
Having had a look at it all -- or at least the parts that catch my interest on a first sweep -- I find Kuruna.
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"It's very nice and quiet..."
"Isn't it? Perhaps you should move here."
Wow, she went there fast. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm fine."
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Seeing that look of concern and defeat... I'm not sure I can make sense of it. Not when I'm thinking about the people I know.
"Do you really hate humans that much?"
She glares intensely.
"Of course. Do you know the town that is nearby?"
"Oh, yes. What about it?"
"The people there ran us univir out of their town!"
"Really?!" That doesn't sound like...Well, thinking about Wells... Well, maybe I didn't give him a chance... Well... Um...
Kuruna's absolutely fuming.
"Yes, univir and humans used to live together."
"Did something happen?"
Here, Kuruna pauses. Her face relaxes, and she remains silent for a moment.
"...
I am not sure," she says eventually.
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I...I have no idea how to respond to that.
"I don't know the reason. It was before I was born. But we were exiled, and now we live here."
I wonder when that was, I mean...
Before I can finish the thought, Kuruna bursts out in fury,
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"So you should be careful not to wander too much outside."
She points at me insistantly.
"The humans might do something to you."
"I-I'll be fine, don't worry about me."
She really hates them... I wonder what happened...
Maybe Wells knows something. He's the older person in town, and he's mayor, after all.
I teleport back home, but when I get there...
The tree's changed. It's taller and thicker now, even though it's only been a few hours since I saw it last!
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Wells comes up behind me, sounding as stunned as I am.
"Have you been feeding the Sharance Tree a special fertilizer or something?"
"No, I didn't do anything." There's fertilizer for house-trees?
"What could have caused this, then?"
We stand there for a moment, shaking our heads, when I remember what's what.
"Um, Wells. Did you know about the univir's camp?"
"Yes."
Things make more sense that way...
"Is that why you told me not to go into the desert?"
He gives a little nod.
"Yes. I didn't want you to run into that camp of human-hating monsters. I'll bet their elder kicked you out the second she laid eyes on you."
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...
...
"I thought so."
...He bought that?
He bought that.
He actually did.
...I should press my luck, then.
"Though the elder did say something about how the univir lived in this town until they were chased out. Do you know anything about that?"
"All I know is that happened a long, long time ago. There aren't any records of what happened or why."
"I see..." Is that so?
...If it happened so long ago Wells doesn't know about it... Then doesn't that mean no one has anything to do with that?
"Ramza..."
I snap out of my concerned reverie.
"Yes?"
"Don't do anything foolish." Wells' expression is grave.
"What?"
"We're better off without the univir."
"But..." You weren't even alive when that decision was made! How can you decide that?
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He walks away, leaving that stinging comment in the air.
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...Leaving just me, naturally unnatural... There's nothing I can do about that, so...
It doesn't matter what he'd think of me if he knew, but...
"It doesn't look like anyone has any idea about the whole story.
But why do they hate each other so much? It doesn't look like either of them deserves it...
Maybe I should talk to Kuruna again."
But first... I wonder if all the new growth did something to my house?
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...Is that...
"A staircase...The tree...Grew a new room?"
And a perfectly sound staircase? What...
No, not what, how? How does a tree just make a staircase? Is it intelligent?
I stare for a minute in mute incomprehension.
"I should take a look."
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Well, it might be a little much to expect a magically appearing room to be furnished.
But it is pretty spacious, and surprisingly clean. And... full of structural support, somehow.
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I turn quickly and see Shara darting up the stairs.
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"The Sharance Tree grew a 2nd Floor!"
"Yeah, that's...That can't be normal, right? Weird, isn't it?"
"It's amazing! I've always known the Sharance Tree was special, but I had no idea it could do something like this."
"Yeah..." Thank goodness there's something strange relative even to here.
"But..." She looks around the room carefully and smiles.
"It's a nice room, isn't it?"
"Yeah... I just hope it doesn't disappear as fast as it appeared!" Who knows?
"I'm sure this room is here to stay. Why don't you make it your work area?"
"Work area?" I thought the farm was my work area.
"Sure! You need a place where you can craft things, right?"
"That would be pretty handy."
"You should be able to fit a forge up here."
I'm immediately unsure of the value of a hot forge in a wooden tree, but go on.
"Also a pharmacy and a workshop! Ask around at shops and they should be able to sell you what you need to get started."
"Gotcha. I'll go visit them later."
"Great! This room gives you so many exciting new possibilities!"
"Yeah! I can't wait to try crafting something!"
"Glad to hear it. ♪ I can't wait to see what you make!"
The way she says that...makes it sound almost like a challenge.
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"It's alright...Well, see you later, Shara."
And with that, she left. Since all the shops are closed for the festival, I can't really worry about that. Instead, I decided to go fishing.
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Just my luck...
I catch a bunch of Masu Trout after that, though, and a fish called a Gibelio. The trout I made into sashimi, but I couldn't work out even how to start cutting the Gibelio up.
I make a lot of money off of that, too, so I head back for more fishing after 5...
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And my luck re-emerges. But again, not completely...I managed to at least catch enough fish to make some more sashimi, and to save some for tomorrow: I bet Pia would like this squid, and I'd like to thank Carmen with a fish, and who knows what else.
After that, I had a little energy left over for clearing the field, so there was a bit of that.
The next day...
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My cabbages came in!
I go up and check my mailbox;
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I actually have a request in the mail today! It looks like Hazel needs my help with something.
I go over to see about that, but first...
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It looks like she has some new seeds. I'll buy some of the new Onion and Strawberry seeds for my farm.
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While I'm at it, since there's space in the Desert to grow crops, I go for something that would like heat more: just some cucumbers for right away.
"Anyway, you wanted to see me, Hazel?"
"Yes. I need a favor. Could you take these Relax Tealeaves to Marjorie?"
"No problem."
"I'd ask Karina, but I can't find her anywhere." She sighs. "The only thing that girl works hard at is skipping out on work!"
"Ha ha..." Just smile and nod...
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"Anyway, thanks for doing this for me."
To Marjorie!
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"I know. Why don't you install a pharmacy?"
"What?" I came here about a delivery...
"I know someone who was selling one. They'd sell it for a good price as long as they got some wood."
"That would be great."
"Well, I'll let Marian know, too. Just mention something while we're working. We might forget it otherwise."
Delivered with a blithe smile...
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Wait, about the delivery...
"Thank you. Did you get hurt?"
At last, she gives me a word in edgewise.
"No, but I needed to give you these."
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"Karina must be hiding from work again."
"Looks like it." I don't want to bad-mouth her... But Marjorie just laughs.
"Ho ho. My Marian's a handful, but I'll be Hazel gets just as much trouble from Karina."
"Ha ha..."
"But you don't have to worry about those two. They actually love each other very much."
She proclaims that easily, but...Neither of them has anything good to say.
"Is that right?"
"They just have a funny way of showing it. Anyway, I got the goods. Give Hazel my best."
"Will do!"
I decide to try making Marian less scary via application gifts. Case in point: cabbage. Cabbages are nice, right?
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"I love how green vegetables smell. Although some people hate it. Thanks.♪"
Well, that seems like a chance to talk normally.
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"When I was younger and would play doctor with Collette, I had a toy syringe I used to use. Then, one day Grandma gave this to me and told me to use it instead." She smiled with warm reminiscence, a sincere and cheery expression on her face. That was surely a happy memory for her, being trusted by her grandma like that... "Collette sometimes shivers when she sees me holding it..."
Well, that got dark quickly.
"I...I don't blame her..."
Well, back to Hazel.
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"Yep."
"I'm glad there's someone around here I can count on! Here's your reward."
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Kind of a small reward, but...Oh well.
I keep thinking about what Marjorie said, though.
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"What is it? Is there something on your mind?"
"Well, you and Karina seem to have a...contentious relationship sometimes."
"You're darn right! That's because she's a useless slacker! Why, did Marjorie say something about us?"
"Uh..." Oh dear.
Hazel glares at me.
"What? What did she say?!"
"well..." This might be trouble, if I say anything...
Hazel sees this and sighs.
"No, nevermind. I don't want to know."
"It really wasn't anything bad."
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"Huh? But I..."
She pushes me out the door with an aggressive glare.
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"Well, I need to shop here, so I'd better not bring it up again."
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I was over limit, so the rest of this chapter, including some bonus stuff and voting, will probably be up this evening, when I get the bonus stuff done.
Or now. It's 5. That's...Evening-ish. A month ago, it'd have been evening.
Chapter 6, Part 2: Lazy Girl
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Wow, there are a lot of options on the bulletin board today. Well, let's see...
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This sounds doable. I'll go see Karina. Let's see...Maybe she's started her item shop shift by now?
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I draw closer, not exactly wanting to wake her...But I do sort of need to.
"Ummm."
At the sound of my voice, she yawns and rubs her eyes, pulling herself from the counter-top.
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"Sorry to wake you."
"Oh...it's okay. (I was having such a nice dream, though...)"
"You posted a job request?"
She looks at me like she's forgetten it.
"A job request...?" Then awareness creeps in, and she starts.
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"Uh, yeah. There weren't a lot of details."
"Oh, that... (I forgot all about it...)"
"What?"
"I need you to get a pendant from Sofia. I'm too busy to go myself."
"Weren't you just sleeping?"
"Well, yeah."
"How does that qualify as being too busy?"
"I was too busy sleeping. Seems pretty obvious to me."
*sigh*
... I give up.
"Okay. I'll go get the pendant from Sofia."
"Great. Thanks. (Maybe I can get back to that dream.)"
Well, I want to do some of my normal routine on top of this, so...
The flower shop!
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"Hi, Monica?"
"Shara keeps on talking about you..."
She looks at me like I've betrayed her somehow.
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"Uh...I'm sorry?"
Aw, she only bites me because she's afraid I'll intrude on her relationship with her sister somehow. That's sweet.
Except the biting.
I get some cologne and talk to Shara, too.
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"Rainbow!"
Daria's going to love me.
"What do rainbows even smell like?"
"I have no idea, but that's how Daria described it."
Moving on...
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"Yeah...I didn't want to do anything violent, but I couldn't just sit here and do nothing..."
"Hmmm...Do you like monsters, Ramza?"
"What?!"
I'm not exactly sure what he's asking...But there's a lot of room for it to be dangerous to me here.
"Well, you just seemed a little apologetic about the raccoon...It's not a bad thing..." I breathe an internal sigh of relief. "Raven's the same way. There are people who understand monsters' feelings very well."
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There are a lot of farms that make money that way...So I see what he's saying.
"But if I befriend a monster, I'd need a place for it to live..."
"Hmmm...If you have enough wood, I'd be happy to build you a barn for monsters."
"Really? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Just ask me or Raven, and we'll build one for you.
...Also, I heard that the Sharance Tree got bigger."
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"I think they'd be really helpful for you. You can use them to forge weapons and make accessories."
Won't that damage his busi-- no, wait. Gaius doesn't care about his business. He'd spend all day making weapons even if no one paid him.
"Nice! Sounds great!"
"Well, just give us a shout at the shop if you want a forge or workshop. We can build it for you as long as you have enough gold and wood."
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Hmm...Well, it's an option.
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Those...are not yet options.
I see Raven running back through the rain.
"Hey, Raven."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageM13_zps6da50227.png
"Huh?"
"If you get near me, you'll become cursed, too..."
"...?"
I run into Carmen, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageM14_zpsad1cdf8c.png
"It had a big effect on Carlos, too! That's why our store has a lot of items you'd find around the sea!"
Have I seen the sea? ...Nope, no way of knowing.
"Feel free to take a look! Carlos might tell you more about them!"
I decide to actually check on that pharmacy option...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageM15_zpsb4eb48d3.png
I could get this now, even.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageNDoNotCrop_zps4ce527c8.png
But for today, I'll buy a healing spell.
And to the mansion!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO1_zps0c3cbc26.png
"Well, yes..." Who knew she liked 'rainbow'?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO2_zps715fa661.png
"Yeah, I'm a big fan of fishsticks myself!"
"Exactly. They make good clothes."
"Clothes?!"
...Just going to walk away, and talk to Sofia.
"Hey, Sofia."
"What?"
"Karina asked me to pick up a pendant from you."
"No."
"What?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO3_zps403d0fd7.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO4_zps44b36cb2.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO5_zps8d68fb61.png
"What's the matter?"
"Um, nothing..."
I'm sure she knows how confusing this is...
"I see. Anyway, it's not important, so please tell her to be careless."
"Wait, what?"
Sofia speaks slowly and more insistantly, as if talking to a child.
"She needs to be careless with it. Don't tell her that."
"Oh, okay. Got it...I think."
Well, back to the store, I guess...
Of course, she's asleep again.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO6_zpsd2907060.png
"Karina," I say in a hopefully-cheerful tone as I draw near.
"Hmmm..."
"Good morning."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO7_zps70252c8c.png
“Sleeping on the job again?”
”Yeah…”
She looks up at me, suddenly awake.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO8_zpsfc2e8cf5.png
“You already said you were.”
”I was copying Sofia.”
Objection!
“But you said ‘Good Morning.’”
”I meant the opposite.”
I laugh.
“So you meant ‘Good Night’? You’re going to bed?”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO9_zps7623c898.png
“…Anyway, I got you the pendant.”
”Oh, thanks. I’ll take it, then.”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO10_zps7725df7f.png
This really is a strange pendant. Well, I hand it over to her.
”Oh, thanks.”
“It was really no problem. I could’ve almost done it in my sleep.”
She looks surprised.
”What?”
“Hm?”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO11_zps72424f26.png
“Oh, and Sofia said you should be careless with that. But I think she meant…”
”Yes, I know. I’ll be careful.”
“…”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO12_zps7f4e91a7.png
“I’m just impressed by how well you understand her.”
”Why wouldn’t I? I don’t think there’s anything strange about how she talks.”
“Really? I think it’s pretty weird.” The shape-shifting amnesiac half-wooly is looking more and more normal.
But Karina just shrugs, and with an expression that seems full of apathy at the world just says,
”Oh, it’s just her way. Who isn’t a little weird?”
That’s actually really kind; I’m a little impressed… I think I need to try harder to be so accepting.
Anyway, here. For you. Thanks.”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO13_zps329a74fb.png
…Riot!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO14_zps971ea27b.png
Flip tables!
“Ah…”
….Despair.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO15_zpsd4911583.png
Oh, well. Hazel greets me as I leave.
“I was just giving Karina a hand.”
”You were?”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO16_zps61db4f79.png
…Maaaaybe.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO17_zps1c71f780.png
I’m not a rat.
”I guess that’s okay, then…Well, thanks for helping.”
“Oh, it’s OK. I (kinda) got a reward for it.”
”Oh, I see. She’s usually too lazy to even pay for help, you know. You should be flattered.”
“Ha ha…”
”Well, back to work. If I left it up to her, there’d be no store!”
“Heh heh. See you later.”
After she enters the store, I hear here shouting through the door.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO18_zps484c290a.png
”WAKE UP!!!”
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO19_zps9f3c60db.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/ImageO20_zps9d5baa24.png
Bonus And Mechanics!
For some bonus fun, let's see our other choices for the Bath Census.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus1_zps4eab3d6b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus2_zps9a324230.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus3_zps7fb5ed59.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus4_zpse990b963.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus5_zps0b7826d2.png
...Well.
Let's try saying "Cold," then...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus6_zps3b675024.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus8_zps0e3431dd.png
Not as entertaining.
Also, who snuck a Mask reference in there, anyway?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus9_zps4e679855.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus10_zps5d101600.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus11_zps1b4c1e54.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus12_zpsc3d02e9c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus13_zpse3963069.png
Eh, not so great. Let's try the Daria answer, shall we?
We like RAINBOW~!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus14_zps0bee3a74.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus15_zps46ed51d0.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus16_zps4c5e17ad.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus17_zps3ad956ea.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus18_zpsb5b65e88.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus19_zps598c5a45.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus20_zps93b03cfb.png
...
...
I actually had to call in friends to decide which would be the better choice to put in the LP.
I doubt I'll ever be sure I made the right call. (Also, any time you alert me to a problem in the future, this will be my answer.)
The gnomes have the final say, though, so let's just answer the last question.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus21_zps89e8a056.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus22_zps82f641f7.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus23_zps8e56617c.png
...Well. So much for wanting something nice. Also, Ramza, water doesn't have biology. Except on the level of the ecosystem. But point is, it's not alive.
Slimy water it is!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus24_zps5de1a572.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus25_zps401a64c2.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus26_zps51909c47.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%206/Bonus/Bonus27_zps2c24e782.png
...Uh, somebody help me understand that bit?
I don't get it.
I can't offer any stategy about the festival minigame because I am horrible at it. Getting to 3rd place took me five attempts.
People who are good at that minigame, the field is yours.
What else to say, what else to say...?
Oh, yes! The monster barn! We can actually start raising monsters soon! Which means we'll need to decide what to do.
Monsters can do work in the fields, fight along side you as party members, be ridden (sometimes), and produce
Monsters, in order to do work and I think gain affection (in the original Rune Factory, anyway), need to be fed fodder from your field. So we'll need to get some going if we get a monster. Unlike the Harvest Moon series, monsters you don't feed will not get sick or die.
You can, at any time, release a monster back to the Forest of Beginnings, making space in your barn.
Anyway, we need to decide, for when we get a barn, what sort of monsters we want. We get monsters by feeding wild ones stuff, basically.
here (http://therunefactory.wikia.com/wiki/Monsters_(RF3)) is a list of available monsters: stay out of the boss section unless you want spoilers, of course. And we're only really of a level to go get monsters from Privera and Sol Terrano, so keep it to that for now.
For those not wanting to wade through the list, you can just specify what we should have a monster for: General Use, Production, Mount. Production will probably mean I get a buffamoo (for milk) or a wooly (for wool, and also unease) first.
Oh, and while I'm at it...
One feature of Rune Factory 3 is that, starting around affection level 3, we're able to take people adventuring with us! Also on dates, if they're girls. That's actually coming up for us pretty soon, so... Uh, vote #3 is for who we should take adventuring. I'll probably cycle through some of the more popular options, and we'll talk about what sort of equipment and magic our allies have...later.
Sadly, the next stretch of plot has us forcibly carrying a specific character along, so this'll be for extra-curricular adventuring.
Right! We've got a few things to vote for!
#1, Which of our new 'post 1st boss upgrades' should we go for first? The forge (weapon-making), the workshop (armor and accessories), the pharmacy (healing items, status-effect cures, fertilizers, and other junk), or the barn (taming monsters)! If we get a variety of votes, I'll probably pick based on popularity from there.
#2, What should our first monster be when we do get the barn? Again, if something gets some votes or even a vote, I'll probably put it on the list to pick up. More details above.
#3, Who should we take with us in our spare time for a while? We can make another, more informed decision on that in a bit, particularly when we won't be shackled to someone for the dungeon (which we will be), and can start making gear for our companion. This'll only start when the character's available.
erikun
2014-03-15, 06:36 PM
Can I vote for Kuruna, Raven, or Pia now? Mainly because they're silly or interesting (or both) and I don't know how they are in a fight. I've only used Karina back when I was playing.
Ogremindes
2014-03-15, 07:23 PM
For monsters I reckon get four buffamoos, four cluckadoodles and as many different produce types as you can cram in. I got four woolies and four hornets in mine, which is good for cash (and for having more woolies) but having more crafting mats on hand seems like a better use of finite space.
Javan
2014-03-19, 09:59 AM
It may be to late for my vote to have an effect.
1) Barn
2) It seems from the list that the 3 most generically useful monsters are Buffamoos, Cluckadoodles, and Woolies. At least from the cash perspective.
3) I will hold out for a more informed decision.
Further investigation shows honey sells for more than eggs milk and only for slightly less than wool. I say milk and honey and skip the wool.
Dragoon
2014-03-19, 01:28 PM
Well enjoyed the update as usual.
I think the barn would be good first, don't know about the monsters, trust the others on that, though you might want one to help with farming, perhaps...
On #3, Gaius, assuming he doesn't fall asleep if we take him with us, Sakuya, to help with her shop, or Sofia. Actually now that I think about it, could we take Shino, since she supposedly knows something about weapons?
Lastly, just started on Frontier and it is difficult to find people sometimes... It doesn't have a way to have the map to show where people are in town, does it?
I'm pretty sure Hornets would, at this stage of the game, just flat-out kill Ramza before he could toss food at them. But I'll give the Cluckadoodles a shot, at least, see if we can even get into that area without getting clobbered.
Well enjoyed the update as usual.
I think the barn would be good first, don't know about the monsters, trust the others on that, though you might want one to help with farming, perhaps...
On #3, Gaius, assuming he doesn't fall asleep if we take him with us, Sakuya, to help with her shop, or Sofia. Actually now that I think about it, could we take Shino, since she supposedly knows something about weapons?
Lastly, just started on Frontier and it is difficult to find people sometimes... It doesn't have a way to have the map to show where people are in town, does it?
We could take Shino, at least when her affection gets high enough that we can ask her.
It does not. However, there's an excellent schedule walkthrough on Gamefaqs I kept with me when I played, and that helped a lot.
Stuebi
2014-03-20, 12:55 AM
I cracked up when I saw this, since im playing the Game myself currently. (Pursuing Karina, if anyone's interested).
I wasnt even aware you could take everyone with you, I thought it's just the Bachelorettes you could ask out. Altough I have to admit that I usually just take a Monster with me.
On that note, take at LEAST one Combat-Mosnter for the Barn. I'm aware that a lot of people prefer a Barn full of producing-Monsters (altough I find that very boring. :smallwink: ), but some of the Guys get REALLY strong on high-Friendship Levels and serve as excellent Damage-Sponges in Bossfights. Also, they keep pesky enemies of your back if you just want to mine / farm.
Also, I didnt read all the Updates, so forive me if this has been mentioned:
I'd heavily recommend planting Strawberrys in Privera Forest, on the very first field. They have multiple harvests, and Runeys spawn more often when you harvest in a Dungeon. Its also a pretty reliable source of side-income. Depending on how much farmwork you want to do in a Day, you could also place a multi-harvest vegetable in the Desert, altough that would require you to check on both Dungeons regularly to make sure nothing has withered. The source of Runeys is worth the effort tough.
EDIT OT:
Also, when we're talking about RF. Can anyone recommend Fonrtiers for the Wii? I was thinking to get it for my upcoming vacation.
Javan
2014-03-20, 04:47 AM
Rune Factory Frontier, definitely. I really enjoyed it, and to be honest, it's what convinced me to give the series a second shot after the original Rune Factory left me a little cold. I couldn't get into Oceans: I hated moving around that stupid golem-mecha-whatever-that-was.
Deme recommended it not to long ago
Ogremindes
2014-03-20, 05:50 AM
On that note, take at LEAST one Combat-Mosnter for the Barn. I'm aware that a lot of people prefer a Barn full of producing-Monsters (altough I find that very boring. :smallwink: ), but some of the Guys get REALLY strong on high-Friendship Levels and serve as excellent Damage-Sponges in Bossfights.
If you wear the appropriate pendant (Sun for NPCs, Field for Monsters) almost any partner can be very powerful.
I cracked up when I saw this, since im playing the Game myself currently. (Pursuing Karina, if anyone's interested).
I wasnt even aware you could take everyone with you, I thought it's just the Bachelorettes you could ask out. Altough I have to admit that I usually just take a Monster with me.
On that note, take at LEAST one Combat-Mosnter for the Barn. I'm aware that a lot of people prefer a Barn full of producing-Monsters (altough I find that very boring. :smallwink: ), but some of the Guys get REALLY strong on high-Friendship Levels and serve as excellent Damage-Sponges in Bossfights. Also, they keep pesky enemies of your back if you just want to mine / farm.
Also, I didnt read all the Updates, so forive me if this has been mentioned:
I'd heavily recommend planting Strawberrys in Privera Forest, on the very first field. They have multiple harvests, and Runeys spawn more often when you harvest in a Dungeon. Its also a pretty reliable source of side-income. Depending on how much farmwork you want to do in a Day, you could also place a multi-harvest vegetable in the Desert, altough that would require you to check on both Dungeons regularly to make sure nothing has withered. The source of Runeys is worth the effort tough.
EDIT OT:
Also, when we're talking about RF. Can anyone recommend Fonrtiers for the Wii? I was thinking to get it for my upcoming vacation.
I'll try and get a good attack monster for you, then. Anything you'd recommend for this stage (well, not that it's super-relevant, except for when I'm not trying to do the desert's story)? In my own play through, I went it pretty much alone the whole game, except for maybe a mount or a magic seed, so...Uh...*shrug*
erikun
2014-03-20, 12:07 PM
Also, when we're talking about RF. Can anyone recommend Fonrtiers for the Wii? I was thinking to get it for my upcoming vacation.
I'm definitely a fan of the atmosphere of Rune Factory Frontier. The biggest complaint I've heard about the game is Runey management; other than that, I've not seen nor heard any glaring problems with the game.
Stuebi
2014-03-21, 12:49 AM
I'll try and get a good attack monster for you, then. Anything you'd recommend for this stage (well, not that it's super-relevant, except for when I'm not trying to do the desert's story)? In my own play through, I went it pretty much alone the whole game, except for maybe a mount or a magic seed, so...Uh...*shrug*
I liked taming a Scorpion or Spiders, since they provide Items AND are decent combatants. Scorpions drop Claws and Stingers if I remember correctly, which are a great gift for Sakuya. Spiders provide string, which is used in a variety of crafting recipes.
Shadow Panthers are fast, deal decent damage and provide Fur. Cant remember if you can ride them tough, that'd be interesting.
Trolls are cool as "Bodyguards" when you just want to mine or fish. They have massive knockback, and I could safely mine and fish while Florence was playing with his chums that came out of Portals. I remember them having decent DPS on higher Levels too.
You can ride Shadow Panthers, yes. Also, quick, before the forum goes down! Someone suggest names for our Barn's first room and some early monsters of your choice!
Javan
2014-03-21, 08:11 AM
Monster go in the barn room, I choose Moria.
Cluckadoodles, at least one needs to be named Cojiro.
Seerow
2014-03-21, 11:36 AM
I'm in favor of any monster that can be used as a mount. The aforementioned shadow panther sounds cool.
Also you name individual rooms in your barn? That's just weird. No preference.
Chapter 7: Your Loathsome, Detestable Visage
Well, anyway... I don't have much to do today besides all those requests, so...
I join in listening to Carlos in a reflective mood.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA1_zps6d3cda3c.png
"The smell of the ocean breeze, fishing in the open sea... Sounds great, right?!"
Well, it does have some appeal...
"But that's not what happened to you, huh?"
What happens to a dream deffered?
"Well, I ended up becoming a fisherman, which isn't so bad. I mean, I can still fish, right?"
"I think so. There's no good crying over spilled milk, right?"
"Right, bro! You get me! Still...Maybe one day, I'll go to sea anyway!"
"That's right."
There's still hope.
I notice Shino has been watching me since I left the building, but...I'm not sure why.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA2_zpsd5c5d30f.png
Oh, that's why.
Well, it's about lunchtime, so I'll hit the diner next.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA3_zpsee8949e1.png
"He does seem to have a lot of things he doesn't like... But you don't have anything you hate?"
"No way! I'll eat anything! Actually, check that! I absolutely HATE milk!"
"Uh, so how's that different than Rusk not liking vegetables?"
"It's totally different! It's a metabolism thing! You wouldn't understand!"
...I wonder if she knows what a 'metabolism' actually is.
Well, everyone has their eccentricities.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA4_zps79cd1982.png
"And I'm sure he's good business."
"I could set up in a mansion with Sherman's bills...But cooking like this is more important."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA5_zps883fe9d0.png
I have money, so I might as well buy some things to help make home more cozy. I get both cooking appliances he has for sale.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA6_zpsef2cb884.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA7_zpsf5f6dba1.png
And some recipe breads.
I'm not worried about cash at the moment, since I know what the first thing I want to add to the house is.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA8_zps8184abe1.png
"Yeah, I think so."
I'll need some grass seeds, too...Today never stops being a shopping trip, does it?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA9_zps953ef07a.png
"Great!"
"Raven told me that monsters will befriend you if you give them food. However, monsters won't befriend anyone they see as weaker than them."
"Got it. I'll be careful."
Makes sense. I mean, if you're expecting someone to provide for you, they can't be too pathetic.
"Well, it shouldn't take too long to build the barn."
"Uh... It won't...?"
It's a barn. How quickly can you make a barn?
"Nope. In fact, it should be done by the time you get home."
"Really?! How is that even humanly possible?!"
No, forget humans -- who could do that?!
"You need something else?"
"...N-no, I'm good..."
Anyway, I need to stop by the inn, too.
"Hey, Pia. How's the baths?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA10_zps867880d2.png
That's not...Oh, well.
"But you should take a bath if you're tired. Baths are amazing."
She notices that I don't exactly seem to be having the same conversation she is.
"Huh?"
"...Nothing."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageA11_zps100ca2d9.png
"Hm...Well, I like going to places I've never been before."
Not surprising, but then she says, with a soft and thoughtful smile like I've never quite seen on her before...
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"But there's no reason I like it...I just do!"
"I don't think you need a reason to like something like that...Or, I guess, maybe anything."
Going home, seeing people's faces light up...All those familiar old favorites, made new by being away...
...That sounds really wonderful. I wonder if I have something like that, somewhere out there. A place where people will smile when they see me...
"...Well, whatever the reason, it makes you happy."
"Yup!"
"Oh, I made this last night, if you'd like to sell some here retail or something...?"
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"O-or you could have it?"
"I'm so happy. I really like sashimi. Thanks, Ramza ♪"
I'd originally made it for Pia, so...
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Success. She did say she liked raw squid.
"Squid is so tasty raw and cooked."
Anyway, I want to go out and see the people of the settlement again, before I get down to planting...
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I find an orange tree along the way that's pretty nice, and do a little fighting along the way.
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I'm getting more used to fighting in this shape again, although...
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There's no way I'm staying through that! Ow!
I end up running in, poisoned and weakened, scarfing down an antidote herb to keep from collapsing into the dirt.
Directly where Zaid can see me.
Lucky for me, he's busy admiring the weather.
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"I could see that..."
There are rabid scorpion-things not a mile from your door.
"There are lots of hostile monsters to fight outside the camp, though. I guess that's something."
That's...
That's a plus for him, isn't it? The poisonous scorpion-monsters and the giant ogres.
I need to talk to someone with sense. Ondorus!
"Living here must be tough."
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"That does sound nice..."
Well, I suppose I need to see Kuruna.
When I go inside, I find a house that, while maybe not luxurious, has a regal atmosphere.
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"Oh, perfect timing."
"What is it?"
"I wanted to ask you to run an errand for me."
"An errand?" I wonder what she could need an outsider like me for.
"Yes, an errand. Can you do it?"
"Umm..." She hasn't said what, exactly...
"Oh, you do not have to if you do not want to."
Oh, no! Backpeddling! Please don't backpeddle over my account!
"That's okay. I'll do it."
She smiles.
"Thank you. You would be a great help."
"I'm not really familiar with the paths around here..." Or what you want me to do yet.
"Do not worry. I will send a guide. Have you met Zaid?"
"Yes."
"Good. I have already talked to Zaid. Please go see him when you are ready."
"Okay. Is...it an urgent errand?"
"No, not really. You may take your time with it."
"Alright, then. I have a lot to do today, is all, so..."
She nods.
"Oh, Comerade...
I know this place may seem dull and barren..."
"It does seem a little bit, yeah..."
"But it's a nice place once you've lived here. What do you say?"
"I'll pass... I have a place to stay until later that's just fine."
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She looks...so disapointed.
I go plant my seeds, and plow a little spot for fodder for a monster.
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And, after that...I think I could use a nice hot bath.
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I run into Daria on the way for some evening fishing.
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"I don't think so." I just went for a bath, and all...
Oh, but I am wearing cologne! ...Do rainbows smell like dried sardines? That's...
I guess it appeals to Daria.
"So, Ramza..."
"Yes?"
"The Sharance Tree...Can I dye it a new color?"
"Um, what color?"
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"Wouldn't a rainbow be lots of colors?"
She gets a fervent look in her eye, and begins to speak quickly and eagerly.
"Yes! But no! The colors are different, but so inseperable that they might as well be one!"
Huh....
"Well, that sounds interesting. But I think a lot of people would get angry if you painted the tree."
She shrugs, but her eyes go wide with surprise.
"Oh, that's too bad."
I guess it never occured to her...
Well, I get some fishing in. If you count the squid, I come away with a nice 6 fish. I go back, slice those up...
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Make some orange juice, too.
I go out to the desert, clear out the monsters for a bit of training,
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Plant some cucumbers...
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And find this ludicrously nice treasure. This is worth a third of my ready cash, and it's just -- just sitting around! Like it aint no thing!
Into the shipping bin, kaching, kaching!
And then it's home for a bit of logging and going to...Oh. Right. I forgot to look at the barn, didn't I?
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He actually built it. Probably even before I made that fish.
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There's an entryway, with a notebook and some things...
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And an inner room for monsters.
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It's named Turnip. It needs a better name, but I'll think on it...
Tomorrow, because tonight, I'm going to bed.
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Some pink turnips and toyherbs in today; not a lot, but every bit helps, right?
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I've gotten more mail today. I was a bit sorry for letting down Daria yesterday, so...I guess I'll go see Daria. She says she wants lumber, but I bet I can go get some in advance.
I go chop up a handful of branches, just to be safe.
I run into Marjorie on the road, and she has a bit of advice for me.
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"That way, no one will notice that you're actually taking a nap."
"Uh...Do you actually do that...?"
She just laughs, pats me on the back, and lets me go on my way.
Speaking of on my way to Daria's house...I run into Collette. We get to talking, and run back to yesterday's topic.
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"Hmm... Well, I really like Rice! Oh! And Tempura Bowl! And Fried Rice! And Baked Rice Balls! And --"
She peppers me with food names, like a series of raindrops.
"Okay, okay!" Make it stop, please! "I got it! So you really like Rice, then."
Anyway, I do eventually get down to seeing Daria.
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She waves off the comment.
"Of course you are! You're my loyal assistant!"
She has a point, I su--
"Wait, I'm what now?"
What did I get roped into?
"I'm out of Wood to carve. And inspiration just struck me!"
She beams at me, wild ideas spinning in her eyes.
"So hurry and bring me 3 Wood! Inspiration waits for no one!"
"Ah...okay."
"You can get Wood by chopping branches with an axe." Still excited by my, uh, being her assistant now or something, she adds, "But if that's too slow, maybe you can try chopping down some signs or something.
Art demands sacrifices!"
She declares.
"Uh, I think I'll stick with branches."
"Well, whatever you think is best."
"I'm on it."
Well, actually...I count the lumber I have prepped.
"Three you said, right?"
"Right, right!"
"Well, uh, here."
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...Rainbow?
"So you make woodcarvings too? Is there anything you can't do?"
"Of course! Imagine if I could carve up the Sharance Tree. I could make a towering statue that would put every other wood carving to shame!"
Practice restraint, apparently.
"Y-you can't do that! The Sharance Tree is sacred!"
I pause, aware that that probably means nothing to Daria.
"And...it's where I live."
"..."
Here, Daria actually pauses. And looks at me, and she seems to think and consider what I'm saying.
It was a strange moment, like the quieting of a whirlwind. Actually, a whirlwind might be what I think of Daria -- just a nonstop force or artifice. But just for a moment, she fell still.
Then she smiled.
"I'm just kidding! For now, anyway."
And the whirlwind's kicking up paint and bits of clay and wood again.
"For now?!"
"Thanks for your help, assistant! Here you go!"
"uh, thanks."
"I'll send for you again if I need anything, my dear assistant!"
"O-Okay..." Now that she's started calling me that...She seems very...happy.
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My reward is Iron.
Well, alrighty, then.
I decide to head back up and check the bulletin board, but run into Wells along the way.
"Hello there...Hey, could you tell me a bit about the tree?" I had said it was sacred, but...I might have just been making things up.
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"It watches over the town like a tall and silent sentinel."
"I've never seen another tree like it." ...Probably. I can't think of one like it, anyway.
Not that can grow stairs.
I head to the general store first. According to Hazel, it's her birthday.
"Oh, I wish I knew before! Um, um," I start looking for something to give her, but I can't imagine she'd want bamboo rice.
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"Oh, I haven't said anything, yet..."
I buy some rice and nearly die of shame from not having anything to give her...But then I think, at the very least, I could give her something I cooked, just a pickled turnip.
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"Yes, ma'am."
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"I'd like to get some vegetables, too. Raw vegetables are great to cook with, but I can't very well take our store veggies."
"Yes, ma'am. Happy birthday. I'm sure Karina will come through," I say as I wave and go away.
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Raven has a request for me, as does....Nearly everyone. Well, one at a time.
And I have iron on-hand, even.
But first, the flower shop.
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Monica's got more complaints against me.
"Well, you're welcome to come by and play any time you want to."
"With you there? No way!!" She glares.
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"I wish you had warned me..." I say, despondantly.
"I'm sorry! Don't worry! I'm sure she wasn't expecting anything from you."
"That's a mean way to put it."
"Sorry! I just meant...Everyone knows you're still getting settled. It's barely been a week."
"Well, what's today's scent?"
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" This scent will cause all the girls to swoon!"
"...Huh."
I wonder what I usually smell like?
Anyway, I buy some flower and grass seeds.
...And see the cologne in action quickly.
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Manliness probably smells the opposite of like a bath!
"Oh, that reminds me, Ramza! When I was cleaning the bath, I found a squid floating in it!"
"Like, a live squid?"
"Looks like someone didn't finish eating it!"
"Yuck! Who would be eating in the bath...?"
Pia acted as if she were very innocent...Right.
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Even Karina seems happy to see me today...But her expression quickly went neutral.
"What do you think Mom would like for her birthday?"
"Umm..." I almost say something corny like, 'If you give something to her, that's the gift she really wants.' And it may have been right, but...
"Memories?"
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"What?! No! I can't give your mom memories!"
...When I say it like that, it sounds strange.
Well, I stand by it!
I head to the forge next.
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She gasps. Her face is very red.
"What, is my cologne too strong?"
She silently fetches some iron from somewhere in the depths of the shop and brings it before me.
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"Bring me some more of this..."
"What? O-Okay..." It's unusual for her to ask for a favor like this...
I look around, and see the empty shop. There's not even the sound of forging, which is...Odd.
"Where's Gaius?"
"He needed more iron..."
Her face is still as red as her hair. Is she really that shy?
"Ah, so he went to get some more iron?"
Silence.
"Hm? What's wrong?"
"Hurry..."
"Oh, sorry!" I laugh to push away the uneasiness.
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As I walk away, I hear a loud 'thud' sound. I turn immediately.
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She'd collapsed on the floor. I cross the room again.
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"I'm fine..." she mutters.
I put my hand on her forehead, and I realize that she's red in the face not out of shyness or something like that, but...
"You're burning up! I think you have a fever!"
She shakes her head.
"No, I'm fine...I was just near the forge earlier..."
She thinks I'd be tricked like that?
Maybe earlier! But not today!
"Raven, this is no joke! C'mon, let's head over to the apothecary!"
"No."
I sigh.
"Raven..." No, I can't get discouraged!
"Well, at the very least, you should lie down and try to get some rest!"
She shakes her head weakly.
"I can't..."
"Why not?!"
"The store..."
I pause.
"What?"
"I need to watch over the store..."
Is it really that important?
She's just as bad as Gaius!
"Raven!"
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I consider the store for a moment, the busy shelves and empty floor. No one's here -- it's OK, I want to tell her. You can stop. No one'll even notice.
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But when I look back...
"She fainted..." Well, that settles that. "Let me take her to bed..."
Raven's body offers no resistance to my lifting her; like holding a flame, weightless and hot. Like something insubstantial, and like the expression in her eyes, always about to fade or turn away.
Actually, the whole thing gives me pause. I never thought about it until I realized there were two beds upstairs, but it's strange that she lives here, too. I don't think they're related, and I'd have assumed either she lived elsewhere or they were dating, but... I don't think that's it, either.
Still, there's a second bed, and the closeness of a potted plant tells me that it's hers.
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After a while, she looks restful. Almost peaceful, which I can't say is how I think of Raven the rest of the time.
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I turn on the edge of her room and look back. She was really worried about someone being there to watch the store, and...Well, it's not like I can fault her that.
"Well, I guess I've got no choice but to watch the store while Raven is resting!"
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And that's the story of how I ended up here.
"Ah, I guess I should check the prices of everything on sale..."
I dig around for a while and come up with an inventory.
"Let's see... Here's a list of the prices...
Broadsword: 630g
Spear: 900g
Cheap Bracelent: 560g
Focus Earring: 1400G
Battle Hammer: 1400G
Claymore: 960g
Got it! Okay, let's go!"
...I say that, but what am I expecting to happen?
But then!
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A traveller shows up! WhatdoIdo? WhatdoI doooo?
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Nailed it!
"Hello. Let's see... Do you have a Cheap Bracelet?"
"I-Indeed we do! Just one moment, please!"
I go looking through the cabinets until I find them and hand it to him for a closer look.
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"560G, please!" I hope I remembered that right...
"All right, here's the money."
"Thank you very much! Please come again!"
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At least that wasn't a disaster.
"Whew...I guess I did that right..."
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Here we go again...
"Welcome!"
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"O-Okay!"
Now where do they keep...
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Eep!
"S-Sorry!"
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Um, um... I'm too panicked to remember! Battle Hammers were expensive, though...
"1400G?"
"Thanks, kid! You look like a hard worker! I'll be back soon!"
"Th-Thank you very much!"
Wow...Raven must not be much of a salesperson...
And finally...
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Karina?!
I cross to in front of the desk.
"Welcome!"
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I drop the act for a second.
"Oh, well, you see, I..."
"Uh...Never mind..."
"What?" But I was just getting set to try and explain!
"I'm kinda in a rush... (And I don't really care...)"
"I...I see..." I guess no one cares.
"Ah, there's my order...I've already paid..."
"Oh, you paid in advance?" Not having to remember prices for the win!
"Yep. See you..."
She picks up her item and leaves without so much as a wave.
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"Maybe I should have taken Raven to the apothecary..." But would she have put up with me carrying her that long? There's no way she'd have walked... "I guess she wouldn't have listened to me anyway, though..."
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Finally!
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"N-no, it's actually ME, Gaius!"
He just chuckles.
"Yeah, I figured."
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Oops.
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"She got a cold, so she's sleeping upstairs."
"I see."
His face is completely calm.
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He turns and smiles up at the staircase.
"Hey, Raven. How you feeling?"
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"Raven?!"
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I run to the stairs, while Gaius saunters towards the door.
"I'm fine..."
"You're bright red, Raven..."
"I'm...fine...I'll do it..."
"Raven, no!"
Please don't let her faint again!
"It's my job..."
"But...Gaius, help me out!" I turn around. "Huh?"
I look around for Gaius to back me up...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageI38_zps02a8f4d6.png
But there he is, all but about to leave.
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"Closing the store."
"What?"
He smiles and flips his sign.
"There we go. All closed. Let's go to the apothecary now."
Oh, good, so he is with me on this.
"But..."
"The store's closed, so there's no work to do. I'll go on ahead."
He leaves the store, leaving Raven and I to catch up. Well, I guess I don't have to, but...
"Let's go to the apothecary, Raven..."
She stares at me for a moment, and with a sigh of surrender, begins to slowly walk behind me to the door.
"Um..."
"What is it, Raven?"
"..."
She stares at me, weighing her options in silence. Her eyes fix on mine -- and before something might be said, something honest in a fevered flush -- she looks away.
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She leaves behind a reward.
"*sigh* Raven's so stubborn...But it looks like it worked out in the end..."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageI43_zps5733f7c4.png
Ooh, Silver!
I come back when they've returned and gotten some medicine. It looks like her fever's down. Still, she has a far-away look in her eyes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageI44_zpsdbd6ecac.png
"Shara's flowers..."
"Oh, yeah. They're pretty!" Insightful commentary!
"Flowers reflect the personalities of those that grew them..."
"Huh? What do you mean...?"
She looks away.
"Never mind..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageJDoNotCrop_zps73471441.png
Ooh, new shoes. I'll take them!
Onward with my day!
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"Huh?" She steps closer to me, but her face grows sad.
"I'm sorry about before."
"Huh? Sorry about what?"
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There's something she thinks of as lying...?
"Oh, right. Don't worry about it. It's fine." Being busy on the inside is like being busy on the outside.
...I think that's what she means by "free."
"Great! No hard feelings, then!"
This might be the longest Sofia's gone without talking in opposites since I met her. It's really nice to talk with her clearly.
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"You don't?!" I thought we'd reached a breakthrough...
She just strolls away, happy as a clam.
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"It's so relaxing. I wonder why this reminds me of Carlos. It's so nostalgic."
So to her 'manliness' smells like her brother?
...I'm not going to lie, that's a little odd...
She seems to realize that, and changes the subject.
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"Sometimes I go too deep and get all dizzy, though! Heh heh!"
"That can be dangerous, Carmen..."
"Yeah, I always push myself a little too hard! I need to work on that! Thanks!"
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...I...I'm not sure this cologne is a good idea.
"Let's not do that."
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...
"Well, you're half right..."
Well, anyway, while I'm there, I buy some recipe breads. All cooking, still.
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She turns back to her calculations, but then sighs.
"Darn, I'm in the red again..."
"Aw, I'm sorry to hear that."
"I just need to come up with a plan! Find me something good to sell, alright?"
R-right...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageK13_zps2bd95d4d.png
A surprising reaction!
Anyway, after that I go home, ship a few things, and plant my grass seeds. Then I head out into the desert, all the way to the settlement. http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageK14_zps3062da0e.png
"There are a number of travelling merchants who do business with us. They're all elves, monsters, and other non-humans. We trade with them for whatever the desert cannot provide."
That's...probably a lot, huh?
"Sounds like you've got life here figured out."
A faint smile touches Ondorus's face.
"Yes, I suppose we do."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageK15_zpsb69a2d27.png
You know, I don't think I've seen Kuruna look that carefree before -- normally, her smiles have a subtle, controlled quality to them. Is that the reserve of a leader, I wonder? Or just someone with a lot on her mind? It can't be easy to make a community out of so many different species...
"There are many monsters that live in the settlement."
"We're not racist like those savage Hornless. We welcome one and all to the settlement...Hornless excepted."
...How is that not racist?
Besides, well... I don't think all the residents of the town are exactly human, even if you don't count me.
I mean, heaven only knows what Sherman is...
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"Really?" So there might be ones with big beards, is what you're saying.
"Yeah, my tribe has silver eyes. You might not be able to tell at a glance."
"...So you've mentioned." Several times.
"Hmph! Pride's nothing to apologize for."
After my visit, I go training on old familiar grounds.
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I find a treasure chest, full of things!
...And decide to try populating my barn a little.
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"Here you go, big lady...Wanna head home with me? Um, not in a sleezy way. That probably sounds bizzare."
After a few apples, she seems to have accepted my offer.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageLDoNotCrop4_zps96263dda.png
For a name...A name, huh?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageLDoNotCrop5_zps842cd821.png
There we go! Well, it'll do for now.
“Let’s go home.”
”Moo.”
I’ll assume that’s a yes. I only speak wooly.
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I'M RIDING A BUFFAMOO! YIPPEE-KAY-AY!
I ride her to the inn where I take a bath.
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Look at that moon...
Well, I send her to the barn and go to work in the field.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%207/ImageM1_zpsa91ff809.png
After all, all my goals in terms of upgrades need lumber, and lots of it.
I do go check on her...When Gaius walks up.
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"Yep!...You're out late, though."
"I heard you rode a Buffamoo right into the inn, so I came to see."
"Uh...Heh heh..."
He sighs and shakes his head.
"You're just like Raven, Ramza. Monsters seem to like you guys for some reason."
Well, I know why they like me...But I wonder why Raven? She's very quiet, so that's probably soothing...
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"That's correct."
"All right. Well, today I'll teach you how to take care of monsters, then."
"Thanks!"
We both stand there for a second.
"But I'm bad at explaining things. I don't know where to start. So, um, what do you want to know?"
"Um...Let's see..."
Well, we break down a couple of topics. The most important thing is feeding monsters: not just fodder, but sometimes special treats or cooked dishes. If I do, they'll produce goods and be able to work the field. Two monsters can't work the same section of field, though.
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"What are they?"
"It's a Brush and Clippers. They're for taking care of your monsters."
"What are they for?"
"The brush helps you befriend monsters, and the clippers are from shearing wool from woolies."
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Just the word makes me break out into a cold sweat.
"Hm? You look like you're shaking, Ramza. Is something wrong?"
Ah! I almost let on too much!
"Oh, um...Isn't nothing..."
"Okay. Anyway, you should brush your monsters frequently. All monsters seem to enjoy a nice brushing. Oh, and here's some Grass for you, too."
"Thank you very much." This is sure to tide Alma over.
"Oh, and please tell Raven that I said thanks for all the help."
"Sure thing."
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She's already producing milk, which is just great! I'll be able to do a lot with this.
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ICE CREAM!
On this, happiest of all notes, I'm calling it a night.
Javan
2014-04-01, 09:15 PM
A fear of shearing, awesome.
Was that a random special event with Raven?
That was a request.
Some requests are 'bring me X,' but they can also be events, or taking characters to places. Raven's requests start off more involved than some other requests of equivalent level. But these sorts of requests are not random, and not repeatable.
(In case anyone keeping track with other LPs of mine, this is actually the last LP to updated since the forums went back up, so check on the other two if you haven't.)
Javan
2014-04-02, 08:10 PM
Okay,that makes sense.
I just started playing Rune Factory 4 myself, considered getting 3, but I didn't want the story to overlap.
The story doesn't really overlap, though I will say it's pretty hard going back to 3 after 4 -- the Rune Factory series is (I guess was) really good at adding quality of life upgrades through the series. ...Except maybe that RF4's way of seeing character events is mega-stupid.
I've been trying to review spouse options for, like, the last two in-game seasons.
Javan
2014-04-02, 08:36 PM
That's good, I want the LP to remain unsullied.
Even just having started playing, I can tell there are some really strange game mechanics, I already had to look up how the character events work and it just made me cringe when I thought about trying to get as many as possible.
MeatShield#236
2014-04-02, 08:47 PM
I've been playing Rune Factory 4 for a while now (thanks to this wonderful LP), but I'm still confused as to how events show up. Are there triggers for each one or do they show up randomly?
It's random. They won't, to my knowledge, spawn on days before festivals, birthdays, or festivals. You can save the night before, if there's an event the next day find it, and reload until it's the event you want.
Totally random. It's a total pain in the butt.
Oh, though some events have requirements before they can happen, even randomly. These are usually other events. GOSHDARNIT SMILE PRACTICE I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN NEXT TIME I PICK UP THE GAME.
Javan
2014-04-02, 08:53 PM
For RF4 they are random with the exception of the marriage events (events that allow you to marry). The marriage events have a pre-condition of three dates with your interest as well as having completed certain other random events.
Ninja'd
MeatShield#236
2014-04-02, 10:43 PM
Well that's... unfortunate. So I have to wait until an event happens, then savescum until I get the one I want? Bleh. Not sure why they couldn't have done it based on affection levels, especially because GOSH DARN IT XIAO PAI I HAVE YOU AT 11 HEARTS! AND I'VE BEEN DATING YOU FOR OVER TWO SEASONS! JUST TAKE THE DARN ENGAGEMENT RING!
Ogremindes
2014-04-03, 01:11 AM
I just beat the final act of RF4. Ragnarok was beaten more-or-less by chance, he didn't throw out any of his big "you're dead if you're caught by them" attacks. I quite liked the town event system myself, it feels much more natural than the RF3 requests. That said, it would've been nice if Memories had a guaranteed trigger, I think IRL weeks passed waiting for that to happen.
fizzmaister
2014-04-09, 11:01 PM
Just caught up on this LP and I have to say, you weren't kidding that everyone is mad here. The characters seem to be lacking your touch where you change your LPs into fanfics. I'll still be following along though.
Actually, while I'm delaying everything by trying to work out how to improve the LP: what do you guys want to see out of it?
Since it's been a while, and I'm trying out some things differently than I have been previously in this LP, I'm doing a short (1-day) update!
Chapter 8: A Field Of Flowers, A Mountain of Bones
This morning, I get up...
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And check in on Alma. She's doing well, so I figure I'll ask her to help me out at the bottom of my field.
That's where I have most of my crops right now -- I guess I need to work out how to organize them better for care by our efforts -- horizontally, not vertically, like I have been.
I like thinking about farm work. There's nothing complicated or existential about it.
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Your cabbages grow, and you pick them.
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You plant seeds while your buffamoo pushes you around so she can water things.
There's no place in it for questions like "Is there something I'm supposed to be doing?" or "Am I causing someone unhappiness, somewhere out there? Is someone waiting for me, hoping I'll show up, and they'd say 'welcome home,' but I haven't come, and maybe I'll never come home because I don't know what home is, oh god what am I doing here?"
...
...
That last one wasn't really much of a question, I'm sorry.
I'm fine, really. I'm not scared or worried, honest. I'm OK.
If you keep to a routine, you don't have to worry about things like that. So I get up, I check my mailbox...
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And, after mulling it over, I decide that I want to see what Shara has to show me.
As I left, a light rain began to fall. At least it'll help Alma with the watering.
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"But there's good stuff other than sleep that if you slept more, you'd miss out on, right?"
"...Maybe... But there's nothing better than relaxing."
Maybe that just bothers me because I'm kind of envious. Sometimes I think all this activity is the only thing keeping me from worrying.
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But at least I get to see a lot of people.
"Good morning, Shara..."
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"What?"
"Aren't you here because of my letter?"
"Yeah, but..." I sort of expected you to tell me where we're going before we go...
"Then let's go! ♪"
I guess I can't get her to tell me by hoping hard enough.
"Aren't you at least going to tell me where we're going first?"
"Nope! Tee-hee. It's a surprise!"
"Have you ever considered maybe I don't like surprises?"
"Ramza, everything's a surprise to you, isn't it? And you like lots of things, so you like lots of surprises. ♪"
...I feel like there's something wrong with this problem, but I can't think of how to word it...
"But for this one, we're going to head to Privera: Entrance! I'll give you more directions when we get there."
With a happy hum, she proclaims, "Let's go!"
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Walking with her, I get a sort of more solid sense of Shara than I usually get. I bet someone like her would be pretty good with magic...But not really fist-fighting; I mean, all she carries with her on the road is a watering can.
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"The meadow?"
I've never seen that before...
"Yeah, let's go."
Before we do that, though, I stop and say Hi to Daria; it's not likely I'll be back here today.
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"Y-yes...?" This conversation starter feels familiar...
"Your field... can I dye it a new color?"
"Uh..." Wait, wait, don't tell me...
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"Rainbow II? Wasn't the first rainbow color enough?"
"If I paint your field with it, it'll be a thousand times better! A blinding explosion of color!"
"Uh, I kind of need to be able to see my crops. Sorry."
"Well, that's simple; I'll paint your crops, too!"
"You'd have to be over there just about every day, Daria."
She thinks about that while contorting her mouth.
"While I'm not opposed to sacrificing for art...That project might make it harder for me to complete the rest of my work!"
"...And for me?"
She waves her hands.
"I'm sure beautiful artistic rainbow veggies would sell like hotcakes! You'd make millions under my artistic direction, dear assistant!"
"...Right. Well if it's not to be, it's not to be."
She deflates and pouts a little.
I dodged a bullet there. Now, about that meadow...
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Shara runs ahead of me, beckoning me out into the tremendous field of flowers.
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She all but leaps for joy as I stand, gaping. Are all these flowers just growing here? I can't believe I've ever seen something like this.
"We're here!"
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"Just look at all of these flowers!"
She twirls, kicking up a swirl of petals and rain.
"It's beautiful."
No, that feels...Somehow insufficient.
The air is full of the scent of the flowers, which rises up at me. For a moment, I feel some odd weight, like a reminder just out of reach, teased out by the smell. I could almost remember -- another day, another set of flowers -- but it's gone before I can speak.
"It's...Really wonderful. Thank you for bringing me here."
"Really? I'm so glad that you like it! I like to come here sometimes and give the flowers a little water."
So they're not entirely wild-grown, even if no one planted them.
"And...sometimes I talk to them too," she admits with a sheepish smile. "What I'm feeling, whatever I'm thinking about...I tell them everything.
I know they're just plants, and they can't understand what I'm saying. But talking to them somehow makes me feel better anyway."
I remember what Raven was saying before -- that flowers reflect the heart of the person who grows them. So these flowers, tended just for the love of them...
Arise with the color of her heart.
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"What?" She looks so surprised -- but that's hardly astounding.
"You've given them so much care and attention. Now wonder this field is full of beautiful flowers!"
"Thank you..." a big blush spreads across her face.
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She fidgets in place, trying to think of something to say. At last:
"Ramza...Have you remembered anything yet?"
"Well, I --" Shara is Wells' Granddaughter. If he's taught her any of his feelings about monsters... There's no person worse to tell what I was about to say.
The last thing I'd want is for someone like Shara to turn on me. The words go empty in my throat.
"...haven't. Nothing."
"I see...I'm sorry, Ramza. That must be scary."
I feel guilty, but what am I supposed to say? It's not as easy as showing someone a field of flowers...
"It's alright. I'm doing OK, and...I think I'll remember something. Eventually."
"I hope so. Good luck!"
We fall silent, looking over the flowers and the rain.
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"I'll walk you there."
"Oh, don't worry about it. We can save that for another date.♪"
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"Thank you for today. I'll see you soon.♪"
She runs off with a giggle.
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...
...
W-wait, was she being serious?!
About that being a...date?
Aaaah! With a rush of embaressment, I teleport home. Raven's standing nearby when I appear.
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"Oh, yeah."
Her expression is grave.
"...Because it's a monster?"
The question throws me off-guard.
"Huh...?"
"Never mind..."
Gaius said Raven likes monsters, right?...She probably thinks I was being a brute.
"Well, anyway, the answer's no. I heard he was causing trouble, that's why I said I'd handle it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageG2_zps8e512714.png
...But that's something I only say to her retreating back.
The bulletin board has a bunch of requests, but...
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This one catches my eye particularly. I like friendship.
Carmen passes by just then and sees the notice in my hand. She smiles.
"That's from Carlos, right? Good for you! It's a good man that my brother trusts."
"...A good man?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageI1_zps15814222.png
"But I still haven't found a guy better than my brother. It's a serious problem."
I also run into Sakuya running back into town, looking a little beaten up.
"What happened?"
"Monsters. Like always..."
"Like...always?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageI2_zps08ef8a00.png
"They always start chasing me whenever I have food with me..."
"Really?" File that under 'People it'd be a disaster to tell.'
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageI3_zps1191f1f4.png
"You can't just expect to steal food and get away with it!"
She just laughs and goes on.
To business...
I think I'd do good getting a workshop to make armor; I mean, I can't really use weapons in my wooly form.
Anyway, I go and ask Gaius about it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageI4_zpsbf31e0de.png
"Uh...When you feel like it...? When will that be?"
"Now."
"I thought so..."
I am sure it will be magically done when I turn around.
"It'll be done soon."
I head down to see Carlos next. The rain's gotten heavier.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageI5_zps6a41aa89.png
Uh...I wonder what it could be...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageI6_zpsebc8e21c.png
Oh, wow!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageI7_zps2035825c.png
Sometimes, I wonder what happened to my life that resulted in my having random men's arms shoved in my face like this.
Over the wall of his muscles, I mumble,
"Yes...They're pretty impressive, Carlos..."
I bet he even lifts, bro.
"Think of this as a toast to your first step into the world of fishing! Congratulations, Ramza! So from now on, I expect you to be a regular customer!"
"Heh...You're quite a salesman, Carlos!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageJDoNotCrop_zpsc8c12314.png
Free stuff!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageK1_zps8478323c.png
Get fit, brah.
Next up, the mansion...Where Sofia seems troubled by something.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageK2_zps941b4b5b.png
"A gold brooch. The size and shape seemed to randomly depict that black thing."
"Black thing...?"
What black thing would that be, anyway?
"It was so beautiful that it's been haunting my dreams..."
"You hands are shaking..." Even I'm not so thick I can't tell it's bugging her...
"Uh, I'll keep my eyes out for...um. that black thing....So cheer up, OK?"
She nods and braves a smile.
"That's the spirit."
Let's head to the diner; I want to learn some new recipes. I buy a bunch of recipe bread, most of it for accessories.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageK4_zps18a2a2b8.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageK5_zpsaf780066.png
These aren't all of them, but one of them even has a little extra! I guess he baked it with extra...Extra...
...
...
"What exactly is in recipe bread, anyway?"
"There are things you're better off not knowing, kid."
Riiight. Well. Since the inn's nearby, I drop by to see Pia...But she has a distant look on her face today.
"What's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing. Really, nothing. Or maybe something? I mean, if you can talk about nothing, it's something, right?"
"What is it?"
"...I just had a funny feeling, that all. A big family came by, and...That just makes me feel strange."
"A family?" Why would a family make her feel strange?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageK3_zps62e78eaf.png
"my chest starts to feel prickly." She laughs, but something about it seems desperate. "I wonder why?!"
...That's...actually really very sad to hear.
"I think that's called being sad, Pia."
"Why would I be sad? They're having a good time and enjoying the baths, too. Besides...
Things like that have nothing to do with me."
Is that so...
"Well, if you do decide you're feeling sad, I'd be willing to listen to what's bothering you, OK?"
That may be going too far, but... Pia's so cheery, it's kind of hard to imagine her feeling sad or lonely.
She giggles.
"Thanks! I think I feel a little better."
Well, I'm glad I can help.
...Still...I wonder about where someone as...unusual-looking as Pia comes from.
I go home to examine those recipes I got, and I see two I particularly want:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageLDoNotCrop1_zps27dd7947.png
A pair of gloves...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageLDoNotCrop2_zpsbf1b575c.png
And a new shield.
Of course, I don't have the materials for either, so I'll just have to be on the look-out!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageLDoNotCrop3_zps19f8420a.png
That's why I stop and mine on my way to the settlement, too.
When I arrive, I get a chance to ask something that's been on my mind for a while...
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"Will!"
She hushes him before he can continue screaming about how I only come up to Kuruna's waist.
"I'm sorry."
"Oh, no. That's okay." We sort of shuffle around.
"That he talks is kind of...surprising."
I'd question the ethics, but...There's Alma to think about -- it's not much more ethical for me to have her around, from I guess a half-monster's perspective.
"His sort of spirit commonly can learn a number of phrases, but having the foresight to learn when to use them...Is not a strength... Um, if I might be honest, comerade..."
"Yeah? Go ahead."
"I was more surprised when I heard you speak. It's...not exactly common for woolies to learn anything like a whole language, is it?"
Oh. Right. Shoot. Panic grows inside of me.
"Uh, well, that is..." I squirm about. Come up with something convincing! How would Dad have learned it? "...I'm not sure. To be honest...I don't remember anything from before, um, about a week ago."
"A week? And you're sure you're OK to wander around on your own like you are?"
This again?
"...Maybe not, but...I've found a place to settle, and I remember a little more than when I started, so..."
A sigh escapes her, and she looks at me sadly.
"Still...It is rather concerning to learn, comrade. I had many questions for you... But it seems neither of us has any answers. Oh, but...Speaking of memories... Please remember to see Zaid about that errand."
"I will."
Questions? Well, maybe I'll have an answer one day, Kuruna.
...Speaking of memories...
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"Their...memories...?" Could something like that have happened to me?
"Yes. It's actually a monster that eats the past of its reader."
...What a scary idea. Does the past cease to exist?
"It might just be a myth, but I'd still like to find out more about it. I'm always looking for information about it in my research."
"How would you fix something like that?"
"That's another thing I don't know anything more about. But if it interests you, I'll tell you what I find."
I doubt it's relevant, but it would be nice.
I go talk to Zaid, as promised.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageM5_zps992e63a9.png
"Yeah, I'm ready. Uh, what are we supposed to do?"
"A big complicated mess, that's what!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageM6_zpsa7dcf916.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageNDoNotCrop1_zps8dba894c.png
Zaid's a stronger warrior than I am...But he's also got the defenses of paper.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageNDoNotCrop2_zps6a21d1ad.png
Some of the monsters we fight drop some cloth for us to use; I'm pretty happy, since I was worried about making those gloves.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageNDoNotCrop3_zps99185a8b.png
Also, I regret not being able to change back and mine out these things. It's a tragedy.
"What's the problem? Quit staring at rocks. If I wanted to watch people stare longingly at rocks, I'd have lived with other dwarves."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageNDoNotCrop4_zps54a08180.png
Is that... a dragon skeleton?
"But we'll need to beat the monsters first."
"You got it. Alright, Ramza. Get to it!"
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"*sigh* ...Fine. I guess I'll help."
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THESE AREN'T CHESTS AT ALL! OW! THEY HURT~!
Once I calmed down from chest-related panics, we worked out a division of labor. Zaid kept the monsters off of me...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageNDoNotCrop8_zps7cb4914e.png
While I dismantled the local gates. Eventually, the place was empty.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageNDoNotCrop9_zpse7a04bcd.png
"Okay."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageNDoNotCrop10_zps838b8fab.png
"Found it?"
"I think so. Is this what we're looking for?"
"Bingo! Let's go take it to Kuruna!"
By the time we go back, the fireflies are out. I thought they needed more water...But there's definitely something shimmering in the air.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageO2_zpse933172c.png
"The cactus flower?"
"Yes, it's a flower that grows on a giant cactus southwest of here."
"And that's what we need to get? Alright, but...Can it wait until another day?"
"Of course, comrade."
"Wait, that's not what you told --"
"Shh. He's tired, so let him attend to his own affairs for now. Thank you, for when you can. I'll be counting on you, too, Zaid."
He puffs himself up like a courting bird.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageO3_zpsb945fdad.png
Zaid and I part ways after that, though.
Since I can't help her more, I feel bad...Maybe there's some other way I can help?
After a bit of searching, I find that that big thing the owl's sitting on has letters on it -- requests, of a sort. That's certainly handy.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImagePDoNotCrop_zps4c098ce4.png
Alright, I can catch fish!
"Kuruna, I think I can help with..."
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"...You mean about the fish, right?"
"Oh, yes. Of course. That's duty as well, if you choose to accept it."
"Uh, sure. You know me! For the settlement!" The sound of my own nervous laughter echoes the oasis. I've already had one close call today...
"Excellent. So, we're running out of fish in the settlement."
"...Well, we ARE in the middle of a desert. Not exactly an ample supply of ponds!"
"Indeed. Summer fish are about the only option."
"Makes sense." I noticed that with crops, too. "But you'd like a more diverse selection than that?"
"We univir once had access to entire rivers and oceans of fish. I need to recapture that proud history."
"Is history really in something like fish?"
"Well, H-History is in all things, comrade."
Impressive...
"I want fish from seasons other than summer. Spring Masu Trout, fall Pike, and winter Pond Smelt. Could I ask for these 3?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageQ2_zps60601812.png
Where will I get all of these? ...No, Kuruna's been so nice to me. I can't let her down.
"But I think I can manage it. I won't disappoint you."
If there's a place with summer fish in Spring, then surely, elsewhere there might be other fish?
"I wish you luck, comrade. Our proud settlement awaits news of your success."
"And you'll get it!"
Alright, let's head North where the road forks, see where that takes me...
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Brrrrr.
It's cold here, with the river almost freezing. I bet we can get winter fish here!
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageRDoNotCrop2_zps9c1e77c0.png
Wooh! Caught it one!
Now, to find some fall fish... There's only one other way out of town, so if that's not it, that's all:
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It's out beyond Sherman's mansion, and I've never had a reason to go there...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageS2_zps0a6a73ae.png
But the valley, with a breeze blowing orange leaves down, the air cool and smelling of frequent rain and its wet soil...
It seems like a good candidate.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageTDoNotCrop1_zps6b7fec4d.png
No fish here, and I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be tangling with these guys... Let's just move along.
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To a cave where all the water is full of fish. Looks like we have a winner!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageTDoNotCrop3_zps40be4e39.png
And the first fish I pull is the sought-for pike.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageTDoNotCrop4_zps9f2d77eb.png
I do, though, stay and catch some fish for me, like Salmon and mackeral!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageU1_zps9b8a554a.png
And that's all of them; I'll bring them to her first thing tomorrow.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageU3_zps4cf58c86.png
Further fishing goes...less well.
I go home, cook up some supplies,
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and store some goods:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%208/ImageVDoNotCrop2_zpsb4dd6f95.png
I've got plans for many of these.
There's only a few hours left in the day, but I use them to ship and do a bit of logging before going to bed.
Edit: Actually, while I'm at it... Let's re-poll about who people would like me to do requests for first.
Because now I have a bunch and can't decide.
Javan
2014-04-16, 05:57 AM
Nice update.
Request Poll:
Raven
Zaid
Karina
Dragoon
2014-04-17, 01:03 PM
Oh enjoyed the update especially seeing Ramza's thoughts.
Hmm on the votes,
Ondorus
Sofia
Raven
I wouldn't worry too much for settlement villagers: requests you take on the owl don't count as a bulletin board of letter requests, so they're not competing with the others. I can basically just cycle through the three of them as their requests emerge.
erikun
2014-04-17, 02:57 PM
Kuruna
Raven
Pia
...it seems like we can hardly agree around here. :smalltongue:
Sallera
2014-04-17, 03:14 PM
Well, that's only natural, with so many flavours of madness. :smalltongue:
Pia
Shino
Daria
fizzmaister
2014-04-22, 03:18 AM
Raven, Gaius, and Shara. They seem like the most interesting (read: least crazy) characters in the town.
Alright, so, this and my other updates might be a little delayed, because I seem to have hit upon some unusual (for me) mode of stress and need to chill the heck out for a bit. I have been working on an update, I just kind of need to step away from feeling the need to do a bunch of things, or possibly anything, until I calm down a bit.
Javan
2014-04-27, 04:01 PM
No worries Deme.
We are not going anywhere.
Take all the time you need.
Chapter 9, Part 1: Your Loathsome Face
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My shortest crops are in today for a quick replant... It's raining, so there's not much for Alma to do -- I guess that's pretty lucky for her, right?
I want to plant some more crops later today, but first...
I should probably go give those fish to Kuruna, before I do anything else. It's just going to sit uncomfortably in my day, even if I have to come back later.
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I hand off the rest of the fish, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageA3_zps24e7a9a2.png
"Oh, I'm always more than happy to help the settlement! You've been so nice, after all, and it's got its own troubles, too."
"It didn't used to be like this..."
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"Isn't scarier, worse monsters a more likely answer? I don't think you can blame --"
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"Their hands are red with the blood of slaughter!"
Kuruna's composure disintigrates into pure fury, and I feel a cold chill creeping up my paws, like it's actively sucking the warmth from the desert.
"But don't you need some proof of --"
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"Their steps are opression, their breaths are disaster, their hearts beat to war drums! They leave the toilet seat up, even the women! And --"
The humans she percieves...The monsters Wells percieves...They're the same.
I flinch back, and try to smooth things over.
"I'm sorry. I, uh, didn't realize they were so vicious."
At that, the anger drops out of her, and she shakes her head sadly.
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"I didn't explain the Hornless' malevolent nature clearly enough. I thought their misdeeds were obvious to all."
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When Kuruna's thinking of the settlement, she seems so elegant and proud... She seems almost motherly, and kind...
It's like a difference of night and day.
"If you remember nothing else I tell you, I ask that you remember this."
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"Even if the Hornless did not perpetrate this particular injustice, they are evil. Never forget that, comrade."
She drew up a hand and placed it close to her heart, examining me carefully, trying to draw out whether or not I understood it. I don't believe her... But what am I supposed to do but nod?
"Someone like you, whose exotic features the hornless would fear or covet..."
Exotic? Well, I guess blonde wool isn't common exactly... But I'd hardly think of myself as exotic-looking.
"You must beware those Hornless barbarians, comrade."
"I...Understand." No, I don't. I don't.
...But what am I supposed to say? I don't want to make her mad.
She nods.
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"But the struggle against the Hornless will not end in a day. I will have more trials for you at a later date, comrade."
"...I'll, uh, be sure to come back then."
I am a filthy liar. I'm sorry, Kuruna...
I just don't understand you at all.
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Well, the reward is nice...
While I'm sighing over this, I catch Kuruna staring at something with her hand on her heart, leaning forward onto her toes just a little, as if she was about to take flight.
I followed her gaze over the desert cliffs to a bright pink bundle off in the distance, rising up over a little town.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageA16_zps667d4c04.png
"It is the symbol of the region."
"Is it an old tree?"
"Yes, according to legend, people here gathered around it. Runes gathered around it, too -- the legends say it grows from the heart of the world. It might have been here since the beginning."
"...The...Beginning?" She does not, or cannot, answer my question. But a heavy sigh leaves her.
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She says it too low to hear clearly, but I think that was it.
"What was that?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageA18_zpsbdc37fcc.png
"I'm sorry, I just remembered I had to do something."
"???"
Oh, well. I teleport home and transform, prepared to go about an ordinary day.
Thank goodness for teleporting, or I'd never have time to go to the settlement and back.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageBDoNotCrop_zps4eb02987.png
Sakuya has a request for me in my mailbox. I kind of wish these were more exact... Well, I haven't shipped anything, so I might be good to go.
I head over to see her first, so I can know where to go. And it's close, anyway.
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"Yes."
"Good. I wanted you to get me some Bamboo Shoot. One of my customers said he's never had it before."
She smiles brightly. "You have to keep the customer happy, even if it means taking a custom order sometimes!"
"Then could you find me some cloth?" I want those gloves!
"I'll see what I can do, but I can't make any promises. But bamboo shoots are all over your field, so it's an easy bit of extra value provided!"
...How devious.
"Bamboo Shoot? Yeah, okay."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC2_zps585d4045.png
...What?
When did this become a quiz?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC3_zps28129a1f.png
"You dig it up, of course."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC4_zps0784c3f5.png
"Well, thanks for doing this for me."
Actually...I have one right now. Like she said, they sprout out of the fields nearly nightly.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC5_zpsfa1ee8e6.png
"You've proven that you can be counted on."
"Oh, it wasn't much..." This was a test?
"Reputation is everything to a merchant or supplier -- or even a customer, if you think about it. You'll do things for a regular you might not do for someone who may not return. If you're going to be in the business, you need to build a reputation for dependability!"
...What sort of work does she think farming is?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC6_zpsdcb6fe8f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC7_zpsac6875d4.png
Well, let's see...She's laid out 3 boxes, each carved of wood and inlaid with an unusual pattern. They each smell strongly, whether it's their woods or their contents or their perfumes, I can't say.
Hmm...
"How about the sweet-smelling one?" I gesture to the box on my left.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC8_zpsc557da4c.png
"Different souvenirs... You really do go a lot of different places." I wonder if any of these boxes are from somewhere I've been?
"Well, it is my job. You have to travel around, getting to know the different places." Then she nods her head and laughs, "Although, I pretty much love to travel."
"Ha ha..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageC9_zps5d00fbb4.png
A souvenir of this town...It's kind of an interesting notion. You don't often think about souvenirs from where you live.
"You're welcome. Just let me know if you need anything."
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Jam!
I run into Evelyn outside of the Inn, fresh from a bath.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE1_zps968b7545.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE2_zpsf0370ba4.png
I bet, but... Well, she understands that because she's family.
"Maybe I'll hire you as a translator."
And I find the subject of that little conversation enjoyinh lunch...A safe distance away from her father's zone of consumption.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE3_zpsea9376e1.png
"Weird?"
Uh...Uh...
Oh, gosh, she wants me to answer that...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE4_zps0726c7fc.png
What do I say, what do I...
"Nah, you're interesting."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE5_zps7f4cfea6.png
I think that's good, right? She's definitely smiling. Does she make opposite faces, too?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE6_zps82cd7dce.png
...Best of luck to you. You'll need it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE7_zpsff509676.png
"Yeah, I know what you mean...I'm happy I came here, too." Even if it wasn't intentional. Or explicable.
And my daily stock of recipe bread:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE8_zps052896a0.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE9_zps0d27a087.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE10_zpsc8854dde.png
I met Pia on the road, singing a song about baths. Nothing about baths in particular, just baths, baths, baths, repeated with different notes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE11_zps73340a25.png
"That's right! I do love baths! They're absolutely good!"
"Huh...I guess I like them, too."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageE12_zpsd4174a57.png
"What?! How?!" If I were any less forward, I'd be going in reverse!
Well, some mysteries will have to remain unsolved. On the bulletin board today is...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageFDoNotCrop1_zps80326578.png
A message from an even more mysterious girl.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageFDoNotCrop2_zps12e7e319.png
Before I tend to that, I do some shopping for extra seeds.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageFDoNotCrop3_zpse8eabffe.png
And I buy a brand new tool!
And stop by to get some cologne, too.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG2_zps6e6c2e7b.png
"What does that even mean?"
"I'm not sure. That's what Gransfather called it. It must be some old expression."
I'm going to try using it! It'll be the bee's knees!
...Nevermind. That sounds dumb.
Let's just go see Sofia.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG3_zps48921233.png
"So, which is it? Do you want to eat or not?"
"I [color=red]don't wish to eat!""
Why make a request, then? Well, Sofia will be Sofia...
"Alright, then, I'll just be going --"
"That's why I requested you bring me something to eat! Oh, but it must be something cooked or prepared!"
"Wait, what?!"
...That contradicted what she just... If she's going to speak in opposites, can't she just do it all the time?!
No, it's no good getting worked up...
"So... you WANT to eat, then?"
"No!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG4_zpsbab7c8da.png
At this point, I'm almost laughing. It's like juggling water on quicksand.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG5_zpsdbebb13e.png
Evelyn comes stomping over, eyebrows furrowed and finger waving in our faces.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG6_zps059193ee.png
Sofia flinches backwards. Her haze dips ground-ward and she bites her lip.
"I don't understand."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG7_zps3e8f63e4.png
"I'm sorry, Ramza. I'm sure you hate having to listen to my sister's babbling."
After a brief glance at the despondant-looking girl behind me, I smile and answer,
"No, it's okay. It's my fault, too, for not being able to follow... I mean, no matter how you look at it, understanding's a two way street."
There's a sharp intake of breath, like half a gasp, behind me. Sofia wobbles like a newborn fawn, her lavender eyes big and open. When she sees I'm looking at her, she turns her head away sharply.
...Uh, did I do something wrong?
"So...What does she want me to do, exactly?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG8_zpse232d97e.png
"That's simple enough." I turn back to face her. "So I just need to bring you something cooked, Sofia?"
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"I don't think you needed to berate me like that!" Or...uhh....compliment me, I guess. That's high (low) praise...
"But I'll bring you what you, uh, 'don't want.'"
She claps politely. I actually do have some cooked food on me -- specifically, I never leave home without bamboo rice. Hopefully, that'll be enough for an elegant-if-eccentric lady.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG10_zps1c8dd455.png
"Absolutely not!"I'm utterly famished!"
"So...I guess I did a good job, then?"
She nods. I'm getting the impression...That it might just be better to read her body language than her words.
"Here's a reward for your troubles!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG11_zps13b772fd.png
Wow, that's a lot of money!
"I thank you profusely," she says with a cheery smile, which means she's definitely thanking me.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG13_zps34e17c81.png
Evelyn laughs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG14_zps7420b039.png
Oh. That...Might have been a bit loaded for my introductory phase.
"Oh, duh! Okay, see ya again soon!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG15_zpsb0658ac7.png
"I really hope that's the opposite-speak talking..."
Uh, what is the opposite of beating someone with a rusty hoe, anyway?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG16_zpse832c6cf.png
I step outside -- the sun is peaking out through the clouds, the sky is clearing, and I replay that last conversation over again in my head, until I realize...
She called me "loathesome."
...
...D-does....Does Sofia think I'm cute?
...No one's ever thought I was cute before.
Probably.
I run home, cook my turnips, and ship my cooked items. Then I head out towards the forest, to see Daria...And to do a few other things.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG17_zps8db1db32.png
"You're welcome!"
"...What for?"
"...Nevermind."
Actually...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageG18_zps6f60ef4c.png
I's like some company for what I'm doing next. Looking for plain cloth!
"...Oh, Okay."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageHDoNotCrop1_zpsf542b94f.png
...She really does use a hammer...
And off we go into the woods.
"While I'm out this way, I want to plant some strawberries."
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There. The spring climate of this area makes it perfect for growing strawberries basically until the end of time.
"Excellent taste, my dear assistant!"
"...Taste in what, exactly?"
"The bright green of the leaves! The bright red of the strawberries! The texture of strawberry jam splattered on a canvas!" Daria swoons into her hands. "But that's my assistant for you! I can't wait to have some of the material you'll make for my work!"
"...Wait, you use jam as paint?"
"Who wouldn't? It's so shiny and colorful, and the texture is at times smooth and at time globby, for a variety of uses! It's not enough for paint to add color, it has to add weight!"
How heavy does that make your canvases, though?
"...Doesn't that attract, like, flies?" Though judging by some parts of her house, I doubt hygene is a big concern, and she just waves me off.
"The flies can be a statement," she says haughtily.
"...About what?"
"Annoying things! Like this line of questions. Come, my assistant!"
She charges onward, leaving me hurry after her.
Since I want cheap cloth, we'll mostly be fighting orcs. Now, Daria's not really agressive, but she'll swing her hammer around when I'm getting beaten on, and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageHDoNotCrop3_zps69dc6a95.png
Sometimes she does this. Just fires off a rainbow. It doesn't seem to do anything, but maybe if she was better with magic?
Not that it really matters to Daria, who just happily summons rainbow after rainbow, yelling about how her attacks are "marvelous" or "artistic."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageHDoNotCrop5_zps83d4fb41.png
After a while and some moving about, though, we finally find our target:
"At last, cheap cloth!"
"Oh, going into textile projects? They're really fun, since you get to make rainbows of both color and texture! It's sublime!"
"...Something like that. Thanks for helping me get it, Daria."
"Any time. It's very rare I get asked to help someone...We'll have to do this again, but not now. For now, I must depart!"
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And she dashes off back towards her house.
Well, I need to be getting back to mine.
I teleport home and rush upstairs...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageHDoNotCrop7_zps10f582b1.png
I finally have the ingredients for my first crafting project!
Um, let's see...Some stitched here and you cut it like this, and how exactly am I expecting this to be useful to me as a wooly? Oh, well, I'll just fudge it a little and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageHDoNotCrop8_zpsc303029d.png
Presto! Gloves!
It was still early enough that I could go take a bath...So I figured that'd be what I should do.
At least before going back and checking my soil with my new magnifying glass to see where to plant my new seeds.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageI1_zpsa0eee81e.png
Yeah, this looks good, then!
I lay them out, happy to have some more money to come in. Now, what next...? Probably do some logging.
I log straight until midnight, seeking out every wood in the field. Surely I'll have enough for a forge soon, right? Surely?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageI2_zpsc7692d5b.png
...Oh, that is it. THIS FIELD SHALL BE A WOODLESS VOID, WHERE NO LOG MAY REST! BY THE MONSTER BLOOD IN MY VEINS, I WILL BE A MONSTER UNTO ALL LOGS!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageI3_zps50d17953.png
Yaaay.
The next day, I check up on Alma on our way out...
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She looks worn out.
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"Alma, you can rest for a while, OK?"
"Moo."
I don't speak buffamoo. Sorry.
We could maybe do with some extra help here...I'll have to see about that.
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We have moondrop flowers in today, as well as a couple of cabbage. I'll be sure to save a flower for ingredients.
I cook and ship what I can, as usual...
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And check my mail. I wonder where Karina might want to go?
She wasn't at the item shop, which is where I'd expect her...Maybe I'll find her elsewhere, I guess. But first, the flower shop!
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A smile? Monica's not menacing me? Success!
"Did you get her a gift?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK2_zpsa355fbce.png
...That was short-lived.
"Hrmmm... I'll let you get near my sister today. But only today!"
Actually, she didn't answer my question. Did she forget?
"Really? How generous." Hopefully, she won't detect that sarcasm.
"But you'd better give her something she loves!"
"Okay."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK3_zps86c5a26d.png
I do have some flowers...Well, alrighty!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK4_zps355bfd89.png
"You must be proud; she's a very nice young woman."
This causes him to narrow his eyes, but then he relaxes and laughs.
"I feel so happy, but a little sad, too. It's a complicated feeling."
He pauses in reflection, his eyes a little misty. His little girl growing up...I can't imagine that feeling. I can just wonder if my parents are alive, or what...
"Although she's a bit too hard on Monica."
...She's not hard enough.
I head upstairs to see her, to the room where I woke up...
Actually, I haven't found the chance to ask Shara about that.
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"Actually, yes. I got you a flower I grew."
And not a weed, like usual. Not like she'd notice the difference.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK5_zps3233fe79.png
"You grow beautiful flowers, Ramza. I'm so happy to see them coming out of the Sharance Tree's land."
Next is the forge...
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"In fact, I don't think my shop would've lasted a week without her running the business side of things! Ha a ha ha!"
Oh, so theirs is a business partnership...? But Gaius would definitely need someone like that...
"I don't think that's an exagerration."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK8_zps5a40d296.png
"Anyway, I want to build a forge!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK9_zpse679d84c.png
"Which is right now, of course."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK11_zpsced9a536.png
...That's...a lot of recipe bread.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK12_zps59ac6aee.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK13_zpsef453962.png
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK16_zps7d06f530.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK17_zps9c98fc01.png
That's a lot of knowledge, just plopped into my brain. But that'd cover all the basic weaponry...And then some.
Anyway, I think that's enough for now.
Upstairs, Raven's looking at a beautiful pendant in the shape of a cherry blossom.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK18_zpsd8d74feb.png
"Yes..."
"It's shaped like a flower! That's pretty neat!"
She looks away and blushes. Her hands twine around the ends of her long red hair.
"It's for Shara...It's her birthday today..."
"Oh, that'd look great on her! I hope you get the chance to drop it off."
Speaking of dropping things off, I do sort of have to see where Karina is...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK19_zps6fc96b9d.png
Where she is is standing by the shore. The rain's falling on her lightly, her eyes fixed on the ripples spreading across the lake. Something about her normally drooping posture is different today -- she's standing straighter, her arms drawn inward from the chill. Her mouth's turned downward a little, and her eyes seem...Almost sad. She closes them, and then she looks, um, properly like Karina again, I guess.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK21_zps196a0eb6.png
"Um, I'm here about your job request?"
"Oh...right...(What was that request about again?)"
"Uh, it sounded like you wanted to go somewhere...Uh, any of this ringing a bell?" I try to ease her back into doing...Whatever we were supposed to be doing.
"Oh, that's right." She turns her head and doesn't look at me when she speaks again. "Actually, I think it's time for me to leave this town."
"Oh, okay."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK22_zpsc6219d33.png
"I'm running away. I'm done being here."
"Whoa. Uh, isn't this a little sudden?"
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"What?"
"I made up my mind a long time ago. (One week, actually.)"
I sigh.
"Is that right...?" I guess her relationship with her mom isn't good, so that might be part of it...
"You're from out of town...(So you understand, right?)"
"I'm not sure I count, really." After all, I don't remember it. Anyway, maybe I lived in a small town like this one. Or maybe I lived in a big, crowded city...
Someone like me living in a city might be hard, though. It's easy for me to find isolated places where I can transform, because there's so much space and so few people here. In a city...It might be hard finding a less crowded space, and being a monster would call more attention... If I lived somewhere like that...
I must have been...I don't know the word. Lonely, maybe. When there's a part of yourself you can't express...That's sort of lonely, isn't it?
She disregards this.
"But I guess we should go hear what Evelyn has to say first."
"What? Why Evelyn...?"
"Well, she knows the most about the city."
A hint of dreaminess arises from the stoic landscape of Karina's face. "I'll bet there are tons of people like her in the city. People who have fun jobs and only work when they feel like it..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK24_zps73d50063.png
Isn't Evelyn rich just by being Sherman's daughter, though?
"Uh, I think Evelyn gets to live like that because she was born rich. I don't think growing up in the city had anything to do with it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK25_zpsb8a6bfff.png
She rejects my reality and subsitutes her own.
"Oooookay..."
"Anyway, can you just find Evelyn for me? We can talk after that."
"What? You're not coming...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK26_zps0b0bb273.png
That feels kind of like BS to me.
*Sigh*
Before I go do that, I'm going to stop by the apothecary...I feel like this will give me a headache.
When I arrive, Marian's got a perplexed look on her face.
"What's got your puzzler puzzed today?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK27_zps76ac2a74.png
"Collette told me the same thing when I accidentally gave her a paralyzing agent instread of some medicine..."
"I...I see..." Uh, does someone really need lessons in empathy? "Well, what that means is, to think about how you'd feel if someone gave you paralyzing agents?"
"But I'd know it's for the good of medicinal science! I'd be thrilled!"
"Ah. Well." I rubbed my head. "What if you, uh, didn't know that?"
"I see! I should explain all the good I'm doing! Thanks!"
...
...I didn't help anyone at all. I'm sorry, Collette...
But it's good to know she at least means well.
I check for Evelyn at her home, but she's not there. Instead, I find her heading home from the Inn.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK28_zpsb1c9ccd3.png
She laughs devilishly.
"Oh, are you asking me out on a date?"
Uh, uh, uh... I'm embaressed already...
"Not exactly. It's a bit difficult to explain. It'd be better if you just came with me."
"Oh, so it's a surprise?"
"Well, it sure was a surprise to me..."
She laughs in spite of how I'm sweating.
"Sounds exciting!"
Phew. This is getting really strange.
"I'm glad you're being a good sport about this."
"Oh, it's no problem. I like a little mystery!"
"Ha ha..."
*sigh*
Karina...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK29_zpsd5151a81.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK30_zps02ec848d.png
Evelyn smiles.
"I guess you're my surprise today."
"Uh, sure...(What?)"
I shrug at her. Her face grows grave.
"Anyway, Evelyn, I was thinking about moving to the city."
"The city? Which one?"
Karina shakes her head.
"It doesn't matter, as long as it's a city. Anyway, I was wondering what kind of clothes I should wear."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK31_zpsfb594516.png
...*That's* what she wanted to know?
"Yeah. Why?"
That's the least important thing I could think of! Where's she gonna live? What work's she going to do? The city's a different culture entirely, and--
Calm down. Calm down. Concern's all well and good until it ends in yelling.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK32_zps923fb8d7.png
"You're a little strange. Anyway, what do you think, Evelyn?"
Evelyn steps back and her eye pans up and down Karina's body.
"Let's see..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK33_zpsec8bf200.png
"What? I can just have it?"
"Of course."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK35_zps4475f308.png
"Great!"
"She just gives her clothes away? It really is just a hobby for her..."
I mumble as I follow after them.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK36_zpsd6cfe1e7.png
"Curry...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK37_zpsb18e325b.png
I don't understand fashion...
She picks out a dress on a hanger.
"This one, then."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK38_zps418e1044.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK39_zps3f2b59d5.png
Both girls turn towards me with expectant stares.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK40_zps5fbef60c.png
That go right over my head.
"Ramza..."
"What?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK41_zpsc47d0ab3.png
Eep!
"Oh, sorry...!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK42_zpsa3ff4117.png
I retreat a safe distance away, when I hear them talking.
"What?!"
"In a good way, of course."
"Oh. (Phew.)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK43_zps05777062.png
"Ow, hey! Let me get out of it before you start sewing!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK44_zps662bfa81.png
Other people's half-heard conversations are...Well, they're something.
"Oh, sorry. I got a little carried away."
"It's...okay. (It'll heal, I guess.)"
"Hee-hee. Anyway, it's done! Here you go. Oh, it's perfect!"
"It really is. This is amazing. Ramza, come take a look!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK45_zps1f6ee3a8.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK46_zpsd40eb2a3.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK47_zps49ad16d8.png
In rough terms, what she was wearing was like her usual clothing...In broad strokes. But where there had been lace there were painted dandelion greens and half-worn flowerpetals, the fabric glittering...something that was totally unrecognizable -- I thought maybe fish skin -- tidied and nearly coated in gleam and glitter.
"It's just...Wow. (In every way.)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK48_zps6bc111b4.png
So now I understand how Evelyn designs.
"Ha ha... Karina, you really think you need...something like this, to go to the city?"
"City people are much more...sophisticated than people out here. (Something like that.)...Anyway, I'm not done yet."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK49_zpsd6537145.png
She takes out the pendant I'd brought her the other day.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK50_zpsf98002cf.png
"Oh, yeah. I borrowed it from Sofia. You made it, right?"
"Yes."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK51_zps8ef5b6cf.png
...
"Right, Ramza?"
Uh, when was this?
"Oh, I remember the pendant. I didn't know you broke it, though."
"Hm..."
"Anyway, thanks, Evelyn. Let's go, Ramza."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK52_zps6ccb3af8.png
I chase after her. This isn't how you plan to move! Er, run away! Whichever!
"Bye bye!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK53_zps992e53ac.png
"Wait, Karina..."
She holds up a hand as a barrier.
"Don't try and stop me."
"Wow. I've never seen you this motivated before." If only she had a non-terrible idea to be motivated over.
"...Even I have some feelings about some things. (Mostly, just boredom.)"
Maybe I underestimated her, all along...
"I only have one question..."
"What?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK54_zpsae53697c.png
"..."
I wish I knew. If I did...Would I find someone there? Would I still be stuck, but in a different place...?
"If you find out, can you tell me?"
"Oh, you want to run away, too? ...See, you understand just fine."
"That's not it. I...I might have already been running away."
Outside the bubble of this town...What's out there for me? 'My' life only exists inside this town. My past only exists outside of it...Staying here, I don't have to worry about the past if I don't want to.
But that's definitely running away from what I might find. So I do need to find the city, too.
"...But this is the first time you've even asked about that."
"Uh. Yeah. I guess you're right..."
I sigh.
"Thanks in advance, Karina."
"...Well, I still need to ask (I'll get around to it...Eventually.)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageK55_zpsf680a442.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageLDoNotCrop_zpsb04cf23c.png
After that bit of exhaustion, I want an easy request. Getting a snack for Collette can't be hard, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM1_zpsccf51e17.png
"Sure did!"
"Good! This shouldn't be a difficult errand for you!"
That's what I'm counting on.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM2_zpse4d20722.png
"I could really use a tiny snack. Just a nibble!"
...How big is a Collette-sized snack, anyway?
"I think I can handle that. What do you want?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM3_zpsd68d4a70.png
"3?! That's not a 'nibble!'"
That's a meal!
She just laughs, like she was expecting that.
"Says you! It is to me!"
"I wonder what it'd take to make you feel full..." A one-person locust swarm...
"Anyway, I'll take care of it! 3 Rice."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM4_zpsc77aca2a.png
While I'm there, I buy some recipe breads, including a new type: the Farming Bread!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM5_zps754ae0a8.png
Not an upgrade, but it could be useful.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM6_zps0e7ca813.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM7_zps49af2cc2.png
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM9_zps3ebd4f37.png
Since I'm running by it anyway, I head into the inn. Sakuya's in a sort of contemplative mood today, tracing little G signs on the desk in front of her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM10_zps2e728dd5.png
...This is starting to sound like one of those dirty sort of reveries. It's not that kind of inn, is it?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM11_zpsb74b4036.png
By that logic, aren't ships that pass in the night connected? While it's true they can connect, and may have a memory in common...I'm not sure I'd qualify that as a connection in a real sense.
"Isn't that amazing to think about?"
I shrug, but she continues, heedless of my lukewarm reaction. Which...actually, I like that better. It's interesting to listen to Sakuya talk about her passions.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM12_zpsa48951df.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageM13_zps75af1dfe.png
What would that gain? We're already neighbors...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageNDoNotCrop_zps80e59355.png
I go and quickly buy the rice...
Only to find that Collette had left the restaurant. So I naturally started tearing up the town to find her... When I realized she's probably with Marian.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageO1_zpsec09a9c6.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageO2_zps18d33783.png
Delivery made!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageO3_zpsd33373e3.png
There aren't words for the sound her ploughing into 3 bowls of rice simultaneously made -- it was a great crunching rumbling, like an earthquake tearing up land.
"Guess she was right about that being a "tiny nibble" after all. She tore right through that!"
"Done! You're a life-saver! Thought I was gonna starve for a sec there!" She flexed backwards in tilting her head up, finger on her rice-laden lips, her whole posture gone into thinking. Then she snapped back with a smile.
"Hey, you grow veggies, right? I'm sure you could use this for when I -- er, I mean, YOU get hungry!"
She bobbed up and down happily.
"Well, it won't be long till I'm hungry again! Ta-ta till then!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageO4_zps24a7186d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageO5_zps00dfaf85.png
This is running on the long side, so look below for the rest!
Chapter 9, Part 2: Setbacks
After that, it wasn't long until it was time to head out to the settlement.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageO6_zpsd046189b.png
My cucumbers were grown, which was nice indeed.
Anyway, today I'd like to try and help out Kuruna some more!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageO7_zpsbda1751d.png
"I'm ready!"
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Southwest, Southwest...Alright.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImagePDoNotCrop1_zps000b7792.png
OH SWEET MERCY THAT IS A BIG THING! THAT IS TOO BIG FOR ME TO THINK AT A NORMAL VOLUME RUN!
After more running, we hit the place where the cactus flower might bloom...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImagePDoNotCrop2_zps681dbb4e.png
And more enemies. And the plants that rise up and try to eat you.
...This is a bizzare desert.
I immediately bee-line for the gate.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImagePDoNotCrop3_zps0e994a5b.png
And recall something about fighting in this shape.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImagePDoNotCrop5_zps45b9d758.png
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImagePDoNotCrop7_zpsd039e822.png
These big guys hit like airships! I need to retreat and heal and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImagePDoNotCrop8_zps6557c057.png
And...
"Can't...Go...On..."
And that's how I ended up collapsing in the middle of a desert.
...And the next thing I knew...
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I was in human form in the apothecary.
"How did I...end up here?"Is Zaid OK? No, I can't ask about Zaid. I'll just have to trust he's OK.
"A traveller carried you here."
Oh, shoot, if I transformed while unconcious, does Zaid know?
"You need to be more careful."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageQ2_zps60d73bba.png
Well, at least it's not a lot.
I clearly need to be stronger if I'm going to help Kuruna...
And I need better equipment. I have the materials, so I should forge that shield.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageRDoNotCrop2_zps9df9fea7.png
At first, it's hard going; I don't know much about making shields, after all... But I do get the hang of it. Eventually.
Luckily for me, even when I fail, I can just clean off the materials and try again. I wish cooking worked like that.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageRDoNotCrop3_zps6b1a82e7.png
Yes! This is my second crafted item!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageRDoNotCrop6_zpsaee362b1.png
I also make a sword. Not because I really want a sword, but just for practice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageS1_zpsa3774edf.png
And to learn a little bit more about forging, of course.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageTDoNotCrop1_zps7128004f.png
I also learn to make Pickles (It's the same as pickling turnips, but with cucumbers)...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageTDoNotCrop2_zps07bb35a1.png
And how to juice a tomato I found in the desert (easier than juicing apples, level with juicing oranges).
Then I take an evening bath...And go out to do some fishing.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageU1_zpsf8527a87.png
I do some fishing in that little area where I caught that autumn fish; they're plentiful there and very high-quality, even if I have to dodge monsters to get to it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageU2_zps591b9d0c.png
And some of these are just really big! Look at this thing!
I do a little training in the desert, but nothing I'd call remarkable.
...I feel like my progress is stalling, but there's really not much more I can do than try a little harder each day.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%209/ImageU3_zpscebce9d9.png
Well, we'll hope for the best tomorrow.
Qwertystop
2014-05-03, 09:18 PM
So Daria just sprays rainbows everywhere? Do they actually do something non-obvious?
She also hits things with her hammer... My guess is that it's a magical attack, but since her magic attack is 0, it doesn't do any damage, and we'd need to equip her with some magic-boosting gear to see results.
Javan
2014-05-04, 04:36 PM
Story progress, all right.
And additional personality, I like it.
Dragoon
2014-05-06, 10:42 PM
Yeah, some more story and characterization, it will be interesting to see how our dwarf 'friend' is going to react. Also, got lucky at the nearby used store and found the game there.
Chapter 10: Skelefang
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageA1_zpsf23951aa.png
It takes a good while to water all my crops myself; I guess I'd already forgotten, even though Alma's only been with me for a little while. I need to rectify this.
Still, there's morning left when I get this letter from Raven.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageBDoNotCrop_zpsbda0fb13.png
This is the first time I've seen any sign she doesn't hate seeing me...Maybe I've misread her?
I head down that way, though I do stop by the flower shop.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageC1_zps056f3364.png
"Yeah, she is." That long hair, those big blue eyes... She's a pretty girl, by a wide margin. Actually, most of the girls here are-
"Oh, do you have a crush on her?"
Wh-wha-what?! No, that's not -- that's not why I care what she thinks of me or anything!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageC2_zpsa472578c.png
"Are you sure? Tee-hee."
I can't keep the blush off my face. I don't even know what it's doing there! Stop giggling, Shara!
"L-look, just let me try you cologne!"
"Tee-hee, ha ha... Alright, alright... Well, at least I'll always know how you feel about aaaannnyone~! But I'll only reccomend the people I like for you, Ramza!"
"...Cologne." I say, as I contemplate crawling into a hole and dying.
"Today's scent is..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageC3_zps99ed6b05.png
"D-delicious Delight...?"
"People who like cooking or eating will like this one."
Ok, now to see about that letter...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageC4_zpsc8a16229.png
Ugh, now I feel embarassed just looking at her!
"I see.
..." She says nothing for a minute.
"Ummm..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageC5_zps4f9e91b5.png
She turns her head and calls out to the far side of the shop, where Gaius is hard at work as usual.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageDDoNotCrop_zps8ca74ad9.png
Is his only response. I doubt he heard us.
"Let's go."
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She's definitely looking at me...So... She's taking me...Somewhere?
She shrugs, like it's nothing important.
"This is part of the job."
"Job? Oh, today's request...?"
"We repaired Sofia's item, so we're going to deliver it."
"I see."
I can't imagine why I'd be going along with this...
She nods at me in a sort of resolved way.
"Let's go already."
"Oh, okay."
When Raven walks, she walks very quietly; her feet don't make as much sound as you're expecting. She watches the falling petals with a little smile, delicate as a whisper.
She down when she sees me seeing that smile, but then I smile back, and it doesn't quite leave her face yet.
It feels like its own little victory.
We run into Karina on our way to Sofia's house.
"Hey, I had a question."
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"Well, yeah."
My thoughts about working are well-established!
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...I guess what seems odd to her seems odd to her.
We head to Sofia's house and head up to her room.
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Raven hands a small package, tied with white spring, into Sofia's hands. When she opens it, she gasps.
"This pendant...!"
Is that the pendant Karina borrowed? How many pendants does Sofia own, anyway?
"I fixed it, so I brought it back."
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"Ha ha..." What a Sofia-ish response.
"It is a very important pendant. I'm so unhappy it's fixed. Thank you, Raven."
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She really is like that with everyone, huh? I guess I should at least be glad that it's not me, specifically. Raven's just...withdrawn, I guess.
"But why is Ramza with you? And you said that you never make delivieries."
"What?"
I look at Sofia. And back at Raven. And then at Sofia. Then at Raven, who's starting to look like she'd rather be somewhere else.
"Is that right?"
"..."
Because she didn't need me to make a delivery... And she didn't even need to make a delivery...
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"Oh, okay...Well, see you later, Rave-"
"Wait."
She holds up a hand, then clenches it. She looks, just for a second, very small.
"...I...haven't paid you yet. So you need to come back with me."
"Oh, alright."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageE10_zps6da2b1a5.png
"So, uh...How's your Buffamoo?"
"Alma? She's a little worn out, but she's taking a break. I bet she'd like some company, though."[/color]
"...I bet so... Maybe another Buffamoo?...Or a Wooly?"
"Yeah, maybe." That'd be a little awkward, but I could use some wool...Well, maybe if I ask nicely. I don't say that, though...
Talking like that, more easily than I'm used to seeing Raven talk, we walk back to the forge.
She runs back in and starts rummaging through the storage.
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"Well then, I guess I should..."
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She walks around the counter and comes closer to me.
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"What?"
"Your reward. You helped me."
"...No I didn't. I just walked with you."
She looks away, a hint of redness on her face.
"...Before, too..."
"Th-thank you, then."
"..."
She put my reward chest next to me. And for a moment, I thought she'd go back behind the desk, and that'd be it.
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"Huh...?"
"..."
Still, I think I understand what she wanted to say. Maybe just a little.
"...It was a nice walk."
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My reward's a couple of iron and some copper.
As for the bulletin board...
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I just saw Pia, so I may as well accept her request and run right back to her.
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"Yeah. You need an ingredient for the bath?"
A nice, clear request. Full marks, Pia! I'm surprised.
"Do I ever! I need you to bring me a Squid!"
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She looks at me blankly, like I've just stopped speaking a reasonable language...That's how I feel talking to Pia some of the time, though...
"Says who?!"
"Says me! I've never heard of anyone bathing with squid!" I mean, what, would it just float there limply? What's up with that?
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...She's serious about this. Well, as serious as Pia gets.
"I, uh....can't wait."
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"Oh, everyone's going to be so happy~! It'll be amazing!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageG5_zps43834359.png
"Yeah, they kind of do... Hey, can I see some cooking supplies?"
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Boy, these are pricey...But I bet they'd come in handy, too.
"Give me a pot."
There goes all my income so far...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageG7_zps327f479b.png
*sigh*
I just buy a single accessory bread.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageG8_zpse6ffea7f.png
Not great, that.
I run home to cook some crops and try out my new pot...
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And make some warm milk, good for a good night's sleep.
I head out to see Daria and water my strawberries...
And decide to keep heading out towards where the Buffamoo roam.
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"Come on...How's a nice place to sleep and food for a bit of work sound, huh? There's even another Buffamoo there for you to hang out with, and the work's not too hard..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageHDoNotCrop2_zps532306f7.png
Well, that seems to have convinced her.
Let's call you Ovelia.
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And then I go catch a squid for Pia's request.
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...This just keeps getting more and more bizzare.
"Uh...those are words I never thought I'd hear. But thanks!"
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"What's the matter?"
"I just remembered something Sakuya told me! I told her I wanted to put squid ink in the baths, but she said it'd just stain people's skin!"
Squid ink? So she wasn't planning on having whole, dead squid just floating around in the bath...I guess I overestimated her strangeness.
"Well...Yeah, it would. Duh!"
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"Well, maybe one day..." I hope not, but...It's hard seeing her sad. Her feelings are just sort of contagious, even if they're strangely-aligned.
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"Huh? Oh, that's right. You like to eat squid, don't you?"
Raw or cooked, as she says it...
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"The tuna was just swimming along, minding its own business, when -- KA-BLAAAM! A giant squid CHOMPED it down!"
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I wait a moment, and then have to ask,
"Uh, is that the entire story? I mean...It's kind of...Short."
"The sea isn't exactly big on storytelling. That's just how things happen -- they rush in, eat a thing, and that's all there is. Little flickers of light against the darkness of the waves...And then silence."
She looks up, lost in her own thoughts for a moment. I remember what I thought when I first saw her -- just who or what is Pia, anyway? She's always strange, but just there...I remember how I didn't know what she was at first.
Then she snaps back into focus and isn't some alien thing, a visitor from a world I can't imagine -- she's just silly little Pia.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageI8_zps6116935d.png
"I...see. Good luck with that." She giggles, and my smiles becomes less uneasy and more real.
"Well, I'll take my revenge later tonight! Here's a token of my appreciation!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageI9_zps455763f7.png
Well. That was a thing.
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My reward is a very big egg.
I run through the desert under the cover of darkness. Yesterday was...sure something, and I feel a little embaressed. So I head to the request list for the settlement...
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And see Kuruna's trying at it again. I really need to talk to her; I'm never moving here.
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Just say no. Just say no. ...That'd be rude, wouldn't it, though?
"Oh, well...There's a lot I need to do so I can't..."
That was not just saying 'No,' Ramza.
She sighs while her brow furrows.
"But there are humans out there...Is this settlement not enough for you?!" Her eyes are like blue fire, burning with indignation, something like fury on her face.
"It's not that --"
"Liar!"
I stop for a moment, because...she's right.
How could it be enough? Because Kuruna...There's a part of me Kuruna wouldn't ask to move in. That she'd never let move in. That I'm sure it'd just sicken her to see...
And I can't abandon "that me." I can't abandon his hair and his hands and his face -- not when I've seen it, and known it was mine.
Of course, I don't really know that I'd be any more welcome the other way around, but... The way things are now, at the very least, I can go here sometimes. There's some place for all the bits of me, so surely...
Surely that's the same as there being somewhere for all of me, right?
But I can't explain that, either. Other than that, there's nothing wrong with the settlement...
"I'm not lying...This is a great and special place. I like visiting here.
But I know I can't stay where I'm staying now, or here, forever -- I mean, one day...I want to find my home, so..."
I shake my head. That's true, but compared to what I just thought, it feels like an excuse.
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"For example...?" Asks the inexplicable judge, jury, and executioner of Elder Kuruna.
"Well..."
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Some of these I've only heard about, from people around town just chatting, but...I intend to see them.
"I love exploring places like that," I say honestly, and I'm relieved to find something I *can* say about this.
"..." Kuruna's face relaxes, and she sighs. "You must have a lot of time on your hands."
"It's not that... I keep myself pretty busy...I'll probably be working past midnight again tonight, too..." That's right; I've still got so much to do.
"..."
She seems to think about this, and at last says something almost like a confession.
"I have never left this desert. So...I'm a little jealous of a wanderer like you..."
"Kuruna..."
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"Well...You do, I guess."
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She says that a touch too loud. You know...She doesn't look much older than me (assuming Univir age the way humans do) when she's surprised. She's the elder, but...What does that mean here, exactly?
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"I wish I was born a minotauros instead."
"Aw, don't be that way...I think you're beautiful, Kuruna. But...that's not what I meant."
She stares at me like I've grown a second head, a little bit of redness on her cheeks, blending the markings on her cheeks closer to that blush. Then she looks almost amused, like it occured to her that the person arguing with her self-image is a wooly.
"I meant...Your concern, and the way you welcomed me here. There are things here that can't be found elsewhere, and you're one of them."
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"I will leave the matter there. This isn't much, but I wanted you to take this home with you."
"Thank you..."
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*sigh*
"Ha ha ha ..." Why did I expect her to?
I step outside into the cool night air and sigh.
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This place she loves...Is her entire world. It's a small world, hot at day and cold at night. And outside these walls, everything wants to kill you.
She loves it, and she's almost afraid of what's outside...
"She could really use a vacation. It might help her loosen up..."
But I wonder... What sort of face would she have, if I could show her that field of flowers?
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These shoes are noticably better than mine, which does give me an idea...While I work on getting, let's say, a hat, why don't I try upgrading what I have, too?
I find Ondorus in his tent, reading a large and heavy tome.
"What's that about?"
"The elder, or native, dragons."
...Hm...There's something about that that's just on the edge of my mind, but...
"I can't say I remember anything about that."
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"Norad was once the home of the dragons."
"Where are they now?"
"Well, that's some of what I'm reading about. No one knows where the water dragon lives anymore... But the Wind Dragon Ventuswill's seat in Selphia has been undisturbed for...Well, frankly, an unusual length of time...It's an interesting read."
"I'm sure it is."
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I go fishing in the Oddward Valley's Cavern Pond for a while...
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And cook up my egg, among other things, at home.
Let's get to work upgrading some things!
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageQDoNotCrop4_zpsf715a08e.png
First, I'd like a boost on my gloves, since my shield and my monster form don't entirely work.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageQDoNotCrop6_zpsb4f710b4.png
And I made a lovely, lovely hat! Well, it's more of a hood...But it'll help my defenses, is what's important.
...But all that's exhausing.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageQDoNotCrop7_zps3c37b9b4.png
Here's how I'm looking with the new equipment. I think that's enough for tonight.
It's raining pretty heavily the next morning, so at least there's not a heavy amount of work waiting to happen...
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For which I'm sure Alma and Ovelia are grateful.
Cabbages are in today, which means tonight is a night of replanting.
Checking the mail today...
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I can't imagine for the life of me how those statements are related. I better go see.
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"Hurry! There isn't a moment to lose!"
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Everything in Daria's life is very urgent.
"...Hey, when your request said you needed your assistant, did you mean me?"
Because, uh, when did that happen?
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"*Sigh* I'm still not sure I'm your..."
"What am I going to do without paints? If I can't paint soon, I'll die!"
She grabs my shoulders and shakes me, overcome by the suffering of not painting.
"That seems a little melodramatic."
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"3 different kinds?" She does use grasses to help paint, doesn't she?
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"I'm still not sure about this 'assistant' business..."
Well, I just happen to have some grasses.
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She's so happy she seems like she's about to burst into song.
"I can paint once again! I owe you my life."
"No need to go that far." I'm pretty sure painting withdrawl is not a thing that really happens.
She shrugs.
"Maybe I did overreact a little."
"..."
"But that's how precious my art is to me! And you, my assistant, are the one who makes it possible!"
Aw, that's almost flattering.
"Thank you very much."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageT9_zpsaf74f5f5.png
Well, at least she pays well.
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The town bulletin board has another urgent-sounding request from another urgent-sounding girl...
Today's cologne is...
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV2_zpsc639dccf.png
So...The entire town?
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"Or were you just admiring how pretty I am? Just kidding! Ha ha ha!"
I'm glad she answered that pre-emptively, to avoid us all being emberassed.
"Uh..."
What was I looking at again?
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV5_zpsb1b427c9.png
"Um....A little?"
Her having problems with restraint doesn't surprise me...
"With any luck, those come with maturity."
I wonder if she'll have to be as old as you before she's matured.
Well, let's see.
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"You mind handing this to Collette?"
She hands me a bottle full of a rich brown liquid, thick and slightly syrupy. It smells, like she smells, bittery and herbacious.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV7_zps34aa1d7e.png
"Medicine. I carelessly mixed up prescriptions, so I want you to exchange it."
Isn't mixing up prescriptions...insanely dangerous?
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INSANELY. DANGEROUS.
"E-Explode...? How do you make exploding medicine?!"
"Well, good luck!"
...I...I'll need it.
"She's not listening..."
I go running to see Collette right away.
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"Oh, I can't wait to drink it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV10_zps434b6533.png
"Wait, take this instead!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV11_zps1854f72d.png
"The medicine you got before will make you explode, so Marian want to exchange it with this one." This all sounds absurd.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV12_zps0054ee7a.png
"I'm glad you didn't explode."
She smiles, only momentarily disturbed by the idea of becoming a Collette splatter all over the walls.
"Well, could you go throw away this dangerous medicine somewhere...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV13_zpsca86e11e.png
I'll just hold onto this...
And get my daily recipe breads.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV17_zps5bb61737.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV18_zpsb4329118.png
I got some bonuses. Yay!
And then I headed back to the Apothecary.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV20_zpsd0d91904.png
When I arrive, the building shakes and a loud boom resounds.
"What the...?"
There was another loud shaking and exploision.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV21_zpsade1e9ea.png
"I have a bad feeling about this..."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV24_zps46747c46.png
What a relief.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV25_zpsff0f78c8.png
Oh no.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV26_zpsb2c0e15a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV27_zps46631106.png
Collette moves towards us slowly, her steps labored.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV28_zpse4cda040.png
...Dangit, Marian.
"I thought you switched the medicine out..."
What am I complicit in now?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV29_zps5c54d506.png
To my surprise -- maybe to anyone's -- Marian looks properly surprised.
"Is that...?"
Shame? Or dismay?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV30_zps509c8366.png
Nope.
"What?! That's it?!"
"Oh, that's right. Here you go."
"Ummm..."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV32_zps17d15bcb.png
"I-I see...(Hey, why do you put up with this?)"
"(Because it's important to her...And...Well, it'd be great if it did work.)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV33_zps15140215.png
Hm...Well, she was trying to fix it...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV34_zps3d5b95d1.png
Bleg.
I head over to see Sofia next.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV35_zpsab7a7d0c.png
Ok, that's definitely opposite.
"At this rate, she'll be recognized by the world..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV36_zps8a661c61.png
I'd consider doing the same. At least with the stuff she really likes...
"And when I told Evelyn my untrue feelings, she left sulking and didn't come home..."
"Ha ha..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV37_zps8c7a562b.png
"Only really weird people can accept their eccentricities, after all."
"Wait, I'm not weird!"
"Oh, you can't help that. We're all weird here. I'm weird. You're weird."
"How do you know I'm weird?"
She looks at me with a faint smile, like something between amusement and confusion and says simply,
"You must be. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come here."
Her statement leaves a chill in my spine, and she walks on obliviously.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV38_zpsb60217f8.png
Of course Pia would like my cologne...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV39_zps568c2cc2.png
"Yeah, they definitely know what they're doing."
"But I can't wait till Sakuya goes on another trading trip!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV40_zps72668009.png
"...You mean squid ink?" I don't like the way this is sounding...
I head out to the settlement. Today, I want to go and do that errand for Kuruna! Or at least make a second try, now that I have better gear...
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When I stop by, Kuruna's tent is suffused with a white radiance.
"What was that glow just now?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV42_zpsdeec0f7b.png
"Wow! You can use healing magic?"
"Of course. It's a part of Univir superiority."
I do not tell her about the healing magic I bought from the witches.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV43_zps926b9454.png
This is not who I was expecting to like my cologne.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV44_zps351663f3.png
This, though, I'm less surprised with.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageV46_zps6a2c05e2.png
"We'll get it today!"
"Of course!"
As we march out into the desert, I keep looking at Zaid. What does he know? Was he the one who brought me to town? No, wait, he wouldn't have come close -- he ran away just seeing me near the tree.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop1_zps6bf53e6b.png
"Zaid...About what happened before..."
"Yeah, hey, man. I'm sorry for leaving you in the lurch like that...But it was all I could do to get away myself! A-anyway, no harm done, right? Right?"
So he wasn't the one who brought me back...
"You...didn't happen to...see something, um, a little strange, did you?"
Shape-shifting. A little strange. Right.
"What? You must have gotten your head knocked around! There wasn't anything to see. At least, not when I was there..."
"Oh, right. It must have...just been a dream."
As long as he doesn't ask me what I meant, it'll be fine.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop2_zps0addf4a1.png
"...Are those...fish?"
"Of course! This desert's like an ocean, but with sand!"
"How does that even work?"
"Look, knowing how things work is Ondorus' deal! I just hit things!"
...
"Hitting things is the most important part! Anyway, fish! Fish for them!"
I'll have to fish here sometime.
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When we arrive, I go to trying to take out the gates immediately; otherwise, the fighting will never end.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop5_zpsf1d639d0.png
But Zaid couldn't quite stand up to the onslaught all by himself, which meant...
*I* had to stand up to the onslaught. All by myself.
Greeaaat.
Still, with enough punching, I eventually managed to whittle all but one away somehow...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop6_zpsaae17b0f.png
You're last, scorpion pal... Down you go!
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When the dust settles, Zaid shakes himself off and comes towards me.
Now that the fight's over, I notice something I hadn't before: the ground shakes, just every so often. It feels almost like...footfalls. At the time, I'd thought it was just, you know, the big dudes punching me. But that's not it. On the ground, there are footprints embedded deep into the sand.
"Hey, Zaid..."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop9_zpsa5680082.png
"These footprints are pretty big. Do you know what animal they belong to?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop10_zps1ad34300.png
"I see..."
"Anyway, look over there."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop11_zps79648499.png
"Be careful when you get the flower. Don't get poked by that thing!"
Why am I the one climbing it? ...Oh, well.
"I'll be careful..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop13_zpsf644ceae.png
Ow, I did get pricked a little.
"Got it!"
"Great! Let's head on back."
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On our way back, it's clear: the shaking is even worse.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageWDoNotCrop16_zps07217cd5.png
A chest full of food? Well, I won't complain.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX1_zps1912d6ff.png
When I arrive, everyone's clustered around the big gate in the back.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX2_zps044b59a7.png
"A monster stormed the settlement gates!"
"Kuruna!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX3_zps1c34d0cd.png
A silence passes between the two Univir. Eventually, Kuruna asks,
"Can we not avoid a fight?"
Still, she straightens her robes...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX4_zps8c190de8.png
And unseals the gate. She steps through with her head held high.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX6_zps940555b3.png
Her voice is calm as water, or the desert sky at night. Her gesture holds no hesitation, and she looks at me with certainty of a variety absolute. I can't imagine I'd ever be that certain of anything.
"Please escape while you can."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX7_zps72027e4c.png
...Healing magic or no, she's still going to get herself killed! I just can't allow it!
"Can you leave this to me?"
Is all I ask.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX8_zpseeffecdc.png
"I'll be fine! I'm actually pretty confident in my own strength."
Ha ha ha, I'm going to die.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX9_zps8a56985b.png
"Then I leave this to you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX10_zpscdd5730b.png
"Please, be careful!"
110% dead.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX11_zps00eeae99.png
Toast for courage.
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No, that's not important!
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The great skeleton charges, and as I leap out of the way, I see Zaid crumple like a ragdoll. He'll probably be OK, but I don't exactly have time to check.
When I hit it, bits of it break to pieces and fall, to be buried on the sandy floor... But then...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageZ3_zpsf540a009.png
It throws sharp bits of spine at me! How does it even do that, exactly?
Dodging between them's more-or-less impossible, but what else can I do? I can at least take as few as possible...
After enough hits, it's left with nothing but a strange, floating ball of...It looks like flesh, but my paws hitting it makes it feel harder than that.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageX18_zpsbb71f611.png
Either way, it's a gross punching bag.
But not for long:
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Eventually, it regenerates the bones around it, pulling them back from the sand, to be broken down again.
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It's been wearing me out, so I break into my food supplies. Pudding, give me strength!
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Sometimes, as I dodge terrible skeleton-heart lasers, I wonder about how my life has come to this. How did this happen, exactly? I'm just a normal half-wooly, half-human shapeshifting farmer!
...Er. Wait. No, none of that is normal.
Well, anyway, how did it come to this?
But then I think...About how resolved Kuruna looked, walking into something so dangerous... I never wanted to protect anything more than in that moment. It was just natural to try and do it instead: I couldn't let the settlment fall, and I couldn't let Kuruna suffer.
And I'm glad for a minute.
And then I wonder what the heck I'm doing being philosophical when there's a giant laser on a laser chain crackling the wool off my back.
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But I think I'm making a dent on it! It's starting to feel cornered, which naturally means...Well...
It means that I've got to get really good at dodging tail-swipes, because they're coming fast and furious.
We fight for what feels like hours; I heal with magic, it rebuilds its skeleton around it, we repeat this song and dance. But eventually, and by the skin of my teeth...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageZ4_zpsd9085998.png
It's done. The thing at the heart of the creature sputters and flares, blasting rune energy into the air.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageZ6_zps101e06dc.png
And then it collapses into a pile of bones. I drop to my knees.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2010/ImageZ7_zps8e1d5d0c.png
"Time to tell Kuruna the good news!"
I'll post more about the boss, possibly with a video, when I am not feeling like I wish I could dissolve into a pile of goo.
Javan
2014-05-12, 09:49 PM
I liked the pacing of this update.
Nice.
Dragoon
2014-05-13, 01:33 PM
I agree with Javan about the pacing in this update. I also enjoy the whole, Ramza get philosophical and then realizing now might not be the best time.
Chapter 11: And I'm Javert
I stagger back into the settlement, a ragged smile on my face. I honestly feel close to collapsing onto the hard desert ground.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageA1_zpscc4afc62.png
Kuruna and Ondorus both jolt upright from their positions, leaning in weary vigil amongst the tents. Kuruna takes a few hesitant steps towards me, then clears the distance and reaches out a hand toward me, concern and relief muddled on her face.
"Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine."
Mostly. I might want a little rest, though.
A lot of rest.
Sleep for several days.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageA2_zpsf5084b48.png
"Yeah, that was one tough monster."
Kuruna nods and then looks skyward, up to that vast blanket of stars.
"But why did that monster attack us?"
"Hmmm..." Ondorus mulls this over, and eventually asks,
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageA3_zps254602e8.png
...
Oh.
Dear.
Is this all my fault?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageA4_zpse4d6792a.png
"Yes, he just brought it back for me. What about it?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageA5_zpsd694b343.png
How exactly does it...? I mean, it doesn't have a stomach. Probably. Or if it has a stomach, it doesn't have a mouth. Just lasers.
"That must be the reason why it attacked."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageA6_zps600fb900.png
Woops.
"So that was a Skelefang? I thought they were all extinct. Had I known there was one out there, I would have left that flower alone."
It did have an extinct-ish look about it.
She sighs and turns back to me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageA7_zps56c216a0.png
"Don't worry about it." It's all handled now, and I've beaten up an endangered creature until it collapsed into a pile of rune energy.
"Well, I do still need that Cactus Flower if you have it...But that can wait until tomorrow."
"Okay."
With that handled, I say goodbye to Zaid and decide to head on home.
I fish a little...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageB1_zps293f500e.png
And plant some cabbages.
Then, exhausted at last, I call it a night.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageB2_zps15d33109.png
The next day, I set Alma back to work on the lower field and Ovelia on the upper left.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageB1_zps293f500e.png
The cherry grass is in bloom, and I send one off and keep one for emergencies, because I foresee emergencies.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageCDoNotCrop_zpsef3a821f.png
I have a letter from Sakuya in the mailbox that could use tending to.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageD1_zps77c206fe.png
There's a festival tomorrow!
I do get a lowdown of the rules, but the basic gist is: fish. catch them.
Carmen's as excited about this as you'd think, and Shino's...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageD2_zpse63c9a8a.png
Well, slightly concerning, really.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageD3_zpsbed7c308.png
"Yes."
"I actually had orders from Blaise and Marjorie. But I have something else I needed to do. Do you think you could deliver them for me?"
"That's fine." That's not a complicated request -- I go all over town anyway.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageD4_zps6a4351f3.png
A cold chill runs through the air, like the gaze of a demon.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageD5_zps3224f37a.png
I do not say anything.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageD6_zps96072200.png
"this Tomato goes to Marjorie."
"Yeah, okay."
Sakuya smiles cheerfully.
"Well, thanks for doing this for me."
I deliver it to Blaise first...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/ImageD7_zps083bfcff.png
"Sakuya asked me."
"I see. Thank you. Please thank Sakuya for me for everything she does. We have a lot of customers who are picky about ingredients and Sakuya is a lifesaver."
"Really...?"
So Sakuya's relied upon.
Well, anyway, time for recipe bread!
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Not a great selection, but not a bad one, either.
It starts to rain as I walk along, heading towards Flower Way. Pia, who wasn't in the inn, is standing there...
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On a large tail, her little cloak off, exposing a daring outfit to the rain.
"Uhh..."
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"Pia. Your feet..." I try to work out how to phrase the question. 'You do not have feet today,' is not exactly tactful. Nor are 'where are your feet?' Nor is 'Feeeeeeeet.'
That said, whatever this is, it probably explains her head-fin-things.
Pia pulls away from her angry rambling about the rain.
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"Yes..."
She just smiles brightly.
"Oh. Well, I'm a mermaid. Okay?!"
For a minute, I just stand there, absolutely stunned. The part where she's a mermaid is -- I guess, not surprising. It makes her story from before make sense, and so on... But...
She just said it so easily. No fear or concern -- none of what worries me at telling even just one person. But she -- I guess everybody knows.
I can't help but be stunned and envious of that sort of confidence.
"...So why..."
Pia is quiet for a second, and then she giggles quietly.
"I want to eat some Squid."
"What?! Is that your reason for being here?"
A mermaid on land...to eat squid?! The ocean's full of squid!
She doesn't answer that.
"That's settled, then, right? I'm all wet, so the fins are out!
...But Tomorrow's going to be worse than rain. It's the Catch the Most Fish Contest!"
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"Yep! I love fishsticks!"
I feel like a dangerous statement just left my mouth, just a few seconds after its departure.
And so she leans forward, glaring daggers and knives and swordfish noses at me.
"You sicko! You don't actually EAT them, do you?!"
"Uh, of course I do! Nothing wrong with that!"
She turns in a huff, nearly tripping over her slightly unwieldy fish tail.
"...I'll...just go."
When I go to the Apothecary, I find Marian minding the desk, sighing sadly over the Catch the Most Fish contest (I suspect no one will talk about anything else today).
"The Catch the Most Fish Contest, huh...?"
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"It's not that...It just needs to be more dangerous!"
"Wait...What do you mean by 'more dangerous'?!"
She smiles faintly, and I try to soothe her.
"...Maybe someone will get a hook caught somewhere and need treatment."
"Ooh, you're right! I'll get out my surgery gear!"
...At least she's happy.
I go upstairs to see Marjorie.
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'Tree boy'?
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"This is for you."
"Oh? This is..."
"This is from Sakuya."
"Now, did I ever ask her for this...?"
"What?!" I was delivering for nothing?
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"P-please don't startle me like that."
"Oh, you're here for Sakuya, aren't you? Then that's the least you can do. That girl always indulges me."
"Sakuya does?"
She really does seem to go the extra mile for her customers...Or, in this case, makes me go the extra mile...
"Oh. She's a really nice girl. Unlike my granddaughter."
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I head back to the inn after that -- Pia's returned and gotten back on her literal feet, chatting with Sakuya.
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"What?! No..." I'm good for a while yet.
She turns to Shino anyway, moving forward irrationally.
"Ms. Inkeeper? Can we get the bath ready for one?!"
Sakuya's fist emerges from her sleeve and bangs the back of Pia's head.
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Another smack.
"What's the deal?"
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Sakuya turned back to me and looks perplexed.
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"Wait...what are you doing?" Should I be happy you're hitting my friend?
"I thought we'd do some stand-up comedy to draw customers in,"
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"What's the deal?"
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Is she still doing the routine?...Or did she never know about it?
Sakuya sighs.
"That's about how well it's going..."
"Um, so..."
With a shrug, Sakuya drops the manner.
"Oh, well."
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"Well, here's your compensation."
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Pia salutes.
"Robert!"
*Smack!*
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They turn back to me.
"No? Well, this is your real compensation."
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"Ah..." This was exhausting...
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I think Shino shares my opinion, watching this exchange like a quiet hawk.
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...Fleece, huh? I'll be able to use this.
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It's been a while since we've helped Carmen out, so I should see what's up with her.
I catch up with her on the beach.
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"Yes, thanks to you, I've been able to fish pretty well."
She winks at me.
"Very good then! So why don't you show me how you've improved."
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Hey! I'm still pretty what?!
"You catch them in Sol Terrano Desert. But be careful of the monsters."
"...They're really. Um. Nice people," I mutter, hoping to be a little too low to be heard.
"What, the pineapple things?"
"Oh! Oh, them. Oh, well, they're not bad, either. By monster standards."
She might not really even know about the settlement, given how long they've been apart... Actually, I feel somehow relieved.
"Well, if you say so. You're pretty hardcore when it comes to fishing hazards, Ramza!"
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"What?! Already?"
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She pounds me, less gently than she intends -- probably, but maybe she's just that intense -- on the shoulder.
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I finish my talking to people (It's about the fishing contest, nothing interesting) and head out fishing in the desert.
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Let's see what I can...
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Drat.
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There, better.
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I fish up a sardine, and head on back to Carmen post-haste.
"I've got some fish for you!"
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"Good work! Well, here's a treat from your master!"
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"Keep on practicing! Now, dismissed!"
Ha ha. What a scary master...
Still, I think it's a bit more of a joke to her than other people's 'position.' Probably.
"Thank you."
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My reward is salted salmon, a nice treat.
I head back to through the desert.
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I find Zaid by the entrance, frantically polishing his sword. This seems to be his default action, like a buffamoo grazing or Pia singing or Colette eating.
"Why are you always repairing your weapon?"
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"Huh...? Was that the name of the weapon?"
"*sigh* You don't get it..."
"?" What's there to get? Aren't elaborate weapon names for people who yammer on about sword hands and demon powers?
"How are you supposed to fight without naming your buddy?"
"Is that how it is...?"
I've been with my sword a while without any troubles...
"That's how it is. That's why you're weak."
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I finally bring Kuruna that terrible, annoying cactus flower.
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"Oh, no...problem?" I do not entirely believe myself.
"I'm terribly sorry for involving you in all this commotion." she wilts slightly, picking up on my own weakness.
"It's okay. You couldn't have known some giant dinosaur bones weren't extinct!"
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Ooh, a recipe bread!
"Oh, before I forget!"
"What?"
"There's something odd going on a little bit noth on the settlement."
She brings her hand to her chin and looks thoughtful.
"After you arrived in the settlement, we discovered a strange orb. No one knows where it came from, and no one can remove it..."
Her brows furrow.
"It's very strange."
"An orb...?"
Like the one in the forest? Maybe it has something to do with my memories again...
"Kuruna, do you think it would be okay if I took a look at this orb?"
Kuruna does not look as surprised as I'd have expected -- she looks like she thought I might want to know, even if I've just realized this myself.
"Certainly. I will open the gates. Feel free to take a look."
"Thank you!"
I go running.
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And eat my recipe bread.
The space is just north of where I fought the Skelefang.
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It has an almost shrine-like quality.
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The earth and sky, reflected on the orb. It gleam attracts me to it instinctively.
"Kuruna said that this orb appeared when I came to town. How strange..."
So, did these orbs come into being when I lost my memory?
But...This place...
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It feels like it was waiting for this orb, too.
I reach out my paw...
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Like before, it rises and breaks.
Then it all goes black. There's a voice and a sense of weight. Someone's got a hand on my shoulder, and I realize it is not my shoulder, now, but my shoulder, once.
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The voice is an older man's -- not my father's. I can't seem to place who, but at the time, I knew.
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My own voice. This wasn't long ago.
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The man pats my back, to still my nerves. In my hands, my clutched sword, held like a delicate flower, jostles worryingly, and I remember this.
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That's not exactly comforting to me. I mean, that wasn't then, but now... Now, I wonder what happened to them.
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Is this town alright? Did I do my job well? Did, somehow, impossibly, it all go up in flames and all the kittens got stuck in trees and monsters roamed the streets and not in a friendly, urbane way?
I don't want to dissapoint anyone.
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"I'm glad you think so," I mutter in perfect time with my past self. I don't think of myself as a hero -- I don't think of myself as much of anything.
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The patting turned into a heavy thump almost worth of Carmen.
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The same feeling that made me decide to stop Kuruna, or something like that, filled me then. The continuity between the two feelings, on the different sides of that black void...
It makes me realize that there was something else on the other end that's the same as on this end.
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...Wait.
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I feel a little silly, because I was really worried about that...But I'm also, like, super-relieved. I want to tell people that, but, uh, I've already told everyone that...
I sort through that scene a bit more.
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"I was protecting a town..."
I'm trying to reach for it -- for its buildings or its people, or its landscape or...something.
"Where was I a member of the guard...?"
Think...Think...You just had that whole scene...
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I was just short.
But I have something:
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Alright! My new step!
...But first, I guess I'll talk to people.
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"Sounds like a plan. Do you ever do that?"
A bright red blush is on her face, and she completely drops her whole guard.
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Hm, so she's a sweet-eater, huh? I'll have to recall that. It'd be nice to do something for her...
"Oh, by the way...I, uh...took care of that orb?"
"Oh, I see. I thought that might be the case...What was it?"
I shake my head.
"I'm not sure. But...these have...my memories in them."
"Your memories? Comrade, you mean, you remember more of your past?!"
She stoops down towards my level, clear excitement on her stretched-open face.
"What was it?"
"I remembered...my real name."
She took a deep intake of breath and nodded.
"...It's Ramza. I actually am Ramza."
She looks at me emptily for a second, and then stands up.
"Oh, I see."
"Hey! This is really exciting! You could be a little happier!"
She smiles.
"No, but you really must be relieved. I'm happy for you, comrade. If I see any more, of course, I will alert you."
"Thank you, Kuruna."
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The Owl today has a request from Ondorus that looks interesting.
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"Do you remember the cactus that you picked the flower from?"
"How could I forget?"
It sure started a lot of trouble...
Ondorus nodded without humor.
"I would like you to sprinkle Formula A on that cactus."
"No problem."
It'll be good practice.
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"Okay."
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"Yes, you're right. If there are other Skelefang, it'd be nice to them, I guess..."
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"I don't think she'd understand."
I nod.
"Gotcha."
I run across the desert, doing a little mining along the way. And, you know what? Something hits me.
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I'm Ramza.
I'm myself. I am me, and not someone else. I mean, my memory's not all there, but... I know who I am. I think.
I feel.
I'm sure.
"I'm me!"
I run back to the cactus, a laugh rising up to the big, wide desert moon.
I WIN, AMNESIA! I'M THE WINNER!
...Now, what was I doing, again? Oh, right.
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I clear out the enemies first, to give me some room, and sprinkle some over the plant.
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The flower grows back *immediately*.
"Look at that cactus... That was amazing! I should head back to the settlement and tell Ondorus."
***
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"The instant I gave it Formula A, the flower grew right back."
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"Anyway, thank you. It isn't much, but please, take this."
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"I hope you can help out again sometime."
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I'm not sure why he thinks I can use this -- with a wooly's paws, even gripping it would be a formidable task...But, well, lucky for me, I can.
I head home in the pouring rain, trying to work out the rest of my night, when...
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Sakuya calls out to me.
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"Well, actually, I had an extra lunch made."
"...It's 10 PM."
She shakes her head back and forth wildly, expunging that I said anything from this discussion.
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"What? Really?"
"Of course! It's yours! Well, come by to get it later. It..." She chuckles, "It is a little late for lunch."
"Yeah, okay."
"See ya."
...Well, that was...something.
Since I have some time this evening, I decide to look at something. See, there's a part of the Sharance Tree I've never been in before...
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Down this ladder.
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It's a room...full of sculptures.
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I think they might be trophies.
I hear footsteps, and turn to see...
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Shara. What's she doing in my house in the dead of night?
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"Yeah. What is it?"
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"When I do certain things? Like what?"
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How wonderfully useful.
"Okay!"
"This room is also connected to the Labrynth world. It's...a world for fighting. I'm not clear on all the details, but you should check it out!"
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"Shara, why'd you come here?"
"I'm the main heroine, so I need to get some screen time every chapter!"
"...What does that even mean?"
"Don't worry about it too much; I just like checking up on you."
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I decided then...To head to this "Labrynth World" to find out what it's about.
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A strange place, that's what it's about...
At first it's a whole lot of nothing, but after a while, the identical rooms give way to clearings with monsters that block themselves behind and in front of me. Guess I've got to take them on!
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Wow, this lightning staff hits like a truck!
They're a little tough for my blood, honestly, but I make my way through a few areas...
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Until I come, face to face, with the most monstrous of my ancestors. It's like staring down a giant, and some primordial wooly instinct bids me to act submissively in the face of an incoming headbutt, for truly, it is my superior, and has precedence in all matters in the flock.
By the time I realize wait, that's dumb, I've got a magical stick and we are not discussing apple-eating or grazing here, it's already butted me in what I'm sure was an attempt at my midsection or head, but due to the differences in mass, was my entire body. In short: goodnight.
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"I'll just ask for 507 Gold today."
"Thank you."
I head home and do not go back in the basement.
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I put my things away...
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Make some food...
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And some weapon types I don't have yet, to increase my expertise in my spare time.
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This lets me learn some new weapon recipes, including a sword upgrade.
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And I am making that *immediately.*
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Mild experimenting with some crafting also lets me make a ruby ring: it's the same as the rings I know how to make, but with a ruby. It's not that great an accessory, but...I can make it, so it's good to practice.
The rain's falling, and I've done a lot -- and learned a lot -- today. I'm more than happy to call it a day well spent and get some rest.
Mechanics Corner: Labrynth World and Skelefang
About the Skelefang
He's apparently weak to Fire, Light, and Love magic, and I wouldn't be against recommending magical attacks: most of this guy's big hits can be avoided just by being far enough away at the right times, so peppering him with magic isn't a bad idea. Also a good idea: fast-hitting physical options, like the wooly form or double-swords (if you don't send Zaid packing, which I believe you can do: I kept him for narrative convenience, but that did leave me with my options limited), because you'll only be dealing damage when his exoskeleton's down, and thus, you want to deal enough hits to knock it away as quickly as possible.
His four attacks are as follows:
The one where he shoots little spines at you. This is the hardest of his attacks to dodge entirely, because the spines don't spread evenly. That said, individual spikes don't deal too much damage, so you can usually just aim for a spot with few spikes and take the hit and run at him. Like most of his attacks, this is exclusive to his bony form.
The one where he rakes the ground, sending little golden shockwaves. I, uh, can't tell you much about this one. There's a reason it wasn't screenshotted: I was almost never near enough to him to see it for more than a half-second, and never got hit. There are 3 or so lines, directly in front of him, with some but not great range. Just move to the side, and you're good. This, too, is a bony-form attack.
The one where he swipes his tail at you. DANGER! DANGER, WILL ROBINSON! This. Will. Hurt. If he's beserked (flashing black), this would flat-out kill Ramza in a single hit. Before that point, it'd still take out a massive amount of health. It's a melee attack basically centered directly in front of him, maybe a bit to the side, though, so dodging it is not hard: I found when fighting in wooly form that the form's attack patterns would usually send me moving somewhere (and I'd decide that should be 'away') often enough that I'd rarely get hit with this. Bony form attack.
The one where he fires a laser ball on a chain: This one will hurt a good deal, but is super easy to dodge: the orb at the heart of the skelefang (this attack can't be done with the exoskeleton up) will get a blue ring around it as it charges up, so it telegraphs it. When that happens, this is your cue to run. The laser chain for the laser ball has a limited range, so if you start running directly away, and have enough space to run, it will probably never catch you. It moves about as fast as the main character, provided you're not wearing shoes that screw with your speed, so you'll usually have a head-start and it won't catch-up.
The labrynth world is a series of randomly-generated dungeons with minibosses at the end. Unlike most dungeons in Rune Factory 3, when you encounter enemies, you must defeat them all and all gates to progress. As you saw here, right now, this one kicked my butt, so we'll be back later. If ever. To be honest, I did my run without ever even knowing it existed; I only realized it must have been a thing when I went through the Sharance Maze in Rune Factory 4. It's also host to this game's multiplayer, which isn't relevant to this LP... And either isn't relevant, or soon will not be relevant, to anyone else, either.
I'll be on vacation next week, by the way. I'm going to Sedona, Arizona. Which is, unfortunately, currently on fire.
Javan
2014-05-22, 08:38 PM
Okay, that's an amusing turn of events. I like how the game deals with your name.
erikun
2014-05-23, 12:28 PM
I, uh, never realized the basement had dungeons either. :smalleek: Actually, I never finished RF3. The last thing I recall was wanting to complete all the dungeons by the end of the in-game year, for whatever reason.
I'm wondering if I should just start up a new game when I get back to it.
Then again, I have a bad habit of restarting and never finishing games...
It's pretty do-able; I've seen the game completed by the end of the first summer.
Also, I like the name thing, too. "Yup, that was always your name." I think the RF3 MC might be alone in being granted knowledge of his original name, at least among the amnesiacs, but I never played 2.
Part 12: Fear and Trust
The next morning was bright and sunny, the air full of a bright, crisp energy that I couldn't quite name, like a hive buzzing. Nothing was grown but a few moondrop flowers, but...
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Uh.
What's that?
The shining pillar of light on my farm. That was not there last night.
Well...I guess I'm not finding out what it is until I try seeing. I poke it with a stick, and the stick does not burn or anything. I toss the stick in, and the stick vanishes. After a moment, it reappears, not burnt or anything. After another pause, it vanishes. So...This is some sort of teleporter?
I nod. "Let's see where it goes."
I step in, and am hit with a wave of heat.
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"This is...the settlement?"
Before I can let the realization that I have a functional teleporter between the Sharance Tree and the Settlement (How? And Why? Did the tree do this, somehow?), I hear a shout. And I realize a certain problem.
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I'm in human form.
"Why are you here...?! Please leave!" For all her angry rhetoric, she almost sounds...frightened. Of a guy with a watering can.
I admit, the 'stepping out of a pillar of light' thing is intimidating, though.
I make a mad dash for the entrance, fearing torches and pitchforks behind me.
I don't know where they'd get pitchforks, but they'd have Mr. Slice, and Kuruna'd never let me back in if I explained...
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I should probably transform, teleport home, go back through that way, and tell her that the pillar of light's safe.
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Take two!
I find Kuruna at home at her...
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Throne, I guess. It's kind of neat she has a throne.
"Kuruna!" She practically jumps out of her seat, but relaxes when she sees it's me, as opposed to...also me.
"Oh, it's you, comrade. I was worried we were being invaded by hornless."
"Ah, about that..."
Well. This is it.
This is the moment. No return.
"That pillar...Sort of leads...Practically to my house..."
"So close to where a hornless might be walking?! Are you alright, comrade?" She leans forward and places a hand on my shoulder.
"It's all right! It's all right. I'm fine. That person is...That human's..."
Tell her the truth, Ramza, a little voice in my head says.
"...A...a friend of mine! Yeah, he was visiting to drop something off, and thought it was strange. I -- He -- We -- uh -- didn't know it led here. No harm done, right?"
You are saddest little coward in the entire world, says the voice. It's my voice.
Kuruna's brow furrows. She folds her arms and crosses her legs in her chair. All of her posture goes inward with concern.
"I don't exactly think it's safe for you to be friends with a hornless like that; it's hardly safe. I'm sure he's out to abuse your trusting and kind-hearted nature, at best... However, there's nothing I can do to change this. But. As elder, I will ask you to tell him to never again step foot near this desert. It will be seen as an act of war!"
...Harsh.
"I...uh. I'll...pass it along."
...I bungled it all again... How do I recover this screwed-up conversation, anyway?
Well, she did make reference to her position, but I don't really know much about it.
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"I manage the food supply and enforce public safety, among other things."
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"Oh, and I look after Will, of course."
"That seems like the toughest part..." He seems kind of demanding...
I haead back to town and start mingling in the pre-festival buzz.
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"O-okay... (Boy, he sure gets competitive when it comes to fishing...)"
The fishing siblings are super-agressive about their livelihoods.
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"Why does it have to be fish? Why can't we have an acorn picking contest instead?"
Shara waggles a finger, but with a consoling smile.
"Now, Monica...Anyway, to make it up to you, why don't we have our own acorn picking contest after the fishing contest today?"
Yay! Thanks, Shara!"
And the sisters are making plans.
"Awww...I'd love to judge an acorn-collecting contest."
"*chomp*"
"Offer withdrawn! Ow!"
Oh, I sort of was zoned out -- maybe Karina's rubbing off on me in a bad way -- but Karina said that her mom's store might have some furniture I could use! Well, if I can bring wood for repair.
Everything's lumber.
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Wait, is this about something besides fish?
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"..."
I feel so sorry for her that I can't help but give her a sympathetic little pat on the back. She just looked too sad.
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"Isn't that...hard?"
"Only for the weak of spirit, Ramza."
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I sign up for the fishing contest!
But before I could finish a loop of the town and start fishing...
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I find Sakuya lying on the path to the inn.
"Sakuya!"
I rush to her side. She's not wounded, and her eyes flutter open at my approach.
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She pulls herself up with tears in her eyes.
"Ouch..."
"Are you hurt?"
She looks about indiginantly, her tassled hairpieces whipping back and forth.
"Ow!! What was that!!"
"What's wrong?"
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"uh, calm down..." Well, I mean, she was attacked, so I guess she should be mad, but...
"Yeah, you're right..."
She dusts herself off; it seems like no harm was done.
"And then what?"
"Well...I was carrying your lunch, and waiting outside...Then a huge shadow came out of nowhere and surprised me! So I fell, and then the shadow took the lunch I brought for you!"
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...Oh, she was saying something about that the other night, but it was so late...I hadn't even thought about it...
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I'm a little disapointed, then. A lunch while fishing might be nice...
"But it took it away. I guess it's good that you weren't attacked."
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"I wonder what the large shadow was?" A big monster?
"It was all so sudden, so I couldn't really see. Sorry."
"I see..."
"*sigh*...Man, I was scared!"
"Interesting story...I'll look into it!" Can't have people stealing lunches! Collette and Sherman'll be rioting within a week!
"If you think of something, let me know!"
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I start to walk away, when...
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"Oh?"
"It went towards Oddward Valley. The customers have said they heard howling coming from there. It's a tourist spot, so I was worrie that something might happen."
"Oddward Valley seems like there might be something there...?" I wonder if one of those orbs is there, too? Is a piece of my memory up that way? "Okay. I'll check it out."
"Okay! Be careful!"
Well, as nice as it'd be to start now...
It's time to fish!
I head down to the lake and get to fishing right away!
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Um...
That's my day, actually.
I fish.
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I catch *18* fish.
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I just hope it's enough.
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"The winner of the Catch the Most Fish Contest is..."
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"Thank you very much!"
I expected him to take my catch...But he doesn't.
They're apparently my fish.
All of them. Mine.
...I am going to make so much sashimi.
"In second place with 15 is Sofia. In third place with 8 is Rusk. Congratulations, everyone! All of the winners, don't forget your prizes! Until next time!"
I expected better of Carmen and Carlos.
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My prizes are delicious and full of knowledge.
Now to do other things!
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Since I'm going to Oddward Valley, I might as well plant this Yam seed I have in the soil there; I think it'll do well in the cool, crisp air and wet soil.
I take care of my other distant crops...
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And sashimi for days.
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I can't even make all these sashimi. I am a lonely king on a sashimi throne.
I have enough fish to save for gifts for the next few days for Carmen, Carlos, and Sakuya (I didn't catch enough Squid for more than one day's present for Pia) and ship a bunch of Sashimi besides.
...And with the aid of some pickles, power through some logging and clear a bit of land for tomorrow.
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The next day, it was drizzling slightly, so it seemed like a good time to give the buffamoo a day off. They've earned it!
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Also, strawberries!
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Raven has a request for me today. She apparently just wants to talk to me, which is pretty...Well, surprising. I guess we're becoming better friends.
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There's a new seed at the store, and I buy a bunch of them.
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And since Kuruna likes sweets...I buy some chocolate. Maybe I'll make something for her. She can't get a lot of chocolate in the desert.
I also get the chance to ask Karina something I've been wondering about her...
"Other than sleep and dodging work, what do you like?"
"...Don't knock sleep. It's important for your health... Um, but... Gems are nice."
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"I think preferences are allowed to be a little shallow; you like things because you like them, right?"
"Right. Oh, but I don't like diamonds very much. (Anything but that.)"
"Are you trying to ask me for something?"
Karina's a girl with expensive tastes.
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"Oh, what?"
"There's an island in the sky that's shaped like a whale! How cool is that?!"
Like a whale?
"Really? A whale? That must be a big island."
Her face grows determined and serious. Her fists pump the air.
"I told Carlos about it! He said that that's where the King Fish must live!" She sighed dreamily. "Ah, I want to go there at least once. My fishing master blood is stirring!"
"Best of luck to you!"
The spirit of a fishing dream floating around my head, I head to the blacksmith's, where Raven is waiting next to the desk.
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"Yes."
"I see..." She pauses and, for a moment, finds she can say nothing.
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"Raven?"
"...Take me."
"What?"
Ah! T-t-that? My face goes red. That's a little forward, I mean, Gaius is right there and -- wait. No. She can't possibly be saying that.
"Take me to Vale: Icy Rosebush."
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My heart slows to a normal speed.
Raven sighs, as if that was a lot of effort for her, and our walk to the frozen river to the north is a quiet one. I'd not actually been to its sort of "tourist destination," off to the east side; I'm looking forward to it...
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Huh. Why's there a wooly here? It's definitely not happy to see someone that smells as oddly as I do; it bristles and bunkers down almost like a spring, ready to either headbutt or play dead, and which is anyone's guess. This is basic wooly fighting 101, 102, and 103.
Woolies are not good at fighting, is what I am saying...
But it's not good if Raven wanted to come here quietly and admire this giant rosebush made of (or covered with, I'm not sure) ice.
I take a few steps closer. I am not entirely sure how to handle this. If she weren't here, we could just talk this out, or I could ignore it, but now...Well...How about I just uh, try and make shooing motions? General soothing sounds? Half-human shield?
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Raven herself closes the distance before I draw on a plan, her steps slow and steady, her breath calm and even. Each movement is fluid and predictable.
"Raven?" She's not fighting, and she's not running, so...?
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The wooly's ears perk up at her whisper-like voice. It takes the opportunity, the two of us stopped, and sniffs the air between us. It takes the opportunity to retreat. I give it a little nod.
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I cannot tell if she is speaking to the wooly or me or to herself, only that she is smiling in her eyes and in that soft, almost frost-fern delicate tone of her voice, and I can see a little bit of ease in the wooly's back, and I feel it in mine.
She draws closer, and it's ultimately elected to neither fight nor fly, but that we're probably not going to attack it.
"It's only scared because we're scared of it, too. It's scared of being feared..."
"But...I'm not afraid of it. I mean, it's a wooly." Now, the King Wooly that lives in the maze attached to my basement? Little afraid of that. Just being honest. I can't explain my full reasons to her, though; they are a little existential. "I mean, I don't even try fighting them when I go take care of my strawberries in the forest anymore."
"You don't 'have to'?"
"Right. I can go about my business without having to keep them out of my way. There are times I think that that must be what being really strong is; when you can do what you need to, and you don't have to hurt anyone."
Raven seems to think about this. She even smiles a little, but shakes it off.
"...But you still were going to try and chase it off, right?"
"I wasn't sure what you'd do, or what it might do to you," I explain. "I can take care of myself, but..."
She shakes her head.
"I...I don't need anyone to be afraid for me. Anyway...It didn't know that. How could it? The world is so full of so many people...And they'd all fear...It's just better not to find out."
She said this too the wooly, at the end: it was better never to know.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG13_zps2f6e0fa0.png
The wooly retreated, and she watched after it with a lost expression.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG14_zps379ad69f.png
"What?"
"You should stay away from me, too..."
We were both entirely silent for a second. Raven stood trembling, like she'd been hollowed out, but her feet were planted on the ground. Her eyes were cold as the rosebush.
"Why...?"
"..." At first, she had nothing to say.
"Is this, is this what you brought me out here to say?"
She takes a deep breath.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG15_zps145adf18.png
"That can't be..."
Raven pulls away, staring at the heart of the frozen rosebush.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG16_zps46c47e07.png
"I came to play here with a friend. But --" She turns and stares at me, pinning me to the spot. I will not be allowed to escape, not as long as Raven's standing there, holding me to the spot with her gaze. "she disappeared. ...Right in front of me."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG17_zpsb5f9cd70.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG18_zpsf588057c.png
Raven breaks away and walks a few steps. She is very still at the end of it, and one more time, musters all her courage.
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"But then...Why...Why did you ask me to go with you to Sofia's, before?" Raven doesn't answer. I want her to turn around, or change her mind. I wanted to know why she thought a delivery job was the best way to hang out with a guy.
"Why hang out with me, and be my friend, and then decide, 'nope!' I'm not afraid of some sort of vague disappearances like that!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG20_zps0e68c72c.png
"So today was..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG21_zpsa8defe1b.png
"What...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG22_zpsc997bc36.png
I try to think of something more I can say...But just like that, all the effort, all the little steps and victories into our friendship...Just evaporated.
I'm not even sure I really understand why.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG23_zpsd39b5cf5.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageG24_zps97499802.png
*sigh*
Maybe actually helping someone will make me feel better.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageHDoNotCrop_zps8598aa50.png
...Well, I know where to find a lot of woolies, so this shouldn't be hard. Heck, if I'm clever about it, there's always me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI1_zpsb6f428b2.png
"Yep."
"Okay, so... You've seen a lot of monsters, right?"
"I sure have."
Shara fiddles with a beaded end of her headdress, working out how to say her exact request.
"Um..."
"?"
"I'm looking for a particular monster."
She looks pretty serious. It must be tough. Maybe that King Wooly from the basement?
"Which one?"
"It's a wooly."
"Your message said that, but...those things are all over Privera Forest."
"No!"
The beads of her headdress clink between her fingers as she sweats, nervously. She's super nervous about this.
"It's not just a regular wooly..."
What, that very smart wooly from the settlement...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI2_zpsc0a1d679.png
On that day...?
I don't remember this.
"It collapsed right in front of our flower shop."
But there's no one else it could be, right?
A tender smile settles onto Shara's face.
"I brought it inside and tended to its wounds."
So, that's how I ended up in Shara's room! She brought me there as a wooly!
That's so kind...Her grandfather must have been against it, too.
It's all I can do to keep from being moved to tears. It's been an emotionally busy day.
Shara, though, just looks annoyed.
"But when I took my eyes off of it for a second, it disappeared."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI3_zps72a292cd.png
Tears pool around her lashes, glistening in the shop light. Hey, wait! I was exagerrating about being moved to tears, so please, don't!
"I'm worried that it's still out there somewhere, injured."
I put an appeasing hand on her shoulders to try and settle her.
"It's probably fine by now. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."
Um, before I make a complete fool, I should probably just be sure...
"Uh, was there something special about that wooly? Something...unique-looking?"
Dashingly handsome?
She settled down enough to answer.
"Yes! It was a very strange wooly. It had golden wool, a blue scarf, and a funny hat that looked like the top and acorn."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI4_zps0bce3cd5.png
Hey!...My hat's not strange!
"What is it?"
"Uh, um, ah, it's nothing! N-N-N-Nothing at all!!"
I nearly blew it out of wounded pride.
"Have you seen it?!"
"No! Definitely not! I've never seen it in my entire life!"
Shara leans forward and peers closely at my panicked face with its rictus smile.
"Are you ABSOLUTELY sure?! Never?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI5_zps80177f65.png
Shara sighs, deflated.
"I see...What a shame. I just want to know that it's okay."
Oh, wait! I wanted to reassure her! I went too far...
"I-I'll tell you what. Let me go take a look. Maybe I can find your wandering wooly."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI6_zps4ffb9a2a.png
"Uh, I think I'll be able to find this one. Trust me. I've got a good feeling."
"Okay. Thank you."
She doesn't sound confident at all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI7_zps5d9ec6f8.png
The wooly she wants to meet with is me...What should I do?
She's so worried about that Wooly. I've got to let her know it's -- I'm -- okay.
I'll transform and talk to her.
...Well, not talk. Because that'd give away too much. But generally not be dead. Alrighty.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI8_zps4695c9f3.png
I find a corner behind the trellis to transform.
It's a bit nerve-wracking, running around in town like this.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI9_zps28b040bd.png
"Bah." Just pretend I didn't understand that...
"... (I probably shouldn't...)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI10_zps4fd1667e.png
Pia smiles big and innocently.
"So cute!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI11_zps68197288.png
I guess that there's not as strong an anti-monster sentiment as I thought. Among girls who'd think small woolies are cute.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI12_zps1b8febb9.png
Monica likes me as a wooly more than as a human.
But anyway, Shara's waiting.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI13_zps444447ea.png
"Are you okay?!"
I don't want to let on I can speak human, but I generally display perkiness. I even throw in a little twirl.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI14_zps715e1a9a.png
"I was so worried about you after you disappeared like that!"
"Bah."
She looks me over carefully, checking me over for fresh wounds.
"Are you getting enough to eat? Do you have a warm, comfy place to sleep?"
"Bah, bah." I nod.
"That's great!"
"Bah."
Because you were there, Shara; you'll probably never know how much you saved me. You dragged me in and made sure I was ok -- who knows what sort of shape I'd have been in if you didn't. You took me in, gave me a way to survive and a place to stay -- some wierdo just wandering around saying he couldn't remember anything!
Because you were there, I had a reason to move forward for the first few days of my life here, when I didn't have or know anything. And I... I'll never be able to repay that.
Because you were there...I might just have been saved by that simple fact.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI15_zps93a2a1ec.png
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI17_zps98dab5b9.png
She takes something out of her bag and sets it down between us.
"Here, this is for you."
Darnit, Shara! This is too much! I just went on a monologue about how good you are and junk and d'awww and now you give me more stuff? It's too much!
"Bah, bah!"
"Tee-hee."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI18_zps953bcbf6.png
"Oh, are you going already?"
"Bah!"
"I see...That's too bad."
"Bah, bah."
This won't be the last we meet. Well, probably. But...Uh, Woolyman will somehow always know when you're in trouble. Away!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI19_zpsb43ee2e9.png
Cake, you say?
"Bah!"
I do like cake.
"Take care!"
"Baaaaaaaah."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI21_zps83a470c1.png
Aw, a wooly's favorite treat.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI22_zps292d0a2a.png
And back again.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI23_zps8789bdf7.png
"Listen! That golden wooly just came to see me!"
"Really?!" I ask, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Yes! I was so surprised! It was so cute! So soft and fluffy."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI24_zps9c590910.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI25_zpsfebdaab1.png
Hearing something like that so soon after the rather confusing matter of Raven is...Well, uplifting, anyway. I guess I do feel better, and this whole business did distract me...
"What is it?"
"N-no, it's nothing."
"Really? I feel like there's something you aren't telling me...Anyway, I saw my wooly, so I owe you a formula A."
"Oh, that's okay. I didn't do anything." As far as you know.
"Please, I insist."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI26_zpsd808f591.png
*nervous sweat* I have no idea what you're talking about.
"But..."
"No arguing! It's yours."
"Well, thank you very much."
"I'm the one who should thank you."
"No, really. Thank you. For when we met, and all. I'm glad...I'm glad I met you and Raven, then."
That's right. I can't give up on Raven -- I'm sure Shara wouldn't want it, either.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI28_zps027c7442.png
That is a lot of formula A.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI29_zps613553bb.png
"But I've never heard the flowers actually bloomed..."
Wow, if someone Marjorie's age and knowledge hasn't heard of them really blooming, then...I guess it hasn't happened in anyone's memory.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI30_zps704d9a7c.png
I can get a pharmacy! Hooray!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI31_zps2b8608d8.png
"What?!"
"It'll be ready sooner than you'd expect!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI32_zpsd76ee9a4.png
"We must expunge them from our fair hamlet!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI33_zps6e0f9f19.png
"...You have mixed feelings about your sister's clothes, don't you?"
"They're certainly simple designs. And when I told Evelyn how I truly felt, she ran out of the house, sobbing! Was it something I said?"
I guess understanding Sofia is reliant on first knowing what she's trying to say. Certainly, her sister's clothing is a subject she can be...A little inconsistent on.
"I think that's a safe bet."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI35_zps63b62baa.png
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageI39_zpsd6b78b29.png
Today's options...
I go home and do a little cooking...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageJDoNotCrop1_zpsfa6a75de.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageJDoNotCrop3_zps131f64e7.png
I even make a nice treat with some chocolate. If I use the warp, I can get this to Kuruna while it's warm!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageK2_zps37738fd6.png
But on the way, I do plant and fertilize my new seeds.
Now to deliver that cocoa!
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"I'm happy you like it."
This seems to please her more than the cocoa, which she sips appreciatively.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageK5_zpsc0f2e6a0.png
I have a few seeds left over, so I end up planting them by my strawberries. While I do so, a wooly stands behind me the entire time, watching me... After everything Raven said, I can't help but wonder what he thinks. I mean, after everything Raven said...
I transform, sending him scrambling away before I can ask my question.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageK6_zpsdefff9ad.png
Time to lure him back with spare strawberries.
"< No, look, it's OK. I'm a friend, see? I just wanted to ask -->"
"< Are you really? I mean, you're basically a freak or a traitor, no matter how you cut it. It's not like you can blame a guy for getting a little nervous. >"
I sigh, but he takes the strawberry from my hand anyway.
"< Well, I was wondering...>" I do not know what I really want to say. <" ...Wanna hang out or something? I've got a nice place in that big tree you could stay at. >"
"< What.>"
This conversation, delivered in a series of baaahs, could be going better.
"< ...Well, let me ask you. What do you think about humans? Or about my being 'a freak and a traitor.' Or stuff like that. >"
He pauses and gives this a little consideration.
"<You're bizarre, is what you are. What does it matter what I think about humans? When we meet, we'll fight. That's just how it is.>"
Auuughhh! I'm here all the time, never attacking anyone! gosh-darnit!
"< Who says?! Who knows? They say that because you think that because they think that because you think that because they because you because they because -- >"
I stop, breaking down a little, panting. Between Raven and Kuruna, the two've half driven me mad. Because there's the base of it. There's the rub. We run each other around in circles, because no one's going to unclench their fists first.
"<...It's so stupid!>"
I exclaim, the frustration boiling over.
He smirks.
<"...And your solution, your big plan, is 'want to hang out, I've got a house and you can chill there, cuz?">
"Well, it's better than you going on calling me a freak or a traitor, right?"
Someone has to let go first, even if it's just a little...
And, well, I've got nothing to hold on to to begin with.
"<Yeah, OK. I'm called...>"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageLDoNotCrop1_zps5923b3bc.png
"<Alright, then.>"
I show Delita home so he can settle in.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageNDoNotCrop1_zpsfb4cea12.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageNDoNotCrop2_zpsc5075d5d.png
And while it's less relaxing, I also find and talk a cluckadoodle into moving in.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageNDoNotCrop3_zpsdb491042.png
A task which brings me close enough to the mouth of the valley that I can hear what everyone else heard, too...
That strange roaring. If I fight whatever's making it, will I find more memories? Or Sakuya's lunch?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageNDoNotCrop4_zps83d76f9d.png
I keep running through the valley, fighting laser fish and a strong wind...The laser fish are alarmingly inaccurate...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageNDoNotCrop5_zps9dd4b06e.png
That noise doesn't stop...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageNDoNotCrop6_zps2e86a824.png
These guys, though, are both accurate and deadly. Booking it out of here!
I head home and check out...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImageO1_zpsdd2bf56c.png
my new pharmacy! This corner of the house is all completed.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop1_zpse7e99313.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop2_zps1fa7f985.png
I make a few things I know how to make easily...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop3_zps4fa376ef.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop4_zps32b2698f.png
And a bit of tinkering opens the path to the solution to my current problem: the para-gone!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop5_zpsfafbae78.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop6_zpsac57ffba.png
I've been collecting materials recently, so I take some evening time to upgrade my watering pot...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop7_zpse1864d0c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2012/ImagePDoNotCrop8_zps139f0966.png
And my hoe.
That brings me to the limit of my strength today. I have a lot to think about. About fear, about generosity...About myself, too, though I guess I'm the only one who'd think of it that way. But that's for another day.
Dragoon
2014-06-06, 12:54 PM
Great update as usual, definitely got at the feels, which you are good at. Yeah we got to see some of the people's reactions to Ramza as Wooly. Though I wonder what Carlos and Carmen say about their loss at fishing... Well I guess I'll go find out when I get there.
Qwertystop
2014-06-06, 01:05 PM
Were the Wooly NPC's lines in the game?
No. He's not even an NPC: he's just a monster I picked up. I just figured it's weird that the MC can understand the Wooly NPC who lives in the settlement, but there's never any dialogue with any monsters he tames, even woolies -- even if they'd just be silly, one-sided things like with the wooly NPC from the settlement. It never quite sat right with me, and I figured, eh, one opportunity in a narrative LP is to rectify little missed opportunities a game like this couldn't have.
It also gives myself a character who has no real existence in the game world I can have Ramza bounce his thoughts off of from time to time, which feels useful to me.
Javan
2014-06-06, 10:54 PM
Good update, it's fun going into the story blind as to what it holds and being forced to wait, but the added narration makes it definitely worth it.
No. He's not even an NPC: he's just a monster I picked up. I just figured it's weird that the MC can understand the Wooly NPC who lives in the settlement, but there's never any dialogue with any monsters he tames, even woolies -- even if they'd just be silly, one-sided things like with the wooly NPC from the settlement. It never quite sat right with me, and I figured, eh, one opportunity in a narrative LP is to rectify little missed opportunities a game like this couldn't have.
It also gives myself a character who has no real existence in the game world I can have Ramza bounce his thoughts off of from time to time, which feels useful to me.
This will be fun.
fizzmaister
2014-06-06, 10:56 PM
Yeah, I think that having the wooly become a character is going to be seen as one of the better moves of this LP. Just a hunch.
Well, I'm glad that's a liked decision! I'll try to find places for him.
Chapter 13: Mithril Cook
The next morning, a light rain fell. Nothing big, but enough that it had a sort of peaceful, amiable quality. Days like this make me start thinking about increasing my production, at least a little.
I found Raven walking down the stairs very early in the morning, for some reason. I waved at her and tried to say hi...
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...But she just turned away.
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What am I supposed to do about that, if she won't even speak to me?
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What, in an eating contest? Haven't I been advised against exactly that? ...Fine, I might as well see what it is.
That request brings me to the Diner early today.
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"Well, I can't hold my liquor. Wine especially..."
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But...How?!
"Just a sip got you plastered...?"
"It's a frightening thought, I know...Well, what'll it be so early?"
I ask to see about some appliances; I'm nearly all set on that front, but could have a little more.
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Ow, my wallet. I really need to step things up in the cash department.
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Not a bad selection of recipes today; that cutlass might be worth looking into. But I'm here for a reason...
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"Uh, didn't you sort of challenge me...?"
With the 'bring it on!' and all?
"Lies! Darned lies and logistics!"
"Uh, yeah, I don't think I can beat you in an eating contest, but I'll give it a shot!" I owe her for exploding her that time, and all.
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"What? It's not an eating contest...?"
What a relief...
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Um, it is a very powerful characteristic.
She points at me fiercely, a warrior's strength exuding off of her.
"We're gonna have a cooking battle! Using all our senses, skills, and creativity, we'll tackle the secret ingredient of the day!"
I see; this is an important battle. To see who will be the Mithril Cook...
I feel ashamed.
"Ah, sorry. I mean, I just assumed that because it was YOU, that --"
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"I'll keep that in mind! So, what are we making, then?"
A big smile spreads across her face.
"We unveil the ingredient!"
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"Rice Ball..."
"I want to see artistic creations never seen before! You show me what you've cooked...and I'll tell you how you did!"
"Wait, don't tell me you're going to be cooking AND judging?!"
This is starting to sound one-sided...
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"Uh, who exactly elected you 'Chairwoman'? But sure, I'll bring my dish when it's ready!"
"Wait, wait! I have to say it first! Allez Cuisine!"
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One rice ball, coming up! Delita sees fit to give commentary for this process.
"<Well, it looks like we've got a fine Rice Ball coming up in the challenger's kitchen. He seems to be using the classic technique of just using his hands and the cooked rice to make it -- Challenger, do you think that'll take off points for creativity?>"
"Well, Delita, I think the judges will appreciate that I understand that the best way to prepare something like a rice ball, which is so simple in its ingredients, is to take no shortcuts. To prepare simple food beautifully is, itself, an art."
"<We'll see how that philosophy fares as the challenge continues! Back to you, Agrias!>
"Cluck."
"...Neither of us understands a word of that, do we?"
"<Nope.>
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"Oh, it's beautiful..."
"So, I assume your dish is ready as well?"
"Oh, uh..." she squirms.
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Behind the counter, her father shakes his head.
"I think you should go ahead. It sounds like you worked really hard on it!"
She laughs nervously, like a puppydog's bark.
"Nope! The challenger goes first! Chairwoman's orders!"
I shrug.
"Okay, go ahead and try it, then!"
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Uh, it's a riceball.
"I've never tasted anything like it! My fantasy has become reality! You are truly a culinary artist worth of being in anybody's hall of fame!"
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"No point? Shouldn't you at least show me what you made?"
I'm really curious; I bet she has access to materials I just don't have.
She glares at me, nervous sweat dotting her brow.
"No, it's cool! I lost! You gain the people's ovation and fame forever! Oh, and this!"
"Uh, thanks!"
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"(Whew... Heh heh. He'll never know I was just tricking him into cooking for me! Sorry, Ramza, but a girl's gotta eat!)"
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I'm starting to suspect she didn't cook a dish *at all*.
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Karina has a request for me as well..Which is hopefully less like using me.
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Huh; I don't think I've been there.
"They have a most curious statue at their gates! A bronze pineapple."
"A bronze pinapple...? What kind of city would erect that kind of statue?"
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Oh, right...
"Ah, so it's not actually true. That's good! I don't think I could respect a town that built pineapple statues!"
...What's the opposite of a bronze pineapple, exactly?
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"Why?"
"She said she could have had an extra customer if I had taken you to her inn. I'm not sure why she's mad about it now, though..."
"Oh, I see..."
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I consider buying some seeds...But clearly not that many. Just a few.
I eventually go to see Karina.
"What is it?"
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"The dungeons? Why?"
"Just because. (I don't feel like explaining.)"
"Well, for starters, they're more like wild areas than dungeons."
The difference is, it's not like anyone's forcing you to destroy everything to progress. That's the difference in my head. Also, they're largely outdoors.
"I see." She considers this, and then disregards it. "Well, whatever they are, I've got some questions about them."
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"It depends. But they are full of monsters."
"Well duh. (Even I knew that much.)"
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"Apples grow there. That's pretty nice."
"I see. (I guess those are pretty good.)"
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"Well, I like fishing."
Especially in Oddward Valley.
"Really...? (That sounds relaxing...)"
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"When I'm getting swarmed."
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"Most importantly, are there wolves in Privera Forest?" She asks, with an apparently serious grim face.
I shake my head.
"I've never seen one."
"Oh, I see. (Hmmm...) " She pauses and thinks about this all carefully. "You said you like fishing?"
"Yes."
"Then could you catch a Masu Trout for me? Now that I think about it, I've never had a fresh-caught fish."
"So close to the lake, that's a crime."
"You think? (So Carmen's already gotten to him...)"
"Well, I just think that fish is like anything else: when it's fresh, there's a really special quality to the flavor. I'll go catch you one."
This actually earns a smile from Karina, which I wasn't entirely expecting right away.
"Thanks."
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"Well, I think it's...Wonderful."
I certainly wonder at it.
And, you know? Throwing yourself into something is wonderful. Her enthusiasm makes me smile...And I actually do think it's pretty.
She beams.
"Then the Sharance Tree --"
"No."
It's wonderful here.
I actually decided that I didn't want to have to deal with long-ranged enemies while fishing in the forest; it's actually one of my least-favorite wild areas for fishing. Anyway, I can fish in the lake, so I did...
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Catching at least one unusual item.
After I netted the fish I needed, I returned with it to Karina.
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"You were sleeping again...?"
"But then I dreamt I was the fish. I saw the chef raise up his big knife..." She looked down at the fish I had caught, as if checking its eyes for dreams.
"That sounds kind of traumatizing."
The fish flops about in agreement, slipping out of Karina's hands -- which, themselves, quickly jerk out of the path of fish.
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The fish's wet body slides across her bedroom floor with a series of wet noises.
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***
"Oh, great."
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She finds some form of payment -- for a change.
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"Thanks for everything. I learned a lot. (Now I'm one step closer to city life.)"
"?"
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Actualy payment! What a shock!
I head over to the settlement in the afternoon today.
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"Uh...huh."
Kuruna doesn't pick up on some of the subtleties of my response, and instead sighs, as an honest look of grief settles over her features.
"But it also means that we outlive many of our friends. It is a heavy burden to bear at times."
"I'm sorry, Kuruna..."
I guess asking her how old she is would be a really bad idea, huh?
When she sees the look on my face, she smiles sadly and pats my shoulder.
"Comrade...Could you please answer my request tonight?"
"Uh, ok."
Her request?
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A tour? Well, alright...
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I wait the time until evening outside, trying to get some ingredients for that cutlass recipe I learned today.
I come back about an hour later, with the cloth I need.
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"So...you want to take me on some sort of tour?"
"That's right. You need to see the beauty of the desert."
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She waves a finger.
"Ah. You have seen, but you have not observed. I'll show you the majesty of Sol Terrano: Star Dunes. The skies are clear in the afternoon, and once dark falls, it's a perfect place to go stargazing.
Have you visited there before, comrade?"
Star dunes? I don't think I've been anywhere like that...
"I haven't."
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"Then let us make haste, comrade!"
"Sounds good. Uh, which way do we go?"
"To the edge of the desert."
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Kuruna's clearly made for magic -- unsurprising, given what she's said about the Univir.
We head to the entrance of the desert, and down the other path, just as night begins to fall.
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The horizon is still faintly light, where the sun's still echoing from beyond the horizon -- but above us, the stars have come out in full. The contrast between the two seems eery, and makes the sky seem like a vast world.
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"It's so beautiful... And it's surprisingly cool for the desert!" My laughter breaks the silence, making me feel slightly sad.
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"No, I don't even notice the heat at all."
Looking out over that sky, I find myself wondering how strange it is: there's all these rivers and lakes, and then there's this vast, beautiful desert so close; the world is strange and marvelous.
"I never really appreciated how magnificent the desert scenery actually is! ...When it's not trying to kill me." I chuckle, and turn to face Kuruna.
The starlight gleams off of her horn, itself like a bleached desert bone, hair flowing like wind over the sand... She seems to almost be carved out of this scenery, at peace with it in a way I envy (I envy a lot of things).
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I wince, reflexively.
"I'm not sure about --"
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The ground shakes underfoot, cutting off any discussion of whether or not enjoyment of a starry vista is racially-determined (or even whether or not I belong, even if she just sees me as a wooly, in a category with Kuruna.)
"An earthquake?!"
"I don't think so."
She looks up and around at the rocks.
"That felt more like a rockslide."
"Do you often get those around here?"
She nods.
"Yes. The rocks around here tend to become unstable, especially after we get rain."
"So I guess the desert's beautiful... But also awfully dangerous." I sigh. "Back to trying to kill me, huh?"
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"Do you head out here often, Kuruna?"
She laughs into her hand, the first time I have seen her laugh even a bit.
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"That doesn't sound like appropriate behavior for an elder!"
This honest teasing takes her aback.
"Well, even elders used to be kids, you know."
"Sorry! I didn't mean to insult you!"
But she smiles and giggles, at last.
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I was teasing -- mostly -- before...But, actually...
"It sure is..."
A nostalgic sigh floats through the cool air, out of that smile faint as the distant swirling of the galaxy.
"Time just flew by back then.
It felt like her own secret hideout,"
She confides.
"It sounds like this place means a lot to you."
Stories of her childhood...The whole notion feels far-away and uncertain. Was there a place I snuck out with, a trusted friend by my side? Was I alone?
"I wish I could get my memories back..."
Fretting and twining with eachother, Kuruna's pale fingers become the focus of her lowered, worried gaze.
"Oh, I didn't mean to offend you!"
"Ah!" My eyes dart to her. "I'm not offended at all!"
I wave my paws.
"I want to get them back because I want to tell you about my childhood, too!"
She pauses, and we both drop our concerns to consider this tantalizing possibility, which for now, remains out of reach.
"I'd like to hear those memories, comrade."
"I wonder what sort of kid I was..."
"I think you must have been a shy child, to be so mild as an adult...And a heart as gentle as yours couldn't have helped but have gotten you picked on."
All things considered, I think being picked on seems likely.
"If you put it like that, it sounds like I had all sorts of troubles. I don't think it could have been so bad."
Well, there's no helping it.
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She nods.
"Yeah, I have some work to take care of back there."
Something shakes again, the impact sliding me forward on the sand.
"Anyother rockslide?!"
This time, however, I see it, the moment the question leaves my mouth: a rock, falling from the ridge above Kuruna's head, rolling off and for this terrifying moment, hanging above her in the air. Everything slows down.
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"Huh?!"
I hear her voice faintly as I grab her, making a rather poor attempt to hold her for tiny wooly arms, and push or protect her from the falling rocks.
Then there's a great impact, and a sharp pain on my back. And then blackness.
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The starry sky comes into focus first, and then, out of the pale shape the milky way the blue horizone line comes swimming Kuruna's figure.
"Urrgh...My head..."
Oh, gosh. I don't have amnesia again, do I? No, wait. If I had amnesia again, I wouldn't remember I'd be having it again, right? So I'm probably fine. My name is definitely Ramza.
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"Oh, I was so worried!"
A sparkling tear lingers in her eyes.
"What...happened?"
"You don't remember? You knocked me out of the way of a falling rock! Such valorous instincts, comrade!"
Oh, yeah...Something like this might have happened...
Kuruna bows her head.
"I apologize profusely. It seems I was...distracted."
I brush this off; it's not like I didn't chose it.
"You aren't hurt at all?"
She looks surprised by this.
"No, I'm fine. If not for your bravery, though, I'm not sure what might have happened." She looks me over once again. "How about you? Are you in pain?"
"A mild headache, but I'm doing fine other than that."
"That's good to hear. It looks like my healing arts worked."
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I get up and stretch. Everything checks out, I don't seem to be missing any key information...
That I wasn't already missing...
"You must be pretty powerful! Even my headache's going away now! You're amazing, Kuruna!"
"No, comrade. You're the one who's amazing."
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She bows, formally.
"I will not forget your selflessness, comrade."
"I'm just glad you're safe. That's all I wanted. Anyway, we should probably get out of here before we run into any more rockslides!"
"Definitely!"
We run back across the dunes. There'd be a faster route, but...I doubt I could talk Kuruna into it.
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"You sure you'll be okay?"
"Oh, I'm more than okay. And it's all thanks to you! What about you, comrade? How are you doing?"
I rotate my shoulder to check it.
"Your healing arts are amazing! I think I feel even better than before that rock flattened me!"
"I know my healing powers are potent...but not that potent!"
She shakes a finger to admonish me.
"Take care of yourself out there, comrade. I want to see you come back in one piece!"
"I will!"
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"Thanks a lot! I'll keep that in mind."
"I hope I can show you some more of the desert sometime."
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She gave me a recovery potion.
Then it was time to go to my field and get to work ramping up production!
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Say hello to my little friend.
With the fieldwork done and planted, I headed upstairs to try and form a defense against, well, getting attacked:
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A new sword.
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Also, a ball of yarn!
The yarn is maybe less purposeful than I would like, but it's good practice.
The next day, I set Agrias and one of the Buffamoo to work in the fields, with some seed-sowing...
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And there's a letter in my mailbox from Gaius...About something on my mind.
Though if I've cleared so much land, I want some new seeds, first... But people are acting oddly, there...
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"Uh, what's tomorrow?"
"The festival! Did you forget?! Tomorrow's the Wooly Festival!"
She glares with deep ferocity that makes me want to really not know what a wooly festival might be.
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I buy my seeds, nearly bankrupting me...
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So there's a specific wooly for this 'wooly festival,' huh?
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"I think he rather hates that wooly."
So it's not a bad festival...That's a relief.
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A fun festival involving woolies... Belly rubs?
I like belly rubs.
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"How should I know? I just heard about it five minutes ago!"
"Ah, well...That's not the goal, at least. But it's so hard to tell, you know?"
Aand now I'm back to being worried. Let's just go see Gaius.
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"Well, let's just go then."
"What...?! W-Where to?"
He paused and seemed to think about this.
"Hmm, well. Sol Terrano: Sand Sea should be fine." He eventually decided with a shrug.
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...Does this have anything to do with Raven?
Regardless, we make it there before Noon.
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"Fine for...what, exactly...?"
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He begins mining from the ore there, a peaceful expression on his face.
"Hey, Ramza."
"Oh, um, yes?"
He pauses for a moment and rests his hammer against the rock.
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"Ah..."
I take in a little breath of warm, sun-baked air, and am met with a knowing smile.
"They're just waiting here, waiting for someone to talk to them.
That's the only way they know how to be."
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"But no matter how stubborn they are, you just need to talk to them."
He smiles, perhaps because he is thinking about forging.
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"Gaius...?"
"Even rocks can change their shape over time. Using a hammer just speeds it up a little."
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He lost his eye in a forging incident? I wouldn't have guessed...
"They may be hard, but they can change."
"..."
I think I understand. There's no one thing I can say, or do, to change things. But...
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"Alright, this should be enough! Let's get back, then."
He says, bursting into my thoughts.
"Oh, okay."
We head on back.
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"Thank you very much. You can ask me again any time."
"Of course. Next time I'll ask you to watch the store!"
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He smirks, in spite of my crestfallen expression.
"Raven has been out of sorts recently."
"...?"
"She just stops working and stares out the window."
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"Huh...?"
But she said... Was she lying? Am I going to have to be a stubborn fool, too?
"Well, see you."
He goes inside, leaving me with a chest of goodies.
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Including Gold!
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Knocking wool off? Is that what this is...
Wait. What. His mach punch?
"That's got to be some punch!"
"Mach punch thunder strike go! Whoosh! You see that? You see that punch?"
He mimes punching the air a few times.
That wasn't so impressive.
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Carmen's got a request, so I figure I might as well see about that.
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Even though she wasn't there before, she's home by the time I get to her place.
She looks up from contemplation of her cutting knife and smiles when I walk in the room.
"Oh, Ramza, perfect."
"What's the matter? Your knife won't cut?"
"Yeah. My important sashimi knife is dull. It hasn't been sharpened lately. I want to ask Gaius, but we've been getting swamped at work."
I guess with Spring nearing its end, the travellers have been getting their spring fishing in.
"I'm sorry, but could you go for me?"
"Okay. I mean, you are my fishing instructor after all. I'd be happy to help."
She laughs at my bringing that up, when all that's involved is a simple favor.
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She deposits a well-loved sashimi knife into my hands.
"Good luck! Bring it back to me when Gaius is done with it."
When I head to the Blacksmith's shop...I see Raven at the counter, as usual. It's like any other day. When I walk in, she hides her face in her hair.
"Afternoon, Raven."
I say, with a forcedly jaunty smile.
There's a long pause. Maybe too long -- but I stand my ground.
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"So...Uh...How about that Wooly festival?"
Her expression softens, signifying that, for one, this is not a festival I should be offended by in a for-my-people sort of way, and two, that this was a good choice of topic.
"The Wooly Festival is...fun."
"What? You think so? I don't know anything about it."
She nods, then turns and pretends to be very interested in shelfing.
But if she's letting me talk to her again, I think we have to count it: that even if she's afraid of it, the bond between Raven and I can't be that easily cut.
But now, I have my actual task to tend:
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"It seems like it's gotten quite dull. Could you sharpen it for her?"
"Ah, Carmen's knife? It's been a while since I last sharpened it. Alright, leave it to me! I'll get it nice and sharp!"
*One Sharpening Later*
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"Thank you very much! I bet Carmen will be happy."
"Yeah. Tell her to bring it again anytime." He pauses and thinks about this. "Well, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to work on it right away."
I run it back to her. Not literally. Don't run with sashimi knives, kids!
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"Yes, this is it! Now I can go back to making tasty sashimi!"
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She takes a snapper and slices it to pieces right in front of me! Yowza!
"Thank you, Ramza. Now let me offer you this!"
She offers me the sashimi she's made, a warm smile on her face.
"Ah, I bet this'll be nice. I, uh, won't guarantee I won't sell it, though...Money's, um, a little tight this week..." I laugh, nervously. "I guess I should be a little more worried about making money to get by tomorrow with my day today, huh?"
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"What?"
She blushes and fumbles, the newly-sharpened knife slipping around in her fingers dangerously before being stowed safely away.
"Uh...hope I can count on you again! See ya!"
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Wait, what? Like a king wooly?! I thought this was fun?
"Everything sounds dangerous when you say it, Marian..."
Well, let's leave that riddle for later...
And the settlement for now.
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"Is that really --"
"Compassionate rulers are conquered rulers. History is littered with their corpses."
"But don't you think that you should be a little flexible as a leader?" I don't like to think of history as being covered in corpses...Though, uh, I guess it's covered in everyone's corpses. We're all just as dead when we die.
Kuruna get a little red-faced.
"I'm the elder. It's my duty. I will protect this settlement with my last breath."
But...who's asking that of you?
Ugh. Sometimes people are insufferable! To clear my head and recover my wallet, I go fishing for a while.
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When my evening payment comes in, things in my wallet are looking much, much better.
So it seems reasonable -- at least to me -- to try going a bit upstream.
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Following the growing howling...
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And the increasingly tough enemies.
I do manage to fend them off, but nothing more than that...
And afterwards, I retreat like it's no one's business.
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and whip up a few para-gones.
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Also, Sashimi.
If I want to keep going, I clearly need two things: level and gear. For gear, I need ingredients, and that means...
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"Hey, Delita, want to run around the forest beating stuff up for supplies?"
"<Do I?!>"
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This takes us deep into Privera forest, looking for things that come off of plants and insects.
"There's a festival coming up."
"<I saw your calender. ...By the way, why does that girl come in and marking it in the dead of night?>"
"...Uh. Which girl?"
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I pause from where I'm fighting not another row of giant beetle monsters.
"<I don't know. They're all hairless apes to me. Besides...You smell like a whole bunch of human women. ...And elf women. And... Honestly, your tastes are bizzare. I don't even know what half of the things you hand around with are.>"
"Hey! Pia's nice! ...Wait, my 'tastes'? Go back! Go back! You've got it all wrong! Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong! It's not like that!"
"<With who?">"
"<Everyone!>"
"<Good. You're only part Wooly, but you've still got a chance of turning out alright in the end. You just need to find someone who's alright with...Well...Weird stuff.>"
"...Can we not talk about this?"
He laughs.
"<Alright, alright. You're kind of soft-hearted, aren't you?"
Besides...I don't think romance is really in the cards for me.
"<Still, a wooly festival. I'm not sure if I'm terrified, or excited, but I demand to see what you humanoid types cook up!>"
"I'm pretty interested, too. Everyone was a little coy about it.
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We fought onward, until at last I'd gathered a few pertinent supplies. At least, I hoped so.
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Enough to make a colorful pair of sneakers...
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And a new shield! This'll be good, I'm sure.
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I also upgrade my sword, just for the skill levels.
With any luck, I'll be able to move forward from here...Once we solve the mystery of that festival.
Javan
2014-06-15, 04:49 PM
Well, I'm glad that's a liked decision! I'll try to find places for him.
Chapter 13: Mithril Cook
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"What? It's not an eating contest...?"
What a relief...
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Um, it is a very powerful characteristic.
She points at me fiercely, a warrior's strength exuding off of her.
"We're gonna have a cooking battle! Using all our senses, skills, and creativity, we'll tackle the secret ingredient of the day!"
I see; this is an important battle. To see who will be the Mithril Cook...
I feel ashamed.
"Ah, sorry. I mean, I just assumed that because it was YOU, that --"
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"I'll keep that in mind! So, what are we making, then?"
A big smile spreads across her face.
"We unveil the ingredient!"
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"Rice Ball..."
"I want to see artistic creations never seen before! You show me what you've cooked...and I'll tell you how you did!"
"Wait, don't tell me you're going to be cooking AND judging?!"
This is starting to sound one-sided...
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"Uh, who exactly elected you 'Chairwoman'? But sure, I'll bring my dish when it's ready!"
"Wait, wait! I have to say it first! Allez Cuisine!"
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One rice ball, coming up! Delita sees fit to give commentary for this process.
"<Well, it looks like we've got a fine Rice Ball coming up in the challenger's kitchen. He seems to be using the classic technique of just using his hands and the cooked rice to make it -- Challenger, do you think that'll take off points for creativity?>"
"Well, Delita, I think the judges will appreciate that I understand that the best way to prepare something like a rice ball, which is so simple in its ingredients, is to take no shortcuts. To prepare simple food beautifully is, itself, an art."
"<We'll see how that philosophy fares as the challenge continues! Back to you, Agrias!>
"Cluck."
"...Neither of us understands a word of that, do we?"
"<Nope.>
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"Oh, it's beautiful..."
"So, I assume your dish is ready as well?"
"Oh, uh..." she squirms.
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Behind the counter, her father shakes his head.
"I think you should go ahead. It sounds like you worked really hard on it!"
She laughs nervously, like a puppydog's bark.
"Nope! The challenger goes first! Chairwoman's orders!"
I shrug.
"Okay, go ahead and try it, then!"
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Uh, it's a riceball.
"I've never tasted anything like it! My fantasy has become reality! You are truly a culinary artist worth of being in anybody's hall of fame!"
Wait.
Is it really.
It can't be.
Is that an Iron Chef reference?!?
It does seem to be, though it skirts being very specific about it. Still, I think the sort of high-flung language Collette uses in that request and the term "Chairwoman," a secret ingredient... It can only be Iron Chef!
Javan
2014-06-15, 04:57 PM
Mithril Cook = Iron Chef
That is actually pretty funny and neat.
The Mithril Cook thing is a line of my own, actually, and should not be used to show how specifically off-brand they were willing to get. Things not in quotes or parenthesis are approximately 95% more likely to be my own description of events (I say only 95% because I will occasionally slip The MC's lines from his dialogue box with parenthesis into Ramza's internal narrative, because I don't know what to do with them otherwise.)
Does Mithril even exist in the Rune Factory games? I forget.
Javan
2014-06-15, 05:12 PM
No, I don't think mithril is in RF.
And I figured it was your line, but even so, it fit in well.
fizzmaister
2014-06-16, 05:05 PM
Great update. Also, you know that that I've been saying about updating your sig with your LPs? I just found out about your Storm Silver LP. I'm reading it now.
And I'll repeat this, characterizing the domesticated beasts was a very good idea.
...*sigh* You make an excellent point, then.
Chapter 14: Comedy Night
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Many of my vegetables have come in today! Hooray! My onions, some cabbages, and some of the toyflower I had planted, too. I don't ship the onions and some of the cabbages yet, though: I have a feeling there's some further cash to be made if I cook something up with them.
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While I pondered this, I made some pudding. I've heard they call this sort of custard dish 'flan' in some parts of the world... Anyway, it's pretty good for RP recovery, so I'm holding onto it.
Before I get out to the festivities, I head to the settlement, where I see Ondorus hmming and hawwing by the teleporter, his teeth clenched.
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He relaxes at my question, pulled from his intense study of...Uh, I don't know what.
"I was just thinking how strange we univir are."
...Strange, your own species? Well, I guess I think humans are strange all the time.
I think about how Kuruna sort of defines the Univir -- long-lived, magical, ancient, proud...horned.
"...You mean the horn?" It's a pretty unusual trait, and it's also pretty defining.
"Yes. The horn is the source of our magical abilities."
"Is that right?"
No wonder Kuruna's so hung up on it.
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"Well, I'm sure if anyone can work it out, it's you."
"Oh, thank you for the vote of confidence, Ramza."
I also find Will finishing his breakfast on Kuruna's shoulder.
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"What did Will just finish eating?"
"A turnip."
"That's it? I thought he'd eat more than that."
She smiles.
"Yeah, he doesn't eat as much as you'd think."
I lean forward and examine Will, who glares at me threateningly.
"How many turnips does he have per day?"
"Hmmm... About 100. Give or take."
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Kuruna looked at me for a moment.
"Who's Collette?"
"Uh, uh. No one...important? A buffamoo I know."
She looks skeptical, but can find no real evidence for my obvious lie.
"You know some strange types."
I head on back to the village, since it'd be about time for the festivities to start.
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"You're already talking about it ending?"
"The wooly promised me lots of food in exchange for getting it shaved!"
Oh, we're shaving a king wooly...Well, I'm a little spooked by the idea of being shaved, but it is almost summer...
"I see... Wait, you speak wooly, Sherman?"
Or the wooly speaks Sherman? That's impressive!
"Well, not with his eyes and pantomime. I don't do this every year, so we certainly have no understanding."
Oh...
"Well, That's still very impressive to know."
I mean that, honestly; that sort of understanding is essentially for, well, someone like me to have any hope at all.
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"I don't think so."
And finally, to the festival square itself. Well, first, I run back to make sure I pick up Delita, who I promised to take with me.
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"How about it? Do you want to enter?
The rules are simple. Sherman as acquired a giant wooly for us."
It sounds like the wooly is bribing him.
"The wooly must be hot and miserable in this heat! That's why you should do it a favor, and trim its wool!"
"<You know, I could use a trim. It is pretty hot...>" Delita comments.
"Well, maybe when we get home," I say, trusting that his obvious puppy-dog eyes on the topic would be sufficient to explain my response. Personally, I think it's kind of invasive.
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"So, will you enter?"
"Yeah, let's do this!"
...You know, he didn't actually explain the rules.
"Then let's get started!"
They bring out, yes, a large king wooly with a large collection of wool. I don't think it's the one that headbutted me into oblivion before. Probably.
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These weapons are...kind of odd. Are they really for shearing?
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I pick a spoon, on the grounds that it'd at least do a lot of scooping deep in the fur, where I know all the dead wool sort of collects in a super-hot under layer. Also, because it's the most like a short sword.
While there's some things I'd like to ask...The presence of judges observing means I really can't blow my cover.
"Okay! Knock off the most fur to win!"
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There's a lot of things I'd like to say, or ask about, or...well, anything, but both the level of festivity and the presence of judges make it difficult.
"Well, let's see what I can't do in the shearing department," I simply say, with a jaunty salute, before we begin.
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He doesn't make it easy, smiling playfully as he darts away from my dubious choice of shearing implement (to Delita's obvious amusement), but I pursue across the plaza and keep at it with my spoon flying, knocking aside all the wool I'm able!
From time to time, he is joined by other woolies, set on causing chaos, I assume -- or joining in as well. I'm honestly not sure where they came from, but they're likely farm woolies from the area, since they've been shaved.
"Time's up! The winner of the Wooly Festival is..."
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Small mercies!
"Thank you very much!"
"In second place with 5940 points is Carlos. In third place with 4860 points is Rusk."
That was too close!
"Congratulations, everyone!"
The usual spiel about prizes ensued.
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Since no one else was picking up the wool, I guess I'll bring it home.
"<I'm impressed. Even playing icognito, you managed to win. I'll let you go about your business, but I expect to not have to deal with the remains of my winter coat when you get back!>"
Boy, you see one giant get sheared, and now everyone wants to do it...
But before anything else, it's prize time.
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...One of those sounded kind of dangerous.
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"And that wooly didn't seem to mind being trimmed. It must be a relief for it to lose all of that heavy wool."
Maybe I'm the strange one for finding it a little unsettling...
Thank goodness that was inside my head. I could already imagine Delita saying "Bah," in the sort of Bah that means Yes.
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...Well. Don't jump for joy.
It seems everyone has something to say about my victory.
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"Thank you."
"I might have done better if Carlos hadn't have kept me up all night practicing and shouting 'Mach Fist!'"
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"Yeah! Do you need any, Evelyn?"
"No. What on Earth would I use wool for?"
"Uh...never mind."
...And here I was thinking about buying a summer wardrobe.
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"Ha ha..." He was sort of cuddly...
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"Well, pretty sure not a single one."
Because wool does not work that way. Remind me *never* to be a wooly around Pia, if she thinks I'm a vegetable lamb.
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"I, uh, haven't calculated yet."
After that, I ran home to tend to last-minute matters of shipping off that last wool and planting my spare seeds... And then I figured, I'd devote the evening to going further into the valley and testing my new equipment.
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All I had to do was follow the sound, which lead me out of the water-logged land...
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And by a tree where wild grapes grew, which was pretty nice.
But now that I was out of the river, it seemed like I'd lost it entirely:
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Though that area did have a larger field, it seemed a bit too far away for me to take any real advantage of. I'd have to run all the way back here, I mean. No thanks.
Going higher up -- getting closer to the water again -- did seem to help some, though...
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But faced with formidable bell pepper ghosts, I decided to cut and run.
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Besides, I did have to give Delita that trim.
"< You're lucky. Your wool's relatively thin to begin with, so you don't notice how uncomfortable it gets.>"
"You think that's it?"
"< Probably. You know, it's strange. You don't look much different from any other human....But you look very different from other woolies.>"
"Maybe. I... don't remember what my father looked like. I might look like him."
I sigh: it's a riddle without an answer. To be honest, I'm not even sure how we lived, or what things were like. If I did, maybe there were a lot of things I'd understand better about the person I am.
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I make a spare watering pot and just practice with some yarn balls before calling it a night.
The next day, my pink melons had grown in!
A thrilling fact, which led me up to the kitchen for my usual light experimenting with various ingredients. This experimenting soon revealed...
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The end of all financial suffering, in handy juice form.
This is more money than I have been able to make from one item ever, and I'm able to make 5 right now. I haven't even checked other strawberry plants I have going. Privera Forest shall henceforth run on Prelude of Love production.
With this jaunty, boundless cheer filling my heart, I went to see the settlement.
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...Where Kuruna is *not* sharing my mood, apparently.
"What's wrong?"
Kuruna opens her eyes and suddenly notices I've entered.
"Oh, don't worry about me, comrade."
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This sends her into a near panic, trying to cover Will's entire body with her hands to silence him.
"Will?! Stop it! Comrade, don't believe his lies!"
"I don't think Will even knows what a lie is."
"He does! He's lying! He's LYING! HE'S LYING!"
"...So...I should just ship the hot chocolate I brought you today?"
"Now, now, comrade! Don't be hasty!"
After giving it to her, I head out to the town.
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Marian's got a request on the board that I think I need to take for the safety of everyone.
Though I do stop by the forge first, where I'm hit by an uneasy question:
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"W-Where did that come from? N-no, there's no one like that!" I mean, even if there was, I can't -- I mean, I don't think anyone'd really want to be... I don't want to be with someone who I can't be honest with. And I can't be honest with anyone. So, I can't be with anyone.
"Love is nice, isn't it?!" Gaius says with a laugh.
"That's not what I said!"
I walk to Marian's as quickly as possible under the stress.
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I'm ready for...whatever.
"I'd like you to bring me back a patient to experiment on."
I was willing to take one for the team there...
"Wait, are you a doctor of a mad scientist...?"
She waves this off impatiently. Perhaps the difference is, to her, very slight indeed.
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"So, just bring someone back with you! I don't even care if they have symptoms!"
This...is not how medicine goes. Or experiments.
"Wait, how can you test the medicine's results if they're healthy..."
This, she does not even wave off. She acts as if I said nothing.
"Well, I'll get things ready for the patient here. I'll let you get to it."
"Wait, I never said that I would actually do --"
Marian laughs.
"Well, I'm counting on you!"
I think we need to get her guardian involved.
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"Oh, I know. She's only allowed to mix medicine in front of me."
"Well, I'm slightly relieved to hear that..."
Marjorie half-chuckles, half-cackles.
"Well, it's nothing life-threatening, so don't worry about it."
"Huh...?"
We're just going to let this happen, then?
Well, let's start with someone durable...
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"Why so glum?" Carlos leans forward to examine me. I can't imagine him having health problems. "You got something on your mind, bro'?"
"Well, actually..."
He draws his eyebrows together and his expression grows fiery.
"No, you don't have to say it! I understand!"
"What?"
"It's about Carmen, right?"
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I...What?!
"No, that's not..."
Why is everyone so interested in my love life all of the sudden?!
"But! I won't forgive anyone who lays a hand on my sister! You understand me?!"
"*Sight*..."
I don't even get the chance to ask him about Marian's medicine...
Let's try someone with, uh...lethargy problems?
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"You don't look so well!"
"Hmmm, I'm alright. (Why does he seem so happy...?)"
In spite of this set back, I have to push onward!
"Then why don't you go to the apothecary? I think they'd see you for free."
But Karina just looks at me with a cold green stare.
"But today's a weekday, right? (Of course I won't go.)"
...She knows exactly what I'm thinking.
I find Pia heading towards the lake.
"Hey, wait! Will you come with me, Pia?"
She examines this statement for a moment.
"Are you talking about a bath?"
"No, about the apothecary."
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"No, the apothecary..." I am not even sure I can put up a decent argument: I mean, Pia is fine, and I'm not sure medicine works normally on mermaids.
"Bath's are nice! Very nice! ...Unlike certain unholy places, demanding my spit! Do I look like a nixie to you?"
Uh...I guess not. She knows *exactly* what I mean.
Well, let's try Wells! He's bound to have some little ache or pain.
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"Um, well...Do you have any back pain or...?"
"You calling me an old man?!"
"N-No, I didn't mean...! I-I'm sorry!" I stumble about in wild desperation, and drop the subject quickly.
Take...whatever: Sofia.
"Sofia, are you feeling well?"
"No."
"What?!" Perfect! "Then Marian's developed a new medicine, would you like to come to the apothecary and try it?"
"Yes! I'll definitely go!!"
"Oh, good." I can stop searching the town for...
As I turn to go, I realize Sofia's rooted firmly in place.
"Huh...? Sofia?"
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...I'm an idiot.
"Oh, I see..."
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"You have a strained back?!" At last!
"W-What's your problem? Why are you yelling?!"
Uh, well...Be a good salesman. Smile, smile...
"Well, I just heard there's this new medicine that works on strained backs."
"Really? So, where do I get this?"
Bingo!
"Currently on sale at the apothecary."
Hazel wilts.
"Oh, Marian's con."
"Marian's con?!"
"Don't get tricked by stuff like that. Not like good, honest products!"
...Like what you sell, huh?
Well, I say that, but I buy more melons and strawberry seeds, and...
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A number of bottles of oil and bags of flour, for an idea I have. I think I remember a recipe...Maybe? Amnesia steals my cooking ideas.
Let's try Monica, while I'm in the area?
"What do you want?"
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"I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaate them!!"
Retreat retreat before the fangs come out retreat!
"Of course..."
Let's try Shara?
"What is it?"
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"A patient? Am I sick?"
What sort of question is that?
"No, but..."
"I'm in very good health." She says in cheery obliviousness.
"So it seems..." I will be trapped in purgatory forever.
"???"
Well, so I don't have to go out here again...Let's try asking Daria.
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"Oh, what a coincidence! I was looking for a new model!"
Suddenly, my afternoon stretches in front of me: I go hunt a model for Daria, finding...I don't know, Evelyn, who wants a knew strange dress fabric, which means going to Collette for food items, which she'll only give for growing tall tips, which for some reason I'll need to find a person for and I think that'd be a job for Shino, which would... And so on.
"Wouldn't you want to get painted with my new paints?!"
Or not, and I could be covered in paint.
...
"I just remembered that I had to do something."
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Planting strawberries is something.
After that...Let's see if Collete is at the diner. Maybe she'll help. She is not, though.
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"Rusk, how are you feeling?"
"Why do you ask? I'm feeling fine -- Wait, is this for Marian?"
I sigh.
"Yeah, something like that..."
"Then talk to Collette. I'm sure it'll be funny."
"What?" I wouldn't want her to...Not after the explosion.
Let's try Blaise.
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"One will fine no need for supplements if they get plenty of rest and eat a balanced diet. In my line of work, health management is very important."
"I see..."
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I at least pick up some recipes.
Anyway, maybe Sherman...?
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"What? Oh, the opposite. By the way, Sherman. Marian's having me find a patient for her, so do you have any aches?"
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"Ummm....??"
Help. Which bits of that were opposited?
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"Yes. Marian asked me to look for a patient to test her new medicine, but..." My whole day's evaporating.
"My, how unfortunate."
"..." I look at her expectantly.
"..." She does not even glance up from her papers.
"Um, Shino --"
"Is there anything else?"
"Oh, no. No..."
Just my whole day, wasted.
Well, I can't just give up.
"Hey, Sakuya. Are you interested in trying a new medication?"
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"It's something Marian made..."
"I see. Well, forget about business then."
"What?!"
I think about who there even is left in town to ask... Gaius? Raven? I'm on thin ice with Raven -- if it's ice at all. These thoughts are interrupted by Collette.
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"What?"
"Marian is making you experiment, too? She makes me do that sometimes. Like, I told her I only had a cold, but she made me take weird stuff, and gave me this big shot to stop this cough I had that just made me laugh non-stop --" She says with a smile.
"Collette! I get it already!"
...
And that's when I realize I think I'll just tell her no one will come. Because no one, in fact, will come.
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Still, I can't help but feel sad when I tell her,
"Sorry, Marian. No one would come."
"What are you talking about? This is plenty. As long as you're here!"
"Huh...?"
She takes my hands and beams. I suppose, when you think about it, I did come back: I guess no one besides Collette ever has.
...Not that I can blame them.
"Now, here's my new formula! Go on, drink up!"
...I do not want to drink this. Can we go back to realizations about friendship? Well, maybe only I went there.
"Oh, but I'm not sick, so...!"
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"I do!"
"You don't know when to give up... I guess I have no choice."
She shrugged and shook her head theatrically, looking for all the world like the image of a mad scientist.
"What?!"
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"Wait--"
Where would that injection go exactly?
Marian just beams.
"Okay, time for your shot!"
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She brings out her syringe, and then the world goes white.
My legs give out and I gall backwards as if I was pushed.
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Before I can complete the thought, I'm unconcious.
I wake up on a cool white bed, staring at a ceiling I have seen before, but is not mine.
"Where am I...?"
Oh, gosh! This is another round of waking up somewhere that's not my bed...
My name is Ramza. I'm half-monster. I used to be a guard, don't remember where... I'm still worried about that... Now I farm and generally do-good.
I lead a double life full of shame and sorrow, because I am a scumbag.
"That's probably everything. I am probably OK."
Marjorie turns.
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I remember...Being shot supremely full of drugs.
"Oh, that's right... I passed out when she injected me."
"We've already taken care of you. You should be able to get up soon."
"Okay. Thank you."
Footsteps pound, and Marian's hat appears to poke around the doorframe, followed by her head.
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Oh dear gods, no. Nooo. Not again.
But as she comes charging in, her grandmother holds out a hand.
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"Oh..."
She walks with the delicate footsteps of someone trying not to frighten a deer or awaken a sleeping child toward the bedside -- no, that's not it. Like a child herself, expecting reprimand she likely deserves, her steps shy and mincing. Her head hangs like the tips of her hat.
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"What?"
"I seem to lose sight of things when I get carried away...I really did want to make you feel better, but...I guess I did spring it on you like that..."
It's so unlike her that it gives me pause for a minute. She did, at least, start out with good intentions... The rest was just rampant enthusiasm.
"Well, as long as you're sorry."
She smiles a little -- not a big, glowing beam, not that over-enthusiastic grin. Just a little smile.
"Ramza."
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And the next minute, it's wiped away, and she's back to her usual self.
...When did spells enter into this?
"Ha ha... *sigh*..."
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On my way to collect my prize, I heard Marian muttering,
"Maybe I needed more magic. Well, next time I'll add scrap metal and grass --"
"...Those don't sound like ingredients for medicine..."
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My reward was a pair of sandals with duckies on them. They're not better than the sneakers, just squeakier.
I head home, hoping to preserve at least a little daylight, and begin prepping the rest of my supplies for shipping.
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A little experimenting with the frying plan makes these tasty half-remembered dumplings!
Though I guess I don't know if they're tasty, since I shipped them out right away.
I still had some time left, so I checked my mail.
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Well, with any luck, this inexplicable request wouldn't take much time. And I could use a bath...
That having been thought, I headed out to the inn.
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The two girls were waiting, flanking the entrance.
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"Wait...I never said I would join."
Press-ganged twice in one day is a bit much.
"Actually, what would I even be joining?"
"A stand-up troupe."
"Stand-up?"
"I thought we could start doing stand-up routines to attract customers.
But to be honest, we could use some help, so I thought we'd look for another member." They paused and cleared their throats.
"So!"
"Welcome, Ramza!"
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"Is this going to work?"
Well, why not.
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We retreat to one of the back rooms -- I'm not entirely sure whose.
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"Wait, I never even agreed to do this..."
"Just try to hit the right punch line!"
Pia looks at me seriously.
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"Why would you even...?"
"Pia didn't get it at first and tried to punch me in the face."
"She did?!"
"I thought it'd be more of an impact."
"It would've."
They swap this back and forth quickly; if they're maybe not the freshest material, they've got a good impression...Or maybe Pia really is that literal.
Sakuya grins.
"Anyway, just try to get your timing right."
"For the punch."
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"You mean the punch line," I say, exasperated.
Sakuya nods.
"Yeah, that's good! Well, let's give it a try."
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With Shino waiting, we all scramble to the front desk.
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"I'm Sakuya." She poses, framing her face with her sleeves.
"I'm Pia!" Pia, center stage, jumps up and down.
"Umm..."
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No, no sense throwing it off this early -- I'm sure Pia's going to start, you know...Being Pia in about 5 minutes.
"Well, thank you for coming out to see us. You must all have a lot of free time."
"Say what?"
And, as this seems like the invitation for a classical straight-man smack, I hit her on the shoulder with the palm of my hand. It's a lot of noise, but little effect, and Shino chuckles.
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"10 points."
"What?! What's that?!"
She returns to her previous topic smoothly.
"But having free time isn't all that bad."
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Best let that slide, until I see where it's going.
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So Pia can step in.
"What is?"
"Learn from the tuna!"
"Say what? Pia, you need to make sense!"
And, as this is comedy, I give her a noisy smack on the shoulder.
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Once again, Shino at least seems amused.
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"No, not that..."
"They have to fight survive!"
She looks so serious...
"I-I'm sorry..."
Uh, this comedy routine went downhill, didn't it?
[color=darkmagenta]"I guess you can have too much free time. You end up wasting it on who knows what."
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"...Yeah..." Sakuya sighs.
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I think Sakuya feels the way I do.
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"Ms. Inkeeper?"
Awww, she calls Shino Mom sometimes. I've always gotten the feeling that Sakuya and Pia were like sisters... But that's just sweet.
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Shino smiles and chuckles.
"Very
funny."
Sakuya sighs, but I think Pia's just about having the time of her life.
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We regroup in the room.
"Um, sure..."
"I guess three is just too many. Mom seemed to like it, but she is my mom."
"See, Sakuya had fun, too! It's all thanks to you, Ramza!"
She comes closer and grabs my hands to thank me. I don't think she noticed a thing wrong...So eh. We'll call it worth it.
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"Umm...you're welcome..."
"It might've been better if we'd all decided what part we were each going to play beforehand."
"It's really fun to do it with everyone! Well, see ya!"
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All's well that ends well. My reward is several squid.
And not long after, my pay for the day comes in:
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I WILL NEVER WANT FOR ANYTHING AGAIN~!
I say that, but I bet it'll go down quickly.
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I plant some replacement crops in the evening, and then go out and just fight around in the desert for a while. No great adventures or prizes, though I did win some pineapples.
Sallera
2014-06-23, 03:04 PM
Ah, culinary routes to fortune. Certainly beats monopolizing the eggplant market.
Javan
2014-06-23, 03:42 PM
...*sigh* You make an excellent point, then.
But before anything else, it's prize time.
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...One of those sounded kind of dangerous.
The next day, my pink melons had grown in!
A thrilling fact, which led me up to the kitchen for my usual light experimenting with various ingredients. This experimenting soon revealed...
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The end of all financial suffering, in handy juice form.
This is more money than I have been able to make from one item ever, and I'm able to make 5 right now. I haven't even checked other strawberry plants I have going. Privera Forest shall henceforth run on Prelude of Love production.
I head home, hoping to preserve at least a little daylight, and begin prepping the rest of my supplies for shipping.
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A little experimenting with the frying plan makes these tasty half-remembered dumplings!
Though I guess I don't know if they're tasty, since I shipped them out right away.
The dangerous one is obviously the fried udon.
That is a lot of money for a seemingly easy to produce item.
And gyoza are yummy!
erikun
2014-06-25, 12:31 PM
Ah, Pia. I'd forgotten your... interesting grasp of logical progression.
The next day, my pink melons had grown in!
A thrilling fact, which led me up to the kitchen for my usual light experimenting with various ingredients. This experimenting soon revealed...
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2014/ImageDDoNotCrop3_zpsf40038ce.png
The end of all financial suffering, in handy juice form.
Yep, cooking is a silly-good way to make some money.
Dragoon
2014-06-27, 12:26 PM
Deme enjoyed the update as usual, Pia's thought processes are interesting to try to follow. Have to laugh at the reference to whale island.
Ah, culinary routes to fortune. Certainly beats monopolizing the eggplant market.
True that.
The dangerous one is obviously the fried udon.
That is a lot of money for a seemingly easy to produce item.
And gyoza are yummy!
Ramza gets to eat so few of his own tasty creations, and he remembers even fewer. So many tasty foods he knows not of their tastiness.
Deme enjoyed the update as usual, Pia's thought processes are interesting to try to follow. Have to laugh at the reference to whale island.
Pia is one of my favorites, so I find her thought processes interesting to follow as well...
Glad you're enjoying it!
Chapter 15: Favor-able
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Since it was raining hard on the morning of the 21st, I decided to send my more weary animals on a break for the day. Because the bulk of their work actually is just watering the crops, anyway.
Well, let's get to the day!
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Kuruna had a...strangely hesitant request. Like she's afraid of anyone else finding out.
Well, I'll take it, anyway.
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And see what it's about.
"Yeah..." She's so nervous that I can practically see beads of sweat flying from her.
I wait, and she does not elaborate.
"And you want...?"
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She fumbles with the edges of her little shoulder-cape. Her eyes dart around the room.
"I want..."
"Yes...? Go ahead and spit it out!" At this, Kuruna blushes with emberassment. You'd think she were asking me to pick up grave sercrets or underwear or something.
"I want..."
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"Yikes!" That was loud!
"What's wrong?" She crosses her arms and pulls herself up with the haughty might of an angered elder.
"I just didn't expect you to... yell."
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"Ah, that I did. My fault."
I rub the back of my head, to her sigh. Never mess with a lady's repression.
"Anyway, you head what I said. We shall not speak of it again, comrade. You know your mission."
"Yep. I'll see what I can do for you. I should be able to find you some 'hornless food.'"
Uh, what exactly constitutes hornless food as opposed to horned food? I mean, Kuruna's favorite thing seems to be chocolate. Does that not count?
"Ahem! I told you to not speak of it again!"
"Oh, right." Why all this secrecy? "But yeah, I think I know where to track some down for you. I mean, besides the usual..."
"Really?!"
"Yeah. Hornless food isn't hard to find if you know where to look!"
She seems relieved.
"Good to know."
She folds her hands serenly.
"So...this must remain absolutely confidental, you realize?"
"Of course! None in the settlement shall be the wiser!"
She fist-pumps.
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"Uh, what?"
She covers her face in her hand, trying to disguise that moment of undisguised joy.
"Ahem! Sorry. Lost myself for a minute there."
"So...you looking for anything in particular?"
"Yeah, I tried this once and am REALLY craving it today for some reason!" She begins a search of her pockets and sleeves for something. "Let's see. Where could it be...? There it is!"
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Well, this won't be hard...But I don't have a way to roast it. I need to buy an oven to make it.
"Gimme some roasted yam!"
"No problem!"
I'm sure I can afford that. Right?
"Like, soon-ish!"
"What's the big hurry?"
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Yikes again!
"I'll get right on that for you, then!"
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Good thing I now have money for the oven. If this had been yesterday, I might have had to refuse her.
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But I do get to buy one, so that's nice.
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And some recipes aplenty.
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I quickly run home and bake that yam!
So I can deliver it as quickly as I can.
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Are we sure this isn't Will in Kuruna's body?
"Whoa, there! Settle down!"
She settles appropriately.
"Oops! Forgot to thank you! You sacrificed yourself to save me...And now you would venture into the vile Hornless' lair to get this for me!"
Overdramatic, much?
"Oh, it's no big deal."
She shakes her head, whisps of hair floating around her.
"No, it's a very big deal, in fact. You are truly my comrade-in-arms. As elder of this settlement, there are...things it would not be appropriate for me to do, or to have. I'm...Beginning to realize this. By aiding me with this, you bridge that gap -- even, just a little..." She looks at me and sighs wistfully.
I'm not sure I understand...I think there'd be nothing stoping her from eating whatever food she wants.
"Please accept this gift as my deepest gratitude."
"Thanks! I'm always glad to be of help. So, Kuruna... How did you actually get introduced to Hornless food?"
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"Okay." I look at her scrunched-up, angry face and I say, "You know, you're kinda cute when you crave Hornless food, though."
"I do?!" She looks flushed and embaressed, "Uh, I mean, don't joke around about the Hornless! They are no laughing matter!"
"Sorry about that."
...How is it relevant, though?
"Anyway, Hornless Food is seperate from the Hornless.
I mean, I'm basically using the Hornless' own food to fight against them!"
From honesty to self-justification in five minutes.
"Yeah, I guess you could look at it that way..."
Ramza: Traitor.
"Well, let me know if you need seconds!"
"I will. Thank you so much, comrade."
...I need to make an effort. For peace.
"You know, if you're using the Hornless' food, aren't they your 'comrades' as well?"
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Insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and hoping for different results...
She boots me out.
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And the sounds of eating fill the settlement.
"She's tearing through that just like Collette would..."
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My reward?
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Recipes!
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Raven's sent me a...rather empty letter. This might just be an envelope with my name on it. I should see what she wants.
Before I can tend to that, I do have a bit of shopping to do.
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"Is something the matter?"
"I was just wondering how Marjorie can be so patient with Marian. She's such a handful..."
Well, she might just be a patient person.
Anyway, I buy a few pink melons, nothing extravagant, and move on to see Raven.
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When I walk into the shop, she stands and stares at me.
"..."
I stare at her, not entirely sure where to start.
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We say in unison, after intense examination of our feet.
And, in that awkward silence, find there's nothing either of us can really say.
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At last, Raven hides her face in her hair and says, only looking at me from the corner of her eye,
"...Gaius wanted me to come get you."
"What? Oh, okay..."
So it wasn't actually her idea.
"Umm...Where's Gaius?"
"Asleep upstairs. He has a cold."
"Oh, I see."
"..."
"Umm..."
I still need to know why I'm here, whoever asked me.
"So...What should I do?"
Raven turns to go through the store's supplies before eventually coming up with a skull.
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"Skull? Yeah, okay."
I have one in storage actually, and quickly go fetch it.
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"Yes. Here's the skull you asked for."
"...Thank you..." She says, after a long pause.
It's then that I look down at her, accepting the skull...
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"Are you scared or something?"
I do not ask if, having been turned away the way I was...if I'm the one she's afraid of.
Or she could be afraid of holding bones of some sort of unknown hominid. They are kind of creepy... Yeah, there's no way I'm that important.
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She looks at me like I've seen through her.
"Oh... (I guess that's it...)"
"..."
"Then I'll help, too."
"Huh...?"
"I'll do the parts where you need the Skull, and I'll leave the rest up to you."
I mean, I assume the only reason to need skulls is to craft something, right?
At first she looks surprised, but then she regains her composure.
"Ok..."
"Should we get started then?"
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"Huh...?"
But she says nothing, and looks away.
"No problem..."
Well, let's get to work!
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This is a bit more involved than my accessory-making, since it's a professional job and all. In the time that passes, we speak rarely, but without hesitating -- nothing important, just where to put things, where Gaius keeps this or that, whose turn it is to do what... Still, it's...different from our normal conversations.
But eventually, it seems to take shape and I can do my part, at least.
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"Alright, is that it then?"
"Yes."
I turn and only then realize that she's standing directly behind me, very close. The air between us is a few centimeters of heated forge air, faintly shimmering.
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We both turn away, sharply embaressed from, well, nearly running into one another. But after a second, I turn back.
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"..."
"..."
I do not know how to continue... But then I think about what Gaius said. I have to keep saying something. Even if it's meaningless, little by little, she's waiting for me to say something.
"Hey, Raven..."
"What...?"
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I freeze for a second longer, having started a jump without knowing where to land.
Do something, Ramza.
Say something, you fool.
Eventually, a little series of words, like flimsy toyflowers, struggle their way out of my mouth.
"You think I could come again...?"
"Huh...?"
Raven's eyes widen. She looks in ever direction like a frightened animal, and then, at last, puts forth an answer:
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"Wait, that's --"
I don't care about whether or not I'm helping, or in the building -- I mean, I like helping, but...
What I really want to know is... What I really want to ask is...
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...The opportunity pops like a soap bubble.
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Gaius saunters up -- for someone with a cold, he looks like he's doing pretty OK.
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"H-hello. I'm just visiting."
"Both of your faces are red, did you catch my cold?"
"Oh, no, that's not..."
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Raven is icily silent.
"Oh well, whatever."
His eyes catch on the subject of our labors.
"Huh? Isn't that a Art of Attack? Did you make that for me, Ramza?"
"Oh, no. I just helped out a little..."
"...That's not...true." Raven mutters, almost too low for me to hear.
"Huh...?"
"I see, I see. So you did it for me. Thanks! Well, it wasn't like I was in a hurry."
"What?!"
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"You said to have Ramza come over because you were in a hurry --"
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"Oh..."
"Did you not get that? I was wondering why no one was bringing me any medicine."
"Well, this request..."
I show him the 'letter,' such as it is.
"Yes. I guess Raven misunderstood."
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"Ha ha..." Well, the work *did* get done...
"Well, all's well that ends well. Ramza, here. It's not much, but it's for you."
"Oh, but..."
"It's fine. Take it. Hope to see you around again!"
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Well, that's a request handled...And 6 pieces of wood for me.
Since I'm by the bulletin board, I spot a request for Shara.
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Now, I have a spare waterpot I made as a test of skill, actually... So I should probably help her.
When I see Marjorie running to escape the rain behind me, I have to flag her down and ask her...
"How do you stay so patient with Marian?" It's worth asking, since Hazel, uh, asked.
"It's a matter of perspective. There's a perspective you gain through love."
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"I...I guess that's one way of putting it..." A perspective you gain through love indeed.
I head to the flower shop after that to find Shara openly sobbing.
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"Ramza...My favorite waterpot broke...I'm borrowing Grandpa's right now, but...it's just not the same."
"I see..."
She has favorites?
"I need to find a new waterpot...Poor, poor Mr. Sprinkles."
"And Mr. Sprinkles is...?"
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"I...see."
"*Sob*..."
"Don't cry. Shara, I'll--!"
While I don't understand her pain, I am determined to fix it!
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"Get you a waterpot!" The other things I could say are just silly!
"Really?!"
"You bet! I'll pick out a special one."
"You don't have to get me anything too fancy. I'll really be happy with any waterpot that works."
"Leave it to me!"
I find the spare I built and give it to her: it's a tin waterpot, like the one she lost.
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"Yes."
"Thank you very much."
She examines the waterpot I've brought her and smiles.
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"Although my waterpot was pink with a flower on the handle."
"That sounds very nice."
I don't have any paint or anything...
"It was specially made by a friend of my grandfather. It was really one of a kind. But this one is special because it's from you. Thank you very much. Here's a gift to show my appreciation."
"Thank you."
I don't know if that really makes it special, but...I'm still glad.
"Oh no, thank you!"
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I get a series of flower seeds, with something for nearly every season.
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"Well, I guess I can't say that." What brought this on...?
"No, it's totally a lie! Then tell me why I can only manage to make lumps of coal?!"
I see...
"Sorry...I don't think that's what that phrase means."
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"R-ready for what?"
"Ready to paint the mailbox rainbow --" She pauses momentarily and eyes me. "Whoops, I let it slip."
"No, no, no. Not 'whoops'!"
"Well, I mean, aren't mailboxes important? You have to look at one every day. You might get an important request. I thought I would paint ours to stand out."
...Ours?
"I-I won't miss checking my mail! You don't need to worry about it, Daria!"
Anyway, with my day's work more-or-less done early, so I do a little fishing. At the beach, I run into Sofia...
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"It is? Well, it's not too late for me to give her a present..."
"What does she detest? embrodering material for her clothes! Like fish!"
"Uh, don't you mean 'cooking ingredients'?"
Well, I have a spare fish...
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"This is clothing material! Did you want me to design a new outfit?"
"Ummm... yes." Whatever makes her happy.
"Thank you very much. I'd like to show it to you when I'm done."
"Ha ha..."
"I'd planned on giving away fish-embroidered outfits to repay every gift I got today! But for some reason, Sofia said that wasn't a good idea! What should I do to thank people, then...?"
Just leave their wardrobes alone...
I decided to go into the mountains early, too.
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I may be getting near...But I also may be getting outside my competence zone.
Running past a pair of minotauros leads me to a shrine gate of sorts...
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She was saying that she cooks lumps, but...What's that mark on the ground?
I approach it cautiously; it even smells noxious.
"I know it's rood, but what was it thinking when it stole it...?
But..."
I search around. No birds. No animals. No monster noises. The only sound is the falling leaves, one by one, rasping across the ground.
"It's too quiet...Like there never was any howling... I need to tell Sakuya. I should get back to town!"
Before I do that, I do grab the lunch, too.
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But first, I battle fiersome minotauros, who are pretty capable of ripping me open. But defeating them yields...
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The chance to mine for loads of copper, silver, and even gold!
I bring that loot happily back home...
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Plant some crops...
And then I spend the rest of the evening practicing my crafting.
The next morning, I woke up...
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With Pia in my house.
"Good morning...Why are you here?"
"Well, it's raining! I was over by here, but then I got caught up in the storm, and this was the only place I could get to with fins out!"
"...But why were you so close that you were on this side of the..."
color=palevioletred]"So you'd just cast me out into the cold? How could you, Ramza? How could you?"[/color] She draws herself away, near-weeping.
"Ah, ah, no! Nothing like that! Stay as long as you need."
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I selected a letter from Sofia from the mailbox today, though she was far from the only letter in there; these things sure collect.
Anyway, I head out to the town; I figure I'll go to the settlement later today.
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"Hmmm..." That's an unusual question... I don't want to make it sound like I'm sad, but I think everyone's lonely sometimes.
"With Pia, we're a three person family, so when I go off to travel alone, sometimes I feel really lonely. Well, I guess that shows how much I love this town."
"I think everyone gets lonely sometimes."
"Yeah, you may be right."
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...That's so sad! *sniffle*
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I eat recipe breads to forget sad things.
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"Huh? Why?...I mean, specifically."
"Oh, I'm sure it's no big deal! Now, eating, THAT'S a big deal!"
Eventually, I get to seeing Sofia.
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"Yes."
"Well, I wanted someone to kill some time with." She smiles with a smug aura. "Because I'm busy."
"You must have a lot of free time..." Because she uses that specific opposite a lot...
I shrug. "Well, let's go around town together."
"No."
"ummm....?"
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I look over at her face, wreathed in a cheerful smile.. She wouldn't say 'no' and mean it with a cheerful smile... Probably.
"Let's go then."
"No."
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...I'll work it out.
"I hope you don't mind the rain."
"It's a favorite, but I'll make an exception today... Do you have an umbrella, Ramza?" She opens her parasol, which is better meant for sunny days than rainy ones, but I suppose at least tops mine... Since, well...
"Actually, no. I just have to hope to drip-dry on rainy days." And not spend a lot of time as a wooly. Wool takes ages to dry.
She comes close and grabs my arm with her free one, pulling me close to her, in the sort of jostled meeting of two people that exists in the tiny, enclosed world of an umbrella.
"Well, you certainly couldn't possibly share mine."
I slowed a bit to match her pace, getting hit by only most of the raindrops, and we jostled our way down the path.
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"Oh, really?"
"Marian works in the apothecary. And Marian likes giving shots..." She shudders.
"Do you hate shots?"
"I l-love them of course! Never again!"
"You must really must hate them..."
We headed north next, to the plaza.
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She adjusts the umbrella slightly, lifting the edge to show off the plaza better; I try and move my arm, but since we've gone to the standard method of 'umbrella in the middle,' there's not much I can do to be convenient but to hold the umbrella, too, and take her hand in my hand.
"It's very ugly, isn't it?"
"Yeah, I do like the tree Wells always stands under when it's covered in flowers like this, but I'm sure it's still pretty in other seasons."
"Yes, he does always stand here to sign you up for festivals that need participants. Those rules are hard to understand, aren't they?"
"Yeah, they're pretty easy to understand...Well, when he actually explains them."
Sometimes, I feel like he deliberately avoids them sometimes.
She pauses for a moment and looks somewhere towards the horizon.
"You can see the ocean beyond the trees."
I follow her gaze, where the water shines a dark aquamarine -- the storm must be coming off from this, because the rain's so cool. Not cold, just pleasantly cool against the increasingly warm air.
I wonder...when I lost my memory, was I going to see the ocean for some reason?
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"It feels great..."
What a melencholy thought... My home might be all the way over the ocean...
I shake my head.
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Well, she's Eastern, so the building's probably of an Eastern design, too?
I consider pointing out that I've lived here almost a month, and hardly need a tour...
But, eh.
I can't say I mind.
"A girl who hates traveling runs the gift shop, and a mermaid runs the bathhouse."
It's interesting to hear Sofia's summary of this town, and the people who live here, too.
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"(Chef...? Oh, she must mean Blaise.) Sherman likes Blaise's cooking, too, doesn't he?"
"No. And the inn orders all of its meals from the chef as well." She smiles, pleased that I recalled her father's near-constant presence at the diner. "She's got lousy taste!"
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Ok, I'm sure that was opposite...
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"Sous-chef? Odious?"
Hmm...I'm pretty sure she was speaking oppositely there, but that looks like the expression one would use when talking about an odious person... Could I have found the limit to my policy?
"How can she eat so much and not get fat?"
"Ah, Collete. So the opposite of odious would be...'enviable'?" I guess that sort of works. Oppositing must be very difficult.
"She eats whatever she wants, and never gets fat. How odious."
You keep using that word. I do not think it means the opposite of what you think it means.
"It is the opposite...right?"
Regardless, we walk on to my house, or rather, the street where I live, now all but deserted in the rain. She looks up the long wooden stairs to my door, and to the mailbox where she deposited the letter that, ultimately, brought her here. Her arm slides across my chest as the umbrella adjusts.
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"Lively...?" It takes me a second to work out what she means by this. "Oh, that's right. Yes, it is quiet."
She laughs, whether at the peaceful silence of the sharance tree's curling roots, or at my own slightly belated, but successful discovery of meaning.
"Hmmm. I really hate places like this. I hate it. So I hope you invite me again."
"Y-yeah..."
We turn on to Flower Way next.
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"Could that be Shara? Then the opposite of cold is warm."
...How...elementary.
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Ah, she started moving a bit fast there...But then she turns an expectant gaze on me, so I have to remember what she was actually saying...
"What? Umm... the laziest person... Least talkative person..."
When did this become an opposite-speak quiz? I guess when I was doing so well to start with that I didn't even notice...
"They're both honest girls, but..."
"Both...isn't the opposite...So if they're honest then..." While I'm still stumbling with that one, trying to get my composure, Sofia continues on.
"They're actually bad people.""
"Ah! So confusing!"
I regretted saying that. Sofia turned her head and fell silent, but after a second, I added, concilliatory...
"But I know what you mean. They can be difficult to handle, but I do think they're sweet, deep down."
At last she nods, and moves on towards the lake.
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"What?"
I mean, factually, it's not that big, as lakes go...
"I'm not scared."
"Okay."
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"Are you..." Absolutely terrified? "Uh, yeah. It's nothing."
"Okay then."
But to someone who's afraid, it's probably much bigger than it looks...That probably explains a lot.
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"The brother really hates the little sister, and he is always distant."
"Emotionally?" Let's start from the very beginning. The beginning is the place to start. Carlos is a known factor in all things.
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She laughs dismissively.
"Like a librarian."
"Librarian??? Does that even have a clear opposite?"
Is it a barbarian? That sort of rhymes, and so feels much more opposite-y.
"If you're thinking that hard, you probably don't understand, not even a little....Would you walk me home?"
We walked back in the rain. In spite of my rather disapointing display at the end there, she seems happy; I guess it wasn't a complete loss.
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"Thanks again."
"Any time...Just...take it easy on me..."
She giggles into her hand, neither confirming nor denying my plea.
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My reward is 6 small eggs. I will have so much pudding!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageN28_zps490aa399.png
"Well, I guess I think about magic..."
"That's some weak word association!...Fine. What sort of thing do you think magic is?"
"Uh..." She is clearly looking for something, but...Um.... "I guess, uh, a happy thing? Yeah, a thing that brings happiness. I mean, even fighting magic can be used to protect people, and magic can be helpful in a lot of ways...That's the sort of witch you strive to be, too, right, Marian?"
...I mean, besides the part where you are some sort of mad witch-doctor.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageN29_zps7dbe787a.png
"But that's why I like you!"
I head towards the blacksmith's, next; Raven's upstairs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageN30_zps0c7ac49d.png
"What?"
"Oh, I just wanted to talk to you..."
She fixes me with a cold stare.
"I see. But I don't want to talk."
"..." I see there's still progress to be made, in repairing things with Raven.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageODoNotCrop_zps431c1137.png
The bulletin board has a rather urgent-sounding request from Collette today; I should get this done sooner rather than later.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageP1_zpsfccab48e.png
"Yeah. Need me to find some more food for you?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageP2_zps4d7eb16e.png
...How did she make those noises?
"Okay, okay! Calm down. What do you need me to find? Cake? Cookies?"
"Uh...medicine!"
"Medicine? Are you sick?!" Has the great eater at last over-eaten?
She adjusts her collar nervously.
"I'm, uh, a little under the weather, to put it mildly..."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! By the way, what kind of medicine do you need?"
She looks even more uneasy. Her eyes dart across the room, and she turns her head to avoid being spotted.
"Uh...I need medicine for me...stomachache."
I was joking before!
"A stomachache?! Isn't your stomach pretty much made of cast iron?"
"Marian made me some medicine, but it looks like she accidentally gave it to someone else!"
"I see. But you didn't answer my question about what happened to your stomach!"
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"What are you talking about? The medicine?" She taps her chin. "Let's see...the only people who came by were Sherman and Hazel. I must've handed it to one of them by mistake."
Collette turns to me with a fiersome expression.
"We gotta track down Sherman or Hazel and forcibly RIP that medicine outta them! Let's go, Ramza! We fight to deliver infinity gastric JUSTICE!"
She goes charging out of the apothecary.
"Hey, wait! Hold up!"
"Poor Ramza."
"...You know, she moves awfully well for a girl with a stomach ailment."[/color]
We find Sherman nearby, which is a relief.
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"No. Is this it?"
"This...stomach medicine...?" she stares at it for a long time.
"I do need it, but Evelyn says to be on the safe side..."
At this, Collette glares.
"Please excuse me! Ramza! We're going to the next one!"
"Oh, huh? Weren't you looking for stomach medicine?!"
"Ramza and the sous-chef, you're both so not lively."[/color]
"Ah, ha ha...Please, excuse me."
Hazel's exactly where you'd expect her to be, another case of things being easy.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageP6_zps9c5131a5.png
"Oh? How did you know? I did actually. Here."
"This...Invinciroid..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageP7_zps001c2df8.png
"Please excuse me! Ramza! Let's go back to see Marian again!"
"W-wait! Wait, Collette!"
"I'm not sure what's going on, but it seems like you've got a full plate."
"Ah, ha ha... Please, excuse me."
And so it's...back to Marian's.
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"Huh? That's strange."
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"What?"
"Here it is! It looks like I had it in my pocket the whole time! No wonder I couldn't find it anywhere!"
I give up.
Packing my bags.
Leaving town!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageP10_zps143fac2c.png
"Now, now, at least we found it. Here's your medicine!"
"Yay...huh? -- huh...? This is the medicine that will make me bigger?!" She looks at the bottle in her hands.
"Yes. Although it's just a supplement. Just get some exercise and eat well and you'll grow on your own. Oh, and get plenty of sleep."
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"Awww...." She gasps dramatically, on realizing that I'm still here.
I still can't get over that I was lied to.
"Ha ha..."
"Th-th-that information stays here! D-d-don't tell anyone, okay?! Here, take this!"
"Well, it's not like no one knows already."
"Ha ha ha..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2015/ImageP12_zps8f2ab497.png
My reward is a variety of medicines. Honestly, all this running around in the rain is exhausting...I could use some of...
Wait.
I should have this thought outside.
Short chapter. Fatigue's a factor.
fizzmaister
2014-06-30, 02:57 AM
Librarian and barbarian may not be opposites, but they do have an even stronger connection than just rhyming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZHoHaAYHq8
Chapter 16: The Bachelor
You never want to think that you could use some medicine around Marian. It's just bad news.
I head home and make all the eggs Sofia gave me into tasty pudding, shipping about half the pudding. The rest is for pudding-based emergencies.
I don't know what those would be, but I bet they'd happen.
I know my own luck.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageADoNotCrop_zpsd0b8fa5d.png
I also head to the Settlement, where I notice a request from Zaid. Well, actually, a lot of requests from Zaid...But one of them's sort of urgent.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB1_zps391f75b5.png
Which leads to him glaring impatiently at me when I enter the tent.
"Sorry..."
"There's a lot of stuff that this camp needs. If you're gonna hang out around here, you're gonna have to start pulling your weight!"
I stared at the finger he'd pointed at me, trembling with burning fury.
"Just watch me and follow my lead, and you'll pick things up."
"Um, okay. Will do." Chill. Chill. "But didn't you have a job request of some kind?"
I mean, shouldn't I be doing a thing?
He relaxes from his fury.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB2_zps4ed8888e.png
"I want you to get 3 Pineapple for me. You can get them from the piney monsters if you beat up enough of them. Go get 'em!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB3_zps5cb2e9bb.png
And without further ado, he goes charging off, to do...who knows what.
"3 Pineapple... I...Uh, guess I'll go get that last one, then."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB4_zpsd91a6baa.png
Which didn't take as long as I was expecting; just a few quick punches and I managed to get it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB5_zps3e1c3feb.png
So it was time to deliver it to an alarmingly grateful Zaid.
"That's a pretty strong reaction for a few pineapple."
It's not even like they're from far away.
"Hey, don't sell yourself short. That was no easy task! And just in time --"
A voice drifts in through the tent's entrance:
"Zaid? Are you home?"
And its owner follows just behind.
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"Ah! Good evening, com-"
Seeing her, Zaid pretty much shoves me out of the way.
"Here..."
He's positively radiant, offering the pinapple like it was a true treasure.
The pinapple I brought him. Apparently for Kuruna.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB7_zps08a6e382.png
[colo=royalblue]"Why are you giving me this?"[/color]
"What do you mean 'why'? You mentioned that you wanted some Pineapple!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB8_zpse7dc8830.png
Kuruna smiles faintly.
"You...You remembered me saying that?"
"Of course!"
...Well, I guess as long as it does some good, I don't mind...
Though her expression doesn't seem as pleased as you'd expect.
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"Is something wrong?"
"Um, Zaid..."
"Yeah?"
"Do you mind if I share some of this?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB10_zps0ab5c7ca.png
"I can't eat all of this by myself. And food always tastes better when you share it with friends."
Zaid's sweat glimmers in the dull light, his laughter trembling like the dripping beads.
"O-Oh yeah! Totally! I was just thinking the same thing!"
Kuruna turns to me, and I realize I am about to get a refund.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB11_zps11ef7038.png
"Thanks!"
"Well, I wanted to see you, but I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll come back later. Thank you for the Pinapple, Zaid."
"No problem! Any Time!"
He turns and shrugs at me.
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"...No problem."
I suppose...
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For my 3 pineapples, I get one. Somehow, I feel sorrow.
As the moon rises and the clouds part, I head out into the valley yet again -- I don't know anything more about the situation there, but it never hurts to get stronger, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB15_zpsc1e1a0a5.png
But I do learn a little more about using my shortsword: the ultimate technique!
Which looks, just to be clear...
A little bit like...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB16_zps9076d42c.png
A swirling vortex of sword.
The rest of the evening isn't much to account for: more fighting, and some practice at the forge that didn't amount to anything much.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageB17_zps2e46d554.png
oh, but I did make some juice with that pineapple Kuruna gave me that I got Zaid to give her.
The next morning rose with a light drizzle and a full harvest of strawberries, offering me a precious chance to make more Preludes to love. Also, some cabbages; I have another recipe idea, so I don't ship all of them right away, though.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageCDoNotCrop_zpsff4a5440.png
Daria has a request that sounds like she needs some help with... She can be demanding, but it sounds like she does need some help.
But before I do that, I wanted to go to the settlement, since it's so convenient.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageD1_zps58978ebe.png
"It's always nice to stop by the settlement! It's been so convenient; it's basically on my doorstep now. Magically."
I smile with my eyes shut, and and when I open them...
a burning flame greets me, as Will bobs directly in front of my eyes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageD2_zps773c0301.png
I think I'm about to die of embaressment.
"Wait, I never said anything CLOSE! to that!"
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The swishing of Kuruna's sleeves, swish, swish, swish, frantically disrupt the desert heat as she tries to snatch him out of the air.
"Uh, Will must have accidentally gotten into the wine supply! He's clearly talking crazy!"
Nice save, Kuruna.
"Y-yeah, that must be it!"
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"That's got to be a downside for you, huh?"
"I bet you could play all night."
"No, they work at night, too...I'm sure."
I can't exactly recall; did I ever live in a city? I've *probably* been to one, though...
"...No way... (That'd be nuts.. Why would someone act that way?)"
While I'm here, I buy some oil and flour for my cooking experiments.
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"Really?"
"Yeah. She talks about them all the time. And she only has the nices thing to say."
Is that the same as spoiling? They just seem like a very close family.
"You two must be good friends, to hear all this."
"I don't know about that. Seems like we just talk about our girls whenever we see each other.
Shino's a tough inkeeper, but I've never seen her scold Sakuya or Pia outside of work."
Hmmm...Well, it's a little late in their lives to really scold them, but I guess that doesn't stop Hazel any.
After that, I head to Daria's house, to help her with her shelf. Of course, in the chaos, I don't really see a difference.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageD6_zps881d4395.png
"There you are, my assistant!"
Just hearing those two words gives me a headache.
"Oh no. Not this 'assistant' business again..."
Daria glares at me with full fervor.
"You're turning out to be a pretty good assistant!"
"Uh, you don't really listen much to what other people say, do you?"
"What? There's no time for that! This is a crisis!"
"..." Sigh. Oh, well... "What's the trouble?"
"My shelf broke!"
"Ummm...so you need it fixed?"
The air is streaked with rainbow flecks as the paint-tipped ends of her long blonde hair whip back and forth, stirred by her vehement head-shaking.
"No! That's my job. I need you to bring me materials! I need 1 piece each of iron and wood."
"Ok, I can manage that."
"Alright! Now go!"
I run out into the forest to fetch her the iron she needed.
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She beams and holds the iron to her chest like a treasure. It gleams in the bright light of her studio.
"Rainbow! Good job! Now I can fix the shelf! Here's a token of my appreciation."
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"Um, I know I said this before, but I don't recall becoming your assistant."
"Heh heh heh. You don't need to act modest. You do an amazing job!"
Well.
At least I'm a good assistant.
"You should be proud!"
"..."
"No, I mean it: shout your accomplishments from the heavens, Ramza! No other shall proclaim their glories! I hope I can count on you next time!"
"*sigh* I guess I'm not going to win this one."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageD9_zps0d12d3b7.png
My reward is bronze and silver.
Speaking of largely assumed relationships...
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My 'Master' has to ask me about fishing...I guess.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageF1_zpsc7db1aae.png
"Uh, no, not yet..." I've never even seen one.
"I have a lot of free time with my job. Although, sometimes groups come to the resort, and I'm really busy."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageF2_zps7454c6a4.png
"Is it alright to be so blase?!"
Anyway, I came here to see Carmen!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageF3_zps945e7189.png
Ah -- uh -- uh. That's really flattering!
"What are we playing today?"
Carmen glared and planted her feet on the ground.
"Oh, you! The atmosphere is really important! Oh, well. I just need you to answer some simple questions."
"Okay. (I wonder what this is?)"
"Well, here we go."
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...This is a very specific question.
"Well, I don't think that sort of thing really matters. What sort of girl a girl is doesn't make a difference to me; she should just be herself."
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Another very specific question...Why is she quizzing me about girls? Does she have a friend she's worried about?
"Uh, well... That's a superficial question isn't? It's not like a girl who's cute with her hair long will look bad if she cuts it. As long as she likes her hair, it'll be cute."
"Slender of plump girl, which do you like better?"
I just shake my head.
"These are...kind of silly questions, Carmen. I've said it; I don't care about stuff like that."
"Okay! My, aren't you just a true romantic! 'It doesn't matter what she looks like!'"
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"...I'm not sure I can answer that one, Carmen. I mean, I don't actually know how old I am."
"Oh, right...Sorry."
"But I guess I don't mind being the mature one in a relationship."
I didn't actually know most of these answers even existed in my head... I'm a little happy to find them like this, this great, untapped resererved of myself, hidden away where I hadn't found him.
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"???"
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"Carmen. Now you're just fishing."
"No, now I'm not fishing! Just tell me!"
"...Fiine, fine. I do like a girl who likes to fish."
It is important to share hobbies, after all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageF10_zpsfd5f565c.png
Did he -- did I -- have a girlfriend? Or...more?
"Oh, uh...Whatever. I don't think that matters. I'm not the sort of guy who'd bring down a brother's wrath..."
I answer, without enthusiasm.
I guess the one thing I know about my own life, when it comes to love, is the sort of marriage my parents had: it should have been impossible, but all that mattered...
"All that matters is love."
She flushes for a moment.
"...There it is; that sort of totally dangerous sentiments!"
"...Dangerous?"
"Nevermind! Let me tally the results!"
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She looks down at her notebook, which I suspect is full of largely imaginary notes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageF12_zpsa4c04bfc.png
"...I see. I got a good idea about you now."
"Wait, who were you matching me with?"
"We're done here now. Good work!"
"Um, what are you using these answers for?"
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"I'm the enemy...?"
She snaps back into focus.
"Stop probing! Here's a present for taking the time to do this. Well, dimsissed!"
"What was that about?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageF14_zps721a0645.png
My reward is a cooked fish dish, fried skipjack.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageGDoNotCrop_zpsedb50455.png
I buy a new headband at the blacksmith. I like making new things when I can, but...
There's just stuff that's out of my league, and it'd be a big help.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageH1_zps491f396d.png
"I specialize in accessories."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageH2_zpsfe3e61cd.png
"What?"
"Never mind..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageH3_zps2641bf45.png
"That's a proverb from Shino and Sakuya's country! But...Isn't their country in the east? Now that I think about it, that proverb is BIZARR-O!"
"Uh, maybe their country has two coasts?"
Pia has no business calling anything bizzare.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageH4_zps92ae0f00.png
"She was humming while she was mixing her medicine. With a ladle. In a cooking pot."
Uh... Is that a problem...?
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"I-I don't know why you're asking me..."
It sounds exactly what someone's grandma would do, though...
I headed to the diner after that...
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But I ended up stopped at the door.
I step back a little, dodging shards of porcelain.
"What happened here?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageI2_zpsa45a6743.png
Right in the restaurant?!
"Nobody got hurt, but it snatched the Salted Char right out of my hands!"
Collette collected the last of the pieces of plate and shuddered, thinking about the attack just briefly before.
"...I don't look that scary when I'm scarfing, do I?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageI3_zpsf4e98de2.png
"Wait...It was a lion-like beast?"
That produces a lion-like roar?
"...I'd better head to Oddward Valley later! The townspeople have a right to eat in peace!"
"I'm afraid to cook anything now! Who knows what vile beast the smells might attract?!"
But that's something to do later.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ1_zpse75c4085.png
"Drink milk? Calcium's good for growth."
"Uh...Anything but that..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ2_zps006c2c57.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ3_zps5f1a3688.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ4_zps0fb7f8b5.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ5_zps79ed1273.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ6_zps089213ce.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ7_zpsbf72f6fb.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ8_zpsc5953908.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ9_zpsfba188bc.png
To engage in justice, I gather up some fresh recipes.
And, lastly, I headed to the Inn, where Sakuya was upset.
"Oh no!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ10_zpsd8a879a3.png
"The diner got vandalized! I heard it was a giant lion...Maybe it's the same one that attacked me..."
"Don't worry. I'm sure I can handle it."
...Probably.
I'm lying.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ11_zpsf18f1887.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ12_zps9d8b19bc.png
After that, I went home and cooked up my experiment: sort of a fried cabbage cake.
That evening, I mostly went out and gathered materials...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ13_zps60f97fda.png
And when I came home, I put those materials to work, making a new sword:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ14_zpsf7b7a76b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ15_zps69f6e887.png
Which took a bit of tinkering. It's not the most attack-heavy sword ever, but it does have some defensive boosts, and pairs very well with my preffered sword-and-board style of fighting.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageJ16_zpsa99f1920.png
I also made a ring using an emerald I got. While maybe not an upgrade over the gloves I've been wearing (and they need an upgrade, but I just don't have the material...)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageKDoNotCrop_zpsb09e0685.png
But with a lot of upgrading, it's about the same, and it offers a strong defense against the wind magic of the Oddward Valley residents.
Speaking of which...It's only very late, nearly midnight, but then...
"...I forgot to water my yams!"
And so I go dashing out into the night.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageL1_zps581e2f0c.png
Who on earth would have followed me at midnight?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageL2_zpsfdd673b3.png
"Carmen? It's 11 PM!"
"Then what are you doing?"
"...Watering yams. No, wait, that's not important! About the lion monster!?"
"Well, I was just fishing down by the falls. I got hungry, so I got my midnight snack out, and it came out of nowhere!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageL3_zps28d869fc.png
"Man! It was scary! I just got out of there as fast as I could."
"So it's down there?!"
She shook her head.
"I'm not sure. I went to check on my fishing rod, and it wasn't there any more. Looks like it took my salted char, too... That's too bad."
So this monster has a weakness for salted char... Maybe I can use some to lure it out. I'll get some ready before I go.
"Thank you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageL4_zpsa9adf81c.png
I watered my yams...And did just a little fighting, to top off the night. Just a bit.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageMDoNotCrop1_zps194ea08c.png
And a super dissapointing chest.
But the fighting earns me the last material I needed...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageMDoNotCrop2_zps40ad9c09.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageMDoNotCrop3_zpse9f95887.png
For a new shield.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageMDoNotCrop4_zpsc3b685ad.png
Which, when it got some boosts, left me looking like this.
And that seemed like a contented reason to sleep for the night.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageMDoNotCrop5_zps71600056.png
The next day gave rise to a letter from Pia, asking for some assistance...
So I figured I'd just head to the Inn to answer for that, which leads me running into Sakuya.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN1_zps0a7596fd.png
"We celebrated by putting candles in vegetables."
"In vegetables?!"
I feel like this non-sequetor describes Daria perfectly.
Pia was waiting in her room, swaying uneasily with distress.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN2_zpsa3c7ee3d.png
"Yeah. Sounds like you've got a crisis?"
"Totally! Our mop cracked, and it could break any second now!"
She holds the lonely cleaning tool in her arms like a fallen friend, its limp head falling, nearly falling off, over her arm. Every inch of it is worn, and the marks of grime and hand, and even a faint imprint of scales, are worn deep into the handle.
"Wow, it looks like it's in pretty bad shape."
She laughs at the suggestion that it'd be otherwise.
"Duh! I use it every day! Just about every second of every day! I want the bath to be sparkling! You hear me? SPARKLING!"
She waves the mop so the head teeters dangerously.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN3_zpsc7b07306.png
"Don't worry. It will."
Her mop is not the mop that will rival the sun in brightness, but she does seem soothed by my comment, for a moment.
"But I can't make things sparkly when the mop's kaput like this!"
"Why not buy a new one?"
"I'd sooner make out with a squid!"
Strong words!
"You're awfully attached to this mop."
"It's got special powers or something!"
Or something?
"Anyway, Gaius said it just needs to be reinforced with Strong String!"
"So you just need me to get you one?"
"Exactamundo!"
Well, luckily, I have one from last night's resource-collecting, so it's not hard to find.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN4_zpsf7c6aa23.png
"Now I can make the bath SPARKLING! Thanks, Ramza!"
"No problem!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN5_zps31f4009b.png
"I'm gonna scrub-dub-dub till the tiles erode! Then I'll make the dirt underneath sparkle!"
She already begins trying to tie the mop back together with the string, and the look of bliss on her face is so powerful, I just have to ask...
"Pia, does your whole life revolve around baths?"
...And comedy routines?
"Yup! I love baths! Especially sparkling baths! I love it like a princess in a tower loves the knight who saves her, like a ship loves an anchor, like a fish in a stream loves a rock in the stream, like sprinkles and ice cream or tomatos!"
"...You...Uh, lost me there." I admit, in the shape of such fervant, starry-eyed similes.
"And I epecially-decially love people who take baths!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN6_zps137b68e3.png
"Uh...gotcha."
I do not gotcha. Except that maybe she'd like me to stop by and use the bath more.
"Oh, almost forgot! Here's a reward for helping out! Are YOU gonna love THIS!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN7_zps833e8985.png
She smiles so happily as she gives me a different strong string.
"Uh...yeah."
"What's wrong, buddy?"
"Well, it's just that you gave me a strong string."
"I did!"
"But...why?"
"Because you gave me a strong string, silly!"
"...All right, then."
I give up.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN8_zpsd97bbd18.png
"Oh, before you go..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN9_zps3bf7da74.png
"What's the right answer?!"
"Right answer?! What the heck's the question?!"
Well, she liked that story about the tuna...Or, uh, was inspired to vengence by it. You know. Whatever.
"Tuna?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN10_zps1ece5e90.png
...
"That's not even a fish!"
Today's recipies:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN11_zps073ff5ba.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN12_zps4dd1543e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN13_zps43bba542.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN14_zps35f07f79.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN15_zps18984c69.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN16_zpscb0be5d9.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageN17_zps9bc0cbee.png
I don't think bread works that way, but whatever.
At the bulletin board...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageODoNotCrop_zps403b755e.png
Shara had a request today, too, it seems. I don't know anything about handling Monica, but I can try...I mean.
There is literally no way to make Monica worse.
Worse is just not possible.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP1_zps7db2d401.png
"What does she think I am, some senile old man? My mind's as sharp as a wolf's tooth!"
Well, then there's no better place to start maintaining it from.
But onto the request.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP2_zpsd50bee9b.png
"I have a small problem that I wouldn't mind some help with."
"Okay. That's what I'm here for."
"It's about Monica...I'm sure you've noticed, but she's very shy around people. That's why she's always talking about biting them."
So that's why...
She sighs.
"That might be okay now, but I'm worried that she won't grow out of it."
I'm not sure it's Okay now. She has sharp teeth.
"So I was hoping that you might be able to give me some advice."
How to help her overcome her shyness so she won't bite me...
"Hmmm...That's a tough one..." Well, I guess the first thing is to make her feel comfortable with more people. "What's something that Monica likes?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP3_zps53f4454e.png
"Hmm.... I can't see how that'll help us, though..."
We both pondered the unsolvable dillemna of a young girl's heart.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP4_zps5287a6c6.png
"Oh, wait..."
"Did you think of something else?"
"She had a favorite fairytale when she was younger."
"Really? What was it?"
"Well, it was called "The Rose Prince."
Shara cleared her throat and launched into a summary.
"One day, a handsome prince saw a very beautiful girl in the forest. He could see she was terribly lost, and wanted help. But he didn't want her to see him. She would recognize him as the prince, and fall all over him just like all the other girls in the kingdom."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP5_zpsfdb7151f.png
"So the prince took his bouquet apart, rose by rose and left a trail of roses for the girl to follow to safety. But the girl was faster than the prince expected. She caught him as he was laying down the last rose at the end of the forest."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP6_zpscd9339f6.png
She smiled at the end, with the fondness of a story that she'd read more than once; I can't imagine it wasn't precious to her once, too.
"Monica loved that story. She said she'd marry a prince like that some day. Although now she's too emberassed to read it anymore..."
"Heh. That's cute."
Her eyes widened.
"That's it! Ramza! Don't you think Monica might have an easy time talking to 'The Rose Prince'?"
"Uh, I guess so?"
Where would we get a prince?
"He's someone who she's always admired. I'm sure 'The Rose Prince' could open her heart!"
"But how can she talk to a character from a fairytale?"
"Isn't it obvious? You'll become him!"
"Huh?! I-I'm supposed to become 'The Rose Prince'?!"
Her devious smile put one in mind of nothing so much as the limbs of an orchid mantis, weapons made to hide in flowers.
"You said that you would help, didn't you...?"
"I did, but..."
I dislike this toying with my identity...
"It's fine if you can't." That tone. The tone indicative of things not being fine.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP7_zpsaee9d074.png
"L-let's do it! Anything if it'll help stop her biting me!"
"That's the spirit! I'll go talk to her in a little bit. I'll have her send you a letter soon."
"I'll watch the mail."
"Ramza..."
"Yes?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP8_zps8659b0c9.png
"I'm 'The Rose Prince!' She's in good hands."
She curtsied like a proper lady in a perfumed sweep.
"Tee-hee. Thank you very much, Rose Prince."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2016/ImageP9_zps73229613.png
We'll have to see what comes of this...
And begin preparing to take on that lion monster.
Javan
2014-07-12, 08:40 PM
Nice update.
Leaves me somewhat curious as to the other conversation options with Carmen.
Sallera
2014-07-12, 08:47 PM
The Rose Prince request is so cute. It's kind of a pity Monica isn't more useful as a partner, though.
I need to adventure with party members (or animals, or anything) more often; for some reason, I usually just forget to go, often since I'm going in the evening.
Carmen doesn't seem to have particularly interesting responses to the questions; I changed things in that section up heavily, because it sounded really repetitive otherwise. All answers of the "I don't care" type had the same "You have a big heart," all questions you answer the way that best aligns with her description of herself (she sees herself as a plump, younger tomboy with short hair and a brother who likes fishing) with "My! You just get it!"
Watch this post in the morning for me looking to see what her other two responses are.
Dragoon
2014-07-14, 01:31 PM
Another enjoyable update, the Rose Prince is definitely cute. Also since I missed commenting, for Ramza's sake, I hope Evelyn doesn't give him a fish-stick outfit for him birthday, assuming he ever figures the day out.
The Rose Prince event is pretty great; I ended up taking a lot of screenshots simply due to how adorably expressive Monica is during it.
Also, I'm looking forward to handling Ramza's birthday. He does have one that the game celebrates, with just the right amount of detail for me to enjoy dealing with it... Of course, at the rate we're going, the game might be over before then. *shrug*
Chapter 17: The Rose Prince
Though, I suppose trying to deal with that lion-like monster will have to wait until the evening.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA1_zps56eb4546.png
"Hmmm, like what?"
"Like giving something Sofia hates to someone and have them give it to her."
You haven't tried it, have you?
If not, is this going to be a request?
"Oh, I wonder. (That was so funny.)"
I head to the blacksmith's next, and yawn loudly while looking over their wares.
"...Are you tired?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA2_zps3776f6b3.png
"When I looked outside to see what is was..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA3_zps2ba09fb8.png
Raven tenses like a cat in the middle of my spooky story.
"Huh? What's the matter?"
"...Nothing."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA4_zpscdfc8ce1.png
"Although when I stay in front of it too long, I feel like I'm going to die."
Don't do dangerous things like that, Gaius.
"I-I see..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA5_zpsa50eba8f.png
"Well..."
You do use it to shoot people full of strange medicines.
"It's so annoying. And I'm here using it to help people..."
"Oh." Right. Yeah.
Next, I headed to Sherman's place, where Evelyn's shop was open for business for a change.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA6_zpsbeaaf408.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA7_zpsfb79e27a.png
...I'm relieved, though I can't say I want any furniture now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA8_zpsb901184e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA9_zpsb75f044d.png
Now, as for clothes...I'll think about those later, I suppose.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA10_zps63303a48.png
"Oh, yeah? How'd that go?"
"The chef brough out a generous portion of food, and Father was elated! Since Father has such a miniscule apetite, he always goes on hunger strikes!"
"Eee...That sounds like it ended badly."
"Father was so joyful that he decided to pleasure with a song! He got in the waiter's face and sang that he couldn't feed on the powerless when his cup was already overfilled! "
...That statement might be too complicated to opposite cleanly.
"(The scary part is...I'm sure Sherman, Sofia, and Evelyn all thought this was normal behaviour!)"
As part of trying to deal with that monster, I head to the desert to try and catch a char...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA11_zpse38f7cb2.png
Which leads to me catching a lot of other fish.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA12_zps05027646.png
But I get it eventually.
After that, I do have one last person to see... A certain artist/birthday girl.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA13_zps764e62ef.png
"So I've heard."
"Huh? Did you know?"
"A few people mentioned...It's not much, but I do have a present, of sorts."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA14_zps962c5a9e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageA15_zpsac59ce00.png
I make my bait...
After that, I headed up into Oddward Valley, to face down my foe...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop1_zpsba6534f6.png
But as I go up to the cliffs, I hear a great rumbling behind me...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop2_zpsc0bf3baa.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop3_zpse1e608d3.png
As giant spiked walls of earth rise out of the ground in all directions, turning the space into an arena.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop13_zps7c5e4dc2.png
Why is nature so malevolent?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop5_zps139098ce.png
And now monsters just spawned into my path...And there's just no way around them at all.
"Got no choice but to take care of these monsters..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop6_zps5c103d33.png
My new sword cuts through them like, well, like a sword through a bell pepper (ghost)...Among other monsters.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop7_zps8b8ab5cd.png
They're down before I can think, practically. Nice work, me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop8_zps288b05d6.png
And when that happens, the path opens.
"Whew! The path's clear now!"
I walk forward, just a little, and...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop9_zpsed3f2a7d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop10_zps07f4476c.png
Yes, again.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop11_zps84da7ed3.png
"These guys look tough... It's do-or-die!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop12_zpsb0df849a.png
I whirl through them in a cluster without too much trouble, though I am taking a few hits.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop13_zps7c5e4dc2.png
My heart pounding, I walk up the path to the big empty circle...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop14_zps17eb19e2.png
And place down my offering of salted char.
I'm not, you know, crazy, though...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop15_zps123a2776.png
I'm retreating to a healthy distance, thank you very much.
When I've reached the edge, I see something emerging from the forests...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageBDoNotCrop16_zpsff959934.png
That's...pretty big. Everyone's lucky they got away with so little damage.
"So this is the monster that attacked Blaise and Collette! You'll pay for that!"
But he is not alone.
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"Wait, another one?! Which one attacked the diner?!"
I don't want to go attacking giant lion monsters who could fit my head in their mouths willy-nilly, you know.
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A single roar emerges from two throats, perfectly unified, and split to rend the air. The sound could boil air.
"Guess it doesn't matter! They're both about ready to make me their meal!"
Nevermind all that fish I worked so hard for! Lazy, lazy lions!
The two go quite a way's apart, and I chase after, well, the one that's in my face.
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Crimsone, the red one, attacks with shining fang...But, of course, he's pretty much always in the path of my sword, so we exchange quite a few blows.
In the meanwhile, the purple one, Amaranthine, hits me with waves of wind that my ring takes much of the sting out of...But I don't want to have to deal with a distant enemy.
I run towards him, essentially pulling Crimsone with me: He doesn't seem like he can do anything if he's not right in front of me, which, uh, kind of comes as a relief, honestly. Two enemies who could snipe me at range? No, thanks.
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So now I've got my two-on-one, and all I can do is whirl my sword around, trying to catch them both in as many blows as possible. I'm not really doing anything but working on automatic -- in the heat of battle, everything's gone but trying to survive. I like that, even if it's a bit less peaceful than mind-numbing through work.
...After all, I'm...not sure why I seem to know the names of these guys. It was just sort of...there...
This line of thought is interrupted by a supersonic roar knocking me around.
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Too much thinking! Not enough running!
And while he has the advantage...
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Amaranthine heals them both.
"Oh, come on!" I've been working hard!
Well, it's not like I can't heal, too -- I have food and all ...But I can't let him do that again!
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I chase after Amaranthine and keept my blows mostly focused on him...
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Until he collapses, and the magic for the Return spell brings him back to the Forest.
A deep, gutteral roar fills the air...
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Taking out one just made the other more angry!
"Nice kitty?"
Well, nothing I can do!
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But slash him until he can go be with his friend.
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And on the opposite side... Something parted open.
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The hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Is there going to be... Another orb?
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Well, I guess it's only natural. It seems that everywhere I go... There's some place designed for an orb like this, like a shrine.
I approach it gingerly -- I can't quite explain the mix of terror and excitement I feel; I can't hear the rain over my own heart, and the blood rushing through my ears.
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For some reason, these orbs, that these strange places seem almost waiting for...Contain pieces of "me." The person who is always standing behind me; the person who I used to be, and I guess never really lost. At the same time...
I'm getting comfortable here; what'll happen if I find something that I can't ignore, and have to leave? I can't help but be afraid of that.
"What memory will I get back this time...?
Where was I before...?
Why did I come here...?"
The orb's silence is almost beckoning.
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"I hope it all becomes clear, but..."
All I can do is reach out my hand and see what I find.
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It's a sharp jolt that leaves a metallic taste in my mouth, like being shocked.
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In the darkness of my memories, I hear a storm raging. Is this the past? The present? The rain falls heavily on that day, too.
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The voices, and even the silences, are indistinct -- I can't say if they belong to me, or to someone else.
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This one, clearly, isn't mine, though he's a little difficult to place: I think he might have been...a commanding officer of mine, maybe? My boss?
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I answered back. I wasn't entirely sure then, and I was exhausted from running through the mud.
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With that weight on my shoulders, all I could do was chase after them. His trust was like being pushed.
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Eventually, I came upon it -- or near to it...A little town, where the monsters I was chasing went to hide...
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But...What happened then?
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The memory fades out, and all I'm left with is the very real, very present, sound of rain.
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"I was chasing after them...
The racoon...The skelefang...Crimsone and Amaranthine, those two...
And one more..."
I try reaching for something about it -- an image or a name, a shape or...Something!
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...No, wait. There's one more! There's one more! I'm here for a reason, and... And that's my responsibility!
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"But...I have to go...! He's dangerous... I can't rest knowing that he's out there!"
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And then, Ramza of yesterday?
Then, maybe we can figure out what we owe one another, maybe?
I slept roughly that night.
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And woke up to more rain and a field full of the season's probably last round of pink melons, ready to be harvested and turned into preludes to love... Well, when I get strawberries.
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"You're right! I hadn't noticed."
Where do my wooly clothes go when I'm in human form? It's a mystery even to me. How do they get ripped... Unless they've been ripped for a while now.
"Let me take care of that for you."
She took off my bandana and stitched it, making tiny, meticulous stitches with a light blue thread.
"You know, it's a little unusual to see a wooly wearing clothes; how did you come by them?"
"Um, well...I'm not really sure. But I like them anyway. They're, you know...secure, maybe? Like... I've always worn them." Also, I can't tell her that, as a person who has at least one body in which wearing clothes is essential, wearing clothes. Is. essential. "They're cozy, and I think, sometimes..."
I take off my little acorn cap and look at it. Someone knitted it personally -- it's not a proffessional job. It's warm, and has been on my head for so long that it smells like myself...And, oddly enough, of nutmeg. It puts me in mind of a fireplace, somewhere, just out of reach. I'm not even sure if it's a real fireplace, or one I dreamt up, only...
"I think sometimes that they must have meant something special, once."
"I can only hope it'll mean something special again, comrade."
She snaps the bandanna.
"Okay, all hemmed up!"
That was fast!
"Did you use magic to help fix it?"
"Heh. No, this was good old-fashioned sewing!"
"Well, thanks."
With that done, it's a little easier to go about my day...
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Where I have a different sort of heroics to tend to than fighting monsters.
I guess I should run by the flower shop to pick her up.
Though when I went there, I noticed an interesting-looking...
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Magic seed. A lilypad I can ride around on? Alright, I'll bite.
Ahem. But, back to business!
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"Where is Monica?"
"She's waiting for you in the plaza. Please hand her this 100-rose bouquet."
She hands me a bouquet of flowers that's larger than my head; I mean, I didn't count... But the overwhelming smell of roses assures me that it probably is a real 100-rose bouquet.
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"How do you expect to play the part of the prince without it?"
"ha ha..."
How exactly do you play the part of a fairytale prince, anyway? I don't want to lose her in the woods.
"I'm leaving Monica in your hands."
"Alright, then!"
I'll make stops on the way; I have a feeling my hands full with Monica!
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"I especially like the moment you pass out from the heat."
"What?!"
Passing out around fires is bad!
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While not as defensively powerful as my Defender, the Sakura is a much more powerful sword, and I don't think I could make something like it just yet... It's not like I'm hurting for money, either.
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"What's the matter, Raven?"
"...Our shop's sales are a little..."
"Sales are down?"
"...They aren't selling."
"What?"
"Gaius likes giving stuff away..." she glares at the floor below her.
"I-I'm sorry... Well, I made a big purchase today, so maybe it'll turn around?"
"...Maybe.
...Thank you."
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"Simple! As you can plainly see, it's dysfunctional! During a downpour, it blocks out the sun. It even comes in useless when I need to smash bugs in the summer!"
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"Uh...so it's useless in the rain? Isn't that the whole point?" I thought about the two of us on that walk... "Wait, It wasn't that bad..."
"I...used the same one that day, since I knew you have so many umbrellas." Her admission comes with a red face.
"Well, it was a good call."
At last, though, I make it to the town plaza, where my princess with sharp teeth awaits.
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She stares at the offered bouquet and snarls.
"Rrrrr!"
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Oh dear native dragons, this has already started out badly!
"Ow, hey! Calm down, Monica!" I pry her from my arm. "I thought we could spend some time together today."
"What are you talking about?! Quit being weird or I'll bite you again!"
"I gave you the roses because...It's only for today, but I'll be your Rose Prince."
I extend a hand cautiously, unsure of whether or not to prepare it to be bitten.
"So..."
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She gasps and hides her face.
I guess I can make a reasonably impressive prince, if only to a little girl.
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After taking a second to compose herself, she crosses over to me, her face red as her hair.
"W-what?!"
Uh, actually... I don't really have a plan, but...What sort of thing would be a good idea...
Well, Wells probably doesn't let her go to places with monsters often: let's start there.
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She grumbles and stomps her feet, and for a second, I think I've gone wrong.
"I wanna go to Vale: Icy Rosebush."
"Very well. Let us depart, Princess Monica."
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Ah, laying it on a bit thick...
We make our way over there quickly. I need to get a better look at this area sometime soon.
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"Wow!"
All of Monica's stubborn silence melts like ice under the sun; she runs about, watching her breath rise in white clouds of fog.
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She spins and turns back to me, practically singing out her words.
"Amazing."
I walk to stand next to her in front of the frozen rosebush, when she seems to have come to a stop.
"Monica."
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"Would you like to go anywhere else?"
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"Yeah, you'll be safe with me."
She beams, and for a moment, she's every inch Shara's little sister, with that same bright smile.
"Yay! Yeah!"
"Well, let's go to Oddward: Rainbow Falls next."
"Okay!"
She races ahead of me all the way across the town.
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"It's a rainbow!"
She turns back to me and makes the arc of the rainbow with her hand.
"Look!"
Then she paused and seemed to realize she was adressing not some familiar person, but a relative stranger.
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"Yeah. It's beautiful, isn't it?"
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"Hm...?"
...That's not a good silence.
"What's the matter?"
She just shakes her head and smiles. I was honestly expecting her to snarl and threaten me... But I guess the allure of all these distant places is working.
"It's nothing! Let's move on!!"
"??"
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"Okay. Let's go to...Privera: Flower Field."
"Okay!"
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"So, you come here often?" ...Wait, that was not the correct phrasing. Oh, well.
"Shara brings me here a lot. I help her take care of the flowers."
"Really? You do a great job!"
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She runs around the flowers, leaps over the more delicate ones, and flings her hands into the flower-scented winds, giggling to herself.
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After a second, she composed herself and ran back to me.
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"Rarr!"
Aaah, the demon's back!
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"L-let's keep going!"
I say as I dodge eager fangs.
"We should go to Sol Terrano: Star Dunes...But for the best view, we definitely want to go after dark, alright? Is that okay with you, Monica?"
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"Oh, don't worry. She said I'm watching out for you today."
"Really? Then it's OK!"
"Yeah! We'll go, then!"
Between then and now, though, I guess there's still some business to attend to; it's the end of the week, so the Diner's closed, but Collette's around...
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To thank me for my efforts.
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Was it long ago, or...Does Pia have amnesia, too? Uh, it's probably the first one. Because, seriously. There's only so much ridiculousness to go around.
"What sort of dreams are they?"
"I don't remember much, but the dreams are always sad..."
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"..."
I...I think Pia needs a hug. Maybe just on an existential level.
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"Fortunes?"
"Yes, it's a tradition from my homeland! I can tell you how your day will go!"
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"However, if your reading is 'poor' or 'horrible, something bad will happen!'"
"Wait...Something bad...?"
"Well, the chances of that are low, so I think it's worth the risk! I think so, at least..."
"Sounds, um, interesting..."
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"Sure."
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"Um...Okay..."
I shake the box around and pull out a card.
"It says 'Uncertain'..."
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"Which means...?"
"Uh, nothing, really..."
Shrugs all around.
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The afternoon was spent mostly fishing, waiting for one thing to happen...
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For the stars to come out for Monica to see.
"Look at all the stars!"
I walk up beside her slowly...Come to that, I think I said the same thing, didn't I?
"It's an amazing sight, isn't it?"
"Yes! It's wonderful!"
"Good."
I wonder if Kuruna would be mad I showed this spot to a human... Well, probably.
But I think, if she saw this smile, she'd understand. It's a pity I don't see it so often...
"Monica, can I ask you something?"
"What is it?"
"Why don't you let people talk to you?"
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The wounded silence feels like it could go on forever.
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"...It's just...I...When people talk to me, I get really nervous."
She balls up her hands into fists and then relaxes them, repeating the process a few times.
"And then I get mad at them for making me nervous and uncomfortable! And then I bite them!"
"I see..."
She squirms.
"I...I know I shouldn't do that."
"Well, when you explain it like that, maybe it's not so bad."
"Huh...?"
Don't panic! I have not changed my position re: biting. But I guess she's not some sort of feral jungle child.
"Oh, I mean, you definitely shouldn't bite people. But it's good to hear that you know it's wrong."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageKDoNotCrop4_zpsfb2939a1.png
Wanting to change is the first step, and without it, everything else isn't possible.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageKDoNotCrop5_zps2b0b8b2e.png
A cautious smile spreads across her face, but then becomes completely earnest, and bright as the stars.
"You really are like the Rose Prince!"
"Y-You think so?"
"Yes."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageKDoNotCrop6_zpsbaafe343.png
"Thanks."
Success! Shara will be relieved, too.
"Well, shall I walk you home?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageKDoNotCrop7_zps6ba77a4d.png
I took her back under the stars.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL1_zps8cf2cc21.png
"Was it fun?
"Yes! Very much!"
"I'm glad."[/color]
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL2_zpsa83b3259.png
"What?"
She walks forward, and before I can do the correct thing and flee, flee for the hills...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL3_zpsd87cbb21.png
It takes all of her reaching on her tippy-toes, but she leans up and kisses my cheek.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL4_zpse28077df.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL5_zpse2a4337d.png
Then she runs inside.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL6_zps4f36f92c.png
"..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL7_zpsad7d9dec.png
Ha...I guess if love's completely hopeless for me now, I could always wait a few years, ha ha...
Not that my situation would change any, though...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL8_zpsfb583244.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/ImageL10_zps6ae8fd94.png
That evening, I spend preparing my field for summer. I've planted a few out-of-season crops, to try and get some withered grass going...I've heard that works alright. I also did some logging, but we don't have a lot of stumps in my field right now. Bummer.
Mechanics Corner!
Boss Fight - Amaranthine and Crimsone
I'll work on getting a video for this fight, since I do have a save-state for it...(Well, I took one, but it was the wrong format. Still working on these things.)
I didn't have much trouble here, but I did have a lot of trouble in earlier runs -- preparation is key. Amaranthine is primarily magic-based, and all of his attacks are wind elemental, so if you prepare for that, you're gold. He's got a couple of options for wind attacks -- blades, little cycloney things, that big roar -- but for the most part, you have very little warning as to which he'll be doing. He will, however, pause and strike a pose before doing any of his special attacks, so if you're not fully prepared for those types of attacks, you'll just want to start running away when he does that. Being wind elemental in all he does, he resists wind attacks. He will also sometimes heal the two up, and I *hate* that.
Crimsone's primarily a physical attacker, as you've seen; other than hitting you a bunch of times in quick succession, and a charge attack, he doesn't seem to have any special moves. He resists fire element attacks, being fire elemental, but I don't know if that impacts his damage type.
Both of them are weak to love attacks, but to be honest, if you find a love crystal, I'd use it for making that one skill EXP-boosting accessory...But it doesn't hurt, if you're stuck. More usable advice is to not use elements, since you'd have to switch mid-fight. You'll want to weaken them together, when you can, since killing one berserks the other... But I'd prefer to take out Amaranthine first, because he heals. Just be ready to take the survivor out quickly.
The Water Lilly Magic Seed, or a specific pair of shoes, the Water Shoes, are required to progress with the storyline after this, so there you go.
Oh, and while I'm here... Let's talk about clothes! Most of the clothes are boring pallet swaps, and the one that isn't, a bathing suit, I'll be picking up for the heck of it. But, in case you wanted to see them, or wanted me to wear one, here they are~!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_07_25721_zpsedf47326.png
Yellow
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_19_25761_zps44d928e1.png
White
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_34_25810_zpsc2fc9ae4.png
Red
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_12_25738_zps14d50419.png
Black
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_55_25878_zps553725d3.png
Blue
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_59_25695_zps7622fdb9.png
Cobalt? These outfits are tiny.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2017/5322_-_Rune_Factory_3_A_Fantasy_Harvest_Moon_USA_NDS-NukeThis_50_25862_zps2f23c270.png
Purple
So, uh, send in requests if you want one.
While I'm at it... Pick 3 People to Prioritize for Requests, since I've been doing them at semi-random for a Bit.
Please note that Zaid, Kuruna, and Ondorus do not have more requests until later in the plot. Just the way it is.
Javan
2014-07-20, 10:15 PM
The Rose Prince event was cute.
Umm Requests should be take from
Pia
Raven
Monica or Daria (Monica because of well, this last update, but there's also the Rainbows to consider, so whichever)
fizzmaister
2014-07-21, 06:32 AM
Nice update. My votes for request focus: Gaius, Raven, and one vote for not focusing on anyone and randomly taking requests from other villagers.
Vauron
2014-07-21, 07:21 AM
Daria
Pia
Marian
Mathematicae
2014-07-22, 05:09 PM
Great LP.
I vote for Sofia, Carlos, and Raven.
Dragoon
2014-07-23, 11:20 AM
Enjoyed the update like usual and agree with Javan.
Let see votes for prioritize for requests: Sofia, Pia, Raven.
Sallera
2014-07-23, 11:45 AM
Ehehe. Let's see... Carmen, Marian, and Daria, since those are the three I've seen the least of in my own playthrough.
Chapter 18: Of Sea and Air
The next morning was bright and sunny, after a string of rainy mornings...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageADoNotCrop_zps5a417486.png
And in my mailbox, Shara clearly wanted to hear about last night. Actually, it's a precious letter.
Luckily, she was just down the stairs, having dropped off the letter but a moment before.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageB1_zps01c6c09c.png
"How has Monica been since last night?"
"After coming home from her date with you, I feel like she's really opened up to everyone. She's still just a child, but she seems a bit more grown up."
Well, that's good. I'm glad my advice helped her a little.
"Oh, and she won't stop talking about you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageB2_zps38cafc9c.png
Shara giggles.
"So much so that it almost made me jealous."
"Aw, shucks."
Who knew I was alright with kids?
"Really, I couldn't have imagined seeing her like this at all. Really, thank you so much."
That seems a little much; all I did was talk. It was Shara's idea to give me an opening.
"Oh, no, I couldn't have done it without your help. You're giving me too much credit."
"I'm glad to hear you say that. And now, I have a gift for you."
"Oh, I don't need anything..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageB3_zpsaaa7c3b1.png
"...?!"
"I gave it to Monica to hold. Why don't you go see her, Prince?"
"Th-that again...?" We'll keep this up until it's enforced!
On the way around town, I spotted Sofia, who seemed to have something on her mind.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageB4_zps06865da3.png
"Uh... I'm almost afraid to ask what form of 'persuasion' you resort to."
"Service with a smile, of course! Customers detest it when cashiers beam with kindness, so she should never smile!"
Well, she already does that. Now she just needs to do the opposite.
"What was Raven's reaction.
"She scoffed at the suggestion! In fact, she nodded vigorously."
"I'm more surprised that Raven nodded vigorously than anything else..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageB5_zps08951256.png
"Don't give him any food. EVER. He'll keep coming back for more, like a trained puppy!"
The first time Sherman has ever been compared to a puppy, or anything smaller than a hibernating bear!
"I'll be sure not to feed his addiction, then."
Anyway, I swung by the flower shop to see Monica, who flushed bright red the moment I entered the room.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageB6_zpsf0778931.png
She gave me a carefully-iced slice of cake.
"Wow. This is a cake, isn't it? Did you make it?"
"Yup!! I baked it with Shara."
"That's great. I can cook, too."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageB7_zps743bc92f.png
"But Shara's better, so I'm going to have her teach me lots! I'll let you have some of my next batch!"
"Okay, thanks."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageCDoNotCrop_zpsa8d0dfb8.png
Pia has a request for me to get to, too... Part-time work? As a comedian?
Well, it can probably wait until I've finished up around town, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD1_zpse18c77d2.png
"Let's talk."
"Why?"
Her stare is as empty and wating as an open grave.
"Well, I don't know why, I guess..."
"I told you before not to talk to me if you didn't need anything."
Two steps forward, and two steps back...
"Oh...Sorry."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD2_zpse29b2471.png
Gaius's head quickly retreated behind the divide, where he'd been watching us.
"Sometimes it's like swimming upstream..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD3_zps8892d957.png
"But thanks to everyone here, she's begun to open up. Even just since you came here... I think it takes getting used to; the impossible suddenly opening up."
He offers, with a concilliatory shrug.
I nod, accept it, and move on...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD4_zpsad0bcc77.png
"Mine uses some foreign technique. My grandma rejects that a little.."
Yours is also wildly unsafe.
"But magic treatment is a little old, you know?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD5_zps0182267b.png
"Yeah."
I mean, I guess everything's...uh, wildly unsafe, until you know more about it.
"So I'm going to prove her wrong, no matter how many sacrifices I have to make!"
"I think that's missing the point..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD6_zps0cdff432.png
"She told me that I should go home if I wasn't going to buy anything."
Sounds like her.
"But I was totally going to!" Carmen sighs. "Seems like I'm really loud. I guess I don't know how to adjust my volume."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD7_zpscbc8b8db.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD8_zpsc40fd55c.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD9_zps5944be18.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD10_zpse0fe3516.png
I collect my recipe breads...
And then I go see the Inn.
While I'm here, I'd like a fortune read:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD12_zps693559ed.png
"That means you should have better luck fishing."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah! It's pretty useful, huh?"
I pause and consider this, and the girl in front of me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD11_zps4a8d4322.png
"I don't know...Not really a fan, I guess."
...Well, that's not good, then. She sees me slightly crestfallen expression and adds,
"But they do so much for me, so I have to be somewhat grateful."
Hmmm...I'm not exactly sure what that means... But I also don't think it does much for me.
Alright, now for that job!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD13_zpsdf7e6b6e.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD14_zpse784ff3b.png
"Wait! Scrubbing? That wasn't in the request!"
Neither was Booyah!
"I just knew you wanted to get on your knees and SCRUB! It must be telepathy! I feel like I can hear you inner voice!"
"Um, maybe you could listen to my actual voice first..."
She clapped her hands together, drowning out all voices real and inner.
"Chop chop, buddy! Get to scrubbin'!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD15_zps25761a4d.png
And that's the story all about how my life got flipped turned upside-down...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD16_zps430b583d.png
By which I mean, how I ended up scrubbing the bath, listening to Pia's song drifting over the walls. It was some silly thing with nonsense lyrics, but it relaxed me all the same.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD17_zps51a7a206.png
"...Wait, why did I just help...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD18_zps7de3906c.png
Drifts Pia's voice from the woman's bath.
"Oh, yeah. Totally."
"Then just wait here. I'm almost done, too."
"I could use a break." My muscles are sore; my knuckles are scraped; it's hard to tell if I was in a bath, or a fight!
"Well," I say when I recieve no reply, "guess I'll just kick back here."
I crouch; against my back, the wall that seperates the men and women's back is stable, and slightly warm from the perpetual steam. After a time, in the heat of the bath's and Pia's gentle humming, conciousness drifts away.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD19_zps627085c0.png
"Zzzzzzzzz..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD20_zps3517c019.png
A voice starts me awake.
"Huh?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD21_zps7c3e0410.png
I stretch out and turn to the wall.
"Sorry. Keep ya waiting long, buddy?"
"Nah, I kept myself occupied. But you're quite...thorough."
She chuckles.
"Heh. Not exactly. It takes me longer than it should because I have to avoid turning into a mermaid! It's hard to scrub with fins!"
I guess it would be...
"Makes sense."
"Now to put away the mop..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD22_zpsbd135473.png
Thinking about it, though... That sort of work would be difficult to do well, and yet, here she is, doing it all the time.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD23_zps27916d40.png
"Yeah. It can be," she answers in a quiet, thoughtful tone. "But this bath is like me."
"How so?"
"I was always alone when I lived at sea."
Her hair swishes about her. "The fish were my friends, but I couldn't talk to them..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD24_zps2e36bbef.png
The image rises up then: the image of Pia, floating alone in some dark shadow of the sea, her hair spread out around her, forming a tiny bubble of color and sound in an immense darkness.
"You must've been pretty lonely..."
No wonder she has sad dreams of that time...
Her footsteps ring across the stone.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD25_zps82d6aaf6.png
[color=palevioletred]"She handed me a mop, and I didn't have to say a word."
"She just handed you a mop?"
Pia's voice grows warm and happy at the memory.
"Yeah! She said, 'If you wanna eat, you gotta work!'"
"Typical Sakuya."
"At first, it took me a whole day to clean the bath. But when I finally finished, Sakuya smiled.
She said 'See? I knew you could do it!'"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD26_zpsbe058e5a.png
"So I'll always have passion for cleaning the bath, no matter how long it takes me!"
For a moment, I don't know what to say. Except that, in some ways...
I think I know how she must feel. If I didn't have something to do, something to work on... I don't think I'd have thought of this place as my home; I think I can love this place because I have a purpose here.
But I don't think I'd have put it like that, if I hadn't heard it that way. I guess...There's something to be said for that strange perspective, risen from the sea.
And I want to say something of that -- any of that -- but in the end, I don't exactly know what to say...
"That's...quite inspiring."
Is the best I can manage, in soft earnestness, a little smile on my face.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD27_zps67f41ac6.png
The moment's broken by Sakuya's voice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD28_zps2d678495.png
She says, warmly,
"Nice chatting with you!"
"Wait, Pia!" Because I wanted to say...Or, maybe, I just wanted to talk a little longer -- I'm not even sure.
But there's nothing but the sound of footsteps, farther and farther away.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD29_zpsd6e397b4.png
"...She's gone, I guess."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD30_zps214284e5.png
"Huh?"
She runs up and deposits a chest down in the men's bath.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD31_zps053d0361.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD32_zpsbb4386b9.png
Well, that's a surprise.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD33_zps34486301.png
Her Hakimichi is slighlty better than mine, though it could do with a bit of improving on.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD34_zps181e4808.png
That evening, I went to the cave where I fish in Oddward Valley... And decided to test out my new toy.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD35_zps0e735881.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD36_zps380abc32.png
I'm riding a lilly pad! It scoots around at my direction without much trouble at all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD37_zps71a8db14.png
And so I can fish in teeming water.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD38_zps1308849c.png
And go hunting for materials beyond.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD42_zpsdd0d0c67.png
Including some unusual elemental crystals I intend to save up. I haven't seen any like them before, after all.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD39_zps0294b8aa.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD40_zps703516bd.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageD41_zps86e48e02.png
To celebrate, I upgraded a variety of tools, including my watering can yet again!
With that done, though, it was all I could do to flop into bed, and call it a night...
The next morning...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageEDoNotCrop_zps261f4068.png
Raven had a request. Since she doesn't like purposeless talking, this is as prime a chance as any to talk to her!
Though, first, I wanted to do a little bit of shopping, which involved stopping by the store...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageF1_zps2327bc01.png
Where I was instantly rebuffed.
"I'm trying to focus on picking a vegetable for tomorrow's Spring Crop Festival."
A crop festival? I'll need to pick an entry, then.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageF2_zpsdef879aa.png
"Yeah. What sort of thing makes an entry a good choice?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageF3_zps8ea51c2d.png
So I'm best off going with an onion, maybe? I'll save one that grew today.
Well, I'll think about that after I go see Raven.
"What is it?" she asked, on my approach.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageF4_zpsd1f30b79.png
"Oh..."
"Yeah. The one you sent. To me. And stuff."
"...I wanted to make a brooch."
"A brooch?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageF5_zpsec1c21da.png
"Oh, I see." They really do watch out for each other, don't they?
"But..." She hesitates.
"Something the matter?"
I ask, watching her face curiously. She spends a while just looking at my expression.
"...Is there something funny about giving him a brooch?"
"Nope. I think he'd like that."
"Really?" Little by little, her shoulders round.
"Yes."
The shoulders go up again.
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"What?" The topic being thrown at me completely knocks me off-base, and for a second, I stumble. "Uh, sure. I'd be happy."
"I see," she answers quietly. "Well, I'll need some hard bone for a base. Could you help me get it? Sol Terrano: The Fossil should have the bone I'm looking for."
"Yeah, okay."
We head off to the desert, where the rain and heat intermingle into a wall of pure muggy air.
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"Really?"
"Are you okay with the heat, Raven?"
She shrugs.
"I don't really feel the heat or the cold..."
"Is that right...?"
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I'm ok with cold, but the heat bugs me like mad, so I think she'd have to be lucky.
Of course, that's because if I'm cold, I have wool to run to.
"I don't think it's that big a deal."
"Really? I think it's pretty cool that you're so calm and collected."
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She said, her monotone dipping into a near-whisper. I have no idea why she'd bring up cuteness all of a sudden!
"What?! No, I mean..."
"It's okay. I don't really care..."
But no matter how I apologize, she doesn't look at me until we reach the Fossil.
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I pick up a likely-looking bone fragment and tap on it.
"Yes. This bone should be hard enough."
"..."
"Raven?"
Raven, watching from behind my shoulder, only shudders...And cautiously approaches the great skeleton.
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Raven didn't exactly look pleading -- I think that her face doesn't have it in it, not exactly -- but her eyes, blue as a glacier's heart, were big and soft, and locked onto my face. Her expression was hesitant and mournful, like a deer's.
"That's why you wanted me to come." I smile. "Well then, why didn't you say so from --"
"No..."
"What?"
She plunges her hands into the pile of bones and bone fragments shielded by the great fossil, like someone plunging their hands into coals. She comes out with a skull gripped in white knuckles.
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"I'll be fine."
"You don't need to..."
"I'm...fine."
This display having been made, she walks off.
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Leaving me to chase after her shaking steps.
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"I'm fine." She repeats, in the same tone. It is less a response, and more a mantra.
"But you're shaking..."
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Her temper flares, and with a look of anguish like a person at the end of their rope. The skull digs its way into my ribs and I stumble back over the sands.
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"Ah!"
Behind me, I realize, is a key feature:
a cliff. Not, as my foot was thinking, the ground.
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Her anger dissolves in an instant.
"I-I'm gonna fall..."
The land rushes up towards me, and for a moment, all I know is the rush of air and blood and blackness, as my whole vision goes dark.
And a great beating of wind...Or wings...The grip of something needle-sharp, and the faint scent of toyflower...
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And then the feeling of sand on my face. The air's still full of the sound of wings.
(I thought I fell from the cliff...)
D-Do I have amnesia again? Quick brain check! My name is Ramza, I'm a little nervous about what I'll do next, I farm, I used to be a guard, I'm half-wooly, I'm prone to existential panic.
Ok, it's all there.
I glance up, where a beautiful bird with enormous wings is watching, concernedly, just off the ground.
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(I should thank it...)
I reach out a hand, woozily... As the air spins and whitens and burns with light...
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Everything pulses and then...
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It's gone.
"Was that a dream...?"
I glance at my feet; there, almost shining against the dull grains of sand is a red feather, about the length of my hand: it's a light red, like a sunset.
"A pretty feather's on the ground...This feather...That bird did save me."
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Raven's voice whispers across the sand. She comes running up towards me.
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"Yes. I'm great!"
She relaxes enough that I can tell she's sorry for, uh, pushing me off a cliff. Well, I guess I was being "pushy" myself...
"I see..." She says, with a faint smile.
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"I'm sorry..."
"What?"
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It almost comes as a surprise for her to admit it; or, really, for her to need it. I knew she was sorry...And it was OK. I was being pushy, and she was...well...
"That skull was scaring you, wasn't it?"
"Yes..." She admits.
"Well, why were you being so stubborn then?"
"Well..."
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She pauses, and seems to wrestle -- even more than building up her courage to grab the skull, this scares her; admitting this takes filling her lungs like bellows and pumping out a single response:
"...I didn't want you to think that's the reason why I asked you to come."
"What?"
"..." Her expression doesn't change.
So she called me here not to help her, but...
But because...
Because she...
For the same reason I came...
Because she wanted to see me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageF28_zpsc2858230.png
"Anyway, let's get out of the desert! We'll just get sweaty talking here!"
I turn and try to hide how red my face is, taking a few steps out, when...
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"This?" I turn around and pick up the feather. It's somewhat warm. "Oh, it seems like it's from the monster that saved me."
"Can I have it...?"
"What?"
"It looks like I can make an accessory out of it."
"Oh, yeah. Well, sure!" I'm not sure what I'd do with it otherwise.
"Thank you..."
We made our way back to just outside the Blacksmith's. Raven seemed particularly tired when we got there.
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"Yes."
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I'm impressed she went this far for Gaius.
"You know, you and Gaius have a strong bond. It really seems like you're a family. I'm a bit jealous."
"...I never had a family." She admits.
"Huh...?"
The rain's drenched her hair through, and she wipes the long wet strands out of her face. For just a moment, her expression's completely exposed. Her face isn't cold, or empty; it's just stoic, like it was made to endure things like rain, or heat, or cold like this. Whatever it is, it's a face that won't complain. But her eyes look soft and lonely, dodging away from being trapped by the world.
"I don't remember my parents. I never had that."
"Oh, I see..."
"But...It's just a feeling."
"What?"
"Gaius is..."
The one she ... cares about. Of course. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but that thought feels somehow like an ice cube down my back.
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I chuckle and relax, and all the ice in the world -- and Raven's expression -- melts away. I almost feel foolish.
"Not a brother?"
She puts something down.
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"You've done so much for me...So I wanted to repay you..."
"Oh...okay. Thanks."
"...It's nothing special." She says, hiding her expression again.
"Really, thank you. I'll take good care of it."
"...Bye then..."
And she went inside.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageF34_zpsfea6b424.png
My reward was a ruby ring.
As for other requests...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageGDoNotCrop_zps00264858.png
Well, I can't refuse a present! To the Resort!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageH1_zps982e0bb8.png
"About me?"
"Oh. Seems like you've gotten pretty good at fishing under Carmen's guidance."
"Ha ha. Master...I mean, Carmen said that about me? I'm so happy."
"Yeah, and I couldn't just do nothing. Here, take this."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageH2_zps58ab7464.png
"Is this...silver?"
"Yeah. Silver is used to make fishing rods...A real fisherman will make his own tools. And you will be able to charge a good rod. It's child's play to us fishing masters."
"I see. Charge...?"
"It's similar to a weapon. If you charge with a good rod, it'll attract far off fish, and you'll get lots of bites!"
"Oh! That's amazing!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageH3_zps80549f5f.png
"Keep at it, bro'."
"Thanks!"
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I was headed up through the inn's upper floors, when I spotted an unusual woman sitting in one of the rooms.
"Um, excuse me..."
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"Uhh...Have we?"
"No, I don't think so."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2018/ImageH6_zps8534b6c8.png
"Why don't you take a look at my wares?"
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She sold an ecclectic mix of items...Most of them well beyond what I really wanted to pay. But there were a lot of nice cooking breads I could get.
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RECIPE BREADS FOR ALL! RECIPE BREADS FOREVER!
Oops, sorry...Just don't know what came over me. The evening itself, I'm not sure what I'll do with -- I'll work that out soon enough.
Javan
2014-07-27, 05:48 PM
Another well paced update.
Partly due to the spacing of the requests/story, partly due to how you are presenting, the story is spooling out nicely.
Dragoon
2014-07-29, 07:21 AM
Enjoyable update as usual, though some of the earlier stuff with characters is starting to make a bit more sense.
Well, that's good! We're approaching the midpoint for the events of a lot of characters, actually -- or, at least, what I sort of think of as the midpoint.
Sorry for the delays in this, and in other projects: I was at the beach, so not much could be done. This'd been sitting, mostly done, for about a week...
Chapter 19: Weird Science
During the evening, I decided to head over to the river, to explore it a bit, when...
A sound resounded across the ice, bouncing off the snow.
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"It sounded like it came from across the river. I think I might be able to cross it with that magic seed I have..."
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Riding my lilypad! I'm glad the cold water isn't freezing it over or anything like that.
The area has some enemies I'm not wholly prepared for...but they go down quickly enough, and I can cross over to the other side...
"Mwahahaahaa!"
Something called out from upstream.
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"Looks like the road ahead's protected by a powerful wind...Do I have to defeat all the monsters in this area?"
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In the ensuing fight, I noticed a big piece of ice. I reached up to it and tried shoving it, since there wasn't many other places I could go during this match...
"There, that should do it!"
It rumbled and shook and then collapsed, with a noise like glass shattering.
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But the ice that fell fell across the water, so...
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"Well, I can get across now, so it's all good!"
In terms of the fighting...The turnip ghosts aren't too terrible, but they are fast.
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But the hits from my Sakura sword just get absorbed by these ooze guys! No matter how hard I hit them, there's no damage to be done.
I think that means I absolutely have to retreat, at least until I can gain my strength back.
The next morning had all the bustle of a proper festival, so I had to go around and see how people are doing.
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"What did you grow, Shara?"
"Tee-hee, that's a secret. What about you, Ramza?"
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"Well, it's more like I'm trying to decide..."
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"Yes. You're really amazing."
"Oh, not really."
"Yeah, you are! You're amazing!"
"Thanks."
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"...It was for the vegetable."
"For your vegetable?!"
...Raven, it's a vegetable. It does not need a helmet.
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"R-really?"
I find Pia and Sakuya on the beach, in intense discussion.
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"Hmm."
"I'm counting on you. We need to be scouting for some good items."
"So, how about moving vegetables?"
"Moving?!"
Pia turns her head and notices me.
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"Oh, Ramza. Nice."
"What? What is?!"
I flee before I get roped into anything...
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And present Wells with my best onion.
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"Yes I am."
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I hang around for a while until the judging starts.
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"This must have taken a lot of effort. It's a tricky crop. I appreciate that."
He cuts off a piece and tastes it.
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"The results are in!"
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2019/ImageC17_zpsb9985c3a.png
Victory!
"Thank you very much!"
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"All of the winners, don't forget your prizes! Until next time!"
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I do get to keep my onion... And my giant tower of cooking bread.
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A full set of breads eaten!
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I can even make one of the recipes at home right now, so that's a relief.
After that, I check my mail:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2019/ImageDDoNotCrop2_zpsc03be033.png
Sounds like Daria needs some help. I should head over to her house.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2019/ImageE1_zps644ead66.png
Ok, she said she needed help, but this is ridiculous!
"Daria?! I saw your letter! What's the matter?!"
She lifts up her head and looks at me blearily.
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"I --"
"Oh? What is it?!" Monster attack? Rare elf disease? Monsters attacking with rare elf diseases?!
"I'm hungry..."
I stare at her, lying helplessly on the ground like she's about to die.
"Um....can I go home?"
"Hold on! Hoooold on!"
She reaches up for me, her voice a desperate hum.
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Dramatics aside, that actually sounded like she meant it...And, on some level, it's not surprising.
"Your art must be more important than eating..."
"So what if it is? I love what I love..."
You know? I can't argue with that, not even a little bit.
"Okay. Well, let me help you then." I smile at her. "What do you want to eat?"
"Really?! Yay. Well, I want to eat some dried sardines!" She props herself up on her elbows and smiles with fresh vigor.
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For once, something I said struck a nerve: she curls her arms tighter beneath her, and ducks her head to glare at me balefully from the upper edge of her eyes. Her face is very red.
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Well, I didn't mean to make her mad; it just seems...unexpected.
"Okay. Dried Sardines, is it? Well, wait here then."
"A-alright, I'll do that. Now, go...my dear assistant!"
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I mean, I have sardines...but not that many. Maybe Blaise has a spare dish or sardine?
So I run down to where he's enjoying the post-festival atmosphere.
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"Thank you. Then I'll be waiting."
"Oh, no, that's okay. I thought this might happen --"
"What?"
"So I already have something ready."
"What?!"
How did he anticipate my request?!
"I've learned from experience. Well, then, please get this to Daria."
"Wait, you knew it was for Daria?!"
"She would be the only one who would want Dried Sardines in such a hurry."
"Does it happen often...?"
"Yes. Particularly this time of year, when it rains often. Sometimes, inspiration carries her off."
"..."
"Now, please, get these dried sardines to Daria."
"Oh, yes. Thank you."
I run back to her house in the woods, Dried Sardines in hand.
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"Time to eat!"
She got up to at least a kneeling position and began eating her sardines like, well, a starving woman.
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"S-so delicious. Good job! You'll make a great wife!"
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I mean, besides all the technical details. And, really...Well... I keep thinking it, but it's true: I probably wouldn't make a good husband. I can get by in human (mostly human) society by, well, hiding. I can get by in monster society by hiding, too.
...No one wants to be lied to, and love can't exist within lies.
Ah, nevermind!
Daria finished her fish and stretches.
"Whew...I feel so alive! Thanks. I really do owe you my life."
"O-oh, it really wasn't that much..."
"Well, you have a point." She says, her face going neutral.
"Um, would you mind being a little grateful, still?"
"I'm just kidding. I really am grateful. Here, just to prove it."
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"P-Permanent?! And you want me to live in your house?!"
Wouldn't that be like being your servant?
"You'll supervise the dried sardines," she says with a straight face.
"I've never heard of a supervisor like that. I'll pass..."[/color]
"Oh, well that's too bad. Well, come back if you change your mind. Thank you for today."
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"Please eat next time..."
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I think I have time for another request. Let's see about Marian's...secret formula?
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"Oh...I did."
"I made some new medicine today."
"Again...? So, what's the medicine this time?"
She smiles innocently and sweetly.
"Well, before I tell you, how about some tea?"
She offers me a warm cup that she had going on some sort of burner. Isn't there normally a flask on that?
"Oh, thank you."
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The tea tingles slightly on my tongue.
"And so, what's the medicine?"
"It's a 'growth serum.' There's someone perfect to test it on."
...Oh dear.
"Test...?"
Her face splits into a bright grin. My heart feels...somehow, very peaceful and calm when I see that.
"Now, Ramza! Go find that evasive Collette and bring her here!"
Uh, isn't that a little unsa-
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...I didn't mean to say that! My hand raises before I even realize it. It feels heavy and numb, like it's not really my hand anymore.
"Wait, my body's moving on it's own...?"
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My legs feel cold as they pivot about. I look down and see my feet shuffling as if trying to read the ground be feeling it -- somehow, this action seems very distant. Not just because I can't feel or control it... It just feels very...
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I slide out the door, a puffy pink feeling spread throughout my head.
Almost immediately outside, Rusk is passing by. He'll probably know where she is, so I can get this done faster <3!
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"Collette just ran out of the plaza to get away. It looks like something to do with Marian." He pauses and looks at me. "You know, I'm surprised that you're helping her that way."
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"What?"
"Oh, ummmm...(I've been acting strange)", mumbles a little voice in the back of my head.
"Ah, I see now. Well, you should go to the plaza. It won't be as fun when the medicine wears off."
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I think I understand this feeling: It all belongs to someone else. All these problems belong to some other person. This kind of annoying body, with its instincts split across species lines, and its secrets, and its lost past and its scary responsibilities -- its family, its friends, its messy double-life -- they all belong to someone else, far away. All "I" have to do is go get Collette -- isn't that wonderful <3?
There were a lot of people in the plaza, but none of them were Collette.
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But I did spot something moving in the tree~!
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"Ramza?! Why are you here?!"
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"That strange way of talking...! Is it Marian's special mystery drug?!"
I reach up for her in the tree.
"I'm sorry, Collette. Please, come with me for my Marian."
"Mercy! Mercy...!"
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I find something of hers and just grab it. I'm sure it'll aaaaall work out.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
I pull her down from the tree in a cascade of blossoms and pretty much carry her back to the Apothecary before setting her down in front of my precious Marian.
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Collette fumes.
"Marian! Forcing medicine on someone isn't taking care of them!"
"Good medicine is bitter. Sacrifice yourself for science!"
"I don't want to!"
Marian steps back and considers this.
"I see. Try some tea then."
Some little voice in my head wants to try yelling something like 'Waiiit, no!' But that voice sounds like somebody else, so why should I care?
"Oh, thanks."
Collette drinks the tea, and Marian turns to me with a teacup in her hand.
"For you too, Ramza."
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I drink the tea. It tingles on my lips, with a sudden vividness of feeling, like a blush spreading through me.
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The fog falls away and something hits me: I totally did all of that! I dragged Collette here! She was hiding!
Why did I do something like that?!
"...! What have I done?!"
"Experiment is working..."
"Experiment?!"
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Her WHAT?!
"I want to see the other you, Ramza!"
Was that what that was? No, it couldn't have been. I'm pretty sure my body stayed the same. And I'm also pretty sure feeling like a girl wouldn't suddenly make me obey Marian... I really don't think that's what just happened!
Which means that's more science yet to be done.
"When did you..." I look down. There's a cup in my hands.
"Wait a minute... The tea?!"
"It's too late now! Come over here. I'll take care of you."
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"That's not..."
I try reaching out my hands to form a shield between Marian's advance and myself, but... My hand stays holding the teacup.
"My body won't move!"
"I used some paralyzers."
"More medicine?!"
"I don't believe it!" What's going to happen now? "It must have been the tea...Why don't those things fail like the others?!"
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"O-Oh, is that so...?"
We glance at each other. I think our faces are about all we can move.
"Let's focus on the issue."
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I think I've already done that today!
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And then everything goes black.
When my vision clears, the apothecary's ceiling greets me. Yet again.
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"I feel like this has happened before." So I probably don't need to check my memory.
Huh. My voice sounds normal...So I don't think she could have done too much to me, right? A stopped clock isn't right more than twice a day.
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Collette says in agreement, from over on the bed.
"Collette?!" Well, I'm glad I didn't check to see if her experiments worked more throroughly!
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...Really, really glad.
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As Marjorie walks in, a voice calls out from behind her,
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I very nearly curl up in a ball for my own defense as Marian charges into the room.
"Now, Marian. How many times..."
Marian looks crestfallen.
"Oh..."
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She looks over the two of us, lying down -- well, at least until I raise myself off the floor. And boy, am I glad for that.
"I'm sorry. I overdid it again."
She looks contritely at her feet. She passed 'overdid it' a while ago, but...
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But...
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Well, but Collette accepts it, at least.
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm not skilled enough.But next time... Next time!"
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"Wasn't it a growing medicine? Or a gender switching medicine?"
She shrugs.
"It was a cure-all at one point. Conceptually!"
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"Just wait! Next time...!"
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...I'm going to the valley.
Where, mostly, I fight random monsters until I get some new materials...
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For new boots!
The next day...I end up watching Kuruna do what looks like paper work; though, I guess for her, it's scroll work. I guess this, too, is part of being the elder...
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"Indeed. It was decreed by my ancestors, comrade."
So, no matter what, she was bound to do this, or let everyone -- even her ancestors -- down. In some ways, that's probably comforting. I like not having to make scary decisions...But in other ways, it's got to be frustrating.
"So...If you could've chosen a career, what do you think you would've done?"
She smiles brightly and answers,
"That's easy. I'd own a cake shop!"
"You can't eat your own inventory, you know."
I'm sure this'll be a struggle for Collette, for example.
"Hmmm... You've got a point. I might have to reconsider, then."
I leave her to her paperwork and considerations of paths not travelled, leaving me with other questions of Univir society and customs.
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"Not with any more frequency than humans. It's just a coincidence that Kuruna and I both wear glasses."
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"G-Gai-Gai?" She does not respond to that, no matter how much I want to know about that nickname.
"But not enough! He needs to make them rainbow colors." She bounced up and down. "And then add some arms and legs. Maybe a tail or two --"
"That's not a weapon anymore."
That's an animal.
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After some thinking, I decide to take a request from Karina.
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"Oh, really? I'll have to bring her something."
"Raven may seem cold, but she's actually very kind."
"...Yeah."
I go and see Karina next.
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"Well, let's go."
"What? Where?"
"Privera Forest. Of course."
"Wait, why?"
"Because."
"What?"
"Oh...ummm..."
She adjusts her scarf with a tug.
"(I probablt shouldn't say.)"
"Come on. You can tell me."
"Well, I want to practice."
"Practice?"
Is this about running away?
From the sleepy, oceanic depths of her face rises up a grave expression.
"Yeah, if I want to get to the city, it's going to take a lot of walking. So I need to get ready for that."
"You need me to help you practice walking?"
...I don't think she understands it very well, but...Is that just because I don't understand her feelings? I mean, I'm not the sort of person who'd throw everything away.
"Hey, there's some dangerous stuff in Privera Forest. (Monsters are such a pain.)"
She dismisses that without any embaressment.
"Ah."
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"But won't you have to deal with monsters if you travel to the city?"
"Oh, I'll worry about that later." She waves me off airily. "So could you get me to Privera: The Eye, then?"
Well, we're off.
By the time we got to the forest, Karina was already out of breath. How's she getting anywhere?
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She says, between pants.
"What?! This is just the entrance."
"Oh. Really? (Who would have thought the wilderness was so...big?)"
She looks at me sternly.
"Isn't there some kind of carriage service that we could take there instead?"
"I don't think so. Let's go."
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I water my crops in the forest and keep going.
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I rub the back of my head.
"At this rate, we're never going to get there."
"Yeah, I know. (Maybe I should give up on this "Walking" concept.)"
She looks around the open stoneway, taking in the flower-scented air.
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"Or jewels sometimes, I guess."
"Hmmm..."
She contemplates this for a moment and turns to look over at me, a gleam in her eyes.
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"How do you collect ore? Could you show me?"
"What? I guess I can..."
She smiles.
"Thanks. I'll just watch."
"Okay."
"(Now I get a break.)"
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And so I mine for ore.
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She yawns in response.
"Yeah, thanks. (It's over already?)"
She looks around again, scanning the woodlands for...Um. I'm not exactly sure.
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"What?"
I follow her eyes to...
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The apple tree in the corner.
"Those apples look tasty. Could you get me one?"
"You could get it yourself, you know..."
It's not like we aren't here to, you know. Walk.
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"*sigh*..."
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And so I pick an apple and bring it to her.
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You know, when she's happy like that, she's really very cute. She chews the apple with a smile.
"Okay, where are we going next? (I hope it's someplace with a bench.)"
"..."
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She looks so dejected.
"Don't worry, Karina."
"Hm?"
"It's just a little farther." I smile reassuringly, answering what I think is...probably on her mind. Karina's not too hard to guess.
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"Okay. I can make it."
"Okay! Let's go, then."
I walk ahead, towards our goal.
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And soon after, we reach our goal. Privera: The Eye!
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"Yeah...finally." It took us a while, with all the delays. She seems more worn-out, though.
"I see...(I'm so tired.)"
She crouches on the ground, the dust puffing around her slightly, shifting to her motion.
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I think last night's fighting is still in my system; something hit me pretty hard.
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I yawn and stretch, trying to shake off that fatigue.
"...Maybe the town isn't so bad. (I'd never make it to the city.)"
She says, behind my back.
I laugh uneasily.
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We hurry back. Kuruna's much faster going home than coming out, like a reluctant horse.
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"Absence makes the heart grow fonder."
"That was a real adventure. Here's your reward for being such a good guide."
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...Well, at least I got some ore.
"Thanks for today. (I guess it went okay.) Well, see you later."
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Bashhammer
2014-08-14, 04:02 AM
This is one of the best Let's Plays ever.
Javan
2014-08-14, 11:21 AM
Marian's experiments are of a slightly worrying nature...
Dragoon
2014-08-17, 07:48 PM
Marian's experiments are only slightly worrying, Javan? Are you trying for understatement of the thread?
Enjoyed the update, though do miss the interactions with Delita. Though the fact that cabbage is used for bunny-ears, hopefully she does not attempt to get Ramza to wear any of her favorite outfits she makes.
This is one of the best Let's Plays ever.
Aw, you're making me blush! I'm really happy to hear you speak so highly of this project.
Marian's experiments are of a slightly worrying nature...
...Slightly? I think if it weren't for the fact that this game is, in general, happy-go-lucky, Marian might qualify as honestly kind of horrifying... Though I like mad science enough I can't say I mind.
Enjoyed the update, though do miss the interactions with Delita. Though the fact that cabbage is used for bunny-ears, hopefully she does not attempt to get Ramza to wear any of her favorite outfits she makes.
Delita's still around; he'll show up probably when Ramza has more dilemmas to talk through.
...Knowing this game, it will all involve women. I'm sure Delita will have an observation to make on that.
Javan
2014-08-18, 09:10 AM
Marian's experiments are only slightly worrying, Javan? Are you trying for understatement of the thread?
Enjoyed the update, though do miss the interactions with Delita. Though the fact that cabbage is used for bunny-ears, hopefully she does not attempt to get Ramza to wear any of her favorite outfits she makes.
Haha, no, not really. But apparently I made the qualifying rounds.
Aw, you're making me blush! I'm really happy to hear you speak so highly of this project.
...Slightly? I think if it weren't for the fact that this game is, in general, happy-go-lucky, Marian might qualify as honestly kind of horrifying... Though I like mad science enough I can't say I mind.
They are only slightly worrying because at least she is attempting to help* people. Horrifying would be if her grandmother was unable to fix something she did...
*help covers all attempts up to and including forced hypnotism, forced test subjects, forced experimentation, abduction, incomplete disclosure of potential experimental outcomes...
It was a cure-all in theory, I'm sure. At some point. It just then went stampeding into one of the events I actually most looked forward to recording. I have 3 that I'm particularly looking forward to; we've seen that one, but the next two are of varying distances...
Part 20: Farewell to Spring
Well, with that little trip over...Back to the day at hand!
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Collette apparently has a secret...Or, um, wants to grow bigger? Well, that's no secret.
Still, I guess I'll help.
But I can worry about that later, right?
On the beach, Carmen's sighing.
"What's wrong? Something bothering you?"
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"What kind of criteria?"
I can't explain my reasons, but...You and me both.
"I can't marry any guy who doesn't eat fish! That's non-negotiable." She stamps her foot, to emphasise the ultimate non-negotiability of this. [color=lightseagreen]"Carlos eats his fish clean! It's great! You should take note."
But why do I need to care about how fish are eaten?
"Why is that?"
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She blushes a little, but keeps her face looking at me steadily. She mutters something slightly too low for me to hear,
"Although maybe it'd just be with me..."
"What? Did you say something?"
"N-No! It's nothing! Ha ha. *sigh*..."
"...?"
I sort of thought she meant other people's requirements for her...
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"Y-yes...?"
What an intimidating stare...
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"Huh...?"
This is a weird day...
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Monica's in a bad mood, too...
"What's the matter?"
"Shara's so pretty, isn't she? I wonder if I'll be like her."
"You don't need to worry. You're pretty too, Monica." Girls sure worry about a lot of things.
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...What's with that look? Have I been rolling in pheramones today?
This is apparently too much for Monica to take.
"*Chomp*!!
"Owww!"
I found the birthday girl in the plaza, by a bench.
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"What?"
"Never mind..."
...
...
...
AAAAUGH! I DON'T REMEMBER WHEN I WAS BORN!
Do I have a birthday? I must. Everyone has a birthday.
I've been making such strides, I forgot that I didn't remember!
"...You look like you're about to be sick..."
"...Nevermind that!"
I shake off the minute of weightless existential panic.
"It's your birthday, isn't it? I have something for you."
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"It's, um...
A necklace. It's pretty basic, so if you wanted to make something more complicated out of it, you could, or it could, um, work on its..."
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"Did you ask around...what I liked?"
"Well, I heard some ideas, anyway...But you told me a lot of it youtself."
She smiles gently.
"I see...thank you."
"Happy birthday!"
I headed to the Diner to see if Collette was there...But she was not to be found.
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Only recipes.
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"Well, I think we can all agree on that!"
Rabbit ears made from vegetables...
"Really? I didn't know that! Does that mean you'll join me in raiding her studio in 'Operation Fish-Scale Justice'?"
I'm pierced by pink, pleading eyes.
"Uh...I don't think we find her outfits offensive for the same reasons!"
I just can't find Collette, until I double back to the Diner.
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"Yes, what did you need help with?"
She hesitates, sad and halting.
"I...Actually, I..." Eventually, her timidity fades in the face of her goal. Her fists are white-knuckled with determination. "I want to get bigger!"
"Yeah, I know."
An audible sigh rises from her.
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"I still believe that I can get bigger some day, but...I haven't changed at all...I asked Marian and all she told me was to 'exercise, eat a lot, and sleep!'"
"Why do you want to get bigger?"
"To become a good cook."
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She repeats.
"I see..." What she just said finally reaches my brain. "Wait...what? Why?"
"Ramza! Please! It's to help make me bigger!" She all but shouts, and I take a step back from the noise.
"Y-yes. Well, I'd be happy to help. (What does being bigger have to do with cooks?)"
"Thanks! But what should we do...?"
Hmmm...
"Well... For now..."
"I'll just try to do what Marian prescribed!"
"Since it's not medicine, that should be OK." I mean, those are all pretty basic ideas... "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea."
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Um...
I just went there.
*sigh*
Back to the stoneway.
This time, we walk in a gentle shower.
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At least Collette picks her own apples.
"Phase one of the workout program is complete!"
"Phase two: cooking! I can do that! Just make sure I don't scarf the ingredients beforehand!"
We returned to the Diner where Collette dove into the kitchen with a fervor, dicing and coring and baking and peeling and mixing, bringing out sugar and dough and a few other ingredients I didn't see as clearly.
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Until there was a feast of apples at the table.
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"Whoa! You made a ton!"
"Eat well, play well! I gotta get big! Now then...Time to eat!"
Rather than a full-length scarfing, she actually manages some dainty eating.
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Is it because she cooked this herself?
(She tries so hard. She runs around the forest, and looks so serious cooking here.)
When Collette's just eating, it's one thing...
(Even now, she's eating with all...)
These two trains of thought about catch up to each other.
"Wait...what?"
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"Um, Collette?"
"Huh, what?"
"Well, it's um...really hard to say this, but..."
She looks up at me.
"What? Go ahead?"
"Isn't this...How you usually are?"
She bolts upright, scattering plates and knocking a stool aside.
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Her head falls forward.
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"Huh?!"
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...Poor Collette.
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I head home and ship my supplies for the day. It's the best I can do...
Before heading to the river.
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Where I find a recipe bread in a chest!
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Rather than uselessly try to fight with my sword, healing up these slimes...
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It's time to use my other best weapon: my own body.
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This way takes me a while, but I manage to clean up, feeling the wind dying down around me.
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My advance is once again halted by an evil laugh.
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A wind buffets me away from the exit.
"The gusts are knocking me back again. And who...or what...is behind all the laughing?"
I look around and spot another path, from the other side of the river.
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"If I defeat all the monsters in the cave, I might be able to move on."
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I get on my lilypad and cross to the other side...
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But once I'm in the cave, I'm knocked out before I can so much as move.
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*sigh*
I'll have to try to improve what I have.
I spend the rest of the night just trying to get a little bit stronger in my crafting skills.
No absolute progress, though; just slow incremental gains.
The next day was drizzly, matching my rainy mood. The last day of Spring was coming.
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"By the water? They're pretty."
"You think so too? They really are pretty..."
Meanwhile, Ondorus was pacing about in frustration, looking over his books.
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"What tree? The Sharance Tree?"
He relaxed.
"Ah, you overhead...Yes. I'm not sure why is suddenly changed like that; it'd been the way it was before you arrived here for longer than I've been alive. However... In that state, it would certainly never truly bloom.
So why... Why did it suddenly blossom? What changed..."
He paused and looked at me for a long time, his expression evaluating.
"...What?"
"Nevermind. It's nothing."
I head home, with the feeling that I'm being evaluated, somehow. Judged.
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Hm; I'll need to pick up a swimsuit, then.
"...Uh, what are you doing in my house?"
"Uh, nothing, nevermind, bye!"
And she dashed out.
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The mailbox told the tale. I ran after her in the rain and caught up to her in the flower shop.
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"Yes," I say, straightening up as I get the wind back into me.
"Well then, let's go."
"Where to?"
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I take a step back and try to dodge out of her fury.
"N-No, not that... I meant, where are we going to go?"
An emberassed smile spread across her face.
"Oh..."
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"That's okay..."
"Well, let's go to your house then. I want to talk to you about something."
Why my house, though? I mean, there's lots of places that are out of the way, but that's...Really, really...
Out of the...
Way...
Where no one could possibly overhear.
"Just the two of us...?"
I mutter.
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We stare at each other for a moment, red-faced at our own pile of half-said implications. I'm as surprised at her blush as anything in my own mind.
"L-Let's just go already! You're embaressing me!" She bursts out, panic in her tone.
"Y-yeah, okay."
We ended up having tea in my kitchen, the last drizzle of spring hitting the leaves outside.
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"It's okay. I'm happy to do it for you."
She smiles at me quietly, looking up through her dark eyelashes.
"..."
"What is it?"
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She fidgets with her skirt and fingering the feathered edges of the flowers on her collar. A deep breath in. Shara's eyes move up to meet mine.
"I want you to hear about my dream."
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"My grandpa has spent the last 50 years trying to get the Sharance flowers to blossom."
"50 years...?"
"Yes. Before even my parents were born, he'd carried that dream. When we lost them... He still had us, and he still had that. I guess having watched him, I started to want the same thing as well."
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"Watering every day, pruning the branches, making special plant food..." She counts her techniques off on her fingers. "At one point, I actually lived here too."
"Oh, is that right?!"
I wondered where the bed and fridge had come from... Wait, does that mean Shara's used that bed?
"I thought it would help me understand the plants."
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She turns and paces away. Shara's shoulders slump, and she sighs.
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"I almost gave up."
"..."
It's a little hard to imagine her giving up, but I don't say that.
"I just left the tree alone for a while."
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"He had lost his memories, and didn't know what he was going to do."
"Is that...?"
Well, who else would it be. But it's strange to hear me being talked about.
"That's why I brought him here."
She looked back at me more directly, her face open and relaxed.
"Perhaps this person could affect the tree..."
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"But now I have hope."
"Shara..."
I haven't done...anything...to justify that hope.
She swirled in a cirle, turning with the energy of her words back towards me. Shara's hair swirled out around her like the halo of the sun. She shortened the distance between us -- but not closed it.
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"I was surprised."
"Shara..."
I don't know if I did anything; I might just have...been here...right?
But the determination in her expression couldn't be argued with.
"And I promised myself...I'm never going to let myself think that way again!"
My eyes widened.
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"I'm going to make the Sharance flowers bloom!"
"Shara!" I know she can do it!
"That's been my dream! I can't just give it up! Ramza, will you help me?"
She reaches out a hand. I don't so much as hesitate, and grasp my fingers around her hand, my determination rising to match hers.
"Of course..."
"You gave me those flower seeds way back." I feel my expression, and my heart, soften. "You told me to make them grow strong."
Now, everything growing on my farm...Was bought starting from that place.
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I chuckle,
"But I was happy..."
and then...
I remember the story Pia told me. I knew, when she told it to me, that the two of us were alike: that I undertstood what she meant.
"You gave me a reason to be here. I owe you so much."
The life I have now...Began with Shara. That's not something I can ever say isn't true.
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"I'll do anything for you! Anything at all!"
She giggles and tries to wipe the tears from her eyes.
"Tee-hee...Thank you very much..."
She sniffles ungainly, and her gauzy sleeves darken and solidify with the touch of teardrops where she tried to wipe them away.
I shuffle my feet and try to distract myself with the tree itself -- specifically, I glance over at the staircase.
"So I guess something changed after I came."
After she eventually calms down, she nods.
"Well, I don't know. Ramza, maybe you did something without telling me?"
"No way!"
"You sure...you aren't lying to me about something?"
"..." A cold dart hits my stomach. "No! No."
She comes closer, close enough that I see my own thin and nervous face in her eyes.
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"H-honest!"
My honesty is worthless.
But...I don't know what any of this has done to the tree. I don't even know why everyone suspects me! I've only defeated monsters!
...Do those orbs have something to do with the tree? But, no. It wasn't when I touched the orbs that the tree's developed...
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Her face is inches from my face, close and skeptical. She smells intensely of wildflowers, and at least one type of weed. Maybe goldenrod.
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I back up slowly...
Until she takes a step away to retreat.
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I wish I knew.
"Hmmm..."
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After a moment of thought, An epiphany lights into her eyes.
"Since you came, the crops have been better."
"Would better crops mean a bigger tree? That would be..." Easy...
She shakes her head.
"When my grandpa grew crops, the tree was the same size."
She stood bolt upright and her eyes bore into mine.
"It must be love!"
"What?"
At the same time, when she said that... My heart began to beat faster, and I couldn't explain why. The noise of my own heart was, itself, a player in this conversation.
"You must have lots of love for your crops!"
My heartbeat settled back into its normal rhythm, or perhaps slunk off into disapointed hiding.
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"A love for veggies! That's what made the tree so big!"
"Um...Shara?"
"Yes! That's brilliant!"
"Oh, I'm not so..." And now we're back to forceful.
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"Ha ha..."
"Tee-hee. I hope you grow even better crops from now on."
"Okay..."
"I'll be going now. See you later."
And she walked out, much happier than before. Lighter, for having shared that worry with someone...
"She must trust me if she told me her dreams."
But at the end of the day...
Aren't I betraying that trust?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageG22_zps37335d9e.png
"And...I don't think it's the veggies."
I say, with a smile.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageG23_zps78fd6cff.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageG24_zpsea314de4.png
...That is *a lot* of formula Cs. What's more, they're even better than the fertilizers I have now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageG25_zpsb44ea74f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageG26_zps129df97b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageG27_zpsd6582281.png
I buy a bunch of seeds for summer to go with them.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageH1_zpsfe22775d.png
"W-well... (She seems really motivated today...)"
"(I ate too much over the winter...)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageH2_zps44b64d91.png
Well, as long as everyone knows how to swim, it should be OK. Or, if the people who don't know how to swim know how to not go in the water.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageH3_zpsc932f556.png
"You knew that already, didn't you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageI1_zps197e7527.png
The bulletin board has a request from Blaise. Since I'm always at his diner buying recipe breads, I decide to help him out.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageI2_zps2a84e244.png
...There's a beautiful, burning weapon on sale. And it's an element bound to come in handy in this winter wonderland... But...Is it really a good idea to always rely on others?
On the other hand, I have more than enough money to afford it.
...Alright. I'll buy it.
My purchase weighing heavily in my pack and my heart, I headed on.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ1_zps8044a473.png
...I wonder if Pia will fight her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ5_zpsa9565d1d.png
"I've designed the perfect swimsuit for the occaison: the Croissant bikini! Why hasn't anyone bought it yet...?"
"I think their want their swimsuits not to dissolve. That's why I'd like a swimsuit...Made of ordinary swimsuit fabric. Please."
"Oh, alright..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ2_zpse82c3526.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ3_zps47b73685.png
"No, that's fine..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ4_zps25ff0380.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ6_zpsb18d7ef3.png
Pia was so thrilled about Summer.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ7_zps74fe98ee.png
She was bouncing around on her tail.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ8_zps5698c9c5.png
She was nearly panicking as her nature called to her, the lake's tepidity a dull replacement -- but even that might be too much, having abandoned it so long...
Maybe? It's hard to tell what she was thinking as she swayed back and forth.
"Let's calm down first."
And then I head to the Diner.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ9_zps044368d3.png
"I see. You would be a big help. I'd like you to get a message to Shino."
"To Shino? What did you want to tell her?"
He clears his throat to deliver an exact message.
"'The Easern tableware you ordered has arrived.' is the message."
"Okay."
"I would appreciate it if you could tell her soon. Thank you."
Luckily, it's just next door.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ10_zps49f34403.png
"Yes, what was it?"
"His message was..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ11_zps1eedad82.png
"The eastern tableware you ordered arrived."
"Oh, that's good. Thank you for the message."
"You're welcome. Excuse me, then."
Alright, back to Blaise.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ12_zps2e365448.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ13_zps59e81449.png
"Oh...don't tell Pia about that last bit."
"I won't, I won't."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ14_zpsc21fe4f3.png
"This isn't much, but it's to show my appreciation. Please take it. I hope that you would do this for me again sometime."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ15_zps969fe012.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ16_zps9845fe8b.png
My reward is that recipe bread!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ17_zpsdd8db756.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ18_zps1ab753e7.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ19_zps30d970c5.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ20_zps57a23040.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ21_zpsf6068237.png
I wash it down with, um, more.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageJ22_zpscbfacc96.png
I fish in the evening...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageK1_zps1672cccc.png
And head out to to do some testing of my new sword, some logging with a goal...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageK2_zpsd5fa5519.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageK3_zps4c70d458.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageK4_zps47a977e6.png
And then try it out on my obstacle last night.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageK5_zps26100786.png
With the sword cutting through it like a hot knife -- which is what it was -- the whole this was frustratingly simple. I had nothing at all to fear.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2020/ImageK6_zpsa27a066a.png
I need to remember that, before I move on: take it slow. Be cautious. Use the summer to grow and blossom forth. And then...I'll see what's so funny.
But for now, the spring is over. The heat of summer begins to fill the night air.
So, here's a question: we're starting to get close to the truth about Ramza with a few of the girls, but are still pretty far away with others. At least one knowing the truth will be required to progress with the plot, though depending on how it shakes out, I'd want to do as many as we'll be doing before that point, for narrative reasons.
Do you want me to try and keep it even going forward, catching up with the ones that are behind, or get to the truth with the ones we're close to already?
Secondarily, should I ask you guys if we should trust them with the secret on a case-by-case basis (this question will arise after the update where we do the last request before their reveal, probably), or do all of the girl's reveal events (where applicable)? This will slightly change the writing on Ramza either way, though it won't change the events themselves -- just his willingness to engage in requests with certain people, his attitude regarding the situation, and so on.
Also, we're starting to be able to take girls on dates. Anyone you'd like to see Ramza take to some scenic locales for some chats?
Qwertystop
2014-08-24, 07:28 PM
Um. Everyone's equally interesting and weird. Case-by-case, I think?
EDIT: Actually, I don't much like Marian (not a nice person), Shara (series-standard default from the little I've played), or Evelyn (um. only trait: makes odd clothes). Of those, Marian could still be interesting because she's an interesting character even if she isn't a likable one.
I'm not asking for your stances if you want case-by-case now; we're not actually at the last possible point to not tell someone with anyone yet (a point, though not the only one, in "just do everyone"'s favor: it's much less complicated). Also, Evelyn is not an eligible bachelorette, so she doesn't have one of these scenes.
Javan
2014-08-24, 10:41 PM
I don't know if anyone here has watched Acchi Kocchi, but Monica suddenly reminded me of Tsumiki
http://i753.photobucket.com/albums/xx175/Javan42/Commie_Acchi_Kocchi_02_tsumuki_neko_bite_zpsa536c5 86.png (http://s753.photobucket.com/user/Javan42/media/Commie_Acchi_Kocchi_02_tsumuki_neko_bite_zpsa536c5 86.png.html)Yes, she is gnawing on his head.
You know, making baskets in the forge seems counter-intuitive...
I would like to see all the reveals, starting with the ones Ramza is already close to, and catching up with the others later.
And Ramza should take Raven on a date.
Dragoon
2014-08-25, 10:49 PM
I agree with Javan about the telling everyone when we can and catching up later.
Also since we're all mad here, I suggest for date(s) either Pia or Sofia.
fizzmaister
2014-08-26, 05:12 AM
Great update. My playstyle would be to bring up everyone that's behind and tell them nearly at the same time. On the other hand, from a story perspective, telling people as it comes up is a little more compelling. As long as following the second option doesn't make us miss out on other events, I vote for that, otherwise tell everyone at the same time.
Great update. My playstyle would be to bring up everyone that's behind and tell them nearly at the same time. On the other hand, from a story perspective, telling people as it comes up is a little more compelling. As long as following the second option doesn't make us miss out on other events, I vote for that, otherwise tell everyone at the same time.
I would delay the plot to prevent that from happening, as some events (Marian's, I believe) are only available before... And narratively, these really all make most sense before the next sweep of plot events. During would be better narratively, but it's a million times more manageable to do it before, because the game might pull the trigger too early.
To be a bit less coy, the events after this boss require at least one eligible lady learning the hero's secret, and if none do, the proceedings will be stopped at a certain point until you can do that. This is the ideal place if one lady learning Ramza's secret was enough... But then the sequence of events will proceed pretty much the next time you talk to the right person, and I'm way too scatterbrained to not talk to him if I happen to see it.
So, best to, while maybe not as dramatic, pre-empt the issue a bit. I will probably make some note of this issue pre-empting in my narrative around that point.
Sorry to double-post, sorry to double-post with a message you've likely already seen if you're part of an overlapping Giant in the Playground LP readingbase, working on update...Oh, but speaking on working on an update...
I've been thinking about my life regarding time and projects, and thought I'd do a formal taking stock. While I'd be equally enthusiastic to work on all my projects, there's simply not enough hours in a day or energy in my body to do that. Creator ADHD is one heck of a drug. So, I thought I'd turn to my audiences, since these are all public projects (my private projects are non-negotiable). Put simply, all other things being equal, I want to spend my energy on the things that people enjoy most.
Check Here (http://strawpoll.me/2496797)
To that end, I have made a poll! It has all my active projects, an inactive project or two, and a hopefully joke option, and I'll generally adjust how I work on these in accordance with the results, with some things taking precedence where perhaps they did not, or coming into or out of inactivity -- or maybe, all will continue as before. I don't really know what the poll will show, though I think I can be confident about a few things. Though, I should add, the results are not the sole predictor of some matters, either; the projects themselves are slightly "weighted" in terms of effort and junk. Nothing's getting totally thrown away, though -- I'm promising that now.
Voting for multiple things is possible. I would vote for everything, which is how we got into this mess.
I hope you forgive some self-indulgence, and should you vote, thank you for your time, this helps me a lot!
If you've already voted, thanks for reading this message. Sorry for the trouble.
fizzmaister
2014-09-05, 09:25 PM
Well first off, before you do anything else, update your sig, including the off-site projects. After that, I voted for this. This project had a bit of a rough start, but I think you started adding your own story to it (or the games story picked up, I honestly can't tell which) and it's much better now than when you started it off.
Seerow
2014-09-05, 09:38 PM
I voted for this and the Pokemon Let's Play, but honestly out of the two, I'd rate this one higher (despite possibly responding less here). Pokemon Let's Plays are done to death, and while I like your take on it, I could go without it. This for me, much like Harvest Moon was, is a totally new game, which makes it a lot more refreshing to explore (even if I was very iffy on most of the characters at first). And frankly the story of this style of game seems to give you a lot more room for interactions and embellishments than the Pokemon game does. You can invent stuff wholesale for Pokemon, but I honestly think I like it better when the game is giving you a framework, and you introduce your elements to strengthen, support, and flesh out the bare bones that is there.
Basically with this game and Harvest Moon, I feel like reading your Let's Play brings the game to life in a way I wouldn't have gotten playing on my own. Whereas reading Pokemon I feel more like I'm reading straight up fanfiction. It's a kind of weird distinction to make, but that's how I generally feel about it. Take it for what it's worth to you.
(As for the others, I simply haven't looked at them. I saw the Fire Emblem one when you started it but never really got past the first post. I may give it another try some day. None of the others were even things I knew existed, so I have no opinion).
Aww, I'm glad to hear people speak so fondly of it; it is a different sort of ballpark, and I appreciate having it. Though, to be honest, I don't feel like I make a lot of additions -- the game's very talk-y, so I tend to burn myself out transcribing.
Of course, maybe I only feel that way because I normally do a lot more writing.
Anyway, I'd call it a little bit of "the game picking up" and "Me getting into a good groove with the presentation." Each LP needs its own style, like a self-contained creative universe.
Chapter 21: Beach Episode
The next morning was the first day of summer! There were seeds to plant and my field, well...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA3_zps34921f87.png
My field was a mess of dead grass. A lot of it was the end of last season's crops, but some of it was just wild grasses, too.
I got those running and directed the crew to it quickly, then went about my day.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA1_zps7c3f2fa2.png
Which included changing clothes; it's the first day of summer, after all, and that means spending some time relaxing at the lake shore in swim trunks!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA2_zps2e955e6d.png
...I admit, not the most intimidating figure.
Not that Kuruna, who I find cooking breakfast in her tent, will get to see that. Or the lake. Kind of depressing, really. But it's a lot of breakfast for one person... Well, and Will.
"Is that all yours?"
"No, I'm preparing food for the whole settlement."
"Do you always cook everyone's food?" If so, then color me impressed; that's a lot of work!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA4_zpsc98b0342.png
"Wait, you mean...Zaid actually cooks?!"
"Of course he does!"
"And you guys don't mind eating his food?"
No one's dropped dead? He's never used any cooking implement as a bludgeon?
"No, he's actually a skilled chef!"
"I can't imagine Zaid even picking up a fork and knife!"
Do swords count as knives? Because then I could picture it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA5_zps5ab7da57.png
"...I can believe that."
Ondorus has switched to a lighter summer cape, so at least he's acknowledging the season.
I can't believe I just said there's such a thing as a summer cape.
"You really like capes, don't you?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA6_zps4b00891f.png
Sometimes, I wonder where they are. These two, just living out here by themselves, feel...kind of sad sometimes.
"Is there a reason why?"
"There was a book that I loved in my youth. There was a courageous hero who wore a cape much like mine. Wearing a cape...It still makes me feel like a hero sometimes."
Wow. I didn't expect that!
After that, it was time to hit the town! And by town...I mean beach.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA7_zps54746641.png
"Carlos, you just love the ladies. Ha ha."
"It's the dark when all the girls in bikinis fall for me. Ha ha ha!"
"Is that it?"
"Oh, bro', you better not be staring at the ladies!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA9_zpse1e79af7.png
"..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA10_zps2c3a2a76.png
Ok, see when I said I wasn't intimidating shirtless?
...Carlos is. I'm so ashamed.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA13_zps83aaa549.png
A swimsuit suits Carmen well, naturally; her skin's got a very even tan, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA11_zpsabc590d3.png
Well, I think I might have to agree on that one.I don't put on visible muscle well, and I'm kind of short...
Still, hearing someone say I look alright in a swimsuit is...
"But, Carlos likes to pose in front of the girls."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA12_zpsffa8cccb.png
"...I'm sorry."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA14_zpsd66262da.png
Even Raven's in a swimsuit! I honestly didn't expect that from her.
"...Maybe I'll swim."
Oh, that makes sense, then. I really can't see her wearing one for vanity's sake.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA15_zpsb7e6c83b.png
Reality?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA16_zpsbecd2d16.png
...I don't see a problem.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA17_zpsdefcd46e.png
Sofia's got sort of a cute dress-y swimsuit on.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA18_zpsc6807f3f.png
So the swimsuit's...pretty much ornamental? Well, it's very cute.
"So...could you teach me to swim sometime?"
"Uh, I don't see why not..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA19_zpsa9c2e5c7.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA20_zps61053375.png
...Reasons. Riiight.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA21_zps51ce08a1.png
"Isn't that how you get cramps?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA22_zps749d94a6.png
"I hear you might get an inspiration if you swim until you're tired."
Inspiration? Is that...code for something?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA23_zps9e163053.png
"Before the day is done, I'll convince someone to wear my turnip bikini! And by someone, I mean Gaius!"
"I somehow doubt you'll be successful..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA24_zps94d2dc57.png
"I'll just watch you youngsters from my window."
...
That sounds frightening. I want a cover-up now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA25_zps5b378b91.png
...I'm not sure what you're asking, exactly, but the answer is probably "No, we can't have a rainbow lake." Eventually, that's always the answer.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA26_zpsf13818fa.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA27_zps9fe2afc8.png
"I need to take Pia swimming again this year!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA28_zpsc358d5c7.png
She grabs me by the shoulders.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA29_zpsdf7a2425.png
"I...don't have fins, if you hadn't noticed?"
"Oh, right! Oopsie!"
"Besides, you don't have yours out, anyway."
"That's because I wanted to show off my swimsuit, and it's hard to wear a swimsuit and fins!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA30_zps1f07ac8b.png
Well, it is rather cute.
Everyone comes by the beach to swim or take in the sun, which also means everyone's got swimsuits on. Here are some highlights:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA31_zpsdc20451a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA32_zps1ce4e299.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA33_zps12283f77.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA34_zpsfabfe766.png
I spend the evening rather fruitlessly gathering materials and running around.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA35_zpse6d103c1.png
I can't help but feel like I could have done better.
And the next day dawned so hot that I really honestly regretted changing into wooly form to hang around the settlement.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageA36_zpsdb96167f.png
"We don't ravage the enviroment with all that light pollution over here!"
"Yeah, that's true..."
Still, there also aren't a lot of people, so that sort of life is easy, isn't it?
It's a bit of a heavy thought on my mind as I run back home, and to the mailbox... Where Raven has a letter waiting for me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageB_zps639437d2.png
...And finding Shara in my house, looking at some slightly bug-chewed leaves by the window.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2021/ImageC1_zps3aa66faf.png
"Bugs? I wouldn't say I love them, but they don't bother me."
"Really? I'm surprised."
I expected a more conventionally girly response.
"Tee-hee. I have to deal with them all the time when I'm gardening. I'm just used to them now."
"Oh, yeah. That makes a lot of sense."
I find Sofia, walking along in an attitude of almost love-struck happiness.
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...That is not the best way to put it.
"That's not true."
"So you realize it, too."
"No."
Well, my fumbling aside, what I meant to say was...
"But that's the good thing about you."
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"Oh, from yesterday?"
"Well, it happens. I guess it's unavoidable when you fish outside all year-round."
"Yeah, I got pretty burnt myself." There's this spot right between my shoulderblades...
"I'll need to cover it with makeup later."
With...make-up? Carmen?
"Oh, what's with that look? I take care of my skin, you know. See how nice it is?"
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I was thinking that yesterday, too...
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"What was it?"
"Some black ink."
"What is that?" Like...squid ink?
"Eastern artists use it to write powerful calligraphy, apparently. I want to try it."
That sounds like a fun venture.
"Well, that was a rare thing she got you."
"Right? I'm going to paint a picture with it right now."
"What about the calligraphy?!"
I find Karina staring sadly out over the water.
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"Karina?"
"You'd like that better, too, wouldn't you? (*sigh*...)"
"W-what are you talking about...?"
Well, enough dillying. Time to go see Raven!
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"Did you see my letter?"
"Yes. You want me to mine some ore, right? I went with Gaius the other day, but I guess you help with the mining, too, don't you?"
She nods.
"Sometimes...When our supplies are low, or when Gaius can't go outside."
"I see. Then where are we going to to mine today?"
"Oddward: Windy Hill...or something."
"Or something...?"
"...Then Oddward: Windy Hill."
"Are you just picking random spots?"
...She does not answer right away.
"Let's just go."
"Oh, okay."
We walked toward the Valley's entrance.
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...Where, of all people, Gaius was walking with his hammer in tow.
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He looked behind me to where Raven was trying not to be.
"Oh? And Raven, too."
Pinned to the spot, she lowered her head in assent.
"Yes..."
Gaius smiled vaguely.
"Oh. I forgot you said you were going to take the day off!"
"Ummm...Well then the store is..."
Totally empty, isn't it?
"Guess we're closed today!"
"Won't your customers be mad?"
"Ah, don't sweat it. Anyway, are you guys on a date?"
Sweat rapidly forms, forgetting the coolness of the valley's air.
"N-no. I'm helping Raven gather some materials."
"Materials?"
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"Yes. She said you were running out..."
"We are?"
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After a long pause in which Gaius looks over my shoulder at something -- Raven, I guess -- he smiles softly.
"Hmmm...I guess we are."
"What?"
"Well, I'll leave the gathering to Raven, and I'll get back to the store."
"Yes, I think that's the best. Someone should be there."
"Yeah. Well, see you."
"..."
So...This is like that delivery from before, huh?
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Raven went rigid with an expression almost like panic on her face.
"Curry Udon for dinner tomorrow, OK?"
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She relaxed and nodded.
"Ok..."
"Curry Udon?"
"Gauis' favorite. It's my job to cook..."
"Oh, I see."
In other words, he's not saying anything.
"...Let's go."
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She goes charging ahead without me, though.
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And we battled our way up the hill. Though...I guess "We" is kind of overselling it; I did most of the fighting. I guess I never realized...How strong I am.
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But we made our way to the spot, and could gather materials there in peace.
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"Yes..."
"Well, I should --"
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"Is that a wooly...?" That's...a little far from home. Is it the one from before? It has that look...
"...It's okay. This one looks like the one from the ice field."
"I see..." I don't want to say anything out of the ordinary. But...It's really impressive she can tell.
"It likes you, Raven." I declare, with a smile. That trusting step...There's no room for doubt.
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The wooly circles around her and retreats.
"Well, let's go then."
"Yes..."
When we just exit the cave and to the entrance, though...
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A strange light fills the air, thick as silence and heavy as a winter frost.
"Huh...?"
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Having appeared with that light, and standing next to a gate...
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The wooly from before. Is that how it gets around?
"...!"
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My vision clouds over with glow.
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All I see is the brightness and the whiteness. My chest burns. My skin feels tight, my bones sore and uneven. Muscles that some parts of my brain -- parts designed only to be human -- does not think should exist tighten. The sensation is familiar, but in incredible slow-motion.
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No no no! I can't do this with Raven right behind me!
I glance about, but the only escape's right behind me. I dive to it like a man trying to escape a fire. She can think it's strange, as long as she doesn't see.
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I can't let her see, because there's no way I can stop now.
Once I'm in the cave, I stop so much as trying.
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The pain goes away instantly; in fact, it feels like a comfortable release.
"What was that light?"
I shake it off... And wonder for a moment if something'll stop me from transforming back. I've transformed without intending to before, but... Never when I was awake.
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But it doesn't happen. Everything's fine.
"I should get back."
Outside, everything's...normal. Nothing happens. No light, no pain.
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"Where's Raven --"
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She's standing where the gate was. A little noise, like a gasp or a sigh or a sob -- to small to tell, the feeling odd and ambigious, breathless and full of feeling -- escapes her.
"Raven!"
She turns and sees me, an expression of pure surprise flitting momentarily across her face.
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"No...It's nothing."
"Are you sure...?"
She won't say anything more than that, though.
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"Ok..."
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"Thanks for today..."
She looks...dissapointed somehow.
"Don't worry about that. It's time for rest!"
I need to rest, too...
I was so afraid...
"Yes..."
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She leaves me with a trio of the gems we've collected.
I run across Collette, charging down the streets.
"Are you going somewhere?"
"Yup! The flower shop!"
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"Ah, good to hear you're expanding your horizons! What kind of flower?"
"Artichokes! YUM! Can't wait to scarf 'em down!"
"Uh, that's not exactly what popped into my head when you said 'flowers'..."
At the request board today...
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Is a kind of concerning message from Pia. I know the bath is important; what sort of help could she need? More scrubbing assistance?
I stop by the diner for some recipes on the way, though.
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Accessories are my bane.
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"Huh, I didn't know those came detached...
"...(I think it'd suit Ramza.)"
"W-What?"
"Anyway, if you're looking for Pia, she's in the back room."
"How did you know I was looking for her?"
She looked aside for a moment, before answering.
"Well, uh, it's obvious, isn't it? You're always running around doing this or that for someone; if you're here, and you're not here to do a favor for me...Then it's probably Pia..."
"Oh, I see. You may have a point..." Do I really come off as such a busy body?
I head on back with Sakuya behind me and find...
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Pia lying back in a state near collapse.
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"Pia?! What happened?!"
She smiles bravely, but her skin's pale...
"Oh, don't worry about me! I'm just resting my eyes!"
The innkeeper's daughter crosses the room and stands at the head of Pia's bed (well, it's one of those eastern mat-style beds, but you get the idea).
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"Nah, that may be what it looks like, but I'm still rarin' to go! Trust me!"
She waves an arm in assurance -- or protest -- or assuring protest -- but it slowly stops waving, hangs there for a moment, and then drops over her stomach limply.
"Besides, who...else...can clean the...bath...?"
Sakuya shook her head.
"No! Mom will do it. You get some rest!"
The prospect of the bath being handled by someone else -- no, that's not it, is it?... After what Pia's told me... After how I feel about my own situation, I can't help but think... -- The prospect of her reason to stay being handed over to someone else is too much, and she tries to sit up with a struggling fury.
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"Just do it!"
Pia flops backward, unable to entirely pull herself up. She stares at Sakuya's stern, upside-down (to her) face.
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We both leave the room so she can actually get some rest.
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"She's been really enthusiastic lately. But maybe too much when it comes to the bath..."
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"She cares so much about the bath..."
...I've worked myself pretty hard on my farm, so I think I can understand.
She cares so much about her home.
"Well, it seems like she's alright. I'm sure she'll be back to work in no time. But I'm sure she'd love it if you took a fried squid to her."
"A friend squid? Yeah, I think I can manage that!"
Actually, I fried up last night's squid; I was planning on giving it to her anyway.
Sakuya paused and looked at me for a moment.
"Although, I have a feeling she'd just be happy to see you."
"Really?"
Well...I guess I should give her that get-well-snack quickly, then.
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"I feel a little bad having you do all this for me..."
She admits sheepishly, spinning the squid gently on its stick. She clamps her expresssion down into a smile.
"I need to get better and get back to work!"
"You don't need to push yourself so hard..."
"Huh...?"
"Sakuya was upset. You need to take better care of yourself. She gave me an earful, too. I...I think it seems like you don't think you're any good without the bath..."
Lying on the bed, a lonely and far-away smile rises on Pia's face.
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"What?"
"If I didn't have the bath, I'd have nothing left. Then I'd feel bad for Sakuya because she made me who I am."
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'I'll do anything for you,' I told Shara... Because she allowed the person I am right now to exist...
That's what I felt, but...
Somehow, I can't believe that of Pia.
"I don't think people can make you anything."
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"Sakuya didn't make you who you are or anything, you changed when you met Sakuya.
And so, that's what made you happy the most."
"Happy...?"
I nod. I understand that... Isn't that odd? Understanding someone who's so extravangtly odd as Pia, but...
"Let's go somewhere together when you're feeling better. I want to go somewhere with you."
I'd like to make her happy, too.
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"Ok..." She smiles very broadly and innocently, like right then and there, some light poked out around the clouds -- the feeling of walking out into a sunbeam on her face.
I left the inn, followed by Sakuya.
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"Thanks for coming. Seems like she wasn't going to be listening to me. Oh, and this is from Mom. She says to take good care of her girls."
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"She's really busy right now, but she's worried about Pia, too."
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"She will?!"
I mean, what? No. Of course...not...
"Anyway, take good care of Pia!"
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They...they make it sound like they're handing her over in marriage.
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Better shoes. Also, good for snow.
That evening...I admit, I was a little worried about things. Well, not exactly worried, but... I'm not sure what to call it. I feel like this morning was much too close.
Which means I don't want to go adventuring alone.
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"Hey, Delita, want to come with me?"
"<Where to?>"
"I dunno. Places? Um, maybe up to the valley. There are some ingredients I could get, and fishing I could do..."
"<...Yeah, alright. May as well, right?>"
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First thing's first, fishing.
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Even though it's the same area as this morning... This time, everything's fine. I can't help but try and keep an eye out.
"<...What's bugging you this time?>"
"Huh? What?"
"<...You're jumpy. Jeeze, you've always got some trouble, haven't you?>" He sighs in a sort of superior 'What am I going to do with you' sort of way.
"Not always!...But...You're right. There is something on my mind."
"<Well?>"
I watch the bobber go up and down on the water; I feel a certain kinship with it. Just trying to stay above the line...
"Today...something happened here. Someone almost found out. About me, I mean."
This premise did not seem to worry him nearly as much as it worries me.
"<And then?>"
"Well, she didn't, but..."
He smirks at the 'she.'
"Quit it!"
"<It's always a girl with you.>"
"No it's not!"
"<Name one crisis not brought about by this human town's downright lunatic batch of females.>"
"...The amnesia has nothing to do with them! There! That's a crisis!"
I decided not to turn around and look at him until I was done blushing.
"<...Ok, so she didn't find out. What's the problem? You don't want them to know, and they don't. The farm's doing well -- I've seen to that -- everything's coming up Ramza, right?>"
"Yes -- no -- I... I don't know why it happened. What if something makes me transform again? Who'll be there then? What happens if someone finds out?
...Can I really keep lying to everyone, even the people I care about most?"
My face in the water of the cave's pond is lost and confused; I normally look sort of small for my strength, but here, it just looks pitiful.
"<I don't see why you couldn't. To be honest, I don't really get how you can hide that stuff. I mean, you smell the same. It's dumb.>"
"Not all species have good noses." Ugh, I'm getting caught in useless squabbling...
Anyway, I start going to get a move-on up the hill. Or mountain. I'm not sure how to class the general rise, but, whatever.
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Along the way, I end up doing most of the fighting; Woolies aren't really an agressive species, so it's not like that's a surprise.
"...What would you do, if you were in my shoes?" I say as I watch an orc of some descript return to the forest of origin.
"<If I were in shoes at all?>"
"Yeah."
I pick up the fallen drops while he thinks about this.
"<I'd probably hide from everyone, too. Nothing wrong with a certain amount of deception to get what you want; what you want is a nice, quiet little life, right? You want people to like you.>"
"...Basically."
"<...But then, you showed yourself to me, and asked me to live at your farm. I wouldn't have done that.>"
"Why not?"
He waves a paw casually.
"<Three can keep a secret if two are dead. If I were really set on not telling anyone, I wouldn't tell *anyone*, not that I'd be honest where I could get away with it.>"
This gave me a bit of pause.
"Get away with it?"
"<Yeah. Like I said, I don't get how you can fool anyone...But you can. Like it or not, you can't live among woolies...So if I rejected your peace offer, it wouldn't really hurt you. You'd still have people to talk to, a home to live in. Humans are diverse -- you can hide there forever, if...If you weren't you, I guess. So, really, you're fine if someone knows. No, better than fine, if it's bothering you that much. You're just scared you'll have nowhere left to run.>"
"...I guess...that's a weakness of mine." I smile sadly, and shake my head.
I don't want people to know I've been lying, or that I'm not 'like them.' I don't want to be alone.
...But if all I do is lie, I'll be alone anyway. Right now, I don't know what I really want.
I can't be weak too much longer. I...I just have to be stronger.
Javan
2014-09-12, 08:25 AM
Well be it writing, good groove, or the game picking up, it's very entertaining.
The confidant of Delita though is a nice touch, as has been mentioned before.
I have to keep restraining myself from finding the story elsewhere and reading a synopsis. I have bits and pieces figured out, but I want to know what the full story is.
Update is coming, sorry for the delays to...um...Everything. I am in a bit of a funk. I hope to have something up tomorrow or the next day. Things have been played.
Chapter 22: Stay Here
The next day began quietly, with nothing more than smalltalk and vague greetings with the Settlement dwellers.
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And an unusually forthright letter from Raven, even! What a surprise!
I'll have to see her when I go to town.
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...Now I'm imagining a cute little baby Karina, fresh from a nap...How precious!
"She was such an energetic child. What happened?"
It's a mystery.
Speaking of mysteries, there's something on my mind...
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I mean, she's going to have to go through the woods to reach the city...
"I can use a little magic."
"Oh, I see. I thought you would be too lazy to learn magic..."
"Well... (Seems easier than swinging a weapon.)"
The town's unusually bustling; there are people on all the streets for a change. Maybe it's the nice summer weather. Sakuya flags me down on my way to the blacksmith's.
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She waves something like her own hairclips around.
"Wait...that's for girls, right?"
I mean, the tassle's pink and all...
"Well, I thought it might suit you. You know, because you're like a girl."
"What?!"
...I...It's true, isn't it?
I'm a horribly unmasculine figure, and there's nothing I can do about it.
Curse my soft and cuddly ancestors!
I head, with my head held low in shame, to the Blacksmith's. Maybe if Raven's actually asking me to see her, she'll be a good distraction...
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What...?
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Her desk is empty.
"Huh? Raven's out somewhere?
Well, I'll ask Gaius."
I walk over to where he's working at the forge, seemingly lost in his happy world of hot metal.
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"Hey, Gaius!"
He looks up.
"Huh...?"
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"Oh, hey, Ramza. What's the matter?"
"I came to see Raven..."
He looks around -- I wonder how long he's been at work...
"Raven? She's not there?"
"No..."
"Well, she does wander off now and then."
He hesitates for a moment, which makes me wonder at the response.
"Is something the matter?"
"Well, she just hasn't been herself since yesterday."
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She was looking sort of sick...
"Sofia or Karina might know something."
"Okay. I'll go ask them." They might even be together... Those three seem to be decent friends, though I can't picture Karina or Raven really being "close."
"Thanks."
True to expectation, I find them in the general store.
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"Yes."
"What?!"
"No," she explains.
"Oh, I see..."
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"What did you do to Raven, Ramza?"
She said, looking at me with a stern expression.
"..." Does it have to do with that light...?
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"Raven... (*yawn*...) Who knows...? (Wait, didn't I see her?)
She's gone?"
"Yeah. Gaius didn't hear anything either."
"Oh."
"What?"
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"You saw her?!"
"I think I did... (Vaguely though...)"
"Thanks, I'll look there."
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I run up there as fast as I can, to the bluff with the rosebush.
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And there she is, looking out over the strange, frozen shapes...
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With the wooly from before. As I run over to her, her expression hardens.
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"Huh...?"
She couldn't hold onto that expression, cold and thorny as the scenery, for long. Her eyes softened, and she turned away, her long hair hiding much of her face.
"..."
I don't understand. That makes no sense at all.
"Um...You gave me a letter, didn't you? Didn't you want to talk?"
"Why did you come...?"
It's barely a whisper -- something between a lonely accusation and a prayer. 'Why did you come?' Like she'd not asked for it.
"Huh...?"
Letter! Wrote! You! Said!
"That was...a mistake. I don't have anything more to say to you."
When you think about it...
Have we really said anything yet? Just little things, just small steps -- just avoiding everything. It finally felt like... We were getting closer.
I reach out a hand.
"Wait --"
Only to be met by a wall of anger.
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She pivots to glare at me better, and everything falls out of her expression. The only sound I hear is my own heartbeat. And I'm sure then she sees the look on my face -- it must be...completely pathetic.
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"Raven..." But I'm not sure I can help looking pathetic. Everything's forward and back, and I just don't... It feels like something's about to crumple, anytime I think it might be safe.
"...Don't come near me," she says in a softer tone. When she turns to face the edge of the bluff, her voice goes even quieter, and I can't tell if she's angry or sad. "...Please."
What would happen if I didn't? Would that hurt her trust even more?
"..." I turn and walk away.
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"I'm alone again."
Back by the entrance, I can't keep the strangeness of the whole thing off of my mind.
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"But right now --"
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The wooly from the other day -- well, really, I guess I'd call him more Raven's wooly friend... Walks by. If I had to think about it...
I'd say he looked worried.
"That wooly is drawn to Raven..."
Hm, I wonder...
"Maybe if I pretend to be that wooly..." I can get a better idea of what she really feels.
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Now I'm a little glad I haven't told anyone. I mean, besides avoiding consequences.
Of course, I'm still a blonde wooly in a scarf, belt, and hat.
"Now to use the snow to make me white..."
And stow my clothes somewhere.
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I roll around in the snow until a thin layer of frost is spread across my wool, making it white on the surface. It's thick enough I don't feel the cold very much, and I'm sure that -- to a human, anyway -- I look just like any other wooly.
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And I can approach Raven without being seen as the least bit unusual. It feels weird being totally naked, though...
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She smiles faintly.
"I see...You came back."
"Bah!"
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I stand next to her, and stare out across the frozen space. Below, I see fields of ice.
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The noise that she makes, filling up the frosty silence, is that lonely little sound I've heard from her before -- just a little catch in her throat, trapped and isolated before it can become some recognizable thing.
"I wonder if Gaius is worried about you."
"Bah?" Is she talking about 'Me'?
"Ramza..."
She sighs and shakes her head.
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"B-Bah bah bah! (That's not true!)"
But...I can't hate Raven. I just don't understand her.
"I don't know what you're saying." She smiles fondly and shakes her head.
"B-Bah... (Of course not.)"
It's a totally useless argument, but -- what argument can I make, without giving everything away like that?
"But...thank you."
She sighs.
"I wonder why this always happens..."
"Bah...?"
"And I thought we were getting along so well..."
Rubbing her arms for warmth, or comfort, she looks very small.
"That light...It takes everyone away."
"..."
She's seen that before? A realization hits.
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"So I decided not to be friends with anyone again...
That's what I decided..."
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She shakes her head, sending red strands thrashing through the air.
"But being lonely is hard..."
"..."
"And I thought...This time...This time, it could have been different...I don't really know why... It was just... I just felt..."
She sighs and yawns, looking out over the cold expanse.
"...There was just something about him. It just...felt that way... What a fool."
She sighed. As she stared out, her head drooped lower and lower...
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Until she fell onto my cold, snow-covered shoulder, asleep.
I didn't want to move her, but...It was no good, her sleeping on snow.
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I changed back (relieved to see that, despite my wooly clothes being stowed, I was still dressed in human form. I mean, who knows how magic worked?)
...And then, the snow gone, I let her stay like that for a while.
Until she snapped awake, anyway. It was about time for me to stand up and pretend I'd just come back here.
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"You'll catch a cold if you sleep here, Raven."
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She jumps up like she'd been stunned; I can't help but chuckle.
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A little gasp escapes in a puffy cloud of warm air.
"Ramza..."
She takes a step back and raises her shoulders defensively.
"Go away. I don't want to see you."
"Because of your 'curse'?"
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Ok, that's a low blow, but...The truth is important.
I take a few steps closer.
"Stay away!"
I don't move. I won't move away.
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Her expression goes iron and ice, furious at -- at what? At me? At herself? At everything? I'm not sure, only that she shakes her head, her eyes gleaming like glaciers, with cold, long-forsaken depths.
"I thought finally I've found it...Finally I've grasped it!"
Her fists clench and unclench, uselessly grasping onto the cold air.
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And, like ice melting...Tears appear in the corner of her eyes, trickling out onto her face. In the cold air, I'm sure it feels like being bitten.
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"..." Raven...
"I can't take it any more. I don't want to lose someone important again..."
The tears that stain her face are hidden away -- her head dips, and the veil of her long red hair closes about her.
"I can't take it..."
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The light burns, and covers my field of vision.
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"...!"
"Not again...!"
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It feels so familiar.
I turn my head and see, around the rosebush --
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Is using gates again.
Maybe it feels similar...
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...Maybe it's connected?
...But this time, I don't feel any irrepressable need to transform. How strange.
I glance to the side and notice that Raven's silent and miserable. Her eyes are shut very tightly.
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She opens them slowly, and with some surprise.
"...I thought."
"What?"
"I thought you disappeared."
"..."
What do I say to that -- to what she was saying before? What can I do? Should I explain, about before? Can I?
"...It's okay."
All I can find is the weakest, smallest thing. I can't explain why I ran before. But...Surely, that's not all I can do. I can...
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Do this.
Her body's neither cold nor warm; the chilled air and the snow haven't touched her. My fingers pass through the hair that falls to her back, feeling her tight shoulderblades, her thin back.
I pull her to me.
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"See, I'm here." I smile at her, sunny enough to unfreeze the air. "I didn't disappear."
"..."
Her arms clasp my sides. I wonder...when the last time she let someone come close enough to grab her was...Or when it was, the last time she put her arms around someone, to hold them close.
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"Hey...Raven."
"Yes."
"Let's go home..."
"..."
Her eyes widen in wonder. The pause made by her hesitation could have lasted hours.
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We head back, into the warm summer air of the town.
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"..."
"Raven?"
Her face goes red.
"Um...thanks for today."
"What?"
"This is for you..."
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She retreats into the saftey of the forge.
"It was very...typical Raven."
Something brushes against my arm.
"Hm? What's this on my clothes...?"
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It's a single, luminous red feather.
"This is from the bird in the Sol Terrano Desert!"
The one I practically hallucinated!
"But if its feather's here, then it must have been real...But why was it there?"
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"Well, no use pondering it."
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At the village's notice board...
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Carmen's got an, um...Kind of unusual request, now, doesn't she?
I mean, she can't mean...She doesn't think...
There's no way! I mean, like everyone says, I'm pretty girly, and I'm pretty sure I'm un-datable, so she can't seriously mean it as, like, a date-date.
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She runs up towards the town, giving me a warm greeting.
"Are you free now?"
"Okay. Yeah, I don't have anything to do."
Well, I do, but...I'll manage.
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"What?! Date?!" I thought she was kidding! "You're pretty direct, Carmen." I say, trying to distract from my bright red face.
"Well, the magazine I always read had a feature. Said that mountain stream fishing is all the rage! So let's go! It'll be fun."
"Oh, you just want me to go fishing. My heart skipped a beat for a second."
Carmen laughs and winks at me.
"Ha ha. But I can't tell Carlos about it. So it's our secret!"
She brandishes her fishing rod.
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On our way there, I stop by the Witch's Cauldron for some medicine; I'm running low.
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"?"
"Keep your eye on your opponent and when you see an opening, STRIKE! That's an injection fundemental," She explains at the end of some bizzare, pointy calisthenic routine.
"Is it a martial art...?"
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A roaring noise fills the air as we head towards the mountain.
"????"
And Carlos comes charging after us, sending up dirt clouds as he skids to a halt.
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"Ah, Carlos! You were listening?"
"I'll never let you date as long as I live! You can fish at our resort!"
OOokay. Someone has issues.
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...She's just going to fold? I mean, I'm not a prize catch, but...Seriously, Carlos?
Well, before I know how to interfere in a family situation...
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We end up fishing at the resort's private pool.
"..."
Awkward. What a mood-killer.
Her bobber dips.
"Alright...!"
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She grunts and smiles, reeling in the fish...
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And bringing it, squirming, to the air.
"It's a good size."
"Wow, Carmen. You're good at this."
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I sigh. Nothing's bitten this whole time.
"I'm having no luck. It brings me down."
"Don't worry. Just fishing with you is fun for me."
"Yeah, me too. I was being selfish." Well, I would like a fish...It's good money.
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I use the lake...But I don't usually use the resort. Maybe I should.
"Okay. I'll be patient."
After a while -- still no dice -- Carmen stretches.
"Let's eat. I'm getting hungry."
She scooches closer to me, bringing out some food -- I guess she'd planned this as a proper picnic.
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"Oh, just a minute. I'll put the fishing rod down."
She takes out a fork, laden with her lunch, and brings it up.
"Don't worry. Now say 'Ah'."
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The lunch is pretty tasty -- I didn't get a good look at it, though... and you can't fault the service!
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"Hmm....It's good."
"Heh heh. I'm glad I woke up early and made it! It was hard to prepare without making noise!"
She grins, full of self-satisfaction -- her brother could demand a change of venue, but not take away her hard-cooked lunch!
Something jars my bobber, and it goes beneath the surface.
"Huh...? Is that a fish biting?"
"Oh! You got one! Pull it up!"
"O-Okay!"
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As much as I struggle and try to real it in, the fish on the other end dies deeper and struggles beneath the surface.
"It's pretty big. The rod might break..."
"Don't force it! I'll help you!"
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She wraps her hands around my fishing rod for more support, and pulls back in time with me, struggling against the fish on the other end.
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Snap!
The end of the line -- the new end of the line -- goes flying into the air. Suddenly pulling back with no pull forward...
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We both fall back.
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"That was a strong fish. I wonder if it was the King Fish."
"You think so?!" Carmen gets over our defeat and beams. "Wow! The King Fish was just on our line! That's amazing!!!"
She sort of bounces excitely, but then winces.
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"Are you OK?"
"I'll be fine! I twisted my ankle."
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"Don't worry. Use my shoulder."
There came a loud roar.
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...Oh, so this is when he stops spying from the windows?
Carmen side-steps and lets go of my shoulder, and tries to maintain an air of nonchalance. No, no touching here. Nope. Lalala...
I was not so lucky.
"What did you do to her? You better answer me!"
"I'm sorry, Carlos." It was my fishing line... "I think Carmen got hurt because of me."
"No, stop! I was helping him catch a large fish. Then the line broke, and I fell to the ground!"
Carmen glares at her brother, hands on her hips.
"You're do hot-headed!"
"...!"
Carlos sighed and sort of gently deflated.
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...I hadn't noticed at all. Not even slightly.
"You were helping her and I yelled at you. Sorry."
"Carlos." Just...Carlos.
"Silly guy...I'm glad you're worried, but you need to trust us. *mumble mumble*
...Let's go home now."
She turns to me, and away from grumbling at her brother.
"Today was fun. Thanks."
"I had fun too. Take care of your foot."
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And the specter looming over all your interpersonal relationships. The two of them went inside, leaving me alone on the resort dock.
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I suppose I should try and make nice about this. I have a fish, maybe he'd like that...?
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"You knew it was my birthday... You just made my day."
Uh, sure I did. Yeah.
"Heh heh, I guess I've been doing something right to deserve this. Thanks! It's so great to be alive!"
...I can't stay too mad.
"Happy Birthday, Carlos...But...could you cool off next time?"
"Men have enemies everywhere."
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"Ah... (Carlos is pretty funny.)"
I run and get some recipes, you know, the usual...
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And decide that, since Pia's feeling better, maybe I could do what I said before...
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And take her somewhere.
Aah, not like...Well, maybe a little like that. Just a bit "like that."
"Okay! You know, I feel like looking at the waterfall today."
"Then let's go!"
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The giant fish Pia brings when she goes travelling, apparently, is...Um.
Special.
It's very much the sort of thing you expect from Pia.
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We eventually make our way to the waterfall's pool. Pia dashes toward the the rushing water and leaps about, the picture of childish excitement.
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"Do you like waterfalls, Pia?"
"...I think my reaction should have made that obvious, buddy."
"Well, should we take a break here?"
"Abso-duh-TUTELY!
You know, Ramza, you can usually see a rainbow in the afternoon here!"
Huh. I haven't really been here enough to notice, but there certainly is one now.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageE3_zpsd5a4eab4.png
"And fishies LOOOOVE rainbows, too!"
Test Daria for fish blood, got it.
"Yeah, but...why exactly is there one here so often?"
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"Basically, you can only see them when the sun's behind you, which happens in the afternoon here!"
...That was a sudden and unexpected deluge of knowledge.
"How... do you know about rainbows in that detail?"
"Who DOESN'T?!"
"Uh...You'd be surprised."
You know...The happiness she has at this town's landscape makes me think of something.
"By the way...Did you come to the village because you didn't like the sea?"
Pia sighs and thinks about this for a moment, her expression calm and far away.
"Not exactly."
She smiles a little.
"Have you ever felt like you wanted to...escape?"
'My' life isn't very long, so it's not like I can really say... But... There are times I wanted to avoid something: the future, or the past, or the fact that those two things hold answers that might drive me from what I know right now.
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Her voice moves over the words fluidly, avoiding an overt telling of how she feels about that: not regretful, and not sad... But obviously not happy. A sort of peaceful wistfulness, radiating something cool and quiet.
As quickly as it appears, it's gone, because she smiles again.
"And when I arrived in town, I met Sakuya and Shino!"
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Me?
...I'm...well, flattered.
"Sounds like the right move."
She nods.
"But there's one thing I'm not sure about."
"What's that?"
She holds her hand up toward the water, but doesn't touch it; from an inch away, even though the water's not still, I can see the broken shape of her fingers reflected in the falls.
"Is it okay for me to stay like this and deny my mermaid heritage?"
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Given what Sakuya was saying to me, I don't think she has any reason to doubt. Whether it's ok to deny her heritage...
I don't think I can do it forever, either, Pia. But she's in a better place than I am, at least.
"I think you can. Stay here, I mean."
"Really? You don't think I've overstayed my welcome with Sakuya and Shino?"
"Well, I can't speak for them." If she can't tell how they think of her, then that's not my place...
But she was happy to have met me; that she came here, and so did I. I want to return that trust.
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She pauses for a moment, just staring at me.
"You know what...?"
Her face flushes, so her entire head is a warm pinkish color.
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We spend a little longer talking by the waterfall, until it seems like time to go.
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We part ways, and she goes home to the path.
I spend my afternoon logging... And my evening fishing. At least at first.
After a while, I switched to just making and upgrading gear...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageE13_zps499bc464.png
Leading me to getting a new ring to replace my old one. I figure water defense would be good in an ice area.
The next day dawned rainy; a perfect summer storm that had everyone inside and introspective.
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"I do."
"I'd like to reconsider my answer, if I may. I can't imagine myself as anything BUT the settlement elder."
"Wow. That's commitment."
"I love the settlement. I will protect it with my last breath."
The pride and grace she has in her job makes me feel like...I couldn't imagine her without that pride; it's who she is, for better and worse.
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"I don't know, though. I can't find any sound evidence of that phenomenon."
...Are you...doing science to wishes?
I'm just...going to leave that there.
Mail needs getting.
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And it includes a request from Shara. A wooly?... This meeting could go badly. Well, at least there's a language barrier...
Out on the town, the first thing I want is...
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageH2_zps5c62299d.png
A much-needed update to my storage.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageH3_zpsdb4020dd.png
It's been too full for too long.
"For the storage box, I'll need 6000 gold and 160 pieces of wood."
That's what all that logging was for!
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"That soon?!" What, are there ninja carpenters?
Hazel leaned back with pride.
"Of course. We're prompt."
Before I go see Shara, I decide to head to the forge, where I find Gaius sighing, distracted from the forge. Which is...New.\
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"...Evelyn, huh?"
"She's nice and responsible and...she's made cast-iron underwear..."
...I guess that's...what gets a dwarf's motor running, huh?
Well, good luck to him.
I eventually head down to the flower field where Shara likes to be.
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Shara's bent over a wooly -- from a distance, I can't read the wooly's expression. But I can read hers -- she's worried about something, her thin brows furrowed.
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A wooly who's definitely not the one she's looking over. No, more than that...
I think it's angry. I admit, it can be hard to tell with Woolies. Agression isn't, you know, a thing.
But anything can hurt if it sneaks up on you.
"Watch out!"
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I dash between Shara and the agressive stranger, holding out my arms as a shield.
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The stranger freezes and sizes up the situation... But I think just being caught is enough to scare it off.
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I turn to look at Shara, and for Shara to look at me.
"I wonder what's wrong with that wooly?"
"I'm curious about this wooly, too."
I look at him; he's definitely not doing ok...Even during that little kerfluffle, he barely lifted his head.
"I found it like this. It seems hurt."
It may have just been the rain still drizzling down... Or the droplets glittering on her face might have been tears.
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"Shara..."
She wiped her eyes with the edge of a translucent sleeve, the spot growing dark and solid-looking. She lifts up her head, and her expression's fully severe.
"I want to take it home and look after it."
"That's a bad idea!"
I've heard your grandpa! That's... more than a little terrifying.
"Why?! It's injured and weak! I can't leave it!"
I can't explain my actual thoughts without edging too close, so let's go for the obvious one...
"It's a wild monster! It could attack you, Shara!"
She shrugs.
"I don't mind. Help me please."
...That's...
"..."
At the end of the day, Shara doesn't care about herself -- or what anyone else might say -- if it means helping someone.
Even a total stranger, ending up on her doorstep in the rain.
Yeah, it's dumb worrying about her grandfather.
"Okay."
We manage to bring it up to her bedroom, where the wooly in question seems to recover enough to walk around and scope out the room.
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Hopefully it's not waking up with amnesia in a strange girl's room, ha ha.
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"Yes."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageH15_zps76c8e616.png
...Oh dear. I'm about to watch a fight, aren't I?
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He glances around the room. I can almost see his mental gears screeching to an angry halt at the sight.
"Monster!"
Don't reflexively jump, don't reflexively jump...
I manage to mostly stay in my skin for that one.
"Hush, grandpa. It's hurt."
"But...!"
Shara glares.
"Grandpa!"
"..." He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. I'm guessing that I'm seeing what happened the night I showed up here play out again -- and, sans details, he knows it, too. "Forget it."
In the silence of his departure, we turn and look at each other.
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"I'll keep it here."
"I see... Be careful." I guess I shouldn't feel quite so worried, but...Well, I guess I'm a little protective. "I'll help with anything, just let me know."
She smiles brightly at me.
"Thank you very much. I wanted to give this to it..."
She starts digging around for something.
"But I wasn't sure it was okay to give, so I was wondering if you'd like it."
"Oh, yes. Thank you."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageI_zps2840aaae.png
She gave me an unusual-looking ring...
As I stare at it, I can't help but think about how useful it could be, one day...
And I turn and look at the little guy looking about the strange room.
"You watch out for her, OK?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageH19_zpse0bebf17.png
Well, anyway... I do have a request on the bulletin board.
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From...Carlos, of all people.
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He sighs.
"I'm sorry about how I acted before. Really sorry."
"Carlos, that's over and done with." Honestly, I think apologizing to Carmen might be better...
"To be honest, it's a little complicated for me...Because I can tell from the way she acts. You don't need to hide it from me any more." Carlos's expression is absolutely serious. "You're close to Carmen, aren't you?"\
"Huh?" Me...and Carmen?
A big, weatherbeaten hand lands on my shoulder.
"You're a good guy. But, I don't know if you're worthy of my sister. That's why I'm giving you this test."
...Ok. This is starting to get weird.
"Carlos, I..."
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"Catch 2 Lover Snapper. It might sound crazy, but I want to know what kind of man you are. You'll do it, won't you, bro? I'm serious here."
T-there really isn't anything to be serious about...
Carlos... I guess he's just looking out for his sister.
"Okay."
At last, he smiles.
"It's a bro's promise then. I'll be waiting."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageJ3_zps948b8339.png
Conveniently, there were some Lover Snapper in the lake right then. Carmen even watched me pull it up. With a laugh, she commented,
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"This girl married a man who caught a giant lover snapper! And they are so hard to catch. It'll make you popular with ladies!"
Uh, what? Is Carlos...right about Carmen's feelings?
Then she winks at me.
"Although I can catch them myself, so I'd rather be given something else. Heh heh."
Oh...Well, I guess that's...good. That she wasn't being serious, I mean.
After a bit more fishing, I manage to bring in two lover snappers.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageJ6_zps503ed0bf.png
"I can't trust a guy who would give up on my sister. But you're not like that."
"What? Then --"
He slaps my back, sending me stumbling forward.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageJ7_zps67d9af2f.png
"I have nothing more to say. Take care of Carmen."
Why does everyone keep saying that about their female relatives?!
"Uh...Thank you?"
"Now, with my sister off my hands, I can focus on picking up some nice ladies! Ha ha ha..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageJ8_zpsc806d12f.png
...Whatever.
Up next was the apothecary...
Where, watching Marian tend her 'research,' which I'm sure Collette or I will find in our tea soon... I have to ask.
"Marian, aren't you a witch? Couldn't you use magic?"
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"It's just that sometimes combining something with magic could solve old problems. And to probe that, I need to experiment!"
"If only you didn't include that last part..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageJ10_zpsac88d14e.png
"Uh, I like forging, I guess."
Well, I spend a lot of time at it...
"I see. Well, then I'll need to gather up some materials."
"I'm counting on you."
"Yeah, leave it to me!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageJ11_zps48780f82.png
"But Sofia wasn't always like that. But one day, Boom! She started speaking just like father! What could have set her off...?"
What a mystery.
Of course, in this town...It's not unlikely that things could just be strange.
When I get home, I get a good look at my new storage box.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2022/ImageJ12_zps619bea2d.png
Just look at all that space! It looks like things are moving up.
Javan
2014-09-25, 08:48 AM
I am somewhat disbelieving that the translators used "Awesomesauce"
This is some sort of torture update, things happened but nothing really happened...
Hmm...I'll try to find a way to make updates like these more interesting, since we've got a lot of events to cover before the next plotline advancement, especially since we went with seeing all of the reveals. On the upside, we're almost at Pia's and Shara's -- the next event is it for each of them (Pia has some events after those, but that can wait until after the plot moves on).
Anything people particularly want shown off while we wait? I've been pondering trying the Sharance Maze stuff again, to pass time.
Dragoon
2014-09-25, 01:41 PM
Enjoyed the update, will be curious to see if others will continue to make it sound like they are giving away said potential love interest. Also the fact that Evelyn expects to be able to get Gaius to wear the turnip bikini makes me wonder a bit if she knows about his crush...
Hmm, it would be interesting to see the maze again, though I think if the reveals are coming up, it will help, but then again, I enjoyed update.
Javan
2014-09-26, 12:54 PM
Hmm...I'll try to find a way to make updates like these more interesting, since we've got a lot of events to cover before the next plotline advancement, especially since we went with seeing all of the reveals. On the upside, we're almost at Pia's and Shara's -- the next event is it for each of them (Pia has some events after those, but that can wait until after the plot moves on).
Anything people particularly want shown off while we wait? I've been pondering trying the Sharance Maze stuff again, to pass time.
It's not that the update wasn't interesting, but that I want more.
fizzmaister
2014-09-29, 03:12 AM
I've been a little preoccupied with some things and just got a chance to read the last two updates. Let's just say, I really like where this is going. Carlos and Carmen still don't do anything to me, but Pia has really grown on me since the start of the LP.
Great updates, like Javan said though, I want more.
I'm not surprised about that: Pia stands out as the character who most surprised me, and her events were some of my favorites...Because they ultimately did work out to be more revealing and personal, a little more thoughtful and sweet, then I'd expected by a wide mile.
Seriously, though, work with me: What's "more"? What can I do to help acquire "more," understanding that there actually, in fact, is not that much "more" in terms of plot that I can do right now, one way or another. I...am not sure I could do longer. I could try doing longer. Does "more" mean "longer"? There's the Sharance Maze stuff if "more" means "more dungeoncrawling," and there's a few optional mini-bosses that are open -- not sure if we're ready for 'em, and I'm pretty sure beating them wouldn't do much for us anyway, but it might be cool to show off. I could show off in a bit more detail what goes into an evening of Rune Factory 3 when you're at the stage of the game where all you want is to make a dang heart pendant, who designed this loathesome crafting level system again, if that'd help satisfy "More."
Basically, what I'm hearing is this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PvDPOT3_Y0).
fizzmaister
2014-09-29, 04:40 PM
Ah, no. In my case, "more" means I've finally gotten some emotional investment in these characters (I'd say it took a long time, but that's not true, we just finished Spring, it's just an artifact of this being an LP, rather than a straight playthrough), and I want to see where this all goes. Raven's character development seems to be coming to a climax, Pia has become a much more endearing character, Gaius just revealed who his crush is. I want to see what these characters still have in store.
"More" essentially means, "I can't wait for the next update." Hope that makes it clear.
Seerow
2014-09-29, 04:47 PM
For what it's worth I'd be interested in seeing some more peeks into the crafting and stuff you are doing on a day to day basis.
I'm also kind of curious what's going on with Ramza's money, because he's seemed to have a huge stockpile of it since pretty early on (even when talking about being relatively poor), and I haven't seen you spend much of it on pretty much anything. Is this just general hoarder tendencies, or are there big things you are saving up to afford?
Other than that, I agree with fizz. Just generally happy to wait to see the new updates as they come.
edit: He is fizz not fuzz.
Javan
2014-09-29, 09:21 PM
Ah, no. In my case, "more" means I've finally gotten some emotional investment in these characters (I'd say it took a long time, but that's not true, we just finished Spring, it's just an artifact of this being an LP, rather than a straight playthrough), and I want to see where this all goes. Raven's character development seems to be coming to a climax, Pia has become a much more endearing character, Gaius just revealed who his crush is. I want to see what these characters still have in store.
"More" essentially means, "I can't wait for the next update." Hope that makes it clear.
That is also what I intended by 'more"
For what it's worth I'd be interested in seeing some more peeks into the crafting and stuff you are doing on a day to day basis.
I'm also kind of curious what's going on with Ramza's money, because he's seemed to have a huge stockpile of it since pretty early on (even when talking about being relatively poor), and I haven't seen you spend much of it on pretty much anything. Is this just general hoarder tendencies, or are there big things you are saving up to afford?
Other than that, I agree with fizz. Just generally happy to wait to see the new updates as they come.
edit: He is fizz not fuzz.
And here is where the abundance of money initially came from
...*sigh* You make an excellent point, then.
Chapter 14: Comedy Night
The next day, my pink melons had grown in!
A thrilling fact, which led me up to the kitchen for my usual light experimenting with various ingredients. This experimenting soon revealed...
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The end of all financial suffering, in handy juice form.
This is more money than I have been able to make from one item ever, and I'm able to make 5 right now. I haven't even checked other strawberry plants I have going. Privera Forest shall henceforth run on Prelude of Love production.
...Oops.
That's what one gets for responding to feedback while sick.
Nevermind, y'all are great, go about your business.
About the money though, yes. That's where it came from. As for where it was going in the beginning, and is not going now... In the beginning, when I did not have fairly large stocks of prelude to love money, or really good sashimi money, or just those slow little upticks in cash that happens as one progresses through a game, I also had the largest expenditures. Money actually was pretty tight, since I was usually spending 5-6 days worth of profit on single items like pots or ovens or forges, on top of about a thousand -- in a time when making a couple thousand in a day was not a sure thing -- on recipe breads.
These days, it's lumber that's tight: all the big purchases I'd want, like that storage chest upgrade, need lumber. But lumber's hard to find, especially on top of all my other needs. In terms of things left to buy, there's furniture, barn upgrades, and I want both of those but don't usually have the materials... (Heck, I definitely *need* a double bed before the game's over. I gotta get logging.) There's equipment, which can cost a pretty penny, but I tend to prefer not to buy equipment if I can help it. I'd like to totally not undermine their crafting system, but they make it so difficult.
I also regularly buy seeds, a stack of rice, and a stack of chocolate -- the latter two, specifically, are gifts: the rice is given straight-up to Collette, and the chocolate is given in the form of hot chocolate to Kuruna, and needs regular replacing.
If I had the affection levels for it, and wanted to be making even more money, I could go down to the Resort and actually use it -- you can make requests of what fish you want them to put in the water, for a fee, unlocked at various affection levels. The best for your money is Tuna, which is pretty pricey, but shows a decent return.
Javan
2014-10-01, 06:56 AM
...Oops.
That's what one gets for responding to feedback while sick.
Nevermind, y'all are great, go about your business.
About the money though, yes. That's where it came from. As for where it was going in the beginning, and is not going now... In the beginning, when I did not have fairly large stocks of prelude to love money, or really good sashimi money, or just those slow little upticks in cash that happens as one progresses through a game, I also had the largest expenditures. Money actually was pretty tight, since I was usually spending 5-6 days worth of profit on single items like pots or ovens or forges, on top of about a thousand -- in a time when making a couple thousand in a day was not a sure thing -- on recipe breads.
These days, it's lumber that's tight: all the big purchases I'd want, like that storage chest upgrade, need lumber. But lumber's hard to find, especially on top of all my other needs. In terms of things left to buy, there's furniture, barn upgrades, and I want both of those but don't usually have the materials... (Heck, I definitely *need* a double bed before the game's over. I gotta get logging.) There's equipment, which can cost a pretty penny, but I tend to prefer not to buy equipment if I can help it. I'd like to totally not undermine their crafting system, but they make it so difficult.
I also regularly buy seeds, a stack of rice, and a stack of chocolate -- the latter two, specifically, are gifts: the rice is given straight-up to Collette, and the chocolate is given in the form of hot chocolate to Kuruna, and needs regular replacing.
If I had the affection levels for it, and wanted to be making even more money, I could go down to the Resort and actually use it -- you can make requests of what fish you want them to put in the water, for a fee, unlocked at various affection levels. The best for your money is Tuna, which is pretty pricey, but shows a decent return.
I would say all in all Ramza is making a fair investment with his money
While this has already been delayed more than I'd like, it'll have to be delayed a bit more; it appears a power outage last night took out all my work on a fairly significant scene, the penultimate of the update, and I don't have time today to make it up. Expect it Sunday or Monday.
Javan
2014-10-11, 09:24 PM
You seem to have a rather large number of power outages occur.
My personal rule learned from losing large chunks of data is - "Save Everything. All the Time."
Well, I live in the subtropics, so there's a time of year where you get a lot of thunderstorms... But I wouldn't say I get a lot of power outages. Just that, from time to time, the ones I get tend to wreck my day. Anyway! Back on track!
Chapter 23: Somewhere in the Middle
What I do this evening is this:
First, I celebrate my new space by putting away most of the things I don't need. I keep my new ring with me, but there's so much I've been carrying with me simply because I couldn't put it away, that it's like suddenly taking off 50 pounds worth of backpack.
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Second: Fishing. Nothing heavy, since I have plans, but enough for gifts for Sakuya and Carmen and -- since I got a boot -- Sofia.
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I think Pia and I are at an understanding where she's as happy to see me as she is a squid, right...? Right. Right.
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Third: Find a chest full of goodies! I mean, that wasn't part of the plan. But it's pretty nice. I like goodies.
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Actually third: I go through the valley, fighting and mining, mostly with the idea of logging everything I can log. There's...not much. But at least a stump, right?
By the time I'm done, allowing for a teleport accident, it's midnight, so I run home and cook up stuff for tomorrow.
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And I ate those recipe breads I found in that chest!
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And I make a pendant for Raven. That's all I could do before I ran out of Rune energy.
After a fairly full evening like that, the next morning starts off quietly...
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With the pumpkins coming in! Well, mostly. Soil variation and all.
I celebrate with a quick breakfast before dashing off to the settlement.
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It was apparently too quick a breakfast.
"Oh, sorry. I guess I didn't notice."
Kuruna narrowed her eyes.
"Hmmm..."
"Something wrong, Kuruna?"
"Is that...cake?"
"Uh...No?"
I don't really have time to buy supplies for cake. Maybe I should.
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"I'm pretty sure that's not part of my patriotic duty, Kuruna."
She shakes her head, looking disappointed.
"It's uh...in the fine print!"
"Well, if I have cake, I'll bring you some."
Back at home, the mail's come...
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Raven has a request for me. I'll take that...
And stop by the flower shop on the way.
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"I get plenty exercise throughout the day."
"Oh, of course! What was I thinking?"
When I got to the Blacksmith's, Raven looked almost surprised by my arrival.
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Her face went red.
"...Did you read my letter?"
"Yes. You wanted to thank everyone?"
"Yes...I really caused everyone a lot of trouble. That's why I thought to give everyone their favorite things."
"Then you want me to help you gather those for you?"
"Yes...I want to give Sofia a failed dish, an Amethyst Ring for Karina...and a gold for Gaius."
"...Do you have any of those things?"
Her foot scuffed against the ground.
"...Alright. I can loan you a gold and it's not hard to screw up a dish, but that ring..."
I don't even think I have an amethyst.
"Let's go give them in order."
Hardest in the middle.
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We end up having to go mining all the way in Privera, but we eventually find it, and rush back to my house.
I dig around for the gold easily enough...
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"Hello and Welcome to Cooking Without Looking, the show where we throw stuff together and see what happens!"
"..."
Rough crowd.
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"Success! We failed!"
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We made the ring together, as opposed to my just putting things together alone. She seemed happy to work with me.
First up was Sofia, who we found in her house.
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"Yes..."
"Really? I'm so sad, thanks! Oh, which reminds me -- "
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"What?!"
"You knew...?"
"Not at all."
"So you did know..." I wonder how...
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"Where humans and monsters cause an imbalance...?"
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I wonder if I've been followed by that light in the past...
Raven, next to me, freezes.
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"But I haven't found a case where it causes a person to disappear. Just monster pets."
"But I saw. I saw with my eyes my friend disappearing..."
"Was that really a human?" Sofia asks, simply.
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Why is that a 'huh'? Was he, or... Was he -- the person who gave her this idea in the first place -- like me? Or someone disguised?
Sofia shrugs.
"Well, it doesn't matter. I just looked into it a little, I'm not worried about it at all... Just let me know if you find something."
"She must really be curious."
But...So am I. What is the full story...
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"But why me? (Is she trying to trick me?)"
"No...I cause you so much trouble the other day."
"Trouble? (What is she talking about...?)"
"What?"
Karina just sort of shrugs.
"Oh, yeah, right. I think you did. (I'll leave it at that.)" And, with a larger grin, "Well, I'll let you off the hook with this then."
We left the store.
If that light shows up because of rune energy unbalanced due to humans and monsters, then...Will there be situations when it pops up around me again, and I'm forced to transform? What if I'm around people?
And then we go at last back to the Blacksmith's shop.
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"Is this for me? Thanks, but what is it for?"
Raven fidgeted.
"I...caused you trouble the other day..."
"Oh, is that all?"
Raven's eyes widened.
"That all...?"
Gaius smiled.
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For a moment, Raven didn't move. She just repeated that word to herself, as if holding it up inside her head.
"Family..."
"I mean, you'd be worried about me if I disappeared, wouldn't you?"
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"That's all I mean."
Aw.
"But I will be taking this, though."
Of course.
"Thanks."
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Raven walked me out. Which may be a little silly, since I'm just going to go back in and shop, but -- But she was, um, a little forceful about it.
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"..." A blush crept onto her face. "Ramza, for you..."
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"Yes..."
"I see..."
So, even though we did all this, I'm also someone she wanted to thank...
"Thanks. I'm happy."
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"Oh, by the way...Here..."
I reached into my pockets and pulled out that feather from the other day.
"What? This feather..."
"I found it the other day when I came back with you. If you want, you could make it into an accessory."
She stares at the offered feather, shining dimly in my hand.
"...
Ok. Thanks..." Her voice dips into quiet tones.
"Something the matter?"
"...No. Nevermind. Bye then."
"...?"
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How odd...
That was a long morning, so let's do something simple this afternoon...
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Like try and work out what Sherman might need.
On my way, I run into his elder daughter.
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"That's the core of my design philosophy, in fact!"
"You've got a very warped view of people's personalities..."
I mean, really. Gaius in a metal bikini...
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"Wait, apprentice...?" Another title for the pile...
"Please don't bring me an ingredient for either Fried Blowfish, Chocolate Cookie, or Dried Sardines."
"Just one?"
"Yes. You don't have to only bring me one. Also, it shouldn't satisfy my hunger."
"...?"
"Then, bad luck!"
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Speaking of appetites...My own apetite for recipe breads is not easily satiated.
An ingredient for a chocolate cookie...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2023/ImageE12_zps3a9cd415.png
Yeah, I can make those. He probably wants the most substantial ingredient, so... A cookie?
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I bake a cookie quickly -- it's just flour and milk, which borders on irresponsible baking, and head out with it...
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That expression...
"Huh? Was this not right?"
"No! You pass, Ramza!" He grinned and the cookie vanished somewhere in his gaping, fish-like maw. "You can't be promoted to chef-in-training!"
"Um..."
"Oh, I almost forgot. This isn't you reward for today."
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Not a bad bit of money, for a lump sum.
"Thank you."
"Next time, you won't be in charge of cooking!"
"Um...I-I'll do my best."
"I'm not expecting much!"
"Ha ha..."
I sigh.
"Ah..."
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I was heading towards the bottom corner of town, when I ran into Collette, who was in a mood somewhere between amusement and exasperation.
"What is it?"
"Marian."
"Marian?"
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"Why?"
Who can say...
Speaking of whom...
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"Even when I'm conducting experiments in my dream, I'm tinkering with you, not Collette..."
This may not be the sort of dream I want to be a part of.
"Could it be a vision of the future?!"
"Then it's my nightmare..."
I wanted to make a Tortoise Shield that evening, so I was hanging out where the turtle-y things were...
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Where I found another chest.
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And a different one, containing less of a fine payload.
But I eventually got my last tortoise-shell, and ran home to make...
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A tortoise shield!
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Since there were a few areas where it wasn't the equal of my previous sheild, I decided I'd upgrade it a little.
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Leaving something like this.
I clear out all the stumps from my field, and then...
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Find another chest, this time with a recipe bread!
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A weapon, huh?
And further in, without any luck...
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...Another chest. Where are they all coming from? Is it chestapalooza?
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It was late, so I went home and infused scrap metal into a wool hat.
No, I don't understand it, either. Maybe Monica will like the metal hat. I will face this terrifying notion tomorrow.
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Tomorrow, this terrifying notion has a few new veggies. Corn makes all notions less terrifying, right? Right.
Speaking of accessories, Kuruna flares out her cape before me.
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"It looks good on you."
"That means a lot coming from you, comrade."
But then she sighed a little, and adjusts her cape. She shakes her head.
"But...I suppose that doesn't matter. This is, after all, an elder's cape. Whether it is fashionable... No. Whether it is appealing... Does not matter. It isn't made for that."
She sighs again, and that seems to be the end of the conversation. She avoids my gaze until I leave.
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"...Kuruna's in an odd mood, isn't she?"
"Is she?"
"Well, she was asking me about her cape...But then she sort of got gloomy about it. I don't know why."
Ondorus just nodded thoughtfully.
"Ah, I think I see." He pushed up his glasses and seemed to give me an appraising stare. "Ramza, would you call yourself free?"
"...I...What do you mean by that?"
"Well, for any given action you wanted to take, could you simply go ahead an do it? You couldn't, could you? You have reservations, and obligations."
When he puts it like that, there's a lot of things I couldn't just do, if I felt like it: I couldn't transform just anywhere, or it'd ruin my whole life: I might not even have a home to go back to...
And I've got those monsters to defeat...
And I've got whatever it is my previous self has to worry about...
And someone has to take care of my monsters...
And...And...
He takes my expression as an answer.
"You see? We all have a place in the world. And while that place has its advantages -- things we can only do because of who and what and where we are -- it also has limitations placed upon us. Things we cannot afford to have, luxuries we cannot permit ourselves. Sacrifices that, hard as they might be, we have to make. Kuruna is the settlement elder -- and for all the pride and happiness that that affords her, there are times I think... Her pride affords her far less freedom than some people. There are things we simply can't have, built into the ideas of 'who we are.' This is, philosophically, the danger of having such a concept to begin with, or at least so argues..."
I hold up a paw to stop him before he picks up a tome. "So she worries about fashion?"
"... *sigh* Apparently so. I can wear whatever I want, but... I like what I wear, so I suppose it doesn't make a difference."
For me, there might just be something that outweighs the rest, though.
I can't tell anyone who I really am.
And without that, I wonder, what it is I can really have.
...I don't feel like checking my mail.
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I go to the bulletin board, and answer a nondescript-looking thing of Shino's.
I'll head there after seeing the people on this street.
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"What's the matter?"
It's no excuse not to help people, my feeling down.
"She said she was going to go water flowers in Privera: Flower Field so when I tried to go with her, she told me it was too dangerous and got mad at me!" She crosses her arms and pouts. "I just wanted to help Shara...
I just hate her!"
"I see..."
I gently shake my head. I wonder if I was like that with my family? The only people who definitely knew, or who might have understood...The one time I could have "had what I can't have"... "But didn't Shara say that because she was looking out for you?"
"But..."
"Shara doesn't really want to leave you behind."[/color]
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Right now, I feel more adrift then normal, realizing I don't know -- I don't know if I realized that. Like, right now, the line connecting the "Before" and "After" versions of me is less solid than normal, leaving the only me I have a bit more alone. I wonder...
"Okay..."
"There you go."
I pat her on the head, and offer her my terrible hat.
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Well, she seems happy enough.
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"Her birthday, huh?"
I'll have to say Hi, then.
I run on up to the Inn, since it's about time for that part-time job.
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"Oh, you saw the bulletin board? Well, could you go order some meals from Blaise then?"
"From Blaise?"
"I put together the snacks, but we have Blaise do our meals." She chuckles. "There are some customers who come just for that."
"Very impressive."
"Yes. And so, about your job. We serve at lunch, so please get back here by 12 PM."
Well, that shouldn't be hard.
"Yes, of course."
"Oh, and be sure to order a warm, Eastern style meal that doesn't use seafood."
I head over to the diner and see Blaise, next, engaged in a bit of overthinking.
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"Yes. Shino asked me to order some food for the Inn."
"Ah, I see. You are helping out with the inn. Very well then. What was the order?"
"Umm..." I think for a minute. I've been so distracted by stupid feeling stuff, I've nearly forgotten. "Warm, Eastern-Style, no Seafood."
"I understand. Please wait."
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"Okay. Thank you very much!"
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I buy my recipe breads and go running off, the covered dish in my arms.
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"I'm sure the customers will be happy with it."
"What? It wasn't ordered by a customer?"
"That's right. But it's my job to match the perfect meal to my customer... Anyway, thank you. This is your payment."
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"Oh, by the way... Where's Pia? I wanted to wish her a happy birthday."
"I'm not sure. However...I'm sure she already sent you notice of her plans. So, please, go check."
"Ack! I didn't check my mail this morning!
I go running off like a stampede, at a full panicked tilt.
Shino laughs, and I realize the money's on the desk.
I snatch in on a double-back.
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A rather small sum, at this point.
But, oh well. It's not like I help people for the money. I do it because it's the thing I enjoy most.
It's the thing that I have and I love.
...But then I remember when Sofia was telling me yesterday -- that the light that could just force me to transform was just a consequence of my very existence. Of course, sometimes, I transform just...all on my own, when I'm not awake. So...
Even this might be... The most fragile and only thing I "can have."
Thinking this, I almost stop in my tracks. My legs feel like tight wires, and I end up thudding up the steps.
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Oh, yeah, I said we'd go somewhere...Well, we might have, but...I'm not sure if that counted, or if it'd be wrong to call her on it. It is her birthday. So, yeah. We can...We can go somewhere.
I find Pia on the East End of town, looking up at the sky with a worried expression.
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"Hm, that'd be trouble, wouldn't it? Good morning, Pia."
Her head snaps in my direction.
"Oh, Ramza! Do you remember what you promised?"
"Uh...To go somewhere, right?"
"Yep! You promised we'd go somewhere when I felt better!"
"...Does that still stand when --"
"Hey, don't sass me with details, buddy! You came, so you must want to go somewhere, too!"
...I guess I do want some other distraction.
"So, where do you want to go?"
"Well, how about Oddward: Cavern Pond? We could go swimming!"
"It'll be pretty cold..." I mutter, thinking about the chill of the valley.
"I like baths, but I like cold water, too!"
"What? But Pia, I thought you hated things like rain!"
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"Sure coulda fooled me."
Just a minute ago, you were sighing.
"No, it's just hard to walk around in the rain as a mermaid. But I don't hate it. In fact, I love water! It feels so good, and it's SO pretty!"
Well, I could understand that, but... Sometimes she just seems... So conflicted.
"Stop looking at me like I'm nutso!" Pia pouts.
"No, I'm just surprised! Let's head to the cavern pond, then."
"Yippee!"
We walked the short distance to the cavern with the pond together.
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The cave's waters were dark, and to be honest, and it wasn't clear how deep it might have gone down -- it seemed cool and almost infinite, the stone bottom fading out of sight, the light from the entrances bouncing around the wet cave walls and onto the surface, turning it into a rippling shimmer.
Pia splashed around for a while, while I mostly drifted on the lilypad; I'm not entirely secure in exactly how well I can swim -- I think I can, but it's not like I've really had time to test it out.
"How can you not know?"
"It's not like I remember learning, or how often I'd swim or anything. Was there even water nearby? Did I drink well water?"
"That's no good! If things calm down, I'm making sure you know how to swim!" She flicked her tail at me and, for a moment, vanished under the surface.
"Pia?" I leaned over the side. For a moment, I was alone. Some of what she was saying the other day crossed my mind. "...Hey, can I ask you something. Do you really think that'll happen? Do you think...I can stay here?"
Her head popped up from under the water, her long pink hair trailing.
"Why wouldn't you? Are you going somewhere? Hey hey hey! If you're making travel plans, you should bring a loaf of bread!"
"Bread?"
"Sakuya told me a story about some kids who got lost in the woods, and left a trail of breadcrumbs to find their way home! If you lose your memory again, you'll have a trail of breadcrumbs, so you can just come back!"
...That didn't turn out well, in the story, did it?
"Ha ha...Thanks."
Eventually, Pia decides she's done swimming.
We sit by the water on the little island until Pia's got her legs back together. Or apart. Or however one would term the workings of mermaid metaphorphic anatomy. And then, for a while longer, we just watch the water shimmer from the shifting of the indirect light, the droplets trembling down from the stalagmites and sending ripples, shining on the surface of the clear depths, spreading through the cave, attracting the shadows of fish.
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"See? It is!"
Pia shrugged.
"But don'tcha think it's weird-ish?"
"What do you mean?"
Pia's eyes followed one of the fish, circling the area where a drop had just fallen, before vanishing back into the depths.
"When I was in the sea, I was always looking up. Everyone looks down at the water, but I was looking up at the lights."
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She waved -- at the fishes, or at a her that no longer existed, who might have, at one point, been looking back at her, and waving from a lonely place beneath a different surface.
"That's an, uh, interesting way of putting it. But I agree, Pia."
Pia tugs at her hair and turns away, stepping a few feet away. She takes a deep breath.
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"So, you came all the way out here just for me?"
When she asks me that, she doesn't turn to look at my answer, which makes it all feel...A little strange. Like, that's not exactly what she's asking. Or, well, that's not what she really wanted to say.
"Of course!"
Then she turns, she pivots, her face pulled into a bright smile, drawing her breath up in a giggling gasp. When she speaks, her voice is breathless and flighty.
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I feel my blood rush up into my ears, as I try to assemble that string of 'lots' and 'likes' and there was a thing about comets, and it all can't mean what it means, right? That's totally ridiculous and absurd, and -- and -- and...
I think my face must be the color of Pia's hair right now.
"Uh, could you translate?"
"About as much as I like Sakuya and Shino! And as much as I like baths!"
That's...
I'm touched.
"Ah. That means a lot, then!"
I mean that sincerely. That she thinks of me as someone so important...Like her family.
But...I'm lying to her. And... Because I'm lying to her -- to everyone -- because of who I am, there's just things I can't... I can't have her sort of family.
As if answering something in my head, or my worried expression, Pia goes on, her face thoughtful, prepared for sadness.
"Rain's a hassle, but I don't hate it. I hate squid, but I love how they taste!" Here, she takes a deep breath, pulls herself as high as she can -- her capelet billows from the movement. "When I'm down in the water, I look up at the surface; when I'm up on the surface, I'm looking down in the water, and realizing how beautiful it is!"
"What are you getting at?"
"It's never 'either or' with me! I'm always somewhere in the middle!" She puts a hand to her chest, and clenches it. "Are you sure you can handle that?"
We'd both asked eachother...We'd both meant it... 'Can we stay here?'
"...Why not?"
It's really nothing compared to...What sort of a contradictory mess I am.
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When I'm with monsters, I think about how humans are. When I'm with humans, I'm always worried about being a monster.
If she's a creature of sea and earth...Then what does that make me?
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The moment I said that, almost without thinking, I knew I'd said something I couldn't take back. It'd seemed so easy.
My heart beat faster. Everything bubbling around inside my head...That was 'the real me,' the one who existed full of silly contradictions, caught between two worlds, between the wilds and the towns...
The one who couldn't have anything.
"You're...a mermaid?"
Some part of me said stop. She'd be afraid. She lives with Sakuya, and Sakuya's afraid of monsters.
Some part of me said that she'd been so honest. And what she'd said was what she, Pia, really was; who she really was; what she really felt -- and she was scared.
She was scared that, because she wasn't just one thing, she couldn't...that, push comes to shove, there'd be no place for her. Not among people who could spend all their life, just looking down at the water.
Stop. Turn back now. Jump out of the cave. Run off into the valley and never look back. Throw away your memory -- you've done it before -- and it won't hurt. Just a series of voices, growing more and more panicked.
I'm trembling.
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I lurch forward, propelled by terror and hope. Propelled by the honest truth: I feel the way she does.
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I want...To return Pia's trust in me. Even if I suffer for it.
Still, I shut my eyes when I transform, and take a second to open them again, bracing for something -- some reaction. Some gasp or shout or -- something. I'm panting like I've been running.
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Maybe I've only now stopped running.
"I'm half-monster. So I'm neither completely human nor completely monster."
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She's so shocked she doesn't say anything. She just stands there, staring at me.
"Are you scared, Pia?" I say, in my most level voice. I know the answer. I should have listened to the sensible part of me.
"I'm terrified!"
"I knew it..." I went and ruined it. Darnit. There are just some things you can't --
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...What. This is not how this conversation goes.
She begins winding up for a hug the way I might charge a weapon attack.
"Uh, wait! You'll crush me!"
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Wasn't this a serious conversation a minute ago?
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"M-My ...neck... Eyes...closing...Vision...going...Black..."
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"At least...I can...die...happy. Relatively."
"You deserve to get squeezed HARDER! *Smoosh*"
Her grip, which never adjusted to the idea that I'm much smaller than my human height, tightens.
I think I hear something snap.
"Pia's...hugs...are...true...weapons...of...war..."
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My vision goes black, and everything else fades away.
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Sometime while I was out, I must have transformed back, because when I wake up at the inn, I'm human. And my coming around gives Shino a chance to scold her daughter.
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"Sorry about that?"
She offers, squirming.
"Really sorry?" Shino asks in her best Mom-voice.
"It's okay, Shino. She didn't mean it!" And...
Honestly...
I can breathe easy. Now that she's not suffocating me, I mean.
I don't think it's all hit home yet.
"Well, if you say so, Ramza..."
"Thanks!"
It hits me that, the first thing I should think about that is that Just because Pia knows and that's OK I guess what the heck just happened does not mean I want her telling everyone. Yet? Ever? Just, whatever!
And that I should probably tell her, because these things are likely not obvious.
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"Sure! You were so CUTE!" She announces that a touch too loudly.
"Uh, what did I just TELL you not to discuss?!"
Shino leans forward, glancing back and forth between us.
"What are you two talking about?"
"Nothing!" I blurt out, a bit too quickly.
She smirks.
"Curious! Tell me: what were you two doing alone together...?"
The way she said that...Wait, does she think?!
"Just...hanging out!"
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...Ok, deep well of paranoia aside...Did...Did she have to word it like that?
"Shut up, Pia!"
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An aura of incredible menace radiates from her.
"Oh, Ramza! I was thinking of sharpening my sword!"
"Wh-what does that have to do with me and Pia?!"
I've gone from threats of the soul to threats of the body!
She opens her eyes and looks at me casually.
"Oh. I was just wondering if I should ask you or Gaius." She shrugs, her point made. "Oh, never mind. I don't have anywhere to the sword, anyway. Forget I said anything."
Her voice was all pleasantries.
"Well...just keep your swords away from me and Pia!"
"Anyway, thanks for cheering up Pia. Here's a little something for your trouble!"
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"*gulp* I don't wanna see that sword!"
Pia just laughs.
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Blade's good. Longer than I'm used to using, so the defense is dicey at best, and this won't be of much use in an icey area, but...
But...
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Did that really just happen?
...Did I... Really say all of that? 'All of that.' It was, what, 3 sentences?
But...It's the only secret I have. It's the only truth behind the only real lie I've ever told. It's...It's me.
And somehow, I got away with coming clean, after lying all this time. Everything's OK. Everything's fine. I'm safe. Of course, Pia's Pia, so that's no sign of what other people will feel. It might not mean anything.
But I'll always have that.
Dragoon
2014-10-14, 09:33 PM
Chapter 23: Somewhere in the Middle
"Are you scared, Pia?" I say, in my most level voice. I know the answer. I should have listened to the sensible part of me.
"I'm terrified!"
"I knew it..." I went and ruined it. Darnit. There are just some things you can't --
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...What. This is not how this conversation goes.
I beat Javan this time.
Ahh Pia this chapter, just Pia. Very much enjoyed the chapter.
Especially the scene, very well done, though he did forget to get her a present. Goes off to wipe face.
Javan
2014-10-14, 09:48 PM
Well, I live in the subtropics, so there's a time of year where you get a lot of thunderstorms... But I wouldn't say I get a lot of power outages. Just that, from time to time, the ones I get tend to wreck my day. Anyway! Back on track!
Chapter 23: Somewhere in the Middle
What I do this evening is this:
First, I celebrate my new space by putting away most of the things I don't need. I keep my new ring with me, but there's so much I've been carrying with me simply because I couldn't put it away, that it's like suddenly taking off 50 pounds worth of backpack.
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Well you get a lot of ill-timed power outages then
I beat Javan this time.
Ahh Pia this chapter, just Pia. Very much enjoyed the chapter.
...White text isn't fair play and I was halfway through when you posted :P
I agree with Dragoon
fizzmaister
2014-10-16, 03:00 AM
Great chapter. I agree, Pia was very Pia.
I love Pia's events as a whole. They're just the right mix of surprisingly sweet and empathetic and just... Pia... That she walked away with my surprise favorite set of events. That's not, though, why we did these first.
We did them first, well, besides voting, because Pia has a lot of events on the bulletin board, while most other girls switch to the mailbox, so up until the last one, it was pretty easy to advance that chain. Score one for unconventional thinking. She has a few other events, but those can wait.
MeatShield#236
2014-10-18, 08:24 PM
I love how the tone went from "serious identity issues and fears" to "Pia being awesome" in two sentences. That was just perfect.
TaRix
2014-10-22, 01:04 PM
I propose that Ramza scuttle about town in Wooly form and chat up the people (and things) before he gets much closer to other girls. Maybe he can even bring Delita for color. The village won't be (physically) hostile, but the folk have interesting things to say. This option will eventually become unavailable unentertaining, so it's an idea for filler or something. I think he can even chat up the inn guardian statues, or maybe I'm thinking of another Rune Factory.
I've done a bit of that, but I suppose I can do a full bonus update... I forget about the guardian statues. Anyway, this update's a bit brief; I just wanted to get my schedule back under control.
Chapter 24: So Many Family Dinners Go This Way
After a few minutes of spacing out, I realized that today was a day that is still happening. The rain started to fall, landing on my face as if waking me from a dream.
"... Right. I need to get going."
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I decide to buy some spare melon seeds, since my next stop was the forest... But first, the rainbow studio of Daria.
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"...Rival?" Oh, oh gosh -- does she like Gaius and know about his feelings? Are we getting up in some sort of elf-dwarf-human love triangle?
"Evelyn's outfits are artistic. Hmm, maybe I should make her my apprentice."
Oh, silly me; she doesn't mean anything like that.
"That doesn't sound like a good idea..."
Still... I wonder if there's anyone she does like. Is there something other than art in Daria's world?
After that, I went and picked a few crops and planted my new seeds in the forest, before going back to cook everything up.
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Nice, buttery popcorn.
On my way back out, though, I ran into Karina, yawning and sighing as usual.
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"You're always tired."
"Work is pretty hard."
"But Hazel's always yelling at you to work."
She shrugs.
"Because I'm the store's daughter."
I give her a look.
"There was a pillow at the counter the other day," I point out.
"It is a general store..."
Hm, well, I guess I should decide what to do with my evening...
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"Hey, Delita, want to go exploring this wierd maze that might be nowhere?"
"<Do I!?>"
"...Do you?"
He sighed.
"<That's 'yes,'>" explained the wooly.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA7_zps134a9b0a.png
We're going through this mysterious maze at the bottom of my home, which may not be a maze or at the bottom of my home.
"<This tree is some magic heebie-jeebies, you know what?>"
"...Yeah. Yeah."
Anyway, we run around the, um, inside of the tree for a bit, fighting monsters.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA8_zps1e878043.png
"You know...I told someone." Ok, fair enough, someone noticed I really just wanted to chat about the biggest thing.
"<Oh, is it the fish? Because it smells like the fish.>"
"...What? Pia is not a fish!"
"<Look, all I know is, you smell like you've been hugged by a fish.>"
"She's a mermaid, thank you very much!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA9_zpsb22d0262.png
...Is ground yogurt a good idea? It doesn't feel like a good idea.
"<Hm. I don't know mermaids well. They're not humans but... They're not monsters, either. That's a tough thing to think about.>"
"It might just be an arbitrary line. I mean, I understand the difference at the extremes, just lifestyle-wise, but closer to the edge, it's all the same."
I smile faintly.
"Pia's sort of like that, too. A threshold person, so... I felt it was safe. Or, maybe..." Like I owed it to her.
"Well, it sounds like it went over well. But...Call me cautious, but how humans react to monsters can be..."
"A little tricky. I know. I'm not telling everyone, just Pia. But... I'm happy for that, too. I feel a little different, like... Like I'm tethered to something, somehow." Yeah. I'm not totally alone.
"<...Tethered, huh? Just be careful; After all, we don't really know if you can afford to be tied...>"
We enter the next clearing, and Delita finds himself staring at the single enemy within.
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"<Oh, sweet terrible giants walking among us.>"
Oh, right. I forgot about the giant wooly.
"...Well, only way beyond is through fighting! Sorry, sir!"
Last time, he pretty much demolished me, and it's not like he's going to make nice conversation, apologies aside. I'm wielding my new longsword, too, just to get some practice in...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA11_zpsbeb9a37a.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA12_zpsad20133e.png
But it seems like I know a bit more about these swords than I thought.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA13_zps68c80bc0.png
But not, for example, that this specific one is healing him.
"Time to switch weapons, then!"
"<...yeah, I'll just be over here.>"
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Much better, much better.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA15_zps48d13b59.png
And eventually, he collapses.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageA16_zpsc184dd39.png
Making a magic circle appear on the ground.
"Huh. Well, let's try it out!"
"<I can't tell if you're very brave, or very, very stupid. This must be the human in you.>"
...Thanks for that.
The magic circle just brings us back out, though, with a little treasure gained.
After that, I took a nice hot bath to celebrate my victory. And, using the materials I got, I manage to make two important things...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageB1_zps77165a11.png
A new hat (that gets upgraded), like... So.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageB6_zpsd762b6a1.png
And a new neckalace.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageB3_zpsa935cafb.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageB4_zpsa1d1d775.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageB5_zpsc6a59ed4.png
We're going to be pals, this little piece of jewelry and I.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageC1_zpsa78e160c.png
The next day saw a decent crop growing...
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And a very smug look on Kuruna's face.
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"We are too proud to let petty disagreements devolve into bloodshed."
I'm not sure that's a pride thing. I mean, isn't being very proud the sort of thing that causes fights?
"Of course. We all have strong opinions. But they are just that. Opinions."
Hm...I wonder if it's not pride, but...
"So the settlement comes first, then?"
"Always."
"Hmm...That's nice." I think about what's been on my mind the past few days -- what happened yesterday -- and look at her. "Just... Remember something for me, would you?"
"What's that, comrade?"
"You don't have to stop yourself from doing things that are important, just because you have something to think of first, or because you're not supposed to. Kuruna can be Kuruna, if...If only sometimes." Just once. Kuruna stares at me for a moment, and smiles.
"I see...Thank you, comrade. I will keep your advice in mind."
After I go home, I find a letter from Sakuya in the box.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageD_zps979f4b41.png
Hm, well, I better go see about that...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageD2_zps7c63f4c8.png
With some tasty rolls packed. Mmm, rolls.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE1_zps432367b0.png
"Yes."
"Well, do you think you could get some Cheap Cloth for me?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE2_zpsc92b0d56.png
"What?" My worry and paranoia muscles snap to attention. Did Pia say something?
"Well, it's not that I hate them...But they tend to take my food and things. It's just nicer not to deal with them."
"I see..."
I sigh. Well, I'm glad it's not that, but... It just felt like a reminder: I may have found someone I can confide in, but... It won't be that easy for me all the time. There's always going to be a gap. Even if the line is arbitrary... To Sakuya, who's far away from it, there's a difference.
"So, you going to go?"
I shake myself out of that bit of gloom and smile.
"Oh, sure."
Thanks! Oh, Cheap Clothes get dropped by Orcs."
Actually, I have one at home, so it shouldn't be too hard to find one...
"Well, thanks --"
Shino, at the front desk, turns to look at this little scene.
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She walks over to us, her expression serious.
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"What?"
"I don't really mind..."
Sakuya might not feel that way if she knew the truth, but... She's my friend.
Shino smiles, as if she understands that feeling.
"It's an issue of will." But that's an iron tone of voice.
"You'll never be a respectable inkeeper with that kind of attitude."
Sakuya turns away and looks over her boxes of souveniers.
"..." A deep breath and a sigh, before Sakuya rallies and smiles. "You're right. Maybe I was relying on him too much. Sorry, Ramza. I'll try to manage on my own today."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE6_zps4b247ede.png
And she goes running out, presumably to beat up Orcs. Can she really handle that?
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"Yes. She won't be able to take over as innkeeper with such half-hearted efforts."
"But for her not to get any help...?"
Sakuya doesn't strike me as a warrior.
"Oh? Whoever said that?"
"What?"
"I just said she was relying on you too much."
"Then I can help...?"
"That's not for me to decide."
"I see..."
But she won't stop me from helping, then? At least, making sure she doesn't get hurt...
I find Collette wandering off in the rain.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE8_zps5c0ba4d6.png
"What was it about?"
"This reeeeeeally tiny Marian was trying to get me to take medicine. But she just couldn't get that it wasn't going to work, so I lectured her."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE9_zps5e3b7f42.png
"Ha ha. I guess you have the upper hand in your dreams."
"Well then, Marian suddenly became giant and picked me up."
"Huh?"
"'Come on, it's just tea!'"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE10_zpse3614d7e.png
"'Huh? That wasn't supposed to happen. Let's try it again!' I mean, why did that happen?! I'm the older one here!"
...Collette has a complex, doesn't she?
"So she still gets you, even in your dreams..."
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE15_zpsacac24d6.png
I get a fine collection of recipes for today.
On the way further into town, I find Karina yawning.
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"You're always sleepy."
And we're right back where we were yesterday.
"Work is pretty hard."
"But you're always sleeping even when you're working."
"Because I'm the daughter of the owner."
What does that have to do with anything?
"I thought I saw the exact same pillow you use on sale at the general store."
"It is a general store..."
I run out to the forest. After all, Sakuya is going to be where the orcs are, and that means...
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As I run forward, I very nearly stumble over something, lying on the ground. I crouch down and examine it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE18_zps74415c69.png
"So Sakuya is here..."
I run around the river to find her...
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Before I can say anything to let her know I'm nearby, Sakuya sighs and begins to talk to herself.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE20_zpsac6ce548.png
"But I want to be able to run the inn like Mom..."
"..." I could say something, but... Somehow, this feels a bit too private to burst into.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE21_zps3667f559.png
...Nevermind.
"What should I do?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE22_zps0b8c0c81.png
"But I can't find the Cheap Cloth anywhere. I usually just find items on the ground while I'm running away from the monsters... *Sigh* What am I going to do...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE23_zpsfe14af35.png
Well, I guess I could throw it. I hurl the cloth...so it hits her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE24_zps25eb0086.png
"Hm...hey, a Cheap Cloth! Wait..."
She turns.
"That figure there, it's you, isn't it, Ramza!" She stamps her foot on the wet ground. "I thought I told you! I don't need help!"
"So she found out it's me..." I mutter. "If only there was some way to disguise myself."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE25_zpse858ca9e.png
But I'm sure now that she won't take it if I just hand it to her...
Well, if it's "me" handing it to her. After all... It's not like she'd be able to tell.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE26_zpse4c1c83b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE27_zps75846bc5.png
Alright, let's try this again.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE29_zps99a8ba71.png
She looks at the object I have thrown...Um, maybe a bit too close to her head.
"Hey, it's a cheap cloth! Was it Ramza...?"
Oh, boy -- disguise or no, I better get running.
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She stares off after me.
"..."
And I run all the way back to town. What now, though? Maybe head to the beach?
While I'm standing by the Inn, thinking about that... Along comes Sakuya.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE31_zps6182f096.png
"Yes. But..."
"What's the matter?" Um, I wasn't too unsubtle, was I?
She shakes her head.
"Oh, well, never mind."
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"What?!"
I didn't do anything wasn't me nope nosiree that had nothing to do with me, mr. ordinary human, lalalala.
"You know, since I made you come out for nothing.
Wait, why are you so shocked?"
"Oh, no reason...! (I thought she knew it was me...)"
"Well, see ya."
"Bye."
She retreats to the inn, probably relieved to get out of the rain.
"Whew...It all worked out."
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I head back in to try and dry, just a little, before going out to face the rain. I spend a lot of time running around in all sorts of weather.
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"Squid are mine! Watch out!"
Pia, behind her desk, burst suddenly into song.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageE35_zps8606891e.png
"Are numbered."
...So, her enemies will have songs about their death.
"So suddenly?!"
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At the bulletin board, Carmen's got a request for me... Which I sometimes wonder about, since, really, anyone could be reading this.
...Unless everyone knows no one reads this, and forgot to clue me in.
Well, I'll see about it.
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"Yes."
"Then if you administer fluorescent paint in your mouth --"
"Well, first of all, I'm pretty sure you can't administer fluorescent paint."
And I am getting out of here before I am proven horribly, horribly wrong.
...Heh. 'Fluoral Administration.'
I found Carmen watching the fish swimming around at the base of the waterfall.
"Afternoon."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG2_zps677fcda0.png
"How so?"
I thought we were done the charging and shouting.
"He's been in a bad mood lately. And he suddenly said he wanted to invite you to our home. Do you have any idea what it could be?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG3_zpseda22b42.png
"Oh, then could you come to our house around 8PM to 11PM? I'll cook you up some of my special fish. What do you think?"
...It's been a while since I ate food cooked by someone else.
...Actually, except the things I just find, I don't think I remember anything like that...
"Okay, I'll be coming hungry, then!"
"Yay. I'm sure Carlos will be happy. Don't be late!"
To pass the time...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG4_zpse29d5bed.png
Let's try the second part of the maze.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG5_zpsb3502bd6.png
This place is creepy...And the enemies are much tougher.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG6_zpsef050e9a.png
But I did find a chest! It didn't have much...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG7_zps53044b78.png
But it did have a recipe bread.
You know how I said they were much tougher?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG8_zps52943389.png
They're much, much tougher. Time to flee for my life.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG9_zpsd7c73e99.png
The entrance is the only exit; no teleporting out.
After that display, I went back to have a bath...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG10_zpse87275fc.png
Do a bit of logging...
And, in a fresh fall of rain, head over to the Resort.
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"Good evening, Carl-"
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Carmen comes down, carrying a sizzling dish of fish.
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"Wow, smells great."
We all gather around the table; Carlos pours us all some wine, and we start to work over the dishes.
"So, what's our new guy in town been up to since he moved in? Farm doing alright, bro?"
"Oh, the fine's farm -- er, the farm's fine, er..." I feel like I'm on the spot... Carlos laughs.
"Don't worry, Ramza! This isn't an interview or anything; we're just curious!" Carmen assures.
"Uh, well, I've been doing some fighting in the areas around town, too..."
"Oh, yeah! You found what took my fish and gave it what-for, right?"
"It was a them; just a pair of giant, I dunno, lion-monsters!" That I might have been here to fight all along...
Carmen leans forward to rest her chin on her hand as I take a sip of the wine. Carlos pours himself another glass.
"Wow! That's pretty brave!"
"...I was mostly panicking, really..." I admit.
"Got any other good fights under your belt? I heard about the raccoon, too!"
"That was so not a raccoon..."
We chat like that, over a warm dinner, for a while; Carlos even tells a few good fish stories. The wine flows, and the fish tastes of the wide, wide ocean.
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He takes another deep drink from his glass.
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"He did finish off that bottle..."
I look at my first glass, mostly sipped from. I'm not sure it's wise to do much drinking, as I don't remember anything about my alchohol tolerance. It's not like you can assume these things when you're not entirely human.
"What's gotten into him?"
We busy ourselves with our food a bit longer, until Carlos clears the silence.
"You know, I've been looking after Carmen forever now."
"I see... *munch, munch*"
We keep eating for a while, and Carlos keeps going back to top off his drink and mine.
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Carmen sputters, her face about as red from rage as Carlos' was from the wine.
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"Huh? What do you mean? It's just the truth... Nothin' wrong with that..." He muttered, voice slurring and gradually coming to a hault.
It's embaressing for someone else to tell that, but... I don't think it's shameful or anything. It's a childhood memory...
I wonder what mine are like... Knowing me, they're probably pretty embaressing, too, but... I wouldn't mind, reminiscing.
But before I could calm her down with any of that, Carlos leaned back in his seat...
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And just outright fell back, the stool clattering down as he fell.
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We both stare for a minute.
"He's asleep."
"I've never seen him so drunk before. That's so strange."
"Maybe having someone over made it seem more, uh, festive?"
She shrugs.
"I guess we should call it a night. He's not going to be getting back up."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG20_zps305ff6f5.png
We snuck out quietly.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG21_zpse4590beb.png
"...I did. I..." I don't want to say that this was my first sort of 'family meal,' but...That's the way it feels to me, now. Maybe they happened, and maybe they didn't... But today, for the first time in this town, I had a nice warm meal, surrounded by people having a good time. It all felt...Really, very cozy. A little warm world, felling faintly but not horribly of fish.
I'm not sure how to say any of this. After a minute of just trying sort it out, I settle for, "The meal was great, and Carlos' stories were interesting."
"I'm glad."
She grins, and I wonder if I'm not just wasting my time, trying to say it; maybe she figures that, since I've been living alone.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG22_zps2b7bcf6e.png
Carlos's sleepy voice rings out from inside the shop.
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"I'll let... you have her... take care... of her..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG24_zpsf9d15511.png
A flush rises to my face. Why does everyone act like they're giving people to be married?!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG25_zpsa4cc4d5d.png
"Ha ha ha ha ha! Come again, OK? Anytime you want."
"Thank you very much."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2024/ImageG26_zps8b8cc619.png
...I'd like it; having dinner like that again.
Dragoon
2014-11-14, 03:36 PM
Nice update, it seems that another family is trying to give away an eligible lady. I am curious what Shino's going to do if/when Sakuya starts to fall for Ramza.
I beat Javan again.
Also would appreciate the bonus update when you can. My favorite part is when Delita refers to Pia as the fish. I do like the humorous touches that you add.
On Pia being the first told, it also makes the most sense as Pia is the only openly not one hundred percent human of the group. I would say only one, but I don't know for sure with Raven and I assume that situation will resolve later.
You forget Daria, who, while I don't think she's mentioned it, makes no attempt to disguise her big ol' elf ears. We'll get to Raven, who is not openly anything, even "fond of shiny necklaces," when the events for her spawn.
Frankly, I think all the adults in the town have some sort of betting pool combining Ramza's ultimate choice of lady with how long it will take him to realize that, no, everyone does mean everything they're saying that way, seriously, get a clue...
Dragoon
2014-11-15, 11:34 AM
You forget Daria, who, while I don't think she's mentioned it, makes no attempt to disguise her big ol' elf ears. We'll get to Raven, who is not openly anything, even "fond of shiny necklaces," when the events for her spawn.
Frankly, I think all the adults in the town have some sort of betting pool combining Ramza's ultimate choice of lady with how long it will take him to realize that, no, everyone does mean everything they're saying that way, seriously, get a clue...
Sorry should have been more precise with the whole elf/human, blame the fantasy playing in that seeing elves/dwarves as not that different from humans.
I so am head-canoning that now even if it doesn't. The obvious reason he left, he was breaking too many hearts and the adults wanted him away. :smallbiggrin:
Also if you do the bonus update with Ramza running around seeing the people in town in Wooly form, he so should take Delita with him.
Javan
2014-11-15, 11:34 AM
Nice update, it seems that another family is trying to give away an eligible lady. I am curious what Shino's going to do if/when Sakuya starts to fall for Ramza.
I beat Javan again.
Also would appreciate the bonus update when you can. My favorite part is when Delita refers to Pia as the fish. I do like the humorous touches that you add.
On Pia being the first told, it also makes the most sense as Pia is the only openly not one hundred percent human of the group. I would say only one, but I don't know for sure with Raven and I assume that situation will resolve later.
Dragoon, Dragoon, Dragoon, we've been over this... white text just isn't fair...
And I plead exam induced distraction/stress
And I agree, the fish comment is great.
You forget Daria, who, while I don't think she's mentioned it, makes no attempt to disguise her big ol' elf ears. We'll get to Raven, who is not openly anything, even "fond of shiny necklaces," when the events for her spawn.
Frankly, I think all the adults in the town have some sort of betting pool combining Ramza's ultimate choice of lady with how long it will take him to realize that, no, everyone does mean everything they're saying that way, seriously, get a clue...
Nice update as usual, and just thinking about the betting pool is funny.
JBPuffin
2014-11-15, 09:37 PM
So I just finished reading through all the current updates, and now...I'm jealous. Like, of Ramza specifically, but now I'm reminded of harem-type games in general...
Anyway, Raven or Pia all the way. If neither of these two end up winning the noble Ramza, there will be problems :smallbiggrin:.
fizzmaister
2014-11-28, 01:29 PM
Took long enough for me to get around to reading this. I blame life.
The update was nice, but I'm not really a fan of Carmen and Carlos, so the last part was merely OK. The first half of the update or so was good.
I don't really care about Carmen's events, either; I didn't see many of them in my own run, so I actually have no idea where they'll end up. I actually saw everyone except Carmen's, I think. Oh, I may have missed Karina's, too. So there's a little discovery left in this for me.
Javan
2014-12-09, 02:59 PM
So are we all agreed then? Carmen is not Ramza's destined soulmate.
Hold it for the actual vote! Because I have to go along with the official vote, and you've already decided that we're seeing her event anyway. So maaaaybe she'll turn it around?
Speaking of events....
Chapter 25: You're Not Alone
Well, with a warm dinner inside me, the important thing to try and decide was what to do.
For the most part that was mining, and practicing a little forging on a test sword...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageA_zpsff58cf59.png
Oh, but I did make a new fishing pole.
The next day was warm and sunny -- a proper summer day if I've ever seen one!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageB1_zpsff2781f8.png
But the Buffamoo weren't taking the heat well. Alma was pretty much on the edge of collapse, and had to be taken off of work all together today. I'll need to get a treat for her...
I'll have to put Agrias on it instead, and check on the one who did go out today.
After I went to the settlement (Too...hot... for... wool...), I checked my mail.
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To be honest, I've given up deciding if Raven saying that is ever good or bad. Like she pulls from a hat what she wants to say today -- like she decides it every time she sees me, and decides again whenever I turn my back.
What could I do that's so scary to her?
I stopped by the flower shop, hoping that I could find something that would make her announcement a good one. Monica found something she desperately wanted to show off, though.
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A little light crystal.
"Wow, I want one."
"Heh heh." She giggled, cheerfully.
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Never change, Monica.
By which I mean "Please grow into a nice young lady."
There wasn't much in the realm of flowers I wanted to give her, so it was time to just stare Raven down.
Or, uh, say hi.
"Hi."
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"You saw my letter?"
"Yes. But what was so important?"
"..." And there it was, the moment where she decided what it was she wanted to say. "Come to Vale: Entrance with me. I'll tell you everything there."
"What?"
Not the rosebush... And not here? Why just the entrance? She just dodges the question entirely.
"...Please."
"..." I'm a little apprehensive... But I can't help but keep extending my faith. "Yeah, okay."
We walk up, the sudden blast of cold a refreshing break from the summer sun.
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And see a prone wooly on the snow.
"But that's..."
"...!"
It's Raven's friend.
We rush up to him;
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Raven checks out his breathing and pulse. He'd fallen, but it doesn't seem like he's hurt.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD6_zpsf791d98e.png
"He should be back on his feet in a moment."
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When he gets up, Raven smiles earnestly.
"See, now you can walk --"
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There's a pulsing sound, like a spell being cast, and a smell -- somehow sweet and earthy, almost like the smell of grape leaves or... If golden light falling through the woods had a smell, it would smell like that -- cutting through the crisp air... Raven and I lift our heads, instinctively, and saw across the ice flow...
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It's one of the gates from before -- the ones that made that light...
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Do I have to run away again, and prove her right about me?
...Could Raven... Could Raven forgive me? For lying to her?
The gate sheds is soft green light, calling to something at the top of my spine or the root of my soul, something old and covered and forgotten... Something almost like a siren song...
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I shake my head and look around. The one she was calling out to is not me, but... The wooly, who walks toward the gate with not a hint of concern.
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Raven dives forward to stop him, and stands between them as if shielding him. The wooly's little plodding steps keep heading towards them, and Raven moves back, just a little, on the ice. The light touches her back, the green glow standing sharp against the red of her hair.
The look on her face is as deep a fear as I've ever seen -- not terror, not fear of being hurt, but fear of loss, so strong she'd throw away anything to prevent it. The flash of glittering snow and nervous girl exists for a moment before a flare of light swallows it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD13_zps331bb4bd.png
And then the gate is gone. The girl is -- is --
No, let me try again.
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The giant bird is hovering there, her resplendent feathers ruffling the cold breeze. The air almost steams off her surface, and a sense of power, like I've stumbled on something grand and holy and beyond me, strikes me. Like a creature out of legend.
"Raven?"
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She does not answer at first; I do not think she can't, but I admit, talking with beaks: how does it work?
Eventually, hesitantly, she says in exactly the same voice as before,
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I have no idea what to say. No, I have no idea exactly how to process what I'm seeing. Ideas and hopes and worries and wishes about everything about this scenario -- who she really is, what she really is, what this says about her, what this says about us, whatever I mean by 'us,' where I've seen her -- or something like her -- or -- or -- it all comes crashing down me like a wave, and all I can do is approach her, staring agape.
She watches my expression as I draw near.
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Does she not realize what's just happened? Does she not care? Does everyone know? Am I the only person who assumes there's any sort of secrecy anywhere about anything?
"You're..."
My problem here is I have no idea how to end that sentence. Would it presemptious to say -- to even think -- that Raven is... like me?
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She looks down at herself.
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"So it really is you, Raven...?" At this point, I'm more asking to be certain than anything. The atmosphere feels like a film of ice, inclined to shatter at any second.
"...!"
And I guess she felt the same or -- no. She feels the same way I would, if I were just "found out" like that.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD20_zps7c11cf34.png
And she flies across the water, leaving me standing on the shore.
Before I can go after her, I want to put everything together.
"...So then that bird...is Raven...?
And that light. That feeling...
..."
It's all familiar, and it all amounts to *something*.
Do I have time for this? Right now, I bet she thinks... That I'm afraid, or I don't understand, or...
"I need to go after Raven!"
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Staring out over the thorny shapes that fade into the distance... The way she is now, the barrier of the cliff's edge doesn't exist -- I wonder if that's what she's always thought, looking out to distant mountains, the fields of frost, the sky blue as her eyes? That one day, she could take off from this point and never return.
One day, she'd have to.
She'd leave no footprints, and the memories would just freeze over.
...Did she believe that? Raven's always been deserted; she's never said if she's done the deserting.
"There she is."
The snow underfoot breaks as I draw near, intruding onto this lonely moment.
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Raven can't think of what to say, at first. I think it's all I can do -- or, at least, the best I can do -- to wait.
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"What?"
Her wings beat the air very, very slowly, barely stirring it, lifting up pillows of mist. No matter how quiet that is, it's louder than her voice when she says,
"It's fine. I wonder why I couldn't tell you..."
I clear my throat.
"...Tell me what, exactly?"
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This was not the answer I was expecting.
"..."
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"I didn't want you to hate me..."
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There's a flash of light and a faint ringing sound. I feel the change in the way the air moves, the sudden loss of the rhythmic flow, before I see her standing there:
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Raven, just as she always is, apologizing softly for something completely outside of her control.
In the cold, she seems as small and vulnerable as a baby bird. How pathetic.
"..."
How pathetic I am. I should have told her the moment I thought I had a part in any weirdness about, but... I was afraid, too.
"I'm sorry, too."
Her face opens up in surprise.
"Huh...?"
Hiding now would just be silly, wouldn't it?
Still... She did suffer...She worried and felt guilty and afraid because I was a coward -- even if it was the same for her, it doesn't make what I did better.
The best I can do now is tell her the truth, which spreads across the ice like a light. I -- she -- is not alone.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD29_zps209bcf58.png
...Though I guess, by comparison, giant almost godly phoenixes really blow 'small fuzzy harmless wooly' out of the water.
"What do you mean...?"
She says, slowly, cautiously -- like I did before, she doesn't understand exactly how to assemble everything.
"I'm just like you." Only smaller. And fluffier. "That's why the light was both our fault."
"..."
Please don't be mad, please don't be mad.
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I morph back, not sure what to expect.
"You're just like me...?"
She just repeats it, like a phrase without meaning.
We're interrupted by a noise.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD32_zps65b8a468.png
That gate again... I guess there's a limit to two half-monsters (or however Raven works) hanging out...
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Raven's wooly friend comes towards it, which distracts Raven from any sort of existential questions of loneliness, or cowardice.
She goes running towards him.
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He lifts his head towards her, his eyes shining with a feeling I cannot describe -- except, perhaps, that I'd felt it, too. Just recently...
And...I think I understand everything.
"No, Raven..."
"Huh...?"
I come closer to this whole scene.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD35_zps776222e8.png
"I sensed it from you, too. And a memory of that same smell..."
From where, or what, or how, I don't know -- is there a word yet, for something nostalgic you can't recall? Is that something I know from before, that I haven't managed to place?
"What do you mean...?"
I shake my head slowly.
"I'm sure, not everyone disappeared."
And, thinking of the smell of that warm forest, I smile. Raven's friends... are all monsters, aren't they?
"They just returned. Returned to where they wanted to go home to."
I turn over and look at Raven's pal here.
"Isn't that right...?"
He nods.
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"But...!"
She tries to come up with something to follow that -- something, anything, other than "But I don't want to be left behind."
Eventually, she just falls silent.
"...Okay..."
Her friend approaches the gate slowly. He turns to her and smiles.
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It's a gratitude only I might be able to understand the words for, but...
"Huh...?"
I hope she'll understand that feeling.
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He entered the light and was gone, in a shining ascent of runes.
"He went."
"...Yes..."
"Hey, Raven." I say, trying to change the subject. And... Because if he had a piece of gratitude, from his heart, well... I have mine.
"Could you show me again? Your other form."
"Huh...?"
"I want to get a good look at what you look like transformed."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD41_zps1a7a018e.png
For a moment, she just looks at me cautiously. Maybe she's afraid I'd do something, or say something unkind.
But eventually, she steps back...
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And transforms.
"..."
Looking at her closely, her feathers like fire and jewels, I'm struck for just a second by how lovely Raven is. And how familiar.
"I knew it..."
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"By the way, I hadn't thanked you for saving me when I fell off the cliff." I grin. "Thanks."
"Oh, umm..."
Without her long, flexible hair to hide her face in, Raven's at a bit of a loss -- she just pulls back a little, stunned.
Still... What I want to tell her -- what I think she ought to know about herself... Please, don't worry. I'm not afraid.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD45_zps9ca9f445.png
"...!" Raven gasps and, as quickly as she can, transforms so she can turn around.
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I laugh.
"Raven, you get easily embarrassed, don't you?"
"...
...Idiot." Is all she says, cold as ever.
But when she starts to walk away, she turns back and looks at me.
"...Aren't you coming back?"
"Absolutely."
And I follow after her until we're at the shop.
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She looks about, uncertainly, and then just decides to cut to the chase.
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"Okay, bye then."
Whether she's bothered that I lied to her, I...well, I don't know. But I guess our secrets are safe with each other...
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She suddenly smiles, and it's enough to drive away what little concerns I have for now.
"This is for you..."
"What?"
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"..."
I feel better, too. I don't really know how many half-monsters there are; what are the odds?
But, more than that... I'm less lonely because I feel like I, at last, have found a place where Raven and I can have some security with each other; I found Raven's heart.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageD51_zps7b0050c7.png
"What?"
There's really not anything to thank me for, is there?
"..."
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It's a nice little heart to hold onto. I think it may be better than before.
I turn around and see Karina watching this.
"I, uh, that was -- please, don't worry --"
"It's good she has someone else to get along with."
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"So I've been able to get along with her OK, since we have that in common, but... Ah, nevermind. (She probably gets lonely...)" Karina looks at the Blacksmith's shop. "Why do you think that is?"
"Well, with Raven, I think it's her expression..."
"Does that mean I'm cold?"
I...Uh...
Uh...
"I-I'm not sure..."
I see no good way to answer that. It's not that she's cold, it's just...She's a little unexpressive.
"What do you mean, you're not sure?"
I...I...There is no way around this, is there?
"Look, just yell at me already."
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As I'm wandering town, I'm ambushed by Pia.
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After today's been such a high-stress day, maybe I just want to play it safe.
"W-whatever you make?"
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"You're welcome."
I wonder what I just signed up for?
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Rusk's got a request, so that looks like it could be done.
While I'm pondering that...
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I'd like a bit more room in my bed, for sure. I sometimes transform during the night, and I end up tossing and turning a bit, so it's better if I have space.
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"W-what? No, I, I -- I mean, things are -- I'm not --" I stutter and blather until my ears are bright red.
"Oh, don't worry. You don't have to tell me. Well, I'll need 15000 gold and 80 wood, okay?"
"T-that's fine."
"Okay. Well, I'll get it out to you soon. It should be there when you get home."
"That soon?!"
"Being prompt is the key to good business!"
Before I do that, I have the town's circuit to visit.
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"What about it?"
"I was thinking about how nice it is, that's all. You just cast the line and stare at the sky. It'll make you feel you're in your own world."
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"I'll have to try to pay more attention to it."
"Oh, but be sure to take a warm bath afterwards. Along with a hot drink."
I chuckle. "Okay."
Next I headed out to see Daria...
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"I-Is that true?"
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"That doesn't even fit."
By the time I head back to town, Collette -- as she often does in the afternoon -- is in the Apothecary.
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"You can drink medicine, but you can't drink shots."
Marian just smiles.
"I see. Well, I'll show you a little trick to get over your fear of shots."
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...Is this a shot to make her not afraid of shots?
"Gotcha!"
"I don't think Collette is gonna like how this turns out..."
Watching this from one of the back rooms was her grandmother, who just shook her head and sighed.
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"She just needs to learn to hold back a little..."
"Um...A little...?"
Well, OK, enough goofing around, let's go get to help Rusk!
Oh, but first, recipes.
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...OK, now we help Rusk!
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"Help! Ramza! There's an ingredient I need to make sweets, but I forgot its name..."
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"Oh...that's it?"
Somewhere in my world of personal dillemnas and monsterfights, it's nice to find a simple problem.
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"So, I need your help! Could you go find it for me?!"
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Ok, enough of that.
"Hm, it's an ingredient to make sweets, and it's called something powder? I'll go look for it."
By which I mean, I'll go pick apples. I have a pharmacy.
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So I go pick the apples...
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And make a little Sweet Powder for Rusk.
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"Yeah! That's it! Sweet Powder! Thanks, Ramza!
Here, this is for everything."
He hands me a stack of pancakes, dripping in tasty syrup.
"Thanks. Wait... You didn't use that Sweet Powder to make this, did you?"
"What? Oh...That's right, we had some in the house."
A zero-sum game.
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Oh, well. I spend the evening in pretty much useless pursuit. I wanted to work on making that new shield recipe, but then I didn't have the materials, and couldn't get the materials, and the evening just went down the drain.
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But at least I have a nice, big bed to fall asleep on.
The next morning, I'm greeted by a healthy cucumber-and-some-tomato crop.
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I guess I'm selling a lot of pickles today.
When I head to the settlement, I catch Kuruna brushing her hair. Now that I look at, her hair is really very long, and she lets it hang loose, too, so that at every turn, she's surrounded by a halo of white, almost golden, light, fine as spiderwebs or sunlight through a faint mist.
...I bet it tangles like mad.
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"Well, outside of my duties as elder, I probably spend the most amount of time on my hair." She brings the brush down through the bottom of her hair, and shifted it back over her shoulder. "It must be easy to take care of your hair, comrade. Just a quick hop in the lake, and you're done."
...What, does she think wool doesn't tangle? Well, OK, it doesn't, it mostly just...sort of mats, but that's even worse!
"...Uh...sure."
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Oh, dear... If Shara's having trouble about that Wooly... Does that mean her grandfather's coming down harder on her? I'm sure we'll think of something.
On the way, I went shopping -- just a few seeds, nothing much.
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"Really? What kind?"
"A general store that sells nothing."
"..."
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Well, let's try and suss out Well's mood for Shara, first.
But he just looks...I don't know. Thoughtful.
"How're you today?"
"Doing just fine."
...
"And the flowers?"
"...Do you want something, sonny?"
Caught on the spot, all I can come up with is:
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"Travel? I sure haven't."
"Is that right?" I think that this was not what I was expecting was plain on my face.
"Why do you look so shocked?"
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"Hmph." He looks me up and down. "You work out where you're supposed to be yet, Ramza?"
There's a beat. I...Well, I've been doing better, but I wonder... Am I actually any closer to remembering where my home is? I wouldn't want to go home until the job is done anyway, but...
But I don't know, do I? Where my home is, where my family is? What, at this point, my family consists of... I'm just waiting out here for the answer.
"...No, sir."
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"When you've come that far, you know it's no good to go looking for something else."
Still, he didn't quite look satisfied, saying that.
"Is something wrong?"
"It's just..." He heaved a long, long sigh.
"?"
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"Just so when they make a choice, it's the best one."
"Wells..."
So, if Shara's problem wasn't a familial conflict, then what?
I'm shooed off before I can find out, though, and more or less have to sneak back upstairs.
Where I hear Shara and Wells talking in her room.
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"What is it?"
I ask as I enter the room, breaking into Wooly Negotiations mark (Well, I was probably 1, and before was 2...) 3.
Shara beams.
"Ramza! You came!"
She clasps her hands together pleadingly.
"Help me, Ramza! I want to keep it. But Grandpa..." She sighs. So it was a familial problem...
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"..."
Wells put his foot down.
"Your actions will mean it can never go back into the wild. Can you take responsibility?!"
I have to admit, his argument held its ground.
"But...but I...! I can't leave it!"
I glanced over at the little wooly, watching back and forth between them with the vaguest understanding. I wonder...Who really knows what he needs? Or what he wants? That's not fair at all.
And there was a wooly at Privera forest who was acting strangely, when we found him...
The wheels in my head began turning.
"Hold on. Can you leave this matter to me?"
"What?"
"I have a plan, but I'll need some time."
They glanced at each other, at the wooly, and at my face. I tried to look stern and intimidating, and probably looked like some sort of angry puppy.
"If you say so..."
"Fine...I'm counting on you, Ramza."
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His parent? If that's it, then it might still be searching, even now.
I should go check it out.
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"I'll try not to let it go to waste."
Let's be honest, though... How much do I deserve it? I only barely have any faith in people who I end up thinking are like myself...
With a sigh, I head out towards the wood, when Sofia stops me on the way.
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"My grooming and fashion...?"
I guess I am wearing the same clothes I arrived in...They're, well, other than my swimsuit they're sort of just... 'my clothes.'
"But I do try and keep myself looking clean and presentable."
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A...a date?
"Wait, how much of that was opposite-speak?"
She laughs, and refuses to answer. I guess understanding Sofia is my duty.
My way out is also, and less surprisingly, met with Daria, looking distressed.
"What is it? Is something wrong?"
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"What?"
"A ghost!"
"What?"
"What's with that look you're giving me?"
...Ghosts. Well, in our complex world of half-woolies and elves...
"No, I'm not doubting you." Says the lying liar who lies.
"I really saw one!" she insists. "It was a cold night...It just floated next to my house! It was blue... with a long tail and white flecks!"
"..." Is that a real thing?
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I came to the flower field as a rain began to fall.
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Well, time to transform and ask some questions.
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By which she means, "what is it?"
"You're the parent of the wooly that got hurt a while back, right?"
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She frantically explained the circumstances.
"I see. Your child was injured. You went to find medicine, and saw a human approach..."
"Bah..."
She nods, sadly. She looks very worried -- well, of course, her child hasn't returned.
But seeing that expression on her face, tight as knot, shadows under her eyes from bad sleep, I end up thinking that. After all, if that's natural...Then...
Oh, nevermind.
"So that's what happened? No problem. I'll go talk to that human."
Bah?!"
I can use my massive traitor-to-everything powers for good sometimes.
"Bah."
She warns, softly, her worried look clamping down into something like a fist of an expression; this is the last chance, before she does whatever it takes.
Whatever it takes.
The idea hangs, momentarily, in the air. I don't want to see what that means for Shara.
"It's fine. Wait here, OK? I need to rush over to Shara!"
I run to her house in the pouring rain, the mother wooly's expression in my head. The door slams open, and my boots leave puddles on the stairs.
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"Its mother is worried. You can't keep it here."
Shara crosses her arms.
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And, slowly, she retreats from me, with the wooly at her back like she was shielding it.
"I thought you were on my side."
"I... Shara, I just want..."
Before I can work out what I mean to say, though, she turns her head, and shuts her eyes tight.
Grabbing the young wooly by a ribbon she's attached to its paw, she dashes out of the room.
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Oh, this is going all wrong...
"It'd be dangerous if she runs into the parent right now!"
Of course, though, she's gone to the flower field, and walked right into the most tense of situations.
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The mother's staring them both down, pure fury in her eyes. She's already decided that I -- that everything -- has let her down. Shara's got her palms open, trying not to look worried, trying not to be threatening.
"Easy, now...Wait a minute!"
But there's nothing she could say -- nothing but the best of her intentions. Between a mother and her child, between her own desire to be protective and how she -- somehow -- completely missed what it was that she was protecting... There's no way she could satisfy that, except to stand aside.
I understand that, at a glance. But does she?
If everyone could just -- if everyone just tried to understand -- no one wants to hurt anyone!
"Shara!"
This is all my fault. I asked everyone to trust me, but I wasn't firm enough to make it work out. If I wait here, if I waver here... Shara could get hurt.
If I move now, I don't know how I'd calm her down without showing myself.
There's a second, in the rain, where I balance those options. But, what the heck: I've already betrayed her trust.
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I run up to try and smooth things over, after only that heartbeat of thought. Petals rise in the air behind me, only to land, sodden, in the summer muck.
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Everyone blinks in confusion; that's all the time I have to be afraid, or sad for myself.
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It's all the time I have to transform, the rain breaking in the air around me. Time to face the music. At first, no one can even move.
I turn and face her. I... I never wanted to lie to Shara. But once I did... I never wanted to tell her the truth.
But it came down to what everyone wanted, and what I wanted, so...
"Shara. Let it go."
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"Shara, please."
I can at least help them understand.
She sighs and shuts her eyes. There's no sound but the rain.
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She reaches down, and unties the ribbon.
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And the little wooly launches towards its mother at high speeds.
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They even offer each other a little consolation. I'm not translating that -- let them have their moment.
It's not everyday a seperated family gets put back together...
...I wonder if it's something I'll ever see for myself.
"I'm sorry I didn't do this sooner."
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The two flee, leaving me with my friend, and my saviour, and the person to whom I owe so much...
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Starting with the truth.
"I'm sorry for hiding this from you..."
She turns and faces me, and I'm not sure I can bring myself to look up into her eyes. But I can't retreat now, either.
"I'm half-monster, you see..."
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...She has no idea what that means, does she?
"I can turn into a monster."
"That's how you knew what it was saying?"
"Yes..."
And then she smiles, very gently.
"I see..."
On the slightly more confident ground, I can look back up and plant myself with some confidence. The air smells like wet wool and flowers and mud, letting the soil breathe a sigh of relief.
"They're a family. The parent went to get some medicine, when you found the child."
"I see..." She looks down, not at me, but at the flowers on the ground. "If you hadn't stopped me, I would have seperated them." She wiped a bit of the rain from her face with one diaphonous sleeve. "I wasn't thinking about that at all..."
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"But I..." I've never been honest, not since the day we met.
...Well, OK. Then, I guess, we might have been. I'm not sure how it works when you hide things you don't know. False pretenses, maybe?
"It's fine! I'm a bit sad that you were hiding this from me..."
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To her...That must have been troubling, too.
"I'm sure that you were torn about your secret. And you told me to help that little wooly. Otherwise, I might have done...something very cruel."
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That forgiving smile is as warm as a spring breeze, hitting me deeper than the rain.
My warmth? I'm not really sure what she means, I mean... I just wanted to help.
I've been trying to live up to that kind smile, without anything weighing down her heart, for a long time.
"Ramza."
"Yes?"
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She reaches down and her arms fall around me. The air is full of perfumed scents. We are both drenched with cold rain, even as she reaches her fingers into the depths of my fur. In the little bubble, in that tiny world in which we exist for that moment...
I feel very warm.
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"Tee-hee. I'm not saying it again!"
"..."
...I...I...What. Is she kidding? Or...
No, no way, right? Right? She just means it....like...like...
Ok, I have no idea.
"Let's go home for today."
"Okay." She says, as cheerfully as anything. I transform on the way back.
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"Back with its parents. I was wrong to try and keep it."
"I see...Shara, I said too much. I'm sorry."
Now, see, I think this is a reason I'm still not sure it's safe to be telling ordinary people this, but... I don't think he was wrong, either.
"Grandpa..."
He turns to me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageL47_zpsc91fe13f.png
"It's okay."
"This is to make up for it. Take this."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageL49_zpsc99e67bb.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageL50_zps8f625310.png
Again with that? I mean, I'm not --
But then I think about what she said.
I'm...
I'm not sure.
Shara's the first human who knows about me. But then again, she was always, in a way, the first human who knew about me; she was the first person who knew me at all.
I don't know what to think about anyone else knowing...It could just be that Shara's special. And I don't know what to think about what she said, either.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageM_zpsdbfa130f.png
All I know is the warm, golden color of the flower that I received that day.
Expect some bonuses sometime in the future.
Qwertystop
2014-12-09, 07:05 PM
Huh. You know, I hadn't even realized the whole first-human-to-know thing - somehow didn't really make the division between Shara and the not-technically-humans.
Do you ever see monsters similar to what Raven turns into? Some large bird, presumably of a different color?
In this LP, it's a fairly meaningful distinction: the previous two people Ramza's shown, Pia and Raven, he's shown almost explicitly because they're not fully (or at all) human, and within their personal positions both as individual and as people who have similar relationships with humanity and the world, he's felt a trust and kinship.
Actually, for a game that has Fantasy Racism as a theme, very few of the characters have a leg to stand their positions on, simply because of how many non-humans reside in the human village, and that there really is not a distinction drawn.
As for Raven's other form... I think it's actually unique across all the Rune Factory series. To my knowledge, that species does not have an official name (Phoenix will have to do), but according to the wiki, Word of God describes her species as being a fairly powerful and significant one, closer to the Native Dragons, so therefore probably just a little short of being almost gods.
Ramza, of course, is a common farm-dwelling creature and woodland annoyance so passive and clumsy that in at least one game, its main attack is falling over. Life's not fair.
Qwertystop
2014-12-09, 08:55 PM
I wasn't sure - Ramza's not the same color as any of the other Woolies, either. Is there any large bird monster, perhaps not such a regal-looking sort?
fizzmaister
2014-12-09, 10:23 PM
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2025/ImageF6_zps27941f91.png
Pia doesn't like it when you make her blush.
I beat Javan and Dragoon.
Great chapter. Two reveals in one chapter. I like how the plot is moving along.
Javan
2014-12-10, 06:56 AM
Great update. The reveals are fun, and... revealing about the characters.
Beat Dragoon this time
Dragoon
2014-12-11, 12:07 AM
"So that's what happened? No problem. I'll go talk to that human."
Bah?!"
I can use my massive traitor-to-everything powers for good sometimes.
"Bah."
I don't know why but this scene was really funny to me.
What have I started? :)
Enjoyed the reveals, you do a very good job setting the scene with your descriptions of Ramza's emotions. Though am curious if Gaius will attempt to give away his family next.
And yeah bonuses, thanks for the update.
fizzmaister
2014-12-11, 12:17 AM
I beat Javan and Dragoon.
Beat Dragoon this time
What have I started? :)
A very good question Dragoon. I'm sure the answer is a very bad thing.
Javan
2014-12-11, 06:52 AM
A very good question Dragoon. I'm sure the answer is a very bad thing.
:O not you too!
What has been started?!?
So, I started off by being sick, and then there were holidays.
Speaking of which, has everyone been enjoying their holidays? Mine was pretty good, all-told.
Anyway, since I'm only now getting back around to my normal schedule, have a bonus update! This was done at about the tail end of the worst of my (still-lingering) sickness, so just before Christmas. I am feeling much better.
Bonus! Wooly Extravaganza!
I've been sick as a dog, so now that I'm a little bit on the mend, let's have a... Bonus update!
Specifically, we'll be looking at some villager reactions to Wooly Ramza.
I'm reloading an actual save file for this -- specifically, one all the way from Spring 6th.
Spring 6th? Wow. I stopped actually saving regularly a while ago.
The good news is, from this vantage, no one knows the truth! So we can see everyone's (The characters who do know do not get special dialogue, they just use their regular dialogue for the day. Ramza is Ramza.)
This is being done in no particular order, let's try Carmen and Carlos, because they're the first ones out and about.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA1_zpse8f284e5.png
Carmen: Not the most interesting.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA2_zps9bf8279a.png
Carlos at least offers pets.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA3_zps6b2f46e8.png
Not that Ramza isn't mortified by the idea.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA4_zpsad490234.png
Well's feelings are already pretty established.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA5_zpsbd1f689f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA6_zpsc503a566.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA7_zps79a1b789.png
Karina petting him is much better than Carlos, apparently. Ramza: Cutting out the middleman in the "bring a cute dog to attract girls" gambit.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA8_zpsc4408195.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA9_zps0f1e1bff.png
I think we've seen this one. Woolies: Only about as formidable as ambulatory apples.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA10_zps8333862d.png
I'm not lost! I'm ambling about aimlessly because I want to!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA11_zps47c37357.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA12_zpsf7ffd1be.png
Shara's reaction's nothing exciting, but Monica's nicer to Wooly!Ramza than Human!Ramza. Well, at this point, anyway. This is before her character development.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA13_zpsbea56e7f.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA14_zps289f23d3.png
I don't wanna!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA15_zps0d06e5f1.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA16_zpsa18b17da.png
Don't make me into an accessory, Gaius!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA17_zps91c1a658.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA18_zps237837ff.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA19_zpscef65181.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA20_zps42017490.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA21_zps6a9f9d4e.png
I like that they take the time to translate this specific bah.
Ramza is uniformly uncomfortable with the idea of being shaved.
(...Is this the wooly festival I've loaded onto? There's festival confetti.)
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA22_zpsb61b2a7d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA23_zpsc94c2c82.png
Well, they don't work on half-woolies as well as they don't work on humans.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA24_zpsb698cc7f.png
Ramza is also uniformly uncomfortable with the idea of being shot.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA25_zps717a3f2d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA26_zpsd4b84f6c.png
Aww, man... I didn't take her for thinking about things that way.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA27_zpscdf23221.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA28_zps75d54923.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA29_zpsa34c3968.png
Reactions: It's Cute; Die, Monster, You Don't Belong in this World; USE BODY FOR CHARACTER'S MAIN ACTIVITY.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA30_zps06ec9ee5.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA31_zpsd60179fa.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA32_zpse8afe348.png
Case in point. Please don't use Ramza's poor fluffy body.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA33_zps7a99ea86.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA34_zps65c6f8c9.png
Unexpectedly moved by the cute.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA35_zps033da758.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA36_zps07f027c6.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA37_zps0861ef09.png
I assume implied threatening hugs.
That said... Pia seems to react much more strongly when she realizes it's Ramza, doesn't she? :3
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA38_zpsc497b9f8.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA39_zps7ac1937d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA40_zpsd874dc15.png
Don't get any ideas, Sakuya! (Too late).
I apologize if I'm not totally on my game; I'm having some very painful coughing fits while I'm playing this bit, and it's taking up good thinking space.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA41_zps9df50280.png
Pestering everyone!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA42_zps9abe7890.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA43_zps14d2a5d3.png
Last one, time for your bets! Will she think he's cute, want monsters to get out, or want to paint him rainbow? Place your bets!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA44_zps605601f5.png
Oh, a surprise upset! I bet no one expected --
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA45_zps214cb6bc.png
...There we go. Good to know you're Daria, Daria!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Bonus%20-%20Wooly/ImageA46_zpsef5eaced.png
RAINBOW!
Sallera
2014-12-27, 06:57 PM
Poor Ramza, everyone wants to use him for crafting.
To be fair, though, if you were wandering around outside town and saw a golden wooly, you'd probably want to harvest from it too.
Dragoon
2014-12-28, 11:07 AM
So, I started off by being sick, and then there were holidays.
Speaking of which, has everyone been enjoying their holidays? Mine was pretty good, all-told.
Anyway, since I'm only now getting back around to my normal schedule, have a bonus update! This was done at about the tail end of the worst of my (still-lingering) sickness, so just before Christmas. I am feeling much better.
Bonus! Wooly Extravaganza!
Yeah a bonus update, that is cool to see, did like some of the comments here from Ramza. I also wonder if they translated Ramza comment to Sherman since he can sort of tell what a Wooly is thinking. While Ramza wouldn't be sure what to say to say Raven.
It is good to hear that you are feeling better, hope you continue to recover.
Javan
2014-12-28, 11:43 PM
Fun update.
Hope you feel better soon.
Qwertystop
2014-12-28, 11:50 PM
Yeah, get well soon.
fizzmaister
2014-12-29, 12:58 AM
Short but fun. Ditto on the getting better part.
JBPuffin
2014-12-29, 11:02 AM
It continues to be strange and amusing! Hoorah!
Hope you feel better soon Deme.
Well, that was...longer than I thought. Between holidays, being sick, and going away for a week, somehow, most of January's passed me by!
But I am not dead yet, so here's an update! For the record, I'll be getting back to Thracia 776... And I'm still working up the nerve to formally put Pokemon on a "I need to take a step back and see if I can't fix this" hiatus. (I am also working on some larval brainstorming for my next project.)
Chapter 26: Oblivious
I stood for a moment, catching my breath. Being a little bit more free -- from secrets, or debts, or guilt, or yourself -- is staggering. I mean, I know nothing is different, now that Shara knows -- not in a concrete way. The world isn't changed.
I try to tell myself that, holding the little golden flower she gave me.
And, you know, it's odd; I have the weirdest feeling like I hadn't moved in basically forever. Have you ever had that feeling? That weeks, or maybe a month, had passed, while you were standing there for just a moment?
Trippy.
That said, I decided to use this slightly changed view of the world, with its bright, expanded sky and my springy little step to go help someone.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20A_zps1mzah90x.png
Meaningful options were slim.
(...Did Shara actually say she loved me?...I think I might stand there forever again at the thought.)
I banish that intruding thought from my head and go see Monica.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%201_zpst7owvdgl.png
"Is something the matter?"
Monica prickled.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%202_zpsce85sduv.png
"I-I never said that..."
I take a step back, out of good caution.
"So, did something happen."
"I want to give the present Shara gave me to Shara!"
"You want to return the gift to her?"
It's a little late for re-gifting, isn't it?
"Noooooo!" She groaned in frustration. "I want you to give her the same thing she got me!"
"Ah, so you want to be matching."
"Yup!" When Monica's excited or happy about something, she really is a cute little girl. It's a short-lived moment, as she reflects on the troubles that brought me to her.
"Shara said that she picked it up in Privera Forest, but I can't go there..."
"Alright, so I'll go get it for you."
"Really?! Are you gonna be OK by yourself?" She leans forward, her eyes big with shock.
"Yeah, I'll be fine..." I mean, it's just the forest...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%203_zps5sfenerg.png
"ha ha..."Yeah, don't let me get too confident... "So, what did you get from Shara?"
"This!"
She whips out a shining jewel.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%204_zpsmc6eikne.png
That shouldn't be hard. Do I have one in storage?
"Just wait here, I'll go find one."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%205_zpsp4k5stxo.png
Well, while I try and remember what I do and don't have, I'll go see what everyone else is up to.
Starting with Carmen, looking over the resort's guest registry.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%206_zpsvk0baaui.png
"It'd be nice if our fishing community just grew and grew. All we need is love and fishing!"
Love and fishing, huh? Isn't Love and Peace the usual?
...Well, I guess Peace doesn't feed people.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%207_zpsadp7mko6.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%208_zpsnlrdcsb1.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%209_zpsmyp2za7d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2010_zpsghl4h5nq.png
I wander up for recipe breads, and will follow that to see if there's anything to see at the inn.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2011_zpspxo8invm.png
"What brought that on, Pia?"
"Lots of stuff! But...I was thinking about how easy it is to just drift along. I think I like being anchored, more."
Being anchored... I'm not sure if I am. I mean, I feel...More and more sure of what's here -- people like Pia, and Raven, and Shara, who really know me...
But then, I have to wonder about the anchors I can't see. The things I don't know. What if I end up getting anchored in two different directions?
"Ramza?" She tilts her head at my silence, and her hand reaches across the desk for my shoulder. "Are you OK?"
"...Yeah, I'm fine."
I don't stay talking to her after that. Outside, a storm begins to howl.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2012_zpsln6f7lpi.png
Then she sighs, the mood changed.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2013_zpsefrxhfui.png
"What?"
"You know, when my mom smiles, no one can turn her down. I wish I could smile like that..."
"So you can impress people with your elegance and maturity?"
"So my customers bend to my will!"
...Actually, her mom's best when she's vaguely threatening.
In the end, I end up going to the forest in the middle of a howling storm -- a typhoon, maybe even, with branches crashing down in the distance, the canopy shaking like a frightened child. The rain practically went sidewise, hitting me in the face.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2015_zpsvtzaumdl.png
What conditions to mine in. And with enemies around me, no less.
But eventually, my hair more or less gone wild with wind, drenched, and shaking like a baby, I wander to the flower shop's second floor with my prize.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2016_zps5qwmnyns.png
"Now Shara and I can be matching! Yay!! Here! This is for you!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2017_zpsn5rcqhnx.png
...Yeah, OK. Worth it enough.
"You're welcome."
"Now Shara and I are a match! I hope Shara likes it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2018_zpshfpg0hbs.png
My reward is a cookie.
After that, the storm of the past several hours vanishes, as if it had never been...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2019_zpsq69ffiis.png
Well, except for my crops. I've got work to do.
And I end up working late into the night. I don't have all the seeds I'd need, but on the whole, it worked out OK -- and I even had a little strength to spare to just muck about with materials, trying to practice forging.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2020_zpsbva2hjpy.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2021_zpsmh4tfd4d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2022_zpsgtdfkbsp.png
All in all, not bad; and I got a new axe from it, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2023_zpsea2gnewt.png
The next day, that which survived the storm bears some fruit. It's nice, seeing a row of a good harvest, even after all this trouble.
I wonder if the settlement even noticed -- it is out in the middle of the desert, after all.
"Of course we noticed." Kuruna explained, when I asked about it. "There's not as much rain, but the downpours we have are torrential... In the rainy season, it's important for the settlement to stockpile whatever supplies we can for spending our hours indoors; entertainment is...especially rare."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2024_zpsf1pkrqt7.png
"I do. I'm not as voracious a reader as Ondorus, but I do enjoy them."
"I thought so." She's pretty cultured, and has that sort of mature, intelligent air...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20B%2025_zpsrfpl4hg7.png
"Oh, it's just that books kinda strike me as...your 'thing.'"
"My 'thing?' That's hardly an answer, comrade."
I flail for a second, babbling a long string of things which aren't answers.
"You know...You just seem, I dunno, cultured."
"I...see. Thank you."
"Why was that so upsetting?"
"Well, I..." She paused and toyed with the fall of her cape. "I don't want my comrade judging me as 'nerdy' or such, based on my appearance."
Hm, so even someone like Kuruna worries about her image?
...No, maybe that's wrong. Thinking back on it, how concerned she is about being a good elder, and the pride of her people... Kuruna probably worries about her image more than anyone else.
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A-a-a real date? But Shara said -- but I can't just turn her down -- but -- but -- but -- she doesn't know, so it's all useless -- but, if I told her no, would she start to wonder why -- but she can't. She shouldn't. She...
She's such an ordinary, normal girl...
While I ponder that, knowing full well I'll go, I'll go cook up my crops for sale.
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Ah, smell that popcorn...
Something crashed upstairs.
I headed up the ladder to find...
"Collette?"
She was standing in the front of my room when I came upstairs. Sniffing the air.
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She freezes, caught.
"Did you come here because you wanted to eat my popcorn?" That smell'd make anyone hungry, but for someone whose default mode is hungry..."Sorry, but I shipped it already."
"I-I didn't come here just to freeload delicious, tasty, crunchy, buttery popcorn, you know!"
...Are you sure?
"Then why did you come?"
She finally lets go of her rigid 'Oh, no, I'm caught,' posture, her face flushing. She dodges my gaze for a second, before returning to face me with a smile.
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"What, to test? Wouldn't it make more sense to cook for your dad, though? He could provide more feedback than I could."
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What's with that sudden crankiness?
"Huh? But if you want to become a great chef, Blaise would certainly be able to help more than me!"
Collette sighed.
"Fine! Fine, you win!"
And stomped out.
After that, um, confusing bit...I went to the shop and bought some eggplants to replace my ruined crops, and I found Karina upstairs.
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"No, it's your job."
"Actually, I'm not really the daughter of the general store. I'm actually --" She paused, her gaze intent at the space directly over my head. For a second, everything hung still on the space of her words. She scrunched up her face.
Then she relaxed, and returned to her usual slack expression.
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I headed out to see Daria next, and caught her at her painting, glancing at the rainy forest through her windows.
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"I don't have the power to grant you that...What name were you thinking of?"
"Well, I was going to name it Daria's Rainbow Garden!" She smiled brightly, ecstatic in her happy little dream.
"Please don't make it your own." I mean, that'd probably involved painting the crops I have growing in that field rainbow, anyway.
As I walk back through the puddly woods, and onto the flower-strewn streets, I got thinking about names. About names for places.
About...
...
I have no idea where I am.
AUGH! Somehow in the past month-and-a-week, I completely forgot to learn where I am! What a useful thing to know it would be...
Maybe I should go ask Shara about it.
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"Our town of Sharance is located in the Kingdom of Norad."
"Norad?"
Have I heard of that before?
I must have. I mean, I did come here for a reason... So, I must have...
But when? Is it where I'm from? I've come this far, but it still doesn't mean anything to me.
"Yes, it's a small kingdom surrounded by larger ones."
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"Really? So you must be pretty familiar with it by now." Ondorus mentioned it; I'd be interested in hearing more.
"Well, actually...I never was very interested, so I don't remember very much of it."
"oh."
Oh, so...So...If it's surrounded by other kingdoms, am I from one of them? Or from Norad?
I guess it depends on how close to the border Sharance is...
Without any more "real" answers than before, I walk to the Apothecary in the rain.
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"...I...I...Somehow, I've come to dislike them," I try, wanting to avoid getting useless needles stuck in me.
But when I say that, she just smiles -- and, you know, it's actually one of the gentlest and most sincere expressions I've seen on her face. She pats me on the shoulder, very lightly, like touching something delicate.
"Then I'll make it medicine then. One that really works."
Oh, that's very ni...Wait.
"W-What are you getting ready for...?"[/color]
As I walk along, I think about some of the weirder interactions I've been having; even Marian seems to almost consider how I'm feeling. And Collette wants to cook for me... And Pia's been very nice, and Raven and I are close, and Shara said...Surely she meant that, like, um, a friend, right?
She says that to everyone. Maybe.
Maybe Sofia can help clear it up.
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"Hey, Sofia...How do you feel about me?"
She gasped.
"This is out of nowhere!"
Her eyes flitted, nervously, about the room.
"Hmmm...What's the best way to put this?"
A deep breath. A long silence as she put herself together.
She blushed, her face bright red, as she shouted,
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20D%2013_zpsi319fbxy.png
...Uh, that's...
That's...
"What's the opposite of dying in a fire?"
But before I can ask it, she runs off in a hurry.
Well, that was...
I wonder if it's being trapped, immortally, in ice...
Today's recipe bread:
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20D%2014_zpsddruxbd9.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20D%2016_zpswpyvb2x8.png
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20D%2015_zpsqgewoov9.png
...Hooray silverware?
After that, to the inn; a fairly ordinary routine.
"How goes trying to smile like your mother?"
"Not so good. I wonder if it's rooted in experience?"
"Experience?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20D%2018_zpsc39a3fra.png
"Something dangerous...?"
"It's something I heard from an old friend of hers..."
I can imagine it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20D%2019_zps6mxususr.png
"Sakuya...?"
"Suddenly I'm getting a chill..."
"Yeah, I can believe it..."
Upstairs, the shop has some unusual things...Including a way of walking on water that's easier than using a magic seed. I buy that, and some recipe bread...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20E%201_zpscjpl2n2k.png
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20E%203_zpss6g6czog.png
And a little magic, too.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20F%201_zps65igykbh.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20F%202_zpsovfkybvz.png
And sword recipes.
After that, it's about time I go say hi to Carmen.
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"Yes. I would be happy to accompany you."
...Smooth, Ramza. That didn't sound like you forgot how to relax at all.
She grins, no matter how terrible that sounded.
"Th-thanks! Now we can go stream fishing!
I go permission from Carlos this time, so now we can go to Oddward: Archway."
"Okay. I want to catch a big one today."
I'm not going home until I can feed a family with a fish!
She slings her fishing rod over her shoulder, natural as can be.
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"This sort of weather is interesting to some fish, so we'll be bound to see something special."
She grinned, maybe a little sheepishly, in face of the weather outside. Even though we weren't trying to get anywhere drier, we ended up running the way there, dodging monsters and covering our heads. The rain fell around us like silver -- it's funny, really, how often I end up hanging around in the rain.
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In the end, we ended up standing there, not saying a word. The flow of the river downhill was all we heard, and the sound of the rain -- just sounds of water, moving endlessly to and from the distant sea.
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It's not an uncomfortable silence; at least, I'm not uncomfortable with it. I'm not being asked to do anything, or be anything, or trying to judge either of those.
Well, except fish.
No luck there.
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Carmen brings up another struggling fish.
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And another.
Man, they just love her...
I sigh.
"I knew it. I can't catch anything today."
Carmen laughs at my misfortune.
"Ah ha ha. Oh well..."
I shake my head slowly.
Still, that little jibe aside, she leans a little bit closer and says, in a slightly quieter voice,
"But I'm having fun fishing with you."
"I'm having fun, too. Maybe because I'm with you."
It's nice, being with Carmen. She's...such a normal person -- everyone else can be nuts (not always in a bad way). Or reminds me of, well, what a sort of not-ordinary person I am. Carmen just seems to bring everything into her world, where the fish are jumping, and there's a family with a dinner and emberassing stories...
Carmen flushes and jolts back upright, her blue eyes wide.
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I smile.
"I just have so much fun when I'm with you."
Because it's nice to belong in that world.
Because it's nice to have a peaceful silence.
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The silence that follows has a different sound, as the bobbers sway in the current. Strained. Carmen chuckles to fill the air.
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I look at her nervous face for a minute, her boyish haircut framing that girlish smile, trying to play it cool.
"I guess you have that side to you. It's cute."
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Um, did I maybe...Go too far?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20F%2015_zps740bqwqm.png
I went too far, as she swung her free hand, clasped as a fist, in the air.
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And the ground.
I bet that scared off all the fish...
"Ha ha, sorry." I mean it, I do, but then I say something...That I can't help but immediately wonder if I'll regret. "But, it's true."
"Ah! Cut it out! I'm blushing!"
She turns like she's about to leave, or hit me, when suddenly she freezes.
"Look at the sunset! It's so red!"
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The sunset, seen through the pouring rain, is red and golden; the reddish trees glow in the filtered light, and the rain seems like molten copper.
"You're right."
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"It is very pretty..."
Our embaressment, and my teasing, forgotten for a minute, we watch the sunset in silence.
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She inches a bit closer to me -- or I move a bit closer to her -- or we both move, just a little bit, and stand next to one another in the middle.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2026/Image%20G%205_zpsmsp3aegc.png
No distant past. No future where I'll need to work out what's next. No lies, because no one's saying anything at all.
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There's a noise like a string tightening.
"Huh...? Is a fish biting?"
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The rod I'd just been idly holding onto jerks, and it's all I can do to keep my grip. The moment's gone, and now it's all I can do to try and reel in the fish.
"Oh! Yeah, it is! Pull up!"
"O-Okay!"
The fish fights at the end of my line, diving deeper and deeper into the water. Each time I pull up, I see a flash of silvery black, and then it's gone in the splash of water again.
"This fish is pretty formidable. At this rate..."
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She slips one arm around my waist, and another wraps around the pole with mine. We dig our heals into the sandy riverbed.
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And we fight the fish, until at last, it sails upward, a thrashing arc in the wet air between us.
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"We got it..."
She pants, in barely audible agreement.
Then, her breath caught, she laughs triumphantly.
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I did it!
"Thank you very much! Carmen," I added, at the last second, because somehow, it didn't seem quite right.
"Man, he was a tough one...Maybe he's the King Fish of this waterfall?!"
I look at the fish I'm holding. I feel a bit bad for it, flopping around like that. I guess I need to decide quickly.
"It's a little small for that, I think. Maybe it's just a plain fish?"
She laughs.
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"Good job, Ramza. Now you take that fish home with you."
I glance at the fish. I don't use a barbed hook, and it's definitely still alive...
"I was thinking... I want to let it go."
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"I want to battle it again..." A real, one-on-one match! Just me and this fish!
...Somehow.
I laugh.
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She trails off as I place the fish in the water. It goes swimming off, and soon fades into the river's depths.
"N-nevermind. Let's go home."
I drop her off by the resort.
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A scarlet blush spreads across her face.
"Umm..."
She gulps, and tries again.
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"What?" I ask. I mean, what's with that look?
She takes a few steps towards me -- but stops. Her brow furrows. She takes another big gulp of air, and then...
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She dashes off, towards the door.
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The door shuts sharply.
...Did I say the wrong thing?
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With a rain still falling, and that still floating around my head, I head down to the forest...
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And decide to test my new shoes.
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First, I find a little island in the middle of the lake. Nothing there, but it's a cool island. Got monsters.
The other island I find, though...
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Well, that's a biggun.
I take out my sword and rush towards it, swinging. My sword doesn't really do much to it -- I might be pretty outclassed...
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And after I clear out the gate, there comes a stinger full of poison, lancing white-hot into my shoulder. Ow, ow, I did not come prepared for poison.
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Or for wave after wave of claw-slashes. Honestly, this might be too much for me...
And the poison keeps going on and on...
I think it's time for a tactical retreat.
I port out, vowing vengence.
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Vengence and healing items.
Next time, island monster. Next time!
So, a few voting notes:
#1, Outside of Carmen, we're mostly level with the other girls, in terms of events. So, once I get done with Carmen, for being closest to done, which of the girls ought I to focus on next?
#2, So, we appear to be at least temporarily completely out of bulletin board requests (besides simple requests, which I usually ignore, because darnit but I hate running around trying to get things for people). Now, I can think of two ways to make up for the lack:
a) Just don't replace them; fit more days, and thus more mailbox requests, into an update.
b) Take girls on dates in the afternoon (Any suggestions as to whom?)
Qwertystop
2015-01-22, 04:08 PM
I'd say... Sofia. Because she was very amusing in this update.
And... are the dates a plottish thing that would have to happen eventually? If so, do those in the afternoons. If not, skip them - more days per update, or possibly just keep the same days/update and take that extra work off your plate for a bit.
Well, we need to go on a date with Sofia at one point, in order to trigger one of her events -- though I'm not absolutely sure when. Other than that, no, the plot will not ask us to do anything with it, and it's not time-sensitive.
Dragoon
2015-01-23, 03:19 PM
Well, we need to go on a date with Sofia at one point, in order to trigger one of her events -- though I'm not absolutely sure when. Other than that, no, the plot will not ask us to do anything with it, and it's not time-sensitive.
Thanks for the update it is good to see you are doing better, and enjoyed the update. Ramza obliviousness is done very well.
My joking suggestion for focusing would be Sakuya, just to see how Shino reacts to his actions. Though more seriously, taking Sofia on a date would be funny. Also, if necessary doing a couple more days per update could work as well. Though if it would be easier if you did the normal amount of days and a bit less to write, that would be fine too.
I also just started playing this and the cost of some things in this game are so much more than Rune Factory Frontier/Tides of Destiny. And the fact time does not pause in house/stores threw me off.
Also from the bonus, I just remembered my favorite line,
Ramza: Cutting out the middleman in the "bring a cute dog to attract girls" gambit.
Sallera
2015-01-23, 04:18 PM
...Well, I guess Peace doesn't feed people.:smallbiggrin:
Hm, how about focusing on Daria next? We haven't really seen much of her yet. As for the dates, I'm not really partial to either option. Whatever you think works best.
fizzmaister
2015-01-23, 05:49 PM
I'm not opposed to Daria, but don't really have preference. I'm also leaning towards dates in the afternoon. Glad you're back Deme.
Javan
2015-01-25, 07:01 PM
Glad to read you're not dead. Though this year I was ready for your mini hiatus, you basically did the same thing last year.
I would say go with Daria as well.
And I vote for dates in the evening as well. Maybe... Could you alternate, some updates with dates, some with more days?
Glad to read you're not dead. Though this year I was ready for your mini hiatus, you basically did the same thing last year.
I would say go with Daria as well.
And I vote for dates in the evening as well. Maybe... Could you alternate, some updates with dates, some with more days?
Dang, you're right! I did! ...Maybe I should get out my happy lamp and sit by it more often during this time of year.
In terms of more days/dates, I can try alternating a bit.
I also just started playing this and the cost of some things in this game are so much more than Rune Factory Frontier/Tides of Destiny. And the fact time does not pause in house/stores threw me off.
Also from the bonus, I just remembered my favorite line,
Ramza: Cutting out the middleman in the "bring a cute dog to attract girls" gambit.
Yeah, things can be really expensive; I suspect, given how easy it is to make mountains of money, that Norad's suffered some severe inflation or something.
SharpWolf
2015-01-26, 05:15 AM
Glad to see that you're feeling better and that this LP is still going! I'm not posting much, but you can be sure that it's still in my bookmarks and I check it regularly.
As for a date, I vote for Sofia. I'm kind of wondering if the game can top "I hope you die in a fire"... :smalltongue:
Happy Valentines Day! If you're not with someone special today, well, at least you have an update. And the update loves you, and I love you for reading it.
Chapter 27: Romantic Comedy
The next day...
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I ran into a problem. Out of feed. When'd that happen? I'll buy more grass seeds, but there won't be much to tide everyone over but crops...
Delita shrugs this concern off, mostly.
"<Monsters are durable; we'll work something out.>"
Yeah, but...
Oh, well. I can't fix it -- no one sells cut grass.
Then I head out to Kuruna's place, to try and get to know a little more about her. I'd like it if, one day, I could convince her about humans, but... Until then, I need every resource.
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"Yes, we've been friends for a long time."
"Friends, huh...?"
Suddenly, a look of embaressment covered her face. She waved a hand, to try and dissuade me.
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"What do you mean?"
I mean, she said they're friends, not dating, right? Are there friends that aren't just friends?
At this, a hand snook up to cover her red face and adjust her glasses in a single move.
"...Nothing. Nothing at all."
"All right, then."
Just friends... I don't know why, but I feel a little relieved.
I head home and check my mailbox.
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...Well, I know how important it is, so I wouldn't mind helping her with it. Maybe if I understand it, I'll understand her.
I run into Collette on the path outside my house. She seems particularly energetic today.
"What's got you all excited?"
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"She always bakes a batch whenever I hang out at Marian's."
Suddenly, your whole relationship makes sense.
"I'll have to see if I can get the recipe from her, then."
I'd like to know things without them appearing magically in my brain for a change.
"Yeah, and Marian always makes tea to go with the cookies. But for some reason, my memory's always hazy after I drink it!"
"I'd keep my lips away from that tea if I were you. Just a suggestion!"
Karian, at the shop, sat up and actually looked at me for a moment.
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"What?!"
I squirm. I mean, I've never really thought about -- I mean, how am I supposed to -- I mean, I'm not that sort of...
Is she asking me because she wants to know if I like her? I mean, I... What am I supposed to...
I freeze, trapped under her soft green eyes.
"...I...I might."
I don't know how I feel. About anyone. It should be simple...But I'm not sure I can make things be simple.
But there are people that, when they look at me, I feel a little different. When I talk to them, I feel a little bit better. It's scary, and confusing...
I don't know if I've ever liked anyone before.
Karina ducks her head, and busies herself with the items just behind the shelf, moving with a slow deliberateness.
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Sofia ambushes me outside of the shop.
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"About what you will talk about tomorrow..."
"What's that?"
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...That's...
That's opposite, right?
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...
Do I want to know what the opposite of that is? Encasing in ice? An Ice Shrine?
"Uhh...Yes?"
I try, hoping she did not actually burn everything.
Which leads, confusingly enough...
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"I..."
WHY IS EVERYONE ASKING ME THESE THINGS?!
"...I..."
Then again, Pia's warm embrace, her hair fanning out in the water... That moment when I felt, somehow, understood...
...
"I...Someone important to me."
I can put aside what any of that means, but I know that: Pia, and even Sakuya, are really irreplacable people.
"And which one are you speaking of?"
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Her smile is like ice cubes.
"No, umm..."
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I head to the flower shop and buy some grass seeds...On my way out, I see Daria running by, and end up chasing after her.
And running.
I end up running all the way to Vale River after her flaring cape.
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"There I am?"
"Yes, Assistant! You're a hard man to find!"
"You do understand that I'm not your assista--"
She barrels past me verbally anyway.
"This time, I'm looking for --"
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She delivers it very dramatically.
"So could you find it?"
"Ummm?"
A round stone? From where?
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"W-Wait a minute! Where do I find one of those?"
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"She's..."
I don't get that sort of recklessness after all.
"Just throw yourself into it, and you'll find out! Embrace the discovery!"
I mutter to myself,
"Hmmm...What to do? A round stone... Is it a gem? Maybe I'll ask an expert."
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While I'm headed to the blacksmith, I buy this absolutely beautiful sword; it's much better than my current one, at least.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20G%201_zpswuojx5lq.png
"Rocks become round by erosion. You might find one in a riverbed..."
"The river bed, huh...? Thanks!"
I'll swing by on my trip through the town, then!
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...Eeyup.
I headed out to the Oddward Valley's falls, in the hopes of finding...
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Exactly what I found, a stone pounded round by the waterfall.
"I bet that's what Daria's looking for! Let me..."
I reach in, grabbing it from the slick bottom of the water.
Well, that was easy enough.
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I know she'll just paint it rainbow, but...
It's very pretty.
I manage to catch up with her and hand it off.
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Her eyes widen and sparkle like the still-damp surface of the stone.
"..."
Her face, pale under the splash of dry paint, grows intent -- brows furrowed, her bottom lip held under her top teeth, parted, very slightly -- everything but her eyes gone very still, and those darting.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't think there was something...compelling, about the way her eyes hold the reflection of the stone, as if it were the only thing in the world: this thing, which she's already envisioning transformed.
A look of satisfaction and wild joy creeps in, slowly at first, and then cresting to a full smile.
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"Oh, good..."
She looks up from the stone to assess me.
"Ramza, you have good instincts! I'm impressed, my dear assistant!"
I sigh. For all that she's resolved to work with the stone... She's equally set on working with me.
"Fine... I guess I'm your assistant..."
I'll admit defeat.
But when I do so, Daria pauses for a moment, and looks at me. Very thoughtful, at my posture and my expression and -- and everything.
"Ramza..." she says, in a small voice. Her gaze dips.
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It's...so completely unlike her, to sound so hesistant.
"...?! What's the matter?! Why are you suddenly so timid?"
"I just felt bad...Always demanding everything of you, when you don't like it..."
"What?! What?! Are you really Daria?!"
"You don't have to use so many '?!'s"
She pouts. I think...I might have actually offended her by being so surprised.
"I can be considerate, if I want."
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"Daria..." I smile. "You know, when I see how happy it makes you...I guess I really don't mind."
I wish I could do something so completely.
She nods, gratefully, and then...
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The moment is gone.
"Oh, you can go home now. Here, take this with you."
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"Daria..."
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My reward is a dazzling assortment of mentals, from Bronze to Platinum.
While I'm in the area, I go to see if those cookies have been made: no dice, though I did get some information about Marjorie.
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"They laughed and said they just had so much in common and patted me on the head."
"Ah."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20G%2016_zpsylrnhzxm.png
...In other words, troublesome children.
I walk back toward the bulletin board...
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Where, to my surprise, there's a relevant request.
Before I undertake it, I decide to get today's recipe breads...
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The cooking bread was especially good.
Pia's got something to tell me the moment I step foot into the inn, before I can get to buisiness.
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"Sometimes, two things just go together, you know? Like squid and my mouth!"
Uh-huh.
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"...I..."
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...
...
I don't think she meant to make it sound like that.
Honestly, I wasn't sure how I'd get on with anyone at first; it all seemed a little strange.
Well, not that I had a great frame of reference.
"Speaking of Sakuya..."
I head around the counter.
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"About the bulletin board?"
"That's right. You ready, Pia?"
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Pia skipped towards us, giddy laughter filling the air.
"Alright. Then you mind coming with us? We'd be in everyone's way here."
"Hm? Okay."
Where is this going?
The rain that was falling's given a brief pause, all the better for...Whatever this is.
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"Uh."
Start what?
Sakuya coughs, clearing her throat, and then smiles with a polite efficiency.
"Well, thank you all for coming today."
"Huh...?"
Where is this going?
"Please just sit down and make yourselves comfortable."
The ground behind me is still wet from the rain.
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This is immediately disregarded.
"Well, I'm going to sing a song!"
"Why?!"
...Is this still part of the routine?
Pia tilts her head, her expression innocent and thoughtless.
"What?! But you said you liked my song!"
Sakuya's hairbells ring as the stamp of her foot trembles up and outward.
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"Oh, yeah! I forgot, this was that! The, um, s..."
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"Stand-up comedy."
There's a pause, where they've turned to look at me.
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Pia's giggles almost overpower the dejected sigh from Sakuya's throat.
"We don't have a unique draw, so we thought we could draw in people with stand-up. What did you think?"
"Well, ummm..."
Half the time, I didn't know it was happening.
Sakuya groans, cutting me off before I can really answer.
"Well, I didn't really need to ask."
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"If only I were smarter, I could come up with better material." With a wistful glance down at the cobblestones, she adds, "You know, I heard there was some medicine that could help..."
Then she snaps out of her own thoughts, looking back up at me and smiling.
"Oh, I'm just glad to get your opinion. We'll work on it some more."
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"Okay!"
"Oh, but, I made it this far..."
...I don't mind being relied on, so much...
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I take a few steps back.
"Y-yes. Okay..."
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Medicine...Maybe I should ask someone about it.
...While I know it's the best way to help...
I have to admit, I'm not sure it's a good idea.
Either way, Marian's in the back of the Apothecary, stirring away at her cauldron.
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"That's the first thing you say...?
Although it's not far off the mark, actually."
Marian's eyes shoot open, her gaze absolutely intent.
"Marian, is there any medicine that makes you smarter?"
Marian hmms about this, crossing her arms.
"You mean like a Mental Supplement? But I guess it doesn't really make you smarter, technically... What about it?"
"Well, I just thought I'd want some is all..."
"You mean you'd take the medicine?"
"Well..." Not me, exactly...
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Her hand suddenly clamps down on my shoulder.
"W-what? Why did you pat my shoulder...?"
And why won't you let go?
"You just made my day! I'll make it for you right away!"
"What? Wait, I didn't ask you to --"
I just wanted to know what there was!
"You just wait right there!"
"She's not listening..."
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Time passes so, so, so slowly. Things bubble and explode. Marian, hard at work, doesn't look at me -- she's all intent and focus, like a tiger in the jungle.
At last, she turns, a big, happy smile on her face.
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"You sound surprised about how much you made..."
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"Oh, well, it's not for me..."
I start backing away. Marian reaches for a teacup.
"Wait, you don't need to get me tea! I'm not staying long!"
She relaxes.
"Really? Just the water and the medicine then."
"No, what I'm trying to say --"
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She springs across the space between us, the bottle in her hand -- the bottle's mouth on my mouth -- something sweet and syrupy on my tongue -- down my throat.
I sputter and cough, but it's down now.
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I blink. I have not exploded. I'm pretty sure I have full control of my limbs. I wave a hand, experimentally.
"Huh....? Nothing seemed to have happened..."
She waves a finger in front of my face.
"Any tingling or poison?"
"What did you put in it...?"
"Then it's a success. You probably got smarter."
"Hmm...It's not like it's anything I could tell right away.
But it doesn't seem to have any side effects. It's probably safe to give Sakuya..."
"Sakuya?"
"Well, she's the one who actually wanted medicine to make you smarter."
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"...Yes, of course she's not listening. I knew she wouldn't..."
I run back toward the inn, when suddenly...
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I feel a blazing heat, like the summer sun's behind me. My vision flares white.
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It feels...familiar. I cast a desperate glance around for errant gates. Or Raven.
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But I've transformed before I even really realize it; there's nothing here, though...
"I-I need to get back to human form..."
What brought this on?
Before I can head somewhere more private, the door to the inn opens.
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Ah, I've been -- Oh, wait. No. It's just Pia.
"Ra-"
"...Shh."
I motion frantically, in case someone comes up. She immediately stops before she actually says my name...
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And rushes towards me to wrap me in another hug.
"You never just walk around like this! It's so precious!"
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I definitely don't want to be talking in the middle of the street, but she won't understand me if I don't!
What am I supposed to do...
Just as I'm about to just straight-up ask her to let me go...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2044_zpsnwwqs27i.png
Exactly why I didn't appears.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2045_zpsf4q2jwkn.png
Sakuya comes running up to where Pia's petting my head and digging her fingers deep into my wool, where her fingers brush my skin. It's...oddly relaxing.
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I shoot Pia a pleading look; maybe she missed it, but she says to Sakuya,
"Yup! He's so cute!"
"No, not that..."
Then she looks at me over Pia's shoulder.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2047_zpsvicrkpvl.png
She meets my eyes, and for a moment, I'm gripped by a little fear. I...I don't want someone knowing, if I don't know they know. If I don't decide they should know.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2048_zpsdg1igkn9.png
Maybe I'm still a coward.
"..."
Her expression grows at first worried, and then just a little bit hard.
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"What?!"
Pia gapes, and glances back and forth between her adoptive sister and myself.
"What if something happened to a customer?"
She makes a shooing motion with her hand, smiling at me.
"Go on now."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2050_zpspyoh7dou.png
I start to head off. I guess no matter how hard I try...It might not be enough to make being really honest safe.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2052_zpso262pr1k.png
I pause, and consider Sakuya. 'A monster's a monster,' huh?
I shake it off, and head back to the Sharance Tree, where no one could see me.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2054_zps4rkmgrgt.png
Leaving Pia watching first my retreat, then Sakuya's.
"...Poor Ramza."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2055_zps6imo78ch.png
I transform back when I'm under the shadow of the tree, and head into the inn.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2056_zpsib6w0m6e.png
Where Marian's there? Really?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2057_zpsrybj8dub.png
"Huh? Why's Marian here?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2058_zpsdbeqdxyi.png
"What?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2059_zpsbxtqj9w3.png
Is that...does that...
"It seems like it creates an unbalance of rune energy in the body. Grandma said that Ramza might be okay, but Sakuya might not be."
"Oh... (That's why I transformed.)"
Wh-what does your grandmother know?
I do not ask as much as I'd like.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2060_zpsxpneu3vd.png
Sakuya's here, after all.
"Oh!" I flinch. Sakuya's been trying to be self-reliant...
She smiles, and while I'm sure she can't...I feel like she's her mother.
"I said you just had to watch. I'm sure it was someone else, wasn't it?"
"Oh...well..."
"I heard it was for you, Sakuya."
I turn and glare at her.
"Why did you have to mention that?!"
"Hmmm. For me? What's that mean?"
"Oh, well..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2061_zpsyfdjx7fo.png
Her mother steps out from a back room, and comes up to her daughter's side.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2062_zpsvd8og1u4.png
"You're the one who told me to stop relying on him so much."
"That was about before."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2063_zps86n5h1jn.png
"Well, let's all calm down..."
"Ramza." Her voice is steel.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2064_zpsoxadjcvs.png
"I'm sorry..."
Mother and daughter glare team-up.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2065_zpspochbal7.png
Someone's completely oblivious.
"Why?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2066_zps696sqxjg.png
"Ah, they're all at it again." With a shake of her head, she announces that she's heading home.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2067_zpsxtj7gtnl.png
Don't leave me here!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2068_zpsa5bzhxme.png
"A kind but intense innkeeper, a great buisinesswoman, and a strange staff member..." I think about the three of them, hard at work...And at odd little family drama.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2027/Image%20I%2070_zpsiqe1rgbd.png
I'm exhausted.
By the way, if I were to do some fan-art contest (across LPs, where fan-art can mean any fan-work), with some games I bought spares of on humble bundle as prizes, would anyone be interested? I don't want to run a meaningless contest.
Karian, at the shop, sat up and actually looked at me for a moment.
Suspect that's a mistake.
By the way, if I were to do some fan-art contest (across LPs, where fan-art can mean any fan-work), with some games I bought spares of on humble bundle as prizes, would anyone be interested? I don't want to run a meaningless contest.
I'd give it a shot, it sounds fun. :smallbiggrin:
Javan
2015-02-16, 02:14 PM
Happy Valentines Day! If you're not with someone special today, well, at least you have an update. And the update loves you, and I love you for reading it.
By the way, if I were to do some fan-art contest (across LPs, where fan-art can mean any fan-work), with some games I bought spares of on humble bundle as prizes, would anyone be interested? I don't want to run a meaningless contest.
Happy belated Valentines' Day!
I enjoyed the update, as usual. Thanks.
I may or may not be interested, it depends on my schedule and inspiration... Not the answer you were looking for I know...
Symmys
2015-02-16, 02:51 PM
By the way, if I were to do some fan-art contest (across LPs, where fan-art can mean any fan-work), with some games I bought spares of on humble bundle as prizes, would anyone be interested? I don't want to run a meaningless contest.
Ultimately depends on the games, but it sounds like fun!
Not to mention I kind of promised Moemon fanart ages and ages ago and never followed through on it...
The games in question being Long Live the Queen (x2)
I mean, I could just pass them out randomly, but I like getting things. That said, if no one would be interested in a competition, I guess I will. I mean, no sense in just wasting the codes.
Javan
2015-02-19, 02:35 PM
Did you do an LP of that game? I seem to recall reading one on this site, but never posting on it...
I did; it's been updated some since then, since it was released on steam, but yeah, I LPed it. It's even in my signature!
Javan
2015-02-20, 03:14 PM
I did; it's been updated some since then, since it was released on steam, but yeah, I LPed it. It's even in my signature!
lol. So it is.
fizzmaister
2015-02-20, 09:49 PM
Happy very belated Valentine's day. I'll have to pass on the fan-art contest. The only artistic skill I have is writing. However, I've been very busy hacking code into Super Robot Wars: GameCube. I've had a very successful week.
As for the game, everything seems to be picking up. I'm looking forward to more.
Writing would be OK. I'm not too picky...That said, I accept the natural reticence on this. Anyone just want a copy of Long Live the Queen?
Also, today's a shorter one, but... Well, I just didn't think I could top what happened. To be honest, it's one of the reasons I started this LP.
Chapter 28: Shear Drop
I went out to go mine (I didn't find a jewel, like I wanted for Karina), but I did find...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20A%201_zps6l4r1gga.png
A nifty chest! The item in it wasn't much good, but it existed.
I mostly spend the evening practicing my chemistry, but I don't make anything really interesting with it...But I do plant my grass, and remember to go check my field in Priveria forest.
The next morning...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20B_zps3wuevua2.png
I took a request from Sofia. It...sounds important?
But while I was up there, I noticed Marian sneaking in through the rarely-used front-door.
"...Why are you here?"
"Oh! Well!"
She pulled out a bottle and a sharp, shiny syringe.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%201_zpskysgjfhz.png
"Uh, I never said I was sick or anything."
"You want to do both?"
"I'd like to live, thank you..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%202_zps0bkjp3nl.png
Hmm...Gaius has always been a good friend to me. I should get him something, so I run back home and grab some gold from my storage.
Raven's manning the shop today, I guess so he can spend all day doing his favorite thing: working.
"Hey, Raven."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%203_zpse1otyfk4.png
"What?"
"...Because it's Gaius' birthday."
"Aww, that's sweet of you."
When he comes down the stairs, I present him the gold. It may be a little delicate, but at least it's rarer material.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%204_zpsi2lmzjxk.png
"Well, yeah."
"I love these! Thanks!
Getting this on my birthday, is there something you want to tell me...?"
He waggled his eyebrows.
"No, there isn't any deep meaning." That came out a bit more nervous than I thought it would...
"Yeah, I knew that," he grins, having successfully teased me.
Pia ambushes me at the crossroads.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%205_zps5tzewo2h.png
Oh, that Pia...Always saying random things...
...Right?
Maybe?
I try to play off the pounding in my heart with,
"More than Sakuya?"
"What...?!"
Her eyes go round as a fish's. They dart about uncertainly, and settle on the flaring and relaxing of her wrist-fins, close from her clasped hands.
"Well...umm...Sakuya's like family, but you're important, too, so..."
She begins to inch away as the words fail her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%206_zpsgcif1zmg.png
"Pia?!"
What's that noise for?
But she ends up running away.
Either way, onto that request. I meet Sofia as she stands on the stairs in her mansion's hall.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%207_zpsuzkug4t1.png
"Anyway, can you bring me some weeds that only grow in special places?"
"What?! Wait, aren't weeds available any--"
"Oh, I'm not in a hurry or anything.
So please get it to me ASAP," she said insistently.
"Oh, okay..." She's even more confusing than normal today... I'm not sure she had to specify what sort of weed she wanted, unless she wanted something specific...
But then, I don't know what a specific weed looks like.
Well, I'll just run back and get what I have, and hope she was being opposite-y about the specifics.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%208_zps6bdyxemg.png
She smiles politely, once her shock wanes.
"No, you imbecile! This isn't what I asked for at ALL!"
I pause, reflexively.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%209_zpsvyo83xoa.png
But as she goes on, I ease up.
"You seem pretty happy with someone who can't do anything right!"
Sofia isn't the sort of person to wear a false smile, even if she's saying false things.
"Well, here's a reward for your troubles! Thank you, Ramza!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2010_zps1ufca3j0.png
"Uh...sounds like a plan?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2011_zpsababwysn.png
I wish she'd be consistent at times like these...
Before I can really look at my reward, Evelyn comes up the steps behind me.
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"Oh, Evelyn."
"From the looks of it, it seems like you passed her test."
"Test?"
"She has such a strange habit. So she sometimes tests if people can understand that."
"So she was stranger than normal lately because...?"
Evelyn nods.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2013_zpshgj6fkwf.png
"No, that's Okay." When I think of her, though, I end up smiling -- even if she does confused me, "I don't dislike her for the way she is now."
"Hee-hee...Actually, I thought you would say that. But you know, she only does this with people she's taken a liking to."
This throws me off-guard.
"What?"
But Evelyn will say no more.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2014_zpsbthgdubf.png
She leaves me on the landing, feeling a little more dazed than before.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2015_zpsxkf8wtxz.png
My reward, by the way, was rice balls.
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http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2019_zpslzjmqzbp.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2021_zpstx9kndnx.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20C%2022_zpsuvzzdmxo.png
Well, it's a good day for shields!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20D_zpsmy7dxx3d.png
I go check the bulletin board; it seems Sakuya has another request. I know I wasn't much good last time...Maybe this time'll be different!
I head over to the Inn after that.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%201_zpsm7seskop.png
"Sure...But what are you looking for?"
"I'll tell you when we get there. Well, let's go to Privera: Lightway."
"?"
Uhh... Well. OK, then.
We walk out to the entrance of the main woods, where I keep my field.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%202_zps36znagco.png
Sakuya stops ahead of me, looking this way and that.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%203_zpslnq5xyz5.png
"Hey, Sakuya. What are you looking for?"
She smiles a little,
"Well, there was actually someone that helped me around here."
"What?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%204_zpschutgzi4.png
She means me, doesn't she?
"What is it?"
Sakuya looks back on my shocked face.
"Oh, um..."
"Hmmm..."
A crafty smile spreads across her face.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%205_zpsgprosexh.png
What.
"Shave it?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%206_zpstdyvffa4.png
"Yes...That's...true..."
"What's the matter? You don't look well."
"I-I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be fine?"
Just fine. Ahahaha.
"Okay then. Anyway, I don't see that golden wooly anywhere."
"Yeah..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%207_zpsknhu8etv.png
I could shave myself...?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%208_zpstvsxk084.png
The moment the thought arises, I feel my skin crawl.
That's just, too... Anything but that!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%209_zpsii1rvk7o.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2010_zpslfpxgfhm.png
I shake off even the suggestion.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2011_zpsuyxwtwwy.png
You can't buy pride with money, Sakuya...Even if she wants it...
I'll pretend I didn't hear her...
"Alright then!
I've decided I'm not going home until we find that golden wooly!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2012_zpsul7znmrq.png
Please don't say that.
I'll...I'll feel too guilty!
I stand there for a moment, understanding full well that Sakuya will stand in this monster-infested woods, getting beaten up, come rain or shine, until that golden wooly gets within shaving range.
Only one person has the power to make things right here...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2013_zpsdn3nnekl.png
"Seems like it'll be cold tonight..." I sigh. My shoulders sag in defeat.
"What?"
"Oh, well...ummm..." Let's just pretend I didn't say that. "You mind waiting a second?"
"Okay...?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2014_zpsi6riqnvh.png
I run off, wondering if maybe -- maybe -- just perhaps -- there's still room for me to run for my dignity.
But...Sakuya's...
I can't just leave her here.
Like it or not, I want her to be happy, and not shot by orcs.
Dangit.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2015_zpsb2mx1mfs.png
Having shown myself, I let her at least believe I'm not completely in on her plan.
There's still a chance she'll turn around, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2016_zpsrljoecxi.png
She was kidding, right?
"S-Stop right there!"
She runs after me. I slow down, and let her hands grasp around my shoulders, digging into the soft wool.
The soft wool I'm about to lose...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2017_zpsxf0bcua9.png
I shut my eyes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2018_zps1biex6uq.png
...The things I do for the people I like.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2019_zpsirj1wiaw.png
Clippers in hands, she pauses. Her grip is surprisingly gentle -- she's worked, but not so hard her hands are calloused. She holds a pencil more than any other tool.
"You're just a regular wooly, aren't you?" Her tone is doubting.
"?!"
Then she laughs her own suggestion off.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2020_zpsq0i5s35z.png
"B-Bah... (That scared me.)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2021_zpsucel5rrq.png
The blunt side of a clipper's blade touches my back.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2022_zpsxaico1ev.png
The noise of cutting fills the air. I feel a draft.
Oh, I can't look!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2023_zpsl8vmsgmt.png
...
It...It tickles...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2024_zpsxqtbrst4.png
Hey, uh, this cutting's...a little much, right?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2025_zpswmpclbxz.png
I'll end up all but naked!
"Hm?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2026_zpsaswxugex.png
I can't take it, I can't take it, I can't take it!
I thrash about wildly.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2027_zpssy9bn3kx.png
I reach out to grab her and push her off... But I still can't look. I just can't bear it!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2028_zpshxzhoxfe.png
...
And that's when I notice that what I grabbed was...sort of soft.
I let go, my eyes shooting open.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2029_zpswjjhuwop.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2030_zpsx5msw8ie.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2031_zpsuy6cbdxs.png
I...I don't want to talk about it!
Eventually...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2032_zpsx2qd9nnd.png
There's nothing I can do but change back when her back is turned.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2033_zpshibbaahf.png
I feel so...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2034_zpspefovier.png
"Where did you run off to?"
"I just...had a thing..."
My voice is hollow.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2035_zpssh9gveso.png
"Well, just something that really cut me to the core."
"Hmmm..." She considers this, not without concern.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2036_zpsc58rtgto.png
She holds up my own wool, soft and fluffy, shimmering gently in the noontime sun.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2037_zpsbcw20xe8.png
"Oh, yeah."
"Where's your enthusiasm?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2038_zpsbvqycoj7.png
"I see..."
"..."
I stare at the wool.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2039_zpsefk5f3c6.png
"Here's just a little token of my appreciation. Hope I can count on you again."
"Y-yeah..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2040_zps9tjkzxmx.png
I've never felt so humiliated.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2041_zpszzyv1xnc.png
WAAAAH! Why did it turn out like this?!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2028/Image%20E%2042_zpsa50xcsrq.png
I collapse onto my bed, my vision blurred with tears.
"Aaah~ I'm so ashamed!"
Delita pokes his head out the top of the ladder, looking at me with concern.
"<Dude, you OK?>"
"No..."
"<...Come on, it's OK. It's all OK. Just...tell me what's wrong, you weenie.>"
"I'VE BEEN DEFIIILEDD!"
Javan
2015-02-21, 06:13 PM
I'll take a copy if you don't mind :)
Edit: I can see why this scene in particular would definitely lend to you wanting to do this LP.
fizzmaister
2015-02-21, 07:57 PM
"I'VE BEEN DEFIIILEDD!"
Hahahahaha!
Dragoon
2015-02-24, 10:08 PM
Gah, didn't realize I missed commenting on an update.
Had to laugh at Shino's comments towards Ramza and her daughters, oh the naivety that he is. Also have to say that Sofia's lines are continuing to be hilarious. That and Pia, though she's hissing at him...
I am very curious what Delita's going to be saying once he finds out about the shaving. Heck it might even be, 'good you needed one or something.'
About the games and contest, while I would be possibly be willing to try, I wouldn't do well. Also, I wouldn't be able to do much with the winning, as typical of the let's plays I read of yours, I go out and buy it shortly afterwards.
Pia just has a hard time with some things. But it is fun writing a totally innocent protagonist like this -- well, half innocence, half denial.
As for the contest, I ended up dropping the idea...Though I still would never refuse fan contributions, you know...
Chapter 29: The #1 Norad Tourist Destination
I eventually recovered my nerves -- Delita's reply of "<Well, look, it's not like you didn't need a trim,>" Certainly helped me relieve the embaressment.
So I set off that evening to the Vale River to clear a little space.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20A%201_zpsnginmwz6.png
I think it'd be nice to branch out to some winter crops.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20A%202_zpscnlkufyo.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20A%203_zpspfutgbxz.png
The rest of the evening was in training my crafting skills.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20A%204_zps3aaavegr.png
The next morning, I had the good fortune to finally have some fodder ready to go; I still don't know what happened to the fodder I had going earlier, but maybe we won't have these troubles again.
Anyway, I shifted into my other form (ugh, the wool's still so short...) and headed to the settlement.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20A%205_zpsxjzarzsa.png
"Good morning, Kuruna."
"Comrade, did you trim your wool?" she asked, after assessing me for a moment.
"Uh...Well...Not exactly." I sigh. I thought I felt better, but... "I don't want to talk about it."
Kuruna leans forward, staring very intently at me over her glasses. She places a hand, just brushing lightly, across the top of my head.
"Did one of those horrible hornless shave you?"
"...That's..." Well, ok, that is what happened, but I don't like her tone.
"This is why I worry about you, so close to them. They just take what they like."
"That's not true."
She sighs.
"That sounds much less convincing when they didn't just take bits of you. Oh, it's just..." She pauses -- something hesitatnt and sad on her face, like someone stepping out onto the ice -- and then says, very softly, "You're very special, comrade. Anyone with eyes can see that. I just don't want that taken advantage of."
"I won't. I mean, it's not like I couldn't have walked away, except for, um, moral reasons. But..." I hesitate. I kind of don't want to encourage her to think that way, but... I dunno. I like that she's worried for me, if only she had a better reason. "Thanks for the concern."
She eventually nods, and lets it go.
After that, I looked over my letters and found...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20B_zpsqzovnjdn.png
Something that gave me pause. I think it'd be rude not to answer it, but I admit...I'm a little nervous.
I walked through town, a light rain drifting around me. I saw as I approached the main street that Karina was dozing under the arbor, flower petals and rain dripping onto her long silver hair -- the latter, falling onto her face, causing her to slowly open up her eyes, look about and, grumbling slightly, start heading inside.
"Rain wake you up?"
"...Yeah (What a shame.)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20C%201_zpsxvvvukoi.png
"A nice dream?" Karina sleeps, but...She's never mentioned her dreams.
"About when I got sick when I was young..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20C%202_zpscddq46lb.png
"..."
I wonder... Is that a nice dream?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20D_zpsuttdoprs.png
I buy a few seeds at the general store -- including some winter seeds, to try that space I cleared, and a few more cabbages.
And then I head down to the beach, to see what Carmen wants to say.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%201_zpsuk1o7kcx.png
At first, she doesn't say anything.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%202_zps2xud1l65.png
"Yeah, what did you want to talk about?"
"Um, are you free now? Could you make some time?"
"Let's see..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%203_zps20wolhq4.png
"It's okay. Why are you so flustered, Carmen?"
"This is all your fault! Honestly!"
She winds up and smacks me a little, but by the standards of my life, I can't say I noticed it.
Boy, she's worked up...
"Well, let's go somewhere quiet and talk about it."
"Y-Yeah, OK. Well, follow me."
We walk back into the resort, past Carlos, who gives no comment this time.
Out onto the dock, the wood making slatted shadows on the crystal blue water...
We stare for a minute, unspeaking.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%204_zpsh0orfvip.png
"Yes, it is." I speak in the quietest tone I can -- I feel like she's a fish, and I'll spook her if I'm too noisy.
She takes a deep breath, and turns from me. The sweep of her arms covers the whole lake.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%205_zps71jnyeku.png
I hadn't noticed -- but the sun had come out since we began, as if just to shine a light on the lake -- on this -- on us.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%206_zpshezyrb32.png
Her smile seems a little nostalgic -- not regretful, but looking at a time, or thing, or a value that's passed.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%207_zps3kndoec4.png
"Well..." That's...
Probably for the healthier.
She breathes her bangs around in a puff of air -- one big breath out, another big breath in.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%208_zpsllsuv1km.png
"I liked just seeing your face, you know? That's all I wanted, Ha ha! Heh heh..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%209_zpszrlevjhd.png
She turns back towards me and lunges through the space between us, her hair still a little damp from the rain before, her eyes gleaming. She overflows with intensity, and looks me dead in the eye.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2010_zpscf0a7lsn.png
...
I want to make some sort of excuse.
I want to say there's something I'm not getting.
There's no way...That sort of idea -- not the words, but the idea -- could be applied in all seriousness to someone like me.
But I think that'd ruin the honesty, right now, of Carmen, who's pooled all her heart's resolve into this.
She means it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2011_zpsvu8js4lm.png
"Ahhhh! I said it! I said it..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2013_zpsmnseqou1.png
I try to think of what to say. I've...I've never really considered myself as suitable for love, I've never...
And what about Shara, who probably did mean it 'that way'?
Carmen eventually responds to my silence.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2014_zpsdpnkfixz.png
"I don't want it to be awkward, so just pretend I didn't say anything!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2015_zpsi8elh19h.png
With a smile that looks like a wound on her face, she runs faster than I've ever seen her back to her house.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2016_zpsjzpgdswn.png
Carmen, I... I want to explain -- I want to answer why there is no answer, why I can't answer...
But I'm afraid. She's a simple person, the sort of normal person, with a normal family, I could never be.
I'm not who she thinks I am. I'm not cut out for stuff like that...
Something in me clicks -- her honesty, and my truth -- I run up to the door.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2017_zpss6ngwqnh.png
I can't answer her feelings, but... This is the answer I can give.
"It doesn't matter when. Please meet with me. I'll be waiting."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2018_zpsyc42smwm.png
"I wonder if she heard me..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2019_zpspr8z7mwq.png
Well, there's nothing I can do but wait and find out.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2020_zpsn0qhebiz.png
Aww, that's kind of sad.
And a thought to shake off -- I don't think, if someone asked me, if I could be somehow irreplacable like that. I'm not even sure I believe there's anyone in my old life who misses me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2021_zpsmppr0ago.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2022_zpsp9716g3g.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2023_zpsduir6tqx.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20E%2024_zpsokgdgpx4.png
The recipe breads taste a little bitter.
The evening, I make a new shield...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20F%201_zpst8zr5bdw.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20F%202_zpsmvluxnb5.png
That ends up looking like this when we're done.
I also plant up those daikon, things like that.
The next morning, I got...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20F%203_zpst30eln6x.png
A letter from Sakuya.
I guess I better...
I can't avoid her forever.
Especially if it's like that. I don't even have a love life, but I think it's getting...complicated.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20G%201_zpst2eck3nh.png
I mean, it's...I'm no longer sure what I believe things are.
"Oh, you saw that?
I thought I could start giving tours of the town to our customers."
Phew. Well, that doesn't sound so bad.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20G%202_zpsj9conxkg.png
"Oh, I see."
So my first impression was right! The world remains normal and not at all complicated.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20G%203_zpsacdegvas.png
"I didn't mean..."
She laughs.
"It's nothing to be embaressed about!
Oh, well. So, will you do it?"
"Yes. But where are we going?
"Any tourist spot outside of town."
"Tourist spot?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20G%204_zpswlmm6o9h.png
"Alright."
We head out to the rose bush first, since it's closest.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%201_zps1lnbsdet.png
"It's so amazing. A plant growing here..."
"Hey, Ramza, do you know why this plant is like this? have you heard before?"
"What?"
"This flower and plant, they're not frozen to begin with."
She points closer to the plants at the edges, closer to the town.
"See, over there, those aren't frozen."
"Oh, you're right..."
She leans a little closer to the unfrozen vines.
"And you can see dew on the leaf and flowers."
"So?"
How does this work, exactly?
"After they've grown to a certain point, they take on water to freeze themselves."
"What? They do it to themselves?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%202_zpsmjpp4g3b.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%203_zpsbrn5dz3u.png
Wow, Sakuya's been reading up!
"The reason why they're pretty is to draw attention to themselves so they'll be walked on."
I pause and look over the flower for a moment.
"How strong... It endures a lot for what it needs."
"Yeah." She nods. "They get stepped on, and they take root here. That's how this flower is able to survive this barren region."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%204_zpstgkzeum3.png
"Yes..."
She turns to me and waves a finger, all the sentimentality gone out of her.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%205_zpszvbca0td.png
"Let's go to the next place."
We head down just south to the desert -- the contrast of elements is probably something worth waiting for.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%206_zpsop2vnnbh.png
It's not hard to imagine the blanket of stars up there, and we both look at the pale morning sky.
"Did you know?"
"What?"
"Shooting stars are light from objects burning up in the sky."
"Hmm...That's a little sad, for something so pretty."
She nods.
"I thought so, too. But that light emits when these objects actually meet again."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%207_zpszypddn3l.png
There's really a positive to all of it with Sakuya, isn't it?
"Is that right..."
She clears her throat.
"Well, anyway...This is the only place you can see the stars like this. Maybe you could invite someone here that you're close to," she offers with a grin.
Her thoughts on stars concluded, she added,
"We can go back to the inn if you want. But there are other spots. Shall we visit those?"
"That sounds fine by me!"
We head around until we reach...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%208_zpstyplhc9z.png
"Yeah..." I smile dreamily, thinking of the things that have happened here. Then Sakuya says, smiling blithely,
"It's traditional to get married here."
"...Really?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%209_zpsatlmkzl3.png
"Or you wish that your love stays true, whether it dries up or blossoms.
Which do you think is better?"
"I think...I don't think you can decide whether love dries, or not. So I think either wish is OK."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2010_zpsjnc59djl.png
"It's all about what you can do on your own. You need to put the effort in to really understand each other."
"Yeah...you're right."
I wonder what that means for me, though? I'm not exactly...known.
"Well, anyway. This flower field is really something special. I hope you think so too."
And finally...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2011_zps80qietjh.png
"Because there's always a rainbow in the afternoon. And sometimes you can hear 'Rainbow' being shouted..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2012_zpsmoegdzwq.png
"RAINBOW!!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2013_zpsmclzxe3j.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2014_zpsldjrkraz.png
That's...That's not legendary. That's just Daria.
Sakuya waves her hands, trying to soothe over the discussion.
"The weather's so nice, and the falls can change so it's popular with couples.
And it's really quiet..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2016_zps9wmjfcnc.png
"RAINBOW~!!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2017_zps3ysyu04z.png
...With exceptions.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20H%2018_zpsg9yeskvb.png
And so we headed back to the inn.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20I%201_zps1vcu1jpf.png
"Thanks for coming." She laughs cheerfully. "I'm a bit more confident now, so thanks."
"Well, you should be. You know a lot about the town."
"This is for you. Thanks for today. See ya."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2029/Image%20I%203_zpsozd43xlv.png
See? That wasn't some sort of shaving-based disaster mark 2 after all.
Dragoon
2015-03-07, 10:03 AM
Pia just has a hard time with some things. But it is fun writing a totally innocent protagonist like this -- well, half innocence, half denial.
As for the contest, I ended up dropping the idea...Though I still would never refuse fan contributions, you know...
Well, if I can get into my friend's art materials we shall see about the fan contributions.
Anyways, enjoyed the update, especially Delita's response of, well you sort of needed that to the sheering. Also, poor Ramza, he is actually trying to tell someone something and gets run off on. Seems to be the opposite of what normally happens.
Though I am very curious what will happen when Kuruna finds out that Ramza has mastered the 'Cutting out the middleman in the "bring a cute dog to attract girls" gambit'
Javan
2015-03-09, 03:11 PM
Well, if I can get into my friend's art materials we shall see about the fan contributions.
Anyways, enjoyed the update, especially Delita's response of, well you sort of needed that to the sheering. Also, poor Ramza, he is actually trying to tell someone something and gets run off on. Seems to be the opposite of what normally happens.
Though I am very curious what will happen when Kuruna finds out that Ramza has mastered the 'Cutting out the middleman in the "bring a cute dog to attract girls" gambit'
Hahahaha.
Nice update as usual Deme.
I'm enjoying seeing the various girls reactions. I usually only focus on one when I play RF or HM games.
fizzmaister
2015-03-09, 03:19 PM
Nice update. I even managed to read it withing a week of the release. That's unusual. Anyway, the romance plot thickens.
I usually play a pretty broad field in this sort of game. Sometimes, I'll go "everyone," but, like in my original RF3 play-through, I went with a couple of characters I found most interesting, and then some others -- we haven't gotten to the ones I didn't do to completion yet, outside of Carmen...
So, I too am interested in Karina's reaction to Ramza's cutting out the middleman.
Chapter 30: You look like a wooly, and you smell like one too
Well, having ended that rather pleasant little 'date...'
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20A_zpsz8afxxxq.png
I can go help out Sofia.
Actually, I haven't seen a lot of people today; Sakuya kept me pretty busy, so I was happy to catch up with Karina.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%201_zpsdlpey2rv.png
"A festival, right? (Right...?)"
"Hmmm... Maybe there was something like that on my calender."
I maybe just expect people to tell me these things.
I bet Shara will let me know a bit more.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%202_zpshkck9jhu.png
Huh. So...stay clear of Pia for the next little while.
But that plan runs into an obstacle: Pia.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%203_zpsa12cs145.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%204_zpsxqflluvx.png
"Pia..."
Anyway, I wanted to meet with Sofia, so I head up the steps to --
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%205_zps6sl7fn52.png
"It's like a regal rose that blooms alone!"
A man's voice rings out through the hall.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%206_zpshpmc5hey.png
I looked around and spotted them up on the stairs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%207_zpslrsd0uvr.png
The man, wearing travelling clothes, smiled innocently. I don't think he realizes that there's about a 50% chance that wasn't a compliment.
"You must be in love with me as well!"
Could she actually...?
"I told you I like you! So come closer!"
She crosses her arms, rendering that last, for a moment stomach-dropping sentence, moot.
"Of course!" Says the man who is not getting the message.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%208_zpssuiepfdp.png
She cries out as he draws closer, and jerks back up the stairs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%209_zpsqa3mssqr.png
I don't want to interfere, but this isn't a good situation -- that guy needs to...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2010_zpscnetyatr.png
Karina sighs from behind me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2011_zps7qrhfmi5.png
"Huh? You saw the bulletin?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2012_zps9ih4lvno.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2013_zpsvbznp1k5.png
"Oh! First I need to help Sofia."
I dart up the stairs.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2014_zps1nd3mjpa.png
"Excuse me."
Everyone turns to look at me, Karina trailing behind.
"Huh? Who are you?"
"A friend of Sofia's. She says the opposite of whatever she's thinking."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2015_zpsnzvo2akr.png
"Sir...This town is ridiculous."
"Off with you! My dream is untouchable!"
...What does that even mean?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2016_zpsgsmeccnm.png
That's...
"That's quite realistic."
But...It's actually a very sweet dream. I don't really have a dream, even one as simple as that -- not that I know, anyway. I guess I've never thought further than trying to remember, and what that might bring.
"Of course. I always carry a medicine box with me on trips."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2017_zpsjnv5mirs.png
"I think they're wealthy."
"That's perfectly fine! In fact, that's better! Money is never a problem."
...Wait, did he walk into this house and start professing love without knowing anything about the people here?
"So honest..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2018_zps19tpdefn.png
"I knew you'd say that."
...Duuuude. Listen to my advice.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2019_zpso93fs11p.png
"Of course!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2020_zpsa55herpp.png
Sofia darts further back up the stairs.
"This is too complicated..."
Actually, there's something odd about all of this.
"You know, I think the opposites are a bit more...frequent than usual."
"When she's getting emotional, it happens more often." We both look over at her, trembling with indignant worry. "She really isn't happy right now."
"I can tell by looking."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2021_zpsunemjdjw.png
Sofia looks over at us pleadingly, tears at the corner of her eyes. He didn't believe me...Should I get in his way? Physically?
While I consider the options of just physically blocking the guy, Karina steps in.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2022_zpstsofehfn.png
"Then how about you go get whatever Sofia asks you to."
"What's the point?"
"Ramza will too, and we can see who's really correct."
"What?!"
"Is that OK, Sofia?"
Sofia smiles at the suggestion.
"No!"
"Ok then."
The traveller looks back and forth.
"Wait a minute, she just said that she..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2023_zpslpcvx3cx.png
"Did you say something?"
The man shrugs.
"I guess it was just my imagination. I'll go get it for you!"
"What a trooper..."
Now if only he could learn to listen.
"You go too, Ramza."
"Oh, yeah."
While I admit, there's a little room for worry -- she could drop the opposite anywhere, after all -- but there's not a lot of room there, unless she feels like inventing an opposite to apples (oranges? Those are incomparable).
Anyway, before I do that, I need to go take care of some business.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2024_zps7yphj8tr.png
I want some more space...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2025_zpsidl3tzz7.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2026_zpsnekkif0k.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2027_zpspzjl0exu.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2028_zpsppij59bb.png
Some recipes (I'll have to look at the monkey toy)
And head home to cook up my crops for shipping.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2029_zpsamngxfzx.png
But before night falls, I can run over to the forest for an apple...
And back to the hall.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2030_zpshwyhyl9r.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2031_zpsbknivjoi.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2032_zpsb923iqmq.png
The traveller dashes up the stairs and points an accusing finger at me.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2033_zpsz4k0n120.png
"Yes. Well..." I shrug. "Well, that's about the only place around here you can find apples."
"But Sofia said she wanted an apple that couldn't be found in Privera Forest." He grins like he's sprung a trap. Poor guy... You learn to live with the crazy, or you can't be here. "And so you've failed!"
"No, like I said..."
Sofia holds up my apple with a triumphant smile.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2034_zpsx720oorh.png
"Impossible! All he brought was a regular apple!"
"Like we said, it's the opposite. Sofia wanted an apple that can be 'found' at Privera Forest."
"B-But..."
He paused for a moment, as it finally hit home, and turned his back.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2035_zpsx3bbdxi4.png
"I'm sorry...!"
And he ran out the house at high speeds.
"He went."
"Well, that's good, isn't it? (I didn't like him from the start.)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2036_zpsvrj4447e.png
"Are you okay, Sofia?"
"Yes..." She says, that same worried look on her face. "It's not that I care or anything."
"..." It really bothered her, having to go through this whole she-bang just to get her point across... Aw, man....
After that, though, she smiled.
"Anyway, thank you for everything. This is just to show my appreciation."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2037_zpsbtwbx1np.png
"Okay."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2038_zpsx1copydw.png
But then she looks at me again, like she was worried.
"Oh... (I think that was a...)"
Don't worry. I understand...This time.
"Well, I'll come by again."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2039_zpsifoutxrw.png
"... I wouldn't like that..."
"... (She seems happy...)"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2040_zpsko0olaql.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20B%2041_zps1xuw0ung.png
My reward's a ring.
Anyway, let's go look at that monkey shield...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20C_zpsagleznma.png
Do want. But to get it... I'll have to do things I never wanted to do.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20D%201_zpsomvq5axq.png
How black must my heart become?!
My dark work done, I return to make my end of the bargain...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20D%202_zpsysisr3bf.png0
Of course, it needs some improvement, first.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20E_zpsqllbcbsk.png
In the end, after throwing whatever I can at it, this is the plush monkey I achieve!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20D%203_zps7bzzvafv.png
I am history's most adorable monster.
I run out to check on other parts of the world with my evening...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20E%202_zps4bqou24v.png
And find this handy item in a chest. Down the hatch!
The next day...
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%201_zpslddpte6f.png
...Was what?
"Uh, Kuruna? It's not... I don't even remember my birthday!"
"Is that so? There was a note Zaid found in the desert announcing something like that, so we'd believed it to be authentic... Well, it doesn't matter, does it?"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%202_zpsfg4th9g6.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%203_zps9shceiik.png
"Th-thank you, Kuruna."
"You're welcome. I'm very happy to have met you."
Who would leave a note in the desert...?
Who'd lie about my birthday?
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%204_zpswztpkrn0.png
Not Zaid, apparently.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%205_zpsupv39z6o.png
It's not...
"It isn't much, but I have this for you. I hope you like it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%206_zpsb2gyv99o.png
I...I can't say no in good faith, can I?
Well, maybe someone in town knows.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%207_zpskemipbjw.png
"Not...Exactly."
"This is from me. Just take it."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%208_zps8malyljh.png
Later, Carmen gives me the same thing. A matching set of fish.
Well that's...Shara might know the bottom of it.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%209_zps0wl3p5bn.png
"Shara, you know it's not my birthday."
"Well, that's..."
"How could it be? I mean, I don't even know my birthday."
"Well, I'd heard... Anyway, you don't know, right? So it could be any time! We could have missed it already!"
She's right. I could be a whole year older than...Than...I don't even know how old I am, actually.
"Just let us celebrate it, alright? I think we all sort of understand... I got a present, anyway. I hope you like it."
Her gift was some usual flower seeds...And also the growing knowledge that I do not have enough room for all of this.
"Wait, though! Where'd you hear about this being my unofficial birthday?"
"Oh, I think Sofia said something about it. It was sort of going around town."
I run by the Blacksmith before I think it'd be a good time to head home.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%2010_zpsfud8brmt.png
"What?"
"I heard it was your birthday today. Everyone likes to celebrate their birthday." He pauses and considers this. "While you're young, that is."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20F%2011_zpscol6two1.png
Anyway, he'd gotten me some platinum. I'm sure he'd think there'd be no better gift in the world.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20G_zpsxfhm2qoe.png
I also make a delicious, nutritious salad with some ingredients I've been saving up, while I'm clearing some space.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%201_zpsyweqtalv.png
She made me curry. That's really very sweet.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%202_zpsguti1tbi.png
"Uh...Well...It could be?"
"What kind of medicine do you want?"
Oh, well... I don't..."
I picked the wrong time to roll with this.
"Then how about this one?!"
"What?!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%203_zpshefcyyqx.png
...That's...That's for plants.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%204_zpsf2ghiqic.png
"Uh, well, that's..."
"I heard...It was your birthday." A red flush appeared on her face. "So...here's your present."
"Th-thank you. I'm happy."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%205_zpsyy3hzy82.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%206_zpscjhtqy3p.png
I keep getting these.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%207_zps2epvt7hn.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%208_zpspyj7ysli.png
"Yeah, thanks."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%209_zps2xuopq8d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2010_zpsp7wstpto.png
"Um, you're wishing me a happy birthday, aren't you...?"
"Of course."
"Shara mentioned that you told her that, but... It's a little more complicated. Where did you hear that?"
"Well, I suppose I didn't hear it when I was getting dirty at the inn."
"Oh, I see. Thank you."
"And here, this is from me."
"Th-thank you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2011_zpsnvbnofyy.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2012_zpsxgsgs7ku.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2013_zpsgu3ddf9n.png
I take the time to enter the contest while I'm heading that way -- the rules are pretty simple: catch the biggest fish.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2014_zpsxdoco7pd.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2015_zpsl9rzhwey.png
The inn, sadly, was empty -- though Daria at least had some more platinum for me. To the beach!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2016_zpsnqvjiw8a.png
"Well, we're celbrating it today, I guess."
"Well, you picked a busy day. I always have a lot to worry about, in terms of cooking."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2017_zpsjydtivmn.png
"With the fish? Sounds tough."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2018_zps1sigdlmd.png
Anyway, it's time to get to the bottom of this!
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2019_zpsitfwkypj.png
"Um, well, it's being celebrated today, but...Where'd you hear that?"
"Well, Pia said so! So I decided to help her propogate it!"
"Oh...I see. Well..."
"Congratulations!" She blushes. "Oh, and here's a little something I got for you."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2020_zpsrefudxtk.png
Ok, time to confront Pia about this.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2021_zpsmj3wgfga.png
"What?!"
"Oh, this is a birthday present, isn't it?"
She says, offering me a still-moving lamp squid.
This...doesn't seem exactly right.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2022_zpsabklligs.png
"It's over already? Pia, are you going to go through all the trouble of picking a birthday for me...for that?"
"Well, I wanted you to have a good birthday! But you don't know, right? But if we picked a day, you'd know!"
"...I didn't know."
"That's because it's a surprise birthday party!"
"That's not how...This isn't how these things work, Pia."
"Don't worry about it, Ramza! The important thing is, you have one, and everyone's happy to celebrate it!"
I blink... But at the end of the day, I can't help but smile.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2023_zpsx4ldwcgv.png
Me and my weirdo squid gift.
Let's go enjoy the festival.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2024_zpsvb8oz1g1.png
I pick my favorite fishing spot, standing in the cave. I think I catch some good-sized fish, but will it be enough?
***
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2025_zpsswdzrftz.png
"The winner of the Catch the Biggest Fish Contest..."
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2026_zpsqzcmww92.png
"Thank you very much!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2027_zpsimletnwm.png
[color=maroon]"Congratulations, everyone! All of the winners, don't forget your prizes! Until next time!"
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2028_zpsjdmhxmsi.png
What a grand supply of cooking recipes.
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2030_zpsbuwc2p4r.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2031_zpsgzzaipug.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2032_zpstauagxr1.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2033_zpsu8mum8ap.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2034_zpse9toeodl.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2035_zpshhbidcfx.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2036_zpsgvaf8o7d.png
http://i810.photobucket.com/albums/zz26/LetsPlayPictures/Rune%20Factory%203/Chapter%2030/Image%20H%2037_zps1ekomgpi.png
Sounds delicious.
I need to convert my catches to sashimi for cash; it promises into a big night. I have a nice, calm twilight to walk through, the summer heat around me... I find myself humming, just a little bit.
HMMM-hmmm-HM-hm-hmm-HMM...HMMM-hmmm-HM-hm-hmm-HMM...
"Happy birthday dear Ramza... Happy birthday to me..."
Javan
2015-03-22, 10:42 PM
Just spent 9 hours on a programming assignment. This was a blessed relief.
Thanks.
Happy belated birthday Ramza.
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