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Beyond the Beyond: Update 71: Discipline and Courage (Discipline Island)
When last we saw our team they were scurrying into Luna to find some respite from all the monsters that had been trying to kill them out at sea. Luna might be a hive of scum and villainy but no one's tried to kill them there (yet).
While most of Luna is the same as its always been (including that wonderful inn that recharges the team's VP, LP, and MP) a few things have changed since their last visit way back in update 36. Yes it has been quite a while since they've been in Luna!
It is true that you can buy treasures here! Look at this! I got a Thunder Vase! 
Prraa! Someone's happy!
I wish he wouldn't point that thing at us. I've been struck by lightning enough times already.
So who's sellin' this stuff?
That shop right there.
Huh? You mean those shady guys looking for the Vase of Life?
Huh? There's no one shady in there. The lady who runs the place gave me a great deal.
I guess we should go in and see what's going on.
Inside the shop the team finds this woman.
Welcome to Dorothy's Vase Shop! You're Dorothy?
Yup! Is there something I can do for you kids?
We want to know what happened to the guy who used to be here.
The previous owner? He was so distraught over some vase that was stolen, he sold this place off to us. Well whaddaya know? We do have a positive effect on the world.
Where did the old owner go?
I don't know. I heard he left Luna.
Did we still have a positive effect if he was eaten by monsters? Sure thing!
In the back is this fellow.
Welcome! We have many vases. Have a look around. It's our Grand Opening sale!
The old owner just left all his stuff behind? Yes. I don't know why. He couldn't get his hands on the Vase of Life.
And now that vase has been destroyed. Does that make these vases more valuable?
Not to us.
Elsewhere in Luna is this NPC who is still talking about there being no pirates in town.
As you can see, there is not a single pirate in town.
That's your story and you're sticking to it?
What are you talking about? It's true!
*chuckles*
What?
Nothing.
The real reason the team's in Luna is the inn. It's just as expensive as ever but given how much they've exhausted their MP reserves they'll take it.
The next day it's back onto their boat. I have once again circled their current location in red.
So where are we headed to this time?
That big island to the west of us is Discipline Island. Have you ever been there before? A couple of times. The island's mostly wilderness.
Mostly?
Yeah. There's a small town by the Temple of Discipline. It survives thanks to all the people who go to visit the shrine. Not much else happening there.
We're right by there so now's as good a time as any.
The island is easily reached from Luna. In fact approaching it from the east is the best way because most of the coastline is walled off by shoals. They're rather pointless - except for just forcing the player to sail longer to find a place where they can disembark.
There are of course monsters on Discipline Island. In fact there are monsters the team has never fought before hence the Succubus they've just run into.
Hey Tont there's one of your favorite types of minion.
Something tells me this won't end well.
Afraid of a little payback?
Oh please. As if I couldn't summon another one to fight for me.
Thanks to Tont's Summon 3 spell the team is already well aware of the fact that Succubi can cast Ice 2. They focus their initial attacks on her and take her out before she can do any damage.
The next random encounter comes against a Huge Gel and two Hydras. None of these monsters are particularly dangerous. Hydras are weaker than Pyrohydras meaning we've actually managed to downgrade the threat level of random monsters simply by progressing forward in the game. This is a serious hiccup in the game's difficulty curve. On the other hand the oceans are covered in swarms of tough, murderous bats so maybe it evens out.
Nah, it's just weird. It makes sense for Pyrohydras to be found in a volcano. It doesn't make sense for regular Hydras to both be encountered later (you can't encounter them without a ship) and be weaker. It's the same power progression that Hydras and Pyrohydras have in Shining Force 2 but in that game Hydras appear before Pyrohydras.
So the Hydras are less dangerous than Pyrohydras. They're still more dangerous than that Huge Slime they're with. Not by much because the slime is rather pathetic. On a different note I continue to be puzzled as to how Hydra's actually connect together. They're only ever seen as a gaggle of distinct heads whose necks snake back into a shady and twisted mess. This game and Shining Force 2 seem to go out of their way to avoid answering the question.
Where the hell do these things come from? Do they live on this island?
Would it really surprise you if they did? Yeah. There are people here.
People who built an entire shrine devoted to discipline and where warriors come to prove their strength.
...You win this round.
The fact that they're weaker than Pyrohydras doesn't mean they won't try to kill the party (or in this case Annie). It just means they laughably fail at doing so. I've gotten so used to a single hit knocking out half of the target's VP that I don't even bat an eye at hits like this any more.
The team's on their way to a town though so I let Tont shorten these fights with Summon 3. Here we see the majestic Hydra being killed by a blast of cold that it is weak to.
I bet that one's a local, Tont.
Huh, ya know that might be true.
Maybe it'll come by later and say hi.
Now that could be interesting. It'd be nice to run into monsters who don't want to gnaw our faces off.
After a long day of hiking all the way across the island the team finally comes within sight of the shrine they've heard about. This one doesn't appear to be in shambles. To the west is a coastline swarmed by boat-shredding shoals. Apparently they take their devotion to Discipline very seriously because they've set up shop as far away from navigable coasts as possible.
To continue...
