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Beyond the Beyond: Update 97: Final Village (Quamdar)
In our last episode the team ran across an old face and finally located the exit to the Sand Cave. I suppose they should find out what lies beyond it. Word of warning though: not much happens with the plot in this episode. This and the next episode are something of a breather where a whole lot of work getting the team ready for the end of the game has to happen.
Ahh yes. There's that glimmer of inviting sunlight that surely means safety and not another trap!
That was... something.
So do you think of Percy as your brother, Finn?
Sort of.
He's seven years older than I am so by the time we were old enough to run around and play he was in training.
Miss Sonya didn't just train him. She made him do a lot of the chores.
Then he got older and went to the castle to live with Dad.
And we got to do all the chores!
I'm sensing a theme here, kid.
Outside the Sand Cave the team finds a whole lot of actual sand! In fact part of the valley is a desert. At the end of a day's bitter walk they find a town nestled in between rivers.
I hope that's Quamdar.
Knowing our luck Shutat's just waiting for us in there.
Ugh, I don't even want to think about that.
If Shutat's in there we'll just have to kick his butt!
Tont, some days I wonder where you get all that enthusiasm.
Youthful ignorance?
That's one way to put it.
Besides, we came here to kick Shutat's butt. If he's in this village that just means we get to the butt-kicking sooner.
Entering town the team once again finds a grass-covered land dotted with hills and bushes. So much for the desert just beyond. There's no greeter standing at the ready but I suppose that is to be expected from such a remote location.
As they walk into the inn they find a man sitting at a table.
Hi there. Are you a traveler?
No. I'm just taking a break. And you are?
The mighty Tont!
Never heard of you.
Well now you have!
This is the village of Quamdar, the Guardians of the Abyss. But because of the Vicious Ones, we can't even go near the shrine. [sic]
Doesn't that mean you've failed to guard the abyss?
I try not to think about it.
Did they come here, to Quamdar?
No. A messenger came from the shrine to warn us that monsters were coming out of the Abyss. We're protected by a powerful ward but that did nothing to stop the monsters from heading north into the passage.
They wrecked Zeal by the way.
And did a number on Bandore while they were at it!
But no one can approach the shrine now because of the Vicious Ones?
There are a few priests there I think. They live there. No one knows it they're still alive though. Too many monsters roaming the valley.
It sounds like we have a mission!
Yes well that mission will have to wait until tomorrow because I am beyond tapped out.
Five hundred gold to stay in a tiny village?
That's my offer. Take it or leave it.
Eh, we can spare it.
Yeah we just steal all our money from monsters anyway.
A stay at the inn is a necessity after that long trip. I will say this, dungeons in this game are exceptionally good at draining the team's reserves.
The next morning finds Finn once again combing through the bushes.
Annniiiieee! Your brother's being all weird again!
When have you ever known him to be otherwise?
I just... wanna make sure I'm not missing anything.
Again, I'd be worried about his behavior if I wasn't the one making him comb through the bushes. And sift through the trees. And look under every table. It's easy to miss things in this game!
The equipment shop in Quamdar sells what are mostly marginal upgrades for the team but I am sorely tempted to buy an Earth Breaker axe for Samson. It would increase his attack power 35 points (going from 152 to 187). Knowing that I've got other characters in need of upgrades and the fact that the war chest is looking a bit grim I hold off on buying anything.
Quamdar has its own church for all the team's saving/reloading needs but it actually has a villager in it as well. Quamdar is tiny - inn, shop, church, and two houses - so NPCs had to be put in these buildings.
Hi kids. What brings you to a remote place like this?
Looking for a guy named Shutat!
I know who you're talking about.
You do? How so?
I feel sorry for Shutat. Since Marion's successor never came, he couldn't return to the Common World.
So he was trapped in the Abyss?
He grew tired of battling with the minds of the Vicious Ones. Before we knew it, he was under their control... Did he do something wrong?
That didn't actually answer my question.
I wish I had any answers to give you.
I find this man's dialogue a bit baffling. "Return to the Common World" implies that Shutat is originally from the Common World but there's been a distinct lack of horned people in the team's trek across the globe. There's not even a mention of them! There's a secondary problem in the following statement "Before we knew it, he was under their control..." Quamdar is part of the Common World. If Shutat couldn't return to the Common World (which would mean he was trapped in the Abyss) how could this random guy know he'd been battling the minds of the Vicious Ones, that he grew tired of doing so, and that they took control of him? I suspect that this is a localization error and that Shutat is actually from the Underworld - The Agreement and balance between the two worlds and all that.
I mean you'd think if Shutat was from the Common World then at some point in the library in Marion or in Simone there'd be a mention of him. In looking back to see if there's something I've missed I come across this: "When the balance between the two worlds becomes upset, the Abyss shall appear." If Shutat's been trapped in the Abyss this whole time does that mean the balance (however that's defined) has been upset? I guess it could mean Shutat's actually been trapped in the Underworld. Given other facts that seems unlikely. It's all a big, inconsistent mess.
To the northeast is one of the village's two private residences.
Oh, hey! You're from the outside! We don't have many visitors here.
Probably something to do with the deadly, monster-infested cave being the only entrance.
That? Yeah... There've always been a few monsters in there but they never stopped anyone in Zeal from visiting us.
In a barrel in the corner is a Gundalf Hood that Finn nabs in full view of the house's owner. He doesn't object so into Annie's pack it goes!
In the last building the team updates the running joke by finding the last Monster Bait under a table.
Visitors? Here? And so young...
Hi there! Who are you?
I'm Finn. This is my sister Annie and some of our friends.
You are a good person! I can tell, because when you talk to me, you have very kind eyes, just like Shutat.
Um, okay.
Shutat didn't seem all that nice when we met him.
Shutat is evil... though he shouldn't be. I think he became like this because of the Vicious Ones.
But he IS one of the Vicious Ones.
You must be mistaken.
You just admitted that he's evil.
Sis I don't think she's going to believe a word we say.
*sighs* We have plenty to do anyway. No sense arguing about this.
Viscious Ones, eh? With an RPG-size script (even if it is a barebones plot most of the time) typos are bound to slip through. Ahh, the days of Evil Spilit! As for the boy's dialogue it pretty much invalidates what that other man said about Shutat being unable to "return to the Common World." This boy must have seen Shutat to know he has "kind eyes" and I seriously doubt that means a trip into the Abyss for him.
Well there's a new team member. Let's warp over to Isla and pester him!
But it would be funny if Miss Sonya had him hogtied in the basement!
Mom's just not that kind of person.
Yeah she doesn't need rope. She'll just make you feel guilty for leaving.
Over in Isla stands Percy. And yet no one in the village bats an eye at or seems at all bothered by the heavily-armored man who's suddenly shown up. Sure it's a guy they know but you'd think someone would mention it.
At last! Finn! Can I join your party now?
That's the plan.
Please tell me you said hi to Mom. She's been worried sick.
As if I had any hope of avoiding her. You know how fast news travels around here.
FFIIIIIIINNNN!
Speaking of news traveling fast.
Hey there Steiner.
Don't think you can hide from this nose!
I never said I could but okay.
Didn't you want to show him your new sword?
That's right! I totally forgot. Again.
In order for Percy to join the team someone has to be sidelined and for once I opt to go with Sir Samson. He's earned a break although I'll probably be missing his damage output soon enough.
So here's Percy's stats. He's only a level 3 Black Knight and his equipment is exactly how it was when he left the party so long ago. His spell selection is okay with a basic heal. Slow and Defense are situational and with only 13 max MP I probably won't ever bother with them. Gone are the 250~ish hit points he had as a pseudo-boss. Oh well. That's normal when characters switch sides. Granted with 40 LP if he fully recovers his VP from groggy at 5 LP per use he actually has 360~ish health.
Ramue didn't give you anything decent to wear?
Half the time he was raining fire on our heads!
Raining fire? I don't know any such spell, Finn.
Are we totally sure Miss Annie didn't thwack him upside the head when we weren't looking?
As tempting as it was I kept a handle on my temper.
I still have no idea what you're talking about.
Then it's over to Marion to pick up Edward. If nothing else his equipment is in need of upgrading. I might as well do it now since I have to go shopping for Percy. This time Domino is benched and the team is almost all-kids once again. Technically Percy's 20.
The Magic Staff beats the Drain Rod in attack power by a single point so I leave Edward's weapon as-is. There's no downside to exchanging his War Hood with the Gundalf Hood the team found in Quamdar. Edward has enough trouble scraping together defense that he shouldn't turn down upgrades like this. Ultimately the row modifier can only do so much to protect him.
The next stop is Barbaros to pick up Lorele. She too has equipment upgrades to purchase. In her place I leave Tont.
Then it's back to Marion not because I need to pick up Domino or even visit Marion. Nope. I don't have anyone stationed in Mistrall and because Barbaros is surrounded by all that forest neither Steiner or the Flying Palace get warped there.
One of these days I'm gonna get to see all these new places!
We'll figure something out, Steiner.
Frankly I'm more worried about where he's going to stay after this is all over. Steiner can't exactly live in Isla.
Why not? I'm still adorably cute!
It's not a matter of cuteness, Steiner.
I'm not gonna burn the village down! Not on purpose anyway.
Whelp time to fly over to Mistrall. It's a short, almost direct line trip from Marion Town.
So this is the Flying Palace. I didn't expect it to be a giant machine.
That Finn seems to enjoy flying.
*hums a song to himself*
Before the team buys anything I sell off all the useless junk. The Thunder Vase the team found in the Sand Cave gives me a moment of pause however.
*gasps* How much did you say?
Fifteen thousand I believe.
...why?
Do you have any idea how rare these are?
Odd. I don't sense particularly powerful magic within it.
For fifteen grand this thing should be able to wash the dishes, pull the weeds, and take Steiner out on walks on the beach.
Well? Are you interested?
I think we need to mull it over.
I'm always here if you change your mind. Now is there anything else you kids need?
The real reason to visit Mistrall is to get Percy decked out in Mithril gear. A set of Mithril Scale, Mithril Shield, and Mithril Sword puts a dent in the war chest but it's for a good cause. I suppose one benefit of retreating from the Sand Cave is that I had to fight through a bunch of random enounters to get back to where I was and that's always good for the gold count.
Anyway I return to Marion to send Domino to Quamdar. I'm not walking all the way through that cave again if I don't have to. I've been doing this sort of thing since the team grew large enough to have someone on the bench but now it is necessary if I want to avoid needless time sinks.
Then it's back to Quamdar for more shopping. I buy Lorele Mystic Knuckles, a Power Scarf, and a Dragon Gi. Edward gets a Cloak of Light. I do find it a bit strange that Mystic Blades are for sale in Quamdar. Finn gets one for free (required by the plot!) and by the time Percy returns better swords are available.
At long last it is time to say goodbye to Edward's Wind Cloak. You've served the team well but the +Speed you offer just isn't enough to offset the benefits of upgrading. With the shopping done let's have a look at the reconfigured team's stats!
Finn hasn't changed much since his last appearance. He's covered in Mithril and no smarter than before. He's still inching his way to 100 Strength but it will probably take two more level-ups to get there. +4 Strength does happen but is rare enough to not count on.
Annie's also largely the same as she was before. She's still far and away the team's speed demon with enough Defense, VP, and LP to survive quite a beating.
Now decked out in Mithril gear of his own Percy's stats are more directly relatable to his peers and, honestly, he doesn't stack up too well in comparison. His base Defense is low for a melee character and he's slow. He also doesn't get much MP which renders his spell selection kind of useless. Still, part of that comes down to me having used stat boosters throughout the game and he obviously wasn't around to partake.
With the Cloak of Light and Gundalf Hood Edward suddenly has a respectable amount of Defense to his name. He might catch Finn in Speed if the next three or four level-ups roll in his favor. For a rather petite mage he's got a surprising amount of Strength - 11 more than Percy at the moment but his attack power is no longer as impressive as it once was.
And finally there's Lorele. I never know what to say about her except the fact that she's so darn slow. I suppose she is lucky and her Defense is looking pretty good.
Next time on Beyond the Beyond - I get that treasure chest in the Sand Cave that I missed earlier.
