Hello everybody! Today, we must head as far east as we can, taking us to Mount Ordeals. The only dangerous enemy on the way is the Zu, which has way more HP than anything else and can attack twice.
We can, however, inflict instant KO on them. So that's something.
Mount Ordeals is blocked off by a wall of fire.
Porom: Well, what are you waiting for?
Palom: Yeah, yeah. Keep your hat on! Blizzard!
Palom removes the fire.
Palom: Ha! Too easy!
Porom hits him on the head for being arrogant. I like her already.
Meanwhile...
We see Golbez, Kain and Rosa. Rosa is tied to the wall, and... is that an axe above her head?
Golbez: Come forth, Scarmiglione!
A hooded... thing appears.
Scarmiglione: Scarmiglione of Earth, at your command.
Golbez: Cecil aspires to dangerous heights. He ascends Mount Ordeals as we speak. I shall clip his wings now.
...How does Golbez know this?
Golbez: Dispose of him. His dark sword should be all but useless against your undead.
Scarmiglione: I shall return with his head.
He fades out.
Golbez: This is interesting. Wouldn't you say so, Kain?
Kain: Cecil might still prove to be quite a formidable opponent.
Golbez: You dare question my judgment?
Kain: No, sir!
Golbez: Scarmiglione is one of the four elemental archfiends. He will not fail. Rosa will bear witness as well.
Kain: Sir, please grant me a second chance! Instead of Scarmiglione, allow me the task of slaying him!
Golbez: Just be grateful I let you live after that blunder. Guarding Rosa may even be too great an honour for you!
Kain: ...
Rosa: Cecil...
On to Mount Ordeals then. Everything except two enemies is weak to fire, and those two are pretty susceptible to physicals. It's easy, so much that you'd think all of these beings that are presumably back from the dead just want to die again.
Porom learns Silence on the way up.
After a while, we encounter Tellah!
Cecil: Tellah!
Tellah: Cecil? What brings you here? Wait... you seek Meteor as well?
No, Cecil can't even learn magic.
Cecil: Meteor?
Porom: You know about Meteor!?
Palom: That means you're Tellah! Hey, old man, am I right?
Porom: Don't be rude! You stand before the great sage himself! It is an honour to meet you, Sage Tellah. We came here from Mysidia under the orders of our elder.
Palom: Yeah, we're spying on...
Porom hits him again. Wait, spying? I hope that that's just Palom being an idiot.
Porom: ...Excuse me. As I was saying, we're just serving as guides for Sir Cecil.
Sir? Well, I guess Cecil is a knight, but nobody else has called him Sir so far. Porom and Palom introduce themselves. Palom describes himself as Mysidia's most exalted mage.
We then break the bad news about Edward and Rydia to Tellah.
Tellah: What!? They aren't dead, are they?
Cecil: I'm afraid so... And Golbez has captured Rosa...
Palom (to Porom): I'll betcha that's his girlfriend!
Porom: Hush!
Cecil asks why Tellah is here. We thought he was just gonna charge Baron.
Tellah: Against the likes of Golbez, my spells are still lacking in power. I've come here to seek the legendary spell, Meteor. I sense a strong aura on this mountain. I believe it holds what I am looking for.
Porom: But that spell is much too dangerous! It requires tremendous vitality. For a man your age...
Tellah: I admit I am old. But I will make Golbez pay, even if it costs me my life!
Cecil: ...
Palom: Geez, why are adults so pig-headed?
Porom: You don't understand because you're still a kid! Now hush!
We explain to Tellah that Cecil wants to become a paladin. Palom, who obviously pays no attention to anything, has no idea who Golbez is. Tellah decides to join us, as if we were sent here, this mountain must have some secret power.
Sage Tellah has joined the party.
Looking at his stats, Strength and Stamina goes down, while Speed does actually go up. He's still an OK spellcaster, but is having a few problems keeping up. Having two people who can cast fire elemental spells just makes things easier.
Soon after, we reach the Summit.
Sssrrr...
Porom: Palom, stop that!
Palom: Stop what?
There's a save point up here that we use.
Sssrrr...
Porom: I said, stop it!
Palom: It's not me!
There's a bridge at the top, and as we try to cross it...
Sssrrr...
Tellah: I sense an evil presence.
???: I will enjoy... killing you all.
Cecil: Who's there!?
Scarmiglione teleports in!
Scarmiglione: Under Master Golbez's orders, I, Scarmiglione of Earth, will deliver you unto the gates of hell. But first... My undead minions hunger... for your flesh!
So now we have to fight Scarmiglione and four Skulnants. Tellah and Palom fling fire spells at everything (Palom Bluffs first), Cecil attacks Scarmiglione (the Skulnants are zombies, so his attacks are useless against them), and Porom spams healing spells, as Scarmiglione will counter everything with Thunder. Easy enough fight.
Scarmiglione: What's happening to me!?
Then he dies. I go back to the save point and heal, then invert my rows and cross the bridge.
Scarmiglione: Sssrrr... Fools. My true strength lies in death. Join me in hell!
Crap, he's back as a zombie! Not Quite Dead count: Scarmiglione: 1 And he back attacked us! Which would be surprising if I didn't invert the rows beforehand. And he's got kickass battle music!
Scarmiglione: This is my true form. Die!
Anyway, he's now weak to fire (he wasn't before) and healing. So we can just beat and burn and heal the crap out of him. When we use Black Magic on him...
Scarmiglione: Breathe this, and walk as the undead!
He inflicts Slow on all of us, which I counter by casting Slow on him.
Word to the wise, fellow FFIV players; everything is vulnerable to Slow. Everything. Anyway, the guy can't handle two Bluffed Firas, and falls easily.
Scarmiglione: H-how could I possibly lose...? Ugh... Gahhh!
He falls off the bridge. Good riddance. Before we continue, I flip the rows back and remove Cecil's equipment, then I approach the gravestone at the end of the path. A voice starts speaking...
My son, I...
Cecil: "Son"!? Just who are you!?
We are teleported to a small room with a mirror in it.
Through much sorrow have I longed for your coming. I shall now entrust you with my power. By doing so, my pain will only grow. But there is no other way...
A sword falls towards Cecil. He takes it, and his dark armour is replaced by the armour and cape of a paladin.
Break from your past and overcome your darkness. Only then will you receive the holy power. You must fight... against the dark knight you wish to rid yourself of!
Cecil's dark knight form emerges from the mirror.
Tellah: !?
Palom: What's going on!?
Porom: There are two of them!
Tellah: Cecil!
Palom: Hey!
Porom: Look out! (I think this is Porom speaking, in game it's her portrait, but the line claims Palom's saying it)
Cecil: Stay back! This is my battle, to atone for all of my past wrongdoings! I will defeat the dark knight!
The Dark Knight will spend all of his time using Darkness on us, but as much as we try, we can't kill him. Luckily, the voice gives us a tip.
A true paladin...
...will sheathe his sword.
So that's exactly what we do. It doesn't matter what we do, as long as we don't damage the Dark Knight. After a while, it stops attacking.
Some fight for law. Some fight for justice. What will you fight for?
The Dark Knight collapses, and we leave battle.
You have done well... Now receive my power as light. My final... gift... My son... You must... stop Golbez...
Cecil: Please, wait!
Cecil's reflection in the mirror changes to match his current self.
Porom: Are you all right?
Palom: You must be...
Porom: Palom! Enough!
Cecil: This feeling... I can't explain it. It feels... so familiar. That voice...
Tellah: ...I've got it!
Porom: Master Tellah?
Tellah: My spells! I remember them now!
Tellah remembered all of his spells.
It's a nice selection, mind you. Too bad he only has 90 MP.
Tellah: !? Me...teor...? That light! Somehow, it broke the seal upon Meteor!
What seal?
Tellah has learned Meteor.
Meteor would be a great spell that we could use to kill everything... except it costs 99 MP. Tellah can never have 99 MP. That sucks.
Porom: He is indeed a great sage.
Palom: Hey, Porom... I kinda think...
They talk a bit in private.
Porom: Er, Cecil?
Palom: We have to tell you something. We're actually...
Tellah: I am ready to face Golbez! I am doom itself! Come, Cecil! To Baron!
"I am doom itself"? Wow, that line is so stupid.
Cecil: Yes... to Baron. That light... Why did it call me "Son"?
Tellah leaves.
Palom: Hey, wait up!
He leaves.
Porom: Are you coming?
Cecil: ...Yes.
We all leave.
Anyway, new party member! Cecil Harvey is now a Paladin. In exchange for Darkness, we get some weak white magic. We also get Cover, which allows us to take all damage for an ally. It will automatically kick in if anyone is in critical, but won't work if Cecil's in critical. He now also has more variety in swords, having elements other than Dark. I think his starting sword, the Mythgraven Blade, is Holy, but I'm not too sure. He starts at level 1, but the experience curve is adjusted so he'll be back to normal levels in no time.
After equipping the Lustrous equipment on Cecil, we leave. Cecil learns Sight and Libra and Porom learns Berserk on the way down. And that's all for now. Next time, we return to Baron.
Stats:
Palom: Lv 18 HP:286 MP:119 Strength:14 Speed:10 Stamina:10 Intellect:29 Spirit:14 Attack:14 (2 attacks) Defence:15 Magic Defence:12
Cecil: Lv 9 HP:735 MP:42 Strength:13 Speed:14 Stamina:13 Intellect:8 Spirit:27 Attack:45 (2 attacks) Defence:31 Magic Defence:7
Porom: Lv 18 HP:272 MP:115 Strength:11 Speed:11 Stamina:9 Intellect:12 Spirit:26 Attack:14 (2 attacks) Defence:14 Magic Defence:12
Tellah: Lv 22 HP:393 MP:90 Strength:4 Speed:9 Stamina:6 Intellect:22 Spirit:19 Attack:13 (1 attack) Defence:13 Magic Defence:12
Comments
. So ominous...
Cecil works quite well as a Paladin. His "Cover" basically makes him a meat shield for the whole party (which is for the better here since everyone else's a Squishy Wizard right now). And while he's crap at it, I found myself using his White Magic quite a lot for in-dungeon, out-of-battle healing (because items cost money, and I don't want to use up my actual in-battle healer's MP).
Good point about Slow. I'm the kind of player who nearly never uses buffs and debuffs, but for FF 4 I made the exception of systematically spamming Slow at bosses. I wonder how I survived my first playthrough without it, when I didn't know about it.
