So we approach the gate and find a large man clad in armor and wearing an eyepatch. He says he sees the whole group has arrived. Allegretto thinks he looks like someone in authority. Polka agrees, and suggests asking him if they can get an audience with the Count. Beat, meanwhile, is jumping to see (when you could just move left a foot. The man says he knows all about their plan, and wants to keep it simple: if they don't resist, none will get hurt. Frederic thinks something doesn't appear to be right about the situation. Beat goes up to the man and says they want to see whoever's in charge of the castle. The man says they'll see him... from their cell, and promptly backhands him. Allegretto asks the man what he thinks he's doing. The man has decided to have a little fun.
Boss battle! The man's name is Tuba. His main weapon is a mace with a spherical head and spikes on top and the other four directions. He uses Mega Mash and Demonic Embrace to attack, and Full Power to heal. We win, anyway.
Frederic
- Lv. 20
- 5748 HP
- ATK: 104
- DEF: 96
- MAG: 96
- SPD: 68
Viola
- 6386 HP
- ATK: 124
- DEF: 94
- MAG: 50
- SPD: 76
She also gains Hawk Eye, which I'll explain later.
Polka
- 5508 HP
- ATK: 95
- DEF: 93
- MAG: 110
- SPD: 67
She gains Shooting Star, which I'll explain after Hawk Eye.
Tuba guesses he underestimated the party, and orders the guards under him to throw them in the dungeon. Despite winning in battle using only three out of the whole party, we're able to be captured. The party is put into a cell with a little girl. Viola asks who she is. The girl asks who she's calling a little girl, and calls her an old lady. The little girl has hair in a shade of pink. Magenta? My partner in an RP I've been involved in says "light crimson". Anyway, she style of her outfit looks familiar. She wears two necklaces: the top has pointy teeth, and the bottom has small bones, including a tiny skull. (I hope it was made from something other than a human skull...) Viola is angered by the appellation. Beat attempts to play peacemaker, only for the little girl to get snippy with him and call him a runt. Beat says their heights are almost the same. And the fact that the girl called Viola "old lady" again doesn't escape her notice. Polka tries to settle things down. It seems to work, but Frederic doesn't know what to do next. Allegretto says they'll just break out. The little girl brings up that if it were that easy, they wouldn't call it a dungeon. Allegretto suddenly decides that the girl is a close enough match for who they're looking for, and identifies her as Salsa, relating that they met her sister, who asked her to give her her hat, so he does.
She thanks him, and says she never feels quite herself without it. She realizes that they met March, and says March can be so unfriendly and rude sometimes, and hopes she didn't say anything upsetting. (At first blush, this seems like irony, but then again, when you live with someone, you're much more likely to see someone's unpleasant side and actually notice it, since the novelty will have worn off long ago.) Allegretto guesses March has all the social skills, and Beat agrees. Salsa wonders how they figured it out. Um. It really didn't occur to her that March might have mentioned that they're twins? Fraternal, sure, but... Allegretto claims they just had a feeling. Salsa decides he's a magician, and since magicians can essentially teleport, that's what he'll do. Beat says that's not all they can do, saying they can free themselves from handcuffs and unlock cell doors. Salsa seems to think that settles it. She figures Beat may be a little runt, but least he's smarter than the "old lady". Allegretto quietly thanks Beat, and unlocks the cell. Polka is impressed by his ability. Allegretto says he's a magician, after all. Beat quietly lets on to Allegretto that he realizes that he doesn't want Polka to know what he actually does. He assures him that he's not going to spill the beans, and his lips are sealed tight as a clam. Viola, who's a few feet further away than Polka, figures they can all imagine the sorts of things he's done, and says not to worry about it. Frederic muses to himself that he's never seen a clam with its shell completely closed. (The subtitling erroneously says "it's".) Salsa wisely urges them to get out. You know, since the door is open.
I'm in control again, so I have a bit of business before I proceed.
First, Hawk Eye. It's a Dark Special Attack with infinite range. It marks the target and increases the power of the next attack. I temporarily put it in the second Dark slot, but don't expect it to stay there.
Shooting Star is a Light Special Attack with infinite range. It has medium knockdown, and damages not only the target, but any enemy near the target.
Now that that's out of the way, here's Salsa. She's 8 years old, and wields a chakram at close range. Her initial chakram is called Laricus. It has a regular ATK of 15 and inflicts 30 points of Light damage if the creature is Dark. By default, she wears Guardian Clothes, which have a DEF of 17. I put Fancy Clothes on her, which have better DEF and increase her TT. I also equip the Speed Shoes on her.
Her Light Special Attack is the Grand Slam. It's a quick spinning attack with medium knockback. Her Dark Special Attack is Shadow Silhouette, which robs the target of energy and increases the power of the next special attack, both for her and for any party member in a certain range.
As for her stats:
- Lv. 17
- 5126 HP
- ATK: 83
- DEF: 82
- MAG: 43
- SPD: 74
As she, Allegretto, and Beat are behind in levels, I put them in in this order: Allegretto, Salsa, Beat.
I save at the Save Point, but continue.
I can try to go up the stairs, but Allegretto realizes that they'll just be put in the dungeon again if they try to leave that way. He can also notice the lack of guards.
As we reach a mirror, Allegretto and Beat pass it, but Salsa notices it and stops. She calls Beat back, even though Allegretto says they have to keep moving, and has him stand beside her and look. She's says she's taller. Beat points out that it's not fair, because she has a hat on. This time, it's Salsa who says they have to hurry. There's a man in a cell, the thief Slur
, that we can play sessions with, but neither of the score pieces a player has at this point will do it. (Oddly, the piece he plays has no slurs; maybe the matching one does...? I'd have to look it up or use trial and error.)
I investigate the boxes at the right side for a Club Clover.
We find a gaping hole in the wall. It looks suspicious, but it's their only way out. Allegretto agrees that they have to give it a try.
Viola: That doesn't make any sense.
Andantino's Secret Passage
(Tune: NO. 19, "From Cruelty to Kindness")
This place is an underground system of paths that fork and loop. It's filled with Sweet Whispers, and has a lot more dark areas than the Glissando Cliffs.
Beat
- Lv. 20
- 5832 HP
- ATK: 101
- DEF: 85
- MAG: 49
- SPD: 68
Allegretto
- Lv.20
- 6302 HP
- ATK: 119
- DEF: 100
- MAG: 89
- SPD: 69
He also gains Fire Wave, a sort of Light-based Phantom Wave.
I find a Save Point, so I save... the rest of this place for another time.
Next time: Somebody Else's Passage!
