It's time to Get on the Boat! Said boat is only a few steps northeast of Fabul, so it's easy enough to get to. But first, I remove Rydia and Yang's equipment.
When we reach the dock, Sheila is there to wish us goodbye.
Sheila: Good luck to you all! Take care of yourselves and kick some backside for me! And keep your chin up, Cecil. You'll get her back in no time!
Cecil: ...We'll do our best.
Yang: I trust you will look after everything in my stead.
Sheila: You bet. I love you, you big lunkhead!
We go talk to the captain, and we're off! We go over our plans. We'll go talk to Cid. That's pretty much it. Some plan.
Later on our trip, the boat starts shaking!
Cecil: What's going on!?
A whirlpool appears, with a creature coming out of it!
Captain: It's Leviathan!
Captain: Change course!
The boat shakes again, and Rydia falls out!
Rydia: Ahhh!
Yang: Rydia!
Yang jumps in the ocean to get her.
Cecil: Rydia! Yang!
Another shake, and Edward collapses!
Edward: Augh!
Cecil: Edward!
Cecil tries to get to Edward, but the boat sinks into the whirlpool. We're done for...
We change scene to a beach.
Cecil: ... Oh... Ugh...
Well, at least Cecil's alive. Not Quite Dead count: Cecil: 2
Cecil: Where am I? Rydia! Edward! Yang! Where is everyone...?
We're left alone. There's only one place we can go...
Mysidia? Oh, Crap! again.
Word to the wise, don't talk to anyone, unless you want to end up as a poisoned frog-pig. It's not pretty. We might as well head to the big building in the back, the Hall of Prayer. Maybe someone will help us there.
Elder: You are that knight from before. Why have you returned?
Cecil: My name is Cecil. I am the former commander of the Red Wings. Before I did not have the courage to go against the king's orders, but now I wish...
Elder: Apologizing won't bring back those who have already died.
Cecil: ...
Elder: However... I see that you truly regret your actions. Perhaps it would be worth my time to hear what you have to say.
Cecil: I am now fighting against a man named Golbez, who seized control of Baron. However, my companions and I were attacked by Leviathan and I have lost them all to the sea. Still, I must continue our path... to save one dear to me who has been captured by Golbez...
Elder: ...Perhaps this is a test and you must prove yourself worthy. However, you have come to rely too much on your dark sword. This will only lead to the darkening of your soul. If you wish to fight with purity, you must head to Mount Ordeals to the east. On that mountain you may find where your true fate lies.
Cecil: But Golbez holds Rosa's life in his hand...! I cannot afford to waste time with other quests now...
Cecil, you nearly wrecked their entire village, they have the right to dick about with detours to the plot for a while.
Elder: I see this girl means much to you. But you mustn't be impatient. You are destined to a great fate. You must go to Mount Ordeals and transform that dark sword you carry into one of light. Those who accept the holy light may become paladins. Many have tried, but none have returned... Do you wish to go?
Cecil: Yes... But I have little confidence I can do this on my own.
Elder: I thought as much. I shall call upon some mages to help you. Palom! Porom!
A little girl comes in.
Girl: You called for us, Elder?
Elder: Where is Palom?
Girl: Palom! Come out this minute!
A boy teleports in.
Boy: You want me to help this Baron sleaze!? Be grateful that Mysidia's greatest magical prodigy, Palom, will even consider assisting you!
Cecil: Are these the mages...?
Elder: Yes. This is Palom and Porom.
You're kidding, right?
Right?
He's not kidding.
Palom: I'm the best black mage in all of Mysidia! You'd be lucky to polish my wand, Baron scum.
Elder: Palom! I hope you behave yourself on this journey...
Porom wisely ignores those two.
Porom: My name is Porom. I'm pleased to meet you, sir. Palom! Greet him properly!
Palom: Hey, nice to meetcha.
Black mage Palom and white mage Porom have joined the party.
Elder: Now go to Mount Ordeals. You two, do everything in your power to assist Cecil.
Let's go over our two new characters. Palom the Black Mage and Porom the White Mage use Black and White Magic respectively, and equip all the typical mage stuff (Palom gets Rods and Daggers, Porom gets Staves and Bows). They both learn spells very fast. They also have Twincast, an ability that takes up both of their turns to cast a strong spell. Not useful, as we'll want Porom on healing. They also have one more ability each; Palom gets Bluff, which increases his Intellect, and Porom gets Cry, which inflicts confuse on enemies. Both are useful characters. They start at level 10.
We head to the shops and pick up equipment for our new characters. There's some gear that sounds Paladin-like here (the Lustrous equipment), so we buy a set of that too.
After some gil grinding, that is, that stuff's expensive. During the grind, Palom learns Blizzara, Pig, Fira, Thundara and Stop, and Porom learns Raise, Protect and Cura.
We also get a rare drop, the spell, um, I don't actually know what it's called in this version, so I'll go with its GBA name, Petrifying Beak (Cockatrice summon). This may be useful if we had Rydia with us, but no, we had to be attacked by Leviathan.
I figure the game's RNG is laughing at me, but maybe not, as it didn't give me Goblin Punch. Whatever, next time, it's Paladin Quest.
Stats:
Palom: Lv 14 HP:173 MP:85 Strength:11 Speed:9 Stamina:8 Intellect:25 Spirit:13 Attack:12 (2 attacks) Defence:14 Magic Defence:12
Cecil: Lv 19 HP:389 MP:0 Strength:26 Speed:21 Stamina:21 Intellect:14 Spirit:0 Attack:40 (5 attacks) Defence:31 Magic Defence:4
Porom: Lv 14 HP:178 MP:83 Strength:9 Speed:9 Stamina:7 Intellect:13 Spirit:22 Attack:13 (2 attacks) Defence:13 Magic Defence:12
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