Sorry for the brief updates. The following ones should be better.
But that doesn't mean we won't be playing around. The first thing I have Brandt do when he comes to his senses is leave town and... almost get killed by the first random monster I meet: a Jack Lantern. Without a weapon,Brandt only does 1 damage per attack, and he doesn't have a run command either. Nevertheless, I somehow manage to win. Incidentally, Jack Lanterns seem to use Wind elemental physical attacks with their trusty knife and fork. Other enemies include Falcons and Imps... which are also wind elemental users.
Despite the lack of... 'anything really', it isn't hard to make it to the North Cave (South section). There, there are two Horne soldiers preventing passage. Apparently, the King has ordered the caves be closed to the public, unless the king gives special permission. Well, that was our first plot wall for the day, how about we go for 2? Trying to head further east... gets us killed by the second random encounter. Fortunately, Brandt is just sent back to the Adventurer at Horne. Let's try that again... Getting further along this time, we can see that there is a desert to the east and a sandstorm which blocks the way (but only after giving us plenty of space to run into and be killed by Big Worms).
Okay, enough failing to sequence break. Let's start over.
There are eight hidden items hidden in Horne (And every other town). I put off collecting them last time so I could do them all now.
1. A Potion in the fireplace in Brand's house. 2. A Potion on a wooden water duct attached to Brandt's house. 3. A Potion in the field of ripe grass to the east of Horne's entrance. 4. A Dragon Wing (Returns to town) in a Barrel in the house north of said field. 5. A Torch (Lights up a dark cave) in the top room of the inn. 6. Another Dragon Wing in the westernmost house in town. 7. A Potion near the water duct near the storage shop. 8. A Potion east of the windmill on the second zone of town.
Also, there are two more potions I can get from townspeople that I didn't get last time. If this all seems a bit much, well, the game doesn't expect you to find most of them immediately. I would recommend getting a few potions and the Torch: The north cave is dark, and while it's not worth it to buy a torch in my opinion, using a freebee is quite convenient.
One of the people who gives Brandt a free potion talks about Jusqua. Apparently, he's always been a handful, and acts tough but is in fact lonely...
Another person talks about seeing a Bull-like monster in the north cave.
The shop in Horne sells Potions for 20G, Torches for 10G, Dragon Wings for 60G, Steel Swords (2 att) for 200G, "Horne's Bow" (2 att) for 190G, and Wood Shields for 130G. All of which should matter little at the moment because Brandt is broke.
The Inn costs 10G, but you'll never use it because Brandt's bed is free.
There's one more shop tucked away in the northeast corner of town. This is the Wireless Building that allows for multiplayer. It also allows you to exchange Multiplayer points for prizes. Here's what's available...
Inferno sword (14 att, fire) for 5400, Frost Bull sword (12 att, water) for 5160, Gran Fissure sword (16 att, earth) for 4080, Krysta sword (15 att, wind) for 5700, Blacksword (18 att, dark, instant death effect) for 9600, Fencer's Garb, Warmage Armor, and Ceremonial Robe (Def 2, Mdef 2, Strength/Int/Spirit +5%) for 1000 each, Hero's Will accessory (Endures 1 fatal strike) for 8000, and the Growth Egg accessory (Doubles experience points earned) for 3000.
Yeah, the weapons are among the top tier in the game, and the Accessories are cool, if impractical. But it's all very expensive. Now, how are you supposed to get those points (because no one actually uses wireless for a game like this)? Well, you get a few hundred for every boss you fight, and 5 for every random encounter you meet. A Run command would sound really nice at this point, wouldn't it? Anyway, the game really does 'not' expect you to be able to get any of these, so I'll move on.
There's one more shop I haven't mentioned yet, because it doesn't actually sell anything: the storage shop is where you go to make sure you have free inventory space for whatever you find. I put away one of the Dragon wings and a few potions.
Now, it's finally time for us to head to the castle. The guards there were expecting Brandt to show up. Inside, one guard complains about how inexperienced the new guards are and that he's not sure they're ready for a trip outside the castle. Exploring the back rooms gives this offhand comment from a soldier in the armory: "She must be one heck of a witch, to have the king shaking in fear like he is.", as well as a wood shield and potion from nearby chests (The Wood Shield gives 1 defense and magic defense, and 3 to both evade and magic evade). Another room has a chest in a locked cell, and a soldier blocking the way to somewhere we aren't allowed to be. There's one more potion in the last room on the ground floor. Now for upstairs.
Talking to everyone else before the king has the older princess, Carino, begging him to save her younger sister Aire.
When Brandt finally talks to the king, he's in the middle of fuming about the witch's threats. Said witch has carried Aire away and Horne asks Brandt to save her. He's already sent soldiers to the witch's mansion to do so, but they haven't returned.
[Okay/Nope]
[Nope:]
Brandt: Are you kidding? If your soldiers can't do anything, how am I supposed to help?
King Horne: Hmph. Very well. Do as you please. (This ends the conversation without accomplishing anything. Brandt isn't even recognized as an adult, since that was hardly "Paying [his] respects to the king.")
[Okay:]
Brandt: Leave it to me! That mansion lies beyond the caves in the north. Should be easy to get to.
Horne: Splendid! I knew I could count on you. Here, this might come in handy...
The king gives Brandt a Steel Sword to help. Whether it was the best choice is arguable: Horne's Bow is just as strong and bows have a 1.4 multiplier against fliers, but it's good enough to go on with. Talk to the Minister after the King and he'll give 100 gill to help with equipping himself the rest of the way.
Now, a lot of people have new lines now that Brandt has his mission, mostly tutorial information. Also, the Witch of the North supposedly hasn't had much to do with Horne recently (She was probably put off when the king outlawed magic). Oh, and the person who talked about Jusqua has something to say about his days as a soldier at the castle, but Brandt seems to brush him off.
Now, the person we should really talk to at this point is Kuore. She's resigned to Brandt putting himself in danger and hives him a ring that belonged to his father. The Inherited ring boosts the wearer's maximum HP by 10, which is quite good at this point. Talk to her again and she'll ask whether he's met Jusqua yet. Ankhel encourages Brandt that he can do it.
That's a good place to stop for now. Next time, Brant will go to the North cave, and I'll keep testing how far he's willing to go.
