Tales of Vesperia Post 22: Law/Chaos Axis
Mar. 10th, 2013 06:06 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
xyzzysqrlWelcome back. It's been a while since our last update! I have been kinda like this for most of the time, and then it was my birthday on the 8th. I recieved some interesting gifts (in transit) that I think you folk are actually going to like, and so I was like this for a while, but then I flopped back over and was like this again. I also introduced the boyfriend to the concept of "Boston Creme Pie" which is hilarious because he was BORN in Massachusetts. You would think there would be LAWS. I GUESS NOT.
Anyway, enough of that. Let's get on with that super-delayed update.
Last time on Tales of Vesperia, Yuri made Rita sick with the Power of Love, Rita explained how science works, Karol stole Imperial hubcaps, Raven offered to strip and was briskly rebuked, and I made a lame Symphonia reference. Sounds pretty light-hearted, right? Well. Hold on to that.
After making sure Cumore can't march any more local prisoners into the desert, the group drops by the inn. Guards are still watching the Innkeeper, so he can't even greet us warmly when we return. The whole situation is kinda screwed up, y'know? Yuri and company sit up late into the night, trying to work out if they can do anything about Cumore. Estelle can't believe he'd be burning through the entire population of the town on a mad quest to catch Phaeroh. If she could... y'know, TALK to him, like a member of the Imperial Family...
Eh, last time she tried that (Heilord) she got shut down. Cumore didn't give a damn. Rita thinks they should ignore the subject. They're on a time-limit to meet Belius. Judith agrees, that IS their goal. And if they did catch Cumore... what then? They don't have authority to try him for all the crimes he's commited. They're just going to have to tell Flynn when they see him again. He'll know what to do.
Estelle is... disheartened, to say the least, and Rita apologizes. "It disgusts me too, to imagine that stupid jerk snoring all cozy in his bed right now." Raven cheerfully offers that the only cure for stupidity is death, and that basically puts an end to the conversation. The group turns in, getting some shut-eye.
Everyone except Yuri, who quietly slips out of the inn room. Fade in on Cumore's bedroom, Cumore asleep in bed... and Yuri standing over him. He gives the bed a kick and Cumore snaps awake just enough to recognize Yuri... and see the sword in his hand. He dives out of bed and draws his own sword in a hurry, but Yuri smacks it right out of his hands. Cumore responds by scrambling out the window and making a run for it, Yuri in steady pursuit.
Cumore alternates between pleading that he was only following orders from above, insults, and trying to bargain with Yuri somehow. What if he pardoned all Yuri's crimes? Or got him reinstated as a knight? Or just threw handfuls of money at him?
Yuri: "There's only one thing I want from you."
Cumore: "W-what might that...?"
Yuri just keeps approaching as Cumore scrambles deeper into the desert to get away... and tumbles into a pool of quicksand. He desperately begs Yuri for help, for a branch, for anything... he doesn't want to die like THIS! In the dirt! Yuri is not impressed.
Yuri: "How many times have YOU heard those words, Cumore?"
He just stands and watches, to make sure Cumore sinks all the way down. In a burst of hilarious comedy irony, the moment Cumore is out of sight Flynn comes over from the town. He's been working al day to take charge of things here. The residents of the town won't suffer any further.
Yuri: "That oughta get you one step closer to your next promotion."
Yuri shrugs and turns to head back to the inn. Flynn stops him briefly. Later? They need to have a TALK. Yuri nods and keeps walking. Back in town, a large group of guards has arrested the smaller, troublemaking group and there are parties and fireworks in the streets. It's a good night for justice, however it happens.
The party is thrilled. Flynn showed up just in time! It's a huge relief... now he can get Cumore behind bars. Right, Yuri? ...Yuri doesn't seem willing to say much. Rita and Raven are exhausted from playing with the children in celebration, so they're planning to hit the bed. But Yuri needs to go have that ... talk with Flynn.
It is a very ICY talk, since Flynn starts off swinging high right out of the box. Why did Yuri kill Cumore? He was to be ARRESTED. PUNISHED. Not murdered. Yuri wants to know if the same laws that failed to punish Ragou would've somehow succeeded with Cumore. But saying THAT, argues Flynn, does NOT make it right for Yuri to operate his own private court with his own private laws.
Flynn: "If the laws are at fault, then FIXING those laws comes first!"
Yuri: "So you'd rather tell people "Ooh, sorry you died today, I promise we'll change things soon!"?"
Flynn: "That's NOT what I'm saying at all!"
Yuri argues that someone has to stand up for the average person, who can't fight for themselves. It was the same way back in the lower quarter, some people need protection. Flynn argues that Yuri can't just kill all the villains of the world, raining justice as he sees fit. It's behaving like a criminal!
Yuri agrees. It really is criminal behavior, but he's made his choices. Murder IS a crime.
Flynn: "And yet, you still intend to dirty your hands."
Yuri: "Intend to? I already have."
Flynn looks damn near heartbroken. As an imperial knight, he cannot overlook the crime of murder. He starts to draw his sword, and place Yuri under arrest. ... happily, just then, Sodia interferes and Flynn deliberately turns his back on Yuri to reply to her. Flynn is needed elsewhere, in Nordopolica. The Hunting Blades are on the move, the barricade is established, and they're being called in. By the time Flynn turns around, Yuri's gone. Flynn knows Yuri better than anyone else, though. He'll catch up. Sometime.
As Yuri is extracting himself from the conversation with Flynn, he finds Repede first, then Estelle walking alongside him. She heard it all. Yuri offers again that she can just... leave if she needs to. Go back to the castle. Away from the scary killer. Estelle shakes her head. Yes, what Yuri's done is illegal, but... what he did saved a lot of lives too. Made a lot of people happy...
Yuri: "You never know. One day I might turn my blade on you."
Estelle: "If you ever end up pointing your sword at me, I'm sure I'll have done something to deserve it."
Needless to say, Estelle isn't leaving.
I feel like 9/10ths of this game is spent with one character trying to abandon/drive the others away.
We all go get some sleep, and in the morning we're ready to head for Nordopolica! ... Which is where Flynn's going! And he has a new drive to arrest Yuri! ... crrrrrrap. Flynn also said something about a "barricade" before leaving. That'll be, er... something to deal with maybe. Still, if they miss the new moon they miss their chance to meet Belius. We should roll out... after the town's sidequests are done.
As we leave the inn, Karol notes that it would be kinda nice if Brave Vesperia had some way beyond Estelle to take on jobs and get funded. Raven looks surprised. "What, didn't you know?" The Dahngrest Union Outpost will kick jobs to a startup guild even if they're not union. Good way to see who can be trusted and who can't. So the group tromps around until I find the local Union Outpost guy, who recognizes Raven and eyes Karol warily.
"Isn't that the little guild-hopper?" Karol is now -leading- a guild, which doesn't seem to soothe the dude any. Still, this is the union outpost for the town. We pick up a basic "Transport my Stuff" job from him. The payout is 4200g, but the union takes a 30% cut for finding and because we're unaffiliated, bringing it down to 3000g. We take the job, have a chat with the client (he wants us to run a book to an old friend, and he's not sure where said friend is) and take the goods. The friend will recognize the book and give the phrase "A firey soul into a sea of flames".
Karol: "We accept this task in the name of the brightest star of the night sky: Brave Vesperia!"
Judith: "What was that? It sounded like a magic spell."
Karol: "It's an oath for taking a new job. Proof you accept the client's request."
Great. Now Karol is making up elaborate oaths. Can you imagine this in other fields of life? "I swear your drains will be unclogged in the name of Cloaca Maxima, the foremost plumbing guild!"
Oh well. Also, behind the inn is a small cow boy. I mean, he is holstein-patterned and has floppy ears and horns. His name is Kowz, he likes talking about boobs, and he operates a portal to an alternate universe or something. I don't know. Either way, you give him things and he throws them in and out come other items. I give him an apple gel (the cheapest healing item) and we get milk in return. "Freshly squeezed from the udders of yours truly! Moo hoo hoo!"
Well that's fucking terrifying. Let's get the hell out of this entire city. We tromp off towards to the Wesand... except the Knights have it blocked off. All the routes through the mountains are blocked, actually. There's some grave danger in Nordopolica. (OF COURSE THERE IS. We're headed there.) The party ponders this, then decide to recon and see if they can come up with a way through. With the Flynn Brigade blocking the place off... there doesn't seem to be a way through the cave at first.
Raven: "With hardcore tactics like this, there's no doubt in my mind that this has something to do with the talk of Belius engineering the Great War."
Funny, I don't remember that plot point, but I'll take his word for it. Raven sets off an explosion with his bow, which distracts the guards long enough for us to wriggle on through the barricade. Unfortunately one of the knights recognizes Yuri. Yet another crime goes on the list.
Karol: "Only the empire would have the power to cut off all the ways in and out of a whole town."
Yuri: "It's the Imperial style. Crush everything with as much power as you can, even the travel routes."
The Imperial Knights are even using monsters in their blockade, as we have to battle quite a few. Estelle and Yuri think this seems somehow out of character for Flynn. Raven explains that sometimes orders from above just don't seem to make sense when they reach the guys working in the field. Yuri points out that he seems to know a lot about that kinda thing. Must be from working with the big guilds.
Oh well. Through the mountains to Nordopolica. Rita's kinda sad she won't get to check out the aer krene here much, but... hey, there's that or be caught by imperial guards for blockade-running. She does stop to check it out, though... completely inactive. When they passed through last time it was in overdrive... what could've changed? The odds of it being some natural occurrence are low at best. Rita can't think too much about it, though. Knights are pursuing. More swordplay required.
Yuri: "Our weapons are: BLADES!"
Rita: "MAGIC!"
Karol: "And TEAMWORK!"
Estelle: "That's wonderful!"
The way out of the cave is guarded too... by Leblanc, Adecor and Boccos. Unfortunately we really have no choice but to go through them, since we're pinned between them and the knights pursuing. Raven clears his throat and orders them to "ATTEN-SHUN!" and they automatically salute, long enough for us to zip straight by.
That's a weird reaction. Works out in our favor, though! A quick rush through the monsters and we're back at Nordopolica. What awaits us there?
We'll find out soon.
Anyway, enough of that. Let's get on with that super-delayed update.
Last time on Tales of Vesperia, Yuri made Rita sick with the Power of Love, Rita explained how science works, Karol stole Imperial hubcaps, Raven offered to strip and was briskly rebuked, and I made a lame Symphonia reference. Sounds pretty light-hearted, right? Well. Hold on to that.
After making sure Cumore can't march any more local prisoners into the desert, the group drops by the inn. Guards are still watching the Innkeeper, so he can't even greet us warmly when we return. The whole situation is kinda screwed up, y'know? Yuri and company sit up late into the night, trying to work out if they can do anything about Cumore. Estelle can't believe he'd be burning through the entire population of the town on a mad quest to catch Phaeroh. If she could... y'know, TALK to him, like a member of the Imperial Family...
Eh, last time she tried that (Heilord) she got shut down. Cumore didn't give a damn. Rita thinks they should ignore the subject. They're on a time-limit to meet Belius. Judith agrees, that IS their goal. And if they did catch Cumore... what then? They don't have authority to try him for all the crimes he's commited. They're just going to have to tell Flynn when they see him again. He'll know what to do.
Estelle is... disheartened, to say the least, and Rita apologizes. "It disgusts me too, to imagine that stupid jerk snoring all cozy in his bed right now." Raven cheerfully offers that the only cure for stupidity is death, and that basically puts an end to the conversation. The group turns in, getting some shut-eye.
Everyone except Yuri, who quietly slips out of the inn room. Fade in on Cumore's bedroom, Cumore asleep in bed... and Yuri standing over him. He gives the bed a kick and Cumore snaps awake just enough to recognize Yuri... and see the sword in his hand. He dives out of bed and draws his own sword in a hurry, but Yuri smacks it right out of his hands. Cumore responds by scrambling out the window and making a run for it, Yuri in steady pursuit.
Cumore alternates between pleading that he was only following orders from above, insults, and trying to bargain with Yuri somehow. What if he pardoned all Yuri's crimes? Or got him reinstated as a knight? Or just threw handfuls of money at him?
Yuri: "There's only one thing I want from you."
Cumore: "W-what might that...?"
Yuri just keeps approaching as Cumore scrambles deeper into the desert to get away... and tumbles into a pool of quicksand. He desperately begs Yuri for help, for a branch, for anything... he doesn't want to die like THIS! In the dirt! Yuri is not impressed.
Yuri: "How many times have YOU heard those words, Cumore?"
He just stands and watches, to make sure Cumore sinks all the way down. In a burst of hilarious comedy irony, the moment Cumore is out of sight Flynn comes over from the town. He's been working al day to take charge of things here. The residents of the town won't suffer any further.
Yuri: "That oughta get you one step closer to your next promotion."
Yuri shrugs and turns to head back to the inn. Flynn stops him briefly. Later? They need to have a TALK. Yuri nods and keeps walking. Back in town, a large group of guards has arrested the smaller, troublemaking group and there are parties and fireworks in the streets. It's a good night for justice, however it happens.
The party is thrilled. Flynn showed up just in time! It's a huge relief... now he can get Cumore behind bars. Right, Yuri? ...Yuri doesn't seem willing to say much. Rita and Raven are exhausted from playing with the children in celebration, so they're planning to hit the bed. But Yuri needs to go have that ... talk with Flynn.
It is a very ICY talk, since Flynn starts off swinging high right out of the box. Why did Yuri kill Cumore? He was to be ARRESTED. PUNISHED. Not murdered. Yuri wants to know if the same laws that failed to punish Ragou would've somehow succeeded with Cumore. But saying THAT, argues Flynn, does NOT make it right for Yuri to operate his own private court with his own private laws.
Flynn: "If the laws are at fault, then FIXING those laws comes first!"
Yuri: "So you'd rather tell people "Ooh, sorry you died today, I promise we'll change things soon!"?"
Flynn: "That's NOT what I'm saying at all!"
Yuri argues that someone has to stand up for the average person, who can't fight for themselves. It was the same way back in the lower quarter, some people need protection. Flynn argues that Yuri can't just kill all the villains of the world, raining justice as he sees fit. It's behaving like a criminal!
Yuri agrees. It really is criminal behavior, but he's made his choices. Murder IS a crime.
Flynn: "And yet, you still intend to dirty your hands."
Yuri: "Intend to? I already have."
Flynn looks damn near heartbroken. As an imperial knight, he cannot overlook the crime of murder. He starts to draw his sword, and place Yuri under arrest. ... happily, just then, Sodia interferes and Flynn deliberately turns his back on Yuri to reply to her. Flynn is needed elsewhere, in Nordopolica. The Hunting Blades are on the move, the barricade is established, and they're being called in. By the time Flynn turns around, Yuri's gone. Flynn knows Yuri better than anyone else, though. He'll catch up. Sometime.
As Yuri is extracting himself from the conversation with Flynn, he finds Repede first, then Estelle walking alongside him. She heard it all. Yuri offers again that she can just... leave if she needs to. Go back to the castle. Away from the scary killer. Estelle shakes her head. Yes, what Yuri's done is illegal, but... what he did saved a lot of lives too. Made a lot of people happy...
Yuri: "You never know. One day I might turn my blade on you."
Estelle: "If you ever end up pointing your sword at me, I'm sure I'll have done something to deserve it."
Needless to say, Estelle isn't leaving.
I feel like 9/10ths of this game is spent with one character trying to abandon/drive the others away.
We all go get some sleep, and in the morning we're ready to head for Nordopolica! ... Which is where Flynn's going! And he has a new drive to arrest Yuri! ... crrrrrrap. Flynn also said something about a "barricade" before leaving. That'll be, er... something to deal with maybe. Still, if they miss the new moon they miss their chance to meet Belius. We should roll out... after the town's sidequests are done.
As we leave the inn, Karol notes that it would be kinda nice if Brave Vesperia had some way beyond Estelle to take on jobs and get funded. Raven looks surprised. "What, didn't you know?" The Dahngrest Union Outpost will kick jobs to a startup guild even if they're not union. Good way to see who can be trusted and who can't. So the group tromps around until I find the local Union Outpost guy, who recognizes Raven and eyes Karol warily.
"Isn't that the little guild-hopper?" Karol is now -leading- a guild, which doesn't seem to soothe the dude any. Still, this is the union outpost for the town. We pick up a basic "Transport my Stuff" job from him. The payout is 4200g, but the union takes a 30% cut for finding and because we're unaffiliated, bringing it down to 3000g. We take the job, have a chat with the client (he wants us to run a book to an old friend, and he's not sure where said friend is) and take the goods. The friend will recognize the book and give the phrase "A firey soul into a sea of flames".
Karol: "We accept this task in the name of the brightest star of the night sky: Brave Vesperia!"
Judith: "What was that? It sounded like a magic spell."
Karol: "It's an oath for taking a new job. Proof you accept the client's request."
Great. Now Karol is making up elaborate oaths. Can you imagine this in other fields of life? "I swear your drains will be unclogged in the name of Cloaca Maxima, the foremost plumbing guild!"
Oh well. Also, behind the inn is a small cow boy. I mean, he is holstein-patterned and has floppy ears and horns. His name is Kowz, he likes talking about boobs, and he operates a portal to an alternate universe or something. I don't know. Either way, you give him things and he throws them in and out come other items. I give him an apple gel (the cheapest healing item) and we get milk in return. "Freshly squeezed from the udders of yours truly! Moo hoo hoo!"
Well that's fucking terrifying. Let's get the hell out of this entire city. We tromp off towards to the Wesand... except the Knights have it blocked off. All the routes through the mountains are blocked, actually. There's some grave danger in Nordopolica. (OF COURSE THERE IS. We're headed there.) The party ponders this, then decide to recon and see if they can come up with a way through. With the Flynn Brigade blocking the place off... there doesn't seem to be a way through the cave at first.
Raven: "With hardcore tactics like this, there's no doubt in my mind that this has something to do with the talk of Belius engineering the Great War."
Funny, I don't remember that plot point, but I'll take his word for it. Raven sets off an explosion with his bow, which distracts the guards long enough for us to wriggle on through the barricade. Unfortunately one of the knights recognizes Yuri. Yet another crime goes on the list.
Karol: "Only the empire would have the power to cut off all the ways in and out of a whole town."
Yuri: "It's the Imperial style. Crush everything with as much power as you can, even the travel routes."
The Imperial Knights are even using monsters in their blockade, as we have to battle quite a few. Estelle and Yuri think this seems somehow out of character for Flynn. Raven explains that sometimes orders from above just don't seem to make sense when they reach the guys working in the field. Yuri points out that he seems to know a lot about that kinda thing. Must be from working with the big guilds.
Oh well. Through the mountains to Nordopolica. Rita's kinda sad she won't get to check out the aer krene here much, but... hey, there's that or be caught by imperial guards for blockade-running. She does stop to check it out, though... completely inactive. When they passed through last time it was in overdrive... what could've changed? The odds of it being some natural occurrence are low at best. Rita can't think too much about it, though. Knights are pursuing. More swordplay required.
Yuri: "Our weapons are: BLADES!"
Rita: "MAGIC!"
Karol: "And TEAMWORK!"
Estelle: "That's wonderful!"
The way out of the cave is guarded too... by Leblanc, Adecor and Boccos. Unfortunately we really have no choice but to go through them, since we're pinned between them and the knights pursuing. Raven clears his throat and orders them to "ATTEN-SHUN!" and they automatically salute, long enough for us to zip straight by.
That's a weird reaction. Works out in our favor, though! A quick rush through the monsters and we're back at Nordopolica. What awaits us there?
We'll find out soon.
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no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 01:30 am (UTC)Forgive me, but I thought the point of these posts was that you had too many games already and were trying to complete them :)
no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 01:42 am (UTC)At this point I've given up on finishing ever. I'm treading water and enjoying it.
no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 01:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2013-03-11 02:08 am (UTC)