“Before, what with work and all, I was never able to find the time. I’ve started inviting other people from my neighborhood to join me. Everyone’s having a lot of fun learning to cook.”
“I’m determined that someday, I’ll be able to make the same kind of fine cuisine you get in a fancy restaurant!”
“It’s a shame I won’t be able to eat it myself, but it’s all about the joy of cooking. Don’t you agree?”
“And when I took it I felt better and could do my job. So, I kept buying mineral powder, but it gradually got less and less effective. That’s when I started getting scared. So, I decided to stop taking it. But I kept telling myself, ‘This is the last time, just once more.’”
“One day, I was shocked to find I could use magic. And by that time, there was no turning back. I couldn’t live without taking the mineral powder.”
I have the sinking feeling that this story is all too common here…
“Men are always the same, even when they’re dead.”
“I’m an old woman, but he seems to think I’m a young girl. I wonder why he can’t tell. Maybe his soul is clouded.”
“How could she tell I was an old man if I don’t have a body?”
“I wonder how she knew. Oh! Maybe it was how I smell! Do I smell old?”
That is not a question I want to spend any amount of time answering,
goodbye now
“We may not be able to do things like hold hands or kiss, but we can feel one another’s love. That’s enough for me.”
“Just going for a walk or talking together makes me happy. To me, that’s true love.”
Aw, that’s actually really sweet.
“But when my family found out I could use magic, they dumped me in Fort Fermata! How do you like that?!”
“Humans. Humph.”
“I was looking up at the sky, when out of nowhere this big shadow went sailing over me. It was huge! It had to be a monster!”
“The monster was headed straight for the dunes.”
Yeah, that sounds like Legato all right. It sucks that we’ll apparently have to cross a desert to catch up with them, but at least we have a rough idea of where they went.
Gross! (There’s not an item hidden here, just this small bit of flavor text.)
Maybe someone on the other side of town can give more precise directions.
(The following lines are all rendered as separate text boxes, but I’ve grouped certain sentences together where I thought appropriate, to save on space.)
Sister: “That’s already the top.”
“That’ll give up the ghost soon. Why don’t you let it do what it likes?”
“Are you tired of sand? Has the stagnant wind dried you out?”
“Time is meaningless here. Time makes things rot.”
“Do you still want to go?”
*Frederic nods.*
“So you will move time yourself? Very well.”
*The spirit begins floating away.*
Sister: “I will pray for you.”
Well that was cryptic… but thanks, I think.
“Hey! Let’s play hide and go seek!”
An unfortunate case of an NPC being covered by a text box; that happens a few times in this area. Not much I can do about it, alas.
(This NPC is down in the bottom-right corner of the screenshot; you can barely see Allegretto’s hair if you look closely.)
“It’s nice that it’s getting busy, but I can’t really feel happy about it.”
(This NPC is just above the previous one.)
“I figured I should probably look for someplace to live, but I can’t seem to find anywhere I like. All the best places are already taken.”
“You’re probably wondering why I want a place of my own when I’m like this. Yeah, I guess it doesn’t really matter. But even spirits can’t help wanting a little privacy, know what I mean?”
“But take a look for yourself. Looking out from here, you can see that everyone gets along with each other. No one’s being bullied or teased. It’s really gratifying to see.”
“It brings tears to my eyes.”
“That metallic taste as it tickles your throat. The full-bodied flavor with a bitterness like rusted iron. I start drooling just thinking about it.”
“Oooh, mineral beer.”
Glamorous Oboe: “I wound up here when I was about your age. Most of the people here are old fogies. I get so bored with no one to talk to! This works out perfectly. You can keep me company.”
Uh, sure? We’re kind of in a hurry, but I guess it can’t hurt.
“I was quite the little number myself when I was alive. It’s a crying shame I can’t show you my nice figure!”
Ignoring that last comment… Unfortunately, even with our rather large collection of Score Pieces we don’t have one that matches theirs; we’ll have to come back later.
Yikes, fine then. It’s at this point that I realize I forgot to grab a couple items back in the first area of Elegy. Over by the piano, you can investigate a pot:
Allegretto: “What an ugly pot. Hey, there’s something in here!”
And on the opposite end, another spot to check:
“There’s something sticking out of this barrel.”
These are improved versions of the Glowing/Shadow Tails from much earlier in the game, but they aren’t so much better that I’m willing to use them in battle; they started being available a few shops ago, but I didn’t think they were noteworthy enough to mention. Now then, back to looking around Elegy.
Sure am, NPC That’s Blocked By Their Own Text Box.
“Don’t waste your time. The road to the dunes is sealed off so no one can get through.”
“If you’re dead set on going, then you’d better go ask the elder. I imagine you’ll find her hanging out in front of the barrier.”
Well shoot, that’s inconvenient. We’d better do as this spirit says and go seek out the elder.
“There isn’t really anything to do, so I just sit here all day long, staring out at the desert.”
“Sand is really pretty. Each grain of sand shines like gold. It’s like your soul is being washed clean.”
“I was always busy before I came here.”
Before we go see what this barrier is all about, there’s an easy-to-miss item behind this NPC:
Allegretto: “No way! This is the legendary Rainbow EZI! How much is it? 10 Gold?! That’s cheap!”
The game just lists the Rainbow EZI as having “Unknown Effect,” but equipping it gives the wearer Shining Body, which easily makes it one of the more useful EZI items we’ve come across. Now then, onward to the desert.
