Quesada's Swan

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

I switch to Rokurou for one battle. For his martial artes he uses his twin swords, and for his hidden artes he uses elemental seals.

The game notes that he has non-elemental hidden artes...

I have a long way to go before the party levels up again...

I go back to Beardsley to sell tons of stuff...and I boost the shop's level! I get a Wanderer's Ventite, which boosts map movement speed by 10 percent!

After buying an item on sale and a few ingredients, I wander around the village a bit...

I laugh a bit after seeing the yak that burped at Rokurou again...

Now to face Dyle...

I fight some more monsters first. Lucky I don't have to worry about TP in this Tales game. That's probably why there are no Orange Gels here...

I'm really tempted to fight the masked bat monster...

After more fighting, I get a new title for Velvet!

I face the masked bat monster: the Bat Baron!

We wear him down with elemental artes since he's strong against non-elemental attacks...

And he can call reinforcements too!?

But he staggers us and I get pummeled to a game over for the second time!

After a long struggle, we finally beat the Bat Baron! As a reward, we get the Acrobat's Ventite!

Near wounded after a battle or two, we rest up before taking on Dyle!

I read the Bat Baron's stats: his defense increases when near death...

That was a tough miniboss!

---

Now at a tar-filled lake...

There's an exorcist orderly in the pool...

Rokurou: "Did he slip and fall?"

And there's Dyle, with sword and shield!

Velvet: "No! He was thrown in!"

The game now gives me more pointers on weak point combos...and Daemon Dyle is weak against fire, earth, and demihuman attacks. I adjust Velvet's and Rokurou's artes accordingly.

Rokurou: "We've found our murderer!"
Dyle: "More fools from Hellawes. Hunting me down, eh?"
Velvet: "It seems that way."

Dyle unleashes his multiple stabs and vortex attacks, but it doesn't hold the party for very long!

Our defense is down...

Dyle's down!

Dyle: "I won't die yet! Not until I have my revenge!" Another vengeful one!
Velvet: "Revenge?"
Dyle: "Those [members] at the guild who tried to kill me! They want me to take the fall for their smuggling operation!" What!?

---

Dyle continues. The entire guild was involved in smuggling. Dyle had his part to play, and there were "benefits" for him.

Rokurou agrees, saying that "it would take more than one person to dig that tunnel into the warehouse."

Dyle points out the Abbey eventually found out about their "extralegal activities."

Rokurou: "And dead men tell no tales. So they blame it on you and kill you to cover it up. Looks like it's not going quite how they planned."

Oh my god, more crooked guilds doing crooked things...

Velvet asks how Dyle will plan his revenge: a raid on the city. Velvet thinks it's a bad idea. Dyle just wants his revenge against the guild that betrayed him...it's just like Velvet's story all over again.

Velvet cuts off Dyle's tail!

Yeesh....

Velvet will use the tail to announce that Dyle's "dead." In return for his presumed "death," she wants the ship fixed.

We get a new item for the Tales series: a Denore Bottle, which can allow us to go back to the start of a dungeon!

We speak to Dyle again who's surprised that we found him in the hollow.

Velvet says it was luck and a hunch.

Dyle hated Beardsley and wanted to leave it very quickly. Hence why he became a sailor, but he's not going to "abandon his home again..."

Dyle decides to live like a monster, and hopes for vengeance against the guild that wronged him someday...

On the way back, Rokurou asks Velvet about sparing Dyle.

Rokurou: "Is this really how you wanted to play it?"
Velvet: "Listen, I'm being hunted too. It's only a matter of time. I can't afford sympathy."

But, deep down, I'm guessing she probably is sympathetic...