Abandoned Mines B1

Things start to get a bit hairy in here, and it can go south pretty quickly during some of the fights. Early on we come to a chest locked by magic, which makes the Grimoire Clef picked up recently come in very handy. There are a few new monsters to contend with, including this chap: one that imitates a treasure chest and is very hard to hit.


There's a nasty boss almost immediately, too. Another Wyvern - and one with an especially nasty fire breath attack...


This is a loooong fight, even with a decent Dragon weapon. All you can really do is chip away at its head or tail, but you MUST stay close to it. That way it will only get in the occasional bite. Degenerate and Prostasia help, but not much! It drops the Hyacinth Sigil which opens a door in these very mines, and a Grimoire Ignifuge, which teaches the Fire Guard ability. One of the biggest problems faced in the Abandoned Mines is Goblins that attack in groups of three, with one leader casting Paralysis spells on you. Very annoying indeed. Luckily by this point I've amassed enough Yggdrasil's Tears to counter the spell. Also, putting Dulling Impact on a Chain Ability and going for the leader straight off eases the trouble.

A Poison panel in front of a chest you have to open. How unsporting...

We're also introduced to the 'time run' here. Basically you enter a room and have a set amount of time to make it through, either a single room or multiple rooms. The first one is easy, just two rooms. If you fail you end up back in the room you came from. There's also the first appearance of this:

... which we'll deal with later.

A few more Goblins and Mimics later and we're treated to a nice bundle from another magically-locked chest. The Grimoire Undine in particular is key for the immediate future.

"Is it me or did it just get hot in here?"

Okay. Fire Elemental. The first time I played Vagrant Story this was where I came a cropper big time, and I realised I had to be more attentive to my equipment and abilities rather than just hitting everything repeatedly. So, going into this fight there are a few important preparations: Undine Jasper fitted to the weapon for water-affinity, Frost Fusion cast on the weapon for added bite, and the Salamander Ruby on the shield for fire-affinity defence. This little setup is a huge boost and makes this boss fight pretty easy. I also swopped around the Chain Abilities to Heavy Shot and Crimson Pain, which make for a really nice rhythm on chains. Crimson Pain has a 100% damage bonus against the enemy, but also inflicts 30% back against Ashley, so you have to keep a close eye on your health. I think the trade-off is worth it though.







It's worth pointing out here that contrary to popular belief, you don't actually need to carry six individual weapons, because the way the classes filter down means that a class three spaces removed from another will not be adversely affected by its use. More plainly speaking, using a Human weapon against human enemies decreases its effectiveness against Beasts and Undead, but not against Phantoms. Beast weapons decrease against Undead and Phantoms, but not against Dragons, and so forth. The list of six loops round. The short of it is that you can have one weapon for Humans and Phantoms, one for Beasts and Dragons, and one for Undead and Evil enemies. Anyway, onwards!

'Tis but a hop...

Urk...

Tadaa!

"Piff paff puff!"

"Muwahahaha! Burn!"

"......... Pants."

After several more encounters with Goblins, Stirges (blood-sucking bats), Mimics and Hellhounds, we come to another large room...




This guy is really fast and he has a big reach. He'll continually run around the edge of the room, occasionally swinging at Ashley with his axe. The best method to deal with him is individual hits to the head, as his speed means that chaining is extremely difficult - you'll just miss all the subsequent hits and waste Risk. A ranged weapon might come in handy even, but as I mentioned before I never really like using them in VS. He occasionally gets a very bit hit in (100+) damage, but other than that he's not a major problem. I love the end of this fight. Ashley is such a badass.



The Ogre drops a Grimoire Rampart among other things, which teaches the Terra Guard spell, raising an armour's Earth-affinity.

Immediately after the battle Ashley is struck by another vision...





Sydney: What do you see? You find us strange, no?

Callo: That thing you do...it...



Hardin: ...They have formed into three groups. They are wounded... and increasingly wary of being split apart. They seem less focused than our visitors last night.
Sydney: The soldiers last night were trained elites; these latecomers are mere sellswords. Guildenstern doubtlessly wished to catch us in the Graylands. Yet we proved too cunning a quarry...
Hardin: It is a hollow victory. Our losses are greater than the Blades'. And they cut our puppets' strings and turned them against us. They will soon hold the surface. We are lost!


Sydney: Yet it need not be in vain. Need it, Hardin?
Hardin: How can they control out servants? How!?
Sydney: Not all of them can. Only a few.
Hardin: Yet we are the masters, are we not? Have we been betrayed by one of our own?
Sydney: I think not. The Cardinal has prepared long for this. 20 years watching... waiting.
Hardin: Think! They struck us just as we were moving on the Duke! They knew our plans, Sydney!
Sydney: Temper, Hardin. You must learn control.
Hardin: We are lost, Sydney! Lost! We must leave now, or we'll be warming our toes in hell!!




Sydney: We are friends, you and I. Is that not so, Hardin? Give me your trust, friend.



Hardin: What will you do?
Sydney: Just going to pay a visit on Guildenstern. Worry not, my friend. Use sigils to lock all you can. It will cost our guests valuable time to unbind them.












Ashley leaves and climbs the steps out of the mines.