Battle Goddess 2:Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - The Girls from the Coral Forest
Somewhere in the Toraismal forests, an elf girl named Shesta is roused from her sleep by the sound of a bell ringing. This cues some bickering with her sister Shenna, who is unable to hear it. Further confusion is cut off by a sudden earthquake; Shenna is barely able to keep Shesta from falling out of the tree, but Shesta's pillow falls into a newly-created hole in the ground. Shesta refuses to go back to sleep without her pillow, and resolves to go in after it - dragging Shenna along with her.

Toraismal is now added to the world map, and it's currently blocking the route you need to take to Prea. Moving there will advance the story; however, you can also go back to the Forbidden Grounds and explore them a little more thoroughly, if you're so inclined.

The Northeastern Forbidden Ground (optional)
B2F - As you arrive, Celica can tell that there's still something powerful sealed away inside. Start on the second floor, then head to the room where you fought the Weeping Knight (stopping briefly to let Revia pay her respects to the dead soldiers). The pedestal with the lion's head has a more detailed version of the text from earlier in the dungeon. Elteno was a proud goddess, fond of challenging others to battle; as such, she refused to bow before the rise of the new gods, forcing them to send their armies against her. When she was finally defeated, she was sealed away here, still hating the gods and humans who had confined her.

The chest through the north door contains a Medium Recovery Wing. For now, head through the south door and up the staircase, continuing to take stairs up until you reach 2F.

2F - In this cave-like area, head west to fight a pair of Greyhounds, followed by another pair guarding the two chests in the southwest corner (containing a Mars Stone and a Combat Gauntlet). Examine the large gray boulder from the south side to shove it into the giant hole in the ground. Just west of here is a little room containing some sort of tablet; make sure you're healed up, then check it out. It's covered in the same ancient script from the catacombs below, which Haishera translates: those servants of the Seven who could not be destroyed were sealed away here instead, with a guardian of nature placed to punish intruders. As you finish reading, Ekria and Revia calmly note that said guardian is now directly behind you.

The Chimera can potentially hit the entire party at once with a powerful breath attack, which is why you need to heal up beforehand. Suri has no group-healing power at this point, leaving the wing you picked up earlier as your only option - to avoid being overwhelmed, it's best to save your magic and tech points for this fight and hit the Chimera as hard as possible, as quickly as possible.

Past another pair of Greyhounds in the northwest is a Large Recovery Water. The door in the northeast is a one-way trip back to the entrance; heal up at the feather on B2F, then exit again and walk in via the main entrance.

1F - The boulder you pushed up above has plugged up the hole in the corridor, giving you access to a chest containing a Firedrake Card. Head back to B2F, and this time take the staircase leading down behind the marker in the boss room.

B3F - Upon entering, Celica and Revia will both comment on the oppressive atmosphere. The dungeon here looks to be a temple dedicated to some god, but not one from a recognizable pantheon - perhaps Elteno herself, or something even older. The sealed presence is buried further within, but between the pantheon's attempt at destroying the temple and Elteno's subsequent escape, it looks like the wards are failing.

Head west along the walkway. To the north are a pair of levers; their status will affect what you can reach from this room.


 * Both levers up - no special access granted


 * Left lever up, right lever down - Chest containing a Jupiter Stone.


 * Both levers down - Southern staircase to B4F.


 * Left lever down, right lever up (initial state) - Western staircase to B4F.

For now, snag the Jupiter stone and head through the southern staircase - but make sure you've topped yourself off at the feather on B2F first.

B4F - Around the bend in the hall is a Stone Golem. Being a giant rock, it's highly resistant to physical attacks, so you'll likely be relying on Ekria's magic to blow it up (or else summoning Li Quarue and letting her do the job for you). You get a Jupiter Stone for killing it, followed by a lot of goodies in the room beyond: a Sword Accessory, a Blessed Shield, a Blood Drop, the Uroveil gun, two Binding Ointments, and a Sea King Stone. Once you're done looting, head back upstairs and take the western staircase.

Activate the magic circle, then investigate the discolored patch of wall just to the north of you. It is, unsurprisingly, a hidden door, with a Magician's Robe stored beyond. Repeat the process with the wall south of the stairs for a Heavenly King Stone. In the room to the east is Elteno's former resting place, now empty, with the statue of a horrible beast looming over it. This was a guardian set by the gods over Elteno - but now that the seal is broken, it has no power. The source of the power you felt beneath the dungeon is, in fact, powerless. With that disappointing revelation, you can now head back to the surface.

Toraismal
On your way through the forest, Celica decides to stop and take in the beautiful scenery. Over Revia's protestations, the maids do likewise. However, your brief interlude is interrupted when Marinia stumbles across a pair of troubled merchants whose goods have been swallowed up in an insect burrow. Though Revia is impatient to be back at the capital, the threat to travelers is too great to simply ignore. Head down into the tunnels to see if you can clean the monsters out - and maybe recover the lost merchandise.

(Note that you can choose to simply leave instead; furthermore, if you exit the tunnels before clearing them, you will automatically give up the search. In either of these cases, you will be unable to return. This may affect whether Shenna and Shesta join you further down the road.)

You marvel briefly at the size of the tunnel; the insects most likely reacted to the sounds of traffic on the highway above. Unfortunately, this means that the hole can't simply be repaired unless the queen of the nest has been disposed of.

B1F - Despite the numerous tunnels, there's nothing of interest here. Head down the stairs in the southeast to B2F.

B2F - You'll quickly become familiar with (and grow to loathe) pitfalls here, which will open without warning and dump you to the floor below. Luckily, they remain visible once they've been triggered. Unluckily, you can fall into them a second time if you're careless. Your goal is the northwestern staircase. If you fall once, you can get there easily by hugging the north wall after climbing back up.

B3F - You'll likely find yourself falling into this area repeatedly from B2F. A few of the scattered piles of bones have items on them: a Mars Stone, a Cane of Domination, and a Style Card. Investigating the intact eggs will cause them to burst open, landing you in a battle with three Blighted Earthworms. As you pass through the little room in the northeast after finally getting through B2F safely, Haishera notes that the tunnels are weak and liable to collapse; when Celica urges Saria to keep her voice down, she also adds that the worms have almost certainly heard your footsteps by now in any case.

B4F - A few steps in, Celica stops to point out that the walls are surprisingly soft; the earth hasn't been packed down yet, meaning that the tunnels were dug recently. This in itself is strange, because earthworms aren't known for being particularly mobile; they tend to live out their lives in the same nest where they were born. Celica recalls his earlier mission to Milphe (in the first game), where worms went on a very similar rampage. Then, it was a reaction to the power of Schweltleite in Vingolv Castle - now, it may be a reaction to the revival of the Seven.

Directly ahead is a battle with three Blighted Earthworms. The next chamber has two more packs; you'll want to take out the one to the east first, so that you can use the feather behind it. Past the northern group, Marinia will stumble across a spilt bag of gems (the merchants' lost cargo). A second later, you hear voices, which turn out to be Shenna and Shesta. Shesta is still shouting for the worms to return her pillow, while Shenna tries unsuccessfully to quiet her. After the initial round of introductions, the ground begins to shake, and out burst some monsters: two Worms and a Princess Worm. While the Worms are easy prey, the Princess is highly physically resistant, so use magical attacks or combat buffs to compensate. Once they're all dead, the elf twins try their hardest to think of some way to reward Celica. He tells them that there's nothing he wants, but they nonetheless insist on accompanying you for the time being until they can think of something. You'll probably want to stick to your original group makeup for the time being, however.

Head past the feather to another staircase leading deeper into the nest.

B5F - At once you're set upon by another Princess Worm, along with two Blighted Earthworms. You'll probably want to backtrack to the feather and heal up again before taking on the boss immediately beyond.


 * BOSS: Queen Crawler


 * This ugly lady's pretty resilient against physical attacks, though not to the degree of her daughters. Summon Li Quarue at the beginning of the fight to dish out a bunch of additional damage at no extra cost to yourself, leaving your melee fighters free to chip away at the boss' health or use items. Her attacks aren't too strong, so Suri should be able to stay on top of healing. You'll get a Magician's Elixir when the boss dies.

Once you've disposed of the queen, check out the chests in the corner for some Rune Armor and a Gust Ring. You're done here, so head for the surface (or use your earring) to exit.

Everybody's relieved to be out in the open air again, although Marinia is annoyed by the meager reward the merchants give you in thanks. After you've bid farewell to Shenna and Shesta, leave the area and return to Prea. As you exit the forest, you see a cutscene where Schauer forces his way past the Maiden's attending priestesses and into her shrine. He asks the statue to give him command over the nation during this time of uncertainty, or at least send the Godslayer to kill the demons, but the Maiden remains unresponsive. Telling himself that the nation will be his soon enough either way, he leaves.

Prea
Once you're at the capital, Celica remarks that you're finally home. The maids head to the mansion to prepare for your return while you accompany Revia to make your report. Revia stops partway to comment on Celica's choice of words - evidently Celica feels more at ease in Rewinia. Leaving her at the entrance to the shrine, Celica heads inside to meet with the Maiden.

Celica delivers the bad news: Elteno has been freed, the soldiers are dead, and nobody has any idea where she's gone. Taking it in stride, the Maiden tells him to take care while traveling, lest he run into trouble with agents of Marsterria while outside of Rewinia's borders. Surprised, he asks for an explanation; she's sending him abroad to investigate the other demons. He's a bit annoyed that she's moving him around like a footsoldier, but realizes that the balance in Rewinia is too delicate to throw out of alignment by resisting, and finally asks where he should go. The Maiden directs him to Risluna, site of the Eastern Forbidden Grounds; from there, he'll have to use his own discretion based on what he uncovers. Compounding things further, she adds that they only know the locations of six of the ancient prisons; he'll have to find the last one on his own. Once again, she tells Celica to bring Revia with him; as he leaves, she cryptically says that he must bear the burden of a "crime."

Meeting up with Revia, Celica promises to discuss the Maiden's orders at the mansion, where nobody might be listening in. On your way out of the castle, you run into Schauer, who sees the two of you together and says that Revia's duties must include keeping the Godslayer "satisfied." Celica immediately steps forward and suggests that the duke had best be careful, as his demon blade is always thirsting for more blood (Haishera protests at this); Schauer panics and says that Celica wouldn't dare lay a hand on a man of his importance. Revia intervenes before things can get more out of hand, but as the duke flees, she thanks Celica for standing up for her.

There's some time before dinner, so Celica brings Revia to the garden to discuss the Maiden's command: for the two of them to go traveling together. This gets a predictably shocked response from Revia, and when Haishera yells at him to explain properly, he adds the other minor details about investigating the demons. It's an important duty, but Revia points out that if they're going to visit neighboring countries, they'll have to send ambassadors first - which goes doubly so for Celica, who seems to cause trouble for Rewinia no matter where he goes. The maids insist on coming along too, and after some resistance, Revia tiredly agrees. While cleaning up, Ekria tells Celica that he's been smiling more often since Suri and Saria joined the family - but though she can't make Celica smile, she'll support him with her body instead.

There are a couple of extras you can check out before going to bed. Go to the cellar and you'll run into Saria, who's looking for a ring she's lost. It doesn't take long for her to knock a box off the shelf and make a mess. Choose the first option to clean it up yourself instead of calling one of the other maids; it turns out that the ring was in the box, and it's magical to boot. The General's Bracelet is added to your inventory. Head back to your room, and Celica will get chewed out by Li Quarue for not taking good enough care of his things - sometimes she thinks he's forgotten she exists, and that's to say nothing of the other one who just wanders the mansion.

Going to sleep cues a scene of a stormy night in Invitia, the capital of the Melchia Empire. An extremely flustered attache bursts into General Mauer's office with a status report - the Seven are awakening, and Rewinia has dispatched the infamous Godslayer to deal with them. Mauer suspects that if this is true, Rewinia will soon be making overtures to Melchia for an alliance - they may be able to turn this situation to their advantage at the coming diplomatic summit, provided that their trump card is completed in time. As the attache leaves, Mauer thinks that if the Godslayer is on the move, it would be in their best interest to make allies, either with or against him. She considers whether to make contact with Berlia.

The next morning, Li Quarue will continue to pester you about the other familiar who you've forgotten. Make your way to the garden; Suri and Saria will pull you aside to show you something. Meanwhile, Marinia has finished preparing some food, which she leaves lying in the backyard. Unseen by her, Liliem is hungry and is preparing to swoop in and eat, only to be surprised by a dog. The commotion brings Marinia running. Liliem tells her that Celica hasn't fed her in a while; Marinia gets a bit nervous when she realizes what the demon-girl means (lifeforce drained during sex), but tries to think of some way to help. It doesn't take Liliem long to suggest that she drain Marinia instead; the maid tries to protest, but the starving sweety can't hold it any longer and pounces. It turns out that Saria wanted to show Celica how much better she's getting at housework; duly impressed, he heads back into the garden, only to stumble across a rather listless Marinia and Liliem (whose name he can't remember, even though it's only been a few months). Once the forgotten identities have been sorted out, Celica instructs Marinia to take care of Liliem's meals from now on; you gain the ability to summon her in combat.

There are a couple of other points of interest now: visiting the maids' room gets you a scene of Saria and Suri making a doll (from red, green, and white cloth - no points for guessing who it's supposed to be), while heading back to the garden gets you a massive affection boost with Revia. When you're ready to go, head out into the town. Revia suggests that you head to the Metastasis Ruins to the south in order to travel more easily, causing the location to appear on the world map. Go there next.

Metastasis Ruins
Once the guards at the entrance wave you through, weave your way up through the woods on either side to find some items: an Amulet Cane, two Gold Ingots, and a medium Magic Stone. Inside the complex are a number of magical teleporters; however, most are behind locked doors, and the ones you can access aren't functional. Once you've tried them all, head back outside. One of the guards will tell you that there's a monster guarding something in a dungeon near Lente; it might be one of the teleporter keys. Leave the ruins behind you and head back to Lente.

Lente Village
Marinia goes tearing off to the inn as soon as you arrive. Follow her there, and you'll see a posting by the Rewinian military inviting brave souls to explore and gather information on a labyrinth that was recently discovered. This will cause the Enedora Labyrinth to appear on your map to the east. Get some sleep while you're here. Meanwhile, Elteno and Lapshia revive Lanjerie, another of the Seven.

Enedora Labyrinth
If you ignore the four stones in the first room and head to the north, you'll soon find your passage barred by a green Zafan Door - the key to which you won't be finding for quite a while. Head east instead, going south when possible. At the southeast corner you'll meet a Gua Vosua, some sort of fiery construct which is resistant to most of your physical attacks (except for Revia's, which are quite effective). Don't leave it up for long; these creatures (and the other elemental constructs which you'll be meeting shortly) tend to use a devastating self-destruct ability after a couple of attacks. Head through the door behind it and up the hall, stopping to grab the Badereil sword from a chest as you pass by.

You'll soon come to a waterway with a broken bridge running across it, and an array of four stones just to your left. Look at the western stone to push it out of the way, giving you access to the door behind it (if you somehow make a mistake, the floor plate in the corner will reset the stones). Follow this to the north edge of another waterway, this one with a cross-shaped bridge and two doors in the north wall. Before proceeding, step onto the bridge and investigate the dead-ends to either side; the walls will break away, revealing a Venus Stone and a Gold Ingot.

The door leading to the northwest corner only brings you to empty treasure chests, but the other door leads you to another set of four stones. Pushing the westmost one onto the switch in the middle will complete the broken bridge we saw earlier; if you push the wrong one, you'll have to fight the nearby Val Vosua (an ice construct) to reset it. Head back to the no-longer-broken bridge and take on the Leza Vosua (a lightning-based enemy), then loot the chest behind it for the Blue Metastasis Key.

You're done here for the moment, although once you've got the Zafan Key, you might want to come back and plunder the place a little more thoroughly. Rest up at the inn in Lente, then head back to the Metastasis Ruins.

On your second night spent sleeping during this chapter, you'll see another scene where Archbishop Pleiades, of the Church of Marsterria, goes to meet with a prisoner. The guard describes this person as an apostate, but adds that the label doesn't seem to bother them much. The prisoner turns out to be Roca Ruscourt, who is just as surprised as the guard to see her visitor. Almost immediately, Pleiades orders her released - but before he does, he wants to hear something from Roca: how much does she know about Saint Clear? When she replies that she only knows the name, the archbishop reasons that she would have no way of knowing that she is Clear, reborn into the world. Roca denies it at once, insisting that she is herself, and a mere servant of Marsterria; Pleiades accepts this, giving her her freedom and telling her to listen to the god's voice in her heart. As he walks away, Pleiades is certain that he is correct about the priestess' true nature, regardless of what she says.

Metastasis Ruins/Ruska Village
Head to the blue door and use the teleporter behind it. It sends you to a different set of ruins which include four great pillars, meant to be used as a channel for some kind of powerful spell. However, the creation is flawed, and nothing can be cast with them. There's little indication of what the actual reason for their construction was, and they're so old that you'll probably never know.

Heading away from the ruins leads you into a port town; the population isn't Rewinian, and you spend a while trying to get your bearings. You soon realize that the town is Ruska Village; Ekria helpfully informs you that it's part of the same country as Milphe, the village where you first met Saria. Neither Ekria nor Haishera can figure out why the teleporter would send them here of all places. Go to the inn, and the innkeeper will mark your position on the map for you. Spend the night (you can get a couple of hefty boosts to Revia's affection by talking to people in the inn before and after sleeping), then head back to Prea, ending the chapter.