Melmond Awaits
Seeing as there are no stores, and we sort of skipped the main quest line there, I think we should take the opportunity to test out the new strait with our boat, and get out into the open ocean.
Just through the other side it, we see what looks like a village with a port, so that seems like a good place to moor up and check in. Turns out it's the aforementioned town of Melmond, and it doesn't look in the best of states.
A member of the townsfolk tells us that a vampire attacked, destroying their church and leaving the city in shambles. I feel bad now for downplaying the size of it from how it looked on the world map. Also a vampire wasn't the direction I was expecting this to go, but I'm here for it.
I bump into another dwarf, who introduces himself as Watts - immediately making him seem important. Turns out he's come from Duergar to try and work out what's going on with the earth's decay. That's all he's got for us for now though.
A wizardly looking fellow tells us that on the southern tip of the continent there's a wise man named Sadda, who knows much. There's another thread to pull at.
According to another member of the townsfolk, the ancients possessed something with the power to make ships float in the sky. Someone in Duergar mentioned levistone in passing, so again, seeds are being sewn.
Seems like this city is just full of exposition - another member tells us that long ago a prosperous civilization thrived in the northland, but now it's fallen into ruin. I'm taking the Chekhov's Gun approach to all of this - hence tracking it all and noting it down as much as I can.
Despite it being run down though, it seems Melmond is still functioning in the sense that it's got a selection of stores still in service. The weapons store has a Longsword for 1200 gil that I'll give to Rukus, which increases his attack by another 2, at the cost of a little accuracy.
The armour shop seems a bit more interesting though - firstly I can get Kaili and Clair Silver Armlets, which will be a massive help to their defence, even at a cost of 4000 gil each. They also have in stock a Knight's Armour for 36,000 which looks like it could be a really good set for Rukus, but a bit out of our budget for now. He'll have to make do with the Steel Gloves I've got him for 600 gil.
Near the store, we get more concrete instructions from a member of the townsfolk about the vampire. Apparently he lives in the Cavern of Earth, and he's blocking the flow of the power of earth, which would explain the decay that's been discussed recently. He then literally asks us to help.
On one hand we've gone from The Kingâ„¢ to The Prince to a random member of town asking for our assistance, but this actually seems to be the first quest that's about helping the regular people, rather than kidnapped or sleepy royals. On that basis, we're in.
Another person tells us that the giant living in the cave eats rocks - he'll eat just about any kind of rocks, but apparently he especially likes gems and can't get enough of them. At first I thought this was an insult I wasn't familiar with, but hopefully it's something else that'll come in useful.
Hiding in what appears to be a graveyard in the north east of town, we meet Dr Unne, who confidently states that he is a great genius and there is nothing he does not know. He's also shocked we haven't heard of him. That's all we're getting there though, so I'm guessing I might be missing a pun or similar.
I also decide to buy Clair a couple of Level 5 spells for 4,000 each - Healara and Life. The latter hopefully making any 'incidents' less problematic without forking out for Phoenix Down...