Alfyn's second stop - and third chapter - brings him to the city of Saintsbridge, a pious settlement that's a major stop for Ophilia's pilgrimage. Ophilia came here earlier in the game, so there's a chance you've already had a look around Saintsbridge, though in case you haven't we'd best check out the city a bit:
- Right at the entrance of Saintsbright is the Provisioner. Check the house next to the Provisioner to find a chest containing an Inspiriting Plum (M).
- If you head to the docks in the south of town you'll find a wooden bridge leading across the river to an area you can't currently access. We'll get to it. The Old Man near the west end of the bridge has a Bridge Lance and a Tower Shield to Steal / Purchase, and if you Inquire / Scrutinize him you'll learn the Challenge with Ease info. He's also a powerful opponent if you Provoke / Challenge him, though he doesn't drop anything special when defeated. (Which, of course, means he's probably good to Guide with Ophilia, if you can match his level.)
- There's a log cabin in the north of Saintsbridge, before you reach the bridge itself. Outside and on the right of the cabin is a chest containing an Energizing Pomegranate (M).
- As you begin to cross the bridge into the nicer sections of Saintsbridge you'll see a Townsperson. You can Inquire / Scrutinize him for the Discount at the Inn info.
- As you cross the bridge you'll come to a Townsperson. If you Inquire / Scrutinize him he'll give you the New Weapons for Sale info.
- Across the bridge you'll find three children together. All three have decent accessories (Ice Amulet, Enlightening Bracelet, Stimulating Bracelet) for you to Steal / Purchase. To the left of the kids are two Grandmas who also have a bunch of decent equipment for you to Purchase / Steal.
- Down the road from the kids and the two Grandmas is a Townsperson with an Elusive Shield and a Heavy Lance to Purchase / Steal. Keep going west and you'll hit another path that you can't explore just yet.
- North of the square with the kids is the Tavern. Just the large house just north of the Tavern to find a chest containing a Heavy Coin Pouch.
- Just outside the cathedral is a Knight Ardante. Scrutinize / Inquire him and you'll reveal a hidden 3,000 leaves sitting outside the Tavern.
- There are two Clerics flanking the pews as you enter the cathedral. The one on the left has the Guide with Ease info to Scrutinize / Inquire, while the one on the right has a Forbidden Staff to Purchase.
- Look between the columns on the right side of the cathedral and you'll find a chest containing an Herb of Valor. The columns on the left side hide a chest containing an Olive of Life. Also on the left is a Townsperson with a Holy Longbow and an Unerring Necklace that you can Purchase / Steal. The Holy Longbow in particular is quite powerful.
That's all for Saintsbridge. Let's see what's new with Alfyn. If you ignored the prompt earlier, you can set things in motion by visiting the Tavern and choosing Hear a Tale from the Tavern Keeper.
Alfyn's Chapter
Upon arriving in Saintsbridge Alfyn finds a fellow Apothecary refusing to care for a man in need. Alfyn jumps in and does the work instead, and the afflicted, a fellow named Miguel, is quite grateful for Alfyn's help. Once the work is settled Alfyn needs some grub, so he's off to the Tavern for a quick bite.
Trek over to the Tavern in Saintsbridge: Upstream. Alfyn will find someone else in rough shape, this time a young boy. The Apothecary from earlier will show up and promptly heal the boy. His name is Ogen, and his willingness to treat some but not others gets on Alfyn's nerves. Still, Alfyn is determined to help out around Saintsbridge, so he decides to Inquire a bit and see who needs his aid.
Just south of the Tavern is a Townsperson standing outside of a house. He has the Tidings of Elderly Friends info, which mentions that the two grandmothers who frequent the nearby square are absent. Head back to the more rustic section of Saintsbridge and check the house to the right of the Inn to find a Demure Grandma. She has the Old Woman to the Southeast info. Inquiring her will cheer her up and bring the Grandmas back into the square. Return to the square in Saintsbridge: Upstream and Inquire the Stubborn Grandma for the Old Woman to the Northwest info.
Helping the Grandmas will lead Alfyn to some miserable intel on Miguel - namely, that he is a murderous thief. (Therion, anybody?) Ogen will show up shortly thereafter, explain why he didn't help Miguel, and suggest Alfyn let the thief die. Head back to the barn where you left Miguel and he'll still be there, begging for help. After a heart-to-heart Alfyn will agree to do all he can to save Miguel, and by morning he's apparently well enough to have disappeared.
Head towards the Inn to the south. Looks like Miguel is up to no good, taking a hostage and demanding a ransom. He takes off for the Rivira Woods, to the west of Saintsbridge, and Alfyn takes off in pursuit. Put together a party and head out.
A dark, eerie place, Rivira Woods is no place for the weak. There are plenty of monsters prowling the area that will happily take pieces out of your hide:
- Wind Elemental - Weak to Ice and Lightning. Focuses on Wind Skills, and is a bit tough to stun if you didn't bring magic users along. Cyrus is ideal, though Alfyn himself can use Icicle in a pinch.
- Horned Howler - Weak to Sword, Bow, and Dark. Debuffing nuisance that can put your party to sleep. Still not your primary target in most fights.
- Gargantuan Boar - Weak to Sword, Bow, and Dark. Powerful foe with physical attacks. Get them stunned before they do too much damage.
- Mammoth Sheep - Weak to Bow and Dark. Can silence and put your party members to sleep, but doesn't hit as hard as some other enemies, such as the Gargantuan Boar. Still a major nuisance thanks to Grooming, which heals other enemies.
- Reptalion - Weak to Axe. Evasive creature that debuffs party members and buffs itself along with attacking. Mainly a nuisance because it's tough to hit and break. Other enemies are typically more dangerous. Alfyn will always be available to hit its weak point with his axe, fortunately.
Right at the entrance the path will split in three directions. Start by going south and following the western path to the southwest corner of the map. Here you'll find a chest containing an Energizing Pomegranate (L). Directly north of here is another save point, and to the left of it is your destination. Ignore it for now and take a right instead.
The path splits again as you head east. Go south and you'll find a purple chest containing an Ice Amulet. Head back north and carry on to the right. At the next split you'll find a Refreshing Jam to the north, and if you keep following the path to the east of the Jam you'll come to another purple chest, this one containing a Gaolbreaker. The path leading south of the purple chest will take you back to the entrance, and partway down the path you'll find a chest containing a Purifying Dust on your right.
Before you reach the entrance by heading south you'll see a path on your left. It will bring you to another intersection. Up and to the left a short ways is a chest containing a Purifying Seed. To the south you'll come to a four-way intersection. Go right and you'll find a chest beneath a rock that contains a Silver-filled Pouch. Go left and you'll find a chest containing an Injurious Dust. Go south and you'll wind up back at the entrance.
You now have all of the items, so take either of the outer paths to the northwest corner of the map, where you'll find the save point you passed earlier. West of here you'll find Miguel, and he'll show off just why everyone in Saintsbridge hated his guts.
Miguel
Weakness: Sword, Bow, Wind, Light or Polearm, Dagger, Fire, Light or Axe, Staff, Ice, Lightning or Sword, Axe, Fire, Lightning
This will be satisfying. Miguel is a physical attacker, and aside from one move - Twin Spears, which can lower a character's physical defense - almost everything he does to you will only do your party damage. This is perhaps even worse than it sounds, because Miguel starts the battle able to use two attacks per turn - and once Miguel Boosts, he'll be able to use five moves per turn. Late in the battle Miguel will be able to heal himself to a small degree, and if his Boost is uninterrupted he'll use Storm of Spears to batter your party up to ten times in a single go. Needless to say, Miguel can dish out a lot of pain whenever his turn comes up... and though he doesn't have that many defensive shields, he'll rotate through four different weakness lists each time he recovers from a break. Yikes.
Given Miguel's propensity for physical attacks you're well off either stunting his attacks - Therion's Shackle Foe Skill works well - or buffing the defenses of your own party members. Or both. Blinding Miguel also works great, preventing a great number of his innumerable attacks from landing, and Alfyn can use Empoison to leech away Miguel's health over time. Otherwise, your best bet is to just slowly whittle down Miguel's HP, keep Boost levels back for when he comes back to his senses, and quickly put him back under again. It's annoying figuring out his four weaknesses charts at first, but once you figure out one or two weaknesses your team can pile on them and stun Miguel before he can do too much damage. Always have someone ready to heal the party up, a role Alfyn can easily take on with Concoct. As long as you can keep Miguel from taking more than one turn between breaks you can make it through the battle.
You'll receive Miguel's Spear for defeating Miguel, and you'll be sent back to Saintsbridge. Head for the exit and Ogen will be waiting, though he has no easy answers for Alfyn. Maybe he can find them in Orewell, the final stop on Alfyn's personal journey.