Reward Board: 2,000a, 25 SP
During your first trip to Tormund, early in Chained Echoes, you'll probably come across a mansion with a named NPC who wants nothing to do with you. For most of the game he'll stay that way... at least until you reach the end of the game, at which point he needs some bodyguards. This marks the beginning of Falfalaran Sings the Fairy, one of Chained Echoes' final side quests.
To trigger this side quest you must first complete the main quest Chained Echoes. Doing this will unlock several side quests, including Falfalaran Sings the Fairy. Travel to Tormund and approach the Adventurer's Guild on the east side of town. The party will notice a job board just south of the guild, and will decide to take on a role as bodyguards.
Trek to the west side of Tormund and enter the gated mansion in the northeast. Inside you'll meet Redhat, who explains the mission: He needs the Crimson Wings to protect his men while they look for precious gems in the Inner Sanctum, a holy - and restricted - section of the Fiorwoods. Sounds like a plan.
If you've thoroughly explored the Fiorwoods you'll already have the Fast Travel Crystal in the southwest activated. If not, travel south of Redhat's mansion and into the Fiorwoods through Tormund's western exit. There are boardwalks spanning two sections of the Fiorwoods, in the northwest and the west, and they will take you right to your destination in the southwest.
Radhat and his goons are waiting in the southwest of the southwestern area, by a boat. Speak to him and you'll be sent to the Inner Sanctum.
Inner Sanctum
Monsters
- Blow Fish - Strong to Fire - Drops Fish Innards
Eerie. You'll need to clear the path of monsters so Redhat and his gang can make progress, so trek west and start fighting. There are two Blow Fish over here, and they favor single-hitting Water strikes. Nothing complicated.
From this point on the Inner Sanctum becomes a confusing series of intertwining paths. Start by taking the left path to the north and following it north, west, and south. This will bring you to a chest containing two Adamantites. Head back north, then take your first left and go south. You'll wind up back on land, near four Blow Fish, and they're guarding a red chest that contains a Scholar's Habit.
To the north of the Blow Fish you'll find another pathway. Follow it east and you'll come to a connecting ladder between two logs, with a Crystal Source on the upper path. Head east of the ladder, then north, to find a chest containing a Repair Kit DX.
Go back south, towards the Crystal Source, then travel east. Keep going east until you find another Crystal Source. Forge ahead to the east, ignoring side paths, until you're forced south. You'll wind up on land again, near a chest that contains four Modal Fibers. Snag them, then head back west until you wind up at a north-south intersection that you passed earlier. To the north is a chest containing three Oricalchum.
The path splits east as you backtrack from the previous chest. Follow this eastern route and it will wind you around and send you west, where you'll wind up on land near four Blow Fish. Take them out and you can proceed north. Here things will escalate drastically, and in a village full of fairies you'll meet up with... Magnolia? Huh.
Continue north and into the giant tree. You'll run into the Fairy Queen, and she will be properly displeased at how things are going. She'll prepare to counter Redhat and his invaders, who are plundering the fairies. At this point you are given a choice:
- Fight the Fairy Queen. If you do this Redhat will come in after the battle, and if you tell him the secret of the hearts of fairies he'll kill all of the fairies. He and his crew will then themselves be killed. If you keep the secret to yourself the ending isn't quite as drastic, though Radhat and company still bite the dust.
- Let the Fairy Queen leave. If you do this she will kill Redhat and his men, and you'll need to fight her back in the village.
It doesn't seem to matter which route you choose, as things will go badly regardless, though letting the Fairy Queen through is... less bad? Either way, you have to fight the Fairy Queen.
Fairy Queen
Strength: None
Weakness: None (Fairy Queen) / Fire (Thorn Flower)
Steal: Nothing
- Act Twice, allowing the Fairy Queen to use two moves in a single turn
- Blinding Wings, an AOE magical attack
- Charm, which inflicts Charmed status on a single character and prevents them from switching out
- Lullaby, which puts a single character to Sleep
- Summoning Thorn Flower, which brings in a Thorn Flower that will explode in two turns
This fight is a bit nastier than it initially seems. The Fairy Queen can do quite a bit of damage with Blinding Wings, given that she gets to attack twice per turn, but it's not that difficult to outpace and outdamage her. Things get tricky when the Fairy Queen summons a Thorn Flower, as these little creatures have a lot of health and will blow up after two turns, badly damaging your party. If the Fairy Queen and the Thorn Flower go one after the other you could be facing a TKO.
Still, you probably won't change your tactics all that much for this battle. Bring out a dedicated healer (likely Amalia) and have them restore your party whenever the Fairy Queen bombards you with Blinding Wings. Buff up your team, debuff the Fairy Queen, and go to town. If you debuff the Fairy Queen's Agility your team will likely get in six or seven turns before she gets one, giving you plenty of opportunities to carve huge chunks out of her HP. Once the Thorn Flower comes into play you should focus all your firepower on it (literally, Fire does the most damage), then change back to the Fairy Queen and finish her off.
You'll receive a Grimoire Shard for defeating the Fairy Queen, and regardless of how you decide to end the quest, you'll receive a new party member: Magnolia. She's a magic user with a heavy reliance on randomization, and her attacks can either demolish the enemy, or... whiff completely. (Though there are ways to swing the randomization in your favor.) Quest complete.