Main Walkthrough

Recommended Level: 18

The third chapter of Osvald's story takes place in Conning Creek, which is a long way from Cape Cold, where his second chapter ends. To reach Conning Creek from Cape Cold you'll need to travel south to the Brightlands, to the New Delsta Flats. Head west and catch a boat at the New Delsta Harbor: Anchorage to Toto'haha. Immediately jump back on the boat and sail to Canalbrine. Head west from Canalbrine to Canalbrine Bridge, then veer south. Travel to the Western Conning Creek Coast. Conning Creek is on the east end of this route.

Upon entering Conning Creek with Osvald in the lead you'll be prompted to begin his story. If you'd rather not you can put it off until later, triggering it with a visit to the Tavern. Choose Hear a Tale with Osvald in the party to begin the chapter. The Tavern is northeast of the entrance.

A man on the lam - though in this case the lam probably think he's dead - Osvald returns to Conning Creek, where he once lived with his wife and child. He's immediately angry at the prospect of finding Harvey, the man who ruined his life, somewhere nearby... though he needs some clues to track Harvey down. The first place to look is his old, burned-down home.

Head east through town to the Outskirts. The remains of Osvald's home are on the far east side of the Outskirts. Osvald will reminisce a bit, then decide that Harvey must have checked his study, which was behind the house. Go aroud back, open the chest containing a Fire Soulstone (M) behind the house, and enter the cave on your right. 

The study is down here, and is still in good condition. As he's looking the place over Osvald will be confronted by Clarissa, his former assistant. She demands proof of his identity. What better way than a battle?

Lady Clarissa

Shields: 5
Weakness: Polearm, Dagger, Lightning
Drop: Resistant Nut (M)
Steal: Can't steal

Academics have a strange way of doing things. Clarissa favors Light spells, and though she's not particularly strong she can still cause you a bit of trouble if you come here underleveled. Clarissa uses the following attacks:

  • A melee smack
  • Pummel, a melee flurry against a single target
  • Dazzling Flash, a single-target Light attack that can Confuse a character
  • Focused Flash, another single-target Light attack that does more damage
  • Mass Flash, an AOE Light attack

If you're fighting with Osvald alone you'll need to use Lightning Bolt or Elemental Barrage to Break Clarissa. Using Osvald's Latent Power will make these strikes hurt Clarissa quite a bit more. If you have a full team you shouldn't have any trouble taking her out, so long as you treat anyone she Confuses. That status ailment can get annoying.

Clarissa is convinced of Osvald's identity after he defeats her, though she seems oddly reluctant to help her master find Harvey. He'll have to ask around. There are several people in Conning Creek that Osvald can speak to:

  • A Townsperson outside the largest building, the outpost, on the east side of town
  • A Street Vendor in the middle of the marketplace, south of the Tavern
  • A Head Cook, standing outside the Tavern
Osvald concludes that the town guard are his best lead, particularly their captain, Stenvar. Clarissa attempts to dissuade Harvey, but... it's no use. This will open the gates to your next dungeon.


Guard Outpost

Enemies
  • Guard - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Bow, Fire - Drop / Steal Forbidden Elixir
  • Guardian - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Bow, Staff - Drop / Steal Ancient Sentinel Core
  • Light Curator - Weak to Polearm, Bow, Staff, Dark - Drop / Steal Light Soulstone
  • Shadow Bat - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Bow, Ice - Drop / Steal Inspiriting Plum
  • Wind Guardian - Weak to Sword, Bow, Lightning - Drop / Steal Wind Soulstone
  • Wind Sentinel - Weak to Sword, Polearm, Axe, Staff, Lightning - Drop / Steal Wind Soulstone
Enter the Guard Outpost and you'll be facing a fireplace. Look to the right of the fireplace to find a chest containing a Fire Soulstone, then make your way west. Climb the stairs to the second floor.

Ignore the first room to the east and try the second. Near a table and lines of weapons you'll find a chest containing Guard's Armor. Run all the way east, past the long, northbound hallway, and you'll find another room. Inside is a chest containing an Empowering Lychee (M).

There are stairs in the northbound hallway. Ignore them for a moment and walk beneath the stairs, heading north. There's a small sitting room at the end, and in front of another fireplace is a chest containing a Guard's Hat. Snag it, then backtrack and head up the stairs. There's a door in the north, and there's a save point next to it. The door is tempting... but first, look to the right. There's a hidden pathway in the eastern wall. Walk through, south, and back out to find a chest containing 7,200 leaves.

Head back to the save point, heal, save, and head through the door. Osvald finds the guard captain, and you find your next challenge.


Captain Stenvar

Shields: 5 (Captain Stenvar) / 3 (Stenvar's Footmen)
Weaknesses:
  • Sword, Polearm, Bow, Lightning, Dark (Captain Stenvar)
  • Axe, Bow, Fire, Wind (Stenvar's Footmen)
Drop: Axe of Avarice
Steal: Silver-Filled Pouch

What a tool. Stenvar looks pretty much as you'd expect in huge sprite form, from his too-tall boots to his punchable face. Better do him in. Alas, the captain won't go down without a fight, and he has help. Stenvar uses the following attacks:
  • A normal melee attack
  • Downward Swing, a hard melee attac against one target
  • Destroy Evidence, a Fire attack against one target
  • Mass Punishment, a Fire attack against your whole party
  • Suppression, which debuffs your whole party's offensive capabilities
  • Special Orders, which buffs one of Stenvar's Footmen
  • Bluster, which gives the Footmen an extra turn per round
  • Get Them, which orders Stenvar's Footmen to target one of your party members in particular
  • Summon Guards, which summons more Stenvar's Footmen once you've destroyed the first two
  • Beg For Your Life, which gives the party... money, maybe...?
  • Condemning Strike, a charged melee strike against the whole party
This fight is nice and straightforward. Stenvar is a combination of middling attacks and buffs for his Footmen, who are slightly-stronger-than-average melee combatants. The Footmen cover for Stenvar's weaknesses, and defeating either of them will reveal a few of his weaknesses for exploitation. Defeat both to fully expose Stenvar. Whenever he's not calling in replacement troops or buffing the ones he already has Stenvar will use melee and Fire attacks to damage your party. 

Once you've pushed Stenvar into the red he will try to summon more troops, which will fail. He'll then Beg For His Life, which appears to be a bribe that will do basically nothing. After this Stenvar will use a combination of his usual array of attacks and a charged attack, which will be Condemning Strike if you don't interrupt the captain. The battle doesn't change after this point.

As far as chapter bosses go, Stenvar is not a big deal. He can dish out damage, true, but he relies too much on his Footmen, and they're not that difficult to break if you have a full team. Put one person on healing duty while everyone works on the two Footmen, wiping them out one-at-a-time. Hire Help - Mercenary is good for buffing everyone's defenses if you find you're taking too much damage. Save your BP for immediately Breaking Stenvar once he's vulnerable. Once Stenvar is in the red he won't be able to summon more guards, and you'll have several turns to Break him before he becomes a threat again. Keep Breaking the captain until he falls.

Stenvar knows little, though he provides one clue for Osvald to follow: Head to Montwise. Harvey may be there. Clarissa attempts to dissuade Osvald from his path one last time, but, no surprise, he can't be stopped. Montwise it is, then. Chapter complete.

Main Walkthrough