With the Leblanc Syndicate in tow, the Gullwings were now off to Bevelle. The last time they had entered Bevelle they were met with hostilities, however. This trip proved no different, as the guards of the Highbridge turned their guns on the High Summoner! To Yuna's relief, once the team made it to the main gates, the hostilities subsided. In fact, everyone inside was strangely helpful considering the Gullwings status as traitors within New Yevon. The Praetor Baralai had gone missing, and the Yevonites were eager to find direction, even if it came from a "traitor". After a little exploration, the Gullwings found a lift which took them under the palace, into the temple.
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| Yuna revisits the temple at Bevelle. |
The Bevelle dungeon is the largest by far in the main quest, as far as I can remember. The Gullwings first descend into the temple, then into the "underground". As they progress, the Gulls recognize their surroundings from the various spheres they have found in their travels.
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| Yuna finds a hidden treasure chest in the underground. The Gullwings descend on the chain, then face a series of battles with security mechs. |
After passing the security checkpoint, the girls find Praetor Baralai, however, he is acting a bit strangely. He does not believe that Vegnagun can be stopped, and instead seeks to prevent anyone from going near it, and thus activating it. He states simply that if Vegnagun could be disabled, it would have already been done long ago. Also, he acknowledges that he and Paine know each other, which is a bit of a surprise to the other girls. When it is apparent that the Gulls and the Praetor disagree on the best way to deal with the giant machina, Baralai attacks! Baralai is a reasonably challenging foe. After the defeat of the Praetor, Paine rushes ahead, with or without the rest of the Gulls! Rikku and Yuna follow, only to find that...
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| Vegnagun isn't there! |
The massive machina appears to have activated, and then fled by burrowing an enormous hole through the wall of its cradle. As if this wasn't bad enough news, upon investigating, the Gullwings are attacked by an Aeon, Bahamut! Something isn't quite right here either, but despite Yuna's protests, the Aeon is in the end defeated.
Following the revelation that Vegnagun has moved, the Celsius receives numerous distress calls. Apparently, fiends are pouring out of the temples! The Gullwings traveled to Besaid to help out. There is a running theme in the story that Yuna is a "do-gooder", and some of the other characters criticize her for it. Maybe I'm just a "goody two-shoes" myself, but it seemed a little unnecessary in a genre that is so often about heroes saving the world. Out of place or not, Yuna immediately rushes to help the temples. However, the Gulls come up with the idea that they will charge for their services to help defeat these fiends. It's purely a storyline thing, as the player sees Buddy negotiating, but whatever fees he pulls don't affect the player's inventory. I can only guess that those fees go to paying for the operation of the Celsius, and the stocking of the bar!
Earlier when I traveled to Besaid, a fellow named Beclam was introduced, who had been sent by the Youth League to train the Aurochs. He is a hardass, and harbors a major grudge against Yevon. He introduces one of the numerous mini-games, called the "Gunner's Gauntlet." However, that's not so important here, what is important is that he plans to burn down the temple! For the moment, Wakka has managed to hold back the fiends, but Beclam is determined to burn down the temple if the come again. Thankfully the Gullwings are here to save the day!
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| Beclam attempts to harden the ever underachieving Besaid Aurochs. |
The Gullwings brave the temple, saving Wakka from leaving his child prematurely fatherless, as they make sure to point out to him. They discover that the fiends are coming from the chamber of the fayth, where now there is only a hole into darkness! They make another unfortunate discovery as well... another Aeon.
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| Valefor... or is it? |
Moving on, the Gullwings clear out the other temples, also encountering their original aeons in hostile form. Just as in FF10, I believe the cavern of the stolen fayth is optional here. Those who have turned the Calm Lands into amusement rides are seeking to do the same to the cavern, however, when the fiends appear, the idea hits them solidly in the face! It makes more a fun mini-game where the Gullwings rescue folks stuck in the cave. Each one of the people rescued has an "eccentricity" though, such as only traveling in groups of less than a certain number. The more people the Gulls rescue, the higher their rewards. Much like the temples, in the end they face off against another possessed Aeon, Yojimbo.
Like many other bloggers, I have fallen victim to a busy work schedule, August being my busiest time of year, and have had to take a bit of time off from the blogging. However, I'm back! Out of curiosity, I'm also going to start keeping track of my play times, borrowing an idea from Zenic Reverie's blog The RPG Consoler. I'll have two times, the amount from the last post to the current one, and my total time spent on the game!
Play Time to Post: 5:00
Total Play Time: 63:32
May you ever have time you need, join us here next time... for This Bard's Tales!
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