Part 7: Thief Adventure
We are now taken to Wess and Duster’s house.Wess says the following:
“Duster. I speak to you not as my son, but not my pupil. Listen! The time has come… No, this is not something we have been looking forward to. I had hoped the time wouldn’t come, if at all possible. But you and I have been constantly preparing for this day, in the event it did come. So it appears you finally have a chance to try out what I’ve taught you. The enemy’s form is still unknown. But we must now change the way we live. Are you prepared?! Duster. I am now going to give you a mission. You will sneak into Osohe Castle. There, you will find a ‘certain important item’ and bring it back here. As for what this ‘certain important item’ is… No… There is no need for me to tell you. If a thief can’t determine the value of what he steals, he’s a disgrace to the profession. Still, would you like to know a little about it? [player answers yes] It’s a very important-looking item. It’s like… all shiny. Yeah. I will say no more than that. In the basement, you will find items I’ve prepared for you. The Seven Mystical Thief Tools. No, wait, were there seven? Well, whatever. Take them with you. They will prove useful during your battles with the enemy.”
Duster’s father Wess, like many other people of the village, are recognizing that things aren’t going the way they should be, and are taking whatever action they can against it. Before, you might have wondered why Duster knew ‘thief arts’ in a village as peaceful as this. Apparently, the reason Wess just described is why. North of Tazmily, there stands the great Osohe (oh-so-hey) Castle. There is no royalty in Tazmily, yet there is a castle. During Wess’s speech, he starts very seriously. But as it progresses, Itoi can’t help but give him some jokes. This goes along with the mood of the game trying so hard to be somber, but is truly humorous at its core. In my opinion, this is what keeps the game so fun to read. Even though the plot so far is depressing, you want to continue playing to see what funny jokes the game has to offer. It is a video game, after all; you’re supposed to have fun with it!
Once you go down to the basement and collect five (5) Mystical Thief Tools, Wess continues his instructions:
“Hidden inside the castle is a treasure with the power to change the fate of the world. Back when the king of Osohe still lived in the castle… Yes, I believe that’s when it was. Anyway, back then, I hid this treasure where no one would ever lay eyes upon it. I felt it was too much for even the king of Osohe to handle… or so I recall, anyway. But the as-of-yet-unknown enemy may be trying to acquire it. Under normal circumstances, this would be a job that calls for me, but… Duster… I feel confident that I’ve hammered every technique I know into you. So try to accomplish the mission yourself. Understand?! When you go outside, check behind the house. I’ve hidden another Mystical Thief-Tool-like item in there. Why did I hide them all separately like that…? That’s what I’d like to know!”
How is Wess so forgetful about such an important task? While he may be wise, he is certainly still old. It is now time for Duster to carry on the family trade.
I really enjoy the song that plays while Wess gives his speech. It sounds like the scale of the game is expanding, which it most certainly is. What started as a tragedy of a father losing his wife and son, seems to be turning into a war against an unknown enemy. Though the song is only 30 seconds long before it loops again, it accomplishes so much. The chords ascend higher and higher, symbolizing the rising stakes. The low-key rhythm adds to the character of the thief apprentice that is Duster. The arpeggiated synth gradually ascends before wildly flying up and down the scale like a rock song, adding to the mystery of what will happen next.
The player is now free to explore Tazmily again and talk to the townsfolk before progressing the story. It is now night, though, so most people are asleep in their houses. The Yado Inn is still open, though, and you can talk to the few people who are in there. In one room, you can find Lighter, Fuel, Bud, and Lou. Fuel and Lighter’s house has burnt down during the forest fire, so they are staying in the inn for the time being. Apparently, the jokesters Bud and Lou were also living there, mooching off of Lighter.
A funny piece of dialogue you can find comes from Bob, who is keeping the inn from closing for the night because he won’t leave. He says, “Do you know the seven mysteries of this village? I think my favorite is Tazmily Mystery No. 3: ‘Tall Mr. Beanstalk of Cross Road’. Yeah, that’s actually the entire story.” I think it’s pretty funny how Tazmily has a list of secrets in specific numerical order. One of these mysteries seem to be the existence of Leder, the freakishly tall man who rang the bell during the fire. It seems nobody knows much about him.
Another mystery is shared by Nana, who is gazing at the expanses of the ocean, as she always is. She says, “They say that on Tanetane Island, across the sea, is a world of dreams and nightmares. But they also say that nobody knows the real truth about it. So how do I then know about it?” Secrets upon secrets are piling up. Some, more serious than others. But what is this ‘world of dreams and nightmares’? It sounds very intriguing.
If you head down to Flint’s house, you can find Lucas sitting outside, next to Boney’s dog house. He says, “Oh… Duster. I tried, but I just can’t get to sleep…” The poor little boy seems to be utterly crushed by the recent events, and understandably so. Will he ever come to terms with it?
The song that plays when you explore Tazmily at night is one of my favorites in the game. It has Sakai’s signature bass, which we will find later is heavily associated with Duster, as he is a pretty low-key guy. The flute seems to be a main instrument among the “Tazmily” songs, and it takes a big role in this one as well. The percussion is pretty strong, sounding like a rock song, showing once again this soundtrack’s Western influences. Personally, I find the melody to be very catchy. I’m not sure if this kind of energy this song has is exactly fitting for a thief going on a sneaky adventure in the dead of night, but it sounds good nonetheless. Perhaps it symbolizes Duster’s own energy level, as he is referred to as a night owl by some of the townsfolk.
After talking to everyone you want to and choose to head up north, a man you’ve never seen before, partnered with a monkey, runs straight into you, saying he’s in a terrible hurry. The man goes on his way, but the monkey lingers and takes a good look at Duster, before slowly following the man.
After only taking a few steps forward, you find Butch, who’s caught off guard at the sight of Duster. When he calms down, he lets Duster in on a cool secret. With him is a bag, and he says,
“’Money!’ There’s ‘Money’ inside!” Ever heard of money?! What? You’ve never heard what money is?! …Actually, I’m not really all that sure, either. After all, we’ve never had it in Tazmily before. But apparently an ‘Era of Money’ is about to start! Huh? What’s an ‘era of money?’ [pause] Huh? Oh, a traveler gave it to me in an exchange for some pigs! Yeah, he took a real liking to my pigs. And then he asked me in tears if I’d trade them for this. It did seem pretty strange at first, but I decided to trust the guy. He’s definitely a friend worth having!”
The screen pans over to the well at the center of the village. Butch hides the money in it, since he doesn’t want any ignorant people to steal it.
What is money? Well, it’s quite obvious to us, but to the people of Tazmily, it’s completely foreign. The man with the monkey must have given it to Butch. To him, he seemed pretty trustworthy and “a good friend to have.” He even started crying as he pleaded to trade the money for some pigs, so it must have been a good trade. Will this “Era of Money” ever begin?
If you decide to head back in the direction of the man with the monkey and go to the Yado inn, Betsy will comment on how cute the monkey is. However, she notes that its cries were a little sad. If you talk to Bob, he’ll say that the man was generous enough to give him some bourbon. When you try to go into the man’s room, it will be locked. When exploring the town at night, the game would say that it wouldn’t be nice to enter people’s houses so late. However, in this occasion, it straight up says the door is locked. Something’s not right about this generous man…
This concludes part 7 of the analysis.