Click for update 8!
A few preparations and it’s time to set out for Urbeth!
YouTube Link: Cave of Wraiths
The first thing of note is this intersection.
That is, the first thing of note is how it’s actually a loop and there’s nothing to see to the left.
Most of the Hunting Cave is, in fact, optional. If we wanted we could just head north and leave and we’d be back on the world map.
Really, where’s the fun in that?
Instead, heading downstairs takes us to a little maze of sorts.
A maze that, of course, leads to treasure.
This axe is the only thing here that’s genuinely noteworthy…
…but the free stuff is still always nice.
With the optional stuff out of the way, there’s really not much to see.
YouTube Link: Walking the Ground
YouTube Link: Walking the Ground (night)
Urbeth is to the north, the tower on the end of the peninsula as seen on the map.
YouTube Link: Urbeth
YouTube Link: Urbeth (night)
And here we are!
We arrive in the first town we see without a king.
The merchant lords in question mean the town is divvied into quarters, based on what the shops sell.
This guy is the first I’d ever heard the phrase “hanging out my shingle,” but apparently it’s a real way to say you’re setting up shop. Educational!
That said, I’m sure we’ll never have a chance to open up shop ourselves and even if we did it certainly wouldn’t be a way to shatter the game’s balance into a trillion tiny pieces.
As an aside, we can walk in the canals. It doesn’t really help very much but it’s funny to see.
: It’s hard to believe now, but Urbeth was once a city of faith, where men treasured their souls more than their gold.
What sort of gods this world has/worships is never really explained. The closest thing we’ve seen to divinity is the crystal that gives us crowns, which is pretty vague itself. Maybe they used to worship the crystal?
Anyway, that shop with the hammer sign is actually new!
They upgrade weapons and armor with gems, not unlike upgrading crowns. What exactly this changes can be seen on the top screen.
It’s not really too useful right now, however. There’s a cap on how many upgrades can be done to one piece of equipment so it’s best to use on gear you expect to be using for a long time.
I got lucky and didn’t see any but Hellhounds can be encountered on the way here and have a pretty good chance of kicking your ass if you’re not expecting it.
So… they sell all the best stuff here, you say?
Bombs aren’t actually anywhere in this game so I guess you gotta get pieces of 'em somehow.
Mylion is in charge of the southeast corner of town. The shop here sells gear for White and Black Mages, as in Liberte, but also Bandit and Bard.
Strangely for the quarter of town controlled by the armor seller, we also have the local magic shop here.
However they don’t open until nighttime.
Anyway, let’s have a look at the southwest quarter.
This quarter is dedicated to potions and such; we can buy hi-potions now, as well as more status healers, although at current it’s a bit much for our wallet.
There’s also the conspicuously locked up shop. Must not have anything worthwhile if they’re always closed!
The shop next to bomb fragment tutorial guy plays host to Bylion here.
Yes, Bylion, after the last guy was Mylion. The first thing you’ll notice about the merchant lords is that their names are all horrible puns.
Like, really, really horrible puns. You’ll see what I mean in a bit.
Oddly enough, the other shop had a better selection.
Anyway, next up is the northeast corner:
I… didn’t say anything about evil spirits, guy, but I guess we can keep this in mind.
Let’s save the sorcerer for later, sounds unsavory to me.
We visit the house on the right here, first.
We’re not actually doing so hot right now, gil-wise, but nobody needs to know that. :V
Also, notice the creepy-ass dummy thing in the lower right corner of this screen; we’ve seen it in other buildings too but this is its most prominent appearance yet. If I were a betting man I’d say that’s the doll the guy outside was talking about.
Ah well, probably nothing to worry about.
Again, we’re not exactly affluent at the moment but these people don’t need to know that.
Why? If you ask me, they’re incredibly creepy.
: The leading merchants of each district more or less rule the city, so we call them the Merchant Lords.
: Which reminds me, have you been to Trylion’s accessory shop? Oh, I can’t wait for her newest collection…
Mylion, Bylion, and Trylion. Fuck me.
…Y’know, he ain’t wrong, but he’s also the only person we’ve ever met with an actual problem with this so I’m not inclined to be concerned.
He’s one of the only places in the world that does, in fact!
Luckily for Trylion, the rich seem a-okay with creepy dolls, otherwise that monstrosity in the upper right would be killing the shit out of her business.
She’s not lying, this is all pretty useful stuff.
It’s also very expensive, but them’s the breaks.
Anyway, there’s one last quarter of the city to check out:
We wouldn’t get to help her even if we were better off, sadly.
And this familiar face here we have why we saved this quarter for last.
: I suppose you don’t want me around, do you? I’ll just slow you down, won’t I?
There’s nothing we can do for Ringo right now, either. 
…holy damn is Urbeth not a pleasant place.
I think this may be the first bar we’ve seen in this game, too.
Of course, there’s not much to see in the middle of the day.
The weapon shop here is the biggest building in the town that isn’t the tower.
Apparently to this guy we look like we answer to the name Richie Rich. Must be the Bandit’s face-obscuring mask.
On the plus side, while it’s still a pun, “Thauzand” at least looks like a real name.
The most notable thing here is that apparently encyclopedias count as weapons; surprisingly tough ones at that. Your local library? More lethal than a gun store. Educational!
We were probably supposed to talk to this guy first in this building. Oh well! :V
Welp, that’s a disappointing lack of leads on fixing the princess who isn’t actually with us. I suppose it’s creepy doll sorcerer time. Aw, man…
Oh god it’s even creepier than I thought. Yeah, let’s not.
Yeah, sure, whatever you say, buddy.
Then again, this is the only lead we have at the moment…
Sorcerer: Let me have a look at her…
(Selecting no here is the same as the choice above.)
That is not a small number! That is a big number! Cat un-cursing over, expensive equals very yes!
: Hehehe. I’ll see you again- when you have the money.
Hey, Ringo’s a knight with experiences with douchey magic types, let’s ask her!
Oh, right, John is still very much an enormous prick.
Hey, the weapon shop’s right there, maybe the big guy will make good on what he said about us having problems in town.
Um… if I say yes, will you help me?
In that case, no, we’re here for something else.
: Well, er… why don’t you lend me counter space? Then I can sell some of my stuff.
: You want to open your own shop?
: Hahaha! I like your style. You’ve got chutzpah, that’s for sure.
Oh, fuck to the yes.
Fuck. To. The. Yes.
This may well be one of the most broken things in the entire game.
yeah yeah whatever let me do the thing
There’s not much for me to say right away that the tutorial doesn’t, but things will get more interesting soon enough
We have an over-abundance of phoenix downs at the moment so let’s just put 'em up at their normal price; we still haven’t gotten to the important part anyway.
YouTube Link: Business is Fun
It’s ridiculously broken and has absurdly catchy music.
Still not much to talk about, people just walk in and sometimes buy things. They do this until the timer in the top left has gone all the way from a sun to a moon.
YouTube Link: Victory
We sell everything but that’s to be expected without taking any real risks.
Okay, this line. Pay attention to this line.
This line here? This is where shit gets interesting.
Yes, we’re buying axes a mere handful of feet from where we set up shop.
yeah yeah same rigamarole as before LET ME DO THE THING
Quite the markup, isn’t it? Especially considering we bought them like a foot away.
Still, we’re doing this.
This. This right here. This is what makes this incredibly broken.
While there’s limits, as long as you’re selling based on the trend and only moderately ridiculous instead of obscenely ridiculous in your markup, this minigame is a surefire way to make a whole lotta bank in not a lotta time, absurd economic logic of the whole setup be damned.
what no that’s a terrible idea just let me do the thing
This is actually a viable strategy for getting a certain non-monetary reward from this but that will have to wait.
The pink text on the 5000g group signifies the “hot deal” tag; it means that it’s more likely to sell faster.
…of course, it’s still not a sure thing, since it didn’t help now while I was trying to show it off :V.
By contrast, this time it was the only thing that sold.
When it says that adventuring supplies are in it’s best to just put up one thing and hope for better next time, really.
It’s also possible to just get screwed over by RNG sometimes, but it doesn’t really matter if you’re persistent enough.
Really, that’s enough for you to get the idea. Buy low, sell high, laugh in the face of simple economics, get obscenely rich. Again, it’s kind of fiddly and the RNG doesn’t always necessarily cooperate, but it pretty much annihilates any gil problems you might have with just a degree of persistence.
There’s also a secondary reward to be had should you make 20k in a single game, but that more or less requires selling at a loss and I’d rather have a more comfortable sum of gil to sit on before I start into that.
Worth noting is that, while the timer for the minigame is apparently a day’s worth of sales, the actual day-night cycle doesn’t budge an inch, as per usual in towns. As such, since sometimes magic spells are what people will buy, it’s actually a good idea to wait outside until nighttime so that the magic store is open.
And it is quite the nice magic store, let me tell you. The game (probably) doesn’t really expect you to be able to get Firaga and Waterga at this point, but the minigame can change that handily.
Speaking of nighttime, this is when the bar gains actual patrons.
: But now everyone is so obsessed with money, money, money, that they have no interest in the world above.
The island in question shows up floating in the sky at random; it’s actually snuck into a few of my screenshots already.
Combining this with what the earlier guy said about the tower, there’s a real possibility that the island is home to some gods, which… well, makes sense, all things considered.
Follow your dreams, piano lady. Follow your dreams.
This is tentative, but having more cash for bigger, badder spells makes John quite the killboy.
While I’ve made more than enough on the shop minigame to pay the sorcerer for his nonsense, we should maybe see if the other lords are as willing to help as Thauzand.
I mean, not really.
Then again, the lady drives a hard bargain.
The rings take up inventory space and are useless. This is as simple as talking to all the randos in town until someone willing to buy actually does.
We can technically say no, but…
…honestly the rings are useless otherwise…
…so it’s better just to part with 'em and be done with it.
I don’t know if you can even find this guy during the daytime so here he is in the bar.
And this last rich asshole is on the top floor of the inn.
: Then I must pay you, musn’t I? Here you are…
Not gonna lie, the fact that you even question that fact is kind of a red flag, lady.
This is chump change compared to mini game money but it’s next to no effort at all so I don’t mind too much.
I mean, that’s honestly a terrible idea, but I can humor you for half a second I suppose.
…fair enough, I guess.
Should we refuse outright:
…rich people are such pricks.
There are still two more lords, of course. The correct answer here is, again, to say no.
: Ah, I get it. If you’re not here to spend, you must be here to earn! Am I right?
: …Come to think of it, I just might have a job for you. You see, there’s a Chimera lurking around in the Hunting Caves.
: It’s playing havoc with our supply chain. Do you fancy going to the Hunting Caves and getting rid of it?
: Great. The sooner you finish the job, the better!
And the last of the lords.
: Then you’re looking for a job, perhaps?
: Hm. I do need people to collect materials for me.
: At the moment, we’re very short of Bomb Fragments, the kind that certain local monsters carry.
: I’ll give you a very good price for any you can bring me.
So. A Chimera and bomb fragments, you say?
I wonder what Ringo thinks about odd jobs.
: No you won’t. Come on, you want to help save George, don’t you?
: Th-the princess? Where is she?
Lower-key prickishness is progress, at least.
: …Never mind. If you’re going to help the princess, then I’m coming, too!
To the surprise of no one, hopefully.
This is honestly kind of a dick move of the game. She’ll join up if you talk to her after completing one of the side quests -not the minigame- given by the merchant lords. It’s entirely possible for you to make enough cash with the minigame, use that money to make progress, then get your ass kicked in the next segment because you went forward with a solo Jusqua/John, none the wiser as to how you actually get Yunita/Ringo in your team.
Anyway, more tentative gearing up. I do want to get my Bandit and Bard on, hence the tentativeness of my current setup, but the excellent selection at the magic shop here makes the mage crowns that much more tempting.
: I’ve been cheated and conned by so many people in Urbeth I can’t stand to think about it any more!(sic)
And they do it all so they can buy those weird, creepy dolls.
Pricks.
That we do, John, that we do.
: I want you to think of Liberte as your own country. Feel free to come and go as you please.
: Why, that’s terrible!
: Please, can you help me?
Kitty has a house all to himself! 
: We love the ocean, and we love freedom. That’s what piratin’ be all about!
: Thanks for exploring so far into the game!
: …For I not be the Captain Drake ye think I am!
: Thank you! They were forcing me to make more works of art, but I was sick with worry about Apollo.
: * sigh * That’s a weight off my mind.
: …I’m mighty sorry, maties. I caused ye much trouble.
: I am in your debt, and the Arbor folk never forget a debt.
: It’s a pleasure, George.
: I’m the Adventurer’s faithful fox companion. Side by side we travel the world.
: Beauty beyond reckoning fills this wondrous world.
: Cool! So Guera is here… and Arbor is here… Wait! Didn’t Krinjh say something about Arbor?
: You worked so hard to make that money, and this is the reward you get.
Light sexist stereotyping 
: …Hm? I must say, it’s a rare cat that is afraid of a mouse.
: That is grave news. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Torte.
