Music: Grandport, Center of Commerce 
So, Grandport. This town probably has the most NPCs of any town in the game, so this will be a bit longer than the usual town update.
Anything you might want from all corners of the world can be found here at this trading post. Ever heard of the Merchants' Fair?
And quite a lot of them have some nice items for sale.
Of course, not all these NPCs are merchants. A lot are just normal folk, and thus their wares are as uninteresting as their lives.
Naturally, a few of these NPCs also have important items to complete side stories.
That sounds like a good read to me!
It's funny since it's an obvious nod to this game's structure, but this could easily be interpreted as a reference to the upcoming mobile game, which is a prequel which has, yep, eight protagonists.
Oh my, an actual sword upgrade! That Blade of Bravery has close to 200 PhysAtk, while is still poor compared to my other weapon types, but still a nice upgrade over my current strongest blade.
I don't buy it, though. I'm not buying anything here.
They even write of setting foot into unknown lands that no man had ever before visited.
Perhaps one day she'll read Noa's diary and find herself inspired to go on a journey of her own...
Also I like that her signature attack is throwing books.
That Angel Saber's solidly strong, not far behind that Blade of Bravery, and it inflicts Sleep. Otherwise, yeah, these are crap.
It's a sword, they're sayin', what belonged to that old knight chappie. Y'know. Sokrath.
Uh, yeah, sure. We know.
Unsurprisingly, this will factor into a side story later.
Some people just feel compelled to do what they feel they must, even when they really don't.
Apparently he writes all sorts of books to fund his travels. He mentioned some title... What was it again? The Ancient Capitals, or something like that.
The man being referred to is actually on the path outside Grandport. We'll get to him later because, surprise, he's part of a side story.
He sells stat-boosting nuts. I'll use them one day, I swear!
There are rare novelties from every region.
Why not hold service at the tavern instead? It'd probably work out well for everyone involved!
I get the feeling it's not going to work out for this guy the way he thinks it will.
Here's the second part of Grandport. Holy moly!
She's one of two people I can't Inquire, but luckily it's a simple 72% Scrutinize chance that I pass first try.
I just unloaded my cargo, so forgive my fatigue.
Another ordinary citizen.
I'm sorry the game's title won't let us do DOG PHOTO. If you want to post pictures of dogs for this update I will allow it.
...Oh? I'm sorry, did you need something of me?
There's something a bit more here, something we'll find out about after, yep, another side story.
I'm too lazy to make a sprite for this little girl when I'm not even halfway done with this update. Sorry.
I like his enthusiasm, if nothing else.
Indeed, we can't buy or steal anything from him. Then what's the point...?
He sells consumables. As for Wispermill, we'll visit that when we do Ophilia's Chapter 4.
He sells a variety of soulstones.
I will search out the best vendors with the highest quality goods.
Vendor fodder. It's certainly not worth buying these...
My stores come from Stonegard, so you know it is of the highest quality.
Unsurprisingly, Concoct ingredients.
If your priority is Evasion, the Ethereal Dancer Garb is the best body armor you'll find, as it has better stats than the Silent Cape. Otherwise, the defenses are decent for this stage of the game, but will get overshadowed as we find higher-tier armor.
The Ultimate Breaker isn't the best dagger, but it does inflict Confusion. Meanwhile, the Master's Longbow inflicts Poison, but otherwise it's drowned out by the fifty awesome bows we already have.
She's a cook with some Pomegranates for sale.
She's also one hell of an ice mage.
You can use it to fish in oceans or rivers! And no, it is not a spear--it's a harpoon!
Besides a second Scourge Lance, the big get here is the Rune Glaive, which gives a massive 363 ElemAtk. This makes it the weapon with the third-highest ElemAtk in the game, and that includes staves. Amusingly enough, the second-highest ElemAtk weapon is also a polearm, though that's a postgame get.
Yet I still don't buy it...
Also why is the guy who sells spears using a bow to fight?
Got a pretty deal on it. Now it's just up to my own skill to piece it out into as many pricey bits as I can!
Lovely fellow. Alas, he has a side story item we'll want later...
Indeed, a sword has come into my hands that promises to tell the most astoundin' tales...
As does this fellow!
The daggers themselves are underwhelming, I just wanted to show that there's a dagger named Doombreaker.
He sells underpowered swords. He's wise not to compete with the superior wares here.
Here's one of the big names of this area. The commerce here would be much more unruly if it weren't for the efforts of Bazaar Shopper!
Would you be able to guess that this woman...
...is a master of lightning magic!
The axes aren't worth showing, honestly.
Some random vendor fodder, and also the Forbidden Shield. This is the best overall shield that has both defenses, with the downside being its massive Evasion penalty. Which really isn't a penalty since Evasion's meaninless unless you're actively trying to boost it, so it's really just a damn good shield.
There's a limited number of these, and these are great for Clerics.
Yet I still don't buy it...
WE'RE ALMOST DONE
Attack-oriented staves and fur gear. Eh.
My word, I cannot wait to see what they present today! It's marvelous!
This business-saavy woman has some times to raise the chances of getting discounts from Barter.
Which is meaningless for this town.
The goods go to the highest bidder. That's how conventional auctions like this go.
This is likely the same guy who announced the fights during Olberic's Chapter 2 in Victor's Hollow.
So that's almost everyone, but we've got two more people to chat up...
He's not really that relevant.
But we still need to get him out of the way.
This woman is by far the most important person in Grandport.
And of course, she's the second of two people I can't Inquire. I could grind two levels for Alfyn, but I'm lazy.
So I spam 18% Scrutinize chances.
Needless to say, this is the one time I've savescummed to bypass the path action penalties.
On try #12, I get my prize.
See how that Blizzard Amulet has only an 80% chance of being stolen?
It's the only item in this damn town that's below 100% steal chance.
So naturally, I steal everything in this town.
And when I say everything...
I mean everything.
...except the Forbidden Shield, which can't be stolen. I do actually buy that.
It's difficult to pull this off early, but once you Scrutinize that woman, you suddenly have a ton more options as far as gear goes. Even if I get nothing else, I'll be set for the rest of Chapter 4.
Next time, we'll finish another side story series.
