Music: Among Stately Peaks 
Today we'll be exploring Stonegard. This place is pretty huge, three screens full of characters.
We're home to some of the realm's largest binderies, so expect to meet your share of craftsmen during your stay.
Stonegard is the center of craftwork in Orsterra. Of particular note is the bookbinding industry, which is why Cyrus is drawn here in his Chapter 3.
This skill recovers 25SP to the entire party, so she seems pretty useful!
Some folk say it lies in the place people call the Tomb of Kings. Course, no one I know has actually been there. The 'orrible beasts lurkin' about tend to keep the visitors away.
The Tomb of Kings is the side dungeon of this area, and one of the quests around here will take us there. I probably will hold on to that one for a little while, though.
That Stimulating Bracelet is quite a buy, and for a quite reasonable price!
Lucky bastard.
He has a variety of healing grapes, interestingly enough.
Poor sod.
On second thought nevermind.
So many bandits and mercenaries in Orsterra who retire upon finding love.
This feels like a ripoff for me. PhysDef is high, but not high enough for the Evasion hit, lack of ElemDef, and being expensive in general for a shield. Still the best PhysDef shield we'll likely see until Chapter 4.
The aristocrats live high atop the mountain in their mansions. The common folk dwell around the outskirts, where workshops are aplenty.
This town is similar to Bolderfall, in that there are different levels within the town that also happen to be divided by social class.
She carries Olive-themed items.
Oops.
There's some good-yet-expensive gear here, so an extra chance of making things cheaper is always nice.
Here's the upper layer of Stonegard, where the nobles live.
There's also an inn and a tavern for the people that work there and the scholars who come to buy books.
Oops again.
Oh boy, a friend of Nathan's.
At least we get a nice bow upgrade out of it.
This one's even better, but it's so marginal an upgrade for the price that I don't bother.
This particular mansion is closed off by the "This is a dungeon later" sign. Guess where we'll be doing Cyrus's Chapter 3 dungeon?
Screw that, I'm forging my own path.
Music: Battle II 
This guy can debuff defenses and hit hard with Peerless Strike, with a regular physical doing around 300 damage, or more if your defense is down.
Apothecary is one of the best jobs for duels, with cheap healing and Poison doing sizeable damage. Oddly, it doesn't seem like it does MaxHP/6 damage like it does most enemies, but it's still way more than the 1% of bosses. It's still very useful since you generally have a lot of turns in duels.
We also luck into a really nice armor drop. We can't buy these until Chapter 4 for nearly 20,000 leaves, and this is really nice for Clerics with its massive ElemDef.
Music: Among Stately Peaks 
This is one of the premiere blacksmiths of the area.
Made with the finest ingredients!
And as you may expect, she has some solid wares. Nothing I really want to drop that much money for since they're only a tier or so above our current gear, but if you have the cash you could do far worse.
Also she seems pretty useful in a fight. Something to keep in mind in the future, I guess!
And then I sell the finished books to the scholars. This place sure keeps me busy.
There are a surprising amount of "noble" merchants. I mean, plenty of unscrupulous ones too, but I'd say the majority are more like Tressa, wide-eyed, optimistic, and happy to help the world however they can.
Well, after I failed to protect my master, ye can well imagine what my name was worth.
Oops yet again.
I was worried it'd be much higher, honestly.
Anyway, this guy failed to protect his master, and it still eats away at him to this day.
His gear is also laughably outdated.
Says he used t'be a house guard for highborns. The Landars, or somethin' like that, though they don't live 'round here no more.
This child is a devious fiend and his tyranny must be stopped at all costs.
Even Nathan's own guard has no fondness for the man.
There is nothing redeemable about Nathan.
...Other than the items he carries. The Guardian Amulet is also nice with a decent +65 PhysDef, but that Mighty Belt is a great grab for the price.
I care not to boast...but I have experience in hunting wild goats.
Get back to work ya lazy bum.
ok
The counterpart of the loveless inn woman. She's had no luck finding the man of her dreams.
...or woman.
The final area, where most of the workers do their work. This is also the commercial district, and where we can buy our gear and items.
He's got some good ingredients, even if he's a bit of an ass.
His item's hidden behind a pretty difficult Challenge foe, so we'll pass this time.
The PhysAtk is along the line of similar bows available, but the big Accuracy boost and the Blind debuff do make it almost worth its asking price.
Almost.
Huh, who the--!? I mean, ah, can I help you with something?
Great guy.
One of the esteemed bookbinders of the area.
This guy has quite the item on him...
This isn't it, but not bad at all for a freebie.
There are six Forbidden weapons in the game, one for each type. They're generally among the strongest weapons in the game, but they also have drawbacks, some of them annoying.
The Forbidden Blade is the third-strongest sword in the game and also gives a massive Speed boost, but it can also buff the enemy's PhysAtk, making foes hit harder. It's a bit dangerous as far as the Forbidden weapons go, but considering how early we can get it, it could last awhile if we're willing to gamble.
He also buffs Crit rate if you feel so compelled.
Rumor is there's a direct descendant of the Ventus kings residin' in this very town. Can't say I know much about kings, nor history for all that. But it'd be a rum thing if true, wouldn't you say?
It's always handy to know folk like these. Maybe not this one in particular, he's quite useless actually, but in general.
I'm sorry to waste your time showing you this worthless human being.
His name should've been Sexy Sculptor.
There's an extra charge for the sexiness.
Why would you do that
And why is that a dagger technique
It was the selfsame Aelfric who did seal away Galdera, the Fallen, and restored light to our fair Orsterra.
There are the twelve gods of Orsterra plus the evil Galdera. Eight of those gods are responsible for our eight jobs.
Also these are some fine accessories.
+50SP to the party. Handy if we ever get good enough to recruit him.
Alright, you better get ready to-
oh nevermind
Chapter 2 towns carry new components. Injurious Dust is new, and cheap. Purifying Dust is the second tier of Soothing, and is quite expensive as a result. I'll be buying plenty by end-game, but for now Soothing ingredients are more than sufficient.
Likewise, the armorer has some neat stuff, most importantly Elemental Robes.
And that's it for Stonegard! Next time, we'll visit an old friend and then start our next Chapter 2, featuring...
...Alfyn! What a surprise. So next time we'll continue the CHA????? path.
