LogFAQs > #961510919

Benwick immediately blasts us for not following Eizen, because Zaveid is being lured into a trap by Melchior. During this scene:
1) Eleanor shows that we will definitely have to kill her later if things keep up the way they are - but how do we sever Laphicet from her? Her loyalty is with the bad guys still. She's a blind, useless puppet.
2) Velvet is pretty sure that Captain Aifread is why Eizen got so worked up, and we're going to save him... unless of course Aifread is the bait and is really in on the plan.
3) Velvet is sharp and kind. Eleanor... actually isn't. Calling Velvet "daemon" like it's discriminatory when she JUST FUCKING SAVED YOUR LIFE is... not good. She's still a xenophobe through and through.
4) Benwick's voice acting isn't that convincing tbqh... and Laphicet's is awkward here, but I think that's deliberate. It's worse than it was when he first turned up, however, so if the idea is for him to sound more and more normal...
5) Eleanor's face when she took the sale'tomah juice was GREAT. Her reaction in the skit afterward was, too... as was Velvet forcing it down Magilou when she deserved it. The sweet taste of revenge for exposing secrets to an enemy. Eleanor outright lied to us about her end of the deal, after all.

Now there's the point of the filler quest: To lead us to the REAL quest here, to the Tower of Terror Lothringen we go!

Laphicet calling Magilou out for traveling with us even though she doesn't care... I think she actually does since this group is so fun for her! It's for the lulz. Eleanor continues to show her ignorance and xenophobia. I really don't like her right now, but she's got that growth arc starting. We also get info from the weapon dealer's wife that Zaveid knew we'd follow him. Intriguing! Also intriguing: Eleanor outright saying that you can't really work with someone until you understand their thoughts and feelings. ELEANO, a xenophobe, said this!

Magilou gives us a tour of, y'know, just being one of the geysers. Embellishing as usual. Love her for that. (I believe her that crabs or octopi can be shot out of there - and boy is this beautiful). We then catch up with Eizen and he explains that he was trying to "cure" the Reaper's Curse. Aifread set him straight: You can't cure it, but you can find your way in life with it and weather the storm. And that's why Eizen signed aboard and became first mate. However, Velvet hears a spy... Zaveid was listening in... and him and Eizen both act like stubborn meatheads regarding each other. It would benefit them to work together. I mean, that's what I'd try to do, and the asshole would simply reject me because I'm not like him. People are... people.

Eleanor tells us that the Tower of Lothringen (probable LOTR reference, obvs) is a training ground of sorts for initiation. The Abbey discriminates by assigning a class based on one's mana signature and innate abilities, and she gives us the usual bullshit of people "joining the Abbey to protect people from daemons and save the world." When, uh, reality is the opposite: People need protection from the Abbey's tyranny and the Abbey is destroying the world. I really hope I get to kill her if she doesn't change. She's the xenophobic Karen even still, and she blames her issues on us "deviants." Take a look in a mirror, sweetie. Maybe you SHOULD take your own advice and try to understand us. Because you're not really trying. We're at least trying to understand Zaveid and his motives but don't have enough information yet. Eleanor affirms my suspicions by saying that Aifread should've rejected Eizen on the basis of the Reaper's Curse, not trying to understand why someone like that would be taken in. She may present herself as a nice girl, but she's deeply vicious and evil... and may not be aware of this.

I get to the tower - it's tall! - and the trap isn't even hidden. It's so obvious. Eleanor is also so obvious with her prying that Eizen calls her out - YES - and then tells her Aifread vanished a year ago. Went to fight Zaveid apparently and by the time Eizen figured it out, there was a pendulum and the remnants of a fight. Melchior took him out of Azkaban not long after. Eleanor was investigating a huge amount of casualties when Melchior told her to stop - he was so obviously hiding something. Eleanor would be stupid to not question her superiors at this point, and yet she still questions us instead.

I see someone being crucified as I approach the center. The bait, likely Aifread. Eizen goes up to chat and they seem like old friends... until Eizen lies and says he wrote to his little brother... who doesn't exist. Turns out bad guy Melchior was conjuring some illusions. Another one - some babe with a parasol (a Zestiria character, I think?) - shows up and is shot by Zaveid... which causes Melchior's female malak to turn into a wyvern. The two guys follow suit and Melchior blames the Reaper's Curse. Zaveid chases after the bad guy while we get stuck on cleanup. Eleanor openly wonders why an exorcist would create a daemon... just how indoctrinated is this xenophobic Karen? For fuck's sake, EXORCISTS CREATED DAEMONS TO BEGIN WITH. We take out the beasts but Zaveid saves the last with his Siegfried gun, thinking we're cold-hearted killers... but, uh, Melchior commandeers the power of the gun for himself and we all run after the bastard. Zaveid is impulsive and sees no regard for consequence. There's no point in "saving" something that will only kill many later. This is exactly why I thought Velvet should've killed Villain Teresa when she had a chance, for example. Kill one monster now, save thousands of people later.

Melchior gets away, but Zaveid tells the story of how he and Aifread had a fight for the ages - and that Zaveid was trying to capture him for the Abbey. But Aifread handed Siegfried over when Melchior showed up... and now Zaveid wants to get the gun back to him. Sadly, Aifread probably isn't long for the world now that Melchior got what he wanted out of him thanks to Zaveid's stupid impulses. He showed his hand and paid the price. He says he won't kill... but maybe he needs to learn that sometimes, you have to. It's like Tear said in Abyss: "It's not like I'm killing people because I want to!"

Henchwoman Eleanor is VERY torn here. She defends Melchior as "an exemplary man" even though he's pure evil and just turned a malak into a daemon because she was regaining consciousness. She went from saying "If you want to save Aifread, join us!" to Zaveid to... defending bad guys. She thinks the Abbey is infallible. Typical xenophobia. "We are perfect and everybody else sucks." What a Karen.

After a detour through the East Laban Tunnel that only amounted to a few items, I head back to Reneed. Theory is that the gun amplifies Zaveid's malak powers... and that malaks amplify Melchior, who's certainly a coward. There's a skit about parasol girl, who I only got a brief glimpse at but she made Eizen hesitate... and then I get crazy gossip theories out of Velvet and Eleanor. Okay then.