Paralogue 14: Shadow in the Sands (Script)

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Pre-Battle

Chrom
...A mirage village?

Elder
Or rumors of one, at any rate. People claim to have spied a desert village that sometimes appears during sandstorms. Tales speak of a legendary Goddess Staff that sleeps there, but who can really say?

Chrom
That sounds like it could be helpful. It may be nothing more than idle talk, but it still bears further investigation.

Elder
Just take care, sir. The sands are home to armed barbarians. Every year sees a few villagers go chasing the myth and finding the grave instead. I'll not stop you, but be sure you're well armed and fully prepared.

Start Battle

Nombry
Here we are, boys! The golden oasis! They say the villages around here are filled to burstin' with rare treasure! Kick down every door ya see! Don't let a single coin slip by!

>Battle Start

Villages

Visit southwestern village

Miriel

Laurent
Eureka! It's you!

Miriel
...Curious. I have no recollection of making your acquaintance. Though few things are as unreliable as the human memory.

Laurent
Ah, forgive me. I forgot that you have not met me before. My name is Laurent. Are you here in search of the mirage village?

Miriel
That is my cause, yes.

Laurent
Mine as well, though I fear my efforts thus far yield precious little progress. Still, an excess of evidence exists for the village to be baseless rumor alone...

Miriel
An assumption on your part, that.

Laurent
Might I accompany you in your search? I feel certain that your help will lay exposed that which has eluded me alone.

Miriel
Mmm. I worry your hypothesis lacks a certain scientific rigor... And yet, there exists the possibility I am in error on this count... So...yes. You are welcome to join us.

Laurent
Excelsior! I assure you, I'll not be a burden.

Chrom

Laurent
Chrom? Is that you?

Chrom
Er, yes. And you are...?

Laurent
Ah, apologies! I am Laurent, a traveling mage and scholar. And perhaps more saliently, I am Miriel's son.

Chrom
Wait, you mean OUR Miriel? Oh, right. So then you must have traveled back and... Er, right?

Laurent
Excellent! Your comprehension spares me the botheration of further explication

Chrom
...Yep. You're Miriel's kid all right. So have you come all this way in search of your mother?

Laurent
Just so. She wrote of a mirage village in one of her records. I thought it might offer some clue to her current whereabouts. And acquiring the Goddess Staff is a worthy motive, besides.

Chrom
Any luck with that?

Laurent
Nay, sir. Much to my vexation, staff and village both elude me.

Chrom
I suppose it wouldn't be a legend if you could just stumble upon it in the market.

Laurent
Well put! And yet, not all is lost. Meeting you here is success enough. I was quickly reaching my limits of what one man can do alone. Might I lend my might to your cause? I assure you I will not be a burden.

Chrom
Of course. We'd love to have you.

Laurent
Excelsior!

Anyone other than Miriel or Chrom

Laurent
That mirage village must be located very near to here... Though I fear my own search for it has borne naught but ill fruit. No doubt Mother would have this mystery unraveled in moments, were she here...

Visit northeastern village

Elder
Not many make it out this far. You must be near exhausted from the sands. Here, then. Take this as a reward for your efforts. ...A mirage village? No, I'm afraid we're quite the ordinary one! Ha ha ha! Perhaps you'll find what you seek further west...

Visit northwestern village

Elder
Not many make it out this far. You must be near exhausted from the sands. Here, then. Take this as a reward for your efforts. ...A mirage village? No, everyone can see us just fine! Ha ha ha! Perhaps you'll find what you seek on the far side of the oasis...

Visit southeastern village

Elder
Not many make it out this far. You must be near exhausted from the sands. Here, then. Take this as a reward for your efforts. ...A mirage village? Yes, my mum used to sing cradle songs of such a thing. "Find the last tree north of the oasis shore... Then two steps north and one step more!" Er, or something like that. It's not like the place really exists, anyway.

Find mirage village

Elder
Well, well. This village does not often play host to outsiders... Few hold faith in that which cannot be seen to exist, yet I sense such faith in you. Here, then. Claim what you have come for. I hold my own faith that you will use it with wisdom.

VS Nombry

Nombry
Where's that magic mirage village at? Talk, or I'll make you vanish, too!

Nombry Defeated

Nombry
Gwargh... I see...a village...surrounded in...light...

Post-Battle

Chrom
The battle is won, and the sun is fading. We'd best make tracks.

If the mirage village was found

Chrom
Just what was that place, in the end? Something beyond our ken, I suppose... Maybe a small proof that faith, even in the intangible, can still be rewarded? Like faith in a better future, perhaps. ...Heh. That's treasure enough for me.

If the mirage village was not found

Chrom
It seems the mirage village remains just that... Best we returned our focus to the real world. Let's press on.

If Laurent is recruited

Laurent
Might I have a word?

Miriel
I don't see why not.

Laurent
Tell me honestly—how would you assess my performance?

Miriel
You have certain natural deficiencies, but you compensate for them well. I surmise this is the product of considerable time and effort.

Laurent
Hah! The best response yet! You're as perspicacious as you are blunt, Mother.

Miriel
Mother?

Laurent
Indeed. I am your future progeny.

Miriel
Do you have concrete evidence to substantiate this proposition?

Laurent
I have a ring which is the same as yours. Quite literally.

Miriel
...Fascinating. It does appear identical.

Laurent
Do two instances of a unique object coexisting constitute sufficient proof?

Miriel
To be sure, time travel is one viable hypothesis to explain the rings. But the possibility also exists that you pilfered the ring from said time traveler. As a means of identification, I fear it inconclusive.

Laurent
...An astute criticism. I'm uncertain that any truly conclusive case can be mounted to prove my claim. But I intend to spend the rest of my life investigating the matter, if necessary. A single-minded pursuit of the truth may be the best proof of my heredity.

Miriel
This is a reasonable assumption. But I'm afraid a unilateral investigation is hardly credible.

Laurent
Then how should—

Miriel
However, I have no material evidence to suggest you are not, as you claim, my son. I shall conduct an inquiry of my own. We'll investigate the matter until a clear conclusion emerges. ...Together. Until then, I will grant the fundamental assumption that you are, in fact, my child.

Laurent
...Thank you, Mother.

>To world map