DQXI Lonalulu: The Mermaid's Burden

Content warning for suicidal themes

...Yeah, it do be like that. The introduction of Nautica is kinda important, but if you want to skip this one, I think you can make do.

Time to hand over the bridal veil.

Erik: Listen, Erdward. I'm not going to blame you if you don't tell Michelle the whole story. That's a heck of a thing to have to break to someone. ...What would I tell her? I'd give it to her straight. Kainoa would want her to know the truth. If someone I loved spent their whole life all on their own cause of me... I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.
Veronica: Erdward, do you think we should tell Michelle what really happened? I mean, she's been waiting for Kai for so long... What if we told her that he was on his way, and asked us to bring her this veil as a present?
Serena: If I were Michelle, I'd want to know the real reason why Kai hasn't come back. After all, it's only natural to want to know everything about the one you love...isn't it?
Sylvando: Listen, honey... if you don't want to tell Michelle what really happened, you don't have to. When you're in love, anything seems possible- so whatever you tell her, she's sure to believe it. You might want to sugar the pill a little bit, though- after all, hell hath no fury like a woman spurned!
Jade: I know it's hard, but we have to give Michelle the veil and tell her why her fiancé isn't with us. We have to see this through to the bitter end...
Rab: No matter how much it might grieve the poor wee lassie, her fiancé's gone. And once someone's gone, ye cannae bring them back. Time flows differently for mermaids and men. Kainoa was caught by the current and drifted away...

Not the most encouraging of Party Chats.

...

Well then...

We have a very ominous choice. And this time, it's actually a choice. If we lie to her, she'll happily wait for Kai forever.

And that sounds depressing.

Well, first off, Michelle doesn't buy it in the first place.

Sorry, Michelle... he is.

Michelle is deep in the denial stage of grief.

...Let's hope this has therapeutic value.

One thing I'm going to mention before we get too deep into this is that DQ6's mermaids have a similar element in the town of Pescado- a fisherman helps tend to a mermaid, and when you find out, you offer to guide the mermaid to her sisters with your boat. The romantic angle is entirely on DQ11, and it has more to do with... a different game and a different story.

Erik: Maybe meeting Kai will convince Michelle that her fiancé's really gone. It'll break her heart, but it's the only way she can move on.
Veronica: Hey, Erdward... Do you really think it's wise to take Michelle to Lonalulu? She's upset enough already. If we show her her fiancé's grandson now, she might faint from shock...
Serena: All those decades Michelle was waiting here, the thought of being reunited with her one true love was the only thing that kept her going. It can't be an easy thing to reconcile herself to the idea of d-... To the idea of Kainoa's death...
Sylvando: It seems Shelly's mind is made up. She'd swim all the way to Lonalulu even if she had to do it all alone. But it's a long, long way, and the sea's full of nasty beasties. Dave's such a darling, though- I'm sure he'd be happy to sail slower so that Shelly can swim safely behind the ship.
Jade: The jetty where we usually land is far too exposed- Michelle would be spotted right away. We should sail around the cape and ask her to wait for us by Saikiki Beach. Nobody ever goes there- it's the perfect place for a secret rendezvous.
Rab: Ye heard what Michelle said, did ye not? That if a mermaid ever leaves the sea, she can never go back, or she'll turn to foam. It's a big risk, swimming over to a human village- if one of those fishermen caught her and pulled her out of the water, her jig'd be up. But the poor wee lassie's got her heart set on meeting Kai. All we can do is make sure she gets to Lonalulu safe and sound.

You don't have to actually sail Michelle to Lonalulu, unlike the DQ6 story. This is probably because we're porting somewhere unusual.

Michelle is now on Saikiki Beach, and wants to hear Kainoa's fate from the horse's mouth.

Erik: All we've got to do is get Michelle and Kai together, then we can wash our hands of this whole mess. Come on, Erdward- let's finish this
Veronica: Hey, Erdward... Do you really think it's wise to take Kai to meet Michelle? She's upset enough already. If we show her her fiancé's grandson now, she might faint from shock...
Serena: It's such a peaceful night, but my heart's beating like anything. There's just something rather frightening about that dark, silent sea...
Sylvando: Poor little Shelly has been waiting for so, so long... It's a real shame that her happy reunion will be a final farewell, but at least her wait will be over at last.
Jade: Michelle's waiting for us behind that rock. Let's take Kai to meet her. She's been waiting long enough.
Rab: We've come this far, laddie- we can't back out now. It's time to bring Michelle and Kai together- the rest they'll have to work out for themselves.

Kainui... I'm afraid I have worse news.

Fortunately, "convincing Kainui to lend a hand" should be pretty easy.

"Preparing him for what he's about to see" is not something Erdward seems prepared to do.

Kainui: You're kinda weird, you know? Nobody else in this village would wanna take a trip to Saikiki Beach this time of night. You know it's the village graveyard, right? If the rest of the guys find out you're into this kind of thing, you're gonna get some funny looks for sure.
Erik: You don't need to worry about Michelle getting spotted, Erdward. Nobody's going to take a stroll in a spooky graveyard this time of night.
(Everyone else repeats)

Now you ask.

We need you to have a chat with a mermaid. Hopefully that won't be too strenuous.

A debriefer could've been so helpful here. Apparently Kainui is so similar to Kainoa that even Michelle's got them confused. She's the only person that really cares about both of them at the same time, though.

This conversation could've gone so much cleaner if we talked Kainui through it. Part of the point is that Michelle isn't believing us from the start, which is why she's coming in confused.

Fortunately, Kainui is a quick learner, and realises what Michelle is confused about.

Saikiki Beach is a graveyard, and it is is where Kainoa is buried.

...As far as we know... yes...

Remember how I mentioned that Michelle didn't specify a timeframe in which she was waiting? This was by design. Michelle doesn't know how long she was waiting, and if she had, a lot of grief would have been averted. The tentacular getting in the way was an astonishing coincidence.

We have done as we have been asked to the best of our ability, and Michelle honours her promise. If you lied to her, she would give you the reward immediately and no events would occur in Lonalulu.

As for Michelle... she can't bring herself to leave Kainoa's side.

The Mermaid's Burden talks about mermaids that have "left" the sea. Some characters thus far have alluded to the possibility that, if Michelle were fished up, this would count, but I think we are meant to assume "leaving" the sea requires performing this song and shedding your oceanic status.

Michelle tenderly walks from the ocean to Kainoa's grave.

And says... uh...

...That's not goodbye.

As she walks back, she almost trips, and Kainui stops her from falling.

...Imagine how awkward it must be for your grandfather's girlfriend to praise you by comparing you to him.

...

"Been like me" alluding to the sexual dimorphism of merfolk without having to think too hard about what a "merman" is.

...

Kainui sees it coming.

For if a mermaid leaves the sea and makes the land her home...

...if ever she gets wet again, she melts away to foam...

When Dragon Quest gets dark, it gets dark.

Erik: ...... ...I guess that's why you don't go sticking your nose into other people's love lives. (sniff)
Veronica: I had a feeling something like this would happen... but it was Michelle's decision to make. We had no right to stop her.
Serena: Poor Michelle... Ohhh, how can such terrible things happen to such good people...?
Sylvando: She... She's really gone, isn't she? We'll never see Shelly's smiling face again...
Jade: Kai seemed pretty upset back there. I know he's not the friendliest person, but I think he probably needs some company right now. Let's check on him before we head back to the village.
Rab: If a mermaid leaves the sea and makes the land her home, if ever she gets wet again, she melts away to foam... Mermaids are such beautiful creatures, but they're more fragile than I ever knew.

(Tonally inappropriate, but Kai locks this shack behind him when he gives you the lover's veil. I'm not actually sure when you're supposed to nab this other than telling Michelle the truth.)

Kainui's come to the cabin to show us one of Kainoa's paintings- that of Michelle.

This is normally kept under a tarp, and Kainui hasn't seen enough of it to have spotted this.

This is a letter from Kainoa to Michelle, although considering the circumstances involved, delivery was... wasn't going to happen.

Kainoa confesses that after trying so desperately to return to Michelle's side, he did ultimately change his mind after all.

It had to do with the second storm.

And Leilani... and her mysterious disappearance.

Because one go at the suicide bat wasn't enough for one story. To be fair, if you're a superstitious woman and your entire family has been killed, the smart plan is probably to choke out the mermaid's connection to your village before it happens a third time.

Somehow, the baby survived. I don't know how Leilani jumped off the cliff, and haven't honestly checked where the cliffs drop to. Honestly, no matter how Leilani fell, saving the baby was impressive as hell.

Kainoa starts to think of Michelle.

And flashbacks to when Kainoa left Michelle after their encounter in the Strand.

Kainoa's voice is much deeper and more... emotional than Kainui's.

He tries to flex his muscles to prove his point about being fit enough to row back to Lonalulu, but he sprains himself in the effort.

...

Kainoa stares Leilani's baby in the face, and realises just what the Mermaid's Curse has done to the village.

Kainoa's desire to return to Michelle blinded him to the needs of the village, and he didn't realise just how badly shaken the people of Lonalulu were until they were all dead.

And so Kainoa abandons his goal of reuniting with Michelle and stays to protect the people he can help- that being Leilani's daughter.

The Mermaid's Curse is not any actual magical enchantment of Michelle's doing. It is the empty hole that was left in Lonalulu caused by Kainoa's desire to abandon them and return to the Strand. The people of Lonalulu felt that Kainoa's departure would be unfair to them, and tried to stand in his way by any means necessary. And in the end, it seems to hurt them more than it has helped.

Kainoa knows that him abandoning his desire, as a natural consequence of how his meeting at the Strand went, means that he's dooming Michelle to a heartbreak. I think Kainoa expected her to... you know, give up within his lifetime. Michelle returning to Nautica without Kainoa would be devastating personally and culturally, but it wouldn't be unexpected or permanently damaging.

Sometimes, two people who really love each other just can't be together. The themes of suicide and star-crossed lovers bring to mind the towns of Norvik from DQ3 and Greenthumb Gardens from DQ7. Yes, somehow DQ has found novel ways to explore those two themes- although admittedly, I don't think anyone in the Greenthumb Gardens story committed suicide. DQ7 is a dark game, there were other dark elements in that story.

Kainui thanks us for helping bring some closure to this story. The looming nature of Kainoa and Michelle's entangled romance no longer concerns the people of Lonalulu.

Kainoa's true feelings have been discovered, and hopefully we can put this whole mess behind us and rebuild.

Erik: Michelle said she'd left our reward for finding Kai on the Strand. She must have already decided what she was going to do when she told us she wanted to come here and see him. Don't beat yourself up about it, Erdward. All you did was tell the truth. You can't have any regrets about that.
Veronica: Michelle went back to the sea and turned to foam... I wonder if she's still out there now, floating on the waves?
Serena: Kainoa was in a very difficult position- I can't criticise him for the path he chose. But still, it's so sad... If only there was another way... If only he and Michelle had been able to live together...
Sylvando: Now that Kai knows the truth about his grandfather, I hope he'll start poking some holes in this village's ridiculous anti-mermaid agenda. We can't let everything Michelle and Kainoa went through be in vain!
Jade: The mermaid in Kainoa's painting looked just like Michelle... He only knew her for a short time, but he never forgot her face...
Rab: Chin up, laddie. What's done is done, no matter how much we might wish it wasn't. What's important now is to take that sadness and anger, and set about putting things right. That's what being a true hero's all about.

Rab's line bears mentioning a second time. The Party Chat has been pretty emotional through this arc, as one might perhaps expect, but some of the quotes can come off as perhaps not the best lines to use as advice. This one, though, I would recommend.

By the way, if you think the people of Lonalulu actually learned anything...

...Actually, it might've gotten worse.

Kainui's been doing some thinking about how the Mermaid's Curse has been treating him.

And he's had to reanalyse how he really feels about the whole situation. Preferably, he communicates that better before he turns into Kainoa 2.

Veronica: It's not right for the people of Lonalulu to spread horrible stories about mermaids, but in a way, I think I can understand why they do. Kainoa and Michelle falling in love turned the whole village upside down. They don't want what happened to him to happen to anyone else. So yes, keeping the men away from the mermaids saves them from heartache, but at what price...?
Jade: I never knew that mermaids lived for five hundred years. The flow of time must feel so much slower to them than it does to us. That didn't make any difference in the end, though... Michelle couldn't bear to spend another second in a world without Kainoa.

Switching maps also seems to give Veronica and Jade new Party Chat lines, for what it's worth.

Now then, as for our reward...

Lorelei's Harp is a key item from DQ6, and it is given for completing the Pescado story (ie the one this one alluded to in the first half). The identity of Lorelei wasn't a thing in that game either, but it allows boats to sink to the bottom of the ocean safely. It works differently in this game compared to that game, but it is invaluable for exploring the world.

Michelle really did prepare for not coming back to the Strand after learning time made a fool of her.

...You're welcome, Shell.

In DQXI, Lorelei's Harp can be used only in swirls of light, and will teleport you to another location- with the one south of Zwaardsrust pointing to Nautica.

Michelle doesn't have any particular role in the court, but as we'll learn later on, the Queen was invested in the outcome of this relationship.

Erik: We just need to sail through the Valorian strait into the inland sea, find the shining whirlpool and play Lorelei's harp once we're above it, and we'll be on our way to mermaid town. So what are we still hanging around here for? Let's roll!
Veronica: Michelle left that harp behind especially for us... We ought to make good use of it, for her sake. I suggest we use it to go down to the kingdom of the mermaids and find out if there's any truth to that tale about the giant pearl that sank to the bottom of the sea.
Serena: Whenever we come back here, I feel as if Michelle's going to pop up from beneath the waves at any moment...
Sylvando: Oh, Shelly... You were prettier than a pearl, and a thousand times more charming! Will we really never see your smiling face again? (sob)
Jade: When we meet the queen of the mermaids, we should ask her about the Orb- but there's something more important we have to tell her first. We have to tell her that Michelle won't be coming back...
Rab: To the mermaids, our lives must seem to come and go in the blink of an eye. Aye, and they're not wrong- we've no time to lose! Until the day that Mordegon's gone for good, we've got to keep moving!

As a side-note here, we'll have no reason to come back to the Strand, but if you do, the datamine tells me Erik, Veronica and Jade have alternate Party Chat lines for when the plot they bring up is no longer relevant:

Erik: Come on, let's get out of here- this place creeps me out. It feels like time has stopped... just like it had for Michelle...
Veronica: This island is so dreary. When Michelle was here, it seemed like such a magical place, but not any more...
Jade: I know it's too late to change anything now, but I wish Michelle hadn't chosen to end it all. Losing people that you love is sad, but it is simply a part of life. So long as one is alive, one can dream of a better tomorrow. That's what I believe, at least...

With that said... it's time for us to press on.

Told you Erdward's Skill Tree was going to get weird. Perhaps it's optimal to invest more heavily in Greatswords and only work on this part of the tree when I have the SP to accomplish my ultimate objective. On the other hand, good luck talking me out of habit.

It's time for us to visit Nautica.

...

No, there is absolutely nothing to be concerned about, we can breathe just fine. Also, the theme is a DQ6 reference, although from the name, I don't think this song had any connection to the DQ6 mermaids. Maybe they recycled it for the underwater bits, I don't remember off hand.

The Rainbough, in addition to telling us our objective, also acts as a radar for nearby Orbs. This will almost never be helpful, most of the time, we know there's an Orb there.

So am I supposed to be singing "Part of Your World" or "Under the Sea" here?

I was never big on the underwater towns, honestly.

Lorelei's Harp encases the DQ6 ship in a bubble and allows sailing on the ocean floor, but there are still underwater locations the Hero can just inexplicably walk around. I presume it's the Harp, then.

The Rainbough at least cleared that up for us.

I've honestly never lied to Michelle, so I'm not sure how much the dialogue changes based on her different fates. The Nautica dialogue on the topic honestly feels like it fits both outcomes.

Erik: Man... I can't believe we're actually down here, standing on the seabed! This is crazy! No matter where else we end up travelling to, nothing's gonna faze me now!
Veronica: It seems we can breathe water now... I'm a bit worried about taking any really deep breaths, though. After all, nothing stings more than water up the nose!
Serena: I can hardly believe it... We're underwater, but we can breathe! And look at all the lovely little fishies swimming around us! It's like some kind of wonderful dream!
Sylvando: Oh. My. Goodness...! I don't know what to be flabbergasted at first! The Salty Stallion has sunk to the bottom of the sea... We're breathing the water... There are mermaids everywhere... Pinch me, honey- pinch me!
Jade: Well, here we are. Nautica, Michelle's hometown... You can't see it at all from the surface, but it's so beautiful up close. Still, we can leave the sightseeing till later. First we have to speak with the Queen, and tell her what happened with Michelle and Kai...
Rab: It seems Michelle wasnae just one in a million. Every one of these mermaid girls are absolute knockouts! Hyeh heh heh. Thanks for bringing me down here, laddie- I thought I'd have to pop my clogs before I made it to paradise!

Rab, have you learned nothing from what we just saw?

Huh, it's Marina magic in this game. Not so sure about what DQ6's Hero uses.

Incidentally, this Zora-looking fellow is a merman, as in "the male counterpart of the mermaids".

The shop has Coral Hairpins, and also Softwort (heals and cures paralysis) and Panacea (heals and cures multiple kinds of conditions). The healing is way worse than Midheal ever was, and while sometimes I should probably think more highly of the status heal... not spectacularly. I'm sure there are people who get mileage out of these. They were better when you could alchemise them, but the Forge can't make them.

The weapons and armour shop is run by a shark, and apparently, it's the shark that doesn't speak our language, rather than the other way around. Wonder what the mermaid language is.

I've not heard that much about mermaid meat giving eternal life, but it is apparently a myth that exists. Not in the world of DQ, though.

Humans are interesting to mermaids. Since we, the viewer, spend all of our lives being human, the idea of being interesting for being human doesn't come naturally. But mermaid's don't think they're interesting- they've spent far, far longer as they are.

There's an angler fish here. There's a few fish scattered around, but we can't speak to any of them even if we could reach them. I don't think I can get close enough to this one.

Erdward's question here is presumably because... there are fish swimming around as, and are sentient enough to have conversations with us! Why would you eat them?

This element of Nautican society isn't thoroughly explained here, but they do go into it. It's a little more complicated than the way we do it.

Mini medal back here.

Back in this corner is someone caring for this place for some mermaid who's out on business.

...Oh.

...

...He was magnificent.

Oh Kai, I just can’t wait to live with you beneath the sea!
A few rules just to help you settle in more easily:

First, don’t panic- take it slowly, breathe a nice deep breath,
Panicking while swimming is a recipe for death!

Next, no teasing- just because a fish looks small and meek,
His mum might be ten times your size, then you’ll be up the creek!

Third, don’t look up- I’m not sure if you’ve seen how water flows,
But waves can often send the current right up in your nose!

Fourth, clean your gills- they’re like your lungs, try not to get them blocked,
A bit of grit and you’ll be in for quite the nasty shock!

Last but not least, think of others- selfishness is wrong!
It’s obvious I know, but it’ll help you get along!

Michelle came prepared with some basic underwater advice that a human might not think of. And yet for some reason, it doesn't explain Rule #1 of fish predation- that feels like something you might want to tell a fisherman.

I can't imagine fighting a mermaid on her terms.

There's no stairs to where the Queen sits, so we have to get ferried up by this mermaid. It's a fade-to-black thing.

And say hello to Queen Marina, someone who's actually plenty badass on her own merits and I'm not just saying that because she's apparently the one who keeps me alive down here.

Marina actually has a limitation on this power- she can only see things where there is water to view them from. I think she also has to be actively paying attention.

Marina has what we came for and is willing to give it to us without objection.

The Green Orb of Gallopolis is a secondary reward for the Lonalulu story- Lorelei's Harp is the main one, and this is basically a freebie as soon as you get the Harp. The Harp also gets you something better, but we do need this. (I think we hear some story about a ship that sunk and dropped the Orb on the way down, but I forget where.)

The Green Orb can be found in the town of Theddon in DQ3, a locale desolated by Baramos. The people of Theddon are unaware of their passing, and at night, they roam the land once more. In order to acquire the Green Orb, you need the Ultimate Key to talk to a prisoner- his prison is destroyed in the daytime, but you can't loot his corpse for it.

Marina was so keenly interested in Michelle's story because the separation of human and mermaid bothers her a great deal.

It is incredibly difficult for men and mermaids to cohabitate for extended periods with the Mermaid's Burden getting in the way. Lowering the barrier between the two species allows several means of opening communication to allow the two races to start learning from one another openly.

Marina has tried to figure out how to solve the problem, but... no luck so far.

Humans may be the "inferior" race, with the shorter lifespan and and overall less dynamic society (I mean, we don't even have multiple species of creature in our towns!)

However, human indefatigability has less of a presence in mermaid society, and it is this that Marina wants mermaids to learn from. Sure, we may not have long lives, but the fact we accomplish so much within them means so much.

It's been a while since Kainoa died, but here's hoping.

There's not much left for us in Nautica, honestly. Just the Green Orb and go.

Marina does seem the most open about the possibility we might meet again at a later time, though.

...The accolade is definitely something that sounds more appropriate to the path of lying to Michelle.

Erik: Where to next, Erdward? If you haven't decided yet, why not ask Queen Marina? Seems like she's pretty clued up on everything that's going on in the world. Maybe she'll be able to tell us where we should be heading next.
Veronica: (sigh) I wish there was some kind of magic spell that could turn me into a mermaid... Wouldn't it be brilliant to be able to swim around Nautica just like the locals do?
Serena: Do you know what those long, thin fish are called? The ones with the lovely, silky fins? They're really rather striking.
Sylvando: Did you see the sunken ship down at the bottom of the trench? I have a sneaking suspicion that might be the very boat that brought the Green Orb down to Nautica. Maybe it was attacked by naughty sea monsters too- just like the ones who are always jumping on board my Stallion. 
Jade: When our adventure is over, I'd like to come back here and have a good, long chat with Queen Marina. She was born a princess, too. I'm sure she'd be able to give me some excellent advice about how best to rule my country when the time comes.
Rab: Now we've got our hands on the Green Orb, we're one step closer to making our way to the World Tree. Still, there's no need to rush- just take it one step at a time, and we'll get there in the end.

Jade likes to engage with her royal nature, it's always swell to see from a character archetype that normally wants nothing to do with the throne and "tedious duties". Erik also brings up a somewhat minor trait of Marina's that I'd never use and thus don't fully understand:

Since she knows so much about the world stage on account of her scrying powers, she can give you suggestions on what to do next. A few games have something like this (most famously, Madame Luca of DQ6), but Marina is not really officially taking up that role. It does come up again later, though.

Another thing worth mentioning, while we're talking to the mermen, is that only the mermaids talk in rhyme. Not sure why it'd be exclusive.

As for Quests, we have one with this Mermaid just outside Marina's place. I think Erdward is positioned on some peculiar geometry and is currently not entirely certain where his feet should be.

The mermaid talks about a human boy whose voice she enjoyed listening to. You know, the opposite of the mythical incarnation.

Unfortunately for her, though, the boy's no longer there.

She'd like to find out if he's still there, though.

I'm fairly sure this is a reference to the Little Mermaid now. The whole "mermaids turn to foam" bit of the Mermaid's Burden comes from the original Hans Christian Andersen version, while all Disney gets is an allusion in a Quest title.

(Andersen's mermaids didn't have a soul and were thus barred from the afterlife, but from how Marina talks about Michelle and mermaids as a whole, I think DQXI mermaids can return to the World Tree.)

The mermaid has a helpful suggestion of where to look. This advice shouldn't be as useful as it is (for one thing, I'm not 100% certain Gondolia was as much of a thing fifty years ago), but when it comes to gameplay clues, you should always get at least one useful one if there are any hints at all. Narrative always comes second to mechanics on this point.

His friend is not named, but this description is a description of a later town we'll be visiting. Not the next one, but doing this place next is a legitimate choice.

Now that the fishing issue has been solved, we can buy pearls from this merchant. Not the perfectionist kind, but the three alchemy ingredients. These can turn up even in late-game recipes, and the prices aren't horrible.

This guy has a Quest for us too.

He wants us to find something, and will give us fabulous prizes if we get it.

Right to the point on this one, huh.

He does tell us what he dropped, but honestly, the only quest items we picked up are yellow sparklies. I'm sure Erdward cares.

...Fuck you, old man.

This is a self-fulfilling prophecy and your good explanation is not as good as you think it is.

With that said, Kainui's certainly... not helping my case here.

The statuette is over here, on Insula Orientalis (the Slime island). Right next to the dock.

That was a quick quest.

Don't feel like you're weak for that. You love your mother, and you're no less of a badass for demonstrating it.

Don't feel bad. This town has had some rough seas, and I foresee some worse seas to come.

Don't feel obligated.

The Warlock is the Charm for critical spells. Veronica is going to love this.

...Speaking of...

As for the quest with the mermaid... we need to have a chat with this old man. You can see where he is from the minimap. Gondolia can get confusing, but usually the minimap is excellent.

Apparently, he saw the mermaid that loved him so. I have no idea why he expects me to be able to verify this.

And yet somehow, I don't think this is the correct amount of surprise on being told I actually did it.

...Well, OK, I'll still be a better singer than you.

This is the song in question. No, it is not sung, this stuff isn't voice acted.

I'm sure I won't do it justice.

Incidentally, Nautica is a place you can Zoom to and from with no consequences whatsoever. Should there be? Not necessarily, but I'd rather not drown.

You sing the song, complete with a repeat of all the lyrics. Of course, there's no audio.

And a connection to that theme about humanity's strength being an appeal to mermaids.

Gracos's Trident is a very interesting weapon. Gracos is a character in DQ history: He is one of the Dread Fiends of DQ6- the third one, to be precise. He drops his trident when he's defeated, and for some reason, it stuck around as a semi-reoccuring trident even without its wielder.

It would be a decent spear (8% chance of beguiling Nature monsters, honestly, the normal Trident is probably a better pick, that has +20% damage on Nature for -5 Atk on everything else), but a Lightning Lance +0 outclasses Gracos's Trident at +3, and you're supposed to get the Lightning Lance soon. And woe betide the people who are already using Platinum.

This story is a depressing chapter in an otherwise light-hearted overall game. Or at least, that's how it feels right now. As Dragon Quest games go, XI is actually on the darker scale. I'd still say this chapter is as dark as it gets, because it involves two counts of suicide, but the later chapters can provide some solid competition. DQ in general loves the idea of an otherwise light-hearted world still showing some of the darkest elements of our world- slavery, abuse, murder, corruption, and often multiples of everything. DQ's unfailing ability to go back to being positive after this sort of thing is something I certainly could never feel the guts to do.

When it comes to the idea of bearing grudges... the people of Lonalulu have failed to learn that lesson. Kainui knows now that his grandfather and the mermaid meant well and is taking steps to forgive them for what they did to his legacy, but the people of Lonalulu maintain their ignorance. There's just... at least the game is aware Lonalulu is in the wrong here, but... man, I hope Kainui's OK.

...Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go sit down too.