Lynette: Impossible! How could a mere human… a peasant… defeat our ultimate weapon? Mist: Could it have been a defect? Raguna: You know, Mist. You could at least pretend to think I won because of my skill…

Fingers crossed!

After rescuing Cecilia from Clemens Cave, she shares that she read a really scary book about a cursed stone. She was so scared that she threw all her rocks away, or...did she give them to Felicity?

After confronting Felicity about it and taking the seemingly average round rock Cecilia had given her a year ago, she shares:

"My condition grew worse about a year ago, but Dr. Edward still can’t work out what the cause is. But I don’t intend to be confined to my bed forever, I’m going to get better and live a normal life."

Her determination and positivity are infectious. I admire her so much for pushing forward as much as she does!

(In my game, this happened on Summer 6 but technically, she would have started to recover on Summer 5) After showing the stone to Dr. Edward, he confirms that it was indeed a cursed stone and that's why none of his medicine had been working on Felicity.

I also find it ironic that Felicity's kindness is what ended up slowly draining her life.

I mean, look at this thing! It's the most average, boring rock anyone could have ever gifted her. Yet, she held onto it in a special place (she knew exactly where it was when we asked her about it) because she had received it as a gift.

Although, I do wonder how the round rock ended up in Kardia and why there is a book about it in the library.

At first, aligning with my "manipulated Godwin" theory, I thought that perhaps the round stone in the book had been planted to make Felicity sick. This would require a spy who knew the town well, perhaps someone like Edward, who is also in charge of the town's clinic. But it hurts my heart to accuse him of something so...evil! I also genuinely believe that Edward fled the Sechs Empire and has good intentions for Kardia.

Another idea is that the cursed stone could be a failed Melody witch project. This stems from my association of "curses" and "strange medicines" with Rune Factory witches. Having lost the stone because it looked so close to an average stone, she quietly slipped a book into the library warning people of its existence.

One thing's certain: the cursed stone book in the library feels extremely out of place because it's so much shorter than the others. That's what makes me believe it was written by someone in town rather than an official book bought for the library.

Even Raguna has heard of the Sechs Empire. He describes it as "the great power to our west".

What inspired me to capture this quote, however, was Mist's description of the Empire:

"It’s said that they developed a mechanized civilization! They are so frightening. Shocking the earth by destroying everything with their tanks. How come they don’t understand that people have to live in harmony with the earth?"

I've noticed that "live in harmony" gets tossed around in parallel when discussing the Sechs Empire. Edward, for example, lets it be known that he used to live in the Sechs Empire but moved to Kardia for a more peaceful life. His son, Camus, however, dreams of going to the Sechs Empire and becoming a warrior. To that, Edward thinks:

"There’s no better life than living in harmony with the land. I’m sure Camus will see that someday."

So, relating this back to the post about Tabatha, I'm certain she's talking about the Sechs Empire. Whether she has actually been there herself, however, is another question. Alternatively, she may have picked it up as a "local phrase" since many villagers praise living in harmony with the land/earth. Perhaps even as a way to cope with the impending powerful aura the Sechs Empire gives off.

Though, relating this back to Mist, I wonder why she knows so much about the world. She's basically the one who guides us through this entire adventure, filling in the context as we go, and even giving us useful farming tips along the way.

In another earlier thread, we discussed Mist's motives for giving away her farm. Some joke about how she loves Radishes/Turnips and simply gave away her farm because she wants to collect her "turnip tax". But honestly, I think she knows way too much about the world around her to want something so simple.

Sometimes I even wonder if she kept recruiting farmers to find an Earthmate. My inspiration for questioning this is because soon after Raguna starts working on the farm, she drops the term "Earthmate" and continuously praises him throughout the story for having "talent". The townsfolk seem very familiar with her search for "talent", but don't talk much about Earthmates. Maybe it was her way of simplifying it for people?

However, Mist doesn't show any indications of knowing what's going on in the caves. Rather, it seems like she's discovering what's going on with you. In other words, Sechs spy Mist is debunked, but Radish/Turnip greedy Mist is still on the table.

I'd like to think that she was looking for an Earthmate to take care of her farm (and maybe she gets a few stray Radishes as thanks) and that the Earthmate plot relevance was pure coincidence.

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On a side note, wouldn't a (pre-) RF1 era Sechs Empire setting be such a cool idea for a Rune Factory spin-off? Imagine playing as a ruthless conqueror or, to keep in line with the farming theme, being a Sechs farmer with more of a sandbox style of farming. Using automated, machine-based methods for farming (I'm not sure if the Sechs Empire have built a relationship with monsters yet. If they have, Tabatha most certainly has been there.).

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But as for today's crochet progress, row 22 goes to Mist and her mysterious motives!

Y’know, for the longest time, I was confused by [RF1] Camus’ artwork;

As a kid, I never realized that Camus had a dark sleeve; I thought that his left arm was a prosthetic, with the leather bits seen being what helped hold his prosthetic on. I thought it was so cool, that the dude who knows about monsters and their care did his work with a false arm. And then I realized, uh, wait, I had misremembered.