Bravely Default/Chapter 3

In the center of the Sea of Corsairs is a massive ship. This watercraft is called the Grandship, a tiny nation state floating on water. Ringabel decides to visit it, despite Agnes and Airy's protests.

Grandship, The Sinking State

Upon boarding the Grandship, you will be greeted by the proprietress of the tavern onboard, the Drunken Pig. She asks you to search for a boy called Zatz on the Grandship. Head north and move into the next area to arrive at the market area. You can find all of the standard town amenities here, as well as a short bucktoothed boy. Upon talking to him, he confirms he is Zatz and goes with you to meet the proprietress.

Go to the tavern and talk to Zatz again. It turns out that he is from Eisenberg, a land torn apart by civil war. He is part of the Shieldbearers, a group that traditionally protected Eisenberg in the past, and is fighting against the Swordbearers. Despite their lesser numbers, the Swordbearers are assisted by skilled mercenaries from Eternia: the Black Blades. He also says that the vestal of fire was assassinated by the Swordbearers, and the Temple of Fire is blocked off by lava from a nearby volcano's eruption as a result. After learning about your destination, Zatz offers to help guide you to Eisenberg.

House by the Sea

Simply go north from the Grandship, past a narrow channel, and you should see a small wooden house. There, you will meet Datz, who mentions an attack by a swordmaster. Zatz asks you to talk to the commander of the Shieldbearers in the hope that you will join. From the House by the Sea, start by going south. Along the way, you'll be attacked by Kamiizumi, commander of the Black Blades and Edea's teacher. As he confronts the group, he is notified of the Swordbearers withdrawal and leaves to aid them.

During your travels in Eisenberg, watch out for the Valtora which can reduce your health down to 1 HP with Chomp, Deathstalkers that can summon two more of their kind with Pheromone Plus, and Soil Eaters that can attack the whole party with Earthquake. At night, you may also encounter Ghosts that can use Curse to lower your physical stats. Continue west and north until you see a tower atop a mound of dirt. Enter it.

Eisen Bridge

You'll arrive at Eisen Bridge, the center of the conflict, and meet with Commander Daniel Goodman. As the Shieldbearers are devout Crystalists, he offers to help the vestal however he can, but laments that they have no way to reach the Temple of Fire. He directs you to Hartschild to the west, where his residence is.

Hartschild, Town of Shieldbearers

As you continue west, you'll notice a coast at the southern end of the continent. You can dock the Eschalot here as well in the future, which is useful as it is much closer to town. Go to the building at the center to enter. Inside, Goodman's wife Eleanor will greet you. She has prepared a feast for the group, but Ringabel runs off, apparently distracted by an attractive girl. Meanwhile, at the Council of Six, Alternis Dim has a brief argument with Victoria, and becomes wounded by her magic.

Back at Hartschild, Ringabel returns wounded from his pursuit. The next morning, the group discusses about the possible ways to reach the Temple of Fire. With no way to get to the temple other than by air, and with the Earth Crystal in Eternia surrounded by impassable mountains, it seems that your adventure has ground to a halt. At this point, Tiz suggests helping the Shieldbearers for the time being.

Return to Eisen Bridge and talk to Daniel Goodman. Datz tells Goodman about their new allies, and returns to Zatz at the wooden house. Goodman is happy you're helping, and gives you the mission to scout out Grapp's Keep. The keep is near East City, a settlement where hundreds of thousands of Shieldbearers were killed by a toxic mist. He hopes to find out about the nature of the mist, as well as a possible cure. The keep is northeast of here, and the eastern gate will now be open to you.

Sub-scenario: The live captain of a ghost ship

Back at the House by the Sea, Zatz will tell you about a curious ghost ship witnessed travelling around the waters east of Eisenberg, and asks you to investigate. Hop into the Eschalot and head back into the Sea of Corsairs. Your objective is to look for a thick cloud of fog which only appears at night, with no quest marker pointing to its position. You'll just have to search the general area east of the Eisenberg continent or south of Caldisla. When you enter the fog, you'll be given the option to board the ghost ship or let it pass.

SS Funky Francisca

This decrepit ship is staffed by the spirits of its perished crew--with one exception. You're greeted by Hayreddin Barbarossa, leader of the Black Blades' naval forces. Before you go talk to him, take your time exploring the ship. Go to the western end of the ship to find 2000 pg, then inspect the pile of loot near the mast for a Viking Axe.

Boss: Hayreddin Barbarossa

Captain Barbarossa is standing in for the actual, dead captain of the ship, and sails around the Sea of Corsairs helping the captain in his search. He is pretty carefree despite being an enemy, and simply wishes to fight you for the thrill of it. It's time for an asterisk battle!

Barbarossa is the bearer of the Pirate asterisk, and is a purely physical attacker. His normal attacks are strong enough, but he can also debuff your party with Shell Split, which lowers your P.Def, and Defang, which lowers your P.Atk. He can also use Double Damage for an extra strong strike. Barbarossa is quite fond of using Braves for high damage offensives, often using Shell Split followed by Double Damage to heavily wound a party member. He has an elemental weakness to lightning magic.

Compared to some of the bosses you've faced before, Barbarossa is surprisingly simplistic. The main threat comes from his highly powerful attacks, so sufficient armor and healing should sustain your party for the whole fight. Barbarossa's careless Braves often leave him with a few turns vulnerable. If you can anticipate his Brave combos and Default on that turn, you're free to do whatever you want on while he is recovering from negative BP. Continuously exploit these BP openings and you will defeat the hearty captain without much trouble.

Barbarossa gives you the Pirate asterisk, a straightforward, physically-oriented job that can deal high damage with normal attacks and inflict debuffs while dealing damage. You'll also get the Captain's Log added to D's Journal, which details about the former captain, Suleiman's search for Susano-o and Barbarossa's efforts to complete his quest.