Orcus gets the Book of Initiation Emblem, which is needed for Swordmaster later.
We find a hidden treasure in Scabellum, the Great Bow. It will make my archer much better. I give it to Fersen. I give the leftover shortbow to Bruno. I buy him some hard leather too. All the characters except Belgger have an empty equipment slot, my wizard has two (expendables like healing leaves no longer take up an equipment slot), but we don't have enough money to buy them more stuff.
Something to note is that there are more unisex classes this time around. Though some classes are still gender-restricted, many can be accessed by both genders. A list of classes can be found here.
Allos also becomes a beast tamer. Because there's no berzerkers, we're pretty much shoe-horned into making our warriors beast tamers until we can get knights. I make Flauros into a dragon tamer. I won't be keeping her that way though. I make Fersen into a ninja. All classes can wield bows, if you remember.
I don't have a set plan for how to maneuver my character like I did in LUCT. Allos will probably become a dragoon, Belgger will become a swordmaster, and I'll probably make Flauros into a cleric and later a priest, but I'm not sure about the others. I'll probably make Aniole a lich. You can't change Bruno's class. I'm not sure about Fersen. Or maybe make Allos a knight, Belgger a dragoon, and Fersen a swordmaster.
I'll post an addendum soon after this evaluating current classes.
Let's go to Vespa.
We're confronted by a group.
◊ Ivanna is still with us, for the record.
"I never expected to meet a knight of Lodis!" Cressida, the archer leader, says. From what I've read there's a new character in the LUCT remake called Cressida. "I will never forgive you for all I lost 15 years ago. You burned down my town and killed my parents! Thankfully, I've required the skills of a soldier."
"I understand that it's hard for you," Belgger says, "but that was a long time ago..."
"It's long forgotten for the victor, but we must endure the painful memories... words can't describe it. Does everyone in Lodis think as you do? Knowing your ancestors' merciless deeds, don't you feel any remorse? And to repeat the same mistakes again? The teachings of Lodis are said to be sacred, but in the end they are simply the rationalizations of the subjugator." Is that a word?
Our position.
◊ I don't know why I just didn't take a screenshot of our position in the LUCT playthrough instead of that "Freesia is at 1, Belgger is at 2, Area is at 3" bullshit. Eight people can be on the battlefield at a time. Note that Ivanna doesn't take up a space, so we only have six out of eight people we could have. But hiring people is expensive, and this battle is perfectly doable with six.
Just like my last LP battles won't be described in full detail, because that would take a really long time.
Ivanna is controlled by the computer.
Since we won't have a cleric until level 6, Ivanna is the only one who can heal. Unlike in LUCT, knights have low level healing spells.
"Mother, father, give me strength," Cressida says at the start of the battle. "I will avenge you!!!"
Ivanna explains persuading, which I forgot to write down. Pretty much, persuading enemies can get them to join you, do it from the back, enemies with high HP won't join. Any character can persuade in this game, unlike LUCT where only Orcus could persuade. Also, if you fail to persuade someone, they attack you. I thought that was a nice touch.
Some enemies can't be persuaded; since you can't have bandits on your side, you can't persuade them.
I focus on the westernmost bandit first, expending all my energy on him. He's killed in a counterattack by Belgger; he gains the Self Preservation emblem, which increases counter-attack damage. He got it by killing the bandit with the counter-attack.
The battle is pretty easy. I advance upwards, slowly killing the enemies as I go. Some of them do a number on me and I have to use healing leaves, but I have like 20 so it's not a big deal.
Flauros kills the boss.
Cressida: Never forget... you can fool yourselves with your rationalizations, but eventually you'll suffer the consequences. Oh mother... father...
Flauros levels up.
We get 500 Goth and another Great Bow.
Belgger sits at the campfire.
◊ Ivanna comes out of her tent.
"Belgger, I have something to tell you. I told you that I used to be in the White Fang Troops. Their size doesn't compare to the troops of Lodis, but they were the personal troops of the Lord of Rananculus."
"I heard that the Batraal family gained their power during the early settlement of Ovis."
"Now they rule the northern region. They are the descendants of the colonists who left Galicia 400 years ago and settled in Rananculus with other foreigners. The troops were formed to protect against the wild beasts and demi-humans of the frontier, and to cultivate the lands."
"Why did you leave?" Belgger asks. "Do you know anything about their current conflict?"
"I left to uncover the truth about my father's death... and to avenge him." She pauses. "I am Ivanna Batraal, daughter of the former Lord of Rananculus."
"Batraal?"
"My uncle, Naris, became lord after my father died of illness 15 years ago."
"15 years ago... the year of the Reformation. The island became the territory of the Holy Lodis Empire and was placed under the rule of Felis..."
Ivanna nods. "That's correct. The Order of the Sacred Flame was sent to represent Felis. Southern Ovis refused Lodism, so the military forced them to convert. But in Rananculus, my father signed a peace treaty with their leader, and we were able to avoid a conflict. My father died a year after that. My mother told me it was a heart-attack, and I believed her at first. However, a few years later, I heard a rumor that he was killed by my uncle."
"Wait. Wasn't the leader of those troops at that time... Bernard Lasanti, current duke of Felis? Does your uncle still have contact in Felis?"
She bows her head. "I don't know, but my uncle was strongly against the treaty. He excelled in the use of both the pen and the sword. My father, however, was quiet and always ill. But my father was lord and heir. My uncle may have been jealous of my father, who stood to inherit everything. Belgger, I want to know the truth of my father's death and confront my uncle. Please, may I accompany you? My uncle must be behind this, pursuing some ulterior motive."
The game gives us a choice. Why wouldn't we take her with us? She's a great fighter.
"Yes, let's go together," Belgger says. "It's encouraging to have you fight alongside us. I know little of this island. Your help would be greatly appreciated."
"If my uncle found out that I suspected him, the lives of my mother and sister would have been in danger. So with the help of my sword instructor, who had taken care of me since I was small, I left the troops and hide here."
The screen fades out. Ivanna is now a full party member.
Flauros becomes a cleric. Everyone trains to level 6.
Next time: we fight some more things.
