Chapter 28:
At last we made it to the manse. The lights were out, but the sounds of fighting could still be heard. We hurried along inside, hoping that we weren't too late.
Hector: Hector was sent to go to the eastern entrance. He mostly stayed near the back, looking out for the young girl Nino. Eventually, we found her
, huddling in a corner, trying not to look at the body of the Monk she must have killed. When she realized that we weren't Black Fang, we were able to tell her what the Black Fang has truly been up to. She didn't seem ready to believe it, but she did decide to follow along with us, at least until the Prince and her assassin friend was safe. Near the end, he and I managed to get an opportunity to speak with
the prince himself. He seems to be a nice kid, making even harder to understand why his own father would want him dead.
Serra: Serra
was sent to the western entrance. After giving Matthew some support with her Barrier staff, she was finally ready to put on her Guiding Ring. Like Lucius, she claimed to hear a divine voice speaking to her, but in her case it said that the time has come to protect everyone on the front lines as well as with her healing.
Kent: Kent
was sent to the western entrance. He tried to chase down a thief, but the little guy was too fast for him, and managed to spirit away a cool Brave Lance before Hawkeye was able to defeat him. Still, Kent once again proved his worth, and took down many people in an effort to protect the Prince.
Lucius: Lucius
was sent to the eastern entrance. He used his Divine light to smash a Hero that had stationed himself near the doorway, which helped the others on his team make it inside. From there, we provided his usual offensive and healing support to the eastern team.
Dart: Dart
was sent to the western entrance. After Marcus was snuck up on by a Paladin named Maxime, Dart took the liberty of returning the favor.
Fiora: Fiora
was sent to the eastern entrance. As usual, she was using her high speed and evasion skills to take point, but was soon stopped in her tracks by a sudden bolt of electricity that came barreling through the hallways, almost knocking her off of her steed. Somewhere in the shadows, was a wielder of the Bolting spell.
Hawkeye: Hawkeye
was sent to the western entrance. When a thief beat the rest of us out to some treasure, he used his hand axe to try to defeat him from afar. Unfortunately, he missed, and one of the treasures that the scoundrel managed to make out with was never found. We did get a nice pair of boots from the whole venture though.
Marcus: Marcus was sent to the western entrance. He scouted ahead a bit, but was attacked by a powerful Paladin. Fortunately, he wasn't hurt too badly.
Oswin: Oswin was sent to the western entrance.
Legault: Legault got torch duty on the eastern side.
Matthew: Matthew was given a torch to use on the western side. He was also supposed to help with collecting some treasure, but he never got the opportunity, only using his lockpick to open the western door.
Louise: Louise was sent to the east. Ursula shot at her a couple times, but she was able to endure the pain.
Pent: Pent went with his wife to the east.
Isadora: Isadora went east. She managed to survive a shock by ol' Ursula.
Fiora claims that she saw Ursula once before. Apparently she was the woman that helped us out earlier by giving us that Hammerne staff. Now it seems that her true colors have been revealed, as one of the Black Fang members that wanted to kill Prince Zephiel. Fiora flew straight in the direction that the Bolting Spell came from, knowing that she could survive a few strikes from the magic. She quickly found her target, protected by Mercenaries. The men were easily vanquished, and soon, the Valkyrie Ursula went with them
. This important move helped to clear the eastern side of a powerful barrier, and allowed everyone's jobs to be finished in a smoother manner.
Meanwhile, we told Nino to mostly stay out of the fighting. As both squads made their way to the center chamber, we found more and more bodies littered along the way. Near the stairs that led to the Prince's room was the hooded assassin from the Dragon's Gate. He was crouching near the stairs, clutching a shattered dagger in one hand and an almost-empty flask of medicine in the other. Kent was the one who found him, and he told the man that we were here to protect the Prince as well, and that he should get on his horse to escape the immanent danger. The cloaked man silently complied, and when Kent crossed over to the east side of the building, Nino jumped out of the shadows and ran to him. Despite all the trouble this man, Jaffar, has caused us, he does seem to truly care for Nino.
Soon after that, the lights were re-lit by the manse's guards. Since things seemed to be under control, we took that as our sign to leave. Outside, we got a better chance to speak with the two would-be assassins. We told Jaffar that we would spare him since he did decide against killing the Prince in the end. Still, it was very obvious that Hector was not happy about being around him, especially when Jaffar flatly told us that he had "killed many of our friends". It was only the more dangerous threat of Nergal along with Nino being in front of them that kept Hector from tearing the man apart.
The next day, Pent, Louise, and the lords all met with the Queen of Bern. We tried to tell her about what happened last night at the manse, but Queen Hellene waved it off as "trifles" and insisted that we move straight to the business of the Emblem's recovery. We gave it to her, but before she was able to reward us with the location of the Shrine of Seals, Eliwood lashed at the queen, accusing her of treating her son as a tool to get what she felt she deserved. He quickly left after that, and we all followed him. Though Eliwood later regretted his words against the Queen, we all assured him we agreed with his thoughts, and that it was something that she probably needed to hear. Before we were able to decide our next plan, the Queen appeared before us again, giving us a book that told how to reach the Shrine of Seals. She said that she was thanking us not as a Queen, but as a mother. I can only assume that someone told her of how close she was to losing her son. Louise did say earlier that Hellene was never so power hungry in the past. For the Prince's sake, we can only hope that this experience teaches her a lesson.
Turns: 16/190 (excluding Chapter 11)
Character Stats:
Hector
Lord Level 20/0
HP: 34 (-2)
Str: 17 (-1)
Skill: 13
Speed: 12
Luck: 10 (+1)
Def: 20 (+3)
Res: 3 (-2)
Axes: A
Support: Eliwood C
Serra
Bishop Level 20/2
HP: 28 (-2)
Mag: 7 (-6) (So much for being a second magician in a fight)
Skill: 13
Speed: 16 (-1)
Luck: 16 (-2)
Def: 8 (+1)
Res: 18
Light: D
Staffs: A
Kent
Paladin Level 20/14
HP: 51 (+2)
Str: 24 (+4) (WOW!)
Skill: 19 (-4)
Speed: 20 (-2)
Luck: 9 (+1)
Def: 15
Res: 7 (-3)
Swords: S
Lances: B
Axes: D
(Luck is 2 points higher due to a Goddess Statue)
Lucius
Bishop Level 20/6
HP: 34 (+2)
Magic: 20 (-2)
Skill: 17 (-1)
Speed: 18 (-1)
Luck: 9 (+3)
Def: 7 (-1)
Res: 21
Light: S
Staff: C
(Luck is 2 Points Higher due to a Goddess Statue, he was also given the Afa Drop's, which increases all growth rates by 5%)
Dart
Beserker Level 20/5
HP: 48 (-1)
Str: 23
Skill: 15 (+3)
Speed: 19
Luck: 13 (+4)
Def: 14 (+3)
Res: 3 (-2)
Axes: S
(Skill is 2 Points higher from due to a Secret Book)
Fiora
Falcoknight Level 20/12
HP: 46 (+3)
Str: 17 (-1)
Skill: 25
Speed: 27 (+2)
Luck: 11 (-1)
Def: 12 (-1)
Res: 23 (+2)
Swords: D
Lances: S
(HP is 7 points higher due to an Angel Robe)
Hawkeye
Beserker Level 0/10
HP: 51 (-2)
Str: 22 (+2)
Skill: 17 (-1)
Speed: 15 (+2)
Luck: 15
Def: 18 (+3)
Res: 12
Axes: S
(Speed is 2 points higher due to Speedwings)
