We're going to need to hunt down Arcard and Roartz now it seems, and the two morons fled to Sacae, which was still under Bern's control. Only The Bishop's Teachings
◊ could possibly prepare us for the slog of crap we're gonna be going through...
After Aquleia is taken, most of Etruria turns against the coup d'etat in force, and Arcard and Roartz are forced out. They flee to Sacae, and with the support of King Mordred, Etrurian forces join the Lycian Alliance army, and we are now a Lycia-Etruria Union army, bearing down on the Bern controlled Sacae to wipe out the coup d'etat forces and the Bern troops backing them. Roy notes that some Etrurian knights might not wish to be equated with Lycian troops, and thus he simply calls the amassed forces the Etrurian Army. Roy leads the group entering into Sacae, but will face severe resistance. Brenya is in command of the Sacae front, and has forced the Djute clan, the most powerful Sacaen nomad tribe, into submission, and Roy must now face them as well as Brenya's elite troops as he enters Sacae.
Oh fun times, first chapter in Sacae is a fog of war. I bring the main party and Astol for eyesight, and make note of the two ballistas and the two villages on the map. I make sure everyone is well equipped, giving a Physic to Ellen (as well as keeping damn sure Miledy has that Delphi shield), and hand both the Silver and Member cards to Astol, as he is now my businessman, as well as my thief. I then get started.
Brenya learns of Narshen's defeat at Aquleia, and Roartz and Arcard ask what will become of them. Brenya assures them they will not neglect them, and then assigns Arcard to this castle, Talas, while assigning Roartz to Bulgar, further into Sacae. After the two start to complain, Brenya mentions how much shit Roy and the party have been doing, and notes that in comparison, their problems seem positively minuscule. That shuts them up, and then she is off. A soldier asks if what she's doing is okay, and she voices her true opinion of them; that they're filthy cowards who fled their country in search of safety, and should be thankful for even the amount of troops she's sparing for them.
Roy now speaks with Yodel, the two offering mutual thanks for their assistance in the paths they each follow. Roy also promises he will tell Yodel anything he finds out about the dragons, and Yodel warns him of the threat posed by the area. It is night, as well as being in an area filled with mountains and valleys, leading to this being a perfect place for an ambush.
Astol steps out, illuminating the area, and after getting a resilience boost from Ellen's barrier staff, Miledy flies off into the forested area to hunt down a mage. Geese joins her, and they notice another mage and a thief running through there as well. Everyone else charges down the path into the nearby valley. After Miledy and Geese see a crapton of mages in action, Geese prepares to hold them off while Miledy chases down the thief who is likely aiming to ransack the village. Ellen stays close to support them with a Physic, while Astol provides them with some eyesight, since they need it more. Lugh, Sue, Roy, and Clarine then head towards the southern village, while the rest of the party head through the pass and into the valley.
Ellen casts a barrier on Astol, since he's going to need to get closer to the mages if he wants to help Geese and Miledy, and Geese slowly tries to kill the mages, the trees making him hard to hit, but giving them the same privilege. Miledy kills a bolting sage who was to preoccupied with healing to start blasting people. Rutger rips apart a nomad trooper, while Dieck, Lance, and Percival clear away the rest of the mooks that have gathered before them. The thief Miledy had been hunting fortuitously walks right next to her on his way to the village, and she crushes him as Clarine visits a town and receives a Tina staff. Lugh and Clarine go to meet up with the main group, while they move ahead a bit, attempting to draw out any foes lying in wait in the shadows. Dieck guards the bridge, and suddenly a bunch of nomad troopers come in and start shooting the place up. Rutger wades through the river, slicing up one foe, while Dieck takes down another, Sue shoots down a wyvern rider, and Lance finishes off the final foe in sight, Percival taking the lead this time. Geese crushes the sage near the cluster of mages that are currently swarming Astol, who is standing on a hill, mostly safe from their attacks. Miledy flies over to the ballista, preparing to crush the siege weapons user.
Wait what? Suddenly, the village that I had though Miledy had saved gets destroyed, and I restart, wanting to rescue both village. Reset Counter: 13. No biggie.
Alright then, I see where I messed up. The thief Miledy killed was a reinforcement, and the thief from the start went around the mountain to avoid the forests, and headed towards the village. Miledy, after doing as she did before, flies over to the village and ignores the ballistician, preparing to save the village and hunt down the thieves. Geese smashes mages near Astol, and the main group near the valley (with Lugh now sticking with them, Clarine being the only one who went for the village) pushing forward. Miledy rescues the village, receiving an Eclipse tome for her trouble, and preparing to run through both thieves if they decide to attack. After the main group takes down the furthest ballistician, Lugh heals everyone in the absence of Clarine and Ellen, and they wait where they are, preparing to regroup with everyone once they're all healed. Reinforcements appear behind Geese, who has finished disposing of the mages, and Astol goes after the archer who left the ballista, since Geese is preoccupied. Sue, Dieck and Rutger wade across the river near the bosses castle, and the rest of the party head towards and cross the bridge, meeting up with a fairly battered up Miledy. Clarine heals her, and they wait for Geese, Ellen, and Astol to meet with them, before going after Arcard.
As Geese and Ellen are making their way to the group, some nomad reinforcements appear and attack Ellen, causing Geese to crush him while Ellen runs towards the group. While they wait, Dieck goes after Arcard, who is essentially a Windam +1 in terms of all his stats, and he carries a silver lance and javelin. Not too tough if you've got an axe, but his attacks will hurt if they connect, and the gate gives him some formidable bulk. The first round is thoroughly misses, and Geese and Ellen make their way towards the group a bit more. Dieck finishes off Arcard in a couple of turns, and then Roy conquers the castle.
Roy and Merlinus talk first about the odd turn of events regarding Arcard's death, and then about the sad inability for Guinevere to sway her brother. Merlinus mentions that familial bonds likely mean nothing to a man who would kill his own father, and Roy is shocked to learn this. Merlinus explains the rumor, and Roy is amazed at this, wondering if Guinevere knows of this.
