Time to start Girl of the Spirit Forest
◊ part 2!
So yeah, having captured Genoa, I'm pretty sure I can recruit Aira now, since her nephew is safe. The problem is, Sigurd can't move, and is in her range, which means at least one of them is gonna die, sadly leaning towards Aira, who only survived Sigurd with 8 hp. I doubt she's the kind who'll run over and recruit herself, so I need some kind of decoy who won't die to her, but won't kill her either...
Ethlin! She's within range, and on a forest, her avoid should be enough that she can dodge most attacks, and her low strength will prevent her from killing Aira, but just barely. I hope this works...
In the meantime, Noish and Alec save Dew from the bandits with Cuan waiting to assist them if need be, while Ardan, Aideen, and Azel catch up to the rest of the group. I've also been told of an event involving Lex receiving a hero axe, and since the informant potholed to Honest Axe, I'm guessing the area would be near water. Looking at the map, there's a lot of water (namely in the central lake), but I'm guessing it'd be somewhere off the beaten path, but still pretty conspicuous. I'll start by checking the area south of Evans, near the village.
Midir and Fin can protect the castle, I'm sure, and Ethlin has her Return staff in case of emergencies.
Oh, so she does sort of recruit herself. She at least ran towards Sigurd and didn't attack him. That's a start. Also, some red knights ran down from near Nodion castle, led by someone the border guard identifies as Heirhein troops, who plans to take Evans, and then push through into Grandbell. The man runs to inform Eltshan as the enormous horde of horsemen charge down towards Evans.
I don't think Fin can quite manage this many opponents, though aside from Elliot, who is a duke knight with a silver lance and a javelin, the mooks are small fries with big weapons. I think I'll bring Lex back for a bit (he can wait to check on the axe, after all) and have Midir head south to rejoin the main army, since he's not much help here at the moment. Fin will take first guard, while Lex will cover it if Fin gets too badly wounded.
Sigurd recruits Aira, by explaining that he's rescued Shanan, and proving it by sharing information he got from the boy. They share their mutual codes of honor, and thus Aira agrees to assist us. Aira runs over to join the main group as well, her sword skills likely to be invaluable against the axe-heavy enemies. Everyone gathers near the beach, most of the bandits having fallen and only a couple of foes remaining, Aideen healing Aira of her wounds while Ethlin fixes up Sigurd.
Eltshan receives the news, and is outraged at Heirhein's encroachment. He tells Lachesis to watch the castle while he brings his cross knights to bear on the troops of Prince Elliot of Heirhein. He tells Elliot to stop sneaking around like some petty thief, and Elliot is surprised that he's sided with Grandbell. After Eltshan tells him that King Agusty doesn't want to wage war with Grandbell, Elliot simply laughs in his face and wonders why he takes that old man seriously. He then mentions that most of the lords are unified in their desire to strike Grandbell, while Eltshan states that the decision isn't unanimous, nor would it be smart, given the amount of casualties it could incur. Elliot turns his attention to Nodion and Eltshan, while the cross knights dominate his soldiers.
I send Lex and Fin out that way to go join Eltshan in smashing those goons, and also because I just noticed a spot on the map that piqued my curiosity as the phase shifted from Verdane to Nodion. An extended stretch of land on the left side of the lake, which is only a single space wide at it's furthest, and is surrounded on all sides by water. The main army finishes off the first bandit horde, preparing to approach Gandolf's personal horde while Midir trails behind and the slower units finally catch up. I also take this chance to look at Eltshan's stats and he's straight up badass. He's got solid stats all around, 60 hp, and the Mistoltin sword, which is Hezul's weapon, judging by his major holy blood.
Eltshan obliterates Elliot and sends the moron running before Lex or Fin could do anything, so they just ride on past them, leaving them to do as they will. Everyone else finishes gathering around the beach area near the southern village, waiting for Ethlin and Aideen to come and heal the wounded Noish, Alec, and Dew.
Eltshan returns to the castle now that Elliot is dealt with, and Lex and Fin continue their travels. Ardan, Alec, and Noish then draw out a few of Gandolf's mooks, while everyone is getting healed. Dew also talks to Aideen, where he gives her a Warp staff, while hiding (poorly) the fact that he stole it for her.
Son of a bitch. Horsemen can't go through thickets. Lex and Fin double back towards everyone else (Fin likely going back to guard duty), while the main party fights off the brigands.
And finally, the village to the south of Verdane castle is destroyed. I was unable to rescue it from the bandits, but I just decide to ignore the loss, and heal everyone and have them wait for Lex to finish his journey.
In spite of every attempt however, there doesn't appear to be a way past the enormous thickets shielding Verdane. As such, I just have Aira take on Gandolf, with Aideen standing by to heal her if she gets hurt. She takes down Gandolf without getting hit by spamming Astra for two rounds of combat, receiving his skill ring (I really need to find a way to get these to people who would benefit the most from using them. Dew might come in handy with that, what with his vast amount of wealth). After seeing what Aira did to him, I must say, if I had to grade Gandolf on how much of a challenge he was, I'd be forced to give him a D, since he didn't put up much of a challenge.
Before seizing, I have Sigurd speak to Aideen, revealing she has a sister named Brigid who she must give their families holy bow. I also have Aira initiate the conversation she has with Cuan, where it's revealed the reason for the war with Isaac is due to hostilities starting with the lord of Rivough, but tensions exploding when, as the king of Isaac was going to explain the situation and bringing the head of the lord of Rivough as recompense, he was assassinated. Prince Maricle thus launched a full-scale attack on Grandbell, and it's likely that the prince is dead. Aira feels she must work to allow Shanan to grow up safe and sound, and Cuan says he'll do his best to help her in her endeavor. Sigurd then seizes and ends the chapter.
We then run into a Di Maggio look-alike, who is harassing a silver haired girl. Sigurd shows up, scaring the man away after forcing an apology out of him. The woman thanks Sigurd (who she refers to by name, despite this being their first meeting), and at Sigurd's surprise, she explains that Aideen told her about him. She then runs off in a hurry, surprising Sigurd, after which an elderly man asks what seems to be troubling him. Sigurd asks him who she was, and he says she was Dierdre, a shaman of the spirit forest. After wondering if he could possibly meet her again, the old man explains that she is strictly disallowed to associate with men, the people of the spirit forest believing a great calamity comes should that rule be broken. Sigurd finds the idea preposterous, and hopes to meet her again.
See you guys next time on Genealogy of the Holy War!
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