Regardless, it's time get right back into business, although I don't think we will be seeing the Dragon Knights of Thracia
◊ anytime soon.
Anyway, since prep was covered last chapter, I can leap right into the combat, and the entirety of the party, save for Delmud, who has been benched, begins charging from the base towards the first platoon of foes. Julia can speak with Serlis, and she warns Serlis that Ishtar is far too powerful for him to fight. Serlis is confused, and then suddenly Julia is too, and Serlis gets +1 luck.
Okay then.
Everyone else steps out, and I survey the enemies. Muhammed's group is a mix of armors and mages, with a bishop holding a fortify staff and Muhammed himself being a Shagaal recolor with a brave lance and bow. Ovo's group is a set of lance knights supported by troubadours, with Ovo being a mageknight with Elthunder. Blume is carrying Bolting (ugh...) and Thoron. Wait, Thoron? What happened to Thorha- Oh dammit, Ishtar the "Goddess of Thunder" is carrying it now, isn't she? She isn't on the field yet, so I don't know how powerful she is, but I doubt her title was given to her just because she's able to read the book.
Well, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. For now, the party needs to support Leaf (Ovo's probably gonna make a beeline straight for him), and take down Muhammed before he takes Alster.
Come enemy phase, the commanders do exactly as expected, and head towards their targets, although the mage triplets also start moving, so someone is gonna have a bad time dealing with them.
Fee flies north towards Lenster, and Oifaye joins her, the two of them hopefully sufficing alongside Fin, Leaf, and Nanna in the defense of Lenster. Before she goes, Arthur speaks with Fee, noting that he's worried for her, and while Fee is surprised at his selflessness, she's also happy. After the talk ends, Fee gains 3 hp, and she and Oifaye take off, while the remainder of the party prepares to engage Muhammed's troops. Leaf departs Lenster, and Fin speaks with him, where the weary steward of Lenster warns the prince to keep safe, and Leaf says he's been waiting for this day, and will defeat Blume even at the cost of his life. Fin is angered by this careless claim, and Leaf apologizes, noting that Fin spent much time keeping him safe, so that they could fulfill Cuan's dream of uniting Thracia (so Trabant wasn't the only one with that goal, eh?). Leaf gains +3 strength from this, and they all buckle down to await Ovo's arrival.
Serlis's group begins battling Muhammed's men, and seem to be doing pretty well so far, having a good position thanks to the forests and cliffs near them baring enemy progress. Ovo approaches Lenster, and Leaf waits on a cliff with his light sword while Fin equips his javelin and prepares to show these goons what a real lance knight can do. Fee and Oifaye are also coming closer, and will be able to help deal with Ovo himself and the remainder of his men.
Suddenly, the camera moves over to Conote, and Blume speaks with a boy whom he calls Faval. He asks Faval to help take down the rebel army, but Faval refuses, telling him to find another mercenary to do his dirty work. Blume notes that Faval has several orphans under his care, and could use the extra money, and also says that his sister has resorted to theft to keep the orphans fed, and Faval is torn. He agrees to fight for Blume reluctantly, on the condition that he'd get all the money he needs if he crushes Serlis and his army. He steps out onto the field, and the enemies begin attacking. Muhammed then proceeds to kill Patty with his Brave Bow. I can tell he's going to be a pain in the ass. Reset Counter: 19.
All of the more frail fighters stay back a bit, and the fighting continues, while Lana uses the sleep staff to disable Muhammed. After some more fighting, all of Ovo's units have reached Lenster, and Fin takes up guarding it from the single opening, while Nanna heals him and Oifaye and Fee stick wait until there are less foes before charging in to join him. Muhammeds men are effectively routed, and so Serlis's group heads towards Conote to finish off Blume and save some villages from Trabant's bandits.
Ovo very nearly kills Fin, but the blue haired knight survives, and after he's healed by Nanna, Fee and Oifaye cut him a path to Ovo, and he skewers the horse-bound mage with his knight slayer. This leaves only the troubadours as remnants of Ovo's platoon, and Nanna and Leaf begin to pick them off for easy experience.
Fee flies off towards the northernmost town to slay the bandit attacking it, while Serlis's group goes for the bandit further south. Yet again, focus moves to Blume, who is now asking Ishtar to defend him. She's confused by his desperation, and he explains how badly we crushed him before, and she understands his issue, and then asks for the Thorhammer (which they finally refer to by name, and they call it the Tor Hammer. so silly), which Blume grudgingly obliges.
Now Fin and his group have Faval and Ishtar coming at them, and still the mage triplets to deal with too! Patty runs up north to join Leaf's group and recruit her brother, while Leaf's group begins fighting the mage sisters.
I take a look at the incoming foes, and while the mage sisters are the same as ever, though they are all wearing leg rings, Faval is packing the Ichival and some mean bases, and Ishtar is terrifying. Some absolutely fierce stats, the adept and vantage skills (so she can use the speed boost from the Thorhammer, and when she gets low in health, she will always blast you first, possibly twice), and obviously the enormous power of the Thorhammer. She's less sturdy than her father, but who needs defense when you're basically a walking thunderstorm?
Oh thank god for miracle. Fin faced all three mage triplets, and miracles evasion boost saved him when two of them pushed him down to one health and the third missed. Fin traps the remaining two of them on the plateau next to Lenster after Fee helps him take out Eliu. Leaf and the others in the group move to assist him come next turn, assuming he survives. Aless and Shanan join Patty in the trip to Lenster, since I'm guessing the two of them are the only ones capable of matching Ishtar and defeating her in a fight.
Help isn't needed for Fin however, as he takes down the sisters himself (miracle yet again saving him), and he uses his brave lance to take them down. Now all that's left is recruiting Faval while simultaneously defeating Ishtar without anyone dying.
This is going to go swimmingly, I just know it.
Patty speaks with Faval, and after a through scolding from the initiating party about how ass-backwards Faval joining the army of the people who made all the kids they are protecting orphans in the first place is, Faval joins the party. Faval is a level 9 archer with some damn nice bases for his level, the Ichival bow, as well as a silver and steel bow, 8979 gold, major Ulir blood, and the pursuit and duel skills. I also note that he can kill her in one shot with the Ichival, but that he'd need to hit a 44 for that to happen...
So I instead have Oifaye take a whack at her, with a 68 chance from his slim lance, and he'd survive. He then unleashes a critical hit and takes her out, no problem.
Oifaye, you are so clutch.
Anyway, after she falls, a red haired man who looks like Alvis did back in the day warps in, and she calls him Prince Julius. He says that he has come to save her, and she gladly lets him warp her out of there, so she isn't killed.
With that out of the way, only Blume and his few remaining guards are left. I send the party forward towards Conote, and send Faval, as well as the Lenster group, back to Lenster where they participate in the arena before the final assault on Conote. I see what Leaf's "initial hit" critical looks like as he goes through, and holy shit it's awesome! Fin and Faval are the only ones to make it to the end, the former thanks to his brave lance, and the latter thanks to the Ichival. Once all that is finished, they rejoin the main group, and Faval speaks with Serlis, where Faval vows to work with the rebel army from now on.
Lana visits the two saved villages, but only gets 2500 gold, though one village gives her a power ring, which she had to send to storage, and will pawn off to someone else later.
Having dealt with all that, the main party prepares to attempt the siege of Conote, and I will be leaving off here for today. I plan on taking both Conote and Manster on the next one which if time allows will be tomorrow, but take that with a grain of salt. See ya!
Comments
