What a load of crap. We are at least a good 10000 gold, easy! Binks got ripped off.
Chapter 9 - Distant Blade
◊: Finished.
Base: I reequip the party now that I have some more available funds, getting everyone ready for the later battles. I also sell an Elysian Whip (no fliers in the party to use it on) and some pure waters and antitoxins for the sake of making some extra cash. I also make sure Franz has a full javelin and an elixir, since he's gonna have to fly solo for a bit if we want to recruit our final party member.
Eirika: Waited near the start, fighting one pirate who came close and beating him slowly, while the others carried on ahead.
Tana: Helped a bit, flying across the water to save a village (distracting a pirate as well, out of necessity) and secure a Rapier. Not really important, but better than letting the home get torched.
Franz: Charged ahead of the party, beelining towards the southwestern end of the bridge. He used his javelin to take out archers and hand axemen while he ran, killing a couple pirates aiming to pillage the house on the way. After reaching near where Amelia spawns with her platoon, he waits outside her range and smashes some mooks, drinking an elixir to heal from some damn near fatal wounds. He waited for a bit of help from Garcia and Neimi before recruiting Amelia, so that the enemies around her could be defeated to ensure her safety. After that, he took a backseat to the others, so that they could clean up the remaining foes.
Garcia & Neimi: Ran straight for the bridge as well, but focused on attacking the foes around them more, cleaning up the stragglers who either didn't attack Franz, or didn't get killed by him. Once they caught up, Franz recruited Amelia, and they took down a couple foes nearby to prevent her from being threatened. After waiting a bit for Josh and Natasha to catch up, they slowly but surely cleared through the remaining foes. Joshua and Garcia carved a path cross the bridge (Garcia owning an axereaver soldier along the way, because the weapon triangle is for wimps), and Neimi lured out the archers and dark mage near the house across the bridge. Garcia dealt with the archers near Binks, and soon enough the boss was the last one left.
Joshua & Natasha: Stayed in the northern area for a bit, dealing with the reinforcements who kept coming in. Eventually Josh cleared them up, and then went south to deal with some pirates who were walking in from the sea. Natasha kept him healthy between rounds of combat whenever he got hit, and eventually they made their way to the others, where Natasha healed them up too. They then proceeded across the bridge, and Joshua took down the mercenaries near Binks while Neimi lured out some bowmen and a dark mage.
Supports: Two this chapter; Garcia and Neimi (B) and Joshua and Natasha (B). Here they are, respectively.
- Garcia: Neimi! That gauntlet...
- Neimi: Y-yes?
- Garcia: That gauntlet! The one embroidered with the gold falcon...
- Neimi: Huh? Oh, this? My late grandfather gave it to me. It was too big for me, so I resized it to fit my hand. He was the one who taught me how to use a bow... This is a keepsake he gave me.
- Garcia: Is your grandfather's name Zethla?
- Neimi: How in the world...? Did you know him?
- Garcia: Of course. He was THE master archer. He was known as "Single-Arrow Zethla." He had amazing accuracy and could shoot any target, moving or still, with one shot. "No second arrow for Zethla" was what people would say. Renais tried to recruit him many times...
- Neimi: Now that I think about it, when Grandpa went hunting, he would take only one arrow with him. Me, I always took many arrows...
- Garcia: So, it WAS true!
- Neimi: He never did join the army, even though recruiters did come by often. He said that it wasn't in his nature...
- Garcia: I know. In fact, I visited him once when I was young. He was wearing the gauntlet that day, and it left an impression.
- Neimi: I see... Renais is such a big country, I never would have thought that you knew him. It's a small world.
- Garcia: Indeed. I can't believe Single-Arrow Zethla's granddaughter is fighting in this war. I'm encouraged by this fact. I'm counting on you, Neimi.
- Neimi: What? YOU'RE counting on...ME?
- Garcia: Yes.
- Neimi: Um...I'm...happy to hear that. I-I'll do my best not to let you down!
- Garcia: Good. Then let's go.
- Neimi: Yes, sir!
—-
- Natasha: Oh! Aaaaaah!!!
- Joshua: Watch out! Nngh!! An arrow!? Did someone set up a trap for us? Or is there someone here? An archer? Where is he?
- Natasha: Joshua! You saved me. Thank goodness you were near.
- Joshua: Yeah, well... I just happened to be in the neighborhood is all.
- Natasha: You make light of it, but I truly appreciate that you were nearby.
- Joshua: Well, uh... Are you all right?
- Natasha: I'm fine, thank you. But it's only thanks to you, Joshua. You saved me. I'll try to be more attentive to my surroundings.
- Joshua: Yeah, well... It's not always easy, you know? Especially when you're working. You concentrate pretty hard when you're doing your healing thing. Just focus on your work, and I'll keep an eye on you. Sound fair?
- Natasha: Oh, no... I couldn't ask you to spend all your time protecting me.
- Joshua: What, you don't want me to?
- Natasha: It's not that at all! I rather like— ... Um, never mind.
- Joshua: ...... Say, you want to make a bet?
- Natasha: Another...bet? Right here? In the middle of this battlefield? What did you intend to bet on this time?
- Joshua: That you're gonna fall for me, sooner or later.
- Natasha: What!?
- Joshua: I'm betting yes, personally.
- Natasha: Oh... This isn't the time for jokes... I-I just don't know.
- Joshua: Hey, don't go running off! Sigh... I wasn't even joking...
Binks: Fought with Joshua for four rounds of combat. Joshua used his slim sword, and slowly whittled down Binks health while Binks continuously missed, until Binks was left with two health that Joshua removed with a critical in the final round.
Afterwards: Seth interrogates one of the mercenaries, learning that Councilman Pablo of Carcino hired them to hunt the princess. Eirika remembers that Innes is passing through Carcino on his way to Jehanna, and thus is inadvertently marching straight into enemy territory. A messenger from Innes confirms this fear, stating that Innes is in danger, and is currently trapped in a siege by Pablo's men. Eirika says she will take care of Innes' rescue, and tells the messenger to return to Frelia. Later, one of L'Arachel's guards appears, asking if she and "sir stubble-chin" are gone yet. Eirika replies to the affirmative, and the guard is overjoyed, giving us an angelic robe for the information.
Up Next: Revolt at Carcino, where we save Innes from Pablo's men, and take down the rebellious merchant!
Comment Question: What would you guys like Amelia to promote to? Do note that, because Franz will be a Great Knight, she will not be, and Super Recruit isn't an option this run (I'm playing a ROM of this game since my GBA and DS don't work anymore, leaving me unable to play this otherwise, and I haven't beaten Ephraim mode on this ROM yet), leaving General and Paladin as her two choices for final classes.
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