After Deetva's group falls, leaving only a small contingent of foes, as well as a pair of annoying pirates, to oppose my advance, I decide how to approach. I send Fury north, having her prepare to take down the furthest pirate by flying over and ripping him apart with her sword, while the rest of the party pushes through the enemies, and some of the mages (preferably, Claude, the ultimate magic tank) distract the blizzard mages while she cleans up the mess. Levin, Fury, and Claude are all danced for by Sylvia, Levin (who is level 20, and will return to the base once all this crap is dealt with) takes down the second to last bandit after Fury weakens it and begins her flight, while Claude heads forth to lead the group, and Lex promotes into a Great Knight. I have him stay at the base for now, since he's so far back compared to the rest of the group, and won't help much against mages.
I have everyone advance forth a bit, Sigurd taking down a pair of swordsmen and a wing mage while everyone keeps up, and then had them wait before the bridge leading to the next area while Fury did her stuff. She shivs the pirate a couple times, then flies out of range of the blizzard guys, and will finish him off (just before he can do so to the village) on the next turn. I also use this time to build up some love points between Brigid/Beowulf, Sylvia/Claude, and Tiltyu/Azel. Fury finishes off the bandit, and now that I have as much time as needed, I prepare my advance.
I send Levin, Claude, and Azel, the three units most well equipped (Levin can almost assuredly dodge their attacks on a forest, while Claude and Azel have weapon advantage in Fire tomes to help their evade) to face them, and use the forests to help fend off the blizzards until they can crush their foes. I note that ranged tomes prevent the user from moving, so at least I need not worry about them running to my group and blasting them.
Aw shit, Maios grew wise to my movements, and has now raised the drawbridge over Thove River. He says we can't cross without a certain key, and is apparently imagining our "dumbfounded faces". Ah well, I'll get past that once I deal with the mages. Azel, Levin, and Claude move out, while Aideen waits nearby with a physic, in case anyone needs healing that Claude would be unable to provide. I note the fourth blizzard mage hiding in the mountains, and decide to send Fury after him, since he annoys me. Aideen heals Azel from some blizzard damage, while the group advances and Levin begins attacking the enemy mages, missing and dodging the counterattack of the first one.
Come next turn, Azel joins on the attack, and misses as well (seriously? why are the enemies in this chapter so darn evasive? doesn't help that all their weapons are light, making them really hard to double), while Fury takes out the blizzard mage in the mountains. Azel goes for the enemy captain, who thankfully lacks a close ranged offensive tome, and Levin and Claude take out the final mage.
I now decide to have Aideen and Claude begin visiting the villages to get them the money they need to buy some stuff, while everyone else makes their way forward, preparing for the final assault on Thove once the visitation is done and I find a way to get that key.
Speak of the devil, the first village Claude visits (the one that I almost wasn't able to save) gives me the answer. He mentions that a thief might be able to get the bridge down, even if Maios has moved it. Sadly, that juicy info meant less money, and Claude only got 500 gold. I decide to have Jamka hand his arena winnings to Aideen so that she need not visit as many towns, and thus allow Claude to have the money. While Claude does that, I have everyone else gather just out of range of the enemies by the riverbank, and prepare to weaken them with mages and archers once everyone has gathered.
I also decide that nows as good a time as any, and warp Levin back to Sailane, so he can promote (into a sage, with crazy sweet stats, who waits at Sailane), while Jamka gains his final bits of experience by luring out and shooting at a schmo across the river, and then is given the same treatment, turning him into a sniper (who also stays at Sailane to help Lex and Levin once the obvious attack from Daccar comes after I take down Maios). I note that Levin can now wield staves at a B level, which is quite nice, and thus will give him the Restore and (presently broken) Silence later on, to free up Aideen's inventory and get some staves on a guy who can afford the damn things. Claude continues his trek, and collects a total of 20500 gold in his travels, and he and Sylvia then begin to head towards Thove, which the others have already begun attacking.
Azel and Tiltyu use some of this time to weaken the enemy forces on the other side of the river, drawing them out in small groups and then taking them down one by one. Once they take down all foes who can strike the other side of the river (all but two armor knights), I have Dew put the bridge back down, and those two knights are quickly defeated. After Lachesis heals everyone, Tiltyu and Azel become lovers, and Aira takes her shot at Maios, aiming to reach level 20 by taking his head. She does so, her brave sword allowing her easily crush him under the flurry of strikes, and she's warped back to Sailane. She then promotes into a swordmaster, giving her just the strength boost she needs to basically destroy everything, as well as the adept skill.
I begin to have everyone else save Sigurd begin the long trek back to Sailane, Claude and Sylvia doing the same, since I know Daccar is likely to pull some kind of crap after I seize Thove, and I'd like to be ready. After everyone has reached Sailane, I have Sigurd seize Thove. Oifaye tells Sigurd that one of Thove's elders would like to speak with him, and Sigurd gladly invites him in. The elder congratulates Sigurd on overthrowing Maios, and after Sigurd asks why, the man explains that Maios was essentially a tyrant, and that all of the Silesian's are in complete support of Queen Rahna. Sigurd is surprised by their adoration of her, and decides to leave Thove in the hands of the townsfolk for now, until Queen Rahna appoints the new ruler. The elder asks Sigurd to keep Rahna safe, and Sigurd agrees, saying that he will protect her to the absolute best of his ability. With Thove now in the hands of us, I think I'll be stopping here. Next time, we'll see what Daccar's little plan is, and then throw a party sized wrench into it.
