Legault snags the Fell Contract from Sonia for a nice promotion, and that only leaves Heath, who will not be able to promote until chapter 29, with the secret shop's Elysian whips. Sucks, but whatcha gonna do?
Chapter 26x - Night Of Farewells
◊: Finished.
Base: Equipped people with some better weapons, such as handing Heath a Killer Lance, and handing Lucius a Restore staff. I also removed one item from Legault's inventory to allow him to steal the Angelic Robe that the Berserk Bishop is carrying, since everyone can appreciate some extra health.
Eliwood, Jaffar, & Nino: Waited on the island directly to the right of the main entrance platform, where they avoided all reinforcements who appeared save for a pegasus knight that Eliwood killed. Later, Jaffar ran toward the treasure platform and helped Legault snag the treasure by freeing up inventory slots, since without Merlinus we can't transfer stuff to convoy.
Party: Traveled together for the most part, though some people split off to do their own thing later on. At the beginning, They all advanced as one, save for Florina, who initially flew due south and stabbed a couple mages, one of whom had a bolting tome. She began flying back while everyone else crossed the tiny pathways to reach the next islands in sequence, crushing the various reinforcements and advancing foes who awaited them at their destinations. The first notable threat was the Berserk Bishop, who missed two shots, but got one off on Heath, who had to be restored by Lucius before we continued on.
After reaching the northern island with the two stairways, Legault and Heath stopped and waited, while the others moved on. The second threat of note was Sonia's bolting spells, which bombarded the party from afar. With the help of Lucius' healing, Karel soaked up her attention for long enough to exhaust them, and the threat was quickly sorted out.
The final notable threat was a twofer; Lyn had gotten stuck in the water when a pathway sunk from beneath her as she fought a cavalier, and so Florina needed to fly her to dry land. Meanwhile, Wil was fighting a nomad trooper as well as a set of shaman and pirate reinforcements, who pinned him down and gave him a very thorough smacking before Lyn and Florina caught up and helped. Lucius had to heal him after that, since he was pretty close to death, but after that all but the last two wyvern knights by Sonia, and the treasure island enemies were left. Once Sonia's mooks were cleaned up, everyone waited for the path to the treasure platform to rise. Once it did, Legault and Heath quickly mopped up the guards, and the two snagged all of the treasure, obtaining a Thor's Ire, a Fenrir tome, a Recover staff, and a Speedwing (which Heath promptly used). All that was left after this was to deal with Sonia.
Supports: But first, supports! We have three this chapter, Karel and Lucius (c), Karel and Dart (c), and Heath and Legault (a).
- Karel: ......
- Lucius: Oh, ahh... Hello...
- Karel: I smell...blood.
- Lucius: Wha—? What’s—
- Karel: Ah, so you are a servant of Saint Elimine? I have no use for you. Begone.
- Lucius: So...err... That smell of blood thing...
- Karel: It will rain soon. Blood will fall like rain...
- Lucius: ... ... But aren’t we going to prevent all that? That’s why we’re fighting...
- Karel: You, too... Your hands will also be stained red with blood...
- Lucius: What!
- Karel: You are not a fool. The more you see your own impurity, the closer you are to me. And I will not have to kill you...
- Lucius: ...... Why...
- Karel: ......
- Dart: What do you want!? Are you trying to start a fight!?
- Karel: You smell like...like the sea... Are you a sailor?
- Dart: What’s it to you? I am Dart, feared member of Fargus’s pirate crews! Know my name, and fear my blade, mate!
- Karel: ...... I just wanted to ask you one thing.
- Dart: Huh? I thought you wanted to fight...
- Karel: Tell me... Who is the strongest warrior on Elibe?
- Dart: That’s easy! You’ll find no one tougher than Fargus’s pirates!
- Karel: At sea, perhaps. But who is the strongest on land?
- Dart: Hey! I don’t much like the tone of your voice! But fine, I’ll tell you. If you can afford it...
- Karel: Take what you want...
- Dart: Ha! Woo-hoo! Well, well, I’m starting to like you more already! Now then, let’s see... I’ve heard rumors in many a port town. You’ll have to confirm them yourself.
- Karel: Spit it out.
- Dart: Well, it’s like this... Out on the Western Isles, there’s a stone giant that men call Kelles. He’s thrice the size of the tallest man, and he can swallow your whole, from your head to your—
- Karel: He’s dead.
- Dart: Huh? Really?
- Karel: Yeah.
- Dart: ...Seems like I heard about him only recently. You must get news quickly.
- Karel: ...Next.
- Dart: Wait...I just remembered... There’s a mage in Ilia who has the power to freeze your blood *in its veins. He found an ancient ice tome that—
- Karel: Yeah, he’s dead, too. About a month ago.
- Dart: I... Well, that’s... Are you serious? How could you know that?
- Karel: ...Next.
- Legault: Hey, Heath.
- Heath: Looks like you’re still alive.
- Legault: Can’t complain.
- Heath: Legault, what is it that you want from me?
- Legault: Hmm... One reason is self-interest. Whether I’m working in this army or I’m dodging Black Fang pursuers, it makes sense to have a wyvern rider close at hand. Few soldiers can match your ferocity on the field. Of course, it does complicate matters that you are pursued.
- Heath: I imagine so. I’m being hunted by my homeland. There’s a price on my head. Being close to me isn’t like lying in a bed of roses.
- Legault: The same is true of me as well. Many of the Black Fang would see me dead if they could. Look, why don’t we help each other out? Lend a hand dealing with our respective foes?
- Heath: My enemy is the strongest army division on the continent. No matter how you look at it, I’d say you’re getting the short end of the stick. Why would you agree to do all that for me?
- Legault: Hm? Must be this thing called “love,” you know? Where are you going? I’m joking!! Get back here.
- Heath: ......
- Legault: Just let it go, all right? Come on, I like you. Even on the run, you’re true to your principles. You’re recklessly honest. That’s from someone who simply cannot do that...
- Heath: ......
- Legault: Friendship between fugitives... What do you say?
- Heath: You’re one weird guy...
Sonia: Fought Legault, who stole the Fell Contract she held, signed on the dotted line, and then gained the ability he needed to defeat her; Silencer. After three rounds of dealing no damage, and dodging two out of three Fimbulvetr casts, Legault procced Silencer and finished her off.
Vs Sonia: "Though it won't return the Black Fang to what they once were, I suspect killing you will be quite cathartic, Sonia."
After signaling for Lucius to cast a barrier upon him, Legault sprinted at Sonia at top speed, which surprised her enough that he was able to snag a piece of parchment from within her robe. As he backpedaled, he braced himself, thankful for the barrier he had. A wind current flowed past him, followed by a storm of icicle spears rising up to gore him. As it was, he came out partially eviscerated, but still in one piece. He ran out of the effective range of her spell, read over the terms and conditions of the jet black parchment very carefully, and using some of the blood from his wounds, he signed on the dotted line. The paper disintegrated into the air, and he felt a sudden surge of acuity, as though he had gained all the knowledge stored within the page. After getting healed by Lucius, he leaped back into the fray.
With newfound speed, he drew his knives and brought them forth on Sonia. As he crossed them at her throat, they bounced off, as though her flesh were steel.
"What? Sonia's a skilled mage, but there's no manner of spell that can shield one from a blade. What is she?"
Sonia took advantage of his confusion, quickly incanting her spell and directing another storm of ice and wind into Legault's side. Legault rebounded before he was smashed into a wall, kicking off the hard stone and leaping toward Sonia once more. He struck quickly, needling her with light strikes to find some opening, but nothing worked. The back of the neck, the joints, the stomach; nothing gave way to his blades. His prodding finished, he felt the air current form above him and jumped back as the frigid spears crashed into the ground. He studied her from afar, keeping track of the air currents the came at him, signaling when another attack would come just moments before the spears struck.
An idea came to him as he observed her, and he waited for her to cast another spell. He felt the air currents circling him, and he jumped as high as he could. A cyclone of icicles rendered the air into shrapnel just beneath him, and he felt his leg bleeding from a stray spear. Still, he kicked off of one of the icicles before it faded, and was upon Sonia just in time for her to begin casting another spell. As her mouth opened to articulate the words, she seemed completely calm, believing his blades couldn't cut her. He raked a knife through her open mouth and tore open her right cheek with some effort. Her jaw now dislodged and her spell canceled, she lacked any means to prevent Legault from ramming his blade upwards into the roof of her mouth.
Afterwards: Jan and Nino have a bit of a heart to heart about the events within the temple, and now that she knows the truth, Jan returns her parents pendant to her. She says goodbye, and meets with the lords, thanking them for their help, and asking to join them. They agree, and alongside Jaffar, she joins, and we set out for town to rest until dawn. Limstella leaves Sonia to die since Morphs lack quintessence to harvest, while Sonia mumbles about how she is a human.
Up Next: Cog of Destiny, Linus edition, where we battle the vengeful Mad Dog of the Four Fangs.
