Stupid 0-requirement chapters...Experience went up but Tactics went down, and that's worth more.
- Tactics — 3 stars
- Survival — 5 stars
- Funds — 5 stars
- Exp — 3 stars
- Combat — 5 stars
Today we finished our march to Caelin. My eagerness to see Lyn again is tempered by worry for the safety of my former companions...
Although thus far I have succeeded in keeping the inexperienced, less capable, or more pacifistic members of our ragtag bunch away from combat, I believe I will need the strength of everyone to face the full might of the Laus invasion force.
Ha! How wrong those words turned out to be!
I had intended a mere scouting expedition, bringing Guy and Matthew for their sharp eyes, Oswin and Hector for additional military insight, and Bartre because...well, I think he was just hoping for a fight. He got one, too—who should unexpectedly crash-land practically on top of Hector but Florina, fleeing a number of Laus troops?
Florina informed me that Lyn's situation was worse than I thought. In their haste to flee the castle, Wil had forgotten a bowstring and Kent and Sain had no chance to equip themselves with armor or lances. Fortunately, Lyn always carries the Mani Katti and is used to fighting without protection, but she needed help quickly. No time to get reinforcements.
Oswin and I took shelter with the injured Florina near an outlying village, while the others moved south. Almost immediately we faced dual emergencies—a ballista critically wounded Lyn, Bartre was outmatched by a skillful mercenary, and a thief ran for the village.
Florina boldly blocked him at the entrance—she's so much less timid now!—while Matthew snagged his lockpick. Guy and Bartre BOTH finished their opponents with flashy techniques while Hector handled things a bit more sedately. Lyn annihilated each of her opponents with counterstrikes. Everyone was a bit of a show-off today, but that's fine by me. She next retrieved a heavy spear from some loyal villagers.
Guy took over defense of the village, facing off with a couple of marauding bandits—why do these foolhardy scum keep intruding on our battles?—and got a red gem for his troubles. Meanwhile, Bartre battled a pegasus-mounted sentry atop the hills. Hector cut down his only truly dangerous foe—a mage—with his trusty axe after shrugging off a fireball; Lyn continued west, with Kent, Sain, and Wil behind.
I marvel at Hector's seeming invincibility; whoever manufactured his armor was a genius! He barrelled toward the castle heedless of myrmidons, cavaliers, archers, and even the ballista.
Kent grabbed Wil and fled with Sain from advancing troops as Lyn and Guy finished the hapless bandits and attempted to catch up with Hector, finally halted by being completely surrounded. Lyn took another wound and retreated south again, only to encounter more trouble, so I sent Guy to assist a fellow Sacaen in need.
Cavalry begin to appear above our camp, but Bartre helped ward them off. Oswin unfortunately did not think to bring his lance on a simple scouting trip, but shielded me with his armor.
As the reinforcements prepared to charge, we heard Hector's shout in the distance. After breaking free of entanglements and adroitly dodging a mage, he had felled Bauker, the enemy commander! The remaining disheartened cavaliers, plus one mercenary and the archer manning the ballista, surrendered rather than seek vengeance. An amazing victory, due mostly to Hector's prowess.
12 turns.
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