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Ronka87 Maid of Win from the mouth of madness. Since: Jun, 2009
Maid of Win
#51: Oct 10th 2010 at 6:57:41 PM

^^^^HA HA HA HA HA HA! You show that level, GO!

Edit: Once again, I have made another useless page toper.

edited 10th Oct '10 6:58:10 PM by Ronka87

Thanks for the all fish!
gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#52: Oct 11th 2010 at 6:28:44 PM

Part 20: Shit Hits The Fan

Let's do it.

This is filler, so I won't transcribe the battle. The boss, a wizard, is... interesting, however.

"Y...you are Orcus! How did you get through the blockade!? Never mind, that 30,000 is as good as mine!"

First of all, there's an enemy named Lebolt.

Stupid Name Count: 9

Also, "Shorter."

Stupid Name Count: 10

Forcas steals our kill and takes down the boss, Dagon.

Dagon: Damn it... if only I had 30,000 Goth... I could have saved my daughter's life.

...

Victory fanfare, you're not helping right now...

Well, anyway. I get 1600 Goth, 1950 extra Goth, some more goth, and a Necro spell from the boss.

Necro is... weird. None of our mages can use it right now anyway, but I might explain it later. I dunno.

Fort Bodo. No battle here, only story.

Also, note Rime comes right after. We're getting close, people. In fact, I think I'll make this post super long and include Rime in there, as something climactic happens.

A sentry asks who we are.

After a boring conversation, the guard realizes it is us. "Sisteena!? You're alive? Selye was concerned about you."

I'm not sure if I should add "Selye" to the list. It's pretty stupid, but you have to lower your standards for this game.

We go inside.

This place looks pretty run down.

I'm not getting good vibes from this Selye.

"Why did you bring these criminals before me!?" Selye shouts. "Are you trying to give away the location of our hideout!?"

"Before you jump to any conclusions, please listen to my story!" Sisteena argues.

"How dare you speak to me in that tone of voice! I am the leader of this army!" Wow. What a bitch.

"These kind strangers rescued me from pirates."

"Pirates? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

Sisteena says we're safe and continues, "The reason I'm here is to stop you from carrying out your crazy plan."

Selye turns away. "Not again! I'm through discussing the matter with you! I will not change my mind! Our comrades that also felt the same way you do about my decision left here without you. I never forced any one of you to go along with my plans. That is why I didn't stop you from leaving."

"What decision? What crazy plan?" asks Kachua, echoing my thoughts. "Would anyone care to fill us in...?"

"Shut up, you whiny bitch!" screams Selye. Whoah, unprovoked much!? I mean, yeah, okay, Kachua is a whiny bitch, but you haven't even exchanged a single word with her! "It's none of your damn business!" Wow, someone managed to out-bitch Kachua. That's surprising.

"She is planning the assassination of Duke Ronway," Sisteena helpfully says. Wait, how is that crazy? Isn't that your goal...?

Selye tells her to shut her trap, but it's too late.

"Killing the duke will not end the war," Sisteena says. "On the contrary, the Dark Knights and Bacrum will declare war against the Walstanians."

...True.

"That's right! It's just a matter of time until Gargastan loses the war. Once the Liberation Army defeats Gargastan, they will have big power. Then Bacrum and Walsta forces will be equal. If an all out war broke out, both countries would fall."

...You treacherous bitch.

"But, Branta and Ronway knows what will happen. They will keep their neutrality treaty. But if the Duke dies, Bacrum will invade Walsta. Once Branta defeats Walsta. After that happens we must assassinate Branta."

...GAH. THAT'S NOT EVEN A COMPLETE SENTENCE.

"Do you really think that your plan will pan out so smoothly?" Kachua asks, once again echoing my thoughts.

"It will. And when we nail Branta, that is when true peace will return to the land of Valeria!!!"

Yeah, a land ruled solely by you rebels! "Why don't you be part of our plan? Why don't you join us and kill the Duke?" she asks, turning to Kachua.

What, and help decimate even more of our people!? You're a psycho bitch!

Sisteena pipes up, "It is always the common people who suffer from war..." No shit. "I don't want to kill any innocent people... I don't want to see a country built on a foundation of blood!"

A soldier runs in. Selye asks him what's happening.

"I just got word that... the Gargastans... they have been defeated by the Liberation Army... Coritani Castle has fallen! Barbatos was captured and executed this morning!"

...So that's that then.

"Perfect... everything is going to plan. Tell our comrades to prepare!" she says.

Sisteena runs to her sister. "Selye, don't do it!"

Selye explains they have no choice now and they must kill the Duke before he settles in.

"It's too late, Forcas..."

Wait, you're not talking to Forcas, you're...

...

God damn it, translators. God damn it.

"You're wrong, Selye!" Sisteena shouts, and runs out of the room.

Selye says she has no time for idle chatter.

"If you give up freedom, then what do you have left? Then you've lost sight of what you're truly fighting for. We must do whatever it takes to make our dream a reality. My sister is not a revolutionary. She will not stain her hands with the blood of innocents to succeed."

This woman is way worse than Ronway... he wanted to kill a small town, she wants to slaughter two nations!

Selye turns away.

"....but I still love her. Take care of my sister for me. Help her anyway you can."

The scene cuts to the roof, where Sisteena refuses to believe what her sister is doing is right.

"You're becoming worse than what you want to destroy..."

She's become way worse than what she wants to destroy.

"You will do anything to achieve your ideals. Have we been fighting to establish a country who's foundation is built upon the blood of innocent people?"

The game presents us with a choice.

I think we already made the choice when we refused to slaughter the citizens of Baramus. We don't want to build a country with bloodshed. I select 1.

"Join us, Sisteena. We have a lot in common."

Sisteena turns. "I noticed that the first time you rescued me." If you remember, we said we wanted true peace, for everyone.

"Then come, let us fight together!"

"Thank you... I will never give up my beliefs. Even if it means I must fight against my own sister."

Sisteena, Forcas, and Byan join us permanently.

A few changes. Notably, I switched Leon out for Byan. Sorry, old bud, you've been good by us, but Byan is the superior mage. You're out of Squad Liveblog.

I keep everything else the same. Sisteena is pretty much a glorified valkyrie and Forcas doesn't have the ninja training Hogan does.

Let's go to Rime and finally talk with Lans. Unless it's another ambush...

Our position. Byan is at 1, Bruno is at 2, Aloser is at 3, Canopus is at 4, Freesia is at 5, Orcus is at 6, Area is at 7, Belgger is at 8, Presance is at 9, and Hogan is at 10.

Let's fight it out.

Rime is dark and silent. Once Orcus is sure nobody is here, he tells Kachua to come out of the bushes. She does. And then, suddenly...

Zapan!

"This must be my lucky day. I never expected to see you here."

"Damn, you again!?" Kachua shouts. "Why do these things always happen to me?"

"Come on, be nice. Let's be friends... heh, heh, heh..."

His friends appear.

"Is this another trap!" Orcus shouts.

"No... this is why it's my lucky day. I'll kill you before that damn knight of Zenobia shows up!

Note that Orcus is up here...

and his allies are down here.

The music.

My suggested strategy; have Orcus head down to his troops as quickly as possible. Enemies shoot at Kachua first, so she will be good for bait. The fighting space is a bit small, so keep track of enemy ranges, positions, and weaknesses, forming a tightly clumped formation that will hold off enemy attacks.

...Of course, Kachua dies in one hit from a hawkman. She uses one of her infinite supply of escape crystals.

As you can see, we are holding off the enemy at two flanks. Canopus can attack both.

After Orcus gives way and is forced to retreat, it pretty much becomes a clusterfuck. Zapan is able to get to our healer somehow, and they retreat into the hive of soldiers. The witch keeps casting Stun on us. This battle is annoying.

Hogan reduces him to 31 HP.

"Shit, you're strong. Man, I should have given up while I was ahead!"

Suddenly, we hear noises of ...carnage?

"Huh!? What's that noise!?" Zapan shouts.

Awesome music starts up.

What the hell!?

Wait... those are... oh my god!

The Black Knights! The Black Knights have betrayed Walsta! I knew Lans Tartare couldn't be trusted!

Lans! You've come!

"Stop! Is this the way of the people of Lodis!?"

"That's the Zenobian crest!" Barbas shouts. "You must be the Holy Knight Lans! It was my long time dream to see you, Lans!"

Some background: Lans Tartare lost his eye in a duel with Lans Hamilton. He bears a bit of a grudge.

"Show me the power that defeated the Highlands!" The Highlands is the government Lans helped you overthrow in March of The Black Queen.

"You wish shall be granted!" roars Lans. "Show me your power, Dark Knight!"

Go, Lans, go!

We're just kind of wandering around, confused. "Where's Zapan?"

"Orcus!" Kachua screams.

"Kachua, where are you!?"

Zapan has Kachua!

"Too late, Orcus. The girl is mine! I'm taking your Kachua! Come to Amorika Castle if you want her back! I'll be waiting!"

...Amorika. Where it all began.

"Stop!!!" Orcus screams. "Bring back my sister, you bastard!!"

Oh, shit, a Dark Knight!

The Dark Knight Martym asks, "What do you want, kid?"

Guildus! Thank god!

"What can Zenobia do to us!? Come on! You pathetic excuse for a knight!"

They start to fight.

Zapan! Damn it!

"Orcus! Go! Go after him!" roars Guildus.

"So I see, trying to be the good guy," Martym says. "Take this!"

"Go! Hurry!"

We run from the scene.

"Take this, wimp!" we can hear Martym say. An odd flash of light...

Guildus lets loose a cry of pain.

We get 2250 Goth, some more Goth, some battle boots, and two crossbows.

Warren Report Updates

There's a special scene that's only available by accessing the Warren Report.

Barbatos looks from the guillotine as Ronway proclaims that the morning has come for them to celebrate. "Through this man's death... an era of darkness has finally come to an end!"

A young man shouts, "This is what you get for treating us like scum all these years! I hope it hurts!"

"Kill that Gargastan bastard for killing my son!" a woman wails.

An old man shouts, "Go to Hell, you child-molesting tyrant!"

Wait, hold the phone... child molesting!?

"Did you hear that Barbatos?" asks Ronway. "You're hated by your own people... at ease, my people. I understand how you feel. My Walstanian comrades, hear me! Our suffering has been produced by this man! My dear Gargastans... let us cleanse your soul by spilling enough blood for all of us to see as atonement! From this day forward, let the Walsta and Gargastan people live in peace and harmony!"

A priest prepares the execution rites and asks if Barbatos has any last words. He ...laughs.

"Ha ha ha. Do you really think the war is over? Ha ha ha. Imbeciles. I'm not the one who started the war. It is you! You people made me declare war!"

"Shut up, you rotten son of a bitch! You're blaming innocent people for your evil deeds!" Ronway retorts.

"Poor Ronway... you're the same as I... all people do is complain, and yet they just blindly follow whoever is in power..."

The Gargastans did switch to Ronway pretty quick, now that I think about it...

"Ronway... if you think you have won the people over, than you are gravely mistaken. They're not the ones who are being manipulated, it's you and I who are being manipulated. Look at me... you're next!!"

"This is getting boring... kill him!" Ronway shouts.

"Poor Ronway... ha ha ha ha..."

The blade goes down and the screen flashes white to the cheering of the crowd.

Next time: we end Chapter 2!

edited 13th Oct '10 12:20:11 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#53: Oct 11th 2010 at 6:47:37 PM

Huh...what an odd coincidence that I asked about Barbatos right before his death. Anyways, it looks like things are becoming quite interesting; more meaningless deaths, more betrayl amongst the ranks of the mighty, and the lives of loved ones on the line. Looks like this chapter's going to end on a rather exciting note.

As for the next Warren, after that Guilotine scene, I think I'd like to see Duke Ronway.

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#54: Oct 12th 2010 at 7:21:15 PM

Part 21: The End Of Chapter 2- Jealousy

Judah Ronway- 52 Years Old: Former lord of Amorika Castle. Walstanian. Since the minor Valerian war, he became leader of the Walstanians, a minor ethnic group that consist of only 10% of the Valerian population. He has been resisting the Gargastan oppression for over half a year, but the movement was a failure. He was imprisoned in the Gargastan occupied Amorika. He was rescued by a group of Walstanian guerillas and became leader again.

Guerrillas, game, not "guerillas!"

I train everyone up to level 15. Sisteena and Forcas have chain mails; I give them to Belgger and Area.

Some filler before the final two battles of this chapter.

"What do we have here?! It's the kid that is worth 30,000 Goth! I've been a bounty hunter for so long that I have become jaded. But I guess Zapan was telling the truth. I hate to do this to you kid, but I have bills to pay. Sorry..." Ramidos the summoner, the boss of this battle, says. He can summon skeletons, so bring Presance,

Belgger kills the boss.

Ramidos: I guess I'm not as fast as I used to be...defeated by a kid like you...

I get 2120 Goth, more Goth, and more importantly, the Revivify spell.

Meanwhile, in Coritani, Ronway asks what is going on.

"The Bacrum Army! The Bacrum Army is invading!" the soldier responds.

"What?! That can't be...!"

Wait, you actually trusted Lans Tartare? What a moron.

"It's true. Our army is fighting against the Bacrum Army in Rime."

"Has the City of Rime fallen?"

"No, my lord. The Knights of Zenobia are stationed there. Thanks to them the City is still holding. But it won't last for long. They need reinforcements."

"Call Leonard!" Ronway shouts.

"Sir Leonard left for Amorika..."

Uh oh. He's in Amorika too?

"Oh, that's right. Uh...then send a letter to Leonard! Dispatch a messenger to him and prepare the fastest and strongest horse for him!"

"Yes, my lord." Once the soldier leaves, Ronway starts to ponder to himself.

"Lodis...what are you up to?! Now that Barbatos is gone, my work here is done. Did they think our treaty was to be terminated?"

The scene cuts back to the world map

Let's finish up this chapter.

Our position. Presance is at 1, Canopus is at 2, Aloser is at 3, Bruno is at 4, Freesia is at 5, Orcus is at 6, Area is at 7, Belgger is at 8, Byan is at 9, and Hogan is at 10.

Let's fight it out.

Zapan and an army of physical attackers confront us.

"Good boy! I knew you would make it. I knew Ramidos was no match for you," Zapan says.

"Zapan, where is Kachua?!"

"She's in the castle. If you want her back, you're gonna have to do it the hard way."

There are two ways to go about this battle; attack each enemy one by one, or focus on Zapan and kill him quickly. I'm doing the latter.

Try to keep Orcus in good condition.

As you can see, I killed the ninjas in the first turn, leaving only heavy physical attackers. Note Aloser is dealing around 106 damage to weak enemies now. Damn, she's a monster.

That plan is kind of ruined when a line of knights block our way. I strategically heal just the right people, have just the right people walk out of the formation, to kill all the knights and golems.

Finally, Canopus reduces Zapan to 30 HP.

"Damn! I can't believe this is happening... stay back! Or else I'll..."

He uses and escape crystal.

"Stop!!! Bring back my sister, you bastard!!" Orcus screams.

We get 2450 Goth.

Another battle comes right after this, so the game brings us to this screen. I give Orcus a cure leaf and replace his short bow with a crossbow. You'll see why.

The hell!? Vice? Zapan!?

"Y-you...traitor! What are you doing?!" Zapan shouts.

"Stupid retard! You have to use the hostages in an efficient way!" Vice shouts.

He ends Zapan's life and looks at us. "Now it's your turn, Orcus."

"Vice, where is my sister?!"

Kachua!

"Vice! Release my sister!"

"I will. After I split your body in half!"

"Are you serious, Vice? We were fr..."

"Shut up and fight me! One on one!'

Yep, this is a solo battle with Vice. If you trained Orcus as a warrior, you shouldn't have any problems; if you trained Orcus as a wizard, however (as I did my first time through), you'll have... more problems. I had to cheat in that play-through.

On our turn, we ask, "Why do we have to fight, Vice?!"

"Why you? Why does everyone like you? Since we were kids, everyone liked you, but not me. I was always the outcast! Do you know why? Damn it! It's because of my father! Your father was a respected priest, but my father was just a scrubby alcoholic. Plus, he used to always beat me! Still, everyone just hated me! I'm nothing like my father, nor do I want to be...you always had it easier!"

"But, I still treated you like my own brother!"

I shoot Vice with my crossbow, hitting for 84 damage.

He attacks me, and I kill him on a counter-attack. Too easy.

However, more dialogue plays out if we fought longer. Here it is.

Orcus asks: "We were best friends! What has happened to us?"

"That's what you thought! I hate you! It's not fair...people loved you. You had a great father and a beautiful sister..."

"She thinks of you as family as well!"

"No, she doesn't! You don't know anything!! She only has you on her mind. She doesn't care about me! Can't you see?! Kachua didn't even love your father. She only loves you!"

...

I think all of Vice's talk about dying on his feet and sacrifices and a better world for Walsta is a sham. He's simply jealous. He's driven by pure envy.

"It's not too late to fix everything. Let's be friends like we used to be!"

"Don't try to bend the truth! You're a traitor! I have my own comrades now. Even Duke Ronway and Leonard believe in me."

"That is not true! They are taking advantage of you! Once they are done with you, they will kill you!"

"You're such a baby!! They're not taking advantage of me! I'm the one who is taking advantage of them! I'm the one using them for my own benefit!"

The door opens.

Leonard. Long time no see.

"Leonard, why are you stopping me?!"

"Don't you know what's going on?! Relax Vice!"

"You were the one who said to kill him! Why did you stop..."

"Listen to me! Orcus, you too! The city of Rime has fallen! The Bacrum Army is coming this way!"

"No!!! What happened to Sir Lans? This can't be happening...!" Orcus shouts.

"We don't know what happened to the Holy Knight! He is either dead or he could have escaped. Anyway, this is not the time to fight between our own people. Let me explain... Orcus, obey the Duke. We will forget about the past! Come fight with us against Bacrum!"

"This is bullshit!" Vice shouts. "I'm not talking to this traitor!"

"Quit acting like a baby, Vice. Why can't you listen to me?! Orcus, what do you plan to do? No, you don't have to tell me... No matter how sacred the ideal may be, if it is not achieved, then it is meaningless. Do you want your ideals to end up as a dream? Weren't you supposed to avenge your father's death? Come, join us."

We are presented with a choice. What do we do? Forgive the Duke and join him, or hold on to our ideals and refuse?

Note picking to join them makes Aloser leave, so I'd rather not do that.

But still, I'm leaving it up to you. What does Orcus do...?

edited 12th Oct '10 7:25:47 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#55: Oct 13th 2010 at 12:17:56 PM

I'm just going to say what I forgot to in the update; if I do not get any responses in 2 days, I'm going with Chaos. I'm sure I'll get responses by then, though.

I found some maps of battles online. I might start using them.

edited 13th Oct '10 12:19:14 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#56: Oct 14th 2010 at 6:12:14 PM

Part 22: Knights of Dog Piss

Times up. I'm going down Chaotic.

I select option 2.

I love how the music literally goes "dun dun dun."

"I can't go back. You're the same as Bacrum... you're blinded by the Duke's words. You're nothing but a slave to the system!"

"Then what are you going to do!?" Leonard shouts. "Do you really think you can do any better!?"

"I'm not that ambitious. I'm just trying to fix things..." If you remember, Ramza said a line very similar to that in Final Fantasy Tactics. "I just can't believe people do not have their own dreams, and base everything on what they see."

"People will kill each other over a loaf of bread," counters Leonard. "They only fight for their own selfish reasons. War will never cease from this world. Unless human nature changes, war will always be around. Our duty is to watch and control these people and create a world of order."

"I don't understand. I can't believe what you're saying. What should I believe? What am I fighting for?"

What am I fighting fooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrr!?

Okay, okay, sorry, sorry...

"I understand," Leonard mutters after a pause. "I will give you time to think about it. Now go, Orcus! Take Kachua and get away from this castle."

"Leonard, what's the meaning of this!?" Vice shouts.

"Go ahead and see the world with your own eyes. See the world as it really is! What you're looking for is not here and no one else can find it for you. Go find out for yourself. When you don't find what you're looking for, come to us. I will be waiting for you. Go now!"

We turn to Vice. "I will never lose hope! I shall not be defeated by my own fears!"

"Wait, Orcus!" vice screams.

"Leave him alone!" Leonard commands. "Unless he finds out the truth himself, nothing will change his mind."

"You'll regret it later if you don't kill him now! Are you sure it's okay?"

"...When the time comes, I will kill him myself."

As Leonard leaves, Vice whispers, "...I will be the one to kill him."

The screen cuts to show the destruction the Roslolians caused.

Damn those Black Knights... first Griate, and now here...

Wait... is that... Nybbas?

Am I too young to realize reality?

We cut back to the map.

"Four weeks have passed since the Bacrum Army occupied Rime... Although Bacrum was able to take over the old capital of Rime, they suffered heavy losses in the battle against Lans' (H) troops. The damage was so serious that they were unable to continue on. Meanwhile, Duke Ronway in Amorika Castle was having difficulty suppressing partisan guerrilla activities. The negative attitude toward Walsta was becoming worse. The Duke needed to heighten the morale of his Army. Duke Ronway assembled his Army at Amorika Castle and prepared for the battle against Bacrum. At the same time, he sent a secret messenger to the Dark Knights to set up a treaty. He did this to buy some time so he could avoid the Dark Knights' involvement in the war.

Orcus refused to obey the orders of the Duke and went underground, so that he would have a chance to kill the Duke. Duke Ronway was extremely indignant of Orcus' rebellion. He ordered Leonard to hunt down and kill Orcus. Not only that, he also put a huge price on Orcus' head as a traitor. Orcus realized that his situation was becoming dangerous and decided to leave the port town of Ashton..."

Chapter 3: Ambition and desire is the motivation. Losers are called dogs and hogs.

...What does that even mean?

We open on the Black Knights.

"Barbas, is it true that you acted without permission?!" Balzepho roars. "I don't care what your intentions were, it is strictly forbidden to act without our leader's order! Moreover, you had ignored the order to retreat several times, and you never showed up until now!"

"Balzepho is right. How could you be so stupid?! Why don't you try using your brain for a change?" Martym chimes in. I can already tell this guy is a kiss-ass.

"Silence! I didn't give you permission to speak!" Barbas shouts at Martym.

"..I had no choice. It was the Cardinal's wish." Barbas replies. Here's his portrait by the way.

"Oh, what a load of shit!" Balzepho replies angrily. "That is a lie! You know full well that the Cardinal is not our lord! You heard that the Knights from Zenobia were in Rime. You just wanted to fight them, right?!"

Barbas doesn't respond.

Oh, look, it's the "man of the hour." Who are your friends? "What's done is done."

"Welcome back...ah, Ozma and Oz, you're here too," Balzepho says. Those must be these two warrior with Lans.

Lans takes his seat. "What is the status of Walsta?"

"There is a messenger from Duke Ronway," Balzepho says.

"Let him in."

Oz tells a Templar to usher in the messenger.

Wait, Vice!? What the hell kind of moron sends a genocidal lunatic on a diplomatic meeting!?

"Look at that...the Dark Knights of dog-piss are welcoming me," Vice says. Another classic Vice stinger.

"Watch your tongue, boy!" Balzepho scolds.

"Please, calm down. It's awfully bad for your blood pressure." Vice is on a "roll" today. "Besides, I am the one who should be mad. You guys broke our promise!"

"...Hmmm. So Duke Ronway's mad? What do you want us to do, them?" Lans asks.

"Paint my house? Wash my horse? Massage my smelly feet? Naa...actually, I just need to know what your true intentions are." Vice isn't very good at this whole negotiation thing.

"What would you do if we were to attack...say Amorika?" Lans asks.

"We'll get into an even uglier situation...duh! More innocent blood will be shed. And since you guys are the initiators, all of Valeria and Zenobia will point the finger at you and laugh."

"That's it, boy! Your insolence will not be tolerated!" Balzepho roars.

"We have maintained our neutral position and will remain as such for as long as it takes to resolve this," Lans says cooly.

"I heard one of the Dark Knights participated on the front line in Rime. Is that true?"

"There will always be one who will be too overzealous. I was not responsible for his actions," Lans responds.

"Prove it." THAT IS NOT HOW YOU NEGOTIATE VICE

"Proof? What kind of proof do you want?"

"I have a plan..."

And the screen fades to black.

We open on the same house we started chapter 2 in.

"I am not helping Duke Ronway, Kachua," we say.

"What?! What did you say? How can you stand there and look me in the eye and say that you are not helping him out?!" Kachua screams.

"Don't you two ever stop arguing?! Ever since I met you two, you guys have been in each other's faces... jeez! What did I say? Stop looking at me like that, Kachua!" God, I love you, Canopus.

"What's wrong with you? You're acting like a baby!" Kachua shouts at us.

"Excuse me? You're the one always whining, Kachua. ...I was only thinking about Walsta. I just realized that I have been misled. The Walstanian and Gargastan war is merely a struggle for power between the Cardinal and Duke Ronway. We are not the only ones who are suffering. Whoever doesn't have any power is suffering also. There are so many of our people that are suffering, Kachua. I need to fight for them! But you always tell me to run away. How can you be so selfish?"

"You are the selfish one. You never think about me," Kachua retorts, leaving the room.

...God damn it, Kachua, the world doesn't revolve around you.

"Leave her alone. You would have to smack her around with a club to persuade her," Canopus says.

"Orcus! Where are you hiding!?" a bounty hunter from outside screams.

"Wow! You're so popular, everyone wants you, Orcus. I'm just joking! Man, can't anyone take a joke nowadays?" Can I just state again how awesome Canopus is?

We are brought to the edit screen. We can't train before this battle.

Next time: we fight the first two battles of chapter 3!

About halfway through the game, folks. Chapter 4 is really long, though.

edited 17th Oct '10 1:02:16 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#57: Oct 15th 2010 at 2:52:38 PM

Hmm...rather hoped that I wouldn't be the deciding factor in your next decision, and it looks like I got my wish on a technicality. But, if Ensemble Dark Horse Canopus' show of wit is any indication, it looks like this is going to be rather enjoyable.

And, since I seem to be the only one suggesting Warren Reports, let's go with Lans Hamilton's bio. I wonder if it'll be updated with the events at the end of Chapter 2...

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#58: Oct 15th 2010 at 6:05:41 PM

Part 23: *insert Legend of Zelda joke here*

Bios are automatically updated when things happen in the story, Endark.

Let's do this.

Updates on the kills count: Orcus has 17, Belgger has 22. Belgger is getting there. The filler battles later on may prove useful.

Our position. Man, I've said that a lot in this LB, haven't I?

Anyway, Presance is at 1, Hogan is at 2, Area is at 3, Canopus is at 4, Freesia is t 5, Orcus is at 6, Aloser is 7, Belgger is at 8, Byan is at 9, and Bruno is at 10.

Map for this battle. We're located around the red square, the enemies are located around the blue.

The boss, amusingly named "Gannon," confronts us. I'm not sure whether or not I should add that to the list.

"So you are Orcus! You're a hard person to track down! Make it easy on yourself and let me have your head, kid!"

How about no.

I'd suggest you take a defensive position in this battle; as can be seen on the map, we have the high ground. Send strong characters to the red circles (check out my mad Paint skills.) I send- who else?- Orcus and Belgger.

Our position in a nutshell. Orcus didn't have quite the range to move to the position I showed, but I'll deal with it. Hogan and Canopus are shooting from the rooftops (the archers couldn't reach the roof.)

Byan has a skill, Meteor, that is quite awesome. It can do around 52 damage; with a cross-shaped range. This is quite cool.

Belgger kills this griffin.

Belgger kills this lizard man.

Orcus kills a soldier and levels up.

Belgger levels up.

Our formation is a bit screwed now.

Note the boss is level 17, we're level 15. Eep.

Belgger kills a wizard. This guy is on a roll.

Belgger kills a dragon.

Orcus kills a lizard man.

Canopus picks up a dexterity card.

Canopus counter-kills a griffin. Damn it.

Here's where we're at right now.

Belgger kills the boss, picking up a luck card as he does so.

Gannon: I see... the Liberation Army won't be able to handle you... argh!

We get 3500 Goth, Belgger is the MVP and gets a bonus level up to level 17.

We get a heavy mallet, a slender spear, and a... Balder sword!? Awesome!

Back to the world map.

Dolgare, Zaebos, Oz, Ozma, Martym, Barbas, and Balzepho have been added. I'm giving Dolgare as a freebie, as he's really important.

His portrait.

Dolgare Overis: The late king of the Valeria Kingdom. Bacrum. He was granted with the unique ability to end the ethnic war and unite the country. Intelligent, honest, and warm hearted, his well-balanced character gained the support of the people. His involvement in the so called "ethnic unity movement" was so successful that the people called him "The Savior." He died without any successors which plunged Valeria into chaos.

Lans Hamilton- 40 years old: The former head chief of the Zenobian Holy Knights. Born in the city of Valna at Sharom (a Zenobian district). When he was stationed in Rime, he was attacked by the Bacrum Army. His troops were outnumbered and they were defeated in battle. He has been missing since.

...

...

Warren Report Updates

On that rather melancholy note, let's look at some news.

Unity of Coritani

Duke Ronway, the leader of the Walsta Liberation Army, had a meeting the former leader of the Gargastan Army. Both parties agreed upon the dissolution of the Gargastan Army and delegating administrative power of the Coritani region to the Walsta Liberation Army. Thus, Barbatos' reign has officially ended.

Gargastan Captured!

Most of the former Gargastan soldiers left the army or enlisted in the Walsta Liberation Army. It seems more soldiers want the war to end, which has been going on for more than two years. Not only that, they have now found new enemies in Bacrum. Under these circumstances, the Walsta Liberation Army is getting more Gargastan people to join.

The Refugees Return

A lot of refugees from Rime have been flowing out ever since Bacrum attacked. However, some of the refugees in the Fiduc region are coming back to town. The Bacrum Army claims that this is a sign that Rime is very close to achieving peace. Refugees claim they have no choice because the people of Fiduc want them to leave.

Eruption of Wyoburi

Wyoburi Volcano in the Bacrum Mountain Range has erupted. This is the first big eruption in 120 years. The eruption is now over, and the earthquakes are subsiding. Valeria is a volcanic country, but the only active volcano is Mt. Hedon in Banhamuba Island. The rest are dormant.

Fall of Coritani

Coritani Castle, the former Gargastan Army headquarters, is now being occupied by the Liberation Army. The remaining Gargastan Army attacked the castle. The leader of the troops, Knight Zaebos, is the former right hand man of the late Barbatos. He was one of the officers who promoted the "ethnic cleansing" policy. The Liberation Army is now putting a bounty on his head as a war criminal.

Back To The Gameplay

The shop now has balder swords, balder helmets, and balder robes. As you can probably guess, this is upgraded equipment.

There are some notable spells. Most importantly, there's now Heal+. This heals in a cross radius, which is quite awesome. Freesia can of course use it. And... Presance can't equip it. Yeah, definitely going to do something about him. I'm glad I didn't disband old units... Julia didn't have bad stats... hmmmmm...

There's a crap-load of offensive magic too. I buy Byan Acid Rain to replace Incubus.

Well, that's it. Sorry, I forgot I had to do all this stuff.

Next time: we fix the Presance problem, and fight Zaebos!

edited 15th Oct '10 6:13:35 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#59: Oct 15th 2010 at 9:25:11 PM

Well, looks like the game's being oddly merciful with you. Easy fights, new skills, good battle spoils that you'll actually use...my pessimistic side says that this'll flip back to angrish when I least expect it, but I'm certainly enjoying it while it lasts.

Now, what's that about Lans H? He's gone missing right after a major battle? Certainly, such an important figure wouldn't be slain in a battle like that. I sense grand danger on the horizon; the only thing worse than an armed Lans that wants your head on a platter, is an armed Lans that wants your head on a platter that you can't see coming. Lans, that is; invisible platters seem a tad silly.

And on the next episode of Warren Reports...well, suggesting the other Lans (Tartare) seems like it might be a good idea.

edited 15th Oct '10 9:25:46 PM by EndarkCuli

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#60: Oct 16th 2010 at 9:20:47 PM

Part 24: New Classes

Lans Tartare- 39 Years Old: The chief of the Dark Knights. This battalion was sent to Bacrum. This was based on a secret treaty between the king of Lodis and Branta. Lans seems to be the right-hand man of Branta. The Roslolians are the most trusted battalion of Branta.

I look at Belgger and Orcus' stats. Belgger, once he has that 30 kills, can become a Terror Knight; he has the right stats. He now has 27, so he should be able to become one after the next battle. Orcus needs some more VIT. Bruno, once he gets more DEX, can become a dragoon. To help him along, I change him into a ninja. Freesia needs a bit more MP and INT to become a Priest (it should be Priestess, but eh, this game's translation, you understand). Byan... I have some special plans for Byan. Let's just say he's far away from his goal.

If you remember, we had a problem with Presance; since he is an Exorcist, he can not equip better healing magic that we'll need if we want to survive in later chapters.

My solution?

Welcome Basha to Squad Liveblog. How did I get her, you may be asking? Remember way back in Part 4, where I said you can recruit characters, and that's only really helpful in Chapter 1?

Well, I guess I was wrong, because that's exactly what I did here.

I bought an amazon (making sure her randomly generated alignment was L) and then had her hit rocks against Belgger, the only person on our squad who is level 17, until she was level 17, making her into a cleric in level 6. Now we have another cleric who can become a priest! I'm not shafting Presance entirely; I'm gonna keep him trained in case we have battles with undead; but he won't be showing up in regular battles anymore. It was fun while it lasted, Presance, but you're out.

I equip Basha, Byan, and Freesia with balder robes; I buy Aloser and Area balder bows (I forgot to mention they're in stock last post, sorry); I buy Bruno, Belgger, Canopus, and Hogan balder swords, giving the one I got in battle to Orcus; I also buy them balder helmets.

Squad Liveblog is now even more badass then they were before. Seriously, think about what they've done and how many people they've killed. Do not tell me my squad is not made up of a bunch of badasses.

With that, I train everyone who isn't level 17 to that level.

Orcus now has the right stats to become a terror knight; just needs those 30 kills. He has 19 right now. Ouch, need to work on that. I level Bruno up and... now he can become a dragoon! Say hello to Bruno the dragoon! I buy him an Acid Rain spell, as he can use magic. I level Hogan up and...

Oh... oh boy...

It seems I made a bad mistake. I've been training Hogan to become a swordsmaster, who must be lawful... and it turns out he's neutral! How in the holy mother of fuck did I miss that!? Ugh, I annoy myself sometimes...

Hmmm... what can we do...

A ha!

"Hi, Delta. Sorry for shafting you. But it turns out the 'Hulk Hogan' project was kind of a failure, as I misread his alignment. But welcome back!" I train him from level 11 as a ninja. He doesn't have quite the AGI; one more level will do the trick.

I level up everyone else to level 17. Say hello to Freesia the priest! I give her Vitalize, which heals all status ailments, and... Revivify! This can resurrect dead party members as long as it's done in the same battle they died in. Thus death is not as big an issue as it was before. It's still a big one, though. Don't think you can slack off with your tactics just because you can revive people now!

The next battle is filler. The boss is called "Felnator," but the way.

Stupid Names Count: 11

Felnator: I can't believe it... defeated... by a traitor...

We get 4050 Goth, Belgger is the MVP (again) and gets a bonus level up, and we get the spell Heal Rain, Grease boots, some more Goth, and some balder armor.

Sweet. More drops I'll actually use.

Grease boots can walk on water. I give them to Orcus. I give the balder armor to our new badass dragoon Bruno.

Meet Belgger the terror knight. Or should we start calling him "tank"?

While giving the armor to Bruno, I realize I forgot to buy balder armor, making the filler battle harder than it needed to be. Sighing to myself, I buy some for everyone but my casters.

I'm left with 58074 Goth after my large amount of transactions.

Meet Delta the swordsmaster. I guess he grew to 73 in the span of 5 seconds. I give him the spell Stun; it will be very effective when he uses it, because the spells Stun and Petrify depend on DEX, and a high DEX is the staple of the swordsmaster. I'm going to be getting Petrify as soon as I can; then again, when I get it, the battle it comes from will have the perfect NPC to give it too.

Basha can change into a priest, but I decide against it, as priests can't use Heal+. However, once a certain spell is available, I will change her (probably).

I get into a random battle. For it, I get some Goth, an Obelon jewel, a pomme fruit, and some battle boots. The jewel and fruit are pretty useless; obelon gets rid of storms that randomly happen in battles, and the pomme fruit gets rid of status effects. Since Freesia can heal status effects and I don't care about storms, I don't have much use for those.

Let's storm Coritani.

The first battle, at the entrance, is filler, but take note of the boss, the female witch Zildor, and she asks if Didario is back and that Zaebos should send more troops.

We wiped the floor with this battle. Actually, a more appropriate analogy would be we wiped the floor with this battle, then grabbed the floor with our bare hands and hit the battle over and over again, and then ate it's dying corpse.

Zildor: Barbatos... forgive me...

We get 3950 Goth, Orcus gets a bonus level up, a chain mail, and a ghaldia fan. It serves no use for us.

We are brought to the edit screen, where... meet Orcus the Terror Knight! His sprite doesn't change, but you get the idea.

Now everyone I wanted to change classes has! Sweet!

Looking at it, Canopus is now our weakest member. He's still useful to us because of his terrain-ignoring ability, but he's probably the first I'll shaft when NPCs start coming in.

Our position. Byan is at 1, Canopus is at 2, Aloser is at 3, Bruno is at 4, Freesia is at 5, Orcus is at 6, Area is at 7, Belgger is at 8, Basha is at 9, and Delta is at 10.

Let's fight it out.

"You are Orcus of Griate!" Zaebos shouts. "You killed Zildor! I thought the Liberation Army was after you. Or is this just a plot to deceive me, like Baramus?"

"I am not a member of the Liberation Army! Don't put me in the same boat as Ronway or Branta. They are using this ethnic war to fulfill their desires!" Orcus replies.

"Are you trying to tell me that you are fighting for the people?! What a hypocrite! How many people have you killed after giving your speech about fighting for the people?"

"You're the kind of person who makes the people suffer!!"

No map this time.

I'd suggest making a mainly offensive attack in this map; this way, you can catch the enemies while they're clumped. Only do this if you have confidence in your troops. If you don't, take a defensive position.

The mages will be your biggest threat here; their spells have a large radius, and the narrow platform means your troops will be clumped. Take them out as soon as you can.

Belgger kills the boss.

"...Stupid kid!" Zaebos shouts. "You may have Coritani Castle for now! But you are going to pay for this!" He uses an Escape crystal.

"Wait! Zaebos!"

We get 1250 Goth and a mind ring.

Man, our troops kick ass.

We interrogate a captive.

"...Are you sure Zaebos escaped to Brigantes Castle??" we ask.

"Yes, I'm positive," the captive responds.

"I thought Brigantes Castle has been abandoned ever since it lost its lord in the war..."

"No, when we attacked Coritani Castle, there were other troops that took over the castle...the purpose of us taking over Coritani Castle was to lure the Liberation Army out of hiding. Coritani Castle was bait to get you guys. Once we trapped you, the main troops in Brigantes were supposed to attack you. But everything went wrong ever since you arrived..."

"Why are you telling me all of this information?"

"I'm nothing like Zaebos, I'm allergic to pain." I love that line. Maybe he should get a prescription. "So please don't kill me...besides..."

"Besides, what...?"

"There are a lot of refugees in Brigantes Castle. To be precise, they are the people who were afraid the Cardinal would have them executed. Zaebos is planning to execute them as a warning."

"What?! That's insane..." I shout.

"You see, I have a weak stomach and I just can't stand the thought of people dying..."

"Thanks for the info. I will go to Brigantes Castle."

"Gee, you're swell... I never thought I'd meet a guy like you. I wish I had met you sooner..." The man who is allergic to pain leaves.

Sad music plays as we see Kachua leaving.

We catch up to her.

"Kachua! Wait, Kachua!"

"Did you call me, Mr. Hero?" she asks, turning to us.

"Are you still mad at me?"

"...I hope you have a good reason for calling me here, if not, then I'll be going..."

"Are you positive that you want to go back to Griate?"

"Yes, I am. From now on, you can fight your own battles. Do whatever you want!"

We are presented with some dialogue choices. I decide to be careful with what I say and pick number 1.

"Are you leaving?"

"Me, leave you? You are the one that has left me!!"

You're so god damn selfish, Kachua! Get your head out of your ass, will ya!?

"Kachua..."

"I just don't want to be alone."

"I thought we were going to avenge our father's death. That's what we've been fighting for."

"I don't care anymore. He's not my father."

DRAMATIC MUSIC!

What!?

"What???"

"He is not our biological father. We were adopted. We were abandoned by our parents."

"That's not true! That's impossible!"

"I overheard him talking once. Search your feelings, Orcus. You know it to be true...we don't have any parents. You're the only family that I have."

Okay, that dramatic scene was ruined by the random Star Wars shout out.

"Why? Why are you telling me this now?!"

Back to sad music.

"Because you are leaving me."

"Leave you, Kachua? I will always be at your side!"

"Everything that I have ever known is a lie! You chose the war over me! You abandoned me for the sake of your ideals. Just forget that I ever existed!"

"Kachua..."

"You're the only family I have left!" And then she runs away.

"Kachua!" we scream. Run after her, you moron, you have military training, you can outrun your little...

Map screen!? Map screen!? Fucking Orcus!

-sigh-

Don't fret, Orcus. She was a whiny bitch anyway. She was only, like, level 2. You have your new badass friends now. Shack up with Area or something.

Next time: we fight Zaebos... again!

Question: have I improved since when I started? If so, in which post did I grow the beard?

edited 16th Oct '10 9:37:46 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#61: Oct 16th 2010 at 10:09:06 PM

ADDENDUM 2: Death Quotes From Chapters 1 and 2

As a bonus, here are the death quotes of special characters from chapters 1 and 2. It gives some light about their personalities.

Chapter 1

Canopus: Gilbert...sorry...take care of Yulia...

Presance: (Guest) Leonard...I hope you will succeed where I have failed.

Presance: My children...forgive me...I cannot keep my promise...

Chapter 2

Canopus: I guess this is it...Lans, take care of the rest for me...

Presance: My death...means...nothing...

Aloser: Orcus, forgive me...that I doubted you...

Forcas: (Guest) ...Sisteena, please forgive me...

Forcas: Only you can...build the ideal world...

Byan: (Guest I) Hero of Griate...please...stop Selye.

Byan: (Guest II) Hero from Griate, please look after Sisteena...

Byan: Orcus, I hope you will achieve...what I wanted to...

Sisteena: (Guest) Selye...I'm so sorry...

Sisteena: Father...Mother...I'm not wrong, am I?

edited 17th Oct '10 1:02:37 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#62: Oct 17th 2010 at 12:36:00 AM

Improved? In what way? When it comes to narrating your exploits, I can't see much of a difference, though it's probably like watching the leaves change colour. That is, you watch long enough, you barely even notice the minor changes until it's completely different from what you started with. When it comes to battles, though, I think that the struggle to recruit Byan must have done a fair bit when it comes to strategy and determination.

As for the Warrens, first off, I'm going to write down all of the available ones I know of that haven't been done yet. Saves me from having to check the previous page every time I post, right?

Orcus, Kachua, Warren, Mildain, Guildus, Balzepho, Bishop Branta, Leonard, Nybbas, Presance, Ganb, Aloser, Forcas, Byan, Zaebos, Oz, Ozma, Martym, Barbas, and Balzepho.

Now, as for the next charcter to be studied, I think that those first three are important enough to be reserved for the final battles. But a character like Ganb? I'd be fine with having him be next up to bat.

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#63: Oct 17th 2010 at 12:58:25 PM

Part 25: Make Like A Tree

Okay, thanks. I was just curious.

Byan's spells have started to have this range (except Acid Rain). You'll find that after a certain number of levels, the range of your wizards' magic will increase exponentially. This is what the wizards last battle hit us with, and why they were dangerous. The same goes with our healers, though their radius expands less.

Random battle (I went back to Ashton to train). I get 1250 Goth and a nest horn, which makes the weather worse. No use.

Ganb Backstein- age unknown: Gargastan. An extremely vulgar and disgusting man. His arrogant attitude has cause him to make a lot of enemies. Very few people like him because of his distrust towards them and his body odor. The only things he gets along with are the animals he trains.

I level up everybody to level 19.

Next battle is filler. It's full of dragons, so bring a dragoon if you have one; their attack power against dragons increases significantly. He was doing about a hundred damage to the dragons.

We get 3500 Goth and some more Goth. What a useless battle.

Meanwhile, at Heigm (where Branta hangs out), Branta is growing restless.

"Is that true?" he asks.

"Yes, the Amorika troops are not the ones who took over Coritani Castle," the knight explains.

"Then Ronway will be forced to send his troops to Coritani Castle. And most of those soldiers must come from Amorika. The leader will probably be the Hero of Griate. The only knight who is capable of defeating him is Leonard."

"This is true..."

"Hmmm...I see...take the three strongest battalions from Heigm," Branta commands.

"Yes, your highness."

A man named Volac tells Branta to not be so hasty. "I hope you remember the vow that you made to our lord."

The what now?

"...That you would not act in haste without the lord's permission," Volac says in Branta's silence.

Branta stands up. "A vow? Your lord said that the Dark Knights would back me until I became king...that was the vow you made to me! And you have yet to complete that vow! You do not have any right to enforce any vow that I made to you!"

"Calm down, your highness. There is a reason why we are not dealing with the troops from Amorika. Be patient," Volac says.

"I don't care! Go now and give my order, messenger!"

"Yes, sir." The Bacrum knight turns to leave.

"Are you making us your enemy, your highness?" Volac asks.

Branta sits back down when a Bacrumese soldier enters.

"Your highness, there is a messenger from the Amorika troops!" the soldier asks.

"What?!"

Look who it is. He's shoving the soldier out of the way in the picture.

"Whew...I finally made it...you're the Cardinal, right?"

"Don't just stand there! Protect the Cardinal!" Volac shouts. Terror knights surround Branta.

"Hey, take it easy. You're going to kill me before I can spit out the message that I was ordered to give!" Vice says.

"You've got some nerve, kid...now speak!" The terror knights back off.

"I'm beginning to like this guy...I brought you some real good news."

"I thought you were a messenger of the Amorika troops. Who are you?" Volac asks.

"Oh, I'm part of the Liberation Army, alright. Wait a sec, Cardinal...can you get rid of this old fart? I'm not talking with this guy in here." He's talking about Volac.

Branta laughs. "You're pretty funny, kid." Since when? "I like that." How did I know these two would become fast friends? "Well, gramps, you heard the man! Make like a tree and get out of here!"

Make like a... what!?

"Now, go ahead."

"Well..." The scene fades to black.

Let's storm Brigantes.

The game gives you a choice of which front to storm. I decide to storm West Brigantes, as there's a spell that can be collected there.

Our position. Byan is at 1, Canopus is at 2, Aloser is at 3, Bruno is at 4, Freesia is at 5, Orcus is at 6, Area is at 7, Belgger is at 8, Basha is at 9, and Delta is at 10.

Let's fight it out.

We are confronted by a hawkman.

"Aren't you Orcus?! You were the one who killed Zildor! I don't care about the Cardinal, but you will pay for Zildor's death!"

What's so great about this Zildor chick!? Both Zaebos and this guy mentioned her!

Music.

Map. The squares indicate places where you can collect treasure; go here for more info. I don't really give a shit about treasure, so yeah.

In this battle, I'd suggest you take a defensive position; move no more than a few tiles away. This way, while the enemy is forced to traverse this, you can shoot at them.

"We have to defeat him, before this storm turns into a blizzard," Canopus says. Despite what he says, there's no time limit for this battle.

Like this.

One of the enemy hawkmen has an aqua hammer.

Here's our position on the left front, and our position on the right. Note the enemy Delta stunned.

Our position left, right, and up.

Aloser kills the boss.

Orgeu: Sorry...Zildor...I could not...avenge...you...unhg...

Aloser is the MVP (I guess she'll be awesome next battle), and we get some battle boots and a gemini crossbow. We are brought to the edit screen. It's two handed, so I have no use for it. The hammer is weaker than the the balder swords. It's still nice to have, I guess.

Our position. It's the exact same as the last battle.

We are confronted by Zaebos once again.

"What took you so long, Orcus? I've been waiting for you. I finally understand why the Liberation Army is after you. You could never stain your hands with the blood of innocents...you just let other people do your dirty work and all you do is talk about peace and justice...people will eventually start to support you, just because you are not 'dirty' like Ronway. But that will not last long. People will soon find out the truth about you."

This is our first fight with an upgraded unit.

Bruno kills the boss... in the first turn. How did I do this, you may ask?

My strategy was to have no one move. The wizards attacked us in such a way that I could easily heal the damaged units with Heal+ and Heal. All the troops moved; the Exorcist didn't heal anybody since nobody was hurt. One of the people that moved forward was Zaebos. Thus, I moved everyone forward and attacked him with bows. It took only an attack from Orcus, a Meteor spell from Byan, an attack from Belgger, and an attack from Bruno before he was done.

"The traitors are in the castle...they are looking for their savior. They're not the only ones, though...the people of Valeria are also looking for their savior...can you be their savior? You hypocrite? Only time will tell."

And with those chilling words, everyone dies.

We get 300 Goth and a Fafniel sword.

One of the captives Zaebos planned to kill thanks us. "I thank you on behalf of our people. You are from Walsta, are you not? Why did you bother saving us, when you know full well that we are Gargastans? Especially, since I heard you were one of the members who participated in the Baramus massacre."

"I don't expect you to believe this, but I am innocent. Yes, I was there when the massacre took place. But when I found out the true purpose of our plan...I decided to leave the Liberation Army. Then they made it seem that I was responsible for the massacre."

"Hmm..."

"I finally realized who the real enemy is...you see, there wasn't any ethnic war between Walsta and Gargastan. The people in power have perpetuated the hatred between our people. The Cardinal and the Duke have been using us. The true enemy is not Gargastan, but the people who are controlling them."

"But you are the leader of an organization. You too have power and authority...there may come a time when you may have to sacrifice your own beliefs just to achieve your goal. When you come face to face with that situation, what will you do?" Good question.

"I would rather die than travel down the same path as the Duke and the Cardinal."

"...You are young. Your words are coming from your youth." Perhaps. "But, I believe in you."

"Thank you."

A Gargastan youth enters. "Orcus! Coritani Castle has fallen to the Liberation Army!"

"I see...finally, the Liberation Army has made their move. I never thought that I would have to fight the Liberation Army, but things have changed. I will fight them to the very end. I will kill the Duke and finally bring peace to Valeria!"

We are brought to the map screen.

Next time: we get a handy new NPC and duel an old friend!

edited 17th Oct '10 1:24:31 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#64: Oct 17th 2010 at 1:14:20 PM

I'm going to keep a list of bios; every time one is mentioned, I'll strike it off. I'll edit to add new ones. This way, they'll be easier to keep track of.

Orcus, Kachua, Warren, Mildain, Guildus, Forcas, Zaebos, Oz, Ozma, Martym, Barbas, Andoras, Volac, Haborym, Manafloa, Witch Deneb, High Priest Moruba, Shelley, Olivia

edited 28th Oct '10 6:19:43 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#65: Oct 17th 2010 at 1:48:11 PM

Make like a... what!?

Haven't you ever heard of the expression "Make like a tree and leaf?" It's a play on words, as the word 'leave' sounds similar to 'leaf' if said in certain dialects. I suppose that the words "get out of here" were substituted in because he wanted to seem more stern than clever, or he thought that those around him would be too imbecillic to get the joke.

Anyways, I'm impressed at how well things are going so far, and I hope that any near-future developments are glorious ones. Also, I think that the next Warren should go to...Bishop Branta, for finding a kindred spirit in the form of Orcus' jerky ex-friend.

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#66: Oct 17th 2010 at 6:16:16 PM

Part 26: Haborym

Ah, I get it. Thanks.

Anyway, because I'm bored and have lots of time, I've decided to upload another part today.

I level everyone up to level 20.

Branta Mown- 49 Years Old: Lord of Bacrum-Valeria. After the death of King Dolgare, he plotted to take over the island. He used to be close to the late king. It is not yet known why this loyal man has changed and is now acting in disgrace.

When you go to Vahanna, marked blue on the map, it turns out there's a battle there. I always though that was kind of dirty, especially since there's an NPC here you really want to get.

Our position is the exact same as the last one.

"There he is, get him!" an off-screen voice shouts.

An old man walks onto the screen, only to be attacked by a ninja. He counter-kills the ninja. He kills another.

He looks up and... what's with his eyes? Is he blind? "They're already here!?"

We enter the scene.

"Hey! That guy is being chased by the Liberation Army!"

An old sorcerer and leader of the ninjas looks up and says, "Look, there's Orcus! I'd never thought I'd bump into Orcus! This is the perfect place for your grave!"

OH MY GOD THIS FUCKING BATTLE

Okay. This is pretty much as hard as saving Byan. I'm back after having beat this through pure luck, but yeah. Angrish went on.

The gist of it; the old man has a tendency to attack the ninjas head on, and they're really hard. If you aren't really careful, he will die.

My strategy was to send Canopus ahead and have him attack the old man with his crossbow; the other attacks combined whittled him down to around 10 HP. Because of this, he retreated, into range of our healers. Then I had Aloser and Canopus form a protective shell; when the ninjas came to attack, they created an opening which allowed our archers to attack the boss.

THIS IS NOT AS EASY AS IT SOUNDS

I was getting really desperate. I was making plans to sacrifice Canopus; I'm really glad I didn't have to do that.

So yeah. I didn't record our position or anything like that, because I had to change positions a lot. I fought this battle 53 TIMES.

Ugh.

Mordiart: You... you traitor...

"Thank you for saving me," the old man says. "Who are you?"

"I am Orcus Powell, the leader of Liveblog."

"Ah, so you are the young Hero of Griate. My name is Haborym Va...Haborym Vandam."

Haborym!?

Look back at part 10 if you don't remember who that is.

"What are you doing here?"

"I heard that you are fighting against the Dark Knights. I would like to join you."

"You hate the Dark Knights?"

"I have my reasons. For example, they took away my sight."

Orcus says nothing.

"I can't see but my skills with a sword are second to none. Will you let me join your troops? If I become a burden, you can abandon me."

The game gives us a choice. After all the shit we went through to save him, why would we reject him? I pick 1.

"I welcome you."

"Thank you."

We get 620 Goth and... Petrify! Fucking awesome!

Welcome Haborym to the team. He's quite a glass cannon. So what makes him so awesome? Remember when I said certain spells, like Stun and Petrify, depend on DEX? This guy has the highest DEX of any NPC in the game. Petrify will have around an 80% chance of hitting any time he uses it.

Meanwhile, Ronway is having a conference with Vice and some of the other.

"I see...so Lans has agreed to our meeting..."

"Yes," Vice says. "The place will be at an old church in Rime. We can specify the date and time. ...He has also agreed that both of us will only take 3 guards."

"Good job, Vice. You have served your lord well."

"Now, we don't have to worry about the Dark Knights and can now concentrate on the battle against Bacrum."

"Duke Ronway, can we really trust them?" a knight asks.

"What did you say? You pathetic piece of shi...! Are you saying that our plan won't work?" shouts Vice.

"Stop it, both of you!" commands Ronway. "I understand everyone's concern. But I think we can trust them. All the Dark Knights want is our complete obedience. It doesn't matter if the tamed dog is Bacrum or Walsta. The strength of Gargastan's Army is not what it used to be. Therefore, Bacrum knows that they can't win. Their only choice would be to ally with us."

"The Duke is right," Vice agrees.

"...We shall wait until we kill Branta. Once we have achieved the power to rule over Valeria, it will be easy to get rid of the Dark Knights..."

Vice says nothing.

"Vice...I understand that you just got back, but will you bring another message to Lans? The date and time will be..." The screen fades to black.

Haborym is replacing Delta on our team, since he's pretty much a better version of Delta. I give Haborym the Petrify spell. I give Orcus Fafniel.

I train everyone to level 21. I take that back, Haborym has a 95% chance with Petrify (it depends on the enemy, but he'll almost always have a very high chance). Yeah. I'm using this guy.

I'm still going to be trying to keep things fair, though.

Let's go to Coritani.

We are confronted by Irvine the terror knight at the gate. Filler, skipped.

Irvine: ...Viva la Revolucion! ...ungh!

...Revolucion?

We get 925 Goth and a fire sword.

We are brought to the edit screen. I give our new fire sword (which isn't as good as Fafniel) to Haborym.

Our position is the exact same as last time. Really, I'm probably going to use that position for the rest of the game, switching out certain units. I'm only going to talk about my position if there's a significant change.

"I never thought you would be here!!" Orcus shouts to an off-screen enemy.

...Hello, Leonard.

"...Long time no see, Orcus. Are you still keeping your hope alive? Why don't you give it up and come back to the Liberation Army? By defeating the Dark Knight Zaebos, nobody would oppose you..." Leonard explains.

"My purpose was not to fight Zaebos...you know who is responsible for all this death and destruction! I have no intention of joining the Liberation Army again. You shouldn't be with them either!" Orcus shouts.

"There is a gap between ideals and the reality of war. Someone has to fill that gap."

"Is that what you really want?! Are you satisfied with that?!"

"It's too late for me friend, it is my destiny. The moment I met you, I was doomed to follow this path. If you are seeking the light, then I shall bury myself in the darkness and stain my hands with blood. Draw your sword! Prepare to know the meaning of war!"

The game gives us a choice. If you pick 1, you duel him one-on-one. If you pick 2, it's his squad vs. my squad.

I would suggest you pick 2. It's easier.

"It's not our war! Killing each other won't resolve anything."

Leonard calls his comrades. "Orcus, are you ready?!"

This battle is pretty easy, mostly because he's in plain sight. A bow attack, a lightning attack, another bow attack, a crossbow attack, a lightning attack, and a crossbow attack bring him down. I don't even have to kill any of his cronies.

Leonard crouches as the music becomes silent.

"...You have become strong, Orcus... listen...the Duke and the Dark Knights are...about to sign a secret treaty..."

"What?!"

"The Duke, he's...selling his...soul to...them...after he defeats Bacrum, he has no intention of getting rid of them... It was never...his intention... You were right, Orcus...tell your sister you were right...the Duke is..."

"Please, don't talk!"

"...Go to Rime, Orcus. Stop...the...Duke...you will...lead us...to...the new...world...ungh!" And with that, Leonard dies.

...

Leonard... he wasn't an evil man... he was simply mislead.

We get 300 Goth and some spark boots.

We have a conference with an old man.

"...I have to avoid passing Amorika to get to Rime," I mutter.

"Why don't you take a ship from Ashton, then?"

"No. I heard the Duke blockaded the shipping lanes to stop the guerrillas."

"I see. Besides, taking a ship would not be the most subtle way to get there anyway...then I guess we only have one choice."

"What?! You've gotta be kidding!"

"Nope, crossing the Barnam Mountains that border Rime and Coritani is the only..."

"Cross the Barnam Mountains?!" Orcus interrupts. "I never heard of any trail through those mountains! "

"Actually, neither have I. Besides, it's our best chance of sneaking into Rime."

"The soldiers in Rime won't be expecting us to come in from that route. They don't think anyone is that stupid!! I guess that makes me...stupid!" We knew it all along, Orcus.

Next time: we meet an old friend, we find out the whereabouts of Kachua, and the Dark Knights and Ronway have their conference!

edited 17th Oct '10 6:24:31 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#67: Oct 17th 2010 at 7:10:04 PM

And it looks like the difficulty swung back in full force. But I'm surprised that you didn't vent out some of your anger through the LB like you did with Byan...if this represents anything, I'm not entirely sure what. But at least you can look back and bask in the glory of victory, right?

As for the next Warren I want to see, Leonard would probably be the most appropriate.

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#68: Oct 18th 2010 at 6:42:38 PM

Part 27: Get a Lich

Get it? Because "life" kind of sounds like lich, so I'm telling you to get a life, but instead of life, it's lich! It's a play on words! Ha ha ha ha ha... ha... ha...

-sigh-

Anyway, Byan is more than ready to become a lich. What is a lich, you may be asking, and what do you have to do to get them?

A lich is a powerful mage and can be considered the closest thing to an upgraded wizard. However, he is gotten in an unconventional way. Remember when we saved Byan (FUCKING FIGHT UAHGKVG), we killed a cockatrice, who dropped something called an Undead ring? What you do is that you equip that on a wizard with appropriate stats... and then you let them die in battle. They'll be resurrected as an ultra powerful lich, who can use a ton of magic.

BEWARE! Doing this has some negative effects; notably, it causes the resurrected character's loyalty to decrease. Let's see Byan's loyalty.

"People are not unsatisfied with the idea, yet they do not stop those who criticize it."

Good. That's around a middle loyalty. I have no idea why they refer to Byan as multiple people; this game's translation, you understand.

I get into a random battle in Brigantes.

Byan: I died once.... do not grieve for me...

Wait, what the hell!?

Whoah! Holy crap! Byan just became ten times more awesome!

He's resurrected with 100 HP. I have Aloser give him a Cure++.

Oh, and I recruited a dragon.

Meet "Memphis."

Stupid Names Count: 12

Based on the fact a dragon is named Memphis, not the name of the city itself.

Leonard Leci Limon: The former chief of the Amorika Knight Battalion. Walstanian. He was a trusted knight of Duke Ronway, but was killed by Orcus in battle at Coritani Castle.

Let's see what Byan's loyalty is. Hmmm... it didn't change from around the middle. Cool.

Now we have a mage that can do all the following: Fire Burn, Acid, Ice Blast, Ion Shot, Incubus, Snap Shot Nova, Meteor, Acid Rain, Thunder, Pain Magma God, Gnome, Fenril, Kaminari, Dark Law Nova+, Quake, Ice Cloud, Air Cry, Death, Zoshonell, Bartha, Gurza, Hahnela, Charge, Stun, Poison, Clear, Storm, Charm Heat, Jump, Slow Move, Quick, Paradigm, Melt, Petrify, Heal Rain, Teleport, and Necro.

Yeah. Lot more than before, huh?

I buy him Quick and have it replace Acid Rain. This will speed up comrades.

This is the auction button. You can auction off L sized dragons, like our new buddy Memphis, for items or money.

You have to pay 1000 Goth admission.

...Sorry, old boy.

We get 7350 Goth. Not much, but I wanted to demonstrate auctions.

Let's meet an old friend.

Look who it is.

"Hey, haven't we met before?! Well, what do you know! I never thought I would bump into you again. Belda and Obda, come!" Here they come. "And this time, I have some new friends! Let me introduce you to them! Banga! Zanga! Come out!" And here are some more. "I may be a shitty bounty hunter, but I will fight for the Cardinal until I die. This is my chance to avenge the Cardinal's death!"

If you ask me, this theme is underused.

Anyway, this battle is pretty simple; you have the high ground, so I suggest you wait for the enemy to come to you. Snipe them from afar.

I snipe a griffin.

"Zanga! Your death will not be in vain!" He gets 50 HP, not like it matters.

I cast Quick on Aloser.

"Obda! Noooo! What have you done!? You can't die!"

Where we are now. We're still keeping a defensive position.

A griffin is on our right flank. We Petrify a cockatrice coming from the front to deal with this new threat.

"Belda! My friend!"

This battle is ridiculously easy. My archers really shine here; they're doing around 100 damage per shot. Told you archers were ridiculously overpowered.

"Banga! Forgive me! I will avenge you!"

I pretty much move at my leisure, collecting cards. Bruno gets a luck card, Orcus gets a dexterity card, and Bruno gets a life card, reducing Ganb to 24 HP with the bow attack he uses afterwords.

"Damn it! Retreat! Just wait... Next time, I will get you!" He escape. Again.

We get 1350 Goth.

Meanwhile, in Griate...

Kachua stares dejectedly into the horizon.

"Orcus. You are the only family I have left..."

A mysterious off screen voice says, "That is not true. You are a complete loner."

"Who is that?!"

Yeah, who the hell is that!?

Oh no... it's Lans...

"Lans Tartare! Why are you here!?"

"Your mother died after giving birth to you. And your father died several months before the war erupted," Lans quietly explains. "You have no brother or no parents. You're the only one left in your family."

"What are you talking about?! I have a brother, Orcus!"

"You already know that you are not the real child of Plancy Powell. You just assumed that the same goes for your brother. But you are mistaken. Plancy is your adopted father, but he is Orcus' real father."

"Then who am I?"

"Your real name is Bersalia. Bersalia Overis."

What!?

"Bersalia Overis. No, that's not true!"

"You know it to be true..." God damn it, game, that again!? "You know the Valerian King's family name was Overis. You're the daughter of the late King Dolgare!"

Kachua is royalty!?

It starts to rain, and dramatic music starts playing.

"However, you are not the child of Queen Bernata, the wife of King Dolgare. There was a maid that worked for the Queen. Her name was Manafloa. Well, King Dolgare lusted after her. When the Queen conceived the Prince, Manafloa conceived you. The Queen wanted to protect her family line and exiled Manafloa. Your mother gave birth to you and died."

"This is a lie!"

"...And guess who took care of you? It was Branta, the King of Bacrum. He gave you to his brother Plancy. He took advantage of the situation. The reason why Branta was able to become Cardinal was because of the fact that he had you."

"No, you are making this up!"

"I can prove my story is true. Take a look at your necklace. Aren't there ancient words chiseled in? Since you studied to become a Priestess, read it."

Kachua is silent.

"Labon Bersalia Zan Von Destonia Lera Finan - eternal love to my daughter Bersalia. That was the necklace King Dolgare gave you. Although, the King wasn't sure that you were alive. You and your mother were supposedly killed by the Queen."

"What do you want with me?"

Some Dark Knights, Volac (who we've met) and Andoras (who we haven't) show up.

"I want you to come with me to Heigm. Plancy can tell you all of the details. Princess Kachua. This way please."

Plancy is alive!?

Kachua walks towards them.

Let's go to Rime!

(I finally made it back to Rime. But where the hell is the Duke?)

It seems Orcus has contracted a case of Gratuitous Swearing. Vice was hit hard by it

A familiar voice shouts from off-screen, "Come on, hurry up!"

"Hmmm...did they notice me?"

Vice and some Bacrumese soldiers run by.

"Vice? What is he doing with a Bacrum soldier? I wonder...?!"

Inside a church, Ronway and Lans are surrounded by knights.

"Under whose authority are you working?!" Lans shouts to the Bacrumese.

"Yours, of course!! What are you talking about?! Lans, you have betrayed us!" Ronway screams.

"This is ridiculous! I haven't betrayed anybody!!"

It's Vice!

"Vice, you came to help me!"

"Duke, come this way!!" Vice roars.

The Duke runs over and...

...What the hell!? Vice has betrayed Ronway!

"V...Vice...you betrayed me...? You...scum..." And with that, the Duke collapses and dies.

"How pathetic, Duke Ronway. You're next, Lans! This will be the last breath you breathe!" He screams. Vice was planning two betrayals at once?!

"Too much ambition will kill you, lad," Lans calmly says.

"Shut up, just shut up! Don't you understand the situation you're in, stupid!? Go ahead, kill him!"

The Bacrumese knights close in.

There's a ruckus from outside.

"Wha... what the hell!?" Vice shouts.

Oz and Ozma are confronted by Bacrumese troops. Seems Lans planned ahead.

"What's going on here?! Clear the way, get out!"

The leader, the terror knight Highlam, says, "Behave yourself, foreigner."

"Who sent you? Branta?"

"It is very natural for dogs to bark for no reason..."

"Dog?! Who are you calling a dog?!"

So it is Branta who has betrayed the Dark Knights!

Our troops appear. Orcus, oblivious to the situation, mutters to himself, "I guess there's some treachery going on within the Bacrum Army."

Our arrival distracts Highlam, allowing Oz and Ozma to sneak through. "Wait!" a Bacrumese knight who notices, too late, shouts.

"Leave it! Let's take care of this business first!"

"Don't bother with the soldiers! Attack the leader!"

Unlike what Orcus says, you should kill some troops. One wizard has Kaminari, and another has Fenril. A cleric has some grease boots.

The troops, almost all of them caught on camera.

I have my troops attack the left flank too.

Once I get Fenril and Kaminari (I don't really care about the grease boots), I kill the boss.

Highlam: You little scums...

"Go find the Duke and Lans!" we command.

We get 1325 Goth, Fenril, Kaminari, and warp boots. Sweet.

Well, it seems Lans has outsmarted you, Vice, and in the end, he outsmarted Branta too. He outsmarted everybody.

"Help me! I'll do anything! Spare my life!" Vice begs.

"What should we do with this kid?" Oz asks.

"Please...Branta forced me to do this! I didn't intend to rebel against you. Please!" You coward!

"Don't you have any pride as a warrior?" Lans asks.

"Hee, hee, hee...I said I'll do anything..."

"...Shut up!" Lans shouts.

"I must have been possessed by evil spirits! Yeah, that's it! I don't have a grudge against you!" You're so pathetic, Vice.

"I said shut up!"

"...Okay."

"I shall spare your life." Whoah, really? Lans didn't strike me as the sparing type.

"Really?!"

"But don't you dare show your face to me again!"

"Thank you. Thank you!!"

"Get out of here, now!!" Vice runs away. "Oz, Ozma...you have done well."

"A messenger from Fiduc came by. He said Plancy was kidnapped from the City of Heigm and taken somewhere," Ozma says.

"What?! Any suspects?"

"It was probably a member of the Valerian Liberation Front."

"We don't need Plancy anymore, because we have already found the Princess. But still, we can't allow this information to get out. Very well, I will leave this matter to you two. Kill the kidnapper and Plancy as well..."

"Yes sir, I will complete my mission for the honor of the Gracious family!"

...Your family name is Gracious?

"What about Branta?" Oz asks.

"He'll pay for this treachery...we just need to be a little more patient. All we need is to find one more thing..."

Next time: we (hopefully) finish the chapter!

edited 18th Oct '10 7:26:02 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#69: Oct 19th 2010 at 8:50:21 AM

The chapter's ending already? That seems a tad quick, if you ask me. Then again, I suppose that quality is always better than quantity in games with plots as intricate as this,

I think the next Warren should be about the now-lichified Byan...that is the correct term, right? 'Lichified'? It's hard to tell with words that don't usually pop up in casual conversation...

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#70: Oct 20th 2010 at 8:58:16 PM

Part 28: The End of Chapter 3- Execution

There's no battle here, simply story.

"We surrender!" Wait, what?

"The soldiers who do not want to surrender have already left the castle," the wizard speaks up.

Wow. For once, people were actually smart enough to avoid death at the hands of our forces. I wish more people surrendered.

"Use us as you wish..." the Valkyrie, incorrectly called a "Soldier," mumbles.

"Sir Leonard told us to surrender if this were to happen," the knight says.

"Please accept us so that we can ease the souls of our dead comrades," the wizard says. Wow, these guys are smart.

"When I was forced to run away...I said to the people...Branta of Bacrum, Barbatos of Gargastan, and Ronway of Walsta...these are the people who initiated the war in Valeria to fulfill their selfish desires. They wanted to be King! They torture innocent people to fulfill their evil ambition...I will not follow in these mens' footsteps...I promised that if I were going to end up being like them, I would rather kill myself. Will you follow me?! Do you have enough guts to pursue your ideals?"

"All the soldiers who remained in the castle already had doubts toward the Duke's policies. We may have different ideals and philosophies, but I know that we share the hope for peace between our people," the valkyrie says.

"Please lead us!" the knight shouts.

"I will! From now on we will fight together!"

Nice to see enemies who are smart for once. Rule number one: don't fuck with Orcus.

Guildus! Mildain! Warren!

We walk in.

"Canopus! Orcus! You are alive!" Mildain shouts joyfully.

"I'm glad to know that you are safe also," we reply.

"How's Warren?" Canopus asks.

"He's unconscious now, but his wounds are not fatal," Mildain answers.

"Great!!" Canopus shouts sarcastically. "...What about Lans? He's not back yet?"

"No. We haven't seen each other since the night of the Bacrum attack. We were imprisoned in a concentration camp in Rime and you guys saved us. Thank you. By the way, what is your next plan? Are you still planning to attack Fiduc Castle?" Guildus asks.

"Yes, I am...it seems like Branta and the Dark Knights are not getting along...this would be our chance to take Fiduc Castle..."

"Then we would like to join you. We must pay them back for what they did in Rime. You don't mind, right Orcus?" Guildus asks.

We nod our head as an affirmative.

"I am glad to hear that. Let's move!!" Mildain shouts.

Welcome Mildain and Guildus to the squad.

I'm sorry to say I'm replacing Canopus with Guildus. Sorry, old buddy. We might need to bring Canopus into some battles where we need to kill someone quickly, but right now Guildus is too powerful to pass up. Mildain, on the other hand, is weak enough to pass up. I worked hard on my generics, so I don't want very many NPCs usurping them.

Kind of weird seeing how our team evolved, huh? I can't even remember what I did with Dorony. I must have disbanded her somewhere down the line. I thought Belgger would become a glass cannon, and he became one of our biggest tanks.

I give Guildus a fire sword; his previous weapon was two-handed, and using a fire sword only subtracts around 1 from his strength and allows him to wield a short bow. I give Orcus the warp boots; they work much like the spell in FFT which allowed you to teleport. Belgger gets the grease boots. Now my terror knights have a better range of movement. I give Byan Fenril to replace Lightning; it works much like Rafa's magic from FFT, except unlike FFT, it won't hit empty space; it will concentrate on the units in it's radius. I keep Lightning, however, and replace Quick with it; Lightning doesn't require much MP, so it's useful if I'm running low and still need to deal some damage. I'll give him Quick sometimes depending on the battle.

Speaking of Byan...

Byan Rozen Owhn: Byan does indeed own. Former Valerian Liberation Front member. Bacrum. He once taught in the Valerian Kingdom's Magic Army. He apposed the policy of Branta and joined the Valerian Liberation Front. He fought as a member of the Liberation Army, but was killed in battle. It seems the Report doesn't update profiles when people are lichified. Strange.

Going to Fiduc will end the chapter, but there's an optional battle in Bodo. Let's go there.

But not before we get into a random battle. I test Guildus out here; as expected, he's amazing. He has a decent move range, awesome damage (he did about 121 damage to a berzerker), and only loses a bit of damage with a one-handed weapon.

Now let's go to Bodo.

The Roslolians! Have they attacked Selye!?

"I guess our business here is done. Oz, let's go back home," Ozma says.

Stupid Name Count: 14

Seriously, "Oz?" "Ozma?"

"Where's the priest?" Oz asks.

If you remember, they told Lans the most likely suspect who stole Plancy was from the Valerian Liberation Front...

"We just took him away. He's so docile and easy to deal with." Do they have Plancy!?

"I didn't think he was in that bad of a shape..." Oz mutters.

"Let's not waste any more time. We have to go," Ozma says, and leaves.

"Listen up, guys! This will be our last task here. We have to erase any evidence of us being here. Set the fortress on fire and double check that all of the guerrillas are dead!" Oz shouts.

By the way, they've been spelling it "guerillas" this entire time, I've just been correcting them.

"Son of a...!" a Dark Knight shouts as we arrive.

"A Dark Knight?!" we shout in surprise.

"Now what?! The Liberation Army? I want overtime for this!" Oz says.

I'm not going to transcribe this, as I want to make sure I have time for the rest of the chapter. Guildus is awesome. So is Aloser.

I love you, Haborym. Marvel at his petrifying powers.

Also, the Dark Knights theme plays through it even though that isn't a standard battle theme.

I always thought that was kind of cool, mostly because this theme is kickass. I love this game's soundtrack.

"Shit..." He uses a plot contrivance I mean escape crystal to get out of there.

I get 1875 Goth.

Looks like Selye didn't hold up very well against the Dark Knights. Sisteena walks in.

"How horrible..."

Hello, Selye.

"I am fine...how are my comrades?" she asks.

"Why did they come here?" Orcus asks rather rudely.

"Because I rescued the priest from Heigm Castle."

"A priest?"

"It is your father, Plancy Powell." Knew it.

"My father is alive?! Where is he?" Orcus asks.

"I don't know...if you don't see his body around then they must have taken him." That's... rather blunt, Selye.

"I wonder? Why were the Roslolians so desperate to get him back?" Sisteena ponders.

"The purpose of the Dark Knights is not to rule over Valeria... They are looking for a person named Manafloa. Only your father knows of her whereabouts..."

"My father?!"

"It seems like they finally found Manafloa..." Selye mutters.

"Why do you say that?"

"Because..."

"They may come back again. We should get out of here," Sisteena interrupts.

"I agree...come with us, Selye."

"But..." Selye begins.

"We are not who we were before, Selye. We have changed... We have no intention of using cunning tricks and inhumane tactics...we share the same philosophy as the Valerian Liberation Front, right? I need your help. I want you to help us finish this war."

"I can't give up now...I must fight for my dead comrades...I trust you. I will fight with you!"

"I'm glad to hear that. Now, let's go."

Welcome Selye to the team. We're not going to use her, though.

Let's finish this chapter.

I train everyone to level 24.

We have a choice of which end to attack, west or south. Both have really good items. I choose west.

Our position. Byan is at 1, Haborym is at 2, Aloser is at 3, Bruno is at 4, Freesia is at 5, Orcus is at 6, Area is at 7, Belgger is at 8, Basha is at 9, and Guildus is at 10.

Let's do this.

We are confronted by a swordsmaster.

"Fools!! They are attacking us from the front. Stupid bastards!" the boss, "Mercury", shouts.

Stupid Names Count: 15

This battle is a veritable treasure chest of good items; so is the other battle. One Archer has the Light bow, the other has the Ice bow, the Terror Knight has the Aqua armor, the Wizard has Magma God, and the Siren has Gnome.

Be aware that after you kill a certain amount of enemies, the boss will start summoning soldiers.

"What are the Dark Knights of Roslolian doing...? Have they...forsaken...us...?"

We get 3500 Goth, Magma God, Ice Bow, Light Bow, and Wing armor.

Ozma reports to Balzepho.

"They have broken through the front! It's over...Fiduc Castle has fallen!"

"What a mess! I can't believe I allowed this to happen!"

"Leave the rest to us, sir. Please leave the castle immediately, Sir Balzepho!"

"I can't run away like this! I am a Dark Knight..."

"We don't have enough soldiers to protect our lord! It looks bad...! We have to protect our lord!!"

"You're right. I cannot leave our lord alone...and that girl, too! Forgive me Ozma! I pray for your victory!"

"Trust me..."

"Do not die."

"You, too." Ozma leaves.

I give the Wing armor to Orcus, and the Aqua armor to Guildus. Area gets the Light bow, Aloser gets the ice bow.

Our position is the exact same as last time.

We look around.

"Nobody's here. What...?"

Kachua!?

"Kachua! Why are you here?!"

"You came to save me, Orcus? Thanks..."

Holy shit!

"What are you doing?! Kachua!" a familiar voice shouts.

Lans.

"Y-you are...!!!"

"This place is dangerous. Shall we go..." Lans says.

Ozma enters.

"Oh, you're here! Sir, let's get out of the castle."

"You are alive, Ozma."

"Sir Balzepho is waiting for you outside."

"I understand...you should also get out of the castle with the remaining soldiers."

"Kachua!" Orcus shouts.

"I will take care of this. Please get out of the castle with the Princess."

"Don't push yourself too hard. Let's go!" Lans and Kachua leave.

"Your handy work in Rime was quite impressive...let me pay you back, little boy." Ozma summons her troops.

"Come on, fight me!" an off-screen voice shouts. Oz! "You are strong, but this will be the end of you!"

The Dark Knight theme plays.

Oz is close to us, so I kill him first.

"Oz?!" Ozma shouts.

"Ozma...help...me.." He dies.

"Y-you bastard! How dare you kill my brother!!" Ozma screams.

Want to see how overpowered Haborym is? Look no further. He has formed a literal blockade of petrified units.

Here's our position before Belgger kills Ozma. As you can see, the battle devolved into a battle over the stairs, and yes, Ozma can petrify.

"...Glory to Lodis..." Ozma dies.

"Kachua, why...?" Orcus whispers.

We get 4675 Goth, a mind ring, some gold, and a whip amusingly called Rosebud.

Meanwhile, at Heigm Castle...

My god... it seems Lans was lying about sparing him...

"...Your sins will be washed away by your death and your soul will soon be purified."

"Stop! Don't kill me!" Vice roars.

Why did you allow them to capture you, Vice!? What happened to "I'd rather die fighting!"!?

"Pray and kneel down before the Gods."

"Why do I have to be executed?!" Vice screams.

"Holy Father of Filaha, please forgive him for his sins."

They start to bring him to the noose.

"Please, stop!! Call the Cardinal! I was just...I was just following his orders. ...I don't want to die!! Please, I beg of you!! Stop! Orcus! Help me!" Vice shrieks. The executioners hoist him up and the sound of a hanging can be heard as the screen turns black.

The game flashes through a castle. An archer stands vigilant.

Is that... Lans Hamilton?

...

Two days later, I heard Vice was executed...

...

Next time: we begin Chapter 4, the last chapter of the game!

edited 20th Oct '10 8:59:43 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#71: Oct 21st 2010 at 2:32:39 PM

Wow...major turnabouts there. And I feel rather bittersweet about Vice's death, considering how much the higher powers will have blamed him for their own foul actions. What a miserable world...and yet it's so intricate and detailed that I just can't look away! I can only hope that your luck in these final moments of the game is extraordinary.

For the next Warren, I nominate Balzepho. However, if nobody else voices their recommendations soon, there's probably going to be a whole update of nothing but reports by the end of all this...

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#72: Oct 21st 2010 at 6:02:59 PM

ADDENDUM 3: More Death Quotes

Balzepho V Rams- 38 Years Old: Second in command of the Roslolian Dark Knights. Born in the city of Galius. A son of Major Volgras who was the head of the five major Knight Battalions. The reason the Roslolians were freed from the control of the Lodis senior committee is because of his strong connections.

This game is indeed quite grim. One of the many reasons I love it really. It's a Yasumi Matsuno game, after all. Speaking of which, I find it amusing you have a FF 12 avatar, Endark, considering Yasumi worked on that (before he left).

Here are the death quotes from chapter 3. I'll also record death quotes from NPCs in different routes you also get in the Chaos route.

Chapter 2: Law

Canopus: I guess this is it...Lans...oh, the pain!

Presance: Is this the result of killing my comrades..? It's too late for regret...

Chapter 3: Chaos

Canopus: Orcus, feel with your soul...the truth is sometimes invisible...

Presance: May the Gods protect the youth who seeks the light...

Aloser: Don't forget Baramus...Orcus, I trust you...

Forcas: I wish I can see how you...build the future...

Byan: I was dead once...do not grieve over my death...

Sisteena: Thank you Orcus. I will never forget you...

Haborym(Guest): ...No...I can't die in a place like...this...

Haborym: I wish I could kill him first...

Mildain: I pray your future is bright...

Guildus: Don't worry about me...sorry I wasn't much help...

Selye: I always wanted to be free...always...

Chapter 3: Neutral

Canopus: Orcus, be wise...people are not that simple...

Presance: After all, I chose to walk the path stained with blood...I am willing to go to Hell...

Forcas: It is the time...to go into an eternal sleep...

Byan: Orcus, I was wrong to follow you...

Sisteena: Sorry...I cannot keep my promise...

Mildain: Do not grieve over my death...everything is fate...

'Haborym: What a shame...my sword has fallen...

Guildus(Enemy): Orcus? Oh, you are alive. I am so glad...

Explanation for this. In the Neutral route, Guildus was actually killed, and Nybbas resurrects him. You're forced to kill him. The words above are when he regains consciousness right before he dies. It's probably one of the saddest scenes in the game, and most likely inspired the fight with Zalbaag from FFT. This one is a lot sadder if you ask me, though. I always thought Zalbaag was sort of a dick.

Chapter 3: Law

Canopus: Orcus, don't push yourself too hard...everyone has the right to live...

Presance: I sold my soul to Hell to take revenge...I am not going to die...

He proceeds to die.

Mildain: My only regret is that I will die before I see you achieve your goal...

Guildus: Sorry, I was not much help...say hello to Warren for me...

Haborym(Guest): ...Is this my grave...? Before I die, I want to meet...

Haborym: I came all the way here to...but I couldn't make it...

I love these death quotes. They give the NPCs a lot more character. Just to show this: Mustadio, one of the more important NPCs you get in FFT, died when I first played the game. I didn't really care and my biggest concern was the loss of all the secrets. In this game, when Canopus died my first time around, I was genuinely heart-broken.

Have I expressed my bitterness at the fact FFT has much more recognition than this game even though in my opinion FFT is far inferior in many ways? Because I think I need to express my bitterness at the fact FFT has much more recognition... yeah, you can see where this is going...

edited 21st Oct '10 6:08:51 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#73: Oct 22nd 2010 at 3:49:32 PM

Part 29: The Ideals of Lodis

"The news of Fiduc Castle's liberation has immediately spread, surprising the Bacrum population. Especially, the fact that the leader of the enemy was a 16-year old kid was even more amazing. They were disappointed to see how Branta was not trustworthy. The Dark Knights' defeat was also unexpected.

But the biggest news was that the daughter of the late King Dolgare was alive. The discovery of King Dolgare's daughter, Kachua, brought hope to the people. They hope she will be the savior of the world and bring peace. People are getting tired of the war. Lans Tartare, a delegate of Lodis, accepted Kachua as the legal successor to the Valerian King and claimed that the struggle for power has ended. Lans' statement made it clear that the cause of the war was triggered by a few selfish men craving to rule the island and it was not caused by different ethnicity nor ideologies.

But the people who agreed to what Lans was saying were mainly aristocrats and it did not stop the Anti-Bacrum movement from spreading throughout the island. The Valerian War is no longer an ethnic war. It was a war between the ruler and the peasants. It was a war for freedom..."

Oh boy... Lans Tartare is now meeting with the man who cut out his eye in a room where he can do anything.

By the way, the music is completely silent save for some dripping.

"Hmm... I'm surprised he's still alive... leave us!" Lans T orders the beast master. He runs out pretty quickly.

Let's take a look into the mind of Lans Tartare.

A voice outside the castle that they can hear somehow screams, "The rebellion... is... closing in... hurry to the street..."

"Do you hear that, Zenobian Knight?" Lans T asks mockingly.

Oh boy... look at Lans...

...

Where's his left eye?

...

"...It is only a matter of time before you're defeated."

"We don't care who rules Valeria. You know that, don't you?" Lans T asks.

Lans H says nothing.

"No, Roslolian... get help..." the voice outside begs. "We can't... hold them back... much..."

"...the people are getting more restless with each passing day..." Lans H mutters.

"The Bacrum people are a lower species... they can not even begin to comprehend the world around them...our ideals are too complex for them to even understand..."

"Did you ever stop and think that the policies of Lodis are the problem? Such as the use of force to enslave the people?"

"That's hard to believe, since they were the ones who wished to be ruled by force."

"Wished?"

"Yes... look around you, how many people, who are capable of accomplishing their ideals... actually do? How many people are willing to take that risk, to sacrifice all for the sake of their ideals... tell me, how many people are willing to do that?"

Lans H says nothing.

"...Do you remember the revolution that you were a part of?" More references to Ogre Battle: March of The Black Queen. "How are your people now? Aren't they complaining and whining about their own selfish problems? They took your sacrifice for granted!"

"They are doing the best they can with what they have! They could barely support themselves..."

"No! They are being that way because being the victim is much easier. They are not complaining because they are weak. They chose to be weak so they could complain... to be weak is what they believe in."

"That is not true!" Lans H shouts defiantly. "Each person has a right to choose what life they live. They have that freedom to do so!"

"Don't you understand!? Freedom is not a right somebody gives you. Freedom is something you must actively seek and fight for. Are they willing to do that?! No! They just want to say they have freedom. They sit on their asses all day and wonder where their savior is. But none of these people are willing to be that savior!"

"People are not that lazy. They're just not as strong as we are."

This is where the creepy part comes in.

"You are so naive. People shouldn't have any of their own ideas or dreams. Their lord should give it to them."

I have a feeling Lans T would like a world ruled by Big Brother. Think about that for a minute.

"And what would that be?"

"The privilege to live!"

"How ridiculous!"

"People are inherently evil... to obtain happiness, they don't mind sacrificing other people... they don't mind killing to better their lives. And yet they feel guilty. Then they think a little bit and come up with some excuse like 'the world is doing this to me.' It is our duty to bring order in this world of chaos! We shall give those lazy people the solution. We will take care of everything!"

"Take care of what? Is oppressing the people also part of your plan to lead the people?"

"We are not oppressing them. We are simply getting rid of the disease which is corrupting the world... we have to get rid of them, before they corrupt others. You know, prevention is the best medicine."

I wonder what Lans T would do if he got a Death Note.

"There is also such a thing called the immune system...it can purify the evil within the soul."

Lans T turns away. "Are you waiting for everything to fix itself? You trust humans too much. People are always attracted toward a source of power that will keep them safe. They'll betray anyone to be safe. Kachua!"

In case you didn't notice before, Kachua is no all evil looking.

"Kachua! Why are you here?" Lans H asks.

"Allow me to introduce you, Holy Knight. She is the true successor of Valeria, the daughter of the late King Dolgare, Princess Bersalia! Just like you told me, the Bacrum reign is over. But as long as we have her in our hands, Valeria will do as we say."

"Kachua... you are... but who?" Lans H whispers in disbelief.

"I love Orcus, he was my only brother... until I found out he's not my real brother. And he has forsaken me. If I cannot have him, then I'd rather..." She runs from the room.

"It breaks my heart to say farewell to the person who took me eye..." Lans T says mockingly. "But I don't have the time or desire to torture you. So, I bid you adieu." He starts to walk out of the room.

"Wait!" Lans H shouts.

"Farewell, Knight of Zenobia," Lans T says before exiting the room.

Chapter 4: Hand In Hand

We now have a rocking new sprite.

"The queen (Kachua) hasn't shown up since the ceremony. Here whereabouts are not known even by the headquarters of Bacrum. The Cardinal has sent a a spy to find her. I guess the queen is with the Dark Knights," the ninja, a spy named Shadow, says.

We now have a cool new portrait. I guess this is supposed to show we're wise now or something.

"... I take it Branta and Lans Tartare are not getting along... also, what's the status of the Dark Knights?"

"Most of the dark Knights are stationed in Heigm. But Lans Tartare and the other high-ranking Knights are nowhere to be found."

"Hmm... I wonder why the Bacrum Army isn't attacking us? What are they up to?"

"...As for the Holy Knight you have been asking about..."

"Have you finally found something!?" Orcus says exitdedly.

"I forced a caterer to talk... our Holy Knight seems to be imprisoned in an underground jail in Heigm Castle."

"But is he alive?!"

"Unfortunately, there were too many guards over there. Even the Bacrum soldiers were not allowed in the castle. I was unable to obtain any information of his condition."

Orcus bows his head. "I see... you have done very well. Rest for awhile."

"Thank you, sir." Shadow leaves.

The wizard speaks up. His name is "Staff." Really.

Stupid Names Count: 16

"Shouldn't we go to Heigm and attack?"

"I cannot do that..." Orcus mutters. "It is dangerous to attack without finding out the true purpose of the Dark Knights..."

"Don't spend too much time thinking about it, we'll lose our chance to win. Do not forget there is a movement among the people to obey Princess Bersalia. Some soldiers are even reluctant to fight against a member of the late King Dolgare's family!"

"I haven't forgotten. In fact, it is all the more reason we should attack."

A soldier walks in. "I brought you a report, sir."

"Go ahead."

"Soldiers in Brigantes have taken hostages and barricaded themselves in the castle!!"

"What!?" Staff shouts.

"What do they want?" Orcus asks.

"Bacrum's surrender!"

"What a fool!" Staff shouts. "What have we been fighting for all this time?!"

"It must be a plot of the Filaha Order," Orcus says. "I bet there are some Filaha followers among the ranks."

"Ever since the queen was declared, the Order's influence has spread."

"...We don't have any control over that. The discovery of the queen is like the discovery of a savior. They're tired of this war. They crave security. The late King Dolgare was a true believer of the Filaha Order. just like the late king, it is natural for them to declare 'ethnic unity' and ask for the war to end."

Orcus declares his plan is to meet with the leader of the Filaha Order unarmed and alone.

We cut back to the world map.

The shop has doesn't have very much new stuff. The only notable new spell is Heal All... this will heal all characters in a map to 100%, and it has unlimited range. Only Priests can use this. I give it to Freesia, to replace Revivify; I tend to reload save states if characters die anyway. I might bring it for certain hard maps, though.

Warren Report Updates

Return on Filaha

After the death of King Dolgare, the Filaha Order is divided in two. The present leader of the Order is Branta, who deported the former leader, High Priest Moruba. However, it is Moruba's side that is growing in number. It is proof that a lot of people want Moruba back as leader of Filaha as well as Bersalia as queen.

Deneb's Store

Good news to the item freaks! A reporter found someone who sells important items such as the Wind Orb and the Holy Orb. The shop's name is 'Deneb's Shop of good Stuff.' She does not own a permanent shop and will move from town to town.

More on this later.

Trouble!?

Liveblog, which merged with the former Walsta Liberation Army and the Gargastan Army are now having trouble within the ranks. Although Liveblog is still called the Walsta Liberation Army, it is a democratic army which claims to be anti-Bacrumese, but there are more soldiers that want to bring an end to the war.

We survived multiple bounty-hunter attacks, and then merged with two armies and became the only thing that an oppose Lodis... with ten people.

The Queen's Return

The reinstatement of Queen Bersalia's celebration was held in the Peacock room of Heigm Castle. The people who attended the ceremony were former servants of Bacrum including Branta. They all pledged their loyalty to the king. Sir Tartare was attending on behalf of Pope Sardian of Lodis country, reassuring the alliance.

Next time: we find more more about the Zenobians and meet with the Filaha Order!

edited 22nd Oct '10 9:30:45 PM by gentlemanorcus

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!
EndarkCuli Since: Jan, 2001
#74: Oct 22nd 2010 at 8:56:49 PM

I must admit, graphical changes are a nice addition to a game like this. We've been witnessing Orcas' and Kachua's characters develop bit by bit, but it's nice to see how it impacts their outward appearance as well. I mean, despite how much easier it is for the graphic designers, the concept of a hardened warrior running around in a squire's uniform just doesn't seem to mesh well with reality.

Also, for the next Warren, I'd like to hear about Nybbas. Considering what you said he'd do to Guildus on a different route, I find it odd that we haven't heard much of him lately...

gentlemanorcus from Virginia Since: Feb, 2010
#75: Oct 23rd 2010 at 6:01:38 PM

Part 30: Four Sisters

In case you're keeping up with it, the list of Warren Reports I started up earlier have been updated.

Nybbas Obderhode: Resident Gargastan. A supervisor in the Amorika region. It is said that most of his work is entrusted to his men and thus he rarely shows his face. At the fall of Amorika, he was on his way to Krizar.

I prepare to do some training, and I accidentally click on shop, when... whoah. Seems I was lucky enough to run into Deneb's shop. We can buy Orbs from her. Simply, they hurt all enemies on the battlefield. Of note is that I buy 3 Holy orbs. They'll do great damage against the final boss, if I remember correctly, as he/she (not going to ruin it!) is strong against Dark attacks and will change elements if you hit him/her with other elements. I also buy fire and water orbs for the hell of it. You can recruit Deneb if you buy a lot of stuff, but I'm not going to recruit her right now. If I decide to recruit her at all, I'm going to do some special stuff to make sure she comes with rare items.

I am now left with 72161 Goth. To repay some debts, I sell a bunch of my old equipment. Doing this boosts me to 101881.

Hmmm. I think it's time to start using two handed weapons. I give Guildus the Rosebud whip, Ozma's old whip (giving him a Fire Orb to replace his bow.) I give Belgger the fire blade and I give Haborym a desert blade, which Mildain had on him. Hopefully the loss of bows won't impede Guildus; Guildus now has a whopping 312 attack, making him the strongest member of our team. Rosebud also has a 2 attack range. I love you so much, Guildus.

Hmmm... it seems Belgger is starting to fall behind in attack compared to our other members. He's still good, but he'll probably be the first I dump if I want another NPC to join. After all, Terror Knights are pretty slow. If they aren't super powerful like Orcus is (he's our second strongest member), what use do they have?

Despite some problems, our squad is filling out pretty nicely. Orcus' warp boots allow him to ignore terrain, so thus he can pretty much replace Canopus in that aspect. Bruno is kind of our middle man. He has both good attack and decent speed, so he strikes a nice balance between the speedy swordmasters and heavy terror knights. Guildus and Aloser are monsters. Byan is a great mage, despite the things I went through to get him. Freesia is a great priest, and Basha is a pretty good cleric; once we get an NPC to replace her, our squad's effectiveness will become awesome. So overall, I'm pretty happy.

I train everyone to level 25.

You get an extra scene that's really important if you go to Amorika, so let's do it.

Seems Warren is a bit better.

"So... Lans is not back..." he mutters. "I hope he's alright..." He coughs.

"Don't push yourself, Warren. You haven't completely recovered yet," Orcus tells him.

"Do not worry. It's not my time to die yet."

"...Warren... tell me something..."

"What is it, young man?"

"Tell me the real reason why you and the other Zenobians cam here."

"...What do you mean?" Warren asks.

"If your purpose is the same as Lodis, then I would have to send you all back to Zenobia. I do not want to be your enemy... but if you have a different reason, please tell me. I would like to help you!"

"We are just exiles," Warren insists.

"Warren!!!" we shout angrily.

"...Very well. I will tell you. As you have already figured out, we cam here under the order of our King." Knew it. "But our purpose is not to rule over Valeria. We are not like Lodis. Our purpose is very different..."

Warren has a flashback.

"Noble king, we shall leave," Lans H says.

This is Tristan. You helped him become king in March of The Black Queen.

"...Forgive me. I know this is part of our plan, but to declare you exiles was not easy..." he says.

"The best way to deceive the enemy is to deceive your own people first," Lans H assures him. "This way no one will become suspicious. Besides, it is our own fault Brunhild was stolen. We really deserve to be exiled." Remember this scene. It is really, really important. "We shall retrieve Brunhild to restore the honor of the Holy Knights."

"I don't understand why Lodis would steal the sword..." Tristan mutters. "That is Zenobia's most beloved treasure. I have faith in you Lans."

"Yes, your highness."

Back in the present day, Orcus asks, "Brunhild?"

"Brunhild is not just an sword... whoever holds the power of the sword will have the powers of the Gods and the ability to talk to them. It's still just a legend an nobody knows if it's true. But it's still the most important artifact in Zenobia. We have to get it back."

"And the Dark Knights are the thieves, right?"

"Yes. We thought they brought it back to Lodis at first. But then we found out they brought it here. We didn't know that they plan to use it here..."

"Take it easy, Warren. Rest now," Orcus tells him. "Le us handle it. I won't disappoint you. In the meantime, I want you to focus on your recovery."

"Thank you, Orcus..." Warren mutters.

We go back to the map screen.

I level up everyone to level 27 and equip all my mages with balder staffs. We get ambushed at Vahanna. It's filler.

Uram: Orcus... how dare...! We get an aqua robe.

Before I go to Brigantes, I make sure to unequip all of Orcus' stuff. I send him in alone.

A berzerker asks us what we want. We say we have no intention; while the berzerker says we must be trying to trick them, the knight says we are a man of honor and believes us. The berzerker accuses him of being "one of them" and pulls out a sword before a woman comes out and tells them to stop bickering.

"Forgive us. I am Olivia, a priestess of the Order," she says. "Our leader, Plancy, is waiting to see you." Our father is the leader!?

"Leader!? Plancy!?" Orcus shouts. "What's the meaning of this!?"

"He is your father..." Olivia mutters. "This way, Sir Orcus. We don't have much time."

"Why are you saying that?!"

"...Orcus, your father is dying..."

"No!"

"...When we found Plancy in the Valley of Death near Heigm... he couldn't even stand under his own strength."

"Valley of Death?"

"It's a small cave where people with fatal diseases are sent to."

"Fatal disease..."

"We did everything in our power to save him. But he just got worse and worse..."

Orcus bows his head. "...Did the Dark Knights do this to him...?"

Olivia nods. "Not only did they torture him, but they used drugs to get information from him."

"Father..."

"This way." She leads us into the castle.

...Oh boy. "Father! It's me! Orcus!"

"Orcus... I'm glad you're here... come over here..."

Orcus walks over.

"I need to tell you something..." he whispers.

"It's about Kachua..." I have a feeling they screwed up and meant for Plancy to say this.

Anyway, Plancy says, "As you may already know, Kachua is not your true sister... just like they claimed, she is the daughter of King Dolgare, Bersalia... Kachua's mother, Manafloa, was the servant of the Queen.

Flashback.

"Did you want to talk to me?" the Queen asks.

"Noble Queen Bernarta, I am asking for your permission to leave..." Manafloa mutters.

"Why!" the queen asks angrily. "You are the only one I can trust in the palace. You know that, don't you!? You didn't think I'd find out?" The queen turns to Manafloa.

"Please... I beg of you..."

The queen slaps her. "The King was originally from a commoner class. I guess he got nostalgic when he say a peasant like you!"

"Please forgive me..." Manafloa whispers.

"How can I possibly forgive you!? You're not going anywhere, Manafloa! You will by my slave! You will never be anything but a servant!"

Manafloa rubs her belly.

"Are you pregnant?! You!? No!" she shouts in despair.

The scene resumes on a rainy night, as Manafloa sneaks out of the castle.

"Thus Manafloa left the castle and gave birth to Kachua..." Plancy mutters.

Whoah, why is Branta with Plancy!?

"How's Manafloa?" Branta asks.

Plancy shakes his head.

"...I see. She was weak. So this is Bersalia," Branta says to the baby Plancy is carrying in his arms.

"Bersalia?" Plancy asks.

"This is the name the King chose. He said that if the child was a girl, she would be called Bersalia."

"Don't you think we should tell him about the child?"

"Queen Bernarta is due to give birth next month! This would not be the best time. It will be a secret between you and me."

"What about the child?" Plancy asks.

"You will raise her. Your daughter who died half a year ago... her name was Kachua, right? Call the child Kachua."

"...I am to keep the child as my daughter?"

"Yes. This will be better for Valeria's and the child's welfare. Don't worry. I will take care of the rest. Oh, here, take this."

Branta hands Plancy something. "It's a necklace. Sell it."

"What is this?"

"A present from King Dolgare. The blue one will be given if the child is a boy, a red one if it is a girl."

"I can't sell the king's present!"

"But you need money to raise children. Commoners like us need the money to raise her properly." Yeah, Branta is a commoner, he worked his way up to become part of the nobility. "Don't worry, Plancy."

Back in the present day, Plancy tell us Branta was lying. "He told the queen about Manafloa and the child. And he was made a Cardinal... I think I did the wrong thing... when Queen Bernarta's son died, I should have taken Kachua to the king. Then the war would have never happened... but I couldn't. I could not give up Kachua." If only you know the bitch she would grow up to be. "I could not give up the child who called me 'father' and trusted me."

"Father..."

"The dark Knights have been looking for Kachua ever since..." ...That's why they attacked Griate, isn't it. "But there purpose was not to make Kachua the queen. They have another purpose."

"What purpose?"

"Yes... making her queen was just one of the pieces of her plan... their ultimate goal is to get the treasure of the late King Dolgare..."

"King Dolgare's inheritance!?"

"...I don't know exactly what it is... but I know it's in the king's grave... now that they have Kachua in their hands, they are desperately looking for the king's grave..."

"You and Kachua are the only ones who know where the grave is."

"...No, Kachua doesn't know anything. But the only one who can break the seal of the tombstone must be a direct descendant of the king."

"So Kachua is being used as a tool."

"...Yes. When the treasure is found, Kachua will be..." Plancy coughs.

"Father, are you alright?! Slow down!"

"Orcus! Save Kachua! Go, my son! You are the only one who can save Kachua and Valeria!"

"Father!"

"...Find Moruba! Moruba used to be the Great Priest of Filaha... he will be able to help you..."

"Father, try not to talk anymore!"

"You are going to be the foundation of justice. Throw away your selfish desires. Take a good look around you and make the right decisions... you will be the leader of a new generation... that's it... that is your mission... do not forget..."

"Father! Hang in there!"

Plancy closes his eyes. "Orcus...forgive me...I..." Plancy dies.

"Father!" Orcus screams.

Outside, Orcus is anguished by the loss of his father.

"...There's something I have to tell you," Olivia says.

"Is it about the commotion between the Liberation Army and the Order? Can't this wait...?" Orcus asks, head still down.

"No... it's about Branta and you."

"Branta and me?" Orcus asks, putting his head up.

"Your father and Branta are brothers."

"Branta and my father are brothers!? Wait...! That makes Branta my...!"

"Your real name is Orcus Mown. You are from Bacrum."

So Orcus is Bacrumese!

"That's not true! That's impossible!" Orcus shouts. What's with this game and referencing that Star Wars scene? "This is a joke! I don't believe you!"

"Please calm down. Remember when you were young, you once lived in Heigm with Plancy."

"You are making this up!!!" Orcus roars.

"You often visited Moruba's mansion."

"I'm not listening, Olivia!" Orcus shouts, and grabs her by the robe.

"There were four daughter of Moruba that became good friends of yours... you became close to a daughter who was the same age as you... one day, that little girl and you were playing by the ocean and almost drowned!"

Orcus lets her go. "Wait, how did you know that!?"

Olivia bows her head and says nothing.

"But the ones who nearly drowned were my sister and I," Orcus insists. "I thought it was my sister who helped me."

"That girl had a scar on her forehead." She lifts up some of her hair.

"You... you are that girl?"

"Selye helped us out. She was the eldest of the four sisters."

"Then who are you?"

"I am the daughter of the Great Priest, Moruba."

Orcus stammer incomprehensibly and crouches to the floor.

"Face facts, Orcus. You have to face reality. Get up, Orcus! Don't you want a world where people are not divided by their ethnicity or class!? Your ethnic identity doesn't matter. Even if you are from Bacrum, your beliefs shouldn't change! Or do you want a country where only Bacrumese can live happy, like Branta!? Do not forget what your father told you!"

Orcus stands up. "You're right, Olivia. My nationality has nothing to do with this matter." Orcus goes on to say that his race doesn't matter as long as his goals are noble. Olivia thanks him for understanding.

"Olivia!" Selye shouts from off screen. Selye and Sisteena run in. Olivia greets them happily. Selye asks where Moruba is, and Olivia says Moruba is not here and she doesn't know where he is. She explains he feels responsible for them leaving the Order, became depressed, and left without saying a word. Selye says he probably went to Banhamuba Shrine to help regain his faith. They agree they should head there.

"Where's Shelley?" Olivia asks.

"That's right..." Orcus mutters. "You have four sisters..."

"Shelley betrayed us and now works fro Branta..." Selye mutters.

Welcome Olivia to the team!

Next time: more chapter 4!

Full picture here.◊ Drawn by Saemus!

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