Part 16: Battle

Chapter 8 Battle



The team that's going to bat for this mission.



Vaike is locked and loaded for the mission. About two of those things are never going to be used but whatever.



Donny gets Log because Log. Let's begin.



*A Mercenary appears*

Wait, I say! Why you no comprehending, wee one?

AUGH! GET AWAY! Everyone just leave me ALONE!

Please, be keeping down with the voice! You give away position! Very bad!

My throat is dry, my shoes are full of sand, and some big weirdo is trying to KILL ME!

Oy, you break Gregor's heart! Why you treat like villain?



Who is fiend? ...You mean Gregor? No, friend! You have idea wrong!

Yeah, right! ...Creep!



And all for doing good deed! ...Listen, friend! Gregor only want to-





Why are you all after the girl?

All? What is this "all"? Gregor is not one of "all"! Look close! Maybe you not see from so far? Gregor have innocent-baby face!

Hmm...

Well...

Yeah...Not sure "innocent baby" is how I'd describe it...

Gah! Never be minding!

Gregor is not enemy! You must believe!

...This is making my head hurt. We'll sort him out later. Right now, we need to protect the girl.

Y-you're going to help me?

We'll do everything in our power to keep you safe. Just hold on until we can reach you, and we'll drive them off!

*Many Village entrances highlighted*



Best if it's someone who can move swiftly through the sands...



Miriel will start the first strike on the nearby Fighter.



Vaike will ride with Cordelia and fly over to a spot where only the top left Mage can strike. He waits with a Hand Axe to counterattack.



We have two controllable new allies right off the bat.



Nowi is a transformable unit like Panne, and comes with the ability Odd Rhythm (+10 hit/avoid during odd turns). Manaketes are, in previous Fire Emblem games, super powerful Ests that gain levels like Donny but only come with one Stone to use before they're completely ineffective. In Awakening, Dragonstones are buyable but the Manaketes have less impressive growths.

Manaketes can also attack at 1-2 range, and usually make great tanks (Nowi already has the fourth best physical Def).



Gregor is our first Mercenary, which have high, balanced stats across the board. His high defense is augmented by his 2nd ability, Patience, which improves his Hit and Avoid by 10 during the enemy phase. His first ability, Armthrift, has a chance (Lck x 2) of not using up a weapon use. So at 50 luck, Mercenaries can wield a 1-use Glass Weapon all game without it disappearing.



The two new characters will pair-up and get to the little safe zone up ahead, switching to Nowi since she has 6 move.



Donny pairs with Panne and waits to bait out a Myrmidon.



The rest of the team moves up in formation, some surrounding team Panne for Support Bonus.



Miriel eats a large axe, but still weakens him to a manageable level.



Vaike exchanges blows with the nearby Dark Mage.



Panne baits and weakens the Myrmidon as expected.



That is not cool.



Nowi/Gregor moves up ahead again with Gregor leading to survive the incoming wave.

Miriel finishes off her feud with the Fighter.



Cordelia tags in and finishes off the enemy.



Donny!!!



Gaius weakens the Dark Mage and gains a good level out of it.



Sumia doubles the Dark Mage off, then the rest of the team heals and moves along the defenders.



Gregor manages to hold out against the wave as they come closer.

The next player phase is moving as many people out of the danger zone as possible, leaving Gaius and two characters that can counter at 2-range.



The Dark Mage targets and misses Gaius for his efforts.



Here's how it's done!

His companion gets a critical death in return.



An enemy Cav gets a shiv from Gaius, and gives up a Steel Lance.



Desist at once!

Miriel gets in on the twirling action and gets a critical herself.



Got all the essentials a Mage needs.



Cordelia swoops in to finish off the mage with assistance from Vaike, gaining a level afterwards.



NO, don't do that again!



Gaius finishes off the other mage with help from Chrom.



The rest of the team places fills the gaps so no one gets attacked more than once on the enemy phase.



You just might be. On the other hand, Lissa has officially out-gained Chrom in Str. Why



The Myrmidon stupidly attacks Panne, getting damaged for no gain while also blocking his comrades from attacking Gregor.



Cordelia takes out the Fighter with some pretty heavy damage in return.



Another Myrmidon strikes Cordelia to near death, and honestly she could've died if Vaike did a Dual Attack.



But since she didn't, Lissa heals her back to near full.

Donny finishes off the swordsman that attacked Panne.





Nowi takes out the swordsman.



By the gods, she's a manakete...I never thought I'd see one.

Hmm...Perhaps she doesn't need our help so much as we could use hers...



Chrom fills in gap with a Bronze Sword in hand, while Sumia visits the village on the right.



We lives in constant fear of what the Grimleal will do to us, so we does! 'Ere! Take this staff with me blessings! It can fetch distant comrades to safety. Be sure to place it in the hands o' one gifted in spells or the like. Magic folk be able to reach the farthest with it!



I think that guy was...Irish?



Donny tanks a Cav and gains a level.



Ooh, we get our first +2 in a stat gain. Otherwise, Donny gets a Donny level.



Chrom weakens a Cav



Nowi kills the Cav on the left



Chrom does his job well to weaken the last Cav for others to munch on.



Vaike uses the Glass Axe to get the punch needed to take down the Cav. Glass weapons are interesting to look at, though 3 uses now looks pretty generous.



Well, more strength and Spd but Vaike is falling behind to even Donny at this point.



LOG



Most of the problems are killed off. The next few turns are spent moving southward and healing.

Chrom stepped on an Event Tile for extra EXP.



It's my family's treasure. I would offer more, if only I could. A fellow with enough experience could use it to grow even stronger.



This is going to be explained in a big lesson after this chapter, but Master Seals allows a Basic class to be promoted to a respective Advanced class.



Cordelia weakens the Fighter, which leads into...



Give a sec...



Come on, Donny!





Lissa heals and gains Magic two times in a row?? (9 Mag is still horrible for level 15).



Enemy Phase is mostly enemies charging at Chrom and Cordelia exchanging blows with a Dark Mage.



The Grimleal will fear Donny's Log by the end of this mission.



Chrom starts his rampage and crits a Dark Mage for the start of this turn.



Mag?! Really??



Panne waits to counter the bottom Fighter, then does so for someone to take the glory.



Chrom kills one Myrmidon and takes his Killing Edge as the prize.



Another cowardly mage attack and another dead swodsman later, the phase goes back to us.



LOG



LOG IS LAW



A few turns later, Nowi gets the kill on the last mook.



How the hell did you miss Def...or Str...



Goodness, you're kind! I suppose I should give you a little something, eh? ...Here. Someone with enough experience could use this to start a new life. It's like running off to join a circus troupe! ...But more classy-like.



Second Seals, also part of the big lesson, basically changes classes. It gets much more involved, but we'll save that for later.



Donny gets attacked by the Grimleal leader, Chalard. He carries a Nosferatu tome, a 7 Mt Dark Tome that heals half of whatever damage that is dealt.



Nowi chips Chalard down to a manageable level.



And Donny takes the win.



Why is everyone getting Mag all of a sudden...



Energy Drop permanently boosts Str by 2.



I give up. Sure, they're MVP. Ignore the Log and risk your own life.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmOHy0jiabc



Ho now, wee one! Do not make with the crying of tears.

The evil people are now dead people. This is good, no?

You...You're right. Th-thank you. And...I'm sorry I was so mean to you earlier. I just nervous around people who are...outside my age group.

Your age group? Ha!

Gregor much closer to your age than others here!

Say, um...Gregor, was it? Gregor, do you mind looking after her? We need to press on.

Mmm...Gregor is mercenary, yes? Maybe you hire Gregor instead. True, Gregor just finish killing former employers, but still very reliable! So long as you not try to hurt little girl, Gregor will not hurt you. Also, Gregor need steady income. ...Many angry former employers.

You're a sellsword?

Yes! Very swell sword!

Cost performance very high. You have Gregor's word.

Sure, why not? You're hired.

But! But what about me?! I WON'T go back on the auction block!

Wait. You've been sold? Like a...like a slave?!

To men more despicable than you can possibly imagine. They made me transform for them...They drank and laughed and called out tricks.

What kind of scumbags buy and sell a little girl?! Even if she CAN turn into a dragon...

She may be little, milady, but not nearly so young as you might think. Manaketes live a very long time.

Really? ...How old are you?

Oh, I dunno...A thousand...something?

But look! No wrinkles!



Nowi would make a strong ally. Besides, we cannot risk her falling back into the hands of the Grimleal.

Beg pardon, but who are the Grimleal?

Followers of the fell dragon, Grima. The selfsame dragon the first exalt defeated a thousand years ago. Even today there are some who yearn for the fiend's return.

I...see.



We're almost to the Plegian capital. We'll need all our stregnth, soon enough...

Next time: Emmeryn

Nowi
Starting Class: Manakete
Weapon Ranks: None
Abilities:
-Odd Rhythm (+10 Hit/Avoid on odd-numbered turns)

Manakete Support Bonus: +2 Str/Mag/Def/Res

Base stats (Growths)

HP: 18 (120) Spd: 3 (50)
Str: 4 (65) Lck: 8 (65)
Mag: 0 (40) Def: 2 (65)
Skill: 2 (50)Res: 2 (50)

Despite the low base stats, a Dragonstone gives great bonuses when engaged in combat, giving Str +8, Mag +5, Skl +3, Spd +2, Def +10, Res +7. The only weakness to Nowi being an immediate tank is her low speed and health (one which could be fixed easily right now with a Seraph Robe).

The Manakete class counts as a special class like Taguel and Villager, going all the way to level 30.

Official Bio: A Manakete from no land in particular. While she looks younger and likes to play outside with children, she is actually over 1,000 years old and counting. The biggest oversleeper.


Gregor
Starting Class: Mercenary
Weapon Ranks: Swords (C)
Abilities:
-Armthrift: (Lck x 2)% of not using up weapon
-Patience: +10 Hit/Avoid during enemy phase

Mercenary Support Bonus: +2 Skill, +3 Spd, +1 Def

Base stats (Growths)

HP: 30 (105) Spd:11 (50)
Str: 12 (60) Lck: 8 (45)
Mag: 0 (10) Def: 10 (50)
Skill: 13 (65)Res: 2 (15)

Gregor comes with great stats, has good, balanced growths, and is part of a great class. If you have characters lagging behind or need a beefy swordsman that can handle is own, Gregor's your man. Can't say much else, he's solid.

Oh, and his voice is basically the Heavy from Team Fortress 2.

Official Bio: A likable merc whose feet have touched the soil of many a land. Years of experience have hardened him--mostly--but he still winces when people harp on about his age. The first to get a crick in his back.