Part 14: Infiltration

Anabelle is a Stern Older Woman. She is also the mayor of Muse.



: So it's true? I heard you lost your fort.

: Yeah. Lost a lot more too.

: Well, it didn't take them long to break the peace treaty. Luca Blight is a true beast. I'm afraid this war won't end until either the State or the Highland Kingdom is in ruins.

: He's insane. He's a wolf raised on the smell of fire and the taste of blood. He can't be trusted.



: Yeah... this one is Azure, this is Jowy, and this little tomboy is...



I'm glad you can act like a Pokemon

: Yeah, yeah... Nanami. It's these kids plus another little one named Pilika. Can you take four more? I'd keep them with me, but you never know when war will call...

: Yeah, you can't take kids into battle with you........ but...........



: There's a country nobleman in Kyaro with a son by that name. Isn't that right, Jess?





: What??? How did you know??? How do you know about Grandpa Genkaku???



: Viktor... I'll tell them all about it... until then... Azure, Nanami, is Master Genkaku in good health?

: Grandpa Genkaku... died last year...

: I see... so we weren't able to atone for our crimes against him...

>>> Atone for your crimes?



: Jess, I'm leaving these three in your care.





Jess lets us roam around the City Hall so long as we don't speak to Lady Anabelle. He's kind of an uptight stickler.



Nanami, of course, is excited to explore a super boring city hall.



The only thing to do is follow Jess into the room he walked into.



: Luca Blight's army is camped out near the border between Muse and Highland. They'll attack us here next. I'd like to know how much provisions they have with them... we've got some Youth Brigade uniforms to help you sneak in... Azure, Jowy, you were in the Youth Brigade, right? We don't have any other uniforms, so would you do it for us?



: Whaaat?? Couldn't that be dangerous????

This time I agree with you, Nanami.



The idea is that if they found out Luca's provisions, they can see if the attack on Muse will be a siege or a quick strike.



… but thou must



I found this mission to be a bit haphazardly thrown together. I mean, I know that Jess and Anabelle know who Azure and Jowy are, and that they both served in the Highland army, but... why is Jess so quick to just shove us into an infiltration mission like this? What reason do we have to put our lives on the line? Plus, I'm pretty sure a bunch of people (and soldiers) saw Azure and Jowy's faces, and I bet they'd be stationed at the front lines ready to invade Muse. Anyway, regardless of the fact that we only received two uniforms, Nanami forces her way into the party regardless.



those look like books, not documents







Oh hey, it's useless kid.

>>> I'm fine



Tuta takes us to meet the Liukan of this game, Dr. Huan.

: Tuta, listen to me. There's going to be another big war. I'm sorry to get you involved, but we'll need a doctor.



he's like, fucking... what? Ten? How in the world is he licensed to do anything?

If you choose not to acquire Tuta now, he'll automatically join when you get your headquarters later on.



Recipes are rare items used by a cook we get later on to use both in CHEF BATTLES as well as to cook food that we can carry around and use as items. This one is very missable, as I believe this is the only time you can get it since Dr. Huan is only in Muse for a short period of time.



No, we do not get to use Viktor or Flik just yet. Jowy tells Leona of the plan they got roped in to for no reason.



The game basically shoves it in your face that it's a good idea to bring a full party to this next mission, not like we really need it but there are some slightly difficult enemies in the next area, I guess. Before we do anything, there's another recruit to get.



In the bar, there's some butch lesbo drinking wine, complaining about some woman in the Toran government.



To get her to join, you need to fulfill a series of small requests. First is to refill her glass.



Easy enough, just talk to Leona. After each request, leave town and come back to talk to Anita.



Now a walkthrough will say that she has a specific order to her requests. In reality, she does not. She'll cycle through them, which makes acquiring her in this manner really annoying. For this request, make sure you have Antitoxin, otherwise you'll have to go buy it, then leave Muse, then come back in again.





She also comments about how a female swordsman is rare. You have to answer this one to please her.



After completing all three tasks (and maybe doing one or two of them twice), she'll ask what we want.



She at first laughs, then accepts.



And that's how you acquire Anita in Muse. You can acquire her way later in the game through this method or by bringing an optional character to meet her.



Here's our weird infiltration team. I am never using Tuta again after this. Never.



If it wasn't spelled out for you already, Anita has a relationship with Valeria. They both share the same Rune, the Falcon Rune, and hers is also fixed like Valeria's. She also wields a Star Sword, which becomes the Seven Star Sword upon raising it to level 5. Overall, she's a very solid character, with high stats in all areas and the ability to equip some heavier armor.





I love the Falcon Rune.



Before we do anything, let's head back to the Mercenary Fort, where our map-maker buddy Templton is pissed that he can't enter the fort.



Like in the first game, he's obsessed with his maps.



The Highland grunts are really, really wimpy. All he did was kick you in the leg, bro. You're wearing armor.





: I'm Templton, a cartographer. I'm correcting my map of this area, but I'm really having a hard time. Sorry, but I'm sort of in a rush. I hope I see you again.

Remember: Templeton is doing this in an age before Google Earth. Afterward, we head back to Toto, where he happened to be heading to.



: So... so the Highland Army did this?

>>> Yeah...



When we tell him that we're fighting to correct this tragedy, he joins us. In return, we get the handy Suiko Map again.



The map now has all locales we can enter as red dots, while we are a slightly-flashing white dot.







Time for a mini-dungeon, the Muse-Highland border woods.



It's a visually uninteresting dungeon, with some new enemies here and there.



Such as killer armadillos who have very high defense, and love to curl into balls to roll into you.



These Killer Rabbits drop the Belts of Strength I mentioned earlier, which we'll be able to buy in a bit. They're a very good accessory and could be worth farming instead of buying. It's a good idea to abuse Jowy's Rune for these guys.



They're also very, very strong. Tuta was knocked out in one blow, which is to be expected, and Tsai was also taken out because I decided to foolishly use his Unicorn Rune which then gave him zero defense next round. Nanami also got KO'ed because her Double-Beat Rune made her doubly susceptible to counter attacks, which is a problem because these rabbits can dodge hits and counter a lot.



Everything about Tuta is awful except for, maybe, his speed and luck. He has guaranteed the lowest HP out of anyone in the game by the time you reach the final dungeon.



A few screens in, we're at the Highland camp already.

: Um, we have to change into our uniforms, so...









But how to get past the soldier...



Except we're spotted by another soldier.



So Jowy comes up with a super quick story about what actually happened (except didn't, well, completely happen this way). The soldier remarks about how the State bastards are pure evil!!



After telling him that 'our old captain ordered us to get some butter', the dude just willingly lets us go into the provisions tent.



Even though we're super suspicious.



After the two of them have a look around, Jowy makes a note that they have two weeks' worth of provisions, meaning their attack is going to be quick instead of drawn out.



Either way, Rowd finds you after you leave the tent. Back when I said the soldier found us suspicious, that was before answering “Yes?” after the dude inquires about us again. If we said “What do you want?”, we'd have to fight a set of soldiers here. So in other words you can either be found out by Rowd himself here or have to tell the soldiers yourself.



Make sure to run back after Azure runs away automatically to get that chest, which contains the Fire Sealing Rune. With it, Zamza can become a total beast in battle.



The closest option we have is to enter Princess Jillia's tent.

: I guess we've got no choice...



Rowd inquires to search her tent for two State spies, but Jillia politely informs him it isn't necessary.

: I assure you it won't take a moment...

: Thank you anyway, soldier. I wish to be alone.

: B-but, my lady, if by some chance...







: What do you...



Never drink tea that anyone serves you in the Suikoden world

: Also, would you please put away that knife in your hand? Or is that acceptable behavior in the City-State?



: I remember you said something like 'this country has betrayed us. I won't forgive them...' So, how is it now? You still haven't forgiven us?

>>> I will... someday, I know I will...

: Jillia... no, Princess. What are you doing in this place?

: My brother, Luca Blight... do you know him?

>>> I know him.



: Also... my brother is considering something truly evil... up until now, I've always thought I could stop him, but... it looks impossible now. He would never listen to me. To my brother, I'm just like an 'enemy'... it looks like I don't have the power to stop him. I've begun to realize that. As a princess and a woman, I am limited in what I can do.



Instead of staying, we decide it's best to leave.



Before we leave, though, Rowd stops us.



And shoves us into a battle with Highland soldiers.



Just fuck 'em up with Buddy Attack. One thing to note is that, aside from a feature later in the game (which you can only use once), this is the only enemy that drops the Silence Rune, which has a 20% chance of inflicting Silence on a foe. This is particularly good for mages, but is still kind of useless in the long run. You cannot buy this Rune.



Jowy then comes up with an idea to stall them while the rest of the group makes an escape.

>>> I can't do that.







You're not. You're PART of a True Rune.







Before we can explain anything to dumbfuck Nanami, we get thrust into another battle with Highland soldiers, minus Jowy. They're super easy.



On the run no time to explain



: He'll be okay... yeah, he'll be fine. Jowy always keeps his promises. We'll wait in Muse for him until he comes back. He may even catch up to us before then, right Azure?



Who knows, Nanami? Who knows.

Artwork:



Tuta – Chijyu Star

The weakest party member in the entire game. Tuta is the son of a former patient of Huan's, and that patient wished that Huan would take Tuta in as an apprentice. He's ten, but somehow a field medic, because Japan.



Anita – Tenkyu Star

Anita trained under the same Kanakan fencer Roundier Haia, who taught both Anita and Valeria the Falcon Style fencing technique. She has fought Valeria in eleven duels, but only won once, and claims to be able to beat her in everything else but swordplay.

Kanakan, by the way, is an island country never seen in the series but is somewhere to the southeast of Toran; it is famous for its wine, and by the looks of how much Anita drinks, that might explain her drinking problem (she also, apparently, likes to sleep around).



Templ(e)ton – Chimou Star

Once again, Templeton returns as map-maker of the game. Before the events of II, he bumped into Viktor and Flik many times in the Dunan area. He later shared a room at the inn in Muse with a man named Nash Latkje, whose presence is felt throughout the second game despite never actually seeing him once (he is a character in the next game).



Jillia Blight

An ineffectual princess of Highland who can do nothing to stop her murderous older brother.



Captain Rowd

He used to be captain of the Unicorn Brigade of Highland but used the ambush as a way to win favors in the higher echelons and quickly promote himself. He does this because he has a blind sister and he cannot afford to seek help for her in nearby Toran. This information can be obtained if you search around Kyaro Town before heading back to the dojohouse.