Part 35: Stratum 2: Wanderers Part 1

The handsome prince did travel through a field of flowers. As he slept the Queen of Flowers spied him from her kingdom, and made her presence known. “Oh Prince of Men, won’t you join me, and be my King?”
- excerpt, Graham’s Grim Tales, ‘The Legend of the Dahlia Queen’

Thorns

Though it was thickly forested, the strange gate in the area proved we had reached the end of the second Stratum.



Logue’s getting worse and worse, too.

Video- “Wanderers Lead In”

Click For Video

You’re sending me to slay the dragon in the Northern Lands by myself, My Liege?
Yes. I’m counting on you, Sir Logue.
I believe you’ll be more than a match for that dragon.
I appreciate your confidence in me. I won’t let you down, Your Highness.
But...
As you know, the royal bloodline only produces daughters. Therefore, it’s been a tradition for a princess to wed the Commander.
But in order to show your worthiness, you must distinguish yourself in battle.
Me… Marry into the royal family…?
The citizens won’t approve of the son of a low-ranking nobleman becoming King, without other accomplishments to redeem him.
I, too, had to distinguish myself in battle before I could claim the throne.
Let my faith be your support, Sir Logue. Go forth to the Northern Lands and defeat the dragon!
Yes, Your Majesty!

It’s got to be this damned place.



(Damn! Not… now…!)
Logue!? What’s wrong?
Are you hurt? Let me get Levatte…
There’s no need.
But…
I said it wasn’t necessary!
O-Okay… If you say so.
…Thanks…
Is there a problem?
Boss, I think Logue could use some help…
I’m FINE… Don’t worry about me.
I’ve been thinking. Maybe we should be taking a look into why Logue’s acting so weird, Boss.
He says he’s alright. Just leave him be.
I thought you were his friend! You’re not worried at all!?
Logue’s battles are his own. It’s not your place to interfere.
What does THAT mean!?
You don’t need to know any more about it.
H-Hey…! Wait!

And these filthy Majin…

Video- “Wanderers Part 1”

Click For Video with Commentary



Ally Team:
We replace Stein with Yuri now that we’ve got her. We’re really going to want such a healing heavy team, because there are a lot of Majin and they’re going to charge right the hell at us really fast.

Enemy Team:
This group of Majin is a real pain, they might not heavily outnumber us but they’re really nasty in their own right. There’s a Thiefler and Heefler, two Jade Sylphs, two Aranea, and two high-level Gladelashes.



This Gladelash is stronger and tougher than any we’ve seen yet. Pierce and Earth attacks are totally worthless, and Fire and Light aren’t nearly as effective as they were against the first Gladelash we saw.

Deployment:



We are going to charge straight up the gut here. The Araneas, Jade Sylphs, and Gladelashes are all right up in our faces and very aggressive, so we’re not going to be able to avoid them just by trying to refuse a flank. If we were on a second cycle and had the power to do so we could probably break through in time to save the first chest but it’s not going to happen this time.

Tactical Objectives:
- Hold the line
- Get at least the near chest

Map:



Ma’am, the Commander told us to mind our own business.
Well, if he thinks he’ll get off that easy…
Hey! Stay focused on the battle!
S-Sorry, Commander Olifen!
May Holy Atona bless our swords with her might.
We shall vanquish all evil, in the name of Valdia!

We want to get our buffs out quickly and start getting the closest melee Majin, a Gladelash, engaged as quickly as possible. We want it down and captured before the Jade Sylphs can join the party if possible.



We don’t take orders from you creatures.
Oh, how it speaks to me…

Marie starts the show with a Pyrosphere on the Gladelash. It might be a bit less vulnerable to Fire but Marie’s more than a bit stronger than last time and it’s already in the red. The Jade Sylphs rush in and throw out some magic at us to repay the favor, though they’re not close enough to each other yet to catch anyone in a crossfire fortunately. Logue takes a lot of heat not just from them but also from the Gladelash, who manages to Slow him. This is a dangerous part of the map because the Majin are going to start dogpiling people, we just need to drag them down and kill them faster than they can kill us.



I know! I know!
Where is she!?
We ate her! We ate her! She’s in the darkness!
Damn you, filthy Majin!

The Majin are largely bypassing Olifen right now and I want to take advantage of that. He rushes forward and stabs one of the Aranea, I want to get them down to the sort of health range where I can kill them with Marie. Logue meanwhile gets very unlucky and manages to get Slept by the Aranea on his side despite his resistance to Mental status, which is really bad because it means he’s lost his magic defense buff. I give him some support with a Pyrosphere from Marie, overkilling the Gladelash and scorching the Aranea. Fortunately Levatte’s Divinus skill removes all status from a friend and we can get Logue back on his feet in one spell.



Umbra: (Does your blood crave violence tonight, Logue?)
Shut up! Shut up!!!

We quickly capture the Gladelash to avoid it being Released. I heal Logue up, but he catches two spells in quick succession that undo all my hard work. Olifen moves to support him by continuing on his Aranea, but it’s just not enough to save him and he falls to a nasty crit to the back from an Aranea. I move Ares over to his place and Olifen back in line. Luckily for us, the injured Araneas have pulled back a bit and given us some breathing room and a chance to deal with the incoming Gladelash. Marie turns up some heat on it and it’s already almost dead. Olifen gets started on one of the Jade Sylphs while the Sylphs and Gladelash throw themselves at Ares. She manages to Evade the killing blow from Aranea, however, and Marie puts both of her attackers down in a single shot with a Pyrosphere. I quickly capture them both with Ares and Olifen while Marie moves to the back to deal with the right Jade Sylph, which flew across a gap to sneak behind my lines.



How could the Princess have made it out here?
I find it difficult to believe.
I daresay, I’m inclined to agree, Ma’am…

We smash the back Jade Sylph down into the red zone with a Pyro III from Marie. Olifen breaks loose to grab the chest as his Aranea has again retreated from the front lines. It contains a Longsword with Curse Attack, which is going to come in handy later on in the game. Now that I’m just up against Jade Sylphs mostly, I’m a bit less stressed. Their melee attacks aren’t anything to worry about even on our casters.



Be careful! Something evil is hiding nearby!

We work to drag the Sylphs down into range to be Overkilled while also keeping Yuri alive, since she’s priest-tanking them. We also get the Aranea down to the point where we can finish the job with Olifen alone, which is important.



Calm down, Boss.
Be quiet!

Let’s seal the deal on the first Jade Sylph with a Malus II from Marie now. That gets her a level, though it’s not very interesting. Aranea hits Ares and runs, which is fine really because it’s not far enough for it to get away from Olifen. We snap up the bound Jade Sylph and then Olifen brings the Aranea down with an Everthrust. The second Sylph is the last to go, falling to a second Malus II. I start retooling my assault now to advance on the Thiefler and Heefler. I get close enough to draw the Thiefler in, then barrage it with spells culminating in Marie’s brutal Delirium special. Then I surround and maul the Heefler, eventually getting both Olifen and Ares a level killing it and Irina a level capturing it. And that’s all she wrote for the first half.

Battle Results:

Levels:
Olifen 16->17
Marie 18->19
Irina 9->10
Ares 11->12

Majin:
Gladelash Lv 15 x 2
Jade Sylph Lv 14 x 2
Aranea Lv 14 x 2
Thiefler Lv 16 x 1
Heefler Lv 14 x 1

Just as the Count had said, there was a Guardian waiting for us.



Logue!?
Mwahaha… Oh my, I have guests…!

The terrible queen of flowers, Dahlia Queen.





I am the Dahlia Queen!
You all look like quite an irresistible meal… Mmm…
If you value your life, begone, Majin!
Hm… It’d be a shame to kill you… You’re quite handsome.
How about I keep you here as part of my collection?
I will not permit it!
I see… Such a shame.
May Holy Atona bless our swords with her might.
We shall vanquish all evil, in the name of Valdia!

There’s only one queen I care about, though.
- operation record, Commander Olifen