Part 5: Alpine Woods

Update 5: Alpine Woods



Hello again! This time we’ll be continuing our journey towards the city of Centina. However, there remains one area between us and our destination. We move towards it




And are immediately thrust into another battle. Though, this time it’s only against monsters rather than any people.




We start off in a small rectangle in the southwest corner. Since Mongo did such crazy work last time, I’ll have him sit out for Bobby’s debut.
Notably, that ledge above our starting position is 5 levels high, meaning that most weapons can’t attack across the elevation difference. If I’d been more in control of the situation, I would’ve tried to use that as a wall and pick the enemies off with the spear, magic, and ranged attacks.



All of our enemies start off in a rough line, and are an even mix of Vangals, Komainus (upgraded Vangals), and a totally new enemy type: Daodrenners. Daodrenners have decently high hp and mind, some elemental resists, and an annoying AOE magic attack that hits the 8 surrounding squares. It will hit enemies as well, but can still be a pain to deal with since they love running right into the middle of your party.



Komainu are basically the same as Vangals but come with some extra skills. Lick wounds is just a small heal that hits the user and the 4 adjacent squares, but snapback is the really annoying one. It’s entirely unavoidable and uncounterable, so the AI will use it very often. It only hits as hard as a regular attack, but can really screw up your positioning.



Everyone be on guard! Vangals are quite agile, and in their own way just as dangerous as a seasoned warrior.

After Kyrie’s warning, the groups start closing, with a focus on the area just above the ledge.



Anadine gets the first hit in, taking a solid chunk out of one of the Daodrenners.



After which, I realize I miscalculated and Hannah can’t make the leap up. Instead of being smart and moving her to hold the square, I have her start trudging around to the right.



Which leaves Sophia open to get whacked by one of the Vangals.
Because of that Vangal holding the path open, the rest of the enemies start rushing down. One of the Daodrenners gets a good AOE off, hitting a majority of my team.



To make sure that Sophia stays up, I have Hannah protect her.



While Bobby gets the first KO, taking out a Vangal with a cast of Fire II.



Reiner soon follows up by taking out the weakened Daodrenner.



Though the second one promptly takes its place and hits nearly everyone on the map with another AOE.



Kyrie promptly makes him pay for the shot, but does not take him out fully.

Now that most of the enemies are down or weakened, we can start cleaning up.



Bobby gets another big hit and nearly takes out both enemies with a Fire II, though he does take a decent chunk of damage from their thorns in retaliation.



And Anadine is able to finish off the Komainu with another forceful strike.



Kyrie chucks a rock at the near-dead Vangal



Who drops another crafting fruit. We’ve gotten a good number of these, so I’ll probably show off the crafting system pretty soon.



Later in the round, Anadine finishes off the last Daodrenner. He gives us another crafting material, a snakebite oil.

It’s at this point that I remember the chest that was behind the enemies’ initial spawns.



It takes like 4 rounds of stalling the last Komainu, but Anadine eventually reaches the chest and gets us a shiny new Silver Spear, which is a very solid upgrade over Hannah’s weapon.



After which, Bobby finished off the Komainu (with a bit of friendly fire).



At some point (I think it was during the stalling when I wasn’t really thinking) Reiner went down, so he’ll be sitting out the next fight. Still, overall this was a pretty easy mission.



After the fight, we’re free to proceed to Centina.



However, when we arrive at the city, a new scene starts. (also, a neat thing that I’m a huge fan of is that your party members will show up in the backgrounds of most non-battle scenes. It’s small, but I think it adds just a bit of life to the scenes.)

We should overtake Alphonse’s party by midday tomorrow. I want us to keep a low profile until then.
You’re sure you want to do this? I understand the finer points of the law place us in the right, but you’re being quite literal about it. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the Immortals had a problem with it. Especially whichever one is responsible for nominating that walking pile of dung as a Marked.
We’re doing this. Whatever the outcome, I will take full responsibility before the Council.
… All right. If that’s the way it has to be.



I cannot believe anyone on the Council would choose Lord Alphonse as an Immortal candidate. What if he is actually selected in the end? It’s a terrifying prospect.
I doubt there was any mistake. The timing is too convenient for our lordling. No, this was very deliberate. And I wonder what it portends…
It’s futile to pursue this line of thought. Our lot is to ensure the law is respected, not to decipher the motives of the Immortals.
True. And yet, anyone with ears can see that conditions have grown steadily worse in recent years. Arbiters skirting their duties without consequence, bandits roaming the lands unpunished, and vulnerable people left unprotected.
As you know, each Arbiter Captain is fully independent, answering only to the Council. There isn’t much we can do.



Well said. Although I’m not certain capturing Alphonse will further that goal. As I understand it, a Marked is quite likely to die or disappear during their pilgrimage, usually at the hands of other Marked.
Be that as it may, I witnessed Alphonse’s filthy crime firsthand. I’m not leaving anything to chance, especially now that the law is on our side.



Everyone pauses for a second, seemingly deep in thought.



Ah, yes! You are in luck. Tonight, you get to try my wilderness stew! It’s from a recipe of my own devising. The secret lies in my method of condensing the different flavors. Come closer to the fire and I’ll tell you about the process…
Here we go again.

And the screen fades to black.



Finally, we arrive in Centina. In and of itself, its just another town, with some upgrades available in the shop. However, there’s also the arena, which has this little graphic representing it. Trying to enter it just leads to it saying that they’re closed until the Tournament.



And they’re not very helpful about clarifying that.



Finally, I stop in and upgrade gear for most of the units. (I really like this merchant’s portrait, which is the main reason I’m showing this).



And with that, I think we’ll end the update here. Next stop, Gyaum Tor.