Part 6: Gyaum Tor

Update 6: Gyaum Tor



Last time we fought some wild beasts in the forest and made it to Centina. After re-equipping, we’re going to continue chasing down Alphonse as he heads towards the Highland Temple. (Also, buckle up because this is a pretty long one.)



As you should expect, heading into Gyaum Tor starts another battle up. Hopefully this won’t be as horrible as the “Tors” in other games.



We join in on Alphonse and his crew of generics.




Yes, what? Spit it out, man!
Your lordship asked to be notified in any of them interpoler… interlopters… them “intruders” showed up.
They have done showed!
I am again amazed at my ability to communicate with lesser lifeforms, especially the incoherently babbling kind.



Tsk. I suppose that band of buffoons I sent to deal with you have bungled it. Never send a common thug to do a nobleman’s work, that’s the lesson here.
Then you freely admit to contracting a group of brigands to kill us?
Yes, I most certainly did. How embarrassing for them, to have fallen to your little band of ne’er-do-wells. And now what, wench? Your precious law forbids you from so much as barring my path. Or are you planning to BORE me to death?



Oh yes, I am going to savor this, my dear. I am going to put you down like the cur you are.
I was hoping you would say that.
I hereby invoke the right of self-defense in the face of mortal danger, bestowed by law upon all Arbiters! “Whilst their life is at risk, Arbiters have the right to defend themselves under any circumstances, against any foe”, eve be they Immortals or… Marked.



That’s not how it was supposed to be! I…
Hmph! I haven’t time to spar with my lessers. Underlings, I shall proceed to the Temple. Remove the interlopers for me.
And Alphonse promptly runs past the ranger and out of the field.



There are more of them up on the ridge as well, Captain.
Well spotted, Anadine. It appears we must go through his henchman to get to Alphonse.




And we’re in another fight.



We start off down at the bottom of the hill. Since Reiner got injured last battle, we have Anadine, Kyrie, and the full generic crew for this fight.



Facing us is a variety of enemies. Up on the hill we have a wizard, a ranger, and



A new class, the Reaver. Where knights are full defense, these guys are pretty nearly full offense. Thankfully, since we’re early he doesn’t have access to all of the reaver skills because some of them are nasty.



And then down on the other side of the hill we have a mender (always a pain to deal with, especially once they get revive), a scoundrel, knight, and a basic merc.



The fight begins with the ranger sprinting down to get a shot off on Bobby.





Who promptly gets punished for his eagerness.



Meanwhile, a merc rounds the corner to whack Hannah for a pitiful amount of damage



As Mongo whiffs a 98% chance to hit the wizard and then gets stabbed by the Knight for his trouble.



Thankfully, things are going better down at the base of the hill. After attacks from Kyrie and Billy, Hannah is able to finish off the merc before the AI mender can heal him.



The Reaver (who doesn’t hit that hard thanks to his basic equipment) moves into a very annoying spot. Due to all of the ledges surrounding it, you can pretty much only hit him from Anadine’s square. I forget this multiple times as other enemies move there during the fight.



Down low, things converge as Kyrie and Hannah whack the mender while the scoundrel gets a sizable hit off on Kyrie.



Meanwhile, Anadine’s been getting bullied a bit by the wizard and knight so I top her off before she goes down. I did try to mitigate some damage by lowering the knight’s attack and the wizard’s mind stats, but it didn’t really work. The knight just swapped to using defensive hit (which uses def instead of attack), and Anadine’s res is low enough that weakening the wizard only saved about 5 damage.




Kyrie chucks a rock at the mender, and then Hannah uses the spear’s extra range to finish her off.



After a round of chasing him around, Mongo is able to take out the wizard



And soon afterwards, Kyrie’s able to kill the knight.



Bobby comes in at the end to take out the last scoundrel (and nearly kill Hannah again as well. I really need to get the smart targeting skill).



On the victory screen, I somehow missed the MVP. I’m pretty sure it was Hannah, but not 100%.



Winning that fight puts us back on the world map. However, when I head back towards Centina to buy some more equipment, a new scene starts.



Don’t trouble yourself about it, Anadine. Alphonse is cornered. This is the only path in or out of the Temple.
Now that we have a moment to talk, I wanted to commend you for spotting those additional enemy forces up on the ridge. If we had rushed ahead and gotten flanked, things could have turned ugly.
Thanks, Kyrie! What are we going to do next?
We’ll camp here for the night and keep guard over the approach to the Temple. I don’t want to risk him slipping past us in the dark. At first light, we’ll strike out for the Temple and end this once and for all.



Suddenly, there’s a sound and everyone starts looking around. A reddish circle forms on the ground just above Bobby.



And in its place, someone teleports in.

What the…?



I wish to speak to the Captain. Privately.



Everyone moves off, but Reiner stays behind for just a second.

You have always inspired great loyalty in him.
We are family after all.
Yes, now I remember. His parents adopted you at an early age.
Well. Would that I had come simply to engage in idle chit-chat The Council was convened this evening for another surprise meeting, where I was told a Marked by the name of Alphonse was attacked by your group.
There was an altercation earlier today, that’s true. I wonder tha all news concerning this particular lord travels so quickly.
I took note of that myself, but leave it aside for the time being. I was informed you invoked the right of self-defense in the face of mortal danger as a means of skirting our earlier prohibition against interfereing with any of the Marked. An accurate, if creative, interpretation of the law. And from what I know of this Alphonse, I have no doubt your claim was justified.

In that case, I confess I do not understand why you are here, Quntus.
Ever so direct.
The issue is that while I personally agree with your interpretation of the law, the Council took a vote and the majority are against it. I am here in my official capacity to “curb your enthusiasm.”
…
However, I wish to propose a different direction for your, uh, zeal.



Primus, Tertia, and myself have attempted to take things in hand, to correct the current course, but it seems as though our efforts have been constantly stymied. Though I have been unable to uncover the guilty party hindering our work, the trail circles back to the Council itself. The protection afforeded this unsavory Alphonse character is but one more sign that things have gone terribly awry. And I suspect it is part of a greater, more sinister plan.
I understand, Quintus. I will support you in whatever course of action you deem best.
Good! I am glad to hear you say that, as I don’t think you will particularly like my solution.
Captain Kyrie, I have not yet nominated my own Marked, but I believe I have found just the right candidate.
To have a reliable Immortal candidate on our side would certainly be welcome.
My thoughts exactly. I need someone who champions doing the right thing above all else. Someone with intergrity. Someone incorruptible.



Me?!
I am flattered you would trust me with such a grave responsibility. But I must decline. I have no desire to join the ranks of the Immortals.
I know. And that is another reason why you are so perfectly suited to the task. I will speak plainly. I sense a growing corruption within the Council. As you can imagine, rooting out this evil, and quickly, is of the utmost importance.
I need an ally, Kyrie. As a Marked, you will no longer be bound by the law. You will be free to pursue Alphonse and investigate the situation in any fashion you see fit. And once the conspiratprs are brought to justice, the Council will have a worthy member to fill the void of Primus stepping down.
There is a certain sense in your plan. But surely there must be someone else, another candidate you could select.
… You are trying my patience, Kyrie. I presented this duty in the form of an offer, but no one may refuse the candidacy of a Marked. Especially not an Arbiter.
… I see. When I became an Arbiter, I pledged to obey the Immortals in all things.
I am glad we are finally in accord. Come, come, being a Marked isn’t some kind of curse. You will find yourself even more powerful than before.

Quintus approaches Kyrie, holds his hand out, and a bunch of energy pours out around Kyrie.



It might not be clear in the screenshot, but Kyrie’s sprite now has a few blue lines running down from her eyes to the middle of her jaw.

You are now able to enter the Temples, something impossible to anyone but a Marked, forbidden even to we Immortals. The goal of the Marked Pilgrimage is to visit the four Temples and… commune… with the Relics housed therein. With the Mark upon you, the Relic will confer some of its energy to you. Visit the relics at all four Temples and return to Illuster. That, in essence is what the pilgrimage entails.
Oh, and keep your wits about you during the journey. I have a feeling some skullduggery is afoot within the pilgrimage, and you don’t get to be my age without listening to your hunches. Now I shall leave you in the care of the worried Reiner.




Quintus selected me to be his Marked candidate. The magic takes a toll. The feeling is… strange, and not entirely pleasant. But I will get used to it. I must.
Oh.
This is big! You could become one of the Immortals!
Indeed. I am going to need some time. To get used to this.
Now that I am undertaking the Pilgrimage, our new objective is to visit the Temple. Though I’m sure we’ll still have Alphonse to deal with on the way.
All right. But for now, get some rest. You look exhausted. You can fill me in on the details later.

And with that, the scene fades out.



Back on the map, we find that Quintus wasn’t lying about Kyrie gaining new power. She’s unlocked an entirely new and unique class called the Marked. Because it’s unique, I’ll give it its own mini job overview next update, after we see it in action. However, the long and short of it is that it’s a great class with strong growths, good skills, and some absolutely bonkers passive abilities.



But for now, I’ll end this update here. Next time we’ll be exploring the Highlands.