Part 14: Banyan Span

Update 14: Banyan Span



Welcome back! Last time we fought a bunch of monsters in a grassy area, and then got a tiny bit of background into Reiner’s grudge towards Yates. This time, we’ll be crossing the huge bridge known as the Banyan Span.



At the bridge, Kyrie and Reiner walk up, to find a man standing in front of them.



And some more guys on the sides,



And even more people behind him.



The Pilgrimage has made things worse. The Arbiters have been stretched thin dealing with the chaos in the Marked’s wake.
On the bright side, once your Pilgrimage is complete you’ll be in a position to do something about it.
Thanks, Reiner.



C’mon fellows! There’s still time for a bit of fun before the big job. Kill them all and we’ll split the loot when we’re done!
Bold of you. I don’t meet many bandits willing to challenge a full company of Arbiters.
A full… company?
Well, I’ll be…
Ah, whatever. You lot go on ahead. Doubt you’re worth our time anyway. But be quick about it, and stay out of the way.

You’re not serious, I hope. You just ordered your men to butcher us.
(Whispering) I don’t think we’re dealing with the sharpest knife in the block here.
And then I changed my mind, didn’t I? You can save your thanks. I just don’t need any of the trouble that seems to follow Arbiters everywhere they go.
Well, trouble is what you’ve got. Surrender or we will pass judgement on you here and now.
You, threatening me? Ha! I gave you every chance to leave with a whole skin. Back to the first plan, everyone! Where they’re standing I want to see a field of corpses, or a forest of them. Oh, you know what I mean. Slay them all!
This is the problem with criminal organizations. No standards.




And the fighting starts. This time, we only need to take out Mercier to win. (Spoiler alert, I still take out everyone else anyway).



He starts out back here, pretty much as far away as possible.



And has a bevy of physically tanky enemies in the way.



While a gunner and ranger take advantage of the split paths to harass us.



For this fight, we’ll be running with Kyrie, Hannah, Reiner, Azure, Eustace, and Sophia. The general plan is going to be to hold out in the middle of the stairs until I can take out a few physical guys, then go for the ranged enemies.



The actual fight opens up with a merc chucking a rock at Kyrie.



Hannah buffs her and Reiner’s attack and then moves up.



The enemy knight moves up, and I hit it with a barrage of attacks. Not enough to take him down, but do some good damage.



As I’ve been advancing, I’ve been getting hammered by the enemies, especially the ranged ones, so I make sure to heal up.



The gunner’s been especially annoying because they love to throw out status effects. Generally, they swap between crippling random people (meaning you can’t use skills) and silencing my mages, which can make things much more difficult.



Thankfully, Hannah’s able to take out the Knight and free up a flank. If I was interested in rushing the boss, I could use the freed up pass to get to him without the threat of the ranged attackers. But I’m not, so I’ll mostly ignore it.



And after a barrage from Eustace, Reiner, and Azure, Kyrie’s also able to take out the Ravager. This frees up the front line a bit and takes a bit of pressure off of my guys.



Though that’s not to say I’m totally in the clear. This merc nearly takes out Azure off of a crit.



And Mercier revives the Ravager. The 4 guys that start up here don’t advance until I pass a certain threshold, which is another big reason not to advance too quickly.



Pretty quickly, Sophia takes out the merc that rushed my party.



The gunner continues to be annoying.



And so does the ranger.



However, after the merc revives him, Azure is able to just 1 shot the weakened knight. Nice to get another of the AI’s revives out of the way.



At this point, the ranger finally jumps over to my side and hits a good chunk of people with an AOE.



But Eustace fires back with a big hit from his earth magic.



After a cleansing blade from Hannah, Azure takes out the merc and nearly gets the ranger with 1 multishot.



Eustace follows up with another big hit, getting the ranger, and weakening the returning Ravager



For Kyrie to take out again.



The gunner then makes Eustace useless for a bit.



Siphon’s extra range comes in handy to let Hannah hit this merc.



Which does just enough damage for Kyrie to take him out with a wrathful blow. Also, the gunner is standing tantalizingly close now.



At this point, all of the remaining enemies advance, but it’s too late for their numbers to actually matter.



Azure and Eustace weaken the gunner and Hannah gets the kill with siphon’s extended range.



Soon afterwards, Kyrie takes a scoundrel with a dark bolt.



Reiner then gets our first damage on the boss with a multishot. He’d gotten an attack buff from Hannah so this actually does pretty good damage.



And Azure weakens Mercier some more, but misses the kill on the ranger by 1 hp.



Now far too late to do anything, Mercier actually attacks someone and shoots Sophia for a bit of damage.



But I just ignore him and have Kyrie pick some fruit.



And Hannah takes out the ranger, leaving just Mercier.



Who’s promptly taken out with a crit from Azure.



Kyrie gets the MVP this time, though I probably would’ve given it to Reiner since he weakened a ton of enemies for others to kill.



After the fight, the party surrounds the fallen Mercier.

I’m surprised he survived that blow. And disappointed. That thick head’s good for something after all, eh? What should we do with him?
It is inconvenient, but I won’t strike down an unarmed man, especially one in his state. We’ll take him to the nearest Arbiter Chapterhouse.
The closest is Thespeiros, but the Chapterhouse there is too small to take prisoners. Then he travels with us for the time being. Or he would if he was able to walk.
Yates, is there anything you can do to get him in marching condition?
Oh, certainly I could do *something* for him, if I were inclined, say if he had an interesting or incurable disease. But the variety of lacerations, contusions, and traumas plaguing this man are of no interest to me whatsoever.
But I thought you were a famous doctor. Aren’t doctors supposed to treat anyone in need?
I am not a simple country doctor, nor am I a veterinarian or a witch. My healing gist is dispensed only to the deserving or the interestingly afflicted. That man is neither.
I see.

Voice: Halloo, fellow Arbiters!



And three other men conveniently walk onto the path.



Well met, Dolman. It is gratifying to meet fellow Arbiters on the road. What brings you to this area?
I’ve heard about your reputation for directness. I like it. We are on patrol, simply looking out for anyone in need. And clearing the roads of filth when we find it.
I heard also about your new Marked status. I’m surprised you took time away from the Pilgrimage to sort out this riffraff.
Thinking us helpless travelers, this scum was planning to put our entire group to the sword for no better reason than robbery. Such flagrant villainy is not something I am willing to let pass.
I understand completely. No arbiter worth their salt would allow his type to run free.
But now this blackguard has burdened you with another problem. Thesperios’s Chapterhouse cannot accommodate prisoners. And I’m sure you want to return to your pilgrimage. Why don’t we take him off your hands?
That would be much appreciated.
It is no more than my duty. (to his men) Get him ready for travel.



The Arbiters advance and grab Mercier.



I am glad to have met you, Captain Kyrie. I wish you the best of luck on your Pilgrimage.
And a good journey to you and your team, Captain Dolman.



And they walk back the way they came.

How fortuitous!
It seems to be, doesn’t it?
That skirmish cost us valuable time. Let’s get moving. We’ll stop at Thespeiros to resupply, and then on to the next Temple.



And that’s that. Now that we’re back on the world map, this is where I’ll call this update. Next time, we’ll see what’s going on in Thespeiros and then head on to the Temple.