Part 36: Gelligh II

Update 36: Gelligh II

Welcome back! Last time we fought a bunch of monsters on the high seas and then debated about what would happen to Kajta when we returned to Illuster. This time, we’ll be returning to Gelligh on our way to the final Temple.



When we approach Gelligh, we’re suddenly thrown into a battle screen.



We come in on the party standing in the streets of Gelligh.

Oh. No.
It’s just that this place brings back a lot of memories.
A lot has happened since we were last here.
So much has changed. I remember thinking how it felt so lively, even in the middle of the night. With all the new excitement in our lives, it seems very quiet now.
It IS very quiet tonight.



And as if on cue, a ton of smoke bombs go off.



Revealing a bunch of Assassins and a Werewolf!




Now we’re put into the battle screen proper. This one is pretty simple, for now we just have to make sure Kyrie survives.



This fight is a pretty tough one. Enemies start on 3 sides of you and are all fast and hit hard. You need to be able to force your way down one of the paths to give yourself some breathing room to deal with the other enemies. To that end, I’m brining a lot of quick damage with Anadine, Hannah, Reiner, and Selina, and then Sophia to support and deal damage as needed.



Against us, we have 2 melee Assassins and a floating Vampire with a bow,



On the side path we have another 2 melee Assassins,



And then up the other end we have a Werewolf, Gunner, and Mercenary. Most of the Assassins are dual wielding, so they will hit quite hard, and their weapons give them a solid chance of inflicting a status effect.
My strategy this time is going to be to move towards the 2 Assassins and Vampire. It’s a little harder to fight through, but makes it so that the other enemies have to converge and I’m not dealing with enemies on both sides as I try to move in.



Naturally, as you can see, almost all of the enemies are waaaaay faster than I am, so I have to endure a decent barrage of attacks before making a move. First, an Assassin puts Anadine to sleep.



Then, because that first turn was thanks to the Initiative passive, that same Assassin runs up and stabs the sleeping Anadine for over half of her health.



The two upper Assassins buff up and move towards me, while the remaining southern one comes and puts Anadine to sleep again. Thankfully, though Reiner and Sophia are in the AOE, they dodge both the damage and the sleep effect.



The Vampire takes a potshot at Sophia, which misses as well.



And then to round things off, the Werewolf reaches Hannah and hits for a good bit of damage and makes her bleed. She does retaliate with a cripple, which at least prevents him from using any more skills.



For my first move, Reiner softens up the lower Assassin.



And on Kyrie’s turn she starts talking with the enemy.

As if you don’t already know! Even now you travel to Illuster to stir up trouble for our master, isn’t that right? But you’ll need to get through us first.
…



Kyrie then uses her turn to wake Anadine up and then retreat south east. You see, the enemy screwed up by leaving Anadine low on health. Especially because the Assassins are relatively fragile.



Thanks to her passives, Anadine can 1 shot this Assassin.



Which she does.



And then, because I am a tactical genius, I decide to have Anadine try and hit this guy from the front to kill him. It doesn’t work, though failing a 65% chance isn’t horrible. I have Selina follow Anadine down and heal her a bit so the Gunner can’t easily kill her.



Sophia hits the Assassin with some damage.



And then Hannah finishes him off with the guaranteed damage from a rock.



At which point a teleport circle appears



And out pops our favorite Immortal, Septimus!



Please Master, you need not trouble yourself! We have them exactly where we want them. Almost.



Septimus throws out a hand to stop him from talking further.

Must I always be surrounded by fools?!
Septimus! Are you taking up arms against us?
Immortals are strictly prohibited from using their powers without Council approval. You know your peers won’t stand for this.
Won’t they? You and your gang will be reduced to dust so swiftly, I’ll be back in time for the Council session discussing this very disturbance!
Threats are quite cheap, I’ve found.
Facing an Immortal is not going to be easy. Everyone get ready!

At which point Septimus himself slots into the turn order. It’s also not stated, but the objective of the fight is now possible: Defeat Septimus.

He’s quite powerful, with a mix of Fellblade abilities and then a unique Immortal class that’s very similar to the Vampire class. He’s not quite Alphonse levels of relative difficulty, but he can definitely make your party hurt.



Afterwards, the 2 Assassins blind Anadine



And the Werewolf and Vampire go after Hannah.



On his turn, I have Reiner cure Anadine’s status’s once again. The mercenary also comes over takes out the very weakened Hannah.



And Septimus uses his first move to debuff Kyrie’s Mind and Res.



And now, on Anadine’s turn she goes behind the Vampire and 1 shots them.



And then does the same to the Werewolf.



Sophia then heals her because Anadine would go down if an enemy looked at her funny right now.



Which was good because one Assassin comes up and stabs her, while the other puts Sophia to sleep.



Meanwhile the Gunner takes advantage of Kyrie’s debuffs to deal over half of her health in damage.



Kyrie responds by critting on the regular attack portion of this, thus killing the Assassin outright.



Septimus teleports behind Kyrie, poisons her, and leaves her very much in 1 shot range. Thankfully, the merc was rooted by Reiner, so he just whacks Anadine instead of killing Kyrie.



Selina wakes Sophia up, who heals Kyrie to ensure I don’t lose.



Though the Assassin takes advantage of my poor positioning to put Sophia and Selina to sleep again.

Anadine takes offense to that and takes him out too.



And then she teleports behind Septimus, does some good damage, and debuffs his defense.



He spreads Kyrie’s debuffs to Selina and Sophia and then teleports away.



But not far enough to get away from Kyrie



Nor Selina



And lastly Reiner is able to finish him off with a Snipe.



Overall, I’m very happy with how this turned out. It came close at a few points, but only Hannah went down overall, mostly due to Anadine having become death incarnate with the Reaver passives. I also got very lucky that Septimus closed in but didn’t really go for any kills, letting me keep Kyrie up and then take him out relatively easily. In most of my previous playthroughs I had a LOT more trouble with this map than I did this time.





Afterwards, we cut to Septimus admitting defeat. But suddenly two teleport circles appear on either side of him!



Septimus, we sensed you using Immortal magic without Council approval. Explain yourself.
… It was her! She attacked me in town, unprovoked, like a rabid animal! I had no choice but to defend myself. Surely you would not sanction me for that.
I wonder if I understand you correctly. You claim that one of our most stalwart Arbiters came across a member of the Council taking a stroll and decided to attack him, for no reason whatsoever.
Is that skepticism in your voice?! How dare you doubt me!
Hmm, right. Would you care to speculate as to what would motivate an Arbiter to attack a member of the very Council to which she has sworn her life?
What kind of a question is that? How could I guess at this reprobate’s motives! Possibly it’s some side effect of her being Marked. We all know the Pilgrimage is a chaotic time.



At which point the Immortals turn and actually address Kyrie.
Quintus, Tertia.
Would you please share your version of this troubling event?
Of course. We were on the last leg of the Pilgrimage, on our way to Gogombob City, when we were ambushed. We had eliminated a few of the assassins and the tide had begun to turn our way, when Septimus appeared. He complained that his lackeys were taking too long, and joined the fray himself. As you can see, he failed.
What despicable lies! Better for you to confess, Arbiter. My integrity-
Septimus! You know the protocol for these proceedings. You had your say, now let the Captain speak.
…
That is a grievous accusation, Kyrie. What reasons could drive Septimus to attempt you murder you and your team?
A fair question, Quintus. During our recent travels, we discovered that bandits who had sacked a number of towns in the region were working hand-in-hand with Arbiters. We later learned they were taking their marching order directly from Septimus. I myself was present and witnessed as much with my own eyes. He was willing to do anything in his power to ensure this information never reached the Council.
Nonsense! Lies! All of it.
These are very serious claims, Kyrie. This cannot be decided solely on the testimony of an Arbiter, especially when the other party is an Immortal. The Council will investigate the claims on both sides and render a judgment. Considering the gravity of the matter it may take quite a long while to come to a decision. But until a conclusion is reached, you will resume your Pilgrimage.
I understand. I would also like to report our findings about the Relics. We uncovered a plot by Sigil to drain the-
Primus already told us all about it. Have no worries.
I see.




And the Immortals teleport out.



Not a bad result, all things considered. Simply surviving an assault from an Immortal is a small miracle in itself, but walking away afterwards with the Council’s blessing tops even that.
I don’t understand. Quintus made it clear they wouldn’t trust our word against Septimus’s. And yet… they’re just letting us go?
A child could see Septimus was lying, and badly, but obviously the Council can’t punish him based on nothing but our word.
But why let us go?
Quintus made it clear the Council’s deliberations would be quite lengthy. Giving us ample time to complete the Pilgrimage. Once the Pilgrimage is complete, Kyrie can be selected as an Immortal.
Then it will be the word of one Immortal against another, and since we are in the right, justice will prevail.
You two are so capable in these thorny situations, so wise.
I wonder, will I ever become so adept…
Ha! You’ve a few more years yet to catch up. More experience is all that’s needed. Trust me, I know of what I speak.
Come, we should be as quick about this as possible. Let’s go.



And we’re popped out to the world map, with a whole new section revealed. Next time we’ll start heading down that path towards our final Temple!