Part 28: Kinship's Bond

They pass through Laus and continue through two more territories. After a time, they arrive at a fortress separating Thria and Ostia.











: That's everyone, is it not? If I have you, the Four Fangs, together, I need no one else. I have need of you to eliminate a man whose living plagues me. His name is Eliwood, a noble of Pherae.

: …

: …Pherae's located in Lycia, is it not?

: That's right. But he is no simple country lord. He has friends. Other Lycian lords. Individually, they are no match for you, and yet… Carelessness invites death.

: Do not make that mistake.

: Lloyd, Linus… I have work for you, the Reed brothers, as well. All right?

: One question. Are these our father's ord--I mean…the orders of the head of the Black Fang?

: Hee hee… Why, naturally. Isn't that right, my beloved?

: Mmm… Ah…yes.

: There! Are you satisfied? Remove Eliwood. Your orders come from the head of the Black Fang, Brendan Reed. As members of this group, you will follow that order, yes? Or…does your opponent frighten you into immobility, Lloyd?

: Sonia! How dare you speak to my brother in such a…

: Linus.

: …I know.



: Under our father, we are the ones who've carried out the law of the Fang. If Eliwood is an evil person, there is no reason for us to hesitate.

: The Fang lets none escape.

: We, the brothers Reed, dispense the Fang's justice.

: …Ursula, Jaffar, you understand your orders, yes? Once you find the target, you eliminate him at once!

: It will be as you say, Lady Sonia. Anything for you.

: …I've received my orders. I will do my duty.

: Your target's name is Eliwood, noble of Pherae! Bring him down. On the Black Fang's honor!

I really don't understand that conversation's flow. I mean, she specifically says that she also has work for Lloyd and Linus, but they're a part of the four fangs, why does she need to address them seperately?



: He's already on his way here. We're to wait for him.

: Lord Uther is coming here himself?

: So it appears. I told you of this before, but Castle Ostia, not to mention the city itself, is filled with countless foreign spies. I assume he thinks it will be easier to speak freely here.

: But…wouldn't leaving Ostia generate even more attention?

: He's traveling in secret with very few attendants. He's skilled as this sort of thing. There's no need to worry.

: How unconventional. It must run in the family.

: …And what exactly is that supposed to mean?

: Nothing. I'm very much looking forward to meeting him.



: I'm fine. Just a little tired. If we can sit still for one night, I'll be bet..ter…

: No! Nils!? Nils!



: Nils! You all right?

: Nils! Open your eyes!

: Ninian! Calm down!

: …Ah, I…

: Let's move him into the back room and call a healer.



: Huh?

: Ninian?

: I'm sorry, I… Um… Please, just for now… Don't move him.

: But…

: Please…

: …Let's do as Ninian says. She must have her reasons.

: …Please, just one night's rest… That should…make things right.

: If it's going to make him feel better, fine. Whatever you do, don't move him. I'll let the others know.

: Lord Hector… …My apologies.

: No worries.



: Yes, Commander Eubans.

: Very well, Heath, your unit will attack from west of the fortress. Your mission is to put an end to the entire group. Make no mistakes.

: …Are you serious? Marquess Laus abandoned us and just vanished. We've no reason to engage this group.

: We answered Marquess Laus's call, and we will honor our duty. Regardless, we cannot remain in Lycia any longer. We rebelled against Ostia, and our entire mercenary force is hunted… If we take their heads, we can join the Black Fang in Bern.

: I'm opposed to this plan. There are women and children in their group. What you would ask of us… It's something no knight… No man could do without shame.

: Listen well, Heath. You're a wanted man, a fugitive from Bern. How about we take you and hand you over to Bern's wyvern riders? We might even be knighted as a reward, given honest work.

: …

: Hah! Thought as much. Everyone wants to protect his own skin. Now, get your unit together. We attack!

A sympathitic soldier? Please, they're not even trying to hide that this one's recruitable.



: It's the east gate! The foe is already inside!

: Blast! They would show up now.

: We can't move Nils. Let's try and hold them off! Protect Nils! Don't let them near him!

Preparations time. The B-team is out in full force here, so Lowen, Sain, Guy, Florina, Legault, and Erk are taking the stage, with Raven, Dorcas, Priscilla, and Rebecca waiting in the wings as backup. Speaking of Rebecca:



That three strength is a great start, but skill is still pretty low, so we'll see what she can do on this map.



We start in the north part of the castle, and our objective is to hold out for 11 turns or kill the boss. Because that's boring, we're going to rout everyone instead and kill the boss on the last turn, as usual. There's also a secret shop where the cursor is.



To the south, treasure and the boss.



Eubans isn't particularly tough, but his spear hurts a bit. Fortunately, he's nice enough to give it to us if we kill him, which we'll gladly be doing.

The general strategy is pretty much going to be to hold the center and slowly expand outward. Legault and Ninian are going to be heading west to recruit Heath and pick up some treasure, and Lyn is going east to await a friend. The rest are going to push down the center. Merlinus is hanging in back with Nils, so he really doesn't need a guard.



: Lord Eliwood has told me much about you. I'm a knight in service to House Pherae. My name is Isadora. I'm under your command. Please instruct me.

First things first, let's check out our new friend.



Isadora is far more useful for the equipment that she comes with than her statistical prowess. I guess if Kent, Sain, and Lowen all turned out badly she might be useful, but then you'd probably do just as well putting a flyer in their place, if not better.

Getting started, Legault, with a little help from Ninian, gets the west door open. This will bait some fighters and a mage to come after him, and Ninian can just slip right on through to Heath.



The other...problem...with this map are the generics scattered around. Of course, they don't take very long to kill themselves off, so no real problems there.



: We're a small group, and we've some mercenaries among us. Rath of Sacae! Take charge of the mercenaries!

: …Understood.

: Hear me! We're here to protect Lord Hector, Lord Eliwood, and Lady Lyndis!

: Lyn…

Oh boy, more generics! Rath is recruitable with Lyn, as you could probably guess, but his two buddies are just more generics that try their damndest to "help."

Anyway, Heath can be recruited by talking to him with any of the lords or Ninian. Lyn, for obvious reasons, should be on the opposite side of the room, but anyone else works fine. Ninian gets to him first here.



: This place is dangerous, you should flee quickly.

: ...

: ...Wait! Do you know the commander of these forces?

: Ah...yes.

: Then deliver a message for me, please. I am Heath, a wyvern rider in Eubans' mercenaries. Tell him I want to join your group. I will fight with you.

: Wait...why?

: I've no wish to harm women and children.

Well that was painless enough.



Heath is a pretty solid unit, and he's more than able to hold his own from the get-go. He and Legault are going to clean up the west side, while we work on securing the other two sections. In the center, Sain gets the honor of our first level.



Well, I guess there's a reason this is the B-team, and not the A-team. At least he got a lance level out of it. Raven and Dorcas help clear out a few enemies, and Eliwood finishes off a cavalier to mostly give us control of the center.



Very nice, we actually could use one of these. Lowen takes a choke point on the east side, and the enemies try their luck to get through him. They don't do a very good job.



Not terrible, I guess. Hardly a good level though. On turn three, Lyn reaches Rath.



: Rath! Rath of the Kutolah! Well met! What are you doing here?

: …After we parted company, I've made my way as a mercenary here.

: I see… You haven't changed at all. It's…good to see you again.

: …Do you need my help?

: Are you offering?

: …You… If you desire it.

: Yes, please! Lend us your strength! We're…involved in something terribly dangerous!

: I see. When this is finished, I will end my service to this place.

And there's another unit for the army. I then have an extremely moment and end the turn despite that being the only thing I did. As if to make fun of me, some asshole hits Lyn with his hand axe on a 13% hit chance.

Turn 4 brings more reinforcements in every section. The west side is problematic, because an archer spawned right near a ballista, and the only person who could get to him is Heath. There's also a fighter, but that's what Heath's axereaver is for. Heath lands once, but I can't kill him. I do at least position him so that if he hops in the ballista, he can't hit Heath.

On the east side, as if to spite me even more, the same asshole who hit Lyn also hits Lowen on a 23% hit chance. Lowen promptly slaughters him though.

Turn 5 brings our first treasure:



Psh, I don't need money. How quaint. Rebecca hops onto a ballista and we start raining down some bolts of our own on the enemy. Lowen runs off to the far east and kills an archer before he can grab a ballista.



Lowen, come on buddy. I know you can do better than this. Back on the west side, Heath eliminates his archer buddy and picks up his first level.



Welp, this sure is a start.

Turn 6: More treasure.



Now this is what I'm talking about. We all know what Brave weapons do, and the axe is one of the better ones considering that most axe users can have trouble getting enough speed to reliably double.

Lowen decides to take on a feisty wyvern rider on the east side (spoilers, he wins), and Erk knocks out a knight in the center for a level.



Oh, very nice. Guy follows up by killing off a monk.



Oh Guy, how do you do it? You're fuckin' unstopabble.



Florina takes a pit stop into the secret shop. Now that we're significantly less strapped for cash, we blow about 25 grand on a few Elixers, an extra Barrier staff, and the main prize, the Physic staves. They're quite expensive, but can heal at a range of [Mag/2], which makes them invaluable in the later missions.

Turn 7 leaves no one except Eubans alive, so nothing of note really happens.



: Heh! Still, I won't lose! I live and breathe the air of war! I can't be beaten!

These mercenary chucklefucks do make it down to Eubans, though. They don't make out particularly well, as you could probably guess.

Turn 8 brings another bunch of reinforcements to the table. Legault and Heath handle the west side, and Lowen singlehandedly takes care of the east.



Legault puts up a decidedly terible level.



Lowen quickly shows him up.



As does Heath. Rath spends a few turns taking potshots at the boss, and picks up a level on the last turn.



Not bad at all. Time to finish up, and there's only one man to do that job.





That man is, of course, Hector.



: Uh… Sound the retreat! We've no more reason to fight!



: You were so long gone that I feared you dead. Another day, and I might have arranged you a funeral rite.

: …My apologies. Been a little busy.

: Yes…Leila's final report covered much. …Eliwood. I am sorry about Lord Elbert. I was powerless to help.

: No… Nothing could have been done. …More importantly, do you know of Nergal?

: Only what was reported to me. He appeared a year ago and seized control of Black Fang. Then he ensnared Laus in a plot of rebellion against Ostia. I can't see what he's after…

: The dragons that vanished after the Scouring… He wants to…bring them back again.

: What!? Can that be done?

: Yes. Let me explain.



: He's always been a firm believer in quick decisions. Yet he wishes for more time… that's never happened before.

: …It's gone from a simple rebellion to a threat to the human race. We saw it with our own eyes, and yet… It's all so unbelievable.

: Yet…it's all true.

: Yes. I wonder what will happen next. Ideally, we could bring the whole of our lands together to fight as one. It would be a return to the time of the Scouring…

: However, this all hinges on the existence of dragons themselves. Unless dragons are seen in the skies, I doubt anyone will believe us.

: Right. And once the dragons are here it'll be too late.

: We must stop all of this now. And we're the only ones who know enough to do it!

: Right!

: I agree.

: There we have it! Come on, let's speak to my brother!

: Art. Ninian. Will you go with us?

: Ye-Yes…



: And yet, I can see no other choice before me. Listen, my brother… Eliwood, Lyndis, are you determined to act on your resolve?

: Yes, we're prepared.

: Me, too… I don't care for sitting back, waiting for others to act.

: And you, Art. My brother and his friends are in your debt. What role will you play? Will you help them? See them through their coming trials? …I see. Then I have no more to say. I will aid you as much as I can. …Good luck to you all. …And what of the girl? The one we spoke of earlier?

: Oh, Ninian.

: It… It's an honor to meet you, Marquess Ostia…

: Both Ninian and her brother, Nils, possess a special power.

: Is that so? Then I would ask you. Do you know where Nergal is at this moment?



: East… Is he targeting Bern next?

: That bodes ill. Bern is a powerful and militant country. If Nergal ensnares it… We're done for.

: …There's still time. He is still… very weak… Now… We must act…

: So, Nergal can't act right away, is that it? Yet, what can we…

: We've no choice but to depart for Bern.



: Missur!? That's the wrong direction!

: Go to the Nabata desert… You may find aid there.

: What do you mean?

: Go and meet the living legend.

: Living…legend?

So in order to stop Nergal in Bern, we're going to to to the entire opposite side of the continent. What could possibly go wrong with this idea?
-----


HP: 80%
Strength: 50%
Skill: 50%
Speed: 45%
Luck: 20%
Defense: 30%
Resistance: 20%

Heath is our first of two wyvern riders, and my personal favorite flyer in the game. His only glaring weakness is resistance, but given that he's a wyvern rider and not a pegasus knight, that's kind of expected. He has good bases, good strength, skill, and speed growths, and doesn't come in horrifically low-leveled. While the pegs might be technically better units, Heath won't do you wrong.



HP: 75%
Strength: 30%
Skill: 35%
Speed: 50%
Luck: 45%
Defense: 20%
Resistance: 25%

Isadora is...bad. She has alright bases, but her growths are questionable, and she has a serious constitution problem, which means that her one good point, her speed, is going to get wasted on penalties. She's not unusable, but you have so many other good choices for a paladin that using her is a waste of a spot unless all of your ones didn't turn out. And if you have no good paladins, there are at least three or four flyers who are just as good a candidate for the spot. So...yeah.

Bonus: Alternate Heath recruitment conversations:

: Do you command this group?

: Who are you?

: I'm Heath, a wyvern rider serving Eubans's mercenaries. I wish to surrender.

: Surrender? Why?

: I've no wish to harm women and children. I'm a soldier, but… I'm trying to be human, too.

: …I understand. However, as you know, we're under attack. It will be hard to guarantee your safety.

: No, that's fine. I will fight alongside you.

: Yet…

: I will stop Commander Eubans when the moment comes… With this, my lance.

That last line seems a little derpy. Are you sure it's the lance, Heath?

: Do you command this group?

: Who are you to ask?

: I'm Heath, a wyvern rider with Eubans's mercenaries.

: In that case, you're my enemy. You're gutsy, aren't you? Prepare yourself!

: Hold, I've not come to fight you. I wish to surrender to your group.

: Surrender?

: I've no wish to harm women and children. I'm a soldier, but... I'm trying to be human too.

: ...You're an odd one. Right, well. We could use all the help we can get. You'll fight under my command.

: Understood.