Part 23: (Part Two, Chapter 2) Lord Ludveck's Document Storage Cave

In a rural Crimean town, a band of rebels sow the seeds of discontent.




Brom and Nephenee decide to travel to Melior, the capital of Crimea, and inform Queen Elincia as to the gravity of the situation.







I see... So, that's what's going on. Thank you for bringing it to my attention. I'm very sorry your village was affected by this. You have my sincere apologies.

Oh, no, Your Majesty. We don't need no apology. We're just happy we could help.




Yes, as we thought. Duke Ludveck of Felirae is firing up a rebellion. We should have seen it coming. To be honest, Queen Elincia, there have been a number of indications that something like this was under way. We'd hoped to uncover something more tangible than hushed rumors... I should have told you sooner.

No... I bear some responsibility as well. The discontent among the populace...is due to my lack of experience as a ruler. Now that a rebellion is gaining momentum, innocent blood will surely be spilled...




And all I've ever desired is a country where war and hunger are unknown.




...Yes, Brom?

Your Majesty is doin' a bang-up job of it. This country's a safe place to live, and that's more than most can say! Once you get the hang of things, I'm sure you'll be the name future kings and queens try to live up to. We know you can do it!

And it ain't like ALL the young bucks out there got bees in their bonnets! There's a whole mess o' folk doin' their darnedest to make this a fine country. They wanna make you proud, Your Majesty.

I... Thank you.




But for Ludveck to start beating the drums of war as if this were unheard of... What utter nonsense! We must not allow it! Your Majesty, would you be so kind as to appoint me to the task of his capture? I myself will march into Felirae and seize Ludveck and his rebels.




But...

Don't worry, Brother. If we have no evidence, then I suppose we'll have to dig some up. Your Majesty, I'd like to take on that job.

Lucia, I appreciate your dedication. You have my permission to proceed...

---




Our "base" for this mission is just a side room in Castle Crimea. Note that we don't get access to the Market, so we're stuck with the weapons and heals we have - which is not very many. But at least Heather stole a few spares!

Speaking of Heather...




I would've been happy with just a tiny little glance at Queen Elincia. She's... glorious. This is so unfair!

Heather is "slightly" lesbian. She had some additional lines in the Japanese version that were a little less ambiguous, but these are mysteriously absent in the Western releases. Whether this is a retcon or censorship is unknown.

Yup, it's the pits. But that queen of ours is a real nice lady. Knowin' her, she'd prob'ly just let ya talk to 'er, noble or not.

The nerve of that Duke Ludveck! He ruined my one chance to meet the queen. I won't stand for it! He needs a kick in the rear! Or a punch in the mouth! The things I'd do to him...

Uhm... Heather? You sure are a lovely gal and all, but... You sure do say some funny things.

Can't argue with that, Nephenee. But that's just the way folks are. They ain't always what they appear to be. Ain't nobody perfect, neither. 'Less you're talkin' 'bout the goddess, that is.

Excuse me...

Hm?




Well! Hi there, Miss Lucia. What can we help ya with?

I came to ask for a favor. If it's not too much to ask, I'd like you both to accompany me to Felirae.

Hmm. Naw, that won't be a problem. You goin' ta catch the duke?

Something a little more... preliminary. I guess you could call it espionage.

Espio-what? Sounds serious! Nephenee, you ever hearda that?

Oh, sure. When I was just a sprout, I caught a real bad case'a that. I got this awful rash all over my back, too!

Uh... That's... a very nice story. Maybe I'd better explain what I mean.

Don't you know anything!? Espionage is all about stealing secrets and not getting caught. It's one of my many strong points!

Oh, really? And who might you be?

My name is Heather! I'm a friend of Nephenee's. I'd do ANYTHING to help Her Majesty. Seriously, anything!

...I see. Maybe you can lend a hand as well.

Miss Lucia, you're the greatest! Like, amazingly stupendously great! I'd love to help!

...

...right.

Meanwhile, we have some guests outside!




More returning characters!

Lady Lethe, Sir Mordecai, I... Well...

We could return to Gallia and bring back soldiers to help, you know. As an ally in a time of crisis, I'm certain our king would lend support.

No, Lady Lethe. This is an internal affair. We don't want to have to involve Gallia in Crimea's civil problems.

More fighters are always better. THe people of Gallia... All will fight for Queen Elincia.

Listen, I know you mean well, but I just can't allow it. I'm sorry, but if there were even a hint of Gallia's assistance, there would be even more problems in the royal court.

Problems? What problems?

This conflict isn't exactly a life-or-death situation for Crimea, so... Relying on support from a laguz nation would cause an uproar with the nobility. Is that what you mean?

Yes, unfortunately. I'm ashamed to admit it, but it's the truth.

No. It's common sense, given the history of both our nations. I completely understand. We won't report this to Gallia.

Thank you for understanding. I apologize for troubling you.

No, it is fine.

Lethe is a good example of a minor character going through a development arc outside of support conversations. Lethe used to be militantly anti-beorc, and goddess help any beorc she met who was even slightly not-completely-pro-laguz. A few months in the company of Ike, however, changed all that, and now look at her; all diplomatic and understanding, and even respectful of silly beorc concepts like political tensions.

Why this tactic of rousing the people to rebel against the queen, though? Any laguz who wanted to be king would fight for it with teeth and claws, as is proper. You beorc are always wasting time talking.

...sort of.

Our society is very complex. There's history and tradition, unwritten law and custom. There are lots of reasons for why we--

Bah! Attempts to compromise won't get you anywhere. You should just kill him and get it over with.

She seems to be taking it in good humour, however.

Mordecai feels sad. Poor Queen Elincia... We cannot help her.

That's not true, Mordecai. Having support from you and Lethe is very helpful.

Really? Mordecai will help with anything!

Hmm. I have a great idea. Together with the laguz...




("I'll go too!")

Princess Leanne? Why do I suddenly have a crowd?

She says that she'd like to go.

No, I'm sorry. It's much too dangerous where we're going. I couldn't risk something happening to you.

Hoo hoo! I guess this mangy old coot will be joining the action, then! To ensure my lady's safety, of course.

Sir Nealuchi, as well? Stars above...

Elincia's here, too:




OK... All finished.

What are you doing?

Don't worry about it. It's a secret.

Aha! That was a needle and thread, wasn't it?! Did you just sew something into my collar?

Elincia of Crimea. Warrior Queen. Sewing Ninja.

It's a good-luck charm. To keep you safe while you're away. So you'll come back to me in one piece.

Elincia...

Be careful out there. I'll be praying for you.

Thanks. I'll be back with good news. I promise.

[Received a Talisman!]

Talismans are the stat-up for Resistance.

Finally, Geoffrey;




You can't stop me, Geoffrey.

I know that. But I can try to keep you safe, can't I? So I'd like you to take this.

An elixir? I don't need it. I'm just... I'm not going to fight, you know.

If you don't use it, so much the better. But just hold on to it. For me.

All right.

Promise me you won't do anything stupid. Promise for Elincia and me. And for Bastian.

For you to even mention his name at a time like this... I give up. Sure, I promise. Keep Queen Elincia safe, got it?

Of course. On my life.

[Received an Elixir!]

Elixirs are still total overkill for the time being but there'll come a time when we'll be glad we got another.

That's it for conversations, time for adm-




-er, time for supp-




...huh.

Well, let's at least meet our newest units.







Lucia is a decent swordmaster... for the time being. She suffers from abominable growths, however; 25% strength, 15% defense, 30% luck... everything except skill and speed (and curiously, resistance) is lacking. Fortunately, she'll be usable for the time being, but... she's an unlikely endgamer at best.




She gets free Parity, which is something.




More fortunately (since we're not going to be using her much), Lucia has authority stars, so everyone in our army gets +10 Hit and Avoid, so that's something.







Lethe is... bad... as a fighter. Cats, as we discussed waaaay back in Part 1 Chapter 3, are all about speed and not at all about strength or defense, which means that they're not able to reliably deal damage, and, as laguz, won't be reliably available to deal damage in the first place. On top of that, her combination of high HP and low defense will make her a pain to keep healed, which somewhat inhibits her ability to function as a defender. On top of that, her growths aren't all that, so... yeah.

Lethe has no innate skills.







Mordecai is a Tiger. Like Lethe, he's problematic in that his growths aren't great and you have to plan around his transformation (which, as a Tiger, is slow), but he has his great defense going for him, and like Muarim before him, he is able to tank quite well even when untransformed. When transformed, his low speed will be a nonissue, because he'll be impenetrable. Of course, this is only for the present, and the enemies will catch up to him eventually... but for now, Mordecai is going to be of some use.




Mordecai has Smite as his innate skill. Smite is exactly the same as Shove, except that it sends the shovee two spaces instead of one. The important thing to note is that the user can choose whether to Shove or Smite.




Well, that's all the Base-ing we have time for today.










Please do excuse the sudden visit, Your Grace. Princess Leanne, Lady Lethe... This is Lord Ludveck, duke of Felirae. I was thinking that our laguz guests might enjoy the fine fruits this region is known for. We've traveled quite a long way... I hope it won't be too much trouble.

Don't be ridiculous! I could be nothing but delighted by a visit from you, Lady Lucia. Although I must admit... I would be all the more pleased if you had come such a long way just to see me.




I like that she takes a step back there.

Please, feel free to take your ease. You are welcome to stay in Felirae as long as you desire.













Yep. Ludveck, the man who would be king, stores incriminating documents in a cave. Why does he even have spare copies of letters meant for other people?

Oh, never mind. Videogames.

If we show this to the royal assembly, we'll surely have the backing to indict him. Thank you so much...both of you. We have to quell this uprising before things get out of hand.

If there is no war, we are happy. But if there is war, it is good we came.

Ludveck is poor prey. He hides behind a shield of words, not realizing that words can be seen through.

Yes, and that's quite fortunate for us. But we still have to get out of here without being detected.




("Great! We found them!")

M-my lady! You mustn't raise your voice...

Who's there?! Show yourself!

...




I thought you had returned to the royal palace... What in the world are you doing here?!

Oh ho ho... Forgive us... We just couldn't help but be concerned for you.

("Sorry!")

Well, what can I say? This just means we'll have to be even more careful to get out of here safely.

...Someone is coming.

Guards? This cave has only one exit... I guess that means we do this the hard way. We've obtained enough evidence to indict Ludveck, so there's no point in sticking around. Let's go!




Goddamnit, Leanne.

Now that someone gave our position away, we're going to have to murder our way out of this cave. We win when Lucia arrives on the square at the northeastern corner of the map. Our situation is complicated somewhat by the fact that it's dark and therefore we're in Fog of War, and also by the fact that we have to babysit Leanne and (to an extent) Lethe in a constricted environment.

Goddamnit, Leanne.




Mordecai and Lethe scout ahead, revealing these two guys and also forming a helpful meat-wall.




Torches will illuminate a small chunk of the map for both teams. It's supposed to be a neutral, strategic thing, but because the computer cheats at Fog of War anyway, it's always better to just light all the torches you see.




Heather scouts north, revealing more soldiers. We send in Brom to block them off (and also murder them). Nephenee moves in with a Javelin to finish murdering Brom's leftovers.




Leanne provides Nephenee with a second turn, which she dutifully uses to murder the second of the two guys up here. Annoyingly, Nephenee is poisoned in the attempt.

The enemy turn begins, and...




The enemy immediately attacks Lethe. Miraculously, both of this guy's attacks miss.




Two javelins also come flying at Mordecai, both of which he dodges despite having low, halved speed.

Notice how Mordecai just gained fifteen transform points? Untransformed laguz units gain TP whenever they are attacked and don't/can't counterattack. In other words, whenever some idiot tries to attack Mordecai indirectly, they just speed up his transformation. The same transformation that was made to be slow in order to balance his strength and defense.

Yep.

A few other fools try the direct approach and are facepunched for their trouble, then...







Lovely.

Up north, an archer with a Venin Bow emerges from the shadows to take a potshot at Nephenee, but it fails.




Our turn, and Mordecai gladly begins the slaughter.




Lethe moves away from the front lines, and Heather moves in and swipes a Vulnerary from the injured guard. Meanwhile, Brom and Nephenee murder the Venin Bow wielder.

Leanne uses Vigor on Nealuchi and Heather. Nealuchi heads north to light the torch near Brom and Nephenee. Heather...




...is not heeding the lessons of the previous chapter re: taking risks.




Though she does pretty well for herself nonetheless.




The RNG gods giveth and the RNG gods holdeth back. No matter. There's still time for her training.




The end of turn 2. I wonder what will happen in the Enemy Phase?










I'm okay with this.




Nealuchi and Brom poke around, but find nothing; Nephenee moves to secure this narrow passage, and heals herself for good measure.

Heather finishes the guy who was foolish enough to attack her last turn, and Mordecai leaves another soldier on 2 HP. Leanne gives Heather another turn...




...which she uses to rough up a second guy. Between Heather, Mordecai and Nephenee, these two guys will probably kill themselves next turn.




End of Turn 3.




Javelin man finally manages to hit someone.




2 HP man runs away - there must be a priest around here somewhere. In addition, a mage wanders into view.




Fortunately, it's not a Fire Mage, and he misses Mordecai anyway. Another mage shows up in the north and deals a respectable but non-worrying amount of damage to Brom.




Er...




Right, now I'm worried. Brom is left on 7 HP.




Our turn again, and Mordecai's transform time is almost up, so we send in Lethe.




Liking these odds.




You're a kitty!

(Seriously what is with those bells? What is making them float like that?)




Laguz units also seem to have quite good vision. I knew there was a priest around here somewhere.




Heather disposes of the thunder mage, and also spots the soldier who ran away. (Thieves also have really good vision)




Mordecai comes equipped with Olivi Grass, which he uses here to good effect.




Lucia shoves Leanne into the Vigor-ing range of Mordecai and Lethe, that they might be given additional turns.




Lethe dispatches the runaway...




And discovers a small force of soldiers. The priest doesn't pose much of a threat to us, so instead...




...we send Mordecai to deal with these new enemies.




Up north, it's up to Nephenee to rescue Brom. She easily takes care of the mage, and without taking any damage.




Brom runs away to heal using the only medicine he has - a herb.

Nealuchi just hangs there doing nothing, since he can't transform yet. So ends our turn.

Down south, the new group of enemies display one of those annoying flashes of AI commonsense and all run past Mordecai to attack Lethe.










Lethe survives.




Amusingly, the priest who we earlier allowed to live just sits there doing nothing instead of, say, healing his teammates. Sure, why not?




Another thunder mage shows up and doesn't hurt Nephenee...




And the knight completely fails at hitting Nealuchi. Ravens are really good at dodging, even untransformed.

Well, this went wel-




-oh fuck.




OH FUCK

Fire Emblem is, on a conceptual level, balanced around the idea that critical hits are something the player does to the enemy. In a game where your party leaders (who mustn't die) see frontline action, where every ally has a name and a face but the enemies are a faceless horde, critical hits that deal triple damage are much, much more painful to the player than the enemy. For the most part, enemy stats are balanced such that it is very, very unlikely for enemies to have anything other than a 0% crit chance (although the times where the enemy crits on a 1% chance are even more painful, for obvious reasons). However, enemies with killer weapons are of course outliers in this regard. They are normally first-priority targets - letting an enemy live when they have a >20% crit chance is a stupid idea, but, of course, when Fog of War is in effect you don't always know that they're there. And then they get the jump on you, and of course their one-in-four crit chance triggers, and we are left hurting.

Fortunately, Nephenee still had 8 HP left by the time this guy was through.







So she makes sure the last thing he knows before he dies is how unfair it is to be critted.




As our next turn starts, Lucia comes charging toward the front lines, and Heather pinches another Vulnarary in the confusion.




Then the murder begins.













Aah.




Brom is more than healthy enough to dispose of the mage. Nephenee heals herself.




Nealuchi has finally maxed out his transform gauge and begins murdering the nearby knight appropriately.




End of turn 5. Whatever's hiding in those shadows had better have a spectacular strategy.




Now this is something new. This guy appears to be wielding a crossbow.




It isn't doing him much good though.




Another Venin guy comes out of the woodworks, and just when Nephenee was about to recover from her previous bout of poison. Nephenee makes him pay for his insolence.




And profits greatly from his death. Not only is there a great level gained, but the guy also drops a Vulnerary.




Hrm. Some reinforcements show up from the start point. This would suggest that there's another entrance to this cave somewhere where guards can easily access. Maybe Ludveck's Document Storage Cave isn't so halfassed after all...




This is the new and exciting weapon wielded against Nephenee earlier. It's rather powerful! But... Hmm... is it just me, or is something unusual about this screenshot?




Brom doesn't care, though.




Nephenee runs away to finish healing. I've also done something spectacularly stupid.




Mordecai goes hunting again, and finds this guy hiding in the corner. He's an enemy rogue, and he doesn't seem to have moved for the entire mission. Odd. Wonder what he's doing there? Is that square important?




Lucia finally gets around to killing that priest.

(I can't really put my finger on what exactly, but... something seems really off about Lucia's combat model.)




End of turn 6.




And then our collective heart skips a beat. I totally did not register that the square immediately to Brom's north was traversable, and now I've left Nealuchi in range of an archer. An archer wielding a crossbow.




Hoo boy.

Crossbows are interesting weapons. For a start, they can attack at melee range or regular bow range - like magic - but that's not the interesting part. The interesting part is that they have a set attack power - rather than Str + Mt, crossbows have high Mt but do not include Str in their damage formulae. Ordinarily, this is a bad thing, because archers and warriors (the only non bow-using class that can use crossbows) have quite high strength and the Mt of crossbows, while high, isn't so high to out-damage most bows.

However, when it comes to dealing "effective" damage, things are different. Recall that an "effective" strike triples the Mt of the weapon being used. If you're using an ordinary bow, you'll get maybe 25 extra Mt added to your usual Str. Nice, but not spectacular. If you're facing down an effective crossbow, however, you're looking at a triple strength attack. The weakest crossbow has 24 Mt. When effective, it deals 72 base damage. Yikes.




Thank fuck.




This guy is too dangerous to be left alive. Brom sees to that.




Normally, the nice thing about archers vs flyers is that a flyer can turn the tables on an archer by flying inside their range shadow for a counter-free attack. Of course, you can't do this to crossbowmen, because crossbows don't have a range shadow. If you're going to send a flyer against a crossbowman, you better be damn sure the first strike will be lethal.




Hey, remember that knight that Nealuchi injured a few turns ago? Well, he's wandered down to the south and is getting unacceptably close to Leanne. Nephenee lays down the law re: getting anywhere near Leanne.




Heather has the corner bandit, well, cornered. On top of that, she's spotted the coin in his inventory and takes it for herself before initiating their deathmatch.




Lucia and Nephenee (with a little help from Leanne) are going to take care of the enemies coming in from behind. Lucia will take potshots with her Wind Edge, and Nephenee will finish at melee range. This way, the enemies will all go after Nephenee, which suits me fine because I like Nephenee and I don't like Lucia.




End of Turn 7.

On the reinforcement's front:










Lots of time is wasted.

The first round of Heather's deathmatch...




Goes exactly how the numbers suggest it should.

Whoever's hiding in the northeast doesn't move at all.




Back to our turn, and Nephenee dutifully continues her murder assignment.




Heather, meanwhile, concludes her own.




Brom is still on low-ish health and still getting good mileage out of that one Herb.




Mordecai gets to sniffing out what will be the last pocket of resistance in this mission.




Lucia helps Nephenee out by weakening this gu-




-er, murdering this guy.

The enemy phase...




Is business as usual, really. The enemies in the northeast remain in place - they're guarding that exit and not letting silly things like their foe slowly establishing a massive presence stop them.




Nephenee finishes up with the reinforcements.




Lucia rushes forward toward the exit, meeting Leanne halfway.




Leanne gets a quite acceptable level up in the process.




Brom gets bored and murders the priest to pass the time.




Mordecai also softens up the next guard. This finally gives us eyes on the boss;




Maraj is of interest not because of the moderate threat he poses but because he's carrying a Secret Book which Heather is going to relieve him of as soon as she's done with... wait, what is she doing?

Well, anyway, we end our turn.




Pictured; an enemy general. Generals are good at taking damage but aren't that good at grasping odds. Or knowing when to run.




Our next turn passes uneventfully. With most of the enemy dead and the last not worrying about chasing us, we are free to heal up. Brom takes yet another bite of his Herb.




That's what Heather was doing down there.




Leanne has enough TP to transform. Transforming doesn't do much for Leanne besides giving her an additional point of Move and making her more survivable for all those battles she won't be getting in.

Heather moves up and we advance another turn.




Mordecai gets to murdering the second general guarding the boss.




Brom then disarms him and gets an... okay... level.

Ridiculously, the combined efforts of Lucia and Heather can't quite finish the guy, and he survives on 2 HP.




Maraj decides to go after Mordecai.




It's painful but he can take it.




The general also kills himself on Brom.




Heather helps herself to Maraj's Secret Book. Everyone else gets out of the way - Heather will have to take an Elwind hit but she'll be fine.




Argh! I mean, yes, this is an amazing level and everything but at the same time it really isn't helping! Heather needs Strength if she is to fulfill her destiny. Nevermind. There's still time.

Well, let's get this over with.




The only thing your sniffing about will get you, however, is an abruptly shortened life span!

*yawn*




In any case, Heather hurts him almost as much as he hurts her.

Time to end this.




Nephenee takes it most of the way, but takes a mild beating in the process.




Then, with the aid of Leanne, she finishes the job.

My death...means nothing... Our plan...is perfect... There is... nothing...nothing the queen...can do...




Hell yes.




We're done here.

This way!







We have the documents to prove it.

Queen Elincia, I stand ready to defend the realm! I will lead the Royal Knights into Felirae, and we will seize the duke!

I am hesitant to resort to the sword without at least attempting diplomacy. At all costs, I must stop the people of Crimea from fighting one another.

She's got a point, y'know. The last thing Crimea needs right now is a civil war, and it's not like Ludveck has actually managed to start a w-




-oh. Well, fuck.

The rebellion in Felirae is growing quickly!

I see...

He must have realized that his operations were no longer a secret. Your Majesty, we have no time to waste. We must stand against this, for the future of Crimea!

...I understand. Geoffrey, leader of the Royal Knights... I hereby authorize the use of military force against the rebel army!

Yes, Your Majesty. At once!

I will begin marshalling forces. This rebellion must be stopped... before nobles in surrounding areas catch wind of it.




---




No... I'm sorry. I've got nothing but sore feet and a tired pegasus. I've talked to a few local villagers who say the Greil Mercenaries have been working low-paying odd jobs here and there. Nobody seems to know where they are now, but everyone agrees that this is the first time they've been gone for so long.

("Sir Ike!")

Princess Leanne, please try to keep your spirits high. I assure you, we will continue to investigate Sir Ike's whereabouts.




Oh! Princess Leanne! You spoke?!




That's wonderful! It's hard enough visiting a strange land, let alone learning the languages.




("Not at all!")

Ah... I'd forgotten. The heron tribe can peer into the heart. I can't hide the pain I'm feeling... At least not from you, Princess Leanne.

Queen... El...Elincia.

...Why does this happen?! My people fight, brother against brother... And no matter what I do, I can't stop it! I'm a miserable failure. I just want to crawl into a cave somewhere. How can anyone believe in me now?




("Don't cry. You can count on me.")

...Sniff... I can't... I can't do it anymore...





We took rather more time than perhaps was optimal, what with the hunting for that Discipline scroll, and stealing the Secret Book, and all that, so we don't get any speed bonus. We do, however, get a healthy chunk of BEXP just for clearing the mission, so that's nice.

Coming up next time: You thought the Volunteers in Chapter 1 were suicidal? Hoo Boy.