Part 24: (Part Two, Chapter 3) The part where four knights sloooowly storm a castle
...and make a complete fail of it.Insurrection erupts across Crimea. The wounds Crimea suffered during the conflict with Daein have finally begun to heal, and it should be rejoicing in its hard-won peace. How is it that the fires of rebellion have been lit?
Queen Elincia, close to despair, has nonetheless ordered the Crimean Royal Knights to restore order in Felirae.
We're just dumped straight into the base without much explanation.
Well, it's not like there's no one to talk to in here...
There's an option called "Calill's Shop". It's marked three stars. This sounds profitable!
May I?
Well, speak of the devil! If it isn't General Geoffrey himself. I wouldn't have expected a visit, since you're leaving tomorrow.
Sorry, Amy, but I'm not here as a customer.
Huh? Oh, I see why you're here. It's about time, too. I'm ready to string that blathering drunkard up by his heels.Brace yourselves...
...oh, no, wait, this thread doesn't like Makalov.
Makalov, why are you drinking? You realize that tomorrow we have a battle to fight, yes?
Greetings, General! My, you're looking even more dashing and handsome than usual, Your Excellency. Good grief... That man's an embarrassment. Are you sure he's a Royal Knight? He's like a pig pretending to fly. Why not put a dog in armor and call it "sir"!
...though it seems no one's told Astrid that.
Are you blind, Astrid? It's the night before a mission, and that fool is stinking drunk. Probably gambled all his money away, too. And you! You follow him around mooning over him and cleaning up his messes! Do you have no pride, girl? What the man needs is someone to slap some sense into him. Perhaps I should--
I've chosen to look after Sir Makalov! Nobody's forced me to do it. And it's really none of your business! You know, I'm really starting to wonder about your "good upbringing." Of all the men out there, what possessed you to place your bets on such a shabby prospect? Wh-what did you just say!? There are no gentlemen in this land half as fine as Sir Makalov! Oh my...
Fine, fine. I'm sorry, all right? Happy? So... what was it that you needed with that ale-soaked oaf, anyway? I just wanted to go over our battle plan one last time before retiring.
I heard you're going after the duke of Felirae? You think you can handle him? Of course. However, he's been marshalling his forces for quite some time now. Which means our preparations will have to be flawless if we want to end this quickly. If only I were up to it. You know me. Hah! I'd crush him! I'd kick him apart! Well, I suppose I could go? Someone of my wisdom and power is easily worth two of you clods.
I like this guy.
I'm sorry, but no. Although I do appreciate the enthusiasm. I don't see the problem! Do you think I've gone soft! My magic is still in tip-top shape, I'll have you know! No. It's just that I'm sure Queen Elincia wouldn't be pleased with civilians fighting against their countrymen. Hmm. I suppose you have a point.
Joy, another returning character. Is there a single new protagonist in this chapter?
Devdan! When did you get here? Actually, General... This, uh... This is not Devdan. This is a friend of mine, Danved....what.
Yes, it's true. People often make that mistake. But Danved is definitely not Devdan....
...
Uh-huh. You look exactly like him....
...for what it's worth, you might as well know that if you're transferring Path of Radiance data and managed to get Devdan to cap some stats, the resulting bonuses end up on Danved. Just thought I'd point that out.
Doesn't he?! Amazing, isn't it? Anyway, you can take him with you. Oh, and no pressure, but the fate of our country depends on the Royal Knights. Good luck! Don't blow it! Danved will fight like a bear! like a tiger! We don't need Largo and Calill, because Danved is pretty amazing. Uh... I understand, I think. Thank you for your help.Looks like Geoffrey is as bemused as we undoubtedly all are.
Well, I suppose that's settled. It's time for you to discuss tomorrow's tactics. Good luck with that. As for that useless drunk... I'll have someone carry him over later. Thank you. Sir Makalov is not useless! How many times do I have to say it!? Astrid. It's about time you got back, as well. Y-yes, General! Forgive me! I'll hurry back as soon as Sir Makalov is feeling better! Give me strength... The sooner, the better.Well, that was something.
There's another "old friend" here too...
Sorry to have disturbed your rest.
Not at all! If it were your will, General, I would hasted to the very edge of the world at your calling.Kieran is a "Fire Emblem Character" in much the same way that Ilyana is a "Fire Emblem Character", in that he has exactly one character trait; overenthusiasm. His irrational love of his job as a Crimean Knight is the basis for 100% of his interactions.
Kieran, I'm lucky to have such a devoted follower. This is no reward, but there's something I want you to have. A silver axe!? Th-this is... It's so sharp! Do you mean I can have it!? Do you like it? Like it? My heart is ready to burst! I feel... It's like it's my birthday, and I just got my first suit of armor! Wonderful. I'm glad to hear it. It will look fabulous on the mantel! My family will enjoy it for years to come. I can't tell you how grateful I am....well, OK, maybe Kieran has two traits. That said though, it's pretty difficult to find a conversation that doesn't involve both his pride as a knight and him completely missing the point of something related to fighting.
Kieran, that's an axe, not a painting. Paintings are for mantels. Axes are for fighting. I want you to use that axe. What!? I couldn't! You can't refuse. It's an order. Sigh... Understood, sir! I promise to keep it well protected and free from scratches! Sigh. You're hopeless.For all his point-missing, though, Kieran is quite good at his job - his job being axing people in the face until they die. Or at least, he would be if you guys hadn't voted so overwhelmingly to train Astrid and Marcia instead of him.
Finally, Queen Elincia wants a word.
Well, this conversation sure got interesting quickly.
I asked your servant for it, and he gave it to me. Why would Your Majesty, as queen, do such a thing? Who knows how tangled the web of rumors could become, because of that...Er... is there some sort of lance-based innuendo that I'm missing here? Because I'm not seeing the connection there.
Let the court say what it wishes. You are far more important to me than the whispers of nattering nobles. ...You don't need to say that. Geoffrey... I'm sorry. I don't understand. What's wrong? Three years ago... you fought to free Crimea from the clutches of Daein. While you held this lance, your courage was dauntless and your prowess, legendary. Yes. It's a brave lance, and I'm very proud of it.Oh, I see where this is going. Proceed.
I... I can't have you raise the same lance against your fellow people of Crimea. I'm sorry... I just can't. Your Majesty is worried about the shadow it would cast over my name? The dishonor of using that weapon on Crimeans? I would never want to damage your pride as a knight. It would be too much to bear. Believe no such thing, Your Majesty. My pride as a knight is most deeply rooted in my service to you. That will never waver, no matter what. Elincia... You know that. Then take your lance. Use it to fight for Crimea once again.[Received a Brave Lance!]
"I will, your majesty."
"...why do you have that look on your face?"
"Look? What look?"
"You're going to hand it straight to Marcia, aren't you?"
".........yes."
Well, isn't this a fine crew we have assembled here? The writers would have you believe that these five (plus Danved) constitute the elite fighting force of Crimea. Riiiiight.
Well, let's take a look.
Geoffrey is the closest thing Radiant Dawn has to an actual Jeigan. Accordingly, he's high level and well started, and despite this, he'd still be reasonable as a fighter come the endgame... if not for his terrible availability - even less than the other Crimean Knights. The only character with worse availability is Lucia. Still, though, his high level actually works to his advantage here, since he'll have less catching up to do when the time comes, but... well, there are tons of better people than Geoffrey by then. At least he's going to be pulling his weight in this mission.
Geoffrey's other big plus is innate Paragon. The only reason he gets to keep it for as long as he does is because you are arbitrarily barred from assigning and removing skills in Part 2.
The other nice thing about Geoffrey is that he has three authority stars, so everyone under his command gets +15 hit and +15 avoid. Not too shabby.
Do you like axing? Kieran looooves axing. He's good at dishing out and taking damage, though his speed will quickly start to lack if you're not lucky. That's all you really need to know.
Kieran has the Gamble skill innately. Gamble allows you to double your Crit at the chance of halving your Hit. Sometimes worth it. Usually not.
Astrid is distinguished as a mounted archer. She is also distinguished by having a horribly low level, though her growths are pretty good, and if you put the time in to train her, she can easily become a valuable member of your team. She and Fiona have the highest speed caps of all the cavaliers in the game. So that's something.
Somewhat compensating for her low level is her innate Paragon-ness. Were it not for this, 100% of players would ditch Astrid without a second thought. It's the only thing that makes training her bearable. Especially on this mission, as we'll see.
Meet Makalov
Makalov has no innate skills.
Finally, there's Danved. Danved (who totally isn't Devdan) is a Halberdier basically taking the middle path between Aran and Nephenee. He's a bit faster than Aran (though ultimately slower than Nephenee just slightly) but not as strong or hardy. That's really all there is to say, other than noting the lack of innate skills.
Well, let's get everyone kitted out!
We don't get to use the Forge, but at least we can finally access the shops.
Despite purportedly being some manner of requisitions officer, this guy has some serious hardware in the back room. Pictured; one of every killer weapon, a Horseslayer (which, you guessed it, deals bonus damage to mounted units), a Hammer, and a Steel Longbow. We grab a Killer Bow, a Hammer and a Horseslayer.
We also grab a few Concoctions since we're getting to that time where they're handy.
We also stop by the weapons shop though we don't buy anything. Really, we're just here to share patriotic exchanges with the requisitions officer.
By the time we're done exchanging weapons, Marcia is loaded down with about five different lances and Astrid with a Steel, a Killer and an Iron Longbow.
Finally, we use BEXP to push Astrid to 99 EXP to speed things along.
Let's roll.
Good luck! I'll be sure to keep the palace safe. I'm sorry we couldn't allocate more troops for you. You'll be OK, though, right? Of course. We might even have too many. Actually, I'm more worried about the queen's safety. Make sure the guards stay sharp.
Backup plan? We haven't heard anything about any backup plan. Wha' 'chu talkin' 'bout Lucia?
Good... Hearing you reiterate that makes me feel better, I have to admit. Remember, this isn't for glory. You'll be confronting our own people. Just do your job and come straight back.
4000? My ass. I bet you anything we only get, like, ten.
That means about 2,000 are left in the capital... That's more than I'd expected. ...Hmm, I suppose it can't be helped. The column headed toward Felirae is primarily cavalry, is it not?
Yes, sir. Exactly as you surmise, sir. In that case, the forces at the capital will be led by the queen's confidante, Lady Lucia. This is most perfect. The soldiers remaining at Castle Felirae have been given detailed instructions...false instructions, I might add. The dear pawns. They are so very heroic, and so very disposable.What a surprise! The man trying to get the peasants to revolt is actually a complete dick. I'm shocked. Aren't you shocked?
Ok, so they're well guarded.
We have ten cavaliers and two priests in addition to our crack squadron there.
I told you there wouldn't be 4000.
General, all troops are in position! We stand ready for the assault! Thank you, Kieran. The majority of the castle vanguard appears to be common soldiers. And there's still no sign of Ludveck or any of his subordinates? Correct, sir. And the rest are a bunch of amateurs! You should see them flop around on their horses like rag dolls. They won't last long against the finely tuned skills of our Crimean Royal Knights. Don't get overconfident, now... Most of their forces are likely inside, waiting for us to exhaust ourselves out here. Yes, good point, sir!
And remember, we're not facing enemy soldiers. Yes, they're foolish enough to be lured into joining Ludveck...but they are fellow Crimean citizens. Her Majesty would prefer to capture these rebels alive and try to talk some sense into them. I'm...amazed, sir. Her Majesty's kindness is touching! I'll convey that to all our men. Listen up! We're to sweep aside the rebels and punch through the fortress gate! Her Majesty wants as many lives to be spared as possible! Set lances! All forces, charge!This is the game's way of politely informing us that we will be rewarded (with 200 Bonus EXP) for each enemy soldier still alive at the end of the mission. There are something like 50 soldiers here, so that's a lot of BEXP... only the thing is, they're all trying to kill you, and they're all somewhat low level - not complete pushovers, but they're definitely a threat to everyone not named Geoffrey - so the EXP you get from killing them will be wasted.
However, let's do the math on this. Recall the Bonus EXP formula - you need 50 + (50 * X) BEXP to go from Lv X to Lv (X + 1). Astrid - the most likely benefactor of all this - is effectively Lv 22, so about 1100 BEXP are needed per level. That means that 200 BEXP are worth about 18 regular EXP. But with her Paragon skill, she'll be getting about that for killing people normally.
Therefore, our plan for this mission will be to have Astrid kill stuff for a while, and only claim BEXP from the leftovers. Marcia will also do some killing, but not as much, since she's higher level and doesn't need the training as much.
Oh, did I mention that we wouldn't even be bringing Makalov and Danved? That's right, Geoffrey, Kieran, Marcia and Astrid are doing this by themselves (Kieran is mandatory).
Here's a better look at what we're up against:
Our basic strategy will be pretty much unchanged throughout the mission; Geoffrey and Kieran are going to unequip their weapons and distract enemies from Marcia and Astrid who will duly murder as many of them as possible. Because Astrid can basically only murder one person a turn, we're going to be stalling for a long time.
you bought this on yourselves
Well, here goes nothing.
Marcia wastes no time getting straight to business. The Horseslayer is right at home in this mission.
The Killer Bow is going to be Astrid's crutch until she gets her strength and speed up a bit. This time round, it doesn't crit, however.
But it does get her her first level, and it's decent!
Geoffrey and Kieran wander into the middle of the battlefield and unequip their weapons. They prepare for an attempted beatdown.
If you were so inclined, you could use the Crimean Knights to assist your charge. They're actually quite effective - because the enemies are underlevelled - but of course they won't be concerned with not wantonly slaughtering all the enemies, because the AI isn't concerned with plot consistency, it's concerned with screwing you over. So I told them to run away.
Enemy turn.
This is about the only thing worth reporting. Otherwise, five guys attacked Geoffrey (one hit for 3 damage), and two others missed Astrid. No one attacked Kieran.
Some reinforcements show up from the gate in the west. This is going to be a theme of the next few turns.
Paladin crits are usually pretty ridiculous, and Bow Paladins are no exception. Astrid's horse runs around in a very tight circle and this somehow causes her arrow to deal triple damage. 'kaaaay.
For the sake of my sanity and yours, we're going to switch into speed-summarizing mode for a little while.
6 enemies miss Geoffrey, a soldier does another 12 damage to Astrid. 2 enemies attack Kieran, dealing 2 damage.
Turn 3; Marcia cuts a guy down with the Horseslayer, Astrid doubles a guy with the Killer Bow but still doesn't crit. Enemy phase, 4 guys miss Geoffrey, 1 misses Kieran, and a guy attacks Marcia and gets wrecked by her.
Reinforcements also show up in the northeast.
Turn 4; Marcia takes 11 damage Brave Lancing a guy to death, Astrid kills a guy. Kieran is forced to actually kill a guy due to him being maybe able to kill Astrid.
Geoffrey is doing fine, thanks for asking. Enemy phase; six guys miss Geoffrey, two enemy cavaliers charge at the Bishops in the Crimean Army; neither one kills their mark and both get reduced to half health by light magic.
Turn 5; Astrid and Marcia kill the aforementioned two half-health guys. One of them drops a Steel Lance, which Marcia takes up. Enemy phase; Marcia takes another 11 damage, 4 guys each fruitlessly attack Geoffry and Kieran.
Turn 6;
Astrid is finally forced to run away to heal. Marcia follows suit. Geoffrey and Kieran hold their ground. Enemy phase; 6 enemies waste their time on Geoffrey and Kieran. Another is countered to death by Marcia.
Even more reinforcements arrive.
Turn 7;
A few enemies are slow enough for Astrid to double, like this one, who gets critted on the second shot.
Despite only being two stats, they're the two stats I want the most for Astrid, so that's something.
Business as usual for Marcia. She crits. Geoffrey and Kieran heal.
Note; Geoffrey has now reached Choke Point Alpha.
Enemy phase; 5 enemies attack Geoffrey, 3 Kieran. Geoffrey has now trapped an entire column of cavaliers in the narrow area to the west of the map. They could escape by doubling round to the north, but the AI is too stupid to realize this.
Even more reinforcements cram into said area.
Turn 8;
Cleaning up the leftovers now. Note the fighter to the right of this screenshot. He's going to be stationary right up till the end of the mission. Yep.
Now that Geoffrey's in Point Alpha, we need to work on clearing the way through to the next strategic point; the fence to Marcia's north. Once that's blocked off, we'll have the enemies more or less cut off, and Astrid can kill people at her leisure until she's ready to move on. To wit,
Kieran takes over Point Alpha and Geoffrey heads north. Enemy phase; 4 guys miss Geoffrey, one misses Kieran. Note that the narrow column is now so packed that there's nowhere for the cavaliers to retreat to when they hit-and-run, so they can't all attack Kieran.
Also, a guy attacks Astrid but he misses too.
Turn 9;
Marcia softens this guy up so Astrid can finish him.
Astrid moves to this one square here. At this point is a hole in the fence through which she can shoot; hopefully, any cavaliers with Hand Axes or Javelins will take the bait and take shots at her. And if not, she can just fire through on her turns.
Enemy phase;
It works! A few of the enemies here are a cut above the rest; they're pre-promoted and have better weapons. They're not all that dangerous on the whole, but watch out for them. Also, lots of enemies fail to really damage Geoffrey and Kieran, shockingly.
Turn 10;
Astrid rolls the dice...
And wins big.
Marcia continues her rounds and gains a quite acceptable level.
Enemy phase;
There's an annoying group of enemies descending from the northeast. One is a mage. We should probably deal with him.
More guys than I could count attacked Geoffrey, Kieran and Marcia. I think maybe one of them hit.
Turn 11;
Marcia is sent in to deal with the mage. The mage is dealt with. Astrid gains another level;
Lacking, but it has strength, and that means it's acceptable. Enemy phase; the usual procession of attempted violence. Kieran actually takes a bit of a beating but it's nothing a Concoction won't completely invalidate.
Even more reinforcements enter. Christ, it's crowded in there.
Turn... oh sod it, you all know how this is going to go. Skipping ahead... blocking... misses Geoffrey... Astrid crits... oh, here's something interesting!
Geoffrey's taken so many hits that he levels up. That's something. Right. More slow progress...
At long last, we spot a chance! Marcia murders a guy out of the way...
And Geoffrey finally reaches Choke Point Bravo. The guys in the western section are now completely cut off from us. Only by going through the northeast gate can any of them reach us. Only three guys are left in range of Astrid - she and Marcia are more than able to clean them out.
Kieran moves up slightly. There's a small chance that the freed cavaliers might go after the Crimean Army but who cares?
A few turns later, Marcia spots a Bow Knight in among the crowd of cavaliers. She quickly swoops in to deal with him.
Turn 18 rolls around, and I decide we've stalled long enough. It's now time to initiate Phase Three.
Geoffrey and Kieran together move to Choke Point Charlie. Marcia quickly murders a guy (who drops a Steel Blade) then flies over to join them.
Astrid joins them also; the knight into whose range she has ducked has a Javelin, so she'll be able to counterattack him.
The idiots obligingly chase us around to the east. The knight also obligingly attacks Astrid...
...and gives her a friggin' amazing level.
On the following turn, Astrid and Marcia clean up the nearby enemies, with Marcia guarding to the north for the time being. Geoffrey and Kieran also move up their barrier somewhat.
Ow. Marcia and Astrid are officially in catapult range. Catapults can target a small area (one square and the four squares adjacent to that). The middle square will receive full damage according to the strength of the catapult, and the outer squares will receive half damage. Marcia and Astrid take 3 and 6 damage respectively (the catapult has 22 Mt - and 5 ammo).
In the course of defending Astrid, Marcia gets this sparse but useful level.
Time for Phase Four of our plan. Marcia begins the process of clearing out the northeastern area, making very sure to keep out of archer range. Not only is Marcia weak to bows, but she's potentially at a ledge disadvantage - so she won't even be able to dodge.
Astrid, Kieran and Geoffrey all move north. Geoffrey assumes the guard position at Choke Point Delta. We are now stoping the cavaliers from approaching their own castle. None of them are smart enough to circle west and attack us that way.
...y'know, Ludveck really wasn't kidding about these guys.
This hurts Astrid for 12 damage, and Geoffrey and Kieran for... something insignificant.
Ah, now here's something. This guy attacking Kieran, here, has a Bowgun. That makes him a Priority Target, because he can completely ruin Marcia's day.
Accordingly, Kieran makes with the axing.
This is why you don't want to let these guys get anywhere near Marcia.
Thinking about it, this is the first mission that lets us really take advantage of having a flyer. The missions in Part 1 where Jill was available were all not really suited to her, and the one that was had her unavailable. The mission earlier in Part 2 with Elincia was set in the sky, so flyers weren't really "special" there. Here, though we start to appreciate their value - Marcia can fly over any of these walls at no extra cost than flying over empty space. She doesn't need to find gaps, she can just zip up onto a ledge, murder, say, a catapult operator, and zip back down again out of archer range. It's unspeakably useful.
This guy right here is a kind of mini-boss. He's a Halberdier, he's quite able to throw down with our guys (well, more able than the other enemies here) and he has a Short Spear, the next step up from a Javelin. None of this stops Kieran and Astrid from tearing him apart, however.
More importantly, he drops a Speedwing, which is pretty awesome.
Next turn, we send Kieran up the steps to antagonize the two archers up there. We want them dead because Marcia has her eye on that northeastern area. She has a plan for it.
When you think about it, this is actually kinda ridiculous. They're using their own catapults to attack people inside their own fortifications. Well, anyway, the two archers turn out to be as good at missing Kieran as the rest of the soldiers.
After a few turns, while Astrid passes the time by taking potshots at the guys near Geoffrey, Kieran takes out the last archer. We're ready to begin Phase Five.
Also, this. Her speed is coming along nicely, though I worry about her defense.
Marcia assumes her position. She's going to spend the rest of the mission starting and finishing each turn in this square (or thereabouts).
From here, she can attack the boss. Tashoria here is kinda sorta a threat; he's a swordmaster, and he has a heretofore unseen sword - a Wo Dao, which is basically a Killing Edge, only very slightly lighter, very slightly weaker, very slightly more accurate, and 10% less likely to crit. That said, +20 to crit is still a threat when it's on an enemy, so we need to take it seriously. Marcia can survive a crit and a regular hit from this guy, though, so she takes out the Brave Lance and goes to town.
Funny story...
We'll be heroes! Adored, and showered with riches!And the turn after...
More skill and speed for Marcia. Tashoria is also nice enough to relinquish his sword, which is promptly sent to the convoy.
Duke... Duke Ludveck... Where are...our reinforcements...?"Didn't anyone tell you? We're the reinforcements. You see that guy in the blue armour by the eastern gate? Him and an archer have been singlehandedly holding that gate against like twelve guys for the last five turns. What more do you want?"
Time for the Final Phase. Geoffrey's needed elsewhere, so Kieran takes over the gate guarding duty. Marcia remains at her post.
Without a thief or any keys handy, we're required to deal with this door the old fashioned way - i.e, with violence.
There's only one problem. See the western stairs? The cavalier right at the bottom of the stairs has a Horseslayer. He can bring Geoffrey down to about 5 health in a single attack. It is in our interests to not have this happen. But where there's a will...
...
...
...
...
...that sound is me having a heart attack. I forgot to remove Kieran's Silver Axe before putting him on guard duty. FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
-UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
-UUUUUUUUUuuuuu-
Jesus Christ Kieran, you nearly killed them all!
Well, there's 2000 BEXP straight down the shitter.
Geoffrey makes his charge.
Marcia finishes with the door...
If you were wondering where the rest of the failknights went, they've been chasing after the Crimeans most of the time. They finally managed to kill one last turn. Truly, these are quality soldiers.
Anyway, here's my brilliant plan working. Three units have already attacked and surrounded Geoffrey before the Horseslayer guy can move. This causes Geoffrey to not be in Horseslayer guy's range, causing him not to move. Wonderful.
Marcia gets this guy out of the way. Funny thing - this guy's actually a Bowgun wielder, but he's switched to his other weapon, so Marcia can safely attack him now.
He messes her up somewhat, though, so she retreats up here.
Geoffrey can't quite make it to the objective, so he hangs out here. This is out of Horseslayer guy's range, by the way.
There's just time for one last level for Astrid, though. It's... meh.
A slightly confusing thing; the general design of the map makes it seem as though Geoffrey has a ledge disadvantage against this longbowman, but actually, he's fine.
One more for the road...
And we're outta here.
General Geoffrey! No sign of the Felirae regulars, is there? ...No. This was clearly a ruse. Duke Felirae's main force is most likely en route to the capital. But how?! Quickly! Rally the troops! We must return to Melior at once! Don't panic! They want us to act rashly. Settle down. We have contingencies in place. Light the flares to notify the capital. Move, man! Scout commander! It's very likely we'll be ambushed on the way back to the capital. Don't let anything escape your notice! We may need an alternate route back to the capital... Send some men out to investigate the old highway. Those of you who remain, disarm the prisoners and tend the wounded! Let's move, everyone!---
Hey, wait... Are you telling me that you knew about this all along? We knew the duke was up to no good. But if we had known about the decoys, we wouldn't have sent the Royal Knights to Castle Felirae. I suppose I'm just surprised that Lord Ludveck, the supposed epitome of nobility, would so willingly sacrifice his followers. You know...you play a pretty deep game, woman. We all do, wouldn't you say? Her Majesty is at Fort Alpea. We're due to hear from her at any moment. I'll go check on that. Sharp as a tack, aren't we? I think I'll excuse myself, then... Actually, there's one more thing... I want you to wait here a little longer. If all goes as planned, I'll be back shortly with your payment. Then you may do as you wish. And if all doesn't go as planned? Then set out for Fort Alpea and alert the queen. I'll also send a messenger to Geoffrey. Thank you.
---
...Well? Any news from Queen Elincia?
Yes, me. I was very hurt by how cruelly you manipulated me, my lady. And I am not easily wounded. Lord Ludveck... How did you... My lady, I am certain to know of any and all facts that concern your activities. My dear, lovely Lucia. Oh yes, it was quite some time ago that I was informed of both this place and your network of shadowy assistants. Ah. I would like to know one more thing... Something only you are aware of. ...Where the queen is currently hiding. Good luck finding that out. Perhaps it's a little place called...Alpea? All that foolishness... the ruses, the informers, the secret flight from the palace... Ha ha ha... All that effort, wasted. ...Is that so? Hm? I can see that my lady still retains secrets. Would it trouble you so much to tell them to me? To you, Lord Ludveck? I am afraid there is nothing to tell. Lady Lucia... I'm done with these games. You'll tell me whatever I wish to know... But I believe I already know your secret. We shall see....well, fuck. Ludveck's played Lucia and Geoffrey both for fools. However are we going to get out of this one?
We could've gotten ~5400 out of the Red Army if not for my momentary fuckup. God. Fucking. Damnit.
Well, this mission was a complete tactical disaster. But hey, you voted to get Astrid and Marcia levels, and that, at least, we have done. So it's not all for naught!
Coming up next time: Elincia stops fucking around.