Part 29: Thanks for All the Spears

Chapter 2: Thanks for All the Spears



There once was a monarch named Hayden
Who didn't need a lot of persuadin'
For the heir of Renais
To be sent on her way
Else he'd have to put up with the maiden.



I might have to work on the poetry for later chapters.





: ...Stomachache.



Sounds like a real crisis.



These bandits are at just the right amount of speed that a lot of our units can't double them, and the ones who can are either too strong to be fighting right now or too weak to finish them in a single fight.



Bone is a similar case, albeit with slightly better stats than his fellows.



Our strategy remains unchanged. We get Ross over to Moulder, we drop him off...



And then he drinks a vulnerary. That's different.



: And you are?

: I am...um...

: Avast, ye! I am the feared mercenary...Erina! Scuttle the scallywags and blow down the yardarm! Umm...arr?

: ...Right.



Inconveniently, NPC Garcia actually manages to kill the bandit facing him. There goes that experience down the toilet.



At least we can recruit Ross and send him right back.



Using the old trading shenanigans, we send Franz on a shopping spree again. I am now full of iron.



As I said, Franz can't double these guys. Really irritating.



Meanwhile, Garcia continues his murderous and wasteful killing spree.



Curiously, all of Gilliam's hits came up aces this fight. Quite impressive.



Fleeing the crazy man with an axe, the archer tries his luck with the shrimp instead, giving Ross...



50 experience? I know that Serenes Forest doesn't mention any alterations to the experience formula for Hard Mode, but gains have been kind of low as of late. I'll have to look into this further.



: Son, I want you to sit on the bench next round.

: But-

: No buts. I'm the father, and what I say goes.

: Awwwww...



So right now, I've got a bit of a problem. The reinforcement brigands are coming down from their side of the mountain while Bone and his buddies are coming down theirs. Guess it's time to barricade.



Can you see the flaw in this airtight formation?



I really don't know where my head is, sometimes.



Oh, and you notice how this brigand appears to be taking an interest in something up there?



Yup. I wonder how I missed that.



Seth goes on his usual collecting spree. I'd have him beat up Bone, but distracting that brigand has actually had a side effect of taking off some of the pressure on my dudes. I should use villages to bait the AI more often.



New airtight formation, for real this time.



: Oh, me? I'm a member of the knights of-



: Ow.



Vanessa isn't much use on this map in terms of fighting, given all the tough guys with axes, but she is a convenient speedy unit. That's an elixir for us.



Oh, come on, Eirika! I wanted to soften that guy up for Garcia.



Never mind.



Once again, inexplicably accurate.



Franz gets his revenge.



But Bone has the last laugh.



Yeah, you'd think that we had the bandit boxed in here.



But remember, they can walk right over mountains.



While Ross gets the tar beaten out of him, Vanessa has a fight of her own. As I said, she is really ill-suited to fighting these guys.



I know that some of you requested that I give Ross no love this run, but I just wanted to be sure that I was making the right decision first.



Yeah, I think so.



And as Franz covers a few important areas, we break for plot.





: You just let someone take your bracelet, didn't you.

: It won't happen again, I promise!

Next Time: The Boogaloo Bandits of Borneo.