Part 27: Open Fire - Part 2

Last time, we made our way into the walled city of Tahra, reuniting Leaf with Linoan. Joined by Dean and his younger sister Eda, we prepared to meet an enemy siege on the city, led by Paulus and Balduk. Joining us in today's battle are Othin, Havan, Marita, Karin, Safy, Tina, Salem, Asvel, Lara, Nanna, Fin, Dean and Eda.



Let me (re)explain the map a little bit. First, the red circles are again ballistas. The red arrows are weak areas in the wall that the enemy will break through, meaning there are essentially 4 main chokepoints, with other potential chokepoints further within Tahra's walls. Then, there are three different kinds of houses. The houses with blue roofs are impassable, the ones with yellow roofs are passable but not visitable, and the red roofed houses can be visited, although only the ones circled in blue give you anything. However, 3 non-rewarding houses have to be visited to get to 14x, with 6 being ideal. Our goal is simply to survive for ten turns.





To start, we send Eda west to a shop to buy ourselves another heal staff, we're running low and have a lot of characters that could benefit from some staff exp.



This is the first of the six villages we want to visit.



Next, Nanna visits one of the actually interesting houses.

---





You see, this is my last night here. I want to make love to you all, but I've only got one body, so... Ow! Whoa, babe, what was that for!?
What are you thinking!? Even the children and the elderly are working hard to protect this city! And you're just sitting here drinking in broad daylight... You should be ashamed!"
H-Hey, you don't have to cry. Okay, okay, I'll help you out, all right? But I'm not strong, so don't give me any heavy work...

And with that, the charming Homeros joins our little gang. Now, imagine we'd talked to him with someone who wasn't Nanna:

With a child:

What do you want, kid? I'm taking a nap. Go home.

I have no idea who actually fits this requirement, as Nanna is actually tied for the youngest person in our army. Did I not mention that? Yup

With a man:

I have no need for men. Go away.

With a woman other than Nanna:

Uhm... Sorry, but I've kinda got my hands full tonight.

---



...He's got a stamina drink. Oh you.



He's also got Elite! Unsurprisingly, Homeros is a fantastic unit. He belongs to the SNES games' prized class, the bard, which here is pretty much a mage that can use Light magic and has a slightly better promotion. That's right, a better promotion. Right now Homeros is weak, but between Elite and his great growths that won't last for long (although I played this map aggressively, which didn't give him a chance to get too many levels.) He also brings with him our first Light magic tome, Lightning. The normal weapon triangle for magic is Wind beats Thunder, Thunder beats Fire, and Fire beats Wind, however Light (and Dark) magic both trump all of these. As a weapon, Lightning is stronger and heavier than all non-dark magic, with a higher crit chance too. It's also incredibly rare, but not really good enough to be worth hording.



No, I'm not crazy. Between Nanna and Leaf's charisma skills, Karin's chance of being hit by one of the ballistas doesn't even make it into the double digits.



Now, you may remember Paulus from the pre-battle update. He's an impediment to us in every sense of the word, he brings 4 leadership stars to the enemy force, and guards the village possessing Dean's Dragon Lance. As well, Paul belong to a new class, the enemy only Baron class. Barons are enemy only because they're incredibly strong; they can use every weapon type except for Light and Dark magic, and they all have the Big Shield skill, which gives them a Level% chance of nullifying any incoming damage. Now, this is a hard map, and reaching the village is even harder. Getting rid of Paulus would be to our advantage, both when reaching the village, and to weaken the enemies by taking away their Leadership stars. Conventional strategy is to warp Dean to the village and rescue him afterwards, I take a slightly different approach.



I can't use sleep again until I get a new one, unless I want to repair this one, as there's a certain point in the game where you need sleep to recruit a character.





wheeeeee



And with that, we've captured the enemy leader. Of course, this should pretty much lead to Fin dying instantly, so we're not done yet.



This is why Lara came (well, one of the reasons.)





Safy uses the rescue staff we got a long time ago to bring Fin back to safety.



Damn it Safy, you really aren't doing so hot. If Seram hits an A in staves he may actually be a good replacement for Safy. Admittedly, that probably won't be for a while, if ever, so for now Safy stays, regardless of her bad levels.



This was a very packed first turn. Beyond what I showed, I also moved Ronan, Havan and Othin west with Marty, and sent Asvel west with Karin, Leaf and Nanna. Marita laughs at things like "formations" and charges down the center, taking the Dain scroll from an accidentally dismounted Dean.





Here we go.



With Paulus captured, the enemy ballistas are so inaccurate that they don't even go for the potential one hit kill on Karin. Instead, they go the low risk, low reward path and attack Leaf. On the other side of the map, Othin ends up on the business end of a ballista bolt.







Here's why I put Karin into the danger zone. First, she divebombs this ballista...





And then gets refreshed by Lara, ridding us of any ballistas on the east side. All our squishy characters are going to congregate on this side now.



Nanna heals Leaf, and the pair move into the alley between houses. Asvel visits another one of the sidequest houses.

[Nanna: Lv. 19, Hp: 30, Str: 11, Mgc: 6, Skl: 14, Spd: 15, Luk: 18, Def: 5, Bld: 7] I don't know what you think you're doing Nanna, but I approve.



Don't worry guys, I know what I'm doing.





We get some awesome weapons! And then a pretty depressing release quote. Don't do anything stupid Paulus, I like you .



Meanwhile, Seram heals Othin with one of our many psychic staffs, getting an effective but minimalist level, while Fin heads to the western group.



Spearheaded by Othin, the western group prepares for the enemy assault.





Now imagine if Othin were Dashin right now. Wouldn't be pretty would it? What I'm saying is, always check enemy equips. And Dashin kind of sucks.

[Othin: Lv. 15, Hp: 40, Str: 9, Mgc: 1, Skl: 9, Spd: 14, Luk: 12, Def: 6, Bld: 18] Othin really needs more strength, so this is pretty good.



And so it begins...



[Marita: Lv. 6, Hp: 27, Str: 6, Mgc: 2, Skl: 10, Spd: 16, Luk: 10, Def: 4, Bld: 5] We're off to a good start



The reason Marita isn't dying here is because she's benefiting from charisma from both Leaf and Nanna. It's still somewhat risky, but each time she kills someone, she becomes appreciably harder to kill.



[Marita: Lv. 7, Hp: 28, Str: 7, Mgc: 2, Skl: 11, Spd: 17, Luk: 10, Def: 5, Bld: 5]

See what I mean?



[Marita: Lv. 8, Hp: 29, Str: 8, Mgc: 3, Skl: 12, Spd: 18, Luk: 11. Def: 6, Bld: 5, Mov: 7] Alright, some more move!

The enemies decide that they've had enough of dying for the moment, and focus their attention on the west side.





Apparently Havan is more desirable ballista bait then Othin. I'm not complaining, because Othin's the one holding the gap.



Marita gets hit for the first time.



It doesn't seem to slow her down.

[Marita: Lv. 9, Hp: 30, Str: 9, Mgc: 4, Skl: 13, Spd: 19, Luk: 12, Def: 7, Bld: 5]



Marita: Lv. 10, Hp: 30, Str: 10, Mgc: 4, Skl: 14, Spd: 20, Luk: 12, Def: 7, Bld: 5] I think this is worse level she gets all map.



Marita: Lv. 11, Hp: 31, Str: 11, Mgc: 5, Skl: 15, Spd: 20, Luk: 13, Def: 8, Bld: 5]





Marita: Lv. 12, Hp: 32, Str: 12, Mgc: 6, Skl: 16, Spd: 20, Luk: 13, Def: 9, Bld: 5]





While Marita pretty much butchered the entire eastern force (), Othin and friends are still facing a horde of enemies.





Fin kills one of the few remaining armors to the east.



This leaves Asvel open to do this. I'd be lying if I said this wasn't risky, I'd forgotten the Master Lance also attacks at a range (I knew the axe does, and the sword doesn't, but I'd thought the Axe was the unique one there.) But good things don't come to people afraid of taking risks!

Let's see if you can defeat me!



No... This can't...be...

And Asvel comes out swinging with a critical.

[Asvel: Lv. 5, Hp: 35, Str: 0, Mgc: 14, Skl: 14, Spd: 20, Luk: 9, Def: 7, Bld: 6] Unfortunately, the game decides not dying was all the luck Asvel gets.



I had meant to do this before hand, to avoid any crits from Balduk, but he still desperately needs it for what he's going to do next.



Marita dives headfirst into some enemies she somehow hasn't already killed.



Just in case, she gets healed by Seram.



Karin attacks one of the two bow armors left to the east, nearly killing him.



This lets Homer nab himself a kill.



Lara dances and lets Karin move again. She then procs a movement star...







And lets Karin finish the job. Dancers with movement stars are the best





Dean makes it to a third sidequest house, procs a movement star, and goes and captures and unsuspecting priestess. He and Asvel are in charge of making their way to the house with Dean's Dragon Lance, while Karin's going to get the other house to the south-east.

Oh, before I end my phase, Ronan kills one armor from a distance.





They just keep coming, don't they?





[Fin: Lv. 15, Hp: 33, Str: 12, Mgc: 2, Skl: 9, Spd: 15, Luk: 8, Def: 9, Bld: 9] This is pretty mediocre, although Luck is a great stat for Fin due to his Prayer skill.



This is bad, isn't it? Damn mage got a critical.





[Othin: Lv. 16, Hp: 41, Str: 10, Mgc: 1, Skl: 9, Spd: 14, Luk: 12, Def: 6, Bld: 18]

By some miracle, Othin fights through another mage and six armors without dying. For reasons I don't quite understand, one decides Marita is a better use of his time, attacking her with a javelin.



Othin heals, and I decide in light of his near death experience it's time for the Marty Party.



[Marty: Lv. 2, Hp: 53, Str: 19, Mgc: 7, Skl: 11, Spd: 18, Luk: 13, Def: 19, Bld: 20] Marty views bad growths as a challenge, not an obstacle.



Ronan helps too. Kind of. He gets an empty level for his troubles. Ronan lacks Marty's unflappable spirit in the face of being a supposedly terrible unit.



The ballista near the house has an extraordinary 15 range. Dean parks himself just outside of its range, while Asvel gets ready to go on what may be a suicide mission. Meanwhile, Karin kills the armor she was fighting, and flies towards the second house.



Fin gets supported by both Nanna and Leaf, meaning that with their Charismas, he's getting 40 extra avoid by being near them. Between that and Prayer, he's nearly untouchable.



[Marita: Lv. 13, Hp: 33, Str: 13, Mgc: 7, Skl: 17, Spd: 20, Luk: 14, Def: 9, Bld: 5]





[Marita: Lv. 14, Hp: 34, Str: 11, Mgc: 7, Skl: 17, Spd: 20, Luk: 14, Def: 9, Bld: 5] Okay, I lied, this is the worse level she gets all map. It's dramatically uphill from here on out though.



Eda gets one more of the sidequest houses.



And here they come, from both sides. Fin's going to hold them off with his super avoid, while Homer hopefully manages to get some levels.



While one or two enemies kill themselves on Marty and Marita, the rest seem to realize attacking Marty is a lost cause and start heading around Tahra's walls.



On the other side, Fin dodges everything thrown his way, while softening up some armors.



---





Or maybe... you are the deceased mayor Our reward for making it to this village is the Resire tome, a heavy, B rank light magic tome that heals its user for the damage it deals. Fairly useful, although its heavy weight means doubling is almost out of the question. It's also much better on the enemy phase, as you heal before you get attacked, not after.

---



Asvel moves just outside the ballistas range.



[Homer: Lv. 6, Hp: 24, Str: 0, Mgc: 6, Skl: 4, Spd: 11, Luk: 11, Def: 2, Bld: 6] Build? I am so confused. Magic is nice though, as his magic growth isn't fantastic.

Fin kills the second armor.







Marty takes down the ballista with some help, while Havan makes his way to the eastern front with some help from Lara.



That's unfortunate.

[Marita: Lv. 15, Hp: 34, Str: 15, Mgc: 8, Skl: 18, Spd: 20, Luk: 15, Def: 9, Bld: 5] That's more fortunate.

She gets attacked by a bow armor as well, but dodges that.



Fin dodges everything yet again, and weakens some more armors. At the same time, two armors and a mage press into the Tahra's walls, accomplishing little.



Karin weakens the armor, getting a highly uncharacteristic level.

[Karin: Lv. 20, Hp: 34, Str: 11, Mgc: 9, Skl: 13, Spd: 20, Luk: 20, Def: 9, Bld: 5] Defense and Build is always welcome on Karin. No matter what. She also hits level 20, making her eligible for promotion.



[Homer: Lv. 7, Hp: 25, Str: 0, Mgc: 7, Skl: 4, Spd: 12, Luk: 13, Def: 2, Bld: 6] This is pretty good, defense and build are rare enough for Homer that this is all you can really hope for.







Convoy! Marita's sword is almost broken, so we ferry a short sword across the map to her. She then heals with one of her vulneraries.









Our forces make short work of the mage and armors.

[Havan: Lv. 17, Hp: 39, Str: 13, Mgc: 2, Skl: 11, Spd: 14, Luk: 7, Def: 9, Bld: 16]



Here he goes! Let's pray he doesn't die. Meanwhile, Marty kills the last ballista in the west, while Marita takes down another foe.

Marita: Lv. 16, Hp: 35, Str: 16, Mgc: 8, Skl: 19, Spd: 20, Luk: 16, Def: 10, Bld: 5]



Pictured is why Asvel had the Hezul scroll. That said, this is not good at all.



Oh god duck! He also dodges a bolting tome, although it only had a 1 percent chance of hitting, and couldn't kill him anyways.



Marita does an admirable job holding the west.



Fin takes two hits in a row, his evasion suddenly failing him (I accidently moved Nanna too far away for him to benefit from her Charisma or support bonus), while Karin dodges some mages. Not that they could really hurt her anyways.



Nanna heals him the following turn.



It's promotion time



The promotion to Pegasus Knight gives her +2 Strength, Magic, Skill, and Speed, as well as +1 Defense, Build and Move, and a pretty rad helmet. Not shabby, but not fantastic either (except for the helmet). You may have noticed no promotions give Hp or luck, which is highly unfortunate.



I'm really glad Asvel got a point of move, or else he's probably have to risk another bolt from the ballista.



Dean can shrug off even a critical hit from bolting so long as he doesn't take any other damage.



Asvel gets healed from a distance by psychic.



Ronan visits another one of the sidequest villages.



We've made it out of the most dangerous part of the map, as enemy reinforcements aren't coming anymore. All that's left is to play clean up with the remaining enemies.



Between Marita and Othin, this doesn't prove all that difficult.

[Marita: Lv. 17, Hp: 36, Str: 17, Mgc: 8, Skl: 20, Spd: 20, Luk: 17, Def: 10, Bld: 5]



Two more armors die by Asvel's hand.



There aren't many enemies left on the east side either.



And they miss.



Back on our phase, Dean captures the bishop.















We clean out some of the enemy stragglers. Tina actually does something!



...This can't be good.

---





We are here as allies of the Empire. Whatever you do, don't fight them.



Don't waste it.
Of course, your Majesty.

---



Okay, so I'm not sure I really understand, but I guess they're on our side? I mean, we've got a handle on things, but I suppose they could've been useful.



Oh. Fuck you game!





What? I mean seriously, what? This has to be least likely level up Karin could possible get.



These guys aren't much of a threat, they're all quite weak and whether or not they even move seems to be quite arbitrary.



To start, Fin kills one more armor back east.



Marita heals and moves into the range of some enemies.



And finally, Dean visits the village.

---





Being a pain in the ass, that's what!


You haven't changed, have you, Dean? I came all this way to give you this spear.

You call right next to the boss and a ballista "all this way"? You suck

Spear...? But...this is Lord Arione's Dragon Lance...
He wants you to use it. He was saying that it is his apology to you for making you a traitor.
It was me who chose to leave the army. I appreciate the offer, but I can't take this.
Dean, don't step on my brother's kindness. If you won't take it, I will order you as the queen of Thracia.
Haha... I'm no longer a knight of Thracia... But very well. I can't go against Lady Altena's orders. I will take this Dragon Lance for now.
Good... Dean, protect Linoan with that spear. Linoan and my brother are to be wed... I'm sure Arione would have liked to protect her himself, but he can't leave the country for very long. I think that's why he gave the spear to you.
...I think you've misunderstood, Lady Altena... Please don't worry about Lady Linoan. I will protect her in place of Lord Arione!

After that ordeal, we get ourselves Dean's Dragon Lance. It's very powerful (16mt), has the brave effect, gives the ambush skill, and has just enough weight that Dean can use it without penalty. Ambush and the brave effect is still a great combination, and while it lacks the overwhelming power of Daim Thunder, Dean won't die the second he misses.





Homer gets one more attack in, and is then taken back to safety through a team effort between Nanna and Lara.



Karin retreats too. She probably wouldn't have died, but we're nearing the end of the map and I'm on edge.



why



Luckily Fin can still dodge like a champ, and Nanna performs admirably too.

[Nanna: Lv. 20, Hp: 30, Str: 11, Mgc: 6, Skl: 14, Spd: 16, Luk: 18, Def: 6, Bld: 7] Defense, beautiful, beautiful defense.





And I was just about to complain about her not getting any build (These cut away level ups show the stats before the level, not after.)



[Fin: Lv. 17, Hp: 33, Str: 12, Mgc: 3, Skl: 9, Spd: 15, Luk: 9, Def: 9, Bld: 9]





More build



That marks her last level of the map. I think she's done fairly well for herself.





Safy visits the last house.



Fin gets another level from dodging.

[Fin: Lv. 18, Hp: 34, Str: 12, Mgc: 3, Skl: 9, Spd: 15, Luk: 10, Def: 9, Bld: 9] That's pretty bad. What else can I say?

Finally, we've reached the end of turn 10.

---





Father, wouldn't attacking Tahra only be for the benefit of the Empire? The citizens hate the Empire. If we side with the people now, we may be able to establish good relations in the future...
No. Tahra isn't strong enough to help us defeat the Empire. Do you remember the battle at Melghen Valley? We lost to the Empire even with the help of both Northern and Southern Thracia.
That was because of Redric's betrayal...
Perhaps. But either way, we were forced to sign a humiliating treaty. Northern Thracia fell into the hands of Empire. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that the Empire's power is now ten times that of ours. And you still wish to challenge them? Do you think you can win? The people here will die, is that what you want?

I like pretty much every scene Trabant is in, he's a pretty interesting character.

No... You're right, Father. I was too imprudent. ...Father, I want to ask you something...
What is it?
Let me help with the attack on Tahra.
...Do you have a plan? Very well. If we are able to take this prosperous city, I don't mind how. Do as you will!
Yes, thank you, Father!
But don't take too long. I don't want to have to end up sending in my main forces.
Yes. Many citizens will die if this goes on... I must speak with Linoan.

---





Why...? This is not like you at all. What happened?
My father is preparing a legion to attack Tahra.
!
That's not all. Lopto's armed priests are approaching as well. If the 'Black Rose' Schwarze Rosen comes, the citizens will be massacred, every single one of them.
The Schwarze Rosen...! I was fearing this the most...
Linoan, leave it to me. Thracia will capture Tahra. We will the put the people under our protection. We will put an end to the child hunting, and I'll promise to protect you as well.
What will happen to Lord Leaf and the other knights?
They'll have to escape. The Empire is after the prince, and my father fears him as well.
...Very well. I will entrust the matter to you.
Thank you.
However, I will go with Lord Leaf. I will regret leaving my people behind, but this is the best way now. Once we defeat the Empire, I will return to Tahra... Will you promise to return Tahra to me once I come back?
Defeat the Empire... Very well, I promise. ...But is this Prince Leaf really that trustworthy? Will he be an enemy to Thracia, or a friend...?



For those that haven't played Fire Emblem 4, the reason this last line is all dramatic sounding is because Altena is - unbeknownst to her - Leaf's older sister. When Trabant and friends killed Cuan and Ethlin in the Yied desert (an event referenced in the prologue), he also took Altena in and raised her as his own. (Ethin is the worst mother and brought a baby to a battle in a desert.)

---

Before I close the chapter, there's one more conversation for us to see. If we hadn't recruited Homeros on the map's first turn, we would have been treated to this tidbit on the second.

Hey, what're you packing up for? You leaving or something?
Ha... Staying here would be for nought...
Whoa, you can't leave yet. The people living here served you that much because they wanted your help. You're not gonna be very popular if you leave now. Especially among the women."
N-No, my servants have come to pick me up... I'm a prince, so I can't leave my country for very long...
Oh, so you're the prince of Isaac? Come on, gimme a break. You can't fool me.
Ulp... You knew?
I'm a bard, you know. I know Prince Shanan's face. Well anyway, do what you want. Anyone would want to save his own life first. There's no reason to fall along with this city.
So you too...
Yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow, after I have my fun tonight.
All right, then I'll be going. We might meet again."
Hey, wait a sec. At least tell me your real name."
...It's Shanam."
Huh, at least your names sound alike... See ya, Prince Shanam.

So apparently there's a Shanan imposter who's actually called Shanam out there. I was going to make a remark about how he should have been called Shaman, but then I remember Shaman's already a word but I couldn't come up with anything else so here we are.

---

New Recruits:

Homer:



Hp: 65% Spd: 70%
Str: 0% Lck: 55%
Mag: 40% Def: 15%
Skl: 70% Bld: 10%
Mov: 3%

Class: Bard - Promotes to Sage Weapon Ranks: E (Thunder), E (Fire), E (Wind), D (Light) Movement stars: 1 Skills: Elite PCC: 5

Homer is just a really good unit, there's no two ways around it. He's got great growths, one of the best promotions in the game, the best possible PCC, a movement star, and the ever useful Elite skill. He isn't that durable though, with all his durability coming from his evasion (although with his high luck and speed, his evasion is quite good). In theory though, his Elite Skill and low level provides a good opportunity to boost his defenses via scroll use.

---

Linoan (Start of next chapter):



Level. 3

Hp: 16 (55%) Spd: 9 (55%)
Str: 0 (3%) Lck: 8 (55%)
Mag: 7 (45%) Def: 0 (10%)
Skl: 4 (60%) Bld: 3 (5%)
Mov: 5 (2%)

Class: Sister - Promotes to Sage Weapon Ranks: C (Staves), E (Fire), E (Wind), E (Thunder), B (Light) Movement stars: 0 Skills: None PCC: 5

Linoan's another really useful unit. She has a decent staff rank in a game where staves are incredibly powerful, she can already use every tool in the Sage's arsenal pre-promotion, and she's the most feasible candidate for the Resire tome we got this map, as she already has a B rank in Light (and the scarcity of Light magic makes getting a B on anyone else quite difficult.) She also has a really good PCC, good growths, and a fantastic promotion. That said, she's even more frail than Homeros, (she can easily be one shot as she is now) and lacks his Elite skill to quickly compensate for it. However, even with her flaws, there isn't much of a reason not to use Linoan, as she promotes for free in Chapter 21. Knight's proofs are limited (something I'll be addressing soon), and so this is a very useful trait to have.

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Current Resets: 29 35

Next time on Thracia 776: Escort missions! Fog of War! Fun!