Part 31: The Two Paths - Part 2

Last time, after deciding to liberate Lenster, we found ourselves faced with a dilemma. We can either listen to Dorias, and head west, meeting the enemy head-on in a blaze of glory; or we can listen to August, and head east, sneaking through the forest and hitting the enemy where their defenses are weak. You all thought August was pretty cool, so we're heading east for now.







We've brought Dean, Karin, Homer, Marita, Olwen, Tina, Seram, Nanna, Fergus, and Carion along with us today. Karin and Dean pick up Homer and Marita and carry them across the mountains, to help defend the villages. Homer just wants some more experience, but Marita needs to get to the center by a certain turn, and I don't want to risk sending her the long way and having her not make it in time.



Oh boy!





And with promotion comes a fancy new look. Stat-wise it's not so impressive, with +3 magic being it's greatest asset, but still, pretty snazzy lookin'.



With Nanna promoted, everyone else heads east.





Some random brigands in the west start chasing us down...



While some random brigands in the east move into our range.



Brigands doing brigand stuff. Zile won't move until someone's in his range.

---





The Empire wouldn't bother sending troops to a small village like this tucked away in the mountains. I will protect the children with my life. But what about you, Lady Amalda? If the Empire finds out about this, you will be in danger...
I am ashamed... I am ashamed that I cannot properly help the children, despite being a knight of Freege. Hundreds of children are being captured and sent to the Imperial capital daily, but all I can do is rescue a handful of them. I keep trying to convince his Majesty to reconsider, but to no avail...



But, Father Sleuf... I...
If we lose you, that would mean losing the children who could be saved otherwise.
Yes...I know. Thank you... I must be off now.



Yes... The world will lead to destruction if we do not do something about it. But even if we know, all we can do is sit and pray...
But I heard the voice in the tower of Blagi. It said, 'When the three pillars of light become one, the darkness in this world will vanish.
The now deceased Bishop Claude's voice...

Claude is yet another character from FE4, although you should be familiar with him by now if you've been reading the LP. So yeah, he's dead now. Bummer. When he was alive, he was pretty much the head honcho of the Blagi church, and joined Sigurd's army when he went to the tower of Blagi to find out the truth behind the rebellion from this game's back story. He also had a staff that could bring people back to life, so double bummer about the whole him being dead thing.

Yes. He also said this... 'Man of virtue, servant of Blagi... Be my eyes and witness the fate of this world...'
I know. You may go. The children will be fine.
I'm sorry... Forgive my impudence.





What? Are you sure?
I'm positive. That knight's saying she'll help, but I don't how long we can last with just the two of us. So take the women and children and leave while you can.
I see... I'm sorry, Ralph. And thank you for protecting such a tiny village like this. You have all of our gratitude.
Well, this must be fate as well, then!

---





The game is kind enough to make it so we don't have to cross the mountains to rescue the villages, Ralph and Amalda will do a good enough job protecting the villages that you can go the long way if you want. That said, they'll also steal all of our experience that way, and we don't want that .



Ralph's moderately strong, between his stats and the forests he should be able to take care of himself.



Amalda's somewhat more capable, if only because of her great weaponry. She can also heal both Ralph and herself, so neither should die.



The Dean and Karin taxi service safely delivers Homer and Marita to the front.





You suck!





At least we can still count on you Carion .



No one else can reach them to capture them, so Seram settles for some murder. He ends up taking the second down on the enemy phase.

[Seram: Lv. 13, Hp: 28, Str: 0, Mgc: 11, Skl: 10, Spd: 10, Luk: 4, Def: 2, Bld: 4] This is the best level he gets all map. He's officially our bad level lightning rod.



Olwen uses a shield ring. I know I said Nanna was going to get it, but I changed my mind. Deal with it . Her stats are so low because she's holding the captured brigand.



Amalda and Ralph thin some of the enemy force, while they regenerate from the forts just as fast.



Homer tries to kill a brigand, but misses. This happens a lot. It's a real shame, because we need Homer next map, so he can't get fatigued. After Marita scores a kill, it becomes time to reap some rewards.

---



Well aren't you a charmer ? He gives us an armorslayer.



Don't worry though, I grabbed it off some bandit.

This kind fellow gives us a skill ring.

---





We make short work of two of the bandits, although a third lives to die another day.





Homer and the NPCs tear down some brigands, although Homer takes a bit of a sword to the face in the process.

Next turn, we make it to the second last village.

---





Oh god why are so many villages haunted ? Haunted village has a killer lance, which is pretty killer.

---



Homer misses another brigand, while Marita kills a second. There are a fair amount of bow users, so Karin hangs back, even though she probably could dodge.



Meanwhile, Fergus captures another brigand (who survived because he could attack from a range), and everyone else keeps on moving forward.





You can keep coming if you want, it's just more experience for us. Meanwhile, Dean visits the very last village (the one near the western exit.)

---



A guy on a dragon visits you and that's all you have to say

I found it on a road a little while ago, and it gave me quite an interesting sensation. I think I'm going to throw it away, because it's probably cursed...Eh? You'll take this? Thank you...here, have it!

We get a random scrap of paper the Ulir Scroll, which boosts Skl, Spd and Luk growth by 10 each. It's somewhat useful, especially for characters like Dean and Seram who can use the speed and luck, and the lack of penalties means it can go on anyone, but it's not as useful as something like the Dain scroll or the Neir scroll.

---



We'll make something out of you eventually Tina. When an arena comes around again I may grind it to give her some exp and me some precious gold.





We're getting closer to the center, under hot pursuit by some bandits.



Next turn, Homer and Marita keep on fighting. Homer misses his kill again (I said this would be a pattern.) Marita's also in Zile's range, we might as well kill him now.



Almost there. Seram stays behind to take down our pursuers. Meanwhile, Zile tests his luck against Marita.



You pickin' a fight with me?



Frightening.



He misses. Yup.





This just isn't my turn, is it? Karin flies away to safety afterwards.



Seram moves onto a mountain to intercept the brigands.



It works fairly well.



Marita levels from a generic bandit. Technically she gets stats, but for all intents and purposes it's an empty level.



This could have been bad, Zile's attacking with his halberd. Luckily, nothing connects.





We're not giving him a second chance.



Hey guess what everyone? He misses.

[Homer: Lv. 13, Hp: 31, Str: 1, Mgc: 10, Skl: 9, Spd: 13, Luk: 16, Def: 5, Bld: 8] You know, if he had to get two completely unlikely stats, why couldn't one of them been defense? He can actually use defense.



I finally remember to give Nanna her Magic ring.



With that, nearly everyone's reached the center stage.



Except for Seram, who's still playing rearguard. Three more are coming, and will be on him in a couple of turns.





Marita gets a sword rank from one of her kills, boosting her to a B or a C or whatever because it doesn't matter, she'll get an A upon promotion anyways.



You suck!







Our murder machine has just become a little more efficient.





One survives.



And here's the survivors for the next turn of combat. Homer kills one, and Nanna takes another.



Everyone else moves forward a little.





After Seram takes down another brigand following us, we're left to face whoever survived from the last enemy phase.





Amalda takes one, and then on our phase, Homer and Makua take two more.



Karin's going to pawn off some Yotsmungand tomes to make us some money. Dark magic kind of sucks, but it's worth a fair bit.



We know enter into the next phase of reinforcements. Two thieves, and a swordsmaster.



They all scatter. .



[Homer: Lv. 14, Hp: 32, Str: 1, Mgc: 11, Skl: 10, Spd: 13, [/b]Luk: 17[/b], Def: 5, Bld: 8]

Meanwhile, Marita chases down the swordmaster who appeared.



Wait a minute, let's not kill him.

---





Starstrike? ...That's the legendary technique known to the royalty of Isaac... Then...are you...?

Honestly, the most frustrating thing about doing this LP is that every term has a million different translations based on where you look. I previously called Starstrike Shooting Star Sword, based on the translation on Serenes Forest. I normally go with what the game says, but I go with Serenes if that information isn't available. Similarly I called Makua's promotion Mercenary, rather than Hero.

Exactly... I am Prince Shanan of Isaac. However, I am currently hiding my identity. Forget that you saw me...
Lord Shanan!
Whoa! Wh-What is it? You startled me.
Please teach me the way of the sword! I'm not asking for much... If I can just learn the beginnings of the Starstrike...
......
Please! I want to become stronger. I have to become stronger!
...Well, just the beginnings, I suppose...
R-Really? Thank you!



Hmm, I wasn't expecting this. Well, I'll just give her some random tips and get it over with... The Starstrike is not only about your skill. It is your heart that is important. Once your skill and your heart become one...only then will you be able to perform the Starstrike.
My skill and my heart?
Right. First, try swinging your sword.
How should I swing... Can you show me?
Erg... N-No, the Starstrike is only learned after hard practice. If you see how it is done, you tend to copy it instead of developing it on your own... Yeah...
Oh, I see... All right, I'll try. Ha!
No. Try again.
Ya!
No, no. Your heart is being left behind. Your sword and heart must be in unison. ...I have no idea what I'm saying...

My blade and my heart...in unison... Haaaa!









Marita twinkles a little bit...



1!



2!





3!



4!



5!





...No, that wasn't it. It can't be this easy. Right, Lord Shanan?



Huh? O-Oh! Y-Y-Yeah... O-Of course not. Y-You can't call that a Starstrike...
Good, I thought so...
A-Anyway, I taught you the beginnings of it, like I promised. I have to get going.
Yes, thank you very much, Lord Shanan! My blade and my heart in unison...





And with that we learn Shooting Star Sword, Starstrike, Astra, Meteor Sword. Meteor sword gives a skill percent chance of attacking 5 times. It's worth pointing out these attacks are completely normal attacks. They can crit, they have PCC applied to them, and they can proc Moonlight Sword and Continue (and any combination of the above). This means a 20% chance of critting 5 times in a row is actually pretty easy to get because of her PCC of 5. For extra fun (math), assuming an enemy with infinite HP you could in theory do 5600 damage with Marita. 70 times more damage than any enemy in the game has Hp.

You need to talk to Shanam fast, because he runs away after a couple of turns.

---



We can't reach one thief, and since thief's give good exp (they give a 20 exp boost), I surround the other to save them for someone else.



Next turn a myrmidon with a killer edge appears, accompanied by two thieves. This pattern is going to continue for a long time, so I won't bore you with the specifics.





[Olwen: Lv. 4, Hp: 26, Str: 7, Mgc: 11, Skl: 10, Spd: 12, Luk: 6, Def: 7, Bld: 6] Keep the good levels coming Olwen. You've only had two but they've both been gold.



[Nanna: Lv. 2, Hp: 30, Str: 12, Mgc: 12, Skl: 15, Spd: 19, Luk: 19, Def: 8, Bld: 8] I'm not going to complain about defense and magic on Nanna.



[Makua: Lv. 19, Hp: 35, Str: 12, Mgc: 3, Skl: 20, Spd: 20, Luk: 12, Def: 9, Bld: 9] Strength and Hp is a great two level stat for Makua, so I'm not complaining.



Most of these myrmidons end up killing themselves on us before we can take their killing edges, but I manage to catch one or two.

[Dean: Lv. 4, Hp: 37, Str: 13, Mgc: 2, Skl: 14, Spd: 13, Luk: 5, Def: 13, Bld: 12] Pretty good, especially the speed, which is his biggest weakness beyond his luck. It's around now that Leaf reaches Ralph.

---





Then why are you fighting?
They gave me a place to sleep, so I'm helping them out in return. You're a nosy kid, aren't you? Who are you anyway?
Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Leaf, of Lenster.
Leaf...? So... You're Prince Leaf, eh? This is perfect. My name's Ralph, I'm a mercenary. Would it be all right if I joined your army?
Of course, we would appreciate having someone like you. But why do you want to join us?
I can't stand the Empire's tyranny. Is that good enough?
Certainly. Ralph, my wish is to free the people suffering from Imperial oppression. Will you swear to fight for that cause?
You got it.

Ralph is kind of boring. That's pretty much all I've got to say. The next turn, Amalda bails on us.





---



A second killer edge. Smashing!



And now we have the third wave of reinforcements, a couple of turns of warriors.



Amalda escapes around the same turn.



In an attempt to weaken one for Seram (who she had previously carried over the mountains), Karin skewers a warrior on a javelin.

[Karin: Lv. 3, Hp: 35, Str: 14, Mgc: 11, Mgc: 15, Spd: 20, Luk: 20, Def: 10, Bld: 8] I don't understand, but I love it anyways .



Later, Seram kills a different warrior.

[Seram: Lv. 14, Hp: 29, Str: 0, Mgc: 11, Skl: 11, Spd: 11, Luk: 4, Def: 2, Bld: 4] His second best level of the map Maybe even the best depending on how much you value that speed.



[Makua: Lv. 20, Hp: 35, Str: 13, Mgc: 3, Skl: 20, Spd: 20, Luk: 12, Def: 10, Bld: 10] Well that's just fantastic. Makua's decided she's not going to shown up by Marita.



[Tina: Lv. 2, Hp: 14, Str: 0, Mgc: 3, Skl: 1, Spd: 6, Luk: 16, Def: 0, Bld: 3] Well that's a level. Also holy crap, for someone who's back story involves kidnapping Tina's luck is absurdly high.



[Nanna: Lv. 3, Hp: 31, Str: 13, Mgc: 12, Skl: 15, Spd: 20, Luk: 19, Def: 9, Bld: 8] Nanna so desperately wants to be a front-liner, I love it.



Hey, remember how Makua is level 20? We need a hero





That's just beautiful, I don't know when Makua decided she wanted to become amazing (remember how I used to be complaining about how strength screwed she was ), but I approve.



And now we have the last wave of reinforcements, a thief, a bandit, and a bow bandit thing. That would be anticlimactic, but they all have silver weapons. They also won't attack us.



We still have some warriors to take care of though.



[Carion: Lv. 2, Hp: 45, Str: 17, Mgc: 6, Skl: 20, Spd: 20, Luk: 15, Def: 15, Bld: 14] This is my fault, I dared the game not to give him anymore good levels.



[Seram: Lv. 15, Hp: 29, Str: 0, Mgc: 12, Skl: 11, Spd: 11, Luk: 4, Def: 2, Bld: 4] I won't stop believing in you Seram. You'll wow us one of these days, I know you will.



Here's our Silver Axe.



Almost...



Damn it.



C'mon Seram, you just had to crit, didn't you .

Next turn.



This thief is immortal, I swear.

[Nanna: Lv. 4, Hp: 31, Str: 14, Mgc: 12, Skl: 16, Spd: 20, Luk: 19, Def: 10, Bld: 8] Forget what I said, she doesn't want to be a frontliner, she is. She's got fantastic avoid, and passable everything else, as well as killer magic. She'll be fantastic with a Fire Sword.







[Fergus: Lv. 5, Hp: 38, Str: 19, Mgc: 4, Skl: 17, Spd: 15, Luk: 16, Def: 12, Bld: 12] Not bad, actually yes it is.

There were two waves of Silver weapon reinforcements, which is how I could get two Silver swords and Axes. I think I killed the first silver bow guy before I remembered the silver weapon gimmick they had going on.

And with that, we're done. Loose ends time!





Seram drops a Speed ring and a Magic ring. We'll make a mediocre unit of you yet, Seram! And by the looks of all the rings you've gotten, a stylin' one too.



I love door keys. You can never go wrong with a door key in this game. I buy several. Next, Leaf visits the church in the center of the villages.

---





We get another restore staff.



Where are you headed for?
East... Towards Lenster.

Then I have something to ask of you. A pupil of mine named Sleuf recently left on a journey. If you happen to see him, could you offer him a helping hand? Now, I can take you part of the way to Lenster with this Warp Staff.

no, give us the staff, we'll walk.

There are two paths. One is through the forests of Melfiye that lead to the south of Lenster. The other is to head east along the coast, passing through Fort Norden. Which path do you wish to take?



To the forest we go!

---

New Recruits:

Ralph



Hp: 60% Spd: 20%
Str: 35% Lck: 15%
Mag: 5% Def: 35%
Skl: 30% Bld: 35%
Mov: 3%

Class: Hero Weapon Ranks: A (Swords), C (Axes) Movement stars: 0 Skills: None PCC: 1

Ralph kind of sucks. His growths are just plain bad, and we have 3 potential better heroes. Don't bother. I'm going to use Ralph as a chance to talk about prepromotes a little. Between scrolls and low caps, there's a very thin sweet spot between making a prepromote unusable, or too easily usable. In order to make this easier, the game tends to give every prepromote terrible luck, so as to permanently slightly cripple them. Go back and check, nearly every prepromote's luck sucks. It's not that important, I just thought it was fairly clever as far as game design goes.

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Current Resets: 39

Next Time on Thracia 776: Screw you for wanting things, a.k.a The status effect you've all been waiting for (you know the one.)