Part 16: Chapter 10 – Mercenaries and Desertation

Chapter 10 – Mercenaries and Desertation




Welcome back! Today we’ll go towards the city of Sennay. In a slight difference to the last chapter I had to go back and not buy stuff from the secret shop in the end because otherwise I wouldn’t have enough money for the Dragon Flute this chapter, because I forgot to eprive Bartz of his Gold Bags :teardrop:.



Here is the Steel Shield we got from Chamos last chapter. It’s pretty powerful so we put it in the trunk to not waste it.



Time to start the chapter. This map is called Freedom and Justice.







: I cannot allow your army to set foot in our city.

: My good Sir Mayor, surely you have seen the Imperial legion stationed in the north. Will you simply hide behind your gates and leave us to their mercy?

: We ordinary civilians want nothing to do with you or your war. I kindly ask you to leave at once. If you insist on trampling upon our town, then we will be forced to fight in self-defense.

: Why, you... Such selfishness...

: Enough, Eugen. Very well, Sir Mayor, you have made clear your stance. We'll have to think of something else...







: Well, well, what was our mayor thinking? The least he could've done is hire some mercenaries who can actually fight. Hiring you is like throwing cash into the sewers.




: Let's see... Yes, you look like a strong, seasoned veteran. Much more worthy than that little lass over there.

: Really, now? Well, guess what, this little lass right here can kick my ass and hand it to me on a silver platter! Next time, you should think before opening your big mouth, lady!

: S-Sorry!

. That's quite enough, Billford. You're making a scene.

: Yes, forgive me, Lady Sharon!

: Still, we've fallen as far as we can... To think that we were once fighting to liberate our country... Now, we're stuck here as mercenaries.

: That's why I suggested that you wait at the inn, Lady Sharon. You can trust me to gather enough money to at least keep our stomachs full.

: No, Billford, that's not what I meant. I'm just a little worried about when we'll be able to go home. I'm not complaining about our work as a mercenary.

: If you say so, my lady. Whatever your decisions are... My duty is merely to stay by your side.

: Oh, it's time for our shift. Let's go, Billford. We need to work if we want to be paid...

: Yes...





: Hm, that was a fine girl, but perhaps a bit too much for us to handle. We should aim for one who'll be a bit easier to tame.

: So you can kidnap 'em and send 'em off to be dancers in Oaks, eh? You're a vile, vile man.

: Ha, are you one to talk? Anyway, I'll be hiding in the back. Let me know when a good candidate walks in.

: Got it.

Yep, we are going to have Plum kidnapped to have her learn the dance skill







: No, I'm grateful for your generosity. Even working for you could never be as as bad as being sent to the Valley of Zoa.

: Hahaha... I must admit that I missed those wise remarks of yours. Anyway, Garzel's priests cannot touch us here in the front lines. Our 15th Legion is defending these grasslands, but we will not fight unless the enemy approaches us first. You will have plenty of time to recover.

: What about Pavlov, the commander of Fort Senay? What are you going to do if he's put in danger?

: Leave him to die, of course. To tell the truth, I would very much like to kill that wretch with my own hands!

: Hahaha... I'm glad to see you haven't lost your honor, friend. One more thing, what would you do if I decided to desert?

: You have neither wife nor child, Mintz. What is there to fear?

: But you'll be held responsible as my commander.

: Should I even care? A single deserter could not possibly be sufficient reason to execute a general.

: Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks, Ernst. I'll most likely be forced to go on the run... I'm going to have to kill a few soldiers to save that girl. I'll be branded a traitor, and there's nothing I can do about that...

Those two




Anyhow, before we take our first turn let’s look at the interesting characters on the map.



Ernst is obviously not to be fucked with and you’re better off just ignoring the 15th corps to the north. Ernst himself will leave if you decide to enter the grassland though...



Mintz is a decent cavalry unit. He is hurt by not having another promotion and rather low growths (which isn’t a surprise in this game). Given that Esther has been an anchor hell bent on dragging us down he will surely get some screentime to prove himself superior.



Sharon is Kate 2.0. As such she has the same problems e.g. a completely shitty pormotion and slightly better growths than Kate. Use her if Kate hasn’t turned out otherwise she’ll probably end up benched rather fast.



Billford is your second armor knight. As such he is handicapped by having 3 move as well and in contrast to Norton he doesn’t promote to Iron knight giving him a horse but to General leaving him with 4 move after promotion. Even if he has better growths than Norton his promotion means he’ll probably never reach our fighting force before the fight is over.









The rest of the faceless mercenaries pack some heat as well: A Killing Edge, a Swordbreaker, a Hammer, and a Brave Spear. Brave Spear dude has to die first or he is really going to ruin our day.







We use our Gold Bags to raise enough funds fort he Dragon flute. The bags give randomly between 2000 – 4000 G.



We end our first turn inside the city’s premise starting a conversation between Sharon and Billford.







Afterwards the mercenaries start going after our units. The first two choose to go after Zieg...





with predictable results. More strength is never bad I suppose.





Meriah is still trying to achieve enough speed to double people with Starlight.









Shannon attacks Norton.



We start to recruit Shannon with Raffin.





: The last time we met was in Canaan... You seem to be doing well.

: It's been five years since we made that oath...

: I'm sorry I couldn't return. With the Empire growing ever stronger, even crossing the Lieve River was no easy task for a wanted man like me. And besides...

: I don't want to hear your excuses. I waited, trusting that you would come, but you abandoned our oath. I felt so hurt and betrayed that I cast way my once long hair... I hated you so strongly that I honestly wanted to kill you. Would it be a sin to have you listen to at least a little of my resentment?

: Sharon...

: But don't worry, that's all in the past for me now. I still want to be comrades with you, and fight by your side. Besides, we have more important issues at stake.

: You're right. For now, we should rejoice that we were able to see each other again in one piece. Perhaps we could go out for a drink after we win this battle.

: Sounds like a plan. All right, I'll join your army. I'll end up fighting against my fellow mercenaries, but I suppose that can't be helped.





Sharon immediately recruits Billford.







Sasha enterst he L-shaped building at the bottom.



: Come right up and check out all the great stuff we have on sale!

: ...Hm? Oh, that's a Wyvern Flute that we got from the land of Sophia, home of the wyverns. If the right guy gets his hands on it, he can turn into a Dragon Knight! If you buy it now, I'll give it to you for the bargain price of just 10000G. What do you say?

Obviously we choose yes given that it’s one of the two sure-fire Flutes in the game (for the 4 pegasi rider )

: Awesome! I knew you had an eye for things. Here you go, it's yours.





Upcoming is the fourth turn for the enemy and Mintz decides to desert and save Rennie.





Well, time to have Plum kidnapped





: Sure, no problem. But you must be exhausted. Why don't you have something to drink first? Here's some milk for you. It's on the house.

: Really!? Thank you! ...... It's very good! Thank you very much.

: Miss, you're a cleric, aren't you? How old are you? Is your mother around?

: Huh!? U-Um... Who are you...?

: Oh, you don't need to be afraid of him. He's one of our regular customers. He's got a mean face, but he's actually a really nice man.

: Oh, I'm sorry... I'm fifteen years old. My mother died long ago.

: I see... She must have been very beautiful.

: Yes, she was... My mother was a dancer when she was young, so she was very beautiful. I wish I could be as pretty as her when I grow up...

: A dancer, eh? How about you? Can you dance?

: Yes, a little. My mother used to teach me. I still sometimes like to dance all alone. But I've never shown it to anyone other than my mother because it's embarrassing...

: Oh, what a shame. You need to show off your talent if you can dance, miss... How 'bout it, do you want to come with me? I can teach you to dance even better than you already can.

: Huh!? No! I could never dance in front of other people! I-I need to get going... ...? ...Wh-... What is...this... I can't...keep...standing...

: Hehehe... The drugs are finally kicking in. This one'll be a winner... Good job, lady. Here you go, that's your share.

: Hehe, any time...



And with that she is gone.



I’ll buy another Fire tome for Meriah with the change we’ve got left from buying the Dragon Flute.









Next few turns are spend slowly approaching the castle, because if we would enter the range of the defenders before Mintz arrives at the castle he would just retreat leaving us unable to recruit him.





: He said he was going to burn her at the stake in the courtyard. How could he do such a thing to such a young girl...

: What!? Pavlov, that sick bastard!



After Mintz went in, we are free to enter the attacking range of the defenders and if we do this before the next turn, like I did here, this means we recruit both Mintz and Rennie due to skipping a cutscene this way.







: And what of the girl's execution?

: Fool, I have no time to spare for that! Take care of it yourselves!





Raffin kills one of the defending forces for an awesome level.



Pavlov is a joke of a boss. He might have a decently powerful weapon but can’t hit shit with it (base 67 hit). His defenses aren’t anything to write home about either. Basically we just have to clean up from now on.





Narron gets a good level as well after killing another defender.





Sasha makes up for the empty level earlier and is one level away from lvl 20.





Pavlov gets the usual treatment: Softening up through Raquel before getting killend by one of our melee units.



She gets a bad level out of it. She also learns Anti-Evil which boosts her damage against monsters.





Runan takes him out for almost two levels (apparently nobles are experience pinatas).



We also receive his weapon.



And thus we finish the map.



: All forces of the 15th Legion, retreat to Balt Fortress! Fear not! I will take full responsibility!



The following is the Rennie recruitment dialogue.





: I can see a young girl tied to a stake. They seem ready to light the fire at any moment now.

: Eugen! Don't just sit there and watch! Stop them immediately! We need to save that girl!



: ... Are you all right?



: You must be exhausted, so you can tell us what happened after you get some rest. I'll get our healers to tend to your wounds.

: Yes...

Next up is the recruitment dialogue for Mintz.





: Yes, sir!



: That I am. And you are?

: I'm Mintz of the Arless Black Knights.

: Arless Black Knights...?

: Milord, the Black Knights are a group of elite soldiers operating directly under the command of Prince Arless. They were once renowned as the invincible Arless Black Knights, but after the prince's death, the members have been scattered to the four winds. Rumors still abound to this day, none of them good.

: Hmph... The wimpy little monks from Garzel don't like us much, after all.

: I see. So, Mintz, what did you want to speak with me about?

. You know, I used to take pride in myself as a knight of Canaan, but that all crumbled yesterday. So I was wondering if you might want to hire me as a mercenary.

: Lord Runan, we must not trust a man who would betray his nation as the flip of a hand. We will be the ones to be backstabbed next!

: Now that's just a load of crap, old man. When did I say I would betray my nation?

: Our army is fighting against the Empire. You, too, would be turning your blade to the Empire if you join us. If that is not treason, then what is?

: The Empire ain't my home! My nation is Canaan, and only Canaan!

: Spewing more rubbish, are you?

. Wait, Eugen. I think I understand what he means. Mintz... You want to reclaim Canaan from the Empire. Am I right?

: Yep, that about sums it up. I've got some other reasons, too, though...

: Very well, we will hire you as a mercenary. I ask you to fight alongside us.

: Got it. You can count on me, prince.

We’ll stop here for today. Next up is some more celebrations and then the skip to Holmes’ team.


Character information


Sharon



Character stats

Lady Knight -> Arrow Knight

Skills

City Fighter (starting), Charge (lvl 15), Re-move (lvl 32)

As said in the update proper Sharon is Kate 2.0. She has the same bad promotion, sameish growths (although a bit better) and just one difference in learnt skills: She learns Charge instead of Continue/Earth Saint. If your Kate hasn’t turned out well you can replace her with Sharon and roll the dice again.


Billford



Character stats


Armor Knight -> General

Skills

Life or Death (starting), Big Shield (starting), Awareness (lvl 26), Continue (lvl 31), Charge (lvl 38)

Billford is the second armor knight of the game. He has the same shortcomings as Norton in that his movement is atrocious and there are no defend maps. His promotion also lacks the movement bonus Norton has (although it’s better in every other area). Still he got better stats than Norton, better growths and better skills. And if you are really lucky he might get enough movement to become viable given that he is one of the few characters with a movement growth.

Mintz



Character stats

Black Knight

Skills

Life or Death (starting), Charge (starting)

Mintz is another cavalry unit with a great personality. Statwise he is a prepromote with middling stats and middling growths. He has nice caps but you can’t be sure he will reach them. Furthermore he only has 2 skills, although the others can be learned from skill trainers so it might not be that much of a disadvantage. The skills he learns are both great though. Given that our cavalry (in the form of Esther) has been lacking so far we will certainly get some use out of him at least until Holmes and Runan meet up once more.

Rennie



Character stats

Bow Fighter -> Bow Master

Skills

Charge (starting), Elite (lvl 9), Geomancy (lvl 19), Continue (lvl 34), City Fighter (promotion)

Rennie can turn out utterly amazing. Sure she is an archer and thus cannot counter kill like the other units can but there are some really nice bows in this game that upset this balance a bit. She learns great skills has good growths (given this game) including a 10% movement growth!. Her base stats are nice and elite will manage she can catch up quick. Barring some real misfortune she tends to turn out amazing.