Part 18: Chapter 11 – The Taurus Bandits strike again!
Chapter 11 – The Taurus Bandits strike again!Welcome back. And again I’m sorry for the slow update speed. I should be back to about 2 updates a week two weeks fom now when I finally meet the deadline for my paper. Anyhow before going into the hideout of the Taurus Bandits we ran into anouther encounter resulting in the following levels.
Not the greatest level but they’ll suffice for now.
Time to start the map in earnest. This time it’s called “the Mage of Ledah” We’re greated by a conversation on entrance.
: Pretty easy to guess, though. Hehehe...
: Well, I've got a better idea. How about if I take the girl, and you run back empty-handed to your boss? If he's got a problem with it, he can take it to me personally! : Whaaat!? Shut yer trap, mercenary! You're just another one of those sorry idiots out of a job picked up by the boss, ain't ya? You better think twice before opening your big mouth! : Well, then... You want to settle this the easy way? : Bring it on, punk! Hey, guys, kill this son of a bitch!The map itself is rather boring looking e.g. just a cave so let’s take a look at our new and the enemies units.
Holmes is our second lord of the game (unless you count Katri and Enteh due to their game over status). He is a Bow Hero e.g. a class that uses bows exclusively until promotion. It’s not too bad since there are some really strong bows out there and starting with a Longbow is quite nice. His stats are good and his growths are comparable with Runan. He also has a plot promotion later on.
Shigen is our third swordmaster of the game. His stats are comparable to Vega’s and he comes with a personal Sword. Dullahan has the same might as a Silver sowrd but isn’t especially accurate or light. However if he has it equipped while he dies the sword will revive him at the cost of a single use. This basically means that he is immortal for all intends and purposes.
Samson is another axe user. Even while starting out he alrady eclipse Bartz in everything but strength (and a single point of move). He also comes with vastly better growths and learns better skills than him. Unless your Bartz is doing incredibly well, Samson will take over as your best axe unit.
You remember the trend that every subsequent mage is better than Maharaj due to having a far better personal tome? Alicia is following the trend by the letter. She has the samish stats and slightly better growths and while her personal tome isn’t quite absurd as Starlight was, Brenthunder is still a brave weapon with 12 might.
One of the enemies is carrying a Killer Axe but other than him the main annoyance of th enemies on this map is their tendancy to pack shields making it kind of a slog.
Yazam himself hasn’t really changed other than getting a Silver Sword. He can hit like a truck but isn’t too dangerous outside of it.
Anyhow enough words! Samson starts of the murdering spree
Shigen joins in on the fun.
It wouldn’t be a map without reinforcements.
Holmes starts attacking the buddies hanging out with the boss.
Xeno dodges an incoming attack and gets a good level out of it.
An amazing level comes to Holmes for killing another dude.
Katri summons some zombies that were mostly useless as bait due to the narrow paths on the map.
Only his second level and he already got a point in move. He might go places
We need to get our asses over to Samson though, seeing as he gets swarmed.
For now he holds his own getting a medicore level out of it.
Xeno gets a level as well although this was quite reckless of me…
As you can see he is surrounded by enemies now and just survied two coinflips
Losing this would have sucked after Lionel getting a point of movement.
Bartz still doesn’t feel like making a case for him
While attacking Samson one of the archers gets in range of our imprisoned friend…
and gets fried for it
Katri continues to get underwhelming levels in order to mock me for not being able to bench her. Just be glad you’re a dragon
Samson continues to murder and get mediocre levels. Axe Units just don’t like me
Shigen gets a bad level as well
we finally cleared everything but the boss room and Holmes unlocks the door to Alicia cell.
Alicia promptly ignores him and talks to Samson
: I'm Samson, a mercenary from Arial. What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?
: My name is Alicia. I come from the Northern Temple of Trente. I was visiting the Temple of Mars, but I was attacked by bandits on the way back. : I see... That was unfortunate. You're a mage, aren't you? Can you use any magic? : Yes, I know a few spells from the schools of lightning and wind. This Brenthunder tome is my special spell. : Then why didn't you use it to defend yourself? That should be more than enough to drive off a bunch of brigands. : Master Alfred forbids it. Only under extreme circumstances must we use our spells to harm other people.I think being abducted and about to be raped is ground to fry them but maybe that’s just me...
: Alfred? You don't mean the legendary mage, do you? Alfred, the Mage of Lightning... His powers exceed even those of his father, Eisenbach. : Oh... I'm sorry. I wasn't talking about that Alfred! : Yeah, I thought so. He died over ten years ago, after all. Bards around the continent sing about his battle with Cranion and how he was burned by the Dragon's fiery breath. There's no way he's still alive...
Lionel grabs abother level from killing a stray bandit.
the random blond generic is annoying as once we defeat the boss he is going to plug the way and makes getting the chest a pain.
Sure will do so.
Holmes weakens him…
An Alicia kills him for a bad level. So much ofr her oath.
Xeno forces the blond bandit to run away and use his healing fruit.
[/i]Holmes and Katri get a level from weakening him/healing our injured troops.[/i]
Holmes grabs the Hero Proof from the chest and we move in to murder the last enemy for good.
Alicia has the honor.
: Come on, did you think a bunch of bandits could beat the mighty Holmes?
: Oh, good... But be careful, okay? : I know, I know. You don't have to worry. : Yes... : Hey, you look like a fun little group. Mind if I join in? : Who are you? : My name is Samson. I'm one of the best fighters in Aerial. : A mercenary from Arial... All right. You can come along if you're not afraid to die. : Oh, where's the girl who was being kept prisoner? Ah, there she is. Hey, come over here. : ...... : What's with that look? You're not even going to thank us for saving you? : I never asked to be rescued. Who are you people, anyway? Bandits? Thieves? : Sigh... Women'll never understand, will they? We're adventurers with a dream, sailing the high seas in search of fame and fortune. Don't group us in with a pack of measly burglars. : I see... Then would it be all right if I went along? I need to go to Fort Ligria, and then to the Temple of Saria. : What do you think we are, your personal guards? : ...I can't come along? : Well... Alright. We'll be going to the Temple of Saria some time. You can come with us if you want. : Thank you. My name is Alicia. : I'm Holmes. : And I'm Katri. Pleased to meet you, Alicia.
And that’s it for this Chapter. If you want you skip skip this chapter, but you’d lose both the Hero Proof and two decent units. Next time we finally go after the ehad of the Isla Pirates.
Character information
Holmes
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Character stats
Bow Hero -> Hide Hunter
code:
HP Str Mag Skl Agl Luk Wlv Def Mov
Base stats 29 11 0 10 11 6 7 10 5
Stat caps 60 22 15 22 22 30 20 21 12
Promotion Gains +2 +1 +0 +1 +0 +0 +0 +2 +1
Promotion Caps 60 23 15 23 22 30 20 23 12
Growth Rates 65% 30% 10% 35% 35% 35% 35% 25% 0%Picklock (starting), Sea Fighter (start), Rising Dragon (lvl 16), Continue (lvl 32), Charisma (Promotion)
Holmes is the second lord of the game. He has great stats from the beginning althugh he is limited to bows until promotion. His growths are the same as Runan although his promotion is far worse. Luckily he already has pretty high caps and as such it isn’t too limiting. Skillwise he comes with picklock meaning you’ll never have to field a thief to open doors or chests, only to steal. The rest of the skills are shared with Runan as well. Since he is mandatory there isn’t really all that much to say.
Shigen
Character stats
Myrmidon -> Swordmaster
code:
HP Str Mag Skl Agl Luk Wlv Def Mov
Base stats 25 7 0 12 14 5 5 10 5
Stat caps 60 18 15 22 23 30 19 17 12
Promotion Gains +2 +3 +0 +3 +2 +0 +1 +1 +1
Promotion Caps 60 21 15 25 25 30 20 18 12
Growth Rates 60% 30% 5% 45% 40% 30% 30% 22% 0%Continue (starting), Sea Fighter (starting), Arena Fighter (lvl 21), Rising Dragon (lvl 28), Gale (lvl 38)
Shigen continues the trend of great swordmasters in this game. His growths are good as are his starting stats although like usual he could use more strength. He comes with a decent skill set and his personal sword Dullahan basically means that he is immortal. Not a bad choice to field any time of the day.
Samson
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Character stats
Axe Fighter -> Warrior
code:
HP Str Mag Skl Agl Luk Wlv Def Mov
Base stats 31 9 0 10 13 4 6 10 5
Stat caps 60 20 15 20 21 30 18 18 12
Promotion Gains +3 +2 +0 +2 +2 +0 +1 +1 +1
Promotion Caps 60 22 15 22 23 30 19 19 12
Growth Rates 95% 35% 5% 35% 40% 15% 35% 25% 0%Frontier Fighter (starting), Gale (lvl 14), Awareness (lvl 20), Continue (lvl 29)
Samson is better in every imaginable way than Bartz. While he has one less movement he is better in every other aspect. He actually starts with decent speed and skill mitigatin the usual downside of axe users. All of his growths with the exception of defense (by 5%) are better as well and he comes with great skills as well. Unless your Bartz turns out really good you tend to replace him with Samson.
Alicia
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Character Stats
Mage -> Sage
code:
HP Str Mag Skl Agl Luk Wlv Def Mov
Base stats 20 0 7 7 7 5 3 7 4
Stat caps 60 15 19 20 19 30 18 17 12
Promotion Gains +2 +0 +3 +3 +4 +0 +2 +2 +1
Promotion Caps 60 15 22 23 23 30 20 19 12
Growth Rates 35% 0% 25% 30% 25% 40% 40% 11% 0%Charge (lvl 16), Continue (lvl 32)
Alicia only differs from the offer mages by her personal tome. She got slight worse growths than Meriah and fewer skills although bother her skills are potent on a mage. Her personal tome is Brenthunder which is a brave weapon with mt 12 and range 1-2. She tends to be better than Maharaj because of her tome alome but can’t really compete with Meriah.