Part 34: 19-1: Destroyer

UPDATE 35: DESTROYER


Alright, you voted to let Folka handle the Ravens.


As Folka expected, the warped come. Bolverk is nowhere in sight, but you can't shake the feeling he's watching.
This was the correct choice (for this branch, anyway). Folka knows how Bolverk thinks and knows what the Ravens are capable of. You can't avoid this fight, but you can prevent yourself from starting in terrible position and with a bunch of really powerful enemies right in your face.


I never really got a chance to show off Kivi.


So, this is him. The sculptor's tools aren't a good item. +1 armor to everyone around you seems good, but now that we're facing things that can do 18+ strength in an attack, it's kind of meaningless.

By the way, I edited the savefile to get him into the game. I don't feel bad about it either since I preordered on PS4 and they forgot to enable him or something. Maybe it's fixed now; I dunno. But anyway, as rationalizations go I think this one is completely kosher.


As with the Arberrang crew, I want to get everyone to at least level 9 so we can start thinking about taking a vote on participation and heroic titles. Oli will be the rare character who takes "exploit" instead of "divert" as his armor break talent. He's a ranged character and should not have his armor attacked ever. He's not an archer, though, so getting a chance to Puncture is really good on him.


Krumr is being modeled after Iver. +3 talents in dodge strength, dodge armor, and critical hit.


Neither Kivi nor Oli are really necessary here. I just think this is a particularly good lineup.


Well...I guess. We knew it was coming...


Pretty decent map, too. Nothing with > 20 strength, and the warped bear is waaaaaay back in the turn queue.


Same routine as usual: Apostate starts casting umbrage, Krumr uses forge ahead to get him to essentially instacast.


Iver gets his armor loss patched up by Eyvind. Krumr didn't even lose any armor--the "divert" talent lets you escape armor damage, and I guess they never thought about the prospect of spell-based armor damage. In other words, Krumr just got +5 strength over cap for free.


There's just not a whole lot to show here. With my 2 giants and 1 stoneguard at "one-hit an enemy" levels of strength, and dodging armor, the battle quickly becomes a slaughter.


Wave 1 goes down with no difficulty, and I don't even bother with reinforcements. Not when my units in the field have like 30 strength.


Wave 2 fares a bit better because I do something stupid, but in general they all get absolutely wrecked. Like this poor slob. First he gets warped by the darkness, then he gets crit for 40 strength by Krumr.


This is the dumb thing I did: I moved Eyvind (who has no armor left; he can't mend himself) closer so he could use the Valka Spear and do arc lightning.


Forgetting that the spearman was loose and could mangle Eyvind. Which he did. I would have saved him had Oli connected on 2 straight axe storm throws, but it's a 90% chance to hit followed by an 80%. So a 72% of Eyvind not falling.


It didn't help that I forgot he was impaled and I essentially suicided him, but he was going down anyway.


Making up for his botched toss, Oli does a 5-hit axe storm, which at (.9)^5 only had...a 54% chance of working?


At some point Krumr got hit by something that gave him a "warping" effect. He takes 1 damage per turn, just like poison, and it turns him purple.

That doesn't matter much when you have ludicrous amounts of strength. He ends the fight.


We get this thing, but at level 12, nobody can use it right now.


Folka comes stomping back toward you and Juno, flicking smoldering black ash from her shield. She doesn't look happy.


: You drag us out here as captives, and now Bolverk's trying to hunt us down and kill us. Do you see how messed up this is? And back there you try to give my Ravens orders?

: Folka has a point.
Juno's expression betrays no emotion.
: What would you recommend, Folka?
: Oh no. Don't you dare pretend to be the reasonable one right now.
Steam plumes from Folka's nostrils like an angry yox, swirling through the cold air.
: I don't even want to hear your voice. The Ravens are under my command, and if you want anyone watching your back instead of putting a knife...
: What if Iver spoke on my behalf?

: If it ends this bickering, I'll take charge.
: Let's just hope she has the decency to stay out of your head.


That settled, we approach a light in the darkness. We're essentially retracing all the steps of Hakon's chapter in Banner Saga 1, meaning we're going from Vedrfell to Ridgehorn. That'd make this...
: The godstone ahead shimmers. It seems to hold some sway over the darkness, somehow. Or maybe the darkness itself finds a godstone distasteful.


Before.

After.
A golden glow greets you, the first warmth you've felt since entering the darkness.
Disheveled women and children huddle on one side of the godstone, while a dredge sits on the other. The dredge has arranged a circle of obsidian stones around itself, and just outside that lie the bodies of a couple dead men.
: Ain't this a sight.
His grin turns to a frown.
: I have a feeling this is about to become our problem.


: Not exactly.
The matronly woman's face falls as she gets a better look at you.
: I know that crest. Ravens...
She points with an accusing, shaking finger toward the stonesinger.
: What...what is this? Have you brought more dredge to slaughter us?
The stonehurler stands within its ring of stones, warbling loudly as you approach the godstone. The old woman recoils in disgust.

: Me? Why?
: She called you "Destroyer."

: Thought you'd be bigger.
: It's a misunderstanding. Where would you hear such a thing?
: Traveling with the Valka, but you do not know where we are headed? You're an interesting one, Iver. We should talk more.
The old woman rejoins you again after a heated battle of whispers with her kin. She clears her throat.
: I am called Hilde. We came here to pray when the skies darkened. I guess I don't need to tell you we're only alive now because of this godstone. A miracle! And they say the gods are dead?

She gestures rudely at the stonehurler. It makes a hissing sound like escaping steam
: Quite, filthy thing! Ravens, you'll take us somewhere safe, surely? Surely you will.

: Gods alive. Has everyone lost their minds? At least give us justice?

: Alfrun, what's the dredge's side of the story?

: She says they left her no choice but to defend herself. Stuck here. Same as them.
: By the gods, we've been found by the only slag-lovers in the dying world.
She snatches something shiny from the hands of one of her kin, waving it in front of you.
: This is what the Ravens need, isn't it? You disgusting vultures. Family heirloom, worth more than it looks!
: I say we just bring the stonehurler along with us, Iver. I mean, we've already got two.
: You said it was terrified of me.
: Then she won't put up much of a struggle, will she?


VOTE TIME!
Pretty obvious to see what'll happen here. Do we:
A.) Recruit the slinger into our party, and forfeit the item?
B.) Kill the slinger and gain an item?
C.) Ignore both for some reason because we want to make an obviously stupid choice.