Part 21: Chapter 4C (3)

The fiery flows of Liellahan flows violently underfoot. Do watch your step, Master.





You guys pretty much decided on a party of Auguste/Reinhilde/Rosea for all three battles. I guess you know what you guys want.





This battle is a joke, and seems to be there to introduce terrain. 'Hey, there's lava now!' There's one new enemy, and several Beetles from the last chapter



Remember them? And how the basic beetles got half their health shot off by Rosea's attack?



I'll teach you to cross a woman of the House Haughn!



Well Reinhilde now disposes of them in one round.



My hunger for battle remains!

I guess the experience's not too bad at least.



Wylfred and Reinhilde then take out another one.





There are also three Armor Beetles, but they're not any stronger than they were in Chapter 3. As a reminder, they have a paltry 20 RST. Their RDM is a bit better.



Still, Reinhilde dishes out over 1,200 damage to them, which is nice.



I don't really like this map style though. It looks like Wylfred should be able to go over and hit that Armor Beetle...



But flip the camera angle and nope, you have to go all the way up and around to reach them. This map isn't the worst offender in terms of movement but it's still irritating.



Also Rosea nearly matches Reinhilde's damage output - having almost 700 MAG doesn't hurt.



Is it naive to dream of a world without war?



Oh, right, terrain. Lava slows down a target's movement by two squares and also deals a very minor amount of damage if they end their turn on it. Rosea and Wylfred have the Safety Boots so they don't get a movement penalty, but they'll still take the damage.



Great heavens, Rosea. Granted it's on an enemy with terrible RST, but still...



...she's still barely beating Reinhilde in damage, which is no small feat.



Behind every great house lies a greater woman.



Also Wylfred blocks an attack!



Auguste has been absent from this battle, because he's making his way over to this hidden item over here. I hope it's good!



...I think this may be even more worthless than the Talismans.




The Dragon is the only new enemy here. It has a good amount of health, but otherwise it's nothing too dangerous right now. It has a poison breath attack, but it doesn't matter either way because Suspend Motion puts it out of commission.



We mop up the last Beetle...



...then finish the Dragon off.



The Dragon Slayer is a broadsword with two attacks, 115 ATK and a 50% damage bonus against dragons. The Elemental Edge is still better.



---



Snow will slow the ill-equipped. A prepared warrior need battle only the enemy, and not the elements.





This map is another annoyance - snow cuts movement by two tiles as well as covers a fair portion of the map. The enemies are just Will-o'-the-Wisps and Kobold Knights, which we've both seen before. By the way, Dash movement isn't penalized by terrain, which makes that skill even better.



The first Will-o'-the-Wisp drops us another copy of First Aid.



A second then Silences Reinhilde but otherwise is of little concern.



They might be husband and wife, but Auguste and Reinhilde actually don't work that well together. Auguste is all about juggling opponents to harvest crystals, while Reinhilde wants her enemies on the ground so she can land her low-hitting shots. You can give Auguste a weapon with two attacks, but that also wastes Soaring Phoenix which is probably his best attack. This is also why they work better with Duwain than Rosea, since he can knock an enemy down multiple times while Rosea can only do it once.



I also should have switched Wylfred's Gram out for the Estoc since Ghosts resists Darkness, but at least we don't have to worry about Sin.



Kobold Knights are still irritating if you don't kill them in one blow.



Let's just fix this right up.



Another pair of these couldn't hurt.



There's a couple of hidden treasures on this map on the non-snowy part of the map. Here's one of them.



And for once it's a promising one. The Dragon Armor has a -5 to AVD, but otherwise has 150 RDM and 10 RST, which is better than the Icicle Plate. Wylfred can take this since there aren't really any major enemies left that use Ice.





Another copy of Reduce Magic is also useful to have if we run into any Sorcerers.



Urgh, back to junk for hidden items.



Two of the Will-o'-the-Wisps are located on top of these ruins, and the only way to hit them is to either approach and have them move down, or lure them down first with a menu spell. If you use Gleipnir's Bonds or something similar while they're up there you have to wait for the effect to fade first.



One of them freezes Rosea with a Frigid Damsel, so Reinhilde, who has barely moved at all (Warriors, Archers, Lancers and Sorcerers can only move one tile in snow) heals her of it.



We finish off the last two Will-o'-the-Wisps and call it a day in the snow.



---



The battlements of the border gate thwart weapons at every turn, but little good are they against sorcery.

In case you're wondering, Ailyth is simply saying how you can't attack against enemies with a big height difference, but menu spells have no issue.





There's mud on this map, which is the same as snow, but luckily it's only really an obstacle at the very beginning.




Elder Bats are the strongest Bats. They attack with Lightning and are resistant to Earth, and have good AVD, but otherwise are flimsy in their defenses and pretty boring aside from a paralysis-inducing attack.





Enemies give a decent chunk of experience, but there are only five enemies so the Wintergard map actually gives more in total.



Rosea also gets off her first Stun using Sacred Javelin against one of the two Toxic Flowers on the map. We've seen them before last chapter, so nothing new.





Rosea's now doing over 1,400 damage. Which is doing really well, actually.



To give an idea of how bad Dash-less units are without Safety Boots, see where Reinhilde is in comparison. At least Auguste still has a movement of three through mud and snow.



The other Elder Bat paralyses Wylfred...



...So we repay it with Phantom Destruction.






Lizard Lords have the high ATK characterized with Lizardmen but are otherwise completely unremarkable.



Enlightenment can be a risk in plot battles because the random MAG boost can end up killing enemies when you don't want them, but as far as techniques go it's probably one of the better ones considering Sorcerers' absurd MAG stat.



Ether Helms are decent helmets (15 AVD, 35 RDM, 10 RST) so Wylfred and Gwendal will make good use of them.





I don't even know anymore.



Reinhilde, who's been lagging behind, goes after the last Toxic Flower while the other three were busy beating up the Lizard Lord.



Rosea comes back to help her with the job.



And a third pair of Holy Gauntlets are our reward.



---



At least we're finally done. Back to plot!



That leaves you and me.

In the meantime, yes.

Why do they not consult you in the matter?

A woman bound to one day leave the house has no place in such discussions.

...

One needn't be party to the discussion to know what is discussed - the war for ascension is on the lips of all of Artolia.

Rallying to the royal cause unasked is the mark of the greater houses. Valmur cannot appreciate that.

The dithering coward is unfit to lead our clan! Would Mother and Father only remonstrate with him-

But that is hardly a way to attend an honored guest, particularly one who has aided us as you have.

Quite the contrary, I welcome your honesty.

"I mean, I've been travelling with a backstabbing saintess. You have no idea."



Think nothing of it.

Brother, prolong the wait no more. When do we go to war?

We do not go. House Haughn will not fight.



...

...

What possible justification could you have for withholding a military house from war?

This is no war, it is political infighting. I will not risk the safety and welfare of this house in what is essentially a political affair.

Moreover, our clan has recently forfeited a noble son for the sake of this realm-



Thank the gods Nicolas died before seeing the shame you bring our house!

What would you have me do?

Both Prince Kristoff and Prince Langrey make overtures for our support.

The situation calls for prudence. One wrong move will mean our end.

The very reason we will not fight!



When one side strikes, are we to run like dogs to the other? Disloyal, defenseless, destitute dogs?

You howl hyperbole.

Our house stands on the brink of ruin! Do none of you see? Father, Mother, what has come over you?



The house means nothing. Were circumstances to unfold as you say, surrender would be open to us.

How can you say that!

What good is a name with no heirs? We cannot bear to lose another of you.

Age has made cowards of you... They may have taken Nicolas' life, but it is you who steal his honor!

Door slams.



Leave her to her wiles. What could Phiona possibly do alone?

She could wage her own war and dig her own grave! What would this all have been for then?

We must find her. Sir Wylfred, I humbly beg your aid once more.

You have it.

---



Phiona has the heart of a warrior. Though fiercely proud, she would not throw her life away frivolously.

We can only pray...

We shall turn back. I regret the bother I have caused you, Sir Wylfred.

It was no bother.

Howling.



That is Phiona's voice!

She is surrounded!

My precious daughter!

I heard Phiona scream. How could so many-

Hordes of this scale would not approach our garrison by chance.

Phiona suffers the verity of her prescience. One of the sides has moved against us.



Age: 60
Gender: Male
Homeland: Artolia
Height: 180cm
Weight: 82kg

Auguste met his first battle holding tight his sorcerer's rod, only to dispense with it forevermore on witnessing the beauty of unarmed combat. His imagination captured, Auguste thenceforth dedicated all of his energies to perfecting the way of the fist.

After a lifetime spent defending his clan's honor, Auguste was forced to bury his Nicolas, and no longer did the virtue of dying a warrior's death appeal to him. He wishes solely that his remaining children outlive him, so that he need never suffer the agony of losing a child again.





Auguste offical render.