Part 41: Chapter 4B (2)

Our next stop is Aullewyn Keep, where we can access the shop and tavern.



Liese picks up Sacred Javelin and Suspend Motion, and I get a couple of weapon upgrades - Liese gets a Deluge Scepter (220 MAG), and I pick up an Arbalest for Cheripha. The Arbalest is powerful but only has two attacks - not a problem for her, since she usually wants a Fusillade+Sharpshot or Fusillade+Threefold combo anyway.





Nowhere, for the time being. I must pause to gather my thoughts.

If I may be so forward, sire, the sight of the valkyrie appears to have left you awestruck.

Indeed. It has forced open my mind's eye.

How so?

I am left to wonder what parting words my father may have spoken to me...

...as the Battle Maiden took him away that fateful day.



Have we-?

I am Phiona, daughter of House Haughn. I am afraid my brother's passing gave my emotions the better of me.

You need not apologize.

Then I shall thank you instead. Your assistance enabled us to bring Nicolas back safely.

An unfortunate choice of words...

How thoughtless of me.

...



She claims one dear to you as well?

My father was taken from me long ago.

You must be proud. I am certain he was a man of valor.

What good is valor at the cost of life? I'd prefer a living father to a fallen hero.

My brother's noble death brings honor and prestige to our house.

How pleased you must be.

I pity you. You do not comprehend the honor of being chosen.

So those were tears of joy you shed?

No...



We all have our reasons.

Forgive me. I should show more restraint when addressing one who graced my brother's final hour.

Would you do us the honor of bearing his pall?

You would have me?

Your thoughts do not differ much from those of my brother Valmur. Perhaps you might comfort him.



New place, same shops. The optional battle opens up but we're going to hold off on it for a moment.





...

...



I know... I know he deserves better... I cannot help it...

...

Brother, soon it will be time.



You are to appear at the palace at the royal court's behest. Or had you forgotten, Valmur?

Yes... Of course...

Sir Wylfred, though I am loathe to ask, the shameful state of my house leaves me little choice...

Shall I escort your brother to the castle?

You would do us a great service. House Haughn is in your debt.

---



I accept it of my own free will.

Such a melancholy manner as mine hardly befits the lord of a military house.

The same was I when war took my father from me. One does not choose to feel grief, it is inevitable.

Even though the death is noble?



You are the first to offer me such wisdom.

I merely speak my mind.

If the memory of Nicolas is to survive, I must act not as a lord, but as a brother.



Fauxnel! But why-?

I rushed to pay my respects the moment word of Nicolas's misfortune reached my ears.



Though he never...

Come again?

...Pay it no mind.

We hold services in the cathedral ahead. If you will excuse me, I go on urgent matter to court.

The very matter I'd hoped to discuss with you. But perhaps such talk is best reserved for less... unfamiliar company.

You needn't worry. He is a good friend, one who knows my pain. You may speak freely in his midst.



I am aware of the rumors.

Then I shall let you in on the truth. Prince Langrey stirs the very foundation of Prince Kristoff's base at court, and the cracks show.

By House Haughn will that base be consolidated, or crushed entirely.

Meaning the other noble houses would follow us.



I am afraid I do not follow.



The gall! My brother is not some martyr to be exploited for their political ends!

Alas, I too am saddened to see wrongful deeds committed in righteous names.



What has happened?



How could this be?

It would appear the game has begun before the pieces were in place. I hope not to offend, but my place is at court.

And mine in my lands. Send the court my regrets - I have a fief to defend.

Far be it from anyone to ask otherwise of you.

Sir Wylfred, I dread having to again call upon you to come to the aid of my house.



---

We have our new guest for this chapter now, so let's see what he's made of.




Valmur is the only male Archer. As such he wears Crowns instead of Tiaras - given how many females we already have this is by no means a bad thing. He starts off with three attacks, but no Soul Crush.



While he lacks his mother's sheer firepower, Valmur stands out from the other Archers for one big reason - as he actually uses a longbow instead of a crossbow, he is the only one to be able to reliably hit airborne enemies, and in fact, Valmur is arguably one of the best characters to use to grab crystals. Needlerain hits from directly above, like Sacred Javelin, so it can't miss on an enemy already airborne, and delivers a solid nine hits as well. His other attacks aren't as interesting but Needlerain alone makes him very much worth using as a generator of both crystals and gems that make up for his slightly below average damage.



Valmur also has a siege technique. Fleet Feet raises HIT and AVD of siege participants, but lowers the blocking rate of Archers. Not a very noticeable effect, but since Archers rarely get counterattacked anyway there's little harm in equipping it if you can spare the CP.



Let's get the optional battle out of the way first.



Liese aside, the team is almost comprised entirely of Nice Guys.



A fast, easy battle. Four Ghosts and one Lesser Vampire. The Ghosts have only 800 health and can be easily dispatched especially with any Holy-elemental attacks. Since we don't have to worry about Sin, the Vampire is also easy enough to brute force.



Valmur's attacks in action. Needlerain is really fantastic, as already mentioned, but another nice thing is how long it keeps the opponent juggled, allowing even slow characters like Earnest to chain attacks without causing combos to drop and generating even more crystals. It's a shame we can't use his father as well here...



Results speak for themselves.



As mentioned, this map is really quite short, so I won't spend too much time on it, kill things and try to maximize crystal gain, there aren't really any really useful items here.



Vampires' self-heal could be annoying but I'd rather take them over Living Armor or Daemons any day of the week.





I hold fast the string of victory!





The Ravenbrand is the only other reward from the map. It has three attacks and deals extra damage to birds. Natalia usually prefers the Azoth Blade since it allows her to omit the lackluster Dawnstar Rising, but the Ravenbrand isn't a bad option if you have nothing better.



In any case, let's actually do plot battles.



Double Archer and a Sorceress means ranged harassment, full steam ahead.





A very tight Sin quota with 880 Sin needed for double rewards and a maximum of 900 possible. However, most enemies are quite weak, and you're more likely to have trouble accidentally killing them than anything. Not much room for error here, though.



There are a lot of Toxic Flowers and Mandragoras on the map, and the latter are very easy to kill. Liese pulls one over from the stairway, and the rest move forward a little and wait for the two or three at the foot of the stairs to approach.



Lots of poisonous attacks fly about in this battle, but poison isn't a big concern anyway, also Wylfred blocks this one - I actually have to skip the counterattack or he'd kill the Mandragora even at full health.



In hindsight two Archers aren't really a great choice here since the elevation of the stairs makes letting both of them get attacks in is difficult. I could have swapped one of them with Natalia or Earnest for better results.



Pity they for whom no knell shall ring.

The first two go down easily.



The third one also crumbles like paper.



The Toxic Flower has more health and RDM than Mandragoras, but they're still not that hard to kill. Considering the number of enemies on this map it's possible they just wanted one to get the hang of Valmur and reap lots of experience.



Four for four, five enemies left - aside from mostly flowers, there's also a Living Armor and Lesser Vampire on the other side of the map.



Liese buffs herself up. Sorcerers are usually the best target for Reinforces (outside of Wylfred using Vali's Awakening) because the buffs are percentage based, but in a long gem chain, melee units might be more lucrative.



Number five is no sweat.



We chip at it a little and move in for the kill on number six, the second Toxic Flower.



Things are going splendidly well so far, lots of experience coming in and we've hardly had to heal.



Lucky number seven is the last Toxic Flower, and maximum Sin is again reaped.



The Lesser Vampire finally goes after us now that we're moving on from the stairway. It uses Poison Blow to little effect, poisoning nobody.

...And then the game decides we've had things going too well.



Liese gets a crit and kills the Vampire. I actually got really frustrated at this point, because things were going perfectly - I had full Sin so far, and if she hadn't critted the Vampire would be barely alive and I could overkill it at my leisure. And now double Sin's gone and I just didn't have the heart to redo the whole fight again. It could be worse, really - at the very least this was a single battle and not the end of a string of them - but I was actually itching to just go 'screw it' and pull out the feather.



I mean... urgh. It's not like I even did anything wrong - the RNG decides to just screw me over.



At this point it doesn't even anymore if we Overkill the last enemy, we've easily gone over 150% Sin but there's no way to reach 200%.



Just to make things easier, we Suspend Motion the Living Armor so it can't block.



I guess that's it, then.

_{Still annoyed at the game.}





Diminish Missile is the main prize for getting 150% Sin here, Natalia could use Counter Attack but it's not even worth it. The 200% rewards were the Extreme Armguards and Elfin Talfetta - both great armour upgrades, but I suppose I'd rather lose armor upgrades than weapon ones.

---



I believe I shall live.

As shall I.

Gods be praised. The state of affairs defies the imagination, and I feared the unthinkable.

Does not the danger to the realm call you to court?



This is madness! Who would dare?

Perhaps there are some who would mistake your house's wariness for weakness. They may stop at nothing.

That would mean my parents and sister lie in harm's way. I must return at once.

Take care to avoid harm's way yourself.

Indeed, I shall. Sir Wylfred-

You need not ask. I promised Phiona you would be safe.



Age: 28
Gender: Male
Homeland: Artolia
Height: 178cm
Weight: 69kg

As first son of the venerated House Haughn, Valmur was given an exhaustive education in the arts of wars no sooner than he could stand, expected to one day follow in the hallowed footsteps of his honored forebears. In his youth, however, Valmur took quickly to the book and slowly to the blade, and soon came to doubt his own heroism - a doubt which still lingers to this day.

Though he is Lord of House Haughn by title, more dear to Valmur's heart are his kin. That the name of his house would someday mean the deaths of those he loves torments him to no end.





Valmur official render.