Part 16: BF13 – Lenessey Mountains

After defeating the Ortega Brigands, the Royal Army continued climbing the mountain.

The mountain path gradually became steeper, and to make matters worse, a scout returned bearing bad news: a large imperial force was lying in wait further up the path.

Though they were not yet aware of the Royal Army's presence, if the Fantasinians were found on such a thin and narrow mountain path, there would be no escape...







Looks like they're smarter than we gave them credit for.

There's quite a lot of them. We'd be foolish to fight...

We've come all this way... Isn't there something we can do?

...I may have an idea.

Go, Durant! So what's the plan?

The weather here varies greatly according to season. We are currently on the cusp of the misty season... The fog here can become very think. Which means...

I getcha... Sneak through under the fog cover, right?

Will that really work?

This is unfamiliar territory for the Imperial Army. Most likely, none of them know how thick the fog can become.

So all we need to do is lay low until the mist comes out! I like this plan. It means a break from all that hiking... Hmm!? Aw, man...

...Someone's coming!



Ugh... Brigands again?

What should we do? There's nowhere to run!

We've got you now, Fantasinian dogs! This is for the Boss!

You'll never leave this place alive!

It's the last few scraps of Ortega's gang... Hoo boy.

Then, we shall accept their challenge!



Before the battle starts, I give Durant the final Imperial Warfare volume, bringing his morale up to 3192. Others are still low, but this level isn't very threatening to anyone else.

Hold you positions until the mist appears!



We can't get to them yet, but we can check out Baldus and his forces.




Haha, awesome. Easily the strongest fighter we've seen yet, and he's slightly different than the Knight class we've seen thoroughly. Instead of Forest , Baldus's Guardian Knight class is immune to status ailments. This makes him a slightly bigger pain than the other generals, and bosses in general, because it cancels out a very useful card we get soon.

Let's check out Aegina, up North.



Sweet. It's easy enough to see that when they say to avoid battle, they mean it. Aegina isn't as strong a Baldus, except for that monstrous Tec, and her equipped item makes her deadly. With a Tec that high, it will be very difficult to have the manpower lead to take her on 2-1. Oh yeah, she uses Revolution. It makes the fight a 1 on 1.



The start of this battle always has a little road bump. Whichever spear user you bring has to fight an axe-wielding Brigand. They all have poor stats, but the weapon advantage alone could mean trouble. As long as you bring a good card that Durant or Nietzsche can use, you should be fine. I picked Shield Barrier. It will allow Durant to get out of the battle fine, and help out in case those Assassins attack next turn.



Three battles, three kills.



And with Shield Barrier's unused movement, we get a nice defensive formation. Rosary is protected from the Assassins, and Durant guards the east side against the Fencer. No matter which way the enemy attacks from, we're well protected.



The Assassins lead the charge here. They'll both fall this round.



It's just clean-up from here. Rosary hasn't had the benefits of any MVP awards yet, and most of the other characters will be maxing out their stats anyways. It would be nice to get her a boost, so she'll do most of the remaining work.

The Brigand is safe from this attack, but the Fencer falls. It's a close battle between him and Rosary, so Yggdra is needed to finish him off.



The last remaining member of Ortega's gang attacks. He's not going to survive the round.





Rosary grabs the fallen medallion, and waits up here. There's an item that's available after the fog appears, so it's helpful to have someone wait here.

We then have to stay here, doing nothing, for a bunch of turns. Nothing happens until after we end turn 24.

Look! The mist...!





Whoa... I've never seen mist this thick.

Now's our chance! Let us advance at once!



There are too many of them to defeat in open combat... If they suspect we're here, the battle is lost.

...Got that? Don't let them notice us...!

Avoiding Baldus is easy. The only way for the Empire to spot us is to end our turn in a specific square that would give them access to us. Baldus's square is to the west, and there's no reason to go that way.



We'll pick Doll Craft first. We won't be using it for combat, but it's good right now with 11 movement. Rosary will pick up the item, and Yggdra will run forward to open a PSP only mission, as well as pick up another item.

What is this thing? It's not opening.



Resident: I hear a hermit around here was once from the Kingdom. His name is... Bly, was it? He's a grumpy old man.

...Bly!?

Resident: If you want to meet him, take this side road.



What a unique stone.



Next turn, Yggdra ends here. It will open the rest of the level for us. Meanwhile, everyone else plays catch up. We can see how Warp movement can be useful with this shot. If we had Roswell there, instead of Rosary, he could warp through the mountain with 2 Mov. Rosary needs 10.

It's a long road, with no action.

Look! It's an exit...

Good eye. I bet we can get our of here through there... Let's move it before the Imperial Army finds us.

There's one more village along the way we need to visit to activate the new mission.



Resident: There's a volcanic region up ahead. You know, I heard someone actually lives there... He's probably some hermit.



This is the tile that opens Aegina's forces. If you look carefully at the map, you can see that this is the square that is in the crack that leads into the clearing. As long as no one ends the turn standing here, we'll be fine.

Eventually...












We did it!

We sure put one over on those clowns!

Keep going! We must leave, before the mist clears.

A volcanic region, huh... What do you think, Durant? It might be a good place to shake off the Empire...

But won't the area be... dangerous?

...Nevertheless, if what the townsfolk say is true...

Huh? What's that?

The hermit is Sir Bly, the old tactician of Fantasinia.

Is that so?

Possibly. He served under your grandfather, King Belganathos. Skilled in politics and war, he thwarted many an invasion. He is one of the best tacticians the Kingdom has ever known. I've never met him myself, but I believe it might be him...

Why is such a skilled guy living here? Was he fired or something?

I do not know, but if he were alive, he would be quite old...

...Durant, would he help us?

Let's ask him.

But... he knows the Kingdom fell, right? And he didn't try to help? That seems a little odd...

Maybe news hasn't reached him here yet.

...Perhaps this is so, but we cannot say for certain. Nothing would be more assuring than to have him join us. We should surely seek his guidance in freeing Paltina.

Well, we wouldn't want the Empire capturing him... It's settled, then! Let's go look for him.



Loot


Ogrennium: This will be used later for a trade.


Sealed Purse: No fucking idea. Seriously.

Notes

Nothing special, just lots of running. The first batch of goons is pretty weak, so you shouldn't have much trouble with them.

It was entirely possible to defeat Baldus' and Aegina's units in the GBA version, so I imagine it is here too. If you do, you don't unluck the PSP-only path we're taking. They're both also strong as hell, and neither of their cards give you much of an opening against them.

If you were attempting this, you probably don't have enough cards to take them both on. Ultimately, it doesn't really matter. You get a second chance at their items later, and any extra Exp you'd gain you'll gain on the side path anyways.