Part 30: BF26 – Land of Ruin

The Royal Army had fallen into the enemy's trap and was surrounded, but a betrayal by the enemy assassin Elena allowed them to barely escape.

The Fantasinians were now within Lost Aries, the Land of Ruin, where the scars of the Great Sorcery War still remained.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Army was preparing its troops to welcome the Royal Army...





Yeesh, where do we start...?

A word, Lady Kylier... Why are you helping us?

Hey, yeah. You seemed pretty down on the Kingdom before. What's gotten into you?

None of your business! I do whatever I feel like. If you must know, I came 'cause I knew you're such a klutz!

What!? Why you...!

Hold, Esq. Milanor. Lady Kylier has been a great help. Milady, I thank you on behalf of my Princess.

Stow it! I'm not here to be fawned over by Royal lapdogs.

Easy now... We need some clues on Yggdra's whereabouts.



Hmm, looks like we've got some company. Let's get 'em!





First things first, it's now time to put Mizer's Warp Shoes to work. Since we didn't recruit Roswell, using the Warp Shoes with Rosary is the only way to get at least one item.



We also need to get rid of this Skull Stone. Roswell regains 6000 from it, and Pamela gains 4000. Everyone else gets 0, and most villages will turn you away if you have it in your possession. It does her no good, but Rosary gets it anyways. Pamela's full, anyways.

If you find a town, gather information there!

The enemy forces are split into two groups, each using Mind Change. Units include Bandits, Fencers, Hunters, Witches, Assassins, and Griffons. Most stats fall between 2 and 3. Not much of a fight for Milanor or Mistel, but enough for Durant and Rosary have a little struggle.



We'll clear out the top group first, with Gravity Chaos. Rosary's the only one with even a bit of a fight on her hands, but with her now 4 Tec, and Gravity Chaos, it'll be a one-sided fight.











Yeah. These guys are chumps. While we're clearing, we should have Durant go for MVP. He's a little behind Milanor and Mistel, so a bit of a boost will help him pull his weight.



With that lead Assassin down, the entire northern division is eliminated. Only two Griffon Riders avoid our wrath.

It takes a couple turns to get into position. With only 6 Mov, the enemy doesn't extend itself to attack much. And with 56 turns required for the Quick Clear, we're in no hurry.



Durant will lead the second attack. 5 vs 2 is huge overkill, but we need everyone in this area anyways.

Durant and Mistel both eliminate their targets, and everyone else just watches.

Although we can see a couple villages anyways, they aren't the ones we need to investigate. Three subzones are opened when we step on certain tiles – the most annoying part of the level is finding them.



Here's one. It opens a small zones just north of Durant.

There's a town straight ahead. They may have some vital information...



This tile opens up a zone along the north of the map.

Look, there's a town. They might be able to tell us something.



It also has this oddly conspicuous square that's unreachable by foot. Hmm...



Our remaining Mov is used to have Milanor investigate this village. This is the reason I was concerned about our Rep last battle.



Hero's Decendant: My clan defeated Brongaa, the feared Dragon of Purgatory. Ahh...! I can tell that you're a skilled warrior, yes? The glint in your eyes... your unwavering strength... You may be able to handle this...



If your total rep is too low, or you visit with someone other than Milanor, he calls you a chump and tells you to GTFO. I think you need 20 total Rep to get the item. With a max of 6 per unit, it's possible to miss this item with only a couple low Rep stats. We haven't lost a clash in a while, so we're maxed out at 30.

Also, Brongaa, the Dragon of Purgatory might ring a bell. He's the one quoted here:





This Hunter in the corner is holding a medallion, which more often than not means he's the leader for this group. If we kill him, the rest of the group retreats. This level is boring, and grants poor Exp, so let's just clear him out and move on.



Along the way, Durant will discover the final village.

There's a town straight ahead. They may have some vital information...



It's almost nightfall, so Rosary will move here. This tile is an even number of tiles away from that mysterious floating tile, so she will successfully be able to warp there.



With this victory, Durant will have slain 3 enemies. Mistel is in second with 2, so Durant should get the MVP bonus.



And there ends the Imperial presence on this map. Whoopee.



A few quick warps and she clears the mountain.



And she finds a new card for her trouble.



We also bring her back to the mainland, so she's not stranded during the day. When day breaks we can start investigating the hidden villages.



Resident: Hmm... a young girl who's being held by the Imperial Army? I'm not sure... Maybe someone in another town knows. Either way, could you take your battle somewhere else? I'm getting kinda sick of people fighting around here.



Resident: Imperial soldiers did pass this way, though... I think they headed east? I don't know why they'd go that way... There's another town around here, though. Maybe they'll be able to help. Sorry, kids,



Resident: A young girl? She's a captive of the Imperial Army? Oh... I did see her. Yes, they took a beautiful girl away. There's a prison east of here. They must have gone there. There was an Imperial higher-up with her, too. What was his name...? Gulcasa, I think.

Okay, what have we learned so far?



From what we heard, it seems there's a prison east of here. Kylier, you know this area, right? Do you know the place they were talking about?

Yeah. There's a fort if you head east from here. Past that, there's the “Gate of Atonement.” And, even further, there's an old prison...

A prison...!

I was pretty high up when I saw them, so I'm not positive... But that's probably where they're holding the princess.

A prison, huh... Alright, that's where we're going.



Let's get through here! Head for the waypoint!

Doesn't look like the enemy is hiding anywhere!

Yeah, we'll never get ambushed...

Alright, good! Let's go!



On the way back, Rosary finds this.









What the hell!? Y-You're that guy...!

I had to tell you something. It's about your princess...

About Yggdra? What about her!?

You must hurry. Gulcasa will soon finish unbinding his soul... If that happens... the Princess will no longer be... Hurry... You must save her... quickly...

Hey! Wait! What's gonna happen to her!? …......... How is he even alive...? What's this... unbinding of the soul? ...We'll worry about that later. We've gotta save her first.









Esq. Milanor... Who was that...?

...That's a great question. But, he says Yggdra's in danger.

…...!

Who knows if we can trust him, but it sounds bad. Let's hurry.

Esq. Milanor... Something is bothering me.

What's up?

Claiming news of the Princess and urging us to hurry... Does this not seem like the makings of a trap to you? That assassin... Lady Elena may have told them about us... An Imperial unit could be lying in wait to ambush us.

…......... Well, didn't Kylier say there's a fort up ahead? I guess we'll find out when we get there.



All according to plan.

Loot:


Dragon Eater: At this point of the game it's a pretty much guaranteed +Atk, +Tec. It also lasts for 2 maps, so it's a decent choice near the end where you repeatedly fight Gulcasa.


Soul Crucible: Meh. 3 maps.


Oh blade master and conqueror of fear... Even from the grave, thy blade still reigns. - Gill the Dragon Slayer
Dragon Killer: It only does one thing, but it does it well. I believe the GBA version was an Axe Ace, but now anyone can use it, any time they face a dragon. While it doesn't decrease your enemy's strength, it locks you in at Red Star effectiveness as long as it's active. If that's not enough, you get a whopping 50% Morale damage bonus if you win the battle with this active. Good Mov, and decent starting power. It's a pretty good card all around.

Gill is also the name of the young boy from the village in Riveria – the Promised Land, that wanted to grow up to be an adventurer.

Notes:

This is more a movement map, than a combat map, in my opinion. The enemies we face are weak, and the only challenge they bring is that they come in a large variety.

If you can win some simple clashes, all you need to do is search for the three villages. You have 50 odd turns to do it for the Quick Clear bonus, and you bring damn near every card in your inventory, so no biggie.