What's the harm in a little reckless besieging? Let's Play FE: The Sacred Stones

When I played, I did Tana/Cormag for mobility matching. Boring as hell. Tana/Marisa has to be more entertaining than that.

So remember a year or so ago when I said I'd have an update ready in about two weeks? Well, that didn't happen. There were some problems. There are still some problems, which we'll see as I get updating. But now I have time to devote to finishing this up. I won't promise a regular update schedule, though I do hope I can keep that biweekly schedule I had planned. No promises, though.

Anyway, let's get one with it.

Let’s Play Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones Chapter 9:



For those who don’t remember, how about a quick recap to get up to speed.




Instead of following up on that, let’s go to Grado Keep



What could be going on in the heart of the enemy stronghold?



Find the children of Renais. Find them and take from them the bracelets that they wear. Glen, take Eirika. Valter, take Ephraim. Find them. Conquer them.



Valter: And her brother, Ephraim... He's better prey than I'd imagined. I can feel my blood rushing at the thought. This might be fun after all.



Go. Crush the Sacred Stones they house.

Riev: Heh heh heh... As you will. I'll begin making arrangements for Rausten's downfall immediately...

Caellach: Bah! Why am I stuck with Jehanna? Accursed ill luck. I became a mercenary to escape that wretched place, and now I must go back?




So the Generals have split, like our forces.



You left so abruptly, without any warning or farewell. You and Ephraim have only just arrived, and already you leave on another quest? Well, I'm your friend, Eirika, and I won't let you go into danger without me.

Eirika:
Does King Hayden know of this?

Tana:
No. He'd just say “I forbid you to go on this foolish errand,? like always. But I'm so worried about you.

Eirika:
Thank you, Tana. I appreciate your concern, but King Hayden would--

Tana:
You and Ephraim, my father and my brother... You're all fighting together, fighting for a noble cause. I cannot be left out. I will not be left out. Please, Eirika.



Later:



Eirika:
It smells of the tides... This is a busy place, isn't it?

Seth:
It's a trade center. Peoples of all nations pass through here. Do not become so enthralled with the sights and sounds that you forget your mission.

Eirika:
I won't. I'm a mercenary by the name of Erina. I'm traveling to Rausten to receive a commission.

Seth:
Let us look for a ship then, Erina. The docks are this way.

Eirika:
Hm?

Seth:
Is something amiss?




Oh, it is Eirika, it is. Our Heroine returns.



Eirika:
You look familiar...

L’Arachel:
Oh! Aren't you--

Eirika:
We've met before, haven't we? You arrived with your companions when we encountered those creatures... Your name is L’Arachel, is it not?



Now I’m going to restrain myself from including every piece of L’Arachel’s dialogue, but know that it took supreme effort. That being said, I’ve still got lots.

Would you care for one?

Eirika:
Uh, thank you... No, wait... That's not why-- We're actually on our way to the Theocracy of Rausten. We're rather in a rush and need to find passage on a ship...

L’Arachel:
Oh, dear. I'm afraid you'll find none to assist you. No ships are leaving port.

Eirika:
Pardon?

L’Arachel:
You see, I find myself heading home once more to my beloved Rausten as well! And actually, I'm quite well known with the powers-that-be here in Port Kiris. So I ordered them to ready the finest passenger vessel for me. But both merchants and passenger ships alike are too frightened to set sail.



Eirika:
Yes, yes... Uh... That is troublesome. Still, I must get to Rausten somehow.

L’Arachel:
You needn't worry too much. After all, if the sea is closed to you, simply follow the overland route!

Eirika:
The overland route? I've heard that's a terribly roundabout path to travel.



I, your faithful servant L’Arachel, shall overcome! With faith and divine strength!

Rennac:
Now, listen, L’Arachel! You might be thrilled about going the long way, but--

L’Arachel:
Come now, we're leaving. Dozla? Rennac? Don't fall behind!

Dozla:
Gwah ha ha! Wait for us, Lady L’Arachel! Come on, Rennac! We run 'til we drop! The first one to collapse from exhaustion is the winner!

Rennac:
Help... Why is this happening to me?

Our only concern now is to decide our next course of action. An overland journey would be very long. However, it seems that may be our only choice at the moment...

Eirika:
I agree. Whatever shall we do...



You know, there's a pretty price on your pretty head. Sorry, but I need that gold.

All right, let’s get on with the battle.



Here’s the map (You may notice that Ross seems to be in two places. Ignore that.) Everyone is forced to go left and around, except Ross and Tana, who can cross the water. So they will be doing that. There will be some reinforcements from the north after I cross the bridge. Also there will be some down in the Southwestern corner, but only one we need concern ourselves about. So the strategy will be to move in a mob across the bridge and get to the boss.

New Character time



This is why we I’m not worried about not using Vanessa. Tana is like Vanessa, except much better. Lots of speed, but more strength. I am a big fan of Pegasus Knights, so I will continue to use her.



This is the team. The results were not back on the Natasha/Moulder question, so I used Nat. Franz is still a few levels above the rest of the team, so he is spending the day on the bench. Other than that it came down to Neimi or Artur for the last slot, and I went Neimi. I just like her more. On with the battle.



First Ross takes a swipe at the pirate in the water just south of the team.



Kyle knocks out a soldier, netting himself a Level Up! that makes a case for him sticking with the team.



So the rest of the team moves into position. And it is time to start thinking about Supports. Next time I will have screenshots that show the options, but for now I will do Colm/Neimi.

For those that are unfamiliar with Fire Emblem, supports are conversations two friendly units can have after spending a certain number of turns next to each other. Each support had three levels and three conversations and every character has several different options. The conversations are usually entertaining on their own, but the real benefit is the statistical bonuses that the two units gain when next to each other afterwards. The type of statistical bonus depends on the elements of the units, but we’ll get into that next time.



Neimi: I was just being polite...
Colm: I never thought I'd see you on the battlefield.
Neimi: Well, I might not be the best, but when something needs to be done...I do it.
Colm: It's amazing how war affects people. I mean, look at you. You're a bumbling crybaby, but even you've pulled yourself together temporarily.
Neimi: Uh...
Colm: When we were little, you followed me everywhere, tripping and crying...
Neimi: Oh! Sniff... Why are you always so mean? Waaa!
Colm: And now look at you! You're still following me everywhere, tripping and crying, but now you're doing it on the battlefield. Will you PLEASE stop your boo-hooing?
Neimi: Sniff... OK... I'll try...
Colm: Man, you can't do anything without me, can you! And stop crying!
Neimi: But... Sniff...
Colm: What is it?!



Ah, they have long life of tears and emotional abuse ahead of them.

Now for the enemies turn.



Joshua punishes the soldier for his attack. That is going to be a theme with this battle, since my units outclass the enemies and there aren’t enough foes to overwhelm me.



Joshua’s retaliation is slightly less effective against the mercenary.



Ross and Colm get shots taken at them to little effect.



Neimi takes a shot at the already weakened mercenary, but can’t quite finish him.



Colm has similar results with the archer.

Joshua finishes the Mercenary, the gets healed by Natasha.



Lute gets a Weapon Level by finishing off the Archer.



I overextend with Forde a bit, and he gets a fortuitous critical. There aren’t many enemies in range and they fall easy, so it’s not like he is in any real danger.



Ross takes down the first pirate, then gets a level up and an Ocean Seal. The level up is decent, more strength, and in 18 or so levels that Ocean Seal will be quite useful.



Despite the odds here not being in my favor, I try for a stab at the other Pirate with Tana. It doesn’t go well.



Luckily, on the enemies’ turn, he misses as well. Even if he had connected Tana would have been fine. Too bad she didn’t hit either time.



Another pair of enemies go after Forde, but they do only minimal damage. And that is all of their turn.



After being healed by Natasha, I move Colm over to soften up that sniper to get Neimi some experience.



But Colm gets a critical, meaning he gets all that experience, which nets him a decent level up. I would really like to see him get some Str., but it’s not like I am really using him for his combat effectiveness.



Tana runs away for healing and Ross equips his Hatchet since he can’t reach that Pirate. Meanwhile, Kyle doesn’t quite have the power, or speed, to take this guy out.



Forde javelins a guy for one terrible level up. It is the start of a trend in this battle.



Joshua kills a guy and gets himself a disappointing level up, though his speed is just stupid.



I advance the rest of my group across the bridge haphazardly. If there were any threats on the other side I would have had to pay more attention to how I positioned my group.



One poor mercenary faces the unyielding power of justice at the point of Kyle’s blade.



The other two manage to avoid retaliation, but don’t do much in the way of damage.

This is why I made sure I had my hatchet equipped. Instead of simply avoiding a hit, I cut this pirate’s life in half. Also, this shot is one of the problems I've had with this post. Somehow, when I combined some of pics I managed to screw them up. I would have went back and fixed it, but at some point, probably when my laptop died, I managed to lose the original screenshots. So these ones are what I have.



Natasha heals Tana, so I can waste more time trying to have her help Ross against enemies that nearly all have an advantage on her. Meanwhile, Neimi and Colm tag-team this guy.



I didn’t get a shot of it, but some reinforcements arrived last turn. Lute makes short work of one of them. And Ross fails to finish off the pirate. Really, I’ve gleaned little advantage from his ability to cross water.



Kyle gets an unnecessary critical to kill this mage.



Even with his Killer Lance, Forde does not get one on the other guy. Also, Tana continues to be predictably ineffective against that pirate. I also advance everyone else.



The remaining enemy at the top of the screen goes for the easy shot at Neimi, but he isn’t strong enough to put her in danger.



The myrmidon goes for Eirika, but she deals with him. While not particularly great, this level up does break the recent trend of terrible ones. Also, she gets a Killing edge, which will go to someone else since she gets enough of a critical boost from her rapier.



A group of four or so is rushing across the low bridge at my troops. Meanwhile, that pirate takes another swipe at Tana. She needs healed, again.

At the end of the enemy’s turn, turn 8 I believe, some reinforcements arrive, including one special one.

Soldier:
Attention! Carcino's mercenaries will arrest the princess of Renais shortly. Our duty here is nearly ended, and I expect no further hostilities. If you must fight, however, remember that the whole empire fights with you!




Amelia:
I'm new. I was only assigned to your command today. I wanted to fight for the empire!

Soldier:
I don't need your life story, fool! Recruits are in front! Grab a lance and move!

Amelia:
Sir, yes sir! This lance... Stab the enemy. I'm not afraid... I'm a citizen of Grado. It's my duty to fight. And I'll fight my best!

Yes, recruits to the front. If you couldn’t guess, Amelia is a recruitable character.



Ross finally finishes off that pesky pirate. And he gets yet another terrible level up.



Tana flies back for healing yet again. I would have been better off just sending Tana with the rest of the group.



Neimi gets her revenge on the remaining mercenary.



Everyone else moves down the screen. On the enemy’s turn the units coming at me keep coming.



Natasha seems immune to the bad level up disease that is going around. Too bad I am going to switch her out for Moulder after this.



Gilliam continues to be great at softening up but not killing enemies. It is starting to become a problem instead of an advantage.

Joshua does not have this problem



My advance continues. Pay attention to how I position my guys, because I sure didn’t.



Those spear-wielding reinforcements arrive. I had actually meant to equip a weapon other than the Killer Lance, but it doesn’t matter now, the soldier is dead.



For once, Gilliam manages to take out an enemy by himself.



Here they come. Also, this is why I need to pay more attention to positioning. An archer getting a shot at Tana could very easily have been the end of her. Luckily for me, it wasn’t.



Tana can kill him from up close, though. Have I mentioned that I love the Pegasus Knight’s battle animation? Because I do.



Lute finally gets back in on the action. At this point I am just choosing who I want to get the experience.



Neimi gets the other one.



More healing and more Gilliam. There is little for me to do on my turn when I kill all the enemies on their turn.



The archer is the only on that can reach my main group on their turn, and he can’t do enough damage to be dangerous.



I’m surprised that both of these guys managed to connect, but Ross is meaty enough to shrug it off for one round. I really wish I had had my hatchet equipped.



Full life for Forde and a weapon level for Natasha.



In this house we find Rennac hiding from L’Arachel. He forks over a Dragonshield to convince us to keep his secret. I don’t know why he wouldn’t want to be around her.



Lute easily handles a fighter, and nets a terrible level up.



Colm gets himself a not too good level up from beating up an archer.

And Neimi gets a bad level up for herself as well.



Gilliam doesn’t do much to this Fighter, and gets a not too bad level up. He still needs speed something terrible.



The enemies get to take shots with no retaliation at Neimi and Colm.



Last turn I missed shots of Tana rescuing Ross bringing him to Natasha for healing. Here, after the healing, Ross and Tana cross back over to again try to save that house.



Gilliam takes most of the mages HP, and Neimi comes in for the finish.



Colm makes short work of the remaining Fighter.



Eirika: Are you from around here? You should find someplace to hide. These men are after me. It's not safe.

Amelia: But... But I'm...

Eirika: Yes?

Amelia: I'm a Grado soldier. I'm here to stop the princess of Renais...

Eirika: Huh? You're with Grado?

Amelia: And you're Princess Eirika? But the commander said Eirika's a cruel and merciless fiend...

Eirika: What? No, I'm... ...I don't know what Grado's officers have been telling you, but... Our two countries are at war, so I suppose they can say what they want.

Amelia: ...Mistress Eirika... I, uh, I surrender. I won't fight you.

Eirika: Huh?

Amelia: I became a soldier because I admired General Duessel’s sense of honor. But the generals have been very opposed to this war from the beginning... And now I see you, and you look so sad about all of this. I don't know what's right anymore. I'm just a soldier, but I want to decide for myself.




You can recruit Amelia with either Eirika or Franz. She, like Ross, is a trainee. Which means she will get ten levels fast where she is now and then you get the choice of making her a Cavalier or a Knight. In the end she gets ten more level ups than anyone else and she has a wider choice of classes. Usually she is one of the best units you have by the end of game. I prefer to make Amelia a Cavalier. This still gives her access to probably her best class, but also means that she can move for the bulk of the game instead of lumbering around as a Knight. (I really don’t care for Knights.)



It was a lot faster for Ross to get flown over for healing than to get back. And Joshua gets some healing.



I knew my fire was going to break, but it needed to be used up. Fortunately there are other characters to finish this guy off. Lute does have another Fire in her inventory, so she won’t be defenseless.



Colm does finish that mage off, and he gets the Elfire. Which I will give to Lute, of course, probably after the battle ends.



I set my guys up to block the bridge. Colm is going to draw the attacks because he has the less life than Forde there.



The first one actually manages to connect with a 26% chance. Colm doesn’t kill him, but he does get a nice level up. Any strength he manages to get is a plus.



Fortunately, the other misses. I really shouldn’t have had to sweat that out.



I tried to send Amelia to kill the fighter that Colm had weakened, but she wasn’t strong enough. So instead I used Neimi to hit the other one, which gives Amelia a chance to get some experience.

Lute takes out the other Fighter. Then Kyle and Forde take out the soldiers, one of whom had an axreaver, which I’ll gladly add to my collection. End of my turn.



The archer goes for Ross, but now he has his Hatchet equipped.



Down goes the archer.



Tana, meanwhile, takes down the shaman. She gets the kind of level up I wish I had gotten more of in this battle.



Healing and moving. The Cavaliers are outpacing everyone else with few enemies to attack. There are only the four enemies left.



The man in this house hands me a new rapier, which is good because the one I started the game with is starting to run out.



I’m wasting time trying to get my guys positioned to get the experience to those I wish to have it.



I didn’t realize I had put Forde in this guy’s range. These last four guys are actually kind of tough, so Forde doesn’t kill him.



Neimi would have, if her bow didn’t break. Now I would try to finish him with Amelia, but she isn’t strong enough to take him down.



Joshua does finish him off. Everyone else moves in a slow advance and I get my healing on.



Tana dodges her attacker.



Ross takes a decent size hit, but he hits with a counter.



On my turn, Ross misses and the counter attack puts him in a precarious health situation. Luckily, Tana finishes the guy off.



Together, Lute and Joshua take out the other one. Joshua gets a nice level up as well.

Natasha heals up Kyle in preparation for his assault on the boss. Another nice level up. Maybe that bought with the bad level virus is behind me.



The boss of this stage, Binks, is a Warrior. He could use an axe or a bow, but he only has an axe. I display my disregard for the weapons triangle by attacking him with a spear.



It works out about as well as possible, and Kyle continues the new trend of good level ups.



Ross takes a small shot at Binks and Natasha heals Tana.




Joshua was supposed to take another small swipe at Binks, but he got a critical, finishing him off. He also gets an okay level up.

Now just who is this Pablo that Binks mentioned?



They don't appear to be Grado Imperial troops.

Seth: Judging by their crude swordplay, I'd say they're mercenaries. We can expect more of them in the area, too, I think. Wait here.

I like that comment about crude swordplay here. These guys weren't supposed to be much of a threat to us. They are just a bunch of second rate mercenaries.

[IMG]http://i787.photobucket.com/albums/yy151/skoce/FESS%20Part%2014/9-115.png[/IMG}

Mercenary: I may be nothing but a hired blade, but I have my honor. I won't say a word.

Seth: I admire your professionalism. I guess we have no use for you.

Mercenary: No, wait! I'll talk! Carcino! It was Pablo of the Carcino Council of Elders!

Seth: Councilman Pablo?

Eirika: That doesn't make sense! Carcino and Frelia are allies. Why would they target me?

Mercenary: I don't know... Could be they've decided Grado's going to win. They want to be on the winning side. Some of the others opposed Pablo, but I heard he had 'em all silenced but quick. That's all I know, I swear it.

Seth: I believe you. Go.



So it's no surprise Carcino's merchant lords would throw in with Grado now.

Eirika:
Wait! Prince Innes... Prince Innes was to pass through Carcino on his way to Jehanna... If Carcino has betrayed us, then he ran headlong into enemy territory...



Messenger: Yes, and I have news of him. Prince Innes is in danger! Carcino's merchant army struck and cut through half our men. The prince is trapped in a siege. He has no means of escape, and--

Eirika: No more! I understand. Return to Frelia and deliver your message!

Messenger: What of Prince Innes?

Eirika: Leave him to us. The prince's troubles should burden you no more. We will see him to safety.



Yes, they no longer appear to be in the city.

Rennac: Whew... I'm finally free! No more getting bossed around by that witless ninny! Thanks. I owe you one. Take this. Now that I'm free again. I think I'm just gonna wander about for a while.

Eirika: ...What a strange relationship they have.



So ends chapter 9. It wasn’t really a difficult chapter at all. There weren’t many enemies and even fewer that were actually a threat. I did get the opportunity to try out my Pirate’s water walking abilities, but they are often as much trouble as they are a bonus, since it usually ends with Ross going off by himself.



Next time, instead of Chapter 10 it will be a quick look a support conversations and what exactly they do. After that it will be on to Chapter 10 Part 1

Hooray for returning LPs!

You are a crazy person. Knights are awesome. Generals are SUPER AWESOME.

But they are so slow. Why wait for the General to catch up when my statistically inferior and much more fragile Paladin can move almost twice as fast.

So last battle I triggered a support conversation between Colm and Neimi, but I realized I hadn’t really explained how support conversations work. If you set two characters next to each other for enough turns, its different between each pair, then you get the option for them to talk to each other. After you enjoy an amusing or character building conversation, ideally anyway, then the two characters get statistical bonuses based on their elemental affinity. Fire gives bonuses to Attack, Hit, Avoid and Critical, while Ice gives boosts to Defense, Hit, Avoid and Critical Evade. The other elements do the similar things. The bonuses get bigger the more support conversations you have.
Each character has a half dozen or so different characters they can support, but they can have a max of only 5 conversations. Ideally you want to do a full 3 supports between one pair, then do whatever you want with the other two. The problem comes in with trying make sure every character you are using has another character you are using. So I am going to show the support lists for all the characters to give an idea of what my options. Let’s start with Eirika.



The blacked out characters are characters I haven’t recruited yet. I can tell you that the top one is Ephraim, then Saleh and L’Arachel, and the last one is Innes. Eirika is one character I’m not taking requests for who she supports. I am going with the pairing of her and Ephraim, a pairing that goes places. It also gives a sizable boost to Str, so that is good.



Next is Tana. She is almost certainly going to be a permanent part of our team, but her choices for support aren’t great. Eirika and Ephraim are off the table and Syrene , the other Pegasus Knight, is not likely to get much use. That leaves Innes, Cormag and Marisa. There has been some support shown for Marisa, but I’m fine with her or Cormag or Innes if we use him.



Joshua has some options. Most of his possibles, Marisa, Gerik, L’Arachel and maybe Innes, will be on the team and they don’t have strong pairings already decided. Marisa is again an option. There has been previous support in the thread for Joshua/L’Arachel.



Ross has several options as well. Lute, Amelia, Ewan and Gerik are all possible parts of the team. I think I did Ross/Ewan last time, but I don’t really remember it. So anybody’s good.



Colm and Neimi was the plan for these two, but Neimi isn’t really turning out. I am always more interested in the conversations than the bonuses, but Colm is a character that does sort of need the help. He does have a few other options, like Moulder or Kyle? So stick with this pair or someone new for Colm?



Franz or Moulder? Those are really the only viable options for Gilliam. I have actually never used Gilliam before, so I don’t really know how any of his supports turn out.



Kyle is turning out nicely, so kind of needs a support. Unfortunately, he doesn’t really have many options. Colm, Lute or Forde? Franz has a few more options. I recall his support with Amelia to be fairly satisfying.



Amelia and Lute are sure team members. Most of their support options are as well and unclaimed. Lute is pretty much gold no matter who she is talking to.



Moulder is going to be one of my two healers. Gilliam is his most likely option. Artur isn’t turning out too great, but Light magic is kind of broken against monsters, so he’ll likely get some use.



I don’t really have time to level up three healers, but Natasha was looking good before I benched her. Plus she supports plenty of good charactes. Forde is in a similar position to Artur, but in a crowded role. Still, if people want to see more of him he has some good options as well.




This is the bench. I could still do supports during the Tower of Valni or Lagdou Ruins. I also realize I did this just before I picked up most of the rest of my team. So I don’t have pics for Gerik, Innes, Marissa or L’Arachel. Innes aside, those guys are likely to form the core of my team.

Anyway, tell me what supports you want to see. I have my own preferences, but I will bend to crowd suggestions. In two weeks: Chapter 10.

Ross/Amelia.

Also who cares about Generals being slow. You can take all the time you need to get somewhere if you NEVER DIE.

I like Amelia as a cavalier because she still looks like a girl. Amelia/Ross is a real power couple, I'm okay with that.

Lute/Kyle and the leftover points with Ross? I've never seen Colm/Molder so that interests me.

Oh I like Colm/Moulder. Do that too.

I honestly don't remember much memorable support convos in this game; the cast feels much more bland than the one in FE7. Except for Lute. Pair her up with Ross, I guess, but any of her other options is just as viable.

Knight/General are pretty great, especially in smaller, more defensive-oriented, maps. However, Gilliam does feel especially slow, even for the class' low Speed standard. That really makes it a pain to level him up, especially as a Knight. (personally, in this game, I prefer the Great Knight. A nice compromise between General and Paladin, as well as looking the coolest).

Except when you can't!

But seriously generals are lots of fun

I told you I’d be back. If it weren't for photobucket suddenly doing stupid things with the names of my screenshots I'd probably have had this done yesterday. It's

time for more Let’s Play Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones:



So what’s going on?



It is up to Eirika to rescue Innes and his army. To start, we move away from Carcino entirely.



Time for another check in with the enemy.



This is one hilariously awkward conversation. Is Emperor Vigarde, of the Grado Empire, confusing Glen with some other dragon riding general?

Vigarde: Capture the leader of the rebel army in Carcino. Capture Eirika.
Glen: Eirika... Do you mean the princess of Renais?
Vigarde: Eirika invaded Carcino. She massacred the citizens of Port Kiris. Then, she fled south. Glen. Go. Crush the rebels who brought ruin to Carcino.
Glen: ...Understood, sire.

Shortly thereafter:



I think this is the first introduction of Cormag, Glen’s slightly deranged looking brother.



Glen: I want you to remain here in the capital. I'll go alone.
Cormag: If that's what you want, Brother, so be it. But you seem troubled... Don't tell me you're concerned about fighting the princess of a ruined land!
Glen: ...Hm... I never was able to slip anything past you, little brother. You're right. This duty falls heavily on my shoulders, more then any other.
Cormag: Tell me, Brother, do you know this princess?
Glen: Yes. When Renais and Grado were still close... I met the girl-- I met Eirika only once. We spoke briefly, but I felt she was a woman of great kindness. I

cannot bring myself to believe Princess Eirika is evil. I cannot.
Cormag: ...Glen. The emperor has ordered--
Glen: There's the rub, Cormag. That's it exactly. His Majesty has never spoken a falsehood in all the time I've served him. And as a servant of the empire, I

am duty bound to obey his orders. But I can see no reason to think Princess Eirika's heart is any less gentle now.




Valter is so monstrous it’s cartoonish. He is nothing but vile, but it is more ridiculous than threatening.

Glen: Rrrr! Valter, you treacherous swine...
Valter: What's this? Is this how you speak toward your peer knights of the realm? Lest you've forgotten, I, too, am a general--the same rank as you.
Glen: You wretch. You were cast out from the army for mistreating civilians. What lies have you told to receive pardon and reinstatement at the same time?
Valter: Our beloved emperor felt my skills were needed, and his word is law. His majesty has earned my sincerest and most undying gratitude. And then we have

you three. Duessel, Selena, and you... The three of you have proven to be unreliable time and time again. We were brought in to plug the holes, don't you see? You

ought to thank me, Glen!
Cormag: … Valter! If you dare insult my brother further...
Valter: Come now, Cormag. And what would you do to me if I did? Would you fight me? Here? Would you show such disloyalty to the emperor?
Cormag: ...
Glen: Peace, Cormag.



Despite my misgivings about the effectiveness of Valter as a villain, he does illustrate the point of these Grado updates pretty well. Something is rotten in the

Empire of Grado. Crazy orders from a dead-eyed Emperor, a missing prince and villains and thugs being put in a place of power. What is going on here?

Now, back to the heroes.



Either Innes has suffered terrible losses, or he took a completely inadequate force. Himself and two others, one of whom can’t even fight? Nice planning there,

Prince.



Gerik: Naw. You see, Gerik's Mercenaries takes its name from me, Gerik. I'm the chief here. If I quit while our employer still fought on, they'd want a new

name, you follow me? So... What's the plan?
Innes: Same as before. We remain surrounded. They're not going to allow us simply to walk out of here... I send a messenger off with news of our plight.

However, even on the wings of a pegasus knight, Frelia is days away. We can expect no help from them.
Gerik: So we tighten our belts and survive, is that it? Or would you rather quit this place and rest in comfort?




He’s not lying, the Frelian education system is in the toilet and his vocabulary is rather lacking. Upon becoming King, Innes plans to institute comprehensive

education reform.

Innes: Even if I have to crawl to do it.
Gerik: Now, that makes me feel better. If you're so determined, we may all live a little while longer...
Tethys: Hey, Chief, Prince.
Gerik: What is it, Tethys?
Tethys: I've got bad news...and then I've got worse news.
Gerik: What's the bad news?
Tethys: We've no more weapons in reserve. What you're holding is what we've got. Once those are gone, there won't be much fight left in us.
Gerik: That is bad news... Well? What's the worse news?
Tethys: They've begun to move. They're going to attack again. Looks like they're sending up the whole lot of 'em this time.




Innes: I'm the one they're after. Throw down your weapons, and you'll walk away alive. I don't need you here. You'll only be in my way. Who knows? You filthy

sellswords'll probably sell me out anyway.
Tethys: Hold on there! That's not true, and you know it!
Gerik: Peace, Tethys. Hey, Prince. What are you going to do?
Innes: I'm going to get out of here on my own. I'll break to the south and escape into the mountains.
Gerik: That ain't gonna be easy. How you plan on doing that?
Innes: I'm not telling you. I've no idea when you'll decide to betray me. Go on. Get out of here. I'd rather do this alone.
Gerik: Sounds like you're trying to make sure you're the only one who dies.
Innes: ...... Fool. I've no intention of dying. But there can be no false hope of reinforcements riding in to save the day. You and I are not the same. You're a

commoner, and I'm Frelia's heir. We of noble birth do not shirk the duties to which we are born.
Gerik: ......




I’d be more inclined to believe that all of Innes’s sentiments were an act to save Gerik and Tethys if he didn’t always act like a douche to everybody.

Gerik: There's no way I can abandon you after that fine performance. I'm staying with you. To the end.
Innes: To the-- What are you saying? You dare ignore the orders of the one who's paying your wages?!
Gerik: Tethys, I want you to go and surrender. Give my regards to Ewan and Marisa.
Tethys: Don't be ridiculous. I'm not going anywhere. Now would the two of you kindly stop acting like such...men? And you! You've already fired us. You can't

order us to leave now.
Innes: Unbelievable... And you people call yourselves mercenaries? I thought you fought for money, not for duty.



Gerik: Tell us what to do, Prince. We'll follow your orders.
Innes: ...... Hm. Very well. I'll see what I can do to avoid getting us filled with arrows.
Tethys: Ah... Say, Prince. If, by some miracle, aid were to come, from what direction would it arrive?
Innes: ...From the north. But there's little or no hope of that. Even if Frelia were to send us aid, they would not arrive until...



We have arrived.

I love Eirika’s ‘no shit?’ response to Seth's situation update. Yep, those are our friends we see dying over there.



This is a map with some choice in it, unlike last chapter’s one possible path. To recruit Innes and his crew, he needs to speak with Eirika or Tana. Tana is the obvious choice. So she is going to make a run that way by herself, then the four of them will fight their way back to the rest of the group. Notice the myrmidon with the ponytail down in the bottom right corner? That’s Marisa, and she is recruitable, but either Tethys or Gerik I believe. This map is open enough that a player can get in trouble in the middle, especially with the ballistas the enemies already occupy, but it’s not really that hard at all.



This is my crew. I really should have called it quits with Neimi, especially with Innes on this map, but she’s here. The same goes for Artur, who is turning out quit badly. The rest of the crew is my team for most of the rest of the game.



I can’t reach the enemy on turn one. I set Colm where I did for a very specific reason.



Soldier: Lord Pablo, Prince Innes and his men have taken refuge in a mountain stronghold. Do we have your permission to finish them off?
Pablo: Yes. Flush the prince out and cut him down. We'll find Klimt later and roast his old bones as well. Heh heh heh...

Pablo falls into the Valter category of ridiculous villainy.



Klimt: If Prince Innes dies here, the bond between Carcino and Frelia is sundered forever. Carcino will be nothing more than a vassal paying tribute to Grado... We must find some way to aid Prince Innes.
Man: Wait, my lord Klimt! Pablo is after you as well. If you reveal yourself here...
Klimt: Ahh... May fortune keep you safe, Prince Innes...

Luckily crazy Pablo is opposed by wise old Klimt, here.



The enemies get the first shot at me, so I put two of my most sturdy guys up front. Too bad Ross misses.

So does Gilliam, though he takes no damage despite getting hit twice.




This is why Colm is hiding in the trees up here, to draw the fire from the ballista. Ross takes another hit, but this time he manages to connect with his reprisal.



Lastly, another mage takes a shot at Gilliam.



Moulder patches Ross right up.



Amelia finally gets her first level up, and it is a quite good one.

Tana misses a sure thing. Luckily, she avoids the counterattack as well.



For some reason I send Ross to finish off this already weakened mage, instead of having someone who needs to get experience knocking the last 3 HP off a defenseless enemy. He gets a level up that reflects the amount of work he did to get that level.



Joshua takes down this guy with no trouble.



I make no secret of my general dislike of Knights in Fire Emblem, but this not damage stuff is kind of fun. Still, taking no damage doesn’t mean he won’t be slowing me down forever.



These three takes shots at the remaining enemies, but none of them are able to actually take them out. That ends my turn.

Luckily there are no enemies close enough take another shot at Lute, but she manages to finish off this guy while being in no real danger.



Another of the leftover enemies takes a shot at Tana, who finishes him and gets a decent level up out of the deal.



Another attack on Tana, another dead enemy. While this game does have its difficult spots, it is generally one of the easiest on the series because the player characters are so much better than the enemies.



The enemies advance and Colm dodges another ballista shot. I’d rather have them focusing on him now rather than taking shots as I move through that gate to the boss.



Gerik and Innes team up to take out a soldier, which is unavoidable, but sucks since that means less experience for me.

Moulder heals Tana up for her trip south, while Ross and Gilliam soften up that Myrmidon and Fighter in range there.



Damn it Amelia. How am I supposed to get you levels if you keep missing?



Since Lute was 100% to hit, so there was no fear that a miss would prove deadly. I do wish she had gotten a better level up, though. Still, she is looking like a beast. Plus, a killer axe for Ross.



Artur finishes off the last one in range, while everyone else advances. Tana takes a detour south to catch up with her brother.



The enemy turn starts with a gate guard making a suicidal attack on Ross.

Miss, miss, miss. The enemies manage no damage this turn.



On the neutral turn Gerik and Innes each take out an enemy.



Innes: What? How did... What are you doing here?
Tana: I came with Eirika. Wait here, Brother. It's my turn to protect you.
Innes: Stop playing the soldier, Tana. You will return to the palace at once.
Tana: I will not! Eirika, Ephraim, and you are all risking so much... I can't sit at home and watch! I have to do something to help.
Innes: Tana... ...We'll talk about this later. For now, we join forces with Eirika.
Tana: Thank you, Brother.

Good old refreshing sexism. Innes is really the least likeable character. He’s just a dick. Unfortunately, I failed to get shots of his stats.




Innes: That was your doing. Thank you.
Gerik: Don't let your guard down now, Prince. There are still enemies to fight, and it'd be such a shame to die now.
Innes: I agree completely. Let's go.

And so joins Gerik.



Gerik starts as a beast, and he’s got 30 levels to get better. I think the game expects you to use his Hero Crest immediately, like I did the first time I played Sacred Stones. That’s a foolish choice, though you’ll still end up with a strong character. I’ll be saving that for later.

Back to the rest of the team, Moulder heals up Lute before I forget and disaster strikes.



Ross takes out the other guard at the gate. A level up with strength is never a completely bad level up, but I prefer more than one +1.



Lute takes a shot at a guy fast enough that she can’t double him.



For once Gilliam is the finisher.



Eirika takes out the other one easily. I move Franz over to give Eirika a little buffer from the oncoming hordes, with a sword equipped for the triangle advantage.

Tethys: I've never had much before, but perhaps good things do happen to good people.
Gerik: Good things? I like the sound of that. What do you suppose might come my way?
Tethys: Ha ha... I wonder...

Tethys wants to get her some sexy, scarred mercenary lovin’



Tethys’s stats really don’t matter, other than her ability to handle a blow. I have never really used Tethys, or any dancer or bard in a Fire Emblem game. I will use her if people want that, but I prefer to have a character that can actually do something on their own.



Tethys puts on a little show for Innes that gets him rather invigorated.



I have Innes take out this archer to make sure Tana is safe, what with that ballista right there. He also provides a nice sturdy buffer that won’t steal all the experience from those other two guys.



Soldier: Th-that way! The Frelian troops! Don't point that blade in our direction!
Marisa: I'll do what I can. No promises. Good day.

Marissa’s reputation is kind of crazy, though when you treat killing as blithely as she does I see how one would get such a reputation.

Tana takes a rather meaty hit from this guy. She can’t take many more of those.



Innes dodges the other one’s attack.



Poor guy didn’t have a chance.



The results here are pretty predictable.



Neimi can’t catch a break, though. This guy’s accuracy may be terrible, but he packs a wallop.

Joshua takes down a bandit. And looks really cool while doing it.



Artur, Artur, Artur. With level ups like that he is not going keep being used much longer.



Innes proves to be much more accurate from a distance than his sibling.



I do have to say that Moulder may be the single most boring character I’ve encountered in the entire Fire Emblem series. He’s just so … brown. Still, he does his job as well as any healer.

Tethys does her dance for Tana, who doesn’t miss this time, resulting in a level up that is none too bad.



Hopefully, this guy isn’t strong or accurate enough to take out the already weakened Tana.



Here I have my guys form up and get ready to defend against a treat that can’t possibly reach me this turn.



One of them can reach Joshua, though. Tough luck for him. That’s not a too bad level up, but there is a problem is Joshua doesn’t max speed and skill. Plus a weapon level.



That worked out about as well as could be expected.