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

Tana can’t take him down either, but she does get a fantastic Level Up! And she has enough life to survive anther attack.



He goes after Ross, though, who survives with exactly one HP. That is what I like to call being lucky as hell because I really wasn’t paying attention to the numbers closely enough when I put Ross in that situation. And he gets a Level Up! with some speed in it.
And that does it for this battle. Thanks to the might of our fair heroine, the forces of evil have been defeated.



What's important is-- Oh my! I just realized I have not yet had the honor of your name.
Eirika: Oh, you're right. How strange... We've met so often now that I had assumed you already... Please forgive my lack of manners. My name is Eirika.
Seth: Milady...
Eirika: It's all right, Seth. She's clearly not our enemy.
L’Arachel: Eirika... Aha! So you must be Princess Eirika of Renais! It is simply an honor to meet you. And how strange that we should meet again in this place.



I love how L’Arachel assumes that since she is lost everyone else here must be lost as well.



Yes, clearly.

Eirika: You want to travel with us? I appreciate your offer, but our journey is far too perilous. I do not wish to pull you into this madness.
L’Arachel: No, no, no. There can be no doubt that we were sent here to aid you. It is all part of the grand design.



So its official, L’Arachel is in. Yay!



Dozla: Gwah ha ha! I understand. For you, Lady L’Arachel, I would do absolutely anything!



I find it very hard to not add screenshots of every piece if L’Arachel’s dialogue. Especially when she is having absolutely insane conversations with Dozla.

Onward!



So now we’ve reached Ewan’s teacher’s home.



Must be out wandering again.
Eirika: He's out? That poses a problem. Do you know when he'll return?
Ewan: Hmmm... I don't know. He often goes out and looks for people in need.
Saleh : ...I believe I told you it would be best to stay away.

You were looking for someone...
Saleh: ...Oh, yes. And now we meet again.
Ewan: These people say they want to go through Caer Pelyn. I could guide them myself, but I thought it might be better if you went, too. That's why I brought them here. What do you say? Will you guide them?
Saleh: ......
Eirika: Would you, please?
Saleh: ...Very well. I'm heading there now. If you need to go to Caer Pelyn, you're free to follow me.
Eirika: You don't mind?
Saleh: We have little interest in the outside world, but we do not refuse travelers. I should warn you: the road is not easy, and you look very weary. You should rest a night before attempting the mountains.
Innes: We do need rest, it's true. We are all exhausted from our encounter with those creatures. We must give our men time to heal, or they'll be useless in an emergency.
Ewan: It's settled then. I'll go on ahead and let the elder know we're coming. See? Even when there's no fighting to be done, I'm still useful!
Eirika: No, wait!



I understand his need to be helpful, but...
Saleh: Ewan knows this land well. You needn't worry about him.

Innes does have some some concern for his teammates, he just has no way of expressing himself other than being an asshole.



The next morning:



Wyvern Knights! Grado has found us.



You were very kind to me. However, if you're here now, I have to assume this means...
Glen: Yes, it does. I wish our reunion could come under different circumstances. Eirika, I must tell you, I come here on the direct orders of the emperor. I'm to bring to justice the rebel army leader who's been terrorizing Carcino. It's you, Eirika. They say you've been murdering innocents.
Eirika: What? Wait! What do you mean? I...
Glen: ...If you have something to say, I would hear it. I know all too well that Grado has robbed you of your homeland, but even so... I do not believe revenge could drive a woman like you to such depths. And yet... here you are in Carcino with a small army under your command.



Glen: Go on.
Innes: ...This is ridiculous. Believe what you want.



Innes steps in to use trademark tact to keep things peaceful and productive. I mean, he’s not wrong, but this isn’t helpful.

Glen:...What do you mean?
Innes: Carcino betrayed Frelia and set a pack of mercenary dogs to kill me. And you paint Eirika a rebel instigator? It's an absurd farce. Your emperor commits horrors, and you believe Eirika is a criminal?
Glen: ...What are you saying?
Innes: You truly are blind, aren't you? You're one of the Imperial Three, and yet you can't see your emperor's plan?
Eirika: That's enough, Innes. There’s no need to provoke him. General Glen, we've told you what we know to be true, what we've seen firsthand. We don't want to fight you...



Glen: ...I see. You...are more observant than you know. I am ignorant of the emperor's designs. General Duessel and I both questioned the wisdom of this war. And if you really are innocent of the crimes attributed to you... Why would His Majesty lie to us? I must know the answer.
Eirika: So, you...believe us?
Glen: The Princess Eirika I met long ago was kind and merciful in spirit. You've faced relentless hardship, and yet that selfsame spirit remains true. ...Let's put our fight aside for now. I will learn the truth. Then I will once again perform the duties of my office.



That went about as well as could be expected. Apparently not everybody in Grado is crazy. Good thing we got Glenn straightened out, now he can help us get to the bottom of this.

But what is this? After we leave more Wyverns?



Valter: Tsk, tsk. What am I to make of this? Those little birds I saw flitting away into the mountains looked vaguely familiar. What do you suppose would happen if it were known you let Eirika escape?
Glen: Do as you will. I'm returning to the capital. I have questions for the emperor. Clear the path, Valter.
Valter: Hold on now. No reason to rush off, is there? After all, this is where you're going to die. See?
Glen: ...What are you babbling about?
Valter: Heh heh...




The emperor's punishment was just and warranted.
Valter: Heh heh...heh heh heh... After my fall from glory, only desire kept me alive. Desire for revenge.



Glen: ......
Valter: Hear me, Glen, wyvern general of the Imperial Three. I live for battle. I crave it. I have no need for peace. That is why you must die.



Glen is one of the Imperial Three, he should be able to hold his own in combat.



Except Valter gets a guaranteed critical right off the bat, killing Glen.



And psychopathic craziness wins the day. Things are not looking good for team Renais.



Next time: Climbing the mountain and tragedy strikes.

Why would you use Moulder?

You're using Moulder, though.

That is why you don't use Moulder.

yesss

noooo




Unrelated: it took you like two hours to post this update. I'm curious what your process is and if that doesn't have something to do with your difficulty in updating. Not trying to be a jerk, but maybe you can make this easier on yourself.

Back when I was updating before, people called for Moulder and his moustache. So I used Moulder. He's the most boring character in the series, but his stats aren't bad.

My process is to type everything out in a word document with the pics pasted in, then copy and paste the photobucket image codes in the reply box and then copy and paste the text in around the images. It worked fine until I went from needing 100 or so images for a Chapter to the 270 this one took. And on this one I worked to cut down the number of images I used. I am very open to advice. Though if your advice cut the chapters into smaller chunks then that is what I am going to try with the next chapter.

The photobucket thing is probably what adds the most time as it's just random letters and numbers in the links. Outside of hosting your own images I wouldn't know how to fix that...

Isn't there an option to retain the filenames? I have to imagine that would save some time.

I don't use a hosting service (I have my own webspace), but I imagine someone else could give you specific pointers.

(edit) so apparently once the TT fundraiser completes, there will be some sort of local image storing? That might be promising

rascally badger: have you tried cutting out word from your process? past 25 images at a time into the update box, hit preview, then glance up and down between the preview and the box adding text as appropriate? might save SOME time (it's what I do)

The file name scrambling was something they added to the "all new shitty Photobucket". Luckily, you can turn it off. It's under user settings -> privacy.

As an example, I upload all my lp filenames as something like torment14_01.jpg, followed by torment14_02.jpg (and etc. etc.). As long as every file you use occurs sequentially, then you don't need to know what each individual file name is, just where one of them is located. You can then just change the number.

In many cases, I find that I'm just getting the url, and posting it (with img tags) into notepad, and then quickly copying and pasting it a hundred or so times, then just going back and changing the file name. Then you make comments in between, and voila!

EDIT: you can keep a "windows preview" open with the files in question on top, and your notepad file on bottom, so you can always see what file number corresponds to what image you want.

EDIT 2: I love me Fire Emblem level ups!

Moulder is tight, but you gotta make use of his supports (Vanessa and either Colm or Gilliam) to make it work. He's not a great standalone character. (I used to love using Moulder back in the day when I would spend dozens of turns grinding his support ranks; I'm more of a Natasha guy, if I use healers at all, now that I don't).

I appreciate that you're using him and some others I wouldn't (Ross for instance) so I have more justification for my unconventional party selection if/when I LP this thing later

Good update and I'm glad you're back and running this! This game needs more love.

eta: THANK YOU BASED GOD YOU TOOK EIRIKA'S ROUTE

I'm more or less been obligated to do Ephraim's route now which is fine because I strongly prefer that cast of characters

Last time we took a pit stop in the mountain and discovered an old fort filled with skeletons. What awaits us this time?



Saleh: We're close. It's only half a day ahead.
Seth: I would ask for a moment's rest before continuing. We are all exhausted. We can go no farther today.
Eirika: No, Seth. I'll be fine. We must not be delayed by my weakness.
Innes: Whew... Hah... I didn't realize we'd be climbing so high.
Eirika: Whoops!
Saleh: ...As I warned you before we set out, the footing here can be treacherous.
Innes: Do you people truly live in this place? These barren crags seem unfit for human habitation...
Saleh: Material wealth brings strife. We've no need of these things.



Before Saleh can explain the details of his dragon-based asceticism, monsters appear.



Seth: Ah! Princess Eirika, watch out!
Eirika: More monsters... Master Saleh, do these creatures normally inhabit this region?
Saleh: No... Those things come from Darkling Woods. It's been a long time since they've wandered this far afield. It's as the elder says... Evil omens take many shapes.



So I guess we must fight. Very little preamble to this battle. We are in the Mountains. There are monsters. Let’s fight.



Here’s the Map. There is one small path through the mountain, my army is going to crowd through it. That is as much of a strategy as I plan to muster. I am going to send Tana north on her own to take out the monster’s in the mountains. It is a very simple map.



Saleh: I hope he is safe.

But he is not safe. He is, in fact, currently being chased by monsters. Which is about as unsafe as a small boy can be.



You, uh, aren't interested in talking, are you? Aaaaaa...
Ewan: Where'd all those freaks come from? I've got to get back and warn everyone... But... I do wonder if Grandmother is all right.



Ewan hides in this house. I bet you can’t guess what happens when we visit there.



Okay, this is where we have a problem. If you take a close look at that map a few images up, you might notice that some of the units are obviously not from my team. Like the pair of assassins. That is because I managed to delete the first 150 or so screenshots from this battle. Since I didn’t have a save to go back to, I couldn’t really do the first half of the battle again. I did get a save from the internet to get these prebattle screenshots, but there really wasn’t a satisfactory way to redo the first half of this battle.
So what did I do on the first three turns. Well, let’s look at the map. There really aren’t many options. I went right, through the one path through the mountains. The one interesting thing that did happen was I sent Tana up to kill those Eyes just north of the party, but in doing so triggered the enemy reinforcements that come when you get to the top half of the map. So those enemies appeared right on my back line, instead of half the map away. So I had to scramble to take out a bunch of new enemies. And that is where we come back in.



Franz takes out the last Gargoyle, which had already been weakened by Artur (Why I did I use Artur again? I thought I had relegated him to the bench?) Amelia’s somewhat desperate flinging of a javelin misses the mark.



Luckily, Tana is right there to finish it off. Which gets her a Level Up that could have been better.



I think I get what people see in Knights. Sure, they take forever to haul across a map, but seeing that dog smack against Gilliam’s armored chest twice with that big NO DAMAGE popping up is quite satisfying.



Plus, it left the enemy weak enough for Marisa to finish it off and get a very myrmidon Level Up. Also, see where I left Marisa positioned, with enemies all around? Spoiler alert: this was not a good idea.

Gerik takes out the spider, despite not having that great a hit percentage. He gets a none too good Level Up, but what can you do?



Moulder also gets a Level Up healing Gerik’s slight wounds. Also, his Heal staff breaks. Luckily I’m not so stupid that I sent him in without another healing option.



Gilliam is hit for one damage. The next gargoyle manages NO DAMAGE. He could take this all day, especially when he hits back for more than half the enemies HP total.



Now the enemies move on to Marisa. The first Gargoyle connects, knocking her down to 9 HP. One more hit will likely kill her.



Christ that was close. This is not looking good.



The Mauthe Doog can only knock her down to 2. She, of course, finishes it off, leaving the door open for that last Gargoyle to get a shot at her.



Thank God. Better lucky than good. Marisa lives to fight again. Not that my poor play won’t put her in danger again, but this time she managed to escape.



My turn again. I have Tana fly back North, because sending her up there alone is absolutely a great idea.



I go ahead and have Saleh nuke one of the Gargoyles.



Marisa retreats to a safe distance, and Moulder heals her with his Mend.



Gilliam takes out an enemy with a critical hit, while also falling back to give the enemies fewer targets on their turn.



Gerik takes out another.



To finish up my turn, L’Arachel heals Ross, who was somewhat battered from dealing with the other side of that Gargoyle ambush.



The remaining Gargoyles go after Moulder and Franz, with the one trying to hit Franz paying for it much more harshly than the other. He also left Franz his Horseslayer, which is good. Specialty weapon always come in handy when you remember to actually use them.

Gilliam takes a poke at the spider. His utter lack of speed means he can’t double it, but his strength and defense means he is in no real danger from it.



Marisa gets some revenge on the last Gargoyle.



Healers do their healing thing. I know many people who manage with one or no healers, but I take way too many risks up front to not have at least one around to save me from myself.



Artur finishes off that Gargoyle. For some reason I am still funneling experience to him. I don’t know why, it been a long time since I played this map.



Saleh downs the spider Gilliam weakened. No sense taking more hits than necessary, even with Gilliam.



On the top half of the map, Tana takes a shot at another spider. That does it for my turn.



That group of enemies around Tana all attack her. She manages to kill the spider she weakened and the Zombie, but she can’t take down the one with the poison claw.



Gerik draws the attack of the last enemy on the south side of the map.



One more enemy on the top attacks Tana. She couldn’t quite take it out, thanks to missing what should have been an easy shot. It’s cool, though, she basically cut the remaining monsters in half on her own.



Here’s the battle situation as of now. There is exactly one enemy on the bottom half of the map, and only one enemy in my way for a few more turns.



L’Arachel gets a Level Up healing Gilliam. It kills me to think of changing her class before she hit 20, but with the battles left she won’t hit 20 until the last map or two. Unless I abuse the Tower, which I don’t want to do. But no healer is truly useful until they can actually deal damage.



Artur got a critical here. He seems to do that a lot. Especially when I don’t want him to.



Everybody else just moves along the only possible path.



I almost forgot about Tana, up in the mountains by her lonesome. She finishes off the Spider, but loses her javelin, which means it is time to get out of the area.



This goes about how you’d expect.

No javelin means no counter attack. But its only one damage.



I have Tana retreat, more to save some for the rest of the group than out of any real sense of danger.



Healing 1 HP? Exp is Exp.



I believe this is where those enemies were supposed to ambush us, so I don’t have two full turns of just moving because there are no enemies around. And none of the enemies are close enough to reach me on their turn either.



On my next turn, though, Franz turned a 4% critical hit chance in a completely dead giant monster spider.



And we wait some more.



Another Spider is in reach, but Franz cannot slay this one. He does get a nice Level Up out of it, though.



I don’t know if anyone needs to see L’Arachel healing everything that is missing even the smallest sliver of life, but I like the way her pony hops when she does it.



Do I look like a waiter?



Tana takes down the spider, though she takes a blow and gets poisoned. This is not such a bad thing, as it guarantees L’Arachel something to heal for several turns. She also gets a Level Up, and seeing Tana’s stats makes me chuckle.



I am finally close enough to trigger some enemies. Marisa trades blows with this Mauthe Doog.



Franz and L’Arachel avoids the stares of these eyes, which I think I’ve failed to mention are actually called Mogalls.



Marisa takes out the pup, getting a decent Level Up. She could use a lot of stats, but Str is the one she is most likely to hurt for lacking.

Gilliam does in the Mogall (I’m going to keep calling them Eyes, because that is what it is.) His Level Up pretty much cements my concerns about him. I don’t think he has gotten even one point of Spd the whole game. While is Str and Def are high enough that he is still useful, he is getting doubled up by just about everything. I do have a speedwing (+2 to Spd) in the convoy, but I am hesitant to use it on a unit I tend to not use. So I leave it to you, the readers, is Gilliam in or out?



It may be wasteful, but they need that experience.



Franz visits the house that doesn’t contain Ewan and gets a Barrier staff, which raises Res. He sends it to the convoy. I’ll probably waste it to get L’Arachel experience.



Tana visits the house with Ewan and recruits Ewan. You can send anybody to recruit him, though I think he has special dialogue with his sister, Tethys, and Saleh. Ewan is the last of the Trainees and the only magical one. He is also one of only two units that can go on the dark magic side of the magic triangle. Which is where I usually send him, even if dark magic is not quite as useful in this game as it is in others.



We’ll start Part 2 of Chapter 12 with a look at Ewan’s stats. For now, I have him retreat to these woods, since he can’t kill that Eye in one hit and he can’t survive takng two from it.

Next Time: We defeat the rest of the monsters and learn more about the Great Dragon.

Fuck me! That is a lot of enemies!?

Keep Gilliam only if you're not using Emilia.

Every single time I tried to use Gilliam, he never disappoint...in terms of never having enough Speed to not be an eventual liability. I'd say ditch him, so better start babying up Amelia now.

Yeah, here's the thing. My irrational hatred of Knights means that, while I will be using Amelia, there is no chance I am making her a Knight.

Another nail in Gilliam's coffin is his lack of good support options, since his among characters vying for use are rather limited. I'd rather just give that Speedwing to Ross or Amelia.

The game gives you more cavaliers than any other class, though. (Pegasus knights might be tied with cavaliers, I guess.) For that reason alone, I always make Amelia a Knight.

I can sort of understand that, though. General rocks, but Knight is almost always a pain to train (*except Oswin in FE7, on my experience) due to that movement restriction. Not to mention Amelia's late bloomer status and all. Have Amelia go Cavalier -> Great Knight, and another one Cavalier becoming a Paladin?

Meanwhile, I think I want to play some challenge run of this game; either rand-orging the party I have to use for every single map, or rand-org 7-8 characters at the start to be used for the whole game and nobody else. Have to think first which one is more fun/reasonable.

Knights are terrible. 4 Move is going to make it near impossible to train Amelia without abusing the Tower of Valni or going reaaaaaaaaally slow. (Then again Amelia is still really difficult to train without the Tower regardless of movement... which is why I don't. lol)

And dear god that Gilliam needs to go, 1 Speed in 7 levelups is horrendous and unacceptable.

eta @Raven: rand-org your party for the whole game at once, not per chapter. guarantee you will end up pulling something like an untrained L'Arachel or Ross or Ewan for Chapter 19 if you try rand-org'ing a party for every chapter

Recruit → Cavalier → Great Knight is the optimal class change order, isn't it? You gain access to all three weapon types while maintaining both a usable Move stat (which a General lacks) and high stat caps (which a Paladin lacks). Might as well go that route for Amelia.

EDIT: Also, just gonna repeat my request for the Lute x Artur support while I'm at it, in case it got forgotten about during the hiatus. :3

Stat caps don't really matter in this game, especially in Amelia's case since she's in no danger of hitting any except Skill (which is superfluous after getting to the 10-12 Skill mark) and Speed (where the cap is the same for all three of her promotion options). In the campaign you're unlikely to hit them and no one cares about Link Arena (though if we did here, then they would matter). And in Creature Campaign you get infinite stat-ups so you can make anyone a killing machine and trivialize the game if you want.

For me the main choice is between 2 Move and Axes. Axes are nice; they're cheap, they do the most damage, they're the easiest to boost your weapon rank in (since the Steel Axe is an E-rank weapon, while the other high-WEXP weapons are D-rank), and in Amelia's case, the disadvantages (slightly lower Hit and higher Weight) are offset by her Skill and Speed. But that 2 Move provides a lot of very valuable flexibility in deciding how you're going about your turns. The only reason it's not a hard call in my opinion is that you can't really go wrong with either.

Sorry about the delay, folks. Photobucket was telling me that I was nearing my bandwith limit, so I thought I would wait until it reset, which just happened today. So on with the Fire Emblem. I left off with my army fighting monster's in the mountains, having just recruited young magical prodigy Ewan.


Ewan isn't bad. If you take the time to level him up, he's likely to be about as good as Lute. But we already have Lute and she's leveled up right now. Ewan is one of only two characters in this game that can use Dark Magic, but Dark Magic isn't actually that good in this game. I'm not opposed to using Ewan and I am looking a little weak on the magical side, but it is a lot of effort to get him up to speed without some tower abuse. I'm already going to be babying both Amelia and L'Arachel.



On with the fighting. It’s the enemies turn and the first one attacks Gerik and gets the worse of exchange.



The eye attacks Ewan, whose 1 damage counter attack cuts its life in half.



I start my turn by having Moulder heal Ewan.



Then Ewan attacks the eye, this time killing it. And he gets his first level up.



L’Arachel gets her heal on, and everyone else moves toward the end of the map.



This centaur takes an ill-advised swing at Marisa, who bloodies him pretty good in return.



That sets up me on my turn to have Amelia finish him off and get a solid Level Up.



I use Gilliam to plug up the steps, while Marisa and Franz head to the East to deal with this other group of enemies. And, of course, L’Arachel heals anyone she can find.



I’ve got my army in a defensive position here, with strong units like Tana and Ross keeping the squishier ones safe behind them. At least they will be when they catch up.



The skeleton goes for Gilliam, who stops him in his tracks, but doesn’t kill him.



Franz, meanwhile, deals with this centaur.

Inexplicably, I have Artur take down the weakened skeleton. I know when I started I wanted to use him because I never do, but I never do because he rarely turns out worth using (for me, at least).



More healing and a weapon level.



I am not entirely sure what happened to the centaur, I am relatively certain that Franz did not kill it on the enemy turn, and it’s gone now, but I have no pics of someone taking it out. I assume I used Marisa.



On the Enemy Turn, the gargoyles from the top of the map move down, not quite close enough, though.



Franz fights this powered up Zombie, but can’t quite kill it.



L’Arachel heals Gilliam’s slight hurts.



Tana can get to a Gargoyle, so she takes one out.



I move Saleh over to take her place on the wall, since his is strong enough to survive a few attacks. And Marisa moves to the vendor to buy Moulder a new Heal Staff, mostly because I don’t think she could take the attacks of the gargoyles.



The Zombie goes back at Franz, who gets a Level Up for killing it. He is turning out solid, if not spectacularly.



Gerik takes the brunt of the attacks from these Gargoyles, and comes out only slightly worse for wear.



Franz deals with the same thing on the other side of the map, and does just as well.



The last one tosses a javelin at Gilliam, which is a pretty pointless gesture.



Franz and Gerik get healed by the healers, keeping everyone out of danger.

Again, I have Artur finish off enemy softened up by Gilliam.



Tana flies across to take out the last skeleton.



Franz gives the Horseslayer he has to Gilliam in preparation for the Boss.



Even with Gilliam’s high Str stat, he can only take off half of the bosses life. The boss’s weapon is strong against mounted units, but even without the boost it takes off a decent chunk of Gilliam’s life.



Marisa hands over the new heal staff, which wasn’t really necessary, but his was running low.



L’Arachel gets mighty fine Level Up from healing Franz.



Ross takes a shot at the boss, and does decent damage.



The boss chooses to attack Ross over Gilliam, and Ross makes him pay, while getting a solid Level Up. He’s almost certainly going to hit the Str cap, but he could do with some more Spd. Also, the boss dropped his Halberd. And that ends the battle.

Grandmother: Is that so... Hm? Who's that with you?
Innes: I am Innes, prince of Frelia. The circumstances of our journey have led us here. We would like to pass through.
Eirika: Please.
Grandmother: Hmmm... We of Caer Pelyn have turned away from the world outside. The Great Dragon alone holds all our honor and esteem. In this place, princes and pauper are equals. Do you have a problem with that?
Innes: ...No. I understand.
Grandmother: Hm... Well then, be welcomed as guests in our homes. I see some of you are injured. You should use this rock moss. We have little beyond what we need, but we will prepare food and bedding. You can rest as long as you like.
Innes: We've no wish to trouble you. We'd just as soon pass straight through.
Grandmother: Don't let your pride drive you to foolishness. That girl there looks like she's ready to collapse at any moment.



So we all go inside. Perhaps this “Grandmother” person has paragraphs of useful plot information to impart upon us.



This Great Dragon...
Grandmother: Ah, the inquisitiveness of youth. Come, lass, listen to my words. The Great Dragon is...a blessing, one that watches over all mankind. Why, in days long past, when the Demon King appeared...



Ah, how quickly did mankind forget its debt to the Great Dragon. To hear the story now, one would think humans alone brought about victory. That is a gross mistelling of the tale. Only through the Great Dragon's strength could the Demon King be sealed away!
Eirika: The Great Dragon and the Demon King...
Grandmother: Mankind may have forgotten its debt, but the Great Dragon never forgets.



THis Great Dragon sounds like a fun dude. Who doesn't want to hang out in a Demon Graveyard all the time?

It keeps the Demon King's dark brood from swarming the world of men. The Great Dragon's vigilance alone has kept us safe from their blind rage.
Eirika: Is that so? I'm... I'm sorry, I never knew...
Grandmother: Hmph. You don't need to know everything, but you should remember that.
Eirika: Yet, Grandmother, we encountered those creatures on the way here. And they have begun to appear in the land we live in as well. What does this mean?
Grandmother: Ah... You have seen the effects of the omen that has appeared in the south. There is an energy there that has fouled the air and darkened the sky. The Great Dragon left Darkling Woods and went south to investigate. We of the village wished to protect the Great Dragon, so I sent my grandson, Saleh, as long as well. But they became embroiled in battle, and the Great Dragon disappeared. Since that time, there's been no sign of the Great Dragon either here or abroad. We grew worried and directed Saleh to look for any trace of the Great Dragon. I am worried that the source of that foul energy may be responsible.
Eirika: A foul energy... From the south? Myrrh said something similar to this, too. Is the Great Dragon you speak of...one of the Manakete?



Eirika shows off her diplomatic prowess by dropping some casual racial slurs. Way to go Princess.

Eirika: I-I'm sorry.
Grandmother: But if you've seen the noble Myrrh, perhaps I can proceed more quickly. You see, our Great Dragon took the form of Mistress Myrrh in her travels. And you tell me that you have seen the Great Dragon yourself, lass?
Eirika: Yes. Myrrh was with my brother.
Grandmother: What?! Where is this brother of yours!?
Eirika: He leads a force of men against Grado. Myrrh rides beside him.
Grandmother: Saleh, this is urgent! You must leave for Grado at once and rescue the Great Dragon!
Saleh: Understood. I will...
L’Arachel: Oh, where are you off to?



It's far safer than being on your own.
Saleh: You have a point... Mistress Eirika, protecting the Great Dragon is my duty. Please allow me to travel with you on the road ahead.
Innes: We are in your debt, Matron.
Grandmother: Not at all. All of our guidance comes from the Great Dragon. Saleh.
Saleh: Yes, I know. The road to Jehanna lies here.



So Saleh has officially joined. And we are done with the old lady and her info dumps. At least we are finally starting to go some clue as to the big picture here.



Next time: The easiest chapter in the last ten or so, though it does have a few sticky spots. Also, Wyvern Knights.

Hey, I'm back for Let's Play Fire Emblem the Sacred Stones. Where were we?



That is some interesting information that has nothing to do with the coming chapter. But its relevant for the one after that.

Chapter 13


This would be an interesting map, with enemies from bother sides and more story than just "monsters, fight" but it all unravels becuase it is just too easy.

We start, as usual, with a brief lookin on those crazy guys at Grado Keep



Just who is sitting here chatting? Our old buddy Valter and General Glen's brother Cormag

Cormag: My brother is...dead?



Well, dragging the corpse a man you just killed halfway across the continent just to show his brother is a not at all insane thing to do. Kudos to Valter for consistently finding new ways to be absolutely crazy.

Cormag: No... Brother...
Valter: Not a pretty sight, eh? You'll be hard pressed to ready that for a proper burial. But listen, Cormag. There's no reason for you to grieve. After all, who is better than you to replace your brother in His Majesty's service? Picture it: General Cormag, the new and improved Sunstone, eh?
Cormag: Who did this... Who is responsible? Who!?
Valter: Glen's last orders were to find and subdue Eirika. 'Tis a pity I was delayed. I arrived to witness the final blow myself. I watched Eirika run her blade right through his chest and then flee.
Cormag: Eirika?! Where is she now?
Valter: Hm? What would you do if I told you? Without orders from His Majesty...
Cormag: ANSWER ME!
Valter: ...In the eastern mountains of Carcino. The forests are thick in that region. It won't be easy finding her, but...
EXIT CORMAG
Valter: Gone already?



Also, kudos to Cormag for believing this obvious nutjob about how his brother died.
Back with our heroes



When the reinforcements rode into Carcino, you were nowhere to be seen... We thought perhaps the enemy forces had reached you and... It's good to see you well, milord.
Innes: I'm sorry to have troubled you. But remember, the duty I bear is a harsh master. It will not let me die easily.
Messenger: Of course. Prince Innes...
Innes: Yes, what word do you bring of Frelia? Speak!
Messenger: Yes, Your Highness! Frelia has invaded Carcino and engaged the traitor Pablo's mercenary army. With aid from the elder Klimt, we are crushing the foe where we find them. Pablo's faction is retreating ever southward, toward Jehanna...
Innes: Towards Jehanna? They must be planning to join with the Grado forces there.
Eirika: Pardon me, but I must know... Do you have word of my brother?
Messenger: Yes. Prince Ephraim has forced them surrender of Grado's fortress at Rigwald. He is now marching onward toward the imperial capital.
Eirika: Toward the capital...



It's too strong a force... Even for Ephraim.
Eirika: No... I believe in my brother. I know he fights still. The bracelet tells me so.

Mystical Twin updates from her bracelet or not, I think Innes has the right of here. Has Ephraim learned nothing from his experiences?

L’Arachel: Ah, Eirika. Is it time to go already?
Eirika: L’Arachel. We're going to break through the Grado lines and join the army of Jehanna. You should keep to the rear where it's safe...
L’Arachel: No, I will stay with you.



I cannot stand by and let it be destroyed.
Eirika: L’Arachel? Where did you come by such information?



L’Arachel: Yes, that's right. ...And according to that gentle breeze, there are knights riding this way from Rausten even as we speak. If we can but hold out until they arrive, the battle will surely be ours. Come, Eirika. Let us be on our way.



Yes, just who is L’Arachel? Klimt is heading our way and Ephraim’s back in crazy town and there’s revenge seeking brother after us in a murderous rage. What else could go wrong?



This Princess Eirika supposedly defeated General Glen. I wonder... If it's true, then she's a foe to be reckoned with, and no doubt. Still, there's no reason to worry. I can best her. I know it.
Caellach: You'll take her, I've no fear. We fought as mercenaries together, and I know what you're capable of. I could search the continent over and not find a man to match your skills.
Aias: I'm honored to hear you say that. But I've no interest in the titles and trapping of Grado's Imperial Army.
Caellach: Don't say that. You're glad you came with me, right? You know we were both sick to death of living like desert rats. I'm going to be king one day. This war is just the beginning.
Aias: Ah... It starts again.
Caellach: Word has it that the Knights of Rausten are riding from the north. They're mine. I can trust this mess to your capable hands, can't I, Aias?
Aias: You remember what they called me when we were mercenaries, don't you? I was never once wounded on the field of battle. Not once...

That Aias seems like a decent enough fellow. Looks to be a bit of a party pooper, though. Too bad he is on the other side. Also, his great defensive formations are not as good as he believes.



We've word that Pablo’s mercenary army is closing in from the rear. You must be cautious.
L’Arachel: All we have to do is hold them off until the Knights of Rausten arrive. If we can do that, victory is as good as ours.



L'Arachel seems awfully sure of Rausten arriving. Just what does she know?



Here’s the map. The goal for this mission is to survive 11 turns. At least that is what the game says. The real mission is to hold back just enough that I don’t kill everyone too fast to get all the goodies and experience I can on this map. If I was bringing an archer, I would put her down there on that ballista, but I’m not. Still, the ballista will be priority one so Tana can move without fear. I will also send some units to the back side of the map to take care of fairly constant reinforcements. The rest will push straight at the enemies, overwhelming them with our superior skill. It’s just as easy as it sounds.



First I send these guys to the back of the map, where I know that enemies will be appearing.



Lute gets first blood, taking out one of these archers.



And Tana gets the other one, making the map nearly safe for flyers. There are still a couple of archers, but only one ballista.



I have Kyle use his javelin for the first strike here, because I don’t want to advance too far.



I have Amelia hide in the woods behind the rest of my team, what with the ballista right there. And L’Arachel uses the barrier staff to raise her RES for the EXP. And Eirika joins the boys on the back side, which makes t actually one more unit than I wanted to send.



Kyle is the focus of the enemies attack, and he dispatches them pretty easily.



A couple go after Gilliam, but that is useless.



Franz and Kyle take minor hits from some archers, and Kyle dodges the Cleric with the Sleep Staff.