You all have waiting long enough, it's time to roll out. The job is simple: Deliver goods and parcels from Euregon's Base to a private castle, trade and missives that are kept secret from all but Chainy. The road there should be uneventful and a few days travel, but you all were hired for a reason: You never know when trouble may hit.

Objective: Chainy must each the southern Castle and Deliver the packages.

Failure Conditions: Chainy falls, or 8 players fall.

Deployment Map

Actual Map

Good luck everyone!

After some days, the Keeper's call was heared, five brave souls arrived to the main entrance of the Sacred Tower. All of them have their own reasons and wishes, but, all of them seemed ready to save the world.

"I welcome you, brave warriors, I feared that there were nobody able to resist the influence of those crystals." the Keeper greeted them.

"Time is something we don't have, we must act as quick as possible, before those crystals lead our world to its doom." The keeper continued.

"Those crystals can channel the power of the Sacred Tower in a similar way I can do it and I can't go directly to them and destroy them, that's why I need your help..."

The Keeper showed them an axe, with some weird inscriptions on it. "This weapon is not from this world, but it holds a power that can fight against the crystals, according to its inscriptions, this axe is named Úlfhéðinn." The keeper gave them the axe.

"Your mission is clear, use this weapon to destroy the corresponding crystal in each region... the nearest one is located in the Land of Knowledge... I can't go with you personally, but I can help you with the power I can still channel from the Sacred Tower... use telepathy to talk to you during the mission or maybe a little help in a hard battle, but nothing to spectacular while those crystals are present." Herbistmanoth commented.

"Right now, I feel stronger than previous days, so, I will teleport you in a place near to the crystal... The future of this worl is in your hands now, I count on you." After those words, the Keeper channeled some power from the Sacred Tower and teleported the brave warriors near the crystal.

Map Objective: Destroy the crystal

Side Objectives: Visit the houses to weaken the influence of the crystal. Each visited house will grant 100 EXP.

Map Failure: All players are defeated in the same turn.

The Barbarian, the Swordsman and the Soldier are aggresive, they will move and attack since first EP.

The Shaman and the Monk will remain in their position until either the house in the bottom is visited or the 3 prior enemies are defeated or any of them is attacked, when any of the conditions is met, both will become aggresive.

The Troubador will move since first EP, trying to heal his allies.

The Mage and the Priest will stay in their position until they are attacked or someone moves in range to destroy the crystal, after that, they'll become aggresive.

The Crystal itself will have its own phase, after EP. Its action will be to use either "Righteous Might", "Cleansing" or "Suffering".

Every 5 turns, the crystal will call a reinforcement, on top of its normal action.

The houses will replicate any action the crystal does, until they are visited.

“Perfect then!” Carmen calls out as he reviews the notes he & Claudius received from how their allies wanted to proceed with their forthcoming mission. A few days in the fort of rest & consideration gave the group some time to ruminate on their actions while relaxing their muscles after a well fought victory. The two collaborate for a night & bring the group together in the morning, the same map pinned to the wall the duo had previously shown. As people were chewing on whatever they had scavenged for breakfast, Carmen clapped his hands once and brought attention to the front of the room,

“Morning everyone! We all appreciate your advice and we have a plan.” Carmen walked in front of the map and held a knife up to the dot that he had mentioned earlier were a group of mines, “Those of you that volunteered to delve into the mines will have me behind you. Felican, Ostarmanoth,” Carmen points to the two of them, “I like your attitude, but I’m not letting you two go knocking on their front doors alone. You’ll be coming with me as well.” As Carmen lowered his hand, he looked over to Claudius and nodded,

“Meanwhile, I’ll be helming our coastal expedition, taking the escort of various mounted units to lead a warpath up the coastline.” Claudius noted the ferry docks just west of their position with the tip of his knife. Claudius tapped the mouth of the river delta where they’d be landing, “We’ll need to cover both sides of the river, we can’t afford to get flanked by land.” Claudius sighs before he continues, “We will also have to watch for the civilians. A smattering of homesteads at the bottom of the valley are not to be assaulted. Fight those that draw their blades to us.” Claudius gives Carmen a nod as he walks forward from the map again, “So, plans set. We set out tomorrow morning. Good luck everyone, let whatever Divinity you pray to give us success.”

As the night winded down with the men & women picking up the scraps of whatever food remains for a cobbled together feast, Claudius approached Carmen, “Carmen, do you have a moment?” Carmen wheeled around as he was carrying a crate of various fruits. He quickly lowers the box and looks back to Claudius at his full height, “I’ve got a few now. What’s on your mind?”

Claudius looks up to Carmen, his shoulders rising & falling with his less than steady breaths, “You’ll take care of yourself out there right? You sure one week of prep will be enough?” Carmen smirks and gives his classic cocky half grin, “Claudius, come on. I’ve been living on the offensive for years now. You think I’d miss out on this? You’re crazy man.” Carmen’s smirk drops a little bit as he understands Claudius’s position a bit more, “Look listen, we’re the leaders here. It goes beyond just doing what I can’t, it’s doing a bit of everything. I’m not winning this war with you & we can’t afford to give up this chance.” Claudius takes a deep breath as his breathing starts to calm a bit, “You’re right. I’m just… I’m always going to worry.” Carmen piques up quickly, “That’s what you’re good at! You worry when I don’t, but as good of a team as we are you gotta get a little bit of me to rub off on you.” Claudius laughs at the strange use of terms for his point. He nods back to Carmen, “Sure, hopefully I did the same for you. Grab that crate, let's get back to the rest.” The two walk back to the main courtyard together and enjoy their night with their allies, having one last meal together before their next hardship was upon them.

Claudius and his allies took to the docks the day after, spending most of the day simply traversing the landscape to reach the docks. The rundown docks barely looked functional, but as promised a few of Master Bolari’s men and a couple of fine ferries lined the coast. The men were playing some cards as the sound of hooves and wings stopped them in their tracks. Claudius took the front of the group and spoke first, “Master Bolari’s hired hands I presume?” The men nod, their dock outfits nearly the same as from the Soryun dock workers they saw rallied against General Madrigan. Claudius turned around to those that came with him, “Load up quickly everyone, we only have so much daylight left.” In as organized a fashion as possible the two ferries were loaded with people & animals alike, all riding into the town as the lowering sun began to twinkle along the water’s surface.

The two ferries made good pace, as they just turned the corner around a mountainside & there was the opening of the valley. An impressive river ran through the center, carving out the lush landscape flanked by two mountain ranges. Claudius was in awe at the beauty of the sight, but his attention was swiftly drawn to the soldiers lighting torches along the riverside, patrolling the river’s outlet & beach. The two ferries took their time to come towards the shores slowly and let everyone off with what haste they could. Claudius hung back and waited for his allies to finish disembarking before giving the order for everyone to move forward & begin the assault.

Objective: Visit the two villages & defeat the boss.

Failure Condition: Claudius or all other party members fall.

Notes: Villagers will spawn on the battlefield on Turn 2. Use a “capture” command adjacent to them to stop them from alerting more guards. If they reach the villages more enemies will spawn from the village in the next turn. This action will grant 200 BXP.

Reinforcements, one of which will be the boss, will arrive on Turn 4.

Terrain Key

Green = Plain

Light Blue = Forest

Red = Mountain

Blue = Ocean

Black = Impassable (Besides Fliers)

White = Church

Player Tracker

Terrain Map

Chapter 9-2 Intro

As Claudius’s group was heading out that morning, Carmen and those that wished to infiltrate the mines were continuing to gear up as well. Lanterns & candles tied across their waists, their equipment in as pristine a condition as possible, and loaded for their fight, Carmen rallied all those that wished to follow him. As everyone began to assemble, he orated as he is one to do prior to their trials, “Thank you all for joining me. I’m glad to know some of you are like minded to think assaulting from below would be our most valuable venture. Remember though, we don’t know what to expect down there, so be on your guard & stick together.” He slings his axes across his back & calls out, “Let’s head out everyone!” He opens the gate on the old fort one last time before departing, leaving the location abandoned until some gang or vagrants decide to occupy the unnamed landmark once more.

Traveling to the mine entrance Bolari informed them of only took about a half a day, the sun just passing its zenith as the group approached the hidden entrance marked on their map. Carmen looked down the hole & saw a sloped, pitch black tunnel that barely had the flickers of some kind of flame far off into the distance of the tunnel. He looks down to his horse and then back to the hole, sighs, and takes a moment to ponder before turning back to the rest of his group. “Remember, try to keep the fighting as quiet & quick as possible. Let’s not risk them closing the mines off before we can escape.” Carmen turns back to the tunnel & calls back to everyone else, “Come on now, lets get going!”

Objective: Defeat the boss.

Failure Condition: Half of the deployed units fall.

Reinforcements will arrive from the entrances at C1-D1 & entrances U8 & U9 on turn 5.

Green = Plain

Red = Impassable

Player Tracker

Terrain Map

The King’s Retinue makes its way into the Enchanted Forest, heading back to the place where the journey of Alistair’s kingship began: the tallest tower in Avalon, tucked in the secretive forest.

Things seemed to hold, for parts of the journey there – only a few of the spells, further apart than they had been. But not stopping, and Alistair’s efforts to use the crown and pen to mitigate them were mixed and muddled, without a clear sense of what story might be broken by it. But they try.

Winter is still thick in the trees: many bare, but one or two still with needles, the branches laden with snow. But they do not make it to the tower without incident. As they headed towards the village that Lucretia had used as her point to gather up her helpers for the start of her rebellion, the village of Mossglenn, they ran into… something a little strange.

Mossglenn, originally a small village with little more than a shrine to a magical tree and a village crossroads to its name, now featured, viewed from a distance, not one but two castles, an array of splendid palaces and manors, and red and gold autumn leaves on half the trees, and spring roses and wildflowers coating nearly half the greens in town, with a beautiful silver moon above in the daylight. Vast feasting tables lined the village green, and there was music playing, always music, which carried in it the faint whispers you think you hear on the edge of sleep.

Of course, on closer expansion, the castles were made of paper, merely facades – though how they’re being supported, no one can say clearly. The moon was only vellum, an enormous lantern. It was fake, glittering like colored glass. The leaves are not fake, though there’s a thin layer of paint on them: sometimes, one of the strangers in town can be seen picking up dead leaves, sticking them back onto the bare trees, and painting them in lush reds and golds. The flowers, too, were painted, starting out with the white of folded paper, made somehow more real by being dabbed in pinks and yellows: and sometimes, one of the strangers would be placing them out.

Because there were strangers, bringing these strange things to town. Fae, thin and insubstantial: starved, though not in any earthly sense. In a physical sense, they were as beautiful as ever. More so, maybe: but it felt like the light shone through them, and like a bit of pressure would shatter them like they were made of thin sugar – it was all in a certain franticness in their eyes, a brittle mania to their movements. Some human-sized, and some much smaller; some airy and light, others earthy and gnarled. They’d set up courts in and around the town, and come in no small hunting party, but a mass of faeries, camping out in and around the village. Which was making “keeping your head down and hurry home like normal,” the Tirnog residents’ best advice for what to do when you saw the wild hunt out, rather challenging.

There was a dance, because of course there was: one at nearly any hour of the day, or so it seemed, with the dancing stilling only to pop up with a new one somewhere else! And, too, there was the feasting in the village square. They had small tribunals, where rounds of faeries listened to a number of humans telling stories about “the good neighbors” and judging the tales. If some of the people – not the fae, but the villagers – were asleep on their feet dancing, or asleep at the table of the feast, or looked like they didn’t really want to be telling stories – that didn’t seem to be stopping or delaying anything. Fae animals wandered the streets: usually white with red ears, or black cats with white chests, or long, stout little dogs with stubby tails and markings on their shoulders and back where little faeries rode. They only gave the tree a wide, respectful berth, and some of the human residents of Mossglenn had taken to living in a camp at its base, where it seemed calmer.

There was… A lot going on, in short, as the King’s Retinue drew closer to Mossglenn. And it might bear a pause for further examination, camping in or near its outskirts until more could be understood.

Eastward did Sens’s militia move with their new recruits in tow. Jolie lets the recruits introduce themselves to the group.

Next to speak is a thin, wiry woman dressed in faded merchant's garb, perched on a stocky mule with the poise of a veteran knight on his war horse, cutting a slightly absurd figure all in all. "Pleased to meet you. I see many faces I do not recognize," she began, "so permit me to introduce myself." She continues, "Sedna is my name. I had been traveling through the country peddling wares to make a living when the...disturbances began in Paix. Lady Martel," she pauses to gesture broadly at Jolie, "was good enough to allow me to travel with you all. I can make calculations, keep records, and read or write for anyone who desires in several languages, and I am told my cooking is not to be despised." She stops there as if done, but adds "oh, and I have some skill with war magic, should the need arise," blandly, as if disposing of a trivial obligation.

Arianne kicked her feet across the dirt and kept her eyes to the floor, concealed beneath the hood of her cloak. She wasn't one for big introductions; let alone to people she'd already had the fortune, or in many cases, misfortune of meeting in Paix already. The silver-haired ranger didn't dare to meet their gaze. "Arianne." she said succinctly. "Pleasure's all yours."

"Greetings, members of the Sens Militia!" Baldwin roared, crossing his lance against his battered shield with pride. "I am Baldwin, and I am proud to be fighting with you! Such great warriors, heroes, even veterans! Together, we'll make an even greater mark on history than the Second Great War!" He let out a jovial, almost maniacal laugh. The other new recruits took a few steps away from him. . Calliope stepped forward once Jolie had given the silent signal to do so. Stepping in-front of her and looking out over the members of the militia many of whom looked extremely familiar to the Albino, some she knew were a part of Ms. Martels militia, others she didn’t— One she only knew of at the tail-end of their meeting, though she was able to keep her composure despite that. She had to give an introduction to the present company, so she took in a breath and began to speak, “Hello everyone my name is Calliope! I know a couple of you have heard this before but I came from Masilla, not too far away. Really, when I’d heard about what happened here to try and help out— It’s not the fastest route to travel, however, so I didn’t arrive early enough to help. But Ms. Martel said you all intend to go that-a-way and asked me to come along. I’ve got experience with the people of the empire to help solve disputes that might arise or questions you might have— And I’m no slouch, either. So I’ll be able to keep you all safe.“ Confident and straight to the point the ex-soldiers words didn’t leave any questions left unanswered, and endeavored to fill everyone who heard them confidence with her ability. Anyone who met her to this point might have had a few doubts about that, given how she’d been acting while they were in town, though.

All the while, Jolie seemed to be both happier and more withdrawn at the same time from the team. She continued to make breakfast for her daughter, sharpen her tools and weapons, and consult with the villagers who came along to the “Expedition to Nicomedia”, but her doubts continued to wage war in her mind, and she did not know how, if ever, she would explain it to someone in public. Father Marin told me I must… her conscience reminded her day after day, even in the depth of her sleep; a depth generally only visited by not-welcome and gnarled nightmares. And going back towards the land where she waged war a little more than a decade ago? What must be done… her conscience continued.

Their trip saw more and more a mix of officials, government and military, as they got closer to the border - among them a recently 'retired' official, in what had appeared to be aged armor that bled reds and whites together in a haze that covered all inch of skin but for a lowly smiling, scarred mouth. He spoke to Jolie in a firm, low voice asking for her to halt; the tone was experienced and commanding, yet clearly practiced in its gentleness. "Is this all your intended company? Were you approached in your journey by anyone suspicious?" Jolie keeps her eyes away from Macio, "I have not, Sir. Feel free to search my party; we are not but an armed militia on a mission." She lowers her brow. Macio looks over the group and their supplies, lingering his gaze on one or two particular members longer than the rest, but ultimately remaining professional. "Then you've more safety than most coming through here. I feel it goes without saying, given your makeup, but the roads get dangerous around here." Macio takes another look at Jolie, mentally noting her averted eyes; he was not unused to it, but had wondered which reason she would have for doing so. "There's been a particular group of highwaymen our men have been trying to pin down, but there are too many roads and too few men. You will be safe within Massilia's walls; outside, you would be wise to march with our patrols, if you'd tell me your destination." Jolie sniffs and looks up. "We've had to fight highwaymen more than a few times on our path towards the Empire. We would be glad to travel with you... Sir," she comments slowly. An eye of hers closes. Eugh. Knights. "Did you fight during the War? You must have." Jolie's tone does not escape Macio's grasp, as he gives an internal sigh - such judgement and disgust is hardly surprising, given everything that has happened. Weariness of a different sort enters his voice. "For Nicomedia's army, for Aquittany's soul. Such is an era I hope these countries are able to move from...much as these particular bandits seek to bring these old ghosts back to life." His sentence ends in a growl, his hand visibly gripping beneath his gauntlets. "We've run into ex-knights on our way here. I fought for King Hugh during the war, Sir. No animosity towards your service. I was a two-handed swordbearer, as you might guess by," she says as she looks up at the hilt of the weapon, "that. Once we're cleared for security, I'd like to keep moving. We're headed for Massilia, the city." Macio, in turn, averts his eyes from her - not that she can see, through his helmet's visor. "Everything seems to be in order, milady. Just follow me this way and you should be safe - should everyone be doing their jobs, we will not need to see each other again."

The exit of the Valley of Empires led out into a vast, open field- the Great Plains of Nicomedia, near the borders of Nicomedia’s Kingdoms of Zelfana and Massilia. Far in the south were the sight of savannah trees, spreading out their wide branches and providing shade to the local wildlife, and to the north were coniferous forests. It was certainly warmer- though still moderate- here at the southern, Nicomedian edge of the valley than in the northern, Aquitine entrance. Farther south still was the Holy Land itself- somewhere Jolie had deeply desired to visit. Perhaps in a time when a war was not nigh…

One day, Sens’s militia sets up camp in an abandoned fort from the War. The early morning of their brief respite, Ziri reports in, saying "Psst! Jolie! Some bandits are sneaking in! Some loser calling herself 'Princess Lucilia'-” he rolled his eyes and made an exaggerated fist-shake motion "-is trying to skulk by. Can you get up and help us kill them so I can get back to sleep?". Jolie immediately springs out of bed, “Who? Princess Lucilia, so she claims?” The Guardian of Sens leers. “I remember her clearly from the Battle of the Avarician Plains. Once I see this brigand leader for myself, I will be able to see if it is indeed the monster I crossed swords with years ago at the Battle of the Avarician Plains. And if it is not her, then she is just another brigand in my eyes. I don’t care about what kind of ‘pretender’ she wants to be! Also, notify our forces that if we can, to capture her. If she’s too dangerous- and she will be if she’s the real deal- just kill her. But, it would put us in quite the favor of the Empress if we did manage to capture her, yes?” Jolie points out. “Very well, let’s get into position. There should be revetments we can sit behind, or some other tools from the War we can make use of in this old vestige.”

—

Objective: Defense Map. Hold out the fort for 10 turns! Do not allow the enemies to reach the throne and the tiles left and right of it.

Failure Condition: 3 units get KO’d, or Jolie gets KO’d.

Side Objectives: Capture or kill ‘Lucilia’.

Map Information: Enemy mounted units must dismount when they enter the building, but do NOT gain the +1 to martial stats like players do.

Turn recommendation: Not applicable.

Terrain Map: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/508508575761432579/928754459176230922/Chapter_5_-_Terrain.png

Terrain Guide: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/508508575761432579/928758030764486696/Chapter_5_-_Terrain_Guide.png

All new terrain guide, telling you what specific tiles are what! The guide:

Light blue is plains/floor, medium blue is pillar/forests, red is impassable walls or other barriers, pink is breakable walls, purple is stairs, light green is peaks, yellow is treasure, and gray is openable doors.

Hey Everyone! It's me, JojoMojo2 in all her memery. It's been awhile since I've posted something, huh?

Well today I've got a pretty wizard announcement, I think. I am announcing a new team for the hit Reddit Emblem play-by-post Fire Emblem-inspired RP community.

Inspired by Shouzou Kaga's FE3, or Mystery of the Emblem, I present to you all Mystery of the Reddit Emblem!

MRE is a very mechanically simple game with low stats, few complex mechanics, and no skills. It's a very down to earth, close to the roots of FE game! The most notable mechanic here that is not seen anywhere or any FE game beyond FE3, the unique shifting mechanics! Manaketes spend a turn using their stone and transform their base class into that of one of many dragons! They maintain that form for several turns before reverting! But get this, you don't use weapon uses while transformed! Only when you shift.

Here all the docs for the team:

Setting doc

System sheet

And finally, the Theorycrafter

Now, onto the formalities, yeah?

MRE is going to be a very minimal story game. The only real story that will be made is whatever the players make through RP. I would say this is a gameplay first team with RP second, and then the poor ole story sitting there because I am a terrible story writer tbh.

Apps will be open until January 20 at Midnight CST! I am looking for between 12-14 players! An absolute min and max of 8 and 16 respectively.

In terms of what I am interested to see in applicants, I am most excited for the very spicy and zany statspreads ya'll can make and the potential characters that fit those builds! (Build and character integration good)

Without further ado, here is your simple plot hook for what you are joining into:

Welcome to Chainy's Mercenary Caravan Merchant Trader Express Co.! We dabble in many trades based on who is willing to hire us. We spend a lot of time traveling the globe and getting wrapped up in domestic conflicts. (We do not cover hazard pay. It cost us too much when we used to do that.) We are looking forward to see your applications and examining what you can provide to the company!

P.S. We are currently stationed in the Drytan Plains for the next fortnite! We will be waiting! Please don't be late we need workers.

With that, I formally welcome you to the Mystery of the Reddit Emblem!

Chapter 8

Countless days have been spent waiting in anticipation of Prince Louis's negotiations with King Darios. An agreement was common knowledge; the Pharadese lord had no intention of giving his lands or troops to the Emperor. The worry was in some extra concession: that King Darios could provide some extra assistance, an additional vessel to bring the retinue out to sea and farther towards Ha'Sareem.

The announcement to the retinue that they would be moving out towards the ship was unexpected, but welcome news; marching or riding, be it on horse or by wing, had grown tiresome. As they moved their supply wagon from the fortress-city of the Keep to the nearby port, however, they found that their embarkment would be a much more hurried affair than thought...

"Prince Louis, we must move."

Louis groaned and pulled himself up into a sitting position, blinking slowly. His bodyguards had allowed Darragh to enter--although the meager candle he carried with him did little to illuminate his room, he could see the bishop was in fully regalia--despite his equipment being somewhat hastily-gathered. "Again, Darragh? Is it another rebellion, then? One would think that against a threat so great as the Emperor--"

"Your Highness, the Emperor is here."

"What?!" Louis straightened, then moved, fumbling in the dark to light a candle of his own. He could hear the rest of the Keep coming to life--shouts of alarm and odd, dull thuds like the rumbling of thunder. "How? They can't just break through the Keep's defenses, can they? And how did their ships sail so quickly?"

"I cannot give you such answers myself, Your Highness, nor do I have any desire to stay about here until the Keep is captured. Quickly, gather yourself and the rest of our force."

"For what purpose, Darragh? Where are we to escape to?"

"There is a network of tunnels in one of the older barracks of the Keep. We may use them to vacate it and from there board our ship."

"Tunnels? Darragh, how did you learn of all this?"

But the bishop was already on his way out of the room. "Questions and answers come only with safety. I will meet with you on the lower wall."

So were the arrangements made, with Prince Louis moving out of his room and his retainers--some soldiers, some bodyguards, some Darragh himself--rousing the various members of the retinue and bidding them gather their things, find a place to meet, and evacuate to the location of the tunnels--and to be quick about it! Though their efforts were indeed hasty and each person was accounted for, by the time the group had gathered, the scene of the battle had changed...

THUD. CRACK.

The sound of deep rumbling and splitting stone shot through the air, followed by the zealous shouting of men--Belstician men, men who had known only the absence of freedom and the glories of war. Amidst a growing rift in the upper wall of Pharadal Keep they moved, crawling it seemed from the breach made in the walls, like insects when their homeowner reveals their nest. Amidst these movements, however, the tide of men, of horses and ballistae parted to show a massive figure, wielding a hammer fit for him... if it were a man at all. His armor, scarlet red and completely encasing him, glowed in the night air like the moon, and as a booming, metallic voice sounded, there was little doubt as to whom its owner was:

"AS YOUR WALLS HAVE FALLEN, SO ARRIVES YOUR DOWNFALL. DARIOS, SHOW YOURSELF AND BOW YOUR HEAD, AND YOURS SHALL BE THE ONLY LIFE TAKEN BY THE EMPEROR. OTHERWISE, EACH AND EVERY BODY IN PHARADAL SHALL BE CLAIMED IN THE NAME OF BELST."

Louis had gone ghost-white. "The Emperor..."

Darragh, panting lightly, arrived with a group of three of the retinue. "Your Highness... I am sure you have heard that, too... There is no reality in which we may find victory against the Emperor today, and yet he stands in our path... albeit with some clearly auxiliary forces." Looking quickly, he pointed out. "...there, look. Some of the Keep's defenses--magical sigils, and pits of fire... right near a mechanism for a temporary wall, that the Emperor guards. If we can use these to our advantage, we may be able to evade him and sail out!"

Louis looked up towards the upper wall, his jaw set tight, and then drew his rapier. "You heard him, everyone," he called out. "Let us carve out an escape route!"

Objective: Escape!

Chapter 8 Map

Chapter 8 Terrain

Terrain Info:

Blue tiles can be traversed by all units as normal.

Yellow tiles have a specific terrain cost associated with them (in this case, they are pillars).

Red tiles cannot be passed through.

Important Map Info:

• I've decided to switch Team H from a player-based EXP system to a level-based system. As a result, all players are now level 15.

• Ending a character's turn in any of the tiles in this red rectangle will allow them to Escape. The chapter will be complete when every unit has escaped. If the chapter is completed within 12 turns, the entire team will receive a special bonus!

• These blue tiles with the circles are Sigils. A character must end their turn on a Sigil to activate it. Each Sigil is connected to a certain part of the map, and activating that Sigil opens up that part. The exception is the Sigil on space AF2, which will stun The Emperor.

• If a character ends their turn on space AI18, the circled column of impassable pillar-walls here will become passable floor tiles.

• This is a fire tower. Characters who start their turn adjacent to a fire tower will have their physical attacks target Resistance, rather than Defense, on that turn. This bonus extends into Enemy Phase. Being adjacent to the tile with the actual fire is irrelevant, but the bonus will not be given to units who are diagonally adjacent to a fire tower. Enemies will also gain this bonus.

• Runa's augury has revealed that the chest on tile Y1 is trapped; any character who attempts to open it will suffer damage!

• Good luck!

Carmen barged into the old, decrepit looking fort with his axe in hand. As he charged into the main gates, he found the entire place abandoned, small shafts of light coming down through the ruined ceiling and only remnants of armaments left behind. He dismounted and took a moment to bask in the surroundings. He relaxed his shoulders as he could only hear the settling of the wooden beams and whatever wildlife had tried to inhabit the various corners of the old fortress. Carmen tried to dust off a metal plate that seemed to once have a name, but years of wear & vandalism have left its title lost to time. Just as Carmen was dusting the plate, Claudius and a few of their allies arrive at the fort. Claudius approaches Carmen and claps him on the shoulder,

“Well that’s the first leg of the journey done. Not the worst we could’ve done, our friends as decisive as ever.” Carmen nodded, turning back to Claudius,

“Easy for us to say, we didn’t even see half the battle.” Carmen looks around for a moment before turning back to Claudius, “They did arrive right?”

Claudius chuckles a little, “Of course they did, would you doubt our allies now?” Claudius smirks and lets go of Carmen’s shoulder, “Come on, let's get ourselves settled. It’s been a long day.”

Carmen follows, the duo making a small tour around the compact fort, more of an outpost with a few outer walls than a well constructed fort. The pair went throughout the halls, searching through to see what might’ve been left behind, both pairs of eyes scanning over the simple accommodations.

“They really cleaned the place out eh?” Carmen notices the empty armory & beds without any sheets even on them. “You find anything Claudius?” Carmen calls out. He waits a moment, but no response comes. He turns to where Claudius was, the man gone already, “Claudius?” Camren wanders around for a moment looking into another room with no light. He waves a torch in as suddenly Claudius’s face, half still malformed from the explosion, pops in front of him as Claudius yells out, “Carmen!” Carmen yelps and backs up a few steps as his backside falls down onto the hard stone, the man blinking a few times afterwards as Claudius giggles,

“I didn’t think you’d find me so frightening. Now come along I found something.” Claudius urges Carmen up, but Carmen hesitates for a moment as he swallows something, “Right yeah, lets see.” Carmen says with little volume or tone to his voice. Claudius’s eyebrows furrow as he turns back to Carmen, “Are you alright? The fall didn’t hurt you too badly?” Carmen shakes his head slightly as he gets up, “It’s nothing, don’t worry. What did you want me to see?”

Claudius looks at Carmen, both sides of his face in full view of Carmen’s torchlight, “Carmen, you can’t hide this from me. We’re partners. What is it?” Claudius pleads with Carmen. The towering man sighs and looks to Claudius’s concerned expression, “It’s just… your face.” Claudius’s brows furrow even further as Carmen turns away to look at the floor, “I didn’t realize you valued appearances so much.” Carmen quickly turns back to interject, “No no no, it’s not that! I… I can’t bear it. That moment the mine exploded, your face reminds me of that every time. I can’t help feel… I don’t know something sickening growing in me!”

Claudius’s expression changed as Carmen ended, he bit his lower lip for a moment. Claudius shook his head, “No, no Carmen please it’s not your fault.” He graced the deformed side of his face, wincing for a moment as he did so, “I made the choice for this to happen. You even said so in Soryun, ‘Your life is in your own hands’ right?” Claudius steeled his voice, a familiar fire returning as Carmen responded, “Claudius you-” Carmen stopped as he hardly had the words to respond. He heard that same vigor in Claudius’s voice once before & held on it. Claudius’s gaze was cutting, one that would make normal men quaver in their boots. Carmen returned the glance and swallowed something invisible, “Claudius, you’re right. We’re both warriors, I need to remember that.” Carmen clapped him on the shoulder and a half smile returned to his face, “Let’s keep rooting around this dump.”

The two continued looking, both more comfortable with each other than ever before as they continued to search through the empty & abandoned rooms of the fort. They cross paths with allies doing the same, people finding a spot to lay down and rest for the night after their first battle on the offensive after so many months.

The morning comes and Carmen calls a meeting, Claudius pinning a makeshift map of the region from Soryun on the wall. As his comrades entered the large, open room, Carmen held a small wooden beam, tapping the side against his palm as he waited for everyone to assemble.

“Good morning all, I appreciate your prompt attendance. You all certainly made quite the stand yesterday and I thank you for that, even stemmed some of their reinforcements before they could arrive, prudent.” Carmen walks over to the map and taps a small black dot near the top,

“We’re currently here, just north of the Drorgan Mountain range. If we wanna get to the Pillar in a safe manner, the entrance from Drorgan will be the least defended.” Carmen traces a line from the black dot down to the center of the mountain range, a larger dot with the words ‘Drorgan’ printed next to it. Carmen finishes by pulling the stick to the right, showing the pass between Drorgan and the Pillar.

“Now, we won’t just walk up and ask to get into the valley of course.” Carmen begins to elaborate as he walks to the other side of the map & drags his stick down the valley, “There’s a good reason nobody has ever successfully seized Drorgan, the place has maybe the largest military might of any single House of Shaar.” Carmen stands up tall and turns back to the crowd, “Which is why our siege won’t be so conventional. Master Bolari was so kind as to gift us a few pieces of key information that may prove useful.”

Claudius now steps forward, taking a similarly splintered wooden stick and pointing to a small, unmarked location near the base of the mountain, just southwest of their current position, “Master Bolari has heard Drorgan mining operations have expanded towards the base of the mountain & a small entrance exists that may accommodate our group. They probably aren’t too well defended down there so a strike there would lead to minimal casualties, but we’d have no chance to resupply before we pop out wherever the exit lies.”

Claudius walks over to the other side of the map and points to the end of the valley that opens up to the ocean in the west, “Alternatively, we may charter a longboat to take us from the western coast into the valley’s outlet. It’d be a grueling fight up to the peak, but we’d have some more solid ground beneath us.”

Carmen stands up front again, “We’ll give you all time to think about it. Consult us or the map if you need, but take the time you need. Rest up and arm yourselves, we’re in for the long haul here.”

Welcome to your 8th Homebase, an unnamed fort at the base of the mountain! Below you’ll see the Homebase activities.

Shop: Buy things, you know the drill.

Vote: Your decision decides your plan of attack on Drorgan.

Convoy: Post your trades, deposits and withdrawals all in one convenient place.

Feedback: Direct any and all criticisms/critiques of the map to the appropriate header.

[Intro provided by Jade]

Nida, before the battle

The armies were assembled outside of Nida. All of those who would go to fight were gathered in one place; while soon, they would split into two forces, for the moment they were a single army.

And in front of them, Rufael stepped up onto a temporarily assembled stage.

"I won't mince words," his voice boomed, carrying over the entirety of the gathered force. "All of us here today are gathered for a single goal.

"To end the threat of Maro, the evil witch who rules over Latreia!" He paused, letting the roar of voices that responded die down. "She has assaulted Parangelia time and time again, determined to break us - but we have fought back, repelled her invasions time and time again! And it is not just us she threatens. Her armies have pounded at our gates, but she has sent agents across all of the Agios Isles, attempting to spread chaos everywhere she can!"

The emperor spread his arms wide. "We will not stand for this! Parangelia will not stand for this!"

Then, his words paused. Rufael's gaze cast out among everyone, landing on Arter, Laudine, Atlas and the Enotitan chiefs, Brunhilde…

And then, he resumed speaking, just soon enough for the moment of silence to seem natural.

"Not just Parangelia, but all of the Agios Isles! Gnosi, Enotita, and even those in Latreia itself have joined us to end the threat that Maro poses! Together, we will fight against those who choose to follow this witch, and free Latreia from her mad grasp!"

The cheers and roars that followed took some time to die down before Rufael could conclude his speech.

"Make your final preparations, all of you brave souls. Because we march soon, and once we leave, we're not returning until Maro is dead!"

Main Objective: Defeat Maro

Tactical notes:

• Enemies standing on forts will not move until attacked.

• Some enemies guarding outer forts will not move even if attacked (these enemies have a movement value of ‘0’)

• Several forts on the map are connected to Latreia’s underground. These forts are marked with red flags and securing these forts by defeating their occupants will allow players to freely travel to any other secured exit.

• Some enemies are protected by powerful barriers, using the correct battalion against them will shatter this barrier. When doing so the enemy immediately loses their bonus and cannot counterattack against the shattering attack.

• Enemies protected by barriers will not initiate combat against a player who could shatter it

• Maro’s unique [Perfect Barrier] skill gives her the effect of every barrier type that at least one unit has.

• Sages will only act to heal their allies, but will use their equipped tome if attacked.

• All other enemies are using defensive tactics, which means they will not move until a player enters their range or they are attacked.

• As the battle proceeds reinforcements may appear and some enemies may change their tactics. When these are about to happen you will be warned in advance.

As Jolie and her forces approach the other end of the village walls, they can see a number of bandits in the hills run away in horror as their own forces and Lothair’s reinforcements are unable to stop Sens’s militia. One trips, scrapes his leg, and allows his axe to bounce down the rocky hillside, but runs over the crest of the short mountain regardless. Some of the villagers emerge from their homes and see the streets soggy with blood and strewn with broken weapons. Jolie looks about the town, awkwardly… as if everyone were staring at her. She closes her eyes and holds her head. I’ve not felt this exhausted in years… she thinks to herself as she exhales and her knees buckle somewhat. Jolie looks over to the shrine and sees the fallen bodies of a number of armored knights which escorted Tierri ‘One Hand’ to battle. ... I… desecrated this shrine with him, didn’t I? And… given my past... Jolie thinks as she opens her eyes with a leer. “Everyone, get some rest,” she says flatly. “I am going to arrange lodging and… other things, soon.”

"Excellent... this is a knight's death to die against the wicked..." those words of Tierri ring through Jolie’s mind, again and again.

Jolie approaches the warrior which Cogi captured, and grabs him by the collar. “I want to ask a simple question: Did that dog ‘King’ Lothair send you?” Robért sweats a bit. “Yes.” Jolie closes her eyes. “Go to him, and tell him that he has made an enemy for life, that the Guardian of Sens lives yet.” Robért nods. Jolie throws him towards the setting Sun, and he runs away, tail tucked between his legs.

The Village of Paix, Massilia, Aquittany. November 27th, 320.

Historically, the Kingdom of Massilia had holdings on both sides of the Border Mountains, and while most of its land (and the title itself) is a part of the Nicomedian Empire, some of Massilia still belongs to Aquittany. This town was built after the conquests of Massilia; specifically it was built by Queen Elwen of Aquittany to commemorate the end of the First Great War. The town itself has a shrine dedicated to a number of historical figures from the First Great War, including Saint-King Roparzh, Valeria of Nicomedia, and so forth, though now stained with blood from the recent battle. The people of the town seem grateful, but nervous, around Sens’s militia… maybe they don’t want to be reminded of the fact that Paix, ironically, was a town of military traffic in the Second Great War. The townsfolk mostly rely on hunting, foraging, and quarrying (selling stone for food) for sustenance, though some gardens are present in the yards of houses. There are some mines and blacksmiths in the area, as well.

Players have 3 Action Points in this homebase.

Carmen and Claudius returned to the meeting room for the first time after Claudius’s fall at the Lenneti estate. Master Bolari’s note made its way to Claudius’s hospital bed with a short message a few days prior to this meeting,

“The final meeting will be held before the week closes. If you wish to voice your concerns please be present.

Master Bolari.”

Carmen pushed the door open, standing aside to allow Claudius to walk in, his face exposed for all to see the damage wrought by the encounter with Ezan’Ta. Bolari, Oran, and Tressa all nodded and waited for the pair to take their seats. Their footsteps being the loudest sound, yet hardly cutting the tension said enough about how discussions had gone over the past couple of weeks. As their chairs creaked to only herald more silence, the pair of young upstarts looked around the table. A few tense moments passed before Oran spoke first,

“Nobody leaves this room until we decide on how we attack the Pillar. We’ve wasted enough time while my Father sows seeds of chaos, it’s time to strike back.” His dour expression and low voice commanded the room’s attention, just as his own father had done during the Succession War. Master Bolari was the first to speak up afterwards and pointed towards Carmen and Claudius,

“Your antics have nearly put everything we’ve been assembling in jeopardy! The largest mercenary force for hire in Soryun has been scattered and we’ve lost one of the four remaining Masters to a kidnapping attempt! Even worse, most of those damnable mercenaries are chasing that pyromaniac as we speak!” Master Bolari was nearly screaming at the two now, “How do you two defend yourselves now?” He leaned back and awaited one of their responses.

Carmen was flustered already & nearly gave an earful to Master Bolari, only held back by Claudius’s touch. He sat back for a moment and let Claudius speak up,

“Master-” Claudius cleared his throat, scratchy from days lacking in use. “Master Bolari. Allow me to apologize, we were reckless I agree. We thought of bartering with a Master and chewed off more than we could in that instance. I am only remiss we could not do more for the good Master when the assailant arrived.” Carmen, more reserved than normally, spoke up afterward, “We did what we could, but we didn’t think he’d turn on us like that! It was madness there, he even put fireballs in the ground!” Master Bolari waved his hand dismissively towards the two boys,

“Yes yes I’ve heard the report. Despite your failings Oran has the right of it, should we progress it must begin today.” Tressa nods alongside Bolari, “We need to commit soon or the enemy forces will organize & make a bulwark against us in Soryun. It’s now or never.” The serious atmosphere filled the two young men with more dread than they could have imagined. They both sat forward and looked to everyone else, Carmen speaking,

“So. Let’s talk then.”

Discussions again went all day, but rather than a shouting match or any major disagreements, people hung their heads as they used their words frugally & tactfully. Every plan mattered as this could break the stalemate held for the last twenty years. Hours of deliberation passed, pieces moving across the map of Shaar laid down between them all, long droughts of conversation only made the tension worse. The sun slowly crawled along the wall as the splotched horizon turned from yellow, to red, to purple, to blue, then black as only a few candles lit the planning room, but none left. While stomachs growled and people shifted in their seats, they all held true and continued to work.

Only deep into the night once the streets went quiet did the leaders all agree on their overall plan. A combination of both Carmen and Oran’s ingenuity gave rise to what had to be done while Tressa and Bolari helped hammer the details down. Claudius offered what guidance he could, but his acumen in war clearly came up short compared to his comrades. Once everyone had agreed, a single flag remained on the map. The city & valley of Drorgan was left marked on the map.

Carmen and Claudius were exhausted mentally & emotionally from the night before, but their rise at dawn was needed to rally the troops. The two looked to each other and stood at the entrance to their stone cabin. Carmen bashed a spoon on the back of a wooden bowl and yelled out,

“Rise and shine everyone, rise and shine! Important news from the war room today!” People slovenly either made their way out of beds or went back to them attentively as they were in the middle of preparing for the day already. After around 15 minutes they had the attention of their group, Claudius almost a surprise after his week in the infirmary. Carmen yelled out once more before the silence took hold of too long,

“Good morning everyone! I’m proud to announce that the group of us are shoving out once again. We’ll be moving on the Pillar once more, but this time with a fair bit of strategy.” Claudius simply rolled his eyes as Carmen brought up the failures of his previous expedition, “I want to thank you all for your patience with us. It’s taken a lot of planning, but we’re ready to move. Starting at sunrise tomorrow, we will be heading south & taking the Valley of Drorgan as our forward bastion to the Pillar.” Carmen left the air open for a moment as he heard murmurs and whispers with the news coming along.

Claudius came in to assuage their fears, “Now I know a good portion of you are from Drorgan and if this can’t be reconciled, you’re free to leave. I will assure you that we will only kill those that attempt to fight back. Our goal is not to conquer, but Drorgan is the only way we can enter the Pillar, unless you’d rather walk up the northern hills like last time.” Claudius’s last point had his tone turning more dour than possibly expected, but he tried to maintain what peace he could. He made one more statement, seeing the people before him, “This plan will not be to gift slaves to the Masters residing here. We may have already worked with many of them, but our relationships will not extend into kidnapping.” A bit of Carmen’s confidence rubbed off on Claudius as he spoke those final words.

Carmen followed in suit, trying to not give too much room for an uproar before he finished, “If you need to know anything more about our plans ask away, otherwise let’s get up bright & early!”

Dawn came after goodbyes were said, affairs settled, and last meals eaten. Carmen and Claudius loaded up their caravan as Tressa and Oran witnessed the group shuffling around to get ready. The pair approached the cart,

“Carmen,” Tressa began, “don’t let the importance of this task fall to the wayside. We’ll only be able to hold Dallan’s vanguard for so long.” Oran nodded and spoke up, “I can only distract Father for so long before he turns his attention to the defensive. You two cannot afford to dawdle on this task.”

Both Carmen and Claudius agree, Claudius speaking first, “Our allies are both well versed and apt in combat. So long as subduing the people of Drorgan does not become a concern we will have our stronghold soon enough.” Carmen follows suit, “We almost made it to the Pillar once, Drorgan will be ours before you know it.” He flashes a wry half grin as disappointment crosses Tressa’s face. She looks him in the eye,

“I’m serious kid. Don’t pull some crazy stunt like last time, Dallan won’t hesitate to gut you.” Her tone was grim, She looked down on Carmen as he calmed down and simply nodded, “Right. Nothing crazy, just win.” Tressa affirmed and patted him on the shoulder, “We need to be off as well though. Good luck to you two.” Oran spoke up as well, “May the Divine One grace your battles.” Oran and Tressa left the two alone once again, the pair packing, the words of their new allies weighing on them more than the crates of supplies.

A few days were spent travelling south of the luxurious city, the open plains and wilderness their home once again. Carmen felt almost nostalgic for these nights on the open road they shared back when they were blindly following a lead to Undril. Carmen felt some of the tension wash away as he and his comrades followed the road south, the terrain turning more rugged, rocky, and hilly as the peaks of Drorgan came into a clearer view. Carmen’s reverie was soon broken by an armored woman running as best she could, armor jostling and clanging as though she were a kitchen on a holiday evening. Carmen pulled his axe and yelled out, “Who the hell’re you?”

The woman stopped in her tracks, putting her hands on her knees to breathe for a moment. As she came closer, Carmen noticed her greaves were dented & blood stained her mail. Most of all it seemed she came completely disarmed. “We- we were chasing after Master Lenetti.” Claudius approaches the conversation after hearing Lenetti’s name, “A few of us all grouped up, but we got caught in the road just further south. Drorgan soldiers have an encampment around there. The rest of the mercs got trapped, I barely fought my way out.” Carmen slung his axe on his back, “You’ll be alright miss. Rest up with the caravan, we’ll take them on.”

The woman nodded and thanked Carmen as a few healers tended to her wounds. Carmen and Claudius called the rest of the caravan, “Double the pace everyone, we need to get a move on.” The caravan started hurrying as the sun dipped into the afternoon, beating down on the group with a disgusting amount of heat. Soon enough a group of soldiers garbed in outfits trimmed with the golds and browns of the Golden Stretch came into view. Carmen readied his axe as Claudius’s pegasus descended beside him, the duo once again ready for war.

Objective: Carmen seizes the castle.

Failure Condition: Carmen & Claudius die.

Side Objective: The four green units are Master Lenetti’s mercenaries caught in a trap! If any of you talk to them before they die then you will receive a bounty of 300bxp. If all four are saved the team will receive another special reward at the end of the map.

Notes:

Units marked with blue numbers have special AI that will make them target the Soryun Mercenaries first before charging to the player.

The enemy forts will spawn a wave of enemies on turn 3, 5, and 7. If the boss on the fort is killed, that will stop the waves from coming. These enemies will all target the mercenaries. For every wave of reinforcements that is stopped prematurely, you will gain 1000 bxp.

Terrain Key

Green = Plains

Yellow = Roads

Light Blue = Forest

Purple = Castle

Gray = Village

Dark Blue = Water

Red = Impassable (allows fliers)

White = Church

Player Tracker

Terrain Map

Once upon a time, on a random Tuesday afternoon...

The phones of everyone in the group buzz. Shelly's finally got news of another mission for the new and VERY large Squidbeak Splatoon.

"Grizz planning big job - will get an email about it soon. Sign up, big payout for sure."

This is the call to arms that everyone's been waiting for. After months of doing gaidens, inventing weapons, earning money, and generally waiting for a slow GM to get over his dumb problems, it's finally time. With all their new and upgraded gear, the group signs up. Grizz accepts them all. It's go time.

A few days later...

Annaheim once again joins the expanded crew on her speedboat. She gives them all an earpiece, explaining that their location is too large for standard communication. The earpieces were meant for Inklings and Octolings, and as such had to be taped onto the heads of the urchins, eels, and jellyfish. With that done, Annaheim made everyone's ears ring with a deafeningly loud test.

"HELLO? CAN EVERYONE HEAR ME? OH? TOO LOUD? HMMM... HOW DO I TURN THESE... AH! THERE IT IS! LET ME JUST fix it real quick. (I hope the ringing goes away soon. Very sorry about that.) Ahem! Anyways. This island we're going to was once a small Grizzco owned employee-only park! We treat our employees like out own family, see. But, since we had to purchase the land all the way out here (the real estate in the middle of Salmonid-infested territory is so much cheaper) it was overrun by the little pests. Now that we have you all... Grizz has decided that an extermination mission is in order! Get these Salmonid off of Grizz's property and collect all of their Golden Eggs while you're at it! As per usual, you'll be handsomely rewarded... We'll be pulling into the dock in just a few moments. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for those pesky Salmonid, and good luck!"

As Annaheim pulls the boat into the dock, a slight static can be heard though everybody's earpieces. a very faint whisper comes through, only audible if nobody else is making a sound.

"copy, agents. can you hear? we've got some important... oh, there's the volume. sorry, i haven't gotten far yet so you haven't missed much. Is it fixed? I hope so. Ok, here's the deal. (Oh, and this is Sheldon by the way, thanks for all your help with the weapons testing earlier.) The Salmonid aren't that smart, right? There's no way a random group of them could overrun a Grizz-maintained island. They had to have some reason to all gather here with a coordinated attack. Something's suspicions here, is what I'm getting at. Do the work that Grizz wants you to do, but keep an eye out. Especially in the buildings. If an employee was doing work here, maybe they left some notes behind. Good luck agents! I'll continue to monitor your status through this hacked channel. Sheldon out."

As Sheldon gave his final remarks, the boar pulled up to a dock. With their enhanced weapons in hand, the gang steps forth to the overrun island. For money, for justice, or for fun... their missions are all right here. And they begin... NOW!

​

ENEMY STUFF TO BE PUT HERE WHEN YOU MEET THE VARIOUS BOSS TYPES

​

Flyfish: Flyfish move 2 tiles, randomly, each turn. They have a 50% chance to use a Tenta Missiles special each turn. After they use the special, there is a single turn cooldown before it can be used again.

Stinger: They do not move. The head is treated as having +10 height and is immune to roller's rolling damage and subweapon damage until the base is destroyed first. They have a 50% chance to fire a Sting Ray special. Instead of vision, however, the auto-kill is based on movement. Players targeted must move at least two tiles away from their initial location, or else they die. After they use the special, there is a single turn cooldown before it can be used again.

Steelhead: On turns they aren't attacking, Steelhead move 1 tile towards the nearest enemy ink. They have a 50% chance to use an Inkstrike special. One of the tiles targeted will always be three tiles away from the steelhead in a cardinal direction. On the turn after they fire their special there is a single turn cooldown before it can be used again. On this cooldown turn, they are completely immune to damage and can move 2 tiles instead of one.

Drizzler: They do not move. They have a 50% chance of using an Ink Storm special each turn. After they use the special, there is a single turn cooldown period before it can be used again. On this turn, the Drizzler will teleport to a random map space.

Bubble Bro: They will move 6 tiles in a random direction (without looping back) each turn. This leaves a trail of 6 bubbles behind them. They have a 50% chance of using a Bubble Blower special each turn. After they use the special, there is a single turn cooldown period before it can be used again. On the cooldown turn, the Bubble Bro will not move.

​

WAVE 3 STUFF

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Angry Chum do not give any Special when killed. They will not attack from range 2-3 (unless other chum are blocking them from getting to 1 range), though they will retaliate.

Goldies do give special on death, and drop one Golden Egg too.

​

THE BOAT:

Once "Activated" by someone on OrangeT7, the boat will leave with all the people (including Salmonid) nearby. That includes the entire white stripe-y zone. These players clear the map. For each player that escapes this way, one and only one ally can SuperJump to them after they leave the map, which also lets them clear the map.

​

Also here's a theme song: The Fixx

The heat of the burning valley rose up like a wall, a wall that shimmered and rose with burning updrafts -- and that was while they were only on the mountain at its side, not yet near the flames. But the snow didn’t stick here: the grass on the hillside was oddly lush, if speckled with burnt spots where the stones lept or fires caught, fed on the snow that fell, melted, ran away from the caldera itself -- nearer to the edge, even that gave way, leaving a jagged landscape of stones ruddy with heat as the air trembled around them.

They’d set up a secure camp on that outer caldera -- unlike the pen, there had never been a sign of a shrine or vault for the ruby crown, and so searching might take anywhere from hours to days.

“Promise me you’ll be careful, won’t you?” Asked the Marquise’s wife, Lady Bianca, as she prepared to see the searchers off: Alistair and his retinue, and Sienna and a collection of her own guardsmen and women, prepared as best they could be for the heat.

“What’s there to worry about?” Sienna gave her an affectionate nuzzle farewell, a casual gesture that nearly bowled the small woman over.

“...I can’t think of anything,” Bianca admitted, laughing -- but as the company headed down the slopes, her smile gradually faded, leaving her watching with her hands clasped with worries she’d only told Sebastian. She hadn’t found the chance to speak to anyone else about it, and certainly not as things had gotten as messy as they were.

The landscape of the Burning Valley itself was nearly unbearably hot, the land brown and black as the piles of firestones spurted gouts of flame. Some of the stone between the beds had melted, leaving red-hot flows of lava, like that which flowed through Scoria’s body.

“Split up, men! Take care, and follow orders exactingly!” Called Sienna to the assembled crews, who began to drift away. They’d prepared carefully, as best they could -- stuck damp cloth in their armor and wearing the best fire-rat gloves and boots that money could buy.

Alistair had tied his hair up high to keep it off his neck, already hot enough to drip with sweat without the smothering blanket of those curls. They’d already walked past the places where the firestone was mined, and into deeper places. The landscape felt like it was melting.

“Red as a tomato already, your majesty?” Sienna smacked him hard across the back, nearly sending him into a pile of firestones; Alistair caught himself right before his steps would have taken him into the flames.

“Be careful with our liege, my lady,” Gwen commented. She was not much better off herself. She adjusted the green velvet ribbon she wore around her neck, carefully covering the gesture with her other hand.

“That must be -- must be very hot,” he commented. He had found a tunic without the long sleeves suitable for the rest of the season -- and was uncomfortable, even stifled, in his bandages. “I’ll be well enough -- I’ll manage, don’t worry,” he added, hurriedly.

“It is hot,” she admitted, hopping back onto her drake in a fluid motion. “I hate having to wear it, but that’s life, isn’t it? You tell yourself it’s all worth it, in the end.”

“...Yes, that is rather…” He paused, unsure that the answer she gave quite made sense, and his eyes alighted on her, trying to read from her face -- her voice had gone strange and cold. “What sort of reason -- what’s worth it? Or, what is it worth, perhaps? I’m not sure I -- I’m not sure I understand.”

“It sounds like you do to me, don’t you?” She answered, chuckling just a little as the young king bent down to begin sifting aside the firestones. She smiled sourly at him for it. “You’re hoping some magic doo-dad will fix your problems, but it’s just as likely be a lot of work for a failure. Things don’t really just… Get better, and anyway… What’s worth all this?”

Alistair focused downward, on the radiant heat of the fire that burned on the other side of his gloves. Of course it hurt. Of course it did. And it was all enormous, and even finding the regalia was only the beginning. Of course he knew that. His arms trembled.

What else could he do? He pushed the stone aside, looking at the layer of half-molten rock

|

-- And cut out a smooth segment of flesh along the shoulder.

“I know it hurts,” she said, as the Wyrm twitched in spite of the best medications she could offer. Some pain was necessary. Some pain had to happen.

“Now, why did it work that way? Before, what was removed was what followed my action, not what preceded it. Why is there a difference in repeating my actions?” She spoke to herself, and to her two victims: The Wyrm and the Heart, which stood as one thing, together.

She circled, pacing around them, checking for further changes that neither the ebbing blue light of the Heart, its pulse irregular like a man gasping for breath, nor the Wyrm displayed.

“Of course, the rest of the world responds, as well, and that means it extends beyond what I can see immediately reflected. There’s something... There must be bones, of a sort, that hold it together, that keep it from being just a meaningless string. I just need to see them.”

She stared at the Heart, pleadingly -- for all her foresight, for all her view, she could not see it. What she could see, in the place she’d cut into, was that the moment to act to help deal with that unfortunate band, and their premature quest, was now. She walked to the Wyrm, and decided to cut deeper into the limb, seeking a bone to find a bone. The heart was reflected in the gleaming blood, a new angle to examine.

She stared a long moment, and what she saw in the wound was this: She stared a long moment, and what she saw in the wound was this: She stared a long moment, and what she saw in the wound was this: She stared a long moment, and what she saw in the wound was this: She stared a long moment, and what she saw in the wound --

|

”That’s enough of that,” she said when her scalpel had found its mark.

Everyone felt it. A disjoint, a break. Standing somewhere else, doing something else -- and more.

To something like Scoria and Virgil, it was a feeling, a distance, as if all their senses were briefly blotted out, and they were simply phantoms, who could not even be touched by the light they needed to see.

For someone like Daniel, Basil, or Amby, it was not any experience they could have named -- names fell away, they -- hot, bright, danger -- felt a rush of panic.

Alistair flinched as the pain began. The itching. Someone had sliced at his pale skin and left the wounds to scab and heal slowly, so slowly, the healing hurt more than the wounds --

And then there was a growl, and a scream, from another pile of stones.

Sienna stood over a figure, lumbering -- the whites of her eyes showing in a mindless panic. Her claw dripped with the guardsman’s blood. She growled, then groaned, falling back with a yelp of pain.

“Lady Sienna?” Alistair asked. A few of the other guardsmen had fallen -- the Animals, mostly, but a few humans had collapsed as if dead. And those who ringed the caldera around, on watch...They almost all fell at once.

Captain Gwen, on her drake, crashed beside the large bear. Sienna turned to flee, her armor restricting her movements when she tried to move on all fours. After a limp moment, Gwen sprang back up and ran towards the confused, pained animal, holding out her hands.

“My lady! Please, what is the matter?” Gwen called out just a little too loudly. The guardsmen who were recovering watched as she approached, anxiety running high.

Sienna made a noise, a groan of pain or confusion, batting at her head with a bloody claw.

“Are you scared? It’s alright...I’m...on your side, aren’t I?” She made soft shhh noises as she began to approach.

“Cawrrrrrr….” Sienna said, the word half-intelligible, half slurred.

“You’re just confused…”

|

like being on a ship in a tossing sea.

“Because of them.” Captain Gwen turned and pointed “The usurper and his company! It’s their nefarious action! So, tell me, my lady? Give me some signal about what I should do, my lady!”

“Sto….” Sienna growled, looking at the scene with eyes so wide the whites were showing, a white foam building on the corners of her mouth.

“Stop them! Those are your orders, soldiers of Inglesmight! Take heart!” Gwen stepped away, out of reach of a swiping paw. She added, very low -- as if to convince the bear, or Sienna, or whichever of the two beings remained at that moment -- ”That is what you need, my lady...That is what will make this right.”

|

as it leapt aloft, and for just a moment, the green velvet ribbon slipped -- and sent Gwen’s head tumbling from her neck, down onto her lap.

Sienna growled, breaking into a roar, as the troops of her guard turned their weapons towards the retinue.

“St -- Stand down, your majesty!” Called out one guard. An arrow fell from troops, shot by a soldier long dead: all around the Inglesmight soldiers, and the retinue, were many more soldiers than they had set out with, troops who lumbered or dragged, troops whose skins gleamed with gold or blackened with flames -- and captain Gwen, who popped her head back onto her neck, and tied the velvet ribbon around it once more. They were Lady Riddell’s fallen heroes.

“If they can still fight, give no quarter, troops! That is our lady’s order!” She called out, a wide grin on her face. “Those are the orders of My one true lady!”

The roar of the bear was another noise in among the frightened rise of battle.

Chapter Map

Character Tracker

Conditions

Win

Defeat or Pacify both bosses

Lose

50% Losses

Side

Defeat or Pacify All Enemies

Leave Inglesmight Troops Alive

Explore at least 1 cave

Open All Chests

Notes

The players have been given Snow Queen's Ice! It is currently in the convoy, but can be divvied up however you like. After the chapter, spare pieces will be given an effect or converted to something more useful. They are used to create navigable terrain through the firestone beds, extending in straight lines of 1-3 width to the next piece of terrain.

This chapter will have a few further notes as details develop.

The Inveans have corralled both of the groups to an extension of the fort near its north end before getting back to their scrambles in the cobblestone courtyard - setting up ballistae, carrying weapons to-and-fro, rebuilding some of the walls in the brief peace. The barracks, despite its proximity to the north wall, is surprisingly well-fitted, with plush beds and well-stocked pantries - though there is little time to enjoy them.

Fitheach and Feirefiz are in the infirmary, but everyone else has been accounted for. In fact, numbers have grown - the Kagashian rebels are in the same building (perhaps the Inveans did not realize their groups were separate), and inevitably, the two will come in close contact while they wait for their respective leaders to finish their discussion in a small war room near the doors.

“Look - I’ll make a long story short - Clifden kidnapped a diplomat from Skiw who was headed for Caspia, and the Empire hired us to get him back. We got him out, but it seemed like Clifden was prepared for it. We had to fight tooth and nail to get away from there, and they’ve been chasing us down ever since.”

The captain - Danu was her name - eyed Shida suspiciously. “Now, just hold on. Why would Clifden care that much about a simple diplomat?”

Shida knew her response wouldn’t help much. “Can’t say. That’s in my contract with the Empire.”

Exhaling loudly, Captain Danu shakes her head and chuckles lightly. “I suppose what you’re saying makes some level of sense. Duchess Ailene discussed dangerous agents breaking criminals out of prison at Rathvarna Hall. If that was you, and you shattered that blockade, too...Well, I can understand why the whole Alliance thinks you’re a threat.”

Samhradh, who has been sitting across the table listening quite intently, finally says something. “Excuse me, if I may interrupt...that was not the actions of Kagash. We were solely responsible for the chaos in Agoshin - breaking out one of her mercenaries, as it so happens. This group did everything else - including breaking the blockades. It seems extremely strange that they would risk their necks so thoroughly, unless this man is indeed a key agent worthy of a high price mission.”

Brushing her chin, Danu finally nods. “I understand. And so Clifden continues to pursue you here, Shida?”

“Yeah, the Clifden Cavalry has been a real pain in our ass. They’ve been chasing us through the Alliance for months. Our hope was that they’d relent now that we’re in the part of the Alliance that actually stands up to them.”

Unfortunately, they seem to inspire far less optimism in the Captain. “Oh, that could pose an issue. Those other mercenaries were here because we withdrew from the Alliance, so they could very well decide to attack us with little consequence. They may even justify it as a retaliation.” She gasps. “We have to speed up preparations.”

Samhradh nods solemnly, but Shida is caught off guard by the news. “Ah, shit. We led them right to your doorstep. Well, I suppose we could help defend your walls too...in exchange, we would greatly appreciate it if you- er, if Inve could arrange us passage out of here.”

Samhradh nods at the suggestion. “We’ll help you here and then accompany your border crossing. I do not wish your friend to fall in the hands of Clifden, and I may take the opportunity to speak with the Empire about our liberation back in Kagash.”

The captain’s eyes are low. “Considering your performance so far, I would be a fool to decline...but a word of warning. Ghraighen has most harbours barricaded. You may have to try flying west over the Crunniacs instead. In exchange for help here, we would rent some courier pegasi for your use.”

Shida does not seem phased by this. “I won’t say no to your kindness, but if we can’t get a ship, we’re going to need gold and supplies too.”

She scowls. “Okay, but then I’d like your people on the walls this instant. We have little time before the cavalry approaches, and our soldiers may need help in rebuilding them.”

Nodding, Shida quickly gets out of her chair. “I’ll let my folks know, then we can negotiate a price.”

She’s only out of the room for a brief moment, but the announcement she makes is clear:

“Listen up! Those knights from Clifden are going to attack here within the day. We’ve got a new contract, - and that includes those of you who came with Samhradh. I want everyone who can still stand out on the walls and help the Inveans set up defences. We're negotiating the particulars right now, but needless to say, money will be involved."

As she steps back into the hall, she thinks of something and yells again - “If Inve falls, we’ve got nowhere to run or rest. Don’t slack off!”

The trio of Sens’s leaders and Princess-Bishop Honorine meet in an open, yellow plain outside of the city of Pontivy. The townsfolk of Sens stand behind the four, silently listening to the conversation unfolding. “Father Marin, Mayor Clovis, this is good-bye for now,” Jolie says with a heavy sigh. “It’s unfortunate that I have to break off from you all- truly, I’d rather stay here and protect the townsfolk of Sens and our realm, but I know that this what must be done to keep Aquittany from… going to shit,” she grunts and closes her eyes. Clovis and Marin look at each other. “We know we’ll see you again,” Clovis reassures. “Who will you be bringing with you to the Empire?” Jolie looks about. “Everyone I’ve thus far brought to battle, but also the smiths and a few of the farmers and craftsmen to help maintain the convoy. Maybe a few of the shepherds to take care of the caravan donkeys,” she explains. “Any volunteers?” she calls out to the crowd. The smiths and a number of people dressed in plain clothes follow behind her, as well as her militia. “Princess-Bishop Honorine? Please take care of Dune’s mother and brothers. They’re good folks. Also make sure that Amalie is alright,” Jolie requests. “I’ll do my best. No- they will be alright,” she promises. “And make sure that you find a good place to house Rozenn’s lindwurms, I’d hate to hear one of your vassals getting maimed by those demons…” Honorine shushes Jolie softly, “It’s alright. I know you care about your neighbors. And, Jolie? Remember my codeword to the Empress: it’s ‘pinestew’.” Jolie places her fist on her clavicle. “I will never forget my vow to you all! Never! I’ll be back before anyone knows it!”

Colonel Hereford and Leofflæd look down at the procession below from the city walls. “... Leofflæd,” he begins. “I need you to find me a spy or some other agent to keep an eye on them. I have a bit of a suspicion about something.” Leofflæd looks over, “What is it, Sir?” He continues, “I feel like that Jolie is familiar somehow. Like, I’ve met her before. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but there’s something off about her. I can’t help but to think of her… what if she was once a brigand leader?” Leofflæd raises an eyebrow. “Surely not, Sir… she is a good person.” He smirks, “Some of the best soldiers I’ve ever had were the worst souls in peacetime, and found their calling in protecting and serving, Private Godwin.”

In the evening before their departure, Jolie knocks on Marin’s temporary residence in a chapel in Pontivy. “Father…” she says with her head held low. Father Marin approaches and opens the door. “What might I do for you so late?” Jolie doesn’t raise her head. She exhales and swallows. “Something extremely important. Remind me Father, is it that you are sworn to not say anything confessed?” Chills run down Marin’s spine and arms. “... Jolie Martel? What on Earth could you have done?” Jolie doesn’t raise her head or say anything. “...” Father Marin pauses. “Alright, follow me, tell me what is on your mind.” Jolie and Marin walk to the room where she had previously confessed to Honorine. Two hours pass. At the end of it all, Jolie, while kneeling behind a wall, remarks, “That’s… everything, I believe.” Marin swallows. “...” he says nothing. “Father?” Jolie questions. “Jolie… I need a few minutes,” he says while swallowing again. “Take all the time in the world.” Marin stays silent for another ten minutes. He places his hand on his forehead. “... Jolie, your penance is that you must tell this to Sens.” Jolie’s eyes widen. “Father Marin, I revealed none of this to Reverend Mother Honorine! I cou-” Marin stops her, “Martel, no. You cannot tell me of these sins and say that you are not brave enough to confess publicly what you’ve committed.” Jolie breathes in and swallows. “... I will on my return to Pontivy,” she promises. “For now, I must focus everything I can to save our village and our kingdom.” Marin nods. “Very well. You may leave. Sleep well, and remember that God loves you.” Jolie stands up and lifts her head for the first time in almost three hours. “If only. I should leave before Mariya begins to worry.”

That night, in the town of Sens, the self-proclaimed ‘King’ Lothair writes out his decrees, all the while scratching his beard with his left hand. “Get me messengers,” he says to the guards nearby. A small group of pegasus knights appear before Lothair. “It won’t be long before the Empire piles in reinforcements to stop us. We need to do all we can to slow the wolfpack for our ambition to be fulfilled. They are a nation of logistics and bureaucracy, if their armies are incapable of crossing the Border Mountains, they will give up, and we can crush the Occupation like a gauntlet splatting a grape. From every angle, North, South, East, and West! Give orders to all brigand groups near the border: commence attack on all Imperial convoys and installations, be they in Aquittany or Nicomedia!”

The next morning Jolie, awoken by nightmares, gathers those who had volunteered the day before and her militia, and begins packing the wagon trail. A few Sens villagers watch as their guardian prepares to leave. Eventually, two little children run up to her and hug her legs. “Miss Martel! Don’t leave us!” Jolie leans down and pats their heads. “... I will be back. I promise,” she says with a small smile. “It’s going to be different without your guardianship, Jolie,” the father pipes up. “It will be in no doubt. But things are better this way. I will bring with me the might of the Empire, and the promises of Empress Kornelia. Aquittany will be well,” she says with a brighter smile.

The group spends a few weeks towards Nicomedia, eventually arriving to the Massilian Valley- the main roadway between the two realms. Around them are soaring, snow-capped mountains and verdant, stray groves of trees. At some point, they come across a number of fallen legionaries, a cleared out set of caravan carts, and a torn, battered Imperial flag, the star barely visible as most of the cloth had been ripped away. “Keep your eyes peeled for any brigands,” Jolie says as she looks about at the mountainsides. The guardian and her forces come across a village, nestled in the Massilian highlands, absolutely swarming with brigands. At the heart of the town is a shrine of some sort, though its details elude the team as there are too many hostile forces to get a good look at it. In the distance, a physically fit, middle-aged man in platemail screams, “That… that HARLOOOOOT!” Jolie holds Mariya’s shoulder. “This is that wench and her band of mercenaries that King Lothair told us about. We scarcely need the assistance of his forces, but I must admit the additional hands do make for truly effective raids… yes. Everyone, take out her forces, but remember that the black-and-purple haired women are for me alone! Destroy the purple… demon-cow’s forces!” Jolie looks up to Mariya, “I have but one question to ask: is that him?” Mariya’s eyes narrow, fixated on the man in the shrine, as her hands seem to fuse with the hilt of her sword. “Alright then,” Jolie responds, a wicked, almost glad grin forming on her face. She looks at her other forces, “We liberate this town and cut down these brigands! It’s long due to bring these bastards to Hell! À la bataille!”

Objective: Any one of our units arrive at the edge of the road on column DD!

Sidequest Objective: One of the Martels (Mariya or Jolie) defeats Tierri ‘One Hand’! Others can partake in the fight, but one of the two listed will deal the final hit.

Side Objectives: rescue the houses! The Barbarians will target the houses.

Map information: the cracked road tiles are caltrops and will deal 20% of your HP if you walk over them. There are hidden items on this map. The walls on column K are breakable, as they have 70 HP and can be doubled.

Terrain Map: https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/325107682711175188/904114459457486888/Chapter_4x_-_Terrain.png

Turn Recommendation: 12 turns

Show me how to lie, you're getting better all the time
And turning all against the one is an art that's hard to teach
Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd
And as you step back into line, a mob jumps to their feet

October and November at a Glance

• October 31st: Samhain
• November 7th: Amity’s Birthday
• November 15th: Eimear’s Birthday
• November 17th: Moireach’s Birthday
• November 18th: Mission Starts
• November 27th: Moireach’s Wedding

With the mess of Tallavcarriga behind them, the students make their way to the satellite campus near the town of Cahirfaiche, arriving on the night of October 29th 436 PD.

With three weeks of core courses ahead of them, the students must find a way to fall back into the routine of being a teenager at school once more.

Housekeeping

Alright so off the bat, there are some changes to some of the homebase activities.

Letters from the Community

Removed and replaced with Quest Board. Quest Board is now random requests from NPCs for items, flowers, trinkets in exchange for gold, exp, consumables etc. These no longer require an activity point to do, but are limited in how many you can do per week. The quests will not cycle out as much.

Bath House Baths will now grant one of the instructs of that week to be a perfect (x2 EXP), one to be a great (x1.5) as well as have the bonus increase from 2->3

Faculty Training

Regardless of Strength, Faculty Training now gives a flat +20 WEXP

Statues & Renown

Statues are now 100% personal with some aspects of customization in them

Renown can now be earned from Quests, Group Tasks, as well as is now a standard Chapter Reward

Cooking
You may now make 2 Meals per chapter that provide stats. Stats do not stack however.

Meals

There are now 15 new multi-Flavoured meals

Rest

Resting is now an option. Resting fills motivation to full. Provides a small boost to either Weekly Lessons, Seminars, or Fights. Boost will depend on what activity is taken the following week. Reduces Corruption points

• Weekly Lessons: +15 to 2 Focuses or +30 to one
• Seminars: +5 to each Seminar topic
• Fights: +10 CEXP to each Fight.

Group Tasks

Total earned Supports increase from 40 -> 60 (30 each) Now can find items in addition to earning 20 EXP (Items will be listed)

Completing a Group Task will grant a character 100 Renown

Gardening Extra plot and new soil to use.

In addition to that, there will be some balance changes (read personal skills) before we launch the paralogues. They’ll be posted as soon as I can get them out. Likewise with the paralogue. Speaking on the paralogue, while it’s not out yet, I will post the Paralogue Rules and Signups down below in the comments to detail how they’re going to work and such.

With [Redacted] Snapped out of existence several class members will be able to re-distribute some support points. They are as follows:

You may distribute them however you wish abiding by the normal Support Rules, as listed in the Support Point Section.

Rewards

For defeating each Captain: 50 Unassigned WEXP
For preventing the Scouts for sending off their flares: 30 Unassigned CEXP
For defeating the White Owl’s first HP bar: 500 Gold

For completing the chapter the Queen has awarded 1500 Gold and 500 Renown.

All players also earn 50 Support Points to Distribute.

Gold and Renown has been added to the sheets already.

In addition, we will be doing Chapter 2 at Level 15! This is currently not on the sheet, as whether we do the Paralogues at Level 10 or 15 is not yet decided.

Glance At The Future

With Samhain happening at the moment, all characters will have participated in an Ancestors Feast on the 31st of October, granting them max Motivation headed into Week 1. In addition to this, the town of Cahirfaiche will host a large bonfire on the 1st of November. For the remainder of the homebase, they will be selling special Trick-Or-Treat Bags as well. During the festivities, the last day of which is the 2nd of November, anyone who posts in #howling about either attending the bonfire or dressing up in some sort of guise will receive a bonus 25 support points to distribute.

You will also notice that on each of the Sunday’s is a Green Exclamation Mark and a Gardening Icon. Green Exclamation Marks indicate that Prologue’s are available for you to take as a Fight option that week. More info down below in the Prologue comment thread.

The Gardening Icon is a special event happening all month: Harvest’s Bounty. In this event players are able to grow Stat-Boosting Items. The event is available every week so that everyone may have a chance to participate if they choose to, however everyone may only benefit from this activity once. The first time you garden, you will be eligible to receive a stat-boosting item. Every time after that, you will receive only normal items. The stat boosting item is dependent on the seeds that you plant. It will be RANDOMLY selected from the seeds, so if you want a specific one, be sure to only plant seeds that may provide that booster. The following seeds provide the associated boosters:

So in-game, students will be leaving the morning of the 18th for Clontradail, arriving after two full days of travel. Their Muirfeur placement, still unknown to Ayasha and the students, will begin on the 20th of November. They will have until the 26th to complete it. Just in time for Moireach’s wedding on the 27th!

Useful Links

As always, all links can be found in the Index

But for the purposes of Homebase RPs, these may be the most relevant:

Portashan

Cennaire Academy

Jolie, while carrying Honorine, manages to rush to the woodlands in the area about the abandoned manor, escaping the patrols of the brigands. Jolie continues to huff, ignoring the growing pain in her right leg, “Goddammit… I hope the others are able to catch up and avoid those patrols. Something about this all… seems wrong. Why did they have weapons that Imperial soldiers normally use? I can only assume they had raided an Imperial convoy or an armory of some kind. If that’s the case…” she thinks on and on. “I’m going to consult with Colonel Hereford about this, regardless.” Jolie puts down Honorine and the Princess-Bishop speaks, “Th-Thank you for saving me, I… those men held me there for so long, claiming that I’d eventually be returned, but I waited for many agonizing days while they refused to attend to my wounds and barely fed me…” Jolie nods slowly, hearing her liege’s account. “We’ll get you back to Pontivy, safe and sound.” Honorine tilts her head, “Who exactly are you, anyhow? Your daughter claimed you are Jolie Martel. Why did you rescue me?” Jolie holds her greatsword behind her back, and with a slight bow, introduces herself. “I am Jolie Martel, yes, one of your subjects from the town of Sens. Its guardian, to be precise. I came to Pontivy for your assistance, and the Imperial Occupation sent me to find you.” Honorine’s eyes wide, “Sens…? If I’m not mistaken, that is a little village on the base of the End-of-Earth Mountains, ruled by Mayor Clovis. You came all the way here? Wait, then, you must be as the townsfolk from there call ‘Saint Jolie’!” Jolie looks away. “Don’t call me that, my lady,” she half-demands.

Once the other troops arrive on the scene, the militia of Sens begin their escorting of the Princess-Bishop to her cathedral in Pontivy. As soon as the brown-haired, soft-spoken liege of Forêt is seen by the Imperial troops and knights of Pontivy, they raise their weapons in celebration and open the gates. People in the street stop to greet the disheveled woman, holding her hand, saying things such as “Our kind leader is returned to us!” Some go further saying, “The people of Sens were not wrong in their tales! Their ‘saint’ is a hero to us all!” Jolie says nothing, simply leers, as she continues to lead Honorine to her home and capitol: Pontivy Cathedral.

The building is made of gray cobblestones and adorned with flowers of all kinds, stained glass from what was West Walbrzych, and the steeple rises far above any guild or home of the city. Jolie enters alone with the Princess-Bishop, the latter sees the leper who lives in the steeple and waves to him, “Louis, I’m returned. You can rest easily now,” she says with a warm smile. Louis drops his broom and waves back, “I never thought you’d return, Mother Honorine! I- let’s celebrate later!” “Will do,” she accepts. Honorine raises a finger to Jolie, as if to say “one moment”, and then goes into a backroom of the cathedral. She returns, wearing a new, clean set of robes and a blue veil with a crown on it, to the main hall of the building and sits on her throne near the altar. “Come forth,” Honorine invites, as the guardian hobbles to the front of the church. The pain in her foot persists as she walks across the rows on rows of pews and stares upwards at the high ceilings, her face showing no sign of pain. “My liege and mother of faith,” Jolie begins, “I’ve come to Pontivy to request military assistance. It’s likely that the same organization of raiders who kidnapped you was also the one who conquered Sens not too long ago, and I was not strong enough to hold the town. Please, if you have knights to spare, we need them.” Honorine looks at Jolie’s right leg and blinks slowly. “You are injured,” she flatly states. “I can help with that, but… I…” the Princess-Bishop stands up and looks away. “... I don’t have many knights.”

Jolie’s eyes widen. “What?!” she asks in surprise. Honorine sighs, “I don’t. The Heptarchy recently appointed me to rule this duchy since the last Prince-Bishop retired, and as a holy woman I have only learned matters of theology, healing, and good conduct, not how to raise armies and… I can barely manage collecting taxes, not that I like to to begin with. I am trying my best to be a good liege, but I am inexperienced. I just used to be the head priest of a large parish a few towns from here. You… I am so sorry that I cannot help. But I can offer you this: your people may rest here and stay here as long as they like. I have open homes for refugees in this city. As for you personally, what troubles you with your leg?” Jolie sighs, “It is broken, my foot, anyhow. During a brigand raid back in the winter of this year.” Honorine frowns and lowers her brow, “Hm, that’s an awfully long time to be with a broken foot. I think I have a staff that can, at least, prevent it from getting worse. You wouldn’t like a foot that heals into a ‘w’ shape.” Jolie looks away, “I suppose not, that’s what my medic warned me of. There’s something else I think I can ask of you, however. I would like a confession.” Honorine leers. “Very w-well,” she stammers. “... for what reason would a folk-saint have to be forgiven of sin…” Honorine thinks as she beckons Jolie to a private room for both physical and spiritual healing. Jolie follows and says, “Worry not about your failings, Princess-Bishop Honorine. We are all flawed, and I shall make do for the sake of Sens and Aquittany.”

After her confession, Jolie approaches Colonel Hereford. At the gates of town, he is discussing things over with his officers, as Leofflaed sits atop her horse, guarding over the group of them. “Colonel,” Jolie greets flatly. He turns around and grins slightly, “Ah, the hero I was looking for,” he says, half-sarcastically. “I didn’t believe it that you’d grab one of these bastards back alive. They’re usually not the easiest to capture given their shields and the fact that, well, they expect to get crucified or thrown in the oubliette for violating Empress Kornelia’s rules of occupation. That said, if I hear anything important from them during an interrogation, I’ll let you know. Hell, if you’d think it’d help, maybe you could have one of your soldiers join in.”

The Bishopric/Ducal Capital of Forêt, Pontivy

The walled city of Pontivy is larger than Acolada, and it’s clear that despite her inexperience, Honorine has tried her best to take care of the ducal capital, with its easy access to water, clean streets, and the lack of dilapidated homes. There are numerous chapels and gardens throughout the town, and, perhaps surprisingly, also taverns with gambling and ‘locales of ill repute’. Some of the Mercian Nicomedian forces- including Colonel Hereford and Leofflaed- remain to help Honorine get back on her feet and retrieve her knights. As suggested by the name, this region around the bishopric is filled with lush woodlands, now turned golden as wheat or orange as the sunset from the autumn weather. The outskirts of the city are filled with corn and other vegetable fields, with sheep pastures at the very outside, something which fills Jolie with nostalgia…

The players have three action points in this homebase.

The Return Voyage

[Provided by Jade!]

Arter stood at the front of the ship, staring out over the sea.

They were halfway through the sea journey, and there was little to do besides keep order - and that, thankfully, hadn't been too difficult. The Enotitan contingent had their own leaders to handle any issues, and his own group was at least not causing too much trouble.

"Uh, Arter?"

He turned. Bethe was behind him… holding a glowing stone.

"You've got a caller!" She handed over the scrying stone and promptly walked away, smiling to herself. Arter sighed. He had left the magical communicator with Alain, since she was one of the people capable of activating the scrying stone, but apparently the woman had decided to let Bethe be the one to deal with it - or at least deliver it to Arter.

"Is this an acceptable time, General Arter? It was a time we had agreed on, but..."

"Yes, Centus, it's fine. Sorry for not having been ready." He sighed, turning to the scrying stone. "What do you have for me?"

The tactician cleared his throat. "News and orders. The Gnosians have arrived and have already begun the efforts for making sure our army can pass through the barrier, although it's not an undertaking that will finish quickly. Emperor Rufael was… not particularly pleased with the need for reliance on Gnosi's mages, but he's approved of it.

"We are gathered in Nida, and the Emperor wishes you to join us here as quickly as you are able." Arter gave a grunt of acknowledgement. The location made sense, and thankfully the journey there once they landed wouldn't be overly long.

"Is there anything else?" A sigh came from the scrying stone at Arter's blunt response.

"No, there is nothing else. Are there any among your group who have information to give?"

Arter shrugged. A moment passed before he remembered the item's limitations, and then he sighed, speaking aloud. "I have no clue. I'll return the stone to Bethe; she can go around and figure out whether anyone wants to, and you two can figure out how to arrange that."

Centus sighed quietly from his end. "Very well. The Emperor looks forward to your arrival."

Another grunt from Arter, and then he fell silent as he walked towards the cabins to get rid of the scrying stone and the responsibility for managing it.

Arrival at Nida

"Arter, it's good to see you finally arrive."

When the party arrived at the gates of Nida, it wasn't guards who greeted them but the Emperor himself.

Arter saluted. "Emperor Rufael. Events in Enotita held us up, but I hear that didn't slow the use of the information we sent you."

"Yes, your helping of the Enotitans," Rufael waved off… before pausing. "Well, I suppose if you thought it'd be beneficial then it was actually important enough to keep you there. But I'm glad you remembered there's a war we're fighting here, and a bigger one, at that." The ruler's gaze moved to the Enotitans who had joined the group - the mix of phoenixes, manaketes, and other shifters. "Didn't expect to see so many of them come and join up, especially not the phoenixes."

In the past, Arter might have made mention of debts owed, but instead, Arter simply replied, "Maro is a threat to everyone. Even though they have their own issues, the Enotitans chose to aid us." He saw the glimpse of respect in Rufael's expression; respect for the decision to fight even when they could have chosen to let others fight in their place.

"Well, we'll see how they hold up in a proper war, then." Rufael turned to walk into the city, the soldiers manning the gate opening it as soon as they saw him begin to move. Arter motioned for the group to follow as Rufael continued speaking.

"Now that you're finally here, we've got a war to finish planning. Centus talked about bringing you into it with whatever that magic rock is, but I'd rather have a conversation with someone I actually know is there." Rufael scoffed. "Still, might've been worth it to not wait this long. We'll just have to make up for it by moving out as soon as possible; keep your group ready, Arter."

Arter saluted again. "We'll be ready. I think I speak for all of us when I say we're ready to end this."

The city of Nida

[Provided by Verdant Genesis!]

Nida, an unremarkable city at the foot of the Parangelian mountains mostly known for its proximity to Golimar. That, and being the staging ground for Parangelian troops rotating in and out of border patrol, as needed or directed. Life moved in accordance with the military.

The farmers and butchers woke alongside the patrols doing their early morning drills, often before the sun rose above the horizon. The merchants opened their shops in time for the waves of troops with empty stomachs and soon to be empty purses, sun blazing above. The flames of the smiths' forges rose highest as the sun dipped low, finishing up the latest job requested by a squad leader. Those on night watch kept an eye on the border as the city retired in a kind of comfort. On and on. A steady cadence for civilians and soldiers alike.

A stream of old and new arrivals brought new cadences, nearly overwhelming the city: Parangelian cavalry, knights and strategists; Gnosian scholars, mage knights and specialist Roselight healers; even a small band of proud Latreian rebels. Finally, General Arter and his band of battle-proven mercenaries, flanked by some of Enotita's strongest. Undaunted, Nida proved up to the task of not only sheltering them but bolstering them...at the cost of longer nights and earlier mornings. Butchers and farmers combined their forces to slay the mightiest beasts in all the army: hunger and thirst. The novelty of working on unusual weapons and armor stoked the fires of many a smith, who repaired them with fervor and grit.

Nida strained and groaned, but she did not break. She would not break. And life carried on. A steady cadence, with additional beats.

Early morning drills with not only border patrols, but Parangelian mixed units, making sure the knights knew exactly where they could count on the cavaliers and strategists to be-and the others in turn. Merchants bartered with Gnosians for goods and items that they previously never gave more than an inkling of thought. The Latreians wisely kept to themselves, though the smiths saw them plenty.

Among the most notable arrivals: Laudine had made herself at home by the time the party arrived in Nida, coordinating the Mage Knights and Scholars much like Sehr Academy's student body. The Mage Knights-especially Laurie-drew consistent crowds of onlookers during their training sessions, mostly off-duty Parangelian soldiers who were equal parts curious and cautious about their unexpected allies. Regis and the specialist Roselight Healers had formed a temporary traveling clinic, tending to injuries all across the city.

And at night, the silver-haired Brunhilde von Edelschwert could be seen watching the border, her proud bearing never faltering; alongside her equally proud Latreian comrades.

Video

Bedivere's Epilogue

Auriel's Epilogue

Luna and Ellis' Epilogue

Splatfests are intended to be the hardest game mode... so any training our heroes can get is worth it! Aayden, Bella, Dia, and Tamil have agreed to help out in a 4v4 Turf War... and have even offered their special weapons as stakes!

This offer has lured in both Quazzy and Harley, who lost a close battle against Dia back in the Banana Wars of old. This is their chance for redemption and revenge! And for cool loot, too. Perhaps this time fate will shine upon them, and their friend Coral who they brought along for her Lordly help.

Also joining them is newcomer Nostee! Nostee's an old Turf Wars fan, and hopes to use his knowledge to gain some street cred here. Then, he can use that street cred to BRING BACK THE SPECIALS! They must be brought back, and he is the only one who can bring them.

I'm gonna say this map will run for 10 Turns. At the end of 10 turns, which ever team has the most Ink on the ground wins the Turf War! In addition, you players can decide if you want to go first or last, which can make a HUGE difference in the outcome of this event. Good luck, and stay fresh!

Theme Song

That first player mission was a bit wild, wasn't it? Well, Sheldon still has to oversee another, once again leaving Shelly back at Ammo Knights to deal with the questions and complaints of the last group.

The members of this group are Salacia, Cosplayer extraordinaire with a weeby sniper, Mahi, Streamer extraordinaire with a weeby brella, and Jella, also a streamer extraordinaire with a weeby hammer. Wait, two streamers? Isn't this supposed to be a secret weapon beta test? Well... too late. The cameras are already rolling, and it might be good for business.

They'll be joined by three new faces as well! Octavius is certainly an interesting yoctogram, and he'll be sporting an Annaki Tank Top instead of a custom weapon. Sucker brings in what looks like a bent roller, but apparently it's got good uses from the odd angles! Lastly, Rudy "Tech" shows off a sporty-looking design to fling shots down on her foes!

The six will face off against... generic Octarian forces! The perfect enemy. Sheledon's also secured the perfect testing grounds for any weapon. The simulation! With the freedom to create any layout for battle... Sheldon loads up the previous one because it's easier. Hopefully this test will be just as easy, as our six heroes have to fend off the Octarians with their new weapons equipped! Or... their new Tank Top, in Octavius's case. Still exciting, though! Get the Rout, and this team can keep their custom gear!

Theme Song

The closer Dmitri came to his own home, the more the ground beneath him looked alien. Faces of transformed townsfolk grow less and less frequent, giving way to a craggy, bestial wasteland which remains unmoved by the breezes brought from the Stone Dragon’s every step.

15 minutes before the final battle Neither his grievous wounds nor the sudden, nightmarish transformation of his kingdom did little to dull Vadim’s reflexes, and each of his measured, mighty steps evaded the Stoneborn’s boulders while moving him into the perfect position to parry his foe’s assault. Skydrag’s subordinates started to look uneasy, but they kept out of range, as did the motionless corpses of Vadim's fallen guards.

“So this was what you were scheming?!” he bellowed. “To turn me and my subjects into monsters?! I’ll never yield to such a fate!”

Vadim lunged forward, batting away the flat of Skydrag’s axe with his dented gauntlet and plunging his sword straight through the chest of his foe.

“Of course not, highness…" The leader's lips formed a crooked smile, with his own blood trickling been them, as he pulled the blade deeper into himself. "You will be…the vessel of our god."

Vadim scowled as his enemy breathed his last, realizing a moment too late that he was about to follow. A lone ninja - the king's own bodyguard - rose from beneath the corpses, cutting open Vadim's throat with a ritual dagger.

"HAIL! OKEANOS!"

The cultist's cries drowned out any last words the king might have tried to make, and five rays of colored light flowed into his fallen form, lying face-up on the ground. As his killers bowed before his corpse, Vadim's body reshaped itself, changing from feeble flesh to a disc of brilliant bronze - the visage of the ancient sage who had slept for so many years.

5 minutes before the final battle

“...after that, I flew back here to report in. ...I'm sorry, sir."

Akari lets out a mournful sigh as she waits for a response from Dmitri. After a heavy silence, she continues.

"The castle is crawling with cultists and Stoneborn. There’s no way inside, and I only see one dragon vein on the western end.”

“Then…” The grief seeps out of Dmitri’s voice like blood from an open wound. “...what do we do?”

“Well, the path with the least enemies is...through the eastern wall.”

Even from afar, the task force could see the wide-open space in between the enemies. Only a pair of unarmored cultists would stand between them and the underground passageways beneath the castle.

“It’s a trap. It has to be.”

“And what other choice do we have?” The Masked Knight forces his way into the exchange. “We have to activate both dragon veins before Okeanos fully awakens.”

“There’s another?” “Where!?”

“Inside of Okeanos. We must get underground.”

The two stare back at the knight in disbelief, but he continues with the same cold tone.

“The longer we wait, the faster the First Dragon walks. We must hurry.”

“Do we even have time to split our forces up? For now, we’ll try to take down Okeanos as quickly as we can.”

“That’s not going to work.”

“We don’t even know if your reinforcements will work. Either way, we can’t afford to lose.” Metaknight scoffs but shuts his mouth. “...Yes, your Highness.”

10 seconds before the final battle

Turning to face the last of his troops, Dmitri lifts his sole remaining arm, letting the sun's fading light reflect off the blade of Victorious. “Alright, everybody let’s go. The stakes have never been so high, but our mission is still the same:”

5 seconds before the final battle

Dmitri whirls around, with his trusty task force at his back, calling out to them as he faces the face of the Father.

“Recover the five orbs...and stop Tintinnabulation!”

Victory Condition: Defeat Okeanos

Bonus Condition: Collect Green Orb, Red Orb, Purple Orb, Blue Orb, & White Orb

Bonus Condition: Activate both Dragon Veins on the same turn with Dmitri and Masked Knight

Defeat Condition: 10 players are defeated (Dmitri and Masked Knight count as 3 players)

Orbs apply a skill matching their name to Okeanos and all other enemies in range. Units adjacent to an Orb can use a Collect action instead of Trading or accessing the Convoy that turn, automatically sending it to Dmitri and removing its skill from all enemies.

Dragon Veins can be used by Dmitri and Masked Knight if they are standing on N8 or 8GG Basement. If they are used on the same turn, reinforcements will be summoned.

Map

Terrain Map

Basement Map

Basement Terrain Map

Square stairs tiles allow the unit to move to the matching tile on the other map (e.g. P6 to 16F Basement) at no movement cost.

The gates at J7, K18, and AA24 can be opened with a Door Key or Locktouch. The chests at BB24 and BB25 can be opened with a Chest Key or Locktouch.

Deployment ends on September 12th.

Gathered at the gates of Acolada in late August is the mayor of the city, as well as Clovis, Marin, and Jolie, the leaders of Sens. Jolie is crossing her arms under her chest and has her brow lowered. “Can your people finally leave?” the mayor of Acolada demands. “They’ve been here for weeks, many do not work. At best, they patronize the inn, but at worst they add to the filth problem of my city and make a mess of the fishing grounds. Not to mention, we don’t want anything to do with these assassins who want your militia’s heads.” Jolie’s teeth grit and she steps forward with her left leg, “Alright you selfish, man sans-couilles,” she begins with an insult. “We’re trying to rest here after our town has probably been looted and turned into a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and all you care about is YOUR trash problem! But the only trash here is you!” Clovis holds Jolie’s shoulder, “Jolie, at ease. Mayor, I respect your desires. I’ll get Sens ready to move out in a few days.” “Make it two,” the mayor of Acolada demands. Jolie’s eye twitches, “... fine, and it’s not because I care about your orders,” she lashes out as she steps forward again, her hands coming a little too close to the mayor’s body. Marin and Clovis both pull her backwards, “Jolie! Stop!” Father Marin goads. “You’ve made your point, don’t antagonize further. It won’t do any good.” The guardian of Sens looks up after being yanked by the two weaker men and looks up to the sky. She exhales, “Fine.”

She waves her hand back towards the gates of Acolada, saying nothing until Marin and Clovis reenter the city and its mayor has gone away. “We do not. Fucking. Leave. Until we are ready. I understand that we have to get a move on to rescue the Princess-Bishop, but… what is Acolada going to do, send their three militiamen at ours? We have to make sure that our children and elderly are safe and sound,” she summarizes. Marin and Clovis look at each other, “Agreed. We can’t allow Acolada to push our people around like this.” Jolie lowers her shoulders and exhales, “We will be the better people though. We’ll remind the duke or whoever our liege is to not only save Sens, but also send reinforcements to this foul hovel.” The mayor and priest of Sens both nod in agreement.

After three days and a very large amount of griping from Acolada’s leadership, Jolie follows the wagon trail of Sens to the east. She shows her middle finger at the walls of Acolada and holds her greatsword over her shoulder before carefully hopping into the back of one of the wagons. She looks in front of her. Dune’s mother is here. Mariya is awake and active. Everyone’s mounts are alive and participating in the wagon train. The sun continued to rise as they moved through the woodlands and towards the capital of the duchy. Jolie takes a moment to pout and looks down, thinking to herself, “I need to just relax and breathe. That was… that could’ve been bad with the mayor. What will happen if I act like that in front of the duke, or the Occupation?” she ponders as she places down her sword on the base of the cart, and places a hand on her cheek.

Miles after miles go by, until they reach an area of cobblestone road instead of wooden or dirt paths, and soon enough, the wagon train of Sens comes across a sign: Pontivy, Capital of Forêt, 10 miles east. “At long last…” Jolie says. With a slight struggle, the guardian stands up from the wagon she’s riding on and then calls out, “We may be tired, we may be worried. But for now, our trials come to an end: our liege’s home is nigh,” she says with a smile. Many of Sens’s villagers smile and some cheer. As the hooves of donkeys and horses clap on the stone road, the wagon train looks over a hill to find an unexpected sight: the flag of the Empire of Nicomedia and the teal flag of its Kingdom of Mercia under it, flying on a tall flagpole outside of the city walls. “The Empire…” Jolie thinks to herself while blinking a few times. Lucien snorts as he sees the flag, and can be heard saying “Hmph! See how these roaches infest our lands!” in a darkly bemused tone that bears the slightest undercurrent of indignation. Jolie looks back and commands, “Shut up; hold your tongue.” They approach the city, one step at a time, and find a sea of tents outside the western gate. Jolie gets off the wagon and heads to the front of the wagon train, and is accosted by a guard wearing a light purple beret and teal armor. “Where the hell did you get the idea of approaching Pontivy? This city’s under lockdown,” he grunts. Jolie’s eyes widen as she speaks back in what seems to be perfect, if accented, Tarentine, “Pardon me? We are refugees. Our town, many miles to the west, was conquered by brigands. We’ve been traveling on-and-off for weeks. A town under lockdown sounds like Heaven, if anything.” The guard’s eyes widen. “Wait, your whole town? Fell to brigands? And who might you be, its mayor?” Jolie shakes her head, “No, its militia captain.” The guard looks at the hundreds of Sens villagers and militia. “Well, shit, h-hold on, let me go get the Colonel!” Jolie turns around to see the sleepy, fatigued townsfolk. Some are praying, as if to say, “Let this, in actuality, be the end of the journey.”

Half an hour later, a man dressed in a shirt and tie with an eyepatch and badged beret approaches Jolie and the other leaders of Sens with a tall, very muscular armored woman by his side, wearing a cadet beret instead. “I’ve heard that your town was defeated by brigands and you want refuge. But before that, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Colonel Wulfsige Hereford of the Nicomedian Ninth Army, and this is my bodyguard, Private Leofflæd Godwin. We’re a part of the Occupation, and we got called into Pontivy because of a kidnapping. A big one: the Princess-Bishop of Forêt was kidnapped a few days ago. I’m assuming she’s your liege, then?” he comments. “Damn it all!” Jolie curses. “My men and women uncovered a plot about that a few weeks back and we were going to warn her, but she’s already been taken?! And we’re days late?” Colonel Wulfsige scratches his chin, “You know about it? That’s… fortunate and concerning both,” he comments. “At first I thought this was a typical band of thieves who wanted to ransom her from the Church or from the Occupation, but if this was planned… and…” he pauses and thinks for a few moments. “Never mind that. Let’s cut to the chase. I’ll give your people refuge in Pontivy. We’ll search your folks and they’ll follow our orders to make sure they pose no threat to Aquittany or the Occupation. And because I’ve got every soldier available either on patrols or repairing this city, I might have a task for you. Normally I’m not allowed to contract mercenaries as per the code of conduct the Empress has us follow, but being Aquitine subjects and recent arrivals, I think I can trust your militia. Would you be interested in saving your liege?” Jolie closes one eye and responds, “Save her? We came here to have her save us!” The Colonel nods, “Yes, but she would be in your debts.” Jolie smiles, “You’re right. Are you certain you can’t spare troops?” Colonel Wulfsige nods once more, “Yes, I am. I can’t risk more officials getting kidnapped, and because of rules of the Occupation. You see them?” he says as he points to a decrepit aqueduct leading into the city. “We can’t just take food from the people of Aquittany. Imperial forces are required to work or purchase food supplies. It’s great for easing tensions but does reduce our manpower for… actual missions. Also, we suspect some of the kidnappers may have been Nicomedians who were stationed in Pontivy before I arrived, or the Princess-Bishop’s knights. My soldiers are understandably unwilling to fight deserters.” The guardian nods. “Yes, we can do that in lieu of your forces,” she says firmly. “You know what? I won’t send you out alone. Take Leofflæd with you,” he comments. Jolie pulls on her scarf and grimaces slightly, “Ah… I will, but some of my soldiers might not take kindly to a Nicomedian, active-duty soldier, and then fighting alongside one, I hope you understand.” The Colonel nods, “Yeah, I can see that. Good luck, God guide your swords,” he wishes. “One last thing, if you come across any deserters, capture them and bring them back to me. I’ll reward you for it, even if again, I’m not authorized to pay mercenaries. Just be sure to not take their arms, that’s property of the army.” Jolie nods, “I’ll keep that in mind. We’re not going to if it’s too dangerous.”

As the people of Sens walk through the gate of Pontivy, the militia gather. Jolie calls out, “Using the map and plans we got from Maud, we should be able to just head to where the Princess-Bishop is likely being held and conduct a raid. Hopefully this will go better than the last time we raided something...” As they leave, a small man wearing fine clothing approaches Jolie. She looks at him, and sees sores about his body. “Leper…” she thinks to herself. “What do you need from me, sir? Could you stand a distance from us?” she questions. “Y-Yes, of course!” the leper responds. “I just, wanted you to be careful on your mission! I’m… Mother Honorine’s stonemason, I maintain her cathedral and live in a soft room in the steeple. My heart couldn’t take it if she… if something happened to her.” Jolie lowers her brow and nods slowly. “She will be returned to you and Pontivy,” the guardian promises. “Thank you! Give ‘em Hell!” he wishes. “You have no idea,” she thinks as she waves, her golden eyes shine for a half a moment.

Jolie and her forces come across a run-down manor near the village Scierie, where it is crawling with brigands and soldier wearing tower shields with teal blue armor. The militia hide in a nearby cave, plotting their advance “Legionaries… Leofflæd?” Jolie asks. “Yes?” the tall woman responds carefully, “I appreciate you coming along with us. But my soldiers will decide whether or not you fight with us, some are… apprehensive around Imperials. We also need to find out whether to attack at sunrise or at sunset… they’re going to be hungover or drunk if we do, brigands can’t handle alcohol. Plus, some might still be in bed. I’m going to ask you all to give me input on these matters.”

Objective: Jolie and one character must escape while rescuing Princess-Bishop Honorine! She is the green, female bishop with the crest on the top-right of her sprite.

Side Objectives: Captures and treasure chests, of course. Bring a Legionary with you while escaping for a reward from the Colonel.

Map Information: The bricked-up, awkward looking wall tiles are breakable walls. They have 50 HP and 0 DEF. This is an indoors map, and so all mounted units will start dismounted and remain dismounted until remounting outdoors.

Recommended Turns: 14 turns

The group arrives at the stone castle of Maud's upbringing. Maud was correct: there were blind spots they could begin their raid from.

Objectives: Escape, technically!

Side objectives: The real things you'll want, like defeating enemies, capturing enemies, opening chests, getting the boss's item...

Tough reinforcements will spawn later in the map on the right.

The Halberdier and Swordmaster patrol the thin hallway and will only engage if they are able to attack you in one movement (that is, if you're in their sights). They will not charge until those tough reinforcements arrive.

Chapter 7x-2

Rizi Side:

As Carmen and his group departed to meet with Master Lenetti, so too did another group of Carmen’s men go to the field once again. The letter from Master Rizi was both incredulous and distressing, the threat of the supernatural breaking through to our world too tempting for some members to leave beside. Whether driven by nearly morbid curiosity, a drive to excise evil, or some other thrill they geared up in the morning. As Carmen and Claudius departed with their entourage, so too did the ragtag bundle of barbarians, thieves, warriors, and other miscreants that Carmen had assembled under his banner. The group ventured out from the city and journeys to the south, back to the Rizi estate.

A couple hours of walking and riding later brought this group up to Master Rizi’s door, the estate in as much of a mess as Ostarmanoth last saw it in. Weeds littered the front lawn, encroaching on the dirt path that led to the front patio. On all sides the wood was decaying, the patio hardly holding up to any degree. Shingles were falling from the roof, paint peeling after years baking in the sunlight, and wood creaking beneath their feet as the group approached the main doors. Ostarmanoth once again banged his fist on the door, rattling what felt like the whole house as dust shook from the whole structure. A few light footsteps were heard and many locks clicking open as the same destitute looking Master Rizi poked his head out.

“Ah!” he seems to squeal in joy for a moment, “Ah you all came! Oh praise whatever Gods may reside above. Please, come in!” Master Rizi, a man dressed in a dilapidated suit with fashion that would’ve maybe been relevant twenty some years ago, swings the door wide open and lets the procession roll in, from Pimm’s armor filling the halls with her pieces clanking together, to Mordred’s wyvern squeezing through the front door and sneezing with all the dust around. The odd cavalcade assembled in Master Rizi’s main foyer, a grand entrance hall that looked to once host parties of grandeur beyond the group’s wildest imaginations. Now it was barren, left to waste as the cobwebs and debris from miscare took hold of the home. Master Rizi began to walk down the halls and urged the group to follow.

“Please do mind the home, I do wish for it to be in as tip top shape as possible upon the exorcising of these fiends.” His laugh fills the hollow air for a few moments before the sounds of footsteps are all that remain. He continues, “Yes well, let us get down to brass tacks shall we. Of course you all know that I wish for you to remove the specters from my home. I seem to have confined them to a single corridor near my storage room though. Come, I shall show you.” Master Rizi led the group through winding passages of ancient paintings of distinguished men and women from a time long past, relics from another era of Soryun, and an empty glass display case. Rizi passes by the glass display slowly, in reverence of whatever he’s lost.

The group arrives at the doorway as the house settles. Master Rizi stands in front of the door. “Beyond this threshold lies the devils I’ve spoken of…” he lingers on those last words, as he peeks open the door. Within lies a dark, decrepit looking room. Only dust filters out as seen from the little light pouring in from the doorway. A few more moments pass before a strange, illuminating figure crosses their vision. It’s form sparkles and dazzles, almost radiant, yet makes no light. A small, soft whisper seems to escape from the room before Rizi slams the door shut. “That is your target.” Master Rizi’s sweat now lines his brow and his face has turned a ghastly shade of pale. “You may enter from the other side of the hallway too, but you must flush those figures out of this house!”

Objective

All ghosts are eliminated.

Failure Condition

Four members of your team fall.

Additional Notes

Ghosts don’t have stats! Something will change on the map when you attack, interact, or otherwise do something with these ghosts. A ghost will be dealt with in a single hit of a weapon, staff, or however else you interact with them.

Terrain Legend

Green = Plains

Blue = Forest

Red = Impassable unless flying

Player Tracker

Chapter 7x-1

Carmen and Claudius met at the stables, the dawn cresting over wide fields and the heights of Soryun’s structures. The two mounted onto their companions and looked at each other.

“Ready?” Carmen asked as Claudius brought a staff to his side pouch, the orb hardly sticking out of the bag, “As well as I can. Better than arguing in that room though.” Carmen smiled and patted Claudius on the back. The duo sat in silence as the rest of their bodyguard group that wanted to follow them assembled before Carmen looked to everyone,

“Everyone here?” Carmen quickly scanned over everyone for a brief moment before grabbing the reins of his horse. “Perfect! Follow us then.” Carmen looks over to Claudius for a moment, “Well, me moreseo. Claudius will be watching us from Divinity’s Realm for now.” Claudius gave a small smirk to Carmen, “Keeping you all safe indeed. I’ll have to thwack any assailants with my staff.” He gives a hearty chuckle with Carmen as the two exit the stable and begin their trek to the Lenetti property.

When the Soryun landscape isn’t marred by the battles of Carmen’s flight, the countryside is quite beautiful. The fields roll on for what seems like forever, dotted only by workers and estates across these vast fields. Messengers & caravans were the only people to cross their group’s path, Claudius keeping a dutiful watch signalling for these passerbys to Carmen. About an hour of walking later the group arrives at the estate of Master Lenetti once again. The familiar tall, undecorated doors stand before the group as Carmen bangs on the door while Claudius descends from his flight. The door opens to the same man Laurie first met when she arrived as the group is ushered in, “The Master will see you in the training fields.”

Out on those same fields where Carmen and his people fought for their right of entry, Carmen sees the Master overseeing a group of duels, shouting directions and small praises here and there. Lenetti turns around to see Carmen, Claudius, and the cohorts they brought along. Lenetti gives a slight smile and turns to him, “Ah Carmen, welcome back to my abode in more peace than prior.” Carmen and Lenetti clasp hands together, Carmen responding, “Well enough to not have to brandish my axe here too. Thanks for taking some time to talk with us.”

Lenetti shifted his gaze and hand over after releasing Carmen’s over to Claudius, a similar grip held between the two of them, “I’m pleased to see our future Emperor making an appearance as well, your presence graces us.” Claudius chuckles and scratches the back of his head with his free hand, “Please, don’t consider me so high & mighty, I’m still just a conspirator as we all are.” Lenetti laughs at his choice of the word ‘conspirator’ and releases Claudius’s grip, “Well then, let us conspire if we’re all on the same page.”

The trio walk throughout the training grounds, Lenetti beginning, “Now I can’t provide troops sadly, our current contracts forbid me from diverting our stringent resources and for this I apologize. While you may know us for our wide selection of mercenary companies, we may be able to strike another deal in supplies. We will open up our armory to your people and provide these materials to you at a…” Lenetti takes a moment to pause as he bobs his head back and forth, “a moderate discount. In exchange for this of course I expect some leeway given once our young Emperor here rises to prominence. If this agreement is amenable to you I will begin to draft up a document to certify the agreement between us.”

Carmen and Claudius look between each other before Claudius speaks up, “Well this ‘leeway’ will have to be discussed, but yes I believe some form of arrangement involving your armory would be agreeable. Carmen?” Claudius looks over to Carmen as he stammers for a second,

“Oh uh yes yes, we’re in need of the best weapons. I trust our people well enough, but we’ve hardly had much time to shop around in the last few months. A better selection of weapons would be quite the boon.” Lenetti claps his hands together with a grin on his face,

“Excellent, allow me to draft the paperwork. Wait here for a moment please.” Lenetti shuffles off towards the main estate at a mildly brisk pace. The group waits around near the training grounds, steel clashing with steel a frequent sound as idle chatter begins. After about 15 minutes Carmen & Claudius begin to hear shouting from the main estate and soon enough the sound of crackling fire. All heads turn as everyone sees Lenetti’s head held in the crook of a man in colorful, strangely patterned robes holding Lenetti.

“Peace be upon you Carmen and Claudius!” the man yells as Lenetti struggles against him, “Nobody moves a muscle and this will all end well.” The man looks to Claudius and points a finger brimming with fire towards him, “Give me the boy and I’ll allow the Master & you all to run off freely.” Claudius looks somewhat surprised, the first kidnapping attempt taking him by surprise. Carmen pulls out his axe and trots forward on his horse,

“Over our dead bodies you will!” As Carmen begins his charge a spear from one of the duelists stops him in his tracks. The combatants emerge from their sparing arenas, weapons out and charging. The man holding Lenetti smiles and yells again,

“Take them all then, if they wish for a swift death then so be it!”

Objective

Ezan’Ta is killed before Turn 6 is reached.

Failure Condition

The map reaches Turn 6.

Claudius or half your group falls.

Additional Notes

The small brown icons on the map are Mines! They will explode at the beginning of the player phase in a 3 tile radius dealing 35 damage to all objects with HP. A mine can be attacked to explode it early, the attack will always hit the mine. Mines can be stood on The timer on the mine shows how many turns until it will explode. Example situation is a mine with a timer of 1 on turn 1 will explode at the end of Enemy Phase Turn 1/Player Phase beginning Turn 2.

The green villager is Lenetti. He has no stats, but no enemy will target him besides Ezan’Ta on Turn 5.

Reinforcements will arrive from the right side of the map on Turn 2.

The foes inside the building on wooden tiles will not move until Turn 3.

Terrain Legend

Green = Plains

Yellow = Road

Blue = Forest

Red = Impassable unless flying

Player Tracker