Fire Emblem: Last of the Manakete
- Thread starter SoaringHawk218
- Start date
- Fantasy
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Plan: Still Pinchy, but less Angry
[X] Plan: Still Pinchy, but less Angry
Vote closed
Huh, must have made a mistake when setting the vote up, but I'm 99% sure that Still Pitchy but less Angry won.
Last edited:
ImperatorV
The Laughing One
- Location
- The Voyaging Realm
Time for Dragon-Ryza to have her first post-awakening fight! Should be fun to see how this goes.
- Location
- Earth
- Pronouns
- He/Him
"Why do I hear boss music?"
"I think that's our music."
"Oh. I like it!"
If the average manakete recruit in the FE games is anything to go by? Dragon Ryza VS what amounts to a standard scouting group of troops with no promoted units or supereffective weapons is "laugh as you slaughter everyone on enemy phase to the sound of Tinks and Counterattacks". Turning into a full dragon basically eliminates the one normal people weakness Ryza has of "is very squishy mage please do not puncture with sharp object", and that's just on top of already having flight and spewing lightning in every direction.
Since this is a quest and game balance is a thing, I don't think it'll go quite that far, there's always room for devastatingly bad rolls or whatever, but "Is A Dragon" does a lot to balance the power scales in a situation like this.
Barondoctor
The things I chase come to me.
- Location
- The other side of the mirror
- Pronouns
- He/His/Him
Well, isolated here as we are it's possible we just end up leaving no witnesses and whoever arrives later will have problems figuring out what did it.
Imagine the intrepid imperial heroes' quest to uncover the mystery of what sort of monster senselessly slaughtered these innocent soldiers, ominously foreshadowing the conspiracy between barbarians and awakened ancient evil.
- Location
- Florida
I was rereading the quest, as one obviously does with such quality and I found this. I'm pretty sure it should be Mistress Levinheart?
Death by Dragon
[X] Plan: Still Pinchy, but less Angry
-[X] Secondary Objectives: Capture the Priest if possible, any other surrenders are as opportunity allows. Try not to let any escape.
-[X] Strategy: Ryza circles around to the northeast and transforms using Determination for Four Turns before attacking. To draw attention and pin the enemy formation in place, while our main force moves in to ambush them from the Southwest. Ryza prioritizes archers during this period as best as she can, bombarding with dragonbreath.
-[X] Secondary Objectives: Capture the Priest if possible, any other surrenders are as opportunity allows. Try not to let any escape.
-[X] Strategy: Ryza circles around to the northeast and transforms using Determination for Four Turns before attacking. To draw attention and pin the enemy formation in place, while our main force moves in to ambush them from the Southwest. Ryza prioritizes archers during this period as best as she can, bombarding with dragonbreath.
"It just wouldn't die… we just kept shooting and shooting and it just wouldn't die…"
-The last, battle-shocked words of a survivor of a dragon attack, The First Emperor
Artemis nods along with you as you quickly describe what you'd seen. "Well, this means we're in the right place," she says. "You're sure they said they were going to Hornglade?"
You nod. "Yes, I'm sure," you say. "And the priest was saying something about getting past some sort of garrison."
"Which means they're going through the Divine Realm all the way to Hornglade…" Artemis says. "Any long-term garrison of Northern Kingdom soldiers will have been pulled away to reinforce the main front that's going to be opening soon." She frowned. "But what's their goal? They haven't even taken Starhelm yet, and it'd be foolish to leave a fully functional castle at your back. They'd never be able to hold Hornglade even if they took it…" After a moment, she shakes her head irritably. "Questions for the treacherous priest when we get our hands on him." She looks at you. "Ryza, do you think you can do what you did at the Talon camp? Hide in the trees and zap them with lightning bolts to distract them?"
You cock your head. "I mean, I probably could. Why?"
Artemis gestures around. "The terrain here is rough enough that they'll probably hear us coming if we just try to charge in, and the foliage makes it too hard for us to move fast enough to hit them before they're ready. You've proven you can sneak up on them, so if you go around to the northeastern side, opposite us, and start shooting lighting bolts at them, then that'll get all their attention in that direction. You won't have to hit much, maybe just their leader and a few archers, and that'll throw them into enough chaos for the rest of us to take them from behind."
Frowning, Belle shakes her head. "Way too risky," she says bluntly. "Ryza's good at sneaking, that's true, but they weren't really looking for her. The second they start taking spells, they'll spot her pretty quick, and Kelton and I still haven't convinced her to get a proper suit of armor. One arrow… that's all it'd take, one lucky arrow, and they've got ten bowmen."
'My scales're way better than any silly dead animal skins,' you're other self mutters.
As Artemis hesitates, clearly caught between what she thinks is a good plan and wanting to keep you safe, you turn your dragon's grumbling over in your head. She quickly notices, and your twin selves confer at the speed of thought. The plan is good; getting humans looking one way while your friends come up the other way has worked before and you don't see a reason it won't work now. However, you've also seen what arrows do to more robust human bodies, you have no desire to learn what they'll do to your frail heart form. Even if they miss your main body… if they hit a wing, they could send you into a tree as you try to correct, either hurting you or leaving you vulnerable to more arrows.
However… while the heart form is frail, the dragon form is very much not.
"I'll do it," you say, pulling out your dragonstone, lightning crackling faintly along its length as your dragon's will and strength hardens your heart and mind to what must be done. "But they're going to find out they have bigger problems than just a flying lightning mage. My dragon and heart are one; my larger part will lead the attack."
Kelton whistled. "That'll certainly make them pay attention…" he said.
The former thief's eyes also widen, but she doesn't agree immediately. "Wyverns can still be hurt by bows pretty bad," she said. "Something about their underscales being weaker and more vulnerable, same as their wings." When Kelton gives her a look, she bristles. "Looked up wyverns in the big library back at Starhelm, figured that was the best way to figure out how to keep Ryza safe if that came to it. You got a problem with that?!"
"True, but not all wyverns have that weakness," Artemis says, trying to head off an argument. "Big, old ones, especially those that've absorbed some of the energy from their rider's Elysian Seals, are said to be functionally immune to arrows, with only exceptionally skilled archers wielding the most powerful bows able to hit a weak point and punch through." She looks you over. "I'm guessing your dragon self's scales are even stronger?"
'That's right,' she says as you translate. 'I'm not afraid of their little pointy twigs or their bigger pointy sticks!'
Artemis smiles, pulling you closer into a hug. "That's good, but be careful," she says. "Even the greatest of knights can be felled by ill luck if they don't take care to prevent it, and I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you because of something I asked you to do. Defeat and distract them, yes, but your ultimate goal is to stay safe. If you're injured, fall back; they're far enough away from the Empire that we can harry them if need be. We don't have to win today if victory will be hollowed out by death."
Dragon-you bristles a bit at the idea of turning tail, but you soothe her. That won't be necessary, but you want to make sure Artemis is comfortable. "You stay safe too, Artemis," you say. "You don't have super-hard scales or innate healing magic."
"Well, that just means I have to shoot them before they shoot me," Artemis said. "Alright. Focus on the northeastern set of archers first, them and their soldiers. We'll come in and deal with the black mage before he can hurt you too much, then we'll clean up the last group." She tips your head up to look into your eyes, clearly trying to talk to your dragon (you poke said part of yourself to make her pay attention). "A few things. First, we can't let any of them get away, not unless there's no other choice. The longer we can keep the Empire from knowing your full power, the longer before they start breaking out the wyrmbane weapons." You shiver at the memory of Sir Ector's lance. Yes you want those to stay away as long as possible. "Second, I really, really want that priest alive. He can tell us what they want, and whether he has any coconspirators. Depending on how deep the rot goes in the Divine Realm, exposing it might be enough to get them into the fight. That would truly make the Empire's position here untenable. Father will have led the Southern Kingdoms into the Southlands by now, and I half expect the Whitewings to jump in of their own volition at some point. If it truly becomes every single human nation fighting the Empire at the same time… they'll have to back down."
You nod. Keep soldiers from escaping, keep priest alive so you can make him tell you things. That all makes sense. "Alright," you say, spreading your wings. "I'll see you on the other side. Don't charge in until you hear me roar." With that, you take off and start flying towards the northeast.
Flying low, you can't see where exactly the Imperials are, but as your dragon comes closer to the surface your ears lengthen, your nose sharpens, and you can track them well enough by scent and hearing to avoid blundering into them while not getting too far away. Thankfully, they all still seem to be clustered in the clearing, so you don't have to worry about stragglers.
Finally, after a few minutes, you reach what you're pretty sure is the right place. "Alright," you say to yourself, clutching your stone to your chest. "We're going to do this together. This is going to be your first real fight, that time we rescued Artemis doesn't really count-"
'I was born to fight,' your dragon says, anger starting to swirl around her. Not at you, but at the invaders, those that came here to attack and steal and skulk about like cowards…
For a moment, you consider feeding that emotion. You're angry at them too. Angry they're making you and Artemis fight them when you could be doing more important things! You could be really helping people! You could be making magic more accessible and less reliant on grave robbing and desecration if you weren't here fighting off a bunch of people trying to bully everyone else into doing what they want! However, after that moment, you force yourself to channel it aside, replacing it with determination. You have goals beyond just destruction; you need to distract, to protect, to make sure that priest lives. If you let Rage take the fore… well, there probably won't be much of a clearing left by the time you're done.
'Very well,' your dragon-self says as Determination begins filling you up. 'We will not fail. All who try to stop us will be destroyed, with minimal collateral damage.'
'Remember,' you think as lightning begins to crawl around your body, as you feel strength and power begin to flow from your stone into yourself. 'The priest has to live. And so do Artemis and the others: that's the primary objective.'
'Understood,' your dragon finishes as she steps into the fore, your wings wrapping around you with a crack of thunder, your body shifting and warping into its original, strongest form. "Artemis and friends will live. The priest will live."
"All others will submit or die."
Transformation Counter: 3 Rounds
Your body flares with strength and purpose as you push yourself into the air, your massive wings beating hard as sparks of lighting score the ground and trees around you. Your heart steps back; she knows not to get in the way. She's set you your task, put you on your flight path.
Now, it's your turn.
Shooting into the sky, you align yourself with the direction of the Imperial scouts and fly forward as fast as lightning, letting out a bellowing roar both to tell Artemis it is time to attack as well as to draw the Imperials's attention towards you. You can take a few bumps and nicks in this form, better than your soft, squishy friends. You can also take some spellfire, especially as you focus your innate power into a shimmering barrier of Yellow magic, enough to turn or at least dampen any spell thrown in your direction. You are strong, you are focused, and you are dangerous. These Imperials will learn the folly of threatening those under your protection.
Not that they'll live long enough to implement that lesson.
An instant later, you shoot over the clearing, diving down towards the nearest group of archers. They're the greatest threat to Artemis, if they turn to shoot at her, as well as being a possible threat to your smaller, squishier self if your pool of emotional energy should run out before the battle is done. Best to deal with them fast. There are soldiers near them, but you're not concerned about them.
The humans below you are scrambling around in terror, shouting and screaming and pointing up at you. The woman leading them is shouting for everyone to get mounted, to not panic and get it together, but you ignore her. She is not your problem, at least not yet. You'll deal with her when the time comes, if Artemis hasn't already done it.
Instead, you focus on the enemy below you, aiming to engage and destroy them before they can get ready.
US:
Dragon!Ryza ((6d (Level+Character) + 3d (Determination+Elthudner) rerolling (Yellow Caster)) + 1s(Air Supremacy) +1s(Magical Superiority) + 4 a.s. (Monster out of Myth) + 3d.f. (Tenfold Shields)
= 9d+2s+4a.s.+3d.f. (Advantage)
THEM:
Soldier Leader (5 (Level) +1 (Steel Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Soldiers 3(5 (Level) (Iron Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Yeomen 4(4 (Iron Bows))
+1s (Outnumbering)
= 21 rerolling +16 + 1s
Win by 5-6: Kill all the archers and 1d2 Soldiers (1)
Dragon!Ryza ((6d (Level+Character) + 3d (Determination+Elthudner) rerolling (Yellow Caster)) + 1s(Air Supremacy) +1s(Magical Superiority) + 4 a.s. (Monster out of Myth) + 3d.f. (Tenfold Shields)
= 9d+2s+4a.s.+3d.f. (Advantage)
THEM:
Soldier Leader (5 (Level) +1 (Steel Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Soldiers 3(5 (Level) (Iron Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Yeomen 4(4 (Iron Bows))
+1s (Outnumbering)
= 21 rerolling +16 + 1s
| Us |
| (3>6, 4>5, 7, 4>10, 4>5, 9, 10, 10, 2>4) (3, 10) +4a.s. |
| 13+3d.f |
| Them |
| (6>2, 2>8, 1>3, 1>4, 9, 3>8,) (6>9, 6>9, 10, 8>5, 10,) (4>7, 9, 6>3, 1>9, 1>6,) (9, 8>5, 2>3, 8>3, 2>4) (4, 1, 1, 2,) (1, 6, 10, 7,) (8, 4, 3, 2,) (8, 8, 2, 10,) (3) |
| 10-3=7 |
Win by 5-6: Kill all the archers and 1d2 Soldiers (1)
Screams of shock and terror fill the air as the group of yeomen who had been foraging for berries try to react to you. Two of them scramble towards their horses, while the other two draw their bows and shoot wildly in your direction. One flies by you harmlessly, while the other clatters off your belly scales harmlessly. Meanwhile, the four soldiers scramble to try and get in front of their less-armored brethren, their spears pointing upwards.
Had you not been so focused on your goal, you might have admired their courage or shook your head at their foolishness.
Unfortunately for them, you are determined to see this little hunting trip done quickly.
Lightning boils in your mouth, your draconic essence automatically creating a feedback loop for your own breath just as your heart self would to make Elthunder. A moment later, you let out a roar and begin to spew lightning from your mouth. It was possible that, had you waited a second or two longer, you could have gotten some of the soldiers in the same breath as the archers, but they were not your objective at this moment. Your goal was to eliminate the archers, and in that you succeeded. As you flare your wings and being to pull up from your dive to come around for another pass, you leave all four men as nothing more than charred skeletons, their bodies ravaged and destroyed by the power of your Yellow breath.
As you pull up, however, you're surprised that one of the soldiers, the one wielding the steel lance who looked like he was in charge of this little group, was extremely fast to react. As you reach the bottom of your dive, he lets out a battle cry and charges! Jumping off a stump of a tree, he takes a flying leap towards you, his spear outstretched! For an instant, even your determined, focused mind is stunned. What does he think he's going to accomplish?
The answer comes as the sharp, hard tip of his spear slams into your side, right where your left foreleg meets your torso. You hiss in pain as the blow pierces your scales and drew blood. Not enough to really be a threat, of course, but enough to sting!
Unfortunately for the brave but so very stupid human, his little hop put him in easy reach of your forelegs, and you grab him out of the air in both taloned limbs, your claws digging into his armor and causing him to cry out in pain. As you flap higher into the air, you idly crush him between your palms. Killing this little annoyance might not have been your primary objective, but as armor crumples and bone shatters and he gives a final gurgle before going still in your grip, you shrug; might as well while you've got him. Carelessly, you toss his broken body aside and begin re-setting for your attack dive on the other group of archers.
"Sol help us…" the priest gasps, his staff shuddering in his grasp as he stumbles behind the dark-cloaked man.
Transformation Counter: 2 Rounds
Coiling and twisting in the air, you spiral to the side few clumsy arrows fly your way, coming from the group of yeomen who had finally managed to scramble onto their horses. Normally, you'd simply ignore them, letting the pathetic weapons clatter off your scales, but Artemis had ordered you to be careful, and you would obey her wishes so long as they did not hinder your primary objective. Resetting, you begin your dive towards the second group of archers, lightning beginning to flash and flare in your mouth.
As you dive, you assess the situation. The four yeomen you're targeting are trying to spread out, to prevent you from killing all of them at once as you did their fellows. The soldiers protecting them have also spread out, their shields up (as if such paltry defenses would protect them from you if your mission was to destroy them) and their spears readied. Meanwhile, the three soldiers from the first group have scrambled over to the leaders of the Imperial scouting party, the woman waving her lance as Black magic gathers around the tome in the mage's hand. The priest, meanwhile, starts clumsily casting a Mend spell.
More importantly, you hear the sound of horses approaching rapidly from the southwest as Artemis and the rest of your help rush towards you. You roar again, letting them know where exactly you are.
A moment later, you see Artemis burst out of the trees at speed, with Phoebe slightly in front of her, Axton and Lancel slightly behind, and five of the six other yeomen arrayed around them. You frown; where are the rest? Then, you shake your head; it's not really important. Artemis is heading for the main group, so you will eliminate or at least pin the other group in place. You flare your wings slightly; not to pull out of your dive… but to land, to show the enemy that you are just as much a threat with talon and fang as you are with your breath.
US:
Dragon!Ryza ((6d (Level+Character) + 3d (Determination+Elthudner) +2d (Support) rerolling (Yellow Caster)) + 4 a.s. (Monster out of Myth) + 3d.f. (Tenfold Shields)
+Kelton (6s (Level+Character)+1s (Steel Spear) +2s (Support) Rerolling (Shield Wall))9
+Belle (7s (Level+Character) + 1 d.f. (Deceptive Beauty))
+ Elena (4s (Level+Character) + 1s (Steel Axe))
+Battalioned Yeomen: 5(3s (Level/Battalioned) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter)) 5x3
+ 1s(Air Supremacy) +1s(Magical Superiority)
= 11d rerolling+24s rerolling+12s+4d.f.+4a.s.
THEM:
Soldier Leader (5 (Level) +1 (Steel Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Soldiers 3(5 (Level) (Iron Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Yeomen 4(4 (Iron Bows))
= 21 rerolling +16
Win by more than 6: Kill them all
Dragon!Ryza ((6d (Level+Character) + 3d (Determination+Elthudner) +2d (Support) rerolling (Yellow Caster)) + 4 a.s. (Monster out of Myth) + 3d.f. (Tenfold Shields)
+Kelton (6s (Level+Character)+1s (Steel Spear) +2s (Support) Rerolling (Shield Wall))9
+Belle (7s (Level+Character) + 1 d.f. (Deceptive Beauty))
+ Elena (4s (Level+Character) + 1s (Steel Axe))
+Battalioned Yeomen: 5(3s (Level/Battalioned) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter)) 5x3
+ 1s(Air Supremacy) +1s(Magical Superiority)
= 11d rerolling+24s rerolling+12s+4d.f.+4a.s.
THEM:
Soldier Leader (5 (Level) +1 (Steel Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Soldiers 3(5 (Level) (Iron Lance) rerolling (Shield Wall))
+Yeomen 4(4 (Iron Bows))
= 21 rerolling +16
| Us |
| (1>8, 8, 7, 8, 1>5, 5, 6, 1>2, 10, 5, 8) (4>10, 10, 3>10, 6>8, 7, 1>8, 5>10, 9, 5>7,) (3>7, 3>9, 8,) (10, 2>7, 5>1,) (1>1, 3>4, 7,) (1>1, 7, 10,) (9, 4>9, 8) (9, 6, 3, 9, 1, 6, 2,) (2, 6, 5, 5, 2) |
| 36+4d.f. |
| Them |
| (6>8, 6>10, 4>6, 4>7, 9, 5>4,) (6>6, 3>7, 7>8, 3>9, 9,) (9, 3>7, 9, 10, 6>9,) (9, 4>5, 7>9, 2>2, 10)(7, 1, 9, 3,) (8, 6, 7, 5,) (7, 9, 9, 8,) (1, 3, 10, 6) |
| 15-4=11 |
Win by more than 6: Kill them all
The Imperial horses scream and buck in panic as you dive towards them, clearly recognizing that you are not a relatively friendly wyvern. However, in a display of courage and skill even you're forced to grudgingly acknowledge, the bow-wielding riders hold their ground and aim at you, sending a quartet of arrows in your direction.
You could dodge. However, there's no point, and it would mess up your attack run and make it so it would take longer to kill them, so you simply close your eyes for a second, allowing the pathetic little sticks to strike you. One does hit you straight in the eye, stinging a little past your scaled eyelid, but there's nowhere near enough force to punch through. Another digs into your wing, but you ignore it; your powerful flight magic easily compensating for the tiny irritation of the humans' desperate bid to avoid their demise.
A second later, you finish charging your lighting breath, and quickly send out a massive blaze of lighting towards the yeomen. One is able to prance his horse out of the way… but the other three are struck, sending man and beast convulsing to the ground for an instant before their flesh burns and their skeletons char. You faintly sense your heart-self wince; she clearly isn't completely happy with being the initiator of this slaughter.
You, however, steel your heart with your determination. The enemy that threatens you and yours must die. Better it be in a one-sided massacre than in any sort of fair fight.
Flaring your wings one last time, you hit the ground hard, the damp earth beside the stream giving under your talons and claws. Instantly, you transition your heavy landing into a lunge, leaping upon the last horse as it starts to bolt. The creature screams in terror as you smash into it, sending it to the ground with its rider under it. Barely giving the man time to start to plead for mercy, you open your mouth and bite him in half; he's the main target, not his hapless mount. As you spit the bloody corpse out, you wince slightly as the panicking horse kicks you wildly in your belly with its steel-shod hooves. While your scales there are strong and hard, the sheer force of the adrenaline-fueled animal's pained blows does hurt a tiny bit.
You swiftly stop the kicks with a slash of your talons along the horse's neck, nearly ripping the large head off with one blow.
Turning, you bare your teeth and spread your wings threateningly in the direction of the shivering soldiers. You don't bother saying anything. They are not the priest, thus whether they live or die is irrelevant to your mission, only that the do not leave here.
Swallowing, the leader, the one with the steel lance, steps forwards. "Run!" he says to his men as he points his lance at you. "Warn the army that the rumors are true!" One of the soldiers had already taken off, and given permission the other two swiftly follow.
Instantly, you crouch and leap over the lead soldier. Killing him is meaningless, but part of your mission is to prevent any escape. You beat your wings as you jump, the gust of wind sending the steel-lance wielder to the ground as he tries to stab at you as you pass. Landing, you stab your neck forwards, managing to get your jaws around one of the fleeing soldiers. Her scream of terror is cut off in a wet crunch of rending steel and snapping bone between your jaws as you swing your head from side to side a few times, shaking the last remnants of life out of her before throwing her corpse aside. Then, you start drawing in a breath to send more bolts of lighting-
However, you jerk your mouth closed as you hear the sound of hooves from ahead; Artemis must have predicted what the soldiers would do and sent the rest of the rampage around to cut off the enemy's retreat. You grin a bloody grin; she's so very clever and practical. It's good to work with someone who knows what they're doing. You like her, though this does mean you can't risk using your lighting breath in case you hit your friends.
You are distracted by the feeling of a lance jabbing into your tail; again hard enough to punch through the scales and leave a little nick in the flesh underneath. Mildly irritated, you swing your tail and slam it into the lead soldier, sending him flying into a tree hard enough to shatter every bone in his body on impact. He slumps to the ground, lifeless.
Meanwhile, ahead of you, Belle had leapt off the horse she'd been riding on the back of, smoothly rolling to her feet in the path of one of the fleeing soldiers. He stabs at her desperately, but your friend twists out of the way, gliding along the side of the lance to get inside his reach. She jabs him in the side, just under the main chest plate, before pushing on, leaving the reeling soldier to be riddled by arrows from the yeomen even as they try to keep their horses under control.
Snorting, you bound forwards; you'll have to spend some time in this form around the Agrithian horses to get them used to you; having them fearful to approach is an intolerable risk to mission completion!
Meanwhile, the last soldier had managed to get a bit deeper into the forest, only to be intercepted by Kelton. Your friend plants himself in the path of the runner, his spear lashing out to trip him. "Look, just drop the spear and stay on the ground," you hear him say as he sends the man sprawling. "I'm normally all for heroic last stands and courage in the face of adversity, but there's courage and then there's just stupidity."
Belle laughs. "Surprised you can tell the difference!" she calls.
The Imperial, however, is clearly too driven by panic to listen. Mewling pitifully, he clambers to his feet, swinging his lance wildly like an overly-long club in Kelton's direction. Your friend easily raises his shield to block the blow, causing the spear haft to clatter off, before seemingly instinctively jabbing back with his own lance, sending the man to the ground with a gurgle. "Shit…" he mutters. "Ryza, a little help?"
You're confused as to why he needs it, but as the prone soldier keeps trying to swing at Kelton, you shrug. You want him to be safe and you have the energy, so why not? "Alright," you say, gathering a bolt of lighting in your mouth and shooting it into the twitching soldier on the ground, burning out his chest and causing his pained writhing to stop. It's cleaner that way anyways, he probably didn't even feel it.
Kelton jerks back, cursing. "Fu-" he starts, throwing you a slightly panicked look.
'He meant he wanted help healing the man…' Heart-you says tiredly.
…Well he should have said that then! How were you supposed to know the details of the mission were changing!?
US:
Artemis: (6s (Level+Character)+1s (Steel Bow)+1s (Support) +2 a.s (Noble Huntress))
+Phoebe: (5s (Level+Character) +2s (Silver Lance) +1s (Support) Rerolling (Thunderous Charge))
+Axton: (5s (Level+Character) + 1s (Support) +1d.f. (Guardian) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter))
+Lancel: (5s (Level+Character) + 1s (Support) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter))
+Battalioned Yeomen: 5(3s (Level/Battalioned) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter))
+1a.s. (Monster out of Myth)
=35s rerolling + 8s + 3a.s. + 1 d.f. (Advantage)
THEM:
Jill: (8s (Level+Boss) +1s (Steel Sword) +1s (Support) Rerolling (Thunderous Charge))
+ Battalioned Black Mage (6s (Level) + 1s (Elflux) +1s (Support) + 1s (Magical Superiority) Reroll 6 (Shadow Caster))
+ Priest (2 (Level) + 1 d.f. (Mend))
+ Battalioned Soldiers 2(5s (Level) Rerolling (Shield Wall))
+ Soldier (5 (Level) Rerolling (Shield Wall))
= 26s rerolling + 3s + 5 + 1 d.f.
Win by more than 6: Capture priest, kill/capture the rest of the group
Artemis: (6s (Level+Character)+1s (Steel Bow)+1s (Support) +2 a.s (Noble Huntress))
+Phoebe: (5s (Level+Character) +2s (Silver Lance) +1s (Support) Rerolling (Thunderous Charge))
+Axton: (5s (Level+Character) + 1s (Support) +1d.f. (Guardian) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter))
+Lancel: (5s (Level+Character) + 1s (Support) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter))
+Battalioned Yeomen: 5(3s (Level/Battalioned) Rerolling (Mounted Fighter))
+1a.s. (Monster out of Myth)
=35s rerolling + 8s + 3a.s. + 1 d.f. (Advantage)
THEM:
Jill: (8s (Level+Boss) +1s (Steel Sword) +1s (Support) Rerolling (Thunderous Charge))
+ Battalioned Black Mage (6s (Level) + 1s (Elflux) +1s (Support) + 1s (Magical Superiority) Reroll 6 (Shadow Caster))
+ Priest (2 (Level) + 1 d.f. (Mend))
+ Battalioned Soldiers 2(5s (Level) Rerolling (Shield Wall))
+ Soldier (5 (Level) Rerolling (Shield Wall))
= 26s rerolling + 3s + 5 + 1 d.f.
| Us |
| (7, 9, 1, 5, 9, 3, 3, 1)(7, 4>3, 10, 2>3, 3>6, 3>2, 9, 7,) (10, 10, 1>5, 6>1, 9, 10,) (10, 2>4, 4>2, 7, 9, 7,) (4>5, 6>8, 10,) (9, 8, 10,) (5>10, 2>7, 4>7,) (10, 8, 5>8,) (4>2, 4>8, 8) |
| 28-1+3a.s.+1d.f.=30 |
| Them |
| (7, 4>6, 4>4, 3>3, 7, 4>5, 4>7, 9, 5>7, 7,) (9, 8, 6>2, 7, 9,) (6>2, 5>1, 5>10, 3>6, 1>7,) (6>5, 6>10, 1>10, 4>7, 6>3, 10,)(7, 10, 2>5,) (5>10, 2>5, 7, 3>7, 3>5) |
| 21-1+1d.f.=20 |
Win by more than 6: Capture priest, kill/capture the rest of the group
While that had been going on, a part of you had paid enough attention to Artemis's part of the mission to tell if she needed help. After all, the most important of your objectives was making sure your best friend survived, so even if you'd been forced to turn to leave the Imperials to run, you would have done it to protect Artemis.
Thankfully, she had things well in hand. The Imperial leadership and the shocked remnants of the first group you'd struck had been so focused on you that they'd very nearly missed Artemis and friends until they were almost upon them. The Black mage had been gathering up a spell to cast at you, but he was able to turn it towards Artemis as she drew back an arrow and shot one of the soldiers through the neck.
However, before he could send it on its way, Axton and Lancel both shot their own arrows directly at him, and you were sure that the unarmored man was about to die. However, the Imperial cavalier was faster. "NO!" she screamed, kicking her horse and sending it into the path of the arrows, taking them instead. One dug into the horse's side, causing it to topple, while the other struck her under her armored plate, causing her to gasp in pain. The horse topples with a scream, sending the woman clattering to the ground. Shockingly, she's able to stumble to her feet, her sword flashing as she turns towards the approaching cavalry.
Phoebe, however, is faster. Her long silver lance snakes out, slamming into the woman's breastplate hard enough to pierce straight through, causing her to topple back with a pained gurgle.
"JILL!" the mage cries, his Elflux lashing out in fury towards Phoebe. Thankfully, Artemis's bodyguard was able to jerk her horse to the side, forcing her to abort the rest of her charge that would have taken her lance straight into the mage, but keeping herself safe.
The last two soldiers, meanwhile, had tried to shift to be between the approaching cavalry and their leaders, but before they could get more than a few steps the other yeomen shot them. Neither man died immediately; one was able to catch an arrow on his shield before being toppled by another into his upper leg, while the second fell as two arrows dug into his stomach and another slammed through a weak point in his shoulder, though a wave of White magic washed over him as the priest shifted his Mend spell onto the man enough to keep him alive. Neither of them were in the fight anymore.
Before either spell caster could begin to summon up another spell, the Southern horse archers surround them, loaded bows pointed in their direction. "Drop the tomes, now!" Artemis calls sharply, her bow shifting between the two men. "First and only warning!"
The two mages glance at each other, then at you (you bare your blood-stained teeth in their direction). The priest makes a startled squawking noise, dropping his staff. The Black mage hesitates a second longer, his eyes flicking to the fallen Imperial cavalier who had sacrificed herself to save him.
As you sense dark magic beginning to gather around him, Axton speaks up. "Don't make it meaningless, what she did," he says sharply. "Don't die when she gave her life for you."
After a second longer, the mage finally lets his tome slip from his hand, the Black magic fading into the air. "Who are you?" he snaps angrily. "I had not thought bandits were so numerous in this land." He glares at you. "Especially not fighting alongside monsters."
Artemis's eyes narrow. "You will address Ryza with respect, Imperial," she growls. "We need the priest alive, so he can tell us what treachery he's planning, but you…" her arm pulls her arrow back a little farther in warning.
"H-how dare you!?" the priest babbles, though he's clearly terrified as you stalk closer; there are no living Imperials over near you, and thus your mission demands that you be near the potential source of trouble. "You are not welcome in the Divine Realm, in-invaders!"
"And Imperial invaders are?" you ask, pushing into the circle of yeomen and putting your muzzle right in front of the priest. Your orders are to keep him alive, so you're providing him some cover in case one of the Agrithians accidentally lets go of their arrow, but you don't like him very much.
The priest stumbles away, whimpering as he stares at your teeth, but the Black mage speaks up. "As a member of the Solite clergy, Brother Danvien has the right to invite outsiders in," he says, nervous but clearly angry. "As I do not see a Solite priest or priestess with you, it seems far more likely that the only invaders here are you."
"Your Regent sent you to invade the Northern Kingdoms, who requested aid from Agrithe and her allies, aid that was freely given," Artemis says. "You started this war, you don't get to complain about us fighting it."
"But we are not in the Kingdoms, girl," the mage says coldly, starting to take a step forward, only to flinch back as you snap your teeth in in front of him. "We are in the Divine Realm, and unless you have been given some leave that you have not shared, you had no right to launch an invasion of the Divine Realm in order to attack us!"
Artemis waves a hand irritably, lowering her bow. "Bind them," she says to her men, nudging Actaeon back. "Ryza, Axton, Phoebe, with me."
Heart-you, seeing the battle is over, steps closer to the surface of your shared mind and nudges you to obey. You huff, but you suppose the mission is mostly complete, so you shuffle over to join your friends. "Why is the stupid mage still alive?" you ask, your tail lashing. "He's not part of the mission."
"No, but he might be useful," Artemis says quietly, frowning. "The problem, though, is that he's not technically wrong. We were acting in the defense of Starhelm and Hornglade, but we don't have any legal authority here in the Divine Realm. And by the looks of it, that priest is a citizen of the Divine Realm, so not only could he kind of give them the authority to enter, but taking him will be… problematic."
"He was acting against the interests of the Divine Realm," Axton says.
"True…" Artemis says. "Ryza, you're certain that the Imperial cavalier's words indicated that he was betraying the Divine Realm?" You nod. "Alright…" she says. "Alright, here's what we're going to do…"
[] "We'll take them straight back to Starhelm and interrogate them there. True, abducting a member of the Divine Realm's clergy might anger them if they ever find out about it, but as a state of war exists between the Independent Kingdoms and the Empire. Since these men were engaged in activities directly related to that war, by tradition we are in the right to have attacked them. We'll certainly get to control whatever narrative comes out of this."
[] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
AN: …Oh the f**king humanity of that first fight in the second round… I mean, I get that I'm trying to depict dragons as being really dangerous, but to see the other side roll so well, only to get so utterly stomped anyways… I really gotta start throwing harder battles at you all…
Anyways, happy holidays all. I might have something short out tomorrow, but other than that I hope you're all well and sorry this took so long.
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
I mean, we're doing okay because we're picking our battles, this would have been a lot worse for us if we didn't work as a team and get the initiative early on with a good plan.
A Dragon is very scary, a Dragon would have also gotten pasted by that group if they properly blobbed up and rolled like they did.
A Dragon is very scary, a Dragon would have also gotten pasted by that group if they properly blobbed up and rolled like they did.
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- Location
- Florida
No moratorium?
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
I am 100% in favor of letting the Divine Realm run their own investigation if it means we get brownie points and proving we were acting in good faith. Even if it means we get less info ourselves. The best counter to assholes playing silly games in the shadows is to bring as much of it into the daylight as possible.
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
I am 100% in favor of letting the Divine Realm run their own investigation if it means we get brownie points and proving we were acting in good faith. Even if it means we get less info ourselves. The best counter to assholes playing silly games in the shadows is to bring as much of it into the daylight as possible.
Ferb_Ancos
The one under the table
- Pronouns
- He
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
I'm noticing a distinct difference between what we voted for and what we got. Not that it matters all that much, considering how things went...
Should be "rider's" or "riders's".
That comma should be a period, that "yes" should be "Yes", and there should be a comma after "Yes".
That "does" should be "do", and that colon should be a semi-colon.
"Imperials's"
"flies"
That "either" is disrupting the flow of this sentence and should be removed.
That colon should be something else, probably a semi-colon.
That colon should be a semi-colon.
That colon should be either a semi-colon or a period. If it's a period, then that "she's" should be "She's".
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
Huh. I went back and checked, and another person with the same vote name but with three turns of determination. Strange. Thanks for pointing that out; it won't matter overly much, Ryza'll just be in dragon form a bit longer.
Suffice to say, there's a reason in the FE games that dragons and manaketes don't tend to get involved in the gameplay until at least the midgame... and even then, pretty sure most player-side manaketes tend to only be held in check by effective weapons, bosses, and sheer overwhelming numbers. I'm not particularly surprised that Ryza's dragon form with strategizing, support, and an ambush involved absolutely crushed the opposition.
Not that this is some kind of complaint, mind you, Overwhelming Firepower kind of comes with the premise of "play as a dragon person".
As for vote:
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
Yeah, better to avoid potential diplomatic issues of kidnapping and interrogating another country's civilians when we've got an entire Empire to fight against. Especially because, well... Fire Emblem. Ten to One odds we'll have to eventually march all the way to the Imperial Capital to fight some godking superdragon or something, better we've got all the other countries allied with us for that.
And the limited durability on the dragonstones and lack of replacements, don't forget those.
- Location
- Nox Castle
Not to mention how fragile they tend to be upon recruitment.
Say whatever you want about their lategame performance—if you screw up and leave them in range of someone particularly hard-hitting, all the dragonstone stat buffs in the world won't be able to save them when they've only got 18 HP to throw around.
True, thought about that detail but forgot to put it in - while dragons tend to absolutely sweep through enemy troops if they aren't overwhelmed, they also tend to only have like... 30 or 50 attacks, max, then all you've got is a fairly useless foot unit. Heck, in Sacred Stones apparently you can't use Hammerne on Myrrh's dragonstone?
And on a different note for that, just to demonstrate how ridiculous dragons can get without that restriction, I've recently been playing through the Romhack Dark Lord And The Maiden of Light, and about halfway through the game you get a Manakete... with an infinite durability dragonstone which does effective damage against monsters.
Suffice to say, despite being relatively fragile and even gaining exp at pre-promote rates to try and balance it, she still became an instant mainstay of my team.
Yeah, I mostly filed that under "overwhelming numbers" since most of the time even babby level 1 dragons can still easily clear out multiple soldiers in a row before they need a quick top up of healing, since dragonstones have absurd stat boosts to represent the transformation.
An update in time for the hollidays, and wow that was a very brutal fight.
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
If we pull this right-and given our strong efforts to do exactly this I am confident we can and will pull this right-then this may as well be learning everything we would anyways, in due time. And we probably don't need to know everything to know enough.
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."
If we pull this right-and given our strong efforts to do exactly this I am confident we can and will pull this right-then this may as well be learning everything we would anyways, in due time. And we probably don't need to know everything to know enough.
yannoshka
Thunda birb
- Location
- Smartarse cramschool
[X] "Ryza, you mentioned there's a Solar Knight garrison nearby? We'll take them there and explain everything to the Knight-Priestess in charge. They'll want to know about Brother Danvien's treachery, and after we explain what they were up to that should absolve us of any problems. True, they'll probably want to deal with their traitor themselves, so we won't get the full benefits of questioning him, but we should be able to get something, and we might even be able to convince the Divine Realm to move closer towards joining us in this war."