So there's our explanation for how people promote in this world. Looks like the seals are class-specific, as they were during the GBA era, but they also use the Seal terminology. So far we've got names for the Assassin promotion and the Sniper/Ranger/Bow Knight promotion, and I can only assume we'll eventually get names like Hero's Seal, Knight Seal, Guiding Seal, Elysian Seal, etc. Although I predict the QM will probably do a bit of name workshopping for the magic and flying promotion items 'cause those don't sound as immediately descriptive.
On another note, promoting into an advanced class makes you blatantly superhuman, which I think might also foreshadow some of the Skills units gain when class changing here. From what we've seen of Kopoi, I suspect he got Shade or its upgraded form Stillness, or some equivalent of it from his promotion, as that would explain his unnatural ability to stay quiet. I suspect that Ryza might be necessary if we end up encountering any promoted enemy units before we get some of our own, given how they'll have a lot of dice to throw around. Thanks to the general FE chapter structure, I can almost guarantee that at some point in the near future, we'll go up against a promoted boss before any of our own allies have gotten Seal'd, so that's gonna be fun to deal with.
So there's our explanation for how people promote in this world. Looks like the seals are class-specific, as they were during the GBA era, but they also use the Seal terminology. So far we've got names for the Assassin promotion and the Sniper/Ranger/Bow Knight promotion, and I can only assume we'll eventually get names like Hero's Seal, Knight Seal, Guiding Seal, Elysian Seal, etc. Although I predict the QM will probably do a bit of name workshopping for the magic and flying promotion items 'cause those don't sound as immediately descriptive.
On another note, promoting into an advanced class makes you blatantly superhuman, which I think might also foreshadow some of the Skills units gain when class changing here. From what we've seen of Kopoi, I suspect he got Shade or its upgraded form Stillness, or some equivalent of it from his promotion, as that would explain his unnatural ability to stay quiet. I suspect that Ryza might be necessary if we end up encountering any promoted enemy units before we get some of our own, given how they'll have a lot of dice to throw around. Thanks to the general FE chapter structure, I can almost guarantee that at some point in the near future, we'll go up against a promoted boss before any of our own allies have gotten Seal'd, so that's gonna be fun to deal with.
Oh man, its been so long since I played the GBA games I didn't even pick up on this. I figured it was something more like the various Brands or Crests in more recent games, but this makes way more sense.
[X] How do you fly?
-[X] During both day and night.
Not that it has much of a chance of winning at this point, but I'd be willing to put up with some increased risk to catch up more quickly. If anything, the quicker we catch the bandits, the shorter the distance we have to travel, which does alleviate some of the danger we would be exposing ourselves to. Or rather it trades one set of dangers for others.
Well, I'm fine with all the currently winning options regardless.
[X] Where do you start your search?
-[X] In a village near the border.
Yeah, now I'm wondering what the seals are. If there are only a handful then humans probably can't make them on their own, so they're probably something that was taken from a manakete.
Edit: Maybe a manakete tool, like Thunder's Cry, but way more complex?
Orrrrr they're more like the Relics from Three Houses which is to say bits of desecrated manakete corpses hooked up to arcane machinery, with the manakete's soul potentially still trapped and in agonizing pain. Just a possibility, but the ancient war and hatred of dragons, plus the fact that it's explicitly a 'Fell Seal' like a 'Fell Dragon' is poking at my paranoid brain.
Edit: the theory of their being class promotion items also makes sense, but there's no reason they can't both be true. There are only 15-20 Fell Seals and seemingly no possibility of making more…
I mean, yeah. We'll have to wait and see if they ever get expanded on, but considering the lore we've already gotten confirmed OOC, the idea that promotion items are made from the remains of manaketes or dragonstones would make a lot of sense. Considering, y'know, how they make people superhuman. It also explains why they're a finite resource, as they tend to be in the older games.
The tall, gaunt form of Chamberlain Ebenezer peers scornfully down his long nose at you. "You wish for funds to be released to this… child?" he says, barely on the respectful side of sneering.
Artemis's fist clenches. "This is important, Chamberlain Ebenezer," she says. "Ryza has a mission Father tasked her…"
"From what little information you have told me, my lady, Sir Robin has a mission His Highness tasked him with, and for some reason this little girl is along for the ride," Ebenezer says, adjusting the odd glass and metal things in front of his eyes.
Yeah, why didn't they ask to release the funds to Robin? He seems understanding enough, he'd probably be fine handing the coin over to Ryza once Scrooge wasn't looking. Seems like it would cause less of a stir—wasted time aside, this is just one more weird thing the local rumor mill is going to know about this weird kid Artemis brought back with her.
"If you get killed or captured, Ryza, then there's not going to be anyone to save or avenge you, and Sypha will still be in danger," Artemis says seriously. "I know you want to help, but as much as I hate to say it, sometimes the best way to help is simply to leave. I learned that lesson the hard way in the Icewalls: if I had stayed and fought, I wouldn't have accomplished anything other than handing myself to the enemy. I never would have had the chance to find you."
[X] Where do you start your search?
-[x] In the wilderness between Legerius and the Empire.
I largely agree with everything here. We are able to try and pick up the trail at the Ambush, but that entirely relies on the weather not having fucked us over. So it's probably not a gamble we can make safely.
EDIT
Re: Hero's Relics esque Seals would make so much sense here, disturbingly so. Mostly because, well, uh, if Ryza sees one, we'll know for sure if they're horribly traumatic or not.
They might be like Heroes Relics - but, they could easily have been created by Manakete to empower their human followers. If you are going to Do A World Conquest, it could easily be worth it to turn your most competent followers into superhumans, especially if they are going to be fighting the Manakete that don't want you to Do A World Conquest.
[X] How do you fly?
-[X] During the day.
[X] Where do you start your search?
-[X] In the wilderness between Legerius and the Empire.
"When was the last time you had water? When was the last time you ate? When was the last time you slept? When was the last time you did anything for yourself that didn't involve a quest?"
-Tavern master Quincy
You're not sure if it's because you're lighter, because you've been practicing, or just because you feel like you're making a difference, but you make good progress as you fly back southwest. The Mother's Light shines down on you, especially whenever you rise above the low-flying clouds. This is nice. This is very nice. You purr contentedly.
"You really like flying, don't you?" Robin calls from your back.
"I do!" you say. "I really do! It's nice when I'm doing it in heart-form, but this is great!" You force yourself not to roll in midair: you don't want to drop Artemis's friend. "Have you ever gone flying before?"
You feel Robin shifting. "Nope," he says. "And, no offense, but I think I'm happier with my feet on the ground." You slump. Had you done something wrong? Almost as if reading your mind, Robin continues. "It's nothing to do with you, I'm sure you're doing your best, but it seems it's just not for me!"
"Do you want to land for a bit?" you ask. "We've been going for hours; I could use a rest as well." This isn't completely true, though you are a little tired.
"If you don't mind!" Robin responds.
Carefully dipping just below the clouds, you scan the ground. It's much easier in the day, so you almost immediately spot a clearing well away from that village you notice in the distance. "Alright, hold on, we're going down," you say. Robin grabs onto your spines hard enough to sting a bit, but you push through the irritation. Carefully, you flare your wings, landing with barely a bump. "Okay, we're down."
Robin slips off, and you notice him massaging his legs. "Thank you, Ryza," he says.
Shifting back into heart-form, you give him a concerned look. "Is there anything I can do better?" you ask as you kneel down to catch your breath.
"I don't think so, Ryza," Robin says, walking around in a circle. "Only thing I can think of is a bit… inappropriate."
You cock your head. "What is it? If it could help you or Artemis, I wouldn't mind."
"That is sweet of you, but I'm sure Lady Artemis would be furious if I or anyone else suggested putting a saddle on you," Robin says dryly.
You pause to think. You've seen what he was talking about: leathery things that were put on the backs of horses. You hadn't thought about them much, but you guess they're to make it more comfortable to ride. When you'd been little, you had sometimes scraped your legs a bit on your parents' scales when you weren't careful while riding them. "Why's that?" you ask. It didn't seem like that bad an idea to you.
Robin seems to ponder his words for a moment before answering. "Among humans, saddles are seen a mark of ownership of an animal. You're not an animal, so having you wear one would give the wrong impression. I get the feeling you don't want that."
"Oooohhh..." you say, nodding. Yes, that did sound bad.
Robin nods as well. "Don't worry about me," he says, sitting down across from you. "I'm no stranger to discomfort; it'll just take me a little while to get used to it. We have a job to do; we can't afford to hesitate because of me."
The two of you sit in silence for a minute before you scoot over to sit next to Robin. "So how did you and Artemis meet each other?" you ask. "She mentioned that you taught her about how to hunt. Mother was talking about starting to teach me before… well, before."
The man nods sympathetically. "My condolences," he says. "Well, Lady Artemis was always a bit of a contrary child. Her father would have much preferred her to take a more knightly path. Her mother didn't want her learning to fight at all, but as the eldest it will fall to her to lead Agrithe's armies in times of war." He chuckles. "Of course, trying to tell Lady Artemis to follow a certain path as a child simply made her want to do something else. Even after His Highness appointed Dame Selena, Sentinel watch over her, to Lady Artemis, she wanted to be different."
"And you were different?" you ask.
"I was. His Highness had just recently re-tasked me to training new recruits, and Lady Artemis took a liking to archery at around the same time. One thing led to another, and next thing I knew, she was convincing me to teach her about hunting and tracking." He smiles. "It helped that Lady Dione, having lost the argument to keep Lady Artemis from danger at all, compromised to supporting her interest in bows. That way, she would be a bit safer than the grind of a melee. Eventually, the two of them wore His Highness down and he agreed to it."
You nod. "I guess that makes sense," you say. Honestly, you don't quite get why young Artemis had wanted to not do what her parents wanted her to. You'd always been quite happy to learn what your father and mother suggested of you.
The pair of you sit in silence for a minute before you tug your bag over. Pulling out the primer Pincana had given you, you hold it up. "Sorry to bother you, but on the way back Artemis and I realized that I can't actually read human. I can only speak it because of some sort of spell Father cast, but I have to learn reading and writing the normal way. Would you…"
Robin nods. "If you wish to. I'm not the best tutor around for that particular skill, but I can help a bit if you're willing."
You nod eagerly. "Thank you!" you say. "I know Makai really well; I could show you that if you want. I'd planned on teaching Artemis first, but now I have to go help Sypha so I can't do that yet."
The act of learning is soothing. Robin focuses on the runes of Imperial Common, the ones that you are now certain are derived from Makai. You're brought back to happier days; sitting on your father's lap as he gently guides you through the runes. It's… peaceful. Truly peaceful.
An hour and a half later, you lift off again. You are making progress. You are doing good. You're going to make Father and Mother and Artemis and everyone proud!
As the days pass, you alternate between a relaxed and worried state of mind. On the one hand, you'd been a bit worried about being spotted, especially on clear days. You are certain that you were seen at least once, by a group of travelers walking along a road as you moved to land. Thankfully, you didn't hear any screams drifting up from them, though they were pointing. You carefully tuck your front legs up to your torso and fly on, hoping for the best.
Thankfully, nothing seems to come of this event. As you fly deeper into Legerius, Robin takes over directing you, thankfully with more success than Artemis in that last night-flight. You're getting somewhere, you're getting somewhere, even if you're starting to get a bit tired.
"Alright, set us down over there," Robin says about noon of the third day, pointing.
"Why there?" you ask as you start angling down, being sure to check for any signs of people. There didn't seem to be any, thankfully.
"We're probably looking for a decent sized group. More than the band that accosted Lady Artemis, since they expected Robert's betrayal to do the hard work for them. A group that size needs to have a sizable camp; and there are only so many places one of those can be safely set up." He points. "Thankfully, from the air, there are clues that someone experienced in tracking can spot." He sighs. "That is not to say this will be easy. I won't lie, this could take some time."
"Oh," you say as you land. "Anything I can do to help?"
Robin pauses. "How good is your sense of smell when you're in dragon form?" he asks.
You sniff the air experimentally. "Pretty good, though not as good as when I true-shift. I was able to smell so much more when I did that." Not that you'd been able to enjoy it.
"Great," Robin says. "Give me some time to check the area: if there are good signs, you'll need to get the scent so we can track it if we come across it again."
"Okay, sounds good," you say, shifting back to heart form and slumping against a tree. "I'm glad I'll be able to help, but can I take a rest first? I'm tired."
"Of course," Robin says, kneeling down to study the ground. "As I said, this will take some time."
You watch curiously as Robin works. You don't pretend that you understand most of what he's doing, only that he seems to be very careful about where he puts his feet and keeps crouching down to look at things. "What do you see?"
The man doesn't answer for a moment, gently tracing a finger across something on the ground before standing. "Someone camped here recently," he says. "There are old tracks, what looks like the remains of a fire, and some horse dung off to the side. I'd say they left about a week ago."
"Could it be the bandits?" you ask hopefully.
"Unlikely, I'm afraid," he says. "At most, I'd say there were three people here, not nearly enough. From the footprints, I'd also say they were all wearing armor." He looks around. "In fact… I would say it's most likely that these were some of Countess Mantrae's people."
You frown. "I thought she and the bandits were working together?" you say.
"Not by her choice," Robin reminds you. "And only a fool would trust bandits completely, even if they had the temperament to. If she could get her daughter back without doing what they want, I'm sure she'd do it in a heartbeat."
You nod, that makes sense. Your glad that someone else agrees that she's not a bad person, just forced into a bad situation. "So is there anything you need me to sniff here?" you ask.
After a long minute of looking around, Robin shakes his head. "I don't think so," he says. "There's not nearly enough signs of habitation that they were on the right track: this group found nothing." Standing, he moves to sit next to you. "Take a breather, Ryza, and then let's get back in the air."
As you practice sketching Common runes in the dirt, your mind wanders. "Robin… do you think we're going to find Sypha?" you ask worriedly. "Archduke Letoro said that the bad people might have already taken her away…"
Robin pats you on the head. "Don't lose hope, child," he says. "This was just the first stop; it would have had to be an act of the Sentinel if we found the trail here. We're moving faster than anyone could possibly expect: my guess is they'll slow down once their back in the Empire, where they feel safer. Once we get the trail, we'll get 'em."
"Okay," you say. "I hope you're right. She must be really scared."
The man smiles. "Well, then it's a good thing she's got a dragon coming to get her."
"Manakete!" you huff, folding your arms.
For some reason, this makes Robin smile more. "Manakete, of course."
It takes two days. Two days of moving from potential site to potential site. Sometimes by wing, sometimes on foot, you and Robin scan the wilderness between Castle Legerius and the Empire. Even with your new, lighter movement, you start to feel like you're constantly tired, like too little blanket stretched over too much body. You don't think it's reaching dangerous levels yet, but you can't know since you don't have your scroll and you're grumpy.
"Find anything?" you ask darkly as you sit against yet another stupid tree. Robin doesn't answer, so with a huff you lean back and look around, breaking the twig you'd been fiddling with in your fingers."Who cares about stupid human language."
It's much bigger than most of the places you've seen. You wouldn't even call it a clearing, more like a small plain. You wouldn't think anyone would camp here if they wanted to be safe, they were clearly visible from several hills, but Robin had insisted that you check here. Sometimes, you wonder if he actually knows what he's doing. You shake your head; that's unkind. Artemis trusts him; that should be good enough for you.
'Of course, she's not out here working her tail off on no sleep,' a voice says nastily in the back of your mind.
'Her father wouldn't let her,' you say back to your brain.
'How very convenient for her.'
'She wouldn't lie to me!'
'How do you know that?'
Before you can keep arguing with yourself, you're shaken out of your dark thoughts by Robin kneeling in front of you. "Ryza? Are you well?"
You force yourself to nod as the sulky part of you retreats from your consciousness. "Yes, just tired," you say, making a show of stretching. "Have we found anything?"
Robin studies you worriedly. "Are you sure? You seem tense."
"I'm fine," you say immediately. "Did we find anything?"
Robin looks like he wants to keep arguing, but after a moment he sighs and nods. "We have, though there's good news and bad news." He offers you a hand. "I'd like to show you something, maybe you can make something of it." Curious, you let him help you to your feet and lead you over to the spot he'd been studying.
As you walk, he explains. "I could be wrong, but I believe that this is where the exchange was meant to take place. There are a lot of hoof marks on that side, towards Castle Legerius, and a bunch of boot-marks on the other side. Recent, too. No more than a few days ago. Between those two clusters: almost nothing." He nods at the ground as he comes to a halt. "What do you think?"
Biting back a moody comment about you now having to do his job for him, you look at what he's pointing at. A moment later, you pale. "Those… those are claw marks," you say, pointing. "Just like mine…"
"I thought so, but I wanted to get your opinion," Robin says grimly. "The good news is I don't think they're exactly like yours: they're narrower, and there only seem to be two sets of them." He takes a few steps away. "And right here… I think someone died to fiery breath. Put together, that means that there's probably a wyvern rider among the bandits. Which means this is almost certainly organized by someone powerful in the Empire."
"Why's that?" you ask, kneeling down to study the scorched earth Robin had pointed out. As you look, you see glinting droplets of metal, and your nose catches the faint scent of burned flesh, just like when you'd let loose on those two men who had taken Artemis prisoner. Gagging slightly, you stand up and back away. That was not a good memory.
Robin gently guides you away from the spot, towards where the bandits had been standing. "Wyvern riders are rare. Aside from a few exceptions, only Imperial knights and nobility are able to afford the price of acquiring and feeding one." He looks around. "Even those exceptions usually have a close relationship with the Empire. If I had to guess, we're looking at mercenaries, hired by an Imperial noble to stir up trouble, and using the local banditry as disposable pawns."
You flinch. "Why would they do that?" you ask. "Why…"
"The Empire has never liked it when people have no longer wanted to be ruled by them. Most still consider all of humanity as their rightful dominion." Robin frowns. "I cannot say their exact plan, but that is the only idea I can think of."
That all sounded very bad. Shaken out of your dark mood, you grip his hand. "What do we do?" you ask nervously.
"There is some good news," Robin says with a slight smile. "I believe someone in the bandits is leaving clues behind, probably an agent Countess Mantrae was able to slip in." He nods to something in the dirt. "That was etched: not visible unless you either knew to look for it or are very observant. Thankfully, I was able to spot it."
Crouching down, you cock your head as you see an arrow that's been scratched into the ground among the boot marks. "Could it be Sypha?"
"Possibly," Robin says. "Which means we have a clue to follow." He pauses and looks down at you. "Ryza… are you sure you're alright? You've been getting more and more tense as we've traveled. You don't seem to enjoy learning to write as much and… sometimes I worry about you."
You start to open your mouth to insist you were fine, but you pause. "I'm… tired," you say finally. "Very tired. Half-shifting is not meant to be used this much in quick succession: I think I might be starting to come up against the limits of it."
Robin considers you for a few moments before kneeling down to eye level with you. "Do you think you can keep going?" he asks. "I know that rescuing Lady Sypha is important, but it should not come at the cost of destroying you. Lady Artemis wouldn't want that."
"I know," you say. "But Sypha needs us. If we can't get her back, then there will be nothing to prevent fighting between Legerius and Agrithe, and I don't want that. There are nice people in both castles, and I don't want any of them getting hurt!"
Robin smiles slightly. "You have a good heart, Ryza, but it is alright for you to think of yourself too."
"I am!" you say. "I don't want anyone getting hurt!"
After a moment, the man nods. "Alright, so we continue," he says. "The only question now is how we go about it." He leans back. "The way I see it, we have three options. First, we continue as we are: going as fast as we can. This will almost certainly allow us to catch up: the mercenaries with Lady Sypha are not that far ahead of us. Even if they have a wyvern, most of them are on foot. We will catch them."
You nod. "That's- "
"Ah ah ah, I'm not finished yet," Robin says, raising a finger. You immediately close your mouth. "Doing this will also continue to exhaust you, which sounds even worse than human tiredness." You're forced to nod, that does sound true. "Our second option is to go more slowly. This will give you time to rest, which will hopefully take some of the strain off of you. This means that they'll get further ahead, but we should still be able to catch up. This will draw out the quest, but it could be worth it for your health."
"And the third option?" you ask after thinking about it for a moment.
Robin pauses. "I… only mention this because I worry about you, and because I heard Lady Artemis when she said that she wanted your safety to be your primary objective. If the bandits have a wyvern knight, then they are dangerous. We might be able to defeat the wyvern if we take them by surprise, but it will be dangerous." He nods towards your bag. "However, you did have the idea to bring extra money. It's possible we could hire some help of our own. We'd never be able to afford whatever price it would take to buy off the mercenaries, but we could hire some local reinforcements. This would also give you time to rest and recover." He pauses. "However, this would slow us down a lot. It would also make us easier to detect. Finally, we would have to give them some information about you. Enough that they are willing to go along with a plan that involves fighting a wyvern. Mercenaries are not suicidal, after all."
As he finishes speaking, you pause to consider the best option.
[] Push on. You want to get this done with, and the longer Sypha remains in these people's hands, the worse things will get. Besides, then you can get out of here and go back to Artemis before something bad happens to her again.
[] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
[] Go hire some help. Having more friends sounds like a nice idea, especially if you're thinking that you're going to have to maybe have to fight an adult wyvern in the not-to-distant future. That doesn't sound fun at all, even knowing they're weak to Yellow magic.
[X] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
"Find anything?" you ask darkly as you sit against yet another stupid tree. Robin doesn't answer, so with a huff you lean back and look around, breaking the twig you'd been fiddling with in your fingers."Who cares about stupid human language."
[X] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
With how the half-shifting seems to be affecting Ryza's mind, I don't think we can afford the first option. That said, I don't like the idea of having to slow down too much, so I'm going for this instead of the mercenaries.
[X] Go hire some help. Having more friends sounds like a nice idea, especially if you're thinking that you're going to have to maybe have to fight an adult wyvern in the not-to-distant future. That doesn't sound fun at all, even knowing they're weak to Yellow magic.
[X] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
[x] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
Hm. I wonder if the more draconic part of Ryza is perhaps more separate from her than she has been giving it credit for. It certainly seems to be capable of expressing opinions that Ryza doesn't appear to share, at any rate, possibly doing so as it becomes strengthened by Ryza spending more time in half-shape. Speaking as one such "voice in a person's head", if that is the case and Ryza has another autonomous entity sharing her headspace, then I suspect the two sides will need to speak to each other soon and at least attempt to get on the same general page as the other. Life is substantially more difficult if not everyone in the head agrees on what their overall priorities should look like.
Anyway, regarding the vote: a lot of this hinges on whether we think Robin and Ryza can handle that wyvern rider. Assuming Fire Emblem physics are in play, Robin has a substantial advantage against it if he gets the drop on it, but he's fucked if the opposite happens. And we're not exactly subtle, so it's not impossible that they might see us coming since they do have legitimate reason to look up. Since, y'know. They actually have an aerial fighter with them right now.
That is to say, we might not have much option but to hire some help if we want to guarantee a victory here. Like, I don't particularly want to give more people information about Ryza being a manakete, but if we can't win otherwise... I doubt Hawk would give us an option that would just straight-up bad-end us, but it's definitely possible that this might end up being an Emmeryn situation where our heroic rescue goes bad and Sypha dies, if we play it badly. So I think we need to work out whether we think we can take a wyvern rider and however many cronies with just Ryza, Robin, and maybe that double-agent, depending on whether this is more important than their cover.
Hopefully it is, since, y'know, this is a kid's life we're talking about, but... sadly it's not guaranteed that our potential double-agent would give a fuck. Robin thinks it might be someone hired by Mantrae, which means we can probably count on their aid if he's right, but if it's an agent of some other party then who knows what they'll do.
I dunno. We have a headache currently so we're not gonna vote just yet in case we're missing something incredibly obvious, but if anyone wants to point out an aspect of the tactical situation that we're missing or has an assessment of our ability to handle someone who's actually trained in aerial combat, that'd be helpful.
[X] Go hire some help. Having more friends sounds like a nice idea, especially if you're thinking that you're going to have to maybe have to fight an adult wyvern in the not-to-distant future. That doesn't sound fun at all, even knowing they're weak to Yellow magic.
[X] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
Rescuing Sypha is great and all, but I just don't think it's vital enough to give ourself a mental disorder for it. Hiring people is a solution that solves problems we don't have; we don't need more muscle, we're a damn dragon. (Yes, fine, Ryza! A Manakete!) And if going at their pace helps us rest and recover, well, so does option 2, but with less information leaked.
Admittedly, sneaking up on them just got much harder with that wyvern around. But if we could pull it off, this potential double agent might be able to sneak Sypha out to us, thereby keeping them from using her as a hostage. The mercs make that even more unlikely.
[X] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
[X] Go more slowly. You don't feel so good. You want to help, but Artemis wants you to be safe, and you know Father and Mother would want the same. Sypha can hold on for a little while longer, surely.
