Chapter 3: Retaking Firene Castle, The Second Emblem Ring of Firene
The group soon arrived on the outskirts of Firene castle, as Siege immediately noticed something wrong.
"...If this was Firene castle, and there were Elusian soldiers marching this way… then…" Siege would start, as Mirai finished.
"Wouldn't that mean the soldiers are already inside trying to defend the castle!?" Mirai exclaimed.
"But then… what of the townsfolk!? What of Mother!?" Celine panicked.
"Then we cannot afford to waste time!" Lumera exclaimed. "With the lives of so many innocent at stake, we cannot afford to hesitate!"
"Lumi's right. Let's go, now!" Siege exclaimed as they rushed for the castle as fast as they could.
As they made for the castle, they found that the surrounding landscape was strewn with the bodies of soldiers from both nations, although more was lost from Firene than from Elusia, although the signs of battle indicated that the battle towards the castle was no easy task.
Eventually Siege busted down the castle doors with his strength, as Alfred, Celine, Lumera, Alear joined him, as they came face to face with a group of Elusian soldiers, who seemed to be holding Queen Eve, who was a regally dressed woman with a green leaf crown, a white flowery head-dress, long flowing blonde hair and green eyes, as well as a green pendant around her neck, With the group were two notable individuals, one weaselly looking man with green hair that had a single purple bang, and a hair-thin mustache, with purple leather armor, and the other being a woman with dark tan skin, who was scantily dressed with purple cloth strips, around her entire torso, a black sash around her arms, and dark high-heels, with a large crescent-shaped horn across her head, with red ribbons tied to the horns, long flowing white hair that covered one eye, with the other one glowing purple. At the sight of the woman amongst the group, Lumera froze up with a horrified expression.
"You…" Lumera whispered.
"Mother!" Alfred exclaimed.
"Mother, we're here!" Celine called to her mother.
"Alfred! Celine!" Eve exclaimed.
"Oh, look. The kids are home." The woman remarked with amusement.
"You Elusian scum! Get away from her!" Alfred growled, raising his spear.
"Hm-hm. Who's going to make us?" The woman challenged back.
"We will." Alear declared, before stepping forward with Siege. "Whatever you want from Firene, you will not have it this day!"
"Huh? You… You look familiar…" The woman remarked, narrowing her eyes, before then turning to Siege. "And come to think of it… something about you nags me. Who are you?"
"I am the Divine Dragon Alear." Alear coldly declared.
"Such lies. Lumera is the last of her kind." The woman scoffed.
"Not before she had Alear as her child." Lumera remarked, stepping forward. "Zephia… of the Four Hounds… what is your plan with the realms, to have coerced Elusia to attack Firene? You believe that you'll be able to take the rings so easily!?"
"Oh, you know me? And who are you?" Zephia asked back, with a raised eyebrow.
"My name is Lumi. I am merely Alear's companion." Lumera answered back. "Now answer, what is your plan? Is this discord for the sake of the Fell Dragon Sombron?"
"As if I care to answer that pathetic question of yours." Zephia clicked her tongue, before turning to Alear. "Perhaps you can tell me what happened to dear Lumera, then. I've been so worried about her since that awful battle at Lythos Castle."
"How did you-" Alear remarked, before things began to piece together. "...You… You were the one who ordered the attack on Lythos Castle. Because of that, my mother is gravely wounded, and the rings are stolen!"
"Oh, she is gravely wounded. Oh, that poor dear." Zephia mocked, as Lumera's fist tightened around her blade, biting back a retort.
"You will pay for this!" Alear roared, raising Liberation.
"Why, I wasn't there at Lythos Castle. I will say, you coming here was quite helpful, assuming you are the beast's offspring-" Zephia remarked, before Lumera rushed forward, and swung her blade right at Zephia, causing her to dodge back, although by a bare margin.
"Don't you dare soil the name of the Divine Dragon Queen, with that wretched tongue of yours!" Lumera roared.
"And as for me, vile woman, I'm the Radiant Hero, Siege. And your blasphemy and treachery ends NOW!" Siege yelled, as on instincts alone, a spell card shot into his hands. "DECLARE SPELL! EXPULSION SIGN: HELLFIRE BRIGADE!" He yelled.
Suddenly, he dragged Lumera back as multiple spell circles of great power emerged, and shot at Zephia with intensive heat and might. Her normal soldiers were unfortunately caught as well, as they screamed in horror as they began to burn alive, while the commander of the forces wailed in fear, before dragging Queen Eve forcefully, and sprinting right towards the throne room, before several of his guard sealed the door tight, while Zephia was damaged by the attack, although it only surprised her.
"My, that does remind me of something. But I doubt that you are truly the one that Sombron fought a long while ago. Your attacks lacks something." Zephia remarked coolly. "Now then, I assume that you have the rings of the Hero-King and the Holy Knight."
"You DARE!?" Siege yelled in fury at his power being blasphemed. "I'll kill you where you stand!"
"If you come for them, you won't take the rings." Alear declared with a growl.
"Fine. Then know this: the kingdom of Elusia freed Lord Sombron from his imprisonment." Zephia stated.
"The Fell Dragon has returned?" Alfred remarked with horror.
"Of course, even we couldn't account for you… you and that man beside you." Zephia stated. "His return must have awoken you both. Show a little gratitude."
"YOU'RE GONNA DIE!" Siege yelled in fury as he pulled out another spell. "DECLARE SPELL: OBLIVION SIGN: MAGNA SPARK!"
A single spell circle formed in front of Siege, and fired a much more powerful variant of Marisa's attack that shot right for Zephia. In response, Zephia merely smirked, before she then Warped out of the way, as she was nowhere to be seen, as the attack managed to hit the throne room doors, destroying them in a single hit, before it then dissipated.
"Woah, calm down there! That thing could have hit the Queen!" Mokou exclaimed.
"The doors were locked anyway." Siege growled. "And I angled that attack where had it shot through those doors instead of dissipating, the queen would have been safe. Let's clean up this damned mess and get to the Queen." Siege spat with anger.
"Siege… are you okay?" Alear asked with concern about Siege's sudden anger.
"She blasphemed your mother and everything we're working up to right in front of us. No, frankly, I'm quite pissed off, and her little minion she has at the helm's gonna be the one to get it." Siege growled.
"She might be doing this to taunt us." Alear stated. "Don't let her words get to you, please."
"...Fine." Siege huffed. "Let's just get this done."
Victory: Defeat boss
Defeat: Siege, Alear, or Lumera falls
PLAYER PHASE
New Mechanic: Spell Cards - Some characters have access to Spell Cards, one use per map attacks with a variety of effects and ranges. Any class of character can use a Spell Card, and any class of character can choose to learn how to use Spell Cards
Siege moved up a bit before setting his sights on a group of armored soldiers, as he pulled out a Spell Card to attack.
DECLARE SPELL!
Thunder Sign: Mighty Storm!
Massive magical lightning rained down on the armor knights, taking them out in a swift motion just like that, clearing the entire area before the throne room.
The group then decided to check the vicinity, following along the eastern side of the castle itself, as they found a few swordsmen and ax-wielding warriors nearby, as Alear and Lumera cleared out the swordsmen, and Mirai with Alfred took care of the enemy ax-wielders, with the others scouting the path ahead for danger.
ENEMY PHASE
After the group has managed to create a foothold in the area, the enemies in the throne rooms refused to budge, believing that trying to go for Siege when he was capable of such power would be a suicidal charge, unless Siege himself moved into their own formation, while the other enemies spotted the rest of the group, as they advanced closer, but not near enough to engage in combat.
PLAYER PHASE
Siege would dash into the throne room, the one Armor Knight having been in prime striking distance as he slashed it down in a singular blow with his sword, which was impressive, considering that armor knight had a lance in hand.
"Mom… I'm worried about father… I've never seen him so angry…" Mirai remarked.
"I know, my child. I know…" Alear remarked with worry. "We'll do whatever we can to prevent him from doing anything rash. I fear that his anger won't be as easy to control when he learns more things that will not please him."
The group then noticed that there were several thiefs in the premise, as Lumera frowned.
"Thieves, here and now…? That's the last thing we need." Lumera sighed. "...While it is not utmost priority, we cannot allow them to take from the royal treasury. The nation will need everything it has to recover properly from this attack."
"I can handle it." Celine stated. "Chloe, Louis! With me!"
The princess, with her two retainers immediately sailed forward, engaging the thieves, as Chloe swooped down and impaled one of them through with her lance, while Louis used his bulk to cut down the other thief.
"Thank goodness that the enemy has not managed to reach the treasury." Celine sighed with relief.
The other members immediately began to clear out the rest of the enemies, before Vander managed to find a notable vulnerability in the castle wall adjacent to the throne room, where the treasury was.
ENEMY PHASE
Back in the throne room, Siege taunted the remaining armor knights before he faced down their boss, Nelucce.
"Anyone else wanna see death today, huh!?" Siege taunted the armor knights.
The armor knights didn't move an inch, as Siege laughed.
"A pompous Elusian woman with a third-rate bunch of soldiers. Good. Stay out of my way while I chat with your little boss here." Siege spoke darkly.
PLAYER PHASE
Siege ran at Nelucce, sword in hand as he engaged him.
"P-please! Radiant Saviour! Don't kill me! I just wanted the rings! That's all I waaaant!" Nelucce quivered in fear.
"You're not getting those rings EVER. Not if I have anything to say about it. So… PREPARE TO DIE!" Siege yelled as he struck Nelucce with yet another critical blow, but noticed he was still standing. "I'll be damned, you actually lived my attack. It's your lucky hour. Because next time, I won't hold back until you're fully dead at my feet." Siege spat.
"A-Alright! You won't see me again!" Nelucce exclaimed, before he then ran away. "I'm getting out of here! This is not worth the price!"
STAGE CLEAR
MVP: Siege & Dezna
"We managed to clear the enemies out, thanks to the Radiant Saviour's help." Alfred remarked.
"Alfred! We managed to find Mother!" Celine exclaimed. "She's alright. A bit shaken from the attack, but all fine."
Siege sheathed his sword, a small look of remorse on his face as he folded his arms.
"Dad…?" Mirai would ask.
"...We can talk later, kiddo…" Siege stated.
Queen Eve then showed herself, before bowing gently. "Thank you, all of you for rescuing me." She thanked the group. "My children, you're both safe. What a relief."
"The Divine Dragon has came all the way from Lythos to see you." Alfred stated. "She has come to our aid in our time of need."
"Queen Eve, it's an honour to meet you." Alear said with a bow. "I'm so glad that you're alright. I've come when Alfred told me of your plight."
"Just look at you! Awake at long last." Eve remarked, as she caressed Alear's shoulders gently, before backing off. "I am Eve, the queen of Firene. It is my absolute pleasure to welcome you."
"We managed to rescue Celine along the way. And get this! The Divine One summoned Emblem Celica from our ring!" Alfred exclaimed.
"The Legendary Emblem… Oh my, how extraordinary…" Eve remarked with awe. "Thank you sincerely for what you have done. You have my deepest gratitude."
"Everyone deserves a part of the credit for this battle. We did not fight alone." Alear humbly answered back.
"Ah, how generous of you." Queen Eve answered back. "You are blessed with the same powers as your mother. How is Queen Lumera?"
"She is gravely wounded, and entrusted her duty to me." Alear remarked with a solemn tone.
"Oh, how terrible…" Eve stated. "I offer you my sympathies."
"I couldn't bear to allow you to let your own children die… nor can I allow them to watch you die." Alear firmly declared. "I will not let this kind of tragedy occur as long as I live."
"Such strength of will, I am glad that you were the one to help us." Eve smiled back. "...I entrust my children to you both. They would be safer in your care, and they will prove to be good allies for your cause, as you might no doubt have seen."
"Indeed. They are both quite capable." Siege said with a nod. "Queen Eve… my apologies for the damage I have done to your castle in my anger. That wretched soul… she dare speak such blasphemes like that…" Siege stated in a mix of remorse and anger.
"While I cannot take away that anger that burns within you… I hope that you would be able to let it go." Eve answered back. "There is no need to apologize for the damages. The castle can be easily repaired, the people are the concern here. And your actions could have put quite a lot of people in danger. Not just from that attack, because you might end up fairly reckless clouded by your own hatred to… Zephia, if I heard correctly?"
"That's right. She is one of Sombron's subordinates." Lumera answered back. "If the Corrupted aren't proof enough, the Four Hounds rising up again to embroil this world in chaos is definitive evidence."
"I see… in that case, I must prepare the people for what is to come." Eve remarked sadly, as she felt sorrowful that war has come to Firene already with such great damage wrought upon the peaceful nation. "If you would excuse me…"
Queen Eve then retreated into the throne room, leaving the group to themselves.
Siege huffed as he looked down a bit in remorse, something Mirai noticed.
"Dad… don't let this weigh on you. We were all pretty angry with her." Mirai pleaded.
"Indeed, let us focus on the matter at hand." Alear remarked, before turning to Celine and Alfred. "Do you know of any other rings within Firene, or any other nation?"
"I'm afraid for the other nations, that's a jealously-guarded secret." Alfred shook his head. "And I do believe that we have-"
"Actually, I did recall overhearing that Mother created a secret within a secret." Celine stated. "We seem to have another Emblem Ring here in Firene. Only Mother herself knows that it exists, and well, I guess I got the knowledge early."
"That's right. The six other Emblem Rings were not divided evenly through the four kingdoms." Lumera nodded back. "Firene received a second Emblem Ring, in addition to the Ring of the Caring Princess, it also received the Ring of the Dawn Maiden."
"Mother said that it was on a shrine at the border of the Brodian border." Celine chimed in.
"Ah, those old ruins." Alfred remarked, smacking a fist into his own hand. "Mother took me there after Father died. She told me to keep the location at mind… and now I know why."
"Then we head for the shrine." Alear stated. "Everyone agreed on that?"
Everyone agreed, as they departed from Firene's capital, meeting another pair of wandering merchants, called Calney and Pinet, who were a blacksmith and clothier respectively, who came offering their services after getting recommended by Durthon himself, as they were sent back onto Somniel without any delay.
Eventually, the Somniel moved to the vicinity of the shrine ruins, as the group descended down, only to find that night had fallen after their long battle in reaching the castle and saving Queen Eve.
"Damn. It's dark, I can barely see as well…" Siege cursed as they departed from the Somniel.
"Almost there. Just a little farther north and we'll be at the shrine." Alfred stated.
"The landscape's gotten rockier… is this a sign we are nearing Brodia indeed?" Alear stated.
"Astute of you. It's mostly mountains up there." Alfred answered back.
"I'm seeing fewer villages as well. Makes this place a good location to hide an Emblem Ring, I suppose." Alear remarked.
"Yeah, the closer you get to the Brodian Border, the colder and quieter it gets." Alfred explained. "Look, not a soul in sight."
"You might want to get your eyes checked, Prince." Mokou remarked, gestured at a long red-haired figure ahead of them, as there were white and black stars on the back, dressed in a dark purple thief's outfit, with daggers to match.
"Well. That was unexpected." Siege remarked before suddenly hearing the girl cry. "Huh… why is she crying?"
"It's hard to say. I cried when I learned you weren't around and mother was still asleep." Mirai honestly admitted.
"Yeah… doubt that's why she's crying though…" Siege remarked, before approaching the girl. "Hey! You need anything?" Siege asked the thief.
The woman then turned around, as Siege managed to get a look at her face, as she had maroon eye, and gasped with surprise, before muttering "Zuh… Zuh…"
"Sorry to startle you. Us popping out of nowhere must have-" Alear tried to apologize.
"Zappy! You came just in time! I'm saved!" The woman exclaimed with a upbeat expression, with a fist raised, which confused everyone.
"Um…" Mokou muttered.
"I lost something earlier and there was nobody around to help, so I got really stressed out." The woman stated. "Oh right, I skipped over the niceties. You can call me Yunaka. Hiya papaya!"
"Hiya… papaya…?" Siege, Alear, and Mirai all said in unison.
"Heh, now that's an interesting one." Hitomi smirked at Yunaka's greeting.
"You're telling me…" Geina remarked.
"Anyway, what did you lose, Yunaka?" Alfred asked.
"It's a little round ring. Kind of shiny with a hole in the middle." Yunaka answered back. "Oh, and it talks for some reason."
"Wait, that's an Emblem Ring!" Alear exclaimed. "Yunaka, where is it right now?"
"Well, funny thing. It told me to take it to the Divine Dragon. Is that… Did you… Are you saying you're the Divine Dragon?" Yunaka asked, after fumbling her words a few times.
"Yes, I am. I'm sorry I didn't mention it earlier. I'm the DIvine Dragon Alear." Alear introduced herself. "And beside me is the Radiant Saviour, Siege."
"And now that we're doing introductions, I'm Alfred, the prince of Firene." Alfred stated. 'And this is Celine, who is the princess and my sister."
"I'm Geina, Ambassador of Brodia." Geina introduced. "With me are my retainers Hitomi and Mokou."
"Next to us is our daughter, Mirai." Siege introduced his daughter, which Geina looked back in slight shock, having been the first time she heard of Mirai as Siege's daughter.
"And I am Vander, 32nd Steward of the Divine Dragon." Vander answered back. "And with me is both Framme and Clanne, who are my successors."
"And I am Lumi, aide to the Divine Dragon." Lumera introduced herself with her false identity.
"Holy brocc-oly! That's a lot of people!" Yunaka exclaimed. "I think I just had a heart attack… Nope, false alarm. Whew…"
"Please don't do that. We don't want to end up causing problems for your health." Framme said with concern.
"So back to the topic, what happened to the ring?" Clanne asked. "You must have found it first, but lost it somehow."
"I was attacked by bandits, and ran off full speed. Must have dropped the ring in my haste…" Yunaka answered back. "But now that you're here, and you want the ring too, you're going to help me find it! Right? Right!?"
"Of course. I have no reason to turn down your request." Alear warmly agreed.
"Golly! That's great news! She'll be so happy if you're the one who finds her!" Yunaka exclaimed.
"So let's retrace your steps a bit. Where were you last when you remember having the ring?" Siege asked Yunaka.
"I think in the nearby village." Yunaka answered back.
Siege looked to see a sudden explosion of flames from the village. "...You mean… that village that just caught on fire right now?" Siege asked.
"I recognize those flames… that's from Brodia's strongest user of elemental fire, Nihilister!" Geina exclaimed.
"Nihilister?" Mirai asked.
"Nihilister is a warrior you don't want to mess with." Hitomi stated. "She doesn't have an inkling of magic in her, yet she controls flames as if she was a dragon, worse yet, she wields axes almost as if they were swords. If her flames didn't break you, her ax, Flamboyant Garm, would." Hitomi remarked.
"But if the Emblem Ring is in there… shit, we better move!" Siege exclaimed, rushing ahead.
"Father! Ugh, I wish you'd stop running off before the rest of us!" Mirai exclaimed.
"Wait, I'm coming with!" Yunaka exclaimed. "You'll need me to help you spot danger out in the dark."
"In the case, we should find another place in order to assist Siege." Alear stated, before turning to the rest of the group. "Everyone, follow me. We're heading for that explosion of flames first, while Siege takes a detour to find whoever's got the Emblem Ring."
Siege, Mirai and Yunaka then managed to make their way into the village, as they found that the night covered most of the area.
"Okay, If we go through here, I bet we can sneak up on the guy with the ring. I saw him on the way down with it." Yunaka told Siege and Mirai.
"Sharp eye you have, Yunaka." Siege remarked with a nod. "Let's move-"
"Thanks!" Yunaka exclaimed.
Victory: Defeat Teronda
Defeat: Siege, Yunaka, Mirai, Alear, or Lumera falls
PLAYER PHASE
"My eyesight's sharp, even in the night, so I can spot bad guys during the night. But a torch, if we can find one, can help to light up the area, although it could make it easy for the enemies to see us as well." Yunaka remarked.
Meanwhile, the introduction for Nihilister began as she struck down a foe with her ax, as she was seen in draconic attire, showing her midsection and a good deal of cleavage as she smiled widely, the Brodian insignia on her left breast.
"Prepare yourselves! You dare attempt to set up so close to our border!? Face the might of the Brodian pyro master, Nihilister!" Nihilister laughed as ethereal flame dragons appeared by her sides.
"Damn, Nihilister is burning the village down!" Geina exclaimed. "While it's helping us to see for sure, we can't let it spread before Siege, Mirai, and Yunaka get the Emblem Ring!"
"Then let's try to smack some sense into our Brodian Ally before she burns this whole damn village to ash!" Hitomi exclaimed.
Siege, meanwhile, approached the thief holding the Ring of the Dawn Maiden.
"H-huh!? Who are- GYAAAAGH!" The thief exclaimed as Siege struck him down and caught the ring.
"Alright. Heal us, Emblem of Dawn!" Siege exclaimed as the Emblem Ring glowed to life, summoning the Emblem that was Micaiah.
"I am Emblem Micaiah. I sense the future shifting… Now victory lies ahead." Micaiah remarked, before noticing Siege. "...Ah, so it's the Radiant Saviour, instead of the Divine Dragon. No matter, your presence means that the Divine Dragon is near as well. Please, make use of my power."
"Actually…" Siege remarked before looking to Yunaka. "Here. You take Emblem Micaiah, you found it after all. All we ask is that you help us beat these bandits."
"Me? But I…" Yunaka answered back, before she then went silent, before nodding. "Okay, I'll take it. I won't let you down!"
"Thank you. We need all the help we can get!" Mirai exclaimed as she tried to advance but stopped. "Urgh, can't see…"
"Yunaka, you will need to use my Shine stave in order to illuminate the vicinity for our allies to see." Micaiah instructed Yunaka.
"Alright, like this?" Yunaka remarked, before producing a staff in her hand, as golden light shined in the vicinity, as the light lingered for the group to see quite far ahead.
"Heyyy! I can see!" Mirai remarked, as she spotted an enemy ahead with an axe, and rushed forward, bringing out her personal bow, which seemed to be a variant of Fujin Yumi, as she formed an energy arrow, firing it at the opponent ahead and striking him down.
Meanwhile, Hitomi vaulted over some rubble before reaching Nihilister.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing!? This village has seen enough destruction!" Hitomi yelled at Nihilister.
"Well, these bandits shouldn't have chosen it to be near our border! Brodia's had enough of bandits on the outskirts!" Nihilister exclaimed.
"You idiot! The Divine Dragon and Radiant Saviour are fighting with us in this village! Show some goddamn restraint!" Hitomi yelled.
"Huh!? Why the hell didn't you lead with that, moron!?" Nihilister yelled at Hitomi.
"I oughta- Oh, never the fuck mind, just go easy with the pyro shit, alright?" Hitomi growled.
"Noted. I'll keep it controlled since the legendary warriors are here." Nihilister admitted.
Nihilister joined the party
The main group then decided to head towards the gathering of the bandits, as they managed to take out the bandits that could be seen nearby, due to the torches that were lighting parts of the village up. However, that advantage didn't last long, as the bandits noticed the issue, and snuffed the torches out.
"Scoundrels… they extinguished the torches." Vander cursed. "We will need to tread lightly here. If we are not carefully, any of us could take a lethal blow by an enemy ambush."
"Hah, no worries big guy. I can relight the torches easily, just say the word!" Nihilister smirked.
"Then we leave it up to you for that torch over there." Alear stated, gesturing at the nearby torch, as Nihilister walked over, and lit it with a swing of her axe, revealing several bandits that were planning to ambush the group, before Etie sniped one of them down, and Vander cut down the other one.
ENEMY PHASE
In the shadows of the night, the group could hear several footsteps, going in varying directions, before one of the bandits decided to attack Vander, who immediately blocked the attack, and rewarded the effort with a powerful ax-swing that cut down the bandit.
Meanwhile, on the north end, the bandits tried to attack Mirai from range, only to be met with her arrows lethally, as the path forward was cleared thanks to Mirai.
PLAYER PHASE
"I shall scout ahead." Vander stated, before he then rode forwards towards the nearby torch, before finding that there was a bandit nearby, as it startled his horse for a moment. "The enemy!"
"I got it handled!" Boucheron remarked, before rushing over, and hitting the bandit with a powerful swing that took them down.
"And I got that torch handled!" Nihilister remarked, before moving forward, and lighting the other torch, revealing no enemies so far in the vicinity, although they could see a lit torch in the distance, likely where the bandit boss is.
Alear immediately moved forward, as she managed to take a side path that wound up reaching the northern end, meeting back with Mirai and Siege, as well as Yunaka.
"Are you both okay?" Alear asked Siege and Mirai. "The dark is prone to attract foes from every dark place possible. You must have had several ambushes sprung upon you…"
"We're fine. Little to no damage. Yunaka guided us." Siege spoke.
"Father woke the Emblem in the ring. We have Emblem Micaiah now." Mirai added.
"That's great." Alear nodded back, seeing Micaiah.
"I owe it to the great Emblem for helping me through all of this. She's the bee's knees!" Yunaka cheerfully added, before she then cast Shine, revealing a bandit on the path ahead. "Oh, it seems that we got danger incoming."
"Not to me." Siege remarked, before he then walked forward, and cut down the bandit with a single strike.
The rest of the group then began to slowly advance where the last group of bandits were, stopping nearby to avoid attracting attention that would lead to their premature attack.
ENEMY PHASE
Without any idea of where their enemies have went, the remaining bandits began to spread out in the torch's light, before stopping.
PLAYER PHASE
Nihilister lit the final torch, revealing the bandit's leader, before he even properly noticed the attack, and in one strike, he fell to Siege's blade as well, ending the battle there.
STAGE CLEAR
MVP: Mirai & Fjorm
"Done and done." Siege said. "Though it begs question… how did the ring end up here? The bandits had to have stolen it, right?"
"Uh… about that…" Yunaka said awkwardly, as she averted her eyes. "I have a… um… confession to make. The thing is… I didn't find the ring. I stole it."
"Huh?' Alear asked, not offended, but surprised.
"I was strapped for money, and when I saw the shrine, I figured it might have valuables. I went inside, heard Micaiah's voice and pow, there's the ring staring right at me. I was just looking to make a quick bundle of dough. I'm sorry. I really don't deserve the ring."
"I see." Alear stated. "But that doesn't detract from the fact that you helped us, instead of fleeing to the hills. We would have been quite less effective in the dark, and the reason you got Micaiah's ring back so quickly was because of you."
"Still, lying to us… that's grounds for some sort of punishment. On Brodian and Firenian terms." Nihilister remarked with folded arms.
"Well, I'm not different from the bandits otherwise for what I did. I'll accept whatever punishment you give me." Yunaka told Nihilister.
"But I beg you, please be lenient in her judgment. She has shown me nothing but kindness, despite her intentions." Micaiah pleaded. "Fighting by her side, I saw a bright path ahead. When I sensed Sombron's return, I called out in the dark for an answer, and she was the only one that I got an answer from. I take blame for entangling her in all of this."
"Here then, join our forces." Mirai suggested.
"Say what now?" Yunaka asked back, with surprise.
"Not a bad idea. We could use every viable force possible." Nihilister remarked in impression.
"Whaddya say, Yunaka? You in?" Siege asked.
"Yes! I won't let you down!" Yunaka declared with passion.
"Don't mention it. And Yunaka, allow me to be the first to say… Hiya papaya." Alear remarked, as Lumera snickered a little at Alear's jab, by returning Yunaka's greeting back to herself.
"Uh… Hehehe!" Yunaka grinned widely.
With Yunaka and Nihilister's recruitment, the group continued on to the Brodian border, as they soon approached the rocky, narrow canyon into Brodia.