#like come on. the way they upgraded bridget's character and made her work in such a fun and respectful way is just

[moczothe1st]

Let’s Play Fire Emblem IV: Genealogy of the Holy War, Part 10: Yarrrrrrrr!

Part 9

Welcome back to FEIV! I was originally not planning to update this week, since my appendix ruptured last weekend and that’s actually pretty incredibly awful to experience. I figured I earned a week off. However, I did not consider one thing: when you’re basically required to keep yourself in bed for 90% of the day, you have a lot of time to kill. After the first four or so days of pain and eating very little, I started playing Genealogy because frankly why not. I did have to wait until I got off the IV, mind you, because industrial painkillers and strategy do not mix. Not unless you want to get all your units beaten to death by pirates.

Speaking of.

I feel like I should just point out that last week they were worried about me coming up north to attack ­them, and yet they willingly start a fight here, even opening up a bridge for me to reach them.

Given that our army has, at this point, defeated two entire countries, I think we can handle a bunch of pissed-off sailors, thanks. Though the first members of the group actually take their shots by going northwest after Bridget.

This exact same battle happens three more times. Bridget is awesome.

The rest of the pirates do go South, but Dew is holding the bridge and they literally can’t hit him. They’re axe men and his dodging is amazing. So they don’t even try, just walk to him and stop.

Sometimes smart AI is really annoying. When our phase starts up, some familiar faces come with it.

Taillte: Just look around! There’ll be pirates all over us if we don’t get moving!

Claude: Be at peace, Taillte. This was quite the fruitful journey! Lord Bragi has answered my prayers and revealed to me the truth. It is precisely as I had thought. Not to mention, I even found House Edda’s long-lost sacred heirloom within the tower: the staff of Valkyria.

Taillte: What, that grubby little cane?

Claude: … Taillte, please. Try to mind your manners. This is a legendary magical staff with the power to restore life to the deceased. It is usable by only the direct descendants of Saint Bragi. That is to say, me alone.

Taillte: Huh. So what you’re saying is, with this rod you could bring my sweet old grandma back to life?

Claude: Alas, most likely not. Valkyria is limited in many particular ways, and so cannot be used on just any lost soul. You see, all mankind is born bearing a life force called quintessence, which-

Taillte: Yaaaaawn… er, what’s that? You lost me. Why are you still talking about this anyway? We’ve gotta get outta here!

Well. This will be interesting, at least. Now, before we show off our new characters, there is a conversation to be held. Ethlyn, you haven’t made me angry in awhile: take it away!

Ethlyn: Here. Take this.

Quan: A spear? …. What?! I-isn’t this Gae Bolg?! Why do you-

(Yes, Ethlyn. Why do you.)

Ethlyn: Your lord father entrusted it to me, Quan. He thought it prudent for you to have it at hand in case our battles grew too fierce.

Quan: Even just holding it, I’ve never felt so strong! Why did you wait until now, though?

(YES, ETHLYN. WHY DID YOU?)

Ethlyn: With the spear, your lord father also passed onto me its tale… I’m so sorry…

Quan: … Ah. Gae Bolg bears the baggage of a truly sad legend. But that is all it is: a legend.

Ethlyn: But-

Quan: Ethlyn, trust me. Triumph is within our grasp this day. I’ll not fall victim to an old myth. I’ll not let it stop me from returning home. Our dear little Altena still awaits us, and I’ll not allow some fairy tale to disappoint her.

Ethlyn: Yes… Quan, no matter what happens… we’ll never lose each other. Right?

Quan: Ah, you’re concerned about Deirdre, aren’t you? There’s nothing to worry about. It won’t be long until we find her.

Ethlyn: Yes…. I want to believe she’ll be okay, too. I wish I could. But…

Quan: Ethlyn? Come now, dry your tears. Do you truly feel so bad about this?

(… Okay, I’m still angry at Ethlyn over her withholding the Omni-Spear from me the whole game, but she kind of has a point here. Her sister-in-law has vanished. It would be kind of weird if she wasn’t worried, Quan.)

Ethlyn: Yes… knowing th-that Sigurd and Deirdre may never meet again… they love each other so much… why, Quan? Why did this happen to them?!

Quan: Ethlyn…

Deep breath

Okay, let’s look at our new stuff. Simplest first.

Quan now has the Gae Bolg, his Holy Weapon, like Eldigan’s Mystletain and Claude’s above-mentioned Valkyria. It gives him +10 boosts to Strength, Skill, and Defense while holding it; he was already a nigh-unbreakable juggernaut, so take that ‘nigh’ off and you get the idea. It also does ten more points of damage per shot than the Silver Lance even without the strength boost, while weighing only slightly more.

So. You know.

THANKS FOR KEEPING THAT IN YOUR POCKET THIS WHOLE TIME, ETHLYN. YOU BITCH.

Now, the new characters.

Claude of Edda is basically Aideen: Part 2. Same class, similar growths; his Major Bragi Blood (+20% HP growth, +20% Magic Growth, +20% Luck growth, +40% Resistance growth) push his in a better direction for their class, but she’s leveled up so great she’s basically his equal anyway, and he has fewer levels left than her to take advantage of them. He’s also promoted, so he can use offensive magic in addition to staves… but he didn’t bring any, so that’s not much of a comfort.

And his gear at the moment is just plain not great for the situation, i.e. alone with a teenager fighting pirates. The Fortify Staff is the best healing staff in the game, giving a huge amount of health back to not a specific target, but to everyvunit within 10 spaces of Claude. Amazing… but it only has ten charges. The Valkyria staff, meanwhile, is basically a one-use get out of jail free card if someone dies: Claude can use it in the main castle to revive them, at which point it will break and require a stupid amount of money to repair for one more use. So it’s nice to have as a fallback, but if you rely on it you’re going to end up bankrupting yourself in short order.

Taillte is… a unique character. On paper, she’s quite good; her growths are solid, bolstered by Minor Tordo holy blood (+20% HP, +30% skill). She can only use Thunder magic, but that’s okay, because it’s the second-best kind of magic and she can use it up to A-rank, and even comes with the A-rank Thoron tome, meaning she joins us with the equivalent of a Silver weapon in her chosen weaponry class. And she also has a very nice personal skill, Wrath, which turns all her attacks into guaranteed criticals if her health is below half, basically taking her already ‘glass cannon’ status and allowing her to upgrade to a much bigger cannon if she’s willing to take some extra glass on board. And her stats are quite good for her level!

Which is to say, for level 3. When the rest of the army is in their late teens at the lowest.

So, we clearly need to get someone over there to help those two, because Taillte is most definitely not going to be able to hold off all the pirates in her area alone, and Claude can only heal her ten times. But whooooo is nearby to go saaaaaave them?

sniff

Oh, Bridget you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, Hey Bridget. She’s also a little underleveled, being only 12, but she’s a pre-promote like Sigurd so if anything her stats are a little higher than most of the army; in particular, she actually has the third highest Strength stat of anyone in the army, after Quan and Lex. And a low level actually gives her more levels to gain bolstered by her Major Ullur Blood (+40% HP, +60% luck). She’s gonna be surprisingly durable for an archer class, with luck making her dodgy and plenty of hit points, on top of Strength, Speed, and Skill which are already enough to carry her the whole game. The only skill she has is Pursuit, but if you’ve been paying attention that’s the most important one for an offensive unit to have anyway, soooooo.

Let’s do this shit.

Bridget immediately begins moving west along the peninsula towards Taillte and Claude, who move toward the pirates around them to start working on things. Neither is, unfortunately, close enough to any enemies to make an attack… well, Bridget is, but she can’t run and shoot at the same time, and even the best Archer of all time can’t fight at melee. If she gets surrounded, even she’ll be in trouble. Everyone else, in turn, begins to move towards the units holding the bridge, while they themselves defend with all they’ve got.

Yeah, no, the bridge is going to fall. Horribly. The Orgahil pirates are so pitiful in comparison to Agustria that we might as well ignore them and go knit. The rest of the level is going to be entirely about Taillte and Claude’s survival. End turn!

Continues knitting

And over with Claude, Taillte takes a single hit, but survives. This leaves her in a somewhat dangerous situation because she’s fragile and will die at any slight brush now, but Wrath is now enabled and she one-shots her attacker in reply.

The rest of the pirates in her area are out at sea and will be coming ashore slowly, letting her engage them one at a time on her own terms, so. Picture that sequence of the Death Star getting ready to fire, and you have an idea what I’m about to do with Taillte. Bridget continues to move toward them as well, the edge of her movement range leaving an enemy in her sights.

Get used to screens like this.

For the bridge team, I actually don’t do any fighting this turn, because Dew is a perfect blocker, and he isn’t going to take a shot at anyone. Rather: Aideen is broke and his money is maxed, so he can’t rob any of these guys! I have her move forward to stand next to him reassuringly, and he in turn gives her 49,000 gold. I wish I had more friends like Dew.

Much better. Killing off all these idiots would have cost me so much money if I hadn’t done that. Dew will likely be right back to max money by the end of the map. The pirates, in addition, can move very slowly on water squares and some of them do go around Dew to reach other units.

Their next of kin will be reminded of the dangers of swimming. On our turn, it’s mostly movement. Quan and Ethlyn move toward our home castle, everyone else moves toward these dorks again. The dorks in question, mind you, are doing very well. I actually have Lewyn run back towards a castle because I don’t need him to hold these dorks, and his Elwind is about to break from overkilling. Instead, Jamke moves up to take a shot in his place.

For the pirates, this is kind of like saying ‘I send the killer bear home because his stomach is full, and replace him with the killer lion.’ Dew moves forward, continues robbing shit, and levels.

You know, he needs defense so badly I will take this. I have Ayra move up to back him up and soften the newly poor pirate up with her weaker Bolt Sword…

… and of course she uses Astra and kills it. I would have really liked Dew to get more kills, Ayra, he’s about to promote. Please try to be caring of me. Taillte also reaches her first victim.

“You may fire when ready, Commander.” End turn!

Dew… took a hit. From these idiots. How… why! You little jackass, your ability to make me money and your ability to dodge are your only good points right now! You better proc Sol next turn and get some of that health back, quicksmart, or I will be furious. More furious.

I also almost lose Taillte because I didn���t realize she was in range of the enemy, but unlike SOME PEOPLE she pulls off the dodge and destroys her enemy with extreme prejudice, gaining her first level. Not great, but she at least got Speed and since she certainly can’t take a hit, making her better at avoiding them is helpful.

Our turn takes over and Bridget continues to run towards the Dynamic Duo, her rage steadily building. Dew and Ayra team up to take out the first pirate in line…

And since I’m bored, I have Holyn run into this new empty space in the line and smack the guy behind it.

sigh

Holyn, I’m taking a fucking risk by putting you on the front lines. You could at least try. But on the bright side, this does open another new spot in the line for Jamke to move up and take a shot at the enemy commander.

Okay. Teach. Jamke, you ready to learn?

Yup, Jamke has totally learned fear.

Jamke also gets his personal little trinket, the Leg Ring, improving how far he can move each turn by 3 spaces. Jamke doesn’t get a horse, so he’s not a terrible choice for this, but I’m not totally sure if he’ll be keeping it or not. It’s definitely in high demand by units all over.

Erin, off on her own doing her own thing, stops at another of the villages.

Stranger with Candy: Don’t be shy. Drink up! Well, how about it? Feel the might swellin’ in yer muscles! Oughta make yer work out there so much easier.

Erin gains +3 to her Strength, another boost she sorely needed. You’re also probably realizing why I ignored most of the villages on the map; there are a lot of little gifts to be gotten on this one, and I wanted them to go to specific people. There’s still one left meant for Claude, in fact.

On the enemy phase, Jamke provides an assisted suicide and reminds me that all levels these people gain will be either flawless or the worst.

sigh No other combat happens other than some pirates missing Holyn with hand axes, and our turn begins. First, to the home base… Ethlyn, care to not disappoint me for once?

The first magic she’s gained all game! I also send Quan right into the top tier at the Arena, using his new toy. Let’s see how it goes.

Holy Weapons are the best.

Back up at the real war, I continue to break the pirates a little.

Nothing super impressive, but at least the bridge is now mine, so that battle is over and this team can start moving to flank the jerks chasing Bridget. Bridget herself has also reached Claude and Taillte; the general idea now is that she will be their tank, dodging 90% of all melee attacks and slaughtering the occasional archer while Taillte stands behind her doing her best death ray impersonation. End turn!

… I think the pirates are losing hope, you guys, this one definitely had targets to go after who wouldn’t have killed him as terribly as Holyn. Come on, pirates don’t give up! You can’t go out like Agustria!

Our turn begins, and the team that took Silvail begins to reach the pirate fight, turning it from a one-sided fight to a one-sided fight. Lachesis also gains a healing level.

I… really should have given her that Paragon band. At least Dew won’t need it much longer.

He gained a level from this battle, but I missed the stats. +1HP, +1STR, +1SPD, solid enough I won’t have to scream at his face. Aideen also levels from healing him.

… Kind of bad, but she’s gotten so many great levels on this map I don’t really care. End Turn!

… Nothing happens! A sword guy misses Bridget and an axe guy misses Beowulf.

On our turn, Lachesis gets home, and I send her into the Arena with her new Earth Sword to see if it helps her a little.

cue beating

Nope! But the fun part is that now there’s nothing to stop me from just having Ethlyn heal her and trying again next turn, so I’ll let you know if RNG turns her favor at any point.

Over to the west, my two little nukes begin their blasting away at the crowd pressing against Bridget.

Those two sword guys are the most dangerous; they’re not very strong, but are accurate enough to regularly hit Bridget. Most turns Bridget won’t actually be attacking, but I want those two dead ASAP. End turn!

WHERE THE FUCK DID HE COME FROM?! DEEP BREATH Well that scared the shit out of me. I had no idea there was a ranged enemy close enough to reach Taillte. If she hadn’t dodged I’d be up a reset. But, on the plus side, fine level! On the next turn, they both take their shots…

… For the second time this update I missed the stat screen. Bridget gained a level. It was +1HP. I would be furious if she wasn’t already basically endgame quality without any stat gains at all. Taillte is doing okay, though! And then Claude heals ‘em up.

There we go! And better yet, he instantly gains 85 experience from this; Fortify is a pretty rockin’ staff. I start moving the others toward them again; Erin is now close enough to help out next turn, and the others should arriving to reinforce soon.

Though they don’t need it, really, Taillte is dodging everything and its mom. Our turn begins again, and… slaughter?

Yup, slaughter. The enemy phase is basically just Taillte and Bridget continuing their brutal ascent to dominance.

Welp, there goes the enemy’s archer brigade. At this point the rest of the army is basically only heading their direction because I’d like Bridget and Taillte to get some trophy husbands. On our turn, Sigurd and a few others test the defenses of Orgahil itself.

It is not a test they pass well.

The western team continues their just… rampant slaughter, it’s almost humiliating…

You know, barring the horrible level. What is with you this run, Erin?! You started off so perfectly, too! Well, on the plus side, I also realize I completely forgot Ethlyn had Arena levels to challenge too, and she’s a Paladin now. Let’s see how this rolls out.

Ethlyn: Up to seven wins, gained one level: +1 HP

……………… I hate you so much, Ethlyn.

You fucking guys!

……. I want to leave Agustria.

Okay, I’m frustrated so I’m going to take Orgahill now. The boss is nothing special beyond holding the Strength Ring; I’m gonna try to give it to Sigurd, actually, since his Strength stat is actually somewhat on the low end for how high his level is. Luckily he’s a sword dude fighting an axe moron, so it shouldn’t be hard to arrange.

Yeah, this will be over quickly. End turn, and Duvall once again seeks to destroy us with all his skill and power.

See how much he needs that Strength? Duvall should definitely be dead by now. On our turn, it’s… basically… just kind of a pitiful slaughter again, you know the drill.

And Sigurd finishes off Duvall, ending his 27-minute reign as cap’n and gaining himself a sweet +5 to strength.

Welp, might as well end the turn here. Good times. The few remaining pirates all take swings at Bridget and… all hit? How the… no. No. Not engaging. Her defense is good enough it doesn’t matter, and they…

Will not be taking any more swings. One more turn of the same and the enemy army is gone forever, with Erin leveling.

If I had another Pegasus Knight to use she would be so fucking benched right now.

Anyway, there are no more enemies on the map, so from here it’s a matter of just cleaning stuff up. Like this village of ungrateful bitches!

Bitch: Why are you even here? We’ve absolutely nothin’ to do with Agustria or Grannvale! If you’ve really gotta fight, take it somewhere else, you thoughtless sod.

Take a close look at her village in that image. A section is burned, meaning we literally ran in and saved it from being slaughtered by pirates. Next time, we won’t.

More importantly, Aideen finally meets Bridget. Were yooooooooooou paying attention…?

(D’aaaaaaaaaaaaw. Yup, Aideen mentioned her sister Bridget way back in Verdane, and we finally reunited them. Heart: Melted.)

Aideen: Surely you recall me?

Bridget: What? How do you know my name? Hang on… you look just like me! Aideen, huh… it sounds kinda familiar. But where from…?

Aideen: Bridget, listen well. I am your twin sister! We lost you to pirates years ago, when you were just five years old. I’ve searched for you for years. I never lost hope we would meet again!

(D’aaaaaaaaaaaaaaw!)

Bridget: This is all so sudden… no. Weird feelings aren’t enough. I need proof!

Aideen: Proof, you say? Here. Draw this bow.

Bridget: Huh? Okay, a nice bow and all, but what’s it gotta do with anything? Well, I’ll humor you. So I draw it, and… Whoa! Wh-what’s going on?! The hell is this? This… weird feeling boiling within me… are these memories? Ah, my heart is on fire… Aideen? Yes… you’re Aideen... my sister...

Aideen: Oh, thank the gods! You remember! That bow is your birthright, Bridget. It is Yewfelle, the sacred bow of Jungby. Legends tell that the exalted weapons of this land, such as this one, can only be wielded by a single heir per generation. For House Jungby and Yewfelle, that rightful heir is you, Bridget.

Bridget: Oh, Aideen, come here… Let me get a good look at you. How is our father doing? And our brother… Andre, right?

Aideen: I’ve so much to tell you, too… Bridget. My sister.

Well. That was adorable. And Bridget also gets a hold of Yewfelle, which gives her a +10 to Strength and Speed, along with the natural ability Renewal to heal her a small amount per-turn. Not quite as great as Gae Bolg, but frankly Bridget doesn’t need much help to start with so this turns her from unbreakable to super unbreakable. From here it’s mostly last-second healing and warping around, to get Claude to the one village he still needs to get his holy butt to, and to have everyone else start moving the new dudes toward the arena.

Though Aideen does hit 20! Probably won’t promote her this chapter, though, I have no way to get her home quickly. And next, I trigger the secret event by moving Dew over to the sacred tower… no, once again, no hint to do this…

Dew: Mmm… nope, nothin’ over here. Over there, maybe? Aw man! What a boring little dump.

Strange Voice: Who… are you…

Dew: Huh?!

Strange Voice: … State your business…

Dew: Heh, maybe if I pretend I can’t hear it…

Strange Voice: How dare you… defile this sacred ground… BEGONE!

Dew: Kyaaa! S-sorry! Please don’t hurt me! Hah… hah… what just happened?! Hang on… a sword? What’s it doin’ sitting around a place like this? Eh, who cares? Guess I’m getting’ something outta this after all!

Dew gets the Wind Sword, a magic blade like Ayra’s bolt sword and Ethlyn’s light brand, and it will be put to good use over time. Also he’s an awful person. I kind of wish the event had been the ghost eating his soul and joining our army instead.

Over on the other side of the map, Claude grabs the final village:

Cool Old Dude: We can’t thank you enough, but mayhap this magic staff will help. They call it a Restore staff. If yer allies’ve been put t’sleep or silenced, one cast of this staff’ll get ‘em back on their feet.

See, village of northern bitches? This is how you thank the people who stopped your home from burning down.

Now, the last two things. First arena runs:

Bridget: 7 wins, Gained two levels: +2 HP, +1 Strength, +1 Luck, +1 Defense

Finn: Up to 7 wins, did not gain a level.

Erin: Up to 7 wins, gained one level: +1 Speed, +1 Defense

Dew: Up to 4 wins, did not gain a level. I shouldn’t have used him. 

Taillte: 7 wins, Gained three levels: +2 HP, +3 Skill, +2 Luck, +1 Resistance

In addition, a few of the new recruits have conversations with Sigurd.

Claude: I’m glad Taillte was close at hand. We may not have survived, if not for her magic. More importantly, Lord Sigurd, my prayers to Saint Bragi were answered.

Sigurd: You have the trust of all this, then?

Claude: That I do. As I thought, Duke Reptor is behind all of this. On his orders, it was Duke Langbalt who killed Prince Kurth. The two then framed your father, Lord Byron, for the crime.

(Noooooooooooooooooooo, ya don’t saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay.)

Sigurd: As we thought…

Claude: The pair’s treachery runs deeper still. The murder of Isaach’s King Mananan was also the handiwork of Duke Reptor. He feared a peaceful end to the war would end the sole excuse for the conquest of Isaach, so he had the king assassinated.

Sigurd: Is that so… Reptor’s filthy hands are all over this mess…

Claude: Not entirely. In the shade of his avarice, there’s something else at work. Something unsettling and terrifying. Not even Lord Bragi could scry this evil presence, obscured as it was by its great power.

Sigurd: An evil presence? Could it be that dark priesthood? … Wait! What of my father, Claude?

Claude: Lord Byron yet lives, but he is weak. I fear he is not long for this world…

Sigurd: Father… this can’t be happening…

Claude: I’ll hasten back to the capital. His Majesty needs to hear the truth. Lord Sigurd, for the time being, stay here and restrain yourself from rash action.

Sigurd: Understood. I can’t thank you enough, Father Claude. I beg of you, do everything you can to save my father and clear his name.

Sigurd: The villages told me of a woman who leads the pirates of Orgahil, and of her devotion to aiding the poor and weak. That would be you, correct?

(“Also you’re identical to my childhood next-door-neighbor, who has an identical twin named Bridget, so…”)

Bridget: You must be that Grannvale man… Sigurd, right? Guess this is it. Come on. Just get it over with.

Sigurd: Oh, no, you’re mistaken! I’m certainly not here to kill you. I just want to talk. I’d like you to ally with you. We’d love to add your strength to our own, to help us better fight the pirates. What say you?

Bridget: Wait. You really want me, of all people?

Sigurd: Certainly! You’d be a tremendous asset.

Bridget: You’re a strange little man, Sigurd…

Oh, Bridget, You have no idea. Let’s get the Hell out of Agustria!

Sigurd: Oifey, would you please gather our troops here? Now that this is all over, I’d like to ensure that everyone’s alright.

Oifey: At once, sire.

Langbalt: Seize these vile allies of Byron, accomplices to his murder of Kurth and his bid to take over our kingdom! It is the will of His Majesty! No mercy for enemies of the state!

Reptor: To think, he personally put an end to that miserable prince and nearly killed Byron as well… I’ve never seen such a bold ploy! And with Arvis using His Majesty’s trust, it all worked flawlessly! Convincing the king of anything is hardly a challenge, but to succeed with a tale of this scale takes quite the storyteller… and here we are, with the entirety of House Chalphy framed for the crime! Heh heh… our victory is all but assured. The throne of Grannvale shall be mine, one way or another. I’ll leave no pest who dares interfere with me alive…

(……. I’m going to assume Langbalt is loudly shouting to the army and Reptor is just thinking to himself. Otherwise, I got some questions.)

Sigurd: What in the blazes is this?! I’ve been declared a traitor and a Grannvale legion waits at our doorstep to arrest me?!

Oifey: Sire… and to think, the war here was over at long last, and you were about to go search for Deirdre.

(“YES, OIFEY, THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME”)

Sigurd: Gah… how could His Majesty believe Reptor’s lies? That my father, of all people, would kill Prince Kurth?! If only Father Claude had reached the capitol before they struck… Why?! Why is this happening?! I fought a pointless war! I let Eldigan die! And now this! What have I been fighting for all along?!

(The one and only time it will be a relief to see neutral units.)

Mahyna: Queen Rahna bade my corps and I to come and retrieve you. We invite you and your subordinates to retreat with us to Silesse, until your good name has been cleared in Grannvale.

(Lewyn’s mom! Finally, our habit of collecting lost royalty has paid off!)

Sigurd: … Queen Rahna of Silesse, you say? Why is Silesse willing to give aid to an alleged traitor like me?

Mahyna: Please, sir. Time is of the essence. The Grannvale assault is sure to begin at any moment now. My Pegasus knights will escort you across the sea to safety in Silesse.

And there we go! Grannvale, our ambiguously evil home, has outright turned against us. Reptor and Langbalt are in control, and the king thinks we killed his son. The only option remaining is to flee across the sea and regroup.

… We probably coulda solved the issue by having Lewyn stand near the enemy, but this is more dramatic.

Anyway, see you next week in the shining northern lands of Silesse, where I’m sure nothing will go wrong!

Part 11

[blythewonder]

Clearing the Smoke || Bridget, Brett, and Roger [chatzy]

Further investigation into the smoke monster leads to discoveries.

This mysterious ghost-but-not-actually-g​host-black-smoke-thing was a mess of a creature. ​Bridget​ paced around outside of Roger's office door. She was going to be of help, again. Even though she still hadn't totally figured out why Ashkent was a magical hub, she'd done enough research throughout her year and a bit of living here that gave her some knowledge to at least ​talk​ about the issues at hand. So, with another deep breath and a pressing down on the skirt of her dress, she walked up to the door of Roger's office and gave it a sharp knock. "I'm here, as requested!" She called out. "Can I come in?"

Roger looked up from the many tomes in front of him, struggling. This was the one thing he couldn't fake. He simply wasn't familiar with the texts in this place, the system, anything. He had no idea where even to begin looking, and just brute forcing it wasn't going to work in a building with over a million books and even more scrolls, letters, randomly assorted files. Their database needed serious upgrading, too, even with the digitisation that was in process, it just didn't have any answers. The closest he'd come was a Brollochan, which was scary as shit, but it didn't have the glowing white eyes he was looking for, nor the shadows of claws and teeth. "Of course, Blythe, come in." At least it made sense that, theoretically, Roger Hawthorne couldn't possibly know everything there was to know. It just wasn't feasible. "Given the descriptions we've gotten, it's rather hard to pinpoint. I've gathered these texts I think may be relevant." He gestured at the pile as tall as him that covered everything.

Bridget opened the door and came in, making her way over to Roger's desk. "Well," she chirped, peering to see what the book on the top of the stack, "that's quite the number of relevant texts. Ha." She bit her lip. "It also doesn't seem to be targeting any specific type of individual, far as I know. But I don't think it's like that dreamscape I ended up in many months ago. One, there was no specific creature that lead to that ordeal, and two, we're not in the gosh darn Herculean Labours any longer. The eyes are the part that's stumping me the most, if I'm to be honest. But it's not the eyes that cause the -- whatever's going on -- the creature seems to have to touch the individuals for something to happen."

A creature made of smoke. Certainly something to get the mind rolling. Part of ​Brett​ wondered whether it was linked to the disappearing and switching towns. Could it be something form that other town that had found it's way into theirs? It was certainly not too far removed to be the case. With Roger personally messaging him, something that had been quite out of the ordinary as normally Brett was the one messaging him first, he decided it might be wise to actually figure this out with Roger. He certainly would be the most qualified in this building to help him out. With his folder tucked under one arm of all the research he had on Ashford River, he made his way to the door and was just about to knock when he found the door already open and with Bridget in there. Oh, maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He took a deep breath and stepped into the doorway, catching the end of her sentence. "Maybe it's feeding on something then." He shut the door behind him. "I'm really sorry but the door was open..."

Roger nodded, his eyes quickly flicking to the door as another figure stepped in. He waved Brett's apology away, unconcerned. Whatever bigotry Hawthorne held towards Tharp was mostly unfounded and entirely irrelevant to the situation. "Feeding on what? Confusion, perhaps? I considered Brain Biters briefly, but I haven't heard of any mentions of anyone losing their memories, only gaining them." He looked back to Bridget. "I agree. It does, but it's hardly an attack. We also need to consider that this is not something we have in our records because it may be from Ashford."

"Also Brain Biters don't look like what those I've talked do have described." ​Bridget​ chimed in, glancing over to Brett. "Unless there's a breed of them that can turn into black smoke." She rubbed her fingers against the bridge of her nose. "They could be feeding on confusion, concern, worry... or something else entirely, should that be the case." She bit her lip. "It's quite possible that it could be from Ashford, but it also could easily be from here and using the confusion all of us seem to be experiencing about Ashford to take the time to arrive and do what it's doing, now." She gave a shrug. "Someone who I talked to about it was very explicit about how what they saw couldn't have been real, so I doubt it's causing some sort of 'wish-to-have-beens' or whatever. It seems wholly separate from that. Especially since it's not all sunshine and perfection."

Brett moved over to the desk, peering at the books on there before he sat his folder down. "Then maybe it's memories, but not... exactly their memories," Brett mused, taking some of the photos out of his folder. "Ashford River and Ashkent Creek have been changing places, right? So, these memories, what if they are memories from the other town? If this creature has come from Ashford, then what if it's giving memories of this other town? What was the exact memories this person you spoke to was having? If buildings can switch, surely memories could too? Maybe I'm thinking too much into this... but it could be this."

"Obviously, but it isn't unheard of for the magically inclined to cast glamours on creatures in order to cause chaos." ​Roger​ said thoughtfully, flicking through the book in front of him. Thank fuck for the image to text ratio, it was so much easier to flick through if he didn't have to read the description. He listened to their deductions, sticking to his completely in character lie that he wasn't experiencing this. The guy had literally lied about being on the verge of death to his colleagues. "Possibly. It could be more than memories. Has anyone reported any changes in personality?" It was definitely one of his nagging concerns. "There isn't any simple creature in our bestiary that can traverse dimensions in that way. Not to mention, we've had one report of someone from Ashford River experiencing this too, and while the buildings have gone to Ashford, nothing has come back."

"Yes of course." ​Bridget​ said, breezing through her comment. "But still, seems doubtful. There's no memory-swapping going on, just getting memories that aren't their own." She fiddled with her necklace (the one benefit of the pageant she'd sooner forget), and looked between the two of them. "No, not as far as I can tell." She took a few more steps forward and picked up one of the books from the pile. "Yes, there doesn't seem to be an exchange of buildings. They go and are gone forever, or show up and don't seem to have any hope of switching back to what used to be." She turned to Brett. "It's not my place to disclose the exact memories, privacy and all, but they were remembering a different family structure than they can have here, and behaviors that are highly uncharacteristic of how they normally act."

"But they were having memories of themselves? Memories that aren't theirs but... are of them." ​Brett​ frowned, reaching for his notebook and starting to jot down notes. "It could well be some sort of glamour but I don't know. It depends on whether the being is purposely doing it or accidentally as well. It could be a side effect, not the actual cause of what's happening." He made sure to note down everything that had been said so far by them all. "It sounds like the two towns are blending then. Not switching, but blending. As in, what's happening is permanent. Which could be a spell." He bit down on the end of his pen, tugging at his hair. "What if this being is giving memories of the person they are in the other town? Their 'what if' selves?"

Roger listened to the two theorizing wordlessly, waiting for them to catch up. It wasn’t their fault they were from Ashkent, they didn’t have any inside experience, so didn’t realise how very disorientating finding yourself in another universe was. "I would disagree, we can't establish that anything is permanent yet. The Horrors were reversible. That said..." He drummed his fingers on his desk. "We've been looking at creatures. This creature could indeed be a spell." But at least it seemed they didn’t think people were changing. Roger wasnt ready to be a boring old sod yet.

"It might be reversible but, I dunno, it could still be some other self." It would make sense, at least somewhat. Why Effie saw some sort of creature neither she nor Bridget could place. Why there wasn't a wholly clear sort of logic to it all. "So a creature that's the side-effect or intended-effect of a spell, you mean?" She bit her lip. She could message Cece about it, should such a thing be needed. She knew a witch now, a real and proper one! But now wasn't the time to offer that up. "I don't know if this is the case for everyone, but some of the visions, or memories, or what-have-yous folks have been experiencing seem, shall we say, less than ideal. As I said, not something they'd dream up for themselves, at least not in full."

"That we haven't thought about..." It could be the side-effect of a spell certainly. Magic tended to leave a trace and what if that's what this was? "If this is a spell, then the being, whatever it is, could potentially be the lesser of two evils, as it were. If this is from a spell, someone must have done the spell to create it, and if that's the case, is it even possible to undo what has been done if the spell is in Ashford?" He tugged on his hair a little more. "Maybe we need to look at spells more, not creatures. Spells that can create something out of nothing maybe? Do we know if the memories can be stopped too? If they can, then that might help us figure out this being."

Roger nodded at Bridget's assertion, closing the book in front of him and reaching for a nearby theory of magic book. These got agonisingly technical, with spinning diagrams - bubble diagrams? - that he'd once seen in the physics books that he'd stumbled across in Cincinatti. "I have no doubt that the memories are memories, just concerned that it may not be the only thing spilling over." He looked at Brett and nodded there too. "The spell is leaking over, and it's still possible that these are the consequences we were warned of last summer. It may well be reversible. But this creature is new, so something has changed." He started flicking through the new text, gesturing at where the other two could find others. "I haven't heard of anyone who specialises in mental magic successfully undoing the memories, but I wouldn't discredit the possibility."

Bridget gave a nod. "It's a fair concern, I agree." She bit her lip. "I -- so if there's alternate places and possible alternate selves, like Brett said, does that make Ashford on another plane of existence or...?" She trailed off, shaking her head, before giving an involuntary cough at mental magic. Flashbacks to that gosh darn pageant that wouldn't let go. She had half a mind to pull the 'Don't you know Bruce? Can't he do something?' card, but now wasn't the time for bringing up times when she'd felt unsafe or uncomfortable, not if they wanted to solve this. "The memories seemed to only start with the arrival of this being, so maybe if we get rid of it, they'll go away? I'm not sure if they're permanent or not."

"So far, we don't know of anyone changing personalities but that could in theory be the next stage of whatever is happening now. As silly as it may seem, it might be wise to see if we can find it, at least so we can get a clearer picture of what we are dealing with." Not the brightest idea when it came to supernatural beings, but if they knew exactly what it looked like, it might be easier to identify. "Ashford could be an alternative dimension. A divergence of a path the town once took." He reached for one of the books, flicking through. "So the spell may have been newly performed then so it could be someone who's in Ashkent right now. That at least might help us find the source and yes, maybe if the being left, it would help stop the memories developing at the very least."

Neither of them could see it, but ​Dodge​ was cackling on the inside, listening to them speculating about his own very existence. He kept the face of studious curiosity. "Mirror dimensions. We have evidence of dimensions that are completely unlike our on, but the theory of universes that are this similar has never been supported by such compelling evidence as now." It was the one thing outside of himself that Roger had researched so studiously, looking for loophole after loophole. "I suggest that we focus our intentions on the being for now, though, it being the immediate threat."

Bridget couldn't help but grin. Well, at least they both seemed to support some of her ideas. Which wasn't totally abnormal, she was able to get some to listen to her when she didn't talk about her particular area of expertise, but it was still nice. "Yup. Plus, what with other towns that follow the pattern of our own existing, having a semi-replica of our own town existing in some parallel or pseudo-parallel world doesn't seem to far off." She dropped the book she'd been paging through on Roger's desk. "Perhaps in researching the being we'll find out more about Ashford and perhaps why it has started to bleed into Ashkent."

"Certainly." ​Brett​ agreed with Roger on that. They had to focus on the memory changer first and then they could focus on Ashkent and Ashford. It could be that they end up with them ending up in Ashford before they got a chance to figure this all out so the sooner, the better. "Does it seem to be going after certain people or is at complete random? Is there any pattern? If there's a pattern, that could help too."

Bridget truly was one for attention. Perhaps not the fierce red head Marley had known, but she seemed thrilled just by their agreements. He was almost worried for her in getting close to Marley, she was far too easy to manipulate. "Exactly, that would be my hope." Every day it felt like the possibility of getting back was growing slimmer, but he could hardly dwell on that now. "It seems to be completely random so far. Hopefully we'll find-" He paused, as the page he turned on seemed obvious. "What about this? It should have hit me sooner." He turned the book to them. Thaumogenesis.

"Well, we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" ​Bridget​ chirped. "But yeah-huh, it's my hope too." She pursed her lips as Roger continued to talk, rising up on her tippie-toes as he turned the book over to them. "Oh!" She practically yelped, before sucking in a breath of air. "A being created as a by-product of a spell. Side-effect, right?" She glanced at the page Roger had opened to, skimming over the words as quickly as she could. "You think this is our thing?"

Brett stared down at the book that Roger showed to them, reading over the information. Oh, if it was going to be anything, that seemed to be it. "I think that could very likely be what we're looking for. Now, we just need to figure out a way of getting it to stop affecting people, or, reverse the spell..." He reached for his notebook, writing down the details. "That definitely seems like it could be it..."

Roger smirked, proud of himself. He could bullshit the research after all. "Black, white eyed, and it would make sense that a spell of this magnitude would result in something like this, and it certainly explains the effects." ​Blood exploded from the man's entire body, coating him and Cecelia in blood from head to toe. Sanguinode, he knew it.​ Roger clenched his teeth, but otherwise gave no recognition to that vividly gruesome memory. He spun the book back towards him, curiously. "We'll need to look elsewhere for that, there are no details of how to stop it in here." Just one sentence caught his eye. Destroying it may undo the spell. Dodge couldn't help the quirk of his lips at that. He might go home.

"Yes, that does indeed explain the effects." ​Bridget​ gave a nod. She watched Roger carefully, as he briefly clenched his teeth. But it was probably nothing, or nothing more than general worry about fixing the town. "Okay. I'm down for trying to figure that out, if you'd like. We'll work this out in no time, I'm sure!"

Brett watched him a little curiously. Things were odd about Roger recently, especially the fact he had actively contacted him and was taking on board his advice. He hadn't been mean to him once or forceful. It was strange. But, he'd worry about that later. He nodded in agreement with Bridget, picking up his folder. "We'll figure this all out."