Nicolle quickly comes in and heals Leah and myself. While she does this, Chris is searching the knights’ body for a key.

“Don’t worry about it,” Leah says rubbing her nose. “I can always pick the lo-“ She stops when Nicolle glares at her.

“You promised you would never do that again!” Nicolle puts her hands on her hips and frowns.

Rolling over the knight, Chris says, “She might have to. I can’t find a key on this guy anywhere.”

“Maybe it’s in the next room?” I offer.

“One way to find out,” Leah says as we walk over to cell room.

Inside is about four large cells and another door, presumably leading to where the prisoners’ possessions are located. Each cell houses four people. Leah and Nicolle rush to the cell farthest from the door.

“Aaron!” Nicolle shouts, sounding relieved.

“Nicolle? What are you doing here?” A man wearing light leather chest plate, green tunic, and brown slacks asks. Beside him is a boy about my age wearing a red hooded cape that is wrapped tightly around his small frame.

“We’re here to save your ass,” Leah says as she examines the lock. “Do you know where the key is?”

“No clue,” the boy says, “If I still had my tome, I could just blow the door open.”

“Sure you could. Now shut the fuck up and let me work.”

“Leah!” Nicolle exclaims.

“Shh!”

“So, who’re your friends?” The boy asks.

“I’m Mel, and this is Chris,” I drag Chris over so he can be properly introduced. “We’re part of the Renais royal army.”

>>35526015
“The Renais army?” Another prisoner says. “They’re here?”

Chris walks over to the other cell. “We’re a small squad that was tasked with liberating the town while we make our way south to disrupt the Grado supply chain.” He looks over the other prisoners. “Is everyone here part of your group?”

“No, most of them were already locked up here when we got thrown in here.” The mage answers from his cell.

One of the other prisoners adds, “We’re members of the town guard, or what remains of it. When the Grado army first showed up, it was just a small squad that demanded our surrender. When we refused they sounded the horn and we were rushed by a large bulk of their army. Some of us decided it was better to fight and hope to kill someone important in the process, and the rest of us, well, you can see what happened to us.”

“Got it!” Leah cheers as the cell door swings inward.

“Alright, can you get to work on the others?”

Shrugging, she just silently gets to work on the next lock.

>What do you do while she works?
>>Check equipment

I decide to check up on my equipment, My Iron Lance, still strapped to my back, is in pristine condition and my Slim Lance is looking worn. I should probably consider retiring it soon. I’ve still got two full vulneraries and an antitoxin. The shopkeeper had told me vulneraries speed up the healing process for a short period of time, but shouldn’t be used in the middle of combat. Maybe I should use one next time I get injured instead of having Nicolle heal me.

My armor is looking a little weathered too, but that’s nothing to worry about. I can always get new armor, or get this patched up later. For now, it’s in far better condition that most would expect.

>What now?
>[]Talk to someone?
>[X]Examine the other door?
>[]Check the perimeter?

>>35526031

After checking my equipment, I go and inspect the other door. It’s a solid wood door, and from the looks of it, thick too. It’s locked and bolted in place. Surprisingly, there’s three locks on the door, each seems to be opened by a different key. The hinges on the door look to be the weakest parts of it, being rusted and possibly underused. “What’s behind here?” I ask the prisoners.

“That’s solitary confinement. It’s where we keep the worst troublemakers. Haven’t had to use it in over a year, but I heard that before the soldiers brought us in they locked someone up in there.”

Hmmm…

If there is someone in there, they might be helpful. Grado wouldn’t lock someone up in a room like this unless they were a threat to them.

>[]Open the door
{}Break it down
{}Have Leah pick the locks
>[]Too risky, keep it shut for now.
{}Search the perimeter
{}Talk to someone (who?)

>>35526056
>[x] open the door
>{x} have Leah pick the locks

In the state the Grado army is currently in, I doubt they're locking anyone up for war crimes. (Hi, Valter.)

>>35526056
>[x] open the door
>{x} have Leah pick the locks

>>35525974
can someone share general info on what those stats mean? I am not familiar with fire emblem

>>35526056
>[x] open the door
>{x} have Leah pick the locks
Last time I remember Grado locking someone up, I got a Dark Mage out of the deal.

>>35526650
Recruit is your Class, Weapon Level affects what tier of weapon you can use, and Supports are how close you are to another unit and how well you work together.

If you have more questions feel free to ask, I'll do my best to answer them and so will Candlewick (If he's not too busy playing Destiny that is...)

>>35526750
thank you for clarifying

so, weapon level doesn't improve our fighting skill at all? only unlocks higher tier weapons?

what are some typical level ranges for people in this world, as well as soldiers we face?

how big a deal is a level, that is, what are our chances vs someone who is twice our level

>>35525974
link the thread when you tweet 'bout it

>Open the door
Have Leah pick the locks

>>35526650
Level maxes at 20, but we can promote to a better class starting at 10. Though our class now is Recruit, which is a Trainee class. This maxes at 10, then we can choose to become a Cavalier (mounted unit), or Knight (heavy armor), unless the QM wants to change it up a bit. Weapon Rank E<D<C<B<A and sometimes S. Higher ranks mean you're better with that weapon. Support ranks are closeness with a particular soldier, ranging E<D<C<B<A<S, S typically being marriage, so you can only have one S Support. The closer you are, the more benefits of fighting beside that person. So basically, we're just getting close to our friends, and we're getting decent with a lance, soon we'll be a real soldier.

>>35526830
thanks
how many classes can we evolve through before maxing out?

>>35526792
Weapon level (In game) provides a slight boost to your hit rate, damage, and if I recall correctly, Critical chances. For our purposes, it will determine how well you can handle the heavier/more versatile Lances.

As for the level of your enemies? Those will vary by their Importance, Rank in the army, and QM reasons. Simply put, I won't trow a Character who has reached Level 20 in their first and Second Class Tiers at you any time soon. (Note: With the exceptions of Trainees, there are only TWO Tiers for classes. Unpromoted and Promoted.)

And Levels are a pretty big deal. I mean, you wouldn't want to fight a guy with twice the combat experience than you have would you? But it is still possible to win. I don't like the idea of "completely unwinnable" scenarios. It may SEEM unwinnable, but there is always a way.

>>35526792
It unlocks better weapons by virtue of you supposedly being able to use them better. Typically the higher ranked weapons are heavier, so they do more damage but trade off with lower accuracy. Typical levels for enemies just depends on how far you are in the game, but very few of them are ever max level. You chances against people higher level is not all that great solo, but they can be overcome relatively easily through teamwork. Though by the time you're level 15 things should be a cakewalk.

>>35526864
Recruit can become Cavalier (mounted, sword and spear) or Knight(armor and spears). Cavalier Can promote to Great Knight (Armor and Mount, use axes, spears, and swords), or Paladin (faster mount, spear and sword). Knights can also become Great Knights, or can promote to General (Armor, Spear, sword, axe, has a skill that, if activated, negates all damage that combat round).

>>35526056
“Hey, Leah, how much longer are those doors going to take?” I ask, all the while still examining the door.

“Eh, shouldn’t be too much longer now. I’ve only got two more after this one, and the locks on those look pretty shoddy.” That last bit seems directed at the prisoners. “Hell, they could probably break the door open if they tried hard enough.”

“Well, when you finish up I’d like you to open this door here.” I knock on it slightly so she knows what I’m talking about.

She swings her current door wide open and strolls over to me. “I’ll get right on it. They can bust themselves out now.” A couple of the captives grumble, but start throwing themselves against the door as their comrades attempt to smash the locks. “Now then, are you sure we can’t just bust it down? No one’ll miss this shitty door.”

“Sorry, they might need the door later.” I say with a chuckle.

“Ah fine, give me a moment.” She gets to work with a grin on her face. “Might want to get comfy, this may take a minute or fifteen.”

While she does that, I…
>Talk to someone (Who?)
>Quick Check around the perimeter (Roll 1d100. Best of 3)

>>35527069
Take to the mage child.

Rolled 99 (1d100)

>Quick Check around the perimeter (Roll 1d100. Best of 3)

>>35527069
can we search around the prison for the confiscated equipment of the prisoners to rearm them?

>>35527189
That's part of Searching the Perimeter.

Rolled 56 (1d100)

>>35527069
check perimeter

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>35527069
>Quick Check around the perimeter (Roll 1d100. Best of 3)

I should look for the prisoners’ weapons, and make sure there aren’t any patrols nearby. “Chris, keep an eye on everyone, I’m going to take a look around real quick.”

“Can do, just don’t go too far.” We nod at each other and then I step out into the first room.

The room, at first glance, appears bland, there’s a desk near the cell block door, a destroyed chair in the center of the room near the knight that was guarding the building, and of course the door leading outside. Something I didn’t notice earlier is that there’s a trap door off in the corner opposite the cells.

Carefully, I lift open the door and peer inside. Due to the time of night, and the lack of candles and torches down there it is quite hard to see, but from what I can see there’s a ladder leading down and a small pile of weapons just off to the side. It’s faint, but I think I can hear something down there, sounds like something is scrapping against the stone floor.

>What do you do?

>>35527751
Ask Chris if his eyes can see any better.

>>35527751
I slowly close the trapdoor and make my way back to the cells where I find that Leah has finished with the first lock and is now working on the second, her grin now faded into annoyance. “Hey, Chris, how well can you see in the dark?” I ask the archer.

“Fairly well, why?” He looks up from a small parchment he set out in front of himself.

“I think I might have found their weapons, but it’s a little dark so I’m not sure.”

“Didn’t bring a torch?” He asks with a smirk.

“Did you?” I shoot back.

“Fair enough,” he responds with a shrug. “Lead the way. I bring him to the trap door and open it slowly. After a moment of staring down the hole he says, “Looks like it’s a store room. There look to be crates down there too, but I can’t tell from up here. And then there’s that scraping sound. Could be rats down there, or it could be another guard who’s waiting to ambush us.” There’s a moment of silence between us before he stands up, “There were a couple torches just outside, wait here while I go grab one.”

When he comes back he hands me a lit torch which illuminates the room nicely, as well as part of the cellar. He was right, there are crates down there, but I can’t read the labels from up here.

>What now?

>>35528353
> Have Chris stand over the trap door in order to have a firing arc that will cover our back when we reach the bottom
> Take the ladder down
> When we reach the bottom, have Chris come down and join us
Let's do this the safe, paranoid way.

>>35528442
Seconding.

>>35528442
I feel I should mention that the Trapdoor is just large enough for one person to go down comfortably. I doubt that will really change things too much, it's just something I forgot to mention.

>>35528636
I still say go for it.

File: d42e6a7eafbbc11270ced2d53(...).jpg (398 KB, 1280x1024)

398 KB JPG

“Okay, I’m going down.” Handing Chris the torch I say, “Hold this for me. When I reach the bottom come join me.”

“Got it.”

The ladder is built into the wall with metal rungs, so I’m not worried about it breaking on me. I am, however, worried about what could be down there. I make sure my equipment is secured properly and then I climb down. It isn’t a particularly deep cellar, maybe seven or eight feet from the floor to the ceiling.

From my new vantage point I can clearly make out the labels on the crates. “Oil.” Oil? Who stores Oil in crates?

“Hey, can you take this torch for a moment?”

“Wait just a second! Could be oil down here.” The light dims a little as Chris likely pulls the torch away from the hole. Using my lance I crack the top off of one of the crates and inside are flasks, water skins, and sealed jars of oil. “Chris, is there any way for you to leave the torch up there and still have it shine down here?”

“Already working on that.” He calls back. Nodding in satisfaction I close the crate and turn towards the increasingly louder scraping sound.

I find myself faced with a gigantic spider, almost as tall as the room, and just as ugly as any other spider I’ve ever seen.

Its forelegs raise up…
>REACT TO THE GIANT EVIL SPIDER!

Rolled 42 (1d100)

>>35529118
React back up the fucking ladder. We're going to wait till everyone is free and torch the place to the ground.

Going back up the ladder may have been the fastest I’ve moved in years. First of all, I’m terrified of spiders, second of all that was a BIG spider, and third it tore through the crate I was standing at.

“Uh, what was that?” Chris asks me as the beast skitters away out of sight.

“That was a really big spider.”

“Uh-huh, and rather than kill it, you ran up here. Without their weapons. And we’ll have to go back for them.”

“…”

>Response?

>>35529751
it is an animal, it doesn't do tactics. we can just shoot or throw stuff at it from up here and then kill it as it tries to crawl up the opening at us.

>>35529751
I am scared of spiders...
followed by >>35531376

>>35529751
Captcha keeps failing

Hold the torch down there and tell him to peek his head through and see it.