Session 30 Recap: To Quell a Queen

Though the ninjas had offered to cover it up for her, Daisy refused their help and confessed to murdering her grandparents in cold blood (see Conversation 8). Harold expressed approval for her actions, if not for her messy technique. Kuarjav was not happy with the killings, but allowed Daisy to remain with the Union Army as long as she felt in control of her anger. All in all, the team was accepting of Daisy’s choice to kill the pair of demons that were once her grandparents, and we were able to move on with our explorations in Camaro.

We visited Pirate’s Point, a boisterous city, and acquired Recipe #16 “Hamburger” between buying and selling equipment. The town of Shogamon gave us Recipe #38 “Lobster”, and Qwieg offered up Recipe #52 “French Fries,” our final recipe.

We had the chance to continue the war at that point, but our collection of Unity Rune warriors didn’t feel quite ready to start our final battles, so we put on a few stage productions first. In our production of William Tell, Royce played William Tell, Kuarjav was his Son, Harold was the cruel Lord, Sciath was his Attendant, and Daisy played the entire Crowd, running back and forth and shouting encouragement to William Tell. In Call of the Wind, Harold’s interpretation of Geddoe was gravelly enough to hurt his throat, though he played a sensible Narrator; Daisy appropriately took the role of Sarah; Sciath was Chris, Royce was the Flame Champion, Hugo; Kuarjav played Sasari and, in a twist, Sasari himself played his now-dead brother Luc (though it seems there was no love lost between the luckless brothers). Finally, our interpretation of To Kill A Queen allowed Harold to reprise his gravelly voice as Georg, Sciath played the Narrator, Royce was the Archer and the Assassin, Kuarjav was Ferid, and Daisy got to rant like a madwoman as the doomed queen Arshtat. By the end of our thespian adventures, one could assert with confidence that the Unity Rune heroes were the most skilled actors in the whole castle.

Caesar called us to the War Room to get on with the Camaro assault and filled us in on his plan to send in a small team to infiltrate Chivalry Castle and disable their magical defenses. The only way to get close enough was to have ex-Camaro generals like Janell and Hilda (and Gears) lead the Unity Rune heroes inside. General Gregory found and recognized us almost immediately, but we were able to convince him to help us with the promise that we would try to free the queen from Yuber’s influence rather than simply kill her. He led us inside without sounding the alarm and even allowed us to collect stray pieces of armor, runes, and the Silver Hammer for Massa too. Royce found a switch on a statue that opened a secret wine cellar inexplicably guarded by a rhino named Jake; we recruited the rhino and collected some wine for the bar too. Gregory told the guards to stand down while we continued on our way up some stairs to the queen’s bedroom, where we took one of her fancy dresses and some potch. 

Up on the rooftop, we found the queen standing in a summoning circle, which Daisy tackled her out of before she could react. But the queen immediately blasted Daisy off of her, and the battle broke out while Kuarjav looked for a way to remove the Black Rune of control that he’d spotted on her hand. We wore her down enough for Kuarjav to blast her with a Repent!, which finally destroyed the Black Rune.

The queen fell to the ground, but her body and mind were once again her own. She remembered everything she had done and the harm she had caused, and her reaction was to ask to join us so she could fight Yuber and Windy for betraying her. Kuarjav accepted Queen Dianna’s offer, and so the queen and Gregory both joined our army, officially completing our Tablet of Destiny. With that, Chivalry Castle and all of Camaro surrendered to us, bringing the war one step closer to its conclusion.

“I beg to present you as a Christmas gift the [country of Camaro].” – William Tecumseh Sherman

With the Silver Hammer, Massa was able to upgrade our weapons to level 15 once we returned home (we bought a rabbit named Quik on the way). On a whim, we went to the kitchens and asked Hai Yo to summon the Ghost Chef Otani, who gladly autographed his book for us using telekinesis. And since we had two star chefs at our disposal, the Unity Rune heroes decided to challenge them to a friendly cooking battle!

The Queen of Cuisine, our noble lady has noble taste buds! It’s Dianna!

This four star general loves four star food! Give it up Gregory!

This eccentric genius loves food from far away, brought here by his invention! It’s Gomez!

Bradenton is from Kanarkan, and that means cooking with wine! Trust us on this!

Appetizer: Poutine (french fries+salt): Daisy, Royce: 10,10,10,10

Main Course: Succulent lobster (lobster+sugar): Kuarjav, Harold : 6666

Dessert: Red Velvet Cake (cake+salt): Sciath, Sun Crystal: 10,10,10,10

Total: 104

Cheese platter 9999, lemon chicken 5555, chocolate cream pie 8888

Total: 88

Our reward for somehow defeating two of the top chefs in the world was Recipe #53 “Waffles”! Hai Yo learned how valuable we really were as his assistants all this time, and we moved on to more serious matters.

After a lengthy debate, we settled on renaming Harmonia the Asgardian Union and declared that every province of the AU would get one chance to leave the new country if they so wished (either by one leader’s choice or by referendum of the residents). After that, each province will be legally bound to the central AU authority but still maintain a significant state authority (essentially early US-style but with only one house of Congress; strong state powers but some central authority and one currency).

And so the war soon draws to a close. Before long, warriors will seek out new challenges, refugees will start building new homes, and everyone will get on with their lives. There are those in Liberty Castle who watch the approaching finish line with trepidation, wondering what place there will be for them in the new world. But our army spokesman has no such fears. “My dear sirs, when peace does come, you may call on me for anything. Then will I share with you the last cracker, and watch with you to shield your homes and families against danger from every quarter.” – William Tecumseh Sherman

 

Recruited: Dianna, Gregory

Investigations: Dianna, Gregory, Bradenton, Mitch, Dale

Conversation 8: Daisy and the family

Our last one!

Green: Daisy

GM: Black

Simon’s family

Leknaat teleports you without question to the City of Delon, where Simon's family is said to reside. Xander gave you an address, and you find the Rune shop where Fiona, Simon’s widow, works. They have an apartment over the shop.

Daisy casually entered the shop, trying to remember if she had already met the woman Xander had described. Unfortunately, one shopkeeper seemed to blend with any other in her mind. She shook her head to clear it and called out for assistance as she strolled in, hoping it would be the widow who responded.

"Hi there!" a woman responds. "I'm Fiona, the owner. Did you need something today? A rune attached, perhaps?" she asks.

"Uh..." Daisy scratched her head, wondering how to begin. "Actually, runes aren't really my thing. I've never been able to use active ones. But I wanted to talk with you about something. Do you mind if we sit down somewhere?"

"Hm? Sure, why not? It's almost closing time anyway. Penelope!" The woman calls, and down the stairs in the back, a young woman comes down.

"What's up?" she asks.

"My daughter, Penelope," Fiona explains. "I have a guest. Could you watch the shop for a little bit, and close up tonight?"

"Me?! Sure, I can handle that!" she practically yells.

"Thank you. Now, my dear... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name?" Fiona turns to you.

"Oh, right. My name's Daisy. Daisy Saint-Anicet. I'm 100 percent sure that he never would have mentioned me, but I'm Simon's niece," she said slowly.

"Oh!" Fiona and Penelope both exclaim. "This is wonderful!" Fiona says, grabbing you in a hug. "I never knew Simon had siblings. His parents are quite judgmental of us, so I wouldn't put it past them to keep something like that secret. They can be real demons at times, don't you think?"

"You don't know the half of it," Daisy said grimly. "But I might as well tell you a little more about me first. My mom, Simon's sister Rose, died giving birth to me in Highland. I never met Simon, but I hired a detective to find out if I had any relatives on my mom's side. My dad's no nobleman, so those bastards who happen to be my grandparents shunned us, too." She tried to stay calm, but being faced with yet another family who had suffered greatly at her grandparents' hands made her whole body shake.

"Oh, you poor thing. I'm so sorry to hear about your mom. I'm sure I would have loved meeting her, and Simon would too. I doubt you'll get anywhere with my in laws, but you are welcome here at least. I'm sorry to say my husband isn't in right now. He went to go check in on his grandparents a while ago, and he's not come back. To be honest, I'm starting to get a bit worried about what might have happened."

She starts to lead you upstairs to where you can sit, and as you go, Penelope yells out.

"See you later, cousin!" and gives you a wink when you turn.

Daisy waved mutely to her new cousin and followed her aunt up the stairs. "I wish Simon could have been here today," she sighed. "He and his parents must have had nothing in common, to have married someone like you. I guess crazy skips a generation."

"I say that all the time!" Fiona laughs. "Simon will be so thrilled to see you when he comes home. Honestly, I don't know what to do about that man. His parents are probably making him work for them again, and he's too timid to stand up to them."

"I wish that were true," Daisy murmured, directing her aunt to the first chair she saw. "He was a braver man than most to even speak to his parents ever again once he'd managed to get away from them. Fiona, Simon... Simon is dead."

"Huh?" Fiona says, clearly taken aback. "What did you say? I mean...that can't possibly be true... I'm sure he's just late, is all..." she says, her face going white. You don't know who she's trying to convince, herself or you.

"I'm sorry, Fiona," Daisy said, pained. "I never did get to meet him. I've had it confirmed from several sources to find out what happened, and I'm sure now. I have his... I have the culprits in the dungeon at Liberty Castle." Daisy looked away, suddenly finding it difficult to tell her the truth.

"Oh god, no, this can't be happening....this can't be happening...." she starts muttering, as she sits down. "You...you're sure then? There's no doubt? I mean, how could he be...? It just doesn't make sense. He was just visiting his parents!"

Daisy bit her lip, coming to a snap decision. "It's this war that caused it. You've surely heard about the hordes of demons that have been sweeping Harmonia, especially the Crystal Valley. We've been wiping them out as best we can, but it wasn't safe to return to Crystal Valley yet. Simon's parents are dead as well. I'm so sorry, Fiona."

Fiona nods, amid tears. "Well, it couldn't have happened to better people. But poor Simon. God, how am I going to tell the kids? This... is just too much to take in right now. I know we just met Daisy, but would you mind coming back later? I think I just need to be alone for a while. I'm sorry."

Daisy stepped back at once. "Of course. You'll need time. I live at Liberty Castle if you want to find me, or I'll... I'll come back in a couple of days. See you." Daisy left the shop without waiting for an answer and used the blinking mirror. Back at the castle, she headed straight for the dungeons. Daisy returned to her grandparents' cell and folded her arms. "I've just told Fiona and their children about Simon. Just out of curiosity, have you caused any other atrocities that I need to take responsibility for?" she said coldly.

"Fiona? That human bitch? Why would you give a damn about her? Her bloodline isn't impressive, as I told Simon time and time again. Dumb boy just wouldn't listen. He learned the price of that, didn't he though?" the woman cackles.

"You keep saying human as though it's something separate from yourself... And you know, you're completely right. It's disgusting that you'd even pretend to be as good as human. Those bodies are nothing but a mask. Why don't I rip some of that skin off for you and help you see what's underneath?" Daisy growled, going bear as she finished her threat. If nothing prevents her, Daisy will slaughter both of them then and there and rip them to pieces.

((Well, there would be a guard on duty, but he's nowhere near strong enough to stop you. And neither are they. So if you like, we can say that the guard yells at you to stop, but you don't. You can barge in and rip them to shreds without a problem. They fight back and might hurt you - I had the odd idea of one giving you a scar somewhere to remind you of them - but unless you want it to be, it won't be anything serious. The only question now is, what do you do now that you're covered in their blood and have a guard to witness what you did?))

Daisy shrank back into her human form, standing on the mangled remains of the jail cell... and the Saint-Anicets. She was breathing hard. Daisy had been in countless battles, but this was the first time in her life that she had forgotten to draw her sword and relied only on her teeth and claws, and she had a few wounds to show for it now. Killing someone with her bare hands had been messier, more wild, and more intimate than hacking and slashing, but it wasn't bad. As she wiped the demon blood from her eyes and gave the rest of her body an animal shake, she felt only pleasure at what she had done.

The young berserker looked up from her handiwork and spotted the guard. She'd been half-aware of his protests, but not nearly enough to care. "Hey, do you guys keep any water or towels down here?" she asked, smiling.

((I'd say one of the demons managed to claw at your arm, leaving a scar on your forearm. It will be circular, almost star-shaped.))

The guard nods. "T-there's a fountain for prisoner drinking water, ma'am. That way!" He says, pointing, and getting out of your way. Your inner bear can smell the fear on him.

Daisy glanced at the guard as she passed, blood dripping from her hair. "You're scared. Don't worry; we'll all be better off without a couple of demons locked up in the basement. You don't have anyone left to guard, right? You can take the rest of the day off." She followed his directions to the fountain and dumped a bucket of water over her head, trying to wash off the worst of the blood and gore.

As you wash off, you hear some movement down the hall. As you turn, you see Cassie, Diaz, and a team of security ninja's scramble in.

"Daisy!" Cassie yells out. "What happened in here?! We heard screaming. Are you alright?"

"Screaming? I guess that was them," Daisy shrugged and waved at the ruined cell in an off-handed way. "Those demons weren't going to give us any more information, so I made sure they won't be hurting anyone else. I don't need any help, but since you're here, would you mind getting someone to clean this up? You never know when we'll be needing one of these cells again."

"Oh...ok," Cassie says. "George, Wade, and Jules, work on cleaning the um, mess up, would you?" She directs three of her ninjas, and they head off, grudgingly.

"You sure you're ok Daisy?" Cassie asks. "I heard those....prisoners were once family of yours. And um, I know you're not the most politically minded, but we generally frown upon executing prisoners like this. Did something happen?"

"My grandparents got what they deserved," Daisy said flatly. "And if I could kill them again for every child they've forced to grow up without a parent, I would. This isn't about politics. It's about family, and it's no one's business but mine." She frowned, sensing an objection already. "But if it'll make you happy, I'll tell Kuarjav and the others next time I see them. That work for you, Cassie?"

"There's no need for that," Diaz says, speaking up. "I'm sure we can make up a report of how they were killed trying to escape."

Cassie nods. "As you say, this was your decision to make, but next time, you might want to use some more caution, is all."

Daisy snorted. "Caution. Right. I'll keep that in mind. I don't want you lying about this, though. Kuarjav has the right to know, and if he decides that it's time for me to leave the Union Army, so be it." With that, Daisy went to find a change of clothes and started to think about where she might go looking for her next job.

Session 29 Recap: Retribution Against Relos, and a Win for a Windamier

After perusing the comment box and listening to Ramza ramble on for a while, we decided to address some of the issues and curiosities popping up around the castle. Gremio, McDohl’s friend and attendant, had us over for dinner and taught us the recipe for his “Special Stew”. Daisy tried to talk to Lilly about her spoiled, self-centered attitude and history of abusing her servants Samus and Reed and got absolutely nowhere. The berserker also discussed demons with Jeane, as her half-demon grandparents were much on her mind, but Jeane would only tell her that the transformed Saint-Anicets were nothing like “true” demons. We all got together to ask Harold and Anna what they intended to do with their brother the next time we faced him, and they coolly explained that it was all the same to them if Henry ended up dead or locked up in a labor camp for the rest of his life. He was no longer their brother (killing someone’s parents can do that). Finally, Daisy chatted with the Star Dragon Sword on her belt to find out where he’d been since her father had given him up.

We took a break from playing counselor and headed to the kitchen for lunch, but instead we found Hai Yo in a panic over the arrival of Grand Master Mifune, the apparently-not-deceased elder of the Black Dragon Isle! Mifune had faked his own death in order to encourage Hai Yo to fight to become the next leader and participate in the tournament (i.e. the constant flow of challengers to the castle). As his assistant, Mifune summoned the Ghost Chef of Hell, Otani, and the final challenge was on!

The former Ruler of Harmonia, Hikusaak is said to be a lover of Chinese!

Sasari is said to love food from the earth, from veggies to noodles!

Give it up for our army strategist, Caesar! He loves his namesake salads!

The seer who sees all! Can she see who wins? It’s Leknaat!

Appetizer: Caesar Salad (Salad+no spice): Sciath, Kuarjav: 8,8,10,8

Main Course: Tempura-don (tempura+hot sauce): Harold, Daisy: 9,9,8,10

Dessert: Bacon Hot Fudge Sundae (bacon+chocolate sauce): Royce, Hai Yo: 10,10,10,10

Total: 108

Steve’s Soup 10,10,10,10; Full Course Meal 7777, Milkshakes 10,10,10,10

Total: 100

It was our closest fight yet, but Hai Yo’s team won with the auspicious score of 108. Our rewards were Recipe #43 “Milkshake” and Recipe #50 “Full Course”. On top of that, Mifune named Hai Yo the new leader of the Black Dragon Isle and promptly left to go fill out paperwork (which should be finished by the time this war is over).

As we celebrated our cooking victory, one of the castle’s defensive ninjas ran in shouting that a group of powerful warriors were at the gate demanding to see some people named Pilika and Jilia. We arrived to find the four warriors bowling through our gate guards, but when we demanded an explanation, the first man (Jowy) only rushed Daisy and challenged her to a duel, which she won. Kuarjav dueled one of the girls, Nanami, in a cinematic cutscene on a tightrope suspended between two castle towers in the middle of a thunderstorm, and won their sudden-death combat. Back on the ground, Harold dueled and defeated Riou the silent hero (of Suikoden II) with a fancy flourish, and the fourth invader, Eilie, simply watched. With everyone slightly calmed, Daisy tried to question the four about Jilia and Pilika (who only she knew to be the real identities of Juliet and Patricia), but at that moment the two ladies in question came running out of the castle and hugged Jowy. Daisy tried talking to them and learned that Jowy was Jilia’s husband and none other than the deposed king of Highland (now the Higheast province of Dunan)! But Jilia still wanted to maintain her cover as Juliet as best she could, and would say no more.

When asked for comment about the addition of the Dunan heroes Riou and Jowy to our forces, the army spokesman responded only with: “It's a disagreeable thing to be whipped.” – William Tecumseh Sherman. What does our mysterious spokesman know about the pasts of these two young men?

Without warning, Yuber appeared at the castle gate and thanked Jowy’s group for taking care of the first wave of guards for him. He produced a black orb that released a magical mist called Demon’s Breath, which paralyzed everyone but demons who inhaled it. We all fell to the ground, helpless, but before he could finish us off, we were rescued by Pesmerga, who was tellingly immune to the mist. Another cinematic duel unfolded across the castle grounds; the two were soon joined by Jeane and Faye, who supported Pesmerga with powerful blasts of rune magic. Yuber fled, but not before informing us that he was only the distraction this time.

Rodin Relos stepped out of the castle holding the tattered remains of the Chronos Rune dress and unleashed the rune’s power on us, again a dozen of our soldiers to death in an instant. We attacked while Jeane and Faye tried to contain his power, and when Kuarjav got out the final Repent!, the True Rune went out of control and sucked Relos’ last years out. But even as Relos was aged to death, the Chronos Rune had the opposite effect on nearby Kuarjav and gave him back about thirty years of his life. While we marveled at Kuarjav’s newfound youth, Grey, the woman who helped us tap into the power of the Unity Rune to save Vasuki months ago, appeared once again to help Jeane and Faye chant a spell on contain the Chronos Rune. It disappeared to go its own way, and Grey agreed to join our forces to help contain Yuber’s evil as well.

No sooner had Grey pledged to help us than Chris Lightfellow of Zexen (and Suikoden III fame) showed up at the gates with important news. Camaro had begun an attack against Zexen with demons and Yuber’s abominable ability to transform innocent people, and Zexen wanted our help to coordinate an attack against our common enemy. The plan was for Zexen to attack Qwieg fortress while the Union Army went after Fort Dorton, and in exchange for our assistance, Zexen was willing to pardon Harold Windamier for all outstanding warrants against him. With that, Chris officially joined our team as well to represent the knights of Zexen.

There was no more time for hesitation; we had to begin the plunge towards the heart of Camaro in order to end the queen’s threat once and for all. “[Our] aim, then, was to whip [Camaro], to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom.”— William Tecumseh Sherman. The brothers Silverberg took charge of the Dorton offensive and separated us into two parties. While Caesar led the bulk of the forces outside the gates, Albert, Janell, and the Unity Heroes snuck inside disguised as Camaro soldiers in order to take out the leaders of the fort. The soldiers who recognized Janell welcomed her back to their side, but in the end we had to fight through a few waves of them to reach Henry, the commander of the fort. Henry and Harold exchanged words for the last time; we learned that Henry respected Yuber for having the power to turn meaningless peasants into something worthwhile at last. Harold responded that his former brother had forgotten the true heart of nobility, and so was now beneath him.

Henry was beaten easily, but he wasn’t willing to run this time – he knew that “Lady Windy” would not welcome him back if he failed her again. In desperation, he begged Yuber to lend him his power, and the latter granted it to him in such an offhand way that he clearly didn’t care what happened to Henry either. Harold’s brother was instantly transformed into a huge demon, which might have been intimidating if Harold hadn’t said that there was no need to fear any form that still had Henry’s cowardly soul inside it. Harold got the final blow, and his face was calm as his brother resumed his human form to die. Daisy gave him a thump on the back, and that was that.

As Henry fell, Albert was also dropped by Yuber in a different fight, where Albert had been trying to protect a small child. We rushed to aid Albert, but Yuber had already seen the fort’s defeat and fled once more, leaving us to take Albert back to our medical ward. Caesar and Albert had a touching reconciliation and Albert said protecting the weak like that child was something he’d learned from his brother. In spite of all that, though, Albert will be all right, so no worries. And for next time, our reports say that with our recent captures we will now have access to Qwieg, Pirate’s Point, Shogomon to explore!

It is inevitable that we will soon confront Grant again, probably for the last time. Thanks to all of us sharing a piece of the True Unity Rune, we have shared a connection with Grant that, for better or worse, has given us power. The Unity Rune gained its first level of magic when we betrayed Miles, and the second was earned by Grant’s desertion to Camaro. The True Rune has since grown to level four through a combination of moments of Friendship and Betrayal. Grant’s betrayal still leaves us with a few questions, namely, has Grant really betrayed us for good? Why would he join forces with the same army as Relos, who murdered his wife and sent him to Orbel mines in the first place? And what will it take to convince Grant to join up with the Union Army again?

Our army spokesman, who we recently learned is an old friend of Grant’s and sometimes likes to adopt Harold’s turn of phrase, had this to say: “Grant's whole character was a mystery even to himself--a combination of strength and weakness not paralleled by any of whom I have read in Ancient or Modern History....” – William Tecumseh Sherman

Recruited: Grey, Chris

(Unofficial recruits: Jowy, Riou, Nanami, Eilie)

Investigations: Grey, Chris, Percy, Byron, Leah