With hastily-laid plans to distract the demon army and try to lure them into the elven forest with our main forces, the Unity Rune team teleported straight into the Crystal Valley to try and secure any True Runes we could find. We’d assigned other soldiers to evacuate as many people as we could, so we made a beeline for the One Temple library, where Harold had been before. Royce had intended to set fires to damage the demon army as we retreated afterwards, but the city was already engulfed in flames when we arrived. The Camaro demons had a head start on us; smoke and screams filled the air on all sides. The innumerable gargoyle-like monsters seemed to be out of control. Lucky for us, though, we found when we were forced to fight that Kuarjav’s Repent! spell did double damage to the unholy creatures.
Harold led us straight to the One Temple, the biggest center of learning in the Suikoden world, and claimed that he’d once been held and tortured there while searching for information on the True Runes some time ago. On the steps of the temple, we spotted Henry, Harold’s brother, somehow commanding a legion of the Camaro demons trying to break into the temple. Priest General Wanda, an elderly Harmonian witch, was holding them off as best she could, but her forces were being ripped apart. Harold and Daisy set about taunting Henry mercilessly while the others snuck around behind him, and a whirlwind battle ensued in which Sciath chain-spelled him into submission. Wanda informed us that the Order of God had gone inside to try and activate some sort of “secret weapon”, and it was her job to hold off the demons and keep up the barrier around the One Temple. Either convinced that we were Harmonian operatives or too desperate to care who we really were, she lowered the barrier just enough for us to run inside and find some way to help, or perhaps find an escape tunnel for everyone.
We found the One Temple still mercifully demon-free, but scores of civilians were huddled down every hallway and behind every stack, desperately hoping for rescue. They were so encouraged to see us that they gave us random supplies as we searched the place, like kraken plans #2, a Medicine Rune, a Noble hat, and a Strategist Diploma. Harold tried to direct us through the maze of rooms, but it seemed to have been a long time since his last visit. But finally, we found a secret passage guarded by a fellow without a head (seemingly beheaded by magic). He was stripped of a Goblin Tunic and we proceeded down the long, narrow passage, which went many floors down and was lined with far too many books for such a space. The rooms we passed along the way were packed tightly as well, full of books and notes about conspiracies, true histories, and the sort of Harmonian secrets that Lyn the Reporter would probably trade an arm for. In one of these rooms, we stumbled across a man named Brian who couldn’t decide which books to save. He stated in no uncertain terms that as the head librarian of the One Temple, he could not leave without his books. Daisy offered to help him carry as many of the most important books as we could, and that was enough to convince him to flee with us for his life. Luckily, Brian also had the keys to every room in the One Temple, which made our progress downwards much easier after that.
As we opened one door, who should come bursting out but Head Bishop Rodin Relos himself, trying to escape. When Daisy and the others grabbed him, he yelled something about the Order of God going crazy and trying to use the True Runes, and that he had to get out of there. We tried to question him further, but he wouldn’t even admit to having made the alliance with Camaro we’d seen on that fateful night, and seemed frantic to flee. He pulled out an escape talisman when we wouldn’t release him, and Daisy promptly broke his arm to make him drop it. He was still a powerful magic-user on his own, though, and used his fire magic to blast us away from him and escape, cursing us all the while.
There was no time to chase him, so we ran into the room he’d just vacated and found ourselves in the Rune Lab, which consisted of a long catwalk over 27 vats designed to hold each of the True Runes. Only one vat was occupied, that of the True Chronos Rune. Lying dead before it were the four charred bodies of the Order of God (Kuarjav recognized the robes). We wondered if Relos had murdered them, but since there seemed no way for us to remove the rune at present, we continued our search of the place. Daisy took note that the vat for the Night Rune was empty, and a note on the front said that their efforts to control the Star Dragon Sword thus far had failed, though there was no clue as to where the rune sword might be now. Harold, for his part, was overjoyed to find his old Rose Brooch at last, lying unnoticed in the very place where he had dropped it on his previous visit.
At the end of the long room, two men emerged from the door to the innermost chamber: Priest General Bryce, the possessor of the True Domination Rune, and a drowsy Hikusaak being carried in his arms. Bryce explained that Emperor Hikusaak had to be taken to safety, and Bryce’s rune could transfer the Chronos Rune to one of our weapons in order to provide enough distraction for the two of them to escape; he even said we could keep the True Chronos Rune as payment for saving the emperor’s life. We had a hurried discussion and agreed to affix the True Chronos Rune to Daisy’s sword, granting it powers as yet unknown. Bryce would not tell us where he and Hikusaak were going, so Harold and Xander snuck off to follow them while the rest of us went back out the front to cause a ruckus. (As a note, we also found Old Books Volume 10 and 2, a Wind God Robe, and an Earth God Robe, and got Volume 2 autographed by Hikuusak in his half-asleep state.)
As Bryce and Hikusaak escaped through a secret passage, followed by Harold and Xander in disguise and the civilians from the library, the rest of us marched upstairs to find the barrier dispelled and Wanda dead at Yuber’s sword. He spat insults at us like “True Rune bastards,” and Daisy said, “You don’t know how right you are!” as she lifted her powerful new weapon. He teleported away from her attack and claimed he didn’t have to fight us himself; his powers drew a terrified woman from the crowd onto his sword as a sacrifice and summoned a horrible Bone Dragon. Our attacks eventually bested it, ending with Daisy’s finishing cinematic blow, but Yuber only commented on Daisy’s interesting new weapon and selected a new sacrifice from the fleeing crowd. To the screaming of a young woman, he tried to pull her noble-looking companion onto his sword (“Her royal blood would make for a mighty sacrifice – a beast of such power even you can't defeat it!”), but before Daisy could save her a powerful lightning bolt struck Yuber’s back and sent him flying. The vampire Sierra showed up, telling Nash she’d arrived as soon as she could and rallied the townspeople against the demons. Daisy tried once again to strike Yuber, but he was gone in an instant again, apparently thinking better of taking on so many True Runes at once. With Sierra’s help, the team helped evacuate as many civilians as we could, including the “royal” woman and her companion, and fled on dragonback to Liberty Castle.
To our dismay, the demons followed and marched on Liberty Castle next, forcing us to begin evacuating our own civilians to the northern naval base. The forces that stayed behind prepared for an army battle where our chances of victory seemed dim. Our opponents were Yuber, Relos, Grant, Henry, Queen Diana, and Prime Minister Gail of Camaro, with Gregory and the other Camaro generals we’d seen before conspicuously absent. Gail declared that they fought for “the glory of Camaro;” oddly enough, the queen herself said nothing. As soon as the battle began, Gail used her Back Gate Rune to teleport Yuber right up to Kuarjav, but our noble leader and Flik’s forces managed to force Yuber into retreat. Our power seemed to surprise the Camaro forces, for we managed to win several notable encounters on the battlefield before we were forced to retreat back to the castle.
As we debated our next course of action and Ramza mentioned how Yuber’e demonic forces had been summoned and driven back in Toran once before, a blind seeress named Leknaat showed up and offered to help. According to her explanation, the Camaro Prime Minister, Gail, is actually her sister Windy, who has summoned Yuber before and holds the other half of Leknaat’s True Gate Rune (Leknaat has the Front, and Windy the Back). We all focused our minds and the power of the Unity Rune, and with the help of our power Leknaat was able to banish a large portion of the demon army, leaving us with an enemy that we might be able to challenge. Leknaat officially lent us her power and gave us the Tablet of Destiny, taking her place as a Star for the very first time.
To our surprise, when he learned what had happened to Hikusaak, Priest General Sasari said that “Harmonia is officially over” and “my duty is over”, then offered to join our forces. We agreed, of course, but there is still much to learn about many of our strange new allies and what it really means for Emperor Hikusaak to be awake for the first time in decades.
In the GM’s words:
Scene 1: Leknaat arrives
((The team had been talking of Windy/Gail, and how she had used her powers in the Toran war. Someone asked: how was she defeated?
Leknaat: "Perhaps that is my cue to speak."
Royce: Huh?
((Leknaat appears behind the team, teleporting in))
Leknaat: Forgive my intrusion, but I have come to help. I am Leknaant, a seer of Toran. Heroes of Destiny, children of the rune, you have been chosen to fight this fight, as have I. I should have warned your early of your destiny, done more to prepare you for the coming task.... but I was afraid. The enemy you face known as Gail is really my sister Windy. Her rune is responsible for much death, and the summoning of many demons here. I knew of her awakening, but I was too afraid to stop it. I hid. Even a seer who can foresee Destiny like I can be blind at times. I cannot run from my destiny anymore. It is my turn to fight.... and I will do so to stop my sister. If you will have me, I will join your army, and help you to defeat my sister and her summoned army."
(Leknaant joins!)
Leknaant: Let us dispel this army. Gather your power, your minds will, and your souls as once. Let us push back this evil with the purity of our hearts."
(Party agreed, and after the spell is cast, much of the demon army is sent back to the other world)
Scene 2: Sasari speaks
Sasari: How were things?
(Party explains all, including Hikusak being awake)
Sasari: So Hikusaak is awake... then Harmonia is truly finished.
Daisy: What do you mean?
Sasari: This land was made to bring order to the continent, using the power of Hikusaak's true rune, the Circle Rune. The plan worked well for years, and peace reigned on this continent for decades, maybe centuries. But the rune entered it's stagnation phase far too soon, and both the power of Hikusaak and the empire he created began to atrophy, to stagnate. Hikusaak lost strength, and rebellions and wars broke out across the empire. We have lost much of the last few years, but all the while we tried to save this empire by breaking the hold of the Circle Rune over Hikusaak. We hoped another true rune might have the power to break the Circle's rune's spells, so Harmonia tried everything to get true runes for that goal. But none ever worked. We could never free Hikusaak, and now it's too late. With the fall of the Crystal Valley, there is no Harmonia. There is nothing left to stagnate, and the spell on Hikusaak is broken. I don't know what will happen now, but one thing is clear to me. Harmonia is no more. Hikusaak is free from the spell of the Circle rune, as it's stagnation phase is now complete; it's taken all there is from this once mighty empire. A new order will need to be established here, and for better or for worse, it seems your Union Army must bear that burden. If you will have me, I will join your cause to build a better Harmonia. No, a better country. The empire may be gone, but the people are still here, and for them, I will fight."
(Sasari joins)
Hopefully that clears it up, but f not, i'll say it like this: The circle rune in it's 'order' phase made an empire of order, and in it's 'stagnation' phase, brought that empire to ruin. Harmonmia tried to stop this using true runes, but it's too late. Harmonia is no more, and so the circle rune's stagnation phase is now over. What hikusaak does now, is anyone's guess.
Sasari also explained the the order of god was using the Chronus Rune collectively to slow their aging, but none of them could master it to truly become ageless as true rune holders naturally are. This should explain why they were so old, and no one remembered when they took office.
Recruits: Leknaat, Sasari, Nash, Sierra, Brian
Investigations: Leknaat, Sasari, Nash, Sierra, Brian
