An officer is contemplating his dilemma:
Folmer: (Are there no battalions that can move out of position to help...? This isn't good... What do I do?)
Christine: ...Major?
Folmer: Huh? Oh, right, right... You're one of Lord Reese's soldiers, aren't you?
Christine: Yes, sir. My name is Christine. I am a member of Sinon's mounted archery unit.
Folmer: Oh, of course! Why didn't I think of it sooner? You and your soldiers are here!
Christine: ...Yes...? Have I missed something important, Major Folmer?
Folmer: Oh, right, you wouldn't have been told yet...
Folmer: I recently received news that a squadron of Imperial saboteurs had begun moving toward there. I sent a messenger to our allies to evacuate the townspeople... but he was attacked enroute, and all he could do was make it back here. Now, my second messenger has finally made it, but the Imperials are already approaching Heim...
Christine: I see... What will you do? Surely you will not abandon the townspeople to be slaughtered?
Folmer: Certainly not. As a soldier, it is my duty to protect them. Not to mention that I personally owe a great deal to some people of that town... However, I was at a loss, as there were no forces that could be spared to send to their aid. That's when I realized it... Would Lord Reese allow you Knights of Sinon to do this for me? I will, of course, assist with any expenditures the mission may take.
Christine: I understand. I will confer with Lord Reese and seek his approval.
Folmer: Oh, thank you! I only need you to protect the citizens until they can evacuate. My scouts tell me the Imperials enlisted several expert marksmen and manhunters. Please let Lord Reese know that his soldiers should take due care.
Folmer: There's a group of old men who live in the town. Dudley, Chebyshev, Gibbs, and Webber are their names. Those four old men are... how should I put it... Hot-blooded and fickle. They'll charge head-on at the enemy if you let them. Please do not let them.
Off to do some more firefighting then.
There are 10 deployment slots available for this mission:
Before I prepare a party for that, I'll briefly talk about Dean post-recruitment.
As you can see, the Bhuj (another reference to a historical weapon:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhuj_(weapon) ) is quite powerful. In fact it's likely to be overkill at this stage, and given how plentiful generic axes are, I'll be saving it for later.
A nice bit of story-gameplay integration, Dean learning the mercy skill allows him to help with capturing. The bolt knife still remains the best option for injuring opponents at this point, however.
Going back to the mission preparations, I'll be hiring Kramer (500), Volo (1300) and Faye (650) to facilitate their permanent recruitment. I have one seat left at the Kingfisher for this chapter, so Kramer can get the accuracy buff there:
Ruby, Sherlock and Czene can also come along for training. Larentia's mobility should be handy here; as well as Sherpa (guard) and Elbert (provoke). Izerna rounds out the roster.
Equipment is a bit cheaper again after the last batch of citizen requests, an iron spear now costs 890 (base price 1000):
Larentia can have one too since her Euthyphro is about to break. Kramer and Sherpa receive a longsword and shortsword respectively. Sherlock stocks up on steel+ arrows, Christine on standard iron arrows.
I retire Sherlock's horse in exchange for a slightly better one:
Finally, some vulneraries are distributed as a backup measure. There's still about 18k denarii in reserve for future spending.
Christine is still a bit underleveled for using the apollyon, but that won't be the case for too much longer. I dumped some leftover archery gear from the last mission in her bag as well.
Going all the way from 74% to 99% accuracy will pay dividends for training Kramer. I haven't deployed him in a while so he has some catching up to do.
If I'm remembering correctly, Ruby is one mission away from her happiness requirement. Promotion requires one more level after recruiting her.
Izerna is now at a high enough level to use fortify without penalty, thanks to having the skill expert. I don't anticipate this to be a long mission, so her current selection of orbs should be sufficient.
Sherlock will hit his unpromoted bow skill cap soon (30), which will take him up to 90% (base) accuracy with the composite bow and +arrow types. The composite bow should last the whole battle, if needs be I'll trade something to him later in the fight.
As usual, Elbert's job will be utilizing provoke to neutralize key threats. It's a great skill for mitigating unpredictability in most engagements, especially when you need to protect NPCs. Just keep in mind that you sacrifice moving\attacking on that turn.
My plan for Czene is to have her hide in some trees, and pick a few good targets of opportunity to get the last bit of experience she needs for promotion.
Volo's on chip damage duty, since he doesn't need any more levels to be effective. With the shortsword equipped, he has a 31% chance of activating adept (skill/2 + attack speed), which might throw a wrench in things.
Larentia's wyvern will be helpful for plugging gaps in the line and reinforcing quickly. Now that I think about it, passing her some verutums for throwing would be a good idea...
Last but not least, Sherpa's role here will be defensive in nature. The shortsword will prevent him inadvertently stealing experience from units I'm training.
Arriving near the town of Heim, our party is in the southwest of this sector, next to the escape point:
There is some farmland to the north above cliffs, and a few dwellings are beyond that. Parts of the town extend to the northeast as well.
The ballistae operators (green) must be the old men Folmer was talking about.
The town centre is directly ahead, just off the road.
There is a river crossing to the southeast, and a branch in the road running parallel to the river itself.
In the far north along the main road, across a bridge, is the lead element of the Imperial attack:
Funca appears to be the commander of this force.
Aside from carrying a crafting material, his skillset is also notable.
