Screenshot The ROLLING REQUEST THREAD(Currently doing: A Hiatus)

[Blaze The Great]

Speaking of Fates, do we have any idea of its localization date? Or even when we will find out when we find out the localization date?

[eclipse]

If in doubt, you guys are free to ask Vincent to move to the "don't spoil Fates for me" group. I'll do my best to keep the worst of the spoilers contained, but I'm a lone moderator, and I need to sleep eventually. . .

[TheMoniker]

Speaking of Fates, do we have any idea of its localization date? Or even when we will find out when we find out the localization date?

All we have is the huge and horrific number, 2016... The absolute BEST we can hope for is that they'll somehow release it just before Christmas here in NA, and I think that's exceedingly unlikely.

If in doubt, you guys are free to ask Vincent to move to the "don't spoil Fates for me" group. I'll do my best to keep the worst of the spoilers contained, but I'm a lone moderator, and I need to sleep eventually. . .

There's a group specifically designated for "don't spoil fates for me"? I don't think I'll join it, since I seriously doubt I can resist for that long. Of course, we should probably get back on topic here! Speaking of which...

The CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION!

So, to remind you all, we just murdered tons of bandits! And we're gonna rescue children!

Shayd: Well, duh. All the treasure’s gone, and their boss is too.

Well, that's one way to convey a compliment!

Shayd: Ooooh, what a serious glare.

I'm kinda wondering too. He already had his treasure...

Shayd: Please, take this. I found it in one of the chests.

Lily: I have no need for-

Oh awesome, free stuff!

(Wait, Light Runes? Why would we need those?)

Lily: ….

Shayd: Well, there you go! Your welcome.

Well.

I think I see what went on here.

Shayd: The guy I stole it from was oblivious. He was practically begging me to take it from him.

And there they are, safe and sound!

Not to mention, very happy to see us!

Kidnapped lady: My brother and I were getting so scared!

Kidnapped bro: The bad guys were saying they were gonna chop our hands off if Papa…didn’t…

Emily: Relax, Ben. It’s over. The bad guys are gone. It’s all taken care of.

Ben: Whoa… You mean… you beat ‘em, Emmy? No way… you’re so cool!

Well, she wasn't at the start, but she is now!

Emily: Don’t be silly. The other knights did most of the work. They’re the ones you should thank.

Kidnapped lady: Oh… Thank you… I… We could never thank you enough…

Sain: Please, don’t think of it! It’s our duty as knights to protect the innocent.

All the death and blood has not left Sain fettered.

Kidnapped lady: Ahhh…sir knight… W-What is your name?

Sain: Your father’s a good friend of mine.

Looks like Emily was running her mouth!

Sain: Ahhh…

Emily: …….

Page: Oh my gosh, like, no way! You never told me he was so handsome!

Oh come on! Sain's not exactly ugly!

Another civilian shows up...

It's Jay!

Page: Papa! Oh, I thought I’d never see you again!

Jay: Page! Ben! You’re both okay? No injuries? You must be starving!

This is cute and heartwarming... aww...

Page: Oh Papa! We’re fine… And it’s all thanks to Emily and those knights! They saved us just in time.

Jay: I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to my children. You have my gratitude. Please, if there’s anything I could do for you… Anything at all, just ask. I’ll never forget this.

Sain: The pleasure’s all mine, Jay. It’s the least I could do for my favorite bartender!

Jay: Hahahaha! The next time you order a drink, it’ll be on me!

Guess what drink Sain's gonna order?

Jay: So, Emily…

Either Emily pre-empted it or I got the screenshots out of order. I forget which.

Either way, her reaction is standard. Denial only makes it more obvious, Emily!

Jay: Hahahahaha. I know you too well!

Sain: W-What’s that supposed to mean?

Emily: It was a joke. Forget it.

Shayd makes his covert exit. Nobody but us even notices.

Jay: My wife will be so overjoyed when she sees the children.

Lily: After all your family’s been through, it would be a shame if you ran into any more trouble now.

Good, Lily! Prevent horrible accidental death!

Jay: You’re too kind. Thank you.

Nope Sain, she's not leaving you alone!

Lily: There’s no way I’m letting you off the hook! I’ll be back for you.

Sain: …Ulp.

Lily: Take these.

Oh, cool, Lily's going to give them to us!

Lily: I’m sure you’ll have more use for them.

Emily: …..

Oh yeah! Excellent, we want these!

And off they go! Now we're alone with Iskar.

?

Emily: It says…

Okay! Wait hold on... why would we need to check the chests?

I... thought we were done with the chapter?

We are... Right?

One last conversation...

Yeah, this guy's a villain. But he helped us!

Iskar: …..

Emily: Why did you fight with us? Aren’t you on their side?

Iskar: “On their side?” Are you really that naïve?

More like "jerky", Iskar, not "naive"!

Iskar: The Zidars were scum. No amount of gold could make me work for those dastards.

Aww... it seems kinda sad, Iskar thinks he's an irredeemable terrible person...

Emily: …..

Iskar: Not all bandits are like Zidars, kid. Heck. They make even the Onoskis look like saints.

Emily: O-Onoski?

We've heard a lot about the Onoskis...

And Emily's backstory says she had trouble with bandits... and now...

All the pieces fall into place!

Things are heating up! But Emily's tough now, and she's got Sain! GET HIM, EMILY! GET THE EVIL VILLAIN!

Suddenly, Sain shoves Emily out of the way...

AS EBNER TELEPORTS IN AND CASTS A SPELL!

What... what did that do?

Put flames everywhere? And make Sain scream?

THE SCREEN'S ZOOMING OUT! WE'VE GOT MOTION BLUR!

(Actually no, the screen was just vibrating)

Uh oh...

I don't think this is good...

Emily: You again!?

Ebner: Oh. Surprised to see me? With Iskar’s rash little stunt, I thought you’d be less startled by my appearance!

Emily: What have you done!?

Ebner: What have I done?

Oh no...

Is Sain going to be okay?

Ebner: I call it… Dementia. It’s like Berserk, really. Victims are stripped of their minds, thrown into uncontrollable rage, and plunged deep into a sea of unfathomable torment!

I don't think Sain's going to be okay...

Emily: ….

Ebner: Of course, when it comes to torturing its victims, Dementia outclassed Berserk, hands down! And… heh heh…. The best part of all this is that

So, it's like Berserk V2.0!? Are we gonna have to FIGHT SAIN!?

Ebner: Why, if I were so inclined, I could drive this knight to his death! Hahahahahaha!

Emily: D-Dastard!

Ebner: You should be grateful that fool pushed you out of the way… Else I would have stuck to my original plan, and tortured you until he gave me what I came here for. But this… This is much better!

Well, crap! Looks like Sain has turned EVIL!

Emily: You dastard!

Ebner: Heh heh. Don’t fret. I fully intend to release him from his torment… Once you’re dead.

So... we have to beat him.

Ebner: Whichever comes first. That should be enough to convince him I’m… serious business.

Now's hardly the time for running gags!

Ebner: Let’s leave these two to their fates…

They teleport out... SINISTER MUSIC STARTS PLAYING...

Come on Sain... be okay!

Sain: Ugh… uh…

Emily: Subcommander, are you…?

:0

RUN EMILY RUNNN!

And... it ends just like that?

NEXT TIME: Moniker and Emily get wrecked

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

thats a scary sain sprite...

[SilverHairedFreak25]

Sain with Narshen's eyes??

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H07zYvkNYL8

[TheMoniker]

Sain with Narshen's eyes??

Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H07zYvkNYL8

Now I recognize them...

The CHAPTER 7 PRELUDE...

Hey, that's MY pun!

So, if you didn't remember what happened last time...

SAIN TURNED EVIL AND IS TRYING TO MURDER US

Emily: There must be some way to escape…

Emily, luckily, thinks of the one way we're going to at least be able to TRY beat this chapter, using the stairs! I'll explain later.

Iskar: …..

Ebner: I hate to sacrifice such a beautiful girl, Iskar. But if it means getting that stone—

Silly Iskar, don't you know everyone in FE can see the whole map at once?

Ebner: Ahem. Iskaaaaaar…

Did Ebner just cue Iskar so he could segue into THIS:

Ebner: Indeed… Magic can certainly do terrifying things!

Yikes. This is insane.

WAIT WHAT

Iskar: Magic weapons? Seriously… this is…

Ebner: Don’t question it!

END DIALOGUE

And... here we go.

The hardest chapter in the entire hack.

So, as you can see, we have the same map as last chapter, except all of Ebner's super-attacks last chapter removed the cracked walls. How are we going to handle this? Let's see Sain's stats...

Sain has great stats, the same DEATH LANCE that Lily had so long ago, and a Short spear, which leaves him vulnerable to 2-range attack and 2-range attack ONLY. And this map isn't very 2-ranger friendly...

This is the first time we've had a good look at Ebner's stats. He has haxed S-ranks and surprisingly good defenses for being physically weak.

Hey... HEY!

HEY!!

SCREW this Shield. Without him, many many more strategies would be possible for this chapter. But BECAUSE OF HIM, there's only 1 real solution to this chapter, and I'm not even sure what it is!

And thanks to Sain's massive range plus the Shield, there's no way for Emily to escape Sain's instant-death radius...

Except for using the stairs, that is...

NEXT TIME: Why, Cedar? WHY!?

[Blaze The Great]

If in doubt, you guys are free to ask Vincent to move to the "don't spoil Fates for me" group. I'll do my best to keep the worst of the spoilers contained, but I'm a lone moderator, and I need to sleep eventually. . .

So we can just PM him and he will move us to that group? Or am I missing something?

[eclipse]

So we can just PM him and he will move us to that group? Or am I missing something?

According to this thread, that's how it works.

EDIT: Sorry Moniker. BUT SPREAD THE WORD! If you don't want spoilers, you don't have to suffer needlessly!

Edited June 26, 2015 by eclipse

[TheMoniker]

According to this thread, that's how it works.

EDIT: Sorry Moniker. BUT SPREAD THE WORD! If you don't want spoilers, you don't have to suffer needlessly!

Alright, got it! FE: Fates is a pretty huge deal on forums like these, so I guess at a time like this staying on topic isn't THAT important.

Time for the maiden to run from Sain in...

Maiden Quest: Episode 8: Chapter 7: Part 1: The Puzzle with No Solution

Okay, so... this is going to be terrible. But before things really get going, let me explain how stairs work. First, you wait on one.

Then, you say yes.

Then, you get prompts that lead you to either staircase adjacent to the one you're using. You can't go diagonally, unfortunately.

And here, I accidentally went north!

Sain's still trying to tell us to run...

YOU CAN DO IT EMILY! YOU CAN BEAT SAIN!

...Or not.

And we go the other way this time!

First chest!

Excellent! Now, we just need to find a spot to promote so we can USE the sword!

Apparently, I made a mistake, as Sain can reach me here. No biggie, we'll get this eventually, right?

Let's flee the fortress! We can lead him around outside!

???

Ebner: Blast! I don’t have all day!

Wait, WHAT?

So, with that, Ebner has spawned Shield generic everywhere, blocking all exits to the fort. The huge mass of them is only necessary on Fiora's route, because of something that happened there that didn't happen here.

Oh, and he spawns an Ebner RIGHT NEXT to where Emily is standing! He has a Luna, and 29 attack! Emily has 28 HP. I'd say do the math, but there really isn't any to do!

Welp. Only one thing to do now!

Okay, I just need to try this again. We can get this!

TELEPORT SPAM!

And the projection strikes again!

As I said, we have a 0% chance of surviving him.

So, I start over, teleporting to these stairs by going to the north at the start! From his position at the start of the chapter, Sain can only hit me with the Short Spear here.

TELEPORT!

Another projection? But hey, the chest is safe!

Wait wha- IT MOVES!?

WELL THEN! Grrr!

Okay, this is just another consideration! YET ANOTHER consideration, on top of the ten zillion or so we already have!

RESTART AGAIN!

Hmmm... WAIT...

Hah HAH! Iron Rune, GO!!!

Miss!

Finally, a chance! Let's do it!

Well, this isn't that much better, but at least we have 8 MOV...

You know, I kind of wonder what would happen if you didn't train Emily. Maybe that was the reason for the savestate?

The Light Rune forces Sain to try to go around through the outside! We're gonna do it! We're gonna-

-be trapped in here with Ebner. Did he really have to spawn THERE?

SLIGHT REPOSITIONING!

I choose to Open the chest instead of promoting this time. Yeah, I failed again, offscreen.

There were QUITE A FEW offscreen failures...

He's after me again! He's ALWAYS after me! I can hardly get a turn to myself!

Promote!

I GUESS this is how we're supposed to defeat him? Chip him down with the Light Brand? Where are we even supposed to do that? I guess we could do it in... the cell! YES! WE HAVE A STRATEGY! WE CAN-

Wait no, you ALREADY talked!

He... he he... HE...

He MOVES his PROJECTIONS!? EVERY THREE TURNS?

WELL. THE CELL PLAN IS SHOT. BECAUSE EBNER WOULD JUST SPAWN IN THERE WITH ME AND IT WOULD BE THE END.

Promotion is apparently not enough to even stand a chance against him.

See, the problem is, the cell and the treasure room are the only areas we can block with Light Runes, because everywhere else has 2 entrances. The Light Rune has 3 uses, but if we spend 2 turns we'll only have 1 turn of safety, AND Ebner would just spawn in there and kill us anyway.

Well, we've reached another dead end. Sain has us trapped in a room, and Ebner's gonna spawn with us.

Maybe I'll just burn some savestates to see what's in all these chests.

Red Wine in both of them? Okay... What about the bottom chest? There HAS to be something good, considering you literally can't get to it without dying because of that stupid pointless Shield generic!

Ebner can move his projection as many times as he wants. He will literally never stop. Cheater!

Lead him around, and...

...and that's it. The last chest has just another healing item. No superweapon or new tactical element to save us.

Just a healing item.

I don't even know what to do anymore...

[MrNight48]

look only if you want a suggestion

what you could do is go into another room so the projection goes there on the turn he will get summoned to your spot, then go back to the room that is sealed off so you can chip sain per 3 turn seqence.

[eclipse]

look only if you want a suggestion

what you could do is go into another room so the projection goes there on the turn he will get summoned to your spot, then go back to the room that is sealed off so you can chip sain per 3 turn seqence.

Except the projection one-shots Emily with Luna, even with the Light Brand. If she had one more point of HP, this would work.

[Nintales]

A suggestion if you want :

Use Emily's superior movement to bait Sain with the Light Brand, then chip him off till he dies. Use the Red Wines to heal yourself if you need to.

[TheMoniker]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, but I've already beaten the level, I just make it seem like I'm struggling for DRAMATIC TENSION!

Ninetales's solution is the correct one, though.

Maiden Quest: Episode 8: Chapter 7: Part 2: The Only Way

Okay; new plan. If I go in-between stairs the right way, I can get Ebner to spawn up here...

Then warp down here, Rune the room, get the chest...

And ANOTHER projection comes...

Run and promote...

Get chipped by Sain...

Uh... dodge a second attack...

And then get trapped by Ebner with the inability to flee because-wait, no!

...Dangit!

TAKE #2,413!

Testing...

! Promotion is an action that gives Canto, and you can use Canto waiting to take stairs! So I actually don't need to sacrifice a turn promoting after all! That's helpful.

It's a long story, okay?

Promote, use the Light Rune to get the chest... for the twenty-third time...

Oh wow, Emily can damage the Shields. NOT THAT IT MATTERS.

I reset, just in case it would help...

(It doesn't)

Okay, so, we're in a very bad situation here.

I know there's a solution, but every path or set of options I take is just another dead end! I understand the puzzle, but I'm just LOST when it comes to finding the answer!

I am lamenting this to myself, when suddenly...

I find the answer.

Here's the explanation:

The AI prioritizes not getting counterattacked, and can't see probability.

So, when Sain has already injured us with once with the Short Spear and can kill us with the next shot, he'll attack with the Short Spear, even if he could use the Death Lance on us if he really wanted to!

Obviously, I have to handle this carefully, and make sure Emily doesn't actually get HIT by the Short Spear. And he will attack normally at low health, like in this picture!

Now, I'll be entirely honest here. This took a LOT more RNG abuse, way more than a legitimate LPer like me should do! But I really was lost as to the real solution-I had no idea what to do! I tried this chapter again and again, and if I hadn't done this, the entire LP could've been held up!

And of course, this solution ONLY worked because I trained Emily. This chapter would go from "impossible without savestates" to "impossible" if you DIDN'T train Emily, which really isn't a good thing! I'd go as far as to say it's BS!

But, we're done!

We can put this behind us!

NEXT TIME: It was all POINTLESS!

[Blaze The Great]

I'm not sure whether or not I enjoyed that.

[momogeek2141]

So is picking Emily like a "hard mode" for the game?

[Kaede Ryusaki]

Is there any chance of Requiem being added to the poll? :3

[TheMoniker]

I'm not sure whether or not I enjoyed that.

You're talking about the game and not the LP, right? Please don't be talking about the LP...

So is picking Emily like a "hard mode" for the game?

Apparently, yes!

Is there any chance of Requiem being added to the poll? :3

Yeah, I'll probably add it along with a bunch of smaller hacks once the next hack is announced and I'm finally finished recording this one. I haven't even touched it yet, so it'll probably be a totally blind LP,

Time to be glad for success in...

The CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION, Part 1 of 2!

And so, Ebner "generously" releases Sain from his torment.

Ebner: Time to end the spell!

Another flash of light...

And Sain is blue again! Phew!

Emily, you DID just butcher him with light...

Aww...

And... he collapses again. No KO counter this time, he must still be conscious.

And the villains show up to ruin our day. Get out of here guys, we need to have a romantic moment!

Ebner, you have NO IDEA how much effort that took!

Sain: You blackhearted fiend!

He's ALREADY back to insulting? Sain's been KO'd so many times you'd think he'd have brain damage by now...

Ebner: Tsk. You recover fast, knight. You should still be suffering from post-traumatic stress… But you’re already on your feet, and calling me names!?

I kind of have to agree with Ebner... Sain shouldn't be standing right now.

Ebner: …It seems like it will take more to convince you to hand over the treasure I seek.

Emily: Treasure?

Sain: What treasure? I don’t know what you’re talking about!

Ebner: You know very well what I’m talking about, knight.

Hah! We BEAT your challenge! You don't have anything else to threaten us with!

...

Oh sure.

Ignore how buff Emily is now! Ignore that Iskar's an unpromoted bandit, barely better than the ones Emily was just wrecking! IGNORE that she has a weapon which gives her WTA! Iskar grabs her, and THAT'S IT!

Iskar: Got her, boss.

And so, despite our efforts, it was ALL POINTLESS!

Stupid OP tomes!

Sain: Ahhhh… No! Ugh…

Ebner: Kehehehe! And you won’t be able to do anything about it either! Your body’s still too weak to move…

She'll die of overexertion? You'd think that would have happened to Sain by now!

Ebner: All I want is the stone. Once I have it, I’m gone. You’ll never see me again.

I doubt that...

Sain: …

Ebner: Think about it. If you don’t hand me that stone, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose… The girl’s life is on the line. Is a stone really worth her life, her suffering?

Much as I hate to say it, I have to disagree with Emily... we really can't escape this situation, and it would be utterly pointless to refuse... And I mean, it's not like we have a magical flying horse to get us out of here.

Ebner: What?

Sain: The stone… It’s in my saddlebag…

(Don't chime in, Emily!)

Ebner: Ha! I should have known! Iskar did mention a saddlebag… Bah, what does that matter now? Where’s that stone!?

It's a pity Sain isn't the type that would put some sort of trap in the saddlebag...

Ebner: A purple gem in the shape of the East Star…

That's certainly an evil laugh!

Ebner: Why? Hah! What a silly question, dear.

As Pent told us... and now Ebner has it!

Emily: Ultimate powe—

Ebner: Yes. It has the power… to win any woman’s heart!

You SERIOUSLY didn't piece this together, Sain? Emily at least has an excuse...

Iskar, come on! Show some interest, here! This is SERIOUS PLOT!

I kind of suspected it, but Ebner, do you REALLY know that for sure?

Ebner: Certainly not! He won her heart by force! And now… with this stone… I, too, can make any woman fall in love with me!

Oh no! NOT EMILY!

Ebner: You have the honor of being my first test subject!

Emily: What?! NO!

Sain: Emily!!!

Ebner: Now, you’re mine!

*on edge of seat*

Come on, Darec... please have been untrustworthy and have given us a fake stone!

And...

Yup! The Stone of Zagaren is a total failure!

Ebner: How…H-How did it not work? Could it be…the stone is…fake?

Iskar: How would I know?

Ebner: Blast…BLAST! This was all a waste of time! I’ve got to pull back… think this through… Iskar, to me! Let’s get out of here!

For a guy who breaks the HP cap, you're not very durable!

And then they teleport out. Obviously, this isn't the last we'll see of them... But we're FINALLY FREE! No more Chapter 7!

Sain: Did Ebner… hurt you?

Emily: I’m fine…But look at you! You’re flat on the floor!

Sain: Ha! I’ve seen worse. As long as you’re unharmed…

Emily: ….

Well, Lily, you're just a BIT late!

Lily: The idiot flirted with death, is that it?

Is Lily referring to Emily as death? How could she know about Ebner?

You know, as time has gone by, I am starting to care about the characters... as long as the writing stays away from fourth wall jokes, of course. Florina's route was completely different...

(Why no, there was no better possible time to mention this.)

Sain: But I—

Emily: Don’t be an idiot. Lie down and rest. Your body need it.

On the floor! Of course!

Can we please skip the lengthy explanation? I don't want to have a three-part dialogue update... again...

(The explanation was skipped.)

Lily: Ugh. Sounds terrible. I almost feel sorry for him. And that’s saying a lot… At least he looks okay now.

Emily: He could still use more rest… Um, Captain?

Lily: Yes?

Emily: Please, return to Castle Caelin.

Maybe, just maybe, Emily's warming up to him?

Lily: But, Emily… Are you okay with this?

Emily: Yes… He suffered a lot in my place… It’s the least I can do.

Lily: …As you wish. Return to us safely.

Emily: Yes, ma’am!

Timeskip!

Emily: Subcommander…

Sain: Emily? Is that you?

Emily: Yes, sir. How do you feel?

Yup, normal.

Sain: Thank you, Emily! You’ve restored me back to picture perfect health!

Emily: Pffft. You can thank sleep for that. But… thanks again.

Counting the sparring session, you owe him THREE lunch dates now, Emily! You'd BETTER follow up!

Sain: Please, don’t think of it!

Sain: Why, if it ensured your safety, I’d leap head-first into any danger, no matter how perilous!

Come on, Emily! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE ENDEARING BY NOW!

Sain: Ah…

Emily: Ugh. Sorry… I shouldn’t snap back like that.

Sain: Haha, don’t worry, I’m used to it! But, Emily, might I ask you something?

ENTIRE. HACK. RUINED.

Emily just used the "shoot" idiom...

IN THE ERA BEFORE THEY HAD GUNS.

Sain: When you were talking to that ruffian earlier… about the Onoski bandits…

Emily: ….

Sain: I don’t mean to intrude, but did those bandits…

Sain: …..

ENDING IT RIGHT HERE! BACKSTORY NEXT TIME!

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Yeah, I really would like to see a blind LP.

If Requiem was added, I'd switch my vote (even if I'd have spoiled myself).

Edited June 28, 2015 by Mister CatTeaDawn

[TheMoniker]

The CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION, Part 2 of 2!

We already had this figured out, but now it's time for the whole truth!

Emily: I remember all too well. The fires, the screams… Everything fell to chaos. Yet, through it all… my mother never flinched. When the bandits barged through our front door

Wait, wasn't she a pegasus knight? She must have been the best peg ever!

Of course... she could have also been a wyvern knight... but I doubt that.

...

Emily: The moment she slipped up, my father bolted… He didn’t even look back. He could never look me in the eye since. Whenever I bring it up, he turns away in shame. …Filthy coward.

Sain: ….

Emily: …So many other men died protecting their families.

Oh man... that's some pretty serious backstory...

Emily: none of us would have survived.

Sain: …..

Emily: Delwin might see, happy and prosperous now, but no one who lives there was left untouched. We all stared death in the face that night. We all have our own scars to bear.

Emily: …No.

YOU DON'T KNOW HOW PAINFUL IT IS, EMILY!

(Okay, maybe not the best timing for a joke. This is supposed to be a joke hack! Why so suddenly serious?)

Sain: But—

Sain: No I just—

Emily: So don’t tell me you’re sorry. You don’t even know.

Sain: I… You’re right.

And now we get... SAIN'S backstory? I guess FE7 kind of left his past as a blank slate...

Sain: They were always so busy selling their wares, you see.

Emily: Merchants…

Sain: My three older brothers helped them run the shop. They even tried dragging me into the business! Can you imagine that? Me, a merchant!?

Yup. Never was gonna happen.

Emily: Dear Saint Elimine…

Sain: Indeed. I must admit I had no aptitude for the profession. Why, I got so fed up, I ran away to become a knight instead!

I guess Sain must have been young and stupid then. Or, younger and stupider.

I guess things did work out for Sain. For being reviled by the ladies, his life is pretty good!

Sain: …Ah, alas! I never had the chance to tell them.

Emily: You… never saw them again?

Sain: It was my fault, really. I put off telling them until the day I was knighted.

I kind of have to wonder if this will be important later. We are approaching the end of the hack, however, so we have to keep that in mind. Not much time left for foreshadowing at this point.

Emily: Oh…

Sain: No, no, it’s all right. I’m sure they’re all living happy lives somewhere! Besides… If I had not run away, I would never have become a knight. I would never have met all the wonderful people I know now. Why…

And of course, Emily IMMEDIATELY shuts him down.

Emily: To run away like you did…! Ugh. If only I could be THAT reckless and get away with it.

Sain: …Is that how you truly feel, Emily? Does that mean…

And the seriousness is over! Back to humor!

...It might not seem like a good transition, but I experience it better than you guys do, since I get to hear the music switch!

Sain: Well, it’s a start! Oh, and I must apologize about this lunch! Please, allow me to make up for this blunder by—

Emily: You think I enjoy being around you?

Sain: But of course! I don’t see why not!

Well Sain, you DID just try to murder her, but at the same time, Emily's just gonna keep racking up meal-debt unless she pays it off!

Emily: Ugh. Dear Elimine… How dense could a man be? And to top it all off…

Oh Sain, I see what you're doing!

Sain: Let’s have dinner!

Emily: But I—

Sain: Don’t worry, Emily! Leave everything to me! I’ll make sure this is the best dinner of your life!

If you can't romance 'em, confuse 'em!

TOO LATE!

Sain: Come on, let’s get back to Castle Caelin! I’m sure everyone’s anxious to see us!

And he's FINALLY succeeded in his quest to earn a date!

Emily: Ugh, I hate you.

Well Emily, it's not THAT bad.

And now, we get to see villians talking! I hope you weren't hoping to not have any more backstory!

Iskar: Beats me, Boss…

Ebner: And you! What in the blazes, Iskar!? WHAT were you thinking?

Iskar: Huh?

Ebner: Back at the fort, you purposely ignored my commands! ME! The man to whom you swore your life!

Come on Ebner! Treat your mooks-MOOK better!

Iskar: I’m sorry…

Ebner: Tell me! Why did you run off without my explicit permissions!? Hmm?!

Iskar: Its… Personal business.

Ebner: What personal business?

Iskar: Your mother never taught you manners, did she?

Ebner: Just tell me! Was it something dealing with that Onoski group? Who were they anyway?

Iskar: Bandits.

Ebner: You worked for them?

Iskar: Yeah.

Ebner: Huh. Never heard of ‘em.

Iskar: …I figured as much.

Ebner: …Iskar?

And here we go!

Iskar: The people of Caelin never knew when we’d make a move, so they were always afraid. But one day, some peasants outsmarted us at our game.

The peasants BEAT the bandits? Let me ask the question a different way: Was there REALLY no beginning FE protagonists involved?

Iskar: Me and my brother, Vlad.

Ebner: You…

Iskar: …When Vlad seized command, the Onoski bandits lost their touch for stealth. We became just another rowdy, mindless gang of thugs… Now no one in Caelin knows who we are…

Kind of surprising, I can understand Ebner's shock.

Iskar: Ha… ha…

Ebner: What?

Iskar: Remember the day we met? The Onoskis and Zidars had been fighting over turf that day.

I think I get it now. The Onoskis were really good bandits, until their leadership collapsed and then they became terrible.

Ebner: …..

So THAT'S why Iskar serves him!

Iskar: Why?

Ebner: …I was walking by when I heard a scream. It was a bandit, broken… sprawled on the ground in agony… crying a name, but not being answered.

Ebner: So I saved him. How surprised was I when the bandit swore me his life!

Iskar: Two eyes for an eye. It was the old Onoski way of doing business.

I don't know, that philosophy seems like it would just end up with everyone dead.

Potential to do good? Seriously?

Iskar: So you’re not deaf.

Ebner: That’s the first time… someone’s told me…

Iskar: Huh?

You ALREADY ARE!

Ebner: Everyone I’ve ever met… wrote me off as a monster, capable of only evil… Can I… really do good?

Okay, I'd just like to say I have a problem with this whole "Ebner can be good" thing. So far, this describes his actions:

*Kidnapping ladies

*Attempting to hypnotize ladies

*Willingly handing ladies over to rapists

*Making Moniker go through Chapter 7

*Torturing people with spells DESIGNED to torture people

*Theft

*Letting off evil laughs while he did all that

And to top it all off, this ONE good action wasn't anything we got to actually SEE, it was described to us after the fact! If Ebner actually is going to be treated as a good character, we haven't seen literally any good side of him until now! AT ALL!

Okay, back to the story:

Iskar: You showed compassion. You saved a life. I’m alive, aren’t I?

Ebner: Well… I’ve never… thought of it that way…

Iskar: You don’t think much, do you?

Ebner: Nevermind that. Iskar… I…

Iskar: What?

Iskar: Huh.

Okay, I guess I can see why they're friends-

This is getting kind of... how do I put this...

Iskar: You’ve got that insensitive, haughty attitude. You boss me around like no one’s business. But even then, you’re better than Vlad… My own flesh and blood left me to die, so I guess that makes you my friend, relatively speaking. It’s not like anyone else cares I exist.

Ebner: Iskar… my friend! I can no longer consider you a subordinate…

"Really, I have potential to do good?"

"TIME TO GO BACK TO TAKING OVER THE WORLD!"

Ebner: If you stick with me, of course.

Iskar: As long as you’re alive, I really have no choice.

And that's how we finish! I'm honestly just glad to FINALLY be done.

NEXT TIME: The difficulty doesn't let up! This hack has quite the curve!

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

holy crap that was backstory and a half shell, i can't even begin to think of what the next stage is.

[TheMoniker]

Time to get a maiden in...

The CHAPTER 8 PRELUDE!

I went into this chapter looking forward to the nice, relaxing, easy affair I remember it being from Fiora's path.

And I was horribly wrong, turns out it's COMPLETELY changed by the act of selecting Emily. Emily really is the hard mode for this hack...

You can do it Sain! Make it successful!

Of course.

And then the map screen turns into the normal screen as Sain walks onto it!

Sain: Ah, yes, I can see it now. Starry night sky aloft… Emily’s dazzling fiery orange eyes… A fantastic dinner spread for two… Heh heh. Sain, you are a genius!

Sain doesn't seem like the type to save his knight pay...

Sain: How am I supposed to treat Emily to the best dinner of her life if I’m this broke!

Is he going to ROB THE TREASURY?

Oh, or he could just be asking for favors.

Sain: Have you any gold you could lend me?

Wil: C’mon, Sain. You ask this every time…

Sain: What is it this time?

Wil: No.

Sain: But this is important! I’m—

Wil: No, Sain. That’s my final answer.

Sain, you aren't the kind of person I would trust with money. Don't be judging Wil here.

Kent: Sain… What is it now?

Sain: Could I borrow some gold?

Kent: Again?

Sain: But it’s important!

Kent: Let me guess.

How could ANYONE make such a bold-yet-true prediction?

Kent: I have nothing to say to you.

And so, for his last attempt...

Sain: Ah!

Did you REALLY think that would go well, Sain?

Sain, you still have 1000 gold from the beginning of the game. I never exactly had the chance to spend it.

What? Some random generic chancellor? Is he going to randomly and generic-ly rescue us?

Reissman: Are you… serious about this one?

Sain: Yeah, super serious!

Reissman: …..

Money! Now Sain can succeed!

But what is his ulterior motive?

Reissman: Please, not so loud! Just get out. You’re causing a ruckus.

Sain: All right! Time to shop!

Oh, I get it! This guy here thinks that if he helps Sain get married, then everyone will get to stop dealing with him and his womanizing!

I wonder if we'll need this?

We will.

Sain speeds into a house...

Hah hah.

Sain: Fair Rosy! As always, you are the loveliest flower in the shop!

Rosy: …Come for the usual?

Sain: Nay! I seek the biggest, most lovely bouquet you have!

Now do you see why Wil wouldn't lend money to you, Sain?

Sain: Of course!

Next shop:

It seems Sain has REALLY earned the ire of these ladies!

Sain: But—

Sweets lady: OUT I SAY!

One last house!

Meat guy: I’ve got all kinds.

Uh, meat?

Meat guy: Oh, the previous shop owner moved to Etruria.

Uh, yeah! Hmm... I wonder who that could be?

Sain: Oh… What a shame.

Well Sain, at least you have the flowers.

Wait, Blue Wine? I've been wondering about that!

Sain: I’ve heard it’s the fanciest wine in all of Elibe! That would be perfect!

Jay: Sain, my man! Would you like a drink? It’s on the house!

Sain: No, actually, I’m here to place an order for dinner.

Jay: Dinner for two? Ah, have an eye for one of those ladies, eh?

Sain: Yes, sir! It’s for tomorrow. I want to treat her under the stars.

Jay: Hah! Aren’t you the charmer… You must be really serious about her!

Sain: But of course, it’s fate!

Ahahaha... haha... ha...

We must NEVER repeat the first date.

Sain: That’s why I’m trying extra hard to make up for it!

Jay: Hahahahaha, I’ll make sure to prepare something extra special for you then!

Sain: Thanks, Jay! I knew you’d come through for me. Also… I have a favor to ask.

Jay: Anything, my friend.

Uh...

Sain: Waaah!

Jay: If it were only a sip, I would allow it… But the whole thing!?

Okay, I kind of have trouble believing Jay's reluctance. We know from the beginning of the game that Blue Wine is worth 50,000 gold, and in Chapter 6, it was established he could pay a 1,000,000 ransom. Come on Jay, if you give Sain the bottle you're coming out 950,000 ahead!

Sain: A… lot of gold?

Jay: I can’t afford to give this stuff away for free. But…

Sain: Yes?

I get it now! Jay's gonna squeeze ALL he can get out of Sain. Stupid Jay!

Sain: Y-You would?

Jay: My family’s growing, you see. So I’m building a house out on the south island down there. However, construction’s been held up because the workers can’t find a suitable method for transporting the wood from the northern forest to the building site. If you could help solve the problem and get that building team organized, I’ll give you a small bottle of blue wine.

Sain: Right, I’ll do it! Leave it to me!

(He's rich enough to afford to construct a new house TOO?)

And then things take an "unexpected" turn!

BANDITS!

Batta’s random twin: C’mon, boys! Time to pay that lordling wench back for trashing our name! We’ll show her and her lap-dogs that no one escapes the wrath of the Ganelon bandits!

Better yet, the random group of bandits we wrecked back in FE7 Lyn Mode!

Merlinus shows up! Remember, our objective is to transfer something from one place to another...

Merlinus: This won’t do… Oooh, I knew I should have gone to Pherae!

He flees into the bar, but I kind of have to wonder if we'll be escorting him or something like that...

Sain: are you not?

Merlinus: Hm? You… You must be one of the Caelin knights.

Sain: That’s right! Could I ask you a favor, sir merchant?

Merlinus: A favor?

Sain: A friend of mine is building a house, but he doesn’t have a way of transporting wood to the building site. Would you be able to lend him your wagon?

Of course!

FAVOR CHAIN!

Sain: And what might that be?

Merlinus: See these pastries?

ALL the houses? We're going to be doing deliveries? During a bandit attack? Couldn't this wait, Merlinus?

Merlinus: Oooh. I am but a frail, weak merchant! I cannot fight off these ruffians like you knights.

Sain: You want me to hand out these pastries to the townsfolk? For free?

Merlinus: After they’ve tasted my pastries, they’ll be sure to buy some more later!

Sain: What a clever idea!

It seems Merlinus has learned the concept of "free samples" ahead of time!

Oh, great. So, we have to deliver pastries... while being attacked by bandits... on a time limit.

Merlinus: So, please deliver these as quickly as possible. Don’t hand out cold pastries!

Sain: Understood!

END DIALOGUE

Okay, let's take a look at things here...

As you can see, we have a large-scale bandit assault on this area, and the only other people around are the green fighters-that is, the people assigned to build the house. So we need to protect them! Luckily, most of the bandits surrounding the boss won't move. We'll have to cut through them before we can actually hurt the boss, however.

The Lumberjacks and builders are normal, albeit with some REALLY WEIRD Con values. They'll stand there and take hits, but they won't last in the long run...

There's also a guy named Rusty hanging out with the builders. No idea what his deal is.

The bandits are mostly loser-ish. HOWEVER...

Literally ALL of them. Drop their weapons.

EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.

I better not have to gather axes and sell them at the shop or anything like that!

The boss himself is strong. VERY strong. How the heck is Sain supposed to handle this by himself!?

NEXT TIME: Caelin vs Ganelon

Well everyone, it is my pleasure to announce that the recording for Maiden Quest is finished, and we can schedule the next LP! Since The Reckoning won the poll, that's the hack we'll be playing next! However, it will be getting it's own thread. So, what's going to happen to this thread? Well, since Mr. Night's Ragefest Defense Thingy was runner-up, we'll be playing that here in the meantime! I've also updated the poll with an actual request(Requiem) and some other small hacks that might be moderately interesting.

[MrNight48]

"b-b-baka, its not like I want to be your friend or anything"

[Blaze The Great]

REQUIEM! REQUIEM! REQUIEM!...Ahem, yeah, play Requiem next. Although, for once, I'm actually sad to have to move on from this hack.

[TheMoniker]

"b-b-baka, its not like I want to be your friend or anything"

It's PERFECT!

REQUIEM! REQUIEM! REQUIEM!...Ahem, yeah, play Requiem next. Although, for once, I'm actually sad to have to move on from this hack.

We COULD play the other routes... at risk of delaying other hacks many., many pages. I could also add those routes to the poll, and treat them like individual hacks. That's PROBABLY what I'll do, once enough time has passed that our memories start to fade.

Maiden Quest: Episode 9: Chapter 8: Part 1: Multitasking!

Our initial visitation attempts failed. How are we gonna deliver the pastries like this?

These poor guys, under attack already...

Hey, how else were we gonna win?

*Me, while playing this chapter*

Wil: Beats me.

Emily: Hmph. It doesn’t matter. The moment they stepped on Caelin soil was their undoing! I swear, I’ll kill them all!

Yeah, Emily, sheesh!

Kent: Now is not the time to be rash, but to focus on the task at hand.

Emily: Ah… yes, sir.

Kent: The safety of the people is our first priority. Tell the villagers to stay inside, while we deal with the bandits.

Lily: Show the raiders no mercy! They are a threat to Caelin that must be swiftly eliminated. If you can identify a leader among them, dispose of him!

Gameplay hint!

Yikes! Is Sain gonna get rejected again and again?

Episode V: Lumberjack strikes back

They're attacking from THREE sides now?

Emily's light brand is very effective against these guys, the problem is the uses...

Meh.

Good, one delivered!

*cringes*

That's 2!

Skipping ahead a bit, we have three!

Oh no! They're gonna head STRAIGHT for the Lumberjacks! They won't be okay!

Wha-THAT'S NOT THE EMILY I KNOW!

Talking? Of course!

Sain: W-Wil?

Wil: What in the world are you doing with all those pastries?

Sain: Oh, these? Why, I’m running a delivery service, of course!

Wil: A… delivery service? At a time like this?

Sain: Well… a certain SOMEONE wouldn’t lend me any gold, so now I have to work odd jobs to earn it!

Sain, that's not the story and you know it!

Wil: Riiight… You do that, while the rest of us are, you know, actually fighting off these bandits.

*Me, throughout entire chapter*

Stupid bandits, having variety!

Great, I forgot he has a Longbow! He can pelt us as we try to kill his bodyguards!

Come on, Lumberjack! Be okay!

This guy... will be a challenge.

Three successes and three failures... hrm.

That's all the houses, but I can't report back to Merlinus... maybe I have to deliver them to the builders?

Is this dialogue edited? I didn't even notice...

Another ta-

Uh... well then...

Lily: Dear Elimine, have mercy…

Wil really needs more weapons!

NO GAME. WRONG KIND.

Why magic...? Maybe it's to be accurate to original FE7.

And Sain's in danger of being found out!

Oh sure Sain, just whisper it to yourself while she's right there.

Sain: It’s nothing, really.

Emily: Then why in the blazes are you lugging around all those pastries? Are you up to something again?

Sain: What? Haha, of course not! Why, it’s just…

Your trick failed, Sain.

DE-stroyed!

Four deliveries made!

Last talk!

Sain: Ah! K-Kent!

Kent: What in the blazes do you think you’re doing? As subcommander of the Caelin knights, it is your duty to protect Caelin’s people, not run a catering service!

Sain: I can explain!

Kent: No explanations are required!

You might want to rephrase that, Kent.

Kent: You bear the title of a leader. It’s about time you carried yourself like one!

It would be helpful if I could put Sain to actually killing bandits... but I can't, I'm on a time limit!

The merc doubles him, but the Lumberjack will survive... he'll be okay...

WAIT NO WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING HIM ON YOUR PHASE

NOOOO

Phe-

DANGIT

And it turns out we REALLY DO have to keep them alive. Dang!

(savestates may have been used in the making of this LP)

THANK you!

Come on! Take him out!

5 successful deliveries!

Come on...

Oh!

Emily gets him on the counter. His death was too generic to show.

No, PLEASE let them collapse!

That's much better, Emily!

NEXT TIME: It's over... right?

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

fantastic job!

man i don't see how your suppose to rescue the NPC's without luck