Generically-Titled Fire Emblem Quest (Gen 2) Part 3 Summary

Part 3 Link: http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/43469602/

Part 3 Summary

 -The chapter opened on the note of Lloyd being annoyed with rooming with Yone, who seems to have difficulty shutting up. On the way to breakfast, he passed by some nondescript dude and attempted to start a conversation with Ansi, who proved... Less than receptive. After a bit of a catch-up with Leigh, time skipped ahead a couple less-than-eventful days.
 -Calof, another of Marrius' Group, was introduced returning alongside Eyven, who had a job for members of Marrius' Group: since Neir couldn't spare any of their own for the job, outside help was required for the last leg of his brother Welles' trip to a funeral in Dain for Empress Alexia. Ultimately, Lloyd, Leigh, Ansi, and Calof were selected for the job.
 -Welles did his damnedest to keep spirits high, despite the best efforts of Ansi and Leigh's bickering over his refusal to summon up anything for people besides himself to ride. Leigh had a lot to complain to Lloyd about about this guy, leading to another of his reminders about how they shouldn't have expected to associate solely with good people.
 -That being said, Welles, their client, is such a good guy that he insisted he just get a chance to TALK to the bandits that attacked the group one night, right on the heels of telling a story about how he'd managed to singlehandedly turn a group like that into completely legit fortune-gainers of history-buff tourism. Lloyd and the rest suggested they handle this the obvious way instead, but Welles refused to risk killing anyone... With his deliberately-weak weapon.
 -It was a difficult fight for both sides, several Berserkers vs Marrius' Group, but eventually Welles couldn't help but defend himself... Nonfatally but with extreme skill anyway. And after Leigh cut off a dude's arm, Welles was able to get everyone's attention, make them stop fighting, and even convince Ansi to heal up their foes. Everyone was on guard throughout this, but it actually worked out perfectly well, no pun intended.
 -Welles discussed a bit of his familial and cultural history, a story he was just about to start on Calof's behalf when Ansi noticed the attackers. The exposition also leads into the first in-universe mention of Ellen, also revealing that she'd learned the sword from Marrius' father.
 -The thread ended on the note of Leigh and Lloyd discussing recent events, cutting off before their discussion took a turn for... Other stuff.

Current party members

 -Lloyd (Dark Mage) A pragmatic young man whose home settlement was destroyed by an undead horde. Left with nothing, he convinced his girlfriend that the two of them needed to become bandits, and a series of coincidences from there led to him joining a noble group of mercenaries.
 -Leigh (Mercenary) A strong young woman whose home settlement was destroyed by an undead horde. She was convinced to become a bandit by her boyfriend, but she still has a valiant soul, being enthusiastic about chances to do the right thing. A series of coincidences led to her joining a noble group of mercenaries. While she's a hard-worker, she's quick to complain about other people's moral failings and has a bit of a violent side.
 -Ansi (Summoner) An antisocial and pragmatic man, long-haired, "pretty," and of average height and build, the type who won't help others if there's nothing in it for him. That being said, however, he is fantastic at what he can be assed to do. It's unclear if there's more to him, or if he's just good at doing what a customer wants. Has a dark past.
 -Calof (Vautou Archer) A non-confrontational winged man with a bow. He's a pretty simple, curious guy, a good shot, and a better conversationalist than a few of his wingless coworkers. He's very good at following orders, but poor at making decisions on his own account unless they're glaringly obvious choices. More shy than he lets on.
 -Welles (Great Lord) See Clients section below.

Not-on-this-mission party members (given the nature of Marrius' Group, this can temporarily happen a lot)

 -Marrius (Hero) A famous mercenary company leader and the son of two other prolific sellswords. Despite not being particularly old, he has a mature air about him, and is by all reports a very nice guy. His father apparently trained one of the most famous heroes in recent Teege history, Ellen.
 -Yulea (Cavalier) A green-armored, fair-haired mercenary with a heart as big as she is strong, preferring to wield lances upon her horse. Best friends with Yancy, who feels she's too nice for her own good. Can sometimes be slow on the uptake, but has an overall good head on her shoulders.
 -Yancy (Troubadour) A red-armored, brown-redheaded mercenary with a foul, boisterous demeanor, skilled with a sword and a staff alike. Best friends with Yulea, who insists she has a good heart. An admirer of muscles, she's constantly striving to improve herself, and can be snappy. The niece of Mage General Yancy, named after him by her... Interesting father.
 -Lyeim (Myrmidon) Half-garou, half-human, this guy was the newest member of Marrius' company prior to the appearance of Lloyd and Leigh. Overall, he's a nice, unassuming fellow, though he does have a slight dark side and can be insecure at times. The son of a beloved public figure in Neir, Stefyn, and the current leader of the Garou, Dama.
 -Yone (Priest) A young man (he can't be older than 19) with short, dark hair and a fiery red heart. Overconfident in his nonexistent strength and charms, he ended up joining Marrius' Group after unsuccessfully confronting Lloyd over his criminal past. Harbors a crush on Yancy, much to her disgust.

Clients
 -Eyven (????, threads 3-active) The short and stocky son of the late Salia and Quidel, leaders of the Tarvosian nomads. Rather lazy, he still looks out for his brother Welles, and is able to teleport at will using a Witch's Pendant inherited from his mother, which only works on a single person due to its damages. Upon finding out that Neir was unable to spare an in-house escort to a funeral in Dain, he hired members of Marrius' group to accompany him the rest of the way.
 -Welles (Great Lord, threads 3-active) The tall and built son of the late Salia and Quidel, leaders of the Tarvosian nomads. An extremely friendly person with impeccable ability to bring out the best in all people, highlighted by his complete refusal to take a life with his immense swordsmanship skills. He managed to both subdue and befriend a group of bandits who attacked one night.

Former Allies

 -Nicholas (Priest, died in thread 1) A righteous-hearted healer who called for the aid of Marrius' company when his town was overrun by the Ymir Group. After mistaking Lloyd and Leigh for members of Marrius' Group, he was killed by one of Cane's lackeys, dying without learning the truth about his town's "saviors," but at least the real deal showed up soon after.

Defeated Bosses

 -Cane (Warrior, died in thread 1) A cruel woman hailing from far-off islands who apparently knows the pain of losing loved ones and drawn-out deaths, preferring to avert both when possible, albeit knowing it's sometimes unavoidable. She was the leader of the Ymir Group bandits, but apparently until recently was only its second-in-command. After a onesided-in-her-favor fight with Lloyd, she was stabbed in the nick of time by Leigh and finished off by Yulea.
 -Barry (Berserker, did not die in thread 3) A big guy whose name happened to be dropped in his attempts to raid the campsite of the members of Marrius' Group escorting Welles. Losing an arm to Leigh was enough to convince the rest of his companions that maybe continuing along this path was a poor choice, and Welles was even able to prod Ansi into reluctantly saving his life. Had Welles not spoken out as he did, he and his entire group would have died of the wounds they'd received fighting his escorts, and several were already as good as such by the time the dust cleared.

Noteworthy Non-party/non-client Characters

 -Gyo (Ice Dragon) Bearing a childlike, androgynous appearance, Gyo is, like most known manaketes, really several centuries old, but still considered an unworthy upstart by other Ice Authority representatives. Has only killed one Fire Dragon despite the authority's policy, and even that was in self-defense. All in all a pretty nice person, respected by settlers.
 -Valerie (Assassin) A reclusive master of the killing arts, living in the mountains of Tordo and only showing herself should she notice someone in danger of falling at the hands of monsters or undead.
 -Mage General Yancy (????) The current leader of Heim, operating out of Elza Oasis, specifically its Tower of Longevity, like most Mage Generals before him. In his time as ruler, he improved Heim's infrastructure pretty nicely, though some of that has been undone by the random undead. He's currently looking for viable candidates to become spirit charmers.
 -Irene (Witch) A pupil of a former Mage General with an extremely curious mind. In particular, she is currently studying ways to allow human beings to warp around safely without the use of some extremely rare apparatus, though there have been... Mishaps, which apparently aren't unique in her studies. Though some accuse her of only being in Marrius' Group because of her... Impressive physique, she's still quite clever, good with administrative work, money, record-keeping, and generally being pleasant. She's comparable to a secretary-accountant and very supportive.
 -Ellen (Hero) A champion of Neir who was sent into the mountains of Tordo to investigate the source of the undead menace who, by the reports of her surviving companions on the trip, resultantly fell through an Outrealm Gate and hasn't resurfaced since. Despite this, since she's apparently just that strong, people have faith that she'll return alive and well.

Noteworthy factions

 -Ice Authority: Ruling the Tordo mountains with a frigid fist, this group of Ice Dragons led the nation mostly-undisturbed for years... Until recently, when zombies and the like have been raised in the past few years. Since then, their authority has weakened, and unsavory groups of humans have picked up the slack where they've been hit the hardest. They have a policy of exterminating Fire Dragons and Chameleons on sight, sentiments which most, but not all human settlers share.
 -Marrius' Group: A mercenary guild founded by the swordsman Marrius, quickly rising in fame. Typically only sending a few more members than deemed necessary on any given mission, they still have a very low mortality rate and generally report satisfaction. It's arguably more comparable to a mercenary's guild.
 -Ymir Group: A bunch of bandits who recently became led by Cane, though their former (and "real") leader has not been revealed. They were significantly weakened, cut up, and humiliated by their defeat in a settlement by members of Marrius' group.
 -Magical Senate: The governing body of the desert nation of Heim, headed by a Mage General approved by... Some means or another. Their actions are heavily responsible for the towns and cities of the harsh desert being surprisingly comfortable, secure places to live.
 -Undead: A type of monster that normally needs to be specifically summoned. Lately, however, they've been appearing literally at random throughout the nation, making travel a more dangerous thing once again. Despite the name, they do not appear to have ever truly been alive, only taking on forms resembling once-living things.
 -Garou Tribes: A race that is known for using beaststones to shift between a humanlike form and that of a large, menacing wolf in battle, currently led by a woman named Dama. People of mixed Garou ancestry sometimes can transform like this, but also sometimes can't. This integration, while surprisingly smooth, isn't necessarily as perfect as people like to pretend it is, since a centuries-long history of mutual animosity cannot truly be erased in a few decades.
 -Tarvosian Nomads: As a society, the caretakers of Tarvos Valley have been beloved and respected allies of the kingdom of Neir since its literal beginnings. Tarvos Valley alone is enough to qualify as the largest region of Neir, and it's also coupled with the valley in which the capital of Rakche is located to form the Johan region. Currently led by a man named Antiman, uncle of its recently-deceased former chief.
 -Kingdom of Neir: Founded by Queen Hauteclere centuries ago on the remains of the Gerxel empire, Neir is a mountainous nation on the Easternmost end of the continent of Teege, encompassing four massive valleys and their surrounding mountain ranges, officially designated as the Johan, Cord, and Darros regions, with Johan housing both the capital of Rakche and the aforementioned Tarvos Valley. Led by King Garrus and Queen Eva, all-around decent and respected rulers. The leading families make a tradition of sending at least one of their non-heir children to live among and serve the other, as a show of continued mutual trust, goodwill, and connection.
 -Dain Empire: Just a few years ago, this name would have struck awe and fear into people's hearts. However, the reforms of its recently-deceased Empress Alexia have... Made the nation not what it used to be, in terms of size and intimidation. For the most part, though, people have agreed that this is still better than the whims of the infamously incompetent Emperor Elias II, whose senility and all-around insistence on playing the part of some cliche villain led to the ire of many people, as well as leading him to be manipulated by a still-unidentified (but now thankfully deceased) Necromancer with Outrealm-spanning aspirations. The niece of Alexia, Empress Kia, is in control of the nation now.