I finally got a decent stretch of time in on Suikoden V, and there are signs of getting closer to the end, like having gotten most of the collectible items like old books and window sets.

I headed off to see the Dragon Cavalry, but had to take a boat and then go through the dwarf mines to get there, since Viki wasn’t teleporting for some reason. Unfortunately, Godwin soldiers were there and I could only take two riders back with me, with the commander unable to cooperate.

Upon returning to the headquarters, news came in that the Godwin and Armes armies were attacking towns, and I had to choose which one to defend. I picked Lelcar since it was supposed to be easier, and it was only moderately tough. I lost one squad, but without any permanent deaths, fortunately. The armies continued to advance though, and I had to decide whether to defend the castle, or abandon it. Unfortunately, defending the castle results in the permanent loss of a Star of Destiny (yet another thing you’d only know from a walkthrough…), so I had to choose to abandon it, and I’m holed up in the Dwarf Mines for now.

I then had to head back to investigate what had happened to the Dragon Cavalry at their training grounds, and could only take men in my party due to a rule that no women were allowed at the grounds. There, we discovered that Godwin troops and assassins were holding the dragons and their eggs hostage, and we got rid of them easily enough. Georg also popped up unexpectedly and rejoined me, and finally befriended me as a Star of Destiny, along with some of the Cavalry members.

Now that I’ve rescued the Dragon Cavalry, next up is a war battle to retake the old headquarters…