Suikoden II/Matilda's knights

Path to Matilda
The next morning Nanami will wake you up and tell you that there is a meeting in the great hall. When you're ready, enter the great hall. Shu will explain the situation and say that it would be a good idea to form an alliance with the Knightdom of Matilda, one of the powers of the city-state. Reply with the first option to agree. Nanami will join you. Choose your group and go. Apple will tell you that to reach Matilda you will need to cross the Forest Path, north of Greenhill. Then go to the place.

At the entrance to the forest path, Nanami will ask you something, answer her as you like. Then talk to the guards, they will let you pass. The forest path isn't very long, but still beware of random encounters with enemies. The DoReMi Elfs can cause massive damage to the entire party if they attack you in large numbers, so try to eliminate them quickly. Papa Hollys have a lot of HP. Of course, having with you characters who can perform Unite attacks will help. Go north. In the next screen you will meet a silent character named Badeaux. You can't recruit him right now, so ignore him. Instead, take the path to his right to find a Guard Ring. Continue and go north to reach the next screen. Follow the path and go north. On the third screen, look for a passage through the trees to the left to reach the chest. Inside you will find some Mega Medicines. At the next fork, head north first to reach a chest containing Dragon Armor. Go back and take the other path. At some point, Viki will teleport in front of you and ask you if she can go to your house for a little. Respond with the first or second option to recruit her. Viki is extremely useful, she will allow you to teleport to any place you've already been, so don't miss this opportunity!


 * Viki recruited

Viki will ask if she should follow you immediately or go to your castle, answer as you like. Continue and on the next screen you will meet Miklotov who will escort you directly to Rockaxe, home of the knights of Matilda.

Rockaxe
Lord Gorudo in waiting for you, so go straight to the great hall. But Gorudo will treat you very badly, saying that you are just a boy and he will show himself completely uninterested in the problems of the city-state. Answer him as you like. Eventually Gorudo will declare the meeting over and tell you to leave the next day. Camus will take you to your room. That night Leknaat will appear again and tell you about your destiny. The next morning you will see Miklotov enter Lord Gorudo's room: follow him. Miklotov will say that the Highland army has appeared at the border with Muse and is pursuing refugees from Muse trying to reach Rockaxe. Gorudo will finally decide to mobilize the army. Camus will ask you what you intend to do, choose to participate too.

Major Battle #5
You can do nothing in this battle. Gorudo will order his knights not to abandon their position and limit themselves to defending the border. You will see the refugees trying to reach Matilda, but they will inevitably be slaughtered by the Highland army, commanded by Luca Blight. Even if you try to rescue them with your troops, you are too far away and will arrive too late. When the refugees have all been killed the battle will end.

After the battle, Miklotov strongly objected to Lord Gorudo's behavior and decided to go to Muse alone. Camus will ask you to follow and protect him. Then exit the castle. You will be free to explore the city before leaving. Definitely, you'll want to stop by the shops to stock up on supplies and upgrade your gear. However, you will notice that the trading post is closed. If you want, you can also go out on the world map and engage in battles to earn more money. When you're ready, exit the city and head to Highway Village, southeast.

Highway Village
You are free to explore the village and talk to the inhabitants. There are also a trading post and an item shop. If you want to recruit two more characters, you will now have to undertake a side mission. You'll have to do it now, they won't be available later. Go to the inn. Here you will meet a boy named Futch, who will rush out. The innkeeper will then talk to Humphrey, a lonely fellow. Talk to him too, then go out to meet Futch again, who is talking to his friend Kent about dragons. He will show him a dragon scale and say he is a dragon knight. Go back to talking to Humphrey. Ask him what you want, in any case he will not answer you. The second time you'll have the option to ask him where he's going, do it and he'll tell you that he's headed to Harmonia. Ask him why and Humphrey will tell you that he is looking for dragons. The innkeeper will then arrive and tell you that Humphrey has already paid for you. Go to sleep.

The next morning, outside the inn, you will see Kent tell another boy that he has heard of a dragon on Mount Rakutei, north of the village and he will set off to reach the mountain. Go back to the inn and talk to Humphrey. Answer him with the second option. Futch will also come. The next morning, the villagers will talk to Humphrey and Futch about the missing boy. Tell them you know where he's gone. Humphery and Futch will then decide to save the boy. Tell them you will go with them. Humphrey and Futch will then join your party. Exit the village and head to Mount Rakutei, directly to the north.

Mt. Rakutei
Upon entering, you will find that the path is blocked by a magical barrier of mist. Thanks to the hero's Bright Shield rune, however, the barrier will disappear and you can proceed. The enemies in this area shouldn't cause you particular problems, they usually use simple physical attacks. However, beware of Spikers, who can cause decent damage, especially if they attack you in large numbers and HawkMen who can take a character away from battle. Go north and at the first fork go left to find a Fur Cape. Head back, taking the other path and at the next fork go right to find a Thunder Runner. Back up a few steps and go north. Go right at the fork, at the bottom you will find a Thunder Amulet. Go back to the fork and go left. Go north and at the next fork go left, to reach a chest with a Stone of Power. Go back and go right. On the next screen, go right at the first fork and keep going southeast all the time. At the bottom is a chest with Unicorn Plans #2. Return to the first fork in the screen, head north and then right to find a chest with 2.000 potch. Go back a few steps, go north and then left. You will find Dragon Plans #2. Now go straight right to find a Medicine rune. From here, go as far south as you can, ignoring the first path to the right and take the second one. At the bottom is a chest with a Skill Ring. Go back and take the right path you skipped earlier. At the only fork you come across, go northeast, the other path is a dead end. Follow the path until you reach a save point. Save if you like. A little further on you will finally find Kent, but you will be attacked by a boss.

Boss Fight – Harpy
HP:7400 This Harpy is a fearsome opponent. It has a high HP value and attacks twice per turn. Its physical attacks are not particularly strong: it will sometimes attack a single character with its claws and sometimes it will knock them through the air, causing unbalance status and moderate damage. Often though, the boss will summon tornadoes that cause massive damage to the whole party. More rarely, the Harpy will launch a blue wave that will hit the whole group, heavily damaging you. So constantly keep the party healed with the hero's Bright Shield rune. If the party doesn't need urgent healing, you can use the hero and Nanami’s Family Attack. To ensure that the battle is not too long, you should save all your most powerful magical attacks for this fight. However, keep in mind that fire doesn't work very well against this boss: lightning is better. Also use any items or spells available to enhance your physical attacks.

Once the boss is defeated, Kent will tell you that the dragon is just ahead. Answer him with the first option. Follow Kent and you will find a dragon egg. Futch however will say that he doesn't want it, because he has no intention of riding another dragon after Black, his previous dragon. Humphrey will then draw his sword, to destroy the egg. Respond with the first option, to stop him. Humphrey will explain the reason for his gesture and the egg will hatch, releasing a small white dragon. Futch will then agree to keep the dragon. After these events you will find yourself at the entrance of Mount Rakutei. Humphrey will ask if he can do anything for you. Ask him to fight with you.


 * Humphrey recruited
 * Futch recruited

Then return to the Highway Village to rest and say goodbye to Kent. Talk to her mother and she will give you a recipe. Then head to the Muse-Matilda border, southeast.