AAR: The Fall and Rise of Recette Lemongrass

This is my more serious attempt at writing a Warband AAR based on an anime / Doujin soft character - Recette Lemongrass.

The plot is simple - following the failure of her shop to pay back her father's loan, Recette got her house seized to liquidate it, and ends up having to live in a cardboard box for the rest of her days. The swordsman adventurer she met on the first day of starting a shop - Louie, however, was positive there was something else they both can do. He had gotten words of the land of Calradia, where it is significantly easier to make money than in the city they were currently living in and decided to sell everything he has (which, admittedly, is not much) and set sail for this continent. Seeing her plight, he offered her a lift to Calradia, suggesting that there might be ample chance to set up another item shop of her own...

A few notes:

- I will be playing using Pike and Blade + Diplomacy 3.3.
- My player character will be Louie. This is because Recette is a very young girl with absolutely zero combat ability as shown in game. However, his skill mix will reflect both characters - he will have very high trading skill and charisma to stand for Recette's ability to find deals.
- The starting choice will also reflect both characters: Veteran Warrior -> Street Urchin (Louie) and Goods Peddler -> Being Forced Out Of Your Home (Recette)
- Louie is a swordfighter on foot from the game. This is why he will be restricted to fighting on foot with only swords, and he will most likely stick to troops that use swords and maybe morningstars (Swadian Vet Footman and Sergeant line, or Rhodok Boardman line) and crossbow. He might pick up knowledge to use more advanced troops (poleaxes, axemen, squires, knights, cataphracts, etc.) later on.

This game will be played with all damage on normal, both AI on good, 150 battlesize and normal combat speed for a total of 106% difficulty.

So it is decided. Today is the last day that I will stay in this city. Well, not to say I won't miss it, just that there is plenty of chance for more adventure and more pay elsewhere.

My name is Louie, a swordsman in the employ of himself. I make my living by prowling dungeons, killing monsters, collecting treasure and selling them for money. The job earns surprisingly little money, I have to be honest. I have always had... difficulties procuring food to fill my belly. Maybe it's just me, maybe it is this city's thoroughly off-the-chart food price. But going to sleep hungry is not my style. Totally not.

And then my lucky day came - a merchant from a continent far, far beyond our own offered me and a few other adventurers at the guild the opportunity to sail to this continent of Calradia.

From his words, Calradia is indeed a heaven for adventurers like myself. You can never run out of jobs there - the lords and nobles are always searching for capable fighters and warriors to protect their citizens and maybe carry out dangerous jobs for incredible pay. The only thing you need is bravery and battle prowess and you will be set for life. And at no time did I doubt I lack either.

There was only one nagging thing, though...

"50000 pix," said the merchant as he spread his right palm before me and all those at the adventurer's guild.

I could swear I heard many screams of "Scammer!" from the crowd. Which kind of make sense - the townsfolk, me included, had been plagued by a particularly shameless scam artist throughout the past month. All it take, though, was an explanation from the merchant to silence his oppositions.

"Friends, the road from here to Calradia is long and perilous. I am pretty sure that a trip on any run-of-the-mill transport covering that distance would be worth dozens of thousands in your currency. That is not to mention the additional food provision - you should know better than me how expensive food in this city can get. All in all, I most likely cannot accept less without incurring a loss on just carrying you across the seas."

His statement made quite a lot of sense - I remember once paying as many as 6000 pix for a ham sandwich when food was scarce and price doubled.

"Then again, if you are not interested, it is of no loss to me and my crew," he said, gesturing towards the door. "I'd make myself scarce if you so wish."

"Wait!"



And here I am, spending my last night prowling the streets of the city, literally penniless. My last coin was spent on dinner, and even for that I had to sell my sword and armor. But I am contented, if not excited. Who knows, if Calradia is as promising as the merchant say, perhaps I will make enough money to recoup all that loss in a matter of days.

And then I hear a sigh from a nearby alleyway.



I can't believe my eyes. Is that not Recette, the owner of that shop up the hill? I am pretty sure her shop has always been crowded with wealthy, opulent customers since it opened a month ago. Being a member of the merchant's guild, she is guaranteed to make a huge profit on whatever she sells. That is not to mention the occasional dungeon dives she hired me out to do, each of which could return no less than a dozen pix. What could have happened to reduce her to this state? Whatever the reason was, I am certain it was nothing less than cataclysmic and sudden.

"Oi, Recette!" I call out in a neutral tone not dissimilar to what I would greet her in the shop.

She looks up.

"Louie?"

At this point she looks decidedly wretchedly poor. Then again, I tend to classify anyone in a worse position as myself as "wretchedly poor". The cardboard box she had "Recette's house" written on hastily with marker pen was hardly big enough for an adult to sit inside, and apart from that she has literally nothing she can call "possession". The only uplifting part is that her clothing seems to be surprisingly neat and proper.

"What happened?" I ask in as sympathetic a voice as I could muster. Which worked rather well, if by 'working well' I meant 'breaking her into tears.

And then she told me exactly what the situation was. It turns out that the entire reason behind her suddenly setting up a shop in town was to repay a debt upward of 800000 pix to this financial company called Terme Co. Every week she had to pay a preposterously huge bill if she wants to retain the house for another day. She's paid back around half of it when in the last week the company ordered a ridiculous 500000 pix. She ended up being merely 30000 pix short of the due amount by the due date. Now here she is, homeless and penniless just like me - dirty bastards confiscated all her remaining inventory and cash aside from her money.

"Gee, I was planning to pass by your place to say goodbye when this happens," I comment lightheartedly, not having anything better to say.

Probably not a very considerate thing of me to say. Her reaction, however, was still full of curiosity and interest as always.

"Ehhh-what?" she rolls her eyes at me. "Goodbye?"

"Yeah," I answer. "Tomorrow I will leave town for this continent called Calradia."

"Calradia?" she asks back as she stares at me. "I... don't know this place."

"Neither do I," I speak, crossing my arms. "Apparently there is plenty of jobs to be had there for the strong and brave. Plenty of opportunities for the merchants as well, if I heard it right. If you know what you are doing, you can become a wealthy and powerful figure in no time!"

At which point a flash of bright thoughts suddenly occurred to me.

"Hey, I just thought of this... would you like to go with me?"

Her reaction is duly fitting.

"EEEEH?" she let out a shriek of astonishment. Not that I am surprised - I've been rather used to her overt display of surprise in the last month.

"I mean, you don't have anywhere else to go, do you?" I explain. "On the other hand, I do have a ticket on a ship to Calradia leaving at daybreak tomorrow. Worth a pretty fifty thousand, but totally worth it. You can hop aboard if you want to."

"Well... err..." she stammers, "That is true, but... I've been in this town for my whole life..."

I smile confidently.

"Well, not like I haven't protected you plenty in the dungeons, have I?" I say. "This isn't going to be much worse."

"But what about Tear?"

"Pretty sure she'd be off to pester another victim by now," I scoff. "I am surprised you are still thinking anything positive about that loan shark," I shake my head, "when I am pretty sure one more day is all it would have taken for none of this to happen."

"But..."

"Well, it's decided then," I interrupt her. "Outside the Adventurer's Guild tomorrow before dawn. Do we have a deal?"



This serves as just the prologue, owing to the crossover nature of the AAR. The next chapter will deal much more with M&B stuffs we have all know and love.