Murder Holes

Murder Holes (Japanese: マーダーホレス) is the side quest of the eleventh chapter of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. In order to play this chapter, the must have completed the previous chapter in 30 turns or fewer, triggered the trap by allowing Leif to enter the central courtyard, and kept Fred alive.

Murder Holes

Location Fort Dandrum dungeon Weather Fog of War New units Fred, Olwen Boss(es) Oltoph Previous chapter(s) Fort Dandrum Next chapter(s) The Bandits of Dacia

“	All you have to do is kill the enemy before they kill you. Of course, you'll have to be prepared for the worst...	”	— Kempf's advice to Oltoph

Plot

Main article: Murder Holes/Script

August, feeling that time is of the essence, instructs Leif to have their forces enter the fortress's dungeons to clear out any remaining troops and rescue any child prisoners before they are executed.

Kempf is then seen ordering a begrudging Oltoph to stay behind and fight to the death to guarantee escape. Kempf also orders Oltoph to execute any remaining prisoners as an afterthought and makes his way to the exit.

Olwen, who is locked in one of the cells with some children, witnesses their terror and fully grasps what the child hunts really are. The children are initially angry at her due to being a soldier of the Empire but she reassures them that she will help them escape. She is freed by Leif's forces and her subordinate Fred during the fighting.

After Friege's forces are cleared out of the dungeon and the children escape, Olwen overhears August and Dryas discussing the honor of house Friege in light of the fact that Ishtar's romantic relationship with Julius and open participation in the child hunts makes the entire house followers of Loptous. Olwen is confused by this information and voices her objections to this; she then agrees to accompany Leif's forces to learn the truth of what the Empire, and her brother Reinhardt, have really been doing.

Chapter data

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Seize the throne	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Leif dies	6–8+2+12	{{{partner}}}	4−1	36+18	{{{third}}}

Units are arranged based on their position in deployment order after Leif.

Placement of returning units captured in the previous chapter.

Additionally, up to twelve units that were captured in the previous chapter will return here as prisoners in the upper cells. They are positioned based on their place in deployment order in the previous chapter. If thirteen of the fourteen deployable units were captured, the unit last in deployment order will not be present; however, they will still be re-recruited at the end of the chapter. The second, fourth, fifth, and sixth prisoners will overlap with Olwen and the Civilians; they cannot be interacted with until the NPC no longer shares the tile, either through movement on their turn, being rescued, or being killed.

Version 1.06 of the Lil' Manster fan translation adjusted the positions of the first six captives, placing them in the middle cell rather than sharing Olwen's (shifting each of them four tiles west).

Character data

Characters
New units
Fred Paladin HP 33 Inventory Lightning Sword Dire Thunder Vulnerary Door Key Level 2 Automatically from turn 2 Olwen Mage Knight HP 24 Inventory -- Level 2 NPC, talk to with Fred
Required characters
Available characters

Additionally, any units that were captured in the previous chapter will return in this one. The first twelve who were captured will be present on the map, and will be recruited at the start of turn 1; if a thirteenth unit was captured, they will not be present, but will be recruited at the end of the chapter.

Enemy data

Stats with two figures separated by a ~ are presented as a range, representing stats that vary due to random growths. The figures to the left and right of the ~ are the stat's minimum and maximum possible values respectively.

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Friege Archer 9 1 20~31 3~14 0~11 0~11 0~11 0~11 1~12 6~17 5~6 Short Bow Authority: Oltoph Friege Mage 8 1 18~28 0~10 2~12 2~12 3~13 0~10 0~10 4~14 6~7 Thunder Authority: Oltoph Friege Archer 10 2 20~32 3~15 0~12 0~12 0~12 0~12 1~13 6~18 5~6 Short Bow Authority: Oltoph Friege Mage 10 2 18~30 0~12 2~14 2~14 3~15 0~12 0~12 4~16 6~7 Elfire Authority: Oltoph Friege Mage 7 1 18~27 0~9 2~11 2~11 3~12 0~9 0~9 4~13 6~7 Thunder Authority: Oltoph Friege Archer 6 1 20~28 3~11 0~8 0~8 0~8 0~8 1~9 6~14 5~6 Short Bow Authority: Oltoph Friege Mage 6 1 18~26 0~8 2~10 2~10 3~11 0~8 0~8 4~12 6~7 Thunder Authority: Oltoph Friege Archer 10 3 20~32 3~15 0~12 0~12 0~12 0~12 1~13 6~18 5~6 Poison Bow • Antitoxin Authority: Oltoph Oltoph Bishop 8 1 20~30 0~10 5~15 2~12 2~12 0~10 1~11 4~14 5~6 Bolting • Meteor • Physic • Door Key Authority: ★ • Starts on a throne, the chapter's seize point. • Does not move until turn 30, at which point he begins to ignore combat and move to escape via the southeast corridor. Friege Axe Armor 8 3 20~30 4~14 0~10 0~10 0~10 0~10 8~18 9~19 5~6 Battle Axe Authority: Oltoph Moves to attack units in range. Friege Soldier 6 6 20~28 3~11 0~8 0~8 0~8 0~8 1~9 6~14 5~6 Javelin Authority: Oltoph The southern one does not move. Friege Archer 8 2 20~30 3~13 0~10 0~10 0~10 0~10 1~11 6~16 5~6 Poison Bow Authority: Oltoph Friege Mage 9 1 18~29 0~11 2~13 2~13 3~14 0~11 0~11 4~15 6~7 Thunder Authority: Oltoph Friege Soldier 7 1 20~29 3~12 0~9 0~9 0~9 0~9 1~10 6~15 5~6 Javelin Authority: Oltoph Does not move. Friege Soldier 10 2 20~32 3~15 0~12 0~12 0~12 0~12 1~13 6~18 5~6 Javelin Authority: Oltoph Does not move. Friege Soldier 8 2 20~30 3~13 0~10 0~10 0~10 0~10 1~11 6~16 5~6 Javelin Authority: Oltoph Does not move. Friege Sword Armor 6 4 20~28 4~12 0~8 0~8 0~8 0~8 8~16 9~17 5~6 Iron Blade Authority: Oltoph Moves to attack units in range; otherwise moves randomly. Friege Mage 8 2 18~28 0~10 2~12 2~12 3~13 0~10 0~10 4~14 6~7 Wind Authority: Oltoph Moves to attack units in range.

Reinforcements

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Friege Soldier 3 4 20~25 3~8 0~5 0~5 0~5 0~5 1~6 6~11 5~6 Short Lance Authority: Oltoph Friege Soldier 3 2 20~25 3~8 0~5 0~5 0~5 0~5 1~6 6~11 5~6 Javelin Authority: Oltoph Friege Soldier 6 4 20~28 3~11 0~8 0~8 0~8 0~8 1~9 6~14 5~6 Short Lance Authority: Oltoph Friege Soldier 6 2 20~28 3~11 0~8 0~8 0~8 0~8 1~9 6~14 5~6 Javelin Authority: Oltoph Friege Soldier 11 4 20~33 3~16 0~13 0~13 0~13 0~13 1~14 6~19 5~6 Short Lance Authority: Oltoph Friege Soldier 11 2 20~33 3~16 0~13 0~13 0~13 0~13 1~14 6~19 5~6 Javelin Authority: Oltoph

Reinforcements

All reinforcements are halted upon Oltoph's defeat.

• Turn 8
  • Four level 6 Soldiers with Short Lances from south of the cell containing the NPCs
  • Two level 6 Soldiers with Javelins from south of the cell containing the NPCs
• Turn 10
  • Four level 3 Soldiers with Short Lances from the northwest corner of the map
  • Two level 3 Soldiers with Javelins from the northwest corner of the map
• Turn 15
  • Four level 11 Soldiers with Short Lances from the northwest corner of the map
  • Two level 11 Soldiers with Javelins from the northwest corner of the map

NPC data

NPC Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Skill Spd Lck Prf Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Olwen Mage Knight 2 1 24 4 10 7 9 5 3 5 5 -- Action: ★ Moves to be next to Fred. Peter Civilian 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 -- Moves to escape via the northwest; allows the acquisition of a Silence Staff from a village in Chapter 12 if he escapes. Rosa Civilian 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 -- Moves to escape via the northwest; allows the acquisition of a Vulnerary or Magic Ring from a village in Chapter 12 if he escapes. Sera Civilian 1 1 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 -- Moves to escape via the northwest; allows the acquisition of the Heim Scroll from a village in Chapter 12 if she escapes.

Boss data

Stats with two figures separated by a ~ are presented as a range, representing stats that vary due to random growths. The figures to the left and right of the ~ are the stat's minimum and maximum possible values respectively.

Main article: Oltoph

Bishop Level 8 Action -- Authority ★

Stats Max HP 20~30 Speed 2~12 Strength 0~10 Luck 0~10 Magic 5~15 Defense 1~11 Skill 2~12 Constitution 4~14 Movement 5~6 FCM 0

Inventory Skills Bolting Meteor Physic Door Key -- Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- C A A B -- --

Strategy

This section details unofficial strategies that may help with completion of the chapter. This may not work for everybody.

The main difficulty of this chapter comes not from fighting, but rather from avoiding fighting. Most of the enemies here have 2 range weapons that will chip at your units with lower bulk or avoid. This is a great chapter for units with strong 2 range, like Asbel, Osian, Selphina, and Dagdar. Bring a door key or lockpick for Oltoph's room, and feel free to capture him, since his lack of a weapon that can counter at 1 or 2 range means he is an automatic capture for anyone with more constitution than him. Siege tomes sell for a good profit. Another option is to simply warp to the boss and kill or capture him (the latter can only happen after killing an adjacent enemy) so that he doesn't cause any trouble with his siege tomes, though this requires the warped unit to survive all of the enemies in the throne room.

On turn 30, Oltoph stops attacking and runs to escape, which also opens the door. If the player cannot open the door, they must wait for this event. If the player blocks the escape tile, he will be unable to escape. It is possible to abuse this to safely neutralize Oltoph when combined with a magically resistant unit, though this is not viable for an SSS rank run.

Fred appears as a player unit on turn 2, and the main goal with him is to make a beeline for Olwen's cell. It is best that he attacks the Soldiers at 2 range, as he will do magic damage. Due to the fact that Olwen is standing right next to the cell door and won't move, the Soldiers (who are armed with Javelins) will continually attack and may kill her if Fred does not hurry. If the player fears her death, they can use Warp to send a unit up to protect her, though she can not be rescued with the Rescue staff until she is recruited. Soldier reinforcement will appear as well, though fortunately the one adjacent to Olwen's door has a Short Lance and will block the Javelin Soldiers from attacking. The Short Lance Soldiers have strange AI, and will sometimes refuse to attack Fred and stay still, so leaving them be is for the best.

Also, note that the cells in the northern part of the map have the purpose of containing the player's captured units if they were captured in the previous chapter. However, this is very unlikely to have happened due to the previous map having few enemies and only one place for them to escape with a captured player unit. The player should use the Rescue mechanic to keep their units safe from the enemy Soldiers.

Trivia

• One of the children's names, Sera, bears resemblance to Serra—a playable cleric in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, and Sara—another playable cleric from this game.
• This chapter is referenced by Leif in Fire Emblem Engage.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	Murder Holes	Used in Fire Emblem Engage.
English (unofficial)	• Murder Hollace • Desperate Ground	• Used in FireLizard's translation. • Used in the Lil' Manster fan translation patch.
Japanese	マーダーホレス	Literally translates to something like "Murder Hollace". A common theory is that it is intended to be "murder holes", but "holes" was transcribed into Japanese literally as ホレス horesu instead of something like ホールズ hōruzu. This is supported by Kempf's other dirty tactic being called "portcullis", another fortification in castles.

Gallery

• 

  Map of the chapter

References

← Fort Dandrum •	Murder Holes	• The Bandits of Dacia →