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The Story of Lem and the Great Fievdom

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The World of Lem
Home to the Great Fievdom that makes up the five kingdoms of civilization.


--
The Five Kingdoms of the Fievdom
--

In the center of Lem, right up against the barrier mountains that seperates the two seas, lies the vast marshlands of Urlani.
The Urlani are spirtualistic people known far and wide for their talented priests that hail from the Pi-Yun Temple.
Their ruler who goes by the name of "the Padishah", is a fair man that rules from their capital city of "Urlopolis".
Urlani people are also masterful traders, for they are the best ship builders.


The Dwarven tribes of the Keshak Tundra to the far North. The two main Dwarven tribes are known as Gurnstaad and Vloyansk.
Baron Gurnstaad is an old Dwarf who is very kind toward southeners.
However, Baron Vloyansk despises southeners and forces its clan to stick to old (and sometimes cruel) traditions.


The elusive Elves of the vast Shavanoth Forests to the far-East. The Shavanoth elves live in seclusion from the other races.
They share a strong bond to nature and their closest allies are actually the natural wildlife and guardians of the forests they call home.
Shavanoth elves are know for their quick-witted combat style, archery and long life-spans.


The brutish denizens of Teshvar, located in the Pajoon Desert to the far-West.
A strong race of Minotaurs who built a towering city with thick walls around their sacred "Tuumbak Arena".
Ruled by a tyrant called "Sultan Herzani" the Pajoon are the strongest physical race of the Fiefdom.


And finally, down in the South-East lies the Kingdom of Trintha. With a massive fort on an island in the middle called Castle Hilenika.
Home to supreme empress of the Fiefdom, Vella Trinth.
Elgaia Worldmap Finished.png
--

--

Deep below the crust of the earth on various places of Elgaia lie tremendously powerful sources of energy that each represent a different force.
Together, these sources of power form the natural flow of energy that keeps El Gaia verdant and in balance.

There exist 6 of these destinct sources of power that will from now on be refered to as "Hearts".
Each Heart plays a vital role in El Gaia's geography, races and cultures.

Each of the Hearts pumps its energies in vein-like leylines that cover the entire world.
However, around the exact places where these Hearts are located, their respective powers are exponentionally amplified. Even changing the surrounding landscape.
Creatures that spent long periods of time around these locations actually got evolutionary potential from these Hearts and based their entire being and culture around them.
Even though the existance of the Hearts isn't directly known by any mortal, each race of the Fiefdom's entire culture and species has been carved out by them.

All Hearts possess psudo-sentience and can willingly grant or deny their power to any creature. They can even form embodiments or artifacts at will.
But at the very epicenter of a heart's location, it's almost impossible for the Heart to deny its power to creatures and would take great deal of effort to hold back.
Creatures who live close to the hearts don't actually 'drain' any power from them, they're merely affected by the rich aura they naturally emit.

--
--

The Heart of Purity lies beneath the Pi-yun Temple. Ancient settlers noticed their ill became cured deep within the tranquil marshes of Urlani.
Right on the spot this power seemed most potent, the Urlani built the Temple of Pi-yun. Any ill outsider who enters it has their sickness cured within a matter of hours.
Urlani priests who were born, raised and trained on the Pi-yun temple grounds are able to wield this ailment-curing power far beyond the Urlani Marshlands.
They're able to call upon its power anywhere across the world, drawing power from the veins that flow deep beneath the earth.
Additionally, it keeps the dead at rest, abolishing undeath and allowing priests to commune with spirits of those who have passed...


The Heart of Might lies in the center of the Pajoon Desert, underneath the Tuumbak arena, in the center of Treshvar City.
Ancient travellers who ran stuck in the Pajoon Desert noticed that while they should be becoming weaker from exhaustion, hunger and thirst, they actually grew stronger.
Where these brutish people noticed the gain of strength was strongest, they built a massive arena for all to prove their strength.
Eventually, they formed a society and erected the great towering city of Treshvar around their beloved Tuumbak Arena.


The Heart of Endurance lies right in the center of the Keshak Tundra.
It's the most benevolent Heart, desiring loyal followship from its subjects and clashing for dominance against its neighbor; the Heart of Might.
In fact, the clash between Ice and Warm from the two rival Hearts is what formed the oceans and filled the seas.
Settlers who would otherwise succumb to the bone piercing cold received a visit from a towering maiden, made entirely out of ice.
In return for their worship and devotion, the settlers received the resistance to endure Keshak's extreme negative temperatures.
These settlers eventually became shorter and bulkier with a near complete immunity to the cold.
The Maiden of Ice eventually gifted the Dwarves a Chalice that allowed its wielder to form and melt tremendous amounts of ice.
But the 'touch' of the Chalice is utterly addicting and desired by all of Dwarvenkind.


The Heart of Life is located in the center of Shavanoth Forest. It grants the inhabitants of the forest a really long lifespan and near-infinite youth.
However, the Heart of Life is a misleading name, for it is actually also a force of decay, death and regrowth.
The Heart shifts its purpose with the seasons; gradually becoming a force of decay up to Winter and a force of regrowth with the coming of Spring.
Though, it does manage to keep its grip over Shavanoth forest itself; leaving the forests, elves and wildlife in a pleasant summer-like state year-round.


The Heart of Order is located beneath Castle Hilenika.
Its powerful pulses keep all the other Hearts in a state of balance by reinforcing or dilluting their outgoing forces accordingly.
The Trinth Family are the only ones priviledged to have been born and raised within Castle Hilenika their entire life, making their connection to the Heart of Order pure.
The power of Order is a bit of every heart's traits combined, but in a manner that only desires good and balance.
Vella Trinth has been chosen as its champion by the Heart of Order itself, while Kroga Trinth, is the first and only creature it denied...


The Heart of Disorder is a hungering maw that festers below the old Ubon Fortress, located past the expansive Lonely Sea.
It desires nothing but power and chaos, but weirdly, still forms an important overal role in preventing the Heart of Order from making the world... 'Too ordered'.
The history of the Ubon fortress itself is vague. Many individuals who fell to the Heart's calls and insanity performed work on constucting bits of the fortress.
It has no inhabitants except for lurking beasts and vile creatures that call the festering darkness their home.

--

The Characters

--

Sir Rhoderick Rugnar was a military commander that served proudly under Vella's rule.
Although he's devastated with her death, he was away on an errand when Kroga besiege Castle Hilenika and he's one of only few surviving members of the military.
Rhoderick has been selected by the survivors of Trinthia to lead them and seek out the other members of the Fiefdom for help and to aid wherever possible.

Edea Gilwyn is the most prominant Ranger the elves have at their disposal.
She's a determined soul who chose to dispatch from the comfort of Shavanoth to do whatever she can to stop the chaos that looms over El Gaia.
With a small group of elite Rangers she sets out, seeking whatver allies she can in these dark times.

Baz'aptar is an immortal and ancient dark wizard, master necromancer and conjurer who used to command and teach a large cluster of followers and deciples.
Living in complete seclusion to practice their dark arts, Baz'aptar felt the great imbalance of the shifting energies below the earth and decided to step out of hiding.
Most of his followers, however forsake their alligeance to Baz'aptar and swore their loyalty to the vile Kroga Trinth.

Kroga Trinth is the younger brother of Vella Trinth who's always forced to grow up in her shadow.
Vella has always been a born leader and she's praised by all members of the Fiefdom... Kroga has always envied her, longing for her position and power.
Deep below the earth Castle Hilenika was built on, lies the Heart of Order, which is the source of order and balance that has vein-like leylines stretching all over El Gaia.
The Heart of Order itself denied Kroga Trinth its grace because it sensed his selfish lust for power.
This made Kroga an absolute disgrace to the Trinth family line and he was permanently banished from Castle Hilenika right after he reached adulthood.


--

The Story Before the Campaign (must-read)

--

Vella Trinth is the supreme empress of the Fiefdom and her kingdom is by far the largest and most prospering of any race.
The Fiefdom has long prospered under the Trinth family line and universally bear great renown towards the Trinth name and Castle Hilenika.

However, her younger brother, Kroga Trinth was always envious to grow up in his sister's shadow.
Kroga wanted this power for himself and was eventually banished for his disgrace toward the Trinth family name.
After Kroga was banished, he traversed the lands and different kingdoms as a hermit, seeking anything that would allow him to take revenge on his sister.
Eventually, he was drawn to the Ubon Fortress by the Heart of Disorder who gave Kroga an offer...

Revenge on his sister and the power to make the entire world bow before him, but in return, he would relinquish his soul and become a vessel to the Heart.
Kroga, blinded by his desire for power and anger for his sister accepted without hesitation.

Empowered by the Heart, while still having 100% free will, Kroga went back to Castle Hilenika, obliterated his sister and brought Castle Hilenika to ruin in a matter of minutes.
Even severely damaging the Heart of Order itself...
With Vella's death, the inhabitants of the Fiefdom fell into despair and with the Heart of Order damaged, the natural forces and energies of El Gaia were thrown off-balance.

--

The Temples of the Urlani Marshes, used for centuries to cure disease and protect the lands, is now spreading disease, raising the dead and corrupting the once tranquil marshlands.

The vast Shavanoth forests are now withering and nature's guardians are going feral against the elves.

The brutes of Pajoon actually turned on Kroga Trinth as he was passing Teshvar to get back to the Ubon Fortress.
Kroga Trinth forced the Pajoon people to bow before him, but they foolishly refused and tasted Kroga's wrath...
After soaring casualties and the fall of their City, they were forced to yield.
With dwindeling numbers and crumbling walls, the Treshvar brutes are struggling to survive the harsh Pajoon Desert they've inhabited for centuries.
A portion of them ended up deciding to side with Kroga Trinth, impressed by the might he displayed.

There isn't much left of the Kingdom of Trintha. Compelete anarcy befell the people and Castle Hilenika fell to ruins.
Only a handfull of towns and refugee groups remain, but even they struggle to survive as the creatures of nature turn feral and enslaved by Kroga.

Meanwhile, the Dwarves up north are doing the unthinkable...
They are waging fierce wars between their own tribes.
Fighting over an ancient Chalice that is sacred to dwarvenkind and whoever wields it can form and melt vast amounts of ice.
While the Chalice was in the hands of Baron Vloyansk, he used it to create a massive barrier of ice that would isolate the Keshak Tundras from the chaos of the mainland.
Vloyansk hid the Chalice, much to the dismay of Baron Gurnstaad who desperately wanted to help the people on the mainland.
Now isolated in the North, Vloyansk and Gurnstaad continue to spill blood and clash over possession of the Chalice every single day...

--

The Campaign

--

Chapter 1 - The Dust Settles
Rhoderick approaces a small town called Riverglen that is being raided by a combination of Kobolds and Gnolls working together.
After forcing the attackers to retreat to their camps, Rhoderick gains information from the townsfolk that the Kobold Gnoll alligeance is caused by
a new ruler they have called "King Gorba". Rhoderick musters a small squad of guard and militia and slays King Gorba before the town falls.
After Gorba's death, the Gnolls and Kobolds scatter and start fighting among themselves in a frenzied manner, leaving Rhoderick confused.
Then a Soldier comes running in, delivering the news that Castle Hilenika has fallen and that Vella Trinth is dead.
As the people start to panic, Rhoderick tries to calm them down. Even though he can't quite stomach this dire news either, he tells them to keep calm
and to follow him, as he's the highest ranking military member and will set out to check and protect the neighboring towns.


Chapter 2 - Sensing Death
Edea Gilwyn starts with a small base outside of an Elven town that's in the middle of the rapidly dying forest.
She asks her elvish templar if they can sense the source of death that is gripping their lands while trying to expand their fortifications.
The templar attempt to commune with nature and the natural flow of energies in the land to find the source of this force of death.
Large groups of Treants and already frenzied wildlife sense this communion and further distortion of balance, causing them to launch frenzied attacks on the camp.
The animals and treants attack the base while the Templars must be defended and kept alive for 10 minutes.

The templars say they can feel a surreal amount of life force being drained and gathering far north of the base, at the old abandoned Mage Tower.
The attacks on the base cease and Edea moves out with her troops in the direction of the tower.
Upon reaching the upper part of the map, it's revealed that Merefolk (murloc, naga, ect) occupy the tower and are drawing life from the forest for their worshipping of Kroga.
Edea slays the Naga, ampibious creatures and destroys the Abandoned Mage Tower, giving the surrounding land rejuvenation and returning peace to the Treants and animals.

With Shavanoth's decay coming to a halt, Edea sets out towards the Trinthian Empire in the south, looking if they need aid as well...


Chapter 3 - Unexpected Alligeance
Rhoderick gets word that Lycida Keep is threatened to be attacked by a Necromancer and a massive hoard of undead, he moves out immediately.
He arrives at the outskirts of Lycida Keep just as the dead start to mobilize.
Fortunately, Lycida is surrounded by a thick forest, it's well-fortified and only approacable from one side.
With relative ease, Rhoderick can establish basic defensive fortifications and hold back the undead... Until the Necromancer himself shows up.
The Necromancer destroys Rhoderick's pathetic towers and almost defeats him in single combat, but then, Edea arrives up with a group of archers and saves Rhoderick.

Threatening to kill him, the Necromancer reveals himself to be Baz'aptar. He happily cheers and commends the heroes for their bravery and determination.
He says they are exactly what allies he needs to bring down Kroga.

Despite this, Edea and Rhoderick do not lower their weapons just yet until Baz'aptar explains himself fully.

Baz'aptar says that he has no allegiance to Kroga Trinth and would benefit from Kroga's downfall.
Kroga possessed nearly all of Baz'aptar's disciples and followers... They went insane and fell to Kroga's side unwillingly. They were the only ones Baz'aptar ever saw as family.
Baz'aptar pledged to join the forces of Rhoderick and Edea on his own behalf.

Kind of touched by his story, they hasitantly accept him and decide to form a team together.
Their next destination: The Urlani Marshes.


Chapter 4 - Delayed Departures
The three heroes arrive together at the haven of Port Yester, looking to charter a ship in order to head for the Urlani Marshes in the east.
The Duke of Port Yester welcomes them kindly, but has to point out that travelling by sea is too dangerous now that the Lighthouse is rendered disfuctional by a massive cyclops.

An old Admiral named Marlyn then approaches the heroes before the set out to kill the Cyclops, telling them going after the Cyclops alone would be suicidal.
Marlyn offers the heroes a crew of bandits and pirates in exchange for finding his lost treasure that's located somewhere around a little seaside cliff occupied by Trolls.

Once the treasure is secured, the heroes are rewarded with 2 pretty good items, 4 Bandits and 4 Brigants.
Now the heroes are to travel to the Lighthouse and slay the Cyclops with relative ease.


Chapter 5 - The Urlani Marshlands
One week later, the heroes arrive at the distant, now heavily tainted shores of Urlani in the hopes of reaching the city of Urlopolis.
Gaining the favor and aid of the Padishah would mean the heroes and their forces would be reinforced with powerful healers.
Urlopolis is intended to be reached by ship via a series of shipping routes, but vast amounts of undead roaming the marshes claw the hull of the boat and cause it to run stuck.
The heroes and their forces are unscaved from the ship crash, but Urlopolis is still some distance away.

It should come to no suprise that Urlopolis is totally surrounded by the dead, but it seems to be holding pretty well as the Dead do not seem too riled up or aggressive at the moment.
The heroes enter Urlopolis looking for the Padishah, but a guard tells them they might be too late...
The Padishah was on an errant to the Pi-yun temple as the lands started to... Change.
The Pi-yun Temple, just 3 weeks ago was prospering gem of Urlani civilization, priests came to meditate, and the ill came to be cured, but since then, the Dead started rising...
It's said that Pi-yun has become the heart of plague now. The Dead draw their power from it and use it as their center of operations...
Baz'aptar is... Intrigued by this and suggests they should head to Pi-yun immediately in the hopes to rescue the Padishah.

After fighting some large groups of Undead to get there, the heroes verge upon the outskirts of the Temple...


Chapter 6 - The Pi-yun Temple
The temple grounds are vast and open. Vast channels of water, trees and temple walls are all that conceals Pi-yun from easy access.
With immense hoards of undead, the heroes take no chances and decide to construct a base on the temple grounds. Baz'aptar points out that the necrotic energies in this place are vast.
He convinces Rhoderick and Edea that their standing forces would be shredded by the Undead and it would be safer to leave them stationed at Urlopolis. Edea and Rhoderick are sceptical
about it, but they agree that there would be too much losses if their standing forces were used on this fight.
Baz'aptar then draws upon the temple energies to construct his own structures, forming an undead-like base.

The vast Temple grounds are divided in three sections;
1. The above ground plateau thats basically just pillars, roads and tainted swamp lands encased by walls and water.
2. The central Temple housing thats in the middle of the plateau.
3. The subterranian prisons, which were dug recently by the dead.

The heroes must slay 3 Ritualists to open the Temple Housing, which are scattered around the plateau.
Once inside, they must fight powerful minions and slay a powerful skeletal mage in a psudo boss-fight named "Dazmonius the Fallen" to gain access to the underground part.
The prison part of the map will be in a seperate section of the map, heroes can teleport in and out of it via a cave entrance with a circle of power.
The holding pen that houses the Padishah is being guarded by a Lich Boss named "Ren'velan the Frostbiter".
Killing the Lich will stop the further corruption of Urlani and free the Padishah.


Chapter 7 - The Great Barrier
As gratitude for saving the Padishah, an elite healer unit and Hydromancer named Renel Evelander accompanies the heroes on their yourney north.
With their old ship from Port Yester destroyed, they are now sailing on an Urlani Battleship named the Throwan Moor that was gifted by the people or Urlani.
But even at full fire power, the cannons of the Throwan Moor and its metal hull are not powerful enough to pierce the Great Barrier before the Keshak Tundra.
Renel Evelander suggests that he, together with his other Hydromancers can probably shatter the Barrier with a powerful ritual, but it would greatly anger the Merefolk of the Great Sea.
Baz'aptar mocks Renel and his Hydromancers for their lame form of magic to heal and play with water. Rhoderick promptly steps in and defends the Hydromancers by being angry at Baz'aptar.

The Hydromancer's ritual will take 25 Minutes and they must be defended.
Naturally, the heroes pick a plateau of ice that's close enough to the Great Barrier.
They position the Throwan Moor into a defensively sound position. Workers say that the ice can house basic structures (like towers), but certainly not a Barracks or other facilities.
Rhoderick agrees and says that the ice indeed too threaterous for a fortified base and they are quite short on building materials anyway.
Edea says she has fought merefolk before in Shavanoth forest and her Archers are very adapt at dealing with them.

A series of towers and Archers are dotted around the Icey flats with three channels of sea water which the Merefolk will attempt to swim through to reach the channeling Hydromancers.
There's several points where the Merefolk can choose to go on land to attack the towers and archers, but most incoming units will ignore them and swim directly to Renel.
More workers and Archers can be hired periodically, directly from the Throwan Moor.

After 25 minutes of epic tower defense, the Merefolk retreat and the Barrier Shatters. The towers are (canonically) salvaged and all troops get aboard the Throwan Moor.
The way to the Keshak Tundra is open at last.


Chapter 8 - The Keshak Tundra
Moments after the shattering of the Great Barrier, the Throwan Moor sails through the glacier way and docks at a small Dwarven town named Haerhagen.
The anxious Dwarven townsfolk almost fire their artillery at the Moor in fear of it. The dwarves have only heard dire stories and rumor of the choas in the south.
They believed the Barrier protected them for the chaos, but in truth, it rendered them blind and trapped up north.

When Rhoderick exited the Throwan Moor, he was taken into temporary custody to explain the intentions of his crew and explain the state of the south.
The dwarves consult for a bit and agree that the Defenders of Elgaia are welcome in Haerhagen, but should threat very carefully into Keshak's frozen wastes.
They warn the heroes that dwarves who belong to the Vloyansk Tribe will cut you down on sight and your best bet to gain help or assist us is by seeking out the Gurnstaad Tribe.
Baron Gurnstaad is known for his kindness towards southerners, but he is occupied in a fierce war against Vloyansk. Gurnstaad is trying to recover the ancient Chalice that was
used by Vloyansk to create the Great Barrier.
The dwarves of Haerhagen say they take no part in the clash for the Chalice, but if Vloyansk discovered they have helped the southerners, Haerhagen is doomed.

The heroes set out alone, leaving their troops stationed inside the Throwan Moor to draw as little attention as possible and set out toward Fort Gurnstaad.
The fort lies to the far east and the heroes have to fight polar bears, Ice trolls and Wendigo to reach the Fort. The guards of the Fort are overjoyed by the arrival of Southerners and
they rush over to Baron Gurnstaad immediately who cheers loudly upon hearing that the Great Barrier is no more!

He urges the heroes to take their forces to the far North-east of Keshak. The baron will lend whatever forces he can to accompany the heroes.
A great party and feast is prepared for the heroes and their troops to celebrate the destruction of the Barrier.

Then, during the party the Baron's treasurer named "Oloman" steps forth and discretely asks Rhoderick to come into the storage room next to the Baron's Chamber.
Out of reach from the eyes and ears of Baron Gurnstaad and all other Dwarves, Oloman tells Rhoderick that the Baron, along with most Dwarves are obsessed with the Chalice.
Going north-east to recover the Chalice will not end the reign of Vloyansk and only lead to further unnesecary casualties.
The Baron keeps sending troops to the supposed place the Chalice would be hidden, but none ever return. Along with the war, Gurnstaad is on the brink of defeat.

Instead, Oloman urges the heroes to go to the north-west, to strike against the Blue Tower and kill Vloyansk to end the war.
Recovering the Chalice is pointless at stopping the bloodshed.

Rhoderick tells the story of Oloman to Edea and Baz'aptar, who are quite shocked at this revelation and stand before a difficult choice.

Assaulting this Blue Tower with their current forces would be a fierce fight and many would die. However, getting aided by Dwarven Artillery would turn the fight in their favor.
But taking Gurnstaad's forces to the west instead of the east would count as betrayal towards the Baron.

All three agree that they should take the Baron's forces to the Blue Tower and end the reign of Vloyansk before retrieving the Chalice.
With the Dwarves still drunk from the party, they should have no idea in which direction they were heading, and so they set out.

With workers and a huge army, the heroes assault a Vloyansk Tribe base and claim its goldmine in front of the Baron's tower.
Periodically, their base is attacked by Vloyansk warriors. The forces may enter the tower, clear its rooms and slay Baron Vloyansk to end the war.

Baz'aptar says that he can sense the Chalice within the tower, turns out it never was in the east!
He finds the Chalice, claims it and destroys it.

In a moment of awe, Rhoderick, Edea and the Dwarves turn angry towards Baz'aptar, but then a "curse" seems to be lifted from the Dwarves! Their minds were so clouded with desire for
the Chalice that they weren't able to think straight. By destroying the Chalice, this curse is lifted.

Baron Gurnstaad can't thank the heroes enough for doing what was right despite his orders, but Rhoderick points to Oloman, saying he is the true hero of today. Baz'aptar reacts childish
to this, he was the one to figure out the curse, find the Chalice and destroy it. But oh well, the thought of one day claiming vengeance by slaying Kroga Trinth is worth more to Baz'aptar
than praise by mortals.



Chapter 9 - Bonebarrow Chasm
With the North cleansed of evil, the heroes and their forces start moving west toward the Pajoon Desert in the Westerlands.
As the temperatures of the Keshak Tundra get warmer, so does the land around them seem more threaterous and barren...

With spite, they reach the fabled Bonebarrow Chasm. Terrain as hostile and barren as that of Pajoon Desert, but with the sharp boneclutching cold winds of the Tundra.

They encounter an alligeance of Quilboar, cultists and necromancers who are solemnly loyal to Kroga Trinth and block the acessway of the Chasm.

Sadly, the area is devoid of resources and it's so far in-land that the cannons of the Throwan Moor have no hopes of reaching it.
At least they are still accompanied by Renel Evelander, Dwarven Artillery and a fairly large group of standing forces.

With some drawbacks and relatively moderate casualties, the Heroes make it to Pajoon Desert!



Chapter 10 - The Tuumbak Arena
Leaving the Bonebarrow Chasm behind, the forces that arrive in Pajoon are greeted with a grim sight.
The city of Teshvar partialy lies in smoking ruins, with only some buildings and walls still standing, the City is but a broken mess of what it once was.

Without a second thought, the heroes head toward Treshvar looking for Sultan Herazni, who is supreme ruler of the Westerlandes.

Sultan Herzani does not greet the heroes welcomely and curses that all easteners are responsible for the calamity that occured to his city.
Herzani shouts that all who travel Pajoon are his subjects and that they, together with all their forces will be executed in the Tuumbak Arena, unless they can prove themselves against
his finest display of warriors and the most vicious creatures that the Pajoon wastes have to offer.

Baz'aptar almost wanted to speak out of turn and obliterate Herzani with a spell, but Edea and Rhoderick calm him down and accept the Sultan's challenge.
Without honor or time to hesistate, the heroes along with all their forces are thrown into the tuumbak arena. A crowd of loud cheering Pajoon citizens cheer at their first foe is about
to emerge.

First, a herd of Centaur Marauders, then a group of Thunder Lizards, third challenge is a conjurer with alot of golems named "Saph'rani"
and finally, a group of fierce, elite Pajoon Brutes.

After the last brute dies, the Sultan says this was the best fight he had ever seen and shows great respect to the Easteners now.

Baz'aptar, exhausted from the fight again wants to kill the arrogant Sultan on sight with a spell, but he is once again stopped, this time by Renel Evelander.
Renel Evelander actually proved his worth to Baz'aptar during the arena trials, as they likely wouldn't have survived without him.
As much as he hates to admit it, Baz'aptar actually grew quite attached to this group, despite his general disgust for mortals.

The Sultan grants the heroes freedom and access to all of the Westerlands and dispatches a band of Pajoon Brutes to go along with them.

Rhoderick and Edea mourn for the lives lost in the Arena. Too much blood was spilled for needless fighting, but Baz'aptar reminds them that he can raise the dead to reinforce their army.
Despite being ethically against it, leaving them to rot in the hot desert sun wouldn't sit right with them either.
Baz'aptar raises the fallen forces in mere moments, impressing the crowd and the Sultan. At least this blood spillage wasn't a complete waste now.


Chapter 11 - The Great Excavation
Now free to travel the Westerlandes and being accompanied by a vast bulk of forces, the search for Kroga Trinth can begin!
The Sultan hated to be confronted with the question of the whereabouts of Kroga Trinth, he didn't want to admit his defeat, but told the heroes anyway.

Kroga Trinth, together with his legion of darkness headded directly south, over the Lonely Sea in the direction of the Ubon Fortress...

The Sultan speaks with fear in his voice and says, if you want to besiege the Ubon Fortress and bring Kroga Trinth down, you're going to need a much bigger army.

Edea looks at a map of the Westerlandes and asks if it's possible to escavate part of the terrain that seperates the Great Sea with the Lonely Sea.
The Sultan looks suprised and intrigued. The escavation would take up to a week, but leaves us with enough stone to rebuild Teshvar.
Renel steps up and says that if his people would have cleansed their lands of the dead by now, an opening to sail into the Westerlandes would mean the Urlani Fleet could
help at besieging the Ubon Fortress.

Edea simply hoped she could stay aboard the Throwan Moor since the boats of Pajoon look a bit... Primitive.

Rhoderick steps forth with a grim face. We would indeed benefit from this sea route, it could be a fast way to retreat back to Trinthia if things wouldn't go well.
Although I hope we will never get to see the day, retreating through Bonebarrow Chasm would leave us far too vulnerable to ambushes.

And so, the Excavation begins.
Workers together with Pajoon brutes start basing away at the blockade of small mountains and boulders to reveal more and more sea.

Kroga Trinth's dark forces catch on to this pretty fast and launch assaults at the workers. The heroes reinforce the digsite with a large base.
The forces arrive via ships that drop the forces a fair bit off the Pajoon shore and guard these drop off points with a stationary fleet of Frigates and Battleships.
Although there is no rich gold mine on the map, occasionally workers may encounter nodes of gold during their excavations.

After 60 Rock chunks have been cleared, the current starts to flow wildly, sinking most of Kroga's Frigates and Battleships.

Renel sends out a messager to Urlopolis and Edea sends a messenger hawk to Shavanoth forest now.

Baz'aptar realizes what they have accomplished together and prepares himself for the final battle that is to come.



Chapter 12 - All In!
One week after the great excavation, forces from all kingdoms start to gather in the far South of the Westerlandes, standing at the slopes that lead up to the fabled Ubon Fortress.

The reinforcements from Shavanoth and Urlani appear to be running late, but confirmation of their comming has been received.

The heroes establish an impressive base with arcitecture and forces from every kingdom combined.
They name this massive base "Elgaia's Hope".
Kroga Trinth emerges from his Ubon Fortess and displeased by these upstarts, he starts launching heavy assaults at the base.

15 Minutes into the mission, The Throwan Moor arrives with the Dwarves of Haerhagen aboard, including Gurnstaad's reinforcements and his treasurer, Oloman.
However, the reinforcements from Shavanoth and Urlani appear to be running late and these attacks grow more and more intense by the moment.

30 Minutes into the mission, elvish boats arrive from Shavanoth, loaded with elite Archers, swordsmen and templar.
This happens just as Kroga Trinth sends a massive flock of Gargoyles and black dragons.
The Shavanoth Elves also come with Bears, treants and defenders of nature who are content with the healing of the forests and wanting to strike at Kroga.

45 Minutes into the mission, the great Urlani Fleet arrives, full of powerful Warships and potent healers.

5 Minutes later, begins the great push toward the Ubon Fortress.
Uncontrollable allies that stayed at their respective boats now all move out at once.

After all of Kroga's buildings have been destroyed, the Throwan Moore gets to bombard the entrance of the Ubon Fortress and shatter the front gate.
All of Kroga's remaining elite forces now get to pour out of the Fortress and Kroga Trinth will patiently wait to make his last stand.

The inside of the Fortress impose many challenges, traps and elite monsters and Kroga sits at the very end of it.

When you burst down the final door that leads to Kroga's main chamber, the mission ends.



Chapter 13 - Liberation or Devastation
It is over, Kroga! Sir Rhoderick Rugnar shouts.
Kroga stands up from his throne and starts twisting himself in dark energies that seem to greatly empower him.
With a deep, dark voice, he speaks:
"It is impressive you made it this far, but your quest is foolhardy. Bow down before your true master, I am the ruler of Elgaia, I am the KING of this world!"

Now some epic, rightful music starts to play as the different forces of the kingdom slowly and in vast numbers start marching into Kroga's massive chamber.

Kroga speaks again, this time in a much more human voice:
"This... Many? It matters not! Your lives are FORFEIT TO OBLIVION! COME AND MEET YOUR END, JUST LIKE MY WRETCHED SISTER VELLA!!"

Rhoderick looks behind him, at the massive armies of Elgaians who are brave and eager to engage in combat.
He speaks out:
"Our queen's legacy and true heir to the Hilenikan throne might end this day, but we, the armies of Elgaia will endure!
Together, we will forge a new era of mankind and bring an end to this evil for once and for all! For Vella! For Elgaia! For Humanity! CHAAARGE!!"

All of the heroes are now level 15 and have all of their spells unlocked.

Kroga possess powerful summoning and conjuring abilities that create grand amounts of minions to soften the elgian armies.

The Kroga fight is intended to last for around 2 minutes before he enters his second phase.

Kroga screams: "You leave me no choice and forced my hand! Now my inner darkness will taint this land!"

Kroga teleports back in front of his throne and heals himself to full.
He now possesses devastating AoE abilities the deal greatly reduced damage against the main 3 heroes, but absolutely wreck the troops.
The abilities should be semi-dodgeable but still absolutely devastate your army numbers.

Kroga at 30% hp screams: "The eye of Obvlion sees all! If I can't beat you, the Dark One shall!"

Kroga heals himself and turns invulnerable. He will now take on the form of a massive Faceless One that hits super hard, and has AoE Stuns.

The Dark One at 70% hp calmy says: "Your strength is true, but never the less... Our numbers are ENDLESS!"
He spawns large amounts of smaller faceless ones.

At 30% hp, the Dark One will cast a Room-wide Death and Decay that's only half as potent.
And then he says: "No, I cannot be yield! The path to Oblivion must not be sealed!"

At 10% hp, the Dark One will say:
"These mongrels intent to overwhelm... But we shall have this realm..."

A cinematic now plays where just as the Dark One intends to regain his strength and heal again, the Throwan Moore, together with all the Urlani Battleships bombard the
Ubon Fortress from the side and with an astounding barrage of artillery and fire, the Dark One falls and the devastation of this fight comes to bear...

Kroga Trinth lays lifelessly on the floor and thanks the heroes for killing him and ending the torment.
Baz'aptar isn't buying it and obliterates his remains.

A handful of troops from each kingdom emerge, wounded out of the throne room.
They climb aboard their ships and start heading home.

----

The End of the Campaign.

The story of El Gaia will be continued (probably).
 
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The World of Lem
Home to the Great Fievdom that makes up the five kingdoms of civilization.


--
The Five Kingdoms of the Fievdom
--

In the center of Lem, right up against the barrier mountains that seperates the two seas, lies the vast marshlands of Urlani.
The Urlani are spirtualistic people known far and wide for their talented priests that hail from the Pi-Yun Temple.
Their ruler who goes by the name of "the Padishah", is a fair man that rules from their capital city of "Urlopolis".
Urlani people are also masterful traders, for they are the best ship builders.


The Dwarven tribes of the Keshak Tundra to the far North. The two main Dwarven tribes are known as Gurnstaad and Vloyansk.
Baron Gurnstaad is an old Dwarf who is very kind toward southeners.
However, Baron Vloyansk despises southeners and forces its clan to stick to old (and sometimes cruel) traditions.


The elusive Elves of the vast Shavanoth Forests to the far-East. The Shavanoth elves live in seclusion from the other races.
They share a strong bond to nature and their closest allies are actually the natural wildlife and guardians of the forests they call home.
Shavanoth elves are know for their quick-witted combat style, archery and long life-spans.


The brutish denizens of Teshvar, located in the Pajoon Desert to the far-West.
A strong race of Minotaurs who built a towering city with thick walls around their sacred "Tuumbak Arena".
Ruled by a tyrant called "Sultan Herzani" the Pajoon are the strongest physical race of the Fiefdom.


And finally, down in the South-East lies the Kingdom of Trintha. With a massive fort on an island in the middle called Castle Hilenika.
Home to supreme empress of the Fiefdom, Vella Trinth.
--

--

Deep below the crust of the earth on various places of Elgaia lie tremendously powerful sources of energy that each represent a different force.
Together, these sources of power form the natural flow of energy that keeps El Gaia verdant and in balance.

There exist 6 of these destinct sources of power that will from now on be refered to as "Hearts".
Each Heart plays a vital role in El Gaia's geography, races and cultures.

Each of the Hearts pumps its energies in vein-like leylines that cover the entire world.
However, around the exact places where these Hearts are located, their respective powers are exponentionally amplified. Even changing the surrounding landscape.
Creatures that spent long periods of time around these locations actually got evolutionary potential from these Hearts and based their entire being and culture around them.
Even though the existance of the Hearts isn't directly known by any mortal, each race of the Fiefdom's entire culture and species has been carved out by them.

All Hearts possess psudo-sentience and can willingly grant or deny their power to any creature. They can even form embodiments or artifacts at will.
But at the very epicenter of a heart's location, it's almost impossible for the Heart to deny its power to creatures and would take great deal of effort to hold back.
Creatures who live close to the hearts don't actually 'drain' any power from them, they're merely affected by the rich aura they naturally emit.

--
--

The Heart of Purity lies beneath the Pi-yun Temple. Ancient settlers noticed their ill became cured deep within the tranquil marshes of Urlani.
Right on the spot this power seemed most potent, the Urlani built the Temple of Pi-yun. Any ill outsider who enters it has their sickness cured within a matter of hours.
Urlani priests who were born, raised and trained on the Pi-yun temple grounds are able to wield this ailment-curing power far beyond the Urlani Marshlands.
They're able to call upon its power anywhere across the world, drawing power from the veins that flow deep beneath the earth.
Additionally, it keeps the dead at rest, abolishing undeath and allowing priests to commune with spirits of those who have passed...


The Heart of Might lies in the center of the Pajoon Desert, underneath the Tuumbak arena, in the center of Treshvar City.
Ancient travellers who ran stuck in the Pajoon Desert noticed that while they should be becoming weaker from exhaustion, hunger and thirst, they actually grew stronger.
Where these brutish people noticed the gain of strength was strongest, they built a massive arena for all to prove their strength.
Eventually, they formed a society and erected the great towering city of Treshvar around their beloved Tuumbak Arena.


The Heart of Endurance lies right in the center of the Keshak Tundra.
It's the most benevolent Heart, desiring loyal followship from its subjects and clashing for dominance against its neighbor; the Heart of Might.
In fact, the clash between Ice and Warm from the two rival Hearts is what formed the oceans and filled the seas.
Settlers who would otherwise succumb to the bone piercing cold received a visit from a towering maiden, made entirely out of ice.
In return for their worship and devotion, the settlers received the resistance to endure Keshak's extreme negative temperatures.
These settlers eventually became shorter and bulkier with a near complete immunity to the cold.
The Maiden of Ice eventually gifted the Dwarves a Chalice that allowed its wielder to form and melt tremendous amounts of ice.
But the 'touch' of the Chalice is utterly addicting and desired by all of Dwarvenkind.


The Heart of Life is located in the center of Shavanoth Forest. It grants the inhabitants of the forest a really long lifespan and near-infinite youth.
However, the Heart of Life is a misleading name, for it is actually also a force of decay, death and regrowth.
The Heart shifts its purpose with the seasons; gradually becoming a force of decay up to Winter and a force of regrowth with the coming of Spring.
Though, it does manage to keep its grip over Shavanoth forest itself; leaving the forests, elves and wildlife in a pleasant summer-like state year-round.


The Heart of Order is located beneath Castle Hilenika.
Its powerful pulses keep all the other Hearts in a state of balance by reinforcing or dilluting their outgoing forces accordingly.
The Trinth Family are the only ones priviledged to have been born and raised within Castle Hilenika their entire life, making their connection to the Heart of Order pure.
The power of Order is a bit of every heart's traits combined, but in a manner that only desires good and balance.
Vella Trinth has been chosen as its champion by the Heart of Order itself, while Kroga Trinth, is the first and only creature it denied...


The Heart of Disorder is a hungering maw that festers below the old Ubon Fortress, located past the expansive Lonely Sea.
It desires nothing but power and chaos, but weirdly, still forms an important overal role in preventing the Heart of Order from making the world... 'Too ordered'.
The history of the Ubon fortress itself is vague. Many individuals who fell to the Heart's calls and insanity performed work on constucting bits of the fortress.
It has no inhabitants except for lurking beasts and vile creatures that call the festering darkness their home.

--

The Characters

--

Sir Rhoderick Rugnar was a military commander that served proudly under Vella's rule.
Although he's devastated with her death, he was away on an errand when Kroga besiege Castle Hilenika and he's one of only few surviving members of the military.
Rhoderick has been selected by the survivors of Trinthia to lead them and seek out the other members of the Fiefdom for help and to aid wherever possible.

Edea Gilwyn is the most prominant Ranger the elves have at their disposal.
She's a determined soul who chose to dispatch from the comfort of Shavanoth to do whatever she can to stop the chaos that looms over El Gaia.
With a small group of elite Rangers she sets out, seeking whatver allies she can in these dark times.

Baz'aptar is an immortal and ancient dark wizard, master necromancer and conjurer who used to command and teach a large cluster of followers and deciples.
Living in complete seclusion to practice their dark arts, Baz'aptar felt the great imbalance of the shifting energies below the earth and decided to step out of hiding.
Most of his followers, however forsake their alligeance to Baz'aptar and swore their loyalty to the vile Kroga Trinth.

Kroga Trinth is the younger brother of Vella Trinth who's always forced to grow up in her shadow.
Vella has always been a born leader and she's praised by all members of the Fiefdom... Kroga has always envied her, longing for her position and power.
Deep below the earth Castle Hilenika was built on, lies the Heart of Order, which is the source of order and balance that has vein-like leylines stretching all over El Gaia.
The Heart of Order itself denied Kroga Trinth its grace because it sensed his selfish lust for power.
This made Kroga an absolute disgrace to the Trinth family line and he was permanently banished from Castle Hilenika right after he reached adulthood.


--

The Story Before the Campaign (must-read)

--

Vella Trinth is the supreme empress of the Fiefdom and her kingdom is by far the largest and most prospering of any race.
The Fiefdom has long prospered under the Trinth family line and universally bear great renown towards the Trinth name and Castle Hilenika.

However, her younger brother, Kroga Trinth was always envious to grow up in his sister's shadow.
Kroga wanted this power for himself and was eventually banished for his disgrace toward the Trinth family name.
After Kroga was banished, he traversed the lands and different kingdoms as a hermit, seeking anything that would allow him to take revenge on his sister.
Eventually, he was drawn to the Ubon Fortress by the Heart of Disorder who gave Kroga an offer...

Revenge on his sister and the power to make the entire world bow before him, but in return, he would relinquish his soul and become a vessel to the Heart.
Kroga, blinded by his desire for power and anger for his sister accepted without hesitation.

Empowered by the Heart, while still having 100% free will, Kroga went back to Castle Hilenika, obliterated his sister and brought Castle Hilenika to ruin in a matter of minutes.
Even severely damaging the Heart of Order itself...
With Vella's death, the inhabitants of the Fiefdom fell into despair and with the Heart of Order damaged, the natural forces and energies of El Gaia were thrown off-balance.

--

The Temples of the Urlani Marshes, used for centuries to cure disease and protect the lands, is now spreading disease, raising the dead and corrupting the once tranquil marshlands.

The vast Shavanoth forests are now withering and nature's guardians are going feral against the elves.

The brutes of Pajoon actually turned on Kroga Trinth as he was passing Teshvar to get back to the Ubon Fortress.
Kroga Trinth forced the Pajoon people to bow before him, but they foolishly refused and tasted Kroga's wrath...
After soaring casualties and the fall of their City, they were forced to yield.
With dwindeling numbers and crumbling walls, the Treshvar brutes are struggling to survive the harsh Pajoon Desert they've inhabited for centuries.
A portion of them ended up deciding to side with Kroga Trinth, impressed by the might he displayed.

There isn't much left of the Kingdom of Trintha. Compelete anarcy befell the people and Castle Hilenika fell to ruins.
Only a handfull of towns and refugee groups remain, but even they struggle to survive as the creatures of nature turn feral and enslaved by Kroga.

Meanwhile, the Dwarves up north are doing the unthinkable...
They are waging fierce wars between their own tribes.
Fighting over an ancient Chalice that is sacred to dwarvenkind and whoever wields it can form and melt vast amounts of ice.
While the Chalice was in the hands of Baron Vloyansk, he used it to create a massive barrier of ice that would isolate the Keshak Tundras from the chaos of the mainland.
Vloyansk hid the Chalice, much to the dismay of Baron Gurnstaad who desperately wanted to help the people on the mainland.
Now isolated in the North, Vloyansk and Gurnstaad continue to spill blood and clash over possession of the Chalice every single day...

--

The Campaign

--

Chapter 1 - The Dust Settles
Rhoderick approaces a small town called Riverglen that is being raided by a combination of Kobolds and Gnolls working together.
After forcing the attackers to retreat to their camps, Rhoderick gains information from the townsfolk that the Kobold Gnoll alligeance is caused by
a new ruler they have called "King Gorba". Rhoderick musters a small squad of guard and militia and slays King Gorba before the town falls.
After Gorba's death, the Gnolls and Kobolds scatter and start fighting among themselves in a frenzied manner, leaving Rhoderick confused.
Then a Soldier comes running in, delivering the news that Castle Hilenika has fallen and that Vella Trinth is dead.
As the people start to panic, Rhoderick tries to calm them down. Even though he can't quite stomach this dire news either, he tells them to keep calm
and to follow him, as he's the highest ranking military member and will set out to check and protect the neighboring towns.


Chapter 2 - Sensing Death
Edea Gilwyn starts with a small base outside of an Elven town that's in the middle of the rapidly dying forest.
She asks her elvish templar if they can sense the source of death that is gripping their lands while trying to expand their fortifications.
The templar attempt to commune with nature and the natural flow of energies in the land to find the source of this force of death.
Large groups of Treants and already frenzied wildlife sense this communion and further distortion of balance, causing them to launch frenzied attacks on the camp.
The animals and treants attack the base while the Templars must be defended and kept alive for 10 minutes.

The templars say they can feel a surreal amount of life force being drained and gathering far north of the base, at the old abandoned Mage Tower.
The attacks on the base cease and Edea moves out with her troops in the direction of the tower.
Upon reaching the upper part of the map, it's revealed that Merefolk (murloc, naga, ect) occupy the tower and are drawing life from the forest for their worshipping of Kroga.
Edea slays the Naga, ampibious creatures and destroys the Abandoned Mage Tower, giving the surrounding land rejuvenation and returning peace to the Treants and animals.

With Shavanoth's decay coming to a halt, Edea sets out towards the Trinthian Empire in the south, looking if they need aid as well...


Chapter 3 - Unexpected Alligeance
Rhoderick gets word that Lycida Keep is threatened to be attacked by a Necromancer and a massive hoard of undead, he moves out immediately.
He arrives at the outskirts of Lycida Keep just as the dead start to mobilize.
Fortunately, Lycida is surrounded by a thick forest, it's well-fortified and only approacable from one side.
With relative ease, Rhoderick can establish basic defensive fortifications and hold back the undead... Until the Necromancer himself shows up.
The Necromancer destroys Rhoderick's pathetic towers and almost defeats him in single combat, but then, Edea arrives up with a group of archers and saves Rhoderick.

Threatening to kill him, the Necromancer reveals himself to be Baz'aptar. He happily cheers and commends the heroes for their bravery and determination.
He says they are exactly what allies he needs to bring down Kroga.

Despite this, Edea and Rhoderick do not lower their weapons just yet until Baz'aptar explains himself fully.

Baz'aptar says that he has no allegiance to Kroga Trinth and would benefit from Kroga's downfall.
Kroga possessed nearly all of Baz'aptar's disciples and followers... They went insane and fell to Kroga's side unwillingly. They were the only ones Baz'aptar ever saw as family.
Baz'aptar pledged to join the forces of Rhoderick and Edea on his own behalf.

Kind of touched by his story, they hasitantly accept him and decide to form a team together.
Their next destination: The Urlani Marshes.


Chapter 4 - Delayed Departures
The three heroes arrive together at the haven of Port Yester, looking to charter a ship in order to head for the Urlani Marshes in the east.
The Duke of Port Yester welcomes them kindly, but has to point out that travelling by sea is too dangerous now that the Lighthouse is rendered disfuctional by a massive cyclops.

An old Admiral named Marlyn then approaches the heroes before the set out to kill the Cyclops, telling them going after the Cyclops alone would be suicidal.
Marlyn offers the heroes a crew of bandits and pirates in exchange for finding his lost treasure that's located somewhere around a little seaside cliff occupied by Trolls.

Once the treasure is secured, the heroes are rewarded with 2 pretty good items, 4 Bandits and 4 Brigants.
Now the heroes are to travel to the Lighthouse and slay the Cyclops with relative ease.


Chapter 5 - The Urlani Marshlands
One week later, the heroes arrive at the distant, now heavily tainted shores of Urlani in the hopes of reaching the city of Urlopolis.
Gaining the favor and aid of the Padishah would mean the heroes and their forces would be reinforced with powerful healers.
Urlopolis is intended to be reached by ship via a series of shipping routes, but vast amounts of undead roaming the marshes claw the hull of the boat and cause it to run stuck.
The heroes and their forces are unscaved from the ship crash, but Urlopolis is still some distance away.

It should come to no suprise that Urlopolis is totally surrounded by the dead, but it seems to be holding pretty well as the Dead do not seem too riled up or aggressive at the moment.
The heroes enter Urlopolis looking for the Padishah, but a guard tells them they might be too late...
The Padishah was on an errant to the Pi-yun temple as the lands started to... Change.
The Pi-yun Temple, just 3 weeks ago was prospering gem of Urlani civilization, priests came to meditate, and the ill came to be cured, but since then, the Dead started rising...
It's said that Pi-yun has become the heart of plague now. The Dead draw their power from it and use it as their center of operations...
Baz'aptar is... Intrigued by this and suggests they should head to Pi-yun immediately in the hopes to rescue the Padishah.

After fighting some large groups of Undead to get there, the heroes verge upon the outskirts of the Temple...


Chapter 6 - The Pi-yun Temple
The temple grounds are vast and open. Vast channels of water, trees and temple walls are all that conceals Pi-yun from easy access.
With immense hoards of undead, the heroes take no chances and decide to construct a base on the temple grounds. Baz'aptar points out that the necrotic energies in this place are vast.
He convinces Rhoderick and Edea that their standing forces would be shredded by the Undead and it would be safer to leave them stationed at Urlopolis. Edea and Rhoderick are sceptical
about it, but they agree that there would be too much losses if their standing forces were used on this fight.
Baz'aptar then draws upon the temple energies to construct his own structures, forming an undead-like base.

The vast Temple grounds are divided in three sections;
1. The above ground plateau thats basically just pillars, roads and tainted swamp lands encased by walls and water.
2. The central Temple housing thats in the middle of the plateau.
3. The subterranian prisons, which were dug recently by the dead.

The heroes must slay 3 Ritualists to open the Temple Housing, which are scattered around the plateau.
Once inside, they must fight powerful minions and slay a powerful skeletal mage in a psudo boss-fight named "Dazmonius the Fallen" to gain access to the underground part.
The prison part of the map will be in a seperate section of the map, heroes can teleport in and out of it via a cave entrance with a circle of power.
The holding pen that houses the Padishah is being guarded by a Lich Boss named "Ren'velan the Frostbiter".
Killing the Lich will stop the further corruption of Urlani and free the Padishah.


Chapter 7 - The Great Barrier
As gratitude for saving the Padishah, an elite healer unit and Hydromancer named Renel Evelander accompanies the heroes on their yourney north.
With their old ship from Port Yester destroyed, they are now sailing on an Urlani Battleship named the Throwan Moor that was gifted by the people or Urlani.
But even at full fire power, the cannons of the Throwan Moor and its metal hull are not powerful enough to pierce the Great Barrier before the Keshak Tundra.
Renel Evelander suggests that he, together with his other Hydromancers can probably shatter the Barrier with a powerful ritual, but it would greatly anger the Merefolk of the Great Sea.
Baz'aptar mocks Renel and his Hydromancers for their lame form of magic to heal and play with water. Rhoderick promptly steps in and defends the Hydromancers by being angry at Baz'aptar.

The Hydromancer's ritual will take 25 Minutes and they must be defended.
Naturally, the heroes pick a plateau of ice that's close enough to the Great Barrier.
They position the Throwan Moor into a defensively sound position. Workers say that the ice can house basic structures (like towers), but certainly not a Barracks or other facilities.
Rhoderick agrees and says that the ice indeed too threaterous for a fortified base and they are quite short on building materials anyway.
Edea says she has fought merefolk before in Shavanoth forest and her Archers are very adapt at dealing with them.

A series of towers and Archers are dotted around the Icey flats with three channels of sea water which the Merefolk will attempt to swim through to reach the channeling Hydromancers.
There's several points where the Merefolk can choose to go on land to attack the towers and archers, but most incoming units will ignore them and swim directly to Renel.
More workers and Archers can be hired periodically, directly from the Throwan Moor.

After 25 minutes of epic tower defense, the Merefolk retreat and the Barrier Shatters. The towers are (canonically) salvaged and all troops get aboard the Throwan Moor.
The way to the Keshak Tundra is open at last.


Chapter 8 - The Keshak Tundra
Moments after the shattering of the Great Barrier, the Throwan Moor sails through the glacier way and docks at a small Dwarven town named Haerhagen.
The anxious Dwarven townsfolk almost fire their artillery at the Moor in fear of it. The dwarves have only heard dire stories and rumor of the choas in the south.
They believed the Barrier protected them for the chaos, but in truth, it rendered them blind and trapped up north.

When Rhoderick exited the Throwan Moor, he was taken into temporary custody to explain the intentions of his crew and explain the state of the south.
The dwarves consult for a bit and agree that the Defenders of Elgaia are welcome in Haerhagen, but should threat very carefully into Keshak's frozen wastes.
They warn the heroes that dwarves who belong to the Vloyansk Tribe will cut you down on sight and your best bet to gain help or assist us is by seeking out the Gurnstaad Tribe.
Baron Gurnstaad is known for his kindness towards southerners, but he is occupied in a fierce war against Vloyansk. Gurnstaad is trying to recover the ancient Chalice that was
used by Vloyansk to create the Great Barrier.
The dwarves of Haerhagen say they take no part in the clash for the Chalice, but if Vloyansk discovered they have helped the southerners, Haerhagen is doomed.

The heroes set out alone, leaving their troops stationed inside the Throwan Moor to draw as little attention as possible and set out toward Fort Gurnstaad.
The fort lies to the far east and the heroes have to fight polar bears, Ice trolls and Wendigo to reach the Fort. The guards of the Fort are overjoyed by the arrival of Southerners and
they rush over to Baron Gurnstaad immediately who cheers loudly upon hearing that the Great Barrier is no more!

He urges the heroes to take their forces to the far North-east of Keshak. The baron will lend whatever forces he can to accompany the heroes.
A great party and feast is prepared for the heroes and their troops to celebrate the destruction of the Barrier.

Then, during the party the Baron's treasurer named "Oloman" steps forth and discretely asks Rhoderick to come into the storage room next to the Baron's Chamber.
Out of reach from the eyes and ears of Baron Gurnstaad and all other Dwarves, Oloman tells Rhoderick that the Baron, along with most Dwarves are obsessed with the Chalice.
Going north-east to recover the Chalice will not end the reign of Vloyansk and only lead to further unnesecary casualties.
The Baron keeps sending troops to the supposed place the Chalice would be hidden, but none ever return. Along with the war, Gurnstaad is on the brink of defeat.

Instead, Oloman urges the heroes to go to the north-west, to strike against the Blue Tower and kill Vloyansk to end the war.
Recovering the Chalice is pointless at stopping the bloodshed.

Rhoderick tells the story of Oloman to Edea and Baz'aptar, who are quite shocked at this revelation and stand before a difficult choice.

Assaulting this Blue Tower with their current forces would be a fierce fight and many would die. However, getting aided by Dwarven Artillery would turn the fight in their favor.
But taking Gurnstaad's forces to the west instead of the east would count as betrayal towards the Baron.

All three agree that they should take the Baron's forces to the Blue Tower and end the reign of Vloyansk before retrieving the Chalice.
With the Dwarves still drunk from the party, they should have no idea in which direction they were heading, and so they set out.

With workers and a huge army, the heroes assault a Vloyansk Tribe base and claim its goldmine in front of the Baron's tower.
Periodically, their base is attacked by Vloyansk warriors. The forces may enter the tower, clear its rooms and slay Baron Vloyansk to end the war.

Baz'aptar says that he can sense the Chalice within the tower, turns out it never was in the east!
He finds the Chalice, claims it and destroys it.

In a moment of awe, Rhoderick, Edea and the Dwarves turn angry towards Baz'aptar, but then a "curse" seems to be lifted from the Dwarves! Their minds were so clouded with desire for
the Chalice that they weren't able to think straight. By destroying the Chalice, this curse is lifted.

Baron Gurnstaad can't thank the heroes enough for doing what was right despite his orders, but Rhoderick points to Oloman, saying he is the true hero of today. Baz'aptar reacts childish
to this, he was the one to figure out the curse, find the Chalice and destroy it. But oh well, the thought of one day claiming vengeance by slaying Kroga Trinth is worth more to Baz'aptar
than praise by mortals.



Chapter 9 - Bonebarrow Chasm
With the North cleansed of evil, the heroes and their forces start moving west toward the Pajoon Desert in the Westerlands.
As the temperatures of the Keshak Tundra get warmer, so does the land around them seem more threaterous and barren...

With spite, they reach the fabled Bonebarrow Chasm. Terrain as hostile and barren as that of Pajoon Desert, but with the sharp boneclutching cold winds of the Tundra.

They encounter an alligeance of Quilboar, cultists and necromancers who are solemnly loyal to Kroga Trinth and block the acessway of the Chasm.

Sadly, the area is devoid of resources and it's so far in-land that the cannons of the Throwan Moor have no hopes of reaching it.
At least they are still accompanied by Renel Evelander, Dwarven Artillery and a fairly large group of standing forces.

With some drawbacks and relatively moderate casualties, the Heroes make it to Pajoon Desert!



Chapter 10 - The Tuumbak Arena
Leaving the Bonebarrow Chasm behind, the forces that arrive in Pajoon are greeted with a grim sight.
The city of Teshvar partialy lies in smoking ruins, with only some buildings and walls still standing, the City is but a broken mess of what it once was.

Without a second thought, the heroes head toward Treshvar looking for Sultan Herazni, who is supreme ruler of the Westerlandes.

Sultan Herzani does not greet the heroes welcomely and curses that all easteners are responsible for the calamity that occured to his city.
Herzani shouts that all who travel Pajoon are his subjects and that they, together with all their forces will be executed in the Tuumbak Arena, unless they can prove themselves against
his finest display of warriors and the most vicious creatures that the Pajoon wastes have to offer.

Baz'aptar almost wanted to speak out of turn and obliterate Herzani with a spell, but Edea and Rhoderick calm him down and accept the Sultan's challenge.
Without honor or time to hesistate, the heroes along with all their forces are thrown into the tuumbak arena. A crowd of loud cheering Pajoon citizens cheer at their first foe is about
to emerge.

First, a herd of Centaur Marauders, then a group of Thunder Lizards, third challenge is a conjurer with alot of golems named "Saph'rani"
and finally, a group of fierce, elite Pajoon Brutes.

After the last brute dies, the Sultan says this was the best fight he had ever seen and shows great respect to the Easteners now.

Baz'aptar, exhausted from the fight again wants to kill the arrogant Sultan on sight with a spell, but he is once again stopped, this time by Renel Evelander.
Renel Evelander actually proved his worth to Baz'aptar during the arena trials, as they likely wouldn't have survived without him.
As much as he hates to admit it, Baz'aptar actually grew quite attached to this group, despite his general disgust for mortals.

The Sultan grants the heroes freedom and access to all of the Westerlands and dispatches a band of Pajoon Brutes to go along with them.

Rhoderick and Edea mourn for the lives lost in the Arena. Too much blood was spilled for needless fighting, but Baz'aptar reminds them that he can raise the dead to reinforce their army.
Despite being ethically against it, leaving them to rot in the hot desert sun wouldn't sit right with them either.
Baz'aptar raises the fallen forces in mere moments, impressing the crowd and the Sultan. At least this blood spillage wasn't a complete waste now.


Chapter 11 - The Great Excavation
Now free to travel the Westerlandes and being accompanied by a vast bulk of forces, the search for Kroga Trinth can begin!
The Sultan hated to be confronted with the question of the whereabouts of Kroga Trinth, he didn't want to admit his defeat, but told the heroes anyway.

Kroga Trinth, together with his legion of darkness headded directly south, over the Lonely Sea in the direction of the Ubon Fortress...

The Sultan speaks with fear in his voice and says, if you want to besiege the Ubon Fortress and bring Kroga Trinth down, you're going to need a much bigger army.

Edea looks at a map of the Westerlandes and asks if it's possible to escavate part of the terrain that seperates the Great Sea with the Lonely Sea.
The Sultan looks suprised and intrigued. The escavation would take up to a week, but leaves us with enough stone to rebuild Teshvar.
Renel steps up and says that if his people would have cleansed their lands of the dead by now, an opening to sail into the Westerlandes would mean the Urlani Fleet could
help at besieging the Ubon Fortress.

Edea simply hoped she could stay aboard the Throwan Moor since the boats of Pajoon look a bit... Primitive.

Rhoderick steps forth with a grim face. We would indeed benefit from this sea route, it could be a fast way to retreat back to Trinthia if things wouldn't go well.
Although I hope we will never get to see the day, retreating through Bonebarrow Chasm would leave us far too vulnerable to ambushes.

And so, the Excavation begins.
Workers together with Pajoon brutes start basing away at the blockade of small mountains and boulders to reveal more and more sea.

Kroga Trinth's dark forces catch on to this pretty fast and launch assaults at the workers. The heroes reinforce the digsite with a large base.
The forces arrive via ships that drop the forces a fair bit off the Pajoon shore and guard these drop off points with a stationary fleet of Frigates and Battleships.
Although there is no rich gold mine on the map, occasionally workers may encounter nodes of gold during their excavations.

After 60 Rock chunks have been cleared, the current starts to flow wildly, sinking most of Kroga's Frigates and Battleships.

Renel sends out a messager to Urlopolis and Edea sends a messenger hawk to Shavanoth forest now.

Baz'aptar realizes what they have accomplished together and prepares himself for the final battle that is to come.



Chapter 12 - All In!
One week after the great excavation, forces from all kingdoms start to gather in the far South of the Westerlandes, standing at the slopes that lead up to the fabled Ubon Fortress.

The reinforcements from Shavanoth and Urlani appear to be running late, but confirmation of their comming has been received.

The heroes establish an impressive base with arcitecture and forces from every kingdom combined.
They name this massive base "Elgaia's Hope".
Kroga Trinth emerges from his Ubon Fortess and displeased by these upstarts, he starts launching heavy assaults at the base.

15 Minutes into the mission, The Throwan Moor arrives with the Dwarves of Haerhagen aboard, including Gurnstaad's reinforcements and his treasurer, Oloman.
However, the reinforcements from Shavanoth and Urlani appear to be running late and these attacks grow more and more intense by the moment.

30 Minutes into the mission, elvish boats arrive from Shavanoth, loaded with elite Archers, swordsmen and templar.
This happens just as Kroga Trinth sends a massive flock of Gargoyles and black dragons.
The Shavanoth Elves also come with Bears, treants and defenders of nature who are content with the healing of the forests and wanting to strike at Kroga.

45 Minutes into the mission, the great Urlani Fleet arrives, full of powerful Warships and potent healers.

5 Minutes later, begins the great push toward the Ubon Fortress.
Uncontrollable allies that stayed at their respective boats now all move out at once.

After all of Kroga's buildings have been destroyed, the Throwan Moore gets to bombard the entrance of the Ubon Fortress and shatter the front gate.
All of Kroga's remaining elite forces now get to pour out of the Fortress and Kroga Trinth will patiently wait to make his last stand.

The inside of the Fortress impose many challenges, traps and elite monsters and Kroga sits at the very end of it.

When you burst down the final door that leads to Kroga's main chamber, the mission ends.



Chapter 13 - Liberation or Devastation
It is over, Kroga! Sir Rhoderick Rugnar shouts.
Kroga stands up from his throne and starts twisting himself in dark energies that seem to greatly empower him.
With a deep, dark voice, he speaks:
"It is impressive you made it this far, but your quest is foolhardy. Bow down before your true master, I am the ruler of Elgaia, I am the KING of this world!"

Now some epic, rightful music starts to play as the different forces of the kingdom slowly and in vast numbers start marching into Kroga's massive chamber.

Kroga speaks again, this time in a much more human voice:
"This... Many? It matters not! Your lives are FORFEIT TO OBLIVION! COME AND MEET YOUR END, JUST LIKE MY WRETCHED SISTER VELLA!!"

Rhoderick looks behind him, at the massive armies of Elgaians who are brave and eager to engage in combat.
He speaks out:
"Our queen's legacy and true heir to the Hilenikan throne might end this day, but we, the armies of Elgaia will endure!
Together, we will forge a new era of mankind and bring an end to this evil for once and for all! For Vella! For Elgaia! For Humanity! CHAAARGE!!"

All of the heroes are now level 15 and have all of their spells unlocked.

Kroga possess powerful summoning and conjuring abilities that create grand amounts of minions to soften the elgian armies.

The Kroga fight is intended to last for around 2 minutes before he enters his second phase.

Kroga screams: "You leave me no choice and forced my hand! Now my inner darkness will taint this land!"

Kroga teleports back in front of his throne and heals himself to full.
He now possesses devastating AoE abilities the deal greatly reduced damage against the main 3 heroes, but absolutely wreck the troops.
The abilities should be semi-dodgeable but still absolutely devastate your army numbers.

Kroga at 30% hp screams: "The eye of Obvlion sees all! If I can't beat you, the Dark One shall!"

Kroga heals himself and turns invulnerable. He will now take on the form of a massive Faceless One that hits super hard, and has AoE Stuns.

The Dark One at 70% hp calmy says: "Your strength is true, but never the less... Our numbers are ENDLESS!"
He spawns large amounts of smaller faceless ones.

At 30% hp, the Dark One will cast a Room-wide Death and Decay that's only half as potent.
And then he says: "No, I cannot be yield! The path to Oblivion must not be sealed!"

At 10% hp, the Dark One will say:
"These mongrels intent to overwhelm... But we shall have this realm..."

A cinematic now plays where just as the Dark One intends to regain his strength and heal again, the Throwan Moore, together with all the Urlani Battleships bombard the
Ubon Fortress from the side and with an astounding barrage of artillery and fire, the Dark One falls and the devastation of this fight comes to bear...

Kroga Trinth lays lifelessly on the floor and thanks the heroes for killing him and ending the torment.
Baz'aptar isn't buying it and obliterates his remains.

A handful of troops from each kingdom emerge, wounded out of the throne room.
They climb aboard their ships and start heading home.

----

The End of the Campaign.

The story of El Gaia will be continued (probably).



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