War in the Sword Lands: To save Wailsrond

CHAPTER 11: TO SAVE WAILSROND

In this chapter, the basic premise of the story is established along with the identification of the political forces (both visible and invisible) at play. The obvious goal here is to go and see the Lord Paladine of Tanirith in order to warn him about the beginning of the war. After doing so, it will be up to you to save Wailsrond from its terrible and bloody siege.

Right from the start, you'll find yourselves in a fight with a pursuing sharranthine mercenary patrol. Knights of the Flame will come to your help (during the battle or right after it, depending on how fast the battle goes). After the battle and speaking with the knight commander (you'll meet him later on again), pick up some water from the well near you then make camp and rest until around 8-9 a.m. Remember that food and water are important to have with you! Then enter the Cove Hold Trade caravan Waystation (see SL Guide): in there, you'll be able to buy some supplies (food and water as well), get more rest and hook up with Riel Moonsong, a special character that will be useful (especially during the earlier chapters of the story).

Important notice: upon beginning the adventure, you will have roughly 30 days before there is a chance each day that Wailsrond will fall and be ransacked by the sharranthines! If this happens, you will have to live with this failure (see section Alternate Realities).

Important notice 2: from the start, there may be a chance every other day that you will be attacked either by mercenary adventurers or assassins (even when in a tavern or in your room at an inn, if you rented one). If Riel Moonsong is not with you, or if you don't have a sentry spell active, chances are one of your characters will be killed each time an assassination attempt is made. Such attacks or assassination attempts will stop once you have dealt with later chapters of the story.

Important notice 3: if you played TiSL, you are susceptible to run into Naryl Thezzat (a.k.a Naryl Dragonstone) at any time in any of the major taverns, in any city. Of course, she is crucial to the story and the completion of the adventure. If you did not play TiSL, your chances of running into her will be nil until you have completed this chapter and the next (Chapter 12). In any case, she will have much info on the possible location of the Overlords currently operating in the Sword Lands, as well as concerning their leader, High Praetor Primus.

1) go straight to Tanirith and up to the gates of the Lord Paladine's castle (see SL Guide). Knights of the Flame on guard there will tell you that the Lord Paladine is attending an emergency session of the High Council and waiting for you there.

2) go to the High Council Halls (see SL Guide). Upon entering the Halls proper, you will find out how bad and unruly things have become with the councilors. After you have said your piece in there, walk over to the Lord Paladine to speak privately with him. Then, walk over to Jarad Noll, Jhalor Fireblade, Shalla Thrall and Nomune Ngallan, who are sitting on either sides of the Lord Paladine: these folks have interesting -if not intriguing- things to tell you. Then leave the High Council Halls.

3) take a couple of hours or the rest of the day to shop around the city (or gather info from taverns or from Adventurers Inc.). The key to Tanirith is essentially the same as described in the SL Guide, with the three following additions/modifications: a) a bridge now crosses over the Tarterys River, thus joining the two sides of the city; b) a new place opened at x62y58, called "Maps of All Trade"; and c) the house where assassins were found in TiSL is now located at x43y46. After your little wanderings, go see Jarad Noll at his mansion (see SL Guide). He has more to tell you about a potential mole of Sharranth, or the Overlords, working from within the High Council itself. Jarad's suspects are Shalla Thrall and Nomune Ngallan. Jarad will ask you to quietly and discretely investigate both councilors in order to find tangible proof that either one (or both) are indeed moles (see Chapter 12).

4) from Jarad's mansion, head straight to see the Lord Paladine at his castle.The Lord further explains to you the chaotic situation with the High Council and how this prevents Tanirith from sending full military help to Wailsrond, an ally by treaty. However, the crafty Lord Paladine has a plan: he will give you commission of a warband to help you save Wailsrond from its siege. The Lord also makes some interesting revelations about Anthraxus Storm and his potential motives behind his relationship with the Overlords.

5) then go to the castle of the High Commander of the Knights of the Flame (see SL Guide) to speak with Jhalor Fireblade. The High Commander will offer help for your noble endeavors by lending you one of his most trustworthy commanders, Denard Fireshield (he happens to be the knight commander that came to your help right at the beginning of the story).

6) pick up your warband just outside of the SW gates of the city, at x27y55, then march on to Wailsrond. Note that the warband does not appear in your Allies menu, since it is composed of 36 warriors! Also, because of the size of this warband, some buildings and/or cities may be off-limits; in most cases, your warband will be left outside of city gates for you to pick up again once you leave a city (however, don't be surprised to find them along with you even if you forgot to pick them up: this is a fail-safe measure that was enacted because folks would often lose their warband, forgetting where they had left them last).

Wailsrond under siege 7) once in the Heartlands and on your way to Wailsrond, you are likely to encounter sharranthine encampments. Small encampments you can try to avoid or destroy, with or without a warband along with you. However, the large encampments to the N and E of Wailsrond you'll need more help to tackle (unless Wailsrond was ransacked by the sharranthines -see Alternate Realities- ). When you get near Wailsrond -in fact, close to its battlements- you'll happen upon an assault the sharranthines are making on the battered wailsrondese. Join the fray on the side of the defenders; once the battle is over and you are victorious, you'll be enjoined to enter the city to go speak with the Lord of Wailsrond, Nerellius Pyre (Note: once this battle is over with, the chances that Wailsrond can be ransacked by the sharranthines will then be nil; only further attacks by the sharranthines will occur). As you enter the city, you'll be witness to the resolve and courage of the besieged wailsrondese.

8) inside Wailsrond's battlements: the key of Wailsrond is the same as that described in the SL Guide, except that many of the places of interest are either closed or have been burnt to the ground, due to the siege. However, the Tranquil Tide Inn and the Mariner's Den are still open (in fact, you can hook up with Princess Jorale Ramoor of Coral Towers at x29y35 inside the Mariner's Den: she'll need your help for a non-plot related adventure, but she will help you nonetheless in the meantime).

9) head straight for Lord Pyre's castle (see SL Guide). Both he and is loyal Captain of the Guards, Belrion, will be quite relieved at seeing you. Although you do not bring forces from Tanirith, Lord Pyre is emboldened enough by your arrival as to propose a daring plan to save his city from the siege. Feel free to discuss the validity of his plan by first disagreeing with it; however, in the end, you'll see for yourselves that his plan is quite wise and well thought out, even if daring and bold.

Pyre's warmap 10) the first part of the plan is to attack the large sharranthine encampment just outside of the city's eastern gates (camp I, on the warmap). Go pick up Belrion and his small contingent at the barracks just N or the castle (see SL Guide), then head straight for the sharranthines camping outside of the E gates (blue X on the warmap) (note that neither Belrion or his contingent will appear in the Allies menu, for the same reasons as for your warband). Once the battle is over, head back to speak with Lord Pyre while Belrion and his soldiers clean things up.

11) the second part, and most tricky, of Pyre's plan is to attack the sharranthine camp that lies straight N of the northern gates of the city (camp II), then head straight eastward to attack the main camp of the sieging sharranthine forces (camp III). Take time to rest, pick up Belrion and his men again at the barracks, then head straight N from the northern gates of the city (red X on the warmap). After destroying the N encampment, try to rest as much as you can before heading E to meet the main sharranthine forces.

12) Once you and the wailsrondese have defeated the sharranthines, rush into the compound at x46y63 and enter; Belrion will be by your side. Inside, you will have to take care of what remains of the sharranthine contingent and of the warlord that is leading Sharranth's "Heartlands Campaign", General Haxor Tharn. You'll be surprised to find shadow elves fighting alongside of him (see Chapter 20). Once this battle is over, explore the compound: among numerous kinds of goodies, you'll find an interesting spy report lying on the floor of a conference room (x17y14) and a shocking letter from Anthraxus Storm to his General on Tharn's working desk (x24y16). The former gives tentative clues as to a possible mole within the High Council (see Chapter 12), while the latter speaks a lot about Anthraxus Storm's cold and calculating ruthlessness as a Warlord; also, the latter letter makes mention of a Herzog of the Heartlands that now rules in Aranys by the writ of Anthraxus Storm.

13) after you are done with the compound, go back to Wailsrond and speak with Lord Pyre. After a short celebration and much accolades, Pyre will suggest that you go back to Tanirith to bring the news to the Lord Paladine that Wailsrond stands free.

Congratulations! You have not only saved Wailsrond from its siege, but at the same time dealt a severe blow to Anthraxus Storm's relentless march to conquer the Sword Lands! You can now tackle either Chapter 12 (most suggested), Chapter 15, Chapter 16, Chapter 19, or Chapter 20!

These pages and their contents (except otherwise noted) are © Pierre H. Vachon (Psion) and may not be reproduced in any way or for any purpose without the express permission of the author.

These pages and their contents (except otherwise noted) are © Pierre H. Vachon (Psion) and may not be reproduced in any way or for any purpose without the express permission of the author.

The Sword Lands and Anarym are © Pierre H. Vachon.