CHAPTER 14: THE RETAKING OF ARANYS
Almost a year ago, the sharranthines took possession of Aranys not long after you had defeated the town's Lord, Akkar Dhun, who was in collusion with the Overlords responsible for the trouble in the Sword Lands. In this chapter, you get to wage more war of your own in order to retake Aranys from the sharranthines, thus driving them back away from the Heartlands altogether.
1) after bringing news of your victory at Sparklestone to the Lord Paladine, he tells you that now is the time to drive back the sharranthines away from the Heartlands altogether. He tells you to go speak with Lord Pyre of Wailsrond, while he dispatches a contingent of knights of the Flame to wait for you near Aranys.
2) in Wailsrond, Lord Pyre is again quite willing and eager to lend you a small wailsrondese contingent to help you liberate Aranys. Pick up the contingent at the barracks, then head straight to the trade town. As you get near enough of Aranys' battlements, the knights of the Flame join you as expected. It is up to you to decide on the proper deployment tactics of your combined task force; once you have chosen, the battle of Aranys begins!
3) once the dust settles and you are victorious, head straight to the castle gates within the town at x5y25, while the knights and your warband take over (thus losing your trustworthy and loyal warband), and the wailsrondese march back home. At the castle gates, you'll have to defeat more sharranthines by your own in order to face off with Thella Urm (the Herzog of the Heartlands) at her mansion, which is located at x2y26 (if you played TiSL prior, you'll notice that the Herzog's mansion has been built right where Dhun's castle used to stand). Once you defeat her, the emboldened townfolks rush to your side and burn down the Herzog's mansion as their final act of liberation.
4) since you are in the northern area, wander by x18y9 in the Harrow Woods, with search on. You will find some ancient ruins belonging to the lost elven Forest-Kingdom of Aurystan (note: in TiSL, you could also find some other ruins of Aurystan within the Harrow Woods, but at location x25y26 instead). Enter the ruins; once downstairs, walk over behind the stairs at x16y9 with search on. You'll find the means to turn off the energy barriers blocking the doors. Then wander around (beware of the guardians of the place) and try to reach the library halls: in there, you'll meet with the spirit of the Loremaster of Aurystan who will have some intriguing info to give you about Kith Khanaan and the kingdom of Aurystan. It will be up to you to figure out eventually how this info ties in with the Overlords and their leader.
5) with Aranys liberated and the Heartlands essentially free of sharranthines, go bring the news to Lord Pyre and then to the Lord Paladine.
There you have it! You have won the battle of Aranys and liberated the Heartlands from the sharranthines! You can now tackle either Chapter 15, Chapter 16 (most suggested), Chapter 17, Chapter 19, or Chapter 20!
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