CHAPTER 18: THE FALL OF ANTHRAXUS STORM
In this chapter, you fight the ultimate battle that will end the War of the Sword Lands, one way or the other.
1) after bringing back the news that the Unicorns will help to liberate Sharranth, an eager and excited Lord Paladine instructs you to pick up a contingent of knights of the Flame (they will be waiting for you at the exact spot where you picked up your warband, back in Chapter 11), then travel to Wailsrond in order to speak with Lord Pyre and tell him that the time has come to bring the fall of Anthraxus Storm.
2) but first, go to Adv. Inc. to take the small job of retrieving the Eye of Khan-Alghuul. After picking up the knight contingent, go to Wailsrond as instructed by the Lord Paladine. An equally eager and excited Lord Pyre will readily lend you a contingent of his army, which you pick up at the barracks as usual. From there, march onto Sharranth with your army!
3) upon arriving at the gates of Sharranth (the NW ones are the most recommended), the Unicorns will show up as promised, along with Naerun Halgard, Strider and Arcantilivius. With everyone in high spirits, the battle of Sharranth begins!
4) having won the clash at the gates, proceed quickly to the barracks gates to strike a lethal blow to the sharranthine mercenary army. Leaving Arcantilivius to lead your forces and the Unicorns for the clean-up, rush ahead to the castle gates along with Strider and Naerun Halgard. There, you'll have to fight your way to the castle and enter it with force and determination.
5) inside the castle, head straight north to the throne room, where Anthraxus Storm, Ertham Zoh and Storm's loyal entourage await you. Unexpectedly, Storm will plead his case as a firm but prosperous ruler for Sharranth, and as seeking only to unify the Sword Lands to better defend them against the Overlords and their psi-army: apparently, Storm was only pretending to be an ally so as to gain time in order to better prepare against the Overlords and the threat they represent. If he offered you to join him earlier in the story (see Alternate Realities) and you refused, he will try even harder to convince you. But Naerun Helgard will have none of that, callling out Storm for the power-hungry despot that he is, and immediately move to attack the usurper. As the final battle is about to begin, Ertham Zoh conveniently teleports away. This leaves you and your allies against Storm, his death knights, and the rest of his retinue of dark knights, warlocks and warriors! Enjoy.
6) once the dust settles and you stand victorious, take your leave of Strider and Nearun Halgard in order to head back to the barracks gates. Give the good news to the combined army assembled that Sharranth is now free of Storm's despotism. Amidst the joyful cries and accolades, Arcantilivius asks you about Ertham Zoh; upon telling the old mage of Zoh timely escape, he slyly suggests that you and him pay a little visit to Zoh's mansion as soon as possible. (Note: once Anthraxus Storm is defeated, no more mercenary adventurers will seek to kill you).
7) take a good rest, then head for Zoh's mansion (make sure Arcantilivius is with you; otherwise, pick him up where he told you to after you have rested). Fight your way through mercenary guards, apprentices, warlocks and sorceresses to enter. Inside the mansion, you enter a reading room, where more warlocks and sorceresses await. From there, go to the door at x49y86, which leads into a study: Ertham Zoh and his entourage are there, ready to fight. An interesting exchange between Arcantlivius and Zoh will ensue, before the battle is joined. Once Zoh and his gang are defeated, Arcantilivius entraps his former apprentice-turned-nemesis in an energy sphere as just desserts and nice pay-back. The old mage then leaves you in order to join Strider and Naerun Halgard at the castle, giving you free reign to look around the place. Take the time and effort to do so (using search on and/or detect secret), since you'll find lots of neat stuff: but once you leave the mansion, you will not be able to enter it again. For the job that you took at Adv. Inc., go up to the second floor using the stairs at x54y87 in the study room. From there, walk over to x47y54 with search on: you'll find a trap door leading to an upper floor secret laboratory. Fight the guardians of the secret lab, then *search* around the place (you'll find the Eye in a drawer at x44y30).
8) once you think you have searched all of the mansion and found all that was there to be found, leave to go speak with Naerun Halgard at the castle. After thanking you generously and giving you an important diplomatic message to convey to the Lord Paladine, he gives you your leave.
9) trek back first to Wailsrond to bring the great news to Lord Pyre and Belrion. A big victory party will be thrown, with you as the guests of honor.
10) then go to Adv. Inc. to give the Eye back and get your reward; from there, it's off to the Lord Paladine in order to deliver the news and Naerun's diplomatic message: more victory partying will ensue, along with a fat reward for your heroic deeds and a solemn declaration proclaiming you as Heroes of the War (Riel Moonsong surely has more than enough material now to write that Saga of his!). With the War over and won, now all that is left to do is to ferret out the remaining Overlords and find that mysterious Power Stone they are seeking, before they actually do find it.
Congratulations! You are now the Heroes of the War of the Sword Lands! With the War over, you can now tackle either Chapter 19 (most suggested), or Chapter 20!
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