2E 498

All that can be heard across the plains of the Kjlzxec Deathlands is the weeping and angonizing screams of men as they have their arms and legs amputated to stop infection. Aiadial was slain in the battle, but the king had fled.
Blood flows off the mountains where the kings stronghold was and pours into the rivers turning them red. Your men have slain hundreds of those who they used to fight with, and no one knows why they followed the twisted minded king. You search exceeding hard for someone to question, but all who you capture kill themselves before you can question them. Many others are killed through torture to get them to talk.
Finally after a week of searching for the kings whereabouts you find someone that fled from the kings army after he heard that you survived Aiadials ambush. he says his name is Deign before you begin to question him.

  Deign:    Please some water, I have been drinking form rivers since I fled the king's army but lately they have been too full of blood to drink from.
  You:      We face the same problem, but you can drink form this waterskin I have here. [You hand it to him] Now please, tell me what happened to Petoskay.
  Deign:    Well, as you know the king has betrayed his country and destroyed the capital. What you may not know is that he has also destroyed every other major city in Hondorum, apart form those in the Jearl Mountains.
  You:      I had feared as much, but we have been too busy looking for the king to see if the other cities were safe. Now I fear that even if we found the king, we may be too weak to defeat him without the aid of the other cities.
  Deign:    I'm sure you are wondering why the king has done this evil thing, correct? I understand that you knew of his dream to re-unite Engluhjdah, but I'm sure you wonder why the king started a cival war in Hondorum. After all, it may seem aparent that all it did was further seperate the continant.
  You:      Do you know why?
  Deign:    Indeed I do, I overhead much that the king said to Aiadial. You were not born at the time, but you do know why Nibenay stopped contacting Hondorum after the king rose to power?
  You:      No, I don't, do you?
  Deign:    Clavicus rose to the throne after his great-uncle was assassinated, that assassin was hired by Clavicus. That is when Nibenays leaders found out about Clavicus's plan.
  You:      You mean to say that the king had this plan since he took the throne?
  Deign:    Indeed. Now when the leaders of Nibenay-- they had several leaders instead of just one king at the time-- found out about Clavicus's plan, they stopped trading with Hondorum, hoping that Hondorum would go bankrupt and cause cival disorder which might have removed Clavicus from the throne. This didn't happen, but they had been undermining Hondorum's economy until they joined you fight Colovia. You probably don't know that their intention was not to defeat Colovia, but rather to influence you to turn your back on Clavicus.
  You:      I don't understand why Nibenay didn't attack Hondorum, though.
  Deign:    I'm sure you have heard the rumors of spirits in the Kjlzxec Deathlands that would kill any who enter their realm. Those "spirits" were huge armies the king was putting together; which would kill any who enter the Kjlzxec. Do you see? Ever since the king rose to power there has been another super power in Engluhjdah - a nation that has thrived in the Kjlzxec Deathlands called Clavica, after Clavicus. Nibenay knew this, and they also knew that they couldn't defeat the king if he had such huge reserves of men, so they waited for a general, like you, who would control at least part of Hondorum's army that would join Nibenay. Clavicus know of their plans but he couldn't attack Nibenay without causing suspicion. He used you to do it instead.
  You:      Too think that all this time I was being used by a evil king to kill those who wished me no harm.
  Deign:    Aye, it's unfortunate you loved the king so much. If you wouldn't have followed his orders to attack Nibenay this might have been avoided.			
  You:      Actually Nibenay attacked me, they found out of the plans.		
  Deign:    Oh really? I'm sure you were going to do it anyway though, right?
  You:      ...Yes, I was going to follow my orders.
  Deign:    Well now that you know everything, I will tell you that the king is to the north of here through the mountains. I heard him tell Aiadial that he had a backup stronghold there if anyone was able to destroy the first fortress. I will show you the way to the mountain pass he spoke of. You won't be able to find it yourself, trust me.
  You:       We will leave at once.

As you arrive at the kings finnal stronghold, you see that it is by far more powerful then his first. You cannot destroy it with your army, and you can't wait to make your army larger for fear that the king will become too powerful. If only there was a way for you to get hundreds of mercenaries, but where would you find them? You ask Deign if he knows where you could find any.

  Deign:   Now that you mention it, I heard the king say that there is a huge group of nomads known as the Hergiliges that have settled down in Nibenay's old territory that Aiadial captured. But you realize that there is no way for you to come up with enough money to hire enough soldiers to take on the kings stronghold, right?
  You:     You are right but maybe we could make a deal or---wait! Colovias caravan had hundreds of jewels and a lot of gold that was to be used to purchase weapons for Termina, we could use this money to hire them as mercearies!
  Deign:   I heard about the caravan but the king is sure to have taken the jewels for himself.
  You:     No, you said the king hasn't sent his army into the Jearl Mountains, which is where the jewels and gold is hidden, he doesn't even know where the cave they are hidden in is! I never even had a chance to tell him the way through the Jeral mountains.
  Deign:   That's it! We must get this money and use it to hire the Hergiliges! it is sure to be enough!

You are relived to see that the jewels and gold are still in the secret cave when you return to the Jearl Mountains. You imediently head south and speak with the ruler of the Hergilliges and tell them the situation you are in, offer them all the jewels and gold and then they decide that they will join you. 				
When you take your combined armies to the Kjlzxec Deathlands you find that the king has a huge army waiting for you. You and the Hergiliges clash against the armies of the king. After a three-day-long bloody battle, the king withdraws and your men regroup and chase the kings army further north. Your men, however, are tired and you let them rest. After a few days, you once again see the kings men, but they are now hid behind gigantic walls that stand sixty feet high.
You tell your men to start building a base, for the king surly has many resouses in his castle and could probably survive for centuries of siege with the land and resources inside. As you help the men build new buildings, your sentries spot the kings men. The first drops of blood in this final battle are soon to be spilt.
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  Briefing:

  Destroy the king's stronghold, and kill him once and for all!