Twisted Tunnels

Tarnum must defeat the Dungeon Overlords to continue to the next level. As before, the game is lost if Tarnum is killed. All Heroes will be limited to level 20, but Tarnum and two of his best Captains will carry over to the next scenario with all of their skills, spells and experience.

Victory condition:

Defeat All Enemies

Loss condition:

Lose Hero: TarnumTarnum

Allies:

Enemies:

Choose a bonus:

1

Carried to next scenario:

2 strongest heroes

Max level:

20

Prologue

Unnamed male historian: Finally, Tarnum learned the name of the enemy who kidnapped Rion Gryphonheart's soul from Paradise. However, this seemed a small victory next to finally facing his greatest crime and accepting his role as the Immortal Hero.

Scenario

Timed events

Day 1 - Day 1
Queen Allison wanted to join in the combat, but I convinced her to start small. So, she remained behind on the level above chasing down the creatures still lurking in the dark. It will give her an opportunity to test her leadership skills as well as her sword, and assure me that she's unlikely to get herself killed. Unfortunately, the vanguard unit I sent to this level has reported that they've had trouble controlling the area around the town they started. Their captain was killed in combat with one of the Overlords just two days ago. I can tell from their message that the men are afraid. They need my help.
Day 5 - Day 5
This place is a maze, even worse than the other levels I have encountered. Our enemies swarm about like cockroaches, scattering when we approach and swarming in behind to wreak havoc in the lands we already control. This is not the kind of war I am used to fighting.
Day 9 - Day 9
Queen Allison's campaign against the stragglers is going well. In fact, she's almost finished. She has asked me when I will be finished here. Good question. There just isn't enough manpower to secure every tunnel, so I keep circling back and forth just to protect our Castle. Rather than answering her letter, I think I need to do some serious exploring.
Day 14 - Day 14
This is my confession. My recent nightmares have brought back the memories of my crimes, but they never showed me my greatest crime, so I write it now. I haven't thought about it in a long time, and since there is no one here I can talk to without ruining my mission, I must put it to ink and parchment. I murdered my best friend, my wisest advisor. I murdered Hardac.
Day 19 - Day 19
It's hard to write this confession, so I do it a little at a time. I realize now that Hardac had been thinking about what's best for our people. He had seen the direction my war of hatred was going and knew it would ultimately bring great pain to our people. Morale was low, and the men wanted to see their beloved families. But he was still my friend. He warned me that the captains were prepared to get rid of me even if they had to challenge me to a duel to the death. And I knew that I couldn't beat them all.
Day 24 - Day 24
My confession continues. I don't know what I was thinking when I approached the chained Wizard. He was to be publicly executed the next day, upon my orders. In exchange for his life though, he provided me with the poison I needed. Odorless and tasteless, it would slip easily by the sharp senses of any man. I couldn't take a chance the Wizard would talk, so I tested it on him first.
Day 29 - Day 29
Writing these words in my confession must've caused last nights nightmares. So my story continues here. I pretended to heed Hardac's warning about my captains. They were displeased with the direction of the war, and I was prepared to placate them. That morning, I announced our war was over - we were returning home. The men cheered, and Hardac and the other captains seemed genuinely surprised. Then we had a victory feast before we started our journey home, and at the beginning of the feast I shared my cup of ale with each of my captains. When the cup came back to me, I pretended to spill its contents. But by then the poison was already taking effect. I won't go into the horrible details, but they all died before my eyes, choking and cursing my name with their last breath. The next morning, I told my army that the Wizards had poisoned the captains - the war began again.
Day 34 - Day 34
I buried my confession beneath a rock in one of these tunnels. I don't think I could find it again if I wanted to. Unfortunately, writing my crimes down didn't make me feel any better.
Day 38 - Day 38
"Sir, we found this old woman locked in a cage in a Hellhound's den," one of my Pikemen says. The woman is half-starved, middle-aged, but she doesn't appear frightened. "How can we help you, lady?" "My home is near here - take me there." "You live in this place?" I say. How could she possibly survive here? "I could take you back to the surface." "No! This is my home. If you take me there, I can give you the name of the one you seek - the Demon with the stolen soul." Her hut isn't far. It's a crumbling structure covered in a dank fungus, but the woman seems glad to be home. She steps lively, bouncing around with an energy no woman her age should have. Then she turns around. She's young now, vibrant and beautiful. "The beast you seek is Jorm," she says with seductive smile in my direction. "He travels the lowest levels of the Underworld, but he has no home to speak of - it's how the scoundrel avoids his enemies. Never anywhere for too long, so no one knows where to find him except maybe for Deezelisk, the Duke of the Bottom. He can point you to Jorm."
Day 42 - Day 42
No longer do we seem to be wandering aimlessly through these caverns. No longer are we searching for the needle in the haystack. We have an enemy, a Demon like the others - maybe more powerful, but a Demon nonetheless. Duke Deezelisk worries me though. He will certainly ask a price for disclosing the location of Jorm and Gryphonheart's soul, and I've grown suspicious of making deals with Demons.
Day 46 - Day 46
Queen Allison unexpectedly rides into the camp. "Why haven't you answered any of my letters?" she says. "I've been worried sick that you're dead! Explain yourself, Sir Tarnum!" Politely, I usher her into my tent. "Apologies, my Queen, but I have been very busy. I have good news though. Your father's soul is being held by a Demon named Jorm. Apparently, Jorm is too elusive to find on our own, so we must seek the help of another Demon named Duke Deezelisk." "That is good news, but you should respond more promptly. You will keep me well informed of your progress in the future, you understand?" she responded stiffly. I nodded.
Day 50 - Day 50
I am certain that Queen Allison is testing me, or at least testing my patience. She has sent me a letter every day for the last four days. She always asks the same questions about my progress, my troop numbers, my victories and my losses. She watches over me like a mother hen! And I thought when she returned to the level above that I would be left to my own devices.
Day 54 - Day 54
A letter arrives from Queen Allison after several days of silence. I was beginning to worry. "Dear Sir Tarnum, I am truly sorry that I have not kept you posted about our daily activities, but we ran into a little snag here. A group of Magogs have been taunting us with their hit-and-run ambushes, so I led a small force to hunt them down. Well, I led the men straight into an ambush. We were outnumbered and trapped in a cave for several days. It was my error, and it cost several men their lives. How do you do it? How do you deal with the death of the soldiers under your command? Queen Allison."
Day 58 - Day 58
I have learned through my contacts that Allison was grossly unprepared when she went Magog hunting, so I sit to compose a response. "Dear Queen Allison, If you want to kill yourself, put a blade in your heart - it's easier. A leader doesn't go running off into the dark corners of the Underworld simply to prove how brave she is. What were you thinking taking such a small escort? If you insist on acting like a child, I shall treat you like one. Do something like that again, and I will toss you over my knee and tan your hide. You have lost the lives of many good men, and nearly lost the life of the Queen of Erathia. Living with the losses of your soldiers is made easier when you know that you have done everything within your power to keep them alive, no matter the odds! Sir Tarnum"
Day 62 - Day 62
Queen Allison's response to my harsh letter is simple. "Sir Tarnum, I am sorry. I am so sorry!" she wrote. Maybe I was a little too hard on her, but then a queen should know better.

Objects

Events

Location	Message
3, 14, 0	Infernal Troglodytes swarm out from the rocks and ambush you! Guardians: 50 Infernal Troglodytes
6, 17, 0	With so many twisting and winding tunnels, it is easy for the enemy to sneak up behind you and attack. You must think about defense as much as offense now. Guardians: 20 Hell Hounds
7, 1, 0	Snakes are not a problem for you, but when they're attached to a Medusa it means real danger. You heard the slither of snakes moments before the ambush, but by that time it was too late to avoid it. Guardians: 15 Medusas, 5 Medusa Queens
8, 27, 0	You should have known better. These Dungeon Overlords always leave little surprises around - like Minotaurs ready to take your head off. Guardians: 5 Minotaurs
16, 15, 0	You're ambushed! Some Harpies swoop down from the shadowed ceiling and attack you from the rear! Guardians: 10 Harpies, 10 Harpies
21, 8, 0	A Swordsman reports, "Sir! Some scouts have secured the Ambassador's Sash somewhere to the north. They guard it now, but they are under orders to only give access to Sir Tarnum, so don't bother to send anyone else."
24, 21, 0	A guard comes forth and says, "We have not quite finished securing this town. Every day we are plagued with ambushes, and we can't find the culprits because this land is a senseless maze! As much as I am loath to admit it, we might want to set up an ambush just around the corner here. Otherwise, we may find enemies sneaking in all too easily. That is what happened at Point Dume."
26, 12, 0	A scarred and frail Harpy Hag flies above your troops, but she doesn't attack. She says, "If you can spare a few sacks of Sulfur, I can tell you the location of the Lion's Shield of Courage. You're looking for it, right? You Knights are always looking for it, but you never find it, now, do you?" When you agree, she chirps happily. "Go north and then all the way west. Ah, but my sisters - curse their filthy feathers for kicking me out - they'll be protecting it. They like the taste of Knights, yes they do!" The Harpy takes the sulfur and flies off to the south. Contents: -3 [[Sulfur}}
26, 15, 0	This must be the Monolith the woman was talking about. Fortunately, you can return through this monolith if the forces on the other side are too powerful for you. However, be careful because enemy heroes can also come through at any time.
27, 20, 0	This is an ambush for the computer player. Guardians: 20 Halberdiers, 15 Marksmen
29, 34, 0	Once again you find yourself surrounded by nasty creatures bent on destroying every member of your troops. Guardians: 20 Evil Eyes, 3 Manticores
30, 6, 0	These Dungeon Overlords are not stupid. They have left small contingents of creatures here and there to ambush you every chance they get. This tactic slows your progress as well as slowly dwindles your troops. Guardians: 15 Gogs

Towns

Location	Type	Name
4, 28, 0	Dungeon
10, 11, 0	Castle	Point Dume
24, 20, 0	Castle	Steadfast
33, 5, 0	Dungeon
33, 34, 0	Dungeon

Heroes

Location	Color	Hero
4, 28, 0		Sephinroth the Warlock
4, 30, 0		Gunnar the Overlord
10, 12, 0		Lorelei the Overlord
17, 21, 0		Your most powerful hero from Truth Within Nightmares.
17, 23, 0		Your most powerful hero from Truth Within Nightmares.
17, 24, 0		TarnumTarnum Tarnum the Knight
30, 35, 0		Synca the Overlord
33, 6, 0		Arlach the Overlord
33, 34, 0		Damacon the Overlord

Resources

Location	Type	Message
0, 0, 0	Random resource	Guardians: 5 Pikemen, 5 Imps, 5 Skeletons, 5 Troglodytes

Quest Guards

Location	Quest	Reward	Messages
19, 0, 0	Be: TarnumTarnum Tarnum the Knight	(remove)	Proposal: We've secured the Ambassador's Sash for Sir Tarnum, and Tarnum alone. Only he shall pass. Progress: You don't look like Tarnum. Completion: Hail there Sir Tarnum! Do you wish to pass?