CoE3 AAR: A Chronicle of the Interregnum

[Edi]

RL has a habit of intruding. Johan reviewed the manual and requested changes, so that pushed the AAR on the back burner and other stuff has also occupied my time. I'm continuing it tomorrow and on Monday.

[Flop]

Ah, no worries. I was just wondering.

I'm looking forward to the continuation.

[Doo]

Likewise awaiting its return, I'm keen to see how the Cultists develop. I'm thinking for my first CoE3 game I'll give them a go.

I've read the Lovecraft story where there are the strange cultists in the woods at night and thus my imagination fed. Usually the undead in their many forms hold my attention but the Lovecraft mythos is fresher (excuse the pun).

If you can lose a little Edi so we can see some things from the void, that would be great

[AngelSong]

I have a question,what is coe3 mp game style.
Simultaneously turn like dom?One by one like HOMM？

[Edi]

I decided a month after I had gathered the remnants of my pitiful army, I had finally scraped together enough gold to hire more troops. I have enough of a skirmish screen that I can actually pay attention to my woefully inadequate archery support. I had the option of hiring another one of those scouts, but could not afford him. I bought a squad of 5 crossbowmen instead.

One of the most imperative things was now to find where the cultists had come from and explore the nearby regions before some other unpleasant surprise decided to manifest. There hasn't been much of any other kind lately...

So after bolstering the citadel defenses and leaving a few soulless to once more guard the gallows, I headed north through the forest while the seasons were still amenable to such ventures.





I discovered another dwarven mine, but far too heavily defended to even consider attacking it. Going northwest, I reached the open seacoast just in time to see the last leaf of autumn fall from the trees before the onset of winter.





Once the snows set in, it was an ordeal in itself to get out of that miserable nowhere on the north coast. Three months later I had made little progress and everyone but the undead are cold, tired, bored and hungry. We did manage to find one coastal village where we were able to spend a couple of warm nights. It was a curious thing, really. The place bore unmistakable signs of sea cultist occupation, strange runes scrawled on walls and similar things. Yet the people were not hostile even though most would be scared to death of the undead. They were positively relieved when I told them of the fate of T'yogh.

The strangest thing in the place was a well dug near the shore, larger than wells usually are and the placement made no sense whatsoever. The water would be contaminated by the sea and undrinkable, and lo and behold, so it was. The villagers would answer no questions about it, just make warding signs against evil. All except this one fellow who was a wild-eyed fanatic and merely spewed epithets at us. None of the others in that place liked him, but they feared him that much more despite the fact there was nothing special about him. I would have questioned him more forcefully, but once word of the sea cult's demise got out, the villagers knocked him on the head, trussed him up in a weighted net and tossed him down that odd seawater well. Then they set about filling the whole thing in.

Well, when I find the cultist bolthole, perhaps there will be more answers there.





In the middle of spring I finally found what I was looking for. After a stop to replenish our rations at a lone farm eking out a living here in the northern back of beyond, on a hunch I headed north to a forest that seemed to stretch northward. And certainly enough, after two weeks of trekking through the trees, we emerged out to a headland where a sadly delapidated town looked north to the sea.

The place was an actual town, but almost deserted and cultist signs where everywhere. There were several similar sea water wells in here and the people were close-mouthed and hostile, much like the fanatic the villagers killed. Once we put a few of them to the sword and informed them of what happened to their master, they decided to cooperate. Several threw themselves off the cliff and into the sea in despair and good riddance, they would have been troublemakers anyway.

Some of the writings I found were disturbing. Apparently these people worship something called the Old Ones that come either from the sea or someplace called the Void. There are references to Star Spawn and Deep Ones. They used those sea wells apparently to subject their women to congress with some kind of abominations from the sea in order to produce things called Star Children. All they ever got were things part human, part fish and part octopus.

*shudder*

If this place wasn't to suitable to use as a base of operations, I would put it to the torch. Apparently these cultists also had trade contacts because there are few ports here, so I now have options to trade for things I lack. Unfortunately I'm so lacking in everything I don't have anything to trade with...




(You can trade resources for gold or the other way around. Max trades automatically, up to your number of trade points.)

[Edi]

That sad little town at the edge of nowhere turned out to be a greater boon than I had expected! Once all the business of establishing control had been dispensed with, I finally had time to take a good look around with my senses and it seems these murderous sea worshipers had been busy little killers indeed.

The presence of the dead in and around the town was considerable. So, not only did this place open the trade opportunities for me, it would also provide me with the troops that I have so long been lacking!

Toward the tail end of spring, I performed the rites of raising the dead as my servants and they came to answer my call:




I left the contingent of soulless to remind the townsmen who their lord and master is and headed out with the rest of my new warriors. By late summer I had made my way close to the outskirts of the ruins of the Imperial Capitol. I discovered another ancient temple, guarded only by what seemed a single weak spirit of the dead who have lost their way.



Close by there is also a swamp inhabited by a giant sized man-eating toad. Useless places even at the best of times, and this one doubly so. Well, Pantariste would probably disagree, since she uses all sorts of strange things growing in fens just like that for her concoctions, but she has her own hands full with the Bakemono and the dwarves who have been harassing her.

I had not quite up my mind about trying to acquire the temple for myself when the Colossus once more called my attention. It usually does not do this and has proven to be a most inefficient guardian of my southern realm, but this time there was cause enough and more.





The Colossus had spotted an army approaching from the south, a formation of strange and barbaric warriors the likes of which even it had never seen before. It is led by a man dressed as some kind of tribal leader or mystic, with feathers aplenty in his headdress and jewelry and tattoos in abundance.

Though this leader is human, the main force of his soldiers are creatures half man and half toad that walk upright and wield spears. The force is bolstered by what appear from all indications to be slaves overseen by a few human warriors. A strange bat-like creature flies to and fro ahead of the force, possibly as a scout, so they must know magic to control these beasts.

The most troubling aspect of this army is that it seems this barbarian has knowledge of the Realm of the Dead, because his advisor is a spirit form the Netherworld, though of a kind I have never seen. It would be most inconvenient if it turned out that this interloper is a necromancer in addition to whatever he is otherwise.







Whether or not I take the temple, I must hasten south to deal with this new threat.

[Edi]

The middle of the autumn is once more seeing the leaves fall from trees, but it is a much less dismal occasion now than it was a year ago. Considering my position right outside the lair of the horror that lairs in the ruins of the Capitol, that could be interpreted many ways... *chuckle*

The environs of the destroyed city are swarming with undead. There are small groups moving across the land, posing a hazard for anyone not sufficiently prepared. I was set on retaking the farms and hamlets around the plain where I found the Colossus, but I had to change my plans somewhat.

Those painted savages and their toad men are still somewhere in the near vicinity, the restless dead pose a threat and if I try take on everything, my troops will be whittled down in short order. On top of that, I nearly walked into an ambush that had the potential to decimate my troops, even as numerous as they currently are. Only that woodsman I hired as a scout prevented me from blundering headlong into it. There is a well organized band of brigands led by renegade military scouts preying on settlements and they had set up an ambush in a hamlet formerly in my possession.

Since defeating the brigands first would leave me weakened before facing those worshipers of...what did they call it? Yes, the God of the Four Faces, I decided to first move to take possession of the battlefield southeast of the Capitol. It was defended by a fairly sizeable band of lesser undead led by a wight. However, as always, there is a complication.



The wight is merely the lieutenant and the true power on that battlefield is a wraith, a far more dangerous undead. I wish I had one in my ranks, but I'm just going to have to destroy this one. They are notoriously independent minded and there are no magical means of persuading them to change allegiance. If I still had only human troops, I'd stay away, since the mere appearance of a wraith is enough to send men fleeing for their lives, screaming in terror. Fortunately the living dead do not have such concerns. I must remind myself to give that scout a pay raise, since it was him once more who noticed that all was not as it seemed at a casual glance.

(Narrator's note: The pay raise is part of the story. There is no unit upkeep.)

The presence of the wraith is an annoying setback, but there is also some good news:

A most capable fellow by the name of Manvale presented himself at the gates of my citadel and offered to work for me. Hiring him cost the price of a squad of swordsmen plus a scout thrown into the bargain, but despite this sudden bankruptcy, I consider every last copper of it well spent.





My new lieutenant and seneschal is a local hero of some note and can well take over the more mundane duties of managing the holdings and he can hold his own in a fight if he should come face to face with brigands. I still need to gather group of underlings for him, since this area is far from pacified and holding off a bandit or two is a far different proposition than facing large groups or entire wolf packs.

Moreover, Manvale seems to have come into possession of a spell scroll in his travels, which is an unexpected boon. It is of absolutely no use for him, but invaluable to me, as it will probably contain the knowledge required to learn more incantations. I must arrange to meet with him face to face at once!

[Edi]

I lost a couple of spearmen and some longdead on my assault on the wraith and its minions. Of my original contingent of spearmen, I have only four left with my army. Two more are guarding the citadel and I shall send these veterans with Manvale when I meet him. They deserve that much, especially after standing up to the wraith without flinching.

The battlefield was just as rich in pickings as I thought:



There is a strong presence of the dead here, which allows me to substantially increase the size of my army. Right then...





I feel a little shaken after reanimating these minions and I must at all costs avoid the need to have to do so again. However, now my forces are significantly bolstered and I can eradicate the annoying nuisances that have made administering my holdings and trying to get anywhere an exercise in frustration.

And very soon now I will have enough hands of glory to summon a powerful ally, which should make things much easier.

However, everything is not well, at all. Pantariste is dead.




A barbarian horde has invaded her lands from the south or southeast and what remains of her holdings are meager indeed. What with the brigands, hostile wildlife and constant harassment by Bakemono and the dwarven allies of the late Commius the Druid, she had no resources to stave off another well organized enemy.

Pantariste herself fell guarding the stone tower she had captured from an unaligned lord, though she did manage to slay all but one of the barbarian attackers. Small comfort, since that force comprised only a third of the invading horde. I only got the news later. Pantariste's apprentice Andromedeia is the only leader the Androphags have left and her troops are few.



The other troops my ally has left are concentrated to the defense of her forest tower.




The barbarians are lead by the chief who gathered the horde in the first place, Jordanes, a battle scarred veteran of many a vicious skirmish. One could almost call him crippled...




This force is moving on Andromedeia and when they catch her, she will die. Were she a full Witch and knew the right kind of spells, she could at least hurt them severely, but as things stand, her fate is already sealed.

And if Jordanes and his warriors are not enough, his second in command, leader of the barbarian horse, is on the move with more troops.





Huml and his men are moving to assault the forest tower. I fear I am soon to lose my ally while facing one intact alliance and the survivors of two more. If I do not manage to gather more powerful forces quickly, my prospects are bleak indeed.

[Edi]

After my successful summoning of the longdead at the battlefield, I retook possession of the mine where the colossus slew the monsters two years ago. I also spotted the band of brigands again, they were still in the hamlet and they would be the next to feel my wrath. The Colossus has discovered the lair of these ne'er-do-wells and as soon as time permits, I will eradicate that nest of trouble.





The brigands fled north before me, to the farm they had looted. My undead butchered some deer that got in our way as we took possession of the hamlet and prepared to pursue the outlaws. However, by fortuitous coincidence, it seems that the brigand threat is no more, for those jungle-born savages that the Colossus saw earlier had passed north but were coming back to take my holdings and they seem to have run headlong into the brigands.

I love being able to kill two birds with one stone and this if anything qualifies. First my enemy takes care of a nuisance that could have cost me troops and weakens himself in the process. And offers himself up for being eliminated at the same time. I love it when a plan comes together!

The only cloud in front of the silver lining here is that I don't have enough funds to hire the apprentice who came begging for employment. I didn't even know there were others of my order left after Childerik's dead, but apparently some texts have survived in secret and there may be neophyte practicioners seeking to learn from a master.


I attacked the jungle savages and in the first charge I lost some of my longdead to the spells of the undead spirit and the toad-like warriors. The leader of the enemy is some kind of priest and he invoked the favor of his gods for his soldiers.




Little good it did him, for despite taking a few more losses, my troops cut his forces down. I was not about to take any chances with that strange woman spirit, so I dealt with it once and for all in the most expedient manner: Bane fire.




The priest in the fancy headdress was the last to go down. He fell to a hail of crossbow bolts and that was that. Unfortunately only one of my spearmen survived the battle, but such are the vagaries of war.

Elsewhere Manvale took the garrison troops out of the citadel to deal with a gigantic preying mantis that had appeared to terrorize the farmers. Apparently winter drove it out of the forest to the plains to seek out prey.




The creature was swiftly dispatched, with Manvale himself striking the fatal blow.

Now I face the tedious task of once more establishing myself in the south. The ethereal spirits roaming the countryside are wreaking havoc with my holdings, so I'm going to station my soulless in the farms and hamlets to take care of such nuisances. The undead are immune to the life-sapping cold of the spirits, which means that they will be able to dispatch any such incursions with ease.

[Edi]

I have no left garrisons of soulless at the hamlet and farm near the colossal base, since the Colossus cannot be relied on to keep watch. I had just managed to retake the coal mine after a dispossessed spirit scared all the workers away and was in the process of tidying things up when the scout alerted me and the undead back to the surface.

At first I had no idea what he was about as he pointed out across the plain toward the Capitol ruins. Then I raised my eyes up from the ground level.





Whatever those things are, they grow from the same twisted root as all the other things I have seen in that benighted place. As they drifted across the plains, it became clear that they were quite large and nothing to dismiss lightly.





However, monsters or not, I have for some time now had enough hands of glory for a more powerful summoning, and I refuse to put it off any longer! It will take those floating things time to arrive and so I made preparations for my ritual.

There is a precise configuration to the patterns one must place the hands of glory, each holding a candle made from corpse fat. A precise order in which to light the candles that will then burn down and ignite the hands in their turn while the summoning incantation is recited.

The preparations took the better part of a week and checking that everything was in order required more time. Finally, the time arrived. As night fell and darkness shrouded the land, my undead servants took positions around my circle while I lit the candles and began chanting.

An hour passed as the candles burned down, then two. Then, in sequence, they burned down to the stubs and the flames ignited the hands, calling the spirits of the Netherworld to do my bidding, to bring me allies. A chill wind blew, laden with the whispers from beyond, then stilled. Followed by... Silence.

The hands of glory were consumed, nothing remaining but blackened outlines on the ground, were there but light to see it, yet there was not, for the night was moonless and overcast. Darkness deep enough not to see your hand in front of your face, the only light coming from the torches at the entrance of the mine some distance away. Silence quiet as a tomb, no sound of nightbirds or anything else. As if the world were dead.

It was faint at first, the sound, coming up from the dark plains. A rhythmic, staccato tapping. It grew to a pounding beat against the ground, accompanied by the jingle of harness and armor. The thundering gallop approached closer and closer, up the road toward the mine then past the entrance and a looming patch of darkness obscured the lights.

The horseman reined in outside the patterned circle of burnt hands, then vaulted off the massive charger. The bulk of heavy armor in outline, a faint suggestion of a horned helmet could be seen against the gleam of torches, a gleam of cerulean pinpoints behind the visor. The warrior stood in silence for a long moment.

Then he knelt, bowed his head and spoke, in a voice hollow with death: "Master. I am Cernetu and I have come to serve."





We spoke of the plans to come long into the small hours of the night, in the light of a banefire kindled in the circle by my art. With the light of dawn, the scout and the remaining spearman ventured outside with the mine workers. One could see them struggle to overcome the urge to run in the opposite direction. Finally their courage and knowledge of my high regard for them won out. It was a different story with the mine workers. I doubt they will peek so much as an eyelash out before we are long gone from here.

It is now time to remove the danger of those floating things. With Cernetu at my side, it will be far less costly than it would otherwise be.