Opening
guard
...and that's what we discovered.
Countless of Irinde's troops, dead.
Among them were your Seahawks,
Pomelo, Lindros and even Krynia.
The Archsage too was slain.
ellerie
This is like a bad dream. How could this
have happened deep within our camp?
How could assailants strike so silently?
Is this the work of the Guild or Herons?
guard
It is a most heinous crime from within.
We only discovered the tracks of
one man leading away from the scene.
All the evidence points towards
Betrayer, who we've yet to find.
ellerie
Betrayer has betrayed me.
... Hahahahahaha!
Night
wheatley
That's your plan, Chieftain?
Gambling it all on an assassination?
ellerie
The loss of so many of my key supporters
has put many of my plans into jeopardy.
What's more, the morale of our alliance
is fracturing after so much inaction.
wheatley
Surely it is not such a setback that
would drive you to such extremes.
ellerie
They were some of my
very best, Priestess.
wheatley
But to risk a strike into the centre of the
Guild itself? That is a serious escalation.
ellerie
If we cannot break the siege, we'd be
in a worse position than before the war.
The Guild would retain its authority,
having outlived its main competitors,
the Herons may seek to return home,
or they might fully commit to the war.
What is certain is that we may never gain
another opportunity to unseat them.
wheatley
How can you be sure your
informant is trustworthy?
How can you be sure you'll slay the
Guildmaster before guards arrive?
How can you know the Guildmaster
doesn't have a suitable replacement?
I am no stranger to your gambles,
but this seems excessively reckless.
ellerie
I admit the plan is riddled with flaws,
but I cannot pass up this chance.
Better to take my own terms than
to gamble on the plans of our foes.
wheatley
I understand I cannot dissuade
you from this course of action.
But I see another alternative.
Your adventurer allies will soon return,
they are suitable disposable bodies.
ellerie
... They've already risked their lives so
often, done so much for the Crescent.
I will not burden them with another deadly
task, for a war they did not ask for.
wheatley
I fail to see how
that is relevant.
ellerie
Enough of that suggestion. The war
must end, and it must end on my terms.
Guildhall
rosetta
Is this how you treat an ally?
With blades in the night?
guildmaster
Regardless of any perceived slights, we are
in the same boat in these turbulent waters.
Only through our cooperation shall we
reach those beautiful shores unharmed.
rosetta
There is little cooperation in my boat given
they've burned down.
If, out of goodwill, you may send your craftsman to produce
replacements, I might reconsider my stance.
guildmaster
That would prove difficult, given they are all
preoccupied with the defence of our city.
rosetta
Then I conclude your age and wisdom is too
great to need the help of a frail maiden.
With what ships we have, I can take only my
finest troops and still leave the Crescent.
guildmaster
I cannot imagine the Young Lady known
for her courage would do such a thing.
Are you still so committed to departure, when it is apparent our foes are not
as powerful as they first appeared?
rosetta
We've already lost far too
much, wasted too much time.
Unless you have something
to inspire newfound courage, we must return home.
(Ellerie sneaks in through a secluded passage.)
oily oates
Safe passage while undetected. I've
done everything you've asked for.
ellerie
Your heroic actions for the
Crescent will be rewarded.
I see no one better than you
to take control of Yalunzar.
... And the reward in gold too.
oily oates
Then I shall leave the
fighting to you brutes.
(Oates leaves.)
ellerie
These floor plans reveal the
Guildmaster's fortified bunker.
Paranoid hag, each switch is far
away from the corresponding door.
If any enemy is given time to strike,
the entire facility shall be alerted.
If it comes to that... These explosives we
took from Enan might ward them off.
narrator
If any enemy attacks on Enemy
Phase, most enemies will charge.
This will also happen with time.
All allies gain move +2.
Ending
ellerie
Rosetta lies dead, by my own hand.
How could we have envisoned this
end when we once swore sisterhood?
But enough of such needless thoughts.
We must flee as Yalunzar falls to chaos.
(He Who Chops and the guard captain approach.)
guard
Chief, get over
here, now!
ellerie
Chops? How are you so injured?
What could've happened?
he who chops
Chief... Glasses man's
things, they all went...
ellerie
This cannot be. Lindros and
the Archsages are all dead.
There is not someone alive with
the knowledge to activate them!
he who chops
You've ruined us...
(He Who Chops dies.)
guard
Rest in peace, Chops.
ellerie
If Chops had been mortally
wounded guarding the exit, then bloodshed must have torn
through the heart of our camp.
What devious scheme was this!
Another betrayal?
guard
Chief, there's no time to be
shocked. I hear many footsteps.
Chops must have alerted someone,
something, to our presence.
ellerie
The same monsters we engineered as
our contingency shall be my destruction.
Kalor Keep
(Ellerie returns to Kalor Keep to find it strewn with bodies and war golems.)
ellerie
Guard Captain! ... She's survived so much,
she surely must be alive. What now, Ellerie?
My enemies are dead, but I've lost it all.
Am I forced to put my ambitions to rest?
(Betrayer approaches.)
ellerie
You! Betrayer!
betrayer
I was hoping you'd live to witness the
aftermath of my ultimate betrayal.
You were deceived by this friendly face,
blind to the depths of my machinations.
You didn't consider someone other than your
pet mage might control these creatures.
ellerie
You claim to be responsible for all
this destruction? But you're no mage.
betrayer
I was no mage. But every bit of free time
I had, I spent studying Lindros's runes, musings, and ramblings.
It took months
of work, but at last, I understood enough.
ellerie
That's not possible. It took
Lindros, a magical prodigy, most of his life to get to
his level of understanding,
and you claim to have learnt
all that in less than a year?
betrayer
I don't claim, I have. Look at what's
around you. Is this not proof enough?
Nothing can motivate more than
the promise of a betrayal well done.
And what a betrayal it was! The
Crescent shall never forget this day.
ellerie
The Seahawks have always paid
you well. Who do you work for, to betray us with such glee
despite the benefits we gave?
Are you another one of Maurice's
pawns? The Guild's? The Herons?
betrayer
There is no greater purpose than
the satisfaction of betrayal itself.
At the very moment I joined you,
this day was always the goal.
ellerie
That's absurd! No one would engage in
treachery if there's no actual benefit.
How can this have any self-gratification?
betrayer
For the common traitor,
but I am anything but!
I am betrayal personified!
Treason incarnate!
They shall know me as the
patron saint of true treachery!
ellerie
To think everything I worked for was
brought down by a... raving lunatic!
betrayer
What's more...
My name isn't even Bensten Treiyor!
It's [EGBERT/BOHN/BOB/BILL/EBONY/BENEDICT/BRIGHT/BREAD/BIVIAN/BARRET/BRICE/BARK/BOBOBO/BELLERIE/BIONEL/BORCH/BERENSTEIN/BARTHOLO/BUDJAT/BAMER]!
You were deceived, buffoon!
ellerie
Of course I knew that was
a bloody pseudonym you-
(Betrayer kills Ellerie.)
ellerie
Is this my fate, to die here like
a dog far from home?
(Ellerie dies.)
[The "real" name Betrayer gives is randomly determined.]
oriana
No, no, NO! What is this? How could
this have happened? Where is Krynia?
My family? Lindros? Pomelo? Ellerie?
(Tower approaches.)
oriana
Please tell me you've discovered some
good news. My heart can't take much more.
tower
We have a scarcity of such.
All I've found is more carnage left
in the wake of Lindros's creatures.
oriana
I didn't think much of your warnings,
but now, after looking at this...
How could I have known such a result
would arise from Lindros's passions?
tower
I imagined many dire possibilties, but I
could not have envisioned this outcome.
How could they have destroyed
themselves, so thoroughly, so soon?
(Mince approaches.)
mince
(frowns) Quartermaster, I found a survivor.
I also... found Ellerie.
oriana
The Guard Captain!
Then, where is Ellerie?
mince
I found her felled by a single
axe blow. I think it was quick.
oriana
I knew this might've been
the case, but to hear it...
guard
Even the Chief- Argh!
oriana
Tower, can you heal
the Guard Captain?
tower
I cannot heal organs as damaged as they
are. It is a miracle she still even lives now.
oriana
Please tell me, where is Krynia?
Have most of Irinde's troops fled?
guard
Dead, like the rest. Betrayer's
plot... The one who... monsters...
tower
All those years of toil, undone by some
unforeseen event out of our control.
oriana
I feared such a day might
come, but why so soon?
Why my daughter, who
just reclaimed her life?
tower
Where is Lindros? What is
his role in all of this?
guard
Lindros... already slain... All Betrayer...
Kil... Kill the Betrayer, for Irinde...
(The guard captain dies.)
tower
Lindros, you poor fool.
mince
Did she not give us a
name for the culprit?
oriana
No, she gave us a name, B. Treiyor.
We all knew that man was peculiar.
Why did I allow him into the Seahawks?
Why did Ellerie not throw him down a well?
tower
Ellerie took in anyone she deemed useful,
and now, such indiscretion led us to this.
oriana
If only I had taken a stronger hand in...
I know his face. He could not have travelled
far so soon. I will not rest until I catch him.
tower
This monster cannot be allowed to live.
For Krynia, and for the Crescent.
mince
Unlike Ellerie, I've cared little
about avenging past wrongs.
But this isn't about revenge.
It's about setting things right.
maurice
There is no better outcome for the Kingdom.
House Heron has destroyed most of itself, and the threat of Ellerie fell soon after.
I should be jubilant, and yet... It all had little
to do with me. I still return home a failure.
oren
I wish I could go on the hunt, bring your
killer to justice. I truly do, but I cannot.
I had once spent years chasing after this
Dark Bladesman to avenge my family, neglecting those who I ought to have
cared about and still finding no answer.
With Irinde having lost so much, I must
be there to help my people rebuild.
(closes eyes) I'm sorry, Nerysa.
Character Descriptions
Rosetta
My perfect, wonderful cousin. I've
waited for this reunion for such a long
time, it must all go according to plan.
Guildmaster
The ancient head of the Guild whose
presence has shaped the Crescent
for decades. That will end with me.
Executioner
A knock on the door late at night from
them is the greatest fear of all those
who live under House Heron's banner.
Hexbreakder
The greatest threat to public order is a
rogue magic user. This force ensures they
stay in line. The Sect is not fond of them.
Trailblazer
Acting as scouts and law enforcement
officers, a few of them ensures words of
treason are reported and spies put down.
House Heron
All kinds of troops bound to serve House
Heron as willing fodder to advance the
purpose of those of superior bloodlines.
The Circle
A tightly-knit organisation responsible
for many of the Crescent's rising stars.
Their members seem to follow conflict.
The Guild
A tightly-knit organisation responsible
for many of the Crescent's rising stars.
Their members seem to follow conflict.
Oakhall
Oakhall's many apprentices hoping to
uncover the Crescent's secrets in the
name of knowledge but mostly for power.
Militia
Faceless fodder who will be the first to
die when any kind of true threat arises.
Boom Trap
A normal looking crate packed with
enough explosives to kill a god.