Shadow of the Past (Charnel)

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"The indignity! James actually suggested that this upstart, this Ashur could be a greater threat than the God of Slaughter!
Perhaps it will be necessary to subjugate this cult and restore everyone's faith in us, no?" – Charnel, Shadow of the Past (Intermission)

• Mission Giver: Charnel
• Location: Telluria
• Map Creator: Andrew DeLap
• New Spell: Animate Dead
• New Creature: Netherfiend
• Boon:
  • Maximum Mana Level +10%
  • Physical Damage Resistance +10

• Karma:

Karma Table PE JA ST PY CH -1 -1 -1 -1 +2

Map of Telluria (full image)

Starting Setup

• An altar
• 3 souls
• 2 Manahoars, a Netherfiend, a dead Scythe, 2 dead Locust and a dead Styx.

Objectives

• Defeat Jadugarr

Walkthrough

ELDRED: Pyro sent Empress Sorcha to help fight the Ashur cultists, but she arrived far too soon and with scant forces.

MITHRAS: He was punishing her. I heard the Empress refused to gather slaves for his new doomsday device.

ELDRED: Ah. At the time I only knew that it had gravely endangered our purpose.

The Cult

During the intermission, James mentioned that a cult was forming around someone named Ashur lead by the centaur Jadugarr. Charnel is furious that James would consider anyone a greater menace than Charnel, so he sends you to Telluria to eradicate the cult and banish its leader. Pyro sent Sorcha to help fight the cultists, but she was inadequately prepared and all alone until you arrived. At the very start of this mission Charnel hurries you to battle, because Sorcha is losing it (and so are your creatures who are helping her).

However there's absolutely no need to rush. Despite what Charnel said, the AI for both Sorcha and Jadugarr is turned off, at least for the moment, so you can spend some time building a manalith and summoning some creatures with the few souls you have. After you think you're ready to proceed, go along the path and you should soon encounter Ashur himself. After you're through with talking to him, the AI is turned on and both Sorcha and Jadugarr are teleported to the valley just a bit further along the path. They start to fight and you should also join in. At the battlefield you'll find dead creatures from all three of you. Of your dead creatures, there are a couple of Locusts, a Scythe and a Styx. You can pick up the souls of the lesser creatures if you want to, but make sure you revive the Styx (using your new spell).

Telluria

After winning the fight, depending on how early you killed Jadugarr, you and Sorcha will probably get to collect some of his creatures' souls. You'll find some untaken manaliths in the valley and two by Sorcha's altar. It doesn't really matter who takes them, since you're allies and share mana income. From this point you can go either east or west. If you go east you'll come by two of Jadugarr's manaliths before reaching Jadugarr's altar. If you go west you'll run into a village with some locals (Sorcha mentions them when you first meet with her). There are two Gnomes, a Ranger and a couple of peasants. If your karma with Persephone is above zero, the non-pacifists among them will join you. Further along the path you'll find one of Jadugarr's manalith before reaching Jadugarr's altar.

Jadugarr

His manaliths are guardianed by Brainiacs, Squalls and Vorticks (at least one of each and two other), but if either you or Sorcha fight him at one of his manaliths he may cast guardian on additional creatures. If you're having a hard time breaking them you may simply rend a soul (Styx's ability) near them. Jadugarr will probably turn every creature of his, that you kill and he picks up, into a Brainiac, so merely keeping your Styx alive will do the trick of defeating him (Styx has area damage and Brainiacs tend to tow behind Jadugarr without much space left between each other).

When you're finished with desecrating his altar or enough time has passed he will teleport and make his escape.

Trivia

You can skip the Marduk scene by using Teleport to move over to Sorcha's Altar. Neither hers nor Jadugarr's AI will start until you talk to Marduk meaning you are free to collect souls, kill Jadugarr's creatures and even banish Jadugarr without him even trying to stop you (his creatures will give it a go though).

Boon

The boon benefactor for this mission is Charnel. He gives you the boon if you've killed the two Gnomes and the Ranger in the village. He is pleased that he still inspires more fear than the neonate cult of Ashur.

Even if they joined you because of your background, you can still kill them. Be sure, however, not to convert any of the mentioned creatures (or to take their souls if they joined you and were killed). If you do, you won't get the boon. Also, don't allow Sorcha or Jadugarr to convert them either. The mission scripting needs their corpses to acknowledge that they are dead.

There is no karma boost for this boon.

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