No Half Measures

You and Cryptic Darkenmage, the legionnaire captain turned rebel, convinced Eternan Brune to join the rebellion. But there's a price to be paid. Isn't there always? The Drybone Sultan wants something from you in return...

Executioner Kraan ended the anarchists who spurned the empire's rule. Among them, the sultan's son. Eternan Brune wants you to exact vengeance.

You set off from Stonetown, traverse the Drybone Badlands, and make your way through the rainforests of the Endless Valley (where you defend the Kha'zi tribe from a company of legionnaires on the hunt for rebels) to the last known location of Executioner Kraan: the serpentine city-state of New Sskah City. Here, you stop at a local tavern and ask about the executioner's whereabouts.

Brewmaster Abraxas, proprietor of the Coiled Chalice, uses his knowledge of herbalism and the arcane to craft bold, alcoholic concoctions as multifarious as New Sskah City's labyrinthine tunnels. After the fall of Sskah Den to the Chaos Empire, the drudges of the city came to his tavern to drown their sorrows. After a long day of sanitation work, tunnel maintenance, or some other menial, low-wage task, they found solace at the bottom of a mug of spirits. Perhaps someday soon, they'll find the courage to stand against the empire and take back what is theirs.

Lysansera Syltheras is the tavern's beguiling barmaid. She serves up potent spirits to the drudges who come seeking a reprieve from the Chaos Empire's tyranny. She does what she can for them, even if it's only to top off their drinks or lend a sympathetic ear.

But, day by day, animosity toward the empire grows. Conspiratorial whispers have escalated to plots and plans of sedition. Lysansera listens and quietly dreams of a New Ssah City liberated from the shackles of its oppressors.

It's no wonder that, when you show up asking about the whereabouts of Executioner Kraan, the drudges mistake you for a Chaos Empire sympathizer and get hostile. Fortunately, you're able to fend them off using your cards and elemental manifestations without causing any permanent damage to them.

Once they realize you intend to end the executioner, Abraxas informs you that Kraan has been dispatched to Incaendium to do what he does best: make heads roll. In this case, it's the head of one of the last vizier's of the city-state's Torch, which oversaw governance before the Chaos Empire came along and conquered it all.

As Abraxas speaks, a drudge notice a squirrel peering into the tavern and, as you set off for Incaendium, you spot another squirrel trailing after you. Or is it the same one?

Executioner Kraan is the man the Chaos Empire calls when examples must be made. He rides into town on his horned ursidae, swings his scythe, and the streets run with blood.

No one knows the face behind the helm. No one knows the weight he carries.

Once you arrive in Incaendium, you track down Kraan and use your elemental manifestations to defeat him. It is only then you realize he is an elani, a celestial of the upper planes, whose wings have been torn from his back and whose soul has been corrupted by the dark arts. Trapped within his own mind, he could only watch in horror as his hands lifted the executioner's blade and brought it down again and again upon the necks of those who defied the empire.

But the damage done by your manifestations broke the enthrallment that bound Kraan. He's not to blame for his actions, and you spare his life. He wants vengeance against the man that stole his will, and you agree to help him get it. But first, the two of you have a vizier to rescue.

The jailers of the Chaos Empire oversee and maintain order within the empire's prisons. For the most part, that means making sure the cell doors are locked, the prisoners aren't trying to escape, and the jailer isn't dozing when someone of senior rank makes a visit. If a lackey happens to bring some slop and water for the prisoners, great. If not… well, it's called prison for a reason.

These jailers have had it pretty easy. But lately, the cells have become more and more crowded, and the prisoners aren't as docile. There's talk of a storm brewing, and it's not the kind that brings puddles and rainbows.

This storm brings you and Kraan... and, curiously, that squirrel again, perched in a window and watching you make short work of the jailer. You relieve the orc of his keys and use them to open the cells and free the vizer that Kraan would have executed had it not been for your intervention.

Lady Zafira was an influential vizier of the Executus Infernum, the executive arm of the Torch that oversees the governance of Incaendium. But after the legions of Chaos laid siege to the city-state and it fell, the kalament of Medorgazar found dealing with the Torch and its sultan troublesome. They refused to simply accept their place as vassals, instead making ridiculous demands for Incaendium's efreet: things like health, safety, and happiness. As if the Chaos Empire owed them anything. And so, the kalament ordered the sultan and the Torch's viziers put to death.

Zafira was one of the few forewarned. She and those loyal to her fled from her estate, taking only what they could carry. They lived on the streets, helping the efreet of Incaendium survive and ensuring their will remained unbroken. Their true identities, however, they concealed. For if the empire's goons were to discover that a vizier of the Torch still drew breath, Zafira and her attendants would find themselves on their knees beneath the executioner's scythe.

And that is exactly what (almost) happened. When lady Zafira was captured, most of her assistants fled. One one myrmidon stood by her side: the cinder elf Laur'tireth Nar'ignas. He'd gladly give his life for her; and he would give her his heart as well if he could muster the courage.

You free Lady Zafira and her myrmidon, as well as the rest of the prisoners. And it's chaos. They storm from the prison and attack the nearest Chaos legionnaire patrol. The locals joins in. The bedlam spreads. Soon, the efreet of Incaendeum are in full-scale revolt.

You'd love to stick around and see it to its end, but you and Kraan have business to attend to in Fireboro. You set off once again. And once again, that squirrel follows.

Once an influential overlord in the Belurocian Empire’s military, Slade was quick to forsake his oath and swear a new one to Silus of the Rift and the Chaos Empire. With his military acumen and knowledge of Belurocian strategy, he proved decidedly effective at crushing his former compatriots. His brutality and mercilessness were rewarded with a promotion to commander and an assignment as the puppet-chancellor of the Republic of Fireboro, where his battalion of legionnaires enforces his decrees without compromise or compunction.

It is said that Commander Slade can use the dark arts to corrupt one’s soul, twisting even the most noble to serve his nefarious will.

It is he who twisted Executioner Kraan, and when you arrive in Fireboro, Kraan heads straight for Slade's estate. He crashes through the front door swinging his scythe. One last execution.

But Slade is no pushover, and he fells Kraan. Before he can finish the elani off, you draw your cards and summon your manifestations. However, the commander has allies, too. Captain Blackthorn and Slade's emberguard come to his aid.

The sorceress Zeddica Blackthorn was an underlord in the Belurocian military who served in Overlord Slade's command. When the Chaos Empire began its conquest of the Splinterlands, she joined Slade in his betrayal and led her forces against New Beluroc.

After the capital's fall, Slade hand-picked Zeddica to be one of his captains. She and her company of legionnaires help to ensure the citizens of Fireboro remain subdued. Her tactics are cruel and ruthless, and she enjoys dolling out reminders of the price of defiance—whether warranted or not.

You face off against them. But there are too many. They cut through your manifestations with steel and spell until it is just you holding a satchel filled with cards you're too spent to use. This is where your journey ends.

But then a squirrel leaps from the wall and lands on Slade's face. It scratches and claws. The commander screams, blood running from the sockets of his eyes. He's blind. Zeddica and the emberguard whirl about, stunned. Before they can react, the squirrel raises a paw and lets loose with a blast of magic.