For the King: Victorious Defeat

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The ship Queen Rosomon provided Nemo, Davy and Ahab was fine indeed and could stand up to the powerful blows of the Sea King. Alas it was their human bodies that gave out in the end as Nemo was crushed, Davy drowned and Ahab eaten by the towering monster. They did severely hurt it though, forcing it to retreat into the deep once more to rest for a few centuries and saving Fahrul from the imminent flood.

"Your life is in danger my Queen," said Hildebrandt. "With his grand plans in the wind the wizard is sending assassins for you instead, as that would be the next best thing to cause chaos."

"It's true," said Face, the last remaining A Team member who was left as her on again/off again body guard. "He's put a public bounty on you and the rewards are... lets say even your guards might be tempted. We need to get you out of here any lay low until this all settles down."

Heeding the advice, Queen Rosomon quickly changed into adventuring attire and with Hildebrandt and Face descended into the cave system designed as the royal escape route. A route known by the wizard's assassins apparently as soon bandits and all sorts of scum began attacking from the maze like caverns. In an attempt to lose them, Hildebrandt led the party to the lower depths near the magma river, but even here an assassin followed them. This one had a pet owl bear that ripped Face's face off then pinned Hildebrandt and gorged itself on his innards while he was still alive.

Their owl bears stand upright!

His final screams didn't distract Queen Rosomon who used her own significant magic prowess to battle the assassin but she was no match for the priestess once known as Lucia. With a flick of her hair, Lucia sent the good Queen off her feet, and tumbling right into the lava river behind her with a splash, head first. With her task complete, the smirking priestess then wondered if she should take the throne of Fahrul for herself.

Insight: "Hildebrandt's Cellar" mode is an infinite dungeon which tests how far you can reach. Goblin shops and treasures are available on each floor and there are bosses (in the form of scourges) every 3 floors.

For the King: Gnarly Seamen

[Part of the Cursed story line]

The A Team had already destroyed a number of chaos devices when they entered the Obsidian Keep which was guarded by Ferghus and his Royal Droll skeletal band. Baracus easily KOed the fugitive and in an epic rock battle (skele bards are my favorite fight) the A Team destroyed the skeletal band once and for all. Unfortunately the wizard had sent reinforcements to defend the chaos device here, and weakened from those boss battles Hannibal and Murdoch were both relieved of their hearts by a wraith while Baracus was felled by a most terrible foe... a wizard crab!

Yes, it's a bearded crab with a wizard's hat... :P

Meanwhile back at the demon cave, the vampire was just about to finish drinking Dijaam when a harpoon suddenly burst out of his chest, killing him! The stripped captive had been his meal for days now and couldn't quite make out the trio of sailors that had come to her rescue. One of them also was carrying the equally nude and equally alive Esme, and both were taken for a ride aboard their ship and delivered to the safety of Parid.

Queen Rosomon and Hildebrandt were more than concerned at the state of the women but had to ask about the safety of the realm first. "What news of the Sea King?"

"Aye its as ye said," nodded Ahab. "Th'wizard be usin merlings to summon'im to drownusall!"

"It is a good thing these heroes already slew their Kraken," added Nemo, referring to the two women they rescued.

Davy, standing behind them blew out some pipe smoke while scratching his beard. "Wreckin tha temples is only delaying tha ine.. inevite... delayin tha water though."

"Then your task is clear gentlemen," said the Queen rising with regal composure. "You must face and defeat the Sea King."

Insight: "Into the Deep" is my favorite mode in the game which replaces chaos with tides. While more chaos makes things harder, maximum tide is a game over which forces you to be fast. Shutting down the temples delays the tides, but there is only one way to actually win: defeat the Sea King.

For the King: The A Team

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Now with a clear target, Calia, Dijaam and Esme were sent from Parid into the hot lands to find fuel for an airship - the only method available to directly attack the wizard's dark spire. A demon cave was their first stop, and it also turned out to be their last when they unexpectedly encountered a vampire! He caught Calia by surprise, shoving her right into the maw of a giant carnivorous clam whose jaws shut fast upon its new meal.

His merling assistant easily clobbered Esme and dragged the bard deeper into the darkness while Dijaam fought a losing battle against the bloodsucker. Finally exhausted and disarmed, she was helpless as he sank his teeth into her neck... and everything went black.  

Queen Rosomon was no fool though. A direct attack would be the most obvious one for the wizard to counter, which is why she set that task for the B team. She had another team already attacking secretly, via the destruction of more chaos devices at the bottom of dungeons. Elsewhere at an ancient quarry, the elemental scourge Deimos cried out in horror as it fell to this trio of adventurers, their white haired leader grinning while saying "I love it when a plan comes together!" Hannibal, Murdoch and Baracus are... the A Team.

Getting rid of foolish scourges all across the land!

Insight: The "Dungeon Crawl" variant follows the same story and rules as the base game using chaos as time pressure. I believe the only difference is that you don't have to go attack the dark spire at the end.

For the King: Keys and Tentacles

[Part of the Cursed story line]

Given their initial success, the three Enderalians were sent onto the city of Parid to collect pieces of a key to enter the King's Maze. While the first two are easy enough to collect (though one held by a mindflayer mindlord was more challenging), the third is off shore somewhere on the Rogue Isles. Fortunately, Fahrul boating was back in business and could sell the party a small raft to brave the seas. What they didn't count on was running into the legendary Kraken!

Uh oh! This little raft can't take something of that size!

The beast easily destroys their craft and shipwrecks the trio at some unforgiving swamp which happens to be the home of the Bandit King, one of the scourges of the land who makes everything twice as expensive as they should be! Calia makes quick work of him in combat and with prices back to normal, they are able to buy another raft upon reaching civilization and easily find the final key to unlock the King's Maze and manage to defeat the monsters within, destroying another major chaos device.

This one deactivates the shield around the dark spire, prompting its owner - the ex-court wizard - to magically broadcast a message to the Queen and her champions: "Killing your king was just the beginning! All of Fahrul will soon fall to chaos! BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Queen Rosomon sighed as this was typical of one who has gone mad with power. In this case their... 8th court wizard? Honestly, she had lost count.

Insight: A dead character can be revived by spending a life point or using a sanctum, which will take the death instead of the character should they reach 0 HP. Life points can be replenished via quest rewards, visiting fountains of life or winning at the dark carnival. That last option is very risky though.