The story begins with an army, relentless and savage, sweeping across the countryside. Towns lie in ruin, caravans picked clean, and smoke chokes the skies. This is no random violence, it is a campaign of conquest, and at its head stands a villain that the heroes failed to vanquish during their famed Odyssey. You can decide upon your own enemy or choose from one of the following:
The Myrmekes. If the heroes freed the hive from its prison, or unshackled their queen within the Tower of Sydon, then the insect legions have multiplied in secret. Now, they march to unite Thylea under a new, unyielding order.
The Lizardfolk. If King Jankor was left in possession of the dragon eggs, then Fire Island has become a crucible of war. With dragons at his side, Jankor leads a tide of scaled warriors onto the shores of Thylea.
Order of Sydon. If Sydon is dead, then a new Order of Sydon has assembled an army of centaurs, minotaurs, cyclopes, and gygans. They have banded together to return the world to the way it was before the heroes overthrew the Titans. The leader of the army is a resurrected Gaius.
The world holds its breath. You are no longer just heroes. You are legends. When you speak, cities listen. When you ride, armies follow. But peace is a fragile thing in Thylea, and the drums of war have begun their slow, steady beat. And so, the realm turns to you once more; not to conquer, but to unite. To summon allies and raise an army worthy of the coming war.
The enemy has offered battle in the lands surrounding the Sour Vintage. This is the humble inn where, decades ago, the heroes’ fellowship first began. The circle is complete.
Read aloud the following text that corresponds with the enemy you have chosen.
The hive has risen. Freed by you during the Odyssey, the myrmekes have multiplied in silence. Broods of insect warriors now swarm across the Heartlands. Their queen seeks unity, not through diplomacy, but domination. Villages vanish without a cry. Roads crumble beneath chitinous legions. The age of flesh may soon end. Now, her vast swarm has offered battle in the lands around the Sour Vintage; the very inn where your fellowship first gathered, decades ago.
From the jungles of Fire Island, a tide of lizardfolk surges forth. Their ruler, King Jankor, marches at the head of united tribes, with his own dragonlords mounted on metallic dragons. Towns burn, and the rivers run with ash. The old world must fall, he says, for the new to rise. Now his legions stand arrayed before the Sour Vintage, offering battle on the same fields where your journey began.
From the shattered temples and drowned sanctuaries of the old world, a new Order of Sydon rises. Led by the resurrected Gaius, they call upon the might of ancient oaths. Cyclopes, gygans, minotaurs, and centaurs rally to the cause, driven by visions of a world restored to Titan rule. They do not seek revenge. They seek power. Their host gathers before the Sour Vintage, ready to offer battle upon the very fields where your legend was born.
