Editing Horn of the Abyss (campaign scenario)

{{inhota}}{{campaign navigational box|hota=expanded|hornoftheabyss=expanded}}
{{scenario
| scenario       = {{#explode:{{PAGENAME}}|(|0}}
| description    = Bidley, Jeremy and Tark must defeat Casmetra before she activates the Horn of the Abyss. Hero level cap is 24. Bidley, Jeremy and Tark will move to the last scenario After victory.
| underground    = enabled
| num_play       = 2/1
| size           = L
| source         = hota
| victory        = def_hero
| victory_hint   = <br>{{---}}{{Hn|Casmetra|noname=}}
| loss           = time
| loss_hint      = 4 months
| allies         = {{teal}}
| enemies        = {{pink}}
| difficulty     = Hard
| bonus          = {{BonusCr|Corsair|12}}{{BonusArt|Boots of Polarity}}{{BonusR|Sulfur|15}}
| carry          = {{Hn|Jeremy|noname=}}{{Hn|Bidley|noname=}}{{Hn|Tark|noname=}}
| max_lvl        = 24
| Cmap           = [[File:Cmap hota hota 3.png|400px|The pirates and the Prince of the Nix must stop Casmetra before she can leverage the power of the Horn of the Abyss she stole.]]
}}

== Prologue ==
[[File:H3ABds2 (HotA).png|400px|thumb|left]]
{{town|Cove|noname=}} Unnamed narrator: Sooner or later, any cunning meets its end. After Casmetra disloyally deprived Bidley of the Horn of the Abyss, she realised he would come after her. She could rue her carelessness but it was too late. Bidley, Jeremy, and Tark were getting ready to assault her island and put an end to her plans.

{{clear|both}}

== Scenario ==
=== Timed events ===
{{TEheader}}
{{TErow| 1 | Day 1-1| Jeremy entered “Black Mark”, quickly looked around, sprawled his hands and gave a jolly cry, “My little brother!”<p>Bidley had no time to react and ended up squeezed in the arms of his relative.<p>“Jeremy! Thunderation! Where do you spring from? I was just about to start looking for you.<p>“The Guiding Star showed me the way”, answered Jeremy blithely, releasing his brother.<p>“What star?”, frowned Bidley.<p>“Never mind. It’s already faded. You can’t imagine where I’ve been! Cannibal tribes, slave merchants, this corn...<p>Lucky you! And I’ve been to the Plane of Water”<p>“What did you do there?”, asked Jeremy suspiciously. “Sailing,” answered Bidley coolly.<p>The pirates sit down to the table and discussed their adventures for some time but later the topic came down to who actually had tangled them into these adventures.<p>
“Casmetra”, sighed Bidley, “this witch. She deceived us all. She even betrayed her mercenary. Was it…Dargem?”<p>“Dargem,” brother agreed, “but Jeremy Albatross never forgets his offenders! Casmetra will pay for her evil-doings.”<p>“You don’t say!”, smiled Bidley and sipped some wine, “I thought you were good one with another”<p>“Yes but what could I do?!”, Jeremy made a helpless gesture, “I’ve always been too susceptible to female beauty! I’m not as cruel as my brother who is neither interested in women, nor in men nor in mermaids. Have you ever thought about a career in the Sun Temple?” “I will think about it as soon as I strangle Casmetra personally”, answered older brother coolly.<p>“You know what’s the most curious thing about it?”, said Jeremy in a serious tone leaving out all the mockery, “She is not hiding. This witch announced to all the Regna that obtained the Horn of the Abyss. I think the very Dread Pirate Stanley is hiding in his mansion pretending nothing special happened. I managed to collect some information besides...”<p>“They are afraid of her”, nodded Bidley. “The whole goddamned Empire of the Endless Ocean lays low as a prison rat waiting for what comes next. I don’t know why she would need the Horn and why she pursued it so hard but now we must take it from her. Not only because it’s min…ours but also because I don’t like what’s happening!</p>}}
{{TErow| 1 | Day 1-2| In very deed Casmetra did not hide and every drunken sailor in Regna knew she stayed at her residence with the Horn of the Abyss. Tark, an old friend of Bidley and Jeremy’s, was already spying on her. From the very moment when Dargem’s castle cracked, the pangolin believed that the pirates did not die and that they would come back some day for revenge. And he was right about it.<p>The only problem was that the Casmetra’s island was guarded by a big amount of her thugs. There were at least four castles; but it was unknown where was the hostess. Bidley, Jeremy and Tark disembarked in different parts of the isle, build camps and were getting ready to assault the lands of the mighty witch.</p>}}
{{TErow| 1 | AI stuff|freq=7|loc=(AI)|effect= +15000 {{Gold}} [[Gold]], +15 {{Wood}} [[Wood]], +15 {{Ore}} [[Ore]], +10 {{Mercury}} [[Mercury]], +10 {{Sulfur}} [[Sulfur]], +10 {{Crystal}} [[Crystal]], +10 {{Gem}} [[Gems]]}}
{{TErow| 2 | Day 2| One of the Tark’s scouts came back with some information. There is a long-lived rumour that Casmetra not only possesses the Horn of the Abyss but she is also is trying to do something with it, to carry out some ritual. If it is true, you must stop her before she succeeds as nobody knows what she is doing and for what reason.}}
{{TErow| 5 | Day 5| “Soho, little brother, chins up! Soon, we’ll catch this witch and she’ll pay for everything!”, cheerfully said Jeremy.<p>“Only if we get in time”, frowned Bidley, “It is not for nothing I had an apprehension. She knows something about the Horn that we don’t.”<p>“We’ll hire a necromancer so he interrogate her corpse!” grimly roared with laughter younger brother and fired from the pistol in the air on impulse of a youth boldness.</p>}}
{{TErow| 7 | Day 7| Finally, another scout came back. He found out that there is a secret cavern under the isle. Probably, you must look for Casmetra there. You just need to find a way to get into the cavern.}}
{{TErow| 12 | Day 12| It has been a strange day. The sea got covered with ripples and then they suddenly disappeared. It might have been a nature phenomenon but the majority including Bidley and Jeremy blame the witch and her charms for it.}}
{{TErow| 30 | Day 30| It seems that the apprehensions were not in vain! Hundreds watched the sea tremble and heard it groan. As if it was trying to jump out of its coasts but later changed its mind.<p>“Curses!” swore Jeremy, “we’d better hurry. I don’t know what Casmetra is doing: destroying  the Horn, saving the world, creating a new broom … - the Horn must be taken from her as soon as possible! I don’t like at all what’s happening here.”<p>“Me neither,” nodded pale Jeremy, “What if she wants to awake the Dormant?” “Whom?”, asked older pirate surprisingly.<p>“Well, it actually makes sense. To awake it, you need to blow the Horn”, whispered Jeremy to himself and looked at his brother and continued. “There’s a legend about an ancient god who sleeps on the bottom of the sea...” “Oh, let’s now recall all the sailor’s tales here,” waved off Bidley and went away to his affairs.</p>}}
{{TErow| 56 | Day 56| Today, something strange happened again and everybody heard some sound coming from the depths of the ocean which more resembled a moan. There is less and less time.}}
{{TErow| 66 | Day 66| Jeremy seems to have gone crazy about the theory of this god sleeping on the bottom of the sea. Somewhere he managed to find tractates of an ancient mage Joycraft, studied them and arrived at a conclusion that Casmetra was a member of an ominous cult which serves the Dormant.}}
{{TErow| 84 | Day 84| The sky got clouded and it has been raining hard for 2 days. There a permanent weak storm on the sea. No doubt it is the work of Casmetra: as the days grow longer, the storms are stronger.}}
|}

=== Objects ===
==== Events ====
{| class="sortable wikitable" cellpadding=5px
! Location
! Message
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 6, 27, 0
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | Ambush!<p><center>'''Guardians:''' 150 {{Cn|Rogue|name=Rogues}}, 25 {{Cn|Sharpshooter|name=Sharpshooters|image=Sharpshooter (HotA)}}</center></p>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 8, 19, 0
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | The air in this place is very dusty and dry. It is difficult to breathe. Your soldiers cover their faces with wraps.<p><center>'''Contents:''' -1 {{Morale|-1}}</center></p>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 38, 13, 0
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | After the battle, the pirate army took a short breather. Jeremy grabbed a small bag in case there was something of value to loot off the fallen. A bottle of tobersk brandy from Dagger Wound Islands, too, in order to make the dragging affair less dragging.<p>Roaming from corpse to corpse, he spotted Tark nearby. The warrior leaned to each fallen Nix, putting his hand to their chest and saying something barely audible.<p>“What are you doing, Tark?” - Jeremy chuckled, coming closer.<p>“I send them off to their last journey, by one old custom. So did our ancestors, back in the days when the Nixaar Empire was still around.”<p>“Nixaar? Never heard of that.”<p>“When the world was covered by chaos of the Silence, we dove into the Endless Ocean, and there we built our Empire. We were prospering, until Tritons from the Plane of Water came to attack. The nation was divided. Some died, some fought. And those who survived became slaves of the Overlords. Who was once a slave, never forgets what it is like… I fought for freedom of my people, for them to come back to life and prosperity. And now I'm burying them, killed in a new war.”<p>“We are all dying someday. But nothing goes without a trace, I believe. Our deeds will live on forever! - Jeremy said, smiling.”<p>“Your brother, Bidley, craves power before anything else. And what do you wish for, Jeremy Albatross?” - asked Tark suddenly.<p>Failing to offer an answer, Jeremy took a gulp of brandy and went on, but he left the bag behind.</p>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 38, 15, 0
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | Among other troops, a group of Nix manned the garrison walls. Everybody knew by now that they became mercenaries, ending up serving various Regnan captains after being liberated from Nighon. And now they were about to fight their own.<p>Tark, liberator and ruler of Nix, wanted to bring everybody to reason and urged his kinsmen to join his cause.<p>“Brothers, join me, like in the olden days! Trouble will befall one who stands against his brother. I don’t want that.”<p>One of the garrison Nix, apparently their leader, replied:<p>“How is the captain whose boot you are licking today better than any other? You betrayed your people, Tark! You deprived us of unity, forcing to join the pirates. I'm not going to kill you for gold. I'll do it because you're a foe!<p>These turned out to be last words of this Nix. Presently, a cannonball swept him from the wall.</p>
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 74, 13, 0
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | "Again we became kinslayers", sighed Tark at the sight of fallen. He grabbed a spade and started digging a grave. Other Nix followed suit.
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 74, 15, 0
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | Seeing Tark's troops approach, the enemy Nix got up hissing and shouting "No mercy!". All the garrisoned guard were set to launch an attack.
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 60, 10, 1
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | You seem to be going the right way – Casmetra is hiding just about here.
|}

==== Towns ====
{| class="sortable wikitable" cellpadding=5px
! Location
! Player
! Type
! Name
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 37, 75, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{teal}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove|nofort=}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 69, 76, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{teal}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 105, 66, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{teal}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove|nofort=}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 11, 31, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove|nofort=}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 37, 6, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | Downwich
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 50, 35, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | Aronhem
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 83, 38, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove|nofort=}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 89, 6, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | -
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 2, 3, 1
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{town|Cove|nofort=}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | -
|}

==== Heroes ====
{| class="sortable wikitable" cellpadding=5px
! Location
! Player
! Hero
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 37, 76, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{teal}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Jeremy|Captain}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 69, 77, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{teal}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Bidley|Captain}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 105, 67, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{teal}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Tark|Captain}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 11, 32, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Illor|Captain}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 37, 7, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Astra|Navigator}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 50, 36, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Derek|Captain}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 83, 39, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Manfred|Navigator}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 89, 7, 0
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Cassiopeia|Captain}}
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 61, 22, 1
| style="text-align:center;" | {{pink}}
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | {{H|Casmetra|Navigator}}
|}

==== Seer's Huts ====
{{SorQheader}}
{{SorQrow|seer=1|loc=12, 86, 0|quest=Return with:<br>20 {{Cn|Monk}}s</br>|rew={{Sn|Resurrection}}|prop=I am an agent for an emperor of a distant land.  Recently, his armies have fallen on hard times.  If you could bring 20 Monks to me, I could pay you handsomely.|comp=At last, the 20 Monks that will save our empire!  Here is your payment. Are they ready to depart?}}
{{SorQrow|seer=4|loc=47, 55, 0|quest=Return with:<br>{{An|Necklace of Swiftness}}</br>|rew={{An|Wayfarer's Boots}}|prop=Long ago, powerful wizards were able to create magical artifacts, but time has caused us to forget how to make new items.  I would like to learn these techniques myself, but I need one of these artifacts first to see how it was done.  If you could bring me, the Necklace of Swiftness, you would be well rewarded.|comp=Ah, exactly what I needed!  Here is the reward I promised.  You still wish to trade the Necklace of Swiftness, yes?}}
{{SorQrow|seer=2|loc=85, 61, 0|quest=Return with:<br>20 {{Gem}} [[Gems]]</br>|rew=30 {{Cn|Satyr}}s|prop=I am researching a way to turn base metals into gold, but I am short of materials for my workshop.  If you could bring me 20 Gems, I would be most grateful.|comp=Finally!  Here, give the 20 Gems to me, and I'll give you this in return.}}
{{SorQrow|seer=3|loc=92, 47, 0|quest=Return with:<br>{{An|Garniture of Interference}}</br>|rew={{ss3|Resistance|Expert}}|prop=Long ago, powerful wizards were able to create magical artifacts, but time has caused us to forget how to make new items.  I would like to learn these techniques myself, but I need one of these artifacts first to see how it was done.  If you could bring me, the Garniture of Interference, you would be well rewarded.|comp=Ah, exactly what I needed!  Here is the reward I promised.  You still wish to trade the Garniture of Interference, yes?}}
|}

==== Quest Guards ====
{{SorQheader}}
{{SorQrow|guard=1|loc=7, 91, 0<br>8, 20, 0|quest=Be:<br>{{teal}}</br>|prop=The guards here say they will only let those who fly the teal flag pass.|prog=The guards here will only let those who fly the teal flag pass.|comp=The guards note your teal flag and offer to let you pass.  Do you accept?}}
|}

==== Resources ====
{| class="sortable wikitable" cellpadding=5px
! Location
! Type
! Message
|-
| style="text-align:center;" | 88, 75, 0
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px; white-space: nowrap;" | [[File:Resource_gold_sack.gif|30px|link=Gold]] [[Gold]]
| style="padding-left:7px; padding-right:5px;" | [PH]   A big sack of gold!
|}

[[Category: Campaign scenarios]]