Liberty story

The border province of Annuvin was too remote and unimportant for King Garard II to defend. The inhabitants had to defend themselves from the rampaging orcs and saurians. They adapted well to this forced autonomy and were a hardy and self-sufficient people.

After Asheviere betrayed Garard and seized power, she sent Wesnoth's armies throughout the provinces to intimidate the local rulers and demand allegiance. These demands were unpalatable to the inhabitants of Annuvin, to say the least.

The Raid

Baldras and Harper fight and defeat a group of goblin marauders threatening the town of Dallben (with no help from the Crown's forces).

Civil Disobedience

A Wesnoth army captain, Tarwen, comes to take Baldras, as Dallben's magistrate, to Elensefar to swear fealty to Asheviere. A battle breaks out between the citizens of Dallben and Tarwen's men. Afterwards Baldras and Harper decide to warn their allies in the town of Delwyn.

A Strategy of Hope

Baldras and Harper tell Relnan, the magistrate of Delwyn, about the attack on Dallben. Fearing a harsh reprisal when word reaches the queen, they decide to consult Lord Maddock of Elensefar. They can't do that without some kind of evidence that there is something darker afoot than mere corruption and incompentence.

Their council is interrupted by a band of orcs and their saurian mercenaries. After defeating the orcs, Baldras notices the fallen enemies carried Wesnoth army weapons and newly minted Kingdom coins. Could Asheviere be sending orcs against her own people? Relnan stays behind to defend Annuvin while Baldras and Harper go to see Lord Maddock with a greatly increased urgency.

Unlawful Orders

Lord Maddock tells Baldras that village elders are forced to swear loyalty to the queen under pain of death. Maddock views Asheviere as a vile traitor and will not swear loyalty. His large army keeps the queen's loyalists at bay while his desire not to start a civil war preserves his half of the impasse.

That impasse is broken when the queen's general, Kestrel, discovers that Lord Maddock is sheltering Baldras and his band of "outlaws." When night falls on the battlefield a hideous change comes over Kestrel's men: the flesh runs from their bones and the defenders of Elensefar must battle skeletons and dark sorcerors. When Kestrel is finally defeated he reveals that the terrible curse fell upon his men for their role in betraying King Garard.

Lord Maddock cannot spare any troops to assist Baldras and Harper, so he sends them southeast to Carcyn to meet someone who might be able to help.

Hide and Seek

Baldras and Harper arrive at Carcyn under the cover of night. A young thief named Link tells them they must get through the city unseen and find his brother Hans. Hans will guide them through the Grey Woods to his master, who will be able to help them.