CampaignDialogue:SOTA

This is a transcription of all dialogues from Secrets of the Ancients. It's meant as a resource for Wesnoth writers. If you don't want spoilers, leave this page now.

Death Dialogue

Ardonna/Ardryn-Na

No, no, NO, NO!

Ras-Tabahn

Ras-Tabahn: Urgh.

Ardonna/Ardryn-Na: But I still don't know how to bring you back to life!

Carcyn

Shynal: Oh, my beloved Carcyn!

You've always been so reckless...

Shynal

Carcyn: Shynal!

Bring her back to life, please!

Ardryn-Na: I'm not sure it's good...

Ras-Tabahn: If you really insist...

Shynal: Car. Cyn.

Ras-Tabahn: The girl will still recognize you for a short time, so make the most of the time you have left.

Killed as a zombie

Carcyn: Maybe it was better that way.

Scenario 1: Slipping Away

Story Text

From the Journal of Ardonna of Tarrynth

9 XII, 22 YW:

It's unfair that we humans must die after so few years. Elves and dwarves live far longer. Though this may be the natural order, we needn't embrace it! The lords on the Green Isle knew how to live forever. Pursuit of that knowledge was declared illegal by King Haldric I, but I believe it's worth the risk. As I watched my family waste away of various maladies, I vowed that I woudn't share their fate, and if I can rediscover the secrets of the ancients, I'll be a heroine to the whole continent! I shall begin research in earnest this winter.

26 II, 23 YW:

My experiments with bats have proven unfruitful. I have determined that they don't truly drain the life force of their victims - it's an illusion. The blood loss weakens the victim, while the bat gains vitality because it has fed. There's nothing I can learn from bats about extending life. Now I have a problem: I'm forced to keep the bats and pretend they're my pets because I can't admit why I was studying them. In truth, it's not a burden - I've grown somewhat fond of the creatures, and I don't mind appering eccentric. I'm already marked as different because my hair is so light and I lack a sense of smell.

4 III, 23 YW:

Today, headmaster Aimucasur himself taught a class on moving objects with one's mind. The technique involves projecting one's will inside the item and then learning to move it as an extension of the body. Incantations focused the mind to the task. We practiced with inanimate objects, but clearly the same principle could be applied to unliving flesh. Nobody dared voice the thought, because showing interest in the necromantic arts results in expulsion. I was pondering that fact in class when I noticed Aimucasur glowing at me. I must be more careful in the future about which of my thoughts appear on my face.

15 III, 23 YW:

One of my bats must have been old, for it died. Boldly then, I decided to animate the corpse. I was pleased to see that it worked, but what was interesting was this: the first time the bat twitched, I felt a last spark of life energy flash through its body. I noted that it flowed through some kind of pathway. That gave me an idea. With my mind, I searched out all the life force pathways in its body using what I could sense in the living bats as a guide. Then I animated them all at once, and the bat flapped off the floor on its own (That's a trick old Aimucasur probably doesn't know)! Even better, the energy running through the life force network seemed to maintain itself, so I didn't need to continue to concentrate. Could this be the whole secret? Could all the ancient lords have had someone bring them back after death? I'd need another mage I trusted completely, but perhaps I can find someone with whom to make a pact.

Later:

With further observation, I've determined that this isn't probably the way to avoid death. The reanimated bat has no will! It does nothing unless I nudge it with my mind. Perhaps the will of a human is stronger, and someday soon I'll have the opportunity to find out... because I'm quitting the Academy. I'll be in my room when old Morvihn checks for the night, but not two hours later! I grow weary of this place and its restrictions on thought. So, no more brown initiate's robes, no more being ridiculed on account of my hair, no more pompous instructors. I'll teach myself the so-called "dark" arts and learn how to live forever! The ancients from the Green Isle found a way, so I can discover it too. When all these oldsters here find themselves breathing their last, they'll have to beg me for the secret. Perhaps I'll be generous. Perhaps not.

Introductory Dialogue

Ardonna: I should get off the island in case the ethics committee is concerned about a rogue mage. I shall not be dragged back in disgrace! I should be able to reach the town of Llorvin before morning. I can hide there until I can head for the dock. I'll need some traveling money for that, so go, my bat friends, and find me some gold!

It would be good to have even more bats as well. There was a colony in that ruined castle where we practiced conjuring fire, so I'll try to find that. The castle was also infested with huge rats as I remember, but I can certainly destroy those. I'll have to use ice though, as I never mastered fire.

Seeing a wolf

Ardonna: A wolf! This journey could prove more dangerous than expected. Well, we could find shelter within the solid fences created by farmers and woodcutters.

Rats attack the fortress

Ardonna: I knew some rats would show up.

Scenario 2: Dark Business

Story Text

16 III 23 YW:

I decided to hide in the cemetery: in this way, at nightfall, I will be able to put into practice my experiments aimed at reviving a human body. Thanks to my black tunic I look like a mourner; Also, if I lift the hood, no one can see my hair.

Introductory Dialogue

Syrillin: Why are we stuck here guarding a cemetery all night?

Veomyr: And why are we seven? Who would be crazy enough to want to raid a cemetery?

Glant: I don't know, but my brother told me that an Academy sorceress came here tonight to argue with the mayor.

Caradoc: Well, I say orders aren't to be discussed, so be quiet.

Ardonna: I think they're guarding the cemetery because of me! Perhaps Aimucasur really harbored suspicions. It's good that I'm already here, but how do I get out? Well, at this point I can also run my experiment; I'll worry about getting out of here later.

Hello?

Walking Corpse: Uhngh.

Ardonna: Do you remember anything?

Walking Corpse: Uhrrr.

Ardonna: Apparently my first impression was correct: this poor creature is brainless.

Veomyr: I heard noises over there!

Glant: Who's there?

Ardonna: It's me, that's all. So the cemetery is closed? I was just about to leave.

Syrillin: You and... that other person. Who is he?

Ardonna: Oh, him! See, I don't mean to look for trouble, but he's a little... ah...

Caradoc: But he is dead! This is black magic, like in my grandfather's time on the Old Continent! The penalty for this offense is death. Attack them and kill them both!

Ardonna: Hey! Don't do it, or I'll have to call others back.

I would be better off if I had weapons: I think I can find some in the barracks. My comrades, go and get them.

Caradoc: Gwyllin, don't move from the barracks.

Reaching the healing temple

Ardonna: Oh, hello friend! I didn't know you were hiding here.

Hey, come back! I didn't mean to scare you.

Maybe I could lure him if I jingle a few coins.

Narrator: Right-click on a tomb adjacent to your leader to summon a bat.

Ardonna: Well? That guard said there were seven: where are the other two?

Reaching the barracks

Narrator: Now you can recruit skeletons and skeleton archers!

An enemy unit reachs the barracks

Narrator: You can no longer recruit skeletons or skeleton archers.

Scenario 3: Bandits

Story Text

17 III 23 YW:

Despite the delay at the cemetery, I reached the outskirts of Llorvin at the first light of dawn; the city was already far behind me when the sun appeared over the mountain tops. I doubt that the Academy will come looking for me in the rugged wilderness inhabited only by lumberjacks; and then, thanks to my new companions, I feel safe on my journey in the light of day. I will go east and then north, towards the port. Within a few days a ship should set sail for Porto Acquacupa: I expect to be on board too.

Introductory Dialogue

Mossa: What do we have here?

Prey is approaching, honey. They are an unusual group of creatures, but those with weapons appear undernourished.

Garcyn: Then they will prove to be easy targets.

Ardonna: I think they just spotted us from that hill. Arms in hand, my friends! We may have been ambushed.

Reaching the enemies with an undead unit

Enemy unit: But they're not undernourished: they're dead! How can they be dead? They're disgusting creatures!

Garcyn: Uh ... well, they're certainly not the first repulsive things we've seen in the wilds. Your mace is great at burning bones to ashes, so tear them apart.

Enemy unit: And then there's a white-haired girl.

Garcyn: She must be in league with the dead, so you can tear her apart too.

Killing Mossa

Garcyn: No!

You unleashed my anger, you filthy slut! Death will be too light a punishment for you!

Killing Garcyn

Garcyn: Please! Don't kill me.

Ardonna: No? All right then. I came up with an idea for another experiment.

Scenario 4: Becalmed

Story Text

22 III, 23 YW:

Research sometimes requires experiments, so I started mine. I pushed my willpower along the bandit's life force meridians, turning him into my puppet. He resisted, but thanks to my recent training my mind turned out to be stronger than his. Even stranger, the internal organs of his body also resisted by attacking the invader, which is me. However, since I was not physically present, his body ended up attacking itself! Within hours, whole pieces of flesh had weakened and threatened to fall off the skeletal frame, so I was forced to stitch them back into place.

Some of the bandit's companions had died in better conditions than their leader's, so I had the idea of adding their flesh to my puppet's. I stitched up the muscles where the fibers seemed to meet and used some spells to reinforce those welds, thus increasing the creature's strength. Initially, each new piece of flesh caused another violent reaction of rejection by the body's defenses. Eventually, however, the rejection had weakened and the body had stabilized in its new configuration, although by then it was rotting and therefore unrecognizable. The mind within the body babbled strange words about what it had become; but the bandit had wished for me a fate worse than death, so it didn't seem unfair to me.

As I spent the next day in the bandit's stronghold, I repeated the same procedure on some of his critically injured comrades, even though none of them turned into a creature as strong as their leader. One of them didn't survive, but it wasn't a serious loss - and I still enlisted him in my army anyway. Afterward, I headed to the docks and, under the cover of darkness, loaded my army into the hold of the docked ship. In the afternoon, I too embarked as a normal passenger.

25 III, 23 YW:

The voyage had started quite well, but by the dawn of the day following our departure, the wind had stopped completely: we were stuck in the sea. For the paying passengers there was enough food for two days, but there wasn't enough for my companions: therefore, the living creatures had quickly fallen prey to the pangs of hunger. On the second night, as a crew member had disappeared, I already had a suspicion about the cause. And I wasn't wrong.

Introductory Dialogue

Narrator: Now you can recruit the ghouls!

Joc: I found Janryn in the hold. Or at least ... what's left of him. He died. I didn't stay down there to find out who killed him, but something was slowly moving in the shadows and it smelled of rottenness.

Rudic: Murderers aboard my ship?! I won't tolerate such an affront! Gather the rest of the crew and bring them here - let's go hunting! All passengers must be locked up in their cabins with immediate effect.

You, dark-dressed girl! Why aren't you in your cabin?

Ardonna: What would happen if I said something in defense of illegal immigrants?

Rudic: I'd throw you overboard with them. What do you know about it?

Ardonna: They are my traveling companions: those poor creatures are terribly hungry. I'm sorry I couldn't pay the full amount, but maybe we can reach an agreement.

Rudic: Those beings killed a member of my crew and made me look stupid! The only deal I would sign right away is for your whole group to get off my ship, preferably at the bottom of the sea.

Ardonna: Oh dear! We'll have to do it again... come, my friends! If you're still hungry, first sink your fangs on one of the passengers.

Killing Rudic

Ardonna: Luckily it's over. But now, with the captain dead, who will steer the ship and guide us into port?

Get up, captain, and try to keep your memories.

Are you still capable of driving this ship?

Rudic: Driving... yes. Need for wind.

Ardonna: Oh, it worked! Captain, take us to port as soon as the wind blows in your favor.

Scenario 5: Blackwater

Story Text

29 III, 23 YW:

Since the captain had retained his memories, I deduced that it may have been due to the fact that he had been revived so soon after his death. Further experiments conducted on the other passengers came to the same conclusion. Just think: they could be the first people on this continent to live for eternity!

Fortunately for me, the captain was a very rich man: this solved my income problems for some time. Now I have to go: the captain is preparing to dock the ship in port.

Introductory Dialogue

Gweddin: Hey, Rudic! Welcome! You're late, old sport.

Rudic: Late.

Gweddin: Not very talkative today, huh? What happened to you?

Rudic: Happened? Dead.

Ardonna: (Be calm.)

Gweddin: Ah! Well, to be honest, you look really bad. You look... gray and your face is... but if we're talking in the here and now, you can't really be dead!

Rudic: Yes. Dead.

Gweddin: What devilry is this?

Bremen: This is magic, my lord. Black magic.

Gweddin: Necromancy! The penalty for this crime is death! Rudic, who is responsible for all this?

Rudic: She.

Ardonna: Ah, here ... I should have known that I wasn't going to get away with it cheaply.

Gweddin: Kill her!

Ardonna: Nobody has to stay alive to report our presence, otherwise the whole region will become a dangerous place for us. We have no choice: we have to kill them all.

Killing Gweddin

Ardonna: Porto Acquacupa has been conquered, but we mustn't let anyone escape. Exterminate them all.

Killing the last enemy unit

Ardonna: Here we're done.

Shadow: Girl. You follow me.

Ardonna: What the hell are you?

Shadow: Spirit and shadow. You follow me.

Ardonna: But then you are a ghost ... a real ghost! Of course I'll follow you! Show me the way.

Scenario 6: Following the Shadow

Story Text

3 IV, 23 YW

I was so sure I had the answer in hand, but I was wrong! I only wish I'd imagined it, but now it's clear that the captain's memories are fading. He still maintains the use of the word and the other units fight better under his control than he (after all, many of them were part of his crew, so they were already used to it), but now he remembers very little else. The same goes for my other recently reanimated friends. I'm sorry, but the presence of my strange new travel companion prevents me from falling into depression.

The spirit took us north. He identified himself as the ghost of an orc named Vash-Gorn. Then he remembers! Apparently the problem is solved, but the ghost ignores all my questions. Curiosity is burning, so I hope to reach our destination soon! We travel exclusively during the day, because at night the spirit is practically invisible. We haven't had any problems along the way yet, but we're a big company now, so I wasn't expecting that.

Introductory Dialogue

Shadow: Come.

Ardonna: Let's follow him into that cave.

Blaust: I don't know, Bogdush. The chief said he wanted some useful things for the war.

Bogdush: Look, it's a wizard! It would be useful for the war, you idiot! It's only a human cub and, if the sight does not deceive me, she's also a female. She'll be an easy prey to catch.

Blaust: How about the others? They look like the dead beings who were on the Green Isle.

Bogdush: Yes, and that makes our task of killing them even easier!

Ardonna: You must be goblins. Stay away from me if you wish to save your lives.

Bogdush: Oh, even a sorceress who makes fun of us! Here we are.

In the cave

Ardonna: And so they're just bats ... but there are a lot of them.

Proceeding

Ardonna: But look, there's a cave under the floor of that cave. If we rushed into the cave, what kind of wasp's nest could we raise? I hope it's nothing worse than a few bats.

Rudic: Ghost?

Ardonna: Surely the ghost would never go that way, where I can't follow him.

If there's a bat, there will surely be others. We must be cautious.

Near the end of the cave

Ardonna: There is a tunnel at the bottom of the cave! The ghost must have passed that way.

Reaching the end of the cave

Ardonna: And now let's see where that ghost went.

Scenario 7: Meeting of the Minds

Story Text

9 IV, 23 YW

The tunnel at the bottom of the cave gradually narrowed and it took a long time to get through. Some mushroom colonies on the walls emitted a faint glow, which allowed me not to trip too much. Eventually I saw a stronger light ahead of us.

Introductory Dialogue

Ardonna: Oh, wow.

Ras-Tabahn: I'm Ras-Tabahn. Welcome to my laboratory, Ardonna of Tarrynth!

Ardonna: How do you know my name?

Ras-Tabahn: I know a lot about you. My ghosts have been spying on you for some time, and then we both share the goal of resisting death. I was hoping that a good number of students would free themselves from the yoke of that conservative academy, but it seems you were the only one who did. Fortunately, you are endowed with invectives and you have even managed to achieve a result that I have never achieved. You have some really useful creatures with you - "ghouls", is that what you call them?

Ardonna: Yes, I can show you how to make one. But haven't you already solved the problem with your ghosts?

Ras-Tabahn: Alas, no. Ghosts are able to retain some memories if they are revived quickly enough and prove to be good scouts and soldiers once you have some experience, but you never want to become one of them. Do you see the blades that Vash-Gorn carries with him? Binding metal to the spirit required a complex ritual, which cannot be done alone in the absence of a physical body. Not being able to interact with the world would be terribly frustrating. But it doesn't matter: I have another idea.

I think I know how to get the information we're looking for, but it would be too difficult for me to get it myself. Therefore, you and I will go on a mission. First we will have to expand our armies, then...

Ardonna: Wait a minute: I haven't heard anything yet that makes me think I can trust you.

Ras-Tabahn: Ah ... you're right: I'm afraid not. Let me teach you a little of what I currently know and let's see if that allows you to form an opinion on it. However, the question of trust is not the most important: my question is whether we can cooperate or not. Listen: The ancient Wesfolk honed their art over the generations. There is more knowledge to be discovered than a single individual can learn in a lifetime. If you do your research yourself, you will one day become as old as I am and death will blow your neck just as relentlessly. However, if we combine our searches, we will have a chance to finish them before it's too late for us.

Ardonna: For you, you mean! I'm only nineteen. However, your argument seems valid to me. For now we can work together.

Ras-Tabahn: Splendid! Here's what I propose to do. At first we will have to split up for some time: you will have to create a handful of ghosts according to my instructions. In the meantime, I will try to train some local farmers in the magical arts. I don't expect much from that crude scum, but with any luck I'll find someone smart enough to increase our firepower. When we get together, you'll show me how to make one of those lanky ghouls. Actually, I'm not in a hurry, as they give off a terrible smell.

Ardonna: Well, I don't have the sense of smell, so I wasn't aware of it.

Ras-Tabahn: A curious but useful detail for one of us.

Ardonna: Why can't I just revive some of the goblins out there?

Ras-Tabahn: Those goblins were too weak - their spirits would take too long to grow strong enough to be useful. Instead, you'll have to revive some warrior elves. A few miles into the Gray Woods lies the ancient battlefield of a civil war that broke out centuries ago. From there you will follow an ancient elven road and revive an army of ghosts as you visit Carcyn, a nearby town. We will meet at the end of the elf road, near the Great River: then I will explain where we will go next.

Ardonna: Very well. We'll do as you say.

Scenario 8: Carcyn

Story Text

First we'll follow the adventures of Ras-Tabahn.

After a few days of traveling, he reached the frontier town called Carcyn.

Introductory Dialogue

Ras-Tabahn: Greetings! I'm the wizard Ras-Tabahn.

Carcyn Fisher: Greetings to you, traveler. I'm Carcyn Fisher II. How can I help you?

Ras-Tabahn: I come here to propose a training offer in the magical arts. An offer made of notions, adventure and escape from this city.

Carcyn Fisher: Nobody in my city wants to "escape"! We're not interested in hearing your offer. Go and sell your corruption elsewhere.

Ras-Tabahn: The offer wasn't addressed to you, but to the young people of your city. I'll send my agents to all homes and public places in this city and resubmit my offer. And you'll let me do it.

Carcyn Fisher: I will never do such a thing! I'd rather die than let you fool our young people with your spells!

Ras-Tabahn: Maybe that's the way things go.

Recruiting

Mage: Look at him! He doesn't come from the academy.

Carcyn Fisher: Keep your tongue under control! I saw everything! I'm tolerant of instructors, but not when they just say the obvious.

Turn 2

Ras-Tabahn: Um... the young people who are most anxious to leave may be the ones locked up in prison. I should go take a look.

Reaching the prison

Carcyn: Carcyn Fisher at your service! This is my friend Shynal.

Shynal: "Friend"? (laughter) Oh yeah, we're really great friends...

Carcyn: Or... well, you know what. Thanks for getting us out of there, sir. We would be honored to follow you!

Ras-Tabahn: I assume you're Carcyn III, right?

Carcyn: Don't remind me ... it was my father who threw me in this sewer.

Carcyn Fisher: Stay out of this, my son.

Carcyn: Not even for an idea! All my life I've been waiting to see someone to put you back in line. And here comes someone you can't put your feet on your head!

Shynal: We are leaving this stinking city!

Killing Carcyn Fisher

Ras-Tabahn: I warned you not to challenge me.

Leveling Shynal as a footpad

First

Shynal: Hey, but I wanted to be a sorceress like you and live forever when you can find out the secret! I know that, eventually, I could become really powerful.

Refuse

Ras-Tabahn: Keep your tongue in check! You will do as I order.

Accept

Ras-Tabahn: Very well. After all, having more adepts available might be a good idea.

Second

Shynal: Damn! I wanted to be a sorceress like Carcyn.

Refuse

Ras-Tabahn: Don't make me regret freeing you from prison. My decision is final.

Accept

Ras-Tabahn: I changed my mind. Maybe someday you'll become really powerful.

Shynal: Thank you!

Leveling Carcyn as an outlaw

First

Carcyn: Hey, but I wanted to be a wizard like you and live forever when you can find out the secret! I know that, after all, I could become really powerful.

Refuse

Ras-Tabahn: Keep your tongue in check! You will do as I order.

Accept

Ras-Tabahn: Very well. After all, having more adepts available might be a good idea.

Second

Carcyn: Damn! I wanted to become a wizard like Shynal.

Refuse

Ras-Tabahn: Don't make me regret freeing you from prison. My decision is final.

Accept

Ras-Tabahn: I changed my mind. Maybe someday you'll become really powerful.

Carcyn: Thank you!