ACT 2 - Chapters 1 - 3

Chapter 1

The scene fades in to some cinematic shots of a large festival at night happening in Silverspire. There will be joyous music and lots of dancing and eating. The camera will then show the main party (without Cara, of course) sitting as honoured guests at a table being fed. Everyone is enjoying this. Ghallus will make a grand appearance with Cara by his side and make a speech congratulating the party for the journey they made in order to safely bring Cara to Silverspire. Arc catches a glimpse of Cara and their eyes meet. She smiles longingly to him and Arc reciprocates. After this, Ghallus returns to SkyeKeep with Cara and shuts the doors signaling that Cara’s training will now begin. The celebrations continue and Triss joins the crowd to mingle and have fun dancing. The party think nothing of it and continue eating and drinking. Frith will get drunk and fall asleep at the table, Dyne will obsess over the fine cuisine being brought to them and say that he must be in heaven, Finn will stay at the table until casually deciding to call it a night and go back the place they are staying at the base of SkyeKeep, and Arc will try to enjoy the festivities all the while feeling sad about Cara leaving the party due to his affections for her. The scene will eventually fade to black and will fade in to the next morning with everyone at his or her accommodation. A scene plays out with everyone coming out of their rooms to meet for breakfast in a luxurious patio surrounded by garden. One of them will mention that Triss must’ve overslept because she hasn’t joined them yet, so Arc says that he’ll go get her. Control is given to the play and they must guide Arc up a stone staircase to where her room is. He knocks on the door and calls for her with no answer. He opens the door to investigate why she isn’t answering only to find she isn’t there and her bed hasn’t been slept in. He returns to tell the party and they all get worried and conclude that something must have happened to her. They decide to ask around people that she had spoken with the night before. Control is given to the player and marks will be placed on the minimap indicating where those people are located throughout the city. By talking to them, the party gathers that she was talking to a man dressed in a dark cloak and had left near the docks. The party follows the clues to the docks and find a newly painted symbol on a wall, the very same symbol that they saw in the basement of the Temple of Paladine before they fought Rael. Dyne studies it and recognizes it from a story his grandfather told him about a secret society in Dalzenia. Upon asking around the docks for more information they find that Triss was indeed kidnapped by these people and taken onboard a ship bound for Dalzenia. The party immediately returns to SkyKeep and ask for an audience with Ghallus. They tell him what transpired and that they believe Triss was taken to Dalzenia. Ghallus then gives them a Palatherian Fleet Ship (One of the faster ocean ships) to use as much as they like from his personal fleet and that a crew will be formed at once. After this they return to the docks and are shown to their new ship. At this point the player will be able to name the ship whatever they like. When the player is ready to board the ship, a scene will play where the lead captain of the ship greets them and introduces himself as Farrus Galedeep. There will be a small conversation between him and the party explaining who he is and that he is happy to help them. After this a scene will show them boarding the ship and setting off from the harbor. The scene fades to black. It reopens on the World Map and the player is free to sail across the ocean. A mark is placed on the minimap showing where they must sail. If the player chooses to return to Silverspire at any point the can do so in order to visit any shops. However, while sailing, the player can technically sail anywhere in the world, but they will not be able to dock anywhere but where the map indicates at this point (the World Map is quite expansive and so it isn’t recommended to just sail anywhere as it can take a long time to get back to where they need to go). Once the player decides to sail to Dalzenia, they will dock at a city called White Tower off the east coast of Central Dalzenia. Upon reaching the docks, a cutscene will play showing a montage of the village. The title “White Tower Village” will appear and then fade. After this the camera will show them docking and exiting the ship. As they’re disembarking, Farrus will ask to join them saying that he could be of great use to them on their journey as he is skilled in combat and good with people. They agree to let him join (Farrus will now be a playable character). Frith will say that they should start asking around about the symbol they saw. However, before going anywhere else, Dyne will insist that he wear something to cover his face, as he doesn’t want to be seen. Control is given to the player and they will be free to roam the town and visit all the shops. Before they can leave, they will need to visit a tailor in town and buy a bandana for Dyne to cover his face with. While there the party will be able to buy new outfits for themselves as well. Once this has been done, they will have to start asking around town about the strange symbol. Most people will either say nothing and look scared, or they will say that they need to speak to the man in The Hilltop Village of Faerda. The party agrees that that need to go to Faerda next. Once the player is ready to leave, they can exit and the scene fades to black.

Chapter 2

The scene reopens onto the World Map, a mark has been placed on the minimap indicating where to go. Control is given to the player and they are free to roam the map, including the choice to return to White Tower at any time. Upon wanting to continue, the player must travel west until prompted to enter The Redgar Highlands. Upon entering, a short cinematic will play showing the landscape of the highlands. Control is given to the player and a mark is placed on the map showing where to go. The player must now guide the party through the highlands, fighting new monsters as they go. The Redgar Highlands will have many ruins of ancient settlements and building, most of which only consist of a broken down foundation or remnant of what was once part of a wall. Along the way, the party will encounter a traveling merchant with a cart. Here the party can trade and buy healing items. The merchant will also tell them how far Faerda is and where to find the old man; in a house on top of a hill within the village. From here the player must cross the remaining part of the highlands until they reach a white stone bridge crossing a river. After crossing it, a large, moss covered creature emerges from beneath the bridge and charges after the party. This will serve as the boss fight for the Redgar Highlands. Upon defeating it, the party will make their way to a pathway leading up a large hill towards Faerda. Once the party enters Faerda, there will be a short cinematic montage of the village, the title “Hilltop Village of Faerda” will appear and the fade. The camera then shows the party walking into town. Dyne will say that they should find the man everyone has been talking about and not hang around too long. Control is given to the player and they can explore the village and visit any shops there. Once the player decides to continue, they must follow the mark placed on the minimap to a house on top of hill. Once the get there, a short scene will play where Arc knocks on the door to the house, a voice inside can be heard shouting at them in Dalzen. Dyne translates that he’s telling them to go away. He slides a drawing of the symbol they saw in Silverspire underneath the door and ask if the symbol means anything to him. The man shouts again from inside saying that he knows nothing and to go away. Dyne pleads with him saying that the people associated with symbol have taken a close friend of theirs and that she may be in danger. After a long pause, the door opens and he invites them inside. Once inside the house, the man introduces himself as Agryus and says that if those people have their friend, she is either already dead or in grave danger. The party press him for information and he says that they are called The Order of Falvor, a cult of sorts. He tells them that he is unaware of their motives or what they want but that they are known throughout the region as being extremely violent and secretive, not many people really don’t know anything about them. The man tells them that they congregate in a haunted, abandoned temple further west in the highlands. He warns them not to go because of how dangerous it is, but says that if they do go, to not trust anything they say. The party thank him for his help and leave the house. Dyne says to the party that he would prefer to stay in town while the rest go find Triss, but Finn encourages him saying that everything will be alright. After a short discussion, they head out of the town. Control is given to the player and they must head west out of the town and enter the western portion of the highlands. As they enter, the title “Western Redgar Highlands” will appear and then fade. They player must navigate the party through the highlands, fighting enemies and monsters until eventually reaching the end. They will come upon a temple built inside a monstrous crater. The temple is built like a very tall tower with the top floor just reaching above the ground level where the player is. It will be connected to the outside of the crater via a long stone bridge.

Chapter 3

Upon arriving at the Temple, the party will be greeted by an old man in a shabby cloak asking if they are lost. You have the option of answering “yes”, in which the man will tell you a short history of the temple and tell how to get back to Faerda. If you answer “no”, Arc will say he knows about the Order and that they want to speak with their leader. At this point, the old man will remove his cloak to reveal his twin blades and says that he’ll let you in only if Dyne can best him in a duel. Now the player only has control of Dyne and must defeat the old man. Despite his age, the old man will be a tough fight, as he’s very quick and uses terrain as an advantage. Once he’s defeated, he’ll say that they’ve been expecting them and then says “Long live the House of Redgar” in a mocking tone in Dalzen to Dyne. Now Dyne realizes that he knows who he is and therefore the rest of the Order might as well. Finn asks Dyne what the old man said to him and Dyne replies with “Let’s just worry about Triss”. They enter into the main entrance of the Temple. Upon entering the sanctuary, the title “The Abandoned Temple of Kastamir” appears and then fades. The party marvels at how beautiful the place is and they stand in awe before a tall statue of Grand Keeper Kastamir. There are engravings and murals telling of the accomplishments of Kastamir while he was the Keeper. They descend a huge stairway leading to a lower level. As they descend, their surroundings will become darker and more ominous. When they reach the bottom, they enter into a larger room with a single light in the middle, lighting an altar. As they approach, they will see Triss tied down to an altar. They run to her and quickly untie her and she rejoins the party. Everyone embraces her and asks if she is okay. Just then the entire is room is lit up with torches and the Order is looking down on you from a balcony circling the room. Arc and the party brandish their weapons and surround Triss. Frith asks what they want and silently the master approaches, walking down the stairs they came down. He removes his hood and introduces himself as Master Aelus Arutad. He says he wants to understand why they would want to enslave the world for another 1000 years. Confused, Arc demands an explanation. The Aelus explains that by taking Cara to Silverspire, they were enslaving the world to the tyranny of the Arvalis. He goes on to explain the destruction that Grand Keeper Ghallus, and Keepers before him have caused and that with the Arvalis, he enslaves the world and robs the nations of their freewill and individuality, that no king has any real power. He says that ruling power belongs to the kings of the world and not the Keepers. After this, he explains that they’ve been watching their progression and have heard of their journey from Frewen, and he asks them to join the Order, to stop Grand Keeper Ghallus. Arc mentions Triss and asks why they kidnapped her. Aelus states that it was merely an invitation and that they never meant any harm to come to Triss. They would never have been able to approach the party in Silverspire and needed to draw them away. The party declines their offer and shouts that the Arvalis is a symbol of hope and that the Keepers have kept the world at peace for hundreds of years. Aelus cuts him off by shouting that "The Keepers are a bunch of violent tyrants who want all the control for themselves! They're selfish and cruel and will kill you they feel like it!" Finn replies that it must be a lie. Aelus says that if they don’t believe him to see the proof in the temple on The Isle of Basaan. "Go there and see the truth for yourselves". Arc says that he’s lying and then Aelus says he’s disappointed, he looks at Dyne and states, “It would be a shame if the last heir to the House of Redgar were to go missing. I know of some very wealthy people who would pay a fortune for you.” At once, the party is ready for a fight again, but instead of attacking, the room goes dark and begins to shake. When the room is lit again, the party finds themselves in a lower part of temple, below the altar room. Control is given to the player and here the party must navigate underground hallways and rooms, solving a few puzzles in order to escape. As the party reaches the exit, they encounter an Order member wielding a menacing great sword. He says Aelus shouldn't have let them go and that he should just end them right then and there. "Can't have you folks walking around interfering with us!" This will start a boss fight with the Order member. He’ll be tough due to his large size and speed with a great sword, not to mention that one hit from him can cause serious amounts of damage. Once the boss is defeated, they exit through a door to find themselves outside the temple in the crater and that it is now nighttime. Control is given to the player and they must ascend the outside of the tower by way of spiraling staircases and climbing the crater walls. Once they reach the top, a scene will occur where Frith says that they should make camp somewhere hidden for the night. The scene will fade to black and reopen with the party making camp somewhere in the highlands, sheltered by some large rocks. Dyne can cook and the player can save their game. Once they choose to continue, a scene will play with the party sitting around the campfire and Frith will confront Dyne asking if there’s something he should be telling the rest of them. Dyne won’t say anything at first, but then Frith will continue. He brings up examples of how uneasy he’s been since they got to Dalzenia, hiding his face, not wanting to pursue the Order, and everything they said about the Redgars and how Aelus could fetch a high price for him. Dyne still doesn't want to talk and by now everyone is interested in what's going on. Frith grabs Dyne by the collar and shouts that he better start talking. Dyne quickly gives in and says he'll tell them his story. He begins to tell the party about his heritage and how he was actually meant to be a prince of all the Redgar clans. He tells them that as a young boy he grew up in a palace and how a violent resistance grew against his father. One night they invaded the palace and killed his family and he and his grandfather were the only ones to escape. He tells how after this he and his grandfather were hunted and that they had to flee and eventually made their way to the forest north of Frewen. The party is shocked hearing his story. They understand and sympathize with him telling him that they will help protect him from anyone who would want to hunt or capture him. Arc laughs to lighten the mood and jokes "Is anyone else secretly some kind of royalty?". Everyone laughs. Farrus will say that he wants to find out more about Ghallus and to find out if what Aelus says about him is true. Triss says that she’s worried that Cara might actually be in danger, being with Ghallus. Arc fervently denies that she’s in danger, stating again how the Keeper is good. After this Frith will say they should get some sleep and the scene will fade to black. The next morning the scene opens to the World Map and control will be given to the player. They must navigate the party back to White Tower where they will need to board their ship. As they do a short scene will play and Farrus will tell the group that he doesn’t trust anybody. His confidence in the Keeper is shaken but he definitely doesn’t trust the Order, however they really need answers. The party agrees and the scene fades to black.

Plot type

Main Story Plot

Parent Plot

ACT 2 - Memories of Antiquity