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The Village in the Mist
The sunlight fades as the mercenaries make their way deeper into the marshes, replaced by a gentle glow illuminating everything in a pale, ominous grey. They move cautiously forward, their footsteps muffled by the spongy mud as the thick mist rising from the stagnant water envelops them.
Suddenly, a macabre scene comes into view. Inert, decomposing bodies are hanging from poles right in front of them. Their skeletal faces, frozen in terror, seem to be screaming at the mercenaries to turn around and run.
Ignoring this warning, they continue on their way, guided by little more than the exceptional skills of their marauder, who has managed to pick up tracks leading through this murky, shifting environment.
After a long and arduous walk, a blurry shape emerges from the fog. It appears to
be a wooden hut perched on stilts eaten away by damp and mold. Before long, other buildings appear and reveal an entire village filled with the crazy soldiers they fought earlier!
They seem to be in the right place, and the sight of Ilona, wrists bound as she is dragged roughly into one of the huts, dispels any lingering doubts. She is followed by a hauntingly beautiful but sinister- looking woman whose eyes glow with fascinating yet terrifying hypnotic intensity.
An occult ceremony is being prepared in the centre of the village. The mercenaries have seen enough in their countless adventures to know that it involves the sacrifice of a young woman.
There’s no time to lose!
Objective
If the Heroes free Ilona, achieve the additional objective and at least one of them escapes the swamps with Ilona, the Heroes win.
Setup
If the Heroes won the previous scenario, the game starts with the Heroes’ turn. Otherwise, the game starts
with the Overlord’s turn. The Heroes start in the area marked
.
Take 6 Flame tokens 
and place them next to the board.
Place the Rope token 
on Ilona’s miniature base, represented by
the Princess miniature.
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If the Heroes won the previous scenario, each Hero moves 3 gems from their Reserve zone to their Fatigue zone. Otherwise, each Hero moves 4 gems from their Reserve zone to their Fatigue zone. |
Asset Deck
Chests require a complex Manipulation with a difficulty of 2 to open. The Lockpicking Skill can be used. The asset deck contains: Explosive orb, Life Potion, Asshuri Cuirass, Tribal Shield, Shemite Bow, Rapier, Phoenix Sword, Spellbook (Mitra’s Halo).
Events
When the Event tile is activated, resolve each of the following events in order:
- Reinforce 1 Xotalanc Spearman, 1 Xotalanc Assasin, 1 Xotalanc Warrior, 1 Crocodile, 1 Tecuhltli Swordsman. Heroes choose where the units are reinforced, but can not place more than 2 units in one reinforcement area./li>
- Activate Tascela.
- If it is not already there, place the Rope token on the
base of Ilona’s miniature.
Special Rules
Game Board Rules: Standard game board rules apply except the “Water areas” rule which doesn’t affect the Overlord units.
Ilona: She cannot suffer damage and does not count towards hindering.
Free Ilona: A Hero in Ilona’s area may perform a complex Manipulation with a difficulty of 4 to free her. The Lockpicking Skill can be used. If successful, remove the Rope token from the base of her miniature and place it next to the board.
Escort Ilona: A Hero in Ilona’s area without the Rope token may perform a simple Manipulation to move her miniature to an adjacent area ignoring hindering. If the Rope token is on her miniature’s base, the Manipulation is complex with a difficulty of 1. If successful, move her miniature to an adjacent area ignoring hindering, remove the Rope token from her base and place it next to the board.
Each Hero cannot escort Ilona more than once per Turn.
Escape with Ilona: A Hero in the area marked
with Ilona may spend movement points as if they were crossing
a border to escape the swamp with her. Once a Hero has escaped, they cannot return to the board and still count for the
number of Activation tokens to be drawn.
Additional Objective: When Ilona is freed for the first time, she finds her courage and
asks for your help before escaping this wretched place. Roll 
(no
rerolls). The number of successes indicates the additional objective to achieve.
- 0 success: Retrieve her father’s stolen goods. The Heroes must open all the chests.
- 1 success: Burn this cursed village. The Heroes must burn the village.
- 2 successes: Take revenge on Tascela. The Heroes must kill Tascela.
Burn the village: A Hero in a hut area may perform a complex Manipulation with a difficulty of 2 to set the hut on fire. If successful, place a Flame token in the hut area. There are 6 huts, and there can be only one Flame token per hut. When all 6 huts are set on fire, the village is burned.
Tascela: She targets the Strongest Hero.
- Fascination: Each turn, the first Attack targeting her must reroll the die with the highest number of successes. This Special rule replaces the Fascination Skill.
- Spellcaster: Tascela has the Soul Leech spell. At the end of her activation, she casts it targeting the Strongest Hero.
Xotalanc Spearmen: The Xotalanc Spearmen only use their Ranged Attack.
Xotalanc Assassins: The Xotalanc Assassins only use their Melee Attack.
Options
Four Player Mode
- Tascela has 7 Life Points
- Reminder: The Overlord activates four times per turn.
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| (4 Max) | (3 Max) |
5
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(4 Max) | (4 Max) | (4 Max) |
Hero Victory: Ilona is safe. The mercenaries escape from this swampy hell, spurred on by the cries of their enemies who stop chasing them as soon as they cross the border of the marshes.
On the way back to Argos, Ilona recounts what she learned from her captors. Tascela and her people come from a cursed city, far to the south in the Black Kingdoms, where they were banished more than two centuries ago for their unholy practice of dark magic. They have managed to prolong their existence thanks to the supernatural powers of the witch, who is capable of sucking the youth out of one body and passing it on to another. They have sacrificed tens of thousands of victims in their ceremonies - which explains the myths and legends that have surrounded these marshes for generations. Over time, the marshland where they found refuge has become a prison in which they are condemned to wander for all eternity.
Naum falls to his knees when he sees his daughter safe and sound, and the generous bounty he pays the mercenaries allows them to enjoy endless excess and luxury for many nights in the exotic taverns and inns of Argos. But all good things must come to an end, and after squandering their pay our mercenaries return to their adventures, penniless. That, however, is a story for another time...
Hero Defeat: The mercenaries were no match for these crazed warriors. As their lifeless bodies sink into the swampy waters, Ilona is caught, bound and taken captive again.
After several days without news, Naum accepts that the mission must have been a failure and recruits new troops, hoping that they will bring his daughter back to him.