HOMM II MAP - Nosferatu.mx2
Mapmaker - Timothy Duncan
Email: tduncan@haverford.edu

READ IF YOU HAVE ELECTED TO FOLLOW JOURNAL 2

	Qest sighs and entire posture droops.  "I feared
as much, Aj.  I thought perhaps I could show you that
good is not all that bad and that the balance needs to
be maintained, but that is not what is important right
now."
	You retreat for a moment, puzzled by her sudden
confidence. "What do you mean?" you ask skeptically.
	"I let myself be captured by your... man... so
that I might appeal to your long supressed 'good half', 
but I fear it has become stale and useless.  Despite 
that, I still have a task for you to perform, and you
must perform it."
	Angry now, you stand erect, letting your full
height tower over her small form.  "Now listen here, 
Qest, I don't know what you've been up to, but -"
	"No, Aj, you listen.  I've tried reasoning with
you, but enough is enough.  You will not find my demands
so unappealing I think." Qest, despite her small size,
did not seem at all frightened by your best attempts
to make your own appearence threatening.  Where she got
her confidence from, you can only guess.  "You will do
what I say, or else."
	Or else?  You burst out laughing. "Little creature,
what could you possibly threaten me with?  I am a -"
Before you can finish, you are thrown back against a large
stone and paralyzed.  Your head smacks against the rock
shooting pain throughout your body.  Gasping for breath,
you realize that you cannot move.  "What the..?" you 
ask deleriously.  What has happened?
	"Aj, you must listen to me.  Your task is to 
destroy Sanctus."  Her words were a blur in your aching
head.  "I am not who you think I am.  My name is Miriel,
a neutral goddess charged with protecting the balance
between gods and men in this world.  Though I had hoped
I might convince you to spare some part of the forces
of goodness after this is over, that is not important now.
Sanctus must die, because he has incurred the wrath
of the Deious Council, the governing body of the gods."
	Struggling to breathe while under the invisible force
plastering you against the rock, you somehow manage to
speak, "Wrath?"  At hearing your pained voice, Qest,
or Miriel, waves her hands and the force suddenly 
disappears, freeing your body.  Your first instinct is
to attack, but you don't want her to demonstrate her
powers again.  "What wrath?" you ask, trying to calm 
yourself.
	Relieved that you weren't planning on reinitiating
your aggressive advance, Qest replies, "After the 
Great Cataclysm, the gods decided never again to 
interfere with the affairs of men and lesser immortals
such as yourself, upon penalty of death.  Sanctus was
displeased with this decision, but kept quiet about it.
However, ever since Nosferatu took over, she, being a
goddess of good, has been carefully planning his 
downfall.  The knights of Lord Love benefit from her
powers, as do the Wizards on South Isle.  Her interference
disrupts the path of fate.  Your world was meant to be
ruled by the forces of evil, and she has committed a 
grave crime by interfering.  She has been targeted for
elimination, and you will eliminate her.
	"Destroying a goddess is no piece of cake, Aj.
In her physical form, she is much weaker.  She is on
this world now, in her physical form, trying to oversee
your downfall, but this mistake will allow you a chance
at killing her.  However, you will need help, and I will
provide it.  Visit the elemental prisons and there you
will find directions to an artifact of power.  Follow
the directions from the origin, which happens to be 
Lookout Point.  After teleporting to the correct patch
of ground, travel one pace west, and there you will find
the object that will give you the power to destroy 
Sanctus.
	"Do not attempt to argue with me.  This aids 
your cause as well.  That is why you were chosen.  
Though I hoped you would have let some goodness remain,
that is your choice and it is not my place to interfere.
I'm sorry, Aj, but I had higher hopes of you.  In any
case, we are not sure where Sanctus is located, but 
you may find the answers you seek on the South Isle.
	"Good bye, Aj."  Finished, Miriel vanishes
in a puff of smoke.  Rubbing your aching skull, you 
stand wildeyed and stunned at her words.  In silence,
you leave the place.  At least you are free to do your
master's bidding, but deep inside you feel as if you 
are doing it for the wrong reasons...


RETURN TO MAP. AFTER YOU BEAT THE MAP, PLEASE READ
THE CONCLUSION BELOW.






	Finally, Sanctus has been beaten.  Nosferatu 
stands beside you, watching as the almighty Vampire 
Garrison, though its ranks have been severely thinned,
hunts down the remaining defenders of Sanctus's keep.
The castle's once beautiful white walls are now nothing
more than charred rubble, and once majestic towers and
fortified parapets lie collapsed into piles of smoking
wood and stone.  Corpses litter the landscape, both 
yours and theirs, and you finally feel at ease: with 
such a destructive blow, the forces of good will spend
a long time recovering.  The Undead will certainly 
rule for many centuries to come.
	Nosferatu seems pleased by the sight and turns
to you, his lifeless eyes haunting even your immortal
soul.  "My general," he says, his voice a deep grating
rasp, "You have surpassed even my wildest estimations of
your abilities.  You will be richly rewarded for this."
	"Yes, of course, thank you my lord," you reply,
somewhat half-heartedly.  You can't help but shake 
Qest's words about the dangers of destroying goodness
forever.
	"Aj, is something wrong?  How could you be so
morose on such a glorious occasion?"  Nosferatu's gaze
is intense, and you can almost feel him searching you
for the truth.
	"It's nothing, sire.  It's just that I'm 
remembering my days as a knight."
	Nosferatu explodes in laughter.  "A knight?! Ha!
As I recall, your fellow knights cut your heart out and
fed it to the dogs!"
	Grimly, you reply, "Yes, that's true."
	"Well, that's a long time ago.  By the way, I 
trust you left no good settlements standing back home?"
	You chuckle beneath your breath.  "What is good,
anyway?  What is evil.  They seem to blend like paint,
and are inseparable.  Which am I?"  Your thoughts 
wander to the sprite settlement.  Then they wander to 
Sclee and the execution of his family.  Taking a breath,
you say aloud, "In a world where good is often evil, good 
has no right to a chance.  Nosferatu, there is one
settlement left.  It is a settlement of sprites.  I was
considering sparing them our ways, but they must be 
killed along with the rest of them.  Until good can 
prove itself, and it will someday, it will not exist 
anywhere on this world."
	"Sprites?  Yuck..."  Nosferatu puts an arm 
around your shoulder.  "Evil, good... who cares.  What
matters is that you came through for me.  You were loyal.
Kind of strange, considering you were an evil person
with good qualities fighting a good person with evil
qualities, yes?  But what are we going to do for fun
now that good has been vanquished?"
	You grin, "Perhaps that's why they say that
good and evil can never exist one without the other..."
Turning together, you survey the beginnings of a 
glorious and evil new empire.

THE END -- HEY PAL, ITS THE PATH YOU CHOSE....
 
comments, questions?  
email me @ tduncan@haverford.edu