For clearing stage one, Gate:

Exp gained: 2

Coins gained: 4

Card(s) gained: none

Additional reward(s): none

Claim and continue

While the gate fight hadn´t been that impressive it was odd to see this low amount of rewards. The first dungeon fight gave me more of everything. Annoyed, I claimed my rewards and moved on.

For clearing stage two, Hovels:

Exp gained: 2

Coins gained: 4

Card(s) gained: Goblin enforcer

Additional reward(s): none

Claim and continue

This was getting frustrating. While I could explain the experience from the first fight for killing two goblin archers, this made no sense at all. I had killed five common enemies so it should have been 5 experience. The only thing that did make sense was the card reward since I had fought two enforcers. I quickly continued to the next fight.

For clearing stage three, Barracks:

Exp gained: 6

Coins gained: 12

Card(s) gained: Uncommon card choice

Additional reward(s): none

Claim and continue

Finally, a reward that made sense. Three uncommon enemies were killed and the experience matched. I already had an idea of which cards would be in the selection and I already started debating on which card to pick. The expected three materialised floating in the air and I gave them a final once over before making my choice. Orc bloodletter with killer (3/3), Goblin warg rider with rider (2/2), Goblin redcap with ambush (3/3). All the creatures I had fought had been their fully upgraded versions. Knowing at least one of their final forms was a big plus in deciding on which card to pick. I instantly dismissed the rider. The bonus was too weak and I only had one mount at the moment. The rider did cost two crystals compared to the three cost for the other two but I already had plenty of one and two cost cards. I liked the growth possibility of the bloodletter but it would only work against smaller creatures. I also had no method to restore its health so while it could grow it would die eventually. The redcap‘s power was the high attack ambush strategy. Take out something with high damage and low health without getting caught in return. Having been very pleased with my shanker, I picked the redcap. I spent the experience needed to upgrade it to (5/3) since none of the upgrades gave any special benefit besides pure stats. I also slotted it into my deck.

For clearing stage four, Chief’s tent:

Exp gained: 6

Coins gained: 12

Card(s) gained: none

Additional reward(s): Minor weapon of Twin strike

Claim and continue

I raised an eyebrow at the claim and continue button. The fourth stage was the last one so it made me wonder what else there was after that. I was a bit disappointed by the lack of a card reward but they had the unique tag. I was now convinced that unique tagged creatures were just there for the setting and not an actual valid card choice. I was a bit sad that I wouldn’t be able to nab the chieftain with his rage aura but that might have been that unique upgrade from missing the witch doctor. The actual reward was an equipment card. While Twin Strike wasn’t as great against Armour it would quickly take out Block. I didn’t know what that Minor prefix meant so I quickly read over the card.

Minor weapon of Twin strike

Equipment

A creature equipped with this item gains the Twin strike ability.

This equipment can only be equipped by a creature with power 2 or less.

The Minor prefix was a serious detriment to my current deck. I quickly pulled out my deck and sifted through it to find all my elidable creatures. It was a short list of four cards if I excluded all my common skeleton cards. My options were the mole card that I hadn’t upgraded yet, my horse card if it was even eligible, the goblin archer, and the shanker. I excluded the horse since it would become a mount in the future. While I could upgrade the mole into a (2/3) variant, I also decided against it since it would most likely only get off one attack anyway. The archer was pretty safe in the rearguard and could get off plenty of attacks that way. The shanker had the Ambush tag and with twin strikes, he would apply two stacks of poison instead of only one. Poison was already a solid strategy against high-health creatures. After some back and forth I equipped the archer. Having a continuous four damage from round two onward seemed like the better option.

For fully clearing a settlement, you will be rewarded based on the cleared settlement facilities.

Gate: 1x Goblin archer card.

Hovels: 1x Goblin card.

Barracks: 1x Goblin enforcer card.

Warg pen: 1x Warg equipment card.

Chief’s tent: 1x Flimsy guard armour card.

Witch doctor’s room: 1x Necklace of rejuvenation card & 1x Potion of minor healing.

Claim

JACKPOT! I almost couldn’t believe my eyes as all the rewards materialised in front of me. The six cards were arranged in a fan shape and the red potion bottle softly fell on the fur bed beside me. Since I already knew the three goblin cards I put them aside to look over the other rewards.

Warg

Equipment – Goblin, Mount

A creature equipped with this item gains +1 attack and +1 health.

Flimsy guard armour

Equipment

A creature equipped with this item gains the Glass armour (1) ability.

Necklace of minor rejuvenation

Equipment

A creature equipped with this item gains the Rejuvenation(1) ability.

Potion of minor healing. Player consumable Restores 2 points of Life when consumed.

The warg mount card was the same one the goblin rider had. It was a nice bonus for any of my goblin cards. The flimsy guard armour showed a mirrored artwork for the armour the guard had worn and explained how they gained the Glass armour ability. I sort of wished I had picked up one of the bodyguard cards now but the shanker had proven its worth twice over already. The main price was the necklace. Similar to the witch doctor’s ability to heal one point of health it was a passive effect that restored one point of health per turn. It made me lament my earlier choice of picking the redcap instead of the bloodletter but there was no use crying over spilled milk. It would still be a boon once I could use the armoured charger. The healing potion didn’t have an immediate use for me but I was sure it would be a giant boon somewhere in the future. It did make me wonder if I could use it mid-fight but I was pretty sure I could since my ring also worked mid-combat.

My first instinct was to equip the necklace to my skeletal commander but I was greeted by a similar notice as the armoured charger that it was currently zone-restricted, Reluctantly, I put it in my storage part of the deck box.

I used the goblin archer to fill up my last main deck slot and also spent five experience points to upgrade it to (2/1). I also upgraded the enforcer card to (3/2) and swapped it out for the mole card. It was a nice addition to my deck but I had no beast synergy so it was the easiest option to replace. The other enforcer just went into storage along with the goblin card.

The warg I equipped to the Goblin brute since it was my best goblin card. The guard armour I equipped on my Tomb guardian. This was a bit tricky since I didn’t know If it would retain the glass armour buff after using the stack of block but I was still in a position to test it out and luckily I could freely swap around equipment cards.

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With a satisfied smile, I dropped back down on the bed of furs and closed my eyes. The dopamine of rewards and upgrades was starting to wear off and my tired feeling was quickly gaining ground again. It took a bit of turning to find a good spot on the itchy fur but sleep soon took hold of me.

For a change, I finally managed to sleep in for a bit. As soon as I awoke the daily notification window was already visible. I had healed back up to the full twenty points of life and nothing else had changed. The quest for clearing out a settlement was still visible but I was now informed my rewards would be granted on the quest's expiration. I was a bit annoyed with not immediately gaining my rewards but with my gains from yesterday, I tucked that feeling away. I spent the next hour going over the contents of all the rooms in de chief’s tent but similar to the keep I came up completely empty-handed.

With a minor sense of caution, I exited the tent and was only greeted by silence. The settlement was just as deserted as yesterday. Since this was a settlement I assumed they would have access to a source of water. My assumption turned out to be true only a few minutes later as I round the tent and found a short stream in the back of it. The stream started from a shallow opening in the rock face and quickly vanished again into the other rock face. The water looked clear and was around waist-high. I took a handful of fresh water and sloshed it around my mouth a few times. Apart from the earthly taint, it tasted fine enough. I still had plenty of water in my water skins so I opted to drink that instead. I drained one of the skins and filled it up with water from the stream. While I wouldn’t drink it unless it was completely necessary, it was better to have the option than not have it. The water flow wasn’t too strong and having taken a whiff of my own armpit a bath was a much-needed action.

I stripped and slowly backend into the water. I kept my eyes on the settlement just to be save. The water was colder than I had expected but I dunked myself beneath the surface anyway. I was also a bit more shallow than I initially expected so I could sit on the bottom and still have my head above the water line. After a good few minutes of trying to scrub my body, I stepped out of the stream again. It was a somewhat pointless endeavour without soap but at least I got most of the grime off. I eyed my clothes with a bit of dread since they still smelled pretty musky. I wiped away most of the water clinging to my body with my hands before I got dressed again. It might be a good idea to get a nice boil going when I got back home at the keep and give them a wash and let them dry overnight.

I tried to scavage some stuff from the other hovels in the village but apart from an actual bucket and a small supply of fruit, there was nothing of interest or value. I pulled out my compass to find the correct way back and once again set out into the forest. The return trip was uneventful and a lot quicker not that I wasn’t trailing after the slow-moving group of goblins. It was early afternoon when the keep came into view. I took a quick patrol around the wall but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I entered through the giant hole in the wall and made my way over the keep’s entrance. I had just set down my backpack to shimmy through the door when I heard sounds coming from within the keep. I immediately froze and tried to spot what had made the sound. I couldn’t see anything in the gloomy dark but now that I was on alert the sound came from the kitchen area. That’s when I noticed that the door was open and I could see the subtle yellow and red glow of a fire burning. I had put out my fire before I left yesterday and even if it was still smouldering it couldn´t produce a glow like that.

I silently made my way to the door and crouched down next to the wall. Someone or something had invaded my keep and I needed to come up with a plan of action. There was the option to retreat but that was a no-go since I needed access to that water source. That left me with three options; rush, call out, or ambush. The kitchen space was limited so if it came to a fight it would be limited to two lanes. Alternatively, it might just pull us back into the main hall for a proper field. An ambush was an option but there was still a lot of time left till night. That was assuming they even left the kitchen area. I was also very confident that I’d win in any sort of fight. My deck was full and all my uncommon cards were upgraded. I also had plenty of equipment to further boost their power. Knowing that I would come out on top I ultimately chose to call out to the home invader. Who knows I might finally get some answers for a change.

I cleared my throat and took a good breath of air before I yelled out to the invader.

“I know you’re in there!” As soon as I had spoken up I heard the loud bang of one of the pots hitting the stone floor. A moment later the kitchen door slammed shut. The invader was trapped inside. The kitchen only had two exits and they both ended up in the main hall. I suspiciously eyed the door to the mess hall. Instead of confrontation, they had chosen to hide instead. There was a multitude of ways this could go down but only two of them gave the invader a chance to escape. And I was betting on them taking the mess hall door out into the main hall before bolting for the exit. I searched around for a decently sized piece of stone and took up position in the middle of the hall. With as much force as I could muster, I chucked the piece of rock at the kitchen door. As soon as the rock hit the door someone tried to make their escape from the mess hall. They had assumed I’d broken down the door to give them a chance to run for it.

The instant they were out the door they froze as they saw me standing in the middle of the main hall and not either at the kitchen door or inside of it. Scared eyes in a round face looked at me in fright. A lithe girl with sun-kissed skin and a mop of unruly auburn hair looked at me in terror. She wore a somewhat tattered sundress of teal and greens.

“It’s okay, I won’t hurt you,” I tried to soothe her fear with my best customer smile. I even put my open hands to the side to convey that I wasn’t a threat.

Her knees buckled and she fell to the ground on her butt. She looked at me in disbelief before she started crying.

~Yesterday~

Falliana woke up in the dark cave she had spent the night in. She had found the cave yesterday afternoon near dusk. She was scared, alone, and thirsty. She had foraged some food from the forest but it wasn’t enough to stave off the hunger. She had slept in trees for the first two days and now she finally came across something sheltered after yesterday’s rain. She had been lucky enough that the tree she slept in had a thick canopy but she still woke up cold and damp. The downside of the cave was the smell she woke up to. After all, it used to be a monster den that she had cleared out yesterday. She was thankful that it only had a beginner rating and the wolves that used to live here came out in waves with the final wave containing a Matriarch. She was also glad I hadn’t been her first fight and that she had upgraded her strongest three cards with more health points. Her deck was still her starting deck with nine (1/1) Wolves, two (2/3) Proud wolves, and her (3/5) Pack leader. Since she had managed a flawless victory she even gained a new uncommon card in the form of that same Matriarch.

Flash matriarch 2

Beast – Wolf, Light pack

Rearguard

Inspire (1)

Attack 1 Health 2

The beauty and majesty of the wolf had been elegantly captured in the card’s artwork. A regal auburn-coloured wolf with stokes or grey resembling thunder. And not the children's definition of a lightning bolt but the actual multi-branched strikes of lightning. Not only did the matriarch buff the vanguard unit but she also had her own attack. Falliana had only upgraded it once since it had a tree-based upgrade path so there was only one choice to make with the first upgrade for an additional point of health. The second line of the upgrade was an increase to either attack, health, or adding one to the inspire buff. She wasn’t going to take the health since as a rearguard the matriarch would be protected by the rest of the pack. The other two upgrades did the same in theory but she didn’t know if it was better to boost the matriarch’s damage or the vanguard damage.

Luckily, all but one of the wolf corpses had vanished. She had, reluctantly, learned how to skin and process an animal from her grandfather who worked as a hunter. Although he only taught her and her two brothers how to skin a hare, most of the same rules applied. While she did an alright job with skinning, roasting the meat had very mixed results with parts being raw, overcooked, or even burnt. At least she hadn’t gone to bed hungry.

An hour later she had found a river. She was tempted to drink the water but her grandfather had also learned her no to drink water out in the wild. The longer she looked at the water the more her throat dried up. Tempted by the water she only took two mouthfuls of it. When she scanned the opposite bank of the water she spotted the markings. Someone had been here before and had clearly marked a path through the forest. Falliana became indecisive at the moment. This was one of the famous death tournaments and following another player was a huge risk. It was also possible it was one of the other elven players. She could always run away if it wasn’t. It took her a while to find a good way to cross the river and an equally long time before she was back at the markings. The markings led her to another dark cave. The rain had washed any tracks in the forest but they were still clearly visible in the cave’s earthy soil. Carefully she stepped on one of the tracks to compare their size. It was bigger than her own but that was expected as she was somewhat on the short side.

She took a moment to psyche herself up and with her hand on the wall, she started her journey into the dark cave. After only two minutes of walking the darkness felt oppressive as the light from the entrance vanished from her vision. With the oppressing darkness, she had no other option than to activate the light feature of her bracelet. It would produce a soft light for roughly two hours when the internal source was filled. She hardly used so she should have at least another hour of light left. The light didn’t cast far and was barely enough to see five feet in front of her but the light calmed her nerves.

Finally, she could see light and the end of the tunnel and she hastened her pace. Most of the tracks here were also washed away by the rain but she still managed to determine the direction the other person had taken. With renewed vigour, she made her way forward. Falliana couldn’t believe her eyes when she found her destination. Right here in the middle of a forest stood an old elven keep. She had heard about them during history lessons and the general consensus was that they had all been lost in the wars back then. To find one still standing was a marvel.

The find also left her indecisive again. Everything seemed quiet in and around the keep but she still hadn’t seen this other player. Carefully she made her way over to the opening in the wall. When she peeked around the courtyard the only sign of anyone having been here were the clear signs that someone had cut away part of the vines that grew along the wall. She made her over to the front door of the keep and listened patiently. No sound was heard from inside and she wondered if she should knock first before entering. She instantly admonished herself for the thought. No one in their right mind would announce themselves when possible faced with another player. She carefully made her way inside and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dark interior. A mixture of smells hung in the air and she was drawn to a room in the back. As she got closer to the room different smells started to mix and she just couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.

As she stepped into the room a multitude of thoughts hit her at the same time. There was still a slight smoulder in the fireplace, she saw a well in the corner of the room, and a bunch of blood was smeared all around one of the walls. It took her a minute to process the sight of all the blood. Someone had clearly butchered something in this room and with the faint smell of cooked flesh, probably eaten it. She just hoped that it was an animal and that she hadn’t entered the home of a cannibal.

Having overcome her fear of the grisly sight, she made her way over to the well and the clearly constructed pulley system with the vine-tied bucket. She eagerly dropped the bucket down the well and when it came back crystal clear, she had her fill of fresh water. With access to wood and an actual fireplace, it took her little effort to get a small fire going again. She had just filled a pot with water to heat it up when her worst fear became reality. A loud and stern voice rang out from the main hall, “I know you’re in there!”