"See there, Waerjak, that pack of mountain dogs moving through the valley? See how the injured one limps off from the rest? He knows he's dragging down the pack. As long as he's with them, they keep his pace. They won't force him out because they love him, so he stays behind. He will die so that they remain strong. It's not always easy, but the pack comes first."
—Tarnum
A King's Choice is the third scenario in the Glory of Days Past campaign in Heroes of Might and Magic IV.
Walkthrough[]
"Waerjak faces a terrible choice when he learns that Vogel Backbreaker holds his foster father, Tarnum, captive. Meanwhile, in another neighboring land, the warlord, Hundric, holds hundreds of Barbarian women and children as slaves, working them to death trying to build a new army. Waerjak can't save both."
Waerjak learned that Tarnum is being kept by Vogel's foretress. However, Waerjak stays, as he meets with the tribes' representatives. They acknowledge him as a king, one that showed them a good way, which pleased all tribes. As such, they present him with a crown; on it etched a griffin (since griffin is Waerjak's translation in ancient barbarian language). Waerjak does not think he should lead them. However, the elders respond he did not lead them astray, so Waerjak places the crown on his head.
Waerjak begins the map to the north, with his strongest hero from the previous scenario, and a few berserkers. Moving west will allow him to capture a Stronghold and train reinforcements, but the way south into Hundric's lands is blocked by a blue gate.
Tarnum is to choose between saving Tarnum, or freeing Hundric's Barbarian slaves. Daeric reports that Hundric is working his own people as slaves, wanting to build a new, effective army. He also takes prisoners of Waerjak's army and has them work in horrible conditions. Wulgar, one of the berserkers, knows that Tarnum will be killed if they go after Hundric. Waerjak is troubled and wants to know what his father would do in this situation.
Moving east will lead him to another Stronghold. There are two paths available: by visiting the teal keymaster's tent, he can reach the underground (the tunnel is to the west of the eastern Stronghold) and visit the green keymaster's tent. He can then head south through the green gate. Alternatively, he can go to the southeast, moving near Vogel's Stronghold of Boenberg. Attacking the town means losing the scenario, so Waerjak should go through the one-way portal west of the town instead. Both paths lead to two neutral Strongholds, and a path west into Hundric's lands. If going past the gold mine, some of the barbarians would be interested in joining Waerjak's army, since he put the tribes instead of his own father in the first place. 40 berserkers, 25 centaurs and 16 nomads will join his army.
Meanwhile, witnesses report to Waerjak what happened to his father. Vogel led him to a ravine and crippled his limbs. Tarnum did not make a single scream, displeasing Vogel. Vogel lifted Tarnum above his head, which caused Tarnum to make a deep, sad sound. Tarnum told Vogel would meet the Ancestors, the ancient gods, who judge barbarians' lives, then spat a bloody glob on Vogel's face. Vogel held Tarnum once more and threw him down the ravine, killing him. Days later, Wulgar and Waerjak come into a tavern and hear some barbarians praising Vogel and trashing Tarnum. Waerjak and Wulgar fight a bloody battle and Waerjak learns from a rogue that Vogel is spreading lies about Tarnum, wanting to ruin him. Wulgar got heavy injuries, but admits that Waerjak will be a great king and has seen that today. Waerjak asks Wulgar not to have all drinks in the afterlife, then buries him with 2000 gold and 6 gems.
Waerjak can capture the two Strongholds there, and visit the blue keymaster's tent to ease the arrival of reinforcements from the north. By now, Waerjak should own every town on the map, apart from Boenberg. Hundric is located west of the town, and Waerjak should attack as soon as he has a large force. Once Waerjak defeats Hundric, Daeric appears with a bloody axe and claims Hundric had an "accident". Waerjak replies that there shouldn't be "accidents", else the Boar's Hoof tribe will be defeated. Waerjak storms off and finds his own army and Hundric's tribe cheering for him.
Strategy[]
The enemy will use one-way portals to attack Waerjak's towns. To prevent that, Waerjak will have to speed up, while the towns gather more forces. When the enemy's towns are defeated, it will not take much time to defeat Hundric.
