Onward to Glory !

We headed by the canyon cave near Dardanelle, beyond the canyon lied the plains and pasturelands. I led an army of 400 foot soldiers and 50 cavalrymen. Camp followers joined in, on the way. Each soldiers was instructed to carry his own baggage of food and tools, food that would be provided from the treasury will be deducted from the salary. Any personal spoil would be considered a part of the treasury.

It is not easy to maintain the integrity of the army. I had been building up my resources for more than a year. I had the guidance of the Goddess Essmeralda nonetheless, for I had made a prigrimage to Her monastery at Da Balion.

I had sent forth a message throughout the realm for the druid Claus Von Tar, in a secret meeting with one of his disciples I was informed that the Druid would help me once I reached the Dardanelle Gates. But it was two days since we had passed it and encountered numerous beasts on the way.

In one occasion a giant centipede, twice the size of a horse came to loot the rations, two of my men slipped and fell from the side of the cliff when the centipede some dislodged boulders causing a landslide, while it was trying to escape. In retaliation I ordered the burning of the centipede's nest, and that night we dined on crispy centipede larvae.

I had kept a good number of fertile women in the camp, also large barrels of wine and beer carried on by tredging ox carts. Some animals would be slaughtered on the way, for meat. Nothing grew in the canyon and if someone drank the juice from the innumerable number of cactus and thorny bushes it is destined to cause diarrhea and dysentry.

Finding water was the greatest challenge of this journey. Initally we bought water from the natives, we encountered a few. I recruited them entrigued by their unique ways of collecting ground water. First they extracted the toxic water from the plants, then boiled it to evaporate it, then collect the vapours and convert it back to pure water. Also, they knew the portholes and underground streams to get purer water.

Eventually, on the end of the 12th day, we could see the cliffs dissapear and give way to the eternal pastures. The sacred lake of Taito and the temple of goddess Kenobi showed us the correct path.