Since I was already in The Barrow Downs and still had some areas to explore I thought I might as well. This place was not so hard anymore. I was kind of hoping I'd find some insane loot here to boost myself even further.

While I did end up finding some further chests to loot. Nothing that exciting in them. I was now at the stage of the game where I was starting to leave behind some of the junk that I could find in chests. I still looted it off the ground just so I did not think I missed clearing an area. I would however dump anything not worth taking up my growing limited inventory space into a chest when I found one.

I ended up tempting the Dwarven Barrows again. I wish I could say this was the time I was able to fully clear the place out. Despite being a few levels higher now my knight has some insane gear. The large number of creatures attacking in every area was still a major issue.

The Dwarven Barrows as it would turn out was composed of sixteen smaller zones making up the network. There were only a couple of ways of getting out and this time I would not be so lucky to find a quick exit.

At the very least this place had a decent amount of loot. Each zone might not have been huge. Many of them had hidden walls with loot behind them. Along with quite a lot of rats, zombies, and others to take out.

I’ll admit this spot was more of a side distraction than anything else. I ended up not being able to stay long since my food supplies quickly ran out. I also wanted to head over to my castle to see if anything had changed there since I had advanced the main storyline.

After about four or so Dwarven Barrows zones. I was running quite low on health, out of mana, and did not have enough food to rest. Thankfully at this point, I realized near the doors you could pull levels and it would change which zone you could head into next. There was usually also a sign that told you which zone it would be.

It took a few more zones and a lot of backtracking. I however found an exit after having half my group taken out. If it had been any closer I might have just taken the full death and the loss of 24k gold.

I barely managed to make it back to Stone City to get some heals, and food, and to recover some. After that, I head back to my castle in Harmondale. The place did not look that different which I found a bit disappointing.

There were two new people inside waiting to speak with me. Both of them gave me an invite to meet with their king or queen. Both wanted me to side with them in an ongoing war.

While they both viewed me as not being much of anything. One side wanted to make claims to Harmondale and would just “permit” me to remain as the lord of the place. While I got the feeling the other side had similar views, they at least seemed to not look at me like some gutter rat and would be more than happy for me running Harmondale.

Since it had been a while since I've explored my castle. Along with noticing there was some loot showing up. I decided to some exploring around it again. This time I found a stairway that led me down into a prison and some other areas.

In one of the cells I noticed there appeared to be a hole under the bed. After exploring the cell further sure enough I found a tunnel. I was quite hoping it would have led to some zone. It however did not go on much further. With some subpar loot at the end of it for me to find.

I then went around Harmondale and finished clearing and starting some events in it. I suppose it is no wonder I was not viewed that highly. My lands still had a fort controlled by goblins. At this point, they were a joke to take out and something I should have done long ago.

I also found some further campfires that I was able to light. It turns out they were signal fires and after a few weeks had passed. On a trip through Harmondale, I noticed a bunch of goblins spawned on a hill that had been empty. I made quick work of them and went on my way.

Next up I ended up going to visit one of the people who has sent me an invite. The elf king was quite a slimeball. He wanted me to steal some plans for a fort called Riverstride. I was given a month to do so.

After a rather short talk with this guy. I could tell I meant nothing to do him whatsoever. What if I was going to pick his side. I was never going to feel like Harmondale would remain mine forever.

It was kind of funny as I had not returned to the Tularean Forest to even seek the guy out. I came here to pick up some skill advancements and buy some spells. I just happened to go exploring the town again and realized I had an invite to go see this guy.

I also find it a bit strange. That any time I enter into these people's castles. They won’t let me just wander around unless I want to fight the guards and make a whole lot of trouble for myself. I’m quite restricted in where I can even go. Mostly I'm just permitted to see the king or queen of the castle and that is it.

I decided since I had already visited one of the people who gave me an invite. I might as well advance things along. I needed to “steal” some plans anyway. I wanted to see what Queen Catherine wanted of me.

I even found a way of going into Riverstride Fort. I was told right away to get out or else. Since it seemed I'd be getting myself involved right away in the war and for the side, I did not want to be aiding anyway.

I decided to see if I could play the other side. I told the queen about what the elf king wanted me to do. After some waiting around, she ended up handing me some fake plans to give to him.

She also asked me to go and save one of her captured people from his lands. Like the other quest I was given, it was also timed. Funny enough both of these quests would end up failing for me not acting soon enough even though I'm shocked I had not.

I gave the fake plans back to the king who no longer needed them. That ended up being quite a bummer. As I got nothing. At the very least I did not get caught giving him fake plans. I have no idea how I was not quick enough as I even used the stables to travel and save time when I could.

I was also given the chance to tell him what the queen was up to. I decided after yet another not-so-great conversion with him that I was not going to say anything. I now even disliked him even further.

Final Thoughts

I had hoped after going to see both sides of the war and getting somewhat involved with it. That now I'd be able to make some kind of upgrades to my castle. Yet again a bit of fat disappointment.

I have no idea even what kinds of upgrades I'll be able to make either. I just like the sounds of the idea. It’s starting to feel like it will be quite some time before I get to even see what I can do with the castle let alone the kingdom I find myself a lord over. A little far too long for me as I end up wanting to just go exploring and dungeon crawling for quite some time forgetting all about the two kingdoms wanting to kill each other.

Information

Screenshots were taken and content was written by @Enjar about Might And Magic VII