abstract
| - By Royal Decree is the third scenario in Revolt of the Beastmasters, the seventh part of Heroes Chronicles. Baron Paglon fled from his castle when Tarnum's army approached it, so they followed him when the Baron fortified himself in another. Mad King Gryphonheart warned Baron Paglon that if he failed, he would be stripped of his title. Tarnum learned that the King had promised a reward of ten silver for the head of any escaped slave, and many rogues were now hunting his army. Brellick discovered that the bounty hunters murdered women, children, the elderly, the sick, sleeping men - anyone who wouldn't put up much of a fight, selling their heads to the Baron. Some of the gnolls deserted the army, taking a wagon of resources with them. Tarnum knew that if he punished them harshly, like most generals would, his army would view him as just another slavemaster, so he told the search party to capture the deserters, but not harm them in any way. Unfortunately, the rogues found them first, and Tarnum later found the charred and headless corpses of the deserters in a cave. One morning, Tarnum called out to the Ancestors in a moment of weakness and rage, asking for "just a few seconds with this scum!" The wise woman Adamina asked whether destroying their enemy would save them, and Tarnum realized that he was slowly turning the Mudlanders into a bloodthirsty horde - like he once did to the barbarians. Tarnum knew that the Mudlanders needed a wise, compassionate leader when he left them, and decided that the swamp boy Droglo was the perfect candidate - a human boy who had been raised in the swamp and fought the Erathians all his life, but still showed mercy when he could because he knew that the common folk they were fighting were not responsible for the actions of the Mad King and his nobles. When Tarnum approached Baron Paglon's castle, the Baron promised him half his wealth if he let him go free, but Tarnum refused and conquered his opponent.
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