Chapter Summaries

A meteor appeared in Middle-earth, and Eru Ilúvatar sensed that it was not his creation. He changed its course toward the Wilderland, where it plunged east of the Misty Mountains.

• A meteor streaked across the skies of Middle-earth.
• Eru Ilúvatar sensed the meteor and wondered if it was an interlude.
• Eru Ilúvatar redirected the meteor from Rohan and Gondor toward Rhovanion.
• The meteor plunged into the Wilderland, and the Eternal Halls fell silent.

Allen woke in a new body at a camp that had been transported from Calradia to an unfamiliar place near the Anduin River. After organizing his confused followers, he accepted a message from the Mount & Blade Simulator, which had finished loading.

• A camp appeared on the eastern bank of the Anduin, and Ymira woke Allen in a tent.
• Allen recognized Ymira, Jeremus, Deshavi, Alayen, Artimenner, Bunduk, and his Rhodok Sharpshooters, then realized he was in the world of his saved game.
• Artimenner complained about their arrival and Klethi, while Jeremus urged him to let Deshavi explain what had happened.
• Deshavi said she and Firentis had been keeping watch near Vezin when the camp suddenly appeared by the river, and she reported that Firentis had gone scouting with Klethi and the cavalry.
• Allen assigned Bunduk and Alayen to secure the area, then sent Ymira, Jeremus, and Artimenner to check supplies and fortify the camp.
• After the others left, Allen saw that the Mount & Blade Simulator had finished loading and accepted it.

Allen repeatedly failed early simulations before surviving a campaign as a Rhodok crossbowman, rescuing Lady Emma, and earning command of a company in Veluca's Second Legion. He retained his officer status and rewards, then stopped simulating and fell asleep from exhaustion.

• Allen died while hiding in the moat at Sargoth, then died in a tavern fight in Praven and restarted the simulator again.
• As a Rhodok sharpshooter, Allen led ten crossbowmen, intervened when thugs seized one of his soldiers and the soldier's sister, and took his squad back to camp.
• Allen trained his men intensively, and Matheas ordered him to rescue Lady Emma from kidnappers in the mountains.
• Allen and Night Owl infiltrated the kidnappers' camp, rescued Lady Emma, captured the leader, and drove off the remaining enemies with their crossbowmen.
• Matheas promoted Allen to company commander in Veluca's Second Legion, and the simulator granted him honor, renown, and Denars.
• Allen declined to continue simulating and fell asleep at his desk.

Allen learned that Orcs and wolf riders had appeared near the camp, and Klethi returned with a rescued child after tracking them to an attacked village. He led the company south to rescue the villagers and pursue the raiders, leaving the group following fresh tracks beyond the Old Ford.

• Firentis returned from reconnaissance with an Orc head and reported that Klethi had gone missing while tracking the survivors of a skirmish.
• Klethi rode back to camp pursued by wolf riders, carrying a child, and warned Allen that fifty or sixty raiders had attacked a village.
• Allen assembled the company and led its riders south to rescue the villagers, while Bunduk stayed behind to guard the camp.
• At the Old Ford, Deshavi found fresh tracks showing that the raiders and wargs had crossed the river and continued south.
• Allen ordered Deshavi to lead the pursuit and Firentis to move out with the company.

Allen and his troops rescued nearly a hundred survivors from Warg riders near the Old Ford, then questioned a captured Orc and learned it served the Goblin King. The survivors agreed to join Allen’s settlement, and the chapter ended with him hoping the clouds would not bring rain.

• Allen led his cavalry in a charge that routed the Warg riders, then pursued the fleeing Orcs while the remaining attackers killed some prisoners.
• Allen spoke with Dossley Lasing, who asked for shelter for the survivors, and he agreed to take them in and arranged aid for the wounded and dead.
• Allen learned that the survivors came from near the Old Ford and concluded that he was in Wilderland, then returned to find his troops tending the injured.
• Klethi gave Allen a sapphire pendant, and he hung it around her neck before speaking with the wounded.
• Alayen brought Allen a captured Orc, and Allen identified its chief as the Goblin King before ordering Alayen to kill it.

Allen briefed his companions on their arrival in the Wilderland, the Orc threat, and plans to establish a village, then learned from Jeremus that his changed behavior was explained by apparent memory loss. Jeremus agreed to keep Allen’s secret and asked him to provide half-orc corpses for research.

• Allen thanked his companions, explained that they were stranded in the Wilderland, and described his ability to bring people and supplies from Calradia.
• Allen assigned Firentis and Deshavi to scout the river, Ymira to care for the rescued women and children, and Bunduk to defend the camp.
• Allen and Artimenner, Klethi, and Alayen planned to travel north in the morning while Ymira arranged temporary shelter for the newcomers.
• After the others left, Jeremus confronted Allen about his changed personality and recalled how Allen had used special abilities to strengthen warriors and provide equipment.
• Allen told Jeremus he had lost most of his memories, and Jeremus agreed to keep it secret and advise him to use his abilities sparingly.
• Jeremus asked Allen to bring him half-orc corpses for research, and Allen agreed.

A newly promoted company commander in Veluca's Second Legion gathered stray recruits into his force and prepared them to defend Grunewald Castle. As Swadia's army of more than ten thousand arrived, the undermanned castle faced an imminent siege.

• The Fifth Company Commander marched to Grunewald Castle with his company and took in stragglers from other units, growing his force to 196 men.
• Quartermaster Bob explained that the Second Legion was mostly recruits because Veluca's elite First Legion was fighting the Sarranids, and he offered the commander money to escape the coming battle.
• The commander refused to flee and used Bob's reward to obtain padded armor for his men.
• At Grunewald Castle, the commander assigned his spearmen to defend the wall's weak points and positioned his crossbowmen along the battlements, with two veteran squads joining the defense.
• About a thousand villagers entered the castle for refuge, and Swadian banners appeared nearby that evening.
• King Harlaus's army of more than ten thousand reached the undermanned Grunewald Castle.

Allen fought in the defense of Grunewald Castle, then led Serindir’s villagers through the mountains to escape the Swadians. After defeating a pursuing force and capturing its supplies, he ended the simulation and fell asleep in his tent.

• Allen and his soldiers repelled repeated Swadian assaults on Grunewald Castle, including an attack by shielded infantry formations.
• Matheas told Allen that Earl Tachias had defected, the expected reinforcements were diverted, and Grunewald Castle was isolated.
• Matheas ordered Allen to lead more than a thousand villagers from Serindir to Selenheim, and Allen negotiated for better equipment for his hundred men.
• Allen led the villagers through the mountains, but a Swadian force followed them, so most villagers continued toward Selenheim while Allen and his soldiers blocked the valley.
• Allen led a surprise charge against the Swadians, killed their commander, routed the force, and captured its supplies.
• Allen ended the simulation, received his rewards, and fell asleep peacefully in his tent.

Allen chose the land around Carl Rock for a settlement after Artimenner judged it suitable for a village, then summoned soldiers and villagers to begin building. After organizing the newcomers, Allen returned toward camp with Klethi and Deshavi, leaving the settlement underway.

• Allen explored Carl Rock with Artimenner, Klethi, and Alayen, and concluded that Beorn had not yet arrived there.
• Artimenner surveyed the nearby hills and recommended the area for a settlement, so Allen summoned over a hundred soldiers, more than three hundred villagers, and supplies.
• Allen promised the newcomers a safe and stable home, and the villagers began building under the direction of Carl and Artimenner.
• Allen assigned the soldiers to help construct shelters, appointed Alayen captain of his personal guards, and left him to protect the settlement.
• Allen found Klethi climbing Carl Rock, let her return after she claimed she had been checking for danger, and urged her and Deshavi back toward camp.

Allen prepared his village for the Orc King's expected retaliation by building defenses, recruiting troops, and strengthening the villagers. On the fifth day, Deshavi reported that a large force was advancing through the forest across the river.

• Allen ordered the village wall completed and sent Deshavi, Firentis, and Klethi to scout the surrounding approaches.
• Allen tested his abilities, helped build the village defenses, and planned to lead the villagers into Mirkwood if an attack came before the wall was finished.
• When the Orc King delayed his attack, Allen recruited forty Rhodoks Crossbowmen from the villagers and used reputation points to obtain ten Nord Royal Guards and one hundred thousand Denars.
• Allen put prisoners to work digging a trench outside the wall while he waited for the enemy.
• Deshavi rode into camp and told Allen that a large number of creatures were advancing through the forest across the river.

Allen’s village faced nearly two thousand orcs, two cave trolls, and a force of warg riders sent by the Orc King, while Allen had prepared a much stronger defense than the enemy expected. The battle began with Allen’s forces killing one troll and Allen bringing down the other, but the orcs reached the wall and the fighting continued.

• The Orc King assembled nearly two thousand orcs, more than a hundred wargs, and two cave trolls to attack Allen’s village and ordered the assault to begin after dark.
• Klethi spotted the approaching army, lit the signal fire on Carl's Rock, and returned to camp as Allen prepared his troops.
• The orc officer led his forces across the Anduin River and charged the village, where Allen and Deshavi opened fire with bows before the crossbowmen unleashed a volley.
• Allen wounded the orc officer, then ordered everyone to focus on the cave trolls; Klethi killed one with javelins.
• Allen leapt from the wall and fought the second troll at the gate, killing it with his greatsword after it wounded him.
• Firentis led more than fifty Rhodoks spearmen out to form a shield wall as ten Nords Royal Guards attacked the orcs, while Allen charged into the horde.

Allen and his people routed an orc army besieging their camp, then faced a surprise charge from Warg Riders. Great eagles defeated the riders and offered to share information about the orcs, while Allen rested and saw that he had gained soul energy.

• Allen's troops ignited an oil-filled ditch, scattering the orcs, and Bunduk killed the orc officer with a crossbow bolt.
• More than a hundred Warg Riders arrived, and Allen charged toward them as his troops prepared to defend the camp.
• Great eagles swept down and destroyed most of the Warg Riders, and Allen killed the few who reached him.
• The Eagle King offered to have its followers bring Allen information about the orcs, and Allen agreed not to attack them.
• Allen returned to camp, where the survivors treated the wounded and gathered the dead, and he noticed that he had gained nine points of soul energy.

After grieving the twenty-three soldiers killed defending his camp, Allen arranged a memorial and woke to meet Otta, a leader from a nearby woodland village. He invited Otta’s people to settle in the river valley, and their arrival was celebrated at a feast as the great eagles brought news that the Half-orcs were divided.

• Allen mourned the twenty-three dead and ordered them buried beside his planned longhouse with a monument bearing their names, while asking Carl to care for their families.
• After waking the next afternoon, Allen met Otta, who had come to learn about the new human leader and explore relations with him.
• Allen invited Otta’s village to move into the river valley for safety, and sent him home with barrels of beer.
• Otta returned near dusk with more than a hundred villagers, including over thirty young hunters, and Allen welcomed them with a feast.
• The great eagles joined the feast and reported that no large Half-orc forces had gathered and that infighting had broken out among them.

After defeating the half-orcs, Allen settled the war’s aftermath and developed Wilderness Village, expanding its population, farms, businesses, and civil administration. As soldiers began choosing farming and family life, a person drifted down the Anduin River, leaving Allen’s village facing an unknown arrival.

• The Orc King abandoned plans to attack Allen again and turned his attention to half-orc tribes refusing to pay tribute.
• Allen compensated the families of fallen warriors, named the settlement Wilderness Village, and had Carl lead the villagers in clearing and planting fields.
• Allen accepted the protection requests of three more villages and set terms for their residents to move to Wilderness Village and contribute labor and a quarter of their income.
• Allen established shops and reorganized civil administration, assigning Carl, Doris, and Otta to help Ymira manage the growing village.
• Allen allowed Rhodoks soldiers who wanted land to give up their weekly wages and take up farming under conditions that included regular training and service when summoned.
• After the village grew busier and more people cleared land, a person drifted down the Anduin River.

Allen met the wounded Beorn, who asked for help rescuing his family from Bolg’s Half-orcs, and led a force into the Misty Mountains to prepare an ambush. The party waited in darkness at the chosen site as the enemy’s approach became audible.

• Jeremus brought Allen to see Beorn, a wounded skin-changer who had escaped Half-orc captivity and recognized Klethi’s sapphire pendant as a gift to his niece.
• Beorn told Allen that Bolg was escorting his captive family through tunnels toward Orc Town, and Allen agreed to help rescue them.
• Allen gathered more than a hundred fighters, assigned Firentis to oversee the village’s defense, and led the rescue party into the Misty Mountains.
• Allen chose a narrow river channel as an ambush site and positioned Otta’s people and the Nord Royal Guards on the ledge with firewood and oil.
• After resting, Allen and his companions waited silently in the tunnel until they heard sounds from the approaching Half-orcs.

Allen confronted Bolg and drew his force into a battle in the riverbed while Klethi rescued the prisoners left behind with the cages. Klethi brought the freed captives to shelter behind a boulder as the fighting intensified.

• Allen killed the Half-orc scouts, then taunted Bolg into charging him with his force.
• Klethi slipped past the charging Half-orcs and found thirteen or fourteen guards watching the cages.
• Klethi killed the guards with javelins, throwing knives, and her scimitar, then took their keys.
• Klethi freed five Skin-changers, three Dwarves, and two Elves from the cages.
• The Skin-changers carried the weakened captives as Klethi led them behind a boulder and gave them food and water.

Allen’s force fought Bolg’s Half-orcs in a river channel, using a cliffside ambush and Beorn’s bear form to wear down the enemy. Bolg escaped after the rescued Skin-changers joined the battle, then returned with reinforcements to find the tunnel cleared and began searching for Allen near Orc Town.

• Allen held the river channel with his soldiers while Otta’s Woodland Dwellers attacked the Half-orcs from the cliff and fought off climbers with help from Alayen, his guards, and Deshavi.
• Beorn transformed into a giant bear and charged toward Bolg, but fled back to Allen when he saw Bolg’s Giant Net; Woodland Dwellers then shot down its carriers, causing it to fall among the Half-orcs.
• After the Half-orcs routed, Bolg charged Allen with his Warg Riders and threw the Giant Net, but Nord Royal Shields knocked it down and Beorn disrupted the charge.
• Three freed Skin-changers transformed into giant bears and blocked Bolg’s retreat, but Bolg led a desperate charge through the exhausted Nord Royal Guards and escaped toward Orc Town.
• Bolg returned with reinforcements to find the tunnel full of dead Half-orcs and his Giant Net gone, then searched around Orc Town for Allen.

After escaping the Misty Mountains with rescued captives, Allen led his exhausted party toward home and learned more about the dwarves they had saved. He agreed to employ Frey as the village blacksmith, while a possible route to escort Furdin and the others home remained dependent on the recovering elves.

• Furdin warned Allen not to return through the tunnels and showed him a hidden exit, advising him to burn the Half-orc corpses to confuse the Wargs.
• Allen followed Furdin's advice, burned the bodies, and led his party out of the Misty Mountains before Bolg returned to the river channel.
• Allen's group descended through the mountains with Beorn's family, three dwarves, and two badly traumatized Silvan Elves.
• Furdin explained that his party had been captured while traveling toward the Blue Mountains, then invited Allen to the Iron Hills and sought work for his nephew Frey.
• Allen agreed to hire Frey as the village blacksmith and suggested he might later escort the dwarves through Mirkwood after the elves recovered.

Allen returned from the Misty Mountains with Beorn and his rescued family, and Beorn agreed to settle near Carl Rock. That night, Allen unlocked a simulation on the Pendor Continent, where he began pursuing the gang that had targeted him.

• Allen refused Otta’s suggestion to rest in a village and led his party out of the Misty Mountains before dark.
• Ymira, Jeremus, and the Swadia Knights met Allen’s party, treated the wounded, and provided food and water.
• Allen persuaded Beorn to become his neighbor and proposed that Beorn’s people settle in the oak forest near his village.
• After returning to the village, Allen received a new simulation and arrived in Marleons on the Pendor Continent.
• Allen killed five gang members who tried to abduct him, then learned that Yaven “the Blade” of the Red Brotherhood had ordered the bounty.
• Allen raided the Beard Gang’s villa, rescued no one yet, and killed its members before entering the room where the remaining gang members were gambling.

The narrator killed a gang’s men while searching for “Blade” Yaven, rescued the elf Freya, and hid in Marleons as the guards searched for the killer. After gaining access to the noble district through Sophia, he met Yaven at the Green Vine Tavern, leaving his pursuit face-to-face with its target.

• The narrator slaughtered the gang members in a gambling den and learned that “Blade” Yaven frequented the Green Vine Tavern and had Governor Justus’s backing.
• The narrator took diamonds and documents, freed the female elf, and agreed to escort her back to the Noldor forest; she gave her name as Freya.
• The narrator and Freya hid at Paul’s tavern while guards searched Marleons, then he posed as Allen and gathered information from the regulars.
• The narrator obtained Paul’s recommendation and travel documents, entered the noble district, and asked Sophia for an identity that would let him come and go freely.
• Sophia tested the narrator with an ambush, then agreed to arrange his identity in exchange for a task and introduced him to four men, including “Blade” Yaven.