[
  {
    "id": 709,
    "name": "17. Desperate Measures",
    "level": 80,
    "story": 143,
    "goals": [
      {
        "active": "",
        "complete": ""
      },
      {
        "active": "Make preparations with your allies.",
        "complete": "The Midnight King hunkers in Zakiros, consolidating his forces and strengthening his fortifications. Given Labris's sacrifice and Eparch's rage, I didn't expect his patience. Even General Nephus seemed puzzled about Eparch's retreat. Puzzled...and wary. It's hard to know what awaits in Zakiros when we attack. If we attack.\n\nTensions were running high at the forward bivouac, and Ramses asked if I could intervene. When I arrived, Nephus and Frode were nearly at each other's throats—I stepped in before they came to blows. Frode argued that without reinforcements, the risk of invading Zakiros was too high, and that we'd be fools to invade Zakiros without them. Nephus countered that the troops were spread thin, the front was near collapse, and we'd be foolish to wait for troops that might never materialize; unfortunately, Galrath had returned to the Wizard's Tower and left no indication whether he'd recommend the Astral Ward fully join the assault.\n\nTempers again flared, but luckily Peitha arrived, and she demanded that the two leaders show each other respect. She agreed with Nephus that we should attack, and she also posited that perhaps Eparch's position was weaker than it seemed—after all, he'd not gone on the offensive despite opportunities to do so.\n\nNephus was pleased that Peitha agreed with him, but he cautioned against underestimating Eparch, particularly since they could sense an army amassing in Zakiros. Nevertheless, a decision had been made.\n\nThe assault on Eparch's citadel would begin after we stamped out some of the smaller conflicts in Inner Nayos. I took to the field to assist the troops while Nephus and Frode crafted the battle plan.\n\n***"
      },
      {
        "active": "Aid in weakening Eparch's forces in Nayos.",
        "complete": "I struck out across Inner Nayos, assisting our Kryptis allies and the Astral Ward volunteers anywhere I found them. With every skirmish won, I freed up the forces that Nephus and Frode needed to put the battle plan into action.\n\nAfter Ramses alerted me that our forces were ready, I returned to the forward bivouac to discuss strategy. Nephus, Frode, Arina, and Peitha awaited my arrival.\n\n***"
      },
      {
        "active": "Discuss the plans for the assault on Zakiros.",
        "complete": "At the bivouac, strategic planning was in full swing. As we walked through camp discussing the plan to split our forces between Zakiros's towers, a wounded Kryptis in the infirmary leapt at Peitha. Her cry, \"Death to false king!\" signaled a vicious attempt on Peitha's life.\n\nWe staved off the initial assassination attempt, but chaos ensued. The rock-walled corridor exploded in a shower of stones, and loyalist guerillas struck from all angles. We desperately beat them back, holding out against waves of assassins. When the final loyalist fell, I found Frode and Nephus with Peitha. As we took stock of the situation, Peitha jarringly burst into laughter. Ramses questioned her, and she asked him what he smelled on the assassins' remains. \"Fear,\" he answered, almost in disbelief.\n\nCould it be? Was Eparch acting out of desperation? Did he truly fear the assault on his citadel, despite the numbers at his back?\n\nI suppose we'll know soon enough; the time to strike against the citadel of the Midnight King has finally come."
      }
    ]
  }
]