The Well of Urd



The Well of Urd is the twenty-seventh scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The objective is to reach the Well of Urd as quickly as possible, in order to descend to Niflheim and prevent Gargarensis from accessing a gate to Tartarus.

Summary
(Ajax, Amanra, Arkantos, Chiron, Reginleif, and some troops from the Norse clans they united in Union, finally reach the gate to Nifleheim. A Huskarl reports to Reginleif about the time Gargarensis' army reached the surrounding land, which was a few days before the Heroes reached it themselves.

Gargarensis has already reached the gate, which is no other than the Well of Urd. He has heavily walled the area, thus blocking access. The heroes must reach the Well as quickly as possible, lest Ragnarok occurs.

Players

 * Arkantos (Odin - Apart from the heroes themselves, the player also has access to 11 Gatherers, a single Ox Cart, 7 Huskarls, 6 Raiding Cavalry and 3 Jarls, a considerably powerful force. Their base consists of a single Town Center, 4 Houses, 5 Tents and 8 Farms.

Enemies

 * Gargarensis (Loki) - Gargarensis has set up a defensive perimeter and has walled all passages that lead to the Well of Urd. There are two Town Center, some Hill Forts, four Longhouses and many Watch Towers guarding the base. For units he trains, see the strategy section. He begins in the Archaic Age, which is a considerable advantage for the player, who begins in the Classical Age.

Neutral

 * Neutral (Odin) - This player consists solely of two statues of Odin, and the Well of Urd itself.

Objectives

 * 1) Build an army and destroy the gate to the Well of Urd (Attack Gargarensis aggressively, before he has a chance to build up even more defenses. Expect a stiff defense of the gare itself.).
 * 2) Defeat all of the myth units defending the Well of Urd (Remember your Heroes, Hersirs and Jarls are all strong against myth units.).

Strategy
This guide is applied to hard difficulty. It is, of course, also applicable for the other grades of difficulty.

Immediately as the mission begins, prepare for an assault from the west, while also sending Gatherers to gather nearby resources. The enemy's first assault will consist of Throwing Axemen and rogue Einherjar. Destroy them as quickly as possible, and wall off the southwestern passage.

The second will begin at a passage to the northwest section of the player's base; wall it off too, as the second assault is more relentless, consisting of groups of Raiding Cavalry and Ulfsarks. Stop this assault too, and then advance to the Heroic Age as quickly as possible. Build walls to the third passage, train some forces and wait. As Gargarensis usually chooses Heimdall, he will cast Undermine to the walls, thus crushing them.

After one or two more attacks from the north are stopped, build a Hill Fort. The Undermine has been wasted to the walls, which is a very good thing, as if the Fort was in its place, this would mean 300 wood, 300 gold and 5 favor down the drain.

As soon as Mythic Age is reached and the player's economy has been stabilised, prepare an assault consisting of Raiding Cavalry, siege units (see tips) and Throwing Axemen. If the player has chosen Baldr, also cast Ragnarok. Swiftly bring down the defenses at the fourth passage, and kill the guarding Einherjars. Then, charge straight to the gate blocking access to the Well, and crush it. As soon as it goes down, four Fire Giants will appear, and at the meantime, a massive Norse army will head to defend the Well. Ignore them, kill the Giants and beat the scenario.

Tips

 * Don't even bother training Myth Units, focus on human units instead, and on myth technologies that will improve them.
 * Choose Skadi over Njord; while the Ring Giver technology may guarantee enormously strong Jarls, they won't be much needed, whereas the Walking Woods power is essentially useless in this scenario.
 * Skadi, on the other hand, provides the very useful Frost god power and Winter Harvest, that can be abused to stopping enemies dead in their tracks, and to exploit the 8 starting Farms, respectively.
 * Wall three out of four passages, to make the enemy's assaults straightforward, and stave them more easily, while you boom to research as many technologies as possible.
 * Both Huskarls and Portable Rams in the Mythic Age should do fine (especially since Odin boosts their HP), but still: choose Baldr, research Dwarven Auger and Sons of Sleipnir (to beat Throwing Axemen), and when on the offensive, cast Ragnarok and end the game.
 * As with other Norse missions, don't bother researching the shield upgrades; most foes you face inflict hack damage.

Outro cinematic
After they breach Gargarensis' base, the heroes approach the Well of Urd. They are sceptical, but Reginleif assures them it's safe and indeed guides to Niflheim. Ajax sarcastingly tells Chiron to go first, so that in case he falls to his death they won't follow. An annoyed Amanra decides to go first, saying that she will "wait for them at the bottom, when they've decided who goes first".

The heroes are once again stalked by Brokk and Eitri, who also have a cart with a giant hammer head alongside them. This will turn out to be the hammer head for Thor's future hammer.