Not From Around Here

Not From Around Here is the twenty-fourth scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to escort Skult and the Folstag flag bearer safely across a pass infested with Giants.

Summary
Arkantos and the others are greeted by an old man going by the name of Skult. When asked if he had spotted a one-eyed giant (Gargarensis) nearby, the old man reveals that plenty of giants have come down the hills to join the local Norsemen tribes fighting one another. When Ajax suggests trying to recruit some of these tribes to fight alongside them, Skult recommends using the flag of his village to stop the Norsemen from fighting long enough to hear them out. He will also show them the way as long as they offer him protection from the Giants.

Objectives

 * 1) Protect Skult and his flag. Move Arkantos, Skult and the Folstag flag bearer along the dirt path to the flag.
 * 2) Build up a defensive base near the boulder wall and advance to the Heroic Age.
 * 3) Build siege weapons and break through the boulder wall. Destroy the Giants’ Temples to weaken their attacks.
 * 4) Escape the Giant army. Move Skult, Arkantos, and the Folstag flag bearer to the flag at the north end of the pass.

Players

 * Arkantos (Loki) – Starts in the Classical Age with Arkantos, Ajax, Chiron, Amanra, Skult, the Folstag Flag Bearer, ten Hoplites and ten Throwing Axemen.

Enemies

 * Canyon Giants (Loki) – consists of numerous Temples across the pass that produces Mountain Giants and Frost Giants.

Allies

 * Skult (Loki) – Consists solely of Skult’s Hill Fort in which units can garrison.

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

The four heroes should head north alone to defeat a Mountain Giant and Frost Giant waiting in ambush. There are three more Mountain Giants and another Frost Giant waiting ahead but as long as they progress slowly as to not attract the attention of too many giants at once, they can defeat them all on their own. A nearby Temple will be producing additional Mountain Giants. The heroes can continue to defeat those while the soldiers tear down the building. The Throwing Axemen must be protected from harm as only they can build the Town Center needed later in the scenario. Skult and the Folstag flag bearer are even more important; if either one is killed, the player will be defeated.

Upon arriving at a clearing further ahead, the heroes will find that the Giants have rolled boulders to block their path. Arkantos suggests training siege weapons to break through. Players should immediately task the Throwing Axemen in building a Town Center and cast the Healing Spring nearby to heal their current army. More Giants will arrive to interrupt the construction but the heroes and Hoplites can stall them. Meanwhile, Skult and the Folstag flag bearer should remain behind the Town Center by the cliffs and away from the fighting. When the Town Center is complete, a Temple and some Longhouses can be built to train Hersirs, which will be needed to fight the recurring giant attacks, as well as an Armory to upgrade heroes and to advance to the next age. Building Houses may be necessary to boost the player’s limited population cap. Meanwhile, Gatherers can be trained to build up the economy, primarily focusing on Food and Gold. One Hero can scout to the east where additional pigs will be found in an enclosure. Breaking down the stone fence will make it possible to bring them to the Town Center. Wood can also be gathered should the player wish to build Hill Forts to train Portable Rams, but there is an alternative.

When advancing to the Heroic Age, players should worship Njord to get access to Mountain Giants of their own as they will do massive damage to the boulders with their pummel special attack. Players will earn a lot of Favor from all the fighting in this scenario anyway so they will be easier to train than Portable Rams. Hersirs will even be able to summon their own Myth Units if they fight long enough, though the player can dispose of anything that isn’t good against buildings. If players wish to slow down the attacks of the Canyon Giants, they can have the heroes and a Mountain Giants search the passes for additional Temples and destroy them all, starting with the one closest to the Town Center. An army of Hersirs can stay behind to protect the base from unexpected attack.

Once the player has enough Mountain Giants, they should task them all in attacking the boulder wall alongside Arkantos whose moral boost will strengthen them. When one of the boulders has 30% of its HP left, an army of Mountain Giants will spawn from the west, east and south edges of the map and advance towards the players’ base. Even so, they move slowly, providing the player enough time to break through the wall. Once through, Arkantos, Skult, the Folstag flag bearer and the army of heroes should immediately move forward. The Town Center can simply be abandoned as the giants will cast Earthquake upon it anyway.

The heroes should easily defeat anymore giants encountered in the pass ahead. Soon, the player will arrive at a frozen river blocked by a forest of pine trees and may appear to be caught in a dead end. But Odin will cast Forest Fire to burn down the trees and once a path has been cleared, the units can simply proceed to the flag. As long as Arkantos, Skult and the Folstag flag bearer make it to the flag, the player will be rewarded with victory.

Additional Tips

 * Players may also train Einherjars who, like Arkantos, can boost the moral of units but also deal crush damage of their own and can speed up the destruction of the boulder.
 * Players should focus all attack on only one of the two boulder walls as destroying both is not worth the time. When one boulder is cleared, there should be more than enough room for units to pass through.
 * The Bolt God Power should be saved for a Mountain Giant who can quickly destroy one of the player’s building if left unchecked.
 * After clearing the Temples in the pass prior to attacking the boulders, players may build walls in all three passes to further slow down the advance of the Giant army.

Loophole
Players may choose not to immediately build the Town Center and instead have the heroes seek out the Temples in the passes and destroy them all on their own. This will make it easier to prevent the attacks for the rest of scenario as the Temples will not yet be triggered into training additional Giants.

Trivia

 * The fact that Arkantos worships Loki in this scenario foreshadows the revelation in the upcoming scenario, Union.