Beneath the Surface

Beneath the Surface is the twenty-eighth scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is to defeat Gargarensis’ Fire Giants guarding the Giant Gate Ram.

Summary
The heroes pass through the Well of Urd and enter Nifleheim. Shortly after, they hear a familiar sound indicating that Gargarensis has already begun breaking open the gate. Now aware of who hides beyond it, Arkantos and the others must attempt to stop the ram, starting by eliminating the Fire Giants guarding it.

Objective
Kill the Fire Giants that guard the Gate Ram before the Tartarus Gate opens.

Players

 * Arkantos (Thor) – Starts with Arkantos, Amanra, Ajax, Chiron and Reginleif, as well as one end of the Well of Urd in Nifleheim. In Midgard, along with the other side of the Well of Urd, are four Dwarves, three Gatherers, two Ox Carts and two Ulfsarks, each one building a Temple and a Longhouse. There are also four Tents and a Town Center.

Neutral

 * ErebusGate (Loki) – This player consists of the Tartarus Gate, gradually losing HP as it is being struck by the Giant Gate Ram, as well as two statues of to Loki.

Enemies

 * Gargarensis (Loki) – Consists of the Giant Gate Ram and six Fire Giants, as well as the many other units that will protect them.
 * Gargarensis (Loki) – This enemy is located on the surface and starts in the Archaic Age. After aging up, they will regularly scout the player’s base with an Ulfsark to look for raiding opportunities.

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

The first goal is to get a solid income so players must immediately train more Gatherers and Dwarves and task the existing ones onto hunting the nearby wildlife. Farming will not be necessary on this map so it is best to research Hunting Dogs and Pig Sticker to increase Food income. A few Gatherers can gather wood which will be needed to construct a Dwarven Armory. The Healing Spring God Power should also be cast on the surface. Meanwhile, the Dwarves and one Ox Cart should be sent to the Underworld to begin gathering the only safe supply of Gold. As Chiron is the faster hero, he can pick up the Tusk of the Iron Boar Relic located near the Gold Mine south of the well and bring to the Temple. There is another Relic that is safe to grab but it will just grant the player with Relic Monkeys.

Both ends of the Well of Urd must be protected from attacks so for the time being, the campaign heroes can stand guard in Nifleheim to protect it from Myth Units, though Gargarensis’ forces there will not attack unless provoked. There is an enemy town in Midgard located north of the player’s Town Center which will train Ulfsarks and Raiding Cavalry. To prevent harassment throughout the scenario, players can begin training Ulfsarks of their own as well as Throwing Axemen to get rid of it. After advancing to the Heroic Age through Skadi, a Hill Fort should be built to train a couple of Portable Rams. Once a decent sized army is available, players can send it to wipe out the enemy camp in Midgard. Once finished, the Portable Rams can be deleted and all other available troops can be sent to the Underworld. There should still be plenty of time left until the Tartarus Gate is broken.

Gargarensis’ Underworld forces will consist mainly of Trolls and Fire Giants but also of Throwing Axemen and Jarls. Therefore, Raiding Cavalry and Hersirs should be trained to assist the campaign heroes in pushing towards the Giant Gate Ram. Frost Giants may also be trained using the Favor accumulated while fighting on the surface as their breath will make it easier to defeat the Fire Giants. Once a large force is assembled, the army can follow the path to the Gate with Arkantos in the lead to grant the other units a moral boost when fighting. Upon arriving near the gate, all units should focus on the six Fire Giants. Random units will come charging from nearby and myth units may even spawn in large numbers in retaliation. Frost can be cast to stop them from disturbing the player’s army as they take out the giants one by one. Once all the Fire Giants are killed, player will be rewarded with victory.

Additional Tips

 * The player’s base in Midgard can be raided from either side of the well so it is best to keep all worker units on one side to make it easier to monitor their activity.
 * Players may advance to the Mythic Age to strengthen their units further but it is not necessary. If they do, they should choose Baldr in the event that they must cast Ragnarok to supplement their army with Heroes of Ragnarok.
 * The Erebus terrain prevents the construction of buildings so everything must be built in Midgard.

Closing Cinematic
Due to the sudden appearance of multiple Einherjars and Fire Giants, Arkantos orders an immediate retreat to the Well of Urd. Seeing how the Fire Giants are in hot pursuit of the heroes, Chiron suddenly turns around to face them. Despite protests by Arkantos, the Centaur orders them to continue and proceeds to knock down a giant boulder. This stops the Fire Giants in their tracks but ultimately traps him with the giants, who take no time in burning him. As Arkantos watches Chiron die, Amanra urges him to continue as there is no more they can do for their friend.

Trivia

 * This is one of three scenarios where the Giant Gate Ram makes an appearance. The other two are Revelation and Unlikely Heroes.
 * The two statues to Odin previously seen in The Well of Urd have mysteriously turned into two statues to Loki.
 * Gargarensis’ forces on the surface may have been deliberately set with the cyan team color as a way to warn players that there are unseen enemies on this map when they advance to the Classical Age.
 * This is Chiron’s final appearance in Fall of the Trident.