The Jackal's Stronghold

The Jackal’s Stronghold is the seventeenth scenario of the Fall of the Trident campaign in Age of Mythology. The main objective is siege Kemsyt’s stronghold to recover the second Osiris Piece Box.

Summary
Amanra has arrived at Kemsyt’s offshore stronghold where he is keeping the second Osiris Piece Box. Knowing that the island is heavily fortified and patrolled by a strong navy, Amanra hopes to convince some of the nearby farmers of the Nile to join her cause.

Objectives

 * 1) Get Amanra to the village.
 * 2) Bring Amanra to any additional buildings or Villagers to convert them to your cause.
 * 3) Bring Amanra to the Osiris Piece Box.

Players

 * Amanra (Isis) – Begins in the Heroic Age with Amanra, two Axemen and six Camelry. Will be able to recruit additional units and buildings from the Nile Villagers.

Neutral

 * Nile Villagers (Isis) – the local farmers who will readily join Amanra in her fight against Kemsyt. She must simply approach them and they will convert to the player’s color.

Enemies

 * Kemsyt (Set) – Occupies a large stronghold on an island patrolled by Kebenits and War Turtles. He will periodically send landing parties to attack Amanra.

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

There are two paths that lead to the village, both hiding an ambush of Slingers. The southern path is safer as it just has two Slingers and a Tent, which Amanra can easily defeat on her own. However, the larger ambush will eventually attack the nearby village so the Camelry should be sent back to defeat those too. Upon arriving at the village, the converted Laborers should immediately begin gathering resources while Amanra scouts the area to converts buildings and other Laborers. There are plenty of wildlife to hunt but the player should immediately task Laborers to farming as Kemsyt will cast Rain about 10 minutes in the scenario. To better keep track of their activities, all Laborers should concentrate on the farms closest to the Town Center.

In the meantime, Amanra can scout the map to convert more buildings and pick up Relics. An important one is located southwest of the Town Center which will boost naval Myth Unit attack. This will be crucial in order to cross Nile and reach Kemsyt’s island. A Temple located just east of the Town Center can be converted to the player’s colors, and Amanra can deposit the Relic there. Another relic is found close to the alternate path the player could have used to reach the village at the beginning. It will enable Town Centers to support additional population, which will be important for send the largest armies possible to siege the stronghold. Another relic is found at the very south end of the map while four more Relics are located in a cove across the bay where the player’s Dock is located. A Leviathan should be trained to ferry Amanra across so she can grab them one by one. The Relics are guarded by Crocodiles of Set but Amanra can easily avoid them thanks to her speed.

Unlike most scenarios, gold is plentiful here. Additional Laborers should be sent further south of the map to find two safe Gold Mines just past a Settlement. Once the Pharaoh appears at the Town Center, he can be sent to empower the Mining Camp while the player begins researching gold gathering technologies in preparation for casting Prosperity. If those Gold Mines run out, there will be more located at the very south end of the map where mining operations will be safe from attacks. Kemsyt will not take long to send Leviathans to unload troops, usually southwest of the Town Center, and pillage the farms so players should ensure to train additional Laborers to build some Barracks and train Axemen to repel the attack of Spearmen and Anubites.

Once the player has a good economy going, they can begin building Migdol Strongholds and Towers close to the shoreline to repel Kemsyt’s attacks and to train Camelry, Chariot Archers and War Elephants. A Market should also be built to advance to the Mythic Age as well as a Siege Works to train Catapults to destroy the many fortifications on Kemsyt's island. Finally, a second Temple will be needed not only to garrison the excess number of Relics but also to train Priests to maintain the army’s health and Myth Units who will benefit from the Eclipse God Power. When choosing the Mythic Age minor god, Thoth is the preferred option as he further improves the economy and the Migdol Stronghold units. Plus, Phoenixes are airborne so they don’t need to garrison inside Leviathans.

Kemsyt’s navy constantly circles the island trying to prevent the player from reaching it. Once the patrolling navy leaves the fishing area, the player’s fully upgraded army should garrison inside the Leviathans and immediately begin crossing the Nile. There are a number of places where the army can be unloaded, but the safest is the north end of the island as it is less heavily guarded. The Catapults can first be tasked in destroying any Tower or Houses built on the cliffs. Then the army can follow the path around the island, destroying all and everything they find. The Town Centers are the primary targets as taking those out will slow down Kemsyt’s unit production. The stronghold will be guarded by an army of Chariot Archers and Animals of Set, which the Camelry and Priests can easily defeat. Next, the Catapults should be tasked into destroying the gates and the defensive structures guarding them as they will be out of range from the arrow attacks while the army is not. The stronghold itself hides a second army made up of more Spearmen and Anubites. The player simply needs to distract Kemsyt’s army, made easier by casting Ancestors and Eclipse together, while Amanra sneaks around and makes a bee-line for the Osiris Piece. Once she comes within range of it, the player will be rewarded with victory.

Additional Tips

 * The Market Trade route on this map can be outstanding. Players can a Market where the scenario began and send camels to a Town Center built at the far south end of map, which will generate a large amount of Gold.
 * Osiris’ Desert Wind technology is granted for free in this scenario, which encourages the use of Camelry.
 * There is no use in investing in fishing operations here as there is only one safe fishing spot. The other fish schools are located directly in the path Kemsyt’s navy patrols.
 * If the player feels unable to avoid Kemsyt’s patrolling navy, they should train War Barges to accompany their Leviathans, as these are the Kebenits’ main counter.

Loopholes

 * Upon arriving at the village, rather than having Amanra immediately convert the buildings to her cause, a Laborer can be tasked into building ten Houses. This will enable the player to reach the maximum population cap of 300.
 * If the player avoids the shoreline near the Village, Kemsyt’s army may land on the shore but remain idle as the player will be out of sight. Therefore, the player will never be attacked.

Closing Cinematic
After securing the Osiris Piece, Amanra finally finds Kemsyt and confronts him. Her enemy confesses that although he would like nothing more than draining her blood in the sands, he has no time for her. A Roc then swoops down and carries Kemsyt away, much to Amanra’s anger.