Chapter Introduction
The Lich King's plague of undeath has spread through the Capital City and into the outskirts of Lordaeron. Shocked and disheartened by the loss of their beloved king, the forces of Lordaeron were scattered by the ravenous undead warriors. Now, Lordaeron is but a shadow of its former glory - and Prince Arthas has yet to be seen...
Mission Objectives
- Main Quest - Rescue Acolytes
- Rescue 20 Acolytes (Easy/Normal)
- Rescue 24 Acolytes (Hard)
- Arthas must survive
- Optional Quest - Find The Graveyard
- Bring Arthas to the graveyard
- Arthas must survive
Starting Units
When this mission starts you will start with 2 Ghouls and Arthas. Since Arthas must survive for the mission, you'll never want to send him without escort.
The Acolytes
On easy and normal difficulties, there are 23 Acolytes of which 20 needs to be rescued. On hard difficulty, there are 25 Acolytes of which 24 needs to be rescued.
Follow the path until you come to your first Acolyte. Approach him and as soon as you get close to him he will revert to his Undead form. After rescuing this Acolyte move forward to the first clearing in the town. Be cautious as you enter, if the Villagers see Arthas or any Undead they will call the guards to attack you. Your second Acolyte is in the center of the square, easily identifiable by being completely red. You don't need to get too close to him to rescue him. Note that rescuing the acolytes will not alert the Villagers or guards. You may kill the Villagers if you wish but kill the Footman, two on hard, first and get the Potion of Healing in the boxes. After killing the hostiles move to the left side of the square and follow the path up where your third Acolyte will be waiting for you along with a single Villager. This Acolyte will give you your only Optional Quest of this mission: Find the Graveyard.
When you are finished with your third Acolyte move forward where you will be approached by a Shade. A Shade is an extremely useful scouting unit. Have the Shade head north to find your fourth Acolyte. Also it should watch for the passing Captain and two Footmen, four on hard, one on easy, that scout the path. Arthas can then move in to free the Acolyte and kill the Villagers. After rescuing your fourth Acolyte, head south, using your Shade to scout ahead to avoid the enemy patrols. You will find your fifth Acolyte among two Villagers. On easy and normal difficulties, you can free this one without having to kill the Villagers. There is another Potion of Healing among the boxes. After freeing your fifth Acolyte head to the west, being careful of the Barracks being guarded by a Knight, two on hard, don't forget to use your Shade. On hard difficulty only there's an extra Acolyte in front of the Barracks, this is the twenty-fourth Acolyte on hard difficulty. Your sixth Acolyte is hidden behind two other Villagers - these will call for help when threatened.
After freeing your sixth Acolyte use your Shade and move north to try and find the secret path to the left of the main gate. Once you find the path be cautious going into the square. There are a lot of Villagers around. After emerging from the path there is an Acolyte right ahead of you making him your seventh Acolyte. The indicated box in the picture yields a Greater Potion of Mana, but be careful opening it as it is guarded by five Footmen, four on easy, and three Knights, four on hard, one on easy. Run away if you're spotted, and use the Shade to find out when the coast has cleared. From where you freed your seventh Acolyte, move towards the north using the path on your left. Make sure to wait for the Villager moving in between the two groups of Villagers, and on the left side there is your eighth Acolyte hiding in a secluded spot. On hard difficulty, run south to a group of Villagers watching Robert and Tyler fight. This is the twenty-fifth Acolyte on hard difficulty. The Villagers will alert the guards, so run away, and wait until the coast is clear. From where you freed the eighth Acolyte, move east. Use your Shade to help you dodge one of the Knights that's patrolling here. Find the Acolyte hiding among the trees for your ninth Acolyte. Not too far north from your ninth Acolyte is the graveyard that lets you complete your Optional Quest. Your forces will be bolstered by three Skeleton Warriors and two Ghouls. If you want more treasures, backtrack until you reach the patrolling Captain, as he carries a Potion of Greater Healing. Also, one of the Riderless Horse next to the Barracks has a Ring of Protection +2. You have to destroy the Barracks to get to it.
Farther towards the northwest there is a field and Town Hall that will be easier to take out and get another two Acolytes. Your tenth is north of the Town Hall in a field that has a pair of Villagers in it. To the west of the Town Hall is your eleventh Acolyte but to get to him you'll have to destroy the town hall and kill the three Peasants, two on easy, that will turn to Militia when you get close to them. Two Bandits will come from the northwest when you get closer to the Town Hall that will attack the Militia. You can use them to weaken the forces present and then kill them once the Militia is defeated. Once finished with the Town Hall head to the west where you will find your twelfth Acolyte with a female Villager. After rescuing the twelfth Acolyte head north where you will find a camp with an Assassin and two Bandits, four on hard, one on easy, and a captured Acolyte that you can free. There is a Potion of Healing and Spider Ring (adds 1 to Agility) dropped by the Assassin and one of the Bandits once defeated. Once your done head back to the gate you passed heading toward the field where you found your tenth Acolyte and have all of your units attack it. once you destroy the gates you will see Acolyte fourteen being attacked by two Footmen, one on easy, and needs to be saved. On normal and hard difficulties, one of the Footmen drops a Potion of Healing.
Once done killing the Footmen head east until you see some fenced in sheep. There is an Acolyte mixed in with the sheep and you simply have to walk toward the fence to free him making him your fifteenth freed Acolyte. Head south and you will see your sixteenth Acolyte accompanied by some Villagers that you scare off. Doing this will attract a Knight from further down, a Footman on easy, both a Footman and a Knight on hard, but if you stay away from where your Acolyte was after around fifteen seconds they'll move back. Head back up toward the fence and keep going east but keep close to the houses on the bottom unless you wish to kill the two Villagers but regardless of whether you kill them or not kill the two patrolling Footmen, one on easy. Afterwards head toward the south along their patrol route, and then make a turn east. You will see two female villagers and your seventeenth Acolyte. Note that you can detour to two secrets at this point. Have your Ghouls attack the trees south and southwest of the two female Villagers. The southwest trees hides two boats and a crate with a Scroll of Healing. The south trees hinder passage to a rocky expanse that culminate in two Mud Golems and a Rock Golem with Gauntlets of Ogre Strength +3. Go back, and after freeing your seventeenth Acolyte, move east. Be cautious of the Villagers between you and your next Acolyte. You can scare them off, kill them or just sneak past them. Keep moving east until you can see him in the little clearing between the trees and free your eighteenth Acolyte. Journey north avoiding the Captain to the east for now. Kill the Villagers by the pyre, if one gets away, he'll alert a Knight on normal, a Footman on easy, and both a Knight and a Footman on hard. The nineteenth Acolyte is located north of the pyre. For your final four Acolytes, journey back south until you see two Footmen, three on hard, one on easy and a Captain guarding four Acolytes amongst some cages. The Captain carries a Potion of Greater Healing. Dispatch the Footmen and the Captain, then rescue the Acolytes to complete the mission.