Even though you and the healer, Iris, took some liberties with producing a cure for your Queen, it seems that the potion really worked. The Queen returned to good health, you and Iris have both been decorated for your efforts (and celebrated accordingly) and life in the Kingdom slowly returned to normal.

With the Queen back to power, life returned to the streets and trade returned to the markets. Only a few days after the Queen was healed, word of a huge festival in Her Majesty's honor spread across the streets. You decided to attend, especially after you heard that Iris will be there.

The festival commences, and wild dancers, acrobats, and fire eaters fill the streets and squares. The smell of wine, beer, and roasted meat spread through the air. people sing and dance, but happiness is short-lived. Even before you manage to find Iris among the crowd, a rider bursts through the crowd and starts to read from the scroll...

Rider:"Citizens of our great Kingdom! The Enemy marches in great numbers towards our capital! All men are to come to the barracks immediately, and all women and children are to make their way to the inner walls! The enemy will be at the gates before the dawn breaks!"

Gods be damned! The enemy must have heard that our Queen was sick, so they decided to make a move while we were weak. Bastards!

Yo make your way to the barracks, get your chainmail, sword, and shield. With other men, you position yourself close to the outer wall doors, while archers line the walls.

The battle was fierce and lasted till noon. You made it out alive and even took out a few of the enemy soldiers. But the war is far from over.

After a short rest, you and your brigade are given orders to march all the way to the enemy border and hold the line there. The long march doesn't worry you that much, but you don't know what awaits when you get there.

Except for a few ambushes, you reach the border safe and with almost no men lost. There, you make your stand and repel the enemy back to whence they came.

A few months of brutal fighting follow, and many good men fall to the enemy as they attack in great numbers. You manage to hold your ground as your brothers in arms fall around you.

Your Kingdom's army weakens under the enemy war machine. Months of Queen's illness have taken their toll on the state of the troops, and the enemy gains the upper hand.

Many castles, fortresses, and cities fall, with thousands of men dead on both sides. After some 11 months of fighting, conflict is brought to a stalemate. Your kingdom is razed, and more than two-thirds are occupied by the enemy, but they have no more man to fight. Her Majesty and the enemy leaders enter a truce under secretive conditions.

You leave the battlefield behind, tired and worn down, and make a long march home, this time alone

You drag yourself through woods, creeks, and caves, rationing your food and tending to your wounds. As you walk through the forest that you don't know so well, you hear some clanking and rattling near the forest edge. Sounds like... armor?

You are too far from home to hope for a fellow brother in arms, but not far enough from the border to be sure it is not the enemy. Anyhow, it sounds like just one man, so you decide to investigate.

You peak through the trees, and see a woman, in a full set of armor and soldier gear, hiking in your direction. Even from a far, you notice that this is the enemy armor, and not one of yours.