Following their humiliating defeat at the Battle of Epicondulus, the respected elders of Hallitosos have despatched the heroic and much beloved Strategos, Testakles, to command their forces engaged in the harrowing campaign against Heinos the Necromancer and his unspeakable hordes, drawn from the infernal depths of Hades.
Testakles and his hardy band of warriors have inadvertently stumbled across the ruined Temple of Persephone, one of the seven mystical gateways to the subterranean halls of the dead... home to The Defeated, the fallen hoplites of Amnesea. Unbeknownst to the Hallitosians, the High Priestess of the temple, Amonia, lies in hiding beneath the great wooden doorway at the centre of the eviknaeum and could be discovered at any moment, to be taken in chains and paraded in humiliation before the elders and populace of Hallitosos. As the Hallitosians prepare to plunder the temple, they suddenly become aware that their presence in this most macabre of shrines has not gone unnoticed and shadowy spectral figures can be seen inexorably approaching their position.
To win this battle, the mighty Testakles merely needs to prevent the skeletal hordes of Heinos from entering the heart of the temple ruins and rescuing the concealed High Priestess, Amonia, from her un-noticed captivity.
The Hallitosian commanders... on the left, the mighty Testakles and, on the right, the slightly sinister Domestos. Domestos had already encountered the hordes of Hades and is determined to avenge his earlier defeat. The dreaded forces of Hades are commended by Heinos the Necromancer and his trusted lieutenant, Verdigris. Heinos has sworn to free the High Priestess from the temple and prevent her from falling into the hands of the mighty Testakles. Verdigris, on the other hand, is very much aware that the High Priestess is perfectly capable of taking care of herself and needs no rescuing from anyone! Amonia, High Priestess of the Temple of Persephone, innocent and virtuous guardian of the secret ways of Hades, the King of the Underworld... Approaching the Temple from the east, Verdigris unleashes his skeletal horde against Testakles and his force of Citizen Hoplites and javelin armed Psiloi. Despite his best efforts, the warriors of "The Defeated" seem a little reluctant to advance and engage the deadly spears of the Hoplites. His archers, however, eagerly advance to the edge of the Sacred Lemon Grove and discharge a hail of arrows towards the Hallitosian Psiloi defending the eastern approach to the temple... and the first casualty of the battle falls with an agonising scream, greeted by a chorus of clattering skeletal limbs from the scented trees of the Lemon Grove. Testakles is unable to resist the challenge laid down by Verdigris and sends his Hoplites forward to meet the advancing skeleton warband, leaving the Temple to be defended by Domestos and his lightly armoured skirmishers. Will his impetuosity bring ruin to the Hallitosian cause and condemn his compatriots to another ignominious defeat?
On the western side of the Temple, Heinos sends his warriors and blood thirsty Zealots through the boulders towards Domestos, whose Peltasts manoeuvre to get into a position to hurl a shower of javelins towards the advancing throng. Sensing a blood letting ahead of them, the undead surge forward... The Peltasts, however, determine to take the battle to the enemy and move forward to hurl yet more javelins, causing little damage and exhausting themselves as they scurry back to the cover of the Temple. The ill considered advance from the Peltasts leaves them exposed when the Zealots launch a devastating attack... In a vicious encounter, half of the Peltast unit is wiped out by the fearsome Zealots, although the fanatical warriors suffer equally from the javelins of the Hallitosians. The Peltasts are pushed back into the testing confines of the Temple, giving them little space to fight effectively. On the opposite side of the battlefield, Testakles continues to drive his Hoplites forward and away from the Temple. He forms up the spearmen into close order and then joins their serried ranks as they prepare to engage the enemy. The living and the dead launch themselves heedlessly into the combat and casualties are suffered on both sides... and the colossal clash sees the Hallitosian Hoplites driven back. Both Testakles and Verdigris take stock of the situation and the two warrior groups stand fast weighing up their opposition. As the stalemate continues to the east, the finale of the battle begins to take shape to the west. Heinos launches every available warrior towards Domestos and his remaining Peltasts in the Temple in a final desperate bid to rescue the High Priestess from her confinement. As the skeleton warriors fall in huge numbers under the javelins of the Peltasts, it appears that the day is lost to "The Defeated", however, the remaining Zealots summon up one last effort and drive their way into the Temple, forcing their opponents headlong before them. As Domestos stands and watches in disbelief, the Peltasts crumble before the fanatical Zealots and are slaughtered to a man, leaving the Zealots to snatch the High Priestess from her place of hiding... Before the remaining Peltasts can react, the Zealots whisk the High Priestess away from the Temple and a very unlikely victory has been snatched from the jaws of defeat. Even though the field of battle is littered with the bones of the Horde of Hades, the rescue of Amonia gives an unexpected last minute victory to Heinos the Necromancer. Both sides will need to retire to lick their wounds and Testakles will, no doubt, receive some criticism for allowing his Hoplites to be enticed away from the Temple, where they would certainly have turned the battle decidedly in the favour of the Hallitosians.
