At the beginning of the game, the hero and his four close friends come ashore at Ardea and then quickly part their ways to be scattered across the whole continent. But what about the other companions who were aboard the Esmeralda with them? Only Lares offers some explanation about how he ended up in Geldern. But how Lee ended up in Nordmar, what brought Angar to Mora Sul and why the Assassins are holding Vatras captive in Lago is left unanswered.
Not anymore. These are the stories they will tell you when you meet them:
Lee: After the pirates had captured the Esmeralda, they set sail to Lago to sell their prisoners there. Lee was among them, but the former general quickly managed to escape as his guard was completely stoned. He went north and crossed the pass to Myrtana. There he first heard of the barrier around Vengard and started to search for a teleport stone into the capital. Like in the original game he met Gorn somewhere near Montera and convinced his old friend to help him. Gorn tried to obtain the stone from Gotha, while Lee, who didn’t want to take any risks, travelled to Nordmar as he hoped that he might find the stone in the monastery. But he was disappointed there, and out of fear that one of the mages might recognize him he quickly left again. As always, the hero meets him at the fire clan, where Lee has met an old friend…
Angar: Angar, too, was sold to the Assassins, but unlike Lee wasn’t able to flee. Nobody in Lago could use him, so he was sold to a caravan and ended up in the slave market of Mora Sul, where the arena bought him to be another gladiator. Soon it became obvious that Angar’s skill in battle surmounted that of any other fighter the arena had to offer, so he became Champion and, as a reward for his victories, was granted freedom. Now he continues his career as a free man in order to earn some money.
Vatras: Just like the others Vatras was sold to Lago. As a water mage and therefore an enemy of the Assassins, he was not enslaved, but rather locked away and questioned many times. Fabio defends his captivity in a village like Lago with the excuse that a transport to Ishtar or Mora Sul might be attacked by nomads. Of course, Fabio’s tendency to give himself airs might also play a role…
You are going to hear these stories like that in the game. They are likely and everyone could have figured them out. But the fact that the player had to figure things like these out for himself is one of Gothic 3‘s big problems that we are tackling.
Before the question arises: of course more of the hero’s old companions who were forgotten in Gothic 3 will be in the game. Each of them will be able to give a plausible explanation for why he is at the place you will be meeting him. But we are not going to tell their stories here, as we don’t want to give away where in the wide world of Gothic 3 you will cross their way.