Lady Montbarron is one of the most famous heroes of Ehb, and the canon representation of the player character in the original Dungeon Siege. Originally born into a family of farmers not far west of Stonebridge, she was forced to take up arms against the Krug who were carving a bloody path of destruction through the farmlands and Stonebridge.
Her first name is never officially confirmed in any game, but according to the image file names in the Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition Bonus disc, Lady Montbarron's real name is Eva, the same artwork who depicts the farm girl is found on another folder named Eva Portraits, all the artworks within the folder depict a woman with red hair, green eyes, and either a sword or a flaming sword, just like she is featured on the Dungeon Siege cover art, also one of the artworks found on the folder is the one used on the Broken World cover art.
Besides that you can actually look within the game files and you'll see Lady Montbarron's npc model in it, and she's wearing the same outfit of the Dungeon Siege II cover art.
Lady Montbarron npc model found on the Dungeon Siege II game files.
History
Origins
Lady Montbarron was born into a poor farmers family some time between the year 1120 and 1125. (Which makes her roughly twenty to twenty four by the time of the events in Dungeon Siege). She spent all her life tending to her farm deep in the farmlands, away from any problems and events that affected Ehb. The extent of her exploration of Ehb would probably have been limited to supplies of food to Stonebridge.
In 1144, Montbarron was busy tending her crops when her close friend Norick, staggers across the bridge that seperate's their farms. Montbarron runs over to help him, only for Norick to die in front of her.
Journey to Stonebridge
The farmlands
Gathering up the meager supplies that she has, Montbarron prepared for the long journey to stonebridge. With only her knife in hand, Montbarron proceed down the long path, fighting the individual Krug that charged her.
Eventually, Farm Skrubb started to block her way. Fortunately, she had experience dealing with them as they were a common menace on her own farm.
While travelling the beaten path, Montbarron discovered several bodies of dead farmers, slain by the Krug who paraded around them like it was a great achievement. Montbarron wasted no effort in killing the murderers of her dead friends.
After a while, she came to a bridge where she was supposed to cross a large valley to continue to stonebridge. A lone farmer stood at the edge of the cliff, gazing down at the water. The bridge had been burned down.
Realising that her only way to get to Stonebridge was indead through the old crypt, Montbarron bit her lip and gripped her weapon tighter, walking off into the dark forest.
The Crypt of the Sacred Blood
More Krug prevented her from continuing, but she continued to dispatch them with increasing ease. Not long afterwards, she encountered living skeletons outside the crypt who approached her with intent to kill. She quickly slew them one by one and walked down into the old crypt, bats flying up, disturbed by her approach.
The journey through the crypt was quite difficult but not long. More skeletons plagued her path and gargoyles flew from the wall, attacking her.
Eventually, she came across a Krug Shaman, which explained how the skeletons had been risen from the dead. After slaying him, the number of skeletons dramatically decreased and she continued through the crypt. Shortly afterwards, she came across a Ruby Gargoyle, the guardian of the crypt. It presented a considerable problem for her. However her refusal to give up for the sake of Norick kept her alive. When the Ruby Gargoyle was smashed, two doors opened up.
Several Krug Scouts rushed in to attack her. However the journey through the crypt had given Montbarron the experience she needed to take on multiple foes. After travelling through the doors at which she came, she discovered a young woman who's hands and feet were tightly bound.
Montbarron offered to let Ulora join her on her quest to Stonebridge. Ulora gratefully accepted, glad to be able to fight back against the Krug who had held her prisoner for so long. Montbarron gave her a bow that she had been carrying and they continued up out of crypt.
Stonebridge
A party of Krug had taken up residence just outside a legion tower, the guards laying dead on the ground. Montbarron and Ulora dispatched them with minor ease and they continued towards Stonebridge. They eventually reached the blackened gates and walked inside, tired from the days journey. The legions guarding the gate happily let them inside, surprised to see that two people had survived outside the village walls.
Montbarron soon found Gyorn and delivered the report on the farmlands, as well as the fate that had befallen Norick. However Gyorn did not have any positive news either.
Gyorn was right, Stonebridge had been almost completely razed to the ground, most of the houses had been burned to cinders and what was still standing was quite unstable. After seeing how well Montbarron had fared going through the crypts, he asked her to continue onto Glacern and inform the Overseer, Ibsen Yamas, of the state of Western Ehb and if possible, permission for him to join her on the journey.
Montbarron gladly accepted his help. Gyorn showed her to the smithy where the party eagerly stocked up on stronger weapons and armour.
Before leaving Stonebridge, three more characters joined Montbarron's party. Zed, a nature magic sorcerer, Naidi the archer and Rusk, a drunken swordsman who had slept through all the fighting in Stonebridge the previous night.
Wesrin Cross
Montbarron's party left Stonebridge and headed towards Glitterdelve Mine, the route that would take them up the mountain to Glacern. However they soon discovered that the gate guarding Glitterdelve was damaged and jammed shut by the assault of a party of Krug. Determined to get through, she decided to venture into the Wesrin Cross, a place once home to an army of seck who bred destructive spiders and Mucosa. She met a frightened man called Illandro outside, who said that after he and his party fled Glitterdelve during the Krug attack, they went through the Wesrin Cross and that he was the only survivor.
Undetered by Illandro's warnings, Montbarron led her party into the depths of the Wesrin Cross. It was not long before her party was beset by many mucosa, spiders of all sizes and more skeletons. Skeleton Archers also slowed their progress yet in each battle she and her party gained victory.
Eventually, Montbarron reached the other side of the Wesrin Cross and their final battle meant killing a Giant Spider who had taken up residence inside a small hallway. After a lengthly battle, the spider was defeated and Montbarron and her party emerged from the depths of the Wesrin Cross. Although many spiders had been slain, it was likely that Seck Magic would continue to attract more spiders, thus infesting it once again.
The party came to the other end of the Glitterdelve gate, an explosive barrell had already been placed by someone in order to open the door by clearing debris. Montbarron set it off, blowing the debris away and allowing the massive door to open. On the other side, she was greeted by the Guard Captain of Stonebridge as well as a few legionaires who had a few dead Krug surrounding them.
The Guard Captain thanked Montbarron for her help and she continued to the Glitterdelve Mines.
Glitterdelve Mines
Unfortunately, when Montbarron and her party arrived at the town of Glitterdelve, they found it to be empty. Before they could explore further, several dwarves came running out of the mine. Krug Scouts were following them. The dwarves stopped to fight, but many more Krug came running out of the buildings to fight them. Before Montbarron could do anything, they were overwhelmed and died. Suddenly, another dwarf ran out of the building and slaughtered the remaining Krug.
He introduced himself as Gloern, a veteran fighting dwarf. He explained how the Krug had taken over the the Glitterdelve mines and all the magical items that the Krug were stealing were going to someone called Commander Gresh. This was the first time that Montbarron knew about why the Krug were so riled up. If someone called Commander Gresh, then she would make it her goal to defeat him. Montbarron also welcomed the aid of Gloern, who joined her party as she entered the mines.
Gloern was correct, the mines were overrun with Krug. However it seemed that the lack of Dwarves had allowed other creatures to return to the mines. Rock beasts, Mineworms, Darklings and various other creatures had come out of hiding to infest the mines. Eventually, a dwarf called Torg was located and he thanked Montbarron for clearing the mines. Although he was keen to go with her, he instead asked her to report what had happened here in the mines while he got all the other dwarves back to work. Montbarron left the mines and headed into the mountains with second message for the Overseer.
Glacern
- "If you want to make yourself useful, go reinforce the men at Fortress Kroth. Just follow your nose through the ice caves and you'll get there soon enough"
- ―Ibsen Yamas
The journey to Glacern was not a difficult one. Interestingly, Montbarron noticed that there were no more Krug to prevent their journey. However they had been replaced by packs of hungry wolves and Klaws, vicious creatures with large claws on their arms and legs.
She finally reached the gate to Glacern. The two legionnaires standing guard found it to be very surprising to see a party come out of the fog, and even more surprising that wolves had attacked such a well armed group.
Montbarron found the Overseer of Glacern, Ibsen Yamas inside the local town tavern. Although he listened to her report, he was more interested in reinforcing western Ehb.
A dwarven mage named Lorun was sitting idly by in the Tavern after coming from Fortress Kroth. He recognised the strength that Montbarron had and her will to continue on. He asked if she wanted a guide to the fortress and she happily accepted his company. Ibsen Yamas had also told her to go find the Grand Mage Merik who was apparently stuck in the ice caves.
The Search for Merik
From what Montbarron knew, all the problems had started when Merik went missing. The easiest way to find out what happened was to find him.
The journey back into the snow was not a difficult one. She and her party were becoming acustomed to the harsh weather quickly. If anything, entering the ice caves was the worrying part. On several occasions she and her party were ambushed by hordes of Ice Warriors and Ice Archers. However she soon discovered that they were being summoned by Ice Mages and killing them quickly dealt with the magical beings.
After a difficult trek, she eventually came to an unusual icy spire inside the caverns that was surrounded by unusual crystals. To her considerable surprise when she got closer, she found the Grand Mage Merik, frozen in the middle! Unsure as to how get him out without harming him, Lorun fired off a magic spell to destroy the icy prison. Merik was free.
Merik introduced himself and revealed to Montbarron that he had been trapped in there for nearly a month. He had lost his great staff which would be very bad if they did not locate it soon. He asked if he could go with Montbarorn to find it. She agreed that their skills would best work together.
By now, Montbarrons party consisted of nine members, herself included: Ulora, Gyorn, Rusk, Zed, Naidi, Gloern, Lorun and Merik. A further five members would soon join.
The Crystal Caves
The journey through the Crystal Caves was not a long one. After a brief rest at Jeriahs Trading Post, Montbarron and her party continued on to the dark forest by way of the Crystal Caverns. She had been warned by the Guard Captain of Glacern that the withdrawal of Legion patrols had allowed fearsome creatures to return to the depts. Nevertheless, Montbarron kept going through the many large groups of fearsome Trog as well as the crystal shard creatures that attacked. In an old temple within the caves, they also found a Fury's eye, a sign of things to come.
The Warding Staff
The Travellers Camp and the Forest
Shortly after exiting the Crystal Caves, Montbarron and her party reached a small campsite inhabited by Lescanzi who called themselves the Travellers. The name fitted since they travelled around Aranna selling their wares. After refitting the party, one of the travellers told them how one of their kin, Sikra, had been kidnapped by bandits and sold. Montbarron told them that she would do her best to save her.
The Travellers were correct about the bandits. The remainder of the forest was filled with bandits who eagerly sought battle with Montbarron and her party. After a fierce battle inside a cave, the Bandit Boss was dead, never to trouble the Travellers anymore.
The Eastern Swamp
Arriving at the Eastern Swamp, Montbarron found a nearly dead Azunite Scholar lying at the edge of the water. As his last request, he asked Montbarron to journey into the swamp and expunge the Azunite Temple which had been overrun by the undead and various other swamp beasts. The scholar gave Montbarron an amulet which would help her. After purging the temple of the undead, Montbarron continued on and discovered the entrance to the Goblin Warrens.
The Goblin Warrens
Moving into the Goblin Warrens, Montbarron was mercilessly ambushed by many Goblins and their foul magical automatons, the gobbits and the goblin vehicles - all of which were designed to inflict heavy damage. Battling through the carnage, her party discovered just how large a home the goblins had, and just how much they hated intruders. After slaughtering a large number of their kin, Montbarron encountered Gonsiir, the goblin who had stolen Merik's Staff of Stars. Gonsiir unleashed a massive automaton on them, the Goblin Robo Suit, claiming that they would be no match for it's power. However through determination and strength of arms, Montbarron managed to destroy the automaton by smashing each of it's limbs and striking it's then weaken'd chest. Gonsiir was not deterred by this, saying that humans and an ancient evil would soon fight, letting the goblins steal what was left after they had killed each other.
- "Goblins Laugh! Goblins Watch! Goblins take whats left!"
- ―Gonsiir, after his defeat.
Eastern Temple
Exiting the Goblin Warrens through a back door exit, Montbarron and her party stumbled upon two nearly dead 10th legionnaires, who told Montbarron that Commander Gresh was sieging Fortress Kroth. They had been sent by the fortress commander to Glacern to request reinforcements and decided to take shortcut through an old temple. Unfortunately, they were overrun by one of Gresh's spawn, a Fury, which nearly destroyed their detachment. Montbarron travelled to the Temple through the forest and stopped off at Bonepickers Post for some much needed supplies. Then she travelled to the ancient temple in the mountains and slew the Gresh's pet demon.
An Ancient Evil
Fortress Kroth
Leaving the caverns that once held a temple, Montbarron stumbled upon Boryev, a traveller who had left to rescue Sikra. He was adamant that Sikra was being held inside Fortress Kroth and that the legionnaires refused to let him in. Montbarron continued on to Fortress Kroth and was stopped by Gresh, the leader of the undead who were sieging the fortress. Gresh welcomed the fight that Montbarron and her party would bring, as he had grown tired of the cowardice of the legionnaires inside the fortress.
Gresh rose up great spikes of rock from the ground to prevent Montbarrons escape. This was going to be a difficult battle for Montbarron, as for every skeleton she and her party destroyed, another one rose up from the pile of dead bodies that Gresh stood upon. The battle was, in essence, unequal. While Gresh looked like he was alone, the moment he began his assault, a number of Skeleton Rangers rose up from the ground to assist him.
Regardless, Montbarron was triumphant, plunging her sword through Gresh's chest, killing him and his undead minions as well. She and her party had taken heavy damage and were wounded badly. Upon entering Fortress Kroth, they were welcomed by shocked stares and cheering. A legionnaire commented that they would have only been able to hold out for another day or so.
After talking with Commander Tarish, Montbarron finally learned who was creating all the problems across Ehb - The Seck, a race of evil beings that everyone thought had died out centuries ago. Tarish also told Montbarron that a young girl had been dragged through by the attacking Droog and pulled into the Hall Of Skulls. A detachment had been sent to scout the caves, but were overdue to report back.
The Hall of Skulls
Entering into the old caves, Montbarron travelled quickly to the Hall Of Skulls, in the hopes of finally rescuing Sikra. The journey was uneventful, aside from the ambush outside the entrance by a number of Droog Guards. They bore no peaceful tidings to Montbarron and her party. After finishing them off, Montbarron entered the Hall and began her fight through the numerous guards inside, only to come across possessed skulls of the dead. After a considerable fight, Montbarron entered the main chamber, only to be surrounded on all sides.
Fighting and then defeating each of the large magical skulls, Montbarron freed Sikra, who eagerly joined her party as a strong combat magician. Sikra explained that she had been captured and the Droog were ordered to keep her here, though even they did not know why.
The Cliffs of Fire
Leaving the confines of the caverns, Montbarron continued south to the Cliffs of Fire to confront the Droog and if neccecary, subdue them. The Droog, however, were already prepared for her and set up a large number of ambushes along the road, as well as stirring up the local wildlife in the general hopes of stopping her. Montbarron emerged victorious in all the battles and eventually reached the Cliffs of Fire, the home of the Droog.
As soon as Montbarron entered the village, the Droog gave in, seeing that since she had fought all the way here, there was no chance of stopping her now. Montbarron approached the village leader, Nonatanya, who immediately called for a cease fire and then resigned.
Nonataya explained to Montbarron at the reason her kind had attacked the 10th Legion was due to the remergence of the Seck. A generation of Droog had gone by and their new warriors were unable to match the strength of the Seck, as such, rather than facing complete extinction, they gave in and served the Seck who instructed them to begin their war against the 10th Legion and the inhabitants of Ehb. Nonataya told Montbarron to head to Castle Ehb, the bastion of Ehb which the Seck already had control of.
When Montbarron left the Cliffs of Fire, she encountered a Droog by the name of Goquua, who had barely survived a battle with a green drake. He pleaded for Montbarron to slay the old dragon Scorch, despite his significance in their traditions. The Seck had stirred up the dragons, who then attacked the Droog. The Seck told the Droog that it was the fault of the humans, who had allegedly harboured a great hatred for the Droog. Goquua believed that the only way to keep his home safe was for Scorch to be killed before the Seck could release him.
The Battle of Scorch
Undoubtably one of the most significant battles that Montbarron had before the end of her quest. Her fight with Scorch was long and difficult. The ancient dragon was well accustomed to his home and used muscle and fire against her. Scorch's scales proved too difficult to break through in order for Montbarron to strike flesh, her only option then was to break the supports that held up Scorch's throne. Unprepared for this, Scorch sank down into the chasm that he lived upon and was killed by the impact. The battle was incredibly difficult and Montbarron suffered severe bloodloss and would definately have died if not for the combined healing powers of Zed and Merik.
However, fueled by the knowledge that she had saved the Droog, Montbarron pressed on to Castle Ehb.
Castle Ehb
- "We live on borrowed time, so you must listen well and act quickly if we are to survive"
- ―King Konreid
Entering the surrounding farmlands of Castle Ehb, Montbarron was shocked to discover a large contingent of the undead, she had been expecting a warmer welcome. Eventually, she found a survivor, Lord Bolingar, who explained that the castle was overrun and the Seck had come up from below, though he did not know how. King Konreid was still alive last he knew and he hoped that the King had escaped rather than be captured.
Alongside her comrades, Montbarron forced her way through Castle Ehb, engaging the Seck Army for the first time. Montbarron finally discovered King Konreid imprisoned within his own dungeons. The King explained how the 10th Legion entombed Commander Gom with the remnants of his Seck Army three hundred years ago in the Vault of Eternity, but with the Wards provided by Merik's Warding Staff gone, they were free to escape and ravage Ehb again. He entrusted the Star Key to Montbarron, ging her permission to unlock the Chamber Of Stars and subsequently save the Imperial Relics within. The King then charged Lady Montbarron with vanquishing the remaining Seck before they could escape.
Dungeon Siege
Story depicting Lady Montbarron's actions
Resuming the fight, Montbarron and her party engaged the Seck and their beasts and their risen undead. Montbarron found the place where they had blasted through from the Vault and charged inwards, defeating the Seck as they rose up against her. Finding a great elevator, Montbarron descended to Goms chambers.
Gom belittled Montbarron about how weak she appeared, laughing at how this was the best the kingdom had to send against him. Rising from his throne, Gom engaged against Montbarron and her entire party at once, causing considerable amounts of damage. Gom could have potentially wiped out the party there if it wasn't for the actions of Montbarron's Nature Mages.
Gom was defeated with surprising ease, falling to the ground in front of his throne. However, this was but a ruse. Gom rose, reborn as a great hovering demon. The battle was resumed, with Goms power rising as he summoned elemental demons to his side.
Despite extreme difficulty, Montbarron managed to strip Gom of his corporeal form and finally defeat the elemental demon that he had become. With a final push, Gom was extinguished from the realm, completing what the 10th should have done long ago.
Reconstruction
Leaving the Vault, Montbarron assisted in the rebuilding of the kingdom. King Konreid granted her the title of Lady Montbarron, and gave her a new home and land north of the Eastern Forest, though he personally admitted that it was pittance in comparison to the acts she had accomplished in saving the kingdom.
She briefly returned home to finally give Norick the burial that he deserved before leaving the farmlands for good.
In 1154, the goblins approached King Konreid. Lady Montbarron had so decimated their numbers in the Eastern Swamps that they were on the brink of collapse as a society and their leader, the Goblin Inventor had disappeared. For the first time in history, the goblins requested help. With advice and approval from Lady Montbarron, King Konreid signed the Goblin Treaties. The Goblins would become equal citizens of Ehb, but as such they would be required to follow the same laws. Merik was outraged at this, believing that he had been betrayed by Ehb after what the Goblins had done to him. Unable to change their views, Merik stepped down as the Grand Mage of the 10th Legion with Zed taking his place.
Later Life
Lady Montbarron's Tomb
With the rebuilding of the Kingdom largely underway, Lady Montbarron finally settled down peacefully in her new estate. However she would always remain an inestimable member of Konreids court. She eventually married and had a son, Wilhelm, who, in turn, is Hugh Montbarron's grandfather[1].
Lady Montbarron eventually passed away in 1192 and was entombed in the Heroes Crypt, the place where soldiers, priests and commoners who died in battles during the Seck Resurgence were buried, her companions who had passed beforehand were also moved to be buried with her.[2]
Trivia
- Lady Montbarron's party totaled fifteen members, including herself. In the game, you are limited to a maximum of eight members including your starting character. The only character who did not join her quest was Andiemus.
- Lady Montbarron never bought a packmule.
- Cannonically speaking, Montbarron is female and wields a sword however the player is free to choose whatever gender they want and whatever weapon they want, melee, ranged, nature magic and/or combat magic in Dungeon Siege.
- It is unknown who Lady Montbarron married in order to give birth to her son, Wilhelm. It cannot be Lord Bolingar because Wilhelm united the family line when he took Lord Bolingars daughter as his wife[1].
- Ulora was Lady Montbarrons first companion and closest friend.
- The flaming sword in Lady Montbarron's portrait is not available to get in the Kingdom of Ehb or the Utraean Peninsula. However creating a map allows you to place it as it was regarded as a weapon for testing weapon emitters (Testing a flame emitting from the sword).
- Her first name is never officially confirmed in any game, but according to the image file names in the Dungeon Siege II: Deluxe Edition Bonus disc, Lady Montbarron's real name is Eva, the same artwork who depicts the farm girl is found on another folder named Eva Portraits, all the artworks within the folder depict a woman with red hair, green eyes, and either a sword or a flaming sword, just like she is featured on the Dungeon Siege cover art, also one of the artworks found on the folder is the one used on the Broken World cover art.
- Though her name during the development of Dungeon Siege, appears to have been Lysana.[3]
Gallery
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Book "The House of Montbarron".
- ↑ Book "The Heroes' Crypt: Part I".
- ↑ [[1]]