tactics
spell choice
These spells are worth considering:
summon elves - the range to rid the level of
judgement - there are many pockets of chaos troops
bury - a cheaper alternative
heal - to keep the dwarves healthy
totem of pacifism - to slow the dwarves down
summon knight,
centaur or
minotaur - to escort the dwarves
protect the dwarves
You cannot open the dwarves treasure (5).
At least one of them must survive and make it to the treasure room for you to get the treasures.
The dwarves are not under your control and will move through the mines on their own
so you cannot take time to build up an army on this level.
You must stay a little ahead of the dwarves and clear out the enemy.
After a brief false start to the south,
they will head north and then east across the top of the map.
Then they will move south to the treasure room in the far SE corner (5).
Occassionally they pause giving you an opportunity to clear out the next area.
These AI dwarves are even stupider than anything you've met so far.
It's a good job they've got a reward worth escorting them for,
otherwise I'd slaughter them myself!
delaying the dwarves
Ideally, it would be good to stop the dwarves moving, while you went on ahead and cleared the way.
This can be achieved with a number of number of
totem of pacifism
to block their way.
After they head south, place a number of these to the north.
Not only will they block the path, but they will stop enemies from attacking the dwarves in the meantime.
clearing the way
If the dwarves are on the move however, you'll have to be really quick.
Destroy pockets of chaos troops with
bury
or
judgement
However, the dwarves will pass near a few
totems of guarding
(2)(3)(4)
that will make short work of them. These guardians are the real threat on this level.
Make sure you engage them before they can attack the dwarves.
Orgon is very effective for this as he can stand up to the guardians attacks.
Elves can also attack the guardians from long range without taking any damage.
Where there are a couple of guardians near each other,
you may need to use minotaurs/centaurs to take on the second one before a dwarf gets engaged with it.
Claim PoPs as you pass nearby and use minotaurs/centaurs/knights to guard them.
beware of regeneration
The undead will regenerate so be careful of getting too far ahead of the dwarves.
If you have enough mana, you could also use minotaurs/centaurs/knights to guard them.
finishing up
When you and at least one dwarf are in the treasure room you can open the chest to get a talisman, silver and zircon.
The dwarves will then head on out of the mine.
There' no need to escort them out.
Even if they die, there'll be no penalty. Good ridance - they we're really stupid!
This also opens the exit port in the same room.
Before exiting you may want to have Aurax clear out the remainder of the mines to pick up a few additional items.
This is easily done using bury to eliminate enemies.
