I really don't understand the dispute over taking the Griffin Conservatory? Even I had minimal losses. Personally, I was more interested in 111.

How, on such a tiny patch of land, can you gather enough gold for 7 heroes? And still have almost 2 thousand left over. There's just no beginning at all...

Well, there's no need to look for a catch here. A start with 10k gold, 840 for buying out spearmen, 1k for building archers without buying them out, 15k for 6 heroes + 1960 left over. 500 gold taken from a Mystical Garden, 500 from a Windmill, totaling the need to collect an additional 15,000 + 1,000 + 840 + 1960 - 500 - 500 - 10,000 = 7800 gold, and that's just, for example, one max treasure chest, one chest for 2k, 3 piles of gold of 800 each, and one of 900. Yes, it's significant, but such things do happen. Moreover, judging by the lack of movement points for Rion and the fact that he explored the lower area quite poorly, it can be assumed that he had just collected some of the presumed goodies.