Heroes of Ashan: Antares

I tried playing on Veteran difficulty. I enjoyed it (despite the faction I dislike). At first, I got a little stuck – I thought Rutger was in the prison on the island. I gathered my strength, fought him off, and was surprised (by how the prison changes people!). I sailed on. I landed wherever possible, searching for the mythical yellow tent; since the border guard can look like a pile of rubble, the tent could be anything. I reached the demons, but I couldn't defeat them all at once (three armies, difficulties: high, medium, medium, Deleb, Grog, Nibros, and some smaller units). I defeated two of them, opened a path, and with reinforcements, I finished off the remaining ones. By the way, Grog had already returned with a more substantial army. The losses were significant. I didn't have time to find the Tear, I defeated Hafiz (lost 7 archangels), and then... Orlando. It's the middle of the 4th month, and my army consists of 400 archers, 160 monks, and 30 angels. The game has reached a dead end.
Is it normal for this overconfident guy to make such a timely visit?
Are there any "Bonds of War" on the map (with them, I could minimize the losses and possibly counter Orlando)?