Valentine's Hunt to Hythloth

[Talpa Europaea]

Dear Diary,

Having chased the last member of the Yew Militia, none other than former Covian Tiberius, out of the Covian Shire, I returned back to the barracks to find Vince Valentine calling my comrades to line up in readiness for his hunt to the dungeon Hythloth.  It has been years since I travelled to the dungeon during my time in Tel'mar, so I decided I would participate.

A member of our group laid down a runebook, and we each spoke the strange incantation that brought us to the entrance of the dungeon.  Valentine gave us a swift debriefing and stressed the importance of remaining in a tight-knit formation and tending to eachother's wounds, before we set off into the darkness.



As soon as we were inside, we encountered some of the less threatening denizens of the dungeon; imps and hell hounds.  They charged at us from the shadows on all directions, but our numbers and formation meant that we had all sides covered and the creatures were taken down swiftly.  Some more curious members of our group were distracted briefly by a group of switches in the ground, and one of my comrades managed to get himself caught up in an abnormally large cobweb.





Nevertheless, we waited for those that were dawdling then continued on deeper into the dungeon, the air becoming increasingly warmer and sulphurous as we progressed.  The group were separated briefly when we stepped through a slab of teleporting stone, but we managed to reform just in time to slay a room full of gargoyles swooping down from the shadowed ceiling.



Letting out a few jubilant cries for Cove, we set off again and soon arrived at a mysterious corridor that I remembered from previous visits to this dungeon.  Beginning your journey on a pentagram, you could only reach the other end of the corridor by following a strict path.  Deviating from that path even slightly would teleport you back to the beginning.

Taking momentary control of the hunt, Grenadier Sergeant Arkay ordered us all to form a tracker's line behind him and follow him along the path he had obviously committed to memory.  It worked a treat, we made it along the corridor in one trip, with only one member having to attempt it a second time.



Safely across the mysterious corridor, Valentine once again took control of the party and we braced ourselves as we stood at the top of the flight of stairs leading down to the deepest level of the dungeon.  With an uncomfortable heat rising up from the darkness, and the thick stench of sulphur and brimstone bringing tears to our eyes, we were all aware of what foul creature was awaiting us below; a Balron.

Following Valentine's orders, we moved slowly and cautiously forward in formation, knocking gargoyles aside as they fell on us, until we came to the balron's lair.  The creature was not in the least amused at our trespassing and immediately charged at us with a flaming sword and cruel looking whip.  We tried to maintain the formation as long as we could but the enraged creature proved somewhat tough to handle. 

Knocking the front most members of our party aside with arcing swings of its huge arms, they were sent crashing into the stone walls of the dungeon and left unconscious on the floor.  Some of the group panicked and began fleeing the formation to try to circle around the beast but were instead chased by the creature.  In the ensuing chaos, those that had remained in formation helped the unconscious guardsmen who were quick to rejoin the fight.

With the balron distracted in pursuit of those that broke formation, the rest of the group hacked and slashed at it's exposed legs and back or fired arrows into its torso.  Within a few minutes the creature gave up the will to live and fell to the ground with a crash that made the bricks beneath our feet shudder.



Most of the group were bruised and bloody, so Valentine decided that with the greatest beast in the dungeon felled we should return to the Covian barracks and count the loot. 

We each received 2,000 crowns and roughly 8,000 crowns were added to the militia coffers.

*Signed*
                 Talpa Europaea


Those in attendance:
Talpa Europaea
Fabien
Kiran
Judas Deibeau
Vince Valentine
Drachir
Olchafa Serpernt
Erik Arkay

(Think that was everyone, apologies to anyone I have forgotten)

[Erik Arkay/Evinyatar]

As usual, grand report!

[Vince Valentine]

Yarrr! Excellent report,  we showed tha' Ugly sod Balron eh?