23rd of May, EveningLed by: -Zoie Hayden, Watchman
Attended by:-Perrin, Watchman
-Gillain Forban, Guardsman Recruit
-Mercy, Guardsman Recruit
When I made the initial call for a hunt, we had two Dragoons in addition to the people listed above. But they had pressing business punishing some naughty heirs who apparantly defaced the Dragoon Tower, so we decided to go somewhere easier; Despise.
Recruit Mercy gated us to the entrance of the dungeon and we charged in full of zeal looking to fill our pouches with riches. We encountered very little resistance to our presence there at first and the Ettins fell like flies. We even killed so many, I was inadvertantly buried beneath 3 or 4 corpses and if it hadn't been for strong arms pulling me free, I may have suffocated under the pungant stench!
We pressed on, venturing ever deeper, and the further in we went, the more resistance we came across. It all came to a head when we reached a large open cave with tunnels exiting it in all directions.
As soon as we stepped into the cave, we came under attack by 20 or so Ettins and living rocks! Dispatching them all with some difficulty, I ordered that we recover and hold the cave junction for a time to secure it. But the monsters kept straggling in attacking us with blind fervour as if they were trying to keep us trapped in the cave and away from something ahead. We must have fought continuously for 10 or 15 minutes when I noticed that we had lost sight of Perrin and Mercy. Suddenly Recruit Gillain and I were alone to hold the cave wondering where our companions had gone.
Knowing my companions well, I stubbornly demanded that we remain in the cave and hold it as best we could until they came back. I knew if Perrin was seperated from us, he would make his way back outside, and Mercy would go back to the last location we were all together. So, knowing that, we waited for Mercy to find her way back. After a tense time, she finally emerged from one of the tunnels and after I yelled at her for making us all worried, we decided to head out.
Trying to leave the dungeon was a lot harder than coming in. It was almost as if they allowed us to come in, then sprang a trap. Tunnels we'd never seen on the way in suddenly opened and Ettins poured out of them. Simple rocks suddenly sprang to life and blocked our path! We all fought valiantly and ran as fast as we could out of the dungeon and into the waning sunlight where it was safe.
As I thought, we met Perrin outside and all made our way back to Cove to sort the pile of gold we had accumulated. I made sure to set aside 5000 crowns to put into the Baron's coffers, and we split the rest. I then dismissed the group on a job well done!
I will be leading another hunt to Despise in the future to plunge as deep into the dungeon as we can to find out exactly what the Ettins down there are hiding; and why they guard it so vehemently...
*Signed*
Zoie Hayden
Watchman
Author