Aerlin, Wizard of the Cresecent Moon and apprentice to Mentor; leaned against the bar and watched his companions. Barco the Dwarf was working up to the big face-off with Wardoz in his story. The people in the inn were wrapped around his little finger. Lin Min-May and Rosemary were eager to pipe in side comments here and there. The people of the Kingdom knew that Zargon and the forces of Dread were on the march. Aerlin knew this tale told from the member's of Hope Reborn would lift their spirits. All was not lost, for the King, his knights, and Mentor's heroes were still battling back against the darkness.
The bartender slid Aerlin his own piping hot cup of tea as a man in a worn travelling cloak entered the inn. He scanned the room before setting eyes on Aerlin. He approached, a look of fear in his eyes. The man quickly shared a tale of woe to the Wizard. His family had been abducted by the forces of Dread, and only Hope Reborn could save them. He knew a nearby dungeon ruin where they had been taken too, and he begged Aerlin for help.
Now was a chance to lift the spirits of these downtrodden folks once more and Aerlin took it. He gathered up his companions and they set off with the man leading the way. Sure enough, he led them to an overgrown ruin from a time long ago, the ancient carvings of where or what this place had been had long ago worn away. Only some moss covered stone and a stairway leading into the earth remained.
Hope Reborn lit torches and descended into the dungeon, their guide still with them and bravely leading the way. Their guide led them deep into the dungeon perhaps an hour had passed. Lin Min-May and Barco exchanged looks as the dungeon went deeper and deeper, but Aerlin was not dissuaded.
Eventually, Hope Reborn came to a room with three doors. The guide turned to them and smiled wickedly, his face distorting into an unnatural rictus grin, "Good luck.... Heroes," he rasped. He snuffed out his torch with a wicked laugh and disappeared into the darkness. They had been led into a trap!
Welcome back to the Quest. We are on Quest 9. This will be Hope Reborn's third quest after the Fellowship of Destiny was shattered. You may recall that Hope Reborn is composed of Aerlin the sole-survivor from the original Fellowship, Rosemary the Fae-Druid, Lin Min-May the Monk from the Temple of the Way, and Barco Hamilcar of the Margonid line.
Barco had a Potion of Strength in reserve, and Rosemary had a Heroic Brew. Barco had a Helmet, Hand Axe and Shield to tank as needed. Aerlin was also well-equipped with Wizard gear such as the staff, cloak, and wand. Lin Min-May had recovered the Talisman of Lore from the Dread Wizard Wardoz. They were a fairly well-equipped group but so was the Fellowship when it was broken. Their biggest problem so far has seemed to be dealing damage quickly.
With that said, let's try to find and exit to the Maze Zargon's treachery had led our heroes!
The Guide's Trap
Hope Reborn immediately sprang into action. Barco opened the door nearest him and was faced by some greenskins waiting for him. Lin Min-May sprang into action, and quickly incapacitated them. The nest three rooms were a similar story as the Monk tore through Zargon's ambushers using all of her elemental abilities. It was only after the carnage and seeing no way out, that Rosemary realized that they must have entered the initial room via a secret door.
From there, the heroes made their way through a long hallway, an Ork sentry guarded a door and moved to block them. Once again, Barco was not able to fight past him quickly and bottled up everyone else.
Going through the doorway the orc guarded, Hope Reborn was shocked to find a blue-clad Dread Warrior! Once again, Lin Min-May leapt into the fray. Her elemental technique quickly took out the goblin guards, but the Warrior of Change was made of sterner stuff. Soon he was fighting off all of the heroes, avoiding blows and dishing them back out. However, eventually he fell when Lin Min May unleashed her Fire Elemental death beam on him.
Little did the Heroes know that this would not be the last Dread Warrior they would run into in this trap. They moved safely through a few rooms, using springboard tactics and careful to check for traps. They were getting room clearing down to a science, and after some initial bad treasure draws, avoiding tempting fate. No one else needed to find a hazard the hard way!
The adventurers mojo was thwarted by a room full of Abominations! First a Dread Warrior and then these huge fishmen! Rosemary shape-shifted into her wolf form, and Aerlin buffed himself with Rock skin. The Heroes did not plan on taking any guff! Their defenses were up to the task, and soon the Abominations were bested, again by Lin Min May's Elemental blast. I think she used all her techniques and meditated to re-load about four times in this dungeon! She was the star of the show, dishing out hits, tanking hits, and unleashing with her full power!
Hope Reborn made their way through the maze and found some loot. However, it was guarded by a Dread Warrior clothed in silken and purple robes who smelled of the sweetest incense. Once again, Lin Min-May went on the attack, but she coordinated with her peers to lure the mighty warrior into a trap. Aerlin used Tempest to stun the warrior momentarily, while Rosemary finished him off in her wolf form.
Barco managed to disarm the trapped chest, and inside Hope Reborn found a pearly liguid. Rosemary quickly identified it as an Elixir of Life! She careful stowed in away. This would literally be the difference between life and death! In addition, they netted 200 gold coins from the other chests! Maybe enough to get Barco something with more hitting power than his hand axe?
From there, the group was once again navigating winding hallways. A lone orc sentry again manage to hold up the escape as Barco was unable to best the mighty orc warrior.
From there, the Heroes opened a doorway full of goblins. The group performed a fighting retreat, funnelling their foes into the same hallway a single Orc had bottle them up in. Lin Min-May was the rear guard, fighting of the Goblin horde. Barco led the way and smashed his way past an Orc guard so the group could work around the Goblin bottle neck.
Daylight from the realms above beckoned as they Heroes tumbled through a door, with goblins in hot pursuit. Escape seemed imminent when an Abomination leapt from the shadows and tried to cut-off Lin Min-May's escape. However, she was too fast and skilled for it. She easily bested the beast with a mighty Fist of the Falling Avalanche that crushed its heart in its chest, killing the beast.
Hope Reborn managed to escape up the stairway, leaving the goblin horde howling below, sheltering from the noon day sun. Zargon's treachery had been foiled once more!
Conclusion
As Aerlin told the tale of their daring escape to Mentor, he could tell by the look on his master's face that he was not amused. A lengthy lecture about impulsiveness and not doing due diligence followed. Meanwhile, Rosemary studied the strange new alchemy she had discovered in the maze. It was unlikely that Zargon had intended them to walk out of there with such a find! As Barco boasted about the number of greenskins he had slain, Lin Min-May simply nodded with a wry smile. She knew that with out her, her old friend might still be lost in that maze.
Aerlin has about 100 Gold coins, but is well equipped with plenty of gear. Rosemary kept eh Elixir of Life, maintained her Heroic Brew, and has about 183 gold. Barco kept his potion of Strength with his 198 gold. Finally, the Monk has 133 gold and the Talisman of Lore. The group will have to consider pooling their resources to see if they can get a better weapon for Barco.
Final Thoughts
Hope Reborn seemed to steamroll this one. They were working like a well-oiled machine and were doing a good job complimenting each other. They came out mostly unscathed. Rosemary transformed into her wolf form and managed to stay in it the rest of the maze. Aerlin put Rock Skin up and never lost it. Lin Min-May also showed off what a great tank and frontliner the Monk could be! I even nerf them a bit by making them take no other action to recharge her abilities once there are no monsters on the board.
Rosemary did have to use Lifeforce to help Barco towards the end of the Quest. However, there was still plenty more healing left by the end. Not the deadliest Quest we have faced yet, and the monsters were not hitting as hard as previous adventures.
Well, we will keep in questing. Until next time all!
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