Keep on questing heroes! The Fellowship of Destiny; Allathura of the Green, Hamilcar Margos, Aerlin the Wizard, and Neo-wulf are back on the Quest. Last time, they managed to defeat the Orc warlord Ulag and retrieve Prince Magnus' gold from the bandit Gulthor. It was a tough fight with many wounds and scars taken. However, everyone made it through alive... if only just barely!
In fact, the warriors managed to get enough gold for Allathura to buy a shield and Neo-wulf a Helmet to boost their defenses. Hamilcar was all ready kitted out like a tank, so he was good. In addition, Neo-wulf had found a Potion of Strength, and Allathura was packing a Potion of Healing after the two quests. Not a bad round of goodies!
Today, Mentor approaches the heroes with dire news. Loretome has alerted Mentor to the fact that Zargon's forces have been searching Melar's Maze in an effort to locate the Talisman of Lore. This precious artifact can not be allowed to fall into the wrong hands. He has put his faith and trust in the Fellowship of Destiny to retrieve it and return it to his safe keeping. With that, the Fellowship take up their arms and make their way to the entrance of the dreaded Maze. They descend into the dungeon, prepared to face Zargon's troops once more.
The Maze of Melar
Immediately, they realize that it is not just the forces of Zargon they will encounter in the Maze. The Maze itself is protected by the undead minions of Melar too! The Fellowship spy a Mummy down a distant corridor, and opt to avoid it by going the other way!
However, they soon run into Zargon's search party as a group of Orcs was found rummaging through Melar's study! They set upon the Fellowship, but are soon dispatched. Allathura led the charge and took the brunt of the fighting. Neo-wulf and Aerlin tried to use their staves for some diagonal attacks, but it was ultimately cold steel that won the day.
The group continued, and Allathura was reminded about the dangers of traps the hard way. She stumbled into a pit trap. As she climbed out, the Mummy they had been avoiding set upon the party! However, Aerlin made short work of it with a Ball of Fire. Mummies and fire do not mix.
Hamilcar detected a trap in a long corridor and moved to disarm it. However, he foolishly triggered it instead blocking the corridor and injuring himself badly in the process! Woops. The Fellowship was forced to go another route.
They stumbled upon a room with a stone gargoyle statue, but were suspicious of it. They endeavored to try to find a way around it and split up to cover more ground.
Hamilcar and Allathura went the long way around, and found a zombie and some traps. This time, Hamilcar had better luck disarming it. Meanwhile, Neo-wulf and Aerlin found a secret door and went through. Neo-wulf was attacked by a deadly accurate skeleton, and took 4 body from it before he was able to send it clattering back to the ground. A healing spell from Aerlin got him feeling better, but then he stumbled into a pit trap, and soon found an arrow trap while searching for treasure. Ouch!
The Fellowship met up again and bypassed two rooms of the Maze at this point. Hamilcar got jumped by a zombie when he went to search a pantry, and a Zombie popped out! It was like something out of a movie! The group rallied and made their way to the center room. On the way they took out another Mummy. In the center room, they found Melar's library and it was full of undead patrons!
Instead of charging in, the Fellowship fell back to a more defensible location in the hallway. Undead are not smart, and they dutifully shuffled into the kill zone. Hamilcar and Allathura did most of the dirty work, with the occasional assist from the others. It did not take long to kill all the foes.
The group cautiously approached the center room again and carefully search it. Allathura found the Talisman of Lore and carefully put it around her neck for safe keeping. The group then beat a careful retreat back to the stairway. They avoided the Gargoyle room and the door beyond in the process.
Upon returning to the surface, the Fellowship made contact with Mentor. There the old wizard said, "The safest place for the Talisman of Lore is with you Allathusa of the Green. Zargon's forces would be foolish to try to take it from the leader of the Fellowship of Destiny!"
Post-Battle
This one was not as savage on the Fellowship as previous dungeon crawls. We played it much safer, and did a much better job searching for traps and treasure. The Fellowship was much more patient and coordinated, despite Neo-wulf running off ahead again. This time, the Fellowship comfortably defeated the undead foes with the help of their improved armor.
Despite the victory, there was far less loot to deal with. Aerlin got a half-healing potion with Allathura and Neo-wulf coming away with a few bits and bobs. However, the real prize was the Talisman of Lore itself!
Legacy of an Orc Warlord
The Fellowship of Destiny was feeling strong and untouchable. They had bested Varag, they had freed Sir Ragnar, killed Ulag, and retrieved the Talisman of Lore. They were well-armed and well armored. That felt confident they could handle what Zargon could throw at them. However, they underestimated their foes. Grak, the son of Ulag; was bent on vengeance.
As the Fellowship had their guard down, Grak struck. His forces were able to capture the Fellowship and take them to his secret lair. They were thrown in a cell and left to rot, while Grak determined their fate. Hamilcar managed to find a chicken bone, and set to work freeing his comrades. With an audible click, the lock popped. The Fellowship was free, but unarmed and without their potions.
The Legacy of an Orc Warlord
Right away, the Fellowship had a choice to go left or right. Neowulf impulsively went on his own towards the center room. Hamilcar and the rest went the opposite way looking for their gear. Almost immediately, Neowulf ran into some trouble as the main room was full of guards, including an Abomination! That would be hard to stop with just his fists!
Hamilcar and the others came to another T-intersection, with doors at the far end of both hallways. However, the one to the left looked suspicious to the Dwarfs trained eye. Therefore, the small group went the other way. A shout of warning from Neowulf warned them that company was on the way as the Barbarian tried a rear-guard action against the crowd of enemies chasing them.
Hamilcar and Aerlin managed to get into the room, as Allathura scouted around the corner. They took out a lone goblin guard, and Aerlin quickly found the Fellowships gear. Just in time, as an Abomination leapt from hiding and attacked! The group was caught between the pursuing forces of Zargon and this new threat in the room with them!
The Fellowship of Desting managed to gear up, and fend of Grak's troops. However, it was a tough fight and Neowulf and Hamilcar were already in rough shape. Aerlin's and Allathura's healing spells were quickly used up.
The group slowly made their way down some long, corridors. Neowulf was soon left behind as he cautiously crept along the corridor's while Allathusa led the way. The Elf managed a stealth kill as she snuck up on an Orc guard at an intersection and killed him before he could raise an alarm.
After a long, slow crawl the group started to run into Goblin sentries and some doorways.
The Goblin sentries proved surprisingly tough. Grak got his money's worth with those hires! Hamilcar was reduced to 1 wound left by the little git! Allathusa had to give him her Potion of Healing to keep the Dwarf in the fight. Just in time too as the next room had another deadly encounter with an Abomination! This dungeon was crawling with the beasties.
Neowulf supported by Aerlin the Mage managed to fend off the most recent beast. However, Goblin sentries again tied up the group as they continued to explore. They needed to find the stairs to escape from Grak's clutches.
Once again, the Fellowship was jumped by a pair of Abominations! The fights were very tough, and the party was all on less than half wounds. Neowulf, in desperation; took his Potion of Strength and laid one of the Abominations low with a single powerful strike from his Broadsword. Hamilcar eventually wore down the other and was able to best the beast. However, the cost had been great, as the Fellowship had used all their potions up!
After Hamilcar managed to disarm a trap, the Fellowship of Destiny found the stairway out. However, it was well guarded by Grak and his loyal servants. There the Fellowship got a surprise as Grak hurled several spells at them! Tempest managed to impede Neowulf, while a Sleep spell took Hamilcar down. Thankfully, Grak's minions had been over eager and the Fellowship was able to best them at a doorway with teamwork.
Aerlin was shocked as Grak was hit by a fireball spell but managed to keep fighting. There was still plenty of fight in the Orc Warlord yet. As Hamilcar slept, his companions fought on. The decisive moment came when Grak's Fear spell was reflected back at him thanks to the Talisman of Lore. This gave Neowulf the opening he needed to finish off the Grak once and for all; or so the Fellowship hoped.
With the way clear, the Fellowship of Destiny made their way to the light of the surface once more. They were initially disoriented, but it did not take Allathusa of the Green long to get her bearings and lead them all back to the Safety of the King's lands. They had a tale to share with Mentor about their capture by the Orc Warlord Grak. Perhaps, they had learned a valuable lesson about the nature of Zargon's forces?
Until next time!
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