Ten valiant souls showed up at Beruna Pass last night to fight for Susan. As we sat in the Great Hall before a roaring fire to make our battle plans, uncertainty fell heavy over the room. The ways of fighting we had all grown so comfortable with would be useless in the bowels of Despise. We had no way of knowing what any of our fates would be as we stabled our beloved pets and headed toward the portal that would take us to the dungeon’s entrance.
It turned out to be a greater struggle than we’d anticipated to bend the wills of the dark creatures there, enticing them to serve our cause instead of their master’s. But in the end, we managed to assemble and train a group of them with varied skills; mages, bards, melee fighters, and healers. The allegiance of the archers could not be turned—the Ancients know I tried my best! The strong could not be convinced, and the weak died too quickly, before they could be trained.
The call to arms finally sounded, and we were drawn into a new set of tunnels that led directly to the stronghold of Andros. He and his corrupted wisp were there waiting for us. Somehow he knew we were coming—perhaps one of the archers had sounded the warning before our arrival. Andros was seething as he took in our small army, mumbling curses under his breath that sent chills racing along the back of my neck. I am grateful they were spoken in a language I could not understand. I could tell he was infuriated by the betrayal of his own red creatures as they set upon him and his wisp.
I will not deceive you—this was no quick and sweeping victory. Our small army struggled. There were casualties when the evil wisp broke free of his attackers and lashed out at us with his magic. One by one, our fighters began to vanish from the stronghold, returned to the tunnels we’d come from, stripped of our armor and draped in gray robes. In the end, only three of us remained to stand against Andros. He laughed…at first. Despite our constant heals and whispers of encouragement to our conscripted pets, he seemed to be merely toying with us. His health did not diminish, and we wondered if we were strong enough to damage him any further. But none of us wanted to give up. We had endured too much, and come too far. There was more at stake than pride, or gold, or even the allure of a possible treasure drop. We had come all this way to save Susan, and now also to avenge the deaths of our companions. There was no choice but to see the battle through to the end—either ours, or his.
We fought on, doing our best to erode both his strength and resolve, until finally he began to weaken. In time the mighty Andros fell, and with him the corrupted wisp that had taken out so many of our own. The creatures who had sacrificed much to help us were gone too. I expect they were wise enough to flee that realm before Andros could be reborn into his eternal prison, for I am certain that the punishment for betraying him is quite severe.
We returned to Beruna Pass, sore and weary, but victorious at last! And there the most glorious sight of all awaited us; a sight that made all of our pain worthwhile. Susan stood on the steps of the tower, back in her beautiful human form once again! (No thanks to the goblin community, who did their best to keep her under Andros’ curse!) Love had indeed prevailed in the end.
Friday night’s auction will be able to go on as planned, and all those who came to Susan’s rescue will be honored with a reward for their heroic efforts. The next time we meet Andros in battle, and I expect that will be soon, his wisp might not find it quite so easy to take us down. I, for one, look forward to the challenge.
- Adelin of Beruna Pass
It turned out to be a greater struggle than we’d anticipated to bend the wills of the dark creatures there, enticing them to serve our cause instead of their master’s. But in the end, we managed to assemble and train a group of them with varied skills; mages, bards, melee fighters, and healers. The allegiance of the archers could not be turned—the Ancients know I tried my best! The strong could not be convinced, and the weak died too quickly, before they could be trained.
The call to arms finally sounded, and we were drawn into a new set of tunnels that led directly to the stronghold of Andros. He and his corrupted wisp were there waiting for us. Somehow he knew we were coming—perhaps one of the archers had sounded the warning before our arrival. Andros was seething as he took in our small army, mumbling curses under his breath that sent chills racing along the back of my neck. I am grateful they were spoken in a language I could not understand. I could tell he was infuriated by the betrayal of his own red creatures as they set upon him and his wisp.
I will not deceive you—this was no quick and sweeping victory. Our small army struggled. There were casualties when the evil wisp broke free of his attackers and lashed out at us with his magic. One by one, our fighters began to vanish from the stronghold, returned to the tunnels we’d come from, stripped of our armor and draped in gray robes. In the end, only three of us remained to stand against Andros. He laughed…at first. Despite our constant heals and whispers of encouragement to our conscripted pets, he seemed to be merely toying with us. His health did not diminish, and we wondered if we were strong enough to damage him any further. But none of us wanted to give up. We had endured too much, and come too far. There was more at stake than pride, or gold, or even the allure of a possible treasure drop. We had come all this way to save Susan, and now also to avenge the deaths of our companions. There was no choice but to see the battle through to the end—either ours, or his.
We fought on, doing our best to erode both his strength and resolve, until finally he began to weaken. In time the mighty Andros fell, and with him the corrupted wisp that had taken out so many of our own. The creatures who had sacrificed much to help us were gone too. I expect they were wise enough to flee that realm before Andros could be reborn into his eternal prison, for I am certain that the punishment for betraying him is quite severe.
We returned to Beruna Pass, sore and weary, but victorious at last! And there the most glorious sight of all awaited us; a sight that made all of our pain worthwhile. Susan stood on the steps of the tower, back in her beautiful human form once again! (No thanks to the goblin community, who did their best to keep her under Andros’ curse!) Love had indeed prevailed in the end.
Friday night’s auction will be able to go on as planned, and all those who came to Susan’s rescue will be honored with a reward for their heroic efforts. The next time we meet Andros in battle, and I expect that will be soon, his wisp might not find it quite so easy to take us down. I, for one, look forward to the challenge.
- Adelin of Beruna Pass