Four Against Darkness #2

This is the second episode in the story of a party of adventures who took up the fight against darkness in search of fame and fortune within the deep and evil dungeons.

It was played using the Four Against Darkness, (4AD), a solitaire dungeon-delving game written by Andrea Sfiligoi from Ganesha Games.

The party were resting in the cave having looked after their wounds. The party consisted of Sir Dancealot the warrior, Father Braun the cleric, Little Tam the rogue and Salubran the wizard. Having recovered from their first delve into the dungeon, they wanted now to explore the remainder, in search of evil to defeat and more treasure.

After a quick discussion, the party determined the marching order, with Sir Dancelot and Little Tam in the front and Salubran and Father Braun bring up the rear. They went down the stairs and turned to their right, to the branch of the dungeon that they had not yet explored.

The corridor turned left and ending in a door. The door was unlocked and the party rushed in. There they met a horde of 13 giant rats. These vermin were quickly dispatched by the party. A quick examination revealed that they had no treasure.

Emboldened by their easy victory over the giant rats, the party charged through the door on the opposite wall.

Through the door they saw 4 coffins. One coffin was open and there was a mummy climbing out. The party attacked immediately. Father Braun attacked first because of his disgust of all things undead. Salubran unleashed a fireball as he hoped the mummy was flammable. Sir Dancealot and Little Tam joined in the fight and the mummy was defeated.

Salubran was wounded and Little Tam helped him bind his wound with bandages.

Father Braun searched the open coffin and he discovered a Scroll containing a Fireball spell which he gave to the party's wizard, Salubran.

The party moved on to the right hand door. They opened it but the room was empty. The searched the room, and hidden on the floor under a thick layer of dust was a pentagram. They read the words surrounding the pentagram which gave them a clue.

The party could go no further in that direction, so they traced their way back through the coffin room to the other door.

The party opened the door and charged in, their weapons at the ready. They were met by a ferocious minotaur. His bull heritage showing, the minotaur charged the party head down. 

Salubran immediately tried to put the minotaur to sleep using a spell. But the minotaur's bull-like charge unnerved the wizard and the spell failed gloriously.

Sir Dancealot sprang to the front and confronted the minotaur with an explosion-like attack with his two-handed sword.

The minotaur fought back, but Sir Dancealot kept up the fight and yet again he performed an explosion-like attack with his two-handed sword so he killed the minotaur single-handedly.

The party searched the body of the dead minotaur, and they found a magic ring of teleportation in the minotaur's nose. Even this item was given to Salubran, who was the most vulnerable member of the party.

The party advanced through the minotaur's room towards the next door, behind which was the lair of an Orc Brute, the dungeon's Big Bad Evil Guy.

Armed with two heavy choppers, the Orc Brute's two attacks could be very dangerous. 

Having failed in his last attempt, Salubran stepped forward and cast his second and last sleep spell. This time he succeeded, the Orc Brute staggered backwards, but didn't make it to the bed, he collapsed onto his owlbear rug snoring loudly.

The party searched the room and in a chest by the door they found 100 pieces of gold.

Happy with their treasure, and leaving the Orc Brute sleeping deeply, the party decided it was time to leave. They made their way back to the entrance without meeting any wandering monsters. They climbed up the stairs and back into the cave above. 

Map of the dungeon

Once in the cave, they looked after their wounds and rested, recovering so as to be ready for another adventure. But while sleeping, they always had one party member on watch, keeping one eye on the trap door and the other on the cave entrance. 

The next morning, the torrential rain had stopped and the sun was shining bright. The party packed up their camp and continued their journey to the town of Trumpton.

In Trumpton, both Sir Dancealot and Father Braun visited the armourer to purchase some heavier armour and to get it fitted to their exact measurements. While waiting for the armourer to complete his work, Father Braun visited the temple where he bought two vials of Holy Water and some bandages to replace those used by Salubran.