It happened that the 23rd day of March in the year 602 was a slow day in the city of Avendale. I had gotten up early, thrown a cloak around my shoulders, and headed over to the tavern. It was cold out, so I had taken an especially warm cloak with me, but not even the cloak could keep the bitter chill off my back. When I arrived at the tavern, I asked if anything was going on, and was informed that there had been nary a peep from a monster all morning.
Such was the way it went for the next few hours. As more and more adventurers began to arrive in the tavern, the crowd became more and more anxious. Adventurers are not the type of people who like to be kept waiting. Looking around, I could see fighters nervously fingering their swords, waiting for the chance to be able to use them. Mages clenched and unclenched their fingers around their aura, waiting for the chance to cast a Confine or a Dragon's Breath. Still, though, we waited.
Slowly, word began to spread that monsters were beginning to arrive in town. Those monsters that arrived first were quickly slaughtered, as any evil creatures should be. I was milling about with my companion Kabaka on the field when a man came up to us and informed us that goblins were setting up an ambush at a place called "Ambush Alley." We quickly gathered together a force of the nearest available townsfolk and set off on a quest to eliminate the stench of the foul creatures.
When we arrived, though, we were surprised at the sight that stood before us. Instead of the goblins we had expected, we were confronted with minotaurs. I quickly counted the minotaurs that stood before us, and found that there were approximately seven of them. With the amount of townsfolk we had, we could eliminate the seven that stood before us, but if anymore arrived, we would be in grave peril.
The battle began to wage almost immediately. The minotaurs challenged us to a series of honor combats, but the situation quickly spiraled into an all-out conflict. I had heard previously that minotaurs were creatures of ultimate honor, but I certainly did not see that on this day. At one point in the battle, I saw the brave fighter in front of me, who had been engaged in honor combat, dropped by a waylay from behind. I am certain that honorable fighters do not waylay their opponents, particularly those who are engaged in honor combat, and therefore I doubt the claims of the minotaurs to be an honorable race.
Despite the dirty tactics employed by the minotaurs, though, the townsfolk did manage to win the battle. Several of the townsfolk were bleeding out, but our healers quickly dealt with the situation. I personally brought back up a dog which had fallen in front of me. Unfortunately, though, our efforts were not enough, as one minotaur managed to escape. Along with my companion Kabaka and one other, I gave chase to the escaped minotaur.
When we caught up to him, it was on top of a ridge not far from where the original skirmish had taken place. The rest of the townspeople were still on the trail below, mending their wounds and watching for more minotaurs. Kabaka whispered to me that he was very weak, but then he bravely strided up to face the minotaur anyway. The minotaur dropped Kabaka in one blow, and then began to chase after the two of who remained. I managed to make it away, but my companion was not so lucky, and so there were two adventurers lying unconscious on the ridge.
After escaping the charging minotaur, I descended the ridge back down to where the rest of the townspeople were still gathered. I tried to get help for the two warriors who had been knocked down on top of the ridge, but just then another wave of minotaurs arrived. The townsfolk fought valiantly, but it was soon apparent that there was no way we would be able to hold back this wave of minotaurs. Warriors began collapsing all around me, and panic struck. I resolved to go back to the town and get help, as I was the fastest runner that we had brought to Ambush Alley, and if someone didn't make it back, I knew we would all die, and most likely have to resurrect.
Some will call it a coward's act, but I began to run back down the path to town. A dark elven rogue ran behind me, and a minotaur pursued the both of us. I glanced behind me and realized that the minotaur was gaining on us. I was not certain if he would catch me before I could make it back to town or not. Fortunately, he stopped to down the dark elf, and that gave me enough time to cross back into the fields of town. Now, some will say that I should have stayed and died beside my comrades, and some would say that I should have turned around to help the dark elf, but to those I would state this simple fact: nobody had to resurrect that day. If I had stayed and died, it is likely that every townsperson that went out on that mission to Ambush Alley would have had to resurrect. Sometimes the good of the one is also the good of the many.
Upon arriving back in town, I quickly gathered a force from every adventurer I could find, and led them back into the woods, where we discovered that the minotaurs were still alive, but most of the townsfolk were not. The fighters went to work driving back the minotaurs so that the healers could be allowed to do their work. It required several life spells, but soon everybody who had gone on the mission was back on their feet. Everyone, that is, except those who had fallen on the ridge in the original battle.
With several adventurers beside me, I journeyed up to the ridge, fearing that I would be too late to help my original companions. I leaned down and used the powers of Healing Arts to determine whether they could be helped. As fortunes would have it, neither of them had bled out! Both had merely been knocked unconscious, and so it was easy for me to use simple healing spells to pull them both off the ground. Both thanked me, and soon, after wiping out a few goblins that had entered the area, we all headed back to town, a little wiser, and certainly no longer calling it a slow day.
Scribed by Seronia on the 27th day of March in the year 602.