After their first successful foray into the dungeon, the team retired to their rooms to rest. When the team awoke, they noticed that two of their members, Bosk and Zyryx were not in their quarters. The crew assumed that the two had found other ways of entertaining themselves, and proceeded to return to the 2nd floor. After discussing their plans, they figured that the only way deeper into the dungeon was through the door at the end of the kobold caves. There was concern of their diminished numbers making the journey a bit more difficult, but Ulfgar was confident he would be able to make up for the difference.
The first wave of monsters proved to be easily dispatched, but reinforcements swarmed in and caused a party a bit of trouble. Grezlin, thinking quickly, whipped out the Wand of Wonder, pushing the button. From the wand came a small psuedo-dragon named Sir Reginald III who assisted the team is slaying the enemies. After the battle, Sir Reginald III communicated to Grezlin that he would continue to assist the party and proceeded to scout ahead.
After scouting ahead and finding more Kobold patrols, Ulfgar was able to show the team how he planned to make up for the other two warrior being absent. With a roar of bestial fury, he charged forward and his body grew into the form of a war painted brown bear, making short work of the kobolds in the vicinity.
Unfortunately, the noise and a frantic kobold trying to flee alerted the Sorcerer at the end of the dungeon to their presence and a grand melee ensued. The battle was going well in the party’s favor, until the Sorcerer conjured several copies of himself onto the battlefield, making things a bit more difficult for the party. After some close calls, the party slayed the Sorcerer and took a quite respite. While tossing the chamber for the spoils, they noticed that the magic items their received the last time they fought the Sorcerer were absent. They chalked it up to one of the quirks of the infinite dungeon and proceeded to move towards the door they had abandoned last time.
Once through the door, they found themselves in a chamber with tall walls that didn’t reach the ceiling and multiple directions they could traverse. As they took a short rest to collect their wits and formulate a strategy, they heard horrible screams and death cries of kobolds. Anaki climbed to the top of one of the walls to get a general look at the area around them. He saw this maze continued for the entire room with a glowing beacon further away. Using his information as a guide, they continued through the twisting corridors until they were confronted by the creature making all of the horrible noises: A Minotaur.
The creature was able to bend and manipulate the walls to accommodate its own girth, but Ulfgar wasn’t able to fully utilize his bear form, so he took the form of a Dire Wolf. After a single round of combat, the Minotaur made quick work of the lithe killing machine and Ulfgar was stuck between the beast and his teammates, horrified by its might. Thinking quickly, he recalled the Rock Octopus from the shores of Rendar and sprang forth to grapple the mighty beast. While the beast repeatedly beat on the soft flesh of the octopus, Grezlin and Anaki proceeded to unload on it. Eventually, the beast fell to the onslaught and the party sighed in relief. Before they could relax, the walls suddenly lowered, exposing the remaining Kobolds and the giant sphere of glowing energy. The party and remaining kobolds circled each other cautioiusly, before the Kobolds ran up the stairs where the party had come, leaving the party with the giant glowing mechanism.
The party crept closer to the mechanism, watching the electricity arc across its surface. Upon closer inspection, they could see a weapon lodged into the device, tempting them to come and claim it. Anaki, the very lithe rogue, sprang forward to grab the weapon and ended up getting up a bit crispy in the process.
Tired, electrocuted, and generally tapped out, the party descended to the third level, setting up a rudimentary camp and taking watches. The floor of the dungeon wasn’t as comfortable as their inn beds, but they were making progress. Would it be worth it to back track to return to [Lamp Town? Lamp Light?] or would they need to power their way through until they reach the 21st floor? Only time would tell.