From the journal of Kentarch Elias Palatini, commander of the Chimera Legion on Chovoli Island.
We received the following report:
After many centuries of sleep, the great mountain at Chòvoli's center shuddered, shook, and reminded us all that it was still very much alive. From it's depths, a mouth to the Kòlasi opened and the great mountain vomited forth ancient horrors long imprisoned. Unnatural, fetid monsters whom desire revenge and human flesh to slake their fell hungers...
Shortly thereafter, we received reports that a bull-headed monster began to prey on one of the inland villages. I led a detachment of the Legion to investigate.
We tracked the monster to its lair in the mountains. The monster's cave was only accessible by a narrow entrance, so I sent in a scout. We only heard horrific screams. I sent in another scout. Moments later, he came back, bloodied and terrified. At the time, he could only stammer in fear.
Later, he would report:
Hellish snarls and piercing screams echo off the walls of the cavern as you step foot into the labyrinthian corridors of the great mountain. The air is stale, thick with the cloying scent of decaying corpses and other unsavory smells. You hold your torches aloft, trying to see further into the unsettling darkness... it's almost as if the dark is trying to suffocate your light source. It grows warmer with every step. Soon, sweat cascades down your faces. The snarls soon become frenzied howls of delight, a final terrified scream acts as the crescendo to this macabre symphony & then silence...and there you see it. The Minotaur crouched over the corpse of an Imperial Scout, the man's intestines dangling from the creature's monstrous lips as it turns it's gaze toward you. Surrounded by half rotten corpses and the skeletal remains of it's previous victims, The Minotaur rises. A bloodied great axe clutched in it's hands. It roars and charges towards you!
Right, I thought. No time for fiddling around. Let's get to it.
"We're going in" I commanded. "Spread out if you can, swarm the beast, and slay it! Remember, we the Chimera Legion are brave as lions, fierce as dragons, and stubborn as goats. Let's go!
A little poetic license. I wish I had said that for real.
I charged into the den of evil, my soldiers behind me. I entered the cave and spotted the form of the Minotaur. It swung its great axe at me. I dodged, then charged in. The beast backpedaled, trying to get its axe into play. I pressed close, then swung. My finely honed blade struck, lopping off a horn. The creature bellowed in pain and rage, then struck me with a backhand blow of its powerful arm. It sent me flying into the cave wall. I slid to the cave floor, dazed.
My pentecontach Basilius was next into the fray. The beast struck with its axe, sundering Basilius's shield. He lashed with his spathion but the blade did not penetrate the creature's thick hide. The axe swung around again, smashing into the pentecontarch's ribs. His armor saved him, but the blow was powerful enough to knock him senseless.
By now, the rest of the detachment had entered the cave. They ferociously swarmed the Minotaur, slashing and jabbing. The beast lay about with its axe, smashing shields to bits and cleaving into my brave warriors. But they gave back as good as they got, and soon blood was streaming freely from the beast. Still, it fought with a devilish fury.
Finally, one legionnaire named Xander ducked past the great axe and buried his blade deep into the Minotaur's side. The beast bellowed in pain and stumbled backward. Had the Legion defeated the Minotaur?
But no, the beast merely drew out the blade, and charged at Xander. As it did Legionnaire Xylo (Ashley roughly translated into Greek) lunged. Her blade sunk deep into its vitals. It faltered, dropped its axe, and collapsed to the ground.
We did it!
Our proud heroes "Xylo" and Xander with their spoils of war - the bull horns and its great axe.
Pardon the poetic license in the above account. We actually ran the scenario multiple times, and the account is an amalgam of multiple replays.
The Minotaur has heavy armor, can break shields in one strike, and has the equivalent of Amtgard's True Grit, which allows a dead character return to life.
Initially, we fought the Minotaur one-on-one. As the Minotaur, I killed the other three. Then Robb (Basilius) was the Minotaur against me. Once again, the Minotaur won. These one-on-one fights are represented by the tale of the scouts.
We then did 3 legionnaires vs. the Minotaur. First up, I fought the other 3. I managed to kill Basilius before Ashley and Xander swarmed and killed me. This battle is the inspiration for the account of the beast's death. Then Robb was the beast. Like the account, I charged the Minotaur. My strike knocked off Robb's horns. Unfortunately, it also knocked off his glasses. We paused at the moment to find his glasses. Then we decided to halt for the day. For the above account, I moved around events so it would make more narrative sense.
The two reports came from some fiction that Robb posted on our Facebook page.
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