Uukrul: The First Task

Part of the Fate of Heroes series - spoilers ahead!

While resting at the hermit's zone, the paladin Lazybum and sorceress Sarina who were already resting here join the team, and Sagaris asks them all to retrieve his black rod from the next floor down which he warns is far more dangerous (because apparently increased pressure makes things tough/evil I guess).

The fully powered squad heads down stairs and promptly gets owned. Pluribus is acidified by a rancid mold, Ila gets devoured by a giant spider, Yen Sid fails to turn "the happiest zombies ever" that tear him and Sarina apart and Lazybum gets one shotted by a giant bat who does 90(!) points of damage in a single strike.

So happy!

Balthazarr barely makes it back to Sagaris' safe zone in defeat. Clearly he needs a team with more training so using the super handy nearby teleporter (provided you remember the name of the one you want to warp to) returns to town to assemble a new squad, composed of the war priestess Kebiroz, Nabirye the hunter paladin, and Null25 the pk mage.

The first task is: Training!!!

Uukrul: Orcs and Geezers

Part of the Fate of Heroes series - spoilers ahead!

The next level is full of orcs, most of whom are low level as indicated by the color of their karate belt. Brown orcs are easy, Black orcs are brutal (the squad usually flees when they show up). There's a whole spectrum in between. Alas while exploring one narrow passage they are set upon by an orc led by chieftain, Thurazz!

With nowhere to escape they are cut down one by one until only Sapphire is left standing, she does her best to lure the orcs away from her downed team mates but is unable to defend herself for long. The orc band beat her down and abduct her for whatever nefarious purposes orcs keep in mind.

Balthazarr was surprised to wake up at all, finding that he, Yen Sid and Ila had been dragged somewhere safe by his old friend, Pluribus the wise. The wizened mage told him that many others from the nearby land had ventured into Eriosthe too, for the shared goal of helping to defeat Uukrul, after they all had witnessed visions of Mara.

That's what she looks like by the way.

While getting their bearings, they happened to come across another old fellow in dirty robe - the hermit Balthazarr was sent to find! He introduces himself as Sagaris and ushers the team to his home - a small series of tunnels which are safe from monsters.

Uukrul: Wrong Turn

Part of the Fate of Heroes series - spoilers ahead!

The Krefator!

In their haste to save Anyolina, the team took a wrong turn and suddenly found themselves facing a large acid reptile called Krefator. The beast melted Toothless down into a more consumable puddle as Balthazarr dragged Anyolina out of there and down the correct road. He needn't have bothered for she succumbed to the poison along the way.

Distraught at the loss of his team, Balthazarr gave heavy thought to abandoning to the quest until a vision of Mara encouraged him to carry on and find an old hermit on the lower levels. Something in her words gave him the strength to make it back to the adventurer's guild hall and recruit a new team composed of battle sisters Ila the paladin, Sapphire the mage, and the loner priest Yen Sid.

This squad performs much better (since I looked up the manual and can use spells now), surviving a poison pit thanks to Yen Sid's Sirdhe prayer, defeating Sharruk the giant worm in a literal shit tunnel, and finally catching up to the evil rogue where Balthazarr exacted vengance for the fallen.

Dark Souls III: Oh Brother...

Tales from Dark Souls - spoilers ahead! You can follow the rest of the story here!

Harder than Ornstein and Smough.

It took a fair bit of effort to reach this boss room, but that's to be expected as the last lord soul is within reach. I found the sickly Prince Lothric waiting on his throne, but he wasn't going to do any fighting. He left that up to his much larger brother, Lorian who is a complete, teleporting, melee asskicker. Since this fight was killing me more than Ornstein and Smough I tried to summon help from players Turms, Gwyndolin and sunbro Cheshire Charr (go the GW2 reference!) who unfortunately could not enter the boss chamber. Thanks for trying guys!

Since it looked like I'd need to do this solo, I switched out my axe for Tsorig's Fume Greatsword - upgrading it fully for maximum reach and damage. It took a few attempt but finally, I slew Lorian! And then... Lothric teleports onto his back and ressurects him for phase 2... which now includes Lothric's many heatseeking, magic attacks. OMGWTFBBQ!?!

After quitting for a day, I decided to try enlist help again - this time from sunbros Yen Sid the mage and Tartarus the knight. This time they BOTH could enter, and we absolutely slammed the princely brothers into the dirt! Finally, all the lord souls were collected and back at Firelink Shrine the Firekeeper performed a ritual to take their flames (killing poor Ludeth) and pour them onto me - so that I may finally face the old gods of Lordran.

Best solution is again to bring numbers!