(*Disclaimer: I won't list everyone's name for fear of leaving some out who were there and fought bravely. I would like to ask that those that participated to please leave your impressions of the battle here for all to read.)
This evening (or this morning, depending on where you live), I received an urgent message from Fitz that the Branubians had massed near the Shabooli Fort. I buffed and asked him to summon me, which he did. Once there, I discovered that our "friends" the Branubians had come up with some new "playmates" for us: High Priests, High Priestesses and Royal Dragons.
The original group was far too small for this undertaking, so I messaged Kale Greeneye, Jinsey and others. When I died (a short time later after being stuck in one of their fiendish traps) Greywolfe messaged me if we needed help and I said YES!
He came with extra reinforcements, and finally, with a large enough group that included archers, mages and tanks (and a few hybrids as well) we went about the business of dispatching these vermin.
The trick, as we've learned, is to go forward slowly. Don't run head-long into them or you will die, regardless of who you are. Don't throw greater explosion potions forward to bring them out (a tactic that does work well with Shaboolis) or cast area of effect spells. If you do manage to escape after being a runner, you will bring death and destruction on to your fellow questers behind you. So, we preached SLOW and EASY, and this tactic worked well. The deaths were kept to a minimum but some people did unfortunately perish.
The Branubians, from what I've seen, are at least as well organized as the Praetorians, but they are tougher than the Praets. They are merciless and once they start attacking you, they don't stop. They are also cunning and they hide well. Once they begin an assault, rest assured it will be forthright and deadly.
The Priest and Priestess remind me of Black Wisps. Between them and the Royal Dragon they employed this evening, they were a very difficult foe to handle, but handle them we did. The Mages did an EXCELLENT job of keeping the rest of us healed while dealing out devastating attacks, the archers and tanks targeted the enemies in the right order, and provoked the enemies off the mages (for the most part.)
After we had returned to Brit Bank for the loot split, Johan the Master Stealther arrived. I missed the beginning of his talk (paying death taxes), but he and his brother Jonah the Master Tinker have a plan. I won't give you the details for fear that Gruedon and his cronies will find out, but if all goes well, we may very well be rid of these animals once and for all.
