The thing about Hanset...

Hanset was buzzing with activity.  The last of the farmers loaded up their wagons to join the mass exodus on the King's Highway.  Soldiers and militia hurriedly prepared the small town for impending doom.  The Duke of Hanset made his way through the mayhem to greet the troupe.
     "Welcome friends."
     "I am Lord Shinkleboo and here are my men." Fox extended a welcoming hand.
     "How was your trip?" the Duke smiled.
     "The trip was just fine," Fox scratched his head, "we would have been here much sooner if it wasn't for that scurvy pirate.  That black-toothed bugger dimdoored on us, our apologies."
     "Black teeth, you say?" a concerned look took over the Duke's chubby face.  "I know the man.  He has killed many of my men, sadly he is not a pirate.
     In an attempt to add to his series of exceedingly bad choices, Auren, decides to disclose the nature of his new pet to the Duke.  The bond was small but it did exist between them.
     "By the Lords!" cried the Duke.  "That must be what they are after!  You must return the baby to the parents, they will stop setting fire to our town."
     Auren stumbled through a lengthy argument, defending his position that the baby in no way contributed to the actions of the adult Pyrohydras in the swamp, who were currently rampaging towards the city.
    In preparation for battle the group stays the night.  Fox readies his poison, Groth, his spears and Auren collects rats for his new pet. 

The next morning Fox and the crew find themselves at the edge of the swamp.  Just past the treeline, approaching flames are visible, and the loud cracking of trees echoed out into the clearing.  A teary-eyed Auren placed the caged baby in the center of the clearing.  Groth quickly went to work digging out three large traps between the swamp and the baby.  The group waited as the baby started to coo and the crashing in the swamp moved closer and closer.
     Three large cypress' at the edge of the swamp snapped and flew to the ground with such force that it sent tremors.  The creature blasted into the clearing.  It raced through the trap and slid to a stop at the caged infant.  The Hydra stood 4 times the size of Groth, stretched out for over 20 feet and roared with all five of it's angry heads.
     They began their attack with ranged weapons; Auron and Fox with arrows, Groth with his spear and Phae cast his enlarging spell on Groth.  Groth charged in a fit of rage, screaming with his sword in the air.  Bringing it down, he released one of the Hydra's heads from it's captivity.  The head fell to the ground with muffled thud.
     Feeling the confidence of battle Auren charges behind Groth severing a second head.  Phae reaches up and conjures a Scorching Ray blast which turns part of the hydra to coal.  Smoke rises from the first bloody stump followed by bubbling.  The hydra drops back and writhes in agony as the stump sprouts two new heads.  Lurching forward the creature lets out five high pitched screams and attacks Groth.  One head at a time takes a shot at the green brute.  As the creature steps forward an angry Groth removes another head.
     Auren is overcome with magic, compelled by a force deep within, he begins to chant.  An icy burst rains down on the Hydra and baby freezing them both. 

Auren weeps.  (like a teenage girl)

The group recovers some magical Hydra stuff (23,000 : 3285)

Epilogue: While resting back at Hanset the group is woken in the middle of the night to a commotion out in the street.  A group of soldiers has gathered at the tavern doorsteps where the bloodied hindquarters of a horse lie.  "This is the work of a devil." said one of the soldiers.  "Just outside of town a guardsman was found half eaten." said another.

ADVENTURE AWAITS!