159613 Bill the Mountain Dwarf Berserker (level 17, -30/245 (248) HPs)
Killed from afar by a shadow dragon on Level 8 of the vaults.
I abandoned the Snake Pits, due to the presence of Boris, and dove deeper into the dungeon in order to search for the Vaults. I found the entrance on the 18th level of the dungeon, and started clearing the levels. The Vaults are not super easy to fight through, due to the large open areas and the presence of large numbers of foes. I managed to stay alive and ended up with a bunch of different types of dragon armour by the time I cleared level 7.
Now, I had never been this deep in the Vaults before, so arriving at level 8 was a new experience, and one that I was woefully unprepared for. All three down staircases arrive in the middle of a circle of 24 Vault Guards. Surrounding the guards were various other powerful monsters, including two Shadow Dragons. The only plan I had was to pull up the guards (8 at a time, taking 8 hits on the staircase), summon help and berserk. That worked, though not perfectly, as I was pretty lucky not to die from all the hits I was taking. I managed to defeat all the guards, one of the Shadow Dragons and a swarm of yaktaurs that attacked me from the "cleared" level 7.
It was at that point that I got a little overconfident. I went down to level 8, and all that remained was a single Shadow Dragon, a spider type creature (that turned out to be a shapeshifter) and a yaktaur captain. I foolishly thought I could fight the three at once, but I quickly got into trouble. I was very low on hitpoints after a couple of bolts and draining attacks, but I had stepped away from the staircase, so retreat wasn't even an option. I ended up berserking and trying desperately to survive, but it did not happen.
I don't know if that is what the entrance to the 8th level of the Vaults always looks like, but if it is, I need to figure out a better way to deal with the creatures there.
Lessons Learned
1. How not to clear the 8th level of the Vaults.
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