Alf found some pretty good gear in Trollmire, including the icy steel shield which he's still wearing. The new "frozen monster" tile is a nice bonus.

The first real challenge came when Alf got to the Minotaur of the Maze, who had a regen infusion. After teleporting away, Alf decided to recall to the surface and go questing for better weapons and a couple more levels. The puzzle ruins yielded a stralite waraxe, and the new halfling ruins produced a couple of levels (and incidentally unlocked Yeeks). That enabled Alf to train up Assault to bring the pain to the Minotaur.
Next on the agenda was Urkis, who almost did Alf in along with a pack of P's but fell to a Rush after a judicious teleport and some healing. Fortunately Urkis wasn't equipped with any healing infusions. That unlocked Storm mages.
Sandhole tomorrow, and then we'll see. Alf's gear right now should be ideal for Daikara.
(update,1/26/2011)
Sandhole was pretty much routine. Alf found a voratun mace there, and some other goodies, plus of course the sandworm queen's heart.
Dai'kara, on the other hand, was quite...interesting. Alf found a Temporal Rift there, and went through. What he found on the other side cost him one life, but he fought his way through and unlocked Chronomancy. Assault has become Alf's go-to skill for fighting dangerous enemies. Lots of resting to restore stamina though. Time to invest some skill points in Quick Recovery.
Back in Dai'kara again, the fight with Rantha was prolonged due to the presence of a pack of miscellaneous P's and other critters. Rantha also had a regen infusion, but it did not avail against Assault and Shield Pummel. After Rantha fell, Harkor'Zun made an appearance and contributed some more goodies.