Session 235: Bathtime

Lalie and Aila, Gnorcia and Pella, Lhoss, Tatania, Feno, and Sergius find themselves with the decision of whether to explore the two greenish-brown pools within the barrow. All of the remaining areas have been explored and cleared, so there are no excuses to put off the decision any longer. Lalie is intrigued by the waters and takes off her glove to test the temperature with her hand. Gnorcia, seemingly emboldened by Lalie's action does the same. The two comment that they don't feel any different, but Tatania notes that they are still fully clothed. While Gnorcia and Lalie discuss whether it would be wise to test the waters, Lhoss looks on idly and comments that she would never be brave enough to strip down as is depicted in the murals and bathe in the murky water. Lalie seems to interpret Lhoss' offhand comment as some sort of challenge and orders Feno and Sergius out so she can run a proper experiment. Feno dutifully disappears into one of the rooms and shuts the door. Sergius walks into another room, but keeps peeking his head out until the women all shout at him to give them some privacy. 

Lalie immediately strips off her armor and clothing and submerges herself in the lower pool with Gnorcia hot on her heels. The effect is immediate and noticeable to both the bathers and onlookers: an eye that appears less keen and a jaw that is slightly more slack; these two seem to have lost a shade of their intelligence! Gnorcia declares that she is feeling a little dumb, so why not do something a little dumb? She scrambles out of the lower pool and immediately plunges into the upper pool. It is as though a cobweb is immediately swept from the corner of her brain as Gnorcia seems her old self again. Except, she seems shinier somehow? I mean, she's not attractive, but for a gnome, she's slightly comelier. Lalie joins Gnorcia in the upper pool and exhibits the same mini transformation. It's difficult to pin it down, but Lhoss has an increased level of trust and respect for Lalie. 

Tatania may have been reluctant to be the first one in the water, but after seeing what has transpired, strips and dunks herself in the upper pool. Unfortunately, she sees no change in herself from the experiment. True to her word, Lhoss does not even consider the task. The men are called back into the main chamber and the women recount their success/failure from bathing. The men declare it is their turn and shoo the women out of the room. Sergius climbs into the upper pool and Feno the lower one. They experience nothing. They switch pools but still feel nothing. Feno notices that the mosaics that had depicted bathing figures have disappeared, leaving blank walls behind. Disappointed, they dry off and all head back out into the marsh.

The party walks around the barrow marsh, looking at mounds they haven't explored before. They find a covered mound that would take too long to dig out. Next they encounter a sealed tomb but are perhaps too afraid to attract unwanted attention with the noise that breaking down the door would cause. They then come upon a cover stone that appears to have been removed with a rope and horse (judging by the drag path and horse tracks left behind). The group peeks in and observes a 15' x 15' chamber with a disturbed sarcophagus and a mummy lying face-down on the ground. Gnorcia nudges the mummy with her toe with thankfully no response and Lalie uses her skill to passively detect evil and, even more thankfully, senses none. Tatania is clicking her tongue at whomever left the mummy in such a disrespectful state and is contemplating restoring the mummy to its sarcophagus when Lhoss catches a glint of gold. She carefully scoops up a gold ring on the tip of her dagger, Gary, while Tatania casts detect magic and, unfortunately, detects none. With this small treasure, they all decide to head back to Orlane.

Feno has caught word that Alan Clayborne has returned from his journey to find the Mayor. Feno and Lhoss head to his house to speak to him, but he is not home. They first try the Slumbering Serpent as it's the closest inn to Alan's home, but he isn't there. Lhoss visits briefly with Belba, largely to assuage the side-eye glances from the inns' patrons. Belba kindly informs the two elves that Alan generally frequents their own Foaming Mug Inn. Of course! Sure enough, Alan and his wife are in the common room of the Foaming Mug. As Lhoss and Feno approach, Alan seems eager to share is news but hesitant because it's not exactly good news. Alan found the mayor, but something seems off. The mayor was willing to speak to Alan and even come back to Orlane, but he had a strange emotional detachment. He didn't smile and there didn't seem to be any light behind his eyes. What strange depression, ennui, or trauma is tormenting the dear mayor?

The next morning is the beginning of Needfest. The party decides to stay in town for the holiday. Townsfolk are buoyed by the festival with all sorts of gatherings and celebrations. They mayor even joins in, though his demeanor is not much changed. The children of town put on a play portraying the brave actions of the Saviors of Orlane. Feno is pleased his own depiction while Lhoss is positively delighted to be shown in such a glowing light. Each afternoon, Lhoss and Tatania meet up to dig through the bag of holding and identify a few of the magic items. On one evening, seemingly all of Orlane gathers for a potluck where everyone contributes what they can to the feast. Lhoss assists in baking some bread, Feno contributes a delicious wheel of cheese, and even Gnorcia uses a freshen cantrip to crisp up some apples that had started to go a little soft. It is a cheerful night filled with food, drink and dancing. Your old Velma had her fill of wine and cut a rug. With that joyful memory, I leave you until next time,

Velma

Session 234: placeholder

 add text here

Session 233: Lhoss and Tatania expand their powers

It is Day 27 of Sunsebb. Lhoss and Tatania find that spells have been acquired by the group that allow them to cast the Identify spell (provided they transcribe the spell into their spell books and have the requisite components - which they do and they buy). As they are both more skilled spell-casters than Duerom, they are able to cast the spell more times with greater accuracy. The duo sets to work identifying a backlog of magic items.

The first identified item was Gauntlets of Dexterity, which increase the wearer's dexterity score. They also examined a magical hand axe, though its specific combat bonuses were not fully revealed during the session. The party also identified several potions: two clear potions were identified as Potions of Health, which completely cure diseases like mummy rot, blindness, and infection but do not restore hit points;  a golden liquid with silver flecks was identified as a Potion of Treasure Finding which allows the drinker to locate large treasure hordes (at least 10,000 coins) within a 240-foot range; lastly all iridescent blue liquids in the group's possession were confirmed to be standard healing potions.

Next, Lhoss picked up some scrolls to cast Identify on them, but it was unnecessary as she was able to read the spell names and identified several one after another. The first discovery was two powerful clerical scrolls. One contained four 7th-level spells (control weather, conversion, exaction, and holy word), and the other contained two 4th-level spells (sticks to snakes and imbue with spellability). Next, a scroll containing magic missile was identified, written at a 7th-level caster power. Lastly, a Scroll of Protection from Undead was identified. This scroll specifically protects the reader from zombies. Pity, as this is a fairly low-level undead creature that the group doesn't seem to have any trouble handling on their own. 

Finally, Lhoss turned her power to identify a spell component (some gray dust). It was identified as Dust of Disappearance. The party has three packets of this dust, which makes creatures almost entirely undetectable and grants significant combat bonuses. I was thrilling to discover the true value of so much treasure being unknowingly hauled around in the bag of holding.

Lalie returned to the group in Orlane after being resurrected by her family in Veluna. While she appears unchanged, the "cost" of her resurrection remains a secret she is unwilling to share.

On the cold morning of Day 28 of Sunsebb, Feno, Sergius, Gnorcia, Tatania, Lhoss, Lalie, and Aila headed out to explore the barrow mound. During their travel back to the barrow marsh, the party noted that the decay in the Dim Forest has halted or slowed significantly. They observed a bizarre magical pattern: exactly every 10th tree appeared restored to complete health, while the others remained rotted, except for every 10th 10th tree (or 100th tree) which was not restored but rotted. Strange.

The party decided to dig out a mound and spent several hours excavating the entrance. Both Lalie and Aila pronounced the task to be below their stations. While shoveling, Feno "accidentally" flung some dirt in their directions. The task was most exhausting, but upon entering the dry crypt, they discovered two pools of brown, peat-colored water that radiated strong magic. Wall frescos depicted people removing their clothing to enter these pools. Sergius contemplated whether to reenact the pictures, but the group convinced him to explore the surrounding areas first.

The party first explored a side room. Inside, they found a golden jeweled goblet sitting on a pedestal, near an alcove containing skeletal remains. It was a tempting sight, but the vision of the adventure ended before anyone could decide how to approach the situation.

Session 232: The Sealed Tomb of the Barrowmarsh

Day 26 Sunsebb CY 576 Tales from the Taproom: 

The Soggy Secrets of the Barrowmarsh Gather ’round, neighbors, and keep your voices low, for the walls of the Slumbering Serpent have ears, and some stories are best served with a stiff mug of ale. It’s the 26th of Sunsebb, year 576, and our quiet corner of the Gran March has been stirred by more than just the spring breeze. 

That band of travelers—you know the ones, with the dwarf whose hammer speaks of thunder and the elf who cleans his armor like it’s made of fine porcelain—has returned from the northern Barrowmarsh with swamp mud in their boots and quite a tale to tell. They found it, just as the old maps whispered: a sealed tomb. 

Now, most sensible folk see a granite slab and think "keep out," but these lot decided to bash their way through it. They tell me the air inside smelled of rot and the floors were flooded waist-deep in brackish, still water. Armatzi’s holy mace began to glow with a sickly light, and before they could even steady their footing, the dead began to stir from the muck. 

 It wasn’t just a simple skirmish. Armatzi called upon his faith to drive back the first wave of zombies, sending them fleeing into the dark corners of the vault. They even found a secret chamber—thanks to that elf Feno's keen eyes—where a trapped iron box held a pair of magical leather gloves. They spent hours sifting through what they called "pulp"—all that remained of ancient scrolls and books ruined by the damp—but they managed to pull out a scroll of Protection from Fire Elementals. 

 But the marsh never lets go of its treasures easily. On their way back to our dear Orlane, they were surrounded by no fewer than twenty zombies. It was a bloody business. Poor Sergius was nearly sent to his final rest, falling unconscious under the weight of the onslaught. If not for Armatzi’s healing touch and a series of devastating backstabs from Gnorcia, we might be mourning a few of them tonight. 

 They rolled back into town around 8:40 in the evening, looking like they’d been dragged through the bottom of a bog—which, let's be honest, they had. They’re currently huddled by the fire, filling their bellies and scrubbing the filth of the tomb from their gear. Thirty undead they put down today, or so the count goes. 

 So, if you see them, buy them a round. They’ve earned it, and I have a feeling the Barrowmarsh isn’t done with them yet. 

 — Vilma, your humble teller of truths (and a few well-earned lies)

Session 231: Further exploration of the Barrow Marsh

Tatania, Arnd, Feno, Lhoss, Gnorcia, Sergius, and Armatzi found themselves in the common room of the Foaming Mug in contemplation about what the day would hold. Gnorcia made a quick trip to the Temple of Merika to check in on Priestess Misha's findings about the rotten samples from the Dim Forest. Unfortunately, Misha has been quite busy and had no updates. The group decided to travel to the Barrow Marsh. Interestingly, the corruption in the forest hadn't seemed to progress significantly in the eight days since they had last visited.

The idea was to find the room in the Barrow Maze where the Beholder was defeated and search it for treasure (it was not exhaustively explored in the past). The problem was that the group had originally found the location with the help of the Font of Knowledge, and had no memory of its exact location nor any help in finding it now. For several visits, they have been wandering somewhat aimlessly and have not struck upon the location. Even approaching the Barrow Maze, the group was somewhat at a loss as to which entrance to start from. Tatania decided to meditate and use her compass box to divine some direction. The golden cube responded thusly: it spun, pointed northeast, shuddered, then exploded! Tatania was devastated. The group decided to honor the tool's last piece of information and made their way northeast, in the direction of Eliwin's barrow. 

They found two barrows: one was deeply covered in earth and sod and the dwarves indicated that it would take many hours of digging to uncover. The other was a collapsed mound. The group moved on and saw a third mound with an embossed bronze door covered in verdigris. It could not be made out what was depicted or written on the door. Lhoss cast a clean cantrip and the group was able to see a vile skull of Nerul and pentagram designs. There was also a small keyhole. Gnorcia pulled out and examined her collection of found keys, but none seemed to match the keyhole. Armatzi cast detect magic on the lock and discovered that it is highly magical. He tried to dispel the magic with a spell, but he found that it was protected by deity-level powers and Armatzi was unable to affect it. That was enough of a warning to get the adventurers to move on from this place.

They found a fourth mound that was sealed, but would only take a short while of bashing to open it. Feno and Sergius used sledge hammers and broke it down. No undue attention was attracted, thank goodness. They uncovered a five-foot staircase descending into a dry stone crypt. From the base of the stairs, the party could see five eight-foot stone statues of beautiful women set around the perimeter of the room. Arnd noticed that their shining red eyes, while startling at first, were actually gems. He swept the floor with the 10' pole and the rest of the party moved in to look closer. Niki and Armatzi cast detect magic on the statues, but they were not magical. Armatzi also cast detect traps on all the statues and indeed found one trap on the statue at the far end of the room. It had opals for eyes, where the rest seemed to have rubies or garnets. Gnorcia climbed up the trapped statue to examine it further and noticed a small pipe set into the mouth, possibly a vessel to expel poisonous gas? Niki cast stone shape and blocked off the pipe. Lhoss, Feno, and Gnorcia then went to work to pry out the gems, eight rubies and two black opals.

Tatania keenly spotted a latch. Arnd opened it to find a horde of giant rats. Lhoss climbed above the doorway and dropped a vial of oil and then a lit vial on top of the oil splatter. The result was a conflagration that killed six rats. Arnd then threw his mighty hammer and killed another one. The rest scattered and by the time the fire had died down, there was no sign of the vermin. There were a few coins in their rat nest as well as a sealed arcane scroll tube with a tantalizing blue luster. Tatania looked at it with interest, but contained her desire to inspect it. Lhoss, on the other hand, grabbed it and opened the tube with a sort of reckless abandon. She identified three scrolls with magic-user spells: magic missile, floating disc, and web. Lhoss was particularly interested in the web spell and decided to share and give the floating disc spell to Tatania. The group retreated back to the marsh and looked for another mound to explore. They came upon a sealed mound and decided they would bash it in. That is where my vision of events fades to darkness. I will be sure to follow and report on what is found within, for I am your humble storyteller,

Vilma

Session 230: The temple of Heironeous and the strange and mysterious Fire Maple Druids of Hookhill

It is day 20 of Sunsebb and Tatania has rejoined the group. When told of the identify spell scroll, she happily claims one. She is eager to acquire more skill and knowledge and, in fact, already has the requisite magic ink to scribe the spell into her spell book. 

The group had planned to visit the temple of St. Cuthbert, but as their cleric Armatzi is nowhere to be found, they instead venture to the temple of Heironeous. Feno is particularly interested in this deity which may more closely align to his ideals. As they approach the impressive structure, they are greeted by an acolyte. He needs to be persuaded, but eventually fetches a cleric. A harried cleric is brought out but she seems put out to have to deal with this intrusion on her time. In a disinterested tone, she asks what the party has for her to look at. The party sets out the several books and scrolls they had acquired in the barrowmaze. At first, the cleric is unimpressed. But upon closer inspection, her eyes widen and she emits a small choking sound. She scurries off and another higher-ranking official emerges to evaluate the writings. She too is astounded by the books and asks where the party had come across what she dubbed the "unholy relics of Incabulos". Tatania and Veyda explain the provenance of the items. The cleric wishes to study and then destroy the items and offers in exchange either gold or scrolls. The party chooses scrolls. She offers any four of the following: cure serious wounds, cure blindness, neutralize poison, or cure disease. The group decide on two cure serious wounds, neutralize poison, and cure disease. The group also offers the recovered lizardman scales and doppelganger books. The cleric notes that these two are cursed and will not study them before the curse is lifted. She will charge 2,500 GP to remove the curses, but the party demurs. 

Feno asks about the ideals and mission of Heironeous. He states that he wants to kill undead and is curious how the cleric might respond to such a brash statement. The cleric responds that Heironeous considers undead to be a scourge to be destroyed and any follower would be rewarded for services in this pursuit. In addition certain benefits and responsibilities could be expected. All good worshipers of Heironeous are expected to act in defense of the weak. Feno is intrigued and says that he will think on it.

Meanwhile, it seems that Niki has somewhat forgotten about the plight of her poor cat Jack, but fortunately, Veyda has not. She brings the cat to a druid grove. A priest identifies himself as a representative of the Fire Maple Druids of Hookhill. The priest is deeply concerned for the cat and promises to heal him to the best of their abilities, but it will take two weeks, not including the upcoming festival. He should be healed by day 5 of Fireseek, but no one needs to hurry to pick him up as Jack is welcome to stay with the druids. Veyda is interested in learning from the druids and asks if she can stay with Jack until he is healed. The druid agrees. Tatania then steps forward and offers diseased samples from the Dim Forest for examination. The priest is dismayed. The Fire Maple Druids were unaware of this evil corruption and promise to send emissaries. For sharing this knowledge, Tatania is rewarded with a prized pinecone. Then the priest grows somewhat grim and proclaims that Orlane should be purged of its humanity so that it may return to nature. This shocking statement catches many in the party off guard and they quietly dismiss themselves, leaving Veyda with this questionable group.

The return trip to Orlane is relatively uneventful aside from running into a patrol group. They stop the party to inspect their newly-updated adventuring charter and inform them of a strange sickness to the east. The group remembers overhearing some other travelers talking about this, but don't have any additional information. The patrol group asks the adventurers to warn any travelers they see away from eastward visitations. The party also notes additional rot and mushrooms in the Dim Forest.

Back in Orlane on Day 25 of Sunsebb, the party gives Myr his foodstuffs and checks in on their advertisements. They decide to hire a cart driver and laborer to fetch regular food shipments. In addition, Gnorcia decides to enlist Pella Reid (an orphan from the battle of Orlane) as a hireling. Let's hope she can be kept safe during the many adventures of the Saviors of Orlane. Otherwise you will have to hear about it from me, your faithful storyteller,

Vilma

Session 229: Hookhill shopping trip

It's a fine morning at the Foaming Mug Inn where Feno, Sergius, Maeve, Niki, Armatzi, and Dwerom contemplate their next move. Niki had sent a runner to nearby towns to inquire about supply costs to construct a greenhouse. A wooden structure would be the least costly option coming in at about 300 GP and 650 man-hours, while a stone structure would cost 500 GP and 1,300 man-hours. The real expense, however would be the glass itself as it costs 625 GP per 10x10 foot pane. Niki does not seem discouraged, however! She is intensely interested in being able to grow fresh produce year-round. Such an innovation could be a real boon for Orlane and a draw for a town whose greatest pride is their harvest and good food.

Speaking of food, the party negotiated a permanent contract with Myr to supply him 6 GP worth of fine food per day. They decided to journey to Hookhill and gather some of Myr's chosen provisions (among other tasks). To keep the mimic sated, the party pre-paid 60 GP to the inn for 10 days of food to cover him while they traveled. This is an acceptable short-term solution, but if they didn't come up with a way to support long-term food deliveries for Myr, the party would simply be continuously traveling to feed the hungry creature. So they posted job notices for a general laborer in the three Orlane inns. This way, they could hire out helpers to gather a variety of foods from nearby towns while the party did their adventuring. They will soon be managing quite the small business. Huzzah to the saviors of Orlane: job creators!

On the morning of day 16 of Sunsebb, the party departed Orlane and headed toward Hookhill. Feno attempted to hunt, but was unsuccessful, partly due to the season but also to the forest corruption. The rot seemed to subside about one mile outside of Ironguard Motte. As they traveled along the road, the party met up with the Gran March militia, a group eight strong. Showing deference and respect, Feno spoke to Captain Mookie. Feno reported the necromantic corruption in the Dim Forest. Captain Mookie addressed Armatzi and inquired of him what he thought the source of the corruption might be. Armatzi replied that he thought the source was from some evil withing the barrowmaze, which the adventurers are valiantly trying to cleanse. Captain Mookie praised the party and advised them to renew their adventuring charter, report to the magistrate in Hookhill, and visit the temple of St. Cuthbert. He then inquired about the state of Orlane and asked if they could use some reinforcements. Feno relayed that Orlane was a town in recovery and could always use support. With some additional pleasantries, the two parties went their separate ways.

Further along the path, the party observed a roadside shrine dedicated to Heironeous and attended by Sister Cauldrath Vale, a proud and fearsome woman. She seemed to stare into the very souls of the adventurers. After a brief, but meaningful interaction, a few of the party left offerings of rations and coin.

The party reached Hookhill on the evening of Day 19 of Sunsebb after a hard push to avoid one more night on the road. They were met at the gates by the city guard where they were questioned on their intent. The party indicated they would be selling some items. After some discussion about the value of what they would sell, they settled on about 1,000 GP and were required to pay a 10 GP entry duty. Based on descriptions of the various lodgings from the city guard, they then made their way to Iron Gauntlet Inn. A runner led the party to the inn for which Feno tipped him handsomely. The inn's proprietor introduced himself as Berric Ironhand Thorne. Feno inquired about the security of Hookhill to which Berric replied "the roads are safer, but only because patrols have doubled". In the common room, several interesting characters watched the party intently. The mood was heightened, but did not feel unsafe. Feno spotted some soldiers and bought them a round of drinks, which seemed to lighten the mood.

The next morning, the group set out to purchase some groceries for Myr, including some fine ale and a wheel of cheese. Dwerom took the time to cast an identify spell and identified a dagger with magical properties. Even though Dwerom is a skilled magic user, he only gets so many attempts per day to identify the magical properties of the artifacts the group collects and things are beginning to pile up unidentified. Instead of spending gold every time they need to identify an object, the party wisely invests in some scrolls that will allow two additional magic users to learn the identify magic spell so they can potentially triple their magical potency. All it will take is some magic ink. Oh yeah, and some carp. Gulp!

Next, the party found a merchant shop where they bought a few supplies and sold some amphorae that they had collected for exactly 1,000 GP. Wow, I may be able to see far away events of the present, but someone accurately predicted the events of the future!

With love and accuracy, your humble storyteller,

Vilma