This week's roster of adventurers: Tatania and Kyro (Christa), Lhoss and Hilja (Leigh), Gnorcia and Arnd (Lillian), Armaziti (Alex), Hodor (Thomas), Adelbertus (Daniel), DM (Quint)
Lhoss was able to rejoin the group and was mildly irritated at missing out on such a large haul of treasure from the previous day's exploits. The members of our band seem to be ever shifting. In fact, Hodor must have sent some sort of magical dispatch, as his brother Adelbertus joined us seemingly out of thin air. Alas, there was no sign of Squirbo. But I wonder if anyone would be surprised if that friendly squirrel blinked into existence. Aramaziti appeared to have a quiet suspicion of Adelbertus. Aramaziti has been our sole cleric for some time and sharing the honor and duty of bestowing healing blessings seems to irk him.
As ever, the tomb was unnervingly quiet. Tatania decided to examine a pile of crumbled red brick in the hallway. There was nothing of interest other than a few small beetles that scampered from the mess. Beyond the pile was an empty room; we moved on. Gnorcia came upon a door and pressed her ear to it. On the other side she heard a muffled voice. The door appeared safe to open, so she did. Behind the door was a pile of rubble from a collapsed wall and another door, but no source for the voice. They moved to the door.
Lhoss opened the door and saw an empty hall. Creeping out and peering around the first corner revealed another empty hall and the corner at the end of the hall led to an alcove filled with burial chambers. There were twenty small, circular chambers that had been sealed with clay. Lhoss cracked through the first one and discovered remains. In fact many of the chambers held no treasure, only bones. Others joined the search and it was Kyro who discovered the only valuables: a silver (and magical) dagger, silver earrings, and 115 copper coins. There was some discussion about who would take the dagger. Lhoss advocated strenuously that a thief should be the one to use the magical weapon since they would be most adept with it. As Gnorcia had been with the party longest without receiving such a beneficial tool, it was bestowed to her.
Retreating back to the door around the first corner, Adelbertus attempted to open it. Lhoss called out that he should wait until it had been examined for traps. This barrowmaze has had many traps and a newcomer might not know how dangerous flinging open doors willy-nilly might be. Lhoss examined the door closely and feeling safe, took the opportunity to open the door herself. Was it a clever gambit to keep someone else from doing her most beloved task? Who can say? Regardless, inside the team was met with yet another pile of rubble. For some reason, the fact that they could not determine where the pile of stone, dust, bone, and debris came from was intriguing to Gnorica, Tatania, and Lhoss. They prodded the pile but found no immediate answers. Lhoss grew bored and gave up while Gnorcia and Tatania continued to dig through the debris. With nothing of value being found, the task was finally abandoned. The group also decided to examine the walls of the room, but their activities must have alerted others to their presence because they soon heard muffled voices on the other side of the door.
The party held back and suddenly the door was thrown open to show seven bandits. The bandits asked who we were and what we were doing here. Lhoss proclaimed "We have been given the sacred duty to cleanse this barrowmaze of the evil that has taken hold here!" The bandits chuckled and attempted to extort our heroes. Pay a ransom to avoid attack. Hearing these words, Lhoss felt her heart stop. She called out "Are you the Band of the Black Hand?" they replied "Yes". Lhoss, anger and resentment bubbling up yelled back "I hate you guys!" It was clear there would be no payout; the battle was on!
Hilja, hoping to show her value to the party cast a spell called faerie fire. It placed a green glowing light around five of the enemies, making them easier for our heroes to hit. But Tatania didn't need help striking the first bad guy with her magic missile, downing him immediately. Lhoss could feel her blood pounding in her ears. She was transported back to her first encounter with the Band of the Black Hand. She recalled preparing her sleep spell and being critically hit with a sling stone. She recalled drifting in and out of consciousness as her compatriots, her friends were beaten down by this wicked crew. She knew that they had been forced to pay double the original ransom to escape with their lives. The shame and anger she had felt were growing, surpassing their original levels. Here was her chance for vengeance and she would not waste it.
Now, seeing red, Lhoss lit one of her oil vials and lobbed it toward the back of the enemy pack. It landed squarely on the head of one man, drenching him in liquid fire and killing him immediately, with some hot oil splashing onto two others and injuring them. In a fit of righteous indignation and in an attempt to intimidate the foes, Lhoss cried out "We're gonna loot your corpses!" Aramaziti, wielding the powerful Melissa, slammed her directly into the chest of one bandit, felling him. These guys were dropping like flies! Arnd, showing some mischievousness, winked at one bandit and attacked with his mace. Unfortunately, he didn't connect and was rewarded with a vicious return attack from the bandits. Our next volley of attack further devastated the wicked crew with Hoddour gutting one with his dagger, Kyro dealing a deadly shot through another's neck, and Lhoss ending another with a backstab beneath his ribs and a cry of "I'm getting my money back!". With the screams of the dying echoing through the chamber, the last remaining bandit appeared to surrender. It was suggested that he should be questioned. Disarmed and on his knees, Lhoss held a dagger to his throat and growled "Give me a reason not to kill you." The man, shaking and near soiling himself answered all the queries put to him. Marcus was the leader of this group. The Black Hand's main leader is Darius. Their hideout can be found by following the path about 1 mile to a tree with a distinctive knot and following another trail approximately 1/2 mile to their camp, where reside 40-50 men. Realizing for the first time that this is not one of the men who had so easily bested our heroes before (although of the same group), Lhoss softened a little and decided to let this man go. But sensing they could be an easy target if more of the Black Hand return, she issued him a warning: "Your band have bested us once; we have slaughtered your men in return. Do not pursue us. We have powers that you cannot comprehend. We have been charged with a holy task. If I ever see your ugly face again, I will gouge out your eyeballs and flay the skin from your body." With that, she released her grip and the bandit hastily retreated.
As the team was counting up the gold that they recovered from the bandits, a scream was heard from elsewhere in the barrowmaze, but it was not investigated. The rest of the group was a bit taken back by Lhoss' cutthroat behavior and speech to the bandit. They had not understood the depth of her grudge and Lhoss herself had not been aware of the dark places it would take her. Surely this would not be the last they saw of the Black Hand.
The group realized that they were in a part of the barrowmaze they had explored before and were close to the room dedicated to St. Cuthbert. It was agreed that room would be a safe place to rest and recover before continuing on.
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