Session 51: Day 19 of Planting (evening) and the morning of Day 20

Arnd, Armaziti, Chiki, Gnorcia, Kyro, Lhoss, and Tatania ate a quick dinner and memorized spells in preparation for further adventuring. Tonight's goal was to retrace our steps to the temple of Nerul in an attempt to pick up at the location we had last explored. Some of the party had a vague memory of where we were, but it was honestly a bit of guess work to get to where we were going. The group noticed a slime trail that had been avoided previously and decided to investigate it this time. There was a thought that it might be the same devouring green slime that the group had encountered, but this slime was a translucent gray instead of green. Lhoss dipped a skeleton femur that she had been lugging around to see if it would be devoured; it was not affected. Still, the team decided to give the slime a wide berth. 

Moving forward, Lhoss opened a door to find an animated skeleton dressed in black chain mail and wielding a sword of light. The skeleton immediately engaged with Lhoss but fortunately missed. Tatania made a stunning hit with her magic missile and Armaziti delivered the killing blow with Melissa. Lhoss examined the fallen foe and noticed the sword and armor were worth scavenging. Chiki claimed the sword which was determined to be magical and named it Toffee Sword. Kyro claimed the armor which was a significant upgrade for him.

We followed the slime trail which seemed to originate from behind a closed door. All seven of the party tried unsuccessfully to open the door. Yearning to know what was behind it, Chiki began to bash on the door with his mace. The loud noise attracted unwanted visitors. From the shadows, we heard a croaking noise. Into view appeared two frog men carrying spears. They immediately targeted the closest of us; Lhoss was able to dodge the first blow but was hit by the second. In retaliation, she hit one with a magic missile. Tatania was able to finish it off with Sylvia. Chiki itching to wield his new sword slashed the second asunder with one blow. Chiki and Toffee Sword, an auspicious paring! Unfortunately, the vigor with which Chiki slashed the frog man sent innards spraying onto Kyro which caused him to lose his most recent meal. Looking back on it, the sound and smell of the retching may have attracted the second wave of frog men...

For soon we were facing another round. Gnorcia, moving quickly, fatally slashed one with Vengeance; Chiki again showed his skill by killing another. Then with great deftness, one of the frog men stabbed Lhoss as it leapt over her. Another leapt even further to attack Armaziti. Tatania exploded another magic missile right in the abdomen of one of the foes, sending gore spraying onto Gnorcia and Arnd. There must be something particularly foul about the insides of these creatures, because Gnorcia and Arnd (who have seen plenty of blood and guts) immediately began puking. Fortunately, the fight was soon ended when Armaziti slayed the penultimate frog man and the final combatant fled. The escapee was too swift and evaded our pursuits. Perhaps we will see him on another day.

Not eager to attract more attention by bashing down the door, the group made another attempt to open it. After four failed attempts, Kyro was able to force it. It was a disappointingly empty room. But the group thought it could serve as a relatively safe place to heal, memorize spells, and get the fitful type of rest one does in the barrowmaze. Fortunately, it was an uneventful night.

In the morning, after a hurried breakfast, the group managed to find our way back to the room of switches. We quickly opened the south door and made our way cautiously into the temple of Nerul. The vicious birds we had previously encountered were gone. Sensing the evil of the place, we hurried on to the spot where Lhoss had gone insane. At last we could pick up where we had left off. 

We passed the western pit and came upon a series of alcoves. The first contained the remains of a human in armor. The walls, floor and ceiling were covered in a yellow mold. The deceased's armor was rusty and no good, but Arnd claimed the long sword Bone Splitter that is especially useful against the undead (a boon in this gloomy place). Chiki lingered in the room, examining the yellow mold. Though he knew that the mold was dangerous and asphyxiated those unfortunate enough to come into contact with it, still he paced around the room. It was faithful ChickChick, digging her claws into Chiki's shoulder that finally caused him to flee.

The second alcove contained a wooden bowl with 10 platinum, a pair of bone dice, and an astrolabe that could prognosticate the weather. Chiki took the astrolabe, the platinum was split amongst the group, and Gnorcia stealthily pocketed the dice.

The third alcove revealed a gold skull perched on a pedestal. Its black opal gems inset as eyes made for an intimidating figure! An inscription of "dlohnoitisop" could be read on the base of the skull. I say read, but it didn't make sense to any of us. Luckily, Tatania recalled her glasses that allow her to read other languages. The closest translation that she could approximate was "paralysis". That seemed ominous! But of course we couldn't pass up such a treasure, so Gnorcia deftly tipped the skull into a bag without touching it. It was noted that the base of the skull was silver.

The next alcove presented an interesting tableau: a skeleton flanked by two wooden statues. Chiki was deeply interested in the statues and made a valiant attempt to carry one off. As it was 200 pounds or more, he was struggling to inch it along. For who knows what reason, he decided to draw his sword and strike at the first statue. Immediately, the two figures animated and attacked Chiki, dealing serious damage. Kyro moved to withdraw Chiki from the battle, but Lhoss called out that such an action would leave Chiki vulnerable to attacks. Kyro decided it was worthwhile anyway and pulled Chiki away from the statues. As predicted, the statues viciously slashed Chiki, leaving him bleeding out and on death's door. With a huff of indignation at being proven right at so high a cost, Lhoss rushed over to bind up Chiki's wounds. One of the statues attacked Arnd, and in an act of vengeance with Vengeance (and using a move she had observed from the frog men), Gnorcia leapfrogged over the top to backstab it. Two magic missiles from our magic users and one arrow from Kyro later and the second statue was defeated. Our valiant healer Armaziti brought Chiki back from the brink causing Gnorcia to remark "Chiki, you're awfully small to be so hugely irritating!"

Session 50: Day 19 of planting, return to Barrowmaze

The party had arrived back in Barrowmaze during the late afternoon, and approached the barrow that has the entrance. There was some concern about the wolves that had been heard before, but nothing was seen of them. The visibility was poor due to mist and rain. 

The group quickly traced their steps to the pillared room, and found bodies of the band of the black hand disturbed. These were the dead bodies that the party had slain more than a week before. They had the appearance of being half eaten by something grotesque. 

The party travelled further to the alcove of the god Solis, and several of them followed the procedure to obtain a blessing. A secret door was then found, revealing several animated skeletons that attacked. At first the party thought that they were normal skeletons, but when they were slain, they exploded. Armatzi recalled from his clerical training that they are known as "exploding bones". 

Another secret door was found after the battle, revealing a stragely presrved white body. The body was uncanny. It was hard to determine if that was the natuarl skin, or if it had been painted - it was flaking off in parts. A gold pendant with a large pearl was around the bodies neck. Lhoss attempted to claim the staff, and it fell in a most unnatural way. It was also seen that it eyes and lips were of a darkened color as well. Lhoss managed to obtain the pendant. 

The group left, obtaining new blessings from Polis before moving on. They returned to the large open room, with an altar at the northern area. The altar was examined more closely, and it was covered with dry blood. The deity of the altar couldn't be determined. There was a fading fresco behind the altar that was also inscrutable. 

Adjacent to this room on the west was the room that a dead mongrelman had been found. This corpse had also been partially consumed and dismembered. Tatania and Gnorcia moved the corpse and remains to the alcoves in the room, and Tatania used some of her water to clean up the mess on the floor. The group then ate dinner and memorized/prayed for new spells in that room.