Session 113: The Discovery of a Royal Dwarf (or Two)

Feno, Armatzi, Niki, Lhoss, and I (Gnorcia) took the hallway back north, through the portcullis, and went west out of the portcullis room. In that hallway, Lhoss opened the second door to the left, which appeared not to have been explored before. It also didn’t appear to be trapped, but there were scorch marks on the door, and inside we found a device on another door on the south wall of the room. It was a sort of clock with a code next to it. Lhoss started puzzling over it, mumbling a bunch of numbers, and then exclaimed that she thought she had figured it out!

The rest of us stood back as far as we could as Lhoss dialed 15, 13, 12... We all jumped every time it clicked, but then the door opened. We peered through and saw a funeral slab and the long-dead remains of a dwarf, wearing armor and holding a hammer, with a coffer at his feet. Niki cast detect magic and the hammer glowed, as did something inside the coffer. We checked the coffer for traps and opened it to find a ring of white gold with a reddish aura about it, and a vial of cyan blue liquid with a whitish aura, glowing with power. We added those to the bag of holding.

Recognizing the value of a dwarven-made coffer, I picked it up to carry it out with us, just as Lhoss reached to take the armor and hammer. But apparently that dwarf didn’t want to lose his stuff because doing so set off a trap. The door slammed shut and poison began to fill the air. Trapped inside, Lhoss and I started choking and banging on the door. Feno quickly dialed the numeric sequence again, opening the door, but as it opened he was also hit with the poison and started to choke as well.

Armatzi and Niki grabbed a vial of cure poison from the bag of holding and another from Feno’s backpack, administering them to Feno and Lhoss. They both began choking and vomited up the poison, but seemed otherwise ok. We had no more vials of cure poison so Armatzi cast slow poison on me and I fell unconscious but was still alive (obviously, since I'm writing this.) Feno then grabbed the hammer, armor, and coffer, adding them to the bag of holding, and hoisted my unconscious body over his shoulder like a small sack of potatoes. The group hurried out of the barrowmaze and through the barrowmarsh. Feno later told me that Lhoss, Niki, and Armatzi were all very quiet and Lhoss kept her head down, looking quite defeated. We proceeded this way through the Dim Forest and back to Orlane, arriving late for dinner, though I could hardly have eaten anyway in my condition.

The entire group went straight to the temple and alerted a guard who hurried to find Priestess Misha. She scurried out carrying a vial of cure poison, which she poured down my throat. Waking up, I coughed and choked up the poison, nodded my thanks to Priestess Misha, then curled up in Feno’s arms and fell asleep again. At that point, apparently Lhoss determined to purchase all the remaining vials of cure poison that Priestess Misha had, adding them to the bag of holding. Everyone had a ration for dinner, since we had missed the meal, and Lhoss and Feno stayed up for an ale at the Golden Grain Inn. 

The next morning I felt completely recovered but hungry. Going down to breakfast, we found Arnd and asked if he could try reading the runes on the hammer we had found. As we showed it to him, Arnd gasped and fell to his knees. "This is the regal dwarven thrower of the clan of Thazuun," he read. Apparently that is Arnd’s clan, and that poison-loving dwarf skeleton was the long lost ancestor Arnd originally went into the barrowmaze searching for! He told us that the weapon is a +2 Dwarven warhammer, meant for throwing. When wielded by a dwarf, it gives +3 to hit and to damage. When thrown, it has a 60-foot range and a boomerang-like quality. It also does triple damage against giant-size creatures.

"Where did you find this?" Arnd exclaimed, and we told him the tale of its discovery. Feno then took out the armor and presented it to Arnd, who immediately put it on. He then explained that it was ornate dwarven plate mail, and that he was actually no ordinary dwarf. It turns out our dwarven friend Arnd is a prince of dwarves! Even Lhoss looked impressed.

We finished our breakfast and the group determined to spend a week in town so Lhoss and I could complete some additional illusionist training.

Flying Penguins and Falling Elves

 Day 23 of Goodmonth

Feno awoke with the smells of the blooming summer flowers and native plants around Orlane. After getting ready for the day, and enjoying their usual tasty breakfast served at the Foaming Mug, the group decided to get a few errands out of the way before heading out to the barrow maze. Feno, headed alone initially to the temple to hopefully be cured of the curse that had befallen him from the needles of the previous day. After being initially rebuffed, he left feeling agitated by the encounter. Lhoss persuaded him to head back there with her, and, due to her being much more persuasive was able to convince the temple to perform this ritual to restore his life essence back to normal. This spell, which cost 1000 gold pieces (this was a reduced rate, thanks in part to the group saving and doing good deeds in town) was successful and caused him to become extremely hungry immediately afterwards. Fortunately for him, the temple provided adequate food for him to wolf down, to ease his feelings of being famished. Once complete, both Lhoss, as well as Feno thank the temple for this work, and head back to the inn to rejoin the group, who are all enjoying the summer morning. As they begin to communicate with each other about what just happened, a loud buzzing sound starts to emanate from the direction of the temple. Initially believing that it a swarm of bees or something similar, Feno brushes it off. The group, consisting of Gnorcia, Calbach, Ronan, Niki, Armatzi, Kyro, Zraith, and Lhoss decided to see what the buzzing noise was all about. Feno decided to follow the group in their investigation as well. When they arrived at the location that the buzzing noise was coming from, they were greeted by appearance of an angelic like messenger penguin, who recited a poem to request Zraith back to his homeland. He said:

"Oh Zraith whose presence we long to see,
 a messenger arrives to urgently plea.
 From the folk of Zraith, a heart-felt cry,
 implores you to return, and don't deny.
 In their humble abode they await your return,
 for your wisdom and guidance they truly yearn.
 Troubles have befallen their peaceful land,
 and they seek your aid, lending a helping hand.
 They speak of darkness creeping near,
 of shadows cast, spreading fear. 
 Your presence, dear Zraith, is their light,
 to dispel the gloom and set things right. 
 The folk of Zraith, with hope and dispair,
 beg you to come swiftly with utmost care.
 For in your hands lies the power to mend,
 to restore their homes, their hearts to mend.
 So heed this call Zraith, fair and bold,
 answer their plea, let their story unfold.
 Bring your wisdom, and magic divine,
 for the folk of Zraith, your presence will shine.
 With haste they await your triumphant return,
 to guide them through darkness, that their fires burn. 
 Oh Zraith, beloved and cherished by all,
 come back Zraith, and answer their call."
    

At its conclusion, Zraith (whom Feno always found a bit annoying) bid the party goodbye, accepting the messengers request of heading back to his homeland. Upon his acceptance, he suddenly utilized some magical wings of his own, flies up, and then teleports to wherever magical penguins call home. He leaves a small pouch for the party upon leaving upwards. Seeing indifference from Armatzi upon its discovery, Lhoss opens it up and discovers 9 healing potions inside. She puts them into the groups bag of holding for safekeeping, and for future use. After much discussion, and the errands they needed doing, the group heads back once again to the barrow maze. They arrive at the dim forest at lunchtime, opting to eat here, on the edge of the forest, instead of the middle of the marsh, which often draws unwanted attention from the denizens there. Feno especially enjoyed the smells of nearly harvestable grain that was growing at the farms along the way: it reminded him of his early childhood. Once the usual, somewhat bland taste of their rations was complete, the group once again went through the dim forest and into the barrow marsh.

The barrow marsh greeted them with thick mists hovering over the soft ground, as well as buzzing and chirping of the insects flying about. They head back and into the usual entrance to the barrowmaze, hoping to find more unexplored routes. More routes, means more treasure. Following a previous route southward, the air in the barrowmaze was noticeably cooler, more so than usual. The passageways were also seemed darker, exuding dark and oppressive feelings throughout its many hallways and passageways. As they continue to move southward towards unexplored areas, the air becomes quite cold. Due to one of the benefits of his enchanted sword, Feno experiences minor cold, whereas the rest of the party, shivers and chatter from the very chilly environment. 

While exploring a new hallway, Niki inadvertently triggers a trap, activating and opening the doors on each side of the party. Skeletons, who appeared to be a mixture of crystalized calcium and bone, attack the party. The skeletons, seemingly drawn to Calbach, attack and hit him a few times. The party dispatches the skeletons, each taking their turn to destroy the crystalized undead bone people one by one. Once defeated, the group heals those that need it, including Calbach, and head down the hallway, only to find a brick wall blocking their progress. Lhoss, being the leader of the group, tells the strongest of the party, "Mr. Feno, tear down this wall." Kyro, Feno, and others bring the wall down with relative ease. 

The party then enters the newly discovered room on the other side of the wall, where they spot a large pile of runic tablets. As they draw near to it, the tablets come together and form a runic golem.  

The newly formed magical creature then attacks. The group take turns in attacking the magical construct, and in turn most are silenced as a result of their attacks on the magical creation. Feno, feeling a little full of himself, and a little impulsive, decides to attack the creature, knowing full well the magical ramifications that would more than likely occur. After dealing some damage to the creature, the golem unleashes a torrent of magical missiles cause a moderate amount of damage to the impulsive wood elf. The group defeats the creature, which leaves two runic tablets upon its destruction. Not wanting to tempt the gods that be, the group places each of the tablets into the bag of holding and decides to rest and recover spells in this new room. Still feeling a little impulsive, and very impatient, Feno decides to head towards the mirror towards the southern part of the room. In a momentary lapse of judgment, he forgets that they had not yet explored this room for traps and triggers a trap door near the mirror. He screams loudly in surprise as he falls downward. Using some quick reflexes, and quite a bit of luck, he manages to grab an edge of the pit with his fingers, thus avoiding a most certain death. Seeing their strongest seemly fall to his death, the group looks towards the area in shock and horror. They look inwards towards the bottomless pit, as Feno slowly climbs out of it. Visibly shaken by this new chain of events, Feno quickly moves to the entrance of the room, trying to get as much distance as he can from that pit. The rest of the group recover their spells and methodically search for traps and treasure in the room. They find nothing in the way of either, while Feno rests near the front door of the room. 

Session 111: Further Exploration and Treasure in the Barrowmaze

Feno, Niki, Armatzi, Zraith, Gnorcia, Lhoss, and Kyro continued their exploration of the Bareowmaze on Day 22 of Goodmonth. The party decided to bash down a brick wall, so Feno, Kyro, and Armatzi heaved sledgehammers while Lhoss and Gnorcia kept an ear out for trouble. Luckily, no evil undead appeared and the party found themselves facing five doorways to the south. Niki swept the area with her pole searching for the rumored bottomless pit and found the space to be clear. One door was off its hinges and hanging open, leading to an empty room. Following a protocol of safety (that was occasionally adhered to) Lhoss checked the easternmost door for traps and noticed a glyph of warding. Though it was faint and nearly blended into the door, the protective cleric symbol was detected. The remaining doors were also checked for runes, but none were seen. It’s possible that the detected rune was old and therefore easily discovered and the other doors were protected by stronger glyphs… nonetheless Gnorcia was able to remove the trap with her nimble thief skills. The next barrier was a simple lock. Gnorcia is always eager to try her collection of keys, but none of the collected artifacts fit the lock. She picked it instead. What a useful thief! (Take some notes, Lhoss!)

Armatzi opened the door to find a skeleton and some debris from a minor collapse in the ceiling. The somewhat inhuman form clutched an excellent shield with the heraldry of a gold hawk on a purple field. Armatzi cast detect magic on the shield: it was magical! On instinct, he touched the shield with Melissa and a crypt shade emerged. The battle was short and the shade was easily defeated. Feno claimed the shield, making him nearly invincible to physical attack, though we know his weakness to magical attack. Shhh! Stop talking about it!

Lhoss picked a lock to another door (atta girl!) to see a room with two funerary boxes. After examination, they were opened to show jewelry and a runic tablet. After a brief internal struggle with her impetuous nature, Lhoss read the tablet only to have it ignite and singe her eyebrows (really, Lhoss?). 

The next door was opened to an empty chamber. The last door was locked and couldn’t be opened by either thief. While contemplating bashing it down, Lhoss noticed a hidden switch that she immediately threw and revealed a hidden room (getting a little sloppy with the safety protocols, there). Luckily there was no trap, but what was revealed was gruesome: a black altar gleaming with imbedded blood stones and covered in dried blood. The stones were pried free rather easily. Feno noticed a hidden door and proceeded to open it and was stabbed with a poison needle. Whoopsie! I’m sure that this incident will compel the party to be more careful about being diligent in their safeguarding and looking for hidden traps! Anywho, there was a big bag of platinum as a reward for his recklessness. 

The group went back to the last locked door and bashed it down with sledgehammers. Inside was a table on a dusty floor and a bag of electrum. Feeling flush with riches, the group made their way out when Kyro pointed out a room that had been overlooked. Inside was a beautiful sight: walls encrusted with gold scarabs. Never ones to pass up treasure, the party took the time to pry each one out and still made it back to Orlane in time for dinner. What a triumphant and enriching day!