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.