Ah, greetings, dear reader. Sit a spell, warm yourself by the fire, and let old Vilma share some musings. The winds of fate blow strangely indeed, and I've seen and heard things lately that make me ponder the very fabric of our existence, and perhaps... the nature of the telling itself.
The young folk, our brave adventurers, have been busy. They were off in Hokco for a time, though I confess the details of their time there are like whispers on the wind to me. What I do know is they were in the midst of a week of 'leveling up,' a peculiar phrase for training, don't you think?. Four of them, the wearer, Los, Cheeky, and Cairo, were deep in this 'leveling up' process. Cheeky, bless his tiny heart, was just one 'experience point' away from finishing his training, a curious measure of growth indeed. He even gave some of his 'experience' away to Feno once! Oh, the things these children talk about!
They returned recently, arriving back here in Orlane just as evening was falling on the first day of Ready Reit, which feels very much like late fall to me, perhaps like your November. The village is still recovering, you know, after the unpleasantness with the Naga. Our people are industrious, patching up buildings and laying new foundations. It warmed my old heart to see them arrive at the inn. And imagine, they brought gifts! Baby chicks, they did. Cairo brought ten himself. The innkeeper was so grateful, their meal was 'on the house'. Most of them indulged in the seven-course 'Rebirth of Orlane' feast, a rare treat. Though dear Norsha, ever practical, just asked for a plain dinner. Such sensible saving!
Before they came home, they visited the Sage, Diana, you see. They sought to sell some unique items they'd found in the Barrow Maze. They had quite the collection, including:
• The Barome Alchemical Grimmery
• The Barome Codex
• An ivory demon idol
• Spell books (at least three, maybe four, including a red velvet one and several from necromancers of Set)
• Three daggers with runes of Set
• A quarter staff topped with a skull and runes of Set
• A sorcerer staff and robe(s)
Ah, the negotiations! They tried to figure out how much these things were worth. Hilda, God bless her, wanted a thousand gold pieces for the books. Feno suggested 500. They settled on 750 gold pieces each for the Grimmery and the Codex. Diana sniffed out they had five spell books and offered varying prices, from 150 to 350 gold pieces, which they eventually agreed upon. The mundane robe only fetched a single gold piece, and the non-magical staff another gold. The daggers went for 11 gold pieces for all three.
But the truly valuable items... they didn't know the half of it! The staff, the one topped with a skull, turned out to be magical, a +1 staff. They sold it for a mere 300 gold pieces. Can you believe it? Diana later revealed it was worth 2,000 gold pieces!. A huge bargain for the Sage, though the adventurers learned a lesson: magic items are rare and valuable. The demon idol, which Nora nervously hugged to herself (or rather, held under her armored arm, wearing gloves, of course!), they let go for 500 gold pieces after initially asking 1,000. Diana said it was worth 850 gold pieces. Though, interestingly, they apparently drove a hard bargain on most things, even getting over market value for the Alchemical Grimmoire, which was valued at 700 but sold for 750.
They walked away with a tidy sum: 772 platinum and 3 gold pieces. Divided amongst seven (or was it eight, counting Dwarm who wasn't there but needed money for leveling up?), it was a good haul. Platinum pieces! That's a lot of money in these parts. Cheeky, poor lad, needed some of that money desperately. He owes money to the 'bag of holding,' Feno, Los, and others. He borrowed 50 platinum pieces from Los and Nikki, promising eggs from his chicken as interest. Eggs as interest! Only Cheeky. Despite his debts and needing loans, he did manage to level up to a third-level fighter, gaining a proficiency and improving his attack prowess. They joked about him becoming proficient in 'egg eater' or plastic straws. Oh, these 'proficiencies' and 'attack tables'... the language of the telling is quite strange at times.
Now, after their feast, they're off again, back to the Barrow Marsh. The walk through the Dim Forest always feels oppressive, and the marsh itself has a constant stench. They returned to the Barrow Marsh area, looking for new places to explore. They found a burial mound that had been excavated and emptied and another sealed with a stone door, which they'd been in before and found flooded.
They decided to enter the maze through the entrance by burial mound number 20, the one with the broken sarcophagi and dancing skeletons. You have to turn one of the skeletons upside down to open the door. They lit torches and a candle and headed down into the silent, oppressive atmosphere. Their goal? To head East, following the advice someone received about evil being in that direction. They even considered revisiting Armatzi's room, which is somehow sanctified to St. Cuthbert, but decided against it after letting Armatzi pray and the others eat.
As they moved East through the labyrinthine corridors, they came across something truly unsettling. The walls were painted black, a matte black that seemed to absorb light. When a dagger scraped on it was put to a torch, the torch burned black and lost its light. It was a peculiar paint, unevenly applied near the floor. They pressed on and found that the black paint transitioned into a blood-red color. This red wasn't matte; it glistened and flowed like liquid. It seemed to flow from a seam in the ceiling down the walls and into the floor, being absorbed into the ground.
To investigate, Nora cast a 'continual light' spell up at the ceiling. But the strange paint swallowed the light!. A globule of black dripped from the ceiling, wriggled on the floor, and turned into hundreds of scattering ants. It seems this paint is somehow magical, perhaps related to darkness or swallowing light.
But the worst part? Cairo, seeing the flowing red, was overcome with pain and fear. He couldn't stand, couldn't speak coherently, and couldn't move into the black-painted area. The red paint was somehow affecting him! His companions had to drag him towards a door at the end of the corridor, away from the flowing red. As soon as they reached the door, which the red flow did not reach, his pain vanished, though he was covered in sweat.
What is this strange flowing paint? Why does it absorb light and harm Cairo? The mysteries of the Barrow Maze deepen with every step. And the way these events unfold, the pauses, the discussions of rules and numbers and dice... it's as if their very journey is being... recorded. Curious, isn't it?
Until next time, when we see what happens next in this peculiar unfolding tale, be well.
Vilma.
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