This report chronicles the events of the expedition into a barrow within the Barrow Marsh on the 28th day of Sunset, between the hours of 9:30 and 11:00 in the morning.
The golden goblet called to the party from the short pedestal. It looked enticing, yet menacing. Lhoss inspected it for traps and Niki tested the liquid inside and determined it was not poison. It also did not appear to be evil in nature or possess any magical enchantments. The liquid inside was viscous, green, and familiar. Lifting the goblet to transfer it into a glass bottle that could be sealed, it became evident to the party that they were dealing with that substance well-known to them: green slime. To be sure, Tatania sprinkled a few crumbs of bread into the goblet. The slime reacted instantly. It bubbled up violently, doubling in volume. The goblet itself was appraised to be worth 345 gold pieces and featured a unique non-metallic interior coating that seemed to resist the slime’s corrosive properties.
The party quibbled a bit about how best to handle the situation. They had obviously dealt with green slime numerous times in the past and were being overly cautious about handling it and making sure that the vessel they intended to transfer the glop into would be capable of safely containing the dangerous liquid. The room seemed to grow impatient with their slow decision-making. Suddenly, it began to rain indoors, causing the slime to grow further. Several members of the party retreated outside of the room, but a stubborn few persisted, trying to find a way to decant the slime and recover the goblet. Soon after, the temperature skyrocketed, reaching intense, furnace-like heat. As the rest of the party retreated and closed the door to seal off the heat, they witnessed the glass bottle shatter and the golden goblet melt into a bubbling pool of gold. It almost seemed as though some trickster had set a supernatural trap that sprung when the adventurers tried to claim the goblet.
Continuing north through the marshy interior, Gnorcia accidentally stepped into a pool of peat water but was dried by a companion's magic. The party encountered a locked northern door rigged with a thin wire trap. Lhoss climbed the wall to disarm the mechanism, which triggered a massive four-foot stone block to slam down on the opposite side of the portal. Once the door was unlocked and the block bypassed, the group entered a large crypt.
The new chamber contained numerous burial alcoves and two large wooden statues with antlers. While the party began searching the alcoves, an evil presence was sensed behind a western door. Suddenly, the door burst open, and two sons of Gaks (horrid, worm-infested creatures) attacked. The monstrosities were swiftly vanquished through a combination of magic missiles, martial prowess, and a holy mace that reduced one to a puff of magic.
Peace was short-lived as an explosion rocked the southern end of the tomb, and smoke began pouring into the chamber. The southern door was incinerated, and a funeral pyre zombie emerged. During the skirmish, the zombie was levitated into the air by Lhoss to neutralize its mobility. When struck by magic, it burst into flames, burning away its flesh before being shattered into bone fragments. Simultaneously, the two wooden statues in the room animated into wood golems. In the ensuing melee, the golems were destroyed, though the dwarf Sergius unfortunately had his beard singed by the flames of the burning constructs.
Following the battles, a thorough search of the eight rotting wooden sarcophagi revealed several notable items: a suit of dwarven-sized chain mail, a winged helm, a longsword and a medium-sized kite shield bearing a red, white, and blue chevron, a pair of rusty silver thimbles, a sunflower statuette, a picnic basket, a scandalous piece of black lingerie, a bag containing 45 gold pieces, a potion of extra healing, and a small red bottle containing a "hair restore tonic". Sergius was quite distraught over the reduction of his magnificent beard and seemed distrustful of the tonic. It took much convincing from the rest of the group, but Sergius applied the magical tonic to his damaged facial hair He was much relieved when it successfully restored his beard to its former flowing glory.
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