Session 45: Day 11 of Planting, part three

One of the oddities of the barrowmaze (the appearance and disappearance of party members seemingly at random) led to a curious reshuffling of our group. Yldarb, Chiki, Lhoss, Hilja, and Ronan appeared just as Blizzard, Hoddour, and Adelbertus seemed to disappear into the dark of the underground tomb. Aramaziti, Gnorcia, Arnd, Tatania, Kyro, and Calbach relayed the difficult encounter they had all just endured. In fact Aramaziti and Tatania had both exhausted their spells and were in need of some time to recover them. But Lhoss, being selfish and impetuous (and feeling fresh as a daisy), was itching for an adventure. Aramaziti found a quiet, secluded room and began to pray, with Chiki watching on. Tatania, on the other hand, tried several spots to memorize her spells, but kept finding her attention pulled by various distractions. She finally settled in a room separate from Armaziti and the rest of the group with Kyro guarding the entrance. So the party was separated into three groups. This seems unwise...

Lhoss, being an absolute pill, began to inch closer to the first door she wanted to open. She moved toward it like a youngling mischievously sneaking up to the pine boughs on the first evening of Needfest, eager to sneak a peek inside the knitted socks. Yldarb uttered a word of caution, which prompted Lhoss to closely examine the door before she opened it. Inside, a low table was standing in the center of the room with a bowl and black urn resting on top. Ronan began to cautiously move toward the table when Hilja rushed in quickly to stand beside him. Slightly distracted, Ronan bumped the table which upset the bowl and spilled 48 silver pieces onto the floor. Lhoss and Yldarb entered and picked up the coins. Ronan scooped up the bowl and absentmindedly handed it to Hilja who took it as a sign of affection. She jauntily placed it on her head and gave Ronan a huge grin and a wink, which he pretended not to notice. Balancing the bowl, Hilja closely inspected the urn which appeared to have something stuck inside. Using her dagger, Lhoss managed to scrape off a few unidentifiable black flakes. Ronan tipped a torch onto the flakes, deciding to see if they would ignite. Indeed they did and the entire room quickly filled with acrid smoke. Lhoss quickly grabbed the urn, Ronan grabbed Hilja, and all four exited the room with Yldarb closing the door behind him. Gnorcia rolled her eyes and asked that we stop setting rooms on fire.

Calbach noticed a south door that was slightly ajar. He pushed into the room and saw the room had bas-reliefs depicting the raising of the dead. Ronan also entered the room and noted that there were several vacant slabs protruding from the walls and sets of footprints that led out of the room. Aside from that creepy vignette, the room was empty.

Refusing to wait for their vital party members who were occupied preparing their spells, the transfixed party followed the footprints that led out of the room to a door with a keyhole. Gnorcia and her collection of keys were called upon to see if she could open the door. The silver key that she had just acquired was too small, but luckily she tried each of the rest of her keys and one actually opened the lock. Though unlocked, the door seemed to be stuck and difficult to move. Lhoss was unable to budge it, but Gnorcia opened several inches. A stale, dusty scent wafted out. Gnorcia gave a mighty heave and pushed it open a few more inches, enough for she and Lhoss to peek inside. They observed a gnome-sized body wrapped in white strands laying on the floor. Ronan slammed his shoulder against the door and created just enough room to slip through, which Lhoss did with characteristic lack of forethought. Seeing that the door was slamming shut behind Lhoss, Ronan reacted instinctively and dove through. The pair found themselves trapped in a room with two giant spiders. They had to act fast to avoid ending up like the poor adventurer on the ground! Lhoss whacked one with her staff while Ronan attempted to crack another with his cudgel. Fortunately they were able to dodge the spiders' nasty pincers. Hearing the fight inside, Gnorcia swiftly unlocked and opened the door. She, Calbach, Yldarb, and even Chiki and Kyro sprung into the room to engage the foul arachnids with the door slamming shut again behind them. Gnorcia landed a killing stab, slicing one of the beasts down its back. But she was the only one to have such luck as the rest of the party and the spiders engaged in a dodging dance with neither weapon nor pincer able to gain purchase. Finally, Ronan's cudgel struck true and caused the second spider to explode in a disgusting shower of gore. 

Lhoss cut away at the spider webs that had encased what was found to be a dead halfling. She and Gnorcia found on the body a pouch filled with 43 electrum and what appeared to be a dagger. Gnorcia picked up the dagger and realized the treasure she now possessed. In the hands of a human or elf, it would be an ordinary dagger. But wielded by a gnome or halfling, it acted like a short sword. In fact, Gnorcia realized with a start, this was the legendary Stout Blade dagger, given to heroes and was especially useful in the hand of a thief. To possess such a weapon, Gnorcia was happy to pass down her old magic dagger to Lhoss. The party glanced around the room and saw large frescoes depicting the temple of Nerul. There was a muttered agreement not to tell Tatania about what was on the walls to avoid another fire today. Gnorcia unlocked the room from the inside using her key and the group exited.

The group's pride at defeating the spiders unscathed was somewhat tempered by the chastisement from Armaziti and Tatania who had been entirely excluded from the afternoon's exploits. Moving forward, we all agreed it would be wise to pay attention to the needs of each party member. It's just that our group has swelled to such a large and unwieldly size. But fate has a way of balancing things out. It may be that this barrowmaze and it's inexplicable powers may find a way to limit our numbers.

Session 44: Part 2 of Day 11

Beginning at midday on Day 11 of Planting, we finished our lunch and decided to explore further down the hallway we were in.  Our group consisted of the dwarf brothers Hoddour and Adelbertus Goldborne, Gnorcia, Arnd, Calbach, Blizzard, Armaziti, Kyro, and me (Tatania). Little did we know, it was going to end up being a very long day

Headed west, we passed by the door warning all to "Go No Further" that we'd found earlier, as well as a couple of other closed doors.  Our goal was the doors at the end of the passageway.  First Arnd and then Gnorcia checked the northern door for traps and then, as it appeared safe, Arnd attempted to open it.  Unfortunately, it was stuck fast.  Then, Adelbertus proved that he is a complete novice to Barrowmaze adventuring.  He was talking loudly to Hoddour, probably to combat the eerie silence of the place, when we noticed that the southern door was ajar.  A serpent-like hissing drew all attention as the door opened further and we saw to our dismay that a pair of ghouls were feasting on the body of a deceased fellow adventurer.  The ghouls, disturbed by Adelbertus' loud voice, accused him of trying to rob them of their meal.  

Obviously, this was the farthest thing from the case, but they nevertheless attacked the pair of dwarves.  Adelbertus quickly tried to get his shield up while Hoddour swung his knife at the ghouls.  As would become all too common that day, Hoddour missed his target.  One of the ghouls got past the shield and scored a hit on Adelbertus, injuring him and leaving him paralyzed.  Adelbertus' reflex swing with his staff as he collapsed also failed to hit.  Gnorcia used her sneaking skills to get behind the ghouls and attack with her dagger, but the targeted ghoul dodged.  Arnd swung his sword at the ghoul that attacked Adelbertus, hitting with a glancing blow that did little to no damage.  Kyro tried to help, but his aim was poor and his arrow splintered against a wall instead.  Armaziti tried using his gauntlet to drive off the undead, but it had no effect on our foes.  I steadied myself and blasted the leftmost ghoul with a magic missile, burning it.  It was beginning to feel like a comedy of errors when Calback shot an arrow at the right-side ghoul, and also missed his target.  Fortunately, Blizzard used her light crossbow and skewered the ghoul I'd burned, further damaging it.

Then, as if things weren't bad enough, the north door that was solidly closed before opened itself, revealing shadowy figures.  It felt as though the temperature had dropped several degrees.  Using the distraction, the injured ghoul attacked Hoddour, but this time luck was in our favor as Hoddour escaped injury.  He slashed back with his dagger, finally killing the ghoul in retribution.  The uninjured ghoul mindlessly kept after poor Adelbertus, hurting him badly and knocking him unconscious.  Gnorcia again attacked the surviving ghoul with her magic dagger, and again failed to do any harm.  Kyro cursed under his breath, vowing to practice more, when his next arrow also went astray.

My attention was drawn to the three approaching menacing shadow forms, so I used my second magic missile on one of them.  It was a solid hit, but the creature didn't make a sound.  It was frustrating, as I was now out of spells and would have to rely on my meager physical skills.

Back with the ghoul, the tragi-comedy continued with first Calbach and then Blizzard failing in their attacks on the foul creature.  Arnd expressed his anger with a loud bellowing scream while swinging his mace.  As was almost becoming expected, the slippery critter managed to avoid being hit.  Finally, Calbach harnessed all our outrage and sent an arrow right through the ghoul's head, killing it for good.

Unfortunately, we didn't have even a moment to celebrate that victory since the shades wouldn't allow us a respite.  Armaziti swung Melissa at a shade and stumbled when Melissa just sailed through with no resistance.  We probably should have realized it sooner, but it quickly became obvious that these foes required magic to damage.  Kyro's third arrow was on target, but since it was not a magic attack, it was as useless as a miss.  The three shades converged on Armaziti, proving that while we weren't having any luck in hurting them, the same was not true in reverse.  He was hit repeatedly and quickly weakened.  I took a chance and attacked with my silver dagger, but while silver has inherent properties against certain monsters, it wasn't enough against these undead.  Armaziti successfully evaded the creatures and retreated to the relative safety of the other side of the hallway while Kyro swung his (non-magical) sword ineffectively.  Calbach tried his magic short sword, but had no better luck in his attack than if he'd been using a stick.

Gnorcia decided to play to her strengths and easily crept behind our attackers.  She tried to use her backstabbing ability, but the jinx that appears to have been upon us held and she missed anything vital.  Blizzard proved her worth once again by arming her magic crossbow and hitting the shade on the right with a quarrel, hard.  It was sorely shaken, with light bursting out from the site of the quarrel, although it wasn't enough to destroy the beast.  Calbach managed to slice another shade, doing minor damage. Even so weakened, a hasty "Turn Undead" spell had no effect on them.  The spell failure served to unnerve Hoddour enough that he began to retreat back down the hallway, alone.  We called for him to come back, but I was afraid that he might not listen.

Arnd realized that Adelbertus was in a bad way and set about bandaging the poor stricken dwarf, stabilizing him until he could be helped further.  Blizzard shot again at the shades, but her quarrel didn't hit its target. Gnorcia attacked again, this time severely injuring her foe.  Hoddour, seeing his brother in such a helpless state and seeing tiny Gnorcia having success, finally remembered that his own dagger is magic and he regained enough courage to come rushing back.  The shade Gnorcia had hurt turned its wrath on her but in doing so, turned its back on the returned Hoddour.  This was a fatal mistake as Hoddour stabbed his magic dagger into its back, disbursing it to the aether.  Of the two remaining shades, one attacked Calbach and hit him while the other tried to take me down.  With my lack of fighting skills, I was sure it was only a matter of time before I was in a state similar to Adelbertus.  I don't know how, but somehow it missed me. Gnorcia came to my rescue and her skill left that shade barely surviving.  Then, Hoddour followed up and finished it off.  I was so grateful to the two thieves, I decided to look the other way next time one of them decided to "acquire" something (as long as it doesn't take too much from the group collectively).

Calbach fought back against his attacker, but before he could get a solid hit in, Blizzard and her magic crossbow prevailed and the final shade fell away to nothing.  There was a collective sigh of relief, but we weren't quite finished yet.  Adelbertus still needed healing badly, so Armaziti cast "cure light wounds" and Adelbertus recovered sufficiently.  Gnorcia timidly tapped Armaziti on his leg to beg healing for herself as well, and of course he obliged.

We did a casual search of the room that the shades came from, and found only frescoes showing offerings to the evil God Nerul.  Now, I have a personal grudge against worshippers of Death Gods because of a trauma from my past.  Even though I don't know for certain that Nerul was the one worshipped by the cultists I had earlier encountered, I felt the need to destroy these worshipful paintings.  I used one of my oil flasks on the walls and ignited the frescoes with my torch.  The room quickly filled with noxious smoke, so I pulled the door shut again and left it to burn.

In the room to the south, Gnorcia saw the possibility for treasure.  Beyond the half-eaten corpse and the ghoul bodies were a series of burial alcoves.  She quickly overcame her distaste over the fresh dead and searched diligently.  She was rewarded with a bounty of 102 electrum pieces and four runic tablets, two of which were whole and two of which were too broken to read.  As the main magic users in the group, Armaziti and I each were given a tablet to read.  Armaziti read his and was cursed with a guaranteed failure of his next saving throw.  I lucked out and was blessed with a permanent increase of +1 to my dexterity.  As is usually the case, the tablets crumbled to dust upon being read.

I insisted that we honor the slain adventurer that the ghouls had been eating by interring his body in one of the vacant alcoves, and we then searched all the rest of the alcoves.  I found a topaz necklace, Kyro found a fire opal and Gnorcia found a platinum ring.  I told the group that although I intended for the necklace to be part of the common pot, I wanted to wear it until such time as we were able to sell it.  Adelbertus checked the treasure for magic, and finding it all to be mundane, I put on the necklace and Gnorcia put on the ring.  I have no idea if Gnorcia intends to allow the group to profit from the ring, but as I noted previously, I'm not going to mention it if she keeps it for herself.  Kyro put the fire opal into the bag of holding.  I was so ready for the day to be over, but it was only a few hours past noon, despite all the adventure.  I hope nothing too traumatic happens before we can sleep again.

Session 43: Beginning of day 11 of Planting

 After the adventure with the shadow, the party found space in the main room to sleep. No one slept well, with unpleasant dreams. After eating some breakfast, the party moved to the east. 

An altar was found that Armatzi examined. Hilja flirted awkwardly with Ronan, to the discomfort of the whole party. The party continued to explore, and opened a room with a dead deformed creature of some kid - it had some parts that look human, and some that looked bestial. There were plenty of alcoves to search, and the party found some treasure: a platinum necklace, a bag of gold pieces, many copper pieces, and a golden figurine. Rejoicing in their good fortune, the party marched to the north. 

There was a long hallway, with a trail of slime coming out of a door. There appeared to be several doors lining the corridor. The party feared the slime trail, and avoided it, proceeding towards the west. A door was opened with an altar with some bones. Then a message was found on the next door with the cryptic message "don't go this way" written in chalk. Of course the party decided to go that way. 

The next door was examined and then opened, which released a mysterious gust of wind, that blew out all the torches. Fortunately, several in the party have dark vision, and Armatzi has the holy gauntlet that emits light. Out of nowhere, Arnd and Gnorcia appeared and began adventuring with the group. 

Another door was opened, revealing the dead body of a magic-user. The party found a spell book and had a long discussion about the spell book, and what to do with it. It was eventually put into the bag of holding.

The party then came to a door that was on the south wall (all the other doors had been on the north wall). Once the door was opened, it revealed a strange room with alcoves on the east, and two steel doors, one on the south, and one on the west, and a box with three levers next to the western door. An examination of the doors, switches, and alcoves was done, and  some platinum pieces and gold earrings were found. 

Lhoss then experimented with the levers, and by moving the center and right levers up, a distinct *click* was heard, and the southern door opened, revealing a long dark corridor behind it. Most of the party went into the room to explore, and found some doors at the end of the corridor. Then the door slammed closed after a turn. Fortunately, Lhoss had stayed behind, and opened the door again. 

Arnd then hastily rushed down to the southern door and opened it, triggering a deadfall trap that damaged him badly. After retreating, the door closed again, and Lhoss opened the door again. Arnd was abashed to discover that with a bit more caution and examination, he would have detected the deadfall trap. 

Kyro discovered burial alcoves in the ruined room, and the party searched them, finding a bloodstone jewel. The party continued to search the area, with no further items being found. The party then examined the other door, which was on the west. After many attempts, the door was finally opened. There was some debate, and the party returned to the room of two steel doors, where Lhoss had stayed. Arnd then made an observation that there must be something else about the levers, and after some more experimentation, Lhoss found that by moving the levers up with a *click* and then back down with a *clank*, the door stayed open. Lhoss then discovered the combination for the western door (moving the left and right levers up and then back down). The group entered the passageway that was revealed. 

A series of doors was revealed in this passageway, including on north and south several feet in. The northern door was checked and then opened, revealing an altar with an array of lawful and chaotic gods and their underlings in conflict. Several items were also found. After some debate, the group looted the room, with Kyro saying a prayer of thanksgiving for the treasure:  a copper plate, some platinum, 3 small emeralds, a funerary wooden deer, 2 silver rings, a wooden funerary figure, and a cracked clay bool. The group then paused for lunch. 

Session 42: Another Phantasm Emerges from the Darkness

Our little group today consisted of Gnorcia (and Arnd), Tatania (and Kyro), Lhoss (and Hilja), Armaziti, and the sudden but welcome reappearance of Blizzard the monk. We left the room that serves as a Temple of St. Cuthbert and traveled back through the large room with pillars, where we had battled brigands the day before. This time we headed into the north hallway where we remembered our previous victory in a large room to the east with yet another group of brigands from the Black Hand. This time, however, we went west and Lhoss opened a door on the south side of the hallway into a large room filled with burial crypts, and with a strange map on the floor.

The group quickly sketched out the map for future reference, then began combing through the crypts, searching for treasure. We also noticed that all the bones in this crypt had been laid out in unusual arrangements, with the legs, skulls, arms, and really all the bones out of their usual positions. We discovered a ring with a red ruby and a topaz. Armaziti considered trying on the ring but decided against it, so Lhoss plucked it from his hand and tried it on herself. It was pretty, but seemed to be just a ring. For a moment she thought it was stuck on her finger, but it was just a snug fit and came off with some gentle twisting. The ring and the topaz were added to the bag of holding and we decided to search the large room further. We spread out through it, but as we searched much of the floor, ceiling, and walls and didn’t find anything interesting, we soon grew bored and wandered back out into the hallway.

Heading north through another hallway, we noticed an open door on the east wall into a room that we had not investigated before. Tatania, Blizzard and I entered and found lots of rubble about the floor. Tatania pulled out a broom from her pack and began sweeping vigorously. I started searching through the rubble and found a small flawed black sapphire, which was added to the bag of holding. I also tried in vain to collect some nails from a broken keg, but they all broke off and crumbled. A search of the east wall turned up nothing interesting and the sweeping was creating a lot of dust in the room, so Blizzard and I headed back out to see what the others were doing.

We followed around a corner and found Lhoss, Arnd, and Armaziti investigating another room through an archway to the west. Inside there was a plinth set into the floor with the word “Solace” written on it and a carving of a sun in the ceiling overhead. Armaziti recognized it as the name of the god of the sun, but was hesitant to step onto it. Lhoss was most curious, however, and stepped up, then felt drawn to look upward toward the sun carving. Thinking she should make an offering to Solace, she took out a gold piece and held it over her head, but as she did she felt compelled to lift both arms toward the ceiling. As she reached upward, she felt a wonderful feeling and stumbled back off the plinth, her face a picture of joy and bliss. All I knew was this god didn’t take her gold piece, so I immediately jumped up on the plinth and raised my arms. Wow! What bliss I felt flow through me! I stumbled off the plinth as the blessing coursed through me. Slowly, each of the party followed and received the same blessing, Armaziti at the last.

From there we turned to another door at the west end of the hall and Lhoss opened it to find another room full of crypts. We entered and began searching for treasure in the burial chambers. I got lucky and found a small bag with 6 platinum, along with some sort of lever. The lever was jammed solidly into place and although most of us tried, no amount of pushing would move it. Armaziti then noticed something strange in the wall just north of the crypt with the lever. There seemed to be a handhold of some sort, and as he pushed on it, the wall slid back to reveal another room!

On the floor of the room there was a series of indentations, and something matching them on the ceiling above. Tatiana investigated but as I looked more closely at them I noticed a plate on the floor behind them. It covered the width of the room and appeared to be a pressure plate of some kind. We considered triggering it, but Lhoss decided instead to use her pole to vault over it. She got safely to the other side and couldn’t see anything interesting there so she vaulted back. But Blizzard was very curious about the pressure plate so she and Lhoss took out two of our 10-foot poles and decided to work together to trigger it.

As they pressed on the plate, the lever popped back in the direction we couldn’t push it before and a portcullis rolled down into place, blocking off the room and opening another doorway in the back! Suddenly there was a horrifying ghostly figure moving toward us! It was a phantasm, the likes of which we had hoped never to see again. Terrified, we all took a step back, but as the phantom moved toward us it appeared to be trapped behind the portcullis! Blizzard got out her magical crossbow and was going to shoot at it until she realized the bolts weren’t magical and would likely go right through it. Instead, Tatiana cast magic missiles at the creature and hit it! Armaziti tried to use his turn undead ability and was unable to affect it, but Tatiana hit it a second time with more magic missiles. Then Hilja hit it with faerie fire, turning it to glowing blue, and I was able to attack it with my new color spray spell. The phantasm fell to the floor, stunned! We were out of spell attacks but the creature was down so Arnd ran and pulled back on the lever, raising the portcullis. Armaziti swung the hammer Melissa over his head and smashed it down on the creature and damaging it further, and I ran around to its back, swiping down through its ghostly shape as I screamed, “Slicer!”, bestowing that name on the blade. The phantasm shivered and then vanished! It was defeated!

We all moved toward the back of the room where the phantasm has emerged from and found another long room with some sort of figure at the end of it. I carefully investigated as I stepped forward and discovered a pit in the center of the room, but there was just enough space along each wall for Lhoss and I to shimmy past it. Creeping forward, we saw that the figure at the far end of the room was a collapsed human, clasping a small silver coffer. I quickly slipped over to the corpse and slid the coffer from its hands. The box clinked as if there were another metal object inside. "Coins!" I thought. But as I opened it, something even more interesting was inside: a small silver key. I slid the key onto my key ring, adding it to the key collection, and deposited the coffer in the bag of holding.

Session 41: Day 11 of Planting: Sweet Revenge

 This week's roster of adventurers: Tatania and Kyro (Christa), Lhoss and Hilja (Leigh), Gnorcia and Arnd (Lillian), Armaziti (Alex), Hodor (Thomas), Adelbertus (Daniel), DM (Quint)

Lhoss was able to rejoin the group and was mildly irritated at missing out on such a large haul of treasure from the previous day's exploits. The members of our band seem to be ever shifting. In fact, Hodor must have sent some sort of magical dispatch, as his brother Adelbertus joined us seemingly out of thin air. Alas, there was no sign of Squirbo. But I wonder if anyone would be surprised if that friendly squirrel blinked into existence. Aramaziti appeared to have a quiet suspicion of Adelbertus. Aramaziti has been our sole cleric for some time and sharing the honor and duty of bestowing healing blessings seems to irk him.

As ever, the tomb was unnervingly quiet.  Tatania decided to examine a pile of crumbled red brick in the hallway. There was nothing of interest other than a few small beetles that scampered from the mess. Beyond the pile was an empty room; we moved on. Gnorcia came upon a door and pressed her ear to it. On the other side she heard a muffled voice. The door appeared safe to open, so she did. Behind the door was a pile of rubble from a collapsed wall and another door, but no source for the voice. They moved to the door.

Lhoss opened the door and saw an empty hall. Creeping out and peering around the first corner revealed another empty hall and the corner at the end of the hall led to an alcove filled with burial chambers. There were twenty small, circular chambers that had been sealed with clay. Lhoss cracked through the first one and discovered remains. In fact many of the chambers held no treasure, only bones. Others joined the search and it was Kyro who discovered the only valuables: a silver (and magical) dagger, silver earrings, and 115 copper coins. There was some discussion about who would take the dagger. Lhoss advocated strenuously that a thief should be the one to use the magical weapon since they would be most adept with it. As Gnorcia had been with the party longest without receiving such a beneficial tool, it was bestowed to her. 

Retreating back to the door around the first corner, Adelbertus attempted to open it. Lhoss called out that he should wait until it had been examined for traps. This barrowmaze has had many traps and a newcomer might not know how dangerous flinging open doors willy-nilly might be. Lhoss examined the door closely and feeling safe, took the opportunity to open the door herself. Was it a clever gambit to keep someone else from doing her most beloved task? Who can say? Regardless, inside the team was met with yet another pile of rubble. For some reason, the fact that they could not determine where the pile of stone, dust, bone, and debris came from was intriguing to Gnorica, Tatania, and Lhoss. They prodded the pile but found no immediate answers. Lhoss grew bored and gave up while Gnorcia and Tatania continued to dig through the debris. With nothing of value being found, the task was finally abandoned. The group also decided to examine the walls of the room, but their activities must have alerted others to their presence because they soon heard muffled voices on the other side of the door.

The party held back and suddenly the door was thrown open to show seven bandits. The bandits asked who we were and what we were doing here. Lhoss proclaimed "We have been given the sacred duty to cleanse this barrowmaze of the evil that has taken hold here!" The bandits chuckled and attempted to extort our heroes. Pay a ransom to avoid attack. Hearing these words, Lhoss felt her heart stop. She called out "Are you the Band of the Black Hand?" they replied "Yes". Lhoss, anger and resentment bubbling up yelled back "I hate you guys!" It was clear there would be no payout; the battle was on!

Hilja, hoping to show her value to the party cast a spell called faerie fire. It placed a green glowing light around five of the enemies, making them easier for our heroes to hit. But Tatania didn't need help striking the first bad guy with her magic missile, downing him immediately. Lhoss could feel her blood pounding in her ears. She was transported back to her first encounter with the Band of the Black Hand. She recalled preparing her sleep spell and being critically hit with a sling stone. She recalled drifting in and out of consciousness as her compatriots, her friends were beaten down by this wicked crew. She knew that they had been forced to pay double the original ransom to escape with their lives. The shame and anger she had felt were growing, surpassing their original levels. Here was her chance for vengeance and she would not waste it. 

Now, seeing red, Lhoss lit one of her oil vials and lobbed it toward the back of the enemy pack. It landed squarely on the head of one man, drenching him in liquid fire and killing him immediately, with some hot oil splashing onto two others and injuring them. In a fit of righteous indignation and in an attempt to intimidate the foes, Lhoss cried out "We're gonna loot your corpses!" Aramaziti, wielding the powerful Melissa, slammed her directly into the chest of one bandit, felling him. These guys were dropping like flies! Arnd, showing some mischievousness, winked at one bandit and attacked with his mace. Unfortunately, he didn't connect and was rewarded with a vicious return attack from the bandits. Our next volley of attack further devastated the wicked crew with Hoddour gutting one with his dagger, Kyro dealing a deadly shot through another's neck, and Lhoss ending another with a backstab beneath his ribs and a cry of "I'm getting my money back!". With the screams of the dying echoing through the chamber, the last remaining bandit appeared to surrender. It was suggested that he should be questioned. Disarmed and on his knees, Lhoss held a dagger to his throat and growled "Give me a reason not to kill you." The man, shaking and near soiling himself answered all the queries put to him. Marcus was the leader of this group. The Black Hand's main leader is Darius. Their hideout can be found by following the path about 1 mile to a tree with a distinctive knot and following another trail approximately 1/2 mile to their camp, where reside 40-50 men. Realizing for the first time that this is not one of the men who had so easily bested our heroes before (although of the same group), Lhoss softened a little and decided to let this man go. But sensing they could be an easy target if more of the Black Hand return, she issued him a warning: "Your band have bested us once; we have slaughtered your men in return. Do not pursue us. We have powers that you cannot comprehend. We have been charged with a holy task. If I ever see your ugly face again, I will gouge out your eyeballs and flay the skin from your body." With that, she released her grip and the bandit hastily retreated.

As the team was counting up the gold that they recovered from the bandits, a scream was heard from elsewhere in the barrowmaze, but it was not investigated. The rest of the group was a bit taken back by Lhoss' cutthroat behavior and speech to the bandit. They had not understood the depth of her grudge and Lhoss herself had not been aware of the dark places it would take her. Surely this would not be the last they saw of the Black Hand. 

The group realized that they were in a part of the barrowmaze they had explored before and were close to the room dedicated to St. Cuthbert. It was agreed that room would be a safe place to rest and recover before continuing on.

Session 40: The return - more recap of days 3 - 9 and adventure on day 10.

 

Players - Christa as Tatania with henchman Kyro, Tommy as Hoddour, Alex as Armatzi, Brad as Yldarb with henchman Chiki, Lillian as Gnorcia with henchman Arnd, Nick as Ronan, Randen as Calbach. DM Quint. 

As recorded by Tatania --- 

The town of Orlane is recovering from the cult that had previously tried to crush its spirit.  Travelers and immigrants arrive daily, prompting the owners of the Slumbering Serpent to warn our group that they may have to let out the rooms that we've been using once we are gone again.  As we don't want to damage our relationship with them, nor deny them income that is so sorely needed, we quickly reassured them that we will be fine and will see what the situation is when we return.  Negotiation for room and board is a hassle, but nevertheless expected.  It was an unexpected luxury to have rooms held for us at a pre-settled rate, and not something that should ever be expected.

Some members of our group decided to take on additional members as hired hands.  Negotiation led to an agreement that these hirelings will receive a half-share of all treasure found.  Lhoss hired Hilja, a druid, and Yldarb contracted with Chiki the Turtle and his chicken Chik Chik.  Gnorcia negotiated with Arnd, and because he was eager to remain part of the group, he readily agreed to the new contract.  Kyro and I (Tatania) came to an agreement that he would essentially be my bodyguard while I try to broaden my magical studies and abilities.  Despite his extreme homeliness, I find Kyro to be good company and I enjoy spending time with him. The more time we spend together, the less his ugliness registers with me.  I don't see a worn, battle-scarred man anymore.  I just see my friend Kyro. This has led me to comment on how his appearance isn't so bad.  I'm not blind; I see the oft-broken nose and the crooked jaw and how one eye doesn't always track with the other, but I try to look beyond the surface to see who he is inside.

Hoddour, the dwarven thief that joined the group in the same mysterious event that brought me to the Barrowmaze, has been looking to find an animal companion.  He told me that prior to appearing in the dungeon, he had a faithful friend in the form of a ground squirrel.  Squirbo was such a profound influence on Hoddour that he has all but given up alcohol.  He continues to drink dwarven ale, but will heavily dilute his drink with apple juice and nurse a single drink for an entire evening.  As he doesn't bring any attention to this habit, nobody else has noticed that he isn't a drunkard like many dwarves are.  He admitted that his inattentiveness while exploring the Barrowmaze earlier was at least partially because he was missing his dear friend.  While in Orlane, Hoddour attempted to begin a friendship with a local squirrel.  Despite being fluent in Squirrel, his "ground" accent was off-putting to the arboreal natives and his approach was rebuffed.  He has vowed to not give up, and is considering sending a message to his home to invite Squirbo to join him here. He would like to let his brothers and cousins know that he is healthy and relatively safe anyway, so maybe his brother Adelbertus will accompany Squirbo and join the group.

When it is time to head back to our adventure, we selected Ronan to be our company leader.  We decided this on the fail-safe reasoning of his manly demeanor and genteel turn of phrase.  Surely we can't go wrong with such qualities.  

A few days previously, a Knight of Hookhill came around searching for Ronan.  As Ronan was finishing a course of training, he wasn't available at the time, but did find the time to search out this knight before we left again.  The knight, named Bearnard, was very officious and quite dismissive of everyone besides Ronan.  We were obviously not worthy of his time and he practically accosted Ronan with demands of "proof" of Ronan's identity.  Assertions from other members of the group were soundly ignored.  Ronan was blindsided by the demand and fumbled around for a bit before he eventually revealed a patch sewn to his tunic.  The patch displayed the heraldry of the Gran March, proving that Ronan had been accepted as a knight-in-training for that esteemed group.  Thus mollified, Bearnard proceeded to interrogate Ronan about what he has discovered regarding the villain Nanor and his cult ties.  Unfortunately, beyond the rumors that Nanor has been hiding in the Barrowmaze, the report was essentially "nothing yet, still looking."  Reluctantly, Bearnard passed along the information that Nanor and his gang are behind some vicious attacks that have been destroying merchant trains around the area.  In most cases, everyone within the trains have been slaughtered, but there was one man who managed to survive an attack.  He told the rescuing Knights of Hookhill that Nanor had brazenly announced his identity to the whole company before he and his men set to killing everyone that had been captured.  It was pure luck that the informant survived his wounds to pass along what had happened. Knowing that this monstrous killer is in the Barrowmaze makes our group even more determined to clean the evil place out.  Bearnard dismissed Ronan and the rest of us disdainfully and we headed off to continue our quest.

While traveling back to the entrance to the Barrowmaze that we'd used before, it was astounding to see multiple abandoned farms and ranchlands being reestablished.  It was heartening to see life returning to the blighted countryside, and I hope that the growth continues for a long time.

The Barrowmaze retained its gloomy atmosphere and we quickly steeled ourselves against it and descended into the dungeon once more.  In an attempt to stay organized, we established a marching order:  Ronan and Arnd lead off, followed by Gnorcia and Chiki.  Next was Yldarb and Calbach, and then because Hoddour didn't want to be left at the back, he and Armatzi came next.  Kyro and I were, pretty much by default, the rear-guard.  We proceeded down the hallway to a point where previous explorations hadn't reached.  There was a bricked-over doorway that Gnorcia noted and she carefully listened for any sound beyond the bricks.  Hearing nothing, it was decided that Arnd and Calbach would use the sledgehammers stored within the bag of holding to breech the wall.  It took a good half hour of hard work to remove all the bricks, and the noise was deafening in the eerie silence.  Several of us were worried that monsters or other trouble would be attracted by the ruckus, but fortunately nothing showed up.  Peering into the darkened room revealed beyond the reopened doorway, we saw a large demonic-looking statue surrounded by multiple rows of burial alcoves.  The dust layer was extremely thick and had been undisturbed for a very long time.  Gnorcia quickly reminded us all to not talk to the statue, or even make eye contact with it.  This good advice was taken by all, and Kyro took the lead in cautiously entering the dismal room.  The dust was easily stirred up and billowed in clouds around anyone who entered.  Kyro started to cough, and quickly pulled his neckerchief up over his face.  He grabbed one of the 10-foot poles from the bag of holding and Gnorcia took another.  Together, they carefully poked at the two cracked-leather bags that sat at the foot of the statue.  The leather was so old and dry that it fell to dust, leaving a pile of gold and a pile of silver.  This treasure was quickly stored in the bag of holding along with the poles.  Gnorcia used her quick fingers to count the treasure as she piled it in, discovering that we had found 400 gold and 300 silver.  Kyro nervously asked if there was anyone who could check the statue for enchantments or curses, but before anyone could answer, the statue moved its head to glare menacingly at our group.  Armatzi gestured to the rest of us to leave while he soothingly told the statue to "calm down."  As the statue didn't seem to be listening, we abandoned that room with alacrity.  Fortunately, it made no move to follow us.

Back in the original hallway, Gnorcia discovered a new door and once again listened intently.  Again, her efforts were met by silence.  Ronan stepped forward to try and open the door, but Gnorcia stopped him before he could.  She had noticed a loop of wire cable sticking out of the top of the door.  To our suspicious minds, that practically screamed "trap!"  Yldarb pulled out a grappling hook and Ronan took it and wound the cable around a barb of the hook before wedging it tight in a wall crevice.  With the wire now secured, Ronan attempted to open the door.  It was stuck fast.  Arnd tried his luck next, with identical results.  Kyro used his powerful legs to tug the door loose and it opened with a grating squeal.  We were immediately grateful for Gnorcia and the others for finding and disabling the trap as the open door showed a light crossbow set to fire through the open passageway.  Closer examination showed that the crossbow and the cable both showed signs of great age and damage, so who knows if it would have fired anyway, but better safe than sorry.  Ronan removes the 25 feet of cable and stores it in his bag, thinking it may come in handy despite its age and ill repair.  Gnorcia makes sure the crossbow is stashed in the bag of holding after two members of the party decide they don't want it for themselves, because maybe it can be sold for something.  Waste not, want not, after all. 

Once the weapon was secured, the group searches the room.  This is yet another burial chamber (big surprise, since the entire Barrowmaze is essentially just a huge tomb), and it appears to have been ransacked in the not too distant past.  Burial shrouds and remains of people have been pulled from multiple alcoves, but the earlier tomb raiders appear to have left in a hurry for some reason.  Our careful searching nets us an additional 108 gold as we return the bodies to some semblance of respectful rest.

Before we settle down for the night, we divide up the treasures of the day, netting each of us a tidy sum.  If only every day could be so profitable, and without fighting a single battle as well.  Hush, you.  I did NOT jinx us.

Session 39: A period of time and reflection Days 3 - 10 of Planting

After the party explored the area with the doomed adventurers, a discussion was made to return to Orlane, as Ronan was ready for more training in the crafts of fighting. The group decided to stay a bit longer in Barrowmaze before returning. 

The group then decided that the doomed adventurers should at least be removed from the wall (they were pinned there by spears). The stench was horrible, and the group was able to remove the first body but the second body burst open in a foul stench when it was detached, and Calbach and Ronan started retching. This disturbed the unnatural quiet of the tomb, and alerted something to the east. A pounding began at the door, which shortly gave in to the ghastly sight of three skeletons with glowing sapphires in their foreheads. 

Armatzi was able to turn the skeletons, and they started to flee. The group engaged them in combat, and the first fell to the ground, with the sapphire falling free. Lhoss and a new adventurer named Tatania pursued after the other skeletons, with Arn and another new character named Hoddour (another dwarf), went with them. Calbach, Ronan, Chikki, and Armatzi hung back. Armatzi detected a strange magic emanating from the gem. Something distracted the group, and Ronan grabbed the gem and put it in a pouch. About this time, Lhoss and company were able to take down the second skeleton, aided by magic missiles from Tatania. Unfortunately, the gem forcibly burst from Ronan's pouch, and rapidly reconstituted with the skeleton, fully ready for further combat, and the gem glowing a foul blue. 

Lhoss and company were able to take down the second skeleton, and the first skeleton was taken down again. However, the second skeleton then reconstituted, followed by the third shortly after. The party perceived that the gems had something to do with the skeleton's power, and so the group around the first began to smash the gem, Calbach finally succeeding - the shards shot through the passageway. 

The second skeleton was taken down, but as per tradition, Lhoss was also knocked unconscious. Hoddour tried an un-conventual technique of throwing the gem, which cracked. However it reformed again before the second gem could be destroyed, but the third skeleton was taken down again. After a bit more back and forth, Tatania was able to shatter the third gem, the second skeleton was downed, and finally its gem was destroyed by Calbach's mace. 

Lhoss was revived, but she suffered a damaged knee, which the cure light wounds proved insufficient to mend. She now has a pronounced limp, which slows her down a bit. With that bit of down news, the party decided to travel back to Orlane, which occurred without incident. The party sold some goods, and spent several days relaxing, talking to some of the villagers, training, and also doing some recruiting. Yldarb the bard joined the group, and recruited Chikki as a henchman. Lhoss recruited Hilja and Tatania recruited Kyro.