Session 47: Final part of day 11 of Planting - the maddening

 We pick up the story again after dinner, accompanied by the memorization and prayer for spells. Lhoss, Gnorcia, Adelbertus, Tatania, Armatzi, and Hoddour all present and accounted for. Ronan and Calbach join shortly afterwards. 

The group proceeded southwards, and Ronan tripped a pit trap that was hidden just to the east. Lhoss was able to rescue him from the pit with her trusty rope. He then narrowly dodged falling into an open pit just south of the hidden pit. The group managed for the most part to slink past the two pits. However, Hoddour has a free spirit, and wandered west, triggering another hidden pit, and fell into some spikes. His faithful mate Squirbo was so disturbed by the fall that he chomped a bit of dwarven ear as he fell with him. 

A little healing happened (but no discussion of how to avoid future traps such as this). A door was found to the south, which proved difficult to open (Lhoss, Ronan, Armatzi all made attempts before Calbach finally succeeded). A room was revealed with two lime encrusted skeletons, which animated and attacked the group. The group was able to easily dispatch the two, with both magic and force of arms. The skeletons possessed two white gold necklaces. Some discussion of what white gold actually means happened. Armatzi insisted that gold is yellow, not white. 

The group decided that all of their primary weapons needed names, and these are what are now on record: Armatzi, with the previously named hammer Melissa, Tatania with a silver dagger named Sylvia, Adelbertus with his odd staff Oddwood, Lhoss, with Gary (Indiana) the dagger, Gnorcia with the foreboding stout blade of renown Vengeance, Ronan with Kimber the cudgel, Calbach with Banisher, the short sword of slaying scaly creatures, and Hoddour, with Ronald the dagger. 

The room had several rotting tapestries that were examined, but nothing interesting was found, and from fear of some dangerous mold, the group retreated. 

Lhoss discovered a secret door to the north. In the room was a worn bow, and three arrowheads, that were determined to be magical. Each of them had a different rune of some deity scribed on them: Ronan claimed one dedicated to Herne the Hunter, Calbach that to Heronious, and Ronan one to the evil god Nerull. 

The party exited, and found another door to the south east. Lhoos immediately opened the door, revealing rubble and many electrum pieces scattered throughout it. As the party scrambled to gather the treasure, a glowing yellow skeleton appeared and menaced the party. It must be noted that the horrors of the tomb began to take a toll on the minds of the party, with Lhoss being the most susceptible. She began to mutter and moan softly. The skeleton was dispatched rather easily, with a killing blow by Armatzi. 

A runic tablet was found, which Lhoss covets almost as much as opening doors. She quickly read the contents, but to her horror, she found her strength drained significantly - a curse of enfeeblement! The party realized that they needed to rest and recover, especially as Lhoss began to behave more strangely. They decided to stay in the room of the glowing skeleton (which had stopped glowing shortly after its destruction). The party healed up, and set the watch. Calbach and Tatania took the first watch, and it wasn't too far in before a moaning sound was heard, followed by increasingly discerned vocalizations of "Brains". This pushed Lhoss over the edge, and she curled up in a ball and began to mutter and mumble. 

After a bit of fight and chase (Armazti was finally successful in turning undead creatures), the group came back to find Lhoss acting in a somewhat peculiar manner, stroking her dagger. The group became quite proactive, and made attempts to grapple Lhoss, which she initially dodged. She also stabbed in fury with Gary, to no effect. Ronan was able to put a rope around her waist, but Lhoss slashed it off with Gary in a blaze of fury. Calbach then lept at Lhoss and was able to overbear her. The party held her down, while Armzatzi used a remove fear spell on Lhoss. To all the party's fortune, the spell not only cured Lhoss of her overwhelming fear, but also cured the insanity that had taken her over. The group then went back to watch and rest, but it was filled with foreboding and a growing gloom. 

Session 46: Great Treasures and Further Adventure in the Catacombs of Nerull on Day 11 of Planting

Having thoroughly explored most of the rooms in the hallway, our group went back east to the room with the door-opening levers. Lhoss manipulated them and opened the south door, then set the levers so it would to stay open. We then went south into the next room and through the door on its west wall. Moving to the end of the hallway behind that door, we found some rubble that had collapsed off the wall, though the remaining wall was intact. There the hallway turned south and we noticed a round circle imprinted on the floor, about 2 feet in diameter. As Calbach was looking at it and prodding it a bit, Yldarb noticed a movement on the wall and discovered a small alcove had opened to reveal a leather pouch. Peering carefully into the pouch, he found 5 darts. None of our magic-using party members had memorized a spell to detect magic so we added the darts (inside their pouch) into the bag of holding for later investigation.

I (Gnorcia) turned back to the circle, stood inside it, and turned around in a circle, but only managed to get dizzy from the spinning. Bored with the circle, Lhoss, Tatania, Adelbertus, Yldarb, Calbach, and I searched 57 square catacomb alcoves in another hallway to the east. In addition to finding some mummified remains, I discovered a coral shaped into a funny little fat man, Yldarb found a pewter chalice, and Tatania found a broken spear and a bag of 35 gold pieces.

Searching 49 hexagonal alcoves down another hallway to the west, we found some gnawed bones. Armaziti also found a circlet and a small wooden coffer, Calbach found a sparkly diamond, and Tatania found a much-less-sparkly dented helm. Lhoss examined the coffer and discovered a needle trap, and I was then able to disarm it, revealing a poison dart.

All this time, Hoddour, uninterested in searching, had been standing out in the hallway and staring at the wall. Fortunately his squirrel companion, Squirbo, was paying attention, recognized the poison on the dart, and ran excitedly in circles as a warning. Tatania carefully took the dart and placed it in a vial closed with a cork, where it would be safe. I then handed the box back to Armaziti, who opened it to reveal a large, human-size, gold ring. He was hesitant to put it on but it was so beautiful and sparkly that I excitedly grabbed it and slipped it onto my biggest finger. Amazingly, it shrank to fit and I felt an instant aura of protection. It was a +1 magic ring of protection!

As the group discussed their findings, I sneaked down to the next hallway to the south and discovered 51 triangular alcoves. The group soon followed and began searching there. Adelbertus discovered 54 copper pieces, another golden circlet, and a silver spear point, and I found a beautiful amethyst. The next hallway to the east contained 50 circular alcoves, each with a silver-plated skull over it. Lhoss poked at one of the skulls with her dagger and discovered she could pry it off, so we went through and pried off all the silver skulls. They were a little heavy so we added them to the bag of holding. Searching through these catacombs, Calbach found a bracelet, Adelbertus found a ruby, Lhoss found an ornate figurine, and Tatania found a small locked metal box.

Keys are very useful in opening locks so I got out my ring of keys and tried the small silver key in the lock. It opened the box! Inside was an ornate scroll and a silver dagger. Tatania carefully took the dagger in her hands and instantly bonded with it. She could tell that it was a +2 silver dagger and named it Sylvia. Looking back into the box, she lifted the scroll and discovered beneath it a pair of spectacles. The scroll was magical and written in magic language that she couldn’t read. Holding up the spectacles, she squinted through them first, then bravely put them on her face. Blinking, she discovered they magically enhanced her eyesight and she could read the scroll! They were glasses of comprehending languages and reading magic. Reading the scroll through them, she could tell then that it was a scroll of protection from missiles, a 3rd-level magic-user spell. Looking through the glasses again, Tatania pulled out the previously-unreadable spellbook that was in the bag of holding, discovering that she could now read those spells, and noted that they were the level 1 spells sleep, light, read magic, and detect magic, and the level 2 spell web.

Heading south again in the main hall, we could then see to the end of the hall and were surprised to discover a large statue of Nerull, standing in an engraved circle with a star inside it. At his feet was a sword! Hoddour suddenly got really excited about the sword, crying out, “Dibs!” and ran toward it. Unfortunately, the sword was merely an illusion and as he raced up to it the floor collapsed and Hoddour fell into a pit full of green slime! The slime began to grow across him and he instantly started screaming in pain. Lhoss quickly pulled out her rope and threw it down to him, yelling for him to climb out. Once he was out of the pit, Calbach used his knife to scrape the slime off Hoddour and was able to get it all off. It settled into a puddle on the ground and the statue appeared to be smiling at the scene. Adelbertus quickly healed his brother as Yldarb retrieved the 5 glass jars we had in the bag of holding, filling them all with the slime and stopping up the lids with wax seals. There was still some slime left on the floor of the hallway so Lhoss tried to push it back into the pit with her staff, but it instantly latched onto the staff and started growing up it toward her! She hastily grabbed her sword and hacked at the end of the staff, trying to get the slime off, but only managed to destroy her staff in the process. Throwing the staff with the slime into the pit, she cleared her throat and spat angrily down into it. The slime in the pit quickly consumed everything and wobbled with a strangely-satisfied gelatinous shimmer.

Hoddour carefully crept around the edge of the pit and began examining the statue, which was now fully grinning. One of its eyes appeared to sparkle and he poked it with his knife. Suddenly a feeling of intense nausea overcame him and he fell back, puking all over the floor in front of the statue. Disgusted with the result of his investigation, he attempted to direct his vomit onto the statue but discovered he could not, and in the process nearly stumbled into the pit again. He tried glaring at the statue but quickly found its malice was overwhelming and he was forced to avert his eyes.

Turning from the frightful statue, the rest of the group began to search the catacombs in the final hallway to the west. It was filled with square alcoves and we found they were all disappointingly empty. The last hallway to the east contained 50 circular alcoves and we continued our search through them. Adelbertus found a beautiful golden statuette, Lhoss found a bloodstone, and I found a spear that was more than three times my height. Yldarb took the spear from me and found that it felt marvelous in his hands. He quickly granted it the name of Falstaff and discovered it was a +3 weapon, so powerful and wonderous to him that he realized he had a preference for it over any other weapon.

As Yldarb stood holding the spear in great wonder, Lhoss noticed a catch on the wall at the end of the hall, and did what Lhoss does. She hastily tripped it. The hallway opened, revealing…

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.