Session 71: Morning of Day 13 Flocktime - Some investigation in Orlane

The group (Ronan, Armatzi, Calbach, Gnorcia, Tatania, Yldarb, Lhoss, and Feno) meet in the morning to discuss. Feno, being new to the group, introduces himself. He is a reserved Wood Elf, with an obvious affinity with Lhoss and Yldarb, not so much the rest of the group. He is a fighter/thief looking for adventure, and gladly joins the group. 

Gnorica started the morning by collecting 2 eggs from the farmer (Hewitt Twaine) who has been taking care of her chickens in return for 50% of the output. She talked to him a bit about his knowledge of the area. The rest of the group talked to the Graven family north of the Twaine's. They were graciously offered another breakfast, which was eagerly received, especially by Lhoss. More information about the surrounding area, and the ancientness of the Barrowmaze was obtained. 

The group then went to the Golden Grain Inn and talked to Bertram, the proprietor. The group has had a mixed relationship with Brertram, but it has gotten better since the destruction of the reptile cult. He gave the group information about a tight lipped group of presumed adventures that he (and others) had heard snippets of conversation from, discussing cursed tablets from the Barrowmaze - presumably these are competing with the self proclaimed Saviors of Orlane for the treasures of the deep. He directed the group to the constable Grover Rusadal. 

Grover greeted them with the aforementioned title, to the great delight of Lhoss. He gave more background on the Barrowmaze, that it is 100's of years old, and that there may be records in some of the larger temples in Hochoch. He also discussed Nanor and his reputation, and that there have been some inquiries from the law up in Hookhill. The group also found that the Temple of Merikka in town is only about 50 years old. He also offered a bounty of 10 GP for each frogling that has been eliminated. 

Lastly, the group visited the weaver Nora, and his beautiful bride. They are newly married, and live in chaos - bundles of cloth, wool, string, and yarn abound in his workshop and living space. Tatania ordered a 2' x 3' linen towel, and they promised it in 2 days. 

Session 70: Caliburn recovered!

We arrive in the marsh surrounding the Barrowmaze, ready to excavate the buried barrow that Armaziti has identified as potentially the resting place of Caliburn, the sword that we were charged with finding. It's midday on day 12 of Flocktime, and is a muggy, overcast day. The possibility of rain hangs heavy in the air. Arnd and Armaziti take the lead in crossing the marsh, followed by Gnorcia and Myrtle Dixon, Tatania and Hilja, and finally Lhoss and Chiki in the rear. There is an eerie mist over the area, and Chiki calls out a reminder to stay vigilant and not forget the dangers of the area. He specifically mentions the giant ants that nearly overwhelmed us previously and everyone is looking around alertly. The mist makes the area seem unusually still and quiet, most noise being absorbed before it can travel far.

We arrive at the mound that we'd previously spent time working on, Arnd quickly reminding us that he had done most of the work since we'd only a single shovel last we were here, and see that things appear to be undisturbed from when we left, although it is noted that the next nearest barrow to the north is completely collapsed.  Our tools are pulled out from the bag of holding and work commences as soon as possible.  While everyone else is digging, Lhoss and Chiki walk a guard route around the barrow mound, carefully watching and listening for any trouble that might approach.  Past experience tells us that we are bound to be attacked, potentially by something extremely strong and deadly, so nobody thinks it's a good idea to not have guards, even though Chiki's digging expertise would be valuable for the excavation duties.  He reassures everyone that he will take a turn when some of the rest of us have worn ourselves out with digging.  The top layers are grass, heavy dirt and small rocks, but after an hour and a half that has been removed, and we we reach a layer that is mostly larger stones.  This is extremely hard work, especially for the humans that have little experience with such duties, but we persevere.  

As we work, Lhoss tells Myrtle about our encounters with members of the Band of The Black Hand and how she has vowed personal vengeance upon them.  Myrtle seems impressed with Lhoss's bloodthirsty attitude toward the bandits and murderers and is encouraged to give her magical sword a fitting name.  After some consideration, she dubs the +1 sword "Dawnbreaker" to much approval from the rest of the group.  

We have been working for several hours uninterrupted and everyone is somewhat on edge.  Lhoss and Chiki make the decision to swap out with Gnorcia and Hilja so that they can bring fresher bodies to the job.  Not long after this switch, Gnorcia notes movement to the north.  Tools are dropped in exchange for weapons as a group of skeletons emerges from the swirling mists.  Hilja prepares to cast "Entangle" but before she can, Armaziti is attacked and injured.  Arnd is also hit but his injury is significantly lighter.  Armaziti reacts to the skeletons by casting "Turn Undead" successfully and the bony creatures immediately all turn and begin to run away.  Arnd quickly slashes with Bonesplitter, nearly destroying the skeleton that had injured him, but because of the sudden retreat Myrtle's sword swing misses her target.  Gnorcia tries to use her speed to dart around and catch another foe but miscalculates and also misses her target.  Lhoss and Hilja use their staffs and rattle the bones of the two previously missed undead, doing a lot of damage.  Tatania, realizing that she really doesn't have any other true options, fires a Magic Missile at the middlemost skeleton, causing a bit of damage.  Hilja misses on her follow-up swing but Gnorcia steps up and hits true on her second attempt, obliterating the skeleton in front of them.  Arnd uses Bonesplitter to reduce his enemy to shards and dust.  Melissa is swung hard by Armaziti, shattering his opponent and ironically also crushes the skull that Myrtle sliced off another skeleton as it flies by.  There is a final skeleton and Lhoss batters it with her staff followed by Tatania using her second Magic Missile spell to attempt to finish it off.  It staggers away with a single hit point left.  Armaziti is anxious to destroy it but slips on the piles of bone shards like they were gravel, leaving it to Toffee Sword in the hands of Chiki to finish the battle.  Surveying the scene, Myrtle selects an intact finger bone as a trophy of the fight, an action that Gnorcia approves of.

We returned to our digging and after only another 40 minutes or so, the cover stone is revealed.  There are five glyphs in the middle of the large stone and an arch of runic text around the edge. Tatania wants to try to decipher the text, possibly by using her magic glasses, but is interrupted by Armaziti seeming to enter a trance.  He eventually comes around enough to give some instructions although he remains rather uncommunicative beyond saying that the glyphs need to be touched in the proper order to open the tomb and that we only have 30 "touches" total to achieve our goal before the tomb would be permanently closed to us.  We debate strategy for a bit, trying and failing to get any further input from Armaziti.  Lhoss urges caution, but Myrtle is feeling adventurous and touches the sword glyph.  It begins to glow with a warm, white light.  Lhoss, not to be left out, follows and touches the sun glyph.  This one too begins to glow.  Gnorcia begins to reach for the star glyph but hesitates until with Lhoss's encouragement instead touches the moon glyph.  This turns out to be an error as Gnorcia is immediately shocked severely and all the lights go out again.

Undeterred, Myrtle again reaches out and touches the sword glyph, and it resumes glowing.  Lhoss reignites the sun glyph, followed by Tatania lighting the star glyph and Hilja touching the moon glyph.  Considering that the shock caused Gnorcia actual damage, she naturally refuses to attempt touching any further glyphs so Arnd then touches the final untouched glyph, the skull.  Disappointingly, this causes the lights to again extinguish themselves.  We are all frustrated since it seemed that we had been on the right path, and Armaziti (who has remained mute) shows great distress on his face.  Taking a deep breath, we try once again with Myrtle, Lhoss and Tatania touching the same glyphs in the same order and this time Arnd touches the moon.  A grin appears on Armaziti's face when Myrtle begins the sequence and it only grows wider with each successful lighting but he still doesn't say anything that might help us.  Gnorcia is quite tense by this time and wonders aloud if perhaps our personal alignment might have a correlation to our success since she is the only one to be shocked and is chaotic neutral, not good or lawful.  Lhoss and Tatania don't believe that alignment has anything to do with it and it is only the order of the glyphs that matters but our discussion of the issue goes on for a while with no real conclusions reached.  Chiki speaks up and says that we should hurry because he is getting hungry, but nobody can agree on which glyph to touch next or who should do the touching.  Chiki refuses to do it himself since he doesn't want to risk being shocked and besides, he is only getting half share of any treasure anyway.  Finally, Myrtle just steps back up and touches the sword glyph again.  

With a grinding sound, the doors to the tomb open, showing a dark space beyond.  Tatania quickly lights a torch to see what's inside.  There is a statue that appears to be a knight holding something metal that is probably a sword.  Armaziti approaches without a word and sees that it is definitely a sword, and is in fact Caliburn.  As he stands looking at it, Tatania remembers that Caliburn is an Intelligent sword and tells Armaziti that she should announce his intent to pick up the sword and ask if it will allow itself to be returned to the Temple of Merrikka.  Apparently, Armaziti is communicating with the sword nonverbally since he picks up the sword, cradling it in his arms, and announces that he has permission to take the sword back to the Temple.  Myrtle looks around the remainder of the tomb, discovering that the stones of the walls are extremely tightly dressed marble with no gaps, making it very strong but that there's nothing else of interest within.

Due to Chiki's complaints of hunger, joined by Arnd's stomach rumbling, we stop for a few moments to each a meal.  Lhoss explains to Myrtle that our trips out here to the Barrowmaze and environs are only day-trips since we have been sufficiently shown (as well as warned by people in town) that it is too dangerous to be here at night.  Myrtle agrees that sounds like a good plan.  As we walk back to the entrance to the barrows, Hilja picks some of the long grasses that grow in the marsh and weaves them into a memorial token.  Tatania sees some lovely flowers growing around and creates a posy of them.  The two of them then leave their little gifts at the tomb where poor Adelbertus was buried.  Armaziti is unusually quiet on the return trip to Orlane but nothing else of note happens.

Upon approaching the Foaming Mug, a delicious smell fills the air.  Everyone gladly pays for a filling meal of what sounds to me like "Blanch Perae" and is proven in fact to be a delightful thick stew of small game birds with leeks and onions, accompanied by a mug of mead.  We are grateful to have guaranteed rooms and quickly retire for the night.  The next morning, following a breakfast of the usual high quality, we go to the Temple of Merrikka, arriving at around 9 in the morning.  We are greeted by Mischa, who is thrilled to see that we have brought Caliburn with us.  She takes the sword and turns toward the temple doors as if waiting for someone.  Chalkboi, who unbeknownst to us has been staying at the temple, steps out and stands by Mischa.  She solemnly presents him with Caliburn, telling him that he is entrusted with the sacred sword in his righteous quest to rid the world of the undead.  Caliburn signals that the partnership is one it approves of, and Chalkboi informs the group that he and Mischa both desire to create a shrine to St. Cuthbert here in Orlane.

Session 69: Are Penguins Native to the Barrow Marshes?

Tatania, Gnorcia, Lhoss, Yldarb, Armaziti, Chaklboi, and Hilja were watching Arnd dig away at the grassy mound when Yldarb noted the slight progress we had made. Wait, where did he come from? Nevertheless, even though it was scarcely past mid-day, it was decided that the best course of action was to head back to Orlane and purchase the shovels and pick axes that would be needed to speed up the task.

With Armaziti leading us through the mist, we heard a clicking and came upon a trio of skeletons. Oddly enough, they were penguin skeletons. In my youth, I had visited a fair during Richfest. A curious old man had a menagerie of exotic birds he had collected in his travels. There were colorful and fearful birds, each in their own cages, but my favorite were the penguins. Those he let swim and jump in a large pool he had built for them. The inquisitive and playful creatures were not behind bars, as they could not fly away! Imagine! A bird that flies not through the air, but the water! I had not seen one since, but it so captured my imagination that scarcely a week had gone by that I hadn't thought about those magical birds. Thinking about having to fight the reanimated bones of such a lovely creature was a sad thought. Luckily, they were easily startled and Armaziti sent them running. They ran so fast, we were not able to pursue them and attack from behind. The rest of the journey to Orlane was peaceful and we were treated to a rousing song by Yldarb.

It was early evening when we came into town. Although the sun had not yet set, the shops were closed. While the rest of the party headed to the Foaming Mug for a hearty dinner of meatballs, carrots, and cabbage, I headed to the home of my friend Vilma. It was a relaxing evening of good food and conversation until Vilma abruptly issued a warning about the legend of dangerous alters in the barrowmaze. She was clear that the altars should not be touched as they would impart a great curse. A curse that would be brought back to the good people of Orlane. Feeling warned and a little sleepy, I headed back to the inn to sleep. 

The next morning, we had a delicious breakfast of bacon, ham, and eggs with fresh fruit. Kyro decided he would inquire at the temple to see if his persistent injury could be healed. It could, for a price. Between Kyro and Tatania, they came up with the amount and Kyro was restored to full health. As a thank you (and to earn some extra money), Kyro offered himself for some gardening work around the temple grounds. Being the son of a farmer, it is a native skill to him.

After a quick shopping trip, we had the shovels and picks we needed. Yldarb went to put them in the bag of holding, but found it to be in complete disarray. We spent some time organizing it and then headed back to the barrow marsh to resume our digging.

Session 68: A holy mound and digging begins

As we marched along, someone's stomach grumbled and we noted that it was about lunchtime so we paused and ate. Resting together on the edge of a mound that stood up a little above the marsh, we noticed that in the midday, the fog in the marsh seemed to thicken as it warmed. We ate quickly and continued eastward.

As we moved slowly along, Hilja noticed something large that appeared to dive into some water, producing waves that moved toward us. We determined to avoid the water and threaded our way between the mounds as much as possible. Two barrows toward the south appeared to be flooded in, so we moved just north of them instead and noted that another mound just north of us was a little different, with several obscured cavities. Curious, we watched it but continued to move east until Lhoss stopped us, whispering that she could see something over one of the mounds behind us. There was an antenna visible above the mound! I commneted that we were probably going to have to fight whatever it was, so Armaziti cast a blessing and then Lhoss fired a magic missile at the antenna. As soon as it hit, we heard a frantic sound and several creatures came scurrying out toward us.

They were two to three feet long and appeared to be giant ants with nasty-looking pincers. Lhoss pulled out a vial of oil and set it on fire, letting it fly at the creatures. One of them instantly burned up and the oil splashed on the others, which shrieked in pain. Kyro took aim and stabbed at another, killing it. Armaziti and I attacked one, killing it. Hilja cast a spell and rooted one of them and Arnd hit another, killing it as well. Tatania cast a magic missile at a larger ant in the back, hitting it. In retaliation, the large ant ran angrily up to him and attacked, taking him down. Suddenly more ants appeared! It seemed we had stirred up an anthill. Two attacked Armaziti and one of them managed to hit him twice with its angry pincers. Two more attacked me but missed as the others moved to position themselves seemingly in defense of the holes. I swung at them in defense but missed as well. Tatania cast another magic missile at the ant that was attacking Kyro, and Armaziti paused to heal himself. Hilja and Lhoss attacked the rooted ant, finishing it off. The ants attacked again, hitting Armaziti. Hilja then grabbed Arnd and dragged him back away from the mound. I attacked the ant in front of me again, hitting it and damaging it. Lhoss hit the one that was attacking her, taking it out.

Suddenly, Dwerum appeared and yelled for Armaziti to run, taking a hit from the ant that was attacking Armaziti. Armaziti ran back and instantly healed himself again. Tatania pulled out another vial of oil, lit it, and threw it at the group of ants nearest the mound. It flew past them, splashing back on one of them. All of the ants screamed out in anger! Dwerum expressed concern that the group was outnumbered and suggested we retreat. Lhoss then pulled out the spellbook we had previously found, and cast stinking cloud on the area where the ants were. I raced back away from the ants, and Kyro also backed away, and the ants did not pursue us as they dealt with the results of the stinking cloud.

We retreated toward the east and Armaziti healed both himself and Arnd, who was exhausted as he regained consciousness. We then took up our eastward march again. As we approached a mound straight ahead, we noted that it was greener than the rest, and Armaziti cried out that he sensed something holy buried there! We noted that the marshland started again east of it, but this mound was higher up and completely covered in grass and dirt. Arnd and I examined it more closely and estimated that it would take about 8 hours to excavate with the one shovel that I brought.

We set up a perimeter with myself, Dwerum, and Kyro guarding while Lhoss, Armaziti, and Tatania recovered spells. After half an hour, Arnd began digging while Armaziti continued to pray and the others joined us on watch duty. Only a few minutes after Arnd began digging, we could hear a moaning sound to the west, and coffercorpses emerged from the mist. Lhoss immediately threw a vial of oil, hitting one of them, which then let out a chilling moan that frightened us all. I also threw a vial of oil at the other one, burning it to a crisp, as Tatania hit the other with a magic missile, taking it down. Arnd continued to dig and Armaziti continued to pray while we fought.

We next noticed two scorpions moving toward us from the north. Dwerum and Kyro both shot arrows, hitting one of them, and Hilja cast entangled on the other. I moved toward the scorpions, standing between them and Armaziti, who was still praying. The damaged scorpion advanced on me and attacked with its pincers and tail, knocking me out but managed not to poison me. It then attacked the praying Armaziti, hitting him and disturbing his prayer. Angry, Armaziti stood up and swung Melissa at it, crushing it. The rest of the group then turned on the entangled scorpion. Hilja ran forward and engaged it and Lhoss hit it with a magic missile. Hilja hit again, cracking its exoskeleton and killing it. Armaziti then healed me and Arnd, and Arnd paused his digging while everyone memorized and prayed for spells.

Armaziti only had one spell left to recover when we heard a chittering noise coming from the east and saw humanoid creatures moving toward us. They were a host of skeletons! Hilja immediately stood and cast entangled on the group of creatures, entangling all but one of them. Arnd stepped forward to prepare to engage the one that was not entangled, and I prepared to leap over Arnd and attack it from behind. We both did this, but swung too hard and both missed. It also missed its attack against Arnd, and my second hit and destroyed it. We then managed to take out the remaining entangled skeletons, although Hilja did get caught in her own entanglement spell for a few minutes before the grasses retreated. Armaziti finished praying and the rest recovered their spells as well, as we prepared to begin digging again.

Session 67: Renewing the Resolve to Find Caliburn

On the morning of Day 11 of Flocktime, our group of Armaziti, Calbach, Arnd, Hilja, Tatania, Gnorcia, Lhoss, and Chalkboi awaken in the Foaming Mug Inn to a delicious breakfast. This refurbished inn is proving to be a welcome haven from our adventures. There is a restlessness in the group and some hesitancy to head back to the barrow marshes since we have had such terrible encounters, including losing one of our party in a vicious battle. A few are wondering if it is wise to continue our quest to find the legendary sword Caliburn when we seem to be stumbling around in the dark (so to speak). It is decided that we need to head to the temple of Merika and inquire of Priestess Misha if she can give us any more guidance.

Misha has very little new information for us, but she does inform us that the tomb is to the far east of the marshes and is guarded by magical wards and tests. The Tomb of the Sacred Blade (as it is named) is protected by the order of St. Cuthbert. Luckily we have a skilled Priest of that very order. Hopefully with these additional pieces, we can find and retrieve the sword. Misha adds that a new High Priest is set to arrive in the temple from Hochoch within 7 days.

Feeling somewhat buoyed and reenergized for our quest, we head out of town. On our way out, we pass many travelers headed into Orlane. The increased prosperity is a wonderful sight. The journey to the marshes is blessedly uneventful. We decide as a group to move toward the main entrance to the barrowmaze and then head due east. We will not stop to explore any mounds until we reach the eastern edge and from there we will work our way back, exploring and probing as we go to find the Tomb of the Sacred Blade. We pass (and ignore) a couple of mounds when we hear the distinctive click and clatter of a scorpion. These large insects are the apex predators of the barrow marsh and have proven formidable foes. Luckily, we face only one. It's a quick creature and immediately lands a blow to Armaziti with its claw and then stinger. Then in rapid succession, Armaziti strikes back with Melissa, Tatania blasts it with a magic missile, and Gnorcia delivers the killing blow. Gnorcia attempts to capture its deadly venom, but a slight fumble causes the poison to drip harmlessly into the swamp.

Pressing onward, we encounter two skeletons. Arnd and Lhoss tag team on one, causing it to fall into a harmless pile of bones while Tatania and Hilja crack the second one, resulting in an explosion of dust and shrapnel. Driven, our party continues east.

Session 66: The attempted funeral of Adelbertus

The group reconnoitered and discussed what to do in wake of the battle with the scorpions. These characters were present: Arnd, Armatzi, Tatania, Kyro, Gnorcia, Yldarb, Hilja, Lhoss, Chalkboi, and Hoddour. After Armatzi healed Chalkboi, the group decided to begin the dwarven funeral, led by Arnd, Chalkboi, Armatzi, and Gnorcia. Unfortunately, before the ceremony could be properly started, four ravenous giant toads ambushed the group. Yldarb was knocked unconscious during the battle. After the battle was finished, Yldarb was restored to functionality, with much healing, and recovery of spells ensuing. 

A second ambush occurred of two coffer corpses, knocking Gnorcia unconscious. However, with Armatizi present, Gnorcia was restored to activity. After a bit more recovery, the funeral was started again. Something unnatural was opposed to this action, as another coffer corpse surprised the group, and knocked Yldarb out again. Gnorcia was able to place a well timed backstab on the corpse, and eliminate the threat. The funeral was carried out despite the combat that occurred, and Adelbertus was finally laid to rest. Yldarb was brought back to conciousness, but had an ailment that the simple cures of Armatzi was unable to affect. 

The group then decided to leave for Orlane, as it was starting to get late. A group of 4 zombies was encountered in the Dim Forest (a forboding thing as the Dim Forest had previously been relatively easy to transverse). However, Armatzi easily turned them, realizing that something has been dampening his power over the undead in the Barrowmaze area.

Yldarb visited with Misha Devi at the Temple, and was able to recieve greater healing after a generous donation. The group had dinner at the Foaming Mug, and made a 30 day agreement with Florin (the proprietor) for discounted rooms. Each member chose the room (or common room) of their liking according to their taste. 

 

Session 65: A Horrible Death on Day 10 of Flocktime

To the southeast we could see another barrow that seemed to be a stony hill with a little bit of grass. Arnd and Armaziti approached carefully, weapons drawn, and Yldarb moved stealthily forward, his spear at the ready. Tatania and Kyro had their weapons out, walking carefully and keeping an eye out on the surroundings. Kyro’s wound was red and painful, and it seemed to bother him, potentially hindering his ability to fight. Lhoss probed the ground ahead with her staff as she walked, and Hilja used her staff to check the ground all around for sinkholes. The ground was firm and we were able to approach safely, but realized that this barrow would require some excavation to explore. Arnd, Adelbertus and I quickly estimated that excavating would take two people about 13 hours, but because we had only my one small shovel, the group decided not to attempt that task at this time.

We decided to move ahead and continued a hundred yards or so further southwest, approaching another mound. Its stone entrance had been shattered and there were footprints in the mud, going into a looming black hole. Arnd and Armaziti cautiously entered first and found bone debris everywhere. The whole area was a mess, looking like it had been searched roughly, with upturned sarcophagi and broken vases strewn about. It had both the smell of a tomb and the smell of the marsh outside. Arnd and Armaziti did a preliminary search through and found nothing of value and most of the group decided to all in and work together to search the walls more carefully.

As we began our search, a group of five zombies quietly lumbered up and surprised Adelbertus, Kyro, and Tatania, who were waiting outside. Attacking from behind, the five of them immediately overpowered Adelbertus and killed him! They then turned on Kyro and knocked him out. Tatania responded by firing a magic missile at one of them as the rest of the party inside the barrow heard the horrific screams and moaning sounds and came running. Hilja cast ensnare on one of the zombies, holding it to the ground, and Lhoss tossed burning oil, damaging three zombies (and splattering some on Kyro at their feet.) I damaged one and Yldarb took out one of them with his spear, Falstaff. Just then, Armaziti used his turn undead spell and the zombies suddenly turned as if to run in horror. One of them that was burning immediately fell, immolated, and Yldarb finished off another. The rest of us laid into the rest of them in great anger and quickly brought them down.

Horrified at the death of Adelbertus, we paused to consider the possibility of hauling him to Hochoch to attempt a resurrection, but determined we didn’t have enough gold to entreat a high level cleric for that spell. Arnd said dwarven custom was that the body should be covered or wrapped and laid in a shallow grave, so Hilja and Armaziti carefully wrapped the poor cleric in his old bedroll. Arnd led the party back down into the tomb, singing the dwarven durges, and laid him in an empty sarcophagus with his holy symbol of Pelor, god of the sun and healing, placed on his forehead. As they did this, Tatania and I brought Kyro’s body inside with us, and then Chalkboi and I both stood and hid in the shadows of the entrance, watching out as the others continued with the burial of our cleric friend.

In the middle of the rites, Chalkboi and I were horrified to see three vile scorpions come chittering out of the mist, smelling the blood of the dead. They attacked, but because of the narrow space only one could get near us at the entrance. Suddenly, one of the scorpions in back—seemingly berserk with hunger—attacked the scorpion in front and killed it! Hearing our shouts, the rest of the group came running out yet again and we all attacked one of the remaining scorpions. I tried to run around to its back, but it turned with me and I ended up facing it head-on. The rest of the group then attacked it from the back and side. Its armored chitin was very strong but we managed a few hits and then Armaziti made a killing blow with his warhammer, Melissa, breaking the creature in pieces. We then converged on the last scorpion and managed to destroy it as well, but before it fell it stung Chalkboi, poisoning him with its stinger! Armaziti immediately cast slow poison and then we all stood around and looked at each other for a minute, wondering what to do. I had the strange thought—it came almost unbidden to my mind—to open the bag of holding, and realized that we actually had some poison antidotes! Digging one out, I quickly poured it down Chalboi’s throat.