Session 73: Hunting for Froglings

It was the afternoon of Day 13 of Flocktime, common year 576. With insufficient time for the group to make a day trip to the barrowmaze, and the village sufficiently explored, we all discussed what would be the best use of our remaining hours of daylight. Hochoch and Hookhill were deemed too far a distance to travel as we only wanted to occupy ourselves for one afternoon and prepare for the barrow marshes tomorrow. We all kept coming back to the bounty that had been placed on the froglings that have been causing trouble for the farmers to the north. The group (Armaziti, Gnorcia, Tatania, Feno, Lhoss, Hilja, Arnd, and Myrtle) checked in with constable Grover for more information and direction. He told us about two farms that had been having troublesome incursions. So, we set off to visit Frank Stone and Leighton Black. 

Farmer Stone had a cairn topped with a carved bear marking the pathway to his homestead. The farm looked quite prosperous with cows, chickens, and crops being tended to by field workers. The workers did not look up or acknowledge us, so we went to the handsome house (made of brick with a thatched roof) and knocked on the door. A loud voice called out and we were greeted with an air of suspicion by a large woman called Matilda. We assured her that we were here under direction of the constable so she nodded and went to fetch her husband. Frank Stone came to greet us and when he learned we were here to deal with the froglings, he was happy to share whatever useful information he could. Apparently, the attacks had been uncoordinated and largely unsuccessful. When the froglings breeched the fence line, the chickens had alerted the household to the danger and Frank and his sons had been able to scare off the invaders with a volley of arrows. It had been at least a week since the last attack and they had never seen more than five froglings  at once. We thanked the Stone family and left them to their duties as we continued on down the road.

The way to the Black farm was marked with two large oak trees. We followed a hedged path through a grain field to a clearing where geese, chickens, and hogs were penned. We could see a slightly dilapidated log farmhouse with a garden behind it and a rickety barn. Feno noticed a figure disappear into the shadowy barn, hopped a fence, and tried to sneak up to investigate. But since the yard was wide open, he was easily spotted and farmer Black yelled angrily at us, inquiring what we were doing on his property. We tried to smooth things over by explaining we had been sent by the constable, but Leighton remained irritable. He begrudgingly shared his experiences loosing chickens to the froglings. It had been only two days since his last attack, and by the frog spore and footprints, Leighton had identified the culprits and complained to the constable. Farmer Black seemed cautiously optimistic at the prospect of our adventuring band resolving his frogling issues. The constable had better be doing something, that's what he's paid to do after all!

We decided to track the froglings back through the brush the way we figured they had come. Armed with machetes, Feno and Myrtle bushwhacked through the wild shrubs. As we walked, our druid Hilja educated us on froglings, particularly where they are likely to be found. Then she mentioned that she knows a spell (locate animals) that could be particularly helpful in this situation. At the edge of a swamp, Hilja memorized and then cast the finding spell and indicated that they were burrowed in a small mud hut with a two by two foot opening. The party positioned themselves around the opening in an attempt to slaughter the creatures as they emerged. But how to make them come out? Lhoss suggested smoking them out. Gnorcia made a valiant effort at building a fire, but it sputtered and died out quickly. Then Lhoss remembered how the ants had poured out of their anthill and shot a magic missile into the opening...

Three froglings sprung out so quickly that nobody could react fast enough to hit them. Armed with crude clubs, one struck Armaziti and another hit Gnorcia. In retaliation, Armaziti swung mighty Melissa and struck the amphibian down in one blow. Myrtle split another down its spine, killing it and splattering Gnorcia in gore as she stabbed the third. Just as Tatania finished the last creature with a magic missile, three new monsters emerged. One managed to bite Gnorcia while the other two missed their attacks. After several misses from the team, Feno demolished one frogling leaving very little behind but a greasy smear. Lhoss and Arnd destroyed another with a one-two attack of magic missile and Bonesplitter. Tatania damaged the third with a magic missile and three additional froglings emerged. Lhoss shouted "we're gonna get so rich!" One of the emerging amphibians lashed out with its tongue and bit Myrtle, to which she exclaimed "I've been slimed!" Armaziti again squished one to death with Melissa and with a cry of "vengeance!" Gnorcia slaughtered another. Lhoss and Hilja did some minor damage to the last two who inexplicably began to do a little "hammer dance". Their audacious amphibious moves were not matched with prowess and they failed on their attacks on Hilja an Arnd. Myrtle and Arnd ended the battle by beheading and slaughtering the last two froglings.

In order to collect the bounty, the party discussed what they should bring back as proof of their work. Heads seemed too big; eyes, limbs, or digits meant they would have to collect all from each frogling which seemed like too much bulk to carry. It was decided that each creature had only one tongue, long and slimy though they may be, and it would be simple enough to slog them back to Orlane. Lhoss took it upon herself to cut out the nine tongues and loop them through her belt. The trip back to Orlane was quite quick and the group presented their trophies to Grover for the bounty, which was happily paid. Feeling like they had gotten in a good day's work, the group cleaned up for a bountiful dinner at the Foaming Mug Inn.

Session 72: The day we meet a lot of people and some don't want to talk with us

Continuing our investigations into the buildings and residents of Orlane on a sunny early-summer day in Flocktime, we headed next to the mill on the edge of the lake behind the Slumbering Serpent Inn. It was a large mill and the areas outside were scattered with children’s toys and farm implements. A couple of children playing in the yard looked up at us, stared a moment, then gave a friendly wave. Lhoss waved back and asked if their parents were there, and we then found Kenton, the miller, making some adjustments to the wheel. He grunted and inquired with a friendly, “Yes?” Lhoss told him we were checking in on the residents of Orlane and thanked him for the wonderful flour to make the bread we have been enjoying in the town. She asked if he has any interaction with visitors and he said that he only works with residents, farmers, and businesses, and doesn't have the capacity to serve anyone outside the town. We wished him well and next decided to stop by Ramne’s house, but found it closed up and silent, with no sign of Whiskers. Concerned, Lhoss peeked in the window and was comforted that everything looked tidy and cleaned up, and there was still a faint glow of coals in the hearth.

Stopping by the Slumbering Serpent, we spoke with Owen, who apologized yet again for not having any rooms. We asked about the swarthy group of adventurers dressed in grey who had apparently stayed in Orlane and seem to be adventuring in the Barrowmaze, but the busy tavern owner was distracted and simply said he would keep an eye out for them, then hurried off. The barmaids all also appeared too busy to chat so we headed out and went across to greet Alan Clayborn and his wife, who were headed out to lunch. From their farm we could hear work being done on a building to the northwest so we headed over there. We found a group of men taking out two walls of that farmhouse, as if preparing to expand the building. When we approached they looked at us suspiciously and as we greeted them they said, “Who are you?” and rudely stated that their master would not want anything to do with adventurers, and would only greet us at a time of his choosing. We left, determined to find out who they were working for. We also noted some land staked out farther north, as if additional farm buildings were being planned.

Heading east of the Clayborns, just north of the lake, we found more staked-out land, where it appears there will be some building in the near future. East of there we visited another little farmhouse, which has a large barn full of grains and produce. We could see a wisp of smoke from the chimney and knocked on the door. A man named Brutus answered and said they were preparing for lunch. We could see his wife and children inside and quickly asked if he had any troubles with frogmen. He said they had not, and that he said he would let us know if he met any. We left there and headed southeast down the road past Vilma’s house. At the next farmhouse we found a young boy out amongst the hogs, along with some hens and a rooster. He hailed us and said his parents were preparing lunch. Determined not to bother anyone else at their lunch, we decided to move on and visit the Foaming Mug for our own meal.

At the inn we ordered stew and sandwiches and noted a few of the townsfolk we had met previously were also there: the smith glowering over a bowl of stew, and the carpenter and his family eating a meal. Lhoss and Tatania seemed to quickly forget their vow not to bother people during lunch and decided to strike up a conversation with some others there that we didn't know. Tatania took me with her to sit near a man and woman we didn’t recognize, and she asked if they were from Orlane or if they were travelers. They said they were Marco & Nyla Dixon from Hookhill and were looking at building a farm in Orlane. We ate together without a lot of chit-chat but had a pleasant goodbye and said we hoped to meet again. In the meantime, Lhoss took Armaziti along with her and greeted a group of three men and a woman dressed in workers clothing. She introduced herself pleasantly, but they only gave sideways glances and proceeded to ignore them. Rebuffed, she sat Armaziti down at the next table and they noted that the group quickly and quietly finished eating and left.

On our way out we asked the barmaid Jillian about the group that had ignored Lhoss and Armaziti. She said they were workers renovating a building to the southeast, but that they had not been unfriendly to her. We asked about the people who were working on the building northwest of the Clayborns but she didn’t know anything specifically about them, and said that most workers are not local and are likely from Hochoch. She also made an observation that caught our attention, saying that the growth in the town seemed to be happening surprisingly fast.

We left the inn and walked east across the street where we found a prosperous-looking farm with weed-choked gardens. Some young men were working outside and looked up as we approached. They asked gruffly if they could help us and seemed a little unfriendly in their responses. They said they were the sons of the woman who owns the home and sure enough just then a stout woman appeared from the house. She wasn’t the friendliest with us either, but shared that her name was Mandy, her husband had passed away, her sons were working on the farm, and that they probably didn’t need any help from adventurers. We wished them well and headed south, noting lots of work being done on the farmhouse east of the carpenter’s shop where the silent group from the inn were indeed working away. The next building south also appeared to have some unfinished work being done on it.

We headed over to the carpenter’s shop. He appeared busy with much work, but was friendly enough to answer our questions when we asked about the farm northwest of the Clayborns. He said the master is a rich merchant but the man pays his taxes and the group just seems a bit aloof. Wishing him well also, we decided to head west again and check in on the mayor, Zacharius. He greeted us warmly and commented on the rapid growth in the area. He corroborated the carpenter's story that the rich merchant renovating the buildings near the Clayborns is a man named Marley, from Hochoch, who is looking to start a grain shipping business from Orlane. Overall the mayor seemed pleased with the recent growth of the area and impressed by the fact that Marley was willing to pay his taxes up front.

Zacharius couldn’t remember exactly who is renovating the other buildings near the carpenter, but said that workers like that are usually hired by wealthy people from out of town. He also commented that he hoped the town could attract a bower and a baker, and said that since the land is prime for farming most of the growth has been farmers coming to the area, and most of the new immigrants appear to have come from Hochoch. He noted that the growth has meant the constable could hire a few hands, and mentioned that we should talk to him about the bounty on froglings to the north. He also mentioned in passing that the growth overall seems a little unnatural and wondered aloud how the news of Orlane has spread so quickly and how so many people have arrived so speedily after the town was saved from the cult. He suggested we keep an eye out for any information about how that might be happening, and commented that another priest was also arriving at the temple within the week, and they will be building a shrine to St. Cuthbert—apparently with Chalkboi's support.

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.