Sesson 90: Afternoon of day 19 Wealsun

 Armatzi, Feno, Lhoss, Gnorcia, Niki, and Tatania all gathered together after the fight with the centipedes. There was a discussion of recovering the poison sacks from the centipedes. Gnorcia and Tatania attempted with the first two corpses. Gnorica was successful in finding and removing the poison sack, but Tatania failed and ruined the corpse. Feno attempted with the third corpse and also ruined it. Gnorcia then taught Tatania how to find the poison sack, and she was then able to remove it, and Gnorcia removed the last. These were placed in four glass vials that Tatania was carrying. 

The group then turned their attention to the sarcophagi. There were four, with heavy lids. Some were not able to lift them off successfully. Feno, being very strong, singlehandedly removed two. Inside were what appeared to be two adult humans and two young human children. (one in each sarcophagi). The group looted each burial area without much caution (some chose to wear gloves). The booty was piled in the center: 2 gold rings, a silver ring, a necklace, an ivory comb, a sliver bracelet, a gold circlet, and a bone handled dagger. Tatania cast detect magic on the pile, but it was all ordinary wealth. 

The group spent a fair amount of time searching the tomb to no avail. The group exited the tomb, and proceeded west to another mound. They found that this one had been disturbed. Some began to have deja-vu, and then footprints were observed that matched members of the party - they had been at this location sometime in the past, but had not updated their map! The group carefully searched the empty tomb again, to no avail. 

The group then moved north to a monolith of evil. There was a skull of Nerul on the top, with writing in unknown runes. Tatania used her magical glasses to decipher that it was the black tongue - the language of necromancers and the Underworld. The words exalted Nerul and acknowledged his chosen. Also "Life in Death". The group was disturbed and felt an unnatural chill in their bodies. They were then attacked by 11 skeletons from the north. However, the group easily defeated this horde with the tactics they have been developing. 

The group then moved south and east, approaching a mound with a stone door sealing it. It had been flooded, with some water pooled up near the bottom of the door. The group decided to dig a channel to drain the water. Lhoss, Gnorcia, and Tatania began work on this but were interrupted by another group of skeletons. These skeletons were defeated in a similar manner as the first. They then worked some more, but were ambushed by 4 giant toads, as they had not setup a good watch. Fortunately, the toads centered their ire on Feno, who was well equipped to deal with them. He finished two off in one blow each with the dreadful frost blade that he recently acquired. The other two were defeated and the group sighed in releif. 

 Session 89: We Brought Out the Dead

The following is from a journal entry from one Feno Adris, a member of the “The Saviors of Orlane”

Day 19 of Wealsun

I had that dream again. We were being chased through the forest by a band of orcs hired by the king. Fires burned around us. They caught up to and killed most of my family and friends, but I was able to escape. My father sacrificed himself in order for me to make that escape. When the flames began to touch the sides of my face I awoke. My heart was beating hard, as it usually does with this dream. Touching my scars along the sides of my face and neck, while cleaning the beads of sweat that had formed from the dream, it is no wonder people give me looks of disdain. People often look at me, and conclude I’m not handsome enough for them, not understanding how these scars came to be. Ever since that night, I have vowed never to be so helpless, and I have fortunately been able to train into a half decent fighter. But that is a story for another day.

After getting ready for the day, the group and I discussed over breakfast what we should do in way of adventuring today (after some spent a week or so training in Orlane). After much discussion, I put forth that we should go to the barrow marsh and explore more of the tombs that outline the barrow maze, as perhaps there are more treasures to be found therein. Lhoss, who is often the leader of our little group, agreed. So, following some last-minute shopping in town, we headed out towards our goal of the untold riches in the barrow marsh.

Maybe it was the vividness of the dream the previous night, but passing through the fields, like they had so many times before, reminded me of home. A home that doesn't exist anymore I had to remind myself. The smells of the freshly planted and harvested crops, as well as the unusual amount of sunlight, were very familiar sights and smells. As we make our way through the not so dim forest (it is lighter than normal today), Lhoss notices something and signals the party to stop. I signal to stop as well. Lhoss, Gnorcia, and I then quietly go to investigate this mysterious thing that was seen about 80 or so yards off. As we quietly travel through the brush and vines, I can’t help but have flashbacks to when I was a young wood elf and explored similar woods with my friends. We would climb trees and practice hunting with poorly constructed bow and arrows. It was at that time I discovered I had the ability that I could communicate with the woodland creatures of the forest. I push those thoughts aside and focus on the task at hand. As we make our way to where the creature should be, we discover no marks of any kind; it appears the creature disappeared into thin air. It must’ve been a ghost or dryad or another creature of the forest, I think. We make our way back to the rest of the group and inform them of our finding nothing. We resume our quest back towards the barrow marsh.

The barrow marsh is dimmer than normal with steam coming from the pockets of mud and water throughout the area. We decide to dig on an area of the map labeled #9 (we haven't figured out who labeled them or what the numbers mean yet). It is an ancient burial mound, undisturbed for quite some time. Lhoss and I begin digging while the rest of the group eats their rations. Once finished, we switch, and Tatania and Gnorcia trade places with us so we can attempt to eat our rations. I say attempt, because they are apparently noisy diggers, because no sooner did we sit down to eat than an army of skeletons appear out of the mists of the marsh. They rushed into attack, targeting Gnorcia and Tatania first, followed by the rest of the party. Armatzi did his cleric thing and made several of them turn around and run away in fear. Being forced to use my morningstar, I struggled with these skeletons, destroying only one, and missing several others. Fortunately, the group destroyed the remainder of this batch of skeletons, and we attempted to dig and eat again. Once again, the noisy diggers Tatania and Gnorcia attract the attention of another group of skeletons. This group again attacks Tatania and Gnorcia first, followed by the rest of the party. Armatzi does his thing and makes many of them run away, and I do a little better with this batch: I destroyed three of them and only missed one. Armatzi heals the cuts and bruises of the party before we settle down to eat and dig once more. Lhoss and I are able to finish our rations this time before, yet ANOTHER set of skeletons attacks us. Armatzi works his cleric magic and makes several of the walking dead run away. I destroy one, and the party destroys the rest. Having grown frustrated by this constant onslaught of skeleton mayhem, I take a defensive posture and the party is able to finally dig out the entrance to the burial mound. We discover that it is a dark cavern that leads to downward to a chamber that contains four sarcophagi. Struggling with patience today, I move towards one of the corners of the chamber with a sarcophagus, and apparently trip a floor trap: poisonous centipedes drop from the ceiling. They attack the party. One hits me, but miraculously I am unaffected by poison or injury from the attack. I kill 3 of them in a sweeping motion, using my more familiar and more balanced long sword to attack. Finally, Lhoss kills the final centipede.

I am Feno Adris. I am weary of writing. Let this entry be sufficient for the day's accounting.

Session 88: The many riches of Osric and Breena

As she peered into the sarcophagi, Lhoss found herself simultaneously dazzled by the mountain of coins and wondering how on earth the group would transport it all. Luckily, Gnorica and Arnd appeared, swelling the party's ranks. Between Calbach, Tatania, Lhoss, Gnorcia, Arnd, Armatzi, Niki, Feno, and Hilja, all of the platinum and gold and much of the silver was packed up to cart back to Orlane. 

As the group exited the barrow maze, they encountered a bunch of skeletons. Between Hilja casting an entangle spell and Armatzi turning the undead, the evil creatures were quickly slaughtered. The rest of the journey was uneventful. The adventurers cleaned off the dust and rain from their travels and ate dinner at the inn, ending day 11 of Wealsun.

The riches were divided among the group and Armatzi, Hilja, and Niki were able to train to level up. The items gathered from Osric and Breena (armor, sword, shield, ring, bracers, crown) along with the red leather cloak were tested and all found to be magical. Ramne was able to determine the magical properties of each item (for a price). Many in the party found themselves so loaded down with coin, they bought valuable gems and jewelry as an investment and in an effort to lighten their loads. 

Side Quest: Gnorcia and Arnd in the Barrowmaze (Day 4 of Wealsun)

 

While my friends were busy in Orlane, learning skills and eating and drinking, I determined to venture back to the Barrowmaze. It seemed thoughtless to spend such a long time in town and leave treasure where it might be discovered, notwithstanding the lovely camouflage tarp we used to hide it. Surely some infidels of the Black Hand sort would be crawling the halls of the Barrowmaze and we would all return to find it missing. That tarp is certainly more valuable than the coin it covered. I suggested to Arnd that if he went back to the Barrowmaze with me he could likely repay his debts to the other party members, and he quickly agreed to accompany me.

We managed to return to the place of our most recent adventuring, the hallways and rooms outside the lair of King Osric, easily dispatching some skeletons that approached. Back in the room where we had hidden the last of the treasure, Arnd and I loaded up our packs with everything there, then returned to Orlane. Safely back at the inn, we divided up the silver and set aside the amounts that our companions had left from their own packs as they made room for the platinum and gold from the treasure horde. These silver pieces—along with the grappling hook left by Feno—I carefully returned to their packs, slipping in and out of their rooms unnoticed at dinnertime. The camouflage tarp I stowed at the bottom of my backpack, and both Arnd and I carefully placed the remaining treasure in the locked chest inside my locked room, planning to repay our debts as soon as possible.

Session 87. Day 3 - 11 Wealsun: Mysterious appearing and disappearing treasure

The group (Feno, Armatzi, Lhoss, Hilja, Tatania, and Niki) awakened and ate breakfast. The spent time examining treasure, making some exchanged, and purchasing gems. Lhoss and Tatania were surprised to find a significant amount of silver in their packs, and Feno had what appeared to be his grappling hook and rope in his bag. There seemed to be no explanation. Some of the characters did some training for the week. 

Day 10 of Wealsun had a tremendous storm, dropping the temperature, and beating the village with rain and wind. The group decided to stay indoors that day. Day 11 was also raining, but not as bad, just a seasonal rain, with some spots of light rain. The group made sure that they all had good cloaks. Tatania made a trade with Chiki for a red leather cloak that he had found, knitting a small chicken sized cloak for Chick-chick. 

The group arrived back at the Barrowmarsh, eating lunch in the soggy and misty area, and then entering the Barrowmaze. They retraced their steps, but as they came up to the pit where they had dumped dead bodies, it gave off a tremendous stench. After some discussion, they decided to use a green slime vial to clear out the pit. After a bit of observation, they returned to the chambers where they had left the remainder of their treasure horde. A single sapphire skeleton was guarding the area, and it was quickly dispatched. The group was shocked to find that all of the treasure was gone, including the camouflage cover. 

After some debate and such, the group avoided opening the secret door to the boat, fearing to enter the room. They examined the other two doors that they hadn't opened. One revealed skeletal remains, the other revealed two corpses that, after examination, were found to be wearing copper rings. These rings were acquired, and are quite beautiful. 

Tatania then checked her magic compass, and found that it was pointing towards the south-west. The group decided to brave the boat room after all. After opening the secret door, they were astounded to find that the whole boat and everything on it (including the mysterious King Osric) were gone. There was no trace of the green slime either, and the floor was polished clean where the boat had been. 

The group followed the compass, and found a secret door behind the statue in the corner. This was opened to reveal a suspicious small passageway, ending in a dead end. The group searched that wall, and even though two elves were searching (Feno and Lhoss), it was Tatania that found the latch. The door was opened, revealing a chamber, with two sarcophagi. 

Two figures appeared in a burst of magical blue energy. These large figures advanced on the party and attacked. Despite giving two fearsome blows to Armatzi, they were defeated by the party, leaving a pile of six runic tablets. The rest of the group stood astonished as Armatzi and Tatania quickly grabbed and read the tablets, to a mixture of weal and woe. Armatzi narrowly fought off an enfeeblement spell, had a burst of energy that raised his charisma, and also obtained knowledge to the history of Nerull. Tatania was struck by a burst of flame that knocked her unconcious, and destroyed her boots. Fortunately, Armatzi was right there and was able to heal her. She also received a boon of making her next saving throw, and also knowledge of the tablet of Chaos. Both tablets that had the knowledge (Nerull and Chaos) crumbled, so Tatania and Armatzi scribed up what they had learned on parchment that Tatania convieniently had. 

Then the party turned their attention to the sarcophagi. The one on the right had old common runes of "King Osric" and the one on the right "Queen Breena". After carefully examining them, Feno (by far the strongest) tried to open them, but was completely unable. The group decided they must be magically fastened, so Tatania cast a knock spell on them, opening them and revealing gleaming treasure. 

Feno claimed a suit of plate mail and long sword (named Icingdeath on its scabbard). Lhoss grabbed the bracers that the queen was wearing. Tatania chose a crown that the queen was wearing, and Niki chose a beautiful golden ring set with a clear crystal. Armatzi chose a shield with a red lion on it, that the king had. Also, there were three coffers in each sarcophagi. These were opened, revealing many silver, gold, and platinum pieces. The group spent a fair amount of time counting up these, finally tallying 10,000 silver, 6000 gold, and 100 platinum. 

Session 86: Loaded with Coin from the Barrowmaze (through day 10 of Wealsun)

Gnorcia here again. Burdened with treasure and leaving more behind, we decided to slowly make our way back to Orlane. We dragged our way out of the Barrowmaze and across the marsh, noting the thick air of the marsh. As we ascended from the marsh, we heard the distant howl of a creature that sounded unnatural. The others continued forward a bit but as I turned back to look behind us, I found myself paralyzed with fear. There was another howl, closer this time. A horrible chill passed through us all. Feno came back and smacked me on the back of the head and I was suddenly able to move and screamed loudly in horror. We all quickly began moving down the path, despite the weight we were carrying, and hurried back to Orlane without stopping.

We were thrilled to be back in time for a dinner or fried fig pastries and blanche perret. None of us were sure what that was, but it sounded fancy and we were absolutely exhausted from our hurried march with all that treasure. Turns out it was small birds boiled in a pot of onions with leeks and cloves. It was tasty. Armaziti suddenly appeared with us and dispelled some of the fear that was hanging over us. He also ordered a rich dinner that turned out to be a pair of partridges. It looked good but I was too tired and went straight to bed. The others stayed up late celebrating our safe return.

In the morning we went to the jeweler and he gave us 440gp for the statuette of a penguin and 64gp each (256gp) for the gold circlets. We had then a total of 4128sp, 3696gp, and 100pp. Feno, Armaziti, Niki, and Lhoss purchased some gems from the jeweler. Tatania trained in magic, and Lhoss trained as a thief.

Session 85: An encounter with King Osric

 As the group (Feno, Armatzi, Gnorcia, Lhoss, Tatania, and a new adventurer Niki) wandered the barrowmaze, each of the party tried to interact with Niki's cat, Jack. He was indifferent to Armatzi but disliked all the others. Lhoss tried to win Jack over with a scrap from her rations, but Jack became irritated and swiped her with his claws. Ouch!

In the hallway, ocean murals and mythic scenes were observed painted on the walls. The party came upon two doors, one on either side of the hall. Lhoss and Gnorcia gathered at the first door and noticed that it was covered with spider webs. Using their thief skills, they attempted to check it for traps, but felt uncertain if there were any. Armatzi (with no particular skill) also attempted to look for traps, but not knowing what to look for, he came away with the certain knowledge that there was a door in front of him. The pair turned around and checked the other door for traps. Again, nothing was apparent, but the pair were not convinced that the door was safe to open so the group moved down the hall. 

The next door was checked and Lhoss felt pretty sure it was safe to open, even though she proved too weak to do it herself. Feno, however, opened it easily and found himself facing three ghouls. Moving quickly, Tatania offed one with a magic missile and the other two attacked Feno. Using her signature move, Gnorcia vaulted into position and slew one with a vicious backstab. Lhoss used a new spell (continuous light) to blind the third ghoul and Armatzi turned it with his holy power. In it's discombobulated state, Gnorcia finished the last one easily. Scanning the room, the team noticed rotting tapestries depicting ocean scenes and a shining bowl filled with metal. Gnorcia inspected it closer and deemed it safe; the group then split the 315 silver pieces among themselves. Gnorcia swiped a sample of the tapestry.

Behind the next door, four shadow creatures with baleful red eyes loomed menacingly. Armatzi again successfully turned all the foes and as they fled and cowered in the room, the party easily dispatched with them. Feno was the first to discover there were four corpses draped in burial shrouds; Armatzi informed the group that these we the corporeal forms of the shadow creatures. Feno removed one of the shrouds and found a desiccated corpse with a golden circlet perched atop its skull. Niki used the spell detect magic and determined it was not magical. The group gathered up the other three circlets and moved out of the room.

As she was walking out, Lhoss noticed a concealed switch on the wall. There was more inspecting for traps and discussion of whether or not to try the switch. Lhoss felt the switch might be a trap... maybe? But Gnorcia felt it was safe. Trusting in the skills of Gnorcia, Lhoss threw the switch to reveal a large room and, inexplicably, a Norse ship. A deep voice boomed out and asked the group to identify themselves then chastised them for their disruptive presence. The heroes perceived a figure in a yellow robe with red eyes peering out. He identified himself as King Osric. Osric seemed perturbed yet aloof and again demanded answers from the team. Unsatisfied with the responses given, the being cast a spell and Tatania, Feno, and Armatzi disappeared.

In shock, Gnorcia, Lhoss, and Niki retreated to discuss what to do. Niki was terrified and Gnorcia hid in the shadows. Lhoss approached and addressed King Osric who had moved up to the ship. Lhoss asked where her friends were to which Osric responded that they had been sent to the bowels of Hades. Lhoss tried to stoke the king's ego and ask for their return, but he was unresponsive. With each new attempt to parlay, the king remained silent with a haughty smirk. Lhoss shifted tactics and threatened to destroy the ship if her friends weren't returned. The king was unmoved and unimpressed. Lhoss reached into the bag of holding and withdrew a glass jar filled with devouring green slime. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a basket filled with coins. She lifted it above her head in a threatening manner, released it, and *poof* she also disappeared at the hand of the king.

Lhoss blinked and found herself... just outside the barrowmaze with Tatania, Feno, and Armatzi. The four decided that they should return to their compatriots and defeat the king. Running as fast as they could, they made their way back and found Niki and Gnorcia surprised and grateful to see them all. Gnorcia and Lhoss made a plan to sneak back in and try and relieve the king of as much treasure as they could carry. The pair was skillful in their sneaking, but they were still observed by Osric. It didn't seem to matter though, as he made no move to stop them. Gnorcia tried to lift a basket, but it was quite heavy. Thinking it would slide easily down the gangplank, she gave it a nudge, spilling coins everywhere. Lhoss beckoned to Feno and handed a basket down to him. All along, the green slime was doing its work devouring the wooden deck of the ship. Either ambivalent or unknowing of his fate, the king remained seated on his throne, watching but not engaging. 

Moving quickly, with the additional help of Tatania, all of the treasure was unloaded from the ship and the spilled coins were gathered together in the room where the ghouls had been defeated. Feno and Gnorcia explored the ship room, finding four sailors in the corners of the room and little else. Feno flipped the switch and closed the door behind them as they left, leaving the king to his fate as he sat unmoved on the slowly-engulfed vessel.

All together there was a smattering of platinum, 500 pounds of silver and 300 pounds of gold. The group loaded themselves down with as much as they could carry and left the rest beneath a camouflaged tarp. Feeling rich and lucky, they lumbered back toward Orlane.