In an effort to learn more of the foul Barrowmaze a few days out from Breakwater Landing, the gang asked around the Brazen Strumpet. Luwang, in disguise as a famous actress, approached the braggadocious Krell Ironguard, and found he knew nothing of the Veins, making his stories of heroics in the Barrowmaze weak tea in the party's estimation.
Overhearing talk about runic tablets, chaos gods, and the safety of the pools, the gang did some trading and ventured west, to the sunken, fetid Barrowmoor, and the dozens of burial mounds set within.
Surveying the eerie, damp, ancient landscape under a cold, low sky made them uneasy, but they soon began exploring tombs. They found a block and tackle within a plundered mound leading to a dark dungeon below: the very Barrowmaze itself. Opting instead to explore some more, Ferris found and read a weathered pillar, carved in the Black Tongue, extolling followers of the chaos god Nergal.
Mirabilis, eager to wield his sledgehammer, went to town on the sealed stone door of an undisturbed crypt. Unfortunately, all the gang found within were a couple of giant toads swimming around in dark, brackish water. The gang killed one, and Viktor hauled it out with his hatchet, and they let the other flee into the swamp.
Returning to the block and tackle, the party entered Barrowmaze. They nearly split the party as the result of a heavy stone trap, so the gang chose another path. Exploring the dense, dark crypts revealed some scraps of treasure, some bad vibes, and nearly a dozen humanoids with patchy, animalistic skin, pigs' hooves, antlers, and other peculiar distortions of the usual human form. These creatures seemed able to mimic any sound with uncanny perfection, and preferred to hide behind piles of rubble than attack the party. Still, the party spiked shut the doors whenever they encounter the things.
At one point, a room with a smell so foul assaulted the party, such that many violently wretched. They found two dead adventurers impaled upon pikes, their entrails roughly eaten and left to rot. The gang searched dozens of square burial alcoves and came up entirely empty, just like their vacated stomachs.
Delving further, the party found itself set upon by a clutch of armed skeletons. Nedi used magic to tether one to the ceiling, while Mirabilis used a pot of glue to stick two others to the floor. Bracing for impact, the gang was surprised to find the remaining skeletons breeze right past them without interest. Perplexed, the party destroyed the seemingly helpless skeletons.
Having learned their lesson from a near miss with a sudden pit trap, the party was on its guard and found yet another. However, instead of poisoned spikes, an opaque, glowing portal. Nedi volunteers to tie up and climb in; she does so, and finds herself climbing through the roof of another tomb entirely. Small, with a simple bier upon which rested a skeleton in chain mail with a longsword by its side. She seemed dazed, and her companions pulled her back through the portal, seemingly unhurt.
Soon, the party saw fit to withdraw from the crypts. They were pleased to find Newall Luck with their four donkeys, right where they left them. The gang had spent roughly four hours exploring the mounds and maze as they took a break under the overcast skies, expecting another expedition before the day is through...
Overhearing talk about runic tablets, chaos gods, and the safety of the pools, the gang did some trading and ventured west, to the sunken, fetid Barrowmoor, and the dozens of burial mounds set within.
Surveying the eerie, damp, ancient landscape under a cold, low sky made them uneasy, but they soon began exploring tombs. They found a block and tackle within a plundered mound leading to a dark dungeon below: the very Barrowmaze itself. Opting instead to explore some more, Ferris found and read a weathered pillar, carved in the Black Tongue, extolling followers of the chaos god Nergal.
Mirabilis, eager to wield his sledgehammer, went to town on the sealed stone door of an undisturbed crypt. Unfortunately, all the gang found within were a couple of giant toads swimming around in dark, brackish water. The gang killed one, and Viktor hauled it out with his hatchet, and they let the other flee into the swamp.
Returning to the block and tackle, the party entered Barrowmaze. They nearly split the party as the result of a heavy stone trap, so the gang chose another path. Exploring the dense, dark crypts revealed some scraps of treasure, some bad vibes, and nearly a dozen humanoids with patchy, animalistic skin, pigs' hooves, antlers, and other peculiar distortions of the usual human form. These creatures seemed able to mimic any sound with uncanny perfection, and preferred to hide behind piles of rubble than attack the party. Still, the party spiked shut the doors whenever they encounter the things.
At one point, a room with a smell so foul assaulted the party, such that many violently wretched. They found two dead adventurers impaled upon pikes, their entrails roughly eaten and left to rot. The gang searched dozens of square burial alcoves and came up entirely empty, just like their vacated stomachs.
Delving further, the party found itself set upon by a clutch of armed skeletons. Nedi used magic to tether one to the ceiling, while Mirabilis used a pot of glue to stick two others to the floor. Bracing for impact, the gang was surprised to find the remaining skeletons breeze right past them without interest. Perplexed, the party destroyed the seemingly helpless skeletons.
Having learned their lesson from a near miss with a sudden pit trap, the party was on its guard and found yet another. However, instead of poisoned spikes, an opaque, glowing portal. Nedi volunteers to tie up and climb in; she does so, and finds herself climbing through the roof of another tomb entirely. Small, with a simple bier upon which rested a skeleton in chain mail with a longsword by its side. She seemed dazed, and her companions pulled her back through the portal, seemingly unhurt.
Soon, the party saw fit to withdraw from the crypts. They were pleased to find Newall Luck with their four donkeys, right where they left them. The gang had spent roughly four hours exploring the mounds and maze as they took a break under the overcast skies, expecting another expedition before the day is through...
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