6 - Entering the Barrowfields

Date
The 25th of Reaping, the Suns day

Players
Karen - Fighter - Level 3
Melark - Magic User - Level 2
Father Ardic - Cleric - level 1

Hirelings
(all played by PC's)
Werdic the heavy footman (third expedition), last survivor of a murder spree in his monastery.
The Broken Shield - Mercenary company of (now) 4 heavy footmen with special tactics: Wade , Louis,, Templeton, Hanibal
Ratik the Bowman
Og the Torchbearer, last survivor of a previous expedition
Vog the Torchbearer, a stable boy
Adventure Log
Another glorious morning waking at the Singing Swan! Melark was in fine health after another dinner club meeting of the wizards guild. This time Drez served week old fermented oysters marinated in fresh lizard bile, but there was no tummy trouble for Melark! Karen spoke to Cragly, the innkeeper, about buying a house. He was loathe to discuss money but suggested he knew someone who could help her ... while strongly implying that the group use the backdoor of the inn when they came in all bloody from a days work. What line of import/export were they in again? Oh, medical supplies? That explains all the blood they are routinely covered in. Off to the Heffer to pick up "goons", as Melark to eloquently, but accurately, put it.

The Broken shield was there, waiting, as was Werdic. The Shield was done to four, Oscar no where in sight. The Shield was also putting on a brave front, down to four from their original six. Ratik the Bowman was hired, as were Og and Vog (no relation) as bearers and torchholders. Og was older, and was the last survivor of a massacre down below. Vog was a former stable boy wearing a big holy symbol of Father Ardics church. He had been sent in to the world on a mission of personal redemption, in order to become a good boy. Father Ardic volunteered to teach him. And ... the game moved on just a couple of beats too slow to prevent that line. :)

They debated where to go. The Bleakmarsh was paying better than the Prison of the Silken Caliphate, and they did better against the Dino Riders than they thought, it not being a total TPK. In the end they tried to decide between The Black Maw (the sight where the suns first rays of light first touched the earth, or so the rumors said) or the Barrowfields, which was full of mutants, again according to the rumors. They decided on the mutants and set off after buying a cart and some mules to haul the extra loot they were sure to get. (With a pointed comment from Father Ardic about him paying for it when the others had fuck tons of cash and he didn't. Oh, the cluelessnessof the wealthy ...)

There was a mist today, as they left Kryshal. They traveled a couple of hours, coming upon a marsh. The mist burst off just a bit, enough to reveal a swath of land, higher than the marsh and mostly dry. A thousand feet wide and several thousand feet long. And dotted with barrows and standing stones. The Barrowfields.

They followed a trodden path leading up to a large barrow, only a couple of hundred feet away, passing between two barrows, one to either side, only about fifty feet away from them. The large barrow was surrounded by standing stones. It's stone slab sealing stone has been pulled down and was laying cracked in front of it. Bones of animals and people littered the area. A strong stench came out of the darkness. The sickly sweet smell of death and dust. A large black basilisk stood nearby, with a large animal skull on top, covered in runic writing.  No one could read the runes but Melark and Father Ardic both recognized the runes for DEATH from their training. A bad feeling came over them, and decided NOT to tie up the cart and mule to it. Instead they left Radic and Og to watch them as they entered the main barrow.

Short steps led down to a vaulted room supported by giant stonehenge rocks. Bones littered the chamber. There was hole in the middle of the floor. Black, with a rusty metal tripod over it and an old rope attached. Bootprints and other unidentifiable footprints were in the dust. Dropping a torch down the hole they say a large vaulted chamber thirty feet below, with some rubble and some frescoes on the walls. Down they went in to the hole, Karen first, after putting up a new rope.

Below the room had a hallway to the east and a collapsed wall to the west. The frescoes shows scenes of villagers buying their dead. Nothing too freaky. Except for the graffiti. "CANNOT GET OUT"

They headed east, finding a hallway with many doors and side hallways running from it. They took their first option, a hallway to the north, ending in a door. Searching it, they found that the lintel was weird, not attached right. Being very cautious they opened the door to an empty room. Malark headed in, wary, after they first spiked up the lintel on both sides, making a lot of noise in the process. Stepping in the far door opened while the lintel began to fall, a stone slab to seal off Melark in the room! The first spike flew out as Melark dashed back in to the hallway, as the second spike failed and the stone slab came down. Melark didn't see, but the others did, a hoard of skeletons coming through the far door.

Checking the first door to the south, they entered an empty and silent room, the whole complex being as quiet as a grave, except for their own iron spikes. They scouted through a door on the other side, it led to a large room and a corridor. Retreating back they tried the next door, hearing squeeking coming from the room. Inside they found more rubble and some HUGE rats foraging. And a leather bag in the middle of the room. Ignoring the door on the other side of the door, surmising it led to the same corridor they had just scouted, Father Ardic through a bag of grain he carries for just such purposes. It landed in the far corner and was swarmed by the rats. While distracted they hooked the bag with their Amazing New Hook Ended Ten Foot Pole! Buy One Now! And then slammed the door shut, not so content with their 123 sp haul from the bag.

Another door presented a room with a dusty but sturdy table on the back wall. It had three polished skulls on it, not dusty at all. Melark collected them, and comments were made about the decoration style of the forthcoming house to be purchased, and Melarks role in in ...

Turning to the next possability, a hallway that ran north, they found it turned and had three doors along the north wall .. .the last one splintered open. There was an area to the south cut off by a down portcullis that was empty ... and the hallway dead ended in a bricked up doorway. Going through the first door they found a burial chamber with three alcoves in it, full of old dusty bones. The second was much the same except the bones were intact and in burial shrouds. When Karen stepped in to search A GIANT TARANTELLA dropped from the ceiling on her! And landed on the floor, missing her. The group rushed in to help but Hannibal had his stomach ripped open by the tarantella in one hit! The rest of the group quickly dispatched the giant spider and, searching the room, found nothing.

They moved on the third door, Karen taking a wide path around to ensure nothing could leap out. Inside by torchlight she saw another burial room, but the back alcove had its bones pulled out. And as she watched a ghostly form appeared. An old woman, with a long pale face a distinct top and and indistinct bottom floated towards her, arm outreached! Father Ardic thought quickly and doused it in holy water, causing it to disappear. They respectfully put the bones back and said a few words of prayer.

Tacking the bricked up doorway next, they took (noisily) a hammer to it and removed a brick. Looting inside they saw hundred of burial niches, each with bones in them. And the glint of coins! And the darkness inside? It started flowing out the brick hole! Karen attacked the darkness with the sword Illuminator! It caused it to freeze and fall to the floor, a dark outline of a person. Father Ardic quickly put the brick back in, shadow stuff flowing around it! He sealed it back up with some of the candles he carried! They dispatched the shadow creature on the floor with Illuminator. They turned to the portcullis.

The room beyond was empty, what they could see of it. Ardic raised the portcullis and they, again, loudly spiked it open. Searching they found a secret door! Beyond was another room full of burial niches with bones in them. Hundreds! And the glint of coins in them! And six, pale figures facing the corner of the room. They turned, and advanced on the party! Oil was deployed and Father Ardic commanded them to lay back down to the graves they deserved, but they continued forward! Now on fire! But the parties superior tactics won out, luring them in through the doorway choke-point. They spent an hour searching each of the burial niches inside, stealing their funeral coins, theorizing they had already paid for Charon's passing. 

Returning to the first hallway they found a section of wall that had been broken down, a room beyond. But, something from INSIDE the room had broken OUT of the room. [Ominous musical tones.] They continued to the door at the end of the hallway. Entering the large room they saw a hallway leading out, to the north, and heard a tap-tap-tap'ing coming from somewhere, indistinctly. Going north the passed one hallway to turn and go through a door in to an empty, partially collapsed room. Heading out down the only way, they came to a large room with black pillars running down either side. A hallway on the other side led out, and in front of the hallway was a rubble pile. And the glint of coins mixed in to it! And ... other things? Like owl pellets? As Karen investigated, poking around the pile at the copper pieces, she saw a small leather bag with something in it. AND A GIANT RATTLESNAKE DROPPED FROM THE CEILING! And it promptly broke it's fangs on the stone floor, missing Karen with a '1.' It was quickly dispatched. The pouch was full of gemstones! Finally finding a haul worth having they made their way out, and were moderately surprised (as was I) to find Radic and Og still alive! Making their way back to town they pointed to their empty wagon as proof they had nothing to declare to the gate guards, and tried to figure out what to do next.


Deaths & Loot
Hannibal - giant tarantella

A Giant Tarantella
A Ghost woman
A shadow creature
6 Zombies
A Giant Rattlesnake

128 sp
163 ep
94 sp
A silver bracelet (20 gp)
Gemstones worth 10, 20, 50, 100, 500, 750 gp

5 - Dino Riders of the Bleakmarsh!

Date
The 23rd/24nd of Reaping, a Friday/Saturday.

Players
Karen - Fighter - Level 2
Harley - Halfling - Level 2
Melark - Magic User - Level 1
Charley - Magic User - Level 1

Hirelings
(all played by PC's)
Nargax the heavy footman (second expedition), an army vet, ramrod straight
Werdic the heavy footman (second expedition), last survivor of a murder spree in his monastery.
Bardoon, the light footman, who likes to stab things
The Broken Shield - Mercenary company of 6 heavy footmen with special tactics: Wade, Jax, Louis, Oscar, Templeton, Hanibal

Adventure Log
Waking up in The Silver Swan, the party resolved to burn a day so Melark could use his magic powers to read the stone tentacle tablet. Doing so, he discovered a ritual that would, with a sacrifice and time, allow him to summon a malign being from another dimension! This gave the party pause ... given the gold and objects they were uncovering, they needed someplace safe to keep everything, and the miners guild just wasn't going to cut it. They set out to find a place to buy and hit the Heifer to let their hirelings know they were leaving tomorrow instead of today, also finding time to stock up on supplies for their next expedition. Finally, they spoke to Furby some, who they had smuggled in to the inn. He told them tales of The Last Resort in the lower caves, as well as the Reptilemen and how they rode dinosaurs in to battle and had war lances! Harley had to see it! They also noted that the gold & ruby necklace had an inscription from a Malvoy, from the castle on the hill, and mentioned the third member of the wizards guild in town, Aristide, the one who had not attended a dinner party for several hundred years ...

The next day they gathered their men at the Heifer, as the bartender yelled out "Odds Change!" when they entered. There were groans from the other patrons. Leaving the gates they were ignored by the guards and fifteen minutes later came to Franks place. Pounding on the door they heard Frank's woman screeching at him to get up and answer the door. (It was 9:30am? Don't farmers get up early?) There was a crash from inside, no more screeching, and Frank answered the door. Charley bought a couple of flasks of beet juice from him, as a curative, which he retrieved from inside. Meanwhile Harley negotiated to use Franks AirBnB to house Furby. The plan was that Furby would stay with Frank for a few days until they party could escort him to Monta-town in the Prison of the Silken Caliphate ... it was getting too hot in town for Furby to stay there with any reasonable guarantee of safety. Frank rented the party his empty shit-filled pigsty for 50cp a night, and then tried to jack up the price when he saw it was a monster/freak that was going to stay there. Furby understood that Frank was his new slave master, and off the party went to the Bleakmarsh, after Frank reminded the party that he was the forefront of civilization that was coming to the region. A man of the earth!

Another blast of mist erupted from the sinkhole, and then the party went down the wide stone ramp, no longer as afraid, with all their henchmen in tow. They explored the two areas to the south, where they had heard battle sounds their first trip in. They found only old blood, broken spears, and in some places crab carapaces. Triangulating from  heir map, they determined that the crab-men and the reptilemen must meet in these hallways, from the location of the sloping tunnels, and do battle. Not ready to go down deeper, they went back to the room near the Cousin It's where the heard the raucous party. Entering, they found nothing but shit, vomit, piss, and blood scattered among old hay. As they searched the room Bardoon, their lookout, called out "Creatures!" Having seen the Bardoons torch in the dark, a group of four reptilemen were coming down the hallway! They were currently making their way around a pit in the hallway so Charley chucked a flask of oil at one side, causing one of them to slip and fall in to the pit! The reptilemen came on, screeching their terrible shrieks! The henchmen stood firm, forming a semi-circle around the door to the room, luring the reptilemen in, where they were quickly dispatched. Searching, the party found some chunks of gold, amulets, on leather thongs around their necks, and they retrieved a fourth one from the one who fell in the pit and died.

They moved onward, to the door they could not open. Charley offered a gold coin to the hench who could chop the door down, so they set to blunting their blades before Harley stopped them. The door would have to wait. They returned then to the green mist hallway, the last place on this level they had not now explored. Massive amounts of oil were deployed, and the mist burned away. One by one they went through the hallway, stacking up at the door at the far end. First Harley. Then Karen. Then the next one ... and while that happened Karen, afraid of getting caught int he mist again, opened the door.

This time she saw a 6 foot tall androgynous emerald green guy with the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. She promptly turned around and stabbed Harley. Harley, screaming, ran back down the hallway as Karen went through the door and closed it! The party ran down the hallway, threw open the door, and stacked up in the hallway beyond, Harley and Bardoon leading the way. Two stairways, both leading down, one on either end of the hallway. Karen was calling for help at the bottom; she was tied up! And there was a pile of treasure! Hurry and free her before the green guy returned! Charley hesitated. He could see a pentagram in the corner of the room, glowing white ... what to do? While hesitating, Werdic cried out! The creature was behind him! He had come up the other stairs! Fire erupted form his blue eyes, narrowly missing the party! The hallway was cramped! It was hard to get to him past their comrades! Bardoon and Charley ran in to the room at the bottom of the stairs to come up behind him! And Bardoon was quickly stabbed by Karen as he ran in, she had been hiding beside the doorway! But she, being Karen, missed! Bardoon continued, running up behind the green guy and stabbing! Charley looked deep in to Karen's eyes and, casting a spell, freed her from her enchantment! He gave er a bottle of Franks "beet juice", quickly learning that it was a ctually a bottle of Franks piss. Oh that rapscallion Frank! Meanwhile Melark took out the first sized orange gem. Warm to the touch. Unstable magic. He fired a blast of flame ... burning off the left side of the emerald guys face! Another round and he chanced it again, this time catching him full on and vaporizing the left side of his head, his brain falling out on to the floor ... before he vanished! Melark cackled at the power at his fingertips ... well, until the emerald guy appeared in one of the two pentagrams in the room, still blackened and missing a brain! Fixing his bright blue eyes, deep set in a horribly burned face, at Charley ... fire erupted and consumed Charly and his 2hp! The emerald man vanished again, reappearing in the other pentagram, only to vanish once more. Freaked out over the loss of Charley, the party quickly rummaged through a huge pile of gear on the floor, the loot from countless hobo's that had previously fallen victim to the emerald man. Coins, gear, fine silk cloaks ... and a slender wooden stick with a door on the end, right out of 1313 Deadend Drive ... a little plastic frame and little door that opened. Some kind of wand, they supposed. Maybe it opens doors? And a man, a priest, tied up. Ardic he was called, and he was quickly welcomed as a fellow full-share friend! They quickly regrouped and retreated, before the emerald man came back.

It was still early, so they set out to the tunnel of the reptilemen, venturing in to a deeper level. After a sloping tunnel down they found a cave chamber set with spears, wood, stone, metal, covered with human skulls, dinosaur skulls, arms and legs of various creatures. The stench was terrible! "Scarecrows" remarked Melark. Two passages west, one with a little shelf drop down and one with flowstone leading down, and a passage to the south, where they could also see a side passage to the west. Taking the northernmost of the west passages, Karen, leading the way, put her foot in a small hole filled with punji stakes! Only her plate mail footwear saved her! Continuing down the dark cave passage, lit only by their torches, they came to another long chamber. Exits to the north, west, and south, but the chamber empty. They started north ... but then ...

"Monsters!" shouted Nargax from the rear! Turning, they saw four dinosaurs charging at them, being ridden by Reptilemen with stone lances! They were bottled up in the hallway again! Nargax, faithful Nargex, vet of many war campaigns, a solid and stoic member, went down, stabbed by a reptileman lance and then bitten in half by a dinosaur! Aiieee! Aieee!! The party tried to maneuver, to bring their numbers to bear! It was too cramped! But, lucky hits dismounted one reptileman rider, his mount turning lethargically away. And Bardoon! Mighty Bardoon, eager to stab, and rejecting spears so he could see the light fade from someones eyes when he stabbed them ... he went down also, slain by a reptilemans lance! Regrouping, the party concentrated on the reptilemen, slaying one dinosaur mount and the rest of the reptilemen.

This was rough. Charley dead. Nargax bit in half. Bardoon now forever in his happy stabby place. Malark tried to ride a dinosaur but it would not respond to him. The party, having had enough, retreated, with several of their henchmen having sullen faces. They returned to town.

Only to find Franks place looking a lot better! Furby was working the fields hard with Frank nearby, cracking a whip! They chastised Frank, even though he said he was just cracking the whip AROUND him, not ON him. Furby seemed happy, he was fed and Frank gave him some whiskey. They told Frank no more cash, since Furby was working that was the payment for his AirBnB. They paid the gate guards their 10% tax on loot, again getting an official receipt.

A somber day. Several dead. Several with their morale broken.



Deaths
Charley - Burned to a crisp by a nude androgynous green guy with blue eyes
Nargax - Bitten in half by a dinosaur mount
Bardoon - Stabbed in the chest by a reptileman lanceLoot & XP
1 Dino Mount
7 Reptilemen
1 Nude androgynous green guy with blue eyes
5 gold nuget amulets (50gp)
2 silk cloaks, with giants eyeballs on the back in red thread (50gp each)
100pp
1500sp
330gp
Wand of something having to do with doors
Scroll with 2 holy spells that allows the holy man to remove a curse and find lost objects