Barrow Mounds: Epiphany

[Spearmint]

For want of a better name, this thread is for Moriartus and Cadeweed as they split off temporarily from the Mummy Return expedition.


Exploring the Barrows Mounds.

May 21st 1066.

After arriving at the Mummy Mound and scaring away a flick of feasting vultures, Moriartus feels he has a divine signal to follow the direction taken by a culture clutching an arrow. He believes it will lead to a nearby harpy lair and possibly offer a last chance to rescue the Bennerjake twins and Friar John from their fates.

Accompanying him are Cadeweed and Two-Birds. Aided by a summoned unseen servant and cloaks which camouflage their presence in the wilderness.

Leaving the mound, the trio creep off into the mist, headed eastwards. From your previous scout around the Mummy Mound, you know it is in an isolated position, with a few hundred feet of stony ground in all directions. You walk, quickly and quietly across the ground, overgrown with weeds and thickets of briars.

Within a few yards the mound you left behind is enveloped in the mist. It is easy to get disoriented in this place with few visible features to note. A few minutes you start to see numerous bones and skulls scattered among the undergrowth. Small cairns have been erected, some look more recent than others though none bear any ribbons or motifs or cryptic blocks with direction signs etched in. A pathway encircles a mound that rises from the earth as a dark foreboding place of fetid ill. Standing stones of huge quarried granites lurch upright to ring the mound, casting solemn shadows from the filtered sunlight that struggles to break through the gloom.



actions please

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

He scans the surrounding bone littered ground and the numerous unremarkable cairns, then peers at the base of the foreboding barrow. The standing stones that ring the tumulus remind him of those that crown the apex of the mummy mound, although these are much larger in size.

"This is certainly a barrow of significance. No small feat of labor hauling those giant granite stones here. These bones and cairns, though. Remains of previous explorers? Hastily interred by survivors?"

"Ah, yes ..." He muses thoughtfully. "This must be a heavily used entrance to the infamous Barrowmaze. It would be reasonable then for the harpies to nest in the greater vicinity. An abundance of prey easily charmed by their foul croons from within the mist. Let's keep moving and avoid the path. Best not to alert any nefarious groups nearby exploring the mound."

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Not having the magically supplied invisibility of the other two keeps quiet and moving quickly from shadow to shadow.

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

Indeed the trio shelter behind some undergrowth and pile of stones, surveying the scene. The mage is keen to keep moving, skirting the mound and staying clear of the used pathway.

It seems though that other people, perhaps one of those nefarious groups have the same thing in mind. Within a few minutes in the outskirts of the Standing Stone Barrow you notice a small group of figures holding some candlelight vigil as they gather around a larger flat stone. Bleating mournfully as it is tied up, splayed and gutted upon its surface is a sacrificial goat. One figure, stoutly built like a mason cut from granite himself, a mane of long black hair and sledgehammer wielded in just one hand; lays his hand upon the creature, praying in a hoarse whisper before 'coup de gracing' the creature with a cranium splitting bludgeon. The quartet with him, say their "Amen's", some more enthusiastically than others.

Perhaps a twig snaps underfoot or a stone grinds but suddenly the group are alert to an unseen presence nearby. You freeze behind another cairn, easier for the short hobbit while Moriartus and Two-Birds have to almost lie prone.

actions please.

the group, look a bit like this:

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

His initial impression, given the ecclectic racial mixture of the group, is another barrow meadow expedition. The beefy figure, likely a half-orc cleric by his appearance and behaviour. A sacrificial goat is rather odd to him, though. The faithful of Herne offer a portion of their hunts, but a goat was almost certainly not hunted. Cromm Cruach, perhaps?

Or more likely ... Orcus.

He certainly wasn't inclined to verify, though. Instead, he mentally commands his unseen servant to move half of the spell's range at a 45 degree angle northwest from their position relative to the strange group. At this point, drop a small rock or bone, then continue on to the maximum range and repeat.

Finally, toss a rock or bone in the same direction ...

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Cadeweed seeing what the wizard is doing just tries to stay quiet.

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

Moriartus reasons various assumptions and acts on his instincts, conjuring his unseen arcane force to distract the group with a series of impromptu tossed rocks and bones. In fact the impression upon the group is interpreted differently. As bone after bone moves up and down in the air in a circle pattern around the group, the half-orc cult leader (as presumed so by the mage) declares, "It seems our sacrifice has appeased the spirits. Let us go quickly lest they change their minds." They each pick up some gear and head towards the open mouth of the barrow at the end of the path.

You wait another few minutes until the coast clears, rising from the undergrowth to continue your journey scouting eastwards. In a few hundred feet you see the rising of another hillock towards the south. A large earthen ditch, filled with reeds and surrounds the incline which from your view north of it seems to have many places of excavation that has breached the interior.

With the croaking of many frogs that hop among the reeds here, you designate this the Frog Mound, certainly no vultures are present though you scour the skies looking for the avians and more divine inspiration.

actions please.

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

"With all those holes in that mound, it reminds me of that giant ant nest. Could their warren extend to such a long distance?" Moriartus muses aloud. "Let's keep moving, we lost valuable time from that group." He continues skulking east.

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Cadeweed, silent to the last nods his head and keeps moving.

[Spearmint]

the breaches in the mound are much larger than a burrowed entrance for an ant nest. These are certainly places that groups have dug out over the years, dark holes that a man could walk through upright.

That could make you think the mound covers several smaller individual tombs or just that several break-ins were achieved. Without fording the ditch and going closer to inspect, you cannot tell. Certainly none of the breaches go through any kind of stone framed doorway or 'official' entrance.

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

Continuing eastwards, the intrepid trio sneak through the misty ground, avoiding the two barrows encountered. One claimed by an eclectic group of goat-sacrificers, Orcus cultists or just Helixian tomb Raiders?, the second mound having that 'just doesn't feel right' appeal.

A few hundred yards on you notice that you come to an area with small headstones in the ground and looming over the graveyard a number of lurching Weeping Willow trees, their long green dangling fronds of leaves giving the appearance of a shambling, shaggy tree. The tombstones are old, often scratched and clawed of identification or epitaph, overgrown with moss and lichen. The graveyard must cover a sizeable area, (one 120'ft hex)

The area is eerily silent, are not all graveyards thus? Two-Birds clutches her holy symbol in case the divine provisions of Silvanus are needed.

actions and any skill checks, rolls as you decide to pass through, scout, swerve the area please.

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

"Seems innocuous enough, but quite out of character from the usual tumuli. We'd best not take any chances and skirt the edge. We're also running low on time if we're to make it back within an hour."

Moriartus moves to bypass the graveyard along its southern border ...

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Cadeweed agrees that he does not want to have the Necromancer jump out of the graveyard. Along the edges.

[Spearmint]

Here is a rough map of the Barrow Mounds as explored by Moriartus & Cadeweed previously:

1: Green Man Mound
2: Mummy mound

9: mound with skeleton arm upon.
10: Potter's mound, interior unexplored.
19: Mound with trees. You encountered zombies coming from the moor here.

12: Ring of Stones, entered by goat-sacrificers.
18: Mound with reed ditch and many entrances.

G: graveyard and willow trees.

Red dots, your approximate direction of travel.

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

Moriartus moves to bypass the graveyard along its southern border ...

The mage hopes that he has not made a grave mistake, swerving a path which proceeds to run through the overgrown graveyard and choosing to circumnavigate the edge of the area.

You travel around the border, peering into the mist, keeping close together for the cloaks you wear fade into the background so flush, you appear almost invisible should you stand still.

MM's snares vs Cadeweed, TB, Mori 1-2 [1d6]=3[1d6]=4[1d6]=3

MM's snares vs Cadeweed, TB, Mori 1-2 [1d6]=2[1d6]=6[1d6]=6

You get halfway around the area (a random roll for each hex side) before the lead scout, the intrepid halfling Cadeweed triggers a snare. He literally puts his foot in it and snared by a vine noose gets dragged along the stony ground before raised up by his ankles as a tree branch curves back in position from its spring trap bend.

"Boonies, boonies.' a chatter of chirping and rasping voices call. Emerging from hidey holes in the nearby graveyard come a number of short humanoid figures, raggedly dressed in hessian robes, bright yellow or blazing coal fire red eyes glint from faces hidden beneath their hooded cowls, adorned with bandoliers of pouches and blades.

They run to surround the upside down hobbit.

initiative & actions please

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Cadeweed is mortified that he did not think to check for traps. He draws his short sword and attempts to cut the rope.

Initiative [1d6]=3
Attack with Short Sword[1d20]=14, Damage with Short Sword S/M [1d6]=3 L [1d8]=4

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

Hey, what are they trying to pull!

Casts Sleep on the humanoids.

Spell Recovery (17): [4d6+1]=12+1=13

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

The highly strung halfling draws his blade, cuts through the binding snare and with a dextrous tumble, spins a half turn to land in his feet.

Around him half a dozen figures collapse, dropping clubs and daggers which clatter to the floor.

Two-Birds tries to whack a hooded nemesis but the nimble figures dodge her attack

"Wizzy, Wizzy" one figure calls, pointing at the mage, indicating the mage and his arcane arts the biggest threat. The figure pulls a reed blowdart and puffs out a flechettes which misses the mage. But a second figure entangles him in a vine net, weighted with pebbles which restricts his movement and ability to cast semantic spells.

The last standing figure, a hulk with a large club pokes among the spell affected,

"Wakey, Wakey" to rouse them from the enforced slumber.

Up close to these figures you see they have much different features among them. Half canine like faces with small goblinoid hands, another has a scaly arm and serpentine features, a short tail but hobbles on hoofed feet poking out underneath his robes. The seem a mongrel mix of many humanoid races, melded into a strange hybrid collective, speaking in chirps and growls or broken common.

next round please.

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

Initiative: [1d6]=4

Moriartus struggles with the net in an attempt to remove it from himself. "Runnie! Runnie!" He taunts the creatures.

Dexterity (9): [3d6]=10

Dexterity (9): [4d6]=14

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Cadeweed will help the mage out from the net.

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

Cadeweed, fresh from his own entrapments goes to cut Moriartus free of an entangling net, Two-Birds wards the pair from the mongrelmen gang but her strikes are ineffective.

Two-Birds quarterstaff melee [1d20+1]=4+1=5 [1d4+1]=3+1=4 [1d20+1]=2+1=3 [1d4+1]=2+1=3

Two puffs from reed shafts pointed in their direction cause hollow darts to zoom with accuracy to stab mage and rogue in the neck. They take some minimal damage while the real danger of some concoction of venom and drowsiness seeks to overwhelm their physical senses.

MM's vs Mori. blowdart [1d20]=17 [1d2]=2 vs Cadeweed [1d20]=16 [1d2]=1

Moriartus -2hp save vs poison/paralysis please.

Cadeweed -1hp save vs poison/paralysis please.

using my house rules: a successful save means you can act as normal, fail the save then be subject to increasing Constitution checks as the poison takes affect.

Include a 3d6, 4d6, 5d6 vs Con check please.

next rounds