Expedition: Fingers/Ghostly Trial - Part II - 23 July 2021

[Marullus]

The humans, kobolds, and ogres who were slain by the spectres and enthralled by Cardinal Cathalon for the centuries that followed had little of their own and none of that remains of a quality you'd desire. It appears they were trying to escape with sacks of silver, though, which you're able to reclaim. The benches and accoutrements of the trial room are made of pure gold and obviously never able to be looted so are fully intact. You also find three cracked leather cases contain scrolls. All together, it fills almost six large sacks with silver and five full sacks of gold, plus three scrolls. On the decayed remains of the dead necromancer, you are able to extract a slender wand of polished onyx wood, a platinum brooch-clasp with a deep blue faceted stone, and a golden ring covered with magical symbols.

Date: 10:20pm, 24 July 2021
Light: Magic Chandeliers
Effects: None.
Injuries: Markd (superficial wounds)

[Zhym]

Fingers's eyes grow wide at the necromancer's bling. He can't help but start estimating the prices he might charge for them as part of his share.

"Okay, so, do we want to get back to sleep so you holy guys can tell us what's magic in all this? Then we gotta decide if we think we can loot more—er, I mean explore, yeah—or if we should just get out with what we got."

[onlyme]

Markd agrees they need the rest.

[DavetheLost]

Hengist agrees that a rest before continuing is a sound plan.

[Alethan]

Bandy concurs.

[Zhym]

Answering what has to be Marullus's next question: let's go back to the family crypt we were sleeping in before.

[onlyme]

ok

[Marullus]

The party retreats back to the Clelland family crypt and re-asserts their makeshift barricade, then settles down to rest once more by the light of their makeshift campfire. The clerics rest soundly while the others take turns at watch... the whole crypt seems a little less scary now that the enchantment of the trial is no more.

Rising in the morning, Hengist and Allmond are able to both pray for Beith's guidance and aid in their day. Allmond prays for the power of discernment and combs through the collected treasures, identifying all that is magical from that which is not and identifying it for the group.

Treasure:
From the Trial Room:
- 400lbs silver (400gp)
- 300lbs gold (3000gp)

In the Clelland Family Crypt:
- Nine gems (currently in Bandy's pack)
- 700lbs of copper (70gp)
- 1000lbs of silver (1000gp)
- 60lbs of gold (600gp)
- 11 longswords (55gp)
- 7 shields (35gp)
- 6 flails (9gp)
- 3 daggers (4.5gp)
- 7 two-handed swords (52.5gp)
- two dozen mostly-intact volumes chronicling the history of King Farthegn's reign (120lbs)
- three large maps of the kingdom's holdings (i.e. each a treasure map to somewhere in Yoldessi plains)

Previously in the Barrows:
- 50lbs tarnished silver curios and delicately fashioned silver cameos of people's faces, each about 5 inches across (50gp)
- a copper coffin liner (150lbs) [15gp]

Magic Items:
- a slender wand of polished onyx wood (created item)
- a platinum brooch-clasp with a deep blue faceted stone (created item)
- a golden ring covered with magical symbols (created item)
- Scroll: Ward vs Lycanthropes
- Scroll: Four spells (15 spell-levels long)
- Scroll: Four spells (10 spell-levels long)

- an inky black potion bottle (created item)
- a large scroll case filled with a massive scroll with magical writing (five spells, 17 spell-levels long)
- one huge and well-preserved tome titled, 'Trials to Knighthood: The Journey of Collen Clelland' (10lbs)
- a slender-bladed dagger with a ruby pommel-stone (imbued, 4,001xp)
- a steel longsword with Clelland-crest pommel (imbued, 32001xp)
- a horseman's roundshield with a Clelland crest (imbued, 16001xp)
- a massive blue-steeled two-handed sword with a flamberge blade (imbued, 64001xp)

- Golden ring set with green malachite stones (imbued, 16001xp)

- 10 bone tubes of powdered metal (created items)

As the sunrise begins outside (not that you can see it from here), Markd's remaining wounds knit shut.

Date: 5:00am, 25 July 2021
Light: Magic Chandeliers
Effects: None.
Injuries: None

[Alethan]

OOC: We should use what is currently party gold to ID the magical items that need to be identified. Before hand. That way cursed items can be dealt with properly.

Also... those three treasure maps seem like good places to explore next!

[Zhym]

Am I right that there's also a way to have items checked for curses at one of the temples?

ETA: I'll propose a keep/leave list at some point probably later tonight. Meanwhile, does anyone have opinions on whether we look for more loot or leave with what we have?

[Zhym]

Fingers does some tallying. It's amazing how good he can be at addition when he's counting loot.

Okay. We have two ponies and a mule, who can carry a combined 1200 lbs at 60' movement. Here's what we could carry back with us if we left right now:

Magic items and other stuff obviously worth bringing back:
- a slender wand of polished onyx wood (created item)
- a platinum brooch-clasp with a deep blue faceted stone (created item)
- a golden ring covered with magical symbols (created item)
- Scroll: Ward vs Lycanthropes (.5 lb)
- Scroll: Four spells (15 spell-levels long) (.5 lb)
- Scroll: Four spells (10 spell-levels long) (.5 lb)
- an inky black potion bottle (created item) (1 lb)
- a large scroll case filled with a massive scroll with magical writing (five spells, 17 spell-levels long) (.5 lb)
- one huge and well-preserved tome titled, 'Trials to Knighthood: The Journey of Collen Clelland' (10lbs)
- a slender-bladed dagger with a ruby pommel-stone (imbued, 4,001xp) (1 lb)
- a steel longsword with Clelland-crest pommel (imbued, 32001xp) (4 lbs)
- a horseman's roundshield with a Clelland crest (imbued, 16001xp) (10 lbs)
- a massive blue-steeled two-handed sword with a flamberge blade (imbued, 64001xp) (15 lbs)
- Golden ring set with green malachite stones (imbued, 16001xp)
- 10 bone tubes of powdered metal (created magic items) (.5 lb @)
- nine gems (diamonds and rubies and such)
- three large maps of the kingdom's holdings (i.e. each a treasure map to somewhere in Yoldessi plains)
Weight: 48 lbs

Gold: 360 lbs [3,600 gp value]

Items worth more than their weight in silver:
11 Longswords (5 gp, 4 lbs ea. — 44 lbs)
3 daggers (1.5 gp, 1 lb. ea. — 3 lbs)

Total: 455

Do we think the two dozen mostly-intact volumes chronicling the history of King Farthegn's reign (120lbs) are worth more than 120 gp to Wilhelm the Sage? If so, that's 575 lbs of stuff that's worth more than silver, leaving us with room for 625 lbs of silver, for a total value of 4284.5, plus whatever the Encyclopedia Wilhem will bring, of cash and cash-equivalent. Oh, and we could probably stash some more stuff in our pockets at that 60' movement rate, unless we wanted to be fleet in case of attack.

So. Who wants to look for more loot, and who wants to go back to town? I have to say, I'm curious about what's behind the closed doors, and I think it's worth checking out Agheth's tomb and maybe other places to see if there's anything really good we're missing. I don't know that I'd go looking for too much trouble, though. If there's a spectre and wights in whatever's behind the door next to the Clelland vault, it may not have been dispelled by our ending the trial. I guess the question is whether we think it's worth finding out.

[Alethan]

With a nice haul of items, I say we head back now. Maybe items can be identified and then they become useful items instead of just items we are holding onto.

The Chapel of Baudh does this:
50gp - For this modest fee, a clergyman will Detect Magic on a group of items for a Lawful individual, identifying which are imbued and which are created.

The Temple of Gwanwen does something similar, and for less money, but I wouldn't use it:
For a 20gp sacrifice, a clergy member will cast Detect Magic on an individual adventurer's items, separating the imbued and created items. The adventurer must consent to a geas to properly destroy any Created Items identified.

In both instances, neither of them actually identifies what the functions of the items are; they just say if it is magical and if it is imbued or created.

[Zhym]

I think Eruanna will check items for taint of the infernal, with the understanding that the items will be destroyed if any taint is found. Which is fine with me. Others might want to stay out of the temple when that happens (hi, Markd!).

It's gonna take Pierpont a year to identify all that stuff. But boy, do cursed items suck, so I'm not eager to do the "try it and see what happens" method.

I'm guessing 4,001 XP means +1, 16,001 XP means +2, and 64,001 XP means +3, etc., with other special powers.

[Marullus]

...I think you are thinking of the Curse Detection service which is actually in Fingers' own shop. (Provided by the Apprentice of Pierpont's order who you hired.)

...there's only been limited flow through Pierpont - if he had more work he could hire apprentices, too.

Of course, when winter comes, PCs wizards can all do a brisk trade in studying things.

[Zhym]

Oh, right. We should definitely use that service.

[Zhym]

I may replace this with an IC post later, but just to set direction in case Marullus has a chance to update: let's head back. But let's exit by way of Agheth's tomb and the room with the waterfall and the three diamonds, just to see if anything seems to have changed. Then out through the sun sigil room (the dread and -1 penalty only applied when the door to that room was first opened, right?).

Speaking of the sun sigil room, did I read correctly that in the first trip out here, both Bremen and Bandy stepped on the sun sigil but only Bremen was hurt by it?

[Marullus]

Please confirm how many large sacks you have among you to haul loot out of the dungeon... I am assuming you can muster 15 among you. [Extra trips will mean extra encounter rolls; the dungeon is not empty. You can haul 180lbs (3 sacks) each to the exit on this trip, 900lbs total minus normal gear (est. 300lbs) for 600lbs treasure.] Also, why do you think you have three pack animals instead of two?

You pack up what you decide to take and begin heading out to the exit. Agheth's tomb is not on the path to the exit, but you reserve the right to go back and check it again later once your arms are not so laden with goods. You pass through the large chamber and the trial room, then through the pantomime room with the fountain. You are surprised to see the whole outdoor scene - the fountain, the actors, the flagstone walls - are completely gone. The room is now just a plain and empty chamber matching the surrounding stones of the barrowdown construction. The three gems in the floor are reduced to dust, consumed in the ritual.

You pass through the sun sigil room, no one bothered further by magic enchantments there, though the sigil does remain intact. Then you pass through the hallway where you disintegrated the bones with holy water and pass outside into the morning light.

(Also, subtract 1 torch and each subtract 1 man-days rations.)

Returning to the campsite where you left Franken, Mitch the pony, and Buttercup the mule yesterday morning. Franken hails you with a look of relief as you emerge (and are laden with gold). He tells of his harrowing stay through the night outside the tomb alone, particularly in the shadow of Kellstrom's bier. He swears he heard the bier move in the darkness and he also tells of the threat of hippogriffs circling above, eying the little pony and mule, but he was able to scare them off and dissuade them from ever approaching closer. He ends with an affirmation that it's a good job he did so, too, as hauling all that treasure would be tough if he didn't... probably worth a little extra in the pay, even.

Date: 7:30am, 25 July 2021
Light: Sunlight
Effects: None
Injuries: None

[Zhym]

Also, why do you think you have three pack animals instead of two?

Because we have three pack animals instead of two:

On the morning of July 23rd, Fingers leads his group out of the city gates towards Frogmorton Ford a second time. They cross the river after lunchtime using the Ford, notifying the guardsmen that their intended purpose is to further explore the barrowdowns located a few miles on... entering the barrows this time.

• Fingers McGraw
• Sprinkles, the hound (NPC)
• Bandy Sandybanks
• Markd
• Allmond, Cleric of Baudh (NPC)
• Brother Hengist, Cleric of Baudh
  
• Mitch the pony (NPC)
• Buttercup the mule (NPC)
• Fingers' Mule (NPC)
• Franken, Man-at-Arms (NPC)

As for sacks, without seeing everyone's sheets we'd have to do a roll call to count them. I thought I bought sacks with Fingers's mule, but instead I see two pack saddles on his sheet.

ETA: Fingers's mule purchase is here: viewtopic.php?f=356&t=5485&start=120#p343194

[Marullus]

Ahhh, thanks! Finger's unnamed mule didn't make it onto my DM-side roster.

Pack saddles eliminate the need for sacks once you get to the mounts, but you need the sacks in this case to haul in/out of the dungeon.

Mule (30gp) - 120' with 200lbs, 60' with 400lbs
Pony (30gp) - 120' with 200lbs, 60' with 400lbs

[Zhym]

Oh, sure. Now you tell me. :p When Fingers bought the mule, you said a pack saddle was his best option. You didn't mention the part about not being able to use it to carry the loot out of the dungeon.

Fingers only has a backpack and a couple of small sacks. I don't suppose we could load up all our loot on one of the emptied coffins and just drag that to the exit? Or that we saw any sacks in the tomb?

BTW, since you have access to everyone's sheet and we don't, wouldn't it be faster if you just looked at how many large sacks we have and figured out how many trips we need based on that?