Barrowmaze III: Grave Returns.

[Spearmint]

good for you, yes.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven thinks as a wolf would, looking through the eyes of his deadly familiar. He doesn’t like what he sees.

“Okay everyone! Gerdal is in trouble! We need to stick together and get on the move!”

He rounds up the entire gang and leads the way through the mist, pointing at the grey skinned mage. “You should run alongside me. I still think those tombstones hold the key you are looking for.”

“Let’s go everyone!” Using Smokie as his tracking device, Sven rushes towards the next obstacle. “And please stop trying to kill my new friend here. What did you say your name was?”

[redwarrior]

A little confused by Sven's words, Isvand nevertheless pivots his attention back to the dwarf, who still seems to be fair game, sending two more arrows in his general direction. I'm not sure if the dwarf within sight range from his location. If not, Isvand just continues scanning for threats, to the side of the main party.


Short Bow THAC019 [1d20]=8 Damage [1d6]=1
Short Bow THAC019 [1d20]=15 Damage [1d6]=3

[sastaz]

Gerdal yells

"Now end this pointless fight! Let's talk instead."

She takes a few steps back (out of melee range, if needed) and tries to ensnare Garrett and the two guards with an entangle spell.

Retain lv 1 spell vs 15 [4d6+1]=15+1=16

Still on edge after the ambush by the dwarf, this spell too slips from mind...

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven motions for Isvand to hold his fire until they reach the enemy so he isn’t wasting arrows shooting into the mist. He makes sure nobody from his crew is left behind.

“Come on everyone! Pay attention and stay alert! They should be over this way! About 120’ away. Don’t ask how I know that, I just do!”

“Orgoth? You coming?”

[Rex]

Orgoth

Orgoth follows along, keeping an eye out and on the necromancer. "Yup, right here."

[Spearmint]

Nergal's Door (Mound 7)

"Kill the witch!" the steward orders the two guards but before they can react the ground erupts with writhing tentacles of grasping roots and thick vine stalks. The men and charmed meatshield Drew are snared, held fast though Garrett manages to cut through the stalks with an edged sickle. The dwarf, prostrate under the wolf and bound by vines becomes a sacrificial offering to the earth gods as he bleeds out from a torn throat. Smokie slinks back into the mist.

Arriving shortly, Sven leads a procession of people like a mother duck and her chicks. The battle is over. The snared men remain so for the spell duration. Garrett flees into the mist.

next actions please.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven is again impressed with the unusual skills of Gerdal, especially holding her own against such odds. “You will have to teach me some of these wonderful tricks of yours, Gerdal. That magic barrier you created seems incredibly helpful.”

Smiling at the entangled men, the mage shouts into the mist. “Come on back Garrett! The dwarf lied! We aren’t going to hurt anyone else! We just want to talk! Your grey friend is here with us. He actually started the whole misunderstanding, but is now willing to let bygones be bygones.” He looks to the suddenly quiet grey cultist. “Why don’t you tell him to join us. I think he will listen to you.”

Keeping one eye on Knievel and another on the guards, Sven calls the others around him closely, whispering. “We need to make some snap decisions here. Do you think these guards are evil, or just hired hands? Do we actually want to try getting those doors open or leave that business to someone else? Evil cultist stuff really isn’t my forte.”

[redwarrior]

Isvand speaks quite The guards are likely just hired help. I don't think these others can be safely left behind, though. he rolls his eyes to indicate Sven's new friend. I think we should finish the mound we started before wandering into more. Especially as we know less than nothing about this one.

[Rex]

Orgoth

Whispering, "I am not concerned with the workers, but I am with the necromancer and the others. I have no interest in opening that door at the moment."

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven nods, agreeing with everything mentioned so far, admiring the wriggling weeds nearby while they last.

[sastaz]

Gerdal leans in

"Thank you Sven. Seems we cheated death once again. Almost as if it was meant to be." She says enigmatically.

"I shall teach you the warding when we get the chance. It is an arcane glyph you weave much like I assume your sleeping charm is. The roots is harder, it is not a skill but comes natural to me. Speaking of which, let me try something regarding...him" she nods towards Knievel.

"This will only take a few minutes."

Wherever they settle for the moment, Gerdal unpacks some of her pots and quickly starts mixing several leaves or herbs with some liquid while chanting silently...

[Spearmint]

Nergal's Door (Mound 7)

Okay, so let me move this forward a little to cover various searches and probable actions.

The tombstones here number a handful of graves. The headstones are cracked and weathered, covered in moss. The chiselled engravings are short and personal, giving a name or marking 'unknown' and various reasons of death. 'died of disease, fell in battle, fever, took an arrow through the eye, slain by lizardmen, crushed by rockfall'. None give any clues as to opening the sealed bronze door at the Barrow Mound entrance.

The group return to the excavated area.

Gnimish & Treyvor guard the captured labourers at the point of their crossbows. The men hastily dig a fresh grave for the dwarf who died before any healing help may have been given. Truro and Amos help as directed.

Inside the gazebo is a chest containing the runic stones that were discovered. Bits of old fossils, shells and bones, broken bits of the red and black flagstone path. There is also a satchel containing a linen ephod, a priestly garb of decorated tiles. Each one has a pentagram or hex design, a skull or horned head. An iron skull set into a wrought black pentagram dangles from a chain of finger bones, the unholy symbol coiled up in a black velvet pouch. There is also a hollow thigh bone with a screw cap top.

Knievel, you could 'suggest for safe keeping' that his spell book might be better off with Sven. The tome contains the necromancer's spell knowledge.

The altar and plinth are searched thoroughly but no secret niches are found with the slab and support stones.

Drew makes camp food from the supplies, brewing hot water as well for Gerdal's heirloom crockery. She drinks a beverage and swills the tea leaves, looking into them with interest as she mutters.

Smokie returns from his venture in the mist.

Knievel makes various protestations and accusations. Charmed by Sven he is still indignant towards others. He tells you that the Mound is 'a haunt of Nergal'. He is 'a Chosen man' which seems to indicate much like a Templar may vow to a specific deity, he has also taken steps to initiate himself into this 'underworld death cult'.

He tells you that "one day Nergal will awake and his servants will rise ... Death comes for us all, you cannot defeat it, only join it ... the Patricide of Set and Orcus will fail as with each death on the Moor, the essence of Nergal returns to him."

During all the activity, waiting, searching, talking, etc, Orgoth and Isvand let everyone know that a huge scorpion lurks on the periphery of the mound area. Attracted by the noise and smells but wary of so many people.

actions, questions and comments please.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven tries to get things under control so the group can get on with their own slightly less evil endeavors. He points to the dwarfs burial project. “Check him for any possessions or valuables and remove the head before you dump him in. Bury it separately.”

Sven asks Knievel if there is anything inside the macabre bone scroll tube, letting the gnomes and clerics look over all the items from the chest. He procures the mages spell book, handing it over to Gerdal for a peek safekeeping. He asks the evil mage. “I have no doubt your theory about death is true. What do you know of the cults of Set and Orcus? Is it true they have factions at work here in the mounds? And more importantly, do you have any other spells memorized that will help us with fighting huge scorpions?”

He addresses the whole group next. “Smokie tracked the others and they have apparently left the mounds area, abandoning their leader with us. So we shall keep him safe.”

“Our next dilemma seems to be the scorpion. Do we want to try eliminating it now, so we don’t need to worry about it later?”

[Rex]

Orgoth

"I say we only deal with the scorpion if we have to or we can do it from a far, too risky up close."

[sastaz]

Gerdal finishes her brewery and packs her things, accepting Knievel's spell book from Sven.

"I will keep it safe."

After a brief discussion with Sven, Isvand and Orgoth, between the four of them.

"Maybe we should then simply continue the journey we set out upon? What do you say?"

[redwarrior]

Isvand This sounds like the wisest course to me. Perhaps our new companion will be able to assist with some of the issues we've had. He seems a clever sort.

[Rex]

Orgoth

"Perhaps indeed, maybe he should lead the way?"

[Spearmint]

Nergal's Door (Mound 7)

"Remove his head?" questions one of the gnomes. It seems a bit much but then talk of folk rising as undead animates ends the discussion. An axe suffices and the one-eyed dwarf's head rolls from the chopping block. His body covered with excavated rocks like a small cairn, the head planted in a rusty bucket and set to push up daisies on the other side of the mound.

With a search you find 50sp, a heavy crossbow, a pouch of twenty bolts. His leather gambeson is patchwork and he had little else of value on him. Drew confirms the labourers, himself included are 'swords for hire' but not associated with any guild. More, they "come from the seedier taverns and back alleys of towns". The question then is what do you wish to do with the two captive labourers? (Take them prisoner, hire them as new hands, send them away?). Drew, unless dismissed, will stick with Gerdal. (treat as F1, He has basic leather armour and currently wields a sledgehammer mallet).

The thigh bone is a scroll tube. Inside is a parchment, thankfully not a skin one. It contains a Protection from Good/Evil 10'ft radius spell which may be invoked by any character class.

It seems the priestly garb and symbol belonged to Garrett.

sorry add chest B: four vials of (un)holy water and 400sp to the gazebo finds. Also you have the parchment that the mage was studying when you first arrived which shows another mound about a thousand feet to the south. Though this mound has no tomb underneath but a large obelisk on top. A hand drawn set of dotted lines lead from that place to your current location. An 'x' marks the spot seemed to indicate the 'buried treasure' and start of the excavation, which culminated in uncovering the flagstone path. They then dug in the direction the path meandered to eventually clear the door area.

The black and red mosaic of stones which form 'the Path of the Unrighteous' are certainly at odds to the limestone and granite rocks which make up the local geology.

Knievel, has no knowledge of any subterranean labyrinths. He believes that mysteries and enlightenment await in Nergal's embrace beyond this door, but only the chosen faithful gain entry. He believes to that a baptismal pool and audience chamber are contained within and to progress in his indentured apotheosis, he needs to complete a ritual.

He has a few memorized spells, and wisely you have tied his hands other he might have charmed or slept you all while you dallied here. The question then is, what would you like to do with him? He is charmed by Sven alone. Certainly he retains an animosity towards those lawfully aligned clerics and other party members who keep him captive.

The scorpion has scuttled out of view, back into the meadow. It is at least man sized in length so not a small critter. It is either a 'wandering monster' or has a lair nearby.

next actions please

[Rex]

Orgoth

Orgoth keeps an eye on the necromancer and lets the others figure out their next step.