Valldel Amakiir - 4th Level Male Elven Rogue
Akadum Ironbeard - 3rd Level Male Dwarf Fighter
Dolin Stoneflare - 4th Level Male Dwarf Light Cleric
Kethry - 3rd Level Female Human Wizard
9 June 981, Thursday continued
Cool and partly cloudy
Akadum goes to the Foul Pheasant looking for a hand mirror. The place looks like a casino with gambling tables and scantily clad women prancing about. He is met by Perni Ticklebottom, a buxom halfling. She is happy to sell him a hand mirror and asks if he would like some Pipeweed, perhaps some harder stuff, or maybe he would like some female company. Akadum is interested in Pipeweed and wonders if one of the girls can style his hair and beard. A very beautiful woman named Veronica da Vinci, who has an impressive hairdo, is happy to service Akadum for her usual fee. They go up to her room where she begins working on his hair and beard. Amidst the small talk Akadum tells her, he is an adventurer and is planning to explore the Barrowmaze. She tells him there used to regularly be adventurers here in town, but they stopped appearing when the war started. They told her the Barrowmaze is a ruin and a band of bandits uses it as a hideout.
She tries hard to convince Akadum to do something more with her, but he resists her charms. She does charge him the usual fee for her time, and tells him to come back after he visits the Barrowmaze. He drops 50 GP for a hand mirror, a couple of doses of Pipeweed, and an hour of her time. She has done a terrible job on his hair and beard which she says is because his hair is so coarse and dry. Come back again for a bath, conditioner for his hair, styling, and perhaps a happy ending.
Back at the Last Stop at the end of the evening the party finds that Myra Overstay is here. She is going under the name of Branwenna. She tells them she came here from Drigbolton as she did not completely trust Zelda, the Miss. Here she can more easily hide out. Apparently some of the locals know her and she sings some of her old folk songs to much acclaim from the locals.
10 June 981, Friday
Rain
Day 2 of Marriage games - Cart Pull Race
The party is up early and meet with two of Professor Illkin's graduate students, Nekron and Fitzwalter, and the two mercenaries, Sturix (Spear and Shield) and Fardic (Light Crossbow and Dagger).
They see the preparations for the Marriage Games which this day is the Cart Pull races. Akadum visits Nathaniel and encourages him towards victory.
They head off into the Barrowmoor heading towards the Barrowmaze. They realize how difficult the journey is. The swamp trails are twisty and seem to be ever changing. It is not so bad in the day as they can keep the mountains of the Moon Peaks on their left as they head south. It takes them about 4 hours to make the 5 mile or so journey to the Barrowmaze. They see it as a series of hills rising out of the swamp interspersed with some standing stones some of which are leaning crazily. The dwarves note the hills do not really fit in with surrounding swamp terrain. One of the larger hills has an opening leading beneath it with a stone door smashed into pieces on the ground in front.
They make their way towards the opening and pass right next to one of the smaller hills. Kethry uses a Mage Hand to probe around the hill and finds an intact stone door covered with dirt and plants. Using their weapons as tools they clear the door. Kethry suggests using heat and then water to crack the door. They build a fire against the door, help out with a Fire Bolt from Kethry, and then throw cold water on the hot stone. This works well cracking the door and revealing a steep stairway leading down. Akadum leads the way down with a torch and probing ahead with a 10-foot pole. He gets down to the last step and can see four stone sarcophagi in a round room. He throws the torch within, and Valdell enters checking for traps.
Dropping from the ceiling are giant centipedes which bite at Valdell and Akadum. Akdum dispatches one with his hammer, Fardic from the up the stairs kills one with his crossbow, and Kethry has a magical misfire. Valdell, using his magical Kris, strikes one of the horrors. There is a bright flash destroying three of the centipedes, but Valdell collapses. The remaining bites Akadum's leg, but Kethry finishes it off with a Fire Bolt, while Dolin cures Valdell.
Valdell had the feeling of being sucked into his sword when it struck and vows not to use it again. He is still badly depleted and they decide he should drink their last remaining healing potion, the sketchy one they got from Xiximanter. It works normally and they decide to continue exploring. Valdell pushes the covers off the sarcophagi. Within they find corpses rotted to dust and bone fragments, some jewelry and a bone handled dagger. All note the decoration style is ancient Moran.
They head towards a large standing stone. It is very worn but Kethry recognizes the script as being sacred to Hades and necromancers. There is also a skull symbol which is typical for Hades and often seen in ancient Moran necropoli. There is nothing to read except random letters and a few words as it so worn, but Kethry does recognize the exultation "death is a new beginning."
They see another mound and clear away its door and crack it open. Within they find a surface level chamber with a wooden coffin on a raised dais. Carefully they probe around finding nothing, and when Valdell pokes at the coffin it collapses in a heap again revealing nothing within except dust and bone fragments. Lining the walls are 8 niches with amphorae. The graduate students note the old amphorae are fairly rare as they are delicate and easily broken. These are clearly ancient Moran. Jon Fairbrain is distressed as taking these will consume all their carrying capacity as they need to be handled so carefully.
After some debate they decide to head back to Helix. It is mid-afternoon and they do not want to be in the Barrowmoor after dark. They have another 4 hour journey back, and note whatever path they took back, it was almost certainly not the path they took there.
