Barrow Mounds: Hallowed Ground expedition

[Stirling]

Vann Hector

I am going to think that hollowed statues, like hollowed choccy festival eggs, might contain treasures actually inside them so with my sword hilt I begin to smash the figure and hope goodies not guts or brains are in the inside.

"Reuben, cover me as I raid this coffin." I call to the priest to act as a shieldbearer for me and Dalin against the poltergeist attacks. If he has no shield he could grab the stone lid perhaps?

[GreyWolfVT]

Vann Hector

I had two thoughts to add.

Firstly, I don't want Reuben to think about or spot the gargoyle skull so ideally if it is dropped anywhere, I can kick it into a dark corner.

Secondly. If these pots are moved by telekinesis rather than being physically picked up. That means the poltergeist could be anywhere rather than behind the jar. Just thinking where Dalin shoots, a shadow against the ceiling, a particular jar that glows because the poltergeist essence is inside? We have to be more accurate than just randomly firing at s cave wall and hoping to hit something.

I don't believe I said that Dalin will just shoot randomly. He has the crossbow loaded and ready but he won't fire unless he has something that makes a logical target. So no worries there. Something that stands out is the target for the dwarf.

Dalin give me 3 x attacks please

Light Crossbow [1d20]=10 to hit, [2d4]=4 dmg
Light Crossbow [1d20]=6 to hit, [2d4]=4 dmg
Light Crossbow [1d20]=6 to hit, [2d4]=7 dmg
well those attacks were crap...

[LordKane77]

Savant sets down his urn and gives a nod to Tamson.... "Come back to us at the first sign of trouble. We have lingered here too loudly for too long. Be weary, our luck cannot hold out."

With that he goes back to the chamber shield still on arm, but does not draw his sword. He used his last couple silvered arrows back in the Thornwood and cannot believe he forgot to replenish them. He goes back to the entry to checks things out, reacts if necessary, then goes to the secret chamber, lighting another torch along the way. If nothing is amiss there he looks at the contents of the chest and uses the torch to start checking out the small alcove contents. At that point he will use his sword to poke and prod after asking whoever is available to maybe make sure those aren't trapped.

[Spearmint]

Barrow Moor, south of Helix, Duchy of Aerik.

2.55pm. Windy conditions, light rain.
Light: Exterior visibility limited to 60'ft through thick mist.
Interior: Flaming torches in wall (x4)
Vann Hector -4hp, Savant -3hp, Tamson -2hp, Reuben -2hp. Eldon -2hp, Dalin -4hp.
Effects: none.

Reuben grabs the stone coffin lid and uses it as a tower shield to hide himself and Vann Hector from the barrage of whipped up broken clay shrapnel. Dalin ducks down on the other side of the coffin as the hailstorm goes over his head, scattering around the chamber.

His bowmanship needs some work. The three silvered shafts each missing the manifested presence of the vengeful spirit.

The corporeal wraith changes tactics and this time, rather than hurling an amphora from its hook, the dwarf feels the pull of the creature and he fights the anti-gravity effects of a levitation power that tries to lift him to the chamber height and dash him against a wall.

Dalin. Save vs spells to resist the levitation effect. Fail and be thrown against the wall, taking -3hp.

Vann Hector smashes the hollow figure in the coffin, punching it with the silver restraint manacles as improvised knuckle-dusters. The body shots and uppercuts get Wilder with Fury and he breaks the figure apart.

You begin to search through the fractures and pieces for any treasures hidden inside.

In the alcoves chamber, Savant and Eldon rifle through the alcoves, each taking one side wall. both roll a 1d8 with your next post please

on a general basis, each burial alcove takes 1 min to actively search, so concentrating on that task between you would take a while.

Poltergeist lifts VH, Dal or Reuben [1d3]=2 damage [1d6]=3

[Stirling]

Vann Hector

While Reuben acts as shield bearer, I will scoop up the fragments of the broken figure, tossing them aside and dusting the remnants like a gold digger sorting for nuggets.

"Shoot him Dalin." he calls to his dwarven comrade.

"You guys okay in there?" he shouts done the other passage to the searchers.

My gut feeling is that unless Dalin can kill the poltergeist with any of his silvered crossbow bolts then when he runs out of ammo, that is the signal for us to depart, come what may.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dalin "What in the hell do you think I've been trying to do Vann? You see how I am being pulled off the bloody ground I can't normally do this you know!" the dwarf says in frustration as he is magically thrown into the wall and falls to the ground. 3 hp deducted... currently at 2 HP of 6!!
Save v Spells 15 [1d20+3]=6+3=9 yay fail!

[Spearmint]

you can post an attack roll

[GreyWolfVT]

you can post an attack roll

Light Crossbow [1d20]=1 to hit, [2d4]=3 dmg yup a lot of good that did...

[LordKane77]

"So far okay" Savant says back to Vann.....

[1d8]=3

[Spearmint]

just housekeeping.

Dalin as per my house rules on Armour Types, since you are in medium armour you take -1hp/HD of damage from the crushing blow/fall so you damage is reduced from -3 to -2hp.

You can also post two more attacks for the next two rounds if you wish and I will adjudicate the update to cover those successive rounds.

[GreyWolfVT]

Light Crossbow [1d20]=18 to hit, [2d4]=3 dmg
Light Crossbow [1d20]=18 to hit, [2d4]=5 dmg
updated HP 3/6.

[Spearmint]

Barrow Moor, south of Helix, Duchy of Aerik.

3.10pm. Windy conditions, light rain.
Light: Exterior visibility limited to 60'ft through thick mist.
Interior: Flaming torches in wall (x4)
Vann Hector -4hp, Savant -3hp, Tamson -2hp, Reuben -2hp. Eldon -2hp, Dalin -3hp.
Effects: none.

The poltergeist whips up another storm of crockery hail and snatches up the coffin lid. Reuben still clutches it feet dangling. Wisely he lets go before he and it are hurled at the trio in the second chamber. The coffin lid though only slams into the wall and dents more jars.

Dalin finally after four failed attempts, gets a silver bolt to pierce through the essence of the screaming face as it manifests for another hateful blast. The bolt, smeared in blessed mineral and etched with divine runes causes the poltergeist to dissipate. Just a last scream echoes around the chamber and stillness. (take the last bolt back as unused).

Inside the pottery person occupying the coffin are a bronze key which is shaped like a prowling feline and a large pottery toad. The toad is nicely painted with a glossy varnish and pattern.

Inside the secret room, Savant and Eldon search. Mostly the alcoves contain dry bones, a toothless skull, folded shrouds. Some contained old trinkets which are appraised as of little worth, so rusty or tainted with age. Books and parchments crumble into dust or flakes as you sort them. Still you are not without hope. The elf sees the body of a large fat rat stuck in one alcove. It is dead and unmoving, he reaches in to move it to the side, grabbing it by the tail. When you hold it upside down with the intent to cast it aside, you hear a familiar 'chink' from inside the rat. Looking at it you find it has a long zip sewn in and has been turned into a purse. This mouse has the cheese! You spill out more than three score coins. (75gp).

Tamson, outside on guard reports 'all is well'.

It is the middle of the afternoon. You need to think about a decision for the rest of the day. Do you return to Helix, camp here overnight, explore some more.

discussions and next actions please.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dalin a bit sore from being banged around reaches in and takes the bronze key. "This one is pretty interesting. Can't say as if I've ever seen a key like this before." taking stock of his bolts "Well hmm got lucky with that 5th shot I only had one more silver bolt left." the dwarf searches around to see if any of the silver bolts fired are in reusable condition.

[torkill]

Eldon continues to help search the chamber. Inspired by the jingle of coins, the halfling looks at the vast number of alcoves. "If the immediate threat is gone, we should make sure we search this tomb thoroughly. Surely that key must unlock another hidden treasure!"

Staying over night seems like a bad decision, and once we thoroughly scavenge this tomb, I suggest we return to town, lick our wounds, and enjoy our spoils so we can return again another day.

[Stirling]

Vann Hector

I do think the key will be pooling the treasures and seeing what we have.

Check the alcoves, one might have a keyhole? Another secret door, key to a vault? Key to his house? What does Dalin see on it.

I will check over the toad. It seems rather strange as an item to be hidden away.

Do we want to take different jars away. The last was a random grab under pressure, so taking a longer inspection might be more profitable.

[GreyWolfVT]

Dalin after checking the key out and searching to recover any of the silver tipped bolts will take the frog as we ll if nobody else does to pool it with the other findings. Then moves on to help search for something to open with the key.

[LordKane77]

Savant pockets the bizarre rat purse.

"We have a moment, Let's search. But, Rueben, we're here. You good with treasure or do you have something to do?"

Barring an answer from Rueben that requires action, Savant actively searches the entire lower and upper area for secret doors. (I assume this will take less than an hour?) In the midst of his search, if he gets close to Vann when Rueben is not, he asks in a whisper where the skull is. If the opportunity arises, where Rueben is in the other room, he will put it in a sack, careful not to touch it, and then in his backpack. But not unless it's a "sure thing". Savant knows he's not skilled in sleight of hand. Alternatively he gives a sack to Vann if he wants to do something sneaky. Because of this, Savant is trying to pay attention to Rueben without being too obvious, which shouldn't be too hard while searching for doors. As a general rule Savant avoids being next to Rueben if he can do so without being obvious and is very weary of him still. Savant also still wants a lookout at the door, so if that's changed he brings it up. But also he'll go out and give our lookout a quick update.

As a party, what do we know about the barrows at night? Also, how long did it take us to get here? While the inn is safe, the road back and forth is not. Could we handle another lizard man attack?Meanwhile,where we are seems VERY defensible. If we could stand that stone slab back up and spike it from the inside, then we could still hide in the secret room. Or am I suggesting something insane because of the "barrows at night". I just think an equipped but slightly beat up party has a better chance resting in a secure location than risking a trip back in a scenario where about one hit drops all of us. Also, is Rueben down hit points as all?

[Spearmint]

Also, is Rueben down hit points as all?

Yes he is. The current hp loss of each party member is listed in the bold intro to each update.

[Stirling]

As a party, what do we know about the barrows at night? Also, how long did it take us to get here? While the inn is safe, the road back and forth is not. Could we handle another lizard man attack?Meanwhile,where we are seems VERY defensible. If we could stand that stone slab back up and spike it from the inside, then we could still hide in the secret room. Or am I suggesting something insane because of the "barrows at night". I just think an equipped but slightly beat up party has a better chance resting in a secure location than risking a trip back in a scenario where about one hit drops all of us. Also, is Rueben down hit points as all?

Vann Hector

Rubs his chin. The merits of staying here in the chamber are that it is defendable. Even if the sealed door is half smashed we could proo the stone coffin lid as a barricade and the entrance passage is a natural bottleneck. An archer could use the alcove for cover as well, plus Sarge the mastiff would be a valuable guard.

The negative is that the travel back is going to have the same risks and unless we get healed up, we are still physically in the same position.

I think the journey takes about 4-5 hours, it is 10 miles but the last couple of miles are 'patrolled by Helix militia' and on the whole considered safe. at least that is my understanding from the DM and setting) , so it is the moor journey that takes time. I think we trek at about 1 1/2mph due to the terrain. Going back heavily burdened might slow us further? So six hours to Helix forest. That takes us almost to 10.00pm with no encounters.

Vann Hector takes Savant aside to discuss options, (sacking the gargoyle head that I booted into a corner and chucking it into the mist outside).

"For myself. I feel we are good here. Make camp, get some food down us, search the place and loot it thoroughly. Reuben if you are a priest, you said you needed time to pray. Well you have that. Do your meditations and what not and by Ygg's grace at least heal the boy up." he refers to Tamson. If he can pray for cure spells and cast them in the morning I would recommend that the fighters are buffed up in preference to others simply because they have a greater melee skill. (Tam & Sav).

Not sure if we take a show of hands or just decide, but I will agree to stay here tonight.

[Stirling]

Vann Hector

Well he would do the above but it seems fate intervenes ...

he picks up the toad to inspect, sticking it in a pouch. A few seconds later his finger tips and palms itch and he checks and finds an orange dye staining his fingerprints.

"Oh, look at that, some of the paint from the toad.

... Oh I feel queasy all of a sudden

...I think I will go outside for some fresh air ... gasp .. glurg.."

'Clunk'. The elf rogue bites the dust failing a poison save and succumbed within a few seconds.