Barrow Mounds: Epiphany

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

The trio halt. Whispering their doubts regarding the encounter. The spectre turns expecting them to be following. His face drops (not literally) showing the disappointment of being rejected. "Honey and bones, we are betrayed." he exclaims, seemingly shouting out a warning as if unseen figures assail him.

"Rally together. Fight like a man not run like a dog! Curses upon you all." he shakes his fist towards the woods then back to the three departing figures.

He seems to confuse you with whichever former comrades ran from a conflict. His anger at being abandoned to his fate morphing upon his visage to an unrestrained anger.

"Run like dogs then, may the dogs run down you." He blows a horn, a ghostly rasping sound. It echoes in the woods and from among the trees come a furious barking response.

As you leave the border of the copse and he fades from view, stepping back into his haunting domain, a rustling and barking of hounds closes in on your trail. You run, headlong, sprinting. But realise you cannot outrun the pair of hellish hounds.

actions please

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

Moriartus retrieves the broken halves of the remaining runic tablet discovered in the mummy mound and reads the inscription ...

[1d20]=9

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Seeing that he cannot out run the hounds, Cadeweed looks for a tree to climb and use his sling from.

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

After the haunting woodsman sounds the horn calling forth hellish dogs of war from the copse, the trio run hell for leather.

The dogs take a moment to be summoned by the unholy reveille, giving you a couple of rounds headstart. Realising the dogs do indeed chase you through the midst and by their increasingly loud barks must be gaining ground, you stop to take a defensive position. There are no trees to climb nearby. Cadeweed add a slingshot attack and I will retrospectively add any result.

Moriartus opens his satchel, pulling out four quartered pieces of runic tablet. He quickly pieces them together and kneeling down runs his fingers over the runes, speaking out aloud the interpretation of words. He utters a strange vocabulary, mixing tense, verb and adjective but formulates a notion that conjures an immediate effect.

Moriartus, your palms begin to grow very hot and sweaty and after a moment rubbing fingers together, your hand begins to immolate in a fiery conflagration. To your surprise the flaming tongues of fire on the end of your finger tips does not burn you though others nearby feel the heat.

In your wizard craft you have knowledge of certain mages being able to summon such pyrotechnics and create a fan of blazing flame to ward away aggressors (or light birthday candles on a cake). This Burning Hands spell effect is momentarily yours.

The runic tablet crumbles ashen flakes as you invoke the inscription, fracturing into pebble sized pieces that burn like red hot coals containing an inner lava.

Two-Birds invokes a divine blessing, summoning extra power into her Quarterstaff with which she strikes out at the charging beasts. She clouts one, the mastiff wincing from the bludgeoning she inflicts. -14hp

The beasts are upon you. Large black shadows of teeth and rage. The spectral form of these creatures indicate they are not of this material world but their presence is fearsome and physical. The cleric -5hp and halfling -3hp both mauled by their fangs. The mastiffs circle you looking for weakness.

Two-Birds quarterstaff melee [1d20+1]=14+1=15 [1d6]=3 Shillelagh damage [1d4+1]=3+1=4 2nd strike: [1d20+1]=13+1=14 [1d6]=3 Shillelagh damage [1d4+1]=3+1=4Shadow Mastiff vs TB [1d20]=18[2d4]=5 vs Cadeweed [1d20]=18[2d4]=3

Conditions: Two-Birds -6hp, Moriartus -2hp Cadeweed -4hp.

Shadow Mastiff a) -14hp b) unharmed.

next actions please

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

Moriartus attempts to maneuver himself such that he can direct a fan of flames from his hands against both hounds simultaneously.

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Will take the sling shot from the previous round as offered and then draw his swords to attack the next round. Hopefully going after the one that attacked him in the end.

Attack with Sling[1d20+2]=20+2=22, Damage with Sling Bullet S/M [1d4+1]=4+1=5 L [1d6+1]=3+1=4 - That is a Crit - if I understand that is 10 points (5 plus the roll)

Attack with Short Sword[1d20]=7, Damage with Short Sword S/M [1d6]=6 L [1d8]=2
Attack with Short Sword (off-hand) [1d20-2]=19-2=17, Damage with Short Sword S/M [1d6]=4 L [1d8]=8

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Barrow Mounds

Swinging in a curve-ball bullet stone to crack sharply upon a chasing mastiff, Cadeweed draws first blood to the group. -10hp. Once he realises the hounds of hell cannot be discouraged he draws his double blades to dual wield versus teeth and claw. -4hp

Attacking on the front foot, Moriartus blazes away, triggering a sweeping fan of fire to erupt from his fingers. Both beasts are caught in the fires and growl in pain as their shadowy skins char and blister. -6 hp each. One creature howls it's last, dissipating in sparks and embers as it gives up an unearthly existence.

Two-Birds, her enhanced attack faded still presses after the second creature before it can pounce and maul them to death. She bludgeons once more, striking with both ends of her staff with aplomb. Who needs a new crafted bit of wood with such skill on display? -7hp

Instinctively faithful as most hounds are at their master's beck and call, the shadow creature fights on, lunging once again at the cleric. Two-Birds fails to just dodge the great fangs and drooling jaws and gets bitten. -3hp

It is now your turn to circle the beast as the combat turns to your advantage. As the next round begins, with his flaming fists not yet extinguished, Moriartus can trigger a new stream of hellfire upon the creature, crisping it to the bone and turning it to a pile of black smoke and ash as it burns away back to the realm from whence it came. -6hp. Deceased

Two-Birds quarterstaff melee [1d20]=19 [1d6]=6 2nd strike: [1d20]=18 [1d6]=1 Shadow Mastiff vs TB, Cade or Mori [1d3]=1 [1d20]=9[2d4]=3

The shadow creatures just a pile of ash and embers drifting in the mist. The party mauled. The mage affected by runic magic which presently shows no sign of abating.

actions please

Conditions: Two-Birds -9hp/11, Moriartus -2hp Cadeweed -4hp.

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

Moriartus pauses to examine his burning hands with a mixture of awe and confusion. The fire is harmless, to himself, but he is quite certain it will burn anything he handles. He therefore keeps his hands a safe distance from his clothes and gear.

When he notices the severity of Two-Bird's wounds, the usually stoic mage expresses an uncharacteristically visible level of concern. The flames forces him to stay at arms length, however, like an invisible wall he's unable or unwilling to move through.

"Miss Two-Birds, are you okay? Please, take time to heal yourself and Mr. Cadeweed. I will keep watch. I should have insisted on going alone. My reckless sense of honor almost got you both killed. I am truly sorry."

He shakes his hands as if to flick away clinging water and shrugs. "No idea how long this will last. It's not important, I can deal with it later. Those shadow hounds. They were corporeal. The ghost also pushed aside the tree branches ... does this extend to shadow replicas of his attackers?"

"He mentioned honey and from the copse came the sound of buzzing bees. If they harvested honey as the druids do at the Crooked Yew, there may be a cache of royal honey elixirs! We should definitely return here with the others. For now though, let's head to the Green Man barrow and treat our wounds with Hurtloam, then rejoin the others."

He holds up his hands and grins.

"I can handle the strangle vines."

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Also sees the damage that Two-Birds has taken and says "Please heal yourself." and also keeps watch incase there is another wave of creatures. "We need to get back."

[Spearmint]

The Green Man Mound

Returning to the first tomb raider, now fitted with some stable doors. (Do you have the key?).

Burning away the regrown creeper vines that might seek to entangle intruders, the trio renter the passage and head for the large chamber with dangling roots and a coffer of Hurtloam.

Moriartus tries to bury his hands in the thick creamy loam but the healing and restorative power of the mud was absorbed during the night to heal up Plantie from his grievous wyvern wound.

Immersion of your hands in the waters flowing from the satyr into the fountain does extinguish the flames and no further rubbing of fingers and pointing triggers further flames.

Out on the expanse of the mounds, Two-Birds invokes a minimal healing to her wounds, repeating the spell once inside the mound which fully restored her health.

TB casts CLW: herself [1d8]=1
TB casts CLW: herself [1d8]=8

Any more actions before you return to the others? (subject to any random events that might interrupt that of course).

[Quonundrum]

I didn't realize the door was lockable, but I assume he would have the key, yes. As he doesn't want anything to defile the fountain, he'll also relock the door.

No other actions, Moriartus is ready to leave.

[Spearmint]

I didn't realize the door was lockable,

That was an adlib but it makes sense, though it won't deter most groups knocking it through.

[Quonundrum]

Yep, but it keeps the honest people honest.

That excludes barrow robbers like us, of course.

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

"I thought we established that there was some healing properties of the fountain. If you agree, I will take a drink to heal some of my wounds."

If the team confirms his understanding, then Cadeweed will take a drink.

[Quonundrum]

Moriartus

"It's still unclear, but we think the water has a purifying effect, though not necessarily healing. Please feel free to drink. It's quite safe."

[gurusql]

Cadeweed

Cadeweed will attempt to drink some of the water from the fountain.

[Spearmint]

Do you drink the water from the bottom pool, the top tier basin or collect it from the Satyr water spout?

[gurusql]

Being short (2'10") he will naturally try the bottom pool

[Quonundrum]

I think Moriartus drank from the bottom pool and he's still wounded (and taller), so he will sample from the top pool.

Even his curiosity hesitates at drinking from a Satyr's junk though, even if it is petrified.

[Spearmint]

There are no visible restorative traits of the water. It is clean and refreshing whichever basin you cup from or straight from the ever flowing spout. Cadeweed drinks his fill, cleaning himself and his gear and washing his minor wounds.

Two-Birds takes a wineskin full. There is some lore regarding the properties of holy water to neutralise or slow the progress of lycanthropy. Remembering the diseased victims of the logging camp, the morphing bodies undergoing some ecdysis into serpentine form, such a blessing may prove a future boon. Another 'enviromental' issue that needs addressing

The trio, refreshed and thankfully for Moriartus , not burned out. His burning hands quenched unlike his desire for more adventure.

Completing the mini-tour and scout if the barrows, it could have turned nasty if the Mongrelmen had succeeded in capturing you and joining up again with your comrades may not have been able to happen. As it is, I will close here, move this to the Completed Expeditions thread.

I will tote up some XP award for these encounters to dish out separately upon concluding the initial trek.

any actions and final comments here?