The trip to the barrowmaze began on a solemn note: the party had lost friends in one of the barrows and needed to retrieve valuables from their bodies. The bodies themselves were not where the friends had fallen; something had dragged them into the barrow and a blood trail led the group onward.
Two of the party, those closest to the fallen, lit a torch and entered the barrow to search for remains and valuables. Nothing was simple. A zombie wandered near the entrance and then entered the barrow; the party’s archer failed to stop it and the creature surprised those inside.
Bancroft grabbed his pitchfork and rushed forward, hoping to contain the zombie while the party attacked from both inside and outside. By the time they arrived it was already exiting, and two more bodies were added to the toll. The archer managed a glancing headshot; Bancroft struck a solid blow with his pitchfork, but the creature strangled Vinrin to death when it reached him.
When the zombie was finally felled it rose again and the party fled, planning to return later to collect what they could. Bancroft recovered what he could from Vinrin, a small amount. While searching the barrow later they found a gold ring hidden inside a sarcophagus — likely worth a few coins in town.
Their next stop was another barrow to the north with a staircase heading down into a maze of twisting passages. They found sealed wax doors they left alone and several pit traps, which they marked as best they could. Sadly, another companion fell into one of the pits and was eaten by something below.
While investigating a room they were surprised from behind by six skull‑faced cultists. Bancroft’s attempts at charm — the politeness of his upbringing — spared them; the cultists told the party to leave and warned that the area belonged to their dark god. The party retreated and made a note of the occupants, intending to decide later whether to return.
