Wyz the smart goblin and a dozen of his closest friends lined up for the barrowmaze, enduring the cold rain. In point of fact, only two of them were very close, the rest were near strangers. But he’d been watching them; choosing them carefully, selecting those who seemed the most competent. One in particular, a dwarven cleric of Fortuna, seemed to have actual supernatural powers. The rest would do for cannon fodder.
Once he had gained the trust of the group and introduced himself, Wyz suggested proceeding systematically to explore and label each of the open barrows. Developing a systematic body of knowledge would enable the party to survive, or assist those who came after. Perhaps once the barometers had been plundered of its riches, Wyz could publish the tome. He would call it a Tome of Tombs.
Some members of the group suggested exploring a borrow that smelled of swamp and Moss. It was near the western side, And on the way to others, so it fit well with Wyz’s plan. Lighting torches. The group descended one by one into a tank tomb filled with standing water about waist high. Waist high on a human, that is. Wyz waited at the entrance, unwilling to wade that deep. He would keep watch.
It was short, however, as those who pressed deeper into the Burrow soon encountered. Gigantic frog like creatures. Even on all four of their limbs they stood six feet tall at the shoulder, as tall as a human, much taller than wisdom’s self. The frogs did not immediately attack. But the party chose to retreat rather than potentially provoke a confrontation. Wyz took notes. There were rumors someone had managed to befriend the frogs, and knowing where they lived might be useful.
The next barrow seemed more promising. It was sealed, shot by a slab of stone. Which we pried out by crowbars and used leverage from. Rope and grappling hook to pull out of the way. Inside a medium sized room contained a statue of a fighting man. Many graves on the walls and niches and doorways to the east and West. It took nearly an hour to search the place, but we found a pouch of coins and a small vase eventually. The vase would have historical value in town, so it counted as a win, and coin in our pockets if we could get it out of the barrows.
Unfortunately, the people we left on watch heard voices outside the barrow as we finished our search. The voices remained distant but sounded unhappy. They had not found the treasure they sought. Wyz retreated further inside the Burrow To warn his friends and avoid giving away his presence to those outside.
The western door was unlocked and opened easily. Inside were dozens more burial niches carved into the walls containing Ancient remains. Searching the dozens of niches took time, but we turned up a cache of five scrolls with historical value. More coin.
The chamber on the east side had a sarcophagus standing vertically in the center, surrounded by open space. Moving quickly because of the possible interruption, we managed to pry off the lid. Within, a wrapped corpse stood upright and inert, the glint of gold coming from a necklace. Just as we pried off the lid, some sort of black ooze dripped from the ceiling and landed upon Salazar. He screamed horribly as he died, and the torch he was carrying went out.
Wyz was already close to the entrance and just stepped outside quickly. The others fled in chaos from the darkness, emerging one by one. Finally, the screaming came to an end. The ooze had consumed three of our friends, including most of the delving gear Salazar had been carrying. Luckily, someone had kept their head, and grabbed the body on the way out. Even before the screams had ended, Wyz had grabbed for the necklace and ripped it from the body. It turned out to contain a bloodstone pendant on a golden chain. And as he grasped it, Wyz felt arcane mysteries unfolding within his mind. Suddenly, things made so much more sense.
Someone else had thought to bring out the arms from the corpse as well as the torso, and found a silver ring. Between the necklace and the ring, Along with the treasures found in the first room, it was more gold in one place than Wyz had ever seen.
The group returned to Helix triumphant, Wyz already making plans to return for the book he had hidden. But first he would search among the other adventurers; surely one of them would be worthy of an investment of gold and equipment that would reap favors later.
