Bancroft stood atop the barrow and looked down upon the tilled earth with satisfaction. Weeks of effort to uncover a fresh barrow had finally paid off: the door had been uncovered, revealing a chamber with four sarcophagi and many giant centipedes. The initial expedition had slain several of the centipedes but not enough, so the entryway had been buried again to keep other parties away. Now it would be dug up, the thin coating of earth removed, the centipedes slain if they were lucky, and whatever treasures the sarcophagi held reclaimed.
The rhythmic strike of shovels made short work of the loose earth and soon the passage below was open.
The half-orc Selfa whispered prayers and her shield lit with holy light. She led the way down the stairs, followed by Gravelgnasher with bow at the ready. Bancroft followed a few steps behind; with sword and shield and leather armor he looked like an adventurer, though his hands still shook. His eyes flicked from the glimmer of Selfa’s shield to the staircase, the tunneled paths to left and right, and the ceiling above where centipedes had fallen before.
The centipedes dropped as predicted. Selfa screeched as they landed upon her; their poison could not penetrate her armor at first, but the acid ate through her shield’s light. Those nearest the entrance rushed in and Bancroft slew one with a single clean blow before retreating to the top of the stairs. As another horrifying scream rose from the dark, Bancroft wished Selfa luck and felt something stir within him. Gravelgnasher lit a torch. Selfa lay down, and Toru, the halfling with a fascination for frogs, disappeared into the darkness.
Bancroft pulled out his sling and hurled a rock at a centipede closing on the stairs. The rock cracked its carapace but bounced off. Gravelgnasher sent arrows into the fray and several centipedes fell; the rest fled into a hidden crevice.
Toru reappeared, having dragged Selfa’s unconscious body to the stairs. Selfa was at death’s door, blood pooling at her eyes. Something about her bleeding form — so close to death, so close to joining the long-dead in the barrows — spoke to Bancroft’s soul in the same way the plants and animals he cared for had. While the others searched, the farmer took a few minutes to ask that the earth embrace and nurture Selfa as it did the others in his care. Selfa sighed and opened her eyes.
One by one the sarcophagi were opened and searched, yielding a pair of rings, a necklace, and a bone-handled dagger that Toru later admitted to pocketing. Several creatures passed while they searched, including a trio of giant scorpions that took a body from the barrow without spotting the party. The treasures brought in about a dozen gold, and Selfa managed to walk back to Helix with them, badly hurt but able to make the journey.
Bancroft returned to the plot of land he had once farmed and carved a small wooden face with leaves for hair, a simple talisman. Afterward he dug beneath a large stone marking the corner of the field and found a leather bag hidden in a niche; the clink of coin inside meant he could now afford proper armor.
