Bancroft and his friends returned to the barrowmaze. They chose to inspect two of the barrows to the far north. Each of the burial mounds had a pair of bronze doors. One set of doors was ornate, bearing symbols of Nergal that matched those on the free standing pillar to the south. Those doors resisted our attempts to open them. But careful inspection revealed a pentagram could be shifted to the side, revealing a keyhole. We had no keys to try, and any attempt to open the doors by force was fruitless. Any damage we did was magically repaired.
The other set of doors further north were plain bronze and opened easily to our crowbars. Selfa called upon her goddess for light, and we descended below.
To the left and right of the entrance were large statues of female forms with rubies for eyes. Fearing traps, we searched carefully but found nothing. The rubies were easily removed, four total at 20gp each, using a rope ladder we had made for a different barrow. Past the two statues, the corridor continued. Eventually two more statues loomed to the left and right of the path and a 3rd blocking further progress. The statues on either side had ruby eyes like the ones we had passed before. But the one in front of us had onyx eyes. Suspecting even more of a trap, we searched carefully for almost an hour.
Our searches were not in vain. There were two hidden exits from this area, one to the north and one to the West. Furthermore, the statue to the north had a pipe exiting from the mouth of the statue. We suspected a trap. We decided to remove the rubies from the statues to the east and West before we took any further steps with the trapped statue. It took only a few minutes, but by the time we had completed the task. Our watchers from outside called out a warning. The giant scorpions had noticed them.
Helfen, watching outside, sought to lead one of the scorpions away from the group. A brave deed, but perhaps not a wise one. The other watcher, Gravelgnasher, slipped inside and tried to close the bronze doors, but they were heavy and unwieldy. He would not be able to keep the scorpion out for long.
Seeking a way out, Bancroft moved to the hidden door facing West and opened it. Beyond lay a large chamber filled with giant rats. He quickly slammed the door and called upon Sylvanus for protection. Selfa stood beside him, calling upon her goddess for light, but her spell failed. We had one, torch laughed, and it was almost out. Hard screams and dragging noises came from the southern corridor as the scorpions stabbed into Gravelgnasher. The others dragged his body further into the borrow, barely ahead of the scorpions.
With the scorpions coming from the south, the rats trying to open the door from the west, and the torch failing, Bancroft realized his position was untenable. He abandoned the door and moved to the northern statue, hoping to make a stand beyond that door. With luck, the scorpions and the giant rats would kill each other, or at least weaken each other severely. Those that remained would be easier to defeat.
Selfa followed, but not fast enough to keep ahead of the rats. Already feeling sickly from her close call, the rats were the final insult. They swarmed hungrily over her body, and Selfa died screaming. Bancroft could do nothing but drag her body further north, merely a few steps ahead of the rats himself.
With seconds to spare, he passed through the hidden door to the north carrying Selfa. One of the others slammed the door shut behind him. The rats and the giant scorpion fought viciously in the darkness, but behind the closed door, there was a moment of calm. Bancroft took the opportunity to pray to Sylvanus for healing, and restored some small measure of life to Gravelgnasher.
The hidden room was hexagonal in shape, bearing an altar towards the north wall, upon which rested two bronze figurines, likely valuable, and likely trapped. The group determined to wait out the conflict between the scorpions and the rats, remaining quiet, and dealing with whichever one remained.
