From the top of one barrow, a small green figure cursed and wrung his hands as he watched distant figures crawled around the entrance to another. “My book, my book. My book. Those bastards are going to steal my book!” Hanging from his belt were the implements of a wizard. Especially a new looking scroll case, ink jar, quill pen, rare items worth gold in a town the size of Helix. The adventurers at the distant borough had been their first that day, and laid their claim. The small goblin knew that discretion was the better part of valor. They would have no better chance than he To make use of the book. Indeed, they were likely to disappear themselves trying to take it. For now, there was nothing to do but wait and investigate the next barrow. Wiz fingered the small bone hilted dagger he had claimed as part of his treasure hoard, at least until it could be identified properly.
The mound his own party had chosen after being turned away from their first, was nearby with a good view of the interlopers. The door opened easily with the application of crowbars and hard labor. By the time it was open, the group at the first barrow had left, either bored or vanished. Whiz and his small group returned To complete their investigation.
The book itself had been disturbed. It lay fully visible on top of the rubble pile that had once been a Stone pedestal. Leaves approached it cautiously, careful not to touch. His understanding of the arcane was new and had no guarantee of protecting him from harm. Would simply being a wizard be enough to allow him to claim the book without harm? Or was there a puzzle? Some sort of trap? Best to be sure.
With Hannah hand Delpha outside to watch the barrow entrance, and his parchment and pen in hand for notes, Wyz began his investigation. The cover of the book itself had arcane script That he could now read, but offered little additional information. It bore the name of its owner, Azcuursh the Arcane. Perhaps merely speaking that name would be enough to work as a password, and disarm the trap? It seemed too simple. The surrounding walls had murals which might bear pertinent information.
The first mural depicted a scene of a wizard, most likely Azcuursh himself, slaughtering peasants in a field with powerful magic. It bore a mural in the black speech referring to “the reaping”. The next mural depicted the same wizard fleeing from a town, shooting magic back at guards as he fled on horseback. The last depicted the same wizard sitting upon a throne, hearing petitions from the peasantry. The depictions did little more than whet his appetite. “The magic in this book will be mine!” Wyz muttered under his breath.
Still, there were no clues that appeared to offer a password or a safe way to grasp it. It was time to return to town with his notes for research. But with a fresh barrow opened, the rest of the group insisted on investigating first. Treasure would provide gold to fund his research, so Wyz agreed.
The new barrow was dedicated to Imperax, a deity of death, decay, and corruption. The entrance room was square with what appeared to be three exits. To the left, a closed door. To the right an archway. To the north. A blank wall inside a niche that looked like the other two exits. The architecture heavily suggested a secret door to the North, But the rest of the group did not want to spend the time to check. With Hana guarding the entrance. Delpha and Perch carried light to the east. Beyond the archway, the passage split into two, leading north and south. In both directions a door shortly appeared to block the way.
Behind the north door lay a sarcophagus. Along with some delicate vases stacked to the west wall. Merely opening the door woke some undead creature who pushed their sarcophagus open and floated out. Its eyes glowed blue as it floated above the ground. Wiz Made the only smart decision and fled immediately, running for the entrance As fast as his hort green legs could carry him. The others followed with Delphi heroically trying to turn the undead creature, but she failed each time. Perch grabbed Oz as he tried to flee, but it shattered in his hands. He had the right idea. Perhaps we could come back later and distract the creature. Carefully extract the vases. Hana managed to nick the thing with her crossbow. But it ignored the wound. Magic weapons would be necessary here. The undead creature did wear a suit of chain mail that seemed untouched by time and decay. If The creature could be defeated the creature, that chain maille would be worth gold. Luckily, like most undead, it was reluctant to exit the barrow and enter the sunlight.
With the sun still in the sky, the group argued over which barrow would be next. Perch, a dwarf who had once been a sailor, thought the main dungeon With its block and tackle entrance was the best place to start. Delphi wanted to open yet another, but choosing one further to the northwest. Wiz had the most convincing argument, though. Previous groups had mentioned a barrow with a flooded hall populated by frogs. As living creatures, they would be susceptible to his magic. By proceeding carefully, Wyz could knock out the frogs and claim whatever treasure they guarded, with ample time to search beneath the water.
Refusing to listen to intelligence. The group chose instead to open a new borough. This one opened into a large chamber with the ceiling supported by four pillars carved into the likeness of ghostly faces. The room appeared to have no exits, And no other notable features other than a large brazier in the center. Searching the room carefully yielded nothing, not even after lighting the central brazier. It was a wasted hour, and it convinced the rest to listen to Wiz’s plan to deal with the frogs.
The goblin’s plan worked perfectly, with both frogs asleep while Wiz Stood guard and the rest searched, until the squad of skeletons from outside the barrow descended the stairs and attacked.
Mountains bore swords, the other two bows. They caught most of the group by surprise. Wiz leapt from his perch on top of El Viz’s shoulders to dodge an arrow and pushed his way through the deep water towards Delpha, Muttering the words of his mage armor spell. The arcane protection settled down around him just in time to deflect an arrow. The sword wielding skeleton stepped deeper into the room and closed the distance, one of them heading for Delta. Wiz drew his dagger and slashed at it, missing, then hid behind her. Wizards aren’t made for front line combat, and neither are goblins. Meanwhile, El Viz drew his great sword and charged the skeletons at the door with bows, seeking to prevent them from making their attacks. He managed to wound one of them and forced both of them to drop their bows and switch to their own swords.
Hanna and Perch each attacked the same one, doing further damage. Sensing an opportunity, Wiz ran out from behind Delphia. And stabbed his magical dagger into the same creature, wounding it sorely and then pushing past it. Some strange effect of the dagger caused green scales to sprout from his arms and his face. Another blow from Perch put that skeleton out of its misery, but three more remained. Thankfully, the frogs were quiet. For now.
