Somehow, Druidly managed to dodge the blows the bandit sent his way for long enough to send a good half dozen of them into a magical nap. Those that were left promptly returned the favor and he fell unconscious to the floor. While the bandit leader was distracted yelling at us, the rats came up on him From behind. He screamed as they swarmed over him, but lived long enough to flee toward the stairs, commanding his followers to keep Druidly inside the barrow.
Gravelgnasher figured the fight was on and killed one of the bandits with an arrow to the forehead. Trying to keep the peace, Bancroft stepped forward into the barrow and healed Druidly, promising to keep him from casting again. The situation was tense as Druidly and Bancroft tried to leave the barrow while the rats tried to catch them, and the bandits frantically woke each other up. In a stunning display of wisdom, Druidly rescued one of the fallen bandits and closed the door behind the last of them, locking the rats inside. The bandits punished Gravelgnasher by stoning him into unconsciousness, but let Bancroft and Druidly off with a fine of 10 gp.
By that time, most of the rest of the group had disappeared down one hole or another. The bandits left for safer loot. The rats remained locked inside the barrow, as did the remaining two opals, the last of the treasure we knew of. In the confusion of the battle, Jemma had fled back to town on her own.
Two new arrivals, Torhu and Flan, introduced themselves after the bandits left. They were friends, and wanted a piece of the treasure. We offered them to give them partial shares if they guarded us on the way back to town, seeing as how it was suddenly more dangerous than normal, and they agreed. Gravelgnasher woke up eventually with only a headache to show for his experience.
With Gravelgnasher awake, we were able to track Jemma on her way back to town. She made it most of the way there, but we found her body in the swamp, cut slashed, and stomped into the ground,. The golden jackal-head figurine she had been carrying was damaged but still valuable. Jemma herself could not be revived. The group decided to upgrade her friends to full shares in her memory. She did keep the figurine safe from the bandits. Bancroft held a funeral service commending her body to the swamps to be recycled, as is the natural course of things.
We made it back to Helix with heavy hearts and heavy pockets. Between the figurines and the rubies, our haul was almost 300gp, about 60gp each.
With the party’s first big score in hand, and a fallen friend to wake, the drinks flowed freely. Bancroft ordered round after round, as did the rest. The next morning he woke in a gutter, with a sore head, and luckily with his purse mostly intact. The others were not so lucky. Druidly even ended up in the stocks, After challenging the local wizard Mazzah to a magical duel and then trying to burn down his tower when the Wizard refused.
For better or worse, the party were now known in Helix as adventurers.
