Ear Seekers
This session was played on December 20th, 2012.
Player Characters:
Brother Arroway (2nd Level Monk)
Snake Plisken (5th Level Halfling-Thief)
Ziggy (3rd Level Magic-User)
NPCs, Hirelings and Torch-Bearers:
Kleego
Pardue the Cleric (Deceased)
Torch-Bearer (Deceased)
Swell-Sword (Deceased) Kalou ?!?
Longing for more money excitement, our intrepid scalawags adventurers decided to make their way once more into the Barrowmaze. Aware of the countless dangers, the party sought the services of an additional torch-bearer (forgot name) as well as a sell-sword (Kalou) to provide food support for against the monsters of the Barrowmaze. The party quickly stocked up in the neighbouring town of Barrowcrest for the short day's journey. To this date, though, the peals of laughter and cries of celebration from the villagers upon hearing of the party's departure have, largely, remained rumours.
The trip to the Barrowmaze occurred without incident and the party arrived accosted neither by friend or foe. The same could not be said of the Barrowmaze, itself.
Shortly after crossing the threshold, the party was waylaid by a small contingent of zombified acolytes (Huecuva). With hard-won effort, the group managed to force back and ultimately slay the undead host in the dangerously narrow stone-worked hallway. Perusing looting the contents of the undead bodies yielded almost 300 gold and a strange bag of seashells.
Emboldened by their earlier conquest the party continued their way further north into the Barrowmaze. However, things did not bode well for the the sell-sword (Kalou) who, upon being surprised by a group of Ghouls, became an impromptu doorstop and dinner after being paralysed by the touch of one of the ghoul's claws. Mortified at witnessing the death of their newfound member, the party fought with a renewed vigour. Pardue, a man of the cloth, invoked the name of his god in the hope of repelling the undead. Unfortunately, this accomplished little but irk their ire even more. Though, with the puissant skill of Kleego and his swordplay, (and several 'natural' 20s to boot), the party caught their momentum and managed to vanquish the ghouls. The loss of their valued pack mule companion was not entirely in vain as their efforts ultimately earned them a golden jewel-encrusted goblet (900gp) and an ornate, but rather cumbersome, amphora. Ziggy the mage decided to gingerly retrieve the amphora in the hopes of ascertaining its financial cultural value (1100gp) for future carousings generations.
With much apprehension the party continued deeper into the reaches of the maze despite protestations from some (Pardue, Arroway, and Snake) who felt compelled to return to safer haven. Perhaps their fears were well-founded for the next battle did not bode too well for them. Again, the adventurers encountered half a dozen undead skeletal priests (Huecuva). Deeper in the crypt, though, a crossbow-wielding zombie (Ju-ju Zombie) wreaked further havoc with its loosed bolts. As the crossbow-wielding zombie selectively targeted several members, the front ranks of the party started to diminish. Pardue was mauled by the undead mob after failing to repel them with his divine powers. Shortly thereafter, the torch-bearer also succumbed to his wounds. Fortunately, with much luck and the might of Kleego's blade, the party overcame the foes although at a princely sum, which cost them the lives of two more. Only Arroway, Kleego, Snake, and Ziggy survived. With much haste they retrieved the remains and money of their friends and quickly made their way back to the village.
On the journey back to Barrowcrest the party was assailed by a pair of prehistoric carnivorous flightless birds (Axe-beak). The battle ended within several minutes and the group managed to avoid any additional injuries. However, Kleego and Arroway complained of debilitating headaches upon leaving the Barrowmaze. At one point, neither could barely walk and blood started to stream out of their ear-canal. With the assistance of a local priest, though, they were healed of their affliction caused by insects, which had embedded themselves in their ears after the two were listening at several doors in the dungeon. Arroway and Kleego learnt the error of the ways and offer this advice to any potential treasure-seekers keen to enter the Barrowmaze : Be careful of where you place any appendage in the Barrowmaze bitch breach.
