The party returned to the BarrowMaze in the lost Episode 72…
The party entered a room to the NE and were assaulted by the odor of fresh blood soaking an altar on the W wall. Mandras inspected it gingerly but found nothing. However, the sculptures on the altar, although similar to those found elsewhere, showed downwards movement, into the abyss, rather than upwards, towards the summits. A puzzle for another time.
As the party proceeded N, it came upon a W-E corridor with a series of northward doors. Mandras rashly booted down the first one in front of him, blowing it open. Blow was an appropriate term as the party was hit by an enormous gust of wind emanating from a bricked-up door in the N side of the room. Tarvyn the mage, carrying a handy sledgehammer started to break down the bricks. Everyone ignored the first set of screams from the long W-E corridor, keen to see what was behind the bricks.
There was a 20x20 room with a spiralling column from floor to ceiling sitting in the middle. In it were set 20 rubies and 20 diamonds of impressive size, as well as a series of letters. Mandras’ efforts to dislodge some of the treasure was fruitless. It was just too firmly set in the column.
Screams again from behind the party and Arnd yelling a warning from where he kept watch at the rear. The party swarmed back into the previous room and took ambush positions to strike the group of zombies that entered. One grabbed Hats in a headlock. Luckily, they were quickly dealt with, Mandras killing two of them with mighty blows. Hats expressed his gratitude by tapping Mandras with his staff and restoring 6 HP that he had lost earlier that day.
The party Wizard locked the gem room, planning to return at a later date and focus on freeing the gems. For now, it was urgent to find a high level Undead for Alf to slay.
The adventurers backtracked until they came to their starting point for the session. There was a half open E facing door there and behind it, a stairwell leading up. Looking for trouble and short cuts home, the party went up the stairs.
They came to a hexagonal room with mirrors on each wall and a black glowing skull on a purple satin covered plinth in the centre. Alf sensed a form of transparent wall between the party and the room. Light items bounced from it. Mandras swung his axe and the glass shattered, it had been one way glass. Mandras, remembering a tale of martial arts called Game of Death by one B. Lee proceeded to shatter the next wall mirror, as did Alf on the N side. The party flowed in behind them. Some mist that had been noticed, and ignored, further back in the room took shape and struck Alf, badly injuring him. Tarwyn lunged past to grab the skull in the hopes it would have some effect – the mist only hesitated. Mandras missed the mist (sic) but Koko and friends didn’t. A second blow felled Alf, who made his save from death throw and imbibed a cure serious wounds potion to stabilise himself. Koko was the next victim of the mist, but suddenly dissipated after taking more damage. Had the party killed it or had it just gone away?
Mandras, Alf and Hats went back to smashing mirrors. It paid off as Hats discovered another two-way mirror with a wide southward corridor behind it. Before the party could engage in it, the mist returned and dealt Hats a terrific blow, almost killing him. Mandras yelled at Tarwyn to crush the skull. Tarwyn hesitated in case it was a thing of value but Mandras pressed him on the grounds that it could save the party. Tarwyn stomped on the skull, it powdered and … nothing happened. Hats was reduced to less than zero but managed to avoid death by using the healing staff. Mandras struck the mist again and it dissipated a second time.
The corridor S led to a ladder that went up 30 feet to the surface.
The adventurers backtracked to the area of the pit from two sessions previously and then proceeded S to an easterly room that held a closed sarcophagus surrounded by 9 mummified cats. As Mandras and Alf entered, the 9 heads swivelled as one and the cats threw themselves at the heroes with a cacophony of yowls. They were quickly dispatched.
Mandras opened the sarcophagus with Alf, while the rest of the party retired to a safe distance. There was a desiccated mummy within and little else. Stirring the remains with his axe, Mandras noticed a hidden compartment which he smashed open. Within, he found a vial, which he pocketed.