The Art of the Cudgel

=Downtime=
 * The librarian's scholars are still studying the corpse of Desmond, but have positively identified the creature as a Quasit. The town guard have been unable to find any signals that he was summoned to Orhedge anywhere within the town limits, but they are looking in to those who may have a vendetta against the town militia to see if any of them would be capable of calling such a creature to the material plane.
 * Emma Pyn sends a personal letter of thanks to "Captain" Glibberig for the party's help in the investigation of her husband Stephen Pyn's murder. She explains that she plans to go and live with her cousin for a while until she's ready to move on, and that the money will help her find a house in a new town that isn't clouded with such bad memories.
 * After helping the party out with examining Stephen Pyn's copy of Pelor's holy teachings, the Sun Scripts, the wizard Thoroar Glimmergaunt appears to have vanished without trace. His board at The Iron Man appears to be fully paid, and his horse is no longer in the stables.

=Introduction= A week after the events of Vicious Circle, Forenrond is woken early in the morning by a Cleric of St. Cuthbert, Billet Errol Gleamer. The church asks for Forenrond's assistance in removing undead from one of their burial sites, adding that it will clear his name in their books for any past wrongdoings.

Requesting the help of his friends, the party assembles at breakfast and gets briefed by Errol. They set out towards the Lochfield Barrows the same morning on an articulated wagon driven by an personable old dwarf, Old Bill Brassknuckles.



=A Barrel of Tricks= Just as the sun has begun to set and the night-time section of the party's journey begins, the group spot something in the distance.

A merchant on her travels between Siriath and Springdell Crossing is stranded a mile off the road on the plains in a lantern-lit wagon without whose horses bolted. A couple of figures standing atop the wagon flag the party for attention. Upon closer inspection it's a homely looking human woman with red hair in a white, belted gown (Alysia Hart). Crouching on the side of the wagon's canvas top is a small brown-haired boy (Elliot Hart).

Elliot has been playing with a Grey Bag of Tricks, which usually produces fuzzy little animal friends when used. Unfortunately he's happened upon a cursed one in his mum's barrel of bags, and as it's opened a whole group of aggressive, feral beasties pour out. Badgers, weasels, rats and cats. They've been stuck on the roof for three hours trying to fend them off.

The group work together, scooping some of the animals back in to the bag, killing the others.

Victorious, Alysia gladly rewards the party with a functioning Bag of Tricks and some spare bottles of stuff she has laying around. Glibberig offers to take the broken Bag of Tricks off her hands too, which she happily accepts.

Alysia pulls out a Feather Token (keen eyed readers will remember o

ne of these as loot in Green Shell Suit) which she uses like a little telegram - speaking in to it to ask the nearest stables for a new carthorse. The token splits in two and flutters away in to the distance, back towards Springdell Crossing.

=Lochfield Barrows= Leaving Alysia and Elliot on the plains, the party travel towards the Lochfield Barrows. Glibberig uses a little local knowledge to recognise that there used to be a town nearby (Lochfield, naturally) which exclusively used the barrows long ago, but has since disappeared off the map entirely, left to ruin. Nobles and great war heroes hailing from Siriath get buried here now - and the priests aren't shy about levering an old, crumbling skeleton out of its grave to make way for a new high-paying patron.

The party head towards two of the southernmost barrows in the complex whilst more prepared parties tackle the northern ones, which travellers had reported seeing Wights lurking around. Forenrond asks Errol if they're aware of what's causing the dead to rise and Wights to emerge, but he's none the wiser. The parties are being sent to clean out anything untoward and return the bodies to their graves before priests can investigate further.

The first barrow is a circular affair on the outside, and after Glibberig illuminates the long, stony passageway using a stone with Light cast on it, Errol follows the party with Light similarly cast on his shield. At least Thor will be able to see, now. Taking the first passage to their left the party find six sarcophagi, three with lids levered off. Orovan teasingly pokes one of the fleshy corpses with his shortspear, but the undead inside clutches his spear as he thrusts it towards him.

A fight breaks out, and two more zombies rise from their open grave. Errol's nowhere to be seen until the very last moment, but they're no match for the party. There's nothing particularly remarkable about them, other than the fact they seem quite fresh for a set of ancient barrows. Moving on, Errol scouts ahead and finds a room to the right of the passage. Illuminating it reveals there's a ton of rubble - broken casks and the barrow wall crumbling - and a solitary chest off to one side. Glibberig bravely strides inside and a huge black ceiling-squid drops on to his head and proceeds to strangle him.

Everyone takes a swing at Glib's face-extension, but the Darkmantle shifts its 30lbs of body weight to and fro, taking Glibberig with it. Just as things start to look bleak it's wrestled from the bard's head and thrown to the floor where it's ready for some stabbing. Errol, assessing the situation, takes a step back towards the chest and is just about to remind the party to look where they're going - but he too gets a Darkmantle chewing on his waxed-back blonde hair. Even after the party save him the cleric denies them the right to pop open the chest full of heirlooms and gifts meant for the afterlife, and sends them along their way.

The next barrow is pill shaped and has a wider, south-facing entrance. Light streams and illuminates a number of gravestones that detail the brave exploits those buried within are famous for, and the date of their death (hundreds of years ago). There are mounds of dist

urbed earth dotted around, and when one of the party draws near a huge mottled black and green centipede springs forth, hissing and mashing its mandibles together. Moments later another springs up, each the size of a large dog - and finally an enormous mammoth sized centipede swings out from around the corner to greet the team. There's a tense stand off where Orovan attempts to calm them, but neither agitates nor soothes them. Ultimately they were saved from being swarmed by the mother and their young by simply not disturbing or harming them.

Deeper inside the barrow are shallow graves, and at the presence of a holy Cleric entering their "resting" place, skeletons begin to emerge. Most notable are two that wear armour; one carries a shining longsword, the other an ornate crossbow. Battle breaks out and Errol finally tries his hand at turning undead - failing the first two attempts whilst the team bludgeon their way through skeletons. As Glibberig strums a merry tune from the back Sweetlips is spurred in to action, and tears several of them to pieces. Errol eventually blasts the longsword weilding skeleton with a Turn Undead and it gets scattered around the place. Forenrond lands the final blow, pushing his longsword through one of the skeletons to snap it in two.

Glibberig uses his advantageous position carrying up the rear to sneak off to the side and pop a chest open. It has a set of clothes, an amulet, a pocket watch and a painting inside. He grabs the amulet and watch, pockets them, and joins everyone else as they make their way outside.

The whole ordeal probably doesn't take much more than a few hours, and the party set back towards Bill just as he's eating breakfast.

The party return to camp victorious, and after a spot of breakfast head on towards Siriath with Errol.