Into the Barrow Mound

GM: Andrew Szilvasy
Players: Nicholas Vlamis, Tim Jones
Characters: Cassius, Siobhan, Erkan, Aurelian, Poldmere, Nobbins Quickthumb; with Naganin and Kitsune

Summary

After a long real-world break, the session opened with a recap and a continuation of the ghost-dwarf Grimney’s message (delivered through the ring Nobbins wears): Grimney’s own twin brother, Broll, betrayed and killed him during a mine heist gone wrong, and Grimney wants Nobbins to carry the ring to Broll — hiding in a cave to the west — so Grimney can confront him. The party also re-confirmed their outstanding leads: a cave to the west showing dragon signs (previously bypassed), the Tomb of Sir Brandon across the river to the east, and an “alchemist’s repose” to the northeast. They chose to pursue the sword at the Tomb of Sir Brandon first.

Before setting off, the party finally sat down to properly question their golden fox companion — who turned out to be a Kitsune, a shapeshifting fae creature usually encountered luring mortals into Faerie in the guise of a beautiful woman. Grateful to the party for saving it from the elven hunters (a hunt it explained was simply “the season”), it offered them one favor: it will transform into anything it has seen and act on the party’s behalf once, with success depending on how demanding the request is. It also let Aurelian comb out a good supply of its golden fur with the magic silver beard comb (enough for 4 alchemical uses) and, at Cassius’s suggestion, disguised itself as an ordinary orange fox to avoid drawing attention while traveling.

To save time, Naganin flew the whole party — tied together with the Rope of Unburdening to keep everyone weightless — directly to the Barrow Mound holding the Tomb of Sir Brandon, cutting a long overland trip down to a single flight. They found the mound’s stone entrance already forced open (goblin traffic), and pushed inside with torchlight.

The first chamber held wall mosaics depicting Sir Brandon’s story: gathering a giant of a swordsman, a priest, and a wild-eyed axeman to hunt the dragon; slaying it by driving his sword through its mouth; and finally being knighted alongside his companions. The mosaics’ inlaid “jewelry” turned out to be real gems — about 230 GP worth studded in the walls, though some had clearly been pried out over the years. Deeper in, the party ran into five goblins sent by King Hogboon to search the tomb. After some tense posturing, the goblins accepted the party’s claim of authority (partly recognizing the magic rope) and admitted they’d stumbled onto something bad: a staircase down to a second level swarming with undead — believed to be the tomb’s own former knights — which had already cost them men. They also mentioned a chapel to the west they’d already explored. The party agreed to “help them redeem their glory” against the undead, quietly planning to let the goblins go in first.

Exploring the rest of the first floor themselves, the party found a room with four 8-foot stone knight statues on pedestals labeled Valor, Piety, Wisdom, and Duty — solidly fused in place, no hidden mechanisms found — and a ruined chapel to the west with a central statue of a bearded, spear-wielding knight that the Kitsune recognized as the same giant swordsman from the mosaic. Water dripping through a crack in the ceiling had stained the statue’s face with a strange yellow-green mold; Poldmere cleaned it off (passing a save vs. poison against a puff of spores) and was rewarded with a lasting blessing: +1 to all rolls while in the woods around Brandonsford. The party decided not to loot the goblins’ partially-explored burial alcoves yet, to avoid friction, planning to grab anything left behind on the way out. The session ended as they regrouped to head down into the undead-infested basement next time, letting the goblins lead the way.

Important Details Discovered

• Grimney’s murderer is his twin brother, Broll, who stole a mining-heist treasure hoard and is hiding in a cave to the west; Grimney’s ghost (bound to the ring) wants a confrontation.
• The golden fox is a Kitsune — a fae shapeshifter, grateful for its rescue, offering one on-demand transformation/impersonation as a favor, and currently disguised as an ordinary orange fox.
• Sir Brandon’s dragon-slaying method, per the mosaics: driving a sword through the dragon’s mouth.
• The dwarves’ ghost (Grimney) confirms: he never crossed the river himself, knows nothing of the current dragon, and that the giant lives east across the river, avoids hills, and hates goblins; the dwarves used to trade with Warwick the smith at a post west of the river.
• King Hogboon’s goblin scouts are stuck at the Barrow Mound, too frightened to descend into a second level infested with undead — believed to be the tomb’s own former knights.
• A chapel statue, blessed by dripping water, grants a permanent +1 to all rolls (while in the woods around Brandonsford) to whoever cleans it — claimed this session by Poldmere.
• The Rope of Unburdening can carry the whole party airborne when tied together and flown by Naganin — confirmed as a fast, if conspicuous, travel method.

Treasure Found (or noted, not yet taken)

• ~230 GP in gems studded into the barrow’s entrance mosaics (some already missing) — left in place for now
• Kitsune fur — enough for 4 alchemical doses, given willingly
• Poldmere’s blessing — permanent +1 to all rolls in the woods around Brandonsford
• Unclaimed loot in the burial alcoves the goblins partially looted (some gems already pocketed by them, more remains) — deliberately left for later to avoid conflict with the goblins

Next Session Plans

• Descend into the barrow’s second level, letting King Hogboon’s goblins go first against the undead
• Explore other unseen areas of the tomb while the goblins are occupied
• Loot the burial alcoves and remaining mosaic gems on the way out
• Eventually pursue Broll (Grimney’s brother) in his cave to the west, and investigate the suspected dragon cave and the alchemist’s repose to the northeast