KWN.2.4 Barrows of the Bandit King

Session Preface

It's taken hours of wandering through the mist, but you've finally rediscovering the tracks of the Zhentarim. Hopefully, the way forward to answers in this convoluted investigation.
A single step forward, and for a moment your held in place by nothing but the thick veil of mist before tumbling over the sudden precipice. your toes arch downward to brace against a sloped ridge of rocks, but the loose stone of the canyon doesn't hold. Pebbles tumble away beneath you into the haze, their click-clacking reverberating off the cliffs rising around you in either direction. Your foot twists awkwardly as more stones give way, cascading down out of sight. The momentum and instability of the terrain pulls you with it in like a surging tide, the rumbling stones echoing like a flock fearing for their lives. Grasping out for roots or lodged stones to stop your slide, but your hands claw at dirt and you only gain momentum as you tumble further down into the valley.

As you finally skid and slide to a stop, the stones around you thud into wet grass, kicking up dirt that seems to hang in the thick air. Then, the canyon is still, the mist swirling in long curls of grey. Looking up to your companions, you can't see where you've fallen from, even only so far up to the next overhang. As you turn your head back to survey your immediate vicinity, a simultaneously screeching and guttural voice calls out, "A feast!"

The mist parts on either side as two figures rush towards you. Their elongated claws reach out towards you while tongues lap from their decayed, mutilated faces. Tattered rags hang from sinews of flesh barely clinging to the exposed bone as yellow, sickly, unnatural eyes shine against the fog. The first lunges towards you with a wide smile of rotting teeth.

Session Summary

Descending further into the canyon following the Zhentarim's trail, the party is swarmed by ghouls and must fend off the fiendish undead creatures in search of a next meal. Following the harrowing encounter, the party rests, rediscovers the path taken by the Zhentarim further into the valley, and continue their slow journey through the swirling mist for the rest of the day. As evening descends, the companions find a small cave in which to make camp and rest for the evening.
Taking the first watch, Tristain watches as a storm rolls in through the valley, releasing a torrential rain that quickly swells and threatens to flood their temporary refuge. Caught between the dangers of the storm and the canyon beyond and the unknown of pushing further into the cave, the party decides to search further in for dryer ground. Climbing a narrow ledge, the companions crawl through a narrow crag and find a more secure chamber with a high ceiling of twenty feet with jagged stalagmites overhead. The party settles once more, Aethuriel taking watch following his evening's meditation. During the night, the knights are ambushed by piercers descending from the ceiling, hoping to crush and consume them. Making quick work of the stone-flesh worms, the party finally settles once again. Following a restful rest of the early morning, the party retraces their steps through the cave and back into the now muddy canyon.
With the Zhentarim's trail washed away in the storm, Pax climbs the highest tree he can find and over the dense fog, sees a mountain with a small, black structure sitting atop it. A feeling of weight and dread seems to radiate from the location and the party proceed forward with caution, believing it must have been the Zhentarim's destination. Using his divine intutions, Tristain senses the presence of undead waiting perhaps to ambush the party in what turns out to be a graveyard surrounding a singular barrow atop which the mausoleum Pax observed rests. Using the protective magic of Helm, Aethuriel silences the approach of the party and through careful steps and a stealthy approach, they arrive atop the barrows no worse for wear.
The structure itself is a massive onyx square, perfectly polished and smooth, with the only notable feature being a carved sigil of a crown glowing with an unnatural blue hue on the door. As Tristain pushes the door aside, the party find a single sarcophagus, inscribed with "Brervod Ravencreek, the king's most loyal lieutenant." With these details, Pax recognizes the name as a companion of Deckon Thar, the self-proclaimed bandit king. Adjacent to the empty resting grounds, a spiral staircase descends further into the barrows themselves.

The Dark Below

Descending into the barrow, you feel the temperature drop as beads of sweat chill against your skin. Your breath fogs, hanging in place in the stagnant air. Nearby a calcified green pool of holy water rests, murky and layered in a film of dust and darkness. Before you, a wide hallways extends further in with four doors, two on each side, mirroring one another. In front of them, two ancient statues stand watch.

Before you, a pair of large, polished smoothed stone door stand shut, not a hairs length between them. A strange, translucent blue energy radiates around them in concentric circles, a pair of pulsing orbs of energy orbiting around one another. Beneath, an inscription carved into the wall with the same sickly blue glow.

“The keys to the kingdom always lie with the most loyal subjects”

Exploring the chamber, the party finds a desecrated holy water bowl once dedicated to Jergal, the ancient Lord of the Dead, a set of doors, and a pair of statutes. Hoping to unlock the magically locked doors with the holy water, Aethuriel instead finds it to be acidic as it burns away at his hands. Tristain also discovers the hard way that the statues are apparently a trap set, forcing the party to navigate around them lest they be struck by the massive stone weapons. Trying the first pair of doors, Pax discovers toppled and empty chests and crates, picked clean by looters perhaps. In the second pair of doors, however, ethereal undead warriors attack the companions, trying to drain their lifeforce with their haunting grip. When each of the two wights falls, the blue glowing locks on the door deactivate and as the room falls still, the large stone doors slowly open, inviting the characters further into the dark barrows.

Session Overview

Date Played:
January 19, 2021
Party:

• Aethuriel
• Pax
• Tristain

Time Passed:
Elesias 19, 1493 (AM) - Elesias 20, 1493 (PM)
NPCs:

Loot: