Tom Liberman

Riding the exhilaration of defeating the bandits and their unliving companions we convened a conference to determine if we should continue immediately in the Barrow Lair below or head back into town to purchase more equipment. I was of the opinion we should strike while the bandit leader was certainly at this location and the massive Inox, Yee, agreed with a grunt as she pounded her fist into her palm. I could tell by a simple look in the eye of the scoundrel, Ohohoho, that he would favor any plan promising more gold. Finally, the little Tinkerer, Nanny, simply nodded her head.

We descended slowly into the dark and a feeling of morose hopelessness overcame me. I could see by looking at my companions the same sense of dread was sapping their courage. I do not think the miasma was completely in our minds, I suspect some malevolent force is at work in the barrow itself. Some lingering effect of the long dead things that apparently inhabit and still wander around. If it was a completely mental force I do not imagine I would be affected in as detrimental way as my companions, thanks to my understanding of the mind. In any case, we pushed on.

We heard the murmuring whispers of more bandits ahead and burst into another chamber where four bow wielding foes awaited. We charged forward and smashed them with ease. I took the lead stepping quickly through the single door in the room hoping to prevent the escape of our quarry. There he stood with a pair of archers at his side. He immediately dashed to a side door and opened it, revealing a tomb where horrible things began to shamble towards us. He yelled something about how we would not be able to stop “The Gloom”.

I unleashed a swarm of rats and Ohohoho dashed past everyone and into one of the recently opened chambers. I did not need confirm that some treasure lay hidden therein for I know him well enough already. I retreated and picked up some loot dropped by our foes in the first room while mighty Yee strode forth with Nanny backing him. They blasted through the archers with ease thanks to foolish bandits taking time to deal with my rats.

A moment later Yee confronted the bandit leader and began to pummel him with relentless blows. A cry from one of the other chambers confirmed that our scoundrel had found some valuables. With that Yee let go a thunderous punch with left the bandit lying in a pool of blood, his face smashed.

The living dead creatures seemed somehow tied to this fellow for when he died the necromantic energy in them fled and we stood victorious.

We found the papers that Jekserah asked us to retrieve along with a map to some strange location called the Crypt of the Damned, sounds promising! We then returned to the Sleeping Lion. Jekserah paid us our gold and asked us to look into some trouble from a band of Inox who have ransacked some of her caravans. She promised us a reward if we dealt with them. If I have said that I do not trust this woman before then I spoke the truth. There is something to her plans that is not to our benefit. Mark my words.

We now must decide where to embark next; the Crypt indicated on the bandit’s map, the woods to take care of Jekserah’s issues, or the little treasure map Ohohoho found when we first delved into the Black Barrow.

Life is certainly filled with choices!