The date is Saturday, 12th August
The time is 8:00 AM
Full of provisions and totally rested, we set off to the south-south-east. The weather was unseasonably warm which was lovely. Unfortunately, it was also pouring with rain as we set off. We knew it was about three days to the
Hill of Shame. On the 3rd day out we saw a hill ahead.
Out of the flat tundra rises a misshapen hill, it is all lumps and bumps like a cancerous growth protruding from the ground. However, the grasses and heathers growing on its sides seem to be lush and vigorous. A damp cold mist clings to the place, which the gentle breeze seems unable to dispel, merely making swirling patterns as it passes through. At the top of the highest lump in the centre of the mass, dimly seen through the mist, is what seems like a small stone building.
The date is Tuesday, 15th August
The time is 11:00 AM
We think the small building was built by dwarves, long ago. An inscription around the top of the monolith, in dwarven runes, read:
Here lie the twenty thousand vanquished, sent to Hel by the dwarves of Erednimras, may she be pleased with the gift! May this hill stand as a warning to all goblin-kind to never again make war on the Dwarves, who are blessed with the strength of Thor and the wisdom of Odin.
Nearby we noticed an old campfire and nearby were some pickaxes, ropes and the like. Booted dwarven prints were to be found - about a week old. We also spotted a few small openings on the hill. We felt we could easily crawl in on hands and knees.
Tinnan volunteered to crawl in and take a look, but we decided to all crawl in.
Chi summoned the shadows and in we went.
While crawling in you notice that the soil is littered with hard and often sharp material that makes going on your hands and knees very uncomfortable, you soon realise that these are shards of bone! After a short crawl, you fall out into a small excavated chamber. The earthy walls deaden all sound, the air is damp and cold, and bits of ivory-coloured bone protrude from every surface, floor, wall and ceiling. The only light is that which pools near the entrance behind you, the rest is shrouded in inky blackness. The only sound is of your own heartbeat, thudding in your ears.
On looking around, it soon becomes obvious that these chambers are not the excavation of some beast but have been deliberately crafted, stone columns shore up the walls and support the low ceiling.
We moved our way into the barrow, discovering the dead bodies of a lot of dwarves, maybe a week dead. Deeper in we came into a larger chamber and there we encountered a huge, undead
Ogre Zombie.
As the fight kicked off it soon became apparent there was more than one of the large hulking bodies to battle. We had surprised them, due to
Chi's shadows, and so before they really had time to react, the first one was dead.
Fyren threw fire,
Idris cast holy light at them,
Sellis brought the power of the moon to bear and the warriors beat mercilessly on them.
The second dead ogre shambled into the room and we wailed on it. Idris parried a mighty blow from it and we focused fire. The second one did not last long either.
Next, we split up.
Tinnan and
Sigmund went one way, seeing a strange sight.
The air here feels chill, a dim, pale green glow emanates from an archway ahead. Faint, half-heard whispers echo about, or perhaps it’s just the sound of your companions' breathing.
Meanwhile,
Idris and
Chi went the other way but did not see anything interesting.
Back in the green room, a crowd of
Ghouls sway gently from side to side, mesmerised by a shadowy figure standing behind a large, table-sized, block of stone. The figure is holding aloft a goat’s skull, complete with horns. Ghouls and smelly ghasts were everywhere.
They were led by a
terrible ghostly figure.
The wraith floated in to attack Tinnan as Sigmund dropped a sphere of darkness around him. Fyren lit the room up with a ball of fire, as was his wont.
The wraith was rapidly taken down as we focused on it, and another fireball lit the room. Soon there were only a few ghouls and ghasts left and they were swiftly mopped up.
A quick ritual later we determined that the goat skull the wraith was holding up was magical - with a
transmutation aura to it. The altar was searched but revealed nothing in terms of secrets. Fyren figured that the altar might have been dedicated to an evil deity called
Orcus, Prince of Undeath.
Orcus is the Demon Prince of Undeath, known as the Blood Lord. He takes some pleasure in the sufferings of the living, but far prefers the company and service of the undead. His desire is to see all life quenched and the multiverse transformed into a vast necropolis populated solely by undead creatures under his command.
Orcus rewards those who spread death in his name by granting them a small portion of his power. The least of these become ghouls and zombies who serve in his legions, while his favored servants are the cultists and necromancers who murder the living and then manipulate the dead, emulating their dread master.
Moving deeper in we came to a chamber. The ground in the centre of this chamber appeared to have fallen in through a sinkhole. The edges looked solid enough, but the middle funnelled down to the hole. Out of it burst an
Ankheg!
It was a bit of a wimp and quickly dispatched.
Moving on we came into another chamber. This large chamber has a huge heap of old rusty weapons and armour piled up on one side.
Idris chanted out a ritual to sense any magic and then looked through the collection. Grabbing a bunch of magical weapons seemed to have the effect of magically animating them all! Idris instantly reacted and with the snap of his fingers blew them apart in a big ball of fire. About half of them were incinerated, but some came on, aflame. Among them were also a few sets of animated armour.
The melee dudes ran in and smashed the remaining items into bits.
After the fight, there was nothing magical left and all was just a pile of rusty weapons and armour.
In the far corner of this chamber is a raised area of earth, with crudely fashioned steps leading to it. Lying on the ground and looking at you from the top, is a large goblin skull with an unlit candle stuck to the top of its head.
The candle was enchanted, curiously. It wasn't lit. We pocketed it and continued.
In another room suddenly you hear the sound of a badly played instrument starting up. The sound seems to be getting closer.
A ghostly goblin appeared playing a strange stringed instrument. We tried to talk to it but it totally ignored us and wandered around so we ignored it and carried on exploring.
Next, we found a big wide staircase leading down into the earth. Another level down it seems. We left it for later.
The next chamber is completely littered with bones that snap and crunch as you walk over them.
As we walked in, the bones start to crawl towards each other and assemble themselves into long-dead goblins!
We took on and destroyed four giant
Skeletons in short order.
