The stillness that presides over Helix extends to the wizard’s spire, though, as the adventurers approach the structure, they can perceive a faint illumination from the upper window.

Entering and climbing the winding stairs, the company finds their patron seated at a desk, poring over a tome by candlelight, tracing the lines of script on the age browned pages with his finger as he reads.

Looking up as his visitors enter, Mazzahs says, ”You have returned quickly. Have you discovered something of import?”

He frowns as he regards the adventurers. ”Where is Caine?” he inquires.

Enshrouded in the fogs of the moor, Barnabus, after a fashion, was able to compose his thoughts.

At first, there was only one of them that ran on repeat: a Balrog barely a hundred feet away [from the entrance]! It didn't seem fair to him that a demon had been so cleverly concealed so close to the surface. But then he remembered the crashing of the stone slab (from #20) that could have flattened any of them. He should have known. The old rules did not apply.

Next, he thought of Caine. Stodgy and earnest, yes, but he had liked the young man, and it was Barnabus's lack of preparation that had doomed him. The calculating part of him though couldn't help but think that a sturdier warrior, one not weakened by his devotion to the arcane, would have been a wiser addition to the outfit.

Finally, he resolved, yes, resolved, to plan better lest the maze gobble up more of his precious pups. Even this resolution, perhaps firmer than most of his, was tinged by a certain exaltation to have been present for a clash of two such terrible beings.

Back at Helix before Mazzahs, the curate casts a guilty look at the spot where he had envisioned the horrific statue would have resided (might still if it survived the battle) if not for that something else which had been residing within it.


With the three mummies and the robe of ash along with the accoutrements of butchery (from the secret room), off to the side for now, the priest of Invictus answers, "From dust we came and to dust we go" -- neither callously nor despairingly.

"While exploring the tomb of this high priest of Orcus," he continues, carefully presenting the still-robed body of said priest along with its precious tome to their patron, "we moved a statue of a demon with the intention of bringing it back here. Doing so disturbed a circle that had been entirely covered by its base."

"A captive balrog was captive no more. It reduced Caine to ashes and would have incinerated the rest of us had not Varghoulis, champion of SetNergal, attacked it. The old ways die hard."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:23, Fri 06 Jan 2023.

 Dilemma nods at Barnabus' account of things.  "It's true... We would likely have joined Caine had it not been for Varghoulis." She spits.  "Would that I'd cast a spell of light upon the demon's eyes..."

 She has something to say about the sarcophagus as well, but keeps that to herself for now.  The demon, and not just some idiot mageling's quasit familiar that he thought he could control either, or even a lesser and slathering thing called up by some ill-intending Malconvoker fancying himself a pragmatist, was a little more important.  Not only to the task at hand, but also the world's well-being.

Malivoire recounted with wide eyes the last few seconds he saw of the battle before being hauled upward to safety.  "Varghoulis caught the demon's fiery whip about his shield and then pulled his opponent toward him.  Pulled it!" he repeated with gesture of his own arm, incredulous that anything would have the strength and power to manhandle the demon in such a way.  "Then he stabbed the beast in its shoulder with his blade, causing the demon to roar in pain such that the very stones of the Barrowmaze shook and cracked."

He looked to Mazzahs with a pale, drawn face.  "What have we done?"

”I do not know that any of you could have foreseen such an outcome,” Mazzahs explains, ”Those that delve into dark practices are often exceedingly clever. I would guess that this man had ambitions of returning from the dead and using this demon as a servant, or as a source of power.”

The wizard shakes his head. ”Those who seek assistance from such infernal creatures are mad. Demons only serve their own terrible purposes and will seek to destroy any who cross their path.”

“I would presume that Varghoulis would have the strength to defeat the balor, but we should remain watchful. It is possible the demon could escape his…”

Outside, an animal roar shatters the morning quiet and through one of the tower’s windows, the assembled adventurers see a sudden flare of crimson light. Below, the balor has landed in the village square. The demon is grievously wounded, its right wing reduced to tatters, one of its great horns only a collection of bony splinters, and its left forearm entirely gone. Clearly enraged, the abyssal monster begins merrily slaughtering the assembled merchants. Some of the company members reach the window in time to see the potion trader get split neatly in two by the creature’s blade.

From the nearby Shrine of St. Ygg, Brothar Othar emerges, holding a silver holy symbol aloft as he approaches the demon. The priest shouts a single word which echoes across the village and sends the balor reeling, its legs seeming to buckle. Mazzahs snatches a staff from beside his writing desk, then vanishes from the room in a flash of blue light, reappearing in the square below.

As the fell monster still struggles to find its bearings, the wizard points the staff at it, speaking an incantation. A blinding cone of crystalline ice blasts from the staff, enveloping the demon and freezing it solid. The force of the spell is so great that the immobile creature is sent flying out of the square, its inert form crashing through the newly erected framework for The Foul Pheasant, pulverized pieces of lumber sailing in every direction from the tremendous impact.

Quiet overtakes the village again as several guardsmen rush into the square, the soldiers blinking in surprise to find the threat already neutralized. Sheathing their swords, the armored warriors set about lending aid to the injured and gathering the dead. Several go to fetch the balor’s corpse.

With another blaze of blue light, Mazzahs returns to the tower room. Setting his staff back in its place, he says, ”Now, to an important point that you raised. We now know that Lord Varghoulis still remains within the catacombs, yes?”

 At the found of the first, Dilemma whines an exclamation suggesting that someone might have an unpleasant mother... Charley, too, makes a commotion.

 Then, Mazzahs makes short work of the demon.
For now.  Dilemma knew that they wouldn't be gone forever.  She silently resolves to use the decades, if not centuries ahead of her, to see to such threats...

 Then, when Mazzahs reappears and inquires, she nods.  "It would seem so... begging your pardon, but I have a potion on hand capable of binding the dead to serve.  I... did not think to use it earlier, but do you think that it could be used if we should encounter him again, to bring him in for questioning?"

"And those who delve into those mysteries must be themselves by extension..."

Barnbus points at the leather-bound tome.

"Yes, Lord Varghoulis still remains within the catacombs. I would say he rules those very catacombs. Maybe he broke a fingernail while crippling and maiming that which you just finished off." But, more importantly, it's time for the apprentice potion vendor to step up.

"Two other areas we visited. We broke open another sealed tomb; this one was more of a group burial plot if you like for four champions of Orcus, an assassin, a wizard, and two others. We encountered them not in their prime but in their decay -- as shadows. We destroyed three and the fourth fled before us."

Motioning to the mummies, Barnabus  says, "We cleaned that place out. I thought you'd want to see some ancient specimens of Orcus funereal practice. They might also have items that will help us further explore the barrows."

"As for the other area," he continues, shuddering, "it had ample evidence of the continued practice of barbaric rites, this time pointing to the knives, short sword, and pail. Strangely enough, we found it within a secret room -- right next to where some of the skulls were ... showcased."

The wizard considers Dilemma’s question in thoughtful silence for a moment. ”I am very uncertain that Varghoulis would be susceptible to the magic of that brew,” he says, ”However, I recall that during your prior expedition, some of you encountered one of Varghoulis’ knights, a warrior carrying on service to his lord even in death. I believe that the potion could be used to control one of them, and that they might be possessed of knowledge that would prove worthwhile to learn.”

Mazzahs picks up the leather bound book. Paging through it, he nods as Barnabus discusses the mummies the adventurers had retrieved who were dedicated to the service of Orcus. ”One never knows what clues might be gained from learning how a cult venerates its dead. I will ask Brother Othar to examine them along with me.”

Looking to Dilemma and Malivoire, he holds the book up. ”Tell me, did either of you peruse this volume before bringing it here?”

Pausing to examine the grim discoveries from the hidden room, he turns his attention to Dax. ”You possess some experience in the skill of tracking, do you not, good sir?”

Dax is stunned by the appearance of the demon, and instantaneous reaction from Mazzahs, killing it, apparently.

"What Me? I...uhhhh. Yes...yes, I can track. Far better in the woods than in the catacombs, but I can track.

Who would you have me track? The skeletal warriors serving Varghoulis?"

Malivoire watched from the window with first horror at the demon's rampage, then amazement as the priest and Mazzahs quickly defeated the raging balor.  Ultimately when he turned from the window he was still shaken, for the deaths in the square below were their fault.  Were it not for their actions, the demon would still be captive within the crypts.



Shaken from his morose thoughts, Malivoire looked up to Mazzahs.  "What?  Ah, oh sorry.  I have not looked at the tome yet, no.  Too many other things going on at the time," he explained distractedly.

"Dilemma, did you get a chance?"

 Dilemma looks at the tome, and then at her companion.  She only shakes her head.

”This is the necromancer’s spellbook,” Mazzahs tells the two spellcasters, offering the tome back to them, ”It is yours by right of discovery. Obviously, its original owner meant to utilize magic to further his own wicked schemes, but the spells within could still be put to good purpose.”

Returning his attention to Dax, the wizard says, ”Although the Barrowmaze undoubtedly draws its share of tomb robbers and cultists, I do not believe that the presence of such would account for all of the terrible leavings stored in this pail. I suspect that there is someone, possibly here in Helix, waylaying stray travelers and taking them to the catacombs, likely at the behest of something within the crypts. If you were able to track them from the moor back to where they came from, these killings could be halted, and perhaps we might learn more about the Barrowmaze, were the murderer to be taken alive.”

Barnbus scratches his head, burrowing his fingers within his mass of wiry, grey hair. Then, a smile spreads across his face, somewhat ghoulish given the twin tragedies of the loss of Caine and the potion monger.

"The five polished skulls -- we found them in a room with those Nergal banners."

Detaching his fingers from his hair, he says searchingly, "There was that note, too. Can't exactly remember it. Gamblers. Maybe they're being lured to the maze ... for debt negotiations."

"Now, Mazzahs, have we brought back anything else that might aid us? Any new robes for our wizards?" Barnabus begins, adding several other questions as well (number of charges in M's wand and the staff of fire, whether non-goblins can use that staff safely, resizing of the leather armor for Ishmael).
This message was last edited by the player at 00:39, Sun 08 Jan 2023.

"I can try." Shaking his head, the ranger adds, "I hope you are wrong Mazzahs. If someone here in Helix is in league with the fell creatures in the Barrows..."

The ranger goes silent as he gazes out the window to where the potions master was murdered only moment ago.

”This leather armor is indeed enchanted,” he says, referring to the armor taken from one of shadow’s corpses. ”It once fit a slender human, but it is a simple matter to modify its size if any of you are in need of it.”

He takes one look at the necromancer’s robe and shakes his head. ”That would not be safe for any to don. It may yield some valuable information when I am able to study it. But I will have to undertake those inquiries with great care.”

“Malivoire and Dilemma will benefit most from study of the spellbook.”

He peers with a deep frown at one of the mummies that has been brought to the spire. ”Odd,” he mutters. Spreading the bones out the party members can see that the corpse bears a series of runes etched into its ribs. Mazzahs speaks a few words and a hissing voice fills the chamber, its words clipped and guttural.

[Language unknown: ”Thire toca veronstic fi whand Onshi o T’Ioiltaad mo te asttinint! Ca eretraone ounbe nceto tees be teol mafian k staeenect casehe unove else!]

”A message intended for the followers of Orcus. I would presume that visitors to the tomb would wear something enchanted to trigger it. It speaks of a knight of St. Ygg, Sir Guy de O’Veargne. It states that he brought an orb of significant power into the tombs and that it is imperative that followers of Orcus find it, lest it undo some of their workings within the Barrowmaze.”

“You may wish to inquire with Brother Othar about Sir Guy.”

He takes up the goblin shaman’s staff, pacing about the room for a moment as he studies the runes upon it. After a moment, he smiles. ”Ah. Now I see it. I am glad no one has made use of this thus far. This item carries a curse for any who attempt to utilize it who are not of goblin kind. Any who attempt to use the magic it contains will be transformed into a goblin themselves.”

With Malivoire’s permission, Mazzahs examines the wand. ”Eight charges remain within this wand. When it has been discharged, you may bring it to me and I may restore some of its usefulness.”

He nods in agreement with Dax’s sentiment. ”I hope that I am mistaken as well. But if there is one here in the village who is helping to further the work of any of the foul powers which rule the tombs, it is best that we know of it, and bring a halt to their deeds.”

He regards then group for a moment, then asks, ”What are your intentions? Do you intend to return to the maze immediately, or remain here for a time?”

OOC: The spellbook contains some spells that are currently beyond either Malivoire or Dilemma’s ability to master. Those that they can make use of are as follows:

First Level

Baltron’s Black Sheen*
Detect Magic
Fennril’s Exquisite Strangulation*
Hitzemun’s Blue Feet*
Read Languages
Ventriloquism

Second Level

Detect Evil
Galaxina’s Scintillating Spark Shower*
Invisibility
Knock
Locate Object
Vitharia’s Vengeful Visage*

Spells notated with a * are defined in the House Rules/Rules Specific to Barrowmaze thread.

Dax turns from the window, and looks around the room. "I say we try to locate the traitor in town, if he exists. And we can speak to Brother Othar and learn of this Sir Guy.

Exploring the moors can wait. Perhaps Varghoulis will have settled down, with the demon's demise at the hand of Mazzahs, which will make our return safer."

---

[Edit: demon was killed in the town]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:12, Wed 11 Jan 2023.

Fatigue, when it comes for the curate, comes with a rush. One moment, Barnabus is excitedly devouring every one of Mazzahs's utterances and then the next, his eyelids are drooping and he's sinking further into his chair, enjoying the feeling of security offered by the wizard's protection.

"Another day," he answers their patron's question, having snapped to in time to hear it.

Whether he's referring to a return to the tombs or a hunt for the agent, he doesn't say.

On his way out, he remembers the enchanter's offer. "Yes, for Ishmael; the armor is for him," he manages to get out on the way out.

A day at the Brazen Strumpet and then a consultation with Brother Othar.

Malivoire couldn't hide his avid interest in the spellbook, but nodded when Dax suggested searching for any traitors in town.  "We have done more harm than good here in Helix, despite our intentions.  We owe the townsfolk a deed that only helps them."

Once that matter was settled, Malivoire consulted with Dilemma and Mazzahs about the best methods to transfer spells from the recovered tome to his own spellbook.  He wasn't sure he had all the right materials handy, and how the activity might impact the planned schedule.

OOC:
Not sure of the game rules to copy spells across.  LL rules say it can be done but not exactly how long or how much it costs.  LL does have an example of replacing a lost/destroyed spell book, which costs 1 week and 1000gp per spell level.  Not sure if we treat copying spells the same way or not, but if we do I need to find a LOT more money  :)

With some spoken words and a few moments of closed eyed concentration, the wizard shrinks the armor to fit Ishmael. He passes it to the spelunker when finished.

”If you mean to speak with those in town regarding the possible agent, I have a few suggestions,” Mazzahs says. As he speaks, he gestures, causing the necromancer’s robe to levitate. It floats over to settle onto Mazzahs’ alchemy table. ”I would presume that whoever is traveling to the Barrowmoor attempts to do so when there are few individuals moving about Helix who could witness their movements. You might speak to the workers at The Brazen Strumpet, as they are the last to leave that establishment in the late hours. Brother Othar and his acolytes are often up well before dawn for prayer. Billworth Turgen also rises early, as many of the merchant caravans leaving Helix tend to prepare for their journeys before dawn. Any of them could have noticed something out of the ordinary.”
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 02:45, Wed 11 Jan 2023.

Departing the wizard’s spire, the adventurers find that a cloud speckled sky now overlooks Helix, the settlement notably quieter than usual. Nearing the village square, the company can see that a written notice has been posted on a wooden pole near the center of the gathering place, announcing that the market will not be held that day due to an “unforeseen occurrence”.

Outside the Shrine of St. Ygg, a male acolyte in a hooded robe provides aid to a trio of villagers with injuries. He looks over to the party as they draw close, greeting them with a nod. ”Good morning. I am Gamdar. Are you in need of healing or other assistance?”

Barnabus had half-dozed on the walk to shrine, daydreaming of a day of naps and bites.  He blinks at Gamdar, and it dawns on him that Gamdar is not Cella.

He steps forward and presents himself to this Gamdar (not Cella), "Other assistance is what we need. Brother Othar, that would be. Grave matters. Let him know that the agents of Mazzahs crave his assistance."

As an afterthought, he asks after Cella, "She's alright, yes? She did such a fine job of greeting us the last time."

”I believe Brother Othar is just inside the sanctuary,” Gamdar responds, gesturing to the shrine’s main entrance, ”He wanted to devote some time to prayer after the events of the morning, but I am certain that he would be glad to speak with you.”

Nodding, he adds, ”Cella is well. She had to perform several healings this morning. She is resting.”

From the east, a sudden shrill series of curses can be heard. The adventurers recognize the voice as belonging to Perri Ticklebottom, who is apparently expressing her displeasure regarding the recent setback to The Foul Pheasant’s restoration.

Silence pervades the interior of the austere sanctuary as the adventurers step inside the shrine. Brother Othar, who is kneeling in front of the chapel’s altar, hears the group enter and turns to regard them. Rising to his feet, he approaches. ”Good morning. What brings you here today?”

The sounds of Perri's displeasure give Barnabus a little bit of pep. Enough to think that the shrine must have ample supplies of tea. Tea. He wanted a cup of tea, he knew that. Would Brother Othar serve tea? Would it dawn on him to ask about the missing Caine?

"Three matters," Barnabus begins, after having made the customary greetings, "You can gauge the weight of each."

"Tea, do you serve tea for serious matters?" He well knew that monks and brothers had mastered that art above all others.

"This," he says with more urgency producing the cursed staff of fire, "has a malediction upon it."

He pauses, inordinately pleased at having remembered that word and and even more pleased at the prospect of annoying Ishmael with it.

"It will transform anybody without green skin into a goblin who attempts to use it. Can you remove it?"

Barnabus looks around for any would-be eavesdroppers before lowering his voice, "There is an agent of Orcas in Helix. He lures debtors to the Barrowmaze with some cockamamie promise other. There, they are murdered, scalped, and then decapitated. We found the symbol of the dead god's son, the ram's skull, carved into the table. Mazzahs thought you might have seen strange departures and returns ... "

"The agent must be the Rosy Quartz money lender," he says with conviction in inverse proportion to his evidence.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:38, Mon 16 Jan 2023.

 "Well..." Dilemma says, smiling at Malivoire.  "Looks like there might be a little bit of time to breathe so we can exchange spell knowledge.  In fact, I owe you for the spells you've already shared with me.  While it's not the best spell, I could teach you how to call a familiar of your own."

 Turning to Mazzahs, she offers the same.  "Would you like to learn this spell, as well?  Not to assume anything or step too far out of bounds, but I don't see a familiar in your presence!  And, my Charley is an invaluable asset."