Gygax & Greyhawk Session #28 - Two More Tests

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Balthus (Human Fighter 3) and his War Dog 
Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Goodmonth 23 late afternoon to Goodmonth 24 mid-day

The party carefully lift Skeef's battered body up the hillside, and are disappointed to find all his potions were destroyed in the fall, in addition to the hole in his skull. Bundling up the half elf, they carry him back to the ruined shrine of Allitur just under the brow of the mountain and above the village. There they all sleep safely for the night, and next day wait for the fog to thin a bit before venturing forth again. They make Skeef comfortable and, trusting in the protection of the god, head back into the valley, intent on investigating the other three sacred sites of the barbarian totem gods.  

They head to the place of the worm, finding a gaping, muddy pit at the center of a wide ring of burial mounds. The pit is surrounded by skulls on poles, and at the bottom is a large round boulder half submerged in the mud, alongside a rotting wooden casket. Before entering the pit, the party examines the surrounding burial mounds for clues. Solcha cast comprehend languages and finds the stones on top of the mounds are epitaphs to those buried beneath. Those marked with a wolf symbol tell tales of great barbarian warriors and the deeds they'd performed in battle; one marked with a worm tells a shorter story of a child who died young.  While exploring the barbarian resting place, the party is attacked by another band of phantom warriors, the last pair of whom disappear as the mist finally burns off for the day. 

Back to the pit, Goro is lowered into it's depths. He breaks open the casket and scoops out the electrum and gems he finds therein. This provokes something, and a sinister slithering voice whispers in the clerics head. Goro casts protection from evil just as a mass of strange misty worms writhe out of the mud to attack him and his companions on the edge of the pit. Goro is protected from the summoned creatures, but the others take a battering and Balthus' war dog is killed. They defeat about half of the things, at which point the rest disappear, only to be replaced by a repulsive and sickly looking round thing, supported on strong rubbery stalks and appendages, that rises out of the mud to take their place. It tries to get out of the pit and attack the non-protected party, but a series of mighty blows slays it and it disappears from their sight. 

After one last search of the pit, the party heads east to another sacred bolder they'd seen from the mountainside. This boulder is covered in moss and surrounded by small offerings. Ranzel boldly approaches and makes a small offering, and is rewarded with a minor sense of something stirring. He repeats this several times, and after offering food, is rewarded with a sense of something awakening.  A booming voice challenges him, and the ranger asks to take the totem spirts trial. At which point the spirit of a massive cave bear appears, and challenges Ranzel to a wrestling match. The two wrestle, and though hugged and crushed for a moment, the ranger survives the trial, even breaking free of the spirits grip at one point. The spirit of the bear rewards the ranger by breaking open the stone and giving him the torc of bear power hidden within. It also leaves the party with a riddle before heading back to it's sleep:

When you the mountain-depths see, will you see the house of my Lord. 

But if in his house my form you see, beware; 

for one alone is harmless, 

but more may kill you with but a sigh.

GAINS

470ep

4 opals (300gp each)

Torc of Bear Power 

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 Phantom Warriors

12 Worms of the Bonesucker

Spirit of the Bonesucker Worm 

LOSSES

Balthus' War Dog