After dissolving the assembled skeletons with the hideous slurping Hunger of Hadar, the B-Team continued onward in the bowels of the Tower of Mourning.
Previous sessions in this prequel to Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
BARRIER PEAKS EXPEDITION Prelude: The Tower of Mourning 1 – Vegepygmies
BARRIER PEAKS EXPEDITION Prelude: The Tower of Mourning 2 – Assembled Skeletons
A Refreshing Pool
Exploring the chamber to the north, the party found a well with warm water. A bucket on a rope was in the water.
Zoltan decided to drink the water. He found it refreshing, not too hot, slightly fizzy mineral water. It had minor recuperative powers (bestows the benefits of a Short Rest).
The chambers to the east were not so calming. Wil-Li quietly scouted the disturbing find.
Bloody Footprints
The chamber had two large piles of… red sticks? And red marks on the floor? An assembled skeleton was leaving via a door to the east.
As the skeleton left, Wil-Li crept closer.
The piles were bones, many with shreds of flesh still attached. The floor marks were bloody footprints.
The party approached from the north.
A skeleton appeared, dumped a few bones on the pile. Looking up, it saw the party. It emitted a high-pitched, undulating, ongoing shriek!
They aimed to take out the skeleton before it drew more attention, but more quickly arrived.
The fight was on.
The party was able to smash the weird skeletons assembled with wire, but took a beating in so doing. Zoltan seemed to change mid-fight, went berserk (levelled-up!)
Starkin noted an object falling out of a crushed skull. It was a small black box with two small protruding spikes, otherwise featureless. He pocketed it.
The party followed the bloody footprints into a very different well room.
The bloody prints covered the floor and continued east out of the room. The well was empty and reeked of death.
Instead of following the prints, the party went through the north door, and found yet another well room. This one was cleaner, without the noisome odor.
Starkin dropped a lit candle down the well. It dropped about 20 feet… onto a pile of gear. No bones, just equipment.
The east door was locked. Ada successfully unlocked it; Venlana took a peek inside. She saw a work room, more skeletons, and a strange man working on a table.
Venlana decided to parley with the man, who seemed to be made of metal and fabric. In response, the man pointed at the party, and shrieked a hair-raising, persisting call made up of tones in quick succession. It was like no language they’d ever heard.
Venlana quickly shut the door.
The foes came through the bloody footprint well room to the south!
Venlana of course cast her horrible Hunger of Hadar, but it was less effective this go-around. Several of the skeletons went back north again.
The party split, attempting to hold both ends. In the north, Starkin and Wil-Li were getting cut up by the sword-wielding automatons. The metal man pointed a wand(?) at Starkin. Two beams of yellow light lanced out, dropping the dwarf with a potentially mortal wound.
Continued next session!
What we’re playing
Expedition to the Barrier Peaks
During this adventure walkthrough / playthrough, I use primarily the original module, with some extras lifted from Goodman Games fantastic Original Adventures Reincarnated hardcover.
Amazon | DriveThruRPG (PDF)
Gorgeous hardcover Original Adventures Reincarnated #3: Expedition to The Barrier Peaks at Amazon
The most excellent map is by Dyson Logos
See Also: