Barrowmaze #29: To Raise the Hue and Cry

Dark things stirred within the Barrowmaze, no longer content to lurk, the dead were restless, venturing forth.  All the lands were in danger.  The Pits of Chaos are real.  The discovery of the Font of Law proves it so.  Of these truths Clonin the Red had never been more confident.  He gathered his companions, and accompanied by the foolhardy Dukeling Korthos Ironwood and his squire Bradley, set off to the seat of power, Ironwood Motte, to raise the hue and cry.  Bring an army into these barrows, roust the evil out!
But evil was rousted already! Fell creatures lay in ambuscade along the muddy cart track.  Crossing a flooded stream, the group was accosted by a fearsome swineataur, half man half hog sewn together from disparate parts.  It pawed the ground and threatened violence, but the wizard Resper caught it with a spell of Charm and the thing swept him in its arms, to carry him away.  Just then a fusillade of arrows rained down on the travelers.  Skeletal crossbowmen lay in wait.  Hulking, colossal undead lumbered forward, moaning their sorrowful existence, hurling cow skulls full of nightmares.  The company bravely stepped forward to battle, even Korthos, but it was the fanaticism of Aliontus who turned the abominations away.  They forded the swollen creek and were swept away.  Likewise, the company fled to the safety of the Motte, leaving a furious necromancer shaking his fist. 
"Swiney" turned out to be a simple creature, covered in scars and the Brand of Orcus.  It claimed the Acolytes of Orcus resided in the barrows, and had an agent called "Gamdar".  Gamdar, well known to the company as the assistant of Friar Puck at the Shrine of St. Ygg in Helix.  Resper sent the swineataur to Helix with a message.*
At town, Friar Fergus was concerned.  So was the Duke.  Both were deeply horrified by the thought of a Pit of Chaos lurking in their own demesnes, but were heartened by the sight of the Font, proof that Chaos could be ordered into Law.  The Duke sent the party back to Helix with an escort of his finest guard, commandeered by Sir Dangar and his Iron Men.  They would guard the town and oversee the construction of a palisade while Clonin and his men delved into the maze in search of the deepest darkest pits of CHAOS.


*Greetings Friar Puck!

Alas, I have been gone but a day, but much is changed.
May Ygg's grace shine on you and all of the flock.
Do His work, and the days will pass easy
Allow me to introduce a new
Recruit to the fold
I met him on the road to Ironwood Mott
Swiney is his name
Allow him to use his
Nose around trees in the woods
Only there we can
Reap the
Crop given by the Gods
Unto us
Surely I mean the
Pure and tasty truffle.
Round and delicious
I know of no finer food,
Even the
Shrimp of the sea
Tasty as it may be
Will be not
A match for the
True king of foods, of
Course, a
Handsome profit could be made
Handily enough to spread the word
I intend to write soon
My good friend.
Be well
Ygg be with us now and in the
Ever after.

Aliontus
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