Barrowmaze Saga XIII: Escape the Maze!

A fun session here with two friends, each playing a fighter and a cleric, using my Uncommon rules.  As well, they brought two men-at-arms and a torchbearer.  They have gone through so many hirelings at this point the Guild of Ordinary Gentlemen is charging ten gold a day.  We had paused at the end of last session, so they were low on torches, food, spells, and hit points.  This style of game is a refreshing contrast to my D&DV campaign, which has reached giant slaying 9th level.

Of interest is that the first loop has been created in the dungeon map.  All previous sessions have extended out from one of three discovered entries.  In this session they were able to find an alternate route back to the stairs.  We use Roll20 to play online and I reveal the map as they explore it.  It made for a nice moment, and they were thankful for the map-gnome with perfect spatial sense.  

With retreat cut off by a lurking golem of flagstone, with the wizard dead, and a torchbearer lost to spider poison, the explorers stumbled through darkness, falling into pits, desperate for an exit.  They crept upon a nefarious battle. Acolytes of two dark gods, pentagrammatical Orcus and bone masked Set clashed in an echoing hall. Hiding from the victors, the chastened would-be heroes slunk southward, happening upon a familiar band of ne'er do wells who accepted a hefty bribe of nine golden scarabs to show the way to the fresh air above ground. "Vargas thanks ye for the gold!" they jeered as the survivors ascended.

The sun was setting then, and the bog itself came alive, grasping, a shambling mound of earth and moss possessed by evil intent nearly caught one bravely fleeing warrior, but he lived to tell the tail over flagons at the tavern, lusty lays of relief and life.  Merda the Barmaid listened intently, as did Brother Othar and Brother Gamdar, keenly interested in the stories of fallen knights, fonts of law and pits of chaos hinted at below the barrow moor.  The horse emblazoned shield and shining winged helm of Sir Guy du Veargne proved all.