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Note: This adventure comes from “Barrow of the Forgotten King”, by Ed Stark, as published by Wizards of the Coast.

12 March 1111

Area 14) Labyrinth Summoning

The party is lost in a labyrinth deep under the barrow of a forgotten king. The twins, Líkami and Heilli are in one room, while Freyrik, Ketamine, and Yosi are in a second, and Ash and Allie are in a third. As each room magically leads into another (identical) room and the return trip does not go back to where they started, the party has no good way to find the path to each other – let alone the way out.

Even worse, the rooms are trapped with a magical summoning power. Líkami and Heilli have just finished killing two Fiendish Dire Weasels with a display of coordination that would have inspired their compatriots. Shortly thereafter, Freyrik, Ketamine, and Yosi encounter a trio of Fiendish Wolverines.

But the real challenge comes to Ash and Allie – who are beset by two Fiendish Monstrous Scorpions. One manages to clamp a powerful claw onto Ash, leaving Allie to play a risky game of chase with the other.

The circle of fire hovers in front of the man as the skin on his right arm slowly fades from burnt black to gold. In the circle, an image shimmers and forms. His target has fallen, the claw of a monstrous fiend squeezing the life from him. Nearby, he hears the sounds of another fight – probably the sister. There were only seconds to act, though, so she will have to fend for herself. He gestures quickly with his left hand and points at the image of the beast. Switching to his natural voice, he speaks into the circle of fire, adding as much of his presence to the words as he can muster without losing concentration. “The dark lords welcome your offering, soldier. Bring him back alive and you will feed on fresh souls for a year and a day.” The beast hesitates and scamperes to the right and left, as if looking for the sound of his master. But it remains still. It is working! A few seconds later, the sister returns. Her rapier flashes and the beast drops his prize to defend himself. A few more seconds and it is all over. The man concentrates on the image and it shifts right, left, back, and fore. The room holds no sign of the others. This could be very bad. But if Xeron has managed it, so too will they…

Líkami and Heilli enter a new room and a glowing orb of energy is summoned. After a brief, but tense standoff, the orb communicates with the twins and tells them they are lost in “The King's Labyrinth”. In centuries past, it tells them that the labyrinth summoned only Good creatures, but now its magic has been corrupted and the fiends it summons mostly hail from the lower planes. However, the summoned creatures come from a limited pool, which is renewed only once per day. When the orb drifts off toward one of the exits, the twins decide it wise to follow.

After following the orb (which they eventually decide is a “Lantern Archon”) through two rooms, they enter a room with Freyrik, Ketamine, and Yosi. The larger group then follows the Archon through another room, where they meet up with Ash and Allie. Healing ensues and the now-reunited party is led out of the maze and into a room eroded by water.

Area 15) Labyrinth Pool

While this room appears to have once been yet another room in the maze, an underground stream has eroded the floor away and its magic has faded. Freyrik is able to discern the locations of the summoning runes, and the party safely navigates through the room without triggering the summon.

Area 16) Maze's End

At the bottom of a pit trap, the party finds a nearly-dead half-elven female. They haul her up and tend to her wounds – but have insufficient magical healing to bring her to consciousness. Fearing they are not in a position to safely continue, they decide this is as good as any place to rest for the night.

13 March 1111

The next morning, they revive the half-elf, who introduces herself as “Leera”. When quizzed about her role here, she says the following:

“A man named Xeron leads the tomb robbers, but a hobgoblin priest also has some clout. Xeron is some sort of arcanist—- he's also young, intense, and without mercy. To be honest, he scares me, and I've tried to keep from attracting much notice until I could escape from his band of cutthroats. He's looking for something deeper in the catacombs, and only his personal magnetism has kept the tomb robbers from escaping with the treasure they've found already. He thinks someone is bound to be pursuing him by now, though, and has talked about finding a different exit from the tomb rather than the hole we dug to come in.

“The hobgoblin cleric —- Krootad, they call him -— elected to stay behind and take care of the pursuit. You must have already run across him. He wouldn't shirk when it comes to raising the dead and the possibility of killing decent folk.

“I think the remaining tomb robbers are nothing more than servants and hirelings, though most seem reasonably loyal to Xeron. Supposing nobody fell in the next room, he still has Teryl, a few more varags, three hobgoblin warriors, a halfling male I think is a sorcerer, and a nasty goblin female. We left a several goblinoids and undead behind us, as well as some of Xeron's twisted pets. Many members of our band have died in the run through this place.”

Area 16) Maze's End

Avoiding a pit trap, the party enters a large room and are immediately attacked by a group of constructs. Deciding haste is a safer tactic than combat, they run across the room, dive through a smashed door, and quickly descend a staircase. At the bottom, a crude wall of masonry blocks the way, but Líkami pushes the barricade down and the party stumbles into yet another tomb room.

Area 17) Robber Encampment

As the party floods into this room, a trio of sleeping Varags wake and jump to the ready. Once again, the party has pushed themselves past one danger, only to find themselves in another…

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