Bancroft and I chased the necromancer up the hallway to the north. Then Bancroft’s light spell died and I heard the necromancer cast a spell to the south, then it hit me. I yelled at Bancroft that this was his damned mission from god I was being injured for, and he walked right by the necromancer. I heard the necromancer grunt, so I figured he jumped over the pit trap down the west hallway. Lerwin came up the hallway and I lit a torch off of his. He said Seacrock was dead.
I went after the necromancer. He offered me a job as their mercenary, starting with a 50gp gem to behead Bancroft, but I said my services were worth more, hoping to keep him talking so Bancroft could get down here. The necromancer hit me with the spell again, and I was barely standing. Bancroft came too late – the necromancer had run through the door past the pit trap. I jumped the pit, dropped the torch, which miraculously stayed lit, and shot the bastard through the door. He cursed me and dropped. I looked at Bancroft’s holy symbol, and told Sylvanus that I was acting as his priest’s hands and the kill was on his behalf. Bancroft looked relieved and said he felt lighter, so maybe it helped.
Since I was on the that side, I looted the body of the 50gp gem. He had a creepy holy symbol and nasty black dagger, and an even more creepy belt with fingers embroidered to it. I didn’t touch those. We started back and found Seacrock’s body. We checked him, but he was dead. We wanted to bring the body back for proper burial. I shoved a dagger in the mechanism and opened the door. Lo and behold, we found Riyou outside the barrow. Happy we didn’t lose everyone, we headed back to town.
On the way back, we were followed by a group of beastmen trying to sneak up on us. We threw coppers down to distract them and tried to run away, but they weren’t interested in coin and they kept after us. I killed one, another one bit me, and I killed that one too. Bancroft killed one on Riyou, after I refused healing so we could clear the ones on Riyou. The last one killed Lerwin. We almost got a henchman out alive for the first time. Bancroft said burial rites for Lerwin. While he was doing that, we were attacked again by a wight rising up out of the swamp. Riyou yelled and ran. We tried to follow her, but it wasn’t distracted by the two dead bodies and came after us. We eventually managed to lose it and get to town safely.
Feeling conflicted at accomplishing a mission from god, but losing our companion and all the henchmen, we decided we needed many drinks. In order to pay for a night of drinking, we went to Mazzah to check if any of the gems are magic. They’re clean. I paid to have the grey potion identified. We settled in at the Brazen Strumpet for the night, telling tales about our adventures with the necromancer and his monsters, and the bravery of our lost companion and hirelings. Bancroft got in his cups and started a brawl and got himself banned for a while. Riyou tried to arm wrestle some toughs, failed miserably, and had an arm injury for a few days. I blacked out, and woke up two days later, in a room and bed not my own, clutching a greatsword in a scabbard. I didn’t notice anyone looking at me funny, so I can’t tell whose sword I was sleeping with. I didn’t take the sword. I’m not a thief.
In the morning, the card was the the king of swords – a leader focused to the point of being unemotional and unfeeling. Riyou seemed more focused after her ordeal. Hopefully almost dying didn’t make her unfeeling. We met four new recruits from the Grey Company. Turns out the grey potion was one to detect thoughts. Mazzah had a temper tantrum and said he’d raise our prices every time Riyou refused to tell him something about the tablet. We’ll just have new people go to him as a different group.