"To answer your other question - about the orcs - they are anchorites of the Circle of Thunder as well as a group of warriors to protect and escort them. I wasn't able to count them all so I'm not sure exactly how many there are, but it seemed to me that they were trying to commune with Talos, the storm god."

Andrømeda, greataxe in hand and ready to face the day, snorts a bit. "Vhen vi are done vith dem, they vil be able to 'commune' vith de gods face to face."

Xanth laughs a deep, hearty laugh, "I like you!"

Andrømeda grins wide, the morning light glinting off her unusually large canines. "Am like du as vell, friend. Am'm looking forvard to standing vith du in slag."

"Onward, then. Shall we?" Xanth gestures towards the north.

“Let us be off then.” Kwiz says, hiking his backpack and gear up, putting only small bit of an act showing how heavy it is and how his legs are already tired.

Andrømeda reaches out, snatching the pack from Kwiz, slinging it to her own and saying, "Vorry not friend, Am'm strong enough to carry all of dun burdens, ja?"

(Carrying Capacity:570lb. Push, Drag, or Lift:1,140lb. I got this, no worries lol)

Xanth doesn't react other than to begin trotting in the direction of the Barrow.

As they walk, Andrømeda gives the Centaur an appraising look. "So friend, du lived alone in de Vood before de Orcs came?"

He doesn't answer right away. The silence lasts long enough to become awkward and you wonder if he heard you. Then, he quietly says, "Before the orcs came, I wasn't alone."

It takes her a moment, but Andrømeda takes a breath, her jaw setting and eyes narrowing. She moves next to him, speaking lowly as well, "Am don't know if den vould mean anything to ha my sorrow for du, but Am can say," her voice turns grave with her words, "de vil betale i blod. Jeg gir du den ed. They vil pay in blood. I make you det oath."

Xanth stops walking. He's been keeping himself in front of the group up to now but he turns around to look at Andrømeda and he says, "You should know I take an oath seriously. As a paladin who has sworn the oath of the watchers under the fierce yet gracious eye of the Candle Queen, I understand what it means to keep an oath. Thank you. I will hold you to it." He gives her a grave nod, accepting her promise.

After that, he turns back around and continues leading you all to the barrow. 

It's late afternoon/early evening when you arrive. Even though the sun hasn't set yet, you do see one or two little, glowing lights that look like slightly bigger versions of lightning bugs flitting around. 

Xanth says, "These are the strange witchlights that hover over the barrow in the evenings and at night. The hill seems to be haunted by the restless. But, we are here. And, for this part of your journey, I shall go no further. I'll be waiting for you when you are done, though."

A thirty-foot-high hill rises ahead of you, its top too flat to be a natural occurrence. Jutting from the grassy hilltop is a row of ten-foot-tall, bone-white rocks that arc toward the stormy sky like outstretched talons.

Andrømeda moves forward, prepared for anything that may pop out, and looking around for anything that might indicate an entrance, secret or otherwise.

Perception: 10

Investigation: 13

“Are we to be stealthy?” Kwiz asks as he pulls his book out and starts flipping through the pages. Stopping at an early page he reads some words and a pulse of arcane writing appears over his head and flows down around his body as he casts mage armor. He then closes the book, and his eyes for a quick moment and a small series of transparent arcane letters appears floating near his head. He says “I can see through this, though others can see it has well. Shall I send it ahead to scout?”

Duncan also flies up and over the hilltop, to get a general lay of the land above, flying back to report what he sees ((if going beyond 100ft)) ((perception 17))

Rush stealth 17 

As soon as Xanth leaves, Rush lets out a sigh of anxiety’s relief from being away from a stranger.

For Duncan:

 Is Rush moving up the hill?

Sure

Rush stealthily moves up the hill and as such the wisps of light don't seem to notice him until he's right on them. Then, you see them quickly float down towards the ground, where they disappear. (Rush Insight check DC10: 23)

When Rush gets to the top, he can tell that the mound is distinctly in the shape of a dragon and the protruding rocks look like the spikes coming out of the dragon's back.

As Duncan flies above, and Rush stealthily makes his way to the top of the mound (noticing its true form), Andrømeda and Kwiz search for an entrance. Considering her previous knowledge of the area, it isn't hard for her to spot, especially with Kwiz's help - at the base of the third spine from what would be the head of the dragon, there is a secret door. From what she can tell, the only way to open it would be to remove/knock over the spine.