They stood at the top of a dark stair. Stale air drifting from below still lingered in the air. Fine dust invoked a few coughs, most notably in Ghevont who soon complained of a ringing in his ears that did not diminish. (It stayed with him for two weeks.)
Ferris produced his glowing rock, holding it aloft as Aderian led the way down. The stair ended in a corridor perhaps 60 feet long, opening into a larger chamber just beyond the reach of the rock’s glow. Three open archways were seen on the left and three on the right. And at the bottom of the stair was affixed a bronze plaque.
Tienarth recognized the writing as elven, and recited it for the benefit of all.
Heaven brings forth innumerable things to nurture Man.
Man has nothing good with which to recompense Heaven.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
Elnaril Phiran
The words of Elnaril Phiran weighed dread upon them like a woolen blanket soaked with a thousand tears. And yet the lust for gold triumphed over any despair felt by the ex-pirate. Before they made to move down the corridor, though, Ghevont blessed him and all the others with a protection from evil. To this he added protection from negative energy to Aderian.
Then Aderian strode into the narrow hall, barely five feet across. Instantly, darts rained down upon him, several finding gaps in his armor. They stung, but after removing the tiny missiles, bleeding stopped. Ferris crept forward, then, to search vigorously. At two other spots he noticed similar traps. He rendered them harmless by extending Aderian’s shield from which they bounced harmlessly.
They noted sarcophagi down short passages at each archway, passing them by in order to enter the larger chamber. It was found to be a semi-sphere carved out of hard rock. Every surface was painted a deep blue and set with sparkling gems. In the center of the chamber sat a black sarcophagus. The surface was perfectly smooth and shiny, except for a name shown in inlaid gold: Elnaril Phiran.
The four arranged themselves around the stone box. Ghevont set down his mace and heaved against the stop which slid off and crashed to the floor. Inside, a mummy rested, draped in a silver cloth set with violet garnets. In one hand, he held a platinum sickle. In the other was a rod ending in a elven holy symbol, the familiar loop atop a crossbar.
The eyes of the mummy opened but otherwise it remained motionless. Ghevont backed away as it spoke.
Woe to those tread within!
Disturbing my repose is mortal sin.
You’re cursed by air. Your luck is sour.
Flee now else meet your final hour.
Tienarth reacted immediately by casting his spell of haste. Ghevont tossed a vial of holy water at the mummy. As the mummy began to crawl from its resting place, Tienarth launched magic missiles at it. Aderian threw a vial of burning oil that sailed wide, crashing against the curved wall. Tienarth threw his own burning oil which also missed, but splashed back over the mummy, Aderian and Ferris.
In retaliation, the mummy turned to the elf wizard and belched forth a visible stream of filth which staggered Tienarth. Ghevent dropped his shield and mace and rand to wrap his arms around the mummy of Elnaril Phiran. While held, Aderian dowsed the mummy in oil and lit it. The fire harmless burn around Ghevont, burned up the silvery cloak of the mummy and the mummy’s rotting flesh, as well.
Ferris scooped up the garnets that were embedded in the cloth. Aderian grabbed the platinum sickle, the elven holy rod and also a fine fur-covered pillow from the sarcophagus. Presently, they made their way out of the tomb, but a growing sense of curiosity overcame Aderian. He squeezed down a side passage to open one of the other graves.
Bats exploded from the container, fluttering around them and swooping to bite. Aderian made for the stairs and did not look back as the other swung at the winged vermin. One lit upon the old elf’s back, digging his fangs into flesh. Ghevont gripped it his fit, rendering it to goo as he tossed it aside. Then, Tienarth cast a magical web that caught the rest of the bats.
They rejoined Aderian in the wine cellar, leaving the other graves undisturbed. After consulting their hasty maps, they circled around to the eastern hallway to open doors into fine bedrooms, suspiciously intact but not containing much of interest. Suddenly, Ferris and Tienarth out in the hallway were hurled to the ceiling as if the world were turned upside down. A few moments later, they dropped down as the pull of gravity reversed.
At this point, they believed the lower areas to be fully explored and they made for the curving stairs up to the second floor. The went east, stepping carefully around the collapsed floor and enter the easternmost chamber. It contained a man-sized box with a crank on the side.
With much consideration, Aderian turned the crank and the box exploded into a fiery mess, pummeling them all with charred wood. Tienarth was knocked off his feet and momentarily unconscious. The magic of his periapt soon invigorated him and they were all able to retreat from the mansion once again to their camp across the river.
They walked for two days, over the mountain pass and back to the Jonamor Homestead. They spotted wildlife which kept a distance, and they met merchants along the main road who warned of bandits. They also conveyed news that the the peasant revolt had ended this week due to a violent response from the sheriff.
The next day, they priced the treasure. Ghevont spent time gazing at his magic mirror in order to check on Azrak’s progress. He was seen hunched over, bored expression on his face, riding in an open wagon laden with supplies. The wagon was one of many winding slowly up a narrow, mountain road.
End Notes
- Treasure: 5,910 gp / 1477 gp each
- Garnets recovered from silver cloth 2,500 gp
- Platinum Sickle inlaid with Electrum 1,700 gp
- Fine Ermin Pillow 1,700 gp
- Ancient elven holy rod 10 gp
- Kills 1860 xp / 465 xp each
- The Mummy of Elnaril Phiran 1500 xp
- Bats 360 xp
- Characters
- Aderian (fight, lead) 521 xp
- Ferris 512 xp
- Ghevont (smite undead, healing) 521 xp
- Tienarth 465 xp