Session 39: Sarcophagi

The adventurers return to the dungeon and continue their explorations after visiting Zelcor’s Ferry to resupply.

This write up is from Kay's notes from our September 18, 2024 session. Since our group is scattered around the country, we used Discord for our voice communication and Roll20 for our virtual tabletop. Thanks to JoJo for the screen shot.

Continued from: Giant Ants and a Trapped Treasure Chest

Date: May 23, 3517

Location: Mouth of Doom, Level 2

4:20 PM
Blaze cast levitate on herself and Artie cast mage hand to move her to the south door. She joined Lark and went through the door. There was a 5-ft-wide, 10-ft-long hallway going south, then a T-intersection with an east-west hallway. Blaze moved to the corners at both ends and, looking south, saw closed doors down a short hallway. We needed Artie.

Blaze used dispel magic on the flaming floor and opened a square of clear floor to get people across to the south platform. Lark used his 10-ft ladder to get from the platform to the floor, then from the floor to the bridge, and the whole party managed to get to the south door platform.  They attached a rope between the door and the bridge so people could climb across if the dispel magic wasn’t permanent.

When everyone was across, Lark picked up his ladder, and we went east and south to the first door. Artie checked for traps, etc. No traps, it was locked and quiet. He unlocked it and Elron opened it with his shield in front. There were three sarcophagi; one each in alcoves on the east, south and west sides of the room. Each one had a lid with a ruby inset at the position of the head.

We started with the sarcophagus to the west. Elron and Lark tried to lift the lid and looked underneath. There was a skeleton in rusted chainmail, holding a longsword that was in good condition. Darkness emerged from the space around the skeleton and Lark dropped his side of the lid. It looked like a shadow of a man in chainmail with a sword.

Although it was nearly invisible, Artie saw it from across the room, and cast fire bolt at it. The fire bolt went through it, dimming it slightly.

Lark missed with his sword.

Blaze unleashed a chaos bolt which hit with force damage. The shadow vanished without a trace. Lark stepped back and Elron hit the skull with his sword, skewering it. Elron used his bag to pick up the longsword and scabbard without touching them, bagged them, and looked around the body, finding nothing more of value. Elron pried out the ruby from the lid with his dagger.

Lark and Elron then opened the lid on the southern sarcophagus; there was another skeleton wearing red and black robes and holding a silver goblet. Elron put his sword through the skull; there was no other effect. He bagged the silver goblet and pried out the ruby.  

Lark said, “Next!” and they went to the eastern sarcophagus, lifted the lid; there was dust and cobwebs but nothing else; Elron pried the last ruby out of the lid.

The party then went to the other end of the hallway to the west and turned south. Artie checked the second door; locked and quiet, no traps. Failed the first attempt to pick the lock, but succeeded on the second try.

The room beyond had five sarcophagi in a row. From west to east, the first three were open and empty with the lids beside them. The fourth one had a damaged lid with a hole in it and chunks of stone around it. Blaze lifted Breena up to look in the hole. She saw something moving in there, with bones. Some of the rocks looked like something had burst from within. Elron and Lark lifted the lid.

There was a mouse nest inside with a skeleton. Breena talked to the mice. They don’t know what’s in the fifth sarcophagus but they like this place. We put the lid back on.

Elron and Lark lifted the lid on the fifth sarcophagus. Inside was an inanimate skeleton with a rusted dagger, wearing red and black robes in tatters. The dagger was more rust than knife.

5 PM
We left for the castle.

5:20 PM
We got to the mouth of the dungeon without encountering anything.

Three hours later, back at the castle, Sinis cast detect magic on the loot. Only one item showed as magic, the longsword from the shadow skeleton. Sinis used identify magic after insisting that Blaze touch it (to find out if it was cursed, nice guy, Sinis). It was a good quality magic sword.

Blaze, Sinis, and Breena each claimed one of the three inkwells and pens that were found in the cultist’s bedroom for themselves.

May 24, 3517
After breakfast we went into town to sell our loot and buy stuff. The gem cutter bought the ruby-eyed skull for 1250 gp. We bought two 50-ft rope ladders for 5 gp each and reworked them into one 60-ft and one 40-ft ladder. Gutmark, the Ferryman, charged 1 gp to splice them for us. So, we now have one 40-lb, 60-ft ladder and one 20-lb, 40-ft ladder.

For those of us who don’t want to carry the weight of gold pieces, we converted our money into gems. Calgor, the gem cutter, had the following for sale:

Hematite – 20gp, jade – 50 gp, damaged diamond - 100 gp, ruby 250 gp.

Noon:
At the inn for lunch and rumors. “It’s said that there is a great city of goblins in the deep in a complex of the dungeon and are followers of Orcus”.

Of course, they are.  

Blaze asked the necromancer about the helmet. He said he would buy it for 10 gp. It belongs to a cultist of Orcus and he knows someone who would buy it. He has heard that the cult of Orcus built a lot of the dungeon and they still operate there somewhere. If they come to town at all, they don’t come into town openly.

3 PM
Lark stayed in town while the rest of us went back to the Mouth of Doom. On our way down, on the first level, we met 4 ragged adventurers on their way out. We’ve seen them before, when they got off the boat in town. They’ve been in a fight, they said, with four zombies and something they couldn’t identify.  It paralyzed them when it touched them and they barely made it out. It was on the first level behind a secret door. We wished them well as they left.

3:20 PM
We were back at the ‘shrooms room on the 2^nd level going south down the hall when Breena spotted two zombies coming our way. She pointed them out to us.

Elron readied his sling and magic stones, hit the zombie on the west side of the hallway, and it fell to the ground, dead... or re-dead. His second shot hit the other zombie but it was only hurt. Blaze hit it with her witch bolt which started it sizzling. Sinis moved forward with acid splash but it lurched out of the way. Parahelia moved up. The zombie moved forward into Parahelia; it swung with its fist, but missed and then it bit her shield, doing no damage either way. Elron loaded his sling with another magic stone and killed it.

Just past the dead zombies, we discovered a side hall going east; at the end of the hall was a cubbyhole with a round shaft going up, with a ladder in it. Graffiti in chalk on the northern side of the hall said, “The Demons’ Gullet.”

Before the zombies, we had been preparing to open a door on the west wall of the main hallway south of the ‘shrooms room. We went back there. Artie found no traps; it was unlocked but stuck. Elron opened it from the side; it looked empty. Breena, Blaze, and Elron stepped into the room. It’s empty but there are four large flagstones in the middle of the floor. When Parahelia stepped across the threshold, there was a slight vibration and the floor started to sink, except for the stones in the middle.

Then yellow gas started to come out of holes in the ceiling. The floor dropped 10 ft. in 6 seconds and continued dropping. The four squares stayed where they were, creating a pillar. Parahelia stepped back into the hall and held out her hand for Elron to grab. Elron grabbed Parahelia’s hand and was dragged out of the room. Artie, who was still in the hallway, moved farther away to make room. Blaze jumped and grabbed Parahelia’s hand to scramble out of the room. Breena ran toward the door; Parahelia reached down to Breena who jumped up to be lifted out. The yellow gas was heavier than air and began pooling below. When we closed the door, it stopped.

We drew a red circle with a slanted line through it on the floor at the door as a warning.

Blaze took a moment to go farther down the hall to the south end and looked around the corner to the west. She saw a stairway going down. That explained why the halls didn’t meet up on her map.

Continued in Session 40: Exploding Zombies