Dons his armor again and looks around So what did we find?
I think Fistep and Ana can't don their plate armor again until squeezing through the winding passage and getting to the 20' x 10' room at the end. But then you should all be able to see the door in the south wall.
"Fistep, isn't the chafing a problem? Or getting hairs caught at the joints. I wear clothing underneath and my armor is not as prone to pinching as yours... We'll try to find something for you.
Anyway, the door itself looks safe to me, but I have no idea what is on the other side."
Well then once we're settled, maybe we should see where it goes since we've gone to all this trouble...
Ferrous who remained in the small chamber waiting for Brathas to return with the rest of the party laughs out loud as the Fistep emerges without his armor or any undergarments. Fistep I can see that the metal armor has chilled your body a touch. You should really consider some leather or cloth undergarments for that plate mail.
When everyone is in place, Brathas will open the door.
Laughs at pats the dwarf on the back, When we all have plenty of food to fill our bellies, water to quench our thirsts... then I'll worry about undergarments!
Aye and what to bathe as I can smell yer point just fine. The dwarf retorts. Now onwards through this door what has brave Brathas revealed now?
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Ana and Fistep remove their armor to navigate through the narrow passages, and then don their armor again. This takes about 20 minutes.
In the meantime, Brathas and the others take the time to continue searching the small chamber for traps or secret doors. Brathas finds a hidden catch on the door, and Ferrous notes a number of small holes in the ceiling above the door.
Brathas is able to disarm the catch, holding it in place with a small piece of metal.
Once everyone is ready, he opens the door. Beyond is a 40' x 30' chamber.
This room contains two large sarcophagi. Both gleam with golden highlights. One sarcophagus is marked "Alexander," the other is marked "Zenobia." Surrounding the sarcophagi are several large wooden chests. The room is littered with broken objects: two smashed thrones, a broken chariot, smashed pottery, broken weapons, and torn clothing. Piles of bones cover the floor. On the walls is a mosaic showing famous events from the reign of King Alexander and Queen Zenobia.
The group searches the room. Two sections of wall sound like they have a hollow area beyond; Ana finds one to the west and Ferrous finds one to the east. However, if these are secret doors hey clearly have been plastered over and this coating will need to be broken away to get through.
No traps are found on the chests or sarcophagi.
"Obviously a royal tomb. This would explain the blocks outside."
"Why would there be secret doors off of an inaccessible tomb? These have my interest. But I suppose we should investigate what is here."
Having searched it for traps once already, Brathas opens one of the chests.
Walia says, "From what I have read about these two, they may have loved each other but I feel it somewhat odd that they would be buried so in the same chamber. Considering there is some sort of secret areas, I would gather they might have been very savvy about thieves. No offense Brathas. And could be buried therein."
He then shrugs and says, "Mayhap I am wrong." and then shoves off the lid of the sarcophagus of Zenobia.
Brathas takes no offense, but feels the need for a witty reply.
"I am no more a thief than anyone else here... Unless you'd like to give up your share of what we have found.
I mean, I am sure you would use it for charitable purposes. Naturally."
Walia says, "Everyone in the flock needs a trade. I find it is very charitable work, what we are doing here."
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Brathas begins opening chests. No trap springs from the chests as he opens them. Some of the chests contain various personal items that a king or queen might need, but all these items have been destroyed in the same manner as the materials throughout the room.
But four chests contain stacks of coins. These coins have been struck by a nail or some other sharp object to create a hole in them but that would not affect their value. There are:
5,000 sp
3,000 ep
6,000 gp
2,000 pp
Wallia shoves open the Queen's sarcophagus. Inside there is a withered corpse of a woman dressed in fine (though long since ruined) clothing. She is bedecked with jewelry that is worth (in total) around 15,000 gp.
The other sarcophagus is similar, though the king has less jewelry than the queen, perhaps worth only 12,000 gp.
None of the treasure seems magical.
The treasure here is more than you could have ever dreamed, but weighs about 180 pounds in total. Moving it all will be difficult.
Walia looks a bit skeptical and picks up the jewelry and hands it to the Ferrous and says, "Ferrous, Could you do me favor and look at it with your keen dwarven eye? I just feel this was too easy. The monsters running around probably came way later than this burial and before this building was buried under sand."
"By all the elven gods," Ana breathes, her eyes glittering. "Surely there is enough here to satisfy even Ferrous!" She takes up a piece of jewelry, a silver tiara, and tries it on for size.
Ferrous eyes go wide at the hoard of coins and the collection of valuable jewelry. This rivals the great dragon hoards. I hesitate to bring this treasure back to camp as this amount of wealth can create unpredictable emotional reactions.
Brathas is astonished, and maybe somewhat suspicious. Most of all, though, he wonders:
"Where could we spend any of this? I recall the magi were asking a lot for Zynazyr to learn spells from them. We could bring a small amount back at a time.
The jewelry and platinum are the most portable for their value. We can keep the jewelry with us at all times.
But right now I would like to explore these hidden passages. Perhaps start with the one on the right?"
Zynazyr's eyes get wide at the sight of all of the treasure. "Too bad we are not back in civilization. The things we could do with all of this. I could use some of it to learn new spells from the magi, depending on what they could teach me. It appears that the rubble has kept looters out, until now that is," he says with a grin and jabs Brathas with his elbow.
"I agree that taking it all back to camp could create problems, but leaving it here in the open could allow someone else to take it. If we are able to combine the coins we aren't taking into one container, I could use a wand to magically lock it. It would at least minimize who could get to it. In any case, I agree that we need to see where those secret doors lead. Be careful though, someone or something broke the items in the room. Possibly the bones are their remains. Wallia, can you tell what type of creature the bones are from? It's also possible that the doors are part of the trap on the door that Brathas disabled," he says as he waits for Brathas to check the doors for traps.
Looks astonished, Wow that is a lot of loot. He scratches his chin, while jewelry is more portable per value, are we sure it won't be recognized by someone and cause us more trouble?
Walia kneels over the bones and looks at them:
Wisdom
On the other hand, the way people are around here (that you've met, anyway) you might be able to wear a crown made of paper and have people assume you've looted the tomb or that you are the king reborn.[/ooc]
"The secret doors have been plastered over. Let's get to work at chiseling this open. I can search for traps though I think it unlikely.
I am uncomfortable taking this gold and jewelry. I can rationalize taking magic arms and armor from the crypts of Ancient Cynidicea's nobles and rulers to battle Zargon, though this wealth is not so directly usable."
"A thief with a conscience... what's next, Ferrous will give up fine drink and gold or perhaps shave his beard?"
Shrugs, Consider it payment for cleaning up someone's mess
"Why does everyone keep calling me a thief? I was lawfully employed by a legitimate merchant house back in Darokin, and signed on to the caravan to protect their interests. A certain expertise with security measures is necessary for that work, but I am not a cutpurse or a mugger. These past few days are the first experience I have with grave-robbing. Can't say I like it, but I'm just trying to help us survive and get out of here."
Brathas goes back to work at the plaster on the door on the right.
Steps over to help Brathas with the door on the right. Yeah, lets just see where this leads...
Walia brandishes his Mace and starts breaking plaster with the rest.
Ferrous just keeping running his hands through the piles of gold and platinum. People waste a lifetime striving for this kind of wealth. Sure it means less out here but only because no one knows where we are at.
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The plaster over the wall is quite thick; chipping away at the plaster takes the better part of 10 minutes. Behind the plaster is a 4' x 4' backboard which seems there simply to give the plaster something to be mounted on.
Once the plaster is removed, the backboard comes loose and can be taken out entirely. Beyond is a corridor, that unlike the other hallways in the complex is unadorned; the walls are bare stone.
You proceed carefully up the hallway. After 30' the passage turns north, and runs for another 30'. It comes to a dead end but there is a plain door in the eastern wall just before the dead end.
No traps are found on the door. The door is opened to reveal an L-shaped chamber about 30' wide and long. There is a large stone sarcophagus in the center of the room. As with the hallway outside, the room and sarcophagus are plain unadorned stone.
No traps are found in the room, and no magic or evil is detected.
"What do you think is in a sarcophagus hidden so well?"
Brathas would like to take another turn searching.
Walia says, "I would think it is one of the monarchs. "
Ana has a sudden thought. "Suppose the tomb that we were just in is a false tomb, that the jewels are glass and the coins are copper with a gilding of some other metal? This could the *real* tomb."
Walia says, "That is why wanted Ferrous to examine the cash."
"If we are to open this, Walia, can you say a prayer that Alexander and Zenobia might understand why we disturb their rest?"
Brathas moves to one end of the sarcophagus lid and prepares to move it aside.
Assuming it is fairly heavy and he will need assistance.
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Walia opens his prayer book and finds a choice prayer to the Gods on behalf of the deceased monarch within, "Hail to thee Day, hail, ye Day’s sons;
hail Night and daughter of Night,
with blithe eyes look on both of ye, Alexander and Zenobia,
and grant to those sitting here victory!
Hail Aesir, hail Asynjur!
Hail Earth that givest to all!
Goodly spells and speech bespeak we from you,
and healing hands in this life!"
Ana moves to assist Brathas in removing the lid.
Zynazyr does what he does best when physical labor is required, he holds the beetle glands so everyone can see while they are chipping away at the plaster. He follows along as they make their way into the secret chamber.
"Seems your hunch could be right, Wallia. These may be the real tombs," he says as he holds the light up for the others to open the sarcophagus.
Helps Ana
Ferrous is still locked in a mesmerizing gaze at the treasure hoard back in the first tomb. He takes one of the platinum coins and bites it to make sure it is solid and feels and tastes like platinum.
"Let's wait for Ferrous before we open this."
Laughs, It may be awhile... do we have food and water?!
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Another ten minutes goes by, and finally Ferrous waddles in. His backpack, sacks, and pockets are bulging and clinking. Brathas estimates that Ferrous is carrying perhaps 80 pounds of extra weight. Which would be pretty much all the gold and platinum coins found in the central tomb.
Once Ferrous is in the room, the group heaves and pushes on the sarcophagus lid. There is some initial resistance but after a moment it slides aside easily.
As soon as the lid is no longer covering the upper part of the sarcophagus there is a fierce snarl, and the withered female figure within sits up suddenly! Her eyes glow with an eerie green light.
Round 1 Initiative!
Block 1: Ana, Brathas, Ferrous, Zynazyr
Block 2: Undead!
Block 3: Fistep, Wallia
Ana drops the lid and brings her magicaL two-handed sword to bear! "Curse me for a fool for being so careless!" she swears.
Ferrous swings his axe at the creature.
Walia says, "50 pieces of eight that that is Zenobia."