"Same here!" Yarroth yells as he hurries back to the door
Artagan waits by the door ready to jump through if it opens - hoping that there is a way to keep it open on the other side.
All three switches are pulled at the same time. You race to the door and manage to all get through before it closes. You find yourselves in a corridor that goes either south or west from the door. You don't think the door can open from this side. You hear the wailing clearly from the south.
"Well it looks like the south it is! Everyone get ready, who knows what kind of monster this could be!" That said, Yarroth takes out his newly aquired shortsword. Hey, does anyone mind me using this one? I will return it if you want, or if someone else wants it."
"Clever thinking with the door Yarroth. Good job." Artagan shakes his head 'no' to Yarroth's question. "I wonder what that wailing is..."
"Well only one way to find out. If no one has any objections??"
The mournful wailing grows louder with each step toward the door at the end of this musty hallway. (You pass another branch leading west, that ends in a door after thirty feet.) There are a host of bones strewn on the floor here, many of which are cracked and broken. The door is closed tight.
"Let's just go in." Artagan says as he tries to open the door.
Taking a survey of the piles of bones underfoot, Anton draws his sword and drops his shield into a defensive position. "I'm starting to get the impression that this is probably not some poor villager hiding behind that door - I'm beginning to get a real bad feeling about this."
Looking at Santoval, and then to Yarroth and Artagan, Anton moves towards the door. "Well, let's get it over with then."
Anton moves up next to Artagan as he attempts to open the door. "Be ready to step back quickly, my small friend."
You give a shove, but the door appears to be locked. As soon as you push on the door, the wailing stops. The crypt becomes eerily quiet.
Yarroth moves up to the door and calls out, "Hello! We are from the village. Are you ok?" He turns and shrugs his shoulders at the group, then waits to see if there is a response.
"Anybody know how to pick a lock?" Anton backs up a few paces. "Let's see if we can crack it open using a less subtle approach, then. Look out." he says, dropping his shoulder and charging towards the locked door.
Anton give the door a good shove. The lock breaks, but the door only opens a crack. Large boxes and crates are shoved up against the door on the other side. A crossbow bolt flies out through the crack and strikes Anton. You see a man's head duck behind some boxes in the room.
"Hold your fire! We're from Kassen, and we're not here to harm you, unless you have a death wish!" Anton winces as he feels the crossbow bolt connect. "Bastard shot me! That better be the last time you take a shot at me, whoever you are!" he shouts in a gruff voice. "Clear the way, NOW!"
Artagan jumps a little at Anton's words. He almost bolts to the side of the hallway to clear the way before he notices it was meant for the person behind the door and not him.
"Oh my. Now, now, calm down. I'm sure he mistook you for one of these undead creatures. Whomever is in there, we are the youth from Kassen searching for the flame. We can help you if you let us."
Ŷarroth takes a step back and readies his shortsword.
A voice yells back from the room, "Lies! You're just a trick of the dead one, trying to lure me out to the angry bones." You hear the click of a crossbow reloading.
"Come now, we are not angry bones and we are definitely not trying to lure you out to them. We've killed all of them. I'm Artagan. Yarroth, Anton, and Santoval are with me. The mayor sent us here to recover the flame. Remember? Weren't you here to set up challenges for us? We can help you get out of here. We've cleared the way so far."
Anton looks at Santoval and nods, and then to Artagan. "Look, I don't want to hurt anybody who doesn't deserve it, but this particular person seems like he has been in this tomb a little too long. We could try to subdue him without killing him, and then see what he has to say? He doesn't seem to be inclined to talking it out at the moment."
Yarroth calles into the room. "Hello friend! This is Yarroth the Younger. I am sure you knew my father, Yarroth the senior. We are here from the mayor and mean you no harm. Come lets us enter so we can talk about what has happened here."
A weary looking face peeks out from behind the boxes. "You're from the village? The mayor sent you to rescue us? You have to find my sister. The voice of death took her."
"Yes. We are from the village and the mayor sent us to get the flame. What has happened here. What happened to your sister?? Can we come in and talk about this? We want to help."
"What, you want me dead? You can just stay outside then." He ducks back behind the boxes.
"No, No, no. That is not it at all!" Yarroth says while shooting a warning look at Santoval. "We are here to help you. I am going to come in now, and I mean you no harm."
Setting his bow aside, Yarroth moves very slowly into the room, his hands kept in plain sight.
Yarroth pushes the door further open, tumbling some boxes as he does. The man backs up cautiously into the corner, still clutching his crossbow. "We came to prepare the crypt a few days ago. That night, while we slept, the walking bones attacked. They took Nimira and killed the others. I ran and hid here. You have to rescue her. Save her from the one who stalks the halls with ancient mail." He slumps down to sit in the corner, cradling the crossbow in his arms.
The room only has the door you entered in. There are boxes of supplies strewn about, although most of them were formed into the makeshift barrier.
Yarroth slowly walks over to the man and squats down in front of him. He gently places his hand on the man shoulder and says, "You did the right thing retreating to this room. I will find Nimira and return her to you. You are a very brave man to hold out here all alone. We will take it from here."
Anton rummages through the supplies, sees the healing potions, and tucks them into his pack. "Well, he can hole up here as long as he likes. I've never heard of anything like this happening before at the Crypt, so something has changed. Some sort of foul sorcery, no doubt." Anton glares at the stranger in the corner, "I assure you, we'll find Nimira, and put this evil to rest - but here's some advice friend - next time you shoot someone, make sure it's not me.
Anton moves towards the door. "Shall we see if we can find this mailed ghoul or whatever?"
"Alright I guess we need to work our way back to the main chamber and from there I will see if i can pick up the girl's trail. Anything else? If not, lets go."
I will travel back and check for tracks at both passages.
"I have an idea! Let's go west." Anton smirks and pulls out a coin. "Or, we flip this coin and let Desna - lady luck - decide if we go through the first passage we passed, or the second one. Any objections? Heads we go though door number one," he says, motioning to the furthest door, closest to the pit room, "and crowns we go through door number two."
Smiling Yarroth nods his head in agreement
You can't hear anything through the door. You cautiously open the door. This small chamber is mostly empty, save for the body of a villager sprawled in the center. Perched atop the corpse is a man-sized brown and yellow beetle, trying to push the corpse into the corner where a pile of trash and filth awaits. The beetle stops and hisses when it notices you.
In a fluid motion, Yaroth draws an arrow and places it to his bow. With a quick pull, he releases the deadly missile at the beetle.
The arrow bounces harmlessly off the beetle's tough carapace.
Santoval's blade slices deeply into the beetle's carapace. Greenish blood oozes from the wound, but it still stands.