As the others move to open the sarcophagus, Ramona reloads, waiting to fire on any threatening monster or undead thing that might be inside.
Nicenzia moves down to the rest. "Those skeletons seems to have been made a very long time ago, I'm surprised the necromancing energies was contained this long."
Opening the lid of the sarcophagus was too easy, almost as if the heavy lid was meant to be opened often. Inside the sarcophagus was the mostly decayed body of a heavy set middle aged man. He is laying on his stomach with his arms extended over his head as though searching for something. He appears to have died from three massive circular wounds in his torso. From just under what remains of his stomach you can see what appears to be the corner of a book, though it looks like its been covered in his own dried blood.
Swen's quick poke at the body with her rapier confirms that the corpse is indeed dead dead, and not lying in wait to attack them.
Is there anything magic in the sarcophagus? "Before moving anythign let me check for magic."
Casting detect magic
Nothing appears to emmanate any magical traces from the sarcophagus, the only traces of magic you get are the fading traces of the necromatic magic slowly dissapating from the skeleton guardians
"It looks like someone killed his man and stuffed him in the sarcophagus. From behind", Amed surmised.
After the large skeleton topples Aurelain lets the rage fall from him. He looks fatigued for a few rounds but still helps with the sarcophagus. That book could be quite important. We need to retrieve it. he says, stating the obvious.
As you all look through the journal you manage to find several legible passages. It appears to be a diary of a man seeking the Brendigun forture (The very one you were sent to find). Its mostly boring things, like missing his wife, whining about the wilderness travel rants detailing the very explicit ways he expects to die... but many of the pages are illegible or fused together from bloodstains.
The final page that the book was stuck open on details how he managed to hold several of the skeleton guards at bay with a holy symbol just long enough to slide into the coffin.
The last line in the Diary reads "RH-LF-RF-LH"
Swen as you searched through the coffin you noticed a few odd things... first off were the three indentions beneath the body that looked like little doors that might slip open... the holes appeard to be about the size of the wounds in the dead man's corpse. in all four corners of the sarcophagus there appeared to be small tiny little buttons ... with you knowledge of how traps work, you surmise that pushing the buttons in the correct order might open a hidden door or the like... but that pushing in the wrong order... well it probably set off the trap that killed the man.
What did make it worse,is that you also believe the only way to get the mechanism to work is with the lid to the sarcophagus closed.
"OH no!" objects the magus. "This little bit of skullduggery is right up your dark and gloomy alley, I think!"
Right Hand, Left Foot, Right Foot, Left Hand. Aurelain incants. But if he knew what he was doing why did the trap kill him. Could he have been in upside down?
in a flash of common sense Aurelain seems to have struck the exact nature of the mans untimely demise.... in theory. He may have been upside down in the coffin, which certainly would have explained the traps going off and killing him... it seems there is only one way to find out
"Be careful Swen I would hate to drag your corpse out of here, I haven't learnt to raise you back up again yet." Nicenzia says with a smirk as Swen steps into the coffin.
Amed shuts the lid behind Swen, with a little bit of a slam.
"Oops. Sorry", apologized the magus.
The floor of the sarcophagus suddenly slid downward by your feet about 45 degrees and before you could react you found yourself sliding down a shute into the darkness.... Just above you, you heard the spiked traps shoot out. It was hard to tell how far you slid downward at an angle but suddenly you could feel the walls around you open up ... you could make a faint golden glow ahead around the corner of a corridor. The glow gave you just enough light to see the smooth well worked walls of a hallway about five feet wide and twenty feet long.
You all hear the lid click, then another click... then a solid thud on the lid of the sarcophagus.
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A faint scream is possibly heard through the stone lid of the sarcophagus, as Swen, assured of her demise, feels the floor fall out from under her and slides down the chute.
When she lands on solid ground, her heart is pounding against her chest. She takes a moment to breathe and calm her nerves.
“I’m ok,” she says to herself, then calls out to the others, not knowing if they can hear her or not, “I’m OK!”
Hearing that her friend is safe Nicenzia follows her example and goes into the coffin. "I'm just gonna take a quick nap in here." She says smiling.
Tush looks at the sarcophagus, and looks at herself and back to the stone death trap, "Can I squeeze in with you Nicenzia? I don't think I'm tall enough to trigger the doors."
Ramona gives Nic a wink, grinning at her macabre humor.
"I think you can easily fit in between my legs. Just be careful when the floor drops."
Whoever goes last will have to put the lid on himself. Aurelain notes. Since I could not be first I shall be last.
The floor of the sarcophagus suddenly slid downward by your feet about 45 degrees and before you could react you found yourself sliding down a shute into the darkness.... Just above you, you heard the spiked traps shoot out. It was hard to tell how far you slid downward at an angle but suddenly you could feel the walls around you open up ... you could make a faint golden glow ahead around the corner of a corridor. The glow gave you just enough light to see the smooth well worked walls of a hallway about five feet wide and twenty feet long. You can see Swen standing there waiting
As before you hear the thunk noises of the trap go off, but when you open the top there is no one inside.
Looking to Aurelain and Ramona, Amed states, "I shall go next. See you both down there."
The bulky magus eventually gets in the sarcophagus.
"That was kinda fun, you alright Tush? I didn't land to hard on you?" Nicenzia says staggering up from the ground and walking towards Swen.
The rest of you manage to follow suit and not get murdered by the trap. As you continue forward just around the corner you see a long room, that arches upwards out of sight of all those without darkvision. The room itself is about 100 feet long by 30 feet wide and it has six corridoors that lead off from the sides (3 each side).
Each alcolve ends in a strange stone statue or a creature that looks reptillion and yet vaguely elven. Each one also has three eyes two in the normal place and a third seemed set in the forehead. If there was any wealth or jewelry on the statues it has long since been looted away.
At the end of the hallway/room there is another hall leading deeper into the underground complex but as you step into it A horrible moaning reminiscent of children howling in pain overlaid with the wails of widows and mothers and mixed with the cries of dying warriors fills the room at nearly deafening levels...
Everyone make a DC 12 will save please.
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Swen lights a cigarette and waits for the rest of the crew to join her in the lower tunnel. By the time they all come down the shoot, her hands have quit their shaking.
She explores the large room with mild interest, noting the three-eyed statues and the three-eyed skeletons they just fought. She tries to think if she's ever heard of such a creature before. She also wonders just what this all has to do with the seemingly human Bredingund.
When the wailing noise fills the chamber, she covers her ears and shouts out something obscene, censored out by the overbearing sound.
You recall slightly before the age of legends there was an age of serpents? Perhaps they hearken back that far.
Once Amed lands off the shoot, he rummages through his backpack to find his ioun torch and lights it around his head.
As the sound of the wailing faded into nothingness you all notice that Nicenzia had collapsed. She was breathing but her eyelids fluttered into the back of her head.
Well, that was unpleasant. Aurelain is saying when he notices Nicenzia is falling to the floor.
She is out cold. Help me wake her.
Amed unhooks his waterskin from his belt, removing the cap and gently splashes Nicenzia's face with water in hopes of rousing her.
"That was kinda fun, you alright Tush? I didn't land to hard on you?" Nicenzia says staggering up from the ground and walking towards Swen.
"Nah I'm quick at getting out of the way." she casts light again. "That was a fun ride. We should do it again."
Tush rushes up and gently slaps Nicenzia on the face. "Wake up, please wake up." She's looking around for an enemy approaching as well.
Turning as Nicenzia collapses, Ramona moves to her side, her gun drawn instinctively after the tortured cacophony they'd just endured.
For a moment, your efforts merely made the Dhampir woman stir in whatever forced sleep she was enduring but after a moment she awoke...though very very thirsty.
Continuing down the hallway you follow a sudden turn to the left and immediately come to another room, this one 20 feet wide by about 20 feet deep, though its ceiling soars easily 40 feet high.This time however, the porous stone statue does not stand bare, long ago robbed of its treasures. Gleaming in the low light on an adamantine chain is a beautiful platinum cartouche set with diamonds and sapphires. This has to be what you were sent to find... and it must be worth a fortune.
The bloodrager begins to guess what the thing is worth. Well, I am betting that thing is trapped. Aurelain states flatly.
Ramona let's out a low whistle of awe. "Damn!"
She silently stares up at it trying to determine the best approach.
Nicenzia gets up a bit unsteady on her legs after she emptied her watersack. "That was not the nap I'd expected to take today." she says coughing a little cause of her dry throat.
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Swen struggles hard not to feel anything as Nicenzia gets back on her feet. "Good" is all she says. Celebrations will have to wait until the job is finished.
She's never seen anything like the cartouche before, and even though it sparkles with jewels, she has no idea what it could be worth. Must be worth something to someone, at least.
"Must be our mark."
She nods in agreement with Aurelain and carefully examines the room.
As far as you can tell Swen, there are no mechanical or magical traps on or around the statue.