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Renilat detects nothing as magical in the chamber. Discovering nothing else of use, the party proceeds further north to three distinct mausoleums at the northern end of the necropolis. One of the buildings is crafted of green marble, the entrance carved to mimic the maw of a ravenous lion. In the center of the empty building is a howling medusa crest. The center building is constructed of pale granite and decorated with numerous bas-relief carvings of nautical scenes from the Grand Campaign. The center room depicts the mocking medusa, its forked tongue extended. The third building is of gray basalt, and unlike its sister buildings is plain and functional in design. Chiseled above the entry arch is the phrase, “The Living Make Their Plans; the Dead Watch, Amused.” This building’s center depicts the cross-eyed medusa. Renilat concentrates and detects teleportation magic emanating from all three buildings.
Barnabus leads the way into the mausoleum, but nothing assaults his body or constitution. There is a main sarcophagus surrounded by smaller ones. There is an epitaph on the lid of the central sarcophagus that reads: “Marcus Iulius Adella, 3711–3758, Great Patriarch of Our Clan, Died Valiantly at the Battle of Istavala Vale Saving Prince Abelard from the Undead Hordes of the Whispering Tyrant, Earning the King’s Gratitude. Herein Lies Our Claim to Nobility. May Great Woe Befall Any Who Would Violate His Most Sacred Rest.”
Fearing crypt fever, you ignore the two small sepulchers to the east and west of the crematorium. As you head further north, you see another mausoleum on the same line as the crematorium. Further north, you see three identical mausoleums at the northern section of the necropolis.
Trip's study of the corpses reveals that they died of a disease/curse known as crypt fever, which weakens the muscles of the body to the point that the victim wastes away. The party walks over to the nearest wall and Issi easily scales the 15' wall. With the party's approval, she hops over the wall and braces herself for the fall but instead reappears next to the party. After a couple of more tries, you confirm that you are indeed trapped in this pocket plane.
GM, do I know anything about the nature of the disease that killed my last party? I need to know before answering Terrance. Unfortunately, with no ranks in Heal, you have no idea other than your companions just wasted away and died in 2 days. However, what you did with their bodies is up to you, so you can show them the bodies. I doubt you would have buried them by yourself with no shovel - your call.
Do we have any plans for how to get Renliat into the story? Is he just going to be available when the party leaves to rest or what? Check your mail...sent you pm last night!
You leave the crematorium building with purpose as you know at least what you're supposed to be looking for to access the final vault. You see four mausoleums flank the building you just left, two on each side. These sepulchers are identical save for their orientation; the doorway to each always faces the center of the necropolis. Rough, black iron gates bar the arched entryways. You find one of the gates has been forced open. Before you decide to proceed, you hear a voice in the air, "Do not proceed inside...only trinkets of gold but a deadly disease await you inside. A disease that claimed the lives of my former party members. But who am I for you to listen to, right? You may proceed at your own risk, if you wish."
As you move around the room, you notice the defilement done to what was once a shrine to Aroden. The western curtain has been slashed and partially burned; beyond it is a begrimed altar, the ritual objects atop it shattered. The statue behind the altar has also been smashed to pieces. Terrance casts his magic on the blood-tinged waters of the font to the north first. However, his keen eyesight quickly notices a faint aura of powerful (lethal?) necromantic arcane energy emanating from both pools, which cannot be dispelled by his 0-level spell. He wisely advises Issi about the issue, who expertly disables the magical traps on both pools. Terrance can then purify the water without issue. While doing so, Issi's keen eyesight spots the outline of an object underneath the waters of the pool. With the trap disabled, she sticks her hand in and pulls out a mithril dagger of fine quality with bits of gore still clinging to the blade. There is nothing else of note in here.
Upon Blackrock's slaying of the mad efreeti, his body rots away with shocking speed, leaving behind a ghostly duplicate. This ghost appears calm and serene and not threatening. The efreeti ghost takes on an almost regretful appearance for attacking you. "My apologies for the damage I did to you all. Thank you so much for releasing me not only from the prison of iron that held my body, but from the prison of madness that held my mind. In thanks for this service, I will first tell you that there is a hidden panel in the wall with treasures I hope will serve you well. However, note that there are even greater treasures than those in the hidden panel that await you elsewhere in the Tomb of the Iron Medusa. While I have never seen these vaults, I learned much listening to the long-gone caretakers of the crematorium. The crypt of Bartolomae Adella, the last head of the Daellum branch, can only be reached by a teleporter, and that four objects are needed to unlock that teleporter. The key found in the hidden chest in the northern wall in this room is one of those four objects. I only know vague descriptions of the other three objects—“a dagger befouled, Thrasillus’s voice, and a sister’s keepsake,” but not where they may be found, although they are all in the necropolis. I hope this makes up for the harm I brought to you." The spirit sighs in relief and then fades away, finally at peace. You follow the ghost's instructions and in the northern wall, there is a secret panel, which is not trapped and you find a locked chest. Inside you find a wand, a book, a silver necklace, and an iron key. The key is engraved with a cross-eyed medusa face.
Once an elegant domed shrine, this place of reverence has been foully and thoroughly defiled: statues lie broken on the floor, and the mosaic symbol of Aroden under the great dome is smeared with all manner of filth. The walls, bearing once-beautiful frescoes of deeds of the god, are soiled with ordure. Pools of red-tinged water stand to the north and south, while a scorched curtain that once sheltered the altar to the west hangs in tatters.
The ally made of force appears and thrusts its star knife through the back of the efreeti's head, killing it instantaneously. The corpse falls to the floor.
Both of the dwarf's axe blows strike, inflicting terrible damage on the efreeti. It staggers from the blood loss and looks like it is about to keel over, but somehow manages to stay conscious...barely.
Barnabas delivers a powerful blow, but takes a fire punch to the gut for his efforts!
Hassan moves to the dwarf and casts Fly on him and points at the efreeti. "Go get him!"
The flying efreeti, despite having no more allies, continues the assault on the party!
Terrance casts magic and a portal opens up next to the non-injured elder fire elemental sucking him off this plane and back home!
Round 3:
Issi tumbles away, while the southern fire elemental survives the dwarf's onslaught of four blows (). Round 2:Efreeti
The efreeti follows that up by summoning a storm of fire that rains down chunks of lava on Hassan, Issi, and Terrance!
Round 2: Fire Elementals
The fire elemental's fist flies out at the charging dwarf , but it bounces off harmlessly off his shield. When Issi moves, the elemental strikes again, hurting the female elf and setting her on fire!
Round 2: Efreeti
Hassan and Issi split up, one going left, the other going right, while the dwarf and the cleric pick up the rear. As Issi turns right, she sees the walls of this domed and oval-shaped formal chamber are covered in complex geometric patterns of green and gold. It appears to be used for funerary rites, with marble tables to the north and south and two elaborate wheeled wooden biers at the center. To the east, the wall is made up of a huge iron oven with a closed door three feet square and two feet off the floor, with a shelf sticking out beneath it like the tongue of a huge, taunting beast. Suddenly, the door to the oven flies off its hinges as if propelled by a great blow and two creatures that look like living, mobile bonfires about 20' tall form in front of your eyes, tongues of flame reaching out in search of things to burn. Behind the living bonfires, appears a creature dressed as a desert prince or sultan demon, the bottom half of its torso engulfed in flames!
Round 1:
Issi and Barnabus are up before the desert sultan outsider.
Hello all, I will update tonight as long as the website is not down.
16th day of Sarenith of current year
Leaving the corpse and its possessions on the carriage, the party heads further north into the necropolis until you reach the next significant structure. It is a dull gray granite building that looms in the center of the necropolis. Four mausoleums flank the structure, two each on its western and eastern sides. The entrance has a domed ceiling that rises to a height of twenty feet, and is decorated with intricate geometric designs. In the center of the chamber’s floor, a carved medusa crest stares endlessly upward. To the north, a pair of stained-glass windows depicting a handsome man and a beautiful woman look on. The hallway stretches for 60' before opening up to the east and west. You are currently all at the entrance.
The dwarf's axe did some damage to the ghost. Hassan's attacks all pass harmlessly though the ghost. Issi feints the ghost and strikes a decisive blow with Vital Strike and her ghost touch weapon. Trip moves to the ghost's western flank and blasts it with a searing light, causing the ghost pain. The spiritual weapon's force damage hits once and then again, before the ghost dissipates in an anguished moan! The carriage driver's corpse remains on the ground.
Round 3: Ghost
GM rolls:
The ghost smiles as the cleric burns in his Hellfire. He sees the dwarf moving in and strikes out with the whip with his 15' reach!
Hassan charges in next and the ghost's reflexes are second to none, so he strikes out at him too with his whip. The attack is awkward but due to his charge, Hassan is unable to evade the incorporeal whip from passing through his skin and burning his essence!
The ghost gets hit again (total damage: 77), but he gleefully cackles, as Issi has yet to act. He almost seems to be urging Issi to rush in as well.
Round 2:
Realizing the priest's weapon is the main thing hurting him, the ghost moves within 20' of Trip and flicks his horsewhip at him, "Die follower of false god! Asmodeus is the only true god!" The incorporeal whip grazes the cleric, but instantly feels pure evil course through his body, as wounds erupt all over his flesh, leaving him severely wounded!
Round 1: Issi rushes in and strikes with her rapier, but at that precise moment, the ghost fades from reality and the strike passes right through him! Seeing the priest and the two rogues coming toward it, the ghost smiles and releases a wave of brimstone-reeking hellfire in a 30-foot-radius burst! The three party members are caught unaware by the ghost's abilities and fail to dodge out of the way! As their skin burns from the intensity of the fire, Brother Trip, Hassan, and Issi also feel the unholy nature of the fire as well! GM rolls:
As 3/4 of the party burns, the ghost smiles and disappears into the ground, only to rise again 20' away, his whip in hand ready to strike!
A starknife appears next to the ghost and strikes its essence, causing it damage, as it growls in anger, "How dare you strike me with your cursed divine magic?! You will suffer for that, priest! I will dance on your bones...." The ghost pauses then starts rambling again, "Where is Lucretia....what have you done to my sister?!" It is clear to the cleric with his high sense motive that the ghost is not mentally cogent.
Hassan starts to drag the corpse, when he hears Brother Trip's warning too late. He is thus not surprised when an incorporeal form rises from the corpse, appearing as the driver did in life, with horsewhip in hand. "More interlopers to disrupt my rest! Die!" From the ghost's gaze, Hassan and Issi feel the undead horror wilting away their flesh and personality! GM rolls:
Initiative: Barnabus: Brother Trip: Hassan: Issi: Ghost:
Undeterred by the vision, Blackrock makes his way to the crumbling coffin and opens it....only to find it empty. Meanwhile, Hassan searches the area and finds the corpse lying face down on a hillside near the crash. Hassan approaches carefully within 5' and determines it was a human male. He is dressed in a carriage driver’s livery. His right index finger bears a gold ring etched with the cross-eyed medusa emblem. Clutched in the corpse’s left hand is a horsewhip.
As soon as Barnabas begins to approach the hearse, suddenly a vision engulfs all of you as you experience the following in your mind: The carriage hearse barrels along a hard dirt road, drawn by four frothing, maddened horses driven forward by your frantic whipping. A quick glance over your shoulder tells you that your mounted pursuers are gaining ground in the hazy moonlight. “Aroden save us!” shouts a beardless old man sitting beside you as he desperately clings to the wooden seat. “We no longer serve fools, Parsimus,” you growl with irritation. “Best get that through your thick skull.” You glance behind again, this time to the bed of the hearse, where the fine silver coffin lurches dangerously, despite the five straps of stout leather securing it in place. “Forgive me, sister,” you think. “It was I who was the true fool.” You hear a dull thud as an arrow strikes the seatback. Another arrow sinks into Parsimus’s shoulder, knocking him from his seat to the hard ground below with a cry of pain. As a third projectile thuds into the carriage, you cry out to the starlit sky. “Asmodeus! Have you abandoned me?” With the cry still in your throat, a strange shimmer surrounds the hearse and the scene about you flickers and fades. The dirt road is suddenly replaced by a paved walkway, and the surrounding woodland by a graveyard. Startled by the sudden change, the horses shriek and careen to the left. As the carriage leaves the road, the shimmering bubble of energy that encompasses it crushes the tombstones in its path. Suddenly, the horses seem to smash into an invisible wall, and their cries of terror abruptly cease. You are propelled from your seat, hurtled through the air as you and the carriage crash to the ground. You feel bones break, and as your neck snaps with a nauseating crunch, you hear a sinister voice behind your ear, whispering with an intimacy that terrifies. “No, my puppet. I never forget a bargain.” The vision itself seems to take at least a minute to play out, when in fact only a few seconds pass.
The party reaches the scene of the crash (possibly?). As you take a look over the scene, it obvious that this open carriage hearse was once a very fine conveyance. However, time and the elements have taken their toll, and the once-rich wood is soft with decay. From afar, you can tell a crumbling coffin lies in the bed of the carriage, with the rotted leather straps that once held it fast lying beside it. The driver’s bench has two arrows embedded in its seatback.
16th day of Sarenith of current year
Hassan opens the door to the mausoleum where you currently are and he steps outside to a surreal sight. There is a cool breeze and it is
Invisible, Hassan heads north, as there are no other curiosities that he can see. 75' later, his keen eyes notice the following: Several tombstones on the western side of the path here have been crushed and shattered in a wide swath. The back of an ancient carriage is visible through the overgrown weeds and shrubs at the far end of the array of destruction.
After getting a good grip on the handholds and coordinating their movements, the party sans Issi calmly strains and turns the medusa’s scowling face 90 degrees. At that time, an audible CLICK is heard, the floor opens, and the stone block to the north is lowered into the ground permitting passage.
The funerary batons fit in the circular holes, leaving handholds sticking out.
Barnabus studies the mosaic of the scowling medusa on the floor. It is identical to one on the door through which you entered the Tomb, just a larger version of it. It is 15 feet wide and made of iron. On the edges of the iron disc, at each of the four compass points, is a circular hole.
After bring sucked through the medusa's mouth, the next sensation you feel is darkness as you each wake up alone in a confined space. Issi and Trip remain calm and each cast light to illuminate their surroundings and reveal what Blackrock and Hassan's darkvision already know: you each wake up in a coffin with limited air supply! The dwarf is undeterred by the situation and with one heave of his muscles, he pushes the lid of the coffin open easily! It takes Hassan two tries before he can breathe again. Miraculously, the frail Issi also manages to escape in solely two tries, summoning inner strength she did not know she had. The cleric also takes two tries to pry the coffin lid open!
GM checks:
When you escape your coffins, you are all in the same chamber. This octagonal chamber is made of fine, polished white marble. The domed ceiling peaks twenty-five feet overhead, decorated with frescoes of people in billowing robes, hands joined, looking down with pity on those below. Braziers along the base of the dome filled with flickering flames faintly illuminate the chamber. Twelve carved stone sarcophagi (eight of which now lie open) lie beneath the dome, surrounding a large carving on the floor of a leering medusa’s face. As you each step out of the sarcophagi, you notice that the lid of each sarcophagus is carved with your name, year of birth, and the current year as your year of death! At the foot of each sarcophagus is a 9-inch-long funerary baton, similar to that provided by Clarissa, but made of polished brown stone instead of white marble. There does not appear to be an exit to this room, although there is a large block of stone blocking the path north.
Hassan rotates the funerary baton, turning the medusa's eyes in their metal sockets. When the eyes are crossed, the medusa’s jaws gape open and a cold blue light shines forth, engulfing Hassan and Issi. GM only:
Barnabus and Trip are taken aback when suddenly, before they can even react, Hassan and Issi are lifted off their feet and sucked into the yawning mouth, gasps of surprise escaping their mouths, before shrinking and spiraling down to nothingness as the iron face seems to swallow the couple whole! The medusa's jaws continue open. Trip: While it was an unsettling sight, based on your Sense Motive and high perception, you realize you did not hear screams of pain or anguish from Hassan and Issi before they disappeared through the mouth.
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