The Tomb's page

They say that a tomb seals many secrets. The Tomb of the Iron Medusa held perhaps the most perilous.

The companions teleport on the shore of the lake behind the inn. The shift in pressure sends the last lazy cherry blossom down their stochastic path to earth. Flustered, a thrush sings a fluty song of warning.

The scene contrasts with the last few days. A sense of peace and purpose fills the old companions.

Harmony.

With perilous knowledge, the companions go in, to let an inn keeper know that he is in line to the throne of Minkai and convince him to lead the rebellion against the Jade Regent, but without his dark family heirloom.

Only time, perhaps also faith and courage, will tell what is to become of Minkai.

One thing is certain, the Black Daimyo will be watching...

--The End--

Thanks for the positive comments.

I had a great time, and am glad to see the house rule for magic items and healing did not cause too many problems, though you had obvious holes that 'magic six' items would have filled.

As for continuing, my cup is unfortunately quite full at the moment with three APs running, so I'll have to say no. I'm even thinking of dropping some games where I play.

We can make closing comments, to see what your decision will be on giving the item and/or supporting the boy's claim.

I'm away for almost two weeks. After that, I'll deactivate the campaign.

My thanks to you as well. You made very nice characters and I had great fun working with you.

We have reached the end of the module.

As participation has dwindled, I have decided to expedite a little the last scenes, as you were almost at the end. The only things I've cut are some guardian monsters and a little more dungeon crawling. Nothing with meaning.

If possible, I would like to ficus the last posts on your state of mind and whether you will reveal the truth to the innkeeper and give him the sword.

You wake from the dreamlike state. As you regain your senses, you realize you are kneeling now, with hot tears flowing down your cheeks, and you feel as though you are being watched...

On the floor rests the ancient katana, and you hear it whispers in your mind: "Awake at last..."

“Just as well,” the handsome man says, a single tear running down a cheek, “with all her ranting about seeing the boy grow up. She knew she could never have been a part of his life.” His attention turns to the child he holds. He nods approvingly, wipes the tear from his cheek, then lays three fingers on the squealing infant’s forehead. “Hitoshi,” he croons. “You’ll never know your destiny... This boy will be given for adoption. There will be no Higashiyama bastard!” “Our bargain, Menoto,” stammers Cadamo, almost absently. The other man’s eyes flash with grief, and then fill with anger as he whirls upon Cadamo. When he speaks, his voice is cold and grim. “Our ‘bargain’ died with your sister, Cadamo. You are the last of your damned line, and even that is too much. But I shall grant you one last mercy nonetheless—leave Minkai by dawn, and I’ll not send my army after you. The next time I see an Hanado face in my empire, it had best be in a grave.” He turns with the baby in his arm, walking regally for the door, oblivious to Cadamo’s trembling fury. “We go to meet our separate destiny. Let’s go meet your new mother. I think the innkeeper downstair will do just fine,” he coos to the squealing infant.

In the same bedchamber, now oppressively hot, the same woman lies lifeless in the bed, though someone has mercifully closed her eyes. Higashiyama Menoto and the infant are gone and Cadamo hands a baton to the apron-clad man. “Hide this downstairs before we leave, Hasimo. I know you saw it in the bastard’s eyes. He has no intention of honoring even his last promise—he’ll have his thugs on us within the hour. We must seek the only safe place left to us—the Tomb of the Iron Medusa. There we can rest and regroup and make plans for the future. The baton contains the key to finding the tomb—if I die before you, ensure that someone you trust knows where you’ve hidden it. Someday, someone will need to know the truth.” He looks over at his sister’s dead body. “And secure a coffin for my sister. I am not going to leave her here. She comes with us.” He turns to face the other man, who still seems frozen in shock. “Go, damn you!” Cadamo spits, and finally the other man turns and leaves the room.

“The Hanados are truly abandoned by Shizuru,” Cadamo says with dismal certitude to an empty room. “The gods laugh at us... but perhaps my brother was right after all... perhaps there is one left who might listen...” He pauses, a look of dread and determination washing over his countenance. He takes up his dead sister’s hand in his own, holds it to his brow, and then utters a prayer of blasphemy. “Black Daimyo! Susumo! I call on thee! Blood and my everlasting soul if you would but allow me to protect my family and bring my dear sister back to me!” A sudden light flickers in air, shimmering as if heated by fire. Then the shimmer grows more substantial, becoming a shapeless mass of tangible evil and immense power. A voice sweet as honey and sharper than any razor emanates from the malevolent presence. “A bargain? You would seek to bargain with me, mortal?”

You recognize Cadamo, and the other man you recognize as Hasimo from the vision near the carriage.

The man holding the newborn child is none other than Higashiyama Menoto, Emperor Shigure’s father!

The woman in the bed you easily recognize from the crypts of the necropolis. She is Lacara, the vampire you destroyed.

A fire burns in the hearth of this well-appointed room. Three men stand about a bed—a handsome man with rolled-up sleeves holding a crying newborn, and two others. In the bed lies a frightfully pale, sweat-drenched woman, her dark hair cascading over damp pillows. Her bedclothes are soaked with blood, and her eyes stare into space; she is not breathing.

For a moment, you recover your sense and blink at each other. You’re about to say something when the pain in your head makes you bend again and mists surround you once more. This time, they are black as ink.

The general’s tent is now empty. The mannequin lies on its side, the dead birds still heaped on the floor. The brutal cacophony of battle can be heard in the distance. Suddenly, the general bursts through the tent flap, gore-caked sword in hand, face smeared with dirt, blood spattered over his flamboyant breastplate. The military tribune who broke the silence earlier follows him, also splashed with the filth of battle. “All is lost, Cadamo,” he pants to the younger man. “Those damned raiders rolled up my left flank as though it were made of paper!” Cadamo’s silence is his assent.

The general shakes his sword before his own face, cursing, “You! You have done this to me! All of it! You have murdered us all!” He turns to Cadamo, nodding as though finishing a conversation. “‘Sheathe me in my master’s blood’ was the line, no? To put the damned thing back to sleep?” Cadamo nods back, still speechless. Staring into space, trancelike, the general whispers hoarsely to him. “Do what you can to salvage this, my brother. Matanabe would have our heads. Pressure
Higashiyama to aid us—he will be emperor before long and we must use what leverage we have. Perhaps you could prevail upon our dear sister to utilize her... relationship, with him? If not... ha! Maybe General Susumu will assist. I go to face the gods’ wrath. You are the head of our Clan now, brother. Bury me with sufficient irony.”

A strange look of calm comes over the general’s face as he gets to his knees at the corner of the rug. He plants the pommel of Jigoku no Mucuro and lifts his armor at the waist, allowing the blade’s point to taste his bare abdomen. With a suddenness that makes Cadamo gasp, Barotome springs forward, forcing the blade up into his chest—a torrent of blood splashes out onto the rug, the florid stain spreading as he collapses to the ground. A moment later, a vertiginous blackness sweeps everything away.

Your vision gets blurry and your head hurts for a moment. The mists around you turn to a darker shade, laced with crimson ribbons of smoke.

The general rouses from his rage and drops the ruined birds on the rug, striding to the tent’s entrance. “Tribune!” he shouts to the nearest lieutenant, indicating the long map-covered table. “Gather my battle plans! We march on this Li Po rabble at once!” The military tribunes scatter to their duties. When the general attempts to plow past the collection of onlookers at the tent entrance, a red-haired prelate grabs him by his rich cape and speaks in a cold, furious tone: “I know not what will happen this day, Bartolomae, but be assured of this: the tree of thy family shall wither and bear fruit no more. This is the last of your blasphemies in the Emperor’s name. From this day forward your name will be cursed along with that of your whole arrogant brood!” The general shoves the indignant cleric to the ground, and shaking his blade hisses, “You may thank your damnable Shizuru that I have other blood to spill today, lackey; otherwise I would take Jigoku no Mucuro and run you through!”

You recognize the junior tribune. You saw his ghost near the carriage in the courtyard of the necropolis.

“Well, let’s get it over with,” the general intones haughtily, gesturing to a priest bearing the sun and katana emblem of Shizuru and carrying a fancy cage containing two fine roosters. The general casts several types of honeyed grain on the ground to the waiting fowl, but to everyone’s chagrin, and the general’s fury, the sacred birds do nothing. After an impossible silence, one of the nobles mutters in an awkward tone, “They… do not eat.” To everyone’s horror, the general grabs the sacred animals by their feathered necks, storms over to an elegant bathtub and holds them under the soapy water, hissing, “Then by Shizuru’s damned eyes, let them drink!” The shocked gathering is paralyzed by the general’s hideous blasphemy. He stands seething at the edge of his tub, the limp, dripping carcasses gripped tightly in either hand, glowering at the witnesses to his monstrous sacrilege. Finally, a junior tribune blurts out, “Brother, I will fetch your warhorse!”

You can see the sigil of the Hanado clan everywhere, and the general looks to be Barotome, wearing the same breastplate you found.

Braziers light a general’s command tent. The general himself—a towering man with handsome features, clad in elaborate breastplate armor—stands on the edge of an elegant rug. A gaggle of junior officers, priests, and aristocrats stand before the tent flap and an armor mannequin.

You carefully check your surroundings, but there are no signs of treachery or danger.
The corpse’s sword and armour you detect as enchanted. Carefull study tells you the armour has powerful enchantment (+5 lesser fortification breastplate), while the sword is clearly an artefact of great power with a dormant evil sentience.

You slowly and carefully retrieve the sword. This sword is of amazing quality and sharpness. You can see great activity in the steel and the grain has pleasing patterns, drawn from careful forge work. The pommel of the blade bears its name: Jigoku no Mucuro, the sword you were tasked to retrieve...

Along its edge is another engraving: “This Is Our Answer.”

As the sword is released. Mists surround you and you find yourselves in a dreamstate, watching a scene as though you were there, but unable to interact with it.

No signal from the others... I'm moving this along. You were very near the end. Instead of dragging it, I'll bring the conclusion home.

Just to be clear, I've moved things along a bit, as you are very near the end. One of the main rooms allowed to be teleported below, where the crypts of the three clans were. That same room could also be triggered to lead somewhere else, which you hah deducted, but you needed "keys". You now have all the keys, which is why I've moved you back to that room and teleported you. You can retro-buff as you see fit.

You make your preparations and teleport, leaving a small vacuum behind, and the slain body of Lacara.

Your destination is a small temple you know not too far from the funerary complex. The priests there hear your description and accept to take the girls in and care for them, sending news of their return to the town and villages around.

**********************************************************

The next day, you make your way back to the Tomb. You are now very familiar with the procedure and quickly make your way from the sarcophagus to the great, domed chamber, home to hundreds of funerary urns.

In the room's center, you find the carving of a medusa’s face on the floor. You retrace with your fingers the elusive indentations and place in each the items salvage during your explorations.

Things turn to a blur for an instant and your ears pop slightly as you are teleported again, but to a new location.

The chamber’s twenty-foot-high ceiling is held aloft by pristine granite pillars. The walls are covered in murals depicting battle scenes.

At the far end of the great room rises a twelve-foot-tall aquarium, framed in iron and with thick glass. Four elaborate chairs of carved mahogany sit before this water-filled tank. A great Li Po rug of intricate geometric designs covers the floor.

Front and center in the aquarium floats a bloated, unusually preserved corpse, its arms and legs shackled with chains attached to floor and ceiling, clad in an extraordinarily wrought breastplate emblazoned with the cross-eyed medusa, and bobbing in the green-hued water.

The pommel of a sword protrudes from the body’s belly.

The floating cadaver’s dead eyes are wide open, and its black hair wafts back and forth, as though cast about by a gentle breeze. A bronze plaque, green with age, mounted on the glass above, reads:

‘Then Let Them Drink’
Hanado Barotome, 4496–4542

Akiyoshi can only confirm that they are in a deep state of shock. From the look of them, they've been down in this mad hole for several weeks.

So you are teleporting back and forth? You have the spells memorized or need to rest? If you need to rest, let me know where.

Ok, so what are you doing about the girls. Without proper care, they won't get out of their current state.

As you look closely at her, you notice that though you can confirm she had the traits of a vampire, she wasn't affected by fire, nor did she have undead consorts. Perhaps this is a different kind? Such things wouldn't be surprising in a land so exotic as Minkai.

The two girls stare, astonished, at the severed head of Lacara. They seem unresponsive, and it will probably take a while before they are again, unless they are cared for.

The vampire watches with widening eyes the flaming blade come down on her. It catches her in the shoulder, severing the arm off. She tries to get up but bends over under Tihn's missile, only to be pushed back as a line of arrows catch her in the torso, with the last one going through her eye.

As quick as that, she crashes to the floor.

The room is silent, but for the faint whimpering of her two 'daughters'.

Akiyoshi?

Ukyou, it would mean isolating one of you as well.

Lacara, still on her knees and sobbing, stops gradually as Akiyoshi threatens her. She raises slowly and stares at the paladin, scorn on her face: "This is all so nice and well for you then. You get to plunder the tomb of my family, but won't help a mother find her child... Daughters! Come to me. Let's talk no more to these... tomb raiders! They are not here to help us..."

The two 'daughters' bow their heads and starts towards Lacara, sobbing softly.

"I've been here so long... No, I- I don't..."

"I can't. I can't remember!!! I can't see his face. Just his hands, grabbing! Grabbing!"

"I- The father! He took my child! He took iiiiit!"

She seems to have sense Ukyou's tenseness, but has not seen Jiro's move. Unfortunately, the two women are stuck to Lacara's skirts and don't wish to leave their... mother.

Jiro, please roll stealth and/or bluff.

The lady looks at first serene and happy to answer, but her features change as she struggles to answer: "Well of course, I don't know its name... My child... They took it as I gave b- birth... It was... It. Was... By the gods! I can't remember! Oooooh! My chiiiild! My chiiiiiiild!"

Lying kneeling on the dirt floor, she tears at the hem of her robe as her hands rest on her lap.

Lacara snarls at the paladin, then seems to collect herself. With lament in her voice, but no sobbing this time, she weakly speaks: "I am not sure what you mean, gentle hero. I have lived through great torment indeed, for they have taken my child, my first child, and I swore I would one day find it again. These are my new children, and I love them with all my heart. Please bring me to the surface. Help me find my child, and punish the thief. This will certainly end my torment..." She ends her plea with a weak smile.

?

"W- what do you mean..?" she turns to face Akiyoshi, her features sobering.

"B- But I thought you would help me..! Please, you don't understand, they took my children away. They took..." The woman's voice trails off as her shoulders slump and she sobs loudly.

She looks at Akiyoshi confused: "Of course they're from my body..? COME HERE MY SWEETHEARTS! THESE PEOPLE HAVE COME TO RESCUE US!!"

She smiles motherly and two young women come rushing out of the darkness, startling you, to come and lay a her feet sobbing and embracing.

The two girls look wretched and famished. Their skin is pale and their features gaumt.

The woman drops to her knees and brings her hands together, in a gesture of thanks: "May the gods smile on you and your family! I am so thankful to be able to leave this place of death! I am Hanado Lacara. My brother is Hanado Cademo. He is waiting for me on the surface. I should bring my children with me though..."

Knowledge (history) (DC 40...)?

"They've taken them from me! So many... So... Manyyyyy... He said he would care, but I'm sure he doesn't! ... Let me get to the surface. My brother... He'll know what to do!"

By the way, you're not at the end yet. Where you teleported, you had found four locks that could make the teleporting circle teleport you elsewhere.

From the darkness appears a frightfully pale, dark-haired woman, wearing a soiled, oldfashioned gown and with what look like tears of dried blood caked on her cheeks, asking in a tremulous voice:

“Are my daughters unharmed? Have you come to rescue us?”

You head back up the stairs, surrounded by the mists again, and this time choose the last tile. The mists open to reveal a set of stairs leading down, but this time to a crude cavern-like tunnel. It seems like this area has never been finished.

In front of you, the tunnel extends into darkness...

Hmmm..can we wish for Jigoku no Mucuro????

Interesting idea!

The luck blade is a katana, not a longsword. Sorry about that.

Nope! But the end is near, one way or another ;p

Once healed, Ukyou, with renewed focus and strong motivation, tackles the trap.

Within a few long and intense minutes, he manages to circumvent the trap and the door slides down with a faint whisper, revealing the vault of the Vochu.

Lining the walls of this vault are six large, padlocked iron chests, each securely fastened to the floor. Ukyou goes through the locks like they were made of butter. Within the chests are:

• eight platinum ingots (8,000 gp each);
  
• 24 gold ingots (1,000 gp each);
  
• three bags each containing an assortment of 150 medium-quality gemstones worth 15,000 gp in total;
  
• a bag with 50 high-quality gemstones worth 25,000 gp in total;
  
• a leather sack containing a periapt of wound closure;
  
• six potions of cure serious wounds;
  
• three potions of water breathing;
  
• a leather bucket containing four scrolls of cure serious wounds (CL 12th);
  
• a scroll of irresistible dance;
  
• a scroll of transformation (CL 15th)
  
• bracers of armor +4;
  
• a luck blade with one wish (longsword rather than short);
  
• a gem of brightness (38 charges).
  

Hit points are a measure of resistance and stamina. They are recuperated at the rate of 1/4 of maximum hp per two hours of complete rest, four hours of non-strenuous work or eight hours of intense activity. The character needs to have at least 1 hp to recuperate.

Ability damage is recuperated at the rate of the character’s Constitution modifier (min 1) per day.

I've changed the rules for healing for this game. It's in the recruitment tab or campaign tab.