Beyond the double doors, you see more alcoves, each one containing an upright sarcophagus. The lid of each of these sarcophagi bears the graven images of an elf or human warrior. Etched into the lid of each sarcophagus is the name of the warrior sealed within, written in Elven or Common.
"A shame. I would of thought this tower would contain more references to its time, or at least have entombed a famous warrior. Truly a shame..." "Whoo" "Well, just because the necromancers could have reanimated any famous warriors doesn't mean they would have. After all, they didn't break the seals on any of the rest."
The sarcophagi aren't sealed, but the heavy lids appear undisturbed.
"While you guys search the bodies, I'll move up the hallway and make sure there aren't anymore traps. I'm going to wait for you all before I go around the corner."
With that, Latro begins slowly making his way up the hallway, checking the stones, statues, and walls for any sign of additional traps.
Stepping on a hidden pressure plate causes the iron sarcophagus in the nearby alcove to open, revealing a lid lined with spikes. Animated chains lash forth from inside the sarcophagus to pull Latro in.
The chains wrap around Latro and pull him into the iron maiden. The lid slams shut!
*CLICK* "Uh oh. What the...? HEY!! Chains...grabbing me...GAH...SPIKES!! Not the lid!" Latro's voice becomes meaningless mumbles as the lid closes on him.
Latro manages to force open the iron maiden and free himself.
"Well that was no fun. You were right A'loran. This place is full of traps. I'm going to have to be more careful. We should take our time. Anyone disagree?"
Latro moves out from the iron maiden. He then begins carefully searching for the pressure plate that went "click" under his foot. He continues his slow movement up the hallway, hoping to avoid any more traps.
Latro found a pressure plate right in front of the sarcophagus. He also realized the sarcophagus across the hall is another iron maiden.
"Hey all. Here's the pressure plate I stepped on. Don't step on it or you might find yourselves in the same predicament. Oh. And there's another iron maiden on the other side. I'm going to look for a pressure plate there. I'm not sure I can disable this, but I'll sure try."
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"THRIC!" Hearing a yell from up ahead Kava bolts from the bandit she's searching with Rulf and A'loran and runs past Canas instecting the coffins. Quick as she's up Latro bounces out of the Iron Maiden scratched but none the worse for wear. Pulling up near him "It seems the pearl has escaped the clam."
@ Latro "si iaco rauhiss, we need to be extra careful with this tomb. It does not recognise us from any other intruder. Little Manticore toss me the end of your rope and I will belay you. No doubt the next trap on the list is a pit with spikes and dragons."
Latro tries to disable the pressure plate in front of the sarcophagus. And tests it by moving out to examine the floor on the other side. He spends 3 minutes looking, before attempting to disable a second pressure plate.
Latro grabs a rope out of his pack and ties it to his waist. He tosses the other end to Kava. "Good idea Brave Lady. I didn't like going into the dark there. And if there is a pit filled with dragons, I want to avoid that for sure!"
"Hey Rulf. Those spikes hurt quite a bit. Can you give me a healing boost?"
"I'm going to keep moving forward...slowly. Hopefully there aren't any more traps.
Mighty Kord, Grant yer boon ta Latro here, a young scamp in thine service, Rulf says as his outstretched palm sends a glowing light at the halfling, soothing his injuries.
"Sorry to take so long, but those chains and the spikes...too much to ignore the possibility that there were more traps. I assume we are going through these doors?"
Latro starts examining the doors, at first only looking, then gently tapping and probing.
The rest of the party cautiously advances down the trapped corridor and Kava opens the doors, without incident. Another set of double doors stands open several feet away.
The centerpiece of this 20-foot-high room is a monstrous stone cauldron nearly 5 feet tall and 10 feet in diameter. Black, fetid tar fills the cauldron to the brim. Surrounding
it are seven piles of goblin skulls . Each pile contains skulls painted a specific color. Four statues depicting elf warriors and human warriors
stand atop daises in the corners of the room. Fifteen-foothigh iron doors stand closed to the south.
"Well that's creepy. Rulf, did they paint those for some religious rite, or do goblins from different tribes have different colored bones? Seems to me that things get more nefarious as we go along in this forsaken place. Does anyone see anything or anyone hiding in here?"
Creepy, that's beyond creepy. It sent a chill up me spine an all. Rulf comments as he starts studying the rooms contents.
Creepy, that's beyond creepy. It sent a chill up me spine an all. Rulf comments as he starts studying the rooms contents.
"Well, there certainly is precedent for necromancers keeping large amounts of skulls sitting around their laboratories. The coloration seems to be somewhat unnecessary..."
"Lets see if there is any magic in this area."
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"This caldron would indicate a magic ritual correct A'loran? Is this tar some magical substance or something used in a ritual?"
She then moves to examine the skulls for dust and to see if they have been disturbed recently "Latro, do you have any tracking skills that might tell us more about these coloured skulls" She touches one to see if it has been recently painted "the skulls in the first room were just old bleached bone, maybe someone has been cooking goblin heads? And an odd assorment of colours too. I wonder if it has anythign to do with the yellow skulls on the bandits faces?"
The paint is old and there is dust on all the piles, and the way it's disturbed indicates that a one or two skulls have been removed from each pile.
"Maybe we should just leave it alone and continue on. We might find more clues to help us with this mystery. My concern is we cause something worse to happen."
The door refuses to budge. There's no sign of a lock or bar, it just won't open.
"Aye Brave Lady. The mysteries of this place abound. Least of which right now is this door." To the door, "Now, what do we have holding you shut?"
Latro moves to examine the door.
There is no reason the doors shouldn't open, yet they won't.
Might be someat ta do wit these skull here. Maybe we should try putting one in the cauldron, Rulf says speculatively as he counts the piles.
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Kava sings out her discovery "The piles have been painted a long time ago but recently disturbed, I suspect that our bandits tried a few fome each pile by the looks of it, but I doubt that these have been put here by them from the dust on them ... hmmm" she muses on the puzzle "what do we know about these colours? They are non standard. Do colour represent something in arcane studies? And what about the regions heraldry, is there a color for the Vale that might suggest an order or pattern?" Silently Kava curses her lack of attention to logic and mathematics often harped onto her by her priestly instructors.
The number of skulls in each pile varies, with no less than 30 of each color.
"And what about the regions heraldry, is there a color for the Vale that might suggest an order or pattern?"
The ruler of Winterhaven, Lord Padraig's colors are purple, black, and silver.
"I don't know why these doors won't open. There does not seem to be any rational reason behind it. And didn't A'loran say there was not magic in the room? Well, maybe we should just bust them down. Unless someone sees a secret door around here."
Nothing.
mayhap the original occupants a this here tower had heraldic colours that would be proper. Rulf muses trying to think back on the knowledge he had when the lightning came down earlier, he picks up one of the gold painted ones and starts tossing it in the air and catching it again while he thinks.
The large crest painted on the southeast wall of the tower depicts a two-headed golden hawk against a shield of purple and black.
"I think Rulf might be onto something. Maybe there is a pattern we need to figure out. It seems that some skulls have been removed from each pile, so perhaps if we get the right combination of colors, the door will open. I don't remember finding any scraps of paper with combinations on any of the dead, but perhaps there is something we overlooked? Maybe it's just gold, purple, and black? I never paid much attention in school to these types of tasks. I was too busy trying to get around the rules!"
"Well, it couldn't hurt to try. So, toss the yellow, purple and black skulls in?"
well thats good enough fer me Rulf says as he tosses the gold head in the cauldron quickly followed by a purple and a black one. If nothing happens he tries throwing in a second gold one to match the two headed hawk.
Each skull hits the surface of the black tar and floats there for a moment before quickly sinking, leaving behind a puddle of paint at the top. When the last skull sinks the paints swirl together.
The iron doors part loudly, drawing you into a great vault illuminated by stone-rimmed wells of belching fire. At the far end of the vault, broad steps climb 15 feet to a platform supporting two stone sarcophagi and a pair of braziers. Statues of armored warriors stand at the base of the steps, to either side of which is a raised gallery 20 feet above the floor.
Zombie Yellowskull bandits stand silent in the vault, reeking of death. Behind them, at the top of the stairs, a human wearing a golden mask shaped like a skull limps forward, drawing a crimson orb from the folds of his black robe. His voice is hollow and hateful. “This tomb will be yours unless you leave, now.”
Jeras Falck Initiative:
S initiative:
Z initiative:
B initiative:
Grinning yellowskull bandits rattle into position in the galleries. They draw bows, revealing skeletal arms and hands.
Arrows fly through the open doorway. Two bounce off the stone floor, but two more find their marks in Latro's chest.
"Latro!" Canas dashes into the room and fires a bolt of eldritch energy at the undead.
After a couple steps, Canas becomes a blur that resembles some other man. He stops inside the room and throws magical flame at the closest zombie, completely incinerating it.
"Time to clean some filth from this world."