Chapter 10: The Crypt of Everlasting Life

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

"Wait! What about the boulder? It's surely back to size now. We could move it in front of the door."

[Monsieur Rose]

Soruk

After rigging the door shut, Soruk smiles and lets out a sigh of relief. Which lasts about three seconds. As the blades start poking through the door, he laughs. A big hearty guffaw "HA! Hahaha! Those dram bastards. How clever of them."

"I feeleth we art missing something here. Either way, it looks liketh we only has't a dram while to figure it out. Alloweth us examineth the hall with Loche and tryeth the tilting floor. I shalt standeth gaze at the intersection, letting every one knoweth at which hour timeth is up. "

Soruk moves to the west and stands at the intersection, watching the splintering door.

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorzen accompanies anyone willing to search down the next unchecked passage.

"I wouldeth agree, large brother, that we are clearly missing something here. Doth we not haveth any magic to aid us in this puzzle? Magic to bypass the tilting trap? Floating in the air or climbing across the walls may work, or perhaps a makeshift rope bridge to stand upon aboveth said floor?"

The monk studies the wall carvings as he moves to the west.

"Or, mayhap there is a piece to this mystery we simply haven't found yet?"

[Urson]

Zahra

The boulder might work- but how long would we have to move it? and how hard would it be to control?

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

To Zahra "If we all leave now and get on the other side of the boulder, we could roll over any skeletons that would have escaped. Once we have placed the boulder in front of the door and secured it in place, we only need to lock in place the tilting floor like before to get across and continue. The boulder is the same width as these corridors and with our most mightest warriors' pushing the task should not be difficult."

[ChubbyPixie]

Mako:

To Zahra "If we all leave now and get on the other side of the boulder, we could roll over any skeletons that would have escaped. Once we have placed the boulder in front of the door and secured it in place, we only need to lock in place the tilting floor like before to get across and continue. The boulder is the same width as these corridors and with our most mightest warriors' pushing the task should not be difficult."

”I like this plan!” says Kiri standing up and regarding Mako with admiration. ”If we don’t block it, they’ll just keep pouring out and pursuing us, won’t they?” He looks to the others and prepares to scramble for the boulder, last, presumably alongside Soruk, to cover their flight should the others agree.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu agrees with plans to trap the skeletons behind the door - considering the group can't find any other hidden device to do so, to his frustration.

"Alas, I can be little help in controlling the boulder further this day. My remaining magic is focused on healing the part against these beasts - not confounding them in any way"

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin shrugs, unsure of the wisdom of this plan, but lacking a better one. He helps move the boulder if he can.

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Seeing that it's his plan Mako moves to position himself behind the boulder to help supervise.

[Inferno]

Tombs of the Ancients, Fourth Tier of the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Four. Mid-Morning, 16th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







CHUNK! CHOK! THUNK! CHOP!

The relentless, marauding undead are hacking through the door with murderous efficiency. Soon, they will be upon the explorers of the Great Pyramid!

With time quickly running out, the crypt raiders excitedly confer on Mako's audacious plan. With no other alternative, they agree to the mad, desperate gambit.

But first, Loche the Pict thief can't help but light a torch and peer west before fleeing. He finds another labyrinthine hallway extending off into impenetrable darkness. (see map)

Then they all race back to the east, their frantic shouts echoing through the timeless corridors of antiquity.



Suddenly, behind them, they hear the door to the mass grave of slaves being rent asunder!

They run faster.

And reach the titanic boulder alive.



Still lodged where they left it, they quickly take turns crawling under it, all the while wondering when the horde of undead men would descend on them from out of the darkness!

The last explorer crawls under in time and, at the urgings of the diabolical Mako, the strength of Kiri and Soruk and Zahra and Garrin are put to the test. Their backs strain, their muscles ache and at last, they budge the monolithic stone. They push with all their might and the immense boulder slowly rolls up the slight incline to the west, gaining momentum with each colossal rotation, until the explorers are running to keep pace with the impossible artifice of death!

It shatters the timeless statuary that has lined this passage for thousands of years! And then, from the other side of the huge boulder, comes the noise of the living skeleton horde bearing down upon the massive stone sphere.... followed by the horrific sounds of bones and skulls being crushed and hammered and smashed and ground into powder!!

Without mercy, the vast sphere rolls over the legion of undead, leaving death and destruction in its wake; a gruesome trail of pulverized, shattered bones and dust!



Garrin, Kiri, Soruk and Zahra push the terrible monolithic boulder, while the rest run behind them providing light sources, directions, words of encouragement and finally, mad, giddy laughter.

The boulder slows from the ghastly grinding of a dozen living skeletons into oblivion! The explorers barely navigate two turns, with the gigantic, slowing orb violently ricocheting off the first corner, and then it finally comes to rest before the open doorway to the mass grave, resealing the tomb of the undead slaves!

The tireless tide of undeath is halted! The only sound is the impotent striking of rusted swords upon the other side of the enormous stone, and the panting of the victorious tomb raiders catching their breath!


Actions?!


Map Detail: (Fyi, I've removed the 34 dead skeletons from the map because they've been reduced to disconnected bones)

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.

Map:






PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 2/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 7/10, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl
  Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 14/17, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Lantern
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 18/18, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/12, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 12/18, Torch
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
  Soruk: Verulian Osoran Cleric/Fighter 1/1: Move: 12", AC: 6(5), HP: 9/9, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 8, HP: 11/12, Candle
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 2: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 10/16

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[ravenn4544]

Amethu ponders what treasures will remain undiscovered treasures with the obstacle in place.

OOC: the 'secret' door along the tilting trap - is that room we haven't entered or just the trigger that set the trap off?

[Monsieur Rose]

Soruk

Even large Soruk seems a bit tired after the effort of rolling a ten-foot boulder over a hundred feet. He smiles and looks triumphantly around, then bursts out laughing. When he finally catches his breath, he simply states. "And anon we has't to crosseth yond tilting floor again!"

[OGRE MAGE]

Never afraid to give credit where credit is due, Xorzen claps the spell caster on the back after the successful death roll of the boulder.

"That.......was AWESOME!"

The masked monk returns to the tilting hallway and places one of the crushed bones onto the floor there, hoping to learn just how sensitive the pivot point really is. He still wonders if the door could be accessed without needing to walk along the trapped floor.

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri catches Mako in a brief side-hug, then immediately lets the magic user go for fear of crushing him. ”That was the most fun I’ve had yet today, Mako!” he cries.

Seeing Xorzen testing the tilt of the floor again, he has a thought. Standing next to Soruk he says ”This is like a puzzle my grandfather taught me about a monkey, a rooster and a crocodile... Look at us. You and me are about the same size, Soruk. What if we both brace ourselves on the western side of the tilting floor, with but one foot over it each and the other foot on solid ground. The Pict can cross on the eastern side while we prevent the floor from tilting. If he gets through the door, the others can cross, one by one while we continue to brace the floor. Finally, we both step onto the floor from opposite sides and progress carefully to the center. We can sing a song so we step at the same time. It will be fun.” He looks expectantly at the others, then finally adds, ”You know there’s treasure in there. Maybe something we could use.”

[Urson]

Zahra

Zahra pulls her helmet off, letting her braid hang loose. Sweat drips from her face, and she's gasping for breath, but she smiles. Excellent idea! I am sorry I doubted it at all. Thank the gods for their help in moving that monster.

She listens to the discussion about the tilting floor, but doesn't contribute, yet.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin nods at Kiri's plan. Once again, he has no better ideas, so he will help execute this one if the group agrees.

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

"That is a good plan Kiri"

[Inferno]

Tombs of the Ancients, Fourth Tier of the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Four. Mid-Morning, 16th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







The tomb of undead slaves resealed by the colossal boulder, the explorers of the Great Pyramid assess their next move, and agree on a notion from Kiri Khutan of the distant East.

The explorers divide their number, forming two groups of approximately equal weight. Half of them crawl under the northern end of the gigantic stone sphere. As Kiri and Soruk use their legendary strength to brace the tilting stone floor at its furthest ends, the rest of the explorers pair up by weight, as Arthfael advised, and daringly walk the killing floor to its center, and the secret door.

Garrin the Atlantean paladin and Zahra the amazon are the first to walk the deadly balance trap. Slowly advancing from opposite ends, waiting for the bottom to drop out beneath them at any moment, they meet in the center. Then Loche the Pict and Amethu of lost Verulia slowly walk from the edges toward the middle. Loche expertly examines the hidden portal for traps one last time as Mako and Xorzen advance opposite Arthfael.

Then Loche mutters, "Haer goos noothan," and pushes the stone door.

With the floor balanced, the door opens, revealing a cramped crawl space! The Pict scans it next and then hands his torch to Garrin and says, "After ye, boyo!"

Garrin enters the secret passage!



With Zahra and Loche close behind him, Garrin sees that the unadorned stone channel wends 25 feet north and then turns west.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

One square = 10 feet. Lighter areas are visible. All else is from memory.

Map:






PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 2/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 7/10, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl
  Arthfael Griogarach: Cimmerian Northman Druid 3: Move: 12", AC: 6, HP: 14/17, Spells: 5/5 1st lvl, 4/4 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl, Lantern
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 2: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 18/18, Laying Hands: 1/1, Torch
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 1/1: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/12, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 12/18
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
  Soruk: Verulian Osoran Cleric/Fighter 1/1: Move: 12", AC: 6(5), HP: 9/9, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 8, HP: 11/12, Candle
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 2: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 10/16

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin leads the group down the corridor for a few feet, before a thought occurs to him. "Friend Loche," he says, calling out behind him. "Perhaps we would be safer if you traveled in front. I am inexperienced in detecting certain nonobvious dangers, and I would not want to trigger another tilting floor. Would you…." he asks, stepping aside for the Pict to lead. "If there are dangers of a more obvious and monstrous nature, I will take my place at the front, of course."

[wordoftheoracle]

Loche swears to himself.

Braw. Braw. This mak's sense. I’m na dug though. If ah say there’s something amiss, ye a' need tae respond!