Chapter 10: The Crypt of Everlasting Life

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin ponders Zahra's words. "If the artifacts needed for the demon's defeat are not to be found below, then we must continue our exploration until we find them."

[ChubbyPixie]

"We need the weapons described to us. Otherwise we are without hope. They could be up here in the pyramid. We must know for sure before going down." says Kiri, adding his opinion to the mix.

[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. Late Morning, 16th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia





After a brief discussion over the open trapdoor to the subterranean tunnels below, the majority of the explorers wish to hold their course; they will find the fabled treasures entombed with the mighty Pharaoh to gain power enough to dare face dread Zargoth.

Zahra and Xorzen return to the chamber where statues of Xuthalhotep and his queen Ankhara take their rightful place alongside the ancient gods of lost Verulia.



The two pale, masked Verulians look east and believe they must be getting close to the tomb of the Pharaoh. After the bodies of the king and queen were brought through here in a magnificent procession, this corridor was sealed off. 10' square stone blocks were designed to fall and block the passage after the interment. But the 2’ high opening in the east wall was formed when one block failed to fall all the way. A crawlspace remains between the floor and the bottom of the faulty block.


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
  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 2/1: 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: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl, Light spell
  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, Torch

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."
  Light (Mako): Duration: 84 rounds.

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)

[wordoftheoracle]

Loche heads north into the newly discovered chamber and carefully examines it.

Braw then. Ah jalouse i’ll abide by th' maist folk. Straecht ahead then!

[Urson]

Zahra

Zahra kneels, holding her torch so she can light the crawlspace. She's not entering, just visually inspecting before the thief does his search.

[ravenn4544]

Amethu, in awe of the scope and grandeur of the room, studies each statue and carving for insight into the long forgotten past....

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin explores the room. He looks but does not enter the crawl space. He also looks for anything he could wedge under the block.

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorxen approaches the stone block cautiously, wondering if it too could be made smaller by the wizards magical powers.

"If we could poundeth a spike into this stone block, perhaps we could pull it out of the passage? With the help of our big strong members like Kiri and Sor....."

The masked monk hangs his head again and doesn't finish his sentence.

He looks all around the stone block, before entering, hoping to find any clues or traps present.

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri moves into the kings and queen’s chamber. He remains quiet, carefully inspecting the walls and any carvings for any clues.

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako continues along the hallway to the chamber to the north to join the others in his party.

[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. Late Morning, 16th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Amethu and Kiri study the magnificent stone colossi. Standing beneath such centuried antiquities, consciousness loses its perspective. Time becomes unreal. Echoes of the antediluvian past beat insistently upon their minds.

The statues' positions and attitude depict an honor guard for the royal procession that passed here thousands of years ago bearing the pharaoh and his queen to their eternal resting place. Amethu and Kiri believe they are very close to their goal, the fabled treasure of Xuthalhotep.

Loche carefully examines the statue lined chamber, starting on its western end. Behind him, Mako joins Zahra at the chamber's threshold as the pale amazon peers under the stuck block. The two foot high crawlspace extends into ancient shadows undisturbed by her distant torchlight.

Garrin searches the room for something to wedge beneath the faulty stone block. He finds only the statues and the braziers of eternal flame.

Xorzen moves toward the crawlspace when suddenly...



...three large pendulum blades descend from seams in the ceiling and swing down in deadly arcs upon the advancing explorers!


Actions?! (Amethu, Garrin, Kiri and Xorzen, please each roll 1d20 for a Dexterity check to avoid them! Regardless of the roll, please also post your actions. Thanks)


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 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 8/11, Spells: 5/7 1st lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 26/26, Laying Hands: 1/1, Torch
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/14, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 12/18
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl, Light spell
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 7, HP: 15/16, Candle
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 15/21, Torch

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."
  Light (Mako): Duration: 82 rounds.

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 backs away from the scything blades as quickly as he can.

Dex (11) [1d20] = 20

[Urson]

Zahra

Zahra lets out a catlike hiss of surprise and fury, dropping flat.

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako holds his position at the threshold of the room.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin tries to make his way out of the room.

Dexterity Check (9): [1d20] = 18

[OGRE MAGE]

Xorxen knows full well that this entire place will likely be filled with enough traps that 100 thieves couldn't locate them all. He feels the breeze from the deadly blade which nearly cuts him in two before bypassing it and continuing on towards the crawlspace.

Dex check (15) [1d20] = 14

This time, he checks the floor before every single step he takes.

[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. Late Morning, 16th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Immense razor-sharp blades slice through the raiders of the sacred crypt like scythes through grain.




Amethu and Garrin are brutally slashed! (-9hp each) Garrin of Argos falls back as Amethu collapses to the ancient tiles. A pool of crimson slowly grows around the fallen mage.

Xorzen and Kiri duck forward and emerge unscathed. Xorzen the monk reaches the shadowed opening of the crawlspace alive.

Zahra the amazon hisses and drops to the floor. Loche and Mako freeze dead in their tracks.

And the deadly blades silently return to their housings in the ceiling.


Actions?!


Map Detail:

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

Map:



Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Kiri: Dex Save: [1d20] = 8 Succeeds.

PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: -1/11, Spells: 5/7 1st lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 4(2), HP: 17/26, Laying Hands: 1/1, Torch
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 14/14, Spells: 3/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 12/18
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl, Light spell
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 7, HP: 15/16, Candle
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 3, HP: 15/21, Torch

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."
  Light (Mako): Duration: 83 rounds.

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)

[Urson]

Zahra
Zahra crawls toward the faulty 10-ton block, her face twisted at the indignity of it.

[wordoftheoracle]

Loche looks bewildered and confused.

Ah jalouse ah missed that yin, huh?

He examines what happened to try and discern the nature of this pendulum trap.

[ChubbyPixie]

Sorry, guys. Crazy weekend RL stuff (all good). Couldn't get to the boards...

Kiri stands very still in the space between where the pendulums passed. "Can we stop that from happening again?" he asks, looking in Loche's direction. If he can do so safely, he will creep to Amethu's side and try to stop the bleeding as best he can.