Expedition: Fingers/The Ghostly Trial - 16 July 2021

[Zhym]

Fingers searches around the glowing stone for...well, anything.

[Marullus]

Fingers notes the worn trails, centuries of foot traffic leaving an indelible mark, don't lead TO the stone, but UNDER the stone. They pass right under the stone's edge.

[Zhym]

Fingers tries to push the stone away from the spot where the foot traffic passes under the stone.

[Marullus]

The giant rock is many tons; it doesn't move.

[Zhym]

"How do people get under there?" wonders Fingers aloud as he continues to search, push, prod, and pull on the stone. "You think we need to pay more to make it move?"

[Alethan]

Bandy shrugs and drops a platinum coin down each slot.

[Marullus]

Bandy drops four platinum pieces in the slots, listening to them clank down the chutes and disappear within. The party waits... But nothing appears to happen. The stone continues glow a warm yellow light. The gargoyles on the mausoleums are watching you as you loiter longer and longer.

Date: 4:10pm, 19 July 2021
Light: Sunlight
Effects: None
Injuries: Bandy (minorly injured)

[Zhym]

"Maybe it has to be gold?" suggests Fingers. He drops four more gold coins into the slots to see if the stone gets any brighter.

-4 gp

[Marullus]

Fingers drops four more gold pieces in the slots, listening to them clank down the chutes and disappear within. The party waits... But nothing appears to happen. The stone continues glow a warm yellow light. The gargoyles on the mausoleums are watching you as you loiter longer and longer.

Date: 4:30pm, 19 July 2021
Light: Sunlight
Effects: None
Injuries: Bandy (minorly injured)

[Zhym]

"Y'know, you could give us a hint, instead of just sitting there watching," mutters Fingers in the direction of the gargoyles.

He looks to the others, hoping for ideas. "Maybe we're supposed to say something to open it. Damned if I know what, though. 'Melon.' 'Open Sesame.' 'Hey, it's fecking cold out here, let me in.' Could be anything. Even if I knew what word to say, I only read that old writing. I got no idea how to speak it."

[DavetheLost]

Hengist says "I don't like the way those tracks just continue under the stone. Something isn't right and proper about that. I don't think it's gold in the slots will cause the stone to lift, but I'm not sure I want to sit here under their <jerks head at gargoyles> watchful eyes until we find out what does. So far they seem content to watch, but let's not press our luck too far.

[Zhym]

"There's gotta be something we haven't said. If all we needed was to give more money, I think the stone would get brighter as we put more in."

Fingers glances at the stone again. "Hey, there are prayers on the stone. Maybe we need to say them?"

Fingers identifies that the central stone does indeed have general prayers to Baudhon and religious symbols familiar to the Baudhic faith.

Marullus, am I right that the six gargoyles, two per mausoleum, are more than the previous party saw here?

[Marullus]

Yes, he remembers correctly. The previous group described three, not six. Bandy and Markd were there.

[Alethan]

Bandy examines the altar more carefully, specifically the symbol of Baudh.

He tries to press in the symbol or see if part of the symbol can be depressed or manipulated.

[Marullus]

The slab of stone is slightly taller than Bandy, so examining symbols on it's top is a bit difficult, and he'd need to crawl out on top of it to try and touch them. That said, they look like weather-worn etchings similar to those on the side and the ones on the side do not respond to his poking of them.

[Zhym]

Fingers scratches the back of his neck in thought. "Hey, Baudh is big on strength, too, right? So maybe I'm just not strong enough to push the stone. Anyone else wanna try?"

"Or maybe we just need to put gold on the altar?" He puts his remaining two gold pieces on the altar, in the middle of the sun symbol.

[Marullus]

The gold coins shine nicely in the sunlight.

[Zhym]

Fingers sighs and takes his coins back, waiting to see if anyone else tries to push the stone or wants to climb on top.

[onlyme]

Sorry, need to take a step back for a sec and do some retro metagaming... Markd spent the month in town reading his found book from an ancient cardinal "Caelethon", who describes much of this place. Attached would be the notes he took from his readings (as jotted down by the dm ) Markd would have been telling these to the group as they walked, so I wanted to get them out here before proceeding...

• The people were a proud folk of nomadic horselords who came from the coastlands to the far northwest. They crossed the blighted lands soon after the great cataclysm, circling down and then eastward to avoid the worst ruins.
• They founded three cities, each a day's ride from the next. Each marked the center of its Kingdom and each with its own issues.
• This city (the dead one to the north of the tombs), on the Yoldaessi Plains, is the eastmost of the horselord's settled areas. The Yoldaessi Plains spread several days east and northeast and allowed the greatest preservation of the horse culture. It was less beset by tragedy and remained prominent and favored by the Sun God while the other cities struggled.
• At the time of this writing, the culture had flourished for over 900 years.
• The King at the beginning of the chronicle is Heimdalr, who has defended the east flank of the kingdom for many decades.
• He has two sons, the princes Aslyn and Danorr. Danorr is a strong and brave knight. Aslyn studied the great mysteries and gained powers of sorcery.
• There was a tragedy between the princes about which Cardinal Caelethon bears some remorse. Aslyn removed himself to the far south of the city.
• The overall gist of the princes’ tragedy:
Aslyn and Danorr are brother Princes of the Yoldaessi Plains
Both desired the beautiful Agheth
She chose the stronger Danorr, and was coronated as his queen
Aslyn pursued auguries and revealed her deception and infidelity to the church
Danorr stated he already knew, had forgiven her
Aslyn involved the church, demanding justice be done, and the trial was held
Agheth was accused of incest with a cousin before and after marrying the king, and was put to death
Danorr couldn't forgive Aslyn, who left the kingdom
Agheth was expunged as queen by the church and buried here in her family, non-royal, crypt
Danorr sealed the crypt
•
• Flipping to the end, there was a coming of great Necromantic Lords which laid siege. Danorr was slain in battle with them, leading to the eventual fall of the city.
• Caelethon held on a bit longer in the White Tower, dying of advanced age soon after the city's fall but before harm came to his Order.


The book describes the deliberations of many high trials and ecclesiastical courts (the church handling the high trials of the royals, specifically). He anguished particularly over the trial of Agheth, though, which seems to align most with what you saw here.

The tomb was designed as a tomb. Burials descended from the middle of the henge into the central chamber of the crypts and were entombed family by family. It was prestigious, so for those who could afford the gold donations to receive the honor. They had a highly honorific culture towards their ancestors, and gold donations at the crypt (in the coin slots) helped ensure the honoring of your family and the peaceful rest of those in repose within.

You find no reference to a side entrance to the crypts. Skeletal protectors are not only not mentioned, but would be antithetical to the nature of the tomb that Caethelon describes. He only discusses family tombs within - nothing about court rooms, fountains, spectres, etc.

When King Danorr had the tomb sealed, he placed a capstone over the descending stair, so that those interred within would never be disturbed. Caethelon aided in blessing the capstone to "ward it against removal."
The family tombs are each individually adorned, with the main family members being honored in sarcophagi. Vassal houses, poor relatives, servants, and others have the option of being sealed in ossuary boxes within the walls. So, the engraved sections of wall with stucco-style stonework conceal these further ossuaries.

Markd mentions upon seeing the names on the tombs,
I recognize all of the families from the chronicles. Caelethon was involved in religious matters with them as they represent the non-royal aristocratic elites of the city. This tomb is also mentioned as he interred people here, with names of individuals matching those here. It contracts with the royal tombs, which are within the city itself. There was some tension between "old" nobles and "new" nobles rising through commerce. He comments that the Mausoleums were built for the latter after the tomb was closed; King Dannor ordered the crypts sealed and denied further interment below, thus honoring Agheth, who is buried here with her family.

[Zhym]

Yeah, that would all be good to know. So we know the ancient history of the tomb but not what's behind the skeletons, grotto, and ghostly trial.

Fingers would still have tried the coins in the slots, but might not have spent so much time trying to move the stone. That's the stone that was added later we think, right?"

"Hey, I've got an idea," says Fingers. "Gold donations are supposed to give peaceful rest to those buried here, right? What if that's, like, literally true? Do you think the skeletons and ghosts and stuff go away for a while when gold coins are dropped down the slot?"