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Darion Tanor'Tass

Darion stays quiet as Sven talks with the "entity". He quietly instructs his men to stay alert and watch for anything trying to sneak up on them.

"Long ago?" The woman-shape tilts her head. "What is long ago when the span of your life is numbered in epochs? What would an ant like you know of the doings of giants?" Her voice drips with disdain.

She pauses, her form flashing bright for a brief moment before the light dims. "But perhaps...you are truthful. Time has marched on and even Stone crumbles to dust. Yet I remain." She stabs an accusing finger at the barrows. "And they remain! Polluting my good earth. My clear water. With their foul, rotten flesh..."

She gleams a deep, angry red. "Find them! End their unnatural lives! Banish them to the afterlife. I know the secrets buried at the roots of the mountains...gold. Gems. Ancient treasures lost to the memory of the oldest living fleshling." Rich laughter spills from her luminous lips. "Your kind values these objects, yes? I will grant you the riches of the Stone kings if you destroy them for me. I am Aria, and my generosity is endless toward those who serve me well." Again she points at the barrows.

Sven half-bows in defference. "We will do your bidding, oh, powerful Aria... And, yes, we value gems and gold sometimes more than life itself. We will be grateful for that reward... Once we have destroyed the foul undead." He smirks.

Then turns back and takes one of his hand-axes from his belt. He gestures at his henchmen to follow him and then adresses his compannions. "What do you say, comrades, are you feeling like killing some dead?" He laughs and starts walking towards the entrance of the mound.

He won't go in until the others respond.

Darion Tanor'Tass

"The living dead are a stain in this world. We are ready to vanquish them!"

Darion and his men stand ready to enter the mound

The entrance is damp and dark. The earth is heavy with mold and a musty pall weighs down the humid air. The interior is totally silent.

Light sources and a marching order, if you don't mind. Let's do one order single-file and one two-abreast. The entrance is narrow, but you will be able to space out once inside.

Darion Tanor'Tass

"I would suggest inspecting the doorway and just inside for any kind of trap since its such a small entrance."

To the relief of whoever inspects the doorway, it is blessedly free from traps or other obstacles. The entrance proceeds down and in for almost as far as your light penetrates. At the edge of your light, it vanishes into what looks like a chamber. At the very least, the passage broadens into something wider than the cramped one-man tunnel in which you currently stand.

No tracks or mud mar the stone slabs which serve as steps beneath your feet. Cobwebs hang thickly from the low ceiling. Spiders scuttle rapidly away from the heat thrown from torches or lanterns and the fetid stench of old decay wafts toward you as you disturb the heavy air.

Tree roots thrust from the roof of the passage to dangle in your face and obscure your vision, casting dancing shadows upon the wall like long, grasping tentacles reaching toward you.

Josiah Belker

"Tal, light." Josiah calls out as he peers into the entrance of the crypt, he wearily inspects the roots reaching out from the ceiling. Drawing his greatsword he runs the blade across the roots slowly in a small arc as a precaution. "I'll volunteer to take a spot in the front."


Josiah's torchbearer will have a torch lit and follow the group inside.

Sven

The warrior gets ready. "Fine. I'll be just behind you and will pull you behind me if things get rough for you."

I suggest these marching orders:

One abreast:
Josiah
Sven
Torchbearer 1 (Josiah's)
Bob (Sven's fighter henchman)
Darion
Torchbearer 2 (Sven's)

Two abreast:
Josiah - Sven
TB1 - Bob
Darion - TB2

I don't know if I forget anyone's henchman. Feel free to make any modifications. For instance, we may want to have TB1 in the second row if there isn't enough light ahead when he's in the third row in the 1-abreast formation.

I would also suggest that we come up with a tactical formation for battles in open ground. Like a shield wall of fighters and henchmen in the front line and the rest throwing projectiles and thrusting with spears from the second line.

I regret not having given Bob a spear so he can attack from behind.

Darion Tanor'Tass

I have two henchmen we can add

Josiah

I do have a porter as well.

Darion Tanor'Tass

I suggest these marching orders:

One abreast:
Josiah
Sven
Torchbearer 1 (Josiah's),
Bob (Sven's fighter henchman)
Darion,
Henchman (darion)
Torchbearer 2 (Sven's)
Henchman (Darion)

Two abreast:
Josiah - Sven
TB1 - Bob
Darion - TB2
Darion's 2 henchmen

Logistical matters sorted out, the mass of adventurers and their lackeys proceed into the close confines of the mound. It is slow going at first, narrow and suffocatingly close.

Now and then, the grasping roots almost seem to reach down to tickle the back of your neck as you pass. The smells of damp earth and decay give way to, of all things, the smells of roasting meat and woodsmoke. Very faint snatches of song drift to your ears as you delve onward, each step carrying you several inches deeper underground.

Finally, the passage opens into the chamber you glimpsed from above. It is roughly circular and a dozen feet across. Barely large enough for the lot of you to squeeze inside. A passage curves away to your left and another to your right. Both are wide enough to traverse two abreast.

Large stone slabs are set into the earthen walls. They bear intricate inscriptions in an alphabet no one recognizes and are surrounded by carvings of various beasts. Some are familiar--horses, deer, elk. Others are alien. Massive four-legged beasts with huge tusks, one-horned monsters, great fish with paddles instead of fins and long, serpentine necks.

The carvings of men are odd, too. Most are depicted as four inch figures, but a select few are drawn to a much larger scale. Some are eight inches, others ten. The largest holds what looks like a normal man in his grasp, raising him to his mouth. All in all, the carvings portray a gruesome, hard world filled with hungry beasts and ravenous warriors. But the artwork is highly-refined and very delicate, at the same time. What a world it must've been, all those thousands of years ago.

A strong smell of death wafts subtly from the left-hand passage. From the right-hand passage, you catch once more the scent of meat and the faintest hints of music.

Sven

A shiver runs down the warrior's Spine. "This is... weird. I've never seen something like this." He grips the handle of his hand axe even tighter. "If you have any blunt weapon, anything better than just a piercing weapon, this may be the time to use it. We're probably going to fight hideous undead monsters."

He looks to both branches of the corridor and whisperS: "I don't like the smell coming from there." He nods at the left corridor. "But probably there's nothing... eh... alive or moving there. The place with the music sounds... eerie to me." He turns his head looking to the right corridor. "Music in this place? I suggest we go to the left hallway."

Darion Tanor'Tass

The elf nods and tightens his grip on the hilt of his blade.
"I agree, the left sees the preferable route."