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Cosmo,

certainly the linen burial shroud radiates an enchantment. Oddly the domain or school of the aura is not 'necromantic', noting that potions of healing and Cure Light Wounds are described as being under such domain. As were the linens taken before which had the Cure Disease enchantment. These however have been entwined around the boy's body and radiate a distinct 'alteration' effect, which may suggest some other magic is imbued within them and by default, active upon the deceased.

Mercian refers to the Barbarian tribe that ruled the Barrow Moor, predating the founding of Ironguard Motte. The current Duke, Kell Aerik is a descendant of the Mercian lineage.

"The Shroud, alteration magic, making the kid look different, maybe before the pox. Let me look at the other sarcophagus, see if there is magic there."

Cosmo will move to the other one while the spell lasts.

Cosmo

Sir Dewey

"Interesting. Should we take the bandages for study? These types of healing things aren't really my area of knowledge, but I'd be interested in looking up the name."

He pauses, fully understanding what Cosmo is saying. "Oh. That's just as interesting. Or maybe it's hiding something, not just making a pretty corpse."

Amos

"We have seen similar bandages like these before."

"A careful hand might be able to unfurl the wrappings without damage so that they may be used again."

If nobody else offers, Amos will attempt to remove the wraps.

"Or, should we check the next coffer first?"

"Well alright, what do the wraps do? I can help you if you want?"

GM: Any magic on the other sarcophagus?

Cosmo

Amos

"The linens taken before held a Cure Disease enchantment."

(from SM's post above)

Exploring the Secluded Crypts.

If nobody else offers, Amos will attempt to remove the wraps.

Aided by one of the npc's, cleric of Arcantryl Amos begins to careful unwind the many layers of swaddling and linens, trying to spool them as unbroken as he can. give me a [4d6] vs Dex check please.

Sir Dewey stands guards, contemplating the discernment revealed by Cosmo's detect magic spell. As the body is probed and unbound, he is wary as oft disturbing corpses has a negative effect, but no awakening in Undead state and no warning blaze of Light erupts from his imbued shield.

Isvand cannot locate any traps on the coffer of the girl and with some help and extra grappling strength, he can slide the heavy lid away in similar fashion to the first.

Inside this coffer is not another body however but a sleek, tortoiseshell patterned fur robe with several long tassels and a staff that is fitted with a large feline paw.

Under the Detect Magic, both of the items give enchanted auras.

any further actions and deliberations.

"If that is what you say, they seem incredibly valuable. What did you do with the last ones?

Cosmo will assist with recovering the fabric.

Cosmo

Dex Check (15) [4d6]=15

Amos unfurls the wrappings as carefully as he can while answersering.

"We used them to save the life of.......Orgoth......I think."

Isvand will secure the robe and staff, and then search the walls for any hidden doors. Other than finding out what these things do, I think we may be ready to move on?

Search [1d8]=5

Sir Dewey

He watches in interest as the new fur robe is revealed. "The name and that paw print artwork should be enough to determine who this is. Someone from a colder climate, I think." The Knight gathers the items and suggests reaching out to the nearby group to determine the next place to hunt.

Two linen sets were taken. One set was given to the Church of St Ygg, in the care of Sister Cella to see if the magic could be replicated and used to treat diseased victims in the new hospice. The other kept as 'Guild' property with a view to Gerdal doing her own spell research upon it.

Yardie was healed of disease by Sir Dewey after a week of quarantine. Sven & Amos healed of their afflictions whilst in the maze after the first Fungal Corridor exploration. Amos was the most critical, facing death within turns rather than days, hence being treated as the priority patient.

The linens were enchanted to keep a body free from rot and decay or to use as a one-off Cure Disease for someone afflicted.


The burial linens are carefully unwound from around the body of Vladiboris II: the child corpse. Rigid in his state of rigor mortis, he makes no complaint as his bindings are unwrapped. You get a clearer view of his body as the wrappings are spooled away.. Intelligence/Wisdom check please for Amos & Cosmo.

Others check the remaining coffers; one clearly the disturbed place of unrest for the Crypt Thing there is no inscription or plaque here, you might speculate without any other evidence that this figure might have been a guardian or mentor to the child in life as well as death. Certainly the robe and staff in the 'girl' coffer are adult rather than child in size. They can be picked up and examined without setting off any trap ot trick.

Inside this coffer is not another body however but a sleek, tortoiseshell patterned fur robe with several long tassels and a staff that is fitted with a large feline paw.

They have a cat or feline appearance and counting, you can make out nine cat tails as the dangling tassels. With a haunting Crypt Thing in the neighbouring coffer and deceased child in the third, the robe probably doesn't have a 'nine-lives' trait, unless of course, one of the two died all nine. It takes an hour to strip the body and keep the enchanted linens whole (Dexterity check success).

Let me know if anyone equips the robe or uses the staff.

The Knight gathers the items and suggests reaching out to the nearby group to determine the next place to hunt.

Isvand can speak into the telephonic device, communicating with Sigrid on your advances. You hear a reply saying that other group have encountered some cultists, now 'ex-cultists' and are sneaking onward into securing the nearby area. You don't think you are separated by a great distance and could reach them if you took a short-cut through the 'Darkness' passage. Gideon has explored that passage. It has a small alcove and rubble strewn floor but is otherwise free of dangers. The 'Dark Knight' is no longer present and mysteriously, no sign or sight of Gerdal too.

Actions, where to next?

Roll as requested:

Int vs 16 [4d6]=16


Assisting in unwrapping:

Sorry vs. 16 Dex Check [4d6]=16


Cosmo would be interested in investigating and equiping the staff, if no one objects.

Cosmo

Cosmo

With the intelligence check success, you can note that Vladiboris II suffered from a distinct disease that claimed his life. The 'Mercian Pox' has left his corpse covered in blistered legions that are filled with congealed black blood. It is almost Anthrax like in appearance and though you cannot confirm without an autopsy, he probably has suffered with the disease affecting his breathing through clotting his lungs and debilitating his liver. You have an enhanced knowledge of 'Lizardman Lore' and recall they were carriers of the disease though did not suffer such outbreaks themselves.

You might also recall that the disease is very long lived, the virus carrying spores lie in stasis for many years and if the body was afflicted, it would not be unimaginable to conclude the linens themselves have absorbed a significant amount of spores as the body rests, even though it is not in a state of decay. While you don't need any Saving Throw vs catching the pox now, it might be worthwhile to:

A: sack up the spool of linens, currently wound around someone's arm and remember to thoroughly wash them before trying to transcribe and identify the enchanted inscriptions.

B: you need change your clothes, preferably burning the garb you have and wash any exposed flesh

all the more reason then to dress after in a warm, cat-fur cloak.

the burial linen did radiate with enchantment, but unlike the ones repatriated earlier, this one does not hold a Cure Disease imbuement, something else then.

Cosmo will throw away his clothing, its acid washed to much anyway.

He will look odd, just wearing his leather armor. He will use the water from his waterskin to wash himself and clean his armor.

"Lets bag all of them up in another bag."

GM: Do I have to roll something to look at the staff?

Cosmo

GM: Do I have to roll something to look at the staff?

No, you have already determined that both fur robe and cats-paw staff are both enchanted. To gain knowledge of the specific magic, that requires either Identify (which in itself is not always completely accurate) or the 'trial & error' method of wearing and using items.

Physical inspections on the robe suggest is made up of several feline pelts, much larger than a domesticated cat, nine in total. A Lynx or Bobcat type species. In general the condition is good though some refurbishment might be in order. Typically fur garb often picks up lice or worm eggs and takes more care or grooming to maintain condition. The seams might need stitching again to keep it more wind and rain proof (there are famed seamstresses in Helix) but it is otherwise sincere. With a little tailoring and turning the hem up, it could fit characters of smaller stature.

(I think Isvand's bear cloak did shrink to fit once he donned it).

As to the staff, it is made with a thick, stout shaft but is shorter than a quarterstaff, so is probably not used as a reach weapon but could be used as a basic club if neccessary. The paw has retractable claws in the toe digits, but again they are not geared towards raking and slashing, rather gripping something. There are no runes or inscriptions along its length or any kind of trigger button. However when you press the palm pad, the claws close over your finger in response, gripping your hand in reaction before releasing its hold a moment later.

"Well I would love to wear the cloak in to chill, but I don't want to damage it. And the staff is very interesting. We will pack them away for now. yes?"

Cosmo does a final check around.

Cosmo

Amos will look the short staff over as well, hoping to glean any more information from it.

Wisdom Check (15) [4d6]=16

Once the three rooms have been searched thoroughly, he suggests a route that will take them closer to the others position, just in case.

He moves through the dark passage in hopes of finding them again.

Sir Dewey

"Agreed on both counts. Let's pack the items away and move to combine with the others. There are surely more rooms to knock down."

Sir Dewey suggests he enter the darkness first and the rest follow, unless Amos is already moving.