Tomb of the Serpent Kings (IC)

[Amaril]

https://pm1.narvii.com/7682/86f5e7186c17789a37a257f13c0159d7c5516914r1-1280-720v2_00.jpg

The entrance is about an hour's walk outside the village. By the time you get there, after giving it plenty of time to make sure Lord Eadrig's knights were good and asleep back at the inn, it's past midnight, the ass end of morning when no gods-fearing person wants to be awake.

Before you stands the partly-collapsed remnant of what's still clearly recognizable as a doorway, roughly-hewn stone blocks propped on end. There's rock and soil piled in it that you'd have to step over, remnants of the landslide. It's nothing huge or grand, just enough for one person to fit through with a bulky pack. Beyond, the light of your lanterns casts a narrow passageway, perhaps five feet wide, in flickering orange. The floor is packed dirt and gravel, the walls hewn stone; roots protrude from the earthen ceiling like great pale worms. Near the edge of your light, a pair of openings branch off the central passage, left and right; they look even narrower, though it's hard to tell from out here. Beyond, the passage continues on into darkness.

By your best guess, you have about eight hours 'til dawn. Eight hours to grab whatever you can carry and get away with the knights none the wiser.

What do you do?

[dancrilis]

Helga

Looking at those who had shown up, "so no point in waiting unless anyone has any clear ideas I think we should go inside and go right - and then stick to the right so we don't get lost inside if it is particularly windy" she offered as a suggestion.

[Lacco]

Gaward

"Now this... is new."

Gaward peeked inside. Left, right... it was no choice at this point. He looked around, getting one last whiff of fresh air and nodded to the others.

"Lady chose right - right it is. Let's move before we start rethinking this. Wanna go first, big guy?" he asked Brannigan and drew one of his daggers from belt. He used to play with daggers when nervous.


Okay, if nobody else does, I'll light my one torch. Are there any visible tracks in the passage?

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

Holding his lit lantern aloft, Brannigan approaches the intersection and enters the right opening.

[Amaril]

Start of Turn 1
8 Hours 'til Dawn

As Brannigan leads the way into the tunnel, his advancing light reveals two more openings off the passage beyond the first pair, left and right. The main passage continues further still, the end not yet visible in the glow.

The first set of openings are indeed narrow, more doorways than passages, though they extend about five feet off the main tunnel. Approaching the one on the right from the entrance, you can see that it leads into a small room, perhaps five feet square, with no other obvious exits. In the center, perpendicular to the doorway, rests a wooden sarcophagus, a simple construction bereft of any carvings or ornaments you can see from outside the room. Taking a glance down the opposing passage, you see an identical room with a matching sarcophagus. Neither side room has any other furniture or objects in it that you can see from outside.

A couple things to keep in mind as we get started:

Make sure to track the time on your light sources. Brannigan's lantern can burn for 24 turns on one flask of oil. I'll keep an eye on light sources and other durations myself as part of tracking the overall adventure clock, but I appreciate having some backup in case I lose track of them.
Brannigan, remember that your lance is a two-handed weapon. Carrying it with one arm is no problem, but if you get in a fight, you'll need to set down or hand off your lantern to attack with it.
Remember, you guys are going to be responsible for any map-making that you want to do. If someone in the group will be drawing a map, let me know, and keep in mind what items you want to have readied (we can abstract switching between mapping equipment and weapons as long as you have both readied, but if not, it might be a problem).


Gaward, you see no immediately obvious tracks in the tunnel. Since you don't have tracking as a skill, if you want to look more closely for some, you'll need to search the area, which will take a turn.

[Lacco]

Gaward

Gaward's hair stood up on his neck. The air was stale, but he felt more alive than ever. He quickly took a sketch on the parchment and upon noticing the sarcophagi, he turned towards his companions.

"Did anyone pack anything to pry open those wooden boxes? And if you don't mind, hand me the lantern - I'll take a look if there's something fishy with the boxes and when I'm done, I can carry the light and you can try your might, future sir knight."

A self-satisfied grin flashed in the darkness. He even made a rhyme!

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

"I've got something," Brannigan responds as he hands the lantern to Gaward. He then reaches into his sack to retrieve his crowbar and prepares to open the box.


Since the lance is readied, I figured the lance was "sheathed' or strapped over his shoulder in some way so that Brannigan could hold both his lantern and small sack. In the event of a fight, he would have to set down the lantern and sack to draw the lance.

[Lacco]

Gaward

While Brannigan looks for the "something", Gaward slowly walks into the room on the right - according to the directions given by Helga - and starts looking for anything that looks threatening - walking around the walls, looking for holes, sharp items, then walking towards the sarcophagus - running his fingers over the lid, trying to look for anything suspicious. He acted as someone who definitely likes his skin intact and insides in the right place.

He often looks back, just to make sure someone is looking out of the room.

Looking for traps, just looking for traps...

[dancrilis]

Helga

As the two others got to work searching the room she kept an eye behind her, she wasn't sure if anything could live down here but at least she would expect bats or something that might be unused to people and think to try their luck.

[Amaril]

Turn 1

Gaward, passing your practiced gaze over the walls, floor, and ceiling of the cramped side room, you see nothing out of the ordinary—just roughly-hewn rock and packed soil. The sarcophagus is no different. Closer up, you can make out the faintest shades of some ancient paintwork, now long peeled and faded beyond recognition. It all seems safe enough, if rather ghoulish.

Security skill detects no traps or hazards.

Helga, you keep an eye and an ear out for any sign of life approaching down the passage, but notice nothing, except a few bugs.

The room is barely more than a closet, really, just enough to house the sarcophagus and Gaward as he goes about his search. Still, being as thorough as he is takes a few minutes.

Start of Turn 2
8 Hours 'til Dawn

Finishing up, and confident that no traps lie in wait, Gaward moves out of the way to let Brannigan have his chance at the sarcophagus. The lid is neither stuck nor especially heavy, and levers out of the way easily enough, releasing a puff of dust that smells like centuries of neglect.

Instead of a body, the box turns out to be occupied by what looks like a statue of reddish clay. While not all that detailed, it's recognizable easily enough as a man, clad in armor and clasping a sword (all part of the statue, sadly). A glance at the figure's face, however, makes you reconsider. The person depicted is entirely bald, and his lips are drawn back in an exaggerated snarl to reveal sharp teeth, like those of some flesh-eating beast. His eyes are depicted open, and the pupils, modeled using small depressions in the clay, are vertical slits, like a viper's. All in all, a rather unsettling image.

[Lacco]

Gaward

Brushing some of the dust from his clothes, Gaward drew a dagger again and listened. He was no big fan of snakes, and this one looked too... human for his liking.

Fixing his eyes on the sarcophagus and not wanting to turn his back on the clay lizard-thing, he addressed the others.

"Do you..." he cleared his throat. It sounded too loud in the small room. "...think there's snakes inside?"

He licked his lips.

"Let's break it. I don't like it."

He turned his blade in his hand, prepared to hit the clay... thing... with dagger's handle. Then he decided to quickly glance around, to see if there are any loose stones or sticks he could use instead. It would no be wise not to save a dagger for a foe.

[dancrilis]

Helga

"It might be worth a lot to a collector - we are here for treasure after all" she stated bluntly, "we should take it with us".

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

"I'd suggest breaking it from a distance if you think there could be snakes inside. While you figure that out, I'll open this other tomb."

Brannigan moves aside to allow his companions access to the open sarcophagus. Noticing the similar room across the passage containing another coffin, he enters it and begins to pry open that box as well.

[Lacco]

Gaward

Gaward looked at Helga, his eyes wide open with pretend shock.

"Heh, no way I'm going to drag around statues - if it's not a golden statue filled with diamonds, I'm not haulin' it."

He waited for Brannigan to leave the room and then whispered to Helga.

"Hey, did you hear that sound...?"

As soon as her head turned towards the corridor, he smashed the clay with the pommel of his least favourite dagger.

[Amaril]

Turn 2

Gaward, the clay shatters easily before your strike. You have just enough time to recognize that the statue was in fact hollow before your vision suddenly blurs, your eyes stinging as an acrid scent fills your nostrils, making your throat burn and sending you into a fit of coughing.

Take 1 damage.

Helga, turning around at the sound of clay breaking, you see Gaward's face engulfed in a could of noxious-looking yellow gas that erupts from within the statue. The smell reaches you as well, enough to make your eyes water, but you don't catch enough to be hurt. Almost immediately, the fumes dissipate throughout the room, no longer concentrated enough to do more than stink. It looks like this trap was one-and-done. Gaward, as your eyes clear and the coughing abates, you find that breathing has become a bit painful, but seemingly nothing too serious.

Within the hole Gaward's made, you catch sight of a glint of gold....

Brannigan, the opposing tomb looks more or less identical: same earthen walls, same long-faded paintwork on the box's surface. Prying the lid off the sarcophagus proves just as easy. Within lies another statue, the same red clay. The figure is a woman this time, modeled in the same style of armor, and with the same reptilian features, which make her face look little different from that of her counterpart across the passage.

[Lacco]

Gaward

*koff koff*

"Damn, what an amateur mistake. Helga, *wheeze* wrap something around your pretty face and check what's inside. I'll go breathe a bit and check if something heard us."

Gaward steps out of the room, and tries to catch his breath. He looks down the dark corridor and then goes to check on Brannigan.

Noticing the clay figure, he chuckles wheezingly. "Word of warning, do not crack those open while standing near." He looks around to pick a loose stone, either to offer it to Brannigan as a ranged prybar.

[dancrilis]

Helga

She was an experienced liar - a very experienced one at that but she spoke the truth here "with the right buyer we could have sold that for maybe half a villages yearly tax take in a large city - and now we can't. We are near the entrance we can carry pieces out and hide them nearby at this distance no need to break everything" she stated, she normally worked alone and had stolen artworks and gems before only to find the artworks were often worth more then the gems - still she was working with others here and no use getting too mad this entire operation was a gamble and it looked like it might pay off still.

Taking a stripe of cloth from her disguise kit she did as she was asked and examined the glittering, careful in case it was just some brightly coloured bug instead of actual valuables.

[Amaril]

Turn 2

Helga, what you see within the statue is no bug, but a gold medallion on a matching chain. The coin-sized pendant is shaped like a reptile's scale, and bears an inscription in small, angular lettering, too small to make out without a closer look. There's something intertwined with the chain that it takes you a second to recognize: a dead snake, perhaps a foot and a half long, dessicated to little more than bones and papery, translucent skin.

Gaward, there are plenty of loose stones littered about the tunnel entrance, several easily large enough to break the second statue open with a good toss.

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

Brannigan shakes his head slightly at the antics of his companions, and sets down his 'dungeoning sack' in the intersection. He readies his lance and from the maximum of his extended reach he breaks the 2nd clay figure with a few quick jabs.

[dancrilis]

Helga

She carefully picked off the snake with her dagger and then used the same to pick up the medallion and examined it closely but cautiously to avoid any other trap that might spit out venom at her or whatever these snake people might bobbytrap their stuff with.

Carrying it to the others "medallion with lettering I can't make out in this light - probably something for tomorrow ... and ye are breaking more ancient relics I see" she said with a sigh - the price of working with newbies she figured still hopefully even with there destroy everything mentality they would have a decent score.

"There was a dead snake wrapped around it - as a guess the gas all that was left of its poison" she stated as she moved back to the corridor in case this vase had larger version of the same.

[Lacco]

Gaward

Gaward watches the corridor and tries to listen to any sounds he would not like. The crashing and mumbling makes it a bit hard, but he tries.

When Helga walks by, he just calmly states "It's a matter of practicality. If you want to carry the statue, no problem - I don't mind. But when we're running from the knights, I'll gladly take the locket - I can carry, hide and sell that easily. Can't do the same with a statue. Unless it's a small, golden statuette."

He smiles. "Don't worry, we won't break all of them - you can carry the next poison-filled clay monstrosity."

[Amaril]

Turn 2

Helga, if you want to identify and translate the script on the amulet, you can do so with an Intelligence check. The text is short enough that this wouldn't take a turn.

Brannigan, your lance shatters the clay easily. From a comfortable distance, you see the puff of noxious yellow gas escape from the cavity within; it reeks, and your eyes water a little, but it's diluted enough to have no further effect by the time it reaches you.

Within the hole, you see another glint of gold catching the lantern-light.

[dancrilis]

Helga

As she waited for the others she took a second look at the medallion to no more luck then she expected - "sure, sure - more thinking that we if the knights don't break everything we could still things left tomorrow, and we don't want to leave too much evidence that we were here before them".

[Lacco]

Gaward

While the two tend to the findings, Gaward listens intently in the hallway, trying to pick sounds that would betray a presence of anyone else.

That would be a WIS roll?

[roll0]

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

This stench is nothing compared what he had found this last year working as a laborer. 'Hopefully the pay will be nothing like it too,' Brannigan thought as he reached down to take the glittering gold from the broken clay fragments and slipped it into his pouch.

Recovering his 'dungeoning bag', Brannigan turns to his allies for the evening. "We should head on in together. Bring the light and lets see what we find further down this tunnel."

[Lacco]

Gaward

"Ready whenever you are... shhh... did you hear that?"

Gaward felt tense, more than he would normally let the others see. This was unusual for him and he still felt the taste of noxious fumes in his mouth. Lantern in his one hand, dagger in his other, he waited for Helga to get into order and then quickly took place behind Brannigan.

[Amaril]

Turn 2

Returning to the central passage, you continue your cautious advance. Past the entrances to the first set of side chambers, you come to the second pair of openings you saw. At a closer look, they appear quite similar, narrow doorways extending perhaps five feet into another pair of side rooms. From outside, these ones look a little bigger. Within each, you see another wooden sarcophagus in the same style.

As you draw near to the second set of side doorways, the end of the main passage finally comes into the lanternlight further ahead. The tunnel terminates in a large, sturdy-looking door, wood with metal reinforcements. Across it rests a bar, which looks from a distance to be made of stone.

[Lacco]

Gaward

Gaward stood in the middle between the two rooms, a lantern in his one hand, a dagger in the other.

"Helga - do you still want one of those clay thingies?" his voice sounded coarse, dry. Gaward licked his lips, looking at the door in the end.

"Gotta wonder. What is the bar keeping inside the tomb...?"

[dancrilis]

Helga

She noted the wooden sarcophagus "these seemed to be wood - might be easier to open?" she offered "like one sure - but likely not going to get one, as for a bar unless you were locking yourself inside it might be difficult enough to get in place - it might just be structural?"

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

Turning to the others, Brannigan suggests: "Looks like more of the same. I'll open and crack the left. One of you take the right and maybe they other should go have a look at that barred door."

With that, he sets his dungeoning bag down in the hall, grabs his crowbar, enters the left room and cracks open the box. If there is another clay statue within, he will step back and use his lance to break it from a distance.

[Amaril]

Turn 2

While Gaward and Helga consider their options, Brannigan, you head through the entryway to the left-hand chamber. As you would've guessed from outside, this one is a little bigger than the last two, but not by much, perhaps ten feet wide and five deep. The sarcophagus opens just as easily. Inside is another statue, but rather than an armed and armored warrior, the reptilian creature in this one is clad in robes, and his (or her? it's hard to tell) arms hold a set of scrolls. Unlike the swords held by the other statues, these scrolls are real, vellum wrapped around wood and bone batons; however, you hardly need to glance at them to know they won't be of any use, as they've already crumbled nearly to dust.

Stepping back, you crack through the clay with your lance once again. Just like with the other statues, a puff of the same foul yellow gas is released. Once it clears enough for you to get close again, you peer inside to see another gleam of gold: another of the scale-shaped amulets, with another withered snake carcass intertwined with the chain.

Helga, Gaward, what are you up to while Brannigan is doing this?

[dancrilis]

Helga

Considering where she might be useful she decided to examine the sealed door for any indication of worth or danger.

[Lacco]

Gaward

Standing in the hallway, Gaward moved aside for Helga as she went towards the door. He followed her as far as he could, to leave Brannigan with some light in the room and waited.

He seemed lost in thought, but as soon as Brannigan joined them, he went up to the door and started checking for traps - or anything else that would be suspicious.

His main objective was to get through the door, but he couldn't resist some banter, just to make the situation a bit lighter.

"So... lizards with gold. Who knew? What do you think lives beyond this door...? And, mainly, what does etiquette in dungeon say - ladies first? Or knights?"

[Amaril]

Turn 2

Together, Gaward and Helga give the door and the surrounding tunnel a thorough inspection. Up closer, you can see that the bar is made from a single piece of solid stone chiseled roughly into shape for the job; it rests on a pair of iron pegs driven into the doorframe. It looks heavy enough that it would probably take multiple people to lift.

Time ticks by as they go about it...

Start of Turn 3
8 Hours 'til Dawn

Your caution pays off this time. Gaward, you notice something suspicious about the pegs supporting the door bar: they're not actually just hammered into the frame, but rather emerge from slots, part of some sort of mechanism. It looks as if they're in the "down" position right now, held there by the weight of the bar, you'd guess. If the bar were moved, they'd lift up, probably causing something to happen. Judging by the fact that this mechanism was hidden, you can't imagine activating it would do anything pleasant.

[dancrilis]

Helga

"So thoughts - can likely take the gold we have and leave, come back tomorrow night after any traps etc have been dealt with by the guards, or when the guards have been dealt with by the traps" she shrugged "risk of losing a much larger payday however".

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

Brannigan adds the gold trinket from within the broken clay statue to his growing collection before stepping back into the main hall. He watches his companions for a moment as they continue their investigation of the door. "I'll take care of this while you get that door open" he calls down to them.

Then he makes his way into the chamber on the right, where another box awaits his crowbar and hopefully another treasure filled clay doll awaits his lance.


Brannigan will open the box in the chamber on the right and if there is a clay statue, he'll stand back and use the lance to break it.

[Lacco]

Gaward

"I'd rather go on - there's one necklace for each of us and not much more as of now. We've got plenty of time as far as I know. But I don't like this door. Rather, those pegs. Look at those things - they spell trouble."

He moves forward, looking at the ceiling and floor cautiously.

"I've seen something like this when my father took me to the city once - in the battlements. If we remove the counterweight - the bar - these pegs will get lifted. Which means something gets lowered - usually that's how these mechanical thingamajigs work. You unbalance the system, and it comes crashing down."

He turns around, with a flashy smile. "Now shall we bring it down? Or shall we try to circumvent it?" His theatrics hid the fact his mind was racing, thinking about how to remove the trap from their way.


Tinkering should apply, correct?

[Amaril]

Turn 3

Brannigan, you venture into the remaining side chamber. Unsurprisingly at this point, it appears a copy of the one opposite. Once more, the sarcophagus opens before your prybar. Inside this one is yet another clay reptile-person statue, this one modeled in robes like the last one, but visibly more ornate; upon their brow rests a clay circlet, and their wrists are wrapped in bracelets. Their hands are clasped over their chest, and upon the middle finger of the left one, you finally see something new: an actual ring, tarnished silver. While it's not clay, the statue is sculpted around it, such that you'd have to break the hands to get the ring off.

Let me know if Brannigan still wants to try breaking this statue open, given it's different from the rest.

[Snarkhunter]

Brannigan

Taking note of the ring, he steps back and uses his lance to break this clay snake-man in a manner similar to the previous two. Once any fumes have cleared, he'll search through the bits to recover it and any other trinkets that may be found within.

[Lacco]

Gaward

"Ah, this reminds me of the old rabbit traps my uncle prepared. The rabbit does the silly thing, the tension is removed, the log comes down and there is no longer a rabbit, but a small meal."

He took out his tools and started to work on the pins.

"I'm neither a rabbit, nor a small meal. But I want to know what's on the other side."

Using Tinkering; opening the door without it harming me. Was I right about the stone above the door? Also: would it be possible to fix it so we can activate the trap at will (ideally within the same round)?
EDIT: Am I overthinking this? :smalleek:

[Amaril]

Turn 3

Brannigan, the fumes clear shortly, leaving you free to pick through the clay fragments and recover the ring. Next to it, you find another of the scale-shaped gold amulets, watched over by another dead snake. It makes no move to stop you from claiming its treasure.

Gaward, as Helga keeps an eye and ear out, you set to work on the door mechanism. It's not especially complex; the builders seemed to have relied on most intruders being less careful than the lot of you. You quickly learn that the stone bar resting atop the pegs is heavy enough that you need help to lift it out of the way, but with your work complete, the pegs remain securely in the down position, leaving whatever trap might lie in store un-sprung.

Time passes as you work...

Start of Turn 4
8 Hours 'til Dawn

After several minutes, Gaward can announce that the door is safe. Opening it cautiously, you're able to peer through.

The space on the other side is by far the largest you've seen in here so far, the opposite wall almost at the edge of your lanternlight. It's a single room, roughly rectangular and mostly empty. By the wall to the left of the door stands a dais, atop which three more wooden sarcophagi rest; the one in the middle is elevated a step above the other two. Opposite the three, on the wall to the right of the door you're looking through, is the only other obvious exit, an open doorway about five feet wide.

[Lacco]

Gaward

"Looks almost comfy." He shudders. "Not a big fan of snakes... did anyone get antivenom?"

He steps into the room and waits for Brannigan and Helga to join.

"So... last time we saw snake sarcophagi, we could break them. Do you think we can find something beyond those?" He shines the torchlight on the dais.