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<blockquote data-quote="Netherstorm" data-source="post: 5754562" data-attributes="member: 84943"><p><strong>8. Expedition to Cat Island</strong></p><p></p><p><em>12/20/11: I used material from the legendary Dungeon Magazine adventure called The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb...</em></p><p><em></em></p><p><em>There's a few "meanwhile" scenes featuring other characters from other campaigns. I put those in to show what the PCs would have been doing if they had chosen a different path.</em></p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Saga of Valor </span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-size: 12px">Book One - NyrodSpace War 3</span></span></p><p></p><p> </p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center"><em>Chapter Eight: Expedition to Cat Island</em></p><p></p><p></p><p><strong>Ardra</strong> - Eladrin Bladesinger <em>Vovoidja</em></p><p><strong>The Blue Monk</strong> - Half-Orc Monk <em>Almoner</em></p><p><strong>Hartaniel</strong> - Elf Barbarian <em>Groom of the Stool</em></p><p><strong>Lucky</strong> - Human Warlord <em>Constable</em></p><p><strong>Ryltar</strong> - Drow Avenger <em>Constable</em></p><p><strong>Scarlet</strong> - Human Fighter <em>Constable</em></p><p><strong>Varis</strong> - Half-Elf Warlock <em>Hostarius</em></p><p></p><p>The adventurers were set to fly on their giant Vecna-style bird over the Sea of Black Blood through the Underdark. Their destination: The Drow city of Rilauven. There they hoped to find the canisters of blood veil before they could be unleashed on the city of Olwynn. But first, they wanted to explore Cat Island in search of treasure!</p><p></p><p>Far away, other events were transpiring in the war against the drow.</p><p></p><p>Up above the world of Nyrod, the wizard known as Hirbe had joined the spelljammer fleet led by the Shadowborn Clan. Their mission was to wipe out the drow ships near the floating asteroid that held the ruins of the city of Nedragaard. The drow ships had ambushed the Shadowborn ships and killed or captured all - save for the ship Hirbe was on.</p><p></p><p>Hirbe was flying the ship, which was crewed by the black samurai mercenary group. Rounding out the crew were a few kara-kara (green skinned savages), Hirbe's quintessence golem, his wife Arla, and the legendary hero Relskar Grave, aka Tiger Man. He was a shifter who looked like a tiger.</p><p></p><p>They'd been picking off enemy ships one by one. There was only one left, and it was in their sights. Hirbe ordered the samurai to fire the ballistas. The shots went wide. The drow returned fire, and struck Hirbe's ship with a huge bolt.</p><p></p><p>Hirbe flew the ship directly at the drow, aiming the ship's dragon-shaped ram at the enemy ship's hull. With a massive crash, the ram tore through the ship's side. The samurai shouted and climbed over, hacking away at the enemy drow. Hirbe left the helm to join them.</p><p></p><p>As he hopped the gap between the ships, he saw an enemy priestess emerge from below decks. She held a purple tentacle rod, and immediately began choking the life out of two samurai with it! Rellskar was nearby, but had his hands full. He was fighting five drow at once!</p><p></p><p>Hirbe steeled his gaze and drew the dreaded Sword of the Flayer - a hideous blade he'd acquired on Penumbra, the home world of the illithids. He closed in and plunged his blade into the priestess! Its' magic coursed through her as she shrieked. Due to the Sword's power, she was now his thrall! Her eyes went white. She awaited Hirbe's orders. This effect wold last for a full week.</p><p></p><p>He ordered her to turn on her drow allies, and she did so. Her tentacle rod made short work of a number of drow warriors.</p><p></p><p>This turned the tide of the battle. As the fighting wound down, Relskar approached Hirbe and said, "Well done, friend! What do you want to do with her now?".</p><p></p><p>Hirbe was about to talk about how she could come in handy, if they needed to dupe some drow....</p><p></p><p>But then, a call came out. Another ship was approaching! It was massive and silver. It was Lolth's spider ship! Hirbe reached through his pack and pulled out his psionic goggles, which gave him eagle-like sight. He saw through a porthole on the spider ship that Eclavdra may not have been present on the ship, but there was an aspect of Lolth herself!</p><p></p><p>Back on the world of Nyrod, the army of Olwynn was camped outside its' sister city - Dunnwynn, City of Thieves. When the drow attacked Olwynn, the gods themselves came down and fended off the enemy. When Dunnwynn was attacked, the people immediately surrendered. The drow kept the people happy and controlled through the distribution of drugs.</p><p></p><p>But the army of Olwynn had learned that there were certain spellcasters, traitorous wizards of Dunnwyn, who were using magic to keep the citizens of Dunnwyn subservient. The name of one such scoundrel was Belarba Gankor.</p><p></p><p>A small team was assembled to attempt to assassinate Belarba. Netochka Nezvanova and Klott, priest of the Raven Queen, were recommended by none other than Evard himself. They were to be escorted by a band of soldiers led by a man called Captain Silverfist. Three soldiers who were to accompany the heroes introduced themselves:</p><p></p><p>- Horl, who had a girl back in Holmaren.</p><p>- Thad, who hadn't talked since his family died in the Battle of Olwynn.</p><p>- Rathgor, who also had interest in Raven Queen.</p><p></p><p>It was night time. The band approached the city swiftly. A drow manning a city wall spotted them and fired his crossbow. Horl was hit! He fell to the ground, dying. Klott healed him. The soldiers made their way into the city, going block to block. They could see the drow web tower in the center of the city, looming over all.</p><p></p><p>A drow on a rooftop spotted the soldiers. He fired a crossbow... into Horl's neck. The poor guy.</p><p></p><p>Rathgor said to Klott, "I think the Raven Queen is trying to tell us something, sir."</p><p></p><p>Klott said, "It's not his time yet," and healed the soldier again.</p><p></p><p>They arrived at the building where Belarba was said to be. There were two drow guards on the roof, a guard at the front door and a guard at the back door. Captain Silverfist told them they had one hour. Klott and Netochka nodded.</p><p></p><p>Netochka began to climb. Poor Klott was never too good at climbing. Netochka helped him as best she could. They crept onto the rooftop. The drow guards were on opposite sides of the roof. In the middle of the roof was a skylight.</p><p></p><p>Netochka crept up behind a guard and slit his throat. Blood sprayed out in an arc. He was dead.</p><p></p><p>She crept across to the other guard. Klott watched from behind a chimney, and began to pray. He quietly cast Inevitable Doom, charging her blade with deadly dark energy. As her blade cut his throat open, he heard a deep voice whisper "Doom!".</p><p></p><p>The pair looked into the skylight. They saw Belarba drinking and sitting on a couch. He was accompanied by two drow maidens who seemed barely able to disguise their contempt.</p><p></p><p>Netochka rappelled to a window behind them. Klott flung a drow body through the skylight! The body crashed in front of the trio. The drow drew curved blades and cursed. Netochka swung in through the side window feet-first. She crashed through the glass and kicked the couch, sending all three of them sprawling and tripping over the drow corpse. Netochka raced forward, kneeled down and plunged her dagger into the traitorous wizard's back. Then she nimbly rolled back to the couch.</p><p></p><p>Klott jumped through the skylight, screaming. He brought his hammer down on Belarba, cracking him in back. Belarba called out, "Who..? What is happening?!"</p><p></p><p>The drow maidens hissed at him to be silent.</p><p></p><p>Netochka raced up and stabbed Belarba one more time. He was dead. Klott called forth a Death Surge and launched the energy at a drow, who shrieked and died. The other slashed at Klott and missed. Netochka closed in, plunged her blade into the maiden, and killed her.</p><p></p><p>Klott ad Netochka rifled through the place, and found a partial map of the web tower's interior. They brought it back to Captain Silverfist, not mentioning the handful of jewelry she snatched on the way out.</p><p></p><p>Far from Dunnwyn was the Underdark, where our heroes took one last look at Echo Warrens. Boss Corker gave Hartaniel one of the Cave Whippers' repeating crossbows. He warned the eladrin that they jammed from time to time. Hartaniel thanked him and said, "Save a bat for me."</p><p></p><p>Vaona, the beautiful drow who was recently converted to the cause of Vecna, said, "Blue Monk, please tell me you'll come back some day."</p><p></p><p>"I shall."</p><p></p><p>"You promise?"</p><p></p><p>"I promise."</p><p></p><p>"Here's something to remember me by." She handed him a magical drow item called a spider mask. The mask protected against a variety of drow attacks.</p><p></p><p>The dwarf captain, Lombard Thickbeard, yelled goodbye in dwarven on his way to repair his ship.</p><p></p><p>And with that, the adventurers climbed on the massive bird. The Blue Monk blew Vaona a kiss. Dark Secret took flight.</p><p></p><p>The heroes soared through the vast cavern, the dark red sea below them. The Vecna Lantern had gone out completely. No one seemed to notice. They lit torches and looked around for Cat Island.</p><p></p><p>After a few hours, they spotted an island full of glowing, tree-size mushrooms. They swooped down closer, and saw a cat on the beach. It was playing and rolling around in a red canister.</p><p></p><p>Dark Secret landed and murmured fractured secret whispers. The heroes looked at the canister. It had been bit in half by a creature with a large mouth. They realized it was one of the blood veil canisters. What was more - Ardra quietly realized her master had made them! He had trained her in the ways of magic and had been killed by an explosion set by unknown enemies. Her master used the canisters to transport dangerous liquids. She was becoming certain that he had some kind of role with the cult or the drow...</p><p></p><p>Five cats emerged from the mushroom forest, purring. The heroes were wary. They'd heard that Cat Island was full of swarms of nasty, shrieking, violent cats. But these cats were like any house cat you'd find in a village. They purred, approached the Blue Monk, and rubbed against his legs.</p><p></p><p>Scarlet looked at The Blue Monk and said, "Please don't start a fight with all the cats."</p><p></p><p>Fifteen more watched from the nearby mushroom forest.</p><p></p><p>Soon, ten cats were rubbing on the Monk, and ten more were rubbing on Hirbe. The cats then tried to get the heroes to follow them into the mushroom forest. The heroes began to follow.</p><p></p><p>Teddy, Varis' skull familiar, piped up. "Why are we doing this? Can we just go to Rilauven?". Teddy in life had been a drow boy who lived in Rilauven, and was anxious to return to his home city.</p><p></p><p>Scarlet said, "Teddy.... Treasure."</p><p></p><p>"I don't care about treasure!".</p><p></p><p>"That's because you're dead."</p><p></p><p>"I lived in Rilauven and I want to go back there."</p><p></p><p>Varis said sarcastically, "Well, that's a good enough reason for me! Let's go!".</p><p></p><p>Teddy, the floating skull, mumbled, "You're all going to be sorry soon enough...".</p><p></p><p>Lucky said in a dour tone, "I'm already sorry."</p><p></p><p>The adventurers followed the cats until they saw a pair of huge mushroom trees up ahead. Beyond it, the heroes spotted hundreds of angry cats hiding. They were being led to an ambush!</p><p></p><p>Ardra created an illusion of a bunch of fat, slow mice scampering past the trees. When the cats pounced, the heroes chopped down a pair of trees. The mushroom trees toppled onto the horde of felines, sending them hurtling through the air! Varis set a tree on fire. The horde scattered.</p><p></p><p>From there, the heroes hustled about the island in search of the treasure. Cats began leaping out from behind trees, swiping at them and running away.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers eventually found a stone block in the side of a rocky mound. The cats were in hot pursuit. The rock held three dwarven words on it: "Errukiz", Ezrubal" and Elomcwe". The heroes immediately saw that the third word was an anagram for "Welcome", but they were unsure of what to do with it. As they talked, more and more cats gathered, getting ready to pounce. Hundreds, from all over the island were coming!</p><p></p><p>The Monk realized that the letters of the third word could be pressed in. He spelled out "Welcome", and the block became muddy. The heroes walked through the mud and emerged into a dungeon inside the hill with a <em>splorch</em>.</p><p></p><p>They were in a room with 4 pillars, two long pools of water, a smaller pool of mud, a bell, and a green door. The door had a key hole but no handle. The pillars bore symbols relating to mud sorcerers. A few of the heroes had heard of them - elementalist wizards who specialized in water and earth spells. They worshiped Bwimb II, the paraelemental princess of ooze.</p><p></p><p>After a lot of careful prodding, the heroes rang the bell. The muddy pool sank and drained away. At the bottom of the pool was many bones, along with a magic item and a green key. The key worked on the door.</p><p></p><p>Past that door was a room with a black door on the right wall and a stone face carved into the wall straight ahead. A dwarven word was inscribed beneath it - no one knew what it meant. Ryltar and Scarlet approached it. The face was blowing a gentle breeze through pursed lips. They saw that there was a lever in each of its' ears. They decided to pull them both simultaneously. Each gave a yank.</p><p></p><p>A bladed portcullis dropped, splitting the room up. Then the face blew a massive gust of wind, sending Hartaniel, the Monk and Lucky into the portcullis! They hurtled through the air and were impaled on the blades, causing bloody wounds.</p><p></p><p>Then, the gust died down, and the face spit out a black key. The heroes bandaged their wounds and used the key on the door.</p><p></p><p>This door led to a room brimming with bizarre and devious traps. They saw the following:</p><p></p><p>- A ceiling mural depicting drowning dwarves</p><p>- A rug covering the middle of the room's floor. It depicted drowning dwarves.</p><p>- Two braziers with glowing coals</p><p>- A tapestry depicting dwarves staring straight ahead</p><p>- A tapestry depicting drow at a banquet, behaving poorly. Mud grues, muddy crocodile-men, stood near them and watched.</p><p>- An altar with an ebony box on it, as well as two candelabras. Each candelabra held 6 black candles and one red one.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers were cautious. Scarlet peeked behind a tapestry, and found a secret door - the exit! Then, she lifted up the corner of the carpet... and vanished!</p><p></p><p>The heroes looked around, and then realized that Scarlet was now depicted in the art on the rug. She looked to be in the sea, drowning! She actually floated in some black nether-realm, slowly dying.</p><p></p><p>The Blue Monk had an idea. He pulled out his guardian whistle, which had teleportation powers. He blew it, and called Scarlet back in the room. Scarlet gasped for breath. She was drained a bit, but alive.</p><p></p><p>Lucky held out a pole and poked the rug. She vanished! She was now a part of the rug! The magic of the Monk's whistle had been expended. The heroes frantically tried to figure out a way to get Lucky out before it was too late! The Monk lit a red candle, hoping it would do something. The candle caused the secret door to glow, but nothing more.</p><p></p><p>Varis cast a fire spell, hoping to burn the rug. It did nothing but injure Lucky slightly. Teddy, Varis' skull familiar, tried to bump Varis into the rug, but he was not strong enough.</p><p></p><p>Ardra went to wrap a rope around the altar. As she did so, she touched the altar, which let off a painful spark of frost. The frost swirled and formed a mud grue! The thing clawed at Ardra and cackled.</p><p></p><p>As Ardra battled the grue, the monk flopped the rope onto the rug, hoping it would pass through and provide Lucky with a means of escape. It did not work. Hartaniel fired a crossbow bolt into the grue.</p><p></p><p>Hartaniel called out to the creature, "If you don't tell us how to release our friend, you will die where you stand!".</p><p></p><p>The grue said, "You should never have come here. You cannot kill me! Bwimb II shall see to it that you suffer!".</p><p></p><p>Ryltar thought there might be something in the ebony box on the altar that could help. He picked the lock on the box and was pricked with a poison needle. The avenger was barely affected by it. He opened the lid. A fire trap spell went off, burning Ryltar, Ardra, the Monk and the grue. Poor Ardra and the grue took the brunt of the blast.</p><p></p><p>Varis studied the rug. It fascinated the boy. He wanted to make one of his own some day. Then he cast dark worm feast on the grue, injuring it greatly.</p><p></p><p>Ardra ducked a claw swipe and fey-stepped across the room/ She pelted the grue with a magic missile, causing it to turn into a pile of mud which slowly vanished. Ardra focused and forced the grue's soul into one of the gems on her helm of seven deaths. The grue howled at this twist of fate. He'd expected to return to Bwimb's home, and now instead was a prisoner until Ardra used the power of his soul to fuel the magic of the helmet!</p><p></p><p>Hartaniel wanted to see if he could fling one of the coals from the brazier onto the rug. He jabbed one coal with his dagger. To his shock, a miniature fireball rocketed out of the brazier and struck his chest, setting him ablaze! He cursed, put out the fire and ran over to the altar. He looked inside the ebony box. In it was a tiny snake, which looked up at him. Also inside was an obsidian dagger, four octagonal disks, and a magic item.</p><p></p><p>The Blue Monk wasn't sure how to help Lucky. He decided to open the secret door. Past it was a hallway leading to a room with a coffin in it. Nothing useful there. He looked back at the altar and saw the little snake in the ebony box. He figured, the way things were going, that the snake was going to bite them. He thought maybe he should kill it. He saw its' mouth moving - It seemed to be talking quietly.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar was in front of the altar. He leaned down so he could hear the snake's faint voice. It whispered, "I can answer three questions about this place! Ask!"</p><p></p><p>Ryltar asked, "How do we get Lucky out of that rug?"</p><p></p><p>The snake whispered, "The boy can walk the plane ethereal! He can rescue her!".</p><p></p><p>Varis did have a spell called Ethereal Stride.</p><p></p><p>The snake said, "You have two more questions."</p><p></p><p>The Blue Monk sighed. Good thing he hadn't punched the snake in the mouth.</p><p></p><p>Varis chanted and shifted into the ethereal. He saw Lucky and Scarlet floating in a black void, slowly dying. Varis felt like he was drowning. He held his breath. Teddy cackled and bit at Varis' clothes, trying to make him stay in the rug forever.</p><p></p><p>Varis floated over to his allies, and pushed them up and out. He followed out behind them.</p><p></p><p>Lucky, Scarlet and Varis appeared in the room once more. Hartaniel quickly said, "All right everybody. Don't..touch..the rug!".</p><p></p><p>The heroes surmised that the dwarves depicted on the rug had died and were permanently a part of it.</p><p></p><p>Scarlet coughed, stood up, and said, "Well that was horrible."</p><p></p><p>"And yet you jumped in...", Varis said sarcastically.</p><p></p><p>"I was trying to save her! I didn't see you doing anything useful at all."</p><p></p><p>Hartaniel pointed out, "He saved you."</p><p></p><p>Lucky said mournfully, "I was so close to finally dying...". Awkward silence.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar asked the snake, "What other threats are beyond this chamber?".</p><p></p><p>The snake whispered, "There's fake tombs, and drowning, and big statues of Bwimb!".</p><p></p><p>Lucky suggested leaving the last question until they were stumped.</p><p></p><p>The tiny snaked crawled in circles around Ryltar's ring finger. The drow avenger of the Raven Queen liked the snake, and thought maybe he'd just keep it.</p><p></p><p>The next room had no exit save the way the adventurers had entered. There was a sarcophagus on a stone pedestal. Dwarf suits of armor flanked it. The oak sarcophagus was locked with three padlocks. </p><p></p><p>Hartaniel took apart the armor and tossed the pieces on the rug in the previous room. He was afraid they were going to animate and attack.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar looked at a suit of dwarf armor and said, "Maybe we should punch it".</p><p></p><p>"Blue Monk, we have a job for you," Ardra said, laughing.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar looked at the locks, and saw that the middle one was trapped. Ardra suggested that maybe the person with the metal arm should deal with the locks. Lucky stepped forward, her adamantite arm shimmering, giving off a faint blue glow. She reached down, grabbed them one at a time, crushed them in her adamantite fist and tossed them aside.</p><p></p><p>The poison needle pricked her hand harmlessly. She said, "I've built up a tolerance...".</p><p></p><p>Ardra stood to the side and asked, "How's that new arm working out for you?".</p><p></p><p>Lucky said, "Pretty good. I want to die slightly less."</p><p></p><p>Hartaniel opened the lid of the sarcophagus. Inside was the corpse of a dwarf with long grey hair. It had a talisman of ebony and ivory around his neck. He wore a gruesome grin, and had a coin over each of his eyes.</p><p></p><p>Scarlet searched the walls. The wall to the right felt odd, and it shimmered slightly. Hartaniel wanted the talisman. He grabbed it. Suddenly, the corpse sat up and grabbed Hartaniel's arm. The wall to the right shimmered and closed in on the heroes, creeping forward to the base of the stone pedestal!</p><p></p><p>The Blue Monk delivered a sweeping kick to the chin of the corpse. To his astonishment, the kick had no effect! The corpse cackled!</p><p></p><p>To make matters worse, a barred portcullis blocked the exit hallway! Varis and Ardra were stuck on the far side! Ardra fired a magic missile at the corpse. To her astonishment, her missile ricocheted off of him and struck the far wall harmlessly.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar reached over and grabbed the talisman and tore it from the neck of the corpse. Its' smile became a frown. The undead dwarf roared in rage. Hartaniel tried to pull himself free of the thing's grip, but could not shake it.</p><p></p><p>Scarlet ran over to the wall. She tried to push against it, to slow it. Lucky came over and tried to help. </p><p></p><p>Varis tried to use a spell to blast the corpse, to no effect. Varis' mind was racing. This made no sense. Why weren't their attacks affecting the undead dwarf?</p><p></p><p>The wall continued to advance. The stone pedestal that held the coffin sunk into the floor so that the wall could pass over it. Lucky was knocked into the coffin. She shrugged, pulled out her flask, and lied down.</p><p></p><p>The wall pushed over her, breaking off the corpse's fingers. Hartaniel was free! But he, the Monk, Ryltar and Scarlet were pushed to the left side of the room... right on top of a pit trap. The floor gave way beneath them, and the heroes tumbled down a slanted, zig-zag pit lined with blades and hooks!</p><p></p><p>They plummeted and rolled as hooks tore into them. Lucky could hear their screams from the safety of the coffin. "I made the correct choice..", she murmured.</p><p></p><p>The moving wall struck the far wall, and then faded away. The corpse of the dwarf vanished as well! Varis took note of this, and went to work with Ardra, lifting the portcullis.</p><p></p><p>After much cursing, the heroes in the pit bandaged their wounds and got up. In the pit with them was a stone face embedded in the wall. Ryltar and Scarlet remained in the pit while the others climbed out. The pair examined the face with incredible caution and care. They saw that the jaw had a hinge. They pulled it open. There was a lever in it. They tied a rope to it and pulled. The mouth slammed shut. It surely would have severed a hand!</p><p></p><p>They noticed an eyelash on one of the eyes was actually a lever. They pulled on it, and the stone eye slid away. The heroes could look through the eye hole and see the next room. In there, they saw a wall of glass on the right, a stone block, and another stone face on the opposite wall. </p><p></p><p>Ryltar and Scarlet were having trouble figuring out how to get in to that room. The eye hole was small, maybe 8 inches or so.</p><p></p><p>"By the way...". Scarlet called out. "When we get out of here, we're renaming Cat Island "F**k You Island". This place is not notable for the cats."</p><p></p><p>As Scarlet and Ryltar continued to poke and prod, Varis called down sarcastically, "Are you guys all right down there? That pit looks like fun!"</p><p></p><p>Scarlet scowled and called up, "It's great fun! Why don't you try it?"</p><p></p><p>Hartaniel stood next to Varis soaking up blood from one of his hook wounds. He looked at Varis and said, "I'm going to throw you in in a second, kid."</p><p></p><p>In the pit, Scarlet looked through the hole to the next area. She pulled out her crossbow. She fired a bolt into the glass wall.</p><p></p><p>The glass shattered. It turned out the glass was holding back a whole lot of water! The far room began to fill up with water. The heroes cleared out of the blade pit as water poured through the eye hole and eventually filled up the blade pit. </p><p></p><p>Things had gotten a bit more complicated. They weren't sure how to get through the stone face, and now it was underwater.</p><p></p><p>Hartaniel dove in, swam down the pit and peered through the eye hole. The next room was completely full of water. He fired some crossbow bolts at the stone block. Nothing happened.</p><p></p><p>Hartaniel swam back up the pit. The heroes were stumped.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar decided to ask the tiny snake how to get past the stone head. The snake whispered the answer. Ryltar put his ear up to the snake to hear its' words. It said, "Reach through the hole and there's a lever, fool!". It then bit Ryltar on the neck, and turned into a muddy ring. </p><p></p><p>Ryltar suddenly felt strange and tired. He wasn't sure what it had does to him, but he knew it was bad. Extremely bad. Only time would reveal what had happened.</p><p></p><p>The adventurers dove in, reached through the eye hole and pulled the lever. The stone head swung open. They swam to the next stone head. It appeared to be holding its' breath. It's cheeks were puffed out. The adventurers noticed the mouth had a hinge. They pulled the mouth open. Inside it was a plug. They pulled up the plug, and the water began to drain out.</p><p></p><p>The heroes fought the growing current. As the water lowered, they could tread water and breathe. After 5 minutes, the water was drained. They climbed into the drain hole, and found a ladder that led to a hallway.</p><p></p><p>The hallway had a pit trap that the Blue Monk spotted. The adventurers jumped over it, and came to a vast room. In it were:</p><p></p><p>- Five pillars which spelled out the phrase: "Tzolo Shall Vanquish You All".</p><p>- A clear water pool that had tiles in its' base that repeated this phrase.</p><p>- Dwarf statues on either side of the pool. Hartaniel saw that one's head screwed off. Inside its' hollow chest was a magic item.</p><p>- A 20 foot tall statue of a kneeling muddy woman covered in worms. Her arms were extended, palms up. She had gem eyes, gem teeth, and a ruby in her forehead. Above her belly button was a tattoo of the letters ATYVS.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar approached and went to place some coins in one of her palms. The hand suddenly animated, and began to crush the drow! The adventurers raced forward to help him. He slipped out of its' grasp, and the arm became inanimate once more.</p><p></p><p>Ryltar looked at the tattoo on the belly of the statue, and saw that each letter could be pressed in. He pressed the letters in this order: TSVYA (for "Tzolo Shall Vanquish You All). Her belly was a secret door!</p><p></p><p>The adventurers paused to rest for a few minutes. The tomb had proven to be quite deadly. They were sure that whatever was ahead would be dangerous indeed....</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Netherstorm, post: 5754562, member: 84943"] [b]8. Expedition to Cat Island[/b] [I]12/20/11: I used material from the legendary Dungeon Magazine adventure called The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb... There's a few "meanwhile" scenes featuring other characters from other campaigns. I put those in to show what the PCs would have been doing if they had chosen a different path.[/I] [CENTER][FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=3]Saga of Valor [/SIZE][/FONT] [FONT=Arial Black][SIZE=3]Book One - NyrodSpace War 3[/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER] [CENTER][I]Chapter Eight: Expedition to Cat Island[/I][/CENTER] [B]Ardra[/B] - Eladrin Bladesinger [I]Vovoidja[/I] [B]The Blue Monk[/B] - Half-Orc Monk [I]Almoner[/I] [B]Hartaniel[/B] - Elf Barbarian [I]Groom of the Stool[/I] [B]Lucky[/B] - Human Warlord [I]Constable[/I] [B]Ryltar[/B] - Drow Avenger [I]Constable[/I] [B]Scarlet[/B] - Human Fighter [I]Constable[/I] [B]Varis[/B] - Half-Elf Warlock [I]Hostarius[/I] The adventurers were set to fly on their giant Vecna-style bird over the Sea of Black Blood through the Underdark. Their destination: The Drow city of Rilauven. There they hoped to find the canisters of blood veil before they could be unleashed on the city of Olwynn. But first, they wanted to explore Cat Island in search of treasure! Far away, other events were transpiring in the war against the drow. Up above the world of Nyrod, the wizard known as Hirbe had joined the spelljammer fleet led by the Shadowborn Clan. Their mission was to wipe out the drow ships near the floating asteroid that held the ruins of the city of Nedragaard. The drow ships had ambushed the Shadowborn ships and killed or captured all - save for the ship Hirbe was on. Hirbe was flying the ship, which was crewed by the black samurai mercenary group. Rounding out the crew were a few kara-kara (green skinned savages), Hirbe's quintessence golem, his wife Arla, and the legendary hero Relskar Grave, aka Tiger Man. He was a shifter who looked like a tiger. They'd been picking off enemy ships one by one. There was only one left, and it was in their sights. Hirbe ordered the samurai to fire the ballistas. The shots went wide. The drow returned fire, and struck Hirbe's ship with a huge bolt. Hirbe flew the ship directly at the drow, aiming the ship's dragon-shaped ram at the enemy ship's hull. With a massive crash, the ram tore through the ship's side. The samurai shouted and climbed over, hacking away at the enemy drow. Hirbe left the helm to join them. As he hopped the gap between the ships, he saw an enemy priestess emerge from below decks. She held a purple tentacle rod, and immediately began choking the life out of two samurai with it! Rellskar was nearby, but had his hands full. He was fighting five drow at once! Hirbe steeled his gaze and drew the dreaded Sword of the Flayer - a hideous blade he'd acquired on Penumbra, the home world of the illithids. He closed in and plunged his blade into the priestess! Its' magic coursed through her as she shrieked. Due to the Sword's power, she was now his thrall! Her eyes went white. She awaited Hirbe's orders. This effect wold last for a full week. He ordered her to turn on her drow allies, and she did so. Her tentacle rod made short work of a number of drow warriors. This turned the tide of the battle. As the fighting wound down, Relskar approached Hirbe and said, "Well done, friend! What do you want to do with her now?". Hirbe was about to talk about how she could come in handy, if they needed to dupe some drow.... But then, a call came out. Another ship was approaching! It was massive and silver. It was Lolth's spider ship! Hirbe reached through his pack and pulled out his psionic goggles, which gave him eagle-like sight. He saw through a porthole on the spider ship that Eclavdra may not have been present on the ship, but there was an aspect of Lolth herself! Back on the world of Nyrod, the army of Olwynn was camped outside its' sister city - Dunnwynn, City of Thieves. When the drow attacked Olwynn, the gods themselves came down and fended off the enemy. When Dunnwynn was attacked, the people immediately surrendered. The drow kept the people happy and controlled through the distribution of drugs. But the army of Olwynn had learned that there were certain spellcasters, traitorous wizards of Dunnwyn, who were using magic to keep the citizens of Dunnwyn subservient. The name of one such scoundrel was Belarba Gankor. A small team was assembled to attempt to assassinate Belarba. Netochka Nezvanova and Klott, priest of the Raven Queen, were recommended by none other than Evard himself. They were to be escorted by a band of soldiers led by a man called Captain Silverfist. Three soldiers who were to accompany the heroes introduced themselves: - Horl, who had a girl back in Holmaren. - Thad, who hadn't talked since his family died in the Battle of Olwynn. - Rathgor, who also had interest in Raven Queen. It was night time. The band approached the city swiftly. A drow manning a city wall spotted them and fired his crossbow. Horl was hit! He fell to the ground, dying. Klott healed him. The soldiers made their way into the city, going block to block. They could see the drow web tower in the center of the city, looming over all. A drow on a rooftop spotted the soldiers. He fired a crossbow... into Horl's neck. The poor guy. Rathgor said to Klott, "I think the Raven Queen is trying to tell us something, sir." Klott said, "It's not his time yet," and healed the soldier again. They arrived at the building where Belarba was said to be. There were two drow guards on the roof, a guard at the front door and a guard at the back door. Captain Silverfist told them they had one hour. Klott and Netochka nodded. Netochka began to climb. Poor Klott was never too good at climbing. Netochka helped him as best she could. They crept onto the rooftop. The drow guards were on opposite sides of the roof. In the middle of the roof was a skylight. Netochka crept up behind a guard and slit his throat. Blood sprayed out in an arc. He was dead. She crept across to the other guard. Klott watched from behind a chimney, and began to pray. He quietly cast Inevitable Doom, charging her blade with deadly dark energy. As her blade cut his throat open, he heard a deep voice whisper "Doom!". The pair looked into the skylight. They saw Belarba drinking and sitting on a couch. He was accompanied by two drow maidens who seemed barely able to disguise their contempt. Netochka rappelled to a window behind them. Klott flung a drow body through the skylight! The body crashed in front of the trio. The drow drew curved blades and cursed. Netochka swung in through the side window feet-first. She crashed through the glass and kicked the couch, sending all three of them sprawling and tripping over the drow corpse. Netochka raced forward, kneeled down and plunged her dagger into the traitorous wizard's back. Then she nimbly rolled back to the couch. Klott jumped through the skylight, screaming. He brought his hammer down on Belarba, cracking him in back. Belarba called out, "Who..? What is happening?!" The drow maidens hissed at him to be silent. Netochka raced up and stabbed Belarba one more time. He was dead. Klott called forth a Death Surge and launched the energy at a drow, who shrieked and died. The other slashed at Klott and missed. Netochka closed in, plunged her blade into the maiden, and killed her. Klott ad Netochka rifled through the place, and found a partial map of the web tower's interior. They brought it back to Captain Silverfist, not mentioning the handful of jewelry she snatched on the way out. Far from Dunnwyn was the Underdark, where our heroes took one last look at Echo Warrens. Boss Corker gave Hartaniel one of the Cave Whippers' repeating crossbows. He warned the eladrin that they jammed from time to time. Hartaniel thanked him and said, "Save a bat for me." Vaona, the beautiful drow who was recently converted to the cause of Vecna, said, "Blue Monk, please tell me you'll come back some day." "I shall." "You promise?" "I promise." "Here's something to remember me by." She handed him a magical drow item called a spider mask. The mask protected against a variety of drow attacks. The dwarf captain, Lombard Thickbeard, yelled goodbye in dwarven on his way to repair his ship. And with that, the adventurers climbed on the massive bird. The Blue Monk blew Vaona a kiss. Dark Secret took flight. The heroes soared through the vast cavern, the dark red sea below them. The Vecna Lantern had gone out completely. No one seemed to notice. They lit torches and looked around for Cat Island. After a few hours, they spotted an island full of glowing, tree-size mushrooms. They swooped down closer, and saw a cat on the beach. It was playing and rolling around in a red canister. Dark Secret landed and murmured fractured secret whispers. The heroes looked at the canister. It had been bit in half by a creature with a large mouth. They realized it was one of the blood veil canisters. What was more - Ardra quietly realized her master had made them! He had trained her in the ways of magic and had been killed by an explosion set by unknown enemies. Her master used the canisters to transport dangerous liquids. She was becoming certain that he had some kind of role with the cult or the drow... Five cats emerged from the mushroom forest, purring. The heroes were wary. They'd heard that Cat Island was full of swarms of nasty, shrieking, violent cats. But these cats were like any house cat you'd find in a village. They purred, approached the Blue Monk, and rubbed against his legs. Scarlet looked at The Blue Monk and said, "Please don't start a fight with all the cats." Fifteen more watched from the nearby mushroom forest. Soon, ten cats were rubbing on the Monk, and ten more were rubbing on Hirbe. The cats then tried to get the heroes to follow them into the mushroom forest. The heroes began to follow. Teddy, Varis' skull familiar, piped up. "Why are we doing this? Can we just go to Rilauven?". Teddy in life had been a drow boy who lived in Rilauven, and was anxious to return to his home city. Scarlet said, "Teddy.... Treasure." "I don't care about treasure!". "That's because you're dead." "I lived in Rilauven and I want to go back there." Varis said sarcastically, "Well, that's a good enough reason for me! Let's go!". Teddy, the floating skull, mumbled, "You're all going to be sorry soon enough...". Lucky said in a dour tone, "I'm already sorry." The adventurers followed the cats until they saw a pair of huge mushroom trees up ahead. Beyond it, the heroes spotted hundreds of angry cats hiding. They were being led to an ambush! Ardra created an illusion of a bunch of fat, slow mice scampering past the trees. When the cats pounced, the heroes chopped down a pair of trees. The mushroom trees toppled onto the horde of felines, sending them hurtling through the air! Varis set a tree on fire. The horde scattered. From there, the heroes hustled about the island in search of the treasure. Cats began leaping out from behind trees, swiping at them and running away. The adventurers eventually found a stone block in the side of a rocky mound. The cats were in hot pursuit. The rock held three dwarven words on it: "Errukiz", Ezrubal" and Elomcwe". The heroes immediately saw that the third word was an anagram for "Welcome", but they were unsure of what to do with it. As they talked, more and more cats gathered, getting ready to pounce. Hundreds, from all over the island were coming! The Monk realized that the letters of the third word could be pressed in. He spelled out "Welcome", and the block became muddy. The heroes walked through the mud and emerged into a dungeon inside the hill with a [I]splorch[/I]. They were in a room with 4 pillars, two long pools of water, a smaller pool of mud, a bell, and a green door. The door had a key hole but no handle. The pillars bore symbols relating to mud sorcerers. A few of the heroes had heard of them - elementalist wizards who specialized in water and earth spells. They worshiped Bwimb II, the paraelemental princess of ooze. After a lot of careful prodding, the heroes rang the bell. The muddy pool sank and drained away. At the bottom of the pool was many bones, along with a magic item and a green key. The key worked on the door. Past that door was a room with a black door on the right wall and a stone face carved into the wall straight ahead. A dwarven word was inscribed beneath it - no one knew what it meant. Ryltar and Scarlet approached it. The face was blowing a gentle breeze through pursed lips. They saw that there was a lever in each of its' ears. They decided to pull them both simultaneously. Each gave a yank. A bladed portcullis dropped, splitting the room up. Then the face blew a massive gust of wind, sending Hartaniel, the Monk and Lucky into the portcullis! They hurtled through the air and were impaled on the blades, causing bloody wounds. Then, the gust died down, and the face spit out a black key. The heroes bandaged their wounds and used the key on the door. This door led to a room brimming with bizarre and devious traps. They saw the following: - A ceiling mural depicting drowning dwarves - A rug covering the middle of the room's floor. It depicted drowning dwarves. - Two braziers with glowing coals - A tapestry depicting dwarves staring straight ahead - A tapestry depicting drow at a banquet, behaving poorly. Mud grues, muddy crocodile-men, stood near them and watched. - An altar with an ebony box on it, as well as two candelabras. Each candelabra held 6 black candles and one red one. The adventurers were cautious. Scarlet peeked behind a tapestry, and found a secret door - the exit! Then, she lifted up the corner of the carpet... and vanished! The heroes looked around, and then realized that Scarlet was now depicted in the art on the rug. She looked to be in the sea, drowning! She actually floated in some black nether-realm, slowly dying. The Blue Monk had an idea. He pulled out his guardian whistle, which had teleportation powers. He blew it, and called Scarlet back in the room. Scarlet gasped for breath. She was drained a bit, but alive. Lucky held out a pole and poked the rug. She vanished! She was now a part of the rug! The magic of the Monk's whistle had been expended. The heroes frantically tried to figure out a way to get Lucky out before it was too late! The Monk lit a red candle, hoping it would do something. The candle caused the secret door to glow, but nothing more. Varis cast a fire spell, hoping to burn the rug. It did nothing but injure Lucky slightly. Teddy, Varis' skull familiar, tried to bump Varis into the rug, but he was not strong enough. Ardra went to wrap a rope around the altar. As she did so, she touched the altar, which let off a painful spark of frost. The frost swirled and formed a mud grue! The thing clawed at Ardra and cackled. As Ardra battled the grue, the monk flopped the rope onto the rug, hoping it would pass through and provide Lucky with a means of escape. It did not work. Hartaniel fired a crossbow bolt into the grue. Hartaniel called out to the creature, "If you don't tell us how to release our friend, you will die where you stand!". The grue said, "You should never have come here. You cannot kill me! Bwimb II shall see to it that you suffer!". Ryltar thought there might be something in the ebony box on the altar that could help. He picked the lock on the box and was pricked with a poison needle. The avenger was barely affected by it. He opened the lid. A fire trap spell went off, burning Ryltar, Ardra, the Monk and the grue. Poor Ardra and the grue took the brunt of the blast. Varis studied the rug. It fascinated the boy. He wanted to make one of his own some day. Then he cast dark worm feast on the grue, injuring it greatly. Ardra ducked a claw swipe and fey-stepped across the room/ She pelted the grue with a magic missile, causing it to turn into a pile of mud which slowly vanished. Ardra focused and forced the grue's soul into one of the gems on her helm of seven deaths. The grue howled at this twist of fate. He'd expected to return to Bwimb's home, and now instead was a prisoner until Ardra used the power of his soul to fuel the magic of the helmet! Hartaniel wanted to see if he could fling one of the coals from the brazier onto the rug. He jabbed one coal with his dagger. To his shock, a miniature fireball rocketed out of the brazier and struck his chest, setting him ablaze! He cursed, put out the fire and ran over to the altar. He looked inside the ebony box. In it was a tiny snake, which looked up at him. Also inside was an obsidian dagger, four octagonal disks, and a magic item. The Blue Monk wasn't sure how to help Lucky. He decided to open the secret door. Past it was a hallway leading to a room with a coffin in it. Nothing useful there. He looked back at the altar and saw the little snake in the ebony box. He figured, the way things were going, that the snake was going to bite them. He thought maybe he should kill it. He saw its' mouth moving - It seemed to be talking quietly. Ryltar was in front of the altar. He leaned down so he could hear the snake's faint voice. It whispered, "I can answer three questions about this place! Ask!" Ryltar asked, "How do we get Lucky out of that rug?" The snake whispered, "The boy can walk the plane ethereal! He can rescue her!". Varis did have a spell called Ethereal Stride. The snake said, "You have two more questions." The Blue Monk sighed. Good thing he hadn't punched the snake in the mouth. Varis chanted and shifted into the ethereal. He saw Lucky and Scarlet floating in a black void, slowly dying. Varis felt like he was drowning. He held his breath. Teddy cackled and bit at Varis' clothes, trying to make him stay in the rug forever. Varis floated over to his allies, and pushed them up and out. He followed out behind them. Lucky, Scarlet and Varis appeared in the room once more. Hartaniel quickly said, "All right everybody. Don't..touch..the rug!". The heroes surmised that the dwarves depicted on the rug had died and were permanently a part of it. Scarlet coughed, stood up, and said, "Well that was horrible." "And yet you jumped in...", Varis said sarcastically. "I was trying to save her! I didn't see you doing anything useful at all." Hartaniel pointed out, "He saved you." Lucky said mournfully, "I was so close to finally dying...". Awkward silence. Ryltar asked the snake, "What other threats are beyond this chamber?". The snake whispered, "There's fake tombs, and drowning, and big statues of Bwimb!". Lucky suggested leaving the last question until they were stumped. The tiny snaked crawled in circles around Ryltar's ring finger. The drow avenger of the Raven Queen liked the snake, and thought maybe he'd just keep it. The next room had no exit save the way the adventurers had entered. There was a sarcophagus on a stone pedestal. Dwarf suits of armor flanked it. The oak sarcophagus was locked with three padlocks. Hartaniel took apart the armor and tossed the pieces on the rug in the previous room. He was afraid they were going to animate and attack. Ryltar looked at a suit of dwarf armor and said, "Maybe we should punch it". "Blue Monk, we have a job for you," Ardra said, laughing. Ryltar looked at the locks, and saw that the middle one was trapped. Ardra suggested that maybe the person with the metal arm should deal with the locks. Lucky stepped forward, her adamantite arm shimmering, giving off a faint blue glow. She reached down, grabbed them one at a time, crushed them in her adamantite fist and tossed them aside. The poison needle pricked her hand harmlessly. She said, "I've built up a tolerance...". Ardra stood to the side and asked, "How's that new arm working out for you?". Lucky said, "Pretty good. I want to die slightly less." Hartaniel opened the lid of the sarcophagus. Inside was the corpse of a dwarf with long grey hair. It had a talisman of ebony and ivory around his neck. He wore a gruesome grin, and had a coin over each of his eyes. Scarlet searched the walls. The wall to the right felt odd, and it shimmered slightly. Hartaniel wanted the talisman. He grabbed it. Suddenly, the corpse sat up and grabbed Hartaniel's arm. The wall to the right shimmered and closed in on the heroes, creeping forward to the base of the stone pedestal! The Blue Monk delivered a sweeping kick to the chin of the corpse. To his astonishment, the kick had no effect! The corpse cackled! To make matters worse, a barred portcullis blocked the exit hallway! Varis and Ardra were stuck on the far side! Ardra fired a magic missile at the corpse. To her astonishment, her missile ricocheted off of him and struck the far wall harmlessly. Ryltar reached over and grabbed the talisman and tore it from the neck of the corpse. Its' smile became a frown. The undead dwarf roared in rage. Hartaniel tried to pull himself free of the thing's grip, but could not shake it. Scarlet ran over to the wall. She tried to push against it, to slow it. Lucky came over and tried to help. Varis tried to use a spell to blast the corpse, to no effect. Varis' mind was racing. This made no sense. Why weren't their attacks affecting the undead dwarf? The wall continued to advance. The stone pedestal that held the coffin sunk into the floor so that the wall could pass over it. Lucky was knocked into the coffin. She shrugged, pulled out her flask, and lied down. The wall pushed over her, breaking off the corpse's fingers. Hartaniel was free! But he, the Monk, Ryltar and Scarlet were pushed to the left side of the room... right on top of a pit trap. The floor gave way beneath them, and the heroes tumbled down a slanted, zig-zag pit lined with blades and hooks! They plummeted and rolled as hooks tore into them. Lucky could hear their screams from the safety of the coffin. "I made the correct choice..", she murmured. The moving wall struck the far wall, and then faded away. The corpse of the dwarf vanished as well! Varis took note of this, and went to work with Ardra, lifting the portcullis. After much cursing, the heroes in the pit bandaged their wounds and got up. In the pit with them was a stone face embedded in the wall. Ryltar and Scarlet remained in the pit while the others climbed out. The pair examined the face with incredible caution and care. They saw that the jaw had a hinge. They pulled it open. There was a lever in it. They tied a rope to it and pulled. The mouth slammed shut. It surely would have severed a hand! They noticed an eyelash on one of the eyes was actually a lever. They pulled on it, and the stone eye slid away. The heroes could look through the eye hole and see the next room. In there, they saw a wall of glass on the right, a stone block, and another stone face on the opposite wall. Ryltar and Scarlet were having trouble figuring out how to get in to that room. The eye hole was small, maybe 8 inches or so. "By the way...". Scarlet called out. "When we get out of here, we're renaming Cat Island "F**k You Island". This place is not notable for the cats." As Scarlet and Ryltar continued to poke and prod, Varis called down sarcastically, "Are you guys all right down there? That pit looks like fun!" Scarlet scowled and called up, "It's great fun! Why don't you try it?" Hartaniel stood next to Varis soaking up blood from one of his hook wounds. He looked at Varis and said, "I'm going to throw you in in a second, kid." In the pit, Scarlet looked through the hole to the next area. She pulled out her crossbow. She fired a bolt into the glass wall. The glass shattered. It turned out the glass was holding back a whole lot of water! The far room began to fill up with water. The heroes cleared out of the blade pit as water poured through the eye hole and eventually filled up the blade pit. Things had gotten a bit more complicated. They weren't sure how to get through the stone face, and now it was underwater. Hartaniel dove in, swam down the pit and peered through the eye hole. The next room was completely full of water. He fired some crossbow bolts at the stone block. Nothing happened. Hartaniel swam back up the pit. The heroes were stumped. Ryltar decided to ask the tiny snake how to get past the stone head. The snake whispered the answer. Ryltar put his ear up to the snake to hear its' words. It said, "Reach through the hole and there's a lever, fool!". It then bit Ryltar on the neck, and turned into a muddy ring. Ryltar suddenly felt strange and tired. He wasn't sure what it had does to him, but he knew it was bad. Extremely bad. Only time would reveal what had happened. The adventurers dove in, reached through the eye hole and pulled the lever. The stone head swung open. They swam to the next stone head. It appeared to be holding its' breath. It's cheeks were puffed out. The adventurers noticed the mouth had a hinge. They pulled the mouth open. Inside it was a plug. They pulled up the plug, and the water began to drain out. The heroes fought the growing current. As the water lowered, they could tread water and breathe. After 5 minutes, the water was drained. They climbed into the drain hole, and found a ladder that led to a hallway. The hallway had a pit trap that the Blue Monk spotted. The adventurers jumped over it, and came to a vast room. In it were: - Five pillars which spelled out the phrase: "Tzolo Shall Vanquish You All". - A clear water pool that had tiles in its' base that repeated this phrase. - Dwarf statues on either side of the pool. Hartaniel saw that one's head screwed off. Inside its' hollow chest was a magic item. - A 20 foot tall statue of a kneeling muddy woman covered in worms. Her arms were extended, palms up. She had gem eyes, gem teeth, and a ruby in her forehead. Above her belly button was a tattoo of the letters ATYVS. Ryltar approached and went to place some coins in one of her palms. The hand suddenly animated, and began to crush the drow! The adventurers raced forward to help him. He slipped out of its' grasp, and the arm became inanimate once more. Ryltar looked at the tattoo on the belly of the statue, and saw that each letter could be pressed in. He pressed the letters in this order: TSVYA (for "Tzolo Shall Vanquish You All). Her belly was a secret door! The adventurers paused to rest for a few minutes. The tomb had proven to be quite deadly. They were sure that whatever was ahead would be dangerous indeed.... [/QUOTE]
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