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<blockquote data-quote="ltclnlbrain" data-source="post: 2462087" data-attributes="member: 12882"><p><strong>Chapter 6</strong> </p><p></p><p>Sardonic leaned over the unconscious Carpal, wincing at his wounds. "Come on, big guy, wake up. It's too early to be sleeping on the job." The mage took what remained of the paladin's torn sleeve and used it to bandage his wounds, doing quite a good job of it. As the others were making sure the wolves stayed down, Pyrius came over to lend his aid. He took note of the mage's bandaging and nodded in approval.</p><p></p><p>"Are you a healer as well? Your bandaging is expertly done. I'm Pyrius." </p><p></p><p>Sardonic looked up from his handiwork with a big smile. "Thanks, Pyrius. I'm Sardonic. Actually this is my first attempt. It seemed like the right way to do it." </p><p></p><p>"Well, for a first try, it was a good one. Now. Let's see if we can get him back on his feet. Maybe some divine help can shed some light on the problem." Pyrius reached once more for the medallion tucked inside his tunic. There was a brief, warm glow, travelling down his arm into Carpal's prone body. The paladin stirred, but remained unconscious.</p><p></p><p>"Is he going to be okay?" asked Ju'lindra.</p><p></p><p>Pyrius nodded. "He's healthy enough now. He must have been affected by your spell, Sardonic. Give him a little while and he'll come around."</p><p></p><p>Davi peered down at Carpal, noting the bandages and patting Sardonic on the back. Then she looked up at Pyrius. "It's good you're here, Pyrius--and you too, Sardonic. I am not nearly the healer you gentlemen are, despite my vocation."</p><p></p><p>Indeed, after a short while, Carpal regained his senses. "What happened?" he asked.</p><p></p><p>Keira looked sharply at Carpal. "You fought to give the wolves the best advantage. They hunt in packs, selecting a single prey and bringing it down together." She spat on the body on the wolf and then walked over to retrieve her throwing axe where it lay against the wall. Returning to the bodies, she said, "We can take the bodies back to Diamond Lake. The furs will be worth something, and the teeth as well." She bent down to inspect the teeth for their cleanliness and quality, frowning as she looked.</p><p></p><p>"We should keep moving," said Ezreal, inspecting the archway now that he had the leisure. Peering through the cobweb-shrouded arch, he could see that a short flight of stairs descended from the other side, but more detail than that was impossible to make out. Dozens of tiny spiders crawled along the webs. The rogue looked back into the hall, a thought occuring to him. "Where did Tash get off to?"</p><p></p><p>"In here!" came a call from beyond the tunnel the wolves had emerged through. The gnome soon returned to the group, holding an intricately-carved armband and an elaborate lantern of indigo metal inset with indigo glass panes. "I found these in a backpack in there. Looks like they're valuable. Let's check out that other gallery before going through the arch."</p><p></p><p>The other gallery proved to contain a wide marble dais spanning that called attention to a faded fresco upon the south, west, and north walls. From a vantage point at the center of the dais, the wall painting made it look like the adventurers stood within a massive room with seven short hallways radiating outward from a central point. A chain dangled from the ceiling at the end of each hallway, and each chain bore a gleaming colored lantern: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. </p><p></p><p>Intrigued, but not really attributing much meaning to the fresco yet, the explorers pressed on. Keira struck a torch and burned the cobwebs away, then lead the others down the stairs beyond. The wide stairway descended into an immense domed chamber. Seven short tunnels branched from the room in all directions, extending some thirty feet before ending in rounded walls. At the terminus of each passage, a thick chain dangled from an unseen high ceiling. Five of the chains bore colorful lanterns, but two held nothing at all. Opposite the entry stairs, a bright green lantern containing what looked like a torch cast a weird, murky light about the room. Countless chips of glass and shiny metal inset into the chamber's domed ceiling reflected this light, giving the impression of starlight and falling snow. </p><p></p><p>Below the dome's peak, a long dais held what appeared to be a marble sarcophagus. A milky white bas-relief figure, perhaps of a human, rested passively upon the sarcophagus lid. Unlike the rest of the tomb, this room was completely silent.</p><p></p><p>Davi entered the room alongside Carpal, and her eyes beamed with excitement as she took in the wonder of what she presumed to be the burial chamber. "It's... glorious," she excitedly exclaimed. The tomb as a whole had yet to captivate the priest's imagination; indeed, thus far it had been a treasure hunt, no muss no fuss. But this, this reminded her of the teachings of her elders in the church, of just how sacred one's final resting place really is. Davi looks down to find that ever since she had been here she'd been fingering her necklace, which was formed of the ruby skulls that symbolize her deity. Now conscious of their actions, her gloved fingers clutched the little skulls, and Davi said a prayer in homage to Wee Jas. It just felt right to her.</p><p></p><p>"<em>Sharak!</em>" Keira exclaimed. She turned to Davi. "This is a place of the dead. They must not be disturbed." She gingerly, for a warrior of her stature, entered the domed room, her eyes gazing upward at the dome.</p><p></p><p>Sardonic looked about the room. "Looks like the frescos were referring to this room. We have an indigo lantern, which would go over on that chain," said the mage while pointing to an empty chain. "Looks like a red lantern is missing, too. Maybe part of some elaborate trap?" </p><p></p><p>Davi took a moment to mull over the contents of the room, and her immediate conclusion was that Sardonic is right; it's a trap, or at least a security device. "So perhaps we should just retrieve the corresponding lantern from the previous hall and place it in the right place. Or is that just far too mind-numbingly obvious?" she asked the paladin by her side. "Doesn't it just feel--" she began, but then her speech trailed off, as the cleric became lost in thought.</p><p></p><p>"I would not assume anything to be too obvious," Carpal said. "Remember, such a puzzle would need to be solvable by any of the tomb's caretakers, as well as secure enough to keep out thieves such as us."</p><p></p><p>The group moved forward to inspect the sarcophagus at the center of the chamber. The lid bore a white stone relief of a tall figure cloaked in a simple garment of flowing cloth. It was difficult to say why, exactly, but the outfit conjured thoughts of ancient times. The figure at first looked human, but a cursory examination revealed that it was about seven feet tall, completely hairless, and of indeterminate sex. Its arms and hands rested at its side. </p><p></p><p>The figure wore a scarab-like amulet around its neck, inscribed with another strange glyph similar to the one on the ruined arcane apparatus. To Sardonic's and Tash's eyes, it seemed to indicate an individual of lesser status than the one on the apparatus. The sarcophagus rested upon a small raised platform carved in the shape of a stylistic arrow, with the tip aligned with the head of the relief figure upon the lid and a short "shaft" extending from the foot of the sarcophagus. </p><p></p><p>Tash moved over to the green lantern and, standing on his tiptoes, opened it up. Inside was a strange-looking torch, which the gnome removed. He passed his hand through the heatless flame and nodded in understanding. "An <em>everburning torch</em>," he called to the others. "This will be useful."</p><p></p><p>"Well, let's get started," said Davi, clapping their hands together. She first instructed Sardonic to hang the indigo lantern on its hook. Tash brought the torch over and placed it within the orange lantern, which the sarcophagus' platform was pointing at. Nothing happened, so he brought the torch to the indigo lantern. Again, nothing happened. Tash suggested trying to turn the entire platform, and Carpal and Keira, working together, managed to do just that. It rotated clockwise until it was pointing at the yellow tunnel, then it clicked into place.</p><p></p><p>A great rumbling came from below the chamber as the circular stone at the end of the tunnel rose eight feet into the air, pushed up by a five-foot-diameter metal cylinder that seemed to arise from the ground itself. The rumbling stopped as it came to rest, and seconds later two thin doors slid into the sides of the cylinder, revealing a small empty chamber. </p><p></p><p>Davi's eyes widened in wonder. She stopped right in front of the doorway, and she pressed the palms of her hands together before it, staring up and into the chamber. The shadowy nature of the tomb coupled with the eerie indigo light reminded Davi of legends of the underworld--not quite hellish, just mysterious and strange. </p><p></p><p>"Let's try lighting the yellow lantern," said Sardonic.</p><p></p><p>"Shouldn't we check out the chamber first?" Tash asked. "I wonder if it goes anywhere when it goes down." The gnome took the everburning torch and, before anybody could protest, stepped into the chamber. As soon as he entered, the doors slammed closed behind him. With a great rumble, the contraption lowered itself into the floor. The stone "cap" locked into place, but the rumbling continues for a short while. Once it stopped, there was a brief pause, then the rumbling started again as the chamber rose up and opened once more, revealing it to be empty. The adventurers looked inside in shock.</p><p></p><p>"It ate him!" Sardonic exclaimed.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="ltclnlbrain, post: 2462087, member: 12882"] [B]Chapter 6[/B] Sardonic leaned over the unconscious Carpal, wincing at his wounds. "Come on, big guy, wake up. It's too early to be sleeping on the job." The mage took what remained of the paladin's torn sleeve and used it to bandage his wounds, doing quite a good job of it. As the others were making sure the wolves stayed down, Pyrius came over to lend his aid. He took note of the mage's bandaging and nodded in approval. "Are you a healer as well? Your bandaging is expertly done. I'm Pyrius." Sardonic looked up from his handiwork with a big smile. "Thanks, Pyrius. I'm Sardonic. Actually this is my first attempt. It seemed like the right way to do it." "Well, for a first try, it was a good one. Now. Let's see if we can get him back on his feet. Maybe some divine help can shed some light on the problem." Pyrius reached once more for the medallion tucked inside his tunic. There was a brief, warm glow, travelling down his arm into Carpal's prone body. The paladin stirred, but remained unconscious. "Is he going to be okay?" asked Ju'lindra. Pyrius nodded. "He's healthy enough now. He must have been affected by your spell, Sardonic. Give him a little while and he'll come around." Davi peered down at Carpal, noting the bandages and patting Sardonic on the back. Then she looked up at Pyrius. "It's good you're here, Pyrius--and you too, Sardonic. I am not nearly the healer you gentlemen are, despite my vocation." Indeed, after a short while, Carpal regained his senses. "What happened?" he asked. Keira looked sharply at Carpal. "You fought to give the wolves the best advantage. They hunt in packs, selecting a single prey and bringing it down together." She spat on the body on the wolf and then walked over to retrieve her throwing axe where it lay against the wall. Returning to the bodies, she said, "We can take the bodies back to Diamond Lake. The furs will be worth something, and the teeth as well." She bent down to inspect the teeth for their cleanliness and quality, frowning as she looked. "We should keep moving," said Ezreal, inspecting the archway now that he had the leisure. Peering through the cobweb-shrouded arch, he could see that a short flight of stairs descended from the other side, but more detail than that was impossible to make out. Dozens of tiny spiders crawled along the webs. The rogue looked back into the hall, a thought occuring to him. "Where did Tash get off to?" "In here!" came a call from beyond the tunnel the wolves had emerged through. The gnome soon returned to the group, holding an intricately-carved armband and an elaborate lantern of indigo metal inset with indigo glass panes. "I found these in a backpack in there. Looks like they're valuable. Let's check out that other gallery before going through the arch." The other gallery proved to contain a wide marble dais spanning that called attention to a faded fresco upon the south, west, and north walls. From a vantage point at the center of the dais, the wall painting made it look like the adventurers stood within a massive room with seven short hallways radiating outward from a central point. A chain dangled from the ceiling at the end of each hallway, and each chain bore a gleaming colored lantern: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Intrigued, but not really attributing much meaning to the fresco yet, the explorers pressed on. Keira struck a torch and burned the cobwebs away, then lead the others down the stairs beyond. The wide stairway descended into an immense domed chamber. Seven short tunnels branched from the room in all directions, extending some thirty feet before ending in rounded walls. At the terminus of each passage, a thick chain dangled from an unseen high ceiling. Five of the chains bore colorful lanterns, but two held nothing at all. Opposite the entry stairs, a bright green lantern containing what looked like a torch cast a weird, murky light about the room. Countless chips of glass and shiny metal inset into the chamber's domed ceiling reflected this light, giving the impression of starlight and falling snow. Below the dome's peak, a long dais held what appeared to be a marble sarcophagus. A milky white bas-relief figure, perhaps of a human, rested passively upon the sarcophagus lid. Unlike the rest of the tomb, this room was completely silent. Davi entered the room alongside Carpal, and her eyes beamed with excitement as she took in the wonder of what she presumed to be the burial chamber. "It's... glorious," she excitedly exclaimed. The tomb as a whole had yet to captivate the priest's imagination; indeed, thus far it had been a treasure hunt, no muss no fuss. But this, this reminded her of the teachings of her elders in the church, of just how sacred one's final resting place really is. Davi looks down to find that ever since she had been here she'd been fingering her necklace, which was formed of the ruby skulls that symbolize her deity. Now conscious of their actions, her gloved fingers clutched the little skulls, and Davi said a prayer in homage to Wee Jas. It just felt right to her. "[i]Sharak![/i]" Keira exclaimed. She turned to Davi. "This is a place of the dead. They must not be disturbed." She gingerly, for a warrior of her stature, entered the domed room, her eyes gazing upward at the dome. Sardonic looked about the room. "Looks like the frescos were referring to this room. We have an indigo lantern, which would go over on that chain," said the mage while pointing to an empty chain. "Looks like a red lantern is missing, too. Maybe part of some elaborate trap?" Davi took a moment to mull over the contents of the room, and her immediate conclusion was that Sardonic is right; it's a trap, or at least a security device. "So perhaps we should just retrieve the corresponding lantern from the previous hall and place it in the right place. Or is that just far too mind-numbingly obvious?" she asked the paladin by her side. "Doesn't it just feel--" she began, but then her speech trailed off, as the cleric became lost in thought. "I would not assume anything to be too obvious," Carpal said. "Remember, such a puzzle would need to be solvable by any of the tomb's caretakers, as well as secure enough to keep out thieves such as us." The group moved forward to inspect the sarcophagus at the center of the chamber. The lid bore a white stone relief of a tall figure cloaked in a simple garment of flowing cloth. It was difficult to say why, exactly, but the outfit conjured thoughts of ancient times. The figure at first looked human, but a cursory examination revealed that it was about seven feet tall, completely hairless, and of indeterminate sex. Its arms and hands rested at its side. The figure wore a scarab-like amulet around its neck, inscribed with another strange glyph similar to the one on the ruined arcane apparatus. To Sardonic's and Tash's eyes, it seemed to indicate an individual of lesser status than the one on the apparatus. The sarcophagus rested upon a small raised platform carved in the shape of a stylistic arrow, with the tip aligned with the head of the relief figure upon the lid and a short "shaft" extending from the foot of the sarcophagus. Tash moved over to the green lantern and, standing on his tiptoes, opened it up. Inside was a strange-looking torch, which the gnome removed. He passed his hand through the heatless flame and nodded in understanding. "An [i]everburning torch[/i]," he called to the others. "This will be useful." "Well, let's get started," said Davi, clapping their hands together. She first instructed Sardonic to hang the indigo lantern on its hook. Tash brought the torch over and placed it within the orange lantern, which the sarcophagus' platform was pointing at. Nothing happened, so he brought the torch to the indigo lantern. Again, nothing happened. Tash suggested trying to turn the entire platform, and Carpal and Keira, working together, managed to do just that. It rotated clockwise until it was pointing at the yellow tunnel, then it clicked into place. A great rumbling came from below the chamber as the circular stone at the end of the tunnel rose eight feet into the air, pushed up by a five-foot-diameter metal cylinder that seemed to arise from the ground itself. The rumbling stopped as it came to rest, and seconds later two thin doors slid into the sides of the cylinder, revealing a small empty chamber. Davi's eyes widened in wonder. She stopped right in front of the doorway, and she pressed the palms of her hands together before it, staring up and into the chamber. The shadowy nature of the tomb coupled with the eerie indigo light reminded Davi of legends of the underworld--not quite hellish, just mysterious and strange. "Let's try lighting the yellow lantern," said Sardonic. "Shouldn't we check out the chamber first?" Tash asked. "I wonder if it goes anywhere when it goes down." The gnome took the everburning torch and, before anybody could protest, stepped into the chamber. As soon as he entered, the doors slammed closed behind him. With a great rumble, the contraption lowered itself into the floor. The stone "cap" locked into place, but the rumbling continues for a short while. Once it stopped, there was a brief pause, then the rumbling started again as the chamber rose up and opened once more, revealing it to be empty. The adventurers looked inside in shock. "It ate him!" Sardonic exclaimed. [/QUOTE]
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