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<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 1890647" data-attributes="member: 5203"><p><strong>Death Makes No Sound, Part Two</strong></p><p></p><p>It was another two days after stopping the zombie attack in Canyon Camp before the group set out for the tombs. After catching a little sleep, the group had divided in half – Osborn, Kavan, Autumn, and Lanara went out with the loggers and the priest Kath the next day to investigate the rumors of attacks, while Arrie, Kyle, Tolly and Xu went out into the woods to assist the spirit of an androsphinx that had enlisted their aid via dream-messages. It wasn't until they reunited that they set out for the town's crypt.</p><p></p><p> The tomb itself was only an hour’s walk from the village, embedded in the side of a hill. The group had spent much of the previous afternoon poring over their map, making marks for the locations of hidden doors and pit traps and discussing strategy. They had picked up several long planks to use as makeshift bridges across the pit traps; even though they knew how to deactivate the traps, it was assumed that if the necromancer was in there he or she would know how to rearm them.</p><p></p><p> The sun shone high in the sky when the group came to the tomb location. Small blocks of stone and carved statuary were scattered about the hillside. The wooden doors to the tomb appeared to have been burst open from the inside.</p><p></p><p> “Well, it certainly looks like Councilman Adi’s suspicions about the tomb could be correct,” mused Tolly.</p><p></p><p> “Okay, then,” said Osborn, clapping his hands together. “Looks like I’m in the lead. Just give me a little space.”</p><p></p><p> “Wait a moment, Osborn,” said Tolly. He cast a spell, then touched the hin on the shoulder. “This enchantment will render you undetectable to the undead,” he said. “If you are going to be our scout, you may as well benefit from some protection.”</p><p></p><p> The group approached the tomb entrance and went inside, unpacking their lanterns. The small entryway was strewn with dead leaves, but the wind had swept away any dust and did not show any tracks. The twisting corridors were narrow, and they were forced to move single file. Osborn stayed a few paces ahead, glancing occasionally at their copy of the map to locate the hidden doors in the chamber.</p><p></p><p> “Which way do we go?” he asked at one point. “There’s a passageway beyond this wall that leads to the rear of the ossuary, or we can just proceed further into the tombs.”</p><p></p><p> “I don’t want to leave any surprises behind us if we can help it,” said Arrie. “Let’s check out the ossuary.”</p><p></p><p> The group navigated past the secret corridor into the ossuary. The dried bones of hundreds of dead men and women were piled against the walls, a little over waist high to the humans. A narrow pathway remained down the center of the pile, allowing the group to more through but so narrow that their hips would occasionally knock a few loose bones to the floor.</p><p></p><p> “Gee, looks like the perfect place for a few hidden undead skeletons to jump us,” quipped Kyle.</p><p></p><p> His joke turned into prophecy as six forms rose from the piles on each side of them. Four were human skeletons wielding swords, while the other two appeared to be skeletal dogs or wolves. The undead laid into the party, but their own movement was just as hampered by the piles of bones as that of the living, and after being blasted by the holy power summoned by both Tolly and Kavan, the skeletons proved more an inconvenience than a challenge.</p><p></p><p> They emerged from the piles of bones into a room tiled with black onyx. They moved from there to a back section of the tomb that was used for preparing bodies. The stench of dried blood and offal was nearly overwhelming, but there was nothing unnatural in the chambers. The only item of note they found was a corridor that did not appear on their map. The hallway sloped downward, and extended past the range of their light.</p><p></p><p> “Down the hole we go?” Osborn asked, already knowing the answer. He moved forward into the hallway, moving even more slowly than before since he could no longer rely on a map to find traps or secret doors. The hallway descended for a considerable distance before stopping at a dead end. A large boulder sat off to their right, blocking up a passageway. Tolly and Kyle set to work on it, borrowing a crowbar from Osborn. Eventually Tolly realized that the stone would be easier to push from the top rather than the side, and after a few minutes the large boulder fell over and rolled into a bowl-shaped depression beyond. The party moved into the chamber, and saw another opening across from them, as well as an opening about thirty feet above their heads.</p><p></p><p> Osborn pointed at the landing above, looking at the map. “I know where we are,” he said. “This is the bottom of this pit here on the map. Had we gone down the hallway when we first got here instead of going into the ossuary, we would have ended up there.”</p><p></p><p> Behind them Lanara sighed. “So much for the thrill of the unexplored passageway.”</p><p></p><p> They moved across the pit to the other opening, and climbed up a narrow stair to get back to the main part of the tombs. They continued moving, eventually coming upon a small antechamber where two corpses were hanging garishly from the wall. Close inspection showed that barbed wire had been laced through the flesh of the bodies.</p><p></p><p> “These look like they’re being prepared for animation,” said Kavan, examining the bodies.</p><p></p><p> “Should we destroy them?” asked Autumn. “Can they animate and pursue us if we leave them behind?”</p><p></p><p> “No,” said Kyle. “The fellow that’s behind this needs to touch the body to animate it. I figure we can deal with these two on the way out.”</p><p></p><p> While the group discussed the finer points of undead, Osborn stole ahead a bit to see what to expect. He was getting nervous, but a little excited at the same time – the map showed that there wasn’t much left of the tomb to explore. He glanced into the next room, secure that Tolly’s spell would let him spot any undead without being seen. Sure enough, in the next open area he spotted a quartet of zombies, oblivious to his presence. He went back to report to his companions.</p><p></p><p> “There’s four zombies in the next room,” he said. “It’s divided up into cells, and there’s one zombie in each cell. The cells have open doorways, so no chance of picking them off one by one.”</p><p></p><p> “Then I say we rush them,” said Arrie. “Pin them in so they can’t join forces.”</p><p></p><p> The group agreed to the plan. Kyle remained in the back, watching the passage behind them for any surprises, while Osborn moved past the zombies to watch what lay beyond. The others prepared themselves, and moved into the room en masse.</p><p></p><p> The zombies proved tougher opponents than the skeletons in the ossuary. For one thing, they were laced with barbed wire like the two bodies they’d found, and had apparently been instructed to grab their opponents and squeeze. They were also far stronger than expected. At one point Kavan found himself pinned between two of them, and was in a bit of trouble until Xu moved in to assist the elf. But eventually the party triumphed, hacking down the last zombie. Osborn signaled that all was clear; the battle had apparently not raised any alarms.</p><p></p><p> The group moved onward past the chamber into a small makeshift chapel, stripped bare of any religious trappings. Past the chapel lay a reinforced wooden door.</p><p></p><p> “This is it,” Osborn whispered. “This is the last room on the map. It’s the mausoleum – should be nothing but a bunch of stone sarcophagi.”</p><p></p><p> “Sounds like the perfect place for a necromancer to hang out,” quipped Arrie.</p><p></p><p> “I’ll go check it out first,” said Osborn, “and let you know what’s in there.”</p><p></p><p> “Hey, be careful,” said Lanara. “Remember that necromancer’s probably not undead, and Tolly’s spell won’t do jack to protect you.”</p><p></p><p> Osborn’s only answer to the cansin was a wink as he went inside. After several tense minutes, he emerged from the shadows and motioned for the group to follow him back away from the door a few paces.</p><p></p><p> “The crypts are in three chambers in the center of the room,” Osborn said, sketching a quick map in the dust. “The hallway wraps around them like a U. There are open archways between the chambers and out into the hallway here, here, and here. This far chamber here, that looks like it only holds one coffin? It’s actually a desk. I heard someone moving around in there, but I couldn’t see them. There was a big black book on the desk – I’d guess a spellbook.”</p><p></p><p> Kyle’s eyes lit up for a moment, then sank. He remembered that all property gains from this mission were to be given to the Tower as part of their contract. He’d never get to see the spells in that book.</p><p></p><p> Autumn caught the look in his eyes. “There are probably nothing but vile, evil rituals in that book, Kyle,” she said.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, you’re probably right.”</p><p></p><p> “Okay, so, what’s the plan?” Osborn looked at the group expectantly.</p><p></p><p> “Perhaps a pincer move might be the best strategy,” said Tolly. “Send our quietest members around to the far side of the room and surround the necromancer.”</p><p></p><p> “Good plan,” said Arrie. “Osborn, Xu, and Lanara; that would be you three. You up to it?”</p><p></p><p> They nodded their agreement. They took a moment to make what preparations they could, with Tolly laying a blessing on the group and enhancing the strength of Arrie and Autumn. Then the three stealthiest party members crept into the room. After giving them a silent count of thirty to get into position, the others moved into the chamber.</p><p></p><p> As they approached, they heard the sound of something moving inside the chamber where the necromancer was supposed to be – something far larger than what they expected. But it turned out that they were not the only ones with discerning hearing.</p><p></p><p> “Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive,” said a smooth, elegant voice. “I’ve been expecting you for some time.”</p><p></p><p> The group was hardly surprised at being discovered, though they were not expecting such a cordial welcome. Arrie, however, seemed stunned when she heard the necromancer’s voice. Arrie’s reaction was not lost on her sister.</p><p></p><p> “Ariadne? Is something wrong?” Autumn asked.</p><p></p><p> The question seemed to snap Arrie out of her stupor. “The family will be so disappointed in you,” she called out to the necromancer.</p><p></p><p> Autumn’s look went from puzzled to shocked. “Do you know him?” she asked.</p><p></p><p> The necromancer himself seemed just as uncertain. “Who is that? What are you speaking of?”</p><p></p><p> Arrie stepped into the room. She saw the necromancer, a thin, pale elven noble, standing behind his desk. In the corner of the room stood an enormous fleshy construct that seemed stitched from several bodies. Electricity arced between metal bolts protruding from its skin.</p><p></p><p> The necromancer, seeing Arrie’s face, suddenly smiled. “Ah, yes.”</p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Osborn, Lanara, and Xu waited impatiently in the hallway. Why were they suddenly having a conversation with this man? But then, another figure stepped around the corner in their direction. It looked like another zombie, but this one was constructed from the corpse of an ogre. It towered over their heads, swinging a large bone club.</p><p></p><p> Inside the chamber, the necromancer seemed just about to address Arrie, when he cocked his head to the side, seeming to look through the wall behind him for a moment. His smile turned into a sneer. “Clever adventurers.”</p><p></p><p> Tolly decided he’d had enough prattle. Stepping into the room, he unleashed a blast of acid at both the necromancer and his guardian. It seemed to drip off both with little effect.</p><p></p><p> “Golem!” shouted Tolly in warning, as the stitched-up horror raised it’s arms and began moving to defend its master.</p><p></p><p> Kyle moved around the group of heavily-armored fighters. He’d never get a good line of fire from where he was. As he moved, he threw up his last defensive spell. Kavan threw a blast of sonic energy at the golem and its master with the same results as Tolly. Xu moved up to engage the ogre zombie, but a single swing from its massive club sent her reeling back. She and Lanara moved away from the undead monster. Osborn, still protected by Tolly’s hide from undead spell, moved around the zombie. He knew he could do little to hurt the undead with his skills, but the necromancer was another story.</p><p></p><p> Autumn had the same idea as Osborn, and laid into the elven wizard with her longsword. Her blow connected solidly with the necromancer’s chest, but the gash seemed to close up instantly as tendrils of black energy pulled the wound together. In response, the necromancer cast a spell at Tolly, and a pair of translucent hands wrapped around his neck and began to strangle him. Tolly also suffered a blow from the golem’s flailing fists. He and Arrie tried to fight back against the golem, but their blows bounced off its skin harmlessly.</p><p></p><p> Kyle rounded the corner and saw the battle raging. He launched two magic missiles at the necromancer, but they fizzled against the shield spell that was already in place. With Kyle in sight now, the necromancer grinned and cast a spell at him. Suddenly Kyle could no longer hear anything at all. Almost at the same time, the necromancer kicked a lever underneath his desk. There was the sound of a metallic crashing from the entrance to the mausoleum, and everyone in the room (except Kyle, who couldn’t hear it) assumed that they were now trapped inside.</p><p></p><p> Kavan heard Lanara crying out for assistance, and so moved and used his healing magic on Xu. The monk tried to wade back into battle, but even her iron blows could not penetrate the flesh of the ogre zombie. The zombie itself ignored Xu and moved partially back into the chamber to pound Autumn with its club. Lanara, now by herself but away from the combat, caught a quick glance of the necromancer through the doorways between them. With nothing to lose, she sang the words to one of her magical compositions, and sent it toward the necromancer. Amazingly, the magic seemed to penetrate the wizard’s sinister mind, and moments later the necromancer was on the ground, laughing nasally. But despite his new vulnerability, Autumn was still unable to penetrate his magical defenses.</p><p></p><p> Tolly and the golem exchanged blows, but Tolly was receiving the worst of the exchange. Kyle sent a ray of intense heat at the necromancer, which barely succeeded as Kyle was unable to hear himself intone the magical words needed to cast the spell. Kavan slashed at the ogre, and dodged a return strike from it. Lanara began to sing an inspiring song to her companions, which gave Osborn the strength of spirit needed to wade into the chamber where the golem was and shove his dagger deep into the necromancer’s side. This time the wound did not close completely, and blood flowed from the elf’s ribcage even as he continued to laugh.</p><p></p><p> Arrie, seeing that Tolly was badly injured, pressed a potion into his hand as she moved past. But Tolly did not drink it, fearing that the pause might give the golem the opening it needed to finish him. Instead he pressed the attack, wounding the golem further. He’d used Ardara’s power to temporarily enchant his warhammer before the battle, and he was glad he had. He remembered enough about golems to know that only magical weapons, such as his hammer and Arrie’s chain, could penetrate the skin of a flesh golem. He also knew that all golems had a weakness to a particular type of energy, and were enhanced by another. However, he couldn’t remember which was which for flesh golems.</p><p></p><p> “Kyle!” he shouted. “What magic do you use against flesh golems!”</p><p></p><p> Tolly got no response; he was unaware that his companion had been deafened. Instead, Kyle had produced a tanglefoot bag, and thrown it on top of the necromancer, hoping to keep him secure once Lanara’s hideous laughter spell wore off. Xu and Kavan pressed their attack on the ogre, Kavan sending positive energy into it with a touch. In response the ogre zombie smashed its club into the priest’s shoulder, dislocating it. Lanara tried Kyle’s tactic against the ogre, but her tanglefoot bag missed and splattered against the back wall. Both Autumn and Osborn laid into the necromancer and opened up new wounds. The golem moved to protect its creator, and launched a mighty blow at Autumn that dented the sentinel’s breastplate.</p><p></p><p> As the ringing of the golem’s blow reverberated through the chamber, the others heard a new sound – a steady hissing coming from above them. Looking up, they saw that pipes in the ceiling were pumping a foul greenish gas into the room.</p><p></p><p> As Tolly and Arrie continued to assault the flesh golem, Kyle moved to aid Kavan and Xu. The ogre zombie had swung at Xu and broken her leg, while Kavan had stepped back to heal his own wounds. Kyle threw a flask of acid onto the zombie, while behind him Lanara moved up, ending her song in order to use the power of her magical fiddle to heal Xu’s leg.</p><p></p><p> In the other chamber, Osborn and Autumn prepared to attack the necromancer again. But Lanara’s spell had ended, and the elven wizard was in control of himself again. He uttered a few magical syllables and vanished, the strands of alchemical goo that had been holding him down collapsing into a puddle. The hin and the aasimar looked at each other for a moment, then chose new targets. Autumn slashed at the ogre zombie, while Osborn produced a small pebble from a bag and threw it at the golem. The pebble expanded in size to that of a small boulder, and it smashed into the golem’s skull. Despite the grievous damage it had endured, however, the golem still stood, and it directed it’s attention toward Tolly. Both fists came down on Tolly’s shoulders, and the priest dropped to the floor, blood spurting from his lips and nose.</p><p></p><p> Arrie lashed out at the golem again, both in hopes of avenging Tolly and in fear of the fact that she would be its next target. Sure enough, the golem pounded her mercilessly, leaving her bruised and bloody. Most of the group, unaware that Tolly had fallen, continued to press the attack on the zombie. Xu, still grievously wounded, rolled out of range of the zombie’s club and eagerly took a healing potion from Kyle before rejoining the battle. Kyle himself, now juggling several vials and flasks, hurled alchemists’ fire at the zombie, followed by more acid. Lanara used her magical fiddle again to weave protective magic around Xu before restarting her inspirational music. Kavan attempted to banish the undead creature, but was unable to summon enough strength within the unholy place. For a moment, only Autumn was left standing toe to toe with the ogre, and her blows landed true while the ogre’s club was deflected by her shield.</p><p></p><p> The gas had seeped down into the room. Kyle, who had not heard the gas being piped into the room, inhaled the vapors deeply before he knew what had happened. Suddenly he began to feel weaker. The others fared better, but they were running out of time. Osborn was underneath the desk, trying to reverse the mechanism triggered by the necromancer, but it was a complex device and would take time – perhaps more time than they had.</p><p></p><p> The golem smashed into Arrie again, and her head swam. She staggered back out of the chamber, holding onto the wall to keep herself steady as she fumbled for a healing potion. Kyle caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, and moved back into the chamber to see the situation. He quickly weighed his options. He had only one offensive spell left, <em>burning hands</em>. Was fire good or bad to use against flesh golems? He couldn’t remember. Either way, an attack would certainly draw the golem’s attention, which might give Arrie enough breathing room to heal herself. Kyle decided to take a chance. As the flames surrounded the golem, he saw it roar in pain, and then saw that the arcs of electricity around it seemed to be diminished, and its movements slower. But not slow enough; the creature turned and smashed its fist into Kyle. The wizard’s protective spells held, but the force of the blow still hit him full on, and he felt ribs give way.</p><p></p><p> At the same time, Kavan had moved back into melee with the ogre zombie, joining Xu and Autumn. Autumn’s blade missed the ogre, while Xu’s fists and Kavan’s sword hit home. The zombie ignored the monk’s attacks, as her fists were doing little harm to it’s leathery skin, and instead focused on the one who had hurt it the most; Kavan. With a swipe of its club, Kavan was sent flying into the far wall, where she slumped unconscious.</p><p></p><p> Now several of those still standing were feeling the effects of the poisonous gas. Arrie managed to heal some of her injuries with a potion even as Kyle threw more alchemist’s fire at the flesh golem. The golem’s counterattack glanced off his shield spell. Xu dragged Kavan’s unconscious body away from the ogre, leaving Autumn standing alone against it. The monk attempted to bandage the Eritan priest’s wounds, but was having trouble stanching the bleeding. As the ogre’s lifeless eyes turned toward Autumn, the sentinel muttered a quick prayer and buried her sword into its skull, finally toppling the creature. Without a moment’s pause, she moved into the next room to assault the golem, arriving at the same time as her sister. But both of their blows glanced off the creature without effect, and Kyle’s last vial of acid went wide and missed as well. The golem tried to finish off Arrie, but its luck was as poor as its opponents. For a moment it was a tense standoff between the three – Arrie, Autumn, and the golem were all grievously wounded, and another blow could finish any one of them. The three launched their attacks almost in unison.</p><p></p><p> Almost… except that Arrie was just a little faster.</p><p></p><p> Her spiked chain ripped through the golem, tearing apart stitching and ripping dead flesh. The golem did not so much fall as collapse, separating into its component parts. Exhausted, Arrie and Autumn lowered their weapons and went to find their companions. Kavan was just sitting up as they approached, Xu having given up on bandages and gone for another healing potion instead. A few seconds later, there was a click, and the hissing sound stopped. Osborn walked out a second later.</p><p></p><p> “Good news, bad news, worse news,” he said. “Good news is I stopped the gas. Bad news is there’s no way to get rid of the gas that’s already here. Worse news is that there’s no way I can open the door.”</p><p></p><p> “Then we have to break it down,” said Arrie. “Where are Kyle and Tolly?”</p><p></p><p> Osborn shook his head sadly. “I just checked on Tolly,” he said. “He’s not helping anyone… he’s gone.”</p><p></p><p> The news sank in fast, but they had little time to mourn. Several of them had already been affected by the poison; Kyle and Osborn in particular were looking very pale and unsteady. They moved to the entrance to the chamber, where an iron door had dropped from the ceiling and sealed the chamber. Kyle tried to lift it (after some quick pantomiming from his companions), but it didn’t budge.</p><p></p><p> “Wait a minute,” said Lanara, pointing at Arrie and Autumn, “didn’t Tolly make you two stronger?”</p><p></p><p> The two sisters looked at each other. Osborn grinned despite the situation. “Looks like Tolly found a way to help after all.”</p><p></p><p> The three of them managed to get the door opened, and they quickly moved outside to fresh air. Gasping, Kyle summoned his familiar, Violet, who he’d left perched in the trees outside. “Go to town,” he told her, in a voice that was a little too loud. “Find Priestess Sisz. Tell her to meet us at the tombs, and that several of us have been poisoned.”</p><p></p><p> As the raven flew off, Osborn approached Arrie and offered her a flask. “Drink this,” he said, “you look like you need it.”</p><p></p><p> “I’m fine,” she replied. “Keep it.”</p><p></p><p> “But you’re hurt,” said Osborn. “You need healing.”</p><p></p><p> “We’ve finished the battle, Osborn,” she said, snapping at the hin. “Save it. I’m fine.”</p><p></p><p> Osborn’s brow furrowed at the fighter’s stubbornness. He stuffed the vial back into his belt pouch.</p><p></p><p> It was nearly two hours before Sisz arrived, accompanied by Violet and by Shilsen, their former instructor and overseer for their mission. He listened attentively to the group’s account of the battle with the necromancer, then proceeded down into the tombs. He emerged a few minutes later holding a large sack.</p><p></p><p> “This fulfills your last obligation to the Tower,” Shilsen said. “Good luck to you in your future careers.” He looked over at the body of Tolly, who was being strapped to a makeshift travois for the trip back to Canyon Camp. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “Would you like me to return his body to the Ardaran priests?”</p><p></p><p> They thought for a moment. “We don’t know if Tolly wishes to rest in the afterlife, or if he would want the opportunity to return,” Kavan said. “Perhaps you could deliver a message to the priests of Ardara in Trageon and ask them to contact Tolly’s spirit to learn what his wishes are. Should he wish to return to us, we will see to it that the arrangements are made.”</p><p></p><p> “Very well,” Shilsen said, and he touched the brooch on his chest and vanished.</p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Sisz had done what she could for the group, lifting most of the weakness from Kyle and healing the wounds of others. “I’ll need more time to tend to the rest of you,” she said, “and I can get some help from Kath.” She looked anxiously at the entrance to the tombs. “Do you think the threat to our town is gone?”</p><p></p><p> “I think so,” said Autumn. “Though the necromancer escaped, we have destroyed all his creations and rooted him out of his lair. He would be foolish to return.”</p><p></p><p> As the group began following Sisz back to the town, Autumn walked over and whispered into Arrie’s ear.</p><p></p><p> “All right, Arrie, who was that elf? You seemed to know each other, but I don’t recognize him.”</p><p></p><p> “I’ll tell you when we get back,” she whispered. “But the first thing I need to do is send a message to the capital. Now.”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 1890647, member: 5203"] [b]Death Makes No Sound, Part Two[/b] It was another two days after stopping the zombie attack in Canyon Camp before the group set out for the tombs. After catching a little sleep, the group had divided in half – Osborn, Kavan, Autumn, and Lanara went out with the loggers and the priest Kath the next day to investigate the rumors of attacks, while Arrie, Kyle, Tolly and Xu went out into the woods to assist the spirit of an androsphinx that had enlisted their aid via dream-messages. It wasn't until they reunited that they set out for the town's crypt. The tomb itself was only an hour’s walk from the village, embedded in the side of a hill. The group had spent much of the previous afternoon poring over their map, making marks for the locations of hidden doors and pit traps and discussing strategy. They had picked up several long planks to use as makeshift bridges across the pit traps; even though they knew how to deactivate the traps, it was assumed that if the necromancer was in there he or she would know how to rearm them. The sun shone high in the sky when the group came to the tomb location. Small blocks of stone and carved statuary were scattered about the hillside. The wooden doors to the tomb appeared to have been burst open from the inside. “Well, it certainly looks like Councilman Adi’s suspicions about the tomb could be correct,” mused Tolly. “Okay, then,” said Osborn, clapping his hands together. “Looks like I’m in the lead. Just give me a little space.” “Wait a moment, Osborn,” said Tolly. He cast a spell, then touched the hin on the shoulder. “This enchantment will render you undetectable to the undead,” he said. “If you are going to be our scout, you may as well benefit from some protection.” The group approached the tomb entrance and went inside, unpacking their lanterns. The small entryway was strewn with dead leaves, but the wind had swept away any dust and did not show any tracks. The twisting corridors were narrow, and they were forced to move single file. Osborn stayed a few paces ahead, glancing occasionally at their copy of the map to locate the hidden doors in the chamber. “Which way do we go?” he asked at one point. “There’s a passageway beyond this wall that leads to the rear of the ossuary, or we can just proceed further into the tombs.” “I don’t want to leave any surprises behind us if we can help it,” said Arrie. “Let’s check out the ossuary.” The group navigated past the secret corridor into the ossuary. The dried bones of hundreds of dead men and women were piled against the walls, a little over waist high to the humans. A narrow pathway remained down the center of the pile, allowing the group to more through but so narrow that their hips would occasionally knock a few loose bones to the floor. “Gee, looks like the perfect place for a few hidden undead skeletons to jump us,” quipped Kyle. His joke turned into prophecy as six forms rose from the piles on each side of them. Four were human skeletons wielding swords, while the other two appeared to be skeletal dogs or wolves. The undead laid into the party, but their own movement was just as hampered by the piles of bones as that of the living, and after being blasted by the holy power summoned by both Tolly and Kavan, the skeletons proved more an inconvenience than a challenge. They emerged from the piles of bones into a room tiled with black onyx. They moved from there to a back section of the tomb that was used for preparing bodies. The stench of dried blood and offal was nearly overwhelming, but there was nothing unnatural in the chambers. The only item of note they found was a corridor that did not appear on their map. The hallway sloped downward, and extended past the range of their light. “Down the hole we go?” Osborn asked, already knowing the answer. He moved forward into the hallway, moving even more slowly than before since he could no longer rely on a map to find traps or secret doors. The hallway descended for a considerable distance before stopping at a dead end. A large boulder sat off to their right, blocking up a passageway. Tolly and Kyle set to work on it, borrowing a crowbar from Osborn. Eventually Tolly realized that the stone would be easier to push from the top rather than the side, and after a few minutes the large boulder fell over and rolled into a bowl-shaped depression beyond. The party moved into the chamber, and saw another opening across from them, as well as an opening about thirty feet above their heads. Osborn pointed at the landing above, looking at the map. “I know where we are,” he said. “This is the bottom of this pit here on the map. Had we gone down the hallway when we first got here instead of going into the ossuary, we would have ended up there.” Behind them Lanara sighed. “So much for the thrill of the unexplored passageway.” They moved across the pit to the other opening, and climbed up a narrow stair to get back to the main part of the tombs. They continued moving, eventually coming upon a small antechamber where two corpses were hanging garishly from the wall. Close inspection showed that barbed wire had been laced through the flesh of the bodies. “These look like they’re being prepared for animation,” said Kavan, examining the bodies. “Should we destroy them?” asked Autumn. “Can they animate and pursue us if we leave them behind?” “No,” said Kyle. “The fellow that’s behind this needs to touch the body to animate it. I figure we can deal with these two on the way out.” While the group discussed the finer points of undead, Osborn stole ahead a bit to see what to expect. He was getting nervous, but a little excited at the same time – the map showed that there wasn’t much left of the tomb to explore. He glanced into the next room, secure that Tolly’s spell would let him spot any undead without being seen. Sure enough, in the next open area he spotted a quartet of zombies, oblivious to his presence. He went back to report to his companions. “There’s four zombies in the next room,” he said. “It’s divided up into cells, and there’s one zombie in each cell. The cells have open doorways, so no chance of picking them off one by one.” “Then I say we rush them,” said Arrie. “Pin them in so they can’t join forces.” The group agreed to the plan. Kyle remained in the back, watching the passage behind them for any surprises, while Osborn moved past the zombies to watch what lay beyond. The others prepared themselves, and moved into the room en masse. The zombies proved tougher opponents than the skeletons in the ossuary. For one thing, they were laced with barbed wire like the two bodies they’d found, and had apparently been instructed to grab their opponents and squeeze. They were also far stronger than expected. At one point Kavan found himself pinned between two of them, and was in a bit of trouble until Xu moved in to assist the elf. But eventually the party triumphed, hacking down the last zombie. Osborn signaled that all was clear; the battle had apparently not raised any alarms. The group moved onward past the chamber into a small makeshift chapel, stripped bare of any religious trappings. Past the chapel lay a reinforced wooden door. “This is it,” Osborn whispered. “This is the last room on the map. It’s the mausoleum – should be nothing but a bunch of stone sarcophagi.” “Sounds like the perfect place for a necromancer to hang out,” quipped Arrie. “I’ll go check it out first,” said Osborn, “and let you know what’s in there.” “Hey, be careful,” said Lanara. “Remember that necromancer’s probably not undead, and Tolly’s spell won’t do jack to protect you.” Osborn’s only answer to the cansin was a wink as he went inside. After several tense minutes, he emerged from the shadows and motioned for the group to follow him back away from the door a few paces. “The crypts are in three chambers in the center of the room,” Osborn said, sketching a quick map in the dust. “The hallway wraps around them like a U. There are open archways between the chambers and out into the hallway here, here, and here. This far chamber here, that looks like it only holds one coffin? It’s actually a desk. I heard someone moving around in there, but I couldn’t see them. There was a big black book on the desk – I’d guess a spellbook.” Kyle’s eyes lit up for a moment, then sank. He remembered that all property gains from this mission were to be given to the Tower as part of their contract. He’d never get to see the spells in that book. Autumn caught the look in his eyes. “There are probably nothing but vile, evil rituals in that book, Kyle,” she said. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” “Okay, so, what’s the plan?” Osborn looked at the group expectantly. “Perhaps a pincer move might be the best strategy,” said Tolly. “Send our quietest members around to the far side of the room and surround the necromancer.” “Good plan,” said Arrie. “Osborn, Xu, and Lanara; that would be you three. You up to it?” They nodded their agreement. They took a moment to make what preparations they could, with Tolly laying a blessing on the group and enhancing the strength of Arrie and Autumn. Then the three stealthiest party members crept into the room. After giving them a silent count of thirty to get into position, the others moved into the chamber. As they approached, they heard the sound of something moving inside the chamber where the necromancer was supposed to be – something far larger than what they expected. But it turned out that they were not the only ones with discerning hearing. “Ah, I was wondering when you would arrive,” said a smooth, elegant voice. “I’ve been expecting you for some time.” The group was hardly surprised at being discovered, though they were not expecting such a cordial welcome. Arrie, however, seemed stunned when she heard the necromancer’s voice. Arrie’s reaction was not lost on her sister. “Ariadne? Is something wrong?” Autumn asked. The question seemed to snap Arrie out of her stupor. “The family will be so disappointed in you,” she called out to the necromancer. Autumn’s look went from puzzled to shocked. “Do you know him?” she asked. The necromancer himself seemed just as uncertain. “Who is that? What are you speaking of?” Arrie stepped into the room. She saw the necromancer, a thin, pale elven noble, standing behind his desk. In the corner of the room stood an enormous fleshy construct that seemed stitched from several bodies. Electricity arced between metal bolts protruding from its skin. The necromancer, seeing Arrie’s face, suddenly smiled. “Ah, yes.” Meanwhile, Osborn, Lanara, and Xu waited impatiently in the hallway. Why were they suddenly having a conversation with this man? But then, another figure stepped around the corner in their direction. It looked like another zombie, but this one was constructed from the corpse of an ogre. It towered over their heads, swinging a large bone club. Inside the chamber, the necromancer seemed just about to address Arrie, when he cocked his head to the side, seeming to look through the wall behind him for a moment. His smile turned into a sneer. “Clever adventurers.” Tolly decided he’d had enough prattle. Stepping into the room, he unleashed a blast of acid at both the necromancer and his guardian. It seemed to drip off both with little effect. “Golem!” shouted Tolly in warning, as the stitched-up horror raised it’s arms and began moving to defend its master. Kyle moved around the group of heavily-armored fighters. He’d never get a good line of fire from where he was. As he moved, he threw up his last defensive spell. Kavan threw a blast of sonic energy at the golem and its master with the same results as Tolly. Xu moved up to engage the ogre zombie, but a single swing from its massive club sent her reeling back. She and Lanara moved away from the undead monster. Osborn, still protected by Tolly’s hide from undead spell, moved around the zombie. He knew he could do little to hurt the undead with his skills, but the necromancer was another story. Autumn had the same idea as Osborn, and laid into the elven wizard with her longsword. Her blow connected solidly with the necromancer’s chest, but the gash seemed to close up instantly as tendrils of black energy pulled the wound together. In response, the necromancer cast a spell at Tolly, and a pair of translucent hands wrapped around his neck and began to strangle him. Tolly also suffered a blow from the golem’s flailing fists. He and Arrie tried to fight back against the golem, but their blows bounced off its skin harmlessly. Kyle rounded the corner and saw the battle raging. He launched two magic missiles at the necromancer, but they fizzled against the shield spell that was already in place. With Kyle in sight now, the necromancer grinned and cast a spell at him. Suddenly Kyle could no longer hear anything at all. Almost at the same time, the necromancer kicked a lever underneath his desk. There was the sound of a metallic crashing from the entrance to the mausoleum, and everyone in the room (except Kyle, who couldn’t hear it) assumed that they were now trapped inside. Kavan heard Lanara crying out for assistance, and so moved and used his healing magic on Xu. The monk tried to wade back into battle, but even her iron blows could not penetrate the flesh of the ogre zombie. The zombie itself ignored Xu and moved partially back into the chamber to pound Autumn with its club. Lanara, now by herself but away from the combat, caught a quick glance of the necromancer through the doorways between them. With nothing to lose, she sang the words to one of her magical compositions, and sent it toward the necromancer. Amazingly, the magic seemed to penetrate the wizard’s sinister mind, and moments later the necromancer was on the ground, laughing nasally. But despite his new vulnerability, Autumn was still unable to penetrate his magical defenses. Tolly and the golem exchanged blows, but Tolly was receiving the worst of the exchange. Kyle sent a ray of intense heat at the necromancer, which barely succeeded as Kyle was unable to hear himself intone the magical words needed to cast the spell. Kavan slashed at the ogre, and dodged a return strike from it. Lanara began to sing an inspiring song to her companions, which gave Osborn the strength of spirit needed to wade into the chamber where the golem was and shove his dagger deep into the necromancer’s side. This time the wound did not close completely, and blood flowed from the elf’s ribcage even as he continued to laugh. Arrie, seeing that Tolly was badly injured, pressed a potion into his hand as she moved past. But Tolly did not drink it, fearing that the pause might give the golem the opening it needed to finish him. Instead he pressed the attack, wounding the golem further. He’d used Ardara’s power to temporarily enchant his warhammer before the battle, and he was glad he had. He remembered enough about golems to know that only magical weapons, such as his hammer and Arrie’s chain, could penetrate the skin of a flesh golem. He also knew that all golems had a weakness to a particular type of energy, and were enhanced by another. However, he couldn’t remember which was which for flesh golems. “Kyle!” he shouted. “What magic do you use against flesh golems!” Tolly got no response; he was unaware that his companion had been deafened. Instead, Kyle had produced a tanglefoot bag, and thrown it on top of the necromancer, hoping to keep him secure once Lanara’s hideous laughter spell wore off. Xu and Kavan pressed their attack on the ogre, Kavan sending positive energy into it with a touch. In response the ogre zombie smashed its club into the priest’s shoulder, dislocating it. Lanara tried Kyle’s tactic against the ogre, but her tanglefoot bag missed and splattered against the back wall. Both Autumn and Osborn laid into the necromancer and opened up new wounds. The golem moved to protect its creator, and launched a mighty blow at Autumn that dented the sentinel’s breastplate. As the ringing of the golem’s blow reverberated through the chamber, the others heard a new sound – a steady hissing coming from above them. Looking up, they saw that pipes in the ceiling were pumping a foul greenish gas into the room. As Tolly and Arrie continued to assault the flesh golem, Kyle moved to aid Kavan and Xu. The ogre zombie had swung at Xu and broken her leg, while Kavan had stepped back to heal his own wounds. Kyle threw a flask of acid onto the zombie, while behind him Lanara moved up, ending her song in order to use the power of her magical fiddle to heal Xu’s leg. In the other chamber, Osborn and Autumn prepared to attack the necromancer again. But Lanara’s spell had ended, and the elven wizard was in control of himself again. He uttered a few magical syllables and vanished, the strands of alchemical goo that had been holding him down collapsing into a puddle. The hin and the aasimar looked at each other for a moment, then chose new targets. Autumn slashed at the ogre zombie, while Osborn produced a small pebble from a bag and threw it at the golem. The pebble expanded in size to that of a small boulder, and it smashed into the golem’s skull. Despite the grievous damage it had endured, however, the golem still stood, and it directed it’s attention toward Tolly. Both fists came down on Tolly’s shoulders, and the priest dropped to the floor, blood spurting from his lips and nose. Arrie lashed out at the golem again, both in hopes of avenging Tolly and in fear of the fact that she would be its next target. Sure enough, the golem pounded her mercilessly, leaving her bruised and bloody. Most of the group, unaware that Tolly had fallen, continued to press the attack on the zombie. Xu, still grievously wounded, rolled out of range of the zombie’s club and eagerly took a healing potion from Kyle before rejoining the battle. Kyle himself, now juggling several vials and flasks, hurled alchemists’ fire at the zombie, followed by more acid. Lanara used her magical fiddle again to weave protective magic around Xu before restarting her inspirational music. Kavan attempted to banish the undead creature, but was unable to summon enough strength within the unholy place. For a moment, only Autumn was left standing toe to toe with the ogre, and her blows landed true while the ogre’s club was deflected by her shield. The gas had seeped down into the room. Kyle, who had not heard the gas being piped into the room, inhaled the vapors deeply before he knew what had happened. Suddenly he began to feel weaker. The others fared better, but they were running out of time. Osborn was underneath the desk, trying to reverse the mechanism triggered by the necromancer, but it was a complex device and would take time – perhaps more time than they had. The golem smashed into Arrie again, and her head swam. She staggered back out of the chamber, holding onto the wall to keep herself steady as she fumbled for a healing potion. Kyle caught the movement out of the corner of his eye, and moved back into the chamber to see the situation. He quickly weighed his options. He had only one offensive spell left, [I]burning hands[/I]. Was fire good or bad to use against flesh golems? He couldn’t remember. Either way, an attack would certainly draw the golem’s attention, which might give Arrie enough breathing room to heal herself. Kyle decided to take a chance. As the flames surrounded the golem, he saw it roar in pain, and then saw that the arcs of electricity around it seemed to be diminished, and its movements slower. But not slow enough; the creature turned and smashed its fist into Kyle. The wizard’s protective spells held, but the force of the blow still hit him full on, and he felt ribs give way. At the same time, Kavan had moved back into melee with the ogre zombie, joining Xu and Autumn. Autumn’s blade missed the ogre, while Xu’s fists and Kavan’s sword hit home. The zombie ignored the monk’s attacks, as her fists were doing little harm to it’s leathery skin, and instead focused on the one who had hurt it the most; Kavan. With a swipe of its club, Kavan was sent flying into the far wall, where she slumped unconscious. Now several of those still standing were feeling the effects of the poisonous gas. Arrie managed to heal some of her injuries with a potion even as Kyle threw more alchemist’s fire at the flesh golem. The golem’s counterattack glanced off his shield spell. Xu dragged Kavan’s unconscious body away from the ogre, leaving Autumn standing alone against it. The monk attempted to bandage the Eritan priest’s wounds, but was having trouble stanching the bleeding. As the ogre’s lifeless eyes turned toward Autumn, the sentinel muttered a quick prayer and buried her sword into its skull, finally toppling the creature. Without a moment’s pause, she moved into the next room to assault the golem, arriving at the same time as her sister. But both of their blows glanced off the creature without effect, and Kyle’s last vial of acid went wide and missed as well. The golem tried to finish off Arrie, but its luck was as poor as its opponents. For a moment it was a tense standoff between the three – Arrie, Autumn, and the golem were all grievously wounded, and another blow could finish any one of them. The three launched their attacks almost in unison. Almost… except that Arrie was just a little faster. Her spiked chain ripped through the golem, tearing apart stitching and ripping dead flesh. The golem did not so much fall as collapse, separating into its component parts. Exhausted, Arrie and Autumn lowered their weapons and went to find their companions. Kavan was just sitting up as they approached, Xu having given up on bandages and gone for another healing potion instead. A few seconds later, there was a click, and the hissing sound stopped. Osborn walked out a second later. “Good news, bad news, worse news,” he said. “Good news is I stopped the gas. Bad news is there’s no way to get rid of the gas that’s already here. Worse news is that there’s no way I can open the door.” “Then we have to break it down,” said Arrie. “Where are Kyle and Tolly?” Osborn shook his head sadly. “I just checked on Tolly,” he said. “He’s not helping anyone… he’s gone.” The news sank in fast, but they had little time to mourn. Several of them had already been affected by the poison; Kyle and Osborn in particular were looking very pale and unsteady. They moved to the entrance to the chamber, where an iron door had dropped from the ceiling and sealed the chamber. Kyle tried to lift it (after some quick pantomiming from his companions), but it didn’t budge. “Wait a minute,” said Lanara, pointing at Arrie and Autumn, “didn’t Tolly make you two stronger?” The two sisters looked at each other. Osborn grinned despite the situation. “Looks like Tolly found a way to help after all.” The three of them managed to get the door opened, and they quickly moved outside to fresh air. Gasping, Kyle summoned his familiar, Violet, who he’d left perched in the trees outside. “Go to town,” he told her, in a voice that was a little too loud. “Find Priestess Sisz. Tell her to meet us at the tombs, and that several of us have been poisoned.” As the raven flew off, Osborn approached Arrie and offered her a flask. “Drink this,” he said, “you look like you need it.” “I’m fine,” she replied. “Keep it.” “But you’re hurt,” said Osborn. “You need healing.” “We’ve finished the battle, Osborn,” she said, snapping at the hin. “Save it. I’m fine.” Osborn’s brow furrowed at the fighter’s stubbornness. He stuffed the vial back into his belt pouch. It was nearly two hours before Sisz arrived, accompanied by Violet and by Shilsen, their former instructor and overseer for their mission. He listened attentively to the group’s account of the battle with the necromancer, then proceeded down into the tombs. He emerged a few minutes later holding a large sack. “This fulfills your last obligation to the Tower,” Shilsen said. “Good luck to you in your future careers.” He looked over at the body of Tolly, who was being strapped to a makeshift travois for the trip back to Canyon Camp. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said. “Would you like me to return his body to the Ardaran priests?” They thought for a moment. “We don’t know if Tolly wishes to rest in the afterlife, or if he would want the opportunity to return,” Kavan said. “Perhaps you could deliver a message to the priests of Ardara in Trageon and ask them to contact Tolly’s spirit to learn what his wishes are. Should he wish to return to us, we will see to it that the arrangements are made.” “Very well,” Shilsen said, and he touched the brooch on his chest and vanished. Meanwhile, Sisz had done what she could for the group, lifting most of the weakness from Kyle and healing the wounds of others. “I’ll need more time to tend to the rest of you,” she said, “and I can get some help from Kath.” She looked anxiously at the entrance to the tombs. “Do you think the threat to our town is gone?” “I think so,” said Autumn. “Though the necromancer escaped, we have destroyed all his creations and rooted him out of his lair. He would be foolish to return.” As the group began following Sisz back to the town, Autumn walked over and whispered into Arrie’s ear. “All right, Arrie, who was that elf? You seemed to know each other, but I don’t recognize him.” “I’ll tell you when we get back,” she whispered. “But the first thing I need to do is send a message to the capital. Now.” [/QUOTE]
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