Session 15: Tombs of Horror

"Tombs."
 
I am in a tomb, I realize after shutting the lid to the chest with the golden key. Surrounded by darkness. Sounds muffled. Oppressive. Here lies Lucas, Bloodhunter-Mage. Nothing left but a pile of dust.
 
Outside I hear Kasimir saying something about a countdown. Ah yes. The key. I reach up in the blackness till my hand locates the key in the lid. "1......2........"
Wait, do we turn them on three? Or is it 1 then 2, then turn?
 
"....3!"
 
We turn the keys and I hear the adamantine clasps on the outside of the chests close fast. Trapped inside we are. Even if the jug's acid could eventually melt them, we will have long run out of air by then. I hear Kasimir talking again, perhaps to Nhile. Is he trying to get us out? "Don't panic mate." I tell myself. Trust the paladin to find a way. Trust Kelemvor.
 
Silence. "What the nine hells is happening out there?" I mumble still trying to quell my growing fear. What if turning the keys opened the sarcophagus and Kasimir is having to fight whatever crawled out? If he fails, we are all trapped.
 
Suddenly I hear a muffled cry. Nhile? Next I hear Halveer curse. Whatever is happening it's my turn next. There is a blinding flash, then.....
 
PAIN.
 
I must have briefly passed out. The next thing I remember is looking up and seeing Halveer peering down into the chest at me. A look of concern on his face.
 
"Hey Lucas, do you have an extra belt? The buckle on mine was disintegrated." He asks.
 
"Guhhhh..." I am too weak to reach up and choke the adolescent ranger.
 
"Oh, Kasimir, you may want to heal Lucas with the staff, he's looking worse than usual."
 
In the pit below I see the coffin has turned to glass and inside is a body wrapped in rags and clutching a mace. Kasimir shatters the crystal tomb and the mummy springs to attack. Kasimir ducks as it takes a swing at him. I quickly drop down the side of the pit but my legs buckle when I land and I fall prone. I swing my axe at its legs, trying to crop it down like a tree.
 
Kasimir stikes it with his flaming sword and it becomes ingulfed in flames and turns to a dark pile of ash that floats down and covers my face. I cough. The paladin lends me a hand and helps me up. Nhile's echo appears next to us and then the knight swaps with it. He reaches down to pick up the magical mace. He pauses. Like the other tombs, Nhile lets the spirit of Wango inhabit him.
 
This was our third tomb. Nine shrines. Nine tombs. The first tomb was Obolaka, the bear spirit. I didn't care for him residing in me because of his aversion to taking risks. Can't have that attitude in here. His treasure was a ring of protection.
 
After we got past the statue with the shield of rusting, we discovered a workshop of undead Tomb Dwarves. They were busy creating an armored golem of flesh. We tried to sneak in and attack them. I was trained to fight such abominations, dealing extra radiant damage to them and resisting their necrotic energy. But what I was not trained to avoid, was their ability to steal one's own life force. And more so, we had no means of restoring any lost life. So we turned and fled the work area.
 
Back upstairs we found another tomb with a snake and a floating skull of a child in a crystal box. "Speak no truth to the doomed child!" I warned everyone reciting the inscription from outside.
 
Halveer was still studying the skull intently. "You are in a safe place." I heard him whisper to the skull. He turned to me. "It's safe to open this tomb now." He declared.
 
I turned and looked at the coiled serpent on the lid and slid it to the side.
 
"Hullo." I said, seeing a staff lying inside. "A wizard needs a proper staff!" I said, lifting it out. The bones stirred and the spirit of Moa tried to enter me. I allowed it and he pushed out the spirit of the bear.
 
I found myself in a dense jungle, surrounded by mist. I heard a hissing sound behind me and I spun about to see a massive serpent descending from the trees.
"I am Moa."
"Well met serpent."
"I seek Truth and Justice." He hissed.
"Same." I replied.
"You shall no longer lie but I shall hide you from those who would do you harm."
"Fair enough. My thanks."
 
The jungle faded away and I was back in the chamber with the others. We rested there and learned that the staff could transform into a serpent on command. I handed it to Halveer. "Here ya go mate. I found you an animal friend. His name is Justice. You can drop him into combat as you fire your arrows."
 
Back in Wongo's tomb, I said. "Well that's all the tombs on this level. I wonder how many levels this complex has. We could not even see the bottom of that large central chamber."
"It's a tomb of horrors." Halveer remarked.