Maybeth
As the others were exploring the Mouth of Doom, a new companion was being delivered to Castle Calaelen, collected by Arddan. Travel to the new Wrenjer outpost was uneventful, the day was gray and cloudy. Once at the castle, Arddan inquired about the whereabouts of the team Vadim was joining before giving the brass dragonborn a tour of the grounds and the people helping protect and outfit it. Gorbaz explained, when the others returned, that there was a new Wrenjer to meet in the main hall with Arddan. Upon entering, they introduced themselves with Leofric starting. Arddan explained that Vadim is skilled in the same type of magic that he specializes in and that he just wants to make sure that they have enough people so they could take breaks if needed.
The group settled in for a longer chat with Calaelen’s commander, some with food and others longing for rest. Because their mission is sensitive, Arddan makes sure that the guards understand not to disturb them as he locks the doors behind him. Artem shares what they have found so far, not even skipping how they lost their boots. The wizard opens her journal and shares the map and notes she had been keeping. Arddan welcomes as much information as they have and asks for a copy of the map they are building. She also shares what the floating mouth uttered when Artem approached. The bard explains the Rappan Athuk had more than a million undead and that it was a city upon itself. They wonder if the dungeon’s architect could just be scaring them or if it is the original Rappan Athuk, then they have another problem. A knock on the door calls their attention elsewhere. The rogue goes to check the door but it was ultimately just someone trying to get the newly milled wheat to the kitchen. Picking up the conversation, they try to make a possible connection to what they found in the dungeon and what they know about Rappan Athuk. The sacking of Tsar was rumored to take a week, then two days to sail, the only way they could have set up something so quickly is if something here had already been set up. This correlates with them finding the ancient bodies and there must be a civilization older than the Brume and they all wonder how old Grezenk is. They all agree that they need to search out this city. They all turn in for the night, some working on a map, Zetwuzadi tying ropes together, and Jarvis cleaning armor and weaponry.
The second of Asha starts similarly to the day before, cloudy with a promise of rain. There are areas of fog created by precipitation and by the time they got back to the Mouth of Doom it started to rain. This was the first time Vadim had seen how the area around the skull cave entrance seemed to have its life sucked out of it. They descended the stairs stealthily, following Artem’s guidance. Overnight, the traps that Artem had set had been disabled, the pit traps reassembled and the pitons collected. The entire area is spick and span, similar to the area behind the cube they had fought yesterday. They planned on continuing their scouting.
As they approached the northern door the same delay happened before the magical mouth yelled the same warning. At each door they continue the same sequence they had mastered the day before. When they investigate the secret doors, they wipe paste on the seams to help indicate if someone travels through it but also to help make them apparent to those who have terrible perception. When they arrive at the glue, they place cloth down to absorb the stickiness but continue on. They move through the area, investigating the rooms and doors, disabling traps and the wizard makes note of every new room or area they discovered. One of the hallways had a staircase that led down, they all decided the down meant deeper and they were not prepared yet as they still needed to look into the secret doors. But at the end of that hallway, flanking the staircase, a pair of iron statues of cobras facing each other seemed ready to strike, or at least their poses indicated that.
Artem and Jarvis take point at scouting, leaving the others behind as they would move down passageways to make sure they were cleared of all danger before calling the others forward. The northern path seemed to turn east and snake around for a while before they decided to turn back and check on the others and make their way to the other secret door. This door, once opened, revealed a room that had the backside of another secret door at the end. It is obvious that this room isn’t used often as there are many layers of dirt. They prepare for trouble on the other side, taking positions and allowing a sturdier companion to open the door.
The door opens, in the center of the room stands four mummified corpses with two of them that look to be holding up the sarcophagus, although more in look than actual structural need. The sarcophagus is angled 30 degrees and faces the door they just emerged from. Battle occurs as the zombies shamble forward. The battle is rather easy for the group and as it finishes they are all ready to fire upon the contents of the coffin but as Zetwuzadi opens the lid, they all see a desecrated form holding their hands up as if they were scratching the inside of the lid. At her angle, Te’Leyuura recognizes this could be Maybeth Calaelen and the unicorn rampant necklace seems to confirm her hunch. As Maybeth reaches out to grab the paladin, the group all release their spells, and Maybeth's clawing is repelled by Zetwuzadi's armor. A final strike from Zetwuzadi's glaive forces Maybeth back into the coffin, finally giving her rest. Vadim sings a dirge from Asheido while Jarvis waits for Artem to investigate the door at the farther end.
Jarvis opens the door and a load of arrows fire at him; one crossbow bolt hits him and they move in. At first glance, it looks like it could be a thieves guild or group of bandits. Te’Leyuura kills one of the new combatants as they throw a lot of oil at the door and lighting it up, thus isolating Jarvis from the rest of the group. Leofric manages to cause some of them to sleep, as they could hear the bodies hit the ground. Zetwuzadi calls out to them “If you are not the servants of the Master, we should talk.” Some say they should head around and see if the other path might connect to this one but they think the fire should die out soon. But as they say that, the leader calls out to fire more oil at the door. This fight seems to be much harder than the one they just finished.
