Small Ruins adventure 1

ROOM 1: THE ENTRANCE HALL As you push open the heavy stone doors of the mausoleum, a profound odor of death and rot envelops you. The faint rays of daylight outside barely reach here, leaving most of the chamber engulfed in darkness. As your eyes adjust, you begin to discern that the main room stretches out before you, most of its grandeur shrouded in shadows, casting an air of melancholy over the space. Your flickering torch light now the only source of illumination, it's feeble flames dancing against the gloom. To either side of the room, stone statues of mournful figures stand sentinel, their expressions heavy with the weight of souls passing into the afterlife. The walls are adorned with tattered tapestries depicting scenes of souls ascending to the heavens, symbolizing the inevitable journey from life to death. They hide the crypts that line the walls of this place.
Your dim light catches the reflection of eyes in the dark, Two ghastly and nightmarish creatures lurk within the shadowed depths of this mausoleum. Dire Wolves, but these are no ordinary dire wolves; they are abominations, twisted and corrupted by the dark forces that infest this place. The Dire Wolf Ghouls are a chilling sight to behold. Their once-proud stature has been reduced to a grotesque, hunched form. Tufts of mangy fur cling to their skeletal frame, and their vacant, milky eyes seem to have lost all trace of the vibrant life they once held. Their snouts are twisted and deformed, and their teeth, now dulled and broken, jut out at odd angles.
(AFTER FIGHT) Your eyes are drawn to the far end of the room, where a weathered altar stands as the focal point. Fashioned from aged, gray stone, it bears the weight of countless years and a history of sorrow. The altar is adorned with faded engravings, barely discernible in the dim light, depicting the scales of justice, a symbol of the Old God Kelemvor's solemn duty. As you approach the altar, a sense of quiet reverence settles upon you, mingled with a melancholic acceptance of the inevitable cycle of life and death. It feels as though the God Kelemvor, the Judge of the Dead, watches over this solemn chamber, offering solace to those who seek respite in the shadowed embrace of this sacred space. (PERCEPTION DC: 20 TO NOTICE SECRET DOOR AND KEYHOLE OUTLINE BUT NO WAY TO OPEN IT, INSIDE IS The Crown of Swords , A POTION OF Sanctify Corpse AND 10 X Soul Candles)


ROOM 2: THE CRYPT (100 GP WORTH OF JEWELRY IN THE TOMBS) You step into an adjoining room that is equally shrouded in a solemn atmosphere. Four prominent stone coffins dominate this space. Each stone coffin stands as a monument to the departed, and above them, small epitaphs are etched into the cold, gray stone.
The First Coffin reads: "Here Lies a Keeper of His Oath, In Life, His Word Was His Bond"
The Second Coffin: "In Memory of a Vow Unbroken, Through All the Trials of Life"
The Third Coffin: "Here Rests One Whose Pledge Was True, A Beacon of Integrity, Now Silent"
The Fourth Coffin: "In Honor of a Sacred Promise Forever Kept, Never Forgotten"


ROOM 3: THE THRONE ROOM As you enter the next room, the sight that greets you is both eerie and haunting. The chamber is filled with an overabundance of spider webs, their silken threads crisscrossing the room like a sinister tapestry. Strangely, there are no signs of spiders here, only the remnants of webs left behind. At the far end of the room, atop a raised stone dais, sits a skeletal figure on a grand, carved stone throne. The skeleton is clad in an intricately made suit of armor, now rusted and pitted, rendered useless by the relentless passage of time. Its bony fingers grip a hiltless sword, the blade of which has long since deteriorated. a faded testament to the warrior's former glory. Upon the skull of the skeletal figure rests a crown made of intertwined swords (KNOWLEDGE ARCANA OR HISTORY DC:22 TO KNOW OF THE CROWN AND WHAT IT DOES), their edges dulled and long past their prime. The crown's points reach upward, like a sinister halo of blades, casting eerie shadows across the chamber. The empty sockets of the skeleton's eyes seem to fixate on you, as if silently beckoning you to approach. (PERCEPTION CHECK DC:19 TO NOTICE INSCRIPTION) Embedded into the stone throne is a small tablet, its surface worn smooth by the passage of time. Upon it, a cryptic message is etched: "You cannot keep this until you give it away." The words seem to hang in the air, laden with an enigmatic meaning that leaves you with a sense of unease. (THE ANSWER IS "YOUR WORD", IF THIS PHRASE IS UTTERED A SMALL CLICK IS HEARD IN THE ENTRANCE HALL, A KEYHOLE HAS APPEARED IN THE ALTAR THERE)
In one corner of the chamber, you notice signs that someone has recently camped here, perhaps just a month or so ago. The remains of a fire pit lie cold and forgotten, a stark contrast to the unsettling atmosphere that permeates the room. It's as if this desolate place has briefly hosted a traveler seeking refuge from the surrounding darkness, leaving behind a lingering trace of their presence. (INVESTIGATION OR SURVIVAL DC:18 TO NOTICE A SCRAP OF PARCHEMENT IN THE REMNANTS OF THE CAMPFIRE) As you carefully sift through the ashes of the fire pit, your fingers brush against a charred fragment of parchment. It's clear that this piece of paper once held great significance, but it has been marred by both fire and time. Only a portion of the writing remains legible, and it appears to be a discarded draft of a diary entry penned by a steady and practiced hand. The entry reads as follows:
"...In my relentless quest for the Forge of the Maker, my pursuit through these accursed ruins and crypts of the Blackwood continues to bear no fruit. My patience wanes, and I grow weary of this ceaseless traipsing amidst the......Gauntlet, the Red Stitched Gauntlet, a power... its grasp upon me. I can feel its influence strengthening, the whispers of its malevolent intent echoing through my......Forces of the Skull Lord have grown impatient... results. My relentless search is driven by the urgency of their commands, and I must......the Forge. Its destruction is my paramount..."
The remainder of the entry is lost to the ravages of the flames, leaving you with a fragmented glimpse into the struggles and ambitions of the writer. The Forge of the Maker remains a mystery, its purpose and significance shrouded in uncertainty, while the enigmatic Skull Lord looms as a foreboding presence in this person's ominous quest.

ROOM 4: THE RECORDS ROOM AKA LIBRARY You enter an adjoining chamber, you find yourselves standing in what appears to be a long-forgotten records room. Tall, dusty shelves loom all around you, stacked high with aged tomes, scrolls, and parchments.The air is heavy with the scent of damp aging parchment and the musty aroma of old books. The shelves are a haphazard collection of books, scrolls, and ledgers, their spines bearing faded names and titles. These volumes contain the history and records of those who found their eternal rest within the mausoleum's cold embrace. Cobwebs cling to corners, and the room itself bears the marks of centuries of neglect.
(PERCEPTION DC:15 TO NOTICE A LARGE BOOK UNDER A PILE OF DISCARDED SCROLLS, THIS BOOK GRANTS A REROLL ON ANY KNOWLEDGE HISTORY CHECKS WHEN CONSULTED) As you explore the room, you come across one particular book that stands out. Unlike its counterparts, this history book has survived the passage of time remarkably well. Its leather-bound cover, though aged, still retains a semblance of its former grandeur. The pages within are surprisingly intact, their parchment still supple and the ink legible. the title is: "Abridged history of Calradia"
(INVESTIGATION OR PERCEPTION DC:20 TO NOTICE A BOOK SIMPLY ENTITLED "YOUR WORD" AND TO NOTICE THE STONE KEY HIDDEN IN IT'S SPINE) As you continue to explore the records room, your fingers trace the spines of the old books, each bearing the names of the deceased. Among them, you come across a particularly intriguing volume titled "Your Word." The book's cover is worn and faded, its pages brittle with age, but it exudes an air of significance. When you carefully pull it from the shelf and examine it further, you notice that the spine of the book appears slightly irregular. It seems as though there's something hidden within. With delicate curiosity, you press along the spine, and it gives way, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside, nestled securely, is a small, smooth stone key. The key is unadorned, with a simple and utilitarian design. Its significance becomes apparent as you realize that it is meant to be a concealed treasure, a secret safeguarded within the pages of this book. This discovery raises intriguing questions about the purpose of the hidden key, its connection to the book's title, and the mysteries that may lie beyond.