Roak shrugs. "Yeah, it works. Maybe we'll get lucky and one of these places will have a coin or two. Not that coins have done us a whole lot of good, stuck in this place. I kinda want to go home, myself."

Hamburg was trying to commit the glyphs and wards and warnings to memory. He hoped that with a little rest, and maybe a handful or two of dried mushrooms, that his mind might be right to understand them. He felt his eyelids growing heavy.

"Let's rest here for a while, perhaps one of you could wedge that secret door shut in the hallway leading in here? That'd be splendid."

He sat down, pulled out his spellbook, opened it up, sat it carefully upon the floor...

...and proceeded to use it as a pillow, drifting into the common fitful sleep of his people whose minds were addled with psychedelics and shifted rather frequently between dreamstates.

Elboc takes first guard duty while the others sleep.

Roak takes a middle watch.

Voran's watch will come in the last as he prays and renews his divine powers.

The rest period passes without interruption or incident, and the party find themselves rising and taking on food.

OOC:
Remember that natural healing is your character level in HP, plus your CON bonus to HP (if any) after a night's rest.

Hamburg awoke and groggily adjusted his strange mask. A handful of dried mushrooms later, followed by a second, and the odd wizard was up and ready to conquer the realm!

With spellbook in hand, he intoned the spidery words of magic which would unlock the secrets of the writing they'd found on the doors and burial trappings...


Casting Read Languages

Once again, Hamburg casts his magic spell and the symbols on the doors waver in front of his eyes, resolving into new forms:

"For all time, let Netshupet be bound.  Let no man open his door.  Forever shall he be sealed away from us.  Great evil was in Netshupet.  He was a man most wicked.  Vile was the name of Netshupet.  Let evil be upon him who opens this door.  May plagues befall the one who frees Netshupet.  The gods have no mercy for he who unseals this tomb."

Similar inscriptions are on the other three doors, with the names "Weradi", "Solkak", and "Neri and Halaman" on the other doors.  The tombs of Netshupet and Weradi are the tombs that the party has already opened.

The intact cover stone in the tomb of Netshupet bear wishes that his interred body be eaten by several varieties of small insects, worms, maggots, and other nasties, and that, despite his death, he feel them chewing away at him for all eternity.  There are similar wishes for anyone who dares disturb his torment.

There look to be similar wishes inscribed on what is left of the cover stone in Weradi's tomb.


OOC:
Map refresh, as requested by Roak.  The entrance to the catacombs is at "A".  I haven't drawn in the individual tombs, but they are narrow, about 10 feet wide and 20 long, and continue due north from the doors:

"Maybe we should leave these alone," says Elboc. "Shall we return to the city, or does someone have another idea?"

Roak nods. "I was for leaving them alone yesterday. If we're cursed, it's on you, Elboc. Let's get outta here."

Hamburg was certainly tempted to remove the seals just to see what might happen. He didn't believe there'd be curses associated with doing so, after all, the corpses were dead... weren't they? Apparently losing interest, he joined the others as they made their way from the tombs.

"I'm certainly curious about those fellows. Now that we have the names, perhaps we'll come across their history somewhere along our adventures!"

~~~

"Rest well my associates. One day I shall return and recruit you to my cause. Until then let your slumber be undisturbed!"

The necromancer withdrew, smiling to himself smugly. He'd just discovered some very powerful minions, which he could call upon when the time came...

"And the time will soon come Creeth, when I shall unlock that elusive and tantalizing bit of power that will give me vast dominance over my enemies!"

The dire-raven's eyes glowed crimson...

OOC:
Do we have consensus?  Are you all pulling out?  Where to?

"Back to the city then?" asks Elboc.

OOC:
I'm not sure where else there is to investigate. Are there any further areas we are aware of but haven't looked into?

"Agreed."

Voran, looking relieved, nods. "Yes, back to the city."

Roak nods, looking grim. "Then we get enough food and water to try to leave this thrice-damned place. I want to go back to civilization."

The party emerge from the catacombs to find the otherwise bored-looking guards still on duty.  The become significantly more alert fairly immediately.

"Whoah!  We didn't really expect to see you guys again!" one of the pair exclaims.

The oddly masked magician gave the guards some sort of salute, obviously made up on the spot, and began to heartily thank them for their service. "... without your constant and ever-watchful vigilance, seekers of the lost, yes, pursuers of ancient dangers such as ourselves, might never make it back! So lift your heads high gentleman, for duty is what keeps this city what it is!"

Hamburg then took a few steps toward his home city, but the tilt of his head, and the curious hands on hips seemed to reflect that either he was totally unaware of where he was, or didn't recognize the city of his birth due to the effects of the handfuls of dried mushrooms he'd been munching on during their departure from the tombs.

"Say fellows," he addressed the guards, "this child, yes, the short one there, he wishes to go home, looks to be quite lost if you ask me, poor little fellow. Could you kindly point us in the right direction, or perhaps take him into your custody until his parents come to claim him?"

Roak walks over, stomping hard on Hamburg's foot as he does, and walks up to the guards. "Well, surprise, surprise! What are you waiting here for, then, if you weren't expecting anyone to come out, eh?"

The two guards look at one another before answering Roak.

"Orders are orders, little one," the first warrior maiden tells him, "and we were instructed to wait here for three days, either for your return, or when our relief came.  Also, there's been this little problem with undead coming out of the catacombs, and that's actually our primary reason for being here."

"If you're done messing around in there, the general is waiting for you back in the city," the other dryly observes, gesturing back that way.

"Let's go talk to the general then."

Roak snorts. "And how many undead have you actually slain, hm? We've done our fair share." He then heads off to see the general.

"Personally?" the second asks, a bit surprised. "I've destroyed two, and Nerseriti here," while gesturing to her companion, "has destroyed three of them.  Our unit count is up to about 20 now, and we're at the top of the list."

The trip back into the city is relatively short and entirely uneventful.  It doesn't take long before the group are ushered back into the offices of the High Exchequer in the compound of the Magi of Usamigaras.

"You've returned!  This bodes somewhat well.  I had been concerned that you all had simply wandered off and we had - once again - been fooled into believing in you due to a very detailed fantasy," the man opens.  "What can I do for you?  Have you - dare I ask - actually cleared out the catacombs?"

"The undead? Yes, I think we got them all. Perhaps you'd like to head down there with us to check? Or if you're not keen on that, you hand us over the reward."