[Posted by Labyrinth Lord]

Caine draws one of the throwing knives from his belt. Tracing a symbol above it in the air, he utters the words of a magical incantation. Suddenly, white light spills from the blade in every direction, filling the burial chamber with bright illumination. He raises the weapon over his head, seeking to dispel as much darkness as possible.

OOC: Cast Light.

Ynes takes a few hurried steps eastward, gripping the lip of the next sarcophagus and pushing with all of her might. The stone slab slides free, landing on the floor with a heavy crash. Within rests a mummified figure in blackened chainmail, much of its face concealed behind a helmet. Ynes sees no weapons within the sarcophagus, but resting atop the warrior’s corpse is a black shield, unadorned with any manner of heraldic ornamentation. Frowning, she takes hold of the shield with both hands.

11:32, Today: Labyrinth Lord rolled 9 using 1d20.  Attack - Phantasmal Force.

The illusionary spiders swarm about the shadow that has engaged them, the undead creature continuing swipe at them uselessly with its claws. If the illusory arachnids are causing the shadow harm, it is not apparent to any of the adventurers, though the shade remains driven in its attempts to drive the small invaders away.

The light summoned by Caine elicits hisses of rage from the shadows, the blazing illumination making their dark forms easy to see within the confines of the crypt.

One of the shadows, its shifting  form already wavering from Dax’s strike and Malivoire’s previous bolt of eldritch energy, lets out a blood curdling howl when a second lance of arcane power finds it. It slowly vanishes, dissipating like wisps of smoke.

Another of the shadows, still contending with Barnabus, manages to strike the priest’s arms with its cold touch.

11:54, Today: Labyrinth Lord rolled 16 using 1d20-1.  Attack - Shadow.

11:56, Today: Labyrinth Lord rolled 2 using 1d4-1.  Damage.

The last of the shades rushes toward Caine, raking his back with its claws.

11:56, Today: Labyrinth Lord rolled 14 using 1d20-1.  Attack - Shadow.

11:57, Today: Labyrinth Lord rolled 3 using 1d4-1.  Damage.

OOC: Those struck by the shadows lose a point of Strength. The loss persists for one turn.

As long as Caine’s Light spell remains in effect, the shadows will suffer a -1 penalty to attack and damage rolls. Their armor class also effectively drops by one point, making them AC 8.

It is the party’s turn to act.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:42, Tue 20 Dec 2022.

Even though his strength has been further drained, it seems to have no noticeable effect on the curate. His wiry form still bristles with its customary energy and his eyes still burn with their customary intensity.

As he strikes the shadow before him a second blow, he calls out to Caine and Ynes, "The other boxes! They may yet have the means to silence these shadows' infernal hissing!"

By means of a flurry of gestures, he encourages Mal and Dax to rid him of his personal shadow.

Barnabus hits S#3 for 4 dmg.
17:38, Today: Barnabus rolled 21,4 using d20+3,d6+3.  R#3 Attack.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:36, Tue 20 Dec 2022.

Ishmael again throws the magic dagger at the spider harried shadow.

07:42, Today: Ishmael rolled 20,5 using 1d20+3,1d4+1 ((17,4))

Hits for 6 Damage (inc +1 Bless)

Pleased by their success against the one shadow, Malivoire shifted his focus to the next target, this one besetting Barnabus.  He returned to the wand this time, again uttering the runic phrase and firing off another bolt of energy at the umbral undead.

OOC:
Second use of the wand.  Damage includes the Bless +1.
12:05, Today: Malivoire rolled 7 using 1d6+2.  Damage.

"Burn in hell!" Dax shouts as the creature before him melted away.

The ranger steps to nearest shadow harrying one of his companions and swings his sword at it.

---

Dax Moonblade rolled 16, hitting AC 2 for 6 Damage.

I'm making the old-school decision that Dax will simply attack the closest enemy to his position, that is attacking one of the party.

06:28, Today: Dilemma rolled 14 using 1d20 ((14)).
Phantasmal force spiders attacking shadows.

 With more magical efforts, Dilemma guides her spiders to attack the shadows... If possible, she begins to back away to the entrance she came from, as if desiring an exit.  Still, she does not flee, just stands her ground and readies for a tactical retreat if need be.  Charley, for his part, remains in her bag, only watching intently as any familiar incapable of penetrating shadows with flesh and keratin and dentin ought to do.

Gripping the shield with both hands, Ynes turns her attention to the shadow that Dax attacked, swinging the black steel with all of the strength she can muster. The shield slams into the undead creature with a heavy thud.

09:21, Today: Ynes rolled 22 using 1d20+2.  Attack.

Forgot to account for Bless with that roll, so it should properly be a 23.

09:22, Today: Ynes rolled 9 using 1d6+3.  Damage.

Clenching his jaw, Caine strives to stay close to the melee, trying to keep all of the shadows within the light issuing from his dagger.

09:25, Today: Labyrinth Lord rolled 4 using 1d4.  Damage - Phantasmal Force.

The shadow beset by illusory spiders shrieks as the arachnids swarm its trunk. An instant later, Ishmael’s blade slices through it, its dark form beginning to waver.

Barnabus strikes his undead opponent a second time, the blow seeming to stagger the apparition. Before it can respond, another of  Malivoire’s arcane bolts spears its chest. The shadow gives out a dying howl as it fades from sight.

The twin blows from Dax and Ynes, landing in quick succession, cause the targeted shadow to seemingly crumple beneath their force, its form dissipating into smoky tendrils that rapidly vanish as they scatter across the floor.

09:24, Today: Labyrinth Lord rolled 14 using 2d6+3.  Morale.

Thrashing about to free itself from the swarm of tiny attackers, the last of the shadows shrieks in apparent fury, then moves with surprising speed toward the southern wall, passing through the stone like a ghost as it flees the adventurers, leaving the crypt abruptly silent with its retreat.

OOC: Combat over.

Exultant, Barnabus hisses more loudly than any of the shadows had when the last of them flees from the crypt with its proverbial tail between its legs. He has special words of praise for Ynes's combat initiative and ingenuity.

He then tends to his own stricken flesh and then Caine's -- not so much because either of them had been perilously injured but more so to be properly prudent should something be of a mind to do so.

As for the chamber itself, two more boxes remain to be opened. After everybody's breathing has slowed, he asks Ishmael and Dax to open them in a properly prudent fashion.

He wasn't sure about what to do with the two armor-clad mummies (let alone the two on their way). Strip and leave them? That could well lead to another extraplanar lecture about how this chaos knight really needed his leathers to attend to his extraplanar business in the Happy Hissy Playfields of the Abyss. Tote them, armor and all, back to Helix, for proper disrobing and disposal? Probably.

While he's considering this, he studies the murals for the first time.

15:38, Today: Barnabus rolled 6 using 1d6+1.  CLW Caine.
15:24, Today: Barnabus rolled 5 using 1d6+1.  CLW Barn.

As the shadows dissipate or flee, leaving the tomb, quiet as it should be, Dax sheathes his sword and catches his breath. "Well done, everyone!" Clapping Ynes on the shoulder, he adds, "Never have I seen a shield wielded so formidably!"

Dax nods in response to Barnabus' request to open the last two sarcophagi.

"Barnabus, this tomb is dedicated to those of chaos, based on the mural. So I have no qualms about looting their goods."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:15, Fri 23 Dec 2022.

Ynes smiles at Barnabus’ and Dax’s praise. ”It was so light, it seemed more than an ordinary shield,” she explains, offering it for inspection to any who are curious.

OOC: The shield retrieved from the sarcophagus is a +1 shield. Ynes, with her preference for her two handed battle axe, will not claim it.

Examining the onyx hilted dagger, Ynes discovers that the stone in the weapon’s pommel can be removed, revealing a compartment within the hilt that appears to be intended to hold some manner of liquid. A faint, acrid scent can be detected from the hilt’s interior.

The black leather armor worn by the corpse that held the dagger appears to be completely without damage and still supple despite having been sealed within a sarcophagus for decades.

Opening the other two sarcophagi, the adventurers discover that one holds another mummified corpse clad in blackened chainmail. This interred warrior has no shield or weapon, but a dark leather satchel rests at his right side.

The other sarcophagus holds a simple black robe. At the openings of the garment, the adventurers can see collections of gray ash. No bones are present within the burial place. A bronze necklace, streaked with ash, rests near the opening in the garment where the wearer’s head would fit through. Hanging from the chain, also cast in bronze, is the symbol of a ram’s skull.

The mural is skillfully rendered, the artist having used the style favored by many nobles for the depiction of military victories. The central figures, many bearing the ram skull symbol of Orcus on their shields and armor, appear fierce and exultant. Outside of a lonely hill, with only a few barren trees in its vicinity, the mural does not offer any clues regarding the location it depicts, nor does it give any clear indication of the identity of the soldiers it pictures.

The only thing Barnabus offers after studying the mural is a wry question, "Brother on brother?"

With Ynes having refused the black shield, except under the most exigent of circumstances, the curate claims it. With him seeming to find his way to front as often as he did, it made sense, especially to himself.

It's clear to him the black leather belongs on Ishmael and he says exactly that: "Black leather becomes you, Ishmael. Why don't you try that on for size? Its suppleness should counter any tightness you might heel in your hips."

Naturally, the satchel catches his interest. Could a satchel have a life-ending needle trap ensconced within? Once again he addresses Ishmael, "I'm not sure I want to touch that. Can you handle it?"

As for the rest, he will ask Lampert and Searlait to transfer it all to the surface and store in their conveyance while the rest of them see about a couple of things very close to the entrance.
Dagger with poison well: stored in a pack.
The three mummies: to be removed from BM as they are.
Ash-filled black robe, along with bronze necklace: placed in a large sack and then stored in a pack.

Assuming there are no interruptions and nobody inhales too much chaos dust, Barnabus will speak to Ishmael for a third time, "Could you listen for hollowness behind these walls?" (East of 23; north of the corridor)

If he thinks there might be a chamber beyond, we'll search with the aid of the bone of silence.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:10, Sat 24 Dec 2022.

The dwarf eyes the dark cleric.  </blue>"Ya use a lot of big words, when small ones 'ould do."<blue> he says as he sets the leather aside for the moment.  He deals first with the satchel, using tools to expose it contents rather than his fingers, he spills it out onto the floor.

He then sees about the armor, and whether it will fit his frame, before checking the tales the living stone Barnabus asked about will tell.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 15:57, Sat 24 Dec 2022.

The satchel bears no traps. Opening it, Ishmael finds that it contains forty six gold pieces and a quartet of rubies worth twenty five gold apiece.

The leather armor is made for an average sized human, which renders it somewhat longer than Ishmael’s frame. It is well used, but free from any nicks or cuts from battle, leading Ismael to believe it is magical in construction. The spelunker suspects that Mazzahs might be able to modify its size.

OOC: The armor is +1 leather armor.

The party ventures out of the crypt where the shadows lurked, moving back to the corridor that ended at the Breldiln tomb. Coming to the section of wall where Barnabus suspects a hidden portal may be placed, Ishmael requires only a few moments of inspection before spotting a trio of tell tale, bloody fingerprints at the seam of one of the stones, which mark a concealed latch for a secret door.

As Ishmael goes about his business, Barnabus thinks about what they had found in the crypt of shadows. It was a curious collection for four bravehearts of Orcus. He had thought they would have been interred with their "weapons of valor." Instead they had only found an assassin's dagger. Had others claimed their weapons? And why did the one have a relatively paltry sum (at least in the priest's eye) in his satchel? What was the point of that? Had the four not secured riches? Maybe they had been no more than lieutenants in the god's service. That would make sense given the form (or lack of form) they had assumed after their first death.

"Dax, if you would?" he says, eyeing the latch.

If we need to wait a few more minutes for our strength to return, we will.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:52, Sat 24 Dec 2022.

Dax laughs at the dwarf's comment. "I think priests like to show off their education to us lesser lights!"

The ranger waits patiently while Ishmael examines the stone.

"Well done," he exclaims when the hidden latch is found. "The blood is worrying, there may be someone waiting on us. Ishmael, if you can trigger the latch, I will open the door."

Finding no evidence of traps, Ishmael triggers the latch, causing a fixed portion of the stone wall to hinge forward, like a door which is suddenly ajar.

Pulling it open, Ynes standing by his side at the ready, Dax is confronted with a nondescript twenty by twenty foot room, the barren walls fashioned from the same cut stone as the adjoining corridor. Both the northern and western walls are stained dark with moisture and an unpleasant scent of damp corruption assails the adventurers’ nostrils.

A dark, rust colored smear marks the floor. The chamber only holds two items. A wooden table is centered against the eastern wall. Upon it are a trio of knives and a short sword with a dark colored hilt and a squared point. A few stained rags are piled at one corner. A couple of paces from the table, on the floor, is an iron pail.

The room is unoccupied.

Nothing about this hidden chamber says, "Come on in, pull up a pail, sit a while" -- except, maybe, for the pail itself. Who can resist a pail sit?

With a sly look, he hands Malivoire a length of rope with a grappling hook, just acquired, and then points at the table and the pail.

We'll deploy the bone of silence for this to avoid any unnecessary clattering.
I went with the highest dex from the table for this task.

Dax pulls at his nose, "It smells worse than death in there." As he looks about, he adds, "No sign of skeletons or shadows."

The ranger steps into the room, sword drawn, despite the lack of inhabitants and moves to examine the items on the table.

 Eyeing the table and dismissing it as some sort of an apprentice torturer or executioner's business, Dilemma shuffles the stained rags around with a white boot.

Barnabus calls out to the others as they move to enter the room, "It smells like SLIME. Let's use the grappling hook to bring the table to us."