Back where we started

As I mentioned in my last post I used the (Fake) Tomb of Horrors from Footprints magazine as a location for the entrance to the underworld that the players were seeking. I had no illusions that my players would spend more than a session or two in the dungeon since the gate was not far from the entrance. Imagine my surprise when the players spent an entire session exploring the dungeon and then ended up back where they started.

It also speaks to the danger of having one (secret) way forward in a dungeon. While a lot of the dungeon could be explored, getting to the second half required that the players find a single secret door. They searched all over for secret doors but not in this one place. And since they had checked so thoroughly with a wand of secret door detection they just assumed that there was no door to be found. They became quite frustrated and because the dungeon was a long-lost Lich tomb the encounters and traps were static. No wandering monsters to make the dungeon feel a little more alive.

They figured it out by using a commune spell. I had thrown some pretty big clues at them but they just did not realize the importance.

Session 149: The Tomb of Horrors

Lakima (human magic-user), Eathwund (human fighter), Aldus (human cavalier), Grasshopper (human monk), Domago (human cleric, NPC), Aelshara (half-elven fighter/magic-user, NPC).

The members of the Company of the Black Dragon have entered the Tomb of the Lich Athransma a place commonly known as the Tomb of Horrors. Inside they found a Mirror of Life Trapping and released the half-elven adventurer Aelshara.

The adventurers head deeper into the dungeon once everyone has recovered from the fight with the gargoyle. Grasshopper takes the lead, checking carefully for traps. He finds a pit trap and triggers it so everyone has to walk along the edge. Another 10 feet along the hallway, Grasshopper triggers a second pit trap and has to leap to one side to avoid falling into it. They come to an intersection and decide to follow the path that leads down. This path leads to several oak doors. Each door they open leads either to another 10-foot square empty room or a false door with a spear trap behind it. All of the doors are locked and eventually, they can go no further forward because Grasshopper is unable to pick the door locks and Aelshara uses up all of her knock spells.

A spear trap in the Hall of Doors

The group heads south and finds a corridor filled with orange gas. Grasshopper holds his breath and runs through the gas unaffected. For the rest, Domago uses the book titled "Memory of Poison" to give them poison protection. The entire group still takes no chances and they hold their breath as they pass through the hallway. The hallway leads to a large chamber, ten coffins are arrayed before a dais with a jet-black metal throne set on it. The throne is covered in gemstones. Seated on the throne is a skeleton in a black robe.

“Who dares disturb the rest of Athransma! It is your death that you have found!” the skeleton shouts as it stands to its feet on the dais.

As Lakima, Aldus, and Grasshopper enter the chamber, Lakima tries speaking to the figure. Telling it they only seek a passage to the City of the Dead. The skeleton regards them without speaking or moving. Aldus and Eathwund cautiously advance. Domago presents his holy symbol and demands that the creature depart.

The False Lich

“I cannot turn it – it's too powerful!” Domago shouts.

This is all the encouragement Eathwund and Aldus need. They rush toward the unmoving skeleton and hack it apart. The skeleton collapses to the stone floor in a heap of disjointed bones.

“It was all a fake,” Lakima says.

Aelshara and Grasshopper take the time to open the coffins but they find that all of them are empty. Aldus finds a leather bag resting beneath the throne.

“Hey, there is a bag here. Should I grab it?” Aldus asks.

Lakima is busy using the wand of secret door detection and tells Aldus to go ahead. He also warns Aldus not to touch the throne. Aldus finds a bag with coins, flasks, and potion bottles in it. Lakima finds a secret door that they open to find a hallway headed west.

This hallway turns out also to be trapped. Grasshopper falls in one trap but easily leaps from wall to wall to avoid injury. The next pit trap he finds and disables. The hallway leads to a chamber with four grim, iron statues of warriors resting on stone plinths. The statues are each slightly bigger than man-size. In the center of the room is a stone basin filled to the top with a green slime. While searching the chamber they find scratch marks on the floor suggesting one of the statues was slid along the floor. With Eathwund, Grasshopper, and Aldus all struggling to push they manage to slide the statue to one side revealing a trapdoor in the floor.

Grasshopper drops down through the trapdoor into a tunnel with a more roughly stone-flagged floor. It leads west to a stone wall. Lakima and Domago join him and they find a secret door. The door leads to a 10-foot square chamber. The walls of the chamber are covered with evil drawings and paintings showing torture and death. Lying on the floor are four skeletons wearing rags of clothing and armor. While searching them, Grasshopper finds a cloth pouch with some parchment scrolls in it. They search the chamber but do not find anything.

“Could you speak to one of these unfortunates?” Lakima asks Domago.

Domago says that he could. They pick the one dressed in brown robes. Domago casts the speak with dead spell and they ask it three questions. They learn that it was an adventurer who sat on a throne in the tomb and was teleported to this chamber. The dead adventurer tells them that it could not find any exit from the chamber. When asked about the city of the dead it says it knows nothing.

They return to the chamber with the pool of green slime. They decide they should destroy the slime. Domago pores oil from his Alchemy Jug on the slime. Lakima uses a cantrip to light the oil on fire. The slime burns fairly quickly. While they are doing this Eathwund and Aldus have to jump out of the way when the iron statue slides back over the trapdoor. Once the slime is destroyed, they find it is resting upon a strange stone skeleton key.

The Stone Key

The room is searched for keyholes but they do not find any. Instead, they return back the way they came. Holding their breath as they pass through the orange mist again. Aelshara reminds them that there was a hallway they did not explore near the gargoyle chamber. The hall is found to lead to a door. Once Grasshopper picks the lock, they open the door and find that the way beyond is blocked by continual darkness. Grasshopper bravely steps into the darkness and tumbles over a tripwire falling on poison-coated iron spikes in the floor. His control of his body allows him to resist the effects and he heals his wounds. In the chamber past the doorway, he still finds he is in complete darkness, unable to see anything.

The group discusses how to deal with the darkness. Grasshopper tells them about the trap and assures everyone that he is all right. Lakima tells him to use a 10-foot pole next time.

Domago then remembers that he has continual light prepared and he casts it to negate the darkness. The room lights up and they see that the floor is covered in iron spikes each coated in glistening poison. From the doorway, Lakima can use the wand of secret door detection to find a secret door on the far wall. This still leaves the spikes to get past so Lakima casts Luminous bridge and a bridge of light crosses the room over the spikes.

“What strange magic is this?” Aelshara asks in wonder.

Lakima tells her that he knows many obscure and wonderous spells found in his travels and searches of ancient places.

The secret door leads to rough-hewn tunnels along what they have found elsewhere. They follow the tunnel and find an intersection. Picking a direction, it leads to a large cavern and an evil altar before a dark statue. Lakima uses the Glow Minion to remove a metal staff and a metal crown from the statue. He has them placed in the bag of holding without touching them. It occurs to him that he will have to touch them to remove them from the bag in the future.

The altar is found to absorb blood and radiate evil. Finding no other purpose for it they move on and follow the other tunnel. This leads to a strange chamber. Four leering bas-relief statues of demon faces, their mouths agape face into the chamber from each wall. In the center of the chamber, they see a long sword thrust into a crack in the flagstones. Aldus rushes to the sword and examines it.

“Lakima, do you think it is safe to take?” Aldus asks.

Lakima uses his monocle to detect magic and sees that the demon faces and the sword is magical. He cautions Aldus but tells him to go ahead. Aldus takes the sword and examines it closely. It is magnificent in his eyes, perfectly balanced, razor-sharp, and glowing with magic. He realizes that all other weapons are junk when compared to it. He notes Eathwund staring at the sword enviously.

The Cursed Sword

The other adventurers see Aldus carefully examining the sword and extolling its virtues. Then Aldus unbuckles his other swords and tosses them on the floor. Eathwund takes note when Aldus tosses his other magic swords aside like they are junk. He notes that the sword Aldus is holding looks rusty and old.

“Ahh, Domago?” Lakima says.

Domago nods and places a hand on Aldus’ shoulder casting remove curse.

In Aldus’ eyes, the magnificent swords’ true appearance is now visible. It is old, dull rusty, and poorly balanced. He sees Malkin’s blade lying at his feet and quickly picks it up tossing the rusty sword to one side.

“It was cursed my friend,” Domago tells Aldus. Aldus nods and steps away.

Eathwund looks in one of the demon mouths and sees only complete, magical darkness. The group decides to head back to where they started sure that they must have missed something. Lakima uses the arrow of direction and asks for the direction to the lock that the stone key opens. The arrow points southeast. They go as far southeast as they can manage. It takes them back to the chamber of the false lich and the coffins. But they are not able to find any passages heading further south. Grasshopper rechecks the chamber of statues again but finds nothing. Eventually, they decide to rest on it.

“Perhaps we should leave,” Lakima states.

Knowing he is just speaking out of frustration Domago does not argue with him. But he suggests they rest and he will try to commune with St. Aleena and ask for direction. The adventurers make a camp of sorts in the chamber that used to hold the gargoyle statue. After 8 hours of rest, Domago prays and communes with St. Aleena. Everyone waits for him to re-open his eyes.

“St. Aleena tells me we are on the right path. There is a secret door at the end of the hall between the small trapped chambers and the tomb of the false lich. I can lead us there; I can see it in my mind.”

Domago also warns them that St. Aleena foresees more deadly traps and demons to face if they continue on.