The patrons of the Cutthroat Inn, along with the adventurers they had met outside the Halls of The Black Spider last time, awoke on the 3rd day of the month of the Crocodile and decided to make for the dungeon to kill the Son of the Spider God. At Green Sonya’s suggestion they left the city by a new route – through Cutpurse Row and the Street of Shadows. This area was of ill repute, but Sonya knew that such a group of armed warriors as themselves was unlikely to be accosted.

The only hiccup came while passing near a group of the Overlord’s guards interrogating a sneak thief on the Street of Shadows. One of the guards directing people away from the scene spit at Einarr and called him a nonsensical, but clearly anti-skandik slur. Annapurna rested her hand on Einarr’s shoulder and assured him they didn’t have time for a struggle. Ion made sure to note the Alryan guard’s features, as well as listen in on the interrogation. It seems the sneak thief was accused of spying for Warwick, whose armies even now raided the area north of the Dearthwood.

The rest of their journey out of the city was uneventful, and indeed their trip through the Dearthwood has little to speak of as well. While the group camped, Ion and Sonya did see some armed men in camoflauge pass near them, but the Skandik scout they had hired in the City State, a massive man name Grafari, had ably hid their location. Grafari was also able to find the entrance to the dungeon after a minor error by Einarr got them lost.

Once inside the dungeon they quickly made their way to the chapel where they had previously fought both moonrakers and a flamming skull. This time there was no skull (nor the remains of one), but a door to the north had a green, flickering light coming through the cracks and the party realized their was one in the next room. Grafari moved ahead to cover the bottom of the door with the party’s bedrolls so that they might slip past without the creature noticing.

Beyond the chapel they found a great hall with numerous doors. The first they checked was locked, and they realized that the key the found earlier on an acolyte they slew must have winded up with either one of the dead party members or Wickerbobbile, who was not present. Grafari attempted to pick the lock and failed, but Sonya was able to fix his mistakes and grant access inside. The room was bare except for a large coffer of dark wood and iron bars. It was locked with a great padlock. Ion attempted to trigger any potential traps with a shove from his thaumaturgey spell. Grafari then tried to open it and found that Ion had been unsuccessful as a burst of acrid gas hit him in the face. Luckily it seems to have lost its potency with time.

The chest contained a great deal of coins, mostly copper and electrum, and the party decided to leave it either for the end of this excursion or a later one due to its immense weight. At this point Father Thorne awoke from a drug-fueled “meditation” and remembered a strange feature he noticed in the previous hall. This feature was an attempt by the builders to make the fitted stones make a spider-web shape. Investigating further Father Thorne realized that there was a small stone in the shape of a “mummy” within the spider-web feature.

Pressing it with his mage hand, he revealed a secret door that seemed to be a bedroom of some sort. Under the bed was a smaller coffer that was not locked but was smeared with a green goop the group correctly surmised to be poison. The party took some time figuring out how to open it, moving the bed, in the process to get it out of the way and to prop open the door. This attracted a giant spider, which Einarr spotted before it was able to ambush the party. A short battle ensued with the spider slain relatively easy and with Father Thorne marveling at the powers Set had granted Ion.

Father Thorne then opened the chest with his mage hand, revealing a great deal of “wizardly” accouterments, a book titled The Codex Arachnos, a spider-silk robe, a silver broach in the shape of a spider with emerald eyes, and a scroll of protection from poison.
This last item was given to Einarr, in the hopes that he could use it to strengthen his resolve against the Son of the Spider God when it was found.

The next room they checked turned out to be a small hall with a large tapestry depicting a giant spider surrounded by smaller spiders and the hanging bodies of human victims. Behind this tapestry was an occluded door, which Anex opened to reveal a small room in the same style as the trapped rooms the party had encountered weeks ago. Two doors led out, and the party debated which one to take. After noticing that one area was far less trafficked, Grafari suggested they go that way and Anex opened the door without further hesitation.

The door took some effort to open but after doing so Anex could not figure out why. No bonds were present, the door swung easily on its hinge, and no object had been moved out of its way. She found herself in a huge hall while the others stood a few feet behind her in the trapped chamber. As she was pondering this mystery an enormous spider appeared before her, larger than the one fought previously and far uglier. It reared up as though to spray web but seemingly nothing emerged from it. However, Anex suddenly disappeared from the party’s sight.

The rest of the party, unsure what had happened, moved in to fight the spider. Some shooting and skirmishing while Einarr and Green Sonya rushed to engage. Ion was able to notice that bits of Anex’s form appeared above the ground where she had disappeared, as though poking through linen bonds. Anex was wrapped in invisible web, and when the web covered her eyes she could see that the whole hall was covered in the stuff. The spider then attempted to attack Einarr, its fangs bursting through his shield twice but not connecting with his flesh. Then it disappeared.

Ion, hoping the creature had not moved, opened his mouth and spread forth a great gulf of sand from Set’s desert. For a brief moment the outline of the spider was visible and the party was able to attack it, though it seemed only magical attacks did any harm. At this point, Anex, who could see the creature through the webs, burst through her bonds to find herself back in the world of the living.

The party waited for a second attack but none came. Anex relayed that the hall was filled with invisible webs and Father Thorne set out to set the webs ablaze. The hall began to fill with smoke and fire, and we paused the adventure here until next week.

Monsters Defeated: 1 Giant Spider

Treasure Gained: 1 fancy robe, 1 silver broach, The Codex Arachnos, potentially 500ep and 25000cp

XP withheld until next session.

The party that had previously stayed in Adderwood met up with Onephrio and decided together to make their way to the Halls of the Black Spider. The party wished to avoid the ruined village they had discovered last time and so set out in a slightly different direction they hoped would lead them to their destination. Unfortunately, their way was blocked by a large number of orcs of the Purple Claw waiting in ambush. Howeverr Khurshid was able to spot the ambuscade in time and lead the party away.

That night they made camp near a hot spring. During Khurshid and Waq Awaqa’s watch, a group of large bushes was seen moving at the perimeter. The watchmen woke the rest of the party and they prepared for battle. This turned out to be a fatal decision. The creatures proved too powerful for the party, who lost two members – new friend Onephrio and long time companion The Pact is Sealed. Onephrio made his last stand amongst the camp fire they had set, only to find the creatures were resistant to fire. His last thought as he died was “I suppose men are more flammable than trees.”

The rest of the party escaped on their wagon and decided to push towards the dungeon despite exhaustion. Wickerbobbile acted as guide and wagon master. Luckily they went through the next day with only a herd of elk encountered. “Fucking majestic,” Khurshid noted. Outside the dungeon they found Father Thorne a wizard, Green Sonya a barbarian who is the reason that other Sonya’s need a descriptor, and Anex the Amazon. They had apparently come to explore the dungeon too and so they elected to do so together.

The combined party tried to remember what features of the dungeon they had encountered last time, which made some slow going. Their adventure was stopped when they encountered another flame skull in the large chapel that had previously been part of their running battle with the moonrakers. Most in the party attempted some skirmishing tactics, retreating into the hallway to avoid retaliation from the monster, but Red Sonya charged out to meet it. Unfortunately for those who weren’t Red Sonya, the clustered group in the hallway proved perfect for the flame skulls fireball spell, which blew Khurshid apart. Everyone else was injured except Sonya and Waq Awaqa, who had retreated down the hallway to watch their backs.

Father Thorne found that his magic was ineffective against the creature and thus retreated himself to make sure he did not meet Khurshid’s fate. Anex decided to rush the creature and attempted to grapple it. While she was not successful, the creature was thrown off balance and it’s powerful heat beams were unable to land. Annapurna’s use of her magical abilities to enhance her bow attacks finally managed to bring the creature down.

The party returned to the City State with what remained of Khurshid’s body. Annapurna, hoping to save him, rubbed the lamp they received from Salassim the Magician. Who should be inside but Salassim himself, changed into an Efreet! Salassim offered the use of his powers for three tasks, but admitted that saving Khurshid was outside of his ability. Waq Awaqa, who was Khurshid’s brother in religion, prepared his body for sea burial and dedication to Armadad Bog with the normal method of whipping and applying icthoid appendages to accompany the man into the afterlife. The rituals thus completed, he was rolled into the Estuary of the Roglaroon.

Monsters Defeated: Flame Skull

XP per surviving player: 91

Treasure Gained: None

Annapurna, sorrowful over the death of Sweetleaf, asked around the City State to find an elven temple or perhaps a nearby elven settlement. She discovered that in the northern section of the Dearthwood there is a village of wood elves that owes fealty to the Overlord. She discussed the situation with the rest of the Cutthroat Inn regulars and they agreed to head to the village to give Sweetleaf a proper funeral. Einnar, despite never knowing Sweetleaf, was especially enthusiastic because he hoped his new companions would do similar for him if he should die.

Annapurna took the body to the Temple of Odin to be preserved for the journey. They asked her for 200gp for the service, which she balked at but payed anyway. When the rest of the party came to join her, she was shocked to find that in their company was Waq Awaqa, a warlock who had adventured with them in the City State of the World Emperor.

While retrieving the body from the Temple, the party noticed that priests of Hamarkhis were trying to undo the spell with counter signs. Einnar and Annapurna threatened violence, while Wickerbobbile attempted to distract the priests to keep the situation from escalating. However, a proper end to the hostilities occurred when a great golem in the shape of Thoth the Terrible arrived to disperse the priests. The party loaded Sweetleaf’s body in their wagon and made their way out of the City State.

Khurshid acted as their scout in the Dearthwood while Einnar guided them to where he believed the elf village to be. They realized the Halls of the Black Spider, which they had previously partially explored, lay midway between the City State and the elf village, so they made their way to that landmark. On the first night of their journey, Annapurna observed that they were being watched by a group of lions, one of which had an obviously disfigured face. Using torches, she broadened the perimeter of the cap which forced the lions to retreat without incident. However, the party was forced to decamp early to avoid a sizable war party of Orcs of the Purple Claw.

Once they had arrived at the Halls of the Black Spider, the again saw the dragon turtle skeleton which seemed to act as a lion’s den. The Pact is Sealed suggested that maybe they should kill the lions now rather than wait until later, but the rest of the party did not want to risk death at that moment. Wickerbobbible used his ability to talk to animals to discuss the layout of the wood with a songbird. It informed him of the location of two villages (one of which they believed to be the elf village) and a large, black pyramid. This peaked the interest of Ion Skamos, who wondered what set-related secrets the pyramid could hide.

Scouting ahead of the party on the third day of their trek, Khurshid found a burned out village that had not been mentioned by the bird. Inside were a number of elven corpses as well as a unwholesomly large, foul-smell plant. They agreed not to investigate further and instead turned north. Einnar was able to find a shortcut that led them to the village of Adderwood that very night.

In Adderwood they ate in the hall of Glofynan Elf-friend, who informed him of their woes with orcs and also agreed to lay Sweetleaf up in the temple of Cilborith before she could be properly prepared for a sky burial. The party elected to stay the rest of the week in Adderwood, hopefully to head out to the Halls of the Black Spider soon.

Monsters Defeated: None

Treasure Gained: None

XP Per Player: 225

16th Day of The Howling Winds

Erstwhile our heroes (that’s us! We’re heroes. Heroes who watch dogs eat innocent people.) make ready to return to the Warren.

A cluster of guards and townsfolk outside the tavern! But lo, Namira is approached by some creepy dwarf with an intensely old amulet with diamonds in it, seeking to sell it to her, because he heard her discussing in the tavern that she wanted to procure some for a spell. But his grift was too expensive and Namira didn’t have the money so she, and by extension we, passed on it.

But enough about that, there are flying creatures attacking, big and leather-y winged and squawky! Pteranodons, or something like that. Seven of them!

!!Fight it out!!

We ended their butts!! Well one got away but we did it! Velor decided to make a codpiece out of one of the large heads. We decided that was enough of an adventure for one day, head back inside the tavern, take a nap, and try again another day.

XP per Player: 40

Also present: Burgell Tancred

Khurshid, Sweetleaf, Annapurna, and Ion Skamos decided to seek after the bell they had seen in the Dearthwood. For this purpose, the bought a cart, a mule, a specialized wheel and shoe for the bell, and hired on the services of a strange gnome teamster named Wickerbobibble. The gnome acted as if he knew Khurshid, but Khurshid did not act in kind. Taking detours through the winding streets of the City State, they were attacked by what Wickerbobibble identified as a “road ghost.” This ghost slew their mule and resurrected it as a foul undead. Ion was able to turn the mule, which proceeded to stampede onto Regal Street killing a merchant and several farmers. The ghost also slew Sweet Leaf, though was unable to raise her before the combined efforts of the party destroyed it. They then set about dealing with the mule while Wickerbobibble took the dead merchant’s purse and disappeared down an alley.

Khurshid, mad at the inability of the mule to take a hit, took the cart and corpse back to Wailing Street and demanded a new mule to compensate. On the way they met Einarr, a skandik who offered to help with the mule. Due to his indignation, the merchant provided one rather than argue. On the way back to Regal Street the party bumped into a senator who identified them as “fuck heads” and asked if they could “steal some shit.” After a very hostile exchange between Khurshid and this senator, they agreed to steal the item from the manse of some noble courtesan and meet him in an inn in the noble quarter.

However, first they left the city to get the bell. Their first night camping in the Dearthwood they met a pair of Amazons who informed them that the Orcs of the Purple Claw were increasing in number, and that some of the orcs had split off to worship some kind of snake deity. Ion professed ignorance of this, but did note that Set didn’t have a newsletter. The next day they avoided a more warlike set of Amazons – likely associated with the Purple Claw – and found the bell.

After spending some time pulling the bell from the mire, they found that they were surrounded by a group of lions; a male and four females. These attacked but were driven off after three of the females were saved. They were able to return to the City State with the bell and without further incident.

Monsters Defeated: Road Ghost, Three Lions

XP Per Player: 480

Treasure Gained: Bell worth 1000gp

Journal of Burgell! That’s me!!!
8th Day of the Howling Winds, Fireday

Upkeep and back to Dungeon of the Mad King!

Rumors in the bar: Human merchants to supply local garrison, but pirates are hassling, though there are Purple Claw orcs on the other side so everyone is kind of boned. Dang!

White Wyvern Inn is where we at! Time to get up! People jeering and saying rude things to dead half-elf body being chewed on. Turns out hte fucker deserved it for provocatin’-like! We moved on back to cave o’goblins.

War dog heads on spikes! Neat! On to the burrow now, no time for dead pet decorations! Adventure!

Everyone but me has to bend down to get in here! Ha! Losers. We checked a door and fiddled around with it when suddenly ahhhh! A ghost! A gnome ghost!!!

!!Fight it Out!!

Magic missile to a nerd ghost’s face! He didn’t like that so he attacked me and Tancred cut it it in fucking half with the power moon-y sword thing!*

We won!

Tancred breaks a door! Never mind it was fake.

Listened the other door and there are other me-sized things listening right back! Neat! We open the door and it’s goblins!!! I make them all nap and Tancred makes them nap more!

No?! Fight it out!! Because Fuck Them!!

They have 40 silver pieces, which we take, and useless equipment which we DON’T!

Now another door! Smells like old dead! Oh it’s just a butcher room. Gnawed Gnome Gnbones! Another door!

We heard weird noises on the other side and opened the door. There is an insect that eats dead things and we all must behind!

!!Fight It Out!!

Aside from a tiny bit of damage on Tancred, we cleaned house!

It was guarding a bunch of bones and a chest which had 25 plat, 500 electrum, and a sea-green vial of liquid. Cool!

Found a room full of useless rusty weapons! Tancred took them, which is cooool I guess?

More bones room! and barricaded! Bones with armor ‘n stuff. Door that has soft wailing behind it! Tancred just opens it and there’s another ghost gnome! It’s Zarun Longbeard! The king that locked everybody in b/c sickness and was madness!

Fight it out!

We got hurt and I fell down! But we defeated the King! The king’s body held a magic sword, a magic crown, and a non-magic signet ring. Namira healed me so we are okay! We went back to town and chilled for two days.

Making our way back to the cave we encountered Purple Claw orcs.

!!Fight it Out!!

3 ran away! We killed 5 of them! There is a cave. A troll’s cave? Tancred dug things up! 4000p worth of stuff, preternatural overlord coat, high quality spear, glowing gemstone times.

(Velor Silent-Stream was also present)

The same adventurers who took the magician Salassim to the Pylon – that is to say Khurshid, Sweetleaf, Annapurna, and The Pact is Sealed – met with Ion Skamos on the 20th day of the month of the Snow Leopard and decided to investigate a rumor they heard about the Heirophant of the Spider God hiring bravos for some unwholesome task. On the way to the temple they were accosted by a strange Constable who asserted Sweetleaf and Khurshid were spies, due to their greenish hue. They were soon separated from the constable by the thronging crowds of Regal Street.

Meeting with the Heirophant, they discovered he was offering 500 pieces of gold to whoever could slay the misbegotten Son of the Spider God. They agreed to this and he instructed them to follow the Conqueror’s River north until they came to a tripartite fork. Then they were to take the eastmost one into the Dearthwood until they found a ridgeline. It is there, he asserted, that they would find the abode of the Son of the Spider God. He assured them this offspring was from an ill-made trist and it was better for all concerned if he was slain. They agreed to this and set out immediately, exiting from the Gate of the Gods and rounding around the Redoubt of the Dead before heading due north along the river.

Khurshid, acting as their scout, was able to help the group avoid a group of orcs led by an Amazon a few miles north of Woe. Just after taking the eastmost fork, they found a great bell that had sunken into a bog and shone a golden hue. About it was a large group of orcs and a few ogres. They argued over the best way to remove it. Despite desiring the bell, the party decided it was best to avoid fighting and instead moved a few miles away – far enough, they hoped, that the orcs would not see their campfire. They rested without incident and then made their way further into the Dearthwood. Khrushid, again ahead of the party, noticed first the location of a black structure on top of a hill which he knew instinctively to be the abode of the Son of the Spider God, and second that at the base of the hill was a skeleton of a dragon turtle that seemed to be the den of a group of lions. He returned to the party and ably led them downwind of the lines so as not to be found, and up to the structure.

After descending a long set of stairs, the group found an antechamber closed with a large, bronze door in the shape of a spider. Inside this chamber a strange illusion caused them to feel like the door was floating in space, held up by an immense, moving web. Pressing on, they found a room with six large pillars, one of which had hidden treasures inside. Finally, they found action as a group of moonraker servants of Yezud attempted to block their way. This initiated a running battle, with Ion blasting them with the sandstorm-fury of Set and the others loosing arrows. Their foes fled into a great chapel, where more of their kind waited along with an acolyte of Yezud. After a few rounds, the moonrakers abandoned this room too, and the party decided it was better to rest than to press on just yet.

After regaining some of their lost stamina, they followed the moonrakers north, only to find an empty chamber. Beyond were seemingly more empty chambers, but these were trapped with poison darts and pressure plates. While testing for a way to get rid of the darts or cross the floor, the Pact is Sealed was attacked by a flameskull, which set about him with magic and gouts of flame. The party was able to destroy it through use of Pact’s famous air punches, the “Finger Guns of Set,” and good old fashioned arrows. While the arrows were the least effective in general, it was one of Annapurna’s that finally ended the creature’s magical unlife.

At last they came to a great hall which contained even more moonrakers, though this was to be their last stand. After a tough battle, in which the Pact is Sealed was nearly slain and Khurshid, himself injured, retreated to cower and hope the battle would go the right way, Sweetleaf, Annapurna, and Ion were able to slay the last of this strange cult. However, they were spent, and elected that after a short rest they should head back to the City State of the Invincible Overlord. During their rest, they saw a grim visage of a specter covered in the webs of a spider, but they were able to dissipate it before it could harm anyone.

On the way back, Annapurna found a shortcut that returned them quickly to the great bell, which was now free of orcs. To big to move by itself, the party took measurements in hopes of fashioning a wheel to attach to it to make it easier. Khurshid believed it to be worth about 1000gp intact.

Monsters Slain: 25 Moonrakers, 1 Acolyte, 1 Flameskull, 1 Specter

Treasure Gained: 750gp

XP per Player: 360

Two adventurers from Lightelf, Velor Silent-Stream and Burgell the Gnome, had made their way to the City State in order to seek the aid of other bravos and sorcerers. They knew that an evil wizard and a band of goblins was searching through the ruins of an old gnome warren that had been sealed by the first king of Lightelf after he had gone mad from plague. A bounty hunter in Lightelf was offering 300gp for the wizard’s head, and so the pair thought they could do the world a good and make a fair bit of coin if they had help from allies.

In the City State they met up with Namira and Tancred and thus did the two become the Fumbling Four again. On the fifth day of the month of the Snow Leopard the four set out along the Old South Road, resting a night at Caravan Crossing, before making their way along the southern bank of the Estuary of the Roglaroon. On the second night they camped near a bend in the estuary which had a small island in it. This island was about a mile out but even in the light of dusk the human in the party could make out a set of elven ruins and a high, gothic arch no longer attached to any buildings.

That night, when the four was done hunting for food, Tancred observed a fire in the center of the arch. Waking his companions, they elected to wait and see. Shortly two large iron cauldrons came down from the stars and joined the fire near the arch. The fire began to change through a rainbow of colors, as the magically inclined among the party noted this was likely some sort of Witch’s Sabbath. Despite Tancred’s desire to slay the potential witches, the party decided it was best to leave well enough alone and continued sleeping.

Over the next few days they made their way to a ford in the River Hargost. Burgell, who was scouting ahead, noticed that a large number of men were hidden in trees, with crossbows aimed at anyone trying to cross the ford. Casting sleep caused a number of these men to fall from their perches but also alerted a great number of men he had not noticed on ground level. Realizing there were about 20 men on the far bank, and that they were a band of notorious Hargost pirates, Burgell fled to inform the party.

A great debate ensued. Tancred and Velor wanted to attack the pirates, hoping to bait them into trying to cross the river, but Namira and Burgell thought they were too outnumbered. The debated ended with Burgell remembering another crossing, more difficult to get to as it lied in a forested region, but only a short distance from where they were. That night they camped in the forest and the next day, at sundown, they had made it to Ashenshaft.

Ashenshaft was familiar to Burgell and Velor, but Namira and Tancred noticed some strange things about it. The bulk of the population were half-elves and elves, with a few gnomes and an armed contingent of men. These men, almost all Alryans, had been sent by the Overlord to hunt the local pirates, but their chaotic and evil ways were grating to the native half-elves. The four informed some human guards that their were pirates at a nearby crossing, and the guards organized a posse – headed by the town chief – and left soon after.

The party decided to push on into the dusk to find the ruined warren and they did so in the hills north of the town. A group of four goblins was watching the entrance, and the party decided the best course of action was a direct attack. They stormed down, catching the goblins by surprised, and used rocks as cover to move up on them quickly without incurring ranged attacks. The goblins were slain, but the party realized it was too dark to explore more – and the goblins in the warren would have an advantage – so they returned to Ashenshaft to spend some weeks planning their next move.

An assembled group of adventurers at the CUTTHROAT INN, including the wizard ZINDAYA IZMICHI, the thief KHURSHID THE CONTRARIAN, ANNAPURNA OF THE DESERT, a monk known only as THE PACT IS SEALED, and the wood elf SWEET LEAF were hired to escort SALASSIM THE MAGICIAN to an unnamed local in the CLOUDWALL MOUNTAINS. Leaving at dawn in one of the last days of the month of the Sky Woman, the party was accosted on DEAD BROKE STREET by a SINISTER MAN in black leather armor. He demanded that he be allowed to inspect their clothes but balked when they began to disrobe. Since they had “made things weird” he dismissed them and slunk back into the shadows.

The party made its way uneventfully to CARAVAN CROSSING, where they rested for the night. Salassim separated himself from his guard, and after he had done so they were approached by a number of “”/wikis/MIND%20FREAKS/new" class=“create-wiki-page-link”>MIND FREAKS." These asked them questions about the wizard and their goal. The Pact is Sealed, being a conjurer of cheap tricks, provided them with a potion he stated would be able to release a demon from its binding, apparently unaware at the obvious hints the strangers gave as to their unearthly nature.

They traveled quickly through a town near the ESTUARY OF THE ROGLAROON before resting on a hill near the OLD SOUTH ROAD for the night. They were then attacked by a strange demon whose aspect resembled an insect, a corpse, and a vulture. After some fighting they killed the creature, but its having interrupted their sleep they were unable to gain the benefit of any rest.

The next night they stayed in a MANOR in the village of LUCKSTONE, and were again attacked by a similar demon. This they slew, and – since it had attacked early in the evening – they were able to rest and regain some of their spent strength.

Monsters Defeated: 2 “Mind Freaks(?),” a bunch of fire snakes

Treasure Gained: Magic lamp, 4 rose quartz (50gp each)

XP Per Player: 315

When we last left the Fumbling Four, they were removing a stone panel from the wall of a tomb in the Palace of the Toad Cult – a black pyramid in the Mermist Marsh. Apparently prying the panel off the wall last session attracted some of the pyramid’s inhabitants as a group of strangely bug-eyed, slit-mouthed men dressed in bones and reptile skin burst through the door to attack the intruders. They threw spears and then rushed into melee, catching the party off guard and dealing some significant wounds; however, they could not stand before the Four and were slain to a man.

Since members of the company were injured, they decided to rest in the tomb for an hour to heal wounds and to investigate the sarcophagi. Paelias and Cyrus opened the sarcophagi with crowbars while Tancred and Namira rested a ways away. The wounded members feared the sarcophagi would hold some kind of trap, and thus they wanted to not be nearby when it triggered. They were, in a way, correct, but the trap was only metal teeth under the sarcophagus lid which were avoided by the use of the crowbars.

The interior of the sarcphagi were wet and pink with large mucous membranes stretched over their occupants. Cyrus and Paelias each cut one open, revealing almost skeletal corpses whose eyes still registered terror and pain as though alive. Paelias stabbed his in the head – which caused the skull to disintegrate – and removed an iron khopesh of Orichalcan make. Cyrus found that his occupant was a skeletal woman with gold bangles around her arms. These he sought to remove while being watched by the frightened corpse. Namira, who had come over to investigate after no explosion had torn her companions asunder, stabbed the corpse in the head as Paelias had done. Cyrus and Namira then debated the merits of such action, since the nature (or even reality) of the corpses’ suffering was unknown and the panel had said they deserved it. Namira believed the end of torment was a good regardless of who was being tormented.

Traveling on, the Fumbling Four found a set of stairs leading beneath the pyramid. Despite knowing that more danger would lurk closer to the heart of this sinister fane, they descended. Shortly they encountered two enormous toads, each seated on a dais. These leapt from their positions and attacked. A brutal combat ensued in which Tancred was knocked unconscious and Cyrus and Paelias were both devoured! Namira was able to finish off the last toad and, upon healing Tancred, the two cut the bodies of their friends from the toad’s stomach.

Despite being weighed down with the bodies of their comrades and treasure plundered from the tomb, the two remaining members of the Fumbling Four returned to the City State without further incident.