When the book said nothing more in response to his flipping of pages, Feldard slammed the tome shut with a muttered dwarven curse. “What a waste of paper. It’d be better off used to wipe my…” The dwarfs words continued on in dwarven for a bit. For those understanding his cussing, keeping a straight face was difficult.
Still a bit red-faced from his tirade, the dwarf left the tome to the others to gawk over, he busied himself with doing a circuit of the room checking for more hidden doorways or secret passages. This damn place seemed riddled with them.
Hasan was a bit astonished. He gave up the book to Miklos for safeguarding, and joined Feldard in searching the room, although Hasan’s preoccupation with the strange riddle was such that he sincerely doubted his mechanical actions would lead to much good. Finding nothing of great interest, he swiftly gave up and moved to return to the hall beyond, as if further perusal of the great mural might explain things more clearly.
After Feldard snapped the book shut, Miklos tried to pick the book up, but it would not budge from its resting spot.
Meanwhile, the priest joined Nicolai at the coffin he had been working on. “Any luck?”
Nicolai looked up, “Not much. No sign of traps. Might be magical traps but you only live once,” he grunted. He turned to Miklos, “By the looks of the dust these haven’t been disturbed for a long time. If that mage-book is true then they’re not in here anyway. No harm in checking though. Here Maruc give us a hand.” Nicolai fingered the edge of the stone lid for purchase and with the priest’s help tried to slide the lid open a fraction to see within with his lightstone.
Maruc nodded and reluctantly put his symbol back. He gripped the slab with his gauntleted fists the heaved as hard as he could. The lid was very heavy, and it took nearly all of their combined strength to move it.
Inside the coffin lay the skeleton of a woman covered with the tattered remains of a deep black robe.
14 Comments
May 24, 2008 at 7:58 am
Nicolai peered into the gloom of the coffin and grunted. “All bottle and no spirit” he quoted from the old Spectularium proverb. “I don’t think she’ll cause us much of a problem. “Well if they’re all like this I think we can leave this place.”
Although he did pause to cast a professional eye out for trinkets.
May 26, 2008 at 8:20 am
Feldard was a bit surprised when his tour of the room came up with no further hidden passages or doorways. Seemed the room was the end of that route. The dwarf looked towards the trio of humans and noted their attention to the now open coffin. Hearing the rogues quote, Feldard grunted. “Then let’s head back to the main hall and check that last passage to the right.”
May 27, 2008 at 4:18 am
Like the Dwarf, Saeth was a bit surprised that the room stopped where it had, and wondered to herself if he’d missed something. Still, it wasn’t like she’d any leads he’d missed, so she eased her corner of the coffin down and prepared herself to check the other hallway alongside the others.
May 27, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Hasan was already in the muraled-room outside when he heard the dwarf’s gruff advice to proceed to the main hall. He did so.
May 29, 2008 at 12:43 pm
“I don’t like the idea of leaving possible foes behind us to entrap us.” said Maruc in a worried tone. “Our experiences so far have led me to believe that isn’t necessarily the end. Nicolai, if you could give me a hand. I’d like to check the last two. The corpses may hold clues as to how the Sisters where defeated in the first place.”
May 29, 2008 at 12:45 pm
Miklos hovered in the entrance way awaiting the result of the last searches, conscious of the passing time. “I hope you don’t unearth anything unpleasant.”
May 29, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Nicolai sighed. “Isn’t this a bit, ahh…” he paused thinking of the word. “macarbre?”
May 29, 2008 at 12:50 pm
“It would be a greater evil to leave behind the taint of evil than to expose it it an unsavoury manner. Come are you squemish?” Maruc grinned as he walked around the central coffin and gripped the lid. “On three? One..two…three…”
May 29, 2008 at 12:52 pm
Nicolai shook his head and helpped the priest slide the lid over a fraction to see what lay inside. He shone his lightstone into the darkness within…
May 29, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Assuming that last 2 unexplored coffins reveal nothing and the other 2 coffins don’t have any secret doors leading out of the bottom etc. (we will check) Maruc will be satisfied and return to the main hallway and rejoin the others to explore the final route to the east.
May 29, 2008 at 4:33 pm
to speed things up Nicolai will help Maruc (in his profession capacity….of course!….)
May 29, 2008 at 4:36 pm
unsure of what might pop up from where Miklos will prepare his Mirror Image spell.
May 29, 2008 at 4:37 pm
although he’ll not cast it unless there’s a reason!
May 30, 2008 at 5:33 pm
With the humans still not willing to give up on the coffins, Feldard calls back Hasan and remains at the doorway watching while Nicolai and the others open the caskets one by one.