Gygax and Greyhawk Session #31 - Lootable Tombs

DRAMATIS PERSONAE:

Ranzel of the Wood (Human Ranger 5)
Solcha (Elf Fighter 4 / Magic User 4)
Skeef Hawkridge (Half Elf Druid 4/ Thief 4) 
Goro (Half Orc Cleric 4 / Fighter 4)

Date/Time

Harvester 3 mid-day to Harvester 3 evening

The party decides to leave the bear statues for now, and search more of the cave complex for clues. After examining a bat-filled shaft, they opt to not temp fate at an intersection guarded by a trio of bear statues. But looking at their map, they see a possible way around and loop back in that direction. They find more passages branching off, and another burial chamber with offerings on the floor and blackened bodies in the alcoves. These they bypass and find at the other end of the cave a chamber of fitted stone, the first seem thus far. Inside is an open sarcophagus with a wrapped body, and with a bronze cauldron of gold dust at the foot. Taking care to not actually disturb anything just yet, the party sets up a rope and grapple so they can go out in the hallway and pull the body up from a distance. 

This works fine, except it summons black shadows form the corpses in the cave, and shortly after the wrapped and mummified corpse they'd disturbed also arrived. A furious fight is begun, with the shadows draining strength to go along with the already drained life force from which most suffer. Though a close run thing, in the end the party is victorious. They loot the burial chamber of it's grave goods and the cauldron of gold dust, and liberate a magical ring and cloak along with some gems and jewelry from the mummy. 

Two of the gems were in the mummy's eyes, which made the party think of the eyeless statue they'd recently left. So they head back in that direction, and Solcha bravely places the gems in the barbarian statues eyes. And the wall it is on immediately slides open, revealing a narrow 4' wide and high crawlspace. This leads into a corridor of more regular dimensions, and after bypassing a pit trap there, they come to another tomb. A body, dressed in armor of shinning bronze and with a bronze axe and shield, lay on a bier at the end of the room.  This they haul to the floor using the rope and grappling hook trick, and are pleased to see that it does not animate and attack them. Closer examination reveals that much of the accouterments are a sham. The armor and axe are just soft copper, and the clothing and furs cheap pastiche. The shield and gold jewelry are at least real. 

Searching behind the brier for a secret door, the party finds instead a poorly constructed wall covered in plaster. They are able to disassemble the stones easily, and pass through into a circular chamber. Murals cover the walls, showing scenes of the worm, the eagle, the wolf and the bear. All are unpleasant to see, focused on gore and death and blood. The centre of the room is a sunken floor with alcoves along the walls. In these the party finds more grave offerings. They also find the goods match with the animal totem of the opposite wall: ash and dirt for the worm, crushed rodents for the eagle, lamb skulls for the wolf, and human bone for the bear. 

Deciding the time had come to retreat, rest and heal, the party prepares to leave. But Skeef, keeping watch at the entrance, calls a warning. A large group of zombies are approaching ....

GAINS

3 gems (350gp each)

630gp gold dust

300gp worth of grave goods

Jewelry (300gp) 

Cloak +1

Ring of Fire Resistance

Shield +1  

KILLS/VICTORIES

3 Shadows

1 Mummy 

LOSSES

none