Gygax and Greyhawk Session #32 - Deeper Delving

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 evening to Harvester 6 mid-day

After Goro's attempt to turn the approaching undead fails, the party sets themselves up to either side of the narrow passage in the wall and set about cutting down zombies. Quite successfully, and there is soon a pile of twice-dead bodies on the floor of the sunken room. That done, they turn now to search among the horrific frescos for secret doors. They find no secret doors, but do uncover four more areas of poor stonework under the plaster. Pushing their luck, they uncover two of them and start removing stonework. The first they enter leads into a tomb decorated with frescos of dark twisted forest and humans being strangled by tree monsters. Along the walls slump eight bodies, wrapped in winding sheet, and with long dark vines or roots growing out of them. At the end is a round depression filled with more clay jars, these much smaller than the norm. Before entering, the party lights one of the bodies on fire with oil, which activates it and three others. These attack, trying to strangle with their vines, but again thanks to clever tactical use of the narrow opening, these vine-zombies are slain. But the party suffers more injury themselves, so they decide it best to retreat, rest and recover.  

Making their way out of the tomb, they find night has fallen and the mist is thick about them. And rather than risk what may lurk within, they decide to camp in the entrance grotto for the night. But even here their sleep is interrupted by phantom warriors, so they retreat further back into the tomb. The rest of the night passes without interruption, and once the mist rises, the party heads back to the shrine at the valley entrance and settle in there for a few days. They are surprised find they do not heal as in the past, though everyone's life force is slowing returning.  

Now recovered, they head back to the tomb and the chamber of the plants. Entering the chamber fully, they find the ceramic jars all contain liquid; 5 a sweet, golden liquid, 3 a thick green syrup, 5 an acrid red liquid, and two (wrapped in birch bark), a pungent orange liquid. This disturbance of grave goods activates the last four vine-zombies, who are dispatched like the rest. 

Exploring the next chamber, the party finds a tomb of similar design/dimensions to the last. It's frescos depict animals and man-animal hybrids torturing faceless humans, and the room itself is stuffed full of mummified animal corpses. The air is heavy with spice and grave, and torches flicker with a strange green light. At the far end is a covered well, sealed with stucco and painted with a cat's eye. Ranzel pries off the lid, and the room explodes in a ball of fire. Once the smoke clears, examination of the well reveals it leads to another chamber full of wrapped bodies, both human and animal. Solcha uses her wand of magic detection which indicates an item of significant value in the lower chamber. A search uncovers a magical ring, which Skeef puts on. He suddenly feels a little feverish, but it seems to pass. 

Proceeding around the round chamber, they uncover the last two loose stone walls. The first opens into a crude chamber of jumbled human bones, obviously the final resting place of lesser men and slaves. The fourth opening leads into a narrow staircase, leading down. The walls shows more scenes of brutal conquest, pillage, blood sacrifice and orgies. It leads into a chamber filled with grave goods left for use in the afterlife; food, tools, household items. Beyond is a larger chamber with a beaten earth floor, unlike the others in this tomb  which so far have been of fitted stone. At the end of the chamber is a pair of stone doors sealed with red ochre clay. Goro and Ranzel break the seal and pry open the doors, which lead to a short staircase going up and a pair of wooden doors. The doors are decorated with a faded painting of what can only be the Barbarian King; a muscular bearded man wearing an iron crown, and holding a scepter and a sword. After the thief checks for traps, Goro and Ranzel pull open these doors as well. From the inside comes the sound of something stirring and a rattling of bones. As the party retreats down the stairs to a better tactical position, they hear a hollow, dead voice echo from the chamber: "WHO DARES DISTURB MY REST; PREPARE NOW TO MAKE YOUR ETERNAL REST WITHIN THESE WALLS"...   

GAINS

Ring of Protection +1

5 jars of sweet, golden liquid

3 jars of thick green syrup

5 jars of an acrid red liquid

2 jars (wrapped in birch bark) of a pungent orange liquid

KILLS/VICTORIES

14 Zombies

8 Vine Zombies

LOSSES

none