Shadowdark in the Lost City - Session 3

Our characters for this session included:

Belit, Human, Fighter, 1st Level
Dagon, Human, Thief, 1st Level
Samira, Elf, Thief, 1st Level
Uras, Human, Priest, 1st Level
Zippo, Human, Wizard, 1st Level

For a brief moment, Belit, Uras and Samira breathed a collective sigh of relief, having narrowly avoided being pulped by the massive rolling boulder. But their breaths caught in their throats as they felt the complete and utter blackness bear down on them. What horrid things might that colossal racket have awakened? Suddenly out of the dark, a small yellow flame appeared further down the corridor to their right. It was a small figure holding an oil lamp, the faint light shining off the silver mask that it wore. It silently advanced toward them and paused 10’ feet away, raising a finger to its silver lips ... a warning to not make a sound. The mask was that of the face of a peaceful child, the visage of Nabu, Cynidicean god of enlightenment, knowledge and secrets. The slim figure held out a rolled parchment which Samira somewhat reluctantly took. The masked form backed away and then turned and quietly moved down the stone hall. It reached a point far down the hall where it paused, the wall seemed to open and the figure disappeared. Belit looked around the corner back the way they had come and saw distant flicking blue light and moments later, the bloom of a brighter yellow from a lantern.

The group moved as quickly and quietly as they could, reaching the doorway through which Zippo and Dagon had dove to safety. Zippo leaned over Dagon’s prone body, the smoldering ruin of a coffin in the background. Uras came to his side, laying one hand on Dagon and grasping the medallion of Marduk in the other. They spoke a prayer for healing and the ragged rat bite mark on Dagon’s leg began to close, the redness receding. Uras likewise healed Zippo who had likewise suffered a bite from one of the vermin that had fled the room. (What they didn’t know was that both Dagon and Zippo had contracted a nasty disease from those bites.) Belit and Samira looked at the parchment given to them by the Nabu cultist but could make no sense of it. Uras and Zippo studied it and read the brief message aloud, “Nabu extends welcome and invitation to the newcomers.” The Cynidicean symbol for the cardinal direction West was also written. The party determined to stay their current course exploring the tombs rather than take up the invitation but Samira held onto the parchment.

With Dagon back on their feet, the group proceeded with extra caution through a door in the north wall of the room. It extended some ways north before turning west and then eventually south where it ended in a T running east–west. They could see a door in the north wall of the corridor to the west and determined to try it. Finding no signs of traps, Belit pushed on the door and met resistance. Uras helped force the door open enough for them to enter. Inside, they found a scene of destruction. Wood coffins had been ripped apart and shattered against the walls. Human bones were scattered among the wreckage with stray pieces of battered armor and broken weapons. Uras inspected some of the remains and saw that they had been gnawed and bitten in two by sharp human‑like teeth. The others noted that the wood of the coffins was marked with deep claw marks as well. Ardates’ (Grand Master of Enlil) warning of “eaters of the dead” stalking the tombs quickly came to mind.

Reassembling in the corridor, the adventurers headed east until they came to a doorway on their right while just ahead the corridor turned to the right. They quickly confirmed this to be the corridor in which they had barely escaped death by rolling boulder. Opening the door, they were assaulted by the smell of animal filth and saw the narrow room scattered with debris. In the far back corner was a pile of debris at least waist high. Belit stepped into the space, sword in hand, with Uras at his side, and Zippo right behind. They heard squeaking and movement as the pile came alive with large furry rodents swarming the room. Belit and Uras attacked the vermin as Zippo engulfed the back half of the room in magical blue fire. With several rats laying dead and both Belit and Uras bitten (Belit resisted the disease, Uras did not ... now they had three infected party members), the group backed out of the room as the fire spread. They spiked this door and one around the corner shut as they heard the panicked shrieking of rats as they were burned alive.

Satisfied that the rats were no longer a threat, the group headed back west and took a turn south down a short passage that ended in an east–west T intersection. They headed west where the corridor dead‑ended with a door in the south wall. With no traps to be found, the door was opened revealing yet another tomb. The walls of this room were painted with scenes of a stunted human performing and entertaining a king and queen at court. A small coffin sat along one wall and two large bronze pots occupied two corners of the room. Samira and Dagon investigated the coffin while the others looked in each of the pots only to find them empty—empty of even dust. Without warning, the lid of the coffin suddenly shot into the air and landed with a clatter. Samira and Dagon recoiled expecting a trap only to see a smiling face painted on a large ball bouncing harmlessly on a spring. The spring was attached to the bottom of the coffin and the head bobbed and swayed in the air. Inside they saw the mummified corpse of a small, squat humanoid.

Recovered from the shock yet still not quite sure what to think of the jack‑in‑a‑coffin, the group turned its attention to the bronze pots. Individuals dropped items in and they simply vanished while dangling a bit of rope or the blade of a sword had no effect. A mischievous grin spread across Belit’s face, as they opened their backpack and pulled out one of the sky rocket fireworks they had found earlier. The rest of the party quickly got the intention and moved to the far side of the room, next to the coffin and bouncing head. Belit lit the fuse and dropped the rocket nose cone down into one of the pots. BOOM! The coffin violently exploded as sparks ricocheted around the room filled with a black choking smoke. The party members staggered around the room, coughing and their ears ringing. They made their ways into the hallway where the smoke was billowing out and drifting down the corridor. Miraculously no one was injured but they were covered in soot and nearly deafened. Waiting a few minutes for the smoke to dissipate, the party reentered the room. The coffin, mummy, and smiling head were blown to bits. Where the coffin had sat, they saw a hollow in the stone where yet another bronze pot was concealed. It contained the coins and other objects they had dropped in the other pots along with other burned and blackened items now largely worthless. The party members all stared at Belit, who, still grinning, gave a shrug.

Forming back up into marching order, the adventurers headed west down the smoky corridor. They walked nearly 200 feet where they saw a corridor intersecting from the left and right and further down where the corridor turned right. As they reached the intersecting corridor on their left, out of the darkness they were waylaid by three creatures—all teeth and claws. The creatures shrieked and howled as they tore into the front rank. Belit felt sharp, cold talons rake across their chest as they struggled to regain their balance (the warrior luckily resisted becoming paralyzed). Belit responded with a quick lateral cut which sliced only air. Uras regained his senses and knew these to be the “eaters of the dead,” better known to him as ghouls. The priest called on Marduk to rebuke these abominations and his medallion glowed with holy power. All three corpse eaters shrieked, shielding their eyes and fled to the west, disappearing around the corner. The howls and caterwauling of the undead faded into the distance after but a few moments. Uras warned their comrades that the beasts would likely return once they had regained their nerve.

The party proceeded with haste to the south where they quickly reached a dead end and a partially opened door on the east wall. The door was blackened with soot as was the wall directly across the hall where there was the outline of a man‑sized humanoid, its arms raised seemingly in alarm. Samira and Dagon inspected the doorway, assuming that some sort of fire trap might yet be active. Sufficiently satisfied that it was safe, Belit and Uras led the way through the door into another tomb. Across the room was a dais on which sat a bronze sarcophagus, the lid lifted open. Scenes of a priestess conducting various rites to the Cynidicean gods decorated the walls. The party fanned out across the room but Uras stayed at the door, anticipating the return of the ghouls. It was found that the ghouls had recently torn the mummified remains of the priestess apart and consumed large portions of them. The sarcophagus was a mess of soiled burial wrappings and desiccated flesh. Searching more closely, the adventurers did find the remnants of a destroyed necklace, including a handful of beautiful jewels and a matching bracelet.

As the treasure was stowed, Uras heard a sniffing and growling up the darkened corridor outside the room. The priest alerted his companions that the ghouls had returned. Quickly moving into battle positions, Belit stood well back into the room but squarely in front of the door, slender, keen‑edged sword at the ready. Uras stood behind the door, ready to slam it shut so as to avoid all three ghouls getting into the room at once. Zippo, Samira, and Dagon fanned out on the flanks. Letting out guttural cries, the ghouls swarmed down the corridor intent upon mindless slaughter. One ghoul leapt through the door and Uras slammed the door shut behind it, the other two ghouls barreling into it from the other side. Samira let loose an arrow which found its mark. Belit dodged and parried the vicious claws of the beast, responding with a thrust into its guts. Dagon darted in from the flank and drove their dagger into the ghoul’s rubbery gray skin. The creature shrieked, fell to the floor convulsing and then was still. Uras’ booted feet began to slide as the two ghouls threw their bulk against the door. The priest was thrown back and the undead tore past the door and into the room. A chaotic melee ensued but the adventurers quickly gained the upper hand and put one ghoul down. The other would leave two more party members bloodied before Belit removed its head with a precise blade stroke.

Battered, with ears still ringing, and few members of the intrepid band starting to not feel well, they retreated back through the tombs and up the stairs to the enclave of the Cult of Enlil. They cleaned themselves up, healed their wounds, and took some rest. It was at this point that their band of adventurers all advanced to level 2! Less celebratory, they also discovered that two of their number—Dagon and Uras—had fallen gravely ill. The others while bitten by the rats were able to shake off whatever foul disease the vermin carried. But for Dagon and Uras the situation was dire and it wasn’t clear if they would survive to see another day (they each lost substantial CON after failing to stave off the rat fever).

Shortly thereafter, Ardates, Grand Master of Enlil, and several other Enlilites entered the enclave. The adventurers asked Ardates if there was any help to be had for Dagon and Uras. Ardates looked over the two who lay pale and in the grips of a terrible fever. He shook his head and reminded the companions that their gods had long ago turned their faces from Cynidicea. While the Priests of Zargon were able to call upon the power of their malevolent god, the rest of Cynidicea had no access to divine healing. And even though Uras had just attained level 2, curing diseases was beyond his abilities. After a silent pause, Ardates said that if anyone could help it would be the follower of Ishtar. It was they who were the traditional herbalists, midwives, and healers among their people and perhaps they still practiced those skills. He also warned though that the cult of Ishtar might not receive them warmly. While he and their Grandmaster had been close to forming an alliance, the Ishtaris had abruptly broken off communication weeks ago. Something had happened but he knew not what though, as always, expected treachery.

Over the last few hours, Zippo had sat off to himself studying their magic tome and the sharktooth dagger Dagon had recovered from the tomb of King Cyrus’ spymaster. The wizard had perceived a faint dweomer about the blade and suspected it to be enchanted. Zippo was eventually able to identify a wizard mark on the blade naming its maker—Mandaru, High Sorcerer of King Cyrus. With this key, they were able to unlock the secrets of its making. This was the blade Dimmakaku, meaning “Blood Tooth” in Cynidicean. Some essence of an ancient shark itself had been captured within it. (In game terms Dimmakaku was a dagger +1 which dealt an additional 1d4 of bleeding damage.)

Getting Uras and Dagon up on their feet and down the stairs to the tier below took a toll. The two looked ever worse, leaning on the arms of companions, violently shaking, eyes barely open. The group approached the only door in a long corridor leading into the center of the pyramid. This door had no grasp or handle but there was a strange metal button in the wall next to it. Belit pushed the button and the door shifted open revealing a corridor extending ahead. Just inside the doorway, they found a row of buttons. Beside each button was carved a Cynidicean character representing all the cardinal directions. The group recognized the symbol for West as the one written on the invitation from the cult of Nabu. They made a guess that perhaps the cult of Ishtar might be to the east and pressed the corresponding button. The door behind them slid shut and with a slight jolt, suddenly the floor and walls began to move. Bracing themselves, they felt and saw the entire corridor rotate 90 degrees to the right and then come to a stop. At both the east and west ends of the hallway were doors.

Approaching the east door, the group pushed the ‘East’ button and the door slid open. A short corridor ended in yet another stone door, this one with a hand hold. Samira moved up to the door on their light elven feet and pressed an ear to it—muffled sounds of conversation. Uras quietly suggested knocking but Belit, throwing caution to the wind, pulled the door open. Nine figures all wearing bronze chainmail over green tunics were seated at a round table. Each wore a wooden mask carved in the likeness of the stoic‑faced woman from atop the pyramid. They all quickly leapt up, chairs falling over as they faced the intruders. Three drew short swords and tensed, ready for battle. The others fanned out, gleaming bronze hand scythes now in their grasps. They had indeed found the cult of Ishtar and they were ready for blood.

Zippo came to the fore, empty hands raised, offering words of greeting. The Ishtaris responded with suspicion and demanded that they leave. In a weak voice, Uras added that Ardates, Grand Master of Enlil, had said they might be able to help their sick comrades. This only seemed to provoke further suspicion and hostility as the three Ishtari warriors closed ranks in a battle line. Uras and Zippo both tried to calm the situation, offering reassurance that they came in peace and in great need. They offered that they were sworn to help the Cynidiceans overcome Zargon and his priests. From behind one of the Ishtaris quietly asked what Sammas would have them do if only they were here. The others quickly silenced the loose lips of their companion. Zippo asked who Sammas might be and if perhaps they could speak with this person. With an accusatory sneer, one of the warriors offered that they knew well who Sammas was and how the Enlilities had betrayed them to Darius, High Priest of Zargon. The adventurers exchanged troubled glances.

Breaking the tense silence, Dagon fell to their knees wracked by a fit of boneshaking coughing. One of the Ishtaris rushed to Dagon’s side, hanging their scythe back on their belt. This one admonished the others saying that Sammas would not have them turn aside the sick. This seemed to break through and the warriors relaxed their guard. One finally said that it hardly mattered since Sammas would soon be no more, just the latest to be sacrificed to Zargon. Another of the warriors stepped forward, addressing the adventurers, “If you would prove your words true, that you are an enemy of Zargon, then help free Sammas before it is too late. In exchange, we will offer what medicine we have to help your friends ... and by the look of them, they have little time to spare.” With that a deal was struck. The band of adventurers agreed to attempt to rescue Sammas, Grand Master of Ishtar, before they were offered up to Zargon. The Ishtaris shared that Sammas would be held somewhere on the main floor of the pyramid where the priests of Zargon and their hobgoblin guards maintained chambers. Two herbal draughts were provided to the companions and they withdrew from the enclave of Ishtar. Dagon and Uras consumed the remedies and sank back into their beds where their companions nervously waited to see if they would live or die.