The Mausoleum - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 39

Despite being holed up within the abandoned warren in a cavern deep beneath the Drowned Forest, the B-Team was able to find rest and regain their strength. When they emerged from their hideout they could still make out the camp fires of the lizard-men army positioned on the other side of the cavern. 

Baylore looked away into a random direction with a glazed look upon his face. He had the brain jellies. As a result of the magic ring that bonded him to Baylore's mental control, Patriarch Ul-Lon was likewise afflicted. Brenna rolled her eyes. She deftly removed the magic ring from Baylore's finger and slipped it onto her own. Ul-Lon staggered for a moment as his mind re-adjusted. As he regained his composure Brenna said, "Hey, follow us, okay?" 

Ul-Lon replied, "Of course!"

The party crossed the dry riverbed, careful to retrace their previous steps in order to avoid the illusions concealing acid pit traps. Eventually they stood before the entrance to the marble mausoleum. The mausoleum was a truncated pyramid, twenty feet tall with a thin memorial obelisk on its roof. The entrance consisted of two heavy brass doors, each twelve feet tall and five feet wide. The doors were adorned with bas relief panels containing images of Sakatha the lizard king and Aulicus, an horde of heavy armored lizardfolk, and their battles against the humans who opposed them. Some panels displayed images of dozens of humans impaled on pikes or struck down by lightning. The final images told how the victorious Sakatha mysteriously died. His slaves were so distraught that they constructed the mausoleum that stood before them. The final image showed his subjects and slaves kowtowing before the mausoleum in reverent awe and revealed that Sakatha would one day return. 

There was no handle on the door. Bruma pushed on it. It did not open. Alot took out his crowbar and tried to pry it open but with no success. Bordar even struck it with his axe but the door was unscathed.

Brenna shrugged, "Anybody know how to open this thing?"

CHAPTER 39

"THE MAUSOLEUM"

The B-Team:

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, Deck Sorceress of the Sea Ghost.
• Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Bosun of the Sea Ghost.
• Brenna "The Sea Witch" Myrasdottir - Chaotic Good Human Sailor and Divine Soul Sorceress, long-lost daughter of Whaler, First Mate of the Sea Ghost.
• Bordar Graniteshaper - Lawful Good Dwarven Bearer of Grudges (Barbarian), exiled from his clan, Ballast of the Sea Ghost.
• Bruma - Neutral Good Human Swamp Guide (Ranger) for the smuggling cartel known as "the Organization", given a mission to find and kill Sakatha the Lizard King.

Brain Jellies

• Captain Baylore - Neutral Human Pirate and Pugilist (Monk), Captain of the Sea Ghost.

The Entrance

"Ul-Lon, any ideas?" asked Brenna.

"No, I'm sorry," he replied.

"Don't you remember his story while we were resting? He was forbidden from coming down here," explained Alot.

DM Note-

Alot's player was one of the few who read the story I sent out before the game.

"I bet we have to kneel or say something," offered Bruma.

Bruma and Brenna examined the bas relief images on the door more carefully. Taking a cue from the final image they knelt down in front of the door and touched the ground with their foreheads. The others followed suit. Brenna said, "All praise Sakatha."

The doors opened.

DM Note-

The actual phrase in the book is "Open in the name of Sakatha, the Great King!" but there was no way they'd ever get that. So- close enough.

The Hall of Traps

Through the entrance they found three passages - one to the left, one straight ahead, and one to the right. Each passage terminated in a door. The doors on the left and right were set at an angle that was parallel with the outer-walls of the triangle-shaped mausoleum. 

Bordar, Aella, and Alot carelessly strode to the door on the left with little regard for circumspection. Bruma called out, "No! Wait! It might be-"

The floor opened beneath their feet. Alot and Bordar quickly retreated to safety but Aella screamed as she fell into a twenty foot deep pit filled with spikes. As she turned around to look up she saw that the ceiling was descending! 

Alot quickly dropped his rope into the pit so that Aella could climb out. Aella pulled herself out of the pit just as the ceiling - a huge block of solid marble - descended into the pit. The top of the block stopped flush with the rest of the floor. 

Everyone looked at each other in an attempt to figure out who was going to cross the block and open the door. Bordar looked at Brenna.

Brenna replied, "Oh no! The second I walk onto the block, it will rise back up and squash me into the ceiling. Let's try the other door."

Bruma grabbed Alot's rope and tied one end around his waist. He told Alot to keep it taught. Bruma used his sword scabbard to tap the floor in front of the other door. It seemed solid enough. He walked up to the door and examined it. 

Suddenly the floor gave way. Bruma began to fall but was pulled aside by Alot. The ceiling descended into the pit just as had happened on the previous door. 

Bruma asked, "Anyone else want to try the third door?"

The question was met with awkward silence. 

Brenna finally said, "Fine, let's go into the first door."  

Bruma crossed the top of the ceiling block and tried the door. It opened. 

Hall of War

Within he found a gallery. The room was long like a corridor and ten feet wide. It was magically illuminated with diffuse indirect light. Along the outside wall was a mosaic mural depicting the lizard king leading a force of ten lizard-man warriors against four hill-giants. The mosaic figures were life-sized - the hill-giant mosaics stood fifteen to twenty feet tall and nearly reached the ceiling. 

Bruma described what he saw and moved towards the center of the gallery. Brenna said, "Be careful. Those mosaics will probably come to life or something."

Nothing dangerous happened. Convinced of the room's safety the rest of the team entered behind Bruma. 

Mosaic Hill Giants

Brenna and Bruma were convinced that there had to be a secret door so they spent several minutes checking every inch of the inner and outer walls.

After ten minutes had passed, the entrance to the gallery slammed shut. To the great surprise of exactly no one the mosaic tiles of the hill giants game to life. They emerged from the wall and formed life-sized mosaic simulacra of hill-giants armed with tree trunks for clubs. 

DM Note-

The players oohed and ahed at my custom-made mosaic tokens.

Bruma sprang into instant action. He slashed his heavy two-handed sword into the nearest hill giant. The ranger was a whirlwind of action as he followed up with additional strikes. In no time at all the giant collapsed into a pile of inert colored tiles onto the floor. 

Aella followed up with a continuous arc of lightning into the next hill giant. Bordar attacked in turn with his twin magical axes "Rage" and "Fury". 

Alot was pinned in by the brutes. A tree trunk slammed into the automaton warrior, throwing him against the wall. Alot counterattacked with his magical shortsword.

Patriarch Ul-Lon prayed to the dragons and conjured a celestial spear that hovered in the air and stabbed at the nearest mosaic hill giant. 

The battle was heated but brief. The hill giants were quickly overcome and reduced to piles of lifeless glass and ceramic tiles.

Mosaic Lizard-Men

Before the party could celebrate, however, the ten lizard-men pictured within the mosaic came to life and emerged from the wall to attack the party. 

The lizard-men were spread out but soon grouped up into three scrums - one on Alot, one of Bruma adn Bordar, and one on Aella, Brenna, and Ul-Lon. 

Ul-Lon slapped his hands together in prayer and was surrounded by a swirling tempest of glowing green miniature dragons. The dragons ripped into the animated mosaic lizard-men while the warrior-priest's celestial dragon-spear continued to fight alongside Bruma.

After a pitched battle the heroes of the B-Team ultimately defeated the last of the mosaic lizard-men. 

The Mosaic King

As the last mosaic lizard-man collapsed into inanimate tiles Bruma called out to the others, "Form up on the lizard-king, he's coming out next!"

As if on cue, the mosaic lizard-king turned and loosed an arrow at Brenna. The mosaic arrow missed so the lizard-king picked up his trident and stepped out of the wall to do battle. 

The team followed Bruma's plan and surrounded the lizard king. The animated mosaic was quickly defeated and fell into lifeless shards of glass and ceramic. 

Still convinced there was some hidden secret to be found Bruma said, "I have an idea!"

He stepped into the wall. Bruma became a flat image on a bare mosaic landscape. He could feel his dimensionless body becoming hardened so he forced himself out of the wall. With a great effort he escaped the wall and was once again himself. 

GM Note-

Bruma's player said "I have an idea" and stepped into the wall. I thought it was clever so I went with it. I let him be that way for a bit then pointed out that I only went with it because it was clever. There was nothing to the wall and it was an ill-conceived idea anyway because he wasn't a mosaic.

Soon after defeating the lizard-king and saving Bruma from existence as a magical painting, the mosaic tiles started to slowly slide towards the wall. Brenna said, "Alright, the room is resetting. Everybody out!"

Spear Trap

After a brief discussion regarding into which room to go next the party decided to take the center corridor believing that anything important would be in the center of the triangle and not the edges. 

Bruma cautiously approached and examined the door. It was a bronze door like the others. The floor did not give way and he could find no indication of a trap. Bruma returned to report his findings.

Despite Bruma's assessment Bordar was wary. The dwarf strode forth and opened the door.

Poison-tipped spears shot out of the walls to the left and right. Bordar's natural danger sense allowed him to avoid the spears and his dwarven resistance gave him immunity to their poisoned coating. 

"Well, that wasn't so bad!"

DM Note-

I almost fucked this one up. The original module called for ten spears to shoot out. The conversion suggested the following:

Spear Trap (p. 26): Triggered by an unlocked door at the end of the central hallway. Will shoot a number of spears determined by the GM. ... When the spear trap is triggered by simply opening the unlocked door, spears will be fired through holes in the wall on either side of the corridor. ...  A creature within range standing in front of the trap takes 2d10 piercing damage on a failed DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, or half as much on a successful one (limited by the number of spears). A creature struck takes 1d10 poison damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 hour.

So I originally rolled 1d10 to see how many spears attacked and had Bordar's player make saving throws against each one. I rolled NINE spears! Bordar's Danger Sense allowed him to save with Advantage but even so he failed five rolls! I rolled a lot of damage and Bordar's player had steeled himself for Bordar's death. 

But I thought, "That can't be right." 

I shouldn't have rolled the 1d10 spears. That was a mistake. The trap should just have been an "area" attack. 2d10 damage on a failed save, half on a successful save. I had Bordar's player re-roll his Dexterity saving throw with Advantage, which he made. He took half of 11 points from the 2d10 and then rolled his Constitution saving throw with Advantage, which he EASILY made. Though I just noticed he should have taken another 1d10 poison (halved) anyway. 

The Eternal Feast

The party entered into a triangular room. At the center of the room was a long table with twelve chairs. The chair at the far end of the table was a large wooden chair like a throne with a massive turtle shell as its back. The walls were decorated with mosaics of fifty lizard-men slaves bearing platters of food and jugs of wine. 

The party entered the room and looked around. Alot went to the far corner of the room and searched for hidden doors or passages. Bruma looked under the table and found a trap door in the floor. 

Ten minutes after the party entered the room the mosaics came to life. Five of the lizard men peeled off from the wall and set the table with food, delicacies, and wines. One of the lizard-men spoke in common tongue, "Greetings, guests of the Great King. Welcome to the eternal feast. Please, let us serve you." Chairs were withdrawn for the party members to sit.

Brenna and Patriarch Ul-Lon sat at the table and tasted the food. It was real and delicious and filling. The two enjoyed the hospitality of the lizard-men hosts and the hosts were happy to serve.

Bordar and Aella held up their hands in abstinence. The hosts became insistent, pointing out that it was impolite to refuse the hospitality of the Great King. 

Bruma went to the edge of the table and enlisted Bordar's aid, "Let's move this table out of the way."

As they started sliding the table the hosts became belligerent. They threw down their food and bared their sharpened mosaic teeth in menacing hisses. They threw themselves against the guests, biting and ripping and slashing with their reptilian teeth and claws made of ceramic and glass! 

Brenna coughed her wind back into her cup, "What did I do?"

The mosaic simulacra of the five hosts were immediately destroyed. But no sooner had the original five hosts been defeated that another five emerged from the wall and attacked. 

As the fight dragged on more mosaic lizard-men emerged from the wall one by one. The party had trouble keeping up and eventually the room was filled with lizard-men. The lizard-men formed scrums around each member of the B-Team which prevented them from coming to each other's aid.

Ultimately the mosaic lizard-men hosts proved no match for the B-Team. Once there were no more mosaics on the wall the lizard-men found themselves without reinforcements and were eventually destroyed.

The party stood atop piles of lifeless mosaic tiles and assessed their situation. The food on the table dissolved into nothingness.

Bruma wondered aloud, "Do the cultists have to fight off mosaic lizard-men every time they use the trap door???"

Brenna replied, "THEY probably stop and eat the food! None of this would have happened if we'd have just been polite. Sometimes we can be TOO paranoid I think. Maybe next time we should just try to be nice for once." 

Bruma sneered at Brenna with disdain as he and Bordar moved the table. Bruma opened the trap door revealing a ladder and a set of stairs. He could smell incense and burning braziers. 

To be Continued...

The Story of Patriarch Ul-Lon

I was once a warrior-priest of Heironeous in Seaton. I was always fascinated by dragons and I was tasked with protecting an ancient book called Liber Draconis - the Book of Dragons. Although I was its sworn protector I was forbidden from ever reading the book. 

One day I met and befriended a scholar named Mordrin and his friends Orgmond and Thalon. I soon became very good friends with Mordrin and his companions for they shared my fascination with and knowledge about dragons. Indeed, as scholars their knowledge far exceeded my own.

Mordrin knew all about the Liber Draconis. He told me that the book was filled not only with information about the different breeds of dragons, their capabilities and weaknesses, their cultures and customs, it revealed their true power! You see - he told me that dragons were in fact manifestations of godlike power! No, it is true! 

Mordrin told me that the book could unlock secrets of power for those who study it. 

Mordrin told me that the book could teach us to communicate with the spirits of dragons long dead, and that they could reveal even more secrets hidden within!

Mordrin said that the book contained prayers and rituals useful for invoking the powers of the dragon spirits through a living dragon that could act as a conduit. You see, Mordrin knew much about these draconic spirits. He and his companions were already well versed in the secret rituals to invoke the power of the dragons. He said that those who knew the secrets could one day become dragons themselves! He offered to teach me.

Mordrin’s offer intrigued me. I became obsessed with it. I wanted badly to become a dragon. Mordrin offered me an invitation but said I had to first pass an initiation. I had to steal the Liber Draconis. 

Thus did I steal the book and abandon my holy vows! Mordrin said I had passed the first test on my path to invoking the power of the dragons.

Mordrin, Ogmond, Thalon, and I fled Seaton. We needed a living dragon to serve as our conduit to the spirits. Mordrin knew that the black dragon Aulicus had survived the war against Sakatha over a hundred years ago so we sought him out. Aulicus was old and injured. He could no longer fly and leaving his lair was difficult. But even in his elder infirmity he was a truly magnificent specimen! 

The tribes of lizard-men who lived in the Drowned Forest worshiped him as a god, but theirs was a primitive totemic awe of a powerful being. They brought him offerings and sacrifices which kept him fed and happy. The lizard-men did not revere the dragon spirits the way we did.  

We found Aulicus and were afraid he would consume our flesh as was his right. But he spared us. He saw in us useful supplicants - for we possessed the Liber Draconis. Aulicus wanted us to use a ritual within the book to transfer his soul into an unhatched dragon’s egg. He would be reborn! He made us an offer - he would spare our lives and act as our spiritual conduit if we could perform the ritual. 

So it was that we moved into the ancient underground temple complex located beneath the lair of Aulicus. This was a year ago. I was tasked with procuring supplies for the ritual so I left our new home and traveled about, gathering what we needed. Along the way I acquired more books and more information. I even recruited several new members into our order. 

When I returned Mordrin informed me of grave news. Mordrin, Orgmond, and Thalon now served a being known as Sakatha. 

You see, the lair of Aulicus was located at the entrance to an ancient underground temple complex  built by a sophisticated culture of reptilians in ancient times - a kingdom from which modern lizard-folk are but primitive descendants. 

Located far beneath this complex was a mausoleum containing the remains of Sakatha - a monument built by his slaves after his death over a hundred years ago. 

Mordrin said that Sakatha was still alive and that he sought revenge against the descendants of those who defeated him. Sakatha wished to build an army and once again rule over the region as a king - not a leader of a tribe of lizard-folk, but as a true human king!

Mordrin said that I was to continue my work in reincarnating Aulicus. I would train and initiate my new recruits. We would study the Liber Draconis and perform rituals to the dragon spirits. We built a new shrine on a nearby island to offer burnt sacrifices to the dragon spirits.  I even managed to locate the unhatched egg of a black dragon. Unfortunately the smugglers who were to deliver it to me stole it. 

Aulicus united the disparate tribes of lizard-folk who worshiped him and tasked them with retrieving the stolen egg - he called it his heir. Aulicus instructed his lizard-folk worshipers to follow the command of Sakatha as their new leader. Any tribal leader who resisted was overthrown or assassinated.

Meanwhile Mordrin began building an army for Aulicus. He hired mercenaries initially. He took the mercenaries down into the lower levels - the areas belonging to Sakatha - the areas from which I was forbidden to enter. The mercenaries returned with ashen complexions and glazed stares. They served Sakatha blindly. The mercenaries increased their ranks by raiding and capturing the bandits who dwelled within the Hool Marsh.  They too were converted into thralls of Sakatha. I never really got along with the mercenaries or the thralls. They lived in barracks near the entrance to the complex. Perhaps you encountered them? 

Mordrin needed to equip his growing army so he began raiding the caravans and selling the stolen goods to the smugglers in Saltmarsh in exchange for weapons and armor.

Two months ago - during the height of the raids on the caravans - he learned that the Merchant Guild of Saltmarsh was planning on hiring someone to investigate the raids. I’m not sure how he learned this. I believe he has gained access to some method of scrying upon far away people or places. Mordrin took one of my acolytes and converted him into a thrall. He then armed the acolyte with a magical gemstone - a gemstone empowered with a prayer that would strike dragon-flame down upon the infidel. The acolyte was to take the gemstone and use it to destroy Anders Solmor - descendant of one of the villains who overthrew Sakatha. 

The attempt to mete out draconic justice apparently failed. The merchant guild hired some vile assassins. Aulicus sent some of the lizard-men who served Sakatha to intercept these assassins at the Dreadwood River bridge. When that failed Mordrin assigned some thralls to misdirect them towards the hag Siren Diabla. Indeed any thrall captured by the enemy was instructed to do the same. That ploy likewise failed. The assassins were able to find a guide - a thrall from one of the local villages that managed to escape Mordrin’s “process” - and managed to gain entry into the lair of Aulicus. 

Aulicus defeated them, of course, killing all but two. But great Aulicus was weary and he finally succumbed to death. Mordrin’s soldiers managed to capture the two survivors - the metal man and the half-elf sorceress. They were converted into thralls and allowed to return to Saltmarsh. There they would act as spies and provocateurs. 

Eventually the caravans stopped so Mordrin turned to raiding the villages surrounding the Drowned Forest, taking prisoners and turning them too into thralls of Sakatha. He purchased magical armor and weapons for the captains and lieutenants of his small army from the devil woman in Saltmarsh. We have also used some of the prisoners as sacrifices to the dragon spirits. We have lost our physical conduit so only the offering of human souls will appease them now. We have also lost our control over the lizard-folk tribes of the Drowned Forest. Those still loyal to Sakatha were taken into the lower levels.

Thus far I and my acolytes have been spared from the secret process that creates the thralls. Indeed, Mordrin has forbidden me from delving deeper into the complex. Whether it is to protect me from Sakatha or to protect Mordrin’s power I do not know. 

An Unexpected Ally - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 38

The B-Team was exhausted. They rested in the comfortable chamber of their recently defeated foe - Patriarch Ul-Lon of the draconic cult dwelling in a secret complex buried beneath a large hill surrounded by the Drowned Forest.

Ul-Lon lay unconscious only a few feet away. Baylore had cleaned his clock just an hour ago. Ul-Lon was unbound. Baylore had placed upon the patriarch's finger a magical ring that would ensure Ul-Lon's cooperation and assistance. 

Ul-Lon roused. He was a small man in his forties with prominent bulging eyes. He wore greenish-black plate armor decorated with dragon wings. He wore a dragon's tooth around his neck like a cherished holy relic. He was completely clean shaven - even his eyebrows were missing. In battle his countenance would have been severe and off-putting. Now he was weak and exhausted.

Baylore touched Ul'Lon's forehead. Ul-Lon felt better - refreshed. He rubbed his eyes and looked around. He was surrounded by enemies.

"What is this? Who are you? Why did you invade my sanctum and attack me?" he demanded.

Baylore waved his hand, "We are your friends. You have nothing to fear. We didn't attack you, it was some trolls. We chased them off."

Ul-Lon looked confused and rubbed his aching head, "Oh. Of course. Trolls. Many thanks, sir."

The magical influence of the ring Ul-Lon wore caused him to unconditionally believe anything Baylore told him. Indeed, Baylore could alter Ul-Lon's entire philosophy or belief system with a few simple sentences. If Baylore said "up is down" then, as far as Ul-Lon was concerned, up would be undeniably and incontrovertibly down. 

Baylore said, "We are seeking Sakatha. You were going to bring us to him."

"Oh no," said Ul-Lon apologetically, "I am but the humble patriarch. I oversee the acolytes. I ensure they are properly trained. I am not allowed to lay eyes upon Sakatha. Only they who are my masters may do that."

"Where are they?"

"They dwell in the forbidden lower levels." Ul-Lon cheerfully exclaimed, They emerge from behind the altar to escort newly acquired prisoners  to the secret chamber to become thralls."

"Behind the altar?" inquired Baylore.

"Oh yes, there are secret passages behind the tapestry. They are forbidden."

"Will you show us?"

"Of course!" said Ul-Lon, helpfully. He grinned, revealing teeth chiseled to serrated points. 

CHAPTER 38

"AN UNEXPECTED ALLY"

The B-Team:

• Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Bosun of the Sea Ghost.
• Captain Baylore - Neutral Human Pirate and Pugilist (Monk), Captain of the Sea Ghost.
• Brenna "The Sea Witch" Myrasdottir - Chaotic Good Human Sailor and Divine Soul Sorceress, long-lost daughter of Whaler, First Mate of the Sea Ghost.
• Bordar Graniteshaper - Lawful Good Dwarven Bearer of Grudges (Barbarian), exiled from his clan, Ballast of the Sea Ghost.
• Bruma - Neutral Good Human Swamp Guide (Ranger) for the smuggling cartel known as "the Organization", given a mission to find and kill Sakatha the Lizard King.

Brain Jellies

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, Deck Sorceress of the Sea Ghost.

The Poisoned Chest

Bruma ran his hands along the wall opposite the altar. The wall was not square with the rest of the room. He soon discovered that a section of the wall was removable. He pulled it open revealing a hidden storage space behind. Within the storage space were two small ornately carved ivory scroll cases and a large chest. 

Bruma turned around, "What's in the chest?"

Ul-Lon narrowed his eyes in anger and frustration. "That is no concern of yours!"

Baylore used his magic ring, "No, he's a friend of mine. You WANT to tell us what's in the chest."

"Ah, I- uh- I see. The chest is the treasury of the acolytes. It is used to purchase books for the library and fund our studies."

Bruma examined the chest. "It's covered in some kind of thick grease. I'm afraid to touch it."

Baylore asked Ul-Lon, "What's the grease?"

Ul-Lon explained, "Oh, it's a contact poison of my own design. I'm rather an expert on poisons, you see. Anyone who touches it dies an agonizing death."

"Can you remove it?"

"Oh, of course. It wouldn't be very useful as a treasury if I couldn't access the funds, now could it. Yes. I have an counter-acting agent hidden away beneath the altar."

Baylore directed Ul-Lon to apply the counter-acting agent to the chest and open it. Ul-Lon happily complied.

The chest contained several thousand coins of gold and platinum. The two scroll cases contained identical scrolls containing incantations useful for warding off demons. Baylore dumped the coins into his magical bag of holding. 

DM Note-

We had to stop and check to determine the volume of 7000 coins . A quick Google revealed that 36-40,000 coins could occupy one cubic foot, so there was plenty of room in the bag. 

The Secret Corridor

Ul-Lon led the B-Team out of his chambers. The bodies of his acolytes lay dead on the floor in the corridor beyond. Baylore explained that the trolls had killed them which displeased Ul-Lon. Baylore reminded Ul-Lon that they were hunting these trolls to avenge the acolytes. He told Ul-Lon that the trolls had escaped down to a lower level using a secret passage. Ul-Lon took them to the altar chamber with a large tapestry hanging on the back wall.

The tapestry showed a lizard king bearing a trident and a golden scepter. The Lizard King wore a golden crown of human manufacture on his head. The figure stood atop a pile of fallen victims. Behind the lizard king rose an ominous black figure of a dragon - its wings outstretched to envelop the battlefield. Above the dragon was a strange symbol composed of five dragon heads in a spiral pattern. 

"The tapestry tells the story of how Sakatha the Lizard King smote his enemies and ruled over an entire kingdom with the aid of the black dragon Aulicus." 

"Yeah, but didn't Sakatha die like a hundred years ago?" inquired Alot.

"Possibly," replied Ul-Lon, "But he is reborn! He has returned to reclaim his throne as king."

"What happened to Aulicus?" asked Bruma, "I hear he was killed recently." Baylore glanced at Aella. She had brain jellies and offered no response to his comment.

"Aulicus was old. He was recently defeated. But he will be reborn." Ul-Lon's eyes glazed over in reverent emotion, "He will come again!"

Baylore cleared his throat to interrupt, "Ahem, the secret passages?"

"Yes, of course. Those whom I serve always emerge from behind the tapestry. I am forbidden to go there."

Baylore pulled aside the tapestry on the right to reveal a hidden corridor. Bordar looked behind the tapestry to the left and found another corridor. 

Bordar said, "Hey, there are two corridors!"

Baylore and the others were already disappearing into the one on the right, "Come on. We're going this way. Catch up!"

The False Door

The corridor turned right, then left, then left again and ended in a door. Bruma examined the door for traps but found none. The door was unlocked. It opened revealing a small room with two identical doors, one on the left and one on the right. 

Bruma approached the door on the left  and reached out to examine it. 

To his shock, Bruma's hand adhered to the door. A fanged mouth formed in the center of the door!

Bruma shouted, "Mimic! Mimic-door!"

DM Note-

My players always get super excited when they fight a mimic. It is perhaps their favorite of the iconic monsters. They usually assume everything is a mimic but were genuinely surprised this time.

Bruma drew a handaxe and chopped at the the door. The hand axe bit deep but held fast. 

Alot ran in and joined Bruma in fighting the door. He stabbed it with his shortsword which likewise stayed affixed to the door. 

Brenna cast a spell and acid flew across the room onto the door. The acid simply poured off the door onto the floor with no effect.  Baylore pointed a finger at the door and bolts of fire streaked into the mimic. 

Alot grabbed a dagger off of Bruma's belt and plunged it into the door. The door shuddered and thrashed violently. Alot let go of the dagger and backed away. The door melted like thick mud onto the floor. The mimic was dead. The creature had lost its adhesive properties as it died and the weapons were easily retrieved.

"Okay, other door," said Bordar. The dwarf pulled on the door but it would not budge. "Ah," he said and pushed it with similar lack of effect. Even with Baylore's help they could not get the door open. Alot and Bruma then gave it a try but with no luck. Bordar set about hacking the door with his axes. In ten minutes the door was in splinters and it was evident that the door was a decoy placed against a bare wall. 

Baylore massaged his forehead with his left hand, "Someone please look for a secret door."

The Hidden Stair

Bruma soon found that a section of the back wall could be opened to reveal a thirty-foot corridor. The corridor ended in another bare wall. 

Bruma got down on his hands and knees and closely examined the floor and walls as he crawled forward. In the middle of the corridor he found that the floor could be raised like a hatch revealing a ladder and a staircase. 

The staircase was long and straight. It descended indefinitely into the gloom - far beyond his ability to see in the absolute darkness. He examined each step carefully. The fifth stair was at a slightly different angle than the others. 

Bruma gathered all the rope in the party and spliced them together. He then tied the rope around his torso and handed the other end to Alot. He lit a torch and descended the stairs, careful to avoid the fifth step. He carefully descended over two hundred feet and still couldn't see the bottom. He tossed the torch down the stairs. It bounced and rolled and came to a stop. The stairs ended in another hundred feet or so. 

Bruma returned to the top and informed the others. He told them not to touch the fifth step. He had a feeling it was trapped. Thus did everyone tie themselves together and follow Bruma down the stairs, carefully avoiding the fifth step. 

DM Note-

I used the guidelines in Classic Modules Today - I2 Tomb of the Lizard King. It said:

Receding Stair Slide/Fire Pit(p. 25): Triggered by walking on the 5th stair. DC 15 passive Wisdom (Perception) check to spot, or DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check if actively searching. DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check to determine how to disarm, followed by a DC 15 Dexterity check using a tool(sword, thieves tool or other to jam) to disable it. When triggered, a creature on the stair failing a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw slides steeply for 30’ then falling into a 60’ fire pit takes 6d10 bludgeoning damage from falling, and takes 4d10 fire damage per round. Creatures in the fire that succeed on a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check, with disadvantage, climb the 60’ up and out

Bruma's passive Perception is 15 and he was searching for traps, so he saw the trapped step fairly easily. At the time, I thought "Well, there's no need to disarm. Just skip the fifth stair! How hard cna that be?" I had everyone make DC 1 Dexterity saves to avoid the step.

In retrospect, I should have had the trap START with the fifth stair and continue for like ten or twenty feet - FORCING them to deactivate the trap or teleport or fly or spider climb.  

The Underground Lake

The stairs ended on a platform suspended over a vat of alchemical liquid ready to burst into flame. 

They emerged from the side of a cavern wall. The cavern before them was vast - far wider than they could discern using their dark vision. The ceiling was concealed by the gloom of total darkness a hundred feet overhead. Two sets of stairs led down to the left and right of the platform. They were on the shore of a vast underground lake. There were two large mounds of packed earth - one to the left and one to the right. 

The party split up to investigate the mounds. Both contained hollowed out warrens filled with broken bones - crushed by powerful jaws. The warrens had been abandoned for a long time. Whatever had lived in them had not returned in a long time. 

Brenna approached the lake. She knelt down and cupped her hand in the water. She raised the water to her lips and tasted it.

There was no water. 

She poured the water out of her hand but nothing spilled. The water was illusory and insubstantial. 

She looked at the lake. It vanished. The spell had been broken. She stood up and saw before her a dry riverbed that bisected the cavern from left to right. In the distance she could see a dozen campfires around which sat hundreds of lizard-men. The light of the campfires illuminated the far side of the cavern hundreds of feet away and revealed the silhouette of a large structure to the left - a truncated pyramid made of stone. The trapezoid-shaped structure was twenty feet tall. Atop the structure was an obelisk - apparently some kind of memorial. 

She told the others what she saw. She helped each of them to break the spell and see the reality before them. 

Bruma kept a close eye on the lizard-men. They had apparently noticed the intruders but paid them no heed. 

The team formed up in a tight group in order to cross the dry riverbed. They were headed towards the memorial structure. 

The Barrows

Brenna led the procession. She walked ten feet and held her hand up. She could not feel the fine gravel river bed under where she was about to place her left foot. She stepped back and closed her eyes. When she re-opened her eyes she could see before her a pit filled with acid. She informed the others.

The party went to the right and carefully advanced. They encountered no further traps and crossed the riverbed safely.

They cautiously approached the truncated pyramid memorial structure. They could now make out the shapes of a dozen dome-shaped mounds of packed earth, each ten feet wide and ten feet tall, in front of the structure. 

When they approached within ten feet of one of the mounds, the top of the mound burst open. A long dead lizard-man clad in ancient armor and bearing a sword and a bow emerged. The face of the lizard man was gaunt and pale with sunken cheeks and eye sockets. The eyes of the lizard man warrior glowed green. It hissed a dry rasping call. In answer, the tops of the other eleven mounds burst open and eleven other lizard-man wraiths emerged. 

The Guardians of the Tomb

The undead lizard-man warriors positioned themselves to defend the tomb. Half of the warriors moved to intercept and surround Alot and Bordar. The other half loosed arrows from their bows. Unlike the lizard-men of the swamp these warriors were clad in sophisticated - if somewhat decayed - chain mail and armed with metal weapons of human design. One wight grabbed Bordar with a glowing green hand and squeezed. Bordar clenched his teeth as his life energy was drained from him! 

Baylore and Bruma joined Alot and Bordar in the melee with the guardians while Brenna and Ul-Lon kept their distance  and attacked with ranged spells. Once the melee had attracted half of the guardians around them Baylore called for Ul-Lon's assistance. Ul-Lon said a short prayer and became surrounded by a swirling vortex of glowing green miniature black dragons. He waded into the throng and the dragons ripped and shredded the reptilian wights. 

One wight who had been peppering the group with arrows threw down its bow and ran around the group in an attempt to flank Brenna and Aella. In response, Brenna ran into the swirling vortex and stood next to Ul-Lon. The pursuing wight was caught up in the maelstrom and shredded by the dragons. 

Baylore left the scrum and charged the wight archers standing atop their barrow mounds. He was soon followed by Bruma. As Baylore defeated one wight he would move to the next. Bruma, who had depleted his supply of arrows, began retrieving arrows from the quivers of fallen wights and using them against the undead enemies.

The last handful of wights put up a terrific fight but they too were eventually defeated.

DM Note-

After two turns of Ul-Lon's spirit guardians ripping undead shit up, I remembered that Ul-Lon's spirit guardians do necrotic damage - against which the wights take half damage. To make up for this, I doubled the hit points of the remaining wights. 

The Entrance to the Mausoleum 

While the party examined the crypt Bruma took a good look at the lizard-man camps. They had watched the battle against the wights but showed no interest in interfering or responding. With that assurance Brenna took a close look at the large brass double-doors at the base of the mausoleum. 

Each door was twelve feet tall and five feet wide. Even in the dim visibility of darkvision she could see ornate bas relief panels in the door. 

Most of the panels depicted small scenes of everyday life among the lizard men. The topmost panels on each side showed a great Lizard King wielding a fearsome trident in battle against humans, or receiving sacrifices of humans and other slaves. Other depictions of the Lizard King in some of the panels showed him with lightning bolts and fireballs leaping from his fingertips.

Brenna tried the doors. They were locked. 

Alot offered to rip them open but Brenna asked him to wait. She was tired and was nearly depleted of magical energy. It had been a long day. 

The party decided to retreat to one of the abandoned barrows by the entrance. It was apparent that the lizard men paid them no heed so there they hoped to find a few hours of rest. 

They would crack open the mausoleum soon enough.

To be Continued...

The Patriarch of the Dragon God - Ghosts of Saltmarsh, Chapter 37

A lone spearman fled the battle - the sole survivor of the B-Team's assault against the bandits hiding within the Tomb of the Lizard King. The spearman went around a corner and through a door. 

The B-Team formed up outside the door. Baylore checked in on everyone, "How's everyone doing? Any injuries? Are we ready? Good, let's go!"

They opened the door and were met by four swordsmen. The room beyond contained a table and some chairs and was lit by a lantern hanging from the ceiling. The door on the opposite wall was open. 

Suddenly, from around the far corner of the hallway outside the room came a trio of attackers - two swordsmen and a captain wielding an ornate trident! 

CHAPTER 37

"THE PATRIARCH OF THE DRAGON GOD"

The B-Team:

• Avastana "Aella" Kádár - Neutral, Half-Elf  Outlander and Storm Sorceress from Ket, daughter of the king of the sea elves, Deck Sorceress of the Sea Ghost.
• Alot Aname - Neutral Good Warforged Fighter, ancient sentinel of a wizard's fortress, spent several decades deactivated underwater, Bosun of the Sea Ghost.
• Captain Baylore - Neutral Human Pirate and Pugilist (Monk), Captain of the Sea Ghost.
• Brenna "The Sea Witch" Myrasdottir - Chaotic Good Human Sailor and Divine Soul Sorceress, long-lost daughter of Whaler, First Mate of the Sea Ghost.
• Bordar Graniteshaper - Lawful Good Dwarven Bearer of Grudges (Barbarian), exiled from his clan, Ballast of the Sea Ghost.
• Bruma - Neutral Good Human Swamp Guide (Ranger) for the smuggling cartel known as "the Organization", given a mission to find and kill Sakatha the Lizard King.

The Captain

Bordar killed one of the two men blocking the entrance into the room. Bruma pushed his way past and made his way into the room. Bordar and Bruma cut a bloody swath as Brenna entered behind them. Soon all five of the guards in the room lay dying on the floor.

Meanwhile, outside in the hall, Aella found herself confronted by two swordsmen and their captain wielding an ornate trident. Alot was once again stricken with brain jellies so Baylore moved in between the captain and Aella. Aella cast a chaos bolt spell at one of the swordsmen. It burst into acid and disintegrated him. The bolt bounced off him and struck his companion with poison. 

Alot shook off his brain jellies and joined the battle. The captain put up a terrific fight. Eventually even he fell before the combined might of Aella, Alot, and Baylore. 

Careful Advance

The B-Team made their way carefully down the corridor from which the captain emerged. They explored a door on the right almost directly opposite the door to the officer's room with the table. Within they found quarters with two beds. A quick search revealed nothing of interest. 

The next door on the right were more quarters, larger than the previous but housing only one bunk and with spare furnishings. 

As they moved farther down the corridor Bruma took the precaution of destroying each of the lanterns hanging on hooks on the wall.

A door on the right turned out to be a store room filled with chairs, some broken. 

The corridor took a 45-degree angle to the left. Bruma reconnoitered. He found a room featuring a large idol of a black dragon flanked by two fonts filled with water. The floor was splattered with blood as if spilled in sacrifice. A large tapestry hung from the wall displaying the triumphant black dragon Aulicus, his wings spread over the battlefield. Behind him loomed a dark and foreboding silhouette of a lizard man with glowing eyes and wearing a crown, his clawed arms outstretched as if scooping the dragon and the battlefield into its eerie embrace. 

Another corridor mirrored the one from which they entered. There was a closed door on the left wall and a closed door on the right wall. The room was illuminated by a lantern hanging on the wall.

The Library

Bruma opened the door on the left wall and found a corridor that turned to the right. Baylore opened the door on the left wall. He found a small ten-by-ten corridor ending in another closed door. Despite Alot's concern that the floor contained a trap, Baylore moved ahead and opened the next door. Within was a table and a lit by a lantern. Seven black ceremonial robes trimmed in silver hung from pegs on the wall. There was a door on the right wall. 

Alot moved into the room Baylore retreated to guard the rear with Bruma. Alot turned a corner and opened the door at the end of the short corridor. Within was a library. There were shelves filled with old books and tables for transcription. A large leather-bound book lay open on a tall reading stand on the far wall. The book was heavy and affixed to the wall with a durable iron chain.

Aella and Brenna watched cautiously from the corridor as Alot strode forward to examine the book. 

The book appeared to be a treatise on dragons. It was written in the draconic tongue and contained dark spells and rituals to summon demons to serve dragons. Alot picked up the book and tried to yank it from the wall. 

Suddenly there appeared a small explosion of sulfur and embers near the entrance to the room. From the dissipating cloud emerged a ten foot tall demon resembling a humanoid vulture! It stretched its long serpentine neck and its bulbous beak hissed. Drool dangled from its beak as it bared its claws!

Alot moved quickly to attack the beast with his short sword. Aella and Brenna cast chaos bolts and flamestrike spells from their position in the corridor. 

The demon opened its beak wider and regurgitated a brownish yellow cloud of spores that quickly spread out in all directions. The trio managed to resist the choking miasma and the spores settled into yellow dust on the floor. 

Bordar ran around the corner and attacked the creature with his axes. Additional attacks from Alot, Aella, and Brenna defeated the creature. It disintegrated into a cloud of sulfur and embers leaving a pile of acrid dust on the floor. 

Wandering Trolls

Baylore thought he heard something large moving down the corridor from whence the party came. He instructed the others to be circumspect and listened more intently. Bruma kept watch around the corner. 

He made out the dim shadows of three trolls moving through the complex. They seemed to be exploring the side chambers and stopping to eat the bodies of the slain guards. They were not a part of the complex. They, too, were intruders. 

The party prepared themselves by putting out all the lanterns and hiding in the room with the table and the robes. 

The trolls were taking their time. 

Bruma sighed. That meant the trolls weren't yet aware of them. It was better to deal with them now than worry about them wandering around. He moved out of hiding and yelled at them to get their attention. 

The trolls came running after Bruma who retreated into the room. The trolls could only move down the ten foot wide corridor in single file. When they reached the 45-degree bend, the trolls were forced to squeeze and push through.

The B-Team used this to their advantage and attacked! The lead troll tried to defend himself from his attackers. He called out, "Hey! What's your problem? Hey! Stop that!" The troll recognized Alot,"Hey! Check it out! It's that metal dude!"

Alot recognized the troll, "Hey! I remember you! Hey Aella, remember this guy? From the swamp?"

Aella gave Alot a dirty look, "No. I had brain jellies then, remember?"

The troll smiled, "Awesome! So, we're, like, buddies, right? How about you give us your gold and let us eat you?"

Alot was taken aback, "No!" and continued stabbing the troll with his magical short sword.

"Come on! Not even a little? Just a nibble?"

Alot stabbed the troll in the head and it fell to the ground. The troll behind it crawled forward to attack. 

Aella cast a fire bolt spell at the fallen troll. The fire prevented it from regenerating. 

The second troll suddenly withdrew in horror and fled back down the corridor. It was reunited with its third companion. A brief summary informed the third what had just happened and the third troll joined the second in flight.

DM Note-

The trolls were a random encounter. I had them enter through the same doorway  through which everyone else entered, following the smell of blood. I moved them around the map while the party continued exploring. Every time the trolls came to a junction in the corridors or a door, I'd roll randomly to see which direction they went. They were exploring randomly. Bruma's player said, "Ha! They're truly WANDERING monsters!"

Acolytes

A bald man wearing a silver and black cassock  emerged from the open door on the right. He saw the the intruders and the aftermath of the battle. Before anyone could act he closed the door. 

Baylore moved quickly to reopen the door. He caught a glimpse of a group of cult acolytes wearing black cassocks retreating around the corner to the right. Baylore wated for the team to form up around him before moving into the corridor.

They moved around the dog-leg in the corridor and saw five cultists in cassocks huddled at the far end. There were open doors leading to five cells, three on the right and two on the left. Two of the acolytes were banging on a painting hanging on the wall at the end of the corridor. The painting was large enough to occupy every inch of the wall, floor to ceiling. 

The acolytes put up a pitiful defense with prayers to call down flame from their draconic god and were soon eliminated by the intruders.

The team walked over the bodies of the dead cultists and examined the painting. It resembled the tapestry in the room before. Aulicus triumphant with the dark looming figure of the lizard king. Beneath Aulicus were depictions of his worshipers - holy warriors and devout acolytes.

They obviously sought shelter beyond it. There was no visible way to open the door. Baylore noticed that the paint on one of the holy warriors was smudged as if someone rubbed it with a finger. 

No amount of rubbing or touching or poking produced a result. Aella finally had the thought, "Maybe they had to anoint the warrior, like with holy water. Is there any holy water around here?"

Alot said, "Yes, there were two fonts back in the room with the tapestry. Hold on."

Alot re-entered the tapestry room and dabbed his metal finger in water. He returned and gently touched the painting of the holy warrior. 

The painting swung opened revealing a passage beyond and another door. 

Patriarch Ul-Lon

Alot opened the door and the space was suddenly filled with thousands of tiny glowing black dragons. The tiny black dragons nipped at Alot's armor and tore at his softer tubes and bladders. 

At the center was a man clad in plate armor and wielding a mace with the head of a dragon. To his right was a large altar to Aulicus and two burning braziers. Alot ignored the swirling vortex of tiny dragons and charged the man. 

In response the man pointed his mace at the entrance. There suddenly appeared a ten foot tall spectral black dragon. The dragon appeared ethereal but radiated hatred and pain so strongly that it became difficult to approach it.

The man shouted, "Who dares disturb Patriarch Ul-Lon, chosen defender of the Dragon God?"

DM Note-

Casting Guardian of Faith was the greatest thing I could have done for Patriarch Ul-Lon. It occupied the 10x10 entrance, blocking anyone from helping Alot. It also does not take damage. The player characters just kept attacking it to no effect. It was driving the players nuts! The only real way to defeat the Guardian of Faith is just take its damage but my players were very unwilling to accept that.

On top of that, the Spirit Guardians were doing a great job doing additional damage to anyone who stood near the Guardian of Faith. The players were starting to get nervous.

Ul-Lon had positioned himself around the corner and away from the ranged attacks and spells of everyone in the corridor. Alot and Ul-Long clashed at the foot of the altar. 

Aella and Brenna moved away from the dis-spiriting presence of the spiritual guardian and out of the vortex of tiny dragons. Bordar and Baylore moved forward and attacked the spiritual guardian but neither could land a blow upon it. The semi-ethereal entity had a repulsive force that prevented any contact. Bruma's arrows simply arced away from it.

Alot jumped up on to the altar and used his shield to push Ul-Lon back, shoving him into view of the others. Ul-Lon saw though this ploy and quickly re-positioned himself around the corner. 

The team in the corridor became wary of the painful force before them. No one dared approach it. Baylore finally said, "Enough of this!" He moved as close as he could to the spectral dragon. Baylore's body became wreathed in black tendrils as he absorbed all of the dragon's painful negative energy. The dragon reared up and glowing cracks appeared in its semi-solid form. The cracks widened and the dragon exploded into shards of black energy which dissipated into nothingness. 

Baylore rushed into the room. He ran up to Ul-Lon and punched him as hard as he could. 

Patriarch Ul-Lon fell to the floor unconscious. 

The party breathed a collective sigh of relief. The battle was over and they could rest for a short while. 

As they sat there gathering their breath, Baylore took out the companion to the magical ring that was used to control the mind of the duke. He slipped it onto the finger of the unconscious Patriarch Ul-Lon. 

To be Continued...