"Courage in the Face of Darkness" - Tomb of Annihilation, Chapter 32

At Bramble's direction, Zeynap climbed into the onyx coffin, Bramble climbed into the rusty coffin, and Argent climbed into the silver coffin. Each turned their respective keys.

Orvex called out, "Hey! Shome buttonsh jusht appeared on the sharcophagush!"

"Push them!" was Bramble's reply.

Orvex pushed all three buttons.

Zeynap was bathed in life-draining energy. It was uncomfortable but he gritted his teeth and suffered no ill effects.

Bramble felt a slight tingle but suffered no harm.

Argent was flash frozen and barely survived the ordeal!

Orvex called out, "Shomething's happening! The sharcophagush is opening!"

The three adventurers reset their keys and opened their coffins. The lid to the sarcophagus had opened, revealing the desiccated remains of su-monster named Wongo, trickster god of Omu!

In Wongo's simian hands was a large heavy mace.

Wongo's mummified remains sat up and looked around. His eyeless face blindly scanned the room. It opened its mouth and emitted a silent scream.

CHAPTER 32
"COURAGE IN THE FACE OF DARKNESS"

THE EXPEDITION

• Bramble Wolf - a theran barbarian wise-man (Wildhunt Shifter Druid) searching for the legendary origin of his tribe, recently transformed into a woman by a magic fountain.
• Apparently Jones - a blue-skinned demijin caravan guide and animal trainer (Air Genasi Ranger) from Akasa, the land of sky mountains. Having failed to find work in Port Nyanzaru as an animal handler, she has joined the expedition to the interior as a scout.
• Xoc-Wik - a b'alam warrior (Tabaxi Fighter) from the jungles of Bres, searching for those responsible for the destruction of his tribe.
• Zeynap Shiravadakar - a Eusebean smuggler (Human Warlock) bearing the spirit of a celestial unicorn.
• Argent Truth-Sayer - a golden azi knight errant of Bhamut (Dragonborn Paladin) in the service of Bhamut, sent on a holy mission to join the expedition to destroy the Soul Monger. 

NPCs

• Orvex Ocrammas - translator and guide for hire; rescued from the Fane of the Night Serpent.

Wrath of Wongo
Orvex fell backwards and cowered in the corner of the pit. Zeynap climbed out of his coffin and ran to the edge of the pit. He looked down and saw the ancient mummified remains of a su-monster weilding a stone mace. The mummy turned its eyeless face towards Zeynap. The Eusebean warlock clutched his head in pain and staggered under the power of the soundless scream. Zeynap was overwhelmed by the psychic power of the mummified su-monster.  The mummy climbed out of the pit and clawed at the stunned Zeynap.

Argent climbed out of his coffin and ran to Zeynap's aid, shouting a prayer of blessing to the dragon god Bhamut. Argent stood with Zeynap. The holy presence of the dragon-man knight buoyed the spirits of both Zeynap and Bramble and they were able to dismiss the aura of fear broadcast by the mummified god.

DM Note- I created a custom monster for the mummy of Wongo that combined a su-monster and a mummy and the magic powers of the Mace of Terror. I gave the mummy a fear aura that would have kept melee fighters away, plus the Mace of Terror's fear attack. As it turned out Argent is a Paladin and he and anyone standing within ten feet of him was immune to all fear effects. Well, poop! All my cool attacks were negated. Argent's player had never seemed so pleased! 

Bramble called upon the spirits of nature to create a sphere of fire next to the mummy.  Apparently, recovering from her brain fever, dashed down the hall, ducked under the broken fan blades, and stood at the entrance to the room. She sent several arrows into the mummy to little effect.

The mummy's eyeless face glared at Argent and performed its silent scream. Argent bared his draconic teeth and bore through the assault. The mummy moved away from the sphere of flame and engaged Bramble, clawing at the theran druid.

Zeynap regained his senses and attacked the mummy su-monster with eldritch blasts. Bramble called the sphere of flame and moved it into the mummy. The mummy burst into flame and fell to ashes. The stone mace fell to the floor with a loud thud.

Bramble picked up the mace and the spirit of the trickster god Wongo hovered before him. The su-monster looked impatient and angry and anxious to enter Bramble's body. Bramble took a chance and accepted the spirit.

Bramble found the she could converse with the spirit that shared her body. Wongo explained that the mummy was not his doing. He said that he had been defeated and killed by the necromancer Acererak and imprisoned within this tomb. He shared with Bramble his ability to broadcast a psychic scream that stunned opponents. In addition, Bramble felt a compulsion to act rashly without thought or concern for others.

Speak No Truth to the Doomed Child
Bramble spent an hour examining the mace while the others rested and recuperated from the fight. She decided to give the mace to Argent to carry.

They exited Wongo's tomb and made their way to the next corridor to the left.  The corridor was about thirty feet long. Thin beams of sunlight shone through the cracks in the ceiling and vines and bushes clung to the wall. A ten-foot tall skull occupied the entire wall at the end of the corridor. Two small flames burned in the eye sockets of the skull. Its jaw was agape and large enough for a man-sized creature to climb through. They could see a room beyond that was illuminated by other small beams of sunlight.

Argent approached the skull cautiously, gently testing each floor tile before putting his weight on them. He peered through the skull's gaping jaw and examined the room behind. He called Orvex forward to help identify anything important or read anything in ancient Omuan.

They saw a fifty-foot by fifty-foot room. A sarcophagus adorned with carvings of coiled serpents occupied the center of the room. Trees and bushes grew in the corner and vines and roots draped from the high ceiling. Shafts of sunlight shone through cracks in the ceiling. Since they were several hundred feet underground they knew it had to be magical.

DM Comment- Apparently's player calls them "Magical Solatubes".

Something was located on the far side of the room, obscured by the sarcophagus. Argent sent Orvex back to the corridor entrance. Argent crawled through the jaws and entered the room.

Bramble said that one of the flames in the eye sockets went out.

Argent now saw behind the sarcophagus a waist-high marble pedestal. The skull of a child floated above pedestal illuminated by a shaft of light.  A telepathic voice spoke to Argent's mind. It was the voice of a young girl. She was afraid and alone in a dark room. She could hear Argent but could not see him. She said her name was Nepartak, granddaughter of Queen Napaka of Omu. Despite Argent's attempts to calm her she became increasingly agitated and confused at being imprisoned within the darkness.

Bramble entered the room and strode towards the sarcophagus.

Nepartak asked, "Who is that? What is happening? Why can't I see you?"

Bramble could now hear the telepathic voice of the girl - and so could Wongo. Before Argent could say anything, Wongo replied, "Because you're a disembodied voice inside a floating skull!"

Bramble threw open the sarcophagus and saw within the remains of a large jaculi wrapped in silks. A staff carved of white wood lay atop the remains. The head of the staff resembled a serpentine jaculi.

The disembodied voice of the girl began to scream in shock and horror at the terrible news. The hovering skull burst into green and yellow flames and began to rise. Simultaneously, thousands of hideous discarded spider husks began pouring out of hundreds of small holes in the walls. The discarded spider husks were magically animated and swarmed towards Bramble and Argent.

Zeynap, hearing the commotion, called out, "I'm coming!" He dashed down the corridor and began to climb through the open jaws. The jaws clamped down, trapping him! Zeynap cried out in pain but could not force the jaws open. Apparently ran up and tried to help him to no avail.

The skull rose thirty feet into the air. A ball of fire burst from the skull's flaming aura, expanding with explosive force throughout the entire room. Argent and Bramble covered their faces against the fiery explosion. The spider husks in the room were incinerated.

More spider husks poured out of the walls!

Argent called upon the holy power of Bhamut to turn away the animated corpses before him. The bulk of the spider husks retreated into their warrens. Only a few dozen continued to advance.

Bramble called upon the new psychic powers imbued upon her by the spirit of Wongo to momentarily stun the skull. As she did so, she and Argent was swarmed by the dead spider husks!

Argent and Bramble did their best to remove the spider husks from their body but found the effort difficult.

The skull recovered from its momentary inaction and attacked Bramble and Agent with fiery beams from its eyes. Zeynap paused in his escape attempts to send an eldritch blast at the skull but the burning skull raised a magical shield and deflected it.

Argent and Bramble did their best to remove the spiders from their bodies while attempting to avoid the magical fire of the floating skull. Bramble called forth a small bolt of lightning from the ceiling that caused the skull to crack.

With Apparently's help Zeynap was eventually able to free himself from the jaws. He backed into the corridor and the skull's jaws reset to an open position. Both flames returned to the eye sockets. He leaned down to get a view into the room and attacked the skull with another witch bolt. Electricity surged from Zeynap's fingers into the skull. The skull screamed and exploded into a hundred small fragments.

Argent and Bramble destroyed the remaining spider husks. Apparently and Zeynap opted to stay outside the room.

While Argent prayed for the remains of Nepartak, anointing the skull fragments with holy water, Bramble picked up the serpentine staff.

A mist formed in front of her and coalesced into the spirit of Moa, the trickster god of the jaculi. Bramble eagerly accepted her entry. Wongo was less than pleased and the two spirits did battle. Wongo lost and was cast out.

Bramble said to herself, "Good riddance!"

Nightmares
Bramble became acquainted with his new spirit companion. Moa could tell no falsehood but she allowed Bramble to share her ability to become invisible. Moa expressed her disgust at the terrible mess left behind by that horrid brute Wongo. Bramble liked Moa. The party returned to Wongo's tomb to get some sleep.

During their rest each member of the party was plagued with nightmares. Zeynap dreamed that he hovered just above a placid lake surrounded by complete darkness. A dim indistinct light from no discernible source allowed him to see himself and the gentle ripples of the water below him. Ahead of him nearly forty feet away was a young human girl perhaps eight years of age. Her dark black wet hair clung to her head and draped over her tiny frame. She, too, was dimly illuminated as if by moonlight. Her face was obscured in shadow.  She wore a wet shift as if she had been swimming. In her hand was a dark red ball.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello?" responded Zeynap with trepidation.

"Will you play with me?" she asked.

"Um, no?" he replied.

The little girl looked crestfallen. Her lips began to quiver then curled up as she prepared to cry. She let out a horrid wail of sorrow which turned into a deafening scream of anger.

Zeynap bolted awake, covered in water. He would get no rest.

The Second Level
After their rest the party gathered their equipment and planned their next move. They decided to explore the underground creek. They crossed the mezzanine and carefully passed the green devil face. Their pitons had been removed and the inner door had been closed. The tall peaked window had been repaired and all the broken glass had been removed.

Bramble took a deep breath, "Alright, plan B,"

They returned to the mezzanine and descended the first flight of stairs. As they did so they paused to look down and examine the bottom of the atrium. The floor of the atrium was cloaked in darkness and mist. They could just make out four large pillars. The top of each pillar was decorated with a metallic square - each a different metal. Standing atop each pillar was a four-armed stone gargoyle.

The second mezzanine was darker than the one above. The walls were carved with devil faces and the air reeked of death and decaying flesh. A bronze plaque was attached to the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

The ring is a path to another tomb.
The dead abhor sunlight.
Only a jewel can tame the frog.
Bow as the dead god intoned.
Into darkness descend.

Into Darkness Descend
They entered the first narrow corridor to the left. The thirty foot corridor opened into a small fifteen foot by fifteen foot room. The walls of the room were decorated with more skulls. A large bas relief of the green devil face was carved into the floor of the room. The open mouth of the devil face formed a pit in the center of the floor. No light penetrated the open mouth. They thought they could hear the sound of a girl crying far away.

Zeynap dropped a glowing stone into the mouth. It disappeared. Bramble stuck an unlit torch into the mouth and removed it with no ill effect.

Apparently said, "Into darkness descend."

Bramble then tied a rope around herself, turned invisible and lowered herself into the devil's mouth. 

I'Jin's Tomb
Bramble descended through absolute silence and darkness for a bout fifteen feet and emerged through a shaft in the ceiling of a large room. She hung thirty feet over the floor of the chamber. The floor was covered in tiles decorated by strange hieroglyphics. Four large sphinxes sat in each corner of the room. Magical flames burned in the air above their heads, providing warm illumination.

In the center of the room was a fifteen foot dais on which sat a long thin vessel shaped like a canoe. The golden vessel was covered in beautifull and intricately carvings of the single-horned rabbits known as al-miraj. Atop the vessel was a ornately decorated gold chest encrusted with jewels. She landed on the dais and saw that it was safe. She tugged on the rope and was pulled back up.

She told the others what she saw. They tied the rope to a makeshift spike made from the remnants of the broken crowbar which they hammered into the stone floor. They climbed down the rope and landed on the dais.

There was a single entrance to the room located on one wall. Near the entrance was the desiccated body of a derro, an homely humanoid of short stature with misshapen teeth and thick fatty jowls from the subterranean cities of Polarion in the far north. The derro wore a yellow silk turban. A bronze shield lay near its body.

The party huddled on the dais and examined the chest. Argent picked it up. The dais was immediately surrounded by a shimmering column of force that extended from the floor to the ceiling. Argent put the chest back down and the column of force disappeared.

Zeynap asked the others for an indulgence. He was curious about the body of the derro.

He zapped the body with his eldritch blast. The blast had a telekinetic pulling effect that dragged the body towards the dais. He blasted it again. The body was close enough to grab and drag onto the dais. The body was badly damaged by the blasts. They found some gems and two crystal eyes in a carry-bag.

Apparently tied her rope around herself and gave the other end to Argent. She pushed off the dais and floated gently a foot or two over the floor. She drifted over the bronze shield and picked it up off the floor. She reached the wall and pushed off with her feet, propelling herself back towards the dais. She landed with dexterous aplomb.

They tied Apparently's rope around the chest and affixed it to the rope dangling from the shaft in the ceiling. They climbed back up and pulled the chest out behind them.

Back in the room with the devil's face floor they examined the chest. There were no keyholes or obvious method of opening the chest. Bramble called upon the spirits of nature to dispel the magic of the chest.

Suddenly the magical darkness within the devil's mouth became a swarm of bat-shaped shadows! The swarm filled the room like a cyclone of fluttering darkness, biting and cutting everyone within. The party responded by cutting and slashing at the darkness. With each counter-attack small bits of darkness would burn away into nothingness. Soon the swarm of darkness had been dissipated. The hole in the floor was no longer a dark void. The room below was clearly visible.

Unable to open the mystery box, the party decided to leave it and return later.

Spoilers
Bramble held her hand up to stop the others, "Hold on, I have an idea. I'll be right back."

She turned invisible and quickly ran downstairs to the third mezzanine. She passed a large door with three head-sized holes. The room within stank of rotting flesh. The walls of the third mezzanine were dark and encrusted with thick purple lichen. She quickly descended the stairs and found another bronze plaque on the wall.

Walk through water with weapon in hand.
Slake your shadow at the font.
The vulture is the first step.
Right the gods.
The walls of history tell all.

She ran back upstairs and became visible.

"Find anything?" inquired Apparently.

"Nothing useful. Let's keep going." said Bramble.

DM Comment- Because Bramble was invisible, I allowed Bramble's player to read the plaque but she couldn't write it down so I didn't give the player the handout. He had to memorize it.

The Ring
The party exited the room of the devil face floor back into the atrium. They entered the next corridor to the left. Halfway down the sixty foot corridor was a four-way intersection. Each corridor to the left and right arced upwards and out of sight. Ten feet down the corridor to the left was the dead body of a strange goat-faced man in yellow wizard robes.

Apparently levitated herself once again and pushed off down the corridor. She expected that she'd need to levitate up to follow the arcing passage but to her surprise gravity curved with the corridor. She continued drifting for about 160 feet and eventually reached another four way intersection. The intersection was identical to the previous four-way intersection. The atrium could be seen to the left.

She muttered to herself, "The ring is a path to another tomb." She pushed off the intersection and drifted back the way she came. She stopped her movement by grabbing the body of the goat-faced man. She searched his remains, taking a spellbook, a journal, a pen and ink set, and an ornate staff. She took a moment to read some passages in the journal. Bramble cleared her throat. Apparently gathered the goat-man's belongings and pushed off again towards her waiting party where she recounted what she saw.

Drown Your Sorrows
The corridor ended in a large room. The vaulted twelve-foot ceiling of the room was supported by four pillars. A coffin rested atop a plinth in the center of the room. The floor was tiled in alternating black and white marble squares. The room reeked of wine. The four corners of the room were each decorated with  a large devil face made of green marble , mouths agape and large enough to squeeze into.

Moa warned Bramble that this tomb did not look as if it belonged to one of the trickster gods of Omu and that the style was distinctly not Omuan.

The party cautiously entered the room. The floor was sticky. Argent walked up to the coffin and opened the lid. Within was a wooden plaque that read, "DROWN YOUR SORROWS".

Argent picked up the plaque, "Drown your sorrows? What does that mean?"

As if on cue, the ceiling outside the entrance began to descent. Orvex and Xoc-Wik managed to back up out of the way as the massive stone block sealed the only exit.

Valves opened in each of the green devil faces and thousands of gallons of dark red wine began to pour into the room. The wine spewed with the force of a cataract and the room began to flood. First ankle deep, then shin, then knee.

The party rushed to the sole exit and tried to remove the massive stone cube blocking the way. No one could lift it or move it. No weapon could damage it. Zeynap's spells had no effect. Bramble, transformed into a massive ape, was unable to budge it.

Without warning the wine came alive and attacked! The wine rose up and enveloped Bramble, Argent, Apparently, and Zeynap. Tendrils of wine lashed at them and grabbed their arms and legs. Each member of the party slashed and stabbed wildly at the animated wine around them as the room continued to fill.

The wine stopped attacking by the time it had reached their shoulders. Zeynap crawled atop the coffin to do his best to stay above the rising liquid. Soon the wine was nearing the ceiling and they were running out of air. Zeynap was feeling trapped and was becoming desperate. His temper began to fray.

Argent, as a holy knight of Bhamut, was immune to fear.

Apparently was unconcerned at her situation and maintained a calm demeanor throughout the ordeal. Her demijinn heritage allowed her to hold her breath indefinitely.

Argent, Apparently, and Bramble tried their best to push against the raging current of the wine in an attempt to find and stop the source. Bramble transformed into a small shark and swam up the current. She found the source of the wine in a large rapidly draining tank. She returned to the tile room and transformed back into her human shape.

The only remaining air was a small pocket at the very top of the ceiling. Zeynap, Bramble, and Apparently bobbed there while Bramble relayed the plan. Argent was busy pushing against the current at one of the mouths.

Bramble transformed back into a shark. As Bramble directed, Apparently tied her rope around the shark's tail fin.

The flow stopped when the wine reached the ceiling and there was no more air. Bramble swam up the chute in a different devil's mouth. She quickly found a branching pipe. She continued up the branch until she reached air. She transformed back into human shape, completely filling the narrow pipe, and tugged on the rope.

Apparently got the signal and sent Zeynap up the pipe. Zeynap followed the rope and squeezed himself up the pipe after Bramble, eventually reaching the branching pipe and air.

Apparently sought out Argent but could not find him. The wine was nearly opaque. Then she saw a moving glow. Argent had activated the mystical flaming sword of Ras Nsi. Apparently found Argent and led him towards the rope. It was a tight fit but Argent was able to climb up the rope and into the narrow pipe.

Apparently looked around one last time and followed Argent into the pipe.

TO BE CONTINUED...

DM Commentary- The players started to get really frustrated at the wine room. The inability to move or damage the stone block and the high DC (25) to swim against the rushing flow of wine led them to conclude that this was a badly designed death trap and that they were going to die. The appearance of the wine weirds gave them something to direct their frustration towards for a short while. 

 So, two minutes to fill up the room. After that the characters have 1 + CON modifier minutes (min 30 seconds) to get out. Although its not explicitly stated in the book, I assume that the flow stops once the room fills up. After that, they don't need to make impossible Athletics checks to swim against the current, they just squeeze up the right pipe and find an exit. 

I can definitely see less experienced players getting frustrated and losing characters in this room. I thought it was fun but my players would probably disagree. 

"The Final Cube" - Tomb of Annihilation, Chapter 29

They team made their way back across Omu as the sun set behind the mountains in the west. They returned to their camp site in the gate house. Something was wrong.

They opened the gate and found carnage!

The mace-tail was dead and dismembered. Their equipment had been stolen.

Tony's body was  strung up on a wooden post like a scarecrow. He had been tortured and eventually killed with a dozen nagini arrows. His flayed skin was stretched flat and nailed to a nearby wall. On it was scrawled the message.

FACE ME COWARD!

Apparently covered her mouth in horror. Xoc-Wik's mouth hung open in shock. Thazma beamed behind her gag and hopped up and down in excitement.

Argent bared his draconic teeth, "I'll take care of this. Don't wait for me."

He left the camp and returned towards the city.

DM Note- Full disclosure, the illustration above greatly overstates the emotional impact Tony's death had upon the player characters. I'm not sure the players even noticed.

CHAPTER 29, "THE FINAL CUBE"

THE EXPEDITION

• Bramble Wolf - a theran barbarian wise-man (Wildhunt Shifter Druid) searching for the legendary origin of his tribe.
• Apparently Jones - a blue-skinned demijin caravan guide and animal trainer (Air Genasi Ranger) from Akasa, the land of sky mountains. Having failed to find work in Port Nyanzaru as an animal handler, she has joined the expedition to the interior as a scout.
• Chak'sa - Apparently's honker (parasaurolophus) companion.
• Xoc-Wik - a b'alam warrior (Tabaxi Fighter) from the jungles of Bres, searching for those responsible for the destruction of his tribe.
• Zeynap Shiravadakar - a Eusebean smuggler (Human Warlock) bearing the spirit of a celestial unicorn.
• Argent Truth-Sayer - a golden azi knight errant of Bhamut (Dragonborn Paladin) in the service of Bhamut, sent on a holy mission to join the expedition to destroy the Soul Monger. 

NPCs

• Eku - a mysterious shape-changing wise-woman from Chult, hired as a guide.
• Tony - rough and tumble dinosaur wrangler who wished to learn from Apparently, possibly from 19th century Boston on Earth. Killed by Sekelok the snake-man.
• Orvex Ocrammas - translator and guide for hire; rescued from the Fane of the Night Serpent.
• Thazma - a Crimson Necromancer in the service of Unglaub the Lich Queen, reportedly knows the location of the entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods. 

Change of Plans
A few seconds later Argent returned to the camp, "Wait! Better!"

He asked Bramble if he could summon an animal to take a message to Sekelok. Bramble summoned a small flying reptile to deliver the message. The message was, "Minions who failed their master are beneath concern.  I have greater evils to hunt but if we cross paths, we’ll duel." The reptile flew off into the night.

Fearing further reprisals from the Nagini, the party gathered what they could salvage and moved their camp. Apparently chose a spot in the south of the city, a place once known for its beautiful vista and marked with an ancient stone carved with the image of two lovers in an embrace. The mercenaries piled some rocks up into makeshift barriers which would hide the light from their camp fires.

With supplies running low Xoc-Wik left the new camp to go foraging for food and water. Zeynap decided to travel to the secondary camp at the Akasanal airship to warn them of possible Nagini attack. Eku flashed a grim smile and said she welcomed the attempt.

Back at the camp, Argent had loosened Thazma's bonds and removed her gag so that she could eat. Argent eyed the crimson necromancer warily. He did not trust her. He did not like her. He felt only regret that they relied on her to guide them to the secret entrance of the Tomb of the Nine Gods. As soon as she was done eating, he cut off any attempt she made to interact with others by restoring her gag and tightening her bonds.

It grew late. The party and the mercenaries prepared to bed down. Zeynap came into camp, weary from the three-hour hike to the second camp and back.

A wave of odor washed over the camp - the putrid smell of decomposition!  Gaunt figures came running up the hill, darting back and forth through the small trees. Ghouls were attacking the camp!

Xoc-Wik returned to the new campsite carrying a collection of small game and tubers. He saw the silhouettes of ghouls approaching the camp. He dropped the game and drew his bow and nocked an arrow.

A group of ghouls rounded some trees to the right. Another group approached up the middle and pounced upon Zeynap. Zeynap was paralyzed by their rending claws.

The mercenaries sprang up and grabbed their clubs. They moved to block the ghouls approaching from the right flank. Bramble summoned forth two spirit bears who raced forward with the honker named Chak'sa to defend Zeynap.

The leader, a more sophisticated ghoul known as a ghast, wore robes and was taller and stood more erect. It directed the two in the rear to turn around and charge Xoc-Wik.

Argent moved to the right and called upon Bhamut to banish these shambling anathema to true life! A flash of holy radiance caused several of the ghouls to cower and shield their faces. They turned to flee. With the mercenaries' help, Argent made short work of those who remained.

Meanwhile the bears ripped and tore the ghouls attacking Zeynap, rending them to tatters of putrid flesh. Zeynap in turn regained his senses and began zapping the remaining ghouls with eldritch bolts.

Xoc-Wik quickly eliminated the two ghouls attacking him and turned his arrows to the ghast. The ghast charged Xoc-Wik but was likewise soon destroyed.

The battle was ended. The campsite was secured and the entourage once more settled down to rest.

It began to rain.

Bag of Nails
The rain continued through the night, making for a miserable evening without tents or blankets. With the gray wet light of day the party gathered their equipment and set off once more into the ruined city of Omu. Fifty six nights had passed since they left Port Nyanzaru.

The party hiked east towards the lake of lava in the southeast quadrant of the city. They circled around the  massive pit towards the waterfall where the flooded city drained into the lava. They made their way up to the fallen log that crossed the draining water.

Bramble warned everyone to be on guard for the senile old hunter named Bag-of-Nails.

Argent held his shield up and moved forward onto the log shouting, "I'm here, Bag-of-Nails! Come and get me! I'm right here!"

Xoc-Wik, who had heretofore not met Bag-of-Nails, kept an arrow nocked and drawn, ready to loose at any target that made itself visible. He scanned the roof-tops looking for the hunter.

An arrow flew out of the sky and thudded into the fallen log with a "THOP-P-P-P!"

Xoc-Wik looked frantically about but could see no attacker!

Another arrow splashed into the water. Another arrow hit the log. Xoc-Wik saw him! An elderly b'alam moving into hiding on a rooftop over three hundred feet away! Xoc-Wik loosed an arrow into the old hunter. The arrow struck Bag-of-Nails and magically sprouted vines, ivy, and thorns which grabbed into the surrounding stone.

Bag-of-Nails responded with an arrow into Xoc-Wik. The younger b'alam grit his sharp teeth against the poison. The elder b'alam strained against the vines, scratching and tearing at his flesh! Xoc-Wik lost his target again.

Xoc-Wik scanned the rooftop. He found his quarry. Bag-of-Nails had dropped his bow and was frantically pulling at the vines and thorns.

Xoc-Wik loosed an arrow.

The arrow flew straight at its target. Time slowed down. Bag-of-Nails looked up and, for a brief second made eye contact with Xoc-Wik. The look of confusion, frustration, and fear on Bag-of-Nails face disappeared when he saw the younger b'alam. He saw Xoc-Wik and his fear was replaced with recognition and pride. He silently mouthed the word, "Son?"

DM Note- Bag-of-Nails rolled a 1 and dropped his bow. He bent down to pick it up. Xoc-Wik aimed and took another shot. His player rolled to hit. 17- a hit! 

Before he could roll damage, I said, "You loose your arrow. It flies straight and true. Before it hits, Bag-of-Nails looks up and, for a brief second, makes eye contact with you. He silently mouths the word - 'Son?'"

The player froze. The look on the player's face was PRICELESS! He said, "GODDAMMIT!"

I offered the player the option to spend an Inspiration for Disadvantage, re-roll and hope for a lower result. 

The player hemmed and hawed and had a tough time making up his mind. He eventually cursed aloud, "GODDAMMIT! GODDAMMIT! GODDAMMIT!" Before he could change his mind, he picked up the d8, and rolled damage. 

Bag-of-Nails had five hit points left.

The arrow struck Bag-of-Nails in the heart. The elderly hunter collapsed onto the roof, out of sight.

Xoc-Wik immediately regretted his action. He darted at full sprint across the log and towards the building. He threw himself up the sheer wall and dashed towards the rooftop where Bag-of-Nails fell.

Bag-of-Nails was gone.

In his place was a bowl of stew and a note- "Good shot, son! I'm proud of you! Have a bowl of stew, no poison! You've earned it!"

Xoc-Wik crumpled up the note and kicked over the bowl of stew, "Not a chance, old man."

DM Note- The player immediately regretted shooting Bag-of-Nails. He dashed at full speed to try to save him. While he did so, I rolled death saves in secret. I don't normally roll death saves for NPCs but I make an exception sometimes of the players request it. The difficulty is 15. I rolled 17, 18, and 20. Bag-of-Nails survived with 1 hit point and escaped. 

The other players were holding their breath during the entire sniper duel. It was amazingly tense. When I told them about the note and the stew, there were cheers and high fives. It was a fantastic encounter!

Jaculis
The party continued to the edge of the lake of lava. A large island of rock stood like a spire in the lake. A squat shrine stood atop the island. The remains of what looked like a land bridge lay in huge collapsed chunks in the lava below. Many were close together and could be climbed. The widest gap, however, was sixty feet - a seemingly insurmountable chasm. After discussing several options, Bramble transformed himself into a massive flying reptile as large as a giraffe. He picked up each member of the party and ferried them across one by one, depositing them at the entrance to the shrine compound. As he carried across the final mercenary a flock of crystal gargoyles began to converge on their location. He landed and transformed back into his theran form as the gargoyles circled in the sky above. "Well, guess I'm not doing that again anytime soon."

DM Note- Yeah, I totally forgot about the gargoyles attacking anything that flies until after I let them get across. I later remembered and said that the sky was now full of gargoyles which would make getting back across tough. 

Argent raised his shield and carefully advanced past the twin obelisks that formed the threshhold into the compound. There were dense trees and foliage flanking both sides of the overgrown paving stone that led to the shrine entrance. Argent signaled Zeynap to join him.

Suddenly a fifteen foot long snake shot out of the tree like an arrow! The snake slammed against Argent's shield and fell to the ground. The snake had metallic blue scales and a cobra-like hood made of several short spikes. The snake coiled up and quickly returned to the trees.

"WHAT - THE - HELL?" cried Zeynap!

More snakes launched themselves out of the trees at Argent.  Apparently, and Xoc-Wik launched ranged attacks at the creatures from outside the threshold. Each time the snakes would retreat to the trees. Zeynap and Argent managed to kill a few of the snakes and eventually the attacks ceased. Zeynap and Argent advanced to the entrance.

The Shrine of Moa

Ancient Omuan cuneiform adorned the entrance. Zeynap called back, "Orvex, you're up!"

Orvex ran forward to provide translation, "Moa teaches us that secrets hide the truth."

Ahead of them was a corridor. The walls were carved with bas relief serpents. There were three  narrow openings on each wall, each about a foot tall and a hands-width wide. The floor was covered in cobwebs. No one had entered this corridor in quite some time. There was a room behind with a mosaic on the floor and a pedestal illuminated by a single shaft of magical light. A hand-sized cube floated, suspended in the shaft of light.

Argent inhaled deeply and exhaled a blast of his draconic fire into the hallway, burning it clean of all cobwebs. He then got on his hands and knees and closely examined the floor. He gently pushed on the floor and saw that it moved ever so slightly but was stopped by a mechanical barrier. "It's trapped." was his assessment.

"You think?" was Bramble's sarcastic reply. "Can you disable it?"

Argent stood and shrugged, "I think it might already be disabled." He tested his theory by picking up a dead snake and tossing it into the corridor. It landed with a meaty thud. Nothing happened. He turned and looked at the others.

"Who's going first?" inquired Zeynap nervously.

Everyone looked at Xoc-Wik.

"Don't look at me!" said the jaguar-man.

"But you're the fighter! Isn't this your job?" asked Bramble.

Xoc-Wik held up his bow for emphasis, "Not that kind of fighter!" was his defensive retort.

After an awkward silence Argent took a deep breath, "I'll go."

Argent boldly strode down the corridor. Nothing happened.

The others soon joined him inside. The mercenaries, along with Chak'sa and Thazma, stayed outside the compound.

Aside from the mosaic and the pedestal, the room contained twelve statues of ancient Omuan archers with arrows nocked and drawn, ready to attack anyone who might take the hovering cube.

Argent, Orvex, Apparently, and Zeynap examined the mosaic on the floor. It depicted the serpentine god Moa in battle with the simian Wongo. Moss grew over some writing. Argent peeled away the moss and Orvex translated, "Death rewards a thief deceived. Truth comes from the serpent’s mouth."

Bramble examined the hovering cube, "Nobody take this. It's a trick!"

"Obviously," said Argent, "Everyone, look around for a 'serpent's mouth'.

None of the statues depicted anything like a serpent's mouth.

Argent borrowed a spear from one of the mercenaries. He used the spear to chip away the mosaic stones of the god Moa. He found nothing but concrete.

"Hey," said Apparently, "Maybe the corridor is the serpent and the entrance is the mouth!"

The party moved outside the shrine and closely examined the entrance but could find nothing.

Apparently looked in the corridor and remembered the openings. She looked into an opening and saw a hidden room on the other side of the wall. Within the room was a statue of a large serpent.

"Found it!"

She looked in the other windows just to be safe. It was the mirror image of the other room with a statue of a large serpent. However, its head had broken off and lay on the floor. A cube rested near the remnants of the head.

"Oh, wait!" she cautioned.

"Check both statues," said Bramble, "Look for a secret door."

Working in pairs, the party quickly found small hidden shafts concealed by false facades. Apparently entered one room while Zeynap entered the other. Apparently picked the cube up off the floor. Zeynap examined the serpent's mouth and found a second cube.

"Which is the real cube?" wondered Argent.

Apparently shrugged.

As they exited the shrine, Apparently's cube disappeared. Only Zeynap's cube remained. "I guess this one," he said.

The Judgement of Thazma

The party gathered outside the shrine. They stood on an island of rock a hundred feet above a lake of lava. The rain was pouring.

Argent ordered the mercenaries to produce Thazma. Argent removed her gag. Her eyes open wide. Her teeth were apart in a disturbing open-mouthed smile.

"We have all nine puzzle cubes. Are you prepared to show us the entrance to the Tomb of Nine Gods?"

Thazma hesitated before enthusiastically answer, "Yes! Yes, absolutely!"

Argent's green draconic eyes narrowed in a mixture of distrust and revulsion. He closed his eyes and called upon the power of his god, Bhamut, "You will speak only the truth!"

DM Note- Argent cast Zone of Truth. Zeynap's player said, "Wait, let me, let me test it. Thazma, who was the better Sherlock Holmes - Nigel Rathbone or Benedict Cumberbatch?"

I answered, "Trick question- the correct answer is Jeremy Brett!"

Zeynap gave the thumbs up, "It's working!"

Thazma was overcome by the compulsion of Argent's holy command, "I- I am pretty sure I almost definitely know where I think it is- might be- probably."

Argent was overcome with rage, "YOU DON'T KNOW???"

Thazma recoiled, "Zagmira was the only one who knew for certain. You killed her! When Yamoch refused to cooperate, you killed him! I was next! What would you expect me to say? Besides! I really think I know where the entrance probably is!

Argent screamed, "You are useless!" The dragon-man brandished his axe, "We should have executed you on the spot!"

Thazma flinched.

Xoc-Wik said, "Now wait a minute!"

Argent glowered at Xoc-Wik. Xoc-Wik backed down. He looked at Bramble for guidance. Bramble put up his hands, "Don't look at me. I don't care what happens to her."

Argent spun back to Thazma. His eyes flashing green hatred. "While you are my prisoner, I am honor bound to let you live."

Thazma relaxed just a little.

Argent cut her bonds, "Therefore I release you. You are no longer my prisoner."

Thazma's eyes grew wide in panic. She backed away and prepared to cast a spell of flight in order to escape.

Argent cut her down in one strike.

Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the valley of Omu.

Regrets
"Well," said Zeynap, "That escalated quickly."

The mercenaries shuffled uneasily and whispered among themselves. Argent leveled his bloody axe at them as a silent warning. "She was evil. She deserved to die."

One of the mercenaries replied, "No question, she was evil. But did she really deserve it? Was she really threatening you? You may have cut her bonds but she was unarmed and trying to run away. What does your order say about killing enemies in retreat?"

Argent stared down at his bloody axe. What had he done? He immediately began to regret his actions. He had murdered her. He had violated his oath as a knight of Bhamut.

Argent whispered to himself, "I have made a mistake."

The mercenary interrupted his reverie, "So, um, what's your plan now for finding the entrance to the Tomb of Nine Gods?"

Argent continued to stare at his axe, wet with rain and blood.

Bramble replied, "Well, I can't fly you all back across because of the gargoyles. So we're kind of stuck. Our first priority is food." He looked in the direction of the ruined royal palace. Black leather-winged reptiles continued to orbit the tower. "I can transform into a small flying beast and go forage enough food for a few of us. The gargoyles seem to ignore small creatures. In the meantime, the rest of you use these rain-catchers to collect some fresh water. And maybe butcher some of those snakes we killed."

Zeynap said, "I have a good idea that the entrance to the tomb is located inside that tower."

Bramble nodded, "Possibly. Lots of snake-men in there. That could be trouble. In the meantime, rest, collect water, and eat. We'll figure out a way to get off this island tomorrow."

Argent silently walked away from the group. He knelt down at a spot overlooking the lake of lava, placed his axe on the ground in front of him, and began to pray for forgiveness.

The mercenaries picked up their former employer and tossed her into the lava.

To Be Continued...

DM Commentary- I have to admit, I did not see that coming.

Argent murdering Thazma came out of left field. I was all set to end the evening with Thazma leading them to the general area of the entrance to the tomb. She had become a plot device. 

But her murder was an emotional ending to a great session of high drama. The sniper-duel with Bag-of-Nails was riveting. The solving of the Shrine of Moa then ramped up frustrations even more. I can see how Argent's player might have been keyed up by that point.

I also got a little angry with Argent's player when he did that. But I took a deep breath. I told Argent's player I was getting frustrated with that course of action and apologized up front. I tried to calm down and let the player do his thing. I did warn him, however, that this course of action would lead to a violation of his oath as a paladin.

At first he objected. He argued that slaying an evil person is within his mandate. We then read the paladin's oath together, out loud. I also pointed out that, to a good-aligned paladin, there are only a few circumstances that warrant killing someone - 

1. They pose an imminent threat to your life.

2. They pose an imminent threat to someone else's life.

3. (optional, depending on order) Vengeance.

I pointed out that Thazma posed no imminent threat to his or anyone else's life. 

He asked "Has she killed anyone?"

I said, "Not that you know of." 

He agreed that he had violated his oath and agreed that his paladin should face some sort of repercussion for his rash action.

According to the player's handbook, there are two options.

1. If the paladin is unrepentant, then they can only take additional levels in Oathbreaker Paladin or another class.

2. If the paladin is repentant, then they can fast for a number of days to atone for their crime. That basically means taking on some levels of exhaustion. Now I need to decide how many levels is sufficient. 

Also, they're stuck on an island with no food and they have no idea where the entrance to the Tomb of Nine Gods is located.

I told the players - I have given you three, THREE, NPCs who have offered to help you find it. You have killed or have allowed to be killed each one. I'M DONE! From this point forward THERE ARE NO MORE BACK-UPS! YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN!  

They've just added one or two more sessions before entering the tomb, which is frustrating. I'm curious to see what they come up with. I'm curious to see what I come up with!!