"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 Devil Face" - Tomb of Annihilation, Chapter 31

Ahead of them was a hallway filled with moss and vines. Daylight and rainwater filtered down through long narrow artificial fissures in the ceiling. Tracks revealed others had passed this way several weeks previous. The end of the hallway terminated in two passages, left and right. At the center of the "T" was the carved image of a smiling horned devil face. The interior of the smiling mouth was an impenetrable dark blackness.

The iron door began to slowly rise.

"Quickly! Get everyone inside! Don't get separated!" shouted Argent.

Argent, Zeynap, Bramble, and Apparently  moved into the mossy hall to allow room for Chak'sa and the mercenaries to enter.

As they did so they absent-mindedly stepped on pressure plates that filled the corridor with a deadly hail of poison darts launched from small concealed holes in the walls. It was a massacre!

All five mercenaries and Chak'sa fell dead. Argent, Zeynap, Bramble, and Apparently were badly injured but managed to avoid the poison.

Orvex, crossing over the slowly rising door, called out, "Whoah! Whoah! Whoah! Shtop moving! Nobody move! There'sh no need to rush! Look! Shee? This door will take like an hour to closhe!"

Argent slapped his head with his scaled palm.

Orvex continued, "Okay, there'sh shomething you should know. I'm not jusht a transhlator. I do have certain.. shkills." He bent down and examined the floor, "Shee? Pressure plates. Let me jusht..."Orvex took out some small tools and hammered a small wedge under the floor. "There. Thish one'sh dishabled."

He crawled upon the floor on his hands and knees. He found and disabled three more pressure plates.

"There, that should take care of that. Now what's she doing?"

He pointed at Apparently, who was bent over examining the dark void inside the devil face's mouth.

She was muttering, "In darkness, it hides." She stuck her head into the mouth to look around.

She was suddenly pulled into the mouth, her legs kicking! She disappeared!

CHAPTER 31, "THE DEVIL FACE"

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.
• 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.

Um, What Just Happened?
The unfortunate death of the five guardsmen was momentarily forgotten as Bramble, Argent, Zeynap, and Orvex stared dumbfounded at the impenetrable darkness within the gaping mouth of the green devil face.

"Where'd she go?" asked Zeynap.

"Give her a second," said Bramble.

They watched the mouth. Bramble called out, "Apparently? Do you need any help?"

There was no answer.

The four adventurers exchanged a worried glance.

Bramble sprung into action, "Zeynap, pull out your rope."

As Zeynap dropped his pack to procure a length of rope, Bramble closed his eyes and summoned forth three brown bears from the spirit world. Bramble then directed the others to tie the rope around one of the bears.

At Bramble's direction, the bear crawled into the gaping mouth.

The rope barely let out five feet. Nothing happened.

Bramble pulled the bear back out, "I don't like it. I'm going in."

The bear was confused but otherwise unmolested. Bramble removed the rope from the bear and tied it around himself. He handed the other end to the dragon-man, "Argent, hold the rope. When these bears out here disappear, that means I'm being attacked. If that happens, pull me back!

He took a deep breath, grasped his staff, and ducked into the devil's mouth.

There was darkness.

The Demon of Darkness
Apparently stood in absolute darkness. It was the deepest most profound most oppressive darkness which she had ever experienced. She called for help but heard nothing. There was no sound. She could not even hear the sound of her own breathing. As a creature of the air and sky who was averse to enclosed underground spaces, this was almost too much to bear. The complete lack of stimuli was disorienting. At least she could feel the ground beneath her feet. She reached out her arms in search of- anything.

Something sharp tore at her arms. She recoiled and back into a solid surface. She drew her short sword and swiped blindly into the darkness.

What was that? She brushed against something! It was- furry? Could that be her attacker?

Another slash tore at her from the opposite side. She cried out in silence. The furry thing was gone.

She reached out again, grasping in the dark. She found hands, human hands. The hands were velvety and clawed. Human-ish hands.

The hands were likewise searching the darkness. Both hands grasped each other. She was being pulled. Her unseen attacker slashed at her again, raking down her shoulder and back.

Sight and sound had returned! She was lying on the ground with Bramble. Both the beast-man and Apparently had sustained grievous injury while in the darkness.

Bramble stood up and moved away from the devil face. He summoned a healing spirit and bathed in its regenerative presence. Apparently got up and did likewise.

Argent stood holding the rope, "The bears disappeared so I pulled. What happened?"

Suddenly a dark figure emerged from the blackness of the mouth. It was a black ethereal silhouette, humanoid from the waist up but trailing into a long train of shadow below. It sported dark bat-like wings.

It was a demon of shadow! The demon clawed at Argent, then retreated quickly into the devil's mouth.

Argent's axe sliced through the demonic shadow as if it were made of smoke.

Argent and Zeynap prepared themselves for another attack. This time, when the demon emerged from the mouth they were ready. Zeynap blasted the demon with eldritch blasts. Argent called upon the holy vengeance of the draconic god Bhamut and smote the demon with a mighty axe stroke. The demon squealed in pain and once more retreated into the devil face. It did not return.

DM Commentary-
I'm very proud of how this scene played out! Here's how it worked.

At the beginning of the fight I had these sheets printed up that allowed me to communicate with Apparently's player in secret. I took the player into a different room and explained how this worked. I didn't want separate the player from the table. I wanted her to still sit with everyone and socialize and have fun. But she couldn't tell them anything about what was happening inside the darkness.

I told her I would write down what happened to her that turn and she would choose a course of action, writing down skill and to-hit rolls and damage on the assumption she had hit as well as her current Hit Points. 

So while everyone outside was standing around figuring what to do, Apparently's player and I were passing a sheet of paper back and forth.

At one point, Zeynap's player said, "Are you having her fill out 'Mad Libs' or something?" That she was forced to fill out Mad Libs inside the darkness became a running gag.

Anyway, on round 1, she performed the search action, hoping to pinpoint her enemy so she could attack it. She found nothing.

The demon attacked her!

On round 2, she attacked blindly. She missed.

The demon attacked her again!

On round 3, the bear entered the room. I rolled randomly to see whom the demon would attack. It attacked Apparently. Scoring a critical hit! Apparently was down to 6 Hit Points!

On round 4, Bramble entered the room. I took Bramble's player into a different room and explained the rules to him. He got his own sheet. 

This time, the demon randomly chose to attack Bramble, scoring a critical hit. Bramble was down to 3 Hit Points!! This caused Bramble to lose his concentration and the bears outside the room disappeared. This was Argent's signal. Bramble searched for Apparently.

On round 5, Apparently searched and found Bramble. The demon got one final attack. I rolled randomly and got Apparently. Uh oh! However, I kid you not, I rolled only 5 damage! 

Apparently was pulled out of the mouth with only 1 Hit Point. Bramble had only 3 Hit Points. It was a nail biter! 

It was fantastic! I had so much fun! The players had so much fun! Everything about the way I did this encounter was original and unique! I was worried about how this would play out but it worked out so well!  

The Tomb Keeper

The group quickly moved away from the devil face and basked in the comforting aura of Bramble's healing spirit wolf. The hallway opened into the center of a wall of a large atrium. The atrium rose over a hundred feet up. Thin beams of sunlight made their way through tiny cracks in the ceiling far above. Vines and roots dangled down. The walls were covered in carvings of skulls and devil faces of various sizes, creating an uneven surface. Roots and vines and lichens clung to the edges.

A ten-foot wide mezzanine ran around the wall of the atrium. Stairs descended on the far wall to the left. There was another dark corridor on the opposite side of the atrium. There were smaller hallways on the near side of the left wall before the stairs and on the far side of the left wall at the end of the mezzanine.

Bramble looked down and saw that the atrium descended another four levels, each with its own mezzanine.

For a brief second he caught glimpse of a humanoid figure on the next lower mezzanine - a pallid hunched creature wearing a green devil-face mask. The creature was laden down with pouches and tools. The figure was short, about waist-high to Bramble. The figure looked up and made momentary eye contact with Bramble. It then dashed towards the right and out of Bramble's sight.

Bramble pointed out what he saw to the others but made no attempt to follow or track the strange figure.

Don the Mask or be Seen

The party moved away from the atrium and carefully made their way past the green devil face. The bodies of the five mercenaries lay in the trapped hallway. Orvex used Zeynap's ten pitons to prevent the inner door from rising. However, the trap floor beyond was open revealing the spike-filled pit.

The corridor past the devil face featured a metal grate in the floor covering an opening from which one could hear slowly flowing water. The corridor ended just beyond in a large gothic window revealing a darkened room on the other side.

Argent and Orvex moved towards the window. Orvex inspected it for traps but found none. The window did not open.

Argent held up his shield, which was enchanted by Zeynap to glow and provide illumination. On the other side of the window he could make out a stone sarcophagus and a room lined with several niches. He could just discern two dark shapes on the far wall.

"Are you going to bust through?" inquired Bramble.

"No, its a sacred space." replied Argent reverently.

"Are you kidding me? This entire place is a death trap! Bust through the damn window!" countered Bramble, impatiently.

Argent sighed and swung his axe at the window. It bounced off the thick glass with a loud reverberating "BONG!"

"See?" he said.

Xoc-Wik rolled his eyes, "Get out of the way!"

Everyone stepped aside and Xoc-Wik sent several magically charged arrows into the window. The arrows exploded, shattering the glass and destroying the window frame.

Bramble took a look around. The beast-man's excellent night vision could see that the two large shapes on the far side were massive zorbos - Chultan beasts that resembled aggressive looking koalas. The zorbos were holding a five foot diameter bronze disk covered in eyes. He noticed that the eyes, although metal, were blinking and looking around the room.

Along the walls were six niches, two on each wall. Each niche contained a throne occupied by the desiccated of an ancient Omuan warrior. Each held a sword and wore a wicker mask.

Apparently reminded everyone of the words from the warning at the entrance, "Don the mask or be seen."

"Right. We need to get those masks. Stay close to the wall. Move to the right," said Bramble as he directed the others.

Bramble and Argent hugged the wall and moved right towards the closest niche. Argent reached out to take the mask. The desiccated body sprang to life. It shoved Argent's hand away and lunged out of its throne with its sword. Argent dodged away.

Bramble, Argent, and Zeynap attacked the animated corpse, quickly destroying it. Bramble picked up the mask and put it on.

The remaining five corpses rose out of their thrones and attacked, two on Argent and Zeynap, the remaining three on Apparently and Xoc-Wik.

As the animated corpses attacked, they would grab at the target's chest, clutch, and pull as if draining the defender's soul from their body. Luckily, none of the party succumbed to the parasitic attack.

On the premise that the bronze disk covered in eyes was controlling the animated attackers, Zeynap directed towards it an eldritch blast. The blast knocked it out of the grasp of the two zorbos. The disk fell upon the floor leaning up against the wall. The animated foes continued to attack!

Bramble noticed that he was completely ignored by the attacking corpses. As additional corpses fell one by one, Bramble instructed the others to don the masks of the fallen.

The remaining corpse guardians were soon defeated and everyone was wearing a mask.

The Spirit of Obo’laka
Upon defeating the tomb guardians, the party closely examined each niche. Bramble found that the wall behind the niche on the right wall was false and could be opened. Apparently found the same on the opposite wall but the wall was stuck tight.

Argent moved in and gave the wall a big push. Something metal on the wall scraped along the ground creating a spark. The area behind the wall exploded. The wall acted as a shield and protected Argent from the shockwave and heat but the force of the blast threw the wall and Argent into the middle of the tomb.

After the smoke cleared the party could smell the acrid aroma of some kind of flammable gas in the dark passage beyond. Additionally, they could hear the sound of slowly running water. They made note of this and turned their attention to the sarcophagus.

Orvex surmised that this was the resting place of Obo'laka himself.

Argent was unwilling to desecrate the sacred burial site and had to be convinced to open the sarcophagus. He removed the lid to reveal the ashes of a long-dead zorbo. A ring lay among the ashes.

Argent picked up the ring and put it on.

In response, the ashes rose from the interior of the sarcophagus, swirling in mid-air as if controlled by some kind of glowing ethereal energy. The glowing ashes took the shape of the menacing zorbo. The apparition tried to move into Argent's body but seemed blocked. Argent curled his draconic lips into a sneer. The apparition hovered before Argent as if waiting for him to make a decision.

Argent said, "We apologize for disturbing your resting place."

The apparition made no sound, it only looked at Argent impatiently.

There was an awkward silence.

Argent finally commanded the spirit, "Begone!"

The spirit dissipated and did not return.

The Rusty Statue

The party decided to explore the opposite passage. The corridor was narrow and allowed only single file transit. The corridor opened ahead. Argent led the way.

Argent looked into the opening and saw a long gallery. The gallery extended thirty feet to the right before narrowing to another corridor. The gallery also extended thirty feet to the left and ended in a niche containing the rusting statue of an armored knight. Shards and flakes of rusted metal covered the floor around the statue's feet. Argent could feel a powerful magnetic force tugging him towards the statue. He gripped the edge of the wall and backed away from the gallery.

Bramble and Xoc-Wik, wearing no metal armor and carrying no metal weapons, moved into the room to investigate. Xoc-Wik bore metal tipped arrows and two silver daggers. Xoc-Wik could feel the magnetic pull against these items but was able to withstand the force. He touched the statue with one of his daggers, confident in silver's ability to resist corrosion. To his surprise, the dagger immediately turned into rust and fell to the floor in large flakes. Xoc-Wik looked angry, "Hey!"

Bramble charged his wooden staff with the power of the spirits of nature and took a swing. The staff struck the statue with magically amplified force, severely denting and bending it. He continued to strike the statue in this way until it was disassembled and lying in several parts on the floor. Only after the statue was destroyed did the others move through the gallery.

The Magic Fountain

The party continued past the gallery, exploring the passage as it continued on the opposite side.

They found a round room containing a fountain crusted with moss. Three marble maidens stood in the fountain holding jugs from which water slowly poured.

Bramble said, "Well, obviously its a magic fountain! I'm going first!"

Before anyone could object, he plunged his face into the water and took a big drink.

He emerged with a puzzled look. He suddenly fell to the floor, convulsing. Argent rushed to his aid.

Bramble's flesh began expanding and contracting as if inflated and deflated by internal balloons. There was a release of steam and light. The steam cleared. Bramble lay on the ground - transformed.

Bramble  was now a female theran!

"What the-?" said Argent.

Bramble coughed and stood up. Argent asked how he felt. Bramble said she felt fine and asked why everyone was staring at her. Argent explained.

"Oh, well. Okay then. I'm going to go again!"

"Wait!" cried Argent as Bramble took another drink. Nothing happened.

Bramble sighed, "Darn. Who's next?"

Argent gulped and stepped forward. He took a drink. He immediately fell to the floor in a nasty seizure. He began coughing up blood and bile. His face looked gaunt and pale. He finally rose from the floor weakened and ill. He looked as if he'd been touched by death itself.

"Well that's no good! Apparently?"

Apparently held up her hands, "No thanks! I already did my stupid thing for the day!"

Zeynap and Xoc-Wik likewise demurred.

The party decided to spend an hour resting and recuperating.

They eventually left the chamber and took a left down the third exit from the gallery.

DM Commentary- 
Bramble's player was downright GIDDY at the magic fountain. It's such a classic dungeon staple. He was very disappointed others didn't give it a try. He wanted to know what the other two results were.

Wandering

The passage took a hard right and returned them to the atrium, left of the previously explored passage and next to the descending stairs. The party took the previously explored passage past the devil face. They noted that the outer door had now closed, sealing them within. The spiked pit now formed a kind of moat between the inner door and the closed outer door.

They also noted that the broken glass has been swept up and the site had been removed of debris. They returned to the tomb. The secret doors had been replaced.

Bramble wondered aloud, "That strange figure I saw earlier must be some kind of caretaker. He's re-setting everything."

They took the hidden door to the left. They found an underground stream and could smell the building gas. They decided to leave without exploring further and returned to the atrium.

The Wind Tunnel

The party circled around the mezzanine intentionally ignoring and not even looking down the large passage.

Xoc-Wik's player said, "What's down there?"

I said, "Do you look?"

Bramble's player interrupted, "No! No, don't even look! Let's just walk past! Ignore it! Don't get distracted!"

They stood outside the smaller passage. The passage was only five feet wide and fifty feet long. The passage was blocked about thirty feet in by huge fan blades. The walls of the passage were adorned with bas relief carvings of thousands of small birds flying towards the blades.

Bramble transformed herself into a small bird and flew down the passage, passing between the immobile fan blades. She transformed back into theran form at the end of the hall.

The passage opened into a large crypt. Immediately inside the entrance was a deep rectangular pit at the bottom of which rested a stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus appeared to be one solid block of stone. The top was decorated with a carving of a screaming su-monster holding a mace with a large flat rectangular head. The mace head formed a flat surface in the center of the top of the sarcophagus.

On the other side of the room three human-sized coffins rested on raised platforms. One coffin was made of black onyx, one was made of rusted metal, and one was made of bright silver.

Bramble climbed across the pit and approached the black coffin. It was unlocked. There was a key inserted in a mechanism on the inside of the lid. The key could not be removed. She said to herself, "The keys turn on the inside only." She considered the meaning of the clue and climbed inside the coffin and closed the lid. The key turned but the lid would not open while the key was turned. She turned the key back and opened the lid.

She called for the others.

Zeynap looked at Argent, "You know as soon as you head down this corridor the fan blades will start spinning, right?"

"Yes," was his reply.

Zeynap handed him a crowbar from his pack, "Take this. Try to jam it."

Argent held the crowbar in one hand and took a few deep breaths. He sprinted down the hall.

The fan blades started spinning up, slowly at first but quickly gaining speed. He reached the fan blades and jammed the crowbar between the fan blade and the wall. The blade sliced the iron crowbar in half!

"Well, that's not good!" Argent muttered to himself. He called back to Zeynap who had followed him down the hall, "It's tougher than we thought!"

Zeynap shouted over the rising sound of the rushing wind, "I've got a plan!" The Eusebean called upon his celestial patron and cast a spell of shattering upon the blades.

The spell had no effect!

"Oh shit!" was his response. "Sorry Argent!" He disappeared in a puff of rainbow hued mist and reappeared next to the entrance of the crypt.

Argent gritted his draconic teeth and leaped through the whirling blades. He emerged on the other side suffering several deep lacerations and bleeding profusely. He was grievously wounded but he survived.

DM Commentary - 12d10 slashing damage, yikes!

While Bramble tended to Argent's wounds, Zeynap took his time and destroyed the spinning fan with multiple eldritch blasts. Once it was safe, Orvex casually strolled down the hallway and into the crypt chamber.

The Tomb of Wongo

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.

DM Commentary - no damage on a successful saving throw.

Bramble felt a slight tingle but suffered no harm.

DM Commentary - Bramble, as a druid, has no metal.

Argent was flash frozen and barely survived the ordeal!

DM Commentary - 10d8 cold damage! He made his save and took half damage. 

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.

To Be Continued

"The Crimson Necromancers of the Lich Queen" - Tomb of Annihilation, Chapter 27

Dawn rose in Omu and the party prepared for another foray into the lost city. Fifty-four nights had passed since they left Port Nyanzaru on this expedition. Eku had returned the previous evening to learn of the party's exploits in and escape from the fane of the Night Serpent. Learning of the escaped prisoners and also of their new ally Princess Mwaxanaré, Eku decided to take her leave of the party. She wished to accompany and protect the escaped prisoners as they built the secondary base-camp outside the city.

The party readied their equipment and gave Tony instructions to watch and care for the macetail and generally watch the camp. They left the protective confines of the gate house and stood on the promontory overlooking their city to plot their route.

They had spotted two structured that were protected by walls. The party assumed that any structure protected by walls was likely a shrine and would therefore protect one of the six remaining puzzle cubes. They had acquired two the previous day using the same logic and they saw no reason to change strategy.

They hiked down the path and navigated along the eastern cliff face. They turned west at a clearing and made their way towards one of the stairways that allowed them to cross the elevated boulevard. They passed an overturned cart with flowers growing all around. It smelled of honey.

"Should we investigate?" inquired Xoc-Wik.

"Do you see any treasure?" replied Bramble.

"No, just flowers. Plus it smells nice." said Xoc-Wik.

"Then it's a trap. Ignore it. We'll check it out AFTER we've got all the puzzle cubes." concluded Bramble.

They crossed the boulevard and arrived at the walled compound. Obelisks flanked the entrance. The foyer was covered in ferns and flowers and overgrowth. Bramble caught a glimpse of a small fuzzy tail scampering nearby. He looked closer and just saw a fluffy creature resembling a rabbit with a single spiral horn disappear into a nearby warren.

CHAPTER 27, "THE CRIMSON NECROMANCERS OF THE LICH QUEEN!"

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 Bahamut (Dragonborn Paladin) in the service of Bahamut, 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. 
• Orvex Ocrammas - translator and guide for hire; rescued from the Fane of the Night Serpent.

The Path Least Expected
Carvings and ancient writing decorated the entryway to the shrine.

"Do you thing, Orvex." said Xoc-Wik, getting out the way with a gesture indicating, "After you."

Orvex translated the cunieform writing, "It says, 'I’jin teaches us to take the path least expected.' ” I’jin taught her followers to live unpredictable lives, always changing course and never sticking to a plan.'"

The party opened the stone doors to reveal a corridor ten feet wide and twenty feet long. The floor was covered with two-and-a-half foot wide tiles, four across and eight long. Each tile was embossed with the stylized image of an animal - a zebra, an eagle, a giraffe, a lion, a dragonfly, a wart-hog, a monkey, and an al-miraj - one of the unicorn bunnies glimpsed outside.

DM Note- I put the handout on the table in front of my players.

After some discussion, Xoc-Wik went first, careful to step only on tiles containing an image of an al-miraj. Several darts shot out of hidden ports in the walls and struck him in the chest and head.

"That wasn't it!" croaked the b'alam.

Brable went next, careful to vary the animals with each step. He made it across without incident.

"Is that ALL?" cried Xoc-Wik?

"I think so," replied Bramble.

Zeynap followed Bramble's steps and was likewise unharmed.

DM Note- And only now as I type the above do I realize that I should have penalized Zeynap for following Bramble's "safe" steps. The book says "To cross the hallway safely, a character must avoid stepping on the same animal more than once." At the time I interpreted as any safe path is available for the next character. However, given the clue above "I’jin teaches us to take the path least expected," I should have ruled that no two characters could take the same path. Were I to do it again, I would enforce that each character take a different path.

Argent crossed using a selection of different animals. Orvex and Apparently followed Bramble's path.  Chak'sa was left outside. The landing on the far side was packed and people had to stand aside to let Argent to the front.

Argent forged ahead, finding a winding maze of turns and short corridors. At the first branch, he made a left turn. A giant spinning buzz-saw blade shot out of the wall, narrowly missing the draconian paladin. The corridor ahead was a dead-end.

"Not that way!" said Argent.

He turned and at the next intersection and this time was caught by the slicing blade! Argent howled in pain.

Argent finally arrived at a stone door. He opened it and found a room with a shaft of light illuminating a small stone cube. An al-miraj was carved on one side of the cube. Argent warily took the cube expecting a trap but nothing happened. The party retreated the way they came and exited the shrine.

Four for Four
The party continued to the next likely shrine a few hundred feet north. They arrived at a compound decorated by carvings of monkeys hanging from their tails. Beyond was a courtyard filled with horsetails and arum lilies. Five archways led into the dark interior of the shrine. Above the center arch was a plaque inscribed with ancient Omuan. Orvex translated, "Better to be Wongo’s friend than his enemy."

DM Note- Bramble's player said, "Wait, did we guess right AGAIN? Sweet! Four for four!" High fives were passed around the table.

Xoc-Wik examined the courtyard. He could make out fresh tracks - a human entered each of the five archways yet curiously only animal tracks exited the four flanking passages - a zebra, a lion, a wart-hog, and a vulture. What did it mean?

Argent and Zeynap proceeded down the central corridor. The rest stayed outside. They emerged into a chamber 25' by 25' with a high ceiling. In the center of the chamber was a large statue of a monkey balanced atop its tail. It held each hand and each foot cupped as if waiting to receive an offering. Four carved masks peered from the walls near the entrance, each representing a different animal - a zebra, a lion, a wart-hog, and a vulture.

"It's some kind of puzzle," said Argent, loud enough so the others outside could hear. After examining each of the cupped hands, Argent continued, "I think I have figured it out!"

Argent poured water into the left hand.

A disembodied magical voice proclaimed in an ancient language, "Were ihe a na-agbata n'ọsọ ma kọchaa ndị enyi gị, ma ọ bụ lụọ ụmụ m ka ha kwuo ya. Kedu ihe ị họọrọ?"

"What?" blinked Argent, confused. "Orvex, did you hear and/or understand that?"

The translator called back, "I heard it. I think it's Old Omuan. I can read Old Omuan cuneiform but I've never heard it spoken! Sorry!"

"Uh, could you repeat the question?" suggested Argent.

The voice reiterated, "Họrọ! Nke mbụ ma ọ bụ nke abụọ?"

Argent replied, "Abụọ?"

The voice replied, "E meela nhọrọ ahụ!"

There was a loud sound as a heavy portcullis slammed shut over the entrance. Simultaneously, Argent and Zeynap were momentarily blinded by a magical flash of light. When their vision returned, they saw four evil-looking su-monsters in each corner of the room. 

Zeynap immediately began blasting the nearest su-monster with his hexes. Xoc-Wik ran towards the portcullis while drawing his bow. He immediately loosed two arrows at the farther su-monsters. One arrow missed its intended target but bent its flight in mid-air to strike the second. Argent charged the farther su-monsters and engaged the creatures in deadly melee.

Each of the su-monsters opened their mouths in gaping silent screeches. Though they produced no audible sound, the effect was painfully deafening against its target. Argent and Zeynap managed to clasp their ears in time to sufficiently protect themselves. 

The ensuing fight lasted less than a minute with su-monsters being pulled and pushed around the room by Zeynap's hexes as Xoc-Wik released arrow after arrow. Indeed, Bramble and Apparently remained safely outside the shrine. The su-monsters were soon defeated. 

After the battle, Argent looked around the room but could find no puzzle cubes. "Is that it?"

Confused, Argent poured more water into the left hand of the statue. Once again, he heard the question, "Were ihe a na-agbata n'ọsọ ma kọchaa ndị enyi gị, ma ọ bụ lụọ ụmụ m ka ha kwuo ya. Kedu ihe ị họọrọ?"

He repeated his response, "Again, what?"

The voice once more reiterated, "Họrọ! Nke mbụ ma ọ bụ nke abụọ?"

This time Argent replied, "Nke mbu?"

The voice replied, "E meela nhọrọ ahụ!" 

There eyes of the masks glowed. There was a flash of magical light. Then- nothing. Argent and Zeynap looked at each other in confusion. 

Xoc-Wik finally suggested, "Someone else has been here. They've taken the puzzle cube. My guess is that four people were looking through those four masks and whatever you just did turned them into animals. Luckily, we weren't anywhere near the masks."

Apparently, Zeynap, and Argent together managed to lift the portcullis and exit the room. Outside the shrine, Bramble called upon the spirits of nature to magically find the remaining puzzle cubes. The spirits informed him that one cube resided in a location on a rocky spire in the middle of the lava lake, another was located in the compound of the grung, and three were currently about eight hundred feet east moving towards the compound of the grung.

"Found them. They're on the move and headed towards the grung compound."

Argent leaped to the ready, "The grung are in danger! We have to save them!"

DM Note- Argent's player pulled me aside, "What was I supposed to do with the statue?" I replied, "put water in the left hand, just like you did." "Really?" was his surprised response, "I was just guessing!"  "Nope!" I assured him, "You guessed right!"

Zagmira the Necromancer

The party moved quickly to the northeast. They eventually reached the flooded area of the ancient city. The water was shallow, no deeper than a person's waist, so they moved as fast as they could. Apparently mounted Chak'sa while Argent summoned his celestial reptilian steed. They reached an open area north of the round wall of the royal quarter and saw a caravan of people and animals headed east. The group consisted of eight mercenaries led by a bald woman clad in the red traveling robes of a wizard. She was accompanied by four animals - a zebra, a lion, a warthog, and a vulture.

The mercenaries saw the party approaching from behind them. Word was quickly passed up the line and the mercenaries, a mixture of spearmen and crossbowmen, prepared for battle.

Orvex informed the others, "That is Zagmira, my former employer! The others are mercenaries. They are simply being paid for their services like I was."

The party  approached the new group in peace, hands up and palms out. Zagmira stayed her mercenaries and approached. They were all standing in an open area that was flooded up to their waists.

Zagmira was bald with pale ashen skin. She had blue painted lips and dark eyes. Her most striking feature was that the left half of her face was that of an old crone while the right half was that of a young beauty.

 "Greetings, Orvex. I see that you have survived. Who are your new companions?" said Zagmira in a voice that radiated a combination of disdain and menace.

Orvex described his capture by the Nagina and subsequent rescue by his new companions. He provided introductions and pleasantries were shared.

They learned that Zagmira was an agent of Valindra Shadowmantle, current resident of the Heart of Ubtao, and that she sought the Soulmonger in order to retrieve it and safely study it.

Valindra, as they party secretly was aware, was actually an agent of Unglaub the Lich Queen. Zeynap whispered to Bramble, "I don't like her, she geased me!"

When asked how many puzzle cubes they had acquired, Bramble replied that they had obtained none. In face, the party remained cagey with all of the details of their adventures, denying, for example, ever meeting Ras-Nsi

Argent asked Zagmira if she knew that her patron was a lich in the service of the Lich Queen. Zagmira hesitated as if to think of an appropriate answer before replying that she was not aware of that.

Argent then asked how Zagmira planned on obtaining the next cube. She answered that her agents reported that the cube was within a compound guarded by grung frog-men. She anticipated slaughtering them and retrieving the cube with little difficulty, like she had done with the small tribe of kavritan dragon-halflings the day previous.

Zagmira extended an offer, "Let us work together. I know the location of the hidden entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods but I need assistance gathering the remaining cubes. My fellow companions, you see, had been transformed into animals and I know not for how long."

Argent drew his sword and replied "That will never happen. The grung are under our protection. You will give us your cubes and you will depart this city now. You men!" he shouted towards the mercenaries, "Your employer serves an evil lich queen. We have no wish to fight you but we will do whatever needs to be done to stop you from finding the Soulmonger."

Zagmira sneered, "So be it! Men, prepare for battle!"

Both parties withdrew until they were sixty feet apart and prepared for combat.

Zagmira took a position to the rear of her mercenaries whom she arranged in two ranks: spearmen in front followed by crossbowmen.

Argent and Apparently charged the spearmen on their mounts, splashing wildly in the murky hip-deep water.

Zeynap cast a spell that imposed a curse upon the entire area containing Zagmira, her animal companions, and her mercenaries. Zagmira's forces began coughing and wretching and were forced to flee the zone.  Zagmira instantly disappeared in a puff of silvery mist and reappeared outsize the zone.

Argent and Apparently engaged the front rank of spearmen while Bramble called forth spirits of cold to bedevil their adversaries.

Xoc-Wik loosed arrow after arrow at Zagmira and the necromancer fell before she could cast a single spell!

The zebra and the warthog collapsed and expired, instantly transforming back into human wizards wearing the red robes of the necromancers of the Lich Queen. They stood up, assessed the situation, and immediately lauched fire-ball spells into the midst of the party.

Xoc-Wik turned his arrows against the necromancers and, with Zeynap's help, they were soon dispatched.

Apparently and Argent engaged the mercenaries in melee. Seeing their eployers defeated so handily drained any fight remaining in them and the mercenaries began surrendering.  Orvex reassured the mercenaries that his new companions were friendly and that they would be treated well.

Aftermath
Argent searched Zagmira's belongings. He found on her person three puzzle cubes as well as a folded up paper with the rubbing of a stone tablet. The table contained writing in Atlantean and in Old Omuan. Orvex explained that they proclaimed the same message and that, with time, a scholar could decipher Old Omuan.

Bramble recovered the lion and vulture. Both had been sickened and weakened by Zeynap's spell. Bramble said, "Apparently-"

Apparently interrupted, "Yes?"

"- ah, I mean evidently they revert to their true form if their current form dies. I have an idea. You all may not want to watch this part."

Bramble led the animals around a ruined building out of view and slaughtered them. As expected, they reverted back to human form. He explained to them their situation. They were prisoners. They were soon bound and brought back before the group for interrogation.

The two necromancers were named Thazma and Yamoch. Yamoch offered to cooperate and lead them to the secret location of the Tomb of Nine Gods. Argent untied Yamoch and the necromancer immediately began to cast a spell of invisibility.

Bramble was faster, however, and had summoned a nature spirit to illuminate Yamoch in radiant faerie fire. Yamoch tried to flee but was felled by Xoc-Wik's arrows and Zeynap's hex magic.

Argent addressed Thazma, "Did you see what happened?"

She nodded.

"Do you understand that this wiill happen to you?"

She nodded.

Argent nodded towards Bramble, "Take care of her."

Bramble produced a knife and moved to execute the necromancer.

"What are you doing?" cried Argent, aghast!

"I'm- TAKING CARE of her." replied Bramble, confused.

"I meant untie her! Not KILL her!" said Argent in exasperation.

"Oh, OH! Sorry, my bad!" said Bramble apologetically.

To Be Continued...