Our chapter today begins in Penumbria, as our heroes regroup, gather their courage, and set off once again to Applo and the crypt there. They are accompanied by father Darbauw, who seems a bit off but is in fairly good spirits. Some of the local militia members guard the cave and watch the party's horses and cart while our bold protagonists re-enter the tomb. Father Darbauw inspects the statues, and then casts a spell, determining that the ceiling would collapse if the room with statues was further excavated.
Heading down into a pit found under one of the sarcophagi, our band enters a room of the dead; four desiccated corpses stand atop low daises, while many skeletons line the walls, seated and chained to the walls by their wrists, ankles, and necks. Spooky! Even spookier is when the party opens a door out of the chamber, and the corpses move to attack, while the skeletons animate and begin chattering and pulling at their chains. The undead pose no threat to our party, however, and are given their final rest with ease. The first door opened leads to a collapsed chamber; a door across from this opens into a room for carving statues, with a work area, sets of stone carving tools, and several very large blocks of stone. Behind one block is an access panel, hidden by the block and the dust of ages; inside the chamber the party finds strange gold 'coins', a handful of gems and pieces of jewelry, and a magic dagger and magic ring. Also leading out of the chamber is a short passage that ends in a well, which goes down another 100 feet or so.
After requisitioning a rope (and taking delivery of a coffin to hold a still-chattering skeleton) the party descends down even further into the earth, where they find a door, warded and with strange runes. AofEk determines that some of the runes are a magic ward, keeping something on the other side of the door from escaping, and others in a strange script, saying roughly "This door is (anti-sacred) (un-consecrated) to/from SHELOI. Long may he (die)(rot)(dream nightmares). The party retreats to regroup, make plans, and re-memorize spells; the next day, the barbarian opens the door, with a rush of ancient, stale air as the tomb is breached, and tosses in a torch.
And combat is begun! Two articulated brass statues move to attack, while a pair of small brass spheres rolls towards our heroes! Battle is joined and hard-pressed, but the party carries the day, smashing and putting the metal constructs to a final rest. Another stone door lies on the other side of the chamber which the barbarian opens handily, entering into another room of statues. The first is a naked man, wiry, bald, and bearded, with unusually long arms and legs - the man has a normal-sized torso, but stands over 7 feet tall. The second is an androgynous, gender-less figure, wearing a kimono which falls open to show a sexless and rounded figure, and a fox mask. The third is a kneeling, wizened old man, with a horn emerging from the top of his head, curving back around to point at his shoulders. The fourth at first appears unfinished, an amorphous man-shaped figure, but on closer inspection the formlessness is created by intricate, precise carving. Also in the middle of the room is a glass case, which Horace detraps and opens, containing a magic helmet, magic sword, magic wand, and three gemstones.
Father Darbauw spends a fair amount of time inspecting and investigating the statues; when asked about them, he calls them bad, and says that they're not lonely, they're SHELOI - then passes out. As the party leaves the complex they manage to capture one of the still-chattering skeletons, placing it in a coffin and sealing the skeleton in with chains.
And then off to Joven - the capital of the Empire! On the way the party is attacked by a rogue bugbear which mauls Horace somewhat badly, and Father Darbauw remains catatonic for the two week trip, but other than that the journey is uneventful. Our merry band heads toward the Temple, towering over the other buildings in the city, where they are introduced to High Priest Carlston. The High Priest is a bit overwhelmed at the party's discoveries, and is most troubled that Father Darbauw was able to cast spells while being mentally ill. AofEk's raven, sent to the academy to find mages, returns with Tara Sorjen, the head of the Academy and closest thing the world has to an arch-mage. Powerful people! A quick conversation is had about the tomb, the murders, and Father Darbauw; the High Priest says that SHELOI is the name of a demon. The High Priest leaves with the Father to attempt healing, and Tara invites our heroes back to the academy. On the way she suggests that the party leave town right then and now, that the High Priest was a political game-player who would more than likely throw them under a bus to gain power, and introduces them to the person in her secret jail, with a haircut like the other murderers the party met several weeks ago outside of Tounder. He is obviously ill, gripping the bars and grinning maniacally until the party says the magic word 'SHELOI', which focuses his attention. A conversation is had with a fair amount of misunderstanding on both sides, and an invitation is made to the party to meet SHELOI, a month away in a far mountain range.
Tara is puzzled, intrigued, and disturbed by this interaction, but repeats her suggestion that the party flees, stating that there are worse things than death, and giving an example of her secret prison. But when asked if she could arrange a meeting with the Emporer she agrees, saying that might be a better way to resolve things; the party is left with books, a nice meal, and a pipe full of pipeweed while she leaves to arrange a meeting. Exciting times are afoot!
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