10 Feet

Originally published September 2nd 2023

Heading out from the stash of artifacts the party delves deeper into the complex. Passing through a few winding tunnels they are in another coffin filled room. Opening it up they find more skeletons, also timebrowned but less decayed as there are a few bits of old fabric still undecayed on the bones. Grillbar scavenges a few bits of the cloth, turning a small purple section into a headband.

Suddenly Dungifer can detect something, not sure if it is second sight or detect evil he is deeply aware that there is something heading down the hallways towards the group. He communicates this to the party and they all get in position.

A moment of silence passes. Dungifer casts a blessing on Bobos.

A brown skeleton hand suddenly reaches out from the darkness and soon it steps out into the light, and straight from the bow of Bobos an arrow sets forth straight and true, going directly into the knee of the skeleton shattering the bone. The skeleton screams in pain, sounding like the echo of brash brass horns.

Dungifer and Grillbar attempt to strike down the undead threat but as it recoils from the shattered bones they miss their marks.

Suddenly the skeleton lunges forth and pins Dungifer down onto the floor. Radcliff leaps from the shadows and ambushes the skeleton, being able to stab it in the back but he notices it is of a lesser effect due to the lack of meat to hurt.

Dungifer attempts to turn unholy with the help of Ildavir but his magic is too weak to repel this undead.

Bobos casts elemental witchfire, but the arcane energies don’t manifest as she expects and she is instead covered in a retaliatory shield that would protect her if she was attacked.

Grillbar casts away his polearm and attempts to wrestle the skeleton off of Dungifer but it is held on too tight.

Even as it is being pulled at by the goblin the skeleton widely claw and slashes at Dungifer with its boney hands, as the strikes rain true Dungifer feels the very essence of his vitality drain from him.

Radcliff stabs again making purchase but realizing these stabs do little against bone he begins to formulate a new plan.

Bobos attempts to cast elemental witchfire but it seems that her luck has gone awry and loses it. She is down to only a few remaining spells, prismatic wall, burning hands, wizard staff, and mending.

Dungifer beseeches Ildavir for a bolt from the blue but his calls are unanswered, he is getting nervous. Grillbar once more attempts to pull the reanimated wretch off but fails once more, it is stronger than it looks.

The wailing continues on the skeleton as it continues to shred at dungifer, it is too strong to remove but the team seems powerless to stop it. However coming in from the other room Grrunnarr rushes in and seeing his friends in danger, pounds at the skeleton, shattering it’s ribcage and dispelling the spirit of undeath.

While everyone collects themselves and Dungifer calls on Ildarvir to restore vitality, this time the calls are answered and the entire group feels themselves be refreshed, as healthy as the moment they stepped into this accursed mine.

They go deeper into the complex and find a room with a coffin standing at attention in the center of it. Opening it up they find absolutely nothing in it. A careful inspection of the back of the coffin reveals a rune. Bobos identifies it as decidedly not arcane. Grillbar takes a look, his noble heritage comes in hand as he is able to identify it as some kind of human rune of some variety of noble family. However this is one he has never seen in use even in his history books.

Heading towards the north Radcliff spots a secret door, he alerts the team. Heading past this door there is yet another hidden door, and then after that is another hidden door. Whoever built the place must have wanted secrecy.

They come into a large room. 6 pillars hold up the ceiling, each carved with a stag bearing a sun between its antlers, piles of more of the strange artifacts like the ones they saw earlier litter the floor, and a ten foot coffin lies in the center.

Dungifer’s second sight tells him that the coffin is bad business, and so are the artifact piles. The group takes note of this as they see a door heading southwards. Grillbar leads the group around the piles, and passes by the coffin as he goes forth to the southward door, wishing to remain safe he calls upon the fates. Something has changed.