Keith Strohm - The Tomb of Horrors

The cleric bowed as he spoke the final words of the prayer and rose slowly to his feet. “We must find a suitable resting place for thebody,” Kaerion heard him say to Phathas as the mage walked over, laying a heavyhand on the priest’s shoulder. “Then, when we leave this accursed place, we willtake the bodies of the fallen back to the temple of Heironeous to see what can be done for them.”

“You are most generous,” Phathas replied, motioning for twoguards to do as the priest bid. Once that gruesome work was finished, the party returned once more to their search of the walls.

“I sure hope we find something else here, Kaerion,” the bardsaid as the two of them knelt below a lurid depiction of two hawk-headed humans. “I’ve no wish to step through another teleporting archway. I still can’t thinkstraight from the last one.”

Kaerion tried to smile at Majandra’s words, but he succeededin no more than a grimace. “I understand completely,” he said, “though I’dsettle for a teleporting arch if it meant we could bypass all the tomb’s traps.”

The half-elf grunted her affirmative and then returned her attention to the section of wall before her. The two sat there in silence for a few moments more. Kaerion had just finished rapping on a block of stone with the hilt of his dagger when Majandra spoke again. “Have you noticed anything strangeabout Bredeth lately?” she asked.

Kaerion drew his attention away from the wall and looked at his companion. Even now, hundreds of feet below ground, covered in sweat and dirt, he admired the way the torchlight played in her eyes and among her hair. It took a few more moments for him to register that she had repeated the question.

“Hmm? Oh, sorry,” he apologized, feeling his face flushbeneath the sudden heat there. He tried to avoid the bard’s eyes, but couldn’thelp see the sparkle of amusement glistening in them. “Something strange aboutBredeth?” he continued. “Well, he has been a bit subdued since the bullywugskidnapped him, but experiences like that can affect a person deeply. I’m notsure I’d call that strange.”

“You’re right, of course,” the half-elf said. “He has beensubdued, but it’s more than that. He’s been too… agreeable lately. It’s notlike him.”

Kaerion nodded and followed her gaze to where the subject of their conversation stood before another section of wall, dutifully searching. He opened his mouth to reassure Majandra, but before he could speak, Gerwyth’svoice echoed across the hall.

“I think I’ve found something!” the elf said excitedly. “Itlooks like an illusion of some sort.”

Kaerion walked over to where his friend stood. On the wall was a painting of a heavily muscled human with the head of a jackal holding a sphere at his waist. Carefully, Gerwyth extended the shaft of an arrow and touched the brightly painted sphere. To Kaerion’s surprise, the wooden shaftdisappeared as it pressed through the sphere. It was clear that Gerwyth remembered their experience at the demonic mouth earlier, for the ranger gingerly pulled the arrow shaft back out of the red circle.

It emerged unscathed.

By now, the rest of the expedition had gathered around. Phathas moved forward and studied the illusory sphere intently. After a few moments of soft muttering, he raised a single gnarled finger and pointed at the vivid picture. There was a bright flash that nearly blinded Kaerion. He cried out, throwing an arm across his face. The others must not have been as quick, for he heard their cursing continue.

Blinking the last of the pulsing circles from his vision, Kaerion peered at the wall once again-and was surprised to find that thefull-length painting of the jackal-headed human had disappeared, replaced by the uneven expanse of a rocky tunnel. He could see that, like the tunnel that lead from the gargoyle room to this one, the passage before them rapidly shrank down to a crawlway.

Kaerion made sure his shield was securely fastened to his back and then called for a torch. “Gerwyth and I will head down the passagefirst,” he said to the group. “We’ll call back if it looks safe.” He nodded onceto the elf and then entered the passageway.

The walls here were rough and unadorned. In the light of his torch, he could see tiny rivulets of water running down the sides. We must be underneath the swamp, he thought, and wondered how long the tomb’s ancientstonework had kept out the press of mud and water above their heads. Kaerion’smorbid speculation was interrupted as both he and the ranger were brought up short by a blank wall.

“Dead end,” he said unnecessarily and let out a sharp curse.“We’ll have to go back and tell the others.”

“Not so fast, Kaer. Look here,” Gerwyth said, pointing to theleft side of the wall.

Kaerion peered into the flickering corner of the wall and saw the faint outlines of a door, cleverly hidden in the stone. He’d forgotten howmuch he counted on the rangers sharp elven eyes.

“Should be easy to open,” Gerwyth said. “Just press hereand-” the ranger’s words cut off as the floor space he was kneeling on crackedand tilted forward wildly, spilling the elf through the now-opened door.

“Ger!” Kaerion shouted as his friend’s lithe formdisappeared. Crawling carefully to the edge of the unstable section of the floor, Kaerion peered through the door, relieved to see the normally graceful elf pulling himself slowly up from the floor where he had been dumped in an unceremonious heap.

“I’m all right,” the ranger said as he adjusted the straps ofhis pack. The elf gave a slow whistle a few moments later. “I think you shouldbring the others, Kaer. They’re going to want to see this.”

Kaerion nodded. “I’ll be right back, Ger. Be safe.”

“I’m not planning on going anywhere,” the ranger said, acrooked smile forming on his face. “Now use that human penchant for haste andgather the others, you orc-brained lummox.”

By the time Kaerion informed the others of their discovery and the entire group had navigated the trapped door, the ranger had set torches into several empty iron sconces that dotted the walls of this room. It wasn’tthe sconces’ ancient craftsmanship, however, that currently captured theattention of everyone in the large chamber. Kaerion made his way through the press of bodies that gathered in the center of the room. In the now-bright light, he could see three large chests, one made of gold, another of silver, and the third of sturdy oak bound with thick iron bands. Majandra had already declared the area around the chests free from traps, and several guards had tried to lift them-but to no avail. Each of the chests was inexplicably bound tothe floor.

Kaerion watched as the half-elf walked over to the gold chest, intent on bypassing its ancient lock. A premonitory warning, or perhaps it was merely a surge of overprotectedness, sent a frisson of warning up his spine. Quickly, he motioned for two of the guards to flank Majandra as she bent her skills toward opening the chest. He also placed himself in front of Adrys, who, he was unhappy to note, had moved to a position far too close to the only objects of interest in this room.

“A few moments more,” the half-elf said as she manipulatedtwo small metal tools inside the chest’s metal lock. True to her word, a fewmoments later, Kaerion heard the lock click.

Majandra gave the assembled group a wink. “See,” she said asshe deftly placed the tools back into a hidden fold of her cloak. “Nothing toit. Now all we have to do is lift the lid, and we’ll see what this chest hasbeen hiding from-”

The rest of the bard’s words were cut off by the piercingshriek she let out as the top of the chest flew open, disgorging a tumble of black, serpentine shapes.

“Asps!” Vaxor shouted above the din of angry hissing comingfrom the released snakes.