Keith Strohm - The Tomb of Horrors

The next few moments became a rhythmic exchange of sword blows as Bredeth, Kaerion, Landra, and the last guard dispatched the asps with their blades. Silence descended upon the room once the last serpent had been killed. Kaerion looked over to the corner, breathing heavily, and saw that Majandra and Phathas stood near a smoldering lump of green slime. Gerwyth had maneuvered near the stone wall that the tapestry had previously covered. The elf was running his fingers lightly over the area.

“There’s something here,” the ranger said. “I think it’s theoutline of a door.” He pressed the stone, and a door swung open. “There’s apassage here! I think we better-”

Kaerion couldn’t make out the rest, as another loud groaningreverberated throughout the room.

“Run!” he shouted, not waiting to see if anyone listened, andbolted for the door. Tripping and stumbling as the floor of the chamber once again trembled, Kaerion made it out of the room behind Majandra and Phathas. They stumbled into a small curved passage. Kaerion turned to help the rest of the group escape the trapped room and let out a relieved sigh as the last of the party emerged from the quaking chamber.

He closed the door and leaned heavily against it while his companions caught their breath. “It… was right… there,” he heard Majandrasay through deep lungfuls of air.

“What was there?” Bredeth asked.

The bard held out her hand for a moment while she struggled to regain her composure. Kaerion could see more tears brimming in her almond-shaped eyes. “The warning,” she said at last. “‘Beware of tremblinghands’… It was right there for us in the poem. If only I had-”

“Don’t,” Phathas scolded the elf in a sharp tone. “There wasno way you could have known what ‘trembling hands’ meant. Remember: despite thehelp we’re receiving from Acererak’s little riddle, its meanings areintentionally left clouded. We’re not supposed to survive this expedition.”

“I agree,” Kaerion added with a sympathetic squeeze of hershoulder. “You’re being too hard on yourself. And I should know,” he continuedwith a rueful smile, “I’m an expert on such matters.”

Kaerion was rewarded with a half smile. Gently, he wiped the tears from the bard’s eyes and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. “Peace,Majandra. We’re almost finished.”

“Or we will be if you two would stop mooning over eachother,” said Gerwyth, who softened his tone with an exaggerated raising of hispointed eyebrows. “Now let’s get moving. We have a job to do.”

The group moved out, this time at a slower pace. Though not injured in the trapped chamber, Phathas had still not quite recovered his breath. As a result, it took the party quite a bit of time to navigate the next set of descending stairs.

The passageway eventually reached a four-way crossroads, and Kaerion soon found himself thankful for the slow pace. Taking one step into the intersection, he turned to check on Phathas’ progress, and the simple maneuversaved his life. The floor beneath his extended foot gave way, opening up into a deep pit. Not quite overbalanced, he hung suspended on the lip of the hole, windmilling his arms before Gerwyth pulled him from the precipice.

Though not quite as imposing as the pit they had traveled over earlier, this obstacle slowed the party’s progress even more. After a briefconsultation as to the direction they should move, they decided that Majandra, easily the lightest member of the expedition, would jump over the corner of the trap into the passageway. Bredeth would follow, and the two would function as anchors for a safety line of rope tied to the other, less deft members of the party. All in all, the crossing took several minutes.

Once across, Kaerion paused to light a new torch and surveyed the passageway. Although the tunnel continued off into the darkness, he thought he could see a door at the extreme limit of his vision. Calling the group together, he led the way. As expected, the passage ended in a thick stone door. Used to this procedure by now, Majandra walked toward the door without any prompting and gave it a careful examination.

“It’s free from any traps I can see,” she said when she hadcompleted her search.

“That’s comforting,” Bredeth said. “What about the traps youcan’t see?”

Kaerion could see that the dour noble’s tongue was beginningto erode the bard’s temper. The half-elf’s lips puckered in a sour expression,and Kaerion could almost see the stinging retort forming behind her lips. “IfMajandra hasn’t discovered any traps, that’s good enough for me,” Kaerion saidsimply and opened the door-

Only to find himself staring at a blank wall.

The curses that followed took the form of several different languages, and Kaerion was surprised to hear the old mage mumble something indignant under his breath. It didn’t make any sense. They had been followingAcererak’s riddle and it had led them true so far. Perhaps they were supposed tohave taken another passage at the intersection. It seemed like the most logical thing to do, but something nagged at the back of his mind.

The others had already started to head back toward the intersection when he called out. “Hey! Didn’t the riddle say something about afalse door?” he asked.

As one, the group turned and cast expectant glances at Majandra. Kaerion watched as the bard’s face assumed the slightly distant lookhe had come to associate with her ability to memorize words and information.

“Yes,” she replied, her voice rising with excitement. “‘Ifyou find the false, you’ll find the true.’ Quick, Gerwyth!” she said in a voiceworthy of a battlefield commander. “Take a look at the wall beyond the falsedoor. You have the sharpest eyes among us.”

Kaerion watched as the elf gave Majandra an abbreviated bow and walked toward the dead end. The ranger ran his fingers along the surface for a few minutes, peering deeply at the stonework.

“Sure enough,” he said finally, “there’s a door here.”

The party let out a sigh of relief. Once more the riddle was guiding them true. Quickly they formed up as Majandra declared the door free from traps and pulled it open. The door grated heavily upon the raised stone of the floor, sending deep echoes down the corridor. Despite the chill, Kaerion felt sweat trickling down the small of his back. With an unconscious movement, he shrugged away the discomfort. They were closer than they had ever been to piercing the heart of this devilish crypt.

Shouldering his shield, Kaerion raised a flickering torch and walked through the doorway.

Majandra stared at the room in awe. Around her, to the limitsof the groups torches, stone columns reached up into the darkness, a forest of stonework as far as the eye could see. The party gathered in a knot by the entrance, their combined breathing echoing softly in the shadowy chamber. It had taken several minutes and the loss of three sword blades to gain entrance to this room, but the half-elf was sure they were heading in the right direction.

This must be the columned hall, she thought, before relaying her surmise to the rest of the group. Around her, she could feel her companions tension like a palpable itch at the base of her neck.

“If this is the chamber Acererak spoke of, then where is thethrone?” Bredeth asked from somewhere behind her.

Her response was cut off by the sound of the adamantite door they had walked through only a few minutes ago slamming closed. Majandra spun around at the noise, ready to offer whatever assistance she could, but by the sound of Kaerion’s cursing, she doubted that there was much she could do.

“It’s jammed shut,” Kaerion said, confirming her fears.