The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

The Rakshasa Hoard: The rakshasa’s bags and
pouches contain the following looted goods: 16 gold
and silver rings of various sizes (worth an average
of 70 gp each); a slightly scorched reliquary in need
of cleaning but made from finely wrought gold, for
carrying holy objects (worth 2,500 gp); three jewelled
statues of obscure elven deities (worth 1,100 gp each);
the broken silver-shod ends of a shattered staff of
the magi (the silver is worth 20 gp); two figurines of
wondrous power (golden lions), still coated with ash
from the great burning many years ago.
Location: Devourer’s Mound
This ugly outcrop of rock rises from the sand like the
back of a creature breaking through waves. The stone
has a rotten look to it, unlike that caused by natural
erosion.
This place was avoided even when the Desert of Sharn
was a forest. It is a knot of old evil left over from
the days when the world was formed. Exploration of
the mound reveals tunnels bored into it, though it is
impossible to tell whether these were shaped naturally
or artificially.
If the rakshasa lead the Player Characters here, they
claim that their route takes them past this place, which
has been accursed since olden times. They allude to
dark powers from the days when this was a forest and
try to imply that what the Player Characters are seeking
might lie within. One way or another, they want the
Player Characters to go inside that mound.
A. Examination of the tunnel entrance at this point with
a Spot check (DC 20) reveals two faded inscriptions cut
into the rock, one regularly spaced and formally laid
out, the other scrawled as if in haste. A Decipher Script
check (DC 25) for each one is needed to make any sense
of them. Characters who make their checks can read
all of the inscriptions; characters who fail theirs cannot
read the words in italics.
Neat Inscription: ‘Laid reverently in darkness, Moch
and Krunna, the husband and wife that loyally served
the maggot god, the great devourer. May the curse of
He Who Consumes The Dead fall upon those who seek
to plunder the golden grave goods. Let their bones
run with hot lead, their eyes be made a feast for the
vultures.’
Hurried Inscription: ‘Brith send your blessing to
cleanse this cursed place! May the dead lie still and
rise no more to plague us!’
B. Each of the tunnels ends in a seeming dead end.
The tunnel at Point B, however, has a crack at the end a
mere foot across and two feet in height which is easily
missed; a Spot check (DC 15) is needed to notice it. A
creature whose head fits through this gap may be able
to squeeze through with an Escape Artist check (DC
25). Examination of the rocks, along with a successful
Knowledge (dungeoneering) check (DC 20), reveals that
the tunnels were deliberately sealed off with engineered
cave-ins.
Just inside the burial chamber, a skeletal human hand
can be seen protruding from beneath a fallen rock, clear
evidence that those who brought the roof down either
were not allowed to escape or did not want to.
1. Burial Chamber
This room is little more than an irregular cave at the
heart of the rock. The air is dry and has a sickly sweet
reek of mastic and spices, like an old unopened jar of
pickles that has gone rotten. A few light grains of sand
rattle from the roof, which you see is made up of rock
slabs that look none too stable. Fortunately, four thick
wooden posts have been set in place, supporting some
of the weight.
These posts stand at the corners of a square shallow pit,
around two feet deep, scraped out of the centre of the
cave. The mummified bodies of two humanoids lie in it
side by side, with bronze plates covering them like an
antique style of armour. They appear to have the skulls
of huge cats instead of people. Around the pit, in the
shadows at the edges of the room, lie heaps of yellowing
human bones.
In place of their human skulls, the skulls of lions have
been fixed to the mummies’ neck bones with metal wire,
creating composite mummies. This does not grant the
two mummy lords any additional powers; it just makes
them look fearsome to tomb-robbers.
Surrounding the pit are the jumbled bones of around
a dozen humans. It is difficult to tell how they died,
but examination of the remains quickly reveals a small
golden cup (worth 75 gp) encrusted with black filth
lying close to each one, so it seems they took poison
and died willingly.
The two bodies are mummy lords. They remain dormant
while the Player Characters remain outside the pit. If
they approach, the mummy lords lurch to life and attack
them.
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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