Wicked! Tomb Raider!

In our sixth instalment of Wicked! A Fontian Adventure, our villains - Callahan Calamari, Potina, Sir Crayon, Thomas Hobbes, Knife and the elusively mysterious Timmy Icanhaz embark on their round trip through the Maiandran countryside, looting and pwning (and getting pwned) along the way.

After a falling out with Marshal Martlett, Timmy Icanhaz, the mysteriously black robed, unsmiley-faced individual who had aided the group in closing the rift and distracting the jellyfishes of doom decided to join the party.

He didn't join the party, but so much as insist on joining them, which resulted in him being blinded by Calamari, shot with a crossbow and punted in the 'nads by Potina's club. Eventually, after yielding and crying uncle, the party decided to have him along, since he'd make a useful guide in this here parts, and an extra warm body for the monsters.

As it turned out, Timmy was a member of the Schwartzwaffel, a secret corps of spies and operatives set up by the Marshal to handle covert activities of an intelligent nature that was comprised of mostly magic users. Timmy also brought with him some interesting news and rumors about the goings on in Maiandra - stuff that could prove possibly lucrative for our money minded peeps.

It seemed that a lode of mithral had been recently discovered in a mine a day's ride to the west. The only issue with the mine, though, is that it's in a geographically unstable area beset by constant tremors.

There was, of course, a safer option, and that was the proliferation of burial mounds and ruins to the north, near the remains of the old empire. It was not uncommon for grave robbers to pilfer from the burial mounds, as many of these were the tombs of the hierarchs from the past - ministers and magistrates who owned great wealth.

The ruins of Castle Maiandra, too, lay in that direction, and the Schwartzwaffel even had a presence there. If the Marshal had seen fit to post a guard, then surely there was something important there. The Schwartzwaffel had uncovered many magical treasures there in the past, and it was certain there were likely more in the lower levels, which had not yet been explored or breached.

Lured by the prospect of easy money, the party naturally gravitated north - towards the ruins of Castle Maiandra. They found the ride easy and relaxing - for a country full of ignorant folk, Maiandra was surprisingly peaceful. Plains covered with grass and farm produce quickly gave way to hilly screes and mounds that dotted the landscape. Eventually, the party crested a hill, where they noticed what appeared to be ruined grave markers poking suspiciously out of the dirt.

The group decided to investigate, and Potina began digging through the earth with her spoon. She eventually uncovered a whole skeleton that seemed to have in its grasp bits of jewelry. These were completely not magical, as Calamari noticed. But his spell did pick out a protective aura deeper in the earth, and the party soon uncovered what appeared to be a circular stone hatch wedged into the ground like a plug.

It had an inscription on it that said "This is the tomb of a hierarch. Sayeth ye the magic number, and ye shall pass. Sayeth ye wrong and ye shall be cursed."

There was also some fine print, which Timmy could read. It turned out be a trap, however, and blew up in Timmy's face. Fortunately, his face was not badly scarred.

Delving into the tomb, the party discovered a statue of the hierarch, holding an orb in its left hand and with his right held up in a gesture of benediction. Calamari recalled that the position of the orb was odd, and Hobbes suggested that they switch the orb to the right hand.

When they did this, a passageway opened up, leading deeper into the tomb. Knife decided to investigate, but without realizing it, triggered two pendulum blade traps which sliced him somewhat. Surviving the slashes, he reached a second circular door, inscribed with the words "Show ye respect to the hierarch".

Instinctively, Knife raised his sword in a salute, which caught a shaft of light emanating from the roof and threw it on the door. The door creaked open, to reveal a second statue, except this time the statue was holding both an orb AND a scepter.

After disabling the pendulum trap outside, the party entered the room. Knife, being curious, removed the scepter as everyone crowded around the statue. It wasn't such a good idea, it seemed, because the shade of the hierarch manifested.

Worse, it went for the nearest target, taking a swipe out of Timmy. It then began to doggedly pursue our adventurers, hounding them back into the tunnel (which triggered the trap again, and in a bad way). Hobbes peppered the ghost with magic missiles, which diminished its form a bit.

Unfortunately, Hobbes was cut by the trap as he retreated from the ghost, and was knocked out. Potina strategically withdrew to call for help from Sir Crayon, which Calamari stayed hidden and invisible, trying to find a way to break through.

Finally, Calamari was able to retrieve the scepter from Knife, and used to to lay the spirit of the dead hierarch to good, supposedly. The party then escaped, and rode like Hell was after them, in the direction of Castle Maiandra.

Reaching the castle at close to the 10th candlemark, they soon started checking for signs of habitation and the other Schwartzwaffel agent. Pity, however, that they couldn't find anything of value - either in the watch tower, and in the outer perimeters.

They also discovered that the sending stone in the tower had been tampered with, and that it was made to repeat the same message over and over at correct intervals. They decide to call it a night, resting and preparing spells. Sir Crayon, however, was digging outside the castle, hoping to make a location he could use to keep an eye out for trouble.

The following day, the party proceeded to investigate the upper stories, aided the maps kept in the watch tower. They discovered several leftover items, the workshop where a statue of a 20-ft tall man had been stored but was now empty, as well as a painting depicting the Maiandran ruler from 400 years ago, which looked rather familiar, in a Marshal-ish kind of way.

Concluding their sweep, the party ventually finds a pair of double doors, inscribed with magical symbols, as well as an inscription on the door that stated "Blood calls to like. Herein lies the legacy of the Maiandran empire."

Both Calamari and Hobbes tried to figure out how to open the door, except they realized on close inspection that they didn't need to.

Somebody had opened it already - somebody with a pair of giant sized feet, and somebody with normal sized ones.

What made those prints, and was it safe to continue through the doors?

Stay tuned to Wicked! A Fontian Adventure to find out!

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Experience, Loot and so Forth:

Everyone gains 1,000 xp for Session 6.

1. Gold Orb (x2, 1 magical, 1 normal) - Transmutation aura. Unspecified monetary value.

2. Maps of Castle Maiandra - Map showing everything on the above ground floors

3. Infinite Scrollcase - Awarded by Marshal Martlett for services rendered. Taken by Callahan.

4. Library access - Awarded by Marshal Martlett for services rendered. Arcane casters may study from his library while in Maiandra.

5. Misc. souvenirs and accessories - 500 gp worth, split 5 ways for 100 gp each.