| Session Date | June 17, 2023 |
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| Base XP Gained | Carry Over |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
Given the numerous dwarf mummies, Mordecai read a Protection from Undead scroll before the party proceeded further to the west. The room they entered, aside from containing another ten mummies, also had a sarcophagus with the name Malisi written on it in Dwarvish, and a tall statue of a female Dwarf warrior with its fist extended straight out. Even better, Deaglan sensed a secret door across the room, adjacent to the statue. The party was leery but decided they did not wish to pass up the secret door. There were no traps; Hans cast detect magic, similarly without result. Deaglan moved to open the secret door but found it would not open. They examined the statue first and noted seams around its neck and right shoulder. The party tried turning the head towards the door and, with a loud grinding noise, the door opened!
A passage out led to a room with a large throne-like chair in each corner, each with a hill giant skeleton on it holding a huge sword facing to the center of the room. Two double doors led out of the room. Deaglan cautiously entered and listened at the doors, hearing a slight noise to west. The party now entered fully and searched this room, noting that each sword had a large fire opal for its pommel stone. The party decided to grab the swords. Floi, Helga, Hans, and ZZ each grabbed for one simultaneously while everyone else took position in the dead center of the room under Mordecai’s undead protection aura. But the skeletons animated too quickly and a melee ensued. Hans and Helga retreated to the center of the room while Sirius webbed those two skeletons. Meanwhile, ZZ and Floi stood their ground and fought their skeletons. Mordecai tried to turn them but his effort seemed blocked or muted, somehow, and was ineffective. The webbed ones broke through the webs quite easily but were locked by the undead protection. But ZZ dropped his skeleton and rushed another, as did Floi. Soon all four were destroyed and the four fire opals recovered.
The party now proceeded south through one set of double doors and came to a four-way intersection. Deaglan scouted east and cautiously climbed up a ten-foot staircase and into a large gallery. The east side had many arches out into another large space. But the floor here was covered with countless bones of scores of long dead Dwarves. Not liking this, the party tried a passage going west instead, finding a narrow side passage blocked by steel bars set into the stone. Beyond, they came to a rounded chamber with pillars and a large granite statue of a robed, gargoyle-like figure with glowing eyes, which grew brighter as the party approached. Deaglan now sensed a secret door to the south (he had very good luck this outing). The party fell back and the eyes dimmed a little, but remained glowing. Sirius tried to enter invisibly but the same thing happened. The party now noted pock marks or gouges in the walls and floor. Finally, Burt sent an unseen servant into the room, causing the statue’s eyes to glow bright once more and begin to shoot beams of light at the unseen servant. While this happened, Deaglan tried to open the secret door but found it to be wizard locked. Hans tried to dispel it but failed, so the party fell back as the unseen servant was vaporized by a beam hit.
As the party regrouped, a spectral female Dwarf appeared, looking distressed and beseeching the party to “beware the stalking gas” before she faded away. The party determined that a guard of this magnitude meant the secret door was important. So, Hans cast XXX’s Interposing Hand (note: I have been meaning for decades to “rename” these sort of spells with a Three Lands specific wizard…I actually came up with names but haven’t seen the list in years, though I know I still have it somewhere!). Sure enough, the beam fired at it and disintegrated it. Meanwhile, Hans tried bashing the secret door open with his enhanced strength but failed. Mordecai first tried a dispel magic spell, followed by a scroll of the same, which finally overcame the wizard lock, all while under fire from disintegration beams that, by good fortune, did not find a mark.
Beyond, the party found a tomb with a sarcophagus. Better, it was surrounded by a vast treasure the likes of which few of them had ever seen! After plundering and sorting this, Mordecai read a second Protection from Undead scroll and they opened the sarcophagus. A Banshee rose up from it and keened its deadly wail, but fortunately no one was killed by it (good rolls there), though Hans and Helga went temporarily mad with fear and tried to run away. The Banshee was quickly slain before it could wail once more and soon Hans and Helga regained their senses. Within the sarcophagus was an array of items that radiated magic, some quite strongly. Floi seemed to really latch onto a golden sword and quickly said he wished to claim it, not even knowing its power or perils.
The party now considered whether they should depart the dungeon immediately, or try to rest first…