Day 2 (Part 1): Back into Darkness!

After a long rest, the party returned the next morning to the tomb below the ziggurat and proceeded to dispatch with the remaining skeletons, suffering only minor injuries in the process.  They then turned their attention to the mysterious sarcophagus.

All four assisted in lifting and turning the lid so that it rested crosswise.  Within lay a desiccated mummy with a large ruby amulet about its neck.  Kilskan attempted to carefully lift it up using his sword.  As he did, the mummy suddenly came to life and grasped the blade in its iron grip!

Kilskan tried to pull it free, but the creature wrenched it from his grasp.  The others immediately threw themselves into the fray to assist.  Juern threw blow after powerful blow, but his sword showed little evidence of damaging the creature.  Galathir blasted it with his eldritch magic, but still it lived.  Garn attempted to destroy the thing with fire, but the amulet seemed to protect it from the flames.  Finally, Kilskan drew the obsidian dagger he found and thrust it into the creature's chest, eliciting a mental blast of agony that could be felt by all.  The mummy grasped Kilskan's arm, causing a searing pain as his flesh rotted before him, but a mighty blow from Garn's magical club shorn the grasping arm asunder.  A final deep thrust of the ancient dagger from Kilskan, and Koth Amun Atla, priest-king of Xotli, Lord of the Eternal Night, was no more.

After the battle, Galathir discovered a secret door behind the sarcophagus, revealing a large open hall with a high vaulted ceiling and stairs leading out on the opposite side.  The hall, as they soon learned, was filled with stirges hanging from the ceiling asleep.

The four started back to return from whence they came when, suddenly, they heard the sounds of men coming down the stairs!

There was no choice.  They ran back to the great hall and, as quickly and as quietly as they could, made their way across to the stairway beyond.  At last, they all made it up the stairs, only to find a blocked passage!

The sounds of men, undoubtedly the Cymbrian corsairs, grew louder.  A small hole could be seen in the rubble of the passage where sunlight pierced the darkness.  Carefully yet quickly, Garn and Kilskan widened the passage while Galathir and Juern turned to face what foes may emerge from the hall.

Men's voices were now heard below and soon the hall erupted in a cloud of screeching, bloodthirsty bat-like creatures.  Screams of surprise and agony filled the hall, and stirges were beginning to filter into the passage.  Juern swung wildly at the swarming creatures while Garn and Kilskan abandoned all stealth and worked all the more furiously to widen the passage.

"Stand back, only my magic can save us!" declared Galathir Darkstone as a blast of eldritch force burst the passage open.

The dwarf and half-elf scrambled through the opening, followed quickly by Galathir and Juern.  The tiefling cried out in pain as a stirge's barb pierced his neck.  The paladin was covered in stirges, and one had found a chink in his armor and was gorging itself on his blood.

The four burst forth into the sunlight and raced across the clearing into the woods.  Once safely away they carefully removed the remaining stirges and took account of their wounds.  Galathir turned pale, if such a thing is possible, and fainted from blood loss, whereupon Garn quickly revived him with his druidic magic.  Juern was weakened by able to carry on.  They moved to higher ground and took another long rest.

By mid afternoon they were back on their feet and headed toward the corsairs' camp along the shore.  As they traversed the valley region they came upon another group of corsairs traveling north and hid while they passed.  The corsairs seemed to be looking for someone.

Once the men had passed, the party continued south, following the stream to the shoreside camp.  From a concealed vantage point they took account of their situation.  The sloop was still there, and there were about ten corsairs milling about the camp.  Others could be seen on the ship.  Pulled up on the shore was a small dingy, large enough for about six people.

We left with the adventurers deliberating over what to do next…