Ceol nods, his expression set.
"I would not leave this evil here, to fester and perhaps grow even stronger. Better for us to deal with it here and now."
Ceol nods, his expression set.
"I would not leave this evil here, to fester and perhaps grow even stronger. Better for us to deal with it here and now."
"One step ahead of you. This mausoleum may radiate evil but the undead are not near here. I suspect at least one more hidden away. Unless it is this place which keeps their spirits bound here. Which isn't a nice thought.
I don't think you are going to be able to move these tombs though, they are a little big and we don't really have the room to manouvre. You would probably have to get some of the horses into the graveyard to pull them outside and I really would not recommend that.
I'll keep looking."
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
"Ceol, is there anything we could do to...consecrate...or clean this place, short of razing it to the ground? And for that matter, would razing it even help?"
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
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Bitur thinks that some sturdy ropes and strong backs can pull a sarcophagus out. Horses would speed this up a lot. The building itself looks beyond simple destruction.
The sarcophagi are not trapped and look simple to open. They look heavy but moveable.
Ceol, Gilraen and Redward know that once the evil is cleared, it is possible to cleanse the building. Gilraen would be the best at this and would need to do it on another day as she is not prepared for it. Ceol’s and Redward’s could help as could others.
Drindoleth also might be able to remove vital supports to allow for the destruction of the building later but feels he should conserve his power for the day.
Ithilneth examines the four Elven items. The swords reveal nothing to her but they are of fine quality and might prove useful here. Two are short swords and one is long. She suspects they are old enough to be of Hollin and not Imladris making. The Elf Stone almost sings to her. Here is an item used in the past by an Elven Mage. Dulindar the nightingale is sure it will prove useful to Ithilneth. He also feels good about the swords.
On a similiar note, Missy (her Elvish cat) tells Gilraen than the one short sword is almost surely enspelled against undead.
Interesting. We should use such an item, here where we have need. Other than me, who wields a short sword?
Librarians rule, Oook
As she holds the jewel between her fingertips, Ithilneth exclaims in Noldorin "Listen to this elfstone's song, a work of well-cut music!"
In Westron, "These swords were wrought by the Noldor and well made. The elfstone, also. If none object, I would like to keep it. I might use one of the swords, although my current one is sufficient. Perhaps the halflings would make better use of them?"
"I wield a short sword in my left hand. However, both my short sword and my long sword are already quite fine, and I would see first choice go to someone who might use the short swords as their primary weapons."
Do we have time before nightfall to go, get some of our horses, return, tie up and drag out the sarcophagi? Otherwise, let's just do it ourselves. We have some strong people in our party.
There is plenty of time to get the horses and get them back to safety. Especially if one of the fleet footed Elves jog out to get them.
I will happily jog - and probably don't need to get much closer than whistling range to alert Cúran that his presence is required, and would he please bring the rest of them? As to the short sword, I picked up an improved longsword a while ago but my other weapon is still the blade I brought from Lothlorien at the outset. I believe both the halflings already have better blades, so I wouldn't turn it down.
Librarians rule, Oook
I'll ID these blades as soon as we're clear of this place.
"Once the horses are tied to the sarcophagi, the stronger amongst us should push from behind. We should do fine with Gwaelur, me, and one other."
"I'll be glad to help push," says Thoroncir. "The others should be ready to fight, if something emerges from any of the sarcpophagi as we move them."
So for now Gil-Gandel takes the Elven Short sword. He likes the feel of this sword. He jogs out and gets the horses and brings them back.
Under the supervision of Bitur the horseman get teams of horses to pull the first sarcophagus out with men pushing it. The lid is not on tight and has recently been moved. It slides off without much struggle. Within is a bed of golden coins, oddly gleaming and beckoning. Gilraen cries out, “Avert thy eyes, it is a curse to prey on our minds.” Her cry interrupts the fascination and the Elves and Half-Elves resist the glamour with ease. Both Dwarves overcome the fascinations. Of the men and Hobbits the effect varies. Mulligan is drawn towards the precious metal but Rorimac resists. Thoroncir finds Kálthalion grow hot and the voice of his love breaks the spell for him. Deor recognizes the fascination as a powerful spell in the school of charms and deceptions of the enemies and is quick to break its power. However he sees his brother Theogrim heading for it quickly. Ceol appears immune to this deceit, but then it is hard to lie to a man of Rohan and nearly impossible to deceive a Paladin of the Mark. Koldanar heads over to the gold but feels something is wrong. He does not understand why the gold has attracted him to this degree. Drindoleth feels little compulsion for gold and has rarely dealt with it.
The magical long and short swords of Elven make are still available for temporary use at least. Ithilneth suspects the short is better than her own. Prestolwen is the other candidate it appears. Her short sword is not magical. When not using her bow she probably has the great need. Ithilneth has the Elfstone of course.
"It's only money, nothing wrong with it" says Mulligan as she reaches forward to take a handful.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Thoroncir blocks Mulligan and will grab her by the arms and drag her away from the sarcophagus, if necessary. "No, my friend, don't touch them!" he says. "The coins are cursed. Let our wizards remove the curse, or destroy them."
Gwaelur, keeping his back to the gold, attempts to put his body between the sarcophagus and the rest of the party in case anyone else is as overcome as Mulligan.
"The passions of the younger Eruhini are always fascinating," says Ithilneth with a curious smile. "Let us cover it and move it out of this mist and into the full sun."
Deor will grab his brother and try to hold him back, and if that doesn't work, will trip him with his staff.
"Everyone, it seems that, while I realize, this gold should not be this appealing...I am not quite sure I can stop myself"
"If I may be so bold, I would claim that short sword as my own."
Prestolwen cannot take her eyes off the gold coins before her. She has never before seen so much wealth in one place. There is so much, could one or two coins be missed? "After-all, I will need something to live on once this adventure is done...." She reaches for a coin to slip it into her pocket.
Annoyed that Prestolwen is trying to slip past him, Gwaelur smacks her hand and lets out a loud yell "EVERYONE BACK AWAY FROM THE GOLD!" and he pulls out his axe. "Someone get Prestolwen away from here. And the rest of you, back away. The gold is evil. Don't think I am above hitting any of you with the flat of my axe if ye try to get back to sneak more."
Stung by the hurt to her hand, Prestolwen exclaims sharply, "And what of YOU, Gwaelur? Are you just keeping everyone else away so there is more gold for yourself?! It is altogether evil--you should come away from it as well!" She turns on her heel and storms out, rubbing her wrist.
Away from the sarcophagus, Prestolwen seems to come to her senses once more. Taking a deep breath, she tries to stiffen her resolve; her hands are trembling.
Thoroncir pushes Mulligan away and slides the sarcophagus lid back on. Does the gold still exert its allure, or does the effect now stop? What can we do to dispel or defeat the enchantment to keep it from ensnaring future visitors?
And how was Sala affected, if at all?
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 09 May 2010 at 12:32 AM.
The lid is slid back on and the horses led to pull the sarcophagus down the hill and away from the mists. With the lid slid back on, the attraction is largely snapped for all of them. Sala shakes his head as if coming out of a dream. He apologizes and says, "Sorry I was daydreaming about what I could do with all that gold. This is tougher work than I expected, at least in a way I never expected."
Last edited by What Exit?; 16 Sep 2010 at 10:13 AM.
All right, let's repeat the process for the other sarcophagi, taking similar precautions.
*smiling* I know it may not seem like it at the moment, Sala, but occasionally we do manage to find some gold and neither feel obliged to give it away to the needy nor have to fight off Morgul-curses. I'm sure our luck will change - though we may not be in the best place for it right now.
Last edited by What Exit?; 09 May 2010 at 02:21 PM.
Librarians rule, Oook
"Figures. I was going to add a new library wing to my house..."
Mulligan sits down outside having been guided by Thoroncir. "So much money, oh well there is always more to find."
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
The slow work begins of removing all the sarcophagi and hauling them completely out of the yard.
Sala says, "It might prove worthwhile to let the days adventure end with this mission. As the daylight hours are being eaten up with this and spells have been expanded."
Gilraen suggests, "Let those of us not affected by the lure of the gold take a portion and ride it out a bit and spread it about to break the spell."
Theogrim, with his swift horse and apparent lack of interest in the cursed gold, is happy to scatter a few bags.
"You laugh at me because I'm different; I laugh at you because I'm on nitrous."
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"It's a good idea, Sala" says Rorimac. "This area has been cleared and it would be better to do the next two stone buildings in Daylight than at Dusk. We can still keep an eye on this area from the hilltop, so if anything visible does happen we will know about it."
"I will pass on the spreading out of gold." shudders Mulligan, "as we are finishing early, I wonder if I can dig a deep enough firepit for a hot meal. I think we could all do with one."
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Shall we see what's in the other five sarcophagi of this mausoleum now, or leave them for tomorrow? If the latter, it might be better to spend the night in the open lands to the north, such as on a defensible hill, than here in the cemetery.
Night in a cemetery seems like a bad idea. Let's back away and spend the night elsewhere. And for goodness sake, don't touch the gold until it's been bathed in sunlight! That enchantment may have merely been one of greed, but it may have simply served to trick people into touching it to release a more substantial curse.
Bitur will aid in the dispersing of the cursed gold.
The gold is dispersed and the other 5 sarcophagi are not as loaded.
One has silver and gold but no more than 200 coins.
The next has carved figures of strange beast in a unknown black stone. The figures feel foul and radiate evil.
The third has a golden mask and a pair of finely wrought silver cups displaying crows or perhaps ravens.
The fourth is loaded with silver and some odd coins that Bitur identifies as a silver and gold alloy.
The final has 10 gems of odd cuts. The stones have small etchings in them of skulls. Mulligan gets the very strong feeling the would work well as sling bullets. Ceol detects only faint evil on them, residual.
Let's push the lot out into the sun. I'm torn between whether to leave these here overnight and risk their theft, or to camp somewhere safer. Thoughts?
After all the sarcophagi have been brought into the open, and Ceol is certain that there is naught but a fading taint upon them, he gently takes Prestolwen aside, a look of concern on his face.
"Are you all right, good lady?"
Last edited by kenobi65; 10 May 2010 at 10:25 PM.
"Yes, thank you kindly, sir. Such a potent spell--it caught me unawares and ensnared me, until Gwaelur took me to task. Truly he did a good thing. I will be more careful in future. A posset after Mulligan's hot dinner will help strengthen me for the morrow. Shall I brew enough for all who need it?"
Upon hearing her question, Sir Thoroncir says, "I would not be averse to a sip, my lady, thank you."
Rather than scatter the party's varied and mildly-evil acquisitions on the ground in the cemetery, from which it might disappear overnight when gathered up again by our foes, he suggests it be taken to the party's overnight camp on open ground to the north, and scattered on the ground within bowshot of those who will stand watch. Exposure to sunlight tomorrow might then do some good.
"If someone would be interested in blessing those skull gems I would be interested, other than that I will stay clear. They may require some looking at." says Mulligan. "However, that can wait until after a meal. I think I will head back early while others are gathering and throwing money around. I believe there is half a cow waiting if anyone is interested."
"I'll lend a hand spreading the coins around, and perhaps somewhere in bowshot would be a good idea. I just hope they don't attract the kind of creatures we encountered in this graveyard." says Rorimac.
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
Well, if they attract creatures, then we will rid the world of some more menaces, to look on the bright side. But I am all in favour of being out of here while we yet have daylight.
Librarians rule, Oook
Ceol nods to Prestolwen, his expression relieved. "I am glad to hear it. Do not be ashamed that it affected you, Lady Prestolwen...if it were not for the blessings which Eonwë has granted me, I likely would have reacted similarly to the gold. And, yes, please do...I think that such a brew would be most appreciated, after spending this day in the chill of the dead."
"You are very welcome." Prestolwen smiles at Ceol. Turning to Mulligan, "Make your fire hot and I'll brew that posset now." Soon the aroma of sweet herbs mixed with wine fills the air.
Bitur looks at the contents of the sarcophagi bemused.
"An odd menagerie of treasures. There doesn't seem to be any common bond between them.
"Sala, do you know anything of what the significance of this particular mausoleum would be?"
*only half listening*
True wealth lies not in closely-guarded gold,
Nor precious jewels, what though they be so fair;
Such things will pass, as down blown on the air
And weary like a tale too often told.
Wherefore should we wear out our lives in grief
Or put ourselves and those we love to pain
All for the sake of hollow worldly gain
Which fades and fails like autumn's latest leaf?
True wealth lies where? In music, life and love;
In joy and kindness, courage, faith and trust;
In glory of unnumbered stars above;
In knowledge and in judgment wise and just.
Seek these, and to eternal Truth be true,
And greed and hate shall have no hold on you.
Librarians rule, Oook
So, in short, gold spreading near the hill, Mulligan makes a hot meal and Prestolwen makes a posset.
Everyone gets a good nights sleep, watches aside, and we tackle the two stone buildings in the morning
Sound good?
In the land of the blind, the one-arm man is king.
The party is ready to scatter the items except for the 10 skull gems that Gilraen blesses.
Is the camp at the bottom of the hill or back where the horses were left or further off?
What items if any will Deor Identify?
Are the watches normal?
Any special precautions?
Gilraen plans to sleep at least the first 8 hours of the night but reminds Gil-Gandel that Missy will stand watch for her and wake her up quickly.
If it's all right with Gil-Gandel, it's all right with Thoroncir. Back where the horses were left, no special precautions, and the same watch schedule as before (post 9) but with Drindoleth taking the princess's watch, I presume.
The Sea-knight captain wishes Gilraen sweet dreams.
Last edited by Elendil's Heir; 12 May 2010 at 10:38 AM.
Deor will ID all three swords and the Elfstone before dusk. Who noted that the black carved stone statues "feel foul?" Did someone already touch them? If they've already been touched with no ill effects, he'll ID them before dusk as well. If not, they'll have to wait until morning when he can prepare ID at a Distance.
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