Arram's Tomb - A Crypt Bludgeon Adventure

The party of four trudged through the marsh towards the old barrow. As adventurers, they have travelled the land seeking fame, glory and wealth. They arrived at the town in this region a few days ago and were directed towards the tomb of the wizard Arram. Others have gone to loot it in the past, but it seems that none have ever returned. It's the perfect opportunity to enhance their reputation and wealth, or so they thought. Finally a large rocky mound could be seen in the distance, and as they approached, the many ornate carvings became visible. Mage stepped forward and examined the inscription. "Yes, yes! This is indeed the place." "Good. We get this done and get back to town. For decent food, drink and shag!" Barbarian shoved past mage and rushed forward to the heavy stone door and shoved it open slowly. The rest of the party let him exert himself and then followed him into the tomb. Inside, the passage was surprisingly large and stretched off into darkness, its walls rough hewn rock, the floor covered in gravel and rock dust. "It must have taken years to dig this out," remarked cleric in a low voice. "If it was built by the wizard before his death, he would have used beasts to do the work. I certainly would. Some kind of burrower perhaps," mage whispered in reply. "Ne'ermin' hoo this place wis built. Le's jus' dae th' job an' git oot. It's gettin' daurk in here, so le's git some licht goin' eh?" Thief started rummaging in his backpack for his lantern and tinderbox. A few minutes later, the party had light and had proceeded down a long straight passageway until they reached a crossroads. "We go straight! Straight always go to prize!" Barbarian shouted emphatically. "No. In my experience, going left has usually proved the best decision," mage replied in his aloof tone. "Ma bawbag!" thief whispered rather loudly. "We gae richt! It's richt for a reason. 'Cos it's richt way to gae, ye eejits." Cleric interjected loudly as the inevitable insult from thief was aired. "Why don't we have a look around here first before we decide?" You can: [[Go straight]] [[Go right]] [[Go left]] [[Examine area]]

"Ah'm tellin' ye it's the richt way tae go. Lemme' scoot it oot." And with that, thief darted off into the darkness. The rest of the group stood watching him go. Barbarian exhaled heavily, disappointed at not getting to go straight. Thief returned a few minutes later, rather excited. "There's a room wi' a load o' stone coffins back there. Ci'd be some valubles. Stupit people like tae bury people wi' valubles." "We get the jewels, then we go straight!" Cleric seemed a bit excited at the news. "I do need to donate to my temple. They would welcome some gold or gems." Mage nodded. "Very well. let us go. Was there anything else there?" They started walking in a rather relaxed fashion towards the coffin room. "Not that Ah saw. It was just a carved room wi' carved coffins. Nuthin' else that Ah could see anyways." "Did you look in the coffins at all?" Mage tried to conceal his contempt for thief's lack of common sense. Surely you would check to see if there were valubles before dragging your companions round? "Weell, naw. They're aw muckle. Ah thocht barbarian cuid dae the heevy liftin'." Mage grumbled a little. "I suppose that makes sense." They approached the room. It was ornately carved and contained several stone sarcophagi. Thief ran towards the nearest sarcophogus. "See whit Ah mean? Oi, barbarian. Gees a haund wi' this." The pair grabbed an end of the stone lid each. They slid it to the side until it fell off with a heavy thud. The four gathered around to look inside. There were indeed some pieces of gold and silver as well as a dessicated corpse of a warrior wearing dull and rusty chainmail. A longsword was resting on his chest. Thief slapped barbarian on the back with excitement. "See? Gold! if aw these coffins hae aboot the same, we'll be set at the whorehoose for a wee while." Barbarian nodded and chuckled. All of a sudden, the eyes of the corpse opened to reveal glowing blue eyes. It looked at the intruders and clutched its sword before letting out a gutteral growl. Then the lids on all of the other sarcophogi started to slide open. "Ach, shite!" stated thief. Barbarian let out a battlecry and punched the corpse in the face, to no effect. "Quick! Fall back to the entrance!" shouted mage. "Already going!" called cleric. The party retreated to the entrance to the room as several corpses clambered out of their coffins and started lumbering forward. You can: [[Have mage cast fireball at the undead->Fireball]]. [[Engage in melee combat->Melee]]. [[Have cleric turn undead->Turn undead]].

"Wait!" the wizard blurted in a hushed tone. He pointed down the left passage. "I can sense something magical this way." "Hurgh?" was barbarian's response. "What magic?" "I'm not sure. We are too far away. We should investigate." "I agree," cleric said. She pulled out her holy symbol. "Magic eh? M'bbie something that's worth a wee bit. A'richt then. Le's go!" Thief was a little excited at the thought of some valuble magical trinket. The group travelled a short distance down the passage. At the end it opened out into a room which was full of torture equipment and strange vats that were full of a slightly luminescent goo. "A'richt then. Whur's th' magic stuff, mage?" Thief licked his lips and rubbed his hands in anticipation. Mage closed his eyes and opened his mind. After a few seconds he opened his eyes, his face looking a little weary. "It seems to be this luminescent substance." "This... goop!" Thief was losing his temper. "I cannae sell shitty goop! You're wasting oor time, you..." Cleric cut in before thief aired his next expletive. "Maybe there's more than the... 'goop'. We should make sure before we return to the junction." "A've a guid mind tae stick ye in thon rack, mage. Gie it a few cranks..." Mage sighed. You can: [[Search the room]] [[Return to junction->Crossroads 1]]

"We go straight!" Before anyone could say or do anything, barbarian marched off at speed. The rest of the group looked at each other. Cleric shrugged, mage shook his head with resignation and thief sneered before hoiking a greaser out of the back of his throat. He spat the glob of phlegm and saliva down the passage before they all rushed after barbarian. The rest of the party caught up with barbarian as he rounded a sharp bend in the tunnel revealing a large ornate stone door, similar to the one at the entrance to the barrow. Barbarian stopped abruptly as the door came into view. He turned towards his companions, a big grin on his face and pointing at the door. "Ha! You see? Straight! Always Straight!" Thief grimaced. He didn't like to be wrong. "Aye, weel, mibbies yer richt this teem." Mage had his eyes closed and his hands extended. "Well then barbarian, you are indeed correct. I can sense strong magic behind that sturdy door. Will you open it for us?" "Ha! Sturdy door! Easy!" He started pushing against it. It slowly started moving, grating along the floor, gradually accelerating until with a final herculean effort, it flew open and slammed into the wall behind it. Through the door they could see that the passage extended a few paces before opening out into a large room. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! We are greatest adventurers! We have nothing to fear. We go in!" "Barbarian, wait!" Cleric tried to grab his arm but he was already over the threshold. "Ach! Thick tadger so 'e is. C'moan. Efter 'im." Thief followed through the door. Mage stepped forward. "Yes. We must face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." As soon as the party had left the passage and entered the room, the heavy stone door swung shut, the loud slam sealing the room. "Ach! Shite!" A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Who's there?" barbarian shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" Barbarian readied his weapon. "Enough talk! Now we fight!" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Unprepared magic]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich]]

The party takes some time to examine the area. There is not a great amount to discern, but in the loose floor material it can be seen that several people have travelled past this junction in all directions. Some tracks come back from the left tunnel only. Thief had a bit of a short fuse. "A bleedin' waste o' time! Thanks cleric..." He stopped before he said something that he'd regret. He liked cleric and wanted to get to know her 'better'. Verbal abuse would probably set him back in his quest. Cleric tried to defend herself. "We might have learned something useful, thief." Mage spoke up. "To be fair thief, we did learn something. Tracks emerge from here so it is possible to survive the left passageway. Unfortunately we know nothing more about the other options." Thief crossed his arms and glared at cleric. Grudgingly he acknowledged mage's logic. "A'richt then. Which way?" "We go straight!" was barbarian's booming reply. You can: [[Go left]] [[Go straight]] [[Go right]]

"We may as well have a proper search here," said cleric, "just in case there is something worth finding. We've got plenty supplies to last a while yet." "Pah! We'll see." Thief did not like to waste time but started searching around the walls. Mage restarted to scan the room for magic. "I do feel that there is something here. I just can't pinpoint it yet." Barbarian had been kicking some loose stones about and came across a pile of stones in the corner, with what appeared to be a hole in the wall near the floor. He crouched and brought his torch down to see. "Here's tunnel! I go in!" Thief raced over and peered in. "Thon's a tight wee space. I'm weeer 'an you. Ah'll go in." "It's my hole! I go in!" You can: [[Leave tunnel]] [[Send in thief]] [[Send in barbarian]]

"Fechin' waste o' time," mumbled thief as the party returned to the crossroads. Mage stuttered slightly with the stress of upsetting thief. "I, I, I was sure that there was something magical back there. It could have been worth it." He did not fully trust the man who has a habit of stabbing people in the back. Cleric tried to improve thief's mood. "It's good to know that we won't be getting attacked from behind later though." "Now we go straight!" bellowed barbarian. Cleric shook her head. "going straight now is not the same direction as before you know? You want to go left." "Straight! Straight!" "Damn richt, barbarian! Yon way! That's whur Ah said afore." You can go: [[straight on->Go right 2]] [[left->Go straight 2]]

"My hole! I go in!" "Yer tae big! Ah'm goin'" Mage rolled his eyes. "Can you two please make less noise?" "My hole! I go!" Barbarian was getting louder. "No yer no'!" Thief dodged past barbarian. He was about to climb into the tunnel when he stopped. Barbarian grabbed thief's collar. "Get back here!" "Shut it! Listen!" thief whispered loudly. "Eh?" Barbarian stopped moving and cocked his ear towards the tunnel. "What's that?" "Somethin's comin'. M'bbie's we sh'd go. Noo!" Thief got up and backed away from the tunnel. The chittering sound was getting quite loud now. "Sounds like some kind of giant insectoid perhaps. Allow me." Mage stepped forward and with a small incantation, sent a whoosh of solid flame along the small tunnel. There was a screech, followed by the chittering receding into the distance. Cleric peered into the hole. "It's gone for now. Come on. Let's go before it returns." You can: [[Return to the junction and go left->Go straight 2]] [[Return to the junction and go straight->Go right 4]]

"My hole!" Barbarian shoved thief to the ground and turned to enter the tunnel. "Dinnae be a bloody eejit. Yer tae big tae go in there an' fight. ye'll be easy meat fir onythin' in there. Ah'll fit in there better 'n ye." Barbarian seemed concerned at the prospect of fighting in the tunnel. "You think dere's monsters in there?" "Hoi! Mage! Monsters aften hide in holes, Eh?" Mage used his most authoritative tone. "Usually. And the darker the hole, the more dangerous the monster in my experience." Barbarian poked thief in the chest. "You go then." "Be careful thief." "Dinnae ye worry aboot me, cleric. Back in a tick." Thief gave her a quick smile and wink before he ducked down and slid into the tunnel with his torch extended to the front. He was sure that cleric had feelings for him, as he had for her. One day she would be his. Of this he was sure. He slid along on his belly as the tunnel got smaller and smaller. Soon he could see something glowing a pale blue hue in the distance. He slid forward, the rocky surface of the tunnel was snagging his leather jacket but he managed to reach what turned out to be a large magical sword. "A bastart sword. Bastart!" A short sword was what he was hoping for. Thief must have muttered a bit louder than he thought because all of a sudden he could hear chittering coming from further down the tunnel. It was getting louder. Something was coming. "Shite! Shite!" He grabbed the sword and started reversing back along the tunnel as fast as he could. "Wi've company doon here! Git reedy!" He thought he could see something coming. Thief managed to reach the entrance to the small tunnel and fell out, still clutching the sword. The chittering was loud now. Mage stepped forward and with a small incantation, unleashed a stream of flame down the tunnel. Whatever it was that approached unleashed a high pitch scream. The chittering receded into the distance and silence returned. Thief sat on the ground, breathing hard. "Ah may hae a wee jobby in ma troos efter tha'." He took a deep breath and exhaled hard then took another look at the sword. It was definitely too big and unwieldy for himself. "Ach! Barbarian. Ye can 'ave this." Barbarian's eyes widened and he whistled. "That is a nice sword. Better than this old axe of mine. Thank you." He took it and tried out some techniques. "Vereee nice sword." Mage nodded his head sagely. "Well that is definitely what I could sense. It seems to contain potent magic, although for what purpose I am not yet sure." "We should move on, before any more of those things come back. Oh! And well done thief." Cleric sounded a little concerned about the creatures but thief could hear relief in her voice too. You can: [[Return to the crossroads and turn left->Sword straight]] [[Return to the crossroads and go straight-> Sword right]]

"It's my hole!" Barbarian's high volume and spittle blasted thief's face. "It's my hole!" he repeated as he shoved thief out of the way and started crawling in before anyone else could stop him. Thief got to his feet and shouted after barbarian. "Fine. Hae it yer way ya dick! Hope ye get stuck an' rats eat yer face off! The tunnel was very rough and was getting progressively tighter for barbarian, who had now got onto his belly and was pushing himself along with his feet. Up ahead he could see something that had a pale blue glow. "I see something!" He slid along a bit further. "It's a sword. And it's shiny and blue!" It was still out of his reach and the space was getting smaller with rocks rubbing and digging into his back and shoulders. "I can almost reach it!" Mage laughed. "That must be the magic I was sensing! Not the goo!" Thief liked it when mage was wrong, the smug old git. He glared at him before announcing "If it's a short sword, it's mine!" Barbarian can: [[Push on for the sword->Push on]] [[Return to the party->Return]]

Thief and barbarian peered ahead into the darkness. "Well, if you two want to go straight, let's go straight," said cleric. Barbarian was about to charge off. "I go Straight!" Thief grabbed his arm. "Hauld on a wee minute. Ah'll check it oot." And with that, thief darted off into the darkness. The rest of the group stood watching him go. Barbarian exhaled heavily, disappointed at not getting to charge off. Thief returned a few minutes later, rather excited. "There's a room wi' a load o' stone coffins back there. Ci'd be some valubles. Stupit people like tae bury people wi' valubles." Cleric seemed a bit excited at the news. "I do need to donate to my temple. They would welcome some gold or gems." Mage nodded. "Very well. let us go. Was there anything else there?" They started walking in a rather relaxed fashion towards the coffin room. "Not that Ah saw. It was just a carved room wi' carved coffins. Nuthin' else that Ah could see anyways." "Did you look in the coffins at all?" Mage tried to conceal his contempt for thief's lack of common sense. Surely you would check to see if there were valubles before dragging your companions round? "Weell, naw. They're aw muckle. I thocht barbarian could dae the heevy liftin'." Mage grumbled a little. "I suppose that makes sense." They approached the room. It was ornately carved and contained several stone sarcophagi. Thief ran towards the nearest sarcophogus. "See whit Ah mean? Oi, barbarian. Gees a haund wi' this." The pair grabbed an end of the stone lid each. They slid it to the side until it fell off with a heavy thud. The four gathered around to look inside. There were indeed some pieces of gold and silver as well as a dessicated corpse of a warrior wearing dull and rusty chainmail. A longsword was resting on his chest. Thief slapped barbarian on the back with excitement. "See? Gold! if aw these coffins hae aboot the same, we'll be set at the whorehoose for a wee while." Barbarian nodded and chuckled. All of a sudden, the eyes of the corpse opened to reveal glowing blue eyes. It looked at the intruders and clutched its sword before letting out a gutteral growl. Then the lids on all of the other sarcophogi started to slide open. "Ach, shite!" stated thief. Barbarian let out a battlecry and punched the corpse in the face, to no effect. "Quick! Fall back to the entrance!" shouted mage. "Already going!" called cleric. The party retreated to the entrance to the room as several corpses clambered out of their coffins and started lumbering forward. You can: [[Have mage cast fireball at the undead->Fireball]]. [[Engage in melee combat->Melee]]. [[Have cleric turn undead->Turn undead]].

Barbarian stopped and looked a bit confused. "Wait! I know this! We been here before." He pointed to his left. "Straight this way!" Before anyone could say or do anything, barbarian marched off at speed. The rest of the group looked at each other. Cleric shrugged, mage shook his head with resignation and thief sneered before hoiking a greaser out of the back of his throat. He spat the glob of phlegm and saliva down the passage before they all rushed after barbarian. The rest of the party caught up with barbarian as he rounded a sharp bend in the tunnel revealing a large ornate stone door, similar to the one at the entrance to the barrow. Barbarian stopped abruptly as the door came into view. He turned towards his companions, a big grin on his face and pointing at the door. "Ha! You see? Straight! Always Straight!" Thief grimaced. He didn't like to be wrong. "Aye, weel, mibbies yer richt this teem." Mage had his eyes closed and his hands extended. "Well then barbarian, you are indeed correct. I can sense strong magic behind that sturdy door. Will you open it for us?" "Ha! Sturdy door! Easy!" He started pushing against it. It slowly started moving, grating along the floor, gradually accelerating until with a final herculean effort, it flew open and slammed into the wall behind it. Through the door they could see that the passage extended a few paces before opening out into a large room. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! We are greatest adventurers! We have nothing to fear. We go in!" "Barbarian, wait!" Cleric tried to grab his arm but he was already over the threshold. "Ach! Thick tadger so 'e is. C'moan. Efter 'im." Thief followed through the door. Mage stepped forward. "Yes. We must face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." As soon as the party had left the passage and entered the room, the heavy stone door swung shut, the loud slam sealing the room. "Ach! Shite!" A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Who's there?" barbarian shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" Barbarian readied his weapon. "Enough talk! Now we fight!" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Unprepared magic]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich]]

Barbarian was only a few feet away from the sword, but he was struggling to reach it. He was scrabbling to push himself forward. "I almost got it...I almost.." He managed to push forward one more time. The rocks bit into his skin and muscle but he had the sword. "I got..." Barbarian had shoved himself into a tighter spot. He could not get enough air in his lungs to speak. He tried to pull himself out with his feet but could not get enough purchase. "I... stuck..." Back at the entrance to the hole, mage and cleric were getting worried. "Barbarian!" called cleric. No answer came. She tried again. "Barbarian!" The tunnel was eerily silent. Thief wasn't worried. He didn't give a shit. In fact he found this rather amusing. "Heh! Heh! Sounds like the big eejit got hi'sself stuck efter a'." Mage spoke with urgency. "Thief, you need to get in there and pull him out. Quickly!" Thief chuckled "'zat so?" "Please, thief." Cleric's eyes pleaded. He always fancied her and if he was to have her, he needed to stay in her good books. He sighed and climbed into the tunnel. "Ach! A'richt then." Thief slid along easily at first, but it was getting tight. He wondered how barbarian could have made it this far, being much bulkier than himself. Up ahead, he could see some torchlight, most of it blocked by barbarian. There was something else there though. He could hear a chittering sound in the distance as he reached barbarian's feet. Barbarian was wheezing, unable to fill his lungs and still trying to use his feet to pull himself out but was near exhaustion and his efforts were feeble. "Got stuck, did ye? Let's get ye oot o' 'ere." Thief grabbed his ankle and tried to pull but he couldn't get enough power in the confined space. "'ere, lemme get ma rape." As thief struggled to get his arm down to his side so that he could reach his rope, the chittering sound was getting louder. "Shite!" He was tying his rope around barbarian's ankles when something extinguished the torch up ahead. The chittering was frantic now as barbarian let out a muted cry of pain. He did not have enough air in his lungs to scream. His legs kicked frantically. Thief started to back up as the sounds of tearing flesh began. It sounded like something was indeed eating barbarian's face. Something worse than rats... Thief emerged from the tunnel to see mage and cleric waiting, expecting to see barbarian emerge. Their expressions became concerned when they saw thief's ashen face. Thief shook his head. "He's no' comin' oot. Somethin's eatin' 'im in there." Mage looked unsteady on his feet and sat down on a rock. Cleric burst into tears. Thief stepped forward to hold her. He turned his face away so that mage could not see the smile on his face. "Mibbie if mage dies an' a' Ah'll be in there," he thought. After a few minutes, the party readied themselves to move on. You can: [[Return to the crossroads and leave the tomb->1 down leave]]. [[Return to the crossroads and go left->1 down straight]]. [[Return to the crossroads and go straight->1 down right]].

The rock was digging painfully into barbarian's muscular back. The glowing sword was agonizingly just out of his reach. He was sweating and out of breath. In a rare event of better judgement he declared "I can't get it. I'm too big. I come back." Just then, a chittering sound started further along the tunnel. It started getting louder. Barbarian was reversing, slowly at first, but as the tunnel widened he sped up. The sounds were getting close. "Something is coming!" Ahead, barbarian could see the silhouette of something with many spindly legs, coming fast. He reached the entrance to the tunnel. Thief and cleric grabbed him and dragged him out of the way as mage stepped forward and, with a small incantation, sent a blast of magical fire along the tunnel towards the creature. It shrieked and chittered away into the darkness. "You didnae get it. Efter a' that, you didnae get it! Ah told ye Ah should go, but naw, it had tae be you. Noo we've bloody nuthin'." Thief was fairly raging. Barbarian got to his feet. "I bravest and strongest! That's why I go!" "Yer the thickest!" Mage cut in using his tone of superiority. "Sorry to interrupt this exchange gentlemen, but we really should move on. Before more of those beasts return." Cleric tried to calm thief down a bit. "Look, it was just one of these things. We couldn't know what was in there." "Aye, but still. Ah'm the thief. Ah do the exploring." "Sometimes it's good to share the tasks." She put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Thief shook it off and walked off, back to the junction. "No this time it wasnae. Le's go!" From the crossroads you can: [[Go left->Go straight 2]] [[Go straight->Go right 2]]

As the three trudged wearily back to the first junction in the passageway, they debated whether they could continue. "I need protection. I simply cannot go on. Not without a fighter," mage explained. "Ways I sees it, wan less barbarian means bigger share o' the loot fir uz." Cleric cut in. "No, thief. Mage is correct. He works best with a fighter to shield him. We should leave. We can return later with another warrior." "Not to mention," said mage, "we will have nothing to share if we are dead. Which we may well be without barbarian's protection." Thief shrugged. "Weel, if ye pit it like that...le's go." And so the three left to find another warrior. Hopefully one who is a bit less thick... [[Try again->The beginning]]

Back at the crossroads, thief was considering the dangers without a fighter in the group. "Ach! This place is deid. Thur's nuthin' here tae wurry 'boot." Lemme' scoot oot doon yon way." And with that, thief darted off into the darkness. The rest of the group stood watching him go. He returned a minute later, looking dejected. "Ach, thur's a muckle fechin' stane doar. It's nae budgin', no' withoot that deid numpty, barbarian." Mage raised an eyebrow. "A stone door you say? That sounds important. Allow me." The group approached the imposing carved stone door. Mage could sense powerful magic emanating from beyond the door. He cast a spell that allowed him to meld the stone as if it were soft putty. He pushed the stone inwards and then to the sides, creating enough space for them to pass through. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Mage stepped forward "Let us face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Wha's there?" thief shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Unprepared magic2]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich2]]

Back at the crossroads, thief was considering the dangers without a fighter in the group. "Ach! This place is deid. Thur's nuthin' here tae wurry 'boot." Lemme' scoot oot doon yon way." And with that, thief darted off into the darkness. The rest of the group stood watching him go. Thief returned a few minutes later, rather excited. "There's a room wi' a load o' stone coffins back there. Ci'd be some valubles. Stupit people like tae bury people wi' valubles." Cleric seemed a bit excited at the news. "I do need to donate to my temple. They would welcome some gold or gems." Mage nodded. "Very well. let us go. Was there anything else there?" They started walking in a rather relaxed fashion towards the coffin room. "Not that Ah saw. It was just a carved room wi' carved coffins. Nuthin' else that Ah could see anyways." "Did you look in the coffins at all?" Mage tried to conceal his contempt for thief's lack of common sense. Surely you would check to see if there were valubles before dragging your companions round? "Weell, naw. They're aw muckle. I c'ld use a haund tae dae the heevy liftin'." Mage grumbled a little. "I suppose that makes sense." They approached the room. It was ornately carved and contained several stone sarcophagi. Thief ran towards the nearest sarcophogus. "See whit Ah mean? Yous twa'! Gees a haund wi' this." The three grabbed one end of the stone lid. With much effort, they slid it to the side until it fell off with a heavy thud. They gathered around to look inside. There were indeed some pieces of gold and silver as well as a dessicated corpse of a warrior wearing dull and rusty chainmail. A longsword was resting on his chest. Thief slapped cleric on the back with excitement. "See? Gold! if aw these coffins hae aboot the same, you can get startet buildin' yon temple fir yer god, eh?" All of a sudden, the eyes of the corpse opened to reveal glowing blue eyes. It looked at the intruders and clutched its sword before letting out a gutteral growl. Then the lids on all of the other sarcophogi started to slide open. "Aw, shite!" stated thief. "Quick! Fall back to the entrance!" shouted mage. "Already going!" called cleric. The party retreated to the entrance to the room as several corpses clambered out of their coffins and started lumbering forward. You can: [[Have mage cast fireball at the undead->Fireball2]]. [[Have cleric turn undead->Turn undead2]].

The group returned to junction. Mage stopped, closed his eyes and held out his hands. "I think I can sense magic this way too. It's very faint but I think so." "More magic? Another sword! We go this way!" Before anyone could say or do anything, barbarian marched off at speed. The rest of the group looked at each other. Cleric shrugged, mage shook his head with resignation and thief sneered before hoiking a greaser out of the back of his throat. He spat the glob of phlegm and saliva down the passage before they all rushed after barbarian. The rest of the party caught up with barbarian as he rounded a sharp bend in the tunnel revealing a large ornate stone door, similar to the one at the entrance to the barrow. Mage didn't need to hold out his hands now. "I can sense strong magic behind that sturdy door. Barbarian, please open it for us." "Ha! Big door! Easy!" He started pushing against it. It slowly started moving, grating along the floor, gradually accelerating until with a final herculean effort, it flew open and slammed into the wall behind it. Through the door they could see that the passage extended a few paces before opening out into a large room. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! We are greatest adventurers! We have nothing to fear. We go in!" "Barbarian, wait!" Cleric tried to grab his arm but he was already over the threshold. "Ach! Thick tadger so 'e is. C'moan. Efter 'im." Thief followed through the door. Mage stepped forward "Yes. We must face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." As soon as the party had left the passage and entered the room, the heavy stone door swung shut, the loud slam sealing the room. "Ach! Shite!" A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Who's there?" barbarian shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" Barbarian readied his weapon. "Enough talk! Now we fight!" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Prepared magic]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich 2]]

The group returned to the crossroads. "Now we go straight!" bellowed barbarian, wielding his shiny glowing magical sword with gusto. Cleric shook her head. "going straight now is not the same direction as before you know? You want to go left." "Straight! Straight!" "Damn richt, barbarian! Yon way! That's whur Ah said afore." "Well, if you two want to go straight, let's go straight," said cleric. Barbarian was about to charge off. "I go Straight!" Thief grabbed his arm. "Hauld on a wee minute. Ah'll check it oot." And with that, thief darted off into the darkness. The rest of the group stood watching him go. Barbarian exhaled heavily, disappointed at not getting to charge off. Thief returned a few minutes later, rather excited. "There's a room wi' a load o' stone coffins back there. Ci'd be some valubles. Stupit people like tae bury people wi' valubles." Cleric seemed a bit excited at the news. "I do need to donate to my temple. They would welcome some gold or gems." Mage nodded. "Very well. let us go. Was there anything else there?" They started walking in a rather relaxed fashion towards the coffin room. "Not that Ah saw. It was just a carved room wi' carved coffins. Nuthin' else that Ah could see anyways." "Did you look in the coffins at all?" Mage tried to conceal his contempt for thief's lack of common sense. Surely you would check to see if there were valubles before dragging your companions round? "Weell, naw. They're aw muckle. I thocht barbarian could dae the heevy liftin'." Mage grumbled a little. "I suppose that makes sense." They approached the room. It was ornately carved and contained several stone sarcophagi. Thief ran towards the nearest sarcophogus. "See whit Ah mean? Oi, barbarian. Gees a haund wi' this." The pair grabbed an end of the stone lid each. They slid it to the side until it fell off with a heavy thud. The four gathered around to look inside. There were indeed some pieces of gold and silver as well as a dessicated corpse of a warrior wearing dull and rusty chainmail. A longsword was resting on his chest. Thief slapped barbarian on the back with excitement. "See? Gold! if aw these coffins hae aboot the same, we'll be set at the whorehoose for a wee while." Barbarian nodded and chuckled. All of a sudden, the eyes of the corpse opened to reveal glowing blue eyes. It looked at the intruders and clutched its sword before letting out a gutteral growl. Then the lids on all of the other sarcophogi started to slide open. "Ach, shite!" stated thief. Barbarian let out a battlecry and punched the corpse in the face, to no effect. "Quick! Fall back to the entrance!" shouted mage. "Already going!" called cleric. The party retreated to the entrance to the room as several corpses clambered out of their coffins and started lumbering forward. You can: [[Have mage cast fireball at the undead->Fireball3]]. [[Engage in melee combat->Melee2]]. [[Have cleric turn undead->Turn undead3]].

The group of undead approach the four adventurers with murder in their glowing eyes. Barbarian readied his two-handed axe. "I smash these dead things!" "Wait!" shouted mage. "I have a better plan!" With that he made a short incantation and some hand gestures which culminated in a ball of fire manifesting in the palm of his hands which he shoved forward quickly, releasing the fireball. It shot forward into the centre of the room and then expanded explosively, engulfing the undead warriors in magical fire. Unfortunately mage had made a critical error and had misjudged the size of the room. The fire expanded and filled the room, and kept coming. Before they could react the heroes were engulfed in the conflagration too. The explosion muffled their screams as their skin burned off almost instantly. The rest of their flesh followed within seconds. One mistake is all it takes to die in agony... [[Try again->The beginning]]

"I hack you to pieces!" barbarian roared as he rushed forward wielding his big axe. "Barbarian, you imbecile!" Now that barbarian was in the way, mage could not use his magic without risking barbarian. He drew his dagger and advanced on the nearest dead warrior. "Shite!" Thief drew his short bow and fired. "Begone undead scum!" Cleric swung her heavy cudgel, waiting for her opponent to close the gap. The fight was short. These undead were great warriors in life. They were still accomplished fighters in death, and it turns out that regular weapons are not very effective against dead flesh and bone. Rusty weapons still work great on living flesh though... [[Try again->The beginning]]

"Everyone get back!" cleric shouted. "I can handle this." The group all fell back behind Cleric who raised her holy symbol and chanted "I banish thee, unclean undead." several times. As the undead warriors advanced, their weapons clanged to the floor and their leathery skin burst into flame, their bones crumbled to dust leaving burning piles of dusty cloth. Thief punched the air with delight. "Yeeoouu beeeoooty!" Barbarian let his axe head drop to the floor with a dull clang. "Awww. I no get to fight." "Ha! Save yer strength fir when ye need it." Thief slapped barbarian's back hard. "Yes. Thief is right. We want you fit to fight when necessary." Mage turned to face cleric with a rare smile. "And cleric, well done dear. Very well done indeed." Thief smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Well, noo that they've a' bin tak'n care o', w' can get tae the lootin'" He ran over to the nearest smouldering pile of dust and started poking at it with the toe of his boot. "That's why wer here efter a'" Some time later, the room had been picked clean of anything with value. Thief was fastening his coin purse to his belt. "Whad I say? Stupit folk leavin' riches w' the dead? Ah'll hae it if they dinnae want it. Heh!" You can: [[Leave and return to town->Town 1]] [[Continue exploring->Crossroads 2]]

Barbarian stopped and looked a bit confused. "Wait! I know this! We been here before." He pointed to his right. "Straight this way!" Before anyone could say or do anything, barbarian marched off at speed. The rest of the group looked at each other. Cleric shrugged, mage shook his head with resignation and thief sneered before hoiking a greaser out of the back of his throat. He spat the glob of phlegm and saliva down the passage before they all rushed after barbarian. The rest of the party caught up with barbarian as he rounded a sharp bend in the tunnel revealing a large ornate stone door, similar to the one at the entrance to the barrow. Barbarian stopped abruptly as the door came into view. He turned towards his companions, a big grin on his face and pointing at the door. "Ha! You see? Straight! Always Straight!" Thief grimaced. He didn't like to be wrong. "Aye, weel, mibbies yer richt this teem." Mage had his eyes closed and his hands extended. "Well then barbarian, you are indeed correct. I can sense strong magic behind that sturdy door. Will you open it for us?" "Ha! Sturdy door! Easy!" He started pushing against it. It slowly started moving, grating along the floor, gradually accelerating until with a final herculean effort, it flew open and slammed into the wall behind it. Through the door they could see that the passage extended a few paces before opening out into a large room. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! We are greatest adventurers! We have nothing to fear. We go in!" "Barbarian, wait!" Cleric tried to grab his arm but he was already over the threshold. "Ach! Thick tadger so 'e is. C'moan. Efter 'im." Thief followed through the door. Mage stepped forward. "Yes. We must face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." As soon as the party had left the passage and entered the room, the heavy stone door swung shut, the loud slam sealing the room. "Ach! Shite!" A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Who's there?" barbarian shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" Barbarian readied his weapon. "Enough talk! Now we fight!" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Unprepared magic]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich]]

Barbarian and thief rushed towards the undead wizard to engage in melee combat. Mage was casting an enchantment spell on barbarian's axe to allow it to harm the lich. Cleric was also casting a spell. She brandished her holy symbol and called "My Lord, show this abomination your devine light!" Suddenly a beam of brilliant sunlight erupted from her holy symbol and directed onto the lich. It screached and burst into flames. Blinded, it flailed at its attackers and managed to touch thief. Despite being on fire, its touch was freezing cold and paralyzed thief who now stood rigid as a statue. In his head he was trying to speak but his mouth was frozen. "Ah cannae move! Ah'm fechin' stuck!" Barbarian hacked at the lich with his now enchanted axe causing bits of burning leathery flesh to fly across the room. The lich dropped to its knees and cleric moved closer, continuing to bathe the undead in sunlight. Within a few more seconds, the lich was reduced to some bones in a pile of dust and burning rags. Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! That was too easy! Now we get his gold!" Mage was examining thief. "Yes we get its gold, but at what cost?" Cleric was clearly upset at thief's condition. "Can you remove the paralysis?" Mage continued to study thief. "It appears to be a powerful curse. There is a chance, but I cannot guarantee success." "Please mage, you have to try." cleric pleaded. Mage steeled himself. "Of course, my dear. Please let me concentrate." He gestured and spoke words that the others could not understand. He took a half step backward, his eyes locked on thief, looking for any sign of improvement. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head. "I'm so sorry cleric. The curse is too powerful. I have failed." Cleric burst into tears and hugged the frozen thief. "No. Noooo!" "Maybe another mage could try?" A rare intelligent comment from barbarian. "Perhaps. But it would take too long to move thief back to town. I do not even know if he is breathing. He may only have moments left to live. I could rest and try dispelling the curse again tomorrow, if he still lives." Cleric still sobbed. She spoke between large sniffs of snot. "Yes. Try again tomorrow. Please." Mage nodded. "Very well. But first we must search and find the lich's phylactery." "What's fillactarry?" "It is some form of jar where the wizard stored his life essence before he became the lich. It will be extremely valuable and should be close by. We must find and destroy it or the lich will rise again." You can: [[Gather up the valuables and leave the tomb.]] [[Search for the phylactery.]]

Cleric stepped forward brandishing her holy symbol. Raising her voice she chanted "I call upon the power of the Lord to banish the evil and unclean from his chosen land!" The lich was somewhat amused. "Ha! ha! ha! You and your puny 'Lord' have no power here. Let me demonstrate what real power is." The lich raised its right hand and pointed at cleric. "Kill!" An inky black cloud manifested around cleric, engulfing her momentarily. It then dissipated to reveal her lifeless body which slumped to the floor. Thief was enraged by the sight of his dead love dropping to the floor. "Noooo!" He charged at the lich with his dirk and barbarian was right behind him with his axe, but thief's attack had no effect on the undead husk. Meanwhile mage was mumbling and gesturing as he cast a spell. Suddenly barbarian's axe took on a golden sheen just as he swung it into the lich's torso causing it to shriek in pain as mummified flesh was torn off. "Upstart! You will pay for that!" The lich reached forward and touched barbarian's arm with an icy hand. Instantly, barbarian was paralysed, standing like a statue in a heroic pose, unable to move at all. "Ya deid bastart ye! Ah'll kill ye again!" Thief continued hacking and stabbing with his ineffectual dirk. He was so enraged that he failed to realise that his attacks were futile. Mage was casting another spell. This time a volley of flaming arrows were hurled at the lich, impaling it and setting its robe alight. "Aaargh! You are causing me a lot of pain, mage. It is time to end this." With a quick a quick gesture and some words with meanings that mage could only guess at, a black vortex opened above mages head. From it, a huge red arm entered and grabbed mage, pulling him back through the vortex where he was swiftly dismembered in another dimension by the arm's owner. "And now it is just you, you pathetic insect." The lich touched thief's head, causing instant paralysis. It looked at thief and barbarian's immobile bodies. "Now I have some more rats for my experiments." Being paralysed, the pair could not even scream, no matter how much agony they endured before their deaths... [[Try again->The beginning]]

Cleric wiped the tears from her eyes. "Forget the phylactery. We need to get out of here and try to revive thief." Mage nodded. "Very well. Let us first collect the valuables. Thief would never forgive us if we left without them. Especially if we do manage to revive him." Inside thief's head he had a rare agreement with mage. "Yer fechin' richt Ah'll ne'er forgive ye's. Ah didnae go through this for nuthin'! An get fechin' movin' afore Ah pass. Ah cannae breath much at aw." Mage continued, "Barbarian, you will have to carry thief. Cleric and I shall gather the valuables. We will meet you outside, at our last camp site." Barbarian wasn't exactly overjoyed with the job of carrying thief. "Why'd I get to carry thief? I want gold too!" "Because you're big and strong. Please, do it for me?" Thief was not the only one with a soft spot for cleric. "All right." Barbarian grabbed thief and slung his rigid body up onto his shoulder and lumbered away. "I see you at last camp." Mage opened a small sack and started filling it with jewellery from the dust pile. The sack did not seem to be filling up. "Let us hurry child. Time is of the essence." A few hours later, the duo met up with barbarian at their last camp site. He had obviously just arrived as he was still breathing hard and was drenched in sweat. "You here. Good." Mage looked at the frozen body lying on the ground. Something was not right. He touched thief's brow. It felt cool. He put his hand to thief's mouth but he felt no breath. He then searched for a pulse. Nothing. He slowly shook his head and looked up at cleric who burst into tears. "I am sorry cleric. He is dead." She pushed past mage and held thief. "No! I can raise him again!" "Perhaps you can, but he will still be cursed and paralysed. He will just die again. It will take me too long to regain my strength to attempt to dispell the curse. By then, he will be too long dead to raise. We cannot help him." He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Barbarian seemed a little too happy. "So he dead? More gold for us!" Cleric was enraged. "Yes! More gold for us! Thief is dead and you couldn't care less!" "As long as I get gold I care not. Now, I see what we have. Mage?" He held out his hand expectantly. Mage sighed and opened his magical sack. He reached in and picked out the treasure, dropping it at his feet. He picked through the pile, taking the pieces that looked most valuable. "I take these and I go. You know where I be when you need me." He walked off leaving them behind. Cleric shouted after him. "Enjoy your whores you bastard!" Mage stood shaking his head as he watched barbarian leave. "His greed will be his undoing. One day..." "We must cremate thief, so that he may rest in peace." She called on the power of her god to create a pillar of flame where thief's body lay. Mage cast a spell where a wall of fire erupted out of the ground, enveloping what remained of thief. Within a few moments, thief's body was ashes. The two stood over where he lay. Tears again rolled down cleric's face. "I am finished with adventuring. I can't go through this again." Mage nodded solemnly. "I understand. Here, take these." He handed her a small fortune in gold and gems. Cleric tried to hand some of it back. "I can't take all of this. Half is yours." "Nonsense, my dear. You need it to build your own temple and bring His word to the people. I have no need of such trinkets. Come. Let us head back to town." "Thank you mage. You are too generous." Mage stifled his mirth, secretly fondling a gem worth a king's ransom as the pair started off back towards town... [[Try again->The beginning]]

Cleric wiped the tears from her eyes. "Forget the phylactery. We need to get out of here and try to revive thief." Barbarian shoved past cleric and started pushing at rocks on the wall. "Forget thief! Fillactary is valuable! I stay and find it!" "Barbarian you heartless bastard!" Meanwhile inside thief's mind he was thinking, "Ah'll gut ye in yer sleep, ye bastart!" and then at hearing cleric's response, "Ah knew she liked me!" Mage started towards an alcove. "To be honest, I really do not think it will make much difference whether we leave now or in a few hours. If he is breathing, he will still live. If he is not..." "I thought you were better than this, mage. Clearly I was wrong." Mage found a loose looking brick in the alcove. He pressed it and a hidden door opened. He turned towards cleric with a cheesy grin on his cragged face. "Relax, my dear. It looks like we will find it rather quickly." "You found door? I'll get fillactary!" Barbarian raced across the room and through the door. It opened into a short passage which opened into a small rough carved room. Barbarian's gaze was immediately drawn towards the phyllactery. It was a large ornate gold urn, encrusted with various precious gems. Mage and cleric had just entered the room as barbarian grabbed the urn from its unusual shelf. Mage saw what barbarian was doing and shouted "No, you fool!" but it was too late. The unusual shelf was in fact the palms of outstretched hands belonging to a large carved stone figure which started moving when the urn left its hands. Barbarian was so enthralled by the phyllactery that he failed to notice the stone golem that it rested on. He turned surprised when mage shouted at him, and never knew what hit him as a huge stone club of a fist crushed his skull. Cleric was shocked with what she just saw, but managed to stammer a question. "Wh, what is it?" Mage turned to run. "A stone golem! We cannot win against it! We must leave!" The pair ran down the short passage, only to find that the solid stone door had closed, locking them in. The few seconds that it took for the golem to catch them seemed like a lifetime. At least their deaths were quick... [[Try again->The beginning]]

The group of undead approach the three adventurers with murder in their glowing eyes. "It's me an' you, cleric! Wi'll fech they bestards!" "Wait!" shouted mage. "I have a better plan!" With that he made a short incantation and some hand gestures which culminated in a ball of fire manifesting in the palm of his hands which he shoved forward quickly, releasing the fireball. It shot forward into the centre of the room and then expanded explosively, engulfing the undead warriors in magical fire. Unfortunately mage had made a critical error and had misjudged the size of the room. The fire expanded and filled the room, and kept coming. Before they could react the heroes were engulfed in the conflagration too. The explosion muffled their screams as their skin burned off almost instantly. The rest of their flesh followed within seconds. One mistake is all it takes to die in agony... [[Try again->The beginning]]

"Everyone get back!" cleric shouted. "I can handle this." The group all fell back behind Cleric who raised her holy symbol and chanted "I banish thee, unclean undead." several times. As the undead warriors advanced, their weapons clanged to the floor and their leathery skin burst into flame, their bones crumbled to dust leaving burning piles of dusty cloth. Thief punched the air with delight. "Yes! Yeeoouu beeeoooty!" Mage turned to face cleric with a rare smile. "Cleric, well done dear. Very well done indeed." Thief smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Well, noo that they've bin tak'n care o', we can get tae the lootin'" He ran over to the nearest smouldering pile of dust and started poking at it with the toe of his boot. "That's why wer here, efter a'" Some time later, the room had been picked clean of anything with value. Thief was fastening his coin purse to his belt. "Whad I say? Stupit folk leavin' riches w' the dead? Ah'll hae it if they dinnae want it. Heh!" You can: [[Leave and return to town->Town 2]] [[Continue exploring->Crossroads 3]]

"Well, I think we have ridden our luck long enough." stated mage. "I suggest that we leave this place before our luck ends, like it did for poor barbarian." "I agree. This haul is worth an awful lot. We can do much with it. We could maybe return with another fighter some day to fully explore the tomb. But I am going to take my share and build my own temple for my Lord. It's high time that I did." Thief was disappointed. He knew that he would not see cleric for a while if she was building her temple. He really wanted to 'seal the deal' with her, but he could tell that their minds were made up. He'd have to find an enticing adventure for her. Something to lure her away for longer. Then maybe he will achieve success with her. But until then, "Ach, a'richt then. Le's go. Tae th' whorehoose!" [[Try again->The beginning]]

"Well, I think we have ridden our luck long enough." stated mage. "I suggest that we leave this place before our luck ends, like it did for poor barbarian." "Nah! Nae way. Whin yer luck's in, ye keep ridin'. Ah'm scootin' yon way. It's a' that's left tae go." And with that, thief ran off silently down the corridor. He returned a minute later, looking dejected. "Ach, thur's a muckle fechin' stane doar. It's nae budgin', no' withoot that deid numpty, barbarian. Wer' dun 'ere." Mage raised an eyebrow. "A stone door you say? Allow me." The group approached the imposing carved stone door. Mage could sense powerful magic emanating from beyond the door. He cast a spell that allowed him to meld the stone as if it were soft putty. He pushed the stone inwards and then to the sides, creating enough space for them to pass through. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Mage stepped forward "Let us face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Wha's there?" thief shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Unprepared magic2]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich2]]

Thief rushed towards the undead wizard to engage in melee combat. Mage was casting an enchantment spell on thief's dirk to allow it to harm the lich. Cleric was also casting a spell. She brandished her holy symbol and called "My Lord, show this abomination your devine light!" Suddenly a beam of brilliant sunlight erupted from her holy symbol and directed onto the lich. It screached and burst into flames. Blinded, it flailed at its attackers and managed to touch thief. Despite being on fire, its touch was freezing cold and paralyzed thief who now stood rigid as a statue. In his head he was trying to speak but his mouth was frozen. "Ah cannae move! Ah'm fechin' stuck!" The lich dropped to its knees as cleric moved closer, continuing to bathe the undead in sunlight. Within a few more seconds, the lich was reduced to some bones in a pile of dust and burning rags. Mage was examining thief. "He appears to be alive, but paralysed" Cleric was clearly upset at thief's condition. "Can you remove the paralysis?" Mage continued to study thief. "It appears to be a powerful curse. There is a chance, but I cannot guarantee success." "Please mage, you have to try." cleric pleaded. Mage steeled himself. "Of course, my dear. Please let me concentrate." He gestured and spoke words that the others could not understand. He took a half step backward, his eyes locked on thief, looking for any sign of improvement. His shoulders slumped and he shook his head. "I'm so sorry cleric. The curse is too powerful. I have failed." Cleric burst into tears and hugged the frozen thief. "No. Noooo!" She spoke between large sniffs of snot. "Can you try again?" Mage nodded. "Very well. But first we must search and find the lich's phylactery. We must find and destroy it or the lich will rise again." "Where would such a thing be?" she managed to say between sobs. "The lich would keep it close by. Perhaps in a secret room?" It did not take long for mage to locate the loose brick which served as a button to open a secret door. The pair stepped through and along a short passage into a small room with rough walls carved out of the bedrock. Directly in front of them stood a huge stone statue, with its hands cupped in front of it. Resting on its hands wa a large ornate golden urn which was encrusted with valuable gems. "Wait!" whispered mage. "That is a golem. If we approach, it may activate. It is too powerful for us to defeat. We must leave." "If we leave, the lich will return. I can't allow that. We have already sacrificed too much. We must destroy the lich, whatever the cost." Cleric's resolve was strengthened at the sight of the phylactery. "You understand it will mean certain death?" Mage's voice was tired and gravelly with resignation. He knew that cleric would not let him leave. She nodded, her face rigid with grim determination. "So be it." Mage cast a series of magic missiles which exploded into the urn. It exploded and erupted a green mist which dissipated into the air. Suddenly, the stone golem advanced towards them, they tried to fight but were crushed. At least the lich was truly destroyed... [[Try again->The beginning]]

Cleric stepped forward brandishing her holy symbol. Raising her voice she chanted "I call upon the power of the Lord to banish the evil and unclean from his chosen land!" The lich was somewhat amused. "Ha! ha! ha! You and your puny 'Lord' have no power here. Let me demonstrate what real power is." The lich raised its right hand and pointed at cleric. "Kill!" An inky black cloud manifested around cleric, engulfing her momentarily. It then dissipated to reveal her lifeless body which slumped to the floor. Thief was enraged by the sight of his dead love dropping to the floor. "Noooo!" He charged at the lich with his dirk but his attack had no effect on the undead husk. Meanwhile mage was mumbling and gesturing as he cast a spell. Suddenly thief's dirk took on a golden sheen just as he thrust it into the lich's torso causing it to shriek in pain. "Upstart! You will pay for that!" The lich reached forward and touched thief's arm with an icy hand. Instantly, he was paralysed, standing like a statue in a heroic pose, unable to move at all. He tried to speak "Ya deid bastart ye! Ah cannae fechin' move!" but the words sounded only within his mind. Mage was casting another spell. This time a volley of flaming arrows were hurled at the lich, impaling it and setting its robe alight. "Aaargh! You are causing me a lot of pain, mage. It is time to end this." With a quick a quick gesture and some words with meanings that mage could only guess at, a black vortex opened above mages head. From it, a huge red arm entered and grabbed mage, pulling him back through the vortex where he was swiftly dismembered in another dimension by the arm's owner. "And now it is just you, you pathetic insect. Now I have another rat for my experiments." Being paralysed, thief could not even scream, no matter how much agony he endured before his death... [[Try again->The beginning]]

"I hack you to pieces!" barbarian roared as he rushed forward wielding his bastard sword. "Barbarian, you imbecile!" Now that barbarian was in the way, mage could not use his magic without risking barbarian. He drew his dagger and advanced on the nearest dead warrior. "Shite!" Thief drew his short bow and fired. "Begone undead scum!" Cleric swung her heavy cudgel, waiting for her opponent to close the gap. Before the other three had even begun fighting, barbarian had cleaved his way through the undead warriors. His weapon went through them like a hot knife through butter, limbs, torsos and heads were severed and flew through the air and accross the room. He laughed with glee as he worked. "What a sword!" "Well, that was easier than I thought it would be." mage grumbled. Thief smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Well, noo that they've bin tak'n care o', we can get tae the lootin'" He ran over to the nearest dismembered corpse and started poking at it with the toe of his boot. "That's why wer here efter a'" Some time later, the room had been picked clean of anything with value. Thief was fastening his coin purse to his belt. "Whad I say? Stupit folk leavin' riches w' the dead? Ah'll hae it if they dinnae want it. Heh!" You can: [[Leave and return to town->Town 1]] [[Continue exploring->Crossroads 4]]

"Everyone get back!" cleric shouted. "I can handle this." The group all fell back behind Cleric who raised her holy symbol and chanted "I banish thee, unclean undead." several times. As the undead warriors advanced, their weapons clanged to the floor and their leathery skin burst into flame, their bones crumbled to dust leaving burning piles of dusty cloth. Thief punched the air with delight. "Yes! Yeeoouu beeeoooty!" Barbarian looked at his magical sword with a long face. "Awww. I no get to fight." "Ha! Save yer strength for when ye need it." Thief slapped barbarian's back hard. "Yes. Thief is right. We want you fit to fight when necessary." Mage turned to face cleric with a rare smile. "And cleric, well done dear. Very well done indeed." Thief smiled and rubbed his hands together. "Well, noo that they've bin tak'n care o', we can get tae the lootin'" He ran over to the nearest smouldering pile of dust and started poking at it with the toe of his boot. "That's why wer here efter a'" Some time later, the room had been picked clean of anything with value. Thief was fastening his coin purse to his belt. "Whad I say? Stupit folk leavin' riches w' the dead? Ah'll hae it if they dinnae want it. Heh!" You can: [[Leave and return to town->Town 1]] [[Continue exploring->Crossroads 4]]

Barbarian hoisted a sack full of valuables onto his shoulder. "Now I go back to town. Food! Drink! Shag!" Thief grabbed his arm. "Haud on a wee bit pal. We're no' finished 'ere. Hoo's aboot we loot the 'ole place?" Barbarian stood straight for a few seconds as he thought. He shook his head and started walking. "I come back when I run out of coin." "'Zat so? Well dinnae expect tae find onythin' when ye get back 'ere. Ah'm no leavin' 'til Ah clear this place oot." Thief turned towards cleric and mage. "You twa' comin' or whit?" Cleric looked slightly upset. "We can't leave him in this terrible place alone. I'll stay with you." Thief was very happy to hear these words coming from cleric. She must care for him a little at least. He nodded and smiled at her. She smiled back. "Now we'r get'in sumwhere," he thought. Mage coughed. "Well if you are both staying, I shall accompany you." "So, barbarian. You cummin'? Tell you whit, Ah'll buy yer first shag when wi get back, A'richt?" Barbarian stood and rubbed his crotch, then nodded. "I can wait a bit longer, for shag." The group returned to the crossroads where thief pointed with his thumb to the right. "weel, yonder way's a' that's left. Barbarian snorted. "Ha! That way's right! Not left!" Thief slapped his forehead with disbelief. Why did he put up with this eejit? "Ya numpty! Ah meant..." Cleric cut in. "Nevermind that. Would you mind scouting the way, thief?" "Aye. Nae bother. Back in twa ticks." And with that, thief ran off silently down the corridor. He returned a minute later. "Thur's a muckle fechin' stane doar. Ah dunno whit's on either side. C'mon 'n see fer yersels." As the group approached the door mage commented "Well now. That is an imposing door indeed. Something of great value may well be on the other side." Mage had his eyes closed and his hands extended. "I sense strong magic beyond. Barbarian, open the door if you will." "Ha! Sturdy door! Easy!" He started pushing against it. It slowly started moving, grating along the floor, gradually accelerating until with a final herculean effort, it flew open and slammed into the wall behind it. Through the door they could see that the passage extended a few paces before opening out into a large room. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! We are greatest adventurers! We have nothing to fear. We go in!" "Barbarian, wait!" Cleric tried to grab his arm but he was already over the threshold. "Ach! Thick tadger so 'e is. C'moan. Efter 'im." Thief followed through the door. Mage stepped forward "Yes. We must face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." As soon as the party had left the passage and entered the room, the heavy stone door swung shut, the loud slam sealing the room. "Ach! Shite!" A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Who's there?" barbarian shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" Barbarian readied his magical sword. "Enough talk! Now we fight!" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Prepared magic]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich 2]]

Thief and barbarian rushed at the lich to engage in melee combat. Knowing that barbarian already had an enchanted weapon that could damage the lich, mage was casting a spell of haste which would make the barbarian and thief superhumanly fast for a short period. Cleric was also casting a spell. She brandished her holy symbol and called "My Lord, show this abomination your devine light!" Suddenly a beam of brilliant sunlight erupted from her holy symbol and directed onto the lich. It screached and burst into flames. Blinded, it flailed at its attackers. Fortunately, the haste spell allowed thief to dodge the lich's touch as he stabbed it with his dirk to no effect. "Fech! Die again ye bastart!" Meanwhile barbarian cleaved through its right arm with his magical sword, and then the left arm too. "Ha! I love this sword!" He continued to hack at the lich causing bits of burning leathery flesh to fly across the room. The lich dropped to its knees and cleric moved closer, continuing to bathe the undead in sunlight. Within a few more seconds, the lich was reduced to some bones in a pile of dust and burning rags. Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! That was too easy! Now we get his gold!" "Yer fechin' richt we git 'is gold!" Thief knelt down and started poking through the pile of dust and ash. "Before we collect up the valuables, we must search and find the lich's phylactery." "What's fillactarry?" "It is some form of jar where the wizard stored his life essence before he became the lich. It will be extremely valuable and should be close by. We must find and destroy it or the lich will rise again." You can: [[Gather up the valuables and leave the tomb->leave with valuables 2.]] [[Search for the phylactery->phylactery 2.]]

Cleric stepped forward brandishing her holy symbol. Raising her voice she chanted "I call upon the power of the Lord to banish the evil and unclean from his chosen land!" The lich was somewhat amused. "Ha! ha! ha! You and your puny 'Lord' have no power here. Let me demonstrate what real power is." The lich raised its right hand and pointed at cleric. "Kill!" An inky black cloud manifested around cleric, engulfing her momentarily. It then dissipated to reveal her lifeless body which slumped to the floor. Thief was enraged by the sight of his dead love dropping to the floor. "Noooo!" He charged at the lich with his dirk and barbarian was right behind him with his magical sword, but thief's attack had no effect on the undead husk. Meanwhile mage was mumbling and gesturing as he cast a spell. Barbarian swung his sword into the lich's torso causing it to shriek in pain as mummified flesh was torn off. "Upstart! You will pay for that!" The lich reached forward and touched barbarian's arm with an icy hand. Instantly, barbarian was paralysed, standing like a statue in a heroic pose, unable to move at all. Unfortunately mage's haste spell took effect just too late for barbarian. "Ya deed bastart ye! Ah'll kill ye again!" Thief continued hacking and stabbing with his ineffectual dirk but more quickly due to the spell. He was so enraged that he failed to realise that his attacks were futile. Mage was casting another spell. This time a volley of flaming arrows were hurled at the lich, impaling it and setting its robe alight. "Aaargh! You are causing me a lot of pain, mage. It is time to end this." With a quick a quick gesture and some words with meanings that mage could only guess at, a black vortex opened above mages head. From it, a huge red arm entered and grabbed mage, pulling him back through the vortex where he was swiftly dismembered in another dimension by the arm's owner. "And now it is just you, you pathetic insect." The lich tried to touch thief's head, causing instant paralysis but he was moving too quickly. "Very well, you fool. Avoid this!" The lich quickly cast a spell of paralysis on thief. He suddenly stopped moving and fell to the floor as his pose could not maintain balance. The lich looked at thief and barbarian's immobile bodies. "Now I have some more rats for my experiments." Being paralysed, the pair could not even scream, no matter how much agony they endured before their deaths... [[Try again->The beginning]]

After picking the lich's chamber clean, barbarian's sack was bulging. "Ho! Ho! Even more loot! Now we leave for food, drink and much shagging!" "Aye! Ah'm wi' ye!" Cleric dropped her sack of loot with a clang. "Well I am not! We need to rid the world of this lich. If it returns, we have achieved nothing!" Mage was aware of the possible dangers of searching for the phylactery. "My dear, I believe that it would be best to return another day in greater numbers. A phylactery contains the lich's life essence. It will be very well protected. I suggest that you use your new wealth to hire some soldiers to assist when you return." Cleric was a little angry. "Well, if the three of you are leaving I have no choice, do I? Let's go." Thief was a little upset, seeing cleric cross like this. But he thought that he could make it up to her when they return. Until then..."Tae the whorehoose then!" "Shag! Shag! Shag!" Cleric sighed, shook her head, picked up her sack of treasure and trudged off... [[Try again->The beginning]]

After the group finished looting the room for all valuables, cleric made a statement. "We must find and destroy the phylactery. It is what my Lord desires." Mage replied in his most condescending tone. "Are you sure, my dear? Destroying the phylactery is often the most dangerous part. I suggest you use your coin to hire a small army. It will be safer that way." Cleric was getting worked up. "It cannot wait any longer. I must destroy all undead. They are evil and unclean and my Lord demands they be..." Thief sensed an opportunity to make some progress with cleric. He cut in. "Dinna ye wurry. Ah'll help ye." Barbarian hoisted his loot sack. "Good luck. I'm going for food, drink and shag!" "Ach stays a wee bit langer eh, barbarian? Tell you whit, Ah'll buy ye three shags when wi get back, A'richt?" Barbarian stopped, dropping his bag of loot. He turned to thief with a sneery smile. "I stay for five shags. No less!" "Ya lusty bastart ye! A'richt! Five shags!" Pulling cleric was beginning to be a costly business. Mage exhaled loudly. "Well if you are all staying, I suppose I shall stay to lend a hand. The phylactery may well be guarded by some form of magic." "Where be fillactary?" Mage looked around. "It is likely to be very close by. Perhaps in a secret room." Thief started towards an alcove. "Ah bet ye it's 'roond 'ere." He pressed a few bricks unti he found a loose one that opened a secret door beside him. "See? Nae bo'r at a'" He silently stepped through and returned a few seconds later. "It's in th're a'richt! But a muckle stane man's hauden it." Mage peered into the room. "A big stone man? I'd wager that to be a golem. This is very dangerous indeed." Barbarian readied his sword. "Ha! So we take fillactary and kill stone man. Easy!" Mage waved his index finger at barbarian. "From what I have learned of golems, they are never easy to destroy." "We must get that phylactery. I say we try." Cleric started for the door. "Haud on. Hoos aboot a steal it? Tha's ma specialty!" Cleric stopped. "Can you?" Thief produced his scoundrel smile and wink. "Ah kin gie it a bash." You can: [[Steal the phylactery.]] [[Fight the golem.]]

Mage drummed his fingers on the wall. "Well, I suggest that you try to steal it. The worst case scenario is that it activates and we have to battle it." He didn't mention that thief would likely be dead before the rest entered the room. "I hope you mess up. Then I get to use sword again!" Cleric was reluctant to send thief in on his own. She looked into his eyes with genuine concern. "If you are sure." "It'll be lik' tak'n sweeties fi a bairn." He took a spare sack and filled it with some loose stones from the floor. "Back in twa ticks." He stealthily entered the room, leaving his torch at the door to provide enough light to see, but plenty of shadow too. In the shadow, he silently approached the golem with its outstretched hands on which sat a beautiful ornate gold urn, encrusted with various precious gems. He weighed his sack in his hand and carefully removed a couple of small stones to try and match the weight of the phylactery. Happy with that, he took a deep breath as he quickly grabbed the urn as he replaced it with the bag of stones, keeping something in contact with the golem at all time. He waited a few seconds while holding his breath. The golem remained stationary. He slowly exhaled and retreated back through the shadows. The three looked surprised when thief emerged from the other room, the phylactery in one hand and the other indicating that they remain quiet his index finger over his puckered lips. Mage could sense the powerful magic emanating from the urn. "Let us leave this place," he whispered. "We can destroy the phylactery when we are safely outside." "Agreed!" said cleric quietly but enthusiastically. "Richt. C'mon then." Thief led the group as they crept out of the crypt. Some distance away from the tomb, the group came to a stop. Thief looked back to see if anything was following them. "Richt. Ah dinnae see onythin'." Mage took the phylactery from thief. "Good. Good. Let us now destroy the lich forever." He set it down and started walking away. He readied himself to cast a spell at the urn. "Stand clear everyone." Barbarian got in the way, wielding his sword. "I smash it!" Cleric turned to mage. "Are you sure it's safe to do that?" Mage was unusually slow to answer. "I..." Thief could not care less who destroyed it. "G'aun yersel'" Without waiting for mage's answer, barbarian took his magical sword and swung it down onto the phylactery. It exploded violently, releasing a greenish fume. Unfortunately, barbarian was caught in the explosion which tore his body apart. Cleric ran toward what remained of him. "Barbarian!" He was far beyond saving, with pieces strewn around. His sword was still in perfect condition. She turned towards mage and stormed up to him. "You knew that would happen, didn't you!" Mage took a step back. "Calm down, my dear. Please, I..." Suddenly, mage cried out as thief's dirk penetrated his spine. He dropped to his knees, exhaling slowly. Thief took mage's magic pouch and reached in. He pulled out a most exquisite gem, worth an absolute fortune. "Ye didnae think ye cuid hide this wee beooty fae me, did ye? Ah had ma eye on it since ye foond it. An noo yiv kilt barbarian. Aye, he wis thick as shite, but he didnae deserve tha'. An Ah bet ye wur killin' me or cleric niest. Nae chance ya bastart." Thief twisted his blade. Mage's last breath ended and he fell down, his surprised face submerging into the mud. Cleric was crying having lost barbarian and mage who she had considered friends. "I can't believe that mage would have killed us all." Thief was busy removing all items of worth from mage's corpse. "Ah aye thoct he wis a wee bit sleekit." A short while later, thief had recovered all items of value from the area, including fragments of the phylactery and barbarian's loot. Thief was thankful for mage's magic sack of holding which allowed him to carry far more than would be normally possible. He strapped the bastard sword to his back. "Cleric, Ah want ye tae hae this wee trinket." He handed her the incredibly valuable gem. "Ah ken ye want yer ain temple. Ye can afford tae build wan noo." "I can't take this. We can sell it and share the coin." Thief grabbed her hand and forced the gem on it and closed her fingers over it. "Tak it. Ah can aye pyke some coin if Ah need tae." Cleric kissed thief on the cheek. "Thank you. You are too generous." Thief laughed. "Aye. Wi' ither folks' shite." The pair walked the many miles back to town. Cleric looked serious again. "This was our last adventure together. I cannot go through something like this again. I shall build my temple and tend to my flock from now on." She kissed him again, this time on the lips. "A' the best tae ye, cleric." With that, thief turned and walked away. In his mind he was thinking about that kiss and how he was edging closer to making her his wife. "If Ah hang aroond long enough, keep turnin up at mass..." Further down the road he turned back to see cleric walking away. He shouted after her. "Ah'll see ye aroond!" As she turned around to look, he gave her his best mischievous grin and wink. "Tae the whorehoose!" She shook her head and sighed as she walked away. The End. [[Try a different approach->The beginning]]

"Ha! I have magic sword! I can fight anything!" And with that, barbarian charged into the room. The other three chased after him and entered the room as barbarian picked up the phylactery. Immediately, the golem activated and slammed barbarian with its massive stone fist. He tried to deflect the blow with his sword, but he did not have the strength to resist the crushing blow as he only held his sword with one hand, the phylactery in his other. He flew across the room, his sword falling from his hand's broken grip. The group watched in horror as barbarian flew from the huge impact. Thief was first to snap out of it. "Whit dae wi' dae, mage?" Mage snapped out of his shock. "Ehm, what?" "The fechin' golem. Hoo dae wi kill it?" Mage clutched his shaking head in his hands. "I, I do not know." Thief was incredulous. "Weel that's jus' fechin' barrie!" Cleric called upon the power of her Lord to barrage the construct. Unfortunately, stone is highly resistant to heat, even of magical origin. The flames engulfed the golem but it just kept coming. Thief grabbed cleric's hand and started pulling her. "We need tae run!" Mage turned and started running. "Yes! That would be the best approach!" Suddenly, they all could hardly move. Their running speed was more like a leisurely walk. Thief nearly burst his lungs as he propelled himself along, but he was still slow. Although lumbering and quite slow itself, thanks to its innate spell ability the golem closed the distance and crushed mage with its fist. Thief pushed cleric through the door and shouted "Keep runnin'!" just as he collapsed under the weight of a massive impact. Cleric looked over her shoulder as thief was smited but she kept running. "Thief! Nooo!" The golem was slowed by the door slightly as it had to duck down to get through, but within a short spell it had caught up to cleric. Her lungs burned with the effort of running for her life, but still she was too slow. A solid impact from behind crushed her armour and sent her sprawling to the floor. The golem about turned and entered its secret room. It retrieved the phylactery, returned to its original position and resumed its eternal vigil. The next night, the lich rose again. It was delighted to find two broken but still living bodies for experimentation... [[Try again->The beginning]]

The group returned to the junction again. Cleric pointed to her left. "Just this way left to explore. Would you mind scouting the way, thief?" "Aye. Nae bother. Back in twa ticks." And with that, thief ran off silently down the corridor. He returned a minute later. "Thur's a muckle fechin' stane doar. Ah dunno whit's on either side. C'mon 'n see fer yersels." As the group approached the door mage commented "Well now. That is an imposing door indeed. Something of great value may well be on the other side." Mage had his eyes closed and his hands extended. "I sense strong magic beyond. Barbarian, open the door if you will." "Ha! Sturdy door! Easy!" He started pushing against it. It slowly started moving, grating along the floor, gradually accelerating until with a final herculean effort, it flew open and slammed into the wall behind it. Through the door they could see that the passage extended a few paces before opening out into a large room. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! We are greatest adventurers! We have nothing to fear. We go in!" "Barbarian, wait!" Cleric tried to grab his arm but he was already over the threshold. "Ach! Thick tadger so 'e is. C'moan. Efter 'im." Thief followed through the door. Mage stepped forward "Yes. We must face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." As soon as the party had left the passage and entered the room, the heavy stone door swung shut, the loud slam sealing the room. "Ach! Shite!" A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Who there?" barbarian shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" Barbarian readied his axe. "Enough talk! Now we fight!" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Unprepared magic]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich]]

"It's my hole!" Barbarian's high volume and spittle blasted thief's face. "It's my hole!" he repeated as he shoved thief out of the way and started crawling in before anyone else could stop him. Thief got to his feet and shouted after barbarian. "Fine. Hae it your way ya dick! Hope ye get stuck an' rats eat yer face off! The tunnel was very rough and was getting progressively tighter for barbarian, who had now got onto his belly and was pushing himself along with his feet. Up ahead he could see something that had a pale blue glow. "I see something!" He slid along a bit further. "It's a sword. And it's shiny and blue!" It was still out of his reach and the space was getting smaller with rocks rubbing and digging into his back and shoulders. "I can almost reach it!" Mage laughed. "That must be the magic I was sensing! Not the goo!" Thief liked it when mage was wrong, the smug old git. He glared at him before announcing "If it's a short sword, it's mine!" Barbarian can: [[Push on for the sword->Push on2]] [[Return to the party->Return2]]

The group returned to junction. Mage stopped, closed his eyes and held out his hands. "I think I can sense magic this way too. It's very faint but I think so." "More magic? Another sword! We go this way!" Before anyone could say or do anything, barbarian marched off at speed. The rest of the group looked at each other. Cleric shrugged and mage shook his head with resignation. Thief shouted after barbarian, "Wi go yonder way 'cos it's the way wi've no been yet ya numpty!" The rest of the party caught up with barbarian as he rounded a sharp bend in the tunnel revealing a large ornate stone door, similar to the one at the entrance to the barrow. Mage didn't need to hold out his hands now. "I can sense strong magic behind that sturdy door. Barbarian, please open it for us." "Ha! Big door! Easy!" He started pushing against it. It slowly started moving, grating along the floor, gradually accelerating until with a final herculean effort, it flew open and slammed into the wall behind it. Through the door they could see that the passage extended a few paces before opening out into a large room. Thief started forward. "Whit 're we waitin' fir? Lit's ch'ckit oot." Cleric grabbed thief's arm. "Wait! I can sense a great evil here. I think we should reconsider this. Before it's too late." Thief had never seen her look so worried before. He peered into the room but his lamp failed to pierce far into the inky darkness. "Whit 'boot ye, mage? Whit dae ye sense? "I can only feel the presence of great magical power. I cannot discern of what origin." Barbarian thumped his chest. "Ha! We are greatest adventurers! We have nothing to fear. We go in!" "Barbarian, wait!" Cleric tried to grab his arm but he was already over the threshold. "Ach! Thick tadger so 'e is. C'moan. Efter 'im." Thief followed through the door. Mage stepped forward "Yes. We must face whatever awaits us." Cleric had a final shiver down her spine and then followed. "I pray for our souls." As soon as the party had left the passage and entered the room, the heavy stone door swung shut, the loud slam sealing the room. "Ach! Shite!" A gutteral voice sounded within their minds. "Visitors! How very kind of you to come by. It has been so long since I have had company, and I really do need some rats for my experiments. Ha! Ha! Ha!..." "Who's there?" barbarian shouted as the group huddled in the unnatural darkness and freezing cold. "Oh! Forgive my lack of hospitality. I do not require light, but you do of course. Please allow me." Suddenly several torches housed in sconces around the room burst into flame, revealing the room and its inhabitant. Mage could scarcely believe what he saw. "A, A lich!" The dessicated corpse with glowing blue eye sockets replied. "Why yes, a lich. You could have become one too if you had mastered the magical arts. But your life is going to end before that happens. Too bad." Thief tried to put a brave face on. "Lookit a' they jewels an' gold on it. Ah'm gonnie hae them or die in the tryin'. Shame aboot yer scabby tattie robe. Spoils the look, eh?" Barbarian readied his weapon. "Enough talk! Now we fight!" You can: [[Engage in magical and melee combat->Prepared magic]] [[Have cleric attempt to turn undead->Turn lich 2]]

The group of undead approach the four adventurers with murder in their glowing eyes. Barbarian readied his magical bastard sword. "I smash these dead things!" "Wait!" shouted mage. "I have a better plan!" With that he made a short incantation and some hand gestures which culminated in a ball of fire manifesting in the palm of his hands which he shoved forward quickly, releasing the fireball. It shot forward into the centre of the room and then expanded explosively, engulfing the undead warriors in magical fire. Unfortunately mage had made a critical error and had misjudged the size of the room. The fire expanded and filled the room, and kept coming. Before they could react the heroes were engulfed in the conflagration too. The explosion muffled their screams as their skin burned off almost instantly. The rest of their flesh followed within seconds. One mistake is all it takes to die in agony... [[Try again->The beginning]]