While the Troupe helped protect an archeological dig, they were forced to fight their way out through possessed archeologists. Before they left the tomb, Rose stole an artefact from the ruins of the ancient society. They now stand confronted by the undead protector of the tomb, and must face the curse that was placed on that damned site.
29 Flamerule 1368
A blurry figure approaches us. As it gets closer we make out an armoured skeleton with red jewels embedded in its suit. Its eyes glow red as it speaks in slow echoing slurs.
Rose: What are you trying to say? Speak, and I shall see if I can help you.
Rose looks horrified, as if she realises this may be her doing. Maybe she knows she shouldn’t have taken the idol.
Doomsayer: Hhellp? Nooo hhhelp for theee… only sleeeep… eternity sleeeeep of one forgottt… deathh of godsss… idol take theeee wwwwhile you hold… I reclaimmm! Oro lan t’ola osa KOZAH!
Dammit Rose, I told you not to take it.
Rose drinks a Potion of Defense before she lowers the Chesley Crusher in a defensive stance. I don’t know how powerful this curse is so I reach into the scrolls of Restenford, while the others prepare for the battle to come. In the distance I see two more armoured rotting skeletons lumbering toward us. I’ve read about doom guards, many curses use them to protect ancient artefacts.
Verr’Sza attempts to use his innate abilities to Blind the Doomsayer, but its empty eye sockets remain unaffected. The rakshasha curses his stupidity.
The other doom guards close the distance between us.
Knowing she will be taking the brunt of the doom guards’ wrath, Khalid moves closer so he can protect Rose, deflecting some of the Doomsayer’s attacks.
Jaheira utters words known only to Nature. Vines erupt from the earth, latching on to anything in reach. She smiles as they grab hold of the doom guard’s bones.
The vines continue to grow as Edwin finishes his spell, sending sticky webs exploding over the area. The doom guards continue to push through despite the silk and the vines.
The Doomsayer is held in place by the web and Rose takes this opportunity to bring her halberd down on it with full force. She cracks a shoulder blade, but the Doomsayer remains emotionless and unfazed.
The Doomsayer responds with its flaming blade and Rose begins to burn. She momentarily drops the halberd as she pats herself down to extinguish the flames.
Upon seeing Rose on fire, Jaheira calls forth Nature to Regenerate her burning flesh.
Meanwhile, Verr’Sza saps what ever life force the Doomsayer has left for himself.
Using one of the scrolls from Restenford, Rose creates a Stoneskin around herself to protect from the skeleton’s attacks.
The skin proves ineffective as their weapons break through and cut into Rose, forcing her to consume a healing potion. I almost see panic in her eyes, but she holds herself together.
Edwin finishes casting another spell from the Restenford scrolls, summoning some baby wyverns to fight for us.
Jaheira also summons a group of weasels to aid us in our fight. An act of desperation – they’ll provide a distraction at best. Maybe that’s all we need.
The wyverns swoop in on the Doomsayers, almost taking one apart with a single blow.
Vines and webs constrict around the undead protectors, turning the ground into a battlefield of tangled magic and bone. Rose bears the brunt of every strike, the idol drawing all attention to her. Yet she still doesn’t break. She drinks her last potion before readying her halberd again.
Edwin stretches out his fingertips and sends Fiery Missiles hurtling toward the Doomsayer. They strike true, and we see some of the bonds that hold it together start to burn.
Seizing the opportunity, Rose screams as she strikes the Doomsayer in the ribcage and it splits into two, collapsing the Doomsayer into a pile of bones and armour.
Out of the corner of my eye I notice someone approaching us. An unexpected ally coming to our aid?
Weasels and wyverns leap at the remaining doom guards, and the binds that hold their skeletons together also begin to fail.
The woman approaching us calls out to Verr’Sza as she draws her scimitar to join in the fight. I doubt she would have been quick to join us if he wasn’t in human form. The rakshasha is annoyed by the distraction, but she seems oblivious to our current plight.
Verr’Sza: I have been beset by these foul creatures as well. We are in the same situation.
Samia: It would seem so. I am Samia. Are you here searching for the tomb as well? I was not aware of another expedition.
Verr’Sza: You missed the show, the tomb is already explored and its secret was found.
Samia: Too bad but the race for academic knowledge, yes, and fame, is getting harder daily.
Edwin isn’t aiming well with his Acid Arrows. In frustration he begins conjuring one of Melf’s Acid Arrows instead.
Samia steps up to defend Verr’Sza against the Doom Guards, yet insists on continuing their conversation during the fight.
Samia: I know enough about old artefacts and their aura to know that you carry one with you.
Verr’Sza: We found this idol of Kozah at the nearby tomb.
Samia: Good of you to be honest, it makes our deal easier.
I make you an offer that you cannot refuse… should better not refuse.
I offer you the hefty sum of 2000GP for the idol.
Verr’Sza: I know of a better use for it, one that money can’t buy. Sorry, but it’s not for sale.
Samia: A bad day for the academic world. It seems for the next expedition I need to prepare better for such obstacles like interfering adventurers. In any case, I may stay around here for a few days longer just in case you change your mind.
Edwin’s magical arrow strikes true, and it melts the skull of one of the doom guards. Another pile of bones.
Verr’Sza’s turns his back to Samia and she turns her blade against him. I call out to him. Not an ally after all. As if we don’t have enough problems.
A weasel leaps toward her, but it serves only as a temporary distraction when Samia cuts it in twain.
The last doom guard is struggling to hold itself together under the force of the webs and the vines continuing to latch onto its skeleton. Samia pushes through the silk and the plants, aiming to take out one of Edwin’s summoned wyverns.
Jaheira strikes the last Doom Guard with a bullet that crushes its face, or what’s left of it. She smiles. The curse is over for now. Now we have to deal with the would-be treasure hunter.
She puts up a fight against the wyvern, but is consumed by the sticky silk strands of the web. Rose takes the opportunity to introduce her to the Crusher.
Riddled with poison, and slowed by the webs, Samia can do nothing to stop Rose from impaling her with her halberd. She coughs up blood before breathing her last.
Rose sighs a sigh of relief. The curse is over. At least it is for now.
We take a moment to recuperate. Jaheira tells me that she feels closer to nature after dealing with the curse of Kozah.
Her Death and Spells saves are increased by 1 point each. She gains access to second level Druid spells. She gains 6 Hit Points and 1 point of Lore.
With her growing attachment to Nature, Jaheira is able to invoke more of its power. I ask her what Nature can do for her.
She tells me she is able to summon the lance of a unicorn to impale her enemies, much like Rose’s Crusher.
She can also summon war dogs to aid her in battle. They usually ignore or run away from people, but now Jaheira can bring them to our aid.
She can give herself skin like the bark of a tree that can regrow to protect from attacks.
She can charm both animals and people so they will become friendly toward us. Perhaps we can use more than just war dogs in a fight.
She can sense any traps that may be around. Useful if we ever have to fight through kobold lairs again.
She can also set her own trap that will consume its victims with fire.
She can summon a sword made of fire, much like the Doomsayer’s sword before it was destroyed.
She can instantly grow berries that can regenerate wounds. We’ll have to give some of these to Rose.
She can summon blasts of wind to knock down opponents and clear away gases. This could turn the tide of a battle.
She can sense the motivations of others. It can be useful to know who to trust.
Her ability to help others regenerate is improved as well. With this and a few Goodberries Rose could be unstoppable.
She can protect from corrosive chemicals and acids. If Mur’Neth ever betrays us, we are ready.
As well she can resist the natural elements. Given the fickle nature of, uh, Nature, it’s important to have protection.
Like me, she can also slow any poisons that may have infected a person. Another useful spell if we ever encounter kobolds and their poisonous arrows again.
Edwin’s scowl deepens, clearly unimpressed by Jaheira’s new powers, and isn’t the least bit hesitant to let it be known.
Jaheira: There is more sense in speaking one’s mind than the senseless flattery of lowly lackeys you are accustomed to, wizard. One with more wisdom would see honesty as refreshing.
Edwin: A fine line lies between honesty and unbearable rudeness; you have trampled it so many times, trudging back and forth, that had I suspected you had the intelligence of doing it on purpose, I’d applaud (as quietly as possible.)
Jaheira: Would you rather I lied, then, and call you handsome and wise when all my eyes see is repulsive and rash?
Edwin: How soon I tire of your nagging! I am certain that those who understand my obvious qualities are by far more numerous than those who’d call you attractive – nay, remotely pleasant, wench.
She is brutally honest, for sure. And with someone like Edwin in our Troupe, she’s going to sound damned insulting and rude. The Red Wizard needs to take a good look at himself, but I’ll leave it to Jaheira to tell him.
We turn to the bodies, or rather, the piles of bones and the body. The Doom Guards equipment has disintegrated but for their helmets.
Samia’s armour was plate mail with a particularly strong enchantment.
Her scimitar is nothing special, but her shield is also enchanted.
We find a key among her possessions, perhaps to the next tomb she planned to raid.
Apart from a zircon gem, we also find a book that contains an interesting piece of history I never learned about at the Keep.
We check our map. The village is far to the south in Amn. Too far away for us to travel if we want to track down Tazok any time soon. If we do look for the White Queen’s village, it will have to wait.
Why did Samia attack us? We could have helped each other. Perhaps she felt robbed of a discovery when Verr’Sza refused to sell the idol. She called us obstacles in her academic pursuits, but if she was so quick to resort to violence, then perhaps her motivations weren’t for the love of knowledge. Maybe we will find more answers in these Silent Swamps one day. But today is not that day.
I looked this up and it’s part of a mod for Shadows of Amn called The White Queen, so it really will be a while before we can explore this area.
We leave the tomb, making our way back through the wilderness. We encounter no more curses, but a tasloi makes the mistake of running into one of Khalid’s arrows.
Curses may be gone, but the woods are still filled with peril. It’s not long before we encounter another, a group of gnolls and flinds.
A flind falls to Khalid’s bow. He should be proud. His aim with that bow is impeccable, unlike Edwin’s.
The baby wyverns swoop in alongside Rose, their barbed tails sending poison into the gnoll’s veins.
The wyverns rip the gnoll apart as two more charge toward us.
Their chieftan thrusts a halberd at one of the wyverns, almost slicing it in half.
Blood dripping from open wounds, the wyvern rips out the chieftan’s throat.
The wyverns quickly move on to to their next victim, but there is another gnoll to come.
Before it can engage it is struck by a crossbow bolt. Verr’Sza claims the kill.
Edwin may be no good with his bow, but these wyverns are earning his keep.
Among the blood and fur and halberds we find some scrolls among the corpses. The first is a more powerful Sleep spell, though it is more focused. I copy it to my spell book.
The other spell deafens and crushes opponents with tremendous sounds. Edwin likes the look of this one and copies it down for himself.
We are far away from the cursed tomb now. So far nothing else has come after Rose. We need to find Tazok in the Cloakwood, but now I worry that Rose may not be fully free from her curse. Perhaps we need to take a detour to the Firewine Bridge Ruins. If there is anything else to be done about the statue’s curse, it will be found there.
