Master Sano sent them on their way, pointing them in the direction that Murata and his wife had run. They had been told of a city named Yahoma that Murata had operated most of his crime rings out of, and it happened to be east - the way the two of them had disappeared years ago. The five friends departed immediately, thanking the monk.

On the way to Yahoma, Rogue John had commented that Sano had been irritatingly hesitant to give them information.

"He had to bury students and friends because of the mask," Slade said. "I don't blame him for his reticence."

In Yahoma, it wasn't hard to get people talking about Murata. There were many rumors regarding him and his wife, but the common story was that after she had been healed, the two of them had run away to live in a cave system that had been carved out of an old tomb. A few exhumers had stumbled upon them, and only a couple had made it out alive after Murata attacked them. Why the crime lord had chosen to take up residence in an old tomb, no one could answer.

By the time they had gotten the information they'd wanted, it was well past dark, but now they stood in the jungle as the sun was rising. Surrounded by thick vegetation - tall, gnarled trees, large-leafed bushes, and thick vines - as well as the sounds of wild cats and exotic birds, the stone doors of the tomb were before them. The stains of old, dry blood marked the doors, and discolored the dirt before them.

"He's just one guy," Rogue John said, glancing at the hesitant faces of the two young wizards.

"He's killed before," Artie said, gulping loudly.

"But he doesn't have the element of surprise on us," Slade said. "Just stick close to the three of us and you'll be just fine."

"I'll get the doors," Ryujin said, cracking his knuckles and his neck.

"Plus, he might not even be in there," John said.

"He better be," Jasper replied, drawing his wand.

As Ryujin placed his hands on the doors, he dug his clawed feet into the dirt. His muscles flexed and he pushed forward. Slade drew his sword and a dagger, while Rogue John nocked an arrow on his shortbow. The doors resisted, but they couldn't hold against the dragonborn's strength forever, and they soon parted open with a groan and the sound of stone scraping on stone.

Ryujin took a couple steps back and drew his katana. Slade stepped in front of him to defend him, while John angled himself to the side with his bow drawn and ready to fire. Jasper and Artie held their wands at the ready, but nothing happened. A cloud of dust came wafting out of the darkness towards them. Artie and Jasper both emitted light from the tips of their wands and held them out.

Slade took the lead, with Jasper and Artie behind. John stayed close to the wizards, and Ryujin took the rear. The air inside was stale and suffocating, indicating that it had been some time since the tomb had been opened. Inside, beetles as large as Jasper's hand, and centipedes as long as his forearm crawled along the walls, scattering among the vines and roots that had broken in as the light exposed them. Artie could be heard groaning quietly to himself as he looked around.

"Really wish Udai was here right now," Ryujin said. Slade and John murmured in agreement, recalling how many times Udai's dark vision had saved them from springing a deadly trap or walking into an ambush.

"Look!" Artie said, pointing at a shape lying on the ground ahead of them.

Jasper squinted, but he couldn't tell what it was until he got closer. It was a skeleton. An arm and a leg had been separated, but the arm was nearby. There was no sign of the leg. A pickaxe was on the ground next to the rest of the skeleton, leaving them to guess that this was the graverobber who hadn't made it.

A rotten stench crept up on them the deeper they went. After making several more turns in the tomb, they came upon a pile of animal and insect corpses in a side room. Hundreds of rats, spiders, centipedes, beetles, and snakes formed one large pile that stretched up to the ceiling, most of them half-eaten.

"Has Murata been eating all these?" Slade pondered.

"Either him or his wife," John said.

"Let's hurry up and get out of here," Artie said.

A couple more turns and they could see light at the end of a long hallway. They glanced at one another for confirmation, and before they got too close, Jasper and Artie cancelled their light spells. They came to a circular room with no exits. Several torches were lit and fitted to sconces high up on the wall. At the far end was a stone throne that looked to have been carved from the wall. The ends of the arm rests were capped with human skulls.

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The air by the throne seemed to flicker, and with a sound like the boom of an erupting volcano, a horned, red-skinned demon appeared, seated casually on the throne with a leg kicked over one of the arm rests. He had a long, skinny tail that was wrapped around his waist like a belt. He was shirtless, wearing loose-fitting pants and a pair of pointed shoes. He was muscular, and had one horn jutting out of his chin like a goatee.

Artie trembled next to Jasper, and he could feel himself doing the same. Even the three experienced adventurers seemed at the very least uncertain of what to do. The five of them stopped dead in their tracks and waited.

The demon looked away from the claws he had been inspecting on one hand, shifting his gaze to the five of them. A sly smirk appeared on his face and he said, "Ah... I was wondering who opened the doors on the tomb. I've been trapped here for so long, I just had to see who was coming to my rescue." He chuckled. "I suppose I'll kill you real quick and then be on my way. Thanks for breaking the magic on the door."

"We didn't break any magic," Slade said, in a bid of trickery. "You sure you can get out of here without our help?" The one-eyed mercenary sounded confident, though Jasper wondered how much of it was a front.

"The doors could not be opened by demonic hands. You think I didn't try?" He sounded angry at the insolence. "That bastard Sano put a divine enchantment on the stone."

"Sano?" Ryujin said, taken aback.

"You know of the monk?"

"We went to him for help looking for something," Slade interjected.

"Hmm... This, perhaps?" He snapped his fingers and a plain, dark red mask carved into the resemblance of a smiling woman appeared above his head, floating in midair.

"The mask!" Artie said, taking a step forward.

The demon got slowly to his feet. "I think we'll have a bit of fun before I leave. You want the Mask of Mandu? You'll have to take it from me."

"How did you get it?" Ryujin asked. "We were told two humans were in possession of it."

The demon opened his hands and indicated the skulls embedded into the throne's arm rests. "They haven't had it for quite some time. Now... I, Ba'arith, will send you to my realm!"

Ba'arith leapt forward, and was across the room in the blink of an eye. His fist was raised and aimed right at Jasper. Before he could attack, Slade's sword whistled through the air and cut the demon on the arm. He growled and took a few steps back, but not before one of Rogue John's arrows caught him in the opposite shoulder.

Ba'arith growled and ripped the arrow out. "Faster than I expected..."

When the demon rushed forward again, Ryujin scooped up the two wizards in one arm, securing them behind himself. In one fluid motion, Ryujin finished the spin with a downward cut of his katana and caught Ba'arith across the chest. Slade followed up with a kick to his ribs, and then another arrow from John took him in the chest.

Ba'arith roared and jumped backwards. In the blink of an eye he was on the opposite side of the room. He felt his chest and looked at his blood-smeared hand. A long, forked tongue snaked out and licked his hand clean in one swipe, and he smiled again. "I'm out of practice, but you won't get such easy hits on me again - I promise you that!"

Jumping into the air, the demon sprouted wings like a giant bat and dive-bombed toward them. He barrel-rolled to the side to evade one of John's arrows, and then came around from behind to pick the halfling up. Slade threw his dagger, attempting to clip one of Ba'arith's wings, but the monster flew low again. John beat the demon with his fists, but before he could think to draw one of his knives, he found himself launched through the air and colliding with one of the walls, nearly crashing into one of the torches.

Ba'arith came back around for another pass. Slade swung his sword, but the demon stopped short before rocketing forward and kicking him in the face. Slade's head snapped back and he fell to the ground with a grunt. Ryujin blew a ball of fire from his mouth, but this only made the demon chuckle as he caught it in his hand.

"I'm disappointed you would try that," Ba'arith said. He redirected the flame towards the two young wizards.

With a screech, Artie cast a magical shield around the both of them. While Ryujin attempted to leap into the air and cut the demon down, Jasper stepped out of the shield and aimed his wand at the ceiling above the foe, where he caused a stalactite to form, knocking the monster to the ground. Ryujin followed through with a falling stab, driving his sword down.

Ba'arith was quick to recover and rolled to the side. He got to his feet and flipped over the kneeling dragonborn, unraveling his tail and wrapping it around the samurai's neck. With incredible strength, the demon whipped Ryujin through the air and tossed him into the wall by Rogue John, where he dropped his katana. Slade appeared behind him and tried to cleave through him, but the demon sensed it and spun, catching the mercenaries' wrist.

Ba'arith punched Slade in the stomach and then the face. Jasper used his magic to fling a sizeable stone at him, but the demon's fist shot out to the side and caused it to explode into bits without even looking at it. He punched Slade in the face one more time before wrenching his sword from him and preparing for a fatal stab.

It was too late, however, for Ryujin had picked up Rogue John and thrown him with all his might across the room. In one hand the halfling held one of his own knives, and in the other was Slade's thrown dagger. John yelled and lodged the blades into Ba'arith's back, causing him to cry out in pain as he tried to shake the halfling off. Whipping back and forth, John lost his grip and flew into Slade's arms.

Ryujin was there and struck him in the face with his bare fist before drawing his tanto and slicing open his belly. Jasper stepped forward and fired his lightning bolt spell, aiming right for his guts. Ba'arith held out a hand and caught the lightning arcing out of the wand, holding it in place, battling for control while his other hand held his exposed stomach. Without hesitation, Artie stepped next to Jasper and fired the same lightning spell.

The lightning crackled through the air, heating up the room and catching the demon in the chest. With a scream, Ba'arith flew backwards through the air and collided with the throne. In a puff of smoke and a crack like a thunderstorm, the demon disappeared. Slade's dagger and John's knife went flying to opposite sides of the room, and then the Mask of Mandu clattered against the stone of the throne and landed in the seat.