Their steps echoed down the steep stairway downwards, the only sound they made. The light cantrip on all their weapons had faded by now, but Adriana had enchanted a couple of stones to serve as lights for them, one held by Delde, the other by herself. As both Irmar and Dal who were at the front had dark vison it was unnecessary for them to have them. The walk down was monotonous and entirely without event, but as they went deeper into the earth Delde did notice that there was a distinct smell of dampness that was far stronger here than on the upper level.
At long last the aspirants from Kassen finally reached the lower level of the Crypt of the Everflame. They now found themselves in a circular chamber, its cracked stone walls unadorned with anything in contrast to the endless mural in the upper section. There was a solitary pillar in the centre of the room, whether it was for structural support or to suit the aesthetic of the architect Delde didn’t know. She could however read the writing on the floor, carved into the stone flagstones they spiralled out from the pillar, only slightly worn from years of other groups like them walking over them over the many years that this tradition had been followed. They read:
‘To the south you might take your ease, to rest and reflect on Kassen’s deeds. To the east lies the wheel, to open the gate. To the west lies the resting place of Kassen, the hero of Fangwood’.
‘Huh, it doesn’t even rhyme, say what you want about old Holgasts “poetry” at least it feels like he put a bit of effort in when leaving us clues. This just reads like… instructions, it’s a lot more boring sounding’.
‘Doesn’t need to be entertainin’ Dal. Just needs to tell us what to do next’.
As the instructions memorialised on the floor said there were three other exits to the room other than the one they had just entered from, one for each of the cardinal directions. Each passageway began with a wide stone arch and stretched out into darkness, there was a steady sound of dripping water coming from the eastern passageway, while the foul stench of rot emanated strongly from the westernmost way. Only the arch to the south gave no hint as to what lay beyond it.
Delde looked around the chamber in further detail, hoping to spot some hidden secret that might either help them progress or tell them what had happened in the crypt to call forth so many undead. On the surface, outside of the absence of any mural the lower level seemed very similar to the upper one. But the wizard was never one to judge things off of a surface examination, and as she looked closer she spotted several incongruous details. One was that this chamber, while as well made as the above ones were seemed to be in worse condition. Walls had deep cracks, flagstones jutted out at odd points, and some parts of the high ceiling looked like it had begun to sag beneath the vast weight of the earth above it. Delde couldn’t think of what could have caused such a shift in the level’s construction, but she was reminded of something she had read before in her mentors library, the effects of an earthquake. She hadn’t heard anything about one occurring in the Fangwoods, and she was sure that one of her companions would have mentioned it if there had been one. But if there was some sort of mass disruption to the graves then it might have triggered something that resulted in the crypt becoming filled with necromantic energies.
Another feature she had spotted, related to the condition of the chamber, but perhaps less important was that there was a much greater amount of mould on the walls here. The upper level had some as well, but mostly just in the occasional corner, here there was a light smattering of mould on every wall. There were also a couple of small, faint, rivulets of water running down the eastern wall. They had travelled very far into the depths of the earth in their procession down to the heart of the crypt, Delde suspected they were far beneath the water table for the area, and if the sound of water trickling from the east was anything to go by, there was a significant chance that some portions of the crypt might be flooded.
The final thing that Delde recognised was something more difficult to properly put into words, especially for someone as logic driven as herself. The best way she could describe it was that the lower level had a presence to it, an oppressive darkness that the upper levels lacked. Even though the chamber they had all entered had no traps, contained no scene of tragic deaths, lacked the presence of any monsters at all, let alone the undead, Delde couldn’t shake a sense of dread from herself. There was a chill to the room that she had at first put down to them being so deep underground, but it felt more than that now. She had heard the phrase “the cold hand of death” before, read it countless times in novels, biographies and journals in Holgasts library, but this was the first time that she felt like she knew what those people were talking about. The chamber, through no apparent act of its own nor of any one thing within it, reeked of malice. Delde even noticed that while in other rooms in the upper level they would all spread out further when exploring it, here they remained in a relatively tight formation.
After fully determining that the room hid no secrets from them the companions turned to each other to discuss their options.
‘From what it sounds like to me, the resting place of Kassen should be our ultimate destination. I believe that the powerful undead that kidnapped Roldare’s sister would most likely choose to rest in the most prestigious part of the tomb. That is what I learnt from my readings on religious treaties on undead and their natures at least. I suggest that we head there as quickly as we can, we will find Dimira, the undead, or both. And if the undead is not there then that may signify that Kassens final resting place may have some protections upon it that might make it anathema to the undead. If that is the case, then we would have somewhere that would be safe to rest on this level if we had to’.
Adriana seemed more confidant now in their task that they were closer to their goal and ultimate enemy. What she said about the behaviour of the undead that had kidnapped the young woman they were trying to rescue did match up with what Delde had read about in her own, significantly less pious studies, but she couldn’t help but think that the cleric might be thinking somewhat romantically when it came to Kassens final resting place having some protections against the undead. That sort of thing sounded like it came from an insipid child’s fairy-tale rather than an actual study of the undead. Delde kept that opinion to herself though. That said, the rest of the party didn’t seem as enthusiastic to head down the western passage just yet.
‘Yie make a far point, but ah think we should maybe have a wee look doon the eastern passage first. The words at the pillar say we need tae go there tae use the wheel tae open the gate. Ah dinnie ken whit that means fer sure, but ah’m willin’ tae bet that tae get intae Kassens restin’ place we’ll need tae open that gate’.
Igmar looked to the others to see how they felt.
‘I’ve got to side with Igmar on this one, and not because I’m worried, he’ll try and have me arrested if I don’t agree with him. If these instructions are telling us how to open a gate, chances are we’re going to need to open the gate and I don’t want to be wandering around down here for any longer than I need to. Place creeps me out’.
It was a sentiment that they all shared, even the shadows seemed darker in the lower level, even though Delde knew that they weren’t. Adriana looked pensive.
‘If the group believes the best way forward is to go down the eastern passage first then I will go along with you. I still believe that the hostage is most likely down the western way, but in any case, I would want us to perform a search of this entire level at some point anyway, it may as well be now’.
Again, Delde noticed that Adriana seemed to be trying to imply a degree of authority that she lacked but was unwilling to force the issue. The cleric appeared to be willing to go with the groups consensus though so there weren’t any arguments at least. But as they began to walk towards the eastern passageway Baye, who was closest to it held out her arm, just as she did to signal them to stop when she was guiding them through the Fangwoods.
‘Wait. I hear somethin’. Somethin’ more than the sound of water drippin’. It sounds like… gurglin’? But its faint. Can’t make out more. But there is somethin’ down that way’.
‘Might it be another survivor? We should hurry then!’.
‘Doubt it’s a survivor. Doesn’t sound human. Can’t place the noise though’.
‘We were going to go that way in any case, we’ll just have to keep a look out for whatever it could be’.
Delde was already recollecting everything she could about the undead, trying to work out which ones might make a gurgling sound. Ghouls, ghasts, zombies depending on the level of decomposition. So long as it wasn’t another insubstantial threat, she figured they would be alright.
As they walked down the wide eastern passageway the half elf realised that the floor was steadily sloping downwards, not enough for it to be a problem just for the moment, but she suspected it would lead into one. That was because the further they progressed to the east the more water leaked into the structure; dozens of rivulets ran down the cracked stone walls whilst a small downpour wept from the ceiling. Algae ran rampant throughout the hallway, leaving it dark and slimy. Walking through the passageway made Delde feel as though she had been swallowed whole by some terrible giant creature and was traveling through its innards.
After around five minutes of walking, during which all the group were gradually soaked by the brackish, earthy water seeping in and raining down on them they reached a junction. One route left, another right. Baye stepped forward and signalled them to be quiet.
‘The gurglin’s comin’ from the left. Still can’t work out what’s makin’ it. But I think it sounds alive. Not human, but alive’.
They all looked amongst themselves, trying to work out how to best make use of this information but Baye carried on speaking.
‘Think we should see what’s makin’ the noise. It’s probably another monster we’ll need to kill. But if it is then we should get to it sooner rather than later. They’re not like the undead, they can travel between rooms if they want. Last thing we need is one of them rushin’ up behind us when we’re already in the middle of a fight. Or when we’re exhausted after just finishin’ one. Better we challenge it on our terms’.
Nobody refuted the ranger’s argument so to the left they headed. As the progressed further down the passageway the water bleeding through the walls began to pool on the floor. Then it began to rise. By the time they reached the swollen rotten wooden door the water they were wading through was already two feet deep. Delde’s robes and shoes were thoroughly ruined, at least until such a point that she could use a prestidigitation cantrip to clean them. Even then she feared that the stench of the stagnant water would cling to them forevermore. To Baye and her adoptive brother Dal the water was almost up to their shoulders, and deeper and they would need to start swimming. Delde considered offering to carry one of them on her back but felt that it might come across as tactless and so kept her offer to herself, Dal might laugh it off, but she didn’t want to earn Baye’s ire.
Now that they were closer, Delde could hear the gurgling sounds over the water running from the ceiling, emanating from beyond the door as well as what sounded like… croaking? She looked to the expert in all things natural.
‘Corse, frogs. Giant ones given how loud they are. More than one from the sounds of things. Can’t be sure of how many though. Not more than five though. If the group gets bigger than that they tend to turn on each other’.
‘Onythin’ yie can tell us aboot them tae give us a better idea on hoo tae best fight them?’.
‘They’re frogs… They won’t be usin’ any tactics or anythin’, at least not what your used to. Main thing to worry about would be their tongues. They can stretch out to over fifteen feet I’ve heard, and they’ll use them to try and grab you. If they catch you like that they’ll try and eat you whole from what I’ve heard. Though to be fair, only me an Dal will need to worry about that. The rest of you they’ll just gnaw on once they get you to their mouth’.
‘Well, I just feel great now hearing that. Fighting off undead and wood statues isn’t enough; I’ve got to worry about becoming frog food as well?’.
‘That’s not the only thing we need to worry about. The waters goin’ to make it tough to manoeuvre around when the fightin’ starts. And if there’s giant frogs in there then there’s a good chance the water’ll be deeper inside as well. Won’t be too bad for me as I tend to keep to the back and not move around too much. You though?’.
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‘So, I need to try and avoid being made into frog food while also swimming around in the world’s worst indoor bath? Ugh, you sure we need to fight these things? I mean there was that other way we could’ve gone, maybe that’s the path that has no traps or anything on it?’.
‘Like I said, we could go around. But if we wind up fighting somethin’ and the frogs hear us, we might end up having to fight them anyway. Better to deal with them now. Unless everyone else wants to try the other way?’.
‘While I do not think that there will be any survivors within that chamber, I do agree that we should press forward through it. Baye is correct in that we cannot afford a battle on two fronts, and if there are other survivors here then we should ensure that wandering monsters can’t attack them. We can always check the other way when we come back’.
The gnome shrugged.
‘Alright then, but I’m going to have trouble moving about in there so don’t expect me to be able to rush in and save you all if you end up over your heads. Don’t worry, I’ll get there eventually, it’ll just take a little bit for me to paddle up to you’.
They took a moment to strategize as to how they would go about dealing with the supposed threats in the room behind the sodden door. Baye insisted that if any giant frogs had managed to find their way into the crypt they would likely be very hungry by now and consequently very aggressive, more so if they felt that they were intruding in the frogs territory. The plan was for Igmar and Adriana to take up their traditional roles as the vanguard for their group, with Baye and Delde acting as ranged support as normal. Dal’s position was for himself to determine, if he felt that he could get into melee range without too much of an issue then he would, otherwise he could stay in the backlines with the ranged fighters and contribute with his sling. The rogue seemed less than enthusiastic about staying in the back, but Delde wasn’t sure if that was due to a preference for fighting up close, a wish to not have others fighting on his behalf, or simply wanting to make the most out of his two new weapons.
With their plans established Igmar went to open the door after Dal had deemed it clear of traps. The dwarf struggled to force his way through it though, so swollen from damp it was. Eventually he took a running charge at it and rammed into it with his shoulder. The door came clear in a burst of soaking splinters, as did most of the frame that it was in.
The stink of mould and moisture hung thick in the air of the chamber. From the light they had with them she could see that at the far end of the room a large section of the ceiling had fallen, resulting in a wide hole that dark brackish water cascaded from, a waterfall in miniature. The rest of the ceiling was so cracked that water dripped down so much it was as if a rainstorm had been trapped inside the crypt. Seeing the state of the ceiling of the chamber, along with all the water freely seeping into it added to Delde’s concerns over the structural stability of this level of the crypt, but she assured herself that if it had lasted more than a hundred years there was little that they could do in their fight that would damage the chamber enough for it to be cause for concern. She almost believed herself.
The rest of the long rectangular chamber was dominated by three large stone sarcophaguses in the centre, placed in even spacing alongside each other. The tops of them stood out from the water that flooded the room, at least as deep as the water in the hallway they were standing in, if not deeper. Through the dim light that reached them Delde could see that they were all covered in a thick carpet of moss and fungus, almost making them seem more like large log or tree stumps rather than artifacts of worked stone.
More importantly though for Delde and her companions was the large, warty frog that was sitting upon the sarcophagus closest to them. Its hide was slimy, dull green colour with its eyes a jaundiced yellow. The beast was around three feet long and wide, and around two feet in hight and as soon as Igmar burst through the door it roared out a CROAK! That reverberated throughout the chamber. Delde assured herself that she had just imagined a small stone falling from the ceiling.
Without waiting for any signal Baye fired an arrow at the giant frog which struck the animal in its throat, causing it to make a horrible screeching sound as it bounded towards her. So intent it was on attacking her that it didn’t pay any head to Igmar who trudged through the water, which was just over his waist, towards it. He slashed at the creature with his longsword as it rushed past him, leaving it with a deep gash at its side turning the dark fetid water even darker with its blood.
Still the giant amphibian ignored the swarf though. Instead, its thick ropey tongue shot out of its mouth and headed towards the ranger who had drawn first blood. She dodged out of the way of the stickly looking appendage, although she seemed unsteady on her feet, the water making it difficult to move at any speed. It was her adoptive brother Dal who made the retaliatory strike against the creature though, lashing out with his enchanted dagger with a wild swing that was either an example of his remarkable reflexes or his good luck. He didn’t sever the frog’s tongue, but he did manage to carve off a noticeable slice off it in a gruesome display of bladework.
Despite the aggression of their foe the fight seemed to be going heavily in their favour. That changed when a second frog burst out from the water and locked its jaws around Igmar’s left arm. Then another tongue darted out from a shadowy corner of the chamber, wrapping itself around the fighter’s sword arm. And the first frog that they had antagonised was still charging for Baye. In less than a couple of seconds the tides of battle shifted in favour of their opponents.
For a moment time seemed to slow, but Delde took no comfort in it. She felt panic began to well in her as she struggled to pick out a target. Igmar was in the process of being overwhelmed and without him their frontline would collapse, but a battle maddened giant frog was also about to bullrush right into Baye and consequently next to her. She didn’t have her most powerful spells. Nothing that she had read about prepared her for this. She couldn’t fight that thing off with her staff. She needed to -.
Delde snapped herself out of her growing hysteria. She was not a child. She was not weak. She was a wizard, she studied the world and controlled the arcane. She would not be brought low by some overgrown animal.
In one fluid motion she raised her hand and fired off a ray of frost cantrip that hit the charging frog dead centre in its frenzied face. Igmar was strong and capable, he could handle himself for a few moments. They needed to kill this enemy otherwise they wouldn’t be able to properly support him. Delde did not have her most powerful spells at her disposal for the moment, but she didn’t need them for this, her logic driven mind was all the weapon she would need against mere animals.
‘Focus on this one first! We can’t help Igmar if we’re being torn apart!’.
With her scimitar in hand Adriana slogged through the slimy waters towards the giant frog that was still rushing towards them. The frog remained resolute in its desire to attack Baye, moving through the water with a speed and grace that none of them could manage. She drove the curved blade down upon the creature’s head, slicing clean through one of its eyes killing it outright.
One down, two to go.
The cleric continued her slog past the floating corpse of her slain foe towards the still struggling form of Igmar. He was yanked left and right by the two giant frogs but was able to maintain his balance, never falling into the dark water despite a few close calls, yet the dwarf couldn’t overpower his grapplers either, they were at an impasse where neither side looked to be willing to give up. But Delde spied blood in the water around the struggling dwarf, she didn’t think that frogs had teeth, but she’d never seen giant ones before. If the situation carried on for much longer she doubted that he would be able to keep his head above water.
A whooshing sound grabbed Delde’s attention, and she turned just in time to see Dal fire off a stone from his sling that hit the distant giant frog grappling Igmar with its tongue with a wet slap. The beast didn’t loosen its grip on its prey, not even when Baye followed up with an arrow of her own. Delde had hoped that after seeing one of their own being killed and being hurt themselves the animals would choose to flee their attackers but there was no such luck to be had. She joined her fellow ranged attackers in launching a ray of frost cantrip at the frog which struck with a gentle hiss as a coating of hoarfrost blossomed over the animals hide.
Delde had decided to keep using the ray of frost spell on the amphibians as she hoped that they would be more vulnerable to the cold. She wasn’t sure if that was the case or not and she felt that the heat of battle was not an appropriate time to question Baye on the specifics of giant frog biology. The spell seemed to affect it just as well as any other would and the ranger hadn’t mentioned any specific weaknesses or resistances that the creatures possessed so if nothing else it wasn’t any less effective on it at least.
Still, the target of their repeated strikes remained stubbornly alive, thrashing about violently in the water as it furiously attempted to drag Igmar under. With both limbs firmly grappled by the two frogs the fighter couldn’t even swing his sword at them, he was struggling to simply keep hold of it while continuing to stand. Adriana’s progress towards him was painfully slow as she forced herself through the turgid water, trying her best to not fall into the water herself as she moved as fast as she could over the flooded, uneven flooring.
The dripping water and the low light made ascertaining details far into the room difficult, but Delde was sure that the frog that she and the other ranged fighters had attacked was badly injured. In the rooms dull twilight her half elf eyes could see that it was bruised, bloodied and partially frozen. She readied a second cantrip to finish off the giant animal but Dal and Baye fired almost simultaneously at it. Delde couldn’t tell which of them killed it but as its tongue fell limp into the water it was apparent to all that it was no longer a threat. She breathed a small sigh of relief and turned to the final frog; its jaws still locked firmly over Igmars left arm.
Two down, one to go.
Another narrow ray of pale blue light shot out from her fingers towards the flailing wild animal, but between its feral thrashing and her own desire to avoid hitting her companion with her spell it ended up going wide. It froze a small chunk of water nearby the pair, adding a miniature iceberg to the bizarre tableau of the room.
Her shame at failing to hit abated somewhat when Dal fired off a stone from his sling, only for it to fall a few feet shot of the dwarf and frog in a large splash. But with his sword arm free Igmar was finally able to go on the offensive against his attacker and did so with vigour as with a loud cry he lifted the arm the giant frog remained locked onto and then stabbed the creature in one of its hind legs, skewering it.
But to Delde’s surprise he did not free his sword from its leg. Instead, he pulled it as far from him as he could, stretching the frog’s body out in turn. She didn’t understand for what reason he would do such a thing until the arrow sank deep into the exposed side of the monster. The young guardsman was showing his experience in martial matters the wizard realised; he had realised that the ranged attackers were struggling to hit the enemy without putting him in harm’s way so he was doing what he could to make it as easy a target as he could. It was probably also safer for him to have them fire into it rather than hacking away at a monster on his own limb. All it would take would be for the frog to jump away at the right time and he might end up cutting into his own arm.
At long last Adriana had finally made it to Igmar, she took a moment to steady herself, planting her feet firmly in the ground and swung her scimitar overhead to slice into the side of the frog that Igmar had left exposed. Finally, the creature released the dwarf’s arm as it gave a wailing croak as it leapt away. But just as it was at the zenith of its jump an arrow plunged into its back and it struck the foul waters with a hard splash.
Three for three.
‘Was that truly necessary Baye? The creature was fleeing, could we not have just let it leave?’.
‘No. There’s no point in leavin’ a wounded beast roamin’ about here. It would’ve either gotten itself eaten by somethin’ else or died slow of infection or hunger. Side’s, there wasn’t anywhere for it to run other than through us. Other door there looks as stuck as this one was an I doubt that they could’ve gotten out that way’. She pointed to the gaping hole in the ceiling still vomiting cold, stale water. ‘If they could’ve theyd’ve left as soon as we burst in. Anyway, I’m more concerned about those than the frogs’. Baye pointed towards the three large stone sarcophaguses caked in fungus and mould. ‘Stinks of death over that way, an I really don’t want to end up fightin’ undead in here as well’.
Now that she said it Delde could smell something especially foul towards the direction of the sarcophaguses. She had just put it down to the fetid water and foul fungus, but if an experienced outdoorsperson such as Baye claimed it was closer to decay she was inclined to believe her.
‘Ach, ah’ll check that oot maself in a bit. But afore ah dae, Adriana, could yie have a look at ma arm. Bloody frog damn near ripped it oof’.
He held out his arm and in the light Delde could now see that the giant frog not only had teeth, but they were also very sharp from the looks of things. Blood tricked from the dwarf’s arm into the pool beneath him darkening the already murky waters even more.
‘Oh! I am so sorry; I should have asked if you required aid as soon as I was able! Please, let me help you, although it might be better if I see to your wounds in a place that is less waterlogged’.
They left from the door they had entered the flooded chamber and Adriana applied bandages and ointments to the dwarves mangled arm. Even with the attention she gave it the arm still looked badly injured, with red blood seeping through the clean white of the bandages, and she recommended that he keep it in a sling for as long as he could.
‘I would use my healing magics to speed your recovery, but I have exhausted them for the day. I am sorry that I could not help you any further than what I have, but if you wait until tomorrow then I will be able to help you fully recover now’.
‘Ah dinnie think we’ll have the joy o taken oor time doon here. A’tween beasties wanderin aboot and the undead we could get overwhelmed easy enough, an we’re far from the exit noo. Ah think we should find Dimira as soon as we can an get oot, nae time fer long restin’. Luckily fer us we’ve got a few o these’.
He held out one of the vials of cloudy sky-blue liquid that they had gotten from the room Roldare was hiding in, a healing potion. Uncorking it with his teeth the dwarf poured a small amount over his bandaged arm and then drank the rest of it in one mouthful.
‘Blech! Taste could dae wie some improvement an ma tongues feelin’ a wee bit numb, but – ‘.
He held out his bandaged arm and revealed that the bloodstains that had been blossoming through the bandages were now gone.
‘– Its better than the alternative. Ah’ll keep the bandages on an try an no use ma arm as much, but this’ll make it easier fer me if we dae get intae another fight. Noo’. He clamped his hands together. ‘Let’s go an have a wee look at these coffins’.