Delde, Igmar and Adriana walked as one towards the three fungus covered sarcophaguses. Baye and Dal remained at the doorway, the water in the room was too high for them to walk through and they decided that it would be better if they weren’t stuck swimming in the even that a group of skeletons or worse burst out of their stone resting places.
As they approached them Delde was forced to cover her mouth with her sleeve, which still smelt of smoke she noticed. There was a stomach-churning stench of rot that was emanating from behind the last of the stone tombs and as they got closer, she mentally prepared herself to fire another cantrip.
What they discovered seemed to be a crude den or nest that the giant frogs had created for themselves from fallen rubble and soil that had washed into the chamber alongside themselves when the ceiling gave way. Little more than a pile of waste against the last sarcophagus the thing that immediately came to the group’s attention was the corpse of a human male that was heaped on top of the nest.
It was bloated and turned to a gangrenous green, with large missing chunks from it proof that the trapped animals had been eating from it for some time. As Delde looked upon its once human face, now frozen into a decaying mask of terror and saw maggots squirming out of its rotted eyes she had to turn away. The stench, the rotting face, it all became too much for her and she buckled over as she began retching, her stomachs contents joining the putrid soup of cold fetid water, blood, gore, stale earth and whatever fluids had been leaking from the corpse.
‘What is it! What’d you find!’.
Either Dal or Baye cried out, Delde wasn’t sure and didn’t care, too overcome with the primal reaction to a human corpse.
‘Deed body! Dissnae look like onyone frae toon though… Looks kinda like the one we foond on oor way doon here!’.
Delde wiped her mouth and turned back to examine the body along with the others, face burning red from embarrassment and shame. This wasn’t the first dead body she had seen, she had witnessed several since entering the crypt, and even saw one before they reached it, by the Grey Lake. Even if it was the first that she had seen in such horrible condition she felt that she should have been able to maintain her composure like the others had.
Trying to ignore her undignified display she looked at the clothing of the body and found that Igmar seemed to be correct in his assessment. The dark leather armour that the person had died in bore a strong resemblance to what the body at the Grey Lake was in. And for a complete stranger to be found in the crypt also struck Delde as highly suspect, it wasn’t a well-known location and there were no roads or paths that led to it. How had this person found it?
‘He seems to have died around three months ago I would say, the condition of the body is not the best so I cannot be certain. It also looks like he was killed by falling debris and then, presumably the frogs that became stuck here began nesting and were slowly eating him’.
‘Delde, ah ken Dal was jokin’ early on aboot you bein’ a necromancer, but die yie know onythin’ aboot necromancers? Ah mean, could this person hav’ had somethin’ tae do wae aw the undead in here?’.
‘I’m… Not sure. The man isn’t dressed like a spellcaster, neither was the other we found at the lake. They might have been in disguise, traveling incognito, but I don’t see why they would need to hide when they were so far from civilisation and anyone who would question them. It is posable that they were both mercenaries hired by some necromancer who came here. But I just can’t work out how anyone would know about this crypt, let alone why they would choose to animate the dead within it. They don’t seem to be organised or controlled, it’s as if someone just created a bunch of undead and then walked away. Although I suppose that the fact that this man died here is a sign that things may have gone awry. Perhaps we should… search him to see if there are any clues on him?’.
Delde didn’t relish the prospect of searching the corpse, but her curiosity demanded that she not leave any stone unturned in her pursuit of the truth of what happened in the crypt. She doubted that he would have a document that laid out exactly what took place, but any clue would be welcome. Fortunately, Igmar was willing to rifle through the man’s remains while Adriana murmured some words to her goddess. Eventually the dwarf brought out a small, half rotten leather pouch that held more than twenty gleaming silver coins and a delicate shining gold ring set with a glittering blue aquamarine.
‘Ah cannie find ony identifyin’ documents or item on him, but these coins are newly cast, just like the ones on the person by the lake. An this ring doesnae look like somethin’ a mercenary would normally have on them. Ah ken yie dinnie approve o lootin’ bodies but ah want tae take this back tae toon fer evidence. Maybe someone kens somethin’ aboot the coins or ring’.
‘As I said before, I am not in favour of taking the grave goods of innocent people, but in this case, I think it would be for the best. The circumstances of this person’s body being here makes it seem unlikely that he was innocent and I think it would be in everyone’s best interests if we could discover the culprits behind the desecration of the crypt. I will have to insist on you not using that money or selling that ring until the proper authorities deem it appropriate though’.
‘Nae worries, Ah widdnae dae that onyway, especially as guard captain Wisslo will be wantin’ tae hav’ a look at this. An if he does judge it tae be fair tae take then ah’ll split it fair between us aw’.
Delde was glad that there wasn’t going to be another argument over the sanctity of the dead and their belongings. She was also curious if there was someone in town who would be able to gleam some information from the coins and ring, she didn’t want to just push the mystery on to someone else, but she was willing to get help from a specialist. Delde considered asking if she could examine the coins and ring herself when they next rested, she didn’t hold out much hope that she’d learn much from them, but she wanted to at least try before handing them over to someone else.
The three returned to Baye and Dal, telling them of their grisly discovery, although Igmar and Adriana graciously left out the part where she lost her composure. Dal looked annoyed over the taking of the corpses treasure, more because he felt that they should have taken the coins from the body they found at the Grey Lake, but he kept his thoughts to himself for the most part. They then headed to the other exit to the room and Igmar battered down that one as well. There were no enemies behind it, only another corridor they proceeded down, trudging through the stagnant water, that while low enough to allow the shorter members of the party to walk, was still uncomfortably high. They spotted a junction where it looked like the other path they could have taken let to, but they decided to see the final destination of the two routes before they went exploring the other option.
They eventually came to another waterlogged door, but Igmar was able to open this one with a shove that didn’t take it off its hinges, though Delde doubted they’d be able to close it again. Within was another half-flooded chamber, walls slick with slimy black mould, though fortunately it appeared to be much more structurally sound than the chamber with the frogs. At the end opposite to the entrance barely rising out of the water was a platform atop of which was a large rusted, but sturdy looking iron wheel attached to chains that went up into the ceiling. There seemed to be no wild beasts, guardians or undead within, but the water was dark, murky and the chance of an ambush was not insignificant.
‘So, we turn the wheel then?’
Baye asked, her bow gripped in her hands, though with no arrow in it yet. She spoke as she staired into the waters, her eyes dancing over the surface, searching for any hint of danger.
‘Aye looks like it. Though ah dinnie like the condition o the wheel, it’ll probably take a bit o effort tae shift that thing’.
‘So long as we’re not being gnawed on by skeletons or giant frogs, we’ll be fine’.
Igmar arched an eyebrow at Dals statement but otherwise didn’t respond to him. Adriana stepped forward, ripples stretching out over the still dark mirror of water as she did so.
‘If we all contribute then the process will be much quicker. Even if the wheel looks to be in poor condition the chains look to still be strong, we can attempt to pull on them directly if the wheel proves to be too stubborn to move’.
Everyone agreed with the cleric’s sentiment, even if Delde would have much preferred to avoid strenuous physical work, it was still better than making another dive into the pool of keys. They began to make their way through the chamber, though progress was sluggish as while the chamber was more structurally sound that the one with the frogs there were still many cracks and misaligned stonework throughout the room. Combined with the slick black mould, ubiquitous throughout the room and the murky water that was next to imposable to see through, it was very easy to slip and fall, something nobody wanted. Delde was once again grateful to Holgast for gifting her with her staff, it made progressing the room easier as she could use it as support and guide as she slogged through the water. Onyx for his part chose to remain safe and dry within her backpack, she could hear him purring away gently in his sleep. Delde tried and failed to not envy her familiar.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
She was quietly pleased with herself as Delde noticed that she was almost a third of the way across the room and had most of her companions behind her. Dal and Baye were forced to swim through the room and had to abandon their packs to make it easier for them, both were competent swimmers but being not only fully clothed but in leather armour made it more difficult than it otherwise would have been for them. Adriana was lagging behind them though, as she clearly struggled to keep her balance between the slippery floor and her own cumbersome armour. Only Igmar was ahead of her, and even then, he wasn’t ahead by much. His physical strength combined with experience moving in armour seemed to count for much, but he still had a shorter stride than the half elf on account of being a dwarf. Delde knew that it wasn’t a race, but it still felt good to not be lingering in the back, to actually be at the front of the group for once. It was a sound tactical decision for her to be placed there, despite her staff she was no melee combatant, but she felt a thrill at being in the vanguard for a change.
Then as she was walking, using her staff to test the floor before her and steady herself, her staff sank far deeper than it had before, she was only just able to steady herself before she fell. Delde took a second and moved her staff around before her trying to work out how deep the hole before her was, she assumed that she had stumbled along a fissure in the floor. But she couldn’t find any sign of a floor in front of herself, it was only as she drew the staff closer to her that she finally felt the edge of the floor, a perfectly straight edge that told her one simple fact. She was standing before a giant pit in the middle of the chamber. Delde turned to warn the rest of her companions when something else dawned on her. Igmar had been ahead of her. She couldn’t see him now.
‘Everyone be careful! There’s a pit in this chamber! I think Igmars fallen down it!’.
She struggled to look through the dark waters, but she couldn’t see anything. Suddenly she had an idea.
‘Adriana! Throw a stone or something with a light cantrip on it over there! Into the water!’.
The cleric responded to her frantic order with haste, throwing the source of light over to the fighters last location.
There! Through the muck and mire of the stagnant water Delde was able to make out the form of Igmar Ironhame. He had indeed fallen into the pit, but he was holding on to the edge of it, his fingers dug into the cracked stone floor, but between the weight of his armour, the mould slick floor he was trying to grip onto, and the fact he was underwater it was clear that he was struggling to survive. Delde rushed over to him as swiftly as she could through the black waters, which was still too slow for the situation.
‘He’s here! Over here! Help me get him out!’.
Delde dove her head under the foul water and tried to pull him up by his arms but as soon as she tried to lift him, she felt her own feet slipping. Regardless of her intentions Delde lacked the strength or traction to properly lift the stocky dwarf on her own.
She saw a steady stream of tiny bubbles begin to leak from his mouth. It wasn’t just a matter of him falling, Igmar would drown soon if they couldn’t help him. She watched as a man she had seen fight against undead monsters and win now struggle to survive, desperately clinging to stone that was too slippery from mould and algae to gift him with a sure grip.
Realising that she had to do something, Delde plunged her staff down towards Igmars grasping hands. He grabbed on fast, better able to hold onto something not as slippery as the floor was, but Delde still lacked the strength to properly lift him, all her muscles were straining to keep the staff steady and not lose her own balance. At best she could keep him from falling any further into the pit; now all he had to worry about was drowning.
Suddenly Delde felt her staff shift and the strain in her arms abated slightly. She turned her head and realised that the others had manged to reach them at long last, Adriana had grabbed the end of the staff and was helping to pull Igmar out. Frankly she was doing a much better job than Delde, her physical strength far greater due to the martial training of being a cleric. Dal and Baye meanwhile had dived underwater and were helping to lift the drowning dwarf from there. Between all their combined efforts they were finally able to drag Igmar to the surface.
He coughed out water in hacking fits, his chest heaving as he took in deep breaths of stale, mouldy air. After having almost drowned herself Delde could appreciate the joy of finally being able to breathe and helped keep him steady as he recovered. After a minute or so Igmar regained his composure and after wringing out his beard looked at the others.
‘Thanks… Fer that. Didnie realise there was a pit there until ah was awready fallin’… Was lucky that ah managed tae grab the edge o it when ah did… Probably only caught it cos the water slowed me doon a bit… Was worried naebody would notice ah’d fell…or yie’s widdnie find me in time… So, thanks again’.
‘Bet you’re all wishing you were all as light and buoyant as me and sis here! And here I was thinking that we were the ones getting the short end of the stick by having to swim through all of this while you lot walked through it. Turns out you were the one who got the stick though, literally!’.
Dal was floating on his back, swimming in lazy circles around the group as he spoke.
‘Adriana? Could yie dae me a favour… an drop another o those glowin’ stones doon intae the pit fer me?’.
‘Certainly. Is there a specific reason why though?’.
‘Just somethin’ ah want tae check. An even if ah’m wrong it’ll still be good tae get an idea o the size and shape o the pit’.
The cleric acquiesced to his request, casting another light cantrip upon another of the countless small stone fragments that were on the floor of the chamber. She then tossed it into the water above the pit where it landed with a plop.
They all watched as the light sank deeper and deeper into the murky depths of the pit. At around fifteen feet down it finally stopped and Delde thought that she could make out the faintest of signs that there was an edge to the pit that began as it reached halfway across the room. But that was not what grabbed everyone’s attention though. No, it was the presence of several animated skeletons that were desperately clawing at the edges of the pit, trying to climb up to reach them that drew everyone’s focus.
‘Aye, Ah thought so. Felt somethin’ clawin’ at the bottom o ma boots when ah was doon there. Ah was tryin’ tae ignore it, tae focus on gettin’ oot. But ah figured we should check afore we keep goin’ through here. Was hoping it was just some fish or some other beastie that had swum in somehoo’.
Adriana was staring at the clawing undead intensely. Despite their efforts they didn’t seem to be making any progress out of the pit, the same factors that made it so difficult for Igmar to climb out of the pit was also what was keeping them trapped it appeared. Delde was in favour of just leaving them to their underwater prison but suspected that the cleric of Sarenrae would want to strike down the undead to cleanse their souls, or something to that effect.
‘We should keep moving and leave these poor, damned being for just now. Properly laying them to rest would be time consuming and present us with a difficult challenge that would only serve to exhaust our reserves. We cannot afford either of these things when we are so close to the source of the malignancy within the crypt. I hope that by defeating whatever had created this undead will also destroy them, but if it does not then I will return here to finish the cleansing of the crypt. Would I be able to call upon your support in that event?’.
She asked with an even tone and didn’t seem to be pushing for them to commit to helping her wipe out the rest of the undead, but Delde had a distinct feeling that she was hoping they would agree to it. Personally, the wizard wasn’t opposed to the idea of wiping out the undead later, while they were contained for the time being, the lower levels structural integrity left much to be desired, if they escaped it could potentially become a major problem. And if they were able to either drain the water from the chamber or come back better prepared then they would be able to attack them from the safety of higher ground, making a fairly straightforward endeavour.
Everyone gave responses ranging from neutral to positive, although no one committed themselves to anything definitive. Still, Adriana appeared to be happy with their responses, her smile beaming in the darkness of the crypt. They then examined the chamber with more care now that they knew of the pit. They discovered that it was in fact two pits that divided the chamber, with a slim pathway between the two that lead to the other side. Adriana, Delde and especially Igmar walked across it with great care as Baye and Dal swam across.
After the panic and desperation in rescuing Igmar from falling down the hidden pit turning the iron wheel, once they got to it, was almost disappointingly easy. The rust encrusting it made turning the wheel somewhat difficult, but with all of them helping it gave way in time. Even Delde contributed to the group effort, although she knew that she hadn’t really been of much help in shifting it. Still, she figured the attempt at helping mattered more than her actual physical contribution.
The sound of creaking metal and grating stone came from above the ceiling and echoed throughout the crypt. None of them could see what had happened but there was no doubt in Delde’s mind that they had triggered something, she just hoped that it wasn’t some trap. Normally she would have dismissed such thoughts as paranoia or symptoms of an overactive imagination, but the state of the lower level gave them more weight. Between the flooding, the fractured walls, the partially collapsed ceiling in the frog room, and the absence of any sign of any of the townsfolk having reached the level it was clear that whatever had happened in the crypt had damaged it to a point that Delde felt that it was dangerous just to be there even without the threat of the undead. She had half feared that she would hear the thunderous rushing of water coming towards them after whatever turning the wheel did. The absence of any such immediate response was welcome to her, but she still worried about what would lie ahead of them.
If they had unlocked some door or passageway that was previously barred, then was there now some new threat they had unleashed wandering through the crypt? Some subterranean beast that had burrowed its way in or a powerful undead that would seek out the living to slay? Delde pushed such thoughts to the side for the time being. They had already done it, there was no point in obsessing over it now. She kept her reflections to herself, not wanting to create any dissonance within the group nor cause any overt alarm.