Part 12: The Mummy Returns Adventure Notes
The party approaches the pyramid as the sun is beginning to wane on the horizon. The golden sand stretches before them, flatter and smoother than the dunes that they now travel down. An ancient avenue, flanked with obelisks, rises out of the dunes and runs straight towards an ornate entrance to the pyramid. Carvings on the obelisks depict the rise and fall of Ahmen-Re and the actions of his priests, inscribed by some ancient peoples.
The pyramid seems unravaged by the test of time. Its slopes are perfectly smooth and the four sides come together into a flawless point. Upon the top is a golden cap that must be the worth of an entire kingdom.
As the party approaches the ground-level entrance they can see it is flanked by great statues of ancient gods. Both man-shaped but one with the face of a jackel and the other with the face of an ibis. In their right hands they hold ankhs and in their left hands ancient scepters, both of which have somehow withstood the test of time. The entrance itself is an open doorway, about seven feet tall and ten feet across. A tunnel entrance that burrows into the side of the huge edifice and disappears into darkness.
Lioniel withdraws a candle from his pack and sticks it on top of Nigel's shield casting light upon it. Nigel then hikes up his backpack, readies his shield and stalks into the darkness, Mara following slightly back and to his right.
With one of his first steps the floor explodes as a burst of salt flies from the ground into his face. Shocked but not deterred Nigel starts prodding the floor with his sword before he steps forward again. Mara uses her quick thinking and pulls some ball bearings from her pack. She empties them into her hand and then throws them... at the wall where they get stuck.
Gwen pulls an arrow out and with a swirl of Averson's hands its tip starts to glow. She then fires it down to the end of the corridor and it hits a door sixty feet away and clatters to the ground.
Tsara meanwhile calls on her god to protect Nigel from his own incompetence at the same time that he stabs the floor again resulting in another huge explosion of salt.
"Stop you oaf!" shouts Averson and she moves forward to inspect the tunnel. She spots some pressure plates on the floor and casts mage hand, pushing on them which results in more bursts of salt as the traps go off.
The air is starting to smell full of salt and Gwen pulls her shirt up around her face while Lioniel grabs his scarf from his bag to wrap around his head.
Nigel manages to make it all the way to the door with Averson who spots a bug shaped depression in the door.
"Tsara! We need the scarabs!" says Averson.
Tsara hands the scarab to Nigel, who thrusts it, incorrectly, into the door.
"These are the things legends are made of," states Lioniel dryly.
Nigel then jiggles it a bit and finally the door accepts it. The scarab retreats into the slot he places it in and with a mechanical thunk the door swings open.
"Nigel, does the scarab come back out?" says Tsara to Nigel. He immediately grabs it and pulls it free from its slot in the door.
Nigel stops and listens. It is quiet in the room and the air is stale. Averson casts prestidigitation, lighting up the room.
Inside the room they see a huge, twenty foot statue of a creature standing on a dias in front of a door on the opposite side of the room. It is humanoid, made of stone, with hyroglyphics marking its body and appears to have a pyramid jutting out of its back. Its face hidden by a helm. To their left is a narrow and deep crevasse with two short bridges leading over it into another chamber.
Gwen takes a step forward and peers at the great statue.
"That is a guardian," she says. "From what I have read it should be alive but it doesn't look alive."
Nigel calls on his sixth sense and wanders the room looking for evil and undead but finds none.
Lioniel moves to the crevasse and casts light on a rock. Nigel's candle goes out. Lioniel then drops it down the crevasse and it disappears, never hitting the bottom. Averson lights Nigel's candle with a click of her fingers.
Gwen starts crossing the crevasse into the room and suddenly there is a massive grinding sound behind her as the once half crouching statue begins to stand up.
Tsara immediately starts muttering under her breath and ghostly spirits appear out of the ground, dancing around her as she begins to hover in the air.
"Ok, listen up rookies!" shouts Gwen. "This thing is immune to poison, and attacks from normal weapons. It's magic or nothing. Also, I wouldn't bother attacking its mind. I don't think it has one..."
Averson backs away while casting a spell. Out of no where a duplicate of Sir Nigel appears right in front of the creature.
The original Sir Nigel shouts "Guardian, what is your task and what is your intent? We are here to lift the curse and free this land!"
The creature does not respond but just takes a step forward and its hand comes down crushing the fake image of Sir Nigel which instantly disappears.
Lioniel pulls out his flute and lets out a shrill noise that seems to move across the room as it gains in intensity, finally exploding in a wave of sound on the other side of the room rocking the foundations of the statue.
Mara takes a deep breath and then steps forward holding her shield high as she thrusts forwards four times with her sword. Though it hits the blade does nothing to the huge stone creature.
Tsara looses magic missiles at the creature which it cannot avoid making small cracks appear on its chest.
Gwen fires an arrow at the creature which hits it but doesn't seem to damage it. But where the arrow falls to the ground vines begin to grow extremely fast, encircling the legs and arms of the creature so it cannot move.
Averson uses her mage hand again and tests the door at the other side of the chamber. It opens.
Nigel sidles up next to Mara making a shield wall and channels the power of Kelemvor imbuing his sword with divine energy.
Lioniel runs past the creature and out of the new open door but is hit by one of its fists as he runs by it. Tsara then follows suit and Gwen drops her torch and also runs past it. Averson joins the rest of the party as they move through the door.
Nigel, in melee with the beast, strikes the creature twice and is inspired by Lioniel. The others wait in the hall outside the room. Nigel hits it again while Mara backs over to the side of the room and lets loose her crossbow, attempting to draw the creature away from the doorway.
Tsara casts firebolt further damaging the creature while Gwen moves to the end of the corridor with Averson checking for traps.
Nigel hits the creature again and then receives a blow in return as he maneuvers around it and into the doorway.
Tsara continues pummelling it with firebolt as Mara moves across the room firing again with her crossbow.
"Come on Mara! Get out of there!" shouts Lioniel.
She runs past the creature but crashes into Nigel landing on her bum. He also falls over. But all is well as Tsara fires a final firebolt at the creatures mouth which it seems to swallow and then erupts with fire from its posterior and its body slowly breaks apart into stone leaving only the pyramid it was carrying on its back in the dust on the floor.
Gwen reads the writing on the pyramid. It says "I was created to be the guadian of this tomb. I will outlast time, space and change and only worthy foes will defeat me".
They double back to the side room where they find a lot of treasure. Gwen gets a bow, Mara a sword, Tsara some magic robes, Averson a book of spells, Lioniel some boots and Nigel a lucky rock.
The party decide to rest for an hour before they move on, bandaging their wounds.
When they are rested they move back to the hallway and Averson continues along with Mara following behind her. The tunnel has two alcoves on the left and right with giant scarab beetle statues in them. In front of Averson is ten feet of hallway and a door with another scarab beetle shaped indent on it.
Lioniel asks Averson "What do you see?"
"Giant golden statues" replies Averson.
"Statues of what?" asks Lioniel
"Bugs" replies Averson.
"Fuck off." says Lioniel disheartedly.
Tsara knows that there are scarab warriors created by the priests of Ahmen-Re to guard his tomb. The priests were the ones that cursed Ahmen-Re and used him as a puppet forcing him to be cruel. Once he was killed they created these creatures to be feared so no one could kill the priests.
Nigel prepares himself for battle but Tsara tells him to stand down. Averson stealths past the scarabs and finds a trap. It's a noise trap and it appears that the load noise would trigger the guards. She disarms it and moves back to the party warning Mara not to make a sound.
“Tell everyone quiet. If we make too much noise we will activate these things and it will kill us. There is a lock on this door with the scarab beatle on it.” Mara whispers to the rest of the party “Which one of you idiots have the scarab?” asks Averson.
Tsara walks up with her to the door and hands it to Averson. She puts it in the door and it opens while Nigel scans for undead and finds the strength of it overwhelming.
The party is in the royal chamber of Ahmen-Re and they feel a rush of wind blows past them. They watch as the lid of the sarcophagus at the end of the room slides open and skitters to the floor. Then an ancient, twelve foot tall mummy climbs out.
Lioniel calls out to the creature trying to communicate but it ignores him. Mara is inspired.
The mummy swipes at Nigel and misses and then gazes at him.
Nigel knew this was his destiny, his body started to freeze, fear gripped his heart but then the necklace vibrated and the paralysis lifted. He smirked at the creature.
Lioniel slides in behind him with his new fancy shoes and pulls out his lute casting thunder wave.
Gwen casts ensnaring strike but misses with her bow.
Mara pulls out her new sword and feels it pulsing in her hand. She strikes at the creature twice hitting it both times. At the same time she can feel the sword sucking her life from her hand with each stroke.
Nigel swings and misses. Twice. While Tsara throws more fire at the creature burning it.
The mummy, in retort, stares at Gwen, Tsara and Averson stunning them.
Lioniel pulls forth his lute and uses a continuously magnifying cone of sound from it to cast shatter at the undead monster.
Mara hits twice more with her sword and Nigel concurs smiting the creature.
The mummy stares at Mara but nothing happens. It then attacks Nigel hitting him.
Lioniel shatters again. The creature still stands.
Gwen hits with her bow triggering her ensnaring strike but the mummy just shrugs off the vines and they wither at his touch.
Averson reads from the Tomb of Dark Magic. Lioniel's life is sucked from him and into her.
“Thanks Lioniel!” Averson says.
“No worries!" replies Lioniel dryly. "Maybe do something, eh?”
Nigel then strikes the creature with another hit and a blast of radiance comes from his sword. He then withdraws it, lifts it on high, summons the power of Kelemvor and strikes again. The sword glows furiously white as it enters the chest of the mummy. Nigel drops his shield. He moves his left hand onto the hilt as the mummy stumbles backwards, the sword still inching deeper into it. Light pours from the wound forming on its chest as it falls to its knees. Nigel leans further forward with his entire body weight push the sword through it and into the ground behind it.
"DIE YOU MUMMY BASTARD!" he screams in its face as it stops moving.
"Sounds like he's got some mummy issues," says Mara to Lioniel.
The body of Ahmen-Re lies dead on the floor as Sir Nigel unsheathes his sword from its chest. Lioniel walks over to it and plays a small ditty inciting the creature to speak with him. Its eyes stay shut but its mouth moves in a mechanical way.
"Is the curse lifted? Are you free Ahmen-Ra?" asks Lioniel.
"No. The curse must be removed." it replies.
"Did we not just remove the curse? Why is the curse not yet removed?" enquires Lioniel.
"No. You need to remove the curse. You need to remove the curse." says the body.
Lioniel turns to Tsara and she nods. She walks forward and points at the creature and a light sprays from her hand as she casts Remove Curse.
And with that Ahmen-Re is freed. Outside storm clouds gather in the desert and rain starts to fall for the first time in hundreds of years. Green grass begins to sprout from the dunes. Change has come to this land at long last. Brought here by this heroic and ragtag bunch. The Banishers of Undead. The Destroyers of The Pyramid Guardian. The Saviours of Ahmen-Re.