Castle of Death - Chapter Two

The Sarcophagus

Sir Geoffery did what he could for his wounds (aha! First aid talent  - +6 on INT and I’m going to rule that he can heal 1d6 per level of saving roll made each day) – rolls 4 and 3, INT 18 + talent 6 +dice roll 7 = 31 so makes L3 and heals 3 points of injury – CON up to 73) and then grimly pressed on…

The knight felt he was due some treasure after taking out two powerful fiends.He searched the now decayed room but found nothing more than a way out of the castle, given that he had 100’ rope with him and the drop was only 40. His magi-map took care of the details. ‘Gadzooks!’ he muttered, addicted as he was to these archaic expletives.

He went out into a dismal rat-infested corridor and went east to a door that took him into what was a surprisingly well maintained chapel. His hackles rose – what sort of deity would be worshipped in a place like this? He examined from a distance a leather bound book on a lectern and decided that the serpent depicted on the cover swallowing its own tail was a sign of something terrible to come, should the book be unlocked. Instead, he choose to examine the scene on the stained glass window which showed a knight and a girl illuminated by bright light from behind the glass.

He rather fancied that he should have such a girl fawning on him but was startled out of his reverie when the glass shattered and a hook-beaked demon fell upon him. It was only his armour that saved him from shards of glass. Pretty tough but he made short work of the evil monster with the yellow eyes, suffering one more point of spite damge. He kicked its corpse petulantly just before it dissolved in foul-smelling steam and seeped through the floor.

Now he did get a reward. Behind the glass was a chamber with a small chest tended by the ghostly figure of the knight in the picture. He was quite obviously grateful that the demon had been disposed of and Sir Geoffery found 6,000 GPs in the chest along with 3 gems and a diamond bracelet set in silver. He figured this was as safe a place as any to leave his booty as he was not going to lug the chest around this death-trap of a castle with its vicious denizens.

He left the chapel and back out into the corridor he found a rusty yet sturdy ladder leading up to a thickly webbed ceiling. After testing his weight on the lower rungs, he ascended slowly, expecting arachnid attention at any moment.

None came. He was lucky. He emerged into a musty dark chamber which his lantern could hardly penetrate. Again, he thought, this is an omen of malevolence ahead. He moped his brow and investigated, scimitar in hand. What he discovered were a number of small chests and a sarcophagus – and something moving about in the darkness!

de Boyks did not hesitate. He made for the sarcophagus and opened the lid. Maybe he could get anything inside to fight with the lurker. The lid was lifted easily and he made out some sort of weapon inside. The creature somewhere in the darkness did not attack and in a rush of blood Sir Geoffery reached for the weapon! 

Suddenly from the gloom a large clay golem chose to attack him! The knight swung into battle mode and chopped away like a lumberjack. The golem did not damage easily. Even though Sir Geoffery was on top, the thing would not go down and it took him 4 solid minutes of hacking (8 rounds) to reduce it to little lumps of mud. He had taken 26 (!!) points of spite damage in the forging his way to victory and de Boyks blood spattered the room. His CON was down to 46 – he was still going to be hard to kill but he was feeling powerful sore.

Back to business. Despite the webbing, he searched the three small chests and found a ring in each. With no magic to asses them, he blindly slipped them on, one after the other. The first added 3 to STR (yay! Back up to L6) and the other two added one to CON and SPD. Sir Geoffery was satisfied – his scars would be worth it! Not content with this, he retrieved the weapon from the sarcophagus – a mighty bonesplitter, getting 21d6 plus 18 (double against the undead) – woo hoo! Although the sword was intended as a two-handed weapon (house rule) as Sir Geoffery had more than double the STR and DEX required he could wield it effectively in one firm hand (house rule: he doesn’t ye tget his warrior’s bonus of an extra dice per level as he has not yet mastered the new weapon).

To make a good day great, he finally uncovered 2,000 gold coins in a sack that made them weigh only 50! Party on, de Boyks!

The big treasure haul coupled with his wounds determined his course. Sir Geoffery retrieved the other chest with the 6,000 gold pieces and made his way out of the castle with the aid of his silk rope. The only downside was having to cut it as he could not untie it at the top. He intended to return so he severed the silk at waist height and hoped there it would stay. He still had over 60’ of good quality rope.

The villagers feted him on his return. He was not slow to put money behind the bar but did not get drunk enough for anyone to be able to take advantage of his celebrations. On his return home to his modest cottage, he lamented the lack of a maid such as the one in the stained glass. He also rued that a knight of his prowess did not count a castle as home. His resolve to return to the scene of his latest adventure stiffened, as did his thoughts of a damsel, and he schemed of taking proprietorial rights over that fiend-ridden fortress.