"So just how far down do you wanna go?"

-The Refreshments, Banditos

Thud McLoad, having just received a geas from the Iron God, barely seems like himself.

He informs the party he is now bound to clear the catacombs of all undead, and luckily, his sweet new sword will help. The rest of the group figures sure, why not?

The party plays around with the weird concentric circles in the floor, trying to trigger additional magicks, but alas, nothing else occurs. They continue exploring and eventually stumble upon the entranceway to an older section of the catacombs. Above the doorway is inscribed:

In the name of the Iron God, beware, you who enter the Sacred Catacombs of the Dead, which the Iron God watches over. Be you not draped in respect, and do you not speak your name for the scribe of the dead, you shall suffer the wrath of the Catacombs.”

They find three ceremonial robes and divvy them up amongst the non-spellcasters and then promptly forget to speak their names upon entering the doorway, so...that's gonna come back to haunt them. Not like the GM typed it and gave it to them as a handout or anything.

They wander through the rough-hewn tunnels, working their way around stalactites and stalagmites. They find a chamber with centuries' worth of names and pictures inscribed on the cracked walls. They also see something slithering through the cracks; and lo, some venomous snakes pour forth. Dodger Graves quickly enchants one and compels it to attack its brethren. The rest are dispatched and the ensorcelled viper follows the party deeper into the darkness.

They encounter another chamber containing three iron men-at-arms, who salute the party members wearing the ceremonial robes with their rusty longaxes. They make a halfhearted attempt to steal an axe, but quickly think better of it.

The underclock continues to tick...torches continue to burn.

Soon they enter a large chamber and find an enormous statue of the Iron God himself. Thud recognizes this as the chamber from his vision, and Shaka Kahn has a strong sense this is a physical manifestation of the god himself, not just a statue.

There are also some stairs descending deeper into the catacombs.

The party wants to explore this level a little more, however, and after finding another ceremonial robe soon find themselves in a room that extinguishes all light - magic and mundane alike. From the darkness, they hear metallic footsteps that remind them of a dog's steps, and a low gravelly voice admonishes them to only enter with reverence for the dead and that the undead are abominations before the Iron God.

The party nopes out pretty quickly and heads back to the staircase leading down.

On the second level, they find dozens, if not hundreds, of alcoves, containing ritually-prepared corpses. Most are just bones wrapped in silks, but there are a few anomalies: a skeleton of iron, a gnawed-on pile of bones, the occasional trinket.

Then they find a large chamber where all the corpses are wrapped in webbing, and cobwebs dangle from the ceiling, and things are just very, very obviously spidery.

And yet - they are surprised when two giant spiders pounce! Dodger's charmed snake draws first blood, paralyzing a spider for later dispatch, and the party makes short order of the other. They find a golden coronet for their trouble, giving Dodger a slight sense of invincibility (+1 to AC, if you must know).

Tick, tick, tick...

July 27, 2025