It only took two hits for the aged door to shatter where it had been catching on the stone frame, the remains falling inward. Satisfied that the door had properly learned its lesson for impeding me, I folded my wings in tight, and began walking down the stone stairs into the darkened crypt. Thankfully, I could see in the dark, so I didn’t need to worry about the meager light coming in from outside.

The smell that greeted me was one of stale air and dried blood. There was some decay, but not so much as one might think. This crypt had been long abandoned, and the cold did not allow for the kind of smelling rot that would take to corpses in warmer climes. I would not wish to stay too long, but it was not as bad as it might have been.

The narrow stairs emptied out into a stone room, square in shape, and twenty feet on a side. Four stone sarcophagi sat in the room, but as I set foot into the room, all four lids shifted, and fell to the ground. From inside, four corpses rose, literally, from their graves!

Initiatives:

Melinda

Zombies

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 21 (Hit)

Damage: 1d4+1 = 5 (Slashing)

Damage: 2d6 = 8 (Hideous Blow)

I cursed at the sight of the zombies. I knew enough about them to know that I would have better luck with my daggers instead of my fists, since punching a side of meat wasn’t exactly effective. In a single move, I drew the blue ice dagger that Chief Garnson gave me, and empowered it with my magic, slashing through the zombie’s chest, and damn near cutting it in half!

Zombie 1’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 6 (Miss)

Two zombies crowded into the space next to the sarcophagus by the door, shambling towards me, with another moving in behind them, but being unable to get close. The zombie I had struck flailed at me with its undead arm, attempting to slam me, but I was far too nimble to get taken down by a mindless undead.

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 28

Damage: 1d4+1 = 5 (Zombie 1 Killed)

My hand slashed out again, and this time it slashed through the zombie’s neck. The head fell off its neck, and then the zombie collapsed into its sarcophagus. One down, three to go.

Zombie 2’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 18 (Miss)

Zombie 3’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 19 (Miss)

I was in my zone, now. The two zombies attacked me, arms swinging to try and hit me. I was a battledancer, however, and dodging those strikes was easy for me. I couldn’t relax, but I could feel that they weren’t going to hit me unless they got lucky. The fourth zombie could not get to me, thanks to the stone sarcophagi blocking its path, something for which I was grateful.

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 22 (Hit, Zombie 2)

Damage: 1d4+1 = 3

Damage: 2d6 = 10

Zombie 2’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 18 (Miss)

Zombie 3’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 11 (Miss)

Again, I infused my blade with arcane power. The two zombies attacked, but I was able to keep them from interrupting me easily enough. My magically enhanced blade cut through the second of the zombies, shredding her withered chest. It would take another blow to bring her down, though.

Zombie 2’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 10 (Miss)

Zombie 3’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 17 (Miss)

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 28 (Hit, Zombie 2)

Damage: 1d4+1 = 2

Damage: 2d6 = 11 (Zombie 2 killed)

Zombie 2’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 17 (Miss)

Zombie 3’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 9 (Miss)

The two zombies attacked again, and the result was the same as before. The mindless creatures could not help but telegraph their attacks. A living creature, one that could think and react appropriately, would have figured out something else to do, but these were too slow for such things.

Once again, I infused my blade with power, and the zombies were unable to stop me. It was becoming old hat now. The zombie fell in two pieces as my blade cut through it. I let a smile cross my face. If the whole crypt was going to be like this, I didn’t have anything to worry about.

Zombie 3’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 19 (Miss)

Zombie 4’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 19 (Miss)

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 14 (Hit, Zombie 3)

Damage: 1d4+1 = 2

Damage: 2d6 = 7

Zombie 3’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 10 (Miss)

Zombie 4’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 3 (Miss)

The fourth zombie stepped up into the second’s spot, but it and the third were no better able to strike me down than the first two had been. I retaliated with another magic-infused strike, this time slicing a deep gash across the third zombie’s gut, while the two zombies flailed helplessly against me.

Zombie 3’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 18 (Miss)

Zombie 4’s Attack: 1d20+2 = 20 (Miss)

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 23 (Hit, Zombie 3)

Damage: 1d4+1 = 4

Damage: 2d6 = 11 (Zombie 3 killed)

Zombie 3’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 15 (Miss)

Zombie 4’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 10 (Miss)

Another round of helpless flailing, and the Zombies were once more incapable of hitting me, although one of them came close. In fact, it was close enough that, without the magic items I’d been given, I would have been knocked for a loop. I couldn’t afford to play around. Another magic strike, and the third zombie fell.

Zombie 4’s attack: 1d20+2 = 22 (Crit threat)

Confirmation: 1d20+2 = 13 (Normal hit)

Damage: 1d6+1 = 6 (DR 5/Cold Iron applies, 1 damage)

The zombie retaliated, and actually managed to get through my defenses! It wasn’t much of a hit, only enough to give me a bit of a black eye tomorrow, unless I received healing, but I was surprised that one of the things actually got through my defenses! Though I was reassured at the fact that I was barely scratched by the blow.

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 13 (Hit, Zombie 4)

Damage: 1d4+1 = 5

Damage: 2d6 = 8

Zombie 4’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 6 (Miss)

Zombie 4’s attack: 1d20+2 = 4 (Miss)

Melinda’s Attack: 1d20+9 = 26 (Hit, Zombie 4)

Damage: 1d4+1 = 2

Damage: 2d6 = 12

Zombie 4’s AoO: 1d20+2 = 18 (Miss)

I was so surprised by the attack, that I almost missed with my response. How embarrassing would that be, to miss a creature that was literally little better than a target dummy? But I was not forced to endure that humiliation, as my attacks managed to down the zombie without any further trouble.

For defeating four Zombies, you gain 600 XP.

I paused for a moment to catch my breath as the final zombie fell, and then checked the four sarcophagi. Unfortunately, any dreams I had of finding riches or ancient treasures were dashed. There were clothes and items that may have been valuable once, but time had worn them away to nothing. Not even any jewelry of note could be found. Whether that happened before the zombies were raised, or after, I couldn’t say.

There was only one door leading further into the crypt, so I had only one way to go. When I opened the door, I could see frost-blue light shining on one wall of the fifteen-foot long passage. Given the color, it had to be a magical light of some sort.

Scything Blade Trap’s Attack: 1d20+8 = 19 (Hit, Flat-footed)

Damage: 1d8 = 7 (DR 5/Cold Iron applies)

Bonus Damage: 1d6 = 6

Total Damage: 8

For surviving a Scything Blade Trap, you gain 300 XP.

OH FUCK! I barely had time to think those words when I stepped on what must have been a trigger, and a wickedly curved blade emerged from the wall, cutting a bloody gash across my belly, and nearly disemboweling me! It was the first time I’d really felt my Iron Vulnerability, and it HURT! Oh, gods, how did people deal with things like this on a regular basis? Were all those fighters and barbarians insane?

Potion of Cure Light Wounds: 1d8+1 = 3

I gulped down the basic healing potion I’d been carrying. I only had one. Clearly, I had been putting too much faith in my defensive abilities. I would have to get more when I got back to town. The potion didn’t heal all of my wounds, but I was no longer bleeding from my stomach, so I would call it a win, and be done.

Far more warily now than I had been before, I found three skeletons armed with scimitars and shields and another with a black wooden staff waiting for me in another twenty by twenty room, lit by a blue lantern hanging from the ceiling in one corner. As the skeletons began to move towards me, I darted back into the hallway, and jumped over the area where I had been attacked by the scything blade. I didn’t know if the trap reset itself or not, but the skeletons would only be able get to me one at a time in the narrow hallway.

For defeating four Skeleton Warriors, you gain 400 XP.

The next few moments were nerve wracking, but hilarious. I had more to fear from the skeletons, as their greater agility made them slightly more effective with their weapons, and the iron in their blades would do more damage to me than a zombie’s fists. But the skeletons were mindless creatures, and one by one chased me into the corridor, each setting off the blade trap that had nearly cut me in half, and even when they weren’t destroyed outright, it was easy for me to finish them in a single blow after that.

The staff the fourth skeleton had was excellently made, and had held up well to the ravages of time. If it was once magical, the enchantments had worn away over time, but the staff was surprisingly light, roughly half the size it should be. That probably made it a staff made out of Darkwood, a rare material that was not common in this part of the world. Naturally, I was quite pleased to find this, for a variety of reasons, only one of which involved the possible value at market.

Two doors opened off of this room. A half-remembered piece of wisdom said that, if you were in a dungeon, you should always turn to the left. I was sure that was mostly meant as a joke, and the rest of it was as a simple way to keep from getting lost in a dungeon, but I didn’t see any reason not to follow that advice.

I didn’t have a rogue with me, and I certainly didn’t have the skill of trapfinding. So, not wanting to meet any further traps with my body, as I did with the last one, I took my wonderful new staff, and began poking the floor in front of me as I advanced. It was nothing but blind hoping that I might set something off before I stepped on it, but my caution was rewarded, allowing me to avoid another scything blade trap.

For surviving a Scything Blade Trap, you gain 300 XP.

Buoyed by that success, I stepped into the next room. In a fit of stupidity that I instantly regretted, I yelled at, “Come on, you undead pieces of shit! I’ll destroy you all, in the name of Auril!” It was only then that I noticed that there were four sarcophagi opening in this room, lit by a blue torch, and each of them was opening the lid. Worse, I could see another room, also lit in blue, down a hallway, and the sound of bone against stone reached my ears, as skeletons appeared at the end of the hall! And I saw the wicked glint of their iron swords and iron shields. I didn’t bother counting them. I just knew that the half-remembered wisdom had failed me. Or, rather, my cockiness had betrayed me. Either way, there was only one thought that came to mind for a situation like this.

“Oh, SHIT!”