Rooker drags the soldier's bodies and ghouls into a pile and sets some kindling beneath the pile. The sight is eerie by the bright light of the twin moons.
As the fire catches beneath the pile of corpses, Rooker looks around for Thorn and Sharif, calling; "Sharif? Thorn?"
Sharif has arrived.
Sharif says, "I believe that I have found an entrance"
Thorn almost follows Sharif in, but steps back as Sharif exits the opening in the rock face.
Sharif says, "I believe that we need your eyes in there my friend"
Rooker tosses a flask of oil onto the pyre to speed it along; "Lead on."
Sharif says, "Are we secure out here?"
Rooker says, "As secure as we can be with a mad necromancer on the loose and an unknown number of undead wandering about the landscape."
Rooker has found a trench near the edge of the graveyard to pile the bodies into, and the funeral pit flares up with a horrid cloud of smoke as the dead and undead bodies catch fire.
Sharif says, "Good enough for me"
Rooker sparks his lantern to life and adjusts the shutter to a small spot of brightness; "Let's go, gents."
Just inside the opening, there's a short jagged tunnel floored with rubble. At the end of the tunnel is an exterior wall with a window cut in it, and a room beyond. Almost as if a castle had been buried by layers of rock. A swing up of your legs and you can clamber over the windowsill and enter the room.
Thorn leads the way down the short tunnel and peers over the windowsill into the room. He sees what looks like an old dining room, circular, about 30 feet across, with a long table in the center, chairs set about, and the gleam of metal on the surface. A large hearth stands opposite you.
There are stairs leading up to the north, and down to the south. A litter of rubble is cast about the floor.
Thorn moves closer to the table to take a closer look.
As the party enters the room, Rooker moves to examine the hearth more closely, shining his lantern into it.
Sharif climbs over the window sill and drops down into the dining room. "This is odd I would say!"
Sharif looks over the room
Thorn climbs over the sill and drops into the room. The table is still set, but whatever meal was set out here rotted away long ago. Wine jugs and serving trays still stand. The table is fifteen by five feet, and has about a dozen places set. Each place bears a tarnished gold plate, gold fork and knife.
Sharif glances behind him for Rooker
Rooker's voice comes from the hearth, muffled; "Odd how, Sharif?"
Thorn motions for Rooker to join him.
Rooker approaches the hearth and shines his light into it. The narrow flue leads up into darkness.
Sharif says, "The tables are set...like a meal was ready to be served. Some great catastrophe has hit this place"
Thorn whispers to Sharif "Very odd indeed."
Sharif says, "Up or down gentlemen?"
The atmosphere is dull and oppressive, the place unused for several decades at least.
Rooker moves back from the hearth and begins to search the room, looking through the debris piles carefully and examining the walls before he comes to the table. "Nice cutlery, eh?"
Sharif says, "Heavy cutlery...it would slow us down"
Thorn says, "I believe we should head down."
Sharif says, "I concur"
Rooker grins at Sharif; "Heavy yes, but we should stash them in the fireplace so no one else walks off with our hard earned spoils.
Sharif says, "They have been here for decades..I don't think that they are going anywhere"
Rooker says, "only take a moment."
As Rooker gathers up the setting at the head of the table, he notices a small catch of some kind inset in the thick oaken table's edge.
Thorn turns to inspect the trap.
Sharif exhales slowly
Rooker directs Thorn's attention to a small metal catch inset in the table edge; "I can't tell what it might trip, the mechanism is hidden."
A small metal switch of some kind projects from the edge of the table's surface.
Sharif says, "Perhaps it opens something...like a door?"
Rooker says, "I'd rather not be standing here when we find out what it does though"
Rooker says, "We could try tying a rope to it and triggering it from outside the room or we could just move along and deal with it later as we're leaving."
Sharif says, "Let's try the rope"
Thorn says, "Sounds good to me."
Rooker removes a rope from his pack, grinning; "You gents might want to stand back while I do this."
Thorn moves back.
Sharif takes a step back and mumbles a prayer
Rooker ties a small loop at the end of the rope and places it carefully over the metal switch, laying the rope along the tabletop as he moves for the window; "We might want to step outside for this."
Sharif says, "What if it triggers a lever that locks the window?"
Thorn hops nimbly over the window sill.
Sharif follows Thorn out of the window "Whenever you're ready"
Thorn says, "I'd rather take that chance then the other."
Rooker says, "Then we'll be trapped outside instead of inside."
Rooker gracefully slides over the sill and crouches low; "Here goes."
Rooker tugs the rope.
THRAKK! A wickedly hooked metal blade springs out of the table's surface and impales the chair opposite the master's seat, punching a hole in the back of the luxurious wooden chair.
Rooker glances back into the room; "There are worse things than poor conversation at the dinner table, eh?"
Thorn says, "I believe that was a wise choice."
The blade is about three feet long and still extrudes from the table. Rooker flicks his wrist, releasing the catch, and the blade slides back into the table easily.
Hopping back into the room, Rooker coils his rope carefully back into his belt pouch.
Sharif says, "Agreed. Aparently hospitality was not our necromancer's strong point"
Rooker says, "I'd keep that in mind as we mill about."
Thorn hops back into the room.
Gathering the place settings quickly, Rooker stashes them in the fireplace and conceals them with some of the scattered debris.
The place settings are solid gold and worth several hundred crowns, if not thousands.
Sharif says, "Al right Rooker...let's gather them in a pile"
Rooker says, "We can stash them up the chimney on the fireshelf."
The booty safely stashed up the chimney, Rooker turns to Thorn and Sharif; "Where now, gents? Up or down?"
Sharif says, "Down"
Thorn leads the way down the stairs.
Thorn draws his sword and motions for the others to follow him.
Rooker follows behind Sharif, lantern in one hand, dagger in the other.
Sharif follow with his staff at the ready
Sharif speaks in a low voice "Al Kadim protect us in this foul place"
The stairs narrow and dusty, go down one flight and terminate in a room about half the size of the dining room. It's mostly empty, with the remains of a small table and chairs long crumbled to dust. The centerpiece of the chamber is a magnificent looking glass about the height of a tall man, covered with verdigris and dust.
Thorn approaches the glass.
The mirror, an oblong shape, is rimmed with golden dragons in an intricate spiral pattern. The glass surface is quite dusty.
Rooker moves slowly around the room, examining the walls and corners carefully.
The room has open windows at 10 and 2 o'clock, but they are walled in with rock that looks like it was melted and ran and then solidified.
As the elf casts his spell, the mirror emits a ruddy orange glow, glinting off the golden dragons that twine about the edge of the glass.
Sharif says, "Perhaps it is some form of oracle?"
Thorn says, "I don't believe we have time to wait around and find out."
Sharif approaches the mirror. "Nonsense..this could be a very valuable item"
Pointedly looking away from the mirror, Rooker moves nervously toward the door; "I agree, let's get out of here anyway."
Sharif looks into the mirror
The mirrored glass is quite dusty and streaked, and Sharif can only see himself murkily in it.
Sharif dusts the glass with his sleeve
Sharif is reflected clearly in the glass by the light of Rooker's lantern.
The thief checks the heck out of the door and finds no traps.
The big wooden door is, however, locked.
Sharif looks deeper into the image.
Sharif touches his image in the mirror
Sharif sees himself staring back, his image mirroring his actions. He can see his friends behind him, Rooker busy with the door, Thorn doing whatever it is Selandri do at a time like this.
Glancing nervously at Sharif, Rooker fumbles in his belt pouch for his lockpicks.
Thorn whispers to Sharif, "You forgot the magic word, Ima-dum-me"
Sharif smiles. "Perhaps we can study this another time"
As Sharif speaks, a pair of hands reaches out for Sharif's throat and twine about his neck. A figure emerges from the mirror, and the mage and the figure topple to the floor of the room in a grapple.
Sharif backs away from the mirror
Sharif struggles against the grip
Rooker leaps for the struggling pair, dagger in hand.
Thorn tries to attack the figure.
As they roll over in the dusty floor, Sharif and the attacker are indistinguishable, clad identically. It's as if Sharif's twin has emerged from the mirror, and in the tangle Rooker can't tell who is who.
Rooker says, "Thorn! Help me pull them apart!""
Thorn rushes to help Rooker.
Sheathing his dagger, Rooker attempts to seize one of the struggling figures.
The figure seizes Sharif and smashes his head against the stone floor.
Sharif, not to be outdone, punches the double in the jaw.
Rooker and Thorn seize one of the struggling men and haul him to his feet.
Sharif says, "Not me, my friend! The other me!"
Thorn moves to block the two Sharif's from one another.
Placing his knife to the mans throat, Rooker holds him tightly; "Don't move. We'll see who's who."
The other Sharif scrambles to his feet opposite Thorn. "It appears you were right about the mirror, Rooker!" Sharif says.
With Rooker at his throat, Sharif tries to point at the mirror, which only he is facing.
Rooker looks at Thorn; "What do we do now?"
Thorn pointing his sword says "stand back"
Rooker says, "What?"
Thorn says, "I guess we kill both of them."
Sharif says, "Two more in the mirror!"
The Sharif without a knife at his throat says, "No!" He leaps forward at Thorn.
As he leaps, two more figures step out of the mirror, doubles of Thorn and Rooker. They smile and draw weapons from their belts.