The Sleeping Evil Awakened

 

After forty minutes of excavation at the bottom of the grave, the party unearthed a narrow passage that lead laterally from it. A faint emanation of magic was detected by the wizard, so the party pushed into the subterranean darkness aided by dweomer of light.

The passage was clearly intended for a thinner, shorter people, and it led eventually to a slight ramp that turned into a flight of stairs and led still deeper into the ground. The stairs wrapped around and ended in seal that appeared to be of dried clay.

After some debate, the adventurers broke the seal and entered. They found behind it, a narrow passage with a cracked flagstone floor, dirt walls and an earthen ceiling buttressed with petrified timbers. The passage became short enough that even the elves among them were forced to stoop, and humans had to duck-walk to traverse them, while the chambers within boasted higher ceilings which rose to nearly eight feet.

The first chamber offered three doorways -- loose fitted timbers bound with bronze and swinging on thick hide hinge flaps riveted to the wood. The first door led to a chapel of sorts, which the priest felt was the work of a gnomish people, and at which some defacement had long ago occurred.

The second passage was trapped but brought the party before a man-faced centipede. Their reticence to attack the strange creature paid off and a parley commenced. The centipede explained in halting tongue that he was a protector. After someone in the party was found to speak its language, the creature explained that it had been sent by the celestial emperor to keep watch over that place and to prevent the escape of a great and ancient evil -- the thing which had first desecrated the once-holy chapel. This the spirit guardian had done for some 10,000 years.

The third door led to a crypt room of eight stone caskets and the mummified remains of a very small body through which a silver spike had been driven. Around the shaft of the silver bar was a woman's gold locket. This room radiated emanations of both magic and evil that were blinding to those gifted enough to sense them.

Behind the crupt room was another set of stairs that led to a great room dominated by a kind of wooden throne and a small pool. A ball cast into the pool was turned immediately to gold. A small goldfish was seen moving about the pool.

Two party members were tempted to sit upon the tiny chair and one (Yurel) who did immediately knew things beyond her understanding. Minute after minute spent in the chair gave her more and more chances to learn the history and functions of the items she saw.

Of the pool she suddenly knew that it would turn any living creature into a goldfish and any inanimate object into pure gold. Any water removed from the pool would become as simple holy water. She also deduced that this was the crypt of Urod Goldwrotter, a gnomish hero of some renown.

Since that was so, the chair could be nothing less than the Cathedra Omniscia -- a relic of the second age which was said to be possessed by an ancient spirit. According to the stories told, it would only operate for those with sufficient intellect, and while it was said to confer great knowledge, it did so at a temporary cost to the mind of those who sat in it.

The rest of the area held two empty gnomish crypts and a third one which held the powdered remains of  a small female in a blue dress.

It was then that the three tragedies occurred. 

First, Tathlan attempted to extract some water from the pool. Despite wearing a glove, using a pair of pliers and a leather bottle, he and all that he held was immediately reduced to the form of a goldfish. He could be seen swimming in lazy circles, near the first, quickly losing all memory of his life just minutes before.

Second, intrigued by the candle sconces and statues, Fenris used a discovered chest of religious vestments and candles to don one and light the others. At this action the spirit guardian departed and left the party to continue its 10,000 year old mission. 

Third, Apollo returned the to room of eight stone caskets and withdrew the silver bar from the mummified remains. Almost at once, the desiccated face of the deceased turned up into a twisted grin. As horrifying as the sight was, Apollo found himself giggling, then chuckling, then laughing then doubled over in uproarious guffaws which caused him pain and made blood run from his nose and eyes.The rest of the party heard his racket and found him alone (the mummified gnome was gone) and in dire straights -- just eight minutes from a tragic death by laughter.