Crypts of Carufell

Four men who found each other by accident, entered the tunnels below Tarabrenth. They wandered there following a stolen map and stories of treasure. Their trip led them to the second level, where an old woman helped them find their way to a grand staircase and warned them of the dangers below. Stepping down, they found a shrine to Nezeril. But something followed them, hunting them through the crypts. They escaped and found a small bag of coins. Turning again they found the same area they had been before, but one passage was gone and the Crypt Keeper was waiting. It chased them, killing Zayn and Yoseph. Veldud hid. He ran to the Crypt Keeper’s ward where he found a godstone of Nezeril. In desperation he used it to shuffle the tunnels and escape deeper below. Tarron made it out with Yoseph’s knife and a new goal. Kill the king of Carufell.

Player Characters

 * Tarron Kesvin: A young carnie hired to help steal the map and search the tunnels.
 * Veldud Mirthfow: A thief and urchin, with no purpose in life.
 * Yoseph Thelandir: A lord with no claim on his title, seeking proof in the tunnels of the King’s wickedness.
 * Zayn Shmitty: A street performer and musician, looking for his lost brother.

NPCs

 * The Crypt Keeper: The mysterious and deadly guardian of Nezeril’s temple.

Summary
The four men entered Tarabrenth’s tunnels through an unsettled building. Before them lay a black hallway. Though they had stolen a map, it was incomplete. The map showed a fragment of the third level of tunnels, but no way to get there. All four knew the dangers of the tunnels. They had heard the stories. All four were desperate enough to enter anyway. Wandering the tunnels, they only knew their target was near the center of the city. Their first goal was to descend. They found a weak section of the wall in an old graveyard. Yoseph used his strength to break it down, revealing a muddy slide. Briefly, before they were about to proceed down, they all felt a warm tingle in their ears. It was gone before they could focus on it. The second level was no more navigable than the first. The walls were cramped and twisting. The only sound came from Zayn’s lyre. The only life was bugs and rats. Rarely did light shine down from the surface. They rested when it seemed like night. As they camped, they felt that strange sensation in their ears again. They had no other company that night. When they awoke they wandered until they found a shaft leading to the surface. At the top, a grate. At the bottom, a pile of refuse with a body face down. The body was familiar to Veldud. He flipped it over. It was Noldor, his former business partner. It seemed he had been killed by the guard.

As the group was about to move on, an old woman approached. Judging by her tattered clothes and lack of teeth, she lived down here. Yoseph warned her to back off. She kept walking, telling the group they were in her place. She stripped Noldor of his clothes while asking the upsiders what they were doing. She offered her help in exchange for food. They cautiously agreed. Yoseph asked her if she could take them to a grand staircase leading down. Cackling she led the way. She rambled as she walked, speaking incoherent phrases and dark mutterings. Despite this, Zayn went to speak with her. He asked if she had seen his brother. She hadn’t. But she did lead them to the stairs. In payment they gave her scraps of bread. Yoseph held up his water skin. He promised her some if she told them what lay down there. Cackling once more, she told them a story. It was about the fall of Tarabrenth a thousand years ago. She told them how the city stood strong in the War of Ascendance. That was until the Herald of Change entered the city. He took on many disguises and spread rumors. At his encouragement, the city tore itself apart. Tarabrenth fell without attack. Yoseph gave her some water. She left them at the stairs.

At the bottom of the stairs they found a temple, as described on the map. It was a cramped place, stripped clean of everything except an idol in the back. It stood on a brick pedestal a few inches above the floor. The statue was carved from a single stone and made to look human. It had no explicit facial features. At first it looked like they had worn away. However, when Yoseph ran his finger over the statue only a little dust came off. It was maintained by someone and built to be generic. Perhaps it was Nezeril. The only other thing in the room was a series of long shallow scrapes on the floor leading in all directions. Uneasy, the four went to the library. The hallway between the rooms was narrow and covered in mud. Veldud led the way. His boots slid in the muck and he heard a click. With a flash, a sharp blade dropped from the ceiling. Veldud rolled forward. Though his clothes were covered in mud, he was safe. Before the blade could retract up, Yoseph grabbed it, holding it down. Zayn stepped over it, then Tarron. Finally they all passed into the library.

Like the temple, the library was cleaned of artifacts. Long ago the scent of books had faded, leaving only rotted wooden shelves. What was in the library, were scrapes like before. They followed the scrapes to the room labeled living quarters. It was empty except for the same marks. As they searched the room, they felt the tingle in their ears again, accompanied quietly by a slow rhythmic stomping. The sound echoing through the tunnels making it impossible to tell how close it was. The stomp faded, leaving them alone.

Checking for more traps, they made it to the armory. It was more of the same. No blades, no shields, no weapons, only shallow scrapes on the floor. They went on towards the locked door. First they had to make their way through the priest’s chambers. As they got closer the smell of damp fur began to fill the air. In a pile of rags, rotted wood, and bone, sat a sleeping giant mass of a rodent with shallow breath. Its ears twitched. To get to the door they would have to pass without a sound. Veldud went first. Halfway through his foot touched a hollow spot in the ground. He declined to open the compartment. His skills from the streets above let him pass silently. Zayn also crossed. He held his lyre trying to be silent for once in his life. Yoseph and Tarron stayed. They decided to leave if the others weren't back in ten minutes. Zayn and Veldud couldn’t open the stone door and had to cross back.

The next path took them to the crypt. The walls were no longer stone but yellowed bones. It was cold there. Shivering, they looked around. Yoseph pulled a femur from the wall. He snapped it in half, giving a part each to Tarron and Zayn so they would be armed. Then the stomp again. This time accompanied by a shrill scrape of metal on stone. One sound followed the other. Stomp. Scrape. The sounds were followed by the tingle in their ears and a warm breeze. The four men hurried to the well. The water was a black pool ten feet down. The rim of the well was lined with bone. In the depths below, was a door mostly covered by water. Yoseph took the rope and lowered Veldud down. Veldud tread water and pried open the door to reveal a narrow passage to another room. Holding the torch out and keeping his mouth just above water he slipped through.

Veldud emerged in a large pool in a cavern. He swam to the shore where an unlocked safe was sitting by a passage out. He pulled it open. The others heard the screech of rusted metal and called to him. He grabbed the pouch of coins from the safe before telling the others to join him. Tarron went next horrified by the seemingly bottomless pool. Then Zayn who tried to keep his lyre dry. As Yoseph prepared to go down without the help of a rope he felt the tingle again, accompanied by the stomp and scrape. This time the sounds didn’t fade. He hurried down the well. The sounds got closer until they were right above him. Whatever was up there waited. Yoseph in a panic squeezed through the tight passage. Nothing followed him. Once out, Yoseph cut his hand and chanted a prayer to Rallia, smearing his blood on the wall in the shape of her rune. The four men rested in silence, Yoseph under the rune. Someone mentioned to Zayn that his brother was probably dead. Zayn didn’t know what to say. The whole time they felt the tingle in their ears. Now it was obviously a high pitched noise, on the edge of their hearing.

Finally they took the passage out. It led to a fork. They picked the left path. It led them up, back to the crypt. They ended up in the same place where Yoseph broke a femur. The bone was still missing. But now the path back to the temple was gone. In its place was an ancient and sturdy wall. Then they felt it again, that high pitched frequency. Stomp. Scrape. Stomp. Scrape. It was coming down the path from the Cryptkeeper’s ward. This time they saw it. Slowly making its way to them was a huge figure. Bigger even than the massive Yoseph. It wore a tattered black cloak which hid its face in shadow. It got closer. It walked with a limp favoring its left leg. That was the stomp. It seemed heavier than a bull, heavier than it should have been. In its right hand it dragged a massive scythe made of dark metal and gnarled wood. The blade scraped across the ground. They could feel its presence, ancient and evil. Yoseph, Zayn, and Tarron ran. They only thought to escape. Veldud froze, deciding to hide. The Crypt Keeper walked down the hall. It passed Veldud, turning its cloaked face to look at him. All Veldud could see was shadow. It passed him, but he got the sense it would come back.

The other three ran, turning when they could. The map was no longer accurate. Zayn fell behind. Somehow the Crypt Keeper had caught up. With a flash from his scythe he cut down the musician. Zayn knew as he died, he would never find his brother. Tarron and Yoseph heard the steps fade, but the itch in their ear was more intense than ever.

Veldud knew he couldn’t hide forever. In a moment of desperation he turned and ran to the Cryptkeeper’s ward, hoping something there would help him. What he found at the end of the long tunnel was a small room. There was a statue like the one in the temple. At its base, was an offering bowl with a single orange godstone, the first of its kind to be seen in a long time. Veldud grabbed it. He was no mage, but he knew the rules. He knew that he had to shuffle the tunnels. The stomp and scrape of the Crypt Keeper was getting closer. The godstone started to glow, and then it dissolved in his hand. In a moment of ecstasy, Veldud cast the spell. The path through which he entered was gone and a new dark tunnel lay before. He had no choice but to walk down it.

Suddenly Tarron and Yoseph heard the stomp and scrape right behind them. In front of them a hastily constructed barricade of mud, bone, and sticks. Yoseph plowed right through it. The Crypt Keeper was getting closer now, the time between stomps faster as it ran after them. Before them was what looked to be their salvation. A narrow passage that the Crypt Keeper couldn’t fit through. Yoseph knew he might not be able to either. Stopping Tarron he pulled out his knife. He told the juggler “This is the knife of my grandfather. It’s name is Aslaf Thelandir. If I don’t survive, take it and kill the king. Now run” Tarron froze and Yoseph pushed him ahead. Tarron squeezed through the passage. Stomp Scrape. It was right on top of Yoseph. He went for the passage. But Yoseph was too big. All he got was the end of the scythe. Tarron ran and did not look back.