Continuing down into the depression, Gonir glances about, using his low-light vision to make sure there was nothing of interest to fight or loot, taking his hand off the rapier and fingering the transmutation circle tattoo on the back of his hand.

Nothing evil As you go down to the bottom of the depression becomes more clear the ruins, all broken and destroyed, orc filth everywhere and in some rocks are seen dark red spots surely marks of former victims. In the deepest part like a sump you reach some stairs leading down to a sort of catacombs, in all the rocks around Orcs have carved and painted strange and disgunting symbols; light torches and descend into the bowels of the ruins. On the stairs are bodies of orcs, mostly dry by the time; the last step ends in a huge room that your torches fails to illuminate the walls, the floor is a carpet with bones.

Gonir walks slightly behind the wizard. As they reach the bottom for the staircase, he shakes his head. "Any ideas what happened here, Greybeard?" he says talking to the wizard.

As they descent to the catacombs the sorceres has her eyes and ears open. Carefull with where she steps she gasps once they reach the bottom of the stairs. "Oh great... more bones..."she mumbles. And then inside her fur vest Shadow agrees "Bones!"

Parannos scans the room, trying to see if any of the orc writings are legible or meaningful.

The marks are pictograms of death, you find fascinating and imaginative the various ways that orcs describe it, even have runes or symbols for the different ways to reach that state ... Slowly the wizard walk down the stairs and as soon he sets foot on the floor of the room blows an icy wind and about 5 mts of the wizard dozens of skeletons warriors rise up forming rows after rows like an army cursed for eternity to guard the secrets of the ruins.

He follows the wizard down, pulling his bow off his back. He holds it in his left hand, but doesn't draw any arrows until the skeletons rise from the ground. He knocks the arrow, and draws it to is fullest extent, but not particularly aiming it at the undead until they show signs of active hostility.

Parannos steps forth, silver chalice held aloft, and calls in a stern voice "Stand back, restless dead! In the name of Armo I will not allow you to take another step!" The chalice looks like it's overflowing with pale light.

Amelia overwelmed by the number of the skeletons she stands and looks at Parannos. "We must flee.. " she mumbles..

The sacred symbol of Parannos fill of heavenly light all the room and it's when you see that are hundreds of skeleton warriors that stand between you and a corridor on the other side. Again and again Parannos hike up his holy symbol and over and over again dozens of skeletons flee but many others take their position as the sand of a dune refilled the hole dug by hand. Exactly two meters separate you from the first line of skeletons and hear a cold, hard voice. "Those who fell, now defend the ruins, begone or join us forever" There are 20 rows each with 50 skeletons warriors separated from the next by two meters but in each row there is an empty space, as if in that position a skeleton warrior is missing. Somenthing like this: You are here x ----- --------------- -------- ------------ - ------------------- --------- ----------- --------------- ----- The heavenly light disappears and only the timid torch illuminates

Updated 17 October 2014 (12:55)

"OK!! I SAY WE LISTEN TO THE CLERIC!" Looking at Parrannos with her eyes wide open " What do we do Parannos?", says and waits for his answer. It's obvious that on the matter of the undead he is the most qualified to estimate anything.

"I don't know, Sparkles, maybe there is something interesting behind them..." Gonir voices. "I'm sure I could get through their ranks if you distracted them!"

Parannos, looking at the ranks of skeletons wryly, pulls back a bit and whispers to the others "Armo can hide us from their unnatural senses, and then we can just slip through. Let's fall back to the stairs, out of sight, and I'll cast the spell first on Shadow, Amelia, and Gonir, then on myself and Gwenaël. Then we'll simply walk through the gaps in their ranks." "This won't look very dramatic, since as far as we can tell, nothing has changed; but trust me, the skeletons won't know we're here," he says to the others, "Just don't touch them or attack them, because that will reveal all of us - which would be a shame, since the spell should otherwise last about half an hour." Once in the stairway, Parannos starts intoning, chalice in hand "Armo, please ward us from the restless dead, make us unseen, unheard, from bale attention hid." A faint wisp of vapour extends from the chalice, lazily circling each subject before fading away. "I can go first," Parannos says with a grin and sets off.

Once Parannos performed the prayer you began crossing the rows of skeletons, the cleric goes first, followed by Gonir, Gwenaël and Amelia. A cold runs your back, the skeletons turn their heads in your direction, they can see you! But it's too late to go back, Shadow and Amelia are the last to go through the first row, in the same instant in the back of the room a bell is heard and a torch is lit on each side of the room. Although the skeletons observe you they do not move out of their position. As you continue going through the ranks of the undead each time you pass a row, the bell rings again and a couple of torches light up, finally passing the fifth row the bell rings twice. "Here fight those who love the city" "Here lie those who defend the city" "Here will fall those who attack the city" "Forever in service to what we love" And with that the skeletons break up into bones except four skeletons that approach to you and hand you four folded cloaks once receive the presents the skeletons fall apart. The cloaks are black and gold with a richly embroidered emblem of a tower a sword and a scepter. With the lighted room you can see a corridor leading to another smaller room, entering you all see in the bottom an altar with a small carved wooden box open, inside it is a black jewel with golden sparkles, right next to the altar is a body turn in skeleton with remains of their clothes and leather armor, his left side are the rusted remains of a scimitar and to its right a bow without string, he or she must have died hundreds of years ago.

Updated 24 October 2014 (13:23)

As Amelia is looking around in the small room she starts wearing the cloak. "I guess they would want us to wear those. " says as she puts her red cloak on her backpack. Her attention is drawn on the jewel. "It's black and gold... hmm... like the cloaks. Should I touch it?" says and wait for everyones response. At that time Shadow finally finds some courage to climb to Amelia's shoulder.

Gonir bows to the recently disturbed pile of bones, out of respect for the dead, and then puts the new cloak over his pure black old one. He looks around the room behind, checking for any traps before examining the jewel closely. "Interesting..." he mumbles, looking at the jewel.

Parannos scratches his head and grins sheepishly. "Well, that was a bit embarrassing, " he mutters to the others and looks at the cloak in his hands, clearly confused. "I must admit I never suspected an undead legion of harbouring sartorial intent. Hmm..." he looks closely at the cloak, draws out the spectacles Svala Ingun had given him and starts to examine the chamber, the cloaks, the body and especially the jewel through the lenses.

"It's best not to touch anything until we've checked for unpleasant surprises," he says to everyone a little absent-mindedly. He has left the cloak hanging over his forearm for the moment.

"Clearly, I overestimate the test" you hear a voice coming from the shadows of a corner, something darker than the shadows themselves and with a pair of tiny yellow dots for eyes is talking. "But anyway, you are those who are here, so the treasure is yours," he says with casual voice as it moves out of the shadows. With the light of the torches that darker shadow has human figure made ​​of black smoke which is blurred by a breeze that you do not feel. Parannos you see him with your lens he is a spot of light which extends a small luminous thread thats end in the gem, which shines in the same way that he do, the rest of the room has no other magical quality.

Updated 24 October 2014 (22:33)

"Wait what?" Gonir exclaims. "That's it? For such a pretty jewel as well." His eyes shine as he turns from the new arrival to the black jewel. He reaches out to touch it, but at the last moment draws his hand back and stands up. He slowly puts his hand to where his older cloak is clasped to his leather armour and grasps the hilt of his dagger.

"This did seem a bit too easy," Parannos says and looks at the jewel suspiciously. "I suspect this place isn't quite done with us yet, and this jewel may well be a part of that," he adds, and , nodding at the corpse, says "just ask our bony friend here." Turning his attention to the smoky apparition, he thinks aloud, "I wonder what this ghostly sight is - there is magic at the heart of it, tied to the gem." Fascinated, he asks the smoky figure "Can you understand me?"