Leo steps forward. The small halfling is clearly a thief with fighting skills and wields two fine daggers at his side. "My name is Leo Silvershaper. I was an assassin previously. Now, I'm just hoping to survive all this."

Zaron sets down the poles to his handcart. As it is small, the cart holds only a few supplies and a large barrel.

He steps forward to answer Renakaris. "The Black Curse, as they call it, is a sickness that can be contracted in certain tunnels or mines. It is said that this ancient disease was revived with the rift between worlds nearly 75 years ago, but that it will spread like a plague. Much about it is clouded in mystery. Many consider it an evil curse of the gods."

He thinks, digging in his memory. "The disease itself takes several days to manifest. First, blood congeals in the fingers and toes, making them appear black. That is where the name 'Black Curse' comes from. Then it affects the mind, making the sufferer lose his sanity and become subject to extreme anger and rage, attacking even his closest friends. If he does not die or kill himself in this rage that lacks any more thought than a wild beast, then the malady will kill him."

He shakes his head. "I have not seen it myself and do not know how it spreads. Some say it spreads just by looking at someone who has it."

He pauses, and looks around. Then he looks at the human monk. "Everyone has introduced themselves except you. Who are you?" He looks to the silent monk and to Kahan's group for an introduction.

Geebo, the young adolescent gnome guiding Kahan's group, says, "He is not with us. I thought he was with your group."

All eyes look to the human monk standing in your midst. As you peer closer, you notice his robes do not touch the ground, and he appears to be floating slightly above the ground, having no feet.

The monk raises one hand and points to the tomb where Renakaris had examining the door.

Kahan was about to respond to the question about the Curse, although he wasn't sure what to say, before someone mentioned the monk. Turning, he absently handled his holy symbol in case it decided to turn violent, but didn't brandish it outright, as he looked at the tomb the suspected ghost was pointing at. "Are you buried here?" he asked the spirit.

The drow says, "I detected a secret way there. Let us try that." She bows, "Greetings, monk. We mean you and your place of rest no ill."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Sat 30 Apr 2022.

"It would seem he wants us to go investigate that way." the Elven mage says in reference to the door.

"Anyone any good at spotting traps?" asks Renakaris.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Sat 30 Apr 2022.

"Leo, care to have a look at doors?"

Leo will inspect the doors of the tomb for traps.

Leo checks. There do not appear to be any traps, but the front doors to the tomb are locked with an ancient iron chain and two padlocks. The padlocks also do not appear to be mechanically trapped.

The hidden passage Renakaris detected is inside the tomb leading down, but that's all he can tell.

The monk shimmers and disappears.

NOTE: I thought it would be funny that you are all introducing yourselves unaware that one of the group is not a member of either group. Was wondering if anyone would pick up on that before NPC Zaron asked about it.

OOC: Not gonna lie, I got this game and another I'm in confused, there's also a monk who doesn't talk much in one of my games so I just assumed for some strange reason that's who that was. Lol

Kahan puts his hand on his mace. "If we cannot pick these locks, perhaps they can be broken off," he suggests, although he lets Leo try his hand before doing any smashing.

"I can open it." Tahldar says as he begins to cast a spell on the door's locks.

OOC:  Tahldar will cast knock on the two locks (one spell covers both).  A single knock will undo up to two locks.  From the spell description ->  Each spell can undo up to two means of preventing egress through a portal. Thus if a door is locked, barred, and held, or triple locked, opening it requires two knock spells.

"Let's break as little as possible and steal not at all, yes?" asks Renakaris, only too aware how much grief a ghost can deliver.

======
OOC:
Nope. Just a wall of names
This message was last edited by the player at 21:50, Thu 05 May 2022.

Tahldar's spell successfully unlocks the two padlocks. The doors they were holding shut are solid rock, about 6 feet high, and 2 feet wide (each). The tomb itself, also made of brick and stone, is about 8 feet high, 8 feet wide and 12 feet deep.

The doors are closed.

Those in Kahan's group think the monk may have been the figure they saw in the mist who led them in this direction.

Unless others insist otherwise, Renakaris, with sword readied, is comfortable with sliding past the group, between the doors and into the darkness. Few can match her sight in the dark. She looks round and listens.

If nothing untoward she says quietl to the trap-seeker, "Leo, if I have the right of it, if you please, would you join me? Your eyes may catch things I will likely not note?"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:45, Fri 06 May 2022.

You move forward to pull open the heavy doors.

Zaron suddenly says, "Wait!" He steps forward and brushes off the front of the door covered with dust and green mildew. You see small carvings in the tomb. They are very hard to make out and appear messily etched in, as if with a dagger, not a professional engraver.

"I think this is in the Draconian tongue, said to be a language of great power. Anyone speak draconian?"

The dark elf shakes her head, many languages, but not that one. She has a look at the runic structure as she waits some moments for any speakers to announce themselfves before casting 'Comprehend Languages'.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:21, Fri 06 May 2022.

Kahan leans forward to look at the scratchings, but shakes his head.  he comments in a harsh tongue that probably sounds worse than it really is.

"I understand Draconic." Tahldar says as he tries to read the engravings.

OOC: Tahldar knows the Draconic language.

Tahldar reads:
"A curse upon all who disturb this tomb;
By the gods and dragons,
My traitor shall become your destroyer.
I, Tarimar, so speak it,
And so shall it be."

Tahldar feels a certain power in the words.

"Anyone know of 'Tarimar'?" queries the drow.

"We need to get inside quickly and close the doors behind us.  I suspect by reading this I've called upon some power." Tahldar says as he looks up to the sky.

Rathyl says, "I also speak Draconian, and the words themselves have power. I feel the power in the words. They can call dragons that may be in the vicinity. If we go in, though, are we not begging a curse upon ourselves?"

Rathyl agrees to enter with the group, but he is on guard.

"We have already disturbed the crypt, in the literal sense, even without stepping foot into it. I do not know if it is better to go inside or not, but we need to decide quickly," the priest nods. "Tarimar is a very powerful, old wizard, who uses advanced magics to make clones of himself to do his bidding. We fled our planet after its destruction, and we believe Tarimar was responsible for what happened, or, I suppose, will happen, since we also went back in time when we came here..." Kahan explained, scratching his head at the confusing situation.

"Do we need to try a Remove Curse on these writings then?" asks Rnakaris. "Or, perhaps, a Detect Magic may clarify?" She seraches her memory for what she's learned about this kind of thing.

Vegren helps open up the heavy slab doors. "No use waiting around. I think Kahan is right."