Tomb of Annihilation: Episode 17
In the foreword to Tomb of Annihilation, Chris Perkins says “Tomb of Annihilation is a story about death and the lengths individuals go to avoid it.” As much as the world of Chult and its colourful characters provide a glimpse into that story, the real core of these themes are found in the Tomb. Acererak’s previous dungeon, the Tomb of Horrors, had a more infamous reputation than the demi-lich himself. This Tomb is less about cheap deaths, and much more about fun threats that will test your players at every turn. “There’s also the tomb itself,” Perkins rightfully says, “which will hopefully illicit chuckles and screams of laughter with its murderous ingenuity.”
The Party:
(Jon) Zorel — Aasimar Paladin
(Terry) Harden — Dwarf Barbarian
(Matt) Grender — Human Wizard
(Stacy) Torven — Lizardfolk Monk/Druid
The Path:
Omu, Tomb of the Nine Gods
“Life has no meaning but what we give it. I wish a few more of ye would give it a little.”
Ed Greenwood — Elminster: The Making of a Mage
The party now had possession of Ras Nsi’s puzzle cube and was ready to meet with the Red Wizards outside of the entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods. They hustled north with excitement, which transitioned to an eerie feeling as they navigated the abandoned streets of Omu.
Soon enough, the Red Wizard’s leader, Zagmira, stepped out from behind a building with her two thugs. She smirked and told the group to hand the puzzle cubes over. Torven’s heightened Perception skill led to him discovering a couple more enemies getting into position on top of a nearby building. That was enough for the party. The time for negotiating was over. The group drew their weapons and began the battle.
Spells were wildly flung every which way. Each of the three remaining Red Wizards cast Greater Invisibility on themselves. Grender sent a Phantasmal Killer spell at one of the Red Wizard thugs, tapping into his nightmares and severely frightening him.
Zorel and Torven tried to deal with the enemies on the ground level. For this battle, Torven decided not to Wild Shape into an animal, since he would have to forfeit his ability to cast spells. Instead he cast Faerie Fire, trying to outline the invisible Zagmira in a violet light which would negate her advantage. Unfortunately, she dodged it, but her two thugs were now magically coloured and much easier to hit. Zorel quickly preyed on this and began slicing them up with his greatsword.
Crossbow bolts were flying down from the buildings surrounding the party. Then an Ice Storm and a Fireball that did devastating damage. Zorel took the brunt of it, but was still standing. He valiantly tried to stay close to his party members to provide them with his Aura of Protection, which granted a bonus to their saving throws.
Harden took matters into his own hands. He scaled the side of the building and began hammering the enemies there, even grappling the invisible Red Wizard, but she cast Misty Step to get away. Even while invisible though, she couldn’t get away from the raging barbarian’s wild attacks.
Meanwhile, Grender was taking care of the other building of enemies. He’d cast Evard’s Black Tentacles which were slamming and restraining his foes. Soon, most of the enemies were down, but another big hit could take down Zorel or Harden, who had both dove straight into danger. Torven stepped up and tried to lure the last remaining invisible Red Wizard, Zagmira, towards him. He took a Magic Missile that he couldn’t dodge, but that was enough to give Grender the notion of where Zagmira stood. He hoped for the best, and sent an engulfing Fireball of his own her way. She cried out in agony as the flames singed her robes and burned her to a crisp.
The battle was over. Many spells were cast. Many more healing spells would need to be cast. But they now had in their hands all nine puzzle cubes.
Harden finally got to pick up his magical maul, which Finde explained could burst forth a wave of fiery energy — she called it the Volcano Hammer. This almost made Harden happier than killing the Red Wizards and getting the nine puzzle cubes. He waved his signature weapon around and imagined the destruction he could cause to monsters who stood in his way.
The party met up with Musharib near the entrance to the tomb as they re-examined all the nine puzzle cubes. Their excitement was replaced by foreboding as they neared the ominous tomb.
Near the base of the cliffs, a fifteen-foot-tall obelisk of cracked stone was draped with vines and black moss. Behind it was a dark passageway obscured by withered creepers. A second, smaller tunnel was burrowed into the base of the cliff to the eastern side. Three stone gargoyles watched from narrow ledges carved into the cliff side. Each had the face of a bearded devil, its mouth agape in a silent scream.
The party looked to one another, unsure of what to do. Harden, perhaps feeling invigorated from his new magic weapon, moved first. He approached the obelisk, clearing some of the vines and moss from the southern face and exposed a message. It read:
Acererak’s ominous warning hung in the air. The party glanced to each other, and back to the tomb. They wondered what it could mean. Harden proceeded to the side alcove. Inside were statues of eight of the nine trickster gods. An oil basin would light up as he walked by each one. Torven found the ninth statue hidden behind a secret compartment. But even with all nine basins lit up, nothing seemed to happen.
They were confused, but also highly on alert. Acererak was known for his deadly tricks and traps, and they were not going to blindly waltz into danger. Zorel meandered up north and found a slab of worked stone with eight cube-shaped cavities. Because he was so paranoid, he devotedly searched the area. His inspection led him to a stone block high above, seemingly ready to trap him inside if he did something wrong. He carefully discussed next steps with Torven, as they both continued hunting.
Musharib prodded Harden for his thoughts, as Grender explored the base of the cliff going westward. He ripped at vines and poked at rocks, looking for anything out of place. He found a patch of thick foliage and, pulling aside some heavy undergrowth, he uncovered a hidden archway in the cliff face.
Grender cried out for the rest of the party to join him. An old, overgrown hallway led to a slab of worked stone with grinning skulls and a devil’s face. But it had nine cube-shaped cavities instead of eight. This seemed much more promising.
Harden volunteered to place the cubes in the slots, figuring that if it was indeed a trap, he was the hardiest and most likely to survive. He started placing them in, then stopped. It couldn’t possibly be random. Grender shouted that each shrine told a story of two rival trickster gods. He then exclaimed that Acererak’s riddle said “the enemies oppose.”
Zorel ran back to the tunnel with the statues and basins, wrote down which gods opposed each other, and came back. With that information and the stories they’d heard, they were pretty sure they had the right answer.
Harden placed Unkh in the middle (“one stands between them”), and then slowly continued with each of the rival gods opposite each other. As he placed the last cube in, they all flared with light, then disappeared. Growling like an angry beast, the slab began to slide up into the ceiling.
This was it — the true entrance to the Tomb of the Nine Gods. The party slowly shuffled forward, unsure of what dangers lay before them. But they were determined to find the Soulmonger, and end the death curse once and for all.
Previous: Episode 16
Next: Episode 18
