The Tomb of Sir Miralus

A bit soggy, but mostly intact, the men awoke one by one to find themselves on an empty beach. No sign of civilization anywhere around them, as well as no sign of half of their party. Ryo, Edge, Damas, and Ambrose slowly gathered themselves and tried to recall what exactly had happened and how they ended up here... wherever here might be.

Ryo looked around slowly noticing two palm trees, growing in a 'v' shape out of the sand, no other trees where anywhere around. "Something about those trees looks strange."

"Well of course they look strange, they're the only ones within sight." Said Edge.

"No, something else, they seem familiar for some reason." Ryo replied.

"Then you know where we are? You've been here before, Ryo?" Asked Edge.

"No, I don't think so, and I don't think I've actually seen these trees, except that they are of the same sort that grew on the island we were just on, but something about them seems familiar, the 'v' shape is peculiar." Explained Ryo.

Damas suggested, "Perhaps it was something from the research you had done while in Pungumplia?"

Ryo thought for a minute, "Hey! I think you're right." And he quickly began digging through his pack second later triumphantly pulling out an old torn piece of parchment. "I found this map while researching, and look, it shows those trees, right here." He pointed. "And Yobyalp is just to the north! Great! We aren't so far of course, after all."

"Well, good, we have an idea where we are, but still, what about the others?"Asked Damas. "We have no idea how we ended up here, and they could just as likely be anywhere on Navaar-Rohn and..."

Edge interrupts, "Calm down Damas! I'm sure they're fine, just like we are, and if they're at the bottom of the ocean there's nothing we can do for them anyway. What would you suggest we do to find them? They're the ones with She'dra, he'll find us, I'm sure of it."

Damas goes on, "Fine, fine... well, let me see that map, I'd at least like to know where we're headed." As he examines the parchment Damas' face displays a variety of expressions. He begins with his eyebrows low, serious about figuring out the next leg of this adventure. Then he cocks his head, and his eyes squint a little as he seems to be considering something, and suddenly he lifts his head, eyes wide with excitement. "By Miralus sword! This is no ordinary map! This is a treasure map leading to the tomb of the Legendary Sir Miralus!"

Ambrose jumps in, "What! Don't be silly, boy, Sir Miralus is just a story told to inspire young knights like yourself, he never really existed."

"But look at this, Ambrose, The location marked her matches perfectly with the Legend."Damas defends. "He was said to have been laid in a tomb in the southwest of Galen-Tur, just west of Fort ? where he spent his final days. And this is clearly that location. "

"Perhaps you're on to something, son. Let me see." Ambrose grabs the page from Damas as Edge and Ryo look quizzically at each other. "Yes, yes, I remember now, and he was buried with his magical sword and armor! Damas, if we could get these artifacts no cockamamie gems would be a threat to us, not to mention we would be heroes for having recovered such legendary instruments."

Damas turns to Edge and Ryo, "Gentlemen, I propose we head towards Yobyalp and since this tomb is directly in out path we take just a short while to inspect it. As you said, Edge, She'dra will surely find us with his magics no matter where we are."

"Well... ok..." Ryo shrugs. "It shouldn't take to long, and it is on the way, as long as this map is accurate."

And with that the truncated band began marching north searching for the Old fort. About 8 hours later it was visible on the horizon. A shell of it's former glory, now a sad pile of stones and rubble in the vague shape of a fort stood on this historic location. A thin plume of smoke was steadily rising from the structure's center. Upon approaching, the men could make out several people within the walls through a portion that had collapsed. The heavily armored troupe had not bothered trying to mask their approach and one man quickly stood up to address them. "Hail travelers. It is quite rare that we get visitors so far from any city out here. Are you lost?"

Ryo spoke up first. "Good eve' sir, we have shipwrecked to the south and were heading towards where we believe Yobyalp to be." The stranger's eyebrows raised. "We've been marching all day and could use a rest, may we share this old fort?"

"I'm afraid you won't find much room in here, strangers. We have 9 men in here, " which Ryo could see was true upon closer inspection, "and it is tight already." The stranger explained.

"Just who are you sir? And why are you out here so far from civilization?" Asked Ryo.

"I am Kinto, and these are my friends, and it's really none of your business. You are welcome to stay outside the fortress walls, the wildlife will not come close enough to bother you, but I suggest you rest up and leave as soon as you can, this is our home." Kinto proclaimed.

"Ok, ok, I'm sorry to have upset you. We'll stay out here for a night and be gone upon sunrise." And with that Ryo motioned for the others to follow him to the outer wall and they made camp.

Not liking the look of the men which had made their home here, they were clearly vagrants and to be left with no better home than this could only mean they had really pissed off someone, so the group decided to keep watch. Ryo took the first watch and Kinto's men wasted no time, within just an hour of the group laying down their heads one man sneaked out, but did not get past Ryo's watchful eye. As the man reached down to Ryo's bag he quickly sat up looked at the man. The man yelped and ran back into the fort.

"Damn! He saw me, the samurai saw me!" Ryo could hear whispers coming from inside. "What'll we do?"

Ryo, not wanting to start a fight after such a long restless journey, quietly awoke the others and explained they ought to move on. And so they did.

After heading west for most of the night, the men approached a man-sized statue of a Knight standing atop a hill as the sun began to rise.

"This is it! This is it!" Damas proclaimed excitedly. "The tomb of Sir Miralus! Look, even his emblem is carved onto the shield. Now, where do we enter?

Even a cursory examination of the historic statue led to immediate results. The party came to notice quickly that the statue was made of a very light, unknown material. Edge, always a man of action, braced his large body against the statue and pushed with all his might. Sure enough, the statue gave way a toppled to the side, revealing a set of stairs leading into a dark, musty, dark, clammy, dark tomb.

Without urging, Edge entered the tomb and began his search. He heightened his senses greatly, and was able to detect even the slightest stimulus. He felt the air rushing out of the small entry room, and could hear faint echoes from all directions. He also stumbled upon the broken remains of would-be treasure hunters, dead and discarded on the floor.

Edge returned to the party and relayed the information. Upon hearing Edge's description, Damas and Ryo were able to fashion a makeshift torch and set it ablaze. It was also decided that Ambrose would stay above ground and keep an eye on the surroundings. After all, something had to have killed those men.

Upon re-entering the tomb the men searched carefully, eventually stumbling upon a room that seemed to be lit already. Their curiosity was short-lived however, as Edge's heightened senses picked up what appeared to be rhythmic movement - well, at least a rhythmic as shambling can be. As soon as the realization hit them, the undead were upon them!

Ryo and Edge ran off in the direction of the first group, meeting the zombies and skeletons head on. Damas was ready to join them, before being reintroduced to the formerly dead and now undead party of treasure hunters from the entry room. Edge and Ryo sliced and splattered and crumbled the horrid abominations with ease. We're not sure exactly what happened to Damas, but when asked he said he was "fine." When asked again he said he was "FINE!" followed by a slight grunt. It was also during this little skirmish that Ryo and Edge noticed another group of undead jerks coming from what appeared to be the other side of the tomb. Before they had the opportunity to rethink their strategy, another man, slightly smaller and more scraggly, joined the fight.

Upon seeing this, Edge and Ryo ran over to help. Ryo quickly sliced one of the zombies to pieces. Edge joined the battle as well, perhaps over zealously. With a charge, a scream, and a leap followed by a mighty blow, Edge cut the zombie clean through, splattering what was left of its inerts along the walls of the tomb - as well as all over the teeny stranger.

Already upset about the intrusion, this new development frazzled him even further. After a bit of an argument about the nature of this tomb, as well as philosophical discourse about the concept of ownership and property rights, the party agreed to set off and leave the little guy to his cranky musings. Ever the opportunist, Ryo managed to use his charm (although some might argue that the gnome would have done just about anything to be left alone) to convince the stranger to provide him with a more efficient source of light - a small glowing stone.

The remaining trip through the tomb was mostly uneventful, save for a few notable things:

The first of which being a ten-foot chasm that the group had to cross. Edge made the jump easily, while Ryo and Damas grumbled. After fastening his rope to a very ornate and intricate statue, he tossed the line across to Ryo. With a running start the samurai summoned all of the strength in his legs to propel his body across the great divide. This, naturally, was not nearly enough, as he went crashing into the side of the pit with a horrid crash. Using the rope, Ryo was able to eventually pull himself up on the other side. Damas followed and made the jump without issue, although Ryo was quick to point out that Damas' jump was far less enjoyable, and that he really missed out on a good time, what with all the crashing and climbing and all. The second notable observation was the amazing craftsmanship of this tomb. Could it have truly been created by some mythical race, as the myth said?

As the group continued on, they finally came to a room containing a large altar, as well as a sarcophagus. In a somewhat strange moment, Damas' cold exterior gave way to an almost childlike excitement. Was he really about to see proof that the childhood hero of all knights was more than just a myth? Further examination proved it. This was Sir Miralus! His thoughts racing, he explained to the group that they had truly found it. This lead to the idea that possibly the mythical creatures of this beautifully intricate tomb might be real as well - The Dwarves!

Their curiosity was once again short-lived, however. In what was becoming an annoyingly common occurrence, the dead rose once again. The body of the greatest knight who ever lived had been manipulated by some cruel magic and disgraced! It attacked the party with powerful blows and slams, dealing out great pain to all three adventurers. Their combined might was enough to eventually destroy the creature; this was, after all, no longer the warrior of legend, but a mere cursed body. Damas, disgusted by these events, was dead set on discovering the source of his hero's cursed fate.

Before this matter could be explored any further, a familiar voice echoed through these hallowed halls...

"Men, return topside!" was eventually heard by the group. Easily recognizing this to be Ambrose, the men raced back to the entry room of the tomb and up the stairs to the source of the commotion - Kinto and the vagrants and descended upon Ambrose!

In a sarcastic, condescending tone, Kinto informed the party that they weren't the first group of "naive" treasure hunters to go searching for Miralus' treasures. The map brought countless unsuspecting groups to this island and left the ripe for the picking. This made perfect sense, actually, since Kinto himself made the map and distributed in during his travels!

Despite their fewer numbers, the group was still in no mood to lie down and be robbed. Drawing their arms, the battle was on. Damas and Ambrose were able to easily mow down the vagrants. Upon realizing that those men were not fighters at heart, they left them alone and turned their attention to Kinto. Already engaged in battle with him, Edge found him to be a formidable opponent. With Ryo charging in, Edge deftly maneuvered around Kinto and afforded Ryo and open shot. Ryo struck true, but upon noticing the man's weapons he ceased his assault and asked the others to do the same. The reason was clear. Kinto was fighting using a Katana and Wakizashi, the weapons of a samurai!

Ryo's cold, unwavering gaze was enough to halt even this man's fervent attack. Even with fear in his eyes he was defiant until the end. He explained that he left his clan long ago, and mocked Ryo for still clinging to those backward ways. Kinto said with conviction that he would not lie down for anyone, and drew arms again. Ryo, however, continued to call him out. Kinto, apparently a victim of his own ego, took up the argument again, taking every chance to point out how wrong Ryo was and how absolutely, inarguably correct he was. A small glance from Ryo to Edge said more than enough, and Edge used this distraction to bash the back of Kinto's head with his sword, knocking him unconscious.

Despite waking up hog-tied, Kinto picked up right where he left off. Laughing at the absurdity of the group and their nonsensical hero complex. As if anyone can actually save this dying world! Perhaps it was pity, or even a small fragment of the respect one samurai would show another, but Ryo decided to leave Kinto alive. He was left hog-tied and stripped of his weapons and armor. Cursing at them even as they walked off, Kinto's voice eventually faded into the distance and was replaced with the sound of the rushing wind through the grass.

Once things calmed down, Edge took a moment to observe what they had found. Through some innate understanding of weapons and armor, Edge was able to see that these were of incredible craftsmanship, and were clearly magically enhanced to be even stronger - something that became somewhat clear after the swords cut through Ryo's belt like butter while he was trying to find a way to carry them.

Armed with even better weaponry, Ryo turned his gaze to the armor. Shedding the bulky, cumbersome plate mail, he donned the enchanted breastplate. It was as if he had stepped into a new skin. Gone was the feeling of hard steel against his body. He was almost amazed that his body was still capable of processing any sensations other than heat and sweat. Upon feeling the breeze against his upper arms, and attuning his body to the freedom of movement this armor afforded him, he began to wonder how he ever got along without it. Leaving the clunky plate mail on the ground where he removed it, he and his friends continued on their journey to Yobyalp.

Once in the city, they were quickly pointed to a human-sized tavern/inn. Taking up residence, Edge and Damas agreed to wait their for no longer than a week, hoping that fate was kind enough to get their friends this far as well. Edge even made a point to get a piece of white fabric and charcoal, with which he wrote down their exact location in case She'dra used his magic to locate them.

Decided to make the most of the situation, they allowed themselves a bit of a release to take part in a large celebration throughout town. They found the gnomes to be a likable group who enjoyed a good laugh more than anything. After a few ales, even the stoic Ryo and aloof Edge were able to open up and have fun.

Finally, after a day of celebrating, the tavern door swung open and a new set of strangers entered. After a quick double-take and an almost wide-eyed disbelieve, confusion gave way to smiles as Edge, Ryo, Damas, and Ambrose laid eyes on their remaining party members - no, not with just their party members, with their friends.

~Dm S and Kevin