The Necromancer's Legacy - part 28

Charon, Thriatos and Horacio manage to reach Osayla without further incidents (not counting dropping their wagon into the river, but at least it was salvaged) and begin asking around for a guide. Experiencing no luck among the city's caravan drivers, Horacio gets a tip to visit a local tavern known as The Defeated Giant. There they quickly find a man named Farn who offers to take the job. They conclude their deal and after renting a room the three mages head out into the city. After locating an alchemist shop they are shadowed on their way to a tanner, which they ask to produce some specialized belts for their elixirs. Their mysterious follower does not hang around to wait and feeling fairly secure they end the day enjoying a bottle of red wine at a fine restaurant.

The following morning they begin their quest for the orb which consul Callissios tasked them with. Farn leads the way into the mountains, initially following the caravan route to Ossaria, but soon switching to a different path going south. The graveyard city, known as The King's Tomb by the locals, is somewhere ahead. After spending the night in the wild they continue - only to find they are not the first on the site. Two templars are camping outside a massive gate in the very mountain itself and the mages decide they'd best tackle the situation themselves, so pays Farn for his services and send him back to Osayla.

Prepared for trouble they speak to the men who appear to be waiting for someone other than the mages. Thriatos manage to convince them that they are part of the party soon to be arriving and gains entrance to the graveyard on the condition that the doors are shut after they've entered. They agree and soon find themselves in a grand hall as the light quickly disappears with the closing doors. Illuminated by torchlight Charon performs a ritual to protect them against undead. When he finally completes it they begin exploring the tunnels.

Following a faint magic resonance they discover a large pillar-clad hall ending with a massive stone door. Searching through the room they discover an amulet on a pediestal and begin to look ferverously for traps. Finally Charon attempts to lift the amulet with his staff of telekinesis, which appears to open a distant door as a wind suddently blow through the room. As things could be worse the mages relax and examine the amulet, which appears to be some sort of key - surely to be useful later in their quest.

Devoting their attention to the massive stone door they cannot quite shake the feeling of being followed. Then they spot the giant lizard creature clutching to the ceiling and decide to unleash their arsenal of spells. The creature is not easily brought down and tears part of Horacio's robe into shreads before being killed, but luckily no one is seriously injured.

After resting for a short moment they return their attention to the door and after managing to get it open they discover a burial chamber. Careful not to touch the equipment or the sarcofagus contained within, a chest filled with gold and gems prove to be to much temptation and they agree to take it back to the entrance.

Just having completed the task they are meet with the sound of metal scraping against stone. The doors are opening and someone is about to enter...