21st of Secondmonth 1526 H.E.
The ship Grey Dolphin makes dock at the town of Newport in the Northern Province. Five adventurers disembark. Araned Threeoak from the elven settlement of The Great Tree. Garrick Valthorn, a warrior from the capital city of The Holy Empire of the Blessed Saint. Rulo Suras of the Wandering Elves. Pendrek Stonehand a Dwarf from the Grey Mountains. Artemis, a mystic from the Wind Dragon clan. They had all departed from the Capital City three days ago bound for the great Northern city of Gonzoria with the intent to explore the fabled ruins of the lost High Kingdom and it's dungeons.
Gonzoria had been established decades ago after the defeat of the Demon King. Since then hundreds of adventurers had come to seek fame and fortune. Some had done just that but most had met their fates in the many dungeons and ruins.
Having no one else to travel with, the five set out from Newport for Gonzria after breaking their fast at a local tavern. As they headed north along the road they could see the massive High Kingdom Mesa that rose a mile above the hills of the lowlands. Two other mesa nearly as tall but smaller in surface area flanked it to the east and west. Many more were said to lie beyond these to the north. These mesa were where the lost civilization of the High Kingdom derived its name.
The road north ran along the banks of the High Kingdom River which flowed from two massive waterfalls from the heights of the High Kingdom Mesa. The weather was unseasonably warm for Secondmonth, especially this far north so the walk was pleasant. The party expected to reach Gonzoria in just a few hours as it was not far from Newport.
As they were traveling they overheard someone arguing in orcish from a nearby small wood. Deciding to investigate the party found a group of Orcs armed with bows and warclubs but wearing no armor. The orcs were arguing about whether to raid the road during the day or the local farms by night.
Due to their argument the part were able to surprise the orcs. Two of the orcs dropped back to use their bows but four stood to face the adventurers.
Within moments the orcs were cut down and the party paused to check their loot and asses their damage. The elf Araned had taken a nasty shot from one of the orc archers so he spent some time patching himself up. Among the orcs gear they found a small bag of mostly copper and silver coin. It wasn't much but it would probably cover the cost of staying at an inn for a few day.
With no other encounters the party reached the gates of Gonzoria by mid morning. They had taken orc ears in the hopes that they could claim a bounty on them. The guards at the gate directed them to the Gatekeeper's office at Jailor's Tower.
At Jailor's Tower they received a small bounty for the orc ears. The deputy on duty told them their best chances of getting good jobs would be to join the Gonzoria Adventurers Guild but he also informed them that the dues for joining started at one hundred gold coins. Since none of the party had that much they asked about other job opportunities. They deputy offered them a job taking a prisoner and some supplies to the nearby village of Honeyhill for a small payment. Having no other prospects they took the job.
They arrived at the village of Honeyhill in the mid afternoon. The small village was further to the north sitting only about a mile from the base of the High Kingdom Mesa.
The sheriff, Ned Pipeweed, paid them for the prisoner and supplies. When the party ask about further job opportunities and adventures the sheriff told they that the priest of the local Church of the Blessed Saint was looking for a party to investigate a rumor of a tomb just north of town.
At the church the party spoke with Father Martin the priest who told them that a tomb had been discovered north of town cut into the walls of the High Kingdom Mesa with iconography suggesting it belonged to a member of the Holy Church of the Blessed Saint. The priest offered to pay them two hundred gold coins if they could bring back the bones of any holy person they found there as well as pay them extra for any relics they managed to recover. They took the job and set out of the tomb.
A short distance out of the village they came across a temple of the Holy Earth Mother so they decided to stop by there as well. They made a small offering to the priestess of the temple so she offered to read the bones for them. After casting the bones the old halfling told them that she believed they would accomplish their goal but would face many challenges.
Rula the elf peeked quickly inside and told the party she saw several large rodents inside. The party developed a plan to handle the large group. Garrick the warrior would open the door and allow two or three rodents out then try and close the door before more could get through making fewer opponents for the party to fight as one time.
The elves considered using their magic but at their experience level they could each only cast one spell per day so they decided not to use them here.
Garrick opened the door and three giant rats escaped the room and attacked the party before he was able to slam it closed again. Twice more he opened the door and each time three more giant rats attacked them. On the fourth attempt his hand slipped and the party braced for a larger attack. Luckily for them no more rats were in the room. 
The small chamber beyond the door was lit from the ambient light coming from the outside. It was then that the party discovered none of them had packed any torches or lanterns. As the party had two humans they realized this would complicate their exploration of the tomb. They found two old torches in sconces set on either side of a large door hoping that they would light when they needed them.
There were three doors leading out of the room. A large door straight ahead of them and two smaller doors down short hallways to the left and right. The party chose to proceed straight ahead and after spending some time they managed to pick the lock.
Beyond the door they found a large marble corridor decorated with friezes of miracles performed by a holy man of The Church of the Blessed Saint. Graffiti had been painted on the walls in dried blood that appeared to be in some unknown language. A small niche held a man sized statue of a priest of the Church of the Blessed Saint but the head had been broken off and replaced with the skull of a goat burned black with a red upside down pentagram painted on the forehead. They also found a small privy and in the dried out cesspit below they found the statues human head. They also found two more old torches set on either side of the door at the far end of the corridor.
As it was even darker in the corridor the Dwarf and Elves searched for hidden doors. They found two near the far end of the corridor with hallways heading to the left and right for about twenty feet. Each hallway had another hidden door. All of the hidden doors were the type that slid aside when triggered. When they investigated the passage on the left they found a room full of animated skeletons so they closed the door quickly. When they checked the passage on the right they discovered a giant toad so they quickly closed that door as well.
As they opened the door they planned to light one of their torches but found the chamber they entered lit by some kind of sky light rigged with mirrors. The chamber inside was decorated in the same way as the corridor but without the dried blood graffiti. An elaborate carved sarcophagus sat on a small dais opposite the door.Pendrek the dwarf cautioned that they lid to the sarcophagus was slightly ajar so Araned and Garrick decided they would shift the lid a bit to have a peek inside.
As they attempted to slide the lid of the sarcophagus aside something from the inside pushed the lid clear and an armored skeleton with devilish horns sprang up and attacked them. The fight was intense but brief and ended when the mystic Artemis shattered it's skull with a bolt from her crossbow.
The room had no treasure but the party decided that the skeleton's elaborate armor and rune carved longsword would be valuable. The party were pleased none of them had been struck by they sword as it looked as if it might be enchanted due to it's elaborate construction and rune carved blade.
After decided that the burial chamber they found was a false chamber they decided to continue to explore the tomb. The decided to investigate the passageway with the giant toad. Rulo decided she would try and use her sleep spell on the creature to put it to sleep then they could dispatch it. This plan worked.
After removing the curtains that the toad was nesting among they discovered they were in a bathing room. The water of the bath had turned murky and was overgrown with algae. They also discovered a heating chamber below the bath that had a tunnel connecting to the privy cesspit and another tunnel heading east that they chose not the explore. After discovering another hidden door the party proceeded down a limestone hallway. Pendrek stopped the party half way down the hallway when he found a dart trap. Rulo found a rock and used it to trigger the pressure plate for the trap from a safe distance allowing the part to proceed. At the end of the hallway they discovered yet another hidden door.
Beyond the hidden door they found an unadorned small chamber that had another sarcophagus on a dais. This sarcophagus was much simpler than the one they found earlier and it was still sealed.
After breaking the seal and removing the lid they found the skeletal remains of a man in a simple monks robe. The nameplate above his head was inscribed with Saint Bedevere.
The party built three sturdy travois. On one they laid the remains of Saint Bedevere. On another they placed the statue and recovered head. The third they used to transport the skeleton's armor and weapon and some silver icons they removed from one of the doors.
When the party returned to the church at Honeyhill Father Martin was pleased that they had recovered the bones of Saint Bedevere and gladly paid them the two hundred gold coins. He also paid them handsomely for the statue and icons but he refused to pay them for the "blasphemous" armor and weapon and suggested that they would have better luck trying to find a buyer in Gonzoria.
With plenty of money to pay the dues to the adventurers guild in hand they set off once again for the city.
Dungeon Master Notes: This was my first session of my BECMI Dungeons an Dragons campaign "Dungeons of Gonzoria" This is a sandbox game with elements of a West Marches campaign and so it will be player driven and may involve several different parties and players. I'm looking forward to more game reports as well as getting back to posting on this blog.
