Session 93: The Dust of the Damned

Session Report – 6th of Apollo, 500 CD

As Dagon touched the lid of what appeared to be an active sarcophagus, ten mummies suddenly rose from the twelve in Chamber Eight on the second level of the ziggurat. Four of these undead radiated a faint, sickly green glow, their wrappings pulsing with toxic energy.

As the battle erupted, Jasmal, Merik, and Conan were struck by the foul creatures—unaware of the creeping side effect now festering within them. Arceven, Dimmir, and Dagon also suffered wounds, their flesh burning as the venomous energy from the glowing mummies coursed through their veins.

When the fight finally ended, the party took a moment to breathe and tend to their wounds. Conan, reaching for a greater healing potion, discovered with alarm that the potion had no effect. Marik tried the same with identical results.

Sensing something was wrong, Jasmal used her staff to cast Mass Cure Wounds, yet while most of the group recovered, she, Marik, and Conan remained unhealed. Frustrated and unsettled, the High Priestess investigated further—and discovered the truth: the three were afflicted with Mummy Rot, a vile curse that blocks all natural and magical healing.

Without hesitation, Jasmal drew again upon her staff, expending three charges to cast Remove Curse on each of the infected companions. Once freed, their healing magic and potions finally took effect, though the group lamented the precious resources spent overcoming the affliction.

After tending their wounds, Dagon and Arceven searched the chamber for anything of value. They uncovered several treasures:

• Spell Scrolls (1 of 5th level, 1 of 6th level)
• 150 Shekels
• A Black Sapphire set in a funerary mask (worth 300 Shekels)
• Three Gold Dragon Orbs

Chamber Nine – The Mirrors of Atlantis

After catching their breath, the Order of the Phoenix advanced into the next room—an elongated hall lined with towering obsidian-framed mirrors stretching from floor to ceiling. Though clouded with age, the glass shimmered with haunting reflections.

As the companions entered, the mirrors came alive, displaying the rise and fall of Atlantis.

At first, they showed the birth of the great city, its gleaming towers of coral, crystal, and marble rising from the sea.

Then the empire in its golden age, its scholars, priests, warriors, and dragon riders basking in divine favor.

As the group moved deeper, the scenes grew darker—nobles succumbing to decadence, their rituals twisting into blood sacrifices and whispers of forbidden pacts.

At the far end, the mirrors revealed Sekhmet herself, fangs bared and laughing cruelly as the Six Chosen were shackled and cursed, becoming the first vampires. Her mocking laughter still echoed through the stone walls whenever anyone stepped beyond the halfway point.

Those who gazed too long into the mirrors felt a wave of grief and despair, the sorrow of Atlantis’s fall pressing upon their souls. The Order moved on before the sorrow could consume them.

Chamber Ten – The Living Quarters

Crossing into the next chamber, the group immediately sensed a change in atmosphere. This room was different—someone had been living here recently. The air was fresher, and there was no ancient dust.

Gone were the symbols of Atlantis or the Zavabu Empire; they had been scratched away or removed entirely.
The room contained a neatly made cot, a large oak desk, and a weapon rack holding a single shield. The murals on the walls were equally telling:

One depicted the city of Ephesus, capital of the Black Legion Empire in North Azure.

Another showed an island fortress and manor set against a stormy sea.

A third displayed a dead forest and a decaying ziggurat.

The southern wall bore a towering altar carved in the shape of a five-headed dragon, flecked with dried blood.

Inside the desk, the companions found personal notes belonging to Abraham Harker. The writings referenced Harry Houdini, the vampires, Harker’s death and rebirth, and even plans to capture Soteropolis in the name of his god, Thanika. Another set of papers contained notes on something called the Warforged—constructs of unknown origin.

Behind the altar, the group discovered a stairway spiraling downward—to the Third and final level of the ziggurat.

Chamber One Level 3 – The Hall of the Dragon Queen

The first chamber of the third level mirrored the changes above. Once covered in the iconography of Ra and Sekhmet, its walls had been completely altered. Now, the murals glorified the Silver Hearts Clan—two of each metallic dragon and their riders—bowing before the goddess Thanika.

The necrotic aura in the room was palpable, thick and heavy as the group entered. The murals depicted Thanika not merely as a war goddess, but as a divine tyrant—a being who had even bent the proudest of dragons to her will.

Thanika was shown in radiant gold and obsidian, her divine form both beautiful and monstrous, seated upon a throne woven from sunlight and shadow, consuming the cosmos itself.

As the companions examined the room, Arceven felt a deep, thrumming pulse through his connection to Puff—the heart of the dragon still beat, and its rhythm was growing stronger.