Martenin the 26th.
They move onward to the tomb of the Grizzlebeard clan, where a sarcophagus is protected by a cage of tightly placed iron bars. Chains suspended from the ceiling drop down to a pair of stone posts which read 'Strike' and 'True' in dwarven, and there are some mighty old pick-hammers near them. Oatmeal and Indrid manage to successfully pound down the posts in time to raise the cage and permit access. Sir Stratton does search the actual sarcophagus for traps, and Mel notes that you have to press down the eyes to open it. Within they find some more treasure, including an impressive footman's pick made from a silvered skull, all of which they place into the bag of holding that Oatmeal carries.
The following area is the crypt of the Stimmy clan, which contains three sarcophagi, and empty alcove, and a large, fragile, rotten old painting that depicts four dwarf merchants raising flagons before a backdrop of local Floivin Province locations like Floivin Keep. One of the merchants' faces is missing, and they note that there are scuff marks where a sarcophagus must once have lain in the empty alcove. There is also another space where a painting once hung. The tombs themselves are all empty but contain relics of these Stimmys' individual trades...a harp, a set of jewelers' equipment, and cobwebbed bottles of whiskey. Just after, blue flashes of light manifest, spewing forth a trio of undead dwarves who fight dangerously with hammers. They do superficially resemble the ones in the painting. The PCs manage to defeat them, but they disappear in blue flashes right after. Before leaving, the group does their best to roll up the painting and place it in the bag of holding.
There is one finished chamber left in the area, so they proceed to the Soldergard's tomb. This consists of two rooms; one full of wall sculptures of a rural forest setting with dwarven adults and children a-frolic, partly tinted in a jade color, with two sarcophagi. The other is smaller and down a steep set of stairs, where a third sarcophagus lies partly open, covered in loose coins and a chest sitting within. The group starts off down these stairs, when they collapse and retract, trapping Sir Stratton, Finian and Gary into the lower chamber, a wall cutting them off! Above, Indrid, Mel, Tess and the two hirelings frantically try to find a solution by picking the locks on the upper sarcophagi. Indrid gets lucky with the belt of keys he found in the priest's tomb below the Saint's Acre. He and Oatmeal are forced to smash the other open, but first Indrid must flee back to the Grizzlebeard tomb, alone, to get one of those hammers. He does so, but on his way racing back to the Soldergard chambers, he sees familiar flashes of blue off in the distance of the dungeon. After breaking it open, they find some interesting items like a strange lantern and treasure map, as well as a pair of bars that can prop up the two upper sarcophagi...
Meanwhile, the trio below has had to deal with a nasty mimic and lock lurker that dwell in the third Soldergard crypt. The smaller creature paralyzed Finian, but thanks to a flame blade spell and Sir Stratton's hat, they manage to keep the monsters under control and eventually defeat them. There is little time to rest, though...once the two sarcophagi have been propped open above, a trio of jade statues have animated from the walls and attacked the rest of the party! They get in some nasty slashes, and things look grim for awhile, but with Sir Stratton and Gary rejoining the group, they manage to finish off the things. Indrid warns the group that he saw more of the blue flashes that produced the undead dwarves, and the party decides to wait for Finian to 'thaw out' from his paralysis, and then try to rest in the Soldergard area and set up a watch or barrier for defense.
PCs: Finian Redfoot, Gary Greasewax, Indrid Hosspotch
