User blog:PeteGoz/Into the tomb

The Set-ites were defeated. Somewhat stunned by the ferocity of the skirmish, Missing and Buckle (the archaeologists from the Smoke) were soon distracted by the reward. Deciphering the carvings on the building in front of them, they learned that the tomb of Sanura lay before them, a high priestess of Isis from the times between the Wish War and the Crimson Pharaoh. Signs of past entrance were visible: seals to the first chamber were broken. Dru and Zach forced entry with crowbar, pick and shovel.

The tomb had already been violated, seemingly decades earlier from the tracks, long before the latest discovery of the area by Professor Brock. The first chamber had more complicated protection. Hieroglyphs in ancient Ibian, a complex rolling door, and that most insidious of desert foes - a scorpion, landing on Dru's back. His companions destroyed the beast just as quickly as Dru twitched into his shell.

More work with tools allowed entrance into a second chamber. Here, there were again signs of the earlier ingress. A pit led downwards into the tomb. Around the pit, a ledge, with piton forced long-ago into the ledge and the short frayed end of a rope dangling from it. Many more hieroglyphs told more stories of Sanura. The pair from the Institute of Curiosities began to document the writings. Dru, Sekh-at, Zak and Ali considered the pit.

It was decided that Zak would be lowered down the sixty feet to the floor of the pit. He found a chamber below with yet more carvings, but also the body of the poor unfortunate would-be tomb raider from previous years. Broken from a fall, seemingly due to the failure of the frayed rope that dangled guiltily above. The poor wretch had survived, unable to escape the pit without tools or assistance. His desiccated corpse was huddled on the floor near a door that he could not open.

He carried coin that dated his descent to around forty to fifty years earlier.

Hopefully the door would lead our slightly more prepared team further into the tomb.