Hamish's Crypts: Hamish's Bier
When Hamish Skaalder's life drew to a close, he was taken by a contingent of Elven elders, and laid to rest amongst their own venerated fallen. Named an elf-friend by Lathander himself, Hamish may be the only human, ever, so honored by the entire race of Elves.
Read the following aloud, if you so wish:The air here seems to be lighter, somehow. Fresher, as if an errant breeze finds its way down here one in a while. It even smells as if it should be out of doors, in here, as you catch hints of honeysuckle and white birch in the back of your nose, as if you were remembering the scent as opposed to smelling it. The room is immense, graced at each counter with a fountain opf running water, connected on each side by flowing canals. Below this level of the room, a massive excavation was undertaken and dressed in perfectly fitted stones. Hamish was mummified in the human fashion, at the time, and laid to rest upon a table. His internal organs were removed and placed in canopic jars, with oils and herbs to preserve them. His heart is preserved in a clay jar on the right side of his head, wrapped in banana leaves and doused in frankincense infused oil, as were the old traditions. Gifts and offerings have been left upon Hamish's bier; polished scarabs and other treasured heirlooms of the Elven royal family gracing the plain stone of the trestle-built bier. He is flanked by his regal conveyances; his loyal draft horse, Beaucephus; and his river barge, Naeade.
Purpose / Function
This room was meant to lay Hamish Skaalder to his Eternal Rest. Constructed by the elves, they honored the Human monk with his own bier within the crypt he so lovingly commited his life to building.
Design
This room wqs designed as a giant arcane circle, to try to keep the Mummy Lord that Hamish Skaalder became at his death, happy and asleep. It has worked thusly for thousands of years, now.
Sensory & Appearance
The idea of the sense and scent of being outdoors, near a running stream, fills this room.
Valuables
Upon the tableau of the bier lie the following:
- Three Gilded Royal Scarabs, worth at least ten thousand gold pieces
- Several fist-sized opals, worth two thousand gold pieces each to a nominal jeweler; but with a DC20 Religion check, it will be known that they would be worth three ties that to a temple of Selune
- A Figurine of Wondrous Power (Ebony Fly)
In addition, within the Bier is stashed the wealth that Hamish gathered over his lifetime of service, which he had sacrificed as an offering to Lathander. Roll on the Individual Treasure: Challenge 17+ table below:
Treaure Table: Individual, 17+
A treasure table for truly powerful foes.
Hazards & Traps
Disturbing the bier, at all, awkens a Mummy Lord!
Alterations
The trees that were planted here ages and ages ago have, of course, died, lending a sinister look to the burial sit.
Defenses
There are twenty-three Steel Sentinels positioned around the room, ready to come to the Mummy Lord's aid. They will animate and attack if anyone tries to rob Hamish's Bier. The problem with that, is that it will rouse the slumbering Mummy Lord in 1d4 rounds, breaking the spell of protection.
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