Oncefreed,Keshmaremainstruetoherword.However,
shewon’ttolerateanyslighttoherhonor.Ifshefeelsinsulted,
sheattacksthecharactersandattemptstoenslavethem.
Thedaocouldbecomeathorninthecharacters’sideora
difficultally.Herignoranceofthetomb’sdefensesconfinesher
toarea 57 ifshecastsplaneshift.Ifsheescapesfromarea 57 ,
sheexpectsthecharacterstohelpherfindasafewayoutof
thetomb.Whenshelearnsofthetrickstergods,Keshma
encouragesthecharacterstoseekthemoutandusethemto
defeatAcererak.
Treasure
Thedaowearstwosapphirecords( 1 , 250 gpeach),two
platinumarmbandsengravedwithduelingdragons( 750 gp
each),andatopazbelly-buttongemstone( 500 gp).
24 .Nangnang’sTomb..............................................................................................................................................................
Theairherereeksofsulfurandbrimstone.Onthefloor
ofthischamber,apentagramtracedinsaltsurrounds
anornatesarcophagus,itslidcoveredwithfigurinesof
prancingfrog-likehumanoids.Aninvisiblegrayslaadpacesinsidethesaltpentagram.
Magicalwardspreventtheslaadfromdisturbingthesaltor
leavingthecircle’sconfines.Ifanothercreatureattacksthe
slaad,enterstheareaoftheboundarycircle,orbreaksany
partofthecircleorpentagrambysweepingorbrushingaway
thesalt,theslaadisfreed.Hungryforcarnage,thecreature
ventsitsrageonthecharactersbeforeleavingtheroomin
searchofitscontrolgem,notknowingthatitiskeptinarea 28.
AdvicefromtheSpirits
AnycharactersinhabitedbythespiritsofObo’lakaorWongo
receiveadvicewhenenteringthisarea:
CautiousObo’lakathinksthesaltpentagramcoulduse
moresaltandencouragesherhosttoaddtoit.ifanysalt
isavailable.(Doingsodoesn’tbreakthewardsthattrap
theslaad.)
RecklessWongodoesn’tcaremuchforsaltpentagrams,
andheurgeshishosttowreckthesymbolandseewhat
happens.
Sarcophagus
Arrangedatopthesarcophagusaretwelvepaintedwooden
statuettesdepictinggrungs.Theyarecutebutworthless.The
lidofthesarcophaguscanbeliftedandpushedasidewitha
successfulDC 17 Strength(Athletics)check.Withinisa
varnishedclayurncontainingtheskullandbonesofagrung
(Nangnang’sanimalform;seeappendixD),aswellasa
numberofvaluables(see“Treasure”below).
Adetectmagicspellorsimilareffectrevealsanauraof
enchantmentsurroundingtheclayurn.Thefirstcreatureto
touchtheurnordisturbitscontentsmustsucceedonaDC 21
WisdomsavingthroworbeaffectedbyanOtto’sirresistible
dancespell.Untiltheeffectends,thecreaturealsotakes 11
( 2 d 10 )psychicdamageattheendofeachofitsturnsas
discordant,percussivemusicoverwhelmsitsmind.Any
creatureundertheeffectofamindblankspellorsimilarmagic
doesn’thearthismusicorsufferthepsychicdamage.A
successfuldispelmagic(DC 18 )dismissestheeffectontheurn,
allowingittobetouchedsafely.
Treasure
Insidethesarcophagusareapotionofpoisondisguisedasa
potionofsupremehealingandapetrifiedgrungeggthat
functionsasapearlofpower.Aspellcasterthatattunestothe
eggalsogainsresistancetopoisondamage.Theeggturnsto
dustandisdestroyedifitleavestheTomboftheNineGods
(butsee"LostTreasures").
Nangnang’sSpirit.ThespiritofNangnangtriestoinhabit
anycharacterwhotouchestheegg(see"SpiritsoftheNine
TricksterGods").WhenNangnang’sspiritmanifests,read:
Asyoutouchtheegg,atendrilofslimerisesfromits
surfaceandtransformsintoafrog-likeheadthatbobs
towardyou.Acroakingvoicesoundsoutinyourmind:
“Nangnangwillhelpyounow.”Ifthespiritsuccessfullyinhabitsthecharacter,givethe
playerNangnang’scard(seeappendixF).Iftheattemptfails,
thespiritreturnstotheeggandwaitsforanothercharacterto
touchit.25 .ScryingPool.......................................................................................................................................................................
Behindthesecretdoor,waterfillsacarvedstonefont.Withersusesthisfonttospeaktocreaturesoutsidethe
tombandcontacthistombguardians.Adetectmagicspellor
similareffectrevealsanauraofdivinationoverthewater.
Whenanycharactergazesintothefont,read:
Asthewaterbeginstoswirl,eerielightemanatesfrom
withinthebasin.Slowly,animageresolvesonthe
water’ssurface.Thosegazingintothefontcanseethroughtheeyesofa
randomtombguardianasitpatrolsthedungeon.Picka
randomlevel(orrollad 6 )anddescribetheguardian’spath
throughit.Theguardianreliesondarkvisiontosee,soimages
inthepoolareinblackandwhite.Theimagesfadeandthe
scryingeffectendsifnocharactergazesintothewater.
Unlessoneofthecharactersgazingintothepoolis
wearinganamuletoftheblackskull(seeappendixCandarea
28 ),thetombguardianbecomesawareoftheparty’sscrying
after 1 minute.Whenthathappens,read:
Thesurfaceofthepoolexplodes,andahulkingfigure
wearingplatearmorandabuckethelmheavesitselfup
fromthefont.Thetombguardianisafleshgolemcladinplatearmor
(AC 17 ).Asitemergesfromthefont,itattackseveryoneinthe
chamber,fightinguntildestroyed.Whentheguardianappears,
thepoollosesitsscryingpoweruntilthenextdawn.26 .SpiralStaircase..................................................................................................................................................................
Threearchwaysoverlookacircularchamberwherea
spiralstaircasedescendsintodarkness.Thestaircase
wallsarelinedwithunlittorchesinironsconcesandset
withnichescontainingmolderinghumanoidskullsand
bones.
Thisstaircasedescendsfromlevel 2 tolevels 3 , 4 ,and 5 ,
witheachlevel 25 feetbelowthelevelabove.Thebonesand
skullsinthenichesbelongtodeadOmuanswhomAcererak