Rappan Athuk Outside & Lvl 1

"I choose to disbelieve the cricket!" - various
"Hey Mr. Fireball, you owe me some hit points!" - Zee to Larry (after a badly aimed fireball)

So this party of intrepid explorers attempts decides to go look for treasure and/or kill Orcus and friends over in Rappan Athuk. The party finds a few rumors and heads out. The dungeon itself is fairly easy to find since the normal forest wildlife tends to avoid it except for one cricket of whom the party disbelieves. Upon entering the forest the party finds their way to the edge of a large depression.

Before them lies the graveyards atop Rappan Athuk, low lying depressions hold a well, and three masouleums as well as numerous tombstones. In the middle appears to be a statue. A group of rats scurries into some holes in the ground.

The party consists of Ugh(Jesus), a half-orc monk who has sworn a vow of poverty; Steve(Troy) a human hexblade, Dras(Teckla) a human rogue/whirling dervish, Zee(Julie) a dwarven paladin/dwarven defender, and Larry(Carl) aka "Shit" a favored soul/arcane spellcaster of some sort/mystic theurge.

Immediately upon spying the well Ugh remembers the wisdom of an old adventurer whom he talked to: "Don't go in the well!" although this does not stop Steve and Larry from investigating. They find claw marks in the interior. Zee throws a pebble down to no affect so Larry casts light on a stone and tosses that down. They see a 90 foot hole with water at the bottom. Despite making more noise no movement can be seen from below in the well.

Dras pushes towards the statue looking at gravestones as she goes. Neither she, nor any other members of the party recognize names any names until she runs in 9 open graves with the party member's names on it. The party investigates and Larry attempts to obscure his name with dirt. The dirt just slides off so he attempts to wrap rags around all the tombstones. They fall off. Zee is unnerved by her open grave so she fills it in. Everyone waits...the grave remains filled in.

Dras pushes on to the statue to discover it is the statue of a dwarf. A little epitath is written at the base and a hidden compartment is just below that. She opts to not open the compartment fearing traps. Zee demands that noone touch the compartment since it may have remains of the dwarf and the party should not disturb it. She then proceeds to head to one fo the smaller masouleums. Larry waits until she turns away and opens the compartment and finds a key which he pockets.

The masouleum is locked so while Dras attempts to unlock it Zee and Larry investigate the other small one. Meanwhile Ugh decides to investigate the perimeter around the large masouleum. As soon as he approaches several gargoyles animate on top of it. He pulls back and awaits their move shouting a warning to the others.

Four gargoyles attempt to attack the monk but find he's a superior challenge. He begins to reduce them to rubble. Dras and Steve converge from the right and Larry and Zee come in from the left. Ugh reduces another gargoyle before the other two withdraw to safer altitude. Four more gargoyles split off and (warily) attempt to attack Zee and (not so warily) attack Larry. Larry fires a fireball off attempting to hit all four but misjudges slightly and insteads vaporizes one above himself and damages Zee and one other. Zee looks a bit annoyed and proceeds to annihilate the two attacking her. Larry brings down the last one above himself.

In the meantime the remaining two gargoyles, now somewhat worse for wear due to a mixture of Ugh's fists and Steve's sword attempt to grab Dras. Somehow they succeed but are unable to lift her off the ground and fly off. She is however magically held although the usefulness of this to the gargoyles is limited as Ugh and Steve quickly finish them off. Steve and Larry determine that Dras is thankfully not about to turn to stone and just as Larry is about to cast Freedom of Movement to unstick her the hold breaks and she lands gracefully next to him.

Ugh notices that the gargoyle eyes have survived and the party opts to destroy them lest the gargoyles come back. After confirming that the smaller masouleums are in fact empty the party advances to the main masouleum. Larry opts to try and open the door with a key he "found". The door opens without trouble (but the key teleports away) and the party cautiously enters the room. All they find is a sarcophogas that appears to be shaped to fit perfectly into the ceiling. Larry goes back to get the key again but the compartment won't open. So he has Steve go wait by the compartment and closes the door to the masouluem. Steve retrieves the key and Larry opens the door, incidentally triggering a trap as soon as the doors close. Almost immediately the party notices the floor is rising and the doors-which open inward-won't open. Zee manages to notice a secret door on the floor and attempts to open it with the help of Ugh and soon Steve. Larry opens the sarcophogas and is presented by a laughing black skeleton whom he shuts back into the tomb.

Zee manages to open the secret door and urges everyone to quickly get through before they are trapped more permanently. Larry barely gets through in time. The party finds themselves in a dimly lit lower level. Dras takes the lead checking for traps, etc and leads the party into the first room. This area is mostly unfinished cave with an empty coffin. The passageway remains blocked off. The party opts to try another route and passes through an empty room and into a worn down viewing room with another empty and stripped coffin. Dras avoids a trap on the stairs rather gracefully and the party discovers a skeleton playing cards with little poisonus ants all over him. He's got a losing hand. Avoiding him and a pit trap the party enters a long finished hallway...