Guardians of the Tomb

As the eight stone serpents began to move, the companions sprang into action, drawing their weapons and moving into a defensive circle in the centre of the room. The bony snakes advanced from all sides, and battle was joined in a whirl of blades and crunch of bone.

The undead monsters proved worryingly tough, with damage harder to inflict - they had no organs or flesh to cut. Their fangs darted and bit, inflicting some small wounds. These seemed little to worry about, but suddenly Surya stumbled, and fell headlong. The bites were poisoned! His friends could tell he was alive, for his two Ioun Stones continued to orbit his prone form, but he was out of the fight and the odds began to look bad.

Abandoning a direct assault, Sack leaped to the fallen Tellaran, and lifted him from the ground before running lightly up the nearest column to the ceiling, fifteen feet up, with the aid of his Spider Climb.

Arriving there, he paused a second to aim, and then hurled his comatose friend straight down atop the two ghost snakes that'd felled him. Surya dropped with a crash, pinning the two horrors, although hy the thrashing of their tails, Sack could tell they were still functional.

As both Hildraft and Ingamin toppled, also paralysed, Sack knew emergency measures were called for. Leaping from the ceiling, he dropped straight down onto Surya's prone form, sending bone shards flying - but still the creatures struggled to be free.

The noise, however, roused Hildraft, who called on his God and cast a Righteous Smite. A golden blast of holy power raved out, filling the whole room and searing those who walked in - or near - the darkness.

Several of the ghost snakes, already damaged by the fighting, disintegrated completely. The others were burned and wounded; as were Sack and Surya. The pain woke the Tellaran, who reached under himself to grab the still-trapped snakes under his chest. Rearing up, trailing smoke and bits of bone, he lurched to the nearest pillar and began battering the snakes against it head-first. One shattered almost instantly, but the other snarled and snapped, whipping its' tail about as it tried to get loose. Sack and Hildraft laid about themselves once more, destroying more snakes now they were weakened.

Surya's second snake shattered, and he reached for his swords, only to discover Tormentor lying on the paving a good five feet away. He drew the Sword of the Dead Legions, and held it before him, focussing his eyes on the undead monsters they fought.

"Stop" he intoned. Instantly, the ghost snakes turned to face him, and he felt the unholy power which drove them competing with his will. Never had he tried to control undead this powerful - but he had grown since the last time he had wielded the necromantic might of the weapon.

As the sweat rolled down his set face, he held the creatures motionless. The effort required was so enormous that he could no naught else, and his friends sprang to take advantage. Swift blows smashed the last of the ghost snakes, and Surya relaxed with a gasp.

Once Ingamin had been roused, and ignorance professed as to his missing eyebrows, the explorers turned their attention to the inner Necropolis.