Entry 4 - Freeday, Flocktime 7, Common Year 613

After recuperating from our encounter with the giants, we finally made it to the tomb. It took a while for Kavae and Melissa to scale the wall and secure a rope for the rest of us not used to such exertions. Annoyingly, I took most of the skin off my hand trying to get up to the tomb in one piece. Once inside, I could quickly tell there were "others" present who did not wish to be disturbed. This mattered not to me; after all, what are a few lesser undead to a follower of Nerull but slaves waiting to please their master? I discovered a few useless pieces of jewelry that, if nothing else, would fetch a fair price once fenced through Pete, a Nerull loyalist and fence secretly set up in the boarder town we had come from. With the added income I could begin to outfit the party I was venturing with. It wasn't long before the restless shades of those left behind paid us all a visit for disturbing their slumber.

Both of the other clerics in the party attempted to drive off the shadowy figures, but only succeeded in drawing attention to themselves. I attempted to seize control of them myself under the force of my will, but found that I did so only half-heartedly. Perhaps I was mesmerized by their forms; I had never seen or heard of undead such as this before! Seeing that the shades were drawing the life-force from the others quite quickly and meeting little resistance, I decided to hurriedly tweak and alter my original plan and decided to set free one of the stronger undead I sensed inside a magically sealed section of the mausoleum. The being I released was obviously being held there and though it would not be obligated to aid me in any matter, it could open other doors for later.

The shades avoided the paladin altogether, perhaps it had something to do with his... aura for lack of a better term, as it unsettles me at times. After he realized this, he leapt onto Shandala just before her soul was taken by the shades. Jackson soon went down while Melissa did her best to dodge their attacks. Damian eventually positioned everyone else behind him and allowed us to escape while he kept back the spirits and backed to the cave entrance.

After everyone was outside, a fever seemed to take hold of Damian. He became obsessed with destroying the shades and quickly put together a plan of action in an attempt to do so. Jacob soon agreed to be bait while Damian crept further inside attempting to catch the shades between the light and his aura. I was intrigued and so did not climb down the rope with the rest of the party. While this was going on, I caught a glimpse of a different figure inside the cave. It was the being I had released and it was smiling wickedly at the paladin, yet did not seem willing to strike him.

Unfortunately, all had not worked according to plan. Jacob was slower than the soul-hungry shades and soon fell a lifeless husk as he was consumed by them 15 feet from me. There was nothing I could do for him except watch, though that did provide me with a good amount of information regarding the creatures. As is the case with shadows, ghasts and wraiths, his spirit soon rose as one of them. Perhaps Damian was troubled by this, for in his fever, he attempted to force them all out into the sunlight but was successful only when he grabbed one and drove it out over the cliff and into the icy cold water. Those below successfully fished him out. If he was willing to use a companion as "bait" in order to further explore the tomb, I commend his efforts. I left Jacob's shriveled husk at the cave entrance. I wasn't about to try and carry a corpse down that precarious slope with the aid of but a rope. Perhaps it will also serve to ward off any potential grave robbers or other explorers that may happen upon the site until I can finish venturing through its depths. It would not take much intelligence to realize that the fellow had died quite... horribly. In any case, if it does not, the undead inside surely will...

Entry 5 - Starday, Flocktime 10, Common Year 613

We arrived back into town late in the evening. I soon took my leave of the party telling them I would need to research the "artifacts" I had recovered from the tomb. In reality, I was quick to leave the trinkets with Pete to be hawked after tracing a few copies of them out. One copy I included in a letter which Pete said he should be able to get to my current employer. We will all be resting in town until we can venture out once again, this time in search of any Flind activity.

Entry 6 – Moonday, Flocktime 17, Common Year 613

My reverie was broken this late evening by a knock at my chamber door. The culprit announced himself as a messenger sent by Pete. I readied my mace secretly in case this was some sort of deception. I would let nothing stand in the way of my plans. The messenger held outstretched a package wrapped in cloth, and said he could not deliver it to me until he was given some sign that I was who I claimed to be. I'm sure that in whatever hell he is in now he is regretting ever asking for such a sign from someone of my ilk. With a quick, deft stroke to the skull, I rendered him unconscious. "There is your proof," I whispered and drug him inside, offering up a sacrifice with less "mess" then is usually optimal and customary. Upon examination of the package I found it to contain 250 golden crowns and a note. It wasn’t as much as I had hoped for, but it was a start. The note read, "Definitely interested in more." Well we will have to see what the future brought next.

When Pete asked about if I had received the package I told him that I did and that I had even tipped the rogue that brought it. He accepted that outwardly, though I believe Pete not to be a dumb man. Dumb men didn't live very long in a border town like this. In the future I would prefer receiving deliveries or any information directly from him. I am not too keen on others knowing too much where I am concerned after all.