At first, you and your party spend the first day wandering about the city; the ruins of old had mostly been picked dry and clean, and the copper braziers had been stolen by someone. Elsewhere statues had long since been toppled, and homes lay in ruin. You stopped by some old smithy, where there was naught but some dug-up tablets of clay; everything else of use had been taken. It was there that you announced to the rest of the group what you were here for.
<span class="mu-i"> <span class="mu-r"> "The tomb I initially led you towards was that of a cheat, coward, and traitor; in his last attempted swindle, he even attempted to deceive me, an insult for which I struck him down forevermore." </span> </span> The reaction was one of understanding, with them murmuring about how now your burning of that corpse made sense.
<span class="mu-i"> <span class="mu-r"> "And when I cannot find wergild from a man such as he, I shall obtain it from his kin instead," </span> </span> you declared, your eyes firing with disdain for this king and his entire civilisation.
The tombs of the kings, their families, and other retainers were near the centre of the old city, close to both the palaces and the ziggurats, in long since dried gardens, now dour and dry. It was no pyramid or great mountainside hall within which one would then be buried.
A small squat structure above ground with a few pillars and some brass bulls guarding the entrance; to your surprise, they weren't melted down. Nor was the heavy stone keeping the place shut. The entrance was sealed with an intricate lock, untouched by time and thieves alike.
The men did the same trick as they had pulled with Shahut's tomb. One dagger in the lock, one twist, and the ancient door creaked open, revealing a chamber filled with treasures untouched for centuries. The air was thick with dust, and the entrance hall, though empty of all luxuries, was still rich in tiles and marble flooring. In the centre there lay a stair which led down towards the actual tombs.
You descended first, your black robes dragging along as your followers came close behind. Erassyl came second; the rest would be allowed to rob and plunder the non-magical compartments of the tombs, for you knew that the greed of men would buy their gratitude and loyalty even more.
Unfortunately, a great many corridors or tombs themselves had been crushed under the weight of the ground above them. The air was as musky and dusty as ever, and the men were having some trouble igniting the torches, something you had to eventually help with by using your own fire.
