After a tense moment of silent understanding, the four companions exchange determined glances, their nods slight but resolute. Together, they step forward, each gripping whatever they have to pass as weapons tightly as they brace for whatever lies beyond. With a heavy push, the double doors creak open, revealing the chamber inside.
The room is unexpectedly well-lit, though not by any natural light. A chandelier crafted from twisted bones hangs from the ceiling, casting a sickly, murky green glow across the chamber. The light refracts off fragments of tarnished metal embedded in the walls, filling the room with an eerie, unsettling haze.
Arrayed around the room in recessed niches, like silent sentries, stand armored corpses, their hollow eyes hidden beneath darkened helms. Each corpse clutches a long spear or halberd, their skeletal hands gripping the shafts as if prepared for battle even in death. The ancient armor that covers their decayed forms is darkened and rusted, yet the weapons appear well-preserved, their edges gleaming faintly under the greenish light, suggesting that they are more than mere decoration.
At the far end of the room, a short flight of steps ascends to a door gleaming with a strange, almost unnatural brilliance. The door is engraved with intricate patterns and inlaid with gold, a stark contrast to the rest of the chamber, hinting at the promise of wealth or power—or perhaps danger—beyond.
But guarding the path to this door stand eight undead figures, their bodies unarmored but deadly. Each is draped in decaying cloth, their eyes glowing with a menacing light that mirrors the sickly green glow in the room. Their skeletal faces are contorted into expressions of wrath and hunger, and each one grips a black iron blade, the edges honed to an unsettling sharpness. Unlike the motionless sentries in the niches, these figures shift subtly, their attention fixed upon the intruders with a chilling intensity, as though waiting for the moment to strike.
The air feels thick, oppressive, and charged with a malevolent energy as the companions stand in the doorway, faced with this formidable and grim gathering. The way forward is clear, but it will not be easily won.
Roll for Initiative! (Dexterity)
The undead that stand opposed are not as armored as are shown in the image, but the corpses visible in the niches are armored in this fashion.OOC:
This is a Combat Encounter. To save time, when you post an action (attack or movement or whatever else you are doing), please also make two melee defense tests (Strength, unless you have an ability that allows you to roll Dexterity or some other ability). Remember that unless you have an actual shield or buckler, the second defense test will be made with disadvantage.
Currently Opposing: 8 Skeletals