Fr. Durrant sighs, "Let's dig in the center of the hill.  Sergeant Grinka, please finish inspecting. But first, lets get a brief rest and snack.  While we discuss whether or not to leave anyone behind this evening as Dawn suggested."

...

After the discussion, Sarge and Mr. Louglynn go to finish checking the last central section of the cliff for traps.  As she inspects, the others approach.  She finds nothing and climbs down to the group.  Geoff and Lars again climb the sand and begins scooping out the material from under the stone ledge.  In about an hour, they have cleared a 15' long section six feet below the ledge and revealed nothing. The other two tunnels were revealed at this depth.

The disappointment is very evident on everyone's face, especially Father Durrant's.  Geoff and Lars are not too thrilled either.   Their bare chests are covered with dust and drenched with sweat from digging.  They both know the next thing out of Father Durrant's mouth will mean more digging.  But then Dawn asks, "How about that oil you gave me?"

Mr. Louglynn says, "Yes, you could pass through the sand. I figured it would have uses later, but it would be quicker than digging up this entire cliff."  Father Durrant agrees, he is anxious to get into the Tomb.

Mr. Louglynn comes over to Dawn as she brings out the container.  He bids her to open it and start rubbing it on herself and her equipment. As she does so he instructs, "I have been ethereal only a few times. It is disturbing. You will not see clearly; fogs and mists will surround you.  Substance appears as dark shadowy masses, but nothing is solid. You will not walk, but going through the motions may help.  You see, you move mentally; willing yourself to your destination. Can you make light?" Dawn nods, growing a bit apprehensive.  "You will need it once underground. Oh, concentrate on your purpose. Do not let you mind wander or your ethereal body may also.  Do NOT go near any glowing mists; you would be lost forever. We should appear to you as shadows ringed by auras; but you will be utterly incapable of communicating to us.  The oil lasts for just under an hour; be sure you are not within anything solid when it wears off." When she finishes applying the oil, he adds with a somewhat sarcastic smile, "I think it will be a good experience for you."

As Dawn waits, butterflies dance in her stomach.  Then she starts to fade and disappears as she waves to Geoff.

Mr. Louglynn smiles as he watches Dawn disappear, "By Boniface, I love ethereal travel; I wish I was going too."  He turns to the rest of the party, "Well, now we wait.  Lars and Geoff, I invite you to rest until m'lady Dawn returns.  Keep your weapons handy, but don't plan on getting up.  Barton and Sergeant keep your bows ready, but rest. Father Durrant we have had it easy today; we do not earn our keep; let us now stand watch while our comrades relax."

Father Durrant nods and stands, saying nothing.  He directs his watch to the north and west, while Mr. Louglynn watches the east.  Every once and a while both throw looks of concern at the sandy cliff.

Dawn finds herself in a lucid dream.  She senses the change as it comes on; the bright clear day becomes misty then foggy. All the colors fade to dark gray.  The sun becomes a small point of light; illuminating but not bright. Then the colors roll in.  Banks of the ethereal fog Louglynn mentioned drift around at random.  Dim greens, reds, blues, yellows, and all others float around like some twisted watercolor.  The dark mass of the cliff and hill is next to you; the color fog banks drift right out of or into it like it was not there.  She sees the shadowy forms of the other six adventurers outlined as Louglynn said with auras of light.  It must be the paladin's squire that glows so brightly. Interestingly, the plants above the ledge and in the bog also have auras. but much dimmer.

Dawn doesn't know how long she stood their watching the alien landscape.  Time for her first step. Nothing happens. Louglynn said she had to will herself.  That worked. She finds herself a bit closer to the cliff. In fact, she is waist deep in it. Startled, she leaps up and finds herself floating a few feet above the dark mass.  That promotes a chuckle.  She spends a few minutes getting used to mental motion.  Then she reaches to pull out the moss that will bring her a magical light.  Surprisingly, it has substance.  The casting works as expected too.  The magical glow illuminates the mists floating by; their dim colors become much more vibrant, but the light does not make the "mass" any brighter. It is as if the light just passes right through it.

Dawn works up the courage to enter the cliff.  She goes up to the ledge, to the stone wall, and lowers herself into it.  Mentally noting that she wants to be arms length into the wall she wills herself into it.  Darkness envelops her. She lowers herself four feet and travels west first.  Not having anything to judge her movement makes her nervous and she comes out of the cliff to check her progress. All is well, she is about half way to the western end of the cliff. Back into the cliff, she travels until suddenly her light illuminates some colorful mists. The mists are contained in a 20' by 30' chamber that is 20' high.

Thinking that this is the second entrance they found, Dawn moves to the end of the chamber. Getting close to the end, the door is somewhat visible only because the wood has a different ethereal look than stone.  Dawn moves through the door and sure enough, nothing but the darkness of solid stone.  Dawn moves out to the cliff.  The mists obscure the others at the central portion of the cliff. Dawn moves back to the center; she tries to move into Geoff but finds his aura keeps him out. She knees him in the nuts then proceeds back into the cliff and east this time.

It is not long at all when her magical light reflects back from colorful swirling mists.  It seemed much to quick for this to be first tunnel found. That one was 10' high.  This one is at least 20' high.  Dawn looks down the hall for the blocking stone, but the mists fill the 20' globe of light.  Dawn moves down the hall a bit, no stone block. Then a feeling of dread creeps over her.  Looking around through the mists, nothing is visible.  Then a shape, eyes?  Dawn finds herself being flung back down the hall, through darkness, then into the gray light of ethereal day.  The force stops, leaving her suspended and confused several feet above the bog away from the cliff.  The party, oblivious, is about thirty feet to her right at the central excavation.

Dawn notes that her trajectory, a straight line, puts her at the level of the other two entrances.  Working up her courage, Dawn slowly proceeds on her guard back through the swirling mists toward the dark mass of the cliff directly in front of her.  She allows herself to enter the darkness of the ethereal cliff.  Then, she is through and looking down a 20' wide, 20' tall tunnel full of ethereal fogs but lit only by her magic spell.  She can only see about 20' down the tunnel in front of her, she moves a bit further into the tunnel. Then it appears.

The glowing red eyes grotesquely far apart appeared first in the darkness beyond the globe of magic light.  Fighting to stay her ground against growing fear Dawn watches the beast move into the light.  A wide head of a fanged toad with malevolent eyes boring into Dawns. A ridge of bony plates along its head.  The unnatural head rises up. Its thick amphibian body sprouts forearms too long and ending in horrendous long clawed wiggling fingers.  Its two huge misshapen hind legs bend in the wrong place at it stands and spreads its disgusting arms wide to present its otherworldly form.  Dawn is terrified but fascinated by this creature. Then the dread knowledge that this thing could probably leap the distance and rip the life from her before she moves sinks into her.

When she starts thinking of what to do, it lurches forward opening its huge mouth revealing row after row of serrated teeth. That was all she could take.  Whatever her inexperience with ethereal travel, Dawn sends herself speeding away from the attacking beast and the horrid death it threatened to deal.  She finds herself coming down from a high she had never felt before.  She has been "running" for some indeterminate amount of time. All around the color mists swirl. A brief panic comes as she spins around looking for something familiar.  She thinks to look down and relaxes as she sees the strange dim auras of the bog plants pointing at her.  But the hill is not visible.  The sun! So dim, she almost forgot it was there.  She finds its glow and, knowing it is late in the afternoon, she puts it to her right and heads hopefully back toward the party.

Pursuit! No, the monster would have surely overtaken her by now.  But she is cautious while returning.  In the glow of the sun, Dawn can only see about eighty feet through the ethereal fog.  In about ten minutes thankfully the dark hill appears and no sign of the alien toad thing.  Moving closer, the others' auras loitering on the side of the cliff become visible.  As she moves toward them gravity suddenly kicks in and there is a blinding light.  Dawn finds herself in a heap in the thorny bog plants under the brilliant blue afternoon sky.  The strangeness of the ethereal plane gone.  Dawn gets up, sees the hill top, and heads for it.

To the others, an hour passes and no sign of Dawn. Father Durrant knows Mr. Louglynn is getting nervous. Geoff watches the two of them getting apprehensive himself.  Then a thud rumbles from the bog just north of the party.  Sarge and Lars rush to the edge of the bog, bolt ready to spring and spear poised.  Geoff bounds between them before anyone can stop him.

"Lou, I'll stay here with Bart, go with the rest." Father Durrant says as Geoff disappears in to the weeds.

Sarge, Lars, and Mr. Louglynn stride in after him.  Fortunately, they soon come across Geoff leading a visibly shaken Dawn back to the cliff. "What happened?" a number of voices say.

"Well I found another entrance at the same level as the other two, but I'm not to sure if that's the one we want. I located a corridor longer than the 20' radius of my light spell and about 20' high. I didn't like what else I found. Everything was going fine untill these glowing red eyes appeared. The next thing I knew I was over the bog about 30' from here. So I gathered my courage and returned to see what in the hell that thing was.  The thing appeared again, a huge grotesque toad beast with a wide head and a ridge of bony plates along its  head.  It spread its long forearms with long clawed hands and rose to about eight feet tall.  It opened its huge wide mouth and leaped at me. I hauled ass.  This thing is mean and ugly. I must'a been in a blind panic because when I looked around I was no where near here. On the way back the oil wore off and I fell into the thorns. I'll show you where the entrance should be, but like I said it is guarded by a nasty monster with big nasty teeth."

Dawn, obviously nervous, paces down the cliff about ten yards east of the central excavation and points. "It did not persue me, but it's in there."

"You did well, Dawn," Father Durrant says, "but what drove you from the tunnel, I wonder, your fear or a sinister force emenating from the eyes of that beast?"  It is in the five o'clock hour, three hours of light left.  "At any rate, you most likely found the entrance, and we must prepare to dig . . . . again."

There is a general grumbling and sighing until Mr. Louglynn speaks up, "Before we do that, Father Durrant, I would like an opportunity to examine the false door that Master Barton found -- not that I don't trust the judgement of our honorable companion -- I can simply do things that he cannot.  Master Barton, ready your dagger and torch and take me to your door."

"No, says Dawn looking at Mr. Louglynn. I forgot in my excitement. I first traveled west through the cliff until I reached that chamber.  I passed through the door but met with only stone."

"Then let us depart this place.  It may be the sun that keeps the beast entombed," Father Durrant says disappointedly then adds looking at Dawn, "It would not be wise for anyone to remain here this night."  The party heads back to the tower for the third night with the promise of another entrance to explore in the morning as well as battle with some forboding beast.  Their early return allows a bit of welcome relaxation and activity before dark including a venture down to the swamp to wash off the dust and sweat from the day's labors.  Before the fog rolls in, the tower door is shut.