The wind blew hard against the stone door as the stormswept man stuggled to shut the harsh weather out. With a load echoing BANG! the man accomplished his task much to his relief.
Pausing but a moment to catch his breath, he reached down and lifted the lantern high to view the deserted interior.
Scriptures lined the walls lifting up from the marble floor, continuing as high as the lamp-light permitted view. These scriptures much resembled the runes of warding outside of the temple. Hallowed looking statues stood a vigilant though useless guard around the intruder as well as the pegasus that stood before him. Lifting it's head high into the air it snorted in indignation as though blaming his human companion.
The man's voice echoed hollowly in the open chamber.
"Easy guy, I don't want to be here anymore than you do...however until this storm clears up, neither of us are going to make it out there."
The pegasus snorted once more turned his back to the man in mock resolution to their situation.
The man sighed and leaned back against the stone door, reaching up a black gloved hand and pulling down the scarf that was wrapped around his mouth and nose.
The cold air bit at his cheeks, though this did not break his train of thought. Why was he here? Simple. Someone had trespassed into a sacred tomb, stolen what was rumored to be a powerful artifact and all signs pointed to that which was known as the Emirc Dezinagro Syndicate.
Closing his eyes, the voices came back to him.
"Throm, someone has gone to great lengths to make us look the guilty party. And though it is not the blame we worry about, it is the idea that someone would use us as a cover that doesn't settle right.
And since this doesn't settle right, we are sending you to investigate and report your findings to us....you are to head surface-bound and north to the Polaris region...."
And north he had gone, though what he had found there was much more than either him or the Syndicate had bargained for.
Looking further into the Outer Sanctum he noted two guardian golems...or at least the places they once stood. Their feet remained planted in their sentried locations though that is all that remained. The walls behind each of them bore large craters from where the bodies had apparently impacted and shattered.
Walking slowly amongst the rubble, Throm kneeled review the destruction.
"Who was it that dispatched of you so easily?"
His eyes caught the detatched head of one of the golems. It looked like a giant claw had been raked over it's face and cut into the stone as a blade would through flesh.
"Or what, I might ask...."
Five Hours Later...
The shadowed figure known as Throm half stumbled into the Outter Sanctum, his hair ruffled, his eyes wild. Strange words filled his head, as he could hardly comprehend let alone come to terms with what he had just witnessed.
The lich's head coming to life as it's eye sockets once dark flared red...
The jawbone halfway removed from it's skull beginning to speak to him...
"The way to that which has been named the Book of the Dead is gone. Soon the gateway between life and death will be forever opened to those of the mortal world. Those who hold the map, will hold the Book. Those who take the Book know not that it is anything but a trinket. However he who will take posession of the Necronomicon knows of it's true power, for it is he who will unleash the ending of the immortal age....it is he who will bring the gods themselves to their knees..."
The hairs on his neck still standing, Throm heaved open the temple doors. Facing the blizzard to take this knowledge with him was nothing compared to the horrors of what would happen if he walked away now.