Xarkris approaches the sarcophagus, illuminated by the eerie light of Eggo's spell, and digs his claws into the seam of the lid. It comes away with ease, so much so that Xarkris pulls it away with such force that it falls to the side and shatters, seeing as he expected it to give a bit of resistance. The smash of the stone lid and the revelation of the interior is accompanied by a great heave of dust; as it parts, you see a figure slump forth, its embalmed grey and cracked skin only shrewdly covered by the fetid and yellowing bandages that cover it's form. It's jaw hangs limp and it stumbles in the light, yet raises an arm with a fierceness about it, groaning some curious hymn of sorts, calling out feverently 'Vibrant skies...bring me forward...sunlight bursts...break me free...' It's voice is hollow and guttural, deep and desperate with a clear pang of longing.

However, before you can act, Techi has sent a trio of howling spectral skulls towards the mummy, and they strike it's limp body with bursts of white light [8 force damage]. As it reels back, groaning from the pain, which is probably the first sensation it must have experienced in centuries, you all see a heavy chain glint round it's neck. It is forged of a thick and pure gold, and hanging beneath it's throat is a talisman, a pure gold effigy of a hanging face, with short curled horns and a mouth screaming out to form a perfect sphere of darkness. The eyes of the talisman are set with emeralds, and are very, very similar in cut to the ones that Leri and his Aarakocran subjects used to mine in the seventh dungeon; Xarkris peeks the same emeralds set into the eyes of the mummy just beneath it's wrappings.

Techi spits at the mummy and through gritted teeth he mutters 'Let us end this wreck quickly, and seize what it bears around it's neck. It's had it's turn with it long enough.' Another puzzle piece contributing towards revealing the significance of the relic falls into place in your minds as Techi makes clear his intentions to take the talisman; it is the same design as that of the doorknob earlier, crudely matches the face of the tortured straw doll the nothic had, and is identical to what Techi materialises his magic missiles as. Whilst you don't know what it is specifically, it must have a lot of importance to it.

Combat has begun! No need to roll initiative as usual, take your turns in any order!

Status
Mummy: -8 Health

{Did my readied action have any effect?}

[No, sorry, you wouldn't have been within range of it if you were behind Xarkris]

Upon seeing the mummy, Eggo Lass creates a burning bonfire in its space.

Create Bonfire

Damage: 5 fire

DEX Save DC 15

Sly raises her cystal with one fist and intones: "Back to eternal slumber with you!" The sound of a bell is heard.

She attempts to get a grasp of the mummys essence, pulling at it with all her might. A pang shoots through her arm, causing an involuntary yelp.
Stupid, stupid! This creature was too strong for such a simple spell.

Cursing under her breath, the wizard reaches forward and touches the staff of hers that Bilyur is wielding. This, she could do. This, she was good in. Many times she had practiced with this staff, and now it would help.
The staff begins to glow faintly, vibrating with energy.

"I have enchanted the staff. You shall find it easier to wield."

Having done this, the wizard retreats back towards the stairs

[Bilyurs staff is now a magic weapon +1 for the next hour. Please note that the tooltip is of the old version. The new one does not require concentration.]

Xarkris DISENGAGES and steps back about 10' and readies his shield and axe.

END TURN

The mummy bursts into flames as Eggo casts her spell, and it begins to howl, as the flames seem very effective. The ends of it's wrappings begin to singe and tatter away to reveal some more of the crusted grey skin beneath, which is peeling and burning a deeper ashy grey, though the gold that forms the talisman about its neck stays solid and firm,  even in the heat of a fire that could smelt iron, despite gold's supposed low melting point. [DEX Save: 3 -1 = 2, 11 X 2 = 22 fire damage due to vulnerability]

Sly then tries to attack the mummy with a necrotic spell but has it cruelly backfire on her. The dark energy animating the corpse is far to resistant to such tactics. Instead she resorts to enhancing Bilyur's signature weapon, using a spell commonly seen as a transmuter's specialty, and retreats back to safety. Xarkris also steps back and prepares for an attack, giving some space for Bilyur to move in.

Just Bilyur is left! 

Status
Mummy: -30 Health

Bilyur grins at the mummy, as his form begins to contort. He grows larger, his gnomish clothing tearing as he becomes a giant bear. He continues to smile at the mummy as he pulls back a mammoth bear fist and slams it into the mummy. His monk training kicks in and he targets the throat, hoping to stun the undead beast. [Action: Shift to werebear. Bonus Action: Unarmed Strike: 25 to hit, 9 damage, DC 15 CON save against Stunned, on a success, it's speed is halved and the next attack roll against it has advantage.]

Bilyur lunges forward, disregarding his magical quarterstaff and instead resorting to a powerful, bear-assisted throat kick to the neck. He swings round with such power that it seems to knock some of the spirit out of the mummy, literally, as it gives an inhaling gasp before standing motionless in the blaze, although the actual attack doesn't seem to be particularly effective. Perhaps the quarterstaff would have done a better job after all. [Only takes 5 bludgeoning damage due to Resistance to Nonmagical Bludgeoning, Piercing and Slasging, DC 15 CON save against being Stunned: 10 + 2 = 12]

The mummy obviously can't act at all with it's animation hindered, and so succumbs to the heat of Eggo's flames, making quiet guttural noises with it's mouth agape, before Techi follows up with yet another barrage of screaming skulls that strike the corpse with quite some force. It's bizarre that Techi is flying through his spell slots at such a pace when he has his shadow blade at hand; seems he just wants a surefire way to defeat the mummy as quick as he can, and it seems to be working, as the mummy's arm falls off into the fire and is consumed, the creature powerless to stop the rapid degradation of it's form. [Mummy: DC 15 DEX save against bonfire with disadvantage: 6 - 1 = 5, so no need to roll again, rolled 3 fire damage, doubled for 6 due to vulnerability and then a further 10 force damage dealt by Techi with magic missiles]

The party is back up!

[I'm no longer going to take Salamander's turns for them since it seems SunDial's absence is unfortunately going to be gone longer then I anticipated, so I'll simply have Sal fade into the background for now and I'll have a think on what to do about that. I'm not going to give any lore explanation or anything for that, unlike what I did with Hugh and the NPC Flu, since I'd rather just let him linger whilst not pinning any definitive 'reasons' or 'story' on why, since that makes things easier for me to keep track of and also for SunDial if/when they return! Also I'm going to potentially consider reverting to regular initiative next combat, since you're reaching levels where some abilities work turn-to-turn, like Bilyur's Stunning Strike, and that doesn't exactly work with group initiative. It may slow combat ever so slightly but I think it'll make things easier in the long run!]

Status
Mummy: -51 Health

Pleased with how,the bonfire,is doing, Eggo Lass unleashes an Eldritch blast on the mummy.

To-Hit: 16 Damage: 7 force + 5 on crit.

To-Hit: 16 Damage: 8 force + 10 on crit.

Sly joins in the blasting, conjuring up a small quill of fire and launching it at the mummy.

Attack: 12, damage: 11 fire

Eggo's second blast does the job at vaporising the top half of the mummy in an explosion of force, Sly's firebolt following a split-second later but sailing over where the torso would have been. The decrepit upper body of the mummy is practically disintegrated by the raw magic of the attack, the gems in it's eyes shattering into worthless dust, it's bones cracking into splinters, and the wrappings about it bursting apart, torn through by the magical energy running through them. 

However, despite the annihilation of the mummy's body, bar the pair of legs that fall limply into the ashes of the bonfire, the golden talisman about it's neck is unscathed. It hangs in the air for a second after it's bearer is killed, then drops neatly onto the floor. You all see that the chain, despite having fell a few feet, has landed with each of the links arranged to form a perfect circle. You don't get long to marvel at this though, as Techi is quick to snatch it up and stuff it down the baggy pockets of his dusty brown trousers, dissipating his blade and murmuring 'Great job gang, let's press on. We still haven't found any sign of Kalthrat yet, or at least what might be left of him...' His mood as brightened by a good few shades, and Bilyur particularly notices that he seems to be trying to divert attention away from the talisman and towards further exploration.

(Just a moment.) telepaths Eggo Lass. (You were awful quick to snatch up that talisman. And quite keen on it when the fight began. Why) Her words echo within Techi's skull.

'Oh!' Techi looks around to Eggo and says aloud that 'It's nothing, just a relic the Archaeology Department has been after for a while! I just wanted to make sure I got my hands on it before it got damaged, and didn't want to rope you all into any of my boring business, so tried to keep it lowkey, y'know!' Despite his explanation, such a simple answer is clearly not the case. His grim determination at the start of combat and his desperation for the talisman afterwards contrast his claims of it being just some regular old tasks, although it seems he's unwilling to share any further secrets. Seems a habit of his, considering that he knew what this dungeon entailed, yet didn't share anything until pressed by Bilyur to do so, despite the priest's remorse. [Persuasion: 8]

Sly squints at Techi. The wizard is miffed at losing out on such a valuable looking item, but her exterior is as placid as always. "'Tis apparent that we will need to deploy this 'relic' in order to advance past the door yonder. I need your assurance that you will produce it when thus required. Furthermore, pray tell, what is it the Archeology Department wishes to procure this item for? For it is plain to see that it is more than just an elaborate sealing mechanism."

Techi sniffs and says 'If it serves as a means of getting through the sealed door, then I will gladly use it, though I don't want to utilise it too much, as the Archaeology Department simply wants to display it in a museum, or perhaps analyse it and any historical relevance it might have, so I want it to be kept as safe and undamaged as possible.' This is an odd explanation though, as the item is clearly magical due to the way the chain fell into a ring as you saw earlier, and the fact that it remained unchanged by both fire and magical blasts. Surely the Tyraan Government has some more interest in the artifact other than putting on display?

Sly doesn't trust this explanation. Frankly, this Techi started getting on her nerves. But nonetheless, she is forced to let the matter rest, because it wouldn't do to attack a government official, and she wasn't talented enough at reading people in these situations to get any hint of obvious wrongdoing [Insight: 6].

The wizard sighs and turns to the door.

"Have it your way. Let's advance. We have yet to scout the other passages in the room with the unfortunate adventurers."

If the party is done in this basement area, you all head back to the dining hall, Techi's odd and standoffish behaviour leaving a weird, uncomfortable atmosphere hanging amongst you all. The carrion crawler is still lurking above your heads in the darkness, marinating its filthy meal, and is, as usual, so fixated on the decay of the bodies that it has no interest in you as you pass through and discuss which door to head through next; north or west.

Like Sly, Eggo Lass remains similarly displeased with Techi's approach. She telepaths to the wizard, (Got any paper? It might be worth thinking of drawing up a contract for our friend. Though certainly will have to do more research there.)

[[ Gonna have to see if there's a way to legally bind him into a twist. ;p ]]

At the grim feastroom once more Eggo Lass points to the West with a look of "shall we?"

Bilyur watches the discussion, his wisdom allowing him to easily see through all of their facades. Fools. Fools. All of them fools. Bickering over material things as if they matter. Pretending to be at peace when they have grievances. All of them fools. Out loud, he says, "Friends, friends. I can practically see what you are thinking. Techi was sent for a specific purpose, to find his predecessors body and a specific relic. For all we know, that is the relic. It's not as though he's been hoarding treasure for himself through the entirety of all the dungeons, this is all that he's taken for himself. Eggo and Sly, I understand that you wish to split treasure evenly, but please! No one in this party should be keeping their grievances secret. When a grievance comes into your mind, give it voice, and we can resolve it. If we allow discord to grow under the surface, it will fester and tear this party apart when we need each other the most." He realizes that he's been ranting and stops, finishing with, "I know it's hard. But that's what these dungeons are designed to do, tear people apart. It's why I don't care about treasure. If I take no treasure, than I feel no jealousy. No one among us can hope to take on the Archivist alone. We must face him together. And to do that, we must stay together. Don't fall to the Archivist because you want an extra gold piece. It is not worth it." He then shakes himself and says, "Shall we continue on?"