Mogram Stonecutter sat on the roof of the mausoleum in the dead of night, his lute resting in his lap. His fingers danced lightly over the strings, not playing any tune in particular but rather hitting notes and chords at random. It was an idle habit he had developed over the years when he was bored or lost in thought. This night it was a combination of both.

He was alone in the cemetery, but if the information he had been given was accurate and not some attempt to send him on a fool’s errand, that wouldn’t be the case for long. Others would be arriving soon, but for what purpose he didn’t yet know. Still, the cryptic message he had been given had been enough to incite his curiosity, and his bardic instincts had sensed an interesting story to be told. So here he sat. And waited.

The cemetery was not overly large, but it was not small, either. His vantage point from where he sat allowed him to see the whole of the area. The moon was still new, and the only illumination came from what few stars peeked out around the scattered clouds. This was no trouble for him, of course. Life living underground had adapted him to seeing in conditions where illumination was scarce.

His fingers tickled the strings of his lute once more, this time plucking out an eerie melody that caused the skin of his hands and arms to prickle with gooseflesh. He began to hum, a quiet harmony that ran in counterpoint to the notes he was playing. He parted his lips slightly to allow his voice to more easily flow over the music of his instrument. Melody and harmony tumbled over and around each other, twisting into a song that was both haunting and beautiful.

The air within 30 feet all around Mogram shivered, and several objects nearby lit up with magical auras. It was by no means enough to get a sense for the cemetery as a whole, but it gave him an idea of the area immediately surrounding him. Most of the objects were graves that bore the unmistakable gold aura of Abjuration magic, barriers set to prevent graverobbers, necromancers, and others with unseemly tastes from accessing the resting places of the dead. Others were headstones, obelisks, and similar markers highlighted with the red glow of Illusion magic. Mogram chuckled idly to himself at this. Even in death, there were some who bore their vanity to the grave.

One grave, however, glowed faintly green, the color of Enchantment. Mogram frowned at this. That was an odd one to see in a graveyard. A part of him wanted to investigate further, but he knew he didn’t have the skill to unravel the spell even if he did. He suspected it was some sort of snare for the unwary, but there was no way he could know for sure. Best, he decided, to leave it alone. A skilled wizard could probably take it apart safely, he thought. My luck I’d just end up the thrall of some malevolent sorcerer. He let the music die, both from his lips and from his fingers, and the auras faded away. Once more his fingers plucked aimlessly at the strings of his lute as he settled back in to wait.

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