Narsis Dren and the Cursed Coffin Content . By Narsis Dren , Treasure Hunter Ah , devoted reader ! Back for another tale of the amazing Narsis Dren ? Of course you are . Why else would you be here , right now , holding this exceptionally crafted tale ? Let ' s get to it , shall we ? I was investigating an ancient Nord barrow , searching for the Glittering Garters of Gwenyld the Gauche ( or something along those lines ) when I stumbled upon an ominous lever that opened a hidden door . Now , I wasn ' t exactly sure what the lever was going to do when I pulled it , but you know my motto — Leave a lever , lose a lord . ( Trust me , it makes a lot more sense in the original Ayleidoon . ) A hidden door slid open when I activated the lever , revealing a secret room that had thus far eluded even the most determined tomb robbers . ( Tomb robbers , by the way , tend to be reticent when it comes to pulling ominous levers . That ' s why Narsis Dren is better than they are . It ' s all about the bravery . ) The secret room was a spacious affair , full of funeral finery and relics from a forgotten age . One item that stood out was a ring of pure iron , covered in Nord runes . It was probably small for a Nord ' s thick fingers , but it seemed nearly large enough to fit upon my Elven wrist . I slipped the ring into my pack and turned to examine the rest of the chamber , immediately noticing the massive sarcophagus placed strategically in the center of the room . It was all carved stone with inlaid jewels and Nordic runes that matched those decorating the iron ring . Obviously , this was the final resting place for an important jarl , king , or even a dragon priest . My mind boggled at the possibilities of what awaited inside that stone coffin . But I have learned from experience never to reach blindly into the honey pot . Instead , I carefully studied the sarcophagus , looking for any noticeable traps . When a visual inspection failed to reveal anything out of the ordinary , I began to gingerly examine the seam where the great stone lid met the deeper casket . Using my handy collection of picks and probing rods , I tested the entire circumference of the lip of the lid . Nothing . Is that when I finally hefted the lid to peer inside ? Not so fast , devoted reader ! I had one more investigation to make before I opened the tempting sarcophagus . I had to study the intriguing runes that covered the lid . I suspected they dated back to at least the Neo - Meadic era of Nord history , and perhaps even older . The trick to decipher old runes is finding one or two bits that you recognize and starting your translation with them . In this case , I spotted a rune that looked remarkably like the current pictograph for " foul " or " stink . " Beside it was a symbol I was certain meant " spell " or perhaps " magic . " So , at least a portion of the intricate runes said something along the lines of " foul spell " or " stinky magic . " I deciphered the rest of the runes without even needing to read them . It proclaimed that the sarcophagus was protected by an ancient Nord curse of the most odorous kind . Curses , however , have never hindered the great Narsis Dren ! Yours truly has defeated all sorts of assorted tomb guardians , insidious traps , and hostile rivals . What ' s an ancient Nord curse to someone as amazingly competent as me ? Not worth worrying about , I assure you ! I was neither frightened by the curse nor dissuaded from pursuing my usual course . I placed both hands upon the sarcophagus lid as I prepared to slide the heavy stone aside . That ' s when a strange and not terribly unpleasant tingle ran up and down my arms and a bright white light filled my eyes . When the light faded , I found myself inside a cramped , cold space , surrounded by dry stone and total darkness . Somehow , I wound up inside the still - sealed sarcophagus ! Perhaps I had dismissed the threat of the curse a tad too soon . " Hello , " I said hopefully . " Is there anyone out there ? " I knew that there wasn ' t . My lackadaisical assistant was outside , lounging around our campfire and probably drinking deeply from my most expensive flask of flin . At least there wasn ' t a body inside the stone coffin with me . That would have been awkward . I pushed with all my might , but the lid wouldn ' t budge . Now , lesser men would crumble at a moment like this , but Narsis Dren is not a lesser man . Quite the opposite . He ' s a better than lesser man ! When I get into situations like this , I always ask myself , " Self , what would Narsis Dren do ? " And then it came to me . The iron ring ! Its runes matched those on the sarcophagus . There had to be a connection . I strained to reach my pack , then dug around until I found the iron ring . I drew the ring out of my pack , holding it firmly with determination and dramatic purpose . I touched the ring to the stone lid . Nothing happened . I admit , that was a little disappointing . With a sigh , I slipped the large ring onto the second and third fingers of my left hand . I said the word " Open " out loud , annunciating the syllable over and over as I worked my way through every language I knew . Again , nothing . Now I was beginning to become disheartened . I made a fist and touched the lid with the ring while rapping my forehead upon the cool stone three times in fast succession . Why ? Oh , just chalk it up to the old Narsis Dren instinct . Another flash of white light obscured my vision . When it cleared , I was standing outside the sarcophagus , back in the secret chamber . The moral of my story ? Avoid tempting sarcophaguses at all costs . They ' re usually more trouble than they ' re worth .