The Tyrant's Tomb

Two nights before the battle, the questers hike through the Berkeley Hills until they reach a foggy clearing with a nightmarish, brightly lit carousel. Meg senses that the nearby plants are afraid of the evil it exudes.

Hazel detects a large tomb complex beneath the carousel. They find a concrete entrance slab. Meg realizes “254” refers to the year 254 AUC. The group recalls the prophecy’s cryptic reference to the number 254. On Hazel’s instruction, Meg inscribes the Roman numerals CCLIV onto the slab. The entrance dissolves, revealing a staircase that leads downward.

As they descend into the tomb, Hazel guides them through ominous tunnels lined with death masks; the masks’ agonized expressions make Apollo realize that the death masks are really cruel trophies of those the king has murdered. The group presses on, bypassing several traps thanks to Hazel’s direction. When two skeletal guards block the way ahead, Hazel uses her powers to psychically order them to stand down. The path is now clear to Tarquin’s throne room.

From a balcony, they see Tarquin—a skeleton animated by purple gas. The undead king is attended by equally undead servants. An aide (a eurynomos name Caelius) reports that an enemy fleet will arrive in three days.