Still sweating more than one would expect given the environmental conditions, Mirri nevertheless seems unfazed enough by her illness to continue the group's explorations. However, the halfling clearly was fazed by the notable lack of valuables. Oh man, there's nothin' here, she complained as two rooms turned into four plus chambers with no valuables. Maybe it's like that last place we hit, the rest o' the group got out but killed off one to have more loot for themselves. Mirri last comment, made just after Petra had buried the headless corpse, made clear her mind was not on religious reverence. The halfling gave Say'ri a somewhat sullen nod as they ascended into the upper room and the human woman announced her exploration plan. Hope that last group didn't make it up here yet, she grumbled.
This spacious room has entrances in the southern and eastern walls. The aged remains of dressers, a large bed, and a divan lie in ruins. The husk of large hornet’s nest, gray, papery, and devoid of life, occupies one corner of the ceiling. The spaces in the northeast and northwest corners appear to be closets.
Their wooden doors have all but fallen off their hinges, and heaps of disintegrated fabric mingle on the floor. Between the closets stands a single lacquered dresser covered in dust.
Mirri discovers that the dresser is fake--the drawers are just handles to move the dresser, not actual drawers at all. As she mentions that to Say'ri and Petra to move to the dresser, she asks Ibrahim to boost her up to inspect whatever she sees glinting from within the hornet's nest.
Inside is a headband that Ishia detects as magical.
Meanwhile, Say'ri and Petra move the dresser aside to reveal a hidden, locked chest.
Petra squints around the apparent former bedroom, coughing a bit at all the dust and re-adjusting her scarf to serve as breathing filter.
"....how does this headband get inside a hornet's nest," Petra wonders to nobody in particular. She shakes her head, then studies the chest with a cantrip to check for magic.
"Mirri, does this look safe for you to try and open?"
Mirri examined the headband for a moment, seemingly cheered by finding objects of value. Dunno, she answered Petra softly, but I'm glad the hornets kept it safe for us! The halfling then turned her attention to the revealed locked chest. First, she carefully examined it for traps, then removing any if found. Afterward, she pulled out her small bundle of lock picks and began to work to open the chest.
Mirri does find a trap on the chest, not on the locking mechanism itself but set to spring when the chest is open. The lock is difficult, but not impossible. Mirri opens the lock, jams the firing pin on the poisoned-bolt launcher, and reveals 20 gold ingots in the chest.
You can identify the seal as that of the Keleshite sultan who governed Osirion at the time of the Plague of Madness, 2,215 years ago.
When you exit the room, you see a disturbing sight: two creatures, each a blackened, bat-winged fiend's head. Tentacles dangle from their chins and scalps, and their fanged mouths hang agape.
Next up: Petra, Ishia
Red
Mirri
Blue
Party
These outsiders, vargouilles, can turn their helpless victims into vargouilles with a "kiss" attack.
Above spoiler, plus the vargouilles have a paralytic shriek that allows them to more easily "kiss" their victims.
Above two spoilers, plus the vargouilles have a poisonous bite that makes wounds harder to heal.
Mirri
Ishia
Petra
Say'ri
Ibrahim
Red
Blue
Petra knows nothing about this particular bit of history...
On exiting that room, Petra stares, then shakes her head. "...I have never seen so many cursed abominations!"
She hurriedly gestures with one hand, and a wand falls into her grasp.
"Anubis and all other gods of the old ways! Help us strike down these foes!" she cries, before dropping the wand and moving to a place where she has a better shot.
"They are vargouilles. They will attempt to bite your face--this will transform you into one of them, be wary! Their shrieks will freeze you in your place, and their fangs are poisonous as well!" says Ishia. She then begins to chant, in preparation for casting a spell to summon a monster to aid them.
As if in response to Ishia's proclamation, one of the creatures flies forward and lets out a deafening scream!
Next Up: Fort saves, then Mirri
One of the abominations floats forward and kisses Say'ri on the lips. It smiles grotesquely, floating near the warrior.
Next up: Ibrahim's Save, then the party
Ibrahim steps up to protect Say'ri and slashes at "blue"
Mirri's eyes went wide as the vile-looking fiend moved up to, of all things, try to kiss Say'ri. Ehheww! The halfling's eyes went wide with disgust and she sprang into action just behind Ibrahim. As the man faced off with the beast, Mirri sprinted past him. Once just past she sharply changed direction and, utilizing the railing, vaulted over the gap in the floor to land behind the foe. There she lashed at the creature from behind with her small but sharp knife.
Next up: Petra, Ishia
Ibrahim steps up. slashing at one of the creatures. Say'ri blinks, feeling the movement return to her limbs as Ibrahim blocks her field of vision to the shrieker.
Mirri darts under the kissing vargoille and stabs a shallow cut in its flesh.
Ishia finishes her spell, and a golden eagle appears next to the vargouille, attacking with its claws and beak but missing completely. Ishia draws her crossbow and fires at the vargouille, but her shot goes wide as well.
Petra steps up for a clearer shot, relieved that Say'ri still breathes, and looses an arrow at the further creature.
The vargouilles attack the threats closest to them, the eagle and Mirri, but there anger does not result in greater accuracy.
Next up: Party
Twang! Another arrow nocked and released.
The eagle continues to fight the vargouille, successfully striking this time. Ishia fires another crossbow bolt; it misses.
A bit dizzy from her illness after somersaulting to just behind the bizarre monster, Mirri's first attack did little. The halfling thus went wide-eyed and nearly froze as the creature turned to attack her instead of the much larger and threatening Ibrahim. Fortunately she came to her senses just in time to duck the attempt. With its eyes on Mirri, the fiend left itself open to vicious blow by the now-freed Say'ri, which brought a glimmer of glee to the halfling's eyes. Hoping to finish it off, Mirri slashed at it again with her knife, but the light graze failed to connect with any vital organs.
Petra snipes the one engaged with the eagle while Say'ri and Mirri gang up on the nearer Vargouille. Both are sorely wounded, but still flying.
Next up: Ibrahim
Ibrahim hacks straight through the sneering face, sending two asymmetrical chunks of the vargouille falling to the ground.
The remaining foe savagely bites the eagle, which flails its wings in an attempt to stay aloft.
Next up: Party
Mirri's face took on a look of revulsion as the horrid creature's innards were left oozing out on the floor where its' two halves landed. Wanting to be away from the area. Mirri took off in a darting run around the long side of the balcony, clearly looking to land in a flanking position with the eagle or her companions soon afterward.
Ishia fires another bolt, missing again. Her eagle attacks again, landing a single blow before winking back out of existence.
The eagle knocks the vargouille out of the sky and lands on it, pecking at it's unconscious form a few times before winking out of existence.
With everyone ready to proceed, Mirri inspects the next door and, hearing or seeing nothing dangerous, ushers the others into the room.
Dust blankets this room. The walls, once brightly painted to depict life in ancient Wati, are now faded. A smaller room or alcove takes up the northeast section of the room; it was once closed off by a wooden door that since has rotted away, leaving only its hinges in the doorframe. A strong, cloying odor of decay pervades the room.
Buried amid the debris in the room is a large darkwood box (Ariseti’s hope worth 100 gp. Inside is a white silk Osirian wedding robe that is extremely
fragile with age. Mirri can see that any attempt to remove the robe from the chest will ruin it. If restored/preserved, the robe would fetch a handsome sum (150 gp).
The chest also contains several pieces of inexpensive jewelry worth 35 gp in total, and a strand of freshwater pearls worth 200 gp.
There is a small sealed tube that radiates magic.
Finally, a long scroll tube holds a rolled-up papyrus painting—a self-portrait of Ariseti, accompanied by her signature in Ancient Osiriani. Unlike the wedding robe, the painting has been protected from air for many
years and can be safely handled without damaging it. It is worth 80 gp to a collector.
The tube contains 5 applications of Kohl of Uncanny Discernment.
The dark cosmetic in this small decorative tube is made from finely ground minerals. Favored by Osirian men and women alike, nonmagical kohl is applied around the eyes and is used to reduce the glare from the desert sun, and cosmetically to cause the whites of the wearer’s eyes to stand out distinctly.
When applied to the eyes, kohl of uncanny discernment grants its wearer low-light vision and a +2 competence bonus on Perception checks. If the wearer already has low-light vision, the kohl doubles the distance the wearer can see. The wearer also gains a +2 resistance bonus on saving throws against gaze attacks, patterns, visual effects, and sight-based attacks. These effects last for 1 hour. Applying the kohl is a full-round action, and it must be applied to both eyes to function.
Still subconsciously reeling from the supernatural fear at the gates, Ibrahim's mindfog is finally lifted.
"Well done, friends. Thanks for picking up my slack. Shall we continue?" *flashes a smile*
Most of the contents of the next room have fallen apart or otherwise been reduced to dust from the dry desert air. A foul, cloying smell fills the room.
A few minutes searching the room turns up a Small rusted dagger, a handful of marbles, and a small lacquered wooden box.
Ishia comprehends its purpose after a quick glance: The lacquered box is an ancient board game whose rules have been forgotten over time. Inside the box are several small, carved stone playing pieces. The box functions as the game board. To an Osirionologist, the game is worth 50 gp as a rare antiquity.
A large lacquered desk, now in poor condition, sits in the center of this room. Bookcases stand along the eastern and southwestern walls, sagging as if ready to collapse at any moment. Their shelves have fallen out, and the piles of dust at their bases are all that remains of books and scrolls that failed to survive the long years. The lacquered wooden frames of what might once have been divans stretch along the north and south walls, but their upholstery has disintegrated. A single door in the western wall is the room’s only exit.
Mirri roots around in the desk drawers and finds a brass key, which she figures would work on the chest (containing the gold ingots). She tests the lock to confirm this.
The walls of this room are decorated with a scenic vista of a river valley running through a desert, resplendent with verdant life and greenery near the shores. Only a few pieces of lacquered furniture remain in the chamber. A faint, musty odor of decomposed wood and fabric lingers in the air. A set of doors stands in the western wall.
The body of a human man lies on its back in the small alcove to the east. The body is only a year old, and its flesh is in a state of advanced decomposition. The head is missing, but Mirri notices climps of hair on the floor beneath the body's headless shoulders. Petra notes that the head seems to have been pulled off rather than being cleanly decapitated.
The body has nothing of value on it save for a simple gold wedding ring worth 50 gp. An inscription in Osiriani inside the band of the ring reads, “To Akar from Panhet, Love Eternal.”
These are the telltale signs of a vargouille's victim--this man clearly succumbed to a vargouille's kiss and became one himself, likely one of the vargouille's that you slew.
|
"Right - let's gather up anything of value and head out of here. I seem to remember a tomb on the far side of the garden. We can either head in now or retreat and return tomorrow. I think we might be better off retreating for now." Say'ri suggests. "I don't want whatever is happening to Mirri to progress too far and we have a considerable amount of treasure to carry as it is. We could even leave, unload the treasure and return here a little later - there is still daylight."
Regardless of the other's responses she leads the way back to the first room and supervises the packing of the various valuables into backpacks and the chests. Hefting Ariseti's hope she smiles at Ibrahim. "Let's see what those cords of yours can do" nodding at the box full of solid metal!
Bemused by the tube, Petra hands it off to Ishia. She follows along, trying to make sure that the looting of the place happens in a respectful fashion-- that drawers are shut again rather than tipped ramshackle open, that things are left neat once the items of value have been taken to be used again by the living...
Her eyes narrow when she sees another headless corpse. While the others busy themselves with the carting of the material treasures, Petra hoists the dessicated body carefully. "I will place this soul down in that pool as well," she informs the others seriously. "But I will wait until we are all ready to return downstairs. Even if this place has been cleansed, we still have that man who led us to the centipede... somewhere."
Petra is good as her word: when they return downstairs laden with their treasures, she takes the time to place the body into the pool and pile more sand atop him, the third such today. ...to be fair, she's starting to get a little bit more shallow with the sand. Still, she says her words and intones Anubis's name and justice over the bodies.
"Let us step out carefully," she says as they make ready to exit the structure entirely. "In case that man lurks."
Though still appearing a bit piqued and sweating more than the heat would suggest, Mirri's mood brightened considerably as many of the chambers revealed items of monetary worth after a search. The halfling acted almost as a proud parent as she handed over each of the items and coins to the larger, stronger party members to carry. With a satisfied look around she said, well, guess that does it for this floor. Anywhere we missed?
The party is able to transport all of the valuables safely and without damaging them or encountering further danger.
Perhaps cheered by the valuables the group had found, she points at the crypt with a smile as the group exits the main building. Ooh! Let's check that one now too. Don't wanna let anyone else steal it from us 'fore we got back! The halfling then darted over to the front of the crypt to check it for traps or locks.
Oh I'm fine, I jus'..., Mirri's blithe dismissal of Say'ri's concerns trailed off as the halfling realized she hadn't even thought of the key they had found. With a sheepish grin she added, err...yep, the key. Shoulda thoughta that..... The halfling proceeds to look for some place the key found might fit after a search for traps in concluded.
A rectangular stone building sits in the northwest corner of the estate. At each corner stand columns carved to resemble men and women with their arms crossed over their chests. A set of stone doors stands in the southern face of the building, carved with bas-relief faces of two men. Hieroglyphs are carved into the doors just beneath the faces.
The faces on the doors are of Pentheru the Elder and Pentheru the Younger and match the faces on the statues outside the property. Two of the building’s four columns also depict the two men. The other two columns
depict women.
The Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs identify the building as the “crypt of
the House of Pentheru” and warn, “May defilers be cursed by the gods until their day of judgment.” The crypt’s stone doors are heavy, but open easily.
"The crypt is where they normally keep the good stuff, right?"
As the adventurers descend into the crypt you see a stone altar sitting upon a raised stone platform in the center of this square room. Caryatid columns carved in the likenesses of male and female figures with their arms crossed over their chests and khopeshes or ankhs in their hands stand at each corner of the platform. Empty torch holders are built in all four of the room’s corners. Two stairways exit the room— one climbs to the south, while the other descends from this chamber to the north.
A humanoid form wrapped in bits of skin and soiled linens lays on the altar, rising at your approach.
It rushes Mirri before she has a chance to react, slapping her in the chest and knocking the wind out of her. When it pulls its hand back Mirri is stuck to it as if from some strange adhesive.
Next up: Party
This monstrous humanoid is an Adherer, descended from humans twisted in the Ethereal plane. Adhesive: A weapon that strikes an adherer becomes stuck fast to the creature's adhesive flesh unless the wielder succeeds at a DC 14 Reflex save. A creature adjacent to the adherer can attempt to pry off a stuck weapon with a DC 17 Strength check, but doing so provokes an attack of opportunity from the adherer. The adherer's adhesive flesh gives it a +8 racial bonus on grapple checks. It can attempt to grapple a foe as a free action whenever a creature successfully hits it with a natural attack or an unarmed strike. An adherer does not gain the grappled condition when it grapples a foe, nor does it provoke attacks of opportunity when it attempts to do so. Fire can temporarily burn away an adherer's adhesive coating—whenever an adherer takes at least 10 points of fire damage, it loses its adhesive special quality for 1d4 rounds. Universal solvent, alchemical solvent, or a similar fluid removes an adherer's adhesive quality for 1 hour if it fails a DC 15 Reflex save, or for 1d4 rounds if it makes the save. The adherer's skin loses its adhesive quality 1 hour after the adherer dies. An adherer can release anything stuck to it as a free action. The save DCs are Constitution-based.
[spoiler=Knowledge Nature DC 18]
Above, plus: Adherers are very hardy and resistant to damage (DR: 5/ --)
Above two spoilers, plus: SR 14
Mirri
Ishia
Petra
Say'ri
Ibrahim
Adherer
"What on earth--"
Petra has no idea what this creature is, but she supposes she doesn't need to know. Hurriedly, she moves into the room, snapping her wrist to cause a wand to fall into her palm. "Guide us in destroying this abomination, o gods!"
Let's hope so! Mirri's cheerful response to Ibrahim as the group descended into the crypt was followed by the halfling enthusiastically checking her surroundings for items of value, like a kid on High Holidays. What she did not look for, were threats. And it cost her. Well, nothin' so far but...gaaahhh! Literally flatfooted, Mirri started to stagger back under the force of the enemies' unexpected blow, only to be held fast to the creature. Eyes wide, the halfling tried to wriggle free of the monster's grip.
Fortunately familiar with working her way free of bonds from her myriad run-ins with the authorities, Mirri slid off the creature and then darted directly behind it, opposite Say'ri.