Mirri deftly escapes the strange creature's clutches, distracting it enough for Say'ri to bash it in the head. She feels that it was a solid hit but didn't damage her foe as well as it should.
Petra intones a blessing to Anubis, bolstering her allies.
Next up: Ibrahim and Ishia
Ibrahim steps up but is unable to strike the creature for fear of hitting Mirri. The creature ignores the others and focuses on Mirri, flailing its limbs at her again but it is unable to connect.
Next up: Party
Now prepared, Mirri engaged in a blurring array of ducks and dodges to avoid getting hit. Those quick of eye might notice the look of surprise that, yet again, an enemy saw fit to strike at her versus the much larger, more fierce members of her band. The halfling herself noted the limited damage Say'ri's rather sound blow actually inflicted. Fearing she could do little herself, she proceeded to focus on dodging the enemy, while taunting it. That's all ya got! Com' on! Whatta wimp!
Petra drops her wand and regrips her bow, sending an arrow towards the creature.
Though her arrow seems blunted by the creature's strange flesh, a little damage still penetrates.
Brahim continues to swing ineffectually
Petra's arrow finds some purchase, but the rest of the attacks are lost in the swirling melee. The creature nearly swats Mirri again but is not quick enough when the thief is ready for an attack
Next Up: Party
That's jus' sad! They put you down here cuz you that crappy?? Com' on! A big smile shone on Mirri's face as she grew more enthusiastic taunting the foe. Still, all her effort remained on dodging blows.
Twang! Another arrow!
This time however, Petra's arrow cracks off the pillar.
Frustrated at his inability to strike the foe, Ibrahim lashes out in anger, and connects solidly!
The creature roars in pain and fury as the blows land upon it. It catches Mirri again with a backhand and she holds fast to the creature's arm.
Next up: Party
You must be sooo weak to keep missin'...OWW! Hey! Mirri became too cocky at the wrong moment, as the bizarre creature timed its blow just right. Stuck yet again, the halfling hoped her ability to wriggle out of bonds could come to her aid one more time.
Petra frowns at the sight of her last arrow shattered on the floor... and Mirri's wounds. She makes her way forward, edging behind Ibrahim, and switches her bow to her off hand in order to do that cool wrist-drop-snap thing that once more puts the healing wand into her hand.
Her blessing keeps succoring her allies, at least.
Ibrahim slashes, trying to free Mirri
Mirri darts away again as her companions hack away at the creature. The adherer pants and roars like a mad beast, grabbing Mirri again and bludgeoning her repeatedly.
Next up: Party
Mirri slipped free of the creature and tried to get back to a defensive position, but ended up getting walloped by a solid blow. Unlike the other grazing shots, this one appeared to truly reel the diminutive woman. Humor and spunk all but gone, she once again tried to worm her way free of the creature's grasp.
Succeeding, the halfling thought twice about standing her ground and instead attempted a tumble roll away from the foe.
Ishia draws her crossbow and fires a shot at the mummy, but her bolt is not even close.
"Hold still," Petra rumbles, keeping pace with Mirri to try and heal her. She draws her flail with her other hand.
Brahim moves into flanking to finish this beast off
The adherer panics, trying to reach the surface and shove past Ibrahim, who cuts the wretch down for good.
Combat Over!
There is a staircase to the North leading down.
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As the adherer falls Say'ri hurries over to Mirri. Seeing that Petra has everything in hand she manages to restrain herself and begins a short search around the room before heading to the stairs.
"Stay behind me Mirri, use those sharp eyes of yours and I'll stop things getting through to us." She says with a smile. "Ishia, stay in the middle, Ibrahim, Petra, can you bring up the rear. I'd be surprised if something comes at us from behind but we'd best not take chances."
Mirri offered a look of thanks to Petra that contained elements of both trepidation and relief. The halfling for a moment appeared to still be in a bit of shock from the strength of the last below as Say'ri approached, but waved off the human woman's concern. I'll...I'll be OK. That thing was strong! Never been hit like that my whole life. Shaking her head as if to shake off the memory, Mirri then nodded in response to Say'ri's plan. Can do, bu' first let's have a look see at this room! Without waiting for a response, Mirri proceeds to do a search of the current chamber, then falls in behind Say'ri as the group moves forward.
Petra uses a second charge on Mirri, the dwarf's eyes narrowed in reluctant concern where they show in the thin gap of her keffiyeh.
"You should be more careful," the dwarf rumbles before going to collect her dropped bow and replace the curative wand in its wrist holster.
Mirri finds nothing of interest in the Adherer's lair, but she does find an ingenious trap: the staircase is rigged to stab everyone on it when someone steps on the top stair, but it doesn't arm until someone steps on the bottom stair. It would deliver quite a surprise upon returning to the surface, but as it stands Mirri just shows everyone to avoid stepping on the bottom step, and you all arrive safely in the next room.
The air in this chamber is cool. The walls and ceilings are tiled with stone, but the floor is hard-packed earth, giving the area an unfinished quality. A long stone table rests against the western wall, flanked by two large (empty) brass urns. A flight of steps ascends to the south, while two passages lead north and east out of the room.
Mirri also finds a switch in the torch holder in the southewest corner of the room that disables the trap.
Petra gives Mirri a grudging nod of respect as her keen eyes spot yet another dangerous threat before they can be injured by it.
In the cool, tiled room, Petra looks around with a little sigh; this reminds her of Erekrus, and she is struck by a brief wave of homesickness. She shakes it off, peering into the urns before moving forward. "Let us try this eastern passage," she suggests. "We seem to be proceeding efficiently, in our current marching order."
An earthy scent fills this large chamber. The ceiling and walls are tiled with stone, but the ground is bare earth. Stone benches are set against the east and west walls, and torch holders are mounted in the corners and on either side of a wide doorway to the west. The beginnings of several shallow, rough passages have been started along the eastern wall and in the southwest corner, but the excavations are incomplete, ending in earth and rubble after only a few feet. At the south end of the room, a short, wide flight of steps descends to a set
of stone double doors.
When you enter, a swarm of undead, hairless felines spills out of the cramped space like a waterfall, spreading out to advance upon you!
Next up: Say'ri, Ishia
Swarm
Party
This is an ubashki swarm, they have all of the usual swarm and undead traits, and they are carriers of disease
Mirri
Ishia
Petra
Say'ri
Ibrahim
Swarm
"It is an ubashki swarm! Be wary, for they are undead, and a swarm of them will be difficult to combat. And try not to get too close, they are carriers of disease."
Say'ri holds the shield in front of her, but it offers her no protection as the swarm roils forward.
Party up.
Her face contorted with loathing and pain, Petra steps back from the seething mass of cats.
She snatches the vial of blessed water that the dwarf Fergrim had given her in the tavern, and hurls it down where her feet had been a moment prior.
Mirri beamed as Petra grudgingly acknowledged the halfling's acumen with traps. Nearly sauntering into the next room, Mirri was unfortunately caught off-guard by the swarm of undead cats that burst forth. Coming up not much past Say'ri's boots, the halfling was nicely engulfed by the wretched creatures. With a shriek, Mirri darted away from maelstrom, numerous red streaks from where the cats at slashed her readily apparent.
Ibrahim begins to question his life choices after being attacked by a swarm of undead cats. Coughing and sputtering he steps out of the swarm and attacks!
Say'ri and Ibrahim assault as many individual cats as they can, while Petra hurls the gifted bottle of holy water into the midst of the swarm. The water boils away the flesh of the creatures like potent acid, filling the air with the horrible smell of burning, rotten meat.
Next up: Say'ri and Ishia
Say'ri scythes her blade through the remaining cats, ending the threat.
Combat Over (as is the last guardian of the House of Pentheru!)
A stone sarcophagus rests atop a stone platform occupying the southern end of this room. The lid of the sarcophagus bears the likeness of a man and is inlaid with gemstones and trimmed in gold. Two lacquered benches run parallel to the east and west walls just north of the platform. Hieroglyphs line the walls of the chamber, and stone torch holders are set in all four corners.
The hieroglyphs on the walls tell the story of Pentheru the Younger, starting with the elevation of his father Pentheru the Elder to nobility, his subsequent death, and Pentheru the Younger’s inheritance of his father’s title and lands. The story boasts of their prosperityand success as land managers, the justness with which the family lived their lives, and the care with which they treated their slaves and servants. The text calls upon the gods to smile upon Pentheru the Younger and bless him with a good and just life in the Great Beyond.
Alongside Pentheru’s mummified body inside the sarcophagus is a small cat mummy.
The cat is a Mummified Guardian
This mummified house cat—dried, filled with sand, and bound in linen wrappings— appears to be nothing more than a family pet buried alongside its deceased master.
Far more than a mere pet, however, a mummified guardian protects and preserves the corpse it is interred with and acts as a guardian against grave robbers and looters, potentially driving such trespassers toward more dangerous defenders or traps. When placed inside a sarcophagus or coffin alongside a dead body and activated, a mummified guardian also infuses the corpse with positive energy, preventing the body from being turned into an
undead creature, as sanctify corpse.
In addition, the mummified guardian also creates a magical ward around the sarcophagus containing it. If the sarcophagus is opened after the mummified guardian is placed inside, any creature with 5 Hit Dice or fewer within 20 feet of the open sarcophagus is overcome by a feeling of dread and must succeed at a DC 13 Will save or be frightened for 3 rounds. On a successful save, a creature is instead shaken for 1 round. This ability functions only once. Once triggered, the mummified guardian retains only its sanctify corpse ability (this reduces the price of the mummified guardian to 3,000 gp).
If the sarcophagus containing the mummified guardian is placed in an area or room with multiple paths of egress, the owner may designate one general direction an affected target must take if it flees, as long as the chosen direction does not require the target to move any closer to the mummified
guardian. After moving in the designated direction for 1 round, the target behaves as normal for the frightened condition for the remainder of the effect’s duration.
A mummified guardian must be placed inside a sarcophagus, coffin, or other enclosed container with a dead body to function. Although cats are most common, mummified guardians can be created from the mummified remains of other small animals as well.
Besides the mummified guardian, the sarcophagus also contains Pentheru’s gold funerary mask, worth 150 gp, and a gold-and turquoise scarab pendent worth 50 gp.
For several moments after Say'ri ended the last of the undead cats, Mirri was nowhere to be found. Then a small form could be seen peering out from behind the corner back in the direct the group arrived from. Seeing the threat cleared, the halfling walked slowly back toward the group. Coughing, she looked pale and worn, the effects of both multiple diseases and a rather thorough battering at the hands of the adherer and cat swarm.
Seeing the stone sarcophagus, and the realization that the day of exploration seemed to be over, Mirri's mood brightened a bit, just enough for her summon the attention needed to search the area for traps. Finding none, she stepped back for the stronger PC's to open the lid.
Mirri's eyes widened as the lid was open and the radiating fear impacted the group, but the halfling stayed remarkably strong against the urge to run. After the valuables were collected and a full accounting of everyone was complete, Mirri looked up at Say'ri with haggard eyes. Can we go home now?
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After heaving open the coffin with Petra's help Say'ri flinches back from the mummified stare of the cat sitting within the coffin. "Why in the name of the Falcon would people choose to be buried with a cat? I just don't understand it." Her distaste for felines means that Say'ri leaves someone else to do the actual looting.
At Mirri's question Say'ri turns to look at her battered and bruised companion. "Yes, we can go home. I'm taking you straight to Ben-Ali, we'll go to the Grand Mausoleum if he says so." So saying she sweeps Mirri up in her arms and proceeds to carry her out of the tomb, back to where they stashed the chests.
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As the party leaves the Necropolis, Say'ri still carrying Mirri () she looks back at the heavily loaded Ibrahim and the others.
"I want to take Mirri home first - she's taken a bad beating and I think we could all use a rest and a strong drink. We can safely store valuables in the temple as well if need be. After that we can make plans for what remains of the day." Unless anyone objects she leads the way back to her home, calling urgently for Ben-Ali when they arrive.
"Yes. We have done what we came for and more. The halfling does not look well," Petra says with a little frown. "Let us gather our profits.... "
She can't help but add on to Say'ri: "Cats are sacred, you know."
Ben-Ali hurries as fast as his ailing body allows. His initial smile fades when he sees Mirri's flushed complexion, and she and Ibrahim can't hide the splotchy, unsightly sores beginning to blossom on their skin.
By the gods, what happened? Come, sit you two! Say'ri, fetch some water while I tend to them.
Ben-Ali retrieves his healer's kit again, examining Mirri and Ibrahim with a frown.
Sickness has been running rampant among my followers, and it's all I can do to stave off further disease. I can treat you here as best as I can, but my resources are limited. You may need to sell some of your spoils if you want more expedient care.
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Say'ri jumps to follow her husbands commands with alacrity, demonstrating no mean skill as a nurse under her husbands instruction. "Petra, Ishia. Take some of the coins we found and head to the Grand Mausoleum. Get enough of their cures for two days each for Mirri and Brahim. This isn't something we should skimp on. If there's anything esle you think we can sell off for a good profit quickly then do so, we all trust your judgement."
She shares a glance with Ben-Ali, thoughts flickering back and forth between them. "Mirri and Ibrahim are both staying here tonight. When you come back we could all have dinner together but we're not having either of you wandering around at night while you're unwell." She says, leveling a serious glare at Ibrahim before he can protest.
Petra nods smartly at Say'ri's instructions. "It will be done."
She has little skill at appraising what they would be best to sell, but she is willing to cart things at least. With Ishia, she heads out to make the needed purchases.
Mirri did not object at all to being carried back to Say'ri and Ben-Ali's home. This, in and of itself, was none too surprising for the diminutive halfling, but her lack of pep following a successful (financial and otherwise) adventure was telling. She said little, another change, and by the time the group reached Ben-Ali the toll of the simultaneous diseases and a thorough thrashing at the hands of the adherer and undead cats was clear. Laid into a bed like a rag doll, Mirri looked up at Ben-Ali with a weak smile as he assessed her. See, I kept Say'ri all safe! Her voice was hoarse though, with little energy. Coughing, she added, I don't feel so good, before coughing some more. Afterward she consented to the rest of the administered care with no complaint, trusting Say'ri and Ben-Ali to do right by her.