In the depths of the Osirian desert, a sandstorm has recently uncovered a mighty pyramid that was buried beneath the sand for ages. Lost for centuries, the pyramid has not yet revealed its secrets, but one crumbling papyrus scroll found in the Great Library of Tephu contains references to the tomb of an ancient Osirian king known only as the Pharaoh of Sphinxes. Word of the pyramid’s discovery has spread far and fast. Archaeologists, explorers, and tomb robbers pathfinders from across the Inner Sea are gathering in Osirion’s taverns and inns to plan expeditions into the desert, each vying to be the first to plunder the tomb’s treasures.
You remember it like it was yesterday. Drendle Dreng has messengers wake you in the middle of the night to go on a mission that would not start until the next morning. You begin your journey to the pyramid.
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Along the way to the ancient tomb, Khamul trods along using his towering scythe as a walking stick. His black cloak mostly keeps his pale face in shadow but he proves quite friendly in conversation. "Khamul, former Blood Lord of Geb," he introduces himself when you first meet.
While traveling through the sands of the desert, Khamul divulges, "I am a refugee, you know, a warden of the state. Most Blood Lords revere undeath and even take it upon themselves in a hope of attaining immortality. I learned the necromantic arts in my youth, as many do in Geb, but I saw undeath for the curse that it is. The other Blood Lords did not like that but luckily Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir of the Sothis Lodge was wise enough to take me and the state has granted me asylum."
After a pause Khamul admits, "I still practice those arts, of course. . . . and I hope it does not offend any of you. I do not relish it. But I have decided that my talents should not go to waste and must offer you only a fight fire with fire justification."
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The aged northman scoffs and turns his steely gaze on the wizard. It's clear he's working out some sort of judgement out within his own thoughts.
"The undead are fragile echoes of what once was. Their creation, a violation of what is whole and good but as long as you swear to keep your art far from me when my time comes I'll stay true to the words I spoke - explore, cooperate, report. If your art gets out of control, I won't hesitate to use the Lord in Iron's might to unravel it."
Leif is an old ulfen man, tall and broad-shouldered in a way that hints at the tremendous size and strength he must have been blessed with in his younger years. Although it visibly taxes him, he’s armed and armored for war, clad in gleaming mithril breastplate and with a worn two-handed sword strapped to his back. A ragged scar along his cheek mars his rugged age-worn features, causing his entire face to twist unevenly when he speaks.
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Khamul nods in agreement with Leif, "Actually, Master Gorumson, I agree with you. Undeath is a violation of what is whole and good. I do not create undead nor do I relish my control of them. But the ability to understand and control them has been useful in the past and I think you will find that they fight back much less when I tell them to stand still...."
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The pink-skinned girl in the corner nods in agreement with Khamûl. Under her obscuring cloak, she has disturbing, otherworldly spines and ridges dotting her face. She wears a shoulder bag with a thick strap and numerous alchemical reagents clinking inside it's considerable volume.
To the Ulfen priest. "Life and death can be seen as tools of sort. As a priest you may espouse a philosophy that favors one type of tool or the other, but it is plain to see that many of your peers favor a philosophy quite the opposite."
"I understand that in the fleshforges of Nex they make living things out of raw materials and alchemical reagents. Granted, most of the life they make is very simple, but the principle is easy enough to extend to other matters. I have some small talents in that area myself. You may refer to me as Melina."
An incredible man-made mountain, the pyramid rises out of the desert sands, a relic of an earlier age. Its limestone casing blocks are weathered from millennia of scouring sands, but the structure seems solid and intact. A stone wall, buttressed by drifts of sand, surrounds the entire structure. To the east stands a squat stone building, connected to the pyramid by a long, covered causeway. No visible entrances to the pyramid’s interior can be seen.
A rectangular building constructed of large stone blocks sits on the desert sands to the east of the pyramid. A wide portico opens to the east, its ceiling supported by two rows of red granite columns. A dark passage leads deeper into the temple to the west.
A pair of carved and brightly painted granite columns support the ceiling of this darkened, roughly triangular chamber. To the east, stone statues of a regal man holding a crook and flail and wearing a striped cloth headdress stand on either side of the chamber, though the head of one of the two statues now lies cracked and broken on the alabaster floor. Two more stone statues depicting winged creatures with leonine bodies and falcons’ heads sit beyond. The smooth granite walls are decorated with hieroglyphs and faded murals that depict loyal subjects and slaves presenting offerings to a pharaoh who sits on a gilded throne, flanked by winged, falcon-headed lions. A passageway to the west stretches off into darkness.
The pharaoh depicted in the carvings and statues is Sekh-pa-Mefer III, the Pharaoh of Sphinxes.
The winged, falcon-headed creatures are known as hieracosphinxes.
Leif leads the way and is stopped by Melina before he can step on a pressure plate. She then points to the rocks attached to the ceiling above him.
Going around it takes you down a long hallway. Shafts of sunlight shine down from slots in the ceiling of this long, straight corridor, illuminating the piles of sand that have accumulated beneath each slot. Elaborate carved reliefs, their paint now faded with time, cover the walls on both sides of the passage, depicting the legendary deeds of a great pharaoh.
You walk about 300 feet down the causeway when you see a 10-foot-square pyramid blocking your path. As you ponder why such a thing would be here, it animates and charges on rollers!
It is a Rolling Pyramid. It is a large animated object made of stone. 2 questions.
Standard construct traits and hardness. It also tramples people.
Khamul is unable to identify the thing rolling towards him.
Melina calls out the Pharaoh's name and the Rolling Pyramid ignores her as it speeds forward until a vine comes out of nowhere and knocks it on its side. Khamul follows up with a scythe swing, though the strike seems to do no damage. Leif casts his spell, increasing his might.