The Forgotten God (Table 5)

Game Master Rednal

"I think there's more to it than a mere warning. We weren't addressed in Ancient Osiriani - or even Taldane. It spoke modern Common." Opening a portal in the air, Astoroth stowed away the scroll. It couldn't cause any trouble there. Once done, he continued down the hallway, his caution redoubled.

There were five halls here, including the one you'd come out of - far left, near left, center, near right (your entrance), and far right. Several had doors - which did you want to go down?

As they appear to lack doors, can I see inside the far left/right hallways?

Yes, but I figured it would be easier to show them on the map if you went down those halls, rather than trying to describe all of the areas at once. XD They both lead into basically rectangular rooms.

In that case, as long as there's nothing obviously interesting elsewhere, let's start with the rightmost room due to its closeness to my current position.

Vertical hieroglyphs cover the walls of this otherwise empty room.

They read: As the Pharaoh of Numbers traveled through Tumen, he passed a crippled beggar. Seeing the man’s plight, he deigned to pause and tossed the cripple the lowliest of coins from his purse. Crestfallen with the tiny treasure, the beggar tried to hide his disappointment. But the pharaoh noticed at once. “Why do you underestimate the gift I have given you?” the master asked. “For if you invest the coin, in time it doubles in value. Invest it once more and the coin doubles again. My coin comes with the gift of time and if leveraged wisely, soon you will be richer than all those around you.”

The final hieroglyph terminates just above a tiny hole in the center of the southeast wall and that the hole contains a single bronze coin, stamped with the Rune of Reckoning, the personal symbol of the Pharaoh of Numbers.

The coin was marked with a rune - fortunately one he'd already seen. And the hole created a pseudo ring around it. Definitely something to be avoided. Astoroth quickly retrieved a copper piece from a pouch and placed it in the hole on top of the runed coin.

Is there anything else of interest in the room? Take10 on Perception.

After some searching, you eventually find a secret trapdoor on the ceiling that... leads back out into the hallway. If there was a trap here (pfft, "if", who was anyone kidding?), that might've been useful. There didn't seem to be anything else of interest, though.

With a nod to himself, Astoroth returned to the hallway and proceeded to the far left room.

Four pillars adorn this great hall. A carved relief of a human-headed snake winds around each column, its mouth open in a silent scream.

Knowledge(nagas? or whatever it is): 1d20 + 15 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 15 + (1) = 26 (depending on the relevant skill, add up to an additional +3)
Perception take10 for a 28+1d6

Like all rooms, this had been made for a reason. Looking around, Astoroth scanned for magic auras.

There seemed to be some magic auras deep inside of the snakes, but they weren't moving, nor did they seem to be active despite having definite attributes of illusion. They'd probably stay that way unless you actually messed with them. If these were defenses, they didn't seem to be reacting to you.

The other rooms contained inscriptions related to the puzzles inside. This one appeared to be lacking that - curious. Perhaps a clue was missing that could be found elsewhere.

Moving to the room second from the left.

The walls of this square room are lined with hundreds of vertical hieroglyphs, each carved in exquisite tiny detail. The chamber resounds with the echo of a powerful drumbeat, the source of which is not apparent.

Frowning, Astoroth scanned the hieroglyphs for clues before attempting to locate the sound of the drumbeat. The fact that it hadn't been heard outside meant it was localized to this chamber.
Take10 on Perception. If nothing turns up, I'll also scan for magic auras, but I'll read the hieroglyphs first.

As you began your search of the room, the thumping sounds abruptly started to slow... as did your own heart.

Fort DC 20: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (4) + 18 = 22

Not that it had become dangerous quite yet. Still, this didn't seem like a particularly good sign.

I'll need an Intelligence check if you want to actually decipher the hieroglyphs.

INT: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Well, that's ironic.

Despite your best efforts, you were unable to decipher the intricate hieroglyphs detailing the walls. Maybe it was because your heart seemed to be slowing to a crawl and sending waves of lethargy through you as the thumping sound got slower and slower...

Fort DC 20: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (10) + 18 = 28

...although even in such conditions, your core nature was strong enough to hold off whatever effects this room was having on you.

This room was dangerous. Best not to linger any longer than necessary. Before exiting, he made a final visual sweep to make sure he hadn't overlooked anything.

Perception: 1d20 + 18 + 1d6 ⇒ (13) + 18 + (1) = 32

It didn't seem like you had - and as you pulled the doors shut, the thumping sound finally seemed to mute somewhat, fading into nothingness. Kozuri took a moment to check you over anyway, apparently a little concerned about whatever had been trying to hurt you.

Time to check out the middle room

A shallow pool rests in a basin with walls one foot off the floor. It is filled with a translucent, violet-tinged liquid, topped with a film of purple mist. A single stone ladle lies on the lip of the pool. There are no other exits to this circular chamber, though the southernmost point in the room contains a small hole.

An interesting room that was clearly meant to be some kind of puzzle. The lack of obvious hieroglyphs was odd, though.
Knowledge(purple liquid): 1d20 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + (5) = 12 (plus whatever double digit bonus is appropriate)

Take10 on Perception + divine for magic auras

Careful examination of the bowl's contents reveal that it seems to hold ten doses of potion of gaseous form. There's easily enough to bottle some and take it with you, should you have anything to carry it with...

I have unassigned extracts, so I figure that gives me several empty vials. :-) Want me to mark off some of my extracts-per-day?

It was clear what was expected of them. "It appears that we're supposed to turn gaseous if we wish to proceed deeper into the pyramid, Miss Kozuri. Would you care to join me?"

"Better than staying up here." she said cheerfully. "Let's get a few extra doses, just to be sure we have enough." Despite her cheerful tone, you could tell she was remembering her time trapped underground in the Infernal Engine, with no means of escape. It definitely wasn't an experience she was eager to repeat.

Retrieving some vials from his pack, Astoroth fills them with four doses of the liquid. After handing two of them to his companion, he drinks one and heads into the hole.

Passing into the hole, you soon here what sounds like music, created by your passage through the pipes - although there's a faint echo of sorts, given that Kozuri's right behind you. There seems to be more than one route here, but following the main passage, you emerge near another pool of potion - and into a short hallway. There's a small room just off to the side, before the hallway leads into a large open chamber up ahead.

The small chamber contains rows of stone shelving. Much of the room is empty save for several pairs of oversized boots made of lead. None of them are magical, nor do there seem to be any traps here.

Lead has two main properties: it blocks divination magic and is extremely heavy. The presence of the boots immediately before a main chamber is doubtless significant. They're probably intended to be worn. After taking a moment to analyze possible futures and counteract the boot's probable slowing effects, Astoroth slips on a pair.

Removing my temp HP to gain +10 movement speed. Also gaining a use of divine future as I forgot to put it up before entering the pyramid. If nothing happens once the boots are on (don't forget that I have Foresight), I'll proceed into the large chamber ahead.

Following your lead, Kozuri slipped on a pair of lead boots, and the two of you clomped down the hallway.

This huge central chamber has four exits, each covered by a great facade. The mosaic tiling on the stairs gives way to a great circle of pale white stone. As you first step foot inside, you're almost physically dragged dragged forward as the Book of Truths begins straining forward, physically trying to get closer to the center of the floor.

Through the hallway to the south, you can see what looks like the statue of a beetle. The other hallways seem to link together, eventually ending in an area to the west. There's a brief, muffled sound from that direction a few moments after you enter.

Ignoring his surroundings for the moment, Astoroth follows Book's pull. If it wants this strongly to go somewhere, it's clearly of the highest order of importance.

I'll take a double move or a Run action if necessary.

Ultimately, the Book leads you to the center of the chamber, where it continues to tug down towards the stone - but even after careful observation, you see no cracks or fractures of the type that would indicate some sort of hidden passageway. Indeed, to all appearances (both magical and mundane), it's as solid as... well, as stone.

A most curious conundrum. It was at times like this that Astoroth regretted not giving Book the capability to speak. To see what would happen, carefully laid Book on the stone floor, touched the ground with one hand, and waited a few seconds for some sort of response.

Trying to figure this out without resorting to Know Secrets. :-)

Aside from the book's continued attempts to move downwards, there was no reaction from the floor. Touching it with your skin, you could feel that something was beneath you - it wasn't a physical sense, but simply innate, absolute knowledge. The problem, then, was getting to it... a conundrum that might only be solved by the rest of the pyramid.

Unfortunately, Astoroth did not possess the ability to burrow through worked stone. Whatever was down here would have to be reached by other means. He'd heard movement in one of the other chambers. If the inhabitant was sentient, perhaps it knew a way down.

Let's head to that west chamber you mentioned.

Heading to the west, the corridor widens into a foyer, which in turn leads to a small vault beyond that has a bleak stone archway as its only entrance. Four stone alcoves line the foyer, two on each side. An upright sarcophagus of black stone rests in each alcove. This, however, is somewhat less interesting than the next chamber.

Almost a dozen large chests of iron line the walls of this small chamber. A huge stone mantle arcs around the room. In the mantle’s center rests a brilliant crimson crystal sphere. The sphere encases a smaller gemstone that slowly rotates inside it.

Lying on the floor is a creature whose head supports a massive crocodile jaw, surrounded by the wide hood of a king cobra. Its hands are giant toothy scorpion pincers and its segmented tail ends in a barbed scorpion stinger. Countless glittering scales cover most of its ten-foot-tall muscled form, and the rest of it is protected by a dull insectoid carapace. It's immediately recognizable as a Ghalshoaton - a rare devil outside their normal hierarchy, particularly known for their presence in lands like Osirion. It's quite definitely dead - there's a cavity in its chest, as if somebody had simply thrust their fingers into its torso to crush its heart, and no sign of regeneration or any other power that might bring it back.

Standing near the gem is a young, barefoot girl, and she turned to look as you approached the chamber. "Hm? Oh, I wasn't expecting anybody else to be here." she said, tilting her head slightly as she put her hands behind her back. "Mmm... oh! Ooooooh! I get it now! Ankana sent you here!" she clapped her hands delightedly. "This is perfect. I was just trying to figure out what to do with this place, and here you are! Call me Nia." she held out one hand, a big smile on her face. "I think we're going to be friends."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 20 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 20 + (1) = 24 (because this turn of events isn't weird or suspicious at all)

Astoroth stared at the girl for a long moment before taking her hand and giving it a single shake. "Your presence here is a surprise to me as well. I'm Astoroth, and this is my associate, Miss Kozuri. Have you been here long?"

As far as you can tell, her delight at your presence is genuine, and she doesn't seem to be lying - further, her handshake was a firm one, with no hesitancy at all. "Just a few hours." Nia put a forefinger on her lips, and their edges curled up slightly. "The front door isn't the only way to get here. Still, now that it's open, it's only a matter of time before Khymrasa's people find a way through. Did you know that she calls herself the Fourth Pharaoh in private? She thinks calling the Pharaohs of Ascension back will let her join their number, since Hetshepsu betrayed the others and got kicked out. It's never going to happen, of course." she snickered as Kozuri looked on. "Their pact didn't work like that - their fates are no longer tied together, and haven't been for ages. Besides, they mucked up. Anyway, you're much more interesting... what'cha here for, anyway? Power? Riches? Knowledge? All of the above? I don't mind people who think big, so don't think you'll sound greedy to me."

This girl was a strange one - and apparently quite knowledgeable about the Four Pharaohs. But she had come here from outside, which meant she had an agenda. What it was would need to be determined.

"Officially, Khymrasa's ordered me to locate some rare seeds. That's not my main concern, of course, but I don't mind staying on her good side for the moment, as - like you've surmised - the Radiant Pharaoh had a request of her own. For myself, though, suffice it to say that I'm a seeker of knowledge. And yourself?"

"Like I said, I'm a friend. A better friend than Ankana or Khymrasa, too." Nia answered, with a definite note of mischief in her voice. "You know they'd double-cross you the first moment they could. As for my other reasons, let's just say... there are a few things here that I don't want to fall into the wrong hands. For knowledge... Ankana promised you the Last Theorem, didn't she?" Nia hopped over to one of the chests, then bent down and opened it. A moment later, she pulled out a large book with solid veinstone covers - it probably weighed at least five pounds. "Ta-dah! It was here all along!" she held it out to you, then grabbed the gem from the back of the room and tossed it to Kozuri. "You'll want that, too - it's one of the pharaohs' Countdown Clocks, and the book's more useful if you have one of those." she explained. "Let's see... the Darcon Codicil's still here, but it'll be funny if she tries to use it, so we can leave it here. You'll want what's in that box..." she gestured to one of the chests. "...to fool her on your way out, though, and... I suppose all that's left is the core of the Pact Stone."

Is Astoroth this annoying when he interacts with people? XD

Nia IS human, right?
Identification: 1d20 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + (3) = 5 (+ approximately 16)
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Darcon Codicil: 1d20 + 15 + 1d6 ⇒ (18) + 15 + (6) = 39 (+3 if it's an arcana or religion check)

The girl's overt friendliness combined with extreme familiarity about the tomb's contents was ... odd. Particularly when there was a good chance she was responsible for the devil's untimely demise. Calmly, he placed the indicated items in his extradimensional pocket. There, at least, they wouldn't cause any harm. "If I may ask, why the generosity and interest in my well-being? Such things are rarely offered unless the giver stands to gain something in return."

...Not usually. XD Maybe in that conversation in the tent when you were trying to get the job.

Nia certainly looked human - although, given the massive number of disguises available throughout the universe, the best most people could say was "probably" when asked whether or not anything was actually what it seemed to be. This tended to give new philosophers fits as they tried to figure out if 'Truth' was even possible to know. (A detail you'd often helped them with, given the nature of your Book.)

The Darcon Codicil, on the other hand, was something you'd actually heard of - it was a book said to have been written by the Fiend Pharaoh, containing the true names of several dozen devils and demons. Rather valuable, if quite evil indeed.

"I'm bored, and losing these things is going to piss off Khymrasa." Nia said, still seeming entertained as she answered your question. "Her ambitions are way bigger than her ability. Keeping stuff out of her hands is a good enough reason for me, since anything truly fun would just go to waste." she hopped forward and strolled into the corridor, heading towards the big central chamber. "Let's see, what was it..." she murmured. "Ah!" she bit her thumb, then flicked a bit of blood onto the floor. Color ran out from where the blood landed, and in moments the entire stone was dyed crimson. "...Out of curiosity, where do you think magic comes from?" she inquired as steps began to appear in the rock.

An interesting question, to be sure. "I don't think anyone truly knows - aside from Nethys, of course. Perhaps that knowledge is the reason for his unfortunate condition." There was a reason Astoroth had never sought true omniscience. Unlimited anything tended to have nasty side effects. "My personal theory is that what we call 'magic' is actually an energy source from another dimension. That's why it can be used to warp reality: we're tapping into something that our universe literally doesn't have the capability to understand - like if a paintbrush was introduced to a two-dimensional world."

Nia thought about that for a sec. "Huh." she said. "Sounds wonky to me - but it does tend to come out of nowhere, doesn't it?" the steps in the stone turned in a tight spiral down to the very bottom. "Consider Exhibit A, which-" The stone kept sinking, revealing a single piece of paper in the middle of the stone. The moment it came into view, recognition nearly knocked you flat - it was definitely a fragment of your soul. Your Book lifted up and tugged forward of its own accord, straining to reach the parchment - and you could see the paper straining against the clamps that held it in place, trying to get closer in turn. "What the fu-"

"AHEM." Kozuri coughed. Nia just looked between the page and your book... then narrowed her eyes and snatched the paper from its clamps.

"There's no answer here that makes sense... so the only possibility is something that doesn't make sense." the jester-like girl said. "Okay, I can't not see how this turns out... and it's not like I had any other plans for this thing aside from keeping it away from Khymrasa." she let go of the page, and it began to steadily move through the air and towards the Book of Truths. "A very long time ago, that page was used as the foundation of the magic ritual that sealed the fates of four Pharaohs together - it provided enough magical energy once a year to alter destiny itself. This stone was the device they used to trigger and channel its power into something they could use. I know you already introduced yourself, but... who are you, Astoroth?"

Astoroth remained silent for a long moment, staring intently at the page as it floated toward him. When he responded, his voice was deathly serious. "That question is perhaps more complicated than you realize, Miss Nia. And my answer would have lasting repercussions that I am unable to prevent. Are you sure you really want to know?" With this question, he ceased staring at the page and made direct eye contact with his questioner. "Who are you?"

Activating know secrets. I'm not requesting any specific information, as I have a feeling you already have something in mind. ;-)

For just a moment, Nia appeared just as she had - then dozens of overlapping forms covered her in your sight - young and old, male and female, human and very much not, all jumbled together into a chaos no mortal mind could even begin to sort through. You suddenly had the sense that something very large had just turned its attention to you.

[I AM.]

The vision vanished, leaving Nia looking just as she had before - but even more amused. "You should be careful with things like that." she said. "You might see something you shouldn't."

Make a Will DC 25 save versus Insanity, or expend three mythic power to automatically pass.

Will: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26

Would I happen to glean anything from that i.e. did I just scan a Great Old One/deity/etc? Is there, alternately, a mysterious void in my knowledge/understanding similar to that regarding Book's missing pages? Or is she giving off the same vibe that Lady Death did?

You are able to reason out a few pieces of information by drawing on what you already know. The Great Old Ones are enormously powerful and nearly impossible for mortals to comprehend - but they are no more than semidivine at best, and thus something that your ability to divine secret knowledge surpasses. Anything that has a strange effect on your knowledge must be something of at least equal power. Nia doesn't feel like Death - who is clearly on an entirely different level of existence.

Well, as I'd figured, using that ability was either a really good OR really bad idea. I've also learned that Astoroth has a little bit of hubris. Apparently he's still getting used to being mortal. I look forward to seeing how things play out. XD

Barely escaping with his mind intact, Astoroth takes a second to analyze what just happened. "You're quite an interesting individual, Miss Nia. To answer your question: like you, there's more to me than meets the eye. Unless you feel like sharing as well, I'd suggest we leave it at that for the time being."

What's the status of Book's page?

It was slowly floating towards you. XD You didn't actually do anything to grab it yet.

"Smart plan." Nia said, a twinkle in her eyes. The page reached you a moment later, and the Book of Truths opened up to snatch it. As it did, a new surge of power flooded into you - and more importantly, you felt significantly more whole than before.

You've leveled up, and reached Tier 3 of Mythic Power! In addition, you've recovered a new Divine Ability: Recharge Sphere Magic! Unlike most divine abilities, this is a permanent rule change, and followed the outline we discussed before. You probably haven't forgotten, but as a reminder, you're expected to take [Divine Source] as one of your two mythic path abilities at this tier. It's plot-relevant. XD