”The nostalgia of things unknown, of lands forgotten or unfound, is upon me at times. Often I long for the gleam of yellow suns upon terraces of translucent azure marble, mocking the windless waters of lakes unfathomably calm; for lost, legendary palaces of serpentine, silver and ebony, whose columns are green stalactites; for the pillars of fallen temples, standing in the vast purpureal sunset of a land of lost and marvellous romance. I sigh for the strange and hidden cities of the desert, with burning brazen domes and slender pinnacles of gold and copper, that pierce a heaven of heated lazuli.”
It's not that easy to track down Jomana movements inside the house, but you are certain that she went to the desk where the dagger was, and from there, you can't tell anymore. There's nothing that suggests she actually left the house. The barricade is the same as last night, all the windows are sealed shut.
At this point, you also believe that she was the one that took the dagger.
If and when you guys decide to leave the house:
Jomana: Gather Info DC 14:
One of the locals, one that saw you leave the inn last night, also saw earlier in the morning Jomana walking towards the city marketplace, which coincidently is held at the Square of the Green Peacock.
Square of the Green Peacock: Gather Info or Local DC 12:
The Square of the Green Peacock is located at the border between Belthaar’s Trade and Pleasure Districts, and as such it attracts a curious mix of merchants and entertainers, the latter including skilled dancers, fakirs and stage-magicians, as well as animal-handlers with trained beasts, and sword-masters stagng mock combats with their apprentices. And of course there are the ever-present beggars and cutpurses among the crowds, too.
The large square, 100 feet long and 80 feet wide, is practically deserted at night. It is well-known that there is an entrance to the city’s catacombs here, and few care to dawdle around after sunset, when the sinister priests known as the Keepers come out to perform their grisly funerary duties.
The entrance doors to the catacombs are sealed and locked during the day, but at midnight the Keepers walk in solemn procession out from the funerary shrine at the eastern side of the Square, across the plaza, and into the catacombs. The priests carry embalmed corpses that reek of bitumen and spices into the crypts, as well as golden urns that contain the ashes of lesser men and women. This they do every night, except on nights when the stars move into certain dire constellations and it is deemed ill-fated to open the doors to the
tombs.
"We need to go check out this Square of the Green Peacock. Case the area. See if it has guards, are there people moving about, see if we can spot Jomana. No sense in getting ourselves killed looking for her. We can adjust when we find her." Brand says in his usual brusque style.
"The Square is out near the border of the Pleasure and Trade districts - I know the place. The entrance to the catacombs will be locked during the day, but we might be able to get in at night when the priests open it. But perhaps, in the meantime, we should ask around first to see if anyone has seen Jomana."
"I don't do that sneaking around thing but we need someone to keep an eye on the entrance during the day to see if anyone is going in and out. As for getting information, just tell whose knuckles you want broken. We'll get info." Brand says obviously ready to take out his anger on someone.
After some discussion on what to do, the party left the house in search of Jomana, asking around if anyone saw her, and apart from Brands breaking knuckles approach, all others got similar description: Someone resembling her was seen going towards the Square of the Green Peacock, but the trails ends there, with no clue to where she might have gone after.
Knowing that you would probably have to deal with the Cult of the Keepers one way or the other, the party also tried to gather info on them.
With the rolls above, I think only Brand didn't learn about this.
Local | Gather info DC 10:
It is the custom and the law that all who die within the walls of Belthaar, from commoners to kings, are delivered into the hands of the silent priests of Yadar after their death.
==//==
Local | Gather info DC 14:
It is the sacred duty of these Keepers to remove the corpse, and to wash and purify the body. If the bereaved have left a well-filled purse for the Keepers, the corpse is usually preserved and embalmed with utmost skill by the priests; otherwise the corpse is burned and the ashes placed in urns of clay, bronze, or sometimes even gold.
==//==
Local | Gather info DC 16:
The Cult of the Keepers also maintains and guards the extensive network of catacombs and crypts beneath the city, where the urns and the mummies are placed after the funereal ceremonies. No-one except the priests are allowed to enter the catacombs, but on certain days friends and family of the deceased may come to the Shrine of the Keepers and place offerings on the altar of Yadar to ensure the well-being of lost ones. It is even said that when such offerings are plentiful, the priests may unlock the doors to the catacombs and allow brief visits to private crypts.
==//==
Local | Gather info DC 18:
Others whisper that the mute, cowled priests are actually ghouls, who carry away and eat the dead, and that they guard only empty urns and coffins in the catacombs. Such rumors remain unproven.
==//==
So, what are you doing now? Anything else you want to investigate? Brute force your way into the catacombs/temple? play dead? sneak in while the priests are performing their rites? Or do anything else, for that matter?
Brand worked on sneering too much and asking too few questions. Luckily, everyone else was busily gathering useful intel. Assuming the information is shared with him, Brand recommends going in during the day. Maybe they are ghouls, perhaps vampires. It is bad enough we will have to risk going into the catacombs, may as well have a bright sunny day to our backs. Plus, if the Kult is more active during the day and they are human, most likely, then the majority of them should be resting during the day. If none of the useful intel was overheard or shared, Brand follows along, sneering at passers by and getting grumpier by the minute.
Female (masquerading as male) civilized Yar-Ammonite Druid | HP 14/14 | AC 17 T 11 FF 16 | Fort +6, Ref +1, Will +4 | Init +1 | Per +6 | Speed 30 ft |
"If we attack during the day won't we be noticed and draw the whole city down on us? I don't like waiting until nightfall but I'm not sure that I see an alternative"
Farya shares what she knows of the Cult of the Keepers - how they take care of all the dead and the catacombs, and how visitors could be permitted. "Attack? No, that would be a bad idea. If there aren't any guards at the entrance and it's out of the way, I could try to pick the lock, but we'll have to see to be sure. I don't think we have enough money between us to try and get them to open up on their own."
Male l Unchained Barb 1 l HP: 6/14 l Rage 5/6 l AC:16 FF:14 T:12 l Fort:4 Ref:2 Will:1 l CMB:4 CMD:16 l Init: 2
Attacks:
Greatsword(PA&FF) +4 2d6+7 19-20x2 S // Cestus +4 1d4+3 19-20x2 B or P // 3x Javelin +4 1d6+3 20x2 P 30 ft range
Skills:
Acrobatics 5 l Climb 6 l Intimidate 3 l K-Nature 5 l Perception 7 l Ride 5 l Survival 5 l Swim 2
Looking puzzled about the concept of a catacomb, Gornash finally speaks up; “This is why it is best to burn the dead. No remains for Ghouls to feast upon. Farya, if you can unlock it and then lock it once we are through it would leave less of a trail that we have been there... but we would be locked in with whatever is down below.”
Sorry for the delay. I’m on vacations and family decided to go on a trip to the countryside, and my mom wanted to stay a couple more days... and no internet connection. >.<
There's also the fact the original owner of the dagger probably got it on the tombs, how did he get inside without raising alarm? the rolls below are two separate rolls.
Gather Info DC 20:
There's a rumor that some tomb robbers know of a passage on the square of the green which leads inside the mausoleum.
Gather Info DC 22:
There's rumors there's a secret passage to the catacombs inside The Shrine of the Keepers, but no one confirmed that yet.
Also, just to make clear: The shrine and the Mausoleum are two different locations. The keepers leave the shrine at night, on a procession thru the square until they reach the catacombs entrance.
All around, the peddlers sell their wares, while common folk moves around on their business. The hard stare of the guardsman on your group, which haven’t done anything for some time now other than staying together discussing strategy. Some of the guards give you hard stares, their hands on their weapons, a clear message they are watching you and will respond with violence if you try anything out of the ordinary.
Male Taikangian Zen Archer (Monk)1 | HP 12/12 | AC 16/T16/FF14 | F+2, R+4, W+6 | Perc +8 | Init +6 | Move: 30ft
"In my home we are able to visit our ancestors whenever we feel the need. Is that not so here? Can we not simply enter the place in the guise of visiting our beloved departed?"
Fa Ying wanders over to a food vendor and purchases a skewer of some sort of meat and a piece of flat bread.
Farya isn't too quick to notice the guards' stares, but she does eventually. "What, people can't stand around and chat here?", she mutters, before wandering off to try and ask around about the catacombs. But, nobody she asks seems to have any new information.
”Any other day I’d trade glower for glower with those chowder heads but we need to find Jomana. Obviously we want as little attention as possible. My gut tells me its the catacombs we need to check. If we can get in unobserved, I’d rather do it during the day. Otherwise night is our best option. Brand says before drifting off with Farya. He’s not much for gabbing with the locals so he just listens.
Male Taikangian Zen Archer (Monk)1 | HP 12/12 | AC 16/T16/FF14 | F+2, R+4, W+6 | Perc +8 | Init +6 | Move: 30ft
While taking his leisure and eating his kabab and pita, the young man strikes up a few conversations with others buying food, as well as the vendor himself. Being new to the city, he asks the usual questions of where to find a good place to stay, good food and drink and where to purchase goods. He also sprinkles into his conversation a little about his homeland, and that he trained with holy men in his youth and asks about the religious traditions of the city, hoping to learn more about the catacombs.
The group decides it's best not to provoke the guards unnecessarily and after purchasing some small trinkets or street food, they move about, trying to learn tidbits on how to enter the catacombs, and it doesn't take much to learn there are different entrances, mainly used by tomb-robbers to enter the place.
That takes the group back to the gutter, where the street-rats and the lowest of the low lives. Some questions, and a few broken fingers laters, you arrive at what at first seems to be an abandoned house.
The sun falls towards the mountains, casting the dying daylight over a decrepit building. The trashed looking house has no propper door and rotting planks of wood blocks that could have been windows years ago. Inside the house, which your information pointed out, lives some tomb robbers and they know how to enter the place.
Inside, you notice several bottles of cheap booze and alcoholic beverages which none of you would dare to drink, and two completely passed out drunkards.
As you enter the place, from a side room, emerges another drunkard, and the first looks startled, then scared, then his eyes fall on Farya and he licks his lips before asking. "The hell are ye and ye want?"
Farya returns the drunkard's lascivious look with a death stare before Brand nearly destroys the wall with the man's body. Without changing her facial expression, she draws one of her long daggers and twirls it about nonchalantly.
aid intimidate, not that it's needed (probably):1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
