Max winces and shields his eyes as the dawn arrives. He may not remember much of the night before, but he suspects he had too much fun for his own good. His plodding, hung over stride gives way to more boundless enthusiasm the closer to the assigned crypt they get. By the time the Serpents arrive, he is his normally upbeat self.
"Hmmm.. Did anyone bring a shovel?" he asks "Wait, maybe there is another way in." The halfling starts to carefully circumnavigate the buildings, poking suspicious seems and generally on the lookout for any other entrances.
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Appraising the situation for several moments before simply saying, "I did not," Cerastes frowns in thought. After a few more moments the warrior priest unslings his shield and hefts it experimentally. Approaching the door he begins to work at removing sand with the makeshift shield-shovel until Max returns from his exploration.
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Ra-Khefer stood at ease as the dawn rose, his eyes pleasantly bleared and mind empty.
When the gates opened, he gritted his teeth in distaste at the crowd of tomb robbers surged through. He sighed in resignation, made the sign of the guardian of the dead and stepped forward to join them.
At the tomb, he gazed on the face at the facade with embarrassment at what was about to happen.
When he realized Cerastes was digging, he unslung his own shield and set to work assisting.
Lori watched as Cerastes and Ra-Khefer approached the pile of sand and began to dig. "No" she said sharply. "No, no, no, no, no," she repeated, throwing and infant like temper tantrum. She approached the pile of sand with a look of horror on her face before she began to help with the digging, using her hands since she lacked a tool like the others.
"I really need to buy a boat" she mutters to herself.
Inferis stretches and seems to soak in the sun. "I don't have a shovel either." As she watches the others did, she studies the markings on the tomb.
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DM's dice roll
Lori's initial inspection reveals that the doors are on concealed hinges and swing outward. There are also telltale traces of mortar along the seams and jamb that has since crumbled or been chipped away, indicating that the doors were meant to be sealed permanently and not intended to be opened again.
It takes an hour of digging to clear the sand away enough to open the doors.By the time you are finished you are hot and covered in sweat.
The name of the individual interred within the tomb, Akhentepi, is engraved upon the doors in Osiriani, along with the dates of his birth and death, indicating that the deceased was born in 2416 AR and died in 2488 AR, which, Inferis will remind you, was 11 years before the Plague of Madness decimated most of the city.
There are no handles on the doors to assist with opening them. Max's circumnavigation of the building discovered no other entrances hidden or otherwise.
Once he gets back to the entrance, Max assists with the digging as best he can. Due to his size, this mostly consists making sure the sand pile Cerastes and Ra-Khefer are making doesn't flow back upon them and fanning them. "If we do this again, we should bring a bolt of cloth to set up a canopy."
Once the entrance is cleared, the halfling takes a minute to run his sword blade along the seam, routing out the grout and making one last check for any nasty surprises.
"Let's all stand back a bit while one person opens it, just in case. Actually, maybe we'll get lucky here." Safely away from the entrance, Max recites a small invocation of opening at the door.
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Max's investigation of the door reveals no traps and shows up something you had missed till now.
There are definite signs of someone attempting entry to the tomb, namely there is a space in the join of the doors caused by the insertion of a crowbar or similar object.
Lacking a similar tool and with Max's Cantrip failing to make any impression, Cerastes is reduced to wedging his fingers into the space left and tugging at the door., but it is not until Ra-Khefer adds his strength to the mans efforts that the 1500 lb door begins to open..
Once the door is open far enough the dwarf and man get to the inside edge and push which is much easier. There are no handles on the inside either and both Cerastes and the Dwarf are breathing heavily by the time they get it open.
This rectangular room is empty save for some engravings and fixtures upon the walls, a pair of heavy stone doors to the north,and an immense stone wheel against the south wall. The air is stale, and a layer of dust and sand covers the floor, lying in a thicker layer to the south.
All four walls bear sunk-relief engravings and hieroglyphs, while small stone faces are affixed to the walls at about shoulder height in each corner. The stone wheel to the south is engraved with a large spiral and is set in stone tracks in the floor and ceiling.
Having paced out the tombs dimensions Max is immediately aware that this room is too small to constitute the entire interior.
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Shaking his head after they shove the door fully open, the big man comments to himself, "There has got to be better ways of doing this..." He gives the door an even further shove open once he gets a smell of the stale air, "Could the air be bad in the entire place?" The Oracle begins studying the carved walls.
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The hieroglyphs on the walls are Ancient Osiriani and with the engravings, they describe the life of the tomb’s enshrined occupant, Akhentepi, a celebrated military commander who presided over the troops garrisoned in Wati prior to the city’s downfall.
The hieroglyphs warn, “Akhentepi’s tomb is well defended, and those who defile it tempt the wrath of the gods.” An additional warning advises, “The only thing the Lady of Graves despises more than the grave robber is the unsuccessful grave robber,” followed by a final admonishment to “turn back while you can.”
Knowledge(Religion)
Cerastes identifies the spiral on the stone wheel as the symbol of Pharasma, and recognizes that two of the carved faces in the room’s corners depict Pharasma.
The other two faces are the likeness of Anubis, the ancient Osirian god of burials and mummification. Closer examination of the faces also reveals them to be decorative torch holders, such that when torches are placed within them, a corona of flame surrounds the deities’ heads
Lori walks into the empty mausoleum and looks around. "Is this really it? Please tell me there's more. I thought these Ancient Orisiani people build lavish tombs not empty rooms."
She hears Cerastes read off the the hieroglyphs and listens. When he finishes she walks beside him and stares at some of the markings. "These are words? I thought they were just bad pictures."
Max finds a petrified branch to use as a doorjamb. No sense in getting trapped inside if some kind of mechanism decides to spring. "So... put in some torches or spin the wheel? Also, does anyone else find it a little strange that they'd pay homage to both Pharasma and Anubis? I thought the gods didn't care much for competition."
Ra-Khefer determines that the wheel is in fact a door.He also works out it weighs in the region of 5,700 lbs
Lori notices Ra-Khefer studying the wheel and looked over at it as well. "Alright, I'll bite. I take it that's the door? How do we get past it? It looks a lot heavier than the previous door."
Inferis thinks about the riddle for a minute. "I agree with Max. Let's put the torches in the holders and be ready."
"Agreed. If that doesn't do anything, we can try lighting them as well." says Max.
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Cerastes frowns, "No, I didn't bring any torches either. I can use divine power to light areas ahead of us though." He looks at the round stone door, "With Ra's help we may be able to just roll it out of the way...like a wheel." He gets in place to one side and begins to shove as he grunts out, "Grrruhhh, come on....Ra...help me..."
Max places the torches in the Anubis holders.
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Cerastes and Ra-Khefer heave at the wheel which slides surprisingly easily to one side.it gives no indication of rolling back.
The torches fit nicely into the heads. Nothing else occurs.
Beyond the door lies a 20' square room which is starkly devoid of any markings or adornment. In the center of the chamber’s floor, a square shaft drops straight down into darkness. A faint musty odor rises from the pit. A single piton has been hammered into the stone floor by the northeast corner of the pit, and a dusty length of rope dangles from the piton into the darkness of the shaft.
Quickly retrieving the torches, Max makes a survey of the newly accessible room. "Bad news is, this place might already be empty. Good news is whoever it was probably set all the traps off already." Assuming there is nothing else of interest in this chamber, Max shimmies down the rope as quietly as he can.
"Well scratch the good news. Who's got another rope?"
"Always." Max responds, then heads down.
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The piton is actually quite well secured
The Shaft is 50' deep but the rope makes it a DC 5 climb check so I will assume you all take 10 and even the weakest off you manages down safely.
Mirrored images of a warrior in side profile, facing inward, are carved on an ornate pair of stone doors in the west wall of this square room. The figure is depicted wearing padded armor, with a scarab-shaped shield on the arm facing the viewer, and a raised khopesh held aloft in the other.
A crumpled humanoid body lies directly in front of the doors. A hint of decay hangs in the air, and a dried stain mars the stone floor under the body. The square shaft in the ceiling leads straight up into darkness.
From this perspective, the purpose of the shaft rooms becomes evident—they’re deathtraps without a mechanism. Creatures that descend the shaft without a reliable means to climb back out are effectively trapped, permanently.
The opening in the center of the ceiling is 10 feet up with no adjoining walls, making it next to impossible to climb back out without a well-secured rope at the top of the shaft, flight,or magic.
Lori scrunches her face as she makes it down the rope into the lower room. "Good gods something smells like death," she says and pinches her nose. In the flickering of the firelight she notices the decayed and crumpled body of a tomb raider by the doors. "Oh, that's why," she says softly.
She sighed deeply and drew her pistol. "Alright, Adora, game time's about to start. Gonna show whatever behind those doors who's boss." she says as she pats the side of her pistol with her free hand.
"It wasn't anything through the door that got him." Max is completely serious for once. Carefully, the halfling inches forward, checking the floor for pressure plates and the carvings for any kind of mechanism as he goes. He he gingerly grabs the corpse's boot and tries to drag it away from the door. If it looks like this action will cause dismemberment, he stops. Once a safe distance from the door, he covers his mouth in a scrap of cloth and with a grunt, flips the body over.
"I suppose we ought to haul the poor bugger up with us when we leave. This isn't his tomb and I can't imagine the original occupant would have been keen on sharing it with him."
"Unless he is undead I don't think we should touch it. Honor the dead and all that."
"I just want to know what got him. A poisoned dart, a hidden scythe, or something else, so we don't fall for the same thing." Max explains. After he is done examining the body, the little man makes sure to wipe off his hands with a handkerchief.
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Unfortunately Max is unable to determine the cause of death nor does he find any traps in the room.
If anyone can make a DC 12 Heal check
The corpse wears an intact back pack and belt pouch. His other gear is crumbling away.
Max takes a look see inside the dead man's packs.
Cerastes diagnosis makes Max a bit more comfortable with opening up the door. The halfing makes sure everyone is a safe distance, then snaps his fingers and says "Open Sesame."
Lori stares at Max for moment. "I don't get it? I thought you were suppose to be magic." She says with a teasing grin. "Guess we should let the big boys with their new toy get it for us." She says before turning her attention towards Cerastes and Ra-Khefer and giving them a sly smile and wink.
Inferis smiles at Lori's comment. "These boys should be able to get the door open." Inferis waits as she absently rubs her signet ring.
"One of these days it'll work, I swear." Max draws and cocks his crossbow in preparation for whatever guardians may be lurking beyond the door.
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Surprisingly the door is not locked and moves slightly at Cerastes' shove.Only the slightest exertion is required to open them.
The walls of this ten-foot-wide corridor feature bas-relief carvings of great battles. Armies with spears and shields clash at the direction of generals, while other leaders direct troops from chariots that are ruthlessly overrunning their enemies. Engraved stone double doors stand at either end of the hallway. They resemble the carvings on the outside of the doors but here the man is older and seems to be directing the battle.You assume this is Ankhtepi in his glory as a military man.
Once again, max takes care to ensure that no pressure plates or the like present and makes his way into the hallway to have a better look at the next door.