Then a swarm of hairless cats boil out of the nooks and crevices to surround Max, Cerastes and Ra.
They claw and bite you!
Max takes damage.
Cerastes takes damage.
Ra takes damage.
It is a swarm of undead cats called an Ubashki Swarm (you are allowed to look it up).
Inferis waits until her allies are clear and then blasts the cats with a wave of fire.
Round 1__________
Cerastes_____
"Serpent's fangs, An Ubashki swarm! Weapons will hurt them but it's difficult to catch more than one in a swing." He spends the round trying to detach several of the small beast from his arms. He'll back toward B12.
Ra_____
Ra lashed out with his axe, felling one cat before he rolled/stumbled back out of the swarm.
(npc) Max_____
Max lashed out with his sword, but he missed the cats before he rolled clear.
Inferis 'al Marris_____
Inferis waits until her allies are clear and then blasts the cats with a wave of fire.
after Cerastes moves out, then I'll move up and cast burning hands so that it doesn't hit any of my allies.
Ibrahim the Sand Sage_____
"Maxelmish! Cerastes, Ra stand clear and Inferis and I shall burn them away!"
Ibrahim prepares to cast produce flame he will wait until his allies clear the swarm before unleashing the fire.
ENEMIES__________
The swarm rolled over Ibrahim and Ra, scratching, clawing and biting , dealing to Ibrahim and to Ra.
Swarm: 14
Round 2__________
Players take their turn in order of posting, enemies will go last.
Inferis moves and summons the power of her ring to blast the swarm with fire again.
Round 2__________
Cerastes_____
Having removed the last of his attackers from his arms, the oracle advances back on the ubashki swarm and tries to smash the undead cats with his Warhammer.
Inferis 'al Marris_____
Inferis moves and summons the power of her ring to blast the swarm with fire again.
use arcane bond to cast burning hands on the swarm and aim it so it doesn't hit any allies.
Ibrahim the Sand Sage_____
Ibrahim twists away from the swarm of biting and clawing undead cats 5 foot step to G6 his hands still engulfed in magical fire he reaches in the swarming mass to burn away the undead before him.
The battle is over.
When you search the chamber, you find nothing of magic or treasure.
The only passageway left unexplored, at the south end of the room, ends in a short, wide flight of steps that descends to a set of stone double doors.
Max goes and checks the door.
PENTHERUS TOMB
Max went to work on the door, and it was soon unstuck, disarmed and unlocked.
Opening the door you see 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.
Max murmurs something under his breath and he starts to look about.
... 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 prosperity and 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.
Max cannot find any traps or locks.
Inferis checks the hieroglyphs, "Humm, they 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 prosperity and 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."
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Cerastes nods his head slowly in agreement with Inferis' translation, "Then surely there must be more riches within the sarcophagus." After Max gives him the thumbs up that no traps exist up to or on the sarcophagus the oracle indicates that Ra should grab the other side and help him lift the lid off to open the crypt.
With a herculean heave, Cerastes and Ra manage to break the brittle clay sealing the sarcophagus and slide the heavy stone lid halfway aside, revealing a corpse wrapped in the ceremonial bandages of mummification.
There is even a mummified cat laying along side the body.
Then...
It seems to you that the cat's head turned in your direction; then it's eyes popped open! It's emerald green eyes boring into your soul!
Max Npc'd: will save vs. fear
Inferis will save vs fear
Both feel a wave of fear before sorting through it.
Ra also leapt back with an oath, nearly turning and running away before mastering himself again.
That is all that happens in this chamber. Whenever the lid of the sarcophagus is opened, that same unreasoning spike of fear came from the cat mummy, which detects as magic.
MUMMIFIED GUARDIAN PRICE 3,500 GP
SLOT none CL 3rd WEIGHT 3 lbs.
AURA faint necromancy
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 corpseUM.
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.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS COST 1,750 GP
Craft Wondrous Item, alarm, sanctify corpseUM, scare, creator
must have 5 ranks in the Heal skill.
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.
In addition, several small semiprecious stones worth a total of 40 gp can be pried off of the sarcophagus.
If the gold trim is salvaged from the sarcophagus, it is worth an additional 10 gp.
With that, you have completely explored Pentheru's Mansion.
Congratulations on gaining your third level! Post your build in Discussion.
"Well, the mumified guardian is worth something; however, it serves a dual purpose of ensuring that the body is not defiled by necrotic magic. Perhaps we should just leave it be."
The rest of the party is in agreement to take the mummified cat, despite Ra's objections.
With that, you pick up everything you have and return to the blowing sands of the Necropolis of Wati. The path to the Forbidden Gate is clear and you have no problems passing through.
You see several other exploration parties along the way, but not as many as you should have.
Returning to the Tooth and Hookah, tired and exhausted, it seems like another world full of light and sound.
Inferis arches her back before wiping the sweat from her brow. "I could use some cold wine. And probably something stronger if I'm to talk to the priests. Cerastes? You up to it?"
At this point, Ra withdraws from the expedition. He explains that he has been recalled by his clan and he returns the adamantine heavy flail you found in the grainery.
Max also withdraws, but without explanation.
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Cerastes approaches the priests to give his report in his deep rumbling voice, "We have cleared the House of Pentheru of all dangers and recovered these items from the ruins." For such a big man he shows surprising gentleness with each of the recovered artifacts as he lays them out for inspection. "The place suffers from the cult of lamashtu's madness curse that had been placed long ago during the Plague of Madness." He gingerly places the bones of the guards and residents in front of the Pharasmans, "We collected these as one of the restless spirits said she would be unable to rest in peace unless they were properly buried. We discovered a desecrated household chapel, dedicated to Abadar, Pharasma, and Sarenrae. Perhaps you would like to send some priests to reconsecrate it." He also regales them with the history we discovered of the place, 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. Their prosperity and success as land managers, the justness with which the family lived their lives, and the care with which they treated their slaves and servants. [b]"These are the tales we were able to glean from the house and tomb beneath.
If I never see another scything wall, dancing kopesh, or collapsing ceiling it will be too soon. Poor tom and jerry, they didn't deserve to turn into so much paste. They died as Kurgess would have, ten thousand curses upon those who build traps for the honest.
We finished exploring the deathtrap you sent us to. Some insane wizard apprentice's tomb. It explains why he was buried away from the rest of them. Apparently he went mad and had to be entombed alive. Ghastly. Not that there's much to show for it. All of his papers had rotted by the time we got there. The southern entrance is fine, mind the loose sand on the ledge, but the northern escape is collapsed now and will have to be dug out. Some kind of delayed release and they wouldn't listen to the Nagaji. If you dig it out, you can probably salvage the adamantine tablet we found, no idea what state tom and jerry will be in, I doubt the glass vases survived the collapse. The tablet should be in Tom's pack. It had writing in dwarven and osirian on it, so it might be useful for a linguist. The apprentice's body was deformed. Tom thought he'd had contact with the outer realms somehow, but I don't know enough about such things to guess.
Here's the kopesh, I have no idea how to activate it, but if one of your scholars wants to play with it I suggest they chain it down. It nearly took jerry's arm off at the shoulder when he tripped it's command by mistake. Sirusk and I will be in the Hookah if you have any other questions, Kurgess willing the next assignment will be less falling rock and more interesting archeology.
She lays the kopesh on the table for the priests, and starts to walk away, then turns suddenly and looks at Cerastes a moment as if listening to a far away voice. He finishes speaking and she nods at him to catch his gaze.
Join us for a drink at the hookah? You feel familiar, stranger.
Her hair tangles a moment, and she ties it back without losing a beat, then walks away with an exaggerated limp.
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Brilliant white teeth contrast with his ebony skin as he smiles. The big man nods and the deep bass of his voice rumbles over her as he responds, "Have we met? Perhaps as we were getting our assignments from the priests? No matter, it is not often that I receive such an attractive invitation, I certainly could use something wet to wash away the taste of dust." As he settles his large frame onto the stool at the Hookah, a serving wench passing by loses control of her platter and spills the ale contents over a nearby exploration group that was just knocking the dust off their clothes. He ignores the complaints and apologies going on behind him and says to Rose, "I could not help to overhear that you have had Set's own luck in your explorations. We have fared better but also lost a number of our finer members to......fatigue. They think they have revealed the mirage of riches for what it is but I know if you dig just a few feet under the piracha cactus, that water can be found. Just takes some dedication against the shifting sands." He glances toward the door as a woman and man enter and raises a hand in invitation for them to join him, "Inferis...Ibrahim, join us. This is Rose and Sirusk. I have news from the Pharasmas."
Rose looks up as the others sit down nodding genially then continues the discussion.
The trick is having a bloody shovel, kurgess forgive me. It was so obvious and yet, my first thought when presented with half a ton of sand is still games on the beach, not shelter and digging. This desert will teach me new skills I'm sure, the question is how many calluses will I have from learning them.
She lifts the glass, in a toast.
To companions, fallen, lost, and gone home to the sands.
She drinks in one long drink, then sets the empty glass down and pauses a moment.
Now what's this you say about better luck? I'd be happy to know more about the expeditions you've been on. You and I seem to have some gifts in common, and perhaps some burdens?
"Yez, thiz one is saddened at the losss of our expedition but is pleaszed to be alive along with Lady Thornbright; when thiz one saysz hold for trapss, you should hold.", the sizeable nagaji stands up and undoes the clasp from his keffiyeh revealing his green serpentine face and reptilian eyes. "Such a shame to have sso little to claim from the tomb though."
Sirusk raises his glass with Rose, "to companionsz, old and new, lost and found, and to life, so often short but also rich".
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He toasts to their comrades and then chuckles and shakes his head at some memory, "You are far from alone learning the lesson of having a good shovel along. We ended up digging our first tomb out by hand!" He takes a long draw from his ale. He looks to Sirusk, "Wiser words have never been spoken. While we have recovered some riches, it is true, but not without great peril to ourselves from deathtraps. An entire chamber sealed off with us inside and the whole river came rushing in. That wasn't the worst of it...the sarcophagus in the chamber, which we were sure was filled with valuables, animated! It entombed one of our members inside of it while we were trying to figure out how we were going stop the water. Oh, did I forget to mention the electricity coursing through the water also?! It was fortunate that the trap malfunctioned and let the river in only slowly, otherwise we surely would have perished and would ourselves, even now, have our corpses guarding that tomb." He pulls his cowl back slightly from his forehead and you can see the faint scar from some ancient osiriani symbol etched in his flesh, "I earned this from that tomb. It means "tomb robber" in ancient osiriani." He pulls out a finely crafted longbow, an ancient expertly crafted spear, an adamantite flail, and shows the sleeve of his magical scalemail, "All these we have acquired from just our explorations recently, plus many valuables and artifacts. Yes, despite the hardships, we have had a bit of luck."
"Ahh, yesz. Very nice. At least some have had luck. Tell me, what manner of guardians have you come across besides the living szarcophaus?"
"Well then. A swim and a fight sounds better than a mad wizard and a deadfall at least. Have you learned much of the tomb builders?"
Rose looks curiously at Inferis and Ibrahim.
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As Rose begins chatting with Inferis and Ibrahim, Cerastes answers Sirusk's question, "Damnable swarms! Swarms of cockroaches, beetles, and undead cats. Have to remember to restock up on acid and fire flasks before we head out again. Of course, then there were all of the larger vermin. Strange ten legged spiders the size of a person. And otherworldly flying heads call vargoilles that multiply by infecting you so that your head takes it's own leave of your body and becomes another vargoille. Nasty business that. Other haunts, sandpeople, and skeletons just to name a few of the things we ran into."
"A swarmss, thisz one is not a fan of them. We will remember to pick up a more suitable weapon if we go back". Sirusk then nudges Rose, "Floating undead heads; sounds like your job dream, Rose." Sirusk takes a long drink and sits back down.
It really was an accident. I regret the necessity, and told the priests as much. You know as well as I do that some idiot would have tried to complete that ritual.
Rose seems amused.
Well, it's been lovely chatting, but I'm for bed. We can catch up more in the morning, and maybe we'll find less of our kind of luck and more of yours with whatever the priests find for us next. To the silver serpents, and thanks for the invitation.
Rose toasts the group, then heads to bed.