”My eyes! It’s . . . Ahhhhghhhrgha! . . . Like . . . They are seeing Noonan’s . . . Saggy nuts again!”
”Something is trying to pull my eyes out of my head and it isn’t me this time!”
I don't have nuts!
Tariq, you manage to hold out against the enormous magical pressure trying to blind you - what do you want to do?
”Noonan! It’s like some enormous magical pressure trying to blind me!”
”Ever hear about something like this in your studies of arcane knowledge!?”
Tariq, you can tell that the effect only happened after you passed about halfway down the hallway.
Noonan you can detect the traces of necromantic and abjuration magic lingering in the hallway but his trap is unique. Something however tugs at your mind. In ancient times powerful spellcasters used to cast blinding radiances around themselves to cause the unworthy to look away from their mighty presence.
Perhaps the command here is literal?
Noonan casts light!
”Noonan, the affect may have triggered about halfway down the hallway.”
”If Shad cast Glitterdust we could see if it is invisible undead!”
Noonan averts his eyes from the wonderful works!Let us try this.
Noonan shuts his eyes!
You pass through the hallway into an annex where six life-sized statues of men and women, each pointing an accusing finger or other menacing gesture in the direction of the northern entrance to the room, stand along the east and west walls of this six-way junction. Flights of stairs lead down in four of the hallways, while the southern hallway is blocked by a large stone door.
Let us go Northeast
”Okay, as good a direction as any. I’m going to listen first, check for traps, then give them a try.”
You find no traps but the corridor that heads down is narrow and devoid of decoration.
At the end you find two huge doors made of stone but strangely cold iron seals the doors and seams. Carved on the door is a statement in Ancient Osiriani. “Beyond lies the Traitor’s Crypt—may she fester in life forever, eternally barred from the Great Beyond!”
Hmm..This looks like a prison for some entity. Cold iron has special properties against certain creatures.
”This may be the would be queen?”
”The guardian said, “The Akhumemnet is the crypt and vault of the most devoted followers of Hakotep, his personal guard the Akhumen."
"It is a place of darkness shrouded even from my own entry and warded against teleportation. Powerful glyphs and great elementals and darker creatures. Hakotep's would-be-queen Jeshura lies there entombed within a fiendish sarcophagi - her torment would make her a dangerous foe, or perhaps a dangerous ally if you wish to destroy Hakotep."
"Worst of all is Agazuberi, a shaitan who guards the key. Kill her and I will reward you greatly."
”Shit . . . This place sounds like a real gas. There are going to be undead imperial guard, a scorned lich b%#*$, and angry elementals between us and this Shaitan holding the key.”
”Buuuut, the chance for a big pay out!”
”I say we talk to this Jeshura. The enemy of my enemy is my friend as long as she doesn’t want to turn me into a lampshade or something.”
Tariq says as he prepared to check that door for traps.
”Dang, she is barred from the beyond. I wonder if we can help release her spirit afterwards?”
Hm...We'll have to dig out the cold iron.
Well..if she is undead, then I must admit I don't really like getting all cozy. Sarenrae make sit quite clear about the way of things.
The cold iron has numerous sigils carved on it Tariq - a powerful magical lock created millenia ago that still persists. Only the most skillful work would allow you to disable it, but you see no glyphs or explosive traps on the door to prevent you from trying.
”Ahem! Noonan, a guidance spell please.”
Tariq cracks his knuckles, smoothes back his hair and removes his tool pouch with panache.
”I feel inspired. Watch me all seeing one.”
Tariq earns his keep.
”A masterful performance If I do say so myself.”
”And I do!”
Yes, many many times.
Tariq takes out his fire-hardened clay chisel and wooden mallet and carefully scrapes away at the sigils carved into the iron. The aged cold iron is soft, malleable under the non-conductive tools as he ignores the rainbow colored sparks that fly off as he works on the runes.
Eventually the magic seems to pulse erratically as he quickly disables the last trigger and you see a blue glow suffuse the door - you think for a second Tariq has made a mistake until the glow seems to shatter like glass, shards of the protective spell falling onto the flow to burst into motes of light that leave you alone in the empty, decaying tunnel.
”Wow. I bet that was a really really powerful and cool spell.”
”Holy shit. I could have been killed.”
A giant grin spreads across his face.
”But! I didn’t and I just cracked one of the most protected doors of all the land.”
His face flushes and he throws up a finger to his lips for quiet.
He listens then opens the door and peers in to look.
Noonan backs everyone up and follows.
This octagonal room is empty, save for a single sarcophagus at its center. The sarcophagus’s lid and sides are carved to show depictions of a beautiful woman, her body contorted in pain as numerous spikes pierce her flesh. The walls are carved with images of legions of sickened and plagued souls on their hands and knees or crying out to the heavens for aid. The north wall depicts a majestic flying city in the sky, with the same beautiful woman floating in the air as she fires upon the sickened mob below with a bow.
Tariq carefully enters the room looking for traps.
”Jeshura, can you hear me?”, the desert warrior whispers as he makes his way round looking for any secret passages or a way to open the sarcophagus.
Noonan waits fot Tariq to clear the room.
You hear a muffled scream from the sarcophagus at your whisper Tariq. The coffin does not appear to be trapped - indeed oddly so considering the nature of the prison a simple shove would be enough to open the sarcophagus and, presumably, free the woman entombed within.
Tariq looks closely at the carvings on the wall trying to make better sense of who this woman was. He looks for identifying symbols as well.
”Jeshura, we are here to stop Hakotep. Can you tell us how?”
Tariq points to the walls that are carved with images of legions of sickened and plagued souls on their hands and knees or crying out to the heavens for aid. Then he points north wall which depicts a majestic flying city in the sky. Pointing at the city he looks to Noonan, makes a pyramid shape with his hand questioningly to Noonan.
Tariq looks at the carving of the city up close.
Noonan was never good with charades.
We should open the sarcophagus first. But you better be careful, I could summon something to do it.
”I think it’s only been 6000 years, but still that’s like, damn 300 human generations? Wow.”
Tariq says to Dwali before addressing the elderly cleric.
”Okay Noonan, I’ll just say it out loud. What the heck is happening here in this picture? This is a flying city and not a Pyramid. Who is she shooting? Like, it’s not clear who’s side she is on, but why would the Sky Pharaoh build this tomb for her? And go to such pains to torture his would be Queen?”
As far as you can make out the information on the walls depicts a powerful noblewoman of Shory descent - the foe of Hakotep, they used flying cities to float above the Mwangi jungle and battle Osirian for dominance of northern Garund in ancient days.
Their cities have long since fallen from the sky, although rumors persist of one or two cities floating alone in far off regions far removed for the Inner Sea.
The woman is apparently quite merciless in the eyes of Hakotep's guard; the depiction shows her as cruel and evil as she is seen bring death to those pleading for her aid.