GM Euan's Mummy's Mask (Inactive)

Game Master Euan

Kosei speaks up and direct to the ferryman "To the gem-like mini-pyramid chamber ferryman. We will soon destroy Hakotep and you will be free my friends"

He carefully observes the creature for any trace of attempting to trick the party.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

"Oh, where is your sense of adventure, Zilchus?! This boat ride right here is a once in a lifetime chance. Think about the stories you can tell your grandchildren!"

”Oh, I’ve had enough of adventures on boats, thankyouverymuch,” Zilchus reminds Stelle, suppressing a shudder.

The waterway is quite smooth and clear as your boats move easily down the hall. Zilchus enjoys being a little higher up as he moves in the same initial direction. Stelle’s boat stops early, while Kosei’s continues on (Florence, you may be in either boat though I've put you in with Kosei for now as there's more room).

To the east, you see another ’T’ intersection with another finely crafted statue. To the west, the direction the boats are headed, you come to another ’T’ intersection. To the south stands a different, and imposing statue in a niche at the end of this canal. The statue is made of metal turned green with verdigris, and depicts a hippo-headed humanoid clad in armor and bearing a wicked spear. The statue’s gaping mouth is lined with rows of shark teeth.

Those with knowledge of religions recognize it as an Okhetamun. The statue is larger than the others, standing 15’ tall and brandishing its spear aggressively in its right hand while looking downward. It looks like the head can be raised, and the spear lowered - if you were to close and manipulate it and are very strong (DC 20 strength check).

Kosei’s boat continues north however. It will continue heading that way, but I want to give you a chance to react.

K. religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9 What Kosei knows about Okhetamuns?
Kosei observes the strange spear in the statue "Stelle, can you check that spear? I find it weird something there my friend!"

The man turns then to Florence "It seems this worked isn't it? The ferryman is taking us somewhere. I previously knew it would work of course" the Garundi arches an eyebrow and looks at Florence intensely.

Zilchus waits on Stelle and the boats, hoping to find direction on which way to go.

"Oh, I’ve had enough of adventures on boats, thankyouverymuch,”

Annie wags his tail in fond memory. Meats on sticks...

"Yes, however -- that barge wasn't exactly moving..."

"Stelle, can you check that .."

Stelle looks south, and instructs the Ferryman to head that way.

"Sure," Stelle says, helping Anubis to lower the spear.

Str: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

StrAid: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 +4 to Annie's roll?

Kosei’s boat continues to the north and around the bend to the east as the party splits up.

Zilchus waits behind as the two boats leave his sight.

Stelle moves her boat south to the nearby verdigris statute.

Meh. The map wasn’t updating for me, but meh...

Zilchus follows the boats, air walking and keeping his eyes open.

"Hey Stelle! We hear stones falling or sliding here ahead! Was it you?!" Kosei shout booms through the corridors not that stealthily.

"Um, I just tip the statue's head up. There's a gem herre, but I'm thinking of leaving it. Should I try tipping it back down?"

"Yes, try tipping it back down!" Florence calls out, figuring that she may as well now that everyone else is doing the same. "Also don't linger too long, we don't want to get too far apart!"

Zilchus waits to see if Stelle can hear and do what is required. He doesn't trust anything about this and is somewhat worried for his friends naivete in trusting the boatmen.

I'd rather be with Muminafrau or whatever he name was. She was scary, but normal-scary.

"Umm. no need to yell, but... O.K. -- we will tip the head back down..."

Worried about what her friends are going through, Stelle hurriedly undoes what she and Anubis have done with the statue, and directs the ferryman to follow the other boat.

What the Hells is going on?

Kosei and Florence, with Zilchus trailing in the air, slow to a stop as the ferryman abides by Kosei’s instruction. He says nothing further however, seemingly refusing to be drawn into Kosei’s attempted conversation. That said, Kosei can look over the side and estimate the water to be about 20’ deep. The ferryman’s pole doesn’t look nearly that long but, perhaps due to some trick of the light underwater, his pole reaches the bottom.

Around the bend, the sounds of large blocks of stone settling into place is heard clearly by the entire party. Then Stelle reverses the spear, and you can hear the blocks begin to raise again. However, someone, or some thing, has also noticed, as you hear a watery, bubbly battle-cry, ”Yolp!” Clearly, something stirs beyond the blocks as they are re-sealed in their chamber.

Stelle joins the rest of the group in the tunnel.

"What happened, what's going on?! Was that a 'Yolp' I heard? Who makes that noise? Was it shark people?!" Stelle calls as her ship approaches. "Are we there yet? Where's the pyramid?!" she cries impatiently.

"Ferryman, just follow that ferryman," Stelle says to her ferryman, pointing to the other ferryman.

”Yolp?” Zilchus looks at Stelle, then at Annie, as if hoping the dog might confirm the ascertain. ”That doesn’t make much sense. Was it ‘help’? Or was a cat call from an hidden admirer?”

Zilchus looks and listens for other signs of yolping.

1d20 + 25 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 25 + 2 = 33 Know (Religion)

"Um, sounds like the spear mechanism you found opens and closes something further ahead, probably another room of some kind," Florence explains as Stelle and Anubis finally catch up with them a bit. "And there's something or somethings in there; those blocks rising and falling aren't exactly subtle. So...they know something's up. We'd probably best be prepared for a fight when we get ready to pass that way."

If nothing else happens, Zilchus moves up to the corner and looks around.

1d20 + 25 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 25 + 2 = 28 Perception

I mean, you know... Perception Aid, +4?

Kosei nods to Florence "I do agree, one of us probably will have to go back and activate that mechanism"

Once Stelle catches up with the group Kosei points at the other ferryman and tells his one "Ferryman, that other ferryman is catching up with us, we must move forward now before we are taken. Let's hurry up and discover what is yolping around the corner. Don't follow that ferryman!" the Garundi points around the corner the same way Zilchus is air walking.
Perception: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (16) + 22 = 38

The party, each chasing the other, rounds the corner to see two stone blocks, firmly in place - presumably the stone blocks that descended so short a time ago.

The canal ends at two side-by-side landings, each holding a block of dark brown stone that fills an archway leading to the west. The blocks are carved with series of identical hieroglyphs. In ancient Osiriani, the hieroglyphs read, "To pass beyond, the twins must be in perfect harmony.”

Nothing else of note is perceived.

"Oh, my... 'Twins'? Should we look for another statue and 'activate' it at the same time we 'activate' the one we already found?"

”The twins?” Bazsil looks at his left bicep, then his right bicep. ”You mean these babies?” He flexes, but is confused. ”They seem like there are in harmony to me.”

He offers a troll’s smile at his ‘humor’.

”Okay, fine, another statue, huh? Lemme look,” Zilchus moves up to look for statues and the sources of yolping.

1d20 + 25 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 25 + 2 = 45 Perception

"Zilchus, wai...er, nevermind," Florence begins as Zilchus zips off back the way they'd originally came. "Um, if you get in trouble just scream like you're dying or something, okay?" she calls after him.

After a moment or two of silence, she coughs.

"You know, it's a shame about the circumstances because otherwise I think I'd be enjoying the ride...it reminds me a little of riding the river from Wati to Tephu and back."

Though she's loathe to actually exit the boat just yet, Florence does turn her attention to the nearest of the two landings. "Probably won't be able to pick anything up but may as well while we wait..." she murmurs as she scans for magical auras.

"It actually is a nice ride" Kosei casts light to renew the magic illumination on his shield "I wonder if the twins were referred to the ferrymen? Are you the twins people of the river?" the Garundi stares at the ferrymen and waits for Zilchus to activate something.

Zilchus heads off and disappears around the corner as the party splits up again.

The ferrymen continue to ignore the chatty Kosei as they await further orders. Florence detects no magics in the immediate area, though there may be a lingering aura around the stones magically descending and ascending all the time.

"Yep, no magic here - not much, anyway. There's probably some on the other side or further up in the wall where the mechanism for the door is, but nothing out here," Florence declares after a few moments of scanning.

"Um...I think I'm going to climb out for a minute. If Zilchus ends up activating whatever needs to be activated then it might not hurt to be ready to face whatever might be behind either of the doors."

Florence carefully climbs out of the boat and then, for her own curiosity, presses her ear against the massive stone block to see if she can hear anything.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Zilchus spins his head around to yell to the party.

"Hey! I've come face to face with another verdigris statue. This one has its spear lowered and its head up. Should I smash it?"

"They have to match but I don't think making them match by smashing them is what the architect had in mind!"

"Au contrare mon maskier! I could smash them both, then they would be the same!" Zilchus responds with a guffaw, stating the obvious.

I hereby vote that actual trollface replaces Zilchus' map icon :P

From her position by the door Florence flings her hands up in exasperation.

"That's not what I meant! We want to *open* these blocks, not seal them up forever! Do I have to come back there and move those statues myself!?"

"Grunt!" Zilchus grunts, loudly, giving in.

"Fine. What do you want me to do? Push the thingy in the direction of the thing?" Zilchus yells back. If Florence agrees, Zilchus will move the spear to the right spot, though he will do it grumpily and grousily.

"You know, it's a shame about the circumstances because otherwise I think I'd be enjoying the ride...it reminds me a little of riding the river from Wati to Tephu and back."

Kosei wrote:

"It actually is a nice ride. I wonder if the twins were referred to the ferrymen? Are you the twins people of the river?"

As Kosei speaks, Stelle nods her head in agreement, then shakes it in disagreement. These Ferrymen are just auto-undeady things.

"It IS a nice ride," she agrees with Florence, and the first half of Kosei's statement while trying Anubis's balance by rocking side to side. "Quiet, sort of, and calm. Very calm."

"Hey! I've come face to face with another verdigris statue. This one has its spear lowered and its head up. Should I smash it?"

" [ Hulk SMASH NOT SMASH ]"

"Zilchus what?! No! Just look at the 15’ tall statue, and pose the one you are in front of the same way!"

"It IS a nice ride," she agrees with Florence, and the first half of Kosei's statement while trying Anubis's balance by rocking side to side."Quiet, sort of, and calm. Very calm."

Feeling a lot more than just slightly uncomfortable, Anubis growls quietly.

DON'T rock the boat!

Zilchus, grumpily and grousily, positions the head and spear to match that of the other statue. As he does so, he too sees a 5,000gp gemstone in its mouth. Just sitting there.

However, the rest of the party sees the stones descending at a more rapid pace than perhaps expected. In just two rounds, the stones drop into the floor with a loud ”Whump!” Beyond each doorway is a square room filled with murky, blue-green water that gives off a pungent, salty smell. On the west wall is a low archway only a few inches above the water. When you look a little closer, you see they are actually circular openings 10’ in diameter, but mostly submerged in the water.

Something moves in the chamber beyond, but you cannot quite identify though you think you see some plants shifting in the water’s light currents.

- Round 3 -
Fish Folk - 20
Florence - 19
Zilchus - 6
Stelle - 5
Kosei - 4

We are in initiative, but remember you have two rounds prior to initiative to act if you choose, as the stones are descending. Then the Fish Folk will start round three.

Kosei waits patiently while Zilchus and Florence discuss the way to open the door. Once the rocks start to go down, he reaches for Stelle and casts freedom of movement on her "That shall help you in case you have to move into the waters"

Then, the man jumps into the second platform "The twins... maybe we shall do something at the same time in both rooms. Be prepared Florence. Osirion and Golarion depend on us now"

Feeling the group is split and might end outnumbered, Kosei brings up to his hand his rod of dazing "Be ready my friends..."

"Right...hopefully Zilchus can get his butt back down here in a hurry," Florence nods as she raps the ring on her right hand against the stone, causing her to blink in and out of reality. She then takes a step back to allow room for Stelle & Anubis - or Zilchus.

"Zilchus, we're gonna have company, I think!"

Stelle looks into the square rooms filled with murky, blue-green water regretfully.

"Shoot. I knew I should have taken Harpoon."

"Thank you, Kosei. I feel very springy," Stelle says after Kosei touches her with the spell.

Stelle air walks over to Kosei Human and addressing each Ferryman she passes.

"Now, you wait here. We'll be back in a jiffy."

"Zilchus! Don't Tarry. If you want to split up, I'm taking the one on the right!"

While waiting for The Return of the Great Commander she asks her remaining companions, "Do you really think that we should split up?"

"Not really but I guess it depends on whether or not whatever's in there wants to come out to us or not," Florence remarks, keeping her eyes on the door in front of her.

Rounds 1, 2, & 3

"COMING!" Zilchus triple double moves back towards to the party.

As Zilchus zips in, Stelle adds, "Yes, I'm a little reluctant to split us up on account of there being only the four of us now."

"What do you think, Commander?" she asks, turning toward the square room in front of her preparing to charge anything in sight.

Florence begins to blink as she makes way for the front liners. Zilchus bellows forth and rushes toward the party at speed. Stelle moves into position as well and watches the waterline. Kosei becomes himself again, grants Stelle Freedom of Movement, and positions himself on the southern platform, rod at the ready.

As the party gets all hopped up and ready for battle, the adrenaline rushing through your veins…

And nothing happens.

If there’s something moving on the other side of the low archways, it has stopped, though the plants continue to wave in the water.

- Round 4 -
Fish Folk - 20
Florence - 19
Zilchus - 6
Stelle - 5
Kosei - 4

Next up - everyone!

Round 2

Zilchus runs to the corner, double moving quickly and ending his turn.

"What?"

Round 4, Initiative 19

"There's something in these rooms and I don't like it," Florence explains as Zilchus shows up. "Maybe it's harmless, maybe not, but I'd rather not go find out until we're all ready to go!"

With that said, she nervously keeps her eyes on the door ahead and waits for either Zilchus, Stelle, or perhaps the Chaosodile to venture forth before she moves to follow.
______________

Florence will just delay/hold action for the moment.

"I wonder if the twins and pass beyond mean something more than this way inside the chambers... most probably we have to do something inside both rooms ensemble, as these two rooms seem very much like a mirror one of each other my friends" Kosei cross the entrance of his room and looks forward and intently under the waters.

Perception: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (1) + 22 = 23

"It is all safe, there is nothing here!"

Florence delays awaiting, Zilchus who closes with the party inquiringly. Stelle DMPC also waits while Kosei (I think) advances to the arch/portal and tries to peer beyond. (Kosei - I moved you on the map to reflect your post, which I think I got right… If not my apologies.)

Nothing seems to react as the party also settles in.

- Round 5 -
Fish Folk - 20
Florence - 19
Zilchus - 6
Stelle - 5
Kosei - 4

Next up - everyone!

Round 5, Init 4-

Stelle waits for Kosei's input, nods then shrugs and creeps forward to peer into the water from above and prode at the circular opening with her lance.

Percept: 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (11) + 25 = 36

Round 5

Zilchus double moves up, looking around.

1d20 + 25 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 25 + 2 = 45 Perception

I moved only on the platform inside, but it is ok, because I was thinking of this next...

"I am to check this waters forward my friends" with that said Kosei wild shapes into a large crocodile and jumps into the water, quickly swimming pass the waters.

The head of the crocodile emerges a second to tell Zilchus "There is a zapphire pyramid ahead. All is murky full of green stuff my friend"