Eisalka screeches in glee at the damage she has inflicted on the mummy, and keeps up her assault. She decides that the mummy will be less threatening if blinded, and so Man pulls out a scroll and casts glitterdust at him.
Jib cheer at his swarm's effectiveness, and throws his readied tanglefoot bag at the mummy.
An entangled creature takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity and must make a DC 15 Reflex save or be glued to the floor, unable to move. Even on a successful save, it can move only at half speed. A creature that is glued to the floor (or unable to fly) can break free by making a DC 17 Strength check or by dealing 15 points of damage to the goo with a slashing weapon. A creature trying to scrape goo off itself, or another creature assisting, does not need to make an attack roll; hitting the goo is automatic, after which the creature that hit makes a damage roll to see how much of the goo was scraped off. Once free, the creature can move (including flying) at half speed. If the entangled creature attempts to cast a spell, it must make concentration check with a DC of 15 + the spell's level or be unable to cast the spell. The goo becomes brittle and fragile after 2d4 rounds, cracking apart and losing its effectiveness.
El Akriban withers for a moment after the Pharaoh's assault, every smashed rib and battered limb signaling defeat, yet the fire of a thousand generations of oppression fuel the Pahmet dwarf forward.
He points his dwarven waraxe at Sekh III.
"Your tyranny ends here, False God. With the fire of a thousand forges, We are your destruction!"
Akri lays into the mummy as best he can, panting, blood running freely from his nose and wincing from his injuries.
The fire elemental twists forward, closer to the pharaoh. It lashes out with quick tongues of flame, trying to burn the mummy to a crisp. The dry bandages catch fire, further charring the ancient corpse.
Akri rears back his axe, and strikes true into the pharaoh’s chest. Ghoulsplitter buries itself in the dusty flesh, throwing off the dwarf’s aim with Skullcrusher. The heat from the ignited mummy heats his face, blistering his open wounds, but the dwarf still stands.
Jib tosses the tanglefoot bag at the mummy, his aim enhanced by his extract. It hits the pharoh precisely, exploding all over him. The smell that emanates from burning rotten flesh and the sticky substance in the bag is noxious, to say the least. The paper creatures nip at him, continuing to try to cut through flesh as Sekh-pa-Mefer struggles to free himself.
The Pharaoh howls with frustration as the fire burns, but he stands yet. ”No! I am a GOD! I will not fall to a ragtag group of petty sorcerers and their Pahmet pet! This cannot be over!” Sekh-pa-Mefer makes one final swing at Akri, but in his final moments can’t summon the strength to get through the dwarf’s defenses. ”NooooOOOOOOOOOO!” he screams, as the fire consumes him and he falls to an acrid pile of dust. The only thing left intact is his mummified right hand.
With Sekh-pa-Mefer III finally laid to rest, his grave goods are ripe for the taking. The hand that he left behind upon death radiates a magical aura, as does an engraved green gem and a tiny silver figurine of a sphinx among the clothing, furniture, jewelry, and weapons lying in the chamber. The pharaoh’s sarcophagus, crafted from rare woods and embellished with gold leaf and precious inlays, should be worth a good sum, too. Finally, transcriptions or rubbings of the hieroglyphs on the walls would be worth a small fortune to the right historian.
Akri rises with a groan.
"He better be the last incarnation of the King. This old dwarf cannae take much more abuse."
He limps towards Sekh-pa-Mefer's dust. Akri offers a short utterance before scooping a small portion of the dust into a small pouch.
"Best to take what we can from here, so-called explorers will soon descend on this place to chronicle it's history and wonder." Akri himself steps back a moment to take in the wonder of the Pharaoh's burial chamber, even tracing the fine carvings along the walls and fixtures of the space. The Pahmet dwarf runs his fingers along every detail, as if he expects to return to the tomb someday to learn more about the past.
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"Well, let's tell Khairam things are tidied up in here and let his take rubbings of the walls scribblings and such. Meantime, what say we take the pharaoh's hand as proof of our work and go free me beloved princess from her gilded tower?" the kitsune says with a sly smile and a faraway gleam in his eye.
Ugh, romance, said a female voice in his head. Stay focused. There are riches RIGHT HERE!
Now, now, came a response in a slow drawl, the important thing is that the fiend has been slain and we have made the world safer for...
Nonsense! cut in a pompous voice, there are magical items right before us. Claim them! Magic is the only treasure worth collecting and the only thing worth loving.
The hierophant voice in Sionnach's head simply ignored them all.
Jib, entranced by the prospect of getting rubbings from this innermost chamber, immediately sets about his work. His face is alight with joy, and he dives into his work with gusto.
"Good job everyone. One question...what now?
The explorers round up the pharaoh's grave goods and the more scholarly among them take note of the history on the walls. Carrying and dragging their loot back to toward the south side of the pyramid, Khairam joins them in transporting the artifacts and information to the waiting cadre of camels outside.
The ride back out of the desert is another week of blistering sun and frigid nights, taking longer than the trip to the pyramid since the camels now bear the extra load of treasure. Khairam's contacts at The House of the Golden Mask are extremely pleased to receive their promised delivery, rewarding each explorer with a generous amount of gold and the promise of future work, if they'd like.
Specifically, Khairam approaches Jib with an offer. The House of the Golden Mask could always use more scholars, and the ratfolk also seems to be quite reliable in the field as well. Khairam has to deal with his Aspis sister, first, though, and could use some company on the way back home. Either way, he's sure that they can work together soon.
Eisalka and Man are paid their fair share, and Khairam offers them similar employment to that he offered Jib. The House of the Golden Mask has, if anything, connections. Perhaps--for the right price, of course--one of those contacts might have more information about the pair's unusual condition. They have a caravan leaving for the south soon that could use someone with the duo's skills, and perhaps they might find an answer at The Magaambya in the Mwangi Expanse, or perhaps even the magic-blighted Nex.
Khairam gives Akri his share next. The small purse jingles with coin, and opening it reveals a hefty pile of platinum. The Pahmet long suffered under the tyrannical human pharaohs, but they say time heals all wounds. A little bit of personal revenge and a small fortune from righteous pilfering doesn't hurt either, though. The money and information would certainly be a boon to Akri's family and community. The choice is his whether he wants to go back himself, or send something with a messenger and stay on and go back into the desert to find more. After all, there will always be more ghouls to split and skulls to crush.
Sionnach, despite being an old enemy of Khairam's, also receives his share. The grimy human smirks as he hands over the coins. "It's been a pleasure," he says, although it's hard to tell whether he's being sarcastic or not. "I guess you and, uh, the ladies are probably going to want to figure out what comes next, eh?"
Sionnach chats with the widow queens Bastetabi and Senenetka, who are delighted that their assassination order has been carried out. But there are six voices vying for a voice in Sionnach's head besides the one who serves Urgathoa, and they may not wish to spend much time with a pair of dangerous living dead.
If you decide to stay with the undead queens, roll 2d6+3 (the +3 is from your Charisma modifier):
On a 10+, your smooth talk puts you in the good graces of the queens. They allow you to serve them and rely on you to be their living emissary to act where they cannot. If you'd like, they'll also have you act as their concubine. They'd really like to visit Geb, though, and maybe settle down.
On a 7-9, choose one:
- You split your time negotiating your relationship with the queens and the chorus of voices within your relics. The queens can tell your devotion is lacking, but they still find you charming enough to be their emissary. You won't do for a concubine, but you'll remain their favored pet--for now.
- The queens corrupt your flesh and spirit. If you stay with them, you will become and undead creature yourself.
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Sionnach's hierophant spirit is bound and determined to make things work with the undead queens. To this end, he tries to cow them all into submission.
The spirits are agreeable to run errands for the queens (some for a sense of duty, some for riches, and others for the pleasure of adventure or knowledge). He doesn't have the romantic connection he'd wanted, but still, he gets to be in their presence. Though, he notices his flesh is taking on a sickly hue...
Sionnach proves a worthy servant, and manages to resist the corruption of the queens' presence. He has a fulfilling purpose and retains his living flesh. That may change, depending on how well he serves and how much time he remains with them. Perhaps he'll even see his old teammates as he explores and adventures on the queens' behalf--hopefully as an ally, rather than an enemy.
And so the explorers add to the wealth of knowledge of Osiriani's past (not to mention adding to their own wealth). The Pharaoh Sekh-pa-Mefer III, with his undead delusions of godhood, is now defeated for good and his legacy recorded and ended. The explorers go on with their lives, some splitting off and others continuing to work together. Who knows what lies buried beneath the next sand dune, though? Only time and the scouring winds of Osirion will tell.
And thanks to you all, GM Mecha, Sionnach, Jib, Khairam, Eisalka & Man- this was such a fun mod to run with you all! We had a great synergy, I'll be looking for you on the boards in the future!
Alright friends, it looks like everyone's had a chance to scope the ending. Again, I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for playing! I'm going to close out the campaign so it's not clogging up your campaign pages.
It's been fun! ;D