In order to safely land the flying pyramids you have to understand the Engine Room heiroglyphs, which yall were unable to do. If you disable the engine it will float down slowly over a da or so.. If the leader dies it crashes..
There is no way to take Hakotep's ability to control them though..
Any last minute shopping before you head off to the trenches?
The Khepsutanem is much more than ditches and mounds of earth. Hundreds of obelisks, each containing a bound elemental spirit, adorn the paths of the Khepsutanem. Among these stand 11 great monuments, each infused with the spirit of a particularly powerful elemental. These 11 monuments are the Sekrepheres, and they must be activated in the proper order between the hours of dawn and noon on a single day to focus their energies upon the Sun Disk plaza, which can in turn call down Hakotep’s tomb."
How does one activate the Sekrespheres?
“Before any of the Sekrepheres can be activated, you must rouse the Khepsutanem from its slumber, for after so long a time, the magic that empowers it has certainly gone dormant. The source of the Sekrepheres’ power is found within a complex on the northern side of the earthworks called the Tekramenet. Once you’ve awakened the Khepsutanem, you must seek out the Chamber of the Sekrepheres within a second complex on the eastern reaches of the trenches, the Sekrephrenet. From there, it is a simple matter of anointing the Sekrephere symbols in the proper order with holy or unholy water.”
In what order must we activate the Sekrepheres to focus the Sun Disk plaza on Hakotep’s Tomb?
“Each of the Sekrepheres is associated with one of the gods of Osirion whose teachings, in one way or another, inf luenced Hakotep’s work at the Khepsutanem. They must be activated in the following order: Horus, Ptah, Isis, Ra, Khepri, Osiris, Sobek, Maat, Sekhmet, Thoth, and finally Set. Once you’ve activated all eleven in this order, the Sun Disk can be used to call down Hakotep’s pyramid.”
How do we activate the Sun Disk once the Sekrepheres are activated?
“You need only to use the Pharaoh’s Key in the central stone of the Sun Disk. Finding the Pharaoh’s Key will be the trick, but it should still lie with a complex called the Akhumemnet near the Sun Disk.
Hadjii's first priority is to raise his companion!
"Thank you for rescuing Jack's body, Master Khufu! I now consider this one to be a survivor..."
A Mythic Point, a 1,000gp diamond, and merely 1 minute of casting time!
If we are not taking time for an 8-hour rest, then Hadjii must leave the wolf behind somewhere to recover...
The diamond is provided by the church Hadjii for yalls efforts in thwarting the pyramid.
After resting 8 hours the group sets out for the Slave Trenches..
The Slave Trenches is 200 miles up the Crook River, how will you travel?
After helping look for survivors, Arduino disappears into the market; he returns brandishing a scroll of well-made parchment.
"This should get us there' come close." He mutters a word and shrinks Kin and any other animal companions, returning her to his pocket and them to their masters.
Arduino and the four others touching him revert to cloud-like vapor, and zoom off towards the trenches.
"Whee!" Khufu cries as they soar through the sky.
"Whee? You said Whee? We're off to save the world and you said Whee!"
Yippe Ki A motherf$@#er
Arduino rolls his foggy eyes.
The group sets off in misty form and a few hours later they reach the area.. Approaching for the south your vision is limited as the Trenches are huge.
This sprawling collection of trenches and earthworks forms a maze-like set of hieroglyphs measuring nearly 17 square miles in area.
From your altitude its hard to make out much details.. You can tell the the trenches vary in depth and width, buts that's about all until you come closer.
Hadjii pockets his newly-revived-but-now-a-figurine wolf, and enjoys the flight --
"This is even faster that being an air elemental! Thank you, Master Arduino!"
He also likes the idea of doing a long, sweeping arc over the north part of the trenches...
The breakfast provided for everyone was a Heroes Feast.
Ama casts a Life Bubble on everyone. Along with Extended Shield of Faith upon landing
Khufukhaf uses a point of mythic energy to cast Barkskin on himself.
Hadjii will cast Stoneskin on himself and Jack -- with Enduring Blessing...
As yall fly about you see much of the same thing.. The entire area lights up when you detect magic. There are many areas that glow stronger than others.. The residual magic fields of the place is incredible..
the Hadj will Wind-Walk down with Ard to the indicated landing, and start materializing...
The group sets down and reforms in a 30' deep, 50' wide trench area. It is lined by a row of obelisks; these stones are in varying stages of erosion, with some of them having worn down to little more than lumps. They line the entire wall at the base.. It's also pretty easy to notice humanoid bones lying here and there, almost like the slaves rotted away where they died at during construction.
There's nothing much else here. Headed East or North West?
NW.
The group works it way north west and you see much of the same thing until you come into view of the first Sekrephere.. You saw these from the air but not in great detail..
A tall monument of polished stone rises amid the trenches. Strangely resistant to the erosive effects of sand and time, these white polished menhirs are impossible to miss.
Once close you can see the it is crowned with a carving of the head..
...nice
Ama will relay what she knows about the monument to the group
This particualar one is Osiris and represents the transition of death into life..
Just as a reminder of what yall need to do here..
Step One: Awaken the magic of the Slave Trenches and the 11 Sekrephere monuments by activating the great receptacle found in the Lantern Vault.
Step Two: Focus the 11 monuments on Hakotep’s tomb by activating them in the proper order in the Monument Vault.
Step Three: Use the Pharaoh’s Key (held in the Guardian Vault) to activate the Sun Disk to bring down Hakotep’s tomb.
Arduino zooms through the maze, looking for anything resembling a 'lantern vault'.
Flying over the orange thing on the map you see..
"A fifty-foot-diameter disk of gray basalt sits at the center of a circular plaza of yellow-orange stone, surrounded by a curving trench. The disk is adorned with faint hieroglyphs, but for the most part its surface seems to have been worn smooth by the elements and the passage of time. Very little sand has gathered upon the disk, as if the wind specifically sought to keep the slab clean."
You have a feeling this is the Sun Disk.. It's magical and has a depression in the middle that looks like a key would fit into..
Moving on in your path you pass two more Sekrepheres, the first dedicated to Horus and the 2nd to Isis..
It is not till you pass the item marked with the star that you notice anything different..
"An earthen rampart bisects a large, pitlike depression in the ground here. At the center of the rampart, the bridge-like span widens into a circular plaza, atop which an immense nest of boulders, rubble, and bones looms. The immense ribs of some mammoth desert beast protrude upward from the nest’s edges, giving the whole thing the unsettling appearance of a claw or fanged mouth opening toward the sky."
You also see what appears to be an above average size Roc sleeping in the nest.. While not quite considered a colossal bird, it is much bigger than the normal adult Roc..
The group being in misty form and it sleeping you are not noticed.
Continue on or?
Close enough to detect evil or detect undead?
I would imagine you are not flying close enough to do that. You are also gaseous atm, so not casting spells etc.. Or talking for that matter..
Arduino encourages everyone to reincorporate.
"Hadji; can you peaceably ally with the roc?"
Arduino reacts strongly negatively to any proposition of harming the roc if it can be easily avoided. "C"mon fellows- we've been fighting undead monstrosities for what feels like months. This is a rare chance to deal with a base yet beautiful animal, and to deal with it peacefully; how can we pass up the opportunity? Not to mention what Kin would think..."
You are also gaseous atm, so not casting spells etc.. Or talking for that matter.
If you wish to float within 60 and check you can.. The bird is not evil.
As you become corpreal and begin the speak you see the massive bird stir.. It turns its head towards the group and lowers its eyes as it moves from its nest to confront you.. To your surprise it speaks in ancient osirion..
"Well hello my little morsels. It's been a long time since dinner walks itself to my nest.. Who do I owe the pleasure?"
Arduino blinks in surprise and raises a hand to his mouth, whispering so quietly as to be absolutely positive that the roc cannot hear him; "Alright, that is definitely not an ordinary roc... killing may be worth doing again."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Hemket does speak ancient Osirian,
"Well you do seem to be a bit confused. First off, we're not dinner. We don't digest well. Secondly, nobody sent us, we're looking for some items. You seem to have been here a while so you might know the area. I don't suppose you'd be willing to answer a couple questions?"
It bristles its feathers and looks at you all for a moment before speaking..
He speaks normal Osirian..
"Im sure you would digest just fine, but it has been quite some time since I've had a converstaion so I suppose I will entertain you for the moment.. What is your question?"
"Would you happen to know anything about the Lantern Vault and the Monument Vault?"