In general the Deamons require a toll of at least 50 plat, or two gems worth 300gp each.
They resist cold, elec, fire.
They have energy draining attacks and a fear gaze.
They have damage reduction that is passed with good aligned weapons.
"So I guess that means we shoot them, not pay them. " he 'says' over the telepathic link.
unless there are objections, he starts firing. Surprise round, deadly aim, point blank shot, sneak attack, arrows count as good
The easy way would be to fly over, so we can assume that bad things will happen. I'll pay the toll
Findlay telepathizes what he know about the demons -- adding:
"The regular Styx boatman only charges two coppers -- these are clearly bandits! I've never even had that kind of money!"
with that, an instant after Hemket fires at one, Findlay puts a <Glitterdust> between the two that Hemket did *not* target (intending to get both of 'em in the radius) -- using one point from his Arcane Reservoir to bump the Will Save DC to 23...
Hadjii tunes into the cerebral discussion:
"I do not trust demons: devils may follow some laws, but demons are too chaotic -- they may just take our money, then attack anyway!"
if the party decides to destroy them, Hadjii will use Totemic Summons, and convert his prepared Rusting Grasp, to spontaneously cast Summon Nature's Ally IV as a standard action in the surprise round -- bringing forth augmented wolves to block their path...
Ama has stated her case and will go with whatever the group wants
Since there was an objection, Hemket will go with paying. However he will keep an eye out for treachery as he doesn't trust the things.
Each boat will casry 3 of you, so you only need to pay two ferryman if you wish to go that route..
After the money is placed in the daemon's hand it steps aside to allow up to 3 passengers to board it's boat. The third one simply disappears in a "poof", likely greater teleport. Both of them ask in unison..
"East or West?"
Hadjii, expecting to be invisible for another 20 minutes -- and having continuous <nondetection> from the <Mask of the Forgotten Pharaoh> -- decides to fly along overhead.
"I vote east..." (telepathically)
"East" Hemket says in ancient Osiriani.
as Findlay climbs into the boat on the left:
(telepathically) "I suppose east is as good as any..."
once seated, he'll pull out a wand of Acid Arrow he's been carrying around for a long time, and take the next 6 rounds to use his <Consume Magic Item> exploit, draining all but five charges from it into his Arcane Reservoir...
()
The boats head off east and you shortly come to a junction where you can go north or south. You can see a nook to the south so I assume you go that way.. And the boat pulls up to a landing shortly after..
A stone landing and an L-shaped chamber lie at the end of this canal. Brightly colored wall paintings depict figures of winged serpents. Beyond the entrance is what appears to be a pool, though the water is frozen solid. A large painting of a winged serpent figure in red is discernible through the ice.
The Ice is 10' thick in case you were wondering..
"Now I could ask how they manage to get so much ice in a desert, but I know magic is the answer, so I won't. You magicky types figure out if I need to shoot something. "
though he will take a close look around nonetheless.
You round the corner into the room and see a crystalline pyramid of deep blue sapphire hovers a few inches above the icy surface. It has a strong aura of evocation.. Inscribed at it's base is the phrase "Open in the name of Hakotep"..
You also notice a wooden coffin buried beneath the pyramid in 10' of ice..
"I'd say he just be chillin'..."
hovering invisibly overhead, air-Hadjii will try Spellcraft instead of Know(Arcana):
He will telepathically communicate to everyone whatever he figures out...
Findlay and Amarantha have no clue, but Hadjii recognizes what he thinks is a control pyramid.. It can be used to control some of the other flying pyramids moving into attack formations all across Osirian..
You think it might be possible to deactivate the attack pyramids with the right sequence of use..
At this point its on yall as to what to do..
Assuming yall move closer to the little pyramid Hemket's hairs on the back of his neck stand up.. He doesn't think it is trapped, but something else is up..
Findlay will start simple: from 10' away, cast Detect Magic, and examine the little pyramid for a few rounds, walking back and forth in front of it...
Having never seen one of these things before he's not quite sure, but something is a little off from what he expects from his intial look.. Hadjii confirms that while it has a powerful evocation aura he thinks there's something hidden.. Almost like there's a spell hiding some other magical effect in this case..
Putting their heads togther they surmise there is a Magic Aura spell on it that would need to be dispelled if you wanted to get a look at it's true nature.
Findlay will attempt to Dispel Magic (prepared spell, 3rd-level slot), targeting Magic Aura:
plus Mythic Surge, just for good measure
Findlay strips the magic revealing the objects true nature, which is obviously a trap.. Hemket figures this out post haste.. Apparently if you had touched the thing an empowered, intensified cone of cold would has washed over the group..
Feel free to disarm it now Hemket..
Easily disabled.. All thats left in the room in the frozen coffin if you are interested.. Otherwise back to the boat.
Back to the boat then. The only other option was 'west'.
Findlay will examine the now safe mini-pyramid in much closer detail: if it looks safe to touch, he'll touch it as part studying it.
via Telepathy, he communicates to the party:
"I hope I can figure this thing out -- stopping Hakotep's forces is an important part of defeating Hakotep..."
If he can, he'll take it, and study the little ziggurat as the party rides in the boat. He wants to stop Hakotep's attack...
You can easily take it, but it is non-magical now so pretty much a paper weight..
I'll move forward in the morn..
Hadjii chimes in mentally:
"What about that coffin buried in the ice? Perhaps it has something we need in it..."
"Or it has a vampire in it. I'm not really wanting to dig through all that ice. I don't like cold. "
Moving back to the ferry boat the group moves around the corner to another landing..
A painting on this large landing depicts a regal figure rowing a reed boat. A deep, crystal-clear pool fills the chamber beyond. At the bottom of the pool, a red mosaic shows a woman carrying a clay vessel on her head. A statue of red stone, mirroring the figure in the submerged mosaic, stands on a platform against the room’s western wall. Four smaller pools lie in corner alcoves. The ceiling is domed and painted in shades of blue.
Moving up you see..
The red stone statue depicts an elven woman in classic Osirian garb, wearing a golden pectoral necklace adorned with beads of jade and lapis lazuli. The statue’s right hand grips a khepresh, the traditional Osirian “war crown,” made of gold, jade, and ivory, with a jade crocodile head adorning the crown in place of the traditional hooded cobra. An ivory cartouche with the name Nailah carved in its surface rests in the statue’s left hand.
Hemket is close but no cigar.. He can't quite remember..
Amarantha and Findlay both recall this person..
Nailah was the adopted sister of Queen Neferuset, though with a result of 30 of better, a character also recalls that she was involved in a coup attempt against Hakotep and put to death in a gruesome fashion.
The war crown has a faint magical aura..
Hmm...From what I recall Nailah was the adopted sister of Queen Neferuset she was involved in a coup attempt against Hakotep and put to death in a gruesome fashion.
Findlay will fire up Detect Magic again, and study the warcrown for a few rounds:
Findlay looks closely, but it appears whatever powers the crown has they are currently suppressed.. The statues necklace and cartouche can easily be removed, but you will have to break the arm off to take the crown, or use stoneshape etc..