Herbert takes this opportunity to pull Reed aside. He attempts to pass the gist of the plan to Reed without Gribb noticing.
The plan unfolds in Reed's ear. The last line Herbert drives home...So all this subterfuge will assure that his reactions will be genuine.
Reed smiles ear to ear. The grin seems to slide off the side of his face as he turns. The last teeth hold out as long as they can, but there is no sign of the smile as Reed faces his brother.
Isis, your call. The Sunburst is full of vendors or we can try to contact people farther away. If you beat the flood in town prices will be fair. The overabundance of goods will drive the prices down rapidly. If we are to sell here, sooner is better.
I agree Reed, let us head to Sunburst Market and sell off what we can while the price is right.
Some stern haggling earns the Obsidian Marketers 140pp to split up three ways.
The city has a decidedly different feel. Workmen and slaves toil in the sun, the merchants speak of the many mouths at home to feed, but something else is present. The feeling that the whole city is holding it's breath. The reverence or superstition, depending on who you ask, that the Pharasman's exhibit has sunken into the half-city. The citizens rest uneasy, even if most don't recognize the source of their discomfort.
The trip from the Sunburst market confirms this hunch. Even the lay-abouts seem unusually edgy. The necropolis seems welcoming when compared to the distracted unease that Wati had to offer. When the tombs are closed the city may return to its former complicated but familiar existence next to the ancient dead.
The Marketers find themselves repeating the processes of climbing down the knotted rope into the netherworld that is Akhentepi's tomb. Several turns following familiar footsteps in the dust and the adventurers arrive at the stairway where they battled the sandling. The footprints end in a confused dance of dust. They overlap and slide together. Several feet forward, fresh dust lay nearly undisturbed.