Upon seeing Alzaar's gems and hearing your tales, Falto slinks back to his seat. The crowd of adventurers starts approaching the party....
A female Ulfen warrior, leader of the Daughters of the Desert, approaches Rhade with a book in hand, "Really? All that? If you don't mind, could I chronicle your adventures for a novel I'm writing?"
A scarred halfling by the apt name of Mad Dog from the Dog Soldiers steps up and tells a tale of how his band lost three of his dogs against a gelatinuous cube in their crypt. Upon seeing Rhade's gem, approaches him and shows him a beautiful short sword. "Look what we found brother? This sword is too big for us but if you have some gold, perhaps you'd like to buy it?"
One of the cutthroats, a female by the ominous name of Black Kiss, from the Sand Scorpions approaches Kakra when she is alone. "We lost our healer to some ghouls in the crypt and the rest of the band is scared to travel back into the Necropolis without one. How about you change sides, honey and leave your group and join us? We'll make you lots of gold and well worth your while. What say ye?" Her smile is predatory.
Finally, a female mage wearing a feathered hat and a crossbow, makes her way around the room. Jalal notices she stops by each group and asks them a question before moving on with a disappointed look. Finally, she makes her way to him, "Blessings of Nethys upon ye. Beautiful shield, indeed! My band and I are all followers of the god of magic and knowledge. It appears you and your band found many treasures. Say, would you know if you happened to find the Erudite Eye in your travels? We would be willing to pay a hefty sum for it."
Jalal frowns. "What would this Erudite Eye look like?" He shakes his head. "We didn't find any 'eye' shaped thing, but I shall watch for it if you'd like. Does it have power? If a follower of Nethys is searching for it, it must, yes?"
"I am Velriana by the way. And you? Well actually...it may be a place more than an item. Maybe a temple or shrine. Our research is not clear. The offer still stands...we'll pay gold for for any information on the matter, so keep your ears open." She smiles at the elf. The woman's accent identifies her as Taldan and her demeanor reveals perhaps an aristocratic background. She seems honest to Jalal.
Jalal bows. "A pleasure, Velriana. I am Jalal’mederiel Hammada." He smiles. "but most here simply call me Jalal. Come, will you join us for a bit? My friend Kakra is a priest of Nethys. Perhaps she would know more about the eye."
Rhade welcomes the chronicle writer to sit with him. [b]"Certainly my lovely. Sit. Drink...let's talk. I'd love for our adventures to be recorded for posterity. We had a wonderful bit of fortune, and sharing our exploits might give other possible explorers a bit of positive advice. What's your name? I'm Rhade,"[\b] the gnome says as he introduces the rest of the team one by one.
Anka, quiet as usual, sits with her companions but makes no toasts or jests to the others. She listens instead, watching the other adventurers and making small nods to those who wear Pharasma's symbol. She moves closer to Jalal as he speaks to the mage, piping in just once. "Plenty of gems, but nothing of particular magic nor any shrines to Nethys. What makes you think this item, or place, will be found in the tombs?"
Alzaar looks at the sword presented to him, and speaks politely.
I have no need for such a blade, but there others in my group who may.
He points at Anka, Kakra, and Jalal, and then takes a long drag on his hookah.
Now, if you happened to have a masterfully made whip, or trap breaking tools, I'm more than interested. But for now, tell me, how went your expedition? What treasures did you find?
Velriana smiles at Jalal's offer and motions her party, the Scorched Hand, to join her. You see a young unarmored male with a scorpion on his shoulder, whom she introduces as Azaz; a striking female dark skinned half-elf armed with a khopesh and garbed in black leather armor named Idorii; and a male priest of Nethys wielding a quarterstaff named Khelru. Velriana then asks for your introductions.
The Ulfen woman with Rhade introduces herself as Sigrun Firehair and happily takes notes of the wizard's adventures, as they share a drink.
The woman known as Black Kiss sneers at Kakra's refusal and tone. "No one talks to me that way...and lives long, woman. You have made quite a mistake today." She leaves and motions her three fellow members toward the door and they leave for the night.
Mad Dog, the uncouth halfling, smiles at Alzaar and happily offers his arcane sword (dagger for medium creatures) to the party. "We were sent to explore an abandoned tannery, where half of our dogs died fighting a gelatinous cube they found within. I finally destroyed that damn cube, but salvaged this weapon. It is wonderful, is it not? I need to sell it to buy replacement dogs for our next adventure. So any takers??"
"A pleasure to meet you all." Jalal stands to greet them. He bows his head when introduced to Idorii, noting her elven features.
"My friends and I call ourselves the Twilight Phoenix." He begins introductions even as several are engaged in other conversation. "I am called Jalal. This is Anka, a holy warrior of Pharasma. Over there is our trap specialist, Alzaar. And Rhade is there, a magician without peer. Lastly, we have a devotee of Nethys ourselves, Kakra. If this Eye is tied to Nethys, then we should ask her what she knows."
"Now if we do find information on this Eye, what will you do with it if we share it with you?"
"Ah Miss Sigrun, please feel free to invite your group over as well. There's plenty of drinks to be had for all. Tell me more about you and your group. Did you do any exploring? Have any luck?". Rhade barely listens for a response before his joy at finally having a success takes over and he begins talking more about his group's successes.
There is look of disappointment on Khelru's face especially, when Kakra can tell them nothing about they eye. Velriana looks at Jalal, "It is our find but we would be willing to handsomely pay you all a finder's fee for any assistance. Assuming you all survive your next tomb." She points to a chalk board with adventuring parties' names, where 5 parties have been scratched off the list, either due to death or retirement.
"Ah Miss Sigrun, please feel free to invite your group over as well. There's plenty of drinks to be had for all. Tell me more about you and your group. Did you do any exploring? Have any luck?". Rhade barely listens for a response before his joy at finally having a success takes over and he begins talking more about his group's successes.
Sigrun takes a swing of the ale, "Well, Rhade, my ultimate goal is to pen the tale of my exploits of how I took back the northern kingdoms! You watch, I will make it come true. As for our exploits, my sisters and I were assigned the house of a wealthy pawnbroker to explore; we encountered several traps, but little else in the way of opposition. We found some modest treasures but a woman never shares those. So lucky that you all were assigned the tomb of a military commander." She laughs uproariously.
Jalal chuckles. "I suppose that's only fair. But there's no need for the qualifier. We triumphed over the last tomb's challenges, and we will do so again. Because we honor the dead who we seek to learn from rather than simply looting. Both Pharasma and Nethys bless us."
He glances back at the board showing the parties. "Have they assigned you your next tomb?"
Idorii laughs, "I like your confidence, Jalal. I am sure the treasure seekers on that list were just as confident."
Velriana smiles, "No, Jalal. They will be assigned tomorrow morning. Is it not awful that they choose to use this lottery system instead of letting us pick our individual tombs? That should be changed."
"I'm excited for tomorrow's drawing, Sigrun. What would you wish for, if you could pick your next locale? An old mage's tower or lair would be my first choice, of course. The magical traps would be scary, of course, but could you imagine the wealth in spell books? Oh, I don't suppose you had the luck to run across a sphinx in your tomb, did you? I'd love to meet one of those magical creatures as well. They seem so fascinating!"
Alzaar casts detect magic on the dagger, seeing of it has any magical properties
, and speaks.
Let me see if there are any magical properties to it, my friend. If there are I'm sure one of my friends, or even myself would be more than interested in it. It's a shame about your dogs, we came close to losing some of our party as well, several times.
Alzaar detects the blade is enchanted but cannot determine exactly what it does. Since nobody is interested in pruchasing it, Mad-Dog moves on.
Sigrun smiles at Rhade's emotion. "No, never met a sphinx. I hope I don't either. Not very good at riddles." She laughs along with some of the other members of her party who have joined the table's discussion.
The party's social interactions go deep into the night until it is time to retire. The fellow adventurers wish you luck and go rest. You are reminded to keep an eye out for the Sanctum of the Erudite Eye by the Scorched Hand members. The next morning, you receive your next assignment from the Pharasman priests at the Grand Mausoleum, the House of Pentheru. It is believed to be the estate of some minor nobility in the Necropolis. As before, you are provided with a sketch of a map where it is located.
"And who would you choose, Velriana? Someone with fame and fortune?" Jalal shrugs. "We shall find our fates tomorrow. Tonight, let's revel." He find a glass of good wine and raises it in a toast.
"To the honored dead and whatever secrets they shall share with us tomorrow!" The elf takes a hefty drink.
***************
In the morning, Jalal enters slightly red-eyed. The night had gone long and sun came too quickly. Still, he seems to be in good spirits. "Well, what's our fortune today?" He reads the lists. "House of Pentheru? Hardly seems of importance, but the priests will it."
Jalal recalls reading about this minor noble family and it was not a happy tale. The Pentheru family owned a section of farmland and was responsible for its administration, overseeing the farmers who worked the land and the distribution of grain, and ensuring the proper taxes were paid to the local authorities and the Keleshite sultan in Sothis who ruled Osirion at the time. Pentheru the Elder started construction of the estate but passed away during its construction. His son, Pentheru the Younger, inherited his lands and title and finished the house. When the Plague of Madness struck Wati, Pentheru the Younger fell victim to it and quickly died. His family interred him in a crypt on the property and tried to weather the plague, but amid the chaos and the plague’s virulence, the entire household perished.
"If there is a possibility that the plague is still around, it might not be a bad idea to purchase a couple vials of antitoxins. And let's remember to take all our equipment on this dig, shall we? Having to come back for more rope for a second time would be quite embarrassing. And we have a young lady interested in writing about our exploits as well," Rhade advises the others who might not have heard his conversations with Sigrun the evening before.
Both the whip and the tools are available for purchase in Wati.
Jalal recount the story of the Pentheru family. He tells of father and son and the tragic ending of the short lived house from the Plague of Madness.
"They were a minor house with likely little other than their estate. There may not be much treasure in the tomb."
Alzaar wakes up early, and peruses the various stores and shops, finally purchasing an extremely well made scorpion whip, and a set of exquisite tools for disarming traps. He then makes his way to a potion dealer, and buys some potions that will help him better find dangers. When he returns to the group, he plops his leftover gold on a table by the others and speaks.
I purchased some things that will assist me with traps and other dangers to us. This is my leftover gold, let's use it to make some purchases to ensure our success, no? Does anyone need armor, or weapons? I found a vendor who does fine work, if you need something made by a master.
He shows his new whip to the party, then the tools and the potions.
I practiced some things I learned a long time ago when sneaking into a small arcane school in An. I should be able to help heal us if need be.
Jalal draws his kopesh sword and shows the group. "I used my funds to buy this yesterday. The craftsmanship is excellent. It is also made of specialized iron to hurt fey creatures." He shrugs. "It was a small increase in price, so why not?"
"I also bought some tanglefoot bags and a scroll to remove magical fear."
Jalal hefts a sack of items onto the table. "I also used the coin you gave me to buy these. I thought it might help us be more prepared today."
He opens the sack and you see:
Masterwork Backpack (2) (for Kakra and Alzaar)
Hammer
Sunrod (3)
Everburning torch
Antiplague (2)
Antitoxin (2)
Crowbar
Liquid Ice
Charcoal
Earplugs (5 pairs)
The party follows the sketched map they were provided with and arrive at the site. Sandstone walls ten feet high enclose this estate, affording those who once lived inside some privacy. A two-story stone house is visible beyond the walls, adjoining the rear wall of the property. In the center of the estate’s southern wall stands a pair of tarnished bronze gates hanging partially open. A pair of statues flanks the gate. Dusty hieroglyphs are carved into the wall at eye level to the left of the gate.
Jalal tells the party the heiroglyphs read "House of Pentheru" in Ancient Osiriani. There are similar heiroglyphs on the two statues, one of which reads "Pentheru the Elder" and "Pentheru the Younger".
Alzaar checks out the entrance before letting the others in, and then slowly makes his way toward the house.
Rhade takes his customary spot, waiting for the "all clear" from Alzaar before approaching too close.
Jalal follows Alzaar through the gates. "A house of nobility. I doubt there will be as many traps as our last venture. Perhaps leftovers of the plague though."
Alzaar senses no traps. In fact, he sees no tracks whatsoever, as if the mansion and its grounds had not been tread upon in years.
You all walk past the battered and torn gates. Dust and sand cover the ground of this small courtyard. To the east and west stand pairs of columns, once brightly painted and now bleached from the sun, which support stone archways leading to other section of the property. Tarnished bronze gates hang open under both arches. To the north, a small flight of steps leads up to a pair of ornate doors in the south wall of the house between another set of columns.