Anka's Rime metamagic feat combined with the fatigue from Frostbite entangle and slow the elemental enough so that Kakra's torch burns it and Anka's warhammer smashes it into bits, dispersing its sandy corpse and destroying the elemental!
"I don't know about the rest of you, but it might be wise to take a wee bit of a break before we continue exploring the rest of this tomb. I'm not sure how much healing magic you have left, Kakra, but my spells are just about gone until I get some rest. And the rest of you look pretty beaten up, no offense meant of course," the gnome adds with a mischeivious grin.
"Well if the rest of you are as tuckered as me, there's two real options. Either we muscle back up that rope and rest up top, or we grab a bedroll and crash down here somewhere. I'm fine either way. We appear to have cleared out a good chunk of this place, so finding an empty and defensible room might be a bit easier."
Once awake, Jalal heals himself.
Alzaar picks himself up off the floor, panting.
I think... We should all.... Rest up. he says between labored breaths. He stands, shakes his head to get rid of his dizziness, and looks at the beast that knocked him out.
The dangers here are... Much more than I expected. A regroup may help us be ready for anything else that comes. Whether or not we do that in town or in here, I think, should be a matter of vote. I personally don't mind resting in here, to perhaps deter anyone from trying to loot the place in out absence.
"We're right by the city. Sleeping in the tomb seems..unwise."
"If we are to leave the tomb tonight, are we going to remove any of the antiquities and take them to market to demonstrate our success? It might be good to let the others know that we are doing well with our assignment so far."
Jalal nods. "Let's leave the tomb for the night. There's no real need to stay and we can see if there are any buyers for the artifacts."
A fair point. Let us return then!
Alzaar begins to lead the way out.
Alazaar leads the party out, through the poison dart corridor and up the 60' rope. Eventually, the entire party climbs up and you continue on. As Alzaar steps into the antechamber, a creature skitters from the corner stealthily and stings Alzaar, damaging him! The poison flows through the bard and he feels weaker. As he gets a good look at the creature, he sees this outsized scorpion has a translucent shell, allowing one to see through to the creature's internal organs.
Rhade moves to D3 and again tries to throw his little glob of acid at the scorpion.
Ranged touch attack
Damage
Everyone! Another creature! Alzaar shouts as he moves backward, unfurling his whip and lashing it at the creature.
Jalal follows Kakra and then after the Cleric burns the scorpion, he steps up and tries to slash at the creature.
The scorpion takes Alzaar's whip, Jalal's blade, and Kakra's fire and is still up! Anka is up.
"Ugliest bloody scorpion I've ever seen..once we kill it I want to study it."
Anka moves around the side, into flanking with Jalal. She lashes out with her warhammer, still holding it after fighting the elemental. for
Anka's blow smashes the scorpion to mush!
Alzaar finally manages to stave off the effects of the scorpion's poison but he does feel significantly weaker.
A battered party, with a weakened Alzaar, returns to the Tooth and Hookah to eat, drink, and rest. As you enter, you see a giant chalk leaderboard posted at the tavern, with the party's name of "Twilight Phoenix" listed near the bottom. Near the top of the leaderboard, you see the following names: Cryptfinders, Daughters of the Desert, Sand Scorpions, and Scorched Hand. The New Pharoahs and Smiling Hyenas groups have RIP listed next to them. A few claps that you are still alive follow your entrance.
The patrons soon beset the party with questions, "Did you finish already? Quitting? What's the scariest thing you've seen to date? Deadliest trap? Tell us about any treasures found! You don't look too good my friend."
Rhade, despite being exhausted was only too happy to answer some of the questions. He couldn't help but brag about the cool chariot, the awesome masks, and the strange mirror. He told the others about the vermin guardians and the three strangle little golems. "I estimate we finished about half of it today. A soft bed and a night's sleep and we plan on finishing it up tomorrow."
"Quit? You much be joking! We have uncovered much about the great general Ankentepi. He was a man of his family, but they were taken from him early, so he poured his devotion into his city, protecting it with his life. Come see!"
Jalal shows those in the Inn the magical shield. "It was held by the general himself! It hold properties we have yet to discover, but we will find them. Imagine! I hold an instrument of Wati's history!"
Alzaar stands after his friends are done talking, and quiets the room with a sweep of his arm.
My friends, allow me to tell the tale of the Twilight Phoenix!
He then proceeds to tell the story of the tomb as dramatically as he can, using suspense to his advantage, and using his own misfortunes as comic relief. He tells of Jalal's might, of Kakra and Anka's magic, of Rhade's acid and burning hands (veritably consuming the very souls of the enemies they had fought with burning vengeance, of course!) and his only success so far... Jumping over a spider ( to draw a chuckle from the crowd.) he shows the artifacts they have brought back, and tells of other artifacts still waiting to be brought like the chariot and the magical mirror. His body language is all dramatic sweeps and flourishes, even cracking his whip at a mug to illustrate the fight with the scorpion.
The priestess retires to the nearby temple after dropping off a few of her things at the tavern. She spends an hour there praying for future success and thanking Pharasma for each member of the team returning alive and relatively intact. When Anka at last returns to the tavern, she finds a quiet corner, avoiding all the back-patting, cheering and carousing of the others. From there, she'll eat her meal before retreating to her room to inspect the unopened urn they found in the tomb. She'll spend most of the night looking the urn over and writing detailed descriptions of it and the other treasures they found before retiring.
@Anka: When you stop by the Temple, a representative of the Church advises you that upon completion of the Tomb your party will need to provide a full report of the Tomb and its treasures
@Jalal: Re: Treasures (See above)
@Alzaar: The crowd enjoys your tale of intrigue and adventure but find it too humorous and outlandish to pay you for it, though they do thank you for the best laugh they've had in months.
After your tales, the patrons move on to discuss other matters and you are free to relax the night away.
Jalal sits and drinks as Alzaar spins his fantastic tale. If the elf hadn't lived it, no doubt he wouldn't believe it either. Each time the elf sets his glass down, you notice the cup seems to randomly slide across the table. At first you think he's doing it with some magic, but soon the elf shows an exasperated face. Soon, he is fighting back with magic making a motion and allowing the cup to slide back into his hand. You hear him mutter some curse about a mischievous cousin, then he take a long drink from his cup and doesn't release it this time.
When Anka finally joins the group, he asks about the temple. "What did the priests say?" He nods as she informs him about reporting the tomb to the priests. "Sure, they have a right to know."
Nodding to Jalal, Anka indicates the bag with the items they found. "I was planning to write a description of the urn anyway. I will begin writing up a report tonight before we head back tomorrow."
You return to the Tomb, down rope, down poison dart corridor, past Chamber of Reflection (avoiding mirror) and through cavern where you fought the Sandling. You open the doors on the other side and enter a chamber.
A tapestry hangs from a frame against the south wall of this large chamber; it depicts an otherworldly vista where the souls of the dead, shepherded by strange beings, enter an ethereal river ambling through space toward a landscape dominated by an impossibly tall spire. Columns sculpted in the shape of Osirian warriors wielding khopeshes stand in all four corners of the room. The floor is tiled in a white spiral pattern on a black background, and this spiral pattern is repeated on the stone double doors to the north and west. Alzaar checks and finds no traps on either set of doors but they are locked. Which way?
"How about we enter the doors to the west there, Alzaar? They look to be as good an option as any."
"We need to remember to check those chests out before we leave again. And see if we can figure out how to get the chariot out. Imagine what someone might pay for that!"
Alzaar sighs in relief when Kakra heals his wounds and poison from the creature; he had thought it beyond anyone's abilities and was going to just let it run it's course. Oh, my lady Kakra, that feels great! Thank you! he exclaims when she is done, drawing her into a hug and then buying her a drink. Over the night's food, he grabs the parties attention and speaks. I believe it prudent to try to hire someone to help us get that chariot out. It may be the most valuable thing in there, and also perhaps find someone to identify that mirror and the urn. Both may be excellent finds, and secure our notoriety for future endeavors. Also, before we go back in, perhaps we should find a wand of healing magic with the coin we make from selling our finds so far. What do all of you think?
Alzaar casts detect magic, studying the statues and the tapestry before moving into the room.
I'm no religious expert, but I think this room has something to do with Pharasma and the souls of the dead? Alzaar speaks as he starts to open the locks on the doors to the west, taking his time as to give the rest of the group time to explore the room, decipher the images, and possibly take the tapestry.
Anka walks into the room and immediately bursts into a smile. She lets out a small gasp and nearly stumbles into it before pausing, waiting impatiently as Alzaar checks the room for traps. She rushes in when he gives the all clear, looking at the columns, the spirals on the floor and finally moving toward the tapestry. The words for a Detect Magic spell briefly fall out of her lips as she stares at it.
"This..we must bring this out with us. If we sell it, we should only sell it to the temple, if possible. It is exquisite!"
"Perhaps we're we've clear the entire place, we can bring in some laborers to haul things out of here." He nods at Anka's excitement over the tapestry. "I think the priests will be in awe of this place."
Alzaar takes his time with the rather complicated locks and after 4 minutes plus, he opens both locked doors. Nothing detects magical in the room. The tapestry depicts the crossing of souls into the afterlife oin the Osirian mythology and its placement here suggests that you are approaching the inner sanctum of the deceased.
West: This short hallway narrows sharply to the west, descending to a set of stairs that abruptly ends at a rough rock wall.
North: The passageway goes 10' to another set of double doors.
"Interesting...Alzaar, which way do you prefer? When stairs end abruptly, that always makes me think a secret door is closeby. Should we look for such a thing first, before tackling the double doors?"
Alzaar shrugs his shoulders at Rhade, and glances at the tapestry before answering.
One way is as good as the other, I suppose, but let's be ready for anything nasty on the other side this time, eh?
He chuckles and uncoils his whip speaking to the entire group.
Lets check out this set of stairs first, chances are there's either a nasty trap or a secret room on the other side. I'm betting on a trap. If I were making a secret room, I would announce it with stairs...
He pauses for a moment, concentrating on the area on the bottom of the stairs, and the wall they end at. His eyes move unnaturally fast for a second or two, and then he looks back at the party.
A nifty little spell, that. Allows me to search an area without having to actually be in it....
Sift
Divination
Level:
Bard 0, Inquisitor 0
Components:
V, S
Casting Time:
1 standard action
Range:
30 ft.
Area:
one 10-ft. cube
Duration:
instantaneous
Saving Throw:
None
Spell Resistance:
No
You examine an area at range as if you were searching for fine details with the Perception skill. Make a Perception check with a -5 penalty, modified as normal for conditions. No penalty is applied for distance. Apply the result against the DC for any hidden features, such as secret doors, traps, or hidden treasure. You must be able to see the area you are attempting to search, and you only find details that can be perceived with sight or touch. Sift detects only objects and features, not actual creatures.
After examining it, Alzaar shrugs again and makes his way down the stairs.
I didn't sense anything, but be wary. That doesn't mean there isn't anything there...
Jalal follows Alzaar carefully to the stairs with his sword out. He looks at the wall to see if it's the result of some cave in or intentional.
Rhade falls in line with the group. He uses his magical vision to attempt to search for any magical auras that might be in the rooms as he goes.