"Thank you." Nimathep said as Harmini cast the warding enchantment on her.
She thought for a moment, recalling the time years before when she had scaled that wall with her uncle on one of his clandestine expeditions into the necropolis. "I can't bestow flight on anyone, but if we were intent on going over the wall I can ascend first and fix a grapple at the top. I am confident that I can make it and it would be an easier climb with the rope, but still a long one. If anyone has any reservations about making such a climb, I think it would be better to go through the tunnels."
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Harmini smiles at Nima.
"Of course, my dear. Fortune favors the well prepared."
Well this is awkward. I assumed the others had means to climb when they so boldly supported this option at the meeting... I'm certainly not going over alone.
She sighs at Vash's appraisal.
"To be honest, my intention was indeed to simply fly over the wall. Though I'm afraid I haven't prepared enough spells for everyone today. As Nima has said, it seems we can either brave the tunnels now or come back tomorrow when I have memorized the proper transmutations."
Harmini looks to Teos for confirmation on a course of action.
Teos takes a few moments to think over the problem before he speaks.
"I originally thought that climbing the wall might be the easiest, however now that it has been pointed out to me, the tunnel might be a quicker and easier way to go."
He shrugs his shoulders and looks to the others.
"Well, that is my thoughts. Let's decide and get going...the undead will not wait on us!"
Despite it being the wisest choice, Nimaethep couldn't help but be a little disappointed. The thought of scaling the necropolis wall had brought back a little touch of nostalgia and for a moment she had looked forward to making the climb.
"It has been decided then, we will go through the tunnels. We can investigate the Silver Chain hideout we found earlier, they must have had some way under the wall considering how much stuff we found there. It seemed like it was a pretty established operation."
Vash will lead the way back to the tunnels, bow at the ready and on the watch for danger.
Teos moves forward with Vash, his shield firmly before him and his sword in hand.
"If anything comes at us, step behind me and I will try to shield you while you fire your bow!"
You find the Silver Chain hideout as you left it, without however any bodies. Naught but dark stains mark where they fell. Whomever, or whatever, took them there is no sign. Nor , it appears, has anyone or thing taken up residence.
Finding the tunnel is an easy matter, and as you move down it's darkness, you feel you can sense the mass of the Necropolis Wall above.
Some way down the tunnel, you come across a pile of desiccated bodies and body parts. Seems the Silver Chain had to deal with some incursions during their time in their hideout.
Luckily, none such plague your journey under the Wall and you arrive at a cave-in. Above, at the top of the pile of rubble, a small opening lets in the early day sun...
Vash signals to the others that he will scout ahead. Moving up to the opening stealthily, he looks around for any immediate threats or evidence of recent enemy passage.
, +4 more versus undead
, +4 more versus undead
Vash creeps up and over the fallen stonework, making his way up to the opening.
Peeking out he sees an empty courtyard, filled with naught but dust and bright sunlight. His nose is assaulted with that particular Necropolis smell: dust, spice...and death.
He sees a few old footsteps in the dust, coming and going from the opening, probably made my Silver Chain members.
Looking about, Vash reckons the group has emerged half way between the two most southwestern locations marked on your map of the Necropolis.
As he carefully looks about, he notices two figures walk out of a nearby archway. Though they have the desiccated skin and tattered clothing of a zombie, these two walk quickly, as if they retain the vigor they enjoyed in life. They quickly make their way across the courtyard towards a larger archway that seems to lead out into a wide thoroughfare.
They do not notice Vash.
Nimaethep followed behind, alert for an ambush. As they came upon the pile of corpses she paused. "If we could pause, just for a moment."
Despite their appalling condition, she quickly arranged the corpses. Though they were still stacked on the floor of the tunnel, at least they had a semblance of dignity instead of being discarded in a jumbled mess. She gave prayer to Anubis as she did so and pledged to attempt to return the mortal remains of these poor souls to a proper resting place once she was able to.
With the task done, she proceeded onward.
At the collapse, she quietly followed Vash up to the base of the rubble. Close enough that should something happen she would be able to assist him, but far enough away to give him the room he needed to remain stealthy.
Nimaethep waited patiently for his report.
Vash returns quietly to the others and reports what he has seen. Consulting the map, he says, ”We are close to several of the detection devices, but we have a fairly long trip if we decide to go directly to search for the Xotl. There appear to be advanced zombies wandering the streets nearby, but I do not think I was detected.”
Nimaethep nods "Lets check on the elegiac compass between here and the Xotle since we are headed in that direction anyway."
Nodding, Vash moves ahead and leads the way to the nearby compass along their route. Staying alert and hidden, he tries to avoid unwanted undead attention as he goes.
After waiting some time to ensure the two zombies he'd seen had passed on, Vash leads the party out into the Necropolis, weaving his way between the buildings, past shops and cafes frozen in time, a layer of dust and sand preserving life as it was 1800 years ago.
Roughly half-way to the first Compass site indicated on the map, Vash signals to the others to stop. Before him was another small courtyard, but unlike most that are windswept ,plain canvases, this one tells a story. On the dusty ground he can see as single pair of footsteps, barefoot, that entered from another archway, then went too and fro across the courtyard , as if seeking shelter. From the same archway, a scramble of scuffed footprints shows a host of zombies had followed whomever made the first set of footprints...
+4 more for the portion that pertains to Undead.
Teos moves up to the half-orc.
"What do the tracks say Vash? Which way should we go?"
The footprints tell the following story: The barefoot individual was actually injured, the left foot had a noticeable drag in the sand. At least two groups of zombies entered the courtyard, but the barefoot individual's tracks stop in the sand at a ruined stairway leading up to a partially sealed tomb. The marks around the stairway show that the zombies were not able to climb after their prey.
”This way,” whispers Vash, leading to the steps and up towards the tomb. ”An injured person escaped the zombies this way and may need our help.”
Teos follows the ranger closely while also keeping an eye on those behind them. It would not do to have a zombie sneak up on them!
Nimaethep nods and quietly follows Vash. "Who would be foolish, or desperate enough to be out in the Necropolis under these circumstances?"
Vash lead the others up the staircase, the dust there marred by a set of tracks; one solid footprint, one erratic trail of an injured foot.
The tracks lead to a tomb, one that had obviously been robbed some time ago. The stone slab that had covered it has been pulled back over the entrance from the inside, so that it incompletely covered the entrance, but provided enough protection from any unintelligent denizen of the Necropolis...
Vash calls out quietly past the door and into the tomb, "Is someone in here? Do you need help?"
When Vash calls out, all hear the sound of someone inside scabbling around, then a harsh voice responds..."ମୁଁ ଜାଣେ ନାହିଁ ତୁମେ କ’ଣ କହୁଛ! କିନ୍ତୁ ନିକଟତର ହୁଅ ନାହିଁ!"
"I know not what you say! But come no closer!
Recognizing the language as Undercommon but not speaking it, Vash asks, ”Does anyone know how to speak Undercommon? This could be one of the Xotl dark folk we came here to find...”
Nimaethep shakes her head "I don't speak the language, but I do have a little training in foreign tongues"
The catfolk listened carefully to the strange words trying to tease out anything that would give her a rough idea about what the stranger might be saying.
Teos shakes his head, not evening knowing what 'under common' is. He still keeps his sword at the ready in case this is not a friendly encounter.
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"I may have something useful. A scroll of the spell, comprehend languages. Though it won't allow you to speak undercommon, it'll at least grant you some understanding of what is being said."
Harmini reaches into her haversack and retrieves a scroll. She hands it to Nima before cautiously standing behind Teos.
"Undercommon... not a good sign. I hope we can avoid an altercation and move on."
"I've seen you use magic items before, this one should be easy enough for you, my dear."
Nimaethep raised an eyebrow as she took the scroll from Harmini. While it was true that she could tease out the magic from wands, it was unreliable. And she had never tried a scroll before.
She unrolled the fine velum and studied the symbols. Similar to magical traps, the scroll bound the magic of the spell to the velum it was written on. While a magical trap released that magic based on some kind of sensor or trigger, the scroll released its magic when a knowledgeable person spoke the finishing words.
Her eyes traced the arcane runes, looking for the subtle flourishes and traceries which gave clues and hints about what kinds of sounds or words might finish the spell. Down in the lower right corner on one of the final lines was an embellishment that she recognized as having something to do with stabilizing the bond between the magical energy and the substrate it was written on. A little scratch across the rune with her claw should help loosen the magic a little and make it easier to tease forth.
With that, she spoke some unintelligible but impressive sounding words.
She couldn't help but smile, proud of her accomplishment as the writing sparkled and faded.
She had a vague feeling from the tone and style of the stranger's words that he was warning them to stay away, but with the spell in place, she tried again.
She took some rations from her pack and put them on the piece of vellum that had held the spell. Slowly and carefully, she slid it through one of the openings around the incompletely sealed tomb hoping that the offering would convey their desire to help.
In a calm tone she tried to elicit another response now that she would be able to understand the trapped person.
"I know that you might not understand us. We don't mean you any harm, we are here to help if we can."
The offering of food and Nimaethep's calm tone seem to work...the parchment is snatched into the darkness, and after a moment or two the individual speaks again, "ତୁମେ କଣ ଚାହୁଛ! ମୁଁ ଆଘାତ ପାଇଛି କିନ୍ତୁ ମୁଁ ଯୁଦ୍ଧ କରିବି!
"What do you want! I am injured but I will fight!"
Nimaethep relayed the stranger's words to the rest of the party. "Perhaps if we offered a healing potion?"
"I have no potions of healing, but I can use my wand on the injured creature if you can convince it of our peaceful intentions," answers Vash. "Perhaps if you give assurances that we are here to fight the undead and seek parley with the Xotyl?"
The moment Vash mentions the Xotl, you all realize it's similar sound to the language the voluntarily entombed individual was speaking.
There's sudden stillness from inside, and a query "ଆପଣ Xotl ବିଷୟରେ ଜାଣିଛନ୍ତି କି? ଗାହ! ଯଦି ତୁମେ ମିଛ, ମୁଁ କହି ପାରିବି ନାହିଁ!"
"You know of the Xotl? Gah! If you lie, I cannot tell! "
"I don't know how I would convince this individual to accept having spells cast on them considering how suspicious he already is. He did understand the word Xotl though."
Nimaethep pondered the language barrier for a few moments "Perhaps if we showed him our map with an indication of where we are going? If he is a Xotle himself he might welcome the escort back to his people.
I don't want to risk our original map, and it might be best if we didn't reveal everything that we are looking for. If someone has a sheet of paper and a pen, we can sketch a quick map indicating where we are going right now and see if that helps gain his trust."
Teos keeps a watch as the others speak with the stranger. He keeps his eye out to keep his people safe.
Nimaethep sketched a rough map, showing only the parts that involved their trip to the Xotl. "I wish I had some way of knowing if the person trapped here is one of the Xotl or simply someone that knows of them."
"We can offer you healing if you let us in." she called out through the makeshift barrier. Nimaethep knew that the stranger couldn't understand her, but hoped that the tone of her voice might put them at ease.
Nimaethep offers the rough map to the stranger, who accepts it...taking into the shadows of the tomb. The party can hear the stranger muttering to itself, and they can imagine being in the same situation, talking to oneself , mustering up the courage to trust a group of strangers...
Finally, the stranger makes a decision. Thrusting the map back, it pauses with its grey skinned hands in the sunlight. Clapping them once, it then extends them palm up , then makes a come here motion with both sets of fingers. It then grasps the tomb cover stone and begins to try to push it out of the way...
Vash will nod mimicking the same gesture of peace, then help the unknown creature move the stone to the side.
Nimaethep tries to help as best she can, but realizes quickly that Vash seems to have the situation well in hand.
With a scraping and grinding sound, the tomb cover is pushed to the side enough to make an opening big enough for the stranger to exit.
Scuttling forward, it pauses at the entrance, dust and daylight streaming into the shallow recess of the tomb.
Then , with an obvious sigh, it moves forward once more and straightens to its full height ( about 6ft ), stretching long and hard. Then almost falls over as it forgot about it's injured leg. It...he...sits heavily on the top of the tomb, gingerly holding the obviously broken leg out above the ground.
Here is what it looks like....minus the evil grin :)
You recognize this being as what's called a Dark Caller. Dark callers hold a position in dark folk society similar to that of lay priests. Dark callers are named for their role in summoning otherworldly creatures called owbs to oversee important rites in their shadowed communities deep underground.
Holding up his wand, Vash says, ”I can heal the damage, but not set the bone.”
”I can assist someone more skilled, though,” he adds.
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Harmini studies the emerging figure with apprehensive eyes.
She speaks boldly to her companions in Common, knowing full well that this creature cannot understand her.
"This is a Dark Caller, a priest of the dark folk. Whether or not this one is allied with the Xotl clan remains unclear. From what I've heard of the Darklands and its denizens, they can be... unpredictable. However, I am certain that it's in no condition to summon anything truly dangerous at the moment. Are we absolutely sure that we'd like to change that?"
We've come this far, I suppose the kind thing to do would be to heal it. This creature won't be of any use to anyone in its current state. Best get on with it."
Harmini sighs and approaches slowly with her palms open in a non-threatening manner. If the creature allows, she then gently touches its injured leg, transferring positive energy.
Teos follows along with the group, breathing a sigh of relief to be in sunlight once again.
"So what should we do with this fellow? Is he safe to follow or should we strike out on our own?"
Nimaethep studied the figure before her, she had never seen anyone like this before. "How long does you spell last Harmini? While I don't know anything about his kind, he hasn't done anything troubling so far and has already trusted us with his well being. I don't even know what relationship, if any he might have with the Xotl. He didn't seem concerned when we indicated where we were going. I agree we should keep an eye on him, but we have invested this much time in getting him to trust us so I think we should at least escort him to our destination."
The Dark Caller sits still as both Vash and Harmini approach and begin to address his injured leg. With a gently pull, Vash straightens the leg bone while Harmini's magic knits the break together.
Tension noticeably drains from the Dark Caller's body as the pain of his injury fades. Standing, he bends his leg and makes a few small jumps in place.
He then faces Vash and Harmini, crosses his arms across his chest and inclines his head, "ଧନ୍ୟବାଦ।". Then he straightens, adjusts his hood so that it hangs further over his face, then looks questioningly at the group, "ତୁମେ ମୋତେ ବର୍ତ୍ତମାନ Xotl କୁ ନେଇଯିବ କି?"
"Thank you"
"Will you lead me to the Xotl now?"
Not able to understand the Dark Caller, Vash points to the Xotyl headquarters on the shared map and nods encouragingly, motioning for the creature to lead the way.