The little creep shakes it's head in exasperation, whether at his fellow's poor communication skills, or his ow, sweeping his hands to include your group and Aioke and the other creeper, "No...no...all wait. All wait for Unwrapped Harmony."
Nimaethep relaxed a little knowing that she wasn't being singled out for some reason. She nodded "Of course." and then took a step back and waited.
About a half hour after the creeper disappeared into the central building, it appears at the door and rushes as fast as it's little legs can to hustle up and pant out, "Come....come....Unwrapped Harmony with see you all..."
It then joins the other two in holding Aioke's hands , leading him towards the buidling...
Vash nods and follows.
Still not completely trusting of their new hosts, Teos keeps alert and his weapons ready...just in case. He follows along, staying near the front and within striking distance of the dark creeper's leader.
The creeper opens the door wider for you, allowing you to enter a large (50 x 60 ft) , once opulent foyer.
All of the windows have been covered with either tapestries or re-purposed furniture. What light that does penetrate, pierces the gloom with dust filled beams.
Near the center of the room a tall, slim figure waits, attended by a number of creepers.
The strange and mysterious dark stalkers are the undisputed leaders of dark folk society. Dark stalkers are tall, frail humanoids with incredibly pale skin. They constantly wear multiple layers of dark cloth and black leather armor, yet unlike their lesser kin, a dark talker’s garb is always clean and spotless.
The figure speaks, now obviously a female, in their strange language, indicating a hall to the right. The creepers with Aioke lead him that way, and as he traverses the foyer, he speak to the female dark folk.
She nods, then turns back to you, speaking in heavily accented Orisani, "Thank you for assisting Aioke, our kind are not often helped by the surface dwellers." she says, then continues, "You have come at the behest of Ptemenib , so my servants tell. Explain."
She clasps her hands in front of her, waiting your response.
"Unwrapped Harmony, I am but a simple warrior who fights the undead. I have no gift for pretty words." begins Vash. "But I can tell you what I know. We rescued a priest named Ptemenib from the clutches of Ekram and her minions of the Silver Chain. It was he who spoke of the Xotl and you, suggesting you might have information on the nature of the outbreak of undead," says Vash.
"We have also learned about undead-detecting devices called Elegiac Compasses and a cult of atheist lamias called the Amushet who might be behind the uprising, but we have not yet investigated those leads," he adds. Finishing, he says, "We seek to destroy the undead and those who would set them loose upon the citizens of our city. Can you help us?"
Nimaethep's eyes quickly adjusted to the dim light, her heritage easily allowing her to see everything in the dim room as clearly as if it was lit. Her nose on the other hand did not adjust so easily to the concentrated odour of multiple Xotl in one room with poor air flow.
She did not interrupt Vash, letting him speak for the group as she sought to quell the odour induced queasiness in her stomach.
Despite the discomfort, however, she did keep a keen eye on the corners and shadowy places. Although they had not displayed any kind of hostility or subterfuge so far, they were in the Xotl's domain now and it was best to be prepared.
Unwrapped Harmony listens to Vash's words intently, but she obviously does not miss Teos' readiness, nor Nimaethep's discomfort.
She nods at Vash's last question, "Yes, we have grown used to the occasional restless dead since we came here, but the recent plague was most worrisome. " she says, the pauses , as if considering something.
Coming to a conclusion, she then says, "That you came from Ptemenib...and helped Aioke; you have done us a service. I will tell you what I know. "
She reaches into her dark wraps and withdraws a piece of torn parchment. Holding it aloft, she says, "We are always aware of the various groups that had begun to enter the Necropolis, but several nights ago, one of my creepers observed a strange figure near one of the old bathhouses. The figure was carrying a golden mask and was arguing with something in a brass cage. This was mere hours before the strange pulse of energy washed over the city; bringing with it the undead plague. "
She holds the parchment out for you inspection...
The parchment is a scrap of a star chart of the summer skies over Wati; but the incomplete piece makes it impossible to tell whether the star chart is an academic reference, a navigational chart, or a divination aid
"A star chart," says Vash..."But what does it mean?"
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Unable to determine what sort of monstrous creature Unwrapped Harmony might be, Harmini remains warily behind Teos. She continues to feign ignorance of the whole conversation but her eyes widen when she also recognizes the star chart.
Interesting... but it is incomplete.
She whispers to Teos in their shared sphinx language once more.
Get it to give us that parchment so we can be on our way. I still don't trust these creatures.
Teos steps forward and asks to take the portion of the star chart.
"This could be helpful in our current task. May we keep it?"
Religion:
Dungeoneering:
Unwrapped Harmony allows Teos to take the scrap, "Take it. If you are able to stop the plague of undeath...The name of the bathhouse where this was found is the Marid's Caress..."
She then goes on to describe where it is, and you realize that she's describing one of the possible locations of an elegiac compass on your map.
Stepping, back she says, "Go with peace and good fortune on your endeavor. "
Vash bows and says, "Thank you, Unwrapped Harmony. Can you tell us anything about this star chart and how it may help us against the undead plague?"
Unwrapped Harmony cocks her head, "Oh, is that what it is?...I only know the circumstances of it's being found by my creeper. The timing seemed to indicate some connection to the undead plague...perhaps investigating the bathhouse where it was found..." she muses, seemingly losing interest in the conversation.
"Thank you for your help, we will let Ptemenib know you and your kin are well. We were happy to be of assistance." she bowed with respect to Unwrapped Harmony before taking her leave.
Taking your leave from the strange people that are the Xotl, you emerge blinking back out into the bright Wati sunshine.
Consulting your map, you think the bathhouse is a mere couple of streets away.
You make your way carefully, managing not to attract the attention of any other denizens of the Necropolis.
Finally you stand before the ruins of the Marid's Caress, what was obviously an opulent bath house in the days before the Necropolis. Now, a dusty ruin, it's entrance beckons, light from a collapsed roof playing on the rubble strewn floor...
Vash moves smoothly ahead, sneaking up and looking carefully into the entrance, alert for enemies--or compasses.
(+4 if Undead involved)
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Harmini breathes a sigh of relief after leaving the Xotl. She whispers to her companions softly through the use of her messaging cantrip.
"I'm certainly glad that's over with. I suppose now we will see if any of our time spent with those unpleasant smelling dark folk bears fruit..."
She looks at the ruins that lay before the group.
"Well this place has seen better days. What a shame. At least it's a sign that the city once encouraged a less pungent populace."
Vash moves up quietly and takes a look inside.
A swampy morass of mud, mold and crumbling stonework is all that remains of the once luxurious tiled baths and basins that made up the bathhouse.
In the far corner, an intricate machine...or at least what remains of it, can be seen poking out from under a collapsed wall...
Nothing threatening can be seen...
Sending the *All Clear* signal to the others, Vash moves over to the machine and starts carefully removing debris from the collapsed wall that is resting on the machine.
Looking back to Harmini, he says, "I have not the skill to understand this machine, but I can at least help uncover it," as he continues working.
What you assume is the elegiac compass is unfortunately now a twisted mess of curved metal, warped gears and crushed crystal. It's was obviously quite a beautiful machine, but when the wall collapsed...
Deeper under the rubble, protected by two long pieces of fall, you find an intact piece of circular crystal, dusty but whole.
(+4 if Undead-Related)
Vash carefully digs in the rubble and pulls out the crystal, handing it to Harmini and saying, "This looks like it might be the critical component for the compass, Lady Wakestep."
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Harmini steps forward, following Vash's signal. She extends her hand and releases a cone of magical detection.
"Again. What a shame. I doubt that we possess the time or the resources to make this functional again. Perhaps one of the other four might yet remain intact. Let's at least have a look at what you've found, my dear."
Teos looks at the damage and tries to examine the remains of the machine.
Perception:
Watching Vash retrieve the lens, Teos straightens up and looks warily around the ruins.
You roll the lens around in your hands for a few minutes, guaging the powers that it's maker imbued within...
It is a Lens of Detection :
These circular prisms let their wearer detect minute details, gaining a +5 competence bonus on Perception checks. It also aids in tracking, adding a +5 competence bonus on Survival checks when tracking.
Also, you are correct the machine is beyond repair, even had you the time or materiel.
As the others examine the remains of the bathhouse and the wreckage of the compass, they notice how life has established a foothold here, fed by the now broken plumbing, still feeding a trickle of water, sustaining moss, grass, some frogs and insects. A bit of an oasis of life within the City of the Dead.
Nimaethep looked at the tangled wreckage of the arcane contraption and mused"Considering what happened here, perhaps the temple should invest in maintaining and replacing these devices. I wonder why they were abandoned.".
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Unable to determine what this magic item is, Harmini places it into her haversack for later examination. She then turns her attention to Nima.
"I believe the Pharasmins have been trying to restore the ravages of the Plague of Madness in Wati for the last thousand years or so... I wouldn't hold your breath."
They probably wouldn't even have it fixed within my lifetime. However long that might be...
She sighs.
"We should move on. There must be a compass in better condition somewhere else."
"Yes, let's move on to the next one...Maybe we will get lucky and the next one will be more intact--or just be missing its crystal," hopes Vash, looking at the map to see the next nearest compass location.
Looking up from the map, he asks, "What of the star map, Lady Wakestep? Is there anything here that might match that scrap we were given?"
Teos hands the scrap of map to Harmini.
"Here you go. Maybe it can give us a clue to the rising of the dead...or about the compass?"
Teos stays alert for anything out of the ordinary while the others examine the map.
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Harmini shakes her head after examining the map a second time.
"Sadly, I can't make out any more than when I first saw it. It's some part of the summer skies over Wati, though it is incomplete. It could be academic, navigational, or even a divination aid. It could be almost anything really..."
She sort of trails off into thought mid sentence.
Hmm. Divination. I wonder if our friend, Ptemenib may be able to assist us from afar.
After a brief moment, Harmini reconnects with her companions.
"Come to think of it, most divinations only require a small fragment such as this to discover their true meaning. Unfortunately, I lack the necessary magical skill at this time but our associate at the Grand Mausoleum, Ptemenib may be able to help. It was he who suggested we visit the dark folk in the first place."
Harmini pulls out her journal along with a set of bird feather tokens from her haversack. She writes out a small letter to Ptemenib on another torn out page before rolling it up and tightly tying it around the scrap of star chart with several strands of her thick hair.
"Greetings my dear Ptemenib,
The search for the source of the undead continues. Yet we may have found a clue. This is an incomplete star chart of Wati's summer skies. I would ask that you try to divine its purpose or the location of its counterpart/s and send back word to us. I have attached 25 gold pieces for incense and an additional bird feather token. I will furnish full payment for your services upon my return. - Lady Harmini Wakestep"
"I do hope this is agreeable, yes?"
"Very reasonable, Lady Wakestep. When you are ready, we'll go to the next compass location," responds Vash.
Leaving the ruin of the bath house, you begin to travel north west towards the location of another of the magical compasses.
Picking your way along, listening for any tell-tales of the approach of a horde of undead, you are relieved when none make an appearance.
That is until your are about half-way to the other location, and a nearby door explodes open! Through the door an esobok flied, a ghoul trapped in it's jaws. After a few moments, the ghoul stops moving and the esobok chews mightily and consumes a good part of the unfortunate undead.
Finished, it looks up and sees you. But, with a snort it trots off in another direction looking for more suitable prey.
Senses heightened, the rest of you journey is uneventful.
As you near the location on the map, the buildings change into those of a market, old vendor and merchant shop fronts closed forever. Turning a corner, you see market stalls and small shops in various states of decay rise from the worn cobbles of this plaza. Rubble and bits of gnawed bone lie heaped in corners.
Across the boulevard, you see 4 ghouls scratching and sniffing around a door that is, of course, exactly where your map indicates the compass is located.
The ghouls have not yet noticed your arrival in the market...
Whispering to the others, Vash suggests, "I doubt we are sneaking by them, but we could try to lure them away, I suppose. My vote is to fill them full of arrows before they can lay a claw on us, of course."
"I will keep them off of you while you fire at them if that is the way we decide to go. My sword is very good at cleaving undead!"
Teos moves to the from of the party, ready to move against the waiting ghouls.
"As you say, Teos," responds Vash, moving up behind cover of the tree and lining up his first shot, tapping himself lightly with one of the wands hanging from his belt (Gravity Bow).
Unless there is another recommendation from the others, Vash will wait for Teos to get in position and spring a surprise on the closest ghoul.
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Since there were no objections, Harmini activates the bird feather token and sends it on its way toward Ptemenib with her letter, another bird feather token and the scrap of star chart attached.
Hopefully, we will hear back soon.
Upon discovering the ghouls in the market, Harmini replies to Vash and Teos with a nod.
"Do what you do best, my dears. I'll try to keep my distance this time."
Since there were no objections, Harmini activates the bird feather token and sends it on its way toward Ptemenib with her letter, another bird feather token and the scrap of star chart attached.
Hopefully, we will hear back soon.
Upon discovering the ghouls in the market, Harmini replies to Vash and Teos with a nod.
"Do what you do best, my dears. I'll try to keep my distance this time."
Seeing the ghouls up ahead, Nimaethep nodded in agreement with Vash and Teos. "We have the advantage and its better if we dispatched them now rather than worry about them stumbling on us later." she whispered.
She took up a position just to Vash's left and readied herself to defend the archer should the undead reach them.
Initiative
Combat Order
Vash
Ghouls
Harmini
Teos
Nimaethep
Vash's arrow flies true and pierces the skull of one of the ghouls, pinning it to a nearby wall, a splash of black ichor splashing the ancient stucco. The other three ghouls whirl with surprise, but they hiss and shriek at the appearance of fresh meat. Despite their bloodlust, they hesitate at the door for a moment, sniffing the air, then begin sprinting towards the party.
Holding his position under cover of the tree, Vash sends an arrow racing towards the next ghoul, followed up rapidly by another arrow intended to either finish the job or strike down the next ghoul in line.