You're quite sure that it is not natural to this area, but exactly what it is your not sure.
Vash looks for a another path, one well away from the reach of those tentacles.
Nimaethep looked at the odd vines from a safe distance. She had no particular insight into botany outside of which plants were used in the preparation of the dead.
"I agree, avoiding it seems like a wise decision. It might be keeping the vermin population in check, and perhaps even some of the undead in these times."
"If we do not need to go that way, then lest leave it alone! Don't want to be frozen again!"
Leaving the mysterious creature, Vash takes a side street trying to find the nearest other avenue to continue north. With an eye on the slowly descending sun, he tries to find one that is not too far out of the way.
After a couple of dead ends, he finds a small courtyard with a partially collapsed wall. Crawling up , he finds that on the other side is another courtyard.
He sees there is an open way north at the other end. The courtyard appears to have a number of tombs, each guarded by one or two stone statues.
Nimaethep paused as the top of the rubble that was once a wall. She peered carefully at the entrances to each of the tombs, trying to determine if they were open or still sealed shut.
"We should tread cautiously, if the occupants of the tombs have been awakened like the rest we could get surrounded assuming that they have not already wandered off."
"Indeed, Nimaethep, or these stone guardians could be more than they seem. I will scout it out for us, with your help if you like," Vash offers, creeping down stealthily and watching for threats as he goes.
From the top of the pile of rubble, it can be seen that there are four tombs , two on each side. It appears that the pair on the left have been forced open, from out or in it is not possible to determine from the wall. The statues flanking these open sepulchers seem to be of cloaked maidens beseeching the sky for succor.
The other two tombs appear to still be sealed. The statues here seem more martial. In front of one tomb, they are winged maidens brandishing a curved blade to the sky, the other flanked by two jackal-headed male figures, arms crossed, a dismissive air about them.
Nothing moves...even the breeze here is still.
Nimaethep nodded towards the cloaked statues "Pharasma perhaps? And those" she motioned towards the two other statues " Sarenrae and Anubis. All divinities who abhor the undead. I wonder if its significant that the tombs flanked by the cloaked maidens are broken open while the other two are not."
Her ears perked up as she strained to hear anything moving "It's too quiet here." she whispered.
Whispering while on top of the wall, Vash draws his bow and says, "If you would like to scout for us, Nimaethep, I can cover you."
You think the representations are consistent with the deities you mentioned. You cannot see any holy symbols or markings that would make your conclusions more concrete without getting alot closer...all of the statues are covered with a layer of grit and grime that make such determinations difficult.
Nimaethep nodded to Vash. She drew out her wand of magical shields just in case and then as quietly as she could, stepped into the courtyard.
She hugged the wall on the opposite side of the yard from the open archways, slinking along what shadows she could find and keeping a careful eye on the yawning portals across the way.
You creep down the rubble of the wall with nary a sound, and make your way into the cooler shade cast by the un-opened tombs.
As you do so, you gaze, by necessity has to leave the opened tombs to survey the ground you walk on.
There you notice, what from the top of the wall appeared to be rubble, is in fact the detritus of battle cast about the feet of the jackal-headed statues. Now covered with grit and sand, it appears over time quite a few lost their lives here.
Nimaethep paused and examined the remains scattered across the ground. Concerned about the possibility of a trap or some kind of guardian lurking within the tomb, Nimaethep attempted to determine what felled each combatant from her vantage point.
I'll emphasize this bit from my earlier post : cast about the feet of the jackal-headed statues. .
The remains are no where else but around the two jackal-headed statues.
I'll let you reconsider venturing into their shadow to examine the remains :)
Nimaethep carefully returned to the group, a look of concern on her face.
"The tomb with the statues of Anubis seems to be protected. There are remains of intruders scattered about their feet. Whether they are guardians themselves or there is some kind of trap on them I am not certain, but perhaps if we stay on the far side of the plaza we can avoid them. I know it puts us closer to the opened tombs, but I don't seen anything immediately concerning in them."
”I will watch with bow ready from the top of the wall. If you get by safely, I will follow in your footsteps. If there is trouble, I will have an open field of fire,” responds Vash.
Nimaethep nodded as she moved into the plaza once again. This time she went along the other side, being careful to pause at the dark entrances and peer inside before crossing.
With a wary eye on the jackal-headed statues, you make your way to the first open tomb. Looking in you see the shaft of sunlight angle down , before it ends in darkness.
You hear nothing from within....until you are halfway across the opening. Then you swear you hear a breathless exhalation from within.
You watch as Nimaethep makes her way across the plaza. As she crossed the first open tomb, a noise from the opposite side of the plaza catches your attention. Turning to look, you swear that one of the jackal-headed statues' head was not in its original position....it looks to have turned to look in Nimaethep's direction!
Vash pulls back his bowstring and trains his arrow on the statue, prepared to fire if it starts moving towards Nimaethep.
Teos, sword at the ready, attempts to creep silently behind Nimaethep.
Stealth:
Nimaethep took a step back towards the party so that she was no longer in front of the tomb's entrance. She did not want to get cut off in whatever was inside decided to emerge.
She quickly made her way back. "The tomb seems to be occupied. The tomb's residents may be trapped within by the guardians along the other side of the plaza. I don't think we will be able to sneak by. We could try to sprint across the plaza, perhaps move fast enough that we are out the other side before anything can react, otherwise we may need to fight through, perhaps facing both whatever is in the tomb and the guardians that are keeping it there."
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Harmini appears concerned by Nima's report.
"That's hardly the news I was hoping for. Though I suppose not unexpected. I'd be satisfied with whatever course of action you deem wisest, my dear. Alabaster and I could move quickly enough through the air if need be..."
She pauses a moment as if to recall something before continuing.
"However, if you would like me to divine a clear solution, I could brew up that extra bag of Seer's Tea you've been keeping safe? It was not created for the flavor after all."
Harmini smiles politely as she waits for a response from the others.
"Since we have the means to do so, perhaps a cautious approach would be reasonable. I like the idea of using the Seer's Tea, its better to have a little guidance before we take on the risk of ending up in a two way fight."
“Sounds good to me,” says Vash, ”Though I am reluctant to give up the high ground on this wall until the eat of you cross.”
“Sounds good to me,” says Vash, ”Though I am reluctant to give up the high ground on this wall until the *eat of you cross.”
"I am all for being careful. Drink your tea Harmini and see what the gods reveal to you!"
Teos has been rather quiet since his encounter with the ghouls and seems to be a little more jumpy and cautious.
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Harmini smiles and begins to prepare the tea.
"Excellent. This will only take a few minutes."
Harmini's gloved hands begin to glow in conjunction with Alabaster's central blue gem. Slowly, several dull stones break away from its floating assortment and take on the rough shape of tea cups while a larger stone forms a teapot. Moments later, clear liquid flows through the air from her waterskin and fills the pot. Lastly, after a minute or two the water inside hisses and comes to a boil without any flame. She drinks the tea in her crudely fashioned cup quickly and attempts to read the patterns of leaves that remain.
Harmini hunches over the 'tea cup' watching intently as the tea leaves settle and cling to the surface of the cup. After a few moments, it becomes clear that the divination did not result in a definite answer - neither yes or no.
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Harmini frowns with disappointment.
"Hrmph. I'm sorry to say that this sort of thing isn't always as effective as I'd like."
As fickle as the gods themselves, I'd say...
Alasbaster's misshaped stones slowly rejoin its collection as Harmini brushes off her magic gloves.
"Well then. It would seem that it's up to us to deal with whatever comes next. Best be prepared for anything."
Harmini's eyes glow softly as she begins to float off the ground. She then looks to Nima.
"I'll follow your lead, my dear."
Vash perched atop the wall and nocks an arrow, looking ahead for any threats I. The courtyard. He nods, but says nothing.
Nimaethep drew out her wand and muttered some ancient words her cousin had once taught her.
When nothing happened, she cleared her throat and tried again, this time with a slightly different inflection.
Again, there was no effect. She sighed and smiled "My cousin makes this look so easy."
Gripping the wand once more she tried for a third time.
She knew that the words she uttered were ultimately meaningless, the point was to focus her thoughts in such a manner so as to get into a mindset that was close enough to whatever the magic in the wand responded to in order to activate it.
Two more attempts and finally she was rewarded with a slight bluish shimmer.
Knowing that the magical shield would not last long she wasted no time and immediately set out towards the open tomb crossing past its opening and ready to engage anything that might emerge while keeping a wary eye on the movements of the stone guardian across the courtyard.
Teos watches as Nimaethep attempts to use the wand, and is about to say something when the bluish shimmer encases her.
"Was not sure you could get it to work! Now let's move down there and see what we can see...but stay a little behind me. You never know what we could run into!"
Vash waits patiently for the others to cross past the opening, remaining alert and ready to attack should it become necessary.
Teos catches up with Nimaethep as Vash and Harmini watch from the rubble.
As Nimaethep and Teos crosses in front of the first tomb, both hear the exhalation sound Nimaethep heard previously. But, there is no sound or indication of movement from within.
From atop the rubble, Vash is certain that once again the jackal headed statues' heads move slightly to follow the movements of Nimaethep and Teos. This time some of the desert's sandy detritus falls in places, revealing gleaming white stone beneath.
For now the statues seem content to merely watch...
Vash continues to watch until their scouts are well clear. If they pass unmolested, he hops down and follows their foootsteps, keeping a careful eye towards the statue guardians.
Nimaethep stopped just after the tomb and took up a position where she would be able to intercept anything that emerged from the tomb. She then waved everyone past the yawning portal.
Catching the movement of the statue from the corner of her eye, she took hold of the holy symbol dedicated to the guardian of tombs and quickly bowed her head in deference to the stony defender of the opposite tomb. "Blessings and honour to you eternal guardian of the consecrated deceased"
As everyone passes the first tomb, one of the statues seems to shiver, the accumulated years of sand and grime falling away , revealing the gleaming white marble of it's construction.
The statue, with a grace that belies it's stony substance, steps off of it's low platform, watching as the group moves away. It's eyes fall on Nimaethep, and it pauses as if listening to her words. Then , with a final scan of it's immediate vicinity, it steps back onto it's platform, and resumes it's previous stance and is still again.
The second open tomb proves harmless, having suffered a cave-in some time previously.
No other threats emerge as the group crosses the courtyard.
Led by Vash, the group makes their way carefully towards the location of the next elegiac compass on the map. As you approach, you see the building you seek is whole, but many of the buildings behind it have fallen into rubble.
Vash continues to lead the way, scouting ahead (with Nimaethep if she wishes to join him). As they approach the building, Vash looks for signs of inhabitation and covers Nimaethep if she wishes to inspect the entrance.
As Vash approaches, he notices a strange structure on the roof of the building....could it be one of the elegiac compasses the group sought?
The building itself, seems to have been a glassblowers', with the name , now faded, on the front of the facade: The Shiny Bauble.
Scanning the nearby streets , reveals no immediate threats.
Nimaethep studied the building carefully, alert for any movement. Seeing no threat she carefully moved up to The Shiny Bauble attempting to remain silent while doing so.
Once at the base of the building's wall she nimbly scaled the shop, her claws making the task simple as they easily found even the smallest of purchase.
Once atop the building she paused to make sure that there wasn't anything amiss before fishing a rope and grapple from her pack and securing them to the roof to allow easier access should Vash or Teos need to ascend.
With the rope in place, she then began to study the device itself.
Vash moves up to the base of the building where the rope dangles and keeps watch from there, his bow at the ready.
Teos gives the rope a good tug and nods towards Vash.
"You first friend. I will guard your back until you are up, then you can do the same for me!"
He holds the rope to assist the archer in climbing while keeping his eye on the open plaza area.
Once Vash is up, Toes follows.
Climb:
Assuming he sees nothing amiss when he scouts the base of the building, Vash will take Teos' invitation and climb up.
No threats are seen in the streets surrounding the building.
Upon gaining the roof, it become obvious that there was a serious subsidence of the ground behind The Shiny Bauble, the building immediately behind have disappeared into a sinkhole, the buildings along it's edge, including part of The Shiny Bauble broken and cracked.
But of immediate concern was the elegiac compass. Nimaethep examines it and finds ,despite its age, it appears to be whole...with the exception of a part that lay in the center of the mechanism.
From the fresh scratch marks around the item's socket, Nimaethep surmises it was removed quite recently.
Perhaps the tracks she sees in the loose , dry sand of the rooftop may lead the group to the thief!
The tracks circle the compass , then make a trail straight to the sinkhole.
The tracks are definitely made by a draconic creature.
, +4 if undead-related
“I know we have a crystal from one of the broken compasses, but I don’t know if it will fit this one. Tracks appear to lead into that sinkhole—and they appear to belong to some kind of Draconic creature,” offers Vash.