"I think you should take both it and the arrows." Harmose nods. "Aleris, you are by far our best archer."
Aleris is right it is a very nice, if very old, bow.
They still seem sharp,
Addressing the other, Were there other things you passed and wanted to catalogue from your first trip here?
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The potions are:
potion of darkvision
potion of lesser restoration
sell price 150 per item.
The padded armor turns out to be masterwork.
I have automatically put up the prices for masterwork padded armor, masterwork longbow, and cold iron arrows, because since they have standard list prices, valuing them should be trivial.
The gold scarab clasp, silver hand mirror, clay urn of nard, and darkwood coffer have been appraised and I've put their values in the document.
Polux leans in to help the pretty Deseri with her appraise on the Lapis and Carnelian Pendant.
"This is a lovely design, and the color goes very well with your eyes, Deseri."
But the assortment of gems don't really speak to him... "Hmmph. Gems are always valuable. I'm sure someone will buy them."
Turel looks over the gold funerary mask and also the gems.
"This Mask is one befitting a person of high status."
"And these gems are a suitable offering for his favor."
"You're correct! This mask is befitting someone of high status." Polux says.
"I think I may know what this is..."
Untrained appraise gems
Qari had sat back and allowed the others to take the lead. She wasn't too sad about getting out of the tomb, though. A lot of bad this had been encountered in just a brief amount of time, but no libraries, or muchwritten information. Perhaps in the next one her luck would improve.
"I can't believe I missed those!" Harmose slaps his forehead. "Excellent work, Aleris." He looks at Kito. "Do you want to take first crack at the spell craft, or should I? Also, I do think we need to take another look through this place and give the mirror another examination, even though I'm not sure we'd have any way of removing it from this tomb."
"On the way out, would anyone mind if I inspect that mirror?" Kito hesitantly asks.
"Let's examine it. How do you propose we proceed?" Harmose offers a finger perch to Thera, while cheerfully holding Wenet in his other arm. "Shall we?"
Turel watches Ra-Khefer flee the final resting place of Akhentepi as a brief look of concern flashes over his face.
Perhaps the warrior wrestles with his conscience. I understand his feelings. This does feel...wrong in some way. While he may wish to deal with this alone, it would be a good opportunity to show he is NOT alone.
Moving softly after Ra-Khefer he pauses once he catches sight of the oread. "Do you wish solitude, my friend? Or will an ear lent to you help you conquer your fears?" He asks quietly.
"With eyes closed and fingers wide." Kito replies with a wide smile.
"I assume you've already tried to do it through the blanket? Something strange must be going on, normally I would expect the spell to function through up to about a foot of stone."
"In any case, it should be possible to target the mirror by touch rather than sight. I was thinking that if I close my eyes and put my hand against the mirror, I should be able to try and identify it."
"ثيرا، إذا كنت يمكن أن يرجى الذهاب إلى Harmose بينما أنا تجريب المرآة؟"
With a chirp and a quick flap of her wings, Thera flies over to land on Harmose's outstretched finger.
Qari waits, backing up Kito in case the experiments with the mirror did not turn out well. Who is the fairest one of all, she thinks to herself, recalling a story she had once heard in her village. "Everything okay with it, Kito? "
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In the outer storeroom, Ra fell to his knees and pressed his forehead to the floor.
Moving softly after Ra-Khefer he pauses once he catches sight of the oread. "Do you wish solitude, my friend? Or will an ear lent to you help you conquer your fears?" He asks quietly.
Ra snapped erect again.
"It's not FEAR!" He shouted, his eyes blazing.He breathed heavily for a moment, eyes staring at nothing.
"Did you know, Turel, that I have spent thirty years in the regiment of the Royal Tomb Guardians, capturing and EXECUTING people for doing what we are doing right now?"
He shook his head.
"And there I was, helping to take things from the body of the sacred dead... And I felt sick. I couldn't go on in there."
Kito allows people to move away before she experiments with the enchanted mirror.
Situating herself just in front of it, she casts Detect Magic.
Closing her eyes, she concentrates on the spell, looking for the previously described auras of transmutation and illusion. If she is unable to get a complete reading through the shroud, she carefully moves her hand beneath it so as to touch the surface of the mirror.
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Ra snapped erect again.
"It's not FEAR!" He shouted, his eyes blazing.
He breathed heavily for a moment, eyes staring at nothing.
"Did you know, Turel, that I have spent thirty years in the regiment of the Royal Tomb Guardians, capturing and EXECUTING people for doing what we are doing right now?"
He shook his head.
"And there I was, helping to take things from the body of the sacred dead... And I felt sick. I couldn't go on in there."
Turel paused for a moment watching the man silently, gathering his thoughts.
How can I condemn him, for the same fears I also share?
His voice barely above a whisper, he replies "I...I feel the anger you share with me. Yet I also sense fear...fear of failing at your duty AGAIN. Believe me when I say I share the fear..."
He turns to stare into Ra-Khefer's eyes. "There is a part of me that is terrified of what we may find...of what others may find in the areas of the Necropolis. The Ruby Prince is a FOOL...and greed drives his actions here. Still..." Turel sighs heavily, a look of weariness on his face. "I debated long with myself whether to join this so-called...lottery. I at first decided to refuse to partake in the desecration of the Necropolis, and I prepared to return to my home. Then after talking with Bal Themm, a priestess of Pharasma, she said to me 'You should reconsider. You have to opportunity to limit the damage done here. Indeed to refuse to help control the greedy impulses of those in your party is betraying yourself.'"
He smiles wanly, "And after seeing some of the other groups applying for the lottery I could see they were filled with greed and ill-intent. It only clarified things in my mind. I followed her advice, thought not with a great deal of hesitation. Now I am here. While I cannot prevent this vile desecration of the Necropolis, I can at least ensure this Tomb remains respected...as the Three Rules of Pharasma teaches us."
He smiles gently and extends a hand to Ra. "Would you care to help me ensure this place, and all others are treated with respect, my friend?"
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Readings on the mirror confound Kito, and she is unable to get any clear information. When she moves her hand beneath the shroud to touch the mirror, there is a sudden jolt of magical energy that feels like stinging in Kito's head. Others can see a series of hieroglyphs being magically etched onto Kito's forehead, letters of solid glowing gold forming on her skin. She herself cannot feel this happening beyond the immediate sting that occurred.
Kito: Fortitude DC 10 to negate 1hp damage.
The hieroglyphs are in Ancient Osiriani.
Eyes widening as shock sets in at Ra-Khefer outburst and the fleeing form the area. She starts to move to follow but sees Turel moving and stops. Turning to see most of the others occupied with the items that have littered this tomb for centuries instead of Ra-Khefer's little flip out.
Quietly and slowly walking to follow Turel she arrives to see Turel extending his hand. Ummm, Ra-Khefer? Are you alright?
"Oops!"
Frustrated, she carefully backs away from the mirror making sure the blanket stays in place. After she is about five feet away (judging by the magical aura via detect magic), she risks opening her eyes.
"Well, that didn't work!" Turning towards the rest of the party she cheerfully announces "At least I was able to avoid getting harmed by the mirror!"
"Kito! You've got something strange on your head and face. It looks like strange pictures. Does anyone else see it?"
Puzzled by Qari's statement, Kito asks "Does anyone have a hand mirror?"
Looking towards Thera, she says "ثيرا، هل رأيت ما حدث؟"
Looking at Kito, the bird chirps "لديك بعض يتمايل على جبينك. هذا هو متعة خدعة، عشيقة!"
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"While I cannot prevent this vile desecration of the Necropolis, I can at least ensure this Tomb remains respected...as the Three Rules of Pharasma teaches us."
He smiles gently and extends a hand to Ra. "Would you care to help me ensure this place, and all others are treated with respect, my friend?"
Ra looked up at Turel.
"You... make a certain amount of sense." He said slowly.He reached up to grasp Turel's hand and levered himself up.
Quietly and slowly walking to follow Turel she arrives to see Turel "Ummm, Ra-Khefer? Are you alright?"
Looking at Deseri, Ra nodded his head.
"I am well enough; thank you. I was just... repulsed by what we are required to do."But we must continue as best we can, in honor and good faith. Especially with others acting under the same orders who do not.
"Though I cannot see how this... official tomb robbery could possibly end well. We act against the gods will. And they WILL respond." He said grimly.
Her mouth forms an 'o' of surprise. I, umm, I did not think of it that way and I suppose I should have asked why thing was being done before I joined in. I suppose I got caught up in the idea. So why are we searching of these tombs.
Turel pulls the man to his feet. "Yes, I do believe the gods will not condone this course of action. The Prince will not bear the brunt of his decision, others will."
He then turns to face Deseri. "The ruler -- Ruby Prince Khemet III -- decreed that the walled-off forbidden part of Wati known as the Necropolis would be opened, and that all sorts of mercenaries would be allowed to enter seeking riches and other treasures." He replies to her with a hint of disgust in his voice. "Fortunately, the church of Pharasma has taken control of the situation and created the lottery so as to catalog who goes where in each building. However, these mercenary groups are not known for following the rules."
"Agreed." Harmose holds up the silver hand mirror. "Now I'm not the only one with hieroglyphs etched on my skin. If it makes you uncomfortable, I can give you one of my scarves. What color would you like it to be?"
He pulls the scarf out of his backpack, shakes the goopy flour off it, and prestidigitates it clean.
Kito takes the hand mirror and looks at her face in the mirror.
Kito wrinkles her nose. "It is Ancient Osiriani and says Thief. I'll have to get that taken care of!"
Looking towards Harmose, she gestures to her current clothes as she asks "Do you have one in tan, khaki, or gold? Otherwise a green that matches my blouse."
Harmose, who is extremely fashionable, looks Kito over professionally, walking around her once. Then he nods. "Green, to go with your eyes."
Then he looks in his backpack. "It's really about time I clean this out, isn't it?" He starts the process of prestidigitating his backpack clean of goop.
"We probably need to tell the church," Qari says, agreeing with Aleris. "Might be a funny joke to play, but until we figure out how to remove the markings, we'd better make sure they are aware."
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Shifting her weight to the side off her bad leg, Well perhaps the Gods will be to distracted exacting vengeance on those who are not respectful in their endeavors. I assumed that all of the group functioned like this one, being respectful and honoring the dead.
Turning to walk around the room while looking around, Monetary treasures are nice but my only reason for wanting to come with you all was the knowledge I stood to gain from this. I was always taught that the reason we study the past is to learn what worked and what did not. Though this we learn to better ourselves.
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Turel smiles. "Sadly, not all of the parties have any interest in studying the past, only plundering from it. You show a deeper understanding of what the past holds."
He holds out a hand to her. I believe I need to feel the desert air upon my face now. Shall we go?"[/b]
Kito wraps the scarf around her forehead, and then checks it in the mirror. Never really liked scarves. How is it that other people can make them look so good? She adjusts it a couple of times, and then evidently decides it is good enough.
Blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face, she announces "Sorry, but I probably shouldn't carry anything from here out..." She shuffles her feet a bit. "They went to the effort of marking intruders, it is possible that this will set off some undiscovered trap."
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You climb out of the Tomb of Akhentepi well before sundown, so the shadows aren't growing long yet. Even so, as you head through the empty streets back toward the living city, you might catch a flash of some kind of movement from the corner of your eyes, but by the time you look, there's nothing there. The air is hot and still, and though you know that several other adventuring groups are authorized to be in the necropolis, you don't see or hear anything of them. Some of them might be having recovery days, others might be deep inside tombs, but no one is in the streets. Occasionally there's a stray gust of wind that blows spirals of sand into the air. A pack of vultures circle high above. The weight of history feels heavy. Centuries ago, this place was claimed by madness. Now there is only dead silence amidst the abandoned buildings.
You make it back to the living city without any incident.
As you study the magic armor and shield, you fail to ascertain the nature of the armor, but the shield is a scarab shield.
Once the group is settled back at the Tooth and Hookah, Kito makes a request and a few suggestions.
"We have a few magical items that we still don't know the properties of. There exists a divination which would help me determine those properties, but right now I can't afford it. If we split the coin that we picked up, that should be more than enough where I could buy a scroll to learn it from.
Once I have a scroll, I could learn the spell and use it to identify the items we don't recognize. We may want me to use it on some of those we have recognized as well, just to be sure.
Which of these items is the church going to want? I would expect them to be very interested in buying the holy symbol and likely the urn. I would like to suggest we offer the church the first opportunity at any items for sale."
Lightly touching the scarf on her head, she adds "It may also help when I go to negotiate with the church to see if they can remove a certain magical effect."
"We didn't retrieve much in the short time I was with you. But, I'm fine with kicking in some of my share to get everything properly identified."
Smiling at Qari, Kito says "Thank you!
It shouldn't cost more than about 25 gold for me to get a scroll. I can learn the spell from the scroll, allowing me to cast it repeatedly. Learning it does destroy the scroll, though."