Mummy's Mask

Game Master Samy

Turel nods in satisfaction as the man drops to the ground without a word. He turns to Deseri and lays a hand on her shoulder, apparently unperturbed by her outburst. ”I believe it is better this way...unless you wish to spend more time here than is necessary?”

A few minutes later, in a shabby brothel room...

“Why hello! I’m so happy to see that you’ve woken up to join us.” Harmose smiles kindly to Neb-At, as if to an old friend. “You may be wondering... Why am I tied up? Why was I knocked out? What are these strangers doing? Are they here to rob me? Kill me?”

“We’re here for a higher purpose. We’re here on a mission from god. Not Abadar or Pharasma or Gorum... no. The god we’ve come from... He’s older and shiftier and maybe even a little cleverer.” Harmose’s grin by this point is nearly feral. “Let me tell you a story, my friend, about a crocodile named Sobek. I don’t know if you speak the old tongue, but if you do, you know that ‘Sobek’ literally means to impregnate. But do you know the reason why?”

Harmose pulls back, grinning to his captive audience. “In olden times, the old gods were rather vigorous in their disagreements.” Harmose begins to speak of the hatred between Set and Osiris, and the desperation with which Set chose to slaughter his rival. “Set knew that it was not enough to merely slay Osiris. No, Osiris was married to Isis, a fierce sorceress whose kiss could bring a man back from the dead. So Set cut Osiris into pieces, to deny him a chance to ever be whole again in this life or the next. And then Set did something truly despicable. He threw the pieces of Osiris into the mighty river Sphinx for the crocodiles to eat. Now... sitting in the Sphinx was one very ordinary crocodile. He did not even have a name then. But he was in the right place at the right time, and he opened his jaws and snap! He swallowed the penis of a god.”

Harmose pauses, making a snapping motion with his hands. “It was... a seminal moment. He swallowed not just a penis, oh no. He swallowed some of the very vigor and virility of the king of the gods.”

Turel interjects here, ”Of course, much of this is still debated in the priest’s lecture halls, but there is no denying a LARGE part of him was claimed here.”.

“Exactly.” Harmose nods at his friend with a grateful smile. “From then on, this unnamed crocodile knew power and glory. He became irresistible to women. He discovered great prowess in battle. And when Isis went searching out for the parts of her lost husband, she found Sobek and named him for what he was. She could have raged against the crocodile. She could have hated him. But in the end, she knew that he was not her husband’s murderer. So, tears in her eyes, she gathered him up, embracing him with all that she had lost.”

Harmose gets up, spinning as he cradles an imaginary crocodile to his breast. “Isis longed for more than anything else a child from her long lost husband. The waters of the Sphinx answered her call and washed to shore every other part of Osiris, and she sewed them together. Then she fashioned a wooden part for what was missing, but still... Osiris lay as one dead. So she begged Sobek for help, and the crocodile gently blew on the dead god, and Osiris... he arose. Reunited with her husband, even for only a short moment, Isis knew bliss. Soon, she was with child. Sobek became her close friend, her protector, and later... when she bent in childbirth, laboring to bring forth her son, her midwife.” Harmose leans forward. “Sobek became the adopted son of Osiris and Isis. In times of war and crisis, he literally merged with his brother, Horus, to aid him not only in battle, but in siring the next generation of gods. They say that the Sobek seeded the line of the Pharaohs himself, guiding Osirion into the next generation, and helping keep the legions of Set at bay.”

Turel looks at the egg-thief. “Ever since Sobek, people come from far and wide to purchase furtively the sacred eggs of the holy white crocodiles as aphrodisiacs, and aids to childbirth.”

“And such good prices you fetch, don’t you? Sure, it’s a little sacrilegious, but who does it actually harm? The priests find out about your little practice, and then they let you go with a slap on the wrist. So you continue.”

Harmose hisses. “No MORE! When you hear rumors of me, you will hear that I’m a little crazy. I’ve come back from the dead, hear the voices of the ancients, and their will is inscribed on my very skin.” He pauses, showing his tattoos. “I’ve flown, wrapped in the arms of my god. Horus will not tolerate someone selling the children of the crocodile, the children of his dear brother, Sobek! But it is not I that will harm you. No. I’m just a messenger, Neb At.”

Turel’s voice is calm and dispassionate, in comparison to Harmose’s fiery oratory. ”Return your ill-gotten gain to their proper place and forswear this path. It only leads to ruin. Your ruin.”

Harmose looks down Neb-At’s groin, and then whispers, “As you swallow and enslave the children of Sobek, consider that Sobek is a god of JUSTICE. Your days of vigor? Virility? Numbered. Sobek is angry. What he did in innocence, you do in greed. Consider how he will swallow and consume your very...”

Harmose looks down, considering. He turns to Des and the other ladies to look, gesturing for them to take part. “There’s not much of it left, is there, ladies? He's already being consumed, and he doesn’t even know it!”

Have fun beating him with words, darlings!

Puzzled, Kito watches as Harmose shows Neb-At what a dazzling person he can be. As Polux and Harmose bind him, she looks around the room.

As they start up the stairs with their bundle of priesthood, she whispers "What about the person he was meeting? Do we need to do anything with them?"

I'm assuming the message spell is still active.

Thankful for Deseri's eagerness to pick up her slack, Aleris can only smile at Harmose and the others sheepishly as they hurry upstairs with Neb-At.

"Guess I'm a pretty terrible liar, huh?" she whispers. "Um...as far as that other man goes, we should probably just let him go. After this, he'll probably be too spooked to ever try approaching Neb-At again!"

Once everyone is safely upstairs, Aleris takes a seat on a cushion in the corner and listens intently to the tale that Harmose and Turel weave. Knowing next to nothing about the gods of Osirion she finds the whole thing fascinating, if almost a little juvenile at points.

Guess it makes a difference if you've grown up with these stories or not. Nella and I wouldn't have been able to keep a straight face if they'd tried teaching us something like this just a few years ago!

When the tale is told, she glances around at the other women and then shrugs before glancing back to Neb-At. "You heard the nice men. Maybe if you repent now you can still salvage something of yourself," she says with a slight smile.

Ra followed everyone upstairs. He continued to play at mute bodyguard and glanced back to see if anyone tried to follow them.
Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15
Excellent. Everything seems to be in order. Shutting the doors, he gave the others a thumbs up.

Practically snarling at Harmose and jerking out of Turels touch she quietly stalks after the others. Taking her place leaning against the wall while listening to the tale.

Once given leave to say her peace she saunters up to Neb-At and leans in close to his face and hissing at him, Just so you understand your hands will never come near me or I will take it upon myself to act for the Gods and remove you thieving hands and feed them to the birds.

Standing back up and crossing her arms over her chest, The Gods to not come down to our plane often. Instead they have mortals inact their will upon our world. Her lips twist into a visions grin, And this is an instance where I would be more than willing to do the Gods will.

Qari moves to the front of the group, well inside the trussed man's range of sight. Her horns appeared very prominently and her tail twitched as she moved forward. As you can see, we are a diverse group. Heck, I've even started thinking I might be he normal one," she laughed. "And that's never been said about me. Ever. I don't know much about the elder gods and their beliefs. But I know my friends, and I know that hey will do what they say. And I'll do it with them. No questions asked. So think about that. Think long and hard," she says as she steps even closer and her tail swipes him lightly across the face.

Polux keeps to the back of the room in the shadows - I would still break one of his knees - he ponders.

At first, Neb-At is a little mentally off-balance after recovering his senses and finding himself tied up. It takes a while for him to realize what just happened and that he's being held captive right now. As he does so, his eyes start to come into focus, and take in the various people surrounding him.

"You have no idea who you are dealing with --" he blusters at first, his initial attitude arrogant.

Then, as Harmose begins his tale, the arrogance turns to disdainful, contemptuous amusement. "Set? Osiris? Isis? Hah! You fools! What year do you think this is? Fables from the old kingdoms! You expect an adult to listen to any of that!" he sneers.

But as the tale of Sobek goes on, sentence by sentence, Harmose's enthralling intonation begins to worm its way in. When Harmose and Turel get to the point of the nameless crocodile snapping up its morsel, the beautiful dark brown skin of Neb-At seems to blanch visibly. From then on, Harmose knows that he has his prey, and it's all downhill from there.

The next stage is bargaining. "Look, it was hurting nobody... I'll... I'll think about it... Okay, I *will* stop!" But he says nothing about returning his ill-gotten gains until Turel presses the issue. "Fine, FINE!" he's clearly pained by the thought of giving up all he's gotten, so he's probably being truthful here. "I'll...make sure it goes somewhere good." Most of it... he thinks at first, but then under the steely gazes of his accusers, and at Aleris' encouragement, he relents, "Okay, OKAY! All of it!"

Ra-Khefer continues to hear some screaming noises from across the hallway. They are clearer now that the group of you are upstairs. Ra-Khefer hears some noises along with the screaming that lead him to believe that it's just some rough play going on there and nothing serious.

After Harmose and Turel's verbal intimidation, and Deseri's final threat, Neb-At is left hanging his head and mute, not offering resistance nor argument. Sense Motive DC 5, which I'm sure several of you will be able to make, will tell you that he has capitulated and is truly and properly scared into stopping his schemes and returning the monies for the foreseeable future.

Wow...Qari and Deseri can be pretty intimidating when they want to be!

"I know you might be cursing us right now, but I promise one day you'll think back to this and be thankful you chose to begin taking a different path," Aleris says quietly before looking up at the others. "For a lot of reasons."

Maybe I just don't have it in me to be intimidating. But I guess that's not a bad thing sometimes.

She glances up at Harmose and the others. "Seems like our work here is done."

Turel nods in reply, sighing in relief as the man seems to have truly repented. "I would agree, my sister. Let us be free of this place. I find this place...distasteful."

Snarling a reply, This place smells horrible. Deseri storms out of the room and out of the building.

Polux looks around for a few more moments - "Has some potential though..." - before leaving after the others.

Kito sees Deseri stomp out of the building and puts down the rope she was holding. She excuses herself from the group she was talking with and joins with the rest as they leave.

"I had no idea there were so many different kinds of knots."

Harmose pats Neb-At on the back once he's untied. "Glad to hear it! Go do something worthwhile with your life!"

Then whistling, he gives a cheery wave to everyone left in the brothel, and goes out to rejoin his friends. "Everyone, just think about what a great story that will be to tell at Meehr's p--" He breaks off. "Wait a minute, I'd better backtrack. We were so involved in the planning of our meeting with Neb-At, that I didn't want to distract you. Meehr's invited us all to a party in a couple days, and she's buying us all new outfits to wear for it!"

Harmose flings an arm around the stunned looking Ra-Khefer. "Someone must have left a very strong impression on her! Shall we all go shopping?"

With a slight tremor in her voice, Kito asks "Party? What sort of party?"

"It'll be a grand ball held at the estate of the influential Okhenti family. It's a party to celebrate the homecoming of the family's son Khammayid, who's just returned from his studies abroad. Meehr has scored invitations for our whole posse! I think it amuses her to bring commoners to stir the pot!" Harmose grins. "She's right you know. Parties composed entirely of respectable people can be an utter bore. However with us there, the conversation will surely be lively. We have so many stories to share, though come to think of it...." Harmose pauses, looking at Turel. "You promised Sebti that we'd be discreet, didn't you?"

He sighs. "So no stories about tying up a notorious crocodile egg thief in a brothel, alas." Then he brightens. "Still... We've gone into the Necropolis, faced down sandy strumpets and constructs and all sorts of obnoxious undead. That's still a lot of things we can talk about! So, shall we go shopping? If something needs to be tailored, we want to be sure to give the merchant time. I can't wait to to dress you all up for the occasion!"

"Dress us all up? Is this some sort of costume ball? I've heard of those."

Kito seems a bit unsure of quite what to expect. It almost sounds like he wants to dress us up as some sort of dolls!

"You say they will buy us a new outfit? I'm so in," the tiefling exclaims, having not been to a fancy party before. She'd like that much more than the brothel they had just left. "I hope it will be fun!"

"...Meehr's invited us all to a party in a couple days, and she's buying us all new outfits to wear for it!"

At this point Ra stopped dead and nearly swallowed his tongue.

Harmose flings an arm around the stunned looking Ra-Khefer. "Someone must have left a very strong impression on her! Shall we all go shopping?"

"But... surely we have to go on another mission? Deep into the Necropolis? Could be weeks before we return right?" He inquired hopefully.

Growling as the others easily catch back up with her. Damn leg! I could get you removed.Glancing at Harmose with a look that is a mix between her still very present rage and a healthy dose of confusion. But choosing not to reply right now.

Turel stops in his tracks as Harmose makes his pronouncement. He turns to voice a reply to him, but pauses on seeing the look of excitement on his face.

Surely, I can be there for him though it is not my place...As Ra-Khefer says I would not be opposed to a lengthy journey either.

"Of course I will be there my brother. I would prefer a simple robe...if such exists for the occasion." He replies evenly. "And yes discretion is needed here. Many other tales can be told instead."

...Like the ones in your heart, my brother.

"A party? Well...we can't really refuse, can we? Not when Meehr went to the trouble of getting invitations for us all," Aleris chimes in, looking thoughtful. Normally she would've felt much more nervous about such a thing but she knew that at the very least the others would be there with her and Harmose.

I won't be the only one being stared at. Then again, they're nobles right? Most of them have probably seen all sorts of people that look 'exotic' to them.

"And besides, shopping might be a good way to take our minds off of other things," she adds, glancing at the still-fuming Deseri.

It is now the night between Days 10-11. After you wrap up here, you may feel free to spend Day 11 as you wish -- there are no planned events on my side for that day. You may also incorporate Relationship rolls for Day 11 if you post doing anything during the upcoming day.

Qari, Ra-Khefer, Polux, Deseri, I'm missing Relationship rolls for Day 10 for you -- if you did them and I just missed them, can you linky so I can update my spreadsheet? Ra-Khefer, also Day 9.

When you're done wrapping up this night scene here, levelling up your characters, doing whatever you want with Day 11, and Relationship rolls are all in order, then we'll move on to Day 12 which will have...some things, including the party.

Harmose writes a note:

Relationship,Day 11, Meehr Zet: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

"Let's go shopping. We can go simple and refined for you, Turel. Qari, is it okay if we pick out something fancier for your exotic good looks? Des, is there anything you'd like? How about you, Aleris? I'd like us to all find outfits that we can not only shine in, but also wear comfortably. Fashion is supposed to affirm the inner you, not impose someone else's idea of what must be worn!"

Grumbling and not returning to the Tooth and Hooka and instead going to the Naahn's for the evening without a word to her companions. As she walks alone her rage slips from her mind and anxiety takes it's place. Feeling emotionally drained once she arrives. Can I please stay the night here? I need some space from them and I though, hoped.. Today was bad and I want to sleep.

Assuming she is allowed to rest there she goes to sleep quickly. But it is not restful. Tossing and turning all night trapped in a nightmare. Whimpering though most of the night and waking up with a jolt, she twists and falls from her bed. Staying on the floor and curling in on herself for a few minutes. Waiting for her breathing to even and eyes to cease their leaking.

Pulling herself up and moving out to the main room. Her eyes are rimmed red and In a small voice still rough with sleep and grief, Thank you for letting me stay. I need to go fix what I did wrong.
Relationship with the Naahn's Day 9: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Relationship with the Naahn's Day10: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

If they ask I totally giver her reasons.

Once freed from her friend's house she moves as quickly as her limp will let her she heads to the Tooth and Hooka. Lost in thought she bumps into more than one person in her hurried pace. Seeing the familiar tavern she rushes in and the door slams open. Wincing at the loud noise. Her still red eyes scan the room for the others and she catches them together in conversation.
Tired and out of breath she keeps that almost panicked pace up and races over to the others. Shuddering though her words. All anger from the previous day is gone and deep seated fear and weariness has set in. I, umm..I am sorry for how I acted! Shifting on her feet her words seem to just pour out. I am sorry I was so uncooperative and hostile. I do not know what came over me. I am so sorry. Glancing over at Harmose then looking back down. I should not have struck you! I am so sorry. Keeping her gaze on the ground and waiting for a reply.

Bluff: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

At the Naahas.
Fidgeting with her food while she talks. Sounding completely defeated I messed up. My temper may have ruined things. I yelled at them and hit Harmose. They have been nothing but kind to me and I think I ruined everything! They are going to want nothing to do with me.

At the Naahns'

"Deseri..." Sehhosep starts, and then a small smile comes to her lips. "Don't take this the wrong way? Please? But I think the mental image of you hitting someone is kind of adorable."

Putting a hand on Deseri's shoulder if she allows it, Sehhosep continues. "Things like that happen between people. We haven't really talked about what sort of family you had, what kind of home and environment you grew up in, but things like that happen. It's normal for people to lose their temper from time to time. As long as you apologize and genuinely mean it, people almost always forgive you."

After a moment's hesitation, Sehhosep asks, "So, uh...what kind was it? Was it like, a proper fist to jaw thing? Or more like a palm chest shove? Or fist to shoulder? Bottle to back of head?" She kind of sounds half eager for the details.

Qari quickly nodded at Harmose's suggestion. "Sure. If you all tell me what looks nice, I'd be happy to try it on. It'll be nice to wear something pretty, instead of all leathery and armory for a change!" Of course, I'll needs me help with my manners too. I've never been to such a fancy party, you know."

My last relationship post was on July 9, 2016 at 9:47 pm. I don't know how to link. It didn't go well.

Found it, thanks! And it went fine, +1 Rel is the most common result! :)

Flinching at the mention of her family but keeping her consistent silence on the subject.
Jumping at the contact but letting the comforting hand stay there. Chewing on her bottom lip before replying I smacked him in the chest. Bit he said it hurt.

"Just apologize and mean it. If that doesn't work, we'll make a big barbecue for him. Men love food."

Day 10:

Turel watches Deseri storm off with a non plussed look on his face. "I think she needs time alone." He remarks in a deadpan voice.

Day 11:

Turel rises early as is his wont, but he does not leave his room for a time. He practices putting the finishing touches on a new style he had been practicing, one geared towards defense. Nodding in approval to himself he leaves his room and greets his companions in the common room. "I need to visit the Pharasma Church to report on our task. I suspect they will be well-pleased."

Once he arrives at the Church, he first seeks out Bal Themm and spends some time trying to mend some fences with her, especially considering the fact of his whereabouts at the brothel.

Relationship Roll, Bal Themm: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10

His talk with her goes fairly well, though he does feel the inklings of doubt creep into his mind. Perhaps my efforts are better spent elsewhere.

On returning to the Tooth and Hookah, he sees Deseri and watches her body language closely.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

He waves her to have a seat at the table. "What is troubling you Deseri?"

Turel's chat with Bal Themm goes decently and he feels he's made a little bit of headway with her.

Day 10 - Late

"I guess so..." Aleris sighs as Deseri stomps off abruptly. "She's not been herself since you told us about Neb-At. I know she feels like he's getting off too easy for what he's done, but now I'm wondering if there's even more to it. But I've seen that sort of walk before - trying to catch her and talk to her now probably wouldn't end well."

Day 11

Feeling mildly excited about the prospect of attending a party with her betrothed and friends, Aleris sleeps soundly that night and rises in a good mood the next morning with only a small niggling worry in the back of her mind about Deseri.

This will be like the first shopping trip we went on...except even better. We actually know each other better now!

As she makes her way downstairs, she looks around for Sigrun and her party but they're nowhere in sight.

Darn...I wanted to thank her for the advice but I guess they must still be working on their second site. Hopefully I can catch her at dinner tonight.

Spotting some of her other companions already awake, she slips into a seat at their table. "Good morning! Is today the day we go shopping? Are we all going or only some of us?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

But her questions and attention are diverted as Deseri comes racing up, out of breath and clearly terrified about something as she stammers an apology.

What in the world? She's terrified!

Thankful that Turel can also sense that something is amiss the sylph holds her tongue for the moment and waits, ready to listen if Deseri feels willing to share.

Oh and Turel, make an Intelligence check.

Intelligence check: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (17) - 1 = 16

Just making sure that you remember that you also have this option available.

Day 9_____
He went out drinking with Tarouk.
Rel check: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (17) - 2 = 15

Day 10_____
Even more drinking with Tarouk.
Rel check: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (5) - 2 = 3

Day 11_____
Asks Tarouk's advice on finding an Earthbreaker, especially adamantine one he could possibly trade the flail for.
Rel check: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0

Yeah, with my Charisma, this is bound to happen...

"Let's go shopping. We can go simple and refined for you, Turel. Qari, is it okay if we pick out something fancier for your exotic good looks? Des, is there anything you'd like? How about you, Aleris? I'd like us to all find outfits that we can not only shine in, but also wear comfortably. Fashion is supposed to affirm the inner you, not impose someone else's idea of what must be worn!"

Turel slaps his forehead as a memory of a favor owed to him returns to his mind. "My brother, I just remembered I assisted a lady called Shamihn Hep a few days ago when a runaway wagon threatened to harm her. She is the co-owner of a weaver's shop on Mender's Row, and she promised me a new wardrobe, on the house, for my help. We should pay her a visit."

Samy, I think this was my Relationship roll for day 10?

Thank you, updated with that one! You reach 6 with Sigrun, that awards the party 200XP!