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Since none of you seem to be taking aggressive action, you wait about half a minute with the esoboks just chomping away eagerly on the fallen undead. After that half a minute, they begin glowing brightly, and then disappear in a flash of light.
The fallen civilian can be easily treated once the esoboks have disappeared.
Qari wasn’t sure what she had just seen, but she rushed forward, trying to help the others heal the woman and get her to safety. ”Are those things going to reappear or
Could they be invisible,” she wondered.
Kito looks around with a puzzled expression. In response to Qari, she says "They were summoned, but I don't know by whom."
Harmose comes in to heal the fallen woman.
“Hey there. Are you alright?”
Turel glances about him when he hears Kito's warning, looking for anyone trying to stay out of sight.
"Come out and show yourself. We know you are hiding from us." He calls out in a calm voice.
Moving next to Turel, "We want to do the same thing you are doing and there is strength in numbers."
Looking down at the woman, Kito mentions “I suppose it is possible she is the one who did it.”
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Perception or communication attempts both fail to locate anyone nearby, other than the fallen civilian. Whom Harmose heals back to consciousness. As the civilian (a human woman) gets back up onto her feet, she expresses great gratitude to all of you, but she has no information regarding the psychopomps -- she was surprised upon their appearance, just before she was knocked out.
So you do not manage to get any information that would clarify the origin of the psychopomps.
Frowning, Kito asks "I wonder why the summoner concealed themselves."
Turning on her heel, she then says "Best continue towards Meehr Zet's residence." The sooner we deal with the other areas, the sooner we can check on the outskirts.
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You resume your travel toward Meehr Zet's residence in the Veins district, and reach it without further interruptions.
The Veins: Nestled between Midwife and Bargetown, Wati’s harbor district stacks block upon block with woodcarvers, tar kilns, warehouses, and whatever shanties can be crammed between them. Its myriad shallow canals breed unabating clouds of insects, the bites of which spot the bodies of the locals, who stain their hands and cheeks with pitch to repel the pests.
As you enter the Veins, and travel toward the industrial tarworks owned by Meehr Zet's father, you are suddenly beset upon by a flutter of feathers. A flapping of feathery wings bounces frantically among your group, accompanied by a distraught animal-like squealing. It will take you a few moments to ascertain exactly what has come to the middle of your group, but after a few moments of observing, you can make out the following appearance:
The creature continues to frantically squeal and bounce among your group as if seeking your attention.
Kito gets out some paper and a quill, setting them down near the ‘bird’. “It is a Nosois, used as a messenger. It should be able to write out what it needs!”
Starting to dig around her hip pouch before looking up at Kito, "Hey give me some of Thera's treats." Holding out her hand expectantly while looking at the strange little bird.
Dropping down to her knees in-front of the Nosois with her hand still waiting for Kito. "Do you have a message for us?"
Frowning for a moment, Kito asks Thera to allow her to share the treats. She offers some to Thera first, and then fills Deseri's hand.
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The nosoi does not need the writing implements, as it seems capable of speech in multiple languages. "Very terrible...need help...so much need help...a big disaster...!" it jitters off sentence fragments that bode ill of some kind; the nosoi drifts from language to language, using Taldane/Common, Osirian, Keleshite as it rains off those word clusters. "Please...must have help...it is imperative...!" It can't manage to clarify what the issue is, however.
Turel waves his hand in a slow motion to get the nosoi's attention, "We do wish to aid you, yet your words make little sense. Take a deep breath and collect your thoughts before speaking. We will wait for you."
"Thank you both." Lowering her hand and offering the treats to the Nosois. Can't be a good omen. The city is falling apart. Is it happening everywhere else too?
Kito puts away the writing implements.
"Can you point the way to where help is needed?"
Qari shoots a crooked eyebrow at this creature. She’d so many strange monsters in the last few days, some meaning them harm and some not. Perhaps this one was one of the ‘good’ ones?
Sense Motive
Qari decides to trust her gut, and decides to risk it and help the creature.
Seeing the others trying to calm the creature, Kito figures it is worth a try.
Taking a little bit more food, she puts it into her hand and reaches out the hand to in front of the bird. “You have found help, no need to be excited. Just calmly explain who needs what help where. Who, what, where.”
She lays the bird food out in front of the Nosois where it can easily reach it.
Polux waits for the creature to settle down somewhat, watching the surroundings as the others mill about.
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The bird food that Kito lays out does the trick, and manages to calm down the nosoi enough that it can now start disseminating its information.
During the auction at the Canny Jackal, Ptemenib (whom the nosoi refers to as a 'master') recognized one of the attendees as an agent of the Silver Chain. Wati’s grave-robbing gangs are a personal interest of Ptemenib’s, so when the agent abruptly left the auction, Ptemenib followed him into the Veins. Ptemenib had planned only on gathering intelligence about the group’s hideout, but he was discovered by cultists of the Forgotten Pharaoh masquerading as Silver Chain members, and was captured. Not wanting to draw undue attention to themselves, and perhaps hoping the priest might be of some later use, the gang has kept Ptemenib alive for now.
So you now know that Ptemenib has been captured by the criminal gang calling itself the Silver Chain, and the nosoi ("Qasin") is willing to lead you to the "Bright River Brickworks" if you are willing to help his master.
Turel's expression is one of concern as the nosoi mentions the cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh."[/b]
Yet another piece of the puzzle reveals itself...
"Yes Aleris, that is our next destination and time is of the essence."
”This creature risked everything to approach us. The least we can do is reward its bravery by helping find its master.”
"That's fair."
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"I guess we should at least investigate" - Polux agrees with the others.
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Polux has heard some very vague rumors about a cult dedicated to a "forgotten pharaoh" who venerate a supposedly forgotten pharaoh that has been stricken from history books -- by the name of "Hakotep". It's reasonable that Polux knows that said cult is currently infiltrating the Silver Chain -- Wati's main graverobber mafia -- and that he can supply said information when Qasin informs your group of Ptemenib's proclivities with the Silver Chain.
So this is probably the order in which the information came out:
* first Qasin tells you of Ptemenib investigating the Silver Chain
* upon hearing this, Polux can tell the group that the Silver Chain is currently being infested with an organization called the Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh
* then Polux can elaborate that the cult venerates someone called Hakotep who seems stricken from history books
Probably makes most sense if this is the order in which you get all the information.
Making your way to the Veins district, and the Bright River Brickworks, you may or may not know the following about your destination:
I have made a Google Slide of the Brickworks: here, let me know if it doesn't work.
I have positioned your group outside the Brickworks.
The kiln floor and a single office are all that’s left of the Bright River Brickworks, built atop a low hill in the Veins. By day, the brickworks appears abandoned.
Do you enter what's left of the decrepit building?
“It is likely that any gang members we meet in the tunnels below could be convinced to just leave. There has been tension between the original gang and the Cult.”
She then relates the rest of what she knows of the situation.
Polux nods at Kito - "If they are being infiltrated and overtaken, you are probably correct. May be worth a shot convincing them to leave"
He then stares at the structure for a moment, and motions to move inside - "Wait here a few moments - I am going to scout the area"
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Polux feels confident that he's studied Osirian history pretty well and there's no known pharaoh by the name of Hakotep.
Your Local rolls (Kito + Polux) know that:
By day, the brickworks appears abandoned, but Silver Chain agents stealthily come and go at night. Locals know to avoid the site, and steer outsiders away from it even if they don’t know who exactly lives there now.
So you know this place has a reputation as a place to avoid.
As Polux enters F1 to scout, he sees:
Two fire-scarred mud-brick walls and a half-dozen crumbling clay kilns are all that remains of the building that once stood in this weed-choked lot. A boarded-up, scorched door stands in the southeast corner where the walls join.
The door in the southeast corner (leading to F2) appears boarded shut.
Two Silver Chain smugglers are posted in F1 at all times, disguised as watchmen. (Polux's Perception roll -- combined with all the pre-info your group has about the Silver Chain -- is good enough to make an educated guess that the two watchmen-seeming individuals are 99% sure Silver Chain smugglers. No useful purpose is served by me playing coy about it. :))
The two watchmen do not come even close to detecting Polux as Polux sneaks around F1.
I'm gonna add the two watchmen to the map once I find a digital picture of them. I think Mummy's Mask Pawns PDF will probably have a suitable one but that's on a different computer right now.
I believe the time-of-day is about noon-ish -- I've been making my posts with that assumption. Ping me if I'm mistaken and I'll fix anything that might be affected.
“We have already learned that they wiped one pharaoh from the history because they didn’t like them. I expect the cult members are looking for the mask because it links in some way with why this Hakotep is not in our history either.”
After avoiding the watchmen, Polux focuses his attention on the boarded door for a second.
With a smile, he returns to the others with the information - "First thing we need is decide what to do about those on watch" - he whispers.
"Capturing them silently would be the wisest course of action." Turel whispers, "Perhaps some magic applied here would be useful, either a silence spell or failing that..." he raps his hand against his temple for emphasis.
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“As long as sound is all we are worried about, Harmose probably has the best magic for the job. His rainbow is bright, but it doesn’t make much noise.”
She spreads her fingers out like a flare as she says this.
Nodding along, "That seems like the best outcome. What happens if it goes wrong? Do we all rush out?"
Kito just nods in response to Deseri's question.
Isn't that always part of any plan? Wing it when things go pear shaped.
”If someone can use a silence spell, we could rush them and knock them out quickly. My blast doesn’t need me to say anything, so I’m fine in the quiet,” Qari offers up helpfully.
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With the aid of a message spell, Harmose listens to Polux’s whisper. “Great. I’m going to come in there and be social then drop the rainbows. You’re going to bail me out in case they pass. Anyone want to come with me? Qari could be good eye candy if she wants to get closer. Otherwise, I’ll just be my smiling self.”
“Since I’m going in, loop me into your own message spell, Kito.” Taking Qari’s hand he asks, “Ready? Oh... and you may feel free to beat me up for the disrespectful and racist language that I’m about to use to sell this. But let Aleris get first dibs, because I’m about to be scum.”
Squeezing Qari’s hand, he then creates water over both of them, and adds via prestidigitation the unmistakable smell of bad booze. “Oh come on, DEVIL GIRL! You know you want to play the old game of HAUNTED HOUSE!” He slurs a bit, and then giggles in a way too loud way. “Boo! SCARE THE PANTS OFF ME, WILL YOU?” He starts picking at Qari’s clothes as they go in, acting oblivious to anyone who’s in there. “Did I tell you you’re pretty yet? Yeah, pretty. Pretty HOT! Get it, devil girl, hot? C’mon, let’s go,” he leers. “Maybe the monsters want to EAT you!”
When he finally notices the bad guys standing there, he tries to lure them closer with his ineptitude. “WHOA! Where’d you come from?” He says, slipping and hanging on to Qari to stand up.
Yes, that’s right. Come closer. It’s rainbow time!