After catching her breath, Ai'sha takes a moment to use prestidigitation and tries to clean the sand and sweat from her clothes, she then steps into the room, looking around with her mouth open in awe .
She steps closer to the hierolyphs. "Wow...Those...Hm, this is not Osiriani, is it?", she shakes her head, walking towards the wheel to help.
"Seems like we'll need light for the rooms further ahead."
Since everyone else is pushing on the wheel Aliva will back up and wait till she needed to help out. As everyone else is pushing she will pull out her torches and start to lite them.
"The jackal headed god is Anubis, the ancient Osiriani god of mummification."
Selassie also translates the hieroglyphs for the group before going to help with the wheel.
"Ah, I see you guys are pushing on that wheel. Let me give you a hand." Irakelesh reaches to the wheel and leans into it.
He grunts and strains for a while before giving up. "Yep. It seems my help is going to best be applied in using my brain power, not my muscles." He laughs as he tries to flex a muscle.
After a few tries, Fitliss, Irakelesh, Selassie, and A'isha are able to move the stone wheel to reveal a doorway into a square room, starkly devoid of any markings or adornment. In the center of the chamber's floor, a square shaft drops straight down into darkness. A faint musty odor rises from the pit. A single piton has been hammered into the stone floor by the northeast corner of the pit, and a dusty length of rope dangles from the piton into the darkness of the shaft.
After Selassie translates the hieroglyphs, Ai'sha gives her a worried look.
"So, do you despise us as well?"
After they are able to push the well, she takes a moment to look around.
She then takes her single piece of gold and casts light on it, dropping it into the shaft.
"It is not my place to judge. That is for my Lady."
"Hey, I think someone has been here before us! I wonder how they got past the door though..." If he sees nothing out of the ordinary, Fitliss goes over to the hole and peers down, watching Ai'sha's coin as it falls.
She then takes her single piece of gold and casts light on it, dropping it into the shaft.
The coin spins downward into the darkness, lighting the way as it goes, and finally hits the bottom with a loud CLINK that echoes up the shaft. As the sound slowly fades into oblivion, you can tell that the pit is 10 foot by 10 foot, and descends about 50 feet down into a similarly sized room from what you can see. The shaft is an example of superior masonry, perfectly angled and sanded, and is deliberately constructed to make it difficult to climb down (or especially up) without a rope. The rope extends only 5 feet into the shaft before ending, having been cut at that point. In addition, as Selassie, A'isha, and Fitliss examine the rope, it becomes clear that it is very old and thoroughly rotten, and would crumble if handled.
"Hey, I've got rope!" Fitliss removes the old rope and replaces it with his own. It won't quite reach with the knot, but that's still easily far enough.
Fitliss tests the rope, and then climbs down it . At the bottom, he makes a brief inspection of the room, and assuming he sees no threat, readies his spear, just in case. If he does see a threat, he calls out and attacks.
"Hey, I've got rope!" Fitliss removes the old rope and replaces it with his own. It won't quite reach with the knot, but that's still easily far enough.
Unknotted
One by one the adventurers descend the rope, climbing 40 feet down before coming out of the shaft, and then the remaining 10 feet down to the floor of the lower shaft chamber. The dim light from A'isha's coin bathes the room in an eerie glow, but the group can nonetheless make out the room's general features.
Mirrored images of a warrior in side profile, facing inward are carved on an ornate pair of stone doors in the west wall of this square room. The figure is depicted wearing padded armor, with a scarab-shaped shield on the arm facing the viewer, and a raised khopesh held aloft in the other. A crumpled humanoid body lies directly in front of the doors. A hint of decay hangs in the air, and a dried stain mars the stone floor under the body. A square shaft in the ceiling leads straight up into darkness.
Irakelesh climbs down the rope easily enough. At the bottom of the shaft he looks around in amazement. "This is so exciting. I remember when Jebanesh, he was one of my friends from the palace, when we were kids once we found this old cave. It had a tunnel in it like this. Well, not really like this. But it was a tunnel. The tunnel didn't really go anywhere though. But it was exciting. We were only 10 years old at the time so we couldn't do anything like keep digging."
Irakelesh swings his gaze around the room while talking.
Eventually he focuses on the body lying on the floor. He bends down to get a closer look in hopes of seeing how the poor person died. Probably a trap of some sort.
Selassie carefully examines the body on the floor.
Perception asked for above. +6 on checks to find concealed or secret doors in structures built in the style of Ancient Osirion
Irakelesh searches the room, but doesn't find any secret doors. The doors to the west are unsecured, though heavy, and could be opened easily.
The carvings seem to depict Akhentepi as a younger man. It was common in Ancient Osirian tombs for the entombed to be depicted at various points in his life at different places in the tomb.
Eventually he focuses on the body lying on the floor. He bends down to get a closer look in hopes of seeing how the poor person died. Probably a trap of some sort.
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
The body in front of the doors is mostly skeletal, with a thin layer of dessicated tissue. Most of his gear has suffered decades of rust and is unusable, though Irakelesh finds two pitons and a hammer, as well as two vials of alchemist's fire that have remained miraculously unbroken.
Selassie carefully examines the body on the floor.
Heal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Meanwhile Selassie examines the body itself, revealing it to be a male human or half-elf who obviously died down here. Both of the body's legs are broken from a fall from a great height, and the unfortunate man apparently crawled to the doors before he expired.
"Aha!" Irakelesh exclaims as he holds up two vials. "Look what I found. These will probably be useful. And I don't think this guy is going to need them anymore." Irakelesh places the two vials of alchemist's fire into his backpack. "There is some climbing gear here too. Should we take it?"
Aliva will inspect the carvings in the room after Irakelesh has, she will put one of the torches on the ground and hold the other one high to cast as much light as possible. Approaching the doors she will test them a little.
After Irakelesh states what he found, "Might as well, won't hurt since we are already down a set of rope, I have more if we need it though."
Aliva will give the doors a hearty push.
"Lets hope whatever got this explorer isn't waiting for us below.", she says, climbing down the rope. As they reach the lower shaft, she crouches down to examine the body. "Yikes..."
To answer Irakelesh's question. "Well, he isn't using it anymore, is he? Maybie we should also do some sort of burial service when we come back."
Aliva opens the doors to reveal a ten-foot-wide corridor. The walls feature bas-relief carvings of great battles. Armies with spears and shields clash at the direction of generals, while other leaders direct troops from chariots that are ruthlessly overrunning their enemies. Engraved stone double doors stand at the opposite end of the hallway, 30 feet away.
Fitliss makes sure to be at the front where his short legs can get to the action as quickly as possible.
"Maybe somebody was coming after him and they caught him here and cut the rope?", Fitliss suggests. [b]"Well, if someone died here, then we should probably start checking for traps." Fitliss gets out the 10 foot pole and probes the hallway ahead of him, glancing around. "Hey, some of that stuff looks familiar!"
Aliva will stand in the doorway, torch held high over her head.
"You are right but I cannot place it, have you found any traps yet?"
Fitliss makes sure to be at the front where his short legs can get to the action as quickly as possible.
"Maybe somebody was coming after him and they caught him here and cut the rope?", Fitliss suggests. "Well, if someone died here, then we should probably start checking for traps." Fitliss gets out the 10 foot pole and probes the hallway ahead of him, glancing around. "Hey, some of that stuff looks familiar!"
Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 2
K. History: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Fitliss doesn't see any traps, and probing the area in front of the doors doesn't turn up anything either. He also does not remember much of this period of Osirian military history.
perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12
Aliva will stand in the doorway, torch held high over her head.
K.Religion for the relief?: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
"You are right but I cannot place it, have you found any traps yet?"
The light from Aliva's torch fully illuminates the corridor, but she doesn't see any traps either. The doors to the west also depict what must be Akhentepi, except a bit older, and riding in a chariot. He carries the same scarab shield, but his other arm points towards the other doors, and currently, directly at the party. Aliva's knowledge of Osiriani burial ritual tells her, as it did Selassie before, that it was tradition to depict whoever was buried in a tomb in various stages of their life and career within their own tomb.
"All clear!"
Ai'sha uses prestidigitation to levitate her shining gold piece in front of her, she stops at the door, checking for traps.
"All right, stop for a second, everyone.", she says, with a bossy attitude to her voice. "We need to define a marching order so we're not out of position if someone attacks us. As the leader, i'd say me and Fitliss go first, Aliva and Irakelesh in the center, and Selassie and Laroisael can watch our back, is that fine?"
"As long as I'm at the front, I'm good," Fitliss shrugs, and then frowns at the glowing coin. "Hey, I just had an idea!" Grinning, the gnome casts light on the end of the wooden pole. "There! That should come in handy somehow! And while we're at it..." He also casts light on the tip of his spear.
Aliva moves to the middle of the group, "I can douse the torch if you want and cast light on an arrow."
She will pull out her bow and hold it in her left hand with an arrow set in the string.
"He appears to have died from falling. We should carry the bones out on our way out and at least give them a simple burial. Even if he was a criminal, he should have that much."
Selassie casts light on her holy symbol.
"There. That should give us plenty of light."
The group gets into marching order and moves down the corridor, as various party members ready their light sources. A'isha moves up to the door with Fitliss right beside her, hoping to check the door for traps. However, just before she gets to the western doors, there is a loud clicking noise, and a 5 foot by 10 foot section of the floor right in front of the doors depresses as a pressure plate is activated. A'isha removes her leg, and the trap resets, but it is too late.
An unseen trap is set off. A volley of darts launches from concealed holes all down the length of the hallway.
The darts seem impossible to avoid, and one or more darts hits every member of Pharasma's Seekers. Laroisael gets the worst of it though, and she collapses as a dart embeds in her neck, blood pouring out onto the stone floor.
Ai'sha winces as darts pierce her skin, luckily the leather armor and thick clothes are able to stop the darts before they reach any dangerous spots. She shakes her head, cursing, before turning to the group.
"...Is everyone alright!?...Dammit! You should have let me go in by myself first..."
Fitliss hurries over to Laroisael and heals her. "That was some trap, I hope they aren't all that accurate."
Aliva flinches as the dart strikes her but only nicks her leg, "Is everyone ok? Who needs healing? I can help."
"I..*pant*..can heal everyone if you will all gather close, no need to use further spells."
Selassie calls on her goddess to bathe the group in healing energy.
Selassie calls on her goddess to bathe the group in healing energy.
Between Fitliss's spell and Selassie's channeling of positive energy, Laroisael's wounds are fully healed, as are the lesser wounds that the others took. Only Selassie still has any sign of the hurt on her.
Irakelesh winces as darts shoot out of the walls and pierce his skin. "Yee-ouch!" he shouts. He quickly pulls the darts out of his flesh but blood starts to flow out fairly freely from a couple of the punctures. [b]"Great. What a mess." At Selassie's suggestion he gets close to her and the rest of the group. A wave of healing washes through him and he watches the wounds seal up. "I don't think I will ever get used to that," he says to Selassie.
"I like the idea of getting through this door and then setting off the trap. Maybe it will run out of darts."
"Seems like a good plan. That way we don't have to deal with it on the way out."
"Ok, I'll get the door!" Fitliss says, opening it with his pole before jumping over the plate and into the room beyond.
"Could we just not just someone over the pressure plate that we can just walk over to avoid the trap?"
Aliva will help brace the pole for Fitliss
One by one the adventurers leap over the pressure plate and into the next chamber.
A tapestry hangs on a wooden frame on the western wall of this chamber. Faded and delicate, the tapestry depicts a middle-aged man, accompanied by a woman and two children, with a small estate in the background. To either side of the tapestry are two small pedestals, upon which sit two dead and preserved animals. Stone double doors exit the chamber to the north, south, and east (where you came from).
Once everyone is in the room, Fitliss uses his 10 foot pole to depress the pressure plate again and again, until 9 more volleys have been fired, and the trap seems to be no longer a threat.
Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 16
Selassie carefully inspects the room.
Linguistics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Know(local): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15Selassie carefully inspects the room.
Selassie can discern several symbols and hieroglyphs on the tapestry that suggest that Akhentepi's family befell some tragedy, possibly murder or sickness, and he was left widowed. She can also infer that the family is probably interred somewhere else and that this tomb was prepared much later, after Akhentepi's continued successful military career.
Ai'sha nods.
"No risk of accidents this way, i just hope all this noise didn't woke up something dangerous ahead.", as the group reaches a new room, she aproaches Selassie. "You can read all of this, right? What does it say? What about the rooms before?"
After waiting the cleric's response, she turns to everyone else.
"What do you think, north or south?"
"I don't see why it would matter, and you're the leader," Fitliss says, going up to inspect the cats. "Poor things," he mutters, more to himself than the others.
Aliva will scan around the rooms for any sconce to place a torch in.
"Since I have all these torches, if we can leave them in major rooms we can mark our way back, lightening it as well. How do we want to pick a door?"
Aliva will inspect the doors for anything that might give a clue as where they lead too.
Aliva will scan around the rooms for any sconce to place a torch in.
"Since I have all these torches, if we can leave them in major rooms we can mark our way back, lightening it as well. How do we want to pick a door?"
Aliva will inspect the doors for anything that might give a clue as where they lead too.