"I still cannot believe you signed us up with this name," Constance, your group's fixer, sighs as she makes her way back to your group, lottery tokens in hand. One token represents your group, the the Mummy Mimi Modo Adventuring Company, while the other token represents the building that you're allowed to explore as part of the opening of the Wati necropolis. Despite protests from the Pharasmin church, the Ruby Prince's economic policy - the legalizing of tomb robbing (well, that's how Constance explains it) - has been pushed through and implemented in Wati. Still, the priests of the Grand Mausoleum could at least influence when, how and who got to explore the necropolis. Sites were assigned to groups of explorers through a lottery - through fate and chance, befitting the Lady of the Graves.
"We've been assigned to the Tomb of Akhentepi. Apparently, it's an actual tomb which predates the Plague of Madness. Here, the tokens came with directions and a map of the necropolis. The tomb is in Wati's original graveyard, in the eastern section of the necropolis." Constance says as she hands over the lottery tokens and maps. Then, with the embarrassment of the group's name seemingly behind her, the dark-haired Chelish fixer continues: "The gates only open tomorrow morning, so we have the night to ready ourselves. I have organized accommodation at the Tooth & Hookah. Come on, let's go."
The Pharasmins of the Grand Mausoleum, though perhaps a little politically weak are at least punctual, opening the necropolis gates at sunrise. As the first adventuring parties begin to enter, the high priestess, Sebti the Crocodile proclaims: "The way is open, but, pay heed and let these rules guide you in your endeavors in this holy place: remember how this came to pass, every slave’s hut is a memorial, and honor the departed. May you go with the Lady’s blessing.”
The sturdy stone buildings of Wati’s necropolis were once part of the living city, and even now could still be mistaken for apartments, estates, shops, or tenements if not for the faded paint and desert sand piling up in the streets. Separated from the rest of the city by high stone walls inscribed with prayers and blessings, the necropolis has an outward appearance of peace and repose. The dusty streets are mostly empty of life and it does not take you long to locate your assigned site.
A rectangular stone mausoleum sits alone in what appears to have once been an actual cemetery. The trunks of a few dead trees poke out of the sand around the tomb, and a hot breeze whistles through their desiccated branches. A set of massive stone double doors is affixed to the northern side of the structure, beneath a facade bearing the likeness of an Osirian man. Windblown sand is heaped around the crypt, partially burying the doors that lead within.
Kesh frowns as he runs his fingers down the seam of the door. "Who would do such a thing? I thought we were supposed to be the first here." On reflection he adds, "did anybody bring a crowbar?"
= 4
Sighs. Clearly you're failing in your duties as my lackey Kesh. Looks at Senzu and LuSun, shakes her head, and pointedly glares So, either of you going to do something about it? Or must I as usual, tell you what to do?
"Scarlettoooo, don't fret, your boyfriend-to-be will handle this!"
Sighs "Kesh, boyfriend-to-be is not you. I doubt there's anyone out there good enough for the awesome that is me."
Kesh's mental thought stream is slightly audible as he can't quite contain it. "ooooee, I don't dislike Scarletto's tsundere side..."
Lu-Sun is not at all taken up in the conversation, but rather slowly takes out a broom attachment and fixes it to the top of his walking stick and slowly begins to sweep away the sand. Even though he looks old and slow; remarkably the sand is being cleared away very fast, must be years of training or a good broom...
= 12
It looks like someone has tried to get in here before us, but if they succeeded, we are yet to see.
We need to clear the sand first in order to get a better look.
With the sand cleared quickly and efficiently, Kesh is able to try opening the door while still fresh and rested. It's a difficult task, but with enough pulling and straining, the door finally slides outwards and opens, revealing a small rectangular room. The room is empty save for some engravings and fixtures upon the walls and an immense stone wheel against the south wall standing opposite the heavy stone doors Kesh just opened. The air is stale, and a layer of dust and sand covers the floor, lying in a thicker layer to the south. All four walls bear sunk-relief engravings and hieroglyphs, while small stone faces are affixed to the walls at about shoulder height in each corner. The stone wheel to the south is engraved with a large spiral and is set in stone tracks in the floor and ceiling.
The stone wheel against the south wall is 10 feet in diameter, 6 inches wide, and looks really heavy. Judging by the scratches on the floor, the wheel can be rolled out of the way, but it's going to require another Strong check.
"Well, that makes sense. Death goddess and death god." Kesh examines the stone wheel and the room at large. "I supposed this needs to be rolled out of the way."
Try as he might, Kesh cannot move the great stone wheel on his own.
"Don't worry, hunny, I got this ---rrrggghhhhh"
"...li...little help here... guys..."
Here, let me see if I can help...
Senzu tries and assists with moving of the wheel
...Pharasma is... heavy...
"Is there a trick to it?" Kesh wonders, and examines the wheel more thoroughly.
"You guys should learn to work together, here let me help you..." Lu-Sun starts to stretch and crack his old bones before grabbing hold of the stone at a different location and waits for Kesh or Senzu to do join in.
Okay, lets do this
Working together, under Zero's supervision, Kesh, Senzu and Lu-Sun manage to roll the giant stone wheel out of the way, revealing 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.
The shaft is 10 feet square and 60 feet deep. The rope extends only 5 feet into the shaft before ending. Luckily, Constance provide some basic adventuring gear including torches, flint and steel and 50 feet of rope.
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, lower shaft 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.
The body in front of the doors is mostly skeletal, with a thin layer of desiccated tissue. The corpse’s gear has suffered decades of rot and rust and is mostly unusable, though a thorough search yields a couple of metal pitons and a usable hammer.
Scarletto flies down, and waits for the rest of you to get down too.
Senzu hops into the air and hovers down slowly with his arms crossed.
Looks like somebody didn't make it out, or in. Lets have a look at what he died from
Sensu walks closer and investigates the body.
Looks like this man didn't learn how to fly.... Oh right
Senzu looks like he is in deep thought for a moment.
Senzu: Yeah, I don't mind if I ruffle a few feathers along the way.
Korin: This poor man fell to his death. I wonder what he was doing here.
Senzu: Same as us, looking for treasure and power, now quiet.
Kesh climbs down quickly and efficiently.
Once down he looks up at Zero then abruptly crushes his hand to his face and looks away for a place to hide.
Lu-Sun walks toward the pit nearly as if it wasn't there, looking up at Scarletto with a faint smile. Seemingly at the last second before he falls completely into the pit, Lu-Sun grabs hold of the rope and miraculously manages to slide down with relative ease.
After giving the corpse a quick look over
"Indeed funny Sunzu, if not a bit dark though, this man suffered before he expired, best we be more cautious"
Eyeing the next door "Guess we'll need to team up for this one again"
The difficulty of this check seems really hectic for climbing down with a rope. My chances of passing were low. 13 out of 36 chance of
Buoyed by some boy-thought-process Kesh pshaws and says, "Don't worry, I got this." And unexpectedly it seems he does. He winks at Zero.
The doors open, revealing a 10-foot wide, 35-foot long corridor. The walls of the corridor 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 either end of the hallway.
The engravings resemble those of the previous room, depicted as an older man riding in a chariot. He carries the same scarab shield, but his other arm points at his own reflected depiction on the opposite door.
= 6 2X
The door at the end of the hallway opens easily.
"That is pretty e- whoa."
= 6
"Battle motif passages, something we should consider for the base." Looks around for someone to take notes...is unimpressed with what she sees, shakes her head and sighs "I need a scribe."
= 6
Lu-Sun walks slightly behind everyone, mumbling out loud:"Art without an audience, how lonely....and dusty"
Senzu walks down the hallway not really impressed by the scenery, then tries to dodge the incoming arrows "Dodge!"
Senzu manages to dodge all the arrows by making some quick tumbles.
"Ah, my morning warmup"
"Who did that?"
= 6
Scarletto sees the incoming arrows, and with a push of her foot stands above them.
"Hmmmm, I wonder what other traps those who got here before us left behind?"
"I think these traps are made by the architects of the place. Look, it's integrated into the design."
For each Level in Time Freeze, you gain an equivalent Bonus in all tests of speed and quickness—or a Penalty to those of your opponents. While this Ability requires you to perform an action, you may offset the Multiple Actions Penalty by an amount equal to your Level in Time Freeze.
Lu-Sun, apparently caught completely off guard while investigating the dusty and neglected artworks, he reacts swiftly and leans over backwards in avoidance as the darts all nearly hit him but narrowly miss. A few seconds later, he grabs his back in pain as he slowly rights himself again. You can hear his spine cracking from all the effort.
"Is everyone alright?"
Senzu takes a quick glance over everyone.
"We should be on the lookout for more traps..."
Senzu walks over to some of the scattered arrows and tries to examine the arrowheads to determine if they are poisoned. Or to learn something about the craftsmanship used.
Senzu:"Damn, doesn't look like anything special to me. Can you see something?"
Korin:"I can see what you can see. You also mostly know what I know."
Senzu:"Thought as much, I should start charging you some rent..."
Korin:"... At least nobody got hurt"
A faded tapestry hangs on a wooden frame on the western wall of the chamber beyond the trapped corridor. 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 to the east (back the way you came from).
The doors to the north and south open easily onto short stairways that descend to additional sets of doors.
= 2
"Interesting décor choices here."
Scarletto looks at the doors and walks off.
"North door anyone?"
"I have no idea what that says"
"Looks like curiosity killed these cats, then mummified them."
"Anyway, looks like the path splits..."
Korin:"South"
"... I vote South"
"Doth Akhentepi wept... ya this isn't impossible if you know Osiriani. This Akhentepi lost his family to some tragedy, possibly disease or murder. Though it is unlikely that any of them actually were laid to rest here." Kesh looks up and realizes that north is the way to go, "Scarletto-chan! Wait for me!"
A brightly painted chariot sits in the center of the chamber to the north. Beyond the chariot, a large canvas stretches between two stone columns. The skins of several animals—antelopes, great cats, and crocodiles—now faded and deteriorated with age, are tacked to this canvas. A wooden chest, lacquered white and trimmed with gold inlay, sits in the southeast corner. In each corner of the room a small stone shield is molded into the masonry at shoulder height. An open hallway leads to the east.
The chest is locked.
Picking the lock requires a Dexterous DN 6 and reveals two books with thin, gold-plated metal sheets for pages. The first is a brief biography of Akhentepi, and the second is a list and description of the various military campaigns conducted by the nation of Osirion between 2350 and 2450 ar. Each book is worth 300 gp. The chest also contains two potions of cure light wounds and one potion of darkvision.
When you are ready, you can head down the hall to the east or return to the tapestry room to the south.
"Wow, this chariot and chest are worth a bit. I estimate around 350gp. Getting the chariot out is going to be tricky. We will need to take it apart and reassemble it outside. Anyone good with their hands?"
"This chest is locked. Wonder whats inside. I suggest we try and pick the lock..."
"I'm a little worried, I mean look at those shields in the corner. Suspicious..."
= 4
"Hmmm that scribe better be able to pick locks too."
" To bash or not to bash? I suppose the chest might be worth something."
Scarletto looks at Lu "Can you pick it?"
"I have no real skill at locks, but I can give it a quick try"
"Woah!- "
Lu-Sun manages to dodge out the way just in time
"I don't think it was meant to do that, must be really old and broken. "
[
"History books!, amazing, these must be worth a lot just due to their age. I would love to study these. Though I would not risk drinking those old potions, no telling what time has done to them " As Lu_sun eyes the bottles of liquid suspicously
"Note to self scribe needs some alchemical skill as well."
"I think we can peruse the books in detail later, look there's a whole hallway going off to the east here." True to form, Kesh leads the way.
"Nice work dodging that... misfire. I hope that the rest of the ruins remain in one piece a little longer."
"I agree that your scribe needs to come from a questionable background and be good with locks as well, I'm sure we could persuade someone like that to join."
Senzu follows Kesh, but is trying to be more alert about his surroundings.
=>2
Korin:"I think that was a trap"
Senzu:"Probably"
Korin:"We should be careful and keep our eyes and ears open"
Senzu:"I know"
Korin:"Its dangerious here..."
Senzu:"Quite! I am trying to look for more traps, but somebody keeps distracting me..."
Four funerary masks hang on one wall of the short eastern hallway. The masks stare down as you pass, as if in judging you.
The short hall terminates in a 20 by 20 foot room. A table displaying a three-dimensional diorama occupies much of the north side of this room. Three shields with different designs are displayed upon a rack against the east wall, while various weapons hang from another rack along the south wall. Arrayed around the room are five small chests and a clay urn.
As you enter the room properly, three tiny wooden dolls in the diorama turn their heads to stare at you with dead painted eyes. As one, the wooden dolls pick up tiny spears and shields, leap from the table and move to attack!
Initiative Rolls
Initiative Order
12 Scarletto
10 Kesh
06 Lu
06 Dolls
03 Senzu