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Rilia dumps the contents of the tureen and rushes across the room (in heels!) to the christen.
"I'll be right back" she says passing Hskoro.
At the christen she pauses for a moment to draw her free hand across the exposed tattoo encircling her navel to send forth another burst of effervescent life energy.
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Amelia launches a couple of magic missiles, slamming unerringly into the mummy while she beats a hasty retreat.
Hskoro gets weakened even further by the raging winds. In desperation, he flings his axe at the mummy, knowing that this is likely his last chance. Unfortunately, his unfamiliarity with wielding his weapon like this sends it flying too high over the head of the undead. Vanya continues her deadly attack on the undead, aided by the flank provided by Fargrim. She stabs her kukri deep into the mummy's chest, plunging deep into its unbeating heart, and slicing a deep gash down its entire front. The undead, taken too much damage, finally collapses back onto the ground as an unmoving heap and the raging winds surrounding it dies off almost immediately.
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Rilia scoops up some christen water with her tureen and dumps it over the remains of Trade Princess Zarmina Bahjari and the more exhausted party members.
"Well now I don't feel so put out by all of you being so crass as to bring your weapons, and armor, and shields to a funeral." She says in her revealing gown--which reveals none of these things.
"I'm surprised there isn't a backpack full of rope, waterskins, a brace of pitons, and bedroll among you." She purposefully does not check to see, but she does smile knowingly.
Rilia excuses herself to change back into her slightly less scandalous skin-tight leather adventuring garb.
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The temple finally falls silent and after a brief while, Aaqir opens the door a peek and peers in. Satisfied that the threat has been taken care of, he swings the doors wide open and stomps in, clearly furious that this sacrilege has taken place. He crouches beside the body of Zarmina, frustrated tear rolling down his face as he carefully lays the body to some semblance of peace. The servants enter shortly, one bearing a large white cloth. After Aaqir has done what he can, the servants carefully carry the body back to the bier and lays it gently on it, before covering it carefully with the cloth.
Aaqir takes a few deep breath to gather his composure before turning to you. "It is fortuitous indeed that I had sought your help. If I had not, this act of defilement could have easily turned into a massacre as well. Clearly, something is afoot and I can only seek your help again to uncover what has caused this... this..." He stops here and lets out a deep sigh, uncertain how to continue. He looks up at you again, and despite his troubles, he is clearly grateful. Grabbing one of his pouches, he presses it into your hands. "Here, a small appreciation for what you have done."
By this time, a number of the guests, at least hr braver ones, have started pressing back into the temple, looking on curiously. Rumours and gossip fly about on how Zarmina have been raised but clearly, there are more flights of fantasy than solid evidence. Aaqir shoos them back to their rooms to rest, making the excuse that the servants would need to clean up the temple.
With Aaqir's permission, you turn to examine the body. Somehow, Zarmina's body had been raised as a mummy but how it happened has left no clues on her. You search the discarded and torn shroud left unceremoniously on the floor, but other than a handful of dust you figured is magical, does not seem connected to her raising, but is simply what has flaked off from this rather unusual mummy.
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Fargrim inspects the dead mummy, saying her own prayers over it, before checking for the presence of magic.
Pointing to the dust she says "A clue, but I can't tell what it does.."
"An important question is...how long has she been like this? Was this planned shortly after she died? And if so... who would benefit and why?"
Then she looks around the room. "Or was it more recent? Who has been alone with the body since it arrived?"
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Vanya scours the room for clues, but with the mass stampede following the rise of Zarmina the mummy earlier, and the rather enthusiastic servants trying to tidy up the room, she is unable to identify anything that might be useful. Aaqir by this time is accompanying his spouse and daughters back to their chambers to rest from the ordeal. He repeats his request to the Pathfinders to investigate further. "However, let's not let your earlier work go to waste. If the opportunity arises, please continue what you were doing to sway the merchants to our side."
The Pathfinders start patrolling the grounds of the extensive Bahjari estate. About half a dozen buildings have ample space to sprawl across the family’s land. The largest building is the manor house which you are in, a two-story structure made of whitewashed stucco over stone. The home has several wings that fan out through well-maintained gardens. With some a wide area, the tasks of finding some clues is like searching for a needle in a hay stack. This does not even include the extensive gardens nor the other outbuildings like the kitchen, servant quarters, and what not.
While making your way along a corridor in the west wing, a servant boy approaches and hands you a note, saying it had come from Doritannia Raffella before he leaves. You have barely finished reading when another servant comes by and hands you a note, sharing that this has come from Jakti al’Awar, before he leaves to return to his work.
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Fargrim smiles at Aaqir.
"We have a couple of clues we are working on, but found an interesting lead in the trade negotiations too. It seems that Doritannia is indebted to Temel. It would seem that if you could help her out of her predicament, you would have a valuable ally for your own trading as well as for the Society..."
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"Ah, most interesting. Passad have kept this most discreet indeed. I have been wondering why Doritannia have been aligning herself so closely with him recently, even when there seem little trade benefits. This makes much more sense now. Hmm, buying over the debts is little difficulty for me, and I doubt whatever repayment conditions I make would be more generous than Passad, from what I can see in her letter. A win-win arrangements for her and for me." Aaqir looks intrigued by the prospects.
He ponders further, then adds on, "But I would need to do so discreetly as well - no point upsetting Passad whilst gaining the favour of Doritannia. If I channel the funds through my little known holdings in Taldor to her, I can likely leave Passad none the wiser. This begs further discussion between Doritannia and myself, perhaps later this evening when fewer eyes are watching. I'll send a message to her to make the arrangements. Thank you, Fargrim, for bringing me this news. Is there anything else?"
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With one order of business settled, you make your back to the temple for another meeting. Servants along the way stare curiously at the implements that Rilia is waving around, but wisely avert their eyes quickly.
When you return to the temple, Jakti and his two bodyguards are waiting for them. The servants have since cleaned up the worst of the mess from the earlier combat, and Jakti is now wearing a scimitar at his side. He stares at Rilia with a deep frown. "Why are you waving that around, woman? Have you found the guilty party?"
Perplexed, he waits briefly for a reply, but pushes on. Waving for his guards to stand outside the door to ensure a measure of privacy, he whispers conspiratorially, "Never mind that for now. I was uncertain if you were trustworthy enough to share this information with, but after your battle against the mummy, I see that you are most competent individuals and I believe you can help."
“Some days ago I received information from... a trusted source... that a someone has hired several assassins in Katheer for a job this very night. This manor has one of the greatest gatherings of powerful people in the entire city, so I can only conclude that these assassins are meant to strike here. With that knowledge, I hired a few bodyguards for myself, but it would allay my fears if I were to have your protection as well. Of course, you may seek to protect everyone in the manor, and I would applaud you for such commitment to righteousness! I will be satisfied if no harm comes to my person before this night is over, whatever the circumstances. Do this for me, and I would greatly consider dealing with such competent individuals in the near future.”
Just as he finishes speaking, a series of loud crashes echoes through the house, followed by screaming from everywhere and shouts from the guards outside. Jakti’s eyes widen in alarm as he rushes to the temple’s doors only to discover that the entry hall downstairs teeming with the walking dead! The two guards retreat to stand beside Jakti. Jakti draws his scimitar and, rallying his guards, start cutting his way down the stairs with them.
Just then, Aaqir al’Hakam emerges from one of the upstairs hallways. He takes in the situation quickly, and notes how well Jakti is in protecting himself. He calls out to the Pathfinders, "There are more zombies throughout the manor!" The breaking of glass elsewhere in the house emphasises this point. "Jakti seems fine. Protect the other guests!" Before he can clarify further, he rushes back to his quarters to keep his family safe.
Unfortunately, Temel’s and Metella’s animosity toward each other led them to take rooms at opposite ends of the manor’s ground floor. If you split up, it is unlikely that you could save either unless you go in full force.
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...you make your back to the temple for another meeting. Servants along the way stare curiously at the implements that Rilia is waving around, but wisely avert their eyes quickly.
When you return to the temple, Jakti and his two bodyguards are waiting for them. The servants have since cleaned up the worst of the mess from the earlier combat, and Jakti is now wearing a scimitar at his side. He stares at Rilia with a deep frown. "Why are you waving that around, woman? Have you found the guilty party?"
"In a manner of speaking, especially after last time." Rilia says with a grin.
.... “Some days ago I received information from... a trusted source... that a someone has hired several assassins in Katheer for a job this very night. This manor has one of the greatest gatherings of powerful people in the entire city, so I can only conclude that these assassins are meant to strike here. With that knowledge, I hired a few bodyguards for myself, but it would allay my fears if I were to have your protection as well. Of course, you may seek to protect everyone in the manor, and I would applaud you for such commitment to righteousness! I will be satisfied if no harm comes to my person before this night is over, whatever the circumstances. Do this for me, and I would greatly consider dealing with such competent individuals in the near future.”
"Oh I'm more than 'competent', but don't expect to survive completely unscathed." she smiles wickedly while touching his chest.
At the sound of the zombie alarm Rilia adds "Maybe later." She rushes off to Metella's chambers figuring that it would be an insult to Passad's faith to assume he did not have enough money to turn or rebuke the living dead.
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Glad the meeting with Aaqir went well, he moves along with the group to meet Jakti and perks up when assassins are mentioned. Upon hearing the commotion below, he goes to see the zombies. "More undead. Hopefully not as tough as the mummy before."
Hskoro agrees that saving the one that is favorable to them already is best action and follows Rilia to Metella's chamber.
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Metella's apartment is on the ground floor and you first have to make your way past the hordes of zombies who are gradually staggering up the stairs! You may either
- Knock them aside as you push your way past them as you race down the stairs , or
- Vault over the railing down to the ground floor, and hopefully not break anything .
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Vanya subtly helps Faragrim focus on Jakti's words and demeanour but events keep moving too fast for the Pathfinders to analyze the significance of the insight they gained.
As the zombies swarm the stairs Vanya doesn't have to think much on how to avoid them: she just runs towards the stairs and jumps high over their rotten skulls!
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Vanya takes a spectacular leap over the railings down to the ground floor, diverting the attention of a number of zombies enough for the rest to either do the same, or to push right through them to reach the ground floor.
You have escaped from those blocking the stairway but unfortunately, there is still a large group standing in the hallway between you and the west wing to Metella's quarters. You may either
- Cut them down to clear a path through , or
- Try barreling through them to push them aside .
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With inspiring words of Rilia, the Pathfinders easily cut through the horde of undeads like hot knife through butter, with Fargrim and Vanya slashing down zombies in front, and Shi peppering them from behind. In no time, a passageway is cleared towards Metella's chambers.
The passage is largely clear and Metella's room is just straight ahead. Just before it reach it, however, Vanya suddenly calls everyone to a halt. Her sharp eyes have spotted a trip wire that has been cunningly stretched across the corridor at waist level, connected to a simple box further ahead. A closer look reveals darts sticking out of them. The set-up is crude and hastily done, but clearly someone had feared interference in Metella's quarters.
You may either
- Try to avoid the tripwire or evade the darts , or
- Try to disarm the trap altogether .
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Fargrim and Hskoro tries to limbo-rock under the tripwire but Fargrim trips over a dead zombie lying on the floor. Hskoro reaches out to grab her, but ends up tripping over the same zombie. Disaster looks about to befall the Pathfinders but Vanya had been working on the trap. With quick hands, she slices the tripwire and almost immediately grabs and holds onto the end connected to the box, preventing the trap from triggering. Once she is certain that it is secure does she quickly moves up to the box, while maintaining the right tension on the wire and disabled the darts completely.
Finally you reach the door to Metella's quarters. You hear a crash from the other side, as it a vase had been knocked on the ground and a yell sounding like Metella from the other side! You do not have much time. You grab the doorknob which turns readily but the door refuses to budge. Something is blocking it on the other side!
You may either
- Try to bash the door down , or
- Try to take apart the door altogether .