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Jandar-ki studies the bowl of tan gruel in front of him, pulling the spoon out of the fuul and watching the lumps plop back down. Looking up to the group, "Shall we get going then?"
Zohreh nods. "To the Necropolis!"
And the group goes to the Necropolis. You see various other adventuring parties heading on their way. Most you saw the night before, but a couple appeared to have hit the lottery late. You see a group of what appear to be gnolls led by a shorter but more muscular gnoll-like creature wearing scarlet robes and carrying a pair of metal nunchaku. The other group appears to made up of elven rangers talking about how the treasure will bring all of the young elf boys and girls to their yard in Kyonin.
"Here's hoping for good finds," Zohreh says, a little distracted by looking at all the strange folk about. "Any ideas on strategy?"
Varisia's step begins to quicken as they near the entrance to the Necropolis. As he crosses the threshold in to the ruins he takes in a deep breath, closes his eyes and lets the feel of the preserved city wash over him.
When Zohreh speaks her glances at her sideways with an ear-to-ear grin. 'Be good, be fast, be safe?'
Zohreh wrinkles her broad nose. "Caravan life has taught me this: you only ever get two of the above."
Lorn positioned herself toward the back of the group as they stood at the entrance to the Necropolis. Ravi followed his mistress.
"Be vigilant with all the senses. Tread carefully. I, and Ravi, will cover you from the back."
Lorn's eyes took in the presence of the latecomers, especially the Elven rangers from Kyonin, then back to her companions and the ruins of the ancient city before them.
Ah, but these are elven milkshakes, so they don't age quickly.
Yes it looks like we lost Zariya.
Seeing that Varisia orders a room, Zariya inquires to join him. "Maybe we can share the room and the bed? I wouldn't mind sleeping cuddled up to you." She whispers. It'll also work around the fact that she doesn't actually have any money at the moment as well as keeping her armor somewhat more secure after she has taken it off.
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Zariya takes point the next day as she spoke off before. "I doubt we'll encounter much dangers out here on the road, but it never hurts to get into good habits early." She looks back at Varisia and blushes slightly, thinking about the habit they have gotten into over the past few days.
Arasmes seems to just be enjoying himself, allowing you all to come up with strategy for moving forward as that isn't exactly his area of expertise.
Zohreh falls in line in the middle of the group as they approach the Necropolis. She is not a strategist, having only orcs to learn war from; this will have to do. She looks at her comrades.
"Are we ready? Shall we enter?"
"Yeah, let's just go. First we have to find the tomb." Zariya is in a good mood. Finally she'll get to experience adventure.
Ask and ye shall receive
http://www.kingdomofmorrain.com/mummysmask/maps.html
The Necropolis is over a mile in length and width, so about 3,600,000 ft square, or 22.5 Manhattan (New York City for you out of America types) city blocks. Appearance of entrance and description thereof
http://www.kingdomofmorrain.com/mummysmask/necropolis.html
Short summary lots of dead people, some undead, and some living behind a big wall covered with anti-undead prayers run by the temple of Pharasma in a 6,000 by 6000 ft burial place.
The priests gather the adventuring crews to the entrance, and give each a map of the Necropolis marked with an X (Yes an X https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvywOjh_hdY) that is your first location. Based on travel time, it will take around 2 to 4 hours of walking to get to the tomb. The Phasramins also say that you can't reenter Wati except during daylight hours. You will be stopped or killed depending on how you try to get back into Wati from the Necropolis at night.
So are you doing anything before entry?
Varisia helps
Lorn kept her eyes and ears open and continually surveyed the area as Jandar-Ki and Varisia led the group toward the first tomb. She employed her own sense of instinct and survival to ensure they were going the right way (avoiding getting lost) and bypass any obstacles on their long walk to be. She whispered to Ravi, gesturing with her hand for the anklyosaur to better understand, "Be on the look out, my friend."
From his vantage in the back, Ravi gazed about the space, occasionally employing his nose to catch any unusual scent/s in the air.
The air in the tombs is stifling for Zohreh, who is not used to being underground. Were there no dwarven clerics to send? Nevertheless, she does what she can to keep an eye out in these unfamiliar surroundings.
The walk to the tomb takes 25 minutes or so. You pass by Pharasma's Needle on your way to the tomb, a large obelisk made out of some alien stone that the local temple put up to honor the dead. Eventually you make your way to the local complex housing Akhentepi's body.
A rectangular stone mausoleum sits alone in what appears to be a 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 likness of an Osirian man. Windblown sand is heaped around the crypt, partially burying the doors that lead within.
It is now 9:30 am.
'Hang back a minute, I'll check out the doors.' Varisia cautiously approaches the stone doors, keeping an eye out for any threat. When/if he arrives he slowly and carefully begins to move the sand away from the door. Assuming this is complete, Varisia takes the time to study the door, checking for traps, triggers, and locks.
The sand appears to be much more extensive then at first glance. It will take at least an hour of heavy digging by two people to clear it away from the doors. You find no traps, but the doors have no visible handles
or hinges. On closer inspection the doors are 10 feet tall, made of solid stone, and have concealed hinges that swing outward. There are also telltale traces of mortar along the seams and jamb that has been chipped away or crumbled due to the passage of the ages. It indicates that the doors were to remain shut. However, you spot some scarring on the door frame that shows a crowbar was inserted between the seam at some point in the last 2500 years+....
Varisia waves to the rest of the party, motioning for them to approach. While they move to him Varisia takes a look at the door again, checking to see if, once the sand is clear, enough of the mortar has been removed for it to swing open easily or if more will need to be removed.
Much more will need to be removed to open the doors. At least an hour of labor by two people with shovels.
"Perhaps if the doors open inward, we can climb up and pry them open without having to dig our way in," suggests Zohreh, trying to remember if she brought a shovel and doubting it.
The doors open outward based on Varisia's current gathering.
'I think we're going to have to get that sand out of the way for me to get a proper look at it' Varisia runs his hands along the seams picking at loose bits of mortar.
The seams appear to be solid. You would need some form of earth passing magic to bypass it or several big strong people to wedge the door open. Plus the dirt still has to be moved in order to gain access to the seams to pry the doors open via strength or a crowbar.
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As the others talked of moving the sand away from the double closed doors, Lorn cast her keen eyes about the crypt, searching for another, hidden/secret means through.
"I don't have a shovel with me unfortunately." Zariya says and shakes her head. "We should probably just go get some, digging to get in will take hours anyway."
"I do not possess a shovel", Lorn added casually as she continued her inspection.
'Some of us could stay behind and work on clearing dirt while the others go back for tools.' Varisia says as he steps back to take in the entirety of the doors again.
"Good idea," says Zohreh, who has sat down on the ground to rummage through her possessions. "I don't have a shovel, but I have the bowl from my mess kit. My spiked gauntlet may help in clearing sand, as well."
Lorn's keen eyes find no other way to pass the solid reality of the stone before her.
"If someone are staying behind, I'll stay." Zariya says and approaches the sand and gets to digging, using her gloved hands to show the sand away.
"No secret door or passage", Lorn simply declared to her companions, satisfied with her examination.
"I will stay, as will Ravi", and she proceeded to follow Zohreh's undertaking and took out a bowl to use from her own mess kit.
Arasmes lounges down in the sand while talk about shovels and digging goes on...which sounds quite exhausting. I'll stay as well. I need Lorn to keep an eye on me to make sure I don't do something rash in my boredom. He winks at Lorn at that before saying Caliphana keep watch if you please.
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"Let's just get started on this. It shouldn't be too bad. We can just improvise, like Zohreh mentioned or use some of the debris we passed." Jandra-Ki grabs a jagged piece of wooden debris, piles as much sand on it as it can hold, and then carries it to the side of the tomb to pour it out of the way and then repeats the process. I don't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere.
So who is going to buy shovels, and who is staying to dig, observe the digging and add comments, or attempt to seduce Amidala while eating fruit?
Since most have volunteered to stay, Zohreh supposes she must go. She unbuckles her spiked gauntlet and sets it by the bowl.
"I will go. Will anyone else come? I do not trust the look of this place, less so wandering alone."
'I'll give you a hand with that Zohreh, we'll make it quick' Varisia frowns a little, disappointing to have to leave the Necropolis so soon after arriving.
It will take 25 minutes to walk back to the gate. That will make it around 10:30 or so. Without shovels and 4 people working on it, it will take about 3 hours of digging. With shovels and 4 people digging, about a 1/2 hour. To find a shop selling shovels, that will take another 15 minutes or so. So to gather said shovel, 40 minutes of walking to the store, 5 minutes to get a shovel, and then 25 minutes of walking back, totaling 70 minutes which will make it 11:40.