Nevai took the hit stoicly but staggered, then raised his holy symbol, refusing to yield.
Nuru scrambles away from the Vanth, and only when she is clear of danger does she come to her feat.
The Psychopomp lands on the ground softly, without sound, and lowers its scythe. A moment later, it disappears.
The commander of the Voices of the Spire, Nakht Shepses, stands silent for a few seconds, a frown on his face. With a curt nod, he speaks, It has been decided. You are worthy. I offer my apologies for doubting you. The High Priestess has chosen her champions...wisely, as always.
The armored man continues, We will stand ready to use the Psychopomps only if the outbreak cannot be contained. He nods and waves one of his knights forward. The woman walks up to Nevai and hands him two scrolls. Take these, the commander says as the knight presents them. She proceeds on to Leto, and takes ten arrows from a quiver at her side. And these.
SUMMON LESSER PSYCHOPOMP
School conjuration (summoning); Level cleric 5, sorcerer/wizard 5, summoner 4, witch 5
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, F/DF (a crocodile skull funerary mask)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect one or more summoned psychopomps (see text)
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell functions like summon monster, except that it summons 1d3 esobok psychopomps or 1d4+1 nosoi psychopomps.
SUMMON VANTH
School conjuration (summoning); Level cleric 6, sorcerer/wizard 6, summoner 5, witch 6
Casting Time 1 round
Components V, S, F/DF (a vulture skull funerary mask)
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Effect one summoned vanth psychopomp
Duration 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell functions like summon monster, except that it summons a single vanth psychopomp.
I've sent my knights to secure the gate. Rest now and prepare yourselves. With that, Nakht nods solemnly to Sebti and steps back. Before she is able to speak the Vanth, Ajin Ra Baqa, teleports back to the area, hovering a few feet above the ground. The being is carrying a small, sheathed, khopesh which it throws to the ground in front of Nuru. It nods and vanishes again.
The High Priestess, finally able to speak, steps forward. Thank you all. You fought well. If any of you are injured, my priests will provide healing. The two priests at her side step forward and move through the group, healing everyone. The Voices have secured the gate, as Commander Nakht says. It will hold while you rest and prepare. If you need anything, we will try to provide what we can.
Marnarius breathes a sigh of relief as the vanth falls. "So, keeping it and the esoboks off of Leto turned out to be the best tactic. Painful, though. High Priestess, I'll take some of that healing."
Leto gasps as the Vanth vanishes.
What? This is it? Who gives you the right to trial us like that?
He thankfully nods though when presented the arrows and stows them in his quiver.
Nevai accepted the offered scrolls with interest, and quickly scanned them with a simple spell. "Having seen the power and skill of these psychopomps first hand, I know these scrolls will be a powerful aid against the undead horde. Thank you."
The priests go about healing you all. Nakht doesn't respond to Leto's question, simply nodding once again and leaving with his knight.
The gate will stay sealed until you are ready, he says over his shoulder.
The High Priestess looks over the group, Rest. When you are ready to go, let me know. If you need anything, speak with the priests, they may have supplies left.
Marnarius approaches a priest. "Do you have some cold iron-tipped arrows and silver weapon blanch?"
Morning comes and you gather your things, venturing back to the necropolis gate. Upon your return you see a dozen knights of the Voices of the Spire standing guard.
Peace be upon you, one of the knights says, as you approach. You recognize her as one that greeted you the first night of the attack at the doors of the cathedral. It's good to see you're all upright still. We've been thinning their numbers all night but they just keep coming back. What few spirits have tried to come through we've handled. We've been ordered to open the gates for you, though it might be best if you find some other way in. She shrugs, If you can.
Looking past the knight you see that there are still dozens, if not hundreds, of undead beyond the wall. It appears that they're standing on a pile of dead, the remains of those the knights have already dispatched. The others of the Voices stand ready to open the door at your command.
Marnarius cocks an eyebrow as he contemplates the mass of undead before the gate. "Say, didn't the Silver Chain have their own way in? It might be a little easier to go around this lot."
Thea nods. "Either that or perhaps we scale the wall at a section away from the gate, where there will, hopefully, not be anything awaiting us."
"Either of those sounds better than trying to push our way through that lot. And I'm not much for climbing, so let's try that passage?"
"Skyblazer, can you go take a look and see if there's any pattern to where the undead are coming from?"
"Skiireeee!" the falcon cried as he took to the air and soared high over the necropolis's streets for a few minutes before returning.
The wall is scaleable in certain parts. It's quite tall, but you can manage to get halfway up from several nearby buildings.
"I could climb that easily, as long as I wasn't distracted. Leto, you're a pretty good climber, too. How about you take a rope and go up first while we cover you from the ground, and then you provide high cover while the rest of us climb the rope? The only thing I don't like about that idea is that it puts us in a place where there's really no retreat for most of you unless we can get back to the gate (through masses of undead) or the entrance the Silver Chains had."
"Skyblazer says they all seem to just be milling about, filtering in from all over and heading to the only known exit. There doesn't seem to be any clear pattern," Nevai relayed.
"I have an even better idea. "
Leto takes a rope and knots it for easy climbing. Then he takes out a grappling hook arrow, fixes the rope to it and shoots it up the wall. After it is secured, he invites everyone to climb.
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-Posted with Wayfinder
You manage to scale the wall and drop down on the other side easily. Just as you finish and are starting to decide where to head out to, Qasin, the small bird-like psychopomp lands on the remains of a broken barrel nearby. In one of it's claws it holds a short golden rod with a bit of paper scrolled around it.
Peace be upon you, travelers. I bring some news from Commander Nakht. He has given me a map of the necropolis. He and the High Priestess have uncovered something that may be of use. The small bird pauses a moment before continuing, When the necropolis was first walled off nearly 1,800 years ago, more than a dozen necromantic detectors called elegiac compasses were concealed inside. These devices can sense large sources of necromantic energy, and church inquisitors have used them to track and subdue fell influences in the necropolis. As of 30 years ago, the last time they were used, five elegiac compasses remained functional and could possibly be used to triangulate the source of the undead uprising. The little psychopomp steps away from the rod and scroll. The paper turns out to be a map. The rod is a gift from the High Priestess. A lesser ectoplasmic metamagic rod, I believe.
Commander Nakht also suspects that a cult of atheist lamias called the Amushet might be behind the undead uprising. He believes they may have been agitated by the church’s...exploration program. According to the Commander, the lamias know bizarre magics and have been known to take paramours from the city’s populace, releasing them only after blinding them and driving them insane. The Amushet inhabit the Cenotaph of the Cynic in the necropolis, treating it as their personal playground.
"Let's get the closest one--if it can be used, we can at least tell when stronger undead are approaching the gates."
"Thank you, Qasin. I agree, let's head to the compass nearby and see if we can get it working. Thea, why don't you hold onto that rod? If we get ambushed by more shadows or ghosts, it'll be good to keep your spells at full strength."
Thea nods at Nevai and will gently take the rod from the psychopomp. "Please pass on our thanks to the Priestess and the Commander."
"I agree that we should go ahead and investigate the closest marked area first."
Nuru keeps a watchful eye upon the psychopomp as it relays its message and items to the group. "That should likely be quite helpful before our work in the Necropolis is finished," she smiles at Almathea as the wizard takes the rod.
"Nuru and I should probably take point, Erei can take rear guard, and the rest of you in the middle. Nevai, Skyblazer seems to have the eyes-above role well in, ah, talon. That work for everyone?"
You make your way towards the location on the map being careful to avoid the wandering hordes of monsters with the help of Marnarius' scouting and Skyblazer's spotting. Upon reaching the area you see what looks to be an old glassblower's shop which appears to have been repurposed into a humble mausoleum. A massive copper and iron contraption is on the roof of the building, which you easily identify as the elegiac compass you're looking for. The building itself seems to have been looted long ago and you make your way to the roof. Once in front of the compass, you realize it appears to be missing a large piece from the core.
The half-elf scans the roof quickly with an expert eye. "Tracks, and they look draconic." After a moment he rolls his eyes and points behind the building, at a large sinkhole. "Guess where the tracks lead. Just guess. Shall we?"
"More spelunking then? Skyblazer, stay out here for now and cry out if you see anything trying to follow us in please."
Thea sighs. "As if a horde of undead creatures aren't enough, we must now go chase after something draconic in nature?"
Despite the half-hearted complain, Thea follows the others to the sinkhole.
"Would it help if it was an undead dragon?"
"NO."
How would a dragon come into the necropolis and why? That´s interesting.
Nuru looks grim when Marnarius informs them of the draconic tracks. Tightly gripping the pommel of her khopesh, her knuckles turn white as she nods at Leto.
Those of you with darkvision can see that the sinkhole drops 50 feet straight down into what appears to be a tunnel.
It would be easy enough to set up a set of ropes to get down the sinkhole safely.
Then we do so and prepare to descend down into the darkness.
"Nuru should be first down, since she can see in the dark and she's tough. I'll go second with a light, and once we're sure there's nothing ready for a fight (besides us) the rest of you can come down. Leto last, though--arrows from above are a fine thing if we end up coming down into a fight."
Nevai took a moment to cast a simple spell and his shield began to glow with a warm orange radiance. "I'm not much for dark places either, and I'm a slow climber. That plan sounds good to me. After you then, Nuru."
Downwards to glory then!
Nuru nods gravely and fastens the rope about her waist. Holding the rope securely, she descends into the sink hole.
You lower yourself down carefully into a large tunnel. Making your way carefully and quietly down the tunnel you find that it turns slightly. Before you go more than a few feet you hear an echoing sigh.
Who invades my realm? You smell like...humans, so probably not dead. Speak and identify yourself!
Leto tries to look into the darkness.
What´s going on down there? Make some light! And who´s that voice?
"Hmph. Not all of us are humans. I happen to be an elf and my name is Almathea. Who are you and what are doing under the Necropolis?"
"No, not dead. We're here to deal with the undead situation and we came looking for the device that was removed from up above. It's crucial for our search to find the source of these troubles."
A voice echoes down the tunnel. I am Shardizhad. The undead are no concern of mine. What device do you speak of? I am...curious.