"Take your time. I will need a bit to go over my spells."
" I agree. Lets dig that filigree out and take it back."
Faisal sets his backpack on the ground, draws his sword and leans it against the wall, then slumps to the floor. He undoes the buckles that holds his spell book and opens to a page marked with a piece of thin silk cloth. As Umbryl sets to his work, the elf sets to his. His lips move silently as his finger runs over the symbols in his book over and over again.
The gold trim is removed taking about a half an hour to get it off without leaving too much behind or having wood pieces in it. The party does make it to the market and receives 50 gold pieces for it.
They consider purchasing similar healing scrolls at the market, or going to the temple of Pharasma and seeking out healing (the party already received free healing at the temple of Pharasma earlier in the day--CLW and restoration were cast multiple times)
" I say we seek healing at the temple, and if we have money left over buy some more healing scrolls. Can't be too careful. I mean the coffin's are trying to eat us."
You head over to the temple and Fatima seems to be lagging behind in her depleted condition. As you arrive at the temple, you find the high priestess gone, but a younger man to greet you.
"Peace to you and yours."
" And peace to you. Pardon my being forward, but we are an injured and bedraggled lot, in need of remedying our conditions."
Umbryl states as he waves his hand to introduce his companions.
" Might we find that assistance here?"
The acolyte smiles a weary smile: "We have been attending the wounded all day from the explorations. Sebti is away. Can you wait until tomorrow when you have your next assignment?"
At the temple, the visiting alchemist cannot help but hear the plight of the explorers. Exhausted and missing their dwarven scout, the tomb explorers look like they could use some help.
A lean and muscular half-elf with coffee-coloured skin and long brown hair, braided and interwoven with multi-coloured beads, steps forward and bows, his emerald green eyes sparkling with a fierce zeal. He is dressed in a comfortable shirt and breeches, and wears a voluminous
cloak, with a large number of internal pockets, perfect for carrying the tools of his trade. As he moves, he is surrounded by the faintly disconcerting smell of spices and embalming fluid.
"Greetings, Effendi, I could not help but overhear your plight. Allow me to introduce myself - my name is Setesh Bantling. Whilst I am afraid that I cannot help with healing, happily, I might be able to help make-up for the loss of your scout - I have some skill when it comes to dealing with complex devices, as well as knowledge of alchemy, embalming, and the arcane arts."
Setesh smiles warmly at Dusty.
"Well met, M'lady! It is pleasure to meet a fellow devotee of the Everlight. I cannot help but notice that you and your companions appear to have been tested by battle; tell me, if you do not mind me asking, what have you discovered in your explorations?"
"We got half eaten by a coffin! And fought some sort of sand elemental! Not much to show for our efforts so far. "
Chimes in a pale skinned man with blonde hair.
He is wearing scuffed and dirty studded leather armor, has a sickle and light mace, with a spell component pouch on the side.
"Always use more help tho....."
Setesh raises an eyebrow.
"A coffin tried to eat you? By the Ancestors, it certainly sounds like you have had some bad luck, Effendi! Let's see if we can remedy that..."
"Fair enough, I won't ask about the scorpions... although it sounds like there is an interesting (albeit painful!) story there..."
Faisal continues to study his spell book, wondering how his new-found friends are faring.
Finding the temple lacking in healing, but finding another replacement for the dwarf, the group returns to the crypts.
As it is dinner time, you have another three or four hours left before time runs out on the first crypt.
Setesh regards Dusty with concern.
"You still seem quite injured; I understand that the temple's resources are currently exhausted, but if you have the funds, I recommend purchasing a scroll or two to heal your wounds before returning to the crypt..."
With the temple depleted of healing after a deluge of injuries from exploration day, the party decides what to do.
" Well with the gold filigree we can get 2 more scrolls of CLW. That will give us 4 total. I think we should heal ourselves Dusty, and continue. With the other dead and Fatima leaving, we should take Setesh and go back to join Faisal. We still need to finish our explorations."
Setesh nods approvingly when the rest of the party heals-up.
"Excellent. Let's be off! Who is this Faisal of which you speak?"
You wait to see if Faisal is around before departing into the tomb.
" Thank you Dusty. Well lets go see if Faisal is still there, and finish this tomb of doom."
Though so far it has been rather lacking in the funds area.
"Studying his spells? I take it that Faisal is a wizard of some kind, then...?"
Setesh follows the others to the tomb.
You return to the inn, and find many adventuring parties talking in the common room about their explorations during the day. The Tooth and Hookah is an inn known for Toothy the mascot in the well.
Cryptfinders: Members of this group hail from all over the Inner Sea region, and include a Chelish cavalier, a Nexian summoner, a Qadiran cleric of Sarenrae, and their leader Falto a bravo from the streets of Absalom. They claim they were assigned the tomb of an important government official and hint at the wealth they brought out of the tomb after defeating a mummy inside the tomb.
Daughters of the Desert: This all-female adventuring party follows the lead of Sigrun Firehair an Ulfen of the Linnorm Kingdoms
who claims to be descended from a genie. The group also includes an exiled Rahadoumi cleric of Iomedae, a barbarian from one of the nomadic desert clans of Thuvia, and two Osirian witches, twin sisters who always wear veils. Sigrun has journeyed south seeking adventure, hoping to pen an epic tale of her exploits to take back north. The Daughters were assigned the house of a wealthy pawnbroker to explore; they encountered several traps, but little else in the way of opposition. The women are cagey about what treasures they may or may not have found in the tomb, but Sigrun is very interested in hearing the stories of other groups’ experiences, possibly for inclusion in her nascent manuscript.
Dog Soldiers: This group’s membership is composed entirely of halflings and their pack of trained Katapeshi fighting dogs, led by the loquacious and hard-drinking “Mad Dog” Marrn. The Dog Soldiers were sent to explore an abandoned tannery, where half of their dogs died fighting a gelatinous cube they found within. Mad Dog is broken up over the loss of several of his favorite pets, but he proudly shows off the magic sword he salvaged from the cube after slaying it. He is interested both in a potential buyer for the sword and in purchasing replacement dogs from a respected breeder.
Scorched Hand: Led by a Taldan Osirionologist named Velriana Hypaxes, this group is dedicated to the pursuit and acquisition of knowledge. With the exception of the hired mercenary Idorii, the members of the party are all devout followers of Nethys, from whom they take their name. Native Osirians Azaz Arafe and Khelru round out the group.
Sand Scorpions: This party contains no fewer than three rogues, along with a single magus for combat and magic support. Each rogue specializes in a different area of expertise, whether, locks, traps, or, in the case of their leader, a mysterious woman called Black Kiss , poisons. The Sand Scorpions keep mostly to themselves and do not volunteer any information on their exploration site and the treasures they found there.
You walk into the inn exhausted from your day of exploration and see almost all the other adventure groups comparing notes in the common room -- do you join them?
Setesh looks to the others.
"How do you want to play this? I am, after all, ignorant of what exactly you have done, so I can't really gauge whether secrecy is warranted. That said, it is usually wisest to *not* telegraph one's successes, or difficulties..."
Faisal is sitting at a table towards the back. He nibbles absentmindedly at his food as he studies the book before him.
" Faisal already has one. Lets join him."
Umbryl will head across the room to the table, saying little but nodding in recognition to the other groups.
" Hoi, Faisal. It sounds like others met with much success. We might be a bit behind them. However, living to fight another day always makes up for lack of speed in my mind."
Umbryl will watch for a while, waiting for his order of food, then he will circulate to the friendlier groups. He listens carefully to their stories. Relating how he was almost eaten by a sarcophagus, he says very little about treasure.
Apparently he comes off as an arrogant braggart, as he claims all the credit for its defeat, forgetting in his excitement how much his companions did.....
Setesh stays silent, enjoying his meal, whilst taking careful note of the other parties.
Hopefully, tomorrow will bring us riches!
Velriana seems to be upset that no one has any choice of the crypt they can explore. "We need to find the Erudite Eye!! I have told those running this circus we need to be assigned the Erudite Eye."
She approaches your group. "Have you heard of the Erudite Eye?"
"We have all explored our assignments, so we have been told we can get our next assignment when you are finished. You have finished your crypt so we can all get going again tomorrow!!?? Have you???"
At this point Sebti the Crocodile shows up with a new adventurer and speaks to Dusty. "Have you completed your explorations today? I was worried after I used an extensive amount of healing on you this morning and was told you had returned looking for more."
Setesh remains silent, watching events unfold; as he has not actually participated in any of the delving thus far, it behooves him to not speak at this time.
I wonder what that woman's problem is? She is certainly anxious about this 'Erudite Eye'...
|
we encountered significant opposition, with two killed and one badly injured to an extend she left. All of our spell power has been expended, for little return. Our collective decision was to recover our spells and continue the next day. We will finish it tomorrow morning I feel. dusty says, with quiet seriousness.
Looking up at the ranting woman as she approaches, Umbryl shrugs.
" Never heard of this Eye thing. And not that its your business lady, but two of our number have died. So no we haven't finished yet. Keep your skirt on, we'll catch up tomorrow. So, what's so important about this 'eye'? Is it valuable? Gold? made of a large gem or something?"
Turning he remains quiet as Dusty speaks with Sebti.
" We appreciate the healing Ma'am. Unfortunately as Dusty said we lost some people. So who is this? More help for our beleaguered group?
Welcome, I am Umbryl Char, Magus. And coffin fodder."
A figure approaches, dressed in naught but raggedy scale armor and robes that have a faded ankh on them. On his back is a dustworn pack that appears decidedly empty, and a large curved blade is slung over his shoulder. His bronze skin might imply he is of Kelishite descent, but the rough texture and tinges of green, not to mention the tusks make it clear that his blood is mixed with that of an orc.
He approaches you and stops a respectful distance away. He pats some dust and sand out of his clothes before looking to you and stating, my lady, The Dawnflower, has directed me here. For what purpose, I know not, but I am to put myself at your service, if you will have me."
"Well met yourself priestess. It is my belief that She sent me to be the blade of your expedition. I go by Sabola. Might I inquire as to the nature of our interest here?"
"My newfound friends, I come to offer you my whole self in support of your task. This includes my mind, muscle, and roughly 5 scarabs of wealth."
" Welcome Sabola. I am here mostly to learn what Magics and Spellcraft I can from the tombs. And to destroy any undead we find. As well as make as much wealth as possible. Within the rules of course."