"Many thanks for your companionship and insight these past few leagues, friend Ovaron. It has been a mercy on my ears to converse with a man of few words such as yourself after the long desert miles with those louts behind us. Talented, in their limited ways they may be, but not at pleasant conversation or blessed silence. I will make sure to mention to the Examplar your astute and careful guardianship of her caravan. Blessed journeys and may the elements favor you."
The grizzled caravan leader accepts the Potentate’s blessing with a slight bow and then rides away to the south as he ushers his caravan into the home stretch.
Once Ovaron has departed, Thalia spins her camel, Scimitar, around. She rides back a dozen feet or so towards the rear guard in order to get their attention. With a quick whistle and a wave she signals for them to join up.
Our intrepid and nameless band of adventurers turns towards the north end of the dig site and travels on. A minute or two later, they quickly see that a delegation has been dispatched from the dig site to greet, or perhaps intercept, them.
At first, because of the distance, it looks as though the welcoming committee appears to consist of a pair of giants, two massive humanoids that tower even larger than Hurgah (at his full magically-enhanced size!) As the giants come closer you can see that they appear to be gigantic golems of stone. Each walking statue has been exquisitely carved to mimic the likeness of a well-muscled slave or laborer. Ancient hieroglyphs adorn the statues' faux-belts and sandals.
The giant marching statue-men have their arms held above their heads – they are each flawlessly balancing a large stone platform which forms a kind of open palanquin. Atop each platform is a contingent of soldiers. Some sit in large chairs while others stand. The soldiers carry long poles with bladed implements, likely just barely long enough to sweep at the heads of targets on the ground. Gandel takes a moment to reflect upon yet another advantage to his diminutive size, when he also spies that some of the soldiers are further equipped with bows. There are perhaps a fifteen soldiers on board the two golems. The soldiers are lightly armored, if at all; their clothing choice reflecting the extreme heat.
One of the soldiers steps forward on the palanquin and blows into a bone horn issuing a short sharp command, but you can’t tell if the signal is intended to be for you or for the men aboard the golems. They are a few hundred yards away and steadily closing.
Finally, am I understanding you correctly that they're about to sorta maybe let us into one of the camps?
While it kinda looked like that a minute ago, the situation has changed. Now it doesn't look like you get to walk in without at least talking to the delegation steadily approaching.
What kind of security details are there?
Form your current vantage point, still a minute or two away from the site itself, there are few signs of security - apart from the obvious greeting party headed your way. There are no towers or siege engines. No nests of archers. No glowing glyphs of power. You do occasionally catch glimpses of armed men wandering throughout the camp in small groups, but thus far, no signs of organized patrols or even posted sentries.
The essential barbarian question, really: Who do I have to beat up so I can break stuff?
At least these guys (the palaquin golems + soldiers). Plus, the dig site is populated with several hundred people in it, so if Karek elects to openly walk around smashing things with impunity, he will probably have to lay a smack down on a lot of people. Good thing he brought two clerics though.
Moonpate will dismount and walk his camel the rest of the way, dropping back into the standard marching order, so as not to be out in front as a potential pin cushion.
I suggest we stop 50 yards from the awe inspiring welcoming committee and remain calm and non-threatening. It would appear that our presence has been more than just simply detected. He will also ready Spiked Pit to cast in front of a golem (or two if possible). Moonpate nervously chuckles to himself at the mental image of one of those stone giants and their crew falling into a sudden chasm.
Hal will dismount and walk over to Moonpate. "Did that guard tell you about this welcoming committee or is this a surprise? In either case it seems that we had better stick to whatever story you told him about why we are here."
Karek follows the lead of Hal and Moonpate and dismount, followed immediately by an entertaining vignette where Aleson attempts to make a run for it and Karek grasps successfully at the reins, bringing the camel's rush for freedom (or other camels?) to an abrupt halt. He will take his spot second in line, and glance back at the scholars.
Rid'en. Whad now? Are dey comin' do ged rid of us or whad?
Stroking his well groomed beard, Breach calmly reflects on the situation. Age and experience have taught the maturing dwarf instant action is not always the best policy, especially when your gear is in a sack! Thinking to himself,"I hate giants and one's made of stone are even worse. We are at a definite disadvantage here, but we will see what their intentions are before acting. It is far to open to go toe to toe with two golems and two platoons."
"Any of you kids have a spell to change stone to mud?", Breach almost whispers to the rest of the group.
FYI - I've now added a map of the dig site to the maps folder.
(The link is accessed through my profile.)
The PCs are currently "off map", to the west, headed northeast towards area "D" - the Master Camp.
One thing this map does not do very well is show that the road which is marked "To Sothis" eventually winds to the left and goes west. Sothis is west of Tumen.
Moonpate and Karek dismount, slowing the party's procession as they do so. Karek is scanning the dig site to the immediate east, looking for signs of additional opposition.
The delegation is quickly closing the gap.
You can see one of the soldiers drops a rope ladder and a smaller squad of 4-5 troops scrambles down from the marching golem, while it is in motion. Once down they follow behind on foot, hustling to keep up. The soldiers up top retract and re-stow the rope ladder. The foot-soldiers are not carrying the long bladed poles. Instead they appear to have short swords.
Once within 35 feet, the horn sounds again and the golems come to a halt, still balancing their palanquins in perfect precision.
"Hold strangers!" the soldier with the horn calls. "You have crossed into the domain of the great Khymrasa, Exemplar of Sothis, capital of Osirion, the nation of the great ancestors, birthplace of humanity and cradle of civilization - answer for yourselves!"
Stroking his well groomed beard, Breach calmly reflects on the situation. Age and experience have taught the maturing dwarf instant action is not always the best policy, especially when your gear is in a sack! Thinking to himself,"I hate giants and one's made of stone are even worse. We are at a definite disadvantage here, but we will see what their intentions are before acting. It is far to open to go toe to toe with two golems and two platoons."
"Any of you kids have a spell to change stone to mud?", Breach almost whispers to the rest of the group.
Jason dismounts next to Breach. He starts rubbing down the camel and checking the harnesses.
"I don't have anything that does that. I have a couple that create pits in the ground for a short amount of time. What did you have in mind? Slowing down those golems?", Jason says.
He smiles and nods as he speaks, so as to not arouse suspicion.
Possibly, hard to know if he'll be successful, but he believes so. Indeed Hal once had a little success with this trick once earlier. If he casts it before the delegation closes, and he holds his concentration he'll be more likely to have success. Since you got your inquiry in first, I'd be quite happy to say he did this.
"These boys ain't lookin' for a fight,fellas. Why would they give a tactical advantage by dismounting such a small group if they did? Be careful in y'er words an' things should play out fine.",Breach grumbles in a low voice to the group.
"Belleson, open your pits under one foot on the golem with the boss if things go sour.",Breach whispers to Jason as he begins to seek a tactical advantage.
Seeing that the obvious advantage is in the hands of the "delegation," Breach takes up a non-threatening stance by placing his axe head on the ground and leaning on its pommel. "Best to be civil first, boys."
"Hold strangers!" the soldier with the horn calls. "You have crossed into the domain of the great Khymrasa, Exemplar of Sothis, capital of Osirion, the nation of the great ancestors, birthplace of humanity and cradle of civilization - answer for yourselves!"
Point of clarification:
The soldier with the horn delivers his demand first in Osiriani and then in a stilted Common (Taldan).
Hurgah assumes as non-threatening a posture as possible - which means he's probably still quite threatening in the eyes of the guards.
Hal whispers, "Seems like you are on Master Moonpate". Hal holds his hands at his side obviously away from the axe strapped to his back.
Donkor hangs back with the "guards", allowing Moonpate to take the lead, at least for now, so as to continue the story as it had begun.
If possible, he will try and fall in behind giant Hurgah, and, if he thinks he can do so without being seen, he will cast Calm Emotions on the approaching delegation, just to make sure that no unnecessary hostilities are likely to ensue.
Once the approaching delegation falls within range, Hal's detection spell falls upon them in an invisible cone. At first, he is able to catch them all within his spell, but once they march closer and stop (at approximately 35 feet) he can only get them all by angling and redirecting the cone which might have greater potential to arouse suspicion.
Hal does not detect the presence of evil.
Morgrym does not see any signs from the soldiers that his spell has been detected, though he can tell the entire group has now fallen under close scrutiny.
Let me know if Hal continues to concentrate on the spell for subsequent rounds and, if so, whether he wants to focus on the troops on the left golem, the right golem, the ground force, or sweep as between them.
Donkor. . . If possible, he will try and fall in behind giant Hurgah, and, if he thinks he can do so without being seen, he will cast Calm Emotions on the approaching delegation, just to make sure that no unnecessary hostilities are likely to ensue.
Donkor tries to casually angle himself behind Hurgah (but tries not to look like he's trying to look casual). Speaking as softly as the spell will permit him, he utters a prayer to Pharasma: that all before him will reflect on the reality of their mortality and realize that as fragile specs of dust in her vast cosmos it would be foolish to do anything rash without first thinking it through very very carefully. Someday all will await her judgment, but today need not be that day.
(Fails to oppose!)
For a moment it appears as though several members of the delegation take a deep breath and pause in reflection, as though weighing new options with great care. Rather than brandish their pole arms as they did a moment ago, most appear to casually lean them against their shoulders, tips skyward, for ease and comfort. Their leader, however, remains defiant as he awaits the response to his challenge.
Hurgah assumes as non-threatening a posture as possible - which means he's probably still quite threatening in the eyes of the guards.
Quite possibly - one of the soldiers on the right platform is practically mad dogging Hurgah, staring right at him with narrowed eyes, just waiting for the word to spring into action.
Sounds plausible - hmmmmm, how about a Bluff and Concentration check then. A DC 10 check will allow him to maintain the spell and an opposed Bluff will permit him to maintain the ruse.
Hal's got a solid Cha score and Donkor has made it a little more tricky for things to turn violent in the event of a failure.
Bluff
Concentration
"Hold strangers!" the soldier with the horn calls. "You have crossed into the domain of the great Khymrasa, Exemplar of Sothis, capital of Osirion, the nation of the great ancestors, birthplace of humanity and cradle of civilization - answer for yourselves!"
Moonpate, refusing to look straight at the soldier, leans towards his "assistant" Gandel and asks him to announce his arrival.
Moonpate, refusing to look straight at the soldier, leans towards his "assistant" Gandel and asks him to announce his arrival.
Gandel nods his head deferentially toward Moonpate and then hops lightly off of Binky, bowing with a showman's flourish before the delegation.
Gandel bows low again and then looks to the leader for a response.
"Oh boy..",Breach thinks to himself at the display of human political posturing,"Thank goodness the Halflings can stomach that stuff." Maintaining the typically stoic face common to his people the, older dwarf continues to watch the events unfold with a careful eye.
Karek knows that talking is not his best quality, and these guys don't really have a language in commmon with him anyway. He keeps his hammer stowed on his back, and stands fast at Breach's side. He nods respectfully to all of the guards, and returns any stares with a smile, if you could call it that.
Hurgah assumes as non-threatening a posture as possible - which means he's probably still quite threatening in the eyes of the guards.Quite possibly - one of the soldiers on the right platform is practically mad dogging Hurgah, staring right at him with narrowed eyes, just waiting for the word to spring into action.
Hurgah is about as expressionless as the golems - but the soldier in question may or may not have moved himself several spots upward on the waiting list for death and dismemberment, should hostilities break out.
Donkor continues standing where he is, a small smile on his lips. He glances idly around at his own group and the very large delegation and concentrates on continuing to act as a conduit for Pharasma's calm rationality.
I made a Diplomacy check after my introduction in the post above, but if a Bluff check would be more appropriate here it is: Bluff check = 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
Yeah, I still think this is a Bluff. While there is a grain of truth to what Gandel is saying, the core is an omission: you are really all here for a very different purpose.
A sensational role, well done.
The soldier with the horn, the commander, responds to Gandel:
“Tell your Master, his warning is much appreciated, for we here treat the threats of the desert with great gravity.”
Then he turns to the men on the ground below and barks a series of sharp orders which, with the distance, are tricky to make out:
"You two! Report this to the Exemplar’s magistrate and find out the absolute soonest the Potentate can be received by the Exemplar. And come back with some servants with water, wine and fruit for them! Double-time! If the Exemplar can’t see them now, ensure you have orders for how the Sage and his people are to be accommodated."
Two of the men on the ground suddenly race off, side-by-side headed for the largest series of tents in the dig site. Turning back to Gandelplot, the commander continues:
As you can imagine, the Exemplar is quite busy organizing the complex enterprise you see before you. It may not be possible to see her today - we shall see - perhaps we will be fortunate. Given the importance of his message, perhaps your Master will be content to bear his message to a lesser official in the interim?
No sooner has the commander finished, when one of the guards suddenly points at Halstadt with a worried look. He’s complaining and whispering about something. The commander, however, waves him to stand down and let it go.
From there, there is a bit of an awkward pause while the two delegations wait for the return of the messengers. The sun beats down on the guards. The commander sniffs at the air:
“You know, I really haven’t noticed any signs of storm activity. This is some of the best weather we’ve seen in many weeks. . .”
Donkor continues standing where he is, a small smile on his lips. He glances idly around at his own group and the very large delegation and concentrates on continuing to act as a conduit for Pharasma's calm rationality.
A minute later, Donkor's spell expires, but it may well have served its purpose. The soldiers are now holding their weapons with a little more pomp, but they are uniformly pointing them straight up as opposed to pointing them at you. All bows are either shouldered across the soldiers' backs, or they have been unstrung completely and now lie atop the golem deck.
With matters being less formal, the two groups have slowly closed the distance and are only 15 feet away. The palanquin golems are an amazing site. With such power at her disposal, maybe the Exemplar really can unearth an entire pyramid.
Although he can’t be certain, Hal now believes he has centered his cone on everyone, and indeed many of the soldiers twice. Hal has not detected any evil auras though.
“You know, I really haven’t noticed any signs of storm activity. This is some of the best weather we’ve seen in many weeks. . .”
Thalia flashes the commander her warmest smile and joins the conversation:
“That is funny sir, for I said almost the exact same thing earlier today while I was speaking with Ovaron, the senior caravan leader we travelled with on our way in. He said in his experience out here that a stillness can usually be the most ominous of signs – you know, the calm before the storm. I suppose I should defer to his significant expertise, but I’m with you on this - doesn't look like much. I mean, how fast can things change in the desert?"
Gradually several of the guards start looking around, peering at the horizon with nervous apprehension. Nobody likes a sandstorm; especially guards who don’t carry sand goggles.
Hurgah is about as expressionless as the golems - but the soldier in question may or may not have moved himself several spots upward on the waiting list for death and dismemberment, should hostilities break out.
May or may not have?
Pfffshaw. Me thinks Hurgah has killing commitment issues.
I can assure you, you're numero uno on his list.
[/Reaver baiting]
Karek knows that talking is not his best quality, and these guys don't really have a language in commmon with him anyway. He keeps his hammer stowed on his back, and stands fast at Breach's side. He nods respectfully to all of the guards, and returns any stares with a smile, if you could call it that.
Karek gets a polite nod or two in return from a few of the guards, but that's the extent of it.
"Oh boy..",Breach thinks to himself at the display of human political posturing,"Thank goodness the Halflings can stomach that stuff." Maintaining the typically stoic face common to his people the, older dwarf continues to watch the events unfold with a careful eye.
Gota love a careful eye - I've done a Perception check for Breach off-screen.
Breach thinks that some of the hieroglyphs on the golems might be interlaced with magical wards. He’s seen some of those lines used by runecasters before when tracing dangerous glyphs. They’ve just been cleverly hidden and disguised as more traditional Ancient Osirian writings. He thinks the wards have been placed to surprise someone who might be quietly trying to scale the golem to get up at the platform above.
Hurgah is about as expressionless as the golems - but the soldier in question may or may not have moved himself several spots upward on the waiting list for death and dismemberment, should hostilities break out.May or may not have?
Pfffshaw. Me thinks Hurgah has killing commitment issues.
I can assure you, you're numero uno on his list.
[/Reaver baiting]
Soldier-boy is quite welcome to come and get some - but he will probably have to wait until Hurgah gets done smashing up the REAL threats. The Reaver is not one to let a grunt with an obvious deathwish distract him from laying down the hurt in a Strongest-foe-gets-mauled-first fashion.
[/Beetle baiting]
Soldier-boy is quite welcome to come and get some - but he will probably have to wait until Hurgah gets done smashing up the REAL threats. The Reaver is not one to let a grunt with an obvious deathwish distract him from laying down the hurt in a Strongest-foe-gets-mauled-first fashion.
All kidding aside, if you don't think you can take him, I'll understand. I mean, the guy's CR is probably a whole number.
...the guy's CR is probably a whole number
Ah, no can do then....Hurgah only kills things whose CR is either a prime or an imaginary number.
Not really
I do not press my luck.
I do not press my luck.
Or his clothes - he gets a dry cleaner to do that for him.
(Got it - casting discontinued.)
While you wait for the return of the guards, you are gradually able to take in more and more of the dig site to the east and observe Khymrasa’s slave armies as they systematically remove tons of sand from a gigantic pit.
Let’s take the 4 copper piece tour. . . I have redacted a lot of info on account that you are looking at the camp from a distance as opposed to moving within in. These area descriptions match up with the map.
The camp’s central feature is of course the worksite. A compacted slope of sand spirals along the outer edge of the pit and allows Khymrasa’s slave force to pull sand-filled carts up and out of the massive hole. Four large pulleys are also used to clear sand, hauling huge buckets straight up from the bottom of the pit. Each pulley is hitched to either a horse team or a gigantic bug-like beast of burden at the edge of the pit.
It would appear that between shifts, the masses of slaves rest in this densely populated camp. The occasional guard patrol can be seen monitoring this area. A fountain-like water-source is at the center and there is typically a long line of men looking to fill their canteens.
These tents shelter scores of camels, desert horses or perhaps other beasts.
In stark contrast to the spartan slave tents, the leaders camp in luxury and style. The area is also much more heavily guarded – you spy frequent patrols. The master camp has been built in a perimeter of sand dunes with only one entrance. This provides the master camp with a measure of defensibility the rest of the dig site does not have. (The master camp is where you were attempting to get to when you were intercepted by the Palanquin golem division.)
This makeshift road is no doubt invaluable to the dig. It looks like supplies can be brought in by this caravan route.
All that collected sand has to go somewhere. Khymrasa’s engineers have selected these fast forming mountains as the destination for the loosely packed excavated sand.
Taking note of what he observed on the legs of the golems, Breach strikes up a casual converstation with the rest of the party about their quality. "These golems are high quality and craftsman ship you all should look upon these in great detail. But,since most of you do not know stone like us dwarves I will point out specific points of interest. I believe the legs are the most beautiful portion of these works. Almost magical I would say. But a dwarf is always impressed by sturdy legs, hahaha.", Breach finishes continuing to admire the stone work.
Taking note of what he observed on the legs of the golems, Breach strikes up a casual converstation with the rest of the party about their quality. "These golems are high quality and craftsman ship you all should look upon these in great detail. But,since most of you do not know stone like us dwarves I will point out specific points of interest. I believe the legs are the most beautiful portion of these works. Almost magical I would say. But a dwarf is always impressed by sturdy legs, hahaha.", Breach finishes continuing to admire the stone work.
Donkor waits for Breach to finish speaking, and then examines the golems carefully, looking for the wonders that the dwarf has spoken of. As he studies though, since he is no longer concentrating on the spell, he will casually translate all of the preceding conversations for those with him without the proper language.
. . . As he studies though, since he is no longer concentrating on the spell, he will casually translate all of the preceding conversations for those with him without the proper language.
OOC: Great! Anyone who hasn't read the Osiriani spoilers can do so - except for the one that required a DC 10 Perception check - unless Mr. Monotony advises Donkor made his check.
OOC: Great! Anyone who hasn't read the Osiriani spoilers can do so - except for the one that required a DC 10 Perception check - unless Mr. Monotony advises Donkor made his check.
Mr. Monotony totally forgot to make his perception check.
Looks like that spoiler must stay a mystery to us. :)
Jason listens to Donkor's translation as he studies the golems.
The guards should be back soon., he thinks. He looks up at the sky for any signs of carrion birds. They will be sure to come if there is trouble.