Asaran curses as the small wounds continue to build up, The death of a thousand cuts..., then, realizing his lack of options, snarls and swings at the cats again.
for
again with disrupt undead.
The group takes the cats down after Asaran finishes the swarm off with a might flail blow. Opening the door down the steps.......
A stone sarcophagus rests atop a stone platform occupying the
southern end of this room. The lid of the sarcophagus bears the
likeness of a man and is inlaid with gemstones and trimmed in
gold. Two lacquered benches run parallel to the east and west
walls just north of the platform. Hieroglyphs line the walls of
the chamber, and stone torch holders are set in all four corners.
You contemplate opening the rich tomb!! You also contemplate healing the injured too.
"This archaeology stuff is dangerous!"
Opening the coffin after many precautions are taken......
Alongside Pentheru’s mummified body
inside the sarcophagus is a small mummified cat. The crypt also contains Pentheru’s gold funerary mask, worth 150 gp, and a gold-and-turquoise scarab pendent worth 50 gp. The coffin is studded in gems and trimmed in gold leaf.
Asaran shakes his head, "No, you missed one."
Asaran nods, "A good idea."
"What do we know about this fellow?"
The rest of the room is unremarkable, but the figure is probably a Penteru and this is a family crypt.
Although the gold and gems rimming the coffin are valuable, you realize removing them would devalue the crypt greatly and be quite obvious. Then again, who would know who did it? A moral dilemma.
The mummified cat looks hideous, and after dealing with the cat swarm, you consider reaching into the coffin.
Yeah, so I'm not reaching in without first checking it with disrupt undead...
And if that misses and doesn't wake it up, I'll keep shooting until I hit it, and we're sure it's not playing possum.
Asaran says, "I know little of gems... I'd rather not defame the dead, but since the dead don't share my view, I'm feeling less dedicated to that."
|
i see your point of view. But at least they weren't bugs. I hate bugs.
She looks at the body
As long as we respect the body, we can take the gems. These deserve to see sunlight.
Then as the zaps of positive energy fills the crypt she turns, a little annoyed.
Iskenda, stop doing that. I think if it was undead, it would have reacted by now. You are being a bit disrespectful.
"Should we not remove the entire coffin instead of destroying its whole?"
Asaran nods, "Might be a mite heavy, but I do see your point."
with sand, and bound in linen wrappings—
appears to be nothing more than a family
pet buried alongside its deceased master.
Far more than a mere pet, however, a
mummified guardian protects and preserves
the corpse it is interred with and acts as a
guardian against grave robbers and looters,
potentially driving such trespassers toward
more dangerous defenders or traps. When placed inside a
sarcophagus or coffin alongside a dead body and activated,
a mummified guardian also infuses the corpse with positive
energy, preventing the body from being turned into an
undead creature, as sanctify corpse.
In addition, the mummified guardian also creates a magical
ward around the sarcophagus containing it. If the sarcophagus
is opened after the mummified guardian is placed inside,
any creature with 5 Hit Dice or fewer within 20 feet of the
open sarcophagus is overcome by a feeling of dread and must
succeed at a DC 13 Will save or be frightened for 3 rounds. On
a successful save, a creature is instead shaken for 1 round. This
ability functions only once. Once triggered, the mummified
guardian retains only its sanctify corpse ability (this reduces
the price of the mummified guardian to 3,000 gp).
If the sarcophagus containing the mummified guardian is
placed in an area or room with multiple paths of egress, the
owner may designate one general direction an affected target
must take if it flees, as long as the chosen direction does
not require the target to move any closer to the mummified
guardian. After moving in the designated direction for 1 round,
the target behaves as normal for the frightened condition for
the remainder of the effect’s duration.
A mummified guardian must be placed inside a sarcophagus,
coffin, or other enclosed container with a dead body to function.
Although cats are most common, mummified guardians
can be created from the mummified remains of other small
animals as well.
|
Overcome by fear, Sunjeet sprints from the room but returns about a minute later, chuckling at himself.
"I should have recognized it... the cat is a mummified guardian - an enchanted corpse of a cat that serves to protect the person it is buried with. We just saw the first effect, that works only once. It magically frightens anyone disturbing its master's corpse. It has a secondary effect that it protects the master's corpse from becoming undead."
Asaran follows quickly on Sunjeet's heels, rushing madly, though he knows not quite why.
Having retrieved the valuable mummified cat, you consider how much of the crypt you wish to remove. Pharasma tenets dictate the following would be frowned upon listed in increasing severity.
1 - taking off the decorative gems and gold
2 - taking the actual crypt
3 - removing the Penteru corpse
As for the treasure in the tomb: The crypt also contains Pentheru’s gold funerary mask, worth 150 gp, and a gold-and-turquoise scarab pendent worth 50 gp and cat worth 3000gp probably could be sold for 1500gp, that seems fair game.
"I am not overly knowledgeable on these matters, and so will defer to the rest of you. However, it does seem that offending the gods, or the locals, and not necessarily in that order, does seem a bad thing to do."
|
|
We are here at the dispensation of the church of Pharasma. Our mandate is to remove items of value from these tombs, and sell them at the designated place so the history of these things remains with osiria. We are not to disturb the dead beyond that, and we are to respect the remains.
Dusty wipes her face, removing some dust
this is, I suspect, to stop actual tomb robbers who would despoil the bodies. If there is no wealth, no robbers. And truly they do not need this wealth in Pharasma's boneyard.
She considers the body of Penteru before them.
I have thought of this, and prayed to the dawn flower, with no further insight. This probably is the best decision to be made. It leaves the dead in peace, and enriches the nation in it's history.
She smiles at the rest of the party
Come, let us collect these things, and leave the dead to his sleep
"As much as archaeology is not my department, gathering and carrying things is also not my forte."
Stripping the gold leaf and prying the gems from the crypt, you depart. You figure what Pharasma won't know won't hurt her.
Moving to the front of the manor, you consider entering through the porch, or swinging around to the other side yard.
Asaran nods, "Agreed... Though I'm hoping it's somewhat less exciting over there."
A spacious yard fills the compound east of the house. To the
east, several small stone outbuildings have been built right
into the compound’s outer wall. A well stands between two
of these outbuildings, opposite a stone table and benches
that sit in the shadow of the house. To the west, two sets of
steps, both flanked by columns, lead up to doors into the
main house. To the northwest, an open doorway leads into
an extension of the house, next to a small structure with a
domed roof.
Iskender
Sunjeet
Asaran
Dusty
Snake
Moving the yard a nasty snake tries to strike from the grass.
Order
Surprise round
Eligible members
Asaran is the only one to notice the coiled asp in the grass.
Order
Surprise
Asaran
Snake
Round 1
All But Dusty
snake
Asaran hisses, "Snake! Might be venomous!", then rushes forward, swinging the blade on his shield at the beast.
for
Asaran hits and the snake bites back, injecting some poison.
ORDER RND 1
Asaran
Sunjeet
Iskender
snake
Asaran winces as the small wound begins to burn, "It's venomous," he confirms, then draws his falacata, hoping to take the thing's head off before being struck again.
for
Assuming Asaran didn't kill the thing, Iskender will start casting a spell.
Asaran is the only one able to cut the snake. The snake attacks the bard with the whip.
and the snake bites injecting more poison.
Dusty was a little slow (lost init to snake) and recovers to act.
Order
Whole Party
Snake