Izra frowned at the sudden reversal of fortune, and moved into the room, her shield and mace raised.
"Break that arm!" She said to Koshukhep, while readying a spell of her own.
Torin's arrow slams into the coffer corpse, the impact even manages to collapse a portion of its chest. The creature is weakened, but maintains its death grip on Suri's throat.
AC 14, HP 1/30
As the creature locks its hands onto Suri's throat, Ahmed's eyes blaze and he lets out a roar fueled by rage, frustration, and all the energies trapped in his form. Drawing his sickle, his arms burst with flames, and he rushes towards the creature, preparing to sever the arm that would dare attempt to choke the life from his beloved.
The flaming sickle slices through the arm of the coffer corpse. The creature shrieks in terrifying pain, as the flames continue to immolate the body leaving nothing behind but ashes.
Impressed by both Ahmed's power and his dedication to Suri, Koshukhep stood aside to let the two recover, politely turning away to speak to Izra.
"Your advice is sound, friend Izra, but there is nothing left to break. I pray that the old gods judge the dead one's soul fairly."
Then he called out to Kwin, "I would try the statue's quarterstaff if I were you, quick one. It packed quite a punch." He rubbed at his head wryly, then shrugged again with a frustrated growl. "This armor! It confines me like a cage, and outside it cooks me like an oven. I think I will sell it when we return to the city proper, and avoid becoming a cat-kebab on a street vendor's stick. Unless one of you would care to have it re-fitted?" He included Djehuti and Torin in his glance, not yet looking back at Ahmed and Suri.
Kwin shrugs at Koshukhep while moving to where Djehuti dropped the staff. Picking it up and hefting it he observes, "That was likely more about the statue than the chunk of wood it was wielding. Still," he says thoughtfully as he twirls the quarterstaff, "it is nicely balanced and has a good heft to it. I suppose I could give it a chance." He turns and gives Djehuti a slight bow. "With your permission, of course."
Kwin eyes the catfolk. "Friend Kosh, you get skewered enough already, not to mentioned pummeled and sliced. I, for one, would rather you remain among the living; what protection would you have in lieu of armor?"
"As for me," he answers Koshukhep's question with a shake of his head, "armor would just slow me down and restrict my movement. I need to stay fast and nimble. I'm not built like you," he says with a laugh as he claps the catfolk on the arm. "Some of the poundings you take would do me in even were I in the finest armor! No, I'm better off just staying out of the way!"
Djehuti shakes his head as he digs his notebook out of his pack. "Magical or not, if I need a quarterstaff to defend myself things have gone very wrong. More wrong than that staff's enchantment could help." He starts sketching the room, particularly the two carved columns holding up the ceiling.
The tomb seems relatively spartan, which seems surprising for traditional Osirioni burial practices.
At least, it seems surprising until you realize that this catacomb was likely reserved for the high priests of Sanctum. And those priests were expected to pass on much of their belongings to their successors. They believed mortal trinkets were not required for the soul to join Nethys.
There are six sepulchers which seem to have been meant to be sealed forever. Alrhough it would be a small matter to smash them open should you choose.
There is a secret door just behind one of the sepulchers. It looks as if it will simply slide to one side...
"This catacomb was likely reserved for the high priests of Sanctum. And those priests were expected to pass on much of their belongings to their successors. They believed mortal trinkets were not required for the soul to join Nethys." Izra shrugged. "I doubt that there would be much to find inside these sepulchers, if the priests were buried according to their teachings." It was just possible that she sounded a little bit disappointed.
Kwin eyes the catfolk. "Friend Kosh, you get skewered enough already, not to mentioned pummeled and sliced. I, for one, would rather you remain among the living; what protection would you have in lieu of armor?"
"As for me," he answers Koshukhep's question with a shake of his head, "armor would just slow me down and restrict my movement. I need to stay fast and nimble. I'm not built like you," he says with a laugh as he claps the catfolk on the arm. "Some of the poundings you take would do me in even were I in the finest armor! No, I'm better off just staying out of the way!"
"I do not 'take poundings,'" Koshukhep protested with a growl. "I dish them out! But like you, I will be faster without armor to weigh me down."
+2 fe
+2 fe, +8 scent
Snooping about the sepulchers, Koshukhep was saying, "I am glad we will not need to disturb the truly dead further. It does us no honor, nor them. Ho, what's this? Torin, Kwin! There is a door here, behind this sepulcher!"
Koshukhep palces his palm on the door, and with the barest of touches, he slides it open. Inside there is some sort of hidden vault. And sitting in the middle is an unlocked chest that holds a few riches.
• a pair of gloves (spellcraft DC 20)
• x3 potions (need two spellcraft checks DC 15)
• 330 gp
• a pouch containing x6 rubies (appraise DC 20)
Djehuti nods in agreement with Koshu's statement. He looks at the items in the chest curiously.
• Apprentice cheating gloves (Ultimate Equipment p.234)
• x1 Potion of Bull's Strength
Spellcraft Gloves: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24
Spellcraft Potions 1: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30
Spellcraft Potions 2: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17
Izra took a look at the gems, while Djehuti was busy with the other objects.
• x2 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds
Izra believes that the rubies can be sold for 25 gp each.
Izra looked up from the pouch to which she had returned the rubies.
"These are worth a few gold," she said, Perhaps twenty, twenty-five each, if we find a smart jeweler."
She looked around the room. "With what we've seen so far, we may want to ensure that whoever is inside the sarcophagi are, indeed, still dead, but I think we can leave them alone beyond that, and move on."
While Torin is seriously tempted to smash the sarcophagi just to make sure there isn;t anything shiny inside, he'll trust Izra's assessment.
Djehuti shook his head. "We will not desecrate sealed sarcophagi."
Kwin laughed. "I'll remind you of that the next time you take a pounding," he said with a grin. "But I admire your spirit."
-Posted with Wayfinder
A stone altar flanked by two bronze urns sits against the north wall of this chamber. To the south, three rows of stone pews face the altar. A lacquered wooden cabinet is bolted to the western wall at head level, and a long stone table runs parallel to the east wall. Stone double doors exit the room to the east and west.
As the Band enters they discover a skeleton leaning over and praying at the shrine. It then turns around to face them and speaks in a wispy, haunting voice.
"So you are the ones intruding on this shrine. I have been here, waiting, guarding, since the madness came. Tell me, how has the world changed?"
Kwin blinked in surprise, then gave the skeleton a respectful head-bow. "Izra... somebody..." he hissed from a corner of his mouth, "tell him... her... it... we're not 'intruding' and are supposed to be here."
Koshukhep bowed respectfully, though he never looked away. "Honored dead, the world does not change, only its people change and shift like the sands. We know of no madness, save the sort that strikes men ill with greed. But please, as my friend Kwin has said, you are mistaken - we do not intrude, but are invited by my friend Izra's god." He nodded toward Izra.
"I am Koshukhep, of the Kanaan tribe. May we know your name?"
In 2953 AR, the church of Pharasma returned to Wati and established a new temple in the city's ruins called the Grand Mausoleum. Walling off much of the original city, the Pharasmins transformed the abandoned settlement into an enormous necropolis, consecrating it in honor of the city's dead.
This is why Wati is known as the Half-dead city.
"I am Serenmerek. Guardian of this temple."
Then the skeleton glares at all of you.
"And you are not like the others. You are not of the faith of the All-seeing Eye. You are trespassers, pure and simple."
Djehuti raises his hands to show his peaceful intent. "The Plague of Madness was over 2 millenia ago, Guardian Serenmerek. Wati was abandoned for centuries. When the Church of Pharasma returned, they walled off much of the original city, creating a giant necropolis of old Wati. We are here because Pharasma has now directed that the necropolis be explored and documented to properly honor those buried here. We are taking pains to preserve and record what we find, so that the memories of those interred here will never be lost again."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Senenmerek stares at the staff taken from the Grave Guardian.
"Explorers indeed. No, you are grave robbers and defilers. You are no better than the necromancer that over-powered my will, or the pretenders of the faith who bluffed their way past the Guardian. No, in fact, you are worse. Only curiousity stayed my spear, and clearly you have nothing else to tell me of worth."
Senenmerek casts a spell and moves in to attack.
+4 w/o panache
Djehuti: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17
Senenmerek: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Koshukhep: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
Torin: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Kwin: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Izra: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Ahmed: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Suri: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
"We have nothing but respect for you, Guardian Senenmerek. Please, we do not seek combat here." He murmurs a spell, staring hard at the skeleton guardian as it advances on them.
"We have nothing but respect for you, Guardian Senenmerek. Please, we do not seek combat here."
Izra frowned. Djehuti's words were not technically true, as Pharasma found all undead to be an abomination, and... highly encouraged, that said abominations be destroyed.
It wasn't -usually- an undead's fault that it had been created, so Izra's ire wasn't directed at the abomination itself, so much as the fact that it existed at all.
But she certainly didn't respect the thing.
At the thought of seeking peace with the thing, Izra's stomach began to churn.
Djehuti knows that Senenmerek cast a true strike spell. He then quickly casts a spell to compel the undead.
; fail
"We have nothing but respect for you, Guardian Senenmerek. Please, we do not seek combat here."
Senenmerek's eye sockets glow green for a second. And then he lowers his spear.
"I am sorry. I nearly committed a grave mistake. I have just felt so conflicted. This is the third time this temple has been infiltrated in recent memory."
Ahmed cautiously moves closer to the creature. "My friend, I have also been bound by a powerful spellcaster, and find myself in a world hundreds of years separated from everything I knew."
"Please believe me that my search through your halls is to find a cure for my own condition. We have already made an agreement with the Ahkhat that we will do our best to ensure this place is protected, and kept safe from robbers and trespassers."
"Is there anything you can tell us of the other invaders?"
Djehuti nods. "We wish to find these despoilers, Guardian. Anything you can tell us about them will help us to find and chastise them for their trespassing."
Kwin elbowed Koshukhep in the ribs while snerking. "The skeleton... almost made a grave mistake..."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Senemerek looks troubled as he says, "The necromancer was hidden by magic. I could only hear his voice. The others I have not seen. But they must be of the Faith, since the Guardian did not stop them. I have been unaure what to do with them, and only recently concluded that they should also be destroyed, when you arrived."
"Are they still here or did they leave, Guardian? Which way did they go?"
Senenmerek points to the Western side of the room.
"I can still feel them. Go through those double doors, if you wish to confront them."
"Will you be punishing these intruders? Should I come with you?"
Djehuti looks at the others briefly before nodding. "If you would like to assist in punishing them, your help would be welcome."
Koshukhep, impressed by Djehuti's command of diplomacy, shushed Kwin and prepared to head after the thieves of their lot with Senenmerek.
Izra had been silent during Djehuti's conversation, but her stomach roiled, and sweat began to prickle at her forehead. Letting this undead... thing continue to exist would have been bad enough, but to actually ally with it?
Her bargain with Pharasma echoed in her mind, and suddenly, without external warning, she was sick.
At least she'd managed to get to a corner before hand, so the mess was somewhat contained.
Senenmerek makes a gesture and the bronze gate swings open.
Two rows of columns support the vaulted ceiling of this large chamber. Inscribed hieroglyphs cover most of the room’s walls, but the southern wall is rough and unfinished. Three passages, each closed with a bronze gate, exit the room to the north, east, and west.
Seven individuals await inside, and immediately recognize Velriana Hypaxes from the Scorched Hand - one of the groups the Band had come into contact with during a night of revelry at the Drunken Crocodile.
Velriana scowls at you.
"So it's you. This is a holy place for Nethys. It should be ours to claim, and damn Sebti's lottery. Leave now, or be broken."
Izra had been silent during Djehuti's conversation, but her stomach roiled, and sweat began to prickle at her forehead. Letting this undead... thing continue to exist would have been bad enough, but to actually ally with it?
Her bargain with Pharasma echoed in her mind, and suddenly, without external warning, she was sick.
At least she'd managed to get to a corner before hand, so the mess was somewhat contained.
Koshukhep looked askance, though whether it was due to Izra being sick, or the mess she made in the temple, was unclear. After a moment, he neared her, though standing well back in case of another bout of vomit.
"Izra? What is wrong? Did you eat the street kebabs this morning? You should always check what meat it is, first."
***
Koshukhep's ears flattened, but not in anger. "You... are a follower of Nethys? Truly? What is it you seek, here?"
+2 fe Sounds legit!
Ahmed narrows his eyes at Velriana. "The lottery prevents the chaos that you have wrought. Not only have you have endangered our lives, but your presence and actions have defiled this holy site."
"Since you have given us the opportunity to leave willingly, we will extend the same courtesy to you. The Grand Mausoleum need not know of your transgression." His eyes begin to glow. "But I warn you. do not cross us."
Djehuti listens carefully to what Velriana has to say, not speaking himself.
At the mention of the Grand Mausoleum, Velriana looks fearful but enraged.
"Kill them all!"
Koshukhep, impressed by Djehuti's command of diplomacy, shushed Kwin and prepared to head after the thieves of their lot with Senenmerek.
"Come on," the kitsune stage-whispered back in amusement, "it was funn..." He trailed off as Izra was stricken. "What's... Izra, are you alright?"
Before an answer could come the doors swung open, and Kwin's attention was drawn elsewhere. His hackles rose and vulpine ears twitched in irritation as faces were recognized and an ultimatum was issued.
"Broken? Broken?!" Kwin retorted as he drew a rapier and jockeyed for position. "A word you know all too well, having broken both Sebti's trust and the rules!"
He took a moment to spit on the floor in disgust. "If there's anything further to be 'broken' here, it will be you lot!"