Sienna backs up to give Darzus and Bard time to work, then with another whispered prayer to the rain-spirits she tries to help again - just anything as simple as holding a piece or handing over a needed tool.
After much work, Badr disarms the trap with a slight popping sound. At the far end of the hallway, there's a slight grating sound of stone scraping on stone. Whatever it is, it means the threat is gone. The doors push open to reveal a square stone chamber with sandstone double doors at the north and south ends of the room. A faded tapestry hangs from a wooden frame on the wall opposite the doors Badr and the others just opened. Faded and threadbare, the tapestry depicts a middle-aged man, accompanied by a woman and two children, with a small estate in the background. To either side of the tapestry are two small pedestals, upon which sit two dead and preserved animals. Stone double doors exit the chamber to the north and south.
Markings on the tapestry indicate that the woman and children are the man's family. Most likely, the man is Akhentepi. The man's family befell some tragedy: murder, plague, something like that. His family is probably interred in a separate tomb, long before Akhentepi died.
Akhentepi was most likely a famed general. The carvings in the hallway were of the same man, only younger.
"Aaa... Ak... Ak-hen-tepi? I think that's the man of the name interred here," says Sienna, cautiously examining the tapestries. "Something happened to his family and they all died."
Badr nods at Sienna. "Akhentepi was a famous general. A real sadistic bastard if I recall correctly."
He scans the area for traps.
[dice=Knowledge, Local]1d20+5
Badr nods at Sienna. "Akhentepi was a famous general. A real sadistic bastard if I recall correctly."
He scans the area for traps.
[dice=Perception]1d20+6
much to Badr's surprise, the room is completely bare of any traps. Perhaps the builders didn't expect anyone to make it out of the hallway alive.
Badr will cautiously open both sets of double doors after checking them for traps.
The doors appear untrapped to Darzus and Badr's eyes.
Rilkus trudged along with the party, trying to keep an eye out for any traps.
He was less than successful, for his mind kept wandering. To the battle that they had at the trade caravan, and the possibility that the dwarf merchant would sell out information of what they were doing at the first opportunity. What were the chances that they would find what they had come for, only to find the way out barred? The very real possibility was haunting him, making concentrating difficult.
With a single push from Rilkus' powerful bronzed shoulders, the stone doors swing open revealing a square room that connects to another equally sized chamber via a short hallway.
A brightly painted chariot sits in the center of this first stone room. Behind it, a large canvas of tanned hide stretches between two stone columns. Faded paint flakes from its surface, still depicting scenes of animals on the hunt. Beneath the paint, Darzus spots the vibrant scars of a lash and a nipple. This is the skin of a giant, tanned and preserved here in this room like some great trophy! At each corner, a stone shield rests at shoulder height, molded into the expert masonry of the tomb itself. Beneath one shield is a stone chest that Bug is positive is trapped in some way.
Two statutes of frowning kings line each side of the short corridor leading to the next chamber. The final room is dominated by a large diorama of a battle fought between two sides. The walls of the room are covered in ancient and rotting weapons and armor. To see more, however, one would have to enter the room proper.
You find two scrolls written on preserved hide... giant again.
[dc 15 linguistics checks to decipher]
One is a list of battles. Another, is a brief biography of Akhentempi
Cautiously the mul entered the room, looking about in awe. He felt the weight of history on his broad shoulders, a weight much heavier than any physical load. Going over to the chest he carefully searched for traps, before unlocking it with a deftness one wouldn’t suspect from someone with such large fingers.
”Someone here really did not like giants. That is for sure.”
Bug made a clicking sound and pointed to the stone chest with one claw, then dutifully stood next to Badr as the leash was passed.
Darzus' keen eyes do not spot anything dangerous in the hall. The Four Kings frown sternly at him as he walks, but therea re no traps or anything lying in wait, here.
Behind him, Rilkus easily pops the trap open and reveals two scrolls on giant hide. One.. appears to be a list of sorts. The other.. not? He has little time to check the scroll, however, as the moment Darzus passes into the second chamber, three of the dolls on the diorama leap into action, bringing their spears to life.
Their blank eyes never leave Darzus as they raise their spears to attack.
none at this time.
Seeing the dolls come to life, Rilkus leapt to his feet...and drank his mutagen.
Sienna readies her spear and takes up a position by Rilkus with a nod.
Badr: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Bug: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Darzus: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Rilkus: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Sienna: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Dolls: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Bug, still on its leash, waits passively while Rilkus eats potion-laced fruit. His muscles swell, nearly straining the limits of his leather gear. The mul's skin grows rough and scaly, like a lizard's. Meanwhile, Sienna readies herself for the dolls to swarm past Darzus and attack.
And, attack the dolls do. One pounces on Darzus, pummeling the elf with its tiny fists. He spins around, trying to shake the thing off of him, and his frantic spinning dislodges the doll enough that only one of its tiny fists lands.
The other two dolls skirt past him, one towards Sienna and the other towards Rilkus. Sienna easily deflects the doll's strike, but Rilkus isn't quite so lucky. Despite the armored scales plating his hide, he still feels the dull "thump" of the doll's fist against his knee.
hit!
the other 2 run and attack Sienna and Rilkus
miss
hit
Sienna's readied strike misses
Rilkus: +4 str, +2 nat armor, -2 intelligence for 10 minutes
Rilkus grabbed the doll, threw it on the ground and attempted to stomp on it.
Badr tumbles to a flanking position and strikes the doll on Sienna.
Badr: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Bug: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23
Darzus: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Rilkus: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Sienna: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Dolls: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Darzus swipes at the doll attacking him. But, with the doll on his back, he can't quite take aim, and his blade misses the doll by a wide margin.
In the chariot room, Badr flips over the chariot, landing beside Sienna. He twirls with blade out, and slices off the doll's head. The thing twitches once and then falls to the floor, lifeless once more.
Rilkus grabs the doll atop the chest and slams it to the ground with a single powerful heave. The doll shatters into dust beneath his feet.
[spoiler=sense motive checks to see if people "can make Bug do things.. y'know that thing we talked about in Discussion Thread."]
-realized it should probably be a Wis check, not Int, since Sense Motive is a wisdom skill.
DC is 15 and both Darzus AND Sienna are successful (this combat) in making Bug do something! Bug, you are free to act!
[/spoiler]
Sienna stabs uselessly again.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Badr drops bug's tether. "Unleash the bug of war!"
Bug went from disinterested to murderous intent with nothing in between. She stepped forward next to Sienna and tore into a doll with unbridled savagery.
Bug Rushes forward, and grabs the doll wtih one swift motion. The doll is a curious contraption. It's not alive, but it moves and attacks. But, her master commands her to kill, and she must obey. With barely any effort, the doll explodes into a shower of splinters as she pulls her arms apart.
Bug didn't slow. Before the rain of splinters settled to the ground she was scuttling forward looking for where the dolls had come from, attempting to track their origin.
Rilkus rolled his neck with an audible crack. ”Bug’s on the hunt. Let’s see where it takes us.”
Badr will also search for traps.
The three see tiny foot prints in the dust leading from the diorama. They came from the tiny display on the table. But, they cannot find any other traps in the room. No more surprise lurk in the dust to strike.
"If there's nothing else, shall we proceed?" says Sienna.
”Might as well. But if our foes here are dolls, watch out for weaponized tea sets and cutlery as we go forward.”
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
As soon as it was clear that there was nothing left to find, Bug dashed out of the room. When the others caught up with her she was moving all four hands and her antennae over the next set of doors.
Badr follows Bug in and helps search for traps.
Neither of the explorers find the doors trapped or locked. Nor do they hear any threat or movement beyond the stone slabs. The tomb remains silent as the dead.
Badr opens the door and moves in with caution.
Bug moves in alongside Badr, keeping low and movign around the corner of the doorway to survey the room.
With an almost lazy push from Badr, the stone doors easily swing open. Beyond, a massive mirror stretches across the wall southern wall of this chamber, opposite the door. It's flanked by two imperious statues. The eastern statue is of a tall, beautiful human woman with a flowing, hooded gown, holding an ankh and a flail. The western statue is a powerfully muscled man, covered in battle scars. He wears a slave's collar about his neck, and is dressed in the skins of some beast such that it appears as though he has the head of a snarling reptile, and not a human one. He holds a massive sword with three blades on both ends in his hands, and even more weapons festoon his back and sides. His chest is covered in brands of strength and ownership.
Stone double doors,standing slightly ajar, lead to the east and west. Torch holders sculpted in the shape of bird skulls are built in each corner, and a thin layer of dust covers every surface. As the servants enter the room, they see themselves reflected in the giant mirror, along with a bronzed-skinned powerfully built man in his forties. He wears long flowing white ceremonial robes of linen and a fine headdress of turquoise and obsidian. He folds his arms over his broad chest, and sternly regards the servants as they enter.
These are statues of ancient(and non-existent) gods of Athas, their names long since taken by the Dragon. Their works lost to the dunes
This mirror is imbued with a small amount of psionic power. It resonates with the power to call up minor hallucinations and even change anyone who stares too long into its depths.
Sienna looks at the statues with a curious expression, but then she turns and looks over to the double doors. "Old entities, lost to time. We should not linger here," she says.
|
Darzus regards the mirror carefully and stares into it at length, looking past the unknown priest. After he is satisfied with his analysis of its nature he turns and addresses the priest.
Greetings, we mean no intrusion. We're simply exploring and moving along quickly. Is there anything you can tell us about the people depicted by these statues?
Badr studies the area for any traps or hidden threats.