Eli's feathery companion hovers over Devon and lends her his eyes.
The entrance hall behind the main doorways is empty. There are rooms to your left and right and a corridor straight ahead of you.
Devon looks into the room to the right.
Two stone tables sit against the western wall of this room, while a third occupies the southeastern corner. A small, square wooden butcher’s block stands in the northeast corner, now almost collapsing under its own weight. A stone oven sits in the middle of the north wall. A humanoid skeleton lies beneath the northwestern table, surrounded by smashed crockery. Another door to the east leads from this room.
Devon finds a rusted and pitted knife (of no value) lodged in the skeleton's ribs.
Devon ignores the knife and checks the room to the east.
"Rest in peace." Ashira says a little prayer while Devon looks over the eastern room. She takes the knife out of the skeleton, then lays it on the floor. She puts a tiny drop of holy water on the skeleton's skull, then promises to bury it properly. "Do we have a shovel?"
Eli enthusiastically responds to Ashira's request and puts his backpack on the ground so he can untie the shovel that is bound to its side. "Of course! Here! Or, oh, you mean for later? Yeah, I dun' think it be going anywhere I ain't, hehe! I say we take a looksie at that door up there, to the right of the oven."
This small room is empty save for dust, debris, and empty shelves built into the walls. Once a pantry, it is windowless and the stone walls keep the room cool even in the Osirian climate.
There is nothing of interest here.
Devon goes back to the hallway and checks the room to the left.
Hieroglyphs and images of fantastic beings cover the walls of this small room. A small stone shrine, dusty and thoroughly defaced, stands against the eastern wall.
It looks as though this was the household chapel; the small altar appears to be dedicated to Abadar, Pharasma, and Sarenrae; with Abadar in the most prominent position. Ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs on the walls offer praises to the three gods and list several common prayers to each, although someone has put considerable effort into scrubbing them out.
A doorway to the West opens out into a courtyard. Another door to the South leads to a much smaller room.
Eli studies the altar and nearly presses his face against the walls to inspect the hieroglyphs. "Seems that whatever happened 'ere back in the day put a proper bit of anger in those who managed to survive. Knowing that whoever did this basically turned their backs on the Gods, we should be wary of what ... or who ... might still be around in this place."
"We... We will meet them and put them to rest." Replies Ashira with some hesitancy.
Devon checks the small room to the south.
A stone privy is built into one wall of this tiny room, and a stone table with a basin stands against the other wall. A large mirror once hung above the table, but it was shattered ages ago. The floor is covered in broken glass and dead scarab beetles.
Devon discovers a headless corpse sitting upright on one of the privies. The head itself is nowhere to be seen.
(The body does not detect as undead - it's just a body)
"Be careful, everyone. This body is only a few years old. I think there might be a trap of some kind."
Devon carefully searches the room and the body before continuing south.
Devon finds nothing of interest in the room.
To the south, an opening leads into a much bigger room. A large tiled pool (long since dried up) sits in the center of this chamber, surrounded by sloping tiled floors. A few steps descend into the basin, which has accumulated a deep layer of sand on its bottom.
Faded murals on the walls depict scenes of life along a river, with recurring themes of running water and aquatic life running through the artwork. In the northeast corner, a tarnished bronze spigot juts from the wall just above head level.
An archway leads west into the rest of the house, and a stone door leading out into the courtyard stands in the eastern wall.
Devon peers into the basin dubiously. "Something tells me going down there is a bad idea." Insfead, she checks the room to the west.
Eli stands on his toes to get a proper look at the basin. "Are you sure? Wait, you think it is just that, a sandy basin?", he asks his familiar as the bird flies circles above the now-dilapidated pool.
The sand fails to erupt in a predator's ambush and contains precisely no unpleasant surprises.
Nothing is found in the sand.
Moving onward, you discover that the room to the West is the main entrance hall to the house. Brightly colored columns stand in the four corners and hieroglyphs cover the walls and tiled floors, obscured in places by piles of dust and sand. Open archways lead to the north, east, and west, while a set of stone double doors exit to the south.
As you enter the room, the sand swirls as a spectral breeze stirs it to life - and the house’s front doors slam closed with a thud that echoes throughout the house. You hear a multitude of angry voices, the noise of a mob - and then, louder, a woman’s voice cries out.
Other voices are heard, amid the cries and screams.
Screams and the clash of arms fill the air, and an air of confusion reigns. Devon looks absolutely stunned: the catgirl babbles incoherently, as three (very much non-spectral) skeletons in the tattered remnants of guard uniform and armour stalk the group...
Caught by surprise, Devon and Say'ri are hit by the khopesh swords the skeletons are wielding.
Ashira 20/20 hp
Devon 8/20 hp, Confused 1 round
Eli 16/16 hp
Say'ri 13/24 hp
Ashira channels the might of Pharasma to wash away the necromantic energy holding these skeletons together. Then she takes a step forward to draw the skeleton's attention away from Devon.
Two of the skeletons are utterly destroyed by Pharasma's wrath; the remaining one lingers only a few seconds longer before it is smashed to shards by the flail.
Devon's confusion slowly abates and the cat-girl returns to what passes for 'normal' - whatever that means in her case.
A search of the foyer reveals nothing further of interest.
A small smirk crosses Ashira's face, happy to have been useful ^^
|
"Well that was... unexpected." Say'ri comments. "This house is haunted by what happened here? Something about an attack on the house I think..."
She looks around, clearly trying to size up the options.
"So there should be a courtyard that way, or we can keep working around it." She comments, "Has anyone seen a way upstairs yet?"
Devon puts a hand to her head as the confusion abates. "Ugh. That was not fun." Her hand then goes down to her fresh wound. "I could use some healing. Then let's check out the doors to the south here."
After getting healed, she opens the south doors.
"I've got you." Says Ashira as she places a warm hand ontop of Devon's head.
Devon inadvertently lets out a happy purr as Ashira pats her head. She blushes. "Sorry, that kind of happens sometimes."
"I like it. It's sweet." She replies.
Devon's blush deepens. "L-let's just keep moving, yeah?"
The ornate double doors open out into a small courtyard, covered with dust and sand. Stone archways lead out East and West, to areas you have already explored, and opposite where you stand are the tarnished bronze gates that lead back into the street.
Devon shrugs. "Alright, let's try this way then." She goes back inside and to the west.
A large staircase climbs to the upstairs floor from this room. Sand and dust cover the floor, and painted columns stand in all but one of the corners. Pieces of broken wood, shattered pottery, and disintegrating fabric litter the room’s perimeter.
Say'ri and Eli spot something else: in one corner, under the tattered remains of a curtain, the glint of gold...
"'Ey, there, look! Looks fancy, but who knows, nothing 'ere in this estate seems to be what it ought to is. Be, I mean. " Eli then wiggles his fingers and casts a minor spell that lets him see arcane auras.
Eli's spell picks up the tell-tale aura of magic: the glint of gold is overlaid with a tinge of.. ooh, what is that? Familiar as momma's cookin and comfy as alligator boots.
It's an abjuration aura, probably a ring of protection or somesuch, although you'd need to see it to be sure.
Devon cautiously approaches the curtain and pulls it aside with her spear...
Ashira lifts her tiny shield in case arrows shoot out of the walls or something.
The curtain is millenia old, the fabric brittle and moth-worn; it crumbles into dust as soon as Devon touches it. Nothing was lurking behind it.
Devon picks up the ring and brings it to Eliyajah to confirm its properties, then checks the room to the north.
"It's an, eh, well it be magical for shore. I bet it protects the wearer, but can't confirm nor deny that idea."