Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir invites the PCs to join him in the lush gardens outside the Sandswept Hall.
Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir invites the PCs to join him in the lush gardens outside the Sandswept Hall.
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"Ya I know its pretty hot Ott, but that's ain't no excuse for warm beer! If the Dwarves n Gnomes can figure up some contraptions to cool beer down in the molten forges underground then these people here can too." A particularly stout and noisy Dwarf can be heard speaking to a Halfling as they walk towards the gardens.
"I think the heat isn't so bad, its the damned sand... it gets EVERYWHERE. And I do mean everywhere..." As he stops and dances a bit from one foot to the other to adjust his belt and pants. His suit of chainmail rattles loudy as he shakes a quarter pound of sand onto the floor. "When we finish up here I'm gonna take a few days I think to make a few silvers down at the local forge. Maybe learn a few new techniques that us Dwarves don't use much. Like those curved scimitars, so thin!"
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From the entrance of the gardens a half-elf of middling height with the coloration of a wild born, gives the shorter pair a wry smirk. "Can't believe your drinking something as inebriating as beer in this heat. I guess that saying that dwarves always have to have alcohol in their blood is true."
She breaks out into a smile, taking a long draw of her frosty cold canteen of water, making sure Kernal can see it. She gives a small satisfied sigh, before glancing at his clearly lukewarm beer. "You know for a few coppers I'd be more than willing to help cool that drink off..."
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With a practiced frown the Dwarf waves off the offer "If I had a few coppers to fill out this coin purse I'd prolly have stayed outta this overgrown sandbox, but a job's a job Gramps always said n some are better then others, but they all needta get done."
He steps forward to offer an introduction with a stiff handshake "Name's Kernal, Kernal Klank. Ya its odd but ya don't pick yer names, just yer friends."
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"No sense 'n worryin' 'bout the temp'ture of the brew, Meelady." replies Ott. The portly halfling pats his belly, one of sizeable girth despite his small stature. "T'all ends up warm where it's goin' anyway, if ya know what I mean."
"But, if it's coin yer lookin' for, then jus' stick wit' Ol' Ott here. Got contacts a'plenty, I do." he offers.
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"Between the coin and the brew, I'll pick the coin. Hello there Ott, nice day for adventuring don't you agree?" A slender elf walks in with a white hawk perched on his shoulder. He walks over to the halfling and gives him a handshake.
"It's nice to meet all of you. I am Mindartis, and this is Mialee. We're excited to work with you all."
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With a practiced frown the Dwarf waves off the offer "If I had a few coppers to fill out this coin purse I'd prolly have stayed outta this overgrown sandbox, but a job's a job Gramps always said n some are better then others, but they all needta get done."
He steps forward to offer an introduction with a stiff handshake "Name's Kernal, Kernal Klank. Ya its odd but ya don't pick yer names, just yer friends."
Zhera gives a small sigh of disappointment, but walks over and incants a short spell over his drink nontheless, causing it to chill some in the sweltering heat. "Well that is... disapointing. Have a sample anyways, hate to have someone I'm working with fall over from all the heat." She gives the dwarf's hand a pause for a second, weighing decisions before finally taking the hand. "No more odd than most, and I am thankful it isn't Infernal. My name, however, is Zherayiss Taniyia. That's Z-he-RA-yiss, with an emphasis on the 'ra,' and TA-ni-yea, as in 'Yeah, I'll pay you.' You can call me Ms. Taniyia, Zherayiss or, if you prove to not be an insuferable fool, Zhera."
"No sense 'n worryin' 'bout the temp'ture of the brew, Meelady." replies Ott. The portly halfling pats his belly, one of sizeable girth despite his small stature. "T'all ends up warm where it's goin' anyway, if ya know what I mean."
"But, if it's coin yer lookin' for, then jus' stick wit' Ol' Ott here. Got contacts a'plenty, I do." he offers.
She gives the halfling a smile and counters, "Ah, but you don't seem to be taking into account the pleasure of drinking a cool drink on a sweltering day like this, uhh, Ott was it?" She gives a small spurt of laughter at the mention of having contacts, before she rights herself. He isn't one of those isolationist Song'o halflings, he might actually have connections. With a small cough, she tries covering her faux pas, "I'll certainly try, it's always good to have new contacts."
"Between the coin and the brew, I'll pick the coin. Hello there Ott, nice day for adventuring don't you agree?" A slender elf walks in with a white hawk perched on his shoulder. He walks over to the halfling and gives him a handshake.
"It's nice to meet all of you. I am Mindartis, and this is Mialee. We're excited to work with you all."
Zhera gives the elf a slightly bigger smile then the two shorter folk, she slips into Elven, stating, "Ah, I think I can agree with you on that. Coin is almost always preferable. It will be a pleasure working with you Mindartis. Mind if I ask you what you specalize in, though?"
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Zhera gives the elf a slightly bigger smile then the two shorter folk, she slips into Elven, stating, "Ah, I think I can agree with you on that. Coin is almost always preferable. It will be a pleasure working with you Mindartis. Mind if I ask you what you specalize in, though?"
Mindartis takes out his longbow and shows it to Zhera. "I'm afraid I work from quite a distance. Our tribe likes to go hunting for sport and I've grown fond of the bow." Mialee gives out an audible screech. "But don't let the hawk fool you. I believe she's a more competent hunter than I am," he says with a smile.
"Howdy, don't mind if I just call you two M&M do ya? Can't say I've had much practice sayin' Elven names down in the depths, please take no disrespect." He offers up his own handshake.
"Oh, none taken Kernal," he accepts his hand and shakes it. "You can just call me 'Min' and my companion 'Mia' just to avoid confusion."
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Amid all of this discussion, The gnome tries to concentrate to what is very important to her. What she will cook tonight.
I should try to create something local. But I don't know how to do it. I wonder if they sell cookbook here?
She wears a multicolored toque which constrast with her brown skin, pale, oversized eyes and white uniform. The open road sigil is on the uniform.
Her attention strays for a moment when the dwarf talk about alcool but she return quickly to her normal way of thought.
"Inonotusoblitus",she presents herself. "Gnome, I cook things that are Really good for your health. This all i am good at. making Food."
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Mindartis takes out his longbow and shows it to Zhera. "I'm afraid I work from quite a distance. Our tribe likes to go hunting for sport and I've grown fond of the bow." Mialee gives out an audible screech. "But don't let the hawk fool you. I believe she's a more competent hunter than I am," he says with a smile.
Zhera gives the bow a knowing look over, before tapping a package longer than herself strapped to her back. "Ah I understand the need for the space. I prefer to have some myself, though if anyone gets too close they are likely to regret it. Anyways that's a beautiful design worked into the ends there. Did you carve that yourself?"
"Inonotusoblitus",she presents herself. "Gnome, I cook things that are Really good for your health. This all i am good at. making Food."
Having missed the small gnome, Zhera gives a small start at the sudden introduction. Blinking a few times, she quietly asks, "Could you repeat your name again? It's a bit of a mouthful there. And, if you're interested in cooking, I have a small selection of herbs on me that could readily spice up a dish..."
The shaded gardens outside the Sandswept Hall provide a welcome respite from the sweltering midday sun. Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir reaches up to one of the date palms overhead, pulling down a bunch of ripe fruit to share with the table. “They’re good for much more than shade, my friends. But I did not call you here to enjoy my garden. A few months
ago, I finally received confirmation that we would be able to execute one of the last excavation permits issued by the Osiriani government. The site is a desert location where the dunes have shifted, revealing the beginnings of a staircase leading down beneath the sands.
“The Osiriani government is protective of its cultural history, and with recent changes in their stance on allowing foreign archaeologists to work inside their borders, I wasn’t sure this permit would even stand. The bureaucracy was rather slow this time around, but it turns out we were approved before they stopped issuing permits. I’ve already secured your provisions, including camels, tents, food, water, tools to perform the excavation, and a map to the site. As you know, it may take many weeks to clear the site of debris. The desert can be unforgiving, so don’t hesitate to return here to rest as needed.
“The government has already sent guards to oversee the site and protect against any potential thieves. Remember—keeping up a good reputation in Osirion is vital to the Pathfinder Society’s continued presence here. Don’t antagonize the guards.”
"Any questions for me before you head out?"
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Zhera gives the bow a knowing look over, before tapping a package longer than herself strapped to her back. "Ah I understand the need for the space. I prefer to have some myself, though if anyone gets too close they are likely to regret it. Anyways that's a beautiful design worked into the ends there. Did you carve that yourself?"
"Quite a lovely bow, isn't she? My mother gave it to me as a parting gift when I left home and joined our hunting tribe. She named it 'Eterna', and it makes me remember her love for me and my siblings." His ears twitch as the venture-captain gives his welcome remarks. "Looks like the party's about to start."
"Well that's good news! Exploring unexplored sites are our specialty. What else do you expect us to uncover from the ruins, kind venture-captain?"
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"Much 'preciate the food, not to mention the camels and supplies. Plenty a' dates sittin' in them packs of ours, I hope." Ott says the Venture-Captain. "As fer not 'antagonizin' the guards', I finds that guards usually antagonize me...not that a fine upstandin' citizen like me'd ever give 'em good reason to."
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From above in the branches of the trees comes the munching sound of someone gorging themselves on figs. There is a rustling and then a small goblin head, with beady red eyes juts out of the wide leaves. Hello! Yunko is here, he has been paying attention honest! Date palm juice dripples from his mouth, staining the rather soot covered explorers tunic he is wearing. We are going into the desert and meeting with city guards yes? Ooh, sounds exciting.
He slips down out of the tree. Do they know we is coming? Will they try and stab us with pointy things? Yunko is afraid that is sometimes how longshanks react to poor goblins. Never do that to stupid fat halflings! He slaps a hand over his mouth and looks down at his feet, mumbling something that might sound almost like sorry.
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"If there's food I'm happy to eat it! Swinging a hammer all day really turns on the stomach. Growling, hooting and hollerin' until he's fed." He takes one of the dates for a sample, eating it nearly whole before noticing the pit. "Ahh, sweet. Avoid the pit..." He awkwardly pulls from his mouth.
As the goblin pokes out of the tree though he loses some of his appetite Seriously?
He turns his attention to the Captain and introduces himself "Kernal Klank, recently field commissioned Pathfinder at yer service Captain. Got any idea how long this trip is gonna take us? And... are we gonna get camel riding lessons before we start?" He looks at the others nervously.
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Zhera nods at the Venture-Captain's explanation, before counting with a few questions of her own. "Is there anything we are looking for specifically? And what are the limitations of the excavation permit? Can we move artifacts, or publish findings from there, or do they have to go through the Orisani Government first? Also why has the government changed their stance on outsiders excavating sites? Finally, we have guards, so is there a possibility something is going to attack us?"
Her attention swings up as the goblin makes his presence known. Zhera gives a mental sigh, Another little one, great... Though she does give a small laugh as he blunders into a fax pas.Though he does speak his mind. He could grow on me.
" And... are we gonna get camel riding lessons before we start?" He looks at the others nervously.
Zhera gives a him a wicked smile before commenting "I wouldn't worry too much. We can always strap you to the back of one, or drag you from behind. Through the sand. That you love so much."
"Like I said before. We have been issue the appropriate permits to be there. They should be expecting a group of us" He then looks at the goblin. "As long as you do not give them any reason to stab you, you should be fine. Just make nice to them on the way in."
Balentiir looks over to Zhera, "The shifting winds revealed only the top portion of the staircase. What lies beyond it remains a mystery. So who knows what you will find. But, you should be the first." He pauses to try to answer her other questions. "The guards are there to protect from thieves. The permits we have pretty much makes it clear that we are not the former. Uncover and document, once we find out what we have, it will be up to the Osiriani Government to determine if we can have them or if they would like to keep them for their archives. Of course, they would list us as one who discovered the fines and are willing to pay us for what we do fine. Once it has been appraised." He then dismisses the other questions pertaining to the slow down in government with a shrug.
He smirks at Kernal, "I assure you the camels are well trained. If you feel unsure, just tie you lead to another and let someone else guide you."
The PCs’ journey to the archaeological site is relatively uneventful. With the supplies provided by the venture captain, the PCs have plenty of resources to handle the desert’s most basic threats.
When the PCs arrive at the ruin, they find that the ruin’s entrance has already been excavated. The staircase leads down to a torchlit chamber. A canvas fence secured around staircase keeps most of the sand away from the opening. Nearby, a guard sits under a tarp, humming to herself to stave off boredom while two additional guards nap in the shade, resting with four camels.
She looks up with a slight smile, "Ah more Pathfinder's. Nice you to finally show up that all of the hard work is done" She says spreading her arms out to show the wide open space that has been cleared out.
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Mindartis gets off the camel and surveys the field. "Impressive work. No trouble with the desert's denizens, I hope?," the elf says as he lets Mialee take flight. "Not too far, ok?," he shouts at the hawk and starts to walk towards the entrance. Now let's see what we have here, he thinks to himself as he examines the entrance of the ruin.
Screech!
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Relatively uneventful is a matter of perspective. From that of Klank it is an unpleasant and harrowing trip on the smelly back of a dual humped beast under the bright, unforgiving sun. "Who would chose to live in conditions such as these! Did these people lose a great war and get banished to this dry beach?" He asks after another waterskin is drained of its nearly scalding contents.
Lucky for him, and the others, the supplies and camels are exemplary and he arrives no worse for wear (other than some sandy chaffing in certain areas).
He dismounts his pack beast the same way he would each day, by sliding off the side and nearly falling into the sand as the creature knelt down for either a nap or just to add insult to injury of Klank's height.
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"Yes, Pathfinders, we are here with official papers to explore this site." He shakes out his beard and strides forward through the sand to offer introductions. About half way there he stops "Did you say 'more' Pathfinders?"
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Having jumped on the permit as soon as it was presented, Zhera pulls out the form and presents it to the guards. "We do have the permit here. See there's four signatures here, here, here and here, along with a stamp there and there and the rainbow colored seal here and here. Don't know how they got the colors to change in the light like that but I really like it."
She finally glances up at the site and pauses for a second, an eyebrow slowly inching up. "Ah, I think there's been some miss communication. Our Venture-Captain lead us to believe this was a fresh site, what do you mean the 'hard works' been 'already done'? What other Pathfinders came here? You did check their permits right? With the fancy rainbow ink?" Dammit! They better not have dug up everything important. I was hoping I could get my name on a major discovery! It'd really help with getting a cushy professorship.
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Inonotusoblitus inspects the supplies.
There a lot of dry food here, peachicks, lentils, rice, pasta... and... Tomato sauce? I suppose it for the pasta... unless...
She looks at his cookbook he just bought and look inside.
Great! i will do this!
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I think I have all the ingredients.
He looks around. Oil, uncooked white rice, water, salt, uncooked elbow macaroni, soaked beluga lentils, chickpea, onions, cloves garlic, white vinegar, ripe tomatoes, tomato paste,ground black pepper,ground cumin and cayenne pepper. All of the ingredients are in a precise quantity.
"Thank your help little guy!" she says to a blob with arm."Now, let's cook!"
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in rice; continue stirring until rice is coated with oil, about 3 minutes. Add 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, 20 to 25 minutes.
Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Stir in the macaroni, and return to a boil. Cook the macaroni uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the it has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander. Return macaroni to cooking pot, cover and keep warm.
Soak lentils for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse; drain again. Bring 2 cups water to a boil in a pot and stir in lentils. Bring to a boil; cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils are tender 15 or 20 minutes. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt.
Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the onions in the oil, stirring often, until they begin to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Onions should be a nice caramelized brown color. Add garlic and cook another minute. Remove from pan, drain on a paper towel-lined plate.
Place half of the onion mixture into a saucepan. Mix in the vinegar. Add the chopped tomatoes and tomato paste, black pepper, 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, cumin, and cayenne (if using). Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer about 12 minutes.
Serve by placing a spoonful of rice, then macaroni, and then the lentils on serving plates. Sprinkle with some of the browned onions and chick pea, then top with tomato sauce.
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"And we just ate Koshary! There some left. Do you want some?"
The female guard takes a look at the permits and nods as she reads them while talking to the others. "Yes. This expedition started a month ago and most of the time was spent clearing out the sand and securing the entrance."
"About a week or so ago, the head pathfinder was able to start cataloging the ruin's history. The rest of them went home once all of the sand was cleared away.
She folds the permits and hands them back to Zhera, "Well it seems everything is in order on your part. Make sure to keep them on you at all times. Happy relic hunting"
Several of the pillars in this once-grand entryway have collapsed. The statues around its edges depict scarab beetles.
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Zhera takes back the forms and folds them up carefully sliding them back into her belt pouch. She gives the woman a warm smile and a polite thank-you, before leaning in and asking in a smaller voice, "You don't know anything about the rainbow ink do you? I really want to make some of my own!"
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In the actual depth of the place, Zherayiss gives a small sigh of relief. "Ah, nice to be out of the sun. I grew up in a place where the heat was terrible, but it was nice and humid. I'm just shriveling up here..."
She then gives her head a small shake before grabbing the long pole wrapped in cloth off her back. She pulls out an unstrung longbow and proceeds with stringing it. "But I assumed the Venture-Captain would have warned us we have others up here, so I'm going to make sure I'm prepared here."
Bow in hand, quiver of arrows on one hip, Zhera raises her free hand and gives a few arcane gestures, chanting something in an Elven/Mwangi pidgin, before opening her eyes, now cloaked in a faint shimmering of magic. She scans the room, ignoring her own scrolls and magic items, before turning to the group and asking, "Anybody have anything magical on them? It'd be nice to know I'm not going to get any false positives."
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Head pathfinder? Mindartis follows Zhera's lead and takes out his longbow as well. He lets out a harmonic whistle and Mialee comes over to him and rests on his shoulder once more. "Well, let's not keep our comrade waiting. Oh, and I don't have anything magical whatsoever on me."
He takes a step and tries to give an ocular inspection of the place.
"Do Osirian structures always have insects engraved them? Seems kinda odd if you ask me." He slowly takes his steps, one at a time. Making sure that the place is safe.
Mindartis slowly descends the stone steps and takes a peek at the north hallway.
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Yunko scowls at the Guard. Head Pathfinder? What you mean? We have just come from big boss Pathfinder man, Bal, Bel, Baal, err,...Norden. We supposed to be first Pathfinders to investigate here. What you talking about?
Turning to Mindartis he says, Oh yes, the Scarab symbology is a common feature of Ossiriani Tombs and other places which are associated with death. He stops and looks around looking decidedly shifty. Yes, thats what shiny rock lady said in one of her classes back at Big Lodge in Absalom, I was there emptying the bins!
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The Dwarf gladly, and quickly accepts the prepared meal. He'd been waiting for over half an hour as the parts cooked and the smells tickled his nose. "No mushrooms? Mushrooms make any meal better. Just saying." The name of the food doesn't matter much to him, only the fact that it tastes as good as it smelled. "You n I could be partners in this... you stay behind my shield and I eat your food.. I know a guy that grows the best mushrooms."
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With a stiff nod and salute, the Kernal makes the slow decent below ground, an audible sigh is heard as the temperatures cool and the humidity increases.
"Statues of beetles... tombs? So this place is an old tomb. Great." Klank moves to the front of the group and heads north, moving slowly as he searches the area ahead for anything dangerous, or interesting.
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"All this talk of food is awfully distracting." notes Ott as he pats his stomach.
Looking around at the depictions of insects, the dust hanging in the air, and the piles of sand, he adds, "Go on, tell us more of your recipes."
The halfling tries to keep to this shadows, avoiding things he considers unpleasant or filthy.
The guard woman shrugs her shoulders, "I don't know, he just said he was in charge. Didn't mention anyone else was coming though." She heads to the side table and pulls out a piece of paper. "he left this here with us though."
The chamber you enter has a grand carving on the floor. It shows a figure leading an army of undead a city. The other who follow the main figure has their faces chiseled out with Osiriani text over it.
“unworthy of unlife.”
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Zhera peers at the paper, hoping to get a good look at it, curious as to what it might be.
In the further rooms she keeps her regualar ping for magic auras, while giving the walls a good look over.
She puzzles over the what event the images might be showing, but she does recognize some of the words chiseled there. "Seems the little bit of Orsiriani study I did before coming paid off! Seems whoever wrote these did not enjoy the people depicted. For example, this one seems to say, he's an 'ungrateful leech,' that one mentions 'Trecherous scum' and how unworthy of unlife he was. I knew starting with the insults would pay off! ...though I thought I'd be using them not reading them."
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Mindratis carefully reads through the permit and notices the discrepancy of the dates. He keeps it to himself so as to not to alert the guards but he moves his thumb casually under the date so Inono and Klank would also notice it.
He just blankly stares at the image, not understanding any of it. But he tries his best to document and draw what he sees so far. I should have paid more attention in Scrolls training.
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Once out away from the guard the Kernal will mention the dates on the permit "Seems like the other Pathfinder has the same permit we do, but its a year old. Even signed by the Venture Captain. Maybe he got ahold of it when it was first claimed."
He looks around the room, not being much of a scholar or speaking sandbox speak, but he too knows more than he expected.
He nods as Zhera translates the graffiti "Some people seem pretty pissed there. This other artwork here ain't the same, The figure who is leading the undead is Akmajet, who is leading the army to Sothis, as it was 1000 years in the past. You this event never occurred and this was just down to portray fantasy I expect."
He scratches his head and wanders to the north once the others are ready.
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Ott nods at his companions conclusions. "[smaller]Worst of all, it likely means that all o' the good treasures once held in this sand pit 'ave already been pilfered./smaller[" mutters the halfling.
The short, rotund man releases a sigh, then moves toward a nearby door . "I suspect this defacement's not the work o' a fellow Pathfinder, yeah? Best be on the look out for traps 'n such."
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The outside of a Beetle is crunchy but the inside is chewy. But that, i can never Tell them.
"Time and Golarion's history was not the hotest news in the underground so I don't understand any of this."¶She remarks.
She draws what look like a set of pills. Their color are black or White.
She takes the White one and eats it. A sugary flavor enters her mouth and a smile come upon her.
"Do you want some? " Ino offers to the group. "Those are no calories candies. They are made of healthy ingredients. This is very good for your body and they taste delicious! The black is chocolate and the white is Vanilla!"
The colorful pits in this room are each 5 feet deep. They were once filled with embalming fluids, but the liquid within has evaporated over the centuries, leaving a powdery residue.
Standing in between the pools is a human figure, examining the residue. He looks over and looks over the group, he then grins. "Ah, more help. Have you been here long?"
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With her longbow in hand Zhera gives the man a look and for a second almost looks sheepish before she smiles, self assured. "Yep, we're here to help with the excavation efforts. We haven't been here all that long, only a few minutes. Trying to get an understanding of what we are dealing with here. Perhaps you could fill us in on what you've already finished here, Mr... I'm sorry, Venture-Captain Norden failed to inform us you would be here, so we are at a loss for you name."