The invitation of Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir was succinct, but clear. You are to head to the Sandswept Hall, the Pathfinder lodge in the Osirian capital of Sothis.
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"Oh, Chiselnits! Our first mission! I'm so excited I have butterflies in my stomach!" The expression on the face of this homely-looking brunette female halfling dressed in simple brown clothing is one of serene wonder and anticipation. Glowing on her forehead is a moss green glowing sigil of three teardrop-shaped loops with their points meeting in the middle, evenly spaced in a triangular shape, with sharp spikes jutting outward between them from the center. Turning to her companion, she scratches the spot on his forehead that bears a matching sigil. "I wonder who else we're working with. Hopefully at least some of them aren't new leaves like us."
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"I think you're working with me." says a young woman, human, tallish and athletic, with twin blond braids. She wears leathers and a short bow of elven manufacture and a rapier at her side. She looks well equipped and eager for adventure.
"Hi, I'm Cate. This is going to be exciting. I've done a few things for the society."
She smiles happily. She seems to touch her obviously-new wayfinder quite a lot.
Chiselnits resembles a large, round, spiky burr with three long vine tendrils. One vine is thick and muscular, while the other two are covered in wicked looking thorns. In a childlike voice he responds: "Well, even if they are new leaves, we all did the training, so we can handle it." His close-set greenish-black eyes twinkle as they dart around. "Oh! Hey! Illnore! Before anyone comes, pop inside!" With a mischievous grin, a crack splits open at his abdomen, opening like a mouth to reveal a hollow space just big enough for a halfling and her pack to curl up inside.
"Awwwww. Shoot." The crack closes and Chiselnits is back to being a spiky ball.
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A three foot green goblin sees the group of Pathfinders and wanders over. "Yous the group of Paffinders Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir invite here? I's called Lokoloko. I's called here by Venture-Captain also." Seeing Cate, his eyes widen slightly, "I's heard of you, Cate. Paffinder friend Kat told stories 'bout you."
He glances over at Illnore and Chiselnits. "Yous new Paffinder? Don't worry. We's short folk needs stick togevver. Can't have longshanks tells us what to do." He rummages around in his pack for a bit, and reveals a large pickle that appears to be several months old. He takes a bite and offers it to Illnore. "Pffkle?" he asks, spraying bits of pickle everywhere.
"Eating embalmed babies. Blech." Chiselnits mutters and gives Lokoloko a half-hearted stink eye. Seems like he's had enough discussions with Illnore about foods to know when things aren't worth a real fight, no matter how much he dislikes it.
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A tall human female, made taller yet by the heels of her knee-high dark brown boots joins the gathering. "Bonjour mes amis. Am I een de right plece? Are you all destined for Osirian? Yes? Good." With a wide grin and a flourish, she sweeps her hat dramatically across her front and bows. "I am Mimi de Valence at your serveece. You may call me juste Mimi."
At her waist you spy a sheathed rapier with an ornate silver hilt. A long royal-blue coat, open in the front, trails behind her like a cloak. In her left hand, she's holding her prized wide-brimmed cavalier hat trimmed with its flamboyant crimson feather. A long mop of bright red hair falls down past her shoulders, framing a pair of clear green eyes set in an attractive, light-skinned and freckled face.
The swashbuckler hailed from Gralton in the River Kingdoms and could usually be found there between missions teaching classes at her grandfather's fencing academy. Her last mission had been in Absalom and she had been preparing for the voyage back to her beloved hometown when she got the summons from Norden Balentiir. She was beginning to believe that she might never get back to Gralton again.
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A man. heavily overdressed for warmer climes, his long white hair flowing over his shoulders, nods to you, "Znobe and this is here is Bere. Seems
I'm gonna be heading off to the sun again. The Society have a strange sense of humour." he says matter of factually, as he looks down at a small white bear. The man carries a longbow on his back, with quiver containing arrows, with white feather fletching. "So this place, it's gonna be hot isn;t it!." he moans. The bear looks up at him sympathetically, letting out a small high pitched cry.
He holds his head up and looks over at you all, "Hmmmm, small folk and green folk" he says pointedly as he looks at Chiselnits, "We're gonna get on fine." he says as he talks two pickled herrings and giving one to the bear and popping the other in his mouth he asks, "Is there ale here, Bere is thirsty as am I?"
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A medium-sized human, in full plate and apparently without any weapons, arrives:
'Nosaj Morsheeba, from the Horizon Hunters faction, reporting for duty'
He also nods to all the other adventurers already present in the Sandswept Hall:
'Good day to you, fellow pathfinders!'
He puts aside a huge steel shield that he was carrying around (tower shield). You then notice a morning star on his side, which seems to have never been used, even though it's far from new.
'I hope you pray Milani from time to time!'
As introductions are made, it is affirmed that there is a certain amount of common knowledge among Pathfinder agents such as yourselves.
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." he notes. "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," he continues, "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.” His warning given, he pauses for any questions.
Please provide the information requested and feel free to distribute any Hero Points for Glyphs.
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To Lokoloko - "I met Kat whilst helping some kobolds in Absalom's sewers. I feel like I've come a long way since then."
"So we're excavating, searching and avoid political entanglements? That makes a change for me. When I was in the River Kingdoms, I had to get involved in politics!" She looks around at the others, smiling. "Is there anything you'd like us to look for specifically?"
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Mimi sighs internally once she hears what the mission entails. With a straight face she says, "So ve are to promenede across de seareeng desert and den spend numerous veeks diggeeng sand out of an 'ole in de ground. Vhat fun! I could not 'ave 'oped for a more stimulateeng meession."
She pauses a moment in thought. "Do ve 'ave any idée of vhat ve are likelee to encounter vonce ve 'ave removed de sand? Ees dees site mentionné in any ancient records?"
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Nosaj listened very carefully to VC Balentiir and was thinking of the kind of impact a bunch of pathfinders could make to a newly discovered, very ancient site.
' Mimi is right actually. What is expected from us? What are exactly the terms of our mission? It seems that we are all, or almost all, warriors here.'
He paused for a moment.
'And about those guards, for how long have they been there to oversee the site?'
"Is there anything you'd like us to look for specifically?"
“The shifting winds revealed only the top portion of the staircase. What lies beyond it remains a mystery,” notes Venture-Captain Balentiir. "Any specific details you can learn about the ruins, their purpose, and their inhabitants would be new information that would help broaden our understanding."
"Do ve 'ave any idée of vhat ve are likelee to encounter vonce ve 'ave removed de sand? Ees dees site mentionné in any ancient records?"
"The sandswept nation of Osirion is truly ancient. Its first pharaohs arose from the warring factions along the River Sphinx, and a succession of pharaohs ruled over the land for millennia." Balentiir explains. "This period came to an end in conquest, when the forces of Kelesh assassinated the pharaoh and brought Osirion under their rule. It was just over a century ago that Osirion regained its independence."
"Given Osirion history, the site presumably could relate to nearly any of those time periods. Its existence was unknown prior to its discovery just over a year ago," he postulates. "As it was buried beneath the sands for so long, I would think it among the more ancient sites."
' Mimi is right actually. What is expected from us? What are exactly the terms of our mission? It seems that we are all, or almost all, warriors here.'
"You are expected to Explore, Report, and Cooperate," smiles the Venture-Captain. "You are all capable of digging and have enough training to identify any finds of potential interest, which the Society can investigate further once excavation has been completed."
"Once you excavate the site, enter inside it and try to get a sense of its layout and extent. Take notes of your findings and work together. I understand that this could take some time, but be assured that I will send you with enough supplies and provisions for a long excavation."
"Otherwise, drink plenty of water." Balentiir cautions. "Travel near dawn and dusk to take shelter from the midday sun, and bundle up at night. Also, the desert heat can play tricks on your eyes. Stick to the map, use your common sense, and you’ll be fine."
'And about those guards, for how long have they been there to oversee the site?'
"I cannot say for certain," concedes the Venture-Captain. "The reported discovery of the site was less than one year ago. Given that the Osiriani policies on allowing outsiders to investigate their tombs and sites have become far more strict in recent years, I would assume that the authorities placed the site under guard shortly thereafter, to prevent bandits or any other unpermitted party from disturbing the site. However, it was not until a few months ago that the Society finally received a permit to excavate."
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Mimi shrugs. "Vell, eet all seems veree straightforward if a leetel unexciteeng. Perhaps ve vill get lucky and some bandits vill attack us en route to make theengs interesteeng." She brings her hand up to the brim of her hat and nods her head. "Until ve are to leave, you vill find me in de nearest taverne of any qualeetee savoreeng a nice cold mug of bière. Eet may vell be de last von I get to enjoy in quaite some time. You are all very velcome to join me."
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"Ahh, so we have to travel in the hot sun again, Bere. This time across a desert, I yearn for the cold wastes rather than the searing sands." The half-elf shrugs. "And I suppose you want us to bring back any treasure we find. But if we go underground at least it'll be cooler." the archer with his bear pick up their belongings, "Best take some extra water, just in case..."
Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir sees the party is provided the permit to the site and is well-provisioned for the journey across the sandy wastes before wishing you farewell.
The weeks-long journey in the desert passes uneventfully. When you arrive at the area on the map noting the location of the ruin, you find that an entrance to the underground structure has already been excavated. A canvas fence secured around staircase keeps most of the sand away from the opening.
Nearby, a guard sits under a tarp, humming a pleasant tune to herself while two additional forms adorned in the attire of guards, lie prone in the shade where four camels can be seen resting.
As you approach, the humming pauses, and the guard cries out, "Unless you have a permit, you shouldn't be here! And if you happen to be more Pathfinders, then you must be among the lazy ones. The rest of the expedition's already done most of the hard labor of clearing the entryway."
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"What? Well, we have our permit right here. But you say there are other Pathfinders here? The Venture Captain... Oh no." Turning aside to her group, she looks at each of them in naive shock. "What if they're not Pathfinders? Oh no. Oh no." Leaning against Chiselnits, whose spikes are currently retracted, she begins biting her nails nervously.
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The boredom of weeks spent crossing the desert had worn heavily on Mimi. The oppressive heat and the deleterious effects of the bright sun on her pale skin was such that she rarely ventured out of the wagon during the day. It was only in the evenings when they stopped to rest for the night that she could jump down and stretch her long legs. While working through her sword exercises to loosen up her tight muscles, she would look out into the darkening dunes and pray to the Accidental God to send forth something dangerous to make things interesting. But it seemed that Cayden Cailean had more things on his mind than to distract his Gralton devotee.
It was with mixed emotions then that she saw the site already excavated when they arrived. On the one hand, she was overjoyed to find that she would not be digging sand for the next few weeks; on the other hand, why had they been sent to this godsforesaken place if another group of Pathfinders had already taken care of things?
Mimi approaches the guard, which she can't help notice was looking rather stunning in her uniform. She takes the permit from Illnore and hands it to the attractive woman. "As you can see, ve do indeed 'ave a permeet. But I must admeet to being surprised to find dat another group of Pathfinders arrived 'ere before us. Ve vere not informéd of any such advanced expedition. 'Ow long ago deed dey arrive? Deed dey also 'ave a permeet? May ve see eet please? Perhaps eet vill 'elp clear up dees misunderstandeeng."
"As you can see, ve do indeed 'ave a permeet. But I must admeet to being surprised to find dat another group of Pathfinders arrived 'ere before us. Ve vere not informéd of any such advanced expedition. 'Ow long ago deed dey arrive? Deed dey also 'ave a permeet? May ve see eet please? Perhaps eet vill 'elp clear up dees misunderstandeeng."
"The expedition began over a month ago, though much of that time was spent clearing and securing the entrance." The guard eyes the swashbuckler for a few moments, then gives a pleasant smile. "I am Elrekah, by the way. Don't mind the others. Too much sun and drink."
Elrekah motions towards the two guards napping in the shade, resting with four camels. As if to punctuate her words, one of the prone guards emits a loud snore, before rolling over onto his side.
"Once I give your permit a look over, I'll be happy to show you the one given to me by the others." she says, holding out her hand expectantly.
As she waits for Mimi to produce a permit, Elrekah continues, "The head Pathfinder arrived just last week to begin cataloging the ruin’s history. He sent the rest of the agents home once the sand was cleared away."
Lokoloko looks curiously at the guards. "What ovver Paffinders? I's told we's first ones here."
"The prior group of Pathfinders was a rather sizable one, at least by my reckoning. Must have been dozens of workers here, I'd say, over the past month or so. In any event, once all that hard work was done, that was when the head Pathfinder sent them home."
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Encouraged by the guard's pleasant smile, Mimi's own smile widens in response. She repeats the guard's name with a slight sigh, as if she'd just savored a fine wine. "Elrekah.... Vhat a beautiful name. So becomeeng for such un enchanteeng person. But vhere are my manners?" She hands over the permit. "'Ere ees our permeet. If dere ees anytheeng more you need of me, you need onlee ask." Then in a huskier voice and a raised eyebrow, she leans in slightly and adds, "Anytheeng at all."
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The suggestion of Norden Balentiir, to travel near dawn and dusk to take shelter from the midday sun, was clearly a good idea, especially when you're wearing a full plate armor, Nosaj was thinking to himself after this weeks-long journey in the Osiriani desert.
He was equally surprised to see the site already excavated, as the VC in Sothis was crystal clear that it was part of their mission.
Having heard the concerns of Illnore, he whispered to her:
'Don't worry, little one! Everything is gonna be all right! If things go south, well, then you can always take cover behind my shield and I will protect you!'
Resolute to find out what's going on, Nosaj decides to step forward and join the conversation:
'Good day to you, Elrekah! I am Nosaj Morsheeba from the Pathfinder Society!'
With a serene smile and a calm demeanor, he continues:
'First of all, let me thank you for all the hard work you have demonstrated until now in securing the site and ensuring that only people with permits are allowed. Your job is of the utmost importance for Osirion and you should be proud of that!'
Now, let me explain our concerns so that you may better understand our surprise: the Venture-Captain Norden Balentiir, at the Pathfinder Lodge of Sothis, told us that they just got the permit for this site and that we were the first ones to arrive here. If the other team is here for more than a month already and given that it takes several weeks to arrive here, it only means that they got the permit before it was even released to the Pathfinder Society!
She hands over the permit. "'Ere ees our permeet. If dere ees anytheeng more you need of me, you need onlee ask." Then in a huskier voice and a raised eyebrow, she leans in slightly and adds, "Anytheeng at all."
Elrekah reaches for the permit in Mimi's hand, allowing her touch to linger a little, before she brings the permit closer to her eyes for inspection. She looks over at Mimi. "Everything appears to be in good order."
The guard then produces a second permit, which she hands over to Mimi for inspection. "This one does as well."
"Hurry up, it's sooo hot out here, surely it will be cooler inside," the north man and his bear seem impatient and irritable, under the heat of the sun.
Elrekah manages to remove her eyes from Mimi and momentarily lock eyes with Znobe. "Your permit is in order, so you may enter whenever you wish," she informs the ranger. Turning, her gaze back towards Mimi, she adds, "Otherwise, you are more than welcome to remain here above ground with me, if you'd prefer."
A 10-foot-wide staircase leads from the surface into this ruin. Sandy dust covers the floors of the underground complex.
Feel free to place your token on the exposed area of the Map when you decide to enter.
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Mimi takes the other permit from Elrekah and looks it over.
She then muses out loud. "'Ow veree strange. Dees permeet shows Venture-capitaine Norden Balentiir as de requesteur vith un approval date of almost a year ago. I find eet 'ard to believe dat 'e vould 'ave omitted informeeng us about dees earlier permeet or de fact dat a different group of Pathfinders 'ad been deespatched 'ere ahead of us."
She hands the permit over to someone else to look at and turns back to the delectable Elrekah. "I teenk ve vill need to 'ave a leetel chat vith dees so-called 'ead Pathfinder to resolve dees situation. 'E ees alone you say? Inside de tomb?"
"Veree vell den. Ve vill enter de tomb and go find dees gentleman. I suspect dat all vill be explained vonce ve've... 'ow do you say... brought 'eem to ground, yes?"
Then in her husky voice, she adds, "I 'ope you vill remain 'ere until I return Elrekah. Eet vould be a grande pitié if you vere to escape me so soon after ve 'ave met."
She then steps back and bows to the head guard before turning on her heel and heading down the stairs.
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Given that Nosaj was next to Mimi, he also quickly examines the other permit, even though he's clearly not an expert.
He then asks the following question:
' Thank you very much, Elrekah! Could you also tell us if the head of the other group, currently inside the site, is from Osirion or more a foreigner like us?
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"Come Bere, let us follow." as the ranger follows on. Passing the guard he nods, "Thanks for being so quick in reading the permit."
With most of the group having studied the permit, Znobe just nods and shrugs, No reason for me to look at a bit of paper, when so many think it's fine. As they approach to go down into the dark, he takes a torch from his pack and lights it, "Me and Bere here like to see where we're treading." he says "Never knowing when the snows might give way into a crevice or hitting my head against a great forest pinewood, seeing at least gives Bere and me a bit of a chance."
After a moment as his eyes start to become accustomed to the change in the lighting, he calls to the front of the group, "Lead on, we're following... And what's all this mumbling about being set up Caitlin, that Elrekah seemed pretty nice to me! What's the deal with your warblings?" He walks holding his torch high in one hand, and his bow in the other.
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In the gloom, Mimi has trouble seeing her surroundings. She reaches into her shirt, pulls out the wayfinder hanging around her neck and ignites it with a thought. Bright light erupts from it in a 20-foot radius (and dim light for the next 20 feet) like a torch. "Much better."
With the sound of metal sliding on metal, Mimi pulls her rapier from its sheath and holds it in her right hand. She then does the same with her shortsword and her left hand.
"Okay, Illnore." Chiselnits extends his spikes slightly to gain traction on the sand, sticks his thorny vines out to the sides, and rolls in an awkward-looking back-and-forth manner toward the entrance. (Every time the central muscular vine comes around as he rolls, he has to swerve to the side to accommodate its bulk. He alternates which side he favors, so the effect is like that of a snake doing a figure eight around his body as he rolls.) Once he gets to the stairs, he uses the vines as legs to descend, allowing his spikes to fully extend. "You can go ahead of me, Illnore. I'll watch your back."
She hands the permit over to someone else to look at and turns back to the delectable Elrekah. "I teenk ve vill need to 'ave a leetel chat vith dees so-called 'ead Pathfinder to resolve dees situation. 'E ees alone you say? Inside de tomb?"
Elrekah confirms this is the state of affairs.
' Thank you very much, Elrekah! Could you also tell us if the head of the other group, currently inside the site, is from Osirion or more a foreigner like us?
"An Osirion man," Elrekah replies, "though I believe that many within your Society hail from our kingdom."
Descending the steps, the enter a chamber dimly lit from illumination trickling down from above. Sandy dust covers the floor of this underground complex. Several of the pillars in this once-grand entryway have collapsed. The statues around its edges depict scarab beetles.
In addition to the stairs leading up, there is a large hallway leading westward and two smaller doors leading to the north and south respectively.
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"Ahh, a place of death, see those beetles. I heard those carving declare their association with the road to Pharesma and the journey to our ultimate resting place. But then, did not they say this was a tomb... So Bere no surprises there."
Znobe waits patiently whist the other decide on the way to go.
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Mimi nods as Znobe describes the iconography of the beetles. "'Ow fascinateeng," she says in a tone suggesting that she finds it anything but.
After looking around, she spots a hallway leading off to the north and moves quietly and carefully over to the opening. Once there, Mimi shines her wayfinder down it for a better look.
Nosaj decides to get closer to the two collapsed pillars in the southwest corner of the entryway and to inspect them. Does he notice anything special?
The pillars are in poor condition and yield nothing more of interest.
After looking around, she spots a hallway leading off to the north and moves quietly and carefully over to the opening. Once there, Mimi shines her wayfinder down it for a better look.
The hallway to the north ends in a turn to the west. A door lies along the eastern wall.
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When Illnore suggests shouting to try and get the attention of the purported Pathfinder, Mimi frowns. "I teenk eet vould be best to remain quiet and conserve vhat leetel element of surprise ve 'ave left. If de gentleman in question turns out to be un ersatz Pathfinder, 'e vill probablee not be veree 'appy to see us. I do not veesh to give 'eem any more time to prepare for our arrival dan absolutelee necessaree."
Though happy to be out of the scorching sun and inside the tomb where it was relatively cool, Mimi couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more to this place than just a simple archaeologist at work.
Mimi relays what she finds down the hallway to the others. "Does anyone 'ave a strong opinion as to vhich vay ve should go first? If not, den perhaps dees door..." she indicates the one in the hallway, "... ees as good a plece to start as any."