4714 AR
15th day of Rova
The City of Tephu, also known as the City of Reed People, is surrounded by tall, swaying papyrus reeds and towering orchards of date palms. Teeming with movement and commerce, the city is known for two main things: its papyrus trade and the Great Library. The former places Tephu as one of the most wealthy cities in Orision. The latter contains millions of words of recorded history and academic texts all carefully collated and cross indexed and draws visitors from all over Golarion.
This morning you find yourselves at the modest estate of Irizi Evenglow, a well known halfling scholar in Tephu and financially successful rug merchant. She is a well known devotee of Desna, who has a reputation of hiring adventurers to advance her scholarly pursuits. She has hired each of you in the past and always maintained a professional, if not friendly, relationship with each of you, impressed by your martial and intellectual skills.
You received a summons from Irizi to appear at her estate today this morning as a personal favor and you have complied. You have all been escorted to a study in Irizi's home by her servants and requested that you await her presence. The room has a homely feel of having been lived in and visited often and contains several figurines in honor of Desna and the halfling's free spirit.
Zahira paces the room like a caged cat, the scimitar secured at her hip, as she eats some of the dates set out by the servants. Iziri, as a worshipper of a benevolent deity, similar to her Dawnflower patron, Zahira had built a friendship with the halfling. Besides, the sponsored trips into the desert were always a fun distraction. The summons that she received from Iziri concerned her, as there must be a matter of great importance to call her in such a fashion.
The presence of other adventurers in the room confirmed this fact that this mission could not be accomplished by Zahira alone. She knew how to work with others when she had to. But she wasn't known for her patience. Was Iziri alright? In her line of work, she had enemies. Zahira was worried for the halfling's safety and the concern was evident on her face.
Not wishing to be rude, she directs herself at the rest of the adventurers gathered, "I am Zahira Al-Gamila, warrior priestess of the Dawnflower." She is unarmored and wears the holy symbol of Sarenrae.
There is an inner stillness to the Garundi man with the desert-burnished skin and sand-etched creases around his eyes. The loose desert robes over light lamellar armor, the traces of sand clinging to his ground-sweeping bisht , as well as the red-checkered keffiyeh and sash, all proclaim him to be a desert tribesman of some stripe. The slender and sheathed falchion he holds, much like a walking staff, does nothing to clarify his tribal allegiance.
At Zahira’s greeting, he offers a slight bow, hand resting lightly on his chest to indicate that he will only speak his heart’s truth. ”An honor, Sayyidah.” He replies, using the Osiriani honorific. ”I am Ki’dhir, dunewalker of the Yerbira. May the Everlight bless your journey.”
Leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, Bhornkild seems calm and relaxed. Whatever it is Irizi wants, the shoanti is confidant in his roll in the world, and the summons has not concerned him. His skin is tanned dark brown, and his onyx and gold jewelry is reminiscent of the kind often worn by locals, but he is obviously not Osirian. His loose, sleeveless robe bares his heavily muscled chest and arms, scars and tribal tattoos crisscrossing his skin. He has a medium length brown beard and shoulder blade length hair. Despite the scars, he is very handsome. A large adamantine earth breaker, the weapon of his people, is sitting on its head on the floor next to him, the handle rising up to his waist. His blue eyes flicker about the room, following the frolicking of something invisible.
He recognizes the others assembled by their reputations, but Bhornkild spends little time associating with the living. "My name is Bhornkild. It means 'Walks with Spirits' in the common tongue." His Osiriani is good, though the accent is antique. "My companion, though you cannot see him, is Máii iiłtsoí, the fox spirit."
Marius enters the salon late as the others have already gathered. He looks over the others as he stops short. Although he's never worked with them he knows each of the others by reputation. The blue eyed Shoanti can only be Bhornkild, the spirit walker. He clasps forearms with the big man as he smiles "You must be Bhornkild. Excellent job on the Scorpion coast, by the way. It wouldn't do to have a former Pharaoh wandering around causing all kinds of trouble."
He nods respectfully to the Garundi in the tribal robes "Ki'dhir, an excellent scout and guide. He's saved a number of mubtadi' from the perils of the desert. I remember my uncle telling me a story about him."
Lastly he smiles and bows to the lithe Garundi woman. "Peace be with you, Zahira Al-Gamila. Your deeds proceed you. My regrets about Ipeq and your parents."
"My name is Marius, Marius Vorloren." He removes his weather beaten hat with it's signature red feather and tosses it on the table. Whatever Irizi has planned it has to be big for her to recruit all this talent". He makes his way to the sideboard and pours himself a drink before offering the decanter to the others. Taking a seat he waits for their host to make her appearance and explain what's going on.
Zahira is a little caught off guard by Marius' comment, but she recovers. "Thank you Marius, I honor them every day with my actions. Pleasure to meet all of you...and your fox spirit, Bhornkid."
Ki'dhir proffers a small bow to the others now assembled. He regards Marius' hat curiously. "Striking feather."
"You think so? Thank you, it means a lot".
The doors to the study open and 2 male servants summon you and escort you to the library, where Irizi, the halfling merchant, awaits you. She has a concerned look on her face, but it turns into a smile when she sees the four adventurers. She walks up to Zahira, "Sister, thank you for coming, we will need the Dawnflower's grace for what's coming." She looks at the rest of you, "I am grateful to have such loyal friends who will come at the drop of a hat. So enough banter, the reason I have called you. A colleague of mine, a professor by trade, is in trouble and she needs help. She's lost her brother and husband and has no one else left, but she is determined to complete her quest. Her life is in danger, so I ask for you to listen to her story and decide on your own to help or not. please keep an open mind. I'll be right back."
She move to a side door of the library, open it, and speak to someone out of sight. "C'mon Evelyn, it's ok. I know you're scared, but these are decent people, who will not betray my trust." After some coaxing, the figure steps into the room, a little shy, her head down. You see a spectacled woman of Garundi descent. Irizi leads her by the hand to the front of the party, "Lady and gentlemen, this is Professor Evelyn Galen, and she has quite a story for you." The woman smiles, a bit uncomfortably and proceeds to sit down at a chair and takes a gulp of water.
The Garundi tribesman offers the professor an encouraging nod and clasps his hands (and the sheathed falchion) behind his back – the image of an attentive student. He studies the woman and her words carefully.
Zahira bends one knee and hugs Irizi. "Glad to see you're safe sister. You know, the Dawnflower's servant is always at your service. Please bring in your friend and if her cause is noble, then she shall have me at her side." Zahira smiles encouragingly at the Professor when she is announced. "We're all ears."
Bhornkild follows as instructed and stands silently, waiting for the professor to reveal her task. It must be quite the ask, given the people assembled.
Marius Cradles his glass in his hand as he listens to Irizi introduce her companion "My condolences on you losses, Professor. Your continuation of our mission in spite of it speaks volumes about your character." he raises the glass in salute "Rest assured that if Irizi vouches for you that is good enough for me and I, for one, will be honored to assist you in any way I can"
The female Professor hesitates, but hearing your encouraging words and condolences, she moves to her satchel, opens it, and pulls our gold funerary mask. She looks at the party with the mask in her hand. "Have you ever heard of Sky Pharaoh Hakotep I? I highly doubt it. He's rather an obscure pharaoh of Ancient Osirion who lived 6,000 years ago. The records state that he was a worshipper of Set. His name survives only in cartouches found in a ancient network of earthworks now known as the Slave Trenches of Hakotep. This is his funerary mask, an ancient artifact capable of animating the dead. It is rumored part of the pharaoh's soul remains in the artifact. My husband, my brother, and I recovered this mask in Wati, while exploring the Necropolis for the city on behalf of the Church of Pharasma. We stopped a necromancer from using its power to animate a legion of undead. Since that day six months ago, our life has been full of death and dangers at every turn. There's a mysterious cult, known appropriately enough as the Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh, who seek the mask to resurrect the Sky Pharaoh. They've sent assassins after me, and though I have survived, my family members were not so lucky." She pauses, as a tear rolls down her face. "C'mon Evelyn, be strong. My life is in danger, so be forewarned that any association with me, may pit you in their sights as well. I would not want to be responsible for your deaths as well."
Evelyn pauses to see if anyone wishes to depart or continue hearing her story.
Bhornkild sniffs, a small smile playing across his lips. He had just dealt with an unnamed pharaoh and his cult. Perhaps Pharasma was preparing him for this greater challenge. He remains silent in the usual shoanti way, waiting for the woman to continue.
Zahira looks around the room, "Please continue, Professor. We are not of weak will. We each know the risks of our professions and we do not take this threat lightly. Tell us what else you know about this pharaoh and his cult."
Marius wracks his brain for anything he can remember about Hakotep I and this Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh the Professor mentioned.
"I think we're all in agreement on this, Professor. It just wouldn't do to have some long dead Pharaoh just returning to life. They might just want their stuff back which just wouldn't be good for business at all."
Ki'dhir nods in agreement with the previous statements, adding only, "And what steps are you taking to safeguard your own life?"
Evelyn smiles, "I'm glad you all do not scare off easily. As for your question, young man, this journey has cost me the lives of those whom I love the most. My life no longer matters, only stopping this cult from achieving its goal." More tears escape her eyes. She wipes them and continues.
"We came to Tephu 2 weeks ago to research the mask, Hakotep, and the Cult at the Great Library. It took us awhile to get access and somehow our activities were discovered and assassin ambushed us one night after leaving the library. I was the sole survivor and fled. That's how I know my life is in danger. Anyway, I managed to access the secret and exclusive collections and found in a collection of scrolls named the Scrolls of Inquiry. Here's what I managed to copy word for word." The Professor hands you a rolled up scroll.
"This confession was extracted in -1560 AR, some 50 years after Pharaoh Hakotep’s death. The Sacrosanct Order refers to the Order of the Blue Feather, a secret sect of the church of Nethys. Finally, according to my sources, the heart is no longer in Sothis, where indicated, so I am assuming that the Cult already has it."
"Finally, I've discovered a collection of architectural plans detailing a series of tomb designs of incredible complexity. Each plan is labeled with a double hieroglyph of an owl inside a house. This hieroglyph is the "signature" of a person named Chisisek. There is also a note mentioning a meeting between Chisisek and the Sky Pharaoh, but I couldn't find anything more in the archive. I have a lead on another archive that may be useful, called the Vault of Hidden Wisdom. Unfortunately, all I have is to find the "the long shadow of the Tower of Ra's Glory in the dawn sun of midsummer", which is said to point toward the door. I am stuck."
"Has any of you ever heard of Chisisek? Any bright ideas how to find the door? The Tower of Ra's Glory collapsed years ago. It lays as a ruin for decades now." Evelyn lays out a sigh of frustration.
Marius wracks his brain for anything he can remember about Hakotep I and this Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh the Professor mentioned.
[dice=Knowledge (history)]1d20+14
[dice=Knowledge (local)]1d20+16"I think we're all in agreement on this, Professor. It just wouldn't do to have some long dead Pharaoh just returning to life. They might just want their stuff back which just wouldn't be good for business at all."
"I can't say that I can recall anything about Hakotep I or this Cult of the Forgotten Pharaoh but I have heard of Chisisek, he was a well known architect of some of the pyramids from the First Age."
The mentions of shadows at midsummer piques Bhornkild's interest. "'The long shadow of the Tower of Ra's Glory in the dawn sun of midsummer'. I have heard of such things before. 'The shadow cast by a certain mountains peak at midday on the winter solstice will reveal the path to the center of the planet.' Many monuments were designed to cast shadows on certain points at certain times of the year, usually as calendars of sorts. Finding out how tall it was should not be difficult. Osirions are generally good at keeping records. That a cult would still be guarding this pharaoh after so many years is... unusual. If they are actively monitoring anyone researching this Sky Pharaoh, that at least should make them easy to find."
"But what of you, professor? You should leave Osirion, if you are being hunted by assassins."
"My life no longer matters, only stopping this cult from achieving its goal."
"You may value your life - or not - as you choose, sayyidah... but I disagree. We will likely need your knowledge again before this cult is defeated. You could find shelter among the Yerbira until this matter is resolved. The deep desert protects and my people would make it difficult for assassins to attack you... I could make an introduction, if you wish."
Zahira ponders the question. "I think Bhorn is onto something. We need the height of the tower, the position of the sun, and a model of the city and we can plug the factors into the equation. I am sure there are smarter people in this room who can handle this issue and discover the location of the door to the Hidden Vault. We just have to discover the variables."
Evelyn gets miffed by Bhornkild's and Ki'dhir's suggestions and stands up straight, confident. "I will not have lost my family for nothing! I am not stopping until I end the threat of this pharaoh and his cult. You have been invited here to assist me, not send me home. I can take care of myself, I know some divine magic, maybe some that may heal and save your lives. I am seeing this through to the end. My life is not important, only the mission. So I'm not staying here hiding. Ya got that? You all just said you know the dangers and well, if assassins attack me, while I'm with you, it'll be your job to protect me. I will pay handsomely." Despite her 5'6" stature, the professor is not intimidated by the barbarian and the ranger.
After the confrontation passes or diffuses, she looks at Zahira, "Math, hmmm, I was never going to solve it with that. My interests are more into history and archaeology. Well, if it's like you say, then we figure out the numbers to the formula. However, I'm not from here. If the tower no longer stands, how do we figure out its height?"
Ki’dhir reviews the conversation… trying to understand where he had given offense, how he had misunderstood the professor’s intent, and how she had failed to understand his. After consideration, he concluded that he parsed the intent of her words differently than she meant them. Then pride – or perhaps guilt – spurred her reaction. Curious.
As the cult matter took precedence, he discarded the personal one. “The Great Library may contain the information about the tower, maps of its location, and possibly the lands surrounding it. It is my belief that stargazers – astronomers – could determine the position and length of the shadow at midsummer with those facts.” He doesn’t add that visiting the Library might draw out the cult, which could be both a risk and an opportunity.
Ki’dhir reviews the conversation… trying to understand where he had given offense, how he had misunderstood the professor’s intent, and how she had failed to understand his. After consideration, he concluded that he parsed the intent of her words differently than she meant them. Then pride – or perhaps guilt – spurred her reaction. Curious.
As the cult matter took precedence, he discarded the personal one. “The Great Library may contain the information about the tower, maps of its location, and possibly the lands surrounding it. It is my belief that stargazers – astronomers – could determine the position and length of the shadow at midsummer with those facts.” He doesn’t add that visiting the Library might draw out the cult, which could be both a risk and an opportunity.
Marius smiles at the Professor's fiery retort as he gets up to refill his glass "They mean no disrespect, Evelyn. May I call you Evelyn? They speak from an abundance of caution and concern for your safety. I too suffered a great personal loss" he stares at the rumpled hat sitting on the table "and can understand your need, no your desire, for revenge but that is a story for another time."
"The Library is an excellent idea, but if we thought of it I'm sure the cult will have as well and they seem to have a head start on us. We may have to resort to getting our hands dirty and find this architect, Chisisek, fellow's tomb. Perhaps his records and designs were buried with him."
"Professor, I will protect you with my life. You have my word. I agree with Marius, the library is too obvious to start with. Marius, you're our expert, where would we find the height of the tower? Are any of the persons/architects who worked on the project still around?"
When Marius shares the information, Evelyn's face lights up. "I can pay you each 5,000 gp for your services. My family and I had some gold saved up from our prior archaeological excavations. It's only right that I use those funds now to finish the mission. Is that acceptable?"
"I know some old codgers who own a store near the old tower. Seems like they've been there forever. If anyone can help us it would be them."
"Great to know, Marius. Thank you, Evelyn, but we can talk about compensation later. Right now, we need to find this vault so let's go see these old codgers. Stay close to me at all times."
Zahira is ready to go now and the gold is secondary to her.
"No time like the present." Marius sets his glass down in the table and looks around the room "Let's go, shall we?"
The tribesman looks to Irizi. ”Is the professor safe with you here? Did you get her here secretly or did she come openly?”
Irizi smiles, "She came to me. She is safe and welcome to stay here, but I doubt that she will take me up on my offer." Evelyn looks at the ranger again, "I'll be fine, next to Zahira. Let's go talk to Marius' friends about the tower." She picks up her satchel and secures her books. "I'm ready when you are."
Stone-faced, Ki’dhir slings his falchion over his shoulder and retrieves his recurve bow. It seemed discussion was wasted breath, even with two of the professor’s beloveds in the halls of the dead. Far too frequently it seemed the city-born learned too late, if ever, the desert’s lessons: Arrogance paired with ignorance is as deadly as a great haboob.
He makes a flowing hand gesture to the group. ”After you, sadah and sayyidah.”
Moments later…
As they exit Irizi’s mansion, the tribesman makes an odd chuffing noise. A man-sized Sand Panther materializes from the foliage decorating the entrance to the estate. Tail swishing, the large cat watches the group as it slowly circles around to accompany Ki’dhir. He offers the panther a warm smile and a heavy-handed pat on the shoulder. Then his eyes slide across every person, doorway, window, and rooftop - looking for any signs of threat. The cat, picking up on her companion's mood, gazes predatorially.
Bhornkild simply inclines his head in respect to Evelyn's wishes. Death is not something to be feared, anyways. "The length of the shadow at dawn could be quite considerable. If the door to the tomb rests in the side of a mountain or hill, and the tower merely provides a direction, it should be easy to find. If the tip of the shadow is to point us to a precise, buried location, that would be more difficult. At the break of dawn, the shadow cast by any object of any height is functionally unlimited, only being stopped by the curvature of the planet or another object rising in its path. We are well past midsummer, so awaiting dawn is not an option for us. The Library or an appropriate temple likely has records of the solar elevation year-round going back hundreds of years. With the height and location of the tower, that is enough to calculate the shadow but, again, what is precisely meant by 'the dawn sun of midsummer' could cause great variance in the shadow we seek." Hopefully 'dawn' and 'midsummer' are well defined in the ancient Osirian literature, if not in the Great Library than in a temple to one of the sun deities.
Despite the heat of the day and his lack of heat-shedding clothing favored by the natives of the region, Bhornkild appears perfectly comfortable out in the sun.
Irizi smiles as she escorts you out. "Thank you all for taking care of my friend, Evie. She's quite stubborn as you can see. Keep her safe please. I'm here if you need anything."
You venture out into the city of Tephu. Marius appears quite familiar with the layout of the city and he serves as your guide. Evelyn wears a hijab in public to conceal her appearance, given that assassins, you know, are trying to kill her.
You reach the site of the prior Tower of Ra's Glory. It now lays as a ruin, but in recent months, the tower's location has become a building site, as the tower's fallen stone and marble blocks are being removed or incorporated into the foundations of a new building under construction.
A couple of blocks from the ruin, you find the hostelry, where the three old locals hang out sipping tea. They go by the names of Adull, Hamask, and Toothless Mhetek.
Ki’dhir knows his strengths… being personable and charming weren’t among his skills. Instead of speaking, he and Histya use their bodies to subtly shield the hijab-clad woman from different angles of attack while warily watching their surroundings.
Zahira stands guard also. She looks at Marius, "Go say hi to them. Meeting new people is not my strength."
Bhornkild is more personable than most shoanti, but he is still shoanti, and not one for small talk. "Good morrow." He greets the seated men in the archaic accent of ancient Osiriani, sitting and laying the haft of his earth breaker across his lap so as not to tower over the men with weapon in hand. "I am Bhornkild, a priest of Pharasma, researching the Tower of Ra's Glory." He gestures to the what remains of fallen tower. "I have heard you three have been here since before the Tower's destruction. Could I ask you some questions about it?"
Marius smiles at Bhornkild's ancient accent "They're not THAT old" he thinks to himself.
"Salaam, Adull, Hamask, and Mhetek." Marius bows and touches his forehead with his fingertips "May Ra's light always shine upon you." He refills everyone's tea glass, waiting for a nod of acquiescence before seating himself cross-legged on the ground and pouring himself a glass. He lets the tea leaves steep for a minute before raising it in a toast to his hosts "Speaking of which, as my friend has said, we are seeking information on the Tower and are hoping ones blessed with longevity, such as yourselves, could help us find what we seek"
The old men look up and Abdull, the youngest of the three, speaks for them, "What respectful young men, please sit and join us. And if the next tea kettle is on you, even more so." They smile and they start telling stories and reminiscing about how as kids they used to play around in front of the Tower of Ra. Salaam, the eldest of the three, completely bald with a gap in his teeth, sighs. "Please, let us know how we may help you. It is so good to feel useful at our age."
Bhornkild sits in the offered seats and takes a sip of the offered tea. He is not a great tea drinker, but he has found the spiced coffee of the desert suits him. "Why was the tower torn down? Earthquake, or not worth maintaining?"
Marius signals for the nādil to bring another tea service for the table. Once it arrives he muddles some mint in each glass before pouring a cup for everyone. Savoring the aroma he smiles "We need to determine how tall the tower was before it was lost. If there's anything you can tell us about that it would be greatly appreciated." He sips his tea as he waits for a response.
Salaam smiles at Bhornkid's question, "Torn down? No, never. Unfortunately, the Tower of Ra's Glory collapsed years ago due to age and lack of financial investment to maintain it. It lay as a ruin for decades, until the current governor decided to use the tower's fallen stone and marble blocks to incorporate into the foundations of a new building under construction."
Abdulla chimes in at Marius' question, as he puts his tea down, "The height? That's easy, we asked everyone about that as kids when we played here. I may have forgotten much, but I know the Tower of Ra's Glory was 125 feet high. Right, fellas?" Salaam nods yes and Toothless Mhetek smiles, showing his gums.
As you are about to leave after the conversation, Salaam speaks up, "If you wanted to double check on our information, you could always talk to Ramat Glyphkeeper III, a Pahmet dwarf who was one of the original builders of the tower hundreds of years ago. He would know exactly. Food for thought."
Marius nods to the men "Thank you for your help, gentlemen." he nods for the waiter to bring the trio more tea 'Do you have any idea where we might find Ramat?" he stands up from his seat and tips the waiter a gold piece Keep 'em coming until they're done" he tells the man.
When he walks out, Zahira nods at the archaeologist. "We heard everything. Lead the way to Ramat."
The waiter gives Marius the necessary directions, as it appears the dwarf lives only six blocks away. The trio wave at Marius and Bhornkild as they leave and invite you to return anytime.
Ramat, the dwarf. reluctantly opens his door at the sounds that the trio of locals sent you. He doesn't have many visitors, so he's happy to speak to you. You come in and find it hard to difficult to work as his home is clutetred with architectural drawings, books, notes, and scribbles. When asked about the tower, he recalls working on the tower and its height. "Yeah, that was definitely 125 feet tall. Ya know, if you promise to bring it back, I think I still have those plans from my youth. Give me a sec." It turns out to be 10 minutes instead of one second, but he hands you the architectural plans of the Tower of Ra's Glory as it was originally constructed.
After some small pleasantries, he kicks you out, saying he is working on his next masterpiece.