"Of course we should show respect to the dearly departed. We are not barbarians storming the gates of Absalom after all. I think we should finish the inspection of this room, before we head further into the tomb."
With that, Indus begins the arduous task of examining the central dias and the things on it.
Close and careful inspection of the central dias reveals a series of inter-connected pressure plates that would likely trigger a trap if anyone stepped onto the raised platform.
However, when Indus begins to disarm the trap, he finds that metal bars are holding the plates in place, preventing them from activating.
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With some effort, Sobekhotep pries open the eastern secret door to reveal a small 10 x 10 ft chamber filled with about a dozen human-shaped bundles wrapped in linen. Each wears a small medallion with Pharasma's spiral around its neck.
According to ancient Osiriani burial customs, common slaves were rutinely executed and buried within the tombs they were forced to build, to keep them from revealing secrets about the tomb.
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With Lord Anubis' Guidance washing over him (or is it that he actually remembers from personal experience?), Sobekhotep winces.
"Ah. I had forgotten that it was once customary for the slaves who built these mausoleums to be executed and buried within them, to keep them from revealing secrets about the tomb."
He then offers up a prayer to Lord Anubis, and quietly shuts the door.
Sobekhotep briefly considers the stuck double doors, then turns his attention to the locked one.
"Indus? Do you want to try opening that?"
"I can cerrtainly try," says the young man, shaking off a shiver at the thought of those poor slaves' fate.
He kneels in front of the lock, gets out his tools and starts working.
With a bit of effort, Indus is able to unlock the secret door and wrest it open.
He uncovers a dusty hallway that turns north down decending stairs after about 20 ft.
The usual careful search reveals a secret door on the south wall, which is locked, but not trapped.
Gathering in the usual formation, the Smokin Bask Brigade ventures into the hidden hallway. Ignoring the locked secret door for now, you move down the stairs and open the double stone doors after Indus and Sobekhotep declare them safe.
This room holds several neatly arrayed chests, boxes, and urns. The dust of centuries covers every surface. The only apparent exit is the set of stone double doors to the south where you entered.
Checking the walls of the chamber, Sobekhotep spots a secret door on the east wall. It does not appear to be locked or trapped.
The various containers in the room contain more grave goods for Ahkentepi to enjoy while his soul awaits judgement in the afterlife. All of the containers seem to be unlocked and untrapped.
Detect magic does not register any magical auras in the room.
Indus curiously helps Sobek with the examination of the grave plun... goods, carefully writing the items into his notebook as they examine each.
None of the chests and boxes in the room are locked, as the items within them were the most personal to Akhentepi, and his soul might want to have immediate access to them.
Most of the goods in the chests, such as once-fine clothing and sealed jars of food, no longer have any value after the passage of centuries, but among the spoiled and ruined grave goods are several salvageable items of value, including:
- two vials of silversheen
- a masterwork longbow
- 10 cold iron arrows
- a gold scarab clasp worth 50 gp
- an onyx and silver holy symbol of Pharasma worth 100 gp
- a silver hand mirror worth 35 gp
- a wax-sealed clay urn of nard worth 75 gp.
Once Indus unlocks the secret passage in the hallway, you find a rough earthen passage that connects to the secret door you found earlier in the tomb of Ahkentepi’s mistress. It looks like a way for the priests to exit the tomb after the burial.
The passage shows signs of beetle activity, with multiple tunnels, but the warren seems to have retreated after your earlier fight.
Initiative:
As Sobekhotep pushes the secret door open, he realizes that his normally thorough examination has not been enough this time. Hidden arcane runes illuminate and there is a distinct rushing sound before the floor in front of the secret door suddenly erupts in a writhing mass of cockroaches.
The insects begin to crawl all over most of the Smokin' Bask Brigade, nibbing at every inch of exposed flesh.
> Indus, Lueck
- Swarm
- Diorio, Sobekhotep, Seben-en-Ra
Indus tries to get out of the horrid swarm of insects and grabs a ceramic flask he's carrying in his bandoleer, readying to throw it into the midst of the critters.
"Get back! I've got a grenade!" he yells, waiting for his friends to get out of the blast area.
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Heeding Indus, Lueck withdraws from the swarm. On his way, his tongue lashes out repeatedly, giving him the first fresh food he's had since going underground.
With plenty of fresh food available at their current location, the swarm does not pursue the two retreating adventurers, but instead surge towards Diorio and Sobekhotep.
- Indus, Lueck
- Swarm
> Diorio, Sobekhotep, Seben-en-Ra
Seben races away to the far corner of the room.
"We need fire! Those flasks... from the dead guys that fell! We need those!"
The Sacred Ibis takes to the air and circles overhead, squawking imperious commands at the Brigade. If only these mortals could appreciate his infinite wisdom.
Seben can move on top of the crate as a move action, but her shot has no effect.
Seben can move on top of the crate as a move action, but her shot has no effect.
.
Balancing on one leg atop an ancient cask, Seben rifles a bow shoot into the heart of the swarm.
Diorio swipes at the ground with the torch in his off hand, trying to fry as many of the bugs as possible, and then beats a hasty retreat, mimicking Seben's action to jump up on the crate next to her.
"Get out of there Sobek!"
With his friends, except Sobek, out of the fire, Indus throws a clay flask at the swarm.
While Diorio’s torch only manages to catch a few stray roaches, Indus’s hurled flask of fire makes a significant impact on the swarm.
A few stray droblets of red-hot alchemical substance sear both Sobekhotep and his faithful familiar.
Seeing Indus use the flask of fire reminds Lueck that he has his own. He readies it and hurls it, hoping to follow the same trajectory as the one Indus used.
To hit , damage
Unfortunately, Lueck is unable to match Indus' accuracy with the thrown weapon and the flask sails short of the swarm, almost striking Neith. Again, droplets of liquid fire rain everywhere.
Agitated by the rain of fire and loss of most of their food sources, the swarm surges through the small room, settling on the direction of Seben and Diorio. Their eleveated position does little to help as masses of roaches chew their way up their legs.
- Indus, Lueck
- Swarm
> Diorio, Sobekhotep, Seben-en-Ra
Thousands upon thousands of dark-scaled roaches skitter up the cask and envelop Seben in a sudden flash. She attempts to scream in horror, but the sound of her cry is muffled by the roar of the chittering mass. Immolated by the swarm, she succeeds only in granting the creatures access to the insides of her throat, fleeing as she tears at her own skin...
In desperation, Seben flies across the room and dives on to the ground. When she hits, she breaks her fall into a roll, spinning wildly, trying to crush as many of the roaches as she can with just her bodyweight. Rolling back up to her feet she races for the door. There's a sickening crunch as she slams her back against the door jam on her way out, crushing dozens upon dozens of the beetles still clinging to her back.
The Sacred Ibis surveys the swarm with his keen eye, hunting. There! Suddenly he spies what he's searching for: a roach queen, a single tiny beetle who seems to be directing parts of the swarm with her pheromones.
The Sacred Ibis darts down into the heart of the swarm and snatches the tiny morsel in its beak, swooping back up to safety as it swallows her whole. The Sacred Ibis hopes the momentary confusion caused by disrupting the swarm's primitive leadership will prove beneficial in some miniscule way.
"SQUAAAAWK!"
"Aaaaagh! I take back what I said about eating beetles.
Diorio drops the torch and front flips off the crate in an attempt to scatter as many of the critters as possible off of him. Running towards the opposite corner and then sliding on his knees, he whips around drops his rapier and pulls the flask of alchemist's fire from his back pouch, throwing it at the swarm of insects tormenting him and his friends.
In a dazzling display of acrobatic agility, Diorio manages to both escape the swarm and inflict further fire damage. The floor of the chamber is scorched in several places, but the dead roaches seem to evaporate as soon as they die. The swarm is still thick enough to be a threat, though.
Indus grabs his last flask of alchemical fire, kisses it for luck and lobs it into the swarm. "Here goes nothing ..."
Another burst of flame roasts hundreds of cockroaches, but there is still enough left to form a coherent swarm.
Lueck readies his mace and runs forward. "Die, you delicious fiends! Die!". He starts rapidly smashing the fringe of the swarm with his mace.
Displaying much bravery, the grippli warrior priest charges the swarm and starts smashing. No doubt pleasing his bloodthirsty war goddess in the process.
The mace slams into the stone floor with little effect, only managing to squash a roach or two. However, immediately after Luecks' attack, the entire remaining swarm dissipates as suddenly as it appeared.
Sobekhotep detects no magic auras at the moment.
On seeing the nasty critters poof out of existence, Diorio pats himself all over checking, not believing that such things can happen.
"Gone? Just like that? Their awful bites were surely really. And just look at my pants!"
Gingerly, he picks up his rapier and looks dumbfounded at the dying fires in the room, half expecting the bug scourge to come roaring back to life, this time as flaming roaches ready to roast him.