Very late into Book 2.
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I am, unfortunately, finding it very difficult to keep up with GM'ing this game. (As I'm sure you've all noticed.) Between a change in occupation, taking online classes at the same time, and working on several other projects, I'm finding less and less time to log on to this site. I think I can maintain playing in a few games, but I'm not sure I'll be able to keep running a game at the rate that you guys deserve. You've been an *amazing* group. I couldn't have asked for more from you. I wish I could have given you more of the Adventure Path and finished it off with you all!
The voice continues to drone on and doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon.
You don't recognize my voice? Come out and see, murderers. It is quickly becoming clear that the being is willing to simply wait for you to come out and has no intention of coming closer.
The voice continues to drone on, neither coming closer, nor going away.
The voice continues for some time, seemingly having the patience of the dead. Com out murderers. I have forever to wait for you.
The voice continues to call throughout the building, but doesn't seem to be coming closer. Come out, come out, wherever you are.
The door to the room you're in does not open, but the rasping voice continues to echo in the otherwise empty building. Come out, murderers. You cannot escape.
The voice sounds like it is coming from the main room of the building.
Almost precisely in the middle of the second watch Leto hears a soft scraping on the stone floors of the building. After a few moments you hear a woman's voice. I know you're here. It sounds raspy and grating as it echoes through the empty building. Come out, murderers.
You have no problem making your way back to the Pyramid and forming a camp for the night.
I'm going to be out of town today and tomorrow. I'll update on Wednesday. Feel free to discuss what you'd like to do next in the meantime!
That's great! And, of course, not great for us, but I'm happy to hear things are going well! Good luck!
The Lamia make no move to stop you from leaving. It is now very late in the evening. It will take a few hours of traveling at night to get to the other side of the Necropolis. Are you headed directly there or stopping to camp?
It is late, you're welcome to stay here for the night, the lead Lamia purrs. The handsome man looks uncomfortable for a moment, but as the Lamia strokes his hair he seems to lose interest in the conversation and stars idly off into space.
One of the other Lamia pads forward, No, she says with a slight smile, But...we have seen these men with masks here. She points to on the map. But be careful, the creatures that make their home in that area of the necropolis are...cunning. They will lie and try to mislead you. Dark folk. I assume these men with masks have made some sort of deal with them. Perhaps that is the cause of this undead infestation. The handsome man stays silent and retreats to stand next to his master. She slowly strokes his hair as she watches you. Are we done here then? Is that all you wished from us?
What? No, I mean...no. The handsome man looks a little confused. I just saw them. The Lamia pads towards him and strokes his hair, That's okay pet, I'm sure it will all be fine.
It did look like those, but...gold, says the handsome man. It seems rather obvious that he's confused and they might have actually been brass, but they looked the same.
A flood of undead? The Lamia looks surprised, but not overly worried. She flashes a glance at the other Lamia. Interesting. The Lamia that showed you inside simply shrugs. Well, we are not the source...so what brings you here? She waves off the question concerning the clockwork objects. Things we've found. There are many oddities to be found within the walls of the necropolis. Elgiac compass? The Lamia almost purrs, You're looking for something powerful then. I don't know of anyone else that's been tampering with them. We had assumed only one or two were still active. The handsome man speaks up, Perhaps the golden masked men? Hepsushep frowns, Yes. The new ones. They're using the old smuggler's tunnels to come and go. If there are others interested in what you seek, it is probably them.
The lead Lamia laughs as the man looks confused. Go, Tarouk. Go get her, she says as she waves towards the door in the back of the room. He's pretty, but easily confused. Don't worry about him. As to his profession...I think he was a guard? This is just stuff that we've collected. The man nods and makes his way into the back room. After a few moments another Lamia enters. Ah, you didn't tell me our guests were so handsome Tarouk! But, of course you didn't. The creature pads forth, her eyes narrowing as she looks you over and her tone becomes serious, I'm told you can be civil, so...what is it that you want?
The lions, while large, are normal lions. The man looks confused. Me? No, you should speak to Hepsushep. You...do not seem like you belong here. Do not waste the Master's time. She is busy, an mortal concerns such as yours are beneath her. He glances briefly at the Lamia escorting you, But, if they say you are welcome, then you are welcome.
The doors open to a large dark foyer. Three columns support the domed ceiling of this chamber and a fourth lies broken across the floor. A mosaic of gods and the afterlife decorates the walls, marred by centuries of graffiti. A pungent musk fills the air. As you step in a massive emperor cobra rears up and spreads its hood. A dozen glittering earrings decorate the snake's body. The lead Lamia barks an order in some guttural unknown language and the creature calms and slithers off towards the wall with a long hiss that echoes in the empty chamber.
The three Lamia lead you to the double doors in the back of the room that lead further into the building. They open up into a semi-circular corridor heading to your right and left. You see a series of vaults meant to hold the dead along the outside wall. The corridor smells like a mix of various perfumes and oils. The smell grows stronger as you draw closer to what appears to be a larger vault or chamber on the outside wall, directly across from another door heading further into the building. The lead Lamia opens the door and calls out, Tarouk, I have guests for your Master. She enters the room and waves you inside. Four columns support the ceiling of this large chamber, filled with stone tables and curtains of tattered velvet. Stone fonts carved with images of scarab beetles and whippoorwills stand between the columns to the east and west. Two sets of double doors exit the room to the south (one of which you used to enter), and the doors to the north sport relief carvings of Pharasma as both deliverer of life and harvester of the dead. Deep, chiseled gashes mar the goddess's carved face. A tall and handsome man sits on a pile of pillows in one corner of the room. As he stands, two lions also stir and stand with him. Who are they? Various tools, books, and half-finished creations lie strewn about every surface. You see a masterfully made lyre leaning against one table andd several odd clockwork machinery scattered across one table. The ceiling is 40 feet high in this room.
The Lamia smiles, We are not so many. Hepsushep will speak with you, she says, as she turns back to the door and unlocks it. Leto and Nevai: She doesn't appear to be hostile, at least not physically so. She seems to feel confident but wary of any betrayal on your part.
The Lamia smiles as it responds, There are many things the humans that live beyond the walls would be surprised to find in their city. Many wondrous things. She looks over Nevai appraisingly, You look tired, Priest. You should come inside and rest. Meet with Hepsushep. She may know of this source that you search for.
The creatures stiffen as they hear your voice and quickly turn, seemingly ready for a fight. One lowers her spear and whispers to the others. Perception DC 25:
[/b]Wait. They wish to talk. This could be interesting.[/b] The lead Lamia lowers her weapon as well. Come human, it is dangerous to shout within the walls of the necropolis. If you wish to speak, you'll have to come closer. The creature smiles, almost mischievously. Sense Motive DC 20: The Lamia doesn't appear hostile, but does seem bemused that their request could be seen in that light. It appears to be testing you rather than luring you in for a fight.
They're Lamia. Typically evil, but they can speak.
I'll try to pick it up a little bit. We're still in the middle of a big transition and it's just slowing everything down and taking up a lot of time. But, I'll do my best to keep pushing forward!
It's not a long walk, but getting to the area while avoiding all the various dangers on the way takes quite a bit of energy. The sun is coming down as you arrive in the area. An unsettling and ominous structure, the round, fortress-like building that Almathea identifies as the Cenotaph of the Cynic stands apart from the other tombs in Wati’s necropolis, separated by 100 feet of flattened rubble on all sides. The building itself stands nearly 40 feet tall. Almathea:
The Cenotaph was originally built in honor of those
who had fallen to the Plague of Madness, but when the Pharasmins created the necropolis, they repurposed it to house the atheistic dead of Wati. Just as you start to plan your approach across the flattened rubble, the front doors open. Three creature's whose upper torso are that of human women with cat’s eyes and sharp fangs, and lower bodies of lions, step out of the building. It seems like they lock the doors behind them. They don't appear to have seen you yet, and they'r about 100 feet away.
Almathea: Here's what you can determine with the map and the notebook:
The Marid’s Caress: Crossed out in the notebook and probably in the area marked K on your map. The Observatory of Truth and Wisdom: You passed this observatory when you traveled between the Shiny Bauble (the first site you checked) and the market with all the ghouls (M). The Pyramid of Arithmetic Bliss: Where you currently are. The Sanctum of the Erudite Eye: This was the last place you "plundered" during your last necropolis visit. The Shiny Bauble: This was the first place you searched where you found a compass. The old glass shop. Tomb of Menket Maatya: Marked O on your map.
At this point you've searched the entire building and there is no sign of the compass.
Searching the rest of the building takes very little time. In one side room you find a corpse. Searching the body you find a potion of undetectable alignment, dagger, shortsword, cloak of resistance +1, 5 turquoises (worth 10gp each), and 4 gold. There is also a small journal with quite a few scribbles in it. Linguistics DC 20:
While most of it is in shorthand, the journal does have a list of locations: the Marid’s Caress, the Observatory of Truth and Wisdom, the Pyramid of Arithmetic Bliss, the Sanctum of the Erudite Eye, the Shiny Bauble, and the tomb of Menket Maatya. The Marid’s Caress and the Sanctum of the Erudite Eye have been crossed out. Heal DC 15 or Survival DC 20:
The individual seems to have been wounded by the mummies before making their way here to die from their wounds. Spellraft DC 22: You believe the compass would have been housed in this room, but there's no sign of it.
In the remains of the camp you find a small silver ring. Spellcraft DC16:
The ring is a ring of feather falling. Where else would you like to go?
You got a pretty good look at most of the roof from outside and there didn't appear to be a compass up there.
Everything is quiet throughout the building.
The notes are in ancient Osiriani and detail, very precisely, the resting places of what appear to be very highly regarded thinkers and architects of their time. Survival DC 22: The makeshift camp seems to have been used for several days by four to six people. It was likely purposefully abandoned several days ago as there are no signs of a struggle or danger.
Moving further into the building you come to an open area. Tools and notes have been placed upon this chamber’s broad stone worktables with apparent significance and precision. Several sarcophagi lie along the walls, surrounded by dusty models, urns, and statues. In the northeast corner, a disorderly campsite mars the mathematical order of the room’s design. There are some side passageways leading away from this main room but everything seems quit for now.
Marnarius expertly dismantles one of the mummy. Once they're down to one, the party easily dispatches the final abomination.
Rolls:
Nevai's holy light shines out again and the wrappings on the mummies burn away to reveal the desiccated corpses beneath. One of Leto's arrows slams home. With the aid of Erei's song, Marnarius and Nuru hack the mummy attacking Nuru apart.
One of the mummies attacks Nevai once more, slamming its fist into him.
The final mummy shuffles forward to swing wildly at Marnarius.
Marnarius and Nuru lay into one of the mummies. Both of Leto's arrows go wide. Almathea's blast hits the mummy attacking Nevai and he also puts a big hit on it.
The last mummy finally stands and steps out of the grease. The first mummy attacks Nevai,
and the second attacks Nuru.
Both connecting for solid hits.
Sorry about the long delays lately, we're in the middle of moving and transitioning out of the military, so it's been *really* hectic!
Almathea's flash of magic hits one of the mummies, along with one of Leto's arrows.
The one in front of Nevai takes another swing, missing this time.
The last moves forward and takes a swing at Nuru.
The mummies give off a hissing shriek as the light shines forth from Nevai. The two caught in the grease maintain their footing, but as they move forward, one slips and falls. The other barely makes it out of the pool of grease.
The last shambles forward and swings at Nevai.
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