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Nimaethep was shocked and dismayed at her shoddy performance as the dual wielding cultist managed to land another blow on her. Still, as long as he was focused on her, her companions were free to deal with the other cultists. Concentrating all her attention on the man's dual khopesh, she did everything she could to dodge and dance around his flashing blades.
Nimaethep glanced about in dismay as the number of enemies suddenly multiplied dramatically. There was little she could do to assist Vash and Harmini at the moment, at best she could continue to keep the attention of the two cultists on herself and hope that the dogs would be easy enough for the others to handle. Turning slightly, she quickly struck out at the lesser looking of the two fighters facing her and then danced back a step or two so as to avoid ending up flanked by the two combatants.
Adopting her defensive stance, Nimaethep moved smoothly about her opponent, attacking only two or three times, each a quick and decisive blow.
Just wanted to make sure DM, in the turn order to indicate Teos is up next and then have Nimaetheps' name in black. Am I going after Teos or is Vash between us?
Hey, welcome back Teos!
Nimaethep reacted quickly to the new threats, running up past Vash she moved to engage the new threat and keep them away from the archer while he dealt with them from afar. As for the two to the East, Teos would have to handle them. As she ran, a few thoughts crossed her mind "Sky pharaoh? Hakotep?" Did these names mean anything to her? "I don't care about a mask or whoever it is that you serve, if you are responsible for awakening the eternal slumber of the dead you will answer for your crimes." As she moved, a quick flick brought a wand from her belt into her hand as she attempted to recite the command word.
She noted with dismay that nothing happened. Maybe it was the sting of the little glob of liquid that the cultist had hit her with, but whatever the reason it was always a tricky thing to coax the magic from the device. Regardless she pressed on.
Nimaethep held her ground against the pressing hoard. As long as she could slow them down and keep them away from Vash, the half orc archer could keep putting them down one by one.
She knew that pounding the dead flesh with her fists was unlikely to do much damage, but as long as she could keep making herself a nuisance and keep them focused on her then she was keeping everyone else safe.
Do we only have two players left?
Nimaethep recoiled at the sight of the desecrated altar. Although the speed of the undead was worrisome, she did not hesitate once they were within reach. With feline grace she attacked the nearest zombie through the doorway. Although it was a difficult strike her plan was to simply try and distract the zombies and give Harmini an opening to get away from their grasping claws.
Once she was in motion, Nimaethep flowed effortlessly from one spot to another, working her way in front of Harmini and drawing the ire of the zombies to herself.
I wasn't sure with the departure of Daniel.
Nimaethep gathered up the rods and carefully wrapped them before stowing them in her pack. They were part of ancient burial rights and as such were of interest to the practitioner of such things. She would research them later. With Vash ready to proceed, the nimble catfolk took her position next to the door and made ready to face whatever lay beyond.
Nimaethep admired the funerary rods as Harmini examined the bracers.
I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you have a speedy recovery.
Nimaethep surveyed the room with a hint of wonder. "This is remarkable, to be in the tomb of such a prestigious man." Her face darkened for a moment "But also troubling. The resting place of the person who brought Pharasma's faith to Wati and built the Necropolis itself shouldn't be the focal point of foul necromancy which has awakened the dead. I fear that some manner of desecration has happened here." "Vash, is there any sign that anyone else may have been here somewhat recently? Oh, what have you found there?"
Nimaethep paused to give a quick prayer to the ancient representations of Anubis. Though he had long since abdicated his role as protector of the dead to Pharasma it was pleasing to see that the clergy of the Goddess of Graves still showed him respect. The catfolk ran her hand reverently over the ancient hieroglyphics as she read them. "Do you suppose that this in an ancient structure that the Pharasmans built their temple over, or did they build these as well as the temple above?"
Nimaethep nodded to Harmini "Yes, thank you." Admiring the mosaic she frowned "I am troubled that this would be the source of the troubles. Pharasma is an ardent opponent of the undead. Why would this of all places be the locus of the disturbances, unless..." She trailed off for a moment as she considered a disturbing thought "Unless this was some kind of repository that contained something that they thought should be locked away." As Vash stepped forward Nimaethep gently stopped him. "There are prayers to the Lady of Graves woven in amongst the mosaic, I recognize most but that phrase there I don't and it has me concerned. "All who live must pass through the doorway of death to face her judgement" may have a more literal meaning in this situation. Let me have a look first." Nimaethep took out a well worn tool kit filled with a variety of picks, wires, tubes, vials and packages. Using the extensive contents she began to carefully examine the hidden door for traps or wards both magical and mundane.
Nimaethep carefully entered the building with Vash, alert for and dangers as this was the source of the necromantic energy that had roused the necropolis' dead.
"Thoth and Maat, the moon and stars. The building seems to be dedicated appropriately, but what do wisdom and truth have to do with foul necromancy?" she whispered, pondering the connection.
With a final glance around the room Nimathep descended the stairs and cautiously led the way along the beams path aware that the unusual beam of light might attract unwanted attention.
"We shouldn't tarry too long, those beams of light are visible to all and now that the location is marked it may attract the curious."
With the core revealed, is there another beam of light to follow?
Nimaethep's opinion of the fascinating device changed upon hearing its true purpose. The catfolk frowned "Then it would seem that this device is an affront to Pharasma, designed as it is to abscond with a soul from its final judgement. It is a pity, the device itself is quite remarkable." Nimaethep stood by Harmini, ready to lend whatever assistance she could either with the dismantling of the device or shielding her from any errant pieces.
With the final tweak, Nimaethep watched with satisfaction as the device safely came to a stop. "It seems a shame to have to disable such a work, whoever constructed this living model of the skies made something remarkable." She examined the compass spinning inside the orrery. "Do you think there is any way to expose the compass beam without taking everything apart, or will we have to dismantle the whole thing?"
"Teos, watch out!" Nimaethep called out, too late to help. "Here, let me see if I can disable the construct. I have some skills with mechanical contraptions that might be applicable here." The catfolk carefully moved up to the core of the machine taking care to avoid any of the whirring celestial objects. Crouching down she took out a leather kit full of tools, tubes and vials. It was obvious that the machine was magically powered, but she some knowledge in dismantling and safely dissipating arcane power when bound in the form of a sigil or trap.
"Do you know what it is supposed to do before we dismantle it? Someone has gone through some effort to repurpose the compass." Nimaethep approached the whirling contraption and with a practiced eye began examining the device, working out how best to safely take it apart.
Satisfied that there wasn't anything else on the upper floor Nimaethep descended a few steps. "There is a compass up here, it looks like it still works. Its curious though, it seems like it was dormant until we arrived."
Nimaethep paused as she heard the movement upstairs. Taking a quick look back she was reassured that Vash has also heard the movement. With an abundance of caution she drew her shielding wand and carefully stalked up just far enough to be able to glimpse the upper rooms.
Nimaethep cautiously enters behind Vash, alert for any dangers whether they be from creatures or the unsound structure. Once satisfied that there isn't any immediate threat, she quietly moves up the stairs to take a peek at the upper level of the building. +1 vs traps
I will be here. =)
Hey, glad to see you back and hear that everything is ok. I would be up for continuing.
I'll check in from time to time to see if anything changes.
I hope everything is well.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone!
Nimaethep gazed over the ruins with a frown. "This isn't looking good." Carefully picking her way across the rubble strewn street she kept an eye out for hazards as she approached the front door of the building. Once she was satisfied that there were no threats she motioned everyone else forward.
A little disappointed that everyone agreed and nobody had made a compelling argument for searching the library, Nimaethep was at least satisfied that there was a desire to perhaps come back later once the immediate threat had been dealt with. With the group in agreement, she said a quick prayer to Anubis and his guardians at the door to the library before continuing towards the last location marked on the map.
Since she had left her days of tomb robbing behind her, Nimaethep's curiosity for such things had lain dormant. However recent event had rekindled her desire to see what kinds of ancient secrets might be tucked away in the lost places of the world. That desire tugged at the edge of her mind upon seeing the library. In the years since those days though she had learned to temper her impulses and consider her actions with a little more care. "I think I have to agree with Vash" she said with some hesitation as she struggled between trying to come up with some kind of plausible justification for investigating the library and accepting that finding the last compass was the priority. "Finding and quenching the source of the necromantic energies as quickly as possible before anyone else is harmed by the undead would seem to be our first goal, unless we think there would be anything inside here that might help us?"
Without any objection, Nimaethep shouldered her pack and led the group towards the location of the last compass, carefully scouting ahead wary of any more ambushes by undead.
"Thank you" Nimaethep replied as Harmini soothed her aches and bruises from the day's events. The next morning Nimaethep arose with the dawning sun. While Harmini communed with her magical companion and Vash prepared breakfast the catfolk performed her morning rituals and prayers to Anubis. Joining the others over the morning meal she nodded at Harmini's suggestion. "I agree, I think we should continue to follow the map. I am concerned about the condition of the last compass though, considering the condition that all the others have been in. Is there anything we can do with just one compass if it turns out to be the only one we have? I suppose we could just follow the path of the beam checking every house along the way."
"That is interesting, that the undead recoil from the beam of light. With enough of the compasses active, perhaps we can fence them in?" Nimaethep wondered aloud as the shrieking ghouls retreated. ... At the shop, satisfied that there were no hidden threats Nimaethep motioned the group inside. She helped make camp in the ruins of the building and performed a short ceremony to Anubis, entreating the distant god to keep the camp safe from the undead that prowled the Necropolis. Later she dutifully took her watch, keeping an eye on the darkness and shadows while her companions slept.
Nimaethep nodded "That's a good idea, if those alchemists were able to keep their operation running with all the undead around we should be able to overnight there in relative safety." As they approached the oil shop, out of an abundance of caution Nimaethep crept forward just to make sure that the shop was still empty. There was no telling whether the former occupants had come back or new once had taken up residence.
"It is getting late, shall we retire to Wati or find some place to take refuge within the Necropolis?" Nimaethep asked. Under normal circumstances, a night in the Necropolis wouldn't have concerned her so much, but these were anything but normal circumstances.
I am still here, were we waiting for an answer to the last question that was posted, or were we moving forward?
Nimaethep watched the contraption activate with interest, she had never seen anything like it before. "What an interesting device. I don't know what I was expecting, but this dazzling display is unexpected. I am concerned that this beam of light will act as a beacon and draw attention to this place. We should head to the next location. Will the system work if we take this crystal? I don't know how any of this functions."
Nimaethep examined the crystal from the compass. "Lets hope that this is a simple thing to fix. We still have more to go before we can get them working properly. Its still a shame that these were allowed to fall into disrepair." Gingerly taking the delicate item she carefully made her way back up to the top of the building where the rest of the compass stood. "Unless there are any other precautions that we should take?" she looked at the rest of the group waiting to see if there were any other thoughts on the matter before attempting to insert the crystal back into its housing.
Nimaethep looked through the items. "The soul stimulant could come in handy given what we might encounter in the necropolis. I will take one of those. Can you use the scroll Harmini?" Nimaethep tried on the cloak and played with it for a few moments "This is really interesting, but I was never trained in the use of a shield." Examining the rest of the items she settled on the wand "If nobody else is interested in the wand, I could find a use for it. For practice if nothing else."
Oh, yep! Sorry, I thought we were waiting for something, but I don't know why I got that impression.
Welcome back!
Nimaethep examined the items, smiling slightly as the trio of praying monkies amused her for some reason. "Would these be of any use to either of you?" she asked of Teo and Vash while motioning to the arms and armour. "It has been a very long time since I needed to try an put a price on anything. These statues seem valuable, but someone with more recent knowledge of the markets will have to evaluate them."
Nimaethep nodded, "I was hoping that the serpent could be reasoned with. It seemed open to negotiations. It is too bad it was not meant to be. I can go down and see what is in the lair." The catfolk nimbly made her way down to the bottom of the pit, keeping a keen eye out for any traps or other creatures that may have been nesting with the dragon. Once she was satisfied that the den was safe, she began to carefully pick through the contents of the dragon's hoard. As she did so, a little wave of regret washed over her. All they wanted was the crystal for the compass, but now they were presented with the dragon's entire hoard, a pile of treasure that he had seemed so proud of.
Heh, you are right now that you mention it. It seems to have been missed on my last character sheet update. I will fix that, thanks for the reminder.
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