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No worries on the wait - I'm the patient sort, and there's plenty of other things to occupy my time in the interim. Like Dark Souls.
"I don't have anything like that prepared, I'm afraid. Really, you ought to let the warriors deal with this. Surely they can deal with a few vermin." Orcen comments from behind his filter hood.
Orcen sighs, before casting his Mage Armor over himself, waiting in the relative safety of the tapestry room. He glances over at Sebti, speaking to her. "Think they need help?" He asks her.
"Oh, my. It sounds like the fighting is already going on," Orcen comments, peering down the hallway. "I suppose I'll wait for them to sort this mess out."
I'll wait on Orcen's action until his turn, then, though does this reset negate his thrown torch? And he'll be just outside the trapped hallway (in the tapestry room).
"So because another team followed us gives us the right to kill them for it. Well, that's certainly a wonderful example you're setting," Orcen comments to the mechanical summon. "Course, it may not be them. Could be the undead, or vermin, or something living here that should not exist. The point being that we don't know," Orcen tells them, before lighting a second torch. "So how about we find out?" He asks, before tossing that torch down the hallway, hoping to illuminate whomever - or whatever - has come down.
"...your master seems rather paranoid, don't you think?" Orcen ironically comments. "That's a terrible idea. You don't attack someone indiscriminately, and you don't let them blunder into a trap when they've done you no harm. That said, do feel free to keep a hand on weapons should things get hazardous." With that said, Orcen steps over to the side of the door of the hallway, waiting and listening. There's no need to rush in like a bunch of fools. Taking a moment to listen to conversation would help things out tremendously in identifying their intentions.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, don't rush all the way, or else you might trample over a second pressure pad!" Orcen speaks out to them as they rush off. He sighed quietly, taking his time to follow them back - the alarm was good, but he doubted they could actually get there on time to deal with whatever was going on there.
"Well, from what I can see back here, adding to my already intense paranoia, it seems like anything in this room could be trapped. That chest, the straw on the floor could cover up some kind of pit or switch or tripwire, and looks particularly flammable to boot, the shields, those masks - hang on a second..." Orcen peers from the safety of the doorway. "...Is it just me, or is it particular peculiar that's the first sign of Abadar here in this tomb? Very strange."
"As opposed to murdering an animal to skin, pull apart into pieces, cook and then devour?" Orcen comments to the cat. "I'd much prefer this to that." The wizard will hang back until the others have given the all clear sign for the room.
Orcen notes out of the corner of his eye how the priestess takes something out - curious, but it could be something as simple as her religious symbol. Certainly no need to confront her about it. The room beyond the trapped hallway was quite interesting, especially the tapestry. Once the others have explored the room first, Orcen will take a few moments to read the hieroglyphics and see what else he can learn. "Right, so, I've always been of the opinion that when choosing a path, always go right first," Orcen comments, pointing to the northern door. "Ah, and Rasim is already checking it out. Good lad."
Orcen is not a white necromancer, the class. He's a white necromancer in that he's a wizard, specializing in necromancy, who doesn't raise the dead or use evil spells. Because that would be wrong.
"Well this does seem to be a bit of a hassle. I don't suppose anyone here has the benefit of being able to heal wounds like this," Orcen comments after the trap is disarmed. He eyes Sebti through the hood's lenses but doesn't ask her - it probably amused her greatly to see them all stumble like that. For his part, Orcen decided that it would be safer for him to hang back near the priestess than to stay in the middle of the pack for now. "Let's keep going, now. It's a team effort here. Ah, one thing, mind you - we have more rope, yes? Because it just occurred to me that should some other company come in and sever our lifeline back there, we would be effectively stranded in this tomb."
"...Well, this seems rather odd," Orcen comments as he looks at the dart that is sticking out of his shoulder, plucking it out with a wince. "So, let's take stock for a moment. I'm quite certain four of you were checking for traps. So how is it that you all missed this?" He asks them. He also doesn't move in case he might trip the trap a second time.
"Quite fascinating, really. You know what I've never really gotten? The point of such intricate artwork and craftsmanship in something that, in its very nature, is not supposed to be appreciated by the living," Orcen comments, looking back at Sebti in his filter hood. "I mean, why build a monument that no one will ever see? This necropolis is full of such places that are rife with history and knowledge. And so long as we take care not to disturb the rest of the dead, we should be permitted to come and see for ourselves. Perhaps that's part of what the Ruby Prince intended - well, that and filling his country's coffers. Orcen takes a moment to examine the bas-reliefs, seeing if he can't determine which battles are being depicted - as well as some history on the scarab shield the guard captain seemed to favor.
Orcen glances over at the tomb raider's body, walking over with his torch held in one hand. "Interesting bottles - wonder what's in them?" He comments, casting his detection spell again to determine if the jugs or their contents were in fact magical. Some potions here would be quite nice.
Orcen takes the knotted rope down cautiously, lowering himself down slowly until he's reached the bottom, picking up his torch. "Well, let's not dally - we don't want to wait until it's dark outside to finish up in here," He comments to the others.
Climb check is needed! DC15 with a rope. Think hard before you go. The fall is potentially 60ft. If you fail, I will roll 1d6 for the distance, and you will take that many dice of damage when you hit the ground.
Orcen looks the dwarf's rope quietly before looking at the dwarf in question. "Sorry, but I can't climb that - can you add some knots for security?"
"I speak naturally, I see through the glass lenses here, it's not difficult to breath in at all, and I bought it from a merchant for ten weight," Orcen tells the cat, peering down the very dark hole. "My goodness, that's deep. I don't suppose we've got enough rope to make it all the way down, do we?" He asks.
"Hmm? It's a filter hood. Good in case we come across anything that might be harmful to be breathed in. Like gases, mold spores, airborne diseases, acid mists, things like that." He looks up at the cat, tilting his head to one side. "Aww, did I scare you? It's okay, there there," He tells Zanac in a soothing voice. "Don't you worry. I'm a vegetarian."
He just put it on. Wouldn't make sense to wear it before - down there though there might be spores and harmful gases.
Orcen doesn't step in first - he lights another torch and holds it close, fitting his filter hood and hat on himself again. The result is him looking like some terrifying long beaked bird, as he steps inside and looks at the hole. "Well, we certainly shouldn't trust something that's been here for who knows how long," He states, his voice's timber altered by the hood. "Grax, another piton, please? Better to be safe than sorry."
"Hmm. Anubis on one side, and Pharasma on the other..." Orcen thinks for a moment, before rummaging in his pack. It's a good thing that he brought so many torches with him - eventually he was going to get that everburning one that he coveted, certainly. The young man hums a funeral song as he places the torches into the sconces first lighting the ones depicting Pharasma, then lighting the ones depicting Anubis. "More light is always good, don't you agree?" He asks the others in the group with a vacant smile.
Orcen casts a small cantrip to detect magic within the chamber, sweeping for any particular magical auras. He might also accidentally catch their escort in the effective area of the spell.
"My goodness, apparently Ahkentepi was a very, very devout Pharasman in life," Orcen comments as they look inside. He reads the walls with interest, wishing he'd thought to bring another book to transcribe the findings here. He'll just have to rely on memory. He also notes the warning, looking at the others. "So, the bad news is that this place is most definitely, 100% guarded, most likely by traps. But the good news is that it being a Pharasman tomb, there is a zero percent chance of there being any undead inside. Which is delightful!" Looking at the stone wheel, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that it's another door. "Well, that's much more simple, I think. We'll need to open this up as well," He says, reaching into his pack and pulling out an unlit torch.
"I agree about the hinges - tombs like these were generally built so that the doors would never open again. Which does pose a bit of a problem," He muses, looking at it carefully. "I don't suppose that anybody brought along a prybar? We could use a bit of muscle here. How about...you," He says, pointing at Satinder. "If you don't have a prybar, just try using your sword - it should fit through the gaps all right. Come on now, we haven't all day to linger." He looks up at the sky, wondering how many more hours of bright daylight they'll have.
"Let's look at this another way. Would you want some unknown and scruffy looking adventurer tossing over your corpse to get at whatever treasures you were buried with?" Orcen asked the dwarf. "Or worse, raising your body as a foul abomination. The dead are to be respected, for it is through their contributions that we came to be who we are today. That said, I would consider it a personal favor if you would not aggravate our escort any further. She's here to ensure we follow the rules, and so we shall. Just be glad that we're allowed in here in the first place, to see such boundless and amazing history!" When they finally reach the tomb, the young wizard stops to admire the craftsmanship of the tomb, peering at the hieroglyphics etched on its surface. A student of Ancient Osiriani, he takes his time translating them aloud in Taldane. "So, we should get the sand out of the way so that we might open the doors more easily - and without damage," He adds, for Sebti's benefit.
Seeing that everyone else is more interested in getting to the tomb than knowing about it, Orcen takes up the map to take a look at all of the different landmarks on it. He's especially curious to see if he happens to recognize any of the names as of special merit to the city of Wati. Pondering if they might take a slight detour in that case. After they've explored the guard captain's tomb, of course.
He looks over at the priestess, smiling at her again. "This wouldn't happen to be your first time in the necropolis as well, would it?"[/b] He asks.
Speaking on team names, I haven't heard suggestions from Graxzos or Byron yet on that. You guys have a chance to pitch a team name.
"All very good questions to have - another which I might ask is, would you happen to have a map of the Necropolis? It would be nice to know exactly where this tomb is specifically. I'd also love to hear a little about Ahkentepi, their life and accomplishments." Orcen tells the priestess, staying close to her and pondering what that shimmer was - it would be rude to detect her for magic right there, however.
Orcen will always be in the middle of the pack - never first, never last. He likes to have all these bodies between him and whatever might try to kill them all.
The young nobleman takes note of the other adventuring parties. Most of them seem to be well put together, unlike the randomly selected units that made up their own. He's confident that they can deal with whatever's inside, though - he in particular would be good enough to deal with whatever undead creatures lurked inside. He smiles at Sebti, speaking to her respectfully enough. "Good priestess, know that I will respect those who at their final rest. The dead have nothing to fear from me. The undead, on the other hand, will find out quickly that their presence will not be tolerated."
"So!" He claps his hands together, looking at the others. "Shall we get going? I would lead the way, but I'm better where I'm not first at risk at getting attacked."
"Sleep does sound good for a bit. I'll see you later, then," Orcen tells the others, figuring that he can get a good night's rest and determine which spells to prepare for tomorrow.
Orcen had to shrug at that. Apparently, Zanac was particularly dense there. He shouldn't really mix business with pleasure at any rate. It would just lead to guilt later on. "I didn't call you a simple cat. I called you cute." Orcen reiterated. "It's a compliment, so take it as one."
The young man is quite aware at the man's attempt to swipe his own blade, but doesn't say anything about it there. "Hardly an insult. You're a cat. A very, very cute cat." It is extremely difficult to determine exactly what he means by that, and the very pleasant smile on his face.
Orcen put on his best smile, looking at the catfolk. "I've already said, my name is Orcen Faust. I happen to be from Absalom. As for what I do...well, I'm a student from the College of Mysteries. I'm here to study in the necropolis. I am afraid that I won't be much help if we actually have to fight, though. Though I'd be happy to speak on behalf of the party - I'm somewhat personable. I also have a decent smattering of knowledge on a variety of subjects as well." He peers closely, getting into Kanac's face and reaching out, patting his head. "I had a kitty like you, once. Though he was black furred, and very fat - couldn't catch any mice unless they walked right up to him! You seem like a nice kitty too," He praised.
Orcen kept quiet for the moment - everyone else seemed content enough to converse with one another, but he kept to himself. It was better to listen and get to know who exactly he was getting himself into things with here. Satinder was most likely insane, hearing voices in his head without provocation. He would have to keep a close eye on him to determine the severity of his madness and whether it would cause more problems for him long term. Byron and his partner seemed useful enough. However, the fact that it treated the gnome like he was its child was mildly concerning, but not enough to set off warning flags. He seemed suitable as a partner. Grax was boisterous and loud, but compared to the others, probably the most reliable here. The cat and the Osiriani were both shady, to say the least - and young as well. He'd have liked some more muscle on their side - someone who could take and deal hits better than most. He'd have also liked a healer on their side, but he supposed they'd simply have to avoid taking unnecessary risks.
Orcen observes the construct curiously - or was it really a construct at all? There was something off about it for sure. Similar markings on both the gnome and the machine. He thought that he'd heard about these types - a type of conjuration specialist who'd learned how to summon a creature for vastly extended periods of time. He waved off the catfolk's worry about it being necromantic in nature - he knew necromancy, and this was nothing of the sort. "Byron, hello. Your construct is rather eloquent. It's not a shield guardian, is it? No, no, Numos had one - my older brother - but it got destroyed I think. Crushed under a falling crate full of steel ingots. Terrible thing, that. The insurance payout was apparently pretty good though, so he came out ahead quite nicely. Oh, and do you have a suggestion for a team name?"
That's right - figure we may not see them during the weekend, as people tend to get out and about those days.
It's Arabic, and I'm just assuming that everyone doing so is using Google Translate for it.
So on the subject of a group name, just to help streamline things so we're not arguing for days on what to call ourselves, I've come up with an elegant idea. Everybody submits ONE idea for the team name. So we'll have six team names choices altogether. Next, everybody votes for the team name they like the most, that is NOT their own submission. Majority rules for that. Sound good? So for my submission, I'd like to nominate 'The Ragged Raiders' as a team name.
"Hmm, introductions..." The young but tall man thinks for a moment, before answering. "I'm Orcen Faust, of Absalom." He says nothing after that, letting someone else go next.
"...too long. People won't take us seriously," Orcen tells the dwarf straight out. "The Ragged Raiders has the benefit at least of being short and easy enough to remember."
The Absalom native is rather pleased that his number was chosen - then again, it was a lucky number. He'd have been more surprise if he hadn't been picked. Still, the choice of companions leaves something to be desired. A strange little gnome and his odd servant, an untrustworthy looking catfolk, a boisterous dwarf, an Osiriani youth with a shaved head, and a half-elf who seemed slightly out of it. He did hope that they could work together. "This is certainly a ragged bunch of tomb raiders," He comments, before pausing and laughing a little. "Well, The Ragged Raiders suits us just fine, I think."
"Wisdom is life's boon and curse, for it's only learned through mistakes made by yourself and others," The young man tells the dwarf, shaking his head. "...Hmm, perhaps that was slightly too profound of me. I really ought to continue to play the fool. Better to be underestimated than over," He says, grinning before leaving the dwarf, fingering his stone. "Well, I do hope that my luck will be like this number," He comments mostly to himself.
"Who are we? Good question. Better question is why by the Pharaoh's balls I should answer?" He takes another sip of his drink and leans back in his chair, setting his amazing bulk into the creaking wood. "Good point. I suppose there's not much reason for you to tell me anything, is there?" He said, smiling at the dwarf. "I suppose I'll find out eventually. Or not. Fate is a funny thing, after all. Could be our paths will never cross again." He shrugged.
"And yet, I'm still left with the question of why - no, perhaps not why, but who," Orcen mused aloud, looking at the brass ringed dwarf. "I don't suppose that you'd be willing to answer that question? Who exactly are you three?" |